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So, who won tonight’s set-to in South Carolina? And, more deliciously, who lost?     The 16th debate has narrowed the choices down to 5.

WINNERS

Newt Gingrich:    This was the former House Speaker’s best debate of the entire race. With not all that much to lose, Gingrich let ‘er rip tonight and had the exuberant crowd — more on that below — eating out of his hand.

Gingrich’s characterization of President Obama as the “food stamp president” won him applause but it was nothing as compared to the standing ovation he received when challenged about that statement later by debate panelist Juan Williams.

So in Newt’s corner was the audience that even his far less sensical lines — “Only the elites despise earning money,” he said at one point — earned him applause.

Gingrich proved again tonight that when he is on — and he isn’t always on — he is the best debater in the field.    His performance almost certainly solidified his place as the strongest alternative to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the field.    But will it do any thing more than that?

Rick Perry:     The Texas governor didn’t talk all that much but when he did he was very effective.    His line about the South Carolina being “at war” with the federal government drew raucous applause.

His ability to step back from a fight between Romney and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and label them both “insiders” showed how much he has progressed as a debater.

Perry’s performance left us wondering where this guy had been in the previous 14 debates. Unfortunately for Perry, his poor performances in the past virtually ensure that his strong showing tonight won’t make much difference.

He’s really just playing for his own legacy in the race at this point. Tonight, he did himself a solid.

The BIG WINNER

Barack Obama:     If you assume — and we do — that Romney is the all-but-certain Republican nominee (whether that happens sooner or later remains anybody’s guess) then the Obama campaign got some good material to use against him tonight.

Romney committed — kind of, sort of — to (maybe) releasing his taxes in April, a pledge the Obama team will hold him to.     He also stuck to his decidedly conservative line on immigration, which will make it more difficult for him to court Hispanics once the general election begins.

On a far more minor — but not entirely unimportant — note:   You can bet the Democratic National Committee will have fun with Romney’s in­cred­ibly awkward answer on hunting.    And we quote: “I am not the great hunter.”

* Super PACs/Stephen Colbert:     The amount of time spent discussing super PACs was astounding.    And, the more super PACs get talked about in such a high-profile setting, the more the people running them can make a convincing case to the people donating to them that they are having an impact.    (Welcome to the political law of unintended consequences!)

Looming over the whole super PAC conversation — at least for us — was the image of a smiling Stephen Colbert and his “Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow/The Definitely Not Coordinated With Stephen Colbert Super PAC”.     Nothing but comic fodder in all of that back and forth for Colbert.

LOSERS

Ron Paul:     Ugh. We don’t often feel bad for politicians — after all, they are putting themselves out there and inviting public scrutiny — but we felt some pangs for the Texas Republican Congressman tonight.

His answers on foreign policy were repeatedly booed and Perry even suggested that a gong should have been used to cut Paul off. While Paul-ites undoubtedly cheered their hero’s willingness to stand up for what he believes in when it comes to U.S. involvement in foreign countries, it’s just not a majority position — or anywhere
close to it — in the Republican electorate of South Carolina.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again:   If Paul would deflect all foreign policy questions and turn every answer into something about his economic views, he could be a real contender for the nomination.     He won’t do that, so he isn’t.

* Audience:    The Fix is pro-audience involvement — to a point. Tonight’s debate went beyond that point.    Not only were moderators booed for asking questions — just doing their jobs, folks — but it became clear after about 15 minutes that Gingrich, Perry and, to a lesser extent, Santorum were all vamping for crowd reaction in each of their answers.

The result?    Lots of conservative red meat thrown on the debate stage but not a lot of serious and detailed discussion that went beyond the candidates’ talking points.

(Sidebar:    The level of audience involvement hurt Romney.    Unlike his rivals who have nothing to lose by throwing out every rhetorical excess known to man, he has to be far more measured — knowing the Obama opposition research team is always watching.)

* Pop culture references:    With former Utah governor Jon Huntsman out of the race, the level of pop culture knowledge on stage took a mighty hit.     Romney referenced Bigfoot for pete’s sake!

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Gary Johnson has received another endorsement from a Libertarian Party state party, this time from the state of South Carolina.

South Carolina Libertarian Executive Committee Endorses Gary Johnson

January 7, 2012 COLUMBIA, SC – In the style of the Continental Congress, Members of the South Carolina Libertarian Executive Committee have endorsed Gary Johnson. A Resolution was penned as follows:

Whereas, the South Carolina Libertarian Party supports the libertarian principles demonstrated by Gary Johnson and appreciates the efforts the candidate has been making to bring the message of libertarian ideas of personal and financial freedom to the voting public.

Resolved, that the following South Carolina Libertarian Party Executive Committee members endorse Gary Johnson for his bid for the Libertarian Party’s nomination for the Office of President of the United States at the upcoming national convention in May of 2012 and we encourage our delegation to support him.

This resolution was signed by:

SC National Delegate and Charleston County Committeeman, Stewart Flood
SC National Delegate and Anderson County Committeeman, Adrian Banks
SC National Delegate and State Chairman, Victor Kocher
SC National Delegate and State Vice-Chairman, Michael Carmany
SC National Delegate and Berkeley County Committeeman, Jeffrey Dimit
Richland County Committeewoman, Jennifer Schulz
Lexington County Committeeman, Dr. David Morris
York County Committeewoman, Marge Wakefield and her husband, Arch Wakefield

“The fact that Governor Johnson brings to the table his executive-level experience and a proven record of fiscal responsibility and that he left his term-limited post in New Mexico with a balance budget and a billion budget surplus, I believe that he would be the best candidate to represent the Libertarian Party on a national level”, said State Chairman, Victor Kocher.

This endorsement comes on the heels of the Nebraska Libertarian Party’s endorsement of Gary Johnson, which can be found here.

Independent Political Report

South Carolina Republican Presidential Debate

It is still on, with or without candidates.     Fox News has discussed the possibility of renting candidates from a local Temp Agency but decided to go with another stragedy.    If there is no candidate the Shawn Hannity work around will be employed, work around not reach around.     More about that later.

The first debate of the 2012 Republican presidential primary contest appears set to go forward Thursday – even if there is just one major candidate on stage or one minor candidate or a couple of temporary candidates or just a right wing radio announcer attacking President Obama.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the only top-tier candidate expected to participate in the forum at the Peace Center in Greenville, S.C.     Tim is very excited as this is the first time he has ever been top-tier in or at anything.     How proud his family must be.

To introduce Tim and also to pose questions for the candidates Fox has arranged with the cast of Jersey Shore for Snookie to be its special guest.     Snookie has a long relationship with Senator John McCain who sort of ran for President in 2008.     As John remarked “Snookie, Sarah, Whatever”. 

Republicans have learned the lessons from 2008 and in picking Snookie for the VP candidate are insuring that simple questions can be answered rather than the candidate freezing in the headlights like a deer.      What newspapers do you read Snookie?      Snookie answers with out hesitation,  “None.“

Fox News, which is producing and staging the debate with the South Carolina Republican Party, said the other anticipated participants were former Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, restaurant executive Herman Cain and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.      Ex Gov. Johnson is late night cable famous for his plans to legalize pot.      Ron Paul spends a few weeks running for president every 4 years.     He views it as being on vacation.      He will be dropping out in late  June.     Since CNN retired Larry King these candidates have almost no where to go but Fox News and right wing radio.

The importance of these Fox News Debates can not be underestimated as this is how Fox picks the Fox News Candidate for the President of the United States.     The runner-ups go on to be contestants on Dances With The Stars or American Singing Idol or commentators on Fox News like Mike Huckabee or Sarah Palin.

Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer,  was originally expected to be included, will not meet Fox News’ requirement of garnering at least 1% in the five most recent national polls, said Michael Clemente, senior vice president of entertainment news for the cable news channel.      For some reason Fox didn’t want to pay for a couple of national polls to bring Roemer up to snuff or waive its requirements.       Well they don’t employ Roemer at Fox so that puts him in a singular and unique position.

Other Republicans considered likely or possible contenders in 2012 have opted not to participate, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Ambassador Jon Huntsman, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee,  Minnesota Rep. Michele
Bachmann, and former half term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and New York Blowhole Donald Trump.

“Our job is not to marshal the field or to ask the tough questions of those republicans who do get in the race,”   Clemente said in a statement.   “This is the first of our five debates, and I’m sure we’ll be able to kick-start the conversation about who will be the next president of the United States and promote family values for our Fox News right wing conservative viewers.”

 Fox News laid out flexible criteria to qualify for the debate, including requiring candidates to register exploratory committees or to have announced a formal presidential campaign or to be considering a formal presidential campaign, to file or prepare to file all necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and pay all federal and South Carolina filing fees with a good check and make a minimum number of appearances on Fox News.

That amounts to ,000 per candidate in South Carolina, due to the Republican party by 5 p.m. Tuesday.    It’s unclear who, if anyone, has yet paid.   Fox would likely post the money for Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin if they can be talked into running.    Donald Trump was re-structuring his finances to try and free up the 25
grand and Rick Santorum was trying to cut a deal with a bailbondsman that would allow him to front 10% and the bondsman would pony up the remainder.   Party spokesman Joel Sawyer declined to comment further, adding that the information might be released Wednesday or much later than Wednesday.

And as of midday Tuesday, neither Santorum nor Cain had registered an exploratory committee or filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and Trump had done nothing but talk about running and promote the final show of the season of his hit TV Show.    Clemente said he expected all to
do so by the end of the day.     Clemente smiled and revealed he had expected to have a better paying job by this time in his life.     Thats how it is with expectations, he said.     Republicans expect to find another Ronald “Win One For The Gipper” Reagan.

The debate is set to air at 6 p.m. PDT/ 9 p.m. EDT on Fox News Thursday and will be re-run every two hours around the clock for the next 4 weeks or until a second debate takes place.  

The start will be delayed until at least two candidates show up.   In the event two candidates do not show up by 12 AM  (Midnight) Shawn Hannity will interview the one candidate for two hours or if no one shows Hannity will tell lies about Democrats, Obama and the Obama administration for two hours and that will be re-run every two hours around the clock until the polls close on election night.      Hannity said he was an experienced broadcaster and expected no problems as he had worked alone many times.

Based on the Supreme Court decision opening the floodgates on political donations Fox will provide an unlimited amount of funding to any republican running against Obama.    Fox news, we tell you what to think and you decide to think it.

Though candidates are somewhat cool to the event, state party activists are not.     The South Carolina GOP says that the event is “at capacity” and almost all of the 200 seats are spoken for.

Rumor has it that Stephen Colbert will not be in attendance but many remember his magnificent 2008 run that energized the
Republican party.  

At that time Colbert was run out of the race because of cooperate sponsorship but since that point the Supreme Court has decided that anything goes in politics.    After republicans  ran Colbert off Barack Obama became the possesor of the  “Famous Colbert Bump”  and went on to victory and a new residence at Number 1, Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Daisy Deadhead, a Green Party member in Greenville SC, has posted a number of photos of a Green Party endorsed “Rally for a Moral Budget” at her blog, Daisy’s Dead Air. The hour long demonstration was held at the State House in Columbia, SC. To see them, please click here

Green Party Watch

According to its attorney Harry Kresky, Independentvoting.org is exploring the possibility of joining with South Carolina independents, third party activists and progressives to intervene in open primary litigation in South Carolina.

As in Idaho, the plaintiffs claim that it violates their right to freedom of association for the State to allow non-party members to participate in the nomination of the Republican Party’s candidates. South Carolina has had open primaries since the dismantling of the all white primary system in the 1950’s. Independentvoting.org would be aligned with the State of South Carolina in defending the open primary system.

The Hankster

Following the collapse of Reconstruction in 1877, African Americans organized a movement–distinct from the white Populist movement–in the South and parts of the Midwest for economic and political reform: Black Populism. Between 1886 and 1898, tens of thousands of black farmers, sharecroppers, and agrarian workers created their own organizations and tactics primarily under black leadership.

Dr. Omar H. Ali  has written a new book, In the Lion’s Mouth: Black Populism in the New South, 1886-1900 (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2010) which chronicles the largest independent black movement prior to the modern civil rights movement. Dr. Ali traces its origins, growth, and demise. It’s particularly relevant to what independents are struggling with today in the building of a black and independent alliance.  

In the Lion’s Mouth breaks new ground … Omar Ali paints a compelling portrait of an independent movement. But understand that by independent, he does not mean separatist. It is an important distinction, for if we follow Ali’s arguments and the evidence he marshals seriously, we can only conclude that the white Populist movement, more than any, exhibited separatist tendencies. Ali flips the script, if you will, and compels us to rethink the entire history of late 19th century Southern politics.
—Robin D.G. Kelley, author of Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression

In this insightful survey of a generation of African American political activism, Omar Ali lays to rest the common misconception that black politics in the South ended with the death of Reconstruction. He shows how, during the 1880s and 1890s, two Populist movements, black and white, mainly separate and unequal, challenged the political status quo. Any one interested in the innovative and often bold political action undertaken by black southerners in these trying times will benefit from reading In the Lion’s Mouth.
—Charles Postel, author of The Populist Vision

COMING SOON:
Watch for Dr. Ali’s new column on The Hankster, historical notes on independents throughout American history … from the Abolitionists, the Populists, to today’s movement of non-aligned voters.

The Hankster