From Eric Dondero:

New Hampshire is a must win State for the GOP. It's one of those Red-leaning states that went slightly for Obama in 2008. Others include, of course, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Florida. Without winning NH the GOP is likely to be shut-out in the entire Northeast for 2012.

Enter Romney. Now CNN reports:

According to the new survey conducted by Dartmouth College, Romney beats the president in a head-to-head matchup by 8 points, 47 percent to 39 percent. Obama's poor showing against Romney is also the product of his weak approval rating in the Granite State, where only 36 percent of voters there give him positive marks. That compares to a 45 percent approval rating for Obama in New Hampshire in a similar poll one year ago.

All other GOP candidates lose in NH to Obama, some like Palin and Trump, by large margins, over 20 points.

Editor's comment - for those of us Republicans concerned about making inroads into the Northeast, this is a very powerful argument for Romney's candidacy.

From Eric Dondero:

At a local candidates event in Virginia.

From The Examiner - Charlottesville, interview with Republican Senate candidate and former Governor George Allen:

Asked how he plans to earn the votes of libertarian-minded Virginians as he seeks the GOP Senate nomination, Allen called himself a “commonsense, Jeffersonian conservative” with “a good libertarian streak in me.”

“I trust free people and free enterprise,” Allen said, “and so long as someone’s not harming someone else, leave them free.”

Note - Allen was supported in his bid for Governor of Virginia in 1994, by the Republican Liberty Caucus.

From Eric Dondero:

I know, I know. Some bad news to report this morning for us Atlas fans. The first week's numbers are in. And I'm sorry to report that we lost the top spot for movie gross receipts to the hit film 'Rio.'

Our friends at Tea Party Express (TeaPartyExpress.org) report:

In its debut weekend, Atlas Shrugged surprised everyone, grossing more in ticket sales per movie screen than any other movie save the hit family movie, "Rio."

And this week, Atlas Shrugged expands - from 299 screens last weekend to 423+ screens this weekend.

Note - You can find the closest movie theater showing the film near you - AtlasShruggedPart1.com

Congressman Allen West appearing on Fox News - Greta last night:

“I’m sick and tired of this Marxist demagogic rhetoric coming from the president of the United States of America.”

H/t Hoft

Legislation requiring Birth Certificate for Ballot Access

From Eric Dondero:

Needless to say, we feel a little vindicated here at Libertarian Republican. The grand old New York Times (Politics) has just reported:

questions about President Obama’s nation of birth have morphed from the Internet fringe to the mainstream in state capitols around the country.

I never really considered LR to be a "fringe" site, but we'll take it. Of course, we share the "We were Birthers before Birtherism was cool" title with others such as: World Net Daily, Weasel Zippers, our friend JB Williams at Patriot News, and Free Republic.

Bobby Jindal vs. Mary Fallin?

The article quotes a Georgia Republican State Legislator basically throwing down the gauntlet, promising at least one state will pass a Birth Certificate requirement measure before the 2012 election.

So-called birther bills have foundered or fallen dormant in at least five states and are still being debated in more than a half-dozen others.

Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, a Republican, said he would sign a similar bill enthusiastically, should it reach his desk.

But now, Oklahoma, a deeply conservative state, could be the first to put its doubts into law, through a bill that would require all candidates to provide certified proof that they meet the legal requirements for office. A vote was expected next by week.

Senate Bill 91 passed last month with overwhelming and even bipartisan support. People in both parties say they are confident that the House will go along by its deadline next week (though the bill would need to return to the Senate for a procedural vote). After that, lawmakers said they assumed that Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican, would sign it. A spokesman for Ms. Fallin said the governor would not comment until the bill was on her desk and she could review it.

Georgia "has a duty to step up"

Finally:

“If one state passes, and the Obama administration basically ignores the requirement and does not qualify for the ballot in that state, that would send a very strong signal that we have a situation in the United States where someone who is not eligible is occupying the White House,” said Mark Hatfield, a Republican state representative in Georgia whose ballot bill failed to get through. If Oklahoma does not go forward, and an override of Ms. Brewer’s veto in Arizona does not materialize, Mr. Hatfield said, “then other states, including Georgia, have a duty to step up.”

Rep. Hatfield was quoted recently by the New American:

that the birth certificate offered by President Obama, "isn't really sufficient to make any kind of determination."

Editor's note - This website was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Mary Fallin for OK Governor.

From Eric Dondero:

In a syndicated column, Los Angeles-based libertarian radio talk show host Larry Elder writes that on the Obama birth certificate, there's some "legitimate head scratching":

Hawaii's new governor, incensed over this "demonization" of Obama, vowed to put the issue to rest by releasing the relevant documents. Oops. The governor learned that under Hawaii's privacy laws, no one could obtain the records without a "tangible interest." Who could release the records? Barack Obama. And he apparently refuses to waive his right of privacy. This kind of thing fuels speculation and suspicion.

Elder then goes on to suggest that Trump should also look at Obama's missing Harvard law school records, his other academic records which remain "top secret," his relationship with Rev. Jeramiah Wright and his anti-semitic and racist sermons.

Elder concludes:

No, the real story about Trump isn't Trump.

It's the pass given Obama by the media. Whether it's regarding Obama's birthplace, whether Obama personally heard Wright's racist and anti-Semitic sermons, or whether unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers wrote Obama's first book, Obama manages to avoid careful examination from the adoring media.

Trump would not be relevant -- if the media had been.

“The Republican Party has traditionally stood for limited government, I am not a ‘Big Government’ Republican. I am an independent-minded conservative"

From Eric Dondero:

Meet Paul Curtman. He's a two-term State Representative from the southwest suburbs (Cedar Hill) of St. Louis. He is a US Marine, and Veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is a graduate of the Univ. of Missouri and a Martial Arts instructor.

Curtman describes himself as a strict Constitutionalist. He has attended numerous Tea Party rallies in the St. Louis area. He is a friend and colleague of super-Tea Party conservative and radio talk show host Dana Loesch (The Dana Show).

He was described as a "Liberty candidate" and backed by Ron Paul supporters at the Daily Paul.

He was an endorsed candidate of the Republican Liberty Caucus in 2010, and is listed on the RLC page of libertarian-leaning Republican elected officials for Missouri.

Yesterday, Rep. Curtman had his first major legislative victory, "Missouri House votes to ban Sharia law":

From STLToday:

A bill prohibiting state courts from using or recognizing Sharia law passed the Missouri House Wednesday on a 102-51 vote.

The legislation, which was sponsored by state Rep. Paul Curtman, R-Pacific, bans Missouri courts from utilizing foreign law or legal code in any ruling. Although it never specifically mentions the words “Sharia” or “Islam," Wednesday’s debate focused almost exclusively on Sharia law, which is the religious law of Islam.

A description of the legislation by Curtman from his website:

This bill would prevent our judges from using foreign law to render their decision if that law would deny our citizens fro their constitutionally protected liberties.

The purpose of government is to do one thing and one thing only: protect the rights of citizens and even then, the government can only do that if and only if they have the consent of the citizens. This is why our leadership is elected, it is why our legislature is elected; so the laws that we use to protect us are also representative of the people. I really do not understand how it is that anyone who takes an oath to the United States and Missouri Constitutions would ever vote against a bill that would ensure that our citizens are protected by our constitutions. This really baffles me.

Curtman has already been talked about for higher office, even US Senate. (See Reboot Congress).

From Eric Dondero:

We reported here at LR back in early March on the flood of Tunisian and Algerian immigrants into extreme southern Europe, "Italy's southernmost Island flooded with North African Immigrants - Using Middle-Eastern/Northern Africa uprisings as excuse to Immigrate for Job opportunities"

Now this additional information just coming out of the Euro press...

ConervativesforAmerica blog provides this description:

To prevent the overloaded boats from Tunisia and Libya headed for Lampedusa from capsizing, young males on board have been throwing the women overboard, most of whom apparently drowned. This could partly explain the virtual absence of any women among the Tunisian masses invading Lampedusa every day now.

From the French news service Le Figaro (Google Translate):

All exclusively young men, rather poor and rarely speaking, tell the same story. As Tarek, 20, left there twenty days of Kairouan. "We were packed in 150 in a boat designed for 60, says the boy. During the trip to Lampedusa, twelve girls were thrown into the sea. Then I was transferred to Sicily, I escaped and took the train. But now I have no money, so tonight I'm going to the beach. Their sole obsession: cross the border [into France].