Texas Sen. Ted Cruz believes the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination is becoming a two-man contest between Donald Trump and himself.
Cruz celebrated his 45th birthday in Tennessee on Tuesday, where the senator stumped as part of his tour of the March 1 nominating states — particularly those in the “SEC primary.”
“I did think it was interesting that Donald Trump said a couple of days ago that he thinks this race will come down to him and me. I think Donald may well be right,” Cruz said in Tennessee. “I think it could easily end up being a two-man race between Donald Trump and me. And I think that presents a good choice to the American people. This process is a job interview. It is a job interview where each and every one of us is standing before 330 million Americans and trying to make the case in terms of who is best prepared to be commander-in-chief.” (Read more from “Cruz Agrees with Trump on GOP Race” HERE)
Hillary Clinton’s donors say they think Bernie Sanders will raise more money in the fourth quarter than their candidate for the first time ever — a testament to the underdog’s online cash juggernaut and a harbinger of donor fatigue among the front-runner’s backers.
Clinton campaign officials said she remains on track to reach her goal of $100 million for the primary by the end of the year; she had already collected $77 million by the end of the third quarter.
But Sanders nearly matched Clinton in the most recent quarter — raising an eye-popping $26 million to Clinton’s $28 million — and multiple fundraising sources on Clinton’s team told POLITICO they expect the Vermont senator to beat her when the next financial disclosures are filed on Jan. 30, just before the Iowa caucuses.
“People are feeling very complacent — and more reluctant to contribute — because they don’t take Bernie Sanders that seriously,” top Clinton donor Alan Patricof told POLITICO. “They look at the other side and think, how could anyone possibly back any one of them? The attitude of sensible people is that she’s the only one who makes any sense.” None of the donors or campaign insiders POLITICO spoke with Monday disputed the notion that Sanders was on track to beat them in the end-of-year cash race.
Low-balling your candidate’s fundraising totals is a time-honored practice in presidential politics: If Clinton somehow manages to come out on top, her campaign can portray the quarter as exceeding expectations — no easy feat in a race where she is leading Sanders by 20 to 30 percentage points nationally. (Read more from “Clinton Donors Say Sanders Is Raising More than the Front-Runner” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-22 23:45:572016-04-11 10:54:46Clinton Donors Say Sanders Is Raising More than the Front-Runner
Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a lawsuit on December 2, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking records of communications from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials regarding methodology for collecting and interpreting data used in climate models (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Commerce (No 1:15-cv-02088)). The lawsuit sought the same documents unsuccessfully subpoenaed by a House committee. Less than week after Judicial Watch served its lawsuit on NOAA, the agency finally turned over the targeted documents to Congress.
Judicial Watch sued the Department of Commerce after the agency failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted on October 30, 2015 – NOAA is a component of the Department of Commerce. The timeframe for the requested records is October 30, 2014, through October 30, 2015, and requests all documents and records of communications between NOAA officials, employees, and contractors regarding:
The methodology and utilization of night marine air temperatures to adjust ship and buoy temperature data;
The use of other global temperature datasets for both NOAA’s in-house dataset improvements and monthly press releases conveying information to the public about global temperatures;
The utilization and consideration of satellite bulk atmospheric temperature readings for use in global temperature datasets; and
A subpoena issued for the aforementioned information by Congressman Lamar Smith on October 13, 2015.
Judicial Watch is investigating how NOAA collects and disseminates climate data that is used in determining global climate change. NOAA collects data in thousands of ways – from temperature gauges on land and buoys at sea, to satellites orbiting Earth. Considered the “environmental intelligence agency,” NOAA is the nation’s leading collector of climate data. In July, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) asked NOAA for both data and internal communications related to a controversial climate change study. After the agency refused to comply with the document request, Smith’s committee issued a subpoena on October 13. According to the Science, Space, and Technology Committee:
In June, NOAA widely publicized a study as refuting the nearly two-decade pause in climate change. After three letters requesting all communications from the agency surrounding the role of political appointees in the agency’s scientific process, Chairman Smith issued a subpoena for the information. Smith subsequently sent a letter on December 1st offering to accept documents and communications from NOAA political, policy and non-scientific staff as a first step in satisfying the subpoena requirements.
(Read more from “Judicial Watch Sues for Documents Withheld from Congress in New Climate Data Scandal” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-22 23:45:002016-04-11 10:54:46Judicial Watch Sues for Documents Withheld from Congress in New Climate Data Scandal
By Patrick Goodenough. Leaders of several American Muslim organizations warned Donald Trump and other presidential candidates Monday that if they engage in bigotry and “Islamophobia” they will pay a political price because Muslim voters – in the words of one – will mobilize and “make sure you are out of there.”
“Let it be heard, and clear, to all political candidates, be it Donald Trump or whoever else, that indeed, if you engage in Islamophobia, if you engage in demagoguery and bigotry, you will pay a political price,” American Muslim Alliance director Mahdi Bray said at the National Press Club.
“Because we’re going to register our people and we’re going to use our ballot and we’re going to ‘take our souls to the polls’ and make sure you are out of there,” he continued.
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) national executive director, Nihad Awad, standing alongside Bray, quickly clarified that the organizations on the platform – members of the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) – were not endorsing any candidate.
“There will be another organization that might be formed from the community that will make that decision, but we are – most of us are 501(c)(3) organizations,” Awad said. (Read more from “American Muslim Organizations Release Dire Warning to ‘Islamophobic’ Candidates” HERE)
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Democrats Criticize Trump, Other Republicans on Islam
By David Roach. In the final Democratic presidential debate of the year, all three candidates said the U.S. government should partner with Muslims in the fight against terrorism and accused Republicans of demonizing adherents of the world’s second largest religion.
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s suggestion that Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s statements on Islam are used as recruiting tools by the terrorist group ISIS drew both media attention and calls by Trump for an apology.
“We also need to make sure the really discriminatory messages that Trump is sending around the world don’t fall on receptive ears,” Clinton said during the Dec. 19 debate. “He is becoming ISIS’s best recruiter. They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists. So I want to explain why this is not in America’s interest to react with this kind of fear and respond to this sort of bigotry.”
Clinton apparently was referencing Trump’s Dec. 7 call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. in response to the threat of Islamic terrorism.
Trump demanded an apology Dec. 21, calling Clinton’s statement “a disgusting story she made up about me,” according to Politico. The Washington Post said Clinton’s claim that ISIS utilizes videos of Trump “doesn’t appear to be true.” (Read more from “Democrats Criticize Trump, Other Republicans on Islam” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-21 23:40:202016-04-11 10:54:47Watch: American Muslim Organizations Release Dire Warning to ‘Islamophobic’ Candidates
Former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson tells Newsmax TV he is “spooked” by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and that he should be removed from his job.
“Anybody that calls a majority leader a liar on the floor of the U.S. Senate ought to be canned and thrown out of the Senate,” Simpson said Monday on “The Steve Malzberg Show.”
Cruz’s comments came after the Senate passed the $1.1 trillion budget deal against the wishes of conservative members of the Republican Party, including Cruz.
“What we just saw today was an absolute demonstration that [contradicts] not only what he told every Republican senator, but what he told the press over and over and over again, [it] was a simple lie,” Cruz told his colleagues. “We know now that when the majority leader looks us in the eyes and makes an explicit commitment, that he is willing to say things that he knows are false. That has consequences for how this body operates.” (Read more from “Ex-Senator Alan Simpson: Senate Should Throw Cruz out, Send Him Back to Texas” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-21 23:33:122016-04-11 10:54:47Ex-Senator Alan Simpson: Senate Should Throw Cruz out, Send Him Back to Texas
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Monday that the 2016 GOP nomination contest is likely to come down to a one-on-one battle between himself and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
“Ultimately, it’s probably going to come down to me against him,” Mr. Trumpsaid on NBC’s “Today” program. “I have a very, very big lead right now. You know I like to win, and you know I win. Let’s see what happens.”
Mr. Trump had been asked whether there was any sort of deal with Mr. Cruz where the two candidates would avoid criticizing one another. Mr. Trump said there was not a deal, that the two “just get along” and that Mr. Cruz has backed him on issues like illegal immigration. (Read more from “Here’s Who Donald Trump Says Will Be the Last Standing in GOP Race” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-21 23:32:372016-04-11 10:54:47Here’s Who Donald Trump Says Will Be the Last Standing in GOP Race
A 24-year-old homeless woman who cops said had been living in her car with her 3-year-old daughter in Las Vegas for about a week was charged Monday in the automobile rampage that killed one and wounded at least 35 others Sunday night.
Lakeisha N. Holloway appeared “stoic” when cops encountered her soon after the 1996 Oldsmobile sedan she was driving plowed into a crowd on the Las Vegas Strip multiple times – all while a young child was sitting in the backseat . . .
Holloway was booked Monday on charges including murder, first-degree child abuse or neglect and failing to stop at the scene of an accident, according to Clark County Detention Center records.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he anticipated also filing numerous counts of attempted murder. The charge of fleeing the scene is a felony and, as of Oct. 1, is a non-probationable offense.
The driver “went up and off these streets, two or possible three times,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. Dan McGrath said. The suspect then allegedly drove off before being apprehended outside the Tuscany Casino. After Holloway pulled into the casino lot, Lombardo said, she left her child in the car, approached a valet and told him “she ran over some individuals on Las Vegas Boulevard.” (Read more from “Police ID Suspect in Deadly Car Rampage in Vegas” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-21 23:29:342016-04-11 10:54:48Police ID Suspect in Deadly Car Rampage in Vegas
Secretary of State John Kerry is working to reassure Iranian leaders that recent congressional efforts to tighten counter-terrorism measures will not harm Iranian interests, according to a letter sent by Kerry to Iran’s foreign minister.
The assurances come following efforts by Congress to tighten restrictions in the visa waiver program, which they claim has gaping loopholes that may enable suspected terrorists to legally enter the United States with few background checks.
Iranian leaders expressed anger over the move in recent days, prompting senior Obama administration officials to convey their own concerns to lawmakers.
Kerry wrote to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif late last week, promising that the Obama administration could veto these new counter-terrorism laws in order ensure Iran is not negatively impacted.
“I want to confirm to you that we remain fully committed to the sanctions lifting provided for under the [nuclear deal],” Kerry wrote Zarif in a Dec. 19 letter that came a day after the two met in person. “We will adhere to the full measure of our commitments, per the agreement. Our team is working hard to be prepared and as soon as we reach implementation day we will lift appropriate sanctions. (Read more from “Obama Admin Will Veto Counter-Terror Measures to Save Nuke Deal” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-21 23:28:122016-04-11 10:54:48Obama Admin Will Veto Counter-Terror Measures to Save Nuke Deal
The Democratic National Committee, which considers opposition research it obtains on Republicans as a core function for the Democratic campaigns, has been buying reams of material from an outside group started by a close ally of Hillary Clinton.
The party committee’s most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission show a $144,000 payment to American Bridge 21st Century, an opposition research-focused “super PAC” that was founded in the 2012 presidential cycle by David Brock, Mrs. Clinton’s tormentor-turned-defender on the left.
The purchase came as Mrs. Clinton’s campaign is increasingly reviewing core functions of the party committee such as research and communications, which whoever wins the Democratic nomination will use to augment their message and their efforts to shape criticism of the Republicans.
The task has become more urgent as the Republican presidential primary has moved away from where many of Mrs. Clinton’s aides originally saw it heading, with a likely nomination of former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio or Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Instead, the race is a tossup, with insurgents like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and the New York real estate magnate Donald J. Trump either at the top or on the rise in most polls. (Read more from “Democratic Committee Digs Deeper into Opposition Research” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-21 23:24:162016-04-11 10:54:48Democratic Committee Digs Deeper into Opposition Research
Pinal County, AZ Sheriff and Congressional candidate Paul Babeu (Editor’s note: Babeu apparently once threatened his gay illegal alien boyfriend with deportation) stated, “just the last two months alone, we’ve had 10,000 unaccompanied juveniles” who are “staying here” and that “the Obama administration says the border is wide open, that there is no law it comes to immigration” on Monday’s “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” on the Fox Business Network.
Babeu said, “just the last two months alone, we’ve had 10,000 unaccompanied juveniles, and also with some family members. And the arms are open, and that’s the message that’s been sent. The last wave, 100,000 from Central America.”
He added, “We’re a compassionate nation. We always have been. And this is where I’m tired of being shouted down by President Obama, like somehow we’re not good Americans if we don’t do everything that he says we should to do. And we’ve had a million legal immigrants last year, and we do this every year.” Babeu continued, “I think it’s the most compassionate thing we can do, is reunite them with their families in Central America. What America should be doing is finding ways to solve the problems of violence in Central America, support their governments, because if we don’t solve that core problem, this isn’t going to end. We’re going to have this problem next month, next year, and then we own these people, and all the social network to support them for their entire lives. Because if you think that these kids are going anywhere, think again. They’re staying here.” (Read more from “Arizona Sheriff: We’ve Had 10,000 Unaccompanied Migrant Juveniles in Two Months” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-21 23:23:142016-04-11 10:54:49Arizona Sheriff: We’ve Had 10,000 Unaccompanied Migrant Juveniles in Two Months
