Presumptuous Politics

Friday, July 15, 2016

Tim Tebow: Speaking slot at Republican National Convention 'a rumor'

CLEVELAND – Thursday morning he was among the biggest stars featured on Donald Trump's convention lineup. Thursday night, Tim Tebow declared his attendance at next week's Republican National Convention was nothing more than "a rumor."
"I wake up this morning to find out that I'm speaking at the Republican National Convention," Tebowsaid in a video posted on Facebook. "It's amazing how fast rumors fly. And that's exactly what it is, a rumor."
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to questions about Tebow's departure from a convention program that the New York billionaire's team had long teased would be an extraordinary display of political entertainment. But instead of sports stars and celebrities, as promised, the campaign is relying heavily on the party's establishment for the four-day convention, which begins Monday.
The presumptive presidential nominee has approved a convention program that features at least 20 current or former elected officials, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a primary rival.
Still, there is no shortage of political outsiders.
Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder, may be the first-openly gay speaker featured at a national Republican convention. His appearance comes as party leaders refuse to soften the GOP's formal opposition to gay marriage.
Other speakers will include four of Trump's children, Las Vegas casino owner Phil Ruffin, and actor and former underwear model Antonio Sabàto Jr.
Mark Geist and John Tiegen, survivors of the deadly 2012 attack on the American diplomatic consulate in Benghazi, Libya, will speak.
"This impressive lineup of veterans, political outsiders, faith leaders and those who know Donald Trump the best — his family and longtime friends — represent a cross-section of real people facing the same challenges as every American household," said Trump spokesman Jason Miller.
Some of the GOP's biggest names are declining to participate in the convention.
Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and the party's two most recent presidential nominees, John McCain and Mitt Romney, plan to skip the event, as does Ohio Gov. John Kasich, another Trump primary challenger.
Shrugging off such absences, Trump's team suggested the convention lineup would help highlight Trump's outsider appeal.
"We are totally overbooked. We have great speakers, we have winners, we have people that aren't only political people," Trump told Fox News Channel on Tuesday. "We have a lot of people that are just champions and winners."
He acknowledged in recent days that he'd stick a little closer to tradition.
"Look, I have great respect for the institution of the conventions. I mean to me, it's very important. So we're not going to change the wheel," he said on Fox.
Brady was initially floated as a possible speaker, but he won't appear. Neither will former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight or boxing promoter Don King, a Cleveland resident and passionate Trump supporter.
The program will feature people such pro golfer Natalie Gulbis, retired astronaut Eileen Collins, and Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White. Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, author of the book, "Lone Survivor," about a 2005 firefight in Afghanistan, will make an appearance, along with a Wisconsin sheriff, David Clarke, who is a vocal critic of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The convention will highlight religious leaders such as Jerry Falwell Jr. and Haskel Lookstein, the New York rabbi who converted Trump's daughter Ivanka to Judaism.
Trump does not forget his business relationships, giving speaking slots to real estate investor Tom Barrack and even the general manager for Virginia's Trump Winery, Kerry Woolard.
In a nod toward party unity, Trump will feature several former presidential competitors, including Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Ben Carson and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Two finalists in Trump's search for a running mate made the list as well: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich. The other finalist, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was not included in the program obtained by the AP.

Trump says he is delaying VP announcement due to truck attack in France

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump postponed a news conference scheduled for Friday in New York to announce his running mate after the deadly truck attack in Nice, France.
"In light of the horrible attack in Nice, France, I have postponed tomorrow's news conference concerning my Vice Presidential announcement," he wrote on Twitter Thursday, announcing his decision.

In a phone interview just after the announcement on Fox News' "On The Record with Greta Van Sustern," Trump said "we're living in a whole different world and there's no respect for law and order."
"There's no respect for anything or anybody And this has to be dealt with very harshly," he told Van Susteren.
Trump added that the world was going to have to smart and tough or "we're not going to have a society, we're not going to have a world anymore."
Trump said that as president, he would not allow people into the country from "terrorist nations" and would implement "extreme vetting."
Earlier on Thursday, sources familiar with the Trump campaign's vice presidential selection process confirmed to Fox News that steps are underway for Donald Trump to name Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.
This comes as Pence gives his most public signal yet that he’s preparing for the announcement, abandoning his gubernatorial bid in Indiana. Sources say Pence, who faced a Friday deadline to make a decision, will not run for re-election.

Life and Career of Mike Pence | Graphiq

The Trump campaign still insists an offer has not formally been made to anyone -- and nothing is final until the presumptive nominee announces his running mate.
But all signs seem to point to Pence.
The announcement originally set for Friday followed a very-public vetting process that included meetings in recent days with Pence, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, among others.
If Trump settles on Pence, who went from dark horse to leading contender in a matter of days, the pick presumably is aimed at galvanizing support from the party’s conservative base as Trump charges into the Republican nominating convention.
Consideration of Pence also has put Trump on the clock. Pence faced a Friday deadline to file paperwork to appear on the official state ballot as either a gubernatorial or vice presidential candidate. Under state law, his name could not appear on the ballot twice.
Pence, now in a tough re-election bid, spent 12 years in Congress including as the leader of the House Republican Conference.
Pence emerged relatively late in the vice presidential stakes.
But he moved almost immediately to the top of the list, considering he gives the Trump campaign much-needed social conservative credentials without the kind of political baggage that Democrats had hoped to exploit in other finalists like Christie or Gingrich.
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser issued a statement saying the expected selection of Pence is “an affirmation of the pro-life commitments he’s made and will rally the pro-life grassroots.”
"Mike Pence would make an outstanding running mate,” GOP strategist Rob Burgess said.
Still, Pence is not without some negatives, particularly his handling last year of the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The original law, which he signed, allowed residents and companies being sued by a private party to cite their religious beliefs as a defense. However, critics argued the law would allow discrimination against gays and others.
The national and widespread criticism was so damaging it forced Pence and the state legislature to revise the law to clearly prohibit businesses from denying services to customers based on their sexual preference or gender choice. And it appeared to end Pence’s 2016 presidential aspirations.
The liberal MoveOn issued a statement Thursday calling Pence an “extreme right-wing” governor.

GOP leaders kill plan by anti-Trump movement to unbind delegates' votes

Battle to stop Trump being fought in RNC Rules Committee

A committee at the Republican National Convention defeated the effort by anti-Donald Trump conservatives to derail the presumptive GOP nominee’s drive to secure the party’s nomination, voting late Thursday to rebuff their plans to let delegates vote for any candidate they’d like.
Party officials used a voice vote to reject a proposal by Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh to let delegates “cast a vote of conscience” and abandon the candidate they had been committed too through the state primaries or caucuses.
The amendment became a focal point of furious lobbying that’s pitted the so-called Never Trump movement against Trump’s campaign and top leaders of the Republican Party. On a 112-member rules panel dominated by party and Trump loyalists, the outcome was expected.
Unruh expected to collect signatures from 28 members to bring a vote to unbind the delegates on the convention floor in Cleveland next week. However, she was only able to collect 21.
She encountered overwhelming opposition from delegates arguing that it would be unthinkable for the party to abandon Trump after he overwhelmingly won GOP primaries and caucuses and garnered more than 13 million votes.
"You want to ignore what is really the grassroots, which is millions and millions and millions of voters who voted for Donald Trump," said Stephen Munisteri, a delegate and leading GOP figure from Texas.
He added, "The only way to advance the conservative cause is through a strong Republican Party that is united to defeat Hillary Clinton and the Democrats this fall."
For good measure, the rules panel also approved language specifically stating that party rules allow delegates to be "bound" to candidates.
Despite their defeat, anti-Trump delegates say they believe current rules already free delegates to support anybody and have planned to contest balloting when the convention votes for its nominee next week.
While on a path to near-certain victory, Trump has drawn bitter opposition from Republicans who say he's not conservative and is an inept campaigner whose harsh statements will cause his defeat and losses by GOP candidates for Congress and elsewhere.

Earlier Thursday, talks between top party officials and recalcitrant conservatives broke down, increasing the odds of nationally televised clashes during next week's sessions on other GOP rules, a faceoff leaders have been hoping to avoid.
As Thursday's negotiations foundered, the alliance between the Trump campaign and leaders of the Republican National Committee showed its muscle and began rejecting conservatives' attempts to revamp party rules.
In one showdown, the rules committee voted 86-23 to reject an effort by conservatives to eliminate the RNC's ability to change party rules in years between national conventions. In another, the panel used a voice vote to defeat a plan to bar members of the RNC from being lobbyists — a profession that employs many of them in their home states — though it would have exempted lobbyists for nonprofit organizations.
In a gesture to conservatives, the rules panel voted to create a commission that by 2018 could propose changes to the GOP's presidential nominating process, which came under intense fire this year. Trump called the system "rigged" early on, and his opponents have demanded more power for delegates to select a fresh nominee.
The closed-door negotiations were aimed at finding middle ground that would have increased the chances for a smoothly functioning four-day gathering next week, averting televised battles among members of a party whose likely presidential candidate has already proven divisive. There's been talk of some Trump foes walking out of the convention if they feel they've been treated unfairly, a spectacle top Republicans would love to avoid.
But by late afternoon, Ken Cuccinelli — a leader of the conservatives who was an adviser to Cruz's presidential campaign — said GOP leaders he was negotiating with told him, "Sorry, we don't have a deal."
Those talks focused on conservatives' proposals, aimed at appealing to grassroots conservatives, that would take power from the Republican National Committee — consisting of 168 party leaders from around the country — and its chairman, who is currently Reince Priebus.
Both sides agreed that the bargaining broke down over an effort by conservatives to provide extra convention delegates to states with primaries closed to independent and Democratic voters, many of whom flocked to Trump in this year's voting.
Cuccinelli said he would win enough support — 28 of the rules committee's 112 members — to be allowed votes on several of his proposals by the full convention.
RNC chief spokesman Sean Spicer said he would not.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Bernie Endorses Hillary Cartoons

Sanders supporters lash out following Clinton endorsement

Some of Bernie Sanders’ most loyal backers have turned into his biggest bashers on the heels of his Hillary Clinton endorsement.
The Vermont senator, who slammed Clinton repeatedly during the presidential primary campaign, offered his unwavering support to the presumptive Democratic nominee at a rally in New Hampshire Tuesday.
“Hillary Clinton will make a great president and I am proud to stand with her today,” he said.
What followed was an avalanche of angry tweets, blogs and other social media posts from those who had been feeling the 'Bern' -- and now just feel burned.
In New York, Monroe County Sanders activist Kevin Sweeney told the Democrat & Chronicle he's shifting his donations to Green Party candidate Jill Stein. "A lot of Bernie supporters are making $27 donations to Jill Stein's campaign today," he said.
Others were more direct, as the hashtag #SelloutSanders and others took off on Twitter:

Revolution? I guess political revolution meant something different to Bernie. I was willing to fight corruption to the death. #NEVERHillary
— Craig (@craigmart) July 12, 2016

The subreddit thread “Sanders For President,” which has more than 230,000 followers, also reacted strongly to the endorsement.
Surfer808 wrote, “Sorry Bernie, I love you but even with your endorsement I will not vote for Hilary (sic).”
_shane posted a picture of Bernie bumper stickers and wrote, “Getting this in the mail today was like getting kicked when you’re down.”
A user under the name Ruscer wrote, “We’re left with a race between two liars. One who just recently was caught in a web of lies that she slithered her way out of using her power and influence, and the other a racist demagogue.”
In an interview with CBS News, Sanders responded to the frustration.
“I don’t think most of them are calling me a sell-out,” he said. “In the real world, you’ve got to make difficult choices.”
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, jumped in on the action.
He tweeted, “Bernie Sanders endorsing Crooked Hillary Clinton is like Occupy Wall Street endorsing Goldman Sachs. “
But not everyone is hating on Sanders.
“Everyone calling Bernie a 'sell out' or 'traitor' – hope you’re heeding his call and getting involved in local government,” Jessica Sawyer wrote on Facebook. “I understand your frustration but it would be better utilized in a productive manner, instead of name calling on the interwebs.”
Stephen Gomez, the bassist for the band The Summer Set, tweeted, “I applaud Bernie on his endorsement of Hillary, and it was an honor to be part of his campaign. He has truly changed the face of US politics.”

Trump to announce VP pick Friday in New York City

Donald Trump said late Wednesday he will announce his choice for vice president at 11 a.m. ET on Friday in New York City.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee posted the news on Twitter, adding, "Details to follow."
Trump, his adult children and key staffers have been meeting with vice presidential prospects all week.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said his campaign still has three or four potential vice-presidential candidates “but in my own mind, I probably am thinking about two.”
Trump discussed his finalists on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” in a wide-ranging interview that included questions about his dustup with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Hillary Clinton and the GOP’s nominating convention next week.
Trump said Ginsberg recently calling him a “faker” and suggesting that a Trump presidency would be bad for America is an “absolute disgrace” to the high court and that she should apologize to the entire country.
“There’s almost something wrong with her,” Trump said about the 83-year-old justice. “I think I am questioning her mental capacity.”
Trump made the comments during an interview conducted in Indianapolis, which has become ground-zero for his vice presidential vetting and where has met with GOP Gov. Mike Pence three times in the past two days.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said a breakfast with Pence and the Trump family “went really well.”
“High quality person,” Trump said about Pence, who now appears high on Trump’s VP shortlist. “Wonderful guy. We had a great meeting.”
Trump appeared Tuesday in Indiana at a campaign event and fundraiser with Pence, then talked again Wednesday with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another potential pick.
He dismissed assumptions that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is off the list, saying he’s “somebody I've liked a long time. He's a total professional. He's a good guy. … A lot of people don't understand that.”
Trump said the “greatest accomplishment” for Clinton, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, will be “getting out of her email scandal” -- referring to her using a private Internet server system while secretary of state to send and receive government information.
“How she’s been able to get away from the lies, the deceit, the destruction of 33,000 emails. To me, that’s her single greatest accomplishment,” Trump said of his likely general election rival.
The Clinton campaign declined to directly respond to Trump’s comments, instead referring to earlier responses in which they called Republicans’ comments about the emails “another partisan witch hunt.”
Trump also argued that he’s not looking for a vice president to play the traditional role of attacking a general election rival.
“I just want to pick somebody that’s solid, who’s smart. I’m not looking for an attack dog. Frankly, I’m looking for somebody that really understands what we’re talking about,” Trump said. “I would rather be talking about policy … not talking about ‘Crooked Hillary.’ ”
He also expressed optimism about how Republicans are putting together the draft party platform for the convention that includes his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“A few people have said it’s like a Donald Trump speech,” Trump said. “But nobody has ever agreed” with an entire platform.
Trump also downplayed concerns about the party’s Rules Committee perhaps drafting convention procedures for delegates that might help the so-called “Never Trump” effort, saying he’s never been worried about such efforts.
He said that he plans to give a “law-and-order” speech at the convention, similar to those he’s recently given.

Trump's RNC lineup features at least 20 current or former lawmakers

CLEVELAND – There are war heroes, a casino magnate and even an underwear model in the lineup, yet Donald Trump is relying heavily on his party's establishment to fill the speaking program for next week's Republican National Convention.
The presumptive presidential nominee has approved a convention program that features at least 20 current or former elected officials, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Noticeably absent from a speaker list obtained by The Associated Press early Thursday are the athletes and A-List celebrities that Trump's team has long suggested would help make his presidential nominating convention unlike any other.
Yet there is no shortage of political outsiders.
Speakers will include four of Trump's children, Las Vegas casino owner Phil Ruffin, and actor and former underwear model Antonio Sabato Jr. And in a slap at Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, Mark Geist and John Tiegen will also take the stage, both survivors of the deadly 2012 attack on the American diplomatic consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
"This impressive lineup of veterans, political outsiders, faith leaders and those who know Donald Trump the best — his family and longtime friends — represent a cross-section of real people facing the same challenges as every American household," said Trump spokesman Jason Miller.
Despite the list of familiar politicos, the convention program is a reminder that the Republican Party remains deeply divided over Trump's candidacy.
Some of the GOP's biggest names were not on the list because they refused to participate in four-day convention, which begins on Monday.
The GOP's two living presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and its two most recent presidential nominees, John McCain and Mitt Romney, all plan to avoid the Cleveland affair — as does Ohio's Republican Gov. John Kasich. Shrugging off the high-profile absences, Trump's team suggested the convention lineup would help highlight Trump's outsider appeal.
"We are totally over-booked. We have great speakers, we have winners, we have people that aren't only political people," Trump told Fox News Channel on Tuesday. "We have a lot of people that are just champions and winners."
The New York billionaire acknowledged in recent days that he'd be hewing a little closer to tradition.
"Look, I have great respect for the institution of the conventions. I mean to me, it's very important. So we're not going to change the wheel," he said on Fox.
While New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady was initially teased as a possible speaker, there were no high-profile athletes on the list obtained by the AP. Other speakers include Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, Black Lives Matter critic and Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke, and Jerry Falwell Jr., son of the famed Christian televangelist.
The convention will also feature several former presidential competitors, including Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Ben Carson and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Two finalists in Trump's search for a running mate made the list as well: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich. The other finalist, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was not included in the program obtained by the AP.
Trump had already announced that his children would be speaking, along with his wife Melania, whom he said was already working on remarks.
Ivanka Trump, who along with Trump's other adult children, has been playing an increasingly central role in the campaign, predicted in a recent radio interview the GOP convention would be "a great combination of our great politicians, but also great American businessmen and women and leaders across industry and leaders across really all sectors, from athletes to coaches and everything in between."
"I think it will be a convention unlike any we've ever seen," she told the station. "It will be substantive. It will be interesting. It will be different. It's not going to be a ho-hum lineup of, you know, the typical politicians."

'Gag' order: FBI confirms special secrecy agreements for agents in Clinton email probe

NY Post: FBI agents on Clinton case forced to sign rare NDA

The FBI has confirmed to a senior Republican senator that agents were sworn to secrecy -- and subject to lie detector tests -- in the Hillary Clinton email probe, an extensive measure one former agent said could have a "chilling effect."
A July 1 letter sent by a senior deputy to FBI Director James Comey to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, detailed the restrictions on agents. The letter, reviewed by Fox News, confirmed agents signed a "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" which says the disclosure of information is "strictly prohibited" without prior approval, and those who sign are subject to lie detector tests.
"The purpose of this form is to maintain an official record of persons knowledgeable of a highly sensitive Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence investigation," the agreement attached to the Grassley letter reads, "....I (FBI agent) also understand that, due to the nature and sensitivity of this investigation, compliance with these restrictions may be subject to verification by polygraph examination."
The measures show the extent to which the bureau has gone to keep additional details of the politically sensitive case from going public. While Comey has provided some information ‎on why the FBI did not opt to pursue charges, Attorney General Loretta Lynch repeatedly ducked questions on specifics of the case at a House hearing Tuesday.
A recently retired FBI agent, who declined to speak on the record, citing the sensitivity of the matter, said a "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" is reserved for "the most sensitive of sensitive cases," and can have a "chilling effect" on agents, who understand "it comes from the very top and that there has to be a tight lid on the case."
The former agent said the agreements can also contribute to "group think" because investigators cannot bounce ideas off other agents, only those within a small circle.
Grassley first wrote to the FBI Director February 4 after a Fox News report that agents were asked to sign additional non-disclosure agreements. In his response to the senator, the FBI's Assistant Director, Office of Congressional Affairs, Stephen D. Kelly, said “this was not a unique circumstance” and agents "may from time to time be asked to sign similar forms.”
The July letter also says that the purpose of the agreement was two-fold: "to maintain an official record of all persons knowledgeable of this highly unusual investigation, and to remind individuals of their obligations to protect classified and sensitive information." The letter states "no one refused to sign" or “raised any questions or concerns.”
Comey said last week more than 100 classified emails were sent or received by Hillary Clinton, including some at the Top Secret level, which would require agents to have the necessary clearance to review and investigate. Some of the intelligence came from the U.S. government's most closely held programs, known as Special Access Programs, or SAP and included human spying.
The "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" is more evidence that the probe was always a serious criminal investigation, and never a "security review" or "security inquiry" as described by Clinton and her campaign team.
Responding one day after the FBI director said he would not recommend criminal charges, Grassley pointed to Comey's conclusions that a limited number of emails had classified markings, thousands of work related emails were not turned over by Clinton to the State Department despite a sworn declaration to a federal court and her public assurances, as well as "potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information."
"In light of all these inconsistencies, it is even more troubling that the FBI tried to gag its agents with a non-disclosure agreement on this matter, in violation of whistleblower protection statutes," Grassley said in the strongly worded letter. "...you indicated that agents working on this case were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that failed to exempt protected whistleblowing. Only after I wrote to you did you advise your FBI agents that they are still free to speak with Congress regarding waste, fraud, and abuse."
The "Case Briefing Acknowledgement Addendum" provided to Senator Grassley after the initial FBI response July 1 makes clear the agreement does not supersede or conflict with "communications to Congress" and "the reporting to an Inspector General of a violation, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or….any other whistleblower protection."
Grassley also noted the timing of the FBI's response five months after his original request for information on the NDAs, with a partial response July 1, and full response on July 5 2016, the same day the FBI made a public recommendation at bureau headquarters against criminal charges.
The New York Post first reported that the "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" was signed by the Clinton email agents, citing anonymous sources, but the Grassley letter is believed to be the first public acknowledgement by the FBI, and includes a sample copy of the non-disclosure agreement.
Grassley’s letter is wide ranging, and beyond the non-disclosure agreements, requests a response by July 20 to questions including whether, after Bill Clinton and Lynch’s June 28 meeting on a Phoenix airport tarmac, there is no need for a special counsel. He also wanted to know about the FBI’s reported agreement that some questions would be off limits for Clinton’s personal attorney Cheryl Mills, and whether the FBI or Justice Department raised concerns that several of Clinton’s associates used the same attorneys to represent them in the investigation.