Paris attacks: What would ‘President’ Ben Carson do?
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson told reporters if he had been president during the Paris terror attacks he’d offer support and seek a coalition to counter the Islamic State. He spoke after an appearance at the Sunshine Summit in Orlando Friday. But he said currently there’s no leadership in America to give our allies confidence we’d follow through toward a military response – suggesting Democratic President Barack Obama isn’t up to the task. Dozens were killed late Friday and early Saturday in shootings and explosions around Paris, and in a siege of a theater where Islamist terrorists may have slaughtered over 100 more, according to preliminary reports. “You can’t really call for something like that and just think it’s going to magically form,” he said of a coalition. “It has to form behind a leader. Once we demonstrate our resolve to defeat not only (Islamic State) but the entire global jihadist movement, I think we will find there will be adequate people who will join. “But bear in mind,” he added, “they don’t want to get involved in something if we’re going to turn tail and run.” Carson was immediately challenged that some Americans are concerned he’s “too soft.” “Strength is not determined by the amount of decibels in your voice,” he said, a reference to his soft-spokenness. He also was asked about allowing in Syrian and other refugees that could include terrorists hidden among them. Carson said Congress needed to be encouraged to be “a stronger voice … and not just be a peanut gallery” on the issue. “What we really should be doing in using our expertise and resources to get people settled in that area,” he said. Hopefully, they need to be repatriated to Syria and their home countries, Carson added. Further, Carson was asked about fellow candidate Donald Trump this week comparing him to a “child molester.” Trump had referred to Carson’s autobiography, “Gifted Hands,” in which the doctor relays his anger as a youth growing up in Detroit. “It’s in the book that he’s got a pathological temper,” Trump told CNN. “That’s a big problem because you don’t cure that … as an example: Child molesting. … You don’t cure a child molester. There’s no cure for it.” Carson responded: “When I was a youngster, I used to get irritated by that kind of thing,” he said, smiling. “You know, ‘he said this about you; he said this about your mama.’ I’ve moved so far beyond that.”
Ted Cruz takes on Obama, federal government at Sunshine Summit
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, eschewing tie and lectern, strode onto the Sunshine Summit stage and launched into a talk show host-style monologue, joking about the next Democratic debate being held at “Leavenworth,” home of the famous federal penitentiary. But the junior U.S. senator from Texas quickly got serious, reciting a laundry list of conservative crowd-favorite actions he’ll take if he wins the Oval Office. Cruz first said he’ll rescind “every constitutional and illegal action taken by this president,” mentioning Barack Obama‘s saying that he has “a pen,” referring to veto power. “Well, you live by the pen, you die by the pen … and my pen has an eraser,” he said. Cruz added that he’ll go after Planned Parenthood and “prosecute any and all criminal conduct by that organization.” The group came under fire after the release of videos of organization officials discussing how they sometimes provide medical researchers with tissue from aborted fetuses. He also plans to “rip to shreds” the Iranian nuclear deal, saying America’s “single greatest threat is a nuclear Iran.” Cruz promises to move the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a hot button for evangelical voters. In the first of several digs at the news media, he said he led the effort to “repeal every word of Obamacare,” the Affordable Care Act, which will lead to “journalists who will check themselves into therapy.” Health care under a Cruz administration will be “personal, portable and affordable,” and keep “government from getting between us and our doctors.” He said he’ll instruct his secretary of education to make sure “Common Core ends today,” referring to the contentious educational standards that conservatives slight as a top-down mandate from the feds. Cruz will “secure our borders,” though he didn’t say how, and will end sanctuary cities. He’ll further take on the Environmental Protection Agency and institute a flat tax of 10 percent so “every American can fill out their tax on a postcard.” Cruz closed with an anecdote about his Cuban father who fled the Castro regime, and a Ronald Reagan farewell address reference. “Freedom is not some abstract concept we read about in school books,” he said. “It’s real and personal … if ‘We The People’ stand together we can bring back that shining ‘city on a hill.’ “
GOP candidate Ben Carson backs off West Point scholarship claim
Republican White House hopeful Ben Carson was not offered a formal scholarship to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as he wrote in his autobiography, his campaign said Friday. Carson, a newcomer to national politics, has developed a passionate following based in part on an inspirational personal story and devotion to Christian values. The only African-American in the Republican 2016 class, Carson grew up in inner-city Detroit and often speaks about his brushes with violence and poverty during his early years. His campaign on Friday sought to clarify a statement in his breakout book, “Gifted Hands,” in which he outlines his participation with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, commonly known as ROTC, while in high school. “I was offered a full scholarship to West Point,” Carson wrote in the 1996 book. “I didn’t refuse the scholarship outright, but I let them know that a military career wasn’t where I saw myself going. As overjoyed as I felt to be offered such a scholarship, I wasn’t really tempted.” Campaign spokesman Doug Watts said Carson was “the top ROTC student in the city of Detroit” and “was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC supervisors.” “They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission,” Watts said. Students granted admission to West Point are said to earn appointments to the military academy, which comes with tuition, room and board and expenses fully paid, in exchange for five years of service in the Army after graduation. A West Point spokesman on Friday said the academy “cannot confirm whether anyone during that time period was nominated to West Point if they chose not to pursue completion of the application process.” The story was first reported on Friday by Politico. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
No longer patient, Jeb Bush backers fret about sluggish campaign
For months, Jeb Bush‘s campaign insisted it was too early. Too early to worry about the Republican presidential candidate’s sluggish poll numbers. Too early to fret over the rise of unorthodox candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Too early to question if the one-time front-runner is merely a pedestrian candidate. But with just over three months until primary voting gets underway in Iowa, and Bush still mired in the middle of the crowded GOP field, some supporters fear it could soon be too late. “The moment is now,” said New Hampshire State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, reflecting the sense of urgency among nearly two dozen Bush supporters interviewed this past week by The Associated Press. On Friday, Bush signaled to supporters he understood the need to make a change. Faced with slower-than-expected fundraising, the campaign announced sweeping spending cuts, including a 40 percent payroll reduction, that will deplete staff at its Miami headquarters and refocus resources in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — the first four states to hold nominating contests. “It means I have the ability to adapt,” Bush said of the changes. “The circumstances when we started the election were different.” But interviews with supporters in early states reveal concerns that extend far beyond the campaign’s allocation of resources. There are fears Bush is failing to distinguish himself from his rivals, despite a month of aggressive television advertising. Many said they were eager to see Bush be more assertive and forceful in debates, in his TV ads and at campaign appearances. They worry he may not be capable of doing so. “God gives us our personalities and our looks and we can’t help that,” said Robert Rowe, another New Hampshire state representative who is switching his allegiance from Bush to Ohio Gov. John Kasich. “We are who we are.” Said Bush supporter Steven Zumbach, an attorney from Des Moines, Iowa: “He’s going to need to take some risk. Unless he does something like that, it’s going to be difficult.” Bush campaign aides say they understand the anxiety, but blame it on an unusual political season that has diverted attention away from more traditional candidates — not a sign of weakness in the former Florida governor. Bush himself has urged voters to stay patient, reminding them that candidates who sit at the top of polls at this stage in the race often fade. “Four years ago Herman Cain was the front-runner. Two weeks prior to that it was Rick Perry,” Bush said Wednesday during a campaign stop in Nevada. “Both are great guys, but they didn’t win the nomination.” Indeed, many voters in Iowa and New Hampshire wait until just before their states’ contests to settle on a candidate. The outcomes in those first two states have ripple effects in South Carolina, Nevada and other states that quickly follow. There are also signs of volatility in the GOP contest. After spending the summer and fall atop the Republican field, Trump appears to be losing ground in Iowa to Carson, an untested politician with a penchant for provocative comments about Muslims and the Holocaust. Bush is still among the candidates viewed as most electable among Republican voters, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. Six in 10 registered Republicans say he could possibly win a general election — putting him just below Trump and about tied with Carson atop the field. Most of those interviewed by the AP said they remain loyal to Bush. Even as his campaign fundraising slows, they see his heavily funded super PAC as an advantage that could help him outlast his rivals. They believe his methodical approach to issues and record as Florida governor make him the most qualified Republican to be president. But they wonder if there’s room for a candidate like Bush in a race where voters seem eager to voice their displeasure with Washington and anyone with a history in politics. “Within about a month, he’s going to need to step forth,” said Barbara Smeltzer, a longtime GOP activist from Dubuque, Iowa. “He’s going to have to start to show some muscle.” Added Carroll Duncan, a councilwoman in Dorchester County, South Carolina, “My main concern is that his message is not getting out there. That’s up to his campaign to turn that around.” Bush aides say they’ve been trying to do just that, with both the campaign and Right to Rise super PAC blanketing the airwaves with advertisements. Right to Rise accounted for one of every two 2016 presidential ads last week, according to information collected by Kantar Media’s CMAG advertising tracker. Right to Rise began its media blitz the week of Sept. 15 with a $1.3 million buy in New Hampshire and Iowa, expanding to South Carolina the following week. The super PAC has spent about $2 million each week on ads, CMAG shows. The group’s media plans continue through mid-February — by which time it will have spent $42 million if it follows through on all of its airtime reservations. Bush’s campaign is trying to supplement the ad spending with a large footprint on the ground in early states. The campaign has 12 paid staffers in New Hampshire, 10 in Iowa, eight in Nevada and seven in South Carolina. The overhaul the campaign announced Friday aims to boost those numbers. Supporters hope the changes will be enough to keep Bush afloat through a long, and so far surprising, campaign. “Jeb is not spectacular,” said Lynn Stewart, a state assemblyman from Henderson, Nevada. “But he’s solid and steady.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton is still shrill
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday didn’t back away from calling Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton “shrill,” explaining “that the word shrill doesn’t apply to women exclusively.” He also defended his use of overseas workers at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Palm Beach instead of Floridians. Trump participated by phone on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program. The real estate tycoon-turned-reality TV star is still on top of the GOP pack with nearly 33 percent in the Huffington Post national polling average. On Wednesday, Trump called Clinton shrill at a campaign event the day before in the Charleston Convention Center in South Carolina. As The Washington Post noted: Trump is often criticized for the way he describes women, and Clinton was not the only woman he reproved. He said Caroline Kennedy is too nice to be the ambassador to Japan. He described, at length, a “vicious, vicious woman” in her 80s who once sued him during a dispute over an apartment. And he yet again called the career of former technology executive Carly Fiorina, another Republican running for president, “a disaster.” When BBC World News America anchor Katty Kay challenged him on it, Trump said, “I think the word shrill doesn’t apply to women exclusively. I know men that are shrill, and it’s just an expression that I thought of … She’s gotten very loud and very boisterous and that can happen to men too, Katty.” “It’s just, you know, you never hear people say it about men,” Kay said. Trump responded, “I don’t know, there’s something going on with her. There’s really something going on. I think she’s going to make a terrible candidate just as she was a terrible Secretary of State.” He also said he “would call (Kentucky Sen.) Rand Paul shrill. I think he’s shrill. I don’t think that’s a term that applies exclusively to women at all.” Paul is also running for the GOP nomination. MSNBC commentator Mike Barnicle then questioned Trump’s request of visas for foreign labor at Mar-a-Lago, where they’re paid an average of $10-$12 an hour, “rather than hiring workers from Florida.” “Mar-a-Lago is a seasonal job, which is very hard to get people in Florida for seasonal jobs,” he said. “And during the season in Palm Beach, it’s very, very hard to get help. You can’t, you know, we’re talking about Mar-a-Lago, the club is closed for the summer. You know, the expression ‘Rich people don’t like heat.’ “And we close Mar-a-Lago and we open October – like October 1st,” Trump added. “And from that, for about a five month period during what they call the Palm Beach Season, which is a big deal, you can’t get help. So we tend to get help from different places including Europe. And we’ve been doing that – by the way, these are all legal visas.” Trump also slammed Fox News again, saying it ignored his standing in the latest Florida poll. Trump had said the network was treating him “unfairly” and wouldn’t make any more appearances on its news shows. “The Florida poll came out and the headline was that (Marco) Rubio surges past (Jeb) Bush,” he said. “And I said I guess that’s too bad; I guess I’m not in the poll. “Well, I had 31.5 percent,” Trump added. “They were down in the teens. And I said that’s sort of an amazing thing. That’s an amazing headline. It’s Rubio surges past Bush is the headline and I’m the one that’s leading the poll by a lot.”
