Dear GOP Candidates, Come Get Me

As I noted last week, I've been officially "undecided" about who I'm supporting in the Republican presidential primary for a few weeks. 

Follow up from Saturday's GOP debate

Ah. Finally. Someone put the entire debate on YouTube. I was having the worst time getting the original video to embed properly and it was slowing down this site's load time. The perils of amateur web design...sigh...

Anyway, read my post from yesterday, and then I really recommend that you watch the debate when you get a chance. FYI there's some introductory remarks from the debate organizers and Frank Luntz, and the actual debate starts at about the 35 minute mark:

YouTube | PikaFilms | Thanksgiving Family Forum -- Complete Video

The GOP debate you probably didn't watch, but should have

Last night, CitizenLink, a Focus on the Family affiliate, sponsored a debate in Iowa last night between the Republican presidential candidates, focusing on social issues. But you probably didn't see it, because it was online only, in a livestream that was scheduled up against a lot of college football games. That's really a shame, because it was definitely worth watching.

(At the end of this post, I've included a link to the video of the entire debate, so you can watch it, and I strongly encourage you to do so.)

I can't stop laughing at this Ron Paul Bad Lip Reading video

The folks at BadLipReading.com have been making videos with the Republican presidential candidates' ads, replacing the original words with an  intensely funny dose of awesomesauce. Here's their latest, featuring Ron Paul:

'RON PAUL' €” A Bad Lip Reading SoundBite - watch more funny videos

Gotta love the fact that the video starts with "A lot of people say, I kinda wish you were less coo-coo." Heh.

This post is dedicated to all the leprechaun farmers who are gamblers and love dishwashers. 

(Just watch the video, it will make sense...well, sort of.)

Everyone has a 9-9-9 Plan!

Herman Cain isn't the only one with a 9-9-9 Plan:

[Hat tip: Crooks and Liars blog]

See the original 9-9-9 Plan here!

The Las Vegas Debate aka Conservative Slap Fight

Well, that was entertaining.

The Republican presidential candidates met in Las Vegas last night for the latest debate. As appropriate for the location, it was a wild evening with some of the nastiest fights ever between the candidates yet and even an appearance by Wayne Newton.

I've got the Twitter trending topics (from right after the debate ended) for you, and then some random little thoughts about the debate itself:

#StandWithRubio - GOP Candidates Announce Boycott of Univision Debate

Que imbecilidad

Spanish-language TV station Univision learned a lesson today about the limits of their influence.

After the story broke that Univision had released an embarrassing twenty year old story about Senator Marco Rubio's brother-in-law, allegedly in retaliation for Rubio's refusal to appear on the liberal Al Punto show (Shark Tank has a good write up here), three Hispanic Republican leaders - Congressman David Rivera, Florida House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, and Miami-Dade County Republican Party Chairman Erik Fresen - sent letters to the Republican National Committee and the Republican presidential campaigns.

The candidates responded in an avalanche today, with Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman, and Michele Bachmann all announcing that they would boycott a Univision-hosted debate unless the station made amends with Rubio.

Tonight's Debate: What I Want To See

I'm heading down to the Orange County Convention Center for all the Presidency 5/CPAC Florida excitement, and definitely looking forward to tonight's debate. 

I'm a voting delegate for Presidency 5, and for the record, my mind is not made up yet who is getting my vote in Saturday's straw poll. I've been getting lots of mail and robocalls and email messages from most of the candidates but tonight's debate is going to be key in my decision. I know I'm not alone in not feeling completely tied to a candidate yet.

Last Night's Debate at the Reagan Library

Here we go again. The Republican presidential candidates squared off last night at the Reagan Library, so once again, I did an analysis of the trending topics on Twitter immediately after the debate ended. (Don't miss my previous posts on the New Hampshire debate and Ames debate.)

The only debate-related topic that was trending nationwide was "Did Ron Paul." Yes, you read that correctly. Unfortunately for Paul, the vast majority of the tweets for that topic were along the lines of "Did Ron Paul really just say that crazy thing?" Many of these tweets centered on Paul's comments that a border fence could also be used to keep Americans in, and that we should save money by taking away the air conditioning units from our troops in Afghanistan. Huh?

New Zogby poll shows Perry breaking away from the field

Wow. Zogby posted the results of their latest presidential poll on their website yesterday, and there are some eye-opening numbers:

Zogby International | IBOPE Zogby Poll: Perry Races Far Ahead of Republican Field; 4 Announced GOP Candidates Tie or Lead Obama

(Discussion of results after the jump)

Morning Coffee Reading for August 12, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• First, ICYMI, my Twitter trending topics analysis of last nights debate:

Sunshine State Sarah | Twitter Analysis of the Ames Debate

• RedState's Erick Erickson gives his thoughts on the GOP presidential candidates and last night's debate:

RedState | The Horserace for August 12, 2011

• Another excellent commentary on the debate by Melissa Clouthier:

RedState | Presidential Primary Priorities - UPDATED

• The hands-down, most blazingly stupid, #headdesk moment of the debate was when Byron York asked Michele Bachmann whether wives should be submissive to their husbands.

Gateway Pundit | At GOP Debate Michele Bachmann Asked Whether Wives Should Be Submissive

Twitter Analysis of the Ames Debate

During the last GOP Presidential debate in June, I did an analysis of the trending topics on Twitter immediately afterwards and got a lot of positive responses.

So, back by popular demand, here's another city-by-city analysis of what everyone was tweeting about the debate in Ames, Iowa tonight. One thing is immediately clear: there were a lot fewer debate-related trending topics than when I did this analysis in June. Not sure if there were less overall tweets, or if an election that's still more than a year away was overshadowed by the controversy about whether Bert and Ernie should get married (Yes, "Bert and Ernie" is a trending topic in many cities tonight, and yes this is a real issue. I wish I were kidding.) but the Ames debate was definitely less of a presence on the trending topics lists tonight.

Anyway, here's your trending topics (if a city is not listed, then it did not have any debate-related trending topics):

Overall United States: T-Paw

Atlanta: Ron Paul

Austin: #GOPdebate
Boston: Mitt Romney
Chicago: Ron Paul
Dallas-Ft. Worth: Ron Paul   Rick Perry
Denver: Ron Paul
Houston: Rick Perry   Ron Paul
Los Angeles: Rick Santorum   Mitt Romney
Minneapolis: Ron Paul
Nashville: Ron Paul
New York: #GOPdebate   Mitt Romney   Santorum
Orlando: Rick Perry
Phoenix: Rick Perry
San Antonio: Rick Perry
San Francisco: Mitt Romney
Seattle: Mitt Romney
Tampa: Rick Perry
Washington: #gopdebate   Rick Santorum   T-Paw   Jon Huntsman

The important thing to remember is that the presence of a name on the trending topics list does not necessarily equal support. All it means is that people were talking about that candidate. In the case of Ron Paul, the overwhelming number of responses I saw were extremely negative. Paul's rabid fans don't like to admit it, but his foreign policy is just way, way out of the Republican mainstream and he has no chance of winning the primary.

Someone Tell Ron Paul that Iran is a threat because their leaders are even Crazier than he is #amesdebate #GOPdebate #iowadebateFri Aug 12 02:23:15 via TweetDeckJeff Dunetz
yidwithlid

 

Ron Paul would be great for the economy, but unfortunately, we'd be blown up by a nuclear Iran before we got to enjoy it. #amesdebateFri Aug 12 02:16:35 via TweetDeckPrudence Paine
PruPaine

The presence of Rick Perry on so many cities' lists is very interesting, considering that he was not even in Iowa tonight and has not officially declared his candidacy yet (although rumors say he will do so on Saturday at the RedState Gathering in Charleston, SC). Perry was definitely the "elephant" in the room. (Ha ha...get it? Elephant, like the Republican mascot? Sometimes I just crack myself up.) Michele Bachmann had a great answer to Bret Baier's question about Perry, saying there was room for Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, and even Bret himself if he wanted to get in...but the reality is that many of the candidates on the stage tonight know that if when Perry enters the race, their chances of victory will drop significantly.

In other news. Rick Perry is looking great. #amesdebateFri Aug 12 02:39:33 via Twitter for iPhoneAndrew Staroska
OHCONSERVATISM

I'll post some more thoughts about the debate later if I get a chance, but wanted to get this posted. What did you think about the debate? Were you following on Twitter? Who do you think won the debate? Leave a note in the comments!

Morning Coffee Reading for August 9, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• First, some website notes. I've added an "Events" tab at the top right of this website with lots of great upcoming events for conservatives. Make sure to check it out, and if you have an event you'd like to submit, please contact me at sarahrumpf at gmail dot com. 

• Also, if you haven't already, please sign up for the free email subscription to this blog, "Your Daily Dose of Sunshine." You'll get an email in the afternoon with a digest of the day's posts (no more than one email a day, and only on days with new posts). I won't spam you, I promise. :)

• Self-proclaimed "Charlie Crist Republican" George LeMieux has been tying himself in knots trying to distort Adam Hasner's record. One of LeMieux's favorite smears is to claim that Hasner isn't really a fiscal conservative. PolitiFact Florida discussed LeMaestro's distortions in detail, going so far as to call him "hypocritical:"

PolitiFact Florida | George LeMieux attacks Adam Hasner's "over $92.2 million in earmarks"

A few thoughts on last night's GOP presidential debate

Last night's GOP presidential debate took place in New Hampshire and was moderated by CNN's John King. Here's some of my thoughts on how it went:

Catching up on my trip to Washington, D.C.

Hello everyone...sorry I haven't posted anything in awhile.  My trip to Washington, D.C. was absolutely fantastic until the very end when I ended up with a wretchedly evil cold.  I managed to make it through security without getting groped, irradiated, photographed naked or otherwise assaulted by TSA, but thought my ears were going to explode from the air pressure changes during the flight.  Not fun.  Anyway, I'm finally feeling better now - just in time for Thanksgiving with the family, hooray! - so I thought I'd share some of my photos and adventures in our nation's capital last week...

(Long post with pictures and video...after the "read more" link...)

Watch out, DC, here I come!

The very nice people at Americans for Prosperity are sponsoring a trip for several of us from Florida to go to a "Stop the Lame Duck" rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Monday, as part of their "November Speaks" initiative.   Senator Jim DeMint, and Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, and Congressman Mike Pence will be joining us. 

If you're in the D.C. area, please try and join us.  Here's the flier for the rally:

November Speaks Flier

For those of you who can't join us, you can still participate.  Check out the November Speaks website and you can join us in a "virtual march" on the Capitol, and even make a rally sign for the virtual march (AFP is going to download the messages from all the online signs and send them to Congress).

...and of course, follow me on twitter (@rumpfshaker) and watch this blog for all of my updates.