Rasmussen: Perry Surges To Big Lead in GOP Field

Well, that didn't take long.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, the new face in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has jumped to a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann with the other announced candidates trailing even further behind.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary voters, taken Monday night, finds Perry with 29% support. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, earns 18% of the vote, while Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who won the high-profile Ames Straw Poll in Iowa on Saturday, picks up 13%.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who was a close second to Bachmann on Saturday, has the support of nine percent (9%) of Likely Primary Voters, followed by Georgia businessman Herman Cain at six percent (6%) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with five percent (5%). Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, and ex-Utah Governor Jon Huntsman each get one percent (1%) support, while Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter comes in statistically at zero.

Ron Paul has 9%? Really?

Like We Care: Faux Republican Donald Trump Disappointed That RINO Mike Huckabee Isn't Running

Just what we were all dying to know once Mike Huckabee announced tonight on his show that he is not running for President:

What does Donald Trump think about this?



Now that God has talked some sense into Mike Huckabee, one can only pray He might also persuade Trump to stick with his current vocation.

Via Mediaite.

Cross-posted.

CNN Ignores The Black Guy...Again

Herman Cain is the only person who has taken the step of forming a Presidential Exploratory Committee and yet CNN leaves him out of their montage of potential GOP candidates. Why? Is their reporting just that shoddy, or do they not want to show a conservative black man?



Herman had me at his support of the Fair Tax, but once again the so called experts in the national media are going about picking and choosing who they want as candidates. By ignoring Mr Cain they gloming onto the more famous pop culture figures, probably because they feel they make better copy and therefore translate into better mileage for the organizations they work for which of course in the end leads to what they hope are increased revenues.

So while they play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game there is only one candidate on the GOP who has announced his serious intentions and is not merely batting his or her eyes at the press and giving them a flirty come hither stare.

One more observation on the collection of photos CNN has. There is not a smile to be seen, except for maybe on the face of the Huckster. All they had was pictures of the people frowning, sneering, or angry looking? Yet another way media can be used to manipulate your views and opinions.

Unprecedented! Obama Best Fundraiser in History ... for GOP

The most divisive president ever is also turning out the be the gift that keeps on giving. To Republicans. Heckuva job, Bammy!

President Obama has proven himself one of the most prolific money-raisers in political history - for Republicans.

The GOP is awash in campaign cash, much of it from millionaire mom-and-pop Republicans fearful of Obama's left-leaning political agenda.

"Many, many people conservative by nature are horrified and terrified at what they've seen in the last two years, and they feel like they're fighting for the survival of the country," one of the Republican Party's most prominent moneymen told the Daily News.

"I've been at this for a long time, and this is unprecedented. I've never seen anything like it."

For example, a retired businessman and his wife who had never contributed a penny recently gave $1 million to one of the independent conservative groups godfathered by GOP political guru Karl Rove.

For more than a year, Rove and his allies have perfected their strategy to use his American Crossroads organization and its related network to trump Obama's masterful fund-raising machine.

As the Nov. 2 election approaches, cash hauls have spiked dramatically, including a fivefold increase to American Crossroads since June, a source close to Rove said.

"Money has been pouring in for months," a top GOP political strategist gloated in amazement, "and it's still coming."

GOP buckrakers freely acknowledge that federal rules allowing anonymous contributions to most independent groups have helped loosen wallets.

They insist the majority of the outside cash - estimated by some experts at more than a quarter of a billion dollars - is largely generated by a backlash against Obama and his policies.

"People are so scared of what Obama will do to the country they're clamoring to donate," a veteran GOP fund-raiser said.

The giving climate is suddenly so fertile that even contributions to a presidential library - George W. Bush's - never an easy sell in a depressed economy, have spiked in recent months, The News has learned.

"Every two years someone says this is the most important election in our history," said a Republican fund-raising maestro, reprising his spiel to prospective donors. "This time it really is."

Enthusiasm Gap: GOP Primary Turnout Largest in 40 Years; Dem Turnout Lowest in 80 Years

Just wait until the numbers roll in on November 2.

Fueled by tea party activism and hotly contested races, Republican participation in this year’s primary elections was up. But Democratic participation fell to a record low, leaving overall voter turnout at the second lowest level ever for a midterm election, an analysis by American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate concludes.

Some 9.8% of voting-age adults participated in GOP primaries this year, the highest percentage in a midterm election since 1970 and well above the 7.3% who cast ballots in the 2006 midterm, the study found. Some 8.2% of voting-age adults took part in Democratic primaries, down from 9% in 2006 and the lowest percentage of all midterms since 1930.

A breakdown of the numbers is here.

Be very quiet, though. The race-card Democrats have a secret weapon.

Update: More good news for the GOP. You might say a tsunami is coming. Yet it's bigger than that.

Update II: A historical perspective on what could happen November 2.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link.

Bloomberg to Address GOP?

Is the current GOP leadership this hard up they invite in a guy pretty much diametrically opposed to the current mood of the base? We already know of his sneering disdain for ObamaCare opponents and his contempt toward opponents of the Ground Zero mosque place him way out of touch with mainstream America. So why now are Republicans playing kissy-face with the imperious nanny-stater Michael Bloomberg?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is scheduled to meet with House Republicans on Thursday.

The GOP’s invitation to the Republican-turned-Independent is an unusual move. Bloomberg, who supports gun control, recently criticized Republicans for their handling of a bill for 9/11 responders and has endorsed several Democrats in the midterm elections.

Bloomberg, considered a possible presidential candidate, will speak at the weekly House GOP Theme Team meeting on Thursday morning.

“Theme Team” organizer Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) explained that Bloomberg was asked to appear because he is a leader outside the Washington Beltway whom GOP lawmakers want to talk to. The point of the weekly Theme Team meetings is to give House GOP lawmakers and staffers a chance to have off-the-record conversations with key outsiders on important issues.

Kingston said, “He has friends on both sides of the aisle, and he has influence on both sides of the aisle. We feel that he has something to offer and we want to hear what’s on his mind and what he’s up to.”

He added that there is no tension between House Republicans and Bloomberg, though he said the mayor’s political endorsements may be discussed on Thursday.

Bloomberg’s office did not comment for this article.

Now it's not entirely unreasonable to think the GOP will increase their New York membership in five weeks, perhaps substantially, so the ability to work with Bloomberg on economic issues makes sense. Still, leadership may not want to get too cozy with a guy supporting a primary target Nov. 2.

Bloomberg, who has presented himself as a centrist willing to work with both parties, recently hosted a fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the No. 1 target for Republicans this fall.

The billionaire mayor also played a round of golf with President Obama at Martha’s Vineyard this summer.

Bloomberg has endorsed Rep. Joe Sestak (D) over Republican Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) over Republican Ken Buck, a Tea Party favorite.

But Bloomberg has also endorsed some Republicans, including Rep. Mark Kirk (Ill.), who is running for Obama’s old Senate seat.

Bloomberg has been critical of the Tea Party movement that has boosted several GOP candidates in Republican primaries across the country.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Bloomberg called the Tea Party movement a “fad.”

“People are angry,” he told The New York Times. “[A]nger, however, is not a government strategy. It’s not a way to govern.”

It's a great motivator to vote, though, and he'll soon realize some fads last a lot longer than others.

Huge Surge for GOP in CNN Poll

They weakly try to spin this as both parties are unpopular and everyone in in an anti-incumbent mood. But the numbers of people saying they'll vote GOP in November is rising with a massive upswing in independents leaning to the Republicans. When November 2 rolls around there sure will be plenty of incumbents tossed out of office and the overwhelming number of them will be Democrats.

With November's midterm elections less than two months away, a new national poll indicates that the Republicans' advantage over the Democrats in the battle for Congress is on the rise.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday, the GOP leads the Democrats by 7 points on the "generic ballot" question, 52 percent to 45 percent. That 7-point advantage is up from a 3-point margin last month.

The generic ballot question asks respondents if they would vote for a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district, without naming any specific candidates.

"The survey indicates that independents and voters who dislike both parties are starting to break toward the GOP," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "In a year when anger at incumbents is a dominant political force, the key to the election lies among those who aren't rooting for either side."

According to the poll, the two parties are equally unpopular. Forty-nine percent of all Americans have an unfavorable view of the Democrats, with the same percentage feeling the same way about the Republicans. Just over one in five questioned dislike both parties.

Back in April, Americans who dislike both parties appeared to mildly favor the GOP on the generic ballot, by a 43-to-39 percent margin, with a large number saying at the time that they would pick a minor-party candidate or stay at home.

"Now, a lot of those voters appear to be bolting to the GOP," Holland said. "Republicans now have a whopping 38-point advantage on the generic ballot among voters who dislike both parties."

Republicans also have a large and growing advantage among independents. Sixty-two percent of independents questioned say they would vote for the generic Republican in their district, with three in 10 saying they'd cast a ballot for the generic Democrat. That 32-point margin for the Republicans among independents is up from an 8-point advantage last month.

So that's a 24-point boost in one month, but let's just keep pretending it's simply an "anti-incumbent" mood rather than what it is: anti-Democrat.

Update: Even more good news.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely Voters would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate, while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. The survey data was collected on the seven days ending Sunday, September 5, 2010.

This matches the largest advantage ever measured for the Republicans. Three weeks ago, the GOP also held a 12-point lead.

Still, while the margin has varied somewhat from week-to-week, Republicans have been consistently ahead in the Generic Ballot for over a year. During 2010, the GOP edge has never fallen below five points. When Barack Obama first took office as president of the United States, the Democrats enjoyed a seven-point lead on the Generic Ballot.

Thanks to Ace and Hot Air for the links.

The Women Of The GOP Continue Their March To Power

The women of the GOP continue their march to power. With the election now of Nikki Haley to be the Republican candidate for governor in South Carolina the Republicans are continuing to make inroads in one of the key Democrat voting blocks. What is even more impressive is the Republicans are showing through actions not just words to be the party that can attract, support, and elevate minorities.

One of the minor issues that Nikki was knocked for indirectly for was being from an Indian background, the country not the Native American type. Bobbie Jindal in Louisiana had already blazed the path and now she is poised to join him as another governor of a southern state that ain't exactly a good 'ol boy like so many of the blue noses in the north wish to portray residents of the south as.

The race warlords of the Democrat party are losing talking points with every one of these victories and through their overuse of the race card over the last couple of years, the significant role that women have taken in conservative politics, whether running for elected office or leading some of the groups such as the Tea Party, they are proving that if you want success and not just talk about it, upholding conservative principles is the way to go.

Maybe it is their maternal instincts kicking into overdrive now with what they see as the biggest threat to their children now being an overreaching and too powerful federal government. Maybe they don't take kindly to government trying to usurp their role as nurturer and care giver. Maybe it is because the feminazis have done such a good job of relegating so many men to beta male status that somebody has to step into the void. Whatever the reasons I am glad to see so many women poised to move into positions of power in the conservative world. I know the two women from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe have been less then stellar examples of conservatives, but it seems the current crop of women are ready to set the record straight.

I just hope my state follows suit and elects Karen Handel as the Republican candidate for governor over the pack of old political machine good old boys that are nipping at her heels. The Georgia primary is in July and while she is trailing John Oxendine the current insurance commissioner, she is close enough to force a runoff but I wish she could just win it out right and avoid all this drama. Oxendine is just another cog in the old political machine in Georgia and has gotten to where he is in the race based solely on name recognition.

Anyway congratulations to Nikki and best of luck in the general election and hopefully Georgia will join you with a female GOP governor.

GOP Congressman Mark Souder Resigning Over Affair With Staffer

The Stupid Party returns! Way to take the spotlight off the disgraced Dick Blumenthal.

Eight-term Rep. Mark Souder will announce his resignation Tuesday after it came to light that he was conducting an affair with a female aide who worked in his district office, Fox News has learned.

Multiple senior House sources indicated that the extent of the affair with the 45-year-old staffer would have landed Souder before the House Ethics Committee.

Elected as a family values conservative as part of the Republican revolution in 1994, Souder survived a tough re-election challenge in 2008 and survived a contested primary two weeks ago.

Souder was absent from Washington most of last week, missing multiple votes and only voting on Thursday. While the rumors had been flying, Souder claimed that he was at home tending to his ill wife.

Way to go, Souder. Why didn't you just resign before the primary?

What a jerk.

Memo to GOP: Take a Long Look at New York

While we've chronicled Kirsten Gillibrand's political vulnerabilities for some time, it may be worth the GOP noticing that her puppet master can also be had.

A little-noticed number in last week's Marist College poll on the Gillibrand-Ford situation suggests that Sen. Charles Schumer's national profile could be affecting his approval rating at home.

The poll had Schumer's negative rating at 42 percent, where it has been for months in Marist -- but his approval rating was at 51 percent, one of his lowest in that survey in recent years, and down from 58 percent in September.

"We're seeing some general erosion in his numbers," said Marist pollster Lee Miringoff, "from what's been a consistent mid- to high-50s. This is an electorate that's increasingly unhappy."

Insiders say Schumer is watching the national trend for any implications for himself -- and in a clear signal of anxiety, he was one of the first out of the box with a statement after the Massachusetts election acknowledging the anger among voters at the ruling party.

Did anyone six weeks ago give Scott Brown a chance to win in Massachusetts? Who's to say an unctuous, imperious oaf like Charles Schumer can't be picked off?

After years acting as a nonpartisan figure, Schumer tone has become increasingly partisan, and as he's become more a of a senior figure in Washington -- which could leave him without a firewall against national voter anger against the ruling Democratic party.

The notion Schumer has ever been nonpartisan is the height of absurdity.

Longtime Schumer watchers were surprised his pro-Martha Coakley email to supporters calling his now-colleague Scott Brown a "teabagger" last week, using the dismissive term used for the conservative Tea Party activists by hard-core Dems.

The problem facing the GOP, and the New York GOP in particular, is they don't even have a potential challenger for Schumer. Heck, they have enough trouble scaring up candidates to run against Gillibrand and they're barely gaining any notice. Harold Ford, a potential Democrat challenger to her, has gotten more publicity than any possible GOP rival, especially since Rudy Giuliani dropped any thoughts of running.

Still, based on the populist uprising we're now witnessing in the wake of Brown's candidacy, the Republican National Committee needs to start recruiting some high-profile names in those states deemed somewhat safe for Democrats. It's not inconceivable the Republicans could gain enough seats to take the Senate and if they make those who were once thought to be safe sweat and have to use resources, enough fires could erupt on the political map to consume them.

Scott Brown doesn't have to be the proverbial one-trick pony, an anomaly to be dismissed, as surely the Democrats and media would like. Consider already that Massachusetts, with zero GOP representatives in Congress, could conceivably have several by this time next year.

If Democrats aren't safe in Massachusetts, no state is safe for them. It's time for the GOP to take their message to every district in every state and run campaigns in the Brown mode. Stick to the issues, define and tie your opponents to the national Democrats and we could see the political landscape altered irrevocably in just ten short months. Majority Leader Harry Reid is almost assured of being toppled this fall. Taking out a potential heir of his would be equally delicious.

Christie Surges to Huge Lead Over Corzine

Perhaps these bleak poll numbers are a reason why New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is floating cheesy gimmicks like having an Apprentice winner as his running mate.

Seems his saturating the radio airwaves with ads isn't paying off.

A new poll has the Republican challenger in the New Jersey governor's race widening his lead over Gov. Jon Corzine.

The Quinnipiac University Poll out Tuesday has GOP candidate Chris Christie leading the incumbent Corzine by 53 percent to 41 percent among likely voters.

A June 10 Quinnipiac poll had Christie up by 10 points, 50-40 percent. The most recent polling was done after Corzine signed a $29 billion budget that increased taxes and trimmed tax rebates.

Yet Corzine's ads claim he's cut programs and reduced the state's budget.

If these numbers continue to worsen expect Corzine to start playing the gun and abortion cards, the typical Democrat staples here in New Jersey.

A big win for the GOP in New Jersey would certainly bolster confidence heading into the 2010 midterms and leave Barack Obama and the Democrat agenda hanging by a thread.

Speaking of Obama, his approval index remains at -8% today, a startling 36-point swing in less than six months.

Sanford: 'I've Been Unfaithful to My Wife'

Well, it looks like Mark Sanford can cancel and plans for a presidnetial run. Unless, of course he switches parties and runs as Democrat, whereby this would become a resume enhancer.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, whose mysterious disappearance last Thursday prompted national headlines, acknowledged this afternoon that he had an extramarital affair.

"I've been unfaithful to my wife, and I developed a relationship with what started as a dear, dear friend from Argentina," he said.

Sanford said he would resign as chair of the Republican Governor's Association.

"I've let down a lot of people," he added. "That's the bottom line."

Sanford's office initially explained Sanford's disappearance from the state by saying the governor was hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

His communications director, Joel Sawyer, said on Tuesday morning that he had spoken to the governor, who was returning from his trip and had been taken aback by the interest in the story. Sawyer did not indicate then that Sanford had been in Argentina, leaving the Appalachian Trail story in place.

'The American People See That This Agenda Is Way Far Out Of the Mainstream'

While that's indeed increasingly clear, predicting a takeover of Congress next year may be a bit ambitious, although I do see a backlash against Obama and the Democrats brewing. Know this much, however: The media will be more vicious than ever against the GOP heading into the 2010 midterms. It'll be uglier than ever.

These may be dark days for the Republican Party, but a top GOP congressional leader predicted today that Republicans would trounce Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections and could take back control of the House of Representatives.

"I really believe we've got a shot at taking back this House because you see what's gone on here with the unfettered ability of this administration and Nancy Pelosi to run this Congress," Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the No. 2 Republican in the House, told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "The American people see that this agenda is way far out of the mainstream. They want a check and a balance on this power. And I think at the end of the day that's what rules come November 2010."

Democrats currently have a 257-178 majority, meaning Republicans would need a net gain of 40 seats win control of the House. That would be a historic landslide similar to the 54-seat gain in 1994 that gave Republicans control of the House.

Certainly not impossible and it seems to me there is more anger toward big government at this time than there was at a similar juncture in 1993. What Cantor and the Republicans need to do is keep the agenda focused on economic and tax issues and don't play the left/media social issue game.

Even on health care, an issue that has historically favored Democrats, Cantor predicts Republicans will have the advantage in next year's midterm elections. Democrats may have the votes now to push through their version of health care reform, but he says they will face a backlash with "lasting ramifications that will impact the ballot box in November 2010."

"They can jam it through," Cantor said of the Democratic health care plan, "but there will be a huge political cost for this kind of plan to pass in the House."

Cantor should also stress the fact an increasing number want this reckless stimulus spending curbed.

The End of Hopenchange? GOP Now Leads On Economic Trust

Only five months into the disastrous Obama presidency and the Democrats have lost public confidence on the economy.

Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on six out of 10 key issues, including the top issue of the economy.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% now trust the GOP more to handle economic issues, while 39% trust Democrats more.

This is the first time in over two years of polling that the GOP has held the advantage on this issue. The parties were close in May, with the Democrats holding a modest 44% to 43% edge. The latest survey was taken just after General Motors announced it was going into bankruptcy as part of a deal brokered by the Obama administration that gives the government majority ownership of the failing automaker.

Voters not affiliated with either party now trust the GOP more to handle economic issues by a two-to-one margin.

Well, I guess maybe we can postpone that much-ballyhooed death of the Republican Party.

Republicans also now hold a six-point lead on the issue of government ethics and corruption, the second most important issue to all voters and the top issue among unaffiliated voters. That shows a large shift from May, when Democrats held an 11-point lead on the issue.

I guess independents are getting a good look at what unchecked power combined with inbred Democrat corruption produces.

For the eighth straight month, Republicans lead on national security. The GOP now holds a 51% to 36% lead on the issue, up from a seven-point lead in May. They also lead on the war in Iraq 45% to 37%, after leading by just two points in May and trailing the Democrats in April.

Fewer voters see national security as a very important issue this month, but confidence that the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror is at its highest level since February.

Republicans lead the Democrats on immigration for the third straight month, pulling ahead to a 35% to 29% advantage on the issue.

On taxes, the GOP leads the Democrats for the fifth straight month, 44% to 39%. In May and April, Republicans held six-point leads on the issue.

OK, boys, you've got 17 months until the midterms. These Dems are ripe for a hard fall.

GOP Shopping Spree for Sarah

Hey, I'm not going to complain. We've got to keep our girl looking good. What, you'd rather she go frumpy in ill-fitting pantsuits or looking hot and stylish in tight skirts and boots?

You know the answer.

The Republican National Committee apparently shelled out an eye-popping $150,000 to keep running mate Sarah Palin looking stylish in the short time since she was picked for the ticket, it was reported last night.

Among the expenses to keep the Alaska governor looking sharp were $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue stores in New York and St. Louis, Politico.com reported.

And there were also high-end shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis - a few miles from where the GOP National Convention was held - early last month, including one that produced a bill of $75,062, the Web site reported.

No expense was spared on hair and makeup either, according to the RNC's federal filings, with $4,716 going to those costs in September.

Disclosure reports prior to Palin's pick as John McCain's running mate don't include any similar expenses, Politico said.

Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella told the Web site only, "The campaign does not comment on strategic decisions regarding how financial resources available to the campaign are spent."

Naturally, this is the top story this morning for the chattering elites.

'Obama: A Mile High and an Inch Deep'

Nice to see the Republicans are prepared to answer back during the Democrat Convention. Of course, it will all be drowned out in a sea of sycophantic coverage of The Messiah, but hopefully they'll manage to distract the Democrats enough.

There are a couple of dozen people in Denver trying to crash the party.

Not just any people, but Republican people, set up in a two story building about a mile and half from the Pepsi Center.

So who invited them?

“We invited ourselves,” says Danny Diaz, the communications director for the Republican National Committee.

“We want to provide an opportunity to contrast,” says Diaz, “because ultimately that is what it comes down to.”

Inside their Denver headquarters is a room filled with TV monitors, and busy staffers working their e-mail and the Internet. There is a press conference room set up where the likes of Carly Fiorina, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani will all hold court. They even have their own satellite truck to help facilitate getting their message out.

Their first feat: The release of a new Democratic Convention slogan. The office is filled with posters that say, “Obama: a Mile High and an Inch Deep. Not Ready to Lead ’08.”

Just In Case the GOP Needed Any More Problems: Fossella Replacement Dies

He really looked the picture of health.

Frank Powers, the wealthy Wall Street retiree tapped to run for disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella's congressional seat, died today - sending shock waves through the already reeling state GOP.

News of Powers' fatal heart attack had many party insiders wondering if Fossella would change his mind and run again - but he quickly moved to quash the speculation.

"Congressman Fossella will not be seeking re-election," said a Fossella aide.

Powers, a 68-year-old MTA board member, philanthropist and father of seven, died at home early today, relatives said.

His wife, Diane Powers, the Staten Island GOP party treasurer, found him in bed and unsuccessfully tried to revive him, police said.

Brian Powers, 23, flanked by several of his siblings, read a statement on the steps of the family home in Todt Hill, thanking people for their support and asking for prayers for his father.

Well, we still have our darkhorse candidate.

More Good News for the GOP: Fossella Declines to Seek Re-election

If you ask me, he should've resigned a couple of weeks ago. Though at least he's making the right decision not to run again this November. It may at least give the Republicans a chance to hold the seat, but he way things look nationally, those prospects are dim.

Staten Island Rep. Vito Fossella has decided not to seek re-election in the wake of his DWI bust and revelations about his long-term extramarital affair with a woman who bore his child, sources told The Post.

Fossella is expected to formally announce his decision today.

"He is not resigning, but he's not running again," said one source familiar with the situation, adding that Fossella will finish out his term, which ends this year.

A Fossella spokeswoman didn't respond to requests for comment.

But in a statement released to the Staten Island Advance last night, Fossella said he'd decided to "concentrate on healing the wounds that I have caused to my wife and family. . . . I believe this course of action is best for my family and our community."

The decision capped three weeks of daily headlines that began with his drunken-driving arrest and erupted with his admission that he'd fathered a daughter with Laura Fay, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel whom he's been seeing for at least five years.

DLTDHYOTWO, Vito.

Colorado GOP to Nominate Islamist Activist?

Slapstick Politics has the details.

Has the Colorado GOP lost their minds?

The Man Who Was Going to Save America: Why Is McCain Ignoring Me?

Poor Ron Paul. Cast aside like the crackpot he is, his brainless spammers having crawled back under their rocks, he's feeling lonely.

Ron Paul says the legions of newcomers his presidential campaign brought to the Republican Party are getting the cold shoulder from John McCain and from the party.

The Texas congressman says neither he nor his supporters have heard from Mr. McCain or Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan since March 4, when the Arizona senator accumulated enough delegates to clinch the party's presidential nomination.

Legions of newcomers? Like 9/11 Troofers? Uh, sorry, the party doesn't need you. Or didn't those primary results tell you that?

You expect the RNC and McCain to do what, bring you into the fold? Like that would go over well with the media, not to mention GOPers who already have qualms about McCain's conservative credentials.

"We don't agree with them," he says. "We agree with the Old Right, and they're the New Right, which is 'The Wrong,' [because] the New Right has morphed into neoconservative."

Huh?

Maybe if this moron actually ended his campaign he might get a clandestine email from McCain's camp (not that I would recommend that), but as of now, he's still on the primary ballots.

"I am doing a few more things, in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, maybe Idaho," he says. "I'm curious right now to see how the rallies go. Whether they fade off now — just see what happens."

Here's what will happen: You'll be ignored. The media found you and your crackpot supporters amusing before the primaries began, just as a means of sabotaging the GOP.

Though once you were exposed and your ties to white supremacists and Troofers became quite apparent, you were radioactive.

Now just STFU, be happy you still have a seat in Congress, and please, just go away.

I guess he won't though, since the revolution is still on.