American Morning
Weekend shake up in the race for the GOP presidential nomination
The 2012 GOP political landscape was dramatically altered this weekend as Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann surfed a wave of attention coming off the Ames Straw Poll and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his entry into the race for the nomination at a meeting of conservatives in South Carolina.
Today on American Morning, Leslie Sanchez, Republican analyst, and Dana Loesch, CNN contributor, join Carol Costello to discuss how the dynamics in the race have changed and to weigh in on what Americans can expect from the candidates in the days to come.
Who made a strong showing at the GOP Iowa debate yesterday?
The Ames Straw Poll, arguably the first major vote of the 2012 presidential campaign, is set to happen this Saturday. The poll is not binding, but three out of five times the winner has gone on to win the Iowa caucus and the nomination.
As a lead up to the event, last night, Republican presidential candidates squared off at a debate sponsored by Fox News and The Washington Examiner and held in an arena at Iowa State University.
Today on American Morning, Al Diguido, CEO of ZETA Interactive, and Ann Selzer, independent pollster and owner of Selzer & Company, join Carol Costello to weigh in on who made a strong showing at last night's debate and who is the front runner heading into this weekend's straw poll.
Rep. Jim Cooper: Congress should return from vacation
On Wednesday, four conservative Democratic members of the House called on Congress to address the country's fiscal challenges by cutting their vacations short and returning to Capitol Hill, despite House Speaker John Boehner opposing the idea on a conference call with GOP members.
"Our fiscal and jobs situation is dire and both deserve the full and immediate attention of Congress," the members wrote. "We ask you to reconvene the House immediately, and show the American people and the financial markets that Congress can solve these big problems in a bipartisan fashion."
Representative Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) is one of the lawmakers who wants Congress to return from summer recess. He joins Christine Romans on American Morning today to discuss the debt ceiling compromise and to weigh in on the budget "super committee."
Senator Pat Toomey, selected for the debt 'super committee,' discusses budget compromise
Congressional leaders are in the process of selecting lawmakers to serve on the 12-member bipartisan debt "super committee" charged with cutting spending and reducing the nation's deficit by $1.5 trillion dollars.
So far, nine lawmakers have been chosen for the committee and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, will choose the final three members by next week.
Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa) is one of the conservative Congressmen selected for the committee. He joins American Morning today to weigh in on the negotiations and to explain what he will be willing to compromise on to avoid the "trigger" fallback option of the debt bill.
Who are the lawmakers who have been named to the congressional 'super committee?'
Nine lawmakers have been named to the twelve-person congressional "super committee" on deficit reduction, the bipartisan panel responsible for finding an additional $1.5 trillion in debt savings in the national budget over a ten-year period.
If progress is to be made, the negotiations will likely require political sacrifice on both sides of the aisle over issues like taxes and entitlement reform.
Today on American Morning, John Avlon, CNN contributor, and Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst, join Carol Costello to weigh in on whether or not the selected lawmakers are likely to reach a meaningful deal.
CNN/ORC poll: Most Americans don't believe their own members of Congress deserve re-election
According to a new CNN/ORC poll, for the first time ever, seventy percent of Americans don't believe that their own members of Congress deserve reelection.
In addition, most of this anger is directed towards the GOP, with 59% of the population holding an unfavorable view of the Republican party, an all-time high since the question was first asked in 1992.
Ron Brownstein, CNN political analyst, joins Carol Costello and Christine Romans on American Morning today to discuss these statistics and to weigh in on what lawmakers need to do to improve their image in voters' eyes.
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