MCCOTTER RESIGNS: 'STRIKE ANOTHER MATCH, START ANEW'

◼ "After nearly 26 years in elected office, this past nightmarish month and a half have, for the first time, severed the necessary harmony between the needs of my constituency and of my family," McCotter wrote. "As this harmony is required to serve, its absence requires I leave." - Breitbart

Rubio, McCotter, Cantor, Bachmann, Priebus: Response to #SOTU

Senator Marco Rubio: “I’m actually very disturbed by the speech tonight. The President is on the verge of committing economic malpractice.

“How does raising taxes create jobs? How does raising my boss’s taxes help me keep my job? Why is he advocating policies that will punish people that are investing in American businesses that are creating middle class jobs?

“It just doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s the kind of policies that have taken a bad economy over the last four years and made everything worse.”

Thaddeus McCotter: “Tragically for the American people, in our unfolding globalized century the President remains wedded to a failed “Great Society” government: specifically, Washington elites dictating who gets someone else’s money. For the sake of our country’s economy and security, this President must learn that the great American tradition isn’t redistributionism; the great American tradition is exceptionalism. The sooner he does – or is relieved of the burden of governing – the sooner the American people will build a 21st Century of unprecedented liberty, prosperity and security.”

Eric Cantor: We need bold, pro-growth policies that focus squarely on the job engines in this country – our nation’s small businesses. Small businesses need to know that Washington won’t make it harder for them to succeed. To me, what makes our country so special is that no matter who you are, where you come from or what your background is, in America, if you work hard and play by the rules everyone has a fair shot at earning success.

Michele Bachmann: Tonight, in his State of the Union address, President Obama will claim that he supports “fairness” in America, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This is the same president who, in his first year, signed into a law a budget stuffed with 9,000 earmarks. It’s the same president who doles out grants for his friends in the green energy field, with Solyndra being the poster child. And it’s the same president who allowed his healthcare program, Obamacare, to pick winners and losers with more than 1,000 waivers granted to exempt entities from the law. Mr. President, this doesn’t sound like “fairness” to me. Instead, the Constitution provides a clear guide on fairness - equal protection under the law.

◼ Paul Ryan

Reince Priebus: Tonight, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address. The speech was new, but it seems like we’ve heard it all before. Promises to create jobs. To fix the economy. To do things differently.
“For three years, the president has made promise after promise. And more often than not, he’s broken those promises. Barack Obama has treated his presidency like a campaign—willing to say anything to keep his job, unwilling to do anything to create jobs for Americans.
“Last week, we saw yet another example of the president’s misplaced priorities. President Obama had a chance to create at least 20,000 jobs by authorizing the Keystone XL energy pipeline. But he said no. He said no to jobs and no to energy security and affordability—just to please his liberal political base.
“Compare that to Solyndra. The president loaned half a billion dollars of taxpayer money to a company backed by political allies. It went bankrupt and laid off workers.” MORE

McCotter drops long shot bid for GOP presidential nomination

◼ "If they keep you out of the debates, you are out of the conversation and you can't run," McCotter said. "It was sort of death by media." - Detroit News

RedState: The Horserace for September 2, 2011

◼ Let’s go through all the candidates today. All of them.

Rep Thad McCotter plays Who on WHO

The tweets fly at first-ever GOP Twitter debate

◼ Six Republican presidential candidates participated in a tea-party sponsored debate on Twitter on Wednesday — and the results showed both the promise and the limits of the social medium. - LA Times

The format allowed the six, Reps. Michele Bachmann and Thaddeus McCotter, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, ex-Sen. Rick Santorum, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, and businessman Herman Cain, to interact directly with supporters and detractors — and allowed their respective messages to be relayed and retweeted across the ever-expanding platform.....

It took awhile to get going, as well, as each candidate laboriously pounded out an abbreviated opening statement. Thirty-five minutes into the event, not a single question had been asked.

After that, the candidates answered a series of broad questions, largely signaling their similar positions with respect to repealing the Democratic healthcare overhaul, reducing regulatory burdens on business, and cutting government spending.

This week’s horse race on the road to the White House

◼ Erick Erickson's take on where things stand right now - Redstate
Bachmann is down this week, but only slightly.... Herman Cain has bottomed out, but still can’t find momentum to get in the air again....Newt Gingrich’s campaign is over.... Jon Huntsman is like the Duke of York, neither up nor down.... McCotter has no long term viability as a Presidential candidate... There is now a growing sense that Palin might run... Ron Paul gets a bump up this week in the horserace.... Pawlenty is back up for the first time in weeks, his chances at the top slot are fading while his chances for Veep are growing... I think Perry runs.... Mitt Romney is the front runner and continues holding steady.... The only relevant question regarding Rick Santorum is whether he drops out before or after Newt Gingrich. He’s done.