Hotline Sort: Countdown To Caucuses

By Josh Kraushaar  //  December 30, 2011 | 8:02 a.m.

Welcome back to the pre-New Year's edition of Hotline Sort. In today's edition: A former Obama ally takes on the president again, in National Review. Virginia Republicans force presidential primary voters to take a loyalty oath. And Romney compares the president to Marie Antoinette. Here's today's rundown:

9) A state judge in New Mexico adopted a redistricting plan that makes minimal changes to the state's three Congressional districts - a plan supported by GOP Gov. Susana Martinez.

8) Take one name off the list of prospective Democrats looking to succeed retiring Sen. Ben Nelson. Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler announced he wasn't going to be pursuing a Senate campaign, the Lincoln Journal-Star reports.

"I have not given much thought about running for the Senate, because I like living in Nebraska and would like to continue the success we experienced in Lincoln over the past few years."

Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, the Democrats' top prospective candidate, is still mulling a potential campaign.

7) Former Alabama Rep. Artur Davis (D), once a close ally of President Obama's, has been sharply critical of his party and president since retiring from Congress. Today he pens an op-ed in National Review, criticizing Nelson for being the pivotal vote in getting Obama's health care law passed - and blames that for his political predicament.

Notable quotable from Davis: "Not surprisingly, then, some Democrats don't mind the new shape of things. One more vanished moderate means one less restraint against growing government. The party's ruling class seems fully prepared to sacrifice whole sections of the country, from the South to the Midwest farm belt, on the theory that inexorable demographic trends will more than make up the losses."

6) Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., is the latest Republican freshman to face a primary challenger from the right, just a year after being elected. Retired engineer and tea party organizer Ron Vincent announced he'll challenge the congressman. Palazzo's district is conservative, and his main threat will be in the primary.

The filing deadline for Mississippi Congressional candidates is Jan .13.

5) Adding insult to injury, the Virginia Republican party is requiring all voters in the state's March presidential primary - the one where just Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will be competing - to sign a loyalty oath pledging to support the Republican nominee. Anyone who refuses to sign will be barred from voting in the primary.

4) Make sure to check out Iowa political guru David Yepsen's five myths of the Iowa caucuses, where he blasts the notions that retail politics rules in the state, right-wingers predominate at the caucuses and that weather influences the outcome. 3) Call it a case of fortuitous timing. Family Leader CEO and prominent Iowa social conservative Bob Vander Plaats is taking credit for Rick Santorum's surge in the polls. The bigger test of Vander Plaats' influence is whether his support will convince evangelical supporters of Michele Bachmann (who's fading in the polls) and Rick Perry (whose numbers have been relatively stagnant) to coalesce and consolidate their backing around Santorum. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal reports that evangelical pastors have been trying to broker a deal that would persuade one or more of the socially conservative candidates to drop out. That could allow Santorum to potentially win the caucus outright. But as long as the evangelical vote is split at least three ways, Santorum still has a fairly low ceiling of support. 2) Yes, there's a new radio ad up in Iowa urging caucus attendees to "vote rogue" and caucus for Palin. Meanwhile, the only female presidential candidate, Bachmann, has amped up the comparisons to her and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. 1) There's no doubt now that Romney is playing for keeps in Iowa, and all the most recent polls from the state show him with the lead, albeit a narrow one. The latest: an NBC/Marist poll showing Romney leading Paul, 23 to 21 percent with Santorum moving into third place, with 15 percent Romney's campaign is spending nearly all of its remaining time in the Hawkeye State, save for a quick trip to New Hampshire in late Friday and Saturday. And most notably, he's set to remain in Iowa after the caucus results come in Tuesday night - a sign he's hoping to declare victory and get key momentum before heading back to the Granite State. Another sign: He's already training his focus on Obama, comparing the president to Marie Antoinette. "When the president's characterization of our economy was, 'It could be worse,' it reminded me of Marie Antoinette: 'Let them eat cake,'" Romney told the Huffington Post Thursday.

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