…That has such people in’t!
Which is my way of wondering who the heck are the 23 47 54 Iowa GOP caucus-goers (as of the 48% 79% 89% reporting mark) who have considered long and hard, and cast their votes for…
…wait for it…
wait…
….wait
None other than Herman Cain!?
Some things passeth all understanding — which is another way of saying that some folks should not be out at night without their keepers. And that the Iowa caucuses are a pitiful excuse for a small “d” democratic process of selecting the next person to have a finger on the button.
Image: William Blake, Richard III and the Ghosts, c. 1806
4tehlulz
The real winner, as we all know, is Buddy Roemer, who beat expectations by getting more than 5 votes.
slag
I feel there’s something deeply wrong with using a William Blake image in a post regarding Herman Cain. But something oddly right about it as well. I’m conflicted.
Villago Delenda Est
Other’s attack ad blitz seriously damaged Huntsman’s chances.
SiubhanDuinne
Blake gave great ghost, didn’t he?
mclaren
46% of the American population believes the 2003 Iraq invasion “was worth it.”
The only parsimonious explanation?
The American people have descended into mass insanity. A sort of “inverse Flynn effect.”
handy
Where are the other no doubt lost and never to be accounted for 976 votes? #GOPConspiracy
joes527
@mclaren:
46% of the American population holds Halliburton stock?
freelancer
@slag:
Why? The man preached nonsense like he could have been spewing forth Francis Dollarhyde monologues:
Southern Beale
From a CNN link a friend just sent me:
That’s some weird demographics.
David in NY
Barney Frank: “I did not think I lived a good enough life to see Newt Gingrich as the Republican nominee.”
Hope he’s not too disappointed. Wonder if he thinks Rick is an adequate substitute.
To repeat myself.
Richard
No Preference 2012!
Warren Terra
I would have preferred more votes for Gingrich or Perry, because they could hurt Romney and the party more, but at least these results give me an excuse to report:
Mnemosyne
@David in NY:
Barney may be disappointed, but I doubt he’s surprised. He and Gingrich were in Congress at the same time.
Brandon
It is pretty clear now that the sheer number or morons in the field is now favoring Romney. He ain’t gonna improve on his 25% from last time, but with the 7 dwarves splitting the remaining 75%, he gets to keep it close and not look like the massive loser that he is.
Richard
The kiddies who haven’t grown out of their Ayn Rand fixation yet.
Veritas
Romney is going to pull this thing out or get a narrow second place finish. But first or second, he’s still essentially won this thing.
Look at what his negative ads did to Newt–just a preview of coming attractions to what BIG, BIG STACKS of anonymous corporate cash for Super PACs will do to Obambi.
jeff
Ron Paul thought.
I actually caught myself thinking “I’d vote for that dude, if only he wouldn’t destroy the country.”
I think a lot of his supporters are thinking “I’ll vote for that dude, so long as he destroys the country.”
The Dangerman
I’d guess that Cain swept the 23 African American Republicans that live in Iowa.
David in NY
@Mnemosyne: Somebody downstairs said Rick just came out for state’s right to ban birth control, so Barney may be fine with it. Too lazy to verify the fact, however.
Gin & Tonic
@Southern Beale: I am mystified by large numbers of people my son’s age supporting Ron Paul. And I mean not just in the Iowa caucuses, but in real life, in many states. Why a 25-year-old educated professional would support a 76-year-old racist lunatic escapes my comprehension.
Brandon
Romney’s been running for Prez for four years, he has UNLIMITED MONEY as Veritas likes to remind everyone, and yet still he cannot convince another single person to vote for him. There’s a problem there and hopefully more people talk about it in the coming days.
Warren Terra
Also note: with 50% reporting, 50,000 Republicans have voted. That’s a number to match 2008, in a year when the Republican energy is supposed to be higher than ever and the fundamentals look good for them. Romney in particular is getting far fewer votes than four years ago. I’m sure the Republicans will work their tails off to beat Obama, eventually, but you really would have predicted higher turnout in their Iowa contest.
The Dangerman
@Veritas:
I thought you said the negative ads weren’t his but rather the PAC’s? Also, you DO realize that there are PAC’s that will be for Obama, who will, as opposed to Gingrich, have the resources to fight back? Just curious.
DanielX
@Brandon: Right. Campaigning most of the time since 2006 and he can’t pull more than 25% of Republican primary voters. He’s still going to look like a loser no matter what.
As for not being let out without keepers, these people shouldn’t be allowed out without nice canvas jackets with sleeves that tie in the back, preferably after a few thousand milligrams of thorazine or something.
jo6pac
Works for me, evrything is on schedule
Richard
Because you demanded it:
Santorum: States Should Have The Right To Outlaw Birth Control
Video at link.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
According to GOS, it’s now Santorum, Romney, Paul.
Citizen Alan
Wait, so Richard III was an orc in Daedric armor? Shakespeare totally left that out of the play! Also, he should be dual-wielding if he wants to fight that many wraiths at once.
Tom Levenson
@Veritas: You know, not to feed the (uninteresting, repetitive and unimaginative) troll, but Bambi wasn’t exactly a feckless fawn for the whole movie.
If you actually recalled the work of art, and not just the faint memory of when you moistened your tidey whiteys at the first appearance of humans, you’d know that Bambi kicks some stag ass to claim his bride, fights off hunting dogs and outruns some venison fressers with a bullet in his hide, finally reaching a miraculously protected land to find his family flourishing.
Which is what I expect the 44th President of the United States to report in his farewell address in early 2017.
Veritas
@The Dangerman:
I know they’re not technically his, just his supporters, but most swing voters don’t know that.
The Super PACs will decide the general–Citizens United was a game changer. The money will POUR in from the Koch Brothers and others.
Veritas
@Tom Levenson:
You must watch Disney cartoons an awful lot.
Gin & Tonic
@Tom Levenson: I just always think of an animated short called “Bambi meets Godzilla”.
WereBear (itouch)
They don’t know.
All they know is “he’s against war and the drug war.” And that’s all they know.
Pavlov's Dog
America is getting a taste of Santorum tonight, and will wake up tomorrow with the feeling of that hard, powerful surge. Santorum see’s his path, he can sneak through Romney and Paul’s backdoor.
The Dangerman
@Veritas:
No, it won’t, and Iowa proves it; PAC money poured into Iowa and Romney is basically tied with a couple basket cases.
Bondirotta
Santorum just pulled into 25% – 23% lead over Mitt. Next we get the Paul surge from college kids.
Damn, Romney may slip to third place with 21% or less.
How humiliating is that?
David in NY
@Tom Levenson: I know it’s tempting, but you’re setting a very bad example.
Tom Levenson
@Gin & Tonic: Which is a classic in its own right, to be sure.
David in NY
@Bondirotta:
That based on any factoid?
Veritas
ROMNEY pulls ahead with 81% in!
I told you to wait. Just watch, he’s going to pull it out.
SiubhanDuinne
This is interesting. I have a colleague who is observing a caucus polling site in Des Moines, and he has just reported on Facebook that, at least at that particular site, the Democratic caucus attendees outnumber the GOP caucus attendees 5-1 according to a guy running registration.
Martin
@Richard:
Well, Ron Paul does look a bit like an orc, so I think you could go either way on that one.
Gin & Tonic
@Tom Levenson: Indeed. I haven’t seen that thing in mumble-mumble years. Still brings a tear to my eye.
JGabriel
Are we moving up here for the second half of the vote count?
79% (!) Reporting:
24,626 24.9% Romney
24,134 24.4% Santorum
21,002 21.2% Paul
.
Bondirotta
And Santorum regales the lead at 88%…..
Story County has not reported. And Iowa State U is there.
Bondirotta
And Santorum regales the lead at 88%…..
Story County has not reported. And Iowa State U is there.
Bootlegger
Democracy is messy, we should be impressed that Cain only has 28 votes (latest Silver/NYT), at least we proved to the Founders and Romans that The Mob can only be dragged so far.
Ricky S. will be, what, the seventh GOP frontrunner. And the second Ricky.
Veritas
Ron Paul will finish third.
This is a victory for Romney even if he comes in second. Santorum isn’t a national candidate.
Bondirotta
And Santorum retakes the lead at 88%…..
Story County has not reported. And Iowa State U is there.
Cassidy
@WereBear (itouch): I think it’s more than that. We have become a very selfish and narcissistic society. Libertarianism speaks to the simplicity of hoarding your shit.
amk
@Veritas: with 87.5%, lil rick still ahead, willard boy.
Martin
@Veritas:
Even if he does, he’s still going to be covered by #2 Santorum.
Brandon
Yawn. The (paid?) Wingnut troll has now become insufferable.
I see no way that Romney wins now, Santorum seems to have a steady margin on him. Hoped Paul would do better though but it looks like he’s fading and cannot keep up. 3rd place in IA would unfortunately probably doom his campaign in NH. But I cannot see him getting much traction thereafter. SC and VA rely heavily on the defense industry and I cannot see Republican voters there taking kindly to his non-interventionist views. He’d be better served focussing on militia bait like black helicopters.
Veritas
Wait for the Omaha suburbs in western IA to report. It’s one of the “coasts” of Iowa and is a stronghold for Mitt.
Santorum doesn’t stand a chance.
pseudonymous in nc
Assuming the 27% crazification factor, and that the majority of the 27% are Republicans and thus magnified in this turnout, it’s actually quite hard to work out who’s getting the Crazy Vote.
JGabriel
@David in NY:
Surplus of southern IA college towns that haven’t reported in yet.
.
Bondirotta
So losing to a freak like Santorum is a victory for Romney??
As if that won’t re-energize Gingrich and Paul in South Carolina?
handy
@Veritas:
What’s wrong Troofie? Feeling nervous?
ruemara
I’m feeling a girlish thrill at my prediction of a Romney/Santorum TCC win with a real close 3rd by Paul coming true. That and slightly scared, since it means I may be understanding this electorate better.
Quarks
@Veritas: Dude.
He’s still at barely 25% after his second campaign in Iowa. Second. He’s been campaigning there since 2006.
This is not something for him to get excited about.
…and as I was typing that the numbers switched again throwing Santorum in the lead.
I don’t think the Iowa caucuses are as important as South Carolina and Florida will be, but this isn’t good news for Romney.
Veritas
@Bondirotta:
Gingrich is finished, he can’t win in NH and you have to win in either IA *OR* NH to get the GOP nomination historically.
Next week Romney romps in NH, gets a surge into SC, then kicks some ass in Florida.
And Obambi is next. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride…….
Valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
I have been wondering about dem attendance! Thanks for this nugget.
smith
Even if Romney somehow pulls this out, he will barely – BARELY – beat a certified religious whackjob in Santorum (a man who wants to put gays in jail and outlaw all birth control), and a racist, paranoid lunatic in Ron Paul who claims to be an “outsider” but has spent his entire career as a government employee.
dmsilev
So, Mitt Romney, with the support of OCEANS OF CORPORATE CASH, has managed to eke out a tie with someone best known for his unfortunate Google problem. In an electorate roughly half the size of the Democratic turnout in 2008.
Feel the Mittmentum!
amk
@Veritas: 5 years of campaigning, millions of dollars and willard is still struggling behind an unpopular ex-senator who go his ass kicked as recently as 2009 by double digits.
The Dangerman
@Bondirotta:
Given New Hampshire will go Romney and South Carolina will go for the non-Romney, perhaps it’s time for a nice nap until Florida?
JGabriel
88% (7/8ths of the way there) of Precincts Reporting:
26,443 24.6% Santorum
26,398 24.5% Romney
22,728 21.1% Paul
.
Veritas
@Quarks:
The Omaha suburbs haven’t reported yet, moron. STRONG territory for Romney.
And yes it’s a victory even if he finishes second–because again Santorum isn’t a national threat. Gingrich and Perry were, and Romney decimated them with his Super PAC ads. He never ran any against Santorum because at the end of the day Santorum is a regional candidate.
Of course if Santorum does start to get stronger nationally Romeny will simply have the Super PACs turning their big guns on Santorum–and reduce him to shreds as they did to Gingrich and Perry.
Romney is still in the catbird’s seat. Every time a candidate tries to fly above him, he calmly has one of the Super PACs clip their wings before the get off the ground.
pseudonymous in nc
@Richard:
FTFY.
Martin
@handy: Indeed. In 2008, Obama won over 37% of 240,000 caucus goers, effectively 89,000 votes. Mittens is at 26,500, and might hit 30,000 tops.
Not feeling the energy there.
Jay C
Not only has Herman Cain surged up to all of 47 votes as of the 79%-in mark, but it looks like Buddy Roemer is making a move: up all the way to 44 votes!
Umm, can someone remind me who Buddy Roemer is, again?
And why he’s polling only slightly worse than “Other”?
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Semi-OT: What a night for GOS to be having database problems.
amk
@Veritas: and still multiple mitts can’t get past the 25% mark with his own party’s base. Can’t wait for the GE, when willard gets his puny ass kicked, if he makes it that far.
Bondirotta
Gingrich is only 11 points behind Romney. He will launch a wave of attack ads and carry South Carolina. We know dirty and crazy wins SoCa every cycle.
Cacti
Mittens is performing right at the 25% support he’s had the whole campaign.
Unless he moves that number, he’s in some deep shit when he gets to the bible belt states.
The Dangerman
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Wonder if they are getting hit with a DOS attack? Does seem to be odd timing.
amk
rethug base – Tired Up! Ready to blow!
SiubhanDuinne
@Valdivia: apparently the guy running the registration desk is a Romney supporter. FWIW. I’ve asked my friend to update as he can, and if there’s anything new I will share on this thread.
pete
Delegates are not strictly based on the voting numbers, am I right? If I understand the process, per Kevin Drum today, voters have to stick around to vote the delegates. I know it sounds weird, and I may have it wrong, but I would expect this kind of convoluted process to benefit Ron Paul, even though he’s already been designated the loser (or one of them). Can anyone explain it, or do I just have it wrong?
pseudonymous in nc
Sticky Ricky is going to have to hire hisself some good ol’ boys in South–by Satan–Carolina to do some dirty tricksing. He can probably drag the Duggar brood down there in their TLC-paid broodbus and preach to the upstate, but whether he gets traction on the coast, or with the state’s military-industrial machine, is another matter.
I still don’t think Mittens can win SC, even with Haley’s endorsement.
handy
@Cacti:
The fact that Romney’s going to SC after what is basically a layover in NH should tell you all you need to know about what he’s thinking, Veritroll’s confidence notwithstanding.
wrb
13 votes separate the leaders??
Yes Virginia, your vote doesn’t count anymore. Don’t bother.
Or vote Nader.
Drum Circles And Weed
Romney. Failed vulture capitalist. Failed governor. And twice-failed presidential candidate.
But to not be able to make the sale in Iowa? Famed businessman “Mitt” Romney can’t make the sale, with a year to prepare and a half-billion in the bank of his own cash? Are you shitting me?
Anya
@Tom Levenson: WIN!
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@The Dangerman: According to the last time I was able to access the site, Kos was reporting that it was technical issues with the database, and not due to anything like the upgrade. He said the volume wasn’t any larger than any other heavy access time. The timing is strange, though.
amk
paultards and glenbots wailing ‘the joos did it’ while their heads explode.
The Dangerman
@pseudonymous in nc:
If Newt is to be believed, he’s going to let loose a torrent of shit on Mitt over some Abortion/Planned Parenthood issue; that will end Mitt’s chance in South Carolina.
Seems to me as if Florida will be the next competitive one and I want to see Mitt’s endorsement of ending Medicare plays there.
Quarks
@Veritas: At the end of the day Santorum is an awful candidate. By any standard. He lacks the resume, the charisma, the money, the you name it.
Which is why Romney should be defeating him by at least 10 points anywhere. Hell, 50 points. It’s not happening.
handy
BREAKING: Actual cnn.com headline: “Iowa results show Santorum, Romney in tight …”
SiubhanDuinne
More than 500 Dems showed up to caucus for Obama in Iowa City. Just unbelievably impressive for an unopposed incumbent.
amk
@Tom Levenson: FTW.
dmsilev
Can we call for a recount? Please?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Tweety just now: “Gingrich needs to win his manhood back from Romney”
Rachel Maddow: /visibly bites inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing/
Geoduck
@Brandon:
That’s just as bad. Who do you think builds those helicopters?
Veritas
The vote will be too split in SC, and Romney will win. That together with his Super PAC blitz will secure a win there.
The candidate with the money and establishment backing wins SC. Always.
dogwood
@Warren Terra:
This.
I don’t make prediction because polling a year before an election is not informative. But I do know that relying on the Citizen’s United decision to free up money for negative ads is not an election strategy. The weak turnout in Iowa should be of great concern to Republicans. Obviously, none of these Republicans is a master at organizing a GOTV effort. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors in this year’s republican primary season. Not much real organizing and campaigning though.
handy
This goes out to Veritroof.
From Ashley Parker at the NYT blog:
pragmatism
Winner will have the smallest share of electorate in history. Poor bob dole held the distinction until today with 26%. So Romney < bob dole even with the stoopidPACs
AA+ Bonds
I know a lot of people here were probably rooting for a Paul win in Iowa, but honestly, I’m relieved – it means the American brownshirts are still largely the same dumb old Christian Coalition gay-haters, not something frightening and new
Valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
Thank you!
PK
@Veritas:
You really are in love with Romney aren’t you? I’ve yet to meet someone who finds Romney anything more than tolerable. But your passion is something else. I had no idea balloon juice held such attraction for love sick teenage girls(or boys).
AA+ Bonds
@The Dangerman:
Sweeeeeeet, I trust Newt’s trollitude
I really want to see a second Gingrich resurgence, that first one was probably the best thing that happened to the Democrats so far in this cycle
MikeJ
@AA+ Bonds:
Only the morons. Which is probably a lot of people looking at the traffic over the last 24 hours.
Veritas
@PK:
I want the candidate that can beat Obambi like a drum. And Romney is it.
smith
Veritas has to be one of the Romney sons, no one else outside of family has ever shown that much enthusiasm for him.
Veritas
ROMNEY pulls ahead again, and remember folks, this is before the Omaha suburbs report in.
handy
@AA+ Bonds:
Paul plays a young person’s game in an old person’s party. That has been his problem all along.
JGabriel
Richard Adams @ The Guardian:
wobblybits
Anyone care to explain the whole “obambi” thing to me? Is it supposed to be an insult?
scav
Mittens is having trouble finding, let alone fighting, his way out of a wet paper bag from what transpired tonight.
MikeJ
@Veritas: I want the candidate that can be mugged via the USPS, and that candidate is Romney.
lamh35
um isn’t it some unspoken rule that wearing your military uniform while campaigning in frowned upon?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@wobblybits: MoDo’s desperate attempt to find a hook in the ’08 primary: Obambi vs the Dominatrix.
Osama bin Laden thought it hilarious.
(A uniformed soldier speaking at a political event? I seem to recall from the last round that this is against the rules, no?)
Moonbatting Average
@wobblybits: Apparently, certain persons think that an Obama supporter is an “Obamus”? That’s all I can figure.
AA+ Bonds
FoxNews now giving Romney the same hilarious thirteen-vote lead
Anya
@smith: I think he’s the birther son.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Update: Romney is ahead of Santorum by 3 votes. Or is it that Santorum is behind Romney?
Update 2: Romney’s now up by 21 votes.
handy
@AA+ Bonds:
See here for details.
Mayur
Just peeking in to laugh at UnrealityCheck:
Bwahahahaha.
Romney’s showing in this is utter fail.
That is all.
Veritas
The Omaha suburbs are begging to report! Hang on for the Romney surge..
WaterGirl
Has anyone else noticed when the troll gets his talking points and, no doubt, uses cut & paste to announce some insider-y information about some particular precinct or part of Iowa? And then shortly thereafter reverts to his usual type of posting? For some reason, I am finding that quite amusing.
pragmatism
@Anya: Tagg? Like the body spray for
douchesmen?PK
@Veritas:
Only a love sick mind will say that. You need an ice cold shower miss/lad
JGabriel
@wobblybits:
I think it’s a Limbaughism. At any rate, yeah, it’s a Republican’s idea of an insult to compare the President to a fawn who grow into a kick-ass protector of his family and the forest he presides over.
Don’t get it myself, but whatever.
.
some guy
Gnut is in it for the long haul. His shitstorm against the Vulture Capitalist in South Carolina will be a thing to behold.
let the feces fly.
pseudonymous in nc
gNoot’s showing abortion as his SC play, but he’s going to run big, dirty and under the radar on the whole “Mexican polygamist Mormon cult” thing.
Just for context: when the SC governor’s race was between a Methodist daughter of Sikhs (Haley) and a Roman Catholic, the Columbia paper ran an “explainer” piece on “what is a Sikh?” and “what is a Roman Catholic?” that felt obliged to spell out that Catholics don’t believe in reincarnation.
With both gNoot and Santorum being Papists, there’s no obvious co-religionist for the Bob Jones brigade, but there’s plenty of room to send unidentified flyers about magic underpants and Warren Jeffs.
pseudonymous in nc
gNoot’s showing abortion as his SC play, but he’s going to run big, dirty and under the radar on the whole “Mexican polygamist Mormon cult” thing.
Just for context: when the SC governor’s race was between a Methodist daughter of Sikhs (Haley) and a Roman Catholic, the Columbia paper ran an “explainer” piece on “what is a Sikh?” and “what is a Roman Catholic?” that felt obliged to spell out that Catholics don’t believe in reincarnation.
With both gNoot and Santorum being Papists, there’s no obvious co-religionist for the Bob Jones brigade, but there’s plenty of room to send unidentified flyers about magic underpants and Warren Jeffs.
handy
@Veritas:
Drunk trolling again, eh, DougJ?
burnspbesq
@Veritas:
It’s a landslide for Not Romney!
MikeJ
@lamh35:
If “unspoken rule” is a euphemism for “federal law”.
nancydarling
@Veritas:
The randy old lady in me wants to connect this with Santorum’s pronouncement regarding the evils of contraception.
AA+ Bonds
Two counties went to Perry, who the fuck are those people
Villago Delenda Est
Veritas/RealityCheck.
Spin Quack.
amk
Even in a very small state and after spending multiple millions, mittens cannot get past his 25% mark. The guy is toast in GE.
Drum Circles And Weed
Jesus, what a fucking failure these clowns are. Can’t believe I stayed up for this shit. Night, all.
suzanne
@Gin & Tonic:
Because their comprehension of civil liberties begins and ends with “CAN I SMOKE WEED?”. And they’re white dudes.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
This is fun: CNN now has Santorum up by 45 votes. Feel the surge.
Splitting Image
Back down to 13 votes with 92% reporting.
I’m going to go with Santorum winning, although it’s academic by this point.
I think Romney has done well enough that a convincing win in New Hampshire could sew it up for him, but if Santorum is able to overperform there and pick up most of Gingrich’s votes in South Carolina, he could become a strong number two.
PK
@wobblybits:
Yes. for right wing retards every where. That is the cleverestest thing one of them came up with and is faithfully repeated by the collective.
handy
@AA+ Bonds:
I’m guessing the ones with much higher-than-state-average liquor sales.
Canuckistani Tom
@lamh35:
I thought publicly campaigning in uniform was against the UCMJ, or does that only apply to officers? (haven’t seen the clip)
Veritas
Newt just said he will never run negative ads.
Now he’s REALLY toast. Because those negative ads won’t stop, and if Santorum gets too threatening, the Super PACs will turn their guns on him and blow him to smithereens.
JGabriel
92% Reporting:
27,830 24.7% Romney
27,817 24.7% Santorum
23,737 21.1% Paul
Dog On Car leading Man On Dog by 13(!) votes. That Dog Is Not The Federal Government’s Responsibility still in third place.
.
Villago Delenda Est
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yeah, it should be against the rules, doesn’t matter if you’re AD or reserve/NG. No uniforms at political events, the color guard is OK though, but definitely not speaking to the crowd.
burnspbesq
Speaking of landslides, Australia 349-4 at tea. Clarke 170 not out.
Bootlegger
Newt 2012, 13.3%
McCain 2008, 13.1%
Veritas
Shorter Newt: “Waaaah! Waaah! Waaaaaaaaaah!”
Cry little girl. It will only get worse for you.
handy
CNN.com shows Santorum opening up a 99-vote lead. Feel the Mittens surge!
smith
@JGabriel:
“Dog on Car leading Man on Dog” is already my quote of the year.
Steve
This is seriously humiliating for Romney. Even if he wins, it is humiliating, which is remarkable. This party is so desperate to nominate a non-Romney that they made Santorum competitive literally out of nowhere.
Veritas
@burnspbesq:
Nobody gives a fuck.
AA+ Bonds
@Bootlegger:
Hey, if he’s got the ground game in SC, Newt may yet win this for the Democrats
Loneoak
This is great news for McCain!
Calouste
@burnspbesq:
Indian attack must be pretty shitty to give Ponting a century. It probably means that he will hang around until the next Ashes, and that those Ashes will be even less of a contest than the last one.
hitchhiker
Whoever wrote the Veritas pie comments is a genius.
Veritas . . . go for blueberry. Your teeth will look better blue than yellow.
Geeno
I want Santorum to win. I predict a Daily Show classic tomorrow if he does.
Anoniminous
93% reporting and Santorum leaps into the lead:
Rick Santorum 24.7%
Mitt Romney 24.6%
Ron Paul 21.2%
Newt Gingrich 13.3%
Rick Perry 10.3%
(by 101 votes)
AA+ Bonds
@Veritas:
Newt Gingrich’s campaign as an entity will not run any negative ads in SC, after all, he can’t control what anyone else does………..
Donald G
Now Santorum has a 115 vote lead over Romney.
VICTORY!!!
Update, now a 129 vote lead.
Villago Delenda Est
@AA+ Bonds:
That’s the problem.
Newt’s ground game is centered around Borders and Waldenbooks.
Bootlegger
@AA+ Bonds: Exactly. Clearly these results don’t put Noot out of his misery.
AA+ Bonds
The question is probably where the Koch money goes in SC and if them and Rove have had the makeup fuck yet
pseudonymous in nc
@burnspbesq: Ugh. Cricinfo headline says “listless”, and India’s ever-declining attention span for Test matches really doesn’t help the game.
MikeJ
@Veritas: Cricket has far more impact on my life than which loser loses in Iowa. None of those people could possibly beat Obama, even if Obama declared now.
Anoniminous
@Steve:
Romney spent millions on attack ads against Gingrich, got NOTHING for the $$$ spent and is seeing the voters move to a complete no-hoper: Santorum, and winning by only a little over 3% to a complete loon: Ron Paul.
WaterGirl
@Canuckistani Tom: Last time this question came up, I seem to recall someone saying that you could leave off some pin or something you were suppose to have, and then technically you wouldn’t be “in uniform”.
Hopefully someone else can offer a better answer.
some guy
Twinkle Eyes is on.
Cheerleaders On Crack everywhere celebrate!
willard
I would say the same about the 28,201 Iowa GOP caucus-goers (as of the 93% reporting mark) who have considered long and hard, and cast their votes for…
Rick Santorum.
Don’t they realize he’s that Rick Santorum
David Koch
Santorum near CLIMAX with 134 vote lead.
Bootlegger
@AA+ Bonds: Good point, if the anti-Romney PACs are going to take their broadside it has to be soon or they will be out of range.
handy
@Villago Delenda Est:
In other words, defunct and bankrupt.
Villago Delenda Est
@Canuckistani Tom:
Applies to all military personnel.
Officers are much more circumspect, in my experience, about billboarding any political preference, even those allowed, like bumper stickers or campaign buttons in civilian clothing.
AA+ Bonds
@Villago Delenda Est:
Yeah, it depends on if someone else with a ton of money and experience pulling Kluxer strings gets behind Gingrich in SC, namely, the Kochs, but I don’t see any evidence of that
Honestly unless they get behind Santorum or someone upsets poll numbers there, Romney may very well take SC, because I really doubt Santorum is in any way equipped for SC
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Steve: watching him grind it out, bearing every humiliation with barely a crack in that JC Penney mannequin facade, is the most interesting thing about Romney, in a frightening kind of way. Nothing can stop the desperate, (metaphorically) sweaty quest to avenge/trump Daddy.
The psyche of George W Bush. The soul of Richard M Nixon. What could possibly go wrong?
AA+ Bonds
@Bootlegger:
It has to be in South Carolina and Florida, they don’t have much choice
JGabriel
@smith: I think of “Man On Dog” and “Dog On Car” as their American Indian names.
.
David Koch
Willard outspent Senator Man-on-Dog 50 to 1 and he’s losing.
Anoniminous
@AA+ Bonds:
Today, Kenny Bingham, South Carolina’s House Majority Leader, announced he is endorsing former House Speaker Gingrich. this is a Big Deal as with the endorsement Bingham can throw some boots-on-the-ground for Gingrich.
amk
@burnspbesq: yup. India is fucked.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Canuckistani Tom: Nope, it applies to everyone.
Donald G
Romney’s narrowed Santorum’s lead to 54 votes.
MITTMENTUM!
AA+ Bonds
@Anoniminous:
Or, that’s exactly what he wanted, and exactly what he got
MikeJ
@David Koch: Where your nightmare ends, Willard begins.
Villago Delenda Est
@WaterGirl:
You can take off the rank insignia, the unit identification badges, and your ribbons, and then you’re just wearing a military jacket, not a “uniform”.
But then those in the know will understand the deal.
And if you’re on AD pulling that shit, you’re in trouble for appearing in an incomplete uniform.
burnspbesq
@Veritas:
A billion people care more about Australia – India than about the Iowa Republican clown show. However, most of those billion people are brown and think you speak English with a bizarre accent, so it’s not surprising that you would try to pretend they don’t exist.
AA+ Bonds
@David Koch:
Arguably, Romney spent to keep down everyone else who spent a lot, allowing the social conservative vote to slide to someone who can’t hope to compete in other states
tc
@Veritas:
Which he followed with “but I reserve the right to tell the truth. If those truths sound negative, that says more about him [Romney] than me” (approximate quote)
Gingrich wants to hurt Romney. He will go negative now.
dance around in your bones
Gawd, watching Michele Bachmann’s closing speech…what a paranoid weirdo she is.
I just don’t know who the people are who support these doofuses. I keep watching the faces in the background and just…wondering.
Veritas
@burnspbesq:
Nobody gives a fuck.
DCLaw1
Note that, although Newt said he wouldn’t run negative ads, he was reserving the right to “tell the truth,” and that if the result was negative, that would be the fault of the opponent for which the truth was unflattering.
This is clearly Newt giving himself permission to go fully negative against Romney. He’s pissed off and humiliated by what Romney did to his surge, and I think he’s petulant and egotistical enough to make a crusade of bringing Romney down, even if Newt can’t win himself.
New Hampshire and South Carolina are going to be interesting, and I think Romney, even if he becomes the eventual candidate, will emerged quite damaged for the general.
DCLaw1
Note that, although Newt said he wouldn’t run negative ads, he was reserving the right to “tell the truth,” and that if the result was negative, that would be the fault of the opponent for which the truth was unflattering.
This is clearly Newt giving himself permission to go fully negative against Romney. He’s pissed off and humiliated by what Romney did to his surge, and I think he’s petulant and egotistical enough to make a crusade of bringing Romney down, even if Newt can’t win himself.
New Hampshire and South Carolina are going to be interesting, and I think Romney, even if he becomes the eventual candidate, will emerge quite damaged for the general.
AA+ Bonds
GO NEWT GO
Bootlegger
@JGabriel: Is Noot Man on Car, or Car on Man?
Origuy
Tom, your title is a quote from The Tempest. Who did you have in mind for Prospero? Romney would be the rightful Duke and Santorum the usurper, I suppose. Bachmann has to be Miranda, so that makes Newt Caliban, leaving Paul to be Ariel.
Speaking of Romney, this painting by George Romney of the shipwreck would have been appropriate.
amk
twitterdom @lopgop
Beating Obama so important for GOP turnout is lower than 2008 even with Ron Paul bussing in half of Narnia.
MikeJ
@burnspbesq:
I can do RP if I have to, but I don’t find merkinese bizarre.
Mike in NC
Yep. Nikki Haley’s endorsement of Willard was worth less than a bucket of warm spit. Or warm Santorum.
some guy
Frothy ahead by 79 votes. how cool is that, with Paul at 21% and Mittens LOSING once again?
JGabriel
95%(!) Precincts Reporting:
28,895 24.6% Santorum
28,841 24.6% Romney
25,008 21.3% Paul
Man On Dog retakes the lead from Dog On Car, folks! This one’s gonna be a pisser. Still in a stolid third place, That Dog Is Not The Federal Government’s Responsibility.
.
Anoniminous
@AA+ Bonds:
Well, at some point Willard-the-Magic-Underwear-Man is going to have to convince people to vote FOR him. Something he hasn’t been able to do in five years.
Gus
I know dick about art, but I can pick out a Blake a hundred miles away.
Tom Levenson
@Origuy: Don’t see Romney as Prospero. More the false Duke sailing, unknowing, into the tempest that Prospero/Obama is preparing for him in the general.
As for the rest of them, there are plenty of comic roles to be filled…
Valdivia
@amk:
ha ha ha! awesome.
hildebrand
@Veritas: Methinks our resident troll is feeling a wee bit testy due to his hero’s less than stellar showing this evening. Best to give him some space. Wouldn’t want the poor dear to blow a gasket.
Or his dog – you know, feeling his inner Santorum and whatnot.
Anya
Does anyone know the Dem caucus results? I just want to know how many idiots listened to Cenk Uygur and the rest of the idiots.
Also, too, why can’t we have Newt’s nastiness directed at Mittens? Why is he wasting time on Paul? Paultards will never vote for him. What gives?
AA+ Bonds
@Anoniminous:
Hey, he makes the general, yeah, he’ll probably lose, but the racist/xenophobe vote will go to him, uneasily, but it’ll happen
The Dangerman
I agree with whomever above posted about being in Uniform and politicking; I thought that was a no-no (of course, he may not be active duty.
I wonder if Paul will endorse or go the Nader route and fuck over the Republican nominee?
pseudonymous in nc
@Mike in NC:
There’s the assumption from national pundits that Haley’s position in the governor’s mansion gives her any influence over the SC GOP, when the state leg. is very much its own corner of the 1850s. There were GOP state legislators calling her a raghead during the 2010 primary.
David Koch
Can you imagine how the corporate media would dump on a Democratic frontrunner it he or she was humiliated by an impoverished has-been-internet-joke.
Lojasmo
Willard tied for first! Bleargh!
/deanfan
amk
wonder how many paulbot cokeheads will essplode tonight.
some guy
@Gus:
an inimitable style and grace informs every print he made
AA+ Bonds
@amk:
They’re all depressed as fuck and I don’t blame them, the measure for me was that Huckabee sat this one out – he doesn’t think any Republican can win
David Koch
Willard will end up receiving fewer votes tonight than he did in 2008 even after throwing $100 million dollars and 4 years of all out campaigning at the voters.
Calouste
So it looks like Romney is going to be beaten by a candidate who polls at 6% nationally (his highest so far), and who was polling in single digits in Iowa just over two weeks ago. Santorum was really lucky to ride the latest non-Romney wave, but really, what does that kind of volatility say about the GOP, the candidates and the voters?
JGabriel
Anya:
Look for that to start happening tomorrow in NH and SC.
.
Anya
I just tuned into MSNBC and Larry O and Ed Schultz were yelling at each other about someone having or not having a manufacturing plan. Anyone know what they were arguing about?
Oh, look, the dimwitted one is now talking. I wonder if he will drop out tonight?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@AA+ Bonds: I keep hearing Huckabee, Christie and Daniels (and a couple of times Jebbie) mentioned as the big dogs who sat this one out. Myself, I think Daniels was the only viable, national Republican on that list. Chritie’s too Yankee for the South, too obnoxious for the indies; Huckabee too much preacher who wants to outlaw dancing and dungarees. Jebbie… pffffft. Even my cynicism stops short of another Bush winning. Thune might have done something; had Pawlenty played Minnesota-nice instead of tuff-guy-wannabe, I think he’d be running away with it already.
TooManyJens
@Anya: This is the only thing I’ve seen so far about the Dem results: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/3497
DCLaw1
The amused way Rachel Maddow said, “Look, it’s Rick Perry!” as his dizzily grinning face appeared on TV just reminded me, once again, of the sideshow hilarity of this Republican field.
Best entertainment I could ask for.
Assuming their nominee loses, of course. Otherwise, the comedy darkens to grim, gnarled tragedy.
JGabriel
@Calouste:
That they are terribly unstable, and unlikely to mount an effective campaign against Obama. Hopefully, they’ll take their primary all the way to a brokered convention.
.
Death Panel Truck
Ed Schultz has a major man crush on Rick Santorum. Sounds like the guy almost wants to endorse him. It’s fucking nauseating.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Anya:
“Re-patrioting corporate profits”. Schultz says it would create jobs, O’D says its just another tax dodge for money made overseas.
Anya
@JGabriel: Let’s hope so.
Karen
I just saw Ron Paul’s speech to his groupies and I have never felt more nauseous in my life. Ron Paul may be disavowing his info about his racist newsletter but with everything else, he’s not misleading anyone about his views. He’s saying how liberal Obama is and how he wants the gold standard. Hell, he’s standing beside his son Rand Paul. He’s telling people exactly how he feels and I don’t understand how so called liberals can be behind him.
I guarantee that if, G-d forbid, Ron Paul becomes the new President, in four years, those same fervent groupies will hate him as much as they hate Obama because RP will disappoint them too. No war but no help for poor people. Let people die who don’t have insurance.
I care about people overseas but it eludes me how these liberals care nothing about the poor in this country. I won’t go as far to say that they want poor people to die but I don’t get why they’re willing to accept Paul even with the racist and Randian attitude of Darwinism but can’t accept that people who still respect Obama may not accept everything he does but we see him as a better choice.
I find it reprehensible that there is this double standard. If someone, like El Tiburon for example was to say, “I hate some of what Ron Paul does but he won’t kill brown children (his words not mine) overseas and will spring the non violent criminals out of jails and that’s what’s the most important thing to me so I will admit that Ron Paul isn’t perfect but his pros outweigh his cons.”
I have ALWAYS said that Obama isn’t perfect and I don’t like everything he does but to me his pros outweigh his cons because he’s better than any GOP that he’s opposing. I am not a blind Obot.
But Kola Noscopy, El Tiburon and the others have not done anything but call Obama a murderer and NEVER EVER say or admit anything bad that Ron Paul has done or believes.
That leads me to believe that either they think everyone who has mentioned all the ANTI Liberal views Ron Paul has (anti Civil Rights Act, pro business, anti government/state’s rights, etc.) are lying, or that they don’t see those views as bad. If that’s how they feel then let them say it. Let them say, “Civil Rights Act is an invasion of privacy and states should have the right to prevent who they want from voting, getting a job, being able to be in the same schools.”
Let them say it because that’s Ron Paul’s view.
MikeJ
@David Koch:
Romney:
30,021 2008
28,938 2012
Death Panel Truck
@Anya: Ed Schultz was saying Santorum has a manufacturing plan; O’Donnell was trying to set him straight.
AA+ Bonds
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yeah but the fact that ALL of them sat it out speaks volumes to me
Shari
I like to think of them as
Dog on Car, Man on Dog and Man on 3rd wife
jheartney
GOS has some analysis that suggests remaining votes will end up giving Willard a < 100 lead. Whatever he ends up with, I think it's a decent showing for him given that he was going to write Iowa off up to a few weeks ago.
Bachmann was supposed to be a favorite daughter candidate given that she was born in the state and hails from next door. Guess that didn't work out.
I think RP will stick in the race for a while despite losing here. His followers aren't the sort who would easily migrate to some other gooper, so they'll nurse some hope of a deadlocked convention that has to turn to RP. Silly people.
hhex65
cripes, this will be on TV 24/7 and now kids across the country will start asking their parents what Santorum is.
DanielX
So…54 votes for the Herminator. This is really causing me to question my faith in the theory of evolution, as there is no possible way those 54 people can be the end results of millions of years of development.
lamh35
Yay Rick Perry coming back to Texas…Oh joy!
AA+ Bonds
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Worth noting is that according to Taibbi, the last time this sort of tax holiday happened, it was followed by a huge surge in overseas holdings by the same people who “repatriated” their cash.
Taibbi argues that now, corporate boards know that they just have to wait around until another “repatriation” holiday comes along and act accordingly – keeping even more money offshore until they’re rewarded for doing so
DCLaw1
@Death Panel Truck: I’m sorry, what were they saying Santorum could be manufactured into? A new flavor of that foamy, light yogurt?
Kola Noscopy
@suzanne:
racist.
Bondirotta
Perry flying to Texas. It is over. His votes will boost Santorum and Gingrich big time in South Carolina!!!
handy
Just in from the Twitterverse:
Texas is a mighty long way from South Carolina, Guv’nuh.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@AA+ Bonds: True. I do think a lot of them have one eye on 2016, which could make the long campaign interesting
@Shari: and Eyebrows-Glued-On
AA+ Bonds
@jheartney:
This never fucking works and I don’t know why people keep claiming this is a factor anymore, even Mitt is up in NH because of the business-conservative opinions of NH Republicans
DanielX
@Shari:
This.
Oooh, I may have to have a cigarette. A whole heaping plate of snarkelicious win.
Calouste
@jheartney:
Paul was running until the convention in 2008. Not that anyone paid attention to him, but he never suspended his campaign.
Anya
@Death Panel Truck: Thanks!
@Death Panel Truck: Ed is an idiot. What’s with his man crush on Santorum?
scav
NYT
Could be read as either part of a race by zombies or something involving the sex lives of same. Rather works either way. Also conjures to my (cold-medicine-addled) mind all the excitement of heat death as well — a side-effect of approaching the wingularity?
amk
so has gg’s head exploded yet ? his pet candidates are flaming out one by one.
eta – probably cole is bummed out too tonight.
Anya
@TooManyJens: Very impressive. I like that our side is organized. Team Obama is very competent.
AA+ Bonds
@Karen:
1) no liberals back Ron Paul
2) you can’t possibly think that the BJ posters you cite actually hold the views they espouse here
Calouste
TPM reports “Perry returning to Texas to ‘assess’ campaign.”
This from the man who earlier today said that he was doing a “50 state campaign” (and than decided to skip the second state of those 50).
Bad news for Romney, that’s 8-10% of the vote that goes to either Santorum or Gingrich.
Splitting Image
Hmmm. The two largest counties with outstanding votes appear to be Story and Dubuque. So far Romney is leading there. Dog on Car may outlast Man on Dog after all.
Oh well. Regardless of what the last 4% does, the big winner is Bob Dole.
And I can just imagine Crazy-Eyes’ concession speech.
Oops. Dubuque just came in. Romney didn’t close as much of the gap as I thought.
Martin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yeah. Depends entirely on how it’s done. We did a repatriation deal in 2004. Basically Microsoft pulled all of their money back to the US and issued a dividend to investors to try and boost the stock. No jobs created. Lawrence is correct.
Now, If they did some kind of offset employer paid payroll taxes for new hires, capital expansion inside the US, etc. then you probably would see jobs. But the GOP would never go for that kind of government telling companies how to run their business or some other bullshit. Ed is right in theory, but not based on any proposal I’ve seen – and certainly not one by Santorum. Done right, it should be a permanent part of the tax policy and replace some of the subsidies we now offer, and also allow states to piggyback off of it for state taxes if they choose. I know CA would do it in a heartbeat.
DCLaw1
The Republicans on Anderson Cooper’s panel look downright glum. Ari Fleischer bitched about Gingrich’s “attack concession speech.” Popcorn.
Martin
@Calouste:
Well, Texas counts twice, so he’s still good.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Anya: I’m kinda bewildered by his insistence that Santorum is “good on the stump”.
SIA
From TPM
Who cares what you think, Grampy McCranky Pants.
Edited to unsuccessfully salvage link. Here ’tis
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/3503
freelancer
The Des Moines Register has streaming news on their front page.
Cliff in NH
@Anya:
Ed was saying that santorum says his manufacturing plan is X I heard him say it at a event (meanwhile lawrence rudely talks over)
lawrence talks more, ed says well, whether you agree with it or not, that’s what santorum has called his manufacturing plan.
and now everyone calls that a man crush
– whatever.
freelancer
96.6%
Santorum
24.6%
29,210
votes
Romney
24.6%
29,173
votes
37 votes.
pseudonymous in nc
@Calouste:
And I’d forgotten about Perry when considering SC, but he probably had about 6% there even mumbling and bumbling his way to the primary. I’ll mention again that Fred Thompson beat Willard in SC back in ’08.
David Koch
Future Ron Paul Newsletter: Israeli Mossad rigged Iowa caucus.
amk
so the other ricky is calling it quits ?
DCLaw1
@SIA: That announcement may be splashy for the “Squirrel!” media, but does nothing to strengthen Romney. An endorsement from the candidate who lost decisively in the last election, and who appealed to the same Republican moderate demo as Romney, is not exactly mana from heaven.
Big stories from tonight: (1) Gingrich prepares to take the gloves off with Romney; and (2) Perry is out, presumably boosting anti-Romneys. Events are making the GOP money boys’ coronation of Romney a lot more complicated than expected.
Cliff in NH
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
well, he convinced a lot of people by personally going out and shaking hands and convincing them in person, it means that.
JGabriel
97% Precincts Reporting:
Man On Dog just barely holding it ahead of Dog On Car, by a mere 37 votes.
.
GregB
@Death Panel Truck:
Shultz is trying to talk up Santorum because he’s much weaker in the general election than Romney.
Divide and conquer with a side of Santorum.
burnspbesq
Clarke gets his 200.
SIA
@DCLaw1: Agreed on all.
sfinny
Well I guess that miracle Bachmann spoke about kinda fizzled. Unless you consider the fact that she got 5% a miracle.
David Koch
Carlos Lehder really bummed Ron Paul won’t be pardoning him.
Anya
@Cliff in NH: I am not basing it on this event since I did not watch the exchange, but Ed has been praising Santorum for a while now.
Bondirotta
I am liking Santorum’s speech a lot. The deep devotion for his wife, the sincere love of God, the humility…. This is awesome.
This whack job is gonna soar. And Romney will be tangling with Newt’s vicious attacks for weeks. So sweet.
Veritas
Mitt Romney has pulled ahead again!
With 98% in.
AA+ Bonds
Here’s your 2008 pre-caucus numbers if anyone wants a quick glance for comparison
And the results
David Koch
Sen Man-on-Dog opens up gaping 44 vote lead.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2012/by_state/IA_Page_0103.html?SITE=AP&SECTION=POLITICS
JGabriel
Remember, people, whenever you talk to a Republican, we’re all TERRIBLY AFRAID of a Rick Santorum candidacy, and how he might be able to BEAT Obama in a Presidential Election! For God’s sake, we hope Santorum isn’t the GOP’s nominee! That would be AWFUL for Democrat’s chances. Just a DISASTER.
Be sure to tell all your Republican relatives and friends, as LOUDLY and OFTEN as possible how much liberals fear Santorum.
Heh.
.
AA+ Bonds
@GregB:
For sure
gene108
Being Santorum probably helped Rick slide past the rough spots that hurt other candidates.
Anoniminous
@DCLaw1:
(1) Gingrich won’t go negative. He’ll “speak the Truth” and if the Truth just happens to be negative for Romney, well, one can’t help that, can one?
(2) Perry and Bachmann were hogging about 15% of the vote. With both of ’em gone Gingrich should get a 10% boost in South Carolina and Florida.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Cliff in NH: I guess I take “on the stump” to refer more to his presence, his speaking abilities, etc. Santorum always strikes me as a snotty-yet-insecure punk who borrowed his father’s suit. But I hate his politics and have felt contempt for him since he first came on my radar some twenty years ago, when he questioned Mark Hatfield’s patriotism for voting against the idiotic balanced budget amendment.
SIA
GO SANTORUM!
Did I actually just type those words?
suzanne
Okay, did Michele Bachmann REALLY need to mention that Marcus went out to buy sunglasses for their dog?
Exqueeze me? A baking powder?
amk
@Veritas: nope willard. with 99%, lil ricky leads you by 20 votes. poor, poor you.
MBL
Man, I hope the GOP doesn’t throw us in that briar patch.
JGabriel
@Veritas:
Link? I’m not seeing that anywhere yet. Not at the Times, not at TPM.
ETA: Nate Silver confirms.
.
DCLaw1
Watching Santorum, I have to say, that weird face of his does not pair well with his unresolved inability to make a speech without stumbling over his words repeatedly. He also speaks like a person with a limited vocabulary, often choosing the wrong words and grammatical structure. Just doesn’t seize and hold attention like Gingrich, or even Paul.
Go Santorum, go!
dance around in your bones
Gawd, Santorum is such a tool. He’s in shock that he is having to make this speech.
Flat tax! Five deductions! Ohhh.. he just invoked the Gawd o Reagan.
eta: He just said ‘this administration created 150 regulations!’ and the crowd sighed like when Vince Vega shot up in Pulp Fiction. (Well, I saw it in NYC).
AA+ Bonds
@dance around in your bones:
Pitching for Koch money
Veritas
@JGabriel:
Look at Politico.
redshirt
@DCLaw1: No telemprompterz.
UNLIMITED TRUTH!
WaterGirl
Well, this is good for Iowa, right? Since Santorum spent time in all 99 counties, and worked the ground game, I think that helps them maintain their position as an early state.
some guy
yeah, but how did you lose in Pennsylvania, Rick?
shared values with working people did you in?
Death Panel Truck
@Cliff in NH: Ed’s been man crushin’ on Santorum for over a week now on his show. His praise does not come across as dividing and conquering. It’s genuine like for the guy. My god, this is Man on Dog we’re talking about. It’s truly nauseating.
tavella
Santorum votes still dribbling out, I see!
Brandon
99% reporting and Frothy has a 5 vote lead!
Warren Terra
Romney is set to beat his 2008 vote totals by about 1%.
Coincidentally, turnout at the 2012 Republican caucus in Iowa is up by about 1%. This even though 2012 is supposed to be a big year for the Republicans, with their base all fired up by the opportunity to oust Obama, while 2008 was never positioned to be a big Republican year.
Death Panel Truck
Five votes between Man on Dog and Dog on Car.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@handy:
I don’t get it. Has DougJ really trolled this blog or is this a long-standing inside joke that I missed?
If, indeed, he comments or has commented as a troll, then he’s an asshole of the highest order and I’ve lost any respect for him. He can FOADIAF if this is true.
Why the fuck would any self-respecting blogger or commenter stir up trouble amongst his like-minded compatriots just for fun?
David Koch
Nate saying Sen ManOnDog up by 5 votes with 99% in.
Cliff in NH
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
well, apparently for voters who vote on religious issues he is convincing.
he blundered in this speech saying walmart isn’t going to ship jobs to china, walmart Is china!(s trade representative in the us)
pseudonymous in nc
Ah, the Mussolini comparison, straight out of the Doughy Pantload opus dopus. Sad.
@suzanne:
Now that she’s heading out the exit door — and possibly not going to have a House district to run in — it’s time for the reality show pitch for “Prayin’ Away The Gay With Marcus And Michele”.
Valdivia
@Death Panel Truck:
this still makes me laugh no end!
DCLaw1
@Veritas: Kind of funny how you still seem to think it matters who formally comes in first, with the closeness of the numbers and the other stories coming out of tonight. Maybe you should mention super PACs again, that’s a reliable ditty.
Anya
Santorum is not a bad speaker. I think the not-Romney 75% will coalesce around him. He hit all the wingnut notes with little populism thrown in.
AA+ Bonds
@pseudonymous in nc:
If Michele prayed the gay away she’d have another problem: the Republicans despise divorced women
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@JGabriel: Just wanted to say I love the Dogs.
MikeJ
@Veritas:
Man on Dog: 29,662
Dog on Car: 29,657
Cliff in NH
@Death Panel Truck:
well, then Ed has to be trolling, cause he would be so easy to beat. lol.
Roger Moore
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The charm of Calvin Coolidge?
Bondirotta
HA HA HA…. How it must burn Romney to be five votes down at 99%…. his speech has been delayed so much nobody will catch it.
Damn, he is going to be sniffy and defensive in the next debate….
Karen
@AA+ Bonds:
I’m not sure what you mean. Are you saying that Kola Noscopy and El Tiburon are not liberals?
I’m definitely confused here. Or maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I’m not saying that Kola Noscopy or El Tiburon said they don’t care about poor people. I’m not saying they’re racists. What I’m saying is that every time someone mentions his attitude about cutting all government aid, cutting all the regulations,etc. they retort that Obama is a murderer because he kills children overseas. Maybe they don’t mean it that way but it implies that they don’t show the same concern for the former as much as the later.
Hill Dweller
Despite a boatload of money, the establishment attacking anyone in his way, several high profile endorsements, and the belligerent fat man from Jersey waddling in to help, Willard can’t soundly beat Rick f’n Santorum. Hilarious.
JGabriel
@Veritas: Thank you, Veritas.
pseudonymous in nc
@Death Panel Truck:
The one bit of ManOnDog’s stump speech that’s interesting in the context of the clown show is the bit about the collapse of social mobility in the US. But it’s incoherent — the countries with greater social mobility have social and economic policies he despises — and surrounded by theocratic crazy like how Hawai’i’s surrounded by ocean.
AA+ Bonds
@Karen:
No, those people pretend to have those opinions for the express purpose of pissing off gullible people on the Internet, there is a term for this, it is a form of recreation
some guy
@Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason:
stop trolling, dougj
TooManyJens
@Roger Moore: The economic expertise of Herbert Hoover?
pseudonymous in nc
@AA+ Bonds: Christopher Guest must look at the Bachmanns and think that if they don’t do a reality show, there’s a film waiting to be made.
suzanne
@pseudonymous in nc: LMAO.
I hereby dub Michele “Sunglasses On Dog”.
The Other Chuck
@suzanne:
And I bet they’re absolutely FABULOUS doggie sunglasses.
Midnight Marauder
@Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason:
I imagine the fun plays a rather large role.
JGabriel
98.6% Reporting:
29,662 24.6% Rick Santorum
29,657 24.6% Mitt Romney
25,926 21.5% Ron Paul
Man On Dog retakes the lead from Dog On Car, by 5. Frickin. Votes.
.
DCLaw1
@Anya: Sure, I wouldn’t say he’s a bad speaker – few professional politicians are – just an uninspiring and limited one. He sounds the right thematic notes for evangelicals, etc., but that’s substantive button-pushing, not style.
Oh, here comes Captain Plastic.
David Koch
Willard’s family look like they’ve been Santormed.
Bondirotta
University kids did not go for Romney…. Linear projection is now for Santorum win of 23 votes….. I am certain Romney thought he was going to pull it off. He has spent three hours waiting for his coronation.
But he lost again!!
SIA
Rachel has done an excellent job moderating the panel tonight.
Drum Circles And Weed
The Republicans are going to wake up tomorrow and find out that what they dragged home last night isn’t nearly so pretty as they thought.
freelancer
you. guys. have. been. like. family. woo.
“country ran by a nice guy who is just over his head”.
The robot candidate is having rhetorical errors.
JGabriel
@Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason:
I don’t know if he’s trolled the blog recently, but DougJ has been here long enough that he was a troll back when John Cole was still a Republican.
.
suzanne
@The Other Chuck: I have to admit that I wondered whether or not it was wise to discuss buying sunglasses for your dog if you were trying to convince people of your heterosexuality.
Veritas
Romney ignoring other candidates, going in for the kill on Obambi in his speech.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire is looming..
AA+ Bonds
@Death Panel Truck:
There is no fuckin way on Earth that Ed Shultz is pro-Santorum, I’m sorry, but he’s playing a long game and you got caught in the mix
Cliff in NH
Mitt lies about Obama saying 8% not the 10% he Did say Live on bloomberg (I saw it live)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4CiAWTRWxMs
Obama Says Unemployment Will Reach 10% This Year (Transcript)
June 16 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said in an interview today with Bloomberg News’s Al Hunt that the U.S. unemployment rate will reach 10 percent this year even as the economy begins to emerge from the recession, and “sensible” new rules are needed to tighten oversight of U.S. markets. He also didn’t rule out a proposal in Congress to tax employer-provided health-insurance benefits as a way to pay for his plan to overhaul health care.
– snip –
some guy
Willard determined to run against The Threat of Socialism, no matter how badly Sweater Vest Fascist just put a deep gash in his right flank.
how many times will Willard have to lose Iowa?
Brandon
25 precincts left to report and I have it on good authority that Santorum and Romney will fight man on man on dog on car for the titular win till the very end.
smith
The robot needs oil – anyone else listening to this speech? Can’t speak a full sentence without pausing and sputtering.
JGabriel
@freelancer:
Turing Test Fail.
.
Hill Dweller
@Drum Circles And Weed: Coyote ugly.
hhex65
@Drum Circles And Weed: bible says: “if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out”
/not meant to be directed at thee, but at they
David Koch
Willard’s wife is a piece of ass.
AA+ Bonds
@JGabriel:
THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE
Anya
God. Romney is so freaking fake. One of these days, someone might mistake him for a mannequin. I really don’t know how can anyone stand his fakeness.
DCLaw1
Romney needs to keep his weird, grown-in-a-vat animatronic sons off stage when he speaks. Looks like a mannequin display.
Anne Laurie
@DanielX:
Think of it as the “None, and I mean NONE, of the Above” vote. Seems like there would be social pressure, in some Iowa communities, for all known registered Republican voters to show up at the caucus in their neighbor’s living room and publicly cast their ballot. But since it’s a secret ballot, it’s easier to check off the name of the guy who’s no longer competing than to get caught writing in Donald Duck or Wonder Wart Hog.
handy
@AA+ Bonds:
Well Big Ed does get confused from time to time, so I don’t think that totally can be ruled out.
AA+ Bonds
@DCLaw1:
But . . . but that’s where Republicans want to live
MikeJ
@Anya:
Kim Cattrall 2016!
SIA
@Anya: He’s very jittery too. I don’t sense any kind of center in him.
Bondirotta
Is Romney crying? His eyes are all puffy and weepy.
AA+ Bonds
@handy:
I just have a verrry hard time believing that Shultz has gone right to left and then back again in what, nine years
JGabriel
@Cliff in NH: It looks like that transcript is from 2009 or 2010.
.
pete
@JGabriel: You’re on fire tonight.
Hill Dweller
@Veritas: Nobody gives a fuck.
Anya
@SIA: I really like her. She did a great job.
freelancer
“Corn counts, right? As an ‘amber wave of grain’. Doesn’t it?”
“…”
I won Iowa, I can afford to shit on the intelligence of farmers now, right?
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@Midnight Marauder:
Sick fun, as far as I’m concerned.
AA+ Bonds
I mean, I guarantee you that your average married Republican looks at the Romney family and thinks YEAH! I’M JUST LIKE THAT GUY, MY FAMILY IS JUST LIKE HIS FAMILY, Republicans have very weird relationships with the images they see in the media IMO, because they’re running out of Real America
Bondirotta
Thank you, Christ – Santorum lead explodes to 34 votes at 99%!!!!!
BlueDWarrior
So if Romney is the Ferengi Candidate, what Fictional Allegory do we have for Santorum?
BlueDWarrior
So if Romney is the Ferengi Candidate, what Fictional Allegory do we have for Santorum?
dance around in your bones
Rachel’s a pistol. Just stellar smart.
Everybody looks puffy-eyed and tired.
Shut up about Santorum, Ed.
amk
Looks lil ricky is gonna kick the plastic ass of mittens.
AA+ Bonds
I’m DougJ, btw
pseudonymous in nc
@David Koch:
I prefer her role in American Dad.
DCLaw1
That may indeed be Romney’s biggest flaw as a candidate, besides the constant, self-serving reversals: when he talks, it’s actually hard to pay attention to what he’s saying, because he is so transparently pretending in his mannerisms and cadence. That, of course, only amplifies his substantive hypocrisy on this issues.
Bad as the economy may be, I can’t see him winning. Americans always seem to elect the more “authentic” candidate. George W. Bush and even the actor Ronald Reagan exuded five times the authenticity (even if faked authenticity) as Romney. And Obama has always seems comfortable in his own identity and presence.
Cliff in NH
@JGabriel:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/06/president-obama-predicts-unemployment-will-hit-10-this-year/
Jun 16, 2009 4:39pm
President Obama Predicts Unemployment Will Hit 10% This Year
Email 199 Smaller Font Text Larger Text | Print
Jake Tapper and Karen Travers report: In an interview with Bloomberg News’ Al Hunt today, President Obama says he thinks unemployment will hit 10% this year.
Will unemployment reach 10%? asks Hunt.
“Yes,” says the president.
Before the end of this year? asks Hunt.
“Yes,” says the president.
“I think that what you’ve seen is that the pace of job loss has slowed,” Mr. Obama says, “and I think that the economy is going to turn around. But as you know, jobs are a lagging indicator. And we’ve got to produce 150,000 jobs every month just to keep pace.”
But, he said, “we will end up seeing recovery shortly.”
In January, the incoming administration predicted in a white paper study that without a huge stimulus package, unemployment would reach just over 8%, and would be contained at under 8% with a stimulus package.
(When asked about this discrepancy, one of the authors of the study – Jared Bernstein, the top economic adviser to Vice President Biden – recently said that “when we made our initial estimates, that was before we had fourth-quarter results on GDP, which we later found out was contracting at an annual rate of 6 percent, far worse than we expected at that time.” The bottom line, Bernstein said, is that without the stimulus the unemployment rate “would have been between 1.5 and 2 points higher than it otherwise will be.”)
TooManyJens
@BlueDWarrior:
Santorum feels unreal enough as he is.
David Koch
8 precincts left to report. ManONDog lead grows to 34 votes.
Roger Moore
@TooManyJens:
The memory of Ronald Reagan and the ethics of Warren Harding. Fortunately, he avoids the body of Howard Taft.
MBL
34 goddamn votes.
Can I go to sleep now?
AA+ Bonds
How can anyone stand to watch MSNBC anyway, they’re all a bunch of bratty ignorant propagandists, you might as well sink that time into understanding the opposition and watch Fox News instead
I mean fuck, Rachel Maddow was on there freaking out about the Glock 7 for Christ’s sakes, all the MSNBC people apparently Google their shows up half an hour before they air
DCLaw1
@pseudonymous in nc: Oh my god, perfect.
Anoniminous
Looking at the result another way:
Romney: 24.6%
Paul: 21.5%
Not-Romney: 53.1%
After five years of campaigning and tens of millions o’ bucks Romney gets fewer votes than he did in 2008: 27% versus 24.6%.
Way to go, Willard!
Roger Moore
@suzanne:
Better than admitting he bought a squeegie for the shower.
MikeJ
@Anoniminous: Five years? He’s been running for decades.
shortstop
@suzanne: And even if he’d have gotten away with that, the pertly sheepish little “I’m busted!” face sealed the deal.
Anya
@MikeJ: Ha!
@SIA: He has weird mannerisms and when he’s talking, he moves in the most peculiar manner.
David Koch
BREAKING NEWS
GOOGLE CALLS IT FOR MAN-ON-DOG
100% IN – MAN-ON-DOG WINS BY 13 VOTES
29,924 to 29,911
WaterGirl
I am not watching TV. So they are both giving speeches before the final results are in? Is this so neither one has to give a concession speech?
Edit: This from Steve Benen:
amk
@Veritas: lik rick kicked your nutz and butt, willard. You can worry about ‘obambi’ later on. Now get some liniment for the butthurt you got today.
TenguPhule
Santorum tied with Mittens.
The FSM gives a bad bad day a happy ending.
Let the GOP murder suicide commence!
The prophet Nostradumbass
@AA+ Bonds:
I’m not interested in getting brain damage, thanks.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MikeJ: I couldn’t believe how long it took somebody to point out that the only reason Romney isn’t a “career politician” is he’s been losing elections for almost twenty years.
handy
@Anoniminous:
And he’s far from a lock in SC.
TenguPhule
The Tribble.
Bondirotta
What are the odds that Mitt just unravels during the next debate? That his advisors keep telling him to losen up until he completely seizes up in a grinning rigor mortis of frustrated ambition?
pseudonymous in nc
@DCLaw1:
It’s a depressing non-alcoholic cocktail that’s one part career pol, one part Mormon door-knocker, one part management consultant and a good few dashes of bitters.
JGabriel
@Bootlegger:
Newt is Wants A Dog, because he did an interview a little while back where he he tried to humanize himself by talking about how much he wants a dog. Haven’t a had chance to use it yet, though.
I guess Bachmann is now Sexually Ambiguous Husband’s Sunglasses On Dog.
.
TooManyJens
@Bondirotta:
Well, you can just rock me to sleep tonight.
MikeJ
The Des Moines register have changed their banner and skyscrapers from Obama to Makers Mark.
Please Republicans: call a cab.
Anoniminous
@MikeJ:
Been running for the GOP presidential nomination for 5 years.
amk
@David Koch: ricky still leading 935 to 916. The fat lady hasn’t sung yet.
http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2012/jan/03/patchwork-vote-iowa/
DCLaw1
@pseudonymous in nc:
Served at a hotel bar.
JGabriel
@David Koch:
Damn, that’s close. So now we know the answer to that age old question, “Who would win a race between Man On Dog and Dog On Car?”
.
burnspbesq
@BlueDWarrior:
Foghorn Leghorn? No, that’s Gingrich.
Ah, I have it: Vir Cotto. Squirrelly, sweaty, and destined to always say the wrong thing.
MikeJ
@Anoniminous: When he ran for gov, when he ran for senate, he was running for president.
He’s a loooooser, and he’s not what he appears to be. I can’t wait for Obama to stomp on him.
fasteddie9318
Why the fuck does MSNBC think that anyone wants to hear anything from the piece of shit that wrote The Party of Death?
pseudonymous in nc
And I think Josh Marshall’s right: Gingrich can go back to peddling his stupid fucking books to the rubes later this year, but before he does that, he really wants to spread Santorum over Willard’s political career.
And Charlie Pierce just tweeted: “Roemer and Cain combined to get 105 votes. Those 105 poor souls just decided the winner of the Iowa caucuses.”
PeakVT
Man-on-Dog over Dog-on-Car isn’t the best outcome for the Dems, but it’s decent. There’s still 8 precincts out, but only 1 in a Romney-leaning county.
shortstop
@JGabriel: Brilliant.
Yutsano
@MikeJ: Soy un perdidor…
(I can haz new thread naow? Kthxbai!)
Hill Dweller
@fasteddie9318: If it means getting Perry, Maddow and Hayes on the same panel, I can deal with it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@pseudonymous in nc:
Heh. Interesting point from NY Mag’s web site
Many Americans Will Google Santorum for the First Time This Week
By Dan Amira
TooManyJens
@burnspbesq: Two problems with that comparison. a) Hey, I liked Vir. b) Vir actually became Emperor.
David Koch
NYTimes says 2 precincts out, with ManONDong still up by 18 votes.
nastybrutishntall
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: ewwwwww.
sfinny
Love the Dog names, although I feel bad for dogs in general. They don’t deserve this.
Mike in NC
Fixed. But I’ve been enjoying all that delicious pie for a while now.
Anoniminous
@handy:
Iowa was neutral territory and he got less votes in ’12 than he did in ’08.
New Hampshire is friendly territory and he’s polling 43%. Although he has to be there and Gingrich can be done campaigning in South Carolina and Florida – hogging all the local news.
South Carolina and Florida are both hostile territory and to win Romney has to do something he’s never done: convince people to vote for him. Plus, considering he came in 4th in SC in 08 after campaigning his ass off, and the fact both Perry and Bachmann are out I think his chances in both states run the gamut from slim to none.
srv
@fasteddie9318: After careful consideration, I think this Republican field should be sent to a Death Panel, forthwith.
handy
Somebody check on Veritroof. I think he just hurled himself over a bridge.
fasteddie9318
@Hill Dweller: Better just the three of them, or surely a big network like NBC could find a con who isn’t also a thoroughly discredited hack?
David Koch
Willard steps in it.
Willard to unveil McCain endorsement tomorrow and the base hates McCain, which will only reinforce their hatred of Willard.
Brandon
Forget the resurrection as a historic event, what more proof does one need for the existence of god than Rick Santorum getting more caucus votes than Mitt Romney. Why, this is almost like the ending to Miracle on 34th St and so close to Christmas too. I bet I know what little preyed to Baby Jesus to give him for Christmas this year. How can we now deny the existence of God? Or is it Dog?
Villago Delenda Est
@burnspbesq:
I must protest.
Vir Cotto was one of the GOOD guys in B5. He’s the guy who arranged for the smuggling of Narns off their conquered homeworld. He’s the one with arranged marriage with a babe who liked to torture Narns for entertainment, and said, “no thanks.”
He’s the guy who gave Mr. Morden the little wave, like this!
MikeJ
@Yutsano: I’ve been watching Annie get yer gun. No Business Like Show Business. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better.
Betty Hutton should have won tonight, except she’s dead and still not bugfuck crazy enough for the GOP.
cthulhu
@Veritas: Hey, did those Omaha suburbs ever report in?
fasteddie9318
@handy: So you mean “check on him” as in, make sure he weighted himself down properly before jumping?
David Koch
Associated Press confirms: ManONDog up by 18 with 2 precincts left to report.
Veritas
@cthulhu:
This race hasn’t been called by any media organization yet.
JGabriel
@Mike in NC: I asked Veritas a straightforward question, and Veritas gave a straightforward answer. It merited a thanks.
.
freelancer
@handy:
Nu-uh, BJ’s own Baghdad Bob is rocking somewhere thinking No, it was the other way around. Huge evidence of Obambi’s weakness.
burnspbesq
Not sure who had a worse day, Romney or the Indian bowlers.
DCLaw1
I’m wondering now whether Romney’s consistent strength in NH may work against him now in the following ways: (1) it will set expectations for him to not only come in first, but by a large margin, so anything less than that will seem like a failure; and (2) the longstanding assumption he will win will shift even more attention and significance on SC, where he is at a disadvantage, with the NH results almost ignored, functionally, as more or less irrelevant (unless the unexpected occurs).
Add to that the likelihood that Gingrich will be snapping at his heels the entire way, and Santorum will be winning increasing portions of the evangelical vote that has been looking for a reason to jettison Romney and will now need to jump ship from Perry and possibly Bachman.
Veritas
Don’t call anything until the two precincts left report in.
JGabriel
@Yutsano:
Get busy with the cheese whiz.
Love that song.
.
DCLaw1
By the way, apropos of nothing, god is Melissa Harris-Perry pretty.
Bondirotta
Keep hoping, Veritas… It makes this just a tad sweeter…
Anoniminous
@MikeJ:
OK, I’ll take your word for it.
Romney was below my radar before 2007.
pseudonymous in nc
Romney’s already running TV ads in primo spots in SC — 60 Minutes, NFL games, evening news, etc. Nothing from other candidates. I expect that’s going to change this week.
Anya
WTF Chris Hayes? Ramish Ponnuru on the “Liberal MSNBC”?
MikeJ
@Anoniminous: Ask the local Massholes. It was obvious he was going for more long, long ago.
cthulhu
@Veritas: Okay, but it looks like all the Omaha suburb counties are at 100% and even the two counties that Romney took in that region, his margin was less than 2%. Not sure why this would be labeled as good for Romney.
Anoniminous
@cthulhu:
They did but now we are waiting for Kansas City suburbs to report.
If Nebraskans can vote in the Iowa caucuses why not Missourians?
Roger Moore
@burnspbesq:
The Indian bowlers. Because they’re going to have to come back tomorrow and face Australia again on the same pitch. Willard gets to go back to somewhere closer to his home turf for the next round. Also, too, it looks as if Romney managed to dismiss two today (Perry and Bachmann) while India only managed to dismiss one (Ponting).
Bondirotta
Twitter is flooded with tweets comparing how much Romney spent per vote versus how much Santa spent. That is one humiliating theme for tomorrow…
amk
@Veritas: willard didn’t even cross his 2008 total. pathetic campaign don’t you think ?
elaine benes
Flipping channels: Megyn at Fox just awkwardly babbling that there are lost/missing votes from one of the last precincts.
Hmmmm. I smell Rove.
WaterGirl
@Anya: What does that mean?
Villago Delenda Est
I think we should just go to bed; the “Iowans Abroad” caucus in Kiev won’t get their results sent in for at least four hours.
Bondirotta
Mitt did not attack Santorum at all. He spent all that money hammering Newt even after Gingrich had already collapsed. And allowed Santorum to glide into victory without any resistance. This is so freaking amusing.
FlipYrWhig
@Death Panel Truck: I’m not _endorsing_ Rick Santorum, mind you, but it’s unquestionably true that anyone who denies that Santorum’s manufacturing policy is better than Obama’s would also defend his raping a child with a drone. Update to follow.
SixStringFanatic
@Veritas: VICTORY MOTHERFUCKERS!!
TooManyJens
@Bondirotta:
This is exactly how Carol Moseley Braun got elected to the Senate. And look how well that turned out …
Joseph Nobles
Karl Rove on Fox: RNC source is saying count in some counties has been undercounted for Romney.
You don’t say.
Hill Dweller
@Joseph Nobles: This is the cherry on top. Romney is already humiliated, even if he wins by a few votes. A disputed vote total just makes more amusing.
Oh, and Newt is going to be out for blood. With the entire party abandoning him, he has nothing to lose at this point. Newt has already forced the Romney campaign to abandon their original plan of staying away from Iowa. That certainly didn’t end well. Let’s see how Willard’s glass jaw holds up with Newt getting nasty.
JGabriel
Jeepers, I don’t believe this. 99.5% reporting:
Man On Dog 29,968
Dog On Car 29,964
Four votes separating them. Four.
.
Brandon
@JGabriel: I think Veritas is going to have a heart attack. The final tally matters little anyway, because the narrative will be set by media stories that are printed tomorrow and deadlines were likely to be hours ago. From the looks of it, it will not be good news for Mittens. The only worse scenario for Romney is if he came in third behind Paul. At this point, it looks like Florida will be his Alamo.
cthulhu
@Brandon: Well, in Veritas’ defense, it still seems mighty likely that, whatever happens, Mitt will sew things up by Super Tuesday. In fact, one wonders if Veritas is some super-secret double-probation Romney concern-troll. Romney need not win in SC or even FL or use his “Super-PAC death blow” ASAP. Talk about badly managing expectations.
Death Panel Truck
@FlipYrWhig: Oh, Jeebus. So glad I missed the GG/ABL/JC dust-up over the weekend.
dead existentialist
@Veritas: See link. This is a map of your western Iowa/suburban districts of Omaha showing Romney’s support. Mouse over the county for final results. (Warning: it has santorum all over it.)
Then check your powers of prognostication.
Death Panel Truck
@AA+ Bonds: I said there was genuine like for the guy. I never said Ed would vote for him. He will, however, contribute to the phony Villager narrative that Santorum is a likable guy who is misunderstood. Ed’s not exactly an Obama fanboi, although he’s been coming around in recent weeks.
AA+ Bonds
@Death Panel Truck:
But that’s an awesome narrative because Santorum’s rise kneecaps Rove/Romney and, if it goes all the way, it is pretty much a Jiminy Cricket star wish for the Democrats for Santorum to be the nominee
JGabriel
Final Score, Dog On Car beats Man On Dog by 8 votes:
Mitt Romney — 30,015 24.6%
Rick Santorum — 30,007 24.5%
Ron Paul — 26,219 21.4%
Newt Gingrich — 16,251 13.3%
Rick Perry — 12,604 10.3%
Michele Bachmann — 6,073 5.0%
Jon Huntsman — 745 0.6%
No Preference — 135 0.1%
Other — 117 0.1%
Herman Cain — 58 0.1%
Buddy Roemer — 31 0.0%
.
Ian
@Southern Beale:
Perfect sense- college students who like pot=Paul. Middle aged parents afraid to teach sex ed to their kids-Santorum. Old people who want a Republican to wishy-washy afraid to touch their medical benis- Romney
Ian
@Veritas:
Wasn’t Pauls victory proof of the Romney win?
Changing goalposts, how do they work?
DanielX
@JGabriel: No, Newt IS a dog. Just ask his ex-wives.
chopper
8 votes! of VICTORY! over santorum.
wow, with momentum like that he’s sure to take SC, a state full of people who hate his guts.