Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - January 29, 2016

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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America.

2016 Presidential Election Date: November 8, 2016 Candidates Winner: Donald Trump (R) Hillary Clinton (D) • Jill Stein (G) • Gary Johnson (L) • Vice presidential candidates Election coverage Important dates • Nominating process • Ballotpedia's 2016 Battleground Poll • Polls • Debates • Presidential election by state • Ratings and scorecards Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage 2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 Have you subscribed yet? Join the hundreds of thousands of readers trusting Ballotpedia to keep them up to date with the latest political news. Sign up for the Daily Brew. Click here to learn more.

Friday's Leading Stories

• On Thursday night, the GOP candidates took the stage in Des Moines, Iowa, for the Fox News/ Google debate. For in-depth commentary of the debate, check back with us later this morning to see what Ballotpedia’s guests columnists had to say. (Ballotpedia)
• As a follow-up to Ballotpedia's January Insiders nominating index, senior writer James A. Barnes asked insiders "On balance, who do you think would be the better general election candidate for your party, Donald Trump or Ted Cruz?" According to the survey, "The GOP Insiders' response was a resounding vote of no confidence in their two current frontrunners: 63 percent said that both Trump and Cruz would 'pose significant problems' in the fall." (Ballotpedia)
• During an interview with CNN, Donald Trump said that Fox News apologized for a satirical statement that they released on Wednesday about Trump and asked him to attend the debate. Trump said, "I was treated very unfairly by Fox. Since then they've been excellent, they've been very nice, but it's too late.” Addressing his decision to skip the debate, he said, "I wanted to fight for myself just like I'll fight for the country. You have to stick up for yourself, you have to fight for yourself and you have to fight for your country."

• According to CNN, Fox News said in a statement that Fox News CEO Roger Ailes “had ‘three brief conversations’ with Trump, where he ‘acknowledged his concerns about a satirical observation we made in order to quell the attacks on Megyn Kelly, and prevent her from being smeared any further. … In the last 48 hours, we've kept two issues at the forefront — we would never compromise our journalistic standards and we would always stand by our journalist, Megyn Kelly. We have accomplished those two goals and we are pleased with the outcome. We're very proud to have her on stage as a debate moderator alongside Bret Baier & Chris Wallace.’" (CNN)

Polls

• According to an Investor’s Business Daily/TIPP poll released on Thursday, Donald Trump leads Ted Cruz 31 percent to 21 percent in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Marco Rubio and Ben Carson follow with 10 percent and 9 percent, respectively. (Investor’s Business Daily/TIPP)
• According to an Investor’s Business Daily/TIPP poll released on Thursday, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 50 percent to 38 percent in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Martin O’Malley follows with 2 percent. (Investor’s Business Daily/TIPP)

Democrats

• Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders have agreed to participate in a debate hosted by MSNBC and The New Hampshire Union Leader on February 4 in New Hampshire. The three candidates are asking the Democratic National Committee to sanction the debate. (New Hampshire Union Leader)

Hillary Clinton

• On Thursday, the State Department asked “a federal court for a one-month extension” on the deadline to release the final batch of Clinton’s emails, according to The Washington Times. The department released the following statement: “State regrets that it must seek this extension, but the extension is necessary to ensure that the emails are properly reviewed for public release. Upcoming electoral events, while admittedly important to the public, do not change the fact that State needs this reasonable amount of additional time to complete the final stage of this enormous and complex undertaking.” (The Washington Times)
• Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, will campaign for Clinton on Saturday in Ames, Iowa. (NBC News)
• Former Attorney General Eric Holder warns voters in a radio ad for Clinton, “[I]f the Republicans win, we’ll all lose. They want to roll back the clock on civil rights. The want to make it harder for African Americans to vote—not easier. And they’ve got no plan to deal with gun violence or any of the issues we’re facing in our communities.” The ad is airing in South Carolina. (The Blaze)

Martin O'Malley

• During the GOP debate, Martin O’Malley posted the following tweet about Puerto Rico: “Glad to see Puerto Rico got a mention in the #GOPDebate. As President I'll make sure our fellow citizens in the island are treated equally.” (Twitter)

Bernie Sanders

• On Thursday, Bernie Sanders released a note from his doctor about the state of his health. The letter from Dr. Brian P. Monahan stated, “You are in overall very good health and active in your professional work, and recreational lifestyle without limitation.” (Politico)
• On Thursday, the Tax Foundation, “an independent tax policy research organization, found that Sanders’ plan would lead to 10.56% lower after-tax income for all taxpayers, and a 17.91% lower after-tax income for the wealthiest Americans. When accounting for reduced GDP, taxpayers would see their after-tax incomes fall by 12.84% on average, the report said.” Roberton Williams, a fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said, “It’s a very, very, very big tax increase for everyone except those at the bottom.” (Time)
• On Thursday, The Washington Post published an editorial with the headline: "A campaign full of fiction." The sub-headline read, "Sen. Sanders is not a brave truth-teller. He's just telling progressives what they want to hear." Bernie Sanders responded to the editorial on Thursday, saying, "That's not a new argument. We've been hearing that months and months, and that's in a sense what this campaign is about. People are telling us, whether it's the Washington Post editorial board or anybody else, our ideas are too ambitious — can't happen. Too bold — really? Well, here's something which is really bold. In the last 30 years, there has been a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class and working families of this country. The middle class has become poorer and trillions of dollars have been transferred to the top one-tenth of 1 percent. That's pretty radical, isn't it? Where was The Washington Post to express concern that the middle class was shrinking? Where was The Washington Post talking about this radical transformation of America?" (The Washington Post)
• The New York Times reported on Thursday that the National Nurses United union’s “super PAC” “has spent close to $1 million on ads and other support for Mr. Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate who has inspired liberal voters with his calls to eradicate such outside groups.” When asked about Sanders’ opposition to outside groups spending money on his campaign, RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of National Nurses United, said, “I do appreciate the irony. All things being equal, we would rather not be doing this. On the other hand, we want to see Bernie as president.” According to the Times, “more super PAC money has been spent so far in express support of Mr. Sanders than for either of his Democratic rivals.” (The New York Times)
• On Thursday, Sanders released the ad, “The Problem.” The ad criticizes Wall Street banking firms for buying politicians, and, without naming her, connects Clinton to Goldman Sachs and the speaking fees that she accepted from them. (The New York Times)

Republicans

• The following comments from last night’s GOP undercard and main debate are from transcripts prepared by The Washington Post.

Jeb Bush

• On being an “establishment” candidate: “Look, I am in the establishment because my dad, the greatest man alive was president of the United States and my brother, who I adore as well as fantastic brother was president. Fine, I'll take it. I guess I'm part of the establishment Barbara Bush is my mom. I'll take that, too. But this election is not about our pedigree, this is an election about people that are really hurting. We need a leader that will fix things and have a proven record to do it. And we need someone who will take on Hillary Clinton in November. Someone who has a proven record, who has been tested, who is totally transparent. I released 34 years of tax returns...and 300,000 e-mails in my government record. To get the information from Hillary Clinton, you need to get a subpoena from the FBI.”
• On fixing the Department of Veterans Affairs: “But the first duty of the next president of the United States is to fix the mess at the Department of Veterans Affairs. That's his first responsibility. Look, we have waiting lists for veterans that are -- that are leaving because of the sequester where we're gutting the military. More and more military personnel are leaving becoming veterans, and the waiting list grows. They've given out $140 million of bonuses to Veterans Department employees, including reducing the waiting lists, without giving veterans care. People died, and only three people have been fired. I will make sure that we fire the sheer incompetence inside the Department of Veterans Affairs and then we'll give veterans a choice card so that they don't have to travel hours and hours to get care if they want to go to their private provider. You want to make the Veterans Administration do a better job, give them -- give veterans choices and you'll get a much better result.”
• On whether Americans should bail out Puerto Rico: “No, they shouldn't. And I believe that Puerto Rico ought to have the right of self-determination. If I was a Puerto Rican, I'd vote for statehood so that they have full citizenship. They serve in the military. They would have to pay federal taxes. They would -- they would accept the responsibilities of full U.S. citizenship. But they should have the right of determine -- self-determination. Before you get to that, though, Puerto Rico is going to have to deal with the structural problems they face. You know, it's -- it's a fact that if you can pay for a $79 one-way ticket to Orlando, and you can escape the challenges of a declining economy and high crime rates, you move to Orlando. And a lot of people are doing that. And the spiraling out-of- control requires Puerto Rico to make structural reforms. The federal government can play a role in allowing them to do that, but they should not -- the process of statehood or the status of Puerto Rico won't be solved until we get to the bigger issue of how you deal with the structural economic problems they're facing right now.”

Ben Carson

• On his lack of political experience and how he will solve problems as president: “Well, I will gladly confess that I'm the only one on this stage with no political title. You're not going to hear a lot of polished political speech from me, but you will hear the truth. And I don't think you have to be a politician to tell the truth. In fact, sometimes it's not that way... and I've had more two a.m. phone calls than everybody here put together, making life and death decisions, put together very complex teams to accomplish things that have never been done before. And we are in a situation right now in our country that we have never been in before. We need people who think out of the box and can solve problems; can utilize the resources around them; very smart people, to focus on the problem and solve the problem. The American people are terrified. That's why we have this abnormal situation going on right now. We don't need more of the same solutions. We need different solutions to solve the problems and to save our nation.”
• On political correctness, immigration, and respecting American laws and values: “You know, need to stop allowing political correctness to dictate our policies, because it's going to kill us if we don't. And in the Holy Land Foundation trial in 2006 in Texas, they had a memorandum, an explanatory memorandum that talked about the fact that Americans would be easy to overcome and to commit civilization jihad because they were going to be trying to protect the rights of the very people who were trying to subvert them. But I believe in the Teddy Roosevelt philosophy. Teddy Roosevelt said, we are a nation of immigrants. As such, everybody is welcome from any race, any country, any religion, if they want to be Americans. If they want to accept our values and our laws. If not, they can stay where they are.”
• On the mandatory ethanol standard and the role of government: “Well, as anyone knows who's been listening to me, you know? I'm very much against the government being involved in every aspect of our lives, you know? We last year there was an additional 81,000 pages of government regulations. If you stack that up it would be a three-story building. This is absolutely absurd. And, they've insinuated themselves into everything. Now, as far as the renewable fuel standard is concerned, certain promises were made, certain government contracts were issued which extend all the way into the year 2022, and I believe that it's probably unfair to withdraw the rug because people have invested money. People have invested a lot of energy into that. But, you know, we are blessed with tremendous energy in this nation, and we need to be talking for new sources of energy. Seventy percent of our population lives by costly (ph). What about hydroelectric power? We can develop that, you know? We have so much natural gas now, and we can liquify it, and we can transfer it across the sea so we can make Europe dependent on us instead of Putin -- put him back in his little box where he belongs. And we can get a lot of them out if we get the government out of our lives.”

Chris Christie

• On why Hillary Clinton is not qualified to be president: “I watched that town hall meeting with the Democrats the other night, and I heard Hillary Clinton asked a direct question by an Iowan, and that's what Iowans like to do. They like to ask direct questions. And, they asked about her email situation. And, here's what she said to the American people. She did it for convenience. For her convenience. She put America's secrets at risk for her convenience. She put American intelligence officers at risk for her convenience. She put American strategy at risk for her convenience. Let me tell you who's not qualified to be President of the United States, Chris. Hillary Rodham Clinton did that to our country. She is not qualified to be President of the United States. The fact is what we need is someone on that stage who has been tested, who has been through it, who has made decisions, who has sit (ph) in the chair of consequence and can prosecute the case against Hillary Clinton on... that stage, and that is exactly what I am ready to do.”
• On “Bridgegate” and why he is qualified to be president: “Sure, because there has been three different investigations and proven that I knew nothing. And the fact is that what I did do, what I did do from the beginning, Chris, as soon as I found out about it, I fired the people who were responsible. And that's what you expect from a leader. And, I'll tell you something else. I inherited a state in New Jersey that was downtrodden, and beaten by liberal democratic policies, high taxation, high regulation. And, this year, in 2015, New Jersey's had the best year of job growth that our state has ever had in the last 15 years. That's because we've put conservative policies in place. And, I'll tell you one other thing, you know why the Republican party will want to take a chance on me? Because they know that Hillary Clinton will never be prosecuted by this justice department, and they're going to want to put a former federal prosecutor on the stage to prosecute her next September. And, there is no one on this stage better prepared to prosecute the case against Hillary Clinton than I am. I will be ready. I will take her on, and when I take her on I guarantee you one thing, she will never get within 10 miles of the White House. The days for the Clintons in public housing are over.”
• On Hillary Clinton’s role in Libya and his plan to defeat ISIS: “Bret, let me tell you, this is another one of those places where Hillary Clinton has so much to answer for, and why she is completely unqualified to be commander in chief. In a previous Democratic debate, Martha Raddatz, three times, asked Hillary Clinton about the failure in Libya, a policy that she took credit for, and said, ‘what is your measure of responsibility, Madam Secretary, for the failure in Libya?’ Three times, she refused to answer the question, because she refuses to be held accountable for anything that goes wrong. If it had gone right, believe me, she would have been running around to be able to take credit for it. Here's what I'd do. This is about the bigger, broader war against ISIS. We need to bring together our European and our Sunni Arab allies, and we need to develop a strategy together to take on ISIS every place that it is around the world, so that together, all of us can take ISIS out, destroy it, and then move on to come back to our country, protect our homeland security and make sure that the American people are safe. As president of the United States, that is exactly what I will do.”

Ted Cruz

• On his plan to carpet bomb ISIS: “Well, Chris, I will apologize to nobody for the vigorousness with which I will fight terrorism, go after ISIS, hunt them down wherever they are, and utterly and completely destroy ISIS. You know, you claim it is tough talk to discuss carpet bombing. It is not tough talk. It is a different, fundamental military strategy than what we've seen from Barack Obama. Barack Obama right now, number one, over seven years, has dramatically degraded our military. You know, just two weeks ago was the 25th anniversary of the first Persian Gulf war. When that war began, we had 8,000 planes. Today, we have about 4,000. When that war began, we had 529 ships. Today, we have 272. You want to know what carpet bombing is? It's what we did in the first Persian Gulf war; 1,100 air attacks a day, saturation bombing that utterly destroyed the enemy. Right now, Barack Obama is launching between 15 and 30 air attacks a day. He's not arming the Kurds. We need to define the enemy. We need to rebuild the military to defeat the enemy. And we need to be focused and lift the rules of engagement so we're not sending our fighting men and women into combat with their arms tied behind their backs.”
• On ethanol, energy and the EPA: “I think God has blessed this country with enormous natural resources, and we should pursue all of the above. We should be developing oil, and gas, and coal, and nuclear, and wind, and solar, and ethanol, and biofuels. But, I don't believe that Washington should be picking winners and losers. And, I think there should be no mandates, and no subsidies whatsoever. And, indeed, my tax plan that I've introduced, it's available on our website. It's a simple flat tax for everyone. It'll produce enormous economic growth, and it eliminates every mandate, every subsidy, so there's no subsidies for oil and gas, no subsidies for anyone. Now, it is true that there are a bunch of lobbyists, and a bunch of Democrats in this state spending millions of dollars trying to convince the people of Iowa that I somehow oppose ethanol. It's not true. I have introduced legislation that would phase out the ethanol mandate over five years, but that is in the context of having no mandates whatsoever for anyone. And, I would not that there's a much more important government regulation to ethanol, and that's the EPA's blend wall that makes it illegal to sell mid-level blends of ethanol in gasoline. I will...... Tear down the EPA's blend wall which will enable ethanol to expand its market share by up to 60%, all without mandates. All without any government mandates whatsoever through the marketplace. And, I'll note finally, Chris, there is a reason that Iowa's Congressman Steve King, perhaps the fiercest defender of farmers in this state, is sharing my campaign. Because he understands that I'm committed to a fair, and level playing field for every energy source without lobbyists, and without Washington picking winners and losers.
• On immigration: “Listen, we can solve immigration. We just heard an argument back and forth that we can't solve immigration. I have a detailed immigration plan that is on my website, tedcruz.org. It was designed with Iowa's own Congressman Steve King and Jeff Sessions, and...we have the tools in federal law to do this now. We can build the fence. We can triple the border patrol. We can end sanctuary cities by cutting off...funding to them. We can end welfare for those here illegally. And what is missing is the political will, because too many Democrats and, sadly, too many Republicans don't want to solve this problem. If I am elected president... we will secure the border...and we will end the illegal immigration.”

Carly Fiorina

• On ISIS, Iran and Benghazi: “Well let me tell you this: news flash, President Obama, news flash, Mrs. Clinton -- climate change is not our most pressing national security threat. Actually -- actually, it is ISIS, followed closely by Iran. And those two things are linked, so that when our president cozies up to Iran, all of our allies in the Middle East, who are ready to help us defeat ISIS, wonder whose side we're on. And the truth is, under this president, we are on Iran's side, not our allies', who would help us defeat ISIS. You know, one of the things we have to start with is understanding that we must stand up to adversaries. So Hillary Clinton famously asked, what difference does it make how four Americans died in Benghazi? This is the difference it makes, Mrs. Clinton. When terrorists purposefully attack an American embassy and kill four Americans, including an ambassador, and the next morning you get up and you lie about a videotape that doesn't represent our values, instead of saying the United States of America was purposefully attacked by terrorists, and we will seek retribution, then you are saying to every adversary and every adversary and every terrorist organization on the planet, it's open season. That, Mrs. Clinton, is what difference it makes.”
• On Hillary Clinton: “It wasn't a personal attack. I was pointing out the fact that Hillary Clinton will do anything to gain and hang on to power, anything. Listen, if my husband did what Bill Clinton did, I would have left him long ago. So, here's the deal. Hillary Clinton has been climbing the ladder to try and get power and here now she is trying for the White House. She is probably more qualified for the big house, honestly. She has escaped prosecution more times than El Chapo, perhaps Sean Penn should interview her. The woman should be prosecuted. And while Mrs. Clinton has flown hundreds of thousands of world around the global [sic], I have too. And I know flying is an activity not an accomplishment. While I know that she has held many positions and many titles she has not accomplished much of anything in her life. She has gotten every single foreign policy challenge wrong. She continues to lie to the American people. It's called the Clinton way. Both Bill and Hillary practice it, the Clinton way. Say whatever you have to say, do whatever you have to say. Lie as long as you can get away with it. Hillary Clinton cannot be the president of these United States.”
• On Planned Parenthood: “Well, you know, Hillary Clinton hasn't been indicted either. So that tells us a lot about our justice system in this country. But, look, the facts of Planned Parenthood have not changed, folks, and I will not be rendered silent on this issue or any other issue. And it doesn't matter what stage I'm on. Here are the facts. Planned Parenthood engages in partial birth abortion, in late-term abortion. They alter those abortion techniques to harvest and sell body parts. They have admitted that they are not going to accept compensation for this anymore. The reality is, most Americans find this practice horrific. Most Americans find horrific that Hillary Clinton's position on this is it's not a life until it's born. Most Americans find horrific Hillary Clinton's position or the Democrat party's position, that a young woman does not need her mother's permission to get an abortion. But if you are 13 years old, you can get an abortion, but you can't go to a tanning salon without your mother's permission. A president Fiorina -- in a president Fiorina budget, there will not be one dime for Planned Parenthood, although there would be a lot of money for women's health and we will finally pass the pain capable unborn child protection act. I will always stand for life and religious liberty...because this is about the character of our nation.”

Jim Gilmore

• On the Iran nuclear deal: “You know, Martha, it may be out of the barn in that the Iranians may be moving towards a nuclear program, because this nuclear deal actually gives them a time frame up the road when they are going to be able to do that kind of program. And that's very dangerous because it means people in the Middle East have to begin to react to that right now. The United States, I think, has to continue to exercise its influence in the Middle East, stay active, and not do this pull-back type of program that we are seeing all over the place with President Obama, which is creating this kind of danger. The world is a more dangerous place now than when I was an intelligence agent. We have not only this international guerrilla war but also these challenges from these other countries as well.”
• On the media shaping the campaign': “I disagree with Carly Fiorina when she says that it's just a political class in Washington. The truth is that the country has changed. And there are powerful forces at this point that are really controlling our lives. And that's why people are so angry. One of those is government, which is regulating everything through the Environmental Protection Agency, through other places. But the biggest one is the organized establishment media. And I just noticed just now you gave Carly Fiorina two one-minute answers in a row. This media across the country is manipulating and shaping and framing this campaign and has been for at least a year now in order to get the kind of choices that people are going to have an opportunity to see. This is wrong. It has to change. And when I'm president, it's going to change.”
• On radical Islamism: “This is a strain of Islamism that cannot be supported and cannot be stood for. And what we need is for people in the Muslim community in the United States to stand up and be counted and to say that this is not right. And yes, I have met with some people. And I'm not going to identify who they are. I met with them last week. And they told me some terrible stories about how they have been harassed and their children have seen them be harassed. And I said to them. You have got to stand up and condemn this radical Islamism because it's the war of ideas that we are going to have to win to go along with our military conflicts that are coming forward. But the point is Bill...we cannot have a Republican party that scapegoats anyone, Hispanics, Muslims, any women, African Americans, anyone. If that becomes the future of the Republican party, I don't want to be a part of that.”

Mike Huckabee

• On corporate campaign donations: “I'm not a New York-funded campaign. I'm not bankrolled by the corporatists, I'm not bankrolled by Goldman Sachs and Citibank and AIG and all the big brokers -- brokerage houses and the billionaires. I'm sponsored by people like Thomas, a part-time Uber driver in Pennsylvania who sent me $25 this week. He's between jobs. He's driving an Uber car. But he believed in what I'm talking about enough that, even on a limited, part-time income, he sent me $25 to help in my campaign. I'll stand with the Thomases of the world any day. I'll leave all the discussion of the big financiers to other candidates. But there's only a few of us in the entire Republican process who are not corporately funded by the same group. And let me just finish by saying, you want to know why things never change depending on whether Democrats or Republicans are in power, and why Republicans in Iowa and the rest of the country are so frustrated? The reason is, is because if you follow the money, the same folks who finance the Democrats finance the Republicans, and no matter what the speeches and the ads, they get the same results. If you want a different result, I'm available.”
• On why Americans are angry and federal assistance programs: “A lot of Americans are angry. And I think it's important to understand why they are mad. They are mad because they see a government that continues to do fine. They see people at the top. They are doing fine. But that person you asked Rick about a moment ago, that lady that's making 10,000 bucks a year, do you know what our poverty programs do to people? They keep them in poverty. They keep them in poverty because we have these arbitrary thresholds... that mean that if you go to work, you lose all the benefits for your kids, Medicaid, WIC, Section 8 housing, food stamps, and then your kids go hungry. I know a little about poverty. My sister is here tonight. Now both of us could tell you we did not grow up rich. My mother grew up in a house, oldest of seven kids. She had lived in a house that didn't have floors. Just dirt. No electricity. No running water. I resent it when people say, oh, people are poor because they want to be. No, they are not. Nobody wants to be poor. And that's a stupid, foolish thing, mean thing to say. People are poor because they don't know how to get out of the hole. And government shouldn't push them back in the hole which is what our policies do when they punish people who want to go to work and don't let them out. We can fix that, but it takes some leadership to get it done.”
• On Socialism and Bernie Sanders: “I honestly don't understand how anybody with IQ above plant life would honestly think...that we would be better off if we let the government have all of the private property and that the government would dole out what they thought we should have. I'm not ‘feeling the Bern,’ Bill. I'm not feeling it. And when Bernie Sanders promises these kids free college, I'm telling them, because I get asked, what about free college? I said, look, if we give you free college when you are 20, pal, you are going to be paying for it when you are 30, when you are 40, and when you are 50. There is no such thing as the government giving you anything. They will definitely make a mess of it. And I just think there are a lot of people who have never understood the basic understanding of economics, that you do not make people rich by tearing down those who are you providing jobs, and you don't help poor people by taking away. You give them jobs. Let them work. Let them earn. And then you let them keep the money that they earned. That's how we build a great economy.”

John Kasich

• On defeating ISIS: “See, I was there when Reagan rebuilt the military. I was there in '89 when the wall came tumbling down because we were strong. And I was there when we went into the Gulf War. We didn't win that war just from the air, we won that war by assembling a group of Arab leaders who stood in the Rose Garden and stood with America. We want to destroy ISIS, it has to be in the air and on the ground. It has to be with our friends in the Arab world and our friends in Europe, the coalition that we had when we went to the first Gulf War. And then when we win that, and we will win that against ISIS as it settles down, and we should leave. Because we shouldn't be policemen of the world. But what we need to do is turn it over to the regional powers to be able to handle that. But we have a unique time in America to connect with people all around the world that understand that there's an existential threat against all of them, the Arabs, the Jordanians, the Saudis, the Egyptians, our friends in Europe, including the Turks. So we have a unique opportunity to bring everybody together. I saw Reagan do it, I've seen other presidents do it. And frankly, if you want to be commander in chief, you have to have the experience. At the same time we're doing all that, the Pentagon must be reformed so we get what we need for our men and women in uniform. All of that together, we're going to be just fine and America is going to continue to lead the world.”
• On the Flint water crisis and how he would handle a similar crisis: “Well, you've got to be on top of it right away. And, you know, I don't know all the details of what Rick Snyder has done. I know there have been people who have been fired; people who are being held accountable. But the fact is, every single engine of government has to move when you see a crisis like that. And I've had many situations in the state of Ohio where we've had to move, whether it's storms, whether it was a horrible school shooting. There are many crises that come -- a water crisis in Toledo. You've got to be on top of it. You've got to go the extra mile. You've got to work with local communities and you've got to work with the federal government. Because you realize that people depending on you. And so, you go the extra mile. But people have to be alert. They have to be alert to problems. And when you see a problem, you must act quickly to get on top of it. And people at home are saying they've got a problem, listen to them. Because most of the time, they're absolutely correct. So the fact is that we work for the people. The people don't work for us. And we have to have an attitude when we're in government of serving-hood. That's what really matters. We serve you. You don't serve us. We listen to you and -- and then we act.”
• On the Iran nuclear deal: “Look, we don't know what's going to happen in ten months. And if I were president of the United States right now, I'd be lining up our allies to say that, if one crossed T or one dotted I does not occur, they are -- violate the agreement, we slap back on sanctions. We can slap on sanctions alone, on day one, but it's not gonna be anywhere near as effective. But the president needs to be laying the groundwork right now for the ability to slap those sanctions back on worldwide. And I'll tell you what I'm worried about -- I'm worried about money. You read about all the companies now that are doing business -- about to do business in Iran, and if we don't get this settled now, with other countries in the world, about sanctions, then Iran could violate that agreement, and we're the only ones putting the sanctions on. We need to move aggressively now. But I would say this to you, Bret. Number one, if they violate it, we need to move against them. And number two, if we find out they're developing a nuclear weapon and we know how to get to it, we're gonna go take it out. That is what we have to do. We cannot let things get farther down the road, like we did with North Korea.”

Rand Paul

• On his father and the “liberty” vote: “You know, I've always had a great deal of respect. There's probably no person I respect more in the country or in recent history than my father. I think he was probably the most honest man in politics that we've ever seen in a generation. And so in no way have I ever said that I don't embrace my father or love my father or appreciate everything that he has done for the country. I think what's interesting about where that liberty vote goes that my father brought to the Republican Party is, I don't think they're necessarily going to go for Ted. You know, Ted didn't show up. We had an audit-the-Fed vote, which was the biggest thing my dad had been advocating for, for 30 years, Ted didn't have time to show up. He was the only Republican that didn't show up for it. And so I think really that vote is going to stay in the Paul household. I think more of it is coming and it's going to grow. The NSA is another big issue. Ted said he was for NSA reform, but then he told Marco Rubio, no, no, no, I voted for the bill because I'm for the government collecting 100 percent of your cell phone records. I don't think Ted can have it both ways. They want to say they're getting some of the liberty vote. But we don't see it happening at all. We think we're going to do very well in Iowa with the liberty vote.”
• On border security and Marco Rubio’s “Gang of Eight” bill: “But I would say that if you want to defend the country, it begins with border security. And this is where I've had my disagreement with Senator Rubio. When he brought forward the ‘Gang of Eight’ bill to give citizenship to those who came here illegally, I put forward an amendment that says we should have more scrutiny on those who are coming as students, those who are coming as immigrants, those who are coming as refugees, because we had two refugees come to my town in Bowling Green and try to attack us. Marco opposed this because they made a deal. He made a deal with Chuck Schumer that he would oppose any conservative amendments. And I think that's a mistake, and I just don't think Marco can have it both ways. You can't be in favor of defend us...against Islam -- radical Islam -- if you're not for border security.”
• On criminal justice reform and race: “You know, I've supported legislation to allow body cameras. I've been to Ferguson, I've been trying to look for solutions to our criminal justice problem. One thing I discovered in Ferguson was that a third of the budget for the city of Ferguson was being reaped by civil fines. People were just being fined to death. Now you and I and many of the people in this audience, if we get a $100 fine, we can survive it. If you're living on the edge of poverty and you get a $100 fine or your car towed, a lot of times you lose your job. I also think the war on drugs has disproportionately affected our African-American community, and what we need to do is make sure that the war on drugs is equal protection under the law and that we don't unfairly incarcerate another generation of young African-American males. In Ferguson, for every 100 African-American women, there are only 60 African-American men. Drug use is about equal between white and black, but our prisons -- three out of four people in prison are black or brown. I think something has to change. I think it's a big thing that our party needs to be part of, and I've been a leader in Congress on trying to bring about criminal justice reform.”

Marco Rubio

• On cap-and-trade: “But I have never supported cap- and-trade and I never thought it was a good idea. And I was clear about that at the time. And I do not believe it's a good idea now. I do not believe that we have to destroy our economy in order to protect our environment. And especially what these programs are asking us to pass that will do nothing to help the environment, but will be devastating for our economy. When I am president of the United States of America, there will never be any cap-and-trade in the United States.”
• On why Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are unqualified to be president: “Bernie Sanders is a socialist. I think Bernie Sanders is good candidate for president of Sweden. We don't want to be Sweden. We want to be the United States of America. And Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton is disqualified from being the commander-in-chief of the United States. In fact, one of her first acts as president may very well be to pardon herself because Hillary Clinton...Hillary Clinton stored classified information on her private server. And Hillary Clinton lied to the families of those four brave Americans who lost their life in Benghazi. And anyone who lies to the families of Americans who have died in the service of this country can never be commander-in-chief of the United States.”
• On immigration: “I do not support amnesty...What I've always said is that this issue does need to be solved. They've been talking about this issue for 30 years, and nothing ever happens. And, I'm going to tell you exactly how we're going to deal with it when I am president. Number one, we're going to keep ISIS out of America. If we don't know who you are, or why you're coming, you will not get into the United States. Number two, we're going to enforce our immigration laws. I am the son and grandson of immigrants. And I know that securing our borders is not anti-immigrant and we will do it. We'll hire 20,000 new border agents instead of 20,000 new IRS agents. We will finish the 700 miles of fencing and walls our nation needs. We'll have mandatory E-verify, a mandatory entry/exit tracking system and until all of that is in place and all of that is working and we can prove to the people of this country that illegal immigration is under control, nothing else is going to happen. We are not going to round up and deport 12 million people, but we're not going to hand out citizenship cards, either. There will be a process. We will see what the American people are willing to support. But it will not be unconstitutional executive orders like the ones Barack Obama has forced on us.”

Rick Santorum

• On creating manufacturing jobs: “What I would say is that we have to create jobs that give people wages and benefits that can help them provide for themselves and their families. And that's why I announced from a factory floor in western Pennsylvania, I pledge to make America the number one manufacturing nation, again, in the world. And we can do it. China is starting to reorient itself away from a manufacturing economy that's dumping products on the -- overseas to providing more services to their people. This is an opportunity for America. It's an opportunity for us to get those jobs back. And by the way, do you want to solve global climate change? Take 2 million jobs from China in manufacturing and moving them back here to the United States, where we produce one-fifth the CO2 when we make things. We can help -- we can do every -- we can do it all. We can take care of the environment. We can create more jobs here. Seventy-four percent of Americans don't have a college degree. And unfortunately most folks who, in the Republican Party, don't talk about what we're going to do to create jobs for people who feel like neither political party cares about them. When you elect me, we'll create opportunities for working men and women in this country -- all over this country.”
• On abortion: “The bottom line is, that twice in my life, we were counseled to have an abortion, one with our son Gabriel and one with our little girl Bella. And neither time did Karen and I for a moment think about it because we know that life begins at conception. We know the dignity of every human life and we know the potential of every child, no matter how long that life lives. And that is a message that can come across to all Americans and without having to say a word and defend the institution of life and the dignity of life in this country.”
• On President Obama and a divisive political culture: “The president of the United States has been the most divisive president in -- certainly in my lifetime. This is a man who constantly… He is not trustworthy. You can't sit down and negotiate with him. He won't keep a deal. We have heard that over and over again. And here is what he does that really, really creates the friction in Washington. He personally attacks people. He ascribes motives to them that aren't true and then he tears them down. How are you going to work with someone if you don't treat them decently, honestly, and respectfully? I was a tough fighter when I was in Washington. I had very sharp elbows. I fought. I went there and joined a game named Jim Nussle here from Iowa with the ‘gang of seven.’ And we, in four years' time, took a Congress that had been controlled by Democrats for 40 years, and brought in the first Republican majority because we fought and we fought tough. But you know what? I was able to then work with those same people that we fought with and able to pass welfare reform. Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Pro-life bills. Health savings accounts. A whole laundry list of things not because I was mean, but because I was able to be respectful in the disagreements. And that's what we need in Washington, someone who can be respectful and still unite this country.”

Donald Trump

• On Thursday, The Huffington Post began attaching the following note to each of its articles about Donald Trump: “Note to our readers: Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.” A spokesperson for The Huffington Post said, “Yes, we're planning to add this note to all future stories about Trump. No other candidate has called for banning 1.6 billion people from the country! If any other candidate makes such a proposal, we'll append a note under pieces about them.” (Politico ,Huffington Post)
• Instead of attending last night’s GOP debate, Trump held a campaign event at Drake University to raise money for veterans. Trump announced that he raised “more than $6 million for veterans in one day -- $1 million of it from his own checkbook,” according to CNN. Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee attended the event after appearing in the undercard debate. (CNN)

Third Party Candidates

Jill Stein (Green Party)

• During an interview with the Eugene Weekly, Jill Stein said that “she’s in the Green Party because the other two parties are ‘under the thumb of war profiteers, predatory banks and fossil fuel pirates.’” Stein added that she “wants to use the ‘bully pulpit’ that is the presidency to create ‘transformational change’ and ‘turn the White House into a Green House in 2016.’” Stein also told the Eugene Weekly that she thinks “health care, education, jobs and housing are all rights, calling for ‘Medicare For All’ single-payer public health insurance program, an end to high-stakes testing, a $15 minimum wage and housing that benefits the public good.” (Eugene Weekly)

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