Mitt miffed

One of the reasons I hear why Mitt Romney is the ideal GOP Presidential candidate is his ability to charismatically articulate his positions. That's all fine and good, but I have been saying for some time that Romney has never been seriously challenged this election cycle. The only other GOP candidate who has openly gone after Romney in the debates is Rick Perry. Unfortunately, Perry's attempts were so feeble that they did little to no damage.

Leave it to Fox News Channel's Bret Baier, host of Special Report, to unwittingly cause Romney to become agitated.

Mitt Romney became visibly irritated with "Special Report" host Bret Baier when he confronted the presidential hopeful about his numerous nuanced positions compared to his past positions.

"Well, Bret, your list is just not accurate," Romney said, when asked by Baier about changing his stances on climate change, abortion, gay rights and immigration.

"So, one, we're going to have to be better informed about my views on issues," Mitt Romney sarcastically said to Baier.

"My view is, you can look at what's written in my book. You can look at a person who has devoted his life to his family, to his faith, to his country," he said.

So Romney was a little annoyed by Baier's line of questioning. Big deal. As Jazz Shaw of Hot Air pointed out, Romney will soon be claiming that the interview was very insightful.

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When it's Cain, it pours.

Look, even when Herman Cain was racking up victories in various GOP Presidential straw polls, I didn't believe he'd be able to carry the momentum into primary and caucus season.

Unfortunately for Cain, he was derailed by unforeseen circumstances (at least unforeseen by the electorate) related to allegations of sexual harassment from multiple women. While Cain continued to poll well, it just seemed like a matter of time before the bottom would fall out. Personally, I felt the final straw came three weeks ago when Cain's campaign manager Mark Block insisted that one of Cain's accusers, Karen Kraushaar, was the mother of a Josh Kraushaar who worked for Politico, the web site which broke the sexual harassment allegations. One minor flaw --- Block's claim of the two Kraushaars being related was utterly false. To make matters worse, Josh Kraushaar had left Politico in 2010.

So with the latest story of Cain having allegedly carried on a 13-year affair with a Georgia woman, and Cain in turn making a pledge to reassess whether or not to even stay in the race, it almost has a feel of "piling on" at this point. And even if Cain somehow was able to emerge unscathed from the multitude of alleged improprieties, he's never going to escape his cringe-inducing response to a question regarding Libya.

Yes, what was once a seemingly inspirational run for the highest office in the land has quickly turned into a proverbial free fall. What a shame.

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Frank giving way to rough Waters

Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank will not seek reelection for his seat in the US House. First elected in 1980, Frank reached the pinnacle of his power in Congress when he became the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee when the Democrats regained a majority in 2006. Frank's friendly relationship with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (which were responsible for pumping up the housing bubble) and his partnering with Sen. Chris Dodd on the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has caused great harm to America's financial standing.

But just as I was rejoicing in Frank's imminent departure, I learned of who will likely take his place as lead Democrat on the Financial Service Committee --- California Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Yes, that Maxine Waters, who once threatened to "tax banks out of business" as well as betrayed her true feelings regarding her socialistic tendencies.

If Republicans are smart, they'll use those two soundbites to remind people what may happen if Democrats ever regain control of the House while Waters is still around.

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Profile in double entendres

Dayton roughs up Minnesota.

That headline can either refer to a story in:

a) Sports

or

b) Politics


Kudos to the Minneapolis Star Tribune for all they're doing to cut costs. Recycling headlines? Brilliant!

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Those windshield wipers slappin' out a tempo, keepin' perfect rhythm with the song on the radio.....

This afternoon I make my debut in the new expanded time slot for my program The Closer. From 1:00 pm until 3:00 Central time, I will be looking back at the Thanksgiving week that was.

From SuperCommittee failures to late night talk shows sandbagging Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, there will be no shortage of items to discuss, which is fortuitous since I now have to fill two hours of air time.

Sometime in the first hour I will welcome to the program Brandon Darby. Mr. Darby is a former radical left-wing activist turned FBI informant, having worked with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He has some rather chilling accounts of some of the operations he helped thwart, including a bomb scare at the 2008 Republican National Convention, which took place right here in the Twin Cities. These days, Brandon is exposing the shenanigans of the "Occupy" movement through his association with Andrew Breitbart's Big Government site.

Then in the second hour, I'll be joined by Fox Sports North's NBA analyst Mike McCollow. We'll get into the events surrounding the ending of the NBA lockout and what we can expect from our Minnesota Timberwolves now that there will be a basketball season.


So please give me a call at (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics I plan on addressing.

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area, you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #narn or "Like" our Facebook page.

Until then.....

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For the record...

Yes, I heard about the flap regarding the song played when Congresswoman (and GOP Presidential candidate) Michele Bachmann appeared as a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And yes, as a matter of fact, I do believe it was incredibly inappropriate (not to mention childish and stupid).

But just so we're clear ---- I would find it just as despicable if, say, First Lady Michelle Obama was serenaded on a TV talk show to this song.

Glad we could clear that up.

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Quick Hits: Volume XLV

-Gee, what a shock. The "SuperCommittee" failed to reach an agreement on deficit reduction. Also not surprising was the Democrats pretty much refused any measure unless it included some sort of tax increases. In tough economic times, tax increases should not even be considered, but especially when you're talking about a measure which doesn't even address the biggest drag on government spending, which is entitlements.

Nevertheless, that doesn't prevent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from pointing the finger at Grover Norquist even though it's likely that a vast majority of Americans have never even heard of Norquist. Senator Reid sure has got a lot of nerve to place blame for his party's failures on a private citizen when the chamber he allegedly leads hasn't even passed a budget in 936 days. Oh, and another inconvenient truth for Dems? From the Summer of 2009 thru early 2011, Democrats owned the Presidency, a majority in the House and a super majority (60-40) in the Senate. If hiking taxes was so doggone important to them, what on earth were they doing that whole time when they had carte blanche to do whatever they desired? Oh, that's right. They were in the process of committing political suicide by forcing upon Americans a health care bill which the majority of us did not want. My bad.


-On Sunday, First Lady Michelle Obama and VP Joe Biden's wife Jill were booed at a NASCAR race where they served as the event's grand marshals.

While these women really haven't caused much controversy themselves, I imagine the NASCAR fans were sending a message to their husbands, especially Mr. Obama. You see, the vast majority of those fans are "working class", which is a segment of the voting population Obama admitted 3-1/2 years ago he would have trouble winning over. Certainly you recall his rationale.

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or anti-pathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Bottom line, did I think the jeering towards the ladies was inappropriate? Sure. But I will say that the indignant lefties should spare the outrage, given how President Bush was received during the peaceful transfer of power to Obama back in January 2009.


-In case you missed it, I announced on my radio show this past weekend that starting this Sunday the 27th, I will have a new and expanded time slot. Yes, The Closer with Brad Carlson will now air from 1:00 pm until 3:00 Central time on AM 1280 The Patriot!

My sincere thanks to the powers that be at Salem Broadcasting-Twin Cities (specifically GM Ron Stone and Operations Mgr Lee Michaels) for their generosity in allowing me to branch out in this fun little endeavor of talk radio. Just in time for the 2012 elections!

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How NOT to win friends and influence people

Even though the "Occupy" movement has pretty much fallen out of favor with the voting public, they don't seem all that concerned with winning back the support.

From Occupy DC this past Friday:

On Friday, November 18, Occupy DC protesters and other progressive groups will be bringing the message of ‘why we occupy’ to the people of DC. Occupytheboardroom.org is a website that provides people with an opportunity to write emails to a ‘pen pal’ who is of the top 1%, to voice their frustration about our country’s economic situation.

The protestors' plan was to "occupy the evening commute" by hopping on the DC Subway (The Metro), thus wreaking havoc amongst regular commuters --- people who are in the same group as they are --- THE NINETY NINE PERCENT!!!

Even more asinine is now there's an Occupy Black Friday movement.

Their goal? To “bring the economy to a halt on the one day they won’t be able to ignore us.”

While "Black Friday" is an event that is still a novelty to some consumers, the advent of the internet has made "Cyber Monday" a more practical endeavor. Upon returning to work the Monday after the long Thanksgiving weekend, consumers will work off the turkey hangover by browsing the online shopping sites while on the job. In fact, last year's Cyber Monday made history by becoming the first ever $1 billion online shopping day.

It’s unclear whether Occupy Black Friday will become an official Occupy Wall Street sponsored protest, but the site’s message forums are already calling for such a demonstration, saying that Occupy needs to put an end to “holiday spin doctors” and the “hypnotic messages to spend, spend, spend.” Facebook groups have also sprung up that call on Americans to protest against stores that deprive workers from spending Thanksgiving dinner with their family.

That last sentence pretty much sums up the doltish thought process of the "Occupy" movement. In this case, retail workers should be entitled to not have to work on what is one of the busiest retail days of a calendar year. Yeah, what is this nation coming to when its retail stores have an expectation of their employees (people who, on their own accord, applied to work there) to...you know...do employee stuff?

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They say I'm crazy but I have a good time.....

Lots to get into on tonight's edition of The Closer on AM 1280 The Patriot. I'll be on the air live from 6:00 pm until 7:00 Central talking about such issues as the declining popularity of the "Occupy" movement (amazing what happens to a movement upon accusations of rape and public defecation) as well as praying quarterbacks, which also doesn't appear to be very popular.

Also, sometime within the first half hour, I will have a very special and exciting announcement regarding my show!

For the final two segments I will joined by Tabitha Hale, who is the New Media Director at FreedomWorks. One thing I know about Ms. Hale is she is not afraid to put herself and her beliefs out there, even if it can sometimes result in her being physically attacked.




Amongst the topics I'll get in to with Tabitha is the ever fluid GOP Presidential race as well as the Senate Rules Committee turning away the Tea Party Debt Commission earlier this week.



So please give me a call at (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics I plan on addressing.

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area, you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #narn or "Like" our Facebook page.

Until then.....

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Connect the dots, people

So some guy fires shots into the White House earlier this week, was arrested Wednesday and received a show of support from "Occupy San Diego." Rumor has it the shooter, Oscar Ortega-Hernandez, was blending in amongst the "Occupy D.C." crowd.

I'll come back to that.

I've always felt the Occupy movement was terribly misguided when they condemned the banks. In fact, the entity which should have been the target of their protests was the entity who took taxpayer funds (i.e. OUR money) and funneled it to said banks in the form of bailouts. That of course would be our U.S. government. In essence, that is the main tenet of the Tea Party, which is protesting government over the reckless spending of our tax dollars.

So is it possible that the Occupy crowd took in the insights of, say, the Tea Party, and realized that the government was taking their money (assuming some of the Occupy crowd pays taxes) to give to Wall St. et al? That would be an awfully convenient narrative for the mainstream media to glob onto, wouldn't it? Now that the Occupy movement is not nearly as popular as it once appeared, the media could gin up a scenario where they've gone the way of the Tea Party crowd by "demonizing government," which would explain the drop in "Occupy's" popularity

Which brings us full circle to the White House shooter. It must've been the "hateful tone" of the Tea Party which drove him to want to fire shots at President Barack Obama.

I wonder if Sarah Palin removed the cross-hair symbols off the map on her PAC website?

-------------------------------------------

Searching for Benji Franklin

Every Thursday evening during the NFL season (except Thanksgiving), local sports station 1500 ESPN hosts Thursday Night Football trivia. Tonight was the second consecutive Thursday I was able to attend. Last week, I was one of the 16 finalists (seeded #7) after successfully answering 13 of 16 questions in round one (you can cheat by using a mobile device, so it wasn't too tough). However, the next round entailed a Family Feud style face-off at a podium where the first person to buzz in at any point of the question has 15 seconds to answer. Last week, I buzzed in first but I incorrectly guessed that Kerry Collins was the QB the last time the Oakland Raiders had a winning season. Since I was wrong, my opponent had the allotted 15 seconds to answer and correctly came up with Rich Gannon.

This week (week number eleven of this series), I made the trek out to Cadillac Ranch Bar & Grill at the Mall of America (only 15 minutes from my work place) in an attempt to redeem myself.

This time I had my "A" game as I breezed through the first few rounds and got all the way to the finals. The winner would receive ONE HUNDRED BUCKS!!!

The finals are by far the most difficult, as its best three of five, and you only get a point if you win a category. Each category has multiple answers and it alternates between the two finalists until someone answers incorrectly. My task was even more daunting due to the fact I was taking on Brendan Byrne, who had won seven of the ten weeks, including six in a row from week four thru week nine.

The first category had to do with a more prominent Raiders-Vikings matchup, which was Super Bowl XI in January 1977. The question: There were nine Vikings players which tallied at least one yard of offense in that game. Can you name them?

Brad (buzzing in first): Bob Lee (correct)
Brendan: Tarkenton (correct)
Brad: Brent McClanahan (correct)
Brendan: Sammy White (correct)
Brad: Stu Voight (correct)
Brendan: Foreman (correct)
Brad (using up nearly all 15 seconds): Ahmad Rashad (correct)
Brendan: NO GUESS

1-0, Brad!


Next up: The '99 playoffs. In Jacksonville's 62-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins in the AFC divisional round, four QBs threw a pass in that game. Name them.

Brendan (buzzing in first): Dan Marino (correct).
Brad: Mark Brunell (correct)
Brendan: Fiedler (correct)
Brad: No GUESS (correct answer - Damon Huard; I would've NEVER got that).

1-1 tie.


For the life of me, I don't recall the next question. All I know is I lost.

2-1, Brendan.


Next: Sid Luckman is the all-time leader in percentage of pass attempts thrown for touchdowns at 7.9%. There are 56 others with at least 5%. Name them.

Brad (buzzing in first): Tom Brady (correct)
Brendan: Norm Snead (INCORRECT)

2-2 tie.


Then it came down to the final category. Whomever took this one would win the hundred bucks. Carson Palmer, who will face the Vikings Sunday, was the top overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft. Name the other 31 first round draft choices that year.

Brendan (buzzing in first): Kyle Boller (correct)
Brad: Kevin Williams (correct)
Brendan: Byron Leftwich (correct)
Brad: Terrell Suggs (correct)
Brendan: Mike Williams (INCORRECT)
Brad (FOR THE WIN): Gerard Warren (INCORRECT)
Brendan (FOR THE WIN): Boldin (INCORRECT)
Brad (FOR THE WIN): Roy Williams (INCORRECT)
Brendan (FOR THE WIN): W. Green (INCORRECT)
Brad (FOR THE WIN): Drew Brees (INCORRECT)

Here's the kicker. Had I just said "Warren" earlier, I would have won. That's because Ty Warren was a first round pick in '03, not Gerard.

Since three incorrect answers is the maximum in an alternating question, we had to move on.

Still tied 2-2, emcees Tom Pelissero and Phil Mackey turned to "The Book," which is a thick almanac with a myriad of stats. They came up with the following: Name any of the players who led the NFL in interceptions in a season since 1950. (NO SHOT we would run the table on that one).

Brendan (buzzing in first): Night Train Lane (correct)
Brad (thinking a Hall of Fame DB would be an obvious choice): Mike Haynes.

Mackey vehemently searched the record book. "Mike Haynes.......is......INCORRECT. Brendan wins again!!!"

Yes, Brendan took home yet another "Benjamin Franklin." Second place (me) won a Coors Light t-shirt.

All I could think of as I came so perilously to victory was a slogan I could affix to the back of the aforementioned t-shirt: "I drank Diet Pepsi to the point of getting the jitters, felt my heart rate increase rapidly as I stood at the podium, scraped my knuckle when hitting said podium in disgust and all I got was this lousy t-shirt". Or something along those lines.

-------------------------------------------

Quick Hits: Volume XLIV

-You knew it was only a matter of time before the Occupy Wall Street movement would either peter out or lose what little accolades it received from the voting public.

On Tuesday afternoon, they were told they could no longer camp out in New York City's Zuccotti Park.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman said the city can enforce “reasonable” rules to maintain safety and hygiene at the encampment that has become the epicenter of a nationwide movement.

The protesters have a right to free speech but they “have not demonstrated that they have a First Amendment right to remain in Zuccotti Park, along with their tents, structures, generators and other installations,” he wrote.

Without all those amenities, I highly doubt that the OWS crowd will hang around too much longer now that winter weather is beginning to rear its ugly head.

Not that they care much about popularity amongst the general public, but OWS is going to find out Wednesday that their movement is no longer all that popular with voters. The sample group Public Policy Polling, which has been previously lauded by the ultra lefty site Daily Kos, reported via Twitter that there are going to be some "pretty bad numbers" for OWS. Yeah, it's amazing what can happen to a group's alleged popularity when there are multiple reports of sexual assault and public defecation.


-For the record, I did not watch the Monday evening interview NBC's Bob Costas conducted with former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky regarding the allegations that Sandusky sexually abused at least five underage boys. However, while listening to the ESPN radio show Mike and Mike in the Morning on Tuesday, I heard a 3-4 minute audio excerpt of the interview.

The one aspect of the discussion which made me want to reach for some creep repellant also caught the attention of NESN's Ben Watanabe.

Costas: "Are you sexually attracted to young boys, to underage boys?"

Sandusky: "Am I sexually attracted to underage boys?"

Costas: "Yes."

Sandusky (after a two-second pause): "Sexually attracted? You know, I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. I... but no, I'm not sexually attracted to them, to young boys."

For those of you keeping score at home, it took Sandusky 17 words to get to the "no" part. He managed to mention that he enjoys "young people" and loves "to be around them," which are things not even his harshest critics contest.

Until Sandusky is convicted, the claims against him are only allegations. But it's difficult to understand how anyone could struggle with such a straightforward question.

Keep in mind that Sandusky's attorney was present. Granted I'm the furthest thing from a legal scholar, but I find it unfathomable that any competent lawyer would allow his client to open himself up to that line of questioning, especially when anything Sandusky says can be used against him in a trial.

Oh, and for the record, I will never, ever, ever, EEEEVVVVVERRRR again use the phrase "horsing around" thanks to Sandusky using that as a euphemism for what he did with those young kids.

Let's move on......quickly.


-Do I really have to talk about the Vikings??? OK, I'll get it out of the way. Their 45-7 loss on Monday night to the Green Bay Packers marked the second most lopsided regular season defeat in franchise history. The all-time rout came in 1984 at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, 51-7. By all accounts, I'm sure the Packers could have usurped that margin of victory had they desired to do so.

The '84 season also marked the worst regular season finish for the Vikings (3-13) since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. In looking ahead at the remaining seven matchups for this season, I have a feeling the best the 2-7 Vikings can hope for is to tie that record of futility.

No better time than the present to ask for a new stadium, eh?

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So it begins

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced it would hear arguments over the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care law. The case will be heard in March 2012, with a decision expected by the end of June.

The justices announced they will hear an extraordinary five-and-a-half hours of arguments from lawyers on the constitutionality of a provision at the heart of the law and three other related questions about the act. The central provision in question is the requirement that individuals buy health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty.

In the modern era, the last time the court allotted anywhere near this much time for arguments was in 2003 for consideration of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform. That case consumed four hours of argument. This argument may spread over two days, as the justices rarely hear more than two or three hours a day.

If indeed the SCOTUS strikes down the individual mandates as unconstitutional, it would create quite a political circus a mere four months ahead of the general election. Many would surmise that would sink the Obama re-election campaign, but is that truly the case? As we've heard in several debates over the past few months, the top issue of many (if not all) of the GOP Presidential hopefuls is repealing Obamacare. Well if the SCOTUS takes that off the table by striking down the law as unconstitutional, what then? Obviously President Obama will still have a record of poor economic policies and thus there will remain a strong case to vote him out of office. Either way, the law being struck down would be an embarrassment to the current administration.

On the flip side, all hope would not be lost if the Supreme Court upholds the law. If the Republicans can win the White House (50-50 right now, in my opinion) and regain control of the Senate (need to flip four seats), the Republican-controlled Congress could pass a repeal measure for the GOP President to sign it. Of course, that in and of itself would be a bitter fight in the likely event Republicans do not have a "Super Majority" (60-40) in the Senate. But with a simple 51-49 majority, the GOP could use the reconciliation process (i.e. the "Nuclear Option") to ram a repeal bill through. Oh, and if some squishy Republicans start to become concerned with any political fallout? Just remind everyone that the Democrats were never afraid to use such a process while controlling the Senate.

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I've been bruised and I've been broken. Can't believe that I put up with all this pain.....

Less than a year until election day typically equates to much fodder for a talk radio host. With that in mind, there will be a lot to squeeze in on this evening's installment of The Closer, which will air LIVE from 6:00 pm until 7 Central on AM 1280 The Patriot.

We'll look back on last Tuesday's elections and how certain media outlets chose to shine the light on alleged lefty triumphs but conveniently ignored any sharp rebukes of the Obama administration. We'll also talk about the ever fluid events of the GOP Presidential race, including the stunning resurgence of Newt Gingrich and how he's the latest "flavor of the month."

For the final two segments, I will be joined via telephone by GOP political operative Matt Mackowiak.



Matt and several other right wing activists/bloggers have drafted a movement simply entitled Not Mitt Romney, which, quite obviously, is a grassroots effort to ensure Romney is not the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012.


So please give me a call at (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics I plan on addressing.

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area, you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #narn or "Like" our Facebook page.

Until then.....

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Thank You, Veterans

Yes, there was an election on Tuesday

In my little town of Ramsey, MN, we had one contest for school board and three referendums for the school district. While important, it didn't have the "sex appeal" of Congressional and Presidential elections.

But if there was one takeaway from this year's elections, it was the state of Ohio having an opportunity to follow the example of Wisconsin and curb the public employee unions' inordinately high power. Sadly, by a vote of 61-39 percent, Ohio voters turned back Gov. John Kasich's proposal to overhaul collective bargaining for said unions. As a result, the status quo will be maintained, thus putting further strain on Ohio's delicate fiscal outlook. Truth be told, I couldn't help but feel genuine sympathy for those union members who were openly rejoicing the vote's result. What they don't realize is that Tuesday's celebration will soon turn into devastation for some of their peers when necessary layoffs commence.

Since Ohio has been a key swing state in Presidential elections for nearly 70 years, could this be a precursor to what will happen next year? Since 1944, Ohioans have sided with the losing candidate only once – opting for Nixon over Kennedy in 1960. So for those Democrats who were rejoicing over GOP Governor Kasich getting his finger slapped, don't automatically assume President Obama will take Ohio (and thus be reelected) in 2012. What was conveniently under-reported in light of Tuesday's p.e. union "victory" was also a very sharp rebuke of the President's signature legislation --- Obamacare. In fact this ballot initiative, known as "Issue 3" (Ohioans not being forced to participate in a health care system), passed by a larger margin than Issues 1 (raising mandatory retirement age for judges) and 2 (restricting collective bargaining for public employee unions) failed.

Ahhh elections. We're just gettin' warmed up.

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Who will gain from pain of Cain?

Regardless if the sexual harassment allegations against GOP presidential hopeful candidate Herman Cain are true or not, he's not going to be the Republican nominee. I'll admit his poll numbers have far exceeded what many thought he would ever attain. But when feminist attorney Gloria Allred emerges (she must have burned through all of Tiger Woods' and Charlie Sheen's mistresses), this situation turns from a political race into a glorified TMZ episode. Either way, Cain's viability as a serious candidate appears very much in peril.

While I'm sure Cain's fellow candidates will wish him well on the surface, privately the remaining field will attempt to horn in on Cain's supporters. So who would benefit most from Cain's departure? Call me crazy, but I think Newt Gingrich is in prime position to vault into the lead. Just last week a Rasmussen poll showed Gingrich gaining ten points on frontrunner Mitt Romney. Combine that with the fact that a Gingrich-Cain debate over the weekend highlighted Gingrich's prowess in knowing the issues (in front of some of Cain's most ardent supporters no less), the opportunity for Gingrich to emerge as frontrunner has never been stronger.

One takeaway from a number of GOP debates this election season is that a fair number of Republican voters almost regretfully pointed out Gingrich's solid showing, intimating that his supposed "unelectability" made him little more than a spoiler in the nomination process. However, a fundraiser in Des Moines, IA Friday evening showed that prominent GOP voters are beginning to warm to the former House speaker. As I sift through the candidates (again, any of them would make for a better President than Obama), the one thing I look to is who could best stand up to the President in a one-on-one debate. Since Obama will be unable to appeal to the electorate on facts due to his poor record, he is likely to go the the ol' demagoguery card. As far as I can tell, there isn't a better candidate to combat such a strategy than Gingrich.

I can't even begin to convey what a stunning development this would be. A mere five months ago, Gingrich's campaign was in shambles due to mass resignations of key members of his staff. Now less than a year from the general election, we're talking about Newt Gingrich as a serious Presidential candidate. Unbelievable.

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Radio Roundtable

In Round Two of my radio exploits, I will be part of the roundtable on tonight's Late Debate from 10:00 pm until Midnight.

In addition to hosts Jack Tomczak and Benjamin Kruse, there will be a bipartisan roundtable of guests with myself and Laura Gatz on the right & "Two Putt" Tommy and an unnamed Democrat on the left.

If you're so inclined, check out the broadcast on Twin Cities station 95.9 FM WLKX or watch the show via UStream.

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I don't need you to worry for me, 'cause I'm all right......

Tune in to AM 1280 The Patriot this evening from 6:00 until 7:00 Central time, as I will be closing out the weekend of Northern Alliance Radio Network programming.

With all that has gone on this past week, it's going to be difficult to narrow down the topics, but that's a challenge I gladly accept! With that, I plan on taking the first two segments to talk about GOP Presidential drama, kooky ex Governors and the ever fluid situation with the Vikings stadium.

For the final two segments, Orit Sklar will join me via telephone.




Ms. Sklar co-founded an organization called My Food. My Choice!, which is a grassroots coalition looking to alleviate the nanny state, specifically where food is concerned.


So please give me a call at (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics I plan on addressing.

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area, you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #narn or "Like" our Facebook page.

Until then.....

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Romney: Hold a rally or hold your nose

I'm not gonna lie to ya. Regardless of which GOP candidate emerges as the nominee for President, I will vote for said candidate. Period. End of story.

But here's the issue facing many grassroots activists: Will you work to elect the nominee, regardless of who it is? I understand that many people who are right-of-center politically would cast the proverbial "hold their nose" vote for Mitt Romney if indeed he is the Republican candidate for President in 2012. But there just doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for a Romney candidacy should that come to pass (which seems more likely these days).

We must not take for granted that President Barack Obama, despite his low approval ratings as well as presiding over a porous economy, is a sure loser come Election Day 2012. It's going to take some effort to ensure his defeat but, as opposed to 2008 when he was a veritable Pied Piper, it is very doable. Conventional wisdom is that the support of party establishment alone is not enough to get a candidate elected. There must be political machines behind that person, machines which will tout a candidate's strengths and what he'll bring to the Oval Office. If the prevailing sentiment surrounding Romney is "He's not Obama", that isn't nearly enough to increase voter turnout, which is another key factor in ousting an incumbent President.

Now I'm not suggesting we need a "rock star" type candidate who will be a cult of personality like we witnessed with Bill Clinton in 1992 and Obama in 2008. But at the very least, the Republicans need to nominate a candidate who provides a stark contrast (and major upgrade) over a scuffling President. From what I can tell, Romney may not be that candidate, especially when you consider the health care bill he singed into law as Governor of Massachusetts in many ways resembles Obamacare. Speaking of which, Romney, when pressed, has said he will indeed sign a repeal of the Obamacare law if he is President. If that's true, then something else needs to happen in 2012: The Republicans need to flip the Senate.

So if you're a conservative and a President Mitt Romney doesn't exactly fire you up, plan to vote for him anyways if he's the GOP candidate. But in the mean time, pour all your grassroots activist energy into electing a Republican Senator in your state. With the GOP likely to maintain (if not increase) their solid majority in the House, attaining a majority in the Senate would go a long way to passing a repeal of Obamacare. From there, a President Romney need not be reminded of his campaign promise. However, the Republican-controlled Congress, as well as the American people, will likely present him with not-so-subtle reminders.

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