Links, 10-5-11

The top two news stories may be good news for Democrats:

1.) Chris Christie has, once again, announced he will not be running for President this year, disappointing many Republicans who saw him as the only potential candidate who would have a really good change of defeating Obama in a general election

2.) In an election watched across the nation, the Democratic incumbent retained his position as Governor of West Virginia despite a recent rightward shift in WV politics at the national level and an intense campaign to nationalize the election and link Governor Tomblin to Obama and the new health care law

In what turns out to have been perfect timing given the first story, David Brooks yesterday wrote a column entitled In Defense of Romney, arguing that Romney is a perfectly good candidate for the Republicans, despite what many see as a major flaw:

The central problem is that Mitt Romney doesn’t fit the mold of what many Republicans want in a presidential candidate. They don’t want a technocratic manager. They want a bold, blunt radical outsider who will take on the establishment, speak truth to power and offend the liberal news media

Last week, it appeared that even though Perry was falling in the polls that Romney wasn't rising to take his place.  This week, it appears that Romney is starting to become the favored candidate.  But a look at the trends in the polls shows that Herman Cain is the fastest riser; the 4 polls since September 25th have Romney at 17-25%, Cain at 17%, and Perry at 12-19%.

In an ever intensifying debate about spending, the House and Senate have passed very different bills, with the House bill cutting funding for the health bill, education, Planned Parenthood, Pell Grants, NPR, and other programs

Here's a relevant online debate related to yesterday's class debate: Do Taxes Narrow the Wealth Gap? - Room for Debate

I don't usually post from overtly liberal and conservative blogs, but this is an interesting economic analogy relevant to what we discussed in class yesterday.  In Short-term Gimmicks, the author compares the Republicans' insistence on spending cuts to a doctor who recommends diet and exercise to a patient having a heart attack

Here's an interesting piece about the thousands immigrants -- both illegal and illegal -- who are fleeing towns in Alabama after a court ruling upheld a strict new anti-illegal immigration law

The two-week old "Occupy Wall Street" movement is now receiving official endorsements from various local unions -- meaning the ranks of protesters could soon swell with union members