



By Emily Miller
Congress needs to reform District's property seizure laws
Independent voices from the TWT Communities

A private organization established to run a third-party candidate in this year's presidential election has thrown in the towel, saying no one mustered sufficient support for such an effort.

Ron Paul's campaign conceded Tuesday he won't win enough delegates to be Republicans' presidential nominee, but says he will continue to try to win supporters to influence the GOP's platform and rules at the August convention.

The ever-fierce Jesse Ventura says it doesn't matter who wins the presidential election any more because the office has devolved into a kind of bipartisan gangland. To make his point, the former Minnesota governor and wrestling god has written a new book titled "DemoCRIPS and ReBLOODlicans: No More Gangs in Government."

Rep. Ron Paul said Monday he will not compete in Republican primaries in any of the states that have not yet voted — essentially ending the 2012 primary season and leaving the path open for Mitt Romney to win the GOP presidential nomination.

There's a substantial appetite among American voters for an option other than the two major parties in this year's elections — but there's little taste for any of the third-party or independent candidates currently competing, according to the latest poll by The Washington Times/JZ Analytics.

While the strategists duke it out on the campaign trail, consider that politically charged pajamas have emerged from the entrepreneurial wags at Cafe Press, and they are proving a Republican favorite.

President Obama invited French president-elect Francois Hollande to the White House later this month, expressing hope the two would work "closely," a spokesman said Sunday.

Mitt Romney may be the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, but Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is quietly racking up some organizational victories that could complicate Mr. Romney's anticipated coronation at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., this summer.

Bowing to the inevitable, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich signaled Wednesday that he will shut down his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, a day after presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney swept five more Republican primaries and party leaders began to close ranks around the former Massachusetts governor.

Signaling that he now considers the Republican presidential primary season over, a triumphant Mitt Romney returned Tuesday to New Hampshire — the site where he kicked off his campaign 10 months ago — to urge his supporters and those who backed his GOP rivals to rally behind his effort to defeat President Obama this fall.

Mitt Romney, campaigning Monday with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, told Pennsylvania supporters that while Tuesday's Republican primary is important, next fall's showdown with President Obama is the real battle.

More people gave sizeable contributions to the foundering Republican presidential campaign of Rep. Ron Paul last month than to presumed nominee Mitt Romney, according to new disclosures that highlight the difficulty the former Massachusetts governor has had in motivating wide swaths of the party base.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney appeared to be making progress at a gathering of key party officials in Scottsdale, Ariz., winning public expressions of support from some formerly skeptical state party chairmen and elected members of the Republican National Committee.

Longtime "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek thinks there's something actually powerful about the 15 media heavies, former political operatives and celebrities who will play for charity when the show tapes its "Power Players Week" episodes at DAR Constitution Hall this weekend.

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney appeared to be making progress at a gathering of key party officials here, winning expressions of support from some formerly skeptical state party chairmen and elected members of the Republican National Committee.
"We're going to emphasize that our people really need to emphasize respect and civility. They're going to be under a microscope," he said.
"We're going to be advancing through the platform process, and then at the convention, platform ideas on Fed transparency, Fed accountability, monetary policy reform, prohibitions on indefinite detention and a plank on Internet freedom," he said.