A debate with tough terror talk: Trump deflects while Cruz and Rubio clash

From the opening moments of the Las Vegas debate, Wolf Blitzer tried to make it about Donald Trump, whether he wants to isolate America, and whether he is “unhinged.”
Jeb Bush, languishing in the polls, took the bait. Ted Cruz, surging into second place, did not. Marco Rubio, doing well in the polls, also did not.
And Trump, with a huge lead in the national polls, calmly deflected the first attack. As I had predicted on the air, Trump generally avoids bonking his rivals over the head in debate settings, saving his tougher language for interviews and speeches.
The CNN moderators gave the candidates every opportunity to bash each other, and the two Cuban-American senators were happy to answer the call, starting with a spat over NSA surveillance. Trump, defying some pundits’ predictions that he would smack Cruz around, didn’t engage in fisticuffs.
Some takeaways: Blitzer did a solid job in keeping the debate firmly focused on terrorism, a reflection of how fundamentally the Paris and San Bernardino attacks have transformed the presidential campaign. This was a high-stakes encounter on dead-serious subjects.
The entire debate was about projecting strength: against ISIS, against lone-wolf killers, against the Obama administration’s approach.
The debate did nothing to dent Trump’s lead, and Cruz and Rubio lived up to their reputations as the best orators in the field, probably fighting to a draw. Jeb got in a few licks, and Ben Carson wasn’t much of a presence.
After Trump finessed Blitzer’s opening question about his plan to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the country—he shifted to attacking the Iran nuclear deal as “horrible” and “disgusting”—Wolf tried again. Why, he asked Bush, did you call Trump’s plan “unhinged?”
Jeb, rather than seize the moment, began with a wordy response, but then delivered his practiced line: “Donald is a chaos candidate, he’d be a chaos president.” But he looks slightly uncomfortable taking such swings.
Trump was almost dismissive in response, saying “Jeb doesn’t really believe I’m unhinged,” and adding that the former Florida governor was only trying to revive his failing campaign.
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt tried, and failed, to entice Cruz into criticizing Trump’s Muslim plan. The senator shifted to President Obama engaging in “double-speak” on Islamic terrorism. Hewitt tried again, but Cruz stuck to his game plan of speaking no evil of The Donald so as not to alienate his supporters.
Cruz tried to sidestep a Dana Bash question on his vote to limit NSA surveillance by saying “the premise of your question is not accurate.” When Rubio criticized Cruz’s vote, the Texan hit back: “Marco knows what he’s saying isn’t true.”
Rand Paul, who barely made the debate cutoff, also whacked Rubio by saying he has more of an allegiance to Sen. Chuck Schumer and his fellow liberals.
That gave Chris Christie, back on the main stage, an opening to take on the squabbling senators, saying: “If your eyes are glazed over like mine…”
Trump’s only moment of agitation came when he scolded Bush for interrupting him, then said he was “a very nice person, but we need toughness.”
“Donald, you’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency,” Jeb said, sounding annoyed.
“With Jeb’s attitude, we will never be great again,” Trump said evenly.
The Donald chided CNN in the second hour, though not with Newt Gingrich-like force, calling it “very sad” that the moderators kept feeding the others lines that “Mr. Trump said this”—and were doing it for ratings. He seemed annoyed only when Bush said he doesn’t get his information “from the shows,” Saturday morning or Sunday morning—a reference that most of the audience missed because Jeb didn’t explain it was an old Trump comment.
“I’m at 42 and you’re at 3!” Trump proclaimed, wielding polling numbers as a weapon.
No question the CNN team asked could get the GOP candidates to retreat a centimeter from the tough terror talk.
Would Trump close down the Internet to stop ISIS?
He said it wasn’t a question of freedom of speech: “I don’t want them using our media,” before clarifying that the efforts would be narrowly targeted.
Had Cruz said he would carpet-bomb ISIS until the sand glows in the dark?
He would bomb until we “utterly and completely destroy ISIS,” Cruz said, before clarifying he didn’t mean cities.
Even Carson didn’t flinch when Hewitt, in a question that drew boos, asked: “You are okay with the deaths of thousands of innocent children?”
At times, there was so much tough talk that the rivals’ rhetoric seemed to blur and they canceled each other out.
No one dominated the stage, as in some past debates. Trump went to Las Vegas with a huge lead and leaves the same way. Cruz and Rubio showed up in second and third place, and if their counterpunching changed that equation, it was not immediately evident. None of the other contenders had a breakout moment. And the country got a powerful reminder that we are at war.

Watters' World: Traffic edition

Humbug, indeed

For Christians, this is the season of Advent – an intentionally somber period of preparation before the fat geese and goodies of Christmas. It’s something like a low-key Lent. Think of the haunting strains of "O come, O come, Emmanuel” for Advent versus the sonic blast of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” for Christmas. Even though Christians know that these are just thought exercises and spiritual disciplines, the spreading gloom still sometimes seems real. Ash Wednesday or Advent vespers can leave believers in a fog of gloom. The tomb is full. The manger is empty.

But Christmas always comes. Easter always comes. The fog will be burned away. Christians intellectually understand what has happened and what will come, but emotions overawe intellect.

For Republicans, December of every fourth year acts as something of a secular Advent. There will be a brokered convention. The party will rupture and break. The House and Senate are doomed. The divisions are so deep that they cannot be overcome. A third-party candidate will arise and hand the election to the Democrats. Woe betide!

The gloom is gloomier this year than most. And the political press leans in to whisper into anguished ears, “Doomed, doomed, doomed…”

There is silly talk from party leaders about how to deny Donald Trump the nomination at the Republican National Convention – wishful thinking born of desperation. They shouldn’t kid themselves. If Trump gets the delegates, he will get the nomination and there’s nothing any “establishment” can or will do about it.

And if Trump doesn’t get enough delegates, somebody else almost certainly will. The idea that the convention will be deadlocked is (for now) exclusively the province of political journalists that would love to cover it and long-shot candidates who need some reason (beyond vainglory) to continue their campaigns.

Now, predictions of a re-united party and an orderly convention can hardly be delivered with the same certitude with which Christians can await December 25. Trump’s wealth and celebrity do afford him the chance to play spoiler if he chooses. The overpopulated GOP field does make it harder for the party to sort itself out. And the chaotic, dangerous condition of the world certainly creates a scenario in which dark Advent dreams could become real.

But in every year past, the deep angst of December has faded and Republicans have found some way to survive, endure and, occasionally, win elections.

So if you are one of the GOPers caught in the December fog, give yourself a break. The Halleluiah Chorus is almost certainly still to come.

Chris Stirewalt

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Chris Stirewalt joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in July of 2010 and serves as digital politics editor based in Washington, D.C.  Additionally, he serves as the host of "Power Play" on FoxNews.com and makes daily appearances on the network including "America Live with Megyn Kelly," "Special Report with Bret Baier," and "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace." Most recently, Stirewalt provided expert political analysis during the 2012 presidential election.

Prior to joining FNC, Stirewalt served as political editor for The Washington Examiner where he wrote a twice-weekly column and led political coverage for the newspaper. He also served as politics editor at the Charleston Daily Mail and West Virginia Media. Stirewalt began his career at the Wheeling Intelligencer in West Virginia.

He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia.

Agents reportedly blocked by secret US policy from looking at social media of visa applicants

If it been a American Citizen the government would have been all over it!

A secret U.S. policy that prohibits immigration officials from reviewing the social media messages of foreign citizens applying for U.S. visas was reportedly kept in place over fears of a civil liberties backlash and “bad public relations.”
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson refused in early 2014 to end the policy, even though several other officials in the organization pressed for such a policy change, ABC News reported Monday.
John Cohen, a former acting under-secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and currently a national security consultant for ABC News, said he pushed for a change in 2014 that would allow a review of social media messages posted publically as terror group followers increasingly turned to Twitter and Facebook.
"Immigration, security, law enforcement officials recognized at the time that it was important to more extensively review public social media postings because they offered potential insights into whether somebody was an extremist or potentially connected to a terrorist organization or a supporter of the movement," Cohen, who left DHS in June 2014, told ABC News.
Cohen’s account comes as members of Congress question why U.S. officials failed to review the social media posts of San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik.
Malik received a U.S. visa in May 2014, despite what the FBI said were extensive social media messages about jihad and martyrdom.
Cohen said that officials from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement both pressed for a change in policy, which eventually became the subject of a meeting in 2014 chaired by Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, other top deputies and representatives of the DHS Office of Civil Liberties and the Office of Privacy.
"The primary concern was that it would be viewed negatively if it was disclosed publicly and there were concerns that it would be embarrassing," Cohen told ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday.
Cohen added that he and other officials were deeply disappointed that the senior leadership would not approve a review of what were publicly-posted online messages.
"There is no excuse for not using every resource at our disposal to fully vet individuals before they come to the United States," told ABC News.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday the Homeland Security and State departments have been asked to review the process for screening people who apply for visas and to return with specific recommendations.
"I think the president's top priority here is the national security and safety of the American people," Earnest said. "And that will continue to be the case with ensuring that this K-1 visa program is effectively implemented."
Malik came to the United States in 2014 on a K-1, or fiancé, visa.
Earnest did not provide specifics of the security review for visas, but said one consideration going forward is resources.
The government approved more than 9.9 million visa applications during the 2014 budget year.
The department said three pilot programs to specifically incorporate "appropriate" social media reviews into its vetting process were launched in the last year and the department is looking at other ways to use social media posts.
The DHS is working on a plan to scrutinize social media posts as
part of its visa application process before certain people are allowed entry into the nation, a person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The move is part of a new focus on the use of social networking sites following the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, Calif., the person told the Journal.  
The pilot programs currently used by DHS do not sweep up all social media posts, though government officials have kept details of the programs closely held, as they do not want to reveal the precise process they use to try and identify potential threats.
On Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., demanded that the U.S. immediately initiate a program that would check the social media sites of those admitted on visas.
"Had they checked out Tashfeen Malik," he said, "maybe those people in San Bernardino would be alive."
Sen. Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Farook was radicalized as early as 2010 and Malik as far back as 2012, which would have been years before her visa was processed.
"We want to look at how our immigration process for a visa for a spouse broke down, that they didn't notice the radicalization," Burr said.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Republican from Virginia who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said Monday that the committee is working on legislation that would require online information, including social media accounts, be reviewed as part of the background check for visa applicants, including K-1 visas.
Allowing visa vetters to review social media postings however is no guarantee that a would-be immigrant who has radicalized views will be discovered. Facebook and Twitter users can make their pages private and aliases are routinely employed.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., introduced legislation last week that would require social media companies to report to law enforcement any "terrorist activity" they became aware of — for example, attack planning, recruiting or the distribution of terrorist material.
Representatives with the technology industry say that would become a massive new liability for companies, chill free speech online and increase the number of reports funneled to law enforcement, making it difficult to find credible threats.

Saudi Arabia announces anti-terror alliance of Islamic nations

The pot calling the kettle black? Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its law requires that all citizens be Muslims.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia –  Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that 34 nations have agreed to form a new "Islamic military alliance" to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.
The announcement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the alliance will be Saudi-led and is being established because terrorism "should be fought by all means and collaboration should be made to eliminate it." The statement said Islam forbids "corruption and destruction in the world" and that terrorism constitutes "a serious violation of human dignity and rights, especially the right to life and the right to security."
The new counterterrorism coalition includes nations with large and established armies such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt as well as war-torn countries with embattled militaries such as Libya and Yemen. African nations that have suffered terrorist attacks such as Mali, Chad, Somalia and Nigeria are also members.
Saudi Arabia's regional rival, Shiite Iran, is not part of the coalition. Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposite sides of in the wars raging in Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is currently leading a military intervention in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels and is part of the U.S.-led coalition bombing the Sunni extremist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
At a rare news conference, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman said the new Islamic military coalition will develop mechanisms for working with other countries and international bodies to support counterterrorism efforts. He said their efforts would not be limited to only countering the Islamic State (ISIS) group.
"Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually ... so coordinating efforts is very important," he said.
He said the joint operations center will be established in Riyadh to "coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism" across the Muslim world.
Smaller member-states included in the coalition are the archipelago of the Maldives and the island-nation of Bahrain. Other Gulf Arab countries such as Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also in the coalition, though notably absent from the list is Saudi Arabia's neighbor Oman. But Iraq and Syria whose forces are battling to regain territory taken by the Islamic State group and whose governments are allied with Iran are not in the coalition.
Benin, while it does not have a majority Muslim population, is also a member of this new counterterrorism coalition. All the group's members are also part of the larger Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is headquartered in Saudi Arabia.

With rise in polls, Cruz in Tuesday's GOP debate

Media trying to turn Cruz and Trump against each other?

The once-friendly rivalry between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump is getting edgy as the Texas senator cuts into the business mogul’s lead, setting up a potential showdown in the GOP presidential primary debate Tuesday.
Cruz has largely avoided public attacks on Trump -- likely in part to avoid his withering counter-attacks and also in hopes of gathering Trump supporters should he falter or quit the race.  
Trump has mostly left Cruz alone -- at least until recently, when Cruz apparently criticized him at private fundraisers.
The Texan then pulled ahead in Iowa, according to polls released over the past few days.
“He said it behind my back. Somebody taped that conversation,” Trump said about Cruz on “Fox News Sunday.”
“I don't think he's qualified to be president. …  I don't think he's got the right judgment.”
Tuesday's debate, hosted by CNN, will be the fourth of 12 sanctioned GOP White House primary debates and the final one of the year.
It also comes less than 50 days before the Iowa Caucus, the first voting in the 2016 election cycle.
Cruz and Trump will be joined on the main stage in Las Vegas by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
On Sunday, Trump suggested that Cruz’s tactics on Capitol Hill are devoid of the compromising skills needed to run the country.
“He goes in there … like a bit of a maniac,” Trump said.
“You never get things done that way. You can't walk into the Senate and scream and call people liars and not be able to cajole and get along with people. … That's the problem with Ted.”
When the reports surfaced last week of Cruz at New York fundraisers questioning Trump’s judgement, Cruz promptly tweeted: “The Establishment's only hope: Trump & me in a cage match. Sorry to disappoint.”
And within hours of Trump’s attack Sunday, Cruz responded on Twitter by posting a link to the song “Maniac” from the movie “Flashdance” and writing: "In honor of my friend @realDonaldTrump and good-hearted maniacs everywhere ..."
CNN will also host a debate for the second-tier GOP candidates -- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former New York Gov. George Pataki.
The network said Paul squeezed into the main debate “by showing viability in Iowa in a Fox News poll released Sunday morning.”
Christie returns to the main stage, largely because of his strong poll numbers in early-voting state New Hampshire.
Carson last month surged in national polls and briefly held second place behind Trump in Iowa. But his campaign has since plummeted roughly 12 percentage points, from 24.8 to 12.6 percent.
Bush is also looking for a comeback, after being considered the presumptive frontrunner early in the election cycle. However, his campaign has failed to catch fire, despite its infrastructure and fundraising prowess.
Rubio has also improved his poll rankings in recent weeks but is competing with Cruz for essentially the same voters, which could bring fireworks to the debate.
Cruz's national poll numbers didn't reach double-digits until early November, according to a RealClearPoltics.com averaging.
But he could indeed win Iowa, considering his support among evangelicals and other social-conservative voters is similar to that of Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, who in 2008 and 2012, respectively, won the caucus despite average numbers in national polls.
A Fox News Poll released Sunday showed Cruz edging Trump in Iowa, 28-26 percent among likely caucus-goers. The poll was taken Dec. 7-10 and had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
Cruz has a 10-point lead over Cruz according to a new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll, which previously had him trailing Trump in Iowa by 11 percentage points.

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School principal bans Santa, Thanksgiving and Pledge of Allegiance (In America?)

Principal Jaela Kim, of PS 169 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Santa Claus is banned. The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer recited. “Harvest festival” has replaced Thanksgiving, and “winter celebrations” substitute for Christmas parties.
New principal Eujin Jaela Kim has given PS 169 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a politically correct scrub-down, to the dismay of teachers and parents.
“We definitely can’t say Christmas, nothing with Christmas on it, nothing with Santa,” PTA President Mimi Ferrer said administrators told her. “No angels. We can’t even have a star because it can represent a religious system, like the Star of David.”
Kim, 33, did not return a call or e-mail seeking comment.
A memo last month from assistant principal Jose Chaparro suggested a “harvest festival instead of Thanksgiving or a winter celebration instead of a Christmas party.” He urged staff to “be sensitive of the diversity of our families. Not all children celebrate the same holidays.”
Ninety-five percent of the 1,600 kids at PS 169 are Asian or Hispanic. This is what happens when the the minority over-rule the majority.