By Ed O’Keefe and Matea Gold September 27 at 3:07 PM
Jeb Bush is entering a critical phase of his Republican presidential campaign, with top donors warning that the former Florida governor needs to demonstrate growth in the polls over the next month or face serious defections among supporters.
The warnings, expressed by numerous senior GOP fundraisers in recent days, come as Bush and an allied super PAC are in the early stages of an aggressive television ad campaign that they believe will help erase doubts about his viability.
But Bush continues to battle against a steady decline in the polls, sinking to fifth place at just 7 percent in a national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday and similarly languishing in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
The warnings from top donors come as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s exit from the race refocused the battle within the GOP’s establishment wing as one between Bush and his former protege, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Right now, the momentum appears to be behind Rubio, who has jumped ahead of Bush in most polls. At least a third of the bundlers who signed up to raise money for Walker have switched their allegiance to Rubio, while a smaller number have gone with Bush, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Bush is also facing fresh scrutiny for comments that critics say bear echoes of remarks Mitt Romney made during his 2012 GOP presidential bid, part of a pattern of awkward statements that have forced him or his campaign to clarify.
Rumors of Donald Trump’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
Ever since rival Carly Fiorina was widely perceived to have bested Trump at the second GOP debate in California on Sept. 16, media outlets have been lining up to suggest that the front-runner is waning.
Trump has hit back with characteristic vigor. But he has a point, independent observers say.
“The reality is that he does have a hold on some people and he doesn’t appear to be surrendering it,” said Mark Mellman, a veteran Democratic pollster who is also a columnist for The Hill.
Much of the negative media attention has been built around a single poll in the immediate aftermath of the debate, by CNN/ORC.
The survey showed the businessman’s support among Republican voters nationwide had declined by 8 percentage points since the last survey from the same source, less than two weeks before.
That was a sizable decline, to be sure — even though Trump still led his closest rival by 9 percentage points. But no other reputable poll since the debate has shown Trump falling by anything like that margin.
A survey from Fox News released earlier this week showed the businessman at 26 percent support nationally, an increase of 1 point since Fox’s last survey in mid-August. A Bloomberg poll gave him 21 percent — good enough for a 5-point lead over the field and an unchanged rating since the last poll from the financial news outlet at the beginning of August.
The picture is not substantially different in the crucial early states — and, in some cases, it is even better for Trump.
The Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) released a new survey from Iowa this week in which Trump polled at 24 percent — a 5-point rise over his showing in PPP’s previous poll of the Hawkeye State in the immediate aftermath of the first GOP debate on Aug. 6.
By Ralph Z. Hallow – The Washington Times – Sunday, September 27, 2015
With John Boehner now departing as House speaker, an influential Republican Party official is now seeking the ouster of another GOP leader who has frustrated conservatives: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“McConnell needs to resign!!” Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger Villere wrote in a Facebook posting.
Mr. Villere isn’t just any Republican. He’s the longest-serving state GOP chairman in the nation, with 12 years on the job, and is the vice chairman of the Republican National Committee, the GOP’s national governing body. He also serves on the RNC’s executive committee that makes decisions alongside Chairman Reince Priebus.
“Mitch is a good and honorable guy, but the base is leaving our party,” Mr. Villere said in an interview with The Washington Times. “I’m out in the field all the time and we have all our elections this year for state offices, and it’s hurting us tremendously with our elections.”
Aides for Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, did not return repeated calls and emails seeking comment. A spokeswoman for Mr. Priebus said he was unavailable Sunday.
School board addresses comments by teachers union leader
SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
BOE addresses union leader’s statements
To the Editor:
Mike Yannone, Ridgewood Education Association (REA) president, made several erroneous statements at the Sept. 21 Ridgewood Board of Education meeting that warrant response.
* A $2.5 million tax burden is being placed on teachers.
It is not a tax. State law known as “Chapter 78,” phased in over four years, requires that all public employees contribute towards their health benefits. The $2.5 million is the sum of this year’s contribution.
* The board passed a resolution to remove collective bargaining rights for teachers and did not provide it to the public.
Last March, the board approved a resolution asking that Chapter 78 be excluded from negotiations. This resolution was posted on the board and superintendent’s web pages at ridgewood.k12.nj.us within 24 hours of the board approving the meeting minutes.
* Contract negotiations are stalled due to a highly paid RBOE attorney spokesperson.
The RBOE has included an attorney on its negotiating team for over 15 years. He is an experienced, reasonably priced attorney. The REA’s negotiating team includes a NJEA representative. The REA collects over $650,000 annually from its members. Some of this money is used to pay NJEA for this service.
* The settlement of the contract is not the top board goal.
This is untrue. On Sept. 21, the RBOE approved a goal “to negotiate with the REA to settle a new contract.” It is a priority for this year.
* The district says its financial hands are tied, which is disrespectful to teachers.
The district’s annual budget is capped at 2 percent on the amount the tax levy can be increased. Law mandates this and it is the reality under which we operate. Disrespecting our staff is not part of the equation. We honor and appreciate the fine work of our staff.
* Each year the board hires new administrators who are doing less work.
In 2008, the board was forced to reduce administrative positions when all categorical state aid was cut. Over the last three years, we have rebuilt our administrative team. We have reinstated five administrators and added 33 teachers. Every staff member — administrators, teachers and support staff — are doing more work, not less.
Mr. Yannone asked if the RBOE was going to Atlantic City again at taxpayers’ expense. Yes, the Board of Education will attend the NJSBA workshop in October. Board members are the only New Jersey elected officials legally required to receive training. Workshop provides this training and opportunities to learn about best practices and hone leadership skills. The district pays for registration and accommodations.
The RBOE has high regard for our talented teaching staff and secretaries. The partnership with our teachers is a longstanding one that values their input in improving education for our students. In negotiating a contract, the board is mindful of the financial reality and tasked to balance this reality with the need to fairly compensate our teachers.
Dear Council Member,
I am a citizen and a voter of Ridgewood and am writing to urge you to “Vote No” to the high-density housing ordinances on September 30th.
A “Yes” vote risks diminishing our quality of life forever, creating urban-scaled developments that are entirely inconsistent with our town’s size and character.
For generations Ridgewood has taken great pains to protect the small town character of our community by smart zoning in both our business and residential districts. In one night, on September 30th, the Village Council could destroy the legacy and the trust of all these generations.
Amending the master plan to truly “spot zone” at the requests of a few developers is a mistake. And despite some council-member’s baseless claims of widespread support for high density zoning, it is NOT supported by a majority of residents. This was clearly evidenced by the landslide wins in the last council election for the two candidates who spoke openly against the high-density amendment.
The ordinances should be rejected because they will:
Forever change the small town feel of Ridgewood;
Potentially add too many kids to our schools, which are already full to capacity;
Worsen our existing parking and traffic crisis;
Risk increasing our excessive property taxes, if the developments do not succeed financially, or if more children live there than you estimated;
Over stress our limited water supply and aging infrastructure;
Overburden our maxed out ballfields and open spaces; and
Result in a cascade of me-too lawsuits from neighboring property owners who similarly wish to benefit from the profits to be attained from building a 35 unit per acre development in the Central Business District.
The Planning Board never did any comprehensive independent study on these changes. They relied far too heavily on biased data provided by developers. On the Council’s end, you have not done any financial studies (which are now allowed at the Planning Board level), to better gauge impacts on the Village. You don’t know the full impacts. As such, approvals on 9/30 will be reckless.
I will be paying close attention to YOUR VOTE on this crucial issue, which will strongly influence MY VOTE in the coming election.
Please do the right thing — stand with the overwhelming majority of citizens who oppose this risky plan and VOTE NO to the ordinances as they stand now.
In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg donated $100 million to Newark, New Jersey’s failing public-school system with the intention of turning around the schools in five years.
The goals Zuckerberg set out to achieve — to enact a number of reforms that would make Newark a model city for education reform — are widely seen as a failure, journalist Dale Russakoff told Business Insider.
So where exactly did that $100 million go if the turnaround was a failure?
Russakoff mapped the money trail in her new book “The Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools,” which tracked the five years since Zuckerberg’s donation.
The $100 million from Zuckerberg actually became $200 million under the agreement other sources would match his contribution. Here’s where that money went:
We are asking for your help this weekend to get the word out about the big vote on Wednesday. The future of our village is at stake.
Come join a group of enthusiastic volunteers TODAY and/or Sunday at 1:00 pm to help pass out flyers and talk to our fellow residents about the importance of showing up for Wednesday’s vote at Village Hall.
Many, many residents have written emails to the Mayor and Council (it’s not too late for you to write, too — see attachment), there were four compelling Letters to the Editor in the paper yesterday (see links below), and our cause has gone viral on Facebook. We have a lot of momentum going into Wednesday’s meeting, and we need all the help we can get to make one final push!!
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
When: Sat/Sun 1pm
Where: Northwest corner of Van Neste Park (Across from Raymond’s)
Why: Because this is the real rent we pay for living in a great democracy and a place like Ridgewood.
If you have kids, please bring them. This is a great opportunity to teach civic engagement.
If you plan to arrive, please email Dana at [email protected] or call 917-685-9056
If you can’t make it but want to be involved, email Dana as well.
Hope to see you out there this weekend — and at the Village Council meeting on WEDNESDAY!!
UPCOMING – A PERIOD BALL TO CELEBRATE THE 1876 AMERICAN CENTENNIAL! The North River Historical Dancers, a local historic dance troupe, is proud to present “A Centennial Ball 1776-1876” to kick off its 2015-16 class season at the Ridgewood Community School. The Ball will be held at the Willard School Auditorium, located at 601 Morningside Road, Ridgewood, NJ on Saturday evening, September 26, 2015 from 7:00 – 11:00 p.m. Be transported to another time or to your favorite historic film…. Enjoy live period music by The Gotham Gals – Julia Hartman (violin), Norma Castle (flute and percussion) and Robin Russell (piano) – and engage in dances that span the tumultuous decades from the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 through the Centennial Celebrations of 1876, called by troupe member Janice Wolk. The event is open to the public. All dances will be instructed– no experience necessary. Come alone, or bring a friend — or two — or three! There are no young children’s activities planned for this evening. Attire is period/period-inspired from Colonial to Victorian, or modern festive.
When a group confuses its politics with moral doctrine, it may have trouble comprehending how a decent human could disagree with its positions.
David Harsanyi | September 25, 2015
This week, for example, while thinking about the pope’s take on global warming, I tweeted out this comment: “Celebrate climate change, an externality of the greatest poverty destroying program in the history of mankind.” There is plenty to disagree with in my observation, I admit. Although I believe what I wrote to be true, I sent it out partly to elicit exactly the sort of reaction my tweet got—with one person calling me a psychopath (a Slate writer, not some anonymous critic) and another calling me sociopathic, among other things. I don’t mind the insults (perversely, in fact, I sort of enjoy them), but I do mind that the debate is over.
Conservatives may be ethically compromised, uninformed or—if liberals are in a generous mood—mentally unstable, but they can’t be for real. At least, that’s the sense I increasingly get from the left these days. Blame it on social media.
When a group confuses its politics with moral doctrine, it may have trouble comprehending how a decent human could disagree with its positions. This is probably why people confuse lecturing with debating and why so many liberals can bore into the deepest nooks of my soul to ferret out all those motivations but can’t waste any time arguing about the issue itself.
Are you also corrupt? Probably. Bought off by big oil, big food or big something or other? Washington is teeming with Manchurian candidates, because no one could possibly be this malicious on his own. Why should liberals debate a point when they can debate your imaginary sugar daddy? Why else would conservatives “hate workers”? Why would they “bet against America”? Why do they want to destroy democracy? Why would conservatives vote against their own interests? Someone pays them to lie.
Donald Trump said Friday it was time for Speaker John Boehner to go because he didn’t fight hard enough for conservative principles.
Mobbed by reporters outside the main ballroom at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington ahead of his speech to the Values Voters Summit, the front-runner for the 2016 GOP nomination said Boehner’s announced resignation was “a good thing.”
“I think it’s time, it’s a good thing,” Trump said. “Someone else will come in and maybe they’ll have a tougher attitude.”
Asked by The Hill if Boehner fought sufficiently for conservative principles, Trump responded: “No, he didn’t. Not enough.”
“I don’t think he’s a conservative,” the celebrity real estate tycoon said of Boehner.
“I think it’s time for him [to move on] and the party and everybody,” Trump added
The head of the National Security Agency told a Senate Committee on Thursday that Hillary Clinton’s former email setup would be an “opportunity” for the U.S. if it had been used by a top foreign diplomat.
“From a foreign intelligence perspective, that would represent opportunity,” Adm. Michael Rogers testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The server would be a “top priority for foreign intelligence services,” Rogers agreed in response to a question from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
The comments are only likely to deepen the political trouble for Clinton, the former secretary of State whose “home-brew” email setup has threatened to engulf her campaign for the White House.
Critics have long feared that Clinton’s decision to go outside of the State Department’s normal email protocol posed a security risk to the nation by making it easier for foreign spies to crack into her messages and steal potentially crucial diplomatic secrets. Those concerns have only been compounded by revelations that some of the information contained in her emails is now classified.
Rogers said he had “no knowledge” of whether or not NSA officials’ emails were contained among the tens of thousands of work-related messages on Clinton’s personal server, or if any NSA officials were aware of her personal server.
The intelligence chief repeatedly attempted to dodge questions about the email setup on Thursday, clearly aiming to stay above the political fray.
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT NOT ONLY WILL THE POPE BE VISITING NYC TOMORROW BUT SO WILL PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY WILL BE MEETING AND THERE IS A NY YANKEE HOME GAME AT 7PM
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015, 7:20 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015, 9:37 PM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
The investments made by New Jersey’s pension funds fell short of targets and well below the double-digit gains of recent years, but it still outperformed benchmarks, state officials said Wednesday.
And amid sustained criticism from unions and some legislators over increased spending on alternative investments – like hedge funds and private equity funds – the state’s investment returns were driven largely by those non-traditional accounts, officials said.
But the returns into the public employee pension fund aren’t enough to keep up with the flow of cash out every year to pay retirees, underscoring the need for greater contributions from the state, those officials said. Governor Christie has cut the state’s contributions the last three budgets amid declining revenues to the state, but his reduced payments compounded years of partial contributions to the fund by prior administrations, creating an unfunded liability today of between $40 billion and $80 billion, depending on the accounting source.
Ridgewood NJ, Former NY Giant Lawrence Taylor paid a visit to the Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood for some cigars and a few laughs before tonight’s game.
“Thanks to Lawrence Taylor and the CBS staff for stopping by for cigars. Look for Lawrence Taylor and our cigars tonight on CBS just before the Giants game kickoff”
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood | 10 Chestnut Street | Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Phone: 201-447-2204 | Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 5:30PM and Thursday Night 6:30PM -830pm
The FBI has recovered personal and work-related e-mails from the private computer server used by Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s success at salvaging personal e-mails that Clinton said had been deleted raises the possibility that the Democratic presidential candidate’s correspondence eventually could become public. The disclosure of such e-mails would likely fan the controversy over Clinton’s use of a private e-mail system for official business.
The FBI is investigating how and why classified information ended up on Clinton’s server. The probe probably will take at least several more months, according to the person, who described the matter on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing and deals with sensitive information.
A review by Clinton and her aides determined that about half of the 60,000 e-mails she exchanged during her four-year tenure as secretary of state were of a personal nature, the presidential candidate has said.
