Open Thread

With all the focus on Newt Gingrich versus Mitt Romney of late, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum not only reminded everyone of his presence once again, he did so in a sweep--taking caucus victories yesterday in the important states of Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri. He was not awarded any delegates for these victories, however, so the question for today is, how much do Santorum's triumphs count? A lot, not much, or somewhere in between?

The publishing of Peter Schweizer's Throw Them All Out seems to have inspired some of the editors and writers at the Washington Post who published this week an exposé on how many members of Congress are directing money in federal earmarks to projects that have some direct connection to themselves. It's not necessarily indicative of corruption but the data is fascinating to take a look at. From the Post's summary of its findings:

Mitt Romney wins big tonight in Florida. Use this thread to catch media bias reports on the night or make your own comments.

Today's starter topic: Despite billions of dollars in taxpayer corporate welfare, electric vehicles are failing to sell everywhere, not just in this country. The results worldwide are showing that Obama's subsidies for vehicles no one wants are failing even more than you'd think:

Are you watching the GOP presidential debate tonight? If so, consider joining us live here at NB as we watch the event. It airs at 8pm ET tonight on CNN as well as on the CNN website. We'll be posting videos and fact-checks throughout the night but if you want to add your own analysis or snark, this is the place to do it.

As with all NB live events, you are expected to abide by the NewsBusters terms of service. Vulgarity and general obnoxiousness will get you kicked from the chat room. Before the debate begins, feel free to use this post as an open thread about the campaign or other topics.

Today's starter topic: After a long delay, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney released some of his tax records today. Even though they failed to adequately look at the background of President Obama, expect the media to be over these records like white on rice.

Will the records help Newt Gingrich intensify his attacks on Romney's venture capitalist background though? Will we keep complaints about Romney's wealth from the liberal media even though John Kerry's net worth is greater and that didn't seem to bother them? Or will the media move on to something else?

Fresh off his commanding South Carolina victory, Newt Gingrich is looking to keep his momentum going in yet another Republican presidential debate hosted tonight in Florida at 9pm Eastern. NBC "Meet the Press" host David Gregory is set to moderate (don't ask us why). Join us in a live chat if you are interested in tuning in to the debate. You can also watch it online here.

As with all NB live events, you are expected to abide by the NewsBusters terms of service. Vulgarity and general obnoxiousness will get you kicked from the chat room. You will need a Flash-enabled browser to participate.

With Rick Perry dropping out of the race today and ABC's attack on Newt Gingrich airing tonight, the GOP presidential candidate debate sponsored by CNN at 8pm ET ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary is shaping up to actually be a newsworthy event. Are you watching tonight? If so, please join us at NB for a live chat for some fact-checking and bias busting.

As with all NB live events, you are expected to abide by the NewsBusters terms of service. Vulgarity and general obnoxiousness will get you kicked from the chat room. You will need a Flash-enabled browser to participate.

Today's starter topic: Liberals fancy themselves to be the best proponents of free speech and tolerance. But when actual political speech is at issue rather than theoretical speech, their boasts are often revealed to be mere posturing. That's why we thought it'd be nice to start off today's OT by giving some well-deserved praise to Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen for mounting a solid defense for political speech against the self-interested censors of the liberal press:

Two big showdowns this week: One with an upset and one that went mostly as planned. Comment on this post on the New Hampshire primary or the BCS football championship. Yesterday was it for college football but the next big game in the Republican presidential race is January 21, 11 days away. What are your predictions for that state?

Today we have two topics for you on OT. The first is that today is the New Hampshire primary in the Republican presidential race. All reports indicate that Mitt Romney will be a big winner in the state. Fellow candidate Jon Huntsman has bet the farm on the small Northeastern state. Will he drop out if he doesn't do well? Will we see any other dropouts or does New Hampshire just not matter very much in this presidential cycle?

The second topic for today is yet another example of how liberals don't practice what they preach. Big-time Obama supporters Beyonce Knowles and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter" apparently rented an entire hospital floor in New York City and then had the gall to deny other parents in the hospital the ability to see their own children:

Besides abysmal sales, the Obama Administration's favorite car, the Chevrolet Volt, is now facing some seriously bad news: GM announced today that it is recalling 8,000 of the vehicles sold in the past two years (though it's refusing to call it a recall) due to safety concerns about the Volt's battery casing:

The results are in from last night's Iowa presidential caucuses and it appears Mitt Romney has pulled off a 7-vote victory, apparently the closest ever in the history of Iowa. Second place went to Rick Santorum, whose low-budget campaign came from nowhere to nearly first. Ron Paul took third.

Exit questions: We know his showing in Iowa will be a boon to Rick Santorum but how much will the Hawkeye Cauci matter to the other candidates? Do you think there will be some changes in the media's coverage of the campaign?

Today's starter topic: The Iowa caucuses are tomorrow and the final poll of the state, released by the liberal Des Moines Register newspaper, indicates Mitt Romney in the lead, just barely ahead of Ron Paul and Rick Santorum in third place.

Do the Iowa caucuses matter anymore? Will you be keeping an eye on the events of tomorrow or are you going to check in once they're all over?