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POLITICO's Morning Score:

By James Hohmann (
mailto:jhohmann@politico.com
jhohmann@politico.com ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa-Good morning from Ron Paul's swing across western Iowa. We're hitting three stops today before the congressman heads to Texas for the weekend. He basically ignored the intensifying criticisms coming his way from the establishment yesterday (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fe803ea7420c5a929d8d907ed72f294564a26d08fc91f2222
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fe803ea7420c5a929d8d907ed72f294564a26d08fc91f2222 ). A campaign source tells Score that they're beginning to place "a couple hundred grand" on TV in South Carolina. They will run their two positive ads that voters have been most receptive to - one with praise from former patients (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f4b280475115b3d0d0ba9b984c48fc050819b123e01f3f394
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f4b280475115b3d0d0ba9b984c48fc050819b123e01f3f394 ) and the other highlighting his support for fellow veterans (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f5c4525604190b14404de9760afa851ccc3ca04ebf24c0979
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f5c4525604190b14404de9760afa851ccc3ca04ebf24c0979 ).

THREE'S COMPANY - SANTORUM, PERRY AND GINGRICH FIGHT FOR THIRD:An NBC poll of likely caucus-goers that posted this morning puts Romney on top at 23 with Paul at 21. The rest: Santorum, 15; Perry, 14; Gingrich, 13; Bachmann, 6 percent. Gingrich continues to fade, and some data points in the poll suggest he has further to fall: 35% say he'd be unacceptable as the nominee, up 19 in a month. That's second only to Paul, who has a 41% unacceptable number. Only 6% call Gingrich the "true conservative" in the race [it's 7% for Romney, but he's not the one trying to run as "the conservative alternative" to Romney...]. Mark Murray's write-up:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f3f07c729e1679246f33330f45683dfff507565ac98575b63
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f3f07c729e1679246f33330f45683dfff507565ac98575b63 . A 14-page PDF with top lines:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fc25c23b16d9f4822f7f91b71c773db262746c4022003a4b9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fc25c23b16d9f4822f7f91b71c773db262746c4022003a4b9 .

ROMNEY TAKES THE NATIONAL LEAD, per a Gallup release this morning: "Romney has edged ahead of Gingrich, 27% to 23%, for the national lead among Republican voters for the first time since Gallup Daily tracking of the Republican race began on Dec. 1. Paul remains in deep third place with 11% of the GOP vote, followed by Perry at 8%."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f3e4c977cfacb1db23515eb72767cd701cd7fb4cafd5b687a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f3e4c977cfacb1db23515eb72767cd701cd7fb4cafd5b687a

NO WONDER GINGRICH IS FIFTH - HALF OF ALL IOWA ADS ATTACKING HIM:The trackers at Kantar's Campaign Media Analysis Group report that 45% of all the political ads that have run in Iowa so far this year are attack spots against Gingrich. Meanwhile, just 6% of the ads supported Gingrich. 20% hit Romney (this includes spots that group him with multiple candidates). 10% were pro-Romney spots purchased by his campaign. 8% were pro-Perry; 8% are anti-Perry. CNN notes that there are no negative attack ads running against Paul:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f9c29c098469767639742239907633fd069f7a27497ca7310
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f9c29c098469767639742239907633fd069f7a27497ca7310 .

** As Perry blanks, Rollins says Bachmann thought she could be vice president and Romney compares running for president to raising teenagers, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

MAKING SENSE OF SANTORUM - HOW REAL IS THE SURGE?

AN UNHELPFUL DES MOINES REGISTER HEADLINE - "SANTORUM SAYS HE'S PROUD OF SOME EARMARK VOTES":Perry's attack on Santorum as an insider yesterday worked to put the former two-term senator a bit on the defensive - the first real scrutiny or direct criticism he's faced this year. The lead of the day story in Iowa's biggest newspaper: "Santorum is defending his votes to spend federal money on political earmark projects, including the never-built so-called 'Bridge to Nowhere' in Alaska.' ... 'Go and look at the Constitution. Who has the responsibility to spend money? Clearly, in the Constitution it is the Congress,' Santorum said." That does not sound like an outsider talking...The Register adds
that "Perry himself entered Texas into controversial contracts with Washington lobbyists who helped bring federal money to Perry's home state, some of it via earmarks," but it's low in the story - after he levels the charge.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f2338bf540474c1383606bf14a40dcecf74090bf7dc342f9a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f2338bf540474c1383606bf14a40dcecf74090bf7dc342f9a

A THROWBACK - IS SANTORUM STUCK IN THE 1990s?Alex Burns, who spent the day following him yesterday, says listening to Santorum on the stump is like going to the floor of the United States Senate...in 1998. Santorum's central challenge is to prove to voters that he's the best fit for 2012. He talks so much about his experience navigating the inside game that he cannot plausibly present himself as an outsider. Some funny examples of nostalgia for the battles of yesteryear: "In Muscatine Thursday, Santorum recalled going 'toe to toe with Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Ted Kennedy' on welfare reform, touting the issue expertise he gained on the House Ways and Means Committee. In Coralville,
Santorum reminded voters that it had been he, back in the day, who wrote a book to rebut Hillary Clinton's claim that 'it takes a village to raise a family, to raise our children.' ...And Santorum often brags of having taken on the Democratic consulting team of Paul Begala and James Carville in his first Senate race - 17 years ago."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fe0064870ccbe4ecc44d3f10fd5330e9bbc79ac1471b0e6d2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fe0064870ccbe4ecc44d3f10fd5330e9bbc79ac1471b0e6d2

A SECOND SUPER PAC JOINS THE FIGHT:"Leaders for Families" joins the Red White and Blue Fund in spending money on Santorum's behalf."The group lists Chuck Hurley, one of the prominent Iowa social conservatives who endorsed Santorum last week, as its treasurer," The Daily's Dan Hirschhorn reports. "Leaders for Families has already spent about $110,000, according to its FEC disclosure. An Iowa political operative familiar with the group said its ad buy is focused in the Des Moines and Sioux City markets, and that the amount doesn't include at least $25,000 spent on local radio stations. Both the group's radio ad and its TV spot feature Bob Vander Plaats, Mike Huckabee's 2008 Iowa
campaign chairman, touting Santorum's family values and electoral chops. 'Like Mike Huckabee four years ago, you don't have to worry about Rick Santorum flip-flopping or changing his values,' Vander Plaats says in the TV ad." Read:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fe09ce893003eb2428e1265917f154a37c2af01c1bc7d7784
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fe09ce893003eb2428e1265917f154a37c2af01c1bc7d7784 . Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f8b9fc68ee958af57352e70ae9d87b17f512236485c4574c2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f8b9fc68ee958af57352e70ae9d87b17f512236485c4574c2 .

NEW SANTORUM RADIO AD TRIES TO CAPITALIZE ON MOMENTUM:"The minute-long spot, titled 'Best Chance,' argues that Santorum is most electable candidate in the Republican field because he is 'a full spectrum conservative' with 'more foreign policy credentials than any of the candidates,'" Peter Hamby writes. 'Rock solid on value issues like life, marriage and the right to own a gun,' the ad's narrator says. 'Santorum is also a favorite of the Tea Party for his efforts fighting corruption and taxpayer abuse in Washington.' Story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f63c5aefb7434f36521b4fa5b6381c57bbf2a0d5be3d9ee54
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f63c5aefb7434f36521b4fa5b6381c57bbf2a0d5be3d9ee54 . Audio:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f0433c2d55c6717dab450b8eb36604bae7a78c220ac623865
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f0433c2d55c6717dab450b8eb36604bae7a78c220ac623865 .

NATE SILVER UPDATES IOWA FORECAST - SANTORUM THIRD MOST LIKELY TO WIN:"Our model currently gives Mr. Santorum a 7 percent chance of winning the caucuses, while the betting market Intrade gives him a 9 percent chance. I suspect that both estimates are too low," the New York Times "538" blogger wrote last night. Why? "Santorum does not just have momentum, but he has it at the right time... Santorum is consistently showing good favorability numbers in polling of the state, and he also is frequently mentioned as voters' second choice when pollsters ask about this... [He] is the type of candidate who has traditionally overachieved his polls on caucus night... Santorum by all accounts has a
strong infrastructure in Iowa."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f6c2e86897918b4ee4e223b54bb6f604250e6bc0326910181
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f6c2e86897918b4ee4e223b54bb6f604250e6bc0326910181

BUT IS HE READY FOR A LONG SLOG? - SANTORUM FAILS TO QUALIFY DELEGATES ON TENNESSEE PRIMARY BALLOT:Today's Knoxville News brings a timely reminder of how little Santorum has done to lay the groundwork beyond the early states. "Four of the nine Republican candidates in Tennessee's presidential primary ballot will have no committed delegates on the ballot with them on the March 6 ballot, while Mitt Romney has a surplus wanting to represent him at the Republican National Convention," according to the paper. "Tennessee Republicans will elect delegates as well as choose their favorite as the party nominee March 6, though that part of the election gets relatively little attention. The
candidates without delegates on the Tennessee ballot - Michelle Bachmann...'Buddy' Roemer and Rick Santorum - can still win them at the polls and have delegates appointed later by the state Republican Executive Committee under party rules. But getting delegates on the ballot does at least speak somewhat to a candidate's organizational effort in the state, said Tennessee Republican Chairman Chris Devaney, who stresses his neutrality in the primary." The story notes that Gingrich "had a substantial slate of committed delegates on the ballot to qualify before the deadline earlier this month."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f4339f5c1d9e98786b0b71bd68d5cb5c22a0fb2ca529a193b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f4339f5c1d9e98786b0b71bd68d5cb5c22a0fb2ca529a193b

BACHMANN LOST THE DAY AGAIN - POLITICAL DIRECTOR IS OUT:She made it to her 99th county (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f26c06bf03a9473b7793e59b8243a7618a0d90755519fcd60
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f26c06bf03a9473b7793e59b8243a7618a0d90755519fcd60 ), but the fallout of state Sen. Kent Sorenson's defection to Paul totally overshadowed it. Wes Enos, her Iowa political director, left the campaign after defending Sorenson from Bachmann's accusations that his departure was motivated by a promise of money from the Paul camp. "Reached via text message [last night], Enos told NBC News: 'It was a mutual thing. I knew when I undermined her statement last night that I effectively was tendering my resignation.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f83726ac64cf60d9ce09019bd5627c18107be4c958149eae4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f83726ac64cf60d9ce09019bd5627c18107be4c958149eae4

POST MOTERM - A LOOK BACK AT BACHMANN'S MISSTEPS:"For a time, she looked like the real deal," Maggie Haberman writes in an advance obituary of the campaign. "Instead, her campaign slowly disintegrated. There was a bitter split with a coterie of top advisers, a slew of campaign trail missteps and claims of unfair treatment. Contributions dried up and the candidate herself never quite developed a message. Once Perry stole her thunder after her Ames Straw Poll win, she retreated to a familiar comfort zone of Fox News and conservative radio appearances...'I think to a certain extent it was a smoke and mirrors operation,' said her former campaign manager, Ed Rollins. 'The debates kept her in it
and the end of the day that's not the substance [of a campaign]...We got her to a point where people looked at her [but], just as other candidates found out, once the spotlight goes on you, you better be prepared.'"Best nugget: "She repeatedly passed up opportunities to ding Mitt Romney in the debates - a product, Rollins said, of preserving her options for sharing a ticket with him. 'There was some talk early on between her and her husband that she could end up as the vice presidential nominee,' Rollins said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fd754d87f2ffdc3d279acc057b61efd858ef8b120c1dfdbdb
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fd754d87f2ffdc3d279acc057b61efd858ef8b120c1dfdbdb

BACHMANN REMAINS DEFIANT:'I want to be America's Margaret Thatcher,' she told USA Today. 'I will be the next Iron Lady.'
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f8e7d92eef4b3ae85fdaba3b38f7a1029c0470d8e628e63be
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f8e7d92eef4b3ae85fdaba3b38f7a1029c0470d8e628e63be

OOPS - "QUESTION ABOUT COURT DECISION STUMPS PERRY":Another unhelpful headline in the Register about Perry. This moment got picked up pretty widely by other reporters in the room: "Perry blanked on Thursday when asked about a Supreme Court decision he's railed against since 2002 as Texas governor that stuck down anti-sodomy laws in his state and others," Josh Hafner wrote from Cedar Rapids. "Perry's first questioner asked how the candidate defended his support of limited government when he opposed Lawrence vs. Texas, the Supreme Court case legalizing sodomy. After repeating the question to the audience, Perry said he simply wanted 'government to work' and pivoted to a critique on federal
government spending. He then turned back to the question: 'And I wish I could tell you I knew every Supreme Court case. I don't. I'm not even going to try to go through every Supreme Court case. I'm not a lawyer.' While Perry isn't a lawyer, he did refer to Lawrence vs. Texas three times in his 2010 book, 'Fed Up.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f0e5234351c45a0a97be50e9ff35fcdf47b8029dc0b6d28f5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f0e5234351c45a0a97be50e9ff35fcdf47b8029dc0b6d28f5

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Santorum is in Des Moines right now. He's visiting a bowl watch party in Ames this afternoon, hosting a town hall in Marshalltown and wrapping up the day with another bowl watch party in Johnston. Gingrich also starts the day in Des Moines before bus stops in Creston and Shenandoah. Perry begins the day with a noon meet-and-greet in Waterloo before heading to Waverly and wrapping up in Mason City. Paul has a town hall at 1 p.m. in Le Mars, a 3 p.m. town hall in Sioux Center and ends the trip with a 7 p.m. town hall in Sioux City. Bachmann starts with a breakfast meet-and-greet in Sioux City and then heads eastward to Early and Fort Dodge. Huntsman
scheduled six events today, but he won't have New Hampshire to himself today. Romney is flying back for a spaghetti dinner at the Merrimack VFW post. Details:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f4766c374d979b895e6470c658ed7e101e57e48fcdf2c086d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f4766c374d979b895e6470c658ed7e101e57e48fcdf2c086d .

ROMNEY'S NEW AD - "IT IS AN ELECTION TO SAVE THE SOUL OF AMERICA":Boston sent out a new 30-second television advertisement this morning to run in New Hampshire and Boston media markets. It's called "American Optimism." Romney says: "This election is about more than just replacing a president. It is an election to save the soul of America." Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f486b873f51c0e7d696982e4dba24402435d2b938f790ad2c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f486b873f51c0e7d696982e4dba24402435d2b938f790ad2c

ON MESSAGE - MITT GAVE A ROUND OF INTERVIEWS ON HIS BUS YESTERDAY:

THE HUFFINGTON POST (!):"When the president's characterization of our economy was, 'It could be worse,' it reminded me of Marie Antoinette: 'Let them eat cake,'' he told Jon Ward. 'This is not a time to be talking about, 'It could be worse.' It's a time to recognize that things should be better.'
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fa459bca013c850b5f8bbb89ccd97db45079d647c307d695f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99fa459bca013c850b5f8bbb89ccd97db45079d647c307d695f

THE DES MOINES REGISTER:"One thing I learned from the last experience is that a campaign is not entirely in your control. It's a bit like a teenager. There are things you can do to improve the odds of a teenager making it through those teen years and being a productive adult. But it's not entirely in your control," he told Jennifer Jacobs and Kathie Obradovich.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f23af38188e0dcd688891323328ed2caa975c265d46e9e7c3
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f23af38188e0dcd688891323328ed2caa975c265d46e9e7c3

REAL CLEAR POLITICS:"He predicted that 'three or four' candidates would be in a position to move forward after [Iowa] ... and that the nominating fight would continue 'for a while,'" per Scott Conroy. "Ron Paul's not going to be our nominee," Romney said in response to a question about the Texas congressman's foreign policy.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f82ab22c45069c0f20952ef087af497a5027ee8af960b1ca1
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f82ab22c45069c0f20952ef087af497a5027ee8af960b1ca1

UNION LEADER ATTACKS - "ROMNEY WILL SAY ANYTHING":Publisher Joe McQuaid attacks Romney in a front page editorial for saying in an interview that he'd vote for Paul if he won the nomination. "Romney doesn't believe this, of course. He is saying what he thinks will help him win. If that means ignoring the increasingly clear picture of Ron Paul's bizarre views and record, so be it. Romney chooses to soft-pedal Paul right now because he hopes Paul in Iowa will keep Gingrich in check," Gingrich's most prominent endorser who buys ink by the barrel writes.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f81fff722e429c2f15d07df2af0f322f9f45dc29790466a5c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99f81fff722e429c2f15d07df2af0f322f9f45dc29790466a5c

DAN BALZ MAKES A SMART POINT - ROMNEY IOWA STRATEGY VIS-A-VIS PAUL IS REMINISCENT OF DOLE '96:"Among the Republican candidates, only Mitt Romney seems comfortable with the strength Paul is showing...He'd like nothing better than a final contest between him and Paul...This strategy is reminiscent of what happened in 1996, when conservative commentator Pat Buchanan and his 'peasants with pitchforks' were charging toward victory in the New Hampshire primary over front-runner Bob Dole. Dole's team ignored Buchanan, knowing he was not a long-term threat, and used its TV ads in the final days before voting to attack a rising Lamar Alexander (then a former governor and now a senator from
Tennessee). Buchanan won and went nowhere. Alexander finished third and was no longer a concern. Romney and his allies are playing the same game now. The others can't afford to. Paul is someone they have to deal with. But they are confronting a rival who is nothing if not unusual and whose supporters represent a coalition unlike anything anyone else can attract."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99ff25e03ddc370878f1d98a3a409fd600c119ee3da3fb740a9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d5cf83343c1d99ff25e03ddc370878f1d98a3a409fd600c119ee3da3fb740a9

DNC ATTACKS - NEW WEB VIDEO PRESSES ROMNEY TO RELEASE TAX RETURNS:"If the practice of making tax returns public was good enough for Mitt Romney's dad and every other major GOP candidate for president for the past 40 years to follow the practice, why isn't it for Mitt Romney? Perhaps because it would show that on the millions of dollars in income he enjoys each year, Mitt Romney pays a lower tax rate than teachers, fire fighters, police officers or other middle class wage earners... Just what is Mitt Romney hiding?" Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb81104278b460ee7cf3cc48040be19111d500c621ced90c7db0f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb81104278b460ee7cf3cc48040be19111d500c621ced90c7db0f .

As part of continuing bracketing efforts, the Iowa Democratic Party will hold a pen and pad in West Des Moines with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and state chair Sue Dvorsky at 10 a.m. and then a press avail later with State Rep Tyler Olson at a Democratic phone bank in Cedar Rapids later.

THE NEWSLETTERS - PAUL SAYS ONLY 8-10 SENTENCES OF "BAD STUFF":"Paul, speaking [yesterday] to radio host Jan Mickelson on Des Moines' WHO-AM, reiterated his defense that he did not write the controversial passages which have since been publicized, and argued that overall, there was 'a total of about 8 or 10 sentences' of 'bad stuff,'" per CBS' write-up. "Paul said he 'wrote a certain portion' of the newsletters but that otherwise, he acted largely as their publisher. 'I had some responsibility for [the content] because the name went out on my letter but I was not an editor, I'm like a publisher,' Paul told Mickelson. 'And if you think about publishers of newsletters, every once in a
while they get some pretty junky stuff in their newspapers and they have to say this is not the sentiment and position of that newspaper and this is certainly the case.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb8115771b1afbab8be2c4cd3c53630d9e151451fa6a5e4511d3e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb8115771b1afbab8be2c4cd3c53630d9e151451fa6a5e4511d3e

SHOT: Jon Huntsman's campaign put out a web video yesterday morning that used the newsletters to call Paul unelectable. It got 33,000 views:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb811b01cd00a1696e445497157a9a4851f096642f3a46f6f5e92
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb811b01cd00a1696e445497157a9a4851f096642f3a46f6f5e92 .

CHASER: The pro-Paul Revolution PAC put out a web video highlighting how Paul helped pay the medical bills for an interracial couple in the early 1970s. It's designed to push back on suggestions that he believes some of the racist material in the old newsletters:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb8112ece6c0b5aad14190530ba458491461200b0a1306f1d0011
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb8112ece6c0b5aad14190530ba458491461200b0a1306f1d0011 .

PAUL, GINGRICH FUED DATES TO 1996:"When Ron made his comeback bid in 1996, Newt supported his primary opponent - and I don't think Ron ever forgave him," Gingrich's Iowa chairman Greg Ganske, who served eight years in the House, told Human Events' John Gizzi. More from Ganske: "He recalled how Paul (who served in the House from Texas briefly in 1976 and then from 1978-84) had launched a comeback campaign in 1996 from another Lone Star State district. Expecting to face then-Democratic Rep. Greg Laughlin, Paul was stunned when moderate-to-conservative Laughlin switched parties to run as a Republican. Both then-House Speaker Gingrich? and then-National Republican Congressional Committee
Chairman Bill Paxon (NY) had strongly encouraged Laughlin to switch from Democrat to Republican and then backed him vigorously when he made the switch."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb811a2ff174796d1aa59c3e8564d02e6dcd272be3b16b2ff1c73
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb811a2ff174796d1aa59c3e8564d02e6dcd272be3b16b2ff1c73

PUNDIT PREP - 12 STRATEGIES TO BOOST TURNOUT:The Register's Jennifer Jacobs talked to Iowa politics insiders about the keys to getting voters to show up Tuesday night: 1. Phone calls. 2. Explaining that the caucus is easy. 3. Pizza parties. 4. Out-of-state workers. 5. County organizing. 6. Mobilize the Huckabee machine 7. Woo last-minute newcomers. 8. Peer-to-peer contact. 9. Social media. 10. Tele-town halls 11. Deploy signs in visible locations. 12. Arrange for good surrogate speakers at the caucuses. "Paul is going to speak on his own behalf at one of the precincts, said A.J. Spiker, Paul's Iowa campaign vice chairman.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb811fb8d15d460ca6d3072d92a00e4af2a90d26f5516aa270792
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb811fb8d15d460ca6d3072d92a00e4af2a90d26f5516aa270792

FOLLOW THE MONEY - LOOPHOLES ALLOW SUPER PACS TO DELAY DISCLOSURE:"Super PACs...have taken advantage in the past few weeks of a pair of loopholes that will let them keep their donors secret until after votes are cast in the first four big contests," Dave Levinthal and Ken Vogel write in the story leading our site. "Some of these new groups backing Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman wrote short letters this month to the Federal Election Commission requesting a bureaucratic change that would let them delay revealing their funders, while super PACs supporting Rick Santorum and Rick Perry are benefiting from a long-standing, but little-noticed, ruling that exempts their ads for the
Iowa caucuses from disclosure requirements....Exploitation of these loopholes likely guarantees that voters won't find out who's paying for a majority of primary campaign ads until late on the night of Jan. 31."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb8113bd80b1787524402899ce78233856f12925bc0a8cb5057d0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1bf21345c10bb8113bd80b1787524402899ce78233856f12925bc0a8cb5057d0

FIRST LOOK - TENNESSE GOP WISHES OBAMA HAPPY NEW YEAR:The state's Republican Party will distribute a minute-long web video to supporters today. It starts with a clip of Obama saying his New Year's resolution is to create jobs. Then it goes through news clips of bad economic news from throughout the year, from rising poverty to the credit rating cut. The clip of Obama saying "if I don't get this done in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition" plays over Auld Lang Syne. Watch:
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:'Zero. I mean, I can't see why they would want me up here.' - Art Laffer, asked what his much-hyped endorsement of Gingrich will mean for the race during a stop in northwest Iowa
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