memeorandum: EXCLUSIVE: Former Staffer Eric Dondero Responds To Ron Paul's “I Don't Believe in 9/11 Conspiracies” Claim (Jeff Dunetz/YID With LID)

11:20 PM ET, January 2, 2012

Top Items:

For no reason, Santorum ‘singled out blacks’ — Over the weekend, Rick Santorum told an Iowa audience, “Diversity creates conflict. If we celebrate diversity, we create conflict.” It seemed like an odd thing for a presidential candidate to say. — The line does, however …

Discussion: CBS News, NPR, Verum Serum, The Hinterland Gazette and Booman Tribune

Wallacegw / CNN:

Santorum's fundraising soars along with his poll numbers — Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Rick Santorum's poll numbers aren't the only thing on the rise. The former senator from Pennsylvania's fundraising figures are also skyrocketing. — A senior Santorum adviser tells CNN the campaign raised …

Discussion: The Politico, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Hot Air, National Review, The Week and Rajiv Sethi

Evan McMorris-Santoro / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Rand Paul Calls Rick Santorum A War-Mongering Moderate — DES MOINES, IOWA — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is in town today to be a walking Daisy ad on behalf of his father, Ron. — His main target: the surging Rick Santorum. — On Iowa talk radio this morning …

Discussion: Campaign 2012, The Moderate Voice, nation.foxnews.com and Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …

Roger Simon / The Politico:
Mitt don't need no surges

Discussion: CNN, American Prospect, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NO QUARTER, The Greenroom, The Week, The Reality-Based Community, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Pundit, Telegraph, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast and Ballot Box

Wallacegw / CNN:
TRENDING: Ron Paul: Santorum is ‘very liberal’

Discussion: Mediaite and New York Times

James Crugnale / Mediaite:
TLC's The Duggar Family Endorses Rick Santorum

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Truth Wins Out and Weekly Standard

Niall Stanage / Ballot Box:
On eve of Iowa vote, Santorum focusing attacks on Romney

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, RedState and Sister Toldjah

Elise Foley / The Huffington Post:
Rick Santorum Saves Cash, Gains A Surrogate, By Turning To Daughter

Discussion: Daily Kos

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
‘Iron Lady’ goes back up on Iowa TV

Discussion: The Politico, PolitickerNY, Online NewsHour and Towleroad News #gay

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Cantor can't handle the truth about Reagan — CBS's “60 Minutes” ran a good profile on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) last night, but there was one portion of the interview that was especially important. — In this video, it starts at about the 10:19 mark.

Discussion: CBS News, The Caucus, CANNONFIRE, The Raw Story, Liberal Values, Connecting.the.Dots, Balloon Juice, Outside the Beltway, The Political Carnival and The Mahablog

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

“60 Minutes” Grills Eric Cantor on Why He's Republican in Sunday Night Hit Piece (Video) ...Update: Washington Monthly Continues to Misrepresent Reagan — “60 Minutes” grilled Majority Leader Eric Cantor on why he is Republican. — “You've taken a lot of criticism from American Jews …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, nation.foxnews.com and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

videocafe.crooksandliars.com:

Eric Cantor's Press Secretary Interrupts 60 Min Interview to Claim Reagan Never Raised Taxes … In what was overall a pretty softball interview with Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, there was one pretty telling moment to illustrate the type of toxic political environment we're living in …

Discussion: CBS News, Philly.com, Towleroad News #gay, PERRspectives and Daily Kos

NBC's Alex Moe / msnbc.com:

Gingrich: 'I don't think I'm going to win' in Iowa — INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — Newt Gingrich said Monday that he doesn't expect to win tomorrow's Iowa caucuses in a bow to his sinking poll numbers in the state. — The former House Speaker, who led in polls of likely Iowa caucus-goers as recently …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Hot Air, National Review, Campaign 2012, The Daily Caller, Indecision Forever, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Saint Petersblog

Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
Perry: Santorum can't beat Obama

Discussion: 2012 Decoded, Campaign 2012 and Daily Kos

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Does the New Hampshire primary matter?

Discussion: 2012 Decoded, The Politico, The Boston Globe, Swampland and The Daily Caller

New York Magazine:
Battered in Iowa, Gingrich Plans to Rip Romney in New Hampshire and Beyond

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Guardian, Daily Kos, Iowa Caucuses and The Politico

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Iowa Race Tightens in Final 48 Hours

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, CNN, Religion Dispatches, The Huffington Post, Saint Petersblog, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Associated Press, Iowa Caucuses, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Politico and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Joe Klein / Swampland:

1 Day Till Iowa: I Approve This Message — I saw a very effective anti-Ron Paul ad on the air last night, but I don't know who was responsible for it. It was about gay marriage, which Paul tolerates because he doesn't believe the state should involve itself in marriage.

Discussion: Truthdig and Saint Petersblog

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

Fox News' Alan Colmes Flips Out When Called Out For ‘Cheap Shot’ About Rick Santorum Baby (Updated) — In a wild exchange on Fox News' Happening Now, longtime contributor Alan Colmes lost it a little bit when National Review's Rich Lowry pressed him over an attack on Rick Santorum's handling of the 1996 death of his newborn son.

Discussion: 2012 Decoded, ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Other McCain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, nation.foxnews.com and The Atlantic Online

BuzzFeed:

Ron Paul's Secret Plan To Actually Win — He probably can't. But with stealthy preparations in Bismarck, Boise, and Minnetonka, he can be a huge pain in Mitt Romney's neck. — Ron Paul — poised to finish strong in the Iowa caucuses - has begun to implement a quiet …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Week, The Other McCain, Guardian, The Daily Dish and Saint Petersblog

Donald Douglas / American Power:

‘Occupy’ Crashes Rose Parade: Attacks ‘Corporate Greed’ With 70-Foot Nazi-Era Octopus Depicting Global Jewish Conspiracy — Are people so afraid to stand up against the hatred, public hatred broadcast for the entire world to see? The image of the octopus has been used in attacks on the Jews for over a century.

Discussion: The Informer, Daily Mail, L.A. NOW, The BRAD BLOG, Atlas Shrugs, Doug Ross and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Angel Jennings / L.A. NOW:
Rose Parade 2012: Occupy activists form ‘peacekeeping’ team

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys and The Gateway Pundit

Jeff Dunetz / YID With LID:

EXCLUSIVE: Former Staffer Eric Dondero Responds To Ron Paul's “I Don't Believe in 9/11 Conspiracies” Claim — Note: Yesterday I had an email exchange with former Ron Paul senior campaign aide Eric Dondero (who blogs at the site Libertarian Republican) about a totally different issue regarding the Ron Paul campaign.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The PJ Tatler, Los Angeles Times, ABCNEWS and Mediaite

ABCNEWS:

Romney in Iowa: 'We're Gonna Win This Thing' — MARION, Iowa - After days of saying he would not make any predictions about where he will place in Tuesday night's caucus, this evening Mitt Romney declared “we're gonna win this thing.” — “You guys, I need you tomorrow night …

Tony Leys / Iowa Caucuses:
Mitt Romney: “We're going to win this thing”

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Politico and Hot Air

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Romney's media strategy includes courting liberal news outlets

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, Big Journalism and The Moderate Voice

Jonathan Bernstein / A plain blog about politics:

No, You Can't Skip New Hampshire Either — Rick Perry is apparently telling reporters that he'll skip New Hampshire and make a last stand in South Carolina. — Two things. First, presidential candidates always say that they're going to stay in the race no matter what.

Discussion: Associated Press

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

The 50 Most Obnoxious Quotes Of 2011 (8th Annual) — 50) Take the vehicle, I have 10 more. Police don't have anything else (expletive) to do except (expletive) with me. Do you know who I am? — Allen Iverson 49) Storms Kill Over 250 Americans In States Represented By Climate Pollution Deniers …

Discussion: YID With LID and Bookworm Room

New York Post:

Ellen Barkin blasts NYPD, Bloomberg over OWS arrests — She's Barkin mad! — Tony-winning actress Ellen Barkin rang in the new year in her typical brash style — uncorking a profanity-laced Twitter tirade against the NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg after watching the predawn arrests …

Discussion: Big Hollywood and Gothamist