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Progenitor of Akin Rape Theory Was 2007 Romney Surrogate

Dr. Jack Willke, a longtime leader of the antiabortion movement and the leading proponent of the theory that pregnancy resulting from rape is rare, served as a Mitt Romney surrogate in 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Romney has distanced himself from the Missouri Republican Senate nominee, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., for repeating the theory — which conflicts with scientific evidence — that women’s bodies reject pregnancies following rape, which conflicts with scientific evidence. Romney called for Akin to end his campaign. Akin has apologized for using the phrase “legitimate rape” and acknowledged that rape can lead to pregnancy, but he has refused to drop out of the race.

In an October 2007 statement, Romney said, “I am proud to have the support of a man who has meant so much to the pro-life movement in our country,” after Willkes endorsed him for the Republican nomination, the Times reported.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/progenitor-of-akin-rape-theory-was-2007-romney-surrogate-20120821

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Obama Has Significantly Less Money on Hand Than Romney

President Obama has significantly less money on hand than Mitt Romney as he heads into the presidential race’s home stretch, according to documents filed on Monday with the Federal Election Commission. It’s the latest evidence that the president will have to overcome a possibly enormous financial disadvantage to win reelection.

Obama for America, the Obama Victory Fund, and the Democratic National Committee had a combined $124 million on hand to close July, the FEC reports show. The total was roughly $60 million less than the $186 million haul the Romney campaign announced earlier in August, raised with the assistance of the Republican National Committee.

The president’s campaign has spent heavily on ads over the summer in an effort to define the former Massachusetts governor. That effort has been at least somewhat successful, but along with an intensive ground operation in the swing states, it has depleted the campaign’s finances.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/obama-has-significantly-less-money-on-hand-than-romney-20120820

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Is Ryan Really a Fiscal Hawk?

Back in November of 2003, the White House was worried. So were House Republican leaders.

At issue: President George W. Bush had to use all of his political clout to get enough House Republicans to pass his proposed Medicare prescription-drug benefit. Many House Republicans balked at the cost, and some had to be confronted on the floor to get them to vote for the largest entitlement expansion since the Great Society programs of the 1960s. One House member said she hid out, avoiding making contact with House leaders. At one point, the vote was stopped, and the clock and even the C-SPAN cameras were frozen for three hours so GOP leaders could round up the votes. One of the votes for the package was Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Despite a shaky start, the benefit, also called Medicare Part D, proved immensely popular—and expensive. According to a report by the then-Comptroller General David Walker, the benefit contained $8 trillion in unfunded liabilities. (Current estimates have it more in the $7 trillion range.)

The prescription-drug benefit may be the most pertinent example, because so many Republicans balked at its price tag and its expansion of the federal role in health care. (Many Democrats liked the idea of a drug benefit for seniors but did not like the restrictions on the federal government negotiating prices for pharmaceuticals that might have kept the cost of drugs down, as it has for, say, Veterans Affairs.) Any number of notable Republicans bucked the president, including some who ran for president this year, such as Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Rick Santorum, then the junior senator from Pennsylvania.

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via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/is-ryan-really-a-fiscal-hawk–20120815

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Romney, Obama Fates Hinge on Shrinking Sliver of Undecideds

They make up only a sliver of the electorate, roughly 4 to 7 percent. We’re talking 1 million to 2 million people at the most, in just a handful of critical states. They tend to be younger, female, and clueless about politics.

They are the undecided. Better yet, they could be the deciders—the voters who pick the winner of the presidential election in an increasingly polarized environment. Some polls suggest there are fewer fence-sitters in 2012 than in recent elections, yet this race will see record-setting spending of at least $2.5 billion by the campaigns, national parties, and other political groups.  

Much of what the campaigns do is geared toward getting the attention of these indifferent and far-flung individuals. Obama and soon-to-be Republican nominee Mitt Romney will spend nearly all of their time in less than a dozen states that are truly up for grabs. Their television ads are carefully designed to win over the wishy-washy and the disengaged. Watch Obama calmly appealing to undecided voters in one oft-running ad: “Sometimes politics can seem very small. But the choice you face couldn’t be bigger.”

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Is Romney Getting Closer to Picking Running Mate?

Despite saying on Thursday that he hadn’t yet decided on a running mate, Mitt Romney gave a possible hint on Friday that he’s nearing a decision: Three of his top strategists accompanied him on a flight from Aspen, Colo., to Las Vegas.

The trio included Beth Myers, who is leading his vice presidential selection process, as well as former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and senior campaign adviser Kevin Madden. 

Later on Thursday, Romney met with some of the possibilities at a meeting of the Republican Governors Association near Aspen. Among the governors present were New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, both of whom have been the subject of running-mate speculation. 

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via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/is-romney-getting-closer-to-picking-running-mate–20120803

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Cybersecurity Bill Fails to Advance in Senate

After months of wrangling, the Senate on Thursday rejected White House calls and failed to advance sweeping legislation aimed at protecting American computer networks from cyberattacks.

The cloture vote to end debate on the bill was 52-46, short of the 60 votes needed to advance the measure.

“Despite the President’s repeated calls for Congress to act on this legislation, and despite pleas from numerous senior national security officials from this Administration and the Bush Administration, the politics of obstructionism, driven by special interest groups seeking to avoid accountability, prevented Congress from passing legislation to better protect our nation from potentially catastrophic cyber-attacks,” the White House said in a statement, calling the situation a “profound disappointment.”

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via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/cybersecurity-bill-fails-to-advance-in-senate-20120802

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Gingrich ‘Very Comfortable’ Not Speaking at Convention

Newt Gingrich likely won’t speak at the Republican National Convention later this month, but the former GOP presidential candidate doesn’t mind — and he still expect to play a role, by organizing a series of training workshops on “major issues.”

“I’m very comfortable not speaking in the evening convention,” he said on CNN on Wednesday. “We’re working on a project right now to have two hours a day every day for training workshops on major issues, including energy, economic growth, and i think that I’ll probably play the lead role in putting together.”

This is Gingrich’s first expansion on what his role might be at the convention, though he’s said previously he wouldn’t mind having a speaking slot. Spokespeople for both Gingrich and the convention were not aware of any plans to hold workshops, but said it was possible.

Gingrich explained that he’d like to leave more room for “a new generation of Republicans” to rise at this year’s convention, which is part of the reason he’s okay with not speaking.

“We have so many bright young new republicans around the country that I think we really want to make sure that we maximize their appearance in prime time. and show people what a diverse and what a broad party we are,” he said.

Gingrich has supported Mitt Romney, and he defended Romney’s performance overseas on CNN, particulatly his controversial comments on culture.

Romney said in a speech in Jerusalem and at one point appeared to connect Israeli culture with economic progress and gross domestic product, making a comparison to less prosperous areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. A top Palestinian official called the comments racist and Romney has addressed the issue several times since to clarify his remarks.

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Bill Clinton Gets Prime-Time Convention Speech

Former President Bill Clinton is slated to deliver a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention in September, and will place President Obama’s name into nomination, The New York Times reports.

“There isn’t anybody on the planet who has a greater perspective on not just the last four years, but the last two decades, than Bill Clinton,” David Axelrod, a top adviser to the Obama campaign, told The Times. “He can really articulate the choice that is before people.”

Clinton has diverged with Obama at times during the campaign season. He has said that he would recommend temporarily extending all the Bush-era tax cuts (Obama is seeking an extension for income up to $250,000) and also had praise for Mitt Romney’s time as the CEO of Bain Capital, calling his record ‘sterling.’ In each of those cases Clinton walked back those assertions.

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via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-conventions/bill-clinton-gets-prime-time-convention-speech-20120730

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Battleground States Are Seeing More Registered Independents

Battleground States Are Seeing More Registered Independents

More voters in key states such as Colorado, Florida and New Hampshire are registering as independents, according to a study by Bloomberg Businessweek. About 443,000 new voters identified as independent, mostly cutting into the registration numbers for for Democrats. The Democrats lost about 480,000 voters since the 2008 elections, while the Republicans gained about 38,000 in their ranks.

Read more here.

The Justice Department has sued a Texas agency, alleging that the department was violating the civil rights of three female employees who were paid significantly less than their male counterparts. The three women, who worked for disaster recovery division within the now-defunct Texas Department of Rural Affairs, were discriminated against with their pay, the lawsuit claims, based on internal memos that showed the women making between $17,600 to $22,500 less than their male counterparts.

Read more here.

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via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/diversityinbrief/battleground-states-are-seeing-more-registered-independents-20120712

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How Much Time, Money Did the House Spend on Health Care Repeal?

The House spent a total of two full work weeks, or 80 hours, and $50 million on trying to repeal the 2010 health care law, CBS news reports.

And while yesterday’s repeal vote–the 33rd try to undo the law wholly or partly–might seem insane, as many Democratic members put it, there are a few reasons that make the gambit a smart move for the GOP.

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