Marshalltown, Iowa (CNN) – Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said he feels “Romney-boated” by the barrage of negative ads run against the former House speaker by a super PAC that supports rival candidate Mitt Romney.  “For a state this size, to spend that number of dollars in negative ads aimed at one candidate is pretty amazing,” Gingrich said Sunday at a press availability in Marshalltown, Iowa.

When asked if he feels “swift boated,” a reference to the negative ads that partially derailed John Kerry’s presidential bid in 2004, Gingrich responded, “No, I feel ‘Romney-boated.'”

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Enough with the doublespeak and convoluted arguments…this one chart says it all:

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Happy New Year to all you “Treepers” from the Conservative Treehouse!  It’s been a wonderful first year, and it’s true…time really does fly when you’re having fun.

We’re starting off the new year by inaugurating a brand new post for the “Prayer Thread”.  Now when you drop by to share a concern, it won’t take quite so long to see your comment in print.  (We had 753 comments on the last one!)  Just ‘click’ on the candle icon, as always.

The final poll results are out!  Looks like it’s Romney at 24%, Paul at 22%, and 15% for Santorum.   Rumors are already swirling that Bachmann/Perry supporters may throw their support behind Santorum, now the most viable social conservative.   If Steve King endorses Santorum on Tuesday, we might have a real horse race here. 

(DesMoinesRegister)…Mitt Romney tops the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in the closing days before the Iowa caucuses, but Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are poised within striking distance.  The poll, conducted Tuesday through Friday, shows support at 24 percent for Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts; 22 percent for Paul, a Texas congressman; and 15 percent for the surging Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.  But the four-day results don’t reflect just how quickly momentum is shifting in a race that has remained highly fluid for months. If the final two days of polling are considered separately, Santorum rises to second place, with 21 percent, pushing Paul to third, at 18 percent. Romney remains the same, at 24 percent.  (more…)

I think it’s great to see Virginia’s AG, Ken Cuccinelli,  stepping in to see if he can get this issue resolved on the legislative side.  The citizens of Virginia deserve to see this process reformed…hopefully in time to see all the GOP candidates on the ballot. 

(FoxNews)…Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is intervening in his state’s presidential primary dispute and plans to file emergency legislation to address the inability of most Republican presidential candidates to get their name on the ballot, Fox News has learned.

Meanwhile, four GOP candidates on Saturday joined fellow candidate Rick Perry’s lawsuit against the state, urging the Board of Elections to either allow them on the ballot or at least refrain from taking any action until a Jan. 13 court hearing.

Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul qualified for the Virginia primary, a contest with 49 delegates up for grabs. Perry and the four candidates joining the lawsuit — Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman — did not.

The failure of other candidates to qualify led to complaints that the 10,000-signature requirement is too stringent.   (more…)

Psychologists have a name for adults who still believe in Santa…

Out of this world: Winners of National Geographic competition capture stunning images of nature at its most beautiful

Video surfaces of Ron Paul talking about racist newsletters in 1995, far earlier than he said he knew about them

GOP presidential candidate says he didn’t write reports

( NYDaily)…A blast from the past is blowing a big hole in Ron Paul’s campaign.  A recently surfaced video from 1995 shows the GOP presidential hopeful discussing controversial newsletters that he claimed this week he didn’t even read until about 2001.

The Texas congressman has come under fire in recent days for the newsletters, called Ron Paul’s Political Report, Ron Paul’s Freedom Report and the Ron Paul Survival Report, which went out under his name in the late 1980s and early 1990s during his time in and out of office.  Some contained a series of racist statements, including, “We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, it is hardly irrational.”  During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, another read, “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks.”

Video below the fold.…   (more…)

Oh, Mr. President…you really are too modest.  After all, aren’t you the guy who slowed down the rising of the oceans, and brought about the healing of our planet?  Come on Mr. President, in my book I’ve got you pegged at number one…albeit my list has a different heading.