*Written by Rob Rimes.

Yesterday was a pretty emotional day for Paul supporters everywhere. The Paul campaign announced that they would no longer compete in the states that have not yet voted as it would cost too much money moving forward. In fact, here is what Ron Paul said himself:

Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have.

This is completely understandable and really just goes to show how fiscally responsible Dr. Paul truly is, especially when comparing him to his conservative counterparts who spent themselves into oblivion and racked up some serious campaign debt. With that being said, this is only more reason to vote for the man as he knows where to draw the line and also knows what all of Paul supporters know, which is that we will all continue to vote for the man regardless of the campaign’s inability to compete with the Wall Street funded Mitt Romney. When those Occupy kids are looking for a leader it should probably be the guy whose campaign is funded by the downtrodden 99 percent as opposed to the 1 percent big bank bank funded candidates like Romney and Obama.

This doesn’t mean that Paul is completely out of this race. As was just mentioned, his supporters are loyal and will vote for him despite this seemingly tragic pitfall. The hunt for delegates will continue and ultimately, Ron Paul will continue to surprise the doubters and make a serious impact on this race. This isn’t blind faith or overly-loyal Paulbot idiocy, this is facts. I doubted the campaign’s strategy but have since learned that in the realm of acquiring delegates, they are doing a hell of a job. The media doesn’t accurately report on what’s going on in the delegate hunt and honestly, you can go to various mainstream media sites and look at their delegate counts and the numbers don’t match – corporate media is clueless. Romney may have been announced the winner in Maine but Paul walked away with the most delegates. Santorum and Gingrich have lost theirs and with 11 states left to vote, Paul could continue to be a thorn in the side of the establishment beast. As I’ve said many times, this isn’t about winning, this is about the message and gaining enough support to stamp it on the leviathan’s forehead before it is once again let loose on the masses. In other words, Paul might not win the fight but he is going to break a motherfucker’s nose.

Even though the mainstream media has been quick to gleefully write Paul off as a quitter, his forces are moving forward – just more covertly in a way that is unique and foreign to these political experts spewing regurgitated pre-written bullshit through our television and radio speakers. In order to dispel the mainstream hogwash, Paul’s chief strategist Jesse Benton sent out an official statement. Here is some of what that memo states:

Let me be very clear. Dr. Paul is NOT ending his campaign. As Dr. Paul has previously stated, he is in this race all the way to the Republican National Convention in Tampa this August. Looking ahead, our campaign must honor that trust by maximizing our resources to ensure the greatest possible impact at the National Convention. So while our campaign is no longer investing in the remaining primary states, we will continue to run strong programs at District and State Conventions to win more delegates and alternate delegates to the National Convention.

To this end, our campaign has several positive and realistic goals: 1) Having recently WON Maine, we believe we can win several more states. 2) We will win party leadership positions at both the state and national level. 3) We will continue to grow our already substantial total of delegates.

We will head to Tampa with a solid group of delegates. Several hundred will be bound to Dr. Paul, and several hundred more, although bound to Governor Romney or other candidates, will be Ron Paul supporters.

Unfortunately, barring something very unforeseen, our delegate total will not be strong enough to win the nomination. Governor Romney is now within 200 delegates of securing the party’s nod. However, our delegates can still make a major impact at the National Convention and beyond. All delegates will be able to vote on party rules and allow us to shape the process for future liberty candidates.

We are in an excellent position to make sure the Republican Party adds solid liberty issues to the GOP Platform, which our delegates will be directly positioned to approve. Our campaign is presently working to get several items up for consideration, including monetary policy reform, prohibitions on indefinite detention, and Internet freedom.

Finally, by sending a large, respectful, and professional delegation to Tampa, we will show the Party and the country that not only is our movement growing and here to stay, but that the future belongs to us…

Considering that two of the biggest states, California and Paul’s home state Texas, haven’t yet voted, there are a shitload of delegates that could easily go Paul’s way, especially since he has performed well in both of those states. The race is still as interesting as it has been all along, even though the media is ignoring Paul and pretending he isn’t even a part of this race anymore. Their “out of sight, out of mind” strategy hasn’t worked in the past and it won’t work this time. Paul supporters aren’t going anywhere and their numbers will continue to expand.

In retrospect, was this even about winning the presidency or was this about turning the Republican Party on its head and making a real difference? Is this really about shattering one half of the two-party mold in an effort to fix the system from within? If so, will it work? Either way, this game has been well-played by the Paul camp and ultimately it’s up to us everyday people to see that the message is sent and clearly understood. From here on out, this game is going to get pretty fucking filthy. Put on your gloves because we aren’t done swingin’!

Ron Paul Ends His Campaign In New Primary States … What Does It Mean?

The corporate media is abuzz with headlines saying that Ron Paul has finally seen the light, thrown in the towel, and ended his campaign.

However, Ron Paul supporters believe that – while he won’t be campaigning in the primary states – Paul is still in the race, and will be focusing on winning delegates in caucus states.

For example, Policy Mic argues:

Ron Paul announced today in a letter to supporters that he will not campaign for the popular vote in states that have yet to held their primaries.

In his under-reported IDD strategy (“It’s the Delegates, Dummy”), Paul has focused on the fact that presidential nominees are chosen by delegates, not by popular vote. Paul’s campaign has focused to date especially on states that allow committed Republican Party members to have a greater voice in the process. States like Iowa, Nevada, Maine, Louisiana, Washington, and Colorado have been states where Paul supporters have made tremendous inroads in winning party leadership positions and being influential in the national delegate selection process. While many states have yet to finish the delegate selection process, it increasingly looks like Paul could dominate the nationwide delegate process called long ago in Romney’s favor.

Paul’s announcement today fits that same vein, but will no doubt surprise many of his supporters. Not only is Paul saying “It’s the Delegates Dummy” to Mitt Romney and the national media, he is taking it a step further and saying that spending his supporters’ money on winning the popular vote is of such little importance to the campaign that they aren’t going to waste time or money on that any longer.

Does that mean Paul has dropped out? Quit the race? Suspended his campaign? Packed his bags? Returned home to lil ole Lake Jackson, Texas? No, it means quite the opposite. It means that Paul will have more ability to focus on delegate selection instead of the many upcoming winner take all states.

As has been the case from January 3 – the night of the Iowa Caucus – this is a two man race. It’s Mitt Romney v. Ron Paul. Paul, the seasoned campaigner, will be on Romney’s heels through to the RNC in August. If Romney makes 1,144 delegates on the first ballot, Romney becomes the Republican nominee. If Romney slips, the man on his heels will gladly take his place. That’s been the story since Iowa and remains the story today. The decision remains in the hands of 2,286 Republican delegates, many of whom have yet to be chosen. Will it be more of the same or will it be the man who’s spent some 40 years standing on his principle against the GOP establishment both inside DC and out?

The following videos show that passionate Paul supporters believe that Paul is still in the race:

CONTINUED at Washington’s Blog.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas said Monday he will not compete in primaries in any of the states that have not yet voted — essentially confirming Mitt Romney will win the Republican presidential nomination.

Mr. Paul said he will continue to work to win delegates in states that have already voted and where the process of delegate-selection is playing out. He said that’s a way to make his voice heard at the Republican nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., in August.

“Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted,” Mr. Paulsaid. “Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have.”

He did encourage his supporters to still turn out and vote.

CONTINUED at the Washington Times.

*Written by Rob Rimes.

So it has finally happened! Rick Santorum has pulled out of the GOP race! If only his father would’ve pulled out back in the day, all of us wouldn’t have had to deal with his ignorant gay-hating Jesus-lusting bullshit. It couldn’t have come at a better time as it happened on the second anniversary of TheSwash.com’s existence. Of course, we at the Swash take full credit for Ricky Baby dropping out because if it wasn’t for our relentless yet factual articles exposing the man’s insanity, he could have been the frontrunner. You’re welcome America.

There is a down side to all of this however. First of all, the biggest jackass the Republican Party has had as a serious contender in years is now gone and won’t be in our faces on a daily basis to remind us as to why many Republicans are completely fucking looney. We’ve also lost the funniest guy in the race because no one can put their damn foot in their mouth like the Duke of Dork Dicks can. Truth is, I’ve been on this guy like a fly on shit since May of 2011 and I can finally relax and direct my sights elsewhere. Sure, there is still Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to contend with but no matter how useless they would be as POTUS, no one would have been as bad as Rick Santorum.

There’s not much else I can say about this piece of shit’s fall from grace. I knew that this day would come and I expected to have a long yet satisfied rant about the situation but I’ve pulled the layers back on this shithead for so long that I’m done with him. I’m incredibly ecstatic about all of this but at the same time, I’m going to miss my favorite punching bag. Well, Newt’s fucking hopeless at this point, so I guess it’s time to really start hitting Mr. Romney under the chin.

I guess this is good news for Ron Paul, as he is still hanging on. In all honesty though, I don’t think that this will have much of an effect on the Paul campaign. I think that the race is over for the good doctor and at this point, Romney is so far ahead of the competition that unless Paul or Gingrich can magically acquire Santorum’s 275 delegates, they don’t stand a chance. Even then however, if such a miracle were to happen, the benefactor of that miracle would still be well behind Romney. Even if you add all of Santorum’s lost delegates to Paul’s and Gingrich’s, the number is still dwarfed by Romney. We all should have known that Rick’s days in this race were numbered and with that, we all should have known that Mitt has had this contest locked up for a good month now.

It is now truly over folks. I’m not going to sit around on the Internet all night fantasizing and speculating like all the other Ron Paul supporters that believe that this has some how opened the floodgates. It’s a great day in America with Santorum tapping out like an amateur grappling with George St-Pierre but it is also still a dark day because we are left with an Obama versus Romney situation. So unless you are a progressive hipster or a neocon crybaby, this November is going to be a lose/lose situation. Don’t say I didn’t call this one back in 2008.

This video goes out to Rick Santorum. In the words of Kenny Fucking Powers, “You’re fucking out!”

My Two Cents: What a great bday present for The Swash and its readers! End Two Cents.

Rick Santorum is suspending his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, clearing a path for Mitt Romney to become the nominee.

A Republican close to the campaign says the former Pennsylvania senator was to make the announcement Tuesday in his home state of Pennsylvania, two weeks before the GOP presidential primary there. Santorum faced a tough fight in his home state against Romney.

Source: AP.

It has been a truly rough week for Monsanto. After being slammed with a lawsuit by concerned farmers over theirGMO crops and thrown out by China, now the corrupt juggernaut is being thrown out of the United Kingdom. In an unprecedented announcement, Monsanto announced amajor departure from the UK due to “intense opposition” to genetically modified foods from activists.

As a result, the company is now closing its genetically modified wheat growing operation based in Cambridge. Monsanto officials even went on record stating that the move was a result of opposition against their own ‘Frankenstein Foods’.

Furthermore, the company is even looking to liquidate their GMO crop facilities based in Germany, France, and the Czech Republic. Monsanto is making a run for it, and food good reason. Nations have been openly voicing their opposition against the biotech mammoth, with officials and individuals nationwide taking a stand. France is one of many nations to call out Monsanto’s crimes, citing health concernsamong the many reasons to reject Monsanto’s GMO crops.

CONTINUED at Natural Society.

Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman will drop out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday, a campaign advisor confirmed Sunday night.

The decision comes the day he received the endorsement of The State, Columbia, SC’s newspaper, and nearly a week after finishing third in New Hampshire- a state where his campaign focused as a pivotal launch pad for his bid.

Huntsman appears to have received little if any boost from New Hampshire, still placing at the bottom of most national and South Carolina polls in the low single digits.

Matt David, a spokesman for Huntsman, told the New York Times, that Huntsman will endorse Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Huntsman, a former two-term governor of Utah, formally entered the presidential race in June well after many of his GOP rivals like Romney who had already formed campaign organizations and fundraising networks. His resignation as President Obama‘s first ambassador to China became effective in late April. His stint in the Obama administration was viewed skeptically by some voters, but Huntsman defended it as service to the country.

From the beginning, Huntsman had vowed to be a different kind of candidate – from his early videos highlighting his love of motorcycle riding to his demeanor in the GOP debates as the adult in the room.

But as the campaign developed, Huntsman began drawing sharper contrasts with his rivals, especially Romney.

When the GOP front-runner said before the New Hampshire primary that he liked “being able to fire people” – a comment that was taken out of context during remarks on health care – Huntsman responded that it indicated his opponent is “slightly out of touch with the economic reality playing out in America right now, and that’s a dangerous place for somebody to be.”

Source: USA Today.

*Taken from Politico.

Sarah Palin pledged to stay an active part of the political discussion as she announced she wouldn’t be making a 2012 White House run.

On Greta Van Susteren’s Fox News show Wednesday night, Palin told supporters that she’s sorry if they are disappointed that she passed on the race.

“I apologize to those who are disappointed in this decision,” she said. “I’ve been hearing from them in the last couple of hours but I believe that they, when they take a step back, will understand why the decision was made and understand that, really, you don’t need a title to make a difference in this country. I think that I’m proof of that.”

Palin told Van Susteren that her husband, Todd Palin, heard from some of the GOP presidential candidates since making her announcement at 6 p.m. She did not identify which ones.

CONTINUED..

*Taken from NBC Sports.

Our night wouldn’t be complete without one more Peyton Manning update.

Despite an unsubstantiated report on Indianapolis radio that Manning already underwent a third neck procedure, SI’s Peter King reports that it hasn’t happened.  Yet.

“Peyton Manning has not had a procedure on his neck, I am told reliably,” King wrote on Twitter. “Manning could have a procedure. He and team still investigating options. But it has not happened yet.”

CONTINUED..

*Taken from Yahoo News.

Police say a woman was caught trying to sneak her common-law-husband out of a Mexican prison in a suitcase following a conjugal visit.

A spokesman for police in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo says staff at the prison in Chetumal noticed that the woman seemed nervous and was pulling a black, wheeled suitcase that looked bulky.

Spokesman Gerardo Campos said Monday that prison guards checked the bag of 19-year-old Maria del Mar Arjona and found inmate Juan Ramirez Tijerina curled up inside in the fetal position.

Ramirez is serving a 20-year sentence for a 2007 conviction for illegal weapons possession.

Arjona was arrested and charges are pending.