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It's interesting how different we are when it comes to political candidates, but we are have more similarities than differences.

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It's interesting how different we are when it comes to political candidates, but we are have more similarities than differences.

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This evening 5,000 conservative activists and voters descended on a South Carolina venue in Columbia organized by Conservative Review, to hear various political speakers and candidates leading up to the long awaited presidential primary.

With the polls fluctuating and the state seemingly up for grabs, talking to 5,000 motivated people who might knock on doors on your behalf seems like a great idea.

Ted Cruz volunteer, Raz Shafer, said of the event that "the crowd was made up of strong conservative activists and voters from across SC. It was energetic and polite. While I'd estimate that at least half the crowd had Cruz signs (even more had stickers) Carson received a warm reception and multiple standing ovations. Many of the voters I talked to were undecided and looking to hear from Cruz, Carson and Rubio in order to inform their decisions. Rubio had a number of strong supporters at the rally that were clearly came to cheer for their guy. I can only imagine that they were incredibly disappointed."

With all of the electricity in the air, it was therefore surprising when Senator Marco Rubio, candidate for president currently polling 3rd in South Carolina and in a brutal death match with Ted Cruz, cancelled his appearance, by some account a mere 5 minutes before his scheduled time.

At first I took took to twitter to get the general idea, and was told by some that Rubio had escaped a sandbagging at the hands of Cruz fans, and by others that he had tucked tail and ran and hid in a quivering puddle of his own urine.

These two extremes seemed far fetched and, being a resident of South Carolina and knowing some folks involved in the event, I reached out to an event organizer who gave me the real scoop on condition that I not use his name because let's face it: at least 50,000 screaming fans of any of the other candidates will call him a paid shill for not declaring Rubio the France of presidential candidates.

So my first question was, obviously, did Rubio really tuck tail only 5 minutes before his appearance?

"No," was the immediate response. "He was scheduled at 8 and [after an hour of trying to make it work] called at 8:45 saying it wouldn't work. We had begun adjusting the schedule."

The organizer then went on to explain that Rubio had been scheduled earlier in the week and that Conservative Review was very much looking forward to his visit. Responding to rumors that the crowd was decidedly anti-Rubio which would've been a sandbag for the candidate, the organizer said that Rubio's campaign was sent 500 tickets to the event and plenty of his supporters were in the crowd. He went on to say that had the crowd turned against Rubio, Conservative Review staff would have pushed back on them and reminded them that this is an opportunity to hear from all candidates, not to attack the candidate you don't like.

According to Breitbart.com, Rubio's surrogates also skipped out on the event because they were super scared. (emphasis mine)

Rubio's campaign offered an explanation. "FYI - Because of a delay in today's schedule, Marco is unable to make the event below tonight. Senator Sen. Tim Scott and Congressman Rep. Trey Gowdy attended to represent the campaign. Tomorrow's schedule remains unchanged," the Rubio campaign said in a statement.
But Rubio surrogates Scott and Gowdy also skipped out on the event.

Not true.

Organizers had previously tried to secure a spot for Jeb Bush who it turned out was unable to make the event. When Jeb's campaign asked if they could send radio host Jay Sekulow as a surrogate, organizers informed his campaign that they were not allowing surrogates to speak on behalf of candidates that don't attend.

As it became clear that Rubio wouldn't make it on time, his campaign staff offered for surrogates Trey Gowdy or Tim Scott to speak on his behalf. But unfortunately, as the precedent had already been set with Bush, CR organizers knew they'd be stepping in a big mess if they permitted Rubio to use surrogates within a week of telling Bush that he couldn't.

Far from also "skipping" the event, organizers actually spoke directly to both Gowdy & Scott who were ready to appear on Rubio's behalf, and both understood the position Conservative Review had taken.

Breitbart has since offered updates to their post to reflect this.

CR did offer to extend the entire show to accommodate him, but he had other obligations that made that solution unworkable.

So there you have it. Despite the efforts of some to make this something it's not, Marco Rubio couldn't make an event because it's mere days before the SC primary and his schedule ended up causing a delay that caused him to miss it. And this was known well before "five minutes" of his scheduled appearance time.

This is otherwise known as the most common thing to happen, ever.

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The Real Story Behind Rubio's No Show at Conservative Review Convention | RedState

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Share on Facebook 1 1 SHARES This evening 5,000 conservative activists and voters descended on a South Carolina venue in Columbia organized by Conservative Review, to hear various political speakers and candidates leading up to the long awaited presidential primary.

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He just grabbed second in New Hampshire...

At least not on Women's right to choose....

"It started to feel like a witch hunt," Sue Postal, the center's director, told me in October. She always knew the anti-abortion movement was pushing legislation that would make her job more difficult, but the past five years have been some of the hardest for Ohio abortion providers, now that a new Republican, anti-abortion governor has taken over. "Under Kasich it's happening."

Since entering office in January 2011, John Kasich, Ohio's governor and now a GOP presidential hopeful, has signed every abortion and women's reproductive health provision that has landed on his desk. In four and a half years he has enacted 16 legislative proposals related to family planning funding and abortion access across the state. Although anti-abortion provisions are not limited to the Buckeye State - a July count from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights advocacy group, showed that 31 states have enacted a total of 282 abortion restrictions since January 2011 - Ohio stands out for the rate at which it's adopting this legislation. The measures have altered when, where and by whom a pregnancy can be terminated in the state. And although Ohio is seen as a wild success story for anti-abortion advocates, the details of Kasich's hard-line stance are often obscured....

His adopted parties people are getting nervous....

Knowing that a Trump GOP nomination would be making Hillary Clintons return to the White House almost a sure thing.....

"A well-connected GOP operative alarmed by the enduring strength of Republican Donald Trump's presidential bid is planning a 'guerrilla campaign' backed by secret donors to knock him out of the race," the Wall Street Journal reports.

"Liz Mair, former online communications director of the Republican National Committee, recently created Trump Card LLC to 'defeat and destroy' the celebrity businessman's candidacy... The anti-Trump crusade aims to unite contributors who are backing a variety of the Republican primary candidates... Opposition research, grass roots organizing and donor outreach has been going on for weeks, Ms. Mair said, while declining to name any supporters."

John Kasich has attacked Donald Trump relentlessly in debates and now his super PAC is planning to invest $2.5 million in the most aggressive takedown of the poll leader yet - on behalf of an increasingly anxious GOP establishment.

The attack, according to a blueprint shared with POLITICO, will play out over the next two months on radio, TV, mail and online in New Hampshire. Strategists with the pro-Kasich group, called New Day for America, say the budget for the anti-Trump campaign is likely to grow.

The offensive comes as some in the GOP are beginning to plot how to combat the real estate mogul and entertainer, who many are convinced would essentially deliver the White House to Democrats if he were the nominee.

2016 John Kasich Presidential Campaign 2016 Trump Presidential campaign Anti-Trump Repuyblican campaign

This post is part of Election Projection's continuing series introducing each 2016 presidential candidate. Follow the link at the end for more information on Bobby Jindal, including personal information, family status, education and past political experience, as well as links to Jindal's biography and ideological positions.
Current Ohio Governor John Kasich has been elected to three different offices in his political career. In 1978, he won a seat in the Ohio Senate. Four years later, he moved up to the United States House of Representatives. Finally, in 2010, Kasich became Ohio's 69th governor. I note his electoral successes for a particular and interesting reason. In all three races, Kasich ousted a Democratic incumbent.

His ability to win election battles in less than ideal conservative environments is an indication of his more moderate ideology. According to OnTheIssues.org, Kasich is not numbered among the more conservative Republican candidates running for president. His record prompts the political ideology website to put him in the "Moderate Conservative" category along with fellow competitor Carly Fiorina.

His moderate record doesn't sit well with many Republican Party primary voters, and his late entry into the presidential race further diluted his appeal. As a result, Kasich languishes far below the leaders in the polls. I don't know when his presidential run will end, but I am confident it will end without him winning the nomination.

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This post is part of Election Projection's continuing series introducing each 2016 presidential candidate. Follow the link at the end for more information on Bobby Jindal, including personal information, family status, education and past political experience, as well as links to Jindal's biography and ideological positions.
Piyush changed his name to Bobby at an early age. He got the idea from watching The Brady Bunch. Now he's known as Bobby Jindal, and he's the first Indian-American in history to be elected governor. He won the office after serving in the George W. Bush administration as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Jindal is known for his expertise in health care systems, knowledge he developed as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England. His talent was on full display during his time as head of Louisiana's Dept of Health and Hospitals. Within a couple years, he turned around a financially-strapped, fraud-infested system, converting deficits and waste into surpluses and improved care.

Once viewed as rising star within the Republican Party, Jindal's stock has dulled considerably. His candidacy's performance has reflected his diminishing standing. Polls show him barely getting above zero and his chances at the nomination are about the same.

Let's forget Donald Trump for a few.....

Jeb Bush up till a few was the leader for the Republican 2016 Presidential nomination....

Then he got 'Trumped'

Now it appaears that he may get 'Kasiched'

While the Jeb Bush effort IS strong tactically....

The candiadte has failed to light a fire among the Republican voters....

Trump and Cruz seem to have the Tea Party types, and Trump seems to be bleeding into other not so Conservative GOPer's...

But the moderate Republicans (Yes there ARE moderate REPUBLICANS) seem to be drifting from Jeb....

I should point out that so called moderate Republican's HAVE ONLY been their parties pick to run for President.....

So as the two guys waot for Donald Trump to get knocked out of the race by the GOP establishment ARE the most likely to end up running against Hillary Clinton come next November....

Just to add to the soup?

If you look at 'The Donald's' history?

He'd be right in there with Bush and Kasich as a moderate (Independent) Republican also....

Ain't politics great?

Jeb Bush has a new nemesis, and it isn't Donald Trump.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) is quietly rising in the polls in New Hampshire, capitalizing on a strong debate performance where he seemed at ease in the spotlight.

With many in the Republican Party seeking to find a Trump-killer, Kasich's late summer surge is threatening to steal away the mantle of establishment favorite that Bush had long been expected to claim.

"Of all the candidates out there in terms of corralling the establishment voters, Kasich is a clear and present danger of taking them," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told The Hill.

The threat to Bush is clear.

The former Florida governor is an underdog in the Iowa caucus, and if current polling holds, might not even finish in the top 5.

That lends added importance to New Hampshire, the first primary state in the nation and a reliable bellwether in the race for the nomination.

Should Kasich top Bush in the state, strategists say, the race could change in an instant...
More... Note...
I STILL think Jeb Bush WILL be the 2016 Republican nominee....

But the odds of that drop with each week....

image...wsj.com

2016 GOP/Republican Nomination 2016 Internal GOP Politics 2016 John Kasich Presidential Campaign Bush vs Kasich for GOP Nomination 2016 Jeb Bush 2016 Presidential Campaign

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John Kasich Presidential Campaign 2016 Trump Presidential

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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2016 John Kasich Presidential Campaign | Politicaldog101.Com

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He just grabbed second in New Hampshire... At least not on Women's right to choose.... "It started to feel like a witch hunt," Sue Postal, the center's director, told me in October.

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Ted Cruz - proven, passionate, effective fighter for limited government, economic growth, and the Constitution.

Throughout his entire life, Ted Cruz has proven to be a passionate and effective fighter for limited government, economic growth, and the Constitution. Ted's calling to public service has been inspired by his first-hand observation of the pursuit of freedom and opportunity in America. Ted's mother, Eleanor, was born in Delaware to an Irish and Italian working-class family. She became the first in her family to go to college, graduated from Rice University with a degree in mathematics, and became a pioneering computer programmer in the 1950s.

After being tortured and imprisoned in Cuba, Ted's father, Rafael, fled to the United States to attend the University of Texas at Austin in 1957. He then started a small business in the oil and gas industry. Today, Ted's father is a pastor in Dallas.

Growing up, his father would often say to him:

"When we faced oppression in Cuba, I had a place to flee to. If we lose our freedom here, where do we go?"

Ted has been a tireless fighter for liberty his entire life because his family knows what it is like to lose it.

As Solicitor General for the State of Texas and in private practice, Ted authored more than 80 U.S. Supreme Court briefs and argued 43 oral arguments, including nine before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has won an unprecedented series of landmark national victories including defending U.S. sovereignty against the UN and the World Court in Medellin v. Texas, defending our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, defending the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments monument at the Texas State Capitol and the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

In the U.S. Senate, Ted has led the fight to repeal Obamacare, to stop President Obama's illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesty, and to defend life, marriage, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, and our entire Bill of Rights. And most important, he's kept his promise to speak the truth and do what he said he'd do.

Ted has proven to be the exact type of courageous conservative we need to reignite the promise of America, restore our Constitution, and defend the values we all hold dear.

Ted, his wife Heidi, their two daughters Caroline and Catherine, and his entire family have been blessed to live the American Dream - the idea that anyone, through hard work and determination, can achieve anything. And he is committed to ensuring every family has that same opportunity.

The Cruz family attends Houston's First Baptist Church. Ted's pastor Gregg Matte spoke out about Ted recently.

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Ted Cruz - proven, passionate, effective fighter for limited government, economic growth, and the Constitution. Throughout his entire life, Ted Cruz has proven to be a passionate and effective fighter for limited government, economic growth, and the Constitution. Ted's calling to public service has been inspired by his first-hand observation of the pursuit of freedom and opportunity in America.

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REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

You may not believe this, but Donald Trump may have started his campaign for president with a highly dubious claim.

After bounding onstage at his New York City headquarters, Trump Tower, the bombastic billionaire looked up at the crowd that surrounded him in awe.

"Whoa," Trump said. "That is some group of people. Thousands. There's been no crowd like this."

We were there, however, and it seemed as if there were no more than a few hundred supporters lined up to watch Trump speak.

A Trump spokeswoman told Business Insider the campaign did not have an "official tally." She did say, however, that it would be "wildly inaccurate" to say fewer than 1,000 people were in attendance. She said the campaign was "expecting over 1,000." In addition to the people in the audience area, she said, there were people watching in bars and restaurants within Trump Tower as well as passers-by who viewed the event on televisions set up outside.

"There were a lot of people probably that you couldn't see," she said.

Of course, it wouldn't be Trump without bold proclamations and bluster. The physical manifestation of the Trump ethos is his namesake headquarters on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Trump Tower, which is covered in wall-to-wall pink marble and mirrors. This was the setting for Trump's event Tuesday in which he declared his intention to add the White House to his portfolio of properties.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States," Trump said, pausing for dramatic effect.

As a result of Trump's past presidential flirtations, many members of the assembled press corps muttered doubts about whether he would actually enter the race as they awaited his speech. Before Trump took the stage, the crowd of reporters and supporters was treated to a blasting soundtrack that included opera, Broadway showtunes, and one somewhat odd choice for a presidential campaign: Aerosmith's "Dream On."

Though the song's title was somewhat inauspicious for a campaign launch, it fit the tone of the event - epic and loud. The balconies and escalators surrounding the podium where Trump made his address were ringed with his fans. Many of them waved signs and wore shirts bearing the slogan "Trump - Make America Great Again!"

www.donaldjtrump.com

Ahead of the big announcement, I talked to a trio of women who said they were longtime Trump supporters.

Apart from wondering whether Trump would actually launch a campaign, the main question among the media ahead of the event seemed to be whether the people in the crowd were paid. The three supporters said they were invited to the announcement via email and were not paid. They clearly weren't turned off by Trump's very public decision not to run last time around.

"He wasn't ready. He wasn't prepared," one of the women said. "I think he's ready now."

"I don't think America wasn't prepared to vote him in then," another added. "I think America needed to go to Barack Obama just to make sure they got it wrong."

Trump was introduced by his daughter Ivanka, who praised his business acumen and bold personal style. She lauded him as a man whose "legend has been built" and "needs no introduction."

"My father is the opposite of politically correct," Ivanka said. "He says what he means, and he means what he says."

AP

After his daughter spoke, Trump descended one of the gilded escalators and headed to the podium soundtracked by the rollicking guitar riffs of Neil Young's "Rocking In The Free World." Following his questionable boast about the size of the crowd, Trump took a shot at his presidential rivals. He said some of them had not even been able to provide functional air conditioning at their events and this showed they were not ready to confront America's enemies.

Trump's promise to "Make America Great Again" is premised on the idea other politicians, who he said were beholden to lobbyists and special interests, are not capable of taking on America's foreign competitors.

Here are some of the Trump highlights:

"I'm using my own money. I'm not using lobbyists. I'm not using donors. I don't care. I'm really rich."

Trump listed several foreign threats he said were "beating America" in his speech. These included China, Japan, Mexico (which he said was sending immigrants across the border who were "not the right people"), and Islamic terrorism.

"I'm in competition with [ISIS]. They just built a hotel in Syria."

"I am a nice person. People that know me like me," Trump said. "Does my family like me? I think so."

"I love the Saudis; many are in this building."

"I would call up the head of Ford, who I know, if I was president."

"I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created."

In addition to detailing his qualifications, Trump took a few shots at those who questioned the sincerity of his presidential aspirations.

"It's so nice to say, 'I'm running' as opposed to 'If I run,'" Trump said. "I'm running."

For Trump, launching a presidential bid was apparently also an opportunity to show off his personal fortune. Trump noted that campaign finance laws required presidential candidates to "announce and certify" their net worth to "all sorts of" officials. As he mulled whether to run, Trump said, it occurred to him that this process would be a chance to prove doubters who say he's "not as successful as everybody thinks" are wrong.
"I said to myself, 'Nobody's ever going to know unless I run,'" Trump said. "Because I'm really proud of my success. I really am."

Trump also said his assets were worth $9.24 billion and he had "liabilities of about 500."

"That's long-term debt, very low interest," he said, adding that a bank recently offered to loan him another $4 billion because it thought he didn't have enough debt.

Totaling up his assets and liabilities, Trump said his net worth was about $8.7 billion. But he predicted it would soon be "well over $10 billion."

Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Regardless of whether Trump's personal wealth stands at $10 billion or $8 billion, his claims about his fortune far exceed what was previously believed about his wealth. As of last month, Forbes estimated Trump's net worth at $4.1 billion.

Trump closed his speech with a loud vow to, "Make America great again!"

His campaign is centered on this slogan and promise to defeat the country's enemies and restore its standing on the world stage. With his repeated jabs at those who have doubted his wealth and ambition, however, it seems as if Trump's 2016 bid is also a chance for him to attack his enemies and restore his personal reputation.

According to materials given out by his team, Trump will hit the campaign trail immediately after his speech. He is scheduled to be in Iowa on Tuesday evening, New Hampshire on Wednesday, and South Carolina on Friday.

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Donald Trump got only 8 words into his campaign before we found a seriously questionable fact

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You may not believe this, but Donald Trump may have started his campaign for president with a highly dubious claim. After bounding onstage at his New York City headquarters, Trump Tower, the bombastic billionaire looked up at the crowd that surrounded him in awe. "Whoa," Trump said. "That is some group of people.

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Source: biography.com

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Source: wikopedia