H4A News Clips 7.12.15

podesta-emails 58,635 words email

P17 D6 V11 P22 V15

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News Clips* *July 12, 2015* *TODAY’S KEY STORIES..................................................................................... **4* Hillary Clinton Picks Up Teachers Union Endorsement // NYT // Maggie Haberman & Amy Chozick – July 11, 2015...................................................................................................................................... 4 Clinton pushes middle class income boost // AP // Ken Thomas - July 12, 2015......................... 6 Clinton to center campaign on raising middle-class incomes // WaPo // Philip Rucker and Jim Tankersley – July 11, 2015.......................................................................................................................... 8 *SOCIAL MEDIA................................................................................................ **10* Ken Thomas (6/11/15, 4:41 pm) - Hillary Clinton wins the endorsement of @AFTunion. It's the 1st major union to endorse in 2016 campaign................................................................................................. 10 Jeb Bush (7/11/15, 6:32 pm) - .@HillaryClinton can stand with @AFTunion. I’m standing with the kids. #edreform nypost.com/2015/06/23/sch….............................................................................. 11 *HRC NATIONAL COVERAGE............................................................................ **11* The Best Way to Vilify Hillary Clinton? G.O.P. Spends Heavily to Test It // NYT // Ashley Parker & Amy Chozick – July 11, 2015.......................................................................................................... 11 Shaping a Campaign Against Hillary Clinton // NYT // Ashley Parker – July 11, 2015............... 15 Hillary Clinton Economic Plan to Chart Center-Left Course // WSJ // Laura Meckler - July 12, 2015 17 Teachers union endorses Hillary Clinton in Democratic race // WaPo // Lyndsey Layton – July 11, 2015 19 Hillary Clinton Gets Endorsement From Teachers Union for Her Presidential Bid // AP // Dave Urbanski – July 11, 2015........................................................................................................................ 20 Can Hillary Clinton lead the Keystone army? // Politico // Elana Schor – July 11, 2015............ 20 American Federation of Teachers endorses Hillary Clinton for president // Politico // Nirvi Shah – July 11, 2015..................................................................................................................................... 24 Clinton gets key union endorsement as rival enjoys a groundswell of support // Reuters // Amanda Becker – July 11, 2015......................................................................................................................... 25 Clinton to pledge to close carried interest tax loophole: adviser // Reuters – July 11, 2015....... 26 American Federation of Teachers Endorses Hillary Clinton // HuffPo // Dave Jamieson – July 11, 2015 26 Major teachers union endorses Hillary Clinton // CNN // Cassie Spodak – July 11, 2015........... 27 American Federation of Teachers endorses Hillary Clinton // MSNBC // David Taintor – July 11, 2015 28 American Federation of Teachers Endorses Hillary Clinton For President // ABC News // Luz Kreutz – July 11, 2015..................................................................................................................................... 29 Hillary Clinton Wins Key Endorsement From American Federation of Teachers // TIME // Sam Frizell – July 11, 2015................................................................................................................................ 30 Clinton to deliver major economic speech in New York Monday // The Hill // Alex Bolton – July 11, 2015 31 Clinton wins major labor endorsement // The Hill // Alexander Bolton – July 11, 2015............ 31 Sunday shows preview: Hillary speaks // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015................... 32 Memo to Hillary: 'You're Still the Problem' // The National Review // Ron Fournier – July 11, 2015 34 Hillary Clinton's Economic Agenda To Focus On Boosting Middle Class Income: Reports // IB Times // Mark Hanrahan - July 12 2015....................................................................................................... 37 Clinton campaign draws in a host of new donors // The Boston Globe // Annie Linskey – July 11, 2015 37 Hillary Clinton, a Woman of Her Words // RealClearPolitics // Carl M. Cannon - July 12, 2015. 40 Clinton to deliver economic speech Monday, with tax policy at issue // Fox News – July 11, 2015 42 Union Leaders Will Finally Have Their Day With Hillary // The Daily Caller // Connor Wolf – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 44 Hillary Clinton Hammers Local Officials Over Immigration // Breitbart // Javier Manjarres – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 45 Hillary Clinton Will Center Economic Proposals on Increasing Middle-Class Income // Slate // Daniel Politi – July 11, 2015......................................................................................................................... 46 Clinton plans Cedar Rapids party Friday // The Des Moines Register // Tony Leys – July 11, 2015 46 *OTHER DEMOCRATS NATIONAL COVERAGE................................................. **47* *DECLARED.................................................................................................. **47* *O’MALLEY............................................................................................... **47* *SANDERS................................................................................................. **47* Class or Ideology? My Conversation With Bernie Sanders // NYT // Nate Cohn – July 9, 2015... 47 Sanders Courts Martha’s Vineyard Donors // NYT // Jonathan Martin – July 11, 2015.............. 49 Anthony Weiner Isn't Buying Bernie Sanders' Presidential Bid // HuffPo // Ashley Alman – July 11, 2015........................................................................................................................................... 50 Sanders draws early support for White House bid from long-time union allies // Fox News – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 51 Bernie Sanders picking up steam in early primary states, could give Hillary Clinton a scare // NY Daily News // Cameron Joseph – July 11, 2015........................................................................................ 53 Weiner: Sanders 'needs to explain' why he’s running as a Democrat // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 55 Bernie Sanders becoming a problem for Hillary; tramples all over her talking points // Biz Pac Review //Tom Tillison – July 11, 2015.......................................................................................................... 56 *UNDECLARED............................................................................................ **57* *OTHER..................................................................................................... **57* Dem senators call for executive action on gun control // The Hill // Alex Bolton – July 11, 2015 57 *GOP................................................................................................................. **58* *DECLARED................................................................................................. **58* *BUSH....................................................................................................... **58* Jeb and the Nation of Takers // NYT // Paul Krugman – July 11, 2015..................................... 58 Jeb bests Hillary in American worker tweet-off // CNBC // Larry Kudlow – July 11, 2015......... 59 Sununu: Jeb Bush is ‘less forgiving of slights’ than his father // Yahoo News // Jon Ward – July 11, 2015 61 Jeb Bush's mind-blowing fundraising haul in one chart // Business Insider // Brett Logiurato – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 64 *RUBIO...................................................................................................... **65* With no clear base of support, Marco Rubio gambles on a broad approach // WaPo // Sean Sullivan – July 11, 2015..................................................................................................................................... 65 Rubio revisits childhood in Vegas, calls Putin a criminal // AP // Kimberly Pierceall – July 11, 2015 67 Rubio Focuses On Cuban Immigrant Upbringing In Vegas Talks // AP – July 11, 2015............. 68 Rubio starts winning over voters — in Spanish // The Washington Times // Kellan Howell – July 11, 2015........................................................................................................................................... 68 Marco Rubio would ban abortion if elected, compares it to slavery // The Examiner – July 11, 2015 69 *PAUL........................................................................................................ **70* Paul raises $7 million for White House run // The Hill // Alexander Bolton – July 11, 2015...... 70 *CRUZ........................................................................................................ **70* The New York Times says Ted Cruz's book has high sales because of 'strategic bulk purchases' // Reuters – July 11, 2015........................................................................................................................ 70 Cruz demands NY Times apologize for ‘lying’ about ‘A Time for Truth’ sales // Washington Times // Kellan Howell – July 11, 2015........................................................................................................... 71 Ted Cruz fights back: Campaign calls on ‘lying’ NY Times to release evidence of bulk book sales // BizPac // Michael Dorstewitz – July 11, 2015........................................................................................ 72 *CHRISTIE................................................................................................ **72* Reuters: Christie Now Third in Poll // Newsmax // Sandy Fitzgerald – July 11, 2015................ 73 *PERRY..................................................................................................... **74* Rick Perry tells crowd it's a 'show me, don't tell me' election // The Des Moines Register // Maya Kliger – July 11, 2015................................................................................................................................ 74 Rick Perry is Running for President — Here is What He Has Raised so Far in 2015 // IJ Review // Meagan Vazquez – July 11, 2015......................................................................................................... 75 *GRAHAM................................................................................................. **75* Lindsey Graham Speaks Against Clinton and Trump Over Immigration // Latin Post // Roberto Ontiveros – July 11, 2015......................................................................................................................... 75 *SANTORUM............................................................................................. **76* Santorum: I’ll Use Immigration To Go For Workers’ Votes // Breitbart // Ian Hanchett – July 11, 2015 76 *CARSON................................................................................................... **77* Clinton Foundation donor-owned Politico publishes hit piece on Dr. Ben Carson // Breitbart // Michael Patrick Leahy – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................ 77 Carson: Illegal immigrants should become guest workers if they register, pay taxes and back taxes // Breitbart – Ian Hanchett – July 11, 2015.............................................................................................. 79 Ben Carson on Donald Trump as a Running Mate: Anything Is Possible // Mediaite // Ken Meyer – July 11, 2015.................................................................................................................................... 80 *JINDAL.................................................................................................... **81* Producers Plan Rock Opera Based on Exorcism Bobby Jindal Witnessed in College // Bloomberg News // Ben Brody – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................ 81 Jindal calls for end to direct ag subsidies, RFS // The Des Moines Register // Linh Ta – July 11, 2015 81 *TRUMP.................................................................................................... **83* Donald Trump Defiantly Rallies a New ‘Silent Majority’ in a Visit to Arizona // NYT // Nick Fandos – July 11, 2015.................................................................................................................................... 83 Trump tells supporters, ‘We have to take back the heart of our country’ // WaPo // Philip Rucker & Robert Costa - July 11, 2015............................................................................................................. 85 Donald Trump won’t stop talking about immigration. Next up: Rallying 9,000 in Phoenix. // WaPo // Philip Rucker & Robert Costa – July 11, 2015................................................................................... 88 Donald Trump Antes Up On Immigration Stance In Las Vegas // AP – July 11, 2015................ 90 Trump: Mexico's 'Killing Us' at Border and on Trade // AP // Bob Christie & Kim Piercell – July 11, 2015 90 Donald Trump storms Phoenix // Politico // Ben Schreckinger – July 11, 2015......................... 92 Trump draws thousands in Phoenix, continues immigration theme // CNN // MJ Lee – July 11, 2015 95 Trump on Jeb Bush: "I don't see him as a factor" // CBS News // Reena Flores – July 11, 2015.. 98 Trump wins hearts of some, scorn from others in Ariz. // USA Today // Yvonne Wingett Sanchez – July 11, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 99 ‘I'm, like, a really smart person': Donald Trump exults in outsider status // The Guardian // Rory Carroll – July 12, 2015.............................................................................................................................. 102 Donald Trump expects 9,000 people at his immigration rally in Arizona // VOX // Dara Lind – July 11, 2015.......................................................................................................................................... 104 Here's what Donald Trump supporters believe, according to their emails to me // VOX // Andrew Prokop – July 11, 2015....................................................................................................................... 105 Donald Trump Outdoes Himself In Defiant Phoenix Speech // TIME // Zeke Miller – July 11, 2015 106 Trump basks in adulation at Arizona immigration rally // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015 108 Donald Trump meets with families of Americans killed by illegal aliens // Brietbart // Michelle Moons – July 11, 2015.............................................................................................................................. 110 Love him or hate him, Donald Trump could 'create chaos' for GOP in 2016, experts predict // NY Daily News // Celeste Katz – July 11, 2015.................................................................................................. 111 Jeb Bush Beware: Trump’s Know Nothing Populism Is A Hit With Conservatives In Phoenix // Politicus // Keith Brekhus – July 11, 2015.............................................................................................. 113 *UNDECLARED........................................................................................... **114* *WALKER................................................................................................ **114* Scott Walker Works to Gain Credibility as Official Campaign Begins // NYT // Patrick Healy - July 12, 2015.......................................................................................................................................... 114 Scott Walker’s primary strategy: Motorcycles, barbecue and a Winnebago // WaPo // Jenna Johnson – July 11, 2015................................................................................................................................... 117 Scott Walker tweet said he's running, but who posted it? // AP – July 11, 2016....................... 118 Twitter Accidentally Made Scott Walker a Presidential Candidate Ahead of Schedule // ABC News // Jordyn Phelps – July 11, 2015.......................................................................................................... 119 Could union-busting Scott Walker be the next president? // BBC // Gary O’Donoghue – July 11, 2015 119 *OTHER................................................................................................... **122* GOP primary candidates compete for anti-abortion vote // AP // Bill Barrow – July 11, 2015.. 122 White House contenders Trump, Bush in virtual dead heat: Reuters/Ipsos poll // Reuters // Will Dunham – July 11, 2015....................................................................................................................... 124 Senate Republicans push to punish 'sanctuary cities' // The Hill //Jordan Carney – July 11, 2015 125 Poll: Jeb, Trump in virtual tie // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015.............................. 128 Donald Trump continues to rise in recent GOP poll, now almost even with Jeb Bush; Chris Christie polls third // NY Daily News // Denis Slattery – July 11, 2015................................................................ 129 *OTHER 2016 NEWS....................................................................................... **130* *OPINIONS/EDITORIALS/BLOGS................................................................... **130* Power of the Pocketbook: Women Gaining Influence As Campaign Donors // NPR // Lauren Leatherby - July 12, 2015.............................................................................................................................. 130 *MISCELLANEOUS ADDED BY STAFF............................................................. **132* *TOP NEWS..................................................................................................... **132* *DOMESTIC................................................................................................. **132* Obamacare Flexes Muscles With New Medicare Payment Plans // NYT // Margot Sanger-Katz – July 11, 2015.......................................................................................................................................... 132 Voting Rights Legacy of the ’60s Heads to Court as North Carolina Law Is Tested // NYT // Erik Eckholm – July 11, 2015.............................................................................................................................. 133 *INTERNATIONAL...................................................................................... **136* Meeting on Greece Debt Breaks Up With No Deal // NYT // James Kanter – July 11, 2015...... 137 Iran Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Calls U.S. ‘Embodiment of Arrogance’ // WSJ // Asa Fitch & Jay Solomon – July 11, 2015.................................................................................................................... 140 Monday Deadline Looms For Iran Nuclear Talks // AP // Matthew Lee & George Jahn – July 11, 2015 141 *TODAY’S KEY STORIES* *Hillary Clinton Picks Up Teachers Union Endorsement <http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/07/11/hillary-clinton-picks-up-teachers-union-endorsement/> // NYT // Maggie Haberman & Amy Chozick – July 11, 2015 * A major teachers union on Saturday voted to make an early endorsement of Hillary Rodham Clinton, a lift to her presidential campaign as she tries to fend off a stronger-than-expected challenge from the left. The endorsement from the American Federation of Teachers was not a surprise. The group is led by Randi Weingarten, a longtime ally of Mrs. Clinton, and it backed her in her losing primary battle against Barack Obama in 2008. But the union is giving her its support again at an opportune moment for Mrs. Clinton, just before her first major speech on the economy, scheduled for Monday, which is seen as an attempt, in part, to neutralize the criticism leveled at her by her leading challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Mr. Sanders has surged in the polls by appealing to the populist anger of many Democrats over economic issues. Education policy remains one of the few areas of unsettled debate within the Democratic Party. President Obama’s education agenda has often infuriated the teachers unions, and last year, the head of the National Education Association, another union representing teachers, called for the secretary of education, Arne Duncan, to be fired. Advocates of changes to the system, including some major Democratic donors, consider Mr. Obama an ally and have been pressuring Mrs. Clinton to adopt Mr. Obama’s posture. But in meetings with the A.F.T. last month, Mrs. Clinton said that teachers shouldn’t be the “scapegoat” for society’s ills. After that meeting — members also heard from Mr. Sanders and Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor — Ms. Weingarten praised Mrs. Clinton’s performance and detailed responses to members’ concerns. The timing of the endorsement risks angering other union leaders, particularly Richard Trumka, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. Mr. Trumka has called on Mrs. Clinton to embrace labor’s economic agenda, and has been privately urging individual unions to hold off any endorsements. But in an interview, Ms. Weingarten said the membership overwhelmingly supported Mrs. Clinton, something which became clear in two town halls and in two separate member polls the group took in the last six weeks. As a senator, Ms. Weingarten said, Mrs. Clinton was given a 100 percent rating from the teachers union on her voting record. She said she had repeatedly heard from the union’s members that they believed Mrs. Clinton would “make the country a fairer place for working people.” And Mrs. Clinton has deep ties to the teachers union, beyond the endorsement it made in her 2008 campaign. She worked frequently with Ms. Weingarten when Ms. Weingarten led the teachers union in New York City. In March, just before Mrs. Clinton made her candidacy official, she and Ms. Weingarten appeared together on a panel in Washington to discuss expanding opportunities in urban areas sponsored by the Center for American Progress, the liberal group that has advised the Clinton campaign as it settles on an economic framework. In addition, former President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, is a former A.F.T. official. In addition to discussing women and family issues on Monday, Mrs. Clinton is expected to support Mr. Obama’s plans to extend overtime pay to workers and strengthen collective bargaining. She will also emphasize policies that would help the largely female members of the A.F.T., including pushing for paid family leave and affordable childcare, according to aides. *Clinton pushes middle class income boost <http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/56504> // AP // Ken Thomas - July 12, 2015* Hillary Rodham Clinton will make boosting middle class incomes and wages the focus of her economic agenda, pointing to stagnant paychecks as the central challenge facing the U.S. economy. The Democratic presidential candidate intends to lay out the themes of her economic plan in a speech on Monday, emphasizing the need for the real income of everyday Americans to rise steadily alongside corporate profits and executive compensation. While Republican candidate Jeb Bush has called for an annual growth rate of 4 percent, Clinton will assert that the nation’s economy should not be judged by a specific growth figure but rather by how much income increases for middle-class households. “For a typical working American, their income has not been rising anywhere near as fast as it should be rising, and that is the challenge we face,” said David Kamin, a New York University law professor who has advised Clinton’s campaign. “It’s not a new problem, and it’s going to take a holistic vision.” Clinton’s campaign on Saturday provided a preview of her speech to be given at The New School, a university in New York City. The campaign said the Democratic front-runner will point to economic progress during her husband’s two terms in the 1990s and more recently under President Barack Obama. But she will aim to identify ways of improving upon the uneven nature of the nation’s recovery since the Great Recession, bolstering wages even as the unemployment rate has fallen to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent. Clinton on Saturday picked up the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers union, the first major labor union to endorse a presidential candidate. The union is led by Randi Weingarten, a longtime Clinton ally, and comes as Clinton has sought the support of labor leaders. The former secretary of state is expected to begin outlining a series of specific economic proposals this summer on issues like wage growth, college affordability, corporate accountability and paid leave. “It’s a new moment, and she’s bringing new ideas to the table of how to do that,” said Neera Tanden, a former Clinton policy adviser who leads the Center for American Progress. In Clinton’s approach to the economy, more Americans would share in the prosperity and avoid the boom-and-bust cycles of Wall Street that have led to economic turbulence of the past decade. She is also expected to argue that the nation should not be fatalistic about globalization and that specific policy steps can help U.S. workers achieve better living standards. Clinton, who is seeking to become the nation’s first female president, is also expected to address ways of making it easier for women to join the workforce. In framing an economic vision, Clinton will attempt to meet the demands of liberals within her own party who are wary of her willingness to regulate Wall Street while inspiring confidence among a larger electorate who will judge her policies if she wins the Democratic nomination. Progressives encouraged Elizabeth Warren to seek the presidency, but the Massachusetts senator, who has railed against Wall Street and corporate excesses, declined to run. Many of those same liberals are now packing large gatherings held by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Clinton for the nomination and has made economic inequality the chief plank of his campaign. Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist and former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, said the former first lady has expressed interest in policies to curb excessive risk on Wall Street, such as a financial transactions tax on high-frequency trading, taxes on large Wall Street banks based on their risk profile and eliminating the so-called carried interest loophole that allows managers of hedge funds and private equity firms to pay a lower tax rate than most individuals. “I’m pretty sure that as the details come out you and others will judge them to be more anti-Wall Street than pro-Wall Street,” Blinder said. “This is not going to look like an agenda that came out of a bunch of Wall Streeters.” Clinton has said she will take nothing for granted in the primary contest, but the economic message will allow her to begin contrasting herself with Republicans. In recent speeches, she has portrayed the Republican presidential field, including Bush, the former Florida governor, as supportive of “top-down” economic policies and large tax breaks for the wealthy. “They’re back to the trickle down, cut taxes on the wealthy and everything will be fine,” Clinton said last week in Iowa. “This will be the biggest economic debate, because they know the only way they can win the White House back is to somehow convince voters that what we have done didn’t work.” *Clinton to center campaign on raising middle-class incomes <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-to-center-campaign-on-raising-middle-class-incomes/2015/07/11/17c94dca-278a-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e_story.html> // WaPo // Philip Rucker and Jim Tankersley – July 11, 2015 * Centering her presidential campaign on boosting incomes for middle-class Americans, Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday will begin unveiling an economic policy agenda designed to lift working families that have experienced years of wage stagnation and economic anxiety. In a major address in New York, the Democratic front-runner will lay out a diagnosis for why wages have been stuck and a framework to ensure that economic growth benefits more ordinary workers, according to campaign officials. “She believes that making sure the real incomes of everyday Americans are rising steadily and strongly is the defining economic challenge of our time,” said one campaign official, who previewed Clinton’s remarks only on the condition of anonymity. Clinton will endorse a host of popular Democratic policies such as raising the minimum wage and investing more in infrastructure. She will emphasize proposals tailored toward working women, one of her most important bases of support, such as expanding access to child care and providing workers with paid family and sick leave. Hillary Rodham Clinton, pictured here campaigning in Iowa last week, will introduce a menu of economic policies tailored toward working women. (Jim Young/Reuters) The ideas, in many ways, sound similar to the second-term agenda of President Obama, who faced an economic crisis in his first term and in his second started to more directly to address the nation’s long-running economic problems. But he has struggled to pass major legislation with a Republican-dominated Congress. Clinton will say she wants to build on his agenda, and, in working to craft an economic vision of her own, she goes further in her emphasis on giving women more flexibility to enter the workforce and on new government efforts to change the investment and pay decisions of corporations. Clinton’s speech, to be delivered at 10 a.m. Monday at the New School, a progressive university in Greenwich Village, will cement a leftward shift in the Democratic Party. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, concerns about the widening gap between rich and poor have risen to the top of the party’s agenda. Clinton is carving out space between the Republican candidates, who pay more attention to growing the economy than to raising wages, and her leading Democratic primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who focuses more on redistributing income to solve the inequality problem than on growth. Clinton’s aides said she plans to assert that the Republican candidates use rhetoric designed to appeal to middle-class voters but are proposing dated, trickle-down policies from the Reagan presidency — such as tax cuts for the wealthy, with the hope that they fuel growth that eventually benefits working families. The U.S. economy grew only 2.4 percent last year, and over the past 15 years, economic growth has slipped well below the averages of the 1980s and 1990s. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is promising to grow the economy by 4 percent a year. But Clinton will argue that “the measure of our economic success should be how much incomes rise for middle-class households, not an arbitrary growth figure,” according to the Clinton campaign official. Clinton’s speech is sure to draw fire from Republicans, who will chafe at her calls for higher taxes on the wealthy and more regulation of Wall Street and business in general. Many conservative economists warn that such proposals stunt economic growth. In her speech, aides said Clinton will argue that tectonic forces in the global economy are conspiring against middle-class families — such as automation and technology, which are eliminating middle-skill jobs that once provided solid incomes, as well as the new “sharing economy,” epitomized by Uber, which has created efficiency but also jobs lacking benefits and protections. But she will say that the government should enact policies to shape how these forces affect Americans. “She’s really addressing the issues of the moment,” said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, who has been advising Clinton on policy. “The challenges we face today are different than when she was running eight years ago. . . . She sees that the challenges are large and profound, but she thinks they’re issues we can address and that we shouldn’t just be subject to these global trends.” Clinton will at least implicitly critique Obama, whom she served as secretary of state, with her discussion about stagnant wages under his watch. But aides said she intends to commend him for facing and passing an urgent test to grow the economy quickly. Advisers said Clinton’s economic agenda will be organized in three parts. The first is about breaking down barriers to joining the workforce, including increased private and public investments in an infrastructure bank, tax relief to small businesses and clean energy development. As part of her workforce focus, Clinton will decry that women’s participation in the workforce has stalled after decades of growth and that many working parents, especially single mothers, have passed up job opportunities because of their family obligations. She will preview policies on child care, paid leave and paid sick days. Clinton’s second area of focus is reducing income inequality. She will assert that the current economy unfairly rewards some work, such as financial trading, more than other work, such as building and selling products. She will celebrate Obama’s new rules on overtime, but also urge raising the minimum wage, fighting wage theft and overhauling the tax code to make the wealthiest Americans pay what she considers their fair share, as well as supporting collective bargaining and reducing health-care costs. The third area is corporate reform. She plans to argue that companies should focus more on creating lasting value, including investing in their workers, than on earning quarterly profits to satisfy shareholders. To that end, she will call for more investments in research and development, changes in tax structure and new rules on shareholder activism. Clinton will introduce these ideas in Monday’s speech and then roll out more detailed prescriptions on issues such as college affordability, paid leave, wage growth and corporate accountability throughout the summer. Liberal groups, which have been skeptical of Clinton’s candidacy and especially its closeness to Wall Street, will be watching her speech with a skeptical eye. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a group allied with liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), has not seen Clinton’s agenda but said he will be listening to hear whether Clinton takes on “the power of Wall Street and corporate bad actors.” “Do her proposals go big and represent game-changers in the lives of millions of people?” Green asked. “Or do they go small and tweak around the edges?” Jared Bernstein, a liberal economist who has advised Obama and Vice President Biden and was briefed on Clinton’s plans, said he thought she would satisfy progressives because her agenda “reconnects growth and middle-class prosperity.” For the past several months, Clinton and her advisers have met with more than 200 domestic policy experts. Campaign aides Jake Sullivan, Ann O’Leary and Maya Harris, with input from Gary Gensler, a Warren ally and the campaign’s chief financial officer, developed the policy. A number of outside advisers were involved as well, including Nobel Prize-winning liberal economist Joseph Stiglitz; former Obama White House economic advisers Gene Sperling, Alan Krueger, Christina Romer and Ronnie Chatterji; economists Alan Blinder and Heather Boushey; political scientist Jacob Hacker; law professor David Kamin; and Tanden. *SOCIAL MEDIA* *Ken Thomas (6/11/15, 4:41 pm)* <https://twitter.com/KThomasDC/status/619969708704575488>* - Hillary Clinton wins the endorsement of @AFTunion. It's the 1st major union to endorse in 2016 campaign.* *Jeb Bush (7/11/15, 6:32 pm)* <https://twitter.com/JebBush/status/619997769558818816>* - .@HillaryClinton can stand with @AFTunion. I’m standing with the kids. #edreform nypost.com/2015/06/23/sch <http://nypost.com/2015/06/23/sch>…* *HRC** NATIONAL COVERAGE* *The Best Way to Vilify Hillary Clinton? G.O.P. Spends Heavily to Test It <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/us/the-best-way-to-vilify-clinton-gop-spends-heavily-to-test-it.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news> // NYT // Ashley Parker & Amy Chozick – July 11, 2015 * Inside an office park here, about a dozen women gathered to watch a 30-second television spot that opened with Hillary Rodham Clinton looking well-coiffed and aristocratic, toasting champagne with her tuxedoed husband, the former president, against a golden-hued backdrop. The ad then cut to Mrs. Clinton describing being “dead broke” when she and her husband left the White House, before a narrator intoned that Mrs. Clinton makes more money in a single speech, about $300,000, than an average family earns in five years. The message hit a nerve. “She’s out of touch,” said one of the women, who works as a laundry attendant. “Her reality is just so different than mine,” murmured another, as operatives from American Crossroads, a Republican “super PAC,” watched closely from behind a one-way mirror. In rooms like this one around the country, an expensive and sophisticated effort is underway to test and refine the most potent lines of attack against Mrs. Clinton, and, ultimately, to persuade Americans that she does not deserve their votes. While the general election is 16 months away, Republican groups are eager to begin building a powerful case against the woman they believe will be the Democratic nominee, and to infuse the public consciousness with those messages. American Crossroads, a Republican “super PAC,” conducted two four-hour focus groups in Florida to test a series of attack ads against Mrs. Clinton. Here are descriptions of some ads, along with some reactions from the participants. On the campaign trail, Mrs. Clinton focuses on policy issues, like the economic vision she plans to lay out in a speech on Monday. But in private, her campaign has prepped for the anticipated lines of attack against her. The effort to vilify Mrs. Clinton could ultimately cost several hundred million dollars, given the variety and volume of political organizations involved. The typical voter has not necessarily fully tuned in to election coverage or followed the intricacies of Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email account or foreign donations to her family’s foundation. But Republicans are acutely aware that early attacks labeling Mitt Romney as elitist were impossible for him to shake in 2012, and they view these next several months as critical in laying the groundwork to taint, and ultimately defeat, Mrs. Clinton. That is why, on a rainy night here, Crossroads, which was founded by the Republican strategist Karl Rove, gathered about 50 voters representing groups that it believes can be persuaded to vote against Mrs. Clinton — an all-white mix of young men, low-income adults, married mothers and politically moderate women. One problem in developing negative messages about Mrs. Clinton, Republican strategists have found, is that she and her husband have survived so many controversies by dismissing them as partisan attacks. So the Republican organizations are seeking to develop lines of attack that resonate more deeply or raise unsettling questions about Mrs. Clinton’s character. They showed the voters, who received $100, sandwiches and soft drinks for their time, more than a dozen 30-second ads. (Crossroads allowed a reporter to observe the focus groups under the condition that the participants’ names be withheld.) The ads highlighted Mrs. Clinton’s deleting of emails from her private account, tried to tie her to President Obama, portrayed her as distant from middle-class Americans and sought to persuade women that they do not need to support her because of her gender. An ad shown to a focus group contests Mrs. Clinton’s comments that she and her husband were “dead broke” when they left the White House. But many, essentially, struck the same theme, depicting Mrs. Clinton as untrustworthy, an image that even Democrats supporting the Clinton campaign acknowledge is a weakness. About 57 percent of Americans do not believe Mrs. Clinton is honest and trustworthy, according to a CNN poll released June 2. “She’s got an open wound, and part of our job is to pour salt in it,” said Glen Bolger, a co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, the Republican polling firm that conducted the focus groups. Mrs. Clinton’s allies point to relatively low trust numbers for Mr. Clinton in the 1992 and 1996 elections and his ability to win voters despite his personal failings. An ad titled “Shadow,” which ranked among the most effective ads that Crossroads tested in Orlando, argued that scandal trailed Mrs. Clinton like a menacing shadow. “Whitewater, Travelgate and Filegate,” a narrator began, referring to scandals from decades ago, including one over a real estate deal. Then the narrator moved on to more recent controversies, including her deleted emails, the foreign donations to her family foundation and the four Americans killed in the 2012 attacks on the United States compound in Benghazi, Libya. “There’s a sense of distrust, a sense of unease about her authenticity and her candor, that isn’t hard to stimulate,” said Steven Law, the president of Crossroads. In modern campaigns, given the fragmented way media is consumed, television ads are important but not always enough to create a narrative, especially over a long period. Crossroads plans to use a kaleidoscopic approach for its anti-Clinton campaign. In order to target particular voters with tailored messages, the campaign will feature tools including television and radio spots, digital ads on mobile devices, and pre-roll, the commercials that play before videos online. Crossroads is eager to establish itself as the leading attack dog against Mrs. Clinton, but it is a crowded field, especially as other super PACs are emerging as bigger players in the Republican money world. In this ad, a narrator ominously warns that scandal follows Mrs. Clinton like a shadow. Right to Rise, a super PAC supporting former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, recently held its own briefing for Republican groups to highlight data it gathered from its own focus groups and polling of women, information that can be used in attacks against Mrs. Clinton. It stressed that Mrs. Clinton’s “dead broke” comments were particularly devastating, as were her deleted emails, though they required more explanation. Though the Clintons were in fact dealing with debt and legal fees when they left the White House, Mrs. Clinton later called her comments “inartful.” In addition, America Rising PAC, an opposition research group that focuses heavily on attacking Mrs. Clinton, began its effort with Twitter and other online posts more than a year ago before moving to paid digital ads. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and Democratic groups believe that attacks on her trustworthiness and wealth could be the most damaging if they do not aggressively combat them. Rather than debating policies that would help working Americans, “they’re trying to make her Mitt Romney in a pantsuit,” said David Brock, the founder of several pro-Clinton outside groups and author of the forthcoming book, “Killing the Messenger: The Right Wing Plot to Derail Hillary and Hijack Your Government.” The Clinton campaign has also tried to turn the trust issue around by arguing that while the opposition tries to make voters distrust how Mrs. Clinton handled her email as secretary of state, they can trust her more than Republicans to look out for middle-class Americans. Christina Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said billionaires funding the attacks “are committed to keeping the policies in place that keep the deck stacked in favor of them at the expense of the voters she talks to around the country.” Democratic political groups, of course, will undertake their own offensive to attack a Republican nominee or front-runner, much as they did with Mr. Romney. But their task has been made more difficult by the large and uncertain Republican field. Both sides agree that the work undertaken long before the election, often in the year before it, creates the foundation for the most damaging attacks. Ahead of the 2004 election, Mr. Rove and others involved in President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign tried to convince voters that Senator John Kerry was an opportunistic flip-flopper. The critique did not catch on until March of that year, when Mr. Kerry, in response to a question about funding for the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he “actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” An ad features Mrs. Clinton saying she is “two steps short of a hoarder,” and then has a narrator speak of the emails she deleted from her time as secretary of state. “The groundwork had been laid pointing out all the examples of flip-flopping in the past,” said Colin Reed, the executive director of America Rising. Republicans could hardly hide their giddiness when Mrs. Clinton made her “dead broke” remark last year. To many in the political world, the comment evoked Mr. Romney’s misstep at a 2012 fund-raiser where he said “47 percent” of Americans were overly dependent on government. Long before Mr. Romney made that comment, Priorities USA Action, the Democratic super PAC, had devoted months to portraying the Republican candidate as “a plutocrat who doesn’t care about people like you,” said Bill Burton, a Priorities co-founder. “The best thing you can do is set the table for a key vulnerability and hope the candidate lives up to the hype, which they likely will do,” Mr. Burton said. In Orlando, the “dead broke” ad emerged as the most effective spot, partly because it captured the gulf between Mrs. Clinton’s life and those of the less affluent people gathered. “She’s broke at another level,” said one man, who owns an electrical company and makes less than $50,000 annually. “She could be broke, you know, compared to the people in her world. O.K., in her status. ‘Oh, my God, I can’t buy a jet this year — we’re broke, we’re not going to Europe, sorry.’ ” Another ad that resonated, called “Throw Away,” opens with Mrs. Clinton saying she never throws anything away and is “two steps short of a hoarder” before a narrator points out that she deleted about 30,000 emails from her time at the State Department. But Crossroads still has some fine-tuning to do. A few women watching expressed sympathy for Mrs. Clinton, saying they sometimes felt like hoarders, too, and often deleted spam and other personal emails. Maybe that was what Mrs. Clinton had done? “They could have been from Bed Bath & Beyond,” one woman said of the emails. “Who knows?” *Shaping a Campaign Against Hillary Clinton <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/12/us/politics/ads-clinton.html?src=twr&smid=tw-share&_r=0> // NYT // Ashley Parker – July 11, 2015 * American Crossroads, a “super PAC” founded by Karl Rove, the Republican strategist, recently conducted two four-hour focus groups in Florida to test a series of attack ads against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Crossroads gathered about 50 voters who represented groups it believes can be persuaded to vote against Mrs. Clinton — an all-white mix of young men, low-income adults, married mothers and politically moderate women. Here are descriptions of some ads, along with some reactions from the participants. (A reporter was permitted to observe, under the condition that names of the participants be withheld.) ‘Dead Broke’ An ad highlights Mrs. Clinton’s comments that she and her husband were “dead broke” when they left the White House and argues that the Clintons’ version of “dead broke” is very different from that of the typical American. The ad describes the lucrative fees Mrs. Clinton has received for making speeches and for being an author. Responses “She’s rich broke. She’s not really our kind of broke, like, ‘I don’t even have money to go get a sandwich.’ ” — Politically moderate woman who works as a paralegal “For her to say she's dead broke, and the way the economy is, it’s kind of a slap in the face when you're struggling.” — Married mother “She has no clue. I think she’s completely out of touch with how the middle class lives.” — Low-income woman “It’s essentially faulting her for going out and getting a book deal, when it’s like, O.K., she went out, made the most of an opportunity. Who among us wouldn’t do that? This is like, ‘Here’s $8 million for your life.’ Of course I’m going to take that.” — Young man ‘Throw Away’ An ad features Mrs. Clinton saying she does not throw anything away and is “two steps short of a hoarder, ” and then has a narrator speak of more than 30,000 emails she deleted from her time as secretary of state. Responses “Her saying, ‘I don’t throw anything away, I’m a hoarder,’ is taken out of context. What was she talking about? Maybe they were talking about: Does she have every prom dress she ever wore? I was almost offended that that was so out of context.” — Politically moderate woman “We should care because it could lead to leaking and hacking, and I think, isn’t that a federal offense to do that?” — Politically moderate woman “I think the ad was believable, but I just don’t think that it’s the biggest issue, and I don’t think anybody — I think, yeah, she deleted all the emails. We all know that.” — Politically moderate woman “She gives me this feeling of like a greasy used car salesman sometimes, but I think I get that from a lot of politicians, but there’s a point where I just feel like I get worked over.” — Politically moderate woman ‘Shadow’ In this ad, a narrator ominously warns that scandal follows Mrs. Clinton like a shadow, before listing several scandals that have plagued her, including the Whitewater real estate deal in Arkansas and the deaths of four Americans in the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Responses “Not really particularly believable because they were so long ago, and a lot of people who will be voting, who are 21, will have no idea what a Whitewater is, or maybe what led up to the first Clinton presidency.” — Low-income man “I felt like it was a really low blow, even for dirty politics, to put the pictures of the people who were killed" in Benghazi. — Politically moderate woman "That commercial said to me: When you have Hillary Clinton somewhere, you’re going to have a scandal. So why would you put her here where it’s really important, because there’s going to be a scandal?” — Politically moderate woman “Everything in the whole commercial made her seem so shady from the beginning to the end. And I think it was just that what, is what impacted me, is just, you know, why would you want to vote for her? You know, why? I mean, after all that. And it's put right out there, it just, it covered a lot for me, and that's why I liked it.” — Married mother ‘Woman on the Street’ This ad features women explaining that they would love to see a female president but that they just do not support Mrs. Clinton. The women then list several reasons for thinking that she does not best represents them. Responses “They were all just against her. Nobody was there for her.” — Female grocery clerk who leans Democratic “I kind of liked that commercial. I thought it was one of the most effective ones because it’s still the fact that it was all women saying that stuff. And the point they were, you know, getting across, how it doesn’t necessarily have to be her.” — Low-income man “Getting a woman president probably wouldn’t be too much of a role model for me. I do prefer men over women as far as leaders, which is kind of chauvinistic of me, but I do.” — Politically moderate woman “It's an ad that might work on Lifetime.” — Young man *Hillary Clinton Economic Plan to Chart Center-Left Course <http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-economic-plan-to-chart-center-left-course-1436695201> // WSJ // Laura Meckler - July 12, 2015* Democratic presidential front-runner’s economic speech expected to highlight differences between herself and GOP, other liberal contenders Hillary Clinton is preparing to lay out an economic plan that seeks to chart a center-left ideological course, rejecting ideas put forth by Republican presidential contenders but also striking a contrast with the liberal wing of her own party. In a Monday economic speech, the Democratic presidential front-runner will focus on the differences between herself and her Republican foes. She will accuse them of seeking economic growth without regard to whether the middle class thrives, and say that raising incomes for all Americans is “the defining economic challenge of our time,” a campaign aide said. But the speech in New York City will also draw implicit contrasts with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is mounting a strong challenge from the left for the Democratic nomination. He is focusing heavily on economic inequality, arguing that the economic pie should be divided more fairly and calling for taxes on the wealthy to pay for initiatives that will boost the middle class. Mrs. Clinton will put relatively more emphasis on the need to make the pie larger. Her economic policy advisers say she aims to walk a course between a focus on inequality and one on growth. It is a balancing act that reflects her broader approach to policy so far in her presidential quest. She is proving to be quite liberal in some areas—particularly social policy such as immigration, gay marriage and gun control—while centrist on other issues, including some economic ones. To promote growth, Mrs. Clinton will urge tax cuts for small businesses and new government spending on infrastructure, the Clinton aide said. She also will propose ways to make it easier for women to succeed in the workplace, including support for child care and paid leave. To address income inequality, Mrs. Clinton will call for raising the minimum wage, increasing taxes on the wealthy, boosting the power of unions and reducing health-care costs. She’s also likely to propose some new rules governing Wall Street. She plans to endorse greater use of profit-sharing programs, which aim to more broadly share a company’s success with its workers, and a college-affordability program, which is likely to stretch beyond the proposal for free community college advanced by President Barack Obama, advisers say. A middle-class tax cut plan is also in development. Republicans are likely to charge that the Clinton formula, while advertised as centrist, still will expand both government spending and growth-sapping regulatory burdens. But there is little sign she intends to embrace many of the most liberal and in some cases, expensive, ideas being pushed by Mr. Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is also challenging Mrs. Clinton from the political left. She is unlikely to propose breaking up Wall Street banks or installing a single-payer health-care system. A wholesale expansion of Social Security, as many on the left would like, is unexpected as well. She has sent mixed messages on a pending Asian trade deal, which labor unions and other liberals reject outright. She backs an increase in the minimum wage, but it isn’t clear whether she will embrace an increase to $15 an hour, as some are pushing. More centrist postures on such issues may be more helpful to her in a general election, if she wins her party’s nomination. For now, though, one of her political imperatives is to show Democrats how she will take the fight to the GOP. She intends to do that in part by lodging an attack on former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a leading GOP presidential contender, who said in his announcement speech that his economic goal is 4% growth. He didn’t offer specifics as to how he will achieve that, beyond mentioning a reduction in regulations and a tax overhaul. Mr. Bush argued that wages will grow for all, not just the rich, with an expanding economy. He described “growth that lifts up the middle class” and “makes a difference for everyone.” Glenn Hubbard, an economic adviser to former President George W. Bush who is now advising Jeb Bush, said in an interview that, like Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Bush doesn’t support growth without wage improvements. “It’s about inclusive economic growth,” he said. “To my mind, you can’t fix the problem of a troubling pattern of wage stagnation unless and until you can have a steady state of economic growth in the country.” Mrs. Clinton will contend that an expanding economy alone isn’t enough to achieve widespread gains, and data shows that growth hasn’t translated into wage gains in recent years. In 2013, median household incomes stood at levels last seen in 1995 after adjusting for inflation, while per capita output over that span increased by around 30%. One of the unanswered questions about Mrs. Clinton’s policy agenda is how sharply she will critique Wall Street and whether she’ll propose significant new regulations governing financial institutions. Princeton economist Alan Blinder, who was briefed on the plan, said he expects Mrs. Clinton to call for more regulation, more taxation and a greater emphasis on financial stability. “She may surprise people with her toughness on Wall Street excesses,” the former Federal Reserve vice chairman said. *Teachers union endorses Hillary Clinton in Democratic race <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/11/teachers-union-endorses-hillary-clinton-in-democratic-race/> // WaPo // Lyndsey Layton – July 11, 2015 * The American Federation of Teachers endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination on Saturday, the first national union to back a candidate for the 2016 primary. The endorsement was not a surprise to close observers - the AFT had supported Clinton in 2008 instead of Barack Obama - but the early timing may be designed to give Clinton a boost against her surging rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). "In vision, in experience and in leadership, Hillary Clinton is the champion of working families need in the White House," AFT president and longtime Clinton ally Randi Weingarten said. In a statement released by the union, Clinton said she was "honored" by the nod. "I know from my own family that teachers have the power to change lives, " she said. "We need to make sure every child has access for a quality public education and to the teachers with the tools to help them succeed." Weingarten and Clinton have been friends since their days in New York, when Weingarten led the city's teachers union and Clinton ran successfully for the U.S. Senate. Weingarten sits on the board of the pro-Clinton PAC Priorities USA. The 1.6 million-member AFT, along with its sister union, the 3 million-member National Education Association, have been under siege from both elements within the Democratic and Republican parties. The unions have been fighting the expansion of public charter schools, which are largely not unionized, as well as teacher evaluations based on test scores and challenges to tenure and other workplace protections. The unions have both been critical of many of the education policies of the Obama administration, saying they have led to a "blame the teacher" culture. They argue that evaluating teachers based on student test scores does not recognize the complexities of teaching students who often come from impoverished homes or struggle with disabilities and language barriers that affect their achievement. Clinton, Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley all met with both the AFT and NEA leadership last month in an effort to win their backing. Clinton struck a particularly sympathetic tone in her meeting at the NEA, telling the union that people are "dead wrong to make teachers scapegoats for all of society's problems." Clinton's relations with teachers unions didn't begin as smoothly, when she first entered public life. As first lady of Arkansas in 1982, Clinton pushed to broaden course offerings in public schools, smaller class sizes and institute competency testing for teachers - an idea that provoked a fierce pushback from the union. But as a U.S. senator and first lady, Hillary Clinton promoted policies much more friendly to the teachers unions, including expanding preschool and after school programs. As a presidential candidate in 2008, she opposed merit pay for teachers, another stance in line with the unions. *Hillary Clinton Gets Endorsement From Teachers Union for Her Presidential Bid <http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/07/11/hillary-clinton-gets-endorsement-from-teachers-union-for-her-presidential-bid/> // AP // Dave Urbanski – July 11, 2015 * Hillary Rodham Clinton has won the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers. It’s the first major labor union to make an endorsement in the 2016 presidential campaign. Randi Weingarten, the president of the union, says in a statement Saturday that Clinton is the “champion working families need in the White House.” The endorsement was widely expected. The teachers’ union supported Clinton’s primary campaign in 2008 and Weingarten is a longtime Clinton ally. The AFT represents more than 1.6 million members nationwide, including K-12 teachers and school personnel, higher education faculty and staff, early childhood educators and retirees. *Can Hillary Clinton lead the Keystone army? <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/can-hillary-clinton-lead-the-keystone-army-119980.html> // Politico // Elana Schor – July 11, 2015 * An army of liberal green activists has yet to coalesce around a Democratic presidential candidate, and Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are fighting to win them over. Hillary Clinton’s two challengers from the left are each targeting the grassroots greens who, often upstaging the mainstream environmental groups, rallied throngs of opponents against the Keystone XL pipeline — turning an obscure regulatory fight into a symbol of America’s addiction to fossil fuels. Many of those activists are without a standard-bearer in the Democratic field, and are still suspicious of Clinton because of her refusal to rule out the Keystone project. And they’ve demonstrated the capacity to put supporters in the streets, including more than 1,100 anti-Keystone protesters who went to jail after White House sit-ins four years ago. That’s offering an opening to the progressive Sanders, who has emerged as Clinton’s top rival in the polls, and O’Malley, whose once-promising campaign has yet to gain traction. Each has rolled out aggressive plans to fight climate change that are well to the left of anything Clinton has offered: Sanders is pushing a carbon tax, for example, while O’Malley pledges to wean the U.S. electricity system entirely off fossil fuels by 2050. Sanders even launched his candidacy at an event with fellow Vermonter Bill McKibben, the activist who rose to prominence by leading the anti-Keystone crusade as part of the campaign to fight climate change. There’s little chance that major environmental groups like the Sierra Club or the League of Conservation Voters will endorse a candidate anytime soon — Clinton remains the prohibitive Democratic front-runner, and she too is pledging action on climate change, in contrast to the GOP White House hopefuls who are almost uniformly opposed. Still, Sanders’ and O’Malley’s efforts to display their green bona fides raise questions that could force Clinton to adopt a more aggressively liberal posture on issues ranging from fracking to Arctic offshore drilling. “[I]t is a badge of honor with voters, particularly voters most likely to participate in Democratic primaries and caucuses, for a candidate to show that she or he is willing to take on big oil, the Koch brothers, other carbon polluters, and the climate change deniers,” said Democratic pollster Geoff Garin, who helped lead Clinton’s strategy team during the final months of her 2008 campaign. The “growing number of people who are willing to become politically engaged and mobilize around climate and clean energy issues,” he added, “can provide the kind of grassroots people power that campaigns depend on.” And as with the surge in Sanders’ support from union members, despite AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka’s attempts to tamp it down, leaders of mainstream environmental groups will have a hard time reining in the passions of their activists and volunteers who have followed McKibben to get arrested at anti-Keystone rallies. A source close to the Sanders camp says the candidate’s appeal among the rank-and-file union members is sign of what’s to come in the green movement. “You’re going to see the same thing happen in the environmental community — Sanders is going to attract tremendous support among grassroots activists because he’s putting the issues front and center,” the source said. Not to be outdone, O’Malley’s campaign has already begun courting environmental groups on the national, state and local level, efforts that will ramp up even further in the coming weeks, spokeswoman Haley Morris said. O’Malley spent last weekend in Iowa on a campaign push that focused on his green proposals, such as his call to transition U.S. utilities to clean energy sources and shift tax incentives from fossil fuels to renewable energy. He outlined the plan in a Des Moines Register column published before his swing through the state. “We need to hear from all of the candidates on where they stand — not just that this should be a priority, but what their specifics are, what their plan is to get it done,” the O’Malley camp’s Morris said. Politically engaged environmental activists say Clinton has yet to prove herself. One example came when 350 Action, an affiliate of the environmental group founded by McKibben, joined the liberal magazine The Nation in asking candidates to swear off campaign money from the fossil-fuel industry: Sanders signed on early, and O’Malley followed suit Tuesday. But “Hillary Clinton, like the 14 Republican candidates contacted, did not reply” to the request, the magazine wrote. “Broadly speaking, our movement is looking for a candidate who can take us off fossil fuels and do what it takes to avoid catastrophic global warming,” said 350 spokesman Karthik Ganapathy. “Hillary Clinton needs to do a lot to show us that’s her.” Friends of the Earth Action spokesman Ben Schreiber said green activists can take inspiration from the liberal resistance led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that recently prodded Clinton to move left on trade. “It’s imperative that the environmental community force her to flesh out her priorities” on climate change, he said. Still, the anti-Keystone activists represent only a small slice of the Democratic electorate, and they aren’t likely to form a core base for either Sanders or O’Malley to mount a major challenge for the nomination. And Clinton may have less to prove to mainstream Democrats, whom polls show view climate change as a growing priority but still only one of many issues they care about. Climate has “become a much more potent issue for Democratic voters than in the past,” Democratic former energy secretary and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said in an interview. And it’s becoming “a base vote for Democrats,” he added. “But is it a single-issue, decisive vote? Not yet.” Richardson warned Sanders and O’Malley that Clinton’s “vulnerability” on climate change, fracking and clean energy “doesn’t compare with” the potency of the Iraq War during the 2008 presidential race, when he — and then-Sen. Barack Obama — slammed her vote to authorize military force. Democratic pollster and consultant Mark Mellman said global warming is an important issue for the party’s voters, but that it remains one of many issues where Clinton’s foes seek to exploit “hair’s-breadth differences, from a policy point of view, among these candidates.” Clinton did try to appeal to the green wing of the party with her June campaign kick-off speech, in which she mocked Republicans who deny climate science and called for a shift to a clean-energy economy. But beyond her call to impose additional fees and royalties on fossil-fuel extraction, she hasn’t proposed concrete plans, although Clinton campaign spokesman Ian Sams said there would be more to come. “Tackling climate change will be a top priority for Hillary Clinton in her campaign,” Sams said by email, describing her campaign launch remarks as a first step in outlining “her ideas for how America can lead the global fight against climate change by becoming the clean energy superpower of the 21st Century, through developing renewable power and building cleaner power plants. At stake are not just the young liberals who turned out in droves for climate marches galvanized by Keystone. Big money is also at play from newly prominent donors like the billionaire Tom Steyer and his green-minded, deep-pocketed network of allies. Steyer held a fundraiser for Clinton’s campaign in May, but he has yet to formally endorse a White House candidate after rocketing to prominence by spending $74 million in an attempt to help elect climate-focused Democrats during the 2014 midterms. His NextGen Climate super PAC drew environmentalists to O’Malley by publicly praising the candidate’s climate platform, which emerged on the same day as Pope Francis’ June encyclical on the environment. Steyer, who’s expected to spend big on the 2016 elections, appeared to redouble his demands after Obama announced last week that the administration was setting a goal of getting 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources. White House contenders, Steyer said, must “put forward plans that build upon — and extend — President Obama’s bold leadership on clean energy, set even more ambitious targets, and create the more prosperous future our kids deserve.” Sanders and O’Malley are rolling out detailed proposals to slash carbon emissions and transition the U.S. economy to run on wind and solar power instead of coal and oil, challenging Clinton to keep up. At his campaign launch in May featuring 350’s McKibben, Sanders described climate change as a “planetary crisis” and explicitly called for a “tax on carbon” to address it. “The environmental community has, for the first time, a serious presidential candidate who’s made climate change fundamental to their candidacy,” Mark Longabaugh, a senior Sanders campaign adviser, said in a recent interview. Climate change and the environment still tend to rank lower than top-tier issues like jobs and the economy among voters, but there is evidence that it is rising in prominence — and that it could be a particularly potent issue for the eventual Democratic nominee. Nearly six in 10 voters told The Washington Post in March that they want “the next president to be someone who favors government action to address climate change,” with 97 percent of those people describing the issue as important to them. Among opponents of climate action, nearly a third said the issue was “not so important” to them. In an April poll for The Wall Street Journal and NBC News, climate change ranked third on a list of issues Democrats said was their top concern, behind jobs and health care, but beating out issues like terrorism and immigration. By contrast, climate change ranked dead last among issues Republicans said they were concerned about. *American Federation of Teachers endorses Hillary Clinton for president <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/aft-endorses-hillary-clinton-for-president-119988.html#ixzz3fd6uRpbw> // Politico // Nirvi Shah – July 11, 2015 * The American Federation of Teachers is endorsing Hillary Clinton. The endorsement was expected from the 1.6 million-member union, which represents workers including teachers, nurses and college and university employees. AFT President Randi Weingarten and Clinton have been longtime friends, dating back to Clinton’s time as a New York senator, when Weingarten was head of the state’s United Federation of Teachers. Weingarten is also on the board of Priorities USA Action, a super PAC supporting Clinton’s White House campaign. “Clinton is a tested leader who shares our values, is supported by our members and is prepared for a tough fight on behalf of students, families and communities,” Weingarten said after Saturday’s decision by the union’s executive council to endorse Clinton for president. The union met with Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley in early June. “I am absolutely convinced that education must be at the top of our agenda again. So I am putting it at the heart of my campaign,” Clinton told a panel of AFT leaders at the time. AFT endorsed Clinton during the 2008 election, too. On Saturday, Clinton said of the endorsement that “I’m honored to have the support of the AFT’s members and leaders, and I’m proud to stand with them to unleash the potential of every American.” Weingarten noted Clinton’s push to expand early childhood education and care in Arkansas, her work on health care and defense of public service workers after 9/11. No Republican candidates agreed to meet with AFT leaders. “Hillary Clinton, a product of public schools herself, believes in the promise of public education,” Weingarten said, using the catchphrase from an AFT-backed campaign supporting public schools. Clinton “understands that to reclaim the promise of public education, policymakers need to work with educators and their unions. She’s ready to work with us to confront the issues facing children and their families today, including poverty, wage stagnation, income inequality and lack of opportunity.” On Twitter, Weingarten addressed the early endorsement. “Members want to shape the debate, not chase it. 79% of primary voters want us to endorse in the primary,” she tweeted. AFT said it conducted a long, thoughtful process before making its decision. Members had multiple opportunities to weigh in on the decision. Some 79 percent who vote in Democratic primaries said the union should endorse a candidate, and Clinton was the favorite by a three-to-one margin. The National Education Association, the nation’s larger teachers’ union with nearly 3 million members, hasn’t made a decision about its endorsement, and one isn’t expected until the fall. It did not endorse either Clinton or Barack Obama in 2008. The NEA also met with Clinton, O’Malley and Sanders last month. Clinton has said she supports the Common Core, plans to issue a plan to address student loan debt and invest in early childhood education. *Clinton gets key union endorsement as rival enjoys a groundswell of support <http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/11/us-usa-election-clinton-union-idUSKCN0PL0WD20150711> // Reuters // Amanda Becker – July 11, 2015 * Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday 7scored a key endorsement from a large teachers union at a time when her chief rival is picking up support from organized labor. By backing Clinton, the American Federation of Teachers, which as the nation's second-largest education union represents 1.6 million members, became the first national union to endorse a 2016 candidate. The endorsement comes just two days before Clinton delivers a speech about the economy that labor leaders will watch closely. Some of them have already expressed public support for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is also seeking the nomination. "Hillary Clinton is a tested leader who shares our values, is supported by our members, and is prepared for a tough fight," AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement, citing Clinton's record as a former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state. Weingarten and Clinton are longtime friends and allies. The AFT endorsed Clinton in 2007 when organized labor split between supporting her or now-President Barack Obama. Both Sanders and Clinton are set to meet with labor leaders this week as they court a crucial base of support for Democratic candidates. Looming over the meetings is a Pacific Rim trade deal that the Obama administration is finalizing and which has drawn vociferous criticism from labor. The issue is a difficult one for Clinton, who was Obama's secretary of state and has remained largely silent about the agreement, which Sanders has consistently opposed. Clinton's campaign released a statement saying she was honored to receive the AFT's endorsement. "The men and women of AFT work throughout our communities in our preschools, K-12 schools, hospitals, colleges and universities, and public agencies," Clinton said in the statement. "Their voices and the voices of all workers are essential to this country." Clinton also has a crucial meeting at the end of the month with the executive council of the AFL-CIO, an umbrella group for 56 unions, including the AFT. The AFL-CIO has not said whether or when it will endorse a primary candidate. In 2008, when its member unions were split between Clinton and Obama, it backed Obama only when it became clear he was going to be the Democratic nominee. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has urged local and state federations to remain neutral as the process plays out. *Clinton to pledge to close carried interest tax loophole: adviser <http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/11/us-usa-election-clinton-tax-idUSKCN0PL0QM20150711?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews> // Reuters – July 11, 2015 * Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton will pledge on Monday to close the carried interest tax loophole that allows private equity fund managers to pay a lower tax rate on much of their earnings, according to a draft of a speech seen by an outside adviser. Clinton, who is seeking her party's nomination to run in the November 2016 election, took a similar stance during her last presidential campaign in 2007, and is expected to reaffirm it in a speech on her economic policy in New York City on Monday. *American Federation of Teachers Endorses Hillary Clinton <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/11/american-federation-of-teachers-clinton_n_7777410.html> // HuffPo // Dave Jamieson – July 11, 2015 * Hillary Clinton picked up an early if not surprising endorsement on Saturday from one of the country's largest labor unions: the American Federation of Teachers. The executive council of the 1.6-million member AFT voted "overwhelmingly" in favor of backing the early frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, according to an announcement from the union. It marks the first endorsement from a major national labor union during the 2016 presidential campaign. "Hillary Clinton is a tested leader who shares our values, is supported by our members, and is prepared for a tough fight on behalf of students, families and communities," Randi Weingarten, the union's president, said in the statement. Weingarten and Clinton have been personal friends for years and the union threw its weight behind the Democrat during her 2008 campaign as well. In the resolution declaring its endorsement, the AFT said it polled its members twice and held two town halls before deciding which primary candidate to back. The endorsement comes at a helpful time for Clinton as Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders surges in polls. Still considered a long shot, Sanders has proven to be an attractive candidate to progressives in the labor movement, particularly those turned off by Clinton's unclear positions on President Barack Obama's looming trade deal. A number of local labor federations are flirting with the idea of getting behind Sanders, Politico reported. Clinton joined one of the AFT's executive council meetings last month, where she said teachers had become unfair targets of political attacks, according to the union. "It is just dead wrong to make teachers the scapegoats for all of society's problems," Clinton had said. "Where I come from, teachers are the solution. And I strongly believe that unions are part of the solution, too." Clinton plans to meet with officials from the AFL-CIO labor federation later this month to address their concerns with her unclear stance on the White House's trade pact, Reuters reported Thursday. The AFL-CIO vehemently opposed giving the president so-called fast-track authorization for the deal, though Congress ultimately granted it in June. *Major teachers union endorses Hillary Clinton <http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/11/politics/hillary-clinton-american-federation-of-teachers/> // CNN // Cassie Spodak – July 11, 2015* Hillary Clinton scored a major union endorsement on Saturday when the American Federation of Teachers announced its support for the Democratic frontrunner. The endorsement is not a surprise, as the AFT also backed Clinton in 2007 in her primary battle against then-Sen. Barack Obama, but it is the first national union to endorse a candidate in the 2016 Democratic primary. "In vision, in experience and in leadership, Hillary Clinton is the champion working families need in the White House," AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. "Hillary understands that to reclaim the promise of public education, policymakers need to work with educators and their unions." According to the AFT, Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley also sought their endorsement, but members of the union chose Clinton by a three-to-one margin. Clinton, through a statement released by her campaign, said she was honored to have the support of the AFT. "We need to make sure every child has access to a quality public education and teachers with the tools to help them succeed," Clinton said. "The men and women of AFT work throughout our communities in our preschools, K-12 schools, hospitals, colleges and universities, and public agencies. Their voices and the voices of all workers are essential to this country." A union's endorsement provides candidates with an extra boost in grassroots work, with members often helping to canvass neighborhoods and work the phones in the run-up to an election. "Leading up to November 2016, AFT members are expected to make more than 1 million phone calls and knock on more than 500,000 doors," the AFT said in its statement announcing the endorsement. *American Federation of Teachers endorses Hillary Clinton <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/american-federation-teachers-endorses-hillary-clinton> // MSNBC // David Taintor – July 11, 2015 * The American Federation of Teachers endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Saturday. AFT, which boasts 1.6 million members, said it was the first major union to endorse a Democratic candidate in the 2016 election cycle. AFT is the second largest teachers’ union in the country. “In vision, in experience and in leadership, Hillary Clinton is the champion working families need in the White House,” AFT president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Hillary Clinton is a tested leader who shares our values, is supported by our members, and is prepared for a tough fight on behalf of students, families and communities. That fight defines her campaign and her career.” Clinton said she was “honored” to win the group’s endorsement. AFT endorsed Clinton in 2008, and Weingarten is a longtime Clinton ally. Last year, Weingarten joined the board of the main super PAC supporting Clinton. Clinton, along with Democratic candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Gov. Martin O’Malley, met with the union’s leaders last month in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to clinch the group’s endorsement. “What you saw, bottom line, is that the three candidates talked about a reset of education policy in america,” Weingarten told msnbc’s Richard Lui in early June. “… Over and over and over again, all three of them talked about how, in Hilary’s words, teachers cannot be scapegoats for society’s problems; in Martin O’Malley’s words – and he has a daughter who teaches in Baltimore – you can’t vilify teachers; in Bernie Sanders’ words, he wants a political revolution because it’s time to stop having this kind of cutting, cutting, cutting of public education.” Teachers unions have lately found themselves in the crosshairs of many education reform activists and Republicans, who see the unions as caring less about educating children than protecting themselves. Reformers tend to favor charter schools, which are often not unionized, along with stricter teacher testing standards, and less employment protection for educators. *American Federation of Teachers Endorses Hillary Clinton For President <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/american-federation-teachers-endorses-hillary-clinton-president/story?id=32386858> // ABC News // Luz Kreutz – July 11, 2015 * Hillary Clinton has scored the first national labor endorsement of the election cycle. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) today chose to back Clinton in the Democratic primary for president. "In vision, in experience and in leadership, Hillary Clinton is the champion working families need in the White House," AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement released this afternoon. "Hillary Clinton is a tested leader who shares our values, is supported by our members, and is prepared for a tough fight on behalf of students, families and communities." Ahead of the endorsement, the AFT, the smaller of two national education unions, met with Clinton as well as other Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley. Their ultimate decision to back Clinton is not a surprise. The union endorsed Clinton over then-Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential primary, and Weingarten is a longtime Clinton supporter, who helped Ready for Hillary, the super PAC that raised money for Clinton ahead of her official presidential announcement. Today, the AFT pointed to Clinton's efforts as first lady and as a senator to expand access to early childhood education and quality healthcare, as well as her efforts at secretary of state to promote LGBT rights, in explaining why they chose to endorse Clinton over O'Malley and Sanders. They also noted that Clinton was a product of public schools herself. In a statement, Clinton responded to the endorsement, saying she is "honored" to have the group's support and "proud to stand with them to unleash the potential of every American." The American Federation of Teachers represents 1.6 million education professionals across the country. The group says they expect to make more than 1 million phone calls and knock on more than 500,000 doors on behalf of Clinton before November 2016. *Hillary Clinton Wins Key Endorsement From American Federation of Teachers <http://time.com/3954717/hillary-clinton-endorsement-american-federation-teachers/> // TIME // Sam Frizell – July 11, 2015 * Hillary Clinton has secured the first major union endorsement of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. The American Federation of Teachers, a powerful, 1.6 million-strong national union, voted on Saturday to endorse the former secretary of state, calling Clinton a “champion” for “working families.” “Hillary Clinton, a product of public schools herself, believes in the promise of public education,” said Randi Weingarten, the president of the AFT. “From early childhood learning through higher education, she sees how that promise can create real opportunity for kids, building a much-needed bridge to the middle class.” The endorsement from the AFT does not come as a surprise. Clinton speaks often on the campaign trail about early childhood education, particularly on the importance of speaking and singing to young children, and has called for universal pre-kindergarten. She’s also endorsed President Obama’s plan to make community colleges free, and introduced a proposal to prevent for-profit colleges from fleecing veterans. Weingarten is also a long time ally and friend of Clinton’s. Nonetheless, it’s an important first union endorsement for Clinton, who is still struggling to establish herself as the favored candidate of the Democratic base. The AFT’s endorsement is a major strategic advantage for Clinton, too. The AFT says it will make 1 million phone calls and knock on more than 500,000 doors in the run-up to the 2016 election. In many ways, Clinton’s competitor for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, can claim a more natural alliance with the unions considering his staunch union activism and socialist roots. The AFL-CIO, the biggest alliance of unions in the country with 16 million members, has not yet endorsed a candidate for president. Many members and local affiliates say they identify most with Sanders, but that may not sway the union either way. “I’m honored to have the support of AFT’s members and leaders, and proud to stand with them to unleash the potential of every American,” Clinton said in a statement after the endorsement. “Their voices and the voices of all workers are essential to this country.” *Clinton to deliver major economic speech in New York Monday <http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/247616-clinton-to-deliver-major-economic-speech-in-new-york-monday> // The Hill // Alex Bolton – July 11, 2015 * Hillary Clinton will deliver a major economic speech Monday at the New School in New York, outlining several proposals her campaign plans to unveil in more detail down the road, according to media reports. At the center of her policy vision is a call to boost the stagnating incomes of middle-class families, which has been a core Democratic tenet for several years. The speech is the product of scores of conversations with elite thinkers of the liberal policy establishment, such as former White House advisor Gene Sperling, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, liberal think tank president Neera Tanden, economist Alan Blinder and Jared Bernstein, former senior economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. Clinton will push for the creation of an infrastructure bank to spur public and private investment, paid family medical leave, increasing the minimum wage, greater corporate profit sharing, small business tax relief, federal subsidies for college and raising taxes on the nation’s wealthiest earners. She will also focus on income inequality and what she’s referred as distorted incentives in corporate America that motivate executives to focus on maximizing short-term profit instead of long-term growth. Much like Obama has done over the past six years, Clinton will emphasize investment in education and new sectors such as renewable energy as the path to future economic prosperity, instead of quick fixes like cutting taxes and wiping out regulations. She will also push back against Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s pledge to return the domestic economy to 4 percent growth without providing a detailed policy roadmap for how to get there. She will praise the economic records of Obama and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and contrast them to the economic plunge that began during former President George W. Bush’s final year in office. *Clinton wins major labor endorsement <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/247620-clinton-wins-major-labor-endorsement> // The Hill // Alexander Bolton – July 11, 2015 * The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation’s third largest labor union, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. “For nearly a century, the American Federation of Teachers has worked to expand opportunity for the people and communities they serve. I’m honored to have the support of AFT’s members and leaders, and proud to stand with them to unleash the potential of every American,” Clinton said in a statement. It is the first international labor union endorsement in the 2016 presidential race. The AFT includes 1.6 million members and retirees around the nation. “I know from my own family that teachers have the power to change lives. We need to make sure every child has access to a quality public education and teachers with the tools to help them succeed,” Clinton said. The AFT ranks third in size behind the National Education Association and the Service Employees International Union. The AFL-CIO, a federation made up of 56 smaller member unions, is not considered to be in the same category. *Sunday shows preview: Hillary speaks <http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/247614-sunday-shows-preview-hillary-speaks> // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015 * Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is staying in the media spotlight following her first national TV interview as a 2016 contender earlier this week. The former secretary of State sat down with CNN’s Brianna Keilar on July 7, delivering a wide-ranging discussion over topics as diverse as immigration, the GOP’s presidential field and her transparency. Clinton continues her push for a more public persona Sunday morning with an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), meanwhile, makes a notable appearance of her own on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Haley will share her thoughts on last week’s historic removal of the Confederate battle flag from her state’s Capitol grounds. The landmark moment is generating national buzz for Haley in the wake of a renewed debate over the controversial symbol. Here is the list of Sunday morning’s expected guests across all five major news networks: CNN’s “State of the Union”: Clinton headlines Sunday by giving only her second national TV interview as a White House hopeful to host Jake Tapper. The frontrunner for the Democratic nomination will continue filling in the blanks on her message and positions following her inaugural appearance on CNN last week. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is also appearing amid his own 2016 Oval Office bid. Graham will address his presidential ambitions and weigh in on his state’s debate over the Confederate flag. CNN completes its coverage with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s two sons, Alex Walker and Scott Walker, Jr. The two brothers will humanize their father before his expected 2016 campaign launch Monday. NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Haley chats with host Chuck Todd about the Palmetto State’s groundbreaking change of heart over the Confederate flag. The rising Republican star will also explain how her state is addressing its minorities’ concerns going forward. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) then stops by NBC’s studios and outlines his thoughts on the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear arms research. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair will analyze the framework deal’s details before a Monday deadline for the final version. CBS’s “Face the Nation”: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) sits down with host John Dickerson and explains his party’s internal strife over the Confederate flag. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) then offers his take on the Iran talks and their repeated delays for a final accord. Cotton, a noted critic of the deal, will articulate why he thinks the accord is not in America’s best interest. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) rounds out CBS’s Sunday morning coverage. The Democratic presidential candidate will explain his strategy for catching up with Clinton and winning his party’s coronation next year. ABC’s “This Week”: Host George Stephanopoulos welcomes GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) on Sunday. Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard CEO, will give the latest update on her longshot bid for the Republican nod next election cycle. Menendez will weigh in on the Iran talks before Monday’s latest deadline. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee member is one of the most notable Democrats opposing the deal. “Fox News Sunday”: Host Bret Baier welcomes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to Fox News’ studios Sunday. McConnell will explain his take on the Iran negotiations and what role Congress will play in their final outcome. Baier then welcomes one 2016 contender from each side of the political spectrum. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) will detail how he offers an alternative to other White House hopefuls in 2016. Former Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) also stops by “Fox News Sunday” just one week after launching his presidential campaign. The 2016 race’s latest Democratic entrant will articulate his strategy for winning his party’s nomination against uphill odds. *Memo to Hillary: 'You're Still the Problem' <http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/memo-to-hillary-you-re-still-the-problem-20150711> // The National Review // Ron Fournier – July 11, 2015 * The following is a faux memo, although its contents are based upon my interviews with people close to Hillary Clinton, including some I've known since my years covering the Clintons in Arkansas. These sources spoke on condition of anonymity because attempts to make their case directly to the Democratic front-runner and her campaign team were icily received. Like my December 2013 memo titled "You're the Problem," this represents their point of view. To: Hillary From: A few of us Subject: We love you, but you're still the problem The last time we wrote as a group, you were deciding whether to run for president. Conventional wisdom pegged you as a dead-certain candidate; we knew better. We knew you were worn from a lifetime of service, personal tension, and the getting-vaster Right Wing Conspiracy. We knew you truly wanted to devote the rest of your years to charity and Charlotte. We also knew you wanted to be president -- and we're not embarrassed to say we thought you'd be a good one. We had qualms. To review, we warned that an American public buffeted by socio-economic change has lost faith in Washington, the U.S. political system, and virtually every social institution. We said that would be a particular problem for you in 2016, because you are viewed as a creature of Washington, a calculating politician, and an institution ("not just because of your age," we wrote, "The Clinton family itself is an institution, one freighted with baggage.") Remember how mad this paragraph made you? And so your biggest hurdle isn't your age, the president's record, your husband, or even Benghazi/Whitewater, etc. It's you, Hillary. You're the problem—that is, if you once again present yourself as an institution of Washington awaiting a political coronation. To win, you must be the anti-Hillary. You need to blast the public's caricature of you to smithereens and replace it with what we know as the Real Hillary. We're your friends. We love you enough to tell you the truth. Your political advisers and hangers-on mocked our advice to be hyper accessible, honest, authentic, vulnerable, flexible, small, competent, and populist. Take a minute to re-read the 2013 memo. We were very specific, particularly in the closing few paragraphs. You didn't listen, Hillary. Now look what you've done. You launched your historic campaign in the worst possible way: walled off from the media and the public – cautious, rigid, and institutional. You may disagree. Your hired guns may have convinced you, for example, that the scripted conversation with selected voters are authentic. They're not. What would be authentic? The Hillary we've long cherished in private: warm, open, and honest – unafraid of making mistakes and owning up to them. We haven't seen that Hillary. More important, the voting public hasn't seen that Hillary. Does she still exist? Which brings us to the matter of trust. Hillary, this makes us want to cry. We can't figure out why you would compromise the most important commodity of leadership over such banalities. Why take money from foreign nations while serving as secretary of State? Why take money from foreign leaders who hate women? Why not comply with White House rules – fair and ethical guidelines designed to protect the reputation of your family's (wonderful) charitable foundation? You know this has always bothered us: Why would you and Bill blur so many lines between foundation money, your personal finances, and your government work? That's not how you operated in Arkansas. “I find them informative and appreciate the daily news updates and enjoy the humor as well."Richard, VP of Government AffairsSign up form for the newsletter And the emails! Why did you need a private server? Why would you violate clear federal and White House rules on email storage, security, and transparency? Who deletes their email, scrubs their server, and ducks subpoenas? We love you, Hillary, but even we suspect there are foundation-related emails on that server. They may be embarrassing, but we'd like to think they're not nearly as politically damaging as stonewalling. Your CNN interview made us cringe: "Everything I did was permitted." No it wasn't, Hillary. You are either being misled by your team or you're lying. We can't bring ourselves to suspect the latter – and urge you again to hire more honest advisers. "People should and do trust me." No and no. You've told us yourself: Trust has to be earned, not assumed. And polls show that most Americans think you're dishonest. We've always trusted you, but we can understand why others don't. You've made some poor choices and, rather than fix them, you blamed the GOP and the media. You wouldn't let Chelsea say the dog ate her homework, so why do you think this is a good idea? We can't make it any plainer: You're the problem, Hillary. You're also the solution. You can turn this around. You've got some time to restore trust. Start by handing over the server to the State Department inspector general for review. Let him certify that you had nothing to hide. (Frankly, there are too many holes in your version of events.) Second, return some of the foreign money donated to the foundation. Not all of it, perhaps, but at least the most egregious stuff – money from bad actors and from people who did business with your State Department. Of course, that won't stop attacks from Republicans or the carping of cynics in the media like Fournier (what is it with that guy? We made his career!). But it's the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. Voters today, particularly young Americans, have higher expectations for honesty and authenticity than they did in the 1990s. They also have more information at their disposal. It's not like the good old days when James, Paul, and George could spin a handful of journalists to make a story go away. There are no more gatekeepers, Hillary. There are now 300 million investigative journalists, and you're giving them too much room for doubt. Trust matters. Don't believe your folks on the morning conference call who tell you it doesn't. They're only worried about winning, because it makes them rich. Winning makes you president, so you need to take the right road to victory. Staying the course might get you elected (Republicans are fully capable of nominating somebody who makes you the least-worst alternative), but it will leave you a diminished leader: No trust, no mandate, no ability to unite the country or represent more than the most hardened partisans. We're happy to see you adapting populist polices and rhetoric, but even your progressive friends are wondering, "Is she being honest?" Choose a better course, Hillary. Whenever we hear you gripe about the Clintons being held to a higher standard, do you know what we say to ourselves? "Hell, yes, it's a higher standard, because you should travel a higher road. You're a Clinton!" We expected better. The country needs better. Stop being the problem. Be the Hillary we once knew. *Hillary Clinton's Economic Agenda To Focus On Boosting Middle Class Income: Reports <http://www.ibtimes.com/hillary-clintons-economic-agenda-focus-boosting-middle-class-income-reports-2004529> // IB Times // Mark Hanrahan - July 12 2015 * Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton will outline her economic agenda in a speech in New York Monday, placing a strong emphasis on boosting middle class incomes, according to reports. In the speech, at the progressive university The New School in lower Manhattan, Clinton will call for greater wage equality, tax hikes on the rich and raising the minimum wage. In addition, she will argue for policies to encourage workforce participation, especially among women, including paid leave and paid sick days, better child care services and access to education, according to a preview of the speech the campaign gave to the Huffington Post. In addition, Clinton will urge business to move away from what an aide called “quarterly capitalism” and more towards long-term sustainability. Another campaign official told the Washington Post that Clinton is to argue that “the measure of our economic success should be how much incomes rise for middle-class households, not an arbitrary growth figure.” Clinton aims to position herself between Democratic competitor Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose platform is focussed more on redistributing wealth, and Republicans who argue for tax cuts for the wealthy, a policy her aides described to the post as dated, trickle-down economics from Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Clinton will have to walk a fine line in her speech when it comes to President Barack Obama, who she served under as Secretary of State. While aides told Politico that she will praise the president, for dragging the economy back from the brink of a depression in 2009, the primary focus of her speech will be middle-class incomes that have barely outpaced inflation over the last four decades, a problem she will describe as the defining economic challenge facing the next president. This could be seen as an implied criticism of Obama's economic record, which Clinton will be keen to avoid, as many of the president's policies are strongly supported by the Democratic base. *Clinton campaign draws in a host of new donors <https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/07/11/hillary-clinton-turns-new-faces-for-fund-raisers/naswAXQ52xtC8j5TrvgVPO/story.html> // The Boston Globe // Annie Linskey – July 11, 2015 * There’s a man who played a bat-wielding judge on TV known for meting out extreme justice. There’s a group of Yale law professors. And a famously spurned political spouse. These are some of the new faces that helped Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign raise $45 million in its first three months, a period in which her team made a concerted effort to expand her list of givers. Nearly half of the roughly 70 hosts listed for fund-raising parties Clinton has attended are either new fund-raisers for Clinton or new to the world of presidential politics, a Globe review of records released by the campaign shows. This fresh crop of hosts, and increasingly hostesses, speaks to Clinton’s ability to swell her reach beyond the circle that backed her 2008 presidential bid. And the campaign’s unusual daily disclosure of its fund-raising harvest is a not-so-subtle way to demonstrate that monied Democrats are coalescing behind Clinton, unlike last time she ran, when she and Barack Obama split elite Democratic donors. Clinton is also using her long list of well-to-do friends to outpace upstart Bernie Sanders and lock down support that could be tempted away by others. Her events are usually clustered, with at times three fund-raisers stacked back-to-back-to-back on the same day. Clinton spends about 90 minutes at each of about 50 parties she’s so far attended, according to her schedule and a sampling of hosts who agreed to speak for this story. That’s about 75 hours of face-to-face schmoozing — not counting other types of events or candidate calls the campaign isn’t disclosing. “You want to showcase the passion and that you have an army of donors,” said Sheila Krumholz, the executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based group that tracks political giving. “And you want to ward off others from entering.” ‘We’re not hedge fund people. We’re regular people who think winning this election is so important.’ One of the most colorful additions to the Clinton fund-raising roster is South Carolina’s Akim Anastopoulo, a personal injury lawyer who starred as a judge known as “extreme Akim” in a television show called “An Eye for an Eye.” In the show — whose tag line was “real people, real problems, real revenge” — Anastopoulo would order very unconventional sentences. For example, he once directed members of a rock band to trash a bar after the owner didn’t pay their fees. Anastopoulo had never before given to Clinton; he backed John Edwards in 2007. This time he had about 120 people to his Charleston, S.C., home to meet Clinton. Clinton’s team also tapped Marc Winkelman who publishes Kirkus Reviews, the book review publication. “I have more time to devote this time than I did last time around,” said Winkelman, explaining why he’s pressing his friends to cut checks for Clinton. When Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign, Winkelman was among the first to give money. He also offered to “host something,” as he put it. “I didn’t know what that meant exactly at the time,” he said. Among other things, it meant tidying up the garage — a last-minute effort that he and his wife undertook when they realized that Clinton would enter their house from there and not the front door. Across the country, a group of Yale Law School professors — some with deep personal ties to the Clintons — also put on a presidential fund-raiser for the first time. “We’re not hedge fund people,” said Judith Resnik, a law professor whose ties to Clinton go back to the 1980s. “We’re regular people who think winning this election is so important.” She and her husband Dennis Curtis (a Yale law professor who knew Clinton from her time at the university) offered to host the party when they learned she’d be in New Haven. “We swooped her up,” she said. Perhaps the most surprising Clinton event hostess was one with a name more typically found in bold in the New York tabloids: Silda Wall Spitzer. Her party for Clinton was her most public political act since 2008, when she stood stoically by her now ex-husband, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, amid his very public infidelity. That performance helped inspire the TV series “The Good Wife.” Clinton is planning a third trip to Hollywood to vacuum up cash in August said Democratic fund-raiser Andy Spahn who helped Obama raise money and expects to do the same for Clinton. “No other candidate has much traction out here,” he said. Clinton’s show of fund-raising strength isn’t likely to affect insurgent Democratic contender Bernie Sanders, who is raising most of his money online and shuns the cocktails-and-checks circuit. But the donors flocking to the Clinton camp complicate efforts by more traditional Democrats with less online appeal, such as former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, former US Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee — and even, should he chose to run, Vice President Joe Biden. As one Democratic fund-raiser put it: There are only so many people willing to ask their friends to write $2,700 checks to politicians. Money raised at these near daily Clinton parties provides the financial spine for the campaign — it is highly regulated cash that the campaign can spend directly. That makes it different from funds raised by the so-called super PAC groups which are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts but can’t directly coordinate with the campaign. One area that is proving awkward for Clinton is her campaign’s effort to raise new cash from people who work in industries that she bashes on the trail. On June 13, at Clinton’s first large-scale campaign rally on New York’s Roosevelt Island, she took rhetorical aim at hedge fund operators, saying that “the top 25 hedge fund managers making more than all of America’s kindergarten teachers combined.” Twelve days later — again in Manhattan — she held a pair of fund-raisers hosted by people who work for some of those same hedge funds. About 80 people showed up at the first event — hosted by five women, including two who work for hedge funds and two who work for private equity firms. Also, longtime Clinton donor Sally Susman, an executive with Pfizer, was listed as a host. About 100 people attended the next one, hosted by Blair Effron, a founder of the investment bank Centerview Partners. The Clinton’s storied ability to stay in touch with donors over decades means a lot of the names on their first quarter list are familiar. Two days before Jay Jacobs, the CEO of TLC Kids Group hosted a fund-raiser for Clinton in Florida he penned an op-ed for the Huffington Post defending the Clinton Foundation, which failed to provide the donor disclosures or ethics reviews Hillary Clinton promised when she was being confirmed as secretary of state. He took on her detractors, accusing them of criticizing her via “innuendo, omission of facts, and through wild speculation.” *Hillary Clinton, a Woman of Her Words <http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/07/12/hillary_clinton_a_woman_of_her_words_127336.html> // RealClearPolitics // Carl M. Cannon - July 12, 2015* Hillary Rodham Clinton, by her own admission, is running for president of the United States for the fourth time. It apparently doesn’t get any easier. It was back in 1992, while ostensibly stumping for her husband, that Mrs. Clinton told an audience of women, “If you vote for him, you get me.” Bill Clinton himself quipped in New Hampshire that he’d coined a new campaign slogan: “Buy one, get one free.” Four years later, after Mrs. Clinton had helped staff the administration, fired White House Travel Office personnel, overseen a health care task force, and sat in on cabinet meetings, Americans realized that this co-presidency talk was no joke. This gave some voters pause and others confidence: Either way, the Clintons got a second term. Bill had to retire in 2001, but Mrs. Clinton had already secured a Senate seat in New York—where she’d never lived—as a steppingstone to her third presidential bid in 2008. She narrowly lost the Democratic Party nomination that year to a phenom from Illinois few people saw coming. Now, during her fourth presidential campaign, it’s clear that Mrs. Clinton still isn’t over it, and that she knows whom to blame. Not Bill, for making the couple’s last two years in the White House an open book on his sex life. Not Barack Obama for cutting in line. Not her own campaign staff for mismanaging their delegate counts. No, Mrs. Clinton’s animus—the scapegoat for every bad headline, alarming poll number, and impertinent reporter’s question—was on display in Tuesday’s interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar: It’s all the Republicans’ fault, and by extension, the media’s. This worldview was succinctly expressed in a telling exchange between Keilar and Clinton: “We see in our recent poll, that nearly six in 10 Americans say they don’t believe that you’re honest and trustworthy,” Keilar asked. “Do you understand why they feel that way?” “Well,” Clinton responded, “I think when you are subjected to the kind of constant barrage of attacks that are largely fomented by and coming from the right…” “But do you bear any responsibility for that?” Keilar pressed. “I can only tell you, Brianna,” the candidate replied, “that this has been a theme that has been used against me and my husband for many, many years.” It’s an incongruous argument, if you think about it. Clinton is essentially claiming that the mere fact of having a longtime reputation for deviousness is itself exculpatory. The whole interview had a similar quality. But Clinton has been so cloistered and inaccessible since announcing her 2016 campaign that the fact of the interview was news in itself. She hadn’t taken questions about her secret email system since her March 10 news conference at the United Nations in which she said that the entire reason she set up a parallel email system on a secret server was to avoid the inconvenience of having two cell phones. She reprised this line Tuesday to Keilar. It seems to contradict a video of Clinton speaking to female Silicon Valley executives that emerged within hours of her U.N. news conference. In answer to the question “iPhone or Android?,” Clinton replied, “iPhone,” before adding, “In full disclosure—and a BlackBerry.” She continued: “I’m like two steps short of a hoarder. So I have an iPad, a mini iPad, an iPhone and a BlackBerry.” Nor was her answer to Keilar about why she destroyed records that were under subpoena very forthright. “You're starting with so many assumptions,” Clinton said. “I’ve never had a subpoena. Again, let’s take a deep breath here.” Although critics pounced, it’s possible both answers were essentially truthful. Regarding her account of the number of smartphones, Clinton’s first answer concerned her state of mind in 2009. The second was in 2015. If she became more tech-proficient in those six years, she’d hardly be the only one. As for the subpoena, “never” is not the right modifier, but in the context of the question, it seems that Mrs. Clinton was saying that by the time she received the March 4, 2015 subpoena from the House Select Committee on Benghazi she had already wiped her server clean of the 33,000 emails she deemed personal. Republicans plausibly argue that those emails were already covered by a 2013 subpoena issued to the State Department by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In any event, almost every expert on federal document preservation, Republican and Democrat, says Clinton skirted legal obligations to preserve all communications relating to her work at the State Department—and that government archivists, not Clinton, arbitrate which are personal and which are official. Clinton just denies this flatly. “There was no law,” she told Keilar. “There was no regulation. There was nothing that did not give me the full authority to decide how I was going to communicate. … When I mailed anybody in the government, it would go into the government system.” Little of this is true. There is a law, and it’s called the Federal Records Act, and she followed neither its letter nor its spirit. Moreover, all her emails did not “go into the government system” because many of the people she emailed about State Department business did not work for the U.S. government. In addition, a 2005 State Department rule requires employees to conduct work on an authorized informational system with “the proper level of security control to provide nonrepudiation, authentication and encryption, to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the resident information.” If all this wasn’t clear enough, a 2011 directive issued under her name instructed State Department officials to “avoid conducting official Department business from your personal e-mail accounts.” The concern in that instance was foreign hackers, which was prescient, because Clinton’s own private email was later hacked. Once upon a time, Mrs. Clinton had a clearer understanding of why hiding executive branch email looks so bad. “Our Constitution is being shredded,” she said in 2007 in reference to Bush administration concealment. “We know about the secret wiretaps, the secret military tribunals, the secret White House email accounts. It’s a stunning record of secrecy and corruption, of cronyism run amok.” *Clinton to deliver economic speech Monday, with tax policy at issue <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/11/clinton-to-deliver-economic-speech-monday-with-tax-policy-at-issue/> // Fox News – July 11, 2015 * Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton is set to give a major economic speech Monday, after weeks of deferring about her plans to improve the U.S economy including whether she’ll raise taxes. The focus of her economic agenda will be to increase middle class income and wages. And she will argue that stagnant paychecks is the biggest challenge facing the U.S. economy. Clinton's campaign on Saturday provided a preview of her speech, which will also include the argument that the real income of everyday Americans must rise steadily alongside corporate profits and executive compensation. Clinton declined in a CNN interview earlier this week to say whether she would raise taxes on big corporations or the country’s highest wage-earners, as primary challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed. “I think we have to grow the economy faster and fairer,” she said. “So we have to do what will actually work in the short term, the medium term and the long term. … then, I’ll look forward to the debate.” While top-tier Republican candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has called for an annual growth rate of 4 percent, Clinton will assert that the nation's economy should not be judged by a specific growth figure but rather by how much income increases for middle-class households. "For a typical working American, their income has not been rising anywhere near as fast as it should be rising, and that is the challenge we face," said David Kamin, a New York University law professor who has advised Clinton's campaign. "It's not a new problem, and it's going to take a holistic vision." The Clinton campaign said the former first lady and New York senator in her speech at The New School, a university in New York City, will point to economic progress during her husband's two terms in the 1990s and more recently under President Obama. But she will aim to identify ways of improving upon the uneven nature of the nation's recovery since the Great Recession, bolstering wages even as the unemployment rate has fallen to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent. Clinton is also expected to begin outlining a series of specific economic proposals this summer on issues like wage growth, college affordability, corporate accountability and paid leave. In Clinton's approach to the economy, more Americans would share in the prosperity and avoid the boom-and-bust cycles of Wall Street that have led to economic turbulence of the past decade. Clinton, who is seeking to become the nation's first female president, is also expected to address ways of making it easier for women to join the workforce. Clinton will attempt to meet the demands of liberals within her own party who are wary of her willingness to regulate Wall Street while inspiring confidence among a larger electorate who will judge her policies if she wins the Democratic nomination. Progressives encouraged Elizabeth Warren to seek the presidency, but the Massachusetts senator, who has railed against Wall Street and corporate excesses, declined to run. Many of those same liberals are now packing large gatherings held by Sanders, who has made economic inequality the chief plank of his campaign. Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist and former economic adviser to Clinton’s husband, President Bill Clinton, said she has expressed interest in policies to curb excessive risk on Wall Street, such as a financial transactions tax on high-frequency trading, taxes on large Wall Street banks based on their risk profile and eliminating the so-called carried interest loophole that allows managers of hedge funds and private equity firms to pay a lower tax rate than most individuals. Clinton has said she will take nothing for granted in the primary contest, but the economic message will allow her to begin contrasting herself with Republicans. In recent speeches, she has portrayed the Republican presidential field, including Bush as supportive of "top-down" economic policies and large tax breaks for the wealthy. "They're back to the trickle down, cut taxes on the wealthy and everything will be fine," Clinton said last week in Iowa. "This will be the biggest economic debate, because they know the only way they can win the White House back is to somehow convince voters that what we have done didn't work." Union Leaders Will Finally Have Their Day With Hillary <http://dailycaller.com/author/cwolf/> *Union Leaders Will Finally Have Their Day With Hillary <http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/12/union-leaders-will-finally-have-their-day-with-hillary/> // The Daily Caller // Connor Wolf – July 11, 2015 * Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has had a tough time gaining union support, but with an upcoming private meeting, she may soon have the chance to prove herself. Source for Reuters say the meeting will be part of ongoing efforts by the AFL-CIO to determine who to endorse for the 2016 presidential election. The union, like many throughout the labor movement, has been hesitant to back Hillary. This despite her being the frontrunner for the Democratic party. The meeting is expected to take place during a union executive council gathering in Maryland between July 29-30. The tilt away from Hillary boils down to President Barack Obama’s recent efforts on trade. Unions, hoping to make the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) an important campaign issue, have put pressure on Hillary to take a firm stance against the trade agenda. After a long delay, all unions got from her was a request for the president to work better with Democratic lawmakers. Leadership within the AFL-CIO will get its change to press her on trade and other lingering issues during the private meeting. It may also give Hillary the chance to defend her positions or lack thereof. The meeting could prove to be critically important for Hillary. Unions wield considerable political influence and are some of the most generous contributors during campaigns, especially to Democrats. If enough unions decide not to officially endorse Hillary, it could be devastating for her campaign. Though the AFL-CIO seems to be giving Hillary the chance to prove herself, many within the labor movement have already given up on her. Outgoing Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen joined many smaller unions last week and endorsed self-proclaimed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination. The retiring labor movement icon even said he plans to volunteer for his campaign. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, however, has warned against endorsing him. This despite Trumka also criticizing her over trade. In early June he sent a memo to the leaders of associated unions telling them not to endorse Sanders. During its executive council gathering in Maryland, the union is also expected to meet separately with Hillary Democratic rivals Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Despite not yet demonstrating a strong position on trade, Hillary has still tried in other ways to court unions. She prominently showed off union-made gear in May during the official launch of her online campaign shop, and she urged people to stand firmly for unions during a speech in Chicago. *Hillary Clinton Hammers Local Officials Over Immigration <http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/11/hillary-clinton-hammers-local-officials-over-immigration/> // Breitbart // Javier Manjarres – July 11, 2015 * The shooting death of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle on a San Francisco, California, pier has taken another twist, as the gun used to kill her appears to belong to a federal agent. Convicted felon Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, the illegal immigrant who has been deported back to Mexico on five separate occasions and has been accused of shooting Steinle, said that the gun he found wrapped in a shirt accidentally went off. His public defender is also saying that the shooting looks to be accidental. Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton used her primetime interview on CNN to excoriate San Francisco authorities for ignoring the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) request to turn over Sanchez to them: “The city made a mistake, not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported.” One of Clinton’s Republican presidential rivals, Donald Trump, has also been critical of law enforcement officials in San Francisco and has taken full advantage of the tragic incident, using it to back up his claims blaming Mexico for sending “rapists” and “killers” into the United States. *Hillary Clinton Will Center Economic Proposals on Increasing Middle-Class Income <http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/07/11/hillary_clinton_will_focus_on_increasing_middle_class_income_in_monday_speech.html> // Slate // Daniel Politi – July 11, 2015 * Hillary Clinton will begin to outline her economic agenda on Monday, when she is scheduled to make clear that her campaign will revolve around how to increase incomes for middle-class Americans. Increasing the wages of working-class Americans has emerged as the “defining economic challenge of our time,” a Clinton aide said, according to the New York Times. Campaign staffers gave details of the speech to the press, noting that Clinton would advocate for paid family medical leave, a higher minimum wage, and more profit-sharing in private companies. The speech will come at a time when the more left-leaning Democrats are making their voices heard by backing Bernie Sanders. But the preview of Monday’s speech makes it clear Clinton “will strike less of a rabble-rousing tone than Sanders, challenging “top-down” Republican policies without suggesting that capitalism is inherently rigged against families on the bottom,” notes Politico. Rather than going after any intraparty challenger though, Clinton is expected to say that while Republicans advocate growing the economy, they don’t care whether that means middle-class families will be better off. “She firmly believes that yes, we have to grow, but we have to grow together,” a campaign official said, according to the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Clinton is expected to call for more stringent rules on Wall Street and tax reform in an effort to get companies to focus on long-term strategy rather than quarterly profits. But “it’s not a jihadist speech against them,” a longtime Clinton policy adviser tells Bloomberg. “It’s not that people are doing crazy things that are evil. It’s more like, they’re not doing things that are helpful in the long term. There’s a problem when the last thing a CEO wants to do is invest in their business and raise wages.” Clinton’s speech is largely expected to be more about vision than strategy, with the specifics on how to turn proposals into reality expected to be rolled out over the next few months. *Clinton plans Cedar Rapids party Friday <http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/07/11/hillary-clinton-party-cedar-rapids/30017857/> // The Des Moines Register // Tony Leys – July 11, 2015 * Hillary Clinton plans to host a public kick-off party in Cedar Rapids on Friday afternoon, before she appears with rival Democratic presidential candidates at a state party event that evening. The Clinton party is scheduled to start at 3:45 p.m. Friday at Cedar Rapids’ Veterans Memorial Building, the campaign said Saturday. The former secretary of state and New York senator also will appear Friday evening at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Hall of Fame dinner at the Cedar Rapids Convention Center. Also slated to appear are former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb. *OTHER DEMOCRATS NATIONAL COVERAGE* *DECLARED* *O’MALLEY* *SANDERS* *Class or Ideology? My Conversation With Bernie Sanders <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/upshot/class-or-ideology-my-conversation-with-bernie-sanders.html?rref=upshot&abt=0002&abg=1&_r=0> // NYT // Nate Cohn – July 9, 2015 * “Everything I’m telling you may end up being wrong,” Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator seeking the Democratic nomination for president, said early in our conversation on Thursday. I had written an article concluding he had slim chances of winning the nomination, based on the limits of his ideological appeal. Mr. Sanders was building a coalition of liberals, as have past liberal anti-establishment Democrats, and it was likely to fall short. But Mr. Sanders, who has surged in the polls against Hillary Clinton, called to advance a different theory of the race. “I look at these things more from a class perspective,” he said. “I’m not a liberal. Never have been. I’m a progressive who mostly focuses on the working and middle class.” The difference between a liberal and a progressive focused on workers might seem slim, but it nonetheless shapes how he envisions the potential of the political coalition he hopes to assemble. He believes he can mobilize a working-class coalition spanning ideological divides. “Ordinary people are profoundly disgusted with the state of the economy and the fact that the middle class is being destroyed and income going to the top 1 percent.” Many of these people “may not be liberal” or may not “agree with me on gay marriage,” but “they want a fighter,” he said in the cordial conversation. The issues that could potentially rally disaffected lower- and- middle-class voters “cross traditional liberal-conservative lines,” Mr. Sanders argued. He is in a good position to raise these issues, he said, citing his positions on trade, issues affecting older Americans and the minimum wage. If Mr. Sanders did build a coalition of working-class voters, it would look a lot different from the coalitions assembled by recent liberal Democratic primary candidates. It would be positioned to do far better among Hispanic, black and less educated white voters than recent anti-establishment Democratic challengers, like Barack Obama, Howard Dean, Bill Bradley and Jerry Brown. In fairness to Mr. Sanders, few, if any, recent Democratic candidates represented the economic, populist left. The anti-establishment candidate of the last four competitive primaries all featured challenges from intellectual, professional-class liberals. Mr. Brown, Mr. Bradley, Mr. Dean and Mr. Obama — each educated at some point at an Ivy League university — all fared well in Marin County, Calif., and Greenwich, Conn.; none appealed much to voters in the Appalachians or along the Rio Grande. Even the candidate who came closest to running as a populist, John Edwards, fared best among voters in Iowa and South Carolina who made more than $100,000 per year. He did do well among conservatives in relatively conservative areas, like South Carolina or along the Iowa-Missouri border, but it is hard to say whether that was a reflection of his policy views or his identity as a Southern white man, perhaps especially when running against a black man and a white woman. But so far, Mr. Sanders’s support looks a lot like the liberal coalitions assembled by those other candidates. His support is as closely tied to ideology as that of any recent Democratic candidate. In Iowa, a Quinnipiac poll shows Mr. Sanders ahead by four percentage points among “very liberal” voters, but trailing by 43 points among nonliberal Democrats. In New Hampshire, a CNN/WMUR/UNH survey showed Mr. Sanders leading by seven points among “liberal” voters, but trailing by more than 20 points among nonliberal voters. These figures follow the pattern of Mr. Obama’s support among nonblack voters in his 2008 primary against Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama excelled among liberal groups, but struggled among less liberal voting blocs, like Hispanics or older and Southern white voters. He made up for it with exceptional strength among black voters, one of the least liberal groups in the Democratic Party. So far, there are few signs that Mr. Sanders is faring especially well among working-class Democrats. Neither the Iowa nor the New Hampshire poll showed any significant differences in support between higher- and lower-income voters, or more or less educated voters. Mr. Sanders’s campaign has taken him to bastions of liberalism, like Madison, Wis., and Portland, Me., where past liberal challengers have fared well. He has not held rallies in the working-class communities where Mr. Brown or Mr. Bradley faltered, like Fresno, Calif., or Scranton, Pa. Mr. Sanders’s most recent stop outside of the early states was to Arlington, Va., one of the country’s most affluent counties. The median household income there sits near $100,000. When asked why his campaign was struggling to attract the working-class, less liberal voters he thought he might be reaching, Mr. Sanders acknowledged the challenges facing his campaign. “I’m not well known in the African-American community, despite a lifelong record,” he said, acknowledging one of the most consistent critiques of his chances. “That’s a real issue, and I have to deal with it.” “I’m running against Hillary Clinton, who is one of the best-known people in the world,” he said. Mr. Sanders is certainly not as well known among the party’s moderate and working-class voters as he is among liberal voters, but the huge gap in support between liberal and less liberal voters far exceeds the difference in name recognition. Mr. Sanders draws hope from his experiences in Vermont, where he says liberals “have not been the strongest supporters.” It’s where he has found a base among working-class voters. But it is not clear that his experience with white working-class voters in Vermont will be repeated nationally. Mr. Dean, Mr. Obama and Mr. Brown all carried Vermont in their primary campaigns. Mr. Bradley fell short in Vermont, winning 44 percent of the vote, but it was his second-best state. (He lost all 50 states against Al Gore in 2000.) Despite their success, all those candidates struggled among white working-class voters outside of a few northern states, like Oregon and Wisconsin. As Mr. Sanders puts his theory to the test, he is confident. “At the end of the day, you may be right,” he said. “I believe that you will see, maybe, you’re wrong.” *Sanders Courts Martha’s Vineyard Donors <http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/07/11/sanders-courts-marthas-vineyard-donors/> // NYT // Jonathan Martin – July 11, 2015 * Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has risen in the polls thanks in part to his denunciations of the forces of concentrated wealth, drawing thousands of liberals to hear his jeremiads against corporate power in early nominating states and liberal hubs such as Madison, Wis. But Mr. Sanders quietly stepped off the campaign trail this weekend to visit Martha’s Vineyard, a favorite summer destination of the country’s elite, in order to mix with representatives of some of the same interests he inveighs against in his stump speech. Mr. Sanders attended the annual Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fund-raiser on the Massachusetts island, a popular gathering that draws some of the most prominent business lobbyists and fund-raisers in the Democratic Party. One prominent attendee, a supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign, suggested Mr. Sanders’s appearance suggested he was more pragmatic than his rhetoric would let on. “Bernie is attracting throngs and has a wave going preaching against the one percent,” said the attendee, requesting anonymity to speak candidly. “So why would he take the weekend to spend in Martha’s Vineyard with wealthy people who are donating at least $37,000 and change to the DSCC?” (That is the minimum contribution to the Senate Democrats campaign arm in order to attend the event). The criticism illustrates the rising irritation among some establishment-aligned Democrats with Mr. Sanders, an independent who caucuses as a Democrat. Some in the party are personally fond of Mr. Sanders, but believe his challenge of Mrs. Clinton, the overwhelming front-runner, is quixotic and will serve chiefly to push Mrs. Clinton to the left and delight Republicans hoping the former secretary of state has to spend money on a primary threat. Asked about Mr. Sanders’s appearance at the fund-raiser, his spokesman, Michael Briggs, said he would not recalibrate his populist language in the wealthy enclave. “The people who financially support the Democratic Party need to hear the message that Bernie is giving all over the country and that is resonating all over the country,” Mr. Briggs said. “It is also important that the Democrats take back the Senate.” Democrats need to win four seats next year, five if they do not win the presidency, to reclaim control of the Senate. *Anthony Weiner Isn't Buying Bernie Sanders' Presidential Bid <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/11/bernie-sanders-anthony-weiner_n_7776220.html> // HuffPo // Ashley Alman – July 11, 2015 * Unsuccessful New York City mayoral candidate and former Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted Saturday that he just doesn't get Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) bid for the Democratic nomination for president. Weiner -- acknowledging his wife, Huma Abedin, is a longtime aide to Sanders' challenger Hillary Clinton -- wrote in a column published by Business Insider Saturday that he doesn't understand why the independent senator is vying for the support of a party "he always avoided joining." "After a career of steadfastly insisting that the Democratic party was not his home, now he wants to not only be a member of the party but its standard bearer? What changed?" Weiner asked in the column. Weiner described serving in Congress with Sanders in the early 2000s, saying he satiated his homesickness for the five boroughs by challenging Sanders on his party affiliation, often igniting a "bombastic reaction" from the senator. "He would tell me that I shouldn’t confuse the fact that our voting records generally matched with party agreement," Weiner wrote in the column. "He was a proud socialist and thought the institutional Democratic Party was too cautious and lacking imagination. As much as I prodded, I would never get him to think about joining the Democrats for a moment." Sanders launched his bid for the Democratic nomination for president in April. He's said he characterizes himself as an "independent Democrat." While Sanders has been open about his discomfort with the Democratic Party, he recognizes the "dilemma" of trying to run as a third-party candidate, given the organizing power of the Republicans and Democrats. The senator stands 40.4 points behind Clinton, according to HuffPost Pollster, which aggregates all publicly available polling data: *Sanders draws early support for White House bid from long-time union allies <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/11/sanders-draws-early-support-for-white-house-bid-from-long-time-union-allies/> // Fox News – July 11, 2015 * Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is getting support from unions members across the county that includes a mix of long-time political backers and potential voters apparently wary of party frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s relationship with Wall Street and Big Business. Sanders has already gotten support from one of the country’s most influential labor leaders, Larry Cohen, the outgoing president of the roughly 700,000-member Communications Workers of American. Cohen cited Clinton’s failure to publicly oppose giving President Obama so-called “fast-track” approval on trade deals under the pending Trans Pacific Partnership legislation, which unions argue, if approved, would send manufacturing jobs overseas. He also told The Huffington Post that organized labor is not a rubber stamp for the Democratic Party “and certainly not for corporate Democrats." And the grassroots group Labor for Bernie 2016 has already pulled support from hundreds of union members with similar concerns. “While we come from different unions and backgrounds, our goal is a government that carries out the will of the people, not prop up the profits of the 1 percent at the expense of the rest of us,” reads a letter on the group’s website that already has 1,109 signatures. Some AFL-CIO chapters have also expressed support for Sanders, including ones in South Carolina and Vermont, which has resulted in group President Richard Trumka reminding state and local divisions of the labor federation that only national leadership can announce an endorsement, as reported first by Politico. Though Trumka was in fact citing existing bylaws, the announcement was seen by some as an attempt to quell the Sanders uprising, considering Clinton and her well established campaign, right now, have a much better shot at beating Republicans in the 2016 White House race. Democratic-leaning strategist Kelly Grace Gibson told FoxNews.com this week that Clinton and Sanders each have a grassroots following, though perhaps not composed of exactly the same people or groups. And she argued that a unified endorsement like the one the AFL-CIO gave President Obama late in his 2008 primary race against Clinton has a bigger impact. “The purpose of the whip-cracking is … Trumka is trying to maintain the importance and weight of the endorsement,” she said. Republican leaning strategist and lobbyist Matt Keelen say that "at the grassroots level, most Democrats, at least those being talked about in the news anyway, are not particularly thrilled with (Clinton’s) corporatist, crony capitalist, Democratic strategy.” Clinton, Sanders and fellow Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley, a former Maryland governor, reportedly have been invited to meet privately and separately with the members of the AFL-CIO’s executive council when they gather in late July in suburban Washington. Meanwhile, Sanders, a progressive, continues to draw large crowds at campaign events, including 10,000 recently in Madison, Wis., more than 2,500 in Council Bluffs, Iowa and 7,500 this week in Portland, Maine. Sanders also has significantly cut into Clinton’s lead, according to a recent CNN/WMUR New Hampshire primary poll. The poll shows Sanders has cut the lead from 38 percent to 8 percent in roughly the past two months, 43-to-55- percent, compared to 51-to-13 percent in May. That Sanders is now getting union support and financial backing is no surprise, considering he has been a long-time champion for organized labor. The top-5 campaign committees and leadership PACs for Sanders since 2009 are Sheet Metal Workers ($27,500); Communications Workers of America ($23,000); American Postal Workers ($20,000) Unite Here ($20,000) and Machinists/ Aerospace Workers Union ($20,000), according to OpenSecrets.org. The group LaborUnionReport.com also conducted an informal survey recently in which respondents favored Sanders over Clinton 76 percent to 11 percent and reportedly cited such factors as Clinton's silence on the trade pact, her having worked for the Rose law firm, which helped employers fight unions and her having been a member of the Walmart board of directors. Still, Sanders, a self-described socialist, will have a difficult path to victory even if he wins the union endorsement, considered essential for any Democratic presidential candidate. Beyond Clinton’s much larger war chest, she also has a far bigger and more-organized campaign operation and Capitol Hill endorsements. The Hill reports Clinton has endorsements from at least 26 of the 69 Democrats in the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “I think it’s clear to say that Clinton is the candidate for most members of Congress and the Democratic establishment,” Sanders told the newspaper. *Bernie Sanders picking up steam in early primary states, could give Hillary Clinton a scare <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bernie-sanders-picking-steam-early-primary-states-article-1.2289274> // NY Daily News // Cameron Joseph – July 11, 2015 * Berniementum is building in the early primary states — and capturing the imaginations of liberal activists across the country. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has emerged as the clear early favorite of progressives resistant to Hillary Clinton’s charms in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he’s drawing big crowds. “He has certainly picked up some buzz,” said former Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan. Sanders trailed Clinton by just 8 percentage points with Democrats in a recent New Hampshire poll from CNN, and by 19 points in a recent Quinnipiac University poll of Iowa, though Clinton has had larger leads in other state-level polling. Sanders recently drew 10,000 people to a rally in liberal Madison, Wis., and thousands have gathered to see him from Maine to Minneapolis. With little organization, he raised $15 million in his first three months as a candidate — one-third of what Clinton brought in but a hefty sum driven by small online donations. Still, it remains to be seen whether Sanders, a quirky, 73-year-old self-described democratic socialist, can give Clinton a real scare. His fans point out he was talking about income inequality long before it became cool and is tapping into a cultural moment of fury with what he calls the “billionaire class.” And he’s channeling the emotions of Democrats who think Clinton is too careful on the trail and cozy to Wall Street. We are worried about him, sure. He will be a serious force for the campaign, and I don’t think that will diminish. “Hillary sounds more presidential because she talks in shades of gray. But Bernie Sanders has the luxury of talking in black and white, and that’s exciting,” said Thomas Henderson, the chairman of the Polk County Democrats, Iowa's largest county organization. Sanders’ cantankerous, doom-and-gloom style delighted roughly 400 progressive activists gathered Thursday in Arlington, Va., who chanted, “Bernie! Bernie!” Clinton’s campaign says it’s taking his rise seriously, though public comments may be aimed at raising expectations for Sanders. “We are worried about him, sure. He will be a serious force for the campaign, and I don’t think that will diminish,” Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said on MSNBC on Monday. Polls show that Democrats like Clinton, but they’re having trouble getting excited about her. “Right now 2016 feels more like a slog,” said Brennan. “She’s been a public figure for a long time. So it’s a little harder to generate that newness and enthusiasm that Barack Obama was able to capture and Senator Sanders is capturing now.” But much of Sanders’ momentum comes from consolidating the insurgent liberal vote that has long failed to pick the Democratic nominee. Many compare his rise to past left-wing insurgents who flamed out like Howard Dean in 2004 and Bill Bradley in 2000. A supporter cheers at a campaign rally for Sanders in Madison, Wis., where he drew 10,000 people. “Sanders for now has become the candidate of progressive New Hampshire Democrats and progressives elsewhere,” said University of New Hampshire Professor Dante Scala. Sanders’ campaign recognizes the challenge of expanding his base of support past hardcore white liberal activists. “He’s quickly rising in the early state polls where voters are actually paying attention,” Sanders strategist Tad Devine said. “Now it’s the question of can we expand the scope of his appeal to the broad constituencies of the Democratic Party — African-American voters, Latino voters, women, young voters.” Sanders recently addressed the National Association of Elected and Appointed Latino Officials, is heading to the National Council for La Raza’s annual convention next week and will soon head to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s annual gathering. Devine points out he has a long civil rights history, dating back to his getting arrested at 1960s protests. Sanders’ campaign thinks he can make Clinton squirm by forcing her to respond to policy proposals like free college education and raising taxes on the wealthy. Clinton refused to say whether she agreed with Sanders’ call to raise taxes on the wealthy, instead promising to outline her economic proposals on Monday. But it’s not clear that the Clinton operation is all that alarmed. Her campaign has been girding from the start for a challenge from the left. She has made a point to embrace economic populism and to focus on issues key to minority groups, who will be key players in later primary states. And her campaign is gearing up with a massive ground game — her field operation in Iowa alone has almost as much staff as Sanders’ entire campaign. Democratic observers remain skeptical that Sanders has any chance to catch Clinton. “For a while, it has been a foregone conclusion in many people’s minds that she will be the nominee, and any time you inject some excitement into the race it takes on a life of its own. How deep that goes I don’t know,” said New Hampshire AFL-CIO President Glenn Brackett. *Weiner: Sanders 'needs to explain' why he’s running as a Democrat <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/dem-primaries/247615-weiner-sanders-needs-to-explain-why-hes-running-as-a-democrat> // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015 * Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) is skeptical of Bernie Sanders’ hunt for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Weiner wonders why the Independent Vermont senator plans on switching his party affiliation next election cycle, according to a Business Insider op-ed published Saturday. Weiner charged that Sanders has never expressed a desire to become a Democrat before entering the 2016 race. “He was a proud socialist and thought the institutional Democratic Party was too cautious and lacking in imagination,” he said of his time in Congress with Sanders. “As much as I prodded, I would never get him to think about joining the Democrats for a moment.” Weiner noted that Sanders’ reluctance to go Democrat earlier leaves the party’s voters with unanswered questions about his motivations. “What exactly does he think he’s doing in a Democratic presidential primary?” Weiner asked. “Why is he asking for the nomination of a party he always avoided joining?” “After a career of steadfastly insisting that the Democratic Party was not his home, now he wants to be not only a member of the party but its standard bearer?” he asked. “What changed?” Weiner also speculated Sanders’ newfound interest in the party may be a strategy for improving his chances in next year’s presidential election. “Is Bernie’s newfound party affiliation just a practical decision to run in a party that can win rather than risk being a Nader-esque spoiler in a third party line next November?” Weiner asked. “That’s a fair calculation, but doesn’t it wipe away Bernie’s three decades of standing as a principled socialist?” Weiner did acknowledge that he believes “Bernie is right about a lot of things.” “He is right that a Medicare for All healthcare plan is a simpler, cheaper and more American solution to our healthcare needs than a jury-rigged system that is better under ObamaCare but still has too many gaps,” he said. “And his battle cry on behalf of working Americans is almost as good as Hillary Clinton’s,” he said of Clinton, the Democratic presidential favorite, also his wife Huma Abedin’s employer. “In spite of all this, if Bernie wants to lead this party, he needs to explain what he’s doing here in the first place,” Weiner added. Weiner also said he believes Sanders addresses a desire for progressive ideas within the Democratic electorate. “There’s no question Bernie’s leftist agitating is filling a void in this primary process,” he said. “The Democratic Party has a strong primal scream element right now,” Weiner said. “It expresses itself in frustration that the high expectations of change that came with President Obama have not been met.” “It howls at the failure of candidates who hew to the middle of the road and it feels the need to counter the batshit crazy it sees dominating the debate on the other side of the aisle,” he added. *Bernie Sanders becoming a problem for Hillary; tramples all over her talking points <http://www.bizpacreview.com/2015/07/11/bernie-sanders-becoming-a-problem-for-hillary-tramples-all-over-her-talking-points-223290#ixzz3fdFahj2n> // Biz Pac Review //Tom Tillison – July 11, 2015 * Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders continues to gum up the works in the coronation of Hillary Clinton as the party’s nominee for the 2016 election. Sanders’ latest trespass was to walk all over Clinton’s talking points in response to Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s comment that Americans “need to work more hours.” Taking Bush’s comment out of context, Clinton, the so-called champion of the working class, took a cheap shot at the Republican: Enter Sanders, an open socialist, who has been refreshingly candid on the campaign trail — and drawing plenty of interest. Taking Bush’s comment at face value, that part-time workers need full-time jobs, he trampled on Clinton’s spin in an interview Friday on CNN. “Of course we need full-time jobs rather than part-time jobs,” Sanders said. “If he [Bush] is talking about the need for more full-time jobs than part-time jobs, that’s absolutely correct,” he added. The muffled popping sound heard around that time was of heads exploding at Team Hillary. A social media user summed it up well by asking how long it would be before Sanders becomes “too big a problem” for Clinton. *UNDECLARED* *OTHER* *Dem senators call for executive action on gun control <http://thehill.com/regulation/247613-dem-senators-call-for-executive-action-on-gun-control> // The Hill // Alex Bolton – July 11, 2015 * Connecticut Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats, have called on President Obama to take executive action to close a “loophole” in federal gun control legislation. The so-called “default to proceed” rule under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act allows firearm dealers to sell a weapon to an individual if they have not been notified by the FBI of a buyer’s criminal background within three business days. If the background check has not been completed within three days, the dealer has discretion to sell the firearm. The rule allowed Dylann Roof, the alleged killer of nine people at a predominantly black church in Charleston, S.C., to purchase a gun even though he was arrested on a felony drug charge and admitted to possessing drugs. "We shouldn't give known criminals the benefit of the doubt when it comes to guns. If law enforcement needs more than three days to ensure they're not giving weapons to dangerous people, Washington must allow them the time to do their jobs,” Blumenthal and Murphy said in a joint statement. “If we refuse to act, we're just biding time until this happens again." The criminal background check on Roof was not initiated until two days after Roof first attempted to purchase the gun and did not discover his admission of drug possession until five days later. FBI Director James Comey told reporters Friday that Roof “should not have been allowed to purchase the gun he allegedly used that evening,” referring to the deadly June 17 attack. Republicans, however, blame the failure to bar Roof from obtaining a gun on “bureaucratic bungling” and say additional regulation is not necessary. “It’s disastrous that this bureaucratic mistake prevented existing laws from working and blocking an illegal gun sale. The facts undercut attempts to use the tragedy to enact unnecessary gun laws,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a statement. An FBI examiner faxed a request for information on Roof’s arrest to the wrong county’s sheriff’s office. Comey has announced a 30-day investigation into the matter. *GOP* *DECLARED* *BUSH* *Jeb and the Nation of Takers <http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/jeb-and-the-nation-of-takers/> // NYT // Paul Krugman – July 11, 2015 * Maybe we were unfair to Mitt Romney; Jeb “people should work longer hours” Bush is making him look like a model of empathy for the less fortunate. All the obvious points apply: longer hours would mean more GDP (if and when the economy ever gets back to full employment), but not necessarily better lives, especially if the increase in GDP doesn’t trickle down. But I think it’s also important to understand where this is coming from. Partly it’s Bush trying to defend his foolish 4 percent growth claim; but it’s also, I’m almost certain, coming out of the “nation of takers” dogma that completely dominates America’s right wing. At my adventure in Las Vegas, one of the questions posed by the moderator was, if I remember it correctly, “What would you do about America’s growing underclass living off welfare?” When I said that the premise was wrong, that this isn’t actually happening, there was general incredulity — this is part of what the right knows is happening. When Jeb Bush — who is a known admirer of Charles Murray — talks about more hours, he’s probably thinking largely about getting the bums on welfare out there working. As I asked a few months ago, where are these welfare programs people are supposedly living off? TANF is tiny; what’s left are EITC, food stamps, and unemployment benefits. Spending on food stamps and UI soared during the slump, but came down quickly; overall spending on “income security” has shown no trend at all as a share of GDP, with all the supposed growth in means-tested programs coming from Medicaid: But isn’t there an epidemic of people declaring themselves disabled? Actually, no. You have to bear in mind the reality that people don’t stay perfectly healthy until they reach 65, or 70, or whatever age plutocrats think they should work until. As all of us pre-seniors can attest, things start to go wrong with increasing frequency all along the life cycle; sometimes they can be managed, but often they can’t, especially for manual workers. And if you look at age-adjusted disability rates, they have been flat or even declining: But none of this will, of course, make any dent in the right-wing narrative: they just know that the rising number of bums on welfare is a problem, even though there basically isn’t any welfare and there are no more bums than there ever were. *Jeb bests Hillary in American worker tweet-off <http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/11/jeb-bests-hillary-in-american-worker-tweet-off-commentary.html> // CNBC // Larry Kudlow – July 11, 2015 * Jeb Bush is right and Hillary Clinton is wrong. You can probably say that about a lot of things. But in this case, it's about the need for more part-time American workers to work full-time in order to improve their own lots as well as the lot of the economy. The mini spat started when Jeb Bush short-handed the point that "people should work longer hours" in a meeting with New Hampshire's Union Leader. Hillary Clinton then tweeted, "Anyone who believes Americans aren't working hard enough hasn't met enough American workers." A few hours later, Bush clarified his position with his own tweet: "Anyone who discounts 6.5 million people stuck in part-time work and seeking full-time jobs hasn't listened to working Americans." Bush is right about Americans needing to work longer hours. He's also right that there are far too many involuntary part-time workers — 6.5 million today compared to a pre-recession 4.2 million. These folks are stuck because of economic reasons, traceable in large part to a slow-walking recovery and a variety of government policies that are discouraging full-time work. Much of this is reflected in the U-6 unemployment rate, which is the total unemployed plus people marginally attached to the labor force as well as those who are part-time for economic reasons (could only find part-time work, slack work or business conditions, etc.). That unemployment rate was 10.5 percent in June, nearly double the 5.3 percent headline unemployment number (the U-3 unemployment rate). The unusually wide spread between these rates, in part, reflects discouraged people who want to work and can't find a job, and, in part, the people who want to work more but can't get longer hours. And Jeb Bush was probably also thinking about the low labor-force participation rate, which stands at a rock bottom 62.6 percent compared to 66 percent in 2008. I don't know which candidate is "closer to the people," but Bush is closer to the statistical truth — at least as registered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In other words, facts. So, Bush is basically saying: There are too many part-timers, they would like to work longer, and if they had that opportunity, they and their families and the economy would benefit. I still believe these labor-market problems are deeply rooted to this slow-paced recovery. We never had the snapback that other deep recessions produced. And there are a number of ill-conceived tax, regulatory, and monetary policies that have discouraged work, undermined incentives, and created obstacles to the kind of 4- or 5-percent growth that should have occurred over the past six years. For example, means-tested small entitlements — like overextended unemployment insurance, Social Security disability insurance, and food stamps — have clearly perverted work incentives. Eligibility has been substantially raised and time limits have been removed. So in many cases, on a net after-tax basis, it pays more not to work. Then there's Obamacare, which throws off a million economic disincentives. But here's one that goes directly to the Jeb Bush part-time employment issue: the so-called 29ers. If an employee works 29 hours a week, the employer does not have to purchase health care. So instead of working 34.5 hours a week, the long-term trend, you now have a lot of people at 29 hours or less because of bad government health-care policy. By the way, economist Ed Lazear, the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, estimates that every one-tenth of an hour less worked costs the economy between 350,000 and 400,000 jobs. We don't yet know all the details of Jeb Bush's economic plan. But on the campaign trail, he's talking about fixing how we tax and regulate, a broken immigration system, and unleashing a domestic energy revolution. And we know he favors a 4 percent economic-growth target as a means of recovering from past policy sins and restoring American opportunity and prosperity for all. Governor Chris Christie has adopted the same target. It's way too early to endorse, but both of these gentleman have the story right. Hillary, so far, has it wrong. *Sununu: Jeb Bush is ‘less forgiving of slights’ than his father <https://www.yahoo.com/politics/sununu-jeb-bush-is-less-forgiving-of-slights-123750900741.html> // Yahoo News // Jon Ward – July 11, 2015 * John H. Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire who was White House chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush for most of Bush’s only term in office, has a new book out arguing that Bush should have a more venerated place in American history. In “The Quiet Man: The Indispensable Presidency of George H.W. Bush,” Sununu argues that Bush’s presidency was far more successful, and consequential, than he is given credit for. Sununu writes that Bush’s quiet, humble style, his belief in the importance of personal diplomacy, and his ability to get along with others and reach compromise were crucial to easing the collapse of the Soviet Union and the transition in Eastern Europe from communist rule. Those qualities were key to assembling the coalition that helped push Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in 1991. And, he argues, they made it possible for Bush to productively work with the overwhelmingly Democratic-controlled Congress. Yahoo News spoke with Sununu at his home in Hampton Falls, N.H., where six of his eight children, and 13 of his 16 grandchildren, live within a 10-minute drive. Below is an edited transcript that has been shortened for brevity and clarity. Yahoo News: In the words of Larry King, it’s a terrific book, I’m gonna start reading it tonight. Did you notice that he said that? John H. Sununu: [Laughs] Yeah, I know Larry well. We’re old New York baseball team fans. Larry was a Dodger fan. I was a Yankee fan. Still are? Yeah, I’m a die-hard loyalist. How do you describe yourself when someone asks you where you’re from? Because you’ve got Greek, Palestinian. Yeah, my dad’s family was Palestinian, Greek Orthodox community. They came to Boston in 1904. He was born in Boston, was in the import and export business, ended up doing a project in Cuba. I was born in Cuba. You know, that’s the family. It’s a little complicated. On the Cold War, the shorthand that I think most people have in terms of their memory of it is that Reagan called for the wall to come down and down it came. Between that and the reality, there’s a lot that happened. Well, at the most I think Bush gets credit for managing the transition, but I think the intent of your book seems to argue that he was a catalyst, if not a responsible manager. You know, anything as significant and as complicated as that doesn’t happen by accident. A lot of people think it would have been automatic. But one of the important points that nobody pays attention to — but you can get a lot of it out of Gorbachev’s book [“Memoirs”] — is that he was always fighting internally the hard-liners who were just looking for an excuse to get rid of him and to stop it all. And the art form that Bush had was understanding that reality and easing it, handling it, really, with a very careful touch that allowed it to happen. … He produced a change that really did change the world. You mention emotions a fair amount in the book. It seems like you think that overemotionalism is often a problem, whether it’s in government or media or whatever. You think that’s a modern phenomenon? I’ve never thought of it in that context, that it was sort of an absolute. There are times — You mentioned Gingrich, you mentioned Dan Rather. There are times when people let their judgment be sometimes detrimentally influenced by their emotions, and great leaders have control of that. And it happens both ways. Some people, in an effort to mimic what they think is good practice, don’t let emotions be enough of a part, and some people let it be too much of a part. To rally a nation in difficult times, can you imagine, how could Churchill have rallied England if he didn’t use a little bit of emotion, you know? So somebody else in that role could have underplayed the emotional part. How long did you work on this book? About a year. I kind of put the framework together in three months, and then I spent nine months getting it right, going to the library, working with the library people, going through my own records. There’s a lot of implicit criticism of Reagan. I really didn’t mean it as criticism. I meant it to set the tone of the moment. I think Reagan was a great president. … In order to understand the climate that Bush came into, you really have to at least put into context the last couple of years of the Reagan administration, in which things got difficult. He got hit with Iran-contra, the savings and loan problem started to get to be serious, although nobody really understood how serious it was. His relationship with Congress got soured, partially because of Iran-contra. Some of his European allies began to give him a tough time, Mitterrand in particular. So there was a context of the time that Bush comes into as the successor and people have to understand that … he had to clean up certain things, particularly savings and loan and the relationship with Congress. If he didn’t fix the relationship with Congress, nothing really could have happened. What Bush inherits in his election is a situation that needs to be fixed. It’s not a criticism of Reagan. It happens to two-term presidencies all the time. The great work of most presidencies is done in the first years. It seems like a major theme of the book is that oftentimes people who do things well but aren’t flashy about it don’t really get the credit. That is a very important theme of the book. And it’s an important theme in American politics, because quite often people follow the shiny object of hot rhetoric instead of effective governance. We’ve become a hot-rhetoric political society, and hot rhetoric doesn’t always achieve results. Why do you think that is? That’s a good question. I blame television. I’ll blame media in general, not just television. I think social media has amplified it. And look, media is very powerful in politics. Roosevelt discovered the radio, Kennedy discovered network TV, Clinton discovered cable TV and Obama discovered social media. Discovered in the sense of learned how to effectively use it. They’re all Democrats. And they’re all Democrats. So when your message is weak, you can overcome it by tugging at the emotions. And so the emotional side of politics has become very important. You seem to hate the press in some respects. No, there are certain components of the press that I lost a lot of respect for, where they are more concerned about a story that will sell a paper or get ratings on television than they are about the impact that that story might have… I was struck by the point in your book where you talk about the conversations you had with Bush’s advisers leading up to ’92, where you were telling them that Bill Clinton was going to be the nominee — My message to them was, “Here’s a guy who’s a real political animal, who has a fire in the belly, and who knows how to communicate with the electorate.” And I thought Cuomo wanted to be coronated, and if he didn’t get coronated he wouldn’t run. Is there anybody in the field now who you feel has that same hunger and fire in the belly to be president, same qualities as Bill Clinton? I don’t want to talk about specific candidates in this field. Everybody’s trying to find me, get me to say something that becomes the equivalent of an endorsement, and I have too many friends running. I am not going to — I am trying extremely hard not to endorse. That was a good way to try to get you to do it, though, right? Well, a little amateurish, but that’s all right. [Laughs] A little amateurish? It wouldn’t be a Sununu interview without an insult. [Laughs] I mean, don’t launch if you can’t take return fire [laughs, slaps table]. It’s all done in good humor, you know. You also said to Larry King that Jeb is like his mother. Why? I think Jeb is a little bit more [long pause] — less, less forgiving of slights by others. Barbara is the tough — if somebody attacks George Herbert Walker Bush, Barbara remembers that forever. And I think Jeb has a little of that. It’s going to be an interesting election. One would hope that the country decides to go for substance rather than style. They made that mistake last time. And that is Marco Rubio’s greatest weakness. Yeah, but remember he was also speaker of the House [in Florida], so he had to herd cats. I give him credit for that. He had to deal with the legislature from more than just a member’s perspective. So Marco is more experienced than people give him credit for. I’m not endorsing him or anything, but I’m just saying don’t underestimate that trait. *Jeb Bush's mind-blowing fundraising haul in one chart <http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-jeb-bush-fundraising-2015-7> // Business Insider // Brett Logiurato – July 11, 2015 * Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's (R) nascent campaign said Thursday that it had raised an eye-popping $11.4 million in the first 16 days he was official candidate for president. On top of that, the super PAC supporting Bush's run for president, Right to Rise PAC, said it had hit its goal of raising $100 million through the first half of the year. Charlie Spies, the PAC's treasurer and general counsel, said it had raised more than $103 million from January 6 to June 30. The numbers make Bush's campaign by far the best funded of any presidential candidate — even Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Clinton's campaign raised $45 million in her first 81 days as a candidate, according to her campaign. But outside groups supporting her have raised only about $24.3 million, according to Bloomberg. Here's a look at how they fare head to head. Combining the totals from the campaigns and outside groups supporting the candidates, the Bush corner has raised about $114 million, compared with just less than $70 million for Clinton. In his 16 days as an official candidate, meanwhile, Bush raised approximately $760,000 per day. Clinton has raised about $555,555 each day. *RUBIO* *With no clear base of support, Marco Rubio gambles on a broad approach <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-no-clear-base-of-support-marco-rubio-gambles-on-a-broad-approach/2015/07/11/ea63e9de-2686-11e5-aae2-6c4f59b050aa_story.html> // WaPo // Sean Sullivan – July 11, 2015 * Lunch was about to be served, and Marco Rubio was working the room — hard. He mocked surprise that one table’s cookies were left untouched. He posed for a photo and teased, “I even held my stomach in!” This is not considered Rubio territory, but he is campaigning with urgency in Iowa anyway. He spent Tuesday through Thursday hopscotching from happy hour to cookout to meet-and-greet, and plans to return for more of the same this week as well. He doesn’t have much of a choice. It’s been nearly three months since Rubio launched his presidential campaign amid lofty expectations from many Republicans, who view the youthful Cuban American senator from Florida as the party’s best hope for a rapidly changing electorate. But polls show he hasn’t made a dent in the leads enjoyed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Florida governor Jeb Bush in the first four primary states. Bush, meanwhile, just announced a massive $114 million fundraising haul, while Walker is set to officially kick off his campaign Monday. So Rubio has embarked on a strategy to compete in each of the four early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. The hope is to strike it big in at least one by cobbling together a diverse coalition of Republican voters. It is perhaps the best option for a contender who, unlike Bush and Walker, has neither an obvious path to the nomination nor a clearly defined base of support. After focusing heavily on fundraising leading up to the June 30 quarterly deadline, Rubio is forging a bigger presence on the campaign trail. His swing through Iowa was his most extensive visit here since launching his bid in April. He also traveled to Nevada on Friday for a two-day visit, and his campaign has reserved TV advertising time in all four of the early states. Central to Rubio’s pitch is an emphasis on his youthfulness and an optimistic, if imprecise, vision of the future. At 44, Rubio is among the youngest candidates. “Quite frankly, I’m the only one running up to now that is running on this message that the future is now. It is here. And we cannot be left behind by it,” he said at a Wednesday morning stop in Urbandale where a packed dining room of Republicans tucked into pancakes and sipped coffee. One of them was Sharon Clearman, 72, of Johnston, Iowa. Rubio impressed her, but she also likes Walker. “He did a big thing,” Clearman said. Her reference was to Walker’s moves to curtail the power of public unions. It made him a national conservative icon and won him deep loyalty from activists. Rubio does not have any political accomplishments of similar magnitude. Asked to name his signature achievements in government after lunch at the Cedar Rapids Country Club, he responded with a mixed list: the policy blueprint he wrote as a state lawmaker and legislation he pushed in the U.S. Senate to support girls in developing countries and hold Veterans Affairs accountable. Those who have seen Rubio speak have noticed his emphasis on the future. “Senator Rubio is just more overt saying, ‘I’m going to take you to the future, and then look at my record if you don’t believe I’ve done that,’” Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said, “whereas [Ted] Cruz and Walker are saying, ‘Look at my record, I’ll take you to the future.’” If Rubio is suffering from a resume deficit compared to Walker, he suffers from a major resource deficit against Bush, who is leading in New Hampshire. A pair of outside groups backing Rubio have raised about $32 million, less than a third of the amount raised by a super PAC allied with Bush. Rubio’s campaign has not yet released its total. Rubio’s team says it is playing a long game. The plan is to introduce him to as many voters as possible because of his talent as a communicator. If other candidates stumble, supporters believe Rubio would be poised to move up. “I think this guy is the guy who can win,” said Ed Failor Jr., an Iowa conservative activist supporting Rubio. “I think he’s a guy who has an ability to speak to a group and keep their attention.” Rubio’s attempt to stay in the mix for the long haul is evident in his cautious rhetoric. Last week, for example, he declined to say whether he backs Congress giving Puerto Rico the ability to file for bankruptcy like municipalities in the states. Bush has said that right should be granted. It’s a sensitive topic pitting many Latino voters against conservatives who oppose such a move. Meanwhile, Rubio’s reliance on his youth and freshness sometimes prompts a comparison considered unflattering in Republican circles. “You are an extremely articulate, energetic, bright, young first-term senator. That reminds me of somebody eight years ago,” one man told him at the Urbandale breakfast. The crowd chuckled, instantly recognizing the reference to President Obama. Rubio argued forcefully that Obama was a “backbencher” in the Illinois legislature while he was the Florida House speaker. Rubio also noted that he has served longer in the U.S. Senate than Obama had when he launched his White House bid. “There are major differences between me and the person who is there now,” he concluded. The policy differences between Rubio and many of his Republican competitors are harder to spot. Rubio is running as a staunch military hawk like most of his opponents. On immigration — which is again consuming the party as an issue — Rubio has backed away from support for comprehensive reform he once backed in the Senate. With so many GOP candidates, it’s become nearly impossible for Rubio, or anyone else, to monopolize a certain position. And that makes it difficult for him to separate himself from the pack. “I’ve got the field narrowed from 15 to maybe six or seven,” said Patrick Williams, 48, a ninth-grade teacher from West Des Moines. Rubio is one of them. *Rubio revisits childhood in Vegas, calls Putin a criminal <http://news.yahoo.com/rubio-revisits-childhood-vegas-calls-putin-criminal-230624778--election.html> // AP // Kimberly Pierceall – July 11, 2015 * Republican Sen. Marco Rubio called Russian President Vladimir Putin a criminal on Saturday in a presidential campaign speech less focused on foreign and domestic policy than recounting his parents' immigrant experience to voters in his childhood hometown. "He is a dangerous person," Rubio said of Putin, "and we should never be under any illusions as long as he runs that country." When GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump visited Las Vegas on Saturday, he said he could be pals with Putin and that "I think we would get along very, very well." Rubio's immigrant parents, who came to the U.S. from Cuba, found jobs in the casino industry in Las Vegas. The Florida Republican would visit Henderson, about a half-hour drive from Las Vegas, as a child. "When I grew up, there was nothing out here but an ice skating rink," he told an audience at a sprawling golf course and retirement community. Watching the nuclear war movie "War Games" as a child, he said he fretted when actor Mathew Broderick's character picked Las Vegas for a target. Rubio, 44, largely repeated the family story he related Friday to the Libertarian-leaning FreedomFest gathering in Las Vegas, saying that his parents embody the American dream and that he was indebted to the United States. Running for president is his way of repaying his obligation, he said. Rubio received the most applause from the retirees when he vowed that as president he would make sure that "we will remain the single most powerful military force the world has ever known" by competing with other nations that are investing billions in new military technology. He also elicited applause when he promised to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. On a local issue, Rubio repeated his stance that Yucca Mountain in Nevada remains the only option for eventually storing the country's nuclear waste. Many people in Nevada oppose the project, and its senior U.S. senator, Harry Reid, has vowed that Yucca Mountain not become the nation's nuclear dump. *Rubio Focuses On Cuban Immigrant Upbringing In Vegas Talks <http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/07/11/rubio-focuses-on-cuban-immigrant-upbringing-in-vegas-talks/> // AP – July 11, 2015 * Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he is indebted to America and running for president is his way of repaying his obligation. The 44-year-old Republican candidate told the Libertarian FreedomFest audience on Friday how his parents made their way from Cuba to Las Vegas, where they found jobs in the casinos. Rubio says his parents embody the American dream. Rubio told several hundred voters in a suburban retirement community on Saturday that as president he would make the U.S. the single greatest military superpower by competing with other nations that are investing billions in new military technology. He also promised to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Rubio also repeated his stance that Yucca Mountain in Nevada is currently the only option for storing the country’s nuclear waste. *Rubio starts winning over voters — in Spanish <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/11/rubio-starts-winning-over-voters-in-spanish/> // The Washington Times // Kellan Howell – July 11, 2015 * Marco Rubio increased his popularity among latin voters on the campaign trail in Iowa this week, chatting with a woman from San Salvador in Spanish. The woman, Claudia Steele, who is now an American citizen and voter, told Mr. Rubio that she was the only Latina member of her local Republican organization. The 2016 GOP contender responded, “Hay que cambiar eso,” meaning “We need to change that,” ABC news reported Friday. The 44 year-old Florida Senator was welcomed openly by the Spanish speakers who came out to meet Mr. Rubio over the course of his three-day trip through the Hawkeye state. According to 2003 U.S. Census bureau data, just 5.5 percent of the population of Iowa identifies as Hispanic or Latino, but many came out to support Mr. Rubio this week. Mr. Rubio and fellow GOP candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s ability to speak in Spanish is helping the two gain popularity with Latin voters, while Donald Trump continues to receive backlash over comments comparing illegal immigrants to rapists and drug dealers. “It helps him communicate and connect with the community,” Ms. Steele said of Mr. Rubio in an interview with ABC News. *Marco Rubio would ban abortion if elected, compares it to slavery <http://www.examiner.com/article/marco-rubio-would-ban-abortion-if-elected-compares-it-to-slavery> // The Examiner – July 11, 2015 * Of all of the social issues in American politics, a woman's right to choose and abortion are close or at the top of the list. With the issue almost completely split down party lines, the difference between a Republican or Democrat in the White House is crucial to the cause. More Americans continue to support access to abortion in all or some cases. According to the most recent numbers by Gallup, 80 percent of Americans now support abortion in all or certain circumstances. Only 19 percent said that it should be illegal across the board, with 1 percent having no opinion. Despite these numbers, Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio spoke at the National Right to Life Committee’s annual convention in New Orleans on July 10, and pushed his pro-life stance hard, as reported by Right Wing Watch. Promising to restrict a women's right to choose "at home and around the world," Rubio called Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal, "historically and egregiously flawed" to the cheers of the crowd. The Florida Senator continued, claiming that fighting for an unborn fetus was the same as fighting to eliminate slavery. "Sometimes in contemporary American life, we come to believe that all the great causes are over, that the past generation fought all the important battles: abolition, the Civil Rights Movement, women’s suffrage...but it's not true. In face, one of the most important battles is the one that you are engaged in now." Rubio has a long history of being anti-choice, from voting against stem cell research, to supporting a mandatory ultrasound before an abortion. If a Republican like Rubio does find his way into the White House, with control of both houses of Congress, women's rights in the United States might be taking a few steps back. *PAUL* *Paul raises $7 million for White House run <http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/247607-paul-raises-7-million-for-white-house-run> // The Hill // Alexander Bolton – July 11, 2015 * Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has raised $7 million since launching his White House bid in April, mostly through small-dollar donations. Paul, a Tea Party favorite who inherited a national grassroots fundraising network from his father, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), received money from 108,205 donors, according to his campaign. Eighty-five percent of his total came as contributions of $50 or less, and 96 percent came in increments of $100 or less. His average donation was $65. Breitbart.com first reported the figures. Paul’s fundraising haul lags behind rivals like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who raised $11.4 million in just over two weeks in June. Right to Rise USA, a super PAC supporting Bush, has collected $103 million this year. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is vying with Paul for Tea Party voters, raised $14.2 million since announcing his campaign in March. Super PACs aligned with Cruz have raised $37 million. But Paul can point to broad grassroots support as a sign that his campaign has wide appeal even though he has had trouble finding GOP mega-donors to back him. New York hedge fund manager Robert Mercer is expected to pour tens of millions into the race to help Cruz, and Miami businessman Norman Braman will spend up to $25 million to help Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Super PACs supporting Rubio have raised more than $31 million, according to the Washington Post. *CRUZ* *The New York Times says Ted Cruz's book has high sales because of 'strategic bulk purchases' <http://www.businessinsider.com/r-presidential-hopeful-cruz-blasts-ny-times-for-keeping-book-off-bestseller-list-2015-7#ixzz3feNBevnI> // Reuters – July 11, 2015 * Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz says his book "A Time for Truth" is a legitimate bestseller and on Friday challenged The New York Times to prove its contention that the tome's high sales were due to bulk buying. In a statement on his campaign website, the Texas senator said The Times should apologize or release evidence of its analysis. He said he was being kept off the bestseller list because the newspaper is politically biased against him. New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said the company stands by its statement on Thursday that Cruz's book did not meet the standards for its bestseller list, "which includes an analysis of book sales that goes beyond simply the number of books sold." "In the case of this book, the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases," the statement said. Cruz's campaign denied there were any strategic bulk purchases and said booksellers at events on his campaign tour had long lines for people buying "A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America" and getting it autographed by the candidate. The campaign also pointed to sales on Amazon, where the Cruz book was the ninth bestseller in the political category. They also said Cruz's book was No. 3 on Nielsen BookScan's list of top-selling books this week. Nielsen did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. *Cruz demands NY Times apologize for ‘lying’ about ‘A Time for Truth’ sales <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/11/ted-cruz-demands-ny-times-apologize-for-lying-abou/> // Washington Times // Kellan Howell – July 11, 2015 * Ted Cruz’s campaign blasted The New York Times on Friday after it was revealed that the Texas Senator’s new book, “A Time for Truth” would be kept off the bestseller list, despite reported sales putting the book at No. 3 on the list. The GOP presidential contender’s book reportedly sold 11,854 copies in its first week, more than “all but two of the Times’ bestselling titles,” Politico reported Thursday. The Cruz campaign released a statement on Thursday titled “New York Times is Lying” and called on the Times to release their evidence for compiling the bestsellers list or issue a formal apology. “Their decision to blackball Cruz’s book suggests that the Times very much does not want people to read the book,” the statement said. The Times recently claimed in a statement that they excluded Mr. Cruz’s book because “the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.” Mr. Cruz’s campaign responded that this claim was “false, and the Times knows it. There were no ‘strategic bulk purchases.” Mr. Cruz spent last week on a nation-wide book tour, signing copies of his book at multiple locations. Booksellers at each event had long lines—sometimes over 400 people per event,” the statement said. Campaign spokesman Rick Tyler called on the Times to release evidence proving their claim or “issue a public apology to Senator Cruz and Harper Collins editor Adam Bellow for making false charges against them.” The Times has not yet responded to the claims. *Ted Cruz fights back: Campaign calls on ‘lying’ NY Times to release evidence of bulk book sales <http://www.bizpacreview.com/2015/07/11/ted-cruz-fights-back-campaign-calls-on-lying-ny-times-to-release-evidence-of-bulk-book-sales-223291> // BizPac // Michael Dorstewitz – July 11, 2015 * Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign and publisher HarperCollins are calling out The New York Times as liars. Sales figures suggest Cruz’s book, “A Time for Truth,” should be in the No. 3 spot on the newspaper’s list of bestselling books. The Times is now saying it refuses to include the book on its coveted list because “evidence” suggests the sales figures were bloated by “strategic bulk purchases.” Tina Andreadis, HarperCollins’ publicity director, released a statement to BuzzFeed News on Friday indicating that the publisher conducted a thorough investigation and “found no evidence of bulk orders or sales through any retailer or organization,” according to the Washington Free Beacon. When the issue first arose, the Times indicated the book didn’t meet the newspaper’s bestseller criteria. “We have uniform standards that we apply to our bestseller list, which includes an analysis of book sales that goes beyond simply the number of books sold,” Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy wrote. “This book didn’t meet that standard this week.” When asked for specifics, Murphy replied: “Our goal is that the list reflect authentic best sellers, so we look at and analyze not just numbers but patterns of sales for every book.” When pushed further, Murphy replied, “In the case of this book, the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases,” according to Politico. The Cruz campaign isn’t mincing words. It’s calling the paper a liar. *CHRISTIE* *Reuters: Christie Now Third in Poll <http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/chris-christie-reuters-poll-third/2015/07/11/id/654571/> // Newsmax // Sandy Fitzgerald – July 11, 2015 * Donald Trump and Jeb Bush are in a virtual dead heat atop the field of 2016 candidates seeking the GOP nomination, but the quickest rise has been for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has been placing low in most polls but marked a third-place finish in a new Reuters-Ipsos poll released Saturday. The numbers show Bush, a former Florida governor, hanging on the top by just a hair, with 16.1 percent of respondents in an online poll of Republicans. Billionaire real estate developer Trump squeezed in just behind Bush with 15.8 percent of the respondents. But Christie rose up to take third place with 9.5 percent of the vote, after announcing his candidacy on June 30. Christie was followed in the Reuters poll by: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul at 8.1 percent; Surgeon and author Ben Carson at 7.2 percent; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at 5.8 percent; Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 5.5 percent; Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, 5.3 percent; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, 5 percent; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, 3.9 percent; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, 2.1 percent; Former NY Gov. George Pataki, 2 percent; Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, 1.6 percent; Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, 1.6 percent; Ohio Gov. John Kasich, 1.4 percent; South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, 1.3 However, when voters were given a choice of three candidates, Bush, Trump or Rubio, Bush led with 42 percent of the voters, followed by 28.4 percent for Trump and 20 percent for Rubio. Christie was not included in that part of the poll. When it came to Democrats in the poll, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remained with a comfortable lead of 48.3 percent of the self-identified Democrats polled, but Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is gaining ground, earning 22.9 percent. Vice President Joe Biden, who has not entered the race, still got 10.7 percent of the prospective voters. Overall, according to Real Clear Politics average of established polls, Bush is hanging on to the lead by 5.8 percentage points over the other challengers. Walker, who has not announced his candidacy, is in second, and Carson is in third place overall. Christie is in 10th place according to overall polling, and Trump is in sixth. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll of the Republican race, 404 self-identified Republicans age 18 or over were questioned from July 6-10. The poll had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 5.7 percentage points. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll of the Democratic race, 504 self-identified Democrats age 18 or over were questioned over the same time period, with a credibility interval of 5.1 percentage points. *PERRY* *Rick Perry tells crowd it's a 'show me, don't tell me' election <http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/07/11/rick-perry-oskaloosa-knoxville-coffee/30022717/> // The Des Moines Register // Maya Kliger – July 11, 2015 * At two coffee shop meet-and-greets in Knoxville and Oskaloosa on Saturday, Republican presidential candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry urged voters to look at his executive and military experience. Perry's central message was his record: He referenced his time serving in the military when discussing the current size of the military and foreign policy, and the conservative judges he appointed to the Texas Supreme Court when discussing the recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. There was regular applause and nods of agreement from the largely conservative crowds at both locations when Perry spoke of the need for a large military, limited government and strict adherence and interpretation of the Constitution. "He thinks along the same lines that we do. Everything he supports, we support," said Darrell Rogers, a 74-year-old retired resident of Oskaloosa. Perry also spoke of his experience securing the border and improving the high school graduation rate in Texas without subscribing to federal programs like No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Many listeners were receptive to his message of experience. "I think being governor has given him experience in the art of presiding, not just shooting from the hip like we have currently," said Terry Bradley, a 60-year-old guitar player from Newton. "He's created jobs and he's got the education system." "I really liked it when he said no one gave him a blueprint of how to deal with the crisis of like when the space shuttle fell down in east Texas and when Hurricane Katrina people came over. That was kind of impressive. I like how he said he had to deal with tough issues," said Bryan Johnson, a 42-year-old resident of Oskaloosa. Perry also stated, when referencing the shooting by an undocumented immigrant that occurred last week in San Francisco, that he would cut funding to "sanctuary cities" — cities that have passed laws prohibiting law enforcement officers from detaining suspects on order from immigration authorities. At the event Settings: Coffee Connection in Knoxville and Smokey Row in Oskaloosa Crowds: Both coffee shops were packed, primarily with conservative supporters. Reaction: Crowds greeted Perry enthusiastically and applauded multiple times as he talked. What's next: Perry will have six campaign stops all over Iowa in the next week, ahead of his appearance at the 2015 Family Leadership Summit in Ames on Saturday. *Rick Perry is Running for President — Here is What He Has Raised so Far in 2015 <http://www.ijreview.com/2015/07/365799-rick-perrys-new-fundraising-total/> // IJ Review // Meagan Vazquez – July 11, 2015 * Former Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign announced Friday that they’ve raised just over $1 million in less than a month, adding onto a total of $18 million from outside, independent PAC supporters. In a statement, the 2016 presidential candidate’s campaign manager, Jeff Miller, said: “Americans are looking for a tested leader with an optimistic vision for the future, and we are pleased with the broad support Gov. Perry is receiving across the country…Governor Perry is well positioned and between the campaign and independent sources, the necessary funds will be in place to run a competitive, successful campaign.” By comparison, in 2012, the Texas Republican received $19,707,936 overall. However, the new Perry total looks meager next to this campaign season’s biggest fundraisers. Jeb Bush raised $114 million in the first six months of 2015, while Hillary Clinton has raked in $45 million. *GRAHAM* *Lindsey Graham Speaks Against Clinton and Trump Over Immigration <http://www.latinpost.com/articles/65502/20150711/lindsey-graham-speaks-against-clinton-trump-over-immigration.htm> // Latin Post // Roberto Ontiveros – July 11, 2015 * Republican presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham is speaking out about his fellow candidates and their stands on immigration. Responding to Hillary Clinton’s recent comments that none of the Republican presidential candidates currently support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Graham said that he does not “need a lecture from Hillary Clinton about immigration reform." Speaking to CNN about Clinton and President Obama’s own record of inaction regarding Immigration, the South Carolina Republican senator wants to remind "everybody who cares about immigration reform" that when Obama and Clinton had a chance to transform the system neither lifted a finger. Graham spoke about participating in various bipartisan "gangs" that worked on immigration reform, and had no recollection of Clinton being a part of any of the discussion "I don't remember seeing her at the table. She never came to any of the meetings I was at. She was a public voice in 2009. I never remember her saying, 'wait a minute, President Obama, you promised to do immigration reform, honor your promise.' She didn't say a word," Graham said. This is only the latest jab at Clinton, as a few days earlier the South Carolina senator spoke on “Fox & Friends” about the former Secretary of State's avoidance of the press. “I think it’s the lack of confidence in her ability to distinguish herself from Barack Obama,” he said as reported in Politico. Graham laments that the GOP is in "is in a hole with Hispanics,” and places the blame squarely on the shoulders of celebrity real estate magnate turned politician Donald Trump. "I don't need a lecture from Donald Trump or anybody else about border security," Graham said. "Here's the mistake. You're right to point out a broken immigration system, but you're wrong to say the following: That of the 11-plus million illegal immigrants, most of them are rapists and drug dealers. Most of them are good, hardworking people, cleaning our toilets, picking the crops that we all enjoy, changing the beds and working three or four jobs in the shadows to try to keep their family afloat.” *SANTORUM* *Santorum: I’ll Use Immigration To Go For Workers’ Votes <http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/07/11/santorum-ill-use-immigration-to-go-for-workers-votes/> // Breitbart // Ian Hanchett – July 11, 2015 * Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum said immigration is a “good example” of an issue that could be used to get workers’ votes and touted his record on the subject on Friday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel. Santorum argued, (relevant remarks begin around 9:45), “if you look at the issues that I’ve been talking about. I announced from a, you saw it, I announced from a factory floor in western Pennsylvania. We’re going to go right after those workers.” He continued that he “absolutely” wants to go after the votes of union workers, and “you go after all workers who feel like neither party cares about them. Immigration’s a good example of that. I know Donald Trump is getting a lot of attention on the immigration issue. But if you look at the organizations that are the pro-worker immigration groups like NumbersUSA and FAIR, you know who has the only A rating [from NumbersUSA] of any of the candidates including Donald Trump? … Rick Santorum. In fact, there’s only one other candidate, and that’s Scott Walker, who’s got a B-, but nobody else has a better than a C grade [note: Trump does have a C+, every other candidate has a C or lower]. So, I think we’re — while people may have nice rhetoric, we’re the ones that have the right policies that are going to connect with American voters.” *CARSON* *Clinton Foundation donor-owned Politico publishes hit piece on Dr. Ben Carson <http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/11/clinton-foundation-donor-owned-politico-publishes-hit-piece-on-dr-ben-carson/> // Breitbart // Michael Patrick Leahy – July 11, 2015 * On Tuesday, Politico ran an article with this blaring headline: “Ben Carson’s Godly Riches: He reaped $2 million in fees from Christian groups in 2014 alone. Now he wants their votes.” The headline, which implies some sort of hypocrisy on Dr. Carson’s part, is belied by the actual content of the article. “Clearly if you were to read in great detail Politico’s article, they are clearly only admonishing Dr. Carson in their headline and not the true substance of their story,” Armstrong Williams, Dr. Carson’s business manager, tells Breitbart News in an exclusive interview. “The reason being they truly had nothing to report,” Williams notes. Politico, which is owned by Clinton Foundation donor Robert Allbritton, failed to point out in the article that during that same time period Hillary Clinton charged speaking fees ranging from $200,000 to $325,000, and Bill Clinton charged $250,000 for his average speaking fee. In 2010, Bill Clinton was paid a $500,000 speaking fee by a Russian company. Even former first daughter Chelsea Clinton charged speaking fees of $65,000, well in excess of Dr. Carson’s fees. In 2014, Dr. Carson’s speaking fees ranged from $12,320 to $48,500. During roughly the same period of time that Dr. Ben Carson earned $2 million in speaking fees, Bill and Hillary Clinton together earned $25 million in speaking fees. The actual facts of Dr. Carson’s 2014 speaking engagements reported by Politico do not match the article’s somewhat sensationalist headline. One fundraiser at which Carson spoke “brought in a net profit of $150,000,” after Carson’s fee was paid, the article reports. At another fundraiser, the host organization was very pleased with the outcome of Carson’s speaking engagement. “He did a really good job for us in bringing in people who may not have known about HopeWorks,” the group’s executive director Ron Wade told Politico. “They couldn’t find anything negative or controversial about Dr. Carson’s speaking engagements,” Carson’s business manager Williams says. When asked about Politico’s failure to report the vastly higher speaking fees charged by Hillary, Bill, and even Chelsea Clinton, Williams is quick to point out Politico’s bias. “Without a doubt the good Dr. Carson is held to a different standard,” Williams says. “It’s nitpicking by Politico. There’s really nothing negative they can report.” The Politico bias, Williams argues, is as apparent from the people the authors chose not to interview as it is of those they chose to interview. “Politico could not find anyone who was not satisfied with Dr. Carson’s speaking engagement. Imagine the many individuals interviewed for the article that were not included, because they had high praise for the good doctor.” Williams’ comments support the perception that Politico is often a “mouthpiece” for establishment Republicans as well as the Democrat elites. “A lot of these sources Politico used are coming from within the establishment,” he says. Carson’s strong showing in the polls has had an impact on his rivals for the Republican Presidential nomination, Williams argues. “Republican establishment candidates are very threatened by Dr. Carson,” he tells Breitbart News. “The establishment media consistently are searching for phony reasons to negate his immense popularity,” he adds. From a strategic perspective, Carson offers something establishment Republicans can’t provide—appeal to disaffected conservative voters. “Dr. Carson is popular among many conservative Christians and Millennials who did not vote in the last presidential election,” Armstrong says. Currently, “outsiders” like Dr. Carson, Donald Trump , Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)96% , and Carly Fiorina appear to be gaining traction, while more establishment- oriented candidates appear to be languishing. “That article is trying to negate the progress and phenomenal gains Dr. Carson is making as an outsider,” Williams says. The popularity of “outsider” candidates in the Republican Presidential primary field is likely to continue its upward movement in spite of Politico’s transparent and unsuccessful attempts to discredit them. *Carson: Illegal immigrants should become guest workers if they register, pay taxes and back taxes <http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/07/11/carson-illegal-immigrants-should-become-guest-workers-if-they-register-pay-taxes-and-back-taxes/> // Breitbart – Ian Hanchett – July 11, 2015 * Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said there was no “rational reason” for sanctuary cities while saying border security doesn’t necessarily mean “you have to build fences and walls” and advocating for allowing illegal immigrants in the US to become guest workers if they register, pay back taxes, and pay taxes going forward on Friday’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on the Fox News Channel. Carson began by saying, “a number of us are extremely concerned about this whole sanctuary city mess, but even more importantly, the illegal immigration problem that we have. I’ve spoken very strongly about that, and we need to go ahead and solve the problem. We have the ability to do it. We don’t have the will to do it.” He continued, “What I would do is I would secure the borders, north, south, east, and west. That does not necessarily mean you have to build fences and walls. We can take advantage of electronic surveillance, drones, and a variety of technological features. And then, part two is we have to turn off the spigot that dispenses the goodies. If there’s no goodies, there’s no reason for people to try to breach our security wall, that takes care of the people coming in, but then you have the 11 plus million who are here already. What I would do is allow them to become guest workers. If they register, and they get involved in a back tax program and taxes going forward. That does not make them citizens. This does not give them the right to vote. If they want to do that, they can get in the back of the line and go through the process just like everybody else.” When asked if he would outlaw sanctuary cities, Carson answered, “I certainly don’t think that there’s any rational reason for sanctuary cities. I’m glad there’s focus on them now, because I would like the people who advocate for them to come out and tell us exactly why we need them, and I can tell them 100 reasons why we don’t.” Carson then addressed the racism charges against advocacy against sanctuary cities and the rhetoric of Donald Trump, saying, “It’s a very easy political football, the racism trick. Basically, anything that involves people of two different races, now is because of racism, and it’s just the way to drive wedges, like we’re driving wedges in between gender, we’re driving wedges from income, we’re driving religious wedges, driving intergenerational wedges. Why are we falling for this? You know, we the American people are not each other’s enemies. It’s the people who are driving all the wedges where are the enemies, divide and conquer is their strategy. We have to be smarter than that.” And “I like people who are willing to say what they believe. It’s perhaps gotten me in some trouble over the last several months, but I’m still going to say what I believe. I’ve learned how to tone it down a little bit so people can actually hear what I’m saying and not just focus on the words, but that’s a skill that people learn with the course of time. But there’s no question that we in the process in this country have given away all of our values and principles for the sake of political correctness, and as a result of that we’re in a tailspin.” He continued, “I think the Republicans actually need to engage in this conversation. A few weeks ago, went to the National Association for Latino Elected Officials, got a conference in Las Vegas, spoke to them, told them that I wasn’t changing my speech because I’m in front of a different audience, and presented lots of different programs. I said I know you guys aren’t just interested in immigration, and they were very receptive, and I got another lot of very warm comments. I think we have to go into all the different communities and we have to talk, we have to present logical reasons for people to not buy into the propaganda that is utilized to simply keep them in a state of dependency and control and and culling their votes. We don’t want to that, people are smarter than that. *Ben Carson on Donald Trump as a Running Mate: Anything Is Possible <http://www.mediaite.com/tv/ben-carson-on-donald-trump-as-a-running-mate-anything-is-possible/> // Mediaite // Ken Meyer – July 11, 2015 * Whenever he is not defending his explosive comments on illegal immigrants, Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign has been determined to express how his wealth and successful business career distinguish him from his competitors, who he has described as professional politicians. Dr. Ben Carson has also had his share of controversial comments, but has sided with Trump on certain issues in the past, while also making the case about how being a political outsider allows him to speak and approach issues differently. Fox’s Neil Cavuto had Carson for an interview on Friday, where he asked Carson that, should he receive the Republican nomination, would he ever consider combining forces for the ultimate GOP combination of Carson/Trump 2016. “I have had a chance to associate with [Trump] now that I have moved down to Florida,” Carson said. “He’s a very smart guy, and he is a fun guy. So, I will leave it at that.” Cavuto pressed on, asking Carson, “so you might,” to which Carson’s final word was: “All things are possible. Absolutely.” Earlier in the interview, Carson said Trump should not back down from his controversial statements, instead reiterating his position that political discussion is stifled by PC culture. “There’s no question that we are in the process in this country of giving away all of our values and principles for the sake of political correctness,” Carson said. When asked about whether Trump’s media attention was a distraction to the other candidates, he said, “we need to discuss these things openly. I like people who are willing to say what they believe.” *JINDAL* *Producers Plan Rock Opera Based on Exorcism Bobby Jindal Witnessed in College <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-11/producers-plan-rock-opera-based-on-exorcism-bobby-jindal-witnessed-in-college> // Bloomberg News // Ben Brody – July 11, 2015 * It's enough to make your head spin. Two producers plan to make a rock opera based on the exorcism performed on a friend of Bobby Jindal's that the Republican presidential candidate watched in college, according to New Orleans' Times–Picayune. Producer Chris Chiari, a Colorado marijuana activist who twice ran to become a state representative in Florida, told the Times–Picayune that the piece doesn't aim to portray conservative Louisiana governor in a negative light. Rather, it will focus on the relationship between Jindal and the friend who underwent the ritual, a woman named Susan. Jindal later wrote they were "emotionally interdependent without a deeper commitment." “It's a love story more than anything.” "It's a love story more than anything," Chiari said, according to the newspaper. "It's more about a story about a young man's inability to love." Chiari said in the story that the exorcism doesn't come until the "final act" of the hour-long opera. He also said the production has enough private funding to get "into the game," although a Kickstarter campaign he and the other producer started hasn't been very successful. Co-producer Brian Welsh was the prospective campaign manager for Stormy Daniels, the porn star who mulled a bid unseat Louisiana Senator David Vitter in 2010, the Times-Picayune reported. *Jindal calls for end to direct ag subsidies, RFS <http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/07/11/bobby-jindal-rfs-direct-subsidies/30036197/> // The Des Moines Register // Linh Ta – July 11, 2015 * Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley agreed on a need for federal agriculture subsidy reforms, including moving away from direct annual subsidies to farmers, during a fundraiser for Grassley in Marion on Saturday afternoon. During a one-on-one interview with the Register before the private fundraiser, Jindal said he wants to continue the reforms happening now, and move subsidies toward an insurance model that helps farmers in dire situations. "We need to support a strong, farm-based, agriculture-based economy, but we also need to move away from the old system where it was constant annual subsidies," Jindal said. Iowa ranked second in the nation in ag subsidies, collecting $24.9 billion between 1995 and 2012, according to a study released in 2013 by the Environmental Working Group. According to the group, 10 percent of farms in Iowa collected 59 percent of all subsidies, or about $12.3 billion, during the period. Jindal said he wants to move toward a cyclical program that is fair to taxpayers, but also helps farmers. The 2014 farm bill moved away from direct payments to farmers, and instead focused on crop insurance coverage. "We don't go to the federal government every time there's a tornado or there's a storm, but if you do have an overwhelming disaster like a Katrina, it is appropriate to go to the federal government," Jindal said. Earlier in the day, at the Cedar Rapids Art Museum, Jindal saw one of his highest turnouts this caucus season, with about 230 people attending a town hall forum put on by the Believe Again super PAC. Jindal discussed the renewable fuel standard, which he supported in 2005 when he was in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, Jindal said, it's time to phase it out. "Everybody should be treated the same," Jindal said. "We need clean coal, we need nuclear, we need solar, we need ethanol, we need all of it." Jindal said it's time to treat all energy industries equally. However, he said it's important to make changes gradually to reduce the impact on people who have been receiving government assistance. "At the time, I thought it was a good thing to help the industry get on its feet to compete," Jindal said. "But I also think it's time now to try and phase it out. The reason I say that is I don't like the government picking winners and losers." Mike Anderson, 58, of Cedar Rapids attended the town hall after seeing Jindal's commercial about "hyphenated Americans," saying he agreed that U.S. citizens should stop being separated by race and income. "I thought it was great," Anderson said. "I hope he can keep that clear message." Laura Kamienski, 35, of Cedar Rapids said that she has followed Jindal's political career in Louisiana, and that she has been a fan of his opinions. Kamienski said she is considering voting for Jindal, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry or Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the Iowa caucuses. "I want someone that I agree with their policy position, and I believe they're going to get it done," Kamienski said. *TRUMP* *Donald Trump Defiantly Rallies a New ‘Silent Majority’ in a Visit to Arizona <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/us/politics/donald-trump-defiantly-rallies-a-new-silent-majority-in-a-visit-to-arizona.html> // NYT // Nick Fandos – July 11, 2015 * Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and reality television star who has taken center stage in the race for the Republican presidential nomination this week, delivered a rambling monologue on Saturday, dismissing a long list of critics — including Jeb Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Macy’s — while rallying what he termed a new silent majority of voters. Mr. Trump had less to say about immigration, the topic on which his comments have garnered so much attention, than about those who have criticized him. For more than an hour, he ticked through a list of businesses and candidates who have tried to censure him since his long-shot campaign began three weeks ago, and made light of their practices and intelligence. “How can I be tied with this guy?” Trump said of Mr. Bush, whom many consider the Republican front-runner. “He’s terrible. He’s weak on immigration.” It also demonstrated what his party fears most about him: that he is an orator without regard for decorum who is willing to mock other Republicans. The speech, hosted by the Republican Party of Maricopa County, drew several thousand people to the Phoenix Convention Center, making it one of the largest events for any candidate so far, though short of the crowd of 10,000 predicted by the Trump campaign. Outside, in the 100-degree desert heat, supporters who could not make it into the room waved American flags and sparred with a smaller but vocal group of protesters. “The silent majority is back, and we’re going to take our country back,” Mr. Trump declared as he left the stage. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, whose tactics in tracking down illegal immigrants drew national attention and a federal conviction for racial profiling in 2013, preceded Mr. Trump on stage at the businessman’s invitation. As he had earlier in the day in Las Vegas, Mr. Trump also brought to the stage Jamiel Shaw Sr., the father of a teenager killed in 2008 by an undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles, to share the story of his son’s death and to endorse Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump’s trip to the immigrant-heavy border region was the first since he asserted in his campaign announcement on June 16 that those crossing the United States-Mexico border illegally included rapists and criminals. Those remarks have earned Mr. Trump sharp criticism from business and political leaders across the country, including companies such as Macy’s, Univision and NBC that have cut ties with him in recent weeks. He came to Phoenix after addressing a series of private and public audiences Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. “This has become a movement because people don’t know what’s happening,” Mr. Trump said. “We can’t be great if we don’t have a border.” His welcome here was not entirely warm. Phoenix’s vice mayor and several pro-immigrant groups had called for the city to bar him from speaking at the convention center, which it owns. Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, rejected those calls, saying he would respect Mr. Trump’s right to free speech. But just as Mr. Trump’s presence in the nominating race has confounded national Republican leaders trying to expand the party’s appeal to minority groups, his visit here posed a dilemma for state officials trying to distance themselves from the anti-immigrant policies of the recent past. Arizona’s senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, both Republicans, decided not to attend the event, as did the Republican governor, Doug Ducey. Mr. Flake also called on the Maricopa County Republican Party to rescind its invitation to Mr. Trump, a request that was ignored. On Saturday, Mr. Flake said Mr. Trump’s remarks, which he called “intolerant” and “inaccurate,” would hurt Republicans here and around the country as they attempt to appeal to a broader demographic of voters. “Particularly in Arizona, we have had such a long stretch of this kind of rhetoric and this kind of talk,” Mr. Flake said in a telephone interview before Mr. Trump’s speech. “We seem to be moving beyond that here, and this kind of rhetoric just pulls us back.” For many here, the event revived an image of the state, embodied by Sheriff Arpaio, as unwelcoming and harsh in its enforcement of illegal immigration laws — a perception that Mr. Ducey has worked hard to dispel. He barely discussed immigration during his campaign last year, and since taking office in January, he has worked to make his mark as a business-centric leader, focused on taxes and improving Arizona’s beleaguered public education system. Saturday’s crowd, though, suggested that the topic remains a galvanizing force among the Republican Party’s conservative base here. Many who had lined up outside the convention center said Mr. Trump was the only candidate willing to speak up about what they see as the risks of illegal immigration and the failures of federal law enforcement to solve the problem. “I’m very interested in Mr. Trump,” said Rod Patrick, a 72-year-old retired rancher and small business owner. “It’s not necessarily because he’s a good guy, but I’m fed up with politicians.” Steve Donaldson, 31, agreed, saying that Mr. Trump’s experience in international business, rather than elective politics, made him the best-prepared candidate for the presidency. Mr. Donaldson said Mr. Trump could have been more artful in crafting his points about illegal immigration, in particular, but thought that the abrasive approach was actually helping him in the polls. “I think his delivery on some of his points could use a little finesse,” he said, “but that’s also what I like most about him.” *Trump tells supporters, ‘We have to take back the heart of our country’ <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-tells-supporters-we-need-to-take-back-the-heart-of-our-country/2015/07/11/066aecf2-27dd-11e5-b77f-eb13a215f593_story.html> // WaPo // Philip Rucker & Robert Costa - July 11, 2015 * Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose caustic comments about Mexicans have inflamed the immigration debate, told thousands of cheering supporters here Saturday that “we have to take back the heart of our country.” In a rambling, defiant speech delivered in this border state that has been the epicenter of the nation’s divisive battle over immigration reform, Trump declared: “These are people that shouldn’t be in our country. They flow in like water.” One man in the crowd of 4,200 shouted back, “Build a wall!” Basking in polls that show he has risen to the top of the crowded Republican field, Trump took obvious glee in mocking former Florida governor Jeb Bush, the establishment favorite who is setting fundraising records. “Jeb Bush, let’s say he’s president — Oy, yoy, yoy,” Trump said. He asked the crowd: “How can I be tied with this guy? He’s terrible. Terrible. He’s weak on immigration.” Trump’s 70-minute address here, which sounded more like a stream-of-consciousness rant than a presidential-style stump speech, put an exclamation point on his bombastic push since his presidential announcement last month to return immigration to the forefront of the national conversation. Trump criticizes U.S. border policy, trade agenda(1:22) Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump criticized U.S. immigration and trade policies on Saturday in a speech that veered from accusing Mexico of deliberately sending criminals to the U.S. to professing respect for the Mexican government. (AP) Bush and illegal immigrants were not the only targets of Trump’s scorn: He also criticized Macy’s, NBC, NASCAR, U.S. ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and, several times, the media. Republican leaders say they believe the celebrity billionaire has virtually no chance of being their nominee, much less of making it to the White House. And, for now at least, his following seems limited to the far right as opposed to the party’s mainstream. Yet Trump has reignited a heated debate over an issue, immigration, that the GOP had been determined to settle after it hurt Republicans in the most recent presidential election. Party leaders increasingly fear that Trump could do damage to more viable candidates, such as Bush, who could lose their own footing on immigration. These candidates confront a familiar challenge: During the primary season, they must deal with the anger and anxiety that many on the right feel about illegal immigration. But they must do it in a way that will not damage their appeal to a broader electorate in November 2016. Republicans are handling Trump delicately for another reason as well: They fear that he could leave the GOP entirely and wage a well-funded third-party campaign, a possibility that Trump has not ruled out. After Trump repeatedly referred to illegal immigrants in the harshest of terms — calling them, among other things, killers and rapists — Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called Trump and asked him to tone things down. But that, if anything, has reinvigorated Trump and his vocal supporters. The crowd in Phoenix began lining up outside the convention center before dawn, with many spending hours in temperatures that exceeded 100 degrees. Hundreds of people, who stood in lines snaking down several downtown blocks, did not make it into the ballroom for his speech. Many of Trump’s supporters blame illegal immigrants for crime and economic problems but also express dismay over cultural changes. “We don’t recognize our country anymore,” said Jan Drake, 72, who lives in a retirement community outside Phoenix. “If you’re coming into our country, you have got to conform to what we stand for. You speak English. You don’t try to change our country to what your country was.” After watching Trump on television the past couple of weeks, Drake said that she has become convinced that “he would be a very strong president. He doesn’t kowtow to anybody. The Republican Party will try to squeeze him out because they’re afraid of him. But he can tell them where to go — to pound sand.” After he walked onto a catwalk stage here like a rock star, Trump basked in his crowd. “The word is getting out that we have to stop illegal immigration,” he said. While Trump was railing against Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, a handful of protesters in the crowd interrupted. Trump’s security guards arrived to break up the skirmish that followed. His supporters screamed “USA! USA! USA!” in the protesters’ faces as the guards escorted them out of the convention hall. “I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here,” Trump said from the stage. He assured the crowd, “Don’t worry, we’ll take our country back.” Trump also had harsh words for Islamic State terrorists. If he becomes president, Trump said, “They will be in such trouble . ISIS, believe me, I would take them out so fast. You have to do it.” But it was his crusade against illegal immigrants that had Trump’s crowd most enthused. After expressing shock that his immigration message has resonated so strongly with the GOP base, Trump said, “The silent majority is back, and we’re going to take the country back.” He walked off the stage to Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Earlier, as his plush Boeing 757 headed from an appearance in Las Vegas to Phoenix, Trump sat in a leather chair, surrounded by binders of articles about him and sipping a Coca-Cola — the full-calorie kind, he noted, because, “Have you ever seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke?” “Something is happening in America. You may not want to see it, but something big is happening. People are sick and tired of politicians, and I’m here for them,” he said in an interview. “I’m ready to go right at the Mexican government. I’m going to charge them $25,000 per illegal immigrant and, oh, I’ll make them pay.” “Would Bush do that? Would Rubio? I don’t think so,” Trump added, taking aim at two of his more mainstream rivals, Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans, including most Republicans, support an overhaul of the law to give millions of undocumented immigrants a means of staying in this country legally. But a passionate fraction of the Republican electorate believe otherwise. Lou Brudnock, 71, said he is attracted to Trump’s brash “truthfulness” on immigration and his willingness to be politically incorrect. “This country today is sad, sad, sad,” Brudnock said. “You can’t say anything or they call you ‘a racist.’ It’s like we’re back in Nazi Germany. But look around, man. It’s people here reading and listening to his message.” Trump, by virtue of his celebrity, has provoked a backlash far more widespread than ever seen toward lesser-known immigration hard-liners, such as former Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo (R). That means he could leave lasting damage to the GOP and whoever turns out to be its 2016 standard-bearer. All of those cross-pressures were in play Saturday at Trump’s appearances here and in Las Vegas. More mainstream Republicans had anticipated the spectacle and made no secret of their concern. “I had hoped that we had moved on from some of the coarse rhetoric,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). “When there’s so many candidates, you can appeal to a very small segment of the population and get news and get elevated.” Flake is a leading proponent of a comprehensive immigration measure that would include a path to citizenship for those who are in the country illegally. Arizona has been a hotbed of anti-immigration sentiment, having passed a 2010 law that requires law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of people they detain and suspect are in the country illegally. Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio — who in some ways is the face of that law, having been the subject of racial-profiling lawsuits — helped warm up the crowd before Trump’s arrival. “I know that Donald Trump is speaking out,” Arpaio said. “He’s getting a lot of heat. But, you know, there’s a silent majority out here.” “We’re not silent anymore!” a man in the crowd shouted. Arpaio brought up the mostly dormant questioning of President Obama’s birth certificate. He and Trump are perhaps the most vocal of the “birthers,” who falsely contend that Obama was not born in the United States. Immigration also has gained new attention after the June 30 shooting death of a woman along San Francisco’s heavily touristed waterfront, allegedly by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times from the United States. Trump — along with much of the rest of the Republican field — has criticized the policies of “sanctuary cities,” where officials cannot detain those they suspect of being in the country illegally unless they have other grounds to do so. Republican strategists say that it is possible to address anxiety over illegal immigration within the GOP base without alienating the electorate at large. Advisers to Bush and Rubio, for instance, say that their candidates can play a long game on the issue, continuing to make a case for comprehensive changes to the law, while waiting for the Trump boomlet to subside. “You can give a fuller picture of those types of people who are coming to America who are not documented, who are not legal,” said Peter Wehner, who was a top official in George W. Bush’s White House. “And you can speak about them in a humane and decent and true way.” *Donald Trump won’t stop talking about immigration. Next up: Rallying 9,000 in Phoenix. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/11/donald-trump-wont-stop-talking-about-immigration-next-stop-phoenix/?lkjf> // WaPo // Philip Rucker & Robert Costa – July 11, 2015 * Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose caustic comments about Mexican migrants have inflamed the debate over illegal immigration, is taking his tough-talk road show to this border state that has been the epicenter of the divisive national battle over reform. Ignoring a plea from the Republican Party chairman to tone down his rhetoric, Trump plans to rally more than 9,000 supporters here in Phoenix on Saturday afternoon. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who built a national profile with his aggressive efforts to hunt down and deport undocumented immigrants in the Phoenix area, will join him on stage. In remarks at the downtown Phoenix Convention Center, Trump plans to renew his vow to build an impenetrable wall across the U.S.-Mexico border and to attack by name several Republican presidential candidates as weak on immigration, according to people with knowledge of Trump's plans. The Trump event, hosted by the Maricopa County Republican Party, has invited a barrage of criticism -- from the city's Democratic leaders, local business executives and more mainstream Republican office holders, such as Arizona's two senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, who believe his language about an issue as sensitive as immigration is far too explosive. But Trump expects to find a large and receptive audience, at least here in Arizona. The event, initially scheduled for the Arizona Biltmore, a historic luxury resort, was moved this week to the convention center to accommodate the thousands of people who were requesting tickets. By Saturday morning, more than 9,000 people had been given tickets to the event, according to Trump's campaign. In his speech, Trump plans to single out several campaign opponents by name. People familiar with Trump's prepared remarks said he intends to go after former Florida governor Jeb Bush for having said many immigrants come to the United States out of an "act of love"; to cast Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) as a typical politician for once trying to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, a priority of President Obama's; and to accuse former Texas governor Rick Perry of being weak and unable to secure his state's border with Mexico. Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul and reality television star, wants to make the case that other candidates are beholden to big donors and corporate lobbyists who are advocating changes to immigration law, but that he won't be influenced by anyone because he's funding his own campaign. Sam Nunberg, a Trump adviser, said Trump's goal is to be a conduit for Republicans who feel like outsiders within their own party, especially on immigration. "His persona is a mix of Ross Perot and Ronald Reagan," Nunberg said in an interview Friday. "A successful businessman disliked by the elites, a natural communicator, and someone who speaks for and is part of the conservative base." Trump is expected to be greeted in Phoenix by protesters, just as he was at another campaign event Friday in Los Angeles, where he met with the families of crime victims who were killed by people who had come to the United States illegally. "The illegals come in and the illegals killed their children," Trump said. "And we better get smart in the United States." Before touching down in Phoenix, Trump will be in Las Vegas, where he will address Freedom Fest, a gathering of libertarian-minded activists. He also plans to hold a news conference in Las Vegas. *Donald Trump Antes Up On Immigration Stance In Las Vegas <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/11/donald-trump-immigration_n_7777058.html?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016> // AP – July 11, 2015 * Business developer and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump says his comments about immigration have become a movement and has pointed to violence perpetrated by immigrants in the U.S. illegally to defend his stance. Trump is speaking on Saturday to a couple of thousand people gathered for the annual Libertarian-led FreedomFest inside a Planet Hollywood ballroom on the Las Vegas Strip. Trump brought on stage Jamiel Shaw Sr., a Southern California man whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2008 by a man in the country illegally. Shaw told the crowd about his son's death, adding he trusts Trump. One Arizona woman who says she's been a Libertarian for 43 years held a sign protesting that "Donald Trump is not a Libertarian." *Trump: Mexico's 'Killing Us' at Border and on Trade <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/donald-trumps-immigration-stance-dividing-gop-arizona-32377961> // AP // Bob Christie & Kim Piercell – July 11, 2015 * Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump criticized U.S. immigration and trade policies on Saturday in speeches that veered from accusing Mexico of deliberately sending criminals across the border to professing respect for the Mexican government and love for its people. Speaking to a gathering of Libertarians in Las Vegas before headlining an event in Phoenix, Trump repeated his charge that Mexico was sending violent offenders to the U.S. to harm Americans and that U.S. officials were being "dumb" in dealing with immigrants in the country illegally. "These people wreak havoc on our population," he told a few thousand people attending the Libertarian gathering FreedomFest inside a Planet Hollywood ballroom on the Las Vegas Strip. In the 4,200-capacity Phoenix convention center packed with flag-waving supporters, Trump took a different view — for a moment — and said: "I love the Mexican people. I love 'em. Many, many people from Mexico are legal. They came in the old-fashioned way. Legally." He quickly returned to the sharp tone that has brought him scorn as well as praise. "I respect Mexico greatly as a country. But the problem we have is their leaders are much sharper than ours, and they're killing us at the border and they're killing us on trade." His speeches in both venues were long on insults aimed at critics and short on solutions to the problems he cited. When he called for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the audience in Las Vegas groaned. In a break from the immigration rhetoric that has garnered him condemnation and praise, Trump asserted that he would have more positive results in dealing with China and Russia if he were president and said he could be pals with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Asked by an audience member in Las Vegas about U.S.-Russia relations, Trump said the problem is that Putin doesn't respect Obama. "I think we would get along very, very well," he said. Trump has turned to victims of crime to bolster his argument that immigrants in the U.S. illegally have killed and raped. In Las Vegas and Phoenix, he brought on stage Jamiel Shaw Sr., a Southern California man whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2008 by a man in the country illegally. Shaw vividly described how his son was shot — in the head, stomach and hands while trying to block his face — and how he heard the gunshots as he talked to his son on the phone. Shaw said he trusted Trump, and encouraged the crowds in both cities to do the same. Trump's speeches were filled with tangents and insults leveled at business partners such as Univision and NBC that have dropped him in the wake of his comments that Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime to the U.S. and are rapists. He also directed familiar barbs at other presidential contenders, including Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton ("the worst secretary of state in the history of the country"), news media figures ("lyin' Brian Williams") and President Barack Obama ("such a divisive person"). He called journalists "terrible people." As Trump lambasted Univision for cancelling its broadcast of the Miss USA pageant, one of his many business enterprises, a group of young Latinos unfurled a banner pointed toward the stage and began chanting insults. They were quickly drowned out by the crowd, and nearby Trump supporters began to grab at them, tearing at the banner and pulling and pushing at the protesters. Security staff managed to get to the group and escorted them out as Trump resumed speaking. "I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here," he said. "I think so." Arizona's tough-on-immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio introduced Trump in Phoenix after outlining the things he and the candidate have in common, including skepticism that Obama was born in the United States. He went on to criticize the federal government for what he called a revolving door for immigrants, saying many of them end up in his jails. "He's been getting a lot of heat, but you know, there's a silent majority out here," Arpaio said, borrowing from a phrase Richard Nixon popularized during his presidency in a speech about the Vietnam War. A single protester standing outside the room where Trump spoke in Las Vegas was more concerned about the businessman being tied to the Libertarian Party. "I've been a Libertarian for 43 years and Trump ain't no Libertarian," said Linda Rawles, who asserted that including Trump in FreedomFest set back the party's movement. *Donald Trump storms Phoenix <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/donald-trump-storms-phoenix-119989.html> // Politico // Ben Schreckinger – July 11, 2015* Most other candidates would have folded. Some might have doubled down. On Saturday, Donald Trump tripled down. After refusing to back off during weeks of fierce backlash for his comments about the alleged criminality of undocumented Mexican immigrants, Trump met on Friday in Beverly Hills with the families of people killed by such immigrants. A day later, he came to Arizona and said, “We have to stop illegal immigration. We have to. We have to,” to the cheers of 4,000 supporters. On Monday, RNC Chairman Reince Preibus called Trump to congratulate him on his success and reportedly ask him to “tone it down.” But Donald Trump only tones it in one direction: up. “I love the Mexican people … I respect Mexico … but the problem we have is that their leaders are much sharper, smarter and more cunning than our leaders, and they’re killing us at the border,” said Trump, in front of a giant American flag at the Saturday afternoon rally at the Phoenix convention center. He added, “They’re taking our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking our money. They’re killing us.” At one point, Trump brought a man named Jamiel Shaw up to the podium to talk about his late son, explaining, “an illegal immigrant shot him violently.” Republican presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during the Atlantic Council’s series “America’s Role in the Worldâ€? at the Atlantic Council's offices in Washington, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) He compared himself favorably to other moguls like Martha Stewart and Richard Branson, mocked the brands that cut ties with him, and called out “lyin’ Brian Williams” and much of the rest of the news media. He assured his supporters, “I’m, like, a really smart person.” And he vowed to be politically effective. “I know the system better than anybody. I’m a donor,” he said. “Of course I give to Democrats, I want to get things done … They all loved me. They don’t love me so much anymore.” Trump concluded by declaring, “The silent majority is back, and we’re going to take the majority back, and we are going to make America great again.” Ahead of the event, John McCain called Trump’s immigration comments “offensive.” Arizona’s other Republican senator, Jeff Flake, called his views “coarse, ill-informed and inaccurate.” News outlets and fact-checkers pointed out that Trump’s assertion — that the undocumented immigrants coming from Mexico are that country’s criminal element — appears to be flat wrong. But while the press and the party condemn Trump’s rhetoric, many voters are eating it up. When Trump mentioned McCain, the crowd booed. People who showed up for the event said that, like them, Trump is a straight-talker. They ascribed their enthusiasm, in some cases devotion, to their conviction that Trump alone has the courage to say what other politicians believe (and at least when Trump looked out at the scene and declared,“This is absolutely unbelievable,” they were probably right). Hazel Powell, 68, said she is happy for the first time in seven years because of Trump’s candidacy. After President Obama’s election, she went into self-exile in Bulgaria, where she taught English for two years in the Peace Corps. “I was depressed every day,” said Powell, wearing a cowboy hat, American flag nail polish, American flag cowboy boots, and a shirt that said, “Arrest Obama.” “He just seems to have things clear in his head,” said Powell of Trump. “I just hope he keeps it up because I’m happy now. He’s done a number on me and many other people, emotionally.” “He says what he means like I do. He’s not wishy-washy,” said Joan Rosicki, 67, of Phoenix. “He’s for the people. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female. He also is for the Spanish people. I am, too. We just don’t like the lawlessness.” She said she had been a fan of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie until he took a helicopter ride with, and hugged, President Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Of the president, she said, “he wants to be a dictator. I don’t know if he’s ever going to leave. My friends all told me he has to because of the First Amendment.” A spokeswoman for Trump said 10,000 people had signed up for free tickets (those tickets were spotted being sold on Craigslist for $100). The ballroom’s maximum occupancy was 2,158. A convention center event staffer said the fire marshall had agreed to allow twice that number inside and estimated that at least 1,000 more people would be left out in the sun. When the door opened to let supporters into the ballroom, the first wave ran in, creating a miniature stampede. Diane Brest, the first person in line an hour before Trump’s scheduled 2 p.m. arrival, said she had been waiting there since 4:45 a.m. “You want to make sure you get in the door,” said the transplant from New York, clutching a red Solo cup. As she spoke, security broke up a scuffle that had broken out between two men behind her over their places in line. In a YouGov/Economist online poll released on Thursday, Trump led the Republican field with 15 percent support, four points ahead of both Jeb Bush and Rand Paul. His lead was even greater when the poll tabulated respondents’ first- and second-choice candidates. Trump chose his Saturday venue well. In Arizona, home to some of the most fervent opposition to illegal immigration in the country, even some political leaders had his back. “Trump is kind of telling it like it really, truly is,” said the state’s former governor, Jan Brewer, who supported some of the country’s strictest and most controversial anti-immigration efforts in office, ahead of his visit. Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, spoke before Trump arrived. Arpaio has earned national notoriety for his aggressive approach to targeting undocumented immigrants. In 2013 a federal court found him guilty of racial profiling — the Justice Department concluded in 2011 that he oversaw the worst pattern of racial profiling by a law enforcement agency in the nation’s history — and he’s been accused of abuse of power and violating election laws. Arpaio drew loud cheers, saying that both he and Trump had questioned Obama’s citizenship and taken on “the illegal immigration problem,” and that they shared a birthday — June 14. Trump drew scores of protesters as well. Dozens of them erupted in shouts of “stop the racism” inside the ballroom during his speech, before being booed and shouted down with chants of “U.S.A! U.S.A!” and escorted out by security. “He’s not fit to be president. To me, he’s just a big clown” said Tom Malejo, 67, outside the event, clutching a sign with Trump’s face that said “Arizona rejects your racism.” A gray-haired white man in line for Trump cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted at Malejo and a companion, “Vamos por Mexico.” Around the corner, another protester, dressed as the devil, yelled, “I’m the devil! I support Donald Trump!” *Trump draws thousands in Phoenix, continues immigration theme <http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/11/politics/donald-trump-phoenix-rally/> // CNN // MJ Lee – July 11, 2015 * At what was his largest campaign event yet -- with a huge U.S. flag stretched from one side of the stage to the other -- Donald Trump addressed his faithful followers Saturday at the Phoenix Convention Center. Two dozen supporters stood behind the Republican presidential candidate holding signs reading, "Trump, Make America Great Again," while an estimated 5,000 supporters looked on. Expressing his amazement at the size of the crowd, Trump said, "This is unbelievable. This began as 500 people in a ballroom in Phoenix." The campaign was asked to move to a larger venue to accommodate the thousands of people who wanted tickets, according to Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks. The Trump campaign said 15,000 tickets were distributed for the event at the Phoenix Convention Center, where the North Ballroom has a capacity of only 4,200, according to the facility's website. The campaign said thousands were turned away because of fire regulations. The candidate was welcomed by several high-profile supporters, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose stands against illegal immigration and often controversial punishments have earned him a reputation as a hard-nosed, unyielding lawman. During his speech, Trump turned the lectern over to Jamiel Shaw Sr., the father of a high school student killed by an undocumented immigrant, who spoke about why he is supporting the candidate. Although campaign aides said earlier Saturday that Shaw was going to introduce the candidate, he ended up speaking midway through the speech. Shaw's son, a high school football star, was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 2008 by a gang member born in Mexico. On Friday, Trump met in Los Angeles with Shaw and other family members of victims of crimes perpetrated by undocumented immigrants. He then gave a lengthy press conference in which he consistently railed against illegal immigration. Saturday's speech was filled with similar words. Brief disturbance Playing to the crowd, Trump dug in on the controversial themes that have made him loved by some and despised by others. As he mentioned earlier in the day at a Las Vegas campaign rally, Trump claimed China is laughing at U.S. trade negotiations. "They have geniuses and we have people who don't have a clue. We have stupid leaders," he said. Trump, who announced his White House campaign bid last month, sparked national outrage by saying that some people crossing the border into the United States from Mexico were "rapists" and "criminals." A slew of corporations, including Macy's, NBC and ESPN, responded to his inflammatory remarks by severing business ties with the real estate magnate. "I love the Mexican people," he said. "I love their spirit. I respect Mexico as a country. Their leaders are much sharper and smarter than ours." But, Trump said, "They're killing us at the border and killing us in trade." Trump also promised to release financial documents next week that will show he is an even more successful businessman than has been reported. "I'm not saying that to brag," he said. A short protest broke out during the speech. Some protesters held up a banner and Trump supporters started screaming at them. It was unclear what the banner read. There was a brief scuffle and for a few minutes it was very tense. Security came and escorted the protesters out. "I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here," Trump said. "Don't worry, we'll take our country back," he said, as the crowd cheered. 'He can inspire a crowd' Robert Bowater said he came to see Trump in Phoenix because he thinks the issues of illegal immigration and sanctuary cities deserve more attention. Bowater, a 68-year-old resident of Pinal County, Arizona, said he doesn't expect any President to deport all undocumented immigrants, but he thinks more can be done to punish the ones who commit crimes in the United States. "I'd like to see a mass deportation of the criminals," Bowater said. Just as Bowater was saying he thought it was possible that Trump could win the presidency, Linda Murtha -- standing behind him -- couldn't help but shake her head. "He can't win," said Murtha, a Chandler resident in her early 40s, but "he definitely can inspire a crowd." She came to the event with her mother, Provi Murtha, who was interested in seeing "The Donald" in person. Like her daughter, Provi is skeptical of Trump's intentions. She noted that he's donated to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton. "Is he a Democrat? Is he a Republican? What is he?" Provi wondered aloud. Even though she came to see the event, "I'm not going to make up my mind to vote for Donald Trump, that's for sure." Both Provi and Linda Murtha said they like Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Freedom Fest warm-up In a warm-up to his appearance at the Phoenix campaign rally, Trump stopped by Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, an annual gathering of conservatives, where he addressed a crowd of several hundred people and took questions. But first he called Shaw to the stage. The room was hushed as Shaw talked about his son who was gunned down seven years ago by an undocumented immigrant. Shaw said the man who killed his son had been released from a county jail on his third gun charge, four months early. His son was walking home, and was close enough for Shaw to hear the gunshots. Shaw said he almost thinks of Trump "as a father figure" even though the two are similar in age. "He's the kind of man you would want to be your dad," Shaw said. "He's a nice guy. He put himself out there for black people. I know I can trust him," Shaw continued. He said when Trump spoke out about illegal immigration he saw that "Trump loves America" and is willing to risk his life for it. Trump doubles down – again Trump doubled down once more on comments that have ignited a controversy in the United States Illegal immigration is "a major, major problem in this country" that has to be solved, Trump said. Promising to secure U.S. borders with a impenetrable fence, Trump claimed undocumented immigrants are coming to the United States from all over the world. "This isn't just Mexico," he said. "They're coming from the Middle East, and we better be very careful," Trump warned. And the support that he is receiving from Shaw and others demonstrates that the businessman's message is appealing to some voters who view illegal immigration as a serious problem. On the subject of trade, Trump was blunt with his opinion of U.S. trade negotiators, "Chinese leaders are much smarter than (President Barack) Obama and his bunch of clowns," he said to laughter and applause from crowd. "I make good deals. I have great respect for China. Their leaders are too smart for our leaders," he said. Trump fervor increasing Trump's fervor appears to increase with each campaign rally as he ramps up his rhetoric against illegal immigration. Detractors are many, including some in his own party, but Trump is gaining supporters as well -- evidenced by the switch in venues for Saturday's event to the Phoenix Convention Center. Trump tweeted Saturday night that he would not be attending the Miss USA Pageant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sunday because he had campaign stops scheduled in Phoenix. Trump is a partial owner of the Miss Universe Organization, which oversees the pageant. A CNN/ORC poll released July 1 found Trump and Republican rival, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, on the rise nationally. The two are the only GOP presidential contenders to enjoy double-digit support among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. *Trump on Jeb Bush: "I don't see him as a factor" <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/election-2016-donald-trump-jeb-bush-i-dont-see-him-as-a-factor/> // CBS News // Reena Flores – July 11, 2015 * In the last few weeks Republican presidential candidate and real estate mogul Donald Trump has faced no shortage of GOP criticism over his vitriol against Mexican immigrants. And on Saturday, he proved that his political detractors wouldn't be left wanting for Trump's own brand of criticism. Several GOP contenders vying for the White House have denounced their fellow candidate for his remarks, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose wife Columba is Mexican, has said that there should be "no tolerance" for the views of the reality television star. Trump, whose most recent poll numbers show him in a close race with Bush, knocked the GOP establishment frontrunner, saying "I don't see [Bush] as a factor." "How can I be tied with Jeb Bush?" Trump said at a rally at the Phoenix, Arizona convention center. "He's terrible. He's weak on immigration. Sanctuary cities. Did you know that he had five of them in Florida when he was governor?" "We have incompetent politicians -- not only the president," Trump told the crowd, which, according to his campaign, numbered in the thousands. "I mean, right here in your own state you have John McCain. I just hate to see when people don't have common sense, don't have an understanding of what's going on. ... Some people don't get it and I don't think they'll be in office much longer." Trump made headlines recently when he categorized Mexican immigrants as criminals and "rapists" during his presidential announcement speech. It only fueled the Trump fire -- and the poll numbers -- when business after business severed their corporate relationships over his inflammatory remarks. The political backlash has been fierce. When the 2016 contender announced his event in Phoenix, it drew wide-ranging criticism, including from long-time GOP legislators like McCain and Jeff Flake, Arizona's other senator. Even Republican National Committee Chair Reince Preibus reportedly told Trump to tone down his rhetoric. Several immigration protesters interrupted Trump's speech just as he finished his criticisms over the television station Univision, which recently cut ties with him. Trump addressed the hecklers, saying "I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over. "Mexico is taking our jobs, manufacturing, taking everything and killing us on the border," Trump said. "Don't worry, we'll take our country back very soon." The crowd eventually drowned out the protesters with chants of "USA! USA!" One possible method Trump suggested to "take back our country" involved charging a fee to Mexico for every undocumented immigrant that entered the U.S. "Every time Mexico sends someone over, we charge Mexico $100,000 for someone they send over," Trump proposed. "They make so much money - it's peanuts. We charge Mexico $100,000. It starts to add up. We have to take care of our country. We have to do something to take back our country." Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Arizona's law enforcement official infamous for his tough-on-immigration policies, took the stage ahead of Trump. Arpaio signaled that he had one definitive thing in common with Trump: a birth certificate. It was a throwback to a 2012 election issue -- President Obama's birthplace -- that spelled the end of Trump's initial flirtations with a presidential candidacy. Trump also visited Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada early Saturday afternoon. Speaking to a more subdued crowd, he gave a similar speech, bashing the press, touting his vast fortune, and reiterating that he loved the Mexican people along with the Chinese, even if he "beat" them often. *Trump wins hearts of some, scorn from others in Ariz. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/11/trump-visits-phoenix-talks-immigration/30023189/> // USA Today // Yvonne Wingett Sanchez – July 11, 2015 * During a campaign stop Saturday in Phoenix, Donald Trump's larger-than-life personality and harsh rhetoric on immigration made him a hero to some local Republicans, while deepening the disdain of his critics, who said Trump's inflammatory remarks are further alienating Latinos from the GOP. Trump, a Republican presidential candidate who has faced mounting criticism for labeling immigrants as rapists and criminals, doubled-down on his illegal immigration message before a cheering crowd inside the Phoenix Convention Center. In a speech lasting more than an hour, Trump, a real-estate mogul and former reality-TV star, expressed love for Mexico, saying his remarks have been taken out of context by the media. Trump repeatedly said he respects Mexico's leaders, who are "too smart" for American leaders, whom he repeatedly called "stupid." And Trump later told the media that he expects to win the Latino vote. He offered no detailed plan to address illegal immigration, but pledged before 4,200 people to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. After a disruption by a group of Latinos in the audience, he told the crowd: "Don't worry, we'll take our country back." The crowd cheered wildly. Trump's message — and his delivery — moved voters like Scottsdale conservative Jim Ettwein. "He's an egotistical guy, but I love an egotistical guy in this case," said Ettwein, a management consultant. "He's making the campaign fun, interesting, issue-oriented. And I think he's speaking from his heart; he really believes this stuff." Trump's remarks on illegal immigration, Mexico and the border resonate with a segment of the Republican base, Ettwein said, "because no matter what you think about certain Mexicans, or other Mexicans coming over, there are many good Mexicans here but there's an awful big problems that we're not addressing." And Trump will address it, said voter Dolores McCaslin, 62, an independent. McCaslin, who waited hours for Trump to take the stage, said she was blown away by his "impassioned" speech on illegal immigration and the military. She said it solidified her belief that Trump would make a trustworthy president, one who can make great the nation's standing in the world. "We need new, we need fresh and we need a man that's got a backbone, and he appears to have that," McCaslin said. "He loves the Mexican people. He doesn't like illegals. I love that." Others jeered Trump's message and said he's using the immigration issue to get attention. Some of the dozens who gathered outside called him "racist" while others held signs reading "Deport Trump" and "Arizona rejects your racism." Some protesters shouted at Trump supporters, who shouted back as they waited to be let into the building. "Deport you, deport you," several Trump supporters shouted at the protesters, who gathered in the street and on the sidewalk. Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump characterized protesters as "law-abiding citizens" who want to express their First Amendment rights. Gilbert Romero was with the group of about a dozen protesters that disrupted Trump's speech. A member of the crowd shoved him as the group was escorted from the room. Outside the convention center, Romero told The Republic that Trump is a polarizing figure. "Trump's racist rhetoric does not represent Arizona and he is not welcome in Phoenix," he said. Romero said he was disappointed that Trump mocked the protesters by suggesting they were working for the Mexican government. "I was born less than one mile from the convention center," Romero said. Alejandro Landeros, of Glendale, said Trump is creating an atmosphere of hatred toward Mexicans. "I feel sad this is happening," he said. "They think it's OK to put us down. They judge us without knowing. We're just coming here because we want to make a difference but we're getting shut down." Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership at American Principles in Action, called Trump's remarks on immigration "baseless" and "insulting" to both Mexican-Americans and undocumented immigrants. "They are not criminals. They're not rapists. That's an insult," Aguilar said at a news conference following Trump's speech. "Studies actually show that immigrants coming into the community lower crime rates. Immigration creates economic opportunity. It creates jobs for the working class." He also said that many people who work for Trump are Mexican-Americans, or could be undocumented, and that Trump has profited from their work. "He's using this (campaign) as another reality show to get attention," he said. "He's playing with the American voters. He does not have the executive temperament to be president of the United States." *‘I'm, like, a really smart person': Donald Trump exults in outsider status <http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/12/im-like-a-really-smart-person-donald-trump-exults-in-outsider-status> // The Guardian // Rory Carroll – July 12, 2015* GOP presidential candidate rails against immigrants, Mexico, the media and Jeb Bush in Phoenix rally despite protests from Latinos calling on him to ‘Stop the hate’ Donald Trump was on a roll and he was not going to let anyone, least of all Latino infiltrators, spoil his triumph. “This has become a movement,” he exulted from the podium. “The silent majority is back, and we’re going to take our country back ... the word is getting out that we have to stop illegal immigration.” Thousands of supporters packed into the Phoenix convention center on Saturday roared their approval. Finally here was a candidate who would catch and banish “the illegals”. Right around then a few pro-immigrant activists hidden in the crowd outed themselves and unfurled a banner: “Stop the hate.” The defiance lasted just a few seconds before Trump supporters swarmed around them pulling, grabbing and shoving. Security guards intervened and frogmarched the intruders away amid jeers and insults. Trump’s voice boomed over the commotion. “I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here. I think so.” The jeers intensified. “Don’t worry,” he reassured the crowd, “we’ll take our country back.” Chants of USA erupted. It was a brief, telling moment in the Republican candidate’s campaign event in Arizona, the highlight of a weekend swing through western states. Instead of cooling it, as Republican leaders have pleaded, the real estate tycoon-turned GOP insurgent dialed up anti-illegal immigrant rhetoric. His supporters adored it. “He says everything that’s in our hearts. No baloney,” said Mary Przybylo, 75. “He’s got to keep it up. Keep it going.” Others echoed the sentiment. “He’s not afraid to say what we feel,” said Kent Pyper, 47, who runs a printing business. “No one else tells it like it is.” That perception has made Trump, so often derided as a buffoon, an electric candidate. He has tapped a deep well of anger which is powering a surge in the polls. The Phoenix rally shone a light on that momentum. It also exposed frailties. Trump’s freewheeling campaign may be sowing the seeds of its own destruction. The hour-long speech was vintage Trump. An unscripted, rambling mix of jokes, boasts, provocations, policy prescriptions to “make America great again” and tirades against illegal immigrants, Mexico’s government, Democrats, the media, terrorists and especially fellow Republicans. “Let’s say Jeb Bush is president: ay, ay, ay,” he groaned, eliciting laughs. “How can I be tied with this guy? He’s terrible.” He mocked Macy’s, ESPN and other business partners who have dumped him, saying he would have the last laugh. “Thousands and thousands of people are cutting up their Macy’s credit cards.” One moment he bragged about his best-selling books, the next he vowed to zap Islamic State. Then he was talking about trade deals with Japan, Caterpillar trucks, golf balls, phone calls from Paris, Humvees, conversations with his wife, Sino-Russian relations, sanctuary cities, Hillary Clinton and his desire to send Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the US hostage traded for Taliban prisoners, back to Afghanistan. “I went to the Wharton School of Business,” he noted several times. “I’m, like, a really smart person.” The press, he said, jabbing a finger at a phalanx of television cameras, were liars. “They’re terrible people. Terrible. Not all of them, but many of them.” Trump promised to release personal financial records this week, which will clear the way for him to debate rivals in an August 6 televised debate. If there was a connecting thread it was illegal immigration and how it was draining America’s greatness. The warm-up speakers were Mary Ann Mendoza, whose police officer son Brandon died in a vehicle accident with an undocumented immigrant, and Maricopa county sheriff Joe Arpaio, who lamented that they escaped justice. Trump introduced Jamiel Shaw, the father of a Los Angeles high school student shot dead by an undocumented Mexican immigrant in 2008. Trump said he loved Mexico’s people but decried their leaders as cunning manipulators of an “out of control” border. He promised to fine Mexico $100,000 for every person who illegally entered the US. “This has become a movement. This has become a movement because people don’t know what’s happening. We can’t be great if we don’t have a border.” Every time he bashed illegal immigrants the 5,000-strong capacity crowd – hundreds had to listen from outside – roared. Republican leaders concluded after Barack Obama’s victory in 2012 that the party must reach out to Latinos to stand a chance of capturing the White House in 2016. Most of Trump’s rivals have criticised, to varying degrees, his statements about Mexico sending rapists, criminals and diseases into the US. That leaves the reality television host a clear field to tap a current of anger and resentment among certain white people, rich and poor, Republicans and non-Republicans. “He’s telling like it is. He’s an American hero,” said Elizabeth Shoemaker, an elderly woman wearing a cowboy hat and holding a Trump = Truth placard. Marty Hermanson, 54, a former local GOP party chairman in a pinstriped suit, said the candidate was expressing people’s inner feelings. “He’s hit a nerve.” Supporters ranged from Tammie Malkow-Dunham, 46, a soft-spoken Canadian who resents people skipping the queue for citizenship, to Alice Novoa, a peroxide blonde in a star-and-stripes jacket who ranted about a Mexican plan to use immigrants as fifth columnists to invade and massacre US Christians. There was also Rick Kral, 73, a retired electrical engineer, fretting about Islamist terrorists flocking through El Paso (“it’s on the internet”), and Diana Brest, 64, an unemployed former insurance worker who feared losing out in the job market to younger, bilingual people. “They need to be escorted off our land.” Brest had queued since 4.45am, first in line, to nab a prime spot. Trump’s unfiltered, unvarnished rhetoric taps the sense that undocumented immigrants are competitors, or cheats, or worse, and that a lily-livered, politically correct GOP abandoned the fight. Their zeal has energised Trump’s campaign. But Phoenix also exposed the downsides. The Republican party of Maricopa county hosted the event but almost the entire state party leadership, including the senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, and governor Doug Ducey, stayed away. Maverick is one thing, outcast another. The event galvanised a small but spirited Latino response. About a hundred protesters braved searing heat outside the center to chant for hours. Francisca Porchas 33, one of the infiltrators who unfurled the banner inside the hall, emerged seething. “I was pushed and elbowed. It was actually very scary. He’s stirring extremist sentiment.” Jose Patino, 26, who was also jostled, predicted a Latino backlash at the polls. “He’s probably hurting his party and helping the Democrats.” After Trump left the stage, and the adrenaline of the event ebbed, some supporters conceded doubts about their hero’s long term viability. “Presidential material? Huh. Do I have to answer that?” asked Joe Przybylo, 67, a retired postal worker. “I like the straight talking. It’s from the heart. But, you know, it can be a bit rough. Maybe he needs more work.” *Donald Trump expects 9,000 people at his immigration rally in Arizona <http://www.vox.com/2015/7/11/8933605/trump-rally-immigration> // VOX // Dara Lind – July 11, 2015 * Donald Trump is holding a rally on Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona where he expects 9,000 people to show up. He's focusing on immigration and crime — which has gone from an offhand comment during his presidential campaign launch last month to the central theme of his run. Accordingly, Trump's going to be introduced by Jamiel Shaw Sr., whose son was killed by an unauthorized immigrant in 2008. Shaw's become a visible figure among conservative opponents of unauthorized immigration (he's testified before Congress multiple times about the death of his son). Arizona isn't an early primary state. But it's been the epicenter of populist, anti-immigration sentiment for Republicans for several years now. Trump's going to appear with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — who's become nationally famous for his emphasis on rounding up unauthorized immigrants (as well as the conditions of the "tent cities" he's put them in). And the rally is sponsored by the Maricopa County Republican Party. But Arizona's GOP is also a microcosm for the deeper split in the Republican Party. Both the state's senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, were original cosponsors of the comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate passed in 2013 — and both have criticized Trump for the inflammatory comments about immigrants that have become a hallmark of his presidential campaign (repeatedly calling them rapists and murderers, and saying that Mexico and other countries aren't "sending their best people"). But the criticism from McCain and Flake is exactly what Trump says distinguishes him from the rest of the Republican Party. His speech Saturday, according to press reports, will criticize other Republican candidates for president for not taking the immigrant threat seriously — because they're beholden to business interests that want to encourage immigration. In other words, Trump is claiming that because he's rich enough to finance his own campaign, he's able to speak the truth about immigration in a way other candidates can't. The speech was originally scheduled to take place at a smaller venue, but got moved to the convention center this week due to a surge in demand, according to Trump's campaign. *Here's what Donald Trump supporters believe, according to their emails to me <http://www.vox.com/2015/7/11/8929569/donald-trump-why> // VOX // Andrew Prokop – July 11, 2015 * The very arguments that are leading media elites to mock and dismiss Donald Trump could actually be empowering his rise in the polls. As I've started writing more about Trump in recent weeks, I've begun getting much more email from his fans. The messages reflect a certain symbiotic relationship between Trump and the establishment he professes to loathe: As the media piles on and as corporations cut their ties, Trump's utter unwillingness to concede an inch endears him further to his supporters, sending his numbers higher. RelatedIs Trump following the path of Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain? The thoughts and feelings expressed in these messages suggest that Trump is tapping into something real — real enough to send his poll numbers up and real enough for people to take time out of their day to send strongly-worded messages to a reporter. Many of these emails I've gotten are derogatory toward unauthorized immigrants, and some are blatantly racist. Others praise Trump as a principled outsider who has the ability to get things done. So here are a representative sample of the Trump-related emails I've gotten over the past 48 hours, as a reminder that Trumpmentum is real and is, in some ways, being fed by the negative coverage Trump has gotten. For people who hold Trump's opinions, and who have felt powerless against a media establishment that often dismisses their views, watching Trump fight on their behalf has been an inspiring experience — and they are willing to speak up and defend him in turn. While there's probably not enough here to win him an election, don't dismiss the sentiment in these emails or the arguments coming from Trump as fake. He is tapping into something that really exists, even if many in the media wish it didn't. *Donald Trump Outdoes Himself In Defiant Phoenix Speech <http://time.com/3954739/donald-trump-phoenix/> // TIME // Zeke Miller – July 11, 2015 * Donald Trump is not going anywhere. Casting himself as more than a billionaire real-estate magnate and reality television star on his bid for the White House, Trump claimed Saturday to speak for a “silent majority” of Americans who are frustrated with the direction of the country. Rather that deterred, he appeared energized by the pushback his candidacy has received from the Republican Party and his primary opponents after suggesting weeks ago that many who have entered into the U.S. illegally are “rapists.” In a rambling speech to a crowd of thousands in the Phoenix Convention Center, he struck a potent combination of populist and protectionist policies, designed to tap into the undercurrent of unease within American society. “The silent majority is back, and we’re going to take the country back,” he said, referencing former President Richard Nixon’s famous speech reaching out to Americans who were opposed to protests of the Vietnam War. “We’re going to make America great again.” Trump promised to fine Mexico $100,000 for every person crossing into the U.S. illegally, pledged to tax imports by American-owned businesses that have shipped jobs overseas, and said he could destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria [ISIS] with overwhelming force. “I would take them out so fast,” he said. He knocked traditional conservatives for not being committed to taking care of the poor. “I know this doesn’t sound very conservative, but we’ve got to take care of everyone, not just the people up there,” he said, motioning to the ceiling, as the crowd roared and whistled. For more than an hour, the speech featured Trump meandering into name-calling of celebrities and businesses that have dissociated with him as he has become embroiled in negative headlines. “Thousands and thousands of people are cutting up their Macy’s credit card,” he claimed, of the department store that dropped his branded clothing line. Trump, who is all-but-certain to make the GOP debate stage on Aug. 6 in Cleveland, indicated he would release his personal financial disclosure this week, which would clear the way for him to face off with his Republican rivals. The speech was rife with Trump’s signature over-the-top flourishes and free-associations. “I went to the Wharton School of Business,” he said at one point.”I’m, like, a really smart person.” “The press are liars. They’re terrible people. Terrible,” he said, pointing at the assembled cameras and scribes. “Not all of them, but many of them.” “ISIS right now is building a hotel in Iraq,” he said. “They’re competing with me.” “How can I be tied with this guy, he’s terrible,” he added of Jeb Bush, referencing recent surveys showing them neck-and-neck among Republican voters. “I’m killing everybody on jobs,” he said of his poll numbers. “I’m killing everybody on leadership.” At one point he bragged about the number of lobbyists he has employed and donations he has made to political candidates of all stripes, but promised he would be incorruptible. “I don’t need money,” he said, adding that if people wanted to donate to his campaign, he wouldn’t turn them away. Trump also warned that Bush would be a poor negotiator on the international stage, and criticized him for his flip-flopping answer on whether he would have invaded Iraq. Trump discussed Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. solider who was held captive by the Taliban for nearly five years after disappearing from his forward operating base and traded for the release of five prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in 2014, saying he would “send him back.” Trump also maintained his aim on the Mexican government, accusing its leaders of being “totally” in control of Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, which ditched broadcasting his Miss Universe pageant amid the furor over his immigration comments. “They’re killing us at the border, and they’re killing us in trade,” he said of Mexico. “They’re killing us” As a small group of protestors scuffled with Trump supporters and security as they tried to hold up a banner, Trump quipped, “I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here, I think so. We’ll take our country back.” *Trump basks in adulation at Arizona immigration rally <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/247621-trump-story> // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015 * GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump addressed thousands of potential voters Saturday at a wild rally in Phoenix, basking in the adulation of supporters after several weeks of controversy. The New York businessman told listeners that support is building for his tough talk on border security and illegal immigration. “The word is getting out that we have to stop illegal immigration,” he said. “We have a situation that is absolutely out of control.” “We’re getting ripped,” Trump added. “We’re getting taken apart piece-by-piece slowly.” The outspoken billionaire blamed America’s traditional political class for letting immigration reach crisis levels. “We have incompetent politicians and not just the president,” Trump said of President Obama. “Right here, in your own state, you have John McCain,” he said of Arizona’s Republican senator. “I just hate to see that people don’t have common sense,” Trump added. “For some reason, some people just don’t get it,” he said. “I don’t think they will be in office much longer.” Trump covered familiar ground during Saturday’s event, linking illegal immigration with violent crime and arguing America is no longer competitive in the global economy. The White House hopeful’s tough talk drew Hispanic protesters, who tried disrupting his remarks that evening. Security ejected the hecklers, as Trump continued describing illegal immigration as a public menace. Trump then introduced Jamiel Shaw, whose son was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant. “Think about your child laying in the street dead,” Shaw said of his son’s murder. “We were not designed for that.” “I felt real hope,” he said of hearing Trump’s attacks on violence stemming from illegal immigration. “When Trump came out aggressive like that, it showed he can weather the storm.” Shaw added. “We need someone who can weather the storm. He’s the only person talking about saving our country.” Trump’s address is the fever pitch of national attention over his outspoken views on border control and immigration policies. His campaign announced before Saturday’s event it was moving to the Phoenix Convention Center amid overwhelming demand for additional seating. Arizona’s Republican Party made it clear Friday it was not involved in the crowded scene. “Immigration is an important issue, which is why all the candidates in the Republican presidential primary are talking about it,” Tom Sifert, a spokesman for the Arizona GOP, told The Hill. “The state party did not play a direct role in Trump’s visit this weekend, but all the Republican candidates that have visited Arizona in the last few months have had well-attended events, and we expect that tradition to continue,” he said. Trump’s stop in Phoenix also follows an appearance at FreedomFest in Las Vegas earlier that afternoon. A Latino heckler challenged Trump’s stance on border security and illegal immigration during a question-and-answer-session there. “Did the government of Mexico get you to come up here and say this?” Trump asked the man after he said he is “insulted” by Trump’s campaign rhetoric. “Senor Trump, you’re fired,” the audience member retorted as Trump moved the Q&A session to other participants and reiterating his vow he will build a wall along America’s southern border with Mexico. Trump has weathered three weeks of international outrage over his formal campaign launch in New York last month. The New York business mogul sharply criticized Hispanic immigrants and Mexico during the speech June 16. “They’re sending people who have a lot of problems,” Trump said during his announcement speech at New York City’s Trump Tower. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he added. “And some, I assume, are good people.” Multiple businesses have since terminated their corporate relationships with the outspoken billionaire. Macy’s, NASCAR, NBC and Univision have all severed ties with Trump over remarks that critics say are bigoted and racist. The backlash is not hurting Trump’s place in the polls, however. A Reuters/Ipsos sampling released Saturday discovered that he is in a virtual deadlock with former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) for control of potential Republican voters. An Economist/YouGov survey published Thursday, meanwhile, had Trump is the preferred GOP nominee for president among 15 percent of respondents. A third ranking by the left-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) firm had him leading the Republican presidential field in North Carolina as well. Trump’s abrasive remarks are worrying Republican leaders that it is harming their chances with the crucial Hispanic voting bloc next election cycle. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus reportedly spoke with Trump on Wednesday, requesting that he halt his outbursts on immigration. Trump has repeatedly ignored the RNC’s requests for a softer tone on the topic in public. Saturday’s rally offers proof Trump intends on making border security and illegal immigration key portions of his campaign platform. *Donald Trump meets with families of Americans killed by illegal aliens <http://www.breitbart.com/california/2015/07/11/donald-trump-meets-with-families-of-americans-killed-by-illegal-aliens/> // Brietbart // Michelle Moons – July 11, 2015 * 2016 Presidential candidate and real estate mogul Donald Trump met Friday afternoon with family members of Americans killed by illegal aliens in the wake of a multiple deportee felon confessing to shooting and killing young Kate Steinle in San Francisco, California. Sabine Durden lost her son Dominic Durden to the actions of an illegal alien three years ago come Sunday. After participating in Friday’s meeting with Trump she spoke exclusively with Breitbart News sharing her experience inside the meeting: Mister Trump met with the families in a separate room. He listened to each one of our stories and was visibly shaken and touched. We got hugged and he promised to continue to fight for us and our kids. We then went to a separate room where the press was staged. He addressed them and then gave each of us time to share our story. The press tried to pin him down on his previous comments. He stood his ground. I had a coke bottle that read HERO on it and I told him that he should have it. He is my hero because he was the only one who got attention to this truly important issue. It was such a pleasure and true honor to meet this man. A legend and someone to bring America back. Leading up to the meeting Durden was extremely excited. Afterwards she also remarked of Trump’s patient listening ear saying it energized her to continue sharing her story and the important message of the need for border and immigration law enforcement. The families of Jamiel Shaw Jr., Sabine Durden, Don Rosenberg, Lupe Moreno, and Brenda Sparks, all who have lost loved ones, were included in Friday’s meeting. Trump has come under fire in the mainstream media over comments made about illegal immigration since the announcement of his candidacy. He has since risen to number one in polls of the Republican field for president. Breitbart News reported not only Friday on the families included in the meeting and brief portions of their stories, but also at an event last November, the National Day of Remembrance for Americans killed by illegal aliens. Many of the families have had to fight fiercely to see their loved ones’ killers brought to justice or even just deported. Others have watched their loved ones’ killers go free. Trump will address attendees at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada and later at a stadium venue in Phoenix, Arizona. Durden also recently penned separate, open letters to both President Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The letters came in stark contrast to one another as the letter to Obama expressed Durden’s grievance over the president inviting a known illegal alien to an LGBT event at the White House who then heckled the President about deportation. Durden questioned when Obama would acknowledge her and others who have lost loved ones to the actions of foreign nationals illegally present in the United States and “WHEN do legal citizens that have been affected by this immigration issue, get a chance to share their side of the story with you?” (original emphasis). The letter is included in an exclusive Breitbart News report. *Love him or hate him, Donald Trump could 'create chaos' for GOP in 2016, experts predict <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/donald-trump-create-chaos-gop-2016-article-1.2289495> // NY Daily News // Celeste Katz – July 11, 2015 * Depending on who you ask, Donald Trump is either a brave truth-teller or a flash-in-the-pan loudmouth masquerading as a legitimate candidate for President. Either way, he’s currently a huge headache for the Republican Party. Despite the outrage he's generated — and the business he's lost — because of his incendiary comments about Mexican immigrants, Trump is making enough waves in the polls to likely score himself a slot at the first televised GOP primary debate next month. "He's going to be on that stage — and he's going to create chaos," predicts Gary Segura of the Seattle-based polling firm Latino Decisions. Segura, who also teaches political science at Stanford University, says if Republicans are to be successful in 2016, they must capture 38% to 40% of the Hispanic vote. Trump's denunciation of Mexico for exporting "rapists" and killers, Segura says, obviously won't help: "The first step when you're in a hole is to stop digging — and Trump is decidedly not in the 'stop digging' camp." Richard Himelfarb, a political science professor at Hofstra University and host of presidential debates, says Trump's refusal to tone it down could be his undoing. "Donald Trump is going to keep doubling down on this and will ultimately say something so absurd that even Republicans who agree with him and his stance will have to abandon him," said Himelfarb. It's "undeniable" that Trump is damaging the party, Himelfarb said — and among the expansive 2016 field, the real estate mogul may be stealing the most thunder from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Trump "speaks to people who are kind of pissed off and angry and frustrated — and that's Rand Paul's constituency," he said. The biggest beneficiary of Trump's onslaught could be Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton — who is getting something of a reprieve from GOP attacks thanks to the Trump phenomenon of the past month. Even as liberal critics bash Trump for hard-liner showboating, some in the GOP question his conservative street cred. Daniel Garza of The LIBRE Initiative — a Koch brothers-backed conservative group that promotes "economic freedom" to Hispanics — scoffs that Trump's a Donny-Come-Lately to right-of-center politics. "Until recently, Mr. Trump did not present himself as a leader of the conservative movement. In the past he's spoken positively about huge tax increases, government-run health care, higher consumer taxes, and more," Garza wrote in an essay on Facebook. Some Republican watchers aren't quite ready to hit the panic button. "In order for Trump to damage the GOP brand with respect to Latinos, he will have to be viewed as a legitimate, viable candidate" — and that hasn't happened yet, says Sirius XM Patriot Radio host Thomas Basile. Trump may be a celebrity, Basile says, but he hasn't made that critical transition "to being viewed as a leader - or further still, someone who could actually be President of the United States." *Jeb Bush Beware: Trump’s Know Nothing Populism Is A Hit With Conservatives In Phoenix <http://www.politicususa.com/2015/07/11/jeb-bush-beware-trumps-populism-hit-conservatives-phoenix.html> // Politicus // Keith Brekhus – July 11, 2015 * From a policy standpoint, its hard to take Donald Trump’s presidential campaign seriously. Trump’s ideas, like for example, building a wall and having Mexico pay for it, are clownishly naive and logistically impractical. Yet for all his ego-stroking, self-congratulatory rhetoric and his absurd policy prescriptions, Donald Trump is striking a chord with frustrated and anxious conservative voters. On Saturday, Trump spoke to an overflow crowd of thousands of supporters at the Phoenix Convention Center. Sure, a few hecklers briefly interrupted the Trump love fest, attempting to unfurl a banner in the midst of the crowd before they were apparently escorted out of the event. However, overall, the large crowd was filled with admirers who boisterously cheered Trump’s every pronouncement, no matter how bizarre the words he spoke were. Not only did Trump attract an enthusiastic crowd to Phoenix, but Saturday morning a Reuters-Ipsos Poll found that Trump was tied with Jeb Bush for first place in the Republican presidential field. Trump of course leveled multiple attacks at Bush during his Phoenix speech. He took the occasion to depict Jeb Bush as stupid, feckless and a weak negotiator who would fold in about two seconds and who “lobbyists push around like a piece of candy.” Trump elicited applause for attacking Jeb Bush, as well as other Republicans, including Arizona Senator John McCain, for being weak. By contrast Trump portrayed himself as a strong leader who would make “the military so strong we’d never have to use it”, and he warned that if he is elected “ISIS will be in such trouble.” Of course, he didn’t offer any specifics, he just implied that his mere presence in the White House would make all of America’s enemies cease and desist right before our very eyes. Trump’s speech was the triumph of style over substance, but there can be no denying that his cartoonishly simplistic bombast found an approving audience of conservatives in Phoenix. His Nativist Know Nothing populism conveniently scapegoats illegal immigrants. However, with the the help of a compelling personal horror story by Jamiel Shaw whose son, Jamiel Shaw the second, was murdered by a person who had entered the country illegally, Trump has the anecdotes to push his narrative. There is no question that Shaw’s personal story is both tragic and moving, giving Trump’s anti-immigrant message a sympathetic figure to rally behind, that partially softens and obscures the xenophobic nature of Trump’s overall message. While it would be easy for other Republican candidates to dismiss Trump as not a serious candidate, that would be a mistake. The Republican Party has long courted conservative voters by appealing to their base fears, However, now that Donald Trump has amplified the GOP message, Republican leaders, like Dr. Frankenstein in the laboratory, are trying to deal with a monster they helped create. By calling every Republican politician not named Donald Trump “stupid”, Mr. Trump is burning bridges rather than building alliances within the Republican Party. However, Republican leaders may be slow to realize that a lot of conservative voters seem to agree with Trump. Republican politicians have spent years cultivating hatred of government bureaucrats and politicians among their base, encouraging voters to choose a “limited government” Republican over a “big government” Democrat. In their critique, however, they have exposed themselves as politicians to incur the wrath of voters disillusioned with the system the GOP has told them to distrust. Trump’s phony populism has exploited conservative voters’ distrust of the GOP mainstream to his political advantage. In the process, he represents a direct threat to Jeb Bush, whose conservative family is too much a part of the political establishment to earn the loyalty of disgruntled conservative voters. Trump’s speech took aim at Jeb Bush several times, and at one point he told the crowd: If you people go with Bush, you’re going to lose. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, it was apparent they believed him. Now to be fair, the group of people assembled to hear Trump speak in Phoenix was hardly representative of the general population or even the GOP primary base. Candidate events tend to draw supporters rather than a broad cross-section of the party. Nevertheless, given the size and the enthusiasm of the crowd in Phoenix, and Trump’s current strong polling numbers, Jeb Bush and the rest of the GOP field had better beware. In the conservative universe, the Trump bump is starting to look all too real. *UNDECLARED* *WALKER* *Scott Walker Works to Gain Credibility as Official Campaign Begins <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/us/politics/as-official-campaign-begins-walker-works-to-gain-credibility.html?_r=0> // NYT // Patrick Healy - July 12, 2015* After listening to Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin as he has traveled the country preparing his campaign for president, which officially begins on Monday, admiring voters most often describe him as “authentic,” “real” and “approachable,” Mr. Walker’s advisers say. Two words these voters do not use about him? “Smart” and “sophisticated.” “Scott is working on that,” said Ed Goeas, a veteran Republican pollster and a senior adviser to Mr. Walker. “Look, ‘approachable’ is worth its weight in gold in politics. ‘Smart’ is something voters look for in legislators who craft policy. But Scott is preparing hard to talk about every issue.” As Mr. Walker becomes the 15th prominent Republican to enter the 2016 race, the crucial question he must answer is whether he can cross the threshold of credibility so that someone entering a voting booth can imagine him as president, according to several leading Republicans and interviews with regular voters. While Mr. Walker is ahead in some opinion polls, including for Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, a series of early gaffes alarmed party leaders and donors and led Mr. Walker to begin several months of policy tutorials. The collective hope is that Mr. Walker can avoid what Mr. Goeas and other advisers describe as Sarah Palin’s problem — becoming a candidate who is initially popular among Republicans, like the 2008 vice-presidential nominee, but loses luster because of missteps as the campaign goes on. Mr. Walker is now emerging from his crash course with the aim of reassuring activists and contributors, who have given relatively modest amounts to his political operation so far, that he will no longer sow doubts about himself with comments like comparing pro-union protesters to Islamic State terrorists, refusing to answer a question about evolution or saying he does not know if President Obama is a Christian or if he loves America. Whether Mr. Walker can demonstrate that he has a command of the challenges facing America, and is big enough for the presidency, will be tested in the coming weeks on the campaign trail and in televised debates. Gov. Terry E. Branstad, Republican of Iowa, said Mr. Walker had “a lot going for him given that he’s a neighboring state governor who has been tried and tested on tough issues.” Yet Republican voters in Iowa want to be confident that Mr. Walker will not make political errors that might raise doubts about his capabilities and make Hillary Rodham Clinton look more prepared if she emerges as the Democratic nominee. “Iowa is a state that rewards candidates who work hard,” Mr. Branstad said, “and I think Governor Walker will benefit if he shows he has done the work to be ready to lead.” Judd Gregg, a former three-term senator from New Hampshire, noted that Mr. Walker had a good run of events there in the spring, followed by long absences as he focused more on briefings by his advisers. Many Republicans are not sure what to expect from him as he returns on Thursday as part of his campaign kickoff tour. “If Walker comes across as very credible, he has the political record and the message to do very well in the New Hampshire primary,” Mr. Gregg said. “But again, he has to be credible.” Concerns about the breadth and depth of Mr. Walker’s knowledge extend to both national security and domestic policy issues. Two Republicans recalled being at a closed-door event last winter when, they said, Mr. Walker did not articulate a strong answer to a question about Internet neutrality, instead promising to look at the issue. Others questioned his sophistication in boiling down national security challenges to matters of “safety”; he believes people relate to that word, whereas “national security” is an elitist phrase. And his repeated comments that the most important foreign policy decision of his lifetime was President Ronald Reagan’s firing of air traffic controllers in 1981, because it got the attention of the Soviet Union, was a sign to some Republicans that Mr. Walker, who dropped out of Marquette University and has not traveled widely abroad, has a limited worldview. “His lack of knowledge in the foreign policy area has been a problem because, well, you want your commander in chief to be confident on those issues,” said Bruce Perlo, chairman of the Grafton County Republican Committee in New Hampshire. Recognizing the problem, Mr. Walker has joined in hourslong meetings in Washington; Madison, Wis.; and elsewhere for tutorials on the Islamic State, Iran, Russia and military and geopolitical confrontations, as well as human rights abuses, border security and immigration policy, and other issues, advisers said. He has relied on Republicans such as former Senator Jim Talent of Missouri, who leads Mr. Walker’s national security advisory council, and Andrew Bremberg, his policy director, who previously was a top aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. In recent months, Mr. Walker has also met or spoken with Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel (as part of a trip to Israel), David Cameron of England and Stephen Harper of Canada; President Xi Jinping of China; President Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia; retired military leaders such as former Gen. David H. Petraeus and former Gen. Jack Keane; and a number of American and foreign ambassadors. Aides to Mr. Walker provided this list in response to questions about his briefings; they declined an interview request to Mr. Walker. Mr. Keane, in an email, said he provided an analysis of global security challenges facing the United States, which he has done for several other candidates from both parties. He said he was not an adviser to any campaign, and he declined to offer an assessment of Mr. Walker’s capabilities. Pete Peters, a Republican voter in New Hampshire and a Navy veteran, said that the rise of the Islamic State was his foremost concern in the 2016 election, and that he felt far from certain that Mr. Walker has the ability to defeat the terrorists. “I like Walker, but he doesn’t come across like a guy who has thought hard or creatively about the Middle East,” Mr. Peters said. Mr. Walker does seem to have made some progress: One of the Republicans who was concerned about net neutrality said that, about a month ago, he heard Mr. Walker give a thoughtful and crisp statement about the issue. “A lot of us are still worried about Walker’s off-the-cuff answers, and about how Walker will handle himself when the real shooting starts in Iowa, when the television attack ads and direct-mail pieces start hitting him,” said the Republican, who leads a prominent national conservative group and is not aligned with any presidential candidate. He spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly assess Mr. Walker, with whom he has a good relationship. The policy briefings have cut into time that Mr. Walker might have otherwise devoted to fund-raising events, which his advisers cite as one reason for the relatively modest amount that he and his allies have raised for his political committees in recent months. The dollar amount is expected to be disclosed soon. But some potential donors have said in recent weeks that Mr. Walker’s busy schedule was not an issue for them; rather, they were taking a wait-and-see approach on Mr. Walker. Advisers to Mr. Walker emphasized that policy briefings were not the only important way that Mr. Walker has educated himself on the issues. He has also learned by talking to voters about their concerns and observations. “You had Sarah Palin, who became the vice-presidential nominee and then went away for weeks and made a big deal of going to school, so when she came back it was like, ‘What have you learned?’” Mr. Goeas said. “But with Scott, as he has looked at these issues and thought through these issues, he has also absorbed a great deal from interacting with people. “The key issue for a lot of them isn’t, ‘Is he smart enough to govern?’ But, ‘Is he tough enough to govern?’” Mr. Goeas added. “And the answer for many Republicans will be yes.” *Scott Walker’s primary strategy: Motorcycles, barbecue and a Winnebago <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/11/scott-walkers-primary-strategy-motorcycles-barbecue-and-a-winnebago/> // WaPo // Jenna Johnson – July 11, 2015 * Scott Walker plans to spend next week formally launching his presidential campaign — and then visiting five states in six days, a whirlwind trip that includes stops at four shops that sell Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The Republican governor of Wisconsin is a bit obsessed with Harley-Davidson, a Milwaukee-based company that he likes to plug while on the road. He started riding more than a decade ago while working as the Milwaukee County executive and now owns a 2003 Road King. For a candidate who can sometimes come across as a bit straight-laced and dorky, riding a Harley has helped Walker exude a more laid-back, rough-and-tumble image. He likes to riff on the freedom that comes with a long ride and he has pledged to ride a Harley in New Hampshire and South Carolina. (He knocked out a nearly 40-mile ride in Iowa last month.) Walker will start the week in the Milwaukee suburbs, signing his state's budget into law on Sunday afternoon and then jumping into the race for president on Monday evening. On Tuesday morning, he's off to Las Vegas to visit the Red Rock Harley-Davidson. On Wednesday, he will be in South Carolina, stopping at the Low Country Harley-Davidson in North Charleston and barbecue joints in Lexington and Mauldin. That night he is making a quick trip to Atlanta. On Thursday, Walker will be in New Hampshire, visiting a diner in Amherst and the Seacoast Harley-Davidson in North Hampton. Then on Friday, Walker is kicking off a three-day tour of Iowa, crossing the entire state twice in a Winnebago. For months, Walker has been heavily focusing on Iowa, home to the first in the nation nominating contest. His aides have said that a key to Walker's success in 2016 is winning Iowa — and already he is leading in early polls. He starts Friday in Davenport, then heads to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and wraps up his first day at his campaign's Iowa headquarters in the Des Moines suburbs. Walker will start Saturday at a grocery store in Council Bluffs, just over the river from Omaha, then visit a GOP office in Sioux City and the Carroll Cycle Center — a motorcycle dealer in western Iowa that sells Harleys. That evening, Walker will give remarks at the Family Leadership Summit at Iowa State University in Ames and finish the day in Haverhill. On Sunday, Walker will stop by an event for a Republican state representative in Cedar Falls and visit Dubuque. He might also sneak in a visit to Plainfield, a tiny town in northeast Iowa where he and his family lived for seven years when he was growing up. *Scott Walker tweet said he's running, but who posted it? <http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/scott-walker-tweet-said-he-s-running-but-who-posted-it-1.10632815> // AP – July 11, 2016 * Twitter says it's investigating a premature presidential announcement that popped up on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's account Friday evening. The message, which was quickly deleted, said, "Scott Walker is running for president." Twitter spokesman Nu Wexler said later, "We're looking into today's issue, and we've determined the Walker team was not at fault." After the initial tweet, the Walker campaign did not deny responsibility, saying only, "Stay tuned for Governor Walker's announcement on Monday." Later, Walker press secretary AshLee Strong said, "We're happy Twitter confirmed this wasn't Team Walker's post and are investigating what happened." It's no secret that Walker will enter the 2016 Republican presidential race in Wisconsin on Monday afternoon. He is set to become the 15th Republican presidential candidate after he confirms his intentions Monday. *Twitter Accidentally Made Scott Walker a Presidential Candidate Ahead of Schedule <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/twitter-accidentally-made-scott-walker-presidential-candidate-ahead/story?id=32383182> // ABC News // Jordyn Phelps – July 11, 2015 * For a brief time on Friday, Scott Walker became a presidential candidate -- by accident and three days ahead of schedule. It all started with a tweet from Walker's verified Twitter account that read: "Scott is in. Are you? Join our team today" along with a photo of the Wisconsin governor with the following unmistakable message: "SCOTT WALKER IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT." The only problem: Walker's team didn't send the tweet. And it was soon deleted from his feed. Twitter is now coming forward to clear Walker's team of any fault and investigating how the tweet was posted in error. "We're looking into today's issue, and we've determined the Walker team was not at fault," a spokesman for Twitter said in a statement Friday night. Walker's press secretary AshLee Strong told ABC News in a statement, "We're happy Twitter confirmed this wasn't Team Walker's post and are investigating what happened." Walker is not expected to officially declare his candidacy -- on purpose -- until Monday evening in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the same place where the Wisconsin governor declared victory following a recall election in 2012. Soon after the tweet was deleted on Friday, the Walker campaign was steering clear of the errant tweet entirely. "Stay tuned for Governor Walker's announcement on Monday," Strong told ABC News. The accidental tweet aside, Walker's team has been making an active push on social media to build interest in Walker's coming announcement, with a social media strategy that included releasing his logo in nine separate pieces over nine days on Instagram. Walker is not the only presidential hopeful whose candidacy was accidentally stated ahead of his official announcement. Jeb Bush made a slip on his own, saying that he was running for president during a non-campaign event more than a month before he launched his official campaign. *Could union-busting Scott Walker be the next president? <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32238867> // BBC // Gary O’Donoghue – July 11, 2015 * As the Republican field for president gets increasingly crowded, one late entry has the possibility of being a strong contender for the nomination. Scott Walker is little known across the US - so why is he a frontrunner? For those feeling less than inspired by the prospect of another Bush-Clinton face-off for the presidency in 2016, there's one man in particular who has the potential to ruin that scenario. Meet Scott Kevin Walker - the Republican governor of the Midwest state of Wisconsin who is set to announce his presidential bid on Monday. Over the past few months, the 47-year-old, Harley-Davidson-riding governor has become something of a poster child for conservatives and come from nowhere in the polls to join former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio among the top tier of candidates. Not only has he pleased business groups by pushing through laws dismantling collective bargaining and automatic deduction of union dues, but he has taken a hard line on social issues too, such as abortion, making him attractive to core conservatives who tend to be further to the right. "He's sort of the one person in the field that can play in both lanes," said Bill McCoshen, a political consultant in Wisconsin who knows Walker well. "He can be in the establishment lane and he can also be on the anti-establishment side; and you know most people expected Jeb Bush to take the establishment vote and there would be somebody else in the anti-establishment lane - Walker is sort of creating problems for everybody." Republicans also like him because he is a winner. When he took on the unions in Wisconsin, he faced 100,000 angry protestors at the state capitol. "We hadn't seen anything like that in Madison since the Vietnam War protests," said Jason Stein, a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and author of a book on Walker. "It was just a sea or a lake of humanity... you had every floor space, practically, covered with people, I mean there were times when you couldn't see the flagstones at all. It was exceptional, it was unprecedented." Denise Ehron, an administrator at the University of Wisconsin, was one of the many who opposed Walker. Standing in her backyard in the city of Whitewater the anger is still fresh. She says the reforms saw her household income drop by 14%. "We had just bought a house a couple of years before that so we had a mortgage that we hadn't had before," Ehron said. "But also just by being union members it became a bad word on campus, and in the town and in the state, and if you said you were a union member, 'Oh, oh you're a public employee? Ooh that's nasty'. Just morale-wise was really hard to take." Walker faced the protestors down and subsequently won a recall election - no easy feat in a swing state like Wisconsin. But if his opponents are numerous so are his supporters. Sitting in a diner next to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Katie Flannigan spreads out her scrapbooks from her student days there. They are stuffed full of cuttings, leaflets and notes from her time running Walker's campaign for student president. One badge reads "beam me up Scotty". "Whoever is president has to be human, and he is such a kind person and fair person… sure he looks the part of a politician, but he is not anybody that would say one thing and do another," Flannigan said. "I would bet my house on that. He's just a good hearted person." "I think what's changed about him is less hair and he's added country music to his playlist." Walker failed to win that student election - one of a very few electoral setbacks in his political career. He dropped out of school shortly after. If he became president, it would make him the first leader without a college degree since Harry Truman. His entry into the crowded Republican presidential field has not been without problems. At a big conservative conference in Washington in February, he sent his communications team into damage-control mode after suggesting he would be able to cope with the threat from the so-called Islamic State, given how he handled 100,000 protestors in Wisconsin. Governor Walker "was in no way comparing any American citizen to IS," a spokeswoman told reporters in a hurried statement. Walker then survived a recall election He has also faltered on foreign affairs more generally - batting questions away on a trip to London when asked his views. He does appear to be holding up, however, and significantly seems to have the fundraising ability to stay the course. "The recall in 2012 is the gift that keeps on giving" said Charles Franklin, a professor at Marquette and director of the Marquette Law School poll which has been tracking Walker's appeal. "The special election allowed him to raise unlimited donations…from over 300,000 donors." And that, he said, gives Walker "solid potential". *OTHER* *GOP primary candidates compete for anti-abortion vote <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/gop-primary-candidates-compete-anti-abortion-vote/> // AP // Bill Barrow – July 11, 2015 * Trying to distinguish themselves in front of an important group of social conservative activists, Republican White House hopefuls on Friday used the National Right to Life Convention to share personal stories and detail the abortion restrictions they’ve helped write into law. The question now is whether the scramble helps or hinders an anti-abortion movement seeking unity as Republicans look to win back the presidency next November. First Amendment case brings abortion protesters' rights before Supreme Court National Right to Life Political Director Karen Cross urged the assembly to “make a decision right now that the issue of life trumps all else.” “There is no such thing as the perfect candidate,” she warned. Carol Tobias, the group’s president, argued in an interview that President Barack Obama benefited in both of his national victories from social conservatives who didn’t back John McCain in 2008 or Mitt Romney in 2012. “The quickest way to defeat a pro-lifer,” Tobias said, “is to fall in love with your candidate and then get your feelings hurt when they don’t win the nomination.” The candidates gave repeated nods to those sentiments, praising each other and hammering Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton, who supports abortion rights. Still, they spent most of their energy asserting their own conservative supremacy on the issue. An Associated Press-GfK poll conducted in January and February found that 51 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 45 percent think it should be illegal in most or all cases. Santorum boasted of how he sponsored the federal law that bans certain late-term abortion procedures after initially soft-pedaling his abortion stance because of Pennsylvania’s closely divided electorate. “You know me; there’s no quit in this dog,” he said. “Go ahead and nominate somebody who’s just going to go along. Then try to convince yourself you’ll make a difference.” Rick Perry predicted the next president will nominate as many as four Supreme Court justices – who could presumably overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationally. “If I have the opportunity to put justices on the Supreme Court, they will not be squishy,” the former Texas governor said. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio explained his abortion opposition as “inseparable from the effort to reclaim the American dream … for every child,” and recalled abortion restrictions he helped pass as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Jeb Bush, whose tenure as Florida governor overlapped Rubio’s speakership, mentioned some of the same laws in a video presentation. He did not physically attend the convention. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has never held elected office, but he blasted abortion providers as “evil.” Tobias said her group doesn’t wade into primaries in part because it’s hard to find meaningful distinctions between candidates, though she acknowledged the campaigns will find them. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie supported abortion rights earlier in his career, something he generally avoids talking about now. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker celebrated passage of a new state ban on most abortions beyond the 20th week of pregnancy. Yet late in his 2014 re-election campaign, he aired an ad in which he affirmed his abortion opposition while emphasizing that Wisconsin law “leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor.” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has sponsored a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. But some conservatives blast him for voting to confirm Obama’s two Supreme Court nominees. Tobias said those details sometimes matter to abortion opponents, but she maintained that nitpicking is counter-productive. For many anti-abortion voters, she said, choosing a primary candidate is about “trust” and “personal feel” rather than policy. The candidates’ approaches here suggest they understand that. Rubio and Perry talked about seeing their children on ultrasounds during pregnancy. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, talked about how he gravitated to pediatric surgery because of how much he values children. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal talked Thursday night about having to defend his anti-abortion stance in his interviews for medical school. Santorum tells the story of doctors advising that his daughter, Bella, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder, would not have a good quality of life and could die as an infant. “There is no better way to preach the gospel of life,” Santorum said Friday, than to have school-age Bella “in the White House.” Public opinion, meanwhile, remains divided. An Associated Press-GfK poll conducted in January and February found that 51 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 45 percent think it should be illegal in most or all cases. At NARAL Pro-Choice America, a leading abortion rights advocacy group, Sasha Bruce said that means Republicans “are fighting over a slice of the minority,” putting them at a disadvantage in November. Tobias countered that among voters who rank abortion as a key issue in deciding on a candidate, “we win a majority of them.” Her movement’s job, she said, is to increase the share of voters who cast their vote “based on the life issue. If we do, we win.” Bruce said her organization is focused on educating general election voters about the success abortion opponents have had limiting abortion access through state-by-state restrictions. “They aren’t overturning Roe v. Wade, but they’re just chipping away,” she said. *White House contenders Trump, Bush in virtual dead heat: Reuters/Ipsos poll <http://www.businessinsider.com/r-white-house-contenders-trump-bush-in-virtual-dead-heat-reuters/ipsos-poll-2015-7> // Reuters // Will Dunham – July 11, 2015 * Donald Trump, who became the center of attention in the race for the 2016 Republican U.S. presidential nomination with his denunciation of illegal immigrants from Mexico, has vaulted into a virtual dead heat with Jeb Bush atop the field, a Reuters-Ipsos poll released on Saturday showed. Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, had the support of 15.8 percent of respondents in the online poll of self-identified Republicans compared to 16.1 percent for Bush, a former Florida governor. They were followed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at 9.5 percent, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul at 8.1 percent, surgeon and author Ben Carson at 7.2 percent and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at 5.8 percent. However, given a choice of three candidates - Bush, Trump or Florida Senator Marco Rubio - Bush had a comfortable lead at 42 percent among the respondents in the Reuters-Ipsos Republican poll, compared to 28.4 percent for Trump and 20 percent for Rubio. In the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remained in front with the support of 48.3 percent of self-identified Democrats polled, with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders continuing to inch up, at 22.9 percent, and Vice President Joe Biden, who has not entered the race, at 10.7 percent. Numerous businesses including NBC Universal, Univision, Macy's, Serta and NASCAR have cut ties with Trump since he accused Mexico, in his June 16 speech announcing his candidacy, of sending rapists and other criminals into the United States. Trump on July 6 added that illegal border-crossers from Mexico are carrying "tremendous infectious disease." The controversy over Trump's immigration comments has dominated news coverage of the Republican campaign in recent weeks, and he has climbed in the Reuters-Ipsos poll to draw essentially even with Bush. On June 30, the poll had Bush at 16.9 percent and Trump at 12.8 percent. A hard line against illegal immigration may find a receptive audience in Republican primary voters, with U.S. conservatives often accusing President Barack Obama of doing too little to secure America's border with Mexico. Trump also has accused Bush of being weak on illegal immigration, bringing Bush's Mexican-born wife into the debate. "If my wife were from Mexico, I think I would have a soft spot for people from Mexico. I can understand that," Trump said in a CNN interview. Trump has increasingly come under fire from some of his rivals for the Republican nomination including Bush. "Everybody has a belief that we should control our borders," Bush said last week. "But to make these extraordinarily kind of ugly comments is not reflective of the Republican Party. Trump is wrong on this." In the Reuters/Ipsos poll of the Republican race, 404 self-identified Republicans age 18 or over were questioned from July 6-10. The poll had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 5.7 percentage points. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll of the Democratic race, 504 self-identified Democrats age 18 or over were questioned over the same time period, with a credibility interval of 5.1 percentage points. *Senate Republicans push to punish 'sanctuary cities' <http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/247592-senate-republicans-push-to-punish-sanctuary-cities> // The Hill //Jordan Carney – July 11, 2015 * Republicans want to use a largely non-controversial education bill to crack down on so-called "sanctuary cities" in the wake of a San Francisco shooting that garnered national attention. The recent killing of 32-year old Kathryn Steinle, allegedly shot by an illegal immigrant who had already been deported five times, has sparked a debate over cities that don't carry out all federal immigration laws. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a presidential contender, as well as Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), have filed an amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act, the Senate's overhaul of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, that would redirect funding meant for sanctuary cities to state and local governments that comply with federal law. Sessions accused officials of “deliberately and openly” disregarding federal immigration laws as an “act of defiance.” “Congress has an obligation to ensure limited taxpayer dollars are not given to cities and counties who refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement,” he said. Republican Sen. David Vitter, who is running for governor in Louisiana, has also introduced an amendment cracking down on sanctuary cities to the education bill. But tying the immigration measure to the education bill, which has so far managed to avoid any political landmines, would likely sink the legislation, which has the strong support of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The conservative push to punish sanctuary cities comes as congressional Democrats have walked a fine line in the wake of the shooting. Democrats have pressed for more details, but been careful to not directly blame San Francisco’s laws for Steinle’s death, and have shown even less appetite for limiting federal funding to the more than 200 sanctuary cities in the United States. Republicans have sought to raise pressure on Democrats over the issue. “Reasonable people can and do differ on issues of border security, interior enforcement and the status of illegal immigrants present in our nation," said Cotton. "We should not disagree about the importance of the rule of law.” Other Republicans, including Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), another 2016 contender, are also rolling out legislation in the wake of the shooting. Paul is expected to introduce a measure requiring state and local agencies to tell U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they’ve arrested an illegal agreement. The agencies would also have to hold someone if ICE requests. Paul’s proposal would also tie state and local law enforcement grants to compliance with federal immigration laws, according to his office. The San Francisco shooting has intensified Republican anger over the administration's policies, with sanctuary cities just the latest issue in a years-long fight over immigration. Cruz, Vitter, Sessions, along with Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, David Perdue (Ga.), John Cornyn (Texas), Mike Lee (Utah), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Orrin Hatch (Utah), wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson criticizing a government program that outlines when an illegal immigrants should be turned over to the federal government. They said it “requires immigration law officers and agents to ignore plain law and public safety, solely to the benefit of criminal aliens.” They have also challenged President Obama directly, suggesting that by refusing to crackdown on cities that don’t comply with federal law he created an environment that made Steinle’s death possible. Vitter said that under Obama “dangerous criminals are getting a free pass.” Cruz, meanwhile, acknowledged that while sanctuary cities are an issue, he added that the “problem is exacerbated” by the Obama administration. “We deal with the problem that the Obama administration consistently refuses to enforce the laws,” he told Fox Business. “[It] is just not the cities who are defying the law. It’s the federal government.” The battle over sanctuary cities also comes ahead of a year when Republicans will have to defend 24 Senate seats, including a handful in blue-leaning states. According to the conservative-leaning Rasmussen Reports, 62 percent of likely voters support the Department of Justice penalizing cities that don’t enforce federal immigration laws. But the GOP push against sanctuary cities could lead some Republicans into a politically divisive fight on immigration they might hope to avoid. Adding to the charged debate are GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's controversial comments about immigration, which garnered pushback from Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus, and divided Republicans. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is up for reelection next year, weighed in Friday, saying the “circus” surrounding the immigration debate is hurting his party. “If the Republican nominee for president does not support comprehensive immigration reform and border security policy, we have no chance of defeating Hillary Clinton and winning the White House in 2016,” he added. *Poll: Jeb, Trump in virtual tie <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/247608-poll-jeb-trump-in-virtual-tie> // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 11, 2015 * GOP presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Donald Trump are locked in a virtual tie for the 2016 Republican nomination, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Saturday. It found that 16.1 percent of self-identified Republicans back Bush, the former governor of Florida. Trump, a New York business mogul, chases Bush’s lead with 15.8 percent support. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in third 9.5 percent of possible voters’ backing. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is next at 8.1 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 7.2 percent. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker – widely expected to enter the 2016 field Monday – earned 5.8 percent. Republican voters’ response changed dramatically when they offered only three contenders from the party’s crowded 2016 presidential field. Bush takes a commanding lead when matched against only Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The former Florida governor nabs 42 percent in that scenario. Trump, meanwhile, gets 28.4 percent and Rubio 20 percent. Saturday’s new sampling discovered that the 2016 Democratic nominating contest is much less competitive. Former secretary of State Hillary Clinton remains the party’s frontrunner with 48.3 percent of self-identified Democrats backing her. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is her closest competitor, trailing her at 22.9 percent nationwide. Vice President Joe Biden – who has not publicly declared his 2016 intentions – then grabs 10.7 percent support. Saturday’s survey sampled 404 self-identified Republicans age 18 or over between Monday and Friday. It has a credibility interval of 5.7 percent. It also polled 504 self-identified Democrats from the same age demographic during the same window of time. That portion has a credibility interval of 5.1 percent. Bush and Trump have sparred in recent weeks over border security and illegal immigration. Trump argued Wednesday that Bush’s stance on the issue is inspired by his wife Columba Bush, who was born in Mexico. “If my wife were from Mexico, I think I would have a soft spot for people from Mexico,” Trump told host Anderson Cooper on CNN’s “AC360.” “So, if he loves his wife and she is from Mexico, I think it probably has an influence on him.” Bush has countered that Trump’s sharp criticism of Hispanic immigrants and Mexico is inflammatory and ignorant. “Trump is wrong on this,” he said after two Independence Day parades on July 4 in New Hampshire. “I don’t think he represents the Republican Party, and his views are way outside the mainstream of what Republicans think,” he added before calling Trump’s immigration rhetoric “extraordinarily ugly.” *Donald Trump continues to rise in recent GOP poll, now almost even with Jeb Bush; Chris Christie polls third <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/donald-trump-pulls-virtual-tie-jeb-bush-poll-article-1.2289021> // NY Daily News // Denis Slattery – July 11, 2015 * Donald Trump’s stock is on the rise. The billionaire blowhard and presidential candidate has surged into a virtual tie with former Florida governor Jeb Bush atop the crowded field of Republican contenders, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Saturday. Trump had the support of 15.8% of respondents in the online poll of self-identified Republicans compared to 16.1% for Bush. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie trailed the top two at 9.5%. The surge comes despite blowback from Trump’s recent controversial comments about illegal immigrants from Mexico being “rapists” and drug dealers. Several companies including NBC, Macy’s and NASCAR have severed ties with the real estate developer. Trump was set to appear at a rally in Phoenix Saturday where he was expected to double down on his rhetoric. Jeb Bush still narrowly leads the crowded pack of Republican candidates for President, as he maintains a very slim lead over Trump, with Chris Christie in third. “He’s a fighter,” said Jamiel Shaw Sr., whose 17-year-old son was gunned down by an undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles in 2008. Shaw was expected to introduce Trump at the Phoenix rally, which was moved to a larger venue days before the event due to high demand, according to Trump representatives. “When he said what he said (about Mexico), I thought he was being nice,” Shaw said. “I would have said murderers.” According to Reuters, 404 self-identified Republicans age 18 or over were questioned from July 6-10 for the latest poll. The poll had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 5.7 percentage points. On June 30, the poll had Bush at 16.9% and Trump at 12.8%. *OTHER 2016 NEWS* *OPINIONS/EDITORIALS/BLOGS* *Power of the Pocketbook: Women Gaining Influence As Campaign Donors <http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/12/421752664/power-of-the-pocketbook-women-gaining-influence-as-campaign-donors> // NPR // Lauren Leatherby - July 12, 2015* Campaign contributions from women have been on a slow but steady rise. In 1872, Victoria Claflin Woodhull became the first woman to run for president — before women even had the right to vote. Campaigning as a member of the Equal Rights Party on a platform of women's suffrage and labor reforms, the election came and went without Woodhull receiving any electoral votes, but Woodhull became the first of a small club of women who have run for the United States' highest office. This campaign cycle marks another milestone for women — for the first time, women are vying for the White House in each of the major parties' primaries. Women's voices are also becoming more prominent in campaign finance, particularly for Democrats. That's something that will get new attention over the next several months and with the first campaign finance disclosures set to be released Wednesday. The Washington Post reported last month that 60 percent of Hillary Clinton's donors are women — a nearly 30 percent increase over Barack Obama's 2012 record, when almost half of Obama's individual donors were women, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. "Women candidates are front and center in a way they never have been before, which is really exciting for women voters and donors and activists," said Jess McIntosh, vice president of communications for EMILY's List, which aims to elect Democratic women to office. "We see in research that if a woman is running in a race, women are more likely to be engaged in that race." Even before the 2016 presidential cycle, contributions from women to political campaigns had been on a slow but steady rise. The reason is threefold, says Missy Shorey, executive director of Maggie's List, an organization that supports conservative female candidates to run for U.S. Congress: increased efforts to engage women, more women in the workforce and more women are voting. "When we represent 53 percent of the electorate — the majority — we are clearly going to be more politically active, and one of the forms of being politically active is, of course, donating," Shorey said. Women's attitudes toward politics are also shifting. "What we've seen over time is that women have been philanthropic givers, giving to charity in a range of amounts, but they haven't seen politics as a place to invest their dollars," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. "There hasn't been a sense that politics is the place where you can make change." But that sense is changing, Walsh says. Women are beginning to see politics as a way to cause change on the issues they care about. And traditional women's issues like reproductive health, equal pay, child care and family leave aren't the only topics bringing women to the table. "We're even seeing political issues that don't usually get talked about as women's issues — like raising the minimum wage — get talked about as women's issues, because they disproportionately affect women," McIntosh argued. "I think seeing great female candidates, talking about women's issues in a way that really clearly defines the contrast between the two candidates running, just means that more women than ever are engaged in the process." That gain in share, however, has not been seen equally from both parties. While the share of money going to Republican presidential candidates from women has remained largely flat, the share of donations to presidential Democratic candidates from women has grown by more than 20 percent since 1992. Some conservative groups are working to change that. "When we reach out to women," Shorey said, "we speak about our core issues and talk about why this candidate is going to make a difference. Women like to invest their money knowing it's going to end up doing something, why this woman we're suggesting and have endorsed can win." Maggie's List uses established political data and on-the-ground insights to talk about candidates when reaching out to women, Shorey said. "We reach out to women that support our ideals, which are fiscal conservatism, less government, more personal responsibility, and stronger national security," she said. "Those are our core issues." Though women are making gains as a proportion of individual donors for candidates, they still remain underrepresented among political donors as a whole. Women made up only 36 percent of all funds donated during the 2012 presidential election, meaning that men still donate at nearly double the rate of women. This difference is even more pronounced at the top level. Of the 100 most generous campaign contributors during the 2012 election cycle, only 11 were women, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. But that's likely to change. "As you see more women more successful in terms of income and business and as they have more independent wealth and disposable income they can invest," Walsh said, "you'll see more women as donors to campaigns." *MISCELLANEOUS ADDED BY STAFF* *TOP NEWS* *DOMESTIC* *Obamacare Flexes Muscles With New Medicare Payment Plans <http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/upshot/obamacare-flexes-muscles-with-new-medicare-payment-plans.html?referrer=> // NYT // Margot Sanger-Katz – July 11, 2015 * For the first time, the Obama administration has deployed an important new power it has under the Affordable Care Act: proposing to pay doctors and hospitals based on the quality of care they provide, regardless of whether they want to be paid that way. It introduced two such programs this week. One would require all hospitals in 75 metropolitan areas to accept a flat fee for the costs associated with a hip or knee replacement — including the costs of surgery, medications, the joint implant and rehabilitation. And if the quality of the care is not judged to be good, Medicare will take back some of the money it paid. Another program would increase or decrease payments to home health agencies in nine states, depending on how they perform on certain quality measurements. The Department of Health and Human Services always had the authority to change the amounts it paid for certain services, but before Obamacare, it needed Congress to pass legislation to change the way it paid for them. The agency is asking for public comment on the proposals. These changes will allow the administration to reshape the Medicare program. The new payment rules, while guided by existing evidence, are still experimental — and are likely to anger Obamacare critics and members of Congress who would prefer to see major changes to Medicare enacted through legislation. The proposal “does raise the question of how much legislative authority can be ceded,” Joseph Antos, a scholar at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute, said in an email. There will most likely be other such programs activated before President Obama leaves office. The administration has pledged that a majority of medical payments will include some measure of “value” by 2018. The Affordable Care Act set up a new office called the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Its mandate was to test new ways of paying for medical care that would improve quality and lower costs. Since the health care law passed, the innovation center has begun dozens of voluntary pilot programs, encouraging interested medical providers to test the new payment types. But the law also said that if it finds programs that the Medicare actuary said passed those tests, it could make the changes a permanent part of how Medicare pays for care. Medicare has been testing similar programs for the last few years among hospitals and home health agencies that chose to sign up. What’s new about these proposed programs is that providers can’t choose whether to participate. Every hospital in the selected markets, which include New York and Miami, will be paid the new way for knee and hip replacements if the surgery proposal is finalized. Every home health agency in the nine selected states will be paid the new way for its services if that proposal goes into effect. Joshua Seidman, a senior vice president at the consulting firm Avalere Health, said he’s been waiting for the administration to start using its power to reshape how Medicare pays doctors, hospitals and other medical services. “How are they going to expand these programs and scale them? That’s the question now,” he said. “It’s obviously got huge potential to shape how future payment is made.” *Voting Rights Legacy of the ’60s Heads to Court as North Carolina Law Is Tested <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/us/a-voting-rights-legacy-of-the-1960s-heads-to-court-in-north-carolina.html?ref=us> // NYT // Erik Eckholm – July 11, 2015 * Days after South Carolina confronted its past and lowered the Confederate battle flag, North Carolina will grapple with its present-day rules that determine access to the voting booth. A federal trial opening in Winston-Salem on Monday is meant to determine whether recent, sweeping changes in the state’s election laws discriminate against black voters. These changes were adopted by the Republican-dominated state legislature in 2013, immediately after the United States Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 when it ended a requirement that nine states with histories of discrimination, including North Carolina, get federal approval before altering their election laws. But the case, as well as one involving a Texas law requiring voters to show a photo ID, could have far wider repercussions, legal experts say — helping to define the scope of voting rights protections across the country in the coming presidential election and beyond. The contested measures in North Carolina include reduced early voting days, an end to same-day registration and an end to a program to preregister high school students. They are a far cry from the violent intimidation and poll taxes of the Jim Crow era. Still, few issues are more highly charged than voting rights in the old Confederate states, where the murder of civil rights workers and the brutal police attack on Alabama marchers galvanized Congress to pass the 1965 act, and the trial is fanning old emotions. “This is our Selma,” said William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina N.A.A.C.P., of the election changes in the state. His group brought the lawsuit, alongside the League of Women Voters, a group of college students and the Department of Justice. The Justice Department and other plaintiffs argue that the discriminatory effect was so clearly intentional that North Carolina should again be required to submit voting proposals for federal approval. The state’s attorney general, Roy Cooper, responded in a pretrial brief that the plaintiffs are arguing for “the equivalent of election law affirmative action” or for “practices that are favored by political organizations dedicated to maximizing Democratic turnout.” North Carolina says that the 2013 changes were made to ensure electoral integrity and reduce administrative burdens, and that any effect on minorities is negligible and certainly not illegal. Litigation over changes in voting rules, as opposed to the redrawing of districts, was uncommon before the Supreme Court blocked the federal preapproval requirement in the case of Shelby County v. Holder; questionable changes were usually halted before they could take effect. Now, though, courts and civil rights groups have been forced to take a new look at the remaining provisions of the voting rights statute. Like North Carolina, other states have recently revamped their election laws. Texas, for example, put in place a stringent photo ID law, the legality of which is now under consideration by a federal appeals court. But North Carolina lawmakers passed the broadest set of changes, trimming or eliminating measures that had been adopted over the previous 15 years expressly to bolster electoral participation by minority and younger voters. In addition to cutting early voting days, to 10 from 17, lawmakers ended the ability to register and cast a vote on the same day, instead restoring a 25-day wait, and abolished a preregistration program for 16- and 17-year-olds. The 2013 law also included a strict photo ID requirement, but it was recently softened and will not be considered in the trial. Judge Thomas D. Schroeder of Federal District Court will most likely have to define the point at which such measures amount to unconstitutional discrimination under the Voting Rights Act, setting an important precedent on a topic that many legal experts think must eventually be resolved by the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs in the case, North Carolina N.A.A.C.P. v. McCrory, claim not only that the changes have an illegal discriminatory result but also that they were devised to suppress black and Hispanic voting. The changes “fall with special force on North Carolina’s black citizens,” the Justice Department said in its brief, and “that unlawful result is no accident.” If intent to discriminate is proved — a tall order — the state will lose. But how to define an illegal discriminatory effect is less settled. The plaintiffs claim that the North Carolina law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which, as amended in 1982, bans policies that result “in a denial or abridgment” of the right to vote based on race and calls for a judgment “based on the totality of circumstances.” “What is a practice that results in an abridgment?” asked Edward B. Foley, an expert in election law at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. In the limited number of cases so far, federal appeals courts have sharply diverged, “offering diametrically opposite views of how to understand what is now the most important section of the Voting Rights Act,” Mr. Foley said. Efforts by civil rights groups to win a preliminary injunction against the North Carolina law before the 2014 election were unsuccessful, so its provisions, except for the voter ID requirement, were in effect then. But the two sides offer contrasting versions of what happened in the election. The plaintiffs will present numerous witnesses who will testify that the new rules deterred them from voting, as well as expert testimony showing broader discriminatory effects, said Donita Judge, a senior lawyer with the Advancement Project, a civil rights group and co-counsel for the plaintiffs. That blacks are more likely to use early voting, same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting has been well established in past elections. Many black churches, for example, send busloads of voters to the polls after Sunday services, and often used the extra week that is now eliminated. Poorer and less educated on average, blacks may be more likely to miss the deadline for registration or to be confused by changes in their home precinct and voting spots, according to civil rights groups. While it is impossible to know how many people did not register or vote in 2014 because of the changes, data does show, as one concrete measure, that 11,000 people who registered in North Carolina less than 25 days before Election Day were unable to vote when they could have under previous rules, said Daniel T. Donovan, a lawyer with Kirkland and Ellis, which is also representing the plaintiffs. North Carolina officials discount these claims of hardship. The contested measures, their brief says, “simply repeal or scale back conveniences on when and how to vote or register to vote; in no respect do they impose additional qualification or barriers.” The state also points out that the African-American voter turnout in 2014 was higher than it was in 2010, the previous nonpresidential election year. But the civil rights groups note that many factors affect voter turnout in a particular year — 2014 had a hotly contested Senate race — and that the N.A.A.C.P., alarmed by the new rules, engaged in months of intense campaigns to urge African-Americans to register and vote, an effort that cannot be sustained indefinitely. Of particular interest will be the effort to prove that North Carolina legislators acted intentionally to curb black voting, and the related request by federal officials and the civil rights groups to restore a preapproval requirement for election law changes in North Carolina, under a rarely invoked provision of the Voting Rights Act. The Justice Department is seeking similar restorations of federal oversight, known as “bail-ins,” in two Texas cases, involving its redistricting plan and its photo ID law. Proving intentional racial discrimination is difficult, said Justin Levitt, an expert in election law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “That doesn’t mean that they have to prove animus or hatred,” he said in an email, “but they will have to prove that the law was put in place because of (and not merely despite) its impact on minorities.” If the plaintiffs do establish intentionality, Mr. Levitt said, it will be up to the judge to decide whether reimposing federal preclearance is warranted. *INTERNATIONAL* *Meeting on Greece Debt Breaks Up With No Deal <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/business/greece-debt-plan-at-next-crucial-stage-as-finance-ministers-meet.html?_r=0> // NYT // James Kanter – July 11, 2015 * A meeting of European finance ministers broke up late Saturday with no agreement on whether Greece should be granted its third bailout since 2010, reflecting deep divides over whether the Athens government can be trusted to repay huge new loans and leaving the Continent hours from what could be a historic rupture. The finance ministers planned to reconvene on Sunday, just before European national leaders are scheduled to meet in Brussels for what they have said would be a final decision on whether Greece should qualify for a new aid package, a step aimed at determining whether the country can remain in the euro currency union. The failure by the finance ministers to reach an agreement, after nearly nine hours of talks, belied the optimism that followed the approval early Saturday by the Greek Parliament of a package of pension cuts, higher taxes and other policy changes long sought by Greece’s international creditors. In a remarkable turnabout, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had pushed the package through the legislature despite having led his country into a referendum six days earlier that overwhelmingly rejected much the same terms. Despite Greece’s capitulation on those terms, many countries came into this weekend’s final round of negotiations skeptical of the Tsipras government’s commitment to seeing through the changes and putting his country on firmer financial footing — and weary of the constant brinkmanship that has characterized the months of negotiations over Greece’s latest crisis. Instead of working through the night to hammer out a statement on requirements for Greece, as had been expected, the meeting was suddenly called off shortly before midnight, and ministers left without even holding a formal news conference. “The issue of credibility and trust was discussed, and also of course the financial issues involved,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem of the Netherlands, the head of the so-called Eurogroup of ministers, told reporters. “It is still very difficult. but work is still in progress,” he said, adding that discussions would continue later Sunday morning. From the start, it was clear that Mr. Tsipras’s gambit had not entirely won over Germany and other countries that have been skeptical about giving a new round of loans to Greece after years in which successive governments in Athens have struggled to carry out changes that creditors have demanded as a condition of the bailouts. “We will have exceptionally difficult negotiations,” Wolfgang Schäuble, the hard-nosed German finance minister, said on Saturday before the meeting. “We won’t be able to rely on promises.” His prediction proved accurate, as he and fellow ministers wrangled with little apparent progress, seeking more assurances from Greece that it was committed to changing its ways, and weighing the desires of France and Italy for a deal against the more skeptical stance of Germany and the possibility of outright opposition from Finland. During their talks, the finance ministers called on their Greek counterpart, Euclid Tsakalotos, to put the package proposed by his government into swift effect to prove its willingness to make deep and lasting changes to the nation’s faltering economy. Greece, in turn, continued to seek some assurance that it would win the right to renegotiate the terms of its debt repayment. It was not clear that the finance ministers’ meeting on Sunday morning would yield a consensus about how to proceed, increasing the possibility that they would leave final decisions to their national leaders, who are to gather in Brussels in the afternoon. “I am still hopeful,” Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic affairs, told reporters as he left the Eurogroup meeting. In an apparent effort to raise the pressure on Greece, some officials earlier in the day were informally passing around a one-page position paper, reportedly drawn up by the German finance ministry as a possible option for the negotiations, saying the Greek proposal fell short and suggesting options that included ideas like having the country leave the eurozone for five years and reapply for membership. The idea of a break from the euro was not openly discussed at the meeting, according to one of the officials with direct knowledge of the talks, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were private. Mr. Schäuble, however, referred repeatedly to a plan drafted by German officials that would require Athens to transfer state assets into a trust fund to pay down its debt in order to stay in the eurozone, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Mr. Schäuble did not refer explicitly to the idea of a temporary Greek departure from the eurozone, these people said. But the tough approach by the German minister, they said, appeared designed to make clear that he now favors a Greek exit. The European leaders have set this weekend as a deadline for settling the issue of whether to keep Greece solvent or cut off further aid, a step that would almost certainly result in forcing Athens to abandon the euro. An exit by Greece would be a blow to Europe’s goal of ever-closer integration. Greece’s banks are teetering on insolvency, the government is running out of cash to meet day-to-day obligations, and without an infusion, additional payments to international creditors will be missed in coming weeks. Experts who reviewed Greece’s request for a third bailout program informed Eurogroup ministers that about €74 billion is needed to cover its financing needs for the next three years, according to a person with direct knowledge of the experts’ findings. That is far more than the €53.5 billion, or about $59 billion, that Athens has requested. If loans for Greece are eventually approved, the majority will probably be covered by a new loan from the European Stability Mechanism, the European bailout fund. Other sources could include loans from the International Monetary Fund, funds raised through Greek government revenue and, eventually, new debt issued by Greece. That discrepancy between what Greece had requested and the new estimate of its bailout needs may have further reinforced the doubts of those who wonder if the Greek government has a handle on its finances and will be able to carry out promised changes. “Many governments — mine, too — have serious concerns about the commitment of the Greek government,” the Dutch state secretary for finance, Eric Wiebes, told reporters in Brussels before Saturday’s meeting. “After all, we are discussing a proposal from the Greek government that was fiercely rejected less than a week ago, and that is a serious concern.” While no signed bailout deal was expected this weekend, the question is whether Europe will decide to continue negotiating a rescue with Greece, or leave its banks to collapse and its virtually bankrupt government to default. European leaders have said their Sunday evening meeting could be used to reach that decision. The fear of Greece and its supporters, which include the French government, is that without an agreement to continue negotiations, Greek banks could collapse next week, raising the prospect that the country would quickly have to abandon the euro. Mr. Moscovici, the European economic affairs commissioner who is a former finance minister of France, said as he entered Saturday’s meeting that the “Greek government has made significant gestures.” He said the Greek proposals form “a basis for a new program” of loans. Before the meeting, the finance ministers received assessments of the Tsipras plan by experts representing the creditors. “The papers of the Greek authorities contain positive elements, issues where clarification is needed, and some issues where the institutions wish to see stronger commitment to reform,” said a person with direct knowledge of experts’ findings. But this person also warned: “Negotiations will be tough. The chances for a deal are 50-50.” The Eurogroup, with its 19 eurozone finance ministers, has some outspoken critics of Greece, irritated by the Tsipras government’s negotiating style and Mr. Tsipras’s decision the week before last to break off negotiations and call for the referendum. Mr. Tsipras surprised many in his own country and party on Thursday when he presented a plan containing many of the elements — including austerity measures — that the voters had just rejected by a wide margin. The creditors now want strong evidence that Greece will honor its latest set of economic promises if it gets the new loans it is seeking, and an agreement to ease the burden of its current debt, which at €317 billion is equivalent to 177 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. By that measure, only Japan’s debt, at 245 percent, is higher among the world’s economies. *Iran Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Calls U.S. ‘Embodiment of Arrogance’ <http://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-calls-u-s-embodiment-of-arrogance-1436656361> // WSJ // Asa Fitch & Jay Solomon – July 11, 2015 * Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the U.S. the “ultimate embodiment of arrogance” and warned that his nation’s opposition to Washington wouldn’t end if a nuclear accord is reached between Tehran and world powers in the coming days. Mr. Khamenei’s comments on Saturday again raised questions about whether the 75-year-old cleric fully backed an emerging agreement that calls for Iran to constrain its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions. Iran Nuclear Talks Extended Until Monday Tehran’s top political leader has consistently railed against the U.S. in the years since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. But the timing of his comments, at a critical juncture in the negotiations, pointed to the continued hurdles the Obama administration faces in trying to forge an agreement with Iran. “The U.S. is the ultimate embodiment of arrogance,” Mr. Khamenei told a group of students in Tehran on Saturday in response to a question raised about how to combat the U.S. in the years ahead, according to the supreme leader’s official website. “Get ready to continue combating the arrogant power.” The U.S., Iran and five other global powers—the U.K., France, Germany, Russia and China—continued a full day of negotiations in Austria’s capital on Saturday in an attempt to reach a final deal. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, have held 15 straight days of talks in Vienna that have already broken through two diplomatic deadlines, June 30 and July 7. The U.S., Iran and the other negotiating countries have cited Monday as the newest target to complete the talks, and meetings are planned throughout Sunday. Diplomats said they were making progress on Saturday, but stressed that serious issues still needed to be resolved to reach an elusive final deal. “Met with @FedericaMog and @JZarif this AM,” Mr. Kerry wrote on his official Twitter account on Saturday, referring to Mr. Zarif and Federica Mogherini, the foreign policy chief of the European Union. “Still have difficult issues to resolve.” Senior Iranian officials have accused the U.S. over the past 72 hours of backtracking on commitments it made in previous rounds of the negotiations, on issues ranging from the lifting of United Nations sanctions to the future size of Tehran’s nuclear program. American officials have denied the charge. On Saturday, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani said the U.S. and its negotiating partners were to blame if the diplomacy in Vienna failed. “In these 22 months, we have spoken to six world powers in a way that if the negotiations don’t succeed, the world knows well that Iran has been reasonable and has never left the table,” Mr. Rouhani said, according to Tehran’s semiofficial state media. *Monday Deadline Looms For Iran Nuclear Talks <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/iran-monday-deadline_55a1046be4b0a47ac15caaa7> // AP // Matthew Lee & George Jahn – July 11, 2015 * Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program blew past the two-week mark in Vienna on Saturday ahead of a new deadline for a deal, with the United States and Iran both threatening to walk away. Despite hints of progress since U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif traded accusations of backtracking on Thursday, diplomats said it remained unclear whether negotiators would be able to meet the Monday deadline, the fourth since talks began 15 days ago. Kerry and Zarif met on Saturday with European Union foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini and were conferring with other foreign ministers involved. German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius are both in Vienna. British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond was expected later Saturday. The Chinese and Russian foreign ministers have said they will come to Vienna if a deal appears close. On Friday, Kerry suggested that some progress had been made, telling reporters that the "atmosphere is very constructive," but stressing that "very difficult issues" remained to be resolved. Those comments came a day after he had declared for the second time in the current round that the negotiations could not be open-ended, warned that the U.S. was prepared to call an end to the talks and challenged Iran to make tough choices to seal a deal. Zarif responded by accusing the United States and its European partners of backtracking on previous commitments and calling on the U.S. to end its "obsession" with sanctions. Any deal is meant to clamp long-term and verifiable restrictions on Iranian nuclear programs that are technically adaptable to make weapons in exchange for sanctions relief for Tehran. Friday's tougher rhetoric mirrored negotiators' frustrations. The current round that was supposed to conclude on June 30, but was extended until July 7, then July 10 and now July 13. The scope of access to U.N. inspectors monitoring Iran's nuclear program remains a sticking point. The Americans want no restrictions. Iranian officials say unrestricted monitoring could be a cover for Western spying. Diplomats say Iran's negotiators have signaled awillingness to compromise, but hardliners in Iran remain opposed to broad U.N. inspections. Another unresolved matter is Iran's demand for a U.N. arms embargo to be lifted as part of sanctions relief, a stance supported by Russia and China but opposed by the U.S. and some Europeans. The sides had hoped to seal a deal before the end of Thursday in Washington to avoid delays in implementing their promises. By missing that target, the U.S. and Iran now have to wait for a 60-day congressional review period during which President Barack Obama cannot waive sanctions on Iran. Had they reached a deal by Thursday, the review would have been only 30 days. Iran is unlikely to begin a substantial rollback of its nuclear program until it gets sanctions relief in return.