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Former Trump Adviser Doesn’t Think He’ll Win

December 30, 2015 at 6:16 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

Sam Nunberg, a former Trump political adviser to Donald Trump, told the Daily Beast that he doesn’t think the billionaire presidential candidate will win the GOP nomination.

Said Nunberg: “Based on public polling that I have seen and based on a downward trend, which includes a downward trend in New Hampshire, it includes Ted Cruz consolidating social conservatives in Iowa. I am concerned that Mr. Trump will not be able to get into the position to win South Carolina, which is his strongest state of support. He has to get there. Now that the race is tightening, it’s more difficult for him to get to South Carolina, which is the real firewall.”

Christie Pledges to Not Raise Taxes

December 30, 2015 at 6:14 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Gov. Chris Christie had a “read my lips” moment on the campaign trail in Iowa, Bloomberg reports.

Said Christie: “I will not raise taxes on the American people because we’re already over-taxed.”

Koch Brothers Machine Much Bigger Than GOP

December 30, 2015 at 4:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

“The political machine that Charles Koch launched a dozen years ago in a Chicago hotel conference room with 16 other rich conservatives has exploded in size and influence in the past few elections and now eclipses the official GOP in key areas,” Politico reports.

“Koch and his brother David Koch have quietly assembled, piece by piece, a privatized political and policy advocacy operation like no other in American history that today includes hundreds of donors and employs 1,200 full-time, year-round staffers in 107 offices nationwide. That’s about 3½ times as many employees as the Republican National Committee and its congressional campaign arms had on their main payrolls last month.”

Quote of the Day

December 30, 2015 at 4:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

“Rape is non-existent in marriage, take what you want my friend!”

— Texas state Rep. Jonathan Strickland (R), quoted by the Texas Observer.

Bush Cancels Iowa TV Ads

December 30, 2015 at 4:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

Jeb Bush’s campaign “is canceling its Iowa television advertising buy and shifting money to double staff on the ground in January, the final month before the high-stakes Iowa caucuses,” the Des Moines Register reports.

“The news will raise questions about whether the former Florida governor might pull out of Iowa given his fifth-place status here, with just 6 percent support of likely GOP caucusgoers.”

Trump Claims Supporters Who Aren’t

December 30, 2015 at 4:16 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

Several of the 200 town chairs for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in New Hampshire didn’t know they were on the list and aren’t even supporting Trump, the Valley News reports.

Trump Says Clinton is an ‘Abuser of Women’

December 30, 2015 at 4:15 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

Donald Trump called former President Bill Clinton “one of the great abusers of the world” and said women “don’t like Hillary Clinton,” The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “She’s hitting me really hard with the women card. She’s not going to win.”

He added that “nobody respects women more than Donald Trump.”

Paul Says Christie Should Quit

December 30, 2015 at 4:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Sen. Rand Paul said that Gov. Chris Christie should resign his office “because he has spent more than 200 days outside his state yet is campaigning for president based on his experience as a governor,” Politico reports.

Said Paul: “He may not even be a resident never mind Governor.”

Speaking Fees Create Conflict for Clintons

December 30, 2015 at 4:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

More than two dozen companies and groups and one foreign government paid former President Bill Clinton a total of more than $8 million to give speeches around the time they also had matters before Hillary Clinton’s State Department, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.

Fifteen of them also donated a total of between $5 million and $15 million to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the family’s charity, according to foundation disclosures.

Bush Shifts Most Staff to Early States

December 30, 2015 at 4:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

Jeb Bush’s campaign “is deploying nearly all of its staff in its Miami headquarters to early states,” Politico reports.

“Top campaign officials informed employees that the deployment would be staggered throughout the month of January, one participant on the call said. The campaign is expected to deploy between 50 and 60 Miami-based staffers, with 20 going to New Hampshire and 10 or more going to Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada.”

New York Times: “The switch comes as Mr. Bush, who is in single digits in the polls and is struggling to revive his presidential bid, is placing an increased emphasis in the first four caucus and primary states, especially New Hampshire.”

108 Officials Faced Recall in 2015

December 30, 2015 at 2:50 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Joshua Spivak notes that 108 officials faced recalls in the United States in 2015 with 65 ousted in a vote, 15 resigning.

Trump Quote of the Day

December 30, 2015 at 2:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard 114 Comments

“She’s got a major problem, happens to be right in her house. If she wants to do that, we’re going to go right after the ex-president.”

— Donald Trump, quoted by CNN, saying Hillary Clinton shouldn’t accuse him of sexism.

Establishment Candidates Begin to Attack Each Other

December 30, 2015 at 2:26 am EST By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

“With less than five weeks before voters begin weighing in on the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, the establishment contenders — who until now have been relatively restrained — have begun aiming their fire at each other,” the Washington Post reports.

“The tactical shift on the part of the candidates and their allies reflects a long-standing assumption as to how this crowded nomination battle is likely to play out. Many believe the race will come down to a one-on-one contest between an ‘outsider’ who channels the angry Republican base and a candidate more in line with the wishes of the party hierarchy.”

Politico: Establishment rivals rip into Rubio

Trump Suggests He Might Lose Iowa

December 30, 2015 at 2:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

Donald Trump seems to be coming to terms with the idea he might lose in Iowa, Politico reports.

Said Trump: “If I come in second by 2 points, they’ll say ‘Ooh, this is a terrible defeat.’ It’s not terrible.”

“It seemed like a classic case of expectations-setting common to presidential campaigns, but rarely seen from Trump, who has consistently led both in national and early-state polls.”

New York Times: “He allowed at one point in his speech that he could finish in the top four and be happy, but then quickly said he wants to win Iowa and that the media would say he lost no matter how close to first place he came.”

An End to the Clinton-Trump Friendship

December 30, 2015 at 2:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

New York Times: “In the past week, any semblance of a friendship between Mr. Trump and Bill Clinton came to an ugly end as the former president and his wife’s presidential campaign found themselves in a muddy battle over sexism with the Republican candidate who has upended this election cycle with his insults and attacks.”

“The criticism of Mr. Clinton’s personal life comes as Mrs. Clinton is increasingly relying on the former president, mentioning him in almost every speech as she praises his economic record. But Mr. Trump’s attacks on him are now rippling through the race, with other candidates and even a prominent newspaper columnist suggesting that Mr. Clinton’s sexual history is fair game.”

Politico: Trump was for the Clintons before he was against them

The Cruz Caucus

December 30, 2015 at 2:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

“Not a single U.S. senator has endorsed Ted Cruz for president. But over in the House, a dozen activist conservatives are going all out to catapult the first-term Texan into the White House,” Politico reports.

“Lawmakers like Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Mo Brooks of Alabama are attending campaign rallies with Cruz. Others are serving as surrogates at Republican debates, lending their names to fundraising appeals, and taking to conservative radio and cable TV in an effort to burnish Cruz’s credibility with crucial evangelical and conservative primary voters.”

Zhou Enlai May Have Been Gay

December 30, 2015 at 1:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

A new book, The Secret Emotional Life of Zhou Enlai, claims the first premier of the People’s Republic of China was gay, the New York Times reports.

“That assertion is sure to be contentious in China, where homosexuality is not widely accepted and where many may view it as an attack on Zhou’s character. Indeed, the book is expected to be banned in mainland China, as are other unauthorized biographies of Zhou.”

Bush Has Less Urgency Than Others to Win

December 30, 2015 at 1:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson told U.S. News that Jeb Bush doesn’t have to win one of the early states.

Said Thompson: “He doesn’t have to win until he gets to Nevada and Super Tuesday. He’s the one person with the ties to the establishment and the organization in every state. There are Bush people in every state, whether it be for the father Bush, the younger Bush or Jeb.”

He added: “Other candidates have to start showing victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. Bush doesn’t have to have that. He’s got the luxury he’s got enough money to continue advertising. Jeb doesn’t have to win the first three states.”