“John Thune” on The Daily Caller

The normally loquacious Senate Republican caucus is being uncharacteristically mum about whom they think presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney should pick to play Robin to his Batman. (more)

Mitt Romney has picked up the support of South Dakota Sen. John Thune for his Republican presidential campaign, according to a Wednesday morning announcement. (more)

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett revealed Wednesday that he made $62,855,038 last year, paying $6,923,494 in income taxes (or about 17 percent of his $39,814,784 taxable income) and $15,300 in payroll taxes. (more)

Answering questions at a Heritage Foundation event Thursday in Washington, D.C., South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune seems to distance himself from his earlier statement that presidential candidate Mitt Romney should “disown” or “disavow” the mandated health care plan he implemented as governor of Massachusetts. (more)

As politicians from both parties try to pass the buck on the looming budget crisis, Democrats and Republicans had no problems passing the ball during Wednesday’s Home Court charity basketball game. (more)

Pundits often separate presidential candidates into “tiers” based on their chances of winning. A recent fad has been to separate contenders into faction “primaries” such as the “Establishment Primary,” the “Tea Party Primary,” the “Social Conservative Primary,” or the “Mormon Primary.” I prefer to look at candidates in terms of “ranks.” “Tiers” may tell us about the state of the race and faction “primaries” may describe how activists sort through their preferences, but if we divide candidates into “ranks,” we can separate the potentially great and successful leaders from the mediocre or even harmful ones. (more)

South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune announced Tuesday on his campaign website that he will not seek the presidency in 2012. (more)

No one vying for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination stood out this weekend at CPAC. The (potential) candidates who showed up — Governors Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty, Gary Johnson and Mitt Romney, Senators John Thune and Rick Santorum, Rep. Ron Paul, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Ambassador John Bolton, Donald Trump, and former Godfather’s CEO Herman Cain — all improved their stocks, but to no avail. (more)

Fox News Channel host Steve Doocy has had a bone to pick with Politico for some time now, suggesting that they are a left-wing blog and even swapping barbs on the air with the outlet’s Ben Smith last week. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Buoyed by a federal court ruling, Senate Republicans maneuvered for a vote to repeal the year-old health care law on Tuesday while the party’s potential White House contenders took turns urging them on. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is retiring and his party has a big problem in 2012 — and beyond. (more)

With the November midterm elections having just recently taken place, it is hard to believe the first Republican presidential primary debate is just months away. Daily Caller contributor and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain became the first Republican candidate to formally launch a presidential exploratory committee last week. More will surely follow. (more)

According to a new Zogby poll, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie leads other possible Republican presidential candidates and would beat President Obama in a hypothetical matchup. (more)

To many, the biggest question surrounding the 2012 presidential election remains: Will Sarah Palin run? (more)

Last week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell joined the First Church of No Earmarks (for the moment anyway), but now he faces another tough test: will he appoint spending-cutters to the Appropriations Committee? (more)

New Hampshire Republican operatives, already navigating recruitment calls from prospective 2012 presidential candidates, say they’re getting mixed messages about Sen. John Thune’s intentions. (more)

As the 2012 Republican pre sidential race begins to coalesce, the field is dividing between populists and managers. (more)

Republican Senators whose earmark requests pepper the much-maligned omnibus spending bill are having a really hard time explaining how they went from requesting earmarks earlier this year to decrying the legislation… because of all the earmarks. But never let it be said that those requests were baked into the spending package before the anti-pork wave hit in November. (more)

There is little Christmas cheer on Capitol Hill this week, as Republicans and Democrats prepare for another showdown, this time involving a $1.1 trillion Omnibus spending bill loaded to the brim with pork that would keep the government funded until the next fiscal year. (more)

Senate Democrats have filed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the government through fiscal year 2011, according to Senate GOP sources. (more)