Newt Gingrich Crawls Back

Despite his poor rankings from the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary, it appears candidate Newt Gingrich has pulled back to the forefront of the race following his victory in the South Carolina Primary.

Gingrich attributes his win to his performance in recent debates. Though attacked by negative ads from other candidates, in subjects including his controversial "open marriage" proposal to his ex-wife, he pulled through with cheers and applause. As he remarked, he did not need to spend sums of money in advertising to win a primary; it was his ideas that counted.

Endorsed by Rick Perry and Sarah Palin, the former Alaskan governor, Gingrich attracted votes from many conservatives and religious citizens. In addition, exit polls indicated that he was backed by those concerned with the economy: 42% who picked Gingrich to the 28% who voted for Romney. It appears economic policy is just as important as the moral and ideological values candidates wish to bring to office. This game-changing victory may well aid Gingrich in Florida, where he next prepares to embark upon a series of campaigns.

Rick Perry Is Out, Backing Newt Gingrich

Deuces!!!!

Governor Rick Perry has recently suspended his campaign for the GOP presidential nominee.  His decision is no surprise in light of the dwindling support he has garnered over the past months. Based on recent polls, Perry was projected to have around 6% of South Carolina's votes, behind Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, and Paul. Although Perry will no longer make an impact on the GOP nomination, he had his fair share of noteworthy moments and controversies while his campaign was still active.  In remembrance of the Texas governor, here are some of Rick Perry's most memorable moments.

Is this the end?

In the past few days, there has been headline after headline about Senior Democrats retiring from their positions. Democratic Sen. Dodd of Connecticut, Democratic Sen. Dorgan of North Dakota, and Colorado's Democratic governor Bill Ritter have all decided against seeking re-election this year. This string of retirements comes as a shock to many people who saw the sweeping victory of the Democrats in the 2008 election as an indication of the party's strength. Now, it seems that the party can't hold up against the pressure. Because of all the Democrats retiring, the GOP is now trying to argue that the electorate "is turning in their favor". No offense, but I think it's a little early to be jumping to conclusions like that.

The GOP are also pretty happy with the way things are turning out as a result of the stimulus package and the economic state of the nation in general. Even though the public approval ratings for the Democrats have been steadily going down, the electorate haven't immediately thrown their support behind the Republicans. I think that the People are waiting to see what happens. They remember what a Republican White House did, and although they aren't quite happy with the new White House, they aren't ready to go back to what we used to have.

Although there are quite a few Democrats retiring this year, there are more Republicans leaving than Democrats. "Democrats noted Wednesday that there are more Republicans than Democrats retiring fromthe Senate and House...Fourteen GOP House members are retiring, compared with 11 Democrats."

One of the major reasons that Democrats are freaking out about all these retirements is that it threatens their 60-seat majority in the Senate. This majority allow the Democrats to overcome Republican filibusters, which we learned can hold up (and eventually kill) a bill before it can be signed into law. It's sad to see how polarized our government is; no wonder nothing ever gets done! In all seriousness, though, I think the number of senior Senators retiring this year is a bit abnormal because most of them would probably be re-elected since they are the incumbents. Still, sometimes you just have to know when to call it quits and let someone else take over.

Not going down without a fight

On Monday, South Carolina GOP leaders attempted to censure SC Senator Lindsey Graham for his support of the 2008 Bailout, as well as other Democratic actions such as a compromise on cap-and-trade legislation. The other GOP members feel the need to question his loyalty to conservative ideals. Graham says, "I've tried to be a conservative that can grow and build this party." He claims, "they have no desire to change-I do." Many of his fellow Party members believe that the censure was unfair because it was so last minute, and the resolutions were not considered by each member accordingly. This is a case of a tyrannical minority, as evidenced in the email shown in the article.

I don't think that it's fair that he be censured for working with the other party to try and get something accomplished. Yes, I understand that his actions were a huge taboo for many GOP, but like Sen. Graham said, he wants to be "a conservative that can grow". Part of growing means accepting change, even when you don't like it. I think the GOP members who are behind the censure are acting like spoiled brats, but that's my own opinion. What do you guys think?

Republican Flip-Flopping

Here's a picture, courtesy of Talking Points Memo, that illustrates how Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's staff is reacting to the Democrat's proposal to sell Medicare insurance to people that are 55-64 years of age.

Now that that crazy old flu thing is fading, we can start worrying about some other things!

No, I'm not being weird, I was just trying to make a sarcastic title about that thing that Zach Agoff mentioned. Anyway, we've got lots more to deal with. Who will replace Souter on the supreme court? According to Obama "a pragmatist, not a radical", well that's not too revealing so let's move on. How about... this! This is pretty great

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/05/04/palin-joins-old-pal-mccain-to-rescue-gop-from-extinction/

Palin is coming back into our lives. I know I missed her. While I guess it would be pretty cruel to keep her out, I still think it's pretty crazy to have the old dynamic duo back to try and clean up a mess that they definitely helped make. And now Palin has joined the "panel of experts". I would be very interested to have a good interview with some of these GOP guys and ask them some questions. Isn't bringing Palin back into the mix just gonna remind people of the embarrasing interviews and Tina Fey-enacted satires? I'll be surprised if this new Council really does anything at all. To me, it seems like the time to join up with the government and try to make some changes, not make more organizations to complicate the climate.