Archives for May 2016

Trump Attacks Judge In Trump University Case

May 28, 2016 at 9:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 130 Comments

“In one of his most personal attacks against an apolitical figure since becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump delivered an extended tirade about the federal judge overseeing the civil litigation against his defunct education program,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Trump’s attack on U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel was extraordinary not just in its scope and intensity but for its location: Before a crowd packed into a convention center here that had been primed for the New York billionaire with a warm-up speech from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.”

After the audience chanted the Republican standard-bearer’s signature ‘build that wall’ mantra, Trump told them that Judge Curiel is “Mexican.”

Trump Camp Concedes It’s Low on Money

May 28, 2016 at 9:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 305 Comments

“Donald Trump’s campaign has alerted Senate Republicans that he won’t have much money to spend fending off attacks from Hillary Clinton over the next couple months.”

“The notice came when Paul Manafort, Trump’s senior advisor, met with a group of Senate Republican chiefs of staff for lunch last week, sources familiar with the meeting told the Washington Examiner. The admission suggests that Trump will be far more dependent on the GOP brass for money than he has led voters to believe, but it’s consistent with his reliance on the Republican National Committee to provide a ground game in battleground states.”

The Consensus Electoral Map

May 27, 2016 at 10:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 127 Comments

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Trump Backs Out of Debate with Sanders

May 27, 2016 at 4:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 199 Comments

Donald Trump said he will not participate in a debate with Bernie Sanders, Politico reports.

Said Trump: “Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and Crooked Hillary Clinton and Deborah Wasserman Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher.”

He added: “As I want to debate Bernie Sanders – and it would be an easy payday – I will wait to debate the first place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be.”

McConnell Says System Will Protect Against ‘Big Mistakes’

May 27, 2016 at 4:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 105 Comments

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that our system will prevent any “big mistakes” if Donald Trump becomes president, TPM reports.

Said McConnell: “Well, one thing I’m pretty calm about is that this is nowhere near the most divisive period in American history. But what protects us in this country against big mistakes being made is the structure, the Constitution, the institutions.”

He added: “No matter how unusual a personality may be who gets elected to office, there are constraints in this country. You don’t get to do anything you want to.”

Trump’s Campaign Is a Mess

May 27, 2016 at 3:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 62 Comments

“A constant stream of changes and scuffles are roiling Donald Trump’s campaign team, including the abrupt dismissal this week of his national political director,” the New York Times reports.

“A sense of paranoia is growing among his campaign staff members, including some who have told associates they believe that their Trump Tower offices may be bugged.”

“And there is confusion among his donors, who want to give money to a ‘super PAC’ supporting Mr. Trump, but have received conflicting signals from top aides about which one to support.”

Romney Says He Opposes Trump So He Can Sleep

May 27, 2016 at 2:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 34 Comments

Mitt Romney told the Wall Street Journal that the decision to take on Donald Trump was a matter of personal integrity.

Said Romney: “I know that some people are offended that someone who lost and is the former nominee continues to speak, but that’s how I can sleep at night. And there are some people, though it’s a small number, who still value my opinion.”

How Clinton Could Lose

May 27, 2016 at 2:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 168 Comments

Politico: “If Clinton pushes away some of her potential supporters; fails to energize others to vote; and fires up Trump’s base by pandering to her own—well, she just might be able to make the numbers work out for him. If he does pull off the election of the century, Trump’s path to 270 Electoral College votes will begin with 164 practically in the bank, from 21 solid-red states generally considered sure things for the Republican nominee.”

“Trump survives a Latino surge in the South and West; Clinton fails to bring home young voters in the Southeast and Midwest; Libertarians give Trump a foothold in the Northeast; the Rust Belt puts the nail in the coffin—and with somewhere between 274 and 325 electoral votes, Donald J. Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States. Yes, the specifics could vary. But it’s clear Trump can cross the 270 electoral-vote threshold even on the low end, with plenty of cushion on the high end to make up for a state that slips through his fingers here or there.”

“For what it’s worth, it’s also possible Clinton wins in a landslide, as an increasingly unstable Trump shrinks deeper and deeper into racism, xenophobia and conspiracy theories. But what’s clear is that Democrats can no longer count on a lopsided race that even a problematic candidate running a clumsy campaign can’t lose.”

For members: The Consensus Electoral Map

GOP Lawmaker Urges Citizens to Burn Traffic Tickets

May 27, 2016 at 1:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 54 Comments

Tennessee state Rep. Andy Holt (R) is urging Tennesseans to ignore traffic camera tickets and emphasizing his point by burning a citation in a video that has received more than 325,000 Facebook views, the Knoxville News reports.

Said Holt: “What do you do if you get one? Throw it in the trash. Personally, I prefer to burn mine.”

Sanders Camp Suggests Trump May Be Chickening Out

May 27, 2016 at 12:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 100 Comments

Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders, suggested Donald Trump may now be trying to avoid a debate between the two candidates, Politico reports.

Said Weaver: “There’s a little bit of foot-dragging now it seems on their side. It may be that, you know, there may be some chickening out or, you know, an unwillingness to stand on stage and really debate with Bernie Sanders because they know Bernie Sanders is going to do quite well in that debate, frankly.”

There’s No Gold Standard for Polling Anymore

May 27, 2016 at 9:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

Huffington Post: “When you take a closer look at the way various polls are conducted, there’s no one method that stands out as inarguably better than all the rest. Some people in the polling industry like to claim that polls done by live interviewers using randomly selected phone numbers are more accurate than surveys that use automated telephone technology or surveys conducted over the Internet. But research shows that’s not necessarily true.”

How Trump Destroyed the Interview

May 27, 2016 at 8:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 68 Comments

Politico: “Over the past 12 months of the presidential campaign, Donald Trump has dulled its power with his systematic evasions, contradictions and deceptions, making a general mockery of the form. Thanks to his skills at quibbling, his talent for the nonsequitur, and his willingness to reverse himself inside a single sentence, Trump has figured out how to soften rather than sharpen public discourse every time he is interviewed, blurring it into yet another form of meaningless PR, and—if he continues—destroying a journalistic institution in the process.”

Quote of the Day

May 27, 2016 at 8:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 122 Comments

“There’s one more thing that we must do to make America wealthy again, and you have to be wealthy in order to be great, I’m sorry to say.”

— Donald Trump, quoted by The Hill.

RNC Hosts Post-Convention Concert

May 27, 2016 at 8:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 58 Comments

“The Republican National Committee has dedicated hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring the band Journey to Cleveland for a post-convention bash,” Politico reports.

“One source familiar with the details of the event said that the total cost of booking Journey is about $750,000. Another source has indicated the RNC has $500,000 to spend on the event.”

Ryan Appears Safe for Re-Election

May 27, 2016 at 8:28 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

A new Vox Populi Polling survey shows Speaker Paul Ryan (R) is leading Republican primary challenger Paul Nehlen (R) by 73 points, 80% to 7%, and enjoys an almost 20 point lead over a generic Democratic candidate.

Trump Is Just Borrowing the GOP Brand

May 27, 2016 at 8:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

“It’s been called a hostile takeover of the Republican Party, but there’s little that has happened since Donald Trump became the GOP’s presumptive nominee to suggest he wants anything to do with the party. He’s borrowing the brand for his own purposes,” the Washington Post reports.

“In all ways, Trump continues to show that he is the anti-conventions candidate. That’s especially the case with any notions of him becoming the leader of a political party. Trump is a singular politician unlike any who has risen as fast and as far as he has in modern times. In the same way that he has demonstrated no consistency in his views on issues over time, there is nothing to suggest that he has much regard for the responsibilities and opportunities that come with being the leader of a party.”

“What has been apparent during Trump’s march through the primaries is how little he thinks or acts with the partisan — or party-building — instincts of typical politicians. The constituency he has attracted is certainly more conservative than liberal and far more Republican than Democratic. But the core issues that have brought him to this position — immigration, national identity, trade and jobs — which he projects with the posture of a strongman (or to his critics, a bully) speak to a candidate who looks at the electorate far differently than the typical Republican or Democrat.”