Now that the Republican National Committee has canceled plans to partner with NBC News for a Feb. 26 debate of GOP presidential candidates because of the "bad faith" performance by CNBC's so-called moderators during the October 28 debate, when will Donald Trump do the right thing and cancel his scheduled hosting of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" on November 7?
HARWOOD: Mr. Trump, you've done very well in this campaign so far by promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it.
TRUMP: Right.
HARWOOD: Send 11 million people out of the country. Cut taxes $10 trillion without increasing the deficit.
TRUMP: Right.
HARWOOD: And make Americans better off because your greatness would replace the stupidity and incompetence of others.
TRUMP: That's right.
HARWOOD: Let's be honest.
(LAUGHTER)
Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?
TRUMP: No, not a comic book, and it's not a very nicely asked question the way you say that.
Harwood's demeaning question was one of those included in the terrific take down of the CNBC "moderators" by Sen. Ted Cruise. A push back that even Reince Priebus refers to as a "Cruz missile":
You know, let me say something at the outset. The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media.
(APPLAUSE) This is not a cage match. And, you look at the questions -- "Donald Trump, are you a comic-book villain?" "Ben Carson, can you do math?" "John Kasich, will you insult two people over here?" "Marco Rubio, why don't you resign?" "Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?"
How about talking about the substantive issues the people care about?
You can watch the entire take down in the following video:
So Donald Trump, when are you going to fire NBC and cancel your Saturday Night Live appearance?
The new poll suggests movement in the Florida GOP presidential primary. The Real Clear Politics poll average has Trump leading followed by Carson, Rubio and Bush:
Donald Trump - 25%
Ben Carson - 17% Marco
Rubio - 15%
Jeb Bush - 13%
The poll of likely voters was taken from October 17 - October 22 and released on October 28, 2015.
Frank Orlando, instructor of political science at Saint Leo University, said it is surprising that Jeb Bush is down by 10 percent vs. Trump, and amazing that Marco Rubio ahead of him by six points. "For someone [Bush] who was the governor of the state and still maintains his home here, that is pretty telling about his campaign."
The poll's national results found Trump and Carson leading with Rubio, Bush, Fiorina and Cruz more than ten points behind:
Donald Trump - 23%
Ben Carson - 22%
Marco Rubio - 11%
Jeb Bush - 8%
Carly Fiorina - 6%
Ted Cruz - 4%
Orlando sees the rise of Carson as evidence of Trump Fatigue
"We’re starting to see some 'Trump fatigue' setting in. Donald Trump thrives on the media attention. With the lull between debates and his upcoming 'Saturday Night Live' appearance (November 7), the soft-spoken, 'anti-Trump' candidate Ben Carson, has emerged as a viable candidate."
Orlando also noted, as found in many other polls, that when support for Carson, Trump, and Fiorina are combined, more than halh of the national likely Republicans voters support non-politicians over the professional ones.
St. Leo University released a poll on Wednesday showing Clinton with a commanding lead in - See more at: http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/donald-trump-leads-marco-rubio-hillary-clinton-blowing-out-democrats-new-florida-poll#sthash.cP27WnlQ.dpuf
Image Credit: Marco Rubio: The Time To Act Is Now (YouTube)
Sen. Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz were the winners of last night's CNBC GOP Debate. Everyone agrees that the losers were Jeb Bush and the CNBC so-called moderators. I say so-called because they made it abundantly clear, much more so than even Meghan Kelly at the FoxNews debate, that their sole purpose was to try and take down all of the Republican presidential candidates. They failed in that wrong-headed effort, and did so miserably. What the "moderators" did accomplish was to reveal their membership in the biased media-wing of the Democrats' Party.
The self-outing of the CNBC "moderators" began with a "question" asked by Carl Quintanilla. As you can see in the following the video clip, it wasn't just a question. Quintanilla badgered Rubio three times during the Senator's response. Before another question can be asked, at the 2:20 mark, Jeb Bush jumps in and picks his fight.
Rubio's response to Bush's unwarranted and petty debate attack was polite, positive and devastating. Bush lost the debate in no small part because of the fight he started and Rubio finished. After his failed attack on Rubio, Bush was too quiet during the rest of debate. According to the New York Times, Bush had the least amount of speaking time during the debate.
You can read a transcript of the exchanges below:
QUINTANILLA: We will come around the bend, I promise. This one is for Senator Rubio. You've been a young man in a hurry ever since you won your first election in your 20s. You've had a big accomplishment in the Senate, an immigration bill providing a path to citizenship the conservatives in your party hate, and even you don't support anymore. Now, you're skipping more votes than any senator to run for president. Why not slow down, get a few more things done first or least finish what you start?
RUBIO: That's an interesting question. That's exactly what the Republican establishment says too. Why don't you wait in line? Wait for what? This country is running out of time. We can't afford to have another four years like the last eight years.
Watching this broadcast tonight are millions of people that are living paycheck to paycheck. They're working as hard as they ever have, everything costs more, and they haven't had a raise in decades.
You have small businesses in America that are struggling. For the first time in 35 years, we have more businesses closing than starting. We have a world that's out of control and has grown dangerous and a president that is weakening our military and making our foreign policy unstable and unreliable in the eyes of our allies. And our adversaries continue to grow stronger.
We have a -- they say there's no bipartisanship in Washington? We have a $19 trillion bipartisan debt and it continues to grow as we borrow money from countries that do not like us to pay for government we cannot afford.
The time to act is now. The time to turn the page is now. If we -- if we don't act now, we are going to be the first generation in American history that leaves our children worse off than ourselves.
QUINTANILLA: So when the Sun-Sentinel says Rubio should resign, not rip us off, when they say Floridians sent you to Washington to do a job, when they say you act like you hate your job, do you?
RUBIO: Let me say, I read that editorial today with a great amusement. It's actually evidence of the bias that exists in the American media today.
QUINTANILLA: Well, do you hate your job?
RUBIO: Let me -- let me answer your question on the Sun-Sentinel editorial today. Back in 2004, one of my predecessors to the Senate by the name of Bob Graham, a Democrat, ran for president missing over 30 percent of his votes. I don't recall them calling for his resignation --
QUINTANILLA: Is that the standard?
RUBIO: Later that year, in 2004, John Kerry ran for president missing close to 60 to 70 percent of his votes. I don't recall the Sun -- in fact, the Sun-Sentinel endorsed him. In 2008, Barack Obama missed 60 or 70 percent of his votes, and the same newspaper endorsed him again. So this is another example of the double standard that exists in this country between the mainstream media and the conservative movement.
(APPLAUSE)
QUINTANILLA: Senator, thank you. John.
BUSH: Could I -- could I bring something up here, because I'm a constituent of the senator and I helped him and I expected that he would do constituent service, which means that he shows up to work. He got endorsed by the Sun-Sentinel because he was the most talented guy in the field. He's a gifted politician.
But Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work. I mean, literally, the Senate -- what is it, like a French work week? You get, like, three days where you have to show up? You can campaign, or just resign and let someone else take the job. There are a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck in Florida as well, they're looking for a senator that will fight for them each and every day.
RUBIO: I get to respond, right?
QUICK: Thirty seconds.
RUBIO: Well, it's interesting. Over the last few weeks, I've listened to Jeb as he walked around the country and said that you're modeling your campaign after John McCain, that you're going to launch a furious comeback the way he did, by fighting hard in New Hampshire and places like that, carrying your own bag at the airport. You know how many votes John McCain missed when he was carrying out that furious comeback that you're now modeling after?
BUSH: He wasn't my senator.
RUBIO: No Jeb, I don't remember -- well, let me tell you. I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record. The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.
BUSH: Well, I've been --
RUBIO: Here's the bottom line.
(APPLAUSE)
I'm not -- my campaign is going to be about the future of America, it's not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage. I will continue to have tremendous admiration and respect for Governor Bush. I'm not running against Governor Bush, I'm not running against anyone on this stage. I'm running for president because there is no way we can elect Hillary Clinton to continue the policies of Barack Obama.
Below is a guest post by Scott Baker that seeks to begin a civil discussion about political issues that are not often talked about in debates and headlines. I was intrigued by the article and the issues it evokes, but I'm not sure I agree with Professor Baker's premise. How can we not be broke when the national debt is more than $18 Trillion. As I have written before, back when our national debt was ONLY $14 Trillion, Just How Broke Are We?
Are You a Liberal or a Conservative? Are You Sure?
Quick, without looking at the answers - or at what your favorite pundit is saying - how would you answer the following questions? Is it Liberal or Conservative?
1. Being opposed to rescuing the big financial institutions
2. Wanting America to become (more) energy self- sufficient
3. Being in favor of expanding the Space Program
4. Supporting Family Farms
5. Supporting Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion
6. Supporting a check on the Executive and Legislative branches by the Judicial branch
7. Being in favor of a strong National Parks system, wherein the Parks are preserved for recreational use, kept clean and safe, and not for commercial development
8. Being in favor of strong enforcement of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act
9. Support of a strong and well-funded Veteran's Administration system for the health needs of former soldiers
10. Wanting to preserve Medicare and Social Security for future generations
11. Wanting to balance the Federal budget (somehow)
12. Being in support of monitored, open, and verifiable Elections
Whether you identify yourself as Liberal or Conservative, please find some friends or family who identify themselves as the opposite from you and ask the same questions.
You may be surprised at how close your answers are to each other. For example, on question 14, Conservatives and Liberals may both want to end the deficit spending that's ballooned since Ronald Reagan - though Conservatives want to do it typically by cutting spending, and Liberals want to do it typically by collecting more taxes from the affluent. I think Conservatives will be surprised how many Liberals support a strong space program (#3) -- as long as it is demilitarized -- while Liberals will be surprised at how many Conservatives are in favor of supporting the Family Farm (#4).
So yes, we may disagree on the methods of obtaining the goals, but we can still agree on the actual goals.
Then what is going on here? Why are we shouting at each other in the media, in the streets, and in person? Could it be that we are not as divided as we believe, or even that we have a common enemy, something that we can almost all agree to dislike, even oppose?
Here is another question to help clarify things: Do you agree with the following statement: America should be a country where anyone who works hard and honestly, can obtain a better life for themselves and their families? -or- Is America a country where anyone who works hard and honestly, can obtain a better life for themselves and their families?
I am willing to bet more of you answered yes to the first question than to the second. In fact, the majority of answers for each question might even be reversed. This is bad. This means the American Dream - paraphrased above, has come into serious doubt.
Why? Well, take a look at the your answers to the questions and those of your friends' of opposite political identification. Discuss. Does a common theme something like the following emerge: ordinary people do not have the same opportunities and rights as certain very wealthy people and corporations in America today? That is, do you and your friends who identify themselves as from the opposite political spectrum agree that something is just not quite right in the system (anymore)?
Perhaps you are not so opposite after all.
Perhaps as President Obama used to say, there really is more that unites us than divides us. I'll leave it to you to decide to whose advantage it is to make us think we have less in common than we do. Politicians pandering for votes without really doing anything about the big problems? Media—including those pundits with vocal opinions and big ratings on TV? Big Corporations—who make us act against our own self-interests in order to preserve their profits?
Is there a moral difference from someone who becomes rich by creating a "better mousetrap” (e.g. a way to charge an electric car in 5 minutes and get 300 miles on a charge, a cure for cancer, etc.) vs. someone who lives off the wealth of his ancestor's fortune, or who collects “rent” from others who are creating that better mousetrap, or are working for those who do? Or, to put it more generally, is it OK to get rich from the results of your own labor, but not OK to get rich from monopolizing resources while simply profiting from their scarcity?
If you answered Yes, you might want to consider if there is another way America should reward its citizens. Some way that supports the innovation and productivity that springs from the Free Market of ideas, while at the same time, doesn't reward people who have "gamed the system” through favorable laws or connections, while not really producing anything of value. Note: if you think committing fraud while providing borrowers with loans they ultimately cannot repay, then stop here. Put the test down.
See a pattern yet? Americans, and perhaps all decent people, believe in rewarding someone who works hard and honestly to get ahead, but not in rewarding someone who just gets ahead by manipulating laws and the system, or who monopolizes resources and corrupts the system to exclude others from competing.
What kind of system would let you have it both ways? Consider that the common opponent of both Liberals and Conservatives may be the same: the Monopolizers of resources - natural, but also including political and monetary power.
Now, knowing that it is not the country that is poor, it is the people (or, at least, too many of the people), where should our focus lie? Should we spend our time making largely false accusations at people we have allowed others to label as different from us, or at the real source of the problem, the 1% of the people who own 40% of the country's wealth or 50% of global wealth, via a monopoly, and not from production (which alone cannot provide that kind of wealth)?
Maybe we should return to that question I put aside earlier: In whose interest is it that we fight against each other?
Scott Baker is a professor at the Henry George School, the State Coordinator of the NY Chapter of The Public Banking Institute, and the author is America Is Not Broke!
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