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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - November 2, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Monday's Leading Stories
- Ben Carson’s campaign has called for significant changes to the format of future Republican presidential debates, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Carson’s campaign manager, Barry Bennett, organized a meeting with representatives from other campaigns to discuss his proposal to reduce the number of debates, broadcast them over the internet rather than TV and provide at least five minutes for opening and closing statements to each candidate. "A couple of us are the ones that are generating the ratings for these debates — if we don't come, that's a big bargaining chip," Bennett said. (The Wall Street Journal, NBC News)
- Donald Trump released his veterans services platform on Saturday. Under Trump’s plan, a veteran would be able to receive care from any medical services provider that accepts Medicare using his or her identification card. He also called for increased job training and improved care for veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. Trump’s proposal did not provide information on how he would pay for these services. (The Guardian, Donald J. Trump for President)
- Poll: In an NBC News/SurveyMonkey online poll released last Friday, Donald Trump and Ben Carson each garnered 26 percent. Ted Cruz came in third with 10 percent. Among Republican-leaning voters who watched the third Republican debate, Cruz’s support was higher at 17 percent. (NBC News)
- Poll: Donald Trump regained the lead in the latest IBD/TIPP national poll released on Friday with 28 percent to Ben Carson’s 23 percent. Raghavan Mayur, the president of the organization that conducted the poll, said, “Trump's support in the last poll suffered somewhat because of his nearly weeklong boycott of Fox News, which has since been lifted. Carson has recently been under more scrutiny by both the media and other candidates." (Investor's Business Daily)
Democrats
- Democratic presidential candidates have been courting Vice President Joe Biden’s supporters. “Apart from experienced campaign hands, the pro-Biden coalition assembled campaign data that are a valuable commodity. They built voter lists and a collection of 250,000 email addresses that other campaigns would like to add to their arsenal,” The Wall Street Journal reported. (The Wall Street Journal)
- MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow said she planned to move Democratic candidates “off their talking points” at “The First in the South” presidential forum scheduled for Friday. She also said she was interested in hearing how the candidates would revive the Democratic Party in the South. (The Herald)
Hillary Clinton
- Last Friday, Black Lives Matter protesters interrupted Hillary Clinton’s speech in Atlanta at a historically black college. After they were removed from the room, Clinton said, “I appreciate their passion, but I'm sorry they didn't listen because some of what they're demanding, I am offering." (Politico)
- The State Department released a sixth batch of Clinton’s emails totaling 7,000 pages on Friday. Although one exchange involved discussions of embassy security in Afghanistan and Pakistan, most emails related to the daily operations of managing Clinton's schedule. (CBS News, Politico)
- The White House announced on Friday it intended to prevent communications between President Obama and Clinton from being released. "There is a long history of presidential records being kept confidential while the president is in office. It is a principle that previous White Houses have vigorously defended as it goes to the core of the president’s ability to receive unvarnished advice and counsel," said a White House official. William Burck, who served as deputy counsel for former President George W. Bush, described the decision as "very reasonable." He said, “Direct communications by the president and his senior advisers are really at the very center of what is trying to be protected by executive privilege and the separation of powers." (The New York Times)
- On Saturday, Clinton received endorsements from the International Longshoremen's Association and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley. (Charlotte Observer)
- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said last week that “Google was now Hillary’s secret weapon.” He was referencing the business relationship between Clinton’s campaign and The Groundwork, a startup funded by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt that has been contracted to build the campaign’s digital infrastructure. “Assange isn't the first person to raise concerns about a search algorithm stealing the presidency. Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain has explored how Google or Facebook could influence an election by customizing search results or news, swinging undecided voters to one side or another. To date, however, there's no evidence that any engineers or executives currently working for Google or Alphabet, Google's parent company, are doing anything to support Clinton's campaign,” The Huffington Post reported. (The Huffington Post)
- Clinton has hired Zac Petkanas of Media Matters to be her director of rapid response. Christina Reynolds, who previously held the position, was promoted to deputy communications director. Another staffing change was the departure of Diane Hami who managed surrogate operations. (The New York Times)
Martin O’Malley
- At a campaign stop in Iowa on Saturday, Martin O’Malley advocated for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. “And however elusive it may seem to us, however many smart people say the time has passed for that sort of reconciliation or that long-term solution, I continue to believe that it is our best hope," O'Malley said. (The Des Moines Register)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders said on Saturday it was “unfortunate” that the tone of the presidential race had become personal after Hillary Clinton supporters said he had been sexist. “We disagree on a number of the issues, but I don’t think we want to make this campaign personal, and I have tried my best not to do that. A serious election is a debate on the issues. That’s called democracy, not attacking people on a personal level,” Sanders said. (The Washington Post)
- Beginning Tuesday, Sanders’ campaign will air its first television ad in Iowa and New Hampshire with a $2 million ad buy. The narrator introduces Sanders, saying, “The son of a Polish immigrant who grew up in a Brooklyn tenement. He went to public schools, then college, where the work of his life began: fighting injustice and inequality. Speaking truth to power.” (NPR, Yahoo)
Republicans
- Over the weekend, the Republican Party in Puerto Rico held an assembly to select new leaders. Jeb Bush, Jr. attended as a surrogate for his father. Marco Rubio and George Pataki also submitted written statements in light of the occasion. (Miami Herald)
Jeb Bush
- Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Jeb Bush acknowledged criticism of his debate performances. “I know that I got to get better at doing the debate. I’m a grinder. I mean, when I see that I’m not doing something well then I reset and I get better,” he said. He contended, however, that he had been “cut off” by moderators on the issue of Marco Rubio’s job performance in the Senate. “I literally got cut off by all three of [the moderators] saying, ‘Next question, next question.’ The basic point with Marco isn’t that he’s not a good person or he’s not a gifted politician; everybody can see that. It’s that I have proven leadership skills. I got to be governor of a state and accomplish big things. And in this era of gridlock, it's really hard to break through, and I think he's given up,” said Bush. (Yahoo)
- Bush’s anthology of emails from his time as governor of Florida, Reply All, is out this week. According to political scientist Matthew Corrigan of the University of North Florida, the book will demonstrate that Bush "was in the 'weeds' on policy matters and was responsive to individual voters. His e-mail sometimes can show a more emphatic side of him than his in-person demeanor." (The Washington Post)
Ben Carson
- On Sunday, Ben Carson said he would increase the U.S.’s presence in the Baltics. "We need to reestablish ourselves in that area. We need to give Ukraine offensive weapons. We need to reestablish a missile defense system in the eastern bloc of countries so that we oppose him. Let's keep him on the run, we need to recognize that, you know, his fuel is oil. And we need to do everything we can to develop our energy resources at an economical rate so that we keep the oil prices down, which keeps him in his little box,” he said. (CNN)
- In a speech on Sunday in Nashville, Carson reiterated his support for creationism. "[Progressives] say, 'Carson, ya know, how can you be a surgeon, a neurosurgeon, and believe that God created the Earth, and not believe in evolution, which is the basis of all knowledge and all science?' Well, you know, it's kind of funny. But I do believe God created us, and I did just fine. … And in fact, the more you know about God, and the deeper your relationship with God, I think the more intricate becomes your knowledge of the way things work, including the human body,” Carson said. (USA Today)
Chris Christie
- Although Chris Christie expressed disappointment in last week’s debate, he said on Saturday he had no intention of fixating on it. “If you're running for president of the United States and you can't handle yourself against three CNBC moderators without crying foul and calling for intervention then you're not going to do very well against Vladimir Putin, either,” Christie said. (NBC News, NJ.com)
Ted Cruz
- On Friday, Ted Cruz released a new video entitled, “When the Media Attacks, Ted Fights Back!” It features Cruz contrasting the tone of CNBC moderators’ questions at last week’s debate with those asked at the first Democratic debate. (Breitbart)
- Politico reported on Monday that Cruz’s campaign was concerned with the lack of action taken by the four interconnected Keep the Promise super PACs backing his presidential run. Kellyanne Conway, the president of Keep the Promise I, said her super PAC was conducting advertising in a more targeted way on conservative and Christian talk radio. “I don’t need to be defensive. I’m sitting on lots of money and I intend to spend every last dollar of it,” she added. (Politico)
Carly Fiorina
- Carly Fiorina acknowledged on Sunday that she was incorrect when she asserted at last week’s debate that “92 percent of the jobs lost during [President] Barack Obama’s first term belonged to women.” However, she said the “liberal media” was wrong to fixate on the statistic rather than the gist of her argument. “It is factually true that the number of women living in extreme poverty is at the highest rate in recorded history. It is factually true that 16.1 percent of women live below the poverty line, the highest level in 20 years. It is factually true that 3 million women have fallen into poverty,” Fiorina said. (ABC News)
- Fiorina said she would establish “a consolidated command” to address the threat of electromagnetic pulses from solar storms and cyber-warfare. "Today we have people who have bits and pieces of the problem all over the government, the jealously guard their turf, none of them work together," Fiorina said. (ABC News)
- On Sunday, Fiorina said there should be more “conservative voices” moderating Republican presidential debates. “You know, Breitbart would be a great moderator, for example. We’ve sort of had these token conservative people who haven’t had a shot. Hugh Hewitt, great interviewer, but he got what? One question out of 30? CNBC didn’t even try to put up real conservatives. Making sure there is a real conservative, making sure that the conservative commentators have a real chance to ask questions of substance. I think all of those things matter. I do think that long debates are helpful to voters. I know there are some campaigns that want to shorten debates, and I don’t think that is helpful to voters. I think there are a lot of candidates, and people really need to have the time to see—overtime—what they think and how they perform,” Fiorina said. (Breitbart)
Jim Gilmore
- On Sunday, Jim Gilmore accused the Republican National Committee of “rigging the rules” by preventing him from participating in any presidential debate. “I had real momentum going in this race until CNN decided to rig the rules in order to prevent me from appearing on the stage. They rigged it to advance Carly Fiorina, they rigged it to advance people I was polling better than, and yet they didn’t put me on the stage at all,” said Gilmore. (Mediaite)
Lindsey Graham
- Lindsey Graham said he would like the structure of future debates changed. "I want smaller groups on the stage, better debate questions and let us all be heard from equally. If we do that, we'll get the best nominee to win an election we can't afford to lose," Graham said. (Politico)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee said on Saturday that the U.S. needed a “spiritual leader” in its next president. “I still believe that there is something else the next president has to be willing to be, and that is a spiritual leader for this country. I’m going to tell you that there is no other explanation for America other than the province of almighty God and giving us, by his grace, this great country," said Huckabee. He continued, “How can we expect him to bless this country if we continue the slaughter of a million and half unborn children. We cannot ask him to bless us if we continue to act like savages and uncivilized people.” (The Des Moines Register)
- In an interview on Fox News on Saturday, Huckabee accused CNBC of not honoring its proposed format for last week's debate. “I was thinking how frustrating it was to be told that we were going to be talking about the economy, about monetary policy, all economic issues. And we thought that was going to be the case because it’s CNBC, that’s their wheelhouse. We also were told there [were] going be algorithms that would be very carefully monitored to make sure that every candidate had an equal amount of time, and it would be balanced. Well, those two things both didn’t happen, and it was a complete disaster, and I think CNBC utterly embarrassed themselves in the manner which they conducted that debate. They went after us in a way that they never go after Democrats, and I do believe this, it united Republican candidates on that stage. So, maybe there was a benefit to it after all,” said Huckabee. (Breitbart)
Bobby Jindal
- Bobby Jindal said on Saturday there should be a “free market approach” to presidential debates. “The reality is all these candidates are auditioning to be president of the United States; they should be able to answer tough questions, whether it’s from a Republican, Democrat, independent, liberal, conservative. ... Let’s stop trying to limit the opportunities for the candidates to debate and for the voters to see that,” Jindal said. (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
John Kasich
- John Kasich dismissed criticism on Sunday that he was not conservative enough. He said, "Here's what my goal is: I not only want to cut taxes and create jobs for families, but ship a lot of programs back home so that people will be empowered to begin to build our families and our communities, which is about the spirit of our country. Now if that's not conservative, you tell me what is." (CNN)
- In an interview with The Washington Times following last week’s debate, Kasich said he wanted to see American companies conducting business offshore repatriated without penalties. “I’m for bringing the taxes down, and I’m for repatriation at no charge. Just bring the money back. I would let them bring it back, and then I would have a territory program where you don’t get double-taxed. You pay taxes where you do your operations. If you do an operation in Poland, then you get taxed there. And then you bring your profits home,” Kasich said of his plan. (The Washington Times)
George Pataki
- George Pataki said on Sunday it was a “safe assumption” that Hillary Clinton’s emails had been hacked when she served as secretary of state. (Newsmax)
Rand Paul
- On Saturday, Rand Paul opposed the use of eminent domain to take land away from crop and livestock farmers for a pipeline running through North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. “There are times we have to use eminent domain for roads and things like that, but for this, if it is going to another private property owner, I don’t think the government should be taking property through eminent domain,” Paul said. (The Gazette)
- Paul also opposed sending ground troops to Syria. "The fighting on the ground needs to be done by the people who live there. The Sunnis will have to rise up and say 'enough is enough,’” he said. (The Des Moines Register)
- Speaking at the Growth and Opportunity Party on Sunday, Paul called on the Republican Party to advocate for all constitutional amendments “with the same furor and the same passion that we defend the Second Amendment.” He specifically noted trials by jury were in danger, saying they were “slipping away.” The Des Moines Register)
Marco Rubio
- Billionaire and hedge fund investor Paul Singer endorsed Marco Rubio on Friday. In a letter to other donors, Singer, who backed Mitt Romney in 2012, wrote, "In a field full of promise, but also of risk for the party, Senator Rubio is the strongest choice.” According to CNN, Singer “is perhaps the party's most prodigious fundraiser, and his giving has been motivated primarily by two causes: protection of Israel and other Jewish causes, and support for the gay rights movement – a position that puts him at odds with many other leading players in the Republican Party.” (CNN)
Donald Trump
- Although Donald Trump criticized CNBC and moderator John Harwood for being a “dope” and a “fool,” he said on Saturday it was important Republican candidates were given the opportunity to answer difficult questions. “I don’t want the Republicans to look weak, like we’re afraid to take questions,” he said. (The Hill)
- Trump said last week that he had requested Walt Disney rehire approximately 250 U.S. employees it replaced with foreigners holding H1-B visas. "I am calling on Rubio to immediately rescind his sponsorship of the [H-1B] bill and apologize to every Floridian for endorsing it,” Trump added. (Breitbart)
- Robert Costa of The Washington Post said Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, intended to increase the campaign’s focus on the South to “catapult towards the nomination.” He added, “Lewandowski said his biggest hire is going to be a regional political director for the South, then hire more people in Georgia, and come out of South Carolina with some momentum – that's how Trump sees it. He may not win Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Hopes to, but if he doesn't, he wants that March 1 primary, those SEC states, to be places where they could maybe get victories.” (CNN)
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
