Presumptuous Politics

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Break from Convention: Trump hints at bringing showman's flair to Cleveland

The man who hosted the Miss USA beauty pageants, who starred in two hit reality shows – and who once clotheslined WWE’s Vince McMahon and then shaved his head on WrestleMania – is now in charge of a national political convention.
This oughta’ be interesting.
“I think it will be a spectacular convention,” Donald Trump predicted on Fox News.
Just what the billionaire businessman and former reality show star has in mind is the big question. But the fact that the Republican Party’s presumptive standard-bearer made his name not only in real estate but in show business portends a convention that probably will be like no other.
In the interview Wednesday with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, Trump made clear he’s already thinking about the entertainment. Sure, Mitt Romney had Clint Eastwood talking to a chair – but Trump, who has openly panned the 2012 convention, is thinking bigger.
"I mean you hear a lot of speeches and people end up falling asleep after the 19^thspeech. We have some great country and western people who want to come in and some entertainers that want to come in – I have to keep this as a surprise,” he told Fox News.
In a sense, Trump is back to his comfort zone, and the role he played for “The Apprentice” – that of executive producer.
But as the party’s nominee, he also has to produce a party platform that Republicans can rally behind, as well as cast a vice presidential pick who might be able to tackle some of the inevitable battles with Congress should Trump win.
And he’ll need to keep the delegates and the public interested along the way.
So the task will fall on Trump to tap into what sets him apart from virtually every modern presidential candidate: his showman’s flair. To bring to the convention what he’s been bringing to packed-house rallies for much of the primary season – an energy and excitement that will enthuse the base, and translate into enthusiasm through November.
In a nod to Trump’s expertise at this sort of thing, top Trump adviser Paul Manafort earlier this week described bluntly the campaign for the presidency as the “ultimate reality show.”
“He is a television star and is connected to America. … We will be talking to America not just about Donald, but the Republican Party. We will put it in ways that hopefully will be entertaining, but also informative,” Manafort said on MSNBC’s “Hardball.”
Of course, the risk for Trump and the party will be the possibility of turning the convention into a spectacle -- and not the good kind. The city of Cleveland already is bracing for protests outside the convention hall, and organizers could still be dealing with divisions inside the party come convention week. Several party figures already are vowing to steer clear of the convention, not wanting to be associated with that scene.
Trump, though, has leveled pointed criticism at the 2012 convention stagecraft, indicating he wants this one to be memorable.
“The site has been chosen and the arena is fine, but I’d want to have — you know, the last Republican convention was extraordinarily boring,” Trump told the New York Times. Trump said his team will “make it interesting and informative, but also smart and different.”
Senior adviser Barry Bennett floated other ideas for making this convention different.
“There certainly is a train of thought that perhaps Mr. Trump speaks every night from a different city across America highlighting a different problem he intends to solve,” Bennett said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
“We can go to the worst school in America. We can go to a closed down factory. We can tell the American people that we understand their problems, that we feel their pain and here is the solution, the conservative Republican solution. Television is a huge, huge part of the convention, but it is not the only part,” added Bennett.
While the planning for the convention began in Cleveland more than a year ago, it was on the night of the Indiana primary -- which Trump won, knocking his last rivals out of the race -- that things kicked into gear.
Republican National Convention spokesman Dave O’Neil said the Trump campaign called the night of the Indiana primary to begin talks. Senior adviser Manafort was leading a team to Cleveland this week for the first face-to-face discussions.
“There is always the common refrain that conventions are boring, but this year that really changed because of the enthusiasm on the Republican side,” he said.
Though there were some rumors of convention events being moved to FirstEnergy Stadium, the home of the Cleveland Browns, from Quicken Loans Arena, O’Neil put any rumblings to rest saying Quicken Loans Arena remains the convention site.
But that does not mean Trump may not opt to follow the precedent set by Barack Obama in 2008 by choosing another venue for his acceptance speech.
The Obama campaign constructed a huge stage with Greek pillars in Denver’s then-Invesco Field at Mile High, which holds 76,000 compared with the convention site at the 21,000-seat Pepsi Center.
Another factor Trump will have to navigate is the divisions in the GOP, something he was trying to address Thursday in a visit to Washington for meetings with party leaders.
Iowa Rep. Steve King, who will be in Cleveland as a Ted Cruz delegate, said he will be “watching [the platform debate] ... to see if there is an effort to change the rules” or the platform. He said he's worried the Trump camp might try to “move the Republican platform to the left.”
The vice presidential announcement, though, is certain to be the big event. And that’s at least one area where Trump may be hewing to tradition. He signaled this week he’d wait until the convention to name his running mate.
David Woodard, political science professor at Clemson University, said his VP pick will be his most important message to the base for how he plans to run his campaign.
“Let’s face it, the convention will partly answer the question of what he intends to do with the old Republican Party,” he said.

DNC Chairwoman Schultz claims Clinton ‘not the target’ of FBI probe

Even in the face of the FBI boss scoffing at Hillary Clinton’s description of the “investigation” into her email practices as a “security inquiry,” the head of the Democratic Party is now insisting the front-running Democratic presidential candidate isn’t even a focus of the probe.
“Secretary Clinton isn’t even a target of this inquiry, investigation, whatever ‘I’ word you want to use,” Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told Fox News on Friday.
Asked to back up her statement, Schultz said she’s “repeatedly been told that” – though she did not say who might have told her.
But the claim that Clinton is not the focus would be appear to be challenged by recent developments in the case.
Senior aides to Hillary Clinton, including Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, have been interviewed by FBI agents in recent weeks.
Bryan Pagliano, the Clinton aide who installed the personal server used while she was secretary of state, has received a grant of immunity.
The bureau even confirmed in court documents earlier this year that the former secretary of state’s “use of a private e-mail server” is the focus. And when asked by Fox News earlier this week about Clinton’s repeated description of the probe as a mere security inquiry, FBI Director James Comey said he’s not familiar with that term.
“We’re conducting an investigation. … That’s what we do,” Comey told Fox News.
Schultz was asked by Fox News whether she was hearing different information from the FBI that would lead her to claim Clinton is not the focus.
“My understanding is that Secretary Clinton is not the target of this investigation. ... I am only repeating what my understanding is,” she said.
Top administration officials have said they are not on a timeline for finishing the probe. Comey, speaking with reporters on Wednesday, said he prefers doing the investigation “well” over promptly and said he’s not “tethered” to a schedule.
Meanwhile, Clinton has voiced confidence that no wrongdoing will be found.
Appearing on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Clinton downplayed the FBI criminal probe, saying it was simply a “security inquiry” and “there was never any material marked classified that was sent or received -- by me.”
“I look forward to this being wrapped up,” she said.
The FBI probe is proceeding as Clinton also tries to wrap up the Democratic presidential nomination. Though she leads by hundreds of delegates, she has not yet clinched the nomination and rival Bernie Sanders is vowing to take the fight to the convention – he fueled his own underdog bid with a primary win Tuesday in West Virginia.
Asked Friday about internal party calls for Sanders to drop out as well as concerns that his bid is preventing Clinton from being able to pivot to a general election battle against Donald Trump, Schultz brushed off the concerns.
“We are able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” she said.
Schultz, meanwhile, has made similar definitive statements before about the nature of the FBI investigation, telling “Fox News Sunday” last month that the idea Clinton could face any legal troubles over her private email server is “ludicrous.”
“How do you know that?” host Chris Wallace asked.
“I’m simply confident that – as the investigation continues, that Hillary Clinton has made it clear, and there are scores of individuals who are associated with the federal government that have indicated that – it’s clear that she conducted herself completely legally,” she said.

McCain in toughest Senate fight of his life

Eight years after he was the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain appears headed toward his toughest re-election fight yet, in no small part because of presumptive GOP presidential standard-bearer Donald Trump.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, the Democratic Senate candidate who is neck-and-neck with McCain in polls, has relentlessly gone after McCain for the senator’s support – no matter how tepid – of Trump.
McCain has hardly shown enthusiasm for Trump, only saying he would support the party’s nominee (while planning to skip the GOP convention in Cleveland). And he’s privately warned that Trump could hurt his own bid. Politico reported on audio from a fundraiser where McCain is heard saying, “If Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, here in Arizona, with over 30 percent of the vote being the Hispanic vote, no doubt that this may be the race of my life.”
But Kirkpatrick’s campaign is hammering any connection it can between McCain and Trump, settling for nothing short of denunciation by the sitting senator.
“John McCain’s supporting Donald Trump despite declaring Trump ‘dangerous’ and characterizing Trump's supporters as ‘crazies,’” Kirkpatrick campaign spokesman D.B. Mitchell told FoxNews.com. “It's clear McCain's 'straight talk' days are over.”
McCain’s campaign, meanwhile, has blasted Kirkpatrick as “siding with the liberal establishment.”
The race is a snapshot of the conflicted relationship high-profile Republican candidates across the country could have with the presumptive presidential nominee. The jury is out on whether, on balance, he would help or hurt congressional candidates.
But for McCain, Trump’s impact is even being felt in the Republican primary.
One of his opponents, Alex Meluskey, a businessman and talk radio host, cited an internal campaign poll showing most respondents would be more likely to vote for a businessman who never ran for office over a career politician – and claimed the “Trump phenomenon” would be good for him.
“Any time you have an outsider businessman, that absolutely favors us,” Meluskey told FoxNews.com.
McCain also is facing opposition from Kelli Ward, a doctor who resigned her state Senate seat last year to run full time for the U.S. Senate. She is touting a resounding GOP straw poll victory over McCain earlier this month at the Arizona Republican State Convention and is pushing a campaign theme of “bold, fresh and fearless,” to contrast McCain’s status as a longtime Washington insider.
The Republican primary is Aug. 30, just one day after McCain turns 80.
But it’s the expected November race that’s causing headaches for the senator this year. During his five decisive Senate victories, the relatively moderate McCain has rarely had a real challenge in the general election.
“He usually has more concern in the state over who his primary challenger will be," Barbara Norrander, a political science professor at the University of Arizona, told FoxNews.com. “Democrats have had a hard time recruiting someone viable to oppose him.”
This year could be different. A Merrill Poll in March found McCain leading Kirkpatrick by just one point, while a Behavior Research Center poll in April showed the two tied at 42-42 percent.
Kirkpatrick, a former Arizona state legislator, was first elected to the House in 2008. She was voted out of office during the Republican wave of 2010, then ran again and won in 2012 – and withstood another Republican wave in 2014 to keep her seat.
McCain has more than $5.5 million cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission. That overwhelms every other opponent, as Kirkpatrick has $1.3 million, Ward has $210,792 and Meluskey has $163,764, according to FEC reports as of March 31.
The McCain campaign is going after Kirkpatrick for her support of ObamaCare, and says Arizonans are facing a 21 percent increase in health insurance deductibles, while 59,000 Arizonans lost their insurance when the state’s co-op was removed from the federal marketplace.
“Even as independent analysts predict a dramatic rise in health care costs and more insurers contemplate exiting a crumbling marketplace, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick offers no solutions for the people of Arizona,” McCain campaign spokeswoman Lorna Romero said in a statement. “Instead, she is siding with the liberal establishment and ducking questions about President Obama’s failed health care law.”
On the issue McCain fears could be troublesome because of Trump, he and Kirkpatrick both agree on a pathway to citizenship for some 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, but clash on the so-called Dream Act. Further, Kirkpatrick doesn’t necessarily have an automatic advantage with Hispanic voters.
The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorsed McCain in April. Last year, the liberal group Emily’s List, backing Kirkpatrick, criticized another Latino coalition endorsing McCain as a “taco shop,” and said McCain put on a “sombrero to pander.” The Arizona Republic editorial board denounced the Emily’s List stereotypes.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Obama Immigration Cartoons

Obama administration reportedly planning more deportation raids

Immigration officials are planning a fresh round of deportation raids targeting hundreds of Central American families who entered the U.S. illegally, according to a published report.
Reuters reported Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has told field offices to make a 30-day arrest "surge" against mothers and children who have already been told to leave the country. Reuters also reported that the operation would target those who entered the U.S. as minors and have since turned 18.
The exact dates of the deportation raids were not immediately clear, but Reuters reported that they were expected to last through next month.
The planned raids come four months after a two-day operation that resulted in the detention of 121 people. Those raids focused on Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. It was not immediately clear where the latest raids would take place.
The operations are the latest effort to deter illegal immigrants from flooding the U.S.-Mexico border and straining federal resources, as happened in the summer of 2014. According to the latest Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures, agents detained 27,754 unaccompanied minors from Central America in the first six months of Fiscal Year 2016 (ending in March), almost double last year's total of 15,616 and just shy of the 2014 record of 28,579.
The numbers for immigrants traveling as families (defined as at least one parent and one child) is even higher, with 32,117 apprehended -- almost triple last year's total of 13,913 and well above the 2014 “surge” figure of 19,830.
Both Democratic presidential candidates expressed opposition to the planned raids Tuesday, with front-runner Hillary Clinton saying they are "not productive and do not reflect who we are as a country."
"Families fleeing violence in Central America must be given a full opportunity to seek relief," Clinton added. "And we need to take special care of children."
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a statement calling the raids "painful and inhumane" while asking President Obama to give Central American families temporary protective status through an executive order.
"Sending these people back into harm’s way is wrong," Sanders said.

Trump says Washington Post owner Bezos has 'huge antitrust problem'

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump lashed out at Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos Thursday, claiming that the founder of Amazon.com was using the newspaper as a tool to influence corporate tax policy.
"Every hour we're getting calls from reporters from The Washington Post asking ridiculous questions," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "And I will tell you, this is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos ... Amazon is getting away with murder, tax-wise. He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed."
Trump was responding to Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward's disclosure that the newspaper has assigned 20 reporters to investigate the real estate mogul's life.
"We're going to do a book, we're doing articles about every phase of his life," Woodward told the National Association of Realtors convention Wednesday. The veteran reporter, best known for investigating the Watergate break-in that led to Richard Nixon's resignation, said he had begun investigating Trump's real estate deals in New York, which he called "more complex than the CIA."
Bezos, who bought the Post in 2013 from longtime owners the Graham family, has donated to both Democratic and Republican elected officials. According to the website OpenSecrets, Bezos and his wife gave $4,800 each to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in 2009. The couple also gave $2.5 million to support a 2012 referendum legalizing gay marraige in Washington state.
More recently, however, Bezos donated $2,700 this past September to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
"He thinks I'll go after him for antitrust," Trump said Thursday. "Because he's got a huge antitrust problem because he's controlling so much, Amazon is controlling so much of what they are doing.
"He's using The Washington Post, which is peanuts, he's using that for political purposes to save Amazon in terms of taxes and in terms of antitrust."
Neither Bezos nor Amazon had any immediate comment in response to Trump's claims.
Woodward said Wendesday that Bezos had urged the Post to run as many stories as possible about all the presidential candidates so that voters can't say they were uninformed when they select the next president.
"He said, 'Look, the job at the Washington Post has to be tell us everything about who the eventual nominee will be in both parties,'" Woodward said. "'15-part, 16-part series, 20-part series, we want to look at every part of their lives. And we're never going to get the whole story, of course, but we can get the best attainable."

Clinton charity aided Clinton friends

The Clinton Global Initiative, which arranges donations to help solve the world’s problems, set up a financial commitment that benefited a for-profit company part-owned by people with ties to the Clintons, including a current and a former Democratic official and a close friend of former President Bill Clinton.
The $2 million commitment was placed on the agenda for a September 2010 conference of the Clinton Global Initiative at Mr. Clinton’s urging, according to a document from the period and people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Clinton also personally endorsed the company, Energy Pioneer Solutions Inc., to then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu for a federal grant that year, said people with knowledge of the endorsement.
The company, whose business plan was to insulate people’s homes and let them pay via their utility bills, received an $812,000 Energy Department grant. Mr. Chu, now a professor at Stanford University, said he didn’t remember the conversation.
The Clinton Global Initiative is a program of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. The foundation has been a focus of criticism this political season over donations received from governments and corporations that had business before Mrs. Clinton when she was secretary of state and that could be affected by decisions she would make as president. The foundation has said it “has strong donor integrity and transparency practices.”
The Clinton Global Initiative’s help for a for-profit company part-owned by Clinton friends poses a different issue. Under federal law, tax-exempt charitable organizations aren’t supposed to act in anyone’s private interest but instead in the public interest, on broad issues such as education or poverty.
“The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests,” the Internal Revenue Service says on its website.
Energy Pioneer Solutions was founded in 2009 by Scott Kleeb, a Democrat who twice ran for Congress from Nebraska. An internal document from that year showed it as owned 29% by Mr. Kleeb; 29% by Jane Eckert, the owner of an art gallery in Pine Plains, N.Y.; and 29% by Julie Tauber McMahon of Chappaqua, N.Y., a close friend of Mr. Clinton, who also lives in Chappaqua.
Owning 5% each were Democratic National Committee treasurer Andrew Tobias and Mark Weiner, a supplier to political campaigns and former Rhode Island Democratic chairman, both longtime friends of the Clintons.

New email release shows Clinton chose not to use secure phone line, acknowledged Blackberry risk

Hillary Clinton playing word games with email investigation?

A new set of State Department documents released Thursday by the watchdog group Judicial Watch reveal then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the choice not to use a secure phone line amid a technical problem and acknowledged the risk of using a private Blackberry phone.
The documents contain a Feb. 22, 2009, email exchange between Clinton and her then-Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills attempting to communicate over a secure line after Clinton returned from an overseas trip.
When there were issues setting up a secure communication, Clinton wrote to Mills, “I called ops and they gave me your ‘secure’ cells… but only got a high-pitched whining sound.”
Mills then suggested that Clinton try the secure line again, but the former secretary wrote back, “I give up. Call me on my home #.”
Clinton's choice not to use a secure phone line is similar to a previous June, 17, 2011 email exchange with then-State Department deputy chief of staff Jake Sullivan, where she directed him to strip the classification markings of sensitive talking points and send through non-secure fax.
"They say they've had issues sending secure fax. They're working on it," Sullivan wrote to Clinton.
"If they can't, turn into nonpaper w no identifying heading and send nonsecure," Clinton responded.
In a separate email from Feb. 27, 2008 released Wednesday, Clinton apologized to health care activist/physician Mark Hyman for failing to respond to a message because, “no blackberry contact permitted in my office.”
The documents were obtained in response to a court order from a May 5, 2015 lawsuit filed against the State Department after it failed to respond to a March 18 Freedom of Information Act request.