By RP Staff, on Mon Mar 26, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET  While The RP remains mired in a tie for 41st place in the main pool of the “No Bracket, No Pay” NCAA hoops contest, fittingly — as a national advocate for second acts in life — he leads the Second Chance pool. (Actually, he is tied for first with contributing RP Jason Grill and Friend of RP John Johnson)
Click here to follow the second chance standings.
Of course, in the REAL competition, Jack Hrabik leads, with contributing RP Rod Jetton in a close second, No Labels staff Dave Asche tied for 7th, and Friend of RP, Mona Tailor in a solid 10th.
Click here to follow the action.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 26, 2012 at 9:30 AM ET  The RP’s Defense
[Click here to follow the full debate thread]
I agree with Mark Nickolas that Mike Huckabee would be an extraordinary pick by Romney for Vice President.
Indeed, for all the reasons Mark mentions, if Huckabee were in the race today for President, I think he would have run away with the nomination several weeks ago.
And that’s the rub. Huckabee made a very deliberative decision several months ago not to run for President.
Whether it was family considerations, financial (he seems to be making bank on Fox and the lecture circuit), a political calculation that Obama couldn’t be beat in an improving economy and a divided GOP, or a sudden burst of sanity that led to a realization that being President is an excruciatingly awful job in this hyper-toxic political system, he decided not to run.
 With those same calculations, I just can’t imagine he would accept the bottom half of what seems to be a careening ticket.
If Huckabee still has national ambitions, my assumption would be that he would just wait until 2016 (or 2020) to run for President. Being second banana doesn’t seem to be in his gene pool.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 26, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
The RP’s Provocation
Now that the Mitt Romney has won the GOP Presidential primary (OK, it’s not official, but it’s been pretty much declared by the GOP Establishment and the mainstream media), it’s time to start prognosticating about who will be his selection as the Vice Presidential nominee.
So today at The Recovering Politician, our contributors will make their best guesses over the course of the day in our irregular Monday feature, “The RPs Debate.”
Tune in every half hour or so for a new response, featuring our bi-partisan, multi-cultural, and sometimes, downright wacky former politicians and Friends of RP.
And of course, you are welcomed — prodded even — to contribute your thoughts in the comments section below. At the end of the day, I will post the best entries on the site.
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So I will get things started. (I can’t be any worse than with my NCAA bracket. Tied for 60th out of 77? Ouch.)
 The 2012 Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States will be…U.S. Senator Rob Portman from Ohio.
Portman is the rare pol who’s both beloved by the GOP base and respected across the aisle. He has an extraordinary resume, with pretty much every box checked from elite education to congressional service to senior executive branch positions.
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Mar 22, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET The No Bracket, No Pay NCAA hoops contest has gotten off to a rollicking start.
Sheila Berman is in the lead of the field of 77, while I’m stuck in a tie for 60th.
Check out the full scoreboard here.
You might have missed the deadline to join us. Or maybe like me, your bracket’s been busted in too many pieces that you’d like to start over again.
Well, The Recovering Politician is all about second chances. Check out our mission statement.
Accordingly, we present the Second Chance, No Bracket, No Pay contest.
In the Second Chance bracket, you start with a completely new slate, making your choices from the existing teams still remaining in the Sweet Sixteen.
Best of all, if you made the mistake of NOT choosing the Kentucky Wildcats to win — you have a second chance!
And don’t worry No Bracket, No Pay veterans. That competition will be ongoing.
You have just 2 hours to sign up — click here before Noon TODAY.
It’s not often that you get second chances. So don’t miss out. Remember: No Bracket, No Pay.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Wed Mar 21, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Congressional Air Guitar [gif]
No Crime Fighting Guarantee [picture]
Beard Slap! [gif]
14 out of 14 people found this review helpful. [screen cap]
Pedestrian X-ing [picture]
I think that’s fair. [screen cap]
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Mar 20, 2012 at 4:00 PM ET  In his column this week for The Huffington Post, the RP tackles an issue that’s familiar to the RP Nation: the legalization of hemp.
But he pairs his advocacy with a challenge to you, the reader: Please get involved in this policy debate.
Especially if you live in Kentucky.
Tomorrow afternoon and evening, please come to the Red Mile in Lexington to join the RP and a bi-partisan group of state officials and local business leaders who understand that legalizing hemp will be a no-risk boon to our state’s and our nation’s economy.
You can also get more involved by becoming a political science major and getting an elected official position to push these efforts forward!
Click on the graphic to the left for details.
And check out the RP’s article below:
Last week, I received a very warm reception from my hometown’s Tea Party organization.
Yes, you read that correctly…
My regular readers know that I am an unabashed, gay-marriage-embracing, pro-choice-supporting, clean-energy-promoting, immigration-reforming, economic-inequality-battling, church-and-state-separating LIBERAL.
And yet, I repeat (for my friends that may have fainted upon reading the first sentence of this essay), I was warmly welcomed and even embraced by our local lovers of liberty.
I wish I could credit my soaring oratory or my youthful charisma, but I simply can’t deny that I’m a better recovering politician than an active one.
The truth is that I spoke on a topic that knows no ideology, an issue that has broad bi-partisan support, and yet one that has met stiff political resistence from the powers that be:
The legalization of industrial hemp.
The subject of hemp, while discussed and debated for decades, unfortunately has been mostly seen as a cause célèbre of the political margins, either the “hippie” Far Left or the libertarian Far Right. But my recent experience with the issue reveals that public support for industrial hemp legalization—particularly within the agricultural community — is reaching a tipping point.
And it’s time for the business community to shoulder-pad-up and push legalized industrial hemp across the goal line.
Click here to read the full column, “It’s High Time to Legalize Hemp,” at The Huffington Post.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 19, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET The No Bracket, No Pay NCAA hoops contest has gotten off to a rollicking start.
Sheila (identify yourself!) is in the lead of the field of 77, while my sister Jennifer’s dog is tied for second. (And not the dog named after a UK/NBA star, but the one referred to in Harry Potter books.) Tied for 5th is contributing RP Rod Jetton, RP writer Jeremy Morris and No Labels staffer David Asche. Of course, I’m stuck in a tie for 60th.
Check out the full scoreboard here.
You might have missed the deadline to join us. Or maybe like me, your bracket’s been busted in too many pieces that you’d like to start over again.
Worst of all, your team might have already crashed and burned amd you are looking for something else to occupy your time. (HINT: contributing RPs Lisa Borders (Duke), Jason Grill (Mizzou))
Well, The Recovering Politician is all about second chances. Check out our mission statement.
Accordingly, we present the Second Chance, No Bracket, No Pay contest.
In the Second Chance bracket, you start with a completely new slate, making your choices from the existing teams still remaining in the Sweet Sixteen.
Best of all, if you made the mistake of NOT choosing the Kentucky Wildcats to win — you have a second chance!
And don’t worry No Bracket, No Pay veterans. That competition will be ongoing.
Just click here to sign up before Thursday, March 22 at Noon.
It’s not often that you get second chances. So don’t miss out. Remember: No Bracket, No Pay.
By RP Staff, on Thu Mar 15, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET  The RP and Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe appeared yesterday on Wall Street Journal’s Daily Wrap with Michael Castner.
They were on to discuss their upcoming film Platoon 2: Electric Boogaloo.
 OK, not really.
Willem Dafoe was on to discuss some new movie of his about the end of the world.
And The RP talked about a different kind of apocalypse — the collapse of the American democracy, and what No Labels is doing about it. The RP reported on yesterday’s historic hearings on their “No Budget, No Pay” legislation.
It is worth a listen. Click here to hear the podcast.
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Mar 15, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
Just two more hours to enter an opportunity of a lifetime. Or at least a good time for all.
 Yesterday, “No Budget, No Pay” legislation — sponsored by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Cong. Jim Cooper (D-TN) — received its first hearing by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). The landmark bill, sponsored by No Labels, would deny Congressmen pay if they fail to pass a budget and spending bills on time. (Read all about it here, and Click here for more information on how you can get involved.)
Now today, March Madness erupts — the first full round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament begins play across the country.
To celebrate the convergence of these two monumental events, we at The Recovering Politician and No Labels are sponsoring our first NCAA basketball March Madness bracket challenge.
 No Bracket? No Pay! We are calling it…wait for it… “No Bracket, No Pay“. The RP Nation and No Labels activists across the country are invited to submit a completed NCAA bracket — for free — and the winning brackets (and perhaps some losers as well) will receive BIG CASH PRIZES.
(OK, full disclosure: The “BIG CASH PRIZES” don’t actually involve “cash.” But we will come up with some fun stuff to give away.)
Entering the tournament is simple and easy. Just click here and follow the directions. And you don’t need to be a roundball expert to play — in most office pools, it’s the clueless hoops-a-phobe that usually wins.
The deadline for entry is TODAY (!!!) at 12pm (Noon!!!) EDT.
And remember, you can’t win if you don’t play — No Bracket, No Pay.
Click here to join the fun today (or at least before today at Noon EDT.)
By RP Staff, on Wed Mar 14, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET The RP was back on Wall Street Journal radio last night talking up No Labels’ “No Budget, No Pay” proposal.
Click here to listen in.
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While The RP remains mired in a tie for 41st place in the main pool of the “No Bracket, No Pay” NCAA hoops contest, fittingly — as a national advocate for second acts in life — he leads the Second Chance pool. (Actually, he is tied for first with contributing RP Jason Grill and Friend of RP John Johnson)
