Sarah Palin

Romney continues to insist Democrats, as well as some of his GOP rivals, are practicing “the politics of envy,” and on NBC Wednesday made what might be his dumbest remark yet. Asked whether there was ever a fair way to discuss income inequality, the GOP front-runner replied:

I think it’s fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms and discussions about tax policy and the like. But the president has made it part of his campaign rally. Everywhere he goes we hear him talking about millionaires and billionaires and executives and Wall Street. It’s a very envy-oriented, attack-oriented approach and I think it will fail.

Maybe Mitt wants to confine talk of inequality to “quiet rooms” because he’s seen the Pew Research Center data showing that Americans think conflict is growing between rich and poor.  Two-thirds of Americans see that conflict, up 50 percent since 2009. While African-Americans are still more likely than whites to see that conflict, the percentage of whites who agree tripled. Credit Occupy Wall Street for hiking consciousness about the gap between rich and poor, but credit the GOP for creating the conditions that allowed income inequality to soar, and the top 1 percent to gobble up 40 percent of the nation’s wealth.

A sly Sarah Palin called for Romney to release his tax returns on Sean Hannity’s show last night, to Hannity’s seeming distress. Palin defended Rick Perry’s “vulture capitalism” attack even as Hannity kept trying to get her to declare it unfair. She’s gone rogue again! We can only dream that Romney releases his tax returns. I think he’s less scared about showing his staggering wealth than revealing the scandalously low tax rate he pays, given how much of his income comes from investment and is thus subject to lower capital gain taxes. (I’m sure we’d also learn a lot from the tricks Romney’s accountants use to keep his effective tax rate even lower.)

Palin also demanded that Romney substantiate his claims to have created 100,000 jobs while at Bain, calling it a “come to Jesus” moment. What is she up to? Her snow-machine-driving husband Todd endorsed Newt Gingrich last week, to great derision, but it did raise questions about what the nominally neutral ex-V.P. nominee is thinking. She’s not thinking good thoughts about Mitt Romney, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, the man who foisted Palin on the world, John McCain, today accused Romney’s anti-Bain attackers as supporting “communism.” But BuzzFeed recalls that in 2008, McCain himself attacked Romney’s Bain days. “He presided over the acquisition of companies that laid off thousands of workers,” McCain complained back then, and campaign manager Rick Davis told the National Journal:

“He learned politics and economics from being a venture capitalist, where you go and buy companies, you strip away the jobs, and you resell them. And if that’s what his experience has been to be able to lead our economy, I’d really raise questions.”

I’ll be talking about Romney’s Bain troubles, and the GOP circular firing squad, on MSNBC’s “Politics Nation” with the Rev. Al Sharpton at 6 ET.

Steve Kornacki lays out the basics of Christie’s Simi Valley star turn. He made a fairly boring speech explaining why the country needs a national dose of what he’s done in New Jersey, and took a few swipes at President Obama. But he really came alive when a woman essentially begged Christie to enter the race. “I say this from the bottom of my heart, for my daughter who’s here and my grandchildren at home: I know New Jersey needs you, but I implore you…We can’t wait another four years (applause). I really implore you as a citizen of this country to reconsider.”

It was a great opening, for a man enjoying the devotion but determined not to run, to thank her and tell her he was sticking to his decision. But Christie didn’t.

He gave a long rambling answer, thanking her for her “heartfelt message” and making sure his audience knows he’s hearing a lot of similar messages from Republicans. But he concluded with: “My answer to you is just this – I thank you for what you’re saying. I take it in. I’m listening, and I feel it too.”

Feel what? That the country urgently needs him, so he’s reconsidering? Or that the country urgently needs him, but he’s still not going to do it? The door remains open. Christie is loving this.

Meanwhile, over on Fox, Sarah Palin told Greta von Susteren she’s still thinking about her options too. “I’m going to keep repeating though, Greta, through my process of decision-making with my family and with my close friends as to whether I should throw my name in the hat for the GOP nomination or not for 2012: Is a title worth it? Does a title shackle a person? Are they — someone like me, maverick, you know, I do go rogue, and I call it like I see it, and I don’t mind stirring it up… Is a title and is a campaign too shackling? Does that prohibit me from being out there, out of the box, not allowing handlers to shape me?”

Clearly Palin isn’t running. First of all, the “title” of president may well be shackling, as in you have to think before you open your mouth; it’s also the most powerful position in the world. If she wanted it, she wouldn’t make it sound like a big inconvenience. Plus, whether she wants it or not, the tease has gone too far. Even Fox has written her off; poor Roger Ailes is hot for Christie. It’s pretty clear she’s enjoying being mavericky and making millions of dollars; she doesn’t have the discipline to run, let alone lead.

Does Christie? Like Perry before him, he would learn that the glow of the cameras gets hot when you’re a national candidate. Plus, the GOP has tied itself to the Tea Party, which is now hugely unpopular with most American voters; even Christie could find he’s not pure enough for them. He wouldn’t prosecute illegal immigration as a U.S. attorney. As governor, he appointed a Muslim judge. He came out strongly against the demagoging of the Ground Zero mosque. He opposed the knuckleheaded GOP plan to hold disaster aid hostage to budget cuts.

People seem to like Christie’s regular guy shtick, which is a sharp contrast to Romney’s friendly CEO shtick. Christie’s got the common touch. Unfortunately, he bolsters his working class credibility by bashing teachers and public employee unions, as though they’re the “big government” enemy that destroyed our economy. A lot of white workers who voted Republican, in New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin, are waking up to their regular-guy governors’ anti-labor agenda; Christie’s Jersey-guy populism may not hide his anti-populist politics in a national race.

Besides: This regular guy is beloved by plutocrats. David Koch wants him to run; Home Depot CEO Ken Langone is introducing him to wealthy GOP donors; he’s getting attention from hedge fund managers like Daniel Loeb and other former Wall Street Obama supporters, who got their feelings hurt when the president talked about “fat cats” while still letting them loot the economy.

But I’m not Christie’s target demographic. He could well have more appeal than any of his rivals. If he wants to give it a shot, he should do it now, or shut the door. He’s starting to look like he’s putting his own good time before the interests of his party or his country.

I talked about Christie and Palin on MSNBC’s Hardball today:

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