The sun sets behind wind turbines which the state uses to create nearly 30 percent of all electricity generated in Fenton, Iowa. Candidates who are seeking the nominations from the Republican and Democratic Party are touring the state campaigning for votes before the Iowa caucus that takes place on February 1.
| Iowa Caucus - Republican Winner | |||||||
| Mon 2/1 | 851 Donald Trump wins Republican Iowa Caucus-245 | -245 | |||||
| 8:00AM | 852 Field wins Republican Iowa Caucus+175 | +175 | |||||
| Mon 2/1 | 853 Ted Cruz wins Republican Iowa Caucus+175 | +175 | |||||
| 8:00AM | 854 Field wins Republican Iowa Caucus-245 |
| Mon 2/1 | 851 Donald Trump wins Republican Iowa Caucus | -245 | |||||
| 8:00AM | 852 Field wins Republican Iowa Caucus | +175 | |||||
| Mon 2/1 | 853 Ted Cruz wins Republican Iowa Caucus | +175 | |||||
| 8:00AM | 854 Field wins Republican Iowa Caucus |
It seems so strange that Cruz is saying the establishment has given up on
Rubio & now is gravitating to Trump. The establishment certainly hasn't given up
on Rubio he's their boy & is 2nd in all the polls for the nomination & they all
detest Trump from Carl Rove to the Weekly Standard & National Review crowd.
Maybe a little of his mentally off supporter Glen Beck is rubbing off on Cruz.
IOWA
5Dimes- Trump -260 Cruz +180
Bookmaker- Trump -300 Cruz +185
Hollywood- Trump -400 Cruz +280
Republican Nomination
5Dimes- Trump -115 Rubio +175 Cruz +800 Bush +1000
Bookmaker- Trump -134 Rubio +185 Cruz +925 Bush +750
Hollywood- Trump -240 Rubio +220 Cruz +800 Bush +1200
The books say it's Trump vs. Rubio when it's down to the final two with
Cruz and Bush light years behind vying for 3rd place
Rubio & now is gravitating to Trump. The establishment certainly hasn't given up
on Rubio he's their boy & is 2nd in all the polls for the nomination & they all
detest Trump from Carl Rove to the Weekly Standard & National Review crowd.
Maybe a little of his mentally off supporter Glen Beck is rubbing off on Cruz.
IOWA
5Dimes- Trump -260 Cruz +180
Bookmaker- Trump -300 Cruz +185
Hollywood- Trump -400 Cruz +280
Republican Nomination
5Dimes- Trump -115 Rubio +175 Cruz +800 Bush +1000
Bookmaker- Trump -134 Rubio +185 Cruz +925 Bush +750
Hollywood- Trump -240 Rubio +220 Cruz +800 Bush +1200
The books say it's Trump vs. Rubio when it's down to the final two with
Cruz and Bush light years behind vying for 3rd place
[h=1]The 'truthful hyperbole’ behind Donald Trump’s appeal[/h][h=2]Trump’s approach is unideological. He is an egomaniacal businessman, not the great dictator[/h]By Charles Moore
8:03PM GMT 31 Jan 2016
Second Story is a highbrow second-hand bookshop,
just off Dupont Circle in Washington DC. It sells elegantly printed 19th-century volumes on obscure subjects. But when I peered through its window last week, its display was giving pride of place to the first imprint of the first edition of The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump, price $100. Thus does Mr Trump go to Washington.
I didn’t buy, but I have read the book in a cheaper version. Historians say that if only people had studied Mein Kampf properly, they would have learnt most of what Hitler meant to do. Admittedly, Hitler was poor and in prison at the time, and so wrote his book himself, whereas Trump was rich and busy, and so hired a ghost writer to get his wisdom down on paper. But there is no reason to believe that the book, written nearly 30 years ago, does not capture the essential ideas of the man who hopes to win the Republican caucuses in Iowa.
The good news is that Mr Trump is no Hitler. He is pro-Semitic, loves the American way and seems to have no problem with democracy or the constitution. What he adores is being big. His Trump Golden Series will be “the most opulent stretch limousine made”. He buys the apartment next door to his own in his own building, Trump Tower, and knocks through, because “while I can’t honestly say that I need an 80ft living room, I do get a kick out of having one.”
His approach is unideological. It is that of the egomaniac businessman, not the great dictator. In his diary, he delights in dining with Cardinal John O’Connor of New York. No nonsense about praising the prelate for his spirituality: the Cardinal is “a businessman with great political instincts”.
Last week, I met several people who had had business dealings with Mr Trump. Few of them found these encounters agreeable, yet none seemed to bear a grudge against him. They even praised him for “telling it like it is” in politics – an odd way to describe a man who often says things which are quite definitely not the case. Yet they are sort of right. Mr Trump has a phrase to describe how he talks: “I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration – and a very effective form of promotion.”
In politics instead of business, the media want to shoot even more, so Mr Trump is shovelling harder than ever. He may be self-aggrandising, but he’s a genius at pouring wet concrete on the pomposity of others. When he pulled out of last week’s Iowa candidates’ debate on Fox News because of the alleged bias of its “bimbo” (his word) presenter Megyn Kelly, I thought he had blown it. Was he not brave enough to enter the arena?
But when I saw how all the TV journalists combined to express their disapproval of Mr Trump for “disrespecting the democratic process” by not going on the show, I realised how well he had shown up their conceited sense of their own role. He had exposed the supposedly anti-establishment Fox News as no different from the liberal networks that grass-roots Republicans hate. And the debate, without him, very nearly died. He is a past-master at what he calls “playing the role of myself”.
If you are certain sort of American – not necessarily a Right-wing one, but certainly one who feels that the prevailing political culture has nothing to offer you – you are not likely to be impressed by the attacks on Mr Trump’s character. He’s accused of being a narcissist. As much as the President we’ve had seven years of? He’s said to be dishonest and harbours bitterness. As much as the woman who is the Democrats’ front-runner? It’s natural to want to keep him in the race and see how far he can go.
Donald Trump claims he is now so popular that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue, shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose votes.” Since my hotel in New York was hard by Fifth Avenue, I walked warily.
In a dig at Trump the New Yorker, his Republican opponent Ted Cruz attacked “New York values” as being dissonant with those of the rest of the United States. Poor Senator Cruz got the wet concrete treatment. What was wrong, asked Mr Trump, with the values of the city that endured 9/11? He aims accurately, and fires.
For the weekend of my American trip, I went to stay with a friend in the Maryland countryside who had kindly invited me to ride his horses. (Two and a half feet of snow prevented this and we went cross-country skiing instead.) We were near the hamlet of Boring. A neighbour, I was told, is Ben Carson, the only black contender in the Republican race. Bill Clinton loved to say: “I can never forget that I come from a place called Hope.” I long for Mr Carson to invoke the name of Boring in a similar way as he struggles to keep his campaign alive.
"The good news is that Mr Trump is no Hitler. He is pro-Semitic, loves the American way and seems to have no problem with democracy or the constitution"
8:03PM GMT 31 Jan 2016
Second Story is a highbrow second-hand bookshop,
just off Dupont Circle in Washington DC. It sells elegantly printed 19th-century volumes on obscure subjects. But when I peered through its window last week, its display was giving pride of place to the first imprint of the first edition of The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump, price $100. Thus does Mr Trump go to Washington.
I didn’t buy, but I have read the book in a cheaper version. Historians say that if only people had studied Mein Kampf properly, they would have learnt most of what Hitler meant to do. Admittedly, Hitler was poor and in prison at the time, and so wrote his book himself, whereas Trump was rich and busy, and so hired a ghost writer to get his wisdom down on paper. But there is no reason to believe that the book, written nearly 30 years ago, does not capture the essential ideas of the man who hopes to win the Republican caucuses in Iowa.
The good news is that Mr Trump is no Hitler. He is pro-Semitic, loves the American way and seems to have no problem with democracy or the constitution. What he adores is being big. His Trump Golden Series will be “the most opulent stretch limousine made”. He buys the apartment next door to his own in his own building, Trump Tower, and knocks through, because “while I can’t honestly say that I need an 80ft living room, I do get a kick out of having one.”
His approach is unideological. It is that of the egomaniac businessman, not the great dictator. In his diary, he delights in dining with Cardinal John O’Connor of New York. No nonsense about praising the prelate for his spirituality: the Cardinal is “a businessman with great political instincts”.
Last week, I met several people who had had business dealings with Mr Trump. Few of them found these encounters agreeable, yet none seemed to bear a grudge against him. They even praised him for “telling it like it is” in politics – an odd way to describe a man who often says things which are quite definitely not the case. Yet they are sort of right. Mr Trump has a phrase to describe how he talks: “I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration – and a very effective form of promotion.”
In politics instead of business, the media want to shoot even more, so Mr Trump is shovelling harder than ever. He may be self-aggrandising, but he’s a genius at pouring wet concrete on the pomposity of others. When he pulled out of last week’s Iowa candidates’ debate on Fox News because of the alleged bias of its “bimbo” (his word) presenter Megyn Kelly, I thought he had blown it. Was he not brave enough to enter the arena?
But when I saw how all the TV journalists combined to express their disapproval of Mr Trump for “disrespecting the democratic process” by not going on the show, I realised how well he had shown up their conceited sense of their own role. He had exposed the supposedly anti-establishment Fox News as no different from the liberal networks that grass-roots Republicans hate. And the debate, without him, very nearly died. He is a past-master at what he calls “playing the role of myself”.
If you are certain sort of American – not necessarily a Right-wing one, but certainly one who feels that the prevailing political culture has nothing to offer you – you are not likely to be impressed by the attacks on Mr Trump’s character. He’s accused of being a narcissist. As much as the President we’ve had seven years of? He’s said to be dishonest and harbours bitterness. As much as the woman who is the Democrats’ front-runner? It’s natural to want to keep him in the race and see how far he can go.
Donald Trump claims he is now so popular that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue, shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose votes.” Since my hotel in New York was hard by Fifth Avenue, I walked warily.
In a dig at Trump the New Yorker, his Republican opponent Ted Cruz attacked “New York values” as being dissonant with those of the rest of the United States. Poor Senator Cruz got the wet concrete treatment. What was wrong, asked Mr Trump, with the values of the city that endured 9/11? He aims accurately, and fires.
For the weekend of my American trip, I went to stay with a friend in the Maryland countryside who had kindly invited me to ride his horses. (Two and a half feet of snow prevented this and we went cross-country skiing instead.) We were near the hamlet of Boring. A neighbour, I was told, is Ben Carson, the only black contender in the Republican race. Bill Clinton loved to say: “I can never forget that I come from a place called Hope.” I long for Mr Carson to invoke the name of Boring in a similar way as he struggles to keep his campaign alive.
"The good news is that Mr Trump is no Hitler. He is pro-Semitic, loves the American way and seems to have no problem with democracy or the constitution"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...didate-since-at-least-1992/?wpisrc=nl_az_most
Donald Trump is the least favorably viewed presidential candidate since at least 1992
By Philip Bump January 30
Three out of every five Americans views Donald Trump unfavorably, according to Gallup's most recent two-week average for all of the candidates. That's the highest among the Republicans and the highest of any candidate in the race at this point.
It's so high, in fact, that Gallup's Frank Newport wanted to see how it compared to the peak unfavorable ratings earned by every candidate back to 1992, when Gallup began tracking the data as it does now.
No candidate in the past 25 years has been viewed more unfavorably by Americans (Democrat, Republican and independent) than Donald Trump.
Campaign 2016 Email Updates
Get the biggest election stories in your inbox.
George H. W. Bush is the only one that really came close, with his unfavorable ratings spiking just before he lost his reelection in 1992. On the most-popular end of the spectrum are Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson -- both of whom are less well-known than Trump, meaning that fewer people have an opinion one way or the other.
Gallup also noted earlier this week that Ted Cruz's favorability among Republicans had plunged this month, perhaps due to the increased scrutiny he's been facing as the one-time Iowa front-runner. (Or, perhaps, for other reasons.)
There's one small consolation for Republicans worried about an unpopular Trump winning their party's nomination. The third least popular candidate in Gallup's numbers is the person currently leading the Democratic field, Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump is the least favorably viewed presidential candidate since at least 1992
By Philip Bump January 30
Three out of every five Americans views Donald Trump unfavorably, according to Gallup's most recent two-week average for all of the candidates. That's the highest among the Republicans and the highest of any candidate in the race at this point.
It's so high, in fact, that Gallup's Frank Newport wanted to see how it compared to the peak unfavorable ratings earned by every candidate back to 1992, when Gallup began tracking the data as it does now.
No candidate in the past 25 years has been viewed more unfavorably by Americans (Democrat, Republican and independent) than Donald Trump.
Campaign 2016 Email Updates
Get the biggest election stories in your inbox.
George H. W. Bush is the only one that really came close, with his unfavorable ratings spiking just before he lost his reelection in 1992. On the most-popular end of the spectrum are Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson -- both of whom are less well-known than Trump, meaning that fewer people have an opinion one way or the other.
Gallup also noted earlier this week that Ted Cruz's favorability among Republicans had plunged this month, perhaps due to the increased scrutiny he's been facing as the one-time Iowa front-runner. (Or, perhaps, for other reasons.)
There's one small consolation for Republicans worried about an unpopular Trump winning their party's nomination. The third least popular candidate in Gallup's numbers is the person currently leading the Democratic field, Hillary Clinton.
Honest Gil Fullbright for President
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NAtunJv6NtE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NAtunJv6NtE
[h=1]Donald Trump Just Released His Final Ad Before Iowa… And It’s EXPLODING on Facebook[/h] http://toprightnews.com/donald-trum...ad-before-iowa-and-its-exploding-on-facebook/
Iowa is nothing like the coastal states and big cities where most Americans live. Rural and sparsely populated, it’s almost devoid of minorities and wedded to fundamentalist Christianity.
Here, voters mark a candidate down for getting a biblical quotation wrong.
‘Did you hear Trump the other day?’ Rhonda Moore, 62, asked me after a speech in Centerville by Trump’s closest rival, the Texan Senator Ted Cruz.
‘He cited 2 Corinthians, verse 14. Honestly. He said two Corinthians! He didn’t even know it’s second Corinthians. I’m going to vote for Cruz. When he quotes the scriptures, he gets it right.’
Here, voters mark a candidate down for getting a biblical quotation wrong.
‘Did you hear Trump the other day?’ Rhonda Moore, 62, asked me after a speech in Centerville by Trump’s closest rival, the Texan Senator Ted Cruz.
‘He cited 2 Corinthians, verse 14. Honestly. He said two Corinthians! He didn’t even know it’s second Corinthians. I’m going to vote for Cruz. When he quotes the scriptures, he gets it right.’
[h=6]- JANUARY 31, 2016 -[/h][h=1]ON THE EVE OF THE IOWA CAUCUSES, DONALD TRUMP MAY HAVE ALREADY WON[/h]The Washington Post
There was a calm around Donald Trump as he took the stage here in Clinton, Iowa; a brief moment when he stared out at the crowd and looked gratified, perhaps even awed.
The unlikely candidate, who was written off in the first invisible draft of this election as a celebrity sideshow, has seized the affections of disillusioned conservatives around the country with his bombastic rhetoric. In just two days, the depth of the loyalty he has fashioned will be tested at the Iowa caucuses.
But here in this rural town in eastern Iowa and on stages across the Hawkeye State on Saturday, Trump had the air of a man who knows he has already won. He spoke in sweeping language about the “movement” he has built and the “love” he has found at campaign rallies. His confidence showed in the jokes he told the crowd about his many feuds, interspersed between the darker themes in his stump speech: terrorism, fears about illegal immigrants, economic desolation.
He even seemed dismissive of his poll numbers, which he himself has frequently admitted are among his favorite topics.
"The folks in Iowa have been amazing to me. They've been amazing. I'm even leading in all of the polls in Iowa now,” Trump told a crowded school gymnasium holding 2,000. “Some big ones are coming out I guess — but they don't even matter anymore, to be honest, because we're so close to the end, what difference does it make.”
Gratitude is a striking look on Trump, who is perhaps best known — and most easily caricatured —for his explosive temper and self-aggrandizing remarks. He has spent enormous amounts of time on podiums across the United States telling his supporters how well he is doing in the polls, and even more time reviewing those numbers.
But today: "We can't really talk about polls now, we have to just sort of wait and see what happens, right?" Trump said.
That is not exactly the whole truth. The campaign’s voter turn-out effort has whirled to life in recent weeks, with volunteers handing out flyers and voter registration forms to the thousands of would-be voters still attending his events. Many of those who have already participated in rallies have received calls from the campaign reminding them to vote. His campaign, meanwhile, continues to downplay the scrutiny of political strategists in Iowa who say that it has not invested in a significant ground game.
It is an old campaign cliché, but the Iowa election will likely come down to how many of Trump’s supporters actually vote, which remains unpredictable. One final Des Moines Register/Bloomberg politics poll released Saturday showed Trump with 28 percent to Cruz's 23 percent.
'Wouldn't that be terrible if I lost in Iowa, won everywhere else? And I don't know, I'd be very angry. But only for a day, I'd still love you," Trump said. "The bigger we can win by, the bigger the mandate, the more we can do."
Whether he wins the caucuses or not, Trump has already proven his naysayers wrong. And he knows that.
"A lot of people have laughed at me over the years,” Trump said Friday at the end of a speech in New Hampshire, which will host the country’s next nominating contest and where Trump leads by double-digits. “Now they’re not laughing so much, I’ll tell you.”
The billionaire hung back after his speech in Clinton to shake hands with supporters, to sign their signs and their “Make America Great Again” hats.
“You can’t always get what you want,” by the Rolling Stones blasted over the loudspeakers as he posed for pictures. Voters reached out for him, grabbing him, asking for selfies.
“You can’t always get what you want,” continued the song.
Before walking out, he decided to stop for one more picture. Smile. Click. "But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need," played the song as he left.
There was a calm around Donald Trump as he took the stage here in Clinton, Iowa; a brief moment when he stared out at the crowd and looked gratified, perhaps even awed.
The unlikely candidate, who was written off in the first invisible draft of this election as a celebrity sideshow, has seized the affections of disillusioned conservatives around the country with his bombastic rhetoric. In just two days, the depth of the loyalty he has fashioned will be tested at the Iowa caucuses.
But here in this rural town in eastern Iowa and on stages across the Hawkeye State on Saturday, Trump had the air of a man who knows he has already won. He spoke in sweeping language about the “movement” he has built and the “love” he has found at campaign rallies. His confidence showed in the jokes he told the crowd about his many feuds, interspersed between the darker themes in his stump speech: terrorism, fears about illegal immigrants, economic desolation.
He even seemed dismissive of his poll numbers, which he himself has frequently admitted are among his favorite topics.
"The folks in Iowa have been amazing to me. They've been amazing. I'm even leading in all of the polls in Iowa now,” Trump told a crowded school gymnasium holding 2,000. “Some big ones are coming out I guess — but they don't even matter anymore, to be honest, because we're so close to the end, what difference does it make.”
Gratitude is a striking look on Trump, who is perhaps best known — and most easily caricatured —for his explosive temper and self-aggrandizing remarks. He has spent enormous amounts of time on podiums across the United States telling his supporters how well he is doing in the polls, and even more time reviewing those numbers.
But today: "We can't really talk about polls now, we have to just sort of wait and see what happens, right?" Trump said.
That is not exactly the whole truth. The campaign’s voter turn-out effort has whirled to life in recent weeks, with volunteers handing out flyers and voter registration forms to the thousands of would-be voters still attending his events. Many of those who have already participated in rallies have received calls from the campaign reminding them to vote. His campaign, meanwhile, continues to downplay the scrutiny of political strategists in Iowa who say that it has not invested in a significant ground game.
It is an old campaign cliché, but the Iowa election will likely come down to how many of Trump’s supporters actually vote, which remains unpredictable. One final Des Moines Register/Bloomberg politics poll released Saturday showed Trump with 28 percent to Cruz's 23 percent.
'Wouldn't that be terrible if I lost in Iowa, won everywhere else? And I don't know, I'd be very angry. But only for a day, I'd still love you," Trump said. "The bigger we can win by, the bigger the mandate, the more we can do."
Whether he wins the caucuses or not, Trump has already proven his naysayers wrong. And he knows that.
"A lot of people have laughed at me over the years,” Trump said Friday at the end of a speech in New Hampshire, which will host the country’s next nominating contest and where Trump leads by double-digits. “Now they’re not laughing so much, I’ll tell you.”
The billionaire hung back after his speech in Clinton to shake hands with supporters, to sign their signs and their “Make America Great Again” hats.
“You can’t always get what you want,” by the Rolling Stones blasted over the loudspeakers as he posed for pictures. Voters reached out for him, grabbing him, asking for selfies.
“You can’t always get what you want,” continued the song.
Before walking out, he decided to stop for one more picture. Smile. Click. "But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need," played the song as he left.
[h=1]Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are breaking all the rules of politics[/h][h=2]Western voters are united in an unprecedented result against 'business as usual' – and business as usual is running to catch up[/h]
For many Americans, 2016 is an election for the ages. Everyone is watching and everyone has an opinion. Yet my friends in Britain think America has gone absolutely mad.
To some, it looks like we are in the throes of a nationwide nervous breakdown. To others, particularly those following billionaire businessman Donald Trump on the right and socialist senator Bernie Sanders on the Left, it seems more like a collective temper tantrum.
It’s time to set the record straight: you’re all correct. There are very real, tangible factors underpinning the surge in Democratic support for Sanders and Republicans backing Trump.
Their current success is no fluke; their supporters and their influence on the American political system are here to stay.
The genesis of this political uprising is in the attempt by “the establishment” in both political parties to crown their nominees before the public had spoken.
On the Democratic side, that meant Hillary Clinton, even though just 29 per cent of the public believes she has the honesty and integrity to be president. On the Republican side, it was to be Jeb Bush – who raised over $100 million in short order from well-heeled donors but almost nothing from grass roots activists.
The animosity the political establishment provoked by not listening to the people, and the polarity it caused when the people rose up and said “enough is enough”, is worse than at any time in two generations, leaving a slew of dead or dying campaigns and a path wide open for the first viable third-party candidate since, well, ever.
What I hear from American voters, night after night in focus groups and town hall meetings, is that the real issue at this election isn’t jobs, or immigration, or health care, or foreign policy – it’s ALL of the above.
It’s politics as usual. It’s the lack of accountability from the same class of people – whether in Washington or on Wall Street – who drove the economy off a cliff and stuck the rest of us with the bill.
Americans feel they are working harder and longer, and falling further and further behind.
All the while being fed boring bromides by elected officials who consistently and callously forget where they came from and who they work for. The rage which average voters feel towards their élites is real. They are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
But why we got here is less important than where we are headed. Donald Trump continues to defy the modern laws of political gravity. He stokes just as much fear as hope. On close examination, he doesn’t have a positive message, other than the vacuous injunction to "Make America Great Again".
His performance, while rambunctious, is rambling. He incessantly talks political process rather than policy.
When he says, ‘I could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue today…and not lose votes’, his audience only hears an authentic straight-shooter telling it like it is.
He flouts his wealth – rather than run from it as most billionaires do – to raucous applause among lower-wage crowds.
Indeed, every time Trump does something that the pollsters and pundits tell you will skewer his balloon, that balloon rises still further. He currently leads the Republican field in every state but Texas.
Quantitatively, if the polls are anything close to correct – a tepid proposition given gross polling negligence of the past few years – that would make him the GOP’s nominee just before his 70th birthday.
What an interesting birthday present: the chance to tell his remaining opponents “you’re fired.” The simple truth is that the man known unaffectionately as "The Donald" is striking a reminiscent and resounding chord across America.
And that is why the Republican race isn’t "Trump versus Cruz" or "Trump versus Rubio" anymore. It’s Donald and his masses against everybody else.
Turning to the Democrats, their world also appears upside-down. Hillary Clinton – the most long-running, well-funded, well-known presidential candidate in history – is once again blindsided by an insurgent challenge.
This time from 74-year-old rambling socialist Bernie Sanders – who isn’t even a fully-fledged Democrat. What’s remarkable about Sanders’ success is not how opposed to Trump he is. it is how alike their language, their speaking and their styles truly are.
Neither uses a teleprompter. Both bark admonitions like Tourette’s televangelists. Neither attempts to lift an audience from its seats in the all-American style of a Reagan or a (Bill) Clinton, instead pointedly and painstakingly listing the problems and enemies we face.
And crucially, neither accepts "big money" donations from corporations. Who would have thought that in the midst of a youth movement, the oldest candidates on both sides would be doing so well. Clinton is still the favourite, but Sanders is a worthy opponent.
For about a third of America, a Trump/Hillary race sounds like a choice between two types of colonoscopy. Enter the third way (sorry, Tony).
In an exclusive new poll, our firm found that former New York City Mayor and genuine political Independent Michael Bloomberg would begin a campaign for president with notional support of around 30 per cent – and a whopping 42 pe cent of floating voters.
This is some twenty points more than the last viable independent candidate – my former client Ross Perot – started with, a quarter of a century ago.
A final thought. If you believe this voter volatility is confined to the States, think again.
As my colleague Lynton Crosby said only last week, it is demonstrably false to write off Labour so soon – even with a scruffy socialist at the helm. He may not be as old as Bernie Sanders or as wealthy as Donald Trump, butaccidental leaders happen all the time.
Frank Luntz is a veteran pollster and political consultant who has worked with Republican politicians including Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, and George W Bush.
For many Americans, 2016 is an election for the ages. Everyone is watching and everyone has an opinion. Yet my friends in Britain think America has gone absolutely mad.
To some, it looks like we are in the throes of a nationwide nervous breakdown. To others, particularly those following billionaire businessman Donald Trump on the right and socialist senator Bernie Sanders on the Left, it seems more like a collective temper tantrum.
It’s time to set the record straight: you’re all correct. There are very real, tangible factors underpinning the surge in Democratic support for Sanders and Republicans backing Trump.
Their current success is no fluke; their supporters and their influence on the American political system are here to stay.
The genesis of this political uprising is in the attempt by “the establishment” in both political parties to crown their nominees before the public had spoken.
On the Democratic side, that meant Hillary Clinton, even though just 29 per cent of the public believes she has the honesty and integrity to be president. On the Republican side, it was to be Jeb Bush – who raised over $100 million in short order from well-heeled donors but almost nothing from grass roots activists.
The animosity the political establishment provoked by not listening to the people, and the polarity it caused when the people rose up and said “enough is enough”, is worse than at any time in two generations, leaving a slew of dead or dying campaigns and a path wide open for the first viable third-party candidate since, well, ever.
What I hear from American voters, night after night in focus groups and town hall meetings, is that the real issue at this election isn’t jobs, or immigration, or health care, or foreign policy – it’s ALL of the above.
It’s politics as usual. It’s the lack of accountability from the same class of people – whether in Washington or on Wall Street – who drove the economy off a cliff and stuck the rest of us with the bill.
Americans feel they are working harder and longer, and falling further and further behind.
All the while being fed boring bromides by elected officials who consistently and callously forget where they came from and who they work for. The rage which average voters feel towards their élites is real. They are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
But why we got here is less important than where we are headed. Donald Trump continues to defy the modern laws of political gravity. He stokes just as much fear as hope. On close examination, he doesn’t have a positive message, other than the vacuous injunction to "Make America Great Again".
His performance, while rambunctious, is rambling. He incessantly talks political process rather than policy.
When he says, ‘I could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue today…and not lose votes’, his audience only hears an authentic straight-shooter telling it like it is.
He flouts his wealth – rather than run from it as most billionaires do – to raucous applause among lower-wage crowds.
Indeed, every time Trump does something that the pollsters and pundits tell you will skewer his balloon, that balloon rises still further. He currently leads the Republican field in every state but Texas.
Quantitatively, if the polls are anything close to correct – a tepid proposition given gross polling negligence of the past few years – that would make him the GOP’s nominee just before his 70th birthday.
What an interesting birthday present: the chance to tell his remaining opponents “you’re fired.” The simple truth is that the man known unaffectionately as "The Donald" is striking a reminiscent and resounding chord across America.
And that is why the Republican race isn’t "Trump versus Cruz" or "Trump versus Rubio" anymore. It’s Donald and his masses against everybody else.
Turning to the Democrats, their world also appears upside-down. Hillary Clinton – the most long-running, well-funded, well-known presidential candidate in history – is once again blindsided by an insurgent challenge.
This time from 74-year-old rambling socialist Bernie Sanders – who isn’t even a fully-fledged Democrat. What’s remarkable about Sanders’ success is not how opposed to Trump he is. it is how alike their language, their speaking and their styles truly are.
Neither uses a teleprompter. Both bark admonitions like Tourette’s televangelists. Neither attempts to lift an audience from its seats in the all-American style of a Reagan or a (Bill) Clinton, instead pointedly and painstakingly listing the problems and enemies we face.
And crucially, neither accepts "big money" donations from corporations. Who would have thought that in the midst of a youth movement, the oldest candidates on both sides would be doing so well. Clinton is still the favourite, but Sanders is a worthy opponent.
For about a third of America, a Trump/Hillary race sounds like a choice between two types of colonoscopy. Enter the third way (sorry, Tony).
In an exclusive new poll, our firm found that former New York City Mayor and genuine political Independent Michael Bloomberg would begin a campaign for president with notional support of around 30 per cent – and a whopping 42 pe cent of floating voters.
This is some twenty points more than the last viable independent candidate – my former client Ross Perot – started with, a quarter of a century ago.
A final thought. If you believe this voter volatility is confined to the States, think again.
As my colleague Lynton Crosby said only last week, it is demonstrably false to write off Labour so soon – even with a scruffy socialist at the helm. He may not be as old as Bernie Sanders or as wealthy as Donald Trump, butaccidental leaders happen all the time.
Frank Luntz is a veteran pollster and political consultant who has worked with Republican politicians including Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, and George W Bush.
25% of Feds Would Consider Leaving Their Jobs if Trump Becomes President
http://www.govexec.com/management/2...rump-becomes-president/125549/?oref=top-story
Promises, promises...
http://www.govexec.com/management/2...rump-becomes-president/125549/?oref=top-story
Promises, promises...
25% of Feds Would Consider Leaving Their Jobs if Trump Becomes President
http://www.govexec.com/management/2...rump-becomes-president/125549/?oref=top-story
Promises, promises...
Only 25% of government workers would leave voluntarily, that would mean
Trump would have to fire only about 20% more to remove the fat in order
to begin to 'Make America Great Again'
SHAMEFUL! BATMAN LOOKED THE OTHER WAY WHEN SOMEONE VANDALIZED TRUMP’S STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME!!!
Posted by soopermexican on Feb 1, 2016 at 5:46 PM in Politics | 118 Comments
By soopermexican
Et tu, Batman?!? If you expected the caped crusader to come to the aid of Donald Trump’s defenseless star on the “Walk of Fame” in Hollywood when it was being shamefully defaced by a hooligan, you’d be wrong.
So. Wrong.
And that’s not the worst of it – Batman has been neglecting his duties for a long time now, unbeknownst to all of us:
Have you no SHAME, Batman?!?!?
Read more: http://therightscoop.com/shameful-b...-on-the-hollywood-walk-of-fame/#ixzz3yyMBJlxC
Posted by soopermexican on Feb 1, 2016 at 5:46 PM in Politics | 118 Comments
By soopermexican
Et tu, Batman?!? If you expected the caped crusader to come to the aid of Donald Trump’s defenseless star on the “Walk of Fame” in Hollywood when it was being shamefully defaced by a hooligan, you’d be wrong.
So. Wrong.
Even Batman is helpless to protect Donald Trump’s star.
Austin Franklin, an actor who spends his days patrolling Hollywood Boulevard dressed as the Dark Knight, has seen a lot of mockery for a lot of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But no star, he says, is as despised as Trump’s.
On Friday, Franklin — let’s just call him Batman — was among those who saw a swastika that had been painted on Trump’s star at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
“I’ve never seen this kind of hate put on a star before, not even Bill Cosby,” Batman told TheWrap.
The vandalism was quickly cleaned up, but not before someone posted a shot of it on Reddit. The star, which the Republican presidential candidate and “Apprentice” host received in 2007, was bright and shiny again by Saturday morning.
Here’s how it looked after the vandalism:Austin Franklin, an actor who spends his days patrolling Hollywood Boulevard dressed as the Dark Knight, has seen a lot of mockery for a lot of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But no star, he says, is as despised as Trump’s.
On Friday, Franklin — let’s just call him Batman — was among those who saw a swastika that had been painted on Trump’s star at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
“I’ve never seen this kind of hate put on a star before, not even Bill Cosby,” Batman told TheWrap.
The vandalism was quickly cleaned up, but not before someone posted a shot of it on Reddit. The star, which the Republican presidential candidate and “Apprentice” host received in 2007, was bright and shiny again by Saturday morning.
And that’s not the worst of it – Batman has been neglecting his duties for a long time now, unbeknownst to all of us:
But the swastika is only the latest abuse of the star. Batman has seen “at least 50” tourists stomping their feet on Trump’s star as they walked by.
“Some people pretend to take a dump on it as they pose for pictures,” Batman said.
People are fake pooping in the streets and Batman just stands there gawking at them.“Some people pretend to take a dump on it as they pose for pictures,” Batman said.
Have you no SHAME, Batman?!?!?
Read more: http://therightscoop.com/shameful-b...-on-the-hollywood-walk-of-fame/#ixzz3yyMBJlxC
