NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 01: Television personality Jon Gosselin (R) meets with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach at the West Side Jewish Center on November 01, 2009 in New York City.

(Getty Images / Ray Tamarra)

The ubiquitous celebrity rabbi was asked on Aaron Klein's WABC Radio show this evening whether his flirtation with a New Jersey congressional run is for real, or just self-promotion:

First of all, my book, Kosher Jesus, thank god, doesn’t really need publicity. In fact, it got publicity I didn’t even want. It became the object of a war in the blogosphere all over the Internet for those who have followed it carefully. A huge war….

The book has gotten a lot of attention. Thank God, it is already a bestseller on many Amazon subcategories. It was the # 1 Theology book. It was the # 1 Hebrew Bible Book. It was the # 3 Jesus book, and I can only imagine how many Jesus books there are on Amazon. So I think it’s very unfair to say that I would announce this just to get the book publicity.

The reason why this announcement came out now has to do simply with deadlines. The deadline to enter the Republican convention in Bergen County, and as you said, the newly redrawn 9th District was midnight on the 31st of January. And I thought about running for public office for many years. I have even hinted to it in several of my columns that are published in the Jerusalem Post, published in the New Jersey Jewish Standards, the Huffington Post, sometimes the Wall Street Journal, etcetera.

But here I was given no choice. If I wanted to run in this election cycle I had to submit a letter by midnight on the 31st of January.

Boteach says he'll make up his mind by March 14.

In a dramatic break from what head been an informal alliance with Mitt Romney's campaign for president, Ron Paul's campaign manager John Tate dispatched a furious email to supporters last night, accusing Romney allies of dirty tricks in the Maine caucuses:

Tonight you saw dueling examples of how much the establishment is scared of Ron Paul and his message of liberty.

Ron Paul will win the most delegates out of Maine tonight.

In fact, he will probably even win the “beauty contest” Straw Poll the media has already called for Mitt Romney – even before all the votes have been tallied.

“HOW CAN THAT BE?” you might be asking yourself.

Simple. The national political establishment and their pals in the national media will do ANYTHING to silence our message of liberty...

You see, in Maine today, you and I saw a perfect example of just how much the establishment fears Ron Paul.

In Washington County – where Ron Paul was incredibly strong – the caucus was delayed until next week just so the votes wouldn’t be reported by the national media today.

Of course, their excuse for the delay was “snow.”

That’s right. A prediction of 3-4 inches – that turned into nothing more than a dusting - was enough for a local GOP official to postpone the caucuses just so the results wouldn’t be reported tonight.

[Name], this is MAINE we’re talking about.

The GIRL SCOUTS had an event today in Washington County that wasn’t cancelled!

And just the votes of Washington County would have been enough to put us over the top.

This is an outrage. Perhaps you heard about it on the mainstream news tonight?

Probably not. In fact, if you were watching one major network, they cut off their telecast of Ron Paul’s speech right when he began mentioning this fact.

The truth is, there is no length to which the GOP establishment won’t go. There is nothing the mainstream media won’t do.

But they can’t stifle our message. And with your help, they will have to listen to it all the way to the GOP nominating convention in August.

Ron Paul told me this weekend -- he is in it to stay and to WIN....

Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster declared Romney the victory in the tiny caucuses, despite the fact that not all have met. But Maine Republicans point out that with Romney's lead around 200 votes, Washington County -- which cast just 115 total in 2008 -- is unlikely to make up the difference.

This kind of thumb on the scales is the sort of treatment from which Paul's alienated supporters draw energy, and it may make it harder for the eventual nominee to bring them back into the fold. Paul's new slogan, above, isn't exactly conciliatory, and he's planning a February 14 "moneybomb" to capitalize on his backers' anger.

(John Bazemore/AP)

Mitt Romney often runs away from the comparisons drawn between ObamaCare and RomneyCare. Romney routinely deflects the similarities by saying that the plan he put in place was a "federalist" approach, and constitutional issues conservatives raise about the individual mandate aren't viable when enacted at a state level.

But Romney wasn't always as critical of the President's plan as he is today. In a March 2010 interview with the Emory University student run newspaper The Emory Wheel, following a stop at the university on his book tour Romney praised President Obama for the similarities between ObamaCare and RomneyCare. Romney commented the "best features" of the President's plan were those similar to RomneyCare, including the "individual responsibility for getting insurance," commonly referred to as the individual mandate.

Smith: Earlier today, President Obama remarked to NBC on the degree of similarity between his health-care reform policies and those that you passed in Massachusetts under your term as governor. How is the health-care reform legislation signed by Obama last week significantly different from the policies that you passed in Massachusetts?

Romney: Well, there are similarities. And some of the best features of his health-care plan are like ours — such as, we do not allow insurance companies to drop people who develop illnesses, our insurance is entirely portable, virtually all of our citizens are insured and there is an individual responsibility for getting insurance.

The big differences are that he raised taxes; we did not. He cut Medicare; we did not. He put in place price controls; we did not. And his is a federal program — a one-size-fits-all solution — and in our view — in my view, the best approach is a state-by-state creation of programs designed to fit the needs of citizens of each state.

Via: @Jon2012girls

Source: youtube.com

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Sarah Palin brought down the house at the Conservative Political Action Conference with phrasing halfway between Barack Obama and Dr. Seuss.

"See the Tea Party rose up because America woke up," Palin said before the conservative confab.

"We aren’t red Americans, we aren’t blue Americans, we are red, white, and blue — and President Obama we are through with you," she added to a standing ovation.

Romney's Remarks at CPAC

February 10, 2012

See how his remarks stack up against other significant Romney speeches:

Iowa Closing Argument

December 27, 2011

New Hampshire Primary Night

January 10, 2012

View Entire List ›

(Reuters / http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/05Mn5hK7NQ4cr/1000x.jpg)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Mitt Romney leaves Washington today hoping that his victory Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll means he can stop talking about social issues.

CPAC was supposed to be to be Rick Santorum’s moment to shine, after a week of gaining momentum and solidifying the conservative base behind him. But the conference's straw poll favors big money organization, and its big stage favored the more experienced candidate. Romney’s speech was flush with red meat for the base, and he mentioned some form of the word “conservative” 24 times. Romney brought the crowd to their feet over a half-dozen times during his speech — Santorum did it just twice.

The former Massachusetts governor’s campaign cited his speech as the reason for his CPAC victory, but to be sure, his campaign also purchased tickets for supporters.

Romney’s campaign never intended to focus on social issues, and the recent rhetoric is merely a detour, an aide told BuzzFeed.

Indeed, now that he has at least staunched the bleeding at CPAC and with a victory in the Maine caucuses, Romney is looking to the Arizona and Michigan primaries later this month. He's in a strong position in both states, where the economy and immigration — central campaign issues — will rise to the forefront.

Source: @MittRomney

11/02/2012: Palin addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Washington, D.C. -- A few protesters mic-checked Sarah Palin's keynote speech at CPAC today but didn't last long. Nothing could touch Palin, who had the crowd on their feet for large portions of her speech.

The protesters in the back of the room yelled "Mic-check!" and were immediately greeted with a standing crowd -- and Palin herself -- chanting "USA, USA." Security quickly whisked them out of the room.

“We just won — see how easy that is," Palin said after they'd gone.

And at least in terms of reception, she did win today. Palin's speech got the biggest reaction of any at CPAC -- much more so than any of the presidential candidates. The audience gave her standing ovation after standing ovation and some even yelled "Run Sarah run!" -- more telling of the GOP field's inability to connect with voters than any poll.

Palin zeroed in on President Obama. The current state of the economy "is not a failure of the American people," she said. "It is the failure of leadership. We know how to change that, oh yes we do. Oh yes we can," she said, echoing Obama's campaign line.

"Hope and change – yeah, you gotta hope things change."

"He says he has a jobs plan to win the future. WTF, I know," Palin said, spelling out W-T-F.

Palin hasn't endorsed any candidates and didn't do so today, telling the crowd that "For the sake of our country we must stand united, whoever our nominee is."

Palin left the stage to an extended ovation, having managed to do what none of the candidates except Santorum could: get social conservatives truly fired up.

A screen capture from the website set up to herald the deal lists the "National Mortgage Settlement" as "coming soon."

On Thursday, President Obama and a host of state and federal officials announced a $26 billion residential mortgage settlement with major banks.

Typically, prior to announcing anything, the parties to a settlement or a business deal will come up with a document--known as a term sheet--that defines the fundamental terms of the agreement and limits the ability of the parties to back out of the deal. American Banker reports that no such term sheet exists for the "settlement" announced on Thursday:

"A person familiar with the mortgage servicing pact says that a settlement term sheet does not yet exist. Instead, there are a series of nearly-complete documents that will be attached to a consent judgment eventually filed with the court. That truly final version will include things such as servicing standards, consumer relief options, legal releases, and enforcement terms. There will likely be separate state and a federal versions of the release.

Some who talked to American Banker said that the political pressure to announce the settlement drove the timing, in effect putting the press release cart in front of the settlement horse.

Whatever the reason for the document's continued non-appearance, the lack of a public final settlement is already the cause for disgruntlement among those who closely follow the banking industry. Quite simply, the actual terms of a settlement matter."

(Reuters / http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00tX1QQ8YE7jq/1000x.jpg)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the winner of the Conservative Political Action Conference Straw Poll, The Washington Times reports.

The poll provides an indication of where the party’s base is — and it is solidifying behind Mitt Romney.

Romney won the Straw Poll with 38 percent of the 3,408 votes cast. Rick Santorum followed with 31 percent, Newt Gingrich with 15 percent, and Ron Paul with 12 percent.

In a separate national poll of conservatives, Romney took 27 percent of self-identified conservatives, just ahead of Santorum’s 25 percent.

The Washington Times, the poll's sponsor, notes that Romney's total is the highest since then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush won the straw poll in 2000 with 42 percent of the vote.

The move reverses a week of bad news for the Romney campaign as Santorum has surged nation-wide.

Despite running a shoestring campaign, Santorum has managed to deal significant blows to front-runner Mitt Romney’s push to secure the Republican presidential nomination.

Santorum managed to win the Iowa Caucuses in January despite being out-raised by Romney 25-1 in the final quarter of 2011, and swept three races last week in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado. (None of those races directly awarded any delegates to the Republican National Convention.)

Santorum’s campaign says he has raised over $3 million since his Tuesday victories, though Romney still maintains a large fundraising and organization advantage.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Tea Party favorite, was the favorite for the Republican vice-presidential ticket, with 34 percent of CPAC attendees selecting him. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in second with 9 percent of the vote.

Left to right: Luke Rudkowski, Crooks & Liars reporter Andrew Metcalf, and Tim Pool.

Washington, D.C. -- How media-friendly is the annual the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC?

Well, this year it issued full media credentials to two independent journalists well-known for their focus on and sympathy for the Occupy movement.

Tim Pool achieved minor celebrity status for his near-constant livestreaming of Occupy Wall Street during its heyday in the fall. His livestream, TheOther99, landed him profiles in Time and Fast Company and even his own surveillance drone, the OccuCopter.

Luke Rudkowski is an independent videographer from Brooklyn who was one of the only members of the media to make it inside Zuccotti Park during the city's eviction of protesters in November.

Both decided to come to CPAC to cover the conference itself as well as the Occupy protests surrounding it. According to Pool, they applied for credentials through the usual channels and didn't run into any problems.

Both are unabashed in their support of Occupy and were in favor of the protests going on outside the hotel where CPAC is being held: Pool tweeted before coming to D.C., "Tomorrow at #CPAC #occupy protesters will be 'crashing the party.'"

(AP / J. Scott Applewhite)

Washington, D.C. -- The chairman of the American Conservative Union, the host of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, avoided criticizing the inclusion of white nationalist writer Peter Brimelow at CPAC at a press conference today.

"I never heard that fellow’s name until the press wrote it up," Al Cardenas told reporters today.

"The ACU stands behind speakers we invite to speak at our functions," Cardenas said. "This fellow was not invited to participate in any of the events that ACU takes responsibility for."

Cardenas, who was born in Cuba, said that "I'm pretty proud of my heritage and who I am. As chairman of the ACU this is kind of my party, and why would I invite anyone to my party who doesn’t like me? I’ve learned over the years to not take one reporter’s comments as gospel."

Earlier, Kansas secretary of state and Romney surrogate Kris Kobach told BuzzFeed after an immigration panel that he appeared on with another figure associated with the white nationalist movement, Bob Vandervoort, that "I don't know what all of Bob's views are, I just met him this morning." Vandervoort is the executive director of ProEnglish and had been a supporter of Jared Taylor's "race realist" publication American Renaissance, classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

On its website, American Renaissance endorses ideas like "One of the
most destructive myths of modern times is that people of all races
have the same average intelligence" and "One of the most obvious
consequences of an increase in the black population is an increase in
crime."

"I think it's silly for anyone to suggest that because a third party puts four people on a panel, that they all have the same views," Kobach said.

"If an organization like CPAC, which is a credible organization, asks me to be on a panel and it fits into my schedule I'll do it," Kobach said.

Kobach serves as an immigration adviser and occasional surrogate for Mitt Romney's campaign.

Florida Congressman David Rivera also appeared on the panel. His staff didn't respond to a request for comment.

Martyr

A trailer for the upcoming movie "Hating Breitbart" debuted at CPAC, via Gateway Pundit.

ANDREW BREITBART: "I am so sick of having to be apologetic for who I am."

Madman

A video of a confrontation between Breitbart and Occupy protesters outside CPAC originally posted by Campus Progress.

ANDREW BREITBART: "You are freaks and animals. ... Stop raping people!"

Source: youtube.com

Source: youtube.com

Source: youtube.com

Source: youtube.com

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Right-wing provocateur and blog mogul Andrew Breitbart.

(Getty Images / NICHOLAS KAMM)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It's no secret that Tea Party activists are generally panicked by the prospect of a Mitt Romney nomination.

But Andrew Breitbart--the right-wing blog king who has championed the conservative grassroots since its rebirth in 2010--is surprisingly conciliatory in his approach to the GOP frontrunner.

After Breitbart's inflammatory speech at CPAC Friday evening, BuzzFeed asked him if he shared his conservative cohorts' nervousness about Romney.

"Oh sweet Lordy, no," responded Breitbart, founder of BigGovernment.com and other conservative sites. "No, not ever remotely."

He went on: "Do I think he's kind of tone deaf to what these people want? Yes. Oh well. Everyone wanted him in 2008 over McCain; I remember when he was the conservative candidate."

He cautioned conservative activists against imposing a "purity test" on the Republican presidential field.

"From my perspective, there are too many people holding the conservative movement to the impossible post-2009 Tea Party standard when we lived in a completely different political reality," he said. "It's sort of like we all got married and now we're finding out about our spouse's past. It's like, 'Wow, you stripped in Tallahassee? That's not good..."

"None of these people is perfect," he continued. "And I'm not sitting there freaking out about the sins of their past."

He said he thinks Romney, like the other candidates, would harnnass the power of the Tea Party once in office--as long as he has Congress on his side.

That's why "I'm more worried personally about the Senate races than I am about who we pick" for president, he said.

At this point, a conservative activist standing nearby interjected: "But don't we want a reflexive conservative? Someone where it oozes out of him? That's where it gets muddy for Romney..."

Breitbart shrugged: "I'm not looking for perfection, personally."

Via: youtube.com

Washington, D.C. -- A video posted today shows conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart shouting "Behave yourselves!" and "Stop raping people!" at Occupiers protesting outside CPAC this afternoon. He also calls them "freaks and animals."

According to Campus Progress writer Emily Crockett, who filmed the video at around 6:15 -- shortly after Breitbart stopped in to talk to media in the press filing room -- Breitbart stayed outside yelling at protesters for a few minutes and then "was gently encouraged to go inside by the security people."

Breitbart has made Occupy a large part of his role at CPAC this year: His "Occupy Unmasked" documentary was teased at CPAC today and he showed up at the conference wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.

Source: youtube.com