Rubio Now 12 Points Ahead of Crist in FL

Rubio is picking up some major steam. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary voters in the state finds Rubio leading Crist 49% to 37% while three% prefer another candidate, and 11% are undecided. The poll numbers seem to be tied to mounting unrest with national policies and spending as conservatives began rebelling against Crist when he became one of the few Republican governors to embrace Obama’s $787-billion economic stimulus plan last year. Not surprisingly, the national Republican party endorsed Crist early, but a "number of prominent national party conservatives have since announced their support for Rubio." Many believe this race will serve as an early indicator of what many hoped- a GOP shift back to its conservative roots after many years of confused policies, overspending and "aisle reaches."

Alito: The New Joe Wilson?

I wanted to have more time to comment on the speech last night, but for now, I will say that liberals are so insanely protective of their commander in chief that now they're finding fault with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's head gesture during the President's State of the Union last night. Really? The Justice apparently shook his head when Obama unpresidentially mentioned the Court's decision in front of the full court and mouthed the words, "that's not true" and this is now the equivalent of shouting, "YOU LIE!" across the room? The comparison is absurd, but more importantly, Alito's observations were correct. Specifically, Obama claimed that the decision in Citizens United v. FEC, would "open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities." As Bradley A. Smith pointed out today, the President's statement is false. "The Court held that 2 U.S.C. Section 441a, which prohibits all corporate political spending, is unconstitutional. Foreign nationals, specifically defined to include foreign corporations, are prohibiting from making 'a contribution or donation of money or ather thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State or local election' under 2 U.S.C. Section 441e, which was not at issue in the case. Foreign corporations are also prohibited, under 2 U.S.C. 441e, from making any contribution or donation to any committee of any political party, and they prohibited from making any 'expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication.'" Does he have inept speech writers? Or did he deliberately shade the truth to influence public opinion (well, those of the public that were able to sit through his speech)?

Clinton Passing on State of the Union

Not even Hillary can bear to sit through another protracted Obama snoozer. Apparently, she's opting to attend a conference in London. According to the White House, Obama felt it was more important for her to go to London than to remain for his speech. Sure, Hillary...a conference in London...

Rubio Leading Crist in Florida Republican Primary

Former Florida legislator Marco Rubio closed the gap in the race for the Republican Senate nomination and is in "a virtual dead heat" with Governor Charlie Crist, according to a poll, which has him up 47 to 44. In June, Crist was 30 points ahead of Rubio, a lawyer who served as speaker of the house in Florida, as Rubio had no name recognition among voters. Since then he's led a major grass roots effort in Florida to get to know the voters and raise money, as his opponent has a significant financial lead. Rubio is gaining momentum and money by running as a true fiscal conservative as highlighted against Crist's unpopular decisions to raise taxes in the midst of a major recession and perhaps most significantly, to stump with Barack Obama for the stimulus package loathed by the Republican base that will decide the contest. "At the time Crist appeared onstage with Obama in February, it seemed like good politics, with the president enjoying sky-high approval ratings. A full 64% of Floridians approved of the job he was doing with only 23% disapproving." Now? 49% of Floridians disapprove of the way Obama's handling his job while only 45% approve. While politicians often make mistakes, the Obama photo op and his backing of the stimulus seem truly stupid ones that may cost him the election and serve as a foreshadowing of other primary elections around the country.

"You've Got Me"

Politicians have enormous egos that propel them to indignancy much more often than the average person, but I continue to be astounded by the size of the President's. I am not prone to personal critcism, as I like to deal with facts and policy, but I think Obama's statements and actions since the Massachusetts election deserve comment, as I fear his ego prevents him from accepting reality and ultimately, from changing course, as the voters have demanded. Consider this. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., expressed his concerns to Obama that the 2010 midterm elections were going to be like the 1994 midterms, when Democrats lost control of the House after a failed health care reform effort. Obama responded to Berry's statement by saying, "Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’ We’re going to see how much difference that makes now.” Wow. He couldn't make a difference in the VA, NJ or MA elections or with the climate summit or Olympic committee, but somehow, he still thinks his mere presence is the golden ticket? I really didn't believe that he bought his blame Bush spin on the Mass elections, but the more I read, the more I believe he is incapable of recognizing that most voters don't share his policy views and no amount of his magneticism is going to change that. I hope for our country's sake that I'm wrong and that he comes to the center, but so far, there is no evidence of it. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/01/the-big-difference-between-2010-and-1994-is-me-president-obama-says-per-congressman.html

77% of U.S. Investors Think Obama is Anti-business

Bloomberg conducted a global quarterly poll of investors and analysts who are Bloomberg subscribers and found that "77 percent of U.S. respondents believe Obama is too anti-business and four-out-of-five are only somewhat confident or not confident in his ability to handle a financial emergency." It also found a decline in Obama’s overall favorability rating one year after taking office. He is viewed favorably by 27 percent of U.S. investors up from an October poll, wherein 32 percent in the U.S. held a positive impression. This poll was conducted before Obama's declaration yesterday to tax and havily regulate 50 banking institutions, which sent the S&P down 1.9%, its biggest loss since October 30, 2009. Even the Oracle of Omaha told Obama to scrap this plan as it will lead to the trickle down of taxes for consumers during a recession. My guess is that the 77% would now poll closer to 90%. Click on the title to link to the full article.

High Court Votes Campaign Contribution Bill Unconstitutional

In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court today struck down the famed McCain-Feingold bill and with it, the notion that the government may ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. The majority touted the decision as one in favor of the First Amendment's promise of free political speech as Justice Kennedy stated, "When government seeks to use its full power, including the criminal law, to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought. This is unlawful. The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves.” The minority, Stevens, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Breyer, dissented (90-pages worth), and Obama echoed their sentiments that the decision will usher in "a new stampede of special interest money in our politics" and is "a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks (many of whom supported him in 08), health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans." With that, Obama pledged to talk to Congress "to develop a forceful response," whatever that means. What does this mean for you? It doesn't mean much as our politicians are already beholden to special interests and McCain-Feigold did nothing to eradicate that reality. However, the decision should be celebrated as a victory for free speech and individualism, as we saw in Massachusetts, most Americans still want to think for themselves.