Presumptuous Politics

Monday, August 8, 2016

Gingrich on Clinton's latest email explanation: new way to 'lie about lying'

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that Hillary Clinton’s latest attempt to explain her email scandal -- that her brain had a “short circuit” -- is a “very dangerous” excuse and a new way to “lie about lying.”
“She now has a fundamental way of saying, ‘I didn’t quite lie to you; I just short-circuited,' ” Gingrich, a Georgia Republican and top supporter of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, also told “Fox News Sunday.” "It’s one thing to lie, it’s another to lie about lying."
He was joined on the show by California Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra who, like other Clinton supporters, is trying to move past Clinton as secretary of state using a private email server and the related FBI investigation.
“While we want to make more of it, like [FBI Director James] Comey said, let’s move on,” said Becerra, who tried to turn the debate with Gingrich to Trump’s immigration policy, calling him an “immigrant basher.”
“He just wants his immigrants to be legal,” Gingrich told Becerra, who is joining others in questioning the legal status of Trump’s immigrant wife, Melania.
Gingrich and Becerra also sparred over each of their candidate’s economic policies and plans to defeat the Islamic State terror group.
Becerra repeated the argument that Trump’s plan would cost the U.S. economy a “breathtaking” 3.5 billion jobs. And he backed Clinton saying last week that Obama didn’t have enough time to fully execute is economic recovery plan, including a nearly $1 billion stimulus plan.
“He had a chance with $900 million and blew it,” Gingrich said. “You campaign on things being good enough. We’ll campaign on things should be better. And we’ll see who wins.”
Becerra criticized Trump’s plan to defeat ISIS, arguing it’s in large part based on allowing the U.S. military to torture detainees and “cozying up” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kasich hints at Trump endorsement, says Ohio victory 'really difficult'

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is long gone from the Republican presidential primary but on Sunday hinted about finally endorsing Donald Trump while also predicting Trump winning his home state will be “really difficult."

Kasich, whose only primary win was in Ohio, has created problems for the Trump campaign, despite conceding in May to the GOP presidential nominee -- refusing to endorse Trump or attend official events during the party’s nominating convention last month in Cleveland.
Such actions appear to have so far hurt efforts to create state party unity and Trump’s chances of winning Ohio, considering no GOP presidential nominee has been elected to the White House without winning the state.
“He's going to win parts of Ohio where people are really hurting," Kasich told CNN's "State of the Union." “But I still think it's difficult if you are dividing to be able to win Ohio. I think it's really, really difficult."
The so-called battleground state -- which voted in 2008 and 2012 for President Obama -- has 18 electoral votes, in the contest to get 270.
And the campaigns for Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have already made several stops in Ohio since their respective party’s nominating conventions concluded a couple of weeks ago.
Winning Ohio and other so-called Rust Belt states, whose populations and economies have dwindled over recent decades with the decline of U.S. manufacturing, appears essentially in what would or could be Trump’s narrow path to victory.
"There will be sections he will win because people are angry, frustrated and haven't heard any answers,” Kasich also said Sunday. “But I still think it's difficult if you are dividing to be able to win Ohio."
Polls show Clinton and Trump deadlocked in the state.
Kasich on CNN also left open the possibility of endorsing Trump, a bitter primary rival, with less than 100 days remaining before Election Day.
"We still have time. That's something I think about a little bit but not a lot," he said.
Kasich also attempted to explain his decision not to attend the convention, saying, "If I weren't prepared to get up there and endorse the nominee, I thought it was inappropriate to go.”

Giuliani: Clinton refusal to seek police endorsement shows Dems as ‘anti-law enforcement party’

Hillary Clinton’s decision not to seek the endorsement of The Fraternal Order of Police is a sign that the Democrat presidential nominee leads “an anti-law enforcement party,” former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said on Sunday.
Giuliani, who supports Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said on “Fox and Friends” that he sees an anti-police atmosphere developing in America, and he blames Clinton and the Democrat Party for fomenting those feelings.
“It comes right from the top, it includes Hillary, and she’s made herself a part of it,” Giuliani said. “You don’t even go talk to and seek the endorsement of one of the major police unions in the country?”
During her campaign, Clinton has voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew out of recent controversial shootings of black men by police officers. Clinton also invited mothers whose sons were killed by police officers to speak on stage at the Democratic National Convention – though the same convention also featured a speech by Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
Still, Clinton's decision not to seek The Fraternal Order of Police’s stamp of approval makes Clinton just the second Democratic presidential candidate in at least the last 20 years not to do so. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee, also did not seek the endorsement of the union, which represents 335,000 members. The FOP endorsed Bill Clinton in 1996, but has given the nod to Republicans in 2000, 2004 and 2008. The union did not endorse any candidate in 2012.
“We were talking to the highest levels of the campaign, and we had all indications that she was going to return the questionnaire,” FOP President Chuck Canterbury told The Hill on Friday. “And on the deadline date we were advised that they declined.”
Clinton’s campaign, speaking to The Hill, did not directly address why the form wasn’t submitted, but instead focused on how “Hillary and her team had engaged law enforcement throughout the campaign.”
“As she said from the beginning of her campaign, across the country, police officers are out there every day inspiring trust and confidence, honorably doing their duty, putting themselves on the line to save lives,” Clinton spokesman Jesse Ferguson said. “She believes we must work together to build on what’s working and to build the bonds of trust between police and the communities they serve – because we are stronger together.”
Trump has submitted his endorsement paperwork, and Canterbury stressed Trump’s “long history of being friendly to law enforcement.”
Giuliani said the choice not to submit the FOP questionnaire is indicative of the extreme left swing of the current Democrat Party and its presidential candidate.
“I think this only makes the point that the Democratic Party has gone so far to the left now – so far to the left – that it won’t even seek the endorsement of the major police organization in the country,” Giuliani said.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Ryan Cartoons

Will Trump endorsement hurt Ryan in Tuesday's primary against outsider?

House Speaker Paul Ryan appears likely to win a 10th term ahead of his primary challenge Tuesday, but an endorsement earlier this week from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is causing its share of political headwinds for the Wisconsin congressman and other Republicans seeking reelection.
Trump on Friday night endorsed the House leader, along with incumbent GOP Sens. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire, and John McCain, Arizona, in an apparent effort to create party unity with the general election less than 100 days away.
However, the endorsement is not without some peril for Ryan, despite leading primary rival and conservative businessman Paul Nehlen by as much as 66 percent points, according to poll released this week by the Remington Research Group.
The Wisconsin GOP primary is Tuesday.
Trump is not particularly popular among Wisconsin voters, considering they decisively backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the state’s early-April primary, arguably Trump’s biggest loss of the season.
And weeks earlier, Trump bashed popular Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker, a Cruz supporter, arguing Walker’s record on jobs and the economy was overrated.
Nehlen, in a narrowly crafted announcement Friday, praised Trump for endorsing Ryan, saying the decision was “appropriate” and a sign of “true leadership.”
However, he also argued Trump’s delay in endorsing Ryan, like Ryan did earlier with Trump, “is a clear signal to Wisconsin voters that Ryan is not his preferred candidate in this race.”
Still, most political observers think Ryan will retain his seat.
“I don’t think it will be a problem for Ryan,” Republican strategist Rob Carter said Saturday. “People in his district know him and see him as a straight shooter.”
However, he argued the bigger issue is Trump’s decision to withhold the endorsement.
“The real story is the divisiveness of the Trump campaign and the selfishness of the candidate himself,” Carter said.
The Nehlen campaign -- which is hitting Ryan on his qualified support of the Obama administration’s international trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- thinks its candidate can still pull off an upset.
Campaign official Noel Fritsch on Saturday called the Remington poll a “farce” and argued that 83 percent of the GOP electorate voted for so-called “outsider” candidates in the 2016 party primaries.
“It’s quite obvious that establishment Republicans are in trouble,” said Fritsch, who argues that campaign contributions are coming in from across the country. “This just steels folks’ resolve to get out and vote.”
To be sure, several Republican senators in tough reelection bid, particularly in Democrat-leaning states, have struggled with the Trump endorsement.
Ayotte has said she will vote for Trump but has yet to officially endorse him. And Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey says he’s backing Trump, despite some political differences and Trump being neither his first nor second choice as the party’s presidential nominee.
Despite endorsing Ryan, Trump on Monday used his Twitter feed to acknowledge support from Nehlen, who is driving around Wisconsin in a yellow dump truck with a sign that reads “Dump Paul Ryan.”
A Ryan aide said Saturday that the speaker "appreciates" Trump's endorsement and that Ryan will "continue to focus on earning the endorsement of the voters in southern Wisconsin."
Ryan supporters also argued that several polls show Ryan with a double-digit lead.
Those who foresee a potential upset point to Tea Party-backed, first-time candidate Dave Brat’s 2004 primary upset of House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, who lost in large part because voters thought he was more focused on national politics than district concerns.
“This is not and should not be considered the 'Eric Cantor' seat of 2016. Above all else, Speaker Ryan has been a consistent and effective advocate for his constituents for years. And I am sure he will continue to do so well into the future," Republican strategist Rob Burgess said Saturday.

GOP congressman says he'll vote for Libertarian ticket over Trump

Idiot

Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va. said Saturday that he would support Libertarian Gary Johnson for president over GOP nominee Donald Trump.
"I’ve always said I will not vote for Donald Trump and I will not vote for Hillary Clinton," Rigell told The New York Times.
Rigell is the third Republican House member this week to say he would not vote for the real estate mogul, who has caused an uproar on the campaign trail with a series of controversial comments.
On Tuesday, Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., wrote in an op-ed that he would vote for Clinton instead of Trump, whom Hanna called "offensive and narcissistic," as well as "a world-class panderer."
Both Hanna and Rigell are retiring from Congress following this election.
The day after Hanna's op-ed was published, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told CNN that he would not back Trump amid an ongoing war of words between the GOP nominee and the Muslim family of a fallen American soldier.
"Donald Trump for me is beginning to cross a lot of red lines in the unforgivable on politics," said Kinzinger. "He has crossed so many red lines that a Commander-in-Chief, or a candidate for Commander-in-Chief should never cross."
Kinzinger added that he would not vote for Clinton and was uncertain about whether to write in a candidate.

Rigell told the Times that he expected more GOP members of Congress and local officials to distance themselves from Trump as Election Day nears. He claimed that many Republican candidates have asked him for advice.
"When their own conscience is seared by some statement that Trump has made," Rigell said. "I have encouraged them to be direct and also, in a timely manner, repudiate what he said."
Rigell also vowed that he would leave the party and become an independent if Trump's campaign platform took hold in the party.

At GOP urging, Trump turns focus on Clinton emails, 'short circuit' explanation

Donald Trump this weekend pounced on Hillary Clinton’s email scandal and her continuing efforts to fully explain her culpability, amid Republicans and other supporters now repeatedly urging him to stick with his likely best winning strategy.
“The more the they talk about the emails the worse it gets,” David Morey, of the international strategy firm DMG Global, on Saturday told Fox News’ “America’s News Headquarters.”
Last weekend, Clinton told “Fox News Sunday” that FBI Director James Comey said that she was “truthful” to the American public about her use of a private email server while secretary of state -- a statement critics of the Democratic presidential nominee quickly disputed.
However, Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, didn’t appear to fully engage on the issue until Friday night, after Clinton, in a press conference, suggested she “short circuited” her remarks Sunday and was in fact saying Comey acknowledged her being truthful with the FBI during the agency’s investigation into the email issue.
At a rally Friday night in Wisconsin, after Clinton’s remarks earlier that day at a National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists gathering, Trump called Clinton “unbalanced” and “unhinged.”
“She's a monster, look at what's happened, look at her history,” Trump said at a rally in Green Bay. “In another way, she's a weak person. She's actually not strong enough to be president."
Clinton continues to say there was no classified information in official emails either sent or received on the private server, despite Comey saying parts of three emails indeed included classified material.
On Saturday morning, Trump turned to Twitter, a favorite means for his largely unfiltered attacks.
“Crooked Hillary said loudly, and for the world to see, that she "SHORT CIRCUITED" when answering a question on her e-mails. Very dangerous!” he tweeted, then said in a follow-up tweet: "Anybody whose mind "SHORT CIRCUITS" is not fit to be our president! Look up the word "BRAINWASHED."
Trump and Clinton each have some of the lowest ratings on likeability and trustworthiness in the history of U.S. presidential elections.
Ian Prior, a spokesman for the conservative-leaning PAC American Crossroads, told Fox’s AEHQ that Trump should stick with four issues -- the economy, immigration, national security and Clinton and keep the candidate from “getting into fights.”
To be sure, Trump has perhaps had the worst week of the presidential election cycle -- after getting into an exchange with the Muslim lawyer and father of an Army captain killing in Iraq who attacked Trump at the Democratic National Convention.
Republican strategist Rob Carter said Trump focusing on Clinton "would be a huge benefit not only to the Trump campaign but to the Republican Party as a whole. Untrustworthy and unable to maintain national security, those are issues that Republicans will always care deeply about."
Trump, who dropped in several polls in his race with Clinton, also withheld his endorsement for House Speaker Paul Ryan who is seeking reelection, causing further distractions.
“I’m not quite there yet,” Trump said before endorsing the Ryan, R-Wisc., on Friday, using words similar to Ryan’s when he delayed endorsing Trump earlier this year.
Ryan said Thursday on WTAG radio in Wisconsin that Trump has had "a pretty strange run since the convention. You would think that we want to be focusing on Hillary Clinton, on all of her deficiencies. She is such a weak candidate that one would think that we would be on offense against Hillary Clinton, and it is distressing that that’s not what we’re talking about these days.”

Clinton renews vow to 'fast track' immigration; Trump camp accuses candidate of acting like a 'king'

Hillary Clinton announced perhaps her most ambitious plan yet for immigration reform Friday, including a vow to “end deportation” for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States if elected president. In turn, Republican nominee Donald Trump's campaign claimed Clinton intends to assume “king-like powers” that would harm Americans.
Clinton, speaking before a National Associations of Black and Hispanic Journalists gathering in Washington, said she intends to introduce legislation within the first 100 days of her potential administration that will add hundreds of billions of dollars to the economy.
The Democratic presidential nominee also urged potential voters to help Democrats retake the Senate in November, claiming assurances that they would “fast track her proposal.”
“This is a clear high priority for my administration,” she said. “We will be prepared to introduce legislation as quickly as we can …Trump plans to round up immigrants … We will not be deporting families.”
Clinton's comments suggested that she would follow President Obama’s example of taking executive action on immigration reform.
The Supreme Court in June split 4-4 on Obama’s 2014 plan to defer deportation for roughly 4.3 million parents of Americans and other lawful permanent residents.
The ruling sent the case back to a lower court. But Clinton, like Trump, would attempt to appoint a justice for the high court’s ninth and open seat to help win favorable decisions on such issues.
“Hillary believes DAPA is squarely within the president’s authority and won’t stop fighting until we see it through,” states Clinton’s campaign website, which also says she intends to defend the president’s 2012 executive action to defer deportation for millions of people brought into the United States illegally by their parents.
The Clinton campaign did not immediatley respond Saturday to a request for comment.
Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller -- who as a staffer from Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions helped defeat a bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill -- issued a five-page statement on Friday attacking Clinton’s policies dating back to May 2015. The Senate bill died in the GOP-controlled House.
Clinton has vowed since essentially the start of her campaign to make immigration reform a first-100-day priority. And Trump, who has vowed to build a wall along the southern U.S. border to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants, has said Clinton’s plan is tantamount to amnesty for those in the U.S. illegally and that she would “totally open borders.”
Trump, in the wake of several deadly attacks inspired or directed by ISIS, called for a temporary ban on all Muslims into the U.S. The Republican presidential nominee has since suggested a ban only for Muslims coming from such Middle East terror hotspots as Syria.
Miller, whose has long argued that “amnesty” — legal working status for some of the country's estimate 11 million illegal immigrants — would take away jobs from unemployed Americans, argued on Friday that Clinton’s first-100-day pledge is also dangerous.
“Her pledge — in the middle of a national security and a border security crisis” — demonstrates her callous and cruel disregard for the safety of the American people,” Miller wrote.
“This administration has released hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal immigrants, and yet Clinton says she wants to go even further, ending virtually all deportations and ending all protections Americans have against open borders.”