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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - September 2, 2015
From Ballotpedia
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- Carly Fiorina will likely be able to participate in the September CNN debate because of a change in debate criteria allowing candidates who rank among the top 10 “in an average of approved national polls released between August 7th and September 10th” to make the stage. (CNN Politics)
- On Monday, 7,000 of Hillary Clinton’s emails were released, revealing over 125 retroactively classified emails, with many redacted sections. The classified emails showed information on Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, a draft of the New START treaty and the movement of North Korean nuclear assets, among other things. According to CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes, Deputy Chief of Staff Jake Sullivan told Clinton in another exchange that he would not forward her a document because it was "on the classified system." Clinton told him to “Just email it,” since it was a public statement, but Sullivan remained firm. The emails also showed a close relationship between Clinton and Sidney Blumenthal, a former Clinton White House aide and her advisor, and information on some IT issues with email bounce-backs that were identified by the help desk analysts at the State Department. (Wall Street Journal, CNN Politics, New York Times, CBS News, Washington Times)
- Jeb Bush went on the offensive against Donald Trump on Tuesday, when he posted an 80-minute video recalling Trump’s more liberal views of the past. Bush also said from the campaign trail in Miami, “What we did today was to put out in his words to show that he’s not conservative. He supports people like Nancy Pelosi. He’s given money to Hillary Clinton. He was a Democrat longer than Republican. He’s said that he’s more comfortable being a Democrat. He doesn’t have a record, because he hasn’t been a person who has served like me, who served for eight years as governor. He’s not a conservative. That’s my point.” (Fortune, TIME, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal)
- A Tuesday Public Policy Polling poll showed that if Donald Trump and Jeb Bush were the only two candidates to choose from, 59 percent of Americans preferred Trump, while 34 percent preferred Jeb Bush. (Public Policy Polling)
- A Wednesday survey showed that 45 percent of Americans rate Clinton favorably and 53 percent rate Clinton unfavorably, a negative trend from her previous polls. Trump has seen a rise in favorability at 37 percent, but has not seen a significant rise in support from minority groups. (Langer Research)
Democrats
Joe Biden
- On Tuesday, former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Hillary Clinton expressed criticism for Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server and support for a run by Joe Biden. Dick Cheney said, “I like Joe. I think Joe’s a good man, I think he ought to run for president.” He continued, “I think the Democrats need more candidates. I’m hoping Joe will get in the race.”(ABC News)
- Joe Biden is scheduled to appear on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on September 10, 2015. (NY Post)
- On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) endorsed Biden. "I would support Joe Biden as a candidate for president," if he decided to run, said Coons. He then encouraged everyone to give Biden the time he needs to make the “decision that is best for him and his family.” (Politico)
- Joe Biden is headed down to Florida for a two-day trip in the state. His supporters in Florida, like state Sen. Jeremy Ring (D-FL), have become more vocal in the recent past. "He should run," said Ring, "If Joe Biden runs, sign me up. I would be one of his biggest supporters." (Sun-Sentinel)
- New Hampshire state Rep. Dan Eaton (D) has agreed to be the state director of the Draft Biden 2016 Committee. The formal announcement is expected to be released today. (CNN Politics, WMUR9 ABC)
Lincoln Chafee
- Lincoln Chafee and Bernie Sanders will speak at the annual New Hampshire AFL-CIO Labor Day Breakfast on Monday. (WMUR9 ABC)
- Lincoln Chafee laid out views on immigration at the Unite Iowa Immigration Forum on Saturday, saying that it should be an international issue with the United Nations leading the process. He also said it was impractical to deport all of the undocumented immigrants in America, advocating, instead, that America address the root cause of the difficulties. (Pilot Tribune)
Hillary Clinton
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney continued his criticism of Hillary Clinton’s conduct with regard to the current email investigation. He pointed specifically to possible national security risks in a CNN interview, commenting that China and Russia might have access to top secret information. He referenced the Office of Personnel Management data breach associated with the Chinese government, saying, “They've got my personnel records. How can they not have her emails?” (Business Insider)
- The House Benghazi Committee chose not to allow Cheryl Mills, Hillary Clinton’s former chief of staff at the State Department, to give testimony in a public session on Thursday. (Politico)
- The previous governor of Vermont, Howard Dean, reaffirmed his endorsement of Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. (CNN Politics)
Martin O’Malley
- One of the emails released in the Clinton investigation praised Martin O’Malley. Clinton wrote the following to Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) in April 2010, “How’s our friend, Martin, doing? I know he has a rematch when he should be reelected by acclamation for steering the ship of state so well. Pls give him my best wishes.” (TIME)
- On Tuesday, the O’Malley campaign hired Jose Aristimuño, who is bilingual, to direct Latino media outreach. (Politico)
- Martin O'Malley plans to speak at nine Iowa events over Labor Day weekend to finish up his "Rebuild the American Dream" tour. (Des Moines Register)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders and Lincoln Chafee will speak at the annual New Hampshire AFL-CIO Labor Day Breakfast on Monday. (WMUR9 ABC)
- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak tweeted support for Bernie Sanders late Monday night: “Down on Republicans and Democrats, #Bernie2016 #FeelTheBern.” (Huffington Post)
- Larry Sanders praised his brother’s efforts to rid society of inequality in an interview with the British Press and noted that Sanders previously had “informal contact” with Jeremy Corbyn, a socialist running for the leadership position of the Labor Party (UK). (Daily Caller)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- TIME reported that Jeb Bush might see opposition as he campaigns in Florida, because of his environmental record related to the St. Johns River and Rice Creek. He approved a pipeline that would have allowed the Georgia Pacific’s plant in Palatka, Florida, to carry waste into the St. Johns River if pollution levels became too high in Rice Creek, the customary depository for the chemicals. When the levels in Rice creek did become too high, environmentalists opposed the pipeline, while Georgia Pacific advocated for it. Ultimately, Bush left office before the pipeline was constructed, but the conflict still lingers. Scott Arceneaux, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party, said of Bush’s environmental record on Tuesday, “He’s going to run on his record here (in Florida) why he should be President. We’re going to remind folks about all the things he didn’t do.” (TIME)
- Jeb Bush spoke about gun control issues at a Miami high school on Tuesday. He said, “The federal government shouldn't be involved in gun laws because the country's very different.” He went on to illustrate his point by pointing to the variety of cultures and social settings that exist in America which, according to Bush, ultimately require different gun laws and modes of governing. The Democratic National Committee tweeted this criticism of the statements: “Bush saying the federal government shouldn't be involved in gun laws is so extreme we need to show you the video.” In addition, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, “In claiming that there is no role for the federal government in regulating gun safety, Jeb Bush is insisting that Americans simply must accept future violence and leave a response to the possibility of a state-by-state solution. I am speechless.” Hillary Clinton also criticized his remarks on Twitter. (CNN Politics, The Blaze)
Ben Carson
- After learning that CNN changed the rules so that Carly Fiorina can make it onto the main debate stage in September, Ben Carson posted on Facebook: “I am pleased to learn that CNN has decided to change their program format to specifically include Carly Fiorina on the platform for the prime time September 16 Republican Debate. Carly has proven her viability and standing and deserves the same platform as the rest of the candidates. I would add that I urge CNN to revise their format to include all other candidates in the prime time debate as well. I have advocated since early May that no qualified candidate be excluded and that the Republican Party and the American people are best served with an active, open and transparent process. An all-inclusive debate format meets that objective.” (Facebook)
- According to Armstrong Williams, a Washington Times columnist and Ben Carson’s business partner, “Dr. Carson’s appeal is that he’s as American as apple pie and Chevrolet and football and baseball.” (Washington Times)
Chris Christie
- In a Fox News interview on Sunday, Chris Christie responded to comments from Hillary Clinton that likened Republican positions on women’s rights to those of terrorists. He said, “That’s a disgrace. She’s a disgrace. … I’m not going to be somebody who lets somebody stand up and call my party terrorists. She’s a disgrace for saying that, for comparing Republicans to terrorist groups — that’s awful. […] Can you imagine if we compared the Democratic Party to terrorist groups? Can you imagine the outrage in the mainstream media for that? Yet, she stood up and said that Republicans are like terrorist groups.” He also claimed that Clinton is avoiding the issue and “doesn’t even want to talk about what’s really going on at Planned Parenthood.” (Life News, Fox News)
- Christie appeared on the “Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon on Monday, where he told a story about a visit with Mitt Romney and talked generally about Donald Trump and the ups and downs of campaigns. (Washington Times, Hollywood Reporter)
Ted Cruz
- State Sen. Bill Stanley, (R-Franklin County), will serve as state chairman in Virginia for Ted Cruz. (The Roanoke Times)
- Cruz stated opposition to the Iran deal in an interview with American Thinker. “The U.S. and Israel are joined by the Iranian rhetoric that calls Israel ‘The Little Satan,’ and the U.S. ‘The Big Satan.’ Their intention is to murder both of us. We face an enemy that hates us and has been very explicit that they intend to do everything they can to kill Israelis and us. These enemies are driven by a radical theological view that glorifies death and suicide. This deal harkens back to the Munich Deal of 1938, allowing homicidal maniacs to acquire weapons of mass murder,” said Cruz. He continued, “The Obama Administration will become the leading financier of radical Islamist terrorism. Billions of dollars will go to Iran that will be passed on to terrorists across the world to murder Americans and Israelis. A consequence of this deal will be that the Obama administration will have directly financed the next 9/11.” (American Thinker)
Carly Fiorina
- In response to a video that captured a Kentucky government employee refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, Carly Fiorina stated that as a government employee the clerk’s actions were “not appropriate” and that the woman had a difficult decision to make. She said, “while I disagree with this court’s decision, their actions are clear. And so I think in this particular case. This woman now needs to make a decision that’s conscious — is she prepared to continue to work for the government, be paid for by the government in which case she needs to execute the government’s will, or does she feel so strongly about this that she wants to sever her employment with the government and go seek employment elsewhere where her religious liberties would be paramount over her duties as as [sic] government employee.” (New York Times, The Blaze, Bloomberg Politics)
- Carly Fiorina and John Kasich will participate in the Milford Labor Day Parade in New Hampshire on Monday. (New Hampshire Union Leader)
Lindsey Graham
- Lindsey Graham called on a Kentucky clerk refusing to give out same-sex marriage licenses to “comply with the law or resign.” He also stated, “The rule of law is the rule of law,” and said that while he himself supports traditional marriage and appreciates “her conviction” he believes “she’s accepted a job in which she has to apply the law to everyone.” (New York Times, Huffington Post)
- On Tuesday, Graham filed paperwork with the State Republican Party for the GOP primary in South Carolina, his home state. (The Post and Courier)
- Graham rallied outside of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) Manhattan office on Tuesday evening with several hundred protesters to protest her endorsement of the Iran nuclear deal. (Observer)
- On Tuesday, Lindsey Graham said that he thought voters would ultimately turn away from Ben Carson because he lacks foreign policy experience. “I don't know what Dr. Carson's done over the last 10 years other than surgery, which is amazing, it's something I couldn't do. But over the last decade I've been going to Iraq and Afghanistan, for over 35 times, learning from my mistakes, Bush's mistakes, Obama's mistakes,” said Graham. (CNN Politics)
- Graham said on Monday, “If I were in charge of the Republican Party, nobody would be appearing on a debate stage as a Republican until they committed to run as a Republican.” (The State)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee’s campaign announced on Tuesday that Sen. Mike Rounds, (R-S.D.) endorsed Huckabee. “Gov. Mike Huckabee has the right combination of executive experience, electability and conservative convictions we need to take back the White House and take America from Hope to Higher Ground,” said Rounds. (CNN Politics)
- Huckabee called Biden a “73-year-old gaffe-master” and said it was “remarkable” that Democrats are looking to him as a candidate. (BuzzFeed)
John Kasich
- John Kasich and Carly Fiorina will participate in the Milford Labor Day Parade in New Hampshire on Monday. (New Hampshire Union Leader)
- Dante Vitagliano left Rick Perry’s campaign, where he served as political director for New Hampshire, and joined John Kasich’s campaign this week. (CBS News)
- On the road in Michigan, Kasich put forth his views on infrastructure and government regulation. “Let's keep our own money in our own states to do what we want with our own regulations, not with them scooping stuff off the top,” Kasich said. After the speech, Kasich stated in an interview with MLive, “You've got to maintain the interstate, but look that's a (federal) committee, they play a lot of pork. Why would we send our money there so they can send less back?” (MLive)
- In an exchange with Laura Ingraham on Tuesday, John Kasich supported the Fourteenth Amendment and birthright citizenship. Kasich also said that people should “count their blessings here in the United States of America” rather than continually focusing on all of the problems, in response to Ingraham’s statement that people object to the Fourteenth Amendment because of the practices relating to “anchor” babies. (Breitbart, Real Clear Politics)
Bobby Jindal
- Bobby Jindal responded to the Department of Justice’s court filing arguing that he could not defund Planned Parenthood by tweeting, “Obama directed the DOJ to sue me for canceling Planned Parenthood's Medicaid contract. I’m not backing down.” He included a link to a petition on his campaign website asking voters to stand with him. (Bobby Jindal for President, Twitter)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul commented that “putting a wall up between us and Canada is sort of a ridiculous notion,” in response to Walker’s suggestion that it should be considered. He went on to say that “the biggest thing we need to do is have a functioning immigration system, with a good work program.” (Washington Post)
- Rand Paul is releasing a smartphone app today that features games, calendar updates and more. (New York Times)
- In response to the video showing a Kentucky clerk refuse to give out same-sex marriage licenses this week, Rand Paul said, “I think people who do stand up and are making a stand to say that they believe in something is an important part of the American way.” (Washington Post)
Rick Perry
- Dante Vitagliano left Rick Perry’s campaign, where he served as political director for New Hampshire, and joined John Kasich’s campaign this week. (CBS News)
Marco Rubio
- In Carson City, Nevada, on Tuesday, Marco Rubio stated that a federal Department of Education was unnecessary and often led to mandates tied to funding. He went on to support local control of education reform. (US News)
- Marco Rubio has received over $3 million in donations in campaign and super PAC contributions from the tech industry. Larry Ellison, who is the founder of the software firm Oracle, donated $3 million alone to Rubio’s Conservative Solutions super PAC. (Think Progress)
- Rubio is scheduled to visit Puerto Rico this Friday. (Newser)
Rick Santorum
- Rick Santorum completed the “full Grassley” on Tuesday, having visited all 99 counties in Iowa. (MSNBC)
Donald Trump
- Trump responded to Jeb Bush’s new offensive on Tuesday that labeled him as a true liberal and false conservative. He said, “In New York City, everybody was a Democrat. There was almost no election because the Republicans hardly existed in New York City.” (CNN Politics)
- Donald Trump met with Javier Palomarez, the CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, privately in New York on Tuesday. According to Palomarez, Trump expressed that he wanted the Hispanic vote, saying, “I want it. I feel like I've been mischaracterized and treated unfairly and my name has been slandered to some extent with this audience.” Trump’s spokesperson confirmed the meeting, but did not comment any further. (CNN Politics)
- Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin called Trump's comments that Abedin may have shared state secrets with him “insulting” and "outrageous." (ABC News)
- A spokeswoman for China said of Trump’s comments on China that, “Everyone has the right to air his or her personal opinion, but it is the policies towards China adopted by the U.S. government and the mainstream opinion of the U.S. people that we value more.” (CNN Politics)
Scott Walker
- In a newly released interview with John Harwood of CNBC on Tuesday, Scott Walker commented on which states will make a difference in the 2016 election outcome. “The nation as a whole is not going to elect the next president, 12 states are," said Walker. He continued, “Wisconsin's one of them. I'm sitting in another one right now, New Hampshire. There's going to be Colorado, where I was born, Iowa, where I lived, Ohio, Florida, a handful of other states. In total, it's about 11 or 12 states that are going elect the next president.” (CNN Politics)
- The State Patrol in Madison, Wisconsin, is cutting a $4-per-hour raise for Walker’s security detail after it was discovered that members of the detail were owed more than two years of overtime pay. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Walker appeared on Fox News for an interview on Tuesday to discuss the economy, foreign affairs and the northern border. Walker said of China, “If there is ever a time we are going to push back, isn’t it now? I mean what more do they have to do before we say 'no a state visit is not appropriate.” He also stated about the U.S. economy, “I think we grow it by growing the economy out in cities towns and villages across this country. The best thing we can do is get the government out of the way.” (Fox Business)
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
