Super Southern Tuesday is upon us, here are some of the stories we are following in ‘The War Room’ today, March 13th, 2012:
119 delegates are up for grabs as voters go to the polls in Alabama, Mississippi, Hawaii and American Samoa. Pundits, analysits and party leaders see this as an indicator that could shape the rest of the GOP race: Will Romney put it away with a win in either Alabama or Mississippi? Can Santorum still claim credibility if he loses both? Has Gingrich figured out that he’s unelectable? Join us tonight in the War Room at 9 p.m. Eastern to learn the answer to these and other exciting questions!
Hint: Even if Romney loses, he doesn’t lose much.
Just in case this does go on (and we hope it does!), WWL-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana is out with a new poll that shows Rick Santorum in the lead in that state with 25 percent. Romney comes in second at 21 percent, Gingrich is at 20 percent. With their primary two weeks away, the undecideds weigh in at 25 percent. Interesting statistic: “Thirty-four percent of Republican women are undecided, compared to 17 percent of Republican men.” Louisiana holds its primary March 24th, and Santorum’s Red, White and Blue Fund is already running ads.
Speaking of those SuperPac big spenders who account for a major portion of the donations to the GOP presidential campaigns: They are spreading their love to the state level politicians as well. “Among the big five super PAC donors—the handful who have donated a full 25 percent of money flowing through super PACs—Harold Simmons, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, and Bob Perry have all spread hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars at the state level.” Huffington Post has the details here.
That new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that 69 percent of Americans think SuperPacs should be illegal. Bloomberg reports that 91 percent of the ad spending in the two southern states holding primaries today came courtesy of the SuperPacs.
Gas prices driving down Obama’s approval numbers? You sure? The National Journal reports that the public believes that “manipulation of prices by large energy companies” and “tensions in the Middle East” are mostly to blame for the latest price jump. Hmmmm. Jonathan Chait has an interesting theory on Obama’s numbers that’s as good as any out there.
What is Marco Rubio up to? Besides writing his memoirs, that is. If you look at some of the names he has assembled as part of his team, it should become fairly obvious. Rubio is already out campaigning for GOP contenders outside of Florida.
Gallup is out with some numbers today that show consumer confidence is at a four-year high, and that gas prices would have to reach $5.30 a gallon before it would have a major impact on their spending habits. (Shhh! Don’t tell the oil companies.) Retail sales rose in February by the most in five months according to Bloomberg.
The GOP’s War on Women continues in Pennsylvania, where a Republican legislator in that state has introduced a transvaginal ultrasound bill just like the one that was just shot down in Virginia.
Maybe we should mention one more poll statistic at this point. From yesterday’s New York Times/CBS Poll that found President Obama has a healthy lead over the Republican candidates among independent voters: “The president’s edge among independents is largely due to women. Independent men split closely between Mr. Obama and the leading Republican candidates. But independent women said they preferred Mr. Obama by double digits.’They take a stand on keeping big government out of our lives, but then they want government to take over our private lives,’ Mary Butler, an independent from Gansevoort, N.Y., said about the Republicans in a follow-up interview.”
Turns out we had Richard Nixon all wrong. He was a real sweetheart.
Video break: Who let the dog out? (Sorry, couldn’t resist. Just too cute.)
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