While the hullabaloo about Donald and the
debates were entertaining, the real powers controlling the
Republican party were meeting last weekend in Orange County, CA. Their
abuse of power covers many sins, including assault and battery…
Monday, August 10, 2015
Trump Goes On MSNBC And Declares War On Fox News
Trump is taking his feud with Fox News to a new level as he went
on MSNBC and blasted the network’s lack of professionalism in what can
be best be described as a declaration of war.
Trump was asked if he is going to get into a “slugfest” with Megyn Kelly.
He answered:
You know, I don’t care. It’s not that important
to me to be honest with you. You know, I have a life. I have a good
life. It’s ok. If she feels that she wants to do it that way, that’s ok
with me, but I just don’t think it’s very professional. I do say this, I
was listening to you folks, and Joe before if you’re going to do that
to me, I think its great but you have to do it to everyone else, or ease
it up. But you can’t to it to Trump. I walked out of that room and
people were saying that was really unfair. And if you look at Twitter, I
mean Twitter, it’s all over the place. It’s the number one story on
Twitter now about the unfair treatment, so it wasn’t just Joe and a
couple of the folks I’m talking to right now that saw it. People thought
it was very unfair.
Now, can I live with that? Yes. I’m very
surprised at Fox News that they would do that because, you know, I would
say it’s pretty unprofessional.
By repeatedly calling out Fox News for
unprofessional behavior, Trump was declaring war on Fox. Even as he said
that he can live it, Trump couldn’t resist taking shots at Fox. The
ratings demonstrated that Fox News needs Trump a lot more than
the reality television star needs Fox News.
The Fox News debate set a cable record with 24
million viewers, but how many of those 24 million tuned in for Trump?
The fact of the matter is that the debate would have drawn a much
smaller audience without Trump. The lesson that cable news is likely to
have learned from the debate is that Trump brings ratings.
Everybody saw the Fox News was trying to take out
Trump, and the only way that what FNC did could be viewed as
unprofessional behavior is if one believes that Fox is a real news
network. Fox News isn’t a real news network. Their mission is to get a
Republican steal the office of the president.
After Trump’s Twitter rampage, and this interview on MSNBC, there is no denying that Trump is at war with Fox News.
Fox News Tried To Destroy Donald Trump And They Failed Miserably
Fox News was clearly out to destroy Trump at
the Republican debate, but they failed.
Here is what Fox News tried to
do to Trump, and why it all went wrong.
Fox News made their intentions clear when the first
question of the debate was a show of hands about pledging not to run as
an Independent. Fox was trying to isolate Trump and ruin him with
Republican voters.
Later came the Trump/Megyn Kelly exchange that demonstrated Republican voters love them some sexism.
Transcript of Kelly and Trump:
KELLY: Mr. Trump, one of the things people love
about you is you speak your mind and you don’t use a politician’s
filter. However, that is not without its downsides, in particular, when
it comes to women.
You’ve called women you don’t like “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.”
(LAUGHTER)
Your Twitter account…
TRUMP: Only Rosie O’Donnell.
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: No, it wasn’t.
(APPLAUSE)
Your Twitter account…
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you.
KELLY: For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O’Donnell.
TRUMP: Yes, I’m sure it was.
KELLY: Your Twitter account has several disparaging
comments about women’s looks. You once told a contestant on Celebrity
Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does
that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as
president, and how will you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton, who
was likely to be the Democratic nominee, that you are part of the war on
women?
TRUMP: I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct.
(APPLAUSE)
I’ve been challenged by so many people, and I don’t
frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with
you, this country doesn’t have time either. This country is in big
trouble. We don’t win anymore. We lose to China. We lose to Mexico both
in trade and at the border. We lose to everybody.
And frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it’s fun,
it’s kidding. We have a good time. What I say is what I say. And
honestly Megyn, if you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I’ve been very nice to
you, although I could probably maybe not be, based on the way you have
treated me. But I wouldn’t do that.
The Republican audience laughed at Trump’s sexism, and he got loads of applause for attacking “political correctness.”
Chris Wallace tried to undermine Trump’s record in business by bringing up his bankruptcies:
The Wallace/Trump exchange ended in more laughter and applause for Trump.
It was clear that Fox News was targeting Trump, and
the orders came from Fox management. Roger Ailes is desperate for a 2016
Republican 'win', and the establishment views Trump as destroying their cabal.
In the most classless way possible, Trump unloaded on Megyn Kelly after the debate on Twitter:
Trump also unloaded on perpetually losing Republican
messaging guru Frank Luntz for his panel that gave the billionaire a
bad review:
Immediate polling after the debate revealed that Trump was the clear winner:
Fox News had a plan to derail Trump, but they failed
because Trump understands who their audience is better than they
do. A large percentage of the Fox News audience agrees with the
bigotry, sexism, and racism that Trump advocates. Republicans are drawn
to his everyone is stupid but us rhetoric because that is what FOX NEWS
has told them for years. Trump is in part a Fox News creation, and he
has turned the network’s own audience against them.
Ailes
and Murdoch made a gigantic mistake by going after Trump, and they just
may have made the campaign that they were trying to destroy even
stronger.
Rubio Thinks Rape Victims Who Become Pregnant Should Be Forced To Give Birth
Rubio supports government enforced childbirth for rape and incest victims who get pregnant through no fault of their own.…
On the debate stage last Thursday night, Rubio denied
that he ever supported allowing rape victims access to abortions. After
Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly noted that Rubio introduced a 2013 bill
banning abortions after 20 weeks that included an exception for rape or
incest victims, Rubio shot back:
I have never said that, and I have never advocated that. I have advocated that we pass a law that says all human life at every stage of development is worthy of protection.
Given a chance to clarify his stance on Friday, Rubio doubled down, telling CNN’s Chris Cuomo:
I think both of those instances [rape and incest] are horrifying, and fortunately, they’re extremely rare. It happens, and any time it happens, it’s horrifying, it’s a tragedy. But I personally and honestly and deeply believe that all human life is worthy of protection, irrespective of the circumstances in which that human life was created. I personally believe that you do not correct one tragedy with another.
Rubio’s extreme stance on abortion put him firmly in
the Todd Akin-Richard Mourdock lunatic fringe wing of the Republican cabal. In Rubio’s
opinion, rape and incest are awful things, but no so awful that a woman
should have the right to choose whether or not to terminate her
pregnancy. No, for Rubio and other Republicans like him, it is the
state’s job to decide that the woman has an obligation to give birth to
the rapist’s baby.
Rubio’s “anti-choice even for rape and incest
victims” position can be dressed up in pious rhetoric and syrupy
bromides about the “sanctity of life”, but that doesn’t change the fact
that he favors state mandated compulsory childbirth for rape victims who
become pregnant.
Despite
all his rhetoric in favor of limited government, Rubio supports
government enforced childbirth for rape and incest victims who get
pregnant through no fault of their own. Rubio’s position is extreme, but
today’s Republican cabal is an extremist cabal, so his position is in line with that of republican cabal primary voters. Just understand what
his position is, because if he wins the Republican cabal primary he will do his best
to shift gears and hide his contempt for women in a general election.
Ex-Neo Nazi: wingnut extremists ‘on the verge of doing something horrible’ over same-sex marriage
Teabagger tried to smear himself with gay prostitute scandal to cover up his real affair
From the "What an Idiot" Department:
A teabagger from Michigan plotted to smear himself with a rumor of a hook-up with a gay prostitute behind a nightclub in order to soften the blow before word got out that he was having an affair with another teabagger.
A teabagger from Michigan plotted to smear himself with a rumor of a hook-up with a gay prostitute behind a nightclub in order to soften the blow before word got out that he was having an affair with another teabagger.
Last Week In Wingnut Racism
Cops’ Racist ‘Memorial’ To Mike Brown, Vile Obama Birthday Tweets
When you get to number one on this list, your stomach will literally turn. The racism just gets worse and worse every week.
Last Week In Wingnut Stupidity: The Republican Cabal Debate Edition
Weekly Tin Foil
This Week In Tinfoil: Obama Signs Executive Order Making All Food Property Of The Government
This week’s tinfoil hat is being worn with pride by the idiots at “Patriot Net Daily.” Seriously, you gotta see this.
Wingnuts Tout New 'Poll' Pitting Religious Bigotry Against LGBT Equality
Wingnut media and religio-wingnut leaders and agitators are touting a new 'poll' that
supposedly shows Americans “overwhelmingly” side with “religious
liberty” over gay rights. The new 'poll', conducted by Fox News, adopts wingnut framing that...Top 5 Stupid Things Pseudo-Christians Said Last Week
What pseudo-christians were saying last week.
Read more
Read more
Last Week In Bad Christianity
It’s using a religion that’s supposed to be about peace and love to justify hate.
It’s calling yourself a 'christian' and...
Sunday, August 9, 2015
The Daily Drift
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After 6 Years Of Taking Their Crap, Obama Calls Out Republicans For What They Really Are
Showing signs of being finished with their
extremism, President Obama called out Republicans for what they really
are by comparing them to the Iranian hardliners who chant death to
America.
The President said:
In the end, that should be a lesson that we’ve
learned from over a decade of war. On the front end, ask tough
questions. Subject our own assumptions to evidence and analysis.
Resist the conventional wisdom and the drumbeat of war. Worry less
about being labeled weak; worry more about getting it right.
I recognize that resorting to force may be tempting
in the face of the rhetoric and behavior that emanates from parts of
Iran. It is offensive. It is incendiary. We do take it seriously.
But superpowers should not act impulsively in response to taunts, or
even provocations that can be addressed short of war. Just because
Iranian hardliners chant “Death to America” does not mean that that’s
what all Iranians believe.
In fact, it’s those hardliners who are
most comfortable with the status quo. It’s those hardliners chanting
“Death to America” who have been most opposed to the deal. They’re
making common cause with the Republican caucus.
The President spoke the truth. There is very little
difference between the hardliners in Iran who want a war with the United
States, and the hardline Republicans in Congress who want a war with
Iran. There is no reason to oppose this deal outside of a preference for
military action.
The pipe dreams of a “better deal” that Republicans
are continuously dreaming up all have one thing in common. Republicans
never explain how they can realistically achieve their “better deal.”
As Obama correctly pointed out, Republicans aren’t
interested in diplomacy. The hawks in the Republican cabal have had their eyes on war
with Iran since before the U.S. invaded Iraq, and contrary to the Republican cabal shrieking points, the Iran deal isn’t a choice between competing offers.
The choice is between a path to peace and a path to
war. Republicans and their allies are careful to never explicitly state
that they are planning for more war, but when they use phrases like the
military option must be left on the table, it is clear to everyone what
they are talking about.
President
Obama isn’t holding back because the stakes are war and peace.
Extremists in both countries want to kill this deal, and it was nice to
hear the President calling out the Republicans for who they really are.
The Progressive Unvarnished Facts About the Planned Parenthood Issue
Here's what you will never know about PPFA if Republicans are your
only source of information.
As reported, the Republican
Senate threw the attempted defunding of Planned Parenthood Federation of
America (PPFA) against the wall last Monday, and it didn’t stick. Pounding
their bibles and relying on purely misleading and highly edited junk
videos, lunatic fringe anti-abortion agitators, their elected congressional
sycophants and whatever billionaires responsible for funding the series
of sneak-videos, came up on the short end of a test vote to pull around
$500 million from PPFA clinics throughout the nation, and by extension,
the world. The final tally was 53-46 in favor of derailing Democratic
stalling; 60 votes were required.
The most valuable resource that unearths the truth of the matter is to be found here at FactCheck.org’s
highly researched revelations of the so-called PPFA misdeeds. The
supposedly most damning video under the FactCheck heading of
“Unspinning the Planned Parenthood video” is exposed as a sham. The site
demonstrates with irrefutable clarity, that the manufactured clinic
discussions are rife with innuendo, half-truths and outright
misrepresentations. It’s digital dung!
Here’s what you will never know about PPFA if
Republicans are your only source of information. By the organization’s
own statistical measure, PPFA has been around over 97 years. It’s the
go-to national source for poorer women and a growing number of men. The
majority of those served qualify under federal poverty guidelines. That
is to say that PPFA takes care of more poor people than any other
similar organization. 80% of patients meet or succeed 150% of federal
poverty level.
Nearly 3 million women and men visit one of PPFA’s
700 clinics annually. Support partners see another 725,000 mostly needy
in 10 developing countries. In the United States, male clientele has
increased by 83% between 2002-2012. Over 50 million people visit the
PPFA Website per year.
Services do indeed include abortion, in addition to
birth control (including the morning after pill), general health care,
HIV testing, LGBT services, men’s health care, pregnancy testing and
services, STD testing, treatment and vaccines and women’s health care.
A service not generally included is federally funded
abortions. ThinkProgress points out that Federal sources tap into Title
X money and Medicaid. Medicaid can only fund emergency procedures in
the case of rape, incest and a threat to the mother’s life. As for
Title X, if the organization is involved in family planning, no fed
dollars. That’s it, and has been for almost 40 years!!! The Department
of Health and Human Services verifies the process.
Arizona moron Jon Kyl claimed on the Senate
floor a few years ago, that “well over 90 percent of what Planned
Parenthood does” is providing abortion services. Even after that absurd
number was shot down by Factcheck, he came back with a retort that was
almost as ridiculous: “This remark was not intended to be a factual
statement but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood, an
organization that receives millions in taxpayer dollars, does subsidize
abortions.”
So, how many abortions are actually performed
in-clinic by PPFA, including the abortion “pill?” It depends on who
responds to that question. PPFA says roughly 3% and nobody has disproved
that percentage; The actual number of abortions included in the PPFA
annual report for fiscal year, 2014 was 327,653, roughly the same as
the prior fiscal year. The percentage funded by the feds would be
comparatively miniscule. PPFA received 41% of its revenue from the feds
according to the Washington Post. The dollar total was $528.4 million.
Roughly $600 million comes from other sources to round out the budget.
Where do potential voters stand on the issue? A
recent Gallup Poll might give an early hint given we’re still about a
year-and-a -half shy of the presidential election. The issue is a big
deal to 19% of those polled. Republicans characterize themselves as anti-choice by a 69-27 margin, Democrats reverse to pro-choice, 67-28 and
Independents split the difference; 46% pro-choice and 45% anti-choice.
Here are some non-hypocritical numbers to consider.
Three in ten American women will have had an abortion by age 45.
Republican estimates stand at 50 million abortions since Roe V. Wade in
’73. All other factors, notwithstanding, women are having abortions.
Nearly every woman has used contraception in her child-bearing lifetime.
The most ineffective is the so-called rhythm method. One out of four
times, it doesn’t work in the first year. Most other contraceptives
have a 1 out of 15 failure rate. The number of women that have used
contraception exceeds 99%. So, for every evangelical purporting to
follow every syllable of the good book, a sizable percentage of them are
lying. Every statistic you wish to examine indicates that responsible
and continuous use of contraceptives would have a profound impact on the
number of abortions.
How
wearisome it is to believe almost nothing out of the mouths of
Republicans. And we have to listen to 17 of them for at least the early
months of the upcoming race for that cabal’s pretender nominee.
New Rule Requires Companies To Reveal What Their CEOs Are Earning
BOOM! 
Violent Extremists Are Trying To Wage Guerrilla War Against U.S. Over Jade Helm Exercises
A few violent conspiracy nuts seem determined to wage a quixotic war on America.…
Shots were fired for the second consecutive day last Wednesday, outside Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Southern Mississippi, where Jade Helm 15 training exercises were allegedly being conducted by National Guard and U.S. troops. Authorities believe the suspect is a white male who fired the shots from a red or maroon pickup truck.
No injuries where reported,
and since the shooter is still at large, no motive has been identified.
However, the back to back shooting incidents in Mississippi are bound
to fuel speculation that the troops were fired upon in retaliation
against the Jade Helm 15 training exercises.
In late July, the FBI uncovered a plot by three North Carolina men to use lethal force to ambush U.S. troops. The three men, Walter Eugene Litteral, 50, Christopher James Barker, 42, and Christopher Todd Campbell,
30, believed that Jade Helm 15 was a secret operation to impose martial
law. The trio was stockpiling weapons and formulating plans to ambush
and kill government forces.
Conspiracy propagandists, like Infowars’ Alex Jones
have issued dire warnings about Operation Jade Helm, giving extremists
plenty of intellectual ammunition to nurture their delusional fantasies.
Unfortunately, elected politicians like Texas moron Greg Abbott have also stoked fears, by giving conspiracy theories more credence then they merit.
In light of the North Carolina arrests and the
Mississippi shootings, the Jade Helm conspiracy theorists should not be
simply dismissed as annoying crack pots. Instead, these paranoid
fanatics who are stockpiling weapons and preparing to fight the U.S.
government over their unwarranted fears, represent a clear and present
danger to members of the U.S. military and the National Guard.
The self-styled “patriots” who are eager to initiate
violence under the false assumption that they are fending off martial
law, are too few in number to pull off anything close to the armed
citizen insurrection they believe themselves to be a part of. However,
they are numerous enough, so that if they aren’t stopped, somebody is
going to be needlessly killed.
Elected
politicians and media personalities have a responsibility not to
continue to feed the paranoia of extremist zealots who will put American
troops in harm’s way. Violent extremists and conspiracy nuts should not
be labeled patriots, especially since they seem determined to wage a
quixotic war on America.
President Obama Observes That Republican Cabal And Iranian Extremists Are United In Hating Iran Deal
President Obama took Republicans to the woodshed over their hatred of
the Iran deal, noting that they have much in common with extremist
Iranians who chant “Death to America.”Democrats Outsmart McConnell With Resolution Supporting Pope Francis On Climate Change
A group of liberal Senate Democrats turned the
tables on McConnell by introducing a
resolution supporting Pope Francis’ views on climate change and calling
on the Senate to immediately act.
Senator Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the resolution
along with Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tom Udall
(D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI.).
The Senators wrote, “The Senate stands with Pope
Francis and the scientific consensus that human activity is the primary
driver of climate change; present climate trends are unsustainable; and
immediate action must be taken to significantly reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in order to limit the deleterious effects of human-induced
climate change.”
The resolution was a very clever move by Senate
Democrats to highlight the climate change denial of McConnell and
other Senate Republicans. Because of the Pope’s liberal positions on a
number of economic and environmental issues, his upcoming address before
a joint session of Congress could be very uncomfortable for
Republicans.
Democrats have painted McConnell and the Republicans
into a corner. If their resolution comes up for a vote, Republicans
will have to choose between the Koch brothers and the Pope. Republicans
could be put in a position where they would have to take a vote that
would highlight their extremism by humiliating the Pope in front of the
entire world.
It is always easier to be in the congressional
minority than in the majority, but Senate Democrats have taken using
their power to the level of an art form. Democrats are doing the opposite
of McConnell’s minority say no to everything strategy of gridlock
leadership. Democrats are maximizing their power and using their unity
and collective strength to hit Republicans hardest when it matters the
most.
Who is it going to be Republicans? Will it be the Kochs or the Pope?
Kochs And ALEC Make War Against Americans And Pope Francis Public
The mainstream media is finally reporting that the Koch's
legislative arm ALEC is moving into the open to prevent action on
climate change…
The final straw was the official adoption of
President Obama’s Clean Power Plan this week that incited the enemies of
clean air, the economy, the Pope, and the people prepared their
substantial forces to prevent America from reducing the amount of carbon
it produces to stem the devastation of anthropogenic climate change.
The war became official when at long last, mainstream media reported
that the Koch brothers’ legislative arm, the American Legal Exchange
Council (ALEC) and Americans for Prosperity openly vowed to “stop the
CPP’s implementation” at all costs.
The Washington Post reported
that the Kochs’ and their fossil fuel industry underlings intend on
launching a rash of initiatives at the state and local level to stop the
CPP implementation in Congress, the courts, and state legislatures and
country governments. At the local level, the Koch brothers directed
their legislative arm ALEC to convene a special task force comprised of
fossil-fuel interests and electricity producers. The Koch task force
rapidly “approved model legislation to be sent to state and local
governments around the nation giving them ‘special authority’ to
‘expedite approval of resources to challenge the EPA’s Clean Power
Plan.”
Expedite approval of resources is typical ALEC-speak
for legislation giving Republicans unchallenged authority to transfer
taxpayer dollars allotted for education, transportation, and healthcare
into a giant legal fund to challenge, and block, CPP implementation in
the courts; all to keep those same taxpayers breathing foul air and
suffering harsher droughts, more intense, larger wildfires, and more
severe weather events. Americans should never making the mistake of
thinking the Kochs are at war solely with the Obama Administration or
the Environmental Protection Agency although they are prime targets;
this war is fundamentally against the American people who will be around
long after the Obama Administration is termed out. However, the people
should not feel they are being singled out by the Kochs; the oil
magnates have also publicly opened up a battle front against Pope
Francis over his audacity of hope that world governments will address
climate change.
Within a day or so of the Pope’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’,
the Koch brothers unleashed their oil industry funded punditry and
belief tanks to attack the Papal pronouncement. It is noteworthy that
everything in the Papal statement was not only relevant to serving the
people, and founded solely on empirical scientific data, it was completely consistent with “catholics concern for helping the poor” and that “environmental stewardship is an important part of the catholic delusion.”
According to various Koch surrogates, the Pope’s encyclical
contradicting all catholic principles and like his regard for the poor
of the world, concern about climate change makes him a “bad catholic.”
In great part, the Koch’s industry shrieking heads are advancing the idea
that Pope Francis is a bad catholic because by calling for action on
climate, the Pope is deliberately causing harm on the world’s poor and
he is intent on increasing their numbers and sending them deeper into
poverty; especially in America. The Koch’s plan of attack is portraying
the Pope, climate scientists, and President Obama as working in concert
to increase poverty in America as part of a “fanatical agenda and
regressive form of taxation.”
For example, although the poorest people in the world are most affected by climate change, a Cato Institute op-ed said the Pope calling for action on climate change will “cause so much harm to so many, especially the poor and downtrodden.” The Heritage Foundation’s Steve Moore wrote that “The
embrace of governmental action that underlies many of the Pope’s
statements would not lift up the poor, but condemn them to more poverty
and less freedom. Consider the climate change fanatics’ agenda.” In the Koch and Exxon-funded Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), an industry agitator asserted that “climate-related restrictions harm poor families far more than climate change will.”
It is not that the Kochs, wingnuts, or the fossil fuel industry
has ever cared about the poor anywhere, but it is beyond refute that the
poor suffer the brunt of climate change’s effects which is precisely
why the Pope is taking action.
In a recent United Nations report it clearly stated, and gave empirical evidence, that climate change “risks disproportionately affect the world’s poor.” The World Health Organization reported that the impacts of climate change are already “exacerbating poverty in developing countries,” and that in countries with gross income inequality like America, poor households will be “particularly affected due to increasing food prices.” Americans should not underestimate just how much food prices are going to rise
due to drought conditions, especially in California, and should
consider that there is no life-sustaining benefit from pouring more
carbon into the atmosphere. It is something that President Obama and
Pope Francis certainly consider in advocating for action on climate
change; even if the President’s Clean Power Plan is not nearly as robust
as it could, and should be; but any action is better than none and that
is why the Kochs have publicly unleashed ALEC, Americans for
Prosperity, and Republicans to wage an all-out war on the Pope and the
People.
For
the first time it appears that mainstream media is finally reporting
that the Koch brothers’ legislative arm ALEC is moving into the open to
prevent any action on climate change. Now all that remains is for the
Koch-Republican Congress to publicly denounce the Pope like the Kochs’
oil industry and accuse him of being a “bad catholic” and
deliberately creating more poverty and misery for the poor of the world.
In a clever move, Senate Democrats are giving Republicans a chance to
condemn the Pope with a resolution supporting the Papal encyclical on
the environment. It will not win the war, or even a battle, but it will
clearly delineate the combatants in the war against Americans and there
is little doubt that Republicans will publicly align with the Kochs. And
why wouldn’t they? It is war, it serves the Koch brothers, it will harm
Americans, and if they can demean and defeat the vicar of christ for
advocating for the poor, then it will be a very good Republican war.
Bernie Sanders Is Surging While The Media Fixates On Trump And The Republican Cabal
While Trump's surge is gaining more media attention, Sanders is more
likely to remain politically relevant in the Spring of 2016.…
A string of recent polls has shown Trump continuing to gain support, and he has surged to the front of the crowded Republican pretender field. While Trump’s gains have been impressive, he is still only commanding between one-fifth and one-fourth of the Republican cabal vote in most polls. In a 17 candidate field that is sufficient to put him out in front, but it doesn’t necessarily make him the inevitable nominee, as many Republican voters still have reservations about Trump.
While the press has been fixated on Trump’s rise in
the Republican race, less attention has been directed towards Sanders’
surge in the Democratic race. According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Sanders has gained 26 percentage points
on Hillary Clinton in the past month. That is a remarkable gain in 30
days, although it should be noted that Sanders still trails 59-25 in
that contest, compared to 75-15, a month ago.
Sanders, unlike Trump, is not leading his party’s
primary. However, his polling gains are actually occurring at a faster
pace than Trump’s advances, and he is commanding about the same level of
support within his party as Trump is, though in a much smaller field of
candidates.
Trump’s momentum is largely confined to inside the
Republican primary electorate. His surge has not translated into general
election viability. A recent Quinnipiac University poll
found that in a national race, Sanders would beat Trump 45-37 percent.
Hillary Clinton would defeat Trump by an even greater 48-36 margin.
Trump’s increase in polling support has often been called a “surge”, whereas Bernie’s momentum has sometimes been coined the “Bernie bubble” rather than the “Sanders surge” as if to imply that the bubble is not sustainable and will eventually pop.
Yet a deeper look at both candidates suggests that
Trump’s momentum may be less sustainable than Sanders’ momentum is.
Beneath Trump’s “surge” in popularity he supports decidedly negative
popularity ratings with voters in general, and barely breaks even among
Republican voters.
Political analyst Nate Silver noted in late July, that in terms of favorable/unfavorable ratings, Trump ranks as only the 13th most well-liked Republican cabal candidate
by Republicans. Silver derisively referred to Trump as the “Nickelback”
of Republican cabal candidates, comparing the pretender candidate to a widely
loathed rock band that has a small cadre of passionately devoted
followers.
By contrast, Sanders is well-liked within his own party,
and not disliked by the general public in the way that Trump is. In
this way, Sanders has room to grow, while Trump is likely to hit a
ceiling of support, before he eventually “jumps the shark” and becomes
an also ran. The one thing limiting Sanders’ potential rise is that he,
unlike Trump, faces a formidable opponent in his own party. While
Hillary Clinton’s favorable numbers have declined some among the
national pool of voters, she remains popular with Democratic voters.
Given
Trump’s marginal favorable to unfavorable ratings, both within and
outside his party’s base, his “surge” may be ephemeral. Sanders, by
contrast, has more sustainable polling numbers that could portend
continued momentum into the months ahead. Neither candidate should be
viewed as the favorite to win their party’s nomination. However, while
Trump’s surge is gaining most of the media attention, Sanders is the
more likely of the two men to remain politically relevant in the Spring
of 2016.
Three More Polls Show Trump Crushing The Rest Of The Republican Cabal Field
Two national polls released on Tuesday and a New Hampshire poll released
on Monday, show Trump is crushing the rest of the Republican
pretender field in the race for the Republican cabal nomination. A Bloomberg Politics national poll
found Trump way ahead with 21 percent support to just 10 percent for
his nearest competitor, Jeb. A CBS national
poll released on Tuesday also showed Trump with a huge lead. In that poll, Trump garnered 24 percent support. Jeb was in second place with 13 percent support.
The two national polls came a day after a WMUR poll
found that Trump has also taken a commanding lead in New
Hampshire, the nation’s first primary state. Trump led the New Hampshire
poll with 24 percent. He was followed by Jeb at 12 percent, and
Wisconsin moron Walker at 11 percent support.
The New Hampshire poll also found that Trump has
been growing more and more popular with Republican voters in the Granite
State over time. In February, just 19 percent of likely Republican voters in the state
had a favorable opinion of Trump, compared to 69 percent who viewed him
unfavorably. The latest poll shows Trump’s popularity has improved
dramatically with Republican cabal voters. While 40 percent still have an unfavorable
opinion of Trump, 51 percent view him favorably.
While a substantial number of Republican voters
appear uneasy about a Trump candidacy, there can be no denying that he
has become the undisputed leader in the Republican race. His nearest
contenders, Jeb and Walker have fallen way behind. The other
14 Republican candidates are even further back.
As the Republican cabal candidates took to the stage on Thursday,
all eyes were on Trump. Jeb and Walker tried to
engage him, and hoped that Trump simply made an
unforced error that they could capitalize upon. The problem for Trump’s
antagonists is that so far, every outlandish thing Trump has said has
boosted, rather than damaged his standing with Republican voters.
Trump’s Republican opponents continue to hope that
the bombastic billionaire is peaking too soon and that his poll numbers
will eventually fall. While there are some historical precedents
suggesting that Trump could come crashing back down to earth, there is
no reason to think such a crash is inevitable. In order for Trump to
fade, Republican voters will have to grow tired of his constant
demagoguery. Jeb is counting on that.
However,
given the mood and temperament of today’s Republican voters, expecting
them to cast aside anger and outrage for comparative sanity is patently
unrealistic. Trump is running away from the field, because he is saying
what Republican voters want to hear. The other Republican caabal candidates who ignore
that truth, will do so at their own peril.
Hey Trump! It’s Not Nice To Baselessly Attack Immigrants Using Their Own Language
Republican cabal debate crowd boos Donald Trump when he won’t pledge against third-party run
![Real estate mogul Donald Trump speaks during a GOP presidential candidate debate on Aug. 6, 2015. [YouTube]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vVYJm_LBHg_6JR8KjzXZrjONHGxVeb2-ScheSGtn61XOVUoYaLoT2Qzk-f1j-pN0hcwIXpdUdfyI7T6l6zg2trDBt3Z6KULeBPqP5JIo7-gzOKrrGFo9APPZ37Ykp-YYA_aiVXj-C5aUIK_GoEZhkPNV7yojK8tttnsN6kIQFnVvQc7ib3ZiVuMIKg=s0-d)
“I cannot say I have to respect the person
that — if it’s not me — the person that wins,” he told host Bret Bauer.
Maine Supreme Court upholds 65 new laws after teabagger governor misses deadline for vetoes
Bernie Sanders Brands Republicans Political Cowards As He Unveils Two New Pro-Voter Bills
At a rally to mark the 50th anniversary of the
Voting Rights Act, Senator Bernie Sanders called out the “political
cowards” in the Republican cabal who are trying to take away the right
to vote from millions of Americans. Sanders also unveiled two new
pro-voting pieces of legislation.
Via the office of Senator Sanders:
The court ruling that gutted the enforcement provision in the voting rights law “unleashed a torrent of state legislation which is disenfranchising voters all over the country,” Sanders said at the event hosted by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Drum Major Institute.
The court ruling that gutted the enforcement provision in the voting rights law “unleashed a torrent of state legislation which is disenfranchising voters all over the country,” Sanders said at the event hosted by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Drum Major Institute.
He branded as “political cowards” state lawmakers
who exploited the court ruling to enact laws designed to suppress voter
participation. “If we believe in a vibrant democracy, we want to have
the highest voter turnout in the world.”
One of the two bills Sanders formally introduced
yesterday would require states to automatically register all eligible
individuals to vote when they turn 18 years old. The legislation is
supported by the Brennan Center for Justice, Dēmos, Common Cause, the
Communications Workers of America and other organizations.
The other bill would establish Election Day
as a national holiday. “We should be doing everything possible to make
it easier for people to participate in the political process. Election
Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and
opportunity to vote. While this would not be a cure-all, it would
indicate a national commitment to create a vibrant democracy.”
Republicans are political cowards who can’t win with
their ideas, so they try to win by rigging the electorate in their
favor. Election Day should be a national holiday, and same-day voter
registration should be available in every state.
It has been repeatedly proven that voter fraud is
not a problem. The pretense of voter fraud has been used by Republicans
to target voters who are most likely to support Democrats. The reality
is that Democrats don’t have to cheat to win elections. They already
hold positions that are popular with the majority on most issues.
Instead of changing their positions, Republicans are
trying to cheat their way back to the White House. Someday when
Democrats control both Congress and the White House, they should renew
the Voting Rights Act and make Election Day a national holiday.
Until
that time comes, Democrats and their allies like Senator Sanders, have to
continue to fight the good fight to make sure that voters are not
silenced and marginalized.
A mathematician may have uncovered widespread election fraud, and Kansas is trying to silence her
by Jon Green
Kansas loves them some voter fraud hysteria. From going to the Supreme Court
to try and make doubly-sure that non-citizens can’t vote in their
elections to setting up a voter fraud website where citizens can report every kind of voter fraud except the kinds that have actually happened in the state, Kansas is on the forefront of voter fraud readiness and protection.Except, perhaps, when it comes to the machines they use to record their votes.
According to the Wichita Eagle, Wichita State mathematician Beth Clarkson has found irregularities in election returns from Sedgwick County, along with other counties throughout the United States, but has faced stiff opposition from the state in trying to confirm whether the irregularities are fraud or other, less-nefarious anomalies.
Analyzing election returns at a precinct level, Clarkson found that candidate support was correlated, to a statistically significant degree, with the size of the precinct. In Republican primaries, the bias has been toward the establishment candidates over teabaggers. In general elections, it has favored Republican candidates over Democrats, even when the demographics of the precincts in question suggested that the opposite should have been true.
Clarkson’s interest in election returns was piqued by a 2012 paper released by analysts Francois Choquette and James Johnson showing the same pattern of election returns, which favor establishment Republican candidates in primaries and general elections. The irregularities are isolated to precincts that use “Central Tabulator” voting machines — machines that have previously been shown to be vulnerable to hacking. The effects are significant and widespread: According to their analysis, Mitt Romney could have received over a million extra votes in the 2012 Republican primary, mostly coming at the expense of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. President Obama also ceded significant votes to John McCain due to this irregularity, as well.
You can read the paper in full here.
She first requested a recount of the 2013 election, but the timeframe in which a recount could have been requested had passed. She then requested the machines’ computer records from the Sedgwick County registrar, which told her to kindly shove off and sue Secretary of State Kris Kobach if she wanted the records so badly.
When Clarkson initially filed her lawsuit requesting the paper records from the voting machines, her suit was denied because a judge ruled that the paper records constituted ballots, shielding them from the state’s open records law. This ruling is suspect at best, given that the paper records do not have voters’ names assigned to them; they only record when and how a ballot was cast for recount purposes.
She then sought a court order giving her access to a sample of voting records in order to check voting machines’ error rates. This order was ignored by the Secretary of State’s office, despite their being legally required to respond to her within 30 days. The office later said that they didn’t realize they had received her request.
Given Kansas’s professed diehard commitment to combating election fraud, one would think that they would be all for analysis into whether the integrity of their elections have been compromised. Apparently you’d be wrong.
Republican cabal officials sue Florida
Two Republican officials have filed a
lawsuit against the state of Florida claiming that their First Amendment
right to “partisan thought” was being violated by laws designed to
prevent gerrymandering.
Texas’ Voter ID Law Found To Violate The Voting Rights Act
A major setback to Republican obstructionism.
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