Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - January 19, 2016
From Ballotpedia
|
Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
|
Tuesday's Leading Stories
- The Republican National Committee has decided to have CNN host the February Republican debate. On Monday, RNC chairman Reince Priebus stated, “The Republican National Committee has decided to move forward without NBC’s participation in our February debate in Houston, Texas. The RNC has awarded the debate to CNN, who will broadcast it on Thursday, February 25th in Houston at a location to be decided.” The decision comes after CNBC moderators of an earlier Republican debate were criticized for asking “‘gotcha’ questions, petty and mean-spirited in tone, and designed to embarrass [the candidates].” (The Blaze)
- Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in the country, endorsed Hillary Clinton this morning, according to Huffington Post. The group stated that Clinton has the “most robust and ambitious LGBT plan any candidate for president has ever laid out.” (Huffington Post)
- Poll: A new Florida Times-Union and Fox35 poll shows Trump in first place in Florida with 31 percent support. Ted Cruz follows in second with 19 percent support. (Breitbart)
Democrats
- Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley attended a Martin Luther King Day even in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday. They spoke of King’s great work and legacy, avoiding direct comments against one another at the event. Clinton celebrated the removal of the Confederate flag, saying, “Every year, you've gathered right here and said that that symbol of division and racism went against everything Dr. King stood for. We couldn’t celebrate him and the Confederacy, we had to choose. And South Carolina finally made the right choice.” (New York Times, HuffPost Politics)
Hillary Clinton
- Doug Truax, Executive Director of Restoration PAC and Restoration Action, is launching an ad campaign targeting Hillary Clinton today. He wrote regarding his reasons for launching the ads in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Washington, D.C., “With the 2016 election season upon us, I can no longer sit by and watch Hillary Clinton re-write her tenure as America’s top diplomat. Clinton’s performance and record as Secretary of State was abysmal. Since she is asking the American people for a promotion, we should judge her record honestly and decide whether or not she deserves to lead our nation at this critical point in history. I have concluded that her record clearly shows she has already failed us. It is for this reason that I am launching an ad campaign in critical states to make the case that Hillary Clinton and many of her Democratic allies have already shown voters that they aren’t up to the job of leading our nation.” (Fox News, YouTube)
- According to Breitbart, the most googled question during the Democratic debate regarding Clinton this weekend was “Will Hillary Clinton get prosecuted?” (Breitbart)
- Michele Bachmann expressed solidarity with Clinton on Monday regarding the challenges of being a woman in politics. Said Bachmann, “I really do have great empathy for what Mrs. Clinton is going through, because the hill that she has to climb on -- appearance -- it's just a different hill than men have to climb. I'm not whining about it. It's just reality. It is what it is." (HuffPost Politics)
Martin O'Malley
- Martin O’Malley will be traveling in New Hampshire this week, making stops at various locations for meet and greets, as well as speaking occasions. (WMUR)
- Trump called O’Malley a “joke” on Fox and Friends on Monday, referencing his low polling numbers. Said Trump, “I mean, you see what a great job he did with Baltimore before he was governor, and he’s a joke. I mean, he shouldn’t even be in the contest. He’s down to 1 or 2 percent.” (Washington Times)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders defended his healthcare proposal that includes “Medicare for all” again yesterday on CBS News. “If you're not one of the 29 million who doesn't have any insurance, and you have a 5,000 dollar deductible, you know what that means: When you're sick you don't go to the doctor," Sanders said. "One out of five people in this country cannot even fill the prescription that their doctor writes for them - that's called rationing. The truth of the matter is that our health care outcomes are not necessarily any better than many of the other countries who are spending significantly less per capita than we are." Estimates by Friedman, the UMass economist, show Sanders’ plan reducing Medicare costs by $6.3 trillion from 2017 to 2026. However, according to an opinion piece in Forbes by Avik Roy, an advisor to Rubio, the plan could potentially increase federal spending by around $28 trillion, or 55 percent, over the same time period. Roy remarks in his article that the opinions expressed do not “necessarily correspond to those of Sen. Rubio.” (CBS News, Forbes)
- In a Sunday discussion with Dr. Cornel West, Killer Mike and Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, Sanders praised Martin Luther King Jr. “Obviously it took an enormous amount of courage to stand up to the segregationists, racists — they got jailed, they got beaten up — an incredible amount of courage,” said Sanders. “But what impressed me even more … he could’ve rested on his laurels. The establishment would’ve said, ‘You are a great black leader. Look what you did: You got the Voting Rights Act. Wow! You broke down segregation in the South. Incredible!’ But you know what? This is what courage is about. He said, ‘Enough.’ If he was going to be consistent with his own inner soul, he had to ask other questions.” (Yahoo Politics)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush released a video and a written article regarding his education plan on Monday.
- He remarked in the video, “Dr. King's vision for America was based on equality of opportunity. … Without a quality education there is no equality of opportunity. It is the civil rights issue of our time.”
- In an article published by Medium, Bush outlined the principles of his plan: “My plan is budget neutral and returns power to states, local school districts and parents. My plan requires a complete overhaul of a system from one that serves bureaucracies to one that serves the needs of families and students and is based on four conservative principles: 1) education decisions should be made as close to the student as possible; 2) choice of all kinds should be expanded; 3) transparency is essential to accountability; and 4) innovation requires flexibility.”
- He also wrote that he would accomplish his plan with four steps: First, “doubling support for charter schools; strengthening the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program; and making federal aid to low-income (Title I) and special needs students (IDEA) portable, so states can give scholarships directly to those students to attend the school of their choice;” Second, requiring “states to ensure every citizen receives a complete picture of student achievement, system progress and finances in their schools;” Third, “empower[ing] states with the flexibility to improve their schools, while ensuring the federal government does not interfere in academic standards, curriculum or content;” Fourth, giving “schools whose teachers achieve good results for low-income students more money, incentivizing and rewarding success.” (Medium, YouTube)
- When asked by Breitbart in an email interview after the recent Republican debate why he would make a better president than Rubio and why he was better suited to compete against Trump and Cruz, Bush responded, “Incomes are down. ISIS has a caliphate the size of Indiana who wants to do us harm. Americans want a leader who can solve problems and give everyone a chance to achieve earned success. That’s what I’ll do as president. I have a proven record of conservative reform and have the leadership skills needed to beat Hillary Clinton in the fall.” He also stated, “Marco’s a friend but Americans are looking for a leader.” (Breitbart)
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson posted a supportive quote from Dr. Alveda King on Facebook yesterday. The quote read, “My Uncle Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.’ Ben Carson is a strong and thoughtful leader. Pray for Ben Carson.” (Facebook)
- At the South Carolina Tea Party Convention on Monday, Carson defended his speaking style and personality and commented on the spirit and privilege of Americans. “I already won the lottery. I was born in America and know the Lord,” said Carson. He then stated that Americans “need to stop being afraid of who we are and our identity” and that President Obama, “doesn’t get to dictate to us what kind of a nation we are.” When asked at the same event if he was “too nice to be president,” Carson responded, “I’ve heard many people say, ‘You’ve got to be more bombastic, and you’ve got to yell and call people names and jump and act like a buffoon.’ But I’ll tell you this, throughout my medical career, I faced a lot of controversy, a lot of opposition, but still succeeded without being nasty, and I think we can do that here.” (Breitbart, The Post and Courier)
- On Monday at a Carolina African American Heritage Foundation event Carson said, “Our diversity is not a problem. It is a strength and we have to stop allowing ourselves to be divided.” He continued, “We think there’s a war on women and race wars and income wars and age wars and religious wars and a war on everything. Jesus Christ himself said it… a house divided against itself cannot stand. We need to start emphasizing what we have in common.” (Breitbart)
Chris Christie
- On Sunday, Chris Christie commented that Rubio was inexperienced and would not be able to defeat Clinton. He stated that had avoided eye contact with Christie during the recent debate and that the gesture was “a sign of his inexperience and if he can’t look me in the eye, he’s not going to be able to look Hillary Clinton in the eye, he’s certainly not going to be able to look Vladimir Putin in the eye.” Christie continued his attack on Monday when he called Rubio “a first term senator who's still learning where the men's room is in the Senate” on Fox News. (Time, CNN News)
- When asked on Monday what he would do to improve school lunches, Christie responded, “Doesn't the president of the United States have anything better to do than to worry about what you are having for lunch? Let me tell you this, I don't care.” He added, “I think that this intervention into our school system is just another example of how the Obamas believe that they've got a better answer for everything than you do.” (CBS News)
- According to TIME, Christie called Cruz “asinine” and “the most inside guy in this race” on Monday in response to Cruz’s recent New York values comment. Said Christie, “I think it was a very, very ill-advised thing for Ted to say. You want to be President of the United States, you have to unite this country. And for him to somehow be implying that certain values are more appropriate, more American, depending upon what region of the country you’re from, is to me just asinine.” Christie also praised Trump’s response to Cruz. (Time)
Ted Cruz
- Ted Cruz criticized Trump’s policy stances directly yesterday, bringing up the 2008 bank bailout and the 2009 stimulus package, which Cruz stated Trump supported. He also criticized Trump’s inaction on immigration issues in 2013 before his presidential run: “We were on the verge of losing this fight and 12 million people here illegally being granted amnesty. And yet, when that fight was being fought, Donald was nowhere to be found.” Cruz has not usually confronted Trump directly and he qualified his comments, saying, “I will continue to sing his praises personally. But I do think policy difference [sic] are fair game.” (NBC News)
- Keep the Promise I, a super PAC supporting Cruz, has purchased an additional $2.5 million in television advertising in Iowa and South Carolina as the initial elections approach. The organization recently released the ad “Record, not Rhetoric” that portrays Cruz as the only Republican candidate who will keep his word and who has a strong political record. (New York Times, YouTube)
Carly Fiorina
- At a campaign rally on Monday, Carly Fiorina agreed with a ten-year-old Muslim girl’s opinion that Trump is a “moron.” “There you go!’ Fiorina said, “Donald Trump’s a moron. Out of the mouths of babes.” (Breitbart)
- Fiorina’s husband, Frank Fiorina, is campaigning for her in states with upcoming elections. He recently joked with supporters, “People ask me, what’s it like being married to someone as powerful and as smart. It’s wonderful and it’s awful, because everything she does is better than me.” He added, “She impresses me every day.” (New York Post)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee was recently accused by a woman in Iowa of supporting child abuse. Huckabee responded, “Why on earth would you say I support child abuse?” The woman pointed to his comments on the child molestation associated with the Duggar family, saying he had covered for the family. Huckabee continued to defend his position, saying, “I'm going to take you on that, because that hurts my feelings, and it's absolutely wrong.” He then stated, “You come in here to confront me, which is fine, but you cannot abuse, which is what you’re doing, the reputation of a godly family who had been through hell because a son of theirs, one of their many children, did something evil and sinful that nobody is backing up and supporting.” (Charisma News, Daily News)
- Yesterday, Huckabee tweeted, “Wow! I watched #13Hours. The mainstream media has FAILED when Americans rely on Hollywood actors to expose Hillary's actions! #Benghazi.” (Twitter)
- Huckabee posted on Facebook yesterday in honor of Dr. King. After posting about King’s legacy and Christian inspiration, he wrote, “These days, there is a concerted effort to ban religious expression in public places. Many argue that religious faith and morality should play no public-policy role. If Rev. King were alive today, I wonder if America's college would ban him from speaking on campus. After all, the speeches that inspired the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were actually Christian sermons. When I was in Southwestern Seminary, I spent hours listening to sermons by Dr. King in the SWBTS Library. If today's media elites would listen to his speeches, they would be stunned by how explicit they were in a presentation of the Gospel. Dr. King would probably not be allowed to say such things in today’s world so hostile to faith.” (Facebook)
John Kasich
- In New Hampshire yesterday, John Kasich commented on the fatal shooting of an Ohio police officer. “Today in Ohio, for the first time in the history of this little town called Danville, a police officer was stalked and killed in his cruiser,” said Kasich. “It’s important for all of us to recognize [the] concerns people have in the community about the fact that sometimes they think the system not only doesn’t work for them, but against them. We also have to recognize that every day when a police officer puts his or her uniform [on], they’re at risk.” (Time)
- In an interview with Time Magazine, Kasich was asked, “What are Ohio values?” The question comes after controversy surrounding Cruz’s recent statements regarding New York values. Kasich responded, “They’re like everybody’s values. They’re common sense, really. They want to take care of their families. They want to be aware of their neighbors. It’s American values. Respect. We need to double down on them. We need to double down on caring about your neighbor. And we need to double down on respecting institutions, including the Office of the Presidency. Look, I spend a lot of people all over the country. People are the same everywhere. They’re just the same. The fact that somebody might live in a state that tends to votes Democratic? So what?” (Time)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul released an unusual cartoon yesterday attacking Cruz and supporting his own policies. The cartoon, called “Audit the Ted,” criticizes Cruz for not disclosing loans and not voting on Paul’s “Audit the Fed” bill. (USA Today, Politico)
- On MSNBC yesterday, Paul said that he was happy about the release of Iranian prisoners. “when something good happens, we ought to celebrate it,” said Paul. “I think sometimes for partisan reasons politicians on both sides become sort of like wind-up dolls, and if the other side does something good, they have to complain, no matter how good it is.” (Newsmax)
- Paul continues to express doubts that polling represents candidate standings accurately. “You can’t convince me that in a 12-person race, in a caucus, where very few people show up, that the polls are accurate,” he said on Monday. Paul cited the lack of college-age voter participation in polls as a source of error. “We don’t think it’s reflective in the polls because a lot of younger people don’t answer their phone and aren’t doing any kind of polling. In fact, I’ve yet to meet a college student who has ever taken a presidential poll,” Paul stated. (Huffington Post)
Marco Rubio
- On Monday, Marco Rubio aide Joe Pounder responded to recent criticism from Christie with the following statement: "Chris Christie can certainly talk but nothing he does can cover-up his liberal record in New Jersey of supporting Common Core, gun control, and Obama's pick of liberal Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. For someone who likes to tell it like it is, there's no covering up that Governor Christie has fiercely supported a liberal agenda in New Jersey.” (CNN News)
- On Sunday, Rubio stated that he had bought a gun over the holidays to defend his family. “I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I have a right to protect my family if someone were to come after us, In fact, if ISIS were to visit us, or our communities, at any moment, the last line of defense between ISIS and my family is the ability that I have to protect my family from them, or from a criminal, or anyone else who seeks to do us harm. Millions of Americans feel that way,” Rubio said. (Opposing Views)
- Rubio responded to an “activist atheist” at an Iowa town hall on Monday, saying, “No one is going to force you to believe in God, but no one is going to force me to stop talking about God.” Rubio added that his faith is the “single greatest influence in my life, and from that I’ll never hide.” (Des Moines Register)
Yesterday, super PACs supporting Rubio released three ads. Two from the Conservative Solutions PAC criticize Cruz for changing political views on immigration and national security and attack Cruz’s tax proposal and Canadian birthplace. (USA Today, YouTube (Tax Plan ad), YouTube (Calculated ad))
Rick Santorum
- On Monday, Santorum stated that immigrants deported from America would be a “blessing” to their countries of origin. “You are talking about folks who are going to be the leaders of their countries,” Santorum said. “I think that the best thing that we can do to stem the tide of illegal immigration is to have them go home and save their countries.” (Des Moines Register)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump compared Clinton to a dog on Monday, playing off a supporters comment. “What was that - was that a dog?” he asked. After an audience member yelled, “Hillary!” Trump continued, “Ahhh. Only in New Hampshire. First it was a screechy dog, then it was a very serious dog. Anyway, that's alright. Take good care of your dog.” (CNN Politics)
- Trump has hinted at a special visitor and “big announcement” this evening at his Ames, Iowa, rally at 6 p.m. EST. The campaign did not give any further information on the announcement. (ABC News)
- British members of Parliament have indicated they strongly oppose Trump as an American leader. Said Jack Dromey, the Labour Party’s shadow home affairs minister, "I don't think Donald Trump should be allowed within 1,000 miles of our shore.” Other MPs called Trump a “buffoon” and “bonkers,” among other insults, and claimed he was “inflaming tension between vulnerable communities” with his comments regarding Muslims. (CNN Politics)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
Jill Stein posted on Facebook yesterday, “After 14 years and $6 trillion spent on war, with over a million people killed (in Iraq alone), with the deaths of thousands of US soldiers, and all of this with both Wall Street war parties at the helm, NOW IS THE TIME to fight for People, Planet, and Peace over profit.” (Facebook)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
On Sunday, Gary Johnson published an article on Tumblr criticizing President Obama’s State of the Union address. He wrote, “Today, it’s difficult to find anything the federal government has done over the past several years that has made anything better.” He then listed concerns about the current administration and major party politics. He concluded, “It’s time for someone to tell the truth about the challenges we face. That’s why I’m running for President – and doing my best to put liberty, smaller government and common sense foreign policy on the national stage as alternatives to the tired policies of the “major” parties.” (Tumblr)
See also
- Presidential election, 2016
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Presidential debates (2015-2016)
- Important dates in the 2016 presidential race
- Polls and Straw polls
- 2016 presidential candidate ratings and scorecards
