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2016 Election Tag

Earlier this morning, Mark blogged about rumors of yet another Republican-backed Trump challenger. Multiple outlets are reporting an obscure former CIA officer will launch an independent run against Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

During the presidency of George W. Bush, a left wing theater group called "Billionaires for Bush" would show up at political events dressed in tuxedos and top hats while chomping cigars. The whole point was to make it look like wealthy people in America supported Bush and by extension, all Republican policies because after all, only rich people support Republicans, right?

Hillary Clinton gave her first press conference since December of 2015 on Friday which was open only to journalists of color. While she did get at least one question about her ongoing email troubles, the event devolved unsurprisingly into a campaign rally. NewsBusters reported:
Reporters Raucously Applaud Hillary, Softball Questions to Her at Their Own Conference Showing how much the liberal media is in the tank for Hillary Clinton in this election, reporters at the joint conference of National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists on Friday afternoon wildly applauded Clinton’s far-left answers to a slew of softball questions about immigration, the electorate, and even whether she has any black friends.

What a long, strange trip this year's presidential election has become. The media (mainstream, liberal and conservative #NeverTrump) have swarmed all over Trump in the past two weeks. Some Republicans who did not previously oppose Trump also are breaking ranks and coming out against him. The media, by and large, has moved on from scrutiny of Hillary. For Trump supporters, it's confirmation of bias against him and the need to tear down the establishment in its broadest sense. For Trump opponents, it's confirmation of the reasons for their opposition. Certainly, "anything can happen." But as of now, the polls mostly look beyond horrible for Trump and have taken a nose dive. In a normal election year, it would not be worth the pixels to run a general election poll, because close to 100% of the readers would be voting for the Republican. But this is not a normal year. So, this will be our first 2016 General Election Reader Poll.

The Washington Post once again called out Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's claims that the FBI confirmed the FBI confirmed all of her public comments have "been consistent and truthful with what I've told them." Hillary responded today by saying she "short-circuited" over response:
"That's really the bottom line here. And I have said during the interview and many other occasions over the past months, that what I told the FBI, which he said was truthful, is consistent with what I have said publicly," Clinton explained Friday. "So I may have short-circuited it and for that, I, you know, will try to clarify because I think, you know, Chris Wallace and I were probably talking past each other because of course, he could only talk to what I had told the FBI and I appreciated that."

In addition to ignoring as many of Hillary's negatives as possible, another form of media bias is happening in this election cycle. The media is rehabilitating Bill and Hillary's marriage. It's easier to see the Clintons back in the White House if they're perceived as a happy and normal couple, not the scandal plagued, loveless pair who stayed together for purely political purposes. To aid in their image makeover, we're seeing pieces like this one from CNN:
The surprising secret to Bill and Hillary Clinton's marriage Tuesday night, Bill Clinton took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to make the case for another Clinton: the former U.S. Secretary of State-- and his former First Lady -- Hillary Clinton, as the next President of the United States.

Now that Hillary Clinton is the official Democratic nominee, a significant number of Bernie Sanders supporters are gravitating to Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who seems happy to have them. The question is whether support for Stein will have any impact on the outcome of the election and if she's capable of picking up where Bernie left off. Clare Foran writes at The Atlantic:
Can Jill Stein Lead a Revolution? Jill Stein takes public transportation to the Democratic National Convention. On the day after Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman to win a major party presidential nomination, the Green Party presidential candidate is on the subway en route to the Wells Fargo Center. Adoring fans spot her on the way over and demand selfies. A heavily tattooed woman complains to Stein: “It’s been a Hillary party the whole time. It’s like brainwash, like waterboarding. It’s awful.”

Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former New York Congressman and husband of Hillary confidante Huma Abedin, has (ahem) inserted himself into the debate over the 2016 election. Weiner has obvious reasons for backing Clinton which go beyond party affiliation and his wife's relationship to the Democratic nominee. If Hillary wins, Weiner will have access to the White House and a host of new career opportunities.

The Democratic National Convention is off to a great start for anyone who enjoys watching the Democratic Party implode under its own internal divisions. Not only are Bernie Sanders supporters putting on a show outside the convention center, they're in the hall and making themselves heard. That's a problem for the people who control the party. Blake Neff reports at the Daily Caller:
Bernie Fans Claim Their Signs Are Being Seized At Convention Bernie Sanders supporters at the Democratic National Convention claim people are seizing pro-Sanders signs in an effort to suppress the heavy support he is receiving on the convention floor.

Dinesh D'Souza's new film "Hillary's America" opened on Friday and will get plenty of buzz as the Democratic National Convention unfolds in Philadelphia this week. To help promote the movie, Dinesh and his team have released a music video featuring Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers. The Hollywood Reporter has the story:
Dinesh D'Souza Drops Music Video for 'Hillary's America' Doc Ahead of the DNC Dinesh D'Souza on Saturday released a music video for his latest documentary, Hillary's America, featuring Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers singing "Stand Up and Say So," the song they wrote and performed for the film, which opened Friday.

The Wikileaks release of hacked Democratic National Committee emails threatens to set the Democratic National Convention on fire this week. Whether the leaks prove the election was fixed is one thing; that it is perceived that way is beyond doubt. Already Debbie Wasserman Schultz has resigned as DNC Chair. Not enough. Bernie supporters are furious, and are demanding he withdraw his endorsement of Hillary. That's highly unlikely to happen, which will shut close a possible relief valve. The left wing of the left wing of the Democratic Party is ready to bust a gasket, and go full #NeverHillary and mean it. It will only take a few percent of Democrats to stay home or run to Green Party candidate Jill Stein for Hillary to be damaged in the general election. The media cannot let that happen. So expect several narratives to permeate the convention coverage.

The Clinton campaign suffered a serious blow on Friday when the Virginian Supreme Court struck down Gov. Terry McAuliffe's blanket reinstatement of voting rights for convicted felons who have served their time. (Opinion here) WaPo reported:
Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s decision to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 felons violates Virginia’s constitution, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday, dealing a major blow to the Democratic governor with implications for the November presidential race in the crucial swing state. In a 4-to-3 decision, the court ruled that McAuliffe overstepped his clemency powers by issuing a sweeping order in April restoring rights to all ex-offenders who are no longer incarcerated or on probation or parole.

Donald Trump's acceptance speech last night was a hit with viewers, as Yahoo News reported:
The majority of viewers who watched Donald Trump's speech to the Republican National Convention on Thursday night said it made them more likely to vote for him in November, according to a CNN/ORC instant poll. The poll found that 56% of speech viewers were more likely to vote for the New York businessman after seeing him formally accept the Republican nomination. 32% of viewers said his speech had little effect on them, and 10% said it made them less likely to cast their vote for Trump in November. Overall, 57% of viewers said they had a "very positive" reaction to Trump's speech. Meanwhile, 18% said they were "somewhat positive" and 24% said it had a "negative effect."

I just sent this in for Morning Insurrection. (If you don't subscribe, you should here.) "TRUMP SPEECH - It was very good. Controlled, focused, full of 'red meat' for people left behind in the economy. And it was controlled. Did I say controlled? Of course, I'm writing this as the speech is nearing the end, and he hasn't hit Twitter yet. But in the moment, it's possible to believe that he has a message that may resonate." https://twitter.com/LegInsurrection/status/756336349146382336 Some highlights:

The media has decided that the alleged Melania Trump plagiarism story is the greatest thing that's ever happened in American politics. So as long as we're on the subject, let's look back at the last time plagiarism was alleged in a presidential election. It was 2008, and a young Senator from Illinois was fighting Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination. Obama had been caught lifting lines from his ideological twin, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Clinton called him out for it during a debate.

Due to a tremendous need for security at the Republican convention this week, policemen from all over the country came to Cleveland to work the event. An arrangement was made to house many of these police at Case Western University, but students complained that they wouldn't feel safe with all those cops on campus. So the school cancelled all activity for the week. Campus Reform reported last week:
Cleveland students protest 'mere presence' of cops on campus for RNC Students at a Cleveland, Ohio college are petitioning to halt the billeting of riot police officers on campus during the Republican National Convention (RNC) next week.