[COMMENTARY] Trump's birthright stance

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves New York state Supreme Court during a lunch break of his summons to jury duty, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. Trump is taking a break from courting voters to go to court as a potential juror. He shook hands and fist-bumped bystanders as he reported for jury duty Monday at a Manhattan court. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR. | THE WASHINGTON POST

Some people believe that Donald Trump is a Democratic mole who is in the Republican presidential race to scare away voters from the GOP and torpedo otherwise-promising Republican contenders by getting them to co-sign crazy.

Those who believe that Trump is a Democrat in Republicans’ clothing will wince at the question that NBC News’ Kasie Hunt put to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker this week at the Iowa State Fair:

“Do you think birthright citizenship should be ended?”

Trump does. Supposedly. Although since the real-estate tycoon is a master manipulator who has over the years changed position on a variety of issues, no one can be sure what Trump believes about anything.

The candidate’s nearly 1,900-word policy paper on immigration suggests hitting “delete” on the 14th Amendment to ensure that the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants are no longer granted citizenship at birth.

Anyone who passed eighth-grade civics will know that changing the Constitution is nearly impossible because it involves getting the support of two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the states. Anyone who has followed the immigration debate will note the irony that many of those who consider U.S. citizenship sacred when denying it to the undocumented suddenly consider it less sacred when stripping it away from their offspring. And any lawyer who was not absent the day they taught law in law school will tell you that, if you want to pick a fight with the judicial branch, this is the wrong battle. The courts have defended birthright citizenship without fail.

Besides, conservatives always talk about how they want to protect the Constitution. So now we have to destroy the founding document in order to save it?

Trump’s immigration proposals are a hot mess that can be summed up as follows: Build a wall, enforce the law, and protect the jobs of Americans.

But who can be sure that any of this is real?

President Barack Obama promised to make immigration reform a top priority, tried to explain away record numbers of deportations by claiming that he lacked the executive power to halt them, insisted that his administration was only deporting dangerous criminals and not hardworking people looking for a better life, and pledged that thousands of women and children refugees from Central America would be treated humanely.

None of this was true. It was all one big con job intended to fool the Democratic base.

Likewise, Trump’s policy paper is a mixture of bluster, generalities and vagueness. You hear what you want to hear.

As when Trump tells Chuck Todd, moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “We’re going to keep the families together. But they have to go.”

This isn’t the same as declaring that you would forcibly remove entire families. One could do what Obama did: Deport undocumented parents, and hope their U.S.-born children follow.

Those on the right who take Trump at face value on immigration will likely be just as disappointed as those on the left who were taken in by Obama.

This brings us back to the idea of ending birthright citizenship, which is catnip to the nativist wing of the GOP.

So when NBC’s Hunt asked Walker if he wanted to jump onboard Mr. Trump’s Wild Ride, the governor said uncomfortably:

“Yeah, to me it’s about enforcing the laws in this country. And I’ve been very clear, I think you enforce the laws, and I think it’s important to send a message that we’re going to enforce the laws, no matter how people come here, we’re going to enforce the laws in this country.”

No one who has studied Walker’s multiple choice positions on whether we should give the undocumented legal status would agree that he has been “very clear” on immigration.

What is clear is that Walker and the other GOP contenders, would likely never have been dragged into the thorny debate over birthright citizenship if not for Trump. And now with his spineless “me-tooism,” Walker has disqualified himself from the race. Moderates won’t go near him, and the folks who agree with him are with Trump anyway. That’s a recipe for losing.

Republicans, beware of the Trump trap. Things are not what they seem. Every policy proposal is really a character test. And a presidential campaign is a terrible thing to waste.

Ruben Navarrette is a columnist for The Washington Post Writers Group.

Via: The Monitor

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WATCH LIVE: Scott Walker Reveals Obamacare Alternative

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) is scheduled to make a speech from Minneapolis on Tuesday morning in which he lays out his plan to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. “If you’ve had it with Obamacare and you want someone who is going to do something about it, I am your candidate,” the Republican presidential candidate said in prepared remarks released ahead of the speech.

According to Politico, Walker aims to replace Obamacare with a plan “that would return authority to the states and provide sliding-scale tax credits directly to consumers who don’t get coverage at work to help them buy insurance.” In addition he would “give states greater say over Medicaid, which he would break into separate plans for different groups, such as poor families, people with disabilities and low-income seniors.”

Watch live stream video below, via NBC News:

VIDEO LINK

Via: Mediaite

[VIDEO] Shock: NBC Actually Goes to U.S.-Mexico Border to Find Ranchers Who Agree with Trump

Amid the ongoing media coverage surrounding Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on illegal immigration, Thursday’s NBC Nightly News surprisingly went down to the U.S.-Mexico border to further understand on the situation. 

 Following a news brief that mentioned a protest at the site of a Trump hotel being built in Washington D.C., anchor Lester Holt explained that even though some are “angered” by Trump’s remarks, they “are striking a cord” “for others” as they “believe he’s calling attention to a vital threat along our border.” 

With surveillance footage of illegal immigrants crossing the border into Arizona being played, correspondent Mark Potter explained how “[f]or several years, hidden cameras in the Arizona desert have captured scenes like these, of drug and immigrant smugglers, sometimes armed, hiking through miles of American ranchland after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexican border.

” Potter brought Trump into the equation by revealing that the footage just shown “was shot in May, south of Tucson, just two months before Donald Trump complained about boarder security.”  

Concerning ranchers that are confronted with the problem, Potter introduced “John Ladd, whom we visited several times before along the Mexican boarder fence” as he “and others have long complained...about what they say is an insecure boarder that leaves them facing security threats on their own land.”

 Ahead of Trump’s weekend visit to Arizona, Potter noted that, for ranchers like Ladd, “[t]hey applaud Trump for giving their concerns a national voice.” 

Potter then found two soundbites of business owners in Arizona (with one owning a restaurant near the border) who were against Trump’s comments, but their airtime was far less than what was given to both Ladd and fellow rancher Fred Davis.  Later, the NBC correspondent concluded by noting the GOP candidate has “plans to travel to Arizona this weekend, where he's already drawn lots of attention.” - 

Via: Newsbusters

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Pictured: Suspect, 21, on the run after shooting dead 9 people at historic South Carolina black church after telling them: 'I have to do this'

The white gunman sought by police for shooting dead nine people during a bible study meeting at an African-American church in South Carolina last night has been named as Dylann Storm Roof. 

Roof, who remains on the run since the horrific massacre at the 150-year-old Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, received a gun for his 21st birthday in April, his family has revealed.

On Wednesday, he allegedly entered the church and joined the group before suddenly opening fire an hour later. One survivor recounted how he reloaded his gun five times as he picked off his victims - killing three females and six males, including the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who is also a South Carolina state senator.

Pinckney's cousin told NBC News that one of the survivors told her they had urged Roof to stop.

'He just said: "I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go",' Sylvia Johnson said.

Roof, from Columbia, spared one woman so she could 'tell the world what happened', eye witnesses recounted, while a five-year-old girl also survived the attack after her grandmother told her to play dead.

Police have launched a massive manhunt for Roof and have released surveillance images showing him and his car.

Via: Daily Mail

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POLL: MAJORITY OF AMERICANS OPPOSE OBAMA’S TRADE AGREEMENT, HURTS AMERICAN WORKERS

A recent NBC News online survey shows a majority of Americans think President Obama’s trade agreement would harm American workers and companies.

“Two-thirds of Americans say protecting American industries and jobs by limiting imports is more important than allowing free trade so they can buy products at lower prices from any country,” reported NBC.

The survey found that this viewpoint was shared across political parties — with Republicans, Democrats and Independents all saying limiting inexpensive goods in order to protect U.S. jobs is more important than being able to purchase low-cost products.

Roughly four out of 10 people with college degrees believe “free trade is more important than limiting imports.”

Only one out of every four people with some college education, “and a third of those with high school degrees or less favor free trade over protecting American industries and jobs.”

The survey was conducted nationally using SurveyMonkey. It sampled 2,153 adults over the age of 18. There is a plus or minus 3 percent rate of error. The poll was held June 3rd through 5th.

Via: Breitbart

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KATHLEEN WILLEY: HILLARY A 'MONEY-HUNGRY HYPOCRITE'

Kathleen Willey

Kathleen Willey, the former White House aide who claims President Bill Clinton sexually assaulted her in 1993 during his first term, now suspects the former president suffers from dementia, and calls Hillary Clinton a “money-hungry” hypocrite who looks “awfully haggard” and is the “worst role model for a wife and a mother and a politician.”

Willey, author of the book “Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton,” made her scathing comments in an interview Sunday night on Aaron Klein Investigative Radio, broadcast on New York’s AM 970 and Philadelphia 990 AM, as well as online.

She is now seriously questioning the mental health of both of the Clintons.

“[Hillary] is really looking awfully haggard these days,” Willey said.

“After watching [Bill's] performance with [NBC News' Cynthia] McFadden, when he said that I’ve gotta pay my bills, I think he’s showing early signs of dementia or something. He’s not the old Bill Clinton that we all remember. I mean, he was all over the place. Now you’re seeing clips of [Hillary] talking to herself all the time. I think that I want somebody in there who knows what they’re doing, and money isn’t the No. 1 issue for them. They have enough money. They made $30 million … in the last 15 months on speaking engagements. Isn’t that enough?”

What do YOU think? Is Kathleen Willey right that Bill Clinton has ‘dementia?’ Sound off in the WND Poll!

Speaking of Hillary Clinton’s behavior during those White House years, Klein said, “There’s no way Hillary did not know what was going on, that women were being abused and accosted by her husband. You took it further on my show. You said Hillary was the war on women.”

“She’s absolutely unqualified to run this country,” stated Willey. “Just look at something as simple as her judgment. … I question her judgment on a number of issues when it comes to being the president. She enabled his behavior. It’s as simple as that. She looked the other way. She might throw a tantrum, but she enabled it to happen again and again and again and again. Then she chooses to go after the women that he hooked up with to ruin them again and again and again and again. That’s how it works. I don’t see how anybody can respect a woman like that, especially another woman. She is the worst role model for a wife and a mother and a politician, anything. … She is a hypocrite.”

Via: WND

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Sebelius: Administration Never Set 7 Million ACA Enrollment Goal – CBO Did

(CNSNews.com) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday dismissed the goal of 7 million Obamacare enrollees by the end of March as something that the Congressional Budget Office made up.

 “First of all, 7 million was not the administration. That was a CBO Congressional Budget Office prediction when the bill was first signed. I’m not quite sure where they even got their numbers. Their number’s all over the board, and the vice president has looked and said it may be closer to 5 to 6,” Sebelius told HuffPost Live host Marc Lamont Hill.

Hill asked if she agreed with Vice President Joe Biden’s statement that 5.6 million Americans enrolled by the end of March would be a good start.

“We may not get to seven million, we may get to five or six, but that's a hell of a start," Biden admitted last week on his way to a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Minneapolis, according to a pool report of his meeting, Reuters reported.

Despite her insistence that the CBO made up the 7 million enrollees number, as CNSNews.com previously reported, Sebelius told NBC News on Sept. 30, 2013, that "success," in her opinion, would be having 7 million Americans enrolled in the Obamacare exchanges by the end of March.

"I think success looks like at least 7 million people having signed up by the end of March 2014," Sebelius told NBC's Nancy Snyderman.

Meanwhile, the CBO predicted in May 2013 that by 2023, the Affordable Care Act will reduce the number of uninsured by 25 million, “leaving 31 million uninsured.”

“In our current projections for 2023, the ACA reduces the number of people without health insurance by 25 million, leaving 31 million uninsured (compared with 30 million in our February estimate),” the CBO reported.

Via: CNS News

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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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Analysis: Tens of millions could be forced out of health insurance they had

WASHINGTON — Even as President Barack Obama sold a new health care law in part by assuring Americans they would be able to keep their insurance plans, his administration knew that tens of millions of people actually could lose those their policies.

“If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep your plan. Period,” Obama said as he pitched the plan, the unqualified promise he made repeatedly.

Yet advisers did say in 2010 that there were large caveats and that anyone whose insurance plan changed would lose the promised protection of being able to keep existing plans. And a report in 2010 said that as many as 69 percent of certain employer-based insurance plans would lose that protection, meaning as many as 41 million people could lose their plans even if they wanted to keep them and would be forced into other plans. Another 11 million who bought their own insurance also could lose their plans. Combined, as many as 52 million Americans could lose or have lost old insurance plans.

Some or much of that loss of favored insurance is driven by normal year-to-year changes such as employers changing plans to save money. And many people could end up with better plans. But it is not what the president pledged.

Caught in the firestorm of his broken promise, Obama on Thursday apologized.

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” he told NBC News Thursday evening. “We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.

Via: McClathcyDC

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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/07/207909/analysis-tens-of-millions-could.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/07/207909/analysis-tens-of-millions-could.html#storylink=cpy

Krauthammer: Obama’s apology for cancelled insurance plans 'simply appalling'

Charles Krauthammer told viewers Thursday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that President Obama was “crystal clear” about individual health insurance under ObamaCare.

“He said, if you have your plan and you like your plan, you will keep your plan, period," Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor said. "The punctuation is the key here. No context, no caveats, no exceptions, that's what the word period means. He couldn't have been clearer, and for him to pretend he wasn't is simply appalling.”

In an interview Thursday with NBC News, President Obama told customers who have had their plans cancelled by insurers that he was sorry they “are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me” and that administration officials “weren't as clear as we needed to be.”

“Chris Christie had advice for the president,” Krauthammer said. “He said in an interview, I think it was last week, why don't you just say, 'we made a mistake, and we're sorry, we're going to try and fix it'? I think that would go a long way. But I don't think the president, this president is capable of ever saying that.”

Krauthammer also told viewers that problems with the ObamaCare website had taken a toll.

Via: Fox News

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Obama Apologizes For Obamacare

By: Chuck Todd (NBC News)

President Obama said Thursday that he is "sorry" that some Americans are losing their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan they liked.

"I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House.

"We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."

Obama’s comments come 10 days after NBC News’ Lisa Myers reported that the administration has known since the summer of 2010 that millions of Americans could lose their insurance under the law.  Obama has made repeated assurances that “if you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan” with Obamacare.

Consumers who buy insurance on their own — about  five percent of the population — are at risk of being forced off their current policies because their plans have changed and don’t meet the new standards of the Affordable Care Act.

Obama’s statement has been called into question as millions of Americans have gotten cancellation notices, effectively forcing them to enroll in a new plan either with their current insurer or through the government exchanges, in many cases at a higher rate.

Via: NBC News

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[VIDEO] 13 Democrats That Knew You’d Lose Your Health Insurance But Promised You Could Keep It

The Obamacare rollout debacle has been way more than a broken website. Millions of Americans are set to lose their health insurance - whether they liked their plan or not. A direct contradiction to President Obama and Democrat's promise. 

Last night NBC News reported that that the "Obama Administration knew millions could not keep their health insurance" but still campaigned across the country promising Americans otherwise. 

President Obama was able to postpone the implementation of Obamacare until after he secured re-election. But for Democrats up for re-election in 2014, their less than honest claim to their constituents will now be front and center next November. 

Here are 13 Democrats running for election in 2014 that knew you'd lose your health insurance but promised you could keep it: 

1) Gary Peters - Michigan 

"If you’re covered and you like your insurance, you can keep it."

2) Bruce Braley - Iowa 
 ObamaCare would "allow Americans to maintain their choice of health insurance." 

3) Mark Pryor - Arkansas

ObamaCare would “protect and expand an individual’s choice of doctors and insurance plans.”

4) Mark Begich - Alaska 

“If you got a doctor now, you got a medical professional you want, you get to keep that. If you have an insurance program or a health care policy you want of ideas, make sure you keep it. That you can keep who you want. That we keep that patient-doctor relationship very strong.”

Via: NRSC
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Under Pressure From The White House, NBC Throws Its Reporter Under the Bus and Censors News That Obama Wrote Regs to Disqualify and Terminate Health Insurance Policies

They later re-inserted the censored material. But what would compel them to delete true information in the first place?

Fears for Barack Obama's political position, of course.

The news world, and the right blogosphere, from what I can tell, is still missing the story here.
The story is not that "Obama knew" that policies would be terminated. That's damning.

But what is hugely damning and very important going forward is not that Obama knew, but that Obama made this happen, and could unmake it with a phone call, but chooses not to.

The White House's pushback on this point demonstrates that they understand how important this part of Lisa Meyers' report is.

This also illustrates how politically compromised NBC News is -- that they would throw their reporter under the bus and redact her story even though it was 100% right. I imagine Lisa Meyers had to fight like a demon to get a true story reported by NBC.

Here's a cached version of the original, and here's that damning paragraph 3:

None of this [that is, cancellation of policies] should come as a shock to the Obama administration. The law states that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010 will be “grandfathered,” meaning consumers can keep those policies even though they don’t meet requirements of the new health care law. But the Department of Health and Human Services then wrote regulations that narrowed that provision, by saying that if any part of a policy was significantly changed since that date -- the deductible, co-pay, or benefits, for example -- the policy would not be grandfathered.

Emphasis added.

Via: Ace of Spades HQ

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