TRUMP vs TED CRUZ, WHO'S LYING? (NATIONAL ENQUIRER STORY)

TRUMP vs TED CRUZ, WHO'S LYING? (NATIONAL ENQUIRER STORY)

REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED TO BEN CARSON IN IOWA.

CRUZ APPEARS TO BE VERY VINDICTIVE

Sources: ABC News, Fox News, Law Newz, National Enquirer, NY Times, Salon, Stefan Molyneaux, YouTube

He said, He said.

As it relates to a story published recently by the National Enquirer regarding U.S. Senator Ted Cruz engaging in alleged extramarital affairs with at least 5 different women, many inquiring minds are no longer just taking Cruz's word that his nemesis planted the story.

Since the National Enquirer is willing to go to court over this story, many voters are now beginning to question Cruz's character.

So who is telling the TRUTH?

Are voters finally beginning to see Ted Cruz for who he really is?

Or do voters believe Trump may have played a small part in the Cruz story being published even though it's widely rumored that Marco Rubio's supporters may have leaked this info to the National Enquirer in retaliation for Cruz exposing Rubio's alleged Gay past?

Stay Tuned

Let's not forget what happened to Ben Carson in Iowa.

Cruz appears to be a very Vindictive man.

***** Experts: Ted Cruz Appears Deceptive in His Response to Sex Scandal Story

Phil Houston is CEO of QVerity, a training and consulting company specializing in detecting deception by employing a model he developed while at the Central Intelligence Agency. He has conducted thousands of interviews and interrogations for the CIA and other federal agencies. His colleague Don Tennant contributed to this report.

The eyebrow-raising story that appeared earlier this week in the National Enquirer, citing claims that Sen. Ted Cruz had engaged in five extramarital affairs, drew a sharp response from the Republican presidential contender. Sharp as it was, however, it was strikingly weak in terms of denial, and strong in terms of attack. And that combination is a telltale sign of deception that leads us to conclude that this is a matter that warrants further investigation.

The statement that Cruz released on his Facebook page on Friday immediately drew our attention:

“I want to be crystal clear: these attacks are garbage. For Donald J. Trump to enlist his friends at the National Enquirer and his political henchmen to do his bidding shows you that there is no low Donald won’t go. These smears are completely false, they’re offensive to Heidi and me, they’re offensive to our daughters, and they’re offensive to everyone Donald continues to personally attack. Donald Trump’s consistently disgraceful behavior is beneath the office we are seeking and we are not going to follow.”

Subsequently speaking about the matter, Cruz echoed that sentiment, with even more intensity (you can watch below). He said:

“The National Enquirer published a story. It is a story that quoted one source on the record: Roger Stone, Donald Trump’s chief political advisor. Let me be clear, this National Enquirer story is garbage. It is complete and utter lies. It is a tabloid smear, and it is a smear that has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen. It is attacking my family, and what is striking is Donald’s henchman, Roger Stone, had for months been foreshadowing that this attack was coming. It’s not surprising that Donald Trump’s tweet occurs the day before the attack comes out. And I would note that Mr. Stone is a man who has 50 years of dirty tricks behind him. He’s a man for whom a term was coined for copulating with a rodent. Well let me be clear: Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him. And this garbage does not belong in politics. The National Enquirer has endorsed Donald Trump, has said he must be President. And so Donald, when he’s losing, when he’s scared, when Republicans are uniting against him, decides to peddle sleaze and slime. You know, Donald is fond of giving people nicknames. With this pattern, he should not be surprised to see people calling him, ‘Sleazy Donald.’”

We should note that these two statements constitute the only material that we currently have at our disposal to analyze, which is far from ideal. Obviously, the more material available for analysis, the greater our confidence in our findings. With that said, however, we were struck by the volume of deceptive behavior that we identified in these statements.

Behaviorally, when the facts are the ally of an individual, he or she almost always tends to focus on the facts of the matter at hand. In this case, if the key fact was that he had not had these affairs, Cruz would almost certainly have been much more strongly focused on the denial. That is, he very likely would have made a point of explicitly stating something along the lines of, “I did not have these affairs.”

Yet at no point in either statement did Cruz say that. He implied it by saying the allegations are false, and that they’re lies, but behaviorally, such statements are not equivalent to saying he never had the affairs. Even if we were to overlook that fact and consider his statements to be a denial, there is an overwhelmingly higher proportion of attack behavior compared to the effort expended at denial. This type of lopsided attack-to-denial ratio is very consistent with what we have historically seen with deceptive people when allegations are levied against them.

Given the lack of additional information upon which to conduct a more comprehensive behavioral analysis, this is nothing more than our initial opinion and assessment, and we will continue to follow this matter very closely. At the same time, we cannot help but conclude at this point that it’s not looking good for Sen. Cruz.

IOWA VOTERS GET OUT THE VOTE & SUPPORT THE GOP (AMERICA'S FUTURE)

IOWA VOTERS GET OUT THE VOTE & SUPPORT THE GOP:

IOWA CAUCUSES - FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Attention IOWA Voters:

If you want to see the United States of America return to GREATNESS, please cast your ballots for a GOP candidate.

I highly recommend DONALD TRUMP but as long as you support the GOP, you are voting to rebuild America.

If you want the Status Quo, vote DEMOCRAT.

If you want GREATNESS even as a BLACK voter, then consider casting your ballot for the GOP.

Get Out The Vote February 1, 2016 In IOWA!


*** As Iowa Caucus Vote Nears, Trump, Sanders Bet On High Turnout For An Edge

Real estate mogul Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made a final push Monday to coax non-traditional voters to the caucuses here, even as their chief rivals suggested well-tested organizing tactics would give them the crucial margin of victory instead.

As the first nominating contest of the 2016 election approached in Iowa, Trump expressed cautious optimism and launched a harsh attack against his chief caucus rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.).
Republican officials anticipate a record turnout given the enthusiasm surrounding Trump’s candidacy.

“You have to be a little bit nervous, and you know I like to win,” Trump said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” show on Monday morning. “This is actually my first election night. I’ve gone through many election nights, but it was always for somebody else.”

“This is a little bit different for me,” he added.

Speaking in Waterloo, Iowa, several hours later, Trump blasted Cruz as a politician indebted to special oil interests. He told voters that his chief caucus rival would without a doubt end the federal renewable fuels standard, a key issue in the state.

“I don’t want to use names but I will, okay? I’m looking at the money put up by Ted Cruz, for Ted Cruz. It’s incredible, the people there. It’s controlled. And he will destroy your ethanol business 100 percent. One hundred percent,” he said. “He’s financed by oil people and the oil people don’t want ethanol, it’s very simple. Your ethanol business, if Ted Cruz gets in, will be wiped out within six months to a year. It’s going to be gone. It’s going to be gone.”

With a massive winter storm looming for the Hawkeye State on Monday night, the campaigns in both parties have closely monitored weather conditions to estimate how voter turnout might be affected.

Front-runners and long shots alike are counting on their supporters to push them over the top in Monday evening’s caucuses, which will come just hours before a massive winter storm is expected to descend on the state.

“We’ve got such a great campaign organization. We’ve got thousands of volunteers. We knocked on 125,000 doors this weekend. There’s just so much excitement,” Clinton said on NBC’s “Today” show Monday morning. “We hope that even though it’s a tight race, a lot of the people who are committed to caucusing for me will be there and standing up for me. And I will do the same for them in the campaign and in the presidency.”

There is no question that the lack of an incumbent candidate, coupled with the unconventional style of several candidates, has sparked Iowans’ interest in the race this year. Jeff Kaufmann, who chairs the Iowa Republican Party, said his office has been receiving five to six times as many calls compared to past years.

“The phone calls at the Republican Party of Iowa headquarters are absolutely unprecedented. I mean, we’re looking at 100 an hour, literally,” he said. “Now, obviously, not all of that is tied to Donald Trump. There’s also a lot of these calls that are going to a variety of candidates.

But I think that’s a sign of the enthusiasm.”


Sources: Washington Post, Youtube

RUBIO, BUSH, CRUZ & PAUL DEBATE AMNESTY IN IOWA

RUBIO, BUSH, CRUZ & PAUL DEBATE AMNESTY IN IOWA:

Sources: Fox News, Google, Youtube

MIKE HUCKABEE SCHOOLS MEDIA ON FAIR COVERAGE & HELPING THE POOR (LIVE IN IOWA)

MIKE HUCKABEE SCHOOLS MEDIA ON FAIR COVERAGE & HELPING THE POOR (LIVE IN IOWA):

Almost immediately after participating in the Undercard Debate in Iowa, 2016 GOP Presidential candidate MIKE HUCKABEE kindly granted interviews with members of the Media.

Surrounded by a sea of Journalists and Media reps, I was finally able to get close enough to capture 3 minutes of Gov Huckabee discussing his campaign receiving unfair air time and the best strategy for helping lift Poor people out of Poverty.

Sources:  Fox News, Google, Youtube

DONALD TRUMP REMAINS FOCUS OF IOWA GOP DEBATE IN ABSENTIA (HELPS FORGOTTEN VETS)

DONALD TRUMP REMAINS FOCUS OF IOWA GOP DEBATE IN ABSENTIA:

TRUMP USES HIS INFLUENCE TO HELP FORGOTTEN VETS.

DES MOINES REPRESENTS THE VOICE OF MIDDLE AMERICA.

Even after pulling out of the GOP Iowa Debate, 2016 presidential Frontrunner Donald Trump remains the focus of Thursday night's event.

Instead of participating in the 2016 Iowa GOP debate, Mr Trump will host another event to raise a ton of money to help our nation's Wounded VETS.

Since no one else seems to care about our nation's VETS, it's nice to see a busy Business Mogul such as Donald Trump choosing to use his influence to help VETS.

I support Mr Trump's decision not to attend the Iowa debate because his absence is helping to revise the Political process as it relates to electing a new president.

American voters are tired of Status Quo Politics which is controlled entirely by super Wealthy donors.

By refusing to play old Political games, Mr Trump is forcing both the Republican and Democrat parties to return the election process back into the hands everyday American voters as mandated by the U.S. Constitution (12th amendment; article 2).

For example:
Everyday hardworking people like the citizens of DES MOINES, Iowa.

Sources: CBS News, Youtube

2016 GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE - IOWA EVENTS CENTER (LIVE COVERAGE)

@Iowa

2016 GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE - IOWA EVENTS CENTER:

LIVE COVERAGE, FOX NEWS NETWORK, 7PM & 9PM ET

Hosted by Fox News & Google


*** UNDERCARD DEBATE LINE UP:

7pm ET (6pm CT, 5pm MT, 4pm PT)

MODERATORS: Martha MacCallum and Bill Hemmer

CANDIDATES: Fiorina, Huckabee, Santorum, Gilmore

**** PRIMETIME DEBATE:

9pm ET (8pm CT, 7pm MT, 6pm PT)

MODERATORS: Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace

CANDIDATES: Trump*, Cruz, Rubio, Carson, Bush, Christie, Kasich, Paul


*Trump has stated he will not participate in this debate.


Sources: Fox News, US Presidential Election News

TRUMP TO SKIP FOX NEWS IOWA DEBATE

@FoxNews

TRUMP TO SKIP FOX NEWS IOWA DEBATE:

Post Sources:  CNN, YouTube

Tuesday evening during a rally in IOWA after an Endorsement from Arizona Sheriff JOE ARPAIO, 2016 GOP presidential Frontrunner DONALD TRUMP announced he will skip the Fox News IOWA debate.

Trump states he will instead attend an event to raise money for Wounded VETS.

Trump also mentioned how the Democrat presidential candidates have completed all their debates and that "it's time for the GOP to grow up and stop playing games with endless debates".

TRUMP GAINS ENDORSEMENT FROM SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO

@JoeArpaio

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO TO ENDORSE TRUMP IN IOWA:

MORE CONSERVATIVES & BLUE-COLLAR VOTERS SUPPORTING TRUMP.

BLACK VOTERS ARE COMING ONBOARD TOO.

Joe Arpaio, the hard-line anti-immigration sheriff from Maricopa County, Ariz., will appear with Donald J. Trump in Iowa on Tuesday and endorse his candidacy, according to Mr. Trump’s campaign.

Mr. Arpaio, who espouses some of the Republican Party’s most conservative views about undocumented immigrants, will appear with Mr. Trump in Marshalltown, a month after appearing with Mr. Trump in Arizona. Mr. Trump has made combating illegal immigration a staple of his candidacy, including a proposal to build a wall at the southern border.

“I have great respect for Sheriff Arpaio,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “We must restore law and order and respect the men and women of our police forces. I thank him for his support of my policies and candidacy for president.”

In a statement released by the campaign, Mr. Arapaio said: “Donald Trump is a leader. He produces results and is ready to get tough in order to protect American jobs and families. I have fought on the front lines to prevent illegal immigration. and I know Donald Trump will stand with me and countless Americans to secure our border. I am proud to support him as the best candidate for president of the United States of America.”

Mr. Arpaio’s endorsement is part of Mr. Trump’s closing argument ahead of the Iowa caucuses, focusing on immigration, the issue that helped him dominate the political discussion in 2015. 

A day earlier, Mr. Trump’s aides announced that Stephen Miller, an aide to Senator Jeff Sessions of Arizona, is joining his team as a policy adviser. Mr. Sessions is a conservative Republican who has spoken out forcefully against a comprehensive immigration reform bill. 

But Mr. Sessions has also been cited by Senator Ted Cruz, Mr. Trump’s main opponent in the Iowa caucuses, as he has fended off questions about his own commitment to dealing with the subject of undocumented immigrants.

Sources:  NY Times, CBS News, YouTube

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/az-sheriff-joe-arpaio-endorses-donald-trump-for-president/

TRUMP ENDORSED BY JERRY FALLWELL JR & JOHN ROCKER

@JerryFalwelljr

@JohnRocker

TRUMP ENDORSED BY JERRY FALLWELL JR &  JOHN ROCKER:

CONSERVATIVES & OTHER VOTING BLOCS SUPPORT TRUMP.

2016 VOTERS ARE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN.


Sources:  NY Daily News, Esquire, Fox News, Youtube

**** Jerry Falwell, Jr. Endorses Donald Trump's 2016 Bid

Jerry Falwell, Jr., the evangelical leader and president of Liberty University, endorsed Donald Trump's 2016 bid Tuesday, calling the GOP front-runner "a wonderful father and man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again."

In a statement issued just days before the critical Iowa caucuses, Falwell, the son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, also called Trump a "successful executive and entrepreneur."

Trump, who is leading polls for the GOP nomination nationally and in the early-voting state of Iowa, issued a statement after Falwell's announcement, lauding the leader for his support.

"It is truly an honor to receive Jerry's endorsement. Not only is he a high-quality person, with a wonderful family, whom I have great respect for — I also consider him a very good friend and his support means so much to me," Trump said.

News of the endorsement was first reported by The Washington Post.

Falwell's support had generally been expected since Trump's sunny visit to Liberty University last week.

During his speech at the Lynchburg, Va., Christian school, Trump was repeatedly praised by Falwell, who called the thrice-married bombastic billionaire a "breath of fresh air" and compared his blunt style to that of Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ.

Falwell also suggested that presidential candidates should not be judged on their religiosity, noting that his father was criticized for supporting Ronald Reagan, a divorced Hollywood actor, over Jimmy Carter, a southern Baptist Sunday school teacher.

His enthusiastic support signals that Trump's efforts to appeal to evangelical Christians — an important Republican voting bloc in Iowa and nationally — have been successful.

The endorsement is Trump's second big one in as many weeks. Last week, he received the support of Tea Party champion and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, another favorite among evangelicals.

Both announcements are simultaneously seen as big losses for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running a close second to Trump in Iowa.

Separately, Trump was also endorsed Tuesday by disgraced baseball player John Rocker.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, Rocker, who infamously dissed New Yorkers in a 2000 hate-filled interview, said he was “absolutely” supporting Trump.

“I think he has really woken America up,” said Rocker, who is best known for his venomous rant in the January 2000 issue of “Sports Illustrated,” in which he spitefully attacked New York’s minorities, gays and immigrants.

“Nowhere else in the country do people spit at you, throw bottles at you, throw quarters at you, throw batteries at you and say, ‘Hey, I did your mother last night — she’s a whore,’” Rocker said then. “I talked about what degenerates they (Mets fans) were, and they proved me right. Just by saying something, I could make them mad enough to go home and slap their moms.”

“It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're (riding through) Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids,” Rocker said of New York. “It's depressing.”

TRUMP MAINTAINS LEAD AS GOP FRONTRUNNER; PREDICTED TO BE NOMINEE

@realDonaldTrump

TRUMP MAINTAINS LEAD AS GOP FRONTRUNNER; PREDICTED TO BE NOMINEE:

NEITHER CRUZ NOR RUBIO CAN DEFEAT HILLARY ONLY TRUMP.


*** GOPers Call Trump the Likely Winner; His Lead Stays Big, With Cruz Behind

Donald Trump holds his lead for the GOP nomination and has soared in expectations: 64 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents now expect him to be the party’s nominee, up sharply in the last two months.

Expectations that Trump will win the nomination have jumped by 25 percentage points since November among Republican-leaning voters in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Two-thirds also say they’d accept him as their party’s nominee. And he’s seen by 56 percent as their most electable nominee in the general election this fall.

Trump has 37 percent support nationally among Republicans who are registered to vote, unchanged from last month (with no bounce from his endorsement by Sarah Palin).

Ted Cruz has advanced by a slight 6 points from last month, and 15 points from October, to a clear, if somewhat distant, second place, with 21 percent. Marco Rubio’s in the third slot, 11 percent, with all others in the single digits in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.

Rubio appears to have a stand-in shot – he does well as a second choice, selected by 23 percent now vs. 14 percent last month.

Ben Carson, for his part, has continued to crater, showing the sometime changeability of voter preferences: he’s gone from 22 percent two months ago to 7 percent now, almost precisely swapping places with Cruz.

There’s essentially no change among lower-tier candidates – 5 percent for Jeb Bush, 4 percent for Chris Christie, 3 percent for Carly Fiorina, 2 percent apiece for John Kasich and Mike Huckabee,

1 percent for Rand Paul and less than that for Rick Santorum.

These standings reflect, above all, two factors:

The strength of leaned Republicans’ interest in a candidate from outside the political establishment, and the power of anti-immigrant views in the party.

Statistical analysis finds that these two are the single strongest independent predictors of supporting Trump vs. any of his opponents. They’re also issues on which the rest of the public differs dramatically from prevailing GOP sentiment, raising challenges for the party in the general election ahead.

Underscoring party preferences for an outsider, it’s the more traditional GOP candidates – Bush and Christie – who are less apt to be rated as acceptable nominees. Just 52 percent of leaned Republicans see either as acceptable; Rubio, Cruz, Trump and Carson all do better on this score, rated as acceptable by 67, 66, 65 and 62 percent, respectively.

Strength

Fifty-six percent of leaned Republicans have a favorable opinion of Palin (unlike the rest of the public, who view her unfavorably by a broad 69-16 percent). That said, her endorsement of Trump last week shows no impact on vote preferences: His support is unchanged from its pre-endorsement level.

Ten percent of leaned Republicans say the endorsement makes them more likely to support Trump, but as many, 9 percent, say it makes them less likely to do so. Most by far, 81 percent, say it makes no difference to their vote.
Endorsements customarily don’t change preferences but, at best, reinforce them.

And Trump’s support appears strong: Fifty-seven percent of his backers say they’ll definitely support him; among all other GOP candidates combined, strength of support declines to 35 percent, with the rest saying they may yet change their minds.

Additionally, Trump’s support is essentially the same whether it’s among all registered leaned Republicans or those indicating they’re most likely to vote in the caucus or primary in their state.

And there are no meaningful divisions in his support among key GOP groups – e.g., whether mainline Republicans or independents, evangelicals or not, or by strength of ideology (moderates vs. somewhat conservatives vs. strong conservatives).
He continues to do somewhat better with lower-income leaned Republicans; differences by education and gender have faded.

Cruz, by contrast, does best with strong conservatives and evangelicals, and better with men than with women.

Trump’s support, as noted, continues to spring from anti-establishment and anti-immigrant sentiment within the GOP, buttressed by economic discontent and by a broad sense among the rank and file that he’d be the party’s most electable pick.

Among those results:

• His backing soars to 53 percent among leaned Republicans who strongly feel that immigrants weaken U.S. society, vs. 24 percent among those who think immigrants strengthen this country.
The former view is far more prevalent within the GOP.

• Leaned Republicans by 54-42 percent chiefly want a candidate from outside the political establishment. Among those who are in the anti-establishment group, and registered to vote, 51 percent pick Trump over his 10 rivals tested in this poll.

Among those who are very worried about their economic prospects (27 percent of registered leaned Republicans), Trump gets 45 percent support, vs. 28 percent among those who aren’t worried.

• Fifty-one percent think Trump is the best choice to bring needed change to Washington, perhaps the single most crucial attribute to leaned Republicans – 83 percent of whom express dissatisfaction or even anger with the way things are working in the capital.

• As noted, 56 percent of leaned Republicans think Trump has the best chance to win the general election in November, up 9 points from last month.

And the sharp increase in expectations that he’ll win the party’s nomination has been broadly based, occurring across GOP groups. While attitudes certainly can shift with events, some academic work has suggested that public expectations for who’ll win an election can be credible predictors of actual outcomes.

These results, in any case, are intended to explore how Americans across the country are approaching the election – their issues and attributes that matter to them and how these play out, among various groups, in candidate preferences.

The results don’t forecast the outcome of any individual caucus or primary.

Low-turnout events such as caucuses can be heavily influenced by effective get-out-the-vote operations and by prevalent population groups; high numbers of evangelical Christians, for instance, often participate in Iowa caucuses.

Primaries have their own dynamics; in New Hampshire’s, for example, independent voters are unusually numerous.

In an ABC/Post poll in December 2011, Newt Gingrich had 30 percent support nationally and Santorum had 4 percent; in the Iowa caucus the next month, by contrast, Gingrich won 13 percent of the vote, Santorum 25 percent. It was Mitt Romney – co-leader in the national poll, and co-leader in the Iowa caucus results – who went on to win the nomination.

(And Romney consistently led in expectations leading up to the 2012 primaries, even as many of his rivals opened up sometimes sizable leads against him in vote intention questions.)

It’s worth noting, as well, that even among Trump’s supporters 42 percent say they may yet change their minds, as do 64 percent of those supporting other candidates. That makes for plenty of room for movement as the contest unfolds in the weeks ahead.

Attributes/Issues

Trump has less of an advantage on some personal attributes – notably on having the best personality and temperament to serve as president (24 percent pick Cruz on this attribute, despite his alleged lack of collegiality, vs. Trump’s 22 percent) and honesty and trustworthiness (Trump 27 percent, Carson 24, Cruz 17).

In being “closest to you on the issues” 36 percent pick Trump, but Cruz, at 20 percent, has moved up, with a 12-point gain since fall.

Trump, separately, leads on most issues: Fifty-five percent pick him as best able to handle the economy, up 8 points from December. Fifty percent prefer him on regulating banks and financial institutions.

And he continues to lead widely in trust to handle terrorism and immigration issues.

That said, Trump does notably less well in trust to handle a major international crisis; he’s selected by 31 percent on this issue vs. Cruz’s 23 percent and Bush’s 17 percent – one area in which his rivals might find ammunition.

Reps vs. the rest

In a data analysis assessing the strongest independent correlates of vote preference for Trump, desire for an outsider is the single strongest factor, followed by anti-immigration views.

Desiring an outsider, in turn, is independently related to an index of broader discontent, including anger at the way the government is working; a sense that government is part of the problem rather than part of the solution; views that the country’s best days are behind it; whether it’s on the wrong track; a sense that one’s own values are losing ground in society; and economic anxiety.

A challenge for the GOP, looking ahead, is the extent to which leaned Republicans differ from the rest of the public on many such measures.

While 54 percent of leaned Republicans are looking chiefly for an outsider, among all other Americans, 75 percent prefer a candidate with experience in how the political system works.

While 50 percent of leaned Republicans say immigrants mainly weaken U.S. society, 66 percent of others say they mainly strengthen it.

And there’s a vast 45-point difference in views on whether the country’s on the wrong track.

Leaned Republicans also are 27 points more apt than others to see government as part of the problem;

twice as likely to be angry about it; 17 points more likely to see America’s best days as behind it; and 15 points more apt to say their own values are losing ground in society today.

Economic worry is the only one of these in which significant differences aren’t evident.

On the others, whichever Republican wins the nomination, there will be substantial work ahead in reconciling world views within the GOP with those beyond it.

Methodology

This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Jan. 21-24, 2016, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults.

Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including the design effect, for the full sample;
4 points for all registered voters; and 5.5 points for registered leaned Republicans.
Partisan divisions are 34-23-34 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents.

The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York, N.Y.


Sources: ABC News, ABC News/Washington Post Poll, CNN, Langer Research Associates, Youtube

SANDERS & HILLARY WIN CNN IOWA DEM TOWNHALL DEBATE (BEST MOMENTS)

@Iowa

SANDERS & HILLARY WIN CNN IOWA DEM TOWNHALL DEBATE:

O’MALLEY WAS GOOD BUT IT’S TOO LATE FOR HIM TO CATCH UP IN 2016.


*** 5 Takeaways From The Iowa Democratic Town Hall

Hillary Clinton says she's a "proven fighter." Bernie Sanders says that while experience is important, "it is not the only thing" that Democratic voters should weigh. And Martin O'Malley took off his jacket.

Clinton, Sanders and O'Malley made their closing arguments to Iowa voters Monday night during a CNN televised town hall hosted by Drake University and the Iowa Democratic Party, just one week before the state's voters head to the caucuses and have the first say in deciding the parties' nominees.

Sanders on the attack

Sanders offered plenty of kind words for Clinton, telling the audience he likes and respects her. Then, barely a minute later, he unloaded a withering attack on the former secretary of state.

He rebutted Clinton's argument that her broad experience makes her qualified for the presidency in a way a one-note candidate like Sanders never could be, leaning again and again on one word:

 Iraq

As in: She was for the war in 2002; he was against it.

"Experience is important, but it is not the only thing," Sanders said, invoking the exceptionally experienced former Vice President Dick Cheney as he attacked Clinton for the same vote that President Barack Obama hammered her over in the 2008 Democratic primary.

Sanders turned months' worth of his best Clinton punches into a rapid-fire combination, hitting her on Wall Street, free trade, the Keystone pipeline, Social Security and gun control.

The theme each time: Clinton only has your back when it's convenient.

On the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Keystone pipeline, he cast Clinton as a late-comer to the opposition who waited to read the political tea leaves before announcing her stance.

"On day one, I said the Keystone Pipeline is a dumb idea," Sanders said, later adding, "Why did it take Hillary Clinton such a long time before she came into opposition to the Keystone Pipeline?"

On Wall Street: "I led the effort against Wall Street deregulation. See where Hillary Clinton was on this issue."

On Social Security: "Ask Hillary Clinton if she's prepared to lift the cap on taxable income."

On gun control -- the issue over which Clinton has hit Sanders the hardest -- he told voters to rewind the tape to 2007, when "she also focused on that issue, but she thought that Obama was too strong on gun issues, and you may remember him referring to her as Annie Oakley."

Clinton the fighter

The phrase Clinton wants stuck in Democratic caucus-goers' heads is "proven fighter."

She delivered it while answering a Sanders supporter's hostile question about younger voters' sense that she's dishonest -- turning it into one of her best moments, as she detailed a history of Republican attacks dating back to her early-1990s push for universal health care.

"They throw all this stuff at me, and I'm still standing," Clinton said, adding that the attacks come "because I've been on the front lines of change and progress since I was your age."
She turned optimistic, saying: "Don't get discouraged. It's hard. If it were easy, hey, there wouldn't be any contest. But it's not easy.

There are very different visions, different values, different forces at work, and you have to have somebody who is a proven fighter -- somebody who has taken them on and won, and kept going, and will do that as president."

Clinton's implication is that Sanders' ideas sound nice -- but have nowhere to go in Congress.

That was clear when his ad featuring the Simon & Garfunkel song "America" was played, and she smiled and complimented it as "fantastic" -- and paused -- and then said that she'd be the better president and commander-in-chief.
In an eat-your-peas moment, she gave a nod to CNN moderator Chris Cuomo's father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, who famously remarked that "you campaign in poetry; you govern in prose."

Clinton and Obama lovefest continues

President Barack Obama hasn't officially endorsed Clinton -- but he came close in an interview with Politico's Glenn Thrush, and Clinton said she was "really touched and gratified" when she read it.
She said the relationship between the one-time rivals had "turned into a real friendship."

Clinton underscored Obama's point that presidents can't predict the challenges they'll face at any moment -- saying that's exactly why she, not Sanders, is best prepared to handle the unexpected.
"He said, you know, you don't get to pick the issues you work on as president," Clinton said of Obama.

Really, though, it was just the latest episode of a show that's playing every day on the campaign trail, as Clinton bear-hugs Obama in event after event as she stakes her claim on his legacy.

By standing with Obama, Clinton plays up her own experience.

And by picking up the mantle of Obama's legacy, she also appeals to a broad segment of voters -- particularly minorities -- that he brought into the fold.
Those voters are key to stopping any momentum Sanders develops out of the largely white early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Sanders: I agree with Planned Parenthood, it's only their endorsement I don't like
Sanders may never be able to beat Clinton with older women -- but to win the Democratic nomination, he'll need to win over younger women.

That became a little harder last week when he referred to Planned Parenthood as "part of the establishment" as he dismissed the group's support for Clinton.

Sanders tried to explain himself Monday night, saying he was only questioning whether the endorsement from the group's leaders matched the views of its supporters.

"What I said on a television program, and I did not say it well, is that sometimes the base of an organization looks at the world a little bit differently than the leadership," Sanders said.

He pointed to his 100% pro-choice voting record and said the United States should expand funding for Planned Parenthood.

He added: "They are a fantastic organization. Count me in as somebody who strongly supports them."
It had become one of his biggest weaknesses, and a consistent Clinton campaign attack line.

The format could have helped Sanders: He had time to confront a young woman's challenging question and explain himself without a debate's 60-second clock cutting him off -- and without Clinton there to knock him off his feet.

The candidates show some personality

Sanders, the curmudgeonly 74-year-old who acts like he abhors the pageantry of campaigning, was ready to show a little personality Monday night.

His first line upon arriving on stage: "My wife told me to button my coat, but I think I'm too fat, so I'm going to keep it like this."

He discussed his parents -- particularly his father, who "came from Poland at the age of 17 without a nickel in his pocket, couldn't speak English, and he never made a lot of money" -- saying they'd never believe he was running for president.

He even bragged about Young Bernie, saying: "I was a very good athlete. I wouldn't say I was a great athlete. I was a pretty good basketball player. My elementary school in Brooklyn won the borough championship."

O'Malley, meanwhile, won some "whooos" from the crowd when he pulled off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves -- reminiscent of a famed "West Wing" episode -- even if it seemed awfully theatrical as he huffed at the idea he'd sit down through a town hall in Iowa, of all places.

And Clinton -- with apologies to Obama and her husband, Bill Clinton -- talked about her real favorite president: Abraham Lincoln.

She said his work in healing the country after the Civil War set the model, and had he not been killed, she suspects the United States "would've been a little less rancorous; a little more forgiving and tolerant."

Following Lincoln's lead, explaining what she'd do to work with Republicans,

Clinton offered something of a heads up to the congressional majority:

"I'm gonna be just givin' 'em all bear hugs."

Sources: CNN, Youtube

2016 PRES DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES DEBATE IN IOWA (CNN)

@CNNdemdebate

2016 PRES DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES DEBATE IN IOWA:

CNN NETWORK - MONDAY, JAN 25, 9PM ET


With only one week to go before the Iowa caucuses, the three remaining Democratic candidates for President will take the stage on CNN Monday night for a Town Hall event moderated by New Day anchor Chris Cuomo.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will all be participating in the event, which will be broadcast live from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

The event will begin at 9 p.m. ET and go until 11 p.m. ET on CNN and is just the latest campaign trail event that the network has landed. In the 2016 campaign already, CNN has hosted two Republican debates as well as a Democratic debate.

The Town Hall format, however, is not formally a “debate”, meaning that the three candidates will be speaking with Cuomo one-on-one. At no time will the three be on stage at the same time.

The Town Hall will also be live-streamed online and across mobile devices via CNNgo. CNN International and CNN en Espanol will also simulcast the Town Hall.

A special post-Town Hall edition of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon will air immediately following the event at 11 p.m.


Sources: CNN, Mediaite

SARAH PALIN ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP; RALLIES 2016 EVANGELICALS (TRUMP IS IT)

SARAH PALIN ENDORSES TRUMP; RALLIES 2016 EVANGELICALS:

JUST REMEMBER I TOLD YOU THAT TRUMP IS IT.

TRUMP IS FIERCE & HE WON'T BE ANOTHER MITT ROMNEY.

~ Sarah Palin Endorses Donald Trump, Rallying Conservatives

Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee who became a Tea Party sensation and a favorite of grass-roots conservatives, will endorse Donald J. Trump in Iowa on Tuesday, officials with his campaign confirmed. 

The endorsement provides Mr. Trump with a potentially significant boost just 13 days before the state’s caucuses.

“I’m proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for president,” Ms. Palin said in a statement provided by his campaign.

Her support is the highest-profile backing for a Republican contender so far.

“I am greatly honored to receive Sarah’s endorsement,” Mr. Trump said in a statement trumpeting Mrs. Palin’s decision. “She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support.”

In Iowa, where Ms. Palin spent years developing support, the endorsement could be especially helpful.

”Over the years Palin has actually cultivated a number of relationships in Iowa,” said Craig Robinson, the former executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa and publisher of the website The Iowa Republican. ”There are the Tea Party activists who still think she’s great and a breath of fresh air, but she also did a good job of courting Republican donors in the state,” he added.

Other conservatives said that Ms. Palin serves as a particularly effective shield against Senator Ted Cruz, who is battling Mr. Trump for the lead in Iowa polls by courting the state’s evangelical voters.

“Palin’s brand among evangelicals is as gold as the faucets in Trump tower,” said Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

“Endorsements alone don’t guarantee victory, but Palin’s embrace of Trump may turn the fight over the evangelical vote into a war for the soul of the party,” he said.

Mrs. Palin, who is to appear alongside Mr. Trump at a rally on the Iowa State University campus in Ames late Tuesday afternoon, could amplify the news media-circus aspects of Mr. Trump’s candidacy: 

Like him, she is a reality-TV star accustomed to playing to the cameras and often accused of emphasizing flash over substance.

What’s more, while Mr. Trump has already shown the ability to garner wall-to-wall cable-news coverage, Mrs. Palin’s active involvement in his campaign could help him deprive Mr. Cruz of vital attention in the homestretch to the Feb. 1 caucuses.

As rumors circulted that the endorsement was about to happen, Mr. Cruz offered praise for his former close politcal ally. “I love Sarah Palin,” he told reporters in New Hampshire. “Sarah Palin is fantastic. Without her friendship and support, I wouldn’t be in the Senate today. So regardless of what Sarah decides to do in 2016, I will always remain a big, big fan of Sarah Palin.”

Mrs. Palin and Mr. Trump are not strangers. The two shared pizza along with Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, in June 2011, when Mrs. Palin was considering a presidential run of her own and was making a bus tour around the country. (Mr. Trump was mocked at the time for using a knife and fork on his slice.)

They also share a trusted operative: Mr. Trump’s national political director, Michael Glassner, was chief of staff to Mrs. Palin’s political action committee.

And like Mr. Trump, Mrs. Palin has maverick tendencies. The mantra of her final weeks of the 2008 campaign was “going rogue,” as she defied instructions from aides to Senator John McCain of Arizona, the party’s presidential nominee.

Little-known before Mr. McCain picked her as his running mate, Mrs. Palin ultimately eclipsed Mr. McCain in popularity. She has endured as a coveted endorser with an impressive fund-raising list.

Mrs. Palin endorsed several of Mr. Trump’s Republican rivals in their statewide races, including Mr. Cruz during his Senate bid in Texas and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. 

Mr. Cruz, after his 2012 primary victory over the incumbent lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst, said he would not have made it to the Senate without Mrs. Palin’s backing.

Sources: NY Times, NY Daily News, CNN, Fox News, Youtube

Obama Uses "Cowpie" Politics To Woo Blue Collar WHITE Voters

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I understand why Pres. Obama feels it is necessary to reach out more to Blue Collar WHITE Voters in 2012.

Every Vote Counts!

However......

He appears to be reaching out to EVERY ethnic group but BLACK Voters.

For Pres. Obama's re-election team to assume it is NOT necessary to reach out to BLACK Voters when the BLACK Community has Suffered the Highest Unemployment numbers for 3 consecutive years, is a Huge Mistake.

YES he will still capture the BLACK Vote in 2012 but it most certainly will NOT be the 97% he captured back in 2008.

In 2008 Pres. Obama surrounded himself with a predominantly WHITE Campaign Staff for the purpose of being Elected as the First BLACK President of the United States.
The American BLACK Community Understood why & didn't hold it against him.
Fast forward to 2012.

Pres. Obama's Re-election Campaign is still predominantly WHITE!

For 3 1/2 Consecutive Years Unemployment within the American BLACK Community has remained Extremely High, yet Pres. Obama's predominantly WHITE Re-election team does NOT feel it necessary for him to Reach out more to the BLACK Community.

Last Weekend during his Appearance on "Meet The Press", Mayor Cory Booker (a Well Known BLACK Politician) offered Pres. Obama's Re-election some helpful, Constructive Criticism in an Polite, Intelligent Manner and was Bashed by the Mainstream Media for doing so.

Now the National Polls: Gallup, NBC, Marist, Pew, PPP, CNN, CBS, NY Times, PPP, All show that Pres. Obama is in Trouble with Voters due to High Unemployment & a Lingering Troubled Economy.

If I were Pres. Obama I would have listened to Cory Booker's Suggestion/ Advice with Strong Consideration versus just choosing to listen to his predominantly WHITE Re-election Campaign Staff.

WHITE is NOT Always Right!

BLACK is NOT BAD!

I really hope Pres. Obama realizes this before its too late.






Obama: Romney offers 'cowpie of distortion'

President Obama offered an earthy rural metaphor to blast Mitt Romney last night in Iowa, saying the Republican candidate offered voters "a cowpie of distortion" in a recent speech.

"I don't know whose record he twisted the most," Obama said. "Mine or his."

Speaking to supporters at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines, Obama said that during Romney's last visit to Iowa he exaggerated the administration's spending and failed to give it credit for budget cuts.

The president also said Romney's background as a millionaire private equity manager doesn't prepare him for the presidency.

"The challenge we've faced for over a decade is that harder work hasn't led to higher incomes," Obama said. "Bigger profits haven't led to better jobs. And you can't solve that problem if you can't even see that it's a problem."

The president blasted Romney's proposals for more tax cuts, again appealing to Iowa's rural sensibility: "Five trillion dollars in new tax cuts ... that is like trying to put out a prairie fire with some gasoline."

Romney aides said Obama is attacking their candidate in order to cover up his own failures.

"A president who broke his promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term has no standing when it comes to fiscal responsibility," Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said.

More on Obama's Iowa appearance from Jennifer Jacobs of The Des Moines Register:

Mitt Romney gave Iowans a "cowpie of distortion" when he said he knows how to douse the nation's "prairie fire of debt," President Barack Obama said in his first campaign event in Iowa of this election cycle.

Obama offered a no-holds-barred thumping of Romney on Thursday night, ridiculing his GOP rival's profit-maximizing philosophy as inadequate for the White House, blasting Romney's plan for big tax cuts for almost every millionaire in the country, and poking fun at the Republican's speech in Des Moines 10 days ago.

"You know, he left out some facts. His speech was more like a cowpie of distortion," Obama said to hoots of laughter from a crowd of 2,500 inside the Knapp Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. ...

Iowa has a mere six electoral votes, but it's among about a dozen states viewed as critical for Obama or Romney, the all-but-certain GOP nominee, to snag the necessary 270 to win the White House. ...

Obama has visited the Hawkeye State nine times as president. He was here just a month ago, and this was his third Iowa trip so far this year. Five more Iowa excursions have been racked up by the first lady, vice president and vice president's wife.

"This is going to be harder than it was the last time," said Obama, who already has done nine TV advertisements here this year, in comparison with one ad by the Romney campaign. "But Iowa is full of hardworking folk."


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Sources: Des Moines Register, Mediaite, MSNBC, USA Today, Google Maps