GOP touts Latino outreach during Hispanic Heritage Month
The Republican party is launching a new wave of outreach to Latinos to mark Tuesday’s onset of Hispanic Heritage Month, as the front-runner in the party’s presidential race continues to alarm party insiders who fear he could alienate the fast-growing ethnic group with his criticisms of people living in the U.S. illegally. The Republican National Committee is touting 25 different events in eight states, including battleground destinations like Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. The push is part of an effort announced by the party after its 2012 drubbing to reach out to minorities — especially Latinos, who had increasingly turned away from the GOP. “It puts us in a very good place to build on the successes we’ve had before,” said RNC deputy political director Jennifer Sevilla Kern. The events are intended to have something of a local theme. In the Orlando area, the party intends to focus on Puerto Rico’s financial crisis and statehood questions, partly because of the large number of Puerto Ricans who have settled in the area. In south Florida, conversations will center on normalizing relations with Cuba, while efforts in Pennsylvania will focus on taxes and the economy. Kern said Trump‘s statements and his deteriorating standing among Latinos — an NBC/Marist poll on Monday found only 22 percent would vote for Trump against Hillary Clinton — have “not impeded our ability to go out and have conversations with the community about the issues.” At his June campaign kickoff, Trump contended that people from Mexico who are in the U.S. illegally are largely “criminals and rapists.” He has drawn repeated condemnation from Hispanic groups for his rhetoric. Some of his GOP rivals have also scolded him for his approach, most notably former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who released a Spanish-language video Monday celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Democrats, meanwhile, have tried to link other Republican presidential hopefuls to Trump’s proposal to expel all 11 million people who are in the U.S. illegally. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
U.S. House of Representatives: Sept. 14-18
The U.S. House of Representatives returned last week after a month-long recess. On Monday, the House is not in session, and on Tuesday, the House is in pro-forma session. On Wednesday evening, Members return for regular order and the House will consider several bills under suspension of the rules. Despite the fact the clock is officially ticking for Congress to avoid an October 1 shutdown, neither chamber is slated to consider legislation this week to keep the federal government funded. With an abbreviated schedule next week with Pope Francis in town, Congress will have only three working days to avert a shutdown the last week of September. On the floor this week: H.R. 758: the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act. This bill modifies federal rules governing civil lawsuits to require federal courts to impose sanctions on parties that violate the existing prohibition on the filing of frivolous lawsuits, and to require that such sanctions include monetary penalties to cover the other party’s attorney’s fees and other costs. The main focus of the House this week will be on the red-hot, controversial issue of Planned Parenthood. The House will consider two bills in response to videos released this summer that may show that Planned Parenthood is seeking to profit by selling the body parts of aborted fetuses. The two bills being considered are: H.R. 3134: the Defund Planned Parenthood Act. This would place a moratorium on federal funding to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America or its affiliates or clinics, unless they certify that they will not perform or fund abortions. Alabama co-sponsors: Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-01), Rep. Martha Roby (AL-02), Rep. Mike Rogers (AL-03), Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04), Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-5), Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06) H.R. ___: Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This bill by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) is still being finalized and has not yet been formally introduced as of Monday morning. It is expected the bill will increase federal criminal penalties and provide civil remedies and new protections for babies that are born alive during induced abortions. Additional items are possible for the balance of the week per an announcement from the House Majority Leader’s office.
Jim Zeigler fighting to stop massive cuts to auditor’s office budget
State Auditor Jim Zeigler says he is being unfairly targeted by budget cuts by Gov. Robert Bentley and legislative allies after speaking out against the governor’s tax and spending proposals – and this week, he is taking his fight to the statehouse in Montgomery. Zeigler will testify before the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee meeting today at 1 p.m. Central in the Capitol building, where the panel is taking up HB 1, better known as the bill that will enact the state budget. As of Monday morning, the budget proposal contained a whopping 60 percent cut to the office of the State Auditor, the statewide elected ombudsman position occupied by Zeigler since he took office earlier this year, taking over for term-limited Samantha Shaw, like Zeigler a Republican. The 60 percent cut, Zeigler said in an announcement Monday, is by contrast to the mere 10 percent cuts faced by the offices of other statewide positions In a social media post, Zeigler issued the following appeal: Your help is needed quickly to stop the obliteration of the State Auditor’s office. You can contact members of the Senate Finance & Taxation Committee General Fund. Ask them to amend HB1 so that the State Auditor’s budget will be around $1 million instead of the $400,000 it now reads, which is a 60% cut. This committee meets at 1 p.m. today (Mon, Sept 14). It will take up HB1, the general fund budget, which passed the House Friday. HB1 singled out the State Auditor’s office for about a 60% cut that would cripple essential auditing. Other agencies received cuts in the 10% range, which the auditor’s office could live with. We ask for your help quickly in maintaining bare-bones funding for the State Auditor’s office. Amending HB1 to provide the State Auditor $1 million instead of $400,000 would still allow essential auditing and be a cut in line with other agencies. Zeigler also pointed out his opposition to the removal of the Govs. George & Lurleen Wallace portraits from the capitol rotunda, the four-laning of historic North Eufaula Avenue, the closure of 15 state parks, the use of taxpayer funds in campaigns for tax increase referendums and the removal of Confederate items from the capitol museum gift shop in an appeal to supporters Monday. The Senate F&T meeting will be held in room 727 in the statehouse in Montgomery.
GOP tax proposals tilt to rich despite populist rhetoric
Jeb Bush went to Detroit and talked about leveling the playing field. Marco Rubio wrote a book about helping the working class. Rand Paul is promising to expand the Republican Party beyond its traditional base. Yet all three Republican presidential candidates have offered tax proposals that would, for reasons such as nomination politics and tax rate realities, benefit overwhelmingly the wealthiest. In doing so, they have drawn criticism from Democrats who call it proof that the GOP’s eventual nominee will mainly try to help the rich. Even some conservatives expressed concerns after Bush released his proposed tax cut this past week. Then there was the analysis Thursday from the Washington-based Tax Foundation that concluded his plan would initially help the top 1 percent of earners 10 times as much as it would those in the bottom 10 percent. “Republicans should be countering the caricature of themselves as slavishly devoted to the interests of rich people and corporations, not playing into it,” according to an editorial in the conservative National Review. The magazine nonetheless praised Bush’s effort to reduce income and business tax rates. The trio’s tax plans do contain elements aimed directly at middle- and working-class voters. Rubio proposes to expand the child tax credit and Bush wants to double the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is designed to help the working poor. But experts note that any broad income tax cut inevitably will benefit the rich more than anyone else, because they pay much more in federal income taxes than the middle class or poor. About 40 percent of the country does not pay federal income tax. The top 1 percent of earners pays about 35 percent of the income tax. “It is a mechanical problem,” said Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the centrist Brookings Institute and left-leaning Urban Institute. “If you start from the place where any tax plan has got to cut tax rates, you start with a plan that is already regressive and it becomes challenging and complicated to ameliorate that.” Michael Strain of the conservative American Enterprise Institute said Republicans have good reason to push for across-the-board cuts, despite the inevitable benefit to the wealthy. “There’s a genuine concern on the part of conservatives about economic growth and having tax code that fosters economic growth because of a belief that you need a growing economy to help everyone in the country,” Strain said. John Cogan, a Stanford economist who served in the Reagan administration and consulted on the Bush plan, argued that the tax reductions can help cure the inequality that critics contend they exacerbate. “Economic growth is absolutely essential to reducing the degree of inequality,” Cogan said. That’s how Bush, a former, Florida governor, has tried to sell his plan. On Thursday, he brushed aside Democratic criticisms that the proposal was a giveaway to his wealthy donors and could increase the deficit, under his own supporters’ estimates, by more than $3 trillion. The U.S. must get back to “high, sustained economic growth,” Bush said during a CNN interview. “We need to boost people’s spirits by giving them more money to be able to make decisions for themselves.” Bush’s plan condenses seven different brackets to three — 28 percent for top earners (who are now taxed at as high as a 39.6 percent rate), 25 percent and 10 percent for families making up to $87,000. He would drop the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. To help middle- and working-class families, he would double the standard deduction and raise the Earned Income tax Credit. Bush surprised observers by pledging to eliminate a tax break that benefits investment managers — a small but symbolically potent change to a Wall Street benefit that comes weeks after rival Donald Trump called for such a move. Florida Sen. Rubio wrote a book in December outlining proposals to help low-income and middle-class families. In February he signed on to a sweeping tax proposal that does not cut top rates as much as Bush’s plan but does eliminate taxes on investment income. That would slash federal tax bills for many of the wealthiest in the country. Paul, a Kentucky senator, followed with a proposal to drop the tax rate to 14.5 percent across the board, which analysts argue may be an even bigger windfall for the rich. Conservative commentator Ramesh Ponnuru wrote in a column Thursday that the GOP should look to cutting other levies, like the payroll tax, which fall the heaviest on lower- and middle-income laborers. He said the GOP tax cut plans might end up being compared to Mitt Romney‘s in 2012, which a majority of voters thought helped the rich, according to exit polls. Republished with permission from The Associated Press.
New Iowa poll has Jeb Bush in 4th place, Marco Rubio tied for 5th place
Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio continue to struggle in the polls – this time in a new Quinnipiac survey of voters in Iowa, the site of the first election in the Republican race for president. As has been the case in recent polls, Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson lead the field. Trump is at 27 percent in the Hawkeye State, while Carson is just six percentage points behind with 21 percent. Texas Senator Ted Cruz is next with 9 percent. Then comes Bush in fourth place with 6 percent. Rubio follows next with 5 percent, where he’s tied with Former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee both are at 4 percent. Then the shocker: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is down to just 3 percent in the survey. That’s a 15-percentage point drop in two months in the Quinnipiac survey. Walker has been at the top of many Iowa polls for most of the year, but no candidate appears to have suffered more from the rise of Donald Trump than Walker, who had been predicted by many pundits before the campaign to begin to be one of the most promising candidates to win the nomination. “The Iowa Republican Caucus looks like a two-man race in which the Washington experience that has traditionally been a major measuring stick that voters have used to choose candidates is a now a big negative,” says Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, speaking of the rise of Trump and Carson. However, 25 percent of likely caucus-goers also put Trump at the top of the list of candidates they would definitely not support, followed by Bush at 23 percent and Chris Christie at 14 percent. Trump has a 60-35 percent favorability rating among likely GOP Caucus participants, but Carson has a 79-6 percent favorability rating. Quinnipiac polled 1,038 likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa via landlines and cellphones, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Laura Bush makes rare fundraising appearance in Orlando on Oct. 8 to support brother-in-law
Laura Bush, one of the most popular members of the Bush family, will be hitting the fundraising trail for her brother-in-law next month. The former First Lady hosts a luncheon reception for the Jeb Bush campaign on Thursday, October 8. Bush’s event, which begins 12:30 p.m., is at the home of former Florida U.S. Senator Mel Martinez and his wife Kitty, 140 Fawsett Road in Winter Park. It is one of a pair of fundraisers featuring Laura Bush next month in Florida. Bloomberg reporter Michael Bender writes that Laura Bush will also host an event in Palm Beach with Jeb Bush’s wife Columba the day before. For entry to both a host committee reception and the luncheon, supporters need to raise $5,000; a ticket to the event itself is $1,000. In the past, Laura Bush has been somewhat reluctant to appear on the fundraising circuit, but the family has been increasingly visible in raising money towards a third Bush presidency. Much of the boost in Bush fundraising comes as a result of the rising prominence of Donald Trump as GOP frontrunner. “This has absolutely heightened people’s awareness concerning the choice: a proven, reform-minded conservative versus a liberal, Democrat socialite masquerading as a Republican,” Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz told Bloomberg in an email. “As a result, we are getting a great response from donors.” Other Bush family events include a fundraiser hosted last week by former President George W. Bush in New York, as well as two events later this month in Texas and one in Arkansas in October. W will also join his father, former President George H.W. Bush, at a donor retreat supporting Jeb Bush, scheduled for October 25 in Houston.
Marco Rubio to hold major fundraiser Sept. 22 in affluent Dallas suburb
Marco Rubio brings his vision of a “New American Century” to Texas next week with a high-profile fundraiser reception in the exclusive Dallas suburb of Highland Park. Real-estate investor Harlan Crow and his wife Kathy will present the $2,000-per-couple event, scheduled for Tuesday, September 22. Host reception begins at 6:30 p.m.; general reception is at 7 p.m. The host committee, still in formation, includes former Republican U.S. Senator Phil Graham, Dallas-based investors George Bayoud and George Seay – a former top moneyman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential run — and Florida lobbyist Nick Iarossi. South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy, the outspoken conservative who serves on the House Select Committee on Benghazi, is the special guest. For an event chair spot, supporters need to raise $10,800; to host is $5,400 per couple. Chair level donors get two tickets to an October retreat, two tickets to the VIP Reception and a photo opportunity with Rubio. Location of the event is at the Crow’s historic home in Highland Park, an affluent area that some observers consider one of the nation’s most enthusiastically Republican districts. Near Dallas’ financial center, Highland Park enjoys some of the lowest property tax rates in Texas — a state without income tax – as well as having one of America’s best school systems. Attendees will have a chance to meet with Rubio, the 44-year-old senator who characterizes his presidential candidacy as a path to the “New American Century,” with both wisdom and experience to lead the country through challenging economic times.
Jeb Bush releases ad pushing his tax cut plan
Jeb Bush unveiled his tax plan last week at a poultry-cooling equipment facility in North Carolina, and his campaign team has edited footage from that event into a new ad they released on Sunday. The plan would reduce the number of tax brackets that Americans pay into from seven to three, reducing the lowest amount that anyone would pay to 28 percent, which was the highest level when Ronald Reagan left office in 1988. Middle-class tax rates would fall to 10 percent for families with incomes up to $89,000 and to 25 precent for incomes up to $163,800. Corporate, capital gains and dividend taxes would all fall to 20 percent, while the estate tax is eliminated. Bush also would provide immediate expensing of plant and equipment for businesses, which the Tax Foundation says is the most pro-growth tax fix to create jobs and higher incomes. In a nod to the economic populism, he would also eliminate the advantage for private-equity and other high-dollar financial managers known as the “carried interest” loophole. “For years, wealthy individuals have deducted a much greater share of their income than everyone else,” Bush wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. “We will retain the deductibility of charitable contributions but cap the deductions used by the wealthy and Washington special interests, enabling tax-rate cuts across the board for everyone.” Check out the video below:
Marco Rubio asks supporters to vote on next “Unedited” campaign ad
Marco Rubio goes interactive in his latest fundraising pitch, letting supporters choose the ending to his next campaign video. Visitors to MarcoRubio.com will have the privilege – for a $5 donation – to select the last half-minute of “Marco Unedited,” the upcoming digital ad from the Republican presidential hopeful. The video with the most votes becomes the official ad. Rubio fans have one five 30-second clips to choose, each with the Florida Senator behind the wheel while he chats on various subjects, focusing on what sets him apart from the (now-16 candidate) GOP field. Each one hits a mark on Rubio’s narrative. Themes include his immigrant backstory and how he is not from power or privilege – a direct hit on rival Jeb Bush. Another has Rubio talking about “what drives him while driving” on the road to the White House. “Only a president can lead towards a new American century.” Fortunately, in all of the videos, he keeps his eyes firmly on the road. Each clip is also available online at YouTube and Rubio’s campaign website. This Reminds You Of How Special America Is: Marco Talks About What Drives Him, While Driving: An American Era Full Of Challenges And Opportunities: How Special Is America? Ask An Immigrant: Marco Isn’t From Power Or Privilege:
Presidential Primary Brief: 421 days until Election Day
167 days until AL Presidential Primary 421 days until Election Day Convention Dates: Republican July 18-21 2016, Democratic July 25-28 2016 Weekly Headlines: Rick Perry drops out of 2016 presidential race Poll: Clinton’s lead over Sanders drops to 10 points Press Clips: What candidates can bring to the debate (Washington Post 9/13/15) With the excepting of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-‐Tex.), the campaign’s Eddie Haskell who fawns over Donald Trump, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has tried to steer clear of him, most every contender in the GOP presidential field has landed a blow or two against Trump. They, collectively, have rebuked him for misogyny, racism, xenophobia, ignorance, arrogance, inconsistency and more. Pundits obsessed with meaningless national polls are convinced this is not working, but in fact each candidate in his or her way is building the case against Trump. They are working to limit his appeal and to throw him off his game. Can Democrats sway young evangelicals? (CNN 9/13/15) It’s just another odd first in a presidential contest already replete with them. On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a liberal, Jewish socialist from Vermont, will become the first Democratic presidential contender to speak at Liberty University, the evangelical school founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried the evangelical vote since Jimmy Carter, a Southern Baptist, won the White House in 1976. Four years later, Falwell and his powerful new Moral Majority helped Ronald Reagan oust Carter and put evangelicals solidly in the Republican camp for decades to come. Rand Paul plans to attack Trump in the next debate (NewsMax 9/12/15) Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul said on Saturday that he would sharpen his attacks on front-‐runner Donald Trump in the second debate on Wednesday — and the real estate mogul quickly fired back on Twitter. “I think I was a little too easy on Donald Trump last time,” the Kentucky senator told Politico, referring to the Aug. 6 debate in Cleveland. “That’s given in jest. “And I think that it’s hard to say in advance exactly what will happen because you are somewhat bound to the questions that you’re going to answer them,” Paul added. “And I plan on answering them.” Joe Biden opens up to Steve Colbert about his 2016 doubts (NBC News 9/11/15) In a moving interview with comedian Stephen Colbert on Thursday night, Vice President Joe Biden suggested he is not yet emotionally prepared to run for president in 2016, as he is still reeling from the death of his son earlier this summer. “I don’t think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president and, number two, they can look at folks out there and say, ‘I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy, and my passion to do this,’” Biden told the Colbert, who recently took the helm of on CBS’ “The Late Show” from longtime host David Letterman. Paul rallies to defund Planned Parenthood (Politico 9/10/15) GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul headlined a rally Thursday to cut off Planned Parenthood funding — but didn’t reveal whether he had signed on to a letter demanding defunding being circulated by Sen. Ted Cruz, a rival in the Republican primary. Paul joined leading anti-‐abortion activists including Sarah Palin at the rally on Capitol Hill calling on Congress to exclude any taxpayer dollars for Planned Parenthood in the spending bill that has to be passed to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month. Former Clinton IT staffer takes the Fifth (Politico 9/10/15) Hillary Clinton’s former IT staffer who handled her private email system asserted his Fifth Amendment right Thursday, refusing to answer lawmakers’ questions about her unusual tech set-‐up. In a closed-‐door session in the basement of the Capitol Building, Bryan Pagliano rebuffed each inquiry by the House Select Committee on Benghazi after 24 hours of partisan bickering over whether he needed to appear at all. Two DNC vice chairs call for more Democratic presidential candidates (Politico 9/9/15) A pair of Democratic National Committee vice chairs echoed presidential candidate Martin O’Malley’s call to increase the number of primary debates on Wednesday, asking the party committee to add new events and to drop the existing threat of punishment for candidates who participate in unsanctioned debates. “We are the party that represents democratic principles, openness and transparency, and ensuring that all people, regardless of who they are or where they are from, have a level playing field and equal opportunity,” wrote Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak in a Facebook post.
