2016 elections - because it's never too early

[jimmy olsen]

Hillary has it in the bag. She could probably do or say some stupid shit and it not really have an impact. Fox News will be a must watch on election night.

Siege will be saying Madam President. 

Unless a major swing comes about in the e-mail scandal, I'm beginning to think you're right.  The GOP voting base has lost its mind.  Hillary will be bruised a bit in the nomination process against Sanders, but she's going to coast to victory in the general.

Stay tuned...

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-idUSMTZSAPEC2N0MQ10D

Tue Feb 23, 2016 7:54pm EST
Judge orders Clinton aides to be questioned under oath on emails

By Jonathan Allen
February 20, 2016.

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that U.S. State Department officials and aides to Hillary Clinton should be questioned under oath about whether the former secretary of state's use of a private email system was an effort to skirt open records laws.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is likely to add to the uncertainty hovering over Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for the November U.S. presidential election, about the legal consequences of her decision to exclusively use a private email server in her New York home for her government work.

The State Department and Judicial Watch, the conservative watchdog group that sought the depositions as it sues for records about the employment of a senior Clinton aide, must agree on a plan for the depositions by April, Sullivan said in his order on Tuesday, according to court documents.

Sullivan, a judge in federal court in Washington, D.C., said there was at least "a reasonable suspicion" that open records laws were undermined, the Washington Post reported. Sullivan, who was appointed by Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, said he may order the department to subpoena Clinton to return all records connected to her private email server, the newspaper reported.

Clinton returned about 30,000 emails to the State Department in 2014, but said she deleted thousands of others her staff deemed not to be work-related.

Judicial Watch told the court it wanted to get sworn testimony from several senior State Department officials and Clinton associates who set up or knew about the system or dealt with requests from the public for copies of Clinton's records, according to court documents. That could include Patrick Kennedy, the department's under secretary for management, and Cheryl Mills, Clinton's former chief of staff at the department, among others, the group said. In a statement to the media, the group said it may later seek to have Clinton testify under oath.

The State Department said it was reviewing the order but could not comment further on ongoing litigation. The department may appeal the ruling.

Clinton, who apologized last year for the setup, believes at least some of the inquiries into her emails are politically motivated.

"This is one of several lawsuits filed by the same right-wing group, which will stop at nothing in pursuing the Clintons, just as they have done since the 1990s," Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said in an email.

At least 1,700 of the emails from Clinton's unsecured server contain classified information, according to the State Department, including closely held secrets from the country's spy agencies. The arrangement is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department's internal watchdog and several Republican-controlled congressional committees.

Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has declined to criticize Clinton's email arrangement while campaigning. Republican opponents have not held back, with several urging that Clinton be prosecuted for mishandling government secrets.


(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Andrew Hay and Leslie Adler)

This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

[jimmy olsen]

Trump's "ceiling" grows ever higher.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2016/trump_s_lead_grows_with_jeb_out_of_the_race

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

With Jeb Bush out, Donald Trump has widened his lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Voters finds Trump with 36% support, giving him a 15-point lead over Senator Marco Rubio who earns 21% of the vote. Senator Ted Cruz is in third place with 17%.

For Trump, that's a five-point gain in support from the beginning of this month just after the Iowa caucus and right before the New Hampshire primary when it was Trump 31%, Rubio 21% and Cruz 20% among likely GOP voters.  Rubio's support has held steady, while support for Cruz has fallen slightly.

In mid-December, Trump led with 29% Republican support, with Cruz in second with 18% and Rubio at 15%.

In the latest survey taken on the two nights immediately following  Trump's big win in the South Carolina primary, Ohio Governor John Kasich picks up 12% of the GOP vote, up from six percent (6%) three weeks ago, while Dr. Ben Carson runs last with eight percent (8%) support. Carson has gained three points from earlier this month. Three percent (3%) like some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Bush had four percent (4%) support in the previous survey, but it's unclear which candidate has gained most from his departure from the race since both Trump and Kasich have experienced similar jumps in support.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of Republican voters now favor building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and among these voters Trump holds a commanding 43% lead, with Rubio end Cruz earning 18% and 19% of that vote respectively.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter orFacebook.

The national telephone survey of 697 Likely Republican Primary Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on February 21-22, 2016. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Rasmussen Reports' latest weekly Trump Change survey, released the day before Saturday's South Carolina primary, found that 71% of Republicans believe Trump is likely to win the GOP nomination, with 36% who say it is Very Likely. We will update those numbers on Friday.

The order of the candidates is Trump, Rubio and Cruz among  Republicans of all ages, but Trump runs strongest among those under 40.

The billionaire businessman has a two-to-one lead over Rubio among male GOP primary voters.  He leads the Florida senator among women Republicans as well but by a narrower seven-point margin.

Trump leads Rubio 33% to 21% among likely primary voters who identify as Republicans. Among independents who say they plan to vote in the GOP primary in their state, Trump posts a 44% to 19% lead over Rubio.

Trump also leads among likely GOP primary voters of all ideological persuasions. Rubio and Cruz are nearly tied among conservatives for second place, but Kasich is the clear second place choice among moderates and liberals.

Hillary Clinton is still seen by most Democrats as likely to win their party's presidential nomination.

When it comes to which candidate voters trust more on key issues, Trump leads when it comes to the economy, job creation and immigration.  Clinton has held her lead on social issues but has widened her advantage on the environment. The two are virtually tied now when voters are asked whom they trust more to handle national security.

Republican voters are more likely to consider Trump a moderate than a conservative.

Bush was counting on an appearance by his brother, former President George W. Bush, to boost his chances in the South Carolina primary. In response, Trump stepped up his criticism of former President Bush and the Iraq war. Just 34% of Republicans now consider it a positive description if a candidate is described as being like George W. Bush, down from 48% in April of last year.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily email update (it's free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

[11B4V]

Hillary has it in the bag. She could probably do or say some stupid shit and it not really have an impact. Fox News will be a must watch on election night.

Siege will be saying Madam President. 

Unless a major swing comes about in the e-mail scandal, I'm beginning to think you're right.  The GOP voting base has lost its mind.  Hillary will be bruised a bit in the nomination process against Sanders, but she's going to coast to victory in the general.

Lost their minds....they are approaching just plain obscene. Gay haters, Racists, bigots, the religiously obstinate, etc. Party of freaks.

[jimmy olsen]

[11B4V]

Hillary has it in the bag. She could probably do or say some stupid shit and it not really have an impact. Fox News will be a must watch on election night.

Siege will be saying Madam President. 

Unless a major swing comes about in the e-mail scandal, I'm beginning to think you're right.  The GOP voting base has lost its mind.  Hillary will be bruised a bit in the nomination process against Sanders, but she's going to coast to victory in the general.

Stay tuned...

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-idUSMTZSAPEC2N0MQ10D

Tue Feb 23, 2016 7:54pm EST
Judge orders Clinton aides to be questioned under oath on emails

By Jonathan Allen
February 20, 2016.

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that U.S. State Department officials and aides to Hillary Clinton should be questioned under oath about whether the former secretary of state's use of a private email system was an effort to skirt open records laws.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is likely to add to the uncertainty hovering over Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for the November U.S. presidential election, about the legal consequences of her decision to exclusively use a private email server in her New York home for her government work.

The State Department and Judicial Watch, the conservative watchdog group that sought the depositions as it sues for records about the employment of a senior Clinton aide, must agree on a plan for the depositions by April, Sullivan said in his order on Tuesday, according to court documents.

Sullivan, a judge in federal court in Washington, D.C., said there was at least "a reasonable suspicion" that open records laws were undermined, the Washington Post reported. Sullivan, who was appointed by Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, said he may order the department to subpoena Clinton to return all records connected to her private email server, the newspaper reported.

Clinton returned about 30,000 emails to the State Department in 2014, but said she deleted thousands of others her staff deemed not to be work-related.

Judicial Watch told the court it wanted to get sworn testimony from several senior State Department officials and Clinton associates who set up or knew about the system or dealt with requests from the public for copies of Clinton's records, according to court documents. That could include Patrick Kennedy, the department's under secretary for management, and Cheryl Mills, Clinton's former chief of staff at the department, among others, the group said. In a statement to the media, the group said it may later seek to have Clinton testify under oath.

The State Department said it was reviewing the order but could not comment further on ongoing litigation. The department may appeal the ruling.

Clinton, who apologized last year for the setup, believes at least some of the inquiries into her emails are politically motivated.

"This is one of several lawsuits filed by the same right-wing group, which will stop at nothing in pursuing the Clintons, just as they have done since the 1990s," Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said in an email.

At least 1,700 of the emails from Clinton's unsecured server contain classified information, according to the State Department, including closely held secrets from the country's spy agencies. The arrangement is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department's internal watchdog and several Republican-controlled congressional committees.

Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has declined to criticize Clinton's email arrangement while campaigning. Republican opponents have not held back, with several urging that Clinton be prosecuted for mishandling government secrets.


(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Andrew Hay and Leslie Adler)

This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Meh, politics at this point.

[Monoriu]

I don't understand the idea of a wall in the US/Mexico border.  We are not talking about West Berlin.  The US/Mexico border is very long.  Building it is going to be really expensive, and I don't see how the Mexican government will agree to pay for it.  And it isn't just a matter of building it.  You have to man it, and maintain it.  And even then, the wall will not keep out everybody.  People will find ways.  They can go around the wall, dig underneath it, blow a hole in it, climb over it, or simply bribe their way through.  There was a wall between Hong Kong and Mainland China (there still is), and there was a time when hundreds of thousands of people still got through.  When you are escaping the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution, a mere wall won't stop you.  It just made the process more difficult, but if people are determined to go through, they will find a way. 

[Habbaku]

Hillary has it in the bag. She could probably do or say some stupid shit and it not really have an impact. Fox News will be a must watch on election night.

Siege will be saying Madam President. 

Unless a major swing comes about in the e-mail scandal, I'm beginning to think you're right.  The GOP voting base has lost its mind.  Hillary will be bruised a bit in the nomination process against Sanders, but she's going to coast to victory in the general.

Lost their minds....they are approaching just plain obscene. Gay haters, Racists, bigots, the religiously obstinate, etc. Party of freaks.

I count that as "lost their minds" in so many words.  Fortunately, those folks will either slowly wither away and take the Republican Party with them, or the GOP will do some serious reforms and start attracting moderates again.  The rearguard shit will see them put back to 1940 levels if they keep it up.

[jimmy olsen]

Hillary has it in the bag. She could probably do or say some stupid shit and it not really have an impact. Fox News will be a must watch on election night.

Siege will be saying Madam President. 

Unless a major swing comes about in the e-mail scandal, I'm beginning to think you're right.  The GOP voting base has lost its mind.  Hillary will be bruised a bit in the nomination process against Sanders, but she's going to coast to victory in the general.

Lost their minds....they are approaching just plain obscene. Gay haters, Racists, bigots, the religiously obstinate, etc. Party of freaks.

I count that as "lost their minds" in so many words.  Fortunately, those folks will either slowly wither away and take the Republican Party with them, or the GOP will do some serious reforms and start attracting moderates again.  The rearguard shit will see them put back to 1940 levels if they keep it up.

They control both houses of congress and the majority of the states. They're not doing too bad.

[Habbaku]

Yes, Tim, because past performance always dictates future performance.  You do realize we're talking about the future, right?

[11B4V]

I don't understand the idea of a wall in the US/Mexico border.  We are not talking about West Berlin.  The US/Mexico border is very long.  Building it is going to be really expensive, and I don't see how the Mexican government will agree to pay for it.  And it isn't just a matter of building it.  You have to man it, and maintain it.  And even then, the wall will not keep out everybody.  People will find ways.  They can go around the wall, dig underneath it, blow a hole in it, climb over it, or simply bribe their way through.  There was a wall between Hong Kong and Mainland China (there still is), and there was a time when hundreds of thousands of people still got through.  When you are escaping the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution, a mere wall won't stop you.  It just made the process more difficult, but if people are determined to go through, they will find a way.

It's politics/smoke and mirrors for the ignorant masses.

[CountDeMoney]

Unless a major swing comes about in the e-mail scandal, I'm beginning to think you're right.

The only swing that will matter is the number of Americans in several swing states who will be surprised to find out they have been intentionally disenfranchised and will no longer be allowed to vote.   

Because if you can't beat 'em, make 'em guess how many jelly beans are in the jar.  Boy.

[jimmy olsen]

The famed incompetence of the Nevada GOP strikes again

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/feb/23/nevada-republican-caucuses-live-coverage-trump-cruz-rubio?page=with:block-56cd0794e4b068fe3e801413#block-56cd0794e4b068fe3e801413

[FunkMonk]

I imagine this is the moment in the election cycle where the GOP establishment is riding around on horseback in front of its last brigade shouting "BAYONETS!" in a last-ditch, desperate action as General Trump's invincible Army of Northern Virginia is advancing on all sides.

Actually, considering how they insist on doing the same failures over and over again but still expect a different result, I liken it more to the complete detachment from reality in the Führerbunker, or the Cincinnati Bengals.

Priebus is aimlessly shuffling delegates across a map of the United States like phantom armies while the guns of the Second Trump Front are shuddering overhead.

[Habbaku]

Unless a major swing comes about in the e-mail scandal, I'm beginning to think you're right.

The only swing that will matter is the number of Americans in several swing states who will be surprised to find out they have been intentionally disenfranchised and will no longer be allowed to vote.   

Because if you can't beat 'em, make 'em guess how many jelly beans are in the jar.  Boy.

Electoral fraud and trickery can only work for so long if that's all they have going for them.

[jimmy olsen]

If only Twitter had been around for the Douglas-Lincoln debates. What has America lost?

https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/702304168245985287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw