Category: 2016

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Trump Rides a Blue-Collar Wave

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Fifty-five percent of his supporters are white working-class.

By WILLIAM A. GALSTON
Nov. 17, 2015 6:34 p.m. ET

The biggest surprise of the presidential election so far is the emergence and persistent strength of Donald Trump. Although Ben Carson is remarkable in many respects, he is the latest iteration of a familiar figure in Republican primary campaigns: the favored candidate of conservative evangelicals.

By contrast, Mr. Trump is the staunchest champion of the white working class that American politics has seen in decades.

Thanks to a recently released survey, a collaboration between the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institution, we can now identify with much greater precision the sources of Mr. Trump’s support and the sentiments of his supporters.

Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 39% of the white working class backs Mr. Trump, twice his share of white college-educated voters. Fifty-five percent of his supporters are white working class, compared with 35% for the rest of the Republican field and only 32% for Mr. Carson.

Among Mr. Trump’s white working-class supporters, the demographic group most likely to back him is composed of men ages 50-64, with no more than a high-school education. Compared with other groups in the PRRI-Brookings survey, these men are the least likely to believe that immigrants strengthen the U.S. and the most likely to believe that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. More than other voters, they are disturbed by the rising prevalence of non-English speakers in the U.S. And many blame Chinese imports and corporate outsourcing for U.S. job losses.

The outlook of core Trump supporters also reflects an identity shaped by class and race. These voters are least likely to say that government is looking out for the interests of the middle class or of white men, and the most likely to affirm that there is discrimination against these groups. Fifty-three percent believe that police officers generally treat blacks and other minorities the same as whites.

Mr. Trump’s working-class supporters espouse classic populist sentiments. Seven in 10 say that everyday Americans, not the “experts,” best understand what the government should do. By a 2-to-1 margin, they believe that politics and elections are controlled by people with money and by big corporations. Forty-four percent say that too many people today are afraid to say what they really think; no wonder Mr. Trump’s castigation of political correctness has achieved such resonance.

A comparison of Mr. Trump’s core supporters with white college-educated Republicans and Republican-leaning independents highlights the distinctive sentiments of white working-class Americans. Only 30% believe that immigrants strengthen the country, compared with 51% of whites with college degrees. Fully 60% of Republican-leaning white working-class voters believe that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks, compared with only 36% of white college-educated voters who are likely to participate in Republican primaries and caucuses. Fifty-three percent believe that blacks would be better off if they just tried harder; 42% of whites with more education thought that way.

Among white working-class voters surveyed, 72% believe that the Confederate flag symbolizes Southern pride rather than racism; only 45% of white college-educated voters agree.

The survey’s most striking finding is the loss of optimism among white working-class voters with Republican leanings: 62% believe that the country has changed for the worse since the 1950s, and only 42% believe that America’s best days lie ahead. Sixty-eight percent believe that hard work and determination are no guarantee of success for most people. In this respect, white working-class voters are in harmony with white college-educated voters (58%) and the electorate as a whole (64%). The long stagnation of wages and household incomes has eroded belief in the American dream.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-rides-a-blue-collar-wave-1447803248

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Christie says he’ll ‘never’ approve giving drivers licenses to undocumented N.J. residents

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Drivers Licenses For Undocumented Immigrants Clears Assembly Panel

Legislation that would grant driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants passed the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee in a 3-2 voteon Monday. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ.com Read more

Christie on Drivers’ Licenses for Undocumenteds: ‘Dangerous and Irresponsible’

As the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee considers drivers’ licenses for undocumented workers, Gov. Chris Christie issued qa statement in opposition. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com Read more

 

By Claude Brodesser-Akner | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com TRENTON

TRENTON — As Gov. Chris Christie mulls a bid for the White House, some of his positionson immigration may be evolving. But one remains steadfastly the same.

“I’m not giving driver’s licenses to people who are undocumented. That’s it,” Christie said flatly, speaking on his monthly radio show on New Jersey 101.5.

Christie called the state-issued driver’s license “the single most important form of identification. It gets you onto airplanes. … I cannot give driver’s licenses to people who I cannot be sure who they are … and I’ve had that position right from the beginning.”

Christie was named U.S. Attorney for New Jersey on September 10, 2001. The 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred on his second day on the job.

“When it first happened … all I could think about was the job — what is this going to mean?” Christie told The Associated Press on the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks in 2011.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/christie_says_hell_never_approve_giving_drivers_li.html

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Cruz: Obama is ‘not interested’ in protecting the U.S.

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November 14, 2015, 05:04 pm
By Devin Henry

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says he thinks President Obama is “not interested” in protecting the United States from terror attacks.

“I recognize that Barack Obama does not wish to defend this country. He may have been tired of war, but our enemies are not tired of killing us,” Cruz said in a “Fox and Friends” interview.

“They are getting stronger. Every region on Earth has gotten worse under the Obama-Clinton foreign policy.”

Cruz, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, accused the president of ignoring the threats posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in light of a coordinated set of attacks in Paris on Friday.

He said Obama and Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, are “ideologues” who “don’t recognize that enemies of America want to kill us.”

Cruz’s interview came after an attack in Paris left at least 129 people dead Friday. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/260177-cruz-obama-is-not-interested-in-protecting-the-us

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FBI head doubles down on ‘Ferguson effect’

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By Julian Hattem – 11/13/15 02:15 PM EST

Weeks after a sharp rebuke from the White House, FBI Director James Comey is sticking to his claim that putting police under a microscope is leading to an uptick in crime.

On Thursday, Comey delivered remarks at an FBI field office in Kansas City, Mo., that echoed his previous concerns linking extra scrutiny on police to what he describes as a lack of enthusiasm to tackle violent crime.

“Hundreds of police officers and chiefs” have told Comey that the prospect of getting caught on camera and turned into a viral YouTube video have made them less willing to do their jobs, he said.

“’We are making arrests, we are doing our jobs,’” police tell Comey, he said, according to a pair oflocal news reports.

“’Where we are stepping back a little bit is at the margins, where we might otherwise have gotten out of our cars and talked to a group. We’re not doing that so much anymore because we don’t feel like being that guy in the video.’”

Following the Royals’ victory in the World Series this year, the FBI head used a baseball analogy to make his point.

If Major League Baseball decided to pay special attention to pitchers who throw inside and happened to hit a couple of batters, Comey explained, they would “move the ball a little closer towards the center of the plate.”

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/260080-fbi-head-doubles-down-on-ferguson-effect

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FBI steps up interviews in Clinton email probe

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Questions focus on whether State officials improperly sent classified material.
By RACHAEL BADE
11/10/15 05:14 AM EST

Even as Hillary Clinton tries to put questions about her private email server behind her, the FBI has stepped up inquiries into the security of the former secretary of state’s home-made email system and how aides communicated over email, POLITICO has learned.

The FBI’s recent moves suggest that its inquiry could have evolved from the preliminary fact-finding stage that the agency launches when it receives a credible referral, according to former FBI and Justice Department officials interviewed by POLITICO.

“This sounds to me like it’s more than a preliminary inquiry; it sounds like a full-blown investigation,” said Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI. “When you have this amount of resources going into it …. I think it’s at the investigative level.”

The FBI declined to respond to questions about the scope of its ongoing work.

But POLITICO learned that around early October, the FBI requested documents from a company involved in the server arrangement after Clinton left State. It also interviewed a former high-ranking policy official at State about the contents of top Clinton aides’ emails.

The official, who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, said the questions explored whether anyone at State was concerned about classified information being put at risk by communicating via email. The source did not know of any such concerns.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/hillary-clinton-email-fbi-probe-215630#ixzz3r75cWrtt

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Carson thanks ‘biased media’ for $3.5M fundraising haul

Ben Carson

By Jordan Fabian

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson claims his campaign has pulled in $3.5 million in fundraising dollars this week thanks to “biased media” coverage.

“We the People have made 10,000 donations each day this week, raising $3.5M this week alone. Thank you biased media,” Carson tweeted Saturday.

Carson’s dig at the media comes amid heightened scrutiny of the his extraordinary life story as he has risen to the top of the GOP primary polls.

A Politico report claimed Carson fabricated a story from his youth about being offered a full scholarship to attend West Point. Another report from CNN questioned whether the candidateembellished tales of his violent upbringing in Detroit.

Carson reacted with fury Friday, accusing the media of conducting a “witch hunt” against him.

“Here’s my prediction: My prediction is that all of you guys piling on is actually going to help me, because when I go out to these book signings and I see these thousands of people, they say, ‘Don’t let the media get you down,’ ” he said.

“They understand that this is a witch hunt.”

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/259469-carson-thanks-biased-media-for-35m-fundraising-haul

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Chris Christie’s emotional speech about drug addiction is going viral

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Colin Campbell
Nov. 5, 2015, 8:07 AM

In a video posted a few days ago, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey (R) delivered a passionate and emotional speech about addiction.

The video is really taking off — accumulating over 5 million views through The Huffington Post’s Facebook page alone, as well as being repeatedly featured on cable news.

“My mother was a smoker,” the 2016 presidential candidate began in the video. “She smoked her whole life. She was addicted to nicotine.

“We know the lung cancer was caused by the smoking,” Christie said. “But no one came to me and said, ‘Hey listen, your mother was dumb. She started smoking when she was 16. Then after we told her it was bad for her, she kept doing it. … She’s getting what she deserves.’ No one said that.”

https://www.businessinsider.com/chris-christie-drug-addiction-speech

Chris Christie’s emotional speech

https://www.chrischristie.com/addiction-2?t=fbpost

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As Benghazi inquiry fades, Clinton still faces legal questions about emails

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FBI examines handling of sensitive information during former secretary’s term

At least 671 emails she sent or received now contain classified information

State Department releases latest batch of Democratic presidential hopeful’s emails

BY ANITA KUMAR AND GREG GORDON

McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON

Hillary Clinton appears to have overcome an investigation of her role in the 2012 deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, but she still faces a months-long FBI inquiryinto the handling of sensitive information while she was secretary of state.

The FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, which opened its review this summer after classified information was found in emails transmitted over Clinton’s private email server, is under pressure to act quickly, as Clinton is in the midst of running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.

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Trump lays out plan to reform Veterans Affairs

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October 31, 2015, 01:17 pm
By David McCabe

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Saturday announced a plan to reform the veterans health system at a rally in Norfolk, Va.

“We’re going to take care of those wounded warriors and we’re going to take care of our vets better than anybody.”he said, speaking in front the USS Wisconsin — the same spot where now-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was formally introduced as Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012.

Trump promised that in his administration, veterans would receive better healthcare more quickly.

“The plan will ensure our veterans get the care they need, wherever and whenever they need it,” he said.

Trump said that he would institute policies that would see Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities competing with non-VA hospitals. He said that under his plan, any veteran could go to a doctor that accepts Medicare and receive care.

In a winding indictment of the VA system, he targeted Veterans Health Administration hospitals that came under fire in the last year for keeping long wait lists of veterans who needed crucial care.

“Think about me going to my doctor’s office and waiting four days,” he said. “If I wait 15 minutes, I’m angry as hell at the doctor.”

Trump said the VA system needed to be maintained but reformed.

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/258755-trump-lays-out-plan-to-reform-veterans-affairs

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RNC pulls out of NBC debate

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October 30, 2015, 01:00 pm
By Ben Kamisar and Jonathan Easley

The Republican National Committee on Friday pulled out of a planned Feb. 26 debate with NBC News amidst a revolt by candidates after Wednesday’s CNBC debate.

“While debates are meant to include tough questions and contrast candidates’ visions and policies for the future of America, CNBC’s moderators engaged in a series of ‘gotcha’ questions, petty and mean-spirited in tone, and designed to embarrass our candidates,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus wrote in a letter to NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack.

Since CNBC is an NBC Universal property, “We are suspending the partnership with NBC News” for its Feb. 26 debate.

Priebus’s email panned CNBC for “inaccurate or downright offensive” questions, specifically singling out a question to Donald Trump, who was asked whether he was running a “comic book” version of a presidential campaign.

“What took place Wednesday night was not an attempt to give the American people a greater understanding of our candidates’ policies and ideas.

Debates can mean big money for networks, which charge premium prices to advertise for the event. CNBC reportedly charged about $250,000 for a 30-second ad during Wednesday night’s debate — similar to reported prices for the previous CNN debate.

The decision is the RNC’s response to the rumbling of complaints that bubbled over during the debate, when Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and other bashed the moderators for political bias and unfair questions. Immediately after the debate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s campaign manager confronted the network backstage over how little time his candidate received.

GOP front-runner Donald Trump came out in support of the RNC’s decision Friday afternoon.

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/258673-rnc-pulls-out-of-nbc-debate

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Television News Network Lobbyists Are Fundraising for Hillary Clinton

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Oct. 29 2015,
Lee Fang

Over the last two presidential debates, both Democratic and Republican candidates have asserted that the television news media is biased and has done a poor job informing voters of the most pressing issues in the election.

And while their focus is on things like the type of questions asked by debate moderators, they are overlooking much clearer signs of potential conflicts of interest. Fundraising disclosures released this month and in July reveal that lobbyists for media companies are raising big money for establishment presidential candidates, particularly Hillary Clinton.

The giant media companies that shape much of the coverage of the presidential campaign have a vested stake in the outcome. From campaign finance laws that govern how money is spent on advertising to the regulators who oversee consolidation rules, the media industry has a distinct policy agenda, and with it, a political team to influence the result.

The top fundraisers for Clinton include lobbyists who serve the parent companies of CNN and MSNBC.

The National Association of Broadcasters, a trade group that represents the television station industry, has lobbyists who are fundraising for both Clinton and Republican candidate Marco Rubio.

Presidential campaigns are obligated by law to send the Federal Election Commission a list of lobbyists who serve as “bundlers,” collecting hundreds of individual checks on behalf of a candidate’s campaign.

CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, is represented on Capitol Hill by SteveElmendorf, an adviser to Clinton during her 2008 campaign, who is also known as “one of Washington’s top lobbyists.” He’s lobbied on a number of issues important for media companies like CNN, including direct-to-consumer advertising policy.

Elmendorf, according to disclosures, has raised at least $141,815 for Clinton’s 2016 bid for the presidency.

Comcast, the parent company of NBC Universal, which includes cable networks NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC, has a number of lobbyists on retainer who are working to raise cash for the Clinton campaign, including Justin Gray, Alfred Mottur, Ingrid Duran and Catherine Pino.

Much of the $5 billion expected to be spent over the course of the 2016 presidential election cycle will be on cable and network news advertisements. The election-related spending bonanza is singularly boosting the profit margins of many media companies, as we’ve reported.

“Super PACs may be bad for America, but they’re very good for CBS,” LesMoonves, president and chief executive of CBS, memorably said.

 

https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/media-fundraisers-presidential/

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Republican debate runs off the rails and turns into all-out war as Trump bashes John Kasich, Jeb hits his protege Marco Rubio, and EVERYONE hammers CNBC’s moderators for losing control

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CNBC hosts progressively lost control of the event
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz turned openly hostile, accusing them all of being Democrats intent on damaging the GOP field
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie soon piled on the network
Donald Trump wrapped up his night by claiming he had strong-armed them into shortening the debate ‘so we can get the hell out of here’
‘CNBC should be ashamed of how this debate was handled,’ Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus said

By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN BOULDER, COLORADO

PUBLISHED: 14:44 EST, 28 October 2015 | UPDATED: 06:35 EST, 29 October 2015

Donald Trump tangled with Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Jeb Bush called on Marco Rubio – his political protege – to resign his U.S. Senate seat in Wednesday’s Republican debate which turned into a steel cage match in Colorado.

As the CNBC hosts progressively lost control of the event, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz turned openly hostile, accusing them all of being Democrats intent on damaging the GOP field.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie soon piled on the network, with Trump wrapping up his night by claiming he had strong-armed them into shortening the debate ‘so we can get the hell out of here.’

The evening event in Boulder was billed as a purely economic discussion but turned into a referendum on America’s political media, making the Republican-on-Republican rhetorical violence a secondary sideshow.

Claims of media bias became a major theme of the night, with Cruz letting loose the night’s first scathing barrage against moderators Carl Quintanilla, Becky Quick and John Harwood.

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3294016/Republican-debate-runs-rails-turns-war-Donald-Trump-bashes-John-Kasich-Jeb-Bush-hits-protege-Marco-Rubio-hammers-CNBC-s-moderators-losing-control.html#ixzz3pxPMONFE

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Hillary Clinton: The fat cats’ favorite candidate

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By Post Editorial Board
October 25, 2015 | 9:45pm

Fire-breathing scourge of Wall Street on the campaign trail — and reliable friend of Wall Street in the boardroom. That’s Hillary Clinton — and the big-money crowd thinks it’s in on the game.

For all her populist rhetoric against hedge-funders and the like, Clinton has received more donations from CEOs than any candidate in the GOP — you know, the party of the greedy rich.

More than 760 of Clinton’s presidential donors have listed their occupation as CEO or some variation, according to a Big Crunch analysis of federal election forms.

That’s as many as have given to Republican hopefuls Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz combined.

And it doesn’t even include people like hedge-fund CEO Robert Mercer, who prefers to list himself as a “financial consultant” — or those who’ve given instead to pro-Hillary super-PACs. (Or all the folks who’ve bought goodwill over the years by giving to the Clinton Foundation.)

Surprising? No. We’re talking about a woman who’s made millions from hefty six-figure fees for speeches to, among others, groups headed by those same CEOs.

https://nypost.com/2015/10/25/hillary-clinton-the-fat-cats-favorite-candidate/

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Rep. Jim Jordan Goes After Hillary: ‘Where’d the False Narrative Start? It Started With You’

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by Andrew Husband | 1:40 pm, October 22nd, 2015

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan took issue with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton‘s comment that protests had erupted in both Cairo, Egypt and Benghazi, Libya, citing evidence from the House Select Committee’s investigation stating that no protest of any kind had occurred in Benghazi. He then went on to quote from various State Department spokespersons who, in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2012 attack, claimed that the incident in Benghazi was linked to the Cairo-based protest, which was a reaction to an offensive online video.

“Where’d the false narrative start? It started with you, Madame Secretary,” said Jordan, adding that a statement released by Clinton the night of the attack suggests as much. “At 10:08, with no evidence. At 10:08, before the attack is over. At 10:08, when Tyrone Woods andGlen Doherty are still on the roof of the annex fighting for their lives, the official statement of the State Department blames a video. Why?”

Clinton proceeded to emphasize her official statement’s use of the phrase “some have sought,” which described the efforts of a small group to use the video as a means of inciting anti-American sentiments in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere in the region. “I used those words deliberately. Not to ascribe a motive to every attacker, but as a warning to those across the region that there was no justification for further attacks.

 

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/rep-jim-jordan-goes-after-hillary-whered-the-false-narrative-start-it-started-with-you/

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Gowdy Grills Hillary Over Blumenthal Influence on Libya Policy

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2:24 PM, OCT 22, 2015 • BY MICHAEL WARREN

Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the House’s select committee investigating the Benghazi attacks, spent several minutes at Thursday’s hearing questioning former secretary of state Hillary Clinton over the unusual advisory relationship she had with an old friend who had business interests iin Libya.

Gowdy’s line of questioning, which built on questions from previous Republican members of the committee, explored Clinton’s email exchanges with Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime Clinton friend who was blocked from taking a job at the State Department by Barack Obama. Blumenthal had been passing along information about Libya to Clinton on her personal email address.

In her testimony, Clinton claimed that the advice from Blumenthal was “unsolicited” but later said that the missives were only unsolicited in the beginning of their exchange.

Watch the entire exchange, in two videos, below:

https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/gowdy-grills-hillary-over-blumenthal-influence-libya-policy_1051070.html