In this “Right Hook Xtra,” “The Rated R Republican” John Brodigan had an opportunity to speak with RNC C0-Chair Sharon Day.  Ms. Day joined us from the RNC spring meeting out in Hollywood to talk about reaction to the GOP Growth and Opportunity Project and how they’re implementing many of the reforms.

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In a very special Right Hook Xtra, “Rated R Republican” John Brodigan sits down with Dutchess Co. Legislator Ben Traudt to preview this weekend’s WrestleMania.

The card:

WWE Championship
The Rock vs. John Cena

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

No Holds Barred Match; If Lesnar wins, Triple H must retire
Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar

World Heavyweight Championship
Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger

Randy Orton, Sheamus & Big Show vs. The Shield

Intercontinental Championship
Wade Barrett vs. The Miz

Ryback vs. Mark Henry
WWE Tag Team Championship
Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston

Chris Jericho vs. Fandango

Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls vs. Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins

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In this Right Hook Xtra, “Rated R Republican” John Brodigan chats with National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Digital Director Gerrit Lansing. They talk about Buzzfeed, how the NRCC has been stepping up their digital, why it’s so important, as well as ways to improve outreach.

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On this Right Hook Xtra, “the Rated R Republican” John Brodigan speaks with congressional candidate Paul McKinley. Mr. McKinley is the GOP candidate for the April 9th special election in the IL-2, and joins us to discuss the Chicago machine and how he plans on beating them AND being elected the next Congressman from Illinois.

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On this Right Hook Xtra, “the Rated R Republican” John Brodigan sits down with America Rising PAC’s Tim Miller. There’s been four months worth of autopsies, postmortems, and angry tweets of everything the went wrong last November, and Tim tells us how the new America Rising PAC is looking to fill the digital AND opposition research gap.

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On another Right Hook Xtra, “the Rated R Republican” John Brodigan continues his series on (place voter group here) outreach with candidates for YRNF Chair and Vice-Chair, Brian Griffiths and Scott Czasak.  Here Brian and Scott talk about why they’re running, how the GOP can attract more younger voters, and how the YRs can shake off the label of being just foot soldiers for “The Establishment.”

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On a special Right Hook Xtra, the “Rated R Republican” John Brodigan is joined by NY political strategists Lynn Krogh and Vince Casale. Here they give they preview Gov. Cuomo’s “State of the State” address, some breakout stars in the NY GOP, why the national GOP’s PR/messaging su-diddly-ucks lately, and how they can fix it.

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In this The Right Hook Xtra, our own “Rated R Republican” speaks with NY State Senator Greg Ball. Sen. Ball represents the parts of the Hudson Valley where a local newspaper publisher recently printed the names and addresses of all residents who own a legally registered firearm. We discuss why they did it, the unintended consequences this particular editorial decision could have, and if it’s possible to even have a reasonable discussion on guns in the first place.

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On a special The Right Hook Xtra, the “Rated R Republican” John Brodigan kicks off the 2013 election with NYC mayoral candidate George McDonald.  George tells us about his experience  as founder of The Doe Fund, his plans if elected Mayor, and how to create more jobs and a better business climate in New York.

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On a special Right Hook Extra, “the Rated R Republican” John Brodigan chats with FreedomWorks blogger and co-host of “He Said, She Said.” Demetrius Minor.  They discuss how the GOP can, should, and needs to do a better job with outreach to both African American and youth voters.

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House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (CA-22) released “This is Small Business America,” a video highlighting the small business S corporations like Gorski Engineering and its 17 employees whose taxes stand to increase if President Obama’s tax hike goes into effect.

DIY: Do It Yourself goes Hazlo Tú Mismo on “The Right Hook” as “the Rated R Republican” John Brodigan talks with two conservative Hispanic activists: Brittney Morrett and Sam Rosado. Sam and Brittney just put out a white paper on what conservatives are doing wrong with Hispanics, and how to fix it, covering everything from outreach to rhetoric to Puerto Rico statehood and a lot more.

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Our own “Rated R Republican” John Brodigan recently sat down with ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jake Tapper to discuss his new book, “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.” Here they talk about what “The Outpost” was, some of the heartbreaking stories from the people and families affected by it, and the importance of making sure these stories and the service and sacrifice of those involved are shared.

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He may have bared (almost) all of that incredibly chiseled body in this year’s Snark Factor but 2012′s Sexiest Man Alive Fingers Malloy was still modest when he heard the news.

“My first thought was, ‘Y’all are messing with me,’” says Malloy, who married actress Jenna Dewan-Malloy in 2009. “I told Jenna after we’d been in the bathtub washing our dogs because they’d gotten skunked.”

Says the blogger: “She was like, ‘What?’”

“Yeah, she calls me [the Sexiest Man Alive] now,” he adds. And who can blame her?

Her Alabama-bred heartthrob of a husband is also a sculptor who quotes Edgar Allan Poe, loves to give her massages and can’t wait to start their family. “I’m ready; I think she’s ready,” Malloy, 32, says. “The first number that pops into my head is three, but I just want one to be healthy and then we’ll see where we go after that.”

“It’s really easy for us guys to say, ‘I want like 15 kids,’” he continues. “Jenna will be like, ‘Well you better get another wife!’”

Currently training to play an Olympic athlete in next year’s Foxcatcher, Malloy is all heart and muscle at 195 pounds. “I like to be lean. If I get too bulky I can’t move well and I like to move,” he says. “When I’m not training, I get really round and soft.”

Which is just fine by his wife. “People know him to be fun and sexy, but they don’t know how emotionally deep and spiritually open he is,” says Dewan-Malloy, 31. “He is such an open-hearted person; what you see is what you get.”

For more of our exclusive interview and photos of Malloy – including more than 180 of your favorite sexiest men – pick up this week’s issue of FTR Radio, on newsstands Friday

I’ve thought long and hard (giggity) about it, and here are my predictions…

Mitt Romney 281-257. I’ve been saying for a while that a) this looks more like 2004 only with Romney being a better candidate than Not Bush was eight years ago, and b) the public polls are oversampling Dems in thinking that Obama’s turnout will be equal to (or even better) than it was in 2008. In talking with people I know who know things, I see no reason to change that. Being said, if you were to take a quarter out of your pocket and flip it in the air, you could make as confident a prediction as I did.

Democrats gain 5-10 seats in the house, though I see Republicans gaining 2 in New York (3 wins, one loss).

Republicans pick up three in the Senate, which unfortunately includes a Scott Brown loss. Using the same logic in looking at the internals of the Presidential race, it’s hard not to conclude that.

If Romney wins, the worst that happens to Democrats is that they keep the Senate and start finding/electing new leaders.

If Obama wins, worst that happens for Republicans is Paul Ryan becomes speaker of the house and our bench for 2016 is already in place.

Regardless of who wins, The Republic will stand. Anyone who thinks it won’t because of a single guy winning an election, or because their guy wasn’t elected, has less faith in America than I do.

Now excuse me, I need to go avoid the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing…

This past weekend at FREE-PAC Florida hosted by Freedomworks ”the Rated R Republican” John Brodigan sat down with Congressman Tim Scott from the great state of South Carolina.

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By “The Rated R Republican” John Brodigan

I was always more nervous about the Vice Presidential debate than any of the Presidential ones (and that was before last week’s Romney smackdown). As much as we love Paul Ryan and mock the stupid things Joe Biden says, this debate is not going to be a cake walk for Ryan and we conservatives need to stop doing the Democrats job for them in saying it is.

It’s supposed to be the Obama campaigns job to lower expectations for their side, yet we’ve so hyped up expectations for Paul Ryan and an anticipated mauling, all Joe Biden needs to do is remember to wear pants and he’s met any and all expectations. And I hate to ruin a perfectly good talking point, but Joe Biden isn’t a moron even if he plays one on TV lately.

Remember, it was Joe Biden’s debate performances in the 2008 Democrat primaries that put him on the short list in the first place. 2008 was even the second time he’s run for President. He’s been on the national stage before. Paul Ryan, as much as we all love him, hasn’t.

Yes, in theory it should be a good debate and one that I think Ryan should win. I’d be shocked if he didn’t bring his A- game. I’d also be shocked if Joe Biden didn’t bring his.

And there’s always the chance of Ryan having a bad night, which will be that much worse if everyone considers it a foregone conclusion that he’s going to win.

Let the Democrats set their own expectations. Let’s stop doing it for them.

by “the Rated R Republican” John Brodigan

I’m not a statistician. I don’t even play one on the Internet. So when the jobs numbers come out for me, my initial reaction is “meh.” I said “meh” last month when it was terrible. I say “meh” today.

And the last thing I’m going to do is cry conspiracy. Legitimately questioning poll numbers is one thing. Claiming the Administration cooked up his jobs report for the sake of his re-election makes you sound like the liberals who claimed the same thing during the Bush Administration. Don’t be that guy.

I’ve actually been trying to spend some time outside the echo chamber, where people don’t care about the unemployment rate as much as they do their own jobs, because I want to try to get a balance of what the average voter cares about and is paying attention to vs. some of what we think as we spend the day absorbing every piece of news the gets tweeted ten seconds after it happens and the effect it’s going to have on life, the universe, and the Presidential race.

And since we like numbers, let me throw another one at you. 70 million.

70 million people watched the Presidential debate Wednesday night.

70 million people watched the Presidential debate that people say was the best Republican performance since 1980 (Ronald Reagan), and that insta-polled on par with how Bill Clinton did in 1992.

70 million people watched the Presidential debate, the majority of whom then went to Google and searched for Mitt Romney far more than they did Barack Obama.

People who I never talk politics to were asking me about Romney. People who never post about it on Facebook had something to say. I have a friend I’ve known for fifteen years who knows how obsessed I am with politics yet has never talked to be about it except for the occasional questioning why I can be a Republican post this:

I’m not sure what side I’m on folks, but that debate was brutal. Romney came across as confident, passionate and strong, and Obama the complete opposite. And please don’t worry about Sesame Street. IF (really big if) enough government funds are stripped that the network can’t sustain itself, I’m guessing that enough private companies will throw a stake in to keep it going. That’s some very good PR.

69,999,999 other people watched that exact same debate (giggle…69). Then you had this curious tweet from Joe Trippi (aka Howard Dean’s – yes, that Howard Dean – former campaign manager):

20 minutes into debate GOP online voter registration doubled above normal & still at that pace – Dem. source who monitors online.

Which may or may not also be related to this report about early voting in Ohio, which goes against the conventional wisdom that Obama has the edge there.

So with that being said, let me ask a question. If you’re like me, you’re turning off the computer at some point today, going to a bar, and having a few drinks with your IRL friends. You’re doing the same thing tomorrow, and on Sunday you’re throwing in football.

If politics comes up, what do you think people will be talking and/or asking you about: the unemployment rate…or Romney’s performance at the debate?

The Right Hook’s #DIY Election 2012 coverage continues on. Today our own “Rated R Republican” John Brodigan sat down with NY Assemblyman and State Senate candidate Phil Boyle (R-NY).  They discussed what needs to be done to bring more jobs to Long Island, the (mostly repealed) MTA payroll tax, mandate relief, and what needs to be done throughout the state to help lower the cost of living so that young New Yorkers can stay and raise their families here.

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