Barbour says he's not running

STATEMENT OF GOV. BARBOUR

“I will not be a candidate for president next year. This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided.

“Hundreds of people have encouraged me to run and offered both to give and raise money for a presidential campaign. Many volunteers have organized events in support of my pursuing the race. Some have dedicated virtually full time to setting up preliminary organizations in critical, early states and to helping plan what has been several months of intensive activity.

“I greatly appreciate each and every one of them and all their outstanding efforts. If I have disappointed any of them in this decision, I sincerely regret it.

“A candidate for president today is embracing a ten-year commitment to an all-consuming effort, to the virtual exclusion of all else. His (or her) supporters expect and deserve no less than absolute fire in the belly from their candidate. I cannot offer that with certainty, and total certainty is required.

“This decision means I will continue my job as Governor Mississippi, my role in the Republican Governors Association and my efforts to elect a new Republican president in 2012, as the stakes for the nation require that effort to be successful.”

Barbour's Drawl Gets New Hampshire Debut

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour tours Riley’s Gun Shop in
Hooksett, N.H., this month.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — He is not like them. And the breakfast crowd at Chez Vachon knows it the instant Haley Barbour opens his mouth.

It’s not that they haven’t met Southern politicians before. Or that they don’t recognize the oddly shaped pin on his lapel as the state of Mississippi. The people of New Hampshire have been courted by politicians of all shapes and sizes over the years. It’s just that very few of them have encountered an accent quite like this.

“I noticed it, absolutely. You notice it,” said Jim Waddell, a state Representative from Hampton. He’s a one-time jogging partner of President Bill Clinton and recently shared breakfast here with Barbour. “Some people might say, ‘Ah, that’s phony, or that’s not real, or that’s hickish, or that’s redneckish.’ But I don’t feel that way. ... From my own point of view, I love a Southern accent and I love the way they use a lot of expressions in it. It’s lively.”



Roll Call

Poll shows Haley closing the gap on perceived GOP Presidential frontrunners

A new National Journal Poll shows Romney support growing slowly, but Governor Haley Barbour is closing the gap. The comparison of Romney's Massachusetts health care bill to Obamacare are getting louder and louder, and Pawlenty has a Cap and Trade problem.

Presidential hopefuls Cap and Trade stance offers "Pawlenty" of problems

Governor Tim Pawlenty

Minnesota Governor and Republican Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has a problem. He WAS a big supporter of Cap and Trade. He has tried to distance himself lately by saying it was a mistake. But, in a 2008 article published in the Star Tribune he seemed pretty cozied up to the idea to just dismiss it now as "a mistake."

In the article his then spokesman Alex Carey said, ""He would prefer that come from the federal government, it was something he really wanted to do."

Pawlenty joins global-warming radio ad


The governors of Minnesota and Arizona take to the airwaves to urge Congress to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Deepening his involvement in the global warming debate and in national affairs, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is lending his voice to a nationwide radio ad sponsored by the activist Environmental Defense Action Fund. In the ad, Pawlenty teams up with Arizona's Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano to scold Congress for not doing more to combat climate change.

Against a background of inspirational, New Age-style music, the two tout state-level achievements and urge Congress to pass national curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. Quick action could spur thousands of "enviro-friendly" jobs, Pawlenty and Napolitano say in the ad. Foot-dragging, they warn, could push job-yielding innovations overseas.

Those claims are disputed by some critics who say that the jury is still out on climate change and that promises of a golden age of affordable, homegrown fuel and controllable climate are overstated. Many of those are in Pawlenty's Republican Party, and the pressure on him to back off the issue has been substantial at times.

But Alex Carey, spokesman for Pawlenty, said the governor is convinced of the need for action. Pawlenty plans another clean energy package in the coming legislative session and has adopted renewable energy as his signature issue during his tenure leading the National Governors Association. Napolitano was the previous chair.

Listen to Governor Barbour speak live at 9 am at Rediscover God Breakfast in Iowa

Governor Barbour has just taken the stage at the Rediscover God Breakfast in Iowa. Other guests include Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann.

You can listen live by going HERE

Barbour’s press secretary resigns amid e-mail flap

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has accepted the resignation of his press secretary, just hours after it was reported that the spokesman sent e-mails with off-color jokes about issues ranging from the earthquake in Japan to former attorney general Janet Reno.

“Gov. Haley Barbour has accepted Dan Turner’s resignation as press secretary,” read a brief statement from Barbour’s office. “Laura Hipp will now serve in that capacity.”

Post reporter Karen Tumulty, who happens to be traveling with the potential GOP presidential candidate today, said the governor disavowed any prior knowledge of the e-mails and said he didn’t know of the controversy until he was asked.

“First I’ve heard of it,” he said at the time, before Turner’s resignation was announced.

Read More

Suzi Parker: Will Sarah Palin run as an Independent candidate?

Sarah Palin talks a lot about the Tea Party.

Palin, unlike any failed vice presidential candidate before her, has taken an opportunity and spun it into a gold mine. But to remain relevant in a crowded 2012 field of attention-seeking veteran politicians, Palin may have to make an unconventional move.

Although third-party candidates seldom win in America's two-party system, they can certainly rain on political parades. At the same time, they can help down-ballot candidates by getting voters to the polls who might otherwise stay at home.

Palin certainly has many of the qualities of a third-party candidate – charismatic and passionate, with a status as an outsider intent on storming the barricades of the establishment.

Read More

Barbour hires a blogger for online outreach

Barbour adds online communications aide

Haley Barbour's political operation, steadily ramping up toward a full presidential campaign, has hired a communications adviser to handle its online outreach, a Barbour aide confirmed this evening.

James Richardson, who was online communications manager for the RNC in the 2008 cycle, joins a team that already includes former 2004 RNC communications director Jim Dyke.

Richardson has more recently been a consultant to Senator Dan Coats and to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He's also a blogger who's written quite a bit at RedState and elsewhere.

"Haley is very pleased that James Richardson has joined his team to help manage the national interest of bloggers and other online journalists in the Governor's political activity," Barbour's nephew and chief aide Henry Barbour said in an emailed statement. "Haley understands the significant role bloggers play in today’s political world and wants to maximize that dynamic medium."

The Hill: Barbour to meet with Netanyahu in Israel

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) will visit Israel on Saturday, less than a week after Mike Huckabee announced a similar trip.

Barbour is scheduled to leave Saturday and will be in Israel until Wednesday of next week.

According to the Republican Jewish Coalition, which is hosting the possible 2012 presidential candidate, Barbour will meet with senior Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He will also deliver a "major address" at the Herzliya Conference on the last day of his trip.

Netanyahu has recently met with both former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and ex- Arkansas Gov. Huckabee, both of whom have shown interest in running for president in 2012.

Visiting Israel and meeting with Netanyahu in particular are indications that Romney, Huckabee, and Barbour are working to bolster their foreign policy credentials.

Read More.

Thomas: Look for Barbour to Announce Presidential Bid Around Feb. 10, 2011

With most people now recognizing that Haley Barbour is running for President in 2012, speculation turns to when he will announce that he is running. Look for the announcement around February 10, 2011.

How do I know this? I looked at when people announced in 2007 for the 2008 race. Here is when major candidates announced:

•Edwards: Dec. 26, 2006
•Dodd: Jan. 11, 2007
•Clinton: Jan. 20
•Biden: Jan. 31
•Huckabee: Jan. 28
•Obama: Feb. 10
•Romney: Feb. 13
•Giuliani: Feb. 15
•McCain: Feb. 28

They have a name for candidates who screw around, get coy and "test the waters": Fred Thompson. Thompson waited all the way until Sept. 5 to announce. Don't look for anyone to make that mistake again.

So for Barbour (and other serious candidates) it could be as early as mid-January ,or as late as the end of February. A good guess is in between. Feb. 10 seems like a good a date as any, since it worked for Obama. At least that's how I see it.

Philip Thomas: MLR

3BP Analysis: Haley Barbour the man to beat in 2012

Haley Barbour is running for President.


No, he hasn't announced yet, but his intentions are well understood.

The best thing that happened to Haley Barbour and his aspirations for the presidency came when Mark Sanford decided to be an idiot. When Sanford was knocked from his post as head of the Republican Governors Association, Barbour took over and turned it into a powerhouse.

When all was said and done, the RGA had plenty to brag about come November 3rd.

Republican Governors have won control of the majority of 2012 swing states. The following states that held gubernatorial races are considered swing states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The RGA spent $49.5 million in these 10 swing states we deemed critical to 2012.

And while it's not a swing state, the RGA also was forced to move into South Carolina and provide some reinforcements to ensure Nikki Haley's victory.

Hmmm.

There's something awfully interesting about some of the states listed above.

Iowa. Nevada. South Carolina.

Well, it just so happens that the GOP primary calendar undertook some slight revisions this past year in order to guarantee four states had the first primaries.

New Hampshire. Iowa. Nevada. South Carolina.

Additionally, the new calendar emphasizes the importance of delaying the beginning of primary season and ensuring there isn't a kind of national primary that provides a candidate with an insurmountable lead.

Now no one would think a man with as heavy a drawl as Barbour could compete in New Hampshire. But Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina? Those seem like decent possibilities.

Now take into consideration the massive amount of political capital Barbour gained among the new Governors in each of those three states by investing so heavily into their races. Branstad, Sandoval, and Haley all owe Haley Barbour. And they owe him big.

Is it enough to bring a hugely important endorsement? That much is unclear, but Barbour clearly has every reason and right to put the pressure on all three.

Now consider what happens if Barbour is able to finagle the early endorsements of people like Corbett, Kasich, and Scott in PA, OH, and FL. In the horserace that is primary politics, that provides quite a momentum shift.

No one doubts Barbour can raise money. No one doubts his abilities as a tactician. His record in Mississippi is exemplary. The only question is his background as a lobbyist and I'm not quite convinced that's the Achilles Heel many seem to believe.

If Barbour can manage to pull down these endorsements, watch out. Without a doubt, he'll be the man to beat for the 2012 GOP nomination.

3BP