June 20, 2016

Organizers: Hundreds of GOP delegates on anti-Trump call

About 1,000 Republicans nationwide participated in a conference call Sunday night discussing the effort to prevent Donald Trump from getting the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention next month, according to organizers.

The figure would represent a sharp rise from the roughly three dozen people who were said to have taken part in a similar call last week, according to CNN. News outlets were unable to independently confirm the number of people on the call.

An organizer estimated that about 250 of the people on the latest call were delegates to the Republican convention.

Republicans wary of nominating Trump are looking to change convention rules, allowing delegates to become unbound. They want rules that would allow delegates to vote for which ever candidate the like, instead of in line with results of state caucuses and primaries.

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http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/284076-hundreds-of-republicans-entertain-anti-trump-effort

June 20, 2016

Three in four voters of color ‘strongly’ dislike Trump

Source: The Washington Post

By Vanessa Williams and Scott Clement June 20 at 7:02 AM

Despite Donald Trump’s insistence that he loves “the Hispanics” and “the African-American people” the feeling doesn’t appear to be mutual.

The Republican presidential nominee is deeply unpopular with voters of color, 88 percent of whom reported unfavorable views of the New York businessman, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last week. That’s 29 percentage points higher than his 59 percent unfavorable rating with white voters.

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Looking at Trump’s new unfavorable numbers, combined with those from last month’s poll, 88 percent of African Americans and 87 percent of Hispanics have an unfavorable view of Trump, and more than three-quarters of each group had a “strongly unfavorable” view of him.

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is almost as popular with voters of color as Trump is unpopular. Averaging the two most recent Washington Post-ABC News polls, Clinton has a favorable rate of 78 percent with African Americans and 70 percent with Hispanics. She is viewed favorably by 31 percent of whites.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/20/three-in-four-voters-of-color-strongly-dislike-trump/

June 20, 2016

Trump Voters Aren’t Angry At The ‘Establishment,’ They’re Angry At Brown People

Of 247 Republican Members of the House of Representatives, three — 3! — have lost primaries in 2016. Two of them were retired by redistricting. One Democrat — Rep. Chaka Fattah — couldn’t overcome the small matter of a federal indictment.

Not exactly an anti-establishment wave filled with angry voters set on undermining, setting fire to, or jamming hot spears of frustration into the rusty gears of the corroded DC machine. Analysts looking to excuse Republicans for nominating a demagogue relying on racist tropes have turned to two alibis.

First, we hear about “economic anxiety” — a defense that gets hollowed out by antiracist educator Tim Wise’s simple assertion: “If the only reason for Trump’s support was economic anxiety, then people of color should be flocking to Trump.” Because people of color, statistically, are still suffering far more in this economy, which has been generally improving for almost six years. If there’s anyone who should be “economically anxious,” it’s Black people — who give Trump the highest unfavorable rating of any group at 94 percent. In America, that’s as close as you can get to unanimous.

Secondly, we hear about a general anti-establishment desire to watch the whole craphouse go up in flames in which Trump’s appeal is explained by the charm of his blather on the stump, the kitsch of his rallies, and statistical anomalies of a few vocal women or people of color backing the self-proclaimed billionaire.

more
http://www.nationalmemo.com/trump-voters-arent-angry-establishment-theyre-angry-brown-people/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sd&utm_medium=email

June 20, 2016

Biden to take shots at Trump in national security address

Source: The Hill

Vice President Joe Biden will take multiple shots at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday in a national security-themed speech at a think tank in Washington.

In one of his most political speeches of the year to date, Biden will launch a vicious attack on Trump’s foreign policy doctrine, which has been branded by critics as isolationist.

Remarks released by the White House ahead of the Monday afternoon speech do not directly address Trump by name. But his proposal to build a wall on the U.S.’s southern border is derided repeatedly, and the vice president will call out other proposed policies which he says make the country less secure.

“If we build walls and disrespect our closest neighbors, we will quickly see all this progress disappear — replaced by a return of anti-Americanism and a corrosive rift throughout our hemisphere,” Biden will say, according to the prepared remarks

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Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/284067-biden-to-take-shots-at-trump-in-national-security-address

June 18, 2016

Trump shares photo posing with anti-gay pastor in Texas

Donald Trump, who has in recent days called himself the best presidential candidate for the gay community, retweeted a photo of himself standing next to anti-gay Pastor Robert Jeffress Friday.

Jeffress, who is known for his anti-LGBT sentiments and controversial views on the Mormon faith, tweeted the photo Friday after meeting at Trump's rally in Dallas.

[image][/image]
Dr. Robert Jeffress

?@robertjeffress

Honored to pray for my friend, @realDonaldTrump, at tonight's Dallas rally. #TrumpDallas c: @DanScavino

Following the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando last weekend, Trump has said the gay community should support him over rival Hillary Clinton. "The LGBT community, the gay community, the lesbian community — they are so much in favor of what I've been saying over the last three or four days," Trump said Thursday.

"Ask the gays what they think and what they do, in, not only Saudi Arabia, but many of these countries, and then you tell me - who's your friend, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton?"

more
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/284002-trump-shares-photo-posing-with-anti-gay-pastor

June 18, 2016

Trump accuses Jeb Bush of mounting convention coup

Source: The Hill

June 18, 2016, 03:06 pm

Donald Trump on Saturday accused Jeb Bush of mounting a convention coup against him, after reports that Republican delegates who don't personally support Trump are looking for ways to avoid voting for him this summer.

"By the way, Jeb is working on the movement, just so you understand," Trump said to supporters at a rally in Las Vegas. "Jeb is one of the people that's working — and the other one should be obvious," he said, though he didn't elaborate further.

Earlier at the rally, however, Trump echoed the Republican National Committee and said the reports were a media hoax. "It's all made up by the press, folks. It's a hoax," Trump said. "This is a story — who are they going to pick? I beat everybody. I beat the hell out of them."

Several reports this week indicated that at least 30 delegates hope to change party rules next month to take away delegates who are pledged to the presumptive nominee, but who may not personally support him.

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Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/284010-trump-responds-to-convention-coup-its-illegal

June 18, 2016

Senate GOP deeply concerned over Trump effect

By Alexander Bolton - 06/18/16 04:05 PM EDT

Senate Republicans are deeply concerned that Donald Trump will cost them their majority, despite private assurances from leaders that voters opposed to the presumptive GOP presidential nominee will split their ballots.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll published last week shows Trump’s unfavorable rating has hit new a high, with 7 out of 10 respondents nationwide viewing him negatively.

One Republican senator facing a competitive re-election said he and his colleagues are “very concerned.”

“There’s deep, deep concern,” he added.

Republicans have to defend 24 seats while Democrats only have to protect 10. Six of the vulnerable GOP seats are in states that President Obama won in 2008 and 2012. Almost every day, Republican senators see new evidence of Trump’s lack of mainstream appeal.

Major companies such as Wells Fargo and UPS, which sponsored the 2012 Republican convention in Tampa, are skipping this summer’s event in Cleveland.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/283934-senate-gop-deeply-concerned-over-trump-effect

June 18, 2016

How should Hillary Clinton dress? However she goddamn pleases

Fashion
Ask Hadley

Witchy, too girly, mumsy or a bit like Jimmy Krankie – you’d never hear the same level of criticism for leftwing male politicians

Hadley Freeman

Now that Hillary Clinton is almost certainly going to be the Democratic candidate, how should she dress?

Melanie, by email

Oh, it’s easy, Melanie! She just needs to be perfectly groomed at all times, but not look high-maintenance; she must wear gorgeous clothes, but they must not cost any money; she should look relatable but never “mumsy”; she must be feminine but not girly; she needs to look tough, but not like a bitch; she has to have perfect hair but spend no money on it; also her hair must not be too long (witchy) or too short (Jimmy Krankie); she must never have plastic surgery, but nor can she look old; she must think about her appearance at all times and simultaneously never think about such a frivolous issue; she has to look reassuringly presidential, which means looking like past male presidents, but she must never look masculine; she can’t wear dresses (too girly), but she also can’t wear trousers (too butch); she can’t wear makeup, but she must also always look as good as if she was wearing makeup; she should dress age-appropriate, but she must also never look like a 68-year-old woman; she should celebrate being a woman, but she also must not remind any men of their mother/ex-wife/any woman in their life who once made them feel sad.

But where, you ask, does one find such a magical outfit? Easy! You just buy it at the shop next door to the etiquette school that teaches female politicians how to have a speaking voice that is both strong and decisive, but also feminine and soft; how to be smart, but never ambitious; serious but not humourless; driven but not bossy; focused but not boring; tough but not a bitch; not too pretty but also not too ugly. After those lessons, they can then pop next door to the Female Politician Mentoring School, where they are taught that they should care about women’s issues, but never speak about them; they should never be the boss of any man (because then she’s a bitch boss), but also not the subordinate of any man (because then it looks like she slept her way into the job). Most of all, that they need 10 times more experience than any male politician to prove their worthiness, but also not be tainted by any actual political past. Some say that the contradictory expectations placed on female politicians suggests some people would rather they didn’t exist at all, but I say that’s nonsense. After all, look how easy-peasy it is!

I’ve written before about how leftwing male politicians, such as Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, are celebrated for looking like they just rolled out of a haystack, as this is taken as a sign of how real they are. But if a female politician appears without a professional blowdry it is assumed she is but one step away from being sectioned in a psychiatric hospital. I suspect a large part of the problem is that most men have no idea what it takes to look like a socially acceptable woman on camera. To prove this, a few months ago, there was – and I’m sorry for using the most annoying phrase in the English language – something interesting on Twitter. Women retweeted men claiming they prefer how women look without makeup, using photos of allegedly bare-faced female celebrities as evidence. Needless to say, all of these women – Emma Watson, Taylor Dayne, Kylie Jenner, Rihanna, Jennifer Lawrence – had clearly each spent about an hour with a professional makeup artist, but because they weren’t wearing bright-red lipstick, those doofuses assumed they weren’t wearing makeup. The fact is that Clinton has to submit to almost as much grooming every single goddamn day as an A-list actress does on Oscars night, just so she can get on with her job and not cause collective disgust in the populace at what a sixtysomething woman looks like. But because men (#notallmen #yesallmen) don’t know this, they then rear back in horror when a female politician fails to hit the magic sweet spot of being simultaneously perfectly groomed and not looking like she expends any effort or time on her grooming.

As regular readers know, I will defend fashion as a feminist pursuit to the last drop of blood in my body. But when people start gabbing on about Clinton’s clothes, focusing on some Armani jacket she once wore instead of noting that she is probably the most qualified candidate in living memory, it’s hard not to suppress the thought they’re not just belittling her, but setting up another hurdle of perfection for another female politician to jump. So, how should Clinton dress? Anyway she goddamn pleases. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Tina Brown.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/13/how-should-hillary-clinton-dress-however-she-goddamn-pleases

June 18, 2016

Chelsea Clinton announces birth of second child — a son named Aidan

Source: Reuters

Chelsea Clinton and her husband Marc Mezvinsky announced on Saturday the birth of their second child, a son named Aidan.

“Marc and I are overwhelmed with gratitude and love as we celebrate the birth of our son, Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky,” Clinton said on Twitter. She is the only child of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/chelsea-clinton-announces-birth-of-second-child-a-son-named-adam/

June 18, 2016

RNC: Latest Report On Attempt To Oust Trump Is A 'Media Creation'

Source: Talking Points Memo

By CAITLIN MACNEAL Published JUNE 18, 2016, 10:51 AM EDT

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee on Friday evening dismissed a "silly" report that a group of delegates are working to keep Donald Trump from winning the nomination at the party's national convention by pushing for rules changes.

"Donald Trump bested 16 highly qualified candidates and received more primary votes than any candidate in Republican Party history. All of the discussion about the RNC Rules Committee acting to undermine the presumptive nominee is silly," RNC spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement. "There is no organized effort, strategy or leader of this so-called movement. It is nothing more than a media creation and a series of tweets."

The Washington Post reported on Friday that some delegates to the Republican convention in July were plotting to change the rules to allow delegates to become unbound and keep Trump from clinching the nomination.

Trump also brushed off the report, touting the support he received from Republican voters in the primaries.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rnc-attempt-oust-trump-media-creation