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| Romney aims for Wisconsin knock-out on final day of campaigning - live | Romney aims for Wisconsin knock-out on final day of campaigning - live |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 12.08pm: After Mitt Romney's dead father was retrospectively zinged by fictional characters in Mad Men last night, we now have Aaron Sworkin's latest creation unveiled: HBO has released a trailer for its long-awaited* new series The Newsroom. | |
| *by journalists | |
| Based on this trailer, it appears The Newsroom includes the stock Sworkin character "Sane Republican Guy". Like unicorns, Sane Republican Guy appears more often in the arts than in real life. (Also: Jeff Daniels?) | |
| 11.48am: Another sign that everyone is eager for the Republican party's presidential play-offs to end – and a sign of the Super Pac attack-fest to come – comes from the dueling attack ads being run on the subject of gas prices. | |
| First up is this entirely credible and unhysterical ad from the American Energy Alliance (cf: Koch brothers-funded) which OH MY GOD $9 a gallon! | |
| In riposte, there's this one from the Obama-supporting Priorities USA Action, which just photoshops Mitt Romney's head onto an oil rig a few times. | |
| It's times such as this that reminds us of the Jeffersonian ideals of American democracy and its heritage of sober, rational debate. | |
| The American Energy Alliance is spending $3.6m running the ad in swing states in the presidential election, namely Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia. The Priorities USA Action ad will run in the same states but with far less cash behind it, it seems. | |
| 11.33pm: After watching last week's Supreme Court arguments over healthcare reform – which for the sake of brevity we can call Obamacare – the New Yorker's Supreme Court guru Jeffrey Tobin warns that far more than healthcare is at stake: | |
| But the decision is a great deal more important than its immediate political aftermath. It's about what the government can do, not just who runs it. If the Court acts in line with the sentiments expressed by the conservatives last week, it could curtail the policymaking options of Congress for a generation. | |
| In other words: be careful what you wish for, says Toobin: "An adverse decision on the Affordable Care Act could even jeopardise the prospects for conservative legislative priorities, like health-insurance vouchers or private retirement accounts in lieu of Social Security." | |
| 11.18am: Here's a funny thing: the Republicans in Congress were all against earmarks – the practice of hanging budget allocations for favoured local projects on unrelated pieces of legislation. But now they hold power in the House of Representatives, guess what? Via Reuters: | |
| House Speaker John Boehner, who pushed for the earmark ban, is considering forming a committee to study earmarks reforms.... Other sources also said that during the closed meeting, the speaker said he would consider reforms, and other leading Republicans did not shoot down the idea. | |
| Boehner has acknowledged that the ban makes his job more difficult. In past years, one reason the sprawling transportation bill could move through Congress with bipartisan support was because thousands of lawmakers' pet projects were tacked onto the bill, he has said. | |
| But reviving earmarks is still so controversial that Boehner and other leaders are unlikely to publicly discuss it in an election year in which pork barrel spending is still under attack. The discussions so far appear to be among Republicans. | |
| 10.43am: According to Twitter, the most excititng news in the history of the universe (for two hours last night) was that Mitt Romney's dad was mocked on Mad Men. | |
| The details are too tedious to recount but at one point a fictional aide to the actual real life Republican mayor of NYC at the time, John Lindsay, fictionally says to a fictional person on a fictional telephone: "Tell Jim his honor's not going to Michigan because Romney's a clown and I don't want him standing next to him." | The details are too tedious to recount but at one point a fictional aide to the actual real life Republican mayor of NYC at the time, John Lindsay, fictionally says to a fictional person on a fictional telephone: "Tell Jim his honor's not going to Michigan because Romney's a clown and I don't want him standing next to him." |
| Mitt's dad George was governor of Michigan at the time. As LBJ nearly said: "When you've lost east coast cable drama scriptwriters, you've lost America." | Mitt's dad George was governor of Michigan at the time. As LBJ nearly said: "When you've lost east coast cable drama scriptwriters, you've lost America." |
| 10.30am: Both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are out and about in Wisconsin ahead of tomorrow's primary, while Newt Gingrich – yes, he's still hanging around – is taking it easy by campaigning in nearby Maryland, which also votes tomorrow. | |
| Highlights of the day are Santorum's visit to a cheese shop followed by some bowling. A typical fun day in Wisconsin. | Highlights of the day are Santorum's visit to a cheese shop followed by some bowling. A typical fun day in Wisconsin. |
| • Mitt Romney 11.35am: Holds a campaign event with Paul Ryan at Wisconsin Building Supply, Green Bay 3.45pm: Holds a town hall meeting, Moore Oil Company, Milwaukee | • Mitt Romney 11.35am: Holds a campaign event with Paul Ryan at Wisconsin Building Supply, Green Bay 3.45pm: Holds a town hall meeting, Moore Oil Company, Milwaukee |
| • Rick Santorum 9am: Holds a rally, The Gathering, Shawano 11.30am: Visits Simon's Specialty Cheese, Appleton 12.30pm: Bowls at Sabre Lanes, Menasha 2.30pm: Holds a rally, La Sure's Banquet Hall, Oshkosh 4.30pm: Visits the birthplace of the Republican Party, The Little White School House, Ripon | • Rick Santorum 9am: Holds a rally, The Gathering, Shawano 11.30am: Visits Simon's Specialty Cheese, Appleton 12.30pm: Bowls at Sabre Lanes, Menasha 2.30pm: Holds a rally, La Sure's Banquet Hall, Oshkosh 4.30pm: Visits the birthplace of the Republican Party, The Little White School House, Ripon |
| • Newt Gingrich 11am: With Callista Gingrich, holds a rally ... oh who cares? 2pm: Speaks to somebody, somewhere, whatever. Meh. | • Newt Gingrich 11am: With Callista Gingrich, holds a rally ... oh who cares? 2pm: Speaks to somebody, somewhere, whatever. Meh. |
| 10.22am: Since the general election is getting to be the thing, here's some fascinating detail from the new Gallup poll that gives Barack Obama a lead over Mitt Romney. | |
| The poll suggests that the extended GOP nomination fight has hurt the Republican party, even among Republican supporters, with a big dip in the numbers of those saying they are enthusiastic about the election: | The poll suggests that the extended GOP nomination fight has hurt the Republican party, even among Republican supporters, with a big dip in the numbers of those saying they are enthusiastic about the election: |
| The decline is especially apparent among Romney voters, whose enthusiasm has fallen 13 percentage points from January, and now is on par with Obama voters' enthusiasm. Prior to the latest poll, at least half of Romney voters were extremely or very enthusiastic about voting, and their enthusiasm exceeded that of Obama voters. | The decline is especially apparent among Romney voters, whose enthusiasm has fallen 13 percentage points from January, and now is on par with Obama voters' enthusiasm. Prior to the latest poll, at least half of Romney voters were extremely or very enthusiastic about voting, and their enthusiasm exceeded that of Obama voters. |
| The decline in Romney voters' enthusiasm mirrors the trend in enthusiasm among Republican registered voters more generally, which is down 12 points since January, 61% to 49%. Democratic registered voters' enthusiasm has dropped a smaller seven points, 58% to 51%. | The decline in Romney voters' enthusiasm mirrors the trend in enthusiasm among Republican registered voters more generally, which is down 12 points since January, 61% to 49%. Democratic registered voters' enthusiasm has dropped a smaller seven points, 58% to 51%. |
| 10.13am: So while Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell was telling the world that "the chances are overwhelming that [Mitt Romney] will be our nominee. It seems to me we're in the final phases of wrapping up this nomination," Rick Santorum's campaign was running this new ad on Wisconsin television: | |
| It's a clever ad, if you like that sort of thing: "Abortion! Higher Taxes! Bad things! Obama, right? Noooo!" | It's a clever ad, if you like that sort of thing: "Abortion! Higher Taxes! Bad things! Obama, right? Noooo!" |
| 10am: It's the final full day of campaigning in the latest Republican primaries of Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia – but influential Republicans are calling time on the nomination race and closing ranks behind Mitt Romney. | |
| Romney himself said the Republican nominee "will probably be me" in remarks over the weekend, while Sunday's political talkshows were filled with GOP talking heads wanting to shift the focus onto the general election in November. | Romney himself said the Republican nominee "will probably be me" in remarks over the weekend, while Sunday's political talkshows were filled with GOP talking heads wanting to shift the focus onto the general election in November. |
| Rick Santorum hasn't got the memo and he's campaigning in Wisconsin while refusing to talk about dropping out of the race. | Rick Santorum hasn't got the memo and he's campaigning in Wisconsin while refusing to talk about dropping out of the race. |
| We'll be covering the day's events in the primary states and elsewhere. Here's a summary of the latest news from Ryan Devereaux: | We'll be covering the day's events in the primary states and elsewhere. Here's a summary of the latest news from Ryan Devereaux: |
| • Public Policy Polling expects Tuesday's primaries to turn out well for Mitt Romney. According to the Democratic firm, Romney is going to destroy Rick Santorum in Maryland, as he's heading into the state with an advantage of 52% to 27%, while Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are polling at just 10% and 9% in the state, respectively. In Wisconsin there could see a little bit more of a battle, with Romney at 43% while Santorum has 36%, Paul has 11%, and 8% for Gingrich. | • Public Policy Polling expects Tuesday's primaries to turn out well for Mitt Romney. According to the Democratic firm, Romney is going to destroy Rick Santorum in Maryland, as he's heading into the state with an advantage of 52% to 27%, while Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are polling at just 10% and 9% in the state, respectively. In Wisconsin there could see a little bit more of a battle, with Romney at 43% while Santorum has 36%, Paul has 11%, and 8% for Gingrich. |
| • A shift among women voters has resulted in substantial lead for President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney in a number of the nation's key swing states. According to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, the president leads 51%-42% among registered voters. In mid-February, less than half of women under 30 supported the president. Now more than six in 10 do. Meanwhile Romney's support among them has dropped by 14 percentage points, to 30%. Romney's strength is with the older men. Among men aged 50 and older, the former Massachusetts governor has a 56%-38% advantage over Obama. Romney also leads the president by one point among all men, although Obama leads among women by 18 points. | • A shift among women voters has resulted in substantial lead for President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney in a number of the nation's key swing states. According to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, the president leads 51%-42% among registered voters. In mid-February, less than half of women under 30 supported the president. Now more than six in 10 do. Meanwhile Romney's support among them has dropped by 14 percentage points, to 30%. Romney's strength is with the older men. Among men aged 50 and older, the former Massachusetts governor has a 56%-38% advantage over Obama. Romney also leads the president by one point among all men, although Obama leads among women by 18 points. |
| • As the new poll numbers came in over the weekend, Romney defended his campaign's relationship to women. Speaking at an event in Wisconsin in which he was asked about whether the White House "and its friends in the press have been trying to do their best to distract voters", Romney said, "I wish Ann were here ... to answer that question in particular". He added: "We have work, we have work to do, to make sure we take our message to the women of America, so they understand how we're going to get good jobs and we're going to have a bright economic future for them and for their kids." | • As the new poll numbers came in over the weekend, Romney defended his campaign's relationship to women. Speaking at an event in Wisconsin in which he was asked about whether the White House "and its friends in the press have been trying to do their best to distract voters", Romney said, "I wish Ann were here ... to answer that question in particular". He added: "We have work, we have work to do, to make sure we take our message to the women of America, so they understand how we're going to get good jobs and we're going to have a bright economic future for them and for their kids." |
| • Despite having little chance of winning the nomination, Ron Paul took time to explain why he's in the race in the first place over the weekend. Appearing on Face the Nation on Sunday, Paul said he was fighting to rescue the GOP from itself: "The truth is I'm trying to save the Republican Party from themselves because they want perpetual wars, they don't care about presidents who assassinate American citizens, they don't care about searching our houses without a search warrant and these are the kind of things that people care about." | • Despite having little chance of winning the nomination, Ron Paul took time to explain why he's in the race in the first place over the weekend. Appearing on Face the Nation on Sunday, Paul said he was fighting to rescue the GOP from itself: "The truth is I'm trying to save the Republican Party from themselves because they want perpetual wars, they don't care about presidents who assassinate American citizens, they don't care about searching our houses without a search warrant and these are the kind of things that people care about." |