Posts from the Big Government Editorial Panel.

Publius
Romney Rolls to Easy Win in Nevada Caucus
by PubliusLAS VEGAS (AP) – Republican front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night, notching a second straight triumph over a field of presidential rivals suddenly struggling to keep pace.
The former Massachusetts governor held a double-digit lead over his nearest pursuer as the totals mounted in a state where fellow Mormons accounted for roughly a quarter of all caucus-goers.
How Does the Nevada Caucus Work?
by PubliusFrom TheNevadaCaucus.com:
How does the Nevada Caucus work?
As most caucuses work, you do not do a direct vote for a candidate like primaries. The caucus has 3 levels: The precinct, the county convention and finally the state convention. Overall Nevada has 33 Democratic delegates and 34 Republican delegates.
Nevada Precinct Caucuses
This is where any registered voter can participate. [Ed: Only registered Republicans can vote in the Nevada GOP caucus.] The precinct voting is a very informal proceeding. It starts with the voters gathered into preference groups for each candidate. A simple head count is taken for each precinct. It takes a minimum of 15 percent in each precinct for a candidate to be viable. If a candidate’s preference group is not viable, they can choose to caucus with another group (pick another candidate), or be uncommitted. There is time for each viable candidate’s group to try to talk the unviable candidates voters into choosing their candidate. This is way many times a candidate will seem to have not received any votes, though the actually may have originally. Each precinct then elects a representative (delegate) to move on to the county convention.
Komen Continues Funding Planned Parenthood
by PubliusThe following statement has just been released by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation:
DALLAS – February 3, 2012 – We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives. The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair. (more…)
Partisan Trends: Number of Democrats Falls to New Low as More Americans Identify as Republican
by PubliusThe number of Republicans in the country inched up half a percentage point in January, while the number of Democrats, 32.5%, dipped to the lowest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports.
During January, 35.9% of Americans considered themselves Republicans. That’s up from 35.4% in December and the highest number of Republicans measured since December 2010.
Mercenary: Sierra Club Took $26 Million from Gas Industry to Fight Coal Plants
by PubliusThe Sierra Club disclosed Thursday that it received over $26 million from natural gas giant Chesapeake Energy Corp. between 2007 and 2010 to help the group’s campaign against coal-fired power plants.
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said Thursday that he learned of the funding shortly after beginning the job in 2010 and moved to end the arrangement.
Senate Passes STOCK Act, Applies It to Executive Branch
by PubliusThe Senate voted 96 to 3 Thursday to prohibit members of Congress from using non-public information for personal financial gain but beat back a slew of amendments to further limit congressional perks.
The Senate action puts pressure on House Republicans to pass similar legislation to quell allegations of congressional self-dealing at a time when Congress’s approval rating is at an all-time low.
Trump Endorsement: Did I Say Newt? I Meant Romney
by PubliusLAS VEGAS (AP) – In a surprise twist, Donald Trump planned to endorse Mitt Romney—not Newt Gingrich—for the Republican presidential nomination Thursday, three Republican officials told The Associated Press. Gingrich’s camp had been so confident of winning the endorsement that it had leaked that Trump would support the former House speaker.
Trump was set to make the announcement in Las Vegas at the luxury hotel bearing his name, with Romney in attendance. Nevada holds its presidential caucuses on Saturday.
The GOP officials requested anonymity to speak ahead of Trump’s announcement.
Chevy Volt Sales Plummet in January
by PubliusWashington- General Motors extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt had its worst sales month since August, as negative publicity over fire risks hurt vehicles sales in January.
GM sold just 603 Volts – above its sales in January 2011, but far below GM’s best-ever sales month in December, when GM sold 1,529 Volts.
Last week, GM North America President Mark Reuss said sales of the Volt have been hurt by bad publicity.
Report: Trump Set to Endorse Gingrich
by Publius(Reuters) – Businessman and reality TV personality Donald Trump will endorse former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, U.S. media reported on Wednesday.
Sources close to the Gingrich campaign confirmed Trump would endorse Gingrich, according to several television and newspaper reports.
Romney: ‘I’m Not Concerned About the Very Poor, We Have a Safety Net There”
by PubliusLooking ahead, Romney said his campaign is focused squarely on middle-income Americans—to the exclusion of others at either end of the spectrum. But his comments Wednesday about the poor appeared certain to be fodder for critics.
“I’m not concerned about the very poor,” he said on CNN. “We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich. They’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who are struggling.”
Indiana on the Verge of Enacting Right to Work Law
by PubliusINDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Lawmakers put Indiana on the verge of becoming the Rust Belt’s first right-to-work state, passing legislation Wednesday that prohibits labor contracts requiring workers to pay union representation fees.
Hundreds of union members gathered at the Statehouse chanted “Shame on you!” and “See you at the Super Bowl!” as the vote was announced. As the streets of Indianapolis bustled with Super Bowl festivities, protesters planned a downtown rally that they hoped would point a national spotlight on the state.
Romney Romps in Florida
by PubliusTAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Mitt Romney routed Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary Tuesday night, rebounding from the previous week’s defeat with a commanding victory and taking a major step toward the Republican presidential nomination. Despite the one-sided setback, Gingrich vowed to press on.
“Thank you FL!” an exuberant Romney tweeted minutes after the race was called. “While we celebrate this victory, we must not forget what this election is really about: defeating Barack Obama.”
Returns from slightly more than half of Florida’s precincts showed Romney with 47 percent of the vote, to 33 percent for Gingrich.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had 13 percent, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul 7 percent. Neither mounted a substantial effort in the state.
The winner-take-all primary was worth 50 Republican National Convention delegates, by far the most of any primary state so far.
But the bigger prize was precious political momentum in the race to pick an opponent for Democratic President Barack Obama this fall
That belonged to Romney when he captured the New Hampshire primary three weeks ago, then swung stunningly to Gingrich when he countered with a South Carolina upset 11 days later.
Now it was back with the former Massachusetts governor, after a 10-day comeback that marked a change to more aggressive tactics, coupled with an efficient use of an overwhelming financial advantage. (more…)
Sources: Exit Poll Shows Sunshine State Blow-Out For Romney
by PubliusSources within one of the GOP candidates’ campaign tells Big Government that exit polling shows Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) nearing a majority in today’s Florida Primary.
As of 6:00 PM ET the poll results are as follows:
Romney 47%
Gingrich 34%
Santorum 11%
Paul 8%
Polls close in Florida at 8:00 PM ET. Tune in to Breitbart.tv for live continuing coverage of the Florida primary all night with live interviews and reactions from news-makers and the Breitbart News editorial staff.
Unexpected: Home Prices Drop, Consumer Confidence Plunges
by Publius(Reuters) – Home prices fell more steeply than expected in November, and consumer confidence soured in January, highlighting the hurdles still facing the economic recovery.
The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of single-family home prices in 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, a survey showed on Tuesday, a bigger drop than the 0.5 percent economists expected.
The decrease added on to the 0.7 percent decline seen in October from September.







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