Washington, U.S.A. – After receiving nothing short of a landslide of support from national GOP leaders, congressional candidate Joe Kaufman returned triumphantly from Washington, DC as the apparent frontrunner to unseat Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s 23rd District.

Kaufman garnered enthusiastic support from former Presidential candidates Herman Cain, Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senator Rick Santorum and other Republican leaders.

Kaufman was invited to speak in Washington, along with Senator Marco Rubio, at the kick-off luncheon of the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference, where he received a rousing round of applause.

“I’m delighted to be supporting Joe Kaufman because he is a true patriot,” said Herman Cain. “We have a lot of people in Washington DC who are there for the wrong reasons, and I’m proud to be supporting Joe in his run to unseat Debbie Wasserman Schultz. When we have more people like Joe in Washington, DC, we would truly have a Congress for the people and not a Congress for the politicians. So good luck Joe.”

“I’m very much for Joe Kaufman beating Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  I think it would be good for America,” said Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“I can’t think of any other member of Congress that I would like to see replaced more than Debbie Wasserman Schultz, so I wish Joe the very, very best,” said Senator Rick Santorum .

Others praising and expressing strong support for Kaufman included Grover Norquist who stated, “well I think Debbie Wasserman has been a little bit of a disappointment as a congresswoman and Joe Kaufman would be certainly trading up on issues of importance…”

Kenneth Blackwell stated, “Joe is a champion of liberty and represents what will maintain American exceptionalism and I am proud to be part of this team.”

Dr. Carlos Campos said, “my feeling about Joe Kaufman is that he stands for conservative principles that really allow for freedom to exist in our country and worldwide.”

Dr. Daniel Pipes stated, “I am delighted that Joe is running against DWS and I hope that she gets her pink slip in 2012.”

Foster Friess also commented, stating, “Joe would bring items to the floor that maybe Debbie isn’t too excited about, so I heartily endorse Joe’s efforts…”

Image Courtesy of  Joe Kaufman

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The big Republican names were all at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., last week: Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Sarah Palin. The three-day conference, known as CPAC and hosted by the American Conservative Union, drew about 11,000 participants and 1,300 journalists, who crammed into the Marriott’s ballroom for the big speeches.

While most attention focused on Republican presidential hopefuls and other party luminaries, we opted to take a spin around panels and events devoted to fundraising. They were a window into how money might be raised this election cycle, through new-fangled super PACs and their even more opaque nonprofit sidekicks, as well as through more old-fashioned tactics.

One conference panel — “What’s Up With Campaign Finance?” — featured some of the lawyers who helped win the recent court decisions, such as Citizens United, that cleared the way for the new, more free-wheeling campaign-finance landscape.

At one point, moderator and lawyer Dan Backer predicted the eventual overhaul of the Federal Election Campaign Act of the 1970s, which he crowed “has been brutalized and made Swiss cheese by the courts, thanks to the folks on this panel.”

At another point, panelist Benjamin Barr, a constitutional lawyer, joked about the hoopla over Citizens United and the worry that it would lead to a campaign-finance “apocalypse.” ”If there’s an apocalypse upon us, I suppose we have the four horsemen of the apocalypse right here,” he said, as a few audience members laughed.

Election lawyer Stephen Hoersting, vice-president and co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Competitive Politics, who has recently joined Backer’s firm, told the audience about the various ways for grassroots groups to be involved in the upcoming election. If they want to be directly involved in a campaign, they can start a traditional political action committee, which puts strict limits on how much they can raise or donate.

If activists want to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, they can form a super PAC, as long as they don’t technically coordinate with a candidate — and as long as their donors are willing to be disclosed.

But to have both unlimited and undisclosed donations, Hoersting noted, activists can form a so-called 501(c)4, named for the section of the Internal Revenue Service code on social-welfare nonprofits. They must convince the IRS that their organization’s primary purpose is social welfare, not politics. And they also must not run afoul of the perpetually paralyzed FEC.

“If you absolutely cannot have any of your donors disclosed, there’s still a way to get an organization up off the ground, by say, April, to get money into it and to run ads that will influence…the election, but isn’t technically something that the FEC gets its hooks into,” Hoersting told the audience of about 75 people. “New organizations that don’t want to disclose, there is a way—but you have to run your ads in a certain way.”

Also at the panel, Bradley Smith, a former FEC commissioner and the co-founder and chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics, which advocates eliminating campaign-finance restrictions, told the room that he wasn’t particularly worried about foreign money coming into U.S. campaigns. Foreign contributions are illegal in the U.S.

“If the Colombian Chamber of Commerce wants to spend a little bit of money to run some ads saying, ‘Vote for this guy because he supports the Colombian-American free-trade pact,’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, that sounds good to me,’” Smith said. “I’m just not frightened that some English citizens are going to run some ads in the country, and I’m not really terribly concerned that the Syrians run their ads saying, ‘We need stronger terrorist organizations,’ and that that’s going to be just a real winner for anybody. It doesn’t worry me.”

Hoersting tripped up the audience by playing a kind of super PAC quiz game. In doing so, he was highlighting how similar all the groups sounded. He said he wanted a group—and a name—that actually stood for ideological values.

“Right now we have Winning Our Future,” Hoersting reminded the crowd, some of whom were so devoted to the conservative conference, they traveled from across the country. “Whose PAC is Winning Our Future?”

“Mitt Romney,” a few suggested. “Gingrich,” said others.

“Gingrich, OK,” Hoersting confirmed. “Who’s Restore Our Future?”

“Romney,” a few said, correctly. “Ron Paul,” one man announced, wrongly.

“OK,” Hoersting said, without naming the winner. (To see which candidate the super PAC supports, just look at the photos on their front page.)

One super PAC was unveiled at the conference, Hispanicvote.com. About 40 people crammed into a side room for the kick-off party, which featured a tower of cupcakes and a cash bar that may have been a fundraising tactic. A can of soda ran $5.

American Crossroads, a super PAC that has been referred to as the “shadow” Republican National Committee and hopes to raise $300 million with its nonprofit partner this election cycle, threw a cocktail party for bloggers, where president Steven Law made a joke about the group being a “little super PAC.” Here, the bar was open.

The conference, which meandered through the sprawling lobbies and meeting rooms of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, was no place for so-called RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only. It was a place where Reagan was invoked like a verb, where there was a party called “Reaganpalooza;” where booths sold pink tank tops with the black outline of a pistol and the phrase “I Don’t Dial 911;” where The Great American Tea Party board game asked the question: “Who Says Politics Can’t Be Fun?”

Supporters of Gingrich, Romney and Santorum vied for space, along with a man dressed up in a fat suit and a green T-shirt proclaiming, “Big Govt Gary.” Instead of the Sierra Club, there was the Safari Club, which advocated for accommodating laws for hunters. There was also the Resourceful Earth, which promises to fight “for the right to develop the natural resources that create jobs and prosperity in America.”

Bruce Eberle, wearing a Ronald Reagan lapel button for his panel, “Fundraising Secrets from the Billion $ Man,” said many aspects of persuading donors to give big hadn’t changed post-Citizen United. Fundraisers still have to summon up the nerve to ask for a bit more than is comfortable.

“Donors actually like to be challenged,” he said. “Make them stretch a little bit.”

Eberle has raised money for everyone from Reagan to recent Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain. He described how he might ask a prospective contributor for a big check.

“I would like to ask you, ‘Would you make a gift of $250,000?” Eberle said to his imaginary donor. “And then, this is one of the very hardest things…You make the ask, and then you shut up.”

 by Kim Barker, ProPublica, Feb. 13, 2012, 5:34 p.m.

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Even as presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, readies for the South Carolina primary after soundly winning the New Hampshire primary, both the Obama reelection campaign and the Occupy Wall Street crowd he hopes to capitalize on are sharpening the knives of wealth envy.

As the 2011 year closed, the media remained obsessed with the Occupy Wall Street protests. Not a day went by without video of the protesters camping out, clashing with police, or some soft-peddled story on the merits of the protests. Absent are all the admonitions hurled toward the Tea Party for loudly denouncing the Obama Care Law or the president’s insistence on spending more and more money in debt to somehow magically create a positive economy.

Make no mistake, however, just as the Tea Party galvanized opposition against the policies of the Obama administration from fiscal conservatives, so too, does the president hope to utilize the Occupy movement in a similar fashion in the 2012 presidential election. The contrast between the two movements is stark.

There were hundreds of Tea Party rallies, marches, and protests throughout the country in 2010. Yet, not a single venue was trashed, the streets, avenues, and parks were left in pristine condition, and the only reported police arrest occurred in the beginning of the movement, when three white Union members attacked an African-American male in a wheelchair.

Occupy Wall Street, however, has had rapes, shootings, drug use, assaults, and have pretty much used the parks as their own private bathrooms. There has been violence in every city in which an Occupy movement has occurred, and the only word from the mainstream media has been the talking point of not unfairly assessing the Occupiers through the actions of a few bad apples. The hypocrisy is larger than the increase in the national debt, but is not even the worse problem.

There is no single overwhelming theme or idea from Occupy Wall Street, but the one thing they do seem to hate is what they consider to be income inequality. That they are the 99 percent versus the 1 percent has become the mantra, and the 1 percent are not paying their fair share. There is a call for a more even distribution of income and assets.

The ideas for this range from higher taxes to socialism and to out-right communism. What I find annoying is the idea that there should be income equality to begin with and the underlying idea that the rich have an unfair advantage. The reality, of course, is that life is not fair. We are not all given the same or equal attributes.

Some people are born ugly and others beautiful. Some people are born smart, others have average intelligence, and some people are just born dumb. Some are tall; some are small. And yes, some people are born rich, and some are born poor. It is a fact of life. What is also a fact, however, is that the vast majority of people in the top one percent of income earners were not born with a silver spoon in their mouths.

In the 1920′s, well over 80 percent of the wealth in the country was gained through inheritance. A person was born, and if they hit the cosmic lottery, their parents were a Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, or a Kennedy. In 2010, the percentage of wealth gained through inheritance is two percent. The vast majority of the people in the top income and asset brackets were not born that way. They earned it in their lifetimes.

They did this through opening businesses or obtaining professional degrees, like becoming doctors (doctors make up most of people in the top one percent), or by savvy and patient investment. Any way you cut it, they were not handed their incomes and wealth through some lotto ticket. However, the occupiers, which are more like ‘whiners’, act as if someone handed these millionaires and billionaires their money.

They never stop and ask themselves whether they are willing to do the things, make the sacrifices, risk their capital, their health, and or their marriage in pursuit of a business or profession that leads to wealth. The answer to that question is clearly no. If they were willing to do those things, they would not be camped out in a park, defecating in the street, and bitching about someone else’s money.

Yet, it is obvious from the calls for “income equality” that these people want the money that the one percent have. Thus far, none have given a single logical reason why they deserve it. Sure, the general idea of fairness can make many people sympathize with the protesters. After all, no one feels sorry for a billionaire.

However, what is fair about someone working 70 hours a week to start a business that takes ten years to build, having to shell over their money to a twenty-something or thirty-something year old that does not want to make the same sacrifices?  If you use a sports analogy, why would an NFL team with the worse record deserve a part of the Super Bowl trophy? We all know the answer is a that they do not deserve it. Yet, many are duped into thinking that they have some divine right to the fruits of someone else’s labors.

It is unimportant that the top 1 percent owns upwards of 25 percent of the wealth in the country. They deserve it, and they own it because when you “own” as opposed to being a worker bee, your wealth and income are magnified. The beauty of America is that if you do not like what you earn, you can do things to earn more. Nowhere else in this world is it so easy to move up in both income and class without the right political or social connections.

Can you do that in China, Cuba, Russia, or India? No! In America, you can, and the proof of that is the people who make up the one percent. Go back 10 or 15 years, and the people there today were not there back then.

If you are part of the 99 percent, then the question is, “What have you done today, this week, this month, and this year to increase your wealth? What have you done to affect your income level?” If the answer is nothing, then Herman Cain is right, and you are poor because of yourself. It is no one’s fault, but your own.

As we have seen over the last few years, personal accountability has become a lost value for many in this country, especially for the spoiled children of baby boomers who expected the world to give them a silver spoon- even if it means taking it by force from someone else.

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The ten worst media disasters of 2011 include a politician who lost his place, a country singer who lost his job, and a celebrity who lost his show. The list was published December 14 on the Mr. Media Training Blog, the world’s most visited media training website.

The media spokespersons were selected based on the impact of their gaffes. All ten people reinforced an existing narrative about their lack of preparedness for office, their lack of discipline, or their lack of compassion. Videos of all ten media disasters are available at http://www.mrmediatraining.com/index.php/2011/12/14/the-ten-worst-media-disasters-of-2011/.

10. Hank Williams, Jr. Compares President Obama to Adolf Hitler

In October, country singer Hank Williams, Jr. was fired up during an appearance on Fox and Friends. While reflecting on a golf match between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, Mr. Williams quipped, “It would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.” ESPN promptly dropped his theme song as its Monday Night Football opener.

9. Sarah Palin’s “Blood Libel”

Months before Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in Tucson, Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) released a “crosshairs map,” which placed a target over Ms. Giffords’ congressional district. In the days after the shooting, Ms. Palin was blamed by some journalists for the shooting.

Palin was upset by media stories connecting her to the crime; she was right that no evidence linked the shooter to her map. But she over-reacted, gracelessly blaming the media for committing “blood libel.” That term is most commonly used as an anti-Semitic slur referring to Jews murdering Christians. Her poll numbers immediately plummeted among Independents and Republicans.

8. NPR Fundraiser Ron Schiller Blasts The Tea Party

National Public Radio’s chief fundraiser, Ron Schiller, went to lunch with a couple of men claiming to be Muslim donors in March. It turned out they were Republican activists with a hidden camera. During the meal, Schiller called members of the Tea Party, “seriously racist, racist people.”

That he made those comments was bad enough; that he made them while NPR was already in the midst of a heated debate about its public funding was flabbergasting. His comments led to his immediate resignation and the resignation of NPR’s CEO. The House of Representatives voted to strip NPR of its federal funding; the Senate prevented that from happening – for now.

7. Rupert Murdoch Channels Tony Hayward

While testifying before the British Parliament in July, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch was asked whether he accepted the ultimate responsibility for his company’s phone hacking scandal. Not only did he say “no,” but he delivered his answer without even a hint of humility. By delivering such an indifferent answer, he gave former BP Executive Tony “I’d like my life back” Hayward competition as the world’s most clueless corporate executive.

6. Rick Perry’s “Oops” Moment

During a Republican presidential debate in November, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) confidently declared he would eliminate three government agencies – and promptly forgot what they were. For 47 painful seconds, Mr. Perry tried to recall the third agency he would eliminate. He finally gave up, shrugged his shoulders, and lamely said, “Oops.” That one moment likely sank any remaining chances Mr. Perry had of winning the nomination.

5. President Obama Jokes About Joblessness

With the nation’s unemployment rate above nine percent and millions of Americans desperate to find work, President Obama cracked a joke in June that few people found funny. When a questioner asked a serious question about the nation’s inefficient permitting process, Mr. Obama cracked wise about his two-year-old pledge to create shovel-ready jobs, joking, “Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.” Many people blasted the President for displaying an insensitive political tin ear.

4. Charlie Sheen’s Downward Spiral

There’s little funny about addiction, and Charlie Sheen’s dangerous spiral was sad to watch. Sheen stayed in the news for months, but it was his out-of-touch interview with sycophantic radio host Alex Jones in February that led to his dismissal from his top-rated sitcom, Two and a Half Men.

In that interview, Sheen made vaguely anti-Semitic comments about “Men” creator Chuck Lorre, called Alcoholics Anonymous a “bootleg cult,” and labeled Thomas Jefferson a “pussy.”

3. The Herman Cain Affair

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was caught flat-footed in October when numerous women accused him of sexual harassment (another woman later asserted she had had a long-term affair with him).

Mr. Cain changed his story on an almost-hourly basis, even arguing that a “settlement” meant something different than an “agreement.” Mr. Cain dropped out of the race in December, maintaining his innocence to a public that no longer believed him.

2. (Alleged) Penn State Child Rapist Jerry Sandusky Speaks

When former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky spoke to NBC’s Bob Costas in November about horrific allegations that he raped numerous boys, no one was prepared for his jaw-dropping answer to this direct question: “Are you sexually attracted to young boys?” It took Sandusky 16 seconds to say “no.”

Instead, he began by saying how much he “enjoyed” young people and loves to be around them. Sandusky’s alleged actions, combined with Penn State’s ineffectual response, led to the firings of the University president and legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

1. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter Scandal

Self-immolations rarely come in more spectacular fashion than when Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was caught tweeting naughty photos to strangers in June.

His approach to crisis management was to deny the charges and claim his Twitter account had been hacked; call a reporter a “jackass;” say that although he hadn’t sent the photos, he couldn’t rule out “with certitude” that the erect undies shot was of him; hold a tearful press conference to admit he had actually tweeted the photos himself; watch helplessly as a nude photo of his penis was released; and resign in shame.

After Mr. Weiner resigned, a Republican won his seat, costing Democrats a critical seat in the House of Representatives.

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Herman Cain informed his aides on Tuesday that he was going to reassess his campaign for presidency after yet another woman stepped forward with allegations of improper sexual conduct. Cain said that the accusations created too much of a cloud around his campaign. He has acknowledged the turmoil the allegations have caused and will only stay on schedule for the next few days.

“If a decision is made, different than to plow ahead, you all will be the first to know,” Cain stated. This is the first time since accusations of inappropriate sexual conduct began that Cain has reconsidered being a part of the presidential race. On Tuesday morning, however, a spokesperson for the campaign explicitly said that Cain would not drop out of the race.

Ginger White, a Georgian woman, came forward with allegations of a 13 year extramarital affair with Cain. The potential presidential candidate denied this, just like he had denied previous accusations of sexual harassment from other women. “It was just a friendship relationship,” he claimed.

“That being said, obviously, this is a cause for reassessment.” Cain continued, “With this latest one, we have to do an assessment as to whether or not this is going to create too much of a cloud, in some people’s minds, as to whether or not they would be able to support us going forth.”

Claiming the firestorm caused by this episode has taken a toll on Cain and his family, he told his aides that the people will have to make a decision about whether or not to believe him or the women speaking out against him. Even though the fundraising for his campaign has begun to fall, as the public’s opinion of him has, Cain was still determined to continue with his bid for presidency.

However, in a conference call, he only said he would keep certain, imminent commitments. This includes delivering a speech regarding foreign policy at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Cain did cancel one previously planned event and withdrew from a party where he would meet with journalists, Matt Lauer and Barbara Walters.

Representative Scott Plakon, one of Cain’s Florida campaign chairmen, said the woman accusing him of having an affair should produce more evidence. Plakon said that if Cain did have an affair, Republican voters would be turned off. “That would be very problematic,” Plakon stated. “There’s the affair itself, and then there’s the truthful factor. He’s been so outspoken in these denials.”

Darren Brode / Shutterstock.com

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Herman Cain, the Republican presidential candidate, said he would no longer answer any questions regarding the sexual harassment accusations towards him that deal with events from about ten years ago and he placed blame on the media for the claims that have followed his campaign.

When the reporters asked Cain questions about the harassment allegations during a debate with Newt Gingrich, he became angry and told them the questions they were asking were unethical. The reporters then asked him if he would never answer questions about the accusations, to which he vehemently replied, “You got it.”

The alleged incidents have created much doubt in regards to his candidacy. On Friday, a lawyer for one of his alleged victims said that his client filed a complaint “in good faith” during the 1990s. In the complaint, she accused him of “several instances of sexual harassment” for which she received a financial settlement.

Attorney Joel Bennett believes that Cain is not telling the truth about the incidents, though he has denied them repeatedly. Cain insists he respects women and has never sexually harassed anybody. His campaign said that it wants to “put this issue behind us”.

During the debate in Houston with Gingrich, Cain was given the opportunity to discuss the accusations brought against him and was asked what has surprised him during his run for president. Cain responded, “The nit-pickiness of the media. It is the actions and behavior of the media that have been the biggest surprise.

There are too many people in the media who are downright dishonest. They do a disservice to the American people.” His comments brought the room to their feet. Gingrich cannot gain anything by bringing up the allegations against Cain. He has been divorced three times and is now married to a woman with whom he had an affair during his previous marriage.

Cain blamed the media for letting the alleged incidents come to light. “If I were running this campaign the way the pundits thought I ought to be running this campaign, I would have dropped out in August. When people get on the Cain train, they don’t get off,’’ he said.

A Washington Post-ABC News survey showed that seven in ten Republicans do not care about the reported allegations when it comes down to choosing a presidential candidate. Republican women, however, have said they were less likely to support Cain because of the allegations. The questions about the alleged sexual harassment show no signs of ceasing.

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Despite recent accusations of sexual harassment, Herman Cain is tied at 21% for support with Mitt Romney according to a recent USA/Gallup Poll. Herman Cain addressed the claims made by four women who came forward on Tuesday during a press conference in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Sharon Bialek was the first woman to speak publicly about her confrontation with Mr. Cain during a meeting for a job with the National Restaurant Association more than 10 years ago. On Monday she stated that Herman Cain had sexually harassed her during a car ride.

Cain has denied all accusations and held a press conference in Phoenix on Tuesday to address this issue. A confident Cain stated, “With respect to the most recent accusation, I have never acted inappropriate with anyone, period. I saw Ms. Bailak in that news conference for the very first time.” He said he did not know who the woman was nor did he recognize her name.

Ms Bialek is the fourth woman to put forward accusations about Cain’s inappropriate sexual advancements and the first to speak on record about the alleged assault. Her graphic description of the course of events a decade ago have led many to question both sides of the story. The other woman have not publicly come forward yet about their experience with Cain.

In an effort to put the rumors to an end, Cain said he would take a lie detector test, and that these accusations have not given him any reason to back down from running for president and would not prevent him to continue his campaign. He stated, “I will not allow false accusations to compromise or shed badly on my character and my integrity.”

As for support, Cain said he expects people will be turned off by the accusations and public opinion, but he has said that most of his supporters have expressed that they do not believe the claims. He thinks that rebuilding trust upon candidates will be a challenge but hopes to continue to represent his supporters.

So why exactly would these random women come forward against Cain? Cain addressed this by saying he did not know their motive but thinks it is because they do not want to see him become president. He said they do not have factual proof, that it is a conspiracy theory, and some coincidences indicate that somebody is behind the women coming forward.

As far as his competition goes, Romney could use this opportunity to take the lead. Romney has responded to the claims as “disturbing.” Cain agreed with Romney saying that he thought the accusations were “disturbing” as well.

According to a USA Today poll, 47% of people interviewed believed the accusations were false, while 33% believed they were true. After the press conference on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see if Cain can maintain his thus far unshaken support.

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Rick Perry’s campaign strategy is looking for new ways to continue his campaign by focusing on interaction with voters instead of participating in debates. With disappointing performances in the past few debates, this may be the best alternative to boost his support.

Perry’s communication director, Ray Sullivan, has discussed Perry’s weakness in debating. “It’s not his preferred venue,” Sullivan said. He continued to say, “But we respect the process and intend to participate and are confident that he will have a solid performance.”

Sullivan also said that the debates take away valuable campaign time, especially because candidates only have a meek 30 seconds for a response, which is not as effective as alternative campaign tactics. He said it was important for Perry to concentrate on spending time in the town hall in Iowa with voters since the primaries are only a few months away.

Dana Loesch of the St. Louis Tea Party thought that it would not be wise for Perry to skip the future debates because it is the best opportunity to unleash many of his plans, which the public wants to see. Perry is already playing catch-up because he started late in the debates, making it to the last five out of eight debates.

According to CNN, over 5 million viewers tuned in to watch the debate in Las Vegas sponsored by CNN and YouTube, breaking the record in cable news history. The debates are probably the most important time for the candidates to get their messages out, but it also has brought criticism to some candidates, such as Perry.

These debates have significantly helped and hurt candidates, as seen with Herman Cain, who has risen to the top of the leader board most certainly because of his ease and likeability during the debates. Mitt Romney has also gained a spot in the lead because of his debate techniques and strategies. With Cain on top and Romney not far behind, it’s not too late for Perry to make it back into the top two.

If Perry does not show up at the next debate, it could hurt his image. Ed Rollins, the former campaign manager for Michele Bachmann said, “It makes him look like he’s not ready to be president.”

Perry will be at the next debate held on November 9 at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. It will be sponsored by CNBC, the Michigan Republican Party, and Oakland University. However, it has not be confirmed if Perry will appear at the debates before the primaries in January.

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Another intense GOP debate took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, that aimed at giving the nation another opportunity to get to know the candidates and their positions on certain topics. Throughout the night, finger-pointing was prevalent, especially surrounding the topic of illegal immigration.

As in past debates, illegal immigration was a significant topic of focus, but it was not only directed at Rick Perry.  Instead, every candidate got a chance to voice their opinion.  Perry has faced criticism over his previous policies on immigration, such as putting in place “magnets” that attract illegal immigrants.

During the Las Vegas debate, Perry turned the attention over to Romney’s lack of enforcement on illegal immigration.  He started quite a quarrel when he brought up Romney’s personal record on the subject. He stated, “Mitt, you lose all of your standing, from my perspective, because you hired illegals in your home, and you knew about it for a year.

And the idea that you stand here before us and talk about how you’re strong on immigration is, on its face, the height of hypocrisy.”  Romney responded that his lawn care service had illegal immigrants working for them, but were let go once he found out. Romney also proposed, as president, to set up an E-Verify System in which employers must check if their workers are legal and if their documents are real.

The other candidates have also had responses to immigration that have been voiced over the past few weeks, one being Herman Cain’s “electric fence” idea.  Herman Cain, who is now taking the lead in many polls, was asked about his idea of building an electric fence along the entire border of Mexico.

While receiving a few laughs, he responded, “Allow me to give a serious answer. Yes, I believe we should secure the border for real, and it would be a combination of a fence, technology, as well as possibly boots on the ground, for some of the more dangerous areas.”

Michele Bachmann also agreed with the idea of a fence and was the first candidate to sign a pledge that would build a double-wedged fence across the border. Rick Perry is opposed to building a fence in his home state of Texas, because he has explained that it would take 10-15 years as well as $30 billion.

Bachmann pointed out the long-term solution of spending money to build a fence now, instead of continuing to have an open border, by stating, “Every year, it costs this country $113 billion in the costs that we put out to pay for illegal aliens. It costs the state and local government of that amount $82 billion.”

Ron Paul also responded to border patrol and illegal immigration by saying that the border lacks resources because they are instead being utilized overseas. “We worry more about the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.  We need to bring the guard units home and the units back here, so we can have more personnel on our borders.”

Immigration continues to be a topic of debate as well as an issue the entire country faces, but what the nation thinks about each candidate’s plans is still to come.

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Occupy Wall Street, which has been going strong for well over a month, is beginning to be a new topic of discussion among the GOP presidential hopefuls. During the GOP debate in Las Vegas, the candidates were asked: “How do you explain the Occupy Wall Street movement happening across the country and how does it relate to your movement?”

Herman Cain has voiced his opinions previously about Occupy Wall Street in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself,” he said at the time.

Herman Cain clarified his earlier comments by making it clear that he thought the protesters are directing their anger at the wrong place. He believes that protesters shouldn’t be at Wall Street targeting the banks, but in front of the White House instead. Cain has also spoken out about how he thinks the protests have been a way to distract the public from Obama’s failed policies in hopes to get re-elected.

Congressman Ron Paul differed in his reaction to the movement. “I think Mr. Cain has blamed the victims,” he said. Paul has voiced his empathy for the middle class and blames the banks and the Federal Reserve for the current economic crisis. He also stated, “If you had to give money out, you should have given it to people who were losing their mortgages, not to the banks.”

In the previous debate held at Dartmouth, Newt Gingrich talked about the protesters on Wall Street. He stated, “I think the people who are protesting on Wall Street break into two groups. One is left-wing agitators who would be happy to show up next week on any other topic, and the other is sincere middle-class people who, frankly, are very close to the Tea Party people and actually care.”

He went on to say that the solution to the protests was to fire Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and that the protestors should be directing their anger toward the federal government.

Rick Perry discussed his stance on the regulations in Wall Street, and what he thought about the protesters in an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood. He states, “I hope what they will see is that America’s a fabulous country and it gives them the opportunity to go say your peace, go protest on the street.”

At an appearance in Florida, Mitt Romney talked of the protest by stating, “I think it’s dangerous, this class warfare.” With the protest showing no signs of slowing down any time soon, it seems as if Occupy Wall Street is beginning to be a legitimate topic that the Republican GOP candidates will have to face in the future.

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Herman Cain’s 9/9/9 plan has been favorable among American’s based on his growing support in polls, but certainly could have gone without the criticism from the other GOP candidates in Tuesday’s debate at Dartmouth.

Herman Cain mentioned in the debate hosted by Bloomberg and The Washington Post, that the solution to the economic difficulties facing the country would be solved by his 9/9/9 plan. This would throw out the current tax code and add a 9% flat corporate tax, 9% income tax, and a 9% national sales tax.

With this plan came questions from all sides; fortunately Cain had answers to all of them. Rick Santorum, the former senator of Pennsylvania, laid out his plan during the debate to solve the economic crisis. His plan to boost the economy focused around increases in manufacturing, by reducing the current corporate tax from 35% to 0% for manufacturers and processors.

Santorum implied that his bill for economic growth would pass over Herman Cain’s 9/9/9 plan stating, “The cool thing about my plan as opposed to Herman’s plan and some of the other plans out there is that it will pass and it will pass tomorrow.”

Santorum continued on pointing out the faults in Cain’s plan by asking the audience, “how many people here are for a sales tax in New Hampshire? Raise your hand,” and “How many people believe that we’ll keep the income tax at 9 percent? Anybody?”

Jon Huntsman, another candidate and former governor of Utah, also mentioned his plan to spur economic growth, mentioning a tax reform himself. Huntsman has already added a flat tax in the state of Utah, which has previously shown to boost jobs and make his state a leading one in job creation.

Although familiar with tax reform, Huntsman thought that even though Cain’s 9/9/9 plan was a catchy phrase; it may not work in practice. Huntsman states, “I thought it was a price of a pizza when I first heard it.” He also thought that unlike Cain’s plan, his own plan was actually one that’s “doable, doable, doable. And what I have put forward is a tax program that is doable.”

Herman Cain did not back down without a fight. Cain’s response to both Huntsman and Santorum was that, “9/9/9 will pass and it is not the price of a pizza, because it has been well studied and well developed.” He continued on saying, “It will pass because the American people want it to pass.”

Julianna Goldman of Bloomberg confronted Cain asking, “Bloomberg Government has run the numbers and your plan would have raised no more than 2 trillion dollars and even with that short fall you’d still be slapping a 9% sales tax on food and medicine.” Cain responded, “The problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect.”

Michele Bachmann chimed in with her view on the 9/9/9 plan saying, “When you take the 9/9/9 plan and you turn it upside down you see the devil in the details.” Other economic plans for the country include Rick Perry’s plan to put 1.2$ Americans working in the energy industry and plans to lay out his plan within the next few days. Mitt Romney has his “59” point plan which he discussed in the debate as well.

Hopefully Herman Cain will keep his growing support even after taking hits from many candidates. With his strong responses and standing by his 9/9/9 plan, he could continue to stay in the lead.

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At a speech at the Citadel Military College in South Carolina on October 7, Mitt Romney outlined some of his goals for American foreign policy if he wins the presidential election in 2012. He made two large promises: first, he pledged to reverse cuts in defense spending, and second, he vowed to deploy missiles and ships.

He also assured the audience that he would rebuild the US economy, reverse President Obama’s “massive defense cuts,” and increase the number of soldiers in the military by 100,000. However, Obama has only slowed down the rate of increase in the defense budget, not cut spending. In the current fiscal year, Obama requested $533 billion for defense.

When Obama took office, the budge was $513 billion. In April, he asked the Pentagon to find where it would be feasible to cut spending by $400 billion in the next 12 years. Romney also wants to increase shipbuilding from nine ships per year to 15 ships per year. However, shipbuilding has been decreasing steadily since the 1980s because wars were concentrated on land.

Building military ships has not been a priority of the Pentagon for the last 10 years. The Navy said it needs a minimum of 313 ships. It currently has 284 ships, which is up from the 278 ships it had in 2007. The 24 Navy Aegis ships are equipped with missile defense technologies. Missile defense was another of Romney’s concerns.

Romney said he would like to intensify military presence against the Iranian regime “by ordering the regular presence of aircraft carrier task forces, one in eastern Mediterranean and one in Persian Gulf.” The US currently has full-time military presence in the Persian Gulf, but none in the eastern Mediterranean.

At the Republican candidate debate on October 11, Romney received some hard questions from fellow candidates about his healthcare initiatives and his decision to support the Wall Street bailout of 2008-2009.

Rick Perry asked about the Massachusetts healthcare plan that requires uninsured residents of the states to obtain healthcare. The plan served as a template for Obama’s healthcare plan. Romney claimed that the plan does not raise taxes or cut Medicare; however, he claimed that the Obama plan does.

The next Republican party debates will be on October 18 in Las Vegas. Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum will be attending the debate sponsored by CNN and the Western Republican Leadership Conference.
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Herman Cain has been gaining support within the last several weeks, making him tied with Mitt Romney and right in front of Rick Perry. His dramatic increase in support could be based on his policies, less aggressive debates, a new book, or a combination of the three.

Cain took the victory in the Florida Straw Poll in September, and was in third place behind Perry, who was in second,and Romney in first, according to a Fox News Poll just a few weeks ago. To show just how much things can change week to week, a new CBS poll indicated on October 4, that Herman Cain is currently tied in first place with Romney, with Perry slowly sinking behind.

Some aspects that have set Cain apart thus far in the race are his 9/9/9 plan and his congeniality in debates. The 9/9/9 plan has been presented as a possible solution to creating more economic growth. His plan includes replacing the current tax code and introducing a 9% flat corporate tax, 9% income tax, and a 9% national sales tax.

This plan has been more straightforward compared to some other candidate’s proposals on how to solve the economy and could be a reason for his gaining more support. During the last debate Cain even received applause when the commentator brought up the 9/9/9 plan.

Cain has also hesitated to get involved in many negative battles, such as the ones between Perry and Romney. His focus is placed more on conservative views and a campaign aimed at changing Washington. He has also connected with many Americans making emotional appeals, which has evidently shown to  connect with the public and gain support.

One touching example was his link between Medicare and his battle against cancer in the debate held in Tampa, stating, “I would be dead on Obamacare.” Along with connecting with the audience, his simple humor has helped gain some support. He included in one of the debtates, “I would bring some humor to the White House.”

Herman Cain’s book was also released this past week, which will come with appearances and interviews. His book is titled, “This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House.” Over 3,000 people showed up for his book signing showing their support and he will continute to be making stops throughout the country.

His book has also hit the top 10 on Amazon.com and the book has been sold out in many locations. Cain may have played his cards right and not started off in the spotlight, but he has certainly gained enough popularity to put him in the top three. With the next debate being held on October 11, many will hope that Cain gets as much camera time as Perry and Romney and can stay in the top three.

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Shockingly, I think almost every GOP presidential candidate has now won a straw poll or two. The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza won a Republican straw poll over the weekend in Florida. Herman Cain won 37 percent of the vote on Saturday. Texas governor Rick Perry came in second with 15 percent of the vote and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney had 14 percent of the vote.

Although straw polls actually mean so little, the candidates believe that straw polls are indicators on how they are doing in the race. “This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored,” Cain said in a statement addressing the results.

“I will continue to share my message of ‘common sense solutions’ across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election.”

Perry, who was expected by many to win the straw poll, signaled his belief earlier in the day that it was a “big mistake” for rival candidates like Romney and Bachmann to opt against campaigning for support in the event. Perry said, “I’ve got all my hopes on Florida.”

The loss for Perry is just the latest in a series of bumps for the frontrunner. His performance in last week’s debate has left many Republicans scratching their head. Bachmann has also been plummeting. Although, she did not actively campaign in Florida, her 8^th place finish in the poll is still bad news for the Minnesota Congresswoman.

However, last week Bachmann said she’s “in it for the long haul” despite many people believing that the race will be a match-up between Perry and Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

 
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Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has come under fire by allegations that his campaign tried to conceal the role of one of his campaign staffers.

The issue revolves around Scott Toomey; he served as treasurer of Cain’s political action committee and is one on Cain’s top senior political advisors. It was revealed that Toomey was released from his former position of treasurer at Madison Pride Board because of financial discrepancies — he was released in 2008 after Madison Pride became aware that bills from an event they hosted in 2007 had not been paid.

It was also revealed that Toomey is the leader of a gay pride group in Wisconsin, an issue that is viewed negatively in conservative circles. Cain has previously stated that his belief is that homosexuality is a choice and following through with that choice is to commit a sin.

With Toomey on staff, an openly gay man in an influential position, charges of hypocrisy would run rampant and diminish Cain’s chances of becoming president. Thus, the need to cover up the situation presented itself, and aides were brought on board to ensure a harmonious story was told if anyone asked about Toomey.

These alleged actions only became public knowledge after Kevin Hall, Cain’s former Iowa straw poll coordinator, applied for unemployment benefits and in his testimony revealed the situation. Hall applied for resignation only after Cain’s campaign tried to get him involved in the alleged cover up.

In Hall’s testimony he stated, “That on June 9 his second day on the job, campaign spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael told the staff that Toomey was no longer involved in the campaign in any capacity and they should tell that to anyone who asked.

Hall said he learned weeks later that Toomey was still very much involved as an outside consultant despite what he and others had been telling the media and supporters.” Hall also testified that, “Campaign manager Mark Block told him June 29 the campaign would conceal Toomey’s continued employment by paying his newly-formed consulting firm so his name would not show up in disclosure filings.”

Filings with the Federal Election Commission show Toomey, of Chicago, received his last salary from the campaign on June 13. The Soarin’ Group, which Hall testified was Toomey’s firm, started receiving payments the same month. Hall’s allegations can be partially confirmed by Steve Starkey, a Madison gay rights activist who knew Toomey.

Starkey has been quoted for saying, “It was in the papers that he [Toomey] was the person responsible for that financial mess.” Starkly goes on to say “Toomey moved to Florida and went underground after the scandal. My research later found that Toomey’s promotional company also had been accused in court of not paying vendors.”

Court records show that Toomey filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and reported more than $20,000 in pending legal judgments against him from companies and a credit union.

With the hiring of Toomey, Cain may have taken several missteps that will damage his chances of the republican presidential nomination — not because of Toomey’s questionable financial past or sexual orientation, but because of Cain’s alleged involvement in covering up Toomey’s association with his campaign. During the hearing, a lawyer for Cain’s campaign did not dispute any of the allegations set forth by Hall.

Without dispute, this allowed Judge Bonny Hendricksmeyer to award unemployment benefits to Hall, ruling that Hall only resigned after being approached to participate in the cover up.

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Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota, was victorious over the weekend in Iowa. Winning the coveted Ames straw poll by nearly 5,000 votes, Bachmann immediately went on the defensive as attacks came from all sides of the party. Meanwhile, Bachmann’s main rival-Rick Perry- officially announced his presidential bid. Texas congressman Ron Paul took second place in the poll.

Former George W. Bush advisor Matt Dowd said the results show that the field is wide open in Iowa and elsewhere, especially since Ron Paul — “a pro-drug, apologize-to-Iran guy who could never win the nomination” — finished such a strong second.

“Nobody is in that strong a position, and Paul can’t win. So people are going to have hungry ears to listen to Perry,” said Dowd, who was Bush’s pollster and a top advisor in the 2000 and 2004 campaigns.

Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, was deemed the biggest loser of the day. Pawlenty only garnered 2,293 votes compared to Bachmann’s 9,000 votes.  ”Pawlenty’s going to have a very hard time next week justifying to his contributors how he can carry on,” said Scott Reed, a long time Republican strategist.

In a statement, Pawlenty said that his campaign had “made progress in moving from the back of the pack into a competitive position for the caucuses, but we have a lot more work to do.” He also said he was “just beginning and I’m looking forward to a great campaign.”

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) got 1,657 votes, former Godfathers Pizza CEO Herman Cain got 1,456 votes, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) got 385 votes, former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman got 69 votes and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich) got 35 votes.

Bachmann defended her apparent contradiction of government money on Sunday.  Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Bachmann stated that when she accepted funds from President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus bill that was not in conflict with her vocal criticism of the legislation.

Bachmann repeatedly sought stimulus funds from federal agencies, claiming that the funds would create jobs and improve the economy. However, in public, Bachmann decried the stimulus calling it an act of “overspending” and “fantasy economic” that could hurt jobs. When asked by Fox News’ Chris Wallace about this discrepancy, Bachmann claimed there was no conflict.

“I voted against the stimulus and I was very public against the stimulus. After the stimulus was passed and the money was there, why should my constituents or anyone else be disadvantaged?” Bachmann said.

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It is weird political time that we live in where potential candidates can participate in a debate even though they have not announced their candidacy. Participants in debates answer questions about presidential policy so it is odd to have politicians have well thought out plans in policy before they have even “decided” if they want to run. Of course, that is the way debates are supposed to go. Instead, it is all about attacking the current administration, bragging about how many kids you have (really, no one cares), and not offering any solutions to the problems of the country.

Rep. Michele Bachmann from Minnesota seemed like a person with borderline personality disorder, trying to steal the spotlight every chance she got. Right from the beginning of the debate when she “announced” her candidacy and told stories of 23 foster children (mentioning them three times), Bachmann was clearly attention-seeking. And although I saw through her fake charisma, I fear many people may like her and not listen to her bobble head empty policies.

The debate, held in New Hampshire, was hosted by CNN’s John King. CNN further proves that they are no longer a serious network with some really stupid pointless debate questions. “Coke or Pepsi?” Really, for the possible next leader of our country?? And the dumb politicians cannot even answer these types of questions. When Bachmann was asked “Elvis or Johnny Cash,” she replied “Both.” Rick Santorum answered “Neither” when asked if he preferred Leno or Conan.  Really, these are simple questions and if you can follow these instructions, how the hell are you going to run a country?

Bachmann emerged as the scary candidate. She views the world in very black and white terms. She is so conservative that George W.  Bush looks like a pinko communist in comparison.  Mitt Romney, the supposed frontrunner, was boring and bland. Romney announced during the debate that he wants to bring the troops home and that added lots of conditions on that plan. “It’s time for us to bring our troops home. As soon as we possibly can, consistent with the, uh … the word that comes from our generals that we can hand the country over to the Taliban military in a way that they are able to defend themselves … excuse me, it should be the Afghan military to defend themselves from the Taliban.” Wow, way to take a stance dude.

The other candidates were uninteresting and boring. Herman Cain is crazy, but we already knew that. Tim Pawlenty is …..Oh wait, I fell asleep. And that is really about it. I don’t even remember any one else that was there.

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The underwhelming field of the GOP possible presidential candidate keeps getting, well, more underwhelming.  Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s pizza, announced his presidential bid last week. On Monday, Cain told Hotline on Call that “compromise is killing the country.”

Cain, long suspected to launch a presidential campaign, made the bid official over the weekend in Atlanta.  “The past several months I have been able to meet with people across this country,” says Cain in a message posted on his website. “One thing is clear: America craves for real solutions to the problems we face. That’s why I’m running for President of the United States.”

Cain has some very conservative views.  He believes in a strong national defense, opposes abortion, and backs a national sales tax over the income tax. Cain has said that President Barack Obama “threw Israel under the bus” because Obama suggested that Israel return to pre-1967 borders.

Cain, always outspoken in his opinions, was no different to Hotline.  “Compromise is killing this country,” he told Hotline on Call. “Compromise is killing this economy.”

Cain suggested that the way to achieve legislative success is not by meeting in the middle, but rather by taking “solutions to the people so they can put the pressure on their members of Congress.”

During this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Cain stated that “stupid people are ruining America.”

“It’s sad,” he said at the event. “The objective of the liberals is to destroy this country. The objective of the liberals is to make America mediocre.”

Cain made headlines at the first GOP presidential primary debate earlier this month.  Although Cain is not leading the wide open field for the Republican, the race is still anyone’s game.  Cain won a straw poll conducted at a national Tea Party summit held in Arizona back in February.

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No major GOP candidate has officially announced any intention to run for the presidential nomination in 2012.  However, the field of speculation continues to grow.  It is so wide open that this has grown into a series of articles instead of just one on the topic.  In the first article, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, and Newt Gingrich were all featured.  In the second part, we focused on Gov. Haley Barbour, Gov. Mitch Daniels, and Jon Huntsman.  Article three was about Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Donald Trump.  The last installment of this series examined Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Rudy Giuliani.  And now we have the relative unknowns that may be jumping in the race or are have already made the jump.

One such unknown is Buddy Roemer, former governor of Louisiana and a former congressman.  Roemer served as governor from 1988-1992.  He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party in 1991.  In March of 2011, he announced that he had launched an exploratory committee for a potential run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. And he promised to be like Mike Gravel was in the Democratic primary last time—he will be the one making everyone else uncomfortable and will likely be ignored by mainstream media and shunned by his own party.  Roemer has stressed that campaign finance reform would be a key issue in his campaign. Pledging to limit campaign contributions to $100 per individual, Mr. Roemer promises to ask big money raisers Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman a single question at the presidential debates. (He’s still waiting for the invitation to the opening debate on May 2.)  “I’m going to ask, ‘Where did you get your money?’” he said.

We also have Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.  Cain has suggested he might run and if he does, he will likely be entertaining.  He is known for his inflammatory remarks, but may just be the most honest of all potential contenders.  He spent 2010 addressing 40 Tea Party rallies and visited the early presidential states.  He set up an exploratory committee in January when he announced his potential presidential bid. Cain told the Union Leader in New Hampshire that if he does follow through in mounting a campaign, he’ll rely on his business credentials and radio talk show host experience to advance his ambitions.

Last but not least is Jimmy McMillan.  You may remember McMillan from the New York State governor’s race.  He ran on the Rent is Too Damn High Party and became an internet sensation.  McMillan was a registered member of the Democratic Party but in December of 2010, he said that he would run as a Republican in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, to avoid a primary challenge from President Barack Obama. He believes that his greatest political strengths include a mastery of social media, an ability to pinch pennies, and inimitable political vision. McMillan appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2011.

These are the likely candidates for now.  There are also those that say they aren’t running, but some have their doubts.  And there very well may be some other contenders that crop up.  After all, it will be a long 18 months until the presidential electionin2012.  Stay tuned.

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