Saturday, October 31, 2015

5000 rally for Donald Trump in Norfolk, Virginia, Sat., October 31, 2015. Trump releases plan for Veterans Administration reform-NBC News

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Trump spoke to a crowd of about 5,000.

10/31/15, Virginian Pilot

10/31/15, AP










10/31/15, Virginian Pilot





















10/31/15, getty
10/31/15, You Tube screen shot


10/31/15, AP














































































10/31/15, "Donald Trump Gets Specific on Veteran's Affairs Policy Reform Plan," NBC News, Ali Vitali, Norfolk, Va.

"Donald Trump proposed a series of reforms to the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs on Saturday, delving deep into the specifics of his plan for nearly half an hour at a rally in Virginia before releasing the documents online a few hours later. 

In the policy paper on Trump's website, the Republican presidential candidate railed against the current state of the VA, calling it "absolutely unacceptable" and proposed three principle tenets to a reform plan that he feels will ameliorate many of the problems veterans currently face with the scandal-scarred agency. 

According to Trump, his plan will "ensure our veterans get the care they need wherever and whenever they need it," "support the whole veteran" by treating both their physical and mental health needs and "make the VA great again by firing the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down." 

Trump outlined this plan for the first time at a rally Saturday afternoon, ahead of the plan's release, where he spoke in front of the U.S.S. Wisconsin to a crowd of about 5,000 supporters....

"All veterans eligible for VA healthcare can bring their veteran's ID cards to any doctor or care facility that accepts Medicare to get the care they need immediately," he said. 

Trump promises an increase in funding for PTSD and suicide prevention services, increased funding for job training, incentives for companies that hire vets and working with non-profits that already work with vets to find employment opportunities. 

The Trump VA plan also provides a focus on female vets, who Trump says exemplify some of this "new generation of veterans." 

"The fact that many VA hospitals don't permanently staff OBGYN doctors shows an utter lack of respect for the growing number of female veterans," the plan states. "Under the Trump plan, every VA hospital in the country will be fully equipped with OBGYN and other women's health services." 

In the eyes of the real estate mogul-turned-politician, Trump's plan requires managerial prowess — a skill that he frequently touts as one that only he possesses in a saturated Republican primary field. 

"It's time we have to say it," he told the Virginia crowd, "I like Ben Carson. But there's no way he can fix this, folks." 

Trump has hit Carson on his ability to manage before, saying that Carson's tax plan for a flat tax across the board would grow agencies like the IRS — a move that Trump explains would increase bureaucratic red tape. 

In his plan, Trump also bucked the idea that throwing money at problems in the VA would work. 

"Politicians in Washington have tried to fix the VA by holding hearings and blindly throwing money at the problem. None of it has worked," Trump writes, citing wait times that were "50 (percent) higher this summer" than the year before

"It's time we stop trusting Washington politicians to fix the problems and empower our veterans to vote with their feet," he wrote."

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10/31/15, "Trump releases plan aimed at improving veterans' care," AP via wral.com, Jill Colvin

"Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released a plan on Saturday aimed at improving veterans' health care and other services in the wake of continued criticism of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
 
Under Trump's plan, eligible veterans would be able to bring their veterans' identification cards to any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare and be able to receive immediate treatment. He said the change, which has also been proposed by other GOP candidates, would help improve wait times and services by adding competition.

"The VA will become more responsive to veterans, develop more efficient systems, and improve the quality of care because it will have no other choice," it reads....

Trump's plan would also increase funding for treating for post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide prevention services as well as provide additional job training and placement. It also calls for better support for female veterans, including improved health services....

Trump has also released policy papers on immigration, the Second Amendment and tax reform.

Veterans groups have criticized another presidential contender, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, for proposing to eliminate the Veterans Health Administration entirely."

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Four Trump position papers to date:
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Trump Veterans Plan, "Veterans Administration Reforms That Will Make America Great Again" 

Trump Immigration Plan, "Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again"

Trump Tax Reform Plan, "Tax Reform that will Make America Great Again"

Trump on the Second Amendment, "PROTECTING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN"

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Six image credits:

#1: Virginian Pilot image: "In Norfolk, Trump announces plan to improve veterans' care," Virginian Pilot, by Dave Mayfield, Patrick Wilson. Image by Steve Earley, Virginian Pilot

#2: AP image: "Trump releases plan aimed at improving veterans' care," AP

#3: Virginian Pilot image: "In Norfolk, Trump announces plan to improve veterans' care," Virginian Pilot, by Dave Mayfield, Patrick Wilson. Image by Steve Earley, Virginian Pilot

#4: Getty image: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally in front of the USS Wisconsin on October 31, 2015 in Norfolk, Virginia. With just 93 days before the Iowa caucuses Republican hopefuls are trying to shore up support amongst the party. Sara D. Davis / Getty Images" from NBC News article: "Donald Trump Gets Specific on Veteran's Affairs Policy Reform Plan," NBC News, Ali Vitali, Norfolk, Va.

#5, You Tube screen shot from Trump rally in Norfolk, Virginia, 10/31/15

#6. AP image, "Trump releases plan aimed at improving veterans' care," AP, Jill Colvin

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This report says Trump's audience was "overwhelmingly white." In case you wanted to know. 

10/31/15, "In Norfolk, Trump announces plan to improve veterans' care," Virginian Pilot, by Dave Mayfield, Patrick Wilson, Norfolk

"Standing to the starboard side of the region’s most visible symbol of military might, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump found an easy target on which to train his own guns Saturday: the nation’s troubled network of care for veterans.

Trump, in a rally next to the battleship Wisconsin, said he’d root out incompetence and corruption in the Department of Veterans Affairs, firing anyone who stood in the way of reforms he promised would give vets more choices and faster treatment for injuries and illnesses.

Several thousand turned out for the speech at the spot where 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney introduced Paul Ryan as his running mate. The current GOP frontrunner crowed that he’d been told his appearance drew a lot more people.

It wasn’t the only boast from the billionaire businessman and reality-TV celebrity during the nearly 90-minute speech.

He said he’d use his negotiating skills and unpredictability to rewrite U.S. relations with Iran and China, which he said have run roughshod over weak U.S. negotiators. “I mean, you can’t blame China if we have people that are incompetent representing us.”

Trump repeated his promise to build a wall to quell illegal immigration – and make Mexico foot its multibillion-dollar cost. He pledged to cut new trade deals to bring jobs back from overseas. And he said he intends to spend more on defense. “We are going to build our military so big and so strong and so powerful that we’re not going have to use it, most likely.”

But in a speech strewn with asides and jabs at his rivals – Democrats and Republicans--Trump devoted the most time to veterans’ health care.

His campaign released a three-page paper outlining what the candidate wants to reform in a system plagued by chronically long wait times for appointments.

The VA health system is a “total disaster,” Trump said.

“They pour money at it, but then everybody steals the money,” he said. “The Trump plan will make the VA great again.”

Trump hit the highlights of his plan, saying that veterans would be allowed to choose an alternative to the VA if they were unsatisfied. He’d require every VA hospital to have an obstetrics/gynecology unit, calling it unacceptable that that is not already the case. He’d also establish satellite VA clinics within hospitals in rural areas and other places lacking a VA presence.

The man whose best-known line is “You’re fired!” didn’t disappoint those who came to hear him say it. That’s exactly what he’d tell VA administrators who dragged their feet, he promised.

Eric Shinseki, the former secretary of Veterans Affairs, resigned in 2014 after a scandal in which employees conspired to cover up the length of time veterans were waiting for health care.

Trump’s audience Saturday was overwhelmingly white and skewed middle age or older. Many held signs proclaiming, “The silent majority stands with Trump.

Hampton Roads radio show host Steve Batton emceed the rally. Gary Byler, a Virginia Beach lawyer, GOP activist and former state House candidate, was introduced as Trump’s Hampton Roads chair. Virginia Beach School Board member Carolyn Weems spoke and endorsed Trump.

About 40 vets, recruited from the crowd by rally organizers, stood on stage behind Trump throughout the speech.

Among them was Toby Yarbrough, a retired Army sergeant from Chesapeake who said the rally was the first political event he’d attended.

Yarbrough, who was disabled in a heavy-equipment accident while serving in Iraq in 2002, brought his service dog, a German shepherd named Duke. He said he found Trump’s penchant for political incorrectness refreshing. “We need more nonpoliticians to run our country. So many politicians have their hands in our pockets, it’s pitiful.”

His experience with the VA has been a nightmare, Yarbrough said.

A handful of protesters stood at the entrance of the event in opposition to Trump’s immigration proposals. 

Trump shot to the top of the polls shortly after his announcement speech in June, which drew widespread media attention for comments about Mexican immigrants, and he has remained first in most polls since then. 

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the two GOP establishment candidates closest to Trump in polls, have had difficulty gaining ground. Trump’s attacks on Bush as a “low-energy person” are credited with helping dampen his well-financed campaign.

Trump jabbed at Bush on Saturday: “I think I’m going to revive him. It’s not fair.”

People in the crowd exclaimed, “No!”

The Trump phenomenon is difficult to explain, said Soji Akomolafe, chair of the Department of Political Science at Norfolk State University.

Nobody saw it coming,” said Akomolafe, who said he thinks Trump could be the GOP nominee. “There’s no way Jeb Bush is going to come back from the political grave that he’s in right now thanks to The Donald.”

Virginia’s GOP presidential primary is March 15."



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US government agrees to sell Turkey $70 million worth of smart bombs Turkey needs to defeat the Kurds-Reuters, Hurriyet

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10/30/15,  "US finally approves crucial ‘smart bomb’ sale to Turkey," Hurriyet via Turkish Weekly
 
"The U.S. has decided to sell Turkey $70 million worth of “smart bombs,” a key item in a set of crucial weapon systems that Washington had been refusing to send to Ankara....

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), part of the U.S. Department of Defense, told Congress late on Oct. 28 that Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) systems would be sold to Turkey, granting lawmakers 15 days for any block."...

[Ed. note: It's unlikely "lawmakers" will block this. From Reuters version: "Lawmakers have 15 days to block the sale, although such action is rare." There's no reason for congress to exist. Both political parties want the Executive branch to dominate. Media reports of "gridlock" are to fool the peasants into thinking either "side" cares about them.]

(continuing): "The Turkish military attaches great importance to the systems, especially amid
the upsurge of clashes between the security forces and outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants. Turkey is also a part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its Ä°ncirlik base is used for strikes against the jihadist group....

According to a statement by the DSCA, the package to be sold to Turkey includes Mk84, BLU-109 and Mk82 bombs, 900 smart bomb kits, 100 laser kits, 200 warheads and 1,000 capsules.

MK-84, which is ammunition for F-16 jets that constitutes the backbone of the Turkish Air Force fleet, is used in targeting large buildings, factories, bridges, hangars and underground shelters. Mk82 is used against tanks, small buildings and other ground targets. BLU-109 is classified as a “bunker buster.”"...


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10/29/15, "US approves the sale of precision bomb kits valued at $70 million to Turkey," Reuters, Andrea Shalal


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Comment: The United States is the greatest force for evil in the world today. 


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Friday, October 30, 2015

Trump first choice to improve US job market among all Americans, Republicans, Independents, and across generations, per Harris Poll, Oct. 14-19, 2015

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Among all Americans

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Trump 26
Clinton 20
Sanders 12
Carson 3
Bush 2
Rubio 1
Fiorina 1
Paul 1
Cruz 1


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Among Republicans
 
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Trump 47
Carson 7
Bush 4
Rubio 4
Fiorina 2
Christie 1
Cruz 1
Paul 1


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Among Independents

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Trump 26
Sanders 14
Clinton 13 
Carson 4
Bush 2
Cruz 1
Fiorina 1
Huckabee 1
Kasich 1
Paul
Rubio 1

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Among Democrats

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Clinton 40
Sanders 17
Trump 13
Bush 1
Carson 1


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10/28/15, "Americans Believe "The Donald" Would Trump the Competition When it Comes to the U.S. Job Market," Harris Poll, theharrispoll.com, Larry Shannon

"When asked (in open-ended questioning) which presidential candidate they think would best improve the U.S. job market, Donald Trump is the top response (26%), followed by Hillary Clinton (20%) and more distantly by Bernie Sanders (12%). No other candidates are mentioned by more than 3% of U.S. adults....
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,225 U.S. adults surveyed online between October 14 and 19, 2015.

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between October 14 and 19, 2015 among 2,225 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The Harris Poll avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated."....





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During GOP debate on CNBC, Republican National Committee officials complained to CNBC that Jeb Bush wasn't getting enough questions-Politico (Update: Politico adds text and non-denial denial quote from RNC official, but original accusation remains)


Update: Politico article has been updated. The main points made in paragraphs 9 and 10 below in the original article appear in paragraph 11 in the updated article despite non-denial denial quote added from RNC official:

(New parag. 10): "Several campaigns had a concern about time allotments, we approached CNBC on multiple occasions to give us a read out of times as they promised and they refused," Spicer said in a statement."

Revised Politico article still contains original claim: that RNC intervened during the live debate, and that it did so only on Bush's behalf

(New parag. 11): "A CNBC employee who was involved in putting on the debate and with direct knowledge of the conversations, said Spicer and Walsh approached CNBC during the debate, saying they were concerned about time allotments, but that Bush was the only campaign mentioned by name."

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Original Politico article:

10/30/15, "RNC suspends partnership with NBC," Politico, Hadas Gold, Kyle Cheney
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(parag. 9): "In the middle of the CNBC-hosted GOP debate on Wednesday, RNC chief strategist and spokesman Sean Spicer and chief of staff Katie Walsh approached CNBC officials. 

According to a source familiar with the encounter, the two had a complaint: Jeb Bush wasn’t getting enough questions

The same complaint had come from Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz, though Bush spokesperson Tim Miller said he was not aware of the encounter between the RNC officials and CNBC. The source familiar with the encounter said Spicer and Walsh did not bring up any other candidates. 

Spicer did not respond to a request for comment about the encounter."...

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Comment: More proof if needed that the Republican Party doesn't exist. The group using the name is merely a group of bloodsuckers. The Democrat party is the only functioning political party in the US. What an embarrassment for the United States.




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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Diamond and Silk poll asks, 'Is it time for Jeb Bush to drop out of the GOP Presidential race?' So far, 98.7% say Yes

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10/29/15, Diamond and Silk

































Above images from DiamondandSilkinc.com


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4000 rally for Donald Trump in Reno, Nevada, 10/29/15. Supporters cheered and chanted 'U.S.A.', 'We Want Trump', and 'Build a Wall'-Reno Gazette-Journal

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10/29/15, Reno, NV.

10/29/15, "Trump supporters: Sparks appearance more substance than show," Reno Gazette-Journal, Seth A. Anderson

"Billionaire real estate mogul and Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump held his first post-debate public rally Thursday in Northern Nevada where supporters said he offered more substance than his prior appearances in media.

Trump hosted around 4,000 supporters Thursday morning at the Nugget Casino and Hotel in Sparks. The crowd lined up for hours before the event – some as early as 8:30 a.m. – to hear the former reality television star spread his conservative populist message and, his thoughts on the third presidential debate and address his recent slip in the polls.

“The American Dream is dead. You know that, right?” Trump told the crowd. The American dream is dead but I’m going to make it bigger and better and stronger than ever before.

Trump’s supporters cheered and chanted “U.S.A.,” “We Want Trump,” and “Build a Wall” – a reference to the candidate’s promise to construct a wall along the Mexican border and deport 11 million illegal immigrants from the country – through his entire one-hour speech and a short session at the end when he answered questions.

But Trump’s stance on the economy seemed to resonate the most with those interviewed after the rally. Trump said he wanted to cut waste and abuse, lower taxes and remove regulations to create a friendlier business climate.

“I will be the greatest jobs president – and I say it – that God ever created,” he said. “We have 93 million people in our workforce. Many of them want to work and they can’t get a job. It’s like incredible because jobs are leaving.”

Trump added that China has been taking advantage of the United States, something he promised to stop if elected.

“What China has done to us is the greatest theft in the history in the world. It’s the greatest theft,” he said. “We have – and Europe’s helped a little bit, but we’ve done most of it – but we have rebuilt China. The money and the jobs that they’ve sucked out of our country, we have rebuilt China, and we’re going to reverse it.

Shawna Smith, a small-business owner from Reno, said Trump’s comments on the economy surprised her.

“I was afraid I was going to be coming to a man yelling at the people who may employ him,” she said.He did well. He impressed me and I think he impressed others.

Steve Tate, 71, of Reno, said he thought Trump was focused more on issues than previous times he’s heard the candidate speak.

“He really focused on substantive matters,” he said. “I don’t think he did as well as he thought he did last night (in the debate), but I thought he did a heck of a job today.”

Alese McMurty, a 19-year-old University of Nevada, Reno student, said all Trump offered her was empty rhetoric.

“He goes on and on about himself about how he’s so great and he’s going to create all these jobs, but he doesn’t say how he’s going to create all these jobs,” she said. “I thought it was lacking in concrete policy.”

Trump told the crowd he was running for president not for attention, but because he was tired of being let down by other Republicans.

“I supported (John) McCain. [Trump was a McCain bundler]. Now he had a hard time (in 2008) because with what was happening was pretty tough. I say Abraham Lincoln maybe couldn’t have done it,” he said. 

“I supported (Mitt) Romney and he let us down (in 2012). He just let us down because that was an election that should’ve been won. So I supported McCain, I supported Romney and now I’m saying to hell with it, I’m doing it myself."...

[Ed. note: Romney had no intention of winning: "“He wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life. He had no desire to...run,” said Tagg (Romney's son)."...Boston Globe, 12/22/2012)

(continuing): "He also reserved criticism for the media, particularly CNBC for what he described as bad debate moderation and Politico for what he said was dishonest coverage around his poll numbers and a recent event in Iowa.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson overtook Trump in several national polls recently, but he said that was being blown out of proportion by the media. Trump added the size of the crowds at his rallies were proof his campaign was not losing steam."...

[Ed. note: Not sure which "several national polls" author references.]

(continuing): "“I was a little below Carson,” he said. “It was the biggest story I’ve ever seen. It was true. It happened. It was bigger than anything – it was bigger than Benghazi with Hillary (Clinton).”

Tate said this was a natural reaction from a candidate known for being boisterous.

“People hear about him and the polls start climbing,” Tate said. “Now he’s got to get a lot more substance or he’s going to go down. I think he realizes it but he won’t admit it.”

Overall, Gail Pfeiffer, 67, of Sparks, said she enjoyed the Trump rally, especially since it offered a chance to hear him in more than just sound bites.

I liked that he was able to talk a little bit more about his plans and policies,” she said. “I never get that in the debates. I’m so disappointed.

Marjie Faust, 70, of Reno, said she was pleased with the end result, but thought Trump focused too much on himself and his accomplishments in the beginning before talking about policy and answering questions.

“I was put off at first,” she said. “I never felt strongly because we’ve always gotten promises. I know he’s a celebrity. Ronald Reagan was a celebrity, but this gentleman has a different way of coming across, so I’m just going to wait and see.”"

10/29/15, Top two images, Trump rally in Reno, Nevada, via, " 3h3 hours ago Reno, NV. Presidential Rally in Reno, ! winner!! #Trump#Train


Third image from Reno Gazette-Journal: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets his supporters after speaking during a campaign rally at the Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks on Oct. 29, 2015. (Photo: Jason Bean)"
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Romney in 2012, per AP: In the must-win state of Ohio, Romney couldn't connect with white, working-class voters:

9/25/2012, "Romney, Obama zero in on Ohio, a GOP must-win," AP, by Charles Babington and Kasie Hunt, Vandalia, Ohio

"Romney is...having mixed success with his chief target: white, working-class voters who are socially conservative and often have union backgrounds. A generation ago they were called "Reagan Democrats."...He is having trouble connecting with middle-class Ohioans."...

 


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Trump tops Pennsylvania poll at 23%, Carson second at 22%, Jeb Bush 7th at 3%. Oct. 19-25, 2015, Franklin and Marshall College poll

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Trump 23
Carson 22
Rubio 13
Kasich 6
Cruz 4
Christie 3
Bush 3
Fiorina 3
Huckabee 1
Jindal 1
Paul 1
Santorum 1

Oct. 19-25, 2015, Franklin and Marshall College poll, 231 registered Republicans, 3.9% error margin, conducted at  the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa. Method not stated, eg, telephone, internet, in person. Chart below on page 7.























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Rush Limbaugh responds to Gov. Kasich who says he's 'had it with these' Republican Presidential candidates and wonders what happened to the conservative movement. Rush tells Kasich the conservative movement doesn't exist in the GOP Establishment, his pals in Washington don't want it. You know, they have a heart-10/28/15

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10/28/15, "My Response to Governor Kasich," Rush Limbaugh

"RUSH: Now we move on to John Kasich.  John Kasich is understandably angry.  John Kasich is understandably frustrated.  Let's go to back to the first debate. After the first debate, people like F. Chuck Todd and other experts in the media said that John Kasich won the first debate, and it wasn't even closeHe won the first debate hands down.  John Kasich was far and away the best Republican on the stage in that first debate.

You know why?  Because they said, "John Kasich! Finally a Republican who shows he has a heart. Finally there's a Republican running for president who shows that he cares about people."  And that's because of what Kasich said about expanding welfare, expanding entitlements, embracing and accepting gay marriage and all people and whatever they do, because we must love them. The media melted, and they thought that Kasich was gonna run away with it.  And Kasich hasn't gotten beyond whatever he is: Three, four, maybe five percent.

 
 
 
 
 
I'm sure Governor Kasich thinks he's got maybe the best record as a governor in the state of Ohio, and I'm sure he believed what the Drive-Bys said after the first debate, and I'm sure he expected those kinds of things to be said based on the opinions he gave. 
 
And yet all of that has not manifested itself in any kind of upward movement, and he's understandably frustrated.  And now he's out wondering: What the heck happened to our party?  What happened to us conservatives?  What's gone wrong?  What has happened to our party? Two sound bites.  Here's the first one. This is in Westerville, Ohio, yesterday at a campaign event.

KASICH:  I've about had it with these people! We got one candidate that says that we ought to abolish Medicare and Medicaid.  You ever heard of anything so crazy as that, telling our people in this country who are seniors or about to be seniors that we're gonna abolish Medicaid and Medicare?  We got one person saying we ought to have a 10% flat tax that will drive up the -- the deficit in this country by trillions of dollars that my daughters will spend the rest of their lives having to pay off. You know, what I say to them is, "Why don't we have no taxes? Just get rid of them all and then a chicken in every pot on top of it!"

RUSH:  Right. So the frustration is settling in because the "compassion" play isn't seeming to work.  Kasich, the compassion play was gonna work. John Kasich was gonna show it. A lot of other Republicans who said they believe in "compassionate conservatism," but John Kasich was gonna demo it. And he did.  And it isn't working. And so now he's lashing out.  Now as best I can tell, I didn't know we had anybody who wants to abolish Medicare and Medicaid.  The closest I can find is Ben Carson saying that he would like to gut Medicare.

But I can't find anybody else that said they wanted to gut both of them.  But Ben Carson has said that he wanted to cut Medicare.  "We got one person saying we ought to have a 10% flat tax that'll drive up the deficit in this country by trillions of dollars.No, the Republicans in the Congress, Governor Kasich, are doing that.  You don't need to worry about raising the national debt. The Republicans in Congress, your buddies (sigh), they're helping the Democrats do that.  Tax cuts, see?  In these guys' minds, tax cuts -- you keeping more of your money -- that's the danger!  Governor Kasich's wondering what happened to the conservative movement.
 
Yeah. (chuckling) We've been asking that for quite a while of people like him.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  Does anybody remember who's actually gutted Medicare?  Can you say the name Barack Hussein Obama?  Remember the $700 billion Obama cut from Medicare to take that money and spend it on Obamacare, and then they double counted it?  If anybody's gutted Medicare, it's Obama.  Now, here's the next Kasich bite.  This one's aimed at Trump.  These first two comments are aimed at Ben Carson, who is in the lead.  Kasich's upset at Carson, thinks he's saying crazy stuff.  This is aimed at Trump.

KASICH: (shouting) We know one guy that says we ought to take 10 or 11 million people and pick 'em up. I don't know where... We're gonna go in their homes, their apartments?
 
We're gonna pick 'em up and we're gonna take 'em to the border and scream at 'em to get out of our country?  That's crazy. That is just crazy. We got people proposing health care reform that's gonna leave, I believe, millions of people without adequate health insurance. 
 
What has happened to our party? What has happened to the conservative movement?

RUSH:  Exactly right, Governor.  You used to be a ranking member in the conservative movement.  People without health insurance?  Who the hell did that, Governor?  Barack Obama!  Obamacare.  You signed onto it! Obamacare has left people without coverage.  Obamacare has made it unaffordable.  The premiums have skyrocketed.  This ticks me off! I can't tell you how this ticks me off.  The premiums have skyrocketed. 
 
The deductibles are so high, people are never gonna be able to get to the deductible.

They're never gonna get treated! The enrollment rates are way below what was necessary as stated by Obama.  Obama destroyed the health care system!  We used to have a conservative movement that Kasich used to be a member of that was trying to stop this kind of stuff.  But it doesn't exist anymore.  And the people running for president understand that we need somebody that's gonna stand up to this stuff rather than agree with it and go along with it under the guise that we can do it smarter or make it better or what have you.

And if you don't understand how illegal immigration is perceived by the people in this country as the single greatest thing that could destroy it as it was founded, then you are more out of touch with people who vote for the president in this country than I can possibly believe....

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  Governor Kasich, with all due respect, have you ever heard of Dwight Eisenhower?  Dwight Eisenhower was a famous Republican president, famous general. Dwight Eisenhower deported millions of people in this country.  We didn't have immigration in this country from 1924 to 1965.  Eisenhower deported a bunch of people that were not assimilating.  We used to do immigration the right way.  Does everybody forget we're talking about illegal immigration here?  We're not talking about -- which is bad enough as it is.

Do these people not know the numbers I cited to you yesterday:  By the year 2022, an additional 12 million legal immigrants will be here?  And everybody applauds that, claps their hands. "Yeah, yeah, 'cause we're a nation of immigrants. Yeah, yeah, right cool." Okay, fine.  We're talking about illegals!  But we've deported people throughout our nation's history.  It isn't anything new.  But, look: "We got people proposing health care reform that can leave millions of people without adequate health insurance"?

Who is already doing that?  Barack Obama! The Affordable Care Act!

And everybody knew this is exactly what was gonna happen before it was signed into law.  This is why everybody opposed it.  It was based on a bunch of lies.  It was no way gonna give health insurance to everybody.  It was no way gonna be free.  It was no way gonna be cheaper.  It was no way gonna be everybody's gonna get more health treatment than they ever have had before.  There was no way it was gonna improve because it was not constructed that way.  Now we have people who are forced to pay fines if they don't have health insurance, and the fines are cheaper than what it would be to buy health insurance?

What do you think people are gonna do, particularly young people who are healthy?  How about the statistic that half of the people in this country earn less than $30,000?  We have got serious problems here that have been created by the Democrat Party.  The last seven years of Barack Obama have been an absolute disaster economically, socially, and culturally.  And what we've had is Republicans afraid to stand up to any of it. They go along with it and then try to get accolades and pats on the back for being compassionate.

This is why there's a disconnect between the Republican Party and its own elected officials. 
 
This is why there is now a Republican establishment that does not like having all this opposition called the conservative movement "What happened to the conservative movement?"  The Republican Party's trying to destroy it, Governor Kasich.  It's too uncomfortable; it's too much of a nuisance.  Want to talk about gutting health care? Try Barack Obama: $700 billion drained from the program in order to fund this boondoggle called Obamacare.

And everybody knows Medicare is headed for collapse like everything else is.  We're $19 trillion in debt! Half the people of this country make under $30,000 a year.  How in the world are we gonna have any kind of a tax base that can support anywhere near the kind of economic growth that we need? And it's not just me speculating that Medicare's headed for collapse.  The government tells us every different day, and then the next day they tell us Social Security's headed for collapse.  At one point, it's going to be true.

We have the Baby Boomers who can't afford to retire, who want their Social Security. 
 
We've got a bunch of Gen X, Gen Y Millennials who have no desire to pay for 'em.  They're barely able to find career-oriented jobs themselves.  I don't know what's been proposed to deal with any of this by any of these people worried about the collapse.  John Kasich's governor of Ohio.  He expanded Medicaid in his state.  Compassionate move.  Cost is skyrocketing, as you would expect.  You expand an entitlement, what the hell do you think, it's gonna get cheaper?

You expand an entitlement, you put more people in the entitlement, put more people on the rolls, and somehow you're reducing costs?  No, but you're really being "compassionate," showing you have a big heart and you love people. (snorts)  And then after we expand the entitlement, then all these guys that do that, they tell us how humane it was.  "Yes, it was the humane thing to do! I'm not one of those mean Republicans.  I have a heart.  I have compassion.  I support an expanding entitlement."

It's been expanded to now include able-bodied young people, and it's also dropped the requirement to work in order to receive the benefit.  What do you expect is gonna happen when you make freeloading easy?  And then you call it compassionate!  And if you don't like the term "freeloading," let's look at it the other way around: What has happened that makes all of these costs impossible for people to bear on their own?  Who's responsible for that?  Who is it that meddles in virtually every little thing?  Do you know what happened?








Where's conservatism gone?  I'll tell you where it is.  We see a story that the donor class wants illegal immigrants 'cause they're cheaper to pay.  You know what conservatives say?  "No, no, no! That's not right.  We believe in boundless opportunity.  We believe in people showing up, working hard, educating themselves, using their ambition.  We believe in people getting raises! We believe in people finding great jobs, great careers, increasing their pay, their wages, their standard of living.  That's what conservatism stands for.  To make that happen, you get government out of the way.
You turn people loose pick up you have faith in 'em.  You trust 'em.  You trust 'em, their ambition and their desire, the fact that they love their families and that they want to improve the lives of those that they support.  We trust individuals to do the best for themselves, and that will raise everybody.  We do not think people are incapable, incompetent, and need a government program in order to get through the day. But when you create all these entitlements, all these government programs and then you import 12 million, 20 million, whatever it is people that are not qualified to earn more than the minimum wage, what do you think is gonna happen to wages?

"What do you think is gonna happen to incomes?  And the whole idea of people being self-supporting vanishes."  The conservative movement looks at the news every day in this country and weeps, cringes, and cries.  Half the country is making $30,000 a year!  Full-time work has now been reduced to part-time work so that people do not have to provide health care, and all of this is 'cause nobody can afford any of it.  The proof that nobody can afford any of it is that we're $19 trillion in debt giving it away.

We can't afford it, period.  We don't have the money to do any of this "compassionate" stuff.  
 
Take a look Europe.  You want to see "compassion"?  The Europeans are filled with it.  The Europeans are filled with all kinds of generational guilt, and so now all these people from all over the world want to better their lives and come to Europe.  They said, "Come on in@ We're good people!"  And now they're searching for guns.  Yeah, there's no Second Amendment in the EU.  People that live there now looking for guns because they're being overrun. The problem is, they can't find guns.  They're not legal.

 
 
Now leaders in European country after European country are doing everything they can to try to resurrect deportation laws because they can't handle the influx.  Because it's not refugees and it's not migrants; it's an invasion.  But the good people of Europe, the leaders, the sophisticated elites fail to see anything other than what they thought was their own compassion on display, their own big-heartedness.  Millions of people unable to get health care, and somehow this is the fault of the conservative movement?  Somehow this is the fault of people running for president, who haven't had a thing to do with Obamacare?...
 
There's not one Republican running for president that could be blamed for the structure and the operational joke that is Obamacare.  Most of, but not all, the people running for president want to fix it.  At some point, though, we're either gonna realize we can't afford all of these entitlements and all of this give-away, and we're also gonna realize how we're destroying people's futures by expanding all these programs, by denying people the dignity of their own ambition and desire and achievement.  That's where the conservative movement is, but you don't find any of this in Washington.  You don't hear any of this in Washington.  None of it.

What you hear in Washington is the things I just said to you are troublesome.  They're mean-spirited, extreme, and they're just undesirable.  When in fact those of us who want the best for people actually are the ones with compassion. We are the ones who actually do love people. We're the ones who actually do want the best for people, and we understand that government cannot, will not, never has, done that.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  Have you heard about what's going on at Walt Disney?  Walt Disney is importing new workers, legal immigrants, H1B visas.  When I first heard about this, I didn't understand it.  I didn't understand why Zuckerberg and these guys are running around pro-legal immigration expansion, until I figured out what was going on.  They want recent graduates, high skilled, high GPA graduates from foreign countries. They want to employ them because they are cheaper than it is to hire Americans of the same qualifications, same experience.

At Disney, you know what's happening?  Current employees are being forced to train the immigrants who are going to replace them at half, often, what they are being paid.  And Disney employees are finally speaking up about it.  The same thing's gonna happen at Facebook. The same thing is gonna happen wherever you have a high-tech wizard demanding that we expand immigration.  They're looking for cheap labor.  They want the same qualifications. They want the wizards of smart in the tech world. They want the brightest geeks they can get.  They just don't want the geeks that can demand wages that are at present being paid....

Workers around the world make less than Americans do, and you can't compete globally if your labor costs are higher.  This leads me to another problem.  What's wrong in all of this immigration is a really out-of-focus focus.  Milton Friedman, was he crazy, Governor Kasich?  Was Milton Friedman crazy?  Milton Friedman said you cannot have open immigration and a massive welfare state.  The two together will destroy an economy.

Here's what I mean, by focus.  When did this go wrong?  When it comes to immigration, when did it matter what foreigners want, more than what Americans want?  When did that begin?  Because when it comes to immigration, the issue is not what foreigners want or what foreigners demand.  The issue is what do Americans want.  This is the United States of America and the people we elect and represent us in Washington are supposed to represent us.  This is what's missing.  They don't anymore.  They are representing people who are not citizens.  They are standing up for people who are not citizens.

They're not standing up for the American people who elect them anymore.  As such, we don't have a representative government.  We have a government governing against the will of the people.  The will of the people is universally opposed.  The Republican-Democrat Party policy on just this one issue, immigration, but there are others.  Governor Kasich and Governor Christie and Jeb Bush and whoever falls in line here that foreigners and immigrants are far more important to America's future than Americans are.  They spend all of this time telling us about the plight of foreigners.  I realize foreigner is a dirty word, we're not supposed to say that.  Okay.  They tell us about the plight of people who live in Mexico, in El Salvador, and other poor nations around the world.

We have to hear about that.  We know that.  It's not our fault.  We somehow, though, are gonna be blamed or punished or what have you.  It's our responsibility somehow to change their circumstances, and we get to hear about how immigration's an act of love.  Yes, it's what Jeb says.  These immigrants, they love America.  Oh, we don't?  This has nothing to do, none of that, what the immigrants want, what the illegals want, what Jorge Ramos wants, nothing to do with what is supposed to be the basis of a nation's immigration policy....

The issue is what American citizens want and desire, and they express that by virtue of elections.

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The United States is here as a country not to provide benefits for the rest of the world.  The way that happens is by building and growing the strongest America possible, creating boundless riches, boundless economic activity and creating revenue growth like we haven't seen, and that's how we help the world.  We don't help the world by getting rid of our borders and saying, "Come on in."  That destroys the engine of the greatest country ever.  
 
And the fact that people we have elected are seeking that solution is why there is so much opposition to Washington, DC, today.

I have to take another break because I'm up against it on time.  We'll be back.

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RUSH:  In the case of Disney, what they are doing, they're replacing highly technical IT workers who make around a hundred grand a year with foreign workers who make less than 60, plus the savings in payroll tax.  They don't have to pay payroll tax for the three years they hire these people.  And the people making a hundred, who have the jobs currently, are having to train their replacements."

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