WaPo-ABC Poll: Trump Almost As Popular as Bush Among GOP

Donald Trump's favorability is on the rise with Republicans and closing in on front-runner Jeb Bush, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. 

Trump's appeal has risen to 57 percent, meaning that nearly six in every 10 Republicans see Trump in a favorable light, compared to 65 percent who saw him negatively just two months ago, the Post reported Wednesday. 

That's good enough to challenge Bush, whose appeal among GOP voters is just six points higher at 63 percent. 

But Trump remains unfavorable among the general public, the poll finds, with 61 percent ranking him unfavorably and 33 percent favorably. Latinos by a wide margin — 81 percent — dislike Trump, particularly after his recent comments on Mexicans and immigrants. His numbers with this group were at 60 percent unfavorable in a May survey.

However, the general public's view of the real estate mogul has improved since he launched his campaign in May, when 71 percent had an unfavorable view of Trump. 

By comparison, Bush's favorability among all voters of all political stripes is at 38 percent, with 47 percent having an unfavorable view of the former Florida governor. 

Outside of Hispanics, Trump's appeal has slowly improved across almost all demographics and parties. Even Democrats like the billionaire slightly more — his favorability there is up from 17 percent to 19 percent. 

While his favorability rating is going up across the board, conservatives are split, 46 percent to 46 percent, on how much they like Trump, and his net favorability rating is still in the negative among independents, moderates and women. 

Trump says he's confident he could win substantial Hispanic votes if he's the party's nominee.

Brushing aside the controversy over labeling Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and "criminals," Trump argues "the Hispanics love me."

He tells MSNBC: "I employ thousands of Hispanics."

Trump also says he's not worried about any lack of support in the Latino community and argues he hasn't been hurt politically by his calls for clamping down on illegal immigration.

Trump has refused to soften his stand on immigration, even after a plea by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that he tone down his remarks.

The GOP fared poorly with the Hispanic community in the 2012 presidential election.

Bush's net favorability among Hispanics is 15 percentage points higher than Trump's. In the poll, 46 percent said they have a favorable view of the former Florida governor, who has a Mexican wife and a much softer stance on illegal immigration, with 31 percent saying they have a negative view of Bush. The Post notes that these are "very good numbers for a Republican these days."

In addition, Bush's general favorability rating also tops Trump's in every other major category. This is true even among conservatives, by 67 percent–28 percent, which amounts to a net favorability rating for Bush of 39 percentage points. Trump's rating with conservative Republicans is far lower that Bush's, with a net 20 percentage points, or 58 percent–38 percent. 

The Washington Post-ABC News poll was taken July 8-12 of 1,011 adults with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Via: Newsmax

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‘No freaking way!’ Teachers revolt over union’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For a union built on democracy, activist teachers are wondering how the American Federation of Teachers could have possibly endorsed Hillary Clinton for president without them knowing about it.

Candi Peterson, Washington (D.C.) Teachers’ Union, pennedan article at Common Dreams in which several die-hard union activists appeared to be utterly befuddled by the national union’s sudden announcement.

Chicago activist Katie Osgood says, “I know many AFT members too and have not heard one person polled either.” The union claimed it polled members on their opinions.

According to the calculation of “Mr. Stevens,” only .04 percent of members were surveyed.

New York City teacher Arthur Goldstein tells the news site, “…AFT Link says they used telephone town halls and a web-based survey, I didn’t even know existed.”

Mary Ahern calls the endorsement “B.S.”

Phil Soreneson tweeted to AFT president Rhonda “Randi” Weingarten, “glad I’m NEA, u don’t speak for me, u just made teachers’ look politically inept. Thanks for nothing,” according to Common Dreams.

Others were equally incensed.

The union’s move comes as Sanders is surging in the polls in key states and drawing huge crowds.

The AFT’s national endorsement is also likely a plan to negate any local teachers union endorsements.

The union of Sanders’ home state — an affiliate of the larger National Education Association — has already endorsed the Vermont senator.

“We are not used to getting involved in presidential primaries particularly early,” Vermont-NEA spokesman Darren Allen tells the Burlington Free Press.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise that this union is heartily behind Bernie’s message.”

“We’ve never had Bernie running for president,” adds Martha Allen, state union president.

Via: EAG

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Almost A Third Of Veterans On The 847,000-Long Waitlist Have Died Without VA Care

A new leaked document from the Department of Veterans Affairs indicates 238,657 veterans have died while waiting for health care appointments.

There are a total of 847,822 veterans on the enrollment waitlist, meaning a third have been declared deceased while in line for care, The Huffington Post reports.

Nevertheless, the problem isn’t quite as bad as it first seems. The VA has no method of removing applicants from the list, and so the death toll is spread out over a much longer period of time, as noted by the Analysis of Death Services report.

Moreover, according to VA spokeswoman Walinda West, many applicants never even finished the application, but because of the way the system is designed, they still remain on the list. In other words, since the VA is incapable of keeping its records clean and up to date, it’s difficult to ascertain exactly how many veterans have died over the past year while on the waiting list. The list has been maintained since 1985, West said, so data on the deaths could extend back for decades.

Whistleblower Scott Davis, who works as a program specialist at the VA Health Eligibility Center in Atlanta, argued West was wrong on all counts. First, incomplete applications are not actually counted in the pending list. Second, the list only goes back to 1998, since that’s the date the enrollment process became a requirement.

“VA wants you to believe, by virtue of people being able to get health care elsewhere, it’s not a big deal,” Davis told The Huffington Post. “But VA is turning away tens of thousands of veterans eligible for health care,” he said. “VA is making it cumbersome, and then saying, ‘See? They didn’t want it anyway.'”

Aside from evidence of abysmal record-keeping and wait times at the VA, what’s worse is that 34,000 of the veterans on the list, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, shouldn’t even be there. In a letter to GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson, Davis noted that combat veterans are owed five years of health care eligibility.

In the past, Davis has faced harassment and retaliation for sending information about wait times to the media. Back in 2014, after he appeared on “Fox and Friends,” Davis said he received a notice from his supervisors asking him not to talk in public again about VA issues.

Via: Daily Caller

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Marilyn Mosby’s ‘Police Officer’ Family? Mother Resigned And Uncle Fired Over Drug Use, Father Fired For Robbing Drug Dealers…

The mother of Baltimore city state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby faced numerous disciplinary actions during her 20-year career as a Boston police officer, though the public wouldn’t know it based on the Freddie Gray case prosecutor’s public statements touting her family’s strong policing history.

The 35-year-old Mosby has used her family’s police ties to rebut critics who say she rushed to judgement and overcharged the six cops involved in Gray’s April 12 arrest. The 25-year-old Gray died a week later, touching off rioting in Baltimore and nationwide protests.

“Law enforcement is pretty much instilled within my being,” Mosby told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on May 1, the day she publicly announced charges against the officers. “I come from five generations of police officers,” she added, pointing out that her mother, father, grandfather and uncles have all served as cops.

But there’s more to the story than Mosby has let on.

Personnel records obtained by The Daily Caller show that Mosby’s mother, Linda Thompson, first violated the Boston police department’s substance abuse policy in 2006. After serving a 45-day rehab stint, Thompson violated the drug code again and voluntarily resigned on Feb. 1, 2008, rather than be fired.

The early retirement allowed Thompson, now 52, to draw a $1,810.69 monthly pension.

Thompson is not the only member of Mosby’s family to have had a rocky policing career. Mosby’s father was fired from the Boston police department in 1991 following accusations that he and his partner robbed drug dealers at gun point. Mosby’s uncle was fired from Boston PD in 2001 after testing positive for cocaine. Her grandfather was a well-respected Boston cop, but he ultimately and unsuccessfully sued the department for racial discrimination in the 1980s.

Mosby has not publicly mentioned any of that during her speeches when running for Baltimore state’s attorney or since taking on the Gray case.

“A majority of police officers are risking their lives day-in and day-out,” Mosby told Hayes during her interview. “Recognizing that, because that’s what my family did, I also recognize that there are those individuals that usurp their authority who will…go past the public trust.”

“When they do that, you have to hold those individuals accountable,” Mosby added.

Via: Daily Caller

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How the 2016 Presidential Candidates Are Reacting to the Iran Deal

July 14, 2015 Republican White House hopefuls moved swiftly Tuesday morning to criticize the nuclear deal the United States and other world powers reached with Iran.

Sen. Lindsey Graham was the first to weigh in after the agreement was announced, tellingBloomberg the deal was "akin to declaring war on Israel and the Sunni Arabs." In an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Graham called the deal "the most dangerous, irresponsible step I have ever seen in the history of watching the Mideast." Graham also added that Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of State and frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic nomination, could negotiate a better deal than President Obama.

Here's what other presidential candidates have said so far.

(RELATED: Five Things To Know About the Iran Nuclear Deal)

CLINTON

In a brief press conference on Capitol Hill, Clinton called the deal "an important step," adding that the U.S. should now focus on preventing more of Iran's "bad actions."

"I think this is an important step that puts a lid on Iran's nuclear programs and it will enable us then to turn our attention as it must, to doing what we can with other partners in the region as beyond to try to prevent and contain Iran's other bad actions," Clinton said. "So all in all, I think we have to look at this seriously, evaluate it carefully, but I believe based on what I know now, this is an important step."

Clinton also said there are "a number of issues" that need to be addressed. "This agreement will have to be enforced vigorously, relentlessly," she added.

Clinton did not explicitly say whether she supported enforcement of the deal during her remarks. But House Democrats who met with her Tuesday morning said that sheunequivocally endorsed the agreement.

(RELATED: Hillary Clinton Gives 'Full Throated' Endorsement of Iran Deal, Congressman Says)

BUSH

Jeb Bush derided the agreement as a "dangerous, deeply flawed, and short sighted deal," saying that it still allows a path for Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. 

"A comprehensive agreement should require Iran to verifiably abandon – not simply delay – its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability," Bush said in a statement. He added: "This isn't diplomacy – it is appeasement."

RUBIO

Sen. Marco Rubio warned in a statement that the deal "undermines our national security" and criticized Obama for negotiating "from a position of weakness."

"Failure by the President to obtain congressional support will tell the Iranians and the world that this is Barack Obama's deal, not an agreement with lasting support from the United States," Rubio's statement read. "It will then be left to the next President to return us to a position of American strength and re-impose sanctions on this despicable regime until it is truly willing to abandon its nuclear ambitions and is no longer a threat to international security."

(RELATED: Hill Battle Lines Quickly Drawn on Iran Deal)

WALKER

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who officially kicked off his campaign on Monday and made rejecting a deal with Iran part of his announcement speech, said the agreement "will be remembered as one of America's worst diplomatic failures." Walker called on congressional leaders and presidential candidates alike to reject it.

"In order to ensure the safety of America and our allies, the next president must restore bipartisan and international opposition to Iran's nuclear program while standing with our allies to roll back Iran's destructive influence across the Middle East," Walker said.

FIORINA

Carly Fiorina also voiced concern during in an appearance on CBS This Morning, saying "there is reason for suspicion" because Iran has not negotiated in good faith.

(RELATED: Obama's Heavy Sales Pitch on Iran Nuclear Deal)

"I've never negotiated an Iran nuclear deal, but I've negotiated a lot of high-stakes deals, and there are a couple of rules and every rule has been broken," Fiorina said. "If you want a good deal, you've got to walk away sometimes." 

SANTORUM

Rick Santorum slammed the deal on CNN Tuesday morning as a "a catastrophic capitulation" by the president, adding that it gives the Iranians "legitimacy" in the international community.  

"I would have ratcheted up those sanctions," Santorum said. "I would have continued to put pressure on this regime to capitulate. What we have here is not a capitulation."

HUCKABEE

Mike Huckabee took to Twitter to express his disapproval, saying that he would not rule out using military force in the region if he were in the Oval Office.

(RELATED: Benjamin Netanyahu: 'World Is a Much More Dangerous Place' With Iran Deal)

"Shame on the Obama admin for agreeing to a deal that empowers an evil Iranian regime to carry out its threat to 'wipe Israel off the map,' tweeted Huckabee, who went on to say, "As president, I will stand with Israel and keep all options on the table, including military force, to topple the terrorist Iranian regime."

CHRISTIE

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said in a statement that Obama us "playing a dangerous game with our national security, warning that the deal "will lead to a nuclear Iran and, then, a nuclearized Middle East."

The deal threatens Israel, it threatens the United States, and it turns 70 years of nuclear policy on its head," Christie said. "I urge Republicans and Democrats in Congress to put aside politics and act in the national interest. Vote to disapprove this deal in numbers that will override the President's threatened veto."

(RELATED: Obama Hopes History Will Prove Him Right on Iran)

SANDERS

Sen. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, congratulated Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry on striking an agreement.

"This is a victory for diplomacy over saber-rattling and could keep the United States from being drawn into another never-ending war in the Middle East," Sanders said in a statement.

JINDAL

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal specifically called on Clinton to oppose the nuclear a deal in a statement released Tuesday morning.

"Secretary Clinton should be a voice of reason and oppose this deal," Jindal said. "While Secretary Clinton has been the architect of President Obama's foreign policy, she can do the right thing and prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and oppose this deal."

CRUZ

Sen. Ted Cruz also attacked the deal, arguing that the agreement will 'legitimize" and "perpetuate" Iran's nuclear program. He called on Americans to voice their cocnerns about the deal to their elected officials. 

"Even by the low standards of the Joint Plan of Action, this is a staggeringly bad deal," Cruz said. "It is a fundamental betrayal of the security of the United States and of our closest allies, first and foremost Israel."

(RELATED: Why the Iran Deal Makes Obama's Critics So Angry)

CARSON

Ben Carson warned the deal is "almost certain to prove an historic mistake with potentially deadly consequences."

"Without anywhere anytime surprise inspections, a full accounting of Iran's past secret nuclear arms pursuits, elimination of Iran's uranium stockpiles and the lifting of any sanctions only upon verification of Iranian compliance, this is not a good deal, but a recipe for disaster and the first fateful step toward a frenzied nuclear arms race in the Middle East," Carson said.

PERRY

Rick Perry called the deal "one of the most destructive foreign policy decisions in my lifetime." He also said that one of his first acts as president would be to rescind the agreement, and outlined other steps would take to deal with Iran. 

"I will order a review of Iran's compliance with the deal, and an evaluation of Iran's continued sponsorship of terror over the timeframe of the agreement," Perry said. "I will move to ensure that the arms embargo—and, specifically, the ballistic missile embargo — remain in place until Iran verifiably demonstrates that it desires to act as a stabilizing force in the region."

Via: National Journal

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Macy’s inundated with complaints from Donald Trump fans as 'tens of thousands of customers cut up their store cards in protest'

Macy's spat with Donald Trump seems to be costing the company dear - sources close to the department store say it is being inundated with complaints by customers.

Apparently the company has already received letters, phone calls and online messages from around 30,000 Trump supporters, many of whom have claimed to have cut up their store card.  

The irate customers are accusing the company of being against free speech after it cut ties with the Republican presidential candidate two weeks ago over his inflammatory comments about Mexican immigrants. 

Trump, who called for the boycott of Macy's, has been thanking his supporters over Twitter for doing just that.

'I am so happy that people are boycotting Macy's,' he said in a tweet yesterday.

In an earlier message he wrote: 'Thx [sic] to all the people who called to say they are cutting their Macy's credit card as a protest against illegal immigrants pouring into US.' 

A Macy's spokesman told TMZ: 'Our Facebook page is often times used by our customers to express their feelings or points of view. Many times it does not correlate to any action.'

Trump began his tirade against Mexican immigrants when he announced on June 16 that he would be entering to race to become the Republican presidential candidate.   

Trump tweeted this message a few days ago after calling for his supporters to shun Macy's

He said then: ‘When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.

‘I will built a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.’ 

Macy’s isn’t the only corporation to have severed ties with Trump. Mattress giant Serta, for instance, has said it will stop selling Trump-branded products, while Univision and Comcast’s NBCUniversal have cancelled plans to broadcast Trump’s Miss Universe beauty pageant.

Trump is suing Univision for $500million and has threatened legal action against NBC, among others. 

Via: Daily Mail

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Rep. Darrell Issa Is Wealthiest Member of Congress

 Rep. Darrel Issa, R- Calif. (Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest member of Congress with a total worth of $768 million altogether, according his most recent financial disclosure. 

Roll Call has placed the California Republican in the number one spot for the second year in a row with a net worth of $357 million and a minimum of $432 million in assets. 

However, his actual worth may be far more than what he is required to report, or far less, Roll Call notes. 

Issa reportedly included seven high-yield bonds in his disclosure that are worth more than $50 million, but it doesn't say how much those bonds are actually worth. It is possible that they are each worth hundreds of millions of dollars — which would make his wealth far more than what was disclosed. 

In the same vein, his wealth might actually be lower than what is disclosed. 

The congressman also has two liabilities in the form of personal loans — a $25 million loan from Union Bank and a $50 million loan from Merrill Lynch. 

While the loan from Merrill Lynch is put in the $50 million category, it could be worth significantly more than what Issa has to report. 

Following Issa is Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, Democrat Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Democrat Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Democratic Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Colorado, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, who make up the top ten wealthiest members of Congress. 

Via: Newsmax

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VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says he has invited the family members of victims of illegal immigrant crimes to testify before Congress.

According to the Iowa lawmaker, the hearing will examine the breakdown of immigration enforcement under the Obama administration and the repercussions of lax immigration enforcement — specifically the impact on families victimized by illegal immigrant crime.

“Congress has a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch of government to make sure the laws are being faithfully executed and carried out as intended. Little oversight has been done by the previous majority to ensure the administration is exercising sound judgment and acting within the immigration laws.   It’s clear they have taken far too much liberty and are essentially trying to write the laws themselves,” Grassley said in a statement.

The hearing will be next Tuesday. In addition to victimized families Grassley says he has also invited the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Sarah Saldana, and the Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services Leon Rodriguez to testify.

“This hearing is intended to highlight how misguided the Obama administration’s lax enforcement policies are and how these policies are putting Americans in harm’s way,” he said.

The hearing comes on the heels of the recent murder of a young woman in the sanctuary city of San Francisco, allegedly by an illegal immigrant with a long rap sheet and multiple deportations.

Via: BREITBART

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