Topic: Slappy Statist Candidates for US President 2016 - page 4. (Read 17936 times)

Graham isn't serious about running for Prez, he just wants to be up on the debate stage so he can troll Rand's realist foreign policy and drive the meme that he's out of the party's mainstream. Rand has become more dangerous to the status quo and that's why they want to turn this primary into a debate on foreign policy rather than on domestic economic issues and jobs which is what mainstream America desperately cares about. TPTB want the Hillary v. Jeb/Rubio matchup so the show keeps on rolling as is.

Hahah, this is by far the one guarantee in this election or ANY ELECTION!

How sad this reality is...

I think you're right but I hope we're both wrong. These dynasty family Presidencies don't help anyone. The beauty of democracy is having new people, new blood in the office every period of years. To have father-son and/or husband-wife teams is only going to hurt the process of fair progression of the government.

Actually, I'm more worried about Clinton's chances. There's better competition for Bush than there is for Clinton. Maybe Marco Rubio can make a good play of it!

In all reality that is what is most likely to happen bush v Clinton.

Chef, great thread idea! I look forward to reading this one.


As for Lindsey Graham, this guy made a really dumb comment in his "coming out" speech for the 2016 presidential bid. He said he had or foreign policy experience than the US' current Secretary of State! He cites his many trips to Afghanistan and Iraq to visit US troops as "foreign policy experience"...what a naive statement.

This should guy campaign on his real experience rather than trying to claim something he cannot support.

And people will vote for this type of warmongers. Unless Rand Paul wins the GOP nomination, both the main candidates this time will be war-crazy psychopaths (Hillary on one side and Jeb Bush or Carson (?) on the other side). If the Americans want warfare, suffering and the economic collapse resulting from it, then so be it.

Scott Walker embraces the worst king of corporate welfare

Walker, who is running for president, is largely seen as a strong fiscal conservative. His recent announcement should surely put that idea to rest.

I would advise him to read the lessons of free market economist Frederic Bastiat, who in 1850 wrote the incredible piece “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen.”

More...http://www.redstate.com/diary/freedomrepublican/2015/06/07/scott-walker-embraces-worst-kind-corporate-welfare/

Hillary Clinton calls for automatic, universal voter registration for everyone aged 18

As you may have heard, Hillary Clinton is already leaning into the ever-simmering battle over voting. Her Democratic allies are preparing to wage a national legal battle against GOP state-level voting restrictions, and she is calling for a national 20-day early voting period.

But now, Clinton is rolling out another proposal in her push for an expansion of voting access: In a speech in Texas that is underway right now, she is calling for universal, automatic voter registration.

Automatic voter registration for citizens has long been championed by voting reformers as a key part of modernizing our voting system. Clinton’s proposal would require the registration of all citizens in every state when they turn 18 years of age, unless they opt out. She is also endorsing the general goal of universal registration for those over 18, without endorsing a specific mechanism to accomplish this. According to the Brennan Center, there are various ways to add people to the voter rolls, such as when changes of address are filed. States can also implement required universal registration for people of all ages, as Oregon has done. Clinton cited Oregon as an example today.

Voting reform advocates favor universal, automatic registration as a way to streamline and simplify the registration process, to eliminate matching problems between state databases, reduce the possibility of voter registration fraud, and maximize voter participation.

In political terms, Clinton’s call for universal voting registration appears to be a bid to energize millennial voters. As it is, the broader voting access push — like her recent moves leftward on immigration, climate change, and sentencing reform — is partly about mobilizing core Obama coalition groups, including minorities. Today’s proposal is more heavily focused on the young. After all, one of the key unknowns of the cycle is whether Clinton will be able to turn out Obama voters on the same levels he did, and young voters — who were excited by the historical nature of Obama’s candidacy — are key to that.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/06/04/hillary-leans-hard-into-the-battle-over-voting/

Jeb Bush’s Super PAC Donors: Titans, Tycoons and Lobbyists

Former Gov. Jeb Bush has spent much of the year raising money for his Super PAC, called Right to Rise, without disclosing his donors.

He doesn’t have to — Bush’s Super PAC and traditional PAC are on a semi-annual reporting timeline, meaning they have until mid-July to file public campaign finance reports. Clues from a variety of sources, however, provide a preview of his donors, who include major leaders in technology, business and lobbying.

Agents for foreign governments fall under special transparency rules, meaning several have already had to disclose their donations in filings with the Justice Department. Ignacio Sanchez, a former trade official for President George W. Bush, is a lobbyist for Saudi Arabia. Sanchez gave $5,000 to Right to Rise on February 17, the same day that George Salem, another lobbyist retained by the Saudi government to influence American policy, gave the group $10,000. A day later, former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Ok., now a lobbyist for Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea, among other clients, gave $5,000 to Right to Rise.

Glenn Youngkin, managing director of the Carlyle Group, the investment firm that owns Booz Allen Hamilton, gave $10,000, according to a disclosure statement posted on the company’s website. Because Carlyle manages pension fund money, the company faces special campaign finance requirements.

Although Bush has not named the donors giving to his PACs, certain donors, including state-level PACs, are obligated to disclose on a different schedule. These disclosures show that Florida politicians have dipped into their own campaign funds to support Right to Rise. The Florida Conservative Leadership Fund, associated with state Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, gave $5,000 to Bush’s Super PAC in February. Among other Florida PACs, Growing Florida’s Future chipped in $25,000, Liberty Florida gave $5,000, and the Treasure Coast PAC gave $1,000.

Right to Rise donors also include longtime Republican moneymen in Florida like Mel Sembler, a real estate tycoon who fundraised for Jeb’s father and brother, and is also known for bankrolling anti-marijuana advocacy.
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Filings from the Federal Election Commission already point to an aggressive attempt by Bush to share the wealth with influential Republican politicians, some of whom are likely being courted for campaign endorsements. FEC disclosures show that the Right to Rise PAC has given at least $5,000 each to PACs supporting Reps. David Young, R-Iowa, Frank Guinta, R-N.H., Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y, , John Katko, R-N.Y., Martha McSally, R-Ariz., Barbara Comstock, R-Va., Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., Crescent Hardy, R-Nev., and Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. In February, Politico reported that Right to Rise also gave $120,000 to various GOP state committees, including state party funds for early primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida.

When the full data is released in July, some expect the entire haul to rise to as much as $100 million. But Bush, who will reportedly announce his candidacy on June 15, also maintains a 501(c)(4) campaign entity also known as Right to Rise. This vehicle allows sensitive donors to give unlimited amounts to Bush’s campaign without ever being disclosed.
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https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/06/05/early-window-jeb-bushs-superpac-donors-saudi-lobbyists-carlyle-group-florida-republicans/

Chris Christie at the bat: New Jersey Gov. shows gutsy moves at all-star NYPD fundraiser, earns MVP

It was Christie at the bat.

He’s no Bambino, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie didn't look too out of place Wednesday night while swinging for the fences at Yankee Stadium.

Even if his uniform was stretched to its physical limits, Christie looked smooth in the field at the "True Blue" celebrity softball game to honor Wenjian Liu, Brian Moore and Rafael Ramos, NYPD officers killed in the line of duty.

Christie wore No. 41, played third base and batted sixth, behind the not-so murderers row of Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan and radio hosts Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton, who organized the event.

Christie made a gutsy play in the field for an out in the first and, despite a smattering of boos, gave the ball a ride in his first at-bat -- a fly out to left field.

More and you gotta see the pics of this guy...http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/chris-christie-bat-gutsy-moves-nypd-fundraiser-article-1.2245998

Perry joins presidential pack with emphasis on military service, leadership

ADDISON – Rick Perry launched his second presidential campaign on Wednesday, standing before the type of plane he flew as an Air Force captain and surrounded by Navy SEALs.

Speaking of the dangers in the world, Perry reinforced a key distinction he has among the pack of GOP candidates – his military service – and underscored that as Texas governor, he was tested by crisis, including Hurricane Katrina, a porous border and the Ebola outbreak.

“Now is the time for clear-sighted leadership,” he said, adding that the nation has suffered under a president elevated for his rhetoric and not his record.

This is the election where voters will ask, “ ‘Where have you led?’ It’s not a speech on the Senate floor. It’s not what you’ve said; it’s what you have done,” Perry said, a poke at such contenders as first-term senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

More...http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/perry-poised-to-join-presidential-pack.html/

Apparently, the writer didn't realize or simply forgot that Rand just led massively on the privacy issue recently or just plain thought he was a villain for it.

Graham: 'Don't vote for me' if you're 'worn out by war'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Americans on Thursday not to vote for him in the 2016 presidential election if they are worn out by war.

The 2016 GOP presidential candidate appeared on Fox News’s "Fox & Friends," where co-host Steve Doocy questioned his past war hawk rhetoric.

“It’s a tough message,” he told Graham. “A lot of people are just worn out by war.”

"Well, don’t vote for me," the Republican senator responded. "Don't vote for me, because I’m telling you what’s coming: Barack Obama’s policies leading from behind are going to allow another 9/11."

"[ISIS] is large, rich and entrenched,” he added, referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “If I’m president they will be poor, small and on the run.”

Graham also said that U.S. ground forces were necessary for defeating ISIS before they could reach targets on American soil.

“I’m trying to tell the American people and the Republican primary voter — the only way I know to defend this country is to send some of us back to Iraq and eventually to Syria to dig these guys out of the ground, destroy the Caliphate, kill as many of them as you can, hold territory and help people over there help themselves,” he said.

Graham further tied President Obama’s counterterrorism strategy to Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of State and the Democratic presidential front-runner.

“I think it’s the lack of confidence in her ability to distinguish herself from Barack Obama,” he said when asked about Clinton’s lack of media availability on the campaign trail.

“Her biggest nightmare is for someone to ask her, ‘Hey, do you think the war on terror is going well? Do you agree with Barack Obama’s foreign policy?’” he said. “’If you don’t, tell us why.’ ”

Graham added that Clinton’s perceived secrecy would likely cost her voters next year.

“Well, it’s easier to talk to the North Korean guy than it is her,” he quipped, comparing Clinton to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “At the end of the day, when 57 percent of people don’t trust you, you’ve got a problem,”

Graham officially launched his 2016 presidential campaign on Monday from his hometown of Central, S.C.

He has already made a muscular foreign policy a key theme of his bid. “I want to be president to defeat the enemies trying to kill us, not just penalize them or criticize them or contain them, but defeat them,” he said on Monday.

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/244022-graham-dont-vote-for-me-if-youre-anti-war

5 Lindsey Graham Votes That Should Concern You

1. Graham voted for the nomination of Loretta Lynch as the new Attorney General

Graham voted in favor of the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be the new Attorney General. In case you have not heard, Lynch isn't a good person. Aside from her support of Civil Asset Forfeiture, where the police can basically take your stuff "for an investigation", she also has some other issues. She believes that the President's Executive Amnesty is legal, while a court recent declared otherwise. Voting for an AG who doesn't have a clear distinction of even the limits of the Executive, and Graham's support for her is definitely worrying to anyone who loves freedom (or limited government).

2. Graham voted to fully fund the DHS, including the President's Executive Amnesty.

Graham voted earlier in the year to fully fund the DHS, and actually criticized his fellow colleagues in the Senate for voicing opposition to the spending bill. Hmm, okaying Executive Amnesty? If I remember right, a lot of people were really ticked off with this, and it became a big promise among the GOP to put an end to it. Guess Lindsey didn't get the memo.


3. Graham voted for the CROmnibus spending bill.
Graham voted in favor of the CROmnibus spending bill that got a lot of flack from conservatives and liberals all around. Graham also went to task in calling out Senator Elizabeth Warren on some of her comments on the bill too. This bill showed us all that the current way of Continuing Resolutions isn't sustainable, and is only promoting bigger government and more cronyism, which Graham wants.

4. Graham missed the vote on the USA FREEDOM Act.

Not relevant? Think again. This is the bill to legalize what recently expired in the PATRIOT Act. We can assume Graham was in full support, based upon his eyeroll during Rand Paul's speech in the Senate while debating the PATRIOT Act extension, and his other comments. Why bring it up since he missed it? It helps highlight how many votes he's missed in recent times, or specifically, in 2015 alone (which currently is climbing to 22%).


5. Graham voted to extend the key provisions of the PATRIOT Act that allow the Government to spy on you.

Really, nothing needs to be said here. We get it; Graham isn't that big of a freedom guy. At least we know in advance what his possible Presidency will look like.

https://libertyshield.wordpress.com/2015/06/03/5-lindsey-graham-votes-that-should-concern-you/

Rick Santorum's crucial message for the Right

Rick Santorum is running for president, and every conservative and Republican should listen to him.

I can see readers' eyes rolling now. Many conservatives, libertarians and moderate Republicans dislike Santorum. They may think he's a horrible messenger. They may find him terribly wrong on some issues. They may think he has no chance of winning the nomination, or that he would be a disaster in the general election.

These conclusions flow from some combination of reality, petty identity politics, disappointing experiences from the rudderless Bush era of the GOP, and clear-eyed political analysis. But Santorum haters and Santorum dismissers should be able to set aside their personal feelings about the man, and to listen for a moment to his message.

His most important message for the GOP, for libertarians, and for conservatives: We need to care about the working class, about people who are struggling, and about the poor. Republicans need to listen to these people — even if they occupy the 47 percent Mitt Romney so easily discarded — and talk to them, too.

The Santorum-Romney contrast became clear the night they tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses. Both men spoke about the problems with federal welfare programs. Romney castigated welfare recipients as the takers in an "entitlement society," which is at odds with a "merit society." This view plagues the American Right — that those who aren't successful are necessarily that way through some personal perfidy.

Santorum, that same night in Iowa, also took aim at the welfare state. But instead of casting the poor as the bad guys, he made it clear that the poor are the victims of government programs that "increas[e] dependency."

Rather than blame and write off the working class and the poor, Santorum's message is to court them, to show them you are on their side, and that you are fighting for them.

More...http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rick-santorums-crucial-message-for-the-right/article/2565177

Scott Walker: ‘I hope in the future we’ll re-establish the Patriot Act’

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday called for a full reauthorization of the Patriot Act, a day after the U.S. Senate voted to rewrite the post-9/11 law and overhaul the NSA’s bulk data collection program.

Mr. Walker, a potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate, said on “Fox and Friends” that he thinks “we would be much better off” with a full reauthorization.

More...http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/3/scott-walker-i-hope-future-well-re-establish-patri/

Lindsey Graham Thinks U.S. Forces Should Stay in the Middle East Forever

Since officially announcing his 2016 presidential campaign yesterday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has made it clear that he disagrees with the wing of the Republican Party — namely, Rand Paul — that favors a slightly more isolationist approach for foreign policy. Now, in a new interview with Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, Graham has confirmed that he does not believe the U.S. should ever give up its presence in the Middle East.

After Graham said that as president he would arm the Ukrainians, leave troops in Afghanistan, add more troops in Iraq and recruit allies to start a new war in Syria, Todd asked him, “How do you get out?”

“You don’t get out,” Graham replied. Like Japan and Germany after World War II, the senator said he would keep troops in the region indefinitely. “I think you have to be involved in the Mideast militarily, politically, economically,” he said. “If you’re not, you’re making a huge mistake.”

Video and more...http://www.mediaite.com/tv/lindsey-graham-thinks-u-s-forces-should-stay-in-the-middle-east-forever/

Chris Christie steps up criticism of The Fed's 'easy money' policy

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday sharpened his criticism of the U.S. Federal Reserve, suggesting the central bank's "easy money" policies could fuel broader destabilization of the global economy.

While the Fed's crisis-era slashing of U.S. interest rates to near zero was justified for awhile, Christie said, that policy will cause "real problems as we move forward."

Christie, a Republican and potential contender in the November 2016 presidential election, has released a number of policy proposals as he has struggled to gain momentum in a crowded field.

The blunt-spoken governor has advocated a flatter tax code and a scaling back down of regulation that he says would spur economic growth. He first laid out his critique of the Fed in a speech in New Hampshire in mid-May in which he linked low interest rates to a rise in income inequality. He said cheap money had lifted stock prices, boosting the wealth of people who were already rich.

http://news.yahoo.com/christie-steps-criticism-feds-easy-money-policy-222341508--business.html

You can tell he's really hurting for attention if he has to take on the Fed and steal an issue from Rand.

BOMBSHELL! HILLARY CLINTON CONFESSES: ‘I’M AN ALCOHOLIC!’

Presidential contender Hillary Clinton is hiding a devastating health issue from voters – she’s an alcoholic and secretly went to detox before announcing her run for the White House. Get more about Hillary’s shocking confession, her medical issues -- and SEE a shocking photo showing why she’s not fit to run America.

http://www.globemagazine.com/content/bombshell-hillary-clinton-confesses-%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99m-alcoholic%E2%80%99

Bernie Sanders Explains Why "Socialist" Isn't a Dirty Word - Late Night with Seth Meyers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFAq-4Vv5c0

Ted Cruz knocks Scott Walker's immigration position

LAS VEGAS — Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday took a shot at rival presidential contender Scott Walker for comments the Wisconsin governor has made regarding immigration policy.

Cruz opposes comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for the estimated 11-12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. But the Texan is a big proponent of legal immigration and making adjustments to U.S. law that would facilitate more legal immigration. He criticized Walker for suggesting that he supported limiting legal immigration if it has a negative impact on the wages of American workers.

"There is considerable bipartisan agreement outside of Washington that we need to improve and streamline legal immigration so that we can remain a nation that welcomes and celebrates legal immigrants," Cruz said in an interview with the Washington Examiner during a brief campaign swing through Las Vegas.

"I think it is a mistake for any politician to on the one hand embrace amnesty, embrace a pathway to citizenship for those who are here illegally, and on the other hand seek to restrict or punish legal immigrants," Cruz continued. "I am the son of an immigrant who came legally from Cuba. [President Ronald] Reagan referred to legal immigrants as Americans by choice and there is no stronger advocate of legal immigration in the U.S. Senate than I am."

"I think the right approach is to secure the border, follow the rule of law and embrace and improve legal immigration," Cruz said.

Walker has conceded a change of heart on immigration policy as he gears up to launch a 2016 presidential bid. The governor, 47, previously supported a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants. Now he is opposed. Supporting a pathway to legalization or citizenship could be problematic for a Republican candidate seeking his party's White House nomination.

But in a recent interview with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, Walker appeared to move farther to the right on immigration than even amnesty hawks like Cruz. Here's what Walker said, as reported by Breitbart.

"In terms of legal immigration, how we need to approach that going forward is saying — the next president and the next congress need to make decisions about a legal immigration system that's based on, first and foremost, on protecting American workers and American wages, because the more I've talked to folks, I've talked to Sen. [Jeff] Sessions [R-Ala.] and others out there — but it is a fundamentally lost issue by many in elected positions today — is what is this doing for American workers looking for jobs, what is this doing to wages, and we need to have that be at the forefront of our discussion going forward."
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ted-cruz-knocks-scott-walkers-immigration-position/article/2563591