The Republican Nomination For President: The Race For The Race For The White House

Bob Vander Plaats, the influential evangelical leader in Iowa, called Michele Bachmann on Saturday and asked her to drop out of the presidential race.

Vander Plaats — who endorsed Rick Santorum on Tuesday — asked her to consider the vice presidential slot instead, according to a source close to the Bachmann campaign.

Adultery Site AshleyMadison.com Endorses Newt Gingrich For President On Billboard

This may be one endorsement Newt Gingrich wishes he didn't receive.

Ashley Madison, a "pro-adultery" website whose slogan is "Life is short. Have an affair," put up a billboard in Bucks County, PA, that "endorses" Newt Gingrich for president. Gingrich has famously admitted to extramarital affairs in the past.

The billboard boasts a large picture of Gingrich, with the text, “Faithful Republican, Unfaithful Husband. Welcome to the AshleyMadison.com Era."

This comes only a few days after Gingrich endorsed a "marriage pledge" that disavows adultery. (Clearly, a "wedding" was not politically urgent enough in the past.)

According to The Morning Call, site founder Noel Biderman explained further in a statement:

Now that Newt is the leading contender in the race for the GOP nomination, we felt compelled to make a point to illustrate how times have changed when a serial divorcee/adulterer is capturing the hearts of the American people.
Gingrich proves that marital fidelity has no bearing on someone's ability to do a job. Rather than judge him, Americans have finally embraced the reality that affairs are commonplace, and perhaps paradoxically, might be an indication of great leadership to come. He is not the first nor last politician who will step outside of their marriage.

The Morning Call also reveals that the company chose the non-politically imminent Pennsylvania to put up the billboard as it's the only state to see traffic fall over the last month.

At first I thought this was a snide underhanded attempt to derail Newt, but given the statement, they might actually mean it. Either way, it's not exactly a great endorsement for Newt.

PPP claims that if Trump were to run as an independent, he would win 19% of the votes vs 31% for Romney and 45% for Obama. 71% of Trump's votes would come from Romney vs 10% from Obama.
If Paul ran as an indy, PPP says he might get 17% vs 37% for Romney and 42% for Obama. If that is true, Paul peels away voters from both the Repub and Dem, but the Repubs would suffer a bit more.

I wonder if he isn't just laying the groundwork for a serious campaign in another four years. I would surely have given him the vote in a primary contest, but this is kind of late in the game, even if we disregard the third party affiliation.

Still waiting for that link to load.

EXETER, N.H. -- Former two-term New Mexico governor and GOP hopeful Gary Johnson is dropping out of the Republican nomination race to run as a Libertarian candidate, NBC News has confirmed.

Johnson's campaign spokesman Joe Hunter cited Johnson's lack of exposure within the Republican party as a main reason for his decision to seek the Libertarian nomination.

Johnson appeared in only two of more than a dozen nationally televised debates and had trouble getting his shoestring campaign off the ground in early states. He will make an official announcement next Wednesday at a press conference in Santa Fe.

"His exclusion from the debates and lack of acknowledgement from the Republican establishment has been very frustrating," Hunter told NBC News. "His commitment since day one to get his message out."

Johnson's decision has been anticipated since he paused his New Hampshire-centric campaign several weeks ago.

His strategy shift notably began when Johnson nearly missed the registration deadline for New Hampshire's primary in October.

Johnson completed the filing with just hours to spare after a campaign staff mistake and a last-minute red-eye flight from Arizona to Manchester.

Several staff members left the campaign shortly afterward and Johnson quickly stopped canvassing in New Hampshire thereafter.

Johnson is known for his support for legalizing marijuana. He also supports abortion rights.

As New Mexico governor, he often worked with the Libertarian party to advance his agenda so this move is not entirely out of his comfort zone.

"Going back to his governor days, he has been comfortable with the Libertarian label," Hunter said.

The Libertarian party national convention will be held in Las Vegas next spring.

Is the GOP Establishment Scared of Ron Paul?

> One prominent Repub there is urging Bachmann (also not polling well) to drop out. She won't right away but she may have to soon, as she needs to run to keep her seat in Congress in November.

Antigay Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, asked by Fox News host Greta Van Susteren how he’d get gay votes, claimed to have “nothing against gays” but trotted out his shopworn argument about the “definition of marriage.”

Santorum, who Tuesday received the endorsement of two influential Iowa antigay activists as the state prepares for its presidential caucus January 3, told Van Susteren last night he’d welcome the votes of LGBT people who agree with him on economic matters, but objected to those who are trying to “change the laws of this country with respect to what the definition of marriage is.”

Van Susteren pressed on, saying, “Can you understand the heartache that many of them have when they hear you speak on something that’s so near and dear to them, and your policies against them, and then at the same time, you want their votes?”

Santorum replied that his stance against marriage equality is a matter of “public policy” and “not a personal attack.” He added, “I believe what’s best for the country is to give children their birthright, which is the best opportunity for them to have a mother and a father.” He did not address how lack of equal marriage rights might hurt children of same-sex couples.