Give illegal immigrants a 10-year visa ‘immediately,’ 2020 Dem Hickenlooper says: report

The estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. should be granted 10-year visas “immediately,” a Democrat seeking the party’s 2020 presidential nomination said Friday.
John Hickenlooper, who served as Colorado’s governor from 2011 until earlier this year, made the comment at the NALEO forum in Miami, during a candidates forum sponsored by the Spanish-language TV network Telemundo.
Other 2020 Democrats participating in the forum were Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell and Elizabeth Warren
Hickenlooper was asked what message he would have for those living in the U.S. illegally, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
“What I would say with the 11 million people that are here now,” Hickenlooper said, “[is] that we should give them a 10-year visa immediately, put them on a pathway to citizenship and make sure that if it takes longer they can have extensions."
During his response, Hickenlooper also referred to a 2014 interview in the Wall Street Journal, for which he received backlash for suggesting that illegal immigrants didn’t regard U.S. citizenship as a priority.
"What I was trying to say at that time,” Hickenlooper explained Friday, according to the Free Beacon, “was the priority should be allow people to come out from the shadows.”
Hickenlooper also proposed free health care for the undocumented.
At the same forum Friday, Hickenlooper also addressed remarks from earlier in the week, in which he criticized the Democratic socialism preached by fellow Democratic candidate Sanders.
Having taken heat over criticizing a fellow Democrat, Hickenlooper instead framed his answer as part of a critique of President Trump.
“President Trump is fueling a national crisis of division in this country that is moving the country backwards,” Hickenlooper said, according to the Hill. “But socialism is not the answer.”
Hickenlooper announced his White House run in March, saying he aimed “to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver.”
Friday’s event in Miami was part of the annual conference of the NALEO Educational Fund, a nonprofit that helps U.S. Latinos participate in the nation’s political process.
The conference for NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials) is scheduled to conclude Saturday.

Sean Spicer: Joe Biden a 'flip-flopping gaffe machine' benefitting largely from Obama ties

Democratic 2020 frontrunner Joe Biden is reliably gaffe-prone and is leading in the polls chiefly due to his association with former President Barack Obama, according to Sean Spicer.
The former vice president's name identification is another reason he leads a pack of more than 20 candidates -- not because he is running a good campaign, Spicer, a former White House press secretary under President Trump. said Friday on Fox News' "Hannity."
"I think there's a false narrative out there that Joe Biden is some sort of political success," Spicer told guest host Jason Chaffetz. "He's been saying dumb things since he was first elected in the early 1970s. He has run for president twice and epically failed.

"I think there's a false narrative out there that Joe Biden is some sort of political success. He's been saying dumb things since he was first elected in the early 1970s. He has run for president twice and epically failed."
— Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary

"Biden right now benefits from eight years of ... being vice president to, frankly, a popular president from the Democratic Party."
However, Biden's penchant for making public gaffes and the absence of Obama at his side will hurt him when he joins his fellow contenders for next week's primary debates in Miami, Spicer said.
"He is a flip-flopping gaffe machine," Spicer claimed.
"Right now, once the other candidates have an opportunity to go after him on the debate stage coming up ...  and he doesn't have Obama to carry the ticket, he will fail epically as he has twice before."
Most recently, Biden remained defiant after making comments about how he was able to work well with former Sens. Herman Talmadge, D-Ga., and James O. Eastland, D-Miss., despite the fact they were avowed segregationists.
Biden's campaign defended the comments while the candidate himself rebuffed calls for his apology -- and has fired back at his critics.
“Apologize for what?” Biden told reporters Wednesday night when asked about the criticism over his remarks. “Not a racist bone in my body. I've been involved in civil rights my whole career. Period. Period. Period.”
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Bernie Sanders, other Dems take swipes at Trump while courting Latino voters in Miami

Eight Democratic presidential candidates made their pitches in Miami on Friday, courting the state’s more than 2 million Latino voters.
The candidates spoke at the annual conference of NALEO, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. The group included Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, John Hickenlooper, Pete Buttigieg and Eric Swalwell.
Most took swipes at President Trump and his policies while covering topics that included immigration, climate change and the U.S. economy. Just one day earlier, the president claimed his support among Latinos has "gone way up."
Noticeably absent from the NALEO event was Joe Biden, the former vice president who is the frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, according to a recent Fox News Poll.
The forum took place five days ahead of the first Democratic debate, which also will be held in Miami, and came just three days after Trump officially launched his 2020 re-election campaign with a raucous rally in Orlando, Fla., unveiling the slogan, "Keep America Great."

'Trump is a demagogue'

In his speech, Sanders -- a U.S. senator from Vermont -- called out what he referred to as the president's “racism” and “xenophobia” and promised that if elected he would “undo the fear and the damage" Trump has caused." He labeled Trump a “demagogue” who is picking on the immigrant community in order to divide the nation.
"Let us not forget that this administration is ripping children from the arms of their mothers," Sanders said. "Some of those children have died."
Sanders referred to Trump as a "demagogue."
"What we have got to do is to understand that Trump is a demagogue and he does what demagogues always do," Sanders said, according to the Hill, "and what that is, is to pick on a minority -- and today that minority is the immigrant community."
O'Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, Texas, announced that he would reunite every child separated at the border and end the detention of migrant children through an executive order.
"We will no longer put children in cages!” he told the audience.
Adding a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census was a key issue at the event.
“It is racist in its design,” O’Rourke said. “It's intended to suppress the vote of Latinos, people of color, those whose country of national origin was some other place, who came here to contribute to our babies. Let's make sure they can by counting every single one of them.”

'That is our country'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said she would wait to weigh in on the Census issue until after the Supreme Court decides the case. She focused much of her speech on the economy but also promised to help "Dreamers" -- those benefitting from DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), an Obama-era program for assisting adults who came to the U.S. illegally as children.

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a forum on Friday, June 21, 2019, in Miami. (Associated Press)

Julian Castro, a Texan who served in the Obama administration as secretary of housing and urban development, said if elected he would decriminalize illegal border crossings, expand DACA through executive order and protect Venezuelans with Temporary Protected Status.
“That is our country. That is America,” Castro said about his Mexican grandmother who came to the U.S. as a 7-year-old orphan.
Castro added: "Right before [President Trump] leaves [the White House] ... I'm going to tell him, 'Adios!'"

"Right before [President Trump] leaves [the White House] ...  I'm going to tell him, 'Adios!' "
— Julian Castro

Pete Buttigieg warned about Trump becoming a distraction as Democrats try to pitch their ideas to voters.
"The more we talk about this president, the less we talk about the people," he said.

"The more we talk about this president, the less we talk about the people."
— Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg, who had been off the campaign trail to deal with an officer-involved shooting in South Bend, Ind., where he is mayor, spoke about the importance of giving Puerto Rico the right to vote.
“The embarrassingly poor response to [Hurricane Michael, which struck the island last October] would not have happened if Puerto Rico were afforded electoral votes,” he said.
He added that America “must welcome the decision of the people of Puerto Rico” if they choose statehood.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.

President Trump to nominate Army's Mark Esper as permanent defense secretary

President Trump plans to nominate Army Secretary Mark Esper as the nation's next defense secretary, the White House announced Friday evening.
Esper is set to start as acting defense secretary Monday following the departure Friday of current acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, the Washington Post reported.
The transition at the Pentagon comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, following Iran's downing of a U.S. drone over international waters and the country's suspected involvement on attacks against oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month.

Secretary of the Army Mark Esper speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 2, 2019. (Associated Press)

President Trump had announced Tuesday that Shanahan was withdrawing from consideration for a permanent appointment to lead the Pentagon because of family matters. In that same message, the president revealed that Esper was his choice to succeed Shanahan.
"I know Mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job!," the president wrote.
Esper has been secretary of the Army since November 2017. He served in the Gulf War, worked on Capitol Hill and has been a lobbyist for Raytheon, a defense contractor. His Washington experience far outweighs that of Shanahan, who was a Boeing executive.
After Esper was nominated to lead the Army in 2017, the former infantry officer was confirmed by the Senate in an 89-6 vote, the Hill reported.
There has been no permanent secretary of defense since James Mattis resigned last December. Under the Vacancies Reform Act, which says department secretary positions can have an acting head for only 210 days, Trump must nominate a defense secretary by July 30, the Washington Post reported.
If nominated, Esper will have to step down from his acting secretary role while the Senate considers his nomination.

Anti-American Democrats Cartoons

Newt Gingrich on anti-American sentiment: 'The number of lies' from the left is 'astonishing'

Some Democrats are telling lies about America and President Trump is exposing those defaming the country, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday.
Comparing U.S. border detention facilities to Nazi concentration camps and denying America is "great" -- as the president's slogan declares -- are two top examples of such, Gingrich told host Laura Ingraham on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle."
"The number of lies being told right now about the United States is astonishing," he said. "But all Trump is doing is, he's drawing to the surface the deep hatred which on-campus had certainly began by the middle of the 1960s and has grown and grown like a cancer."
"If you are a Democrat today and go to a normal Democratic meeting and start talking about how wonderful America is, how great the Founding Fathers were, how remarkable the Constitution is, you'd be booed off the stage."

"If you are a Democrat today and go to a normal Democratic meeting and start talking about how wonderful America is, how great the Founding Fathers were, how remarkable the Constitution is, you'd be booed off the stage."
— Newt Gingrich, former U.S. House speaker

Ingraham pointed to several examples of Democrats she considered to be defaming America.
In one clip, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to criticize President Trump's 2016 campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."
"We're not going to make America great again. It was never that great," the third-term Democrat said.
In another clip, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., claimed, "There are things that are savagely wrong in this country."
Gingrich claimed Trump is able to fire up his opponents by using slogans like "MAGA."
"I think it's amazing that President Trump has this knack for framing things in such a way that his opponents go crazy," said the former Georgia congressman, whose books include "Trump's America" and "Understanding Trump."

The president says, 'I'm proud to be an American,' the left says, 'I'm ashamed to be an American'."
— Newt Gingrich, former U.S. House speaker

"You now have, for example, the president says, 'Keep America Great,' which I think is a great campaign slogan for next year. The Democrats promptly say, 'No, keep America weak.' The president says, 'I'm proud to be an American,' the left says, 'I'm ashamed to be an American'."

House Dems push for new AUMF before any military action on Iran, unlikely to pass

The U.S. may be closer to a military conflict with Iran now more than ever.
But this also means that Congress could be the closest it’s come in years to considering a new resolution to authorize the use of military force. Such a proposal could end the old authorizations Congress approved in 2001 to fight in Afghanistan and a 2002 blessing to invade Iraq. Three presidents, including President Trump, have employed these Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) for a panoply of military interventions spanning nearly two decades.
The operations have gone beyond the scope of just Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. has used those AUMFs to deploy military might in the Philippines, Georgia, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Niger. In fact, the House just approved a defense spending plan with a provision to extinguish the old AUMFs within 240 days of the measure becoming law.

Protesters hold signs spelling out, "No War," outside the White House, Thursday June 20, 2019, in Washington, after President Donald Trump tweeted that "Iran made a very big mistake" by shooting down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz in Iran.  (AP)

Democratic leaders emphasized this point when summoned to the White House Situation Room Thursday afternoon for a briefing on Iran.
“We make it very clear that in order to get engaged in any military activities, we must have a new Authorization of Use of Military Force,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “That is clear in our caucus.”
When asked if members of the Trump Administration agree that the existing AUMFs lack rationale for attacking Iran, Pelosi replied “No. They didn’t say anything. They didn’t say yes. They didn’t say no.”
“We told the room that the Democratic position is that Congressional approval must be required before funding any conflict in Iran,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “One of the best ways to avoid bumbling into war - a war that nobody wants – is to have a robust, open debate and for Congress to have a real say. We learned that lesson in the run-up to the Iraq war.”
That’s the fundamental difference here. The Administration of President George W. Bush made a concerted case in 2002 and 2003 that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction. In the shadow of 9/11, President Bush argued that the U.S. needed to strike Iraq pre-emptively to stave off a catastrophic terrorist attack. As it turned out, the U.S. relied on faulty intelligence to appeal to Congress and the public for war. Less than two years later, Congress concluded a post-mortem on the reasons given for seeking war. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time. Based on what lawmakers learned later, Roberts doubted that the Senate resolution to approve the Iraq war could garner the 77 Senate yeas it commanded in 2003.
This is why Congress has been reluctant to modify or refine the existing AUMFs – let alone adopt new ones. Lawmakers know they lack the votes to get everyone together to approve a modern AUMF. That would then leave any presidential administration one option: go it alone. And if an administration opts against acting? The U.S. could be vulnerable to attack and lack the appetite to initiate justified reprisals.
So, an administration could decide to send in military forces without a Congressional blessing. Sure, lawmakers may howl that the president is ignoring the Constitution. But at least Messrs. Bush, Obama and Trump can point to some Congressional, tacit endorsement of war: the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs.
Even if it is a stretch…
In other words, had the Bush Administration not leaned on defective information to start a war, lawmakers today may have more confidence in building a case for battle under the proper circumstances. But the Iraq experience was so onerous that many lawmakers lack the conviction to cobble together a coalition to either endorse or oppose the war option. Congress then reverts to relying on the old AUMFs. Lawmakers diminish their own power, ceding authority to the executive and incapacitated to legislate.
But no one is sure what is coming on Iran – if anything. The Trump Administration again finds itself at a familiar locus. It’s called the brink.
President Trump declared Thursday “you’ll soon find out” if the U.S. intends to strike Iran militarily.
Nearly two years ago, the President warned North Korea it had better shape up or Pyongyang would “be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Trump was threatening to slap devastating tariffs on Mexico.
Democrats may demand an AUMF. But many Republican leaders are more than willing to defer to President Trump.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said it was “unacceptable” for Iran to shoot down the American drone. But when asked what the U.S. should do to retaliate, McCarthy replied that “the President will have options before him.” When asked if the U.S. should use force, McCarthy said “I will leave that to the experts in the military and those in the intel community.” McCarthy reiterated that Trump “has the current authority” to wage war if necessary, based on the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that the Trump Administration should proceed with “measured responses.”
The Senate aims to begin debate next week on the annual defense policy bill. Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., have long implored their colleagues to trash the calcified AUMFs and draft something new. Udall and Kaine have prepped an amendment to the defense legislation which would require Congressional signoff before going to war with Iran.
Of course, this touches off the age-old question. What defines “going to war?” Congress has only formally “declared war” five times against 11 nations. The last such declaration was against Romania in 1942. But what constitutes “war?” If the U.S. bombs Iranian defense facilities or engages Iranian aircraft and ships at sea, is the U.S. “at war?” Was the U.S. “at war” in Niger when four American soldiers were killed in an ambush two years ago? Few Americans even knew the U.S. had forces in Niger. That’s why Democrats and some Republicans demand Congressional consent. If the U.S. is going to be involved somewhere and lawmakers are expected to foot the bill, they’d like to vote. That’s because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority “to declare War.”
And, if military action is unpopular politically or with the public, lawmakers always to know why an administration is involved militarily somewhere without Congressional imprimatur.
“I cannot really predict what actions the White House will take,” said Pelosi after returning to the Capitol following the White House briefing. “They did consult with us today.”
But consultation is different from the adoption of an AUMF or a declaration of war. And that’s something Democrats are demanding if President Trump decides to strike.

Hannity takes on Biden's racially insensitive past

Fox News' Sean Hannity didn't hold back Thursday night, calling out Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden for his racially insensitive past.
"Now, there's a pattern here because crazy uncle Joe came out hard against busing...integration of public schools in the 1970s; he made inflammatory comments when pushing the Clinton crime bill; he used the phrase 'predators on our streets' talking about urban crime; he even made excuses for segregationist Strom Thurmond calling him a product of his time," Hannity said.
Biden faced criticism Wednesday from his Democratic primary rivals for invoking his ability decades ago to work with two segregationist southern senators to “get things done.”
“Apologize for what?” Biden told reporters Wednesday night when asked about the criticism over his remarks. “Not a racist bone in my body. I've been involved in civil rights my whole career. Period. Period. Period.”
Hannity also talked about the presidential candidates 'flexible' opinions.
"Biden's advisors are actually now even publicly begging him, stop talking about your political past because it is a massive liability. He has no core ideas, no solutions, eight years of failure. Willing to say and do everything to try to appease the radical Democrat socialist party, but is anyone buying it. Remember his Anita hill apology tour, the flip-flopping on the Hyde amendment? He held that position for 40 years, having to pander to the real speaker of the house, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez," Hannity said.
The Fox News host blasted Biden for his current positions and his campaign chaos.
"And he's adopted, yes, the crazy new green deal climate change nonsense, he's averaging about a flip-flop a week making the campaign spin and spin in a million different directions," Hannity said.
"Someone with no plan for our future and he has to run on the Biden-Obama record. $150 billion to mullahs in Iran, 13 million more Americans on food stamps, 8 million more on poverty."
Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.