A Black Veil of Mourning Hangs Over America - Updated

By AskMarion

I went to bed at about 2a.m. the night of Election 2012 hoping I would wake up to a news cycle miracle along the lines of the correction after the famous 1948 Election Chicago Tribune headlines: Dewey wins over Truman (It would have been poetic justice!)  But when I woke up Obama had still been re-elected, Florida was still too close to call definitively and whispers of voter fraud were everywhere.

Per the Tampa Bay Online and other sources, at 3:30p.m. on Wednesday November 7th, President Barack Obama was still holding onto a slim lead, but too close to call, in Florida the largest swing state, which the President ended up not needing to win for re-election because he captured several other battleground states.  At the time of the writing for this piece Obama's lead in Florida was much less than last night — 46,666 votes, or 49.9 percent to 49.3 percent for Romney. All precincts were in, but provisional and absentee ballots were yet to be counted, which raises a red flag in the mind of the informed voter.  If you have paid attention to the voter fraud fears. warnings and issues around the country and  the voter machine problem reports, the Allen West loss in Florida… who is asking for a recount, along with the slim lead in that state for President Obama, raises questions… as does the Mia Love loss when she was way ahead in Utah, a state that Governor Romney carried.  After all the only people the left dislikes more than tea partiers and conservative women is conservative blacks.  Amazingly Michele Bachmann survived and was re-elected.  But how easy would it be to set a few machines in precincts like those of Allen West or Mia Love that would favor their opponents as well as President Obama?

The reality is that America either committed suicide or was murdered through voter fraud on November 6, 2012 as the mainstream media remains silent and is still spinning the story of Obama’s re-election victory.

Investment guru and financial advisor Porter Stansberry put out a piece before the Election warning investors and Americans in general that the Obama machine and the major powers supporting him would guarantee that President Obama won re-election by any means necessary.  And when you look at the polls, analyzed by experts like Karl Rove, Michael Barone, Dick Morris, Joe Trippi, and the list goes on, who predicted a very close election or a Romney win, as well at the enthusiasm on the right and the size and enthusiasm of the crowds that appeared at the Romney and Ryan events verses the scant and often paid for crowds at the Obama and Biden events throughout much of the election season you have to shake your head… the numbers just don’t add up!  Many feel that Mitt Romney should have contested the election instead of being the gentleman and man of character that he is.  I am among those!

Here Are the Responses of 5 Top Conservative Thought Leaders to Obama’s Victory  Are we conservatives so guileless that we simply cannot fathom the theft of a US presidential election? Instead much of the GOP just turns on itself?!?  More and more information is surfacing about voter fraud do to the voting machines, military votes not counted and variances between exit polls and results and Obama numbers in precincts where GOP inspectors were removed.

Mitt Romney is a decent, patriotic, kind and God-fearing man with exactly the background and skills needed to turn America around and put people back to work.  He and Paul Ryan would have put our country on the road to fixing our debt crisis and would have returned us to a place of respect in the world community.  We chose the sly candy man (or Santa Claus as Rush said) instead of the honest ‘meat and potatoes man’, even though there is poison in the candy. 

After decades of dumbing down our population and 4-years of the Obama Administration actively creating a dependency culture added to the changing demographics of the electorate including 11 million Latinos breaking for Obama (A higher percentage of Hispanics voted for Obama this time than in 2008), months worth of negative ads by Team Obama in the swing or battleground states against Governor Romney  that tainted the electorate while Romney was still in a contentious primary fight, Gary Johnson and Ron Paul’s Libertarians siphoning off Republican votes in some key states like Colorado, Hurricane Sandy, Team Romney deciding not to go after Obama directly on Benghazigate and the photo op vision left in voters’ minds of New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie bear hugging President Obama and even if Ronald Reagan could have swooped down from Heaven riding Shadowfax, he wouldn't have been elected yesterday in the culture we live in now.

But perhaps the two greatest contributors to the Obama re-election added to the factors above are voter fraud around the country including the registration of dead dogs, cartoon characters and dead people, the rigging of voting machines and the DOJ’s efforts to block voter ID laws… plus the lack of turnout in large enough numbers by Evangelicals, Caucasians, seniors and Constitutionalists for Romney and the lack of awareness of the true issues and facts by Obama voters that can largely be attributed to the liberal mainstream media that have protected Obama since 2007.  Only one third of Americans eligible to vote, exercised their right and privilege.  And how many of those were duplicates or ineligible or changed votes is another question, plus what happened to the approximately 200 million Americans that did not vote in the most important election of our lifetime(s)?

Election 2012 was a game changer, a defining election, that decided whether America would continue down the entitlement path, becoming a Nanny State, where Americans chose Big Brother and less individual freedom and opportunity in order to guarantee themselves benefits and cultural equality, like Europe has over the past two decades, a socialistic democracy type of system (that has failed miserably and is now falling apart) over a return to American Exceptionalism that guarantees everyone an equal playing field but not governmental mandates and guarantees of welfare or equality and is based on the foundation and documents our Founding Fathers left this country.  By re-electing Barack Obama we chose the latter.  Dennis Miller said on the Factor on Wednesday that “America will never be the same, at least not in his lifetime” and truer words were never said.

Whatever comes as a result of this election if you did not vote or help spread the information you knew to be ‘true’; or if you voted for Obama without knowing what is going on in Benghazi or what is really in the ObamaCare bill (which you can read it on the Internet); if you are Hispanic and could not see past the immigration issue: if you are black or a minority voter who could not see past the issue of race; if you are a Christian and couldn’t get past Romney being a Mormon or your type of Christian; or if you are a single woman and put ‘free’ birth control and abortions before all else, or if you allowed people to scare you without doing your own homework, you can only blame yourself!  It will be your legacy and yours to explain when you children and grandchildren ask, “What were you doing and who did you vote for the day America died?”

Thomas Sowell said today, "Like so many people, in so many countries, who started out to "spread the wealth," Barack Obama has ended up spreading poverty", yet so many still are blind to the reality judging from the election.  Others, like many in abusive relationships, just can’t seem to break away.  That is perhaps the most frightening lesson on the election.

It has been an unusual day filled with emptiness and sorrow for many… for most who understand history, the Constitution and follow current events, as if a black veil of mourning has covered America.  Many felt God would jump in at the last minute and give voters wisdom to right our ship.  I think God gave Americans the tools long ago in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, like he gave us the Bible to follow, and he inspired the Founding Fathers to guide our path but we have lost our way.  He gave us endless clues over the past 4-years that we made a mistake in 2008 and gave us another wake-up call when the Benghazi terror attack facts were leaked, and again too many people chose not to listen, not to do their homework and not to vote.

We must not give up the fight… but we, as a country, missed ‘the moment’ by re-electing Barack Obama instead of the right man for the job, Mitt Romney.  Conservatives will now be called on to work and fight even harder and to start immediately at a grassroots local level.

Since this was originally written, we suspect that many military absentee ballots were perhaps not counted and the reports of suspected voter fraud and discrepancies between exit polls and the reported results could have brought a victory in several states for Governor Romney that might change the entire outcome of the election. Demand that these votes be counted and applied honestly and correctly, whatever the outcome. Our troops give their lives daily for our rights and freedoms, so if there is some truth behind the Duffel Bag’s satirical piece, their votes must be counted! And if there was voter fraud within the U.S. that would changed the outcome of the election, it must be addressed and the votes must be applied correctly. Remember Al Franken… Stand up and join the fight… get out the word to everyone to demand that everyone’s vote is counted and counted honestly and those votes that are ineligible must be pulled!

I have heard speculation that voter fraud on the Democrat side could be as high as 5% of the total ballots cast. The Dow dropped 400 points the two days after the election and layoffs and even companies closing their doors began the morning after Election 2012, once companies and especially small business owners knew that President Obama had been re-elected and that ObamaCare and many of its costs would begin going into affect in January 2012. And the by Friday General Petreus had resigned and the Benghazigate cover-up was moving to page one.

Whether the black veil of mourning continues to hang over America, grows even darker or is lifted is up to ‘We the People’. Will we demand an honest count and even a redo (new balloting) in some areas until we know the outcome of Election 2012 is true and honest and the right people are in office, from President down to the local dog catcher? Will we demand answers, the truth, explanations, and resignations, recalls and impeachments of those responsible for the cover-up(s) in Benghazi and then go back to Fast and Furious. And will conservatives (Republicans) realign the delivery of their message and reach out move effectively allowing more people to feel comfortable in their tent without compromising their values; hence continuing to give people in the future a choice. Or will we grumble in our soup and whine on our computers while let it all slide again… changing the traditions, values and legal precidents of the greatest country on earth forever, as our Founding Fathers spin in their graves? The choice is ours and whether we choose blue sky, the black veil or total darkness, is up to us as individuals, communities, political groups and parties and the whole nation.

Related:

We Must Remain In The Fight

Election 2012: Obama gets his “revenge,” but conservatives must stand tall

Military Absentee Ballots Delivered One Day Late, Would Have Swung Election For Romney

How Romney Lost

Tens of thousands report voting problems in Battle Ground States

It’s the turnout stupid… updated

Not by the color… by Character

Romney Concedes, Obama Wins Second Term

Allen West lost in Florida… who is asking for a recount

GOP Rising Star Mia Love Loses Tight Congressional Race in Election Day Shocker

Election Day November 6th 2012 Tweets

GBR: Elections Have Consequences

‘Cooling Out’ the Voters

Picking a U.S. President… in 2012… Now Just One Day Away From a New Start

More Electronic Voting Machines Changing Romney Votes to Obama: We Looked Into It and Here’s What a Vendor Told Us – Updated

Have You Heard About ‘Spigot Cities’ That May Pump Votes to Obama?

Obama United Progressive Coalition by Dividing America

Obama’s Hidden Bread Lines

GBR:  A Caller Who Grew Up in the USSR

CNN’s ‘Liberal’ Erin Burnett Takes Apart Obama… (VIDEO)

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Optimism for a Change

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton – The Noisy Room

My husband and I woke up this morning at 6 AM to the happy news of Mitt Romney’s VP choice – Paul Ryan. Seriously – we were so happy we were laughing and crying. Optimism for a change.

Wielding an economic sword, with a military backdrop and the shield of faith, Romney and Ryan will wipe the progressive floor with action, devotion and truth. Time for the Snoopy Dance! Ryan is the Tea Party pick and with a devout mindset, the line between the light and the dark has been drawn and sides are now chosen. I choose the light.

Can you imagine the gnashing of teeth on the left with a humble Mormon and a devout Catholic saying the kinds of things Reagan used to say and meaning it? Furthermore, can you imagine a debate between the intellectual leader of the conservative movement and the progressive… what would you call him? The progressive jester? Fool? Dunce? Incompetent nitwit? So many choices, so many idiots.

Yes, it’s the clean team versus the dirty duo. Can you imagine what would have happened if Reagan and Kennedy had managed to run on the same ticket? Instead in 2008, we got Sith Lord Palpatine and Jar-Jar Binks pushing debt, doubt and despair.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan – America’s Comeback Team. Optimism for a change.

Full speech: Romney at Nauticus

Here is Mitt Romney’s Speech in Norfolk, Virginia (highlighting is my emphasis):

Ladies and gentlemen:

It’s great to be back in Virginia and here in Norfolk. Your city’s beauty is only matched by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. Today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of America. As we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it is an honor to announce my running mate and the next Vice President of the United States: Paul Ryan.

Paul Ryan is a leader.

His leadership begins with character and values. And Paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life.

Paul’s father died when he was in high school. That forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. But Paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community. And as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard-working ethic of the Midwest.

Paul Ryan works in Washington – but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a person of great steadiness, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good.

Paul’s upbringing is obvious in how he has conducted himself throughout his life, including his leadership in Washington.

In a city that is far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, Paul Ryan is a shining exception. He does not demonize his opponents. He understands that honorable people can have honest differences. And he appeals to the better angels of our nature. There are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with Paul Ryan; I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t respect his character and judgment.

Paul is in public life for all the right reasons – not to advance his personal ambitions but to advance the ideals of freedom and justice; and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. A faithful Catholic, Paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life.

With energy and vision, Paul Ryan has become an intellectual leader of the Republican Party. He understands the fiscal challenges facing America: our exploding deficits and crushing debt – and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don’t change course.

Paul Ryan combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in America’s future and an understanding of all the wonderful things the American people can do.

Paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done. He has never been content to simply curse the darkness; he would rather light candles. And throughout his legislative career he’s shown the ability to work with members of both parties to find common ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the American people.

Paul and I are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of America. We are offering a positive, governing agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity, and that will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. Our Plan to Strengthen The Middle Class will get America back to work and get our country back on track.

We offer solutions that are bold, specific, and achievable. We offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take home pay to middle class families.

To strengthen the middle class, we will provide our workers and our children with the skills to succeed. We’ll cut the deficit, have trade that works for America, and champion small business. And finally, we will unleash our energy resources to achieve North American energy independence.

We will help care for those who cannot care for themselves, and we will return work to welfare. As poverty has risen to historic and tragic levels, with nearly one out of six Americans now having fallen into poverty, we will act to bring these families into the middle class. Unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion, we will preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security. Under the current president, healthcare has only become more expensive. We will reform healthcare so that more Americans have access to affordable healthcare, and we will get that started by repealing and replacing Obamacare.

And at a time when the President’s campaign is taking American politics to new lows, we are going to do things differently. We are going to talk about aspirations and American ideals; about bringing people together to solve the urgent problems facing our nation. And when that message wins in America, it will be a victory for every American.

Today is a good day for America. And there are better days ahead. Join me in welcoming the next Vice President of the United States – Paul Ryan.

It should be noted that Romney accidentally called Ryan the next President of the United States, but graciously came back up, said he goofed and welcomed his running mate in true Presidential fashion. When was the last time we had a real leader admit he goofed and not just for political grandstanding?

The Tea Party’s favored son, Paul Ryan, will save America from the fiscal cliff looming ahead of us. You know the one Obama wanted to push us over while framing Republicans for his own dastardly deed – it’s called projection. Romney/Ryan will rebuild the middle class, slash the debt and right the American ship. Instead of Obama’s “You didn’t build that!,” Romney and Ryan in one voice tell us that: “If you have a small business, you did build that!” They’ll also restore us to constitutional principles and consent of the governed, not ruling by the elite.

On to Paul Ryan’s remarks (highlighting is my emphasis – I dare you not to smile):

Thank you Governor Romney, Ann. I am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate.

Mitt Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at a crucial time in its history. Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim; and they need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment; and he and I share one commitment: we will restore the dreams and greatness of this country.

I want you to meet my family. My wife Janna, our daughter Liza, and our sons, Charlie and Sam.

I am surrounded by the people I love, and I have been asked by Governor Romney to serve the country I love.

Janesville, Wisconsin is where I was born and raised, and I never really left it. It’s our home now.

For the last 14 years, I have proudly represented Wisconsin in Congress. There, I have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, and turning ideas into action; and action into solutions.

I am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a Romney Administration. This is a crucial moment in the life of our nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead America back to prosperity and greatness.

That man is standing next to me. His name is Mitt Romney. And he will be the next president of the United States.

My dad died when I was young. He was a good and decent man. I still remember a couple of things he would say that have really stuck with me. “Son you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”

Regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem,…and Mitt Romney is the solution.

The other thing my dad would say is that every generation of Americans leaves their children better off. That’s the American legacy.

Sadly, for the first time in our history, we are on a path which will undo that legacy. That is why we need new leadership to become part of the solution – new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth, and jobs.

It is our duty to save the American Dream for our children, and theirs.

And I believe there is no person in America who is better prepared – because of his experience; because of the principles he holds; and because of his achievements and excellence in so many different arenas – to lead America at this point in its history.

Let me say a word about the man Mitt Romney will replace. No one disputes President Obama inherited a difficult situation. And, in his first 2 years, with his party in complete control of Washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda. But that didn’t make things better.

In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt and despair.

This is the worst economic recovery in 70 years. Unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the Great Depression. Families are hurting.

We have the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since WWII.

Nearly 1 out of 6 Americans are in poverty–the worst rate in a generation. Moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet.

Household incomes have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years.

Whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure.

President Obama, and too many like him in Washington, have refused to make difficult decisions because they are more worried about their next election than they are about the next generation. We might have been able to get away with that before, but not now. We’re in a different, and dangerous, moment. We’re running out of time — and we can’t afford 4 more years of this.

Politicians from both parties have made empty promises which will soon become broken promises–with painful consequences–if we fail to act now.

I represent a part of America that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs and factory towns. Over the years I have seen and heard from a lot from families, from those running small businesses, and from people who are in need. But what I have heard lately troubles me the most. There is something different in their voice and in their words. What I hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures.

I hear some people say that this is just “the new normal.” High unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. It’s the result of misguided policies. And next January, our economy will begin a comeback with the Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class that will lead to more jobs and more take home pay for working Americans.

America is on the wrong track; but Mitt Romney and I will take the right steps, in the right time, to get us back on the right track!

I believe my record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to Governor Romney’s executive and private sector success outside Washington. I have worked closely with Republicans as well as Democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation.

I’m proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience, that if you have a small business—you did build that.

At Bain Capital, he launched new businesses and he turned around failing ones – companies like Staples, Bright Horizons and Sports Authority, just to name a few. Mitt Romney created jobs and showed he knows how a free economy works.

At the Olympics, he took a failing enterprise and made it the pride of our entire nation.

As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with Democrats and Republicans to balance budgets with no tax increases, lower unemployment, increase income and improve people’s lives.

In all of these things, Mitt Romney has shown himself to be a man of achievement, excellence and integrity.

Janna and I tell Liza, Charlie and Sam that America is a place where, if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead.

We Americans look at one another’s success with pride, not resentment, because we know, as more Americans work hard, take risks, and succeed, more people will prosper, our communities will benefit, and individual lives will be improved and uplifted.

But America is more than just a place…it’s an idea. It’s the only country founded on an ideas. Our rights come from nature and God, not government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.

This idea is founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self-determination and government by consent of the governed.

This idea is under assault. So, we have a critical decision to make as a nation.

We are on an unsustainable path that is robbing America of our freedom and security. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this:

We won’t duck the tough issues…we will lead!

We won’t blame others…we will take responsibility!

We won’t replace our founding principles…we will reapply them!

We will honor you, our fellow citizens, by giving you the right and opportunity to make the choice:

What kind of country do we want to have?

What kind of people do we want to be?

We can turn this thing around. Real solutions can be delivered. But, it will take leadership. And the courage to tell you the truth.

Mitt Romney is this kind of leader. I’m excited for what lies ahead and I’m thrilled to be a part of America’s Comeback Team. And together, we will unite America and get this done.

Thank you.

Video - Ryan eviscerates Obama on Obamacare in 6 minutes:

We won’t blame others, we will take responsibility… Wow. Imagine that… The adults have returned to our hallowed halls and somebody is going to get an ass whupping. Good times. And Romney and Ryan have the courage and conviction to tell the truth. We will be that shining city on a hill once more – I know it.

What do you want to bet Obama and Biden have never sat down and prayed together? I don’t know that Romney and Ryan have prayed together, but I have no trouble envisioning that. Obama and Biden? Not so much.

We have the comeback team. We have optimism for a change.

Paul Ryan: “This is our generation’s defining moment” 

Romney-Ryan is the right team for this moment!!

Romney to Announce VP Pick – Insider Says Paul Ryan Will Be Vice Presidential Running Mate

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UNBELIEVABLE?! Newt loves FDR, models himself after Woodrow Wilson and admires SEIU’s Andy Stern

Yet with Progressive role models like these, the only Speaker ever to be sanction by the House, recent questionable connections to lobbying for Freddie and Fannie… yesterday in the  South Carolina primary, supposedly a conservative state, Washington insider Newt Gingrich pulled off a major victory over Mitt Romney #2, Rick Santorum #3 and Ron Paul #4… and that after his second wife resurrected her story of Newt’s philandering with a supposed request for an open marriage.

AP  -  Is New t really the most electable, best representative of conservative values, or less moderate than Mitt Romney ?

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 3:52 PM EST

Beck Show on Gingrich

It’s not as if Newt couldn’t have known his past comments were going to eventually be called into question. He’s capably navigated his way through his big government tendencies so far and miraculously still has solid support in the Tea Party. Will the latest damaging clip have any impact? Gingrich is caught praising his favorite president of the 20th century: FDR. Yup, he picked the mother of all progressives ahead of Ronald Reagan.

Watch this video montage:

Cue sound of heads exploding across the country…NOW!

Seriously?! This is unbelievable.

“This goes back to what Newt Gingrich said on this program. You got to get things done. That’s akin to saying we all love the Constitution but there are things we got to do,” Glenn warned.

“FDR did get things done, and then they were ruled unconstitutional,” Stu joked.

But that’s not the worst thing – on the clip at the top of the page Glenn reads a story where Gingrich praised SEIU’s Andy Stern in one of his books.

In his book “Real Chance: From the World That Fails to the World That Works,” Gingrich praises the SEIU head, who remains a close adviser of the President Obama. Pitching the need for conservatives to respect organized labor, while simultaneously pushing back against some of
Labor’s more cherished legislative goals, he wrote the following:

” Conservatives cannot cheer unions overseas and then be blindly anti-union here at home. There are legitimate historic reasons for workers to organize together, and there is a strong need for a healthy, competitive, union, movement that helps improve the lives of its members and the competitiveness of our country.

Andy Stern, the head of the Service Employees International Union, is the union leader who probably best understands the challenge of the
world market and the need to make American union members productive in the face of world competition. Sadly, he is a distinct minority among
union leaders. “

“So he loves Andy Stern,” Glenn said. “If he can’t figure it of Stern is a Socialist communist dirt bag then he shouldn’t be the leader of the free world.”

And he admits to be a fan of Woodrow Wilson!

Watch Newt claim to be a “realpolitik Wilsonian” Here:

Nobody that loves, emulates, or admires FDR, Woodrow Wilson and Andy Stern is a true conservative… for those 2-men are all Progressives… Progressive heroes. (These men are the heroes and friends of Obama and his czars).  And someone with 3-wives, two divorces, a long history of affairs and a tendency for grandiosity (Newt has also compared himself or Pericles, Abraham Lincoln, Moses, and  a Viking) even if he has changed, beats Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney as social conservatives.  Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have been model husbands and fathers.

One must ask… what happened to value voters and the tea party?  Is it all really only talk?

GOP Contenders Debate: Fix the U.S. Economy or Go the Way of Europe

We’re getting there! It was the sixth debate of the fall season Wednesday night series.  CNBC’s debate was tag-lined “Your money. Your vote.” And yet by the time most of us had sat down and found a comfortable position for our legs, they were talking about Cain’s sexual harassment allegations. But while Cain isn’t off the hook for the accusations, he did very well for himself and it was the beginning of what could be a strong comeback. And in last night’s debate whenever the liberal media started to ask Cain about the on-going sexual harassment allegations the people in the audience booed.  When the media went back to questions on the economy, they cheered.  Hurray for everyone in that audience!

Cain said that the American people “deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations.”

He also said that since the allegations surfaced more than a week ago, “voters have voted with their dollars,” and supported his campaign.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was asked about the allegations against Cain. Romney said Cain has responded to the questions and “people can make their own assessment.”

The questions about the Cain allegations generated boos from the audience at Oakland University.

The Media has been focused on “all “Herman Cain scandal, all the time. No Solyndra Solar scandal, no Fast and Furious Guns scandal... just Cain without end.  How convenient… another created diversion? 

ROCHESTER, Mich. (The Blaze/AP) — United in agreement for once, Republican presidential rivals warned forcefully Wednesday night the United States could be doomed to the same sort of financial crisis that is afflicting Europe unless federal deficits are drastically cut and the economy somehow revived.

Though sexual harassment allegations facing Herman Cain have dominated the GOP campaign for more than a week, the debate in economically ailing Michigan focused almost entirely on financial worries and proposed solutions in the U.S.

The candidates generally stuck to practiced speech lines – with a late exception…

Let’s not count Perry out quite yet, even though it looked like he clocked out two weeks ago. He had another one of those awkward moments… In the middle of one answer, Texas Gov. Rick Perry found himself unable to recall the names of the 3rd Cabinet-level government agency he plans to get rid of if elected, even leaning over to Rep. Ron Paul for help at one point.  That couldn’t have been more uncomfortable had Herman Cain passed Perry a reminder of the third agency’s name engraved on a rock.

“The third agency of government I would do away with – the Education, the Commerce. And let’s see. I can’t. The third one I can’t. Oops,” he said, forgetting for a moment that he wants to abolish the Department of Energy.

On one specific issue that Congress must address soon, the candidates generally backed an extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut scheduled to expire at the end of the year. That was a rare moment of accord with President Barack Obama and many congressional Democrats, who have been warning that consumers could be hurt if the reduction is not renewed.

“I‘m not prepared to raise taxes on working Americans in the middle of a recession that’s this bad,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a sentiment quickly seconded by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Perry disagreed, and Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota said she opposed the one-year reduction when it was approved late last year. She said it had so far “blown a hole of $100 billion in the Social Security trust fund.”

Asked about Europe’s financial troubles, the candidates seemed to speak with one voice in saying Italy and other European countries should rise or fall on their own without any American bailout. And several of the White House hopefuls warned that unless U.S. deficits are cut and the economy invigorated, America is headed for the same type of downward spiral.

“Europe is able to take care of their own problems. We don’t want to step in and bail out their banks and their economies,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said as he and GOP rivals met for the first time in three weeks in campaign debate.

Video: GOP Debate: Let Europe Solve Its Own Problems

Even so, he said the United States should continue contributing to organizations like the International Monetary Fund that are working to prevent a meltdown in troubled economies overseas.

Paul was more emphatic about the debt. “You have to let it liquidate. We took 40 years to build up this worldwide debt,” he added.

Cain said there wasn’t much the United States could do to directly to help Italy at present because the economy there is in such difficult shape. “We need to focus on the economy or we will fail,” he said, referring to the U.S. and calling for spending cuts, a strong dollar and measures to stimulate growth.

The Cain accusations did come up, though briefly.

“The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion due to unfounded accusations,” he said when the question came up early in the debate. “I value my character and my integrity more than anything else. And for every one person that comes forward with an unfair accusation there are probably, there are thousands who come forward and say none of that ever happened with Herman Cain.”

Romney, a former venture capitalist, was asked if he would keep Cain on the job as a CEO given the accusations. He responded, “Herman Cain is the person to respond to these questions. He just did.”

On another point, Cain felt it necessary to make a post-debate apology to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, whom he had called “Princess Nancy” for sidetracking Republican legislation when she was speaker.

The announced topic for the evening was the economy, a subject that produced few if any early sparks among rivals who often spar energetically.

Perry, Gingrich, Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum joined Romney, Cain, Paul and Huntsman on stage at Oakland University in Michigan, a state where unemployment is 11.1 percent and well above the national 9 percent jobless rate.

The debate took place less than two months before Iowa’s kickoff caucuses, as the pace of campaign activity accelerates and public opinion polls suggest the race remains quite fluid. Romney and Cain currently share co-front-runner status in most surveys, with Perry and Gingrich roughly tied for third, within striking distance.

Not surprisingly, none of the contenders found much to like in Obama’s economic stewardship.

Perry said the next president should systematically judge all of the government regulations enacted since Obama took office on a standard of whether they created jobs. Any that failed should be repealed, he said.

Bachmann sharply criticized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She said the latter had recently given multimillion-dollar bonuses to executives even though it was seeking a new federal bailout.

Gingrich, who last held public office more than a decade ago, bristled when asked what advice his company had given Freddie Mac for a $300,000 fee. “Advice on precisely what they didn’t do,” he shot back – stop backing mortgages to applicants who aren’t credit-worthy.

The government rescued mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans. Since then, a federal regulator has controlled their financial decisions.

The cost to taxpayers so far has been about $169 billion, the most expensive bailout of the financial crisis.

There was only scant mention of the Michigan auto industry, which benefited in 2008 and 2009 from a federal bailout that both President George W. Bush and Obama backed.

All eight Republicans on the debate stage say they wouldn’t have offered government assistance.

Not so Obama, who stood outside a factory not far from the debate site recently and said government bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler were a success that saved thousands of American jobs.

 

Side notes:

And then there was Mitt Romney‘s hair. It was actually a little messy. Granted, “messy” by Romney’s standard is like being “feminine” by Janet Napolitano‘s standards stated one of the event bloggers. But those five hairs haven’t seen this much freedom since birth and actually made him look ‘more real’ commented more than one viewer.

The things they can do with technology. It‘s a miracle there wasn’t a mic blowout for Jim Cramer, one of the moderator’s, who yelled every question like he was day trading on NASDAQ. Not even a little audio feedback when he said his “P”s or “B”s.

Video: Herman Cain and Jim Cramer

Related:
AP: Some Candidates ‘ Drifited from Reality’ During Last Night’s GOP Debate

Perry Not Worried About Debating Obama

CNN Spins Tuesday’s Elections as Republican Setback

(h/t the Blaze/AP)

To be updated later…

GOP Presidential Debate - Updated

Frank Luntz Poll:  Mitt Romney was the Winner but overall debate was good for all.

Republican Presidential Debate pt.1

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.1 -  I think this is numbered incorrectly and it is part 2

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.3

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.4

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.5

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.6

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.7

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.8

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.9

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Republican Presidential Debate pt.10

September 22, 2011 News Corp

Watch the full CNN/Tea Party debate here

WATCH Cancer Survivor Herman Cain: ‘I Would Be Dead’ on Obamacare

Government bureaucrats can't be the ones in charge of your cancer treatment.

Read More »

WATCH Johnson: My Neighbor’s Dogs ‘Created More Shovel-Ready Jobs Than This Current Administration’

POLITICS

Read More »

It was his "moment."

WATCH Santorum: Obama is ‘The New King George III’

POLITICS

The president "doesn't understand what America is all about..."

Read More »

WATCH Mitt Romney: ‘I Want Everybody in America to Be Rich’

POLITICS

And Michele Bachmann does not want Americans to pay income tax.

Read More »

Perry: ‘I Don’t Think You Have a Heart’ If You Oppose In-State Tuition for Children of Illegal Immigrants

POLITICS

Read More »

WATCH Herman Cain: If You Mess With Israel, You’re Messing With the USA

POLITICS

Candidates weighed in on the Palestinians' unilateral bid for a UN recognized state.

Read More »

WATCH Romney and Perry Spar Over Whose Book is Worse Politically

POLITICS

"I actually wrote my book," Romney quipped.

Read More »

Ron Paul won the FOX News' after debate online poll with nearly 40% of the over 70,000 votes cast...

Former Minnesota Governor Rick Pawlenty is OUT After Taking 3rd Place in Iowa Straw Poll

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Sunday he is ending his bid president. (AP) 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination on Sunday, hours after finishing a disappointing third in the Iowa straw poll.

“I wish it would have been different, but obviously the pathway forward for me doesn’t exist so we are going to end the campaign,” Pawlenty said on ABC’s “This Week” from Iowa.

The low-key Midwesterner, who had struggled to gain traction in a state he had said he must win, had told supporters on a conference call shortly before the broadcast interview that he was ending his White House bid.

“I thought I would have made a great president, but obviously that pathway isn’t there,” Pawlenty said. “I do believe we’re going to have a very good candidate who is going to beat Barack Obama.”

The two-term ex-governor of a Democratic-leaning state was on Arizona Sen. John McCain’s short list for the vice presidential spot in 2008. He had spent roughly two years laying the groundwork for his 2012 campaign and had hoped to become the alternative to the national front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

But this summer he unexpectedly found himself in a grudge match with Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who shot to the top of polls in Iowa after getting into the race. Pawlenty struggled to raise money and connect with voters.

He poured most of his money and time into Iowa in the run up to Saturday’s straw poll, a test of organizational strength and popularity in the state whose caucuses lead off the GOP nomination fight.

Pawlenty had acknowledged that he needed a strong finish in the straw poll to show momentum and quiet concerns that his campaign was faltering. He put it all on the line, spending the bulk of his campaign account on TV ads ahead of the contest and on a statewide tour of Iowa.

But Bachmann won and got two times as many votes as Pawlenty, who came in well behind the second-place finisher, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

Despite that, Pawlenty suggested to supporters late Saturday night that he wasn’t dropping out. He called the test vote here “an important first step on the road to the Republican nomination and, ultimately, the White House.

“As I’ve said all along, we needed to show progress to do well, and we did just that,” Pawlenty said. “This is a long process to restore America – we are just beginning, and I’m eager for the campaign.”

Still, he said in a statement after the results were announced: “We have a lot more work to do.”

Hours later, he reversed course in the face of a daunting challenge: convincing donors who were slow to give in the months leading up to the straw poll that he was still a viable candidate.

Had he stayed in the race, he would have been competing for money in an expanded field. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a prolific fundraiser with deep ties to the party’s biggest donors, became a candidate Saturday.

At first blush, Pawlenty, 50, seemed to have all the right ingredients as a candidate.

His blue-collar upbringing offered him a natural rapport with middle-class America. He governed as a fiscal hard-liner in a left-leaning state, winning his second term in a year when Republicans elsewhere got drubbed. He made inroads with the right crowds and assembled an all-star cast of advisers with loads of presidential campaign experience.

Pawlenty ran a traditional operation. In the lead-up to his campaign, he spread checks around to local politicians in key states through a political action committee while putting a heavy focus on small-scale events in places such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

But Pawlenty struggled to connect. He came off as bland and rehearsed next to more dynamic contenders. He languished in the polls. Perry’s candidacy shoved Pawlenty further to the side.

His inability to stoke the passions of voters the way other candidates and even non-candidates have was evident.

“He said the right things, that we’re going to limit the size of government and hold down spending,” Sam Buck, a retired veteran from Winterset, said last week after hearing Pawlenty speak. “I like him … but let’s see what Perry of Texas does.”

See '>Video

Pawlenty had been building momentum after a May campaign launch in which he framed himself as the one in the race willing to deliver the hard truths and confront public policy sacred cows. The climb screeched to a halt in a New Hampshire debate in early June, when he shirked the chance to back up prior tough talk about Romney when they were face to face. It reinforced worries among some Republicans that he wouldn’t be willing to take the fight to Obama as the nominee.

In that same debate, Bachmann declared herself a candidate and immediately cast a long shadow Pawlenty had trouble escaping. When he went on the attack against Bachmann in an Iowa debate this week, some wondered if he came on too strong.

His ability to raise money paled compared with Romney and others. The straw poll showing threatened to discourage possible donors.

Source:  the Blaze

Predictions:  Jon Huntsman Jr. and Newt Gingrich won’t be far behind!!

Get all the info on last week’s Iowa debate and the Ames’ Iowa Straw Poll:  HERE

Related:

Bachmann Wins Iowa Straw Poll, Paul Second Followed by Pawlenty

Ron Paul Emphasizes Social Issues as the Veteran Congressman Finishes 2nd in Ames

Pawlenty Campaign Moves Forward After Third Place Straw Poll Finish

Is Palin Definitely Out of the 2012 Race?

Texas Governor Rick Perry Announces Bid for President

See Romney’s Heated Exchange With Angry, Heckling Crowd In Iowa

Santorum After Ames Boost ‘Voters Rallied Around Our Message’

Herman Cain Touted Business Experience at Straw Poll: ‘The Engine of Economic Growth Is the Business Sector’

Obama: New Low Jobs Approval Rating Sinks Below 40% For the First Time - But not to worry, he is heading out on a jobs bus tour this week on the taxpayer’s nickel to fire us up… before leaving on his Martha’s Vineyard vacation….

It Begins: Bachmann and Perry at Same Event

Allen West: Ron Paul ‘Not the Kind of Guy You Want to be Sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave’

1st Official Casualty of Straw Poll: Pawlenty Out

Herman Cain won the best line award in the straw poll speeches… “People say I don’t have much foreign policy experience….(pause), Like the guy that’s in the White House now does?”

Palin: I'm No Quitter, All Options On the Table

Sarah Palin says she's not a quitter, she's a fighter, but adds that, politically speaking, "if I die, I die. So be it."

The Alaska governor spoke in taped interviews on ABC, NBC and CNN broadcast Tuesday morning.

She told CNN that "all options are on the table" for her future.

But told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she recognizes she might not have political staying power after her surprise resignation Friday, which came just as she had been expected to elevate her national profile ahead of a possible 2012 GOP presidential run.

"I said before ... 'You know, politically speaking, if I die, I die. So be it,'" she said.

Speaking in fishing waders from the town of Dillingham, Palin said her administration has been paralyzed by fending off frivolous lawsuits.

"I'm not going to take the comfortable path. I'm going to take the right path for the state," she said of her resignation, which she characterized as a matter of progressing in an unconventional way.

"That caught people off guard. ... It's out of the box and unconventional. That's what we are as Alaskans and certainly how I am as a public servant."

Palin said she doesn't think she needs a title to affect "positive change," but added that she can't see herself being totally out of public service.

Palin is returning to the public eye four days after her bombshell announcement, albeit in a place far removed from the glare of the national media: in a remote fishing village 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Palin was scheduled to appear in Kotzebue to sign a bill designed to bring public safety officers to small towns. Kotzebue, a town of about 3,000 people, is 550 miles northwest of Anchorage and lies on a spit of sand at the end of a peninsula.

There has been speculation that she has some legal issue that is not yet known to the public. But her lawyer told The Associated Press on Monday that she has no legal problems whatsoever, and simply is tired of the hostile political climate, legal bills and other distractions.

"She is leaving now because I think she believes that she has become the issue, rightly or wrongly, with all these ethics complaints and with the issues involving the Legislature, the combativeness they've been demonstrating toward her since she returned from the campaign," Thomas Van Flein said.

"I think she believes it's in the best interest of the state to progress forward, for her to move on to other issues."

Palin has become a lightning rod for partisan politics in Alaska since her return from the 2008 presidential campaign after John McCain selected her as his running mate for the GOP ticket. She has racked up an estimated $500,000 in legal bills defending the flurry of ethics complaints, including one filed Monday that alleges she is violating ethics law by taking per diem payments when she stays in her Wasilla home instead of the governor's mansion in Juneau.

In addition, her relationship with Democrats in the state Senate — once among her staunchest allies — deteriorated in the last session.

At the state Capitol in Juneau, the "Time to Make a Difference" clock that counted the time left in Palin's term was taken down from the wall outside her office. And people from around the country called up her office to inquire about the situation, as did a few cruise ship tourists who made the trek to the Capitol.

The young woman at the desk outside Palin's office was busy answering phones.

"Yes, she is getting swamped with e-mails," the woman tells one caller. "Yes, they do get forwarded to the appropriate person."

"Unfortunately, we are having a back load of e-mails so it will take some to get a response," she tells another.

Where is she? Why is she stepping down? When is her last day? Why so soon?

The tour guide tried to politely answer the questions for the tourists when she could, but for the most part had no answers.

Some of the visitors left Palin messages in a guest log.

"Sarah — Please Stay!" one person wrote.

Kathy Waldo-Gilbert, a registered Democrat from Iowa who was on her honeymoon in Alaska, said she was especially disappointed because she believes that Palin's early departure from the governor's job will make it harder for other women who want to be taken seriously in high-profile positions. Waldo-Gilbert voted Republican for the first time in last year's presidential election.

"When things get hard, you stick around," she said.

Erika Fagerstrom, executive residential manager at the governor's mansion, said Palin and her family will be missed. Even though Palin lived most of the time at her home in Wasilla, she spent "quite a bit" of time at the stately columned mansion near the capitol building, she said.

"We are sad to see her go. They are a great family," she said.

Palin will be succeeded by Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who has announced he will seek to retain the office in the 2010 election.

State Rep. John Harris, a former House speaker and Republican from Valdez, announced Monday that he's preparing to file paperwork with state election officials in a bid for governor.

© 2009 Associated Press - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 8:50 AM

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

Related Resources:

• The Latest on Sarah Palin
• The Latest On Sarah Palin Part II
• Sarah Palin’s Future
• Palin Quits as Alaska Governor
• The 2012 GOP Presidential Race Has Begun
• Coulter to Palin: Take Your Time…
• Sarah Palin Cleared of All 14 Ethics Charges Filed Against Her During and After Campaign…
• Palin blasts Obama administration: Government wants to “control the people”
• The Quayling of Sarah
• Opinionated Prejean,Ireland, Hasselbeck and Palin… Shatter Myth
• Stunner: A Palin Announcement – Resigning in Weeks
• Sarah Palin Will Resign Governorship of Alaska

Specter, Snowe, Collins Anger GOP Base

Three liberal Republican senators — Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Pennsylvania's Sen. Arlen Specter — who pledged their support this weekend to President Barack Obama’s massive stimulus bill are drawing the wrath of many conservatives.

As news filtered through the media that a "deal" had been cut with the defecting GOP Senators — giving Democrats the 60-plus votes they need to overcome a Republican filibuster — Republican officials and pundits expressed outrage.

The bolting senators cited soaring unemployment numbers, the country's worsening recession and the fact they cut about $100 billion off of the Senate Democrats' proposed plan as key factors for their decision to betray the GOP Senate caucus to join with the Democrats.

But critics note that the Democratic "compromise" plan comes in at $827 billion — $8 billion more in spending than the already bloated House bill that called for $819 billion in new spending. They also note the so-called stimulus bill offers little immediate relief to the economy. According to a Congressional Budget Office report issued last week, only a fraction of the stimulus will be spent in 2009.

Though weekends are noted for slow news cycles, Collins, Snowe, and Specter already are finding they are under hostile fire, lambasted on conservative Web sites throughout the weekend and the subjects of angry calls by many of their constituents, according to reports.

“Arlen Specter is DONE,” wrote a blogger named steelfish on the FreeRepublic Web site. “He won his last primary by less than 1 percent against a real conservative of Pat Toomey. And only because the President Bush came to PA and campaigned for him. He is DONE.”

Specter is up for re-election in 2010. Washington Republican strategists tell Newsmax this weekend that Specter's defection has sealed the deal: he will face a primary for the GOP nomination.

"We don't care if we lose the Pennsylvania Senate seat to the Democrats," one Washington strategist told Newsmax. "Better to remove Fifth columnists from the party."

The sentiment was echoed in chat rooms and blogs across the web.

“They are frauds. RINOS" Republicans in Name Only, wrote a blogger named Croupier101 on the Fox News blog site.

On TV news shows Sunday, their Republican colleagues distanced themselves from the defecting troika -- arguing that the small GOP support for the plan did not suggest Congressional Democrats or the White House sought a bipartisan stimulus.

"This agreement is not bipartisan," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CBS' "Face the Nation."

"I've been in bipartisan agreements, many. This is three Republican senators. Every Republican congressman voted against it in the House, plus Democrats. And all but three Republicans stayed together on this. That's not bipartisanship. That's just picking off a couple of senators," McCain said.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the trio’s support must have been disappointing to Obama, who has staked much on his ostensible ability to transcend the partisan divide.

"Having three Republicans, potentially, support it in the Senate out of 535 members of Congress is hardly a bipartisan effort. I think it's a disappointment — surely must be for President Obama," Cornyn told "FOX News Sunday." He added he fully expects the bill to pass "with almost exclusively Democratic support."

The three were the target of a furious national campaign by liberal groups, who besieged their offices with phone calls and emails urging them to support the stimulus plan. Without Democrats controlling a supermajority of 60 votes in the Senate, the trio's support was essential in advancing the contentious plan to a final vote next week.

Their help more than likely will result in pushing the stimulus over the finish line.

In a video posted on YouTube, Republican Rep. Ron Paul said the three “caved in and went with the Democrats.”

The former presidential candidate, who has a sizable libertarian following on the Internet, especially among college students, praised his fellow House Republicans for unanimously opposing the stimulus. But he lamented that after eight years of the massive spending done under the Bush administration, Republican opposition was too little, too late.

"It is like they're born-again budget conservatives," Paul said. "Where were we in the past eight years, when we could have done something? And you see our last eight years that has set this situation up. So we can't blame the Democrats for the conditions we have.

"We have to blame both parties and presidents of the last several decades to have generated this huge government."

The stimulus package, which is expected to come in at about $827 billion when the Senate votes, includes tax cuts and credits and spending on infrastructure, education and other projects that supporters say will create and save jobs.

But critics contend the stimulus is nothing more than a laundry list of political payback to groups that supported the Democrats in the last election. They note that less than 5 percent of the spending goes to infrastructure projects.

Collins said she broke ranks with her party because of the progress congressional negotiators had made on the bill.

"Well, I know that some of my Republican colleagues are unhappy with the position that I've taken," Collins told reporters Saturday. "I hope they will look at the fact that we were able to cut $110 billion of unnecessary spending from this bill. I think that's a good accomplishment. I also think that it's important that we do pass a stimulus bill to help turn the economy around."

But Snowe and Specter have kept a low profile since the deal was struck. Despite their huge role, none made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows. Specter said Friday night that the agreement wasn't perfect but it was necessary.

That assertion was greeted with wild derision on the Internet and with veiled scorn by other Republican leaders.

Julie Ann O'Brien, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, said she already has received plenty of e-mails from people across the country, the majority scolding the two Senators for their support of the bill.

"We have heard from both sides," she told FOXNews.com. "We've heard from those who are pleased that Sen. Collins, in particular, has been willing to play and negotiate. And there are others who feel strongly that they are not acting like Republicans are supposed to act."

O'Brien doesn't anticipate any local political fallout for Snowe or Collins, noting that both won't face re-election for several years and that voters are familiar with them.

"People know what they're getting when they vote for them," she said. "They lean conservative on most issues — that's why they're Republicans. But they really do, I feel, do what is right — not politically right but morally right."

On Sunday, a liberal, union-supported issue advocacy group initially founded in 2005 to rally against President Bush’s Social Security reform plan was praising the three in ads in Maine and Pennsylvania.

"Senators Snowe and Collins have worked with President Obama and other senators to reach agreement on a plan that has support from a broad range of groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and organized labor," says the version of the ad in Maine.

"Call Senators Snowe and Collins today at 202-224-3121. Thank them for their leadership and tell them to keep fighting for a plan to get our economy moving again."

But Collins, at least, has left herself some wiggle room on the final bill that emerges after House-Senate negotiations.

"Well, I know that some of my Republican colleagues are unhappy with the position that I've taken," Collins told FOX News. "I hope they will look at the fact that we were able to cut $110 billion of unnecessary spending from this bill. I think that's a good accomplishment.”

Yet she conceded that if a bill comes back from the conference committee with the House "once again bloated with wasteful spending and it's too expensive, then I'll vote against it."

By: Tim Collie

Source:  Inside Cover© 2009 Newsmax