Ridgewood Nj, With the results of the earlier primary-election states greatly affecting which candidates stay in the presidential race — raising the question of which state truly deserves the top spot in the primaries — the personal finance website WalletHub today released its 2016 Electorate Representation Index.
To determine which states fairly represent the U.S. electorate, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states to the U.S. across five key categories: 1) Sociodemographics, 2) Economy, 3) Education, 4) Religion, and 5) Public Opinion.
States that Most Resemble the U.S.
States that Least Resemble the U.S.
1
Illinois
41
Maine
2
Florida
42
Tennessee
3
Michigan
43
Arkansas
4
Arizona
44
New Hampshire
5
Pennsylvania
45
Utah
6
Ohio
46
Massachusetts
7
Indiana
47
Alabama
8
Delaware
48
West Virginia
9
Missouri
49
Mississippi
10
Virginia
50
Vermont
States with the Most Sociodemographic Resemblance with the U.S.
States with the Least Sociodemographic Resemblance with the U.S.
1
Illinois
46
California
2
Connecticut
47
North Dakota
3
Virginia
48
Vermont
4
North Carolina
49
Maine
5
Oklahoma
50
Hawaii
States with the Most Economic Resemblance with the U.S.
States with the Least Economic Resemblance with the U.S.
1
Illinois
46
Montana
2
Pennsylvania
47
Hawaii
3
Texas
48
Wyoming
4
Missouri
49
Maryland
5
North Carolina
50
Alaska
States with the Most Educational Resemblance with the U.S.
States with the Least Educational Resemblance with the U.S.
1
North Carolina
46
Colorado
2
Georgia
47
Wyoming
3
Illinois
48
Massachusetts
4
Rhode Island
49
Utah
5
Florida
50
West Virginia
States with the Most Religious Resemblance with the U.S.
States with the Least Religious Resemblance with the U.S.
1
Florida
46
Utah
2
Michigan
47
Vermont
3
Indiana
48
Massachusetts
4
Arizona
49
Mississippi
5
Ohio
50
Alabama
States with the Most Public-Opinion Resemblance with the U.S.
States with the Least Public-Opinion Resemblance with the U.S.
He has the platform, but it’s all about communicating it.
By Paul Meara
Posted: 02/16/2016 11:00 AM EST
If we know anything about Bernie Sanders’ campaigning prowess it’s that he can make up ground quickly. And there’s no better candidate to do that against than Hillary Clinton, whose approval or favorability numbers have never strengthened after announcing a candidacy bid for any public office. That said, the Clintons have generally high popularity numbers with African Americans and it’s going to be an uphill climb once again for Sanders to capture a large swath of that support.
With the Nevada Caucuses just eight days away and South Carolina Primaries only 15, Bernie has his work cut out for him. Luckily for him it seems like more and more black support, especially young, seems to be turning more and more in his favor. At the same time, Clinton just picked up an endorsement from theCongressional Black Caucus PAC, and it’s likely she’ll pick up the support of President Obamaeventually, whose accomplishments she heavily touted in the Friday’s (February 11) Democratic debate.
While it may be a little outdated, a December poll by YouGov of South Carolina Democrats showed that African Americans heavily favored Clinton at almost 4 to 1. Nationally, a recent Fox News poll showed a 71 percent support figure among non-whites for Clinton compared to just 20 for Sanders. Barack Obama carried South Carolina in 2008 with 80 percent of the black vote and while that number may not be entirely necessary to hit in order to win the state, Bernie can’t have Hillary attaining a statistic near that, especially as they’re mostly split among whites in the state.
No turn around in presidential politics so far would be as big as if Bernie Sanders were able to cut 20 to 30 percent off of Clinton’s lead among African Americans in the state. That effort has already begun and for it to be even more effective, here are a few ways he can better gain the black vote in South Carolina and beyond.
The other GOP candidates are finally starting to fight on Donald Trump’s terms, to judge by the slugfest that was Saturday night’s debate. But it speaks volumes — whole encyclopedias — about the ignorance of our political and media elites that they’re only now realizing that much of what Trump’s been doing is just busting balls.
It’s a blue-collar ritual, with clear rules — overtly insulting, sure, but with infinite subtleties. It can be a test of manliness, a sign of respect, a way of bonding and much more.
Rule No. 1: You can wince, but don’t squeal.
Rule No. 2: Bust right back, if you can.
Not knowing how to play is no excuse. And not getting it shows you have no idea how a huge swath of America lives — the Americans whom Trump has made his base.
From the start, Trump targeted the (mostly) white working class, which happens to be 40 percent of the country. And he’s done it not just with issues, but with how he talks — the ball-busting, the “bragging,” the over-the-top promises.
Media bias is a bigger problem than high dollar donations for 2016 likely voters focused on the presidential election, according to a new national survey.
Rasmussen Reports found that when asked “Which is the bigger problem in politics today,” voters picked media bias over money, 47 percent to 45 percent.
What’s more, the survey found that voters believe that the media has too much power in politics. Some 66 percent said it was too powerful, compared to just 26 percent who said the media wielded just enough influence in the election.
“Middle-aged voters tend to believe more strongly than other voters that the media have too much influence over elections,” said the poll analysis.
Outraged by the delegate deficit Sanders faces even after his New Hampshire win, the senator’s backers are taking action.
By Daniel Strauss
02/14/16 06:34 PM EST
Bernie Sanders lost by a hair in Iowa and won by a landslide in New Hampshire. Yet Hillary Clinton has amassed an enormous 350-delegate advantage over the Vermont senator after just two states.
Outraged by that disconnect – which is fueled by Clinton’s huge advantage with Democratic superdelegates, who are not bound by voting results – Sanders supporters are fighting back.
Pro-Sanders threads on Reddit have been burning up with calls for action, with some supporters even reaching out to superdelegates (who are typically Democratic governors, members of Congress, and top state and national party leaders) to lobby them on the Vermont senator’s behalf. Progressive groups are also taking a stand: There are currently two petition campaigns designed to urge superdelegates to reflect the popular vote, rather than the sentiment of party elites.
Cibolo Creek Ranch owner recalls Scalia’s last hours in Texas
By John MacCormack
Updated 10:11 pm, Sunday, February 14, 2016
MARFA — A first-time guest to the Cibolo Creek Creek Ranch, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was animated and engaged during dinner Friday night, as one of three dozen invitees to an event that had nothing to do with law or politics, according to the ranch owner.
Just hours later, he would be found dead of apparent natural causes, which media outlets were reporting Sunday was a heart attack.
“He was seated near me and I had a chance to observe him. He was very entertaining. But about 9 p.m. he said, ‘it’s been a long day and a long week, I want to get some sleep,” recalled Houston businessman John Poindexter, who owns the 30,000-acre luxury ranch.
When Poindexter tried to awaken Scalia about 8:30 the next morning, the judge’s door was locked and he did not answer. Three hours later, Poindexter returned after an outing, with a friend of Scalia who had come from Washington with him.
“We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled,” said Poindexter.
“He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap,” he said.
Scalia,79, did not have a pulse and his body was cold, and after consulting with a doctor at a hospital in Alpine, Poindexter concluded resuscitation would have been futile, He then contacted federal authorities, at first encountering a series of answering services because he was calling on a weekend.
“Ultimately they became available and handled it t superbly. They flew in by helicopter. They told me to secure the ranch, which I did until this morning,” he said.
Paul J. Larkin Jr. directs The Heritage Foundation’s project to counter abuse of the criminal law, particularly at the federal level, as senior legal research fellow in the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Read his research.
Antonin Gregory Scalia has died. For some, it is the painful loss of a husband or father. For those who knew him, it is the loss of a good friend. For law students, it is the loss of a justice who wrote opinions with rigorous analysis, clarity of expression, and at times an acerbic wit.
For conservatives, it is the loss of a standard-bearer and icon. For liberals, it is the loss of an opponent who always fought hard but fair.
For those who never had the opportunity to know him, it is the loss of one of our greatest legal minds, of a judge and justice who had made, and will continue to make, legal history. And to those who were privileged to know him, it is the loss of a wonderful human being.
More than 100 men and women have been justices of the Supreme Court. All decided the outcome of individual cases and made small changes in the law.
Few changed its course.
Some—such as Joseph Story, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Hugo Black, Earl Warren, William Brennan, and William Rehnquist—will be remembered for moving the Supreme Court in one direction or another.
They launched the court into its existence as an institution. They addressed some of the most important issues that can arise under our Constitution—issues involving the separation of powers, freedom of speech and religion, the integrity of the criminal justice process, and the relationship between government and the nation. They established the Supreme Court—rightly or wrongly—as one of the most powerful institutions in our nation. Their tenure still has a powerful effect today.
But even fewer justices changed the course of the law. John Marshall was one. Antonin Scalia was another.
Scalia taught us that the law matters, that the law is the written word, and that the written word takes its meaning from how history understands it, not what we wish it might mean.
For him, the law was a tablet whose meaning could be discerned by focusing on the meaning of the words it contained, rather than by asking ourselves what we want it to mean. The latter, he said, was the stuff of politics, not law, and he drew a line in the sand between the two.
He maintained that view of a judge’s role even when it was unfashionable to hold that belief because it may lead to outcomes we may not like. But he believed that it was his duty to uphold the rule of law, because only that rule separated us from the many nations on the Earth governed by the rule of might.
Robert F. Kennedy once said that the privilege of public service carried with it the opportunity to bend history.
Not only did Antonin Scalia bend it; he turned it in a different direction. We will be forever grateful to him for that. Requiescat in pace.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia should not be replaced until after the presidential election.
Because McConnell sets the Senate schedule, and the upper chamber confirms Supreme Court nominations, his remarks signal the GOP’s intent to not confirm any nominee offered by President Obama.
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” he said in a statement. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.”
Democrats have already called on the Senate to take a vote on a nominee replacing Scalia, who died Saturday in Texas.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said it would be “unprecedented” for the Senate to wait until next year to confirm a new justice.
He added that it would be a “shameful abdication” of the Senate’s responsibility.
Speaking with host and Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon on Breitbart News Daily, Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos discussed the suppression of conservative voices by Twitter on the social media platform.
“Why are you beating up Twitter, and why are you saying that Twitter trying to suppress conservative voices, and why is Twitter’s stock in a total free fall because Milo’s taking them on?” Bannon asked. “Are you a bigger, badder guy than Jack Dorsey?”
“Yeah, of course I am,” Yiannopoulos replied mischievously. “I’m absolute convinced that Twitter is embarking on a war against conservative points of view, a war against what we might call ‘Generation Trump,’ the dissident, mischievous voices of the new counter-cultural alternative right wing and libertarian youth.”
“Look at who Twitter employs,” he warned in reference to Twitter possibly influencing the 2016 presidential election. “You know, this guy used to work with Hillary, this guy used to work with Obama…”
“This is why Obama ran the tables with Google and with Facebook,” Bannon agreed. “Let’s talk about Facebook for a second. Why is Facebook suppressing voices in the continent of Europe about immigration. Why is Zuckerberg in bed with Merkel?”
Referring to the story of Facebook teaming up with the German government to censor debate over the influx of Middle Eastern migrants, Yiannopoulos said, “This is what the left does all over the world. They’ll take ridicule and criticism and they’ll rebrand it as abuse and harrassment or hate speech in some way.”
The purpose of superdelegates was to save voters from political suicide, and while they have tended to follow public voting patterns in recent elections, 2016 could be different.
By Peter Grier, Staff writer FEBRUARY 11, 2016
Does Hillary Clinton have a secret weapon in her battle for the Democratic presidential nomination – “superdelegates” already pledged to support her?
Well, yes, yes she does. But in the end, they probably wouldn’t tip the balance in a close race with rival Bernie Sanders.
Superdelegates aren’t delegates with special powers. Their votes don’t count more than normal elected delegates. They won’t wear spandex or any kind of identifying costume at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
With the campaigns of Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) riding high after first and third-place showings in New Hampshire, some Republican insiders believe that this spring’s New Jersey primaries could see a substantial rise in conservative turnout from independents and the undecided. As Trump and Cruz maintain their leads against the GOP establishment’s deep bench, June could bring surprises in a primary that typically serves as a late stepping stone for candidates who have all but sealed up the nomination. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
By Jonathan Easley and Niall Stanage – 02/09/16 11:21 PM EST
MANCHESTER, N.H. — The Republican establishment has been plunged into disarray by Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, which revitalized Donald Trump’s campaign and muddled the chances for a centrist alternative to emerge.
The Granite State result is just about the worst possible one from the establishment’s perspective — ensuring the centrist vote will remain divided, with no candidate in that lane having momentum and a viable path to victory.
Trump won the Granite State resoundingly, being projected as the winner by multiple news organizations as soon as polls closed at 8 p.m. As of 11 p.m., he was way out in front, leading second-place John Kasich by a margin of more than two-to-one with 76 percent of precincts reporting.
Just as importantly, the primary delivered a heavy blow to Marco Rubio, stopping dead the momentum he had received from his strong third-place finish in last week’s Iowa caucuses.
Those two factors alone are enough to cause consternation among establishment Republicans, who hope to see Trump taken down by someone on their wavelength.
“The sense of urgency will certainly increase,” said Kevin Madden, a GOP strategist who advised 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Hillary Clinton’s high-powered press operation “blackmailed” reporters by promising perks in exchange for flattering coverage, according to a report Tuesday.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Gawker obtained an exchange of emails between Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines and Marc Ambinder, a writer for The Atlantic magazine, that demonstrated how the process worked.
Ambinder asked Reines on July 15, 2009, for an advance copy of a speech Clinton was to deliver at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Christie heading home to evaluate campaign’s future
By Ben Kamisar
Chris Christie said he is taking a pause from the campaign trail to “take a deep breath” and evaluate his presidential campaign’s future after a poor showing in New Hampshire.
“We are going to go home to New Jersey tomorrow, and we are going to take a deep breath, see what the final results are tonight, because that matters,” Christie said at a speech Tuesday night as the New Hampshire primary results poured in.
“We will make our next step forward based on the complete results in New Hampshire.”
Christie had banked his presidential hopes on New Hampshire. With about half of the votes counted, he is in sixth place.
If he fails to finish in the top five, he’ll likely miss the cut for Saturday’s GOP debate.
Chris Christie Expected to Formally End Presidential Bid as Early as Today
By JOSH MARGOLIN
JORDYN PHELPS
Feb 10, 2016, 10:53 AM
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to formally suspend his presidential campaign as early as today after he huddles with his closest advisers, ABC News has learned.
A statement announcing the suspension could come as soon as early this afternoon, according to a source briefed on Christie’s plans.
“We bet the ranch on New Hampshire, and no one ever anticipated the Trump phenomenon,” the source told ABC News. “He’s a realist.”
Christie’s New Hampshire campaign Chairman Wayne MacDonald, who is not involved in today’s deliberations but is familiar with the campaign’s strategy, said that qualifying for the next debate is likely a major factor in the deliberations.
And with the governor’s 6th place finish in New Hampshire, he does not qualify to make the stage.
A federal judge said Tuesday he was disturbed by the State Department’s failure to meet a deadline he ordered to finish the public release of 54,000 pages of email messages Hillary Clinton sent or received during her four years as secretary of state.
“The government has put me between a rock and a hard place….which is a position I don’t like to be in,” U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras said during a half-hour-long hearing Tuesday.
