A new report analyzes ad spending so far in the Republican presidential race and finds that spending by interest groups (i.e. SuperPACs) has increased by 1600% over 2008 levels, and that Romney's campaign and its SuperPAC allies have run 13,000 ads in Florida compared to Newt and company's 200.
Probably reflecting that outsized advertising influence, the polls all show Romney with a comfortable lead in Florida. Yet Newt is threatening to go all the way to the convention, and as a Politico story pointed out earlier today, there's little holding him back: As an aging pol who's long wanted to hold center stage, he has little to lose (ahem) in terms of respect within the Republican establishment by creating a contested convention. And the Republican party's new rules for apportioning delegates allow a challenger like Gingrich to actually rack up a delegate count rather than being shut out even if he loses Florida (a fascinating case of unintended consequences?).
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin cheers Newt on from the sidelines: "if for no other reason [than] to rage against the machine: Vote for Newt, annoy a liberal. Vote Newt. Keep this vetting process going..." And writing for the Times, Thomas Edsall shows just how compromised the so-called values voters have become: "Joining Gingrich’s National Faith Coalition are Tim and Beverly LaHaye (Tim LaHaye is the author of “Battle for the Family” and Beverly LaHaye is the founder of Concerned Women for America, the largest women’s pro-family advocacy group in America); Dr. Jim Garlow, the California pastor who presides over the websiteProtectMarriage.com, which backed the Proposition 8 campaign against gay marriage; and Don Wildmon, whose American Family Association website features his unshakeable commitment to “Strengthening Today’s Marriage and Family Movement.”
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