Gingrich, Paul Virtually Tied for First Place in Iowa (PPP POLL: Newt-22, Paul-21, Mitt - 16)
Results from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling poll of likely GOP caucus goers: Newt Gingrich (22 percent), Ron Paul (21 percent), Mitt Romney (16 percent), Michele Bachmann (11 percent), Rick Perry (9 percent), Rick Santorum (8 percent), Jon Huntsman (5 percent), and Gary Johnson (1 percent). The poll’s margin of error is 4.2 percentage points.
Down in the weeds, PPP notices a couple of factors that might be contributing to these numbers:
He’s [Gingrich] also seen a significant decline in his favorability numbers. Last week he was at +31 (62/31) and he’s now dropped 19 points to +12 (52/40). The attacks on him appear to be taking a heavy toll- his support with Tea Party voters has declined from 35% to 24%. Paul meanwhile has seen a big increase in his popularity from +14 (52/38) to +30 (61/31).
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com
Test shows most in US prefer white over dark skin
Not sure if you are? A group of scientists from Harvard University, the University of Washington, and the University of Virginia have put together tests at Project Implicit to measure implicit social bias.
Take the test and you might be surprised by what you find. I know I was — I have always considered myself a fairly open-minded person, but the test showed that I have a moderate bias toward people with lighter-colored skin. So … are you racist?
(Excerpt) Read more at mlive.com
Serial Hypocrisy Newt Gingrich: Selling Access
Big Government Newt Gingrich Praised SEIU Head Andy Stern’s Forward-Looking Vision
WASHINGTON — In the time between his tenure as Speaker of the House and his candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich presented himself as a ideological bridge of sorts: someone who was eager to find policy twists that would gather the support of both parties. It is what spurred his advocacy for Medicare Part D and a watered down version of President Bush’s immigration reform plan.
It also produced a series of strange-bedfellows moments. The most famous of these was when Gingrich appeared with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in an ad campaign orchestrated by Al Gore to pressure Congress to fight climate change. Less discussed are the speeches Gingrich gave in the mid-2000s with then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to promote centrist solutions to health care reform.
Read the whole story at HuffingtonPost
Dr. Alveda King: Hoping Herman Cain Will Stay In the Race
n the 15th Century, “Lady Justice” was introduced wearing a blindfold. Her sightlessness was meant to represent objectivity, in that justice is or should be meted out without fear or favor, regardless of identity, money, power or weakness. Blind justice and impartiality should be the goal.
Enter 21st century politics, where you find justice thrown under the proverbial bus, along with a presidential candidate.
Herman Cain joined the race for the Republican nomination with a goal of leading the nation into a better quality of life, for, in his words, “my grandchildren and for the generations to come.”
Read the whole story at FoxNews.com
Newt Gingrich Presidential Ambition Is Over: Ron Paul Video Exposes Newt Gingrich (Serial Hypocrisy - YouTube)
CAIN ACCUSER HAS HISTORY OF FILING WORKPLACE COMPLAINTS…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A woman who settled a sexual harassment complaint against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain in 1999 complained three years later at her next job about unfair treatment, saying she should be allowed to work from home after a serious car accident and accusing a manager of circulating a sexually charged email, The Associated Press has learned.
Read the whole story at Yahoo News
Sharon Bialek, Herman Cain accuser, suggests she might vote for him
Sharon Bialek, the Chicago woman who accused Republican presidential candidate of sexual harassment while he was president of the National Restaurant Association in 1997, said in an interview this morning on CBS News’ Early Show that she’s still considering voting for him. National Journal reports:
Bialek said … that she has not shut the door on voting for Cain in the future. When asked whether she would vote for him if he admitted to the allegations, she said “I hope that he does and I’d have to think about that one.”
Cain is planning a press conference later today to address the accusation.
Read the whole story at Yahoo News
‘She’s a complete gold digger’: Murky past of Herman Cain accuser starts to emerge
‘She’s a complete gold digger’: Murky past of Herman Cain accuser starts to emerge
- Fiance of Sharon Bialek says he is supporting her but did not find out until Friday
- Filed for bankruptcy twice
- Accused former boyfriend of harassing her to pay a loan
- Cain appears on Jimmy Kimmel saying he will fight the accusations
- Father found out about allegations on Monday
Read more at Daily Mail
With No Specifics to the Accusations, Herman Cain Wins This Fight
Jim Geraghty
November 4, 2011
Joel Bennett, the lawyer for one of the former employees of the National Restaurant Association who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment, spoke to Wolf Blitzer live on CNN moments ago.
Bennett said that in his legal opinion, what occurred between Cain and his client met the legal definition of sexual harassment. But despite repeated questions from Blitzer, he refused to specify what the alleged actions were, and he said his client would not be appearing to shed any further light on the matter.
When Blitzer pointed out Cain’s vehement, blanket denial, Bennett replied, “In all my years of lawyering, I’ve never seen anyone accused of sexual harassment say, ‘I did it.’”
In short, Mr. Bennett is arguing, ’I won’t say what he did, but trust me, he’s guilty of wrongdoing.’ This is ridiculous. To Politico, the public is supposed to take this into account in their assessment of Cain but we can’t even get any sense of what triggered the original complaint, and whether this was much ado about nothing or whether Cain actually did something wrong.
Without the basic details, the public cannot take this into account in their assessment of Cain, or ought not to. Despite all the drama of the week, we know about as much as we did Monday. Two employees made complaints, but we don’t really know much about what the complaints were. Was there some bad behavior on Cain’s part? Were the NRA payments just designed to avoid the cost of litigating the claims? Who knows?
“It’s over, from our perspective,” Bennett said of the controversy.
Yes, this story ought to be over. While this story does not reassure much about Herman Cain and his campaign – i.e., blaming Perry, walking back the accusation, then having Cain seem to walk back the walk back – he’s been wronged by having a politically damaging accusation widely aired but never being able to cross-examine his accuser or refute the charges.
Read the whole story at National Review
Politico publishes 90 stories on Cain Sexual Harassment Allegation
How much is too much? Politico broke the Cain sexual harassment story last Sunday night, launching organization wide coverage filling up a full week of heavy coverage on their scoop.
Since the scandal broke, the political reporting juggernaut has published at least 90 online stories on further developments and public reaction to the story.
I’ve posted the entire list below since the story broke.
90. Accuser attorney: Settlement dated 9/99, Kilgore signed - Nov. 4, 2011 - Story
89. Block wants firings at POLITICO - Nov. 4, 2011 - Story
88. Cain may face more questions - Nov. 4, 2011 - StoryRove swats Cain for accusing Perry - Nov. 4, 2011 - Story
87. Cain accuser reportedly felt ‘work hostility’ - Nov. 4, 2011 - Story
Read more at Washington Times
Rick Perry Endorses Work Visas for Illegal Immigrants (Is Rick Perry Drunk?)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry says America should extend work visas to allow illegal immigrants to move freely between the U.S. and their home countries - but opposes a path to citizenship.
The Republican presidential candidate told CNN’s John King on Thursday that expecting authorities to arrest and deport millions of illegal immigrants isn’t realistic.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org
Now You Can Pay A Doctor $5000 To Change Your Boring Brown Eyes Into Blue
Tired of being like everyone else? Want to brighten the glimmer in your eyes?
Dr. Gregg Homer told KTLA Morning News that he can perform a surgery to turn any person’s brown eyes into blue ones permanently.
Blue eyes are associated with a number of potential benefits such as being more intelligent.
Read the whole story at BusinessInsider
Cain’s campaign raised nearly $1 million in 48 hours
ORIGINAL POST, 11/2/11 8:02 p.m.: In a release emailed to the press tonight, Cain communications director JD Gordon announced that the campaign broke its daily fundraising record for the second consecutive day Tuesday, surpassing Monday’s record $250,000 total. According to the statement, Cain’s campaign has now raised nearly $1 million in the past 48 hours alone.
On the heels of two days of record donations, Herman Cain’s upstart presidential campaign will keep the money ball rolling with a seven-day Iowa fundraising blitz.
The money bomb, launched at midnight last night, has actually been in the works for a while. This week’s record fundraising have actually made the donations kind of unnecessary, but the Cain camp has wisely opted to capitalize on the momentum of the sexual harassment story.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com
Exclusive: Former President of National Restaurant Association has Ties to the Mitt Romney Campaign and Herman Cain Sexual Harassment
Based on a suggestion from a local blogger to look into political donors on the Board of Directors of the National Restaurant Association for potential ties to presidential campaigns, I have attempted to identify anyone privy to inside information about the National Restaurant Association who also has recent ties to any presidential campaign.
According to the October 2011 FEC report for ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT INC. a gentlemen named Steven C. Anderson gave $1,000.00 on July 14, 2011. FEC search function here.
Steven C. Anderson is the same gentlemen who took over the helm as Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association (after a brief intermission) upon Herman Cain’s departure in 1999. As CEO it is highly likely he would have been privy to details of litigation and threats about litigation from the immediately previous tenure of Herman Cain.
There is little more than a coincidence between the support for Mitt Romney and the likelihood that Mr. Anderson knows the background of the sexual harassment threats. Nonetheless, watchers of this scandal endlessly pontificate about whether President Obama or a rival campaign is the driving force behind thebombshell story that appeared in the Politico on Sunday.
Read more at northernvirginialawyer.blogspot.com
Liberal Smears: False Sexual Harassment Against Herman Cain
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican candidate Herman Cain is denying a report claiming he was repeatedly accused of sexual harassment.
In a statement to The Associated Press Sunday night, Cain’s campaign said a media report that Cain was accused of sexual harassment at least twice during his tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association isn’t true and represents unfair attacks.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org
Cain 23 Romney 22 in The Des Moines Sunday Register Poll
Two months before the first votes will be cast in the Republican presidential nominating contest, Herman Cain and Mitt Romney have the strongest support among party activists who plan to participate in the Iowa caucuses, according to a new poll released Saturday evening.
The Iowa Poll in The Des Moines Sunday Register provided the clearest snapshot yet of how candidates stand in the Republican presidential race. Mr. Cain led the survey with 23 percent, and Mr. Romney followed with 22 percent of support among Republican voters, a difference that is statistically insignificant.
Read the whole news at NYTimes
Bet On It, Romney Will Have A ‘Mormon Problem’
Only 4 out of 10 Americans even know Mitt Romney is Mormon, according to the Public Religion Research Institute. And the only group that is catching up to this fact about Romney are white Evangelicals.
This is bad news for Romney.
According to the PRRI, knowledge of Romney’s faith rose among white Evangelicals from 44 percent in July to 53 percent this month. That’s not surprising. Close watchers have noticed that that influential Evangelicals like Mark Driscoll have recently used the occasion of Mitt Romney’s prominence to declare that “Mormonism is a cult.”
Read the whole story at Business Insider
Elizabeth Warren: I Created ‘Occupy Wall Street’
Massachusetts Senate candidate, consumer activist, and Wall Street Enemy #1 Elizabeth Warren took credit for the Occupy Wall Street movement in a new interview with The Daily Beast.
“I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do,” she told Samuel Jacobs. “I support what they do.”
Read the whole story at BusinessInsider
Outspoken Climate Skeptic Admits He Was Wrong About Global Warming (Oh Boy)
UC Berkeley physicist, and longtime climate skeptic, Richard Muller has finally gone on the offensive, publicly admitting he was wrong to doubt global-warming data in a piece for The Wall Street Journal.
Read more here