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2016 Election Tag

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on September 13, 2016 36 Comments
As liberal pundits go, I find Sam Stein among the least objectionable—a low bar to be sure. The HuffPo editor has a streak of fairness to him. But on today's Morning Joe, Stein served up some absurd spin on Hillary's "basket of deplorables." "Deplorables," according to Stein, in a way "does work to her advantage." Why? Because some moderate Republicans will "look at this division between the deplorables and the non-deplorables . . . and do say to themselves: do I want to be part of that?" A kind of snob appeal, Sam? Don't think so, and even Joe Scarborough, who continued his attacks on Trump throughout the show dismissed the notion, saying "you don't win voters by calling other voters irredeemable."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 12, 2016 90 Comments
We've been watching this story grow legs -- the speculation that a Democratic Party cabal met behind closed doors to discuss replacing Hillary on the presidential ticket after her unfortunately public health episode Sunday. I imagine this was nothing more than a whisper campaign that morphed into an actual story. And you know, it couldn't have happened to a nicer gal. But now that replacing Hillary is actually being discussed seriously, we're only doing what's proper -- voting on who we think would (not should) replace Hillary, if it were to come to that.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 12, 2016 15 Comments
According to new polling, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson has more support from military veterans than the other presidential candidates.  Recent polling of active military showed 37% of respondents chose Johnson, reports The Hill. Depending upon the accuracy of the polling, it may serve as further evidence that military service members are increasingly Libertarian.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 12, 2016 51 Comments
The history of Hillary Clinton is one of deep paranoia. From the secretive health care taskforce during her husband's presideny to the secret home server, fear of sunlight drives her actions. And the mainstream media is a willing participant most of the way until the obvious can no longer be denied or covered up. There is no better example than Hillary's "medical event" at the 9/11 Memorial service yesterday. For weeks the mainstream media and the Clinton campaign have been berating anyone who pointed out that her coughing fits were not only odd, but perhaps a sign of deeper trouble. The wagons were circled. Then, yesterday Hillary collapsed. The video is devastating. Hillary starts out propped up by a stone auto barrier, but even then looks wobbly. As soon as the van pulls up Hillary goes into obvious convulsions as she tries to move towards the van while being held up by her arms. Even so, she falls forward towards the ground as she is dragged into the waiting van. Hillary Clinton Helped to Van 9-11 Memorial 2016 Those around her, presumably mostly Secret Service, create a visual barrier preventing cameras from capturing what happened in the van.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 12, 2016 15 Comments
Hillary Clinton is pretty sure the sexism used against her in the 2016 election is the stuff of history and that it will be studied in academia for years. After the NBC commander in chief forum, Hillary spoke to reporters near her plane. Via Real Clear Politics:
Hillary Clinton: There Will Be PhD Theses About Sexism Against Me Written For Years To Come Speaking to reporters outside her campaign plane Thursday morning, Hillary Clinton responded to a question about the below tweet from RNC chairman Reince Priebus urging her to "smile" more. Asked if she believes there is a "double standard" in the presidential race for women, she replied: "I'm going to let all of you ponder that last question."

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 11, 2016 9 Comments
In 2013, Florida's Attorney General, Pam Bondi, solicited a $25,000 donation from the Trump Foundation.  Coincidentally, this was the same period during which Bondi's office was purportedly investigating Trump University and determining whether or not to join New York's suit against Trump U.  Democrats jumped at the chance to point fingers and make accusations of pay-to-play / influence peddling. The Tampa Bay Times reports:
"I never, nor was my office, investigating him. Never. I would never lie. I would never take money. I've been obviously devastated over this," Bondi said in a voicemail message to a Times/Herald reporter. In a separate statement, Bondi called Monday's Associated Press report on the Trump University issue "misleading," adding: "No one in my office ever opened an investigation of Trump University, nor was there a basis for doing so." The AP account said Bondi "nixed" suing Trump, but it did not say that she had opened an investigation.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 11, 2016 10 Comments
Here's one I missed last week: Several days ago, Donald Trump visited Detroit. Campaign surrogate, Detroit native, and former presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson joined The Donald. Filming a live interview with CNN outside of his childhood home, Carson had other things on his mind. "What do you think he [Trump] took away from today?" asked the CNN interview. "OH! My luggage!" exclaimed Carson, before walking away.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 10, 2016 114 Comments
As Hillary's numbers drop and Democrats scratch their heads as they try to figure out why she's not miles ahead of Trump, Hillary demonstrates one of the many qualities that make her unpalatable to American voters:  her contempt for them. Like Kerry and Obama before her, Hillary just cannot contain her distaste for a large number of Americans.  At a fundraiser, she declared that half of Trump's supporters belong in a "basket of deplorables." NBC News reports:
Hillary Clinton urged supporters late Friday not to be complacent about Donald Trump's chances of winning the election, saying half of his backers were "desperate for change" but the other half belonged in a "basket of deplorables." Appearing at an LGBT gala fundraiser where Barbra Streisand performed, she said many of the GOP candidate's voters were "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it."
Watch:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 09, 2016 42 Comments
On August 24, I noted that Hillary's strategy was to run out the clock, in light of her massive lead in the polls since the conventions, Hibernating Hillary Running Out the Clock:
The current polling gives little rational reason to think Donald Trump will win in November. No matter how you slice it — national 4-way, national head-to-head, battleground states, electoral college, unfavorability — Trump is deeply underwater, as this polling average chart at Real Clear Politics today shows: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/
That was then. Before Hillary's hibernation combined with more email problems, and Trump's staying out of trouble, caused something approaching a collapse. Here's what that same chart looks like now. Hillary is still leading, but in every category her lead has shrunk dramatically.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 09, 2016 12 Comments
The Supreme Court refused to consider Michigan's emergency appeal that would eliminate its 125 year-old straight-ticket voting option. The justices gave no reason:
“The application for stay presented to Justice (Elena) Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied. Justice (Clarence) Thomas and Justice (Samuel) Alito would grant the application.”
In 2015, the state leadership decided to remove the straight ticket option so, "that a voter would not overlook nonpartisan issues on the ballot and also make a 'more informed vote by examining the credentials and values of each candidate.'"

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 09, 2016 34 Comments
President Obama is a weak leader, but then most textbook narcissists are. I get that. But Putin? A strong leader? At Wednesdays's Commander-in-Chief forum, Donald Trump cited Putin's approval ratings (because I'm sure Russian polls aren't cooked) as evidence of Putin's "strong" leadership; leadership that Trump suggested is stronger than President Obama's. While that might be true technically, are we really looking to compare the once free-world with a communist dictatorial foe? Apparently so.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on September 08, 2016 7 Comments
Wow! Veteran political strategist Mary Matalin is not just "confident" that Donald Trump is going to win, she thinks he has an 85-90% chance of winning. And even that is conservative compared to the 100% chance she originally claimed during her appearance on today's With All Due Respect. Note that Matalin is not a rabid Trump partisan. To the contrary, she quit the Republican party in May, and says that rather than having a dog in the race, she has, in Trump, merely a "mini-puppy." Matalin took an amusing shot at her husband, Dem strategist James Carville. When John Heilemann said he could only imagine the fights she was having with him, Mary mockingly answered "who? Who? Is he my . . . go-to guy in politics? I don't think so."

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 08, 2016 5 Comments
I continue to keep an eye on the vulnerable Republicans in the Senate because the Democrats only need four seats to retake the majority. Not helpful is that Hillary and her campaign hope to raise $1 billion to help unseat vulnerable GOP senators. Their efforts may not come to fruition as Sen. Jon Tester (MT), the campaign chairman for the Senate Democrats, sounded the alarm on Wednesday. He claimed the party could only regain three seats if they held elections today.
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