Fiorina Hits Todd for Using Climate Change to Talk California Drought

During an appearance on Meet the Press, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina hit back at moderator Chuck Todd for pushing the issue of climate change during a discussion on the ongoing California drought. Todd proclaimed “[i]n your home state of California, drought, the wildfires. More evidence is coming out from the scientific community that says climate change has made this worse. Not to say that the drought is directly caused but it’s made it worse. 

For her part, Fiorina refused to accept Todd’s claim and instated blamed “liberal politicians” for causing the massive drought: 

You know what’s also made it worse? Politicians, liberal politicians who stood up for 40 years as the population of California doubled and saying, you cannot build a new reservoir and you cannot build a water conveyance system. And so, for 40 years 70% of the rainfall has washed out to sea. That's pretty dumb when you know you’re going to have droughts every single year, or every three years let’s say. 

The Meet the Press moderator continued to play up how climate change made the California drought worse and how he “asked Governor Jerry Brown to respond to that exact criticism you made. I said, do you blame liberal environmentalists in California, specifically on dams and reservoirs, and this is how he responded.” 

After Brown called Fiorina’s argument “such utter ignorance” and how “these people if they want to run for president, better do kind of eighth grade science before they make any more utterances” the Republican presidential candidate pushed back once again: 

That's a lot of insults but of course it makes no sense what he just said. It would be helpful if you were fighting fires to have more water. Firefighters in California have difficulty getting enough water now, so they're using other means. 

It would be helpful to agriculture and everything else to have water saved in the good years so that you could use it in the bad years. I'm not denying that California's air is dry. That's obvious. I'm not denying that there is a drought. But there is no denying that politicians have made this problem immeasurably worse. 

Via: Newsbusters

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[VIDEO] Robinson: Clinton’s Claim to be Victim of Partisan Attack ‘Doesn’t Ring So True’

Ball: Email scandal causing tensions within her campaign

Sunday’s Meet the Press panel said Hillary Clinton’s claims of partisan attacks on her don’t “ring so true” and that the private email story that has dogged her since March is causing tensions within her presidential campaign.

Last Friday, Clinton joked about her private server at the State Department and said the investigation into her was petty politics as usual.

“It’s hard to claim this is all just a partisan witch hunt when the Justice Department under a Democratic administration is looking into the whole email mess,” Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said. “So, that doesn’t ring so true.”

After months of refusing to turn over her private server, Clinton decided last week to give it to the Justice Department. The Clinton campaigned has struggled to move past the email story and responding to it politically has caused some disagreement between Clinton supporters, The Atlantic’s Molly Ball said.

“And the fact that this story has not gone away has really worried a lot of people in the inner circle. You do have this tension within the campaign,” Ball said. “And so, you know, then it turns into an organizational mess which is what bogged down her campaign in 2008.”

Via: WFB

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[VIDEO] Rubio: 'I'll Support Any Legislation that Reduces the Number of Abortions'

Via: Meet The Press

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[VIDEO] Chuck Todd Lectures Ben Carson Over ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement

In an interview with Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, host Chuck Todd demanded to know why the GOP contender had been critical of the left-wing “Black Lives Matter” movement: “...you were also, in an earlier interview this week, asked about the Black Lives Matter movement. And you called it ‘silly.’ Why did you call it silly?”

 Carson explained how Todd had taken his words completely out of context: “I don't recall calling it ‘silly,’ but what I called silly is political correctness going amuck. That's what's silly....I guess it was Martin O'Malley who said, you know, ‘black lives matter, white lives matter,’ he got in trouble for that and had to apologize. That's what – that's what I'm talking about is silly. Of course all lives matter.” - 

Carson added: “You know, for a young black man, the most likely cause of death is homicide. That is a huge problem that we need to address in a very serious way.”

Todd proceeded to parrot the liberal movement’s talking points:

Well, and that is what the Black Lives Matter movement is doing and why they criticize politicians for saying all lives matter because their point is, until – that there is inequality here. That particularly – you brought up African-American men and that overall stat – but think about the issue of police custody, that an African-American is more likely to die in police custody than any other race or ethnicity.

Carson pushed back: “Yeah, but, again, I think we need to look at the whole picture. One of the things that I always like to point out to people is, how about we just remove the police for 24 hours? Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue?...We need to be a little more mature...”

Wrapping up the interview minutes later, Todd plucked out a question from social media: “Alright, I'm going to close here with a question from a Facebook poster. And this one came from Victor Roush. Simple question, ‘Does the Bible have authority over the Constitution?’”

Carson replied: “He said that's a simple question? That is not a simple question by any stretch of the imagination.”

Todd rephrased: “A simply worded question, how's that?”

Carson observed: “I think probably what you have to do is ask a very specific question about a specific passage of the Bible and a specific portion of the Constitution. I don't think you can answer that question other than out of very specific context.”

Via: Newsbusters

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LIBERAL STUDY UNINTENTIONALLY REVEALS NATIONWIDE ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIME SPREE

A report issued by the liberal Migration Policy Institute (MPI) further shreds Chuck Todd’s assertion on NBC’s “Meet The Press” last Sunday that he and his staff, “couldn’t find a single study that links violent crime and immigration.”

Tucked inside a report about President Obama’s new amnesty is the estimation from this liberal think tank there are 820,000 illegal aliens in the United States with criminal convictions, including 690,000 illegal aliens currently residing on U.S. soil who have been convicted of a felony or “serious” misdemeanor.

The 820,000 figure is not an estimation of total crimes committed by illegal immigrants—which would be a much higher number—but only those illegal aliens successfully identified, arrested, tried, and convicted.

Combined with other statistical data points, however, the 820,000 figure gives us a way to examine the scope of total illegal alien crime. Even conservative assumptions produce harrowing conclusions, and demonstrate that there are likely millions of American victims of illegal alien predators.

First, the appendix in MPI’s report explains that it reached the 820,000 figure by “assuming unauthorized immigrants and lawful noncitizen immigrants commit crimes at the same rates.” While millions of Americans have been victimized by aliens with visas—the U.S. issues the majority of its visas to either unstable, poor, or violent countries.

MPI’s assumption is still overly-generous. The mere fact that illegal aliens are more likely to be young and male than aliens in general makes the assumption flawed. The true population of criminally-convicted illegals is almost certainly quite a bit higher.

But this still provides only a fractional snapshot of the total population of criminal illegal aliens. MPI’s estimation covers only those individuals caught, arrested, tried and convicted. But millions of crimes are committed that never result in a conviction.

For instance, less than half (48.9 percent) of violent felony arrests in New York City result in a conviction and sentence, according to a report from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. The national “clearance rate” for homicides is 64.1 percent—meaning less than 2 in 3 murder cases results in the suspect even being arrested, let alone convicted. In Washington D.C., according to police data analyzed by The Washington Post, only 1 in 3 homicides results in a conviction.

What this means is that for the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who have been found, caught, tried, and convicted, there are hundreds of thousands more illegal alien offenders on the loose who have never been successfully identified or convicted. This latter point is also important because it is the policy of the administration and Sanctuary Cities to free criminal aliens if convictions aren’t obtained—giving them ample opportunity to continued their crime spree. Of course, tens of thousands with convictions are freed as well.

The task of getting a conviction has only grown more difficult over time. AsThe Washington Times reports, “The national homicide “clearance rate” — that is, local police identifying and arresting killers — has slipped to 64.1 percent from more than 90 percent just 50 years ago.” The Washington Times explains that this marked decline is attributable in part to “higher closure standards and more crimes being committed by gangs and drug dealers who may have no local footprint and/or encourage ‘no snitch’ mentality.”

The liberal-leaning National Public Radio explains that this is especially true for crimes committed in communities likely impacted by immigration: “Since at least the 1980s, police have complained about a growing ‘no snitch’ culture, especially in minority communities. They say the reluctance of potential witnesses makes it hard to identify suspects.”

Low crime-to-conviction rates in general are likely greatly exaggerated for certain crimes committed by immigrants and especially illegal immigrants. Illegal lawbreakers not only have an extra incentive to flee to avoid trial in order to avoid deportation if convicted, but also can more easily do so. It stands to reason that a citizen charged with breaking into a car is less likely to flee the country than an illegal alien charged with the same. Many illegals also flee immediately, long before anyone comes looking for them.

As acclaimed Manhattan Institute scholar Heather Mac Donald has documented,  “In Los Angeles, 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homicide (which total 1,200 to 1,500) target illegal aliens. Up to two-thirds of all fugitive felony warrants (17,000) are for illegal aliens.”

This suggests that the enormous number of convictions for illegal aliens only points to a vastly larger number of alien criminals who evaded conviction any one of ways including fleeing the jurisdiction, fleeing the country or being shielded by large transnational gangs like MS-13.

Most Wanted Lists across the country point to the number of extremely violent and serious crimes where the immigrant perpetrator is at large. Moreover, the number of crimes per criminal is greater than 1. For instance, GAO found an average of 7 arrests per incarcerated alien. All told, this means there are certainly millions of Americans who are the victims of criminal acts by illegal aliens. Each and every one of these crimes could have been prevented had our laws been enforced. 

Via: Breitbart

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NBC’s David Gregory Begs Public To Give Obama Credit For Economy, Claims It’s “Getting Better”… -

This week's Mainstream Media Scream features NBC's David Gregory complaining on NBC's State of the Union coverage and his "Meet The Press" Sunday show that President Obama isn't getting the credit for the economy, which he said “is getting better.”

Near the beginning of NBC's State of the Union coverage, he insisted “the economy's getting better,” declaring: “That's what this president had to do. He had to make the economy better. And, yet he's not getting a lot of credit for it.”

Then, on the Feb. 2 "Meet the Press", Gregory fretted to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough: “Do you ever wonder why the president doesn’t get more credit for an economy that is rebounding? What’s the disconnect there?”

Media Research Center Vice President of Research and Publications Brent Baker explains our pick: “The disconnect is Gregory’s disconnect from reality. To whatever extent the economy is slightly improving, it’s despite Obama’s policies, such as the burdens and uncertainties of Obamacare. President Reagan fixed the economy within three years, yet the media continuously derided “Reaganomics.” Obama has yet to achieve Reagan’s success, but journalists like Gregory never deride ‘Obamanomics.’”

Rating: Four out of five screams.

Via: Washington Examiner

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Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:

ABC's "This Week" _ Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas; Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" _ Secretary of State John Kerry; Christie, Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md.

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CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Christie; Leon Panetta, former defense secretary and CIA director.

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CNN's "State of the Union" _ Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan.; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee chairman.

___

"Fox News Sunday" _ Christie.

Via: Postar.com

Romney: Christie 'Could Easily Become Our Nominee and Save Our Party’

(CNSNews.com) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who lost the 2012 election to President Barack Obama, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he believed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could “easily” become the GOP presidential nominee in 2016 and “save our party.”

Christie most recently made national news when he decided to drop a legal challenge to rulings in New Jersey state courts that declared same-sex marriage legal there. And not long before that, he changed his position on the question of whether illegal aliens should get in-state tuition rates at New Jersey state colleges. Now he backs legislation that would give that privilege to illegal aliens.

These two moves won Christie a recent article from the Los Angeles Times that described him as having "staked his place near the political middle ground."

Romney’s statement that Christie could “save our party” came even as Time Magazine’s website published an excerpt from the upcoming book “Double Down: Game Change 2012” by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, that was featured above the masthead on the Drudge Report, and that describes a Republican vice presidential vetting process that resulted in Romney himself deciding not choosing Christie as his vice presidential running mate.

Via: CNS News

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Pelosi: Chicago Jesus Is A “President of Great Vision, Great Knowledge, Great Judgement”…

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday dismissed Mitt Romney’s statement that President Obama’s second term is rotting away.

Pelosi said she missed Romney’s appearance on “Meet the Press,” during which the former GOP presidential candidate said Obama’s broken promise that everyone who liked their healthcare plan could keep it has undermined Obama’s presidency. 

“I don’t even know why Romney was on that show myself,” she said in an interview on MSNBC. “I want to know what about the future —what about the future. But the fact is that President Obama is a president of great vision, of great knowledge, of great judgment.”

Pelosi noted that Obama led the effort to overhaul the healthcare system, an effort in which former presidents have failed. 

The Associated Press reported Sunday that at least 3.5 million people who buy insurance on the individual market have received cancellation notices for existing plans. The administration has consistently noted that the individual market makes up 5 percent of people. 

“For 95 percent of the American people who have health insurance that is the case,” Pelosi said. “For the small number in the private market, they will do better.” 

For people with preexisting conditions, Pelosi called the healthcare law a “godsend, emphasis on the God.”

Pelosi predicted that the healthcare law, and its botched rollout, will not be an issue in the 2014 midterm elections. 

“I don’t even think of it as a political issue,” she said. “But for the American people this will be a giant plus.”

The minority leader reiterated her point that Democrats have a better chance of winning back the House in the midterms because fallout hitting Republicans due to the government shutdown. 

Heading into the House-Senate budget conference that has a December deadline to come up with a spending plan, Pelosi said revenue will need to be on the table and predicted Obama and others in the conference would hold firm.

“I think we will all stay there together,” she said. “If you have revenue on the table, you can come to a bigger agreement to reduce the deficit and grow the economy to do so in a fiscally sound way.”

Via: The Hill

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[VIDEO] Romney: ‘You Have to Tell the American People the Truth’

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
November 3, 2013 11:25 am

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney again rejected President Obama’s comparisons between Obamacare and Romney’s health care policy while governor of Massachusetts Sunday on Meet The Press, saying Obama had failed to learn the lessons from that state-run plan and had been dishonest with the American people.

Referring to Obama’s infamous promise that “if you like your plan you will keep your plan,” Romney said that falsehood could undermine his entire presidency.

“Perhaps the most important lesson the president, I think, failed to learn was, you have to tell the American people the truth,” Romney said. “When he told the American people that you could keep your health insurance if you wanted to keep that plan, period, he said that time and again, he wasn’t telling the truth, and I think that fundamental dishonesty has really put in peril the whole foundation of his second term.”

Via: WFB

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Santorum: Ted Cruz 'Did More Harm' To GOP During Shutdown

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Sunday denied that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is a leading face in the conservative movement and said the Texas senator hurt the party in his effort to defund Obamacare.

Asked on NBC's "Meet The Press" whether Cruz did more harm than good in risking a government shutdown to derail the health care law, the former Pennsylvania senator said that although Cruz's goal was admirable he did do some damage.

"I would say that in the end, he did more harm," Santorum said. "I think it was not his objective. I think his objective was a laudable one, I think he didn't do a very good job in planning it out. I mean it's one thing to have a goal, and another thing to have a plan to get you to that goal."
Santorum added that part of the Republican Party's problem is that it has no definitive leader at this point in time, unlike the Democratic Party, which has a leader in President Barack Obama.
"But that's always the way it is with a party out of power," he said. "You have lots of different faces and those faces, as we've seen, they come and they go."

During an appearance in Iowa on Friday, Cruz laid the blame for the defund Obamacare effort's failure squarely on the shoulders of Senate Republicans who did not stand behind the House GOP during the government shutdown.

Via: TPM

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Democratic governor says 'chill out' over health care rollout debacle

Kentucky's Democratic governor says Americans need to "chill out" and "take a deep breath" over the disastrous rollout of the new health care law.

Gov. Steve Beshear said fixing the health care program "is going to take some time," but he believes it will eventually work.

"These plans and Medicaid are directed toward prevention and wellness, and that is the future of health care, and I think everybody knows it," Beshear said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press."

Beshear appeared on the show with Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich to talk about the glitches that have plagued the implementation of Obamacare insurance exchanges that opened for business on Oct. 1. Few have been able to navigate the website and sign up, and many who have done so have discovered higher premiums and deductibles and limited choices.

Unlike Beshear, Kasich called the program a "disaster."

"The problem is Obamacare, it doesn't control cost," Kasich said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Secondly, it's going to drive up the cost for the vast majority of Ohioans. It threatens the ability of small business to grow beyond 50 employees."

Kasich said the troubled health care law rollout, combined with the recent government shutdownand the news that the United States has been tapping the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders "is a creating an issue of confidence in the minds of the American people and doubt with people around the world, which is really serious."

Beshear said the health care law will eventually succeed.

A third of those who will sign up for the new health care law in Kentucky, including those enrolling in Medicaid, are under 35 years old, a key demographic needed to help the new system function, he said.

"And that's what's going to happen all over this country," Beshear added. "People are going to sign up for this. It'll take us a while to get it in process, but I guarantee you, we're going to make it work because it's good for the American people, and it's good for Kentucky."

Via: Washington Examiner

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Family of Four Will Pay $10,000 More for Insurance Because of Obamacare

That's what Tom Waschura, an independent who voted twice for Barack Obama, told the San Jose Mercury News on the day he learned his family of four would pay nearly $10,000 more for health insurance in 2014 in order for his policy to "conform to all the requirements of the new health care law."

"I really don't like the Republican tactics, but at least now I can understand why they are so pissed about this," Waschura told reporter Tracy Seipel. "When you take $10,000 out of my family's pocket each year, that's otherwise disposable income or retirement savings that will not be going into our local economy."

Sure, it's just one anecdote, and the success or failure of Obamacare will be determined by its overall effects. But the story is a good example of how the Affordable Care Act isn't living up to expectations. "Of course, I want people to have health care," Cindy Vinson, another Obama voter seeing her health policy spike $1,800 in 2014, told the paper. "I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally."

The Mercury News reports that "California spokesman Dana Howard maintained that in public presentations the exchange has always made clear that there will be winners and losers under Obamacare." But, in fact, the law's biggest advocates didn't make that clear. 

"If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums," Barack Obama said during his 2007 speech unveiling his health care plan. "That will be less."

In 2012, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said on Meet the Press that "everybody will have lower rates" under Obamacare. When asked by THE WEEKLY STANDARD this summer about reports of large rate hikes for some Americans, Pelosi said, "I don't remember saying that everybody in the country would have a lower premium."

Via: Weekly Standard

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