Supply-side economist Arthur Laffer is predicting Republicans will win the White House in a landslide this year, regardless of the nominee.
“I would be surprised if the Republicans don’t take 45, 46, 47 states out of the 50,” Laffer told host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on New York’s AM-970 on Sunday.
“I mean, I think we’re going to landslide this election.”
Laffer, who served in various positions in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations, said he is bullish on the entire Republican primary field.
“When I look at these candidates, I don’t see one of them who wouldn’t do a great job as president,” he said.
“I think Donald Trump is phenomenal, I think Rand Paul has done a great job, I even like Jeb Bush — I think Jeb Bush is great, he did a wonderful job in Florida,” he added. “Chris Christie – phenomenal.”
He said Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Clinton’s “day is over.”
by STEPHEN K. BANNON & JULIA HAHN16 Dec 2015 Washington D.C
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)’s first major legislative achievement is a total and complete sell-out of the American people masquerading as an appropriations bill.Too harsh, you say? Let the programs, the spending, and the implications speak for themselves.
(1) Ryan’s Omnibus Fully Funds DACA
Though much of the public attention has surrounded the President’s 2014 executive amnesty, the President’s 2012 amnesty quietly continues to churn out work permits and federal benefits for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. Paul Ryan’s bill funds entirely this 2012 executive amnesty for “DREAMers”—or illegal immigrants who came to the country as minors.
Specifically, Division F of Ryan’s omnibus bill contains no language that would prohibit the use of funds to continue the President’s unconstitutional program. Obama’s executive action, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), has granted around 700,000 illegal aliens with work permits, as well as the ability to receive tax credits and federal entitlement programs. A recent GAO report documented how this illegal amnesty program for alien youth is, in large part, responsible for the illegal alien minor surge on our southern border.
In 2013, Paul Ryan said that it is his job as a U.S. lawmaker to put himself in the shoes of “the DREAMer who is waiting” and work to find legislative solutions to his or her problems.
Ridgewood Nj, What’s the best tool to defeat ISIS? Tuesday night’s candidates in the Republican debate kept citing the same tired approach: “Bomb the hell out of them” “Boots on the ground” Former Lt. Col Scott Mann says, “These are the same tired responses that have put us in danger at home”. The best tool to defeat ISIS is to fight them deep in their own safe haven by leveraging tribes against them.
Scott Mann, is a former Lt. Col and Green Beret. He is the CEO of Mission America and author of the best-selling novel “Game Changers”. He spent 23 years in the Army Special Forces Career involved in Foreign Internal Defense, Counter-insurgency, and Stability Missions. He served in the Special Operations for over 18 years and has been a Green Beret for over 15 years in combat deployments in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is one of the only former Lt. Col’s that is actively still involved in the day-to-day transition of Green Berets from active duty into civilian life.He has been quoted frequently and seen on MSNBC with Alex Witt, Fox News, Fox News Radio, among other high profile media appearances. As a reminder, he is based in Tampa and can come in via Satellite or Skype.
Lt. Col Mann spoke immediately after the GOP debate, along his thoughts on whether shutting down the LA school district was the right move in response to ‘threats’ and what if any solution is there to win the war on ISIS.
His positioning is below:
Recent Gallup poll indicates that Americans are more worried about terrorism than any other issue and more than any time in the last ten years. The San Bernardino shooter and the LA school district closure heightens this concern.
As ISIS taunts the closure on Twitter, there are more attacks to come and they will be ugly.
Tuesday night’s 2016 political debate candidates needed to show some skill in understanding these terrorists threat.
An informed populous on new terror realities will be key to national security in 2016.
The school scare is a reminder of how serious the ISIS threat is here at home.
Every day we spend dabbling in political correctness and equivocating attacks as lone wolf and not that big of a deal gives our enemy to plot violence against our schools, communities and work sites.
We need informed citizens who are leaning forward to better understand how ISIS operates abroad and at home.
Only then can we demand the same of our politicians.
Celebrity businessman appeals to nonreligious voters who don’t believe politicians can get U.S. back on track
By
AARON ZITNER and
DANTE CHINNI
Dec. 4, 2015 6:38 p.m. ET
527 COMMENTS
Donald Trump has built his leading position in the Republican primary race by bringing together an underappreciated segment of the GOP—blue-collar voters who aren’t especially animated by social issues—and who may be setting the stage for an unusual, three-person sprint to the nomination.
Mr. Trump’s appeal is a form of secular populism rarely seen in Republican primary races, and one he is pressing in part with appearances in working-class communities in Iowa that include independent voters and even Democrats who may be lured into the caucuses. The celebrity businessman’s message appears to resonate among voters who believe most strongly that political leaders are unable to put the nation back on track.
Past nominating contests have often boiled down to two-person races in which an establishment-backed front-runner beats a socially conservative candidate who appeals to working-class voters—a role Rick Santorum filled in 2012, as did Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Pat Buchanan in 1996.
Now, Mr. Trump appears to be opening a new, third lane in the GOP, drawing on a large share of voters who don’t have a college degree and don’t identify strongly with the party’s touchstone social issues, such as opposition to abortion rights and gay marriage.
That raises the prospect that the 2016 contest could narrow to a three-person race featuring the leading choice of social conservatives, the top pick of the party’s establishment wing of centrists and business-friendly Republicans—and Mr. Trump.
Polling shows the unusual nature of Mr. Trump’s coalition, which has kept him at the front of the pack in national and early-primary state polls far longer than any nontraditional candidate in 2012.
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.
“Today the Bergen Record covered the road from my illness through my recovery. I shared my story in part to bring awareness to the public of brain aneurysms. Towards that goal, I am announcing my newest endeavor. I have agreed to join the board of The Lisa Colagrossi Foundation. The newly formed Foundation was started by Todd Crawford who lost his wife Lisa Colagrossi, a popular newscaster, after she suffered a brain aneurysm earlier this year. The Foundation’s focus will be to raise awareness and educate individuals to warning signs and treatment options for brain aneurysms.
The Foundation recently launched the “Lucky 7” challenge. The effort is a one-of-a-kind national fundraising campaign that will directly fund brain aneurysm awareness, education, research and support initiatives across the country. “Lucky 7” encourages individuals and businesses to make donations that include the number 7, Lisa’s favorite number and the network she worked for in New York City.
For more information about The Lisa Colagrossi Foundation, Holly Schepisi’s board announcement, the “Lucky 7” challenge and information about brain aneurysms please visit www.LisasLegacy7.org. “Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi
Mountains to climb: North Jersey lawmaker tells of her road back after brain aneurysm
NOVEMBER 8, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2015, 12:59 AM
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
On a Saturday in March, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi felt her left arm go numb. It was cold out, and she’d just given a speech at a rally to oppose oil trains crossing the Oradell Reservoir. Soon she felt like her tongue was swelling. She quietly excused herself.
At home, she felt “as if the synapses in my brain were misfiring,” she said. It was like “someone was pressing Bubble Wrap in my brain.” As she sat with her young son, her left side went numb.
“I felt like I was in the movie ‘The Matrix,’ popping in and out of reality,” she said. She jumped out of her chair. “Something is really wrong,” she told her husband.
Bergen County GOP Chairman Bob Yudin
Citing four years of losses, GOP officials call on Bergen chairman to step down
NOVEMBER 4, 2015, 9:20 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2015, 10:30 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Citing four years of losses by their party in Bergen County elections, three Republicans officials Wednesday called on County Chairman Bob Yudin to step down, including one – Wyckoff Mayor Kevin Rooney – who announced plans to challenge him for the job.
Yudin dismissed the critics, saying that such comments were to be expected after a defeat. He blamed the party’s losses in Tuesday’s freeholder election largely on being outspent 7-1 by the Democrats.
“It’s almost impossible for us to win county wide because of the huge sums that are coming in,” Yudin said Wednesday, citing support the Democrats got from labor unions.
Posted by Matthew Gilson On November 04, 2015 1 Comment
By Matthew Gilson | The Save Jersey Blog
Let’s dive right in, Save Jerseyans…
#1 – District 36 Got Even More Republican Locally
While things were dicey across the county, Republicans once again exceeded expectations in District 36, sweeping all the competitive races. The surprise of the night came in Wallington where two Republican challengers will join Chris Sinisi andSharon Robie on the council in January to create the first Republican majority in the town in decades.
In Carlstadt, though not unexpected Councilman Craig Lahullier scored a landslide victory along with his running mates to keep the town in firm Republican hands. Rutherford proved another solid victory for Mayor Joe DeSalvo and his team who now hold a 4-2 advantage on the council. While expected, it is nonetheless amazing that North Arlington, a town where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-1, will now be completely Republican controlled as top vote-getter Brian Fitzhenry and his team clobbered the Democratic incumbents.
District 36 GOP’ers cleaned-up on a night with not a lot to be excited about elsewhere. They are the model for which the entire county should be running elections.
#2 – John Cosgrove Did More Than Enough to Cement Himself to Take on Bob Gordon
He may not have carried his running mates, but Mayor John Cosgrove was hundreds of votes ahead of his nearest Democratic competitor. I noted earlier that a big victory would set up Cosgrove to take on Gordon in 2017, and he put on a show made even more impressive by the fact that it was a dismal night for many in towns near him.
Republicans lost in the neighboring District 38 towns including Paramus and Glen Rock. While the lost Republican seats will be our top targets in 2017, Cosgrove gives Republicans a top-flight candidate to take on Gordon. Much like the “Scarpa or bust” chants of this year, the discussion of who should take on Gordon begins and ends with Cosgrove. But speaking of popular mayors in the swing district….
#3 – Popular Candidates Can Still Beat Machines
Nothing put on a smile on my face more than the re-election of Norman Schmelz in Bergenfield. Norman is truly one of the good guys and a dedicated mayor, but he faced an onslaught of dirty attacks by his opponents including a full-blown attack website. Knowing the overwhelming Democratic tilt of the town, Democrats tried to tie Norman to Chris Christie, Scott Garrett, Anthony Cappola and stopped just short of portraying him as a patsy of Nucky Thompson. Through the onslaught, through the excessive spending gap, through the bad night for everyone else, Norman Schmelz still eeked out a victory and proved good guys and popular candidates can still win.
A preliminary report from New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission reveals that county party coffers during state elections have seen a continuing slump during this year’s elections. The release cites the growth of independent PAC spending, limitations on contributions from public contractors, and overall contribution limits that have not kept pace with the rate of inflation. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
OCTOBER 31, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2015, 9:21 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The candidates for Bergen County freeholder stuck close to the core issues of their campaigns in their third and final debate Friday evening.
Democratic incumbents Steve Tanelli, Tracy Zur and Thomas Sullivan talked about saving money and making government more efficient by folding the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office. But they also spoke about having restored funds for education and the need to improve transportation and deal with the heroin epidemic.
Republican challengers John Mitchell, Ken Tyburczy and Daisy Ortiz-Berger hammered away at their main issues of property taxes, spending and debt. They vowed to reduce taxes through a “zero-based” budget process that requires every dollar be justified and a 1-percent cap on increases in new spending.
And Libertarian Peter Rohrman pledged to cut programs such as senior lunches, sell Bergen Regional Medical Center and privatize other county services. He also reiterated his call for an investigation into complaints against the office of Prosecutor John Molinelli, who indicated this week that he expects to step down soon after being informed he is being replaced by Governor Christie.
Zur said fostering more shared services is the key to controlling spending. “That is the only way we’re going to keep taxes down,” she said. She also cited the need for more job creation.
Tyburczy countered that high property taxes are driving jobs out of the county.
“I believe if we can get the debt down, we can create jobs,” he said.
Rohrman noted that freeholders from both parties unanimously approved a budget that increased taxes by 4.3 percent this year.
“Libertarians like to say ‘No,’” he said. “I will not vote for any increases.”
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.
BY ANDREW TAYLOR AND ERICA WERNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker John Boehner is trying to make one last deal as he heads for the exits, pushing to finalize a far-reaching, two-year budget agreement before handing Congress’ top job over to Paul Ryan this week, congressional officials said Monday.
The deal, in concert with a must-pass increase in the federal borrowing limit, would solve the thorniest issues awaiting Ryan, who is set to be elected speaker on Thursday. It would also take budget showdowns and government shutdown fights off the table until after the 2016 presidential election, a potential boon to Republican candidates who might otherwise face uncomfortable questions about messes in the GOP-led Congress.
Congress must raise the federal borrowing limit by Nov. 3 or risk a first-ever default, while money to pay for government operations runs out Dec. 11 unless Congress acts. Top House and Senate aides have been meeting with White House officials in search of a deal that would give both the Pentagon and domestic agencies budget relief in exchange for cuts elsewhere in the budget.
The measure under discussion would suspend the current $18.1 trillion debt limit through March 2017. After that it would be reset by the Treasury Department to reflect borrowing over that time.
This weekend was an inflection point in the Republican presidential race — a moment in which some significant part of the GOP establishment came out of denial and realized Donald Trump might well become their party’s nominee.
“The Republican establishment, for the first time, is saying, off the record, this guy can win,” noted Joe Scarborough on MSNBC Monday morning. “I’ve heard that from everybody. I don’t hear anybody saying he can’t win the nomination anymore.”
That doesn’t mean Republicans have made their peace with a Trump victory. On the contrary — some are preparing to do whatever it takes to bring him down. Which could lead to an extraordinary scenario in which GOP stalwarts go to war to destroy their own party’s likely nominee.
Poll: Trump Hits Highest Mark Yet, But Carson Is Close Behind
by CARRIE DANN
Real estate mogul Donald Trump remains the front-runner in the Republican presidential field, while former neurosurgeon Ben Carson holds a close second place, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows.
With the backing of 25 percent of Republican primary voters, Trump is at his highest level of support in the poll since entering the 2016 race. Carson now gets the support of 22 percent of Republican voters, remaining within the margin of error of his first-place rival. Last month, 21 percent of GOP primary voters said Trump was their first choice for the party’s nomination, while 20 percent picked Carson.
AG’s Office Denies Dems’ Effort to Prevent Voters from Having LD38 Cappola Option
Bergen County Democratic Committee Counsel Carmine Alampi today fired off a letter to judges in Bergen and Passaic counties requesting that the LD38 voting machine levers be locked to prevent general election voters from being able to record a vote for Anthony Cappola. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
Assembly Speaker Prieto Denounces Bramnick for Stance on Cappola
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32) issued a statement Thursday speaking out against Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-21), who said during a press conference Wednesday that he would not be taking further steps to remove Assembly candidate Anthony Cappola from the ballot in the 38th district. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
Doherty’s Official Endorsement of Trump for President
Today Donald J. Trump announced the endorsement of his presidential candidacy by state Senator Mike Doherty (R-23). Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
OCTOBER 15, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015, 6:51 AM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Republican support for Governor Christie’s White House bid has dropped by 50 percent in New Jersey over the past two months, while an increasing percentage of the state’s conservatives is backing national front-runner Donald Trump, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released Thursday.
And on Wednesday, Trump announced the endorsement of a Republican state senator, Michael Doherty, who said he thinks the business mogul’s views on foreign affairs can, as Trump’s campaign slogan goes, “make America great again.”
Doherty, a Warren County conservative who has openly clashed with Christie, is among the growing number of New Jersey Republicans and “GOP-leaning” registered voters backing Trump’s nomination for president. The poll reported 32 percent of those voters support Trump, up from 21 percent in August. Those conservative voters also put contenders Dr. Ben Carson and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas ahead of Christie for the nomination.
In the August poll, Christie had the support of 12 percent of conservative voters in New Jersey. Now that support is down to 5 percent, even with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was the national front-runner until Trump entered the race, according to Thursday’s poll.
