Democratic activist David Brock is set to officially launch American Bridge, a political action committee intended to directly combat conservative groups, which dumped millions into the 2010 elections.
Brock toldThe New York Times that he has already won commitments from donors totaling at least $4 million in just the last few weeks and will officially file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.
Heading the group as chairwoman will be Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and the former lieutenant governor of Maryland. Townsend ran an unsuccessful campaign for Maryland governor in 2002.
The goal of American Bridge is to act as a counterweight to groups like American Crossroads, offshoot group Crossroads GPS and the American Action Network — conservative groups that raised and spent millions on TV ads targeting Democrats in 2010.
Brock, who heads the liberal group Media Matters, already has a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group at his disposal. He told the Times he also intends to utilize that existing structure in his 2012 efforts.
More from the NYT:
Certain to set off debate, however, is that Mr. Brock appears to be positioning his new organization so that fund-raising consultants can raise money for Democratic-oriented media efforts not just through American Bridge but also via one of the nonprofit organizations Mr. Brock currently runs, Media Matters Action Network, which does not disclose its donors.
The action network, which tracks conservative politicians and advocacy organizations, is organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group and is set to take on an expanded role in the 2012 elections, including potentially running television ads, according to an internal draft concept paper about American Bridge’s and Media Matter Action Network’s plans obtained by The New York Times.
Mr. Brock said that “money is money,” and that he would actively solicit donors for both entities and, in the end, the media spending would be apportioned accordingly.
Brock attempted to lead a similar effort in 2008, but then-Sen. Obama publicly and privately asked Democratic donors not to fund the outside efforts. With a cycle of success under their belt and conservative groups already gearing up to target the president, the White House has indicated it won't object in 2012.
Former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush named Mitt Romney as their favorite Republican for the 2012 presidential nomination.
"If you asked me, who was the nominee be, I couldn't tell you. We like Mitt Romney. We know him well and like him very much," Bush said in an interview with CNN's Larry King.
The former president then joked about his support, saying: "Don't want to kill him off."
"He's a reasonable guy. A conservative fellow, which is good. But, no, I think he'd be a good president, a very good president," Bush said of the former Massachusetts governor.
The former first lady echoed Bush's words when she was asked her favorite.
"I'll go with George. Mitt Romney. I like a lot of them. But I like people who feel that you can respect other people's ideas. I like that a lot," Barbara Bush said.
The Bushes were asked if their son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was thinking about a presidential run.
"I don't think he is. In fact, I know he's not. But, would he be a good president? Absolutely. Don't just take that from a father prejudice view. I mean, he's a good man. He performed as governor. He's well spoken. He is not an extremist. He's not a wild guy that attributes bad motives to those that disagree with him, and he's good. And people that know him and hear him say the same thing. So, I think the bottom line is he just doesn't want to try, doesn't want to do it," the former president said.
The interview aired Monday night on "Larry King Live." It got attention over the weekend when CNN previewed it, airing a clip that featured Barbara Bush saying she hoped former Gov. Sarah Palin stayed in Alaska.
"I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful," the former first lady said. "And I think she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) warned Republicans it's going to be harder than they think to beat President Obama in 2012.
“I think it’s going to be harder to beat Barack Obama than a lot of Republicans are thinking," he said Monday in an interview on ABC's "The View."
“He is the president,” he said. “There is an extraordinary advantage of an incumbent.”
Asked if he could beat the president, Huckabee responded: “I wouldn’t run if I didn’t think I could.”
The former governor has not made an official announcement about the 2012 presidential race, but polls show he has high favorability marks among Republicans and that he runs head-to-head with Obama in matchups.
His statement about the president's electoral strength contrast that of fellow Republican Sarah Palin's.
The former Alaska governor has expressed confidence that she can beat Obama in 2012. In an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters, Palin replied “I believe so,” when asked if she could defeat the president.
New national numbers out Monday from Quinnipiac University show 49 percent of voters do not believe President Obama deserves election to a second term in 2012. Among self-identified independents, that number drops to just 35 percent.
Obama is also in a dead heat with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in hypothetical 2012 match-ups.
The best-case scenario for Obama, according to the poll — a general election matchup with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Obama leads Palin 48 percent to 40 percent.
Palin is also viewed more negatively than any other potential GOP contender in 2012. Just 36 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of her, while 51 percent hold an unfavorable opinion.
"She is very unpopular among independents and although she recently said she thought she could defeat Obama, the data does not now necessarily support that assertion," Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll, said of Palin.
Obama also came out on top in a matchup with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels — 45 percent to 36 percent.
"The Democratic base remains squarely behind President Barack Obama when it comes to his reelection, but his weakness among independent voters at this point makes his 2012 election prospects uncertain," Brown said.
Still, some 27 percent of Democratic voters said they're looking for a Democrat to challenge Obama for the nomination two years from now.
The poll surveyed 2,424 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Speaking to a group of social conservatives in Iowa over the weekend, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) warned that Sarah Palin might just "run away with" the party's presidential primary two years from now should she decide to run.
"No question, she will be a very, very strong presence and force, if she gets in," Huckabee said of the former Alaska governor, according to the Des Moines Register. "You know, she may run away with it. And that’s one of those things everyone needs to be prepared for."
Huckabee, who was the last man standing against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2008 Republican primary, has been coy on his plans for 2012.
Huckabee said Sunday that he is "considering" another run, but declined to provide a timeframe for when he might make a final decision.
Huckabee's 2008 win in the Iowa caucuses vaulted him to GOP stardom, and polls show he could be the early favorite in Iowa again if he decides to run in 2012. Huckabee boasts a solid base of support with evangelical voters in the state— a key voting bloc in the caucuses.
On Sunday, Huckabee praised the campaign led by former Iowa gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats to oust three state Supreme Court justices over their decision to overturn a ban on gay marriage in the state and said it could prove to be a model for similar campaigns across the nation.
While most potential 2012 hopefuls, including Palin and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, endorsed Gov. Terry Branstad earlier this year, Huckabee stood by Vander Plaats, who chaired his 2008 presidential campaign in the state.
Palin, meanwhile, is headed back to Iowa at the end of this week for one of the first stops on the tour for her new book, America by Heart. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was in the state promoting his book last week.
Newt Gingrich, a potential 2012 Republican presidential
contender, said Sunday he would not participate in a debate moderated by
Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews.
“There's no possibility that I would ever go to a debate and
have Olbermann or Chris Matthews asking questions,” Gingrich said on C-SPAN’s
"Washington Journal."
The former House Speaker said he thought the two cable
channel hosts were biased against Republican candidates while they favored
their Democratic counterparts. He called the two “relentlessly hostile” and “so
left-wing.”
“I watched the debate a couple of years ago and it was an
embarrassment because they were so relentlessly hostile and they were so
left-wing that every question they asked of the Republicans was designed to
embarrass and divide the Republicans. And every question they asked
the Democrats was designed to make them look good. Well, why would we
participate in that?” Gingrich said.
Though Olbermann and Matthews did not moderate any of the
three 2008 general election debates between President Obama and Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.), they did moderate some debates during both parties’
presidential nominating contests.
For example, Matthews moderated some Republican-only
candidate debates in 2007. Olbermann also moderated a forum for Democratic
candidates sponsored by the AFL-CIO that same year.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) hasn't said if he'll make a 2012 presidential bid but he does have one person he doesn't want to run: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"I hope Mayor Bloomberg won't even consider that," Barbour told CNN. "But if there were a strong third-party candidate, there's no question in my mind that candidate would draw votes away from the Republican."
Bloomberg originally ran for NYC mayor as a Republican but changed his voter registration in 2007 and ran for reelection as an independent.
But Bloomberg said Tuesday he doubts an independent candidate could win the White House.
"Party affiliation is so strong that ... you could get every independent vote, (and) it would still not be a majority," he told a group of chief executives and policy-makers in Washington, according to Reuters.
Barbour told CNN a third-party bid by Bloomberg would be "the best thing that can happen to President Obama" because of the GOP votes Bloomberg could win.
Barbour wouldn't talk about any presidential ambitions on his part. He said: "It's not like I've got to decide by Christmas or I've got to decide by Valentines or I've got to decide by any day, but I am going to seriously think about it and come to a decision in the next few weeks or months."
President Obama can beat former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin if she's the Republican nominee for president in 2012, Vice President Biden said Friday.
Biden sought to refute Palin's assertion earlier this week that the president is beatable when he runs for re-election in 2012, if she's the candidate.
"I don't think she could beat President Obama," the vice president said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning, "but she's always underestimated, so I don't think I should say any more."
Biden's words aren't without grounding -- at this point. A CNN poll released shortly after the election earlier in November found that Obama would best Palin in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. In that election, 52 percent of registered voters would re-elect Obama, while 44 percent would support Palin.
The former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee has been more candid in the last week about her possible pursuit of the presidency in 2012. She sent a shot across the White House bow earlier this week by declaring that she could beat Obama.
"I believe so," Palin told ABC when asked if she could beat Obama for a special airing in December.
If Palin does run in 2012, it's no sure thing that she would face off against Obama in the end. The Republican primary field is crowded and without any clear frontrunner, and it's very possible she might not win the nomination.
Some of those Republican candidates' cases against Palin will involve electability, especially since that same post-election CNN poll showed some GOP figures faring better against Obama. For instance, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) led Obama 52-44 percent in the poll, while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) had a 50-45 percent advantage over Obama.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
