Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Will Boehner Survive as House Speaker? - a good question considering the boneheaded move by House Republicans to block extension of the payroll tax cut. Showing, he has no control of the House, John Boehner (R-Ohio) has now earned the ire of The Wall Street Journal who in an op-ed today says, in part, "GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected. Given how he and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the President before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest." You can read it here.

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Newt's Attack on Judges Aimed at Evangelicals? - everyone, from all political spectrums have been wondering what has former House Speaker Newt Gingrich been drinking? His attack on the judicial system and suggesting judges be subject to appearing before Congress to defend their decisions is flat out crazy. TPM.com has a good read here as to why he may be expressing these idiotic thoughts.

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Who is Behind Clinton For President Robo-Calls? - a good question concerning the calls which began Monday in Bethesda, Maryland and have been employed in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida New York and Arizona to date. The Washington Post has a good read here.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made it clear she is not running for President, President Obama's popularity is increasing as the economy shows signs of improvement, the official end of the nine year War in Iraq, along with an unimpressive display of Republican presidential hopefuls. So, perhaps it is disgruntled Republican operatives at work.....

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Can Santorum Surprise in Iowa? - former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is at the bottom of all Republican presidential candidate polls, but may fare better than expected in the January 3 Iowa caucuses. He has a good ground game in Iowa and has made a point to visit the state more often than any other candidate. The endorsement yesterday by Iowa conservative, Bob Vander Plaats is a big boost for his campaign. TheHill.com has more here.

Also, remember voters in Iowa caucuses can change their votes before they become official, so anything can happen.

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Hints of New Leadership in North Korea - Reuters.com has a good read here on how it appears N. Korea will be governed by a group of people for the first time since 1948. The military has pledged support to Kim Jong-un, who's leadership will be shared with his uncle Jang Song-thaek and Ri Yong-ho who is head of the military.

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Gary Johnson to Run As Libertarian - The former New Mexico Governor will drop out of the republican presidential race and run as a Libertarian. he was not registering in any of the polls, so his absence will not have nay impact on the Republican presidential nomination. RollCall.com has more here.

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