Rick Perry endorses Romney
In this Oct. 18, 2011, file photo Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, right, spar during a Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas.
(Credit: AP Photo)Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorsed likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney Wednesday after campaign aides to Newt Gingrich, whom he endorsed earlier, confirmed he plans to end his bid next week.
Perry, who also ran for the nomination but ended his campaign in January, said in a statement, "Mitt Romney has earned the Republican presidential nomination through hard work, a strong organization, and a disciplined message of restoring America after nearly four years of failed, job-killing policies from President Obama and his administration.
"...Mitt's vision and record of private-sector success will put America back on the path of job creation, economic opportunity and limited government."
Continue »RNC calls for investigation of Obama trips
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CBS/AP)
"Throughout his administration, but particularly in recent weeks, President Obama has been passing off campaign travel as 'official events,' thereby allowing taxpayers, rather than his campaign, to pay for his reelection efforts," says the letter from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to GAO Comptroller Gene Dodaro. "Given the recent excesses, waste, and abuse uncovered in the General Services Administration, the GAO should be particularly sensitive to misuse of taxpayer dollars."
It's unlikely the letter itself will lead to any official action. A GAO spokesman said the agency, which is the investigative arm of Congress, acts only on requests from lawmakers. However, Kirsten Kukowski, an RNC spokeswoman, expressed confidence that a member of Congress, presumably a Republican, would be willing to request an investigation on the party's behalf.
Continue »Obama camp: "Welcome to the general election"
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Carolyn Kaster)
Updated 8:55 p.m. ET
(CBS News) The Obama campaign announced the official open of the president's re-election effort.
In a conference call with reporters, Mr. Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina began by saying, "Welcome to the general election."
Messina announced that the president and First Lady Michelle Obama will hold two rallies on Saturday, May 5. The first will take place in Columbus at Ohio State University and the second in Richmond, Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The announcement to reporters coincided with a text message alert to supporters with the greeting "Big news."
The Obama campaign launches into general election mode after the Republicans "settled for their candidate," Messina said.
Continue »Gingrich's ten nastiest comments about Mitt Romney
Republican presidential candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and former Speaker of the House Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, right, take part in the Republican debate, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa.
(Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)(CBS News) Newt Gingrich is set to formally suspend his campaign next week and officially endorse his main rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney. It could be an awkward moment.
Gingrich has not been shy about expressing a low opinion of Romney during the fight for the GOP nomination. Here's a countdown of 10 of the worst things Gingrich had to say about the former Massachusetts governor:
10. He's out of touch and thinks we're stupid
"We're not going to beat Barack Obama with some guy who has Swiss bank accounts, Cayman Island accounts, owns shares of Goldman Sachs while it forecloses on Florida and is himself a stockholder in Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac while he tries to think the rest of us are too stupid to put the dots together to understand what this is all about."
Continue »Rubio breaks with GOP consensus on foreign aid
In particular, Rubio advocated for the United States to take a leading role in forming international coalitions and reducing its reliance on institutions like the United Nations Security Council, where countries like China and Russia can block action with a single vote.
"In those instances, where the veto power of either China or Russia impedes the world's ability to deal with a significant threat, it is the United States that will have to organize and lead coalitions with or without Security Council resolutions," Rubio said.
Rubio called that his chief difference with the Obama administration and elaborated on it during a question-and-answer period. He said "the president's administration has somewhat often had an over-reliance on institutions, global institutions, whether it's the Security Council or it's the United Nations to take the lead on some of these issues."
Continue »Analysis: Rubio is this election's Palin
This post originally appeared on Slate.
Marco Rubio is this year's Sarah Palin. As a possible vice presidential pick, he is popular with the grassroots. He is an envoy to a key part of the electorate and has crossover political appeal. He has successfully bucked his party establishment, and those who have seen him work say he's skilled. He's an easy and talented campaigner, and he'd wow them in Tampa the way Palin did in St. Paul, Minn. He is also fundamentally at odds with his potential running mate's message and criteria for his vice president.
Mitt Romney is the candidate of executive experience. It's not just that he was a "business guy" for 25 years. He was a business guy who made tough decisions. He told us this often during the primaries. Romney's key critique of President Obama is that he lacks such experience. In evaluating possible veeps, Romney has said, above all else, he wants to pick someone who can step into the job if necessary. That means Romney's No. 2 must have the same kind of experience--or at least some of it. Maybe just a hint? A thimble? Marco Rubio, at age 40, has none. (Unless someone counts two years as a part-time city commissioner.)
Continue »Capitol Police investigating threat against Rubio
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AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The U.S. Capitol Police are investigating a threat against first-term Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who has risen to national prominence in recent weeks as he has been discussed as a possible running mate for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
"We are working with local law enforcement in Miami. USCP currently has an active open investigation re: the report of a threat against Sen. Rubio," Lieutenant Kimberly Schneider, a spokesperson for the Capitol Police, said in an email. Rubio lives in West Miami.
The FBI told CBS News it is aware of the threat. West Miami Police Chief Nelson Andreu told Miami CBS station WFOR that the Capitol Police vetted the threat and determined it to be credible.
The Capitol Police would not discuss the nature of the threat. Rubio's office referred all questions to the Capitol Police.
Continue »Gingrich plans to suspend campaign next week
Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Cramerton, N.C., Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
(Credit: AP Photo/Chuck Burton)UPDATED 3:10 p.m. ET
(CBS News) CRAMERTON, N.C. - Newt Gingrich on Wednesday unofficially conceded the Republican presidential race to Mitt Romney, calling on conservatives to unite behind the presumptive nominee. His campaign spokesman said he will formally suspend his bid next week.
After Romney's clean sweep of five primaries on Tuesday -- including Delaware, where Gingrich had staked the remainder of his tattered campaign -- the former House speaker said in a speech to the Gaston County GOP that "it's pretty clear Governor Romney is going to be the nominee."
"I think you have to at some point be honest with what's happening in the real world, as opposed to what you'd like to have happened," Gingrich said. "Governor Romney had a very good day yesterday. He got 67 [percent] in one state, and he got 63 in other, 62 in another. Now you have to give him some credit. I mean this guy's worked six years, put together a big machine, and has put together a serious campaign."
Continue »Court review of Arizona law leaves Romney in a bind
A women holds a sign that reads 'Unity & Justice for All' during a protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, on April 25, 2012 in Washington, DC. The high court will hear arguments on Arizona v. United States and will be tasked with deciding the conflicting roles of national and state governments in controlling the lives of noncitizens living illegally in the U.S.
(Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)(CBS News) The Supreme Court isn't making life any easier for Mitt Romney.
Today, the court hears arguments over the constitutionality of Arizona's controversial immigration law, known as S.B. 1070. Passed in 2010, the law makes it a crime to be in the state as an undocumented immigrant and compels local law officials to enforce the law. Because of the pending suits against the law, some of its central provisions haven't gone into effect.
The law inspired conservatives across the country to adopt more aggressive measures against undocumented immigrants. At the same time, it spurred huge rallies across the country in 2010, with its opponents charging the measure smacks of racism and is a disgrace to Arizona.
While the measure is unlikely to ignite the fierce debate it did in 2010, the Supreme Court case will once again put the spotlight on the Arizona law. The court will hand down its ruling on the law -- as well as its ruling on President Obama's health care overhaul -- sometime in June, right in the middle of the presidential campaign.
Continue »Republican National Committee endorses Romney
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AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
(CBS News) After solidifying his status as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Tuesday night with five primary victories, Mitt Romney can now boast of having the official support of the Republican National Committee.
"Governor Romney's strong performance and delegate count at this stage of the primary process has made him our party's presumptive nominee," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.
Priebus said he's directed the RNC staff to open lines of communication with the Romney campaign, to sync up their financial and political operations. "I am excited that these two top-notch operations will start to integrate and present a unified team to defeat Barack Obama," he said.
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