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Tag: Republican

  • Jeb Bush Is An ‘Embarrassment To His Family,’ Says Donald Trump

    Republican presidential candidate and former Florida governor Jeb Bush has received scathing remarks from the GOP leading contender, Donald Trump, calling him an embarrassment to the Bush clan.

    Trump dropped the bomb in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press after Bush stated that the real estate tycoon is a “jerk” before his crowd of supporters during a campaign rally.

    Jeb Bush Calls Donald Trump A Jerk During A Campaign Rally

    The business magnate and current number one Republican presidential hopeful attacked his rival with an insulting comeback: “He’s an embarrassment to the Bush family, and in fact he doesn’t even want to use the Bush name, which is interesting.”

    “Jeb is an embarrassment to himself and his family, and the Republican Party has essentially — they’re not even listening to Jeb,” Trump added.

    Donald Trump Criticizes Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton on ‘Meet The Press’

    With the elections drawing near, the presidential candidates are using every single opportunity to expose each other’s flaws. Calling Bush “weak and ineffective,” Trump said the former governor will leave the primary elections soon.

    Bush, on the other hand, was quick to point out that the leading candidate is ignorant when it comes to important national issues. The business mogul failed to answer important questions on the nuclear triad during last week’s debate. Amid their heated verbal exchange, Bush admitted he feels “much better” now that he is not the frontrunner. He added he is comfortable with his current poll results unlike before when he felt pressured just because he thought people have high expectations of him.

    “I totally get it … because I have a brother that was president and a father that was president. And that higher expectation was important to realize. And so, being the frontrunner made me feel like the other guys [were] just dancing right through this,” Bush said, adding he is prepared to accept his fate.

  • Santa Claus: Is He Ted Cruz’s New Pawn?

    Santa Claus: Is He Ted Cruz’s New Pawn?

    Santa Claus is being unwittingly used by Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign. The Republican hopeful plans to have the jolly man in the red suit on hand as he continues on his eight-state, 12-city Christmas tour.

    Everyone who goes to see Ted Cruz can see Santa Claus, but in order to see the candidate, they must register–providing their name, email address, and zip code for the campaign’s website.

    “It’s a great way to make sure we’re reaching out and touching as many people as possible,” Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier says.

    A prospective Cruz voter named Katherine Schupe brought her two small children to see Santa Claus and Ted Cruz.

    “Say Ted Cruz!” she said, as her children waved mini American flags in a scene decked out for Christmas.

    It was Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe who came up with the idea of adding Santa Claus to their pre-Christmas campaign stops.

    When he pitched the idea a week before the tour, “everyone was just kind of silent,” Catherine Frazier said.

    A man named Robin Hood (yes, it’s real) played Santa Claus in Virginia. Even though he was happy to work for the campaign, he stayed mum about which candidate he is supporting.

    “I can’t really say,” he said. “It’s another one of those Santa secrets.”

    What’s your take on Ted Cruz bringing Santa Claus along on his tour stops? Is Santa, in a way, a new political pawn?

  • Sarah Palin’s Incompetence To Blame For GOP’s Dysfunctional Activity, Says Bill Daley

    The current candidacy of billionaire celebrity Donald Trump has caused people – especially Democrats – to question the stability and “sanity” of the GOP. The latest individual to chime in is former Chief of Staff to President Obama, Bill Daley.

    Daley wrote an article in the Opinions section of The Washington Post website, in which he stated that the chaos that is currently surrounding the GOP presidential primary was triggered by the decision of Senator John McCain to have Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate in the 2008 presidential elections.

    In the article, Daley narrowed down the culprit to Palin’s “blatant lack of competence and preparedness,” which he says “needs no belaboring.” He further explains that Palin’s campaign strategy, which involved reason-deprived and flashy “never compromise” declarations gave way to Trump’s similarly-veined platform – to “make America great again.”

    AlterNet’s Janet Allon points out that Palin is in rather “good” company; she isn’t the only Republican figure whose mental and intellectual abilities have been questioned.

    In 2010, former Delaware senatorial candidate Christine O’Donnell appeared in advertisements declaring that she is “not a witch” after a video of herself admitting to “dabbling in witchcraft” was shown on Real Time with Bill Maher.

    Former Missouri Representative Todd Akin got embroiled in a huge controversy in 2012 when he coined the term “legitimate rape” in an interview about abortion. Palin got wind of Daley’s comments and took to social media to express her derision. “The Left’s failed agenda is my fault? Well maybe that’s a fine birthday gift for Mom today! Happy birthday, Mom!” she posted on her Facebook and Twitter pages as a caption to the Daley article.

    Former Georgia congressman John Linder came out with an article of his own, reacting to Daley’s commentary, and in effect, defending Palin and the Republican Party.

    His article, which was published Wednesday on The Blaze, enumerated the numerous accomplishments of the Republican Party in an effort to counter Daley’s accusations of “incompetence”.

    Linder went on to criticize President Obama’s administration and made an exhaustive list of its “failures.” He ends his retaliation by suggesting that Daley should know better than to attack Palin and the Republicans.

  • Megyn Kelly On War Of Words With Donald Trump: ‘It’s My Job To Ask Tough Questions’

    Outspoken Fox News host Megyn Kelly recently attended Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday as a speaker. The theme of this year’s conference was “Leading with Purpose,” and Kelly shared her thoughts about the concept of “power.”

    However, the more pressing issue discussed at the summit was the much-talked about feud between herself and business mogul-slash-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

    Kelly quickly became the target of Trump’s ire following the first Republican presidential debate, which she moderated back in August. She cited a few derogatory comments Trump had made about women and questioned him about their possible impact on his candidacy.

    This line of questioning apparently peeved Trump as he immediately released a series of angry comments about Kelly after the debate. In an interview with CNN, he said, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her–wherever.”

    During the summit, Kelly finally defended her journalistic choices at the debate, saying that she was not trying to single him out like he thinks. She added that she and her network “may have overestimated” Trump’s “anger management skills.” “It’s not like I was looking to make an example out of Donald Trump,” she said in an article by U.S. political website, The Hill.  “The reason I asked that is not a comment on Megyn Kelly. It was a comment on his electability and what he’s likely to hear from Hillary Clinton should he become the nominee. She adds that it’s her responsibility as a journalist to ask “tough questions” and that “no one was given a pass.”

    Trump’s daughter Ivanka recently weighed in on the matter and said that the “feud” between Kelly and her father was “very sensationalized.” As an executive at the Trump Organization and Kelly’s fellow speaker at the summit, Ivanka said that she wouldn’t be in her present position if she “didn’t deeply believe in opportunity for women.”

  • Bill O’Reilly Brings Donald Trump Back To Fox News After Mogul’s Boycott Of The Network

    One might mistake Bill O’Reilly for someone campaigning for Donald Trump, but he might just really be flattered about being the reason why Trump went back to Fox News.

    Trump reportedly said that Fox News had been unfair in covering his presidential campaign. But last Tuesday, Trump appeared in The O’Reilly Factor, where he was grilled by the host.

    Although Trump said he has always found O’Reilly to be fair, the typically outspoken host proceeded to ask Trump if the questions being asked were fair.

    The day following the interview, O’Reilly talked about Trump and his campaign on the show. O’Reilly also denied that he knew anything about the reason behind Trump’s reconciliation with the Fox News Channel. “He’s a phenomenon, this man,” O’Reilly told Yahoo News’ Katie Couric on Wednesday. “The liberal press doesn’t want a guy saying, ‘Well, we’re gonna build a fence! We’re gonna round up all the illegal aliens and deport them!’” he said. “The liberal press goes wild about that.”

    O’Reilly even defended Trump about his past statement regarding Mexican immigrants.

    “He was talking about the ‘coyotes,’ the people smugglers — not the regular Mexican people,” O’Reilly said. “He didn’t articulate it that way. It was a verbal mistake… I know what he was saying, but he didn’t say it in a way that was clear.”

    “I’ve defended Trump a lot,” O’Reilly said. “I think Trump is good for America because he’s drawing so many people in and they’re paying attention to the debates.”

    “He’s not a phony,” O’Reilly continued. “He’s entertaining, he’s energetic, and he’s knowledgeable. That’s what I look for when I want to hang out with someone.”

    But O’Reilly also called Trump “hypersensitive” when it comes to the ‘small stuff’ — and unable to accept criticism of his policies.

    “If the question is tough, you’ve got to roll with it because you’re running for president,” he said.

  • Jeb Bush Says ‘I Apologize’ To Donald Trump For Campaigning In Spanish

    Jeb Bush has released a campaign video in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. The video, “Todos Somos Americanos” or “We are all Americans,” features Bush speaking in Spanish and his Mexican-American wife, Columba Bush, speaking in English.

    Jeb says in Spanish: “The United States of America is a great country. Thanks to the people that come from all over the world, contributing to our economy and community. To me, Hispanic culture is very important and positive.”

    He also said he is proud that his children and grandchildren are Hispanic. Columba, who is rarely seen in Jeb’s campaign activities said in English: “I have lived over half my life here. We all have the same interests, the same feelings.”

    Jeb’s campaign advisers are positive that his family’s ties with the Latino community will contribute a lot to his campaign.

    Jeb highlights the importance of Hispanics in nation building and that they are part of the “American dream.” He then urged the people to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, a month-long celebration which marks the independence days of many Central American and South American countries.

    The video is released despite rival, Donald Trump’s remarks on Jeb’s inclination to speak Spanish in his speeches, when addressing Spanish-language media and when answering questions from the Latino community.

    Trump previously said Jeb should speak English while in the U.S. which Jeb finds disrespectful.

    The former Florida governor, has a sarcastic response to Trump’s criticisms: “I’m going to campaign in the Latino communities and yes, Mr. Trump if I’m asked a question in Spanish, I might answer in Spanish,” Jeb said, then adds “I apologize.”

    Jeb and Trump will face each other again on stage at the CNN Republican presidential debate that will be held on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

  • Donald Trump Mocks Asian Negotiators By Speaking In Broken English

    Business mogul and Republican presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, made another racist remark in a speech he delivered during a campaign rally in Iowa on Tuesday. This time Trump made fun of the negotiating skills of Asian business negotiators in broken English.

    “When these people walk into the room, they don’t say, ‘Oh hello, how’s the weather? It’s so beautiful outside. How are the Yankees doing? They’re doing wonderful, that’s great,” the presidential candidate said. “They say, ‘We want deal!’” which made the audience laugh at Trump’s offending joke. Trump who is known for his remarkable negotiating skills, is consistent on his stand on the economic relationship between China and the U.S. On his Twitter he said the Chinese market and the whole Asian market are “taking the U.S. market down.”

    He  also made insensitive remarks about Mexican immigrants at the beginning of his campaign. Besides Trump, another candidate made insensitive remark about Asians. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Trump’s rival, used “anchor babies” to refer to children of undocumented immigrants. “Frankly, it’s more Asian people,” Bush said. Trump picked on Bush’s failed effort to choose a more politically correct term to refer to Hispanics and linking “anchor babies” to Asians. He called his effort “a mess” on Twitter.

    The Congressional Asia-Pacific American Caucus has already addressed Bush’s comments but has not yet given their comments on Trump’s racial remarks.

    “All that is accomplished through talk of anchor-babies — be they from Latin America, Asia, Europe or Africa — is to use xenophobic fears to further isolate immigrants. It’s time for our country to return to a substantive discussion on immigration,” said U.S. Rep Judy Chu of Pasadena, California, leader of the caucus.

    Chu believes that what the country needs is an actionable plan to “integrate” the illegal immigrants in the country.

  • Donald Trump Is Certainly Winning the Google Search Battle

    Donald Trump Is Certainly Winning the Google Search Battle

    Google Trends has produced an interactive county-by-county map of the most-searched Republican Presidential candidates – and it’s monochromatic.

    That dark red represents Donald Trump, who is pretty much dominating Google searches across the country – unless you head to Wisconsin, where Scott Walker receives the bulk of the attention.

    After Walker, Jeb Bush wins a handful of scattered counties.

    Check out Google’s map:

    If you look at the second-most searched candidate, there’s a lot more Bush.

    Donald Trump is a lot of things. Ignored is not one of them – at least at this stage in the competition. Twitter recently provided data on overall mentions on its platform over the past month, and it’s not even close. Trump received 2.7 million mentions, and his closest competitor was Scott Walker with 354,000 total mentions in the time period.

    Real Clear Politics’ aggregate polling data has trump up 10.4 points over Jeb Bush.

  • Sarah Palin Shuts Down Online Channel, Another Sign Of Her Fading Popularity

    Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin recently announced that she’s closing down her subscriber-based online channel.

    The Sarah Palin Channel, which started last July, allowed Palin to reach viewers without “a media filter” at membership charges of $9.95 every month or $99.95 for the whole year.

    Now, the former Fox News contributor has decided to provide her content for free on her Facebook page and website, SarahPac.com, starting on August 1.

    Palin stated that she’s shutting down the online channel because she preferred to connect to more people so her voice can be heard especially since the 2016 presidential election is approaching fast.

    The former vice-presidential runner further said that she felt privileged to have people subscribed to her channel and that she found it informative to see and reply to comments about current happenings.

    However, the channel shutdown may simply be due to low member subscriptions, says Jason Easley of Politicususa.

    But a spokesperson for TAPP, which Palin’s channel is a part of, has declined to reveal the membership figures of the online channel.

    Nevertheless, the public relations company will issue refunds to those who subscribed for the whole year and wishes Palin well in her endeavours.

    Indeed, Palin’s sparkle as a former conservative superstar is fading fast.

    Her every word made the headlines back in 2010 upon joining Fox News and she became the face of the Tea Party. Her popularity is now in decline and over the years the former Governor’s appearances on the Fox News network has dwindled.

    Last month, Fox News refused to renew Palin’s contract as a contributor, and analysts have concluded that the network has realized that the Republican isn’t worth her huge paycheck (reportedly about $1 million per year), now that she isn’t what she used to be.

  • Kelly Ayotte Takes Early Stance To Defend Her Seat

    Kelly Ayotte is already gearing up for her next political fight.

    The popular New Hampshire Republican senator is already being forced to guard her position in the swing state before the 2016 elections, because historically, New Hampshire already tends to vote Democrat during election years.

    Republicans across the state and even Chris Christie, New Jersey governor and potential presidential candidate, are circling the wagons around Kelly Ayotte as she gets ready to defend her seat in a race that hasn’t even been intiated yet.

    Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan is said to have eyes for Kelly Ayotte’s Senate seat, but hasn’t even announced that she will be running against Ayotte.

    However, Republicans see her as a big enough threat that they are already starting the attempt to discredit Hassan.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dAq0IFAUUU

    “There’s been constant quiet talk about it in Concord from the first day she became governor, at the beginning of her first term,” said Jennifer Horn, the state GOP chairwoman. “It’s the worst-kept secret in political circles that Governor Hassan would like to be Senator Hassan.”

    Earlier this month, Kelly Ayotte’s office made a right-to-know request for Governor Hassan’s out-of-state travel records. They say she loses power and control when she travels out of her state’s borders.

    They hope to show with her travel records that she has only used her job as Governor as a step up to bigger things.

    Chris Christie took a jab on behalf of Kelly Ayotte recently, saying, “[Hassan] will use this platform as a way to increase her own visibility and run for the next job. Let’s be careful. We’ve got enough of those types in Washington, D.C., already. We don’t need you to send any more there.”

    Meanwhile, Kelly Ayotte is also carrying on with political business as usual. Earlier this month, she expressed concern over President Obama’s hesitation to take a stand against ISIS and terrorism in general.

    Kelly Ayotte told Chris Matthews, “I think they [President Obama and John Kerry] should spend less time on being worried about being politically correct, about how we define our enemies, and more time on a strategy to defeat them.”

    What do you think? Is Kelly Ayotte over-reacting too early to a possible threat in her swing state? Or is she just being politically prudent in protecting the Republican presence needed for the upcoming elections?

  • Clay Aiken Facing Sabotage Of Congressional Campaign With Stolen Signs

    On Friday, a man in Sanford was reportedly cited for stealing signs used in the campaign for congressional candidate Clay Aiken. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, a man named Jonathon Lee Gonia, 31 years old, was served with a criminal summons for removal of election or political signs. Gonia is reportedly scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

    The Lee County Democratic Party apparently received a report on Thursday evening that someone was removing Aiken’s signs at the intersection of Jefferson Davis and Center Church roads. A description of the man provided by a witness was matched to Gonia, along with information such as the license tag of the vehicle he was driving.

    The witness spoke to Gonia, who claimed that he worked for the Democratic Party and was removing the Clay Aiken signs because they were obstructing his view.

    “Based on the evidence that we have in the investigation, it appears that [Gonia] stole the signs,” said Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter.

    However, according to a statement issued by Gonia and his lawyer, Ed Page, Gonia was removing Aiken’s signs because they were placed within three feet from the road and obstructing the view of motorists.

    “Mr. Gonia removed unlawfully placed signs and returned them to Lee County Democrat Headquarters. We fully believe that it was lawful to remove these unlawfully placed signs,” said Page.

    Meanwhile, Aiken embarked on a three-week bus tour across US House District 2 starting with a rally in Cary, North Carolina on Tuesday, October 14. Aiken will be hosting town hall meetings, attending local events and meeting constituents throughout his tour.

    Aiken is running against Republican Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, and will be facing her in a forum being hosted by the Sanford Herald newspaper when his tour bus moves to Sanford from Cary.

  • Gene Simmons: Fox News Fan; Republican?

    Gene Simmons: Fox News Fan; Republican?

    Gene Simmons, The Demon, singer and bass player in KISS, is a shrewd businessman. His unique attitudes about marriage, rock and roll, and his band are the stuff of lore. But Simmons has been saying some things over the years that lead some to wonder if this “rock and roll all night, party every day” legend is lining up more with conservative Ted Nugent than with liberal Eddie Vedder.

    Gene Simmons once said on Fox Business, when asked if he thought President Obama’s credibility was shot, “We’re all in trouble when you ask rock stars what they think about the political climate … I voted for [Obama], and I have a lot of concerns … I believe government should stay out of my way … the government doesn’t even know how to run government.”

    Simmons said then, and at other times, that he did vote for Obama in 2008. He has since said that he regrets that.

    “Because I voted because the man that was running was a moment in history. I, in the back of my mind, I wanted to show the world that America – the land of slaves, the land that tortured its black population for hundreds of years – is also the place of hope that could give an African-American a chance to lead the most powerful place on the face of the planet. However, if you take a look at the resume, you couldn’t find somebody, in retrospect, more unqualified – two years in public office, never ran his own company. So, I’m, after the fact, I was questioning the qualification.”

    Recently Simmons tweeted about Fox News’ market share, particularly compared to that of CNN.

    Gene’s partner in KISS, Paul Stanley has said that he is embarrassed by Gene’s outspokenness on political matters.

    “It’s absurd that a celebrity could speak out on the economy or politics with no more justification than a hit album or a movie. Not to deride Gene, but I just think he’s part of a symptom of absurdity where you’ll see somebody on television whose only criteria for being there is success in a field far away from what they’re being asked about. I really don’t know who is more ridiculous, the celebrity answering these political questions or the person asking them”

    Image via YouTube

  • Ann Coulter And Laura Ingraham: The Real Winners?

    Ann Coulter and talk show hosts like Laura Ingraham are singing the praises of Dave Brat and his astounding win over Eric Cantor in last week’s congressional race.

    Dave Brat’s win is proof positive in Ann Coulter‘s eyes that the Republican party might be ready to quit toying around with amnesty and take a stronger stance against immigration reform, the issue which could be “the end of the Republican Party” to a lot of people.

    Coulter also believes that this great victory over Eric Cantor (and in turn, the “established” and comfortable Republicans) is the beginning of a new era in the party, one that will disallow the chamber of commerce to continue “buying their way” into Congress.

    Popular talk show host Laura Ingraham called the victory a “massive wakeup call to the Republican party”. Dave Brat won with significantly less money raised for his campaign than Eric Cantor. This would indicate that Republicans everywhere could indeed be ready for a massive shake up within the confines of the overly complacent and docile party.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-YNAITd0gw

    However, the support for Dave Brat from the world of talk radio has drawn some criticism and so has talk radio’s role in shaping the future of the party.

    The hosts and guests of the talk show Crossfire last week lamented Cantor’s loss as a sad day and bad direction for the Republican party.

    Host Stephanie Cutter decried that Cantor “allowed himself to be defined” by talk radio hosts like Ingraham and other Tea Party supporters. She went on to claim that such hosts “drove the election” by continuing to insist that Cantor was in bed with the Obama administration as an “establishment” Republican. She then went on to claim that talk radio is “is basically driving a wedge” between two factions of the Republican party.

    Democratic strategist Kiki McLean wondered if the election was about Cantor and Brat or Ingraham and Coulter. She said, “Did the people of Virginia nominate Laura Ingraham?”.

    Did they? Or did they nominate someone who just might have the guts to make the flip that the party truly needs? Time will tell.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ann Coulter Calls Dave Brat Win a “Massive Wakeup Call” to GOP

    Ann Coulter thinks Dave Brat’s recent victory over Republican incumbent Eric Cantor in last Tuesday’s primary election is a good thing for the Republican party.

    The conservative political commentator joined Megyn Kelly on Fox News Live to discuss the shocking election results.

    “Amnesty loses big,” Coulter told Kelly. “The idea that this will hurt the Republicans in 2016 is insane.”

    Coulter believes Cantor lost the primary due to one key issue: his support of amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens.

    Cantor, who has served as House Majority Leader since 2011, spent significantly more on his campaign than Tea Party-backed Brat ($5 million vs. less than $150,000.)

    But Brat, an economist and professor at Randolph-Macon College, played up Cantor’s support of amnesty and Coulter believes that was the key to Brat’s impressive victory.

    “Whenever the voters know an election is about immigration, they will always vote against more immigration – especially amnesty,” Coulter wrote on her website.

    She insists Brat’s win is a defeat for amnesty versus a victory for the Tea Party.

    In general, Coulter doesn’t support the Tea Party: “… the big, national tea party groups are mostly shysters and con-men raising money for their own self-aggrandizement.”

    But in mid-April she threw her support behind Brat:

    “If you don’t think the Republican Party should speak exclusively for Wall Street, Silicon Valley and the Chamber of Commerce, then you have to support … Dave Brat … challenging the amnesty-addled Eric Cantor in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.”

    In the short term, Coulter told Kelly, she hopes Brat’s victory over Cantor will “shut down any more happy talk about amnesty this year.”

    In the long term, she hopes the GOP will see it as a wakeup call. In fact, she’d like them to declare a moratorium on immigration.

    “I like Israel’s immigration policy: instant, unapologetic, unsentimental deportation of illegal aliens.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Rick Perry Likens Homosexuality to Alcoholism

    In his 2012 presidential bid, Texas governor Rick Perry was known for his verbal gaffes, perhaps the most famous of which coming during a debate in which Perry forgot which part of the federal government he wished to abolish.

    Many have not considered Perry to be a viable candidate in the 2016 elections, yet his actions imply otherwise, making visits to early voting states such as Iowa and South Carolina. And while Perry may have learned many things during his first foray into the race for president, speaking skills were apparently not on the list.

    During a visit to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on Wednesday night, Perry sought to push less-restricted economic practices onto California, imploring the state to follow the example set by Texas: “I’m not here to dis California. I’m here to lay out what we’ve done in [Texas], economically, and let you decide which one of those economic policies best suits you.”

    Despite his assurances, however, Perry did dis California, albeit most likely not on purpose.

    During the question and answer session with the audience, Perry fielded a question about whether or not he thought that reparative therapy for homosexuals, a practice now deemed acceptable and appropriate by the state of Texas, really worked: “I don’t know. I’m not a psychiatrist, I’m not a doctor,” responded Perry.

    Commonwealth Club interviewer Greg Dalton then asked the logical follow up question: Is it [homosexuality] a disorder?

    Perry’s answer resulted in several, audible gasps:

    Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that. I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.

    In a state which has banned reparative therapy from licensed professionals to minors, Perry’s answer was perhaps the most wrong answer he could have given.

    In response to Perry’s inane comment Wednesday night, the Human Rights Campaign released a simple, yet effective, reply:

    Although he may not have the ‘genetic coding’ to think before he speaks, Rick Perry, M.D. should have a real conversation with actual doctors before voicing his expertise on these issues. Every major mental health and medical organization in the country has condemned practices aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation.

    Unfortunately for Perry, this is not the first time he has expressed such views. In his 2008 book, On My Honor, Perry likened homosexuality to alcoholism once again, saying, “Even if an alcoholic is powerless over alcohol once it enters his body, he still makes a choice to drink. And, even if someone is attracted to a person of the same sex, he or she still makes a choice to engage in sexual activity with someone of the same gender.”

    If there’s one upside for the Perry campaign, it’s this – If Perry decides to run for President in 2016, he will not have to worry about spending money to campaign in California… or New York… or Massachusetts… or Washington… (You get the picture.)

    Image via YouTube

  • Joni Ernst Wins GOP Primary in Iowa for US Senate

    In order to achieve a majority in the United States Senate after the next election cycle, the Republican Party must win six additional seats. Fortunately for conservatives, fate seemed to be smiling on the GOP Tuesday as Republican candidate Joni Ernst dominated her competition in the Iowa state primary in order to become the Republican nominee in the highly-anticipated Senatorial race this fall.

    Ernst’s victory makes her the first female to ever be nominated for the Republican Senate from Iowa. The 43-year-old state Senator and military commander faced stiff competition in her primary race from multiple sources: former energy executive and multi-millionaire Mark Jacobs, Rick Perry-backed attorney Matt Whitaker, radio host and Santorum-supported Sam Clovis, and car-salesman Scott Schaben.

    While most political pundits expected Jacobs to present the greatest challenge to Ernst (mainly due to his record-setting self-financed campaign expenditures of over $1.65 million), but it was Clovis who finished second to Ernst with 18 percent of the vote. Ernst more than doubled her competition, finishing with 56.2 percent of the votes.

    Ernst was able to run such a successful campaign mainly through the use of contextually-strategic television ads. Her first ad was entitled “Squeal” and featured Ernst discussing the hog castration skills she obtained growing up on an Iowa farm. In the video, Ernst states that she will use her castration skills in Washington to help “cut the pork.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Y24MFOfFU

    The video became so popular that it was even featured on late-night talk shows across the country, bringing in much needed outside support for Ernst’s campaign and leading to another viral ad.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3mG9fNOZp4

    Perhaps the most important outside support Ernst received was from former presidential nominee and Republican Mitt Romney. While Romney has directly helped Ernst by appearing in a television ad aired by the Chamber of Commerce and by making an appearance for Ernst on the campaign trail, his more important contributions have come indirectly.

    Both Ernst’s campaign manager and treasurer are former Romney staffers. The consulting group Ernst hired is headed by a former Romney adviser. And Ernst has also received much support from the PAC America Rising, headed by former Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades.

    The greatest assistance from America Rising came with its release of a video showing Ernst’s Democratic opposition for the Senate seat in the fall, Bruce Braley, potentially alienating Iowa voters by insulting the most popular politician in Iowa, Charles Grassley, by calling him “a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school.”

    Coincidentally (or not), Ernst released her “Squeal” video, which spoke to her farming roots, the same day as America Rising released the Braley video, rocketing Ernst’s popularity amongst Iowa voters almost overnight.

    If Ernst wants to become Iowa’s first female Republican Senator, however, she is going to have to hope for much more outside help to come. As it currently stands, Braley has a five-point advantage in the early polls. That, coupled with the fact that he was unopposed in the primary and has a $2.3 million fund to pull from, puts Ernst at a disadvantage going into the fall campaign.

    Image via Facebook

  • GoDaddy Executive Running for Arizona Governor

    A former GoDaddy executive filed nominating petitions last week to enter the Republican primary for governor of Arizona. Christine Jones, a former legal counsel for the Scottsdale-based website hosting company, submitted her paperwork on Tuesday, the opening day of the regular filing period for the August primary.

    Jones, who calls herself an “unapologetic conservative,” endorses gun rights, border security and the elimination of federal meddling in school policy. Jones, 45, was hired by GoDaddy in 2002 as an in-house attorney, when the Internet domain registrar had only a couple dozen employees. Jones left GoDaddy in 2011 after the sale of its parent company, Go Daddy Group Inc., to private investors for $2.25 billion, but still maintains ties as a consultant.

    GoDaddy is planning for its initial public offering later this year, and has hired Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase to coordinate the stock sale. GoDaddy had previously filed for an IPO in 2006, but later cancelled it due to “market uncertainties.” GoDaddy, well-known for its zany television ads, was founded in 1997 as Jomax Technologies by former U.S. Marine Bob Parsons, and became the largest ICANN-accredited registrar on the Internet by 2005.

    Here global supertalent Jean-Claude Van Damme appears as a GoDaddy spokesmodel:

    Jones, who is running without any public funding, commented at a Phoenix press conference, “Let’s encourage job growth by getting the government out of the way. Let’s strive for excellence in education by applying Arizona standards, not federal standards. And importantly, let’s enforce immigration law with no amnesty. If you stand up to the federal government … you can actually make a difference.”

    Jones is ready to drop millions of dollars on her campaign, and is already running television spots in the Phoenix area. She is running against a loaded field of Republicans, most of whom identify as conservatives, including former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Arizona state Treasurer Doug Ducey, Arizona state Sen. Al Melvin, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and former California congressman Frank Riggs.

    Jones said to supporters, “You are ready for a leader that is not a career politician, someone who will lead with no strings attached. I am an unapologetic conservative, I am a fierce defender of the Constitution, and as your governor, I assure you I will lead with untethered ideas.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Tom Cotton: Ethics Complaint Against Arkansas Rep. Dismissed

    The Office of Congressional Ethics or OCE unanimously rejected an ethics complaint filed on October 2013 by the Arkansas Democratic Party against Arkansas Congressman and aspiring GOP Senator Tom Cotton. The complaint alleged that Cotton violated House rules by soliciting funds while at the U.S. Capitol.

    Democrats claimed that Cotton committed the violation when he conducted a radio interview with right-wing talk show host Hugh Hewitt and made an appeal to listeners for campaign support through his Senate campaign website. However, Cotton maintained that he was outside the premises of the U.S. House of Representatives during the interview.

    The OCE voted 6-0 to dismiss the complaint after the body investigated the formal charge, declaring that “there is not substantial reason” to conclude that Rep. Cotton was indeed inside the U.S. Capitol building when he asked listeners for campaign contributions.

    According to a letter subsequently issued by the OCE, the committee “considers this matter closed” as a result of its examination and review, which is also “consistent with the recommendation in the committee’s referral”.

    Cotton’s Senate campaign released copies of the complaint dismissal on Wednesday, April 9th. However, Cotton’s troubles are far from over as another complaint has surfaced regarding the disclosure of the identities of his consulting service clients. The complaint, which was filed by Arkansas Chief Justice Jack Holt – a Democrat – questioned the freshman lawmaker’s work for business consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, Inc. Cotton allegedly did not identify any of the clients for whom he provided professional services “in excess of $5,000”, which Holt deems worthy of a formal investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics.

    Democratic Party of Arkansas lawyer Benton Smith stated that the complaint is an urgent matter of transparency and public accountability because Cotton’s constituents deserve to know whether their Rep. Cotton considers himself “above the law”. Smith added that Cotton is required to provide a full accounting of his clients from the time he worked as a Washington consultant in order for the people of Arkansas to have the information they deserve to know when they vote in November.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Republican Politician is Slammed Following Racist NBA Tweet

    Pat Garofalo, a Republican politician and member of the Minnesota State House of Representatives, came under fire over the weekend after making what was perceived to be a racist tweet about the NBA.

    The relatively unknown politician–until now–said that the only noticeable side effect from most NBA teams folding would be an increase in street crime. Since the majority of NBA players are black–according to a 2013 report, 76.3 percent of all NBA players are black–it didn’t take much to put two and two together. After being ridiculed on Twitter for the comment, Garofalo released a statement apologizing.

    While many politicians would delete a comment that received such criticism, Garofalo has left it up for the world to see. Check out the representative’s tweet below.

    Even though Garofalo’s comment received hundreds of “favorites,” the state representative received many tweets slamming him for the statement.

    After receiving a lot of negative feedback, Garofalo issued a statement on the Minnesota House of Representatives website and apologized to those he offended.

    In the last 24 hours, I’ve had the opportunity to re-learn one of life’s lessons: whenever any of us are offering opinions, it is best to refer to people as individuals as opposed to groups. Last night, I publicly commented on the NBA and I sincerely apologize to those who I unfairly categorized. The NBA has many examples of players and owners who are role models for our communities and for our country. Those individuals did not deserve that criticism and I apologize. In addition, it’s been brought to my attention that I was mistaken and the NBA policy on drug enforcement is stronger than I previously believed. Again, I offer my sincere apologies for my comments.

    Garofalo also apologized on Twitter.

    Even though Garofalo apologized, the state representative maintains that his comment had nothing to do with race. “I was talking about the NBA’s high arrest rate and that they are the only major pro league that testing positive for marijuana is not a substance abuse violation,” Garofalo said. The politician also said that he had the typical NBA player’s attitude in mind when making the statement.

    Image via Facebook

  • Sarah Palin: A Presidential Run in 2016 is Possible

    Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been a busy woman lately. Between promoting her latest book, preparing for a new TV show, and speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend, Palin has had a lot on her plate. As busy as the mom and former governor is, things could get even busier, as Palin says she is open to a presidential run in 2016.

    During an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, Palin mentioned a couple of politicians she feels would make good candidates for the 2016 presidential election: Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. In addition to these two Republican top candidates, Palin may just throw her own name in the hat if she thinks she fits the bill for what Americans want in a president.

    “It sounds cliché, but you never say never,” Palin said. “Now, I–at this point in time, I don’t have a team of people, you know, getting out there doing these poll-tested whatever they do to let you know if you should run or not. I don’t have any of that kind of organization going. I’ll never say never. If they want a fighter, if they want someone who can so respect our exceptionalism, everything that makes America great, the promise of America. And if we don’t find that, then I would run.”

    Even though Palin is open to running for president, she says she believes there are many people out there “capable” of doing the job. “But I do think that there are so many Americans who feel like I feel, and they’re capable. They’re willing and able to serve. Public servants. They are willing and able to serve and to lead this country so it doesn’t have to be me.”

    Check out Palin’s interview with Van Susteren below.

    Even though Sarah Palin is unsure of whether she will run for president, from the sounds of things at the CPAC, there are quite a few people who want her for the job. During Palin’s speech at the CPAC, she was interrupted quite a few times with chants of “Run, Sarah, run!”

    Palin also entertained the crowd at the CPAC with a personalized version of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, which knocked President Obama’s healthcare mandate.

    “I do not like this Uncle Sam. I do not like his healthcare scam,” Palin said. “I do not like these dirty crooks or how they lie and cook the books. I do not like when Congress steals. I do not like their crony deals.” Read the rest of Palin’s rhyme time fun here.

    Image via YouTube

  • Rick Perry’s CPAC Speech Urges Rebellion

    On the second day of the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) held last Friday, Texas Governor Rick Perry’s speech was well received by the crowd with lots of applause and whistles.

    In his speech, the Governor praised his fellow Republicans, Governors Rick Scott of Florida, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, and Nikki Haley of South Carolina.

    He opened his speech by quoting Thomas Jefferson who once said, “A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing.” He then went on and enumerated the things that the government should focus on, such as providing a forceful foreign policy, and defending the country. He continued to say, “And what the heck, deliver the mail, preferably on time and on Saturdays,” which roused the crowed into a frenzy.

    Perry also reiterated his rally against blue states, which is what he has been doing in his jobs tour in other states. The Governor proposed a simple solution to all the problems stating, “It’s time for a little rebellion on the battlefield of ideas.”

    Others say that Perry’s speech is a showing of what can be expected in his presidential bid in 2016. In his speech, he also told his supporters that they don’t have to accept recent history and the presidency just needs to be changed, an obvious stab against President Obama.

    At the peak of his speech, the Governor’s voice soared as he said that the future of the nation lies in the hands of his fellow conservatives. He ended his speech by saying that his supporters are the ones who represent the renewed hope that the country can be great once again.

    Perry has stated the big contrast between the blue-state and the red-state governors and the crowds agreed, showing their support for the governor with loud applause that got louder as the speech ended.

    Watch Rick Perry Soundbites. Hilarious!

    Image via YouTube