Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - October 13, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Tuesday's Leading Stories
- Jeb Bush is expected to announce the details of his plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Tuesday. It includes a tax credit for portable health plans and increased contribution limits for health savings accounts. Under Bush's proposal, the “transition plan” for the approximately 17 million people who receive coverage under the ACA would be driven by the states with limited federal funding. (CNBC, The Wall Street Journal)
- On Tuesday, Rand Paul will provide a livestream of his entire day on the campaign trail. "Our campaign has always believed in engaging the maximum amount of voters from across the nation. Not only are we engaged on every social platform from Snapchat to Facebook and from Periscope to Vine, we want to offer an embedded experience to those who wonder what happens throughout the day,” said a spokesman for Paul, Sergio Gor. (Mashable)
- Poll: According to a CNN/ORC poll of Nevada Democrats released on Monday, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 50 percent to 34 percent. The same poll found Clinton leading the Democratic field in South Carolina with 49 percent to Biden’s 24 percent and Sanders’ 18 percent. (CNN)
- Poll: A national poll released by CBS News on Sunday found Donald Trump atop the Republican field with 27 percent. Ben Carson and Ted Cruz followed with 21 percent and 9 percent, respectively. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 46 percent to 27 percent. (CBS News, CBS News)
Democrats
- The Associated Press reported on Monday that CNN has received requests to include a liberal on the panel that is moderating the first Democratic presidential debate. "You want someone at the debate for Tuesday night who will question the Democrats from the progressive perspective," said Jeff Cohen, a former MSNBC producer who created the petition. The petition notes that Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host, participated in the second Republican presidential debate on CNN. (Business Insider)
- Poll: Among Democratic-leaning voters in Maryland, Hillary Clinton topped the field with 43 percent support. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders followed with 26 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Local candidate, Martin O’Malley, received 4 percent. (The Washington Post)
Joe Biden
- CNN has a sixth podium on reserve if Joe Biden decided at the last minute to enter the presidential race on Tuesday. (Newsweek)
- According to a new national Reuters/Ipsos poll, 48 percent of Democrats want Biden to become a presidential candidate. Another 30 percent said he should not join the race. (The Huffington Post)
- U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said on Monday she believed Biden would run for president because “he’s always aspired to it.” (Fortune)
Hillary Clinton
- Bradley Podliska, a major in the Air Force Reserve and former investigator for the House Select Committee on Benghazi, announced over the weekend he intends to file a lawsuit against that committee for unlawfully terminating him after “he resisted pressure to focus his investigation only into Mrs. Clinton and the State Department’s role in the attacks.” His complaint will also include a claim he was fired because he took leave to return to active duty. The committee responded in a statement that Podliska was terminated “because he himself manifested improper partiality and animus in his investigative work” by targeting members of the Obama administration. (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal)
- In an interview on Sunday, President Obama described Clinton’s private email server as “a mistake,” but noted, “I don’t think it posed a national security problem.” He added, “The fact that for the last three months this is all that's been spoken about is an indication that we're in presidential political season.” (The Los Angeles Times)
- Clinton met with Black Lives Matter activists on Friday to discuss criminal justice reform and alternatives to law enforcement-centered policing of communities. An aide to Clinton said she “reaffirmed her policy on private prisons and immigrant detention centers -- she wants to end those.” (Politico)
- Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro is expected to endorse Clinton this week. Castro has frequently been named as a potential vice presidential pick given “his record, personality, demeanor and Latin heritage.” (BuzzFeed)
- Clinton made an unscheduled appearance at a rally for the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the union has been trying to organize at the Trump International Hotel. "If you are going to run for president, then represent all of the people of the United States. I wanted to come by to lend my voice to all yours and I wish you well in these efforts,” she said. (CNN)
- When asked if she believed Carly Fiorina had been treated differently than her male Republican competitors, Clinton said, “I’m always in favor of women running. But people need to hold women’s policies up to light and determine what their answers to problems would be before deciding to support them. I’m willing to subject myself to that process and try to earn every vote; I assume any woman running would do the same.” (TIME)
Lawrence Lessig
- Lawrence Lessig said he was giving some consideration to running outside of the Democratic Party after he was barred from participating in both the No Labels conference and Democratic presidential debate this week because he has not polled at 1 percent in at least three polls nationally. Lessig said, “Trump said he would stay in the party, and refuse to run as an independent, as long as the Republicans treated him fairly. I’m beginning to have a sense of what he was talking about. If the party won’t allow me to run as a Democrat, that creates a lot of pressure to think about a different way of running that would allow me to make this case to the American people.” (The Washington Post)
Martin O’Malley
- In an interview on Sunday, Martin O’Malley said he opposed establishing a no-fly zone over Syria at this time. He cautioned that Hillary Clinton was “always quick for the military intervention.” (CNN)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders said on Sunday that his proposed “Medicare for all” and improvements to infrastructure could be partially funded by increasing taxes on corporations. He said the “very wealthy” should not “continue to pay an effective tax rate lower than middle class people.” (CNN)
- U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) endorsed Sanders on Monday. “We are in need of a civic renaissance in America and Bernie is generating a lot of excitement and energy among young people, old people, all kinds of people, and I think that is really critical. The manner in which he is moving his campaign forward is healthy for our democracy,” said Ellison. (The Huffington Post)
Republicans
Ben Carson
- In an interview on Sunday, Ben Carson said the world could be “getting closer” to biblical end times. “You do have people who have a belief system that sees this apocalyptic phenomenon occurring, and they’re a part of it, and who would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if they gain possession,” said Carson. (Washington Times)
- Carson said over the weekend that that U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) “would do a fine job” as speaker of the House. “I hope that all people who are being considered will have an opportunity to put forth their philosophy on leadership and that the members can make an intelligent decision,” he added. (The Hill)
Chris Christie
- Chris Christie decried the state of the American education system on Friday, saying it “is no longer designed for maximizing the potential of our children. It's designed for the comfort of the adults who run it." He suggested teachers unions existed for profit and to protect inferior educators. (NJ.com)
- Although Christie admitted he had not seriously considered the issue of D.C. statehood at the No Labels conference on Monday, he said, “My initial gut reaction is I don’t think adding another person to Congress is going to help. I just don’t think fundamentally it will help or make an enormous difference.” (Washington Times)
Ted Cruz
- On Monday, Ted Cruz opposed efforts to allow transgender soldiers to serve in the military. "How about having the military focusing on hunting down and killing the bad guys...instead of treating it as this crucible for social justice innovations. We’ve lost sight of what their job is and that’s what we need to get back to,” Cruz said. (The Washington Post)
- In a radio interview on Monday, Cruz reiterated his belief that a “significant number” of the Syrian refugees the U.S. intends to accept next year are “ISIS terrorists.” He added, “You know under existing immigration law, the president has considerable leeway governing refugees, unfortunately. And so, I think the most potent tool is shining a light, and forcing Democrats to defend it, forcing them to defend why exactly would you want to bring in Syrian Muslims, when we don’t know, we can’t sort and separate, the ISIS terrorists who are among them.” (BuzzFeed)
Lindsey Graham
- On Monday, Lindsey Graham held himself up as an example that a Republican could support amnesty for undocumented immigrants and still succeed “in the reddest of red states.” He added, “I am called ‘Lindsey Grahamnesty’ and ‘Lindsey Gomez.’ To all the Gomezes out there, I will try to honor the family name.” (Washington Times)
- At the No Labels convention on Monday, Graham said he would support a constitutional amendment to undo Citizens United to limit the influence of money in politics. (CNN)
Mike Huckabee
- During a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday, Mike Huckabee said he would require the director of Homeland Security to live in the border city of Laredo, Texas, until the border had been secured. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
- According to Huckabee adviser Hogan Gidley, the candidate intended to be more aggressive in the next debate after he only received 6.9 percent of the speaking time during September’s debate. "We're not going to let the moderators dictate the outcome of a presidential election,” Gidley said. (Washington Examiner)
- Huckabee criticized President Obama’s policy priorities on Monday. He said, “This president is obsessed with climate change while the rest of the world understands the real danger of Islamic fanaticism. I think he thinks that sunburn is worse than a beheading and most of us think that’s nonsense.” (Fox Business)
John Kasich
- John Kasich is set to reveal his entitlement reform platform on Thursday. Last week, Kasich told audience members in New Hampshire they would have to “get over” a reduction in their Social Security made for the greater good. (The Hill, CNN)
- At the No Labels conference on Monday, Kasich attributed the rise in gun violence to a breakdown in familial and community relationships. "Where was Dad? Where was brother or sister? Where was neighbor? I mean, folks, our marriages, too many of them, have eroded. The relationships with our neighbors -- what's happened to the neighborhood? You see, we're all really our neighbor's keeper and we all have a responsibility to live a life bigger than ourselves,” said Kasich. (CNN)
Bobby Jindal
- On Sunday, Bobby Jindal said stricter gun regulation would not “stop the next massacre.” Instead, Jindal argued, the country needs a “renaissance of decency” and “spiritual revival.” To highlight the “moral decay going on in our culture,” Jindal said, “We’ve got graphic violence in our movies, our video games, our TV shows. We’ve got senseless violence depicted in our songs. We’ve got a culture that doesn’t value life. We’ve got millions of boys growing up without father figures, without that guidance at home. Too often, these shooters are often misguided young men.” (Daily Caller)
George Pataki
- Discussing climate change and energy production at the No Labels conference on Monday, George Pataki said the private sector and universities should “solve” the alternative energy question, not the federal government. He also expressed support for fracking which he suggested caused a decline in the production of greenhouse gasses in the U.S. (WMUR 9 ABC)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul won a straw poll of libertarian-leaning Republicans at the Republican Liberty Caucus over the weekend. (The Washington Post)
- Paul said on Friday that although he would be partially inclined to pardon Edward Snowden, he did not want to encourage other individuals to risk state secrets. He said, “We do have secrets -- maybe too many -- but we do have secrets that need to be protected. We have operatives who try to risk our lives to defend our country and he [Snowden] didn’t reveal that, but you don’t want people to reveal things like that.” (ABC News)
Marco Rubio
- Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire who spent more than $100 million to support Republican candidates and policies in the 2012 election cycle, may endorse Marco Rubio by the end of the month, according to Politico. (Politico)
Rick Santorum
- Rick Santorum wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal on Sunday to promote his tax platform built around a flat individual tax rate of 20 percent. The marriage penalty, death tax and alternative minimum tax would be eliminated. Except for charitable giving and mortgage interest, Itemized deductions would also be eliminated. The corporate tax rate would bet set at 20 percent, with a two-year phase-in period for American manufacturers to encourage job growth. (The Wall Street Journal)
Donald Trump
- On Saturday, Donald Trump said Hillary Clinton should not be permitted to run for president because of the investigation into her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state. He said if a Republican had done the same, he “would be in jail 12 months ago.” (MSNBC)
- In an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Trump said he “sometimes” carries a gun. “I feel much better being armed,” he said. (CBS News)
- Trump questioned U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) potentially entering the race for speaker of the House on Monday. Although he called him a “terrific guy,” Trump said Ryan was “very, very weak on illegal immigration.” (Washington Times)
- At the No Labels conference on Monday, Trump said he and other ultra-wealthy Americans should “voluntarily” relinquish their Social Security benefits. “I have friends that are worth hundreds of millions and billions of dollars and get Social Security. They don’t even know the check comes in,” he said. (The Wall Street Journal)
- The Village Voice reported on Tuesday that the veterans’ hotline Trump’s campaign established in July 2015 “was basically nonfunctioning.” When one veteran eventually reached a staffer, he was instructed to provide documentation regarding his condition. After he did so and received a response thanking him for his service without any further information, the veteran contacted Trump’s campaign to ask what they intended to do with his information. He received an email that said, “We have a team of vets collecting stories and reforms for improving the VA and veteran benefits. Your story will be part of what we compile and produce for Mr. Trump to study. Your information is confidential.” (Village Voice)
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
