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    Could This Be Over Fast?

    There's a real dearth of polling data out of South Carolina at the moment. The last public poll was completed on December 19th, which might as well be a hundred years ago. And remember that in recent years, it's South Carolina much more than Iowa or New Hampshire where you really need to win to secure the Republican nomination.

    We know that Public Policy Polling is currently in the field in the state. And they've just tweeted a few polling morsels from there first night of polling. And the first night shows Mitt Romney ahead by 10 points in the state, with Gingrich and Santorum battling for second.

    It seems very likely that Romney will win convincingly in New Hampshire. If he then goes on to score a clear win in South Carolina, that would likely be pretty much it in terms of a real battle for the nomination.

    PPP makes the additional point that in a head to head in South Carolina, Santorum's in shooting distance. But that would require Gingrich and Perry pulling out. On the other hand, if Mitt's solid even in a one on one race in the state, that signals that the weakness in the state which many have suspected or hoped for just ain't there.

    Josh Marshall

    Did Santorum Actually Win?

    Did Rick Santorum actually win the Iowa caucuses? KCCI in Des Moines is reporting that a vote counter at one caucus says a counting error gave Mitt Romney 20 more votes than he actually received. Meanwhile Iowa GOP officials say that counter, Edward True, isn't authorized to discuss the results.

    Josh Marshall

    Chart of the Day

    Mitt's new tax plan: Tax hikes if you make less than 40k a year, tax cuts if you make more.

    Josh Marshall

    Bugsy Obama

    Romney's new attack on Obama carries shades of Jimmy Cagney and Kelsey Grammer in Boss.

    Thomas Lane

    It's Tax Season

    Don't look now, but tax season will soon be upon us.

    The more committed are already diligently preparing to file their returns, while the rest of us will be procrastinating until spring.

    Knowing his meticulous nature, we're guessing Mitt Romney gets his returns in early, but he won't be showing them to you. Here's a good idea as to why.

    Paul Werdel

    Hot Water

    Army reservist who spoke at Ron Paul rally in Iowa Tuesday while in uniform should have known better, an expert on military law tells TPM.

    David Kurtz

    Must See

    Gotta see this Michele Bachmann tribute reel. Must See. Watch.

    Relive the god-awful memories.

    Josh Marshall

    That's The Newt I Know

    Newt: "We're going to be defining Romney out of the mainstream of the Republican party."

    Josh Marshall

    Bachmann Bowing Out?

    NBC News reports that Michele Bachmann will cancel her planned trip to South Carolina, and hold a press conference at 11AM eastern.

    Paul Werdel

    Most Recent Latest news stories from TPM reporters

    TPM2012

    Boston Globe Endorses Jon Huntsman

    In a late boost to his flagging campaign, Jon Huntsman scored one of the most coveted endorsements in the New Hampshire primary on Thursday: The Boston Globe. "Among the candidates, only two stand out as truly presidential, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman," the paper's editors wrote. "Both have track records of success, and both, through their policies and demeanors, have shown the breadth of spirit to lead the nation. But while Romney proceeds cautiously, strategically, trying to appease enough...
    TPM2012

    CHART: What The Candidates Spent For Every Iowa Vote

    In the month leading up to the Iowa caucuses, spending by candidates and the Super PACs supporting them flooded into the state. A large portion was dumped on the Iowa airwaves, where TV-watchers took in dozens of ads each day. But the pay-off was better for some candidates than others. The first chart is the total amount of money spent, both by candidates and the independent groups supporting them, on TV ads. The second chart is the return on this investment -- in effect, how much money each vote cost. ...
    Muckraker

    Emails Refute Republican Suggestion That Bush-Era 'Gun Walking' Was Coordinated With Mexico

    At least twenty weapons that were allowed to "walk" during a Bush-era investigation aimed at combating gun trafficking were later recovered in Mexico, documents the Justice Department sent to congressional investigators on Thursday indicate. One of the distinctions that Republicans have drawn between Operation Fast and Furious, the flawed investigation that allowed weapons to "walk" into Mexico during the Obama administration, and Operation Wide Receiver, which did the same during the Bush...
    IdeaLab

    HBO Drops DVD Discount For Netflix

    One step forward, two steps back? After proudly announcing on Wednesday that its customers had streamed a record 2 billion hours-worth of content in the fourth quarter of 2011, Netflix had the rug pulled out from it on Thursday, confirming to The Wrap that HBO would stop providing DVDs and Blu-Rays to Netflix at discount. Still, Netflix apparently doesn't anticipate anything stopping it from buying those discs at full price and then renting them to customers. As Netflix's communications directorThe:...
    Muckraker

    DOJ Is Sorry If Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Feelings Were Hurt When They Disclosed His Civil Rights Abuses

    You know how when you're trying to avoid apologizing to someone who's upset you throw in a qualifier like "sorry you're upset" or "sorry you feel that way"? That's the type of classic non-apology that a Justice Department official gave to officials representing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who were perturbed by the DOJ's press conference announcing the findings of an investigation into wide-spread civil rights abuses in Arpaio's office.
    Muckraker

    Olbermann's Future At Current TV Unclear

    Since Current TV hired Keith Olbermann last February, the lesser-known cable network has been building primetime programming centered around the progressive heartthrob. But according to recent reports, the relationship is starting to fray. First, Current claimed Olbermann declined their offer to anchor the network's Iowa caucus coverage. A Current source, citing internal emails, told TPM that Olbermann was offered the chance to anchor multiple times. The source said she didn't know why Olbermann...
    TPMDC

    Indiana Capitol In Faceoff Over Labor Rights -- Again

    The Indiana legislature is grinding to a halt this week, as Democrats work to stall the Republican majority from passing a law restricting the power of private-sector labor unions. The "right-to-work" law would go beyond the current crackdowns on public-sector unions, by forbidding private-sector companies and unions from negotiating a contract that would require the collection of partial union dues from non-members. Starting Wednesday, and continuing into Thursday, the Indianapolis Star reports, the...
    TPM2012

    Gingrich-Santorum Non-Aggression Pact Crumbles Pretty Much Instantly

    The rumored scheme in which the campaigns of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich lay off one another and focus their attention on Mitt Romney appears to be backfiring before it began. On a conference call with reporters Thursday, former Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) -- a Gingrich surrogate -- laid into Santorum with one of the worst charges in politics: the claim that he's an unprincipled opportunist. Not exactly the kind of thing you expect to hear from the team that's supposed to be laying off.
    IdeaLab

    Report: Apple Not OK With Steve Jobs Action Figure

    Several tech blogs have latched onto a report from the UK Telegraph that Apple has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Chinese company called In Icons, ordering it to stop making, marketing and selling an eerily-lifelike Steve Jobs memorial action figure. The figurine comes with "14 points of articulation" and an Apple themed backdrop, among other props. Yes, the late Apple founder is depicted wearing his trademark black turtleneck, blue jeans and spectacles. It's being marketed for $109.99 for a's Amy...
    TPMDC

    CHART: Romney Plan Raises Taxes On Lower-Middle Class, Cuts Taxes On Wealthy

    Mitt Romney's tax plan is more complex than those of his current and erstwhile primary competitors. But in broad effect it accomplishes the conservative goal of dramatically lowering taxes on the wealthy at the expense of the lower and middle classes. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center crunched the numbers -- part of a series of analyses the group has done of the GOP candidates' tax proposals -- and found that the plan constitutes a major tax cut for wealthy Americans. But compared to today's rates, ...
    TPM2012

    Democrats Blanket Social Media With Attacks On 'Extreme' Iowa Winners

    Looking to capitalize off the buzz surrounding the Iowa caucuses and upcoming New Hampshire primary, national Democrats are buying up several weeks of social media ads aimed at portraying the entire top tier of the GOP field as extreme. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is running ads on Google searches for Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney, taking users to a short rundown of their portrayal of the candidate's positions and a petition to help "stop" them.
    TPM2012

    Day In 100 Seconds: Recess!

    It seems President Obama's decision to appoint Richard Cordray is kicking up a storm on Fox News and among the GOP candidates Critics have increased their rhetoric and took a chance to have another swipe when Obama and Leon Panetta announced their plan for future military budgets. ...
    Muckraker

    Milwaukee D.A. Announces Charges Against Ex-Walker Aide, Two Others In 'John Doe' Probe

    Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) announced on Thursday charges against three men, including a former top aide to Gov. Scott Walker (R) during his time as Milwaukee County Executive, in two separate sets of criminal allegations. Tim Russell, a former county aide to Walker, and Kevin Kavanaugh, former treasurer of the Milwaukee chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (and also Walker's appointee to the Milwaukee County Veteran Service Commission), are charged with mishandling ...
    TPM2012

    Newt Tries Out His New Romney-Bashing Stump Speech

    LITTLETON, NH -- After being battered in the Iowa caucuses, Newt Gingrich pledged to go about "defining Romney out of the mainstream of the Republican party." In New Hampshire on Thursday, he began to demonstrate just what that meant. At a senior center in Plymouth, Gingrich's debuted an extended riff bashing "Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney" for straying from conservative principles as governor. Among the ills Gingrich cited: Romney "appointed liberal judges to appease Democrats" and "put Planned...
    IdeaLab

    Why Barnes & Noble Is Thinking of Spinning Off The Nook

    Updated 5:26 pm ET, Thursday, January 5 Barnes & Noble has managed to avoid some of the pitfalls of rival physical book retailer Borders (which declared bankruptcy almost a year ago in February 2011), in part thanks to its savvy decision to surprise everyone and launch an e-reader running a heavily modified version of Android, the Nook, in late 2009. Since then, Barnes & Noble has released four iterations of its Nook line, which have gone on to sell unspecified millions, netting $448 million this...
    TPMDC

    Cordray Gets Cracking Even As GOP Complains

    The freshly recess-appointed head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dismissed concerns about the legitimacy of his recess appointment, and says he'll discharge his duties as the nation's top consumer watchdog as if he'd landed in the director's chair in a less contentious way. "I have been appointed as the director of the Bureau," Cordray said at a Brookings Institute event Thursday. "It's a valid appointment. But I will leave those details to others."
    TPM2012

    Newt Goes NIMBY In New Hampshire

    As the saying goes, "not in my backyard." In New Hampshire on Thursday, Newt Gingrich made an awkward pivot. One moment he was accusing President Obama of selling out America to the Chinese by not immediately approving the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The next moment, Newt himself was promising to block another Canadian/American energy project based on environmental concerns. But guess which state that project happens to be in?
    TPM2012

    Romney's New Attack: Obama's A Chicago-Style Crook!

    The precise location of President Obama's birth is a dwindling obsession among the GOP. But the land where Obama's political career started remains an inevitable part of any serious campaign mounted against him. That's right: we've entered the "he's a Chicago politician" phase of the race to the White House. It's not like Obama isn't wide open to this kind of assault -- he lived and worked for many years in Chicago, where many a dead man has cast a ballot and many a palm has been greased. The Windy...
    Muckraker

    Former Walker Aide Arrested In 'John Doe' Investigation

    Updated January 5, 12:33 p.m. ET A new round of arrests has been made in the investigation of former aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), from his time as Milwaukee County Executive. This time, it is three different men, in a matter that reportedly involves serious alleged misconduct for a military charity. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: Tim Russell, a longtime Walker campaign and county staffer, was charged with two felony and one misdemeanor count of embezzlement. One source said the...
    IdeaLab

    Is Reddit A Community Or A Platform?

    The machinations of Reddit in the 2012 election cycle have just begun in earnest, with a subgroup of Reddit users (Redditors) raising $15,000 in funding in 48 hours for Rob Zerban, the Democratic challenger running to unseat Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Gawker's Adrian Chen wasn't amused by the news. On Tuesday, he published a piece titled "Reddit Has Gone Mad With Power," explaining why he thought that the ascent of Reddit as a potential political force was for the worse -- namely that Reddit's "digital...

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