Donald Trump stayed front and center in the news cycle for the weekend. It sometimes appears that his political strategy is to make outrageous statements to guarantee that he stays in the center of attention.
When he is in the crosshairs of his attackers, they are still focusing on him and not looking at anyone else. Meanwhile, he continues to rise in the polls. It may be too early to determine the impact of his comments about Megyn Kelly but initial results look like his numbers stay high.
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Last night’s main event debate was interesting. There was no clear winner in the prime time debate. With 10 candidates on stage, I did not expect to see any single one tower over all of the others. My observations are more about which ones got my attention.
by The long-anticipated first Republican Presidential Debates are tonight. I have a few thoughts about both events.
There will be an earlier debate forum for the candidates who did not make the top ten list. Every candidate, no doubt, wanted to be at the main event.
For those who did not reach that threshold, the earlier event offers a unique opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons. There will be fewer of them on stage and there won’t be the drama of waiting to watch a crash.
by Ohio Governor John Kasich announced his candidacy on July 21, 2005 at his alma mater of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. His speech lasted a little more than 40 minutes.
After introducing his twin daughters and his wife on the stage with him, he turned to the American dream. He talked about drawing inspiration from the past in order to carry it forward to the next generation.
“…we can all work to make sure the next generation is going to be in a position of greater strength than what we received. And I get my inspiration from the people who came before me. And I want to tell you about a few of the ones that inspire me.”
by Yesterday afternoon, after my last Note from Don Cole, Senator Mike Lee and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to bring up a vote on repeal of Obamacare in the reconciliation process at a later time.
I received e-mails from many readers letting me know that you called your Senators to ask them to stand with Mike Lee. You made a difference.
by The Real vote for Obamacare comes up tonight in a procedural move by Senator Mike Lee of Utah. You may have seen on the news that the Senate did not get the 60 votes needed to repeal Obamacare. Here is what happened and what you need to understand.
Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell offered an amendment to the Transportation bill to repeal Obamacare. Because of Senate rules, that particular amendment required 60 votes to move forward. Frankly, that vote was little more than a show vote.
by Last week, Texas Senator Ted Cruz called fellow Senator Mitch McConnell a liar. Cruz emphatically claimed that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had assured him multiple times that there “is no deal” on allowing the Export-Import bank funding amendment to be attached to the transportation bill.
Cruz said that McConnell assured him that the only thing he had ever said was that any individual Senator could offer an amendment. McConnell himself, using the privileged position of majority leader, introduced the amendment.
by Last weekend the buzz was about Donald Trump’s comments on John McCain. Now this weekend it will be about his threat to go 3rd party. I think that there is some purposeful exaggeration and out of context reporting and analysis.
I have not decided on which candidate that I will support so this is not an endorsement of Trump. I might choose to support him so I’m not bashing him here either.
I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with the John McCain comments, so I watched the video of the 30 minute conversation with Frank Luntz . I don’t think that Trump is getting a fair deal on the McCain comments. I have not listened to the specifics on the 3rd party discussion. I have a feeling that also is being inflated.
by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie became the 14th Republican to announce his candidacy for President. He made his announcement speech on June 30, 2015 at his hometown high school, Livingston High School, Livingston, New Jersey.
Christie spent the first few minutes of his speech thanking the people of Livingston and reflecting on growing up there. He moved to Livingston when he was four years old. He told of how his father and mother had both lost their fathers at a young age. His father, although admitted to Columbia University, could not go because he could not afford it.
by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker became the 15th Republican to announce his candidacy for President. He made his announcement speech on July 13, 2015 at the Waukesha County Expo Center, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
The stage was set to present Scott Walker as a candidate who is close to the people and a hard working leader. There was no podium on the stage. He stood in an area that was surrounded by the audience on both sides and in the front. He wore an open collar long sleeve shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
He opened his speech with three words, “I love America.” He went on to talk about two veterans who had influence his life.
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