memeorandum: IOWA NOTEBOOK: Occupy Caucuses? (Robert Stacy McCain/The Other McCain)

2:35 AM ET, December 30, 2011

Top Items:

Bachmann campaign loses second key staffer in Ron Paul flap — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign lost another high-ranking staff member on Thursday after that staffer defended another former Bachmann official's defection to a rival campaign. — Wes Enos, Bachmann's political director …

Discussion: New York Magazine, National Review and The Page

Hunter Walker / PolitickerNY:

Stormfront Founder Don Black Says White Supremacists Thought Ron Paul Was ‘One of Us’ — Ron Paul was a hot topic this week on the talk radio show hosted by prominent white supremacist Don Black and his son Derek. Mr. Black said he received Mr. Paul's controversial newsletters …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Nice Deb, Little Green Footballs, The PJ Tatler, Pat Dollard, Balloon Juice and The Atlantic Online

Paul West / Los Angeles Times:

Ron Paul: Sanctions against Iran are ‘acts of war’ — Ron Paul campaigns during an event honoring veterans at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press) — Reporting from Perry, Iowa— Defending himself against charges of isolationism …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and CNN

Joseph W. McQuaid / unionleader.com:

Ron Paul is truly dangerous — Ron Paul is a dangerous man. While his domestic libertarian views are quite attractive to some voters fed up with politics as usual, it is Paul's position on issues of our national security that are truly dangerous. — Those views have been largely overlooked …

Discussion: USA Today, The Politico, Real Clear Politics, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, The Raw Story and Washington Post

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Ron Paul Downplays Newsletters : Only ‘Eight To Ten Sentences’ Were Offensive

Discussion: Daily Kos

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Occupy vs. Ron Paul

Discussion: Tom Watson, The Politico, Mediaite and Mercury Rising

Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Rick Santorum Gets A Big Polling Boost, Goes After Ron Paul

Discussion: CNN, Real Clear Politics, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers and New York Times

James Kirchick / Campaign Stops:
Ron Paul's World

Discussion: Slate, Hot Air, Campaign 2012, Washington Post, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Outside the Beltway, PoliPundit.com, The Atlantic Online and The PJ Tatler

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

The Santorum Surge In Iowa and Beyond — The extent to which Rick Santorum has gained in Iowa polling is not entirely clear. Although two polls have him with 16 percent of the vote, two others that were in the field at the same time have him at 10 and 11 percent, respectively.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times, Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Caller and The Caucus

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Michele Bachmann's hard fall — The split had been presaged, however, for weeks, thanks to a divide between the staffers and advisers on her campaign bus, and the national and Washington-based team. Her then-state chairman, Kent Sorenson — who is now a Paul backer …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Hot Air and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Americans See Views of GOP Candidates Closer to Their Own — Obama, Bachmann furthest away on ideological scale — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans perceive Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul as closest to themselves ideologically, and Michele Bachmann and Barack Obama as furthest away.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Investor's Business Daily, The Huffington Post, Prairie Weather, CANNONFIRE, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Dish, Hot Air and Washington Post

Frank Newport / Gallup:
Romney Edges Gingrich, 27% to 23%, for National GOP Lead

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, Campaign 2012, Daily Kos and Ballot Box

Niall Stanage / Ballot Box:
New poll shows Romney with big NH lead

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and CNN

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney still up big in New Hampshire

Discussion: The Raw Story, Guardian, Mediaite, The Daily and Bloomberg

Jeffrey Scott Shapiro / Big Government:

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Pelosi's Daughter: ‘My Mom Wants to Leave Congress’ — Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of House Minority Leader and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told Big Government this week that her mother wants to leave Congress-and that she remains in Washington only at the behest of her campaign donors.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Don Surber, The Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah, The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers, Pat Dollard, The Anchoress, Mediaite, Moe Lane, NewsBusters.org blogs and The Other McCain

Malia Zimmerman / Hawaii Reporter:

Occupy Hawaii Island Movement Plans Protest Near Pelosi's Posh Hawaiian Hotel — BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, one of the most powerful supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement, may be in the right place at the right time to protest with the Big Island branch of the movement, Occupy Hawaii Island.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Penny Starr / CNSNews:

Tournament of Roses to Occupiers: You Can't March in Our Parade — (CNSNews.com) - Although an Occupy Wall Street protest group in Pasadena, Calif., tried to get a slot to march in the Rose Parade on Jan. 2, officials with the parade said no. The group now plans to march down the street behind …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit and Michelle Malkin

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Pelosi aides dispute daughter's claim

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Political Predictions for 2012 — Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Don Surber, Betsy's Page and The Impolitic

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

IOWA NOTEBOOK: Occupy Caucuses? — Rick Perry speaks at Smokey Row coffee shop — After days of chasing after campaigns, I find myself in the unusual position of waiting for the campaign to come to me. Rick Santorum will be here in Davenport this evening for a 7 p.m. event …

Discussion: Daily Pundit

msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Why not Santorum? — Santorum surges in new poll …

Discussion: TBogg, Associated Press, A plain blog about politics, Iowa Caucuses, The New Republic, Guardian and Swampland

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Top Santorum supporter says he can win Iowa caucus

Discussion: The Politico and National Review

Fox News:
Santorum Claims Iowa ‘Spark’ as Polls Show Candidacy Surging

Discussion: Naked DC and CNN

Pew Research Center:

Little Change in Public's Response to ‘Capitalism,’ ‘Socialism’ — A Political Rhetoric Test — OVERVIEW — The recent Occupy Wall Street protests have focused public attention on what organizers see as the excesses of America's free market system, but perceptions of capitalism …

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com, The Gateway Pundit, ThinkProgress, Weasel Zippers, The Political Carnival, Washington Monthly, Daily Pundit, The Hill, Verum Serum, American Power, Scared Monkeys, Firedoglake and The Politico

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

Despite GOP opposition, light bulb standards will phase in on Jan. 1 — New light bulb efficiency standards will begin phasing in on Jan. 1 despite intense opposition from conservatives, who have blasted the rules as a textbook unnecessary federal regulation.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and LewRockwell.com Blog

ABCNEWS:

Perry Draws Blank on Landmark Texas Anti-Sodomy Supreme Court Case — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Texas Gov. Rick Perry admitted Thursday that he didn't know about the Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, a case decided while he was governor which struck down the state's anti-sodomy law and similar laws in 13 others.

Discussion: 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Lez Get Real, GOP 12, Firedoglake and Towleroad News #gay

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

WordPress Takes Down “Bare Naked Islam” Blog After Threats From CAIR — WordPress took down Bare Naked Islam Blog today after threats from CAIR.

Discussion: American Power

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Rick Santorum's Two-Step Plan To End Poverty … WASHINGTON — At a campaign event in Iowa on Wednesday, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum laid out his simple two-point plan for eradicating poverty in America. — “Do you know if you do two things in your life — if you do two things in your life …

Discussion: The Raw Story, ThinkProgress and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

CNN:

Source: Al Qaeda leader sends veteran jihadists to establish presence in Libya — (CNN) — Al Qaeda's leadership has sent experienced jihadists to Libya in an effort to build a fighting force there, according to a Libyan source briefed by Western counter-terrorism officials.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

The New Republic:

TNR On the Most Overlooked Stories of 2011 — Lawrence Kaplan: America's Silent Withdrawal From Iraq — War is over. — No, really. “Permanent” bases? Absolutely not. A decades-long partnership between Iraq and the United States? With the American officials who guide the fortunes …