Wisconsin Recalls

Scott Walker's Chief of Staff Resigns -- To Prepare For Possible Governor Recall

Eric Kleefeld | September 30, 2011, 2:30PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) is gearing up for a potential recall election in 2012, with his chief of staff, Keith Gilkes, now departing in order to become a lead adviser to Walker's campaign.

It's a return of sorts to Gilkes' previous role as campaign manager in the regularly scheduled election that Walker won in 2010.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

Gilkes disclosed his plans to top Walker aides during a cabinet meeting Friday at a Madison hotel. In an interview, he said he would serve as lead adviser to Walker's campaign, but also take on other clients for campaign work. He said he would not go into lobbying.

His departure comes at a time of strain for the administration, with Democrats poised to try to recall the governor next year and a widening John Doe investigation of current and former Walker aides.

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Super Committee

Super Committee Members Raked In $41M From Wall Street

Susan Crabtree | September 26, 2011, 1:31PM

Members of the deficit-reduction super committee have received a combined total of $41 million from the financial and real estate sectors during their time in Congress, according to a new report from Public Campaign and National People's Action.

The report also found that at least 27 current or former aides for members of the super committee have traveled through the revolving door between K Street and Capitol Hill and have lobbied on behalf of financial firms.

"Wall Street bought the deregulation that led to our economic collapse and the American public has paid the price," Nick Nyhart, president of Public Campaign said in a release. "The super committee should not give Wall Street and big banks another free ride because of their campaign cash."

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Rick Scott

Unpopular Gov. Rick Scott Wants To 'Make Sure Florida Is The Model For The Country' (VIDEO)

David Taintor | September 14, 2011, 12:08PM

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) on MSNBC's Morning 9/14/11

Highly unpopular Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) sat down with the folks of Morning Joe on Wednesday to discuss the Republican presidential candidates' chances in Florida as well as some of his state's own issues.

Asked how Mitt Romney and Rick Perry would do in Florida, Scott said he thinks either candidate could win in a general election. And Scott doesn't think Perry will be in much trouble for calling Social Security a "monstrous lie" and a "ponzi scheme."

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Mitt Romney

Romney Accuses 'Labor Stooges' At NLRB Of Political Payback

Susan Crabtree | September 12, 2011, 3:42PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney joined the GOP's latest anti-union salvo -- reining in the National Labor Relations Board -- at an event in South Carolina Monday.

Romney, and his latest high-profile supporter Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, toured Boeing's new manufacturing plant in North Charleston. The NLRB is suing Boeing for moving an operation to South Carolina, a right-to-work state, from Washington state after unions protested there.

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WI-02

Two Major Anti-Walker Dems Declare For Baldwin's House Seat

Eric Kleefeld | September 7, 2011, 1:50PM

WI-02 Democratic candidates Mark Pocan and Kelda Roys

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) just declared her candidacy for Wisconsin's open Senate -- and already, two prominent Democrats have declared their candidacies for her House seat representing Madison and the surrounding counties.

Two Democratic state representatives, Mark Pocan and Kelda Roys, announced their campaigns Wednesday morning, and it remains possible that other Democrats could also declare for this deep-blue seat in a district Barack Obama carried by more than two-to-one in 2008.

During the recent debates on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation, both Pocan and Roys maintained high profiles in lobbing rhetorical fire against the proposals.

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Jimmy Hoffa

White House: 'Hoffa's Words Are His Own'

Susan Crabtree | September 6, 2011, 6:51PM

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa

White House spokesman Jay Carney put only a bit of distance between President Obama and incendiary comments Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa made warming up a crowd before Obama's pro-union speech Monday.

Hoffa's comments caused a stir in GOP circles with many conservative figures and commentators accusing the Hoffa of inciting violence against Tea Party activists and the members of Congress they support.

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Mitt Romney

Chart Of The Day: Team Romney Says 'Obama Recovery' Graph Is Perfectly Clear

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 6, 2011, 4:57PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (MA)

Buried in Mitt Romney's 160-page jobs plan announced Tuesday is a chart of recent recessions and their subsequent recoveries that briefly made the rounds on Twitter -- mostly pushed by progressives who found the image to be shockingly misleading.

Not so, says the Romney campaign -- the chart is perfectly clear. All you have to do is look.

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Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Calls Obama Agenda 'A Payphone Strategy In A Smartphone World'

Benjy Sarlin | September 6, 2011, 3:44PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (MA)

Mitt Romney employed an elaborate telecommunications metaphor in his economic speech on Tuesday to criticize President Obama.

He began his speech by waving his own touchscreen phone in the air after waxing nostalgic about the days when you used to put a quarter in a payphone to make calls from the airport. Later, he returned to the theme in a major way.

"I mentioned a moment ago that we're now using smartphones, not payphones," he said. "President Obama's strategy is a payphone strategy and we're in a smartphone world. What he's doing is taking quarters and stuffing them into the payphone and he can't figure out why it isn't working anymore. It's not connected, Mr. President! Your payphone strategy does not work in a smartphone world."

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Rudy Giuliani

Giuliani Will Only Get In The 2012 Race If The GOP Field Looks "Really Desperate"

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 6, 2011, 2:31PM

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)

Ex-America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani doesn't really have a home in the modern Republican presidential nomination system, he told a crowd in Washington today. And, he said, neither does anyone else not willing to hew to the farthest edge of social conservatism.

Giuliani stepped up to the podium at the National Press Club Tuesday to discuss the upcoming tenth anniversary of 9/11. But because he has actively kept talk of another run for President going for months now, he got some questions about it when his 9/11-focused lecture was over.

Once again, Giuliani said he was still considering a bid, but said that he's put off a decision until after the 10th anniversary of the attacks that propelled him from famous New York City mayor to international icon. However, Giuliani told the crowd, "I would have a hard time getting nominated," and said that he'd jump in only if the GOP field was looking "really desperate."

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Mitt Romney

Romney's Claim That Regulations Hurt The Economy To The Tune Of $1.75 Trillion Per Year Is Based On A Flawed Study

Benjy Sarlin | September 6, 2011, 2:01PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (R-MA)

According to Mitt Romney's USA Today op-ed this morning, "the federal government has estimated the price tag for its regulations at $1.75 trillion." It's an eye-popping number that's been making the rounds among conservative publications for awhile now, but it's based on a flawed study.

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MA-SEN

Poll: Scott Brown Ahead But Under 50 Percent Against Elizabeth Warren

Eric Kleefeld | September 6, 2011, 12:08PM

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D)

A new poll in Massachusetts find that Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) remains ahead in his race for re-election in 2012 -- but is well under 50 percent against former White House adviser Elizabeth Warren, a precarious spot for a Republican in this usually deep-blue state.

The new survey was sponsored by Boston's NPR station, and conducted by polling firm MassINC. The numbers: Brown 44%, Warren 35%. In match-ups against other Democrats, Brown led City Year co-founder Alan Khazei by 45%-30%, led Dem activist Bob Massie by 45%-29%, and led Newton Mayor Seti Warren 46%-28%.

In a positive sign for Brown, his favorable rating is a solid 54%, to only 25% unfavorable. On the other hand, Elizabeth Warren is at only 17%-13% favorable, with 24% undecided and a 44% plurality having never heard of her -- and Brown is nevertheless unable to reach 50% support in this Dem state.

The poll was conducted from August 30 to September 1, and has a ±4.4% margin of error.

Mitt Romney

Romney Previews Big Economy Speech In USA Today Op-ed

Benjy Sarlin | September 6, 2011, 10:09AM

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney is set to deliver a detailed address on how he plans to turn around the economy this afternoon, but he offered up a preview in USA Today this morning.

"Tomorrow, I will introduce a plan consisting of 59 specific proposals -- including 10 concrete actions I will take on my first day in office -- to turn around America's economy," Romney wrote. "Each proposal is rooted in the conservative premise that government itself cannot create jobs. At best, government can provide a framework in which economic growth can occur. All too often, however, government gets in the way. The past three years of unparalleled government expansion have retaught that lesson all too well."

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WI-SEN

Democrat Tammy Baldwin Declares Senate Run In Wisconsin (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 6, 2011, 9:59AM

Senate campaign announcement by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

The first big Democratic name has entered the open Senate race in Wisconsin, with Rep. Tammy Baldwin declaring her candidacy Tuesday to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl in this high-profile swing state.

Baldwin announced her candidacy, which has been much expected since Kohl announced his retirement in May, with a YouTube video posted Tuesday morning.

Baldwin was first elected to the House in 1998, after serving in the state Assembly, and became the first openly gay candidate elected to Congress as a non-incumbent -- and if elected to the Senate, she would become the first openly gay senator at all. After an initial close re-election race in 2000, she has won landslides for her House seat ever since.

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2012 elections

RNC Attacks Obama For Going On Vacation Before Jobs Speech (AUDIO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 6, 2011, 9:38AM

The Republican National Committee is up with a new radio ad in eight battleground states that channels two classic political messages: Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" line and the ageless attack on politicians for going on vacation.

Running ahead of President Obama's jobs speech to a joint session of Congress this week, the ad casts the address as more of the same from a man who desperately needs the economy to get going again.

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Rick Perry

What Kind Of Debater Is Rick Perry? A Good And Cautious One

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 6, 2011, 9:30AM

Rick Perry speaks at a campaign stop in Florence, SC, August 19, 2011.

Politico's Molly Ball takes a deep dive into Texas Gov. Rick Perry's past debate performances as his first appearance in a presidential debate approaches Wednesday night.

What did she find? A man who has kept off the debate stage as much as he could during his unprecedented three terms as governor of Texas (he's debated just four times since he got the job), but "rarely makes a mistake" when he takes the stage "and almost always manages to win by not losing."

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Rick Perry

Ron Paul Calls Rick Perry 'Al Gore's Texas Cheerleader' In TV Ad

Benjy Sarlin | September 6, 2011, 9:00AM

New Ron Paul TV Ad, "The One"

Not all Texans are enamored with Rick Perry, as Ron Paul's new TV ad demonstrates. The new TV spot goes after Perry hard over his late conversion to the Republican Party in 1989, selling Paul as the true heir to Ronald Reagan...who also used to be a Democrat.

Here's the spot, which Politico reports will go on the air with a six-figure buy.

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Polls

Speech Week: Obama, Romney Battle For The High Ground On Jobs

Kyle Leighton | September 6, 2011, 6:15AM

President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

Congress is back from recess this week, and as TPM has pointed out, the 2012 election starts Thursday. The President will be delivering his highly anticipated jobs speech then, after former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney lays out his plan on Tuesday. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, ahead in the polls for the GOP presidential nomination, has been talking about his record as a job creator at home, but hasn't been particularly specific about what he would do as president.

As voters tune back in again as fall approaches, there will be effectively one question on their minds: who can revive the economy? It remains the most important issue, and unless something drastically changes, it will be the issue that the 2012 election hinges on. So when it comes to the economy, who's on the best ground in prelude to this weeks' big events?

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Rick Perry

Meet The Money Behind Rick Perry

Benjy Sarlin | September 6, 2011, 6:10AM

Texas Governor and Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (R)

Texans don't like the government interfering with their business, especially campaign donations, where state laws allow contributors to fork over unlimited cash. No one has benefited more from this arrangement than Rick Perry, who has raised $100 million over the last decade, nearly half of which came from just 204 ultra-wealthy donors.

You're going to be hearing a lot about those donors over the next few weeks, for a couple of reasons. One is that Perry has a reputation for being especially friendly with his most loyal backers: separate analyses by the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times concluded that large percentages of his top donors received some benefit from the state during his tenure as governor. Perry's camp told both papers, as they've told the Texas press for years, that they were doled out on the merits.

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Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Swears He's Jim DeMint's Kind Of Guy

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 5, 2011, 7:26PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (MA)

It was quite a performance. But was it enough?

Mitt Romney ended his tour through Tea Party country on Monday with a late-scheduled slot at Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) Palmetto Freedom Forum. DeMint backed Romney's run for the White House in 2008, but has not extended him much love this time around.

As he did at a New Hampshire tea party rally over the weekend, Romney laid out his case that the haters on the right are wrong and, truly, the former governor of Massachusetts is just the man the angry wing of the GOP is looking for.

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James Hoffa

Teamsters President: 'No Regrets' After Fiery Speech Draws Right-Wing Criticism

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 5, 2011, 5:29PM

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa

Updated: September 5, 2011, 6:30PM

Teamsters union president James Hoffa would say it all again if he could, he told TPM Monday.

Hoffa riled up Fox News and the right wing Monday with a Labor Day speech in Detroit in which he called Republican members of Congress "sons of bitches" and said union workers are ready to "go to war" with the tea party next year and "take out" Republicans at the ballot box.

Hoffa said he'd say the exact same words all over again.

"I would because I believe it," he said. "They've declared war on us. We didn't declare war on them, they declared war on us. We're fighting back. The question is, who started the war?"

The speech came shortly before President Obama took the stage in Detroit -- and Hoffa's remarks certainly overshadowed Obama's on Fox. But the Teamsters chief said he was just matching fired-up conservative rhetoric when it comes to organized labor and Obama with some fired-up rhetoric of his own.

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Sarah Palin

Comedian Speaking Before Palin In Iowa Calls Liberals 'Special Needs Children'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 3, 2011, 4:23PM

Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) in Madison, Wisconsin, April 16, 2011.

Well, this has the potential to become awkward.

Sarah Palin made her much-anticipated Iowa speech in Indianola Saturday, and the news is there's not much news. Palin didn't announce her candidacy for president during her address, though she told a reporter afterwards is she is still considering jumping in.

But what another speaker at the event said before Palin spoke is making headlines, and threatening to add another layer of embarrassment to the strange, petty drama that surrounded the event -- and Palin -- last week.

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2012 elections

Supposed Obama 'Defector' Bundled For John McCain In 2008

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 2, 2011, 3:32PM

Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, with his wife Anne Dias Griffin.

They may be popping champagne corks over at the headquarters of the Karl Rove-founded American Crossroads Republican money machine after the Huffington Post reported the group snagged Obama 2008 bundler Ken Griffin, according to the latest FEC report.

But a simple Google search uncovers that all that glitters is not political gold when it comes to Griffin, a hedge fund founder from Chicago and a rich donor who raised big cash for President Obama and his rival John McCain in the last presidential election.

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2012

71% Of Republicans Don't Want Sarah Palin To Run

Benjy Sarlin | September 2, 2011, 3:19PM

Sarah Palin

It seems Sarah Palin has worn out her welcome with Republicans. An astounding 71% of GOP voters say they don't want Palin to run for president, according to a new poll by FOX News, with 25% supporting a bid and 4% unsure.

The numbers are brutal for Palin, who was long regarded as a potential frontrunner for the 2012 nomination. Even among Tea Party-identifying Republicans she fares poorly: 68% say she shouldn't run versus only 28% who say she should. The numbers aren't that far off from the general electorate, 74% of whom don't want her to run versus 20% who do. Outside of Tea Partiers, more than 70% of every demographic broken out in the poll's crosstabs -- men, women, white voters, non-white voters, voters with college degrees, voters without college degrees -- are against a Palin run.

As TPM noted this week, there hasn't exactly been a clamor going up among Republicans for a Sarah Palin run while she's tested the waters in recent weeks. Maybe the disastrous box office returns for a movie celebrating her Alaska governorship were an early warning sign.

h/t Gawker

Polls

And Another One: New Poll Shows Perry Leads Nevada Too

Kyle Leighton | September 2, 2011, 1:30PM

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)

Tex. Gov. Rick Perry has taken the lead nationally, but GOP voters are really starting to catch on with his campaign in key primary states as well. Recently, Perry's stormed to the front in South Carolina and Iowa in multiple surveys, and a Republican poll out Friday shows him at the top in another early state in the GOP nomination process: Nevada.

A Magellan Strategies poll out Friday showed that Perry is the first choice of 29 percent of Neveada GOP caucus-goers, followed by former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney at 24 percent. The survey shows pretty much a two way race: the rest of the field is in single digits, and former contender Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is down to fourth with 6 percent, behind businessman Herman Cain's 7.

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Eric Cantor

MoveOn: Eric Cantor Is Holding Disaster Victims 'Hostage' For Spending Cuts (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 2, 2011, 9:41AM

As Democrats prepare to use House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's words about disaster relief funding against the whole GOP, the progressives at MoveOn.org are helping to get the ball rolling with a new national television ad calling Cantor's call for spending cuts to pay for disaster aid "appalling."

"Republicans like Eric Cantor are threatening to hold victims of Hurricane Irene hostage by demanding budget cuts in exchange for aid," the ad's narrator says. "Abandoning families who have lost everything just to serve the GOP's extreme agenda? It's heartless, appalling and it's not how we do things in America."

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Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Tries To Make August Job Numbers Rick Perry's Problem

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 2, 2011, 9:12AM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (R-MA)

It's clear to Mitt Romney what Americans should do about the terrible August job numbers released Friday.

"In order to change the direction of this country, we need to change presidents," Romney said in a statement Friday. President Obama "has failed," he said, and it's time for the country to move on from hope and change.

But it's also clear to Romney what Republican primary voters should do in the wake of the ugly jobs report: go against what appears to be their nature and pick someone other than Rick Perry to be their presidential nominee next year.

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Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Eric: Democrats See Opening In Cantor's Disaster Aid Offset Talk

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 2, 2011, 6:26AM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's requirement that new disaster relief spending be funded with spending cuts has left members of his party open to attack, Democrats say, and they don't plan to waste the opportunity.

This week, the DCCC called on 25 East Coast Republican members to either stand with Cantor's call for offset disaster spending or publicly oppose it. In areas still drying out from Hurricane Irene and repairing the damage from the East Coast earthquake that preceded it, Democrats think the suggestion that federal aid should be used as another budget cut bargaining chip will not sit well with voters.

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2012

So Much For Huntsman 2.0: The 'Crazy' Candidate Swings Right

Benjy Sarlin | September 2, 2011, 6:25AM

Jon Huntsman

Billing himself as the candidate of the "real world" and highlighting his breaks from party orthodoxy, Jon Huntsman has tried to brand himself as a pragmatic truth-teller in a GOP that has swung too far towards the hardline right.

But his rhetoric and policy hasn't always matched up with the broader message in recent days. The tension is most evident in his grand jobs plan, the centerpiece of which is a proposal to slash taxes for the wealthy while eliminating a plethora of popular breaks for homeowners and middle class Americans. Huntsman sells the move on its purity -- tax expenditures for corporations and average Americans alike would be dropped to lower rates -- but realistically, the plan has virtually no chance of passing Congressional muster. The Bowles-Simpson deficit commission, hardly a darling of the left, acknowledged as much in their report last year, suggesting lawmakers keep some of the most popular breaks -- like the mortgage interest deductions, exemptions for employer-provided health care, and the earned income tax credit -- in order to generate sufficient support for tax reform along the lines Huntsman proposes.

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2012

Perry Slams 'Blatantly False' Attack Ad From Pro-Bachmann PAC

Benjy Sarlin | September 1, 2011, 4:32PM

A Super PAC supporting Michele Bachmann's campaign, Keep Conservatives United, threw one of the first on-air punches of the 2012 GOP primary this week, lighting into Rick Perry as a big spending governor who is not a "Tea Party guy." Now the Perry camp is pushing back hard, condemning the South Carolina TV ad and releasing a detailed fact check disputing its claims.

"Gov. Perry is a proven fiscal conservative, having cut taxes, signed six balanced budgets, and led Texas to become America's top job-creating state," Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan told reporters. "Congresswoman Bachmann's front-group ad is patently and provably false. Unlike Washington, the Texas budget is balanced, does not run deficits and limits spending, even as Texas added jobs and population in big numbers."

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2012

Jon Huntsman Fires New Hampshire Campaign Manager

Benjy Sarlin | September 1, 2011, 1:41PM

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman is shaking up his staff in New Hampshire, dropping his campaign manager for the state, Ethan Elion, and replacing him with a former aide to Tim Pawlenty.

"Sarah Crawford Stewart, a seasoned New Hampshire strategist, will be taking over many of the day-to-day responsibilities in her role as New Hampshire senior adviser," a spokesman told the New Hampshire Union Leader. The campaign is very pleased with the leadership team we have in place in New Hampshire."

Stewart was Pawlenty's state director and also worked on John McCain's successful 2000 and 2008 primary campaigns.

It's a bit of a stretch to call any state a "must-win" for Huntsman given that he's barely registering in national polling at the moment, sharing the bottom-tier with candidates like Thad McCotter and Gary Johnson. But as a far as Huntsman has a path to the nomination, it runs through New Hampshire, where he's hoping he can appeal to independent and moderate voters to jumpstart his campaign.

2012

Poll: GOP Insiders Overwhelmingly Favor Romney

Benjy Sarlin | September 1, 2011, 1:09PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (R-MA)

Republican "insiders" are wary of Rick Perry's ability to win, according to a survey by National Journal, picking Mitt Romney by a wide margin as the more electable candidate.

The poll, which regularly checks in with a pool of Republican and Democratic strategists, finds both parties in agreement that Romney is the superior candidate. Republicans think the GOP would be better off nominating him by a 69% to 31% margin. That number is even higher among Democratic insiders, 83% of whom see Romney as the better bet versus 17% for Perry.

Unnamed insiders from both parties cited questions about Perry's ability to win over independents given his resume as a hardline conservative, red-state governor. "Perry can fire up the base, but this election will be won in the middle, not on the fringes," one Republican said.

Given his recent appeals to the Tea Party, winning a poll of veteran Republican politicos may not be the most exciting achievement for Romney. And given that Perry is amassing a solid lead in national polls and surging in a number of early primary and caucus states, it may not be the most representative slice of GOP opinion either. A recent PPP poll of South Carolina, for example, showed Perry cleaning up not only with the conservative, Tea Party wing of the GOP, but with more moderate Republicans that should in theory be Romney's base.

Google

Google, Fox News Team Up For Republican Presidential Debate

David Taintor | September 1, 2011, 1:03PM

Google and Fox News announced on Thursday that they're teaming up to present a Republican presidential debate on Sept. 22.

While the debate itself was already scheduled, Google's partnership adds an interactive element. A YouTube channel launched Thursday offers viewers an opportunity to submit questions to the candidates.

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2012 elections

Dem Video Blasts GOP On...Angry Town Halls (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 1, 2011, 11:18AM

Web video from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "The Heat is on Republicans as Outrage Grows"

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has new web video out, going after the GOP on a topic that might seem oddly familiar to people who remember the last campaign cycle: angry constituents at congressional town halls.

Last cycle, of course, Republicans made hay against the then-Democratic majority, highlighting how Democratic members faced angry town halls mainly on the issue of health care reform. The DCCC's new video shows various local news clips from across the country, all of them of Republicans facing heat on GOP proposals to privatize Medicare and other economic issues.

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Rick Perry

Rick Perry's "Star Wars" Problem Haunts Him As He Heads For The Reagan Library

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 1, 2011, 9:08AM

Next week -- as everyone in the universe now knows -- Rick Perry will appear in a televised debate at the Reagan Library in California. The debate will be Perry's first as a presidential candidate, and it takes place on what is virtually hallowed ground for Republicans.

But Perry will walk in facing questions about one of Reagan's favorite projects: the Strategic Defense Initiative, nicknamed "Star Wars." On the trail recently, Perry's been trying to deflect his past as a Democrat and supporter of Al Gore's first presidential bid. One method of doing that has been playing down Gore's 1988 position on "Star Wars" or SDI.

But as ABC News' Michael Falcone points out, Perry's SDI talk is somewhat short of the mark.

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Sarah Palin

Christine O'Donnell Takes To Twitter After Tea Party Rejection

Benjy Sarlin | September 1, 2011, 8:33AM

Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell

The epic drama between Sarah Palin, Christine O'Donnell, and the Tea Party of America over who would appear at an event in Iowa this weekend appears to have reached its conclusion: Palin is in. O'Donnell is out.

But that's about all they agree on. According to CNN, Palin's camp was upset after O'Donnell's staff told the Tea Party group that they had the ex-governor's support in joining the event, even claiming that the two had been exchanging text messages. The group's president, Ken Crow, finally dropped O'Donnell (after briefly re-inviting her) once Palin put her appearance "on hold."

O'Donnell, who is promoting her book "Troublemaker," took to Twitter to defend her behavior and suggested reporters were inventing Palin sources as part of a conspiracy to hurt the Tea Party.

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Rick Perry

Rick Perry Defends Early Praise For Clinton Health Care Plan

Benjy Sarlin | September 1, 2011, 6:15AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Rick Perry says a letter he wrote in 1993 praising Hillary Clinton's health care reform efforts is misunderstood and should not be taken as an endorsement of the law.

The correspondence, recently dug up by The Daily Caller, dates back to when Perry was serving as Agriculture Commissioner in Texas. In it, he asked that rural communities be taken into consideration as a task force led by First Lady Hillary Clinton prepared their recommendations. But he also had some kind words for Clinton personally, writing "I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation's health care system are most commendable."

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