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

ORLANDO, Fla. -Here atthe Republican Governors Association meeting, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad told us yesterday that Ron Paul has the strongest organization in his state and that Newt Gingrich could win the Jan. 3 caucuses if he performs well in the last two debates. "This is the most up-in-the-air, unsettled caucus I've ever seen," he said. "It's gonna be a dog fight here in the end." The governor doesn't think anyone will get more than 30 percent of the vote, especially because social conservatives cannot coalesce behind one alternative to Romney.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8eae7ba4143515f902c7bb24ffe36bd19b07f3898599e39e52
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8eae7ba4143515f902c7bb24ffe36bd19b07f3898599e39e52 .

THE BATTLE FOR IOWA - Keying off Branstad's comments, Score is going heavy on what's happening in the Hawkeye State. Scroll down for the latest CAIN developments, PERRY'S jokes on Leno last night and BACHMANN's new anti-Newt talking points.

SNEAK PEEK - MOVEON BUYS IOWA AIRTIME TO ATTACK "MR. 1%" ROMNEY:As Romney makes his intention to run in Iowa clear, MoveOn will be releasing a new 30-second TV spot in Iowa using the words of the New Hampshire Union Leader publisher to call Romney "Mr. 1%." The group tells Score it's a five-figure cable buy spread out over a week and running statewide. Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8eb0b5fbb49ecc0968271d3ac3fe5b5c0281edc54de46116b8
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8eb0b5fbb49ecc0968271d3ac3fe5b5c0281edc54de46116b8 .

ROMNEY ENDORSEMENT - ROBERT RAY EMPHASIZES CHARACTER:The governor of Iowa from 1969 until 1983, who later served as interim Mayor of Des Moines and president of Drake University, emphasizes Romney's integrity in his endorsement. He doesn't mention Gingrich, but he doesn't need to. Boston will blast this out in the next couple hours: "I want our next president to be someone whose character and judgment I respect and whose ideas are valid for our country. I believe Mitt Romney offers the personal qualities and vision to become a truly great president." The candidate himself emphasizes fiscal issues in his statement: "In the coming weeks, I look forward to working with Governor Ray to bring my
message of a 'Simpler, Smaller, and Smarter' approach to government to all Iowans."

SANTORUM'S ENDORSEMENT - SIOUX CITY PASTOR HELPED TOPPLE THREE JUSTICES:"Sioux City evangelical leader Cary Gordon, who played a role in the defeat of three Iowa Supreme Court justices in last year's elections, will endorse Rick Santorum for president on Friday," the Des Moines Register reports. "Gordon will make his endorsement via a text message Friday morning to 788,000 cell phones owned by registered Iowa voters or by residents of Iowa's 5th Congressional District.He is pastor of Sioux City's Cornerstone Church and president of PeaceMakers Institute...Gordon told The Des Moines Register [Thursday] that he also will spell out reasons why he favors Santorum - and rejects Newt Gingrich and
Mitt Romney - in a 20-minute video."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8e80579b3ab32f0a41e3a9234e5329c7b8d66564b3849fe747
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8e80579b3ab32f0a41e3a9234e5329c7b8d66564b3849fe747

COMING SATURDAY - DES MOINES REGISTER READIES NEW IOWA POLL:The top lines post at 8 p.m. ET Saturday night on DesMoinesRegister.com. Sidebars and more in-depth analysis posts go up Sunday. This is the gold standard of early-state polling, and it will give us a good sense of how real Gingrich's surge is and how much some of the second and third tier candidates have bottomed out.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8e876501d502d7e461a35cc7c5210313bf022ddc6cfaac6bd3
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46bd4d363e8d2b8e876501d502d7e461a35cc7c5210313bf022ddc6cfaac6bd3

PLAYING CATCH UP - GINGRICH RUSHING TO BUILD A GROUND GAME:"This is disorienting. This is such a rapid change that we're having to rethink our own internal operations right now and where we are," Gingrich told reporters after addressing a Polk County GOP event Thursday night," Alex Burns and Maggie Haberman report. "Campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond said Gingrich now has 24 staff members in the first three primary and caucus states, including six in Iowa, eight in New Hampshire and 10 in South Carolina...the campaign is expected to add national-level talent and hire aides in Florida soon...One adviser in Iowa acknowledged that there was simply no time to build the extensive turnout operation
required to win the Iowa caucuses, joking: 'The furniture just moved in yesterday.' In three weeks, four weeks, to say we're gonna have 99 county chairs? No." The Iowa Republican blog reports that Gingrich hit a "HOME RUN" at last night's dinner:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b4c70b8b8a2263dafb9b64283596a76feef6d826cafa2a3cf
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b4c70b8b8a2263dafb9b64283596a76feef6d826cafa2a3cf . Alex and Maggie:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b8aba1080df66d9cc7e994f33be5a1810f878ac0eee7da43d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b8aba1080df66d9cc7e994f33be5a1810f878ac0eee7da43d .

PERRY PREPS BLITZKRIEG - MORE THAN 600 TEXANS WILL VISIT IOWA THIS MONTH:"The massive Perry posse will include Republican elected officials such as Attorney General Greg Abbott and Comptroller Susan Combs, party stalwarts, consultants, lobbyists, business supporters and friends who will reach out to Republicans in the Hawkeye State and ask them to take a fresh look at the Texas governor," The Dallas Morning News' Christy Hoppe reports. "Campaign director Joe Allbaugh confirmed the move Wednesday, saying the campaign will stagger the visits but has booked 200 Iowa hotel rooms. 'We know for sure when 600 are coming and when they're going,' he said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b077b8f97946a93b61ac6a59834535d013aec94dc1741878c
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** As Dems attack Brunner and Heller, anti-abortion activists could complicate general election strategy in Ohio and Blago faces sentencing, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

CAIN LATEST -

PROMISES DECISION BY MONDAY-EXPLAINS HIDING PAYMENTS TO "FRIEND" FROM WIFE:"I wasn't intentionally trying to keep it from her," Cain told Sean Hannity last night. "I have talked to my wife and I have been totally honest with her. She has forgiven me and she loves me. She's ready to move on; it's just that the media isn't ready to move on, which is why we have to re-assess this. The discussions between my wife and I, those are coming along fine.' He added: 'I'm going to make a decision before Monday...The decision could be, were going to continue with this campaign full speed ahead. The decision could be that were going to suspend the campaign." The Union Leader's story about his sit-down
with the paper's editorial board, where he first said that his wife didn't know:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b67b7c1b3d1f2f648591fae8ac8d49036442a9ef82530266b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b67b7c1b3d1f2f648591fae8ac8d49036442a9ef82530266b . Here's the 6-minute video of Cain's Fox hit:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b28785cc215f2bad07f761db6f0c0b0a79869bbb731e68d83
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b28785cc215f2bad07f761db6f0c0b0a79869bbb731e68d83 .

Cain also suggested there is aCONSPIRACY to bring him down: "Somebody, somewhere is paying them off to try and smear my character in order to slow me down."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b0380ecae2adf8f0d174fd58eac498e016200b04fb6f72030
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b0380ecae2adf8f0d174fd58eac498e016200b04fb6f72030 .

GINGER WHITE - "IT WAS A SEXUAL AFFAIR":"Meanwhile on MSNBC, Ginger White, the Atlanta woman who on Monday accused Cain of having a 13-year affair with her, confirmed Cain's contention that he had been helping her financially - but stressed that the relationship was sexual." Story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b246660f5d11028c32affc503a73759d1bb94147a77af7491
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b246660f5d11028c32affc503a73759d1bb94147a77af7491 . Video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b03d36138e6bb23c6147ad0fdf9b00cc663735264a2c2a608
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b03d36138e6bb23c6147ad0fdf9b00cc663735264a2c2a608 .

CAIN LAWYER - ATTACKS ACCUSER ON CNN:On Piers Morgan,Cain attorney Lin Wood questioned the character of his accuser. "You oughta be taking your questions to (the accuser)," he said. "There are 70 texts. Fifty-seven were sent by Ms. White to Mr. Cain, 13 of which were responses." Video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b0aa7f2f1daaa97e03248f196fd4c5c19ee771c3c87f5425f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b0aa7f2f1daaa97e03248f196fd4c5c19ee771c3c87f5425f .

PERRY PINES FOR A SECOND LOOK-

POKES FUN AT HIMSELF ON LENO:"Asked about his debate 'brain freeze,' in which he forgot the third of three agencies he would cut as president, the GOP presidential candidate joked: 'Well, you know, one, two, and then - uh, uh. It happens, man. Let me tell you.' ... 'Every now and then I call my dogs by the wrong name," he said. 'I get that wrong, too,'" CNN reports. Asked about his misstatement in New Hampshire this week that the voting age is 21, Perry joked that he was thinking about the drinking age: 'You've got to have an excuse, right? So that's mine, and I'm sticking to it,' he said. Story with no video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b648ae754ca64f65bd0e1fd56cb26faed285894de73c815f4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b648ae754ca64f65bd0e1fd56cb26faed285894de73c815f4 .

VIDEO:NBC posted Perry's Leno appearance in two chunks.InPart 1, he talks about the gaffes, Cain and his call for a part-time Congress:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2bbc8dda78ac771c9d5db2f2be4f7f4e1f02401cd328b26354
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2bbc8dda78ac771c9d5db2f2be4f7f4e1f02401cd328b26354 . In Part 2, he touts his 20% flat tax and calls Social Security a Ponzi scheme:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b92ab7fc35ebf0b59a350fa3b2a683688e50cccd38d12e3d5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b92ab7fc35ebf0b59a350fa3b2a683688e50cccd38d12e3d5 .

DENIES HE'S ON PAINKILLERS:'I'm asking people to give me a second look,' Perry told the LA Times' Mark Z. Barabak in an interview yesterday. 'If there's one story out there that people are going to hear from me over the next 45 days, it's like: 'Listen, you took a look at me when I first got in here and, by reputation, you liked what you saw. We've had our bumps, we've had our hurdles, but give me a second look.' '

Mark asked the Texas governor about the rumors that he's on meds for his back surgery: "Perry said Thursday that he took the drugs for 'probably less than' 10 days immediately after surgery and is no longer on any sort of medication. He emphasized his vigorous workout regimen - a four-mile run along the Sacramento River on Wednesday, 30 minutes on the stationary bike and weightlifting Thursday - to address any questions about back pain or his overall vigor."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2bcda68e8abefd686ffa21112893505567d108943c02577fd0
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NEWT GETS COCKY - "I'M GOING TO BE THE NOMINEE":"I'm going to be the nominee. It's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high I'm going to be the nominee," he told ABC's Jake Tapper. Asked to comment on Romney's criticism of him, Gingrich added: "They are not going to be the nominee. I don't have to go around and point out the inconsistencies of people who are not going to be the nominee."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b22a6099817797736e60767c943e6f0c9569d7e29bf057729
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b22a6099817797736e60767c943e6f0c9569d7e29bf057729

KILL NEWT - THE STRATEGIC INTERESTS OF THE FIELD ARE SIMPATICO FOR THE FIRST TIME:It makes sense for everyone to go after Gingrich. He's a threat to Romney, but he also is taking all the oxygen away from Perry, Bachmann and Santorum. Ron Paul seems most genuine in his palpably bitter distaste for Gingrich. Remember that the two served together, and Paul has long seen Gingrich as either a sellout or never a real conservative.

PAUL ATTACKS - FLIP-FLOPPING GINGRICH GETTING A "FREE RIDE":"Speaking to reporters at a health food store in Portsmouth, NH, Paul said his campaign produced a harsh new anti-Gingrich web video to underscore that he's 'a flip-flopper' whose political evolutions have been inadequately covered by the media," NBC's Carrie Dann reports. 'I think that he's getting a free ride. And I've worked with him for a long time...He's a flip-flopper, so he can hardly be the alternative to Mitt Romney...What I find is a shame is look at the amount of energy the media put into talking about sex. And how much does the media put into exposing what Newt Gingrich believes and what he's done?'
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2ba517748fa2eb968f852eaf14121aa0fa260abb5fbfe97ad9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2ba517748fa2eb968f852eaf14121aa0fa260abb5fbfe97ad9

BACHMANN ATTACKS - CALLS GINGRICH AN INFLUENCE PEDDLER AND ROMNEY A CHAMELEON:During a visit to Fort Lauderdale yesterday, Bachmann stepped up her attacks on Gingrich. The Miami Herald reports that she called Romney a "chameleon" and suggested he doesn't always tell the truth, but she reserved her harshest language for the former House speaker. He called her "factually challenged" after she puzzlingly suggested there would be no U.S. embassy in Iran if she becomes president. "A professor doesn't like to be challenged," Bachmann said, per the Miami Herald. "But I think his real challenge is a memory challenge...Newt Gingrich has been a part of Washington D.C. for over three decades...[He]
has been all over the map on his political positions and also this year alone has taken in over $100 million alone for the purpose of influence peddling in Washington D.C.. His offices are located in the Rodeo Drive of Washington D.C., which is K Street."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b55b765c87417be4869cbeb8d33492eb264cf6fc16dfa1044
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b55b765c87417be4869cbeb8d33492eb264cf6fc16dfa1044

ROMNEY LATEST -

MEETS BUSH 41 IN HOUSTON:"Mitt Romney showed up on Rick Perry's home turf Thursday, flying into Houston for a quick visit with former President George H.W. Bush," the Chronicle's Joe Holley reports. "According to Bush associate Jim McGrath, the two men chatted for about an hour behind closed doors at the Bush family home in the Memorial area...McGrath said an endorsement wasn't imminent. 'President and Mrs. Bush are kindly disposed toward Gov. Romney, but at this point they're content to let the primary process play itself out without them weighing in,' he said. There were no reporters, but a Houston Chronicle photographer was apparently allowed in for a priceless photo:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b313648d1c286e99646199446ffe811f1c51c8074bf80a81f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b313648d1c286e99646199446ffe811f1c51c8074bf80a81f .

WILL FUNDRAISE WITH DANFORTH IN ST LOUIS TODAY:Sarah Boxer scoops that former Sen. John Danforth will endorse Romney when he comes to raise money in St. Louis today. The ordained Episcopal minister comes from the centrist wing of the party and blasted the power of social conservatives during George W. Bush's presidency: "In a 2005 op-ed for the New York Times, Danforth chided his fellow Republicans for having 'transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2be9650e4a15a008a04fb86089c998d003d359c3c174c29a51
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2be9650e4a15a008a04fb86089c998d003d359c3c174c29a51

SNEAK PEEK - NH DEMS ATTACK MITT FOR AVODING QUESTIONS:The New Hampshire Democratic Party, meanwhile, picks up on the DNC #questionsmittlikes attack. State chair Ray Buckley will email his list his statewide list to tell them that Romney will be at Theo's Restaurant in Manchester at 9 a.m. on Saturday "if you're curious." He also knocks Romney for avoiding questions and for refusing to talk about missing records from his time as Massachusetts governor.

JON STEWART MOCKS ROMNEY - "MITT ROMNEY IS HIS OWN MISTRESS":On his show last night, the Comedy Central host made fun of the frontrunner getting testy with Bret Baier. "Just like Herman Cain, Mitt Romney has an embarrassing person in his past who he's desperately trying to hide,' said Stewart. 'For Mitt Romney, it's Mitt Romney." Video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2be1de5990072f7338349adc1f03f06e530f5b7973f40c5c27
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2be1de5990072f7338349adc1f03f06e530f5b7973f40c5c27 .

TWO CONSERVATIVES GRAPPLE WITH MITT VS. NEWT:

PEGGY NOONAN'S COLUMN - NEWT IS THE COMEBACK KID OF 2012:The influential columnist is stunned he's surged to the top of the polls, and she's not hot on him. But she thinks this might be a moment where he can transcend all his baggage."This is the week it became clear that nobody knows anything," she writes for Saturday's Wall Street Journal. "Pretty much all the conventional wisdom about the 2012 presidential race has turned out to be wrong. Newt rules, Cain's over, Romney's rocked. Nobody knows what's going to happen." She complains about the way he talks about himself: "He also often sounds like a cable TV political analyst, which he's been for the past decade." On his work for Freddie:
"That is the great scandal of our time, and it helped tank our economy. He has been part of it." On baggage: "Bill Clinton, if he ran for president tomorrow, would probably win in a landslide, and he has enough baggage to break the trolley carts of 10 Amtrak porters...Gingrich may be helped by the current air of crisis, which itself may account for why he's burst through now: People feel America's problems are so huge, so scarifying and urgent that personal judgments feel like an indulgence."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b364a3eec62d15e857cd47852aaf46277110965a396d6a2ce
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b364a3eec62d15e857cd47852aaf46277110965a396d6a2ce

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER'S TAKE - BOTH SIGNIFICANTLY FLAWED:"Two ideologically problematic finalists," he writes in his Friday column in the Washington Post, capturing the zeitgeist of conservative thinking. "This is a weak Republican field with two significantly flawed front-runners contesting an immensely important election. If Obama wins, he will take the country to a place from which it will not be able to return (which is precisely his own objective for a second term). Every conservative has thus to ask himself two questions: Who is more likely to prevent that second term? And who, if elected, is less likely to unpleasantly surprise?"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b46e867757d995e45c48fb0bd98064e95f58d2105b37dbcf5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b46e867757d995e45c48fb0bd98064e95f58d2105b37dbcf5

FLORIDA POLLS -

GINGRICH SURGING IN SUNSHINE STATE:While Bachmann was attacking Gingrich in the same state, the American Research Group released a poll Thursday that gave Gingrich a remarkable 50% of likely primary voters. Romney was second at 19%. Cain was third at 10%. CNN: "Gingrich is up 39 points in just over a month. Gingrich was at 11% support in ARG's last Florida poll, conducted in October, with Romney down 9 points and Cain down 24 points."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b1368feced986fdaf9aabd531740b0847d01080e0e6e1c21c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b1368feced986fdaf9aabd531740b0847d01080e0e6e1c21c

BUT OBAMA COULD SLAUGHTER HIM IN A GENERAL:"If Mitt Romney's the Republican nominee, Obama's in a lot of trouble in the Sunshine State. Obama leads Romney only 45-44, and given that the undecideds skew largely Republican he'd probably lose to Romney if the election was today," Public Policy Polling's Tom Jensen writes. "But if Newt Gingrich is the Republican nominee it's a completely different story. Obama leads him 50-44 in a head to head. To find the last time a GOP Presidential candidate lost Florida by more than that you have to go all the way back to Thomas Dewey in 1948. Even Barry Goldwater did better in Florida than Gingrich is right now."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2bfc1953742c8e32c06600919c379573f998b088ddc89e113a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2bfc1953742c8e32c06600919c379573f998b088ddc89e113a

"YOUR FRIEND, NEWT" - BLOOMBERG OBTAINS GINGRICH EMAIL TO GORE:Al Gore asked Gingrich to tape the 2008 public service announcement with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi on climate change. "Gingrich, who was promoting his latest book 'Contract With the Earth' and urging 'green conservatism,' agreed. In an e- mail obtained by Bloomberg News that he wrote to the former vice president, Gingrich thanked Gore 'for the opportunity to participate in the Protect Climate ad campaign.' He signed the March 2008 note, 'Your friend, Newt.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b0bd57f12591812c2f25bf30c6c636077eb62cd48bf5dc40e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b0bd57f12591812c2f25bf30c6c636077eb62cd48bf5dc40e

BACHMANN'S FIRST CONGRESSIONAL ENDORSEMENT - TRENT FRANKS SIGNS ON:Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, who cofounded the tea party caucus with Bachmann, became the first other member of Congress to endorse her. THAT seems to be the real story for us. From his statement: "I know Michele is right on the issues that are important to conservatives across the country and I know she won't back off."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b91fe9fa0e95883b3f94164fd874b490d7c554e86f6c43a8b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b91fe9fa0e95883b3f94164fd874b490d7c554e86f6c43a8b

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Gingrich participates in a 3:30 p.m. teleforum "town hall" sponsored by four industry groups: the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Santorum speaks at Merrimack High School in New Hampshire, stops at a toys-for-tots drive in Bedford and shops in downtown Concord. Bachmann speaks at book stores in Rock Hill and Greenville. Paul has a meet-and-greet in Manchester and goes to a house party in Merrimack.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO:At 10:50 a.m.,"the President will tour the 815 Connecticut Avenue, NW building in Washington, DC and deliver remarks." At 2:20 p.m., "the President will deliver remarks at the White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Department of the Interior."

FIRST IN SCORE - MISSOURI DEMS TO CHALLENGE BRUNNER JOBS RECORD:The state Democratic Party will distribute a three-page oppo memo this morning hitting Brunner on his jobs record. The Republican Senate candidate paints himself as a job creator in his ads, and since he remains largely unknown the party decided to push back vigorously by marshaling clips going back to 1998. "While any other candidate would be horrified to film political ads in the factory where he just laid-off dozens of workers, Brunner's shamelessness is symptomatic of his profits-before-people mentality," writes Caitlin Legacki, the party's communications director. "Brunner bragged about profiting from the recession, while
Missouri's middle class families struggled." Read it here first:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2beb2764dff0892b0816a1aab40a05d1eda9bf82106ebb89b9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2beb2764dff0892b0816a1aab40a05d1eda9bf82106ebb89b9 .

NEVADA SENATE EXCLUSIVE - DEMS WILL HIT HELLER ON PAYROLL TAX:The Nevada Democratic party is going to blast freshman Sen. Dean Heller for "not only trying to cut Medicare, but for failing to do so." He carried the Republican version of the payroll tax cut last night, which Republicans say represented a more fiscally-responsible approach than the one pushed by the president. That bill, backed by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell failed 20-78. A Democratic official involved in the race emailed overnight: "During the votes on the payroll tax cut, Heller proved what everyone has been whispering about for months; he is an ineffective do nothing appointee that is going to have a very hard time
coming back next year." [After the Senate vote last night, NRSC communications director Brian Walsh previewed his messaging in a tweet: "Makes you wonder what Dem strategists are thinking - they just put almost every 2012 Senate Dem on record supporting a massive tax hike."]

MORE NEVADA - REPUBLICANS CAPITALIZE ON BERKLEY'S HUSBAND HOUSE FLIPS:"A company with ties to Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley's husband has been purchasing and renting out troubled homes in southern Nevada, drawing complaints from Republicans who say he is trying to profit from Nevada's economic crisis," per the AP, via the Las Vegas Sun. "State records show the properties are held by SFH Investors, a limited liability corporation formed in 2007 that listed as managers Dr. Larry Lehrner, a prominent Las Vegas nephrologist, and Berkley's brother-in-law, Fred Fleming.Lehrner, Berkley's husband of 12 years, has dabbled in real estate on his own, purchasing a Las Vegas home in March for
$200,000. He sold it in July for $60,000 more than his initial purchase price...Berkley, who has backed using government loans to combat the foreclosure crisis, is running against Republican Sen. Dean Heller in 2012."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b1fbbaa0c4f2d6a7d01d49be90dcf9fd4065cc43daec5a913
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b1fbbaa0c4f2d6a7d01d49be90dcf9fd4065cc43daec5a913

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE - WARREN LEADS BROWN BUT WITHIN THE MARGIN OF ERROR:"A new poll [out Thursday] by UMass-Amherst shows... Warren with 43% of the vote to Brown's 39%, a 4% lead that is barely inside the poll's margin of error 4.4%." What's cool about this one is, as the liberal Blue Mass Group blog explains, "they asked what word the respondents thought best described Warren and Brown and generated a little word cloud for each." The full results:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b40c750edf0c496604ad8700fffbde656cfd6ac5e5975c198
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b40c750edf0c496604ad8700fffbde656cfd6ac5e5975c198 . The word clouds:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2ba4ed1748e2483bc2055ba42d22c29463626b44e9412a4e41
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2ba4ed1748e2483bc2055ba42d22c29463626b44e9412a4e41 .

BLAGO SENTENCING - PROSECUTORS ASK FOR 15-20 YEARS:"If Rod Blagojevich goes to prison within the 15- to 20-year range that federal prosecutors recommended to a judge Wednesday, the former governor would potentially face more time behind bars than three previously convicted Illinois governors combined," notes the Chicago Sun-Times. "In court papers, prosecutors said Blagojevich deserves a severe punishment because he so seriously ravaged public confidence, was corrupt even before he took office in 2003 and utterly failed to be deterred by the 6½-year term given to his predecessor - convicted ex-Gov. George Ryan...Blagojevich, 54, is to be sentenced Tuesday."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b16ae33762d67e5089d52d55222f20557ebbd0fd95d786d0a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b16ae33762d67e5089d52d55222f20557ebbd0fd95d786d0a

OHIO TALKER - ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVISTS PUSH FOR PERSONHOOD AMENDMENT:"Anti-abortion activists, undaunted by a defeat last month in Mississippi, are pushing to get a 'personhood' amendment on next year's ballot," the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. "Anti-abortion activists are fanning out across Ohio gathering signatures at churches, nursing homes and public festivals hoping to get the issue on the fall 2012 ballot, according to Dr. James Johnston, a Zanesville physician spearheading the ballot drive. Johnston said the effort is close to wrapping up the initial step of gathering 1,000 valid signatures -- Attorney General Mike DeWine sent them back to square one for having imprecise ballot
language last month -- and will get the green light later this year to begin collecting the 386,000 valid signatures for the ballot." This matters because it is Ohio, and the measure would be on the general election ballot - forcing both candidates to weigh in on it and potentially making abortion a general election issue.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b746c78c9298473a3b03bb51ecf611484d34797a1c3d0daeb
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b746c78c9298473a3b03bb51ecf611484d34797a1c3d0daeb

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:"They've kind of gone rogue." - A source with knowledge of the Huntsman campaign, speaking about the rap recorded by the candidate's three daughters
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b270acabd358b97dcd76da164de021763057a9399e512bfdb
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af054cf648384e2b270acabd358b97dcd76da164de021763057a9399e512bfdb

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