Sunday, May 15, 2016

Ted Cruz Cartoon


In Texas GOP speech, Cruz resumes conservative fight; no word of Trump, restarting campaign


Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday used his first speech since suspending his presidential primary campaign to tout his conservative principles on the economy and other key issues -- while neither mentioning presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump nor a potential return to the race.
“Growth doesn’t come down from government. It comes from small businesses across the United States,” Cruz said at the Texas Republican Party convention in Dallas-Fort Worth. “When you get the boot of government off small businesses, jobs and economic growth take off.”
Cruz acknowledge being “disappointed” about having to suspend his campaign, after Trump’s commanding May 3 primary win in Indiana. However, he appeared unwavering in his beliefs, also calling for the repeal of ObamaCare, as he has done in Congress and did on the campaign trail.
Cruz has left open the small possibility that he might return to the race, saying Tuesday morning before the Nebraska primary that he had no path to victory but that his campaign would “respond accordingly” if “that changes.”
However, by late afternoon, upon returning to his Senate office and talking to reporters, Cruz sounded more resigned to making his voice heard on Capitol Hill.
Once friendly, Cruz and Trump clashed bitterly before Cruz suspended his campaign. He hasn't since endorsed Trump nor called for the party to rally around the billionaire businessman.
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On Saturday, Cruz also said the movement of freedom-loving patriots is "far more important than one candidate."
He said "we may face some challenges ahead" but that the conservative movement "will be the remnant, will be the core" that can pull "this country back from the abyss."

Report: GOP mega-donor Adelson to give Trump up to $100 million


Billionaire Republican donor Sheldon Adelson is reportedly willing to give Donald Trump as much as $100 million for his presidential campaign -- a purported record-setting amount for the wealth casino magnate.
Adelson pledged the amount to Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, during a meeting last week in New York, two GOP sources told The New York Times, which first reported the story.
Trump will indeed need the support. Much of the billionaire businessman’s success in the primary race came from his ability to fund his own campaign and tell voters that he is not beholden to corporate, Wall Street or lobbyists’ interests.
However, his own wealth and small-donor contributions would be no match for those of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic machine behind her if the front-running Clinton becomes Trump’s general election opponent.
Trump has since being declared the presumptive nominee on May 3 met with Washington Republicans to begin coordinating fundraising efforts for his general election bid and those of other Republican candidates on November ballots.
The Times reports that the Las Vegas-based Adelson’s commitment to Trump will result in Adelson scaling back his contributions to congressional Republicans, who are in a tough fight to keep control of the Senate.
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Trump says he has already loaned his primary campaign $50 million and would need as much as a $1 billion for a White House bid.
Exactly how Adelson would contribute to Trump’s effort is unclear. But such a large sum would require him, after giving directly to the Trump campaign, to donate through a super PAC because they allow unlimited donations. (Trump so far has been outspoken about the amount of influence super PACs have in politics.)
In 2012, Adelson contributed at least $98 million to Republican efforts, according to a study by ProPublica cited by The Times. But that money went to 34 separate campaigns and groups.
Adelson publically endorsed Trump last week, after having backed Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz’s failed GOP primary bid.

Donald who? Wisconsin Republicans largely avoid Trump


Mixed feelings about presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump were on full display Saturday at the Wisconsin GOP convention, with Gov. Scott Walker and other officeholders not even speaking his name.
Those who did mention Trump urged supporting him as a necessity in order to defeat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
"We can't let Hillary Clinton bring four more years of Barack Obama," said U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, whose north-central congressional district is one of two Trump won in Wisconsin's primary on April 5. Trump lost statewide to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz by 13 points, but hasn't lost a state since.
Wisconsin Republicans were more clearly united Saturday in support of Sen. Ron Johnson, who faces a tough re-election fight with Democrat Russ Feingold.
"That needs to be our clear focus," Walker said of the Senate race. "That's where we can have the biggest impact, not just in the state of Wisconsin but the nation as a whole."
Walker called for focusing "like a laser beam" on getting Republicans excited about supporting Johnson.
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Johnson, in his convention speech, compared the upcoming election along with the vote passengers on Flight 93 took on Sept. 11, 2001 before storming the cockpit to stop the hijackers and crash the plane in a Pennsylvania field.
"It may not be life and death, like the vote the passengers on United flight 93 took, but boy is it consequential," Johnson said of the election.
While Johnson joined state office holders in refusing to mention Trump by name, others in the congressional delegation broke the silence.
"With Ron Johnson we're going to continue to make Wisconsin great and we're going to make America great again with Donald Trump," Duffy said, referring to Trump's campaign slogan.
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, in calling for unifying behind Trump, said "the time has come to look at what the stakes are."
"The consequence of staying home is effectively a vote for Hillary Clinton and Russ Feingold," he said.
But Sensenbrenner's comment that Trump had won "fair and square" was met with only scattered applause.
Rep. Glenn Grothman said Republicans need to get more excited in the race or face losing to Clinton.
"Like the Scott Walker recall, we've got to be that riled up," Grothman said.
There were few signs of excitement for Trump at the annual convention, which is largely staged as a pep rally for the party in advance of the election. One person wore a Trump hat and a vendor had Trump buttons for sale along with items for other candidates. There were no Trump signs hung in the convention hall.
Walker has said he will endorse Trump as the Republican nominee, while others have said they want to hear more about his policies. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan met with Trump in Washington on Thursday and said afterward he was confident that the party would be unified.
Ryan, who represents the southeast corner of Wisconsin, was to speak at an evening banquet at the convention.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos pledged to help the "Republican nominee" but didn't say Trump's name.
The next president "will likely have the power to stack the federal courts with nominees," Attorney General Brad Schimel said in his remarks.
But instead of using that point to advocate for Trump, Schimel called for re-electing Johnson because of the role he plays in the Senate voting on confirming those nominees.
Even state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who had been one of the most outspoken office holders calling for unity behind Trump, did not make that plea during his remarks.
Fitzgerald instead focused on Republican efforts to retain majority control of the state Senate.
And Walker's son, Alex Walker, spoke about Johnson. A junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Alex Walker said he was working to organize college Republicans to help with the Johnson campaign. He didn't say anything about helping Trump.

Report: Anti-Trump Republicans contacted Mark Cuban about third-party bid


A group of anti-Donald Trump Republicans is trying to lure Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire businessman Mark Cuban into presidential race as a third-party candidate, according to a published report.
Cuban told The Washington Post Saturday that the unnamed Republicans told him said that his loud persona combined with his “ability to connect with voters” could make him a winning contender on an independent ticket.
The NBA team owner rejected their advances, but expressed confidence that he could withstand Trump in the election.
“He could come after me all he wanted, and he knows I would put him in his place,” Cuban told the Post. “All that said, again, I don’t see it happening. There isn’t enough time.”
Cuban offered some of his thoughts on the presidential race in a February blog post. He said at the time that there has “not been a single instance of leadership from any of the candidates.”
“It may not seem like it sometimes, but this country does want exciting new ideas. We want to know there is a positive direction for us,” Cuban wrote. “The future of this country can’t just be about free stuff, raising taxes on the rich or cutting taxes for everyone, keeping people out and undoing what is already done.
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“There are new ideas in this world that matter. It would be nice to get one from a Presidential candidate.”
According to the Post, certain Republicans are getting major donors lined up, commissioning private polls and trying to lure contenders to derail the presumptive GOP nominee Trump.
The paper reported that effort to derail Trump has ramped up significantly in the last 10 days.

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