Liberal revolutionary Bernie Sanders, riding an updraft of insurgent passion in Iowa, has closed to within 7 points of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race. She's the first choice of 37 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers; he's the pick for 30 percent, according to a new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll. But Clinton has lost a third of her supporters since May, a trajectory that if sustained puts her at risk of losing again in Iowa, the initial crucible in the presidential nominating contest.... "This feels like 2008 all over again," said J. Ann Selzer, pollster for the Iowa Poll.The trendline is horrible for Hillary:
Speaker of the House John Boehner stunned audience members Wednesday evening at a Colorado fundraiser by referring to Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz as a “jackass,” two people in attendance tell The Daily Caller. At a Steamboat Springs event for GOP Rep. Scott Tipton, the Ohio Republican quipped that he likes how Cruz’s presidential campaign keeps “that jackass” out of Washington, and from telling Boehner how to do his job.According to the DC, this statement did not sit well with some who were in attendance:
That remark rubbed some attendees the wrong way. “I don’t think it’s terribly speaker-like, and I think it kind of goes against everything that Reagan ever said about disparaging Republicans,” said Ed MacArthur, the president of Native Excavating, who attended the fundraiser. “It’s becoming very disturbing to me that we can’t have good, polite conversation,” MacArthur said. “It all has to be at the throat.”
In his first foreign policy speech, presidential candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday called for increasing military spending, securing the Mexican border, boosting surveillance programs and establishing a no-fly zone in Syria to help overthrow Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime. "As president, I will send the following message: The retreat is over," Walker told cadets at the Citadel military college in Charleston, S.C. "American leadership is back. American leadership is back and, together with our allies, we will not surrender another inch of ground to terrorists or any other power that threatens our safety. "America will not be intimidated. And neither will I." The GOP governor sought in his speech to put new substance and momentum behind his stalled campaign. Once soaring in Iowa and elsewhere, he has suffered in the polls in recent weeks as reality television star and real estate mogul Donald Trump's campaign has shot skyward.His campaign may be stalled, but his apparent commitment to putting out a cohesive vision on foreign policy hasn't suffered. “We can no longer afford to be passive spectators while the world descends into chaos," stated Walker, in a speech that reflected on the troubled policies of the Obama administration, and labeled Islamic terrorists as "agents of pure evil."
Vice President Joseph Biden runs slightly better than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton against leading Republican contenders in the 2016 presidential sweepstakes, and has the best favorability rating among top Republican and Democratic candidates, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today. Donald Trump leads the crowded Republican pack with 28 percent, up from 20 percent in a July 30 national survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. This is the highest tally and widest margin for any Republican so far in this election. Ben Carson has 12 percent, with 7 percent each for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. No other Republican tops 6 percent and 11 percent are undecided. Trump also tops the "no way" list as 26 percent of Republican voters say they would definitely not support him. Bush is next with 18 percent. Clinton leads the Democratic field with 45 percent, down from 55 percent July 30, with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 22 percent and Biden at 18 percent. No other candidate tops 1 percent with 11 percent undecided. This is Sanders' highest tally and closest margin. Clinton tops the Democrats' "no way" list with 11 percent.Biden rising, Clinton down, and a whole lot of love/hate for Trump. Sounds like business as usual. The people at Quinnipiac must have sensed that, because the second chunk of their data has proven a source of endless entertainment. Pollsters asked their sample to evaluate the field based on the first word that came to mind when they thought of a particular candidate. The three most common words used to describe Clinton? "Liar," "dishonest," and "untrustworthy." Also making appearances were "criminal," "crook," and the B-word:
Rubio Dismisses Trump in N.H.: He Won't Be 'Our Nominee' "Ultimately the Republican Party will reach out to all voters based on who our nominee is. And I don't believe Donald Trump will be our nominee," the Florida senator said after speaking to a small crowd outside a car service center in this town of Orford. "I think our nominee is going to be someone that embraces the future, that understands the opportunities before us, that's optimistic but realistic about the challenges before us." He acknowledged that "people are angry" and "they have a right to be," but insisted that "we should allow that anger to motivate us, but we shouldn't allow that anger to define us. We're not an angry nation. We are an optimistic nation who has every reason to be optimistic about the future."...
Trump repeated a claim on Twitter Monday night that Kelly is a 'bimbo,' and Fox chief Roger Ailes demanded an apology on Tuesday after the billionaire leveled a new series of attacks on Kelly during her first show following a lengthy break. 'I liked The Kelly File much better without @megynkelly,' Trump tweeted while she as on the air. 'Perhaps she could take another eleven day unscheduled vacation!'Fox News big wig Roger Ailes came out today with a statement demanding Trump apologize to Kelly:
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the hands-down favorite of the Americans for Prosperity annual summit in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend, if the number and volume of ovations during the speeches of five presidential candidates who addressed the annual convention of tea party activists was the measure. . . . . Cruz, the tea party favorite since his 2010 election, sparked deafening cheers in the Columbus Convention Center auditorium even before he took the stage, entering to the 1980s power anthem "Eye of the Tiger." During his speech Saturday, he went on to promise to "repeal every word of Obamacare," and" rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal." Each of Cruz's lines was met with applause and cheers from the more than 3,000 activists.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal kept a hard stance on his immigration policy and advocated for tighter border control and assimilation, despite heckling and protests from an immigration activism group at The Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair Saturday. "It's time to secure the border for once and for all," Jindal said. "If you want to come to our country, come legally, learn English." Throughout Jindal's speech, he addressed a variety of issues, including defunding Planned Parenthood and instituting term limits for elected officials.Protesters were in the audience shouting for "citizenship now" and chanting "We want freedom," and Jindal responded directly, telling them "if you want freedom, follow the laws."
Rand Paul sells Kentucky GOP on presidential caucus Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) avoided a major headache Saturday after Kentucky Republican Party approved a rule change that would allow him to run for president while seeking reelection to his Senate seat. "I applaud the Republican Party of Kentucky on their decision to hold a caucus in the upcoming Republican presidential cycle," Paul said in a statement. "The people of Kentucky deserve a voice as the GOP chooses their next nominee, and holding a caucus will ensure that Kentucky is relevant and participates early in the process." The party's central committee approved Kentucky's first-ever presidential caucus for March 5, 2016. The vote was 111 to 36, a stronger showing than expected, after a drama that took most of the day -- ending just 20 minutes before the meeting had to end. Two-third of the central committee were needed to approve the caucus.
Cruz spoke about his experience defending freedom of religion at the Supreme Court and what he said were the threats facing religious liberty.
"These threats have been growing, they have been growing for decades but never have the threats been greater to religious liberty than they are right here and now today," he said.
"These threats are not imagined, they're not made up. These are real people leading real lives who found themselves facing persecution simply for living out their faith. There is a war on faith in America today."
Audience members frequently murmured "Amen" as Cruz spoke.
The event featured guest speakers who had faced consequences of upholding their religious beliefs, from losing a job to vandalism to losing a business.
"They didn't ask for confrontation and the government came to them and said, 'Choose between faith and obedience to government power,' and they said, 'I follow a higher power and that is God almighty,'" Cruz said.
Watch Cruz's keynote speech at the Rally for Religious Liberty:
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