Caucus Cooler

• Check out this new economic education blog

  It's great. www.econ4u.org/blog [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2009, 3:18pm EST
  

• Anti Romney Dirty Tricks in IA

  Ambers has the deets. [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2008, 8:48am EST
  

• Mr. Mo

  John McCain advisors are touting a MAJOR endorsement coming out of New Hampshire very soon. Imagine a McCain 3rd place finish and a Huckabee victory, followed by Fred Thompson and another big NH figure endorsing McCain between now and Tuesday. Talk about momentum!
  
  And for bonus points, check [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2008, 8:47am EST
  

• 80,000 is the magic number

  So says Doug Gross. Anymore than that will mean a big L for the Mittens.
  
  Jeff Fuller is liveblogging with Mitten all day. Check it out. [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2008, 8:46am EST
  

• Richardson to send 2nd Choicers to Obama

  Things are not looking up in Hillaryland right now. [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2008, 8:45am EST
  

• I've put a spell on you

  If you would like to place a hex on one of the Presidential contenders, click here. (Can you guess who the Cooler hexed?)
  
  Chuck Norris likes to talk about how many people Awshucksabee has killed.
  
  For the best blogospheric coverage in Iowa outside of the Cooler, [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2008, 8:37am EST
  

• Report Live from Your Precinct Caucus

  Patrick Ruffini is starting a cool program, where he's asking Iowans to report on the happenings at their caucus so we in the blogosphere can get up-to-date information. Go here for details. Keep the cooler posted as well at caucuscoolertipjar@gmail.com or in the comments section on your bberry. [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2008, 8:05am EST
  

• Predictions!!

  NOTE- We've decided to keep the predictions thread at the top of the page until the live blog starts tonight. So please scroll down for new content as the day wears on. Everything else will be posted chronologically below the Predictions thread. -CC
  
  GAMEDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  Our predictions are below, [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2008, 6:51am EST
  

• Final Line Change

  
  Its been a blast everybody.
  The Favorite
  Mike Huckabee- 10-9. Hard to see him being stopped in the Hawkeye tomorrow.
  The Juggernaut
  Mitt Romney- 3-1 Can his organization bring him an upset?
  The Comeback Kid
  John McCain- 9-1, SRSLY? From nowhere McCain has resurrected his [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2008, 6:51pm EST
  

• Doug Gross on Turnout

  "If 50 percent of the turnout is evangelical Christians, it would be very difficult for us to finish first in that kind of situation," [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2008, 3:49pm EST
  

• Glover with a must-must-must reader on which counties to watch tomorrow.

  It's $$$$ [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2008, 3:47pm EST
  

• A Wakonda Sized Slam

  On Becky Beach's home turf.. the Wakonda Club... Ed Rollins unloads on Mitten.
  
  "What I have to do is make sure that my anger with a guy like Romney, whose teeth I want to knock out, doesn't get in the way of my thought process."
  
  Do yourself [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2008, 11:17am EST
  

• Odds & Ends

  For those who are wondering, Band of Horses was unbelievable. 5 Stars from the Cooler.
  
  As for 'Raucus' we got some funny reviews from y'all (Sounds like you were having a good time Kevin Cooney) and we'll incorporate them as we have time.
  
  The Register poll is [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2008, 9:18am EST
  

• Raucus!!!

  The Cooler will be partying with Band of Horses tomorrow night in Hotlanta. So we won't be able to liveblog from Raucus before the Caucus as we would like to.
  
  But we KNOW that some reporter types are going to be inappropriately drunk. So, we are [...]
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  Posted: December 30, 2007, 9:58pm EST
  

• Poll Madness

  4 train days.... And if you know who's going to finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, well you know more than the experts do.
  
  Poll #1- The one that matters. The Des Moines Register is currently in the field according to multiple sources. We will be hearing from them shortly. [...]
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  Posted: December 30, 2007, 12:45pm EST
  

• Chingy Would Be Proud

  
  
  Huckabee's now famous quote that he's "not a foreign policy expert, but he did stay at a Holiday Inn" now has a visual aide.
  Above is a more youthful Awshucksabee preaching at...you guessed it... a Holiday Inn.
  Luda, Chingy, and Snoop's thoughts on [...]
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  Posted: December 28, 2007, 10:03am EST
  

• Politico picks up on Cooler story

  Vogel has the deets on Huckabee taking $$$ from stem cell/contraception groups. [...]
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  Posted: December 28, 2007, 9:45am EST
  

• Ambers is on it

  Two interesting Huckabee items from the "well-sourced" Harvard alum.
  
  Prominent Awshucksabee supporters are emailing pastors in IA to encourage them to GOTV from the pulpit this Sunday. (Jefferson would be thrilled)
  
  Awshucksabee thinks Pakistan is west of Afghanistan. It's not. But who cares right? After all [...]
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  Posted: December 28, 2007, 9:25am EST
  

• New Poll

  LAT has Huckabee with a commanding lead in the Hawkeye.
  
  Huck 37
  Mitt 23 [...]
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  Posted: December 28, 2007, 8:26am EST
  

• Line Change!

  
  Under a week until game day. To the big board!
  
  1. Mike Huckabee- Up from 2-1 to 3-2. He's weathered the negative ad storm, the El Rushbo storm, the Bob Novak storm, the snarky blogger storm and he still maintains a lead. He's your [...]
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  Posted: December 28, 2007, 8:06am EST
  

• Light Blogging

  Sorry all. Real job got in the way at CoolerHQ today.
  
  Back with a line-change tomorrow.
  
  In the meantime, check out The Real Sporer's review of the McCain event today, Barack's amazing speechifying, and JMart's piece on Mittens TV monsoon in the Hawkeye. [...]
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  Posted: December 27, 2007, 4:15pm EST
  

• The Dean

  Can't imagine why you are at the Cooler if you haven't read Yepsen yet... But just in case... He has a great article today on what it means to win the bronze on Thursday..
  
  Here in the final days, they've each realized that a third-place finish would give [...]
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  Posted: December 27, 2007, 8:32am EST
  

• John McCain for President

  
  
  Often it is the time that calls for a leader, not the other way around.  You can see examples of this throughout our nation's rich history, when courageous leaders seized moments that perfectly suited their political assets and capabilities.
  
  This moment calls [...]
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  Posted: December 26, 2007, 9:36am EST
  

• Gifts for All

  
  
  Before we at the Cooler open Santa's gifts, we'd like to take a moment to give 1 or 2 things to each of the remaining presidential contenders.
  
  Mike Huckabee- Supply Side Policies, studies in economics and business and Norman Podhoretz "World [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2007, 9:07am EST
  

• Quad City Times- Time for A Real Hero

  Boy the endorsements keep on rolling in for Governor Awshucksabee. Oh wait. Nevermind.
  
  Another one for McCain.
  
  But at this critical point in history, America can benefit from an honorable man with a hero's record. For Iowa's Republican caucuses, we support John McCain. [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2007, 1:22pm EST
  

• Sioux City Journal Endorses Romney

  Not sure how much of a dent this will make in NW Iowa, which is the heart of Huckabee country. But any slice into that advantage will benefit Mitt.
  
  Read the full endorsement here.
  
  Romney combines an outsider’s new face with a proven track record of success [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2007, 12:19pm EST
  

• Governor Graft- Update

  You can view the Governor's personal financial documents here. [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 5:20pm EST
  

• COOLER EXCLUSIVE- "Governor Graft"

  
  The Cooler has obtained documents that show Mike Huckabee received $378,000 in consulting fees during 2006, while he was still governor of Arkansas.
  Most noteworthy, $35,000 came from Novo Nordisk, one of the world's largest embryonic stem cell researchers. It seems that when money [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 1:33pm EST
  

• Romney's drunk dialing us

  Thank goodness we don't have a landline.
  
  Martin on the incessant Romney phone calls in the Hawkeye... [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 1:18pm EST
  

• Logan IA's "Herald Observer" endorses Mccain

  Link to the website here
  
  "As our country faces critical accountability questions when it comes to treatment of prisoners during this war time, we must trust that we will elect a commander in chief who will not treat the Geneva Convention agreement as simply a nuisance. McCain has [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 11:32am EST
  

• Condi!

  
  Forgive our brief foray into national politics...
  Condi on Huckabee's criticism of the Bush foreign policy.
  "The idea that somehow this is a go-it-alone policy is just simply ludicrous," she said at a State Department news conference. "One would only have to be not [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 11:11am EST
  

• Housekeeping items

  • The Cooler will make an official endorsement in the Iowa Caucuses next Wednesday. So make sure to check back for that over your Christmas holiday.
  • If you receive mail, a flyer on your windshield, or a nasty phone call over the next two weeks- scan it/record it and send it on [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 9:52am EST
  

• WHO v. Mitt Part 2

  Read Part 1 below...
  
  Onto the merits of the arguments.
  
  Deace- Its been our position at the Cooler for a long time that this guy does more damage to the GOP than almost any other Iowa figure. His hateful so-called "Christian" behavior is completely reprehensible. And if he's [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 9:49am EST
  

• WHO vs. Mitt Romney- What it means

  
  
  We've been holding this post for a couple days while we got our thoughts in order on it. One of the biggest buzz items around Iowa the past few days has been Jan Mickelson absolutely eviscerating Mitt Romney on the [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2007, 9:27am EST
  

• Tancredo Endorses Romney; Rudy is sick

  Sorry for the light blogging today Coolerites.
  

  • Kay's got the pbp on the Romney endorsement.

  �He will secure our borders�. He�ll require those who are presently here illegally to return home� He can go the distance.�

  • BigHeadDC has a rumor that Rudy's so sick he's pulling out (of the race [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2007, 2:52pm EST
  

• New IA/NH Polls

  Here
  
  Huckabee up 8 in Iowa over... JOHN MCCAIN. Romney lags 3 points behind the Arizona Senator.
  
  In New Hampshire McCain is tied with Romney with Giuliani lagging 10 points behind.
  
  As for trends. Since the last ARG poll Huckabee is static, Romney down 11, McCain [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2007, 11:14am EST
  

• Huckabee at Jordan Creek

  Defends his Christmas ad, takes aim at Romney. Kay Henderson has the audio, it is worth a listen.. [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2007, 10:15am EST
  

• Another new Iowa poll

  We're drowning in data.
  
  This one from the Washington Post has Huck up 8 on Romney and doesn't show the McCain surge...
  
  Comparitively Huck is up and Romney static from the last poll which was taken a month ago.
  
  If you are keeping score, the 3 [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2007, 5:13pm EST
  

• Thompson announces statewide leadership team

  Heavy blogging today...
  
  Isn't it a little late for this?? Whatever.
  
  Here it is.
  
  U.S. Congressman Steve King, State Chair
  State Representative Kraig Paulsen, Co-Chair
  State Representative Sandy Greiner, Co-Chair
  State Representative Clel Baudler
  Former State Senator Bob Brunkhorst
  State Representative Royd Chambers
  State Representative Jeff Kaufmann
  [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2007, 12:25pm EST
  

• Romney blasts Huckabee through the mail

  
  
  
  
  Hitting IA mailboxes.... You knew the immigration attack was coming. Does the "messenger" soften the attack a little bit? We think so..
  
  
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2007, 11:37am EST
  

• Look who's 3rd...

  To all of you who said the Register's endorsement doesn't matter in the GOP primary...
  
  PPppsssssshhhhhh. We told you so. The newest Rasmussen IA numbers are out.
  
  Huckabee and Romney are in a dead heat (Maybe those negative ads are working after-all) with John Sidney McCain in [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2007, 11:12am EST
  

• We know this is an Iowa blog but

  WTF is going on with Rudy??
  
  New poll has him getting doubled up by Mitten in New Hampshire. 6 points behind McCain.
  
  Update: And a new national poll has him in a tie with the guy we've been telling you is the front-runner for the past [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2007, 9:01am EST
  

• New Iowa Poll

  A new insider advantage poll shows Huckabee's lead at only 2.
  
  These guys haven't been in the field since early October so it is impossible to gauge any sort of trend data without other numbers... [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2007, 8:47am EST
  

• Craig Robinson's Huckabee Yard Sign

  
  H/T to the hardest working man in blogging. Craig Robinson, the Political Director for the Iowa Republican Party is sporting a Mike Huckabee sign in his snowfilled Poweshiek County front lawn. The presumably neutral state party has made some not so neutral overtures during [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2007, 8:29am EST
  

• Line Change!

  
  You guys know the drill. We'll start at the top.
  Mike Huckabee- He stays static at 2-1. Two new polls have come out showing him up 9 and 13 respectively since our last line change. His new ad is freaking brilliant. Floating cross and all. [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2007, 10:31pm EST
  

• Huckabee religious imagery

  Take a look at the below ad one more time. Is it just us or do the bookshelves behind Huckabee make a cross? Just over his right shoulder for the first 20 seconds of the ad. It even appears to be lit in a different way. Brighter than the rest.
  [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2007, 4:08pm EST
  

• New IA ads

  Mike Huckabee sure knows his base.
  
  
  
  And Mitt Romney stays on the attack.
  
  
  
  This is the 2nd straight Romney attack ad that we aren't particularly impressed with... [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2007, 3:28pm EST
  

• What does it all mean?

  A couple of random thoughts/rumors/musings for a Monday afternoon.
  
  

  • Word from the McCain Iowa headquarters is that there has been an influx of phone calls and drop-ins as a result of the Register endorsement. While a lot of folks poo-poo how much that endorsement means to Republicans, you can't [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2007, 1:13pm EST
  

• It's Fred!

  Steve King will endorse Mitt Romney any moment.
  
  Stay tuned to Kay's Radio Iowa blog for the blowbyblow.
  
  Update: Seems like early indications were wrong. Congressman King in fact endorsed Fred Thompson. Kay has the details.
  
  Update 2: Thompson's out with a statement.

  "Congressman King's leadership [...]

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  Posted: December 17, 2007, 9:17am EST
  

• Ambers interviews Branstad

  Atlantic blogger extraordinaire Marc Ambinder has 3 minutes with Terry Branstad. Make sure to watch the whole thing. Branstad is not endorsing, but his feelings on the 2008 candidates can be encapsulated at about the 50 second Marc. When asked whether he thinks Republicans are unhappy with the field, [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2007, 8:50am EST
  

• Monday Morning Linkage (Basically just read 'The Page' edition)

  While we await the King announcement...
  
  

  • The first of many links from 'The Page'. Halperin points out the happenings in DSM this morning this morning.
  • Loebsack endorses Obama. Mari Culver, Edwards
  • Must read NYT story about Slick Willy.
    
  • McCain talking about how the Register endorsement will [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2007, 8:04am EST
  

• Steve King endorsement coming tomorrow

  Just a friendly reminder from your pals at the Cooler.
  
  Kay has an email from King where he indicates that his wife and kids don't even know who he's going to endorse.
  
  She speculates, as we did yesterday, that it is likely to be Romney or Thompson.
  [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2007, 8:54pm EST
  

• Mitt on Meet

  Can't help but comment on this morning's "Meet the Press."
  
  On display was the liberal east coast elite's view of the Republican Party. Russert spent the first SEVENTEEN MINUTES talking about the Mormon faith. Then proceeded to rattle off abortion, stem cells, guns, and gays.
  
  Mitt Romney [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2007, 12:50pm EST
  

• JSM and HRC

  The des moines register has endorsed mccain and clinton.. That's a clean early state paper sweep for the arizona senator.
  
  More tomorrow. [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2007, 8:02pm EST
  

• COOLER EXCLUSIVE- Huckabee's Pet Project

  
  
  The Cooler has obtained the above photos of the Mexican consulate in Little Rock, Arkansas. For those that don't know, Governor Huckabee lobbied aggressively for the addition of a Mexican consulate in Little Rock, at the taxpayers [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2007, 11:53am EST
  

• Weekend Linkage

  Jonathan Martin, the hardest working man in blogging, has two more must reads for you this morning.
  
  

  • Steve King WILL endorse a candidate BEFORE the Iowa Caucuses according to his son Jeff. Jeff told Martin that he had concerns about Huckabee's immigration views and implied his dad would [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2007, 11:41am EST
  

• The New National Frontrunner

  
  
  
  We like to stick to Iowa topics here at the Cooler but this is such a dramatic poll result that it must be discussed
  Mike Huckabee leads in the newest Florida poll. He stands at 27% to Romney's 23%, and Giuliani's 19% [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2007, 12:59pm EST
  

• Two new Iowa polls show Huckabee ahead

  By 9 and 13 respectively over Romney...
  
  Its hard to judge trends as this is the first iteration of Lee and Hotline numbers to come out since Huckmentum took hold. [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2007, 12:56pm EST
  

• What about Rudy?

  We haven't had a whole lot of Rudy content on the blog since our return, so we thought it would be a good time to take a look at his Iowa efforts.
  
  Rudy's Iowa strategy is working to an extent, largely thanks to the fact that the Iowa and [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2007, 12:41pm EST
  

• Old Rudy on Immigration

  The only thing surprising about this video (which is being sent around by Camp Romney) is that something similar hadn't come out earlier. Rudy's soft spot for illegal aliens in New York is well documented.
  
  Frankly, we at the Cooler always thought it was strange that Rudy didn't take [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2007, 8:35am EST
  

• Morning Linkage

  Good morning Hawkeyes. Will be back with more Cooler content later today. But until then here are some links to satiate your palate.
  
  

  1. The hardest working man in blogging, Jonathan Martin, has the biggest news this morning. A Martin source says that well-placed Iowa Republicans are discussing [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2007, 8:19am EST
  

• More on Washburn

  Preeminent Iowa Dem blogger Chris Woods has this on Carolyn Washburn..
  
  I just spoke with a few friends who have worked at or still currently work for the Register and they confirm that the paper�s policy is that those on staff should be registered as �no party� [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2007, 1:17pm EST
  

• Jake Tapper on Adamson scandal

  As first reported here at the Cooler, Marion city councilman Craig Adamson sent out a mass email to Linn/Marion County Republicans that was highly critical of the Mormon faith.
  
  Today, Jake Tapper of ABC News, (we've always been a big fan of Jake's at the Cooler...) spoke [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2007, 1:04pm EST
  

• Mr. Magoo

  
  
  Sometimes in life you just get on a roll. Whether it is a hot craps table, a string of good luck at the office, or the one summer in college when you seemed to attract whatever guy/girl you pleased.
  
  Mike Huckabee is on [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2007, 8:29am EST
  

• SHOCK- Debate Moderator a Registered Dem

  
  Des Moines Register Editor Carolyn Washburn was this afternoons moderator. She didn't look a lot like she does in the above picture. What with the horrible black hair dye and the facelift. But trust us, it was her.
  
  Well it shouldn't come as a [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2007, 3:58pm EST
  

• Live Bloggish

  Here are some highlights from our live blog. Read the whole thing HERE. (It's funny, we promise).
  
  1:08- HDTV! Sweeeet.
  
  1:13- Alan Keyes. LMFAO. (Side note. Doesn't calling your TV show "Alan Keyes is making sense" in some way tacitly acknowledge that people think you're crazy.)
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2007, 1:01pm EST
  

• GAMEDAY!!

  2 Hours 15 minutes from the Des Moines register debate. Keep it locked on the Cooler for the blow by blow.
  
  In the meantime, if you haven't read Beaumont's seismic debate preview.. for shame.
  
  Also for those killing time at the office, here are some other debate-related [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2007, 10:43am EST
  

• More on Huck

  We promise we'll blog on others following the debate this afternoon.
  
  Wanted to make sure you didn't miss this NBC news report on Huckabee's ethical issues.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2007, 9:28am EST
  

• From Adamson to Huckabee

  Mike Huckabee asks in a soon to be published interview..
  
  "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
  
  This goes directly counter to Huckabee's claim earlier this month that he is "just not going to go off into evaluating other people's doctrines and faiths. I think [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2007, 8:29am EST
  

• Against the Grain

  A minor item that came across the Cooler's transom.
  
  Tonight influential Dallas County social conservatives's Barb and Fred Taylor are hosting a house party for John McCain following the debate.
  
  On June 29th they did the same for Mike Huckabee. It appears they weren't satisfied with what they [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2007, 8:22am EST
  

• COOLER EXCLUSIVE- Why "The Speech" Mattered

  The Cooler has received a copy an email from Marion City Councilman Craig Adamson that calls Mormonism "a cult" and calls the faith "secretive." This email was a response to an invitation to a Mitt Romney event tomorrow night at Linn Mar High School.
  
  Councilman Adamson "replied all" and [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2007, 5:02pm EST
  

• Winter Wonderland Potpourri

  
  Many thanks to our good friend, Andrew Sullivan and others for the links today. The Cooler is back with a splash, over 1000 page views and 700 unique visitors as of 4PM Central time.
  
  It must be the snow keeping everybody in...
  [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2007, 4:02pm EST
  

• The Romney Ad

  Here's our take.
  
  It's weak. Very weak. We understand the concept of "Iowa nice" and their concern about an ad backfiring. But the production values are shoddy and the distinction made could be much crisper. This also shows that Mitt's internal numbers reflect the public polling data and also [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2007, 8:44am EST
  

• Graciously Submissive

  
  Take on the Romney ad, as promised, is below...
  
  But we couldn't let this gem get by without a mention.
  
  

  In August of 1998, Huckabee was one of 131 signatories to a full page USA Today Ad which declared: "I affirm the [...]

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  Posted: December 11, 2007, 8:05am EST
  

• Mitt goes on offense

  Romney goes up with a very mild negative ad, targeting our new frontrunner. We will have more tonight. For now take a look at Martin's blog. [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2007, 4:55pm EST
  

• Various Huckabee Items

  When you've got the mo', you're the one making news.
  
  Two big points to be made this morning:
  
  1. IFPC Executive Director and former Brownback supporter (as well as being the Kansans college roomate), Chuck Hurley joins team Huck. He will join some other values voter "heavies" [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2007, 8:49am EST
  

• Sunday School

  Don't miss Beaumont's must-read article on Huckabee and home-schoolers in this mornings Register
  
  Vicki Crawford, a home-school mother from Granger, said she liked Huckabee's policy profile and relaxed demeanor after meeting him last spring. But she was unsure if the little-known candidate could gather the support to compete [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2007, 2:03pm EST
  

• How did the story about Jesus and the man with leprisy go again??

  
  Christian Mike Huckabee went to bed with a 22 point lead in Iowa. He woke up with a flash from his past. As a candidate for Senate in 1992, Huckabee said that he thought AIDS patients should be quarantined. He added that federal health agencies [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2007, 11:09am EST
  

• Line Change! (Holy F****** S*** Edition)

  
  A Newsweek poll just broke on MSNBC at the top of the hour showing Awshucksabee with a TWENTY TWO POINT lead in Iowa. 39% to 17% for Mitt Romney.
  
  We'll let you know what the gang of 50 has to say over the [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 5:01pm EST
  

• News and Notes

  Ambers has news of some dirty tricks targeting Romney. If you've received one of these calls, drop us a line.
  
  A warm fuzzy moment for McCain in New Hampshire. Speaking to a questioner who wished to die... "I believe every life is precious, and I believe all [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 12:31pm EST
  

• Huckmentum

  
  
  
  Confused by Awshucksabee's ride to the top in Iowa? This quote from Steve Carlson, (NW IA GOP Activist) in this mornings Wall Street Journal has it in a nutshell.
  
  The speech didn't win the vote of Republican Steve Carlson, a Pentecostal [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 11:21am EST
  

• New Years Plans Now

  
  The Register reports that following Adam Nagourney's lovenote to Des Moines in the New York Times, the few good eating options in Des Moines are filling up with media types and other east-coasters.
  
  Lucca is already booked (****!)
  
  So if you [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 10:56am EST
  

• Fred's Awake

  
  And he's comparing Awshucksabee to Slick Willy in your mailboxes. If you haven't seen it, here you go...
  
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 9:06am EST
  

• Morning Reads

  Camp Romney can't be too happy about the Register's coverage of "The Speech." Take particular note of the 3 graph broadside from Rev. Frank Cook of Des Moines.
  
  Press Citizen and Globe Gazette weigh in as well. What's Mickelson going to say this morning??
  
  Ambers [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 8:48am EST
  

• Line Change!

  
  Without further ado..
  1. (tie) Governor Mitt Romney- 5-2
  The Kochel/Collins organizational juggernaut is still in place. No expense will be too lavish over the next 27 days. You better believe they will have caucus captains at more precincts than any other campaign, by a [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 7:05am EST
  

• Senor Huckflop

  
  Was bound to happen.
  
  Huckabee with a shameful, brazen flip-flop today on immigration. His "Secure America Plan" includes the following.
  
  "Propose to provide all illegal immigrants a 120-day window to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and leave the country. [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2007, 3:27pm EST
  

• The Speech

  
  The biggest speech that any candidate R or D was going to give this primary season happened today in College Station, Texas. Governor Romney was eloquent in sections, and sounded the right note with this line in particular:
  
  No candidate should become the [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2007, 3:11pm EST
  

• It's a Cooler Comeback- And this time we're SERIOUS

  
  Alright minions, this is the deal.
  
  It's been 7 months. Iowa is still without a good, entertaining, process based, campaign-centric, center-right, Republican blog (No offense Mr. Vice-Chair). And we have only 28 short days until the Iowa Caucus.
  
  We at the Cooler [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2007, 2:36pm EST
  

• Don’t Call it a Comeback

  You know we got pretty bored with blogging around the Cooler after a while. So we took a bit of a breather. Sorry for the lack of notice. But we are back, rejuvenated and prepared to take on the caucus. Honestly, what would you have done without us?
  
  Now [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2007, 11:04pm EDT
  

• US News: McCain Makes It Official

  By Kenneth T. Walsh
  
  "John McCain has been running for president a long time, so it might strike voters as a bit strange that he is just now getting around to 'formally' announcing his candidacy. But that's the way campaigns work these days. It's about PR.
  
  McCain [...]
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  Posted: April 25, 2007, 9:57am EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• CBN’s Brody File Blog: Rudy Vs The Democrats

  By David Brody
  Video
  
  Now playing the part of George W. Bush: Rudy Giuliani. Watch his speech yesterday in New Hampshire. He's in rare form blasting the Democrats on national security. This is the winning ticket for Giuliani. Stay away from social issues and go with the [...]
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  Posted: April 25, 2007, 9:54am EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• Reaction to Supreme Court Ruling on Partial Birth Abortion

  We’ve posted before about the degree to which an issue as basic as life will play a role in the 2008 GOP nomination battle. The Supreme Court today upheld by a 5-4 margin the ban on partial birth abortion thanks to the votes of new Supreme Court judges Alito and [...]
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  Posted: April 19, 2007, 7:23am EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• Cattle Callin'

  So we’ve been sitting around thinking about how to review the Lincoln Day “Not so much Unity” Dinner and have had a lot of trouble. We thought about giving you our fave speeches in decending order but decided against (If you really care we thought the following people gave good [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2007, 11:34am EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• Radio

  Tom Tancredo is running ads on the Randy Renshaw show that is all about…IMMIGRATION (surprise). The most interesting part, “John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney all support amnesty.” Slam.
  
  Also Fred Thompson is clearly thinking about running. Why else would you make an announcement about your lymphoma? [...]
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  Posted: April 11, 2007, 1:15pm EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• McCain on Iraq

  John McCain's recent trip to Iraq has received a ton of press coverage. Initial media reports were very critical of McCain. McCain struck back with an editorial in the Washington Post yesterday and made an appearance on "60 Minutes" last night. Later this week, McCain will give a speech on [...]
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  Posted: April 09, 2007, 9:24am EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• CNN's Political Ticker Blog: Giuliani Stands By Support Of Publicly-Funded Abortions

  CNN's Political Blog has the details, but a small sample is below.
  
  "TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told CNN Wednesday he supports public funding for some abortions, a position he advocated as mayor and one that will likely put the GOP presidential [...]
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  Posted: April 04, 2007, 3:17pm EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• Rudy Recap

  We’ll pass it over to our Cooler correspondent who was live at Valley High last evening:
  
  I got to the school at about 620 which I thought was going to be a little bit late since the invitation said the doors open at 530. Turns out I was early [...]
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  Posted: April 04, 2007, 10:48am EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• The Final Money Tally

  Romney 23 mil
  Rudy 15 mil
  McCain 12.5 mill
  Brownback 2 mil
  Tancredo 1 mil
  Huckabee 500K
  
  Good day for Mitt, not so much McCain and the Huckster..
  
  We’ll have a recap of Rudy’s first trip to Iowa tomorrow. [...]
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  Posted: April 03, 2007, 12:03pm EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• Show Me The Money

  Looking like a good day for camp Romney… In primary dollars, Mitt outraises Hillary.
  Impressive.
  [...]
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  Posted: April 02, 2007, 6:11pm EDT
  by Caucus Cooler

• Line Change!

  
  Ok so we are a little late to the party on Fred Thompson. Color us a little bit skeptical about his candidacy. That being said, numbers don’t lie, and the most recent ARG poll shows America’s TV Prosecutor running 3rd in Iowa.
  
  So Thompson [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2007, 10:01pm EDT
  by Caucus Cooler