LGBTQ news and entertainment
From CNN:
Vice President Joe Biden received President Barack Obama’s “blessing” to make a 2016 bid for the White House, according to a senior Democrat.
But that’s if Biden chooses to run — the decision is his. While he doesn’t need the President’s permission, of course, a potential presidential candidacy was among the topics of their lunch Monday at the White House. The President made clear he would not stand in his way or counsel him against a run, the senior Democrat said.
Political websites are abuzz that Vice-President Joe Biden had an unscheduled, secret meeting with progressive favorite Sen. Elizabeth Warren about a possible run for president in 2016.
Would they team up? Biden/Warren 2016?
Would her supporters, via her blessing, give him the springboard to jump into the Democratic race so late in the game?
It’s difficult to see what political “space” Biden would occupy in the Democratic realm. He’s not going to “out-Sanders” Sen. Bernie Sanders, so he can’t run left of him. So, you have to wonder where in the spectrum he would pull support, other than from Warren supports were she to endorse Biden.
Plus, it would put President Obama in the uncomfortable position of supporting either his sitting VP or his former Secretary of State.
We shall see.
The New York Times interviewed supporters of GOP hopeful Donald Trump at his rally in Alabama last night.
Here’s what The Donald’s fans say they are hoping for:
“When he gets in there, he’ll figure it out,” said Amanda Mancini, who said she had traveled from California to see Mr. Trump. “So we do have to trust him, but he has something that we can trust in. We can look at the Trump brand, we can look at what he’s done, and we can say that’s how he’s done everything.”
Still, others said they had plenty of advice for the man they regularly identified in conversation as “Mr. Trump.”
“Hopefully, he’s going to sit there and say, ‘When I become elected president, what we’re going to do is we’re going to make the border a vacation spot, it’s going to cost you $25 for a permit, and then you get $50 for every confirmed kill,’ ” said Jim Sherota, 53, who works for a landscaping company. “That’d be one nice thing.”
In related violent thinking, earlier this week, two brothers from South Boston ambushed and beat a Hispanic homeless man.
After being arrested, one of the brothers said the attack was inspired in part by GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. “Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported,” he allegedly told the police.
When Trump was informed of the statement, he said, “I will say that people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate.”
THIS is who supports Donald Trump.
A new poll from Rasmussen shows 57% of likely Republican voters now expect real estate mogul Donald Trump to be the party’s eventual nominee for president in 2016.
From Business Insider:
According to a new Rasmussen poll out on Friday, 57% of likely Republican voters now think Trump is likely to be the party’s nominee. That includes 25% of voters who say it’s “very likely” he’ll win the nomination.
As Rasmussen notes, that’s up significantly from the 27% in July who thought it likely that Trump would be the nominee.
The real-estate magnate has defied expectations and maintained his front-runner status in the polls despite numerous controversies and few concrete policy proposals.
Since jumping to the front of the pack in July, Trump has consistently received more than 20% of the Republican vote nationally, with a Real Clear Politics average of 22% in recent polling. The next-closest candidate is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who has averaged about 10.7% of the vote recently.
The article makes a point to say the results of the poll aren’t who the Repubs WANT to be the nominee, but who they THINK will be the pick.
A recent CNN poll showed 58% of Republicans believe their party has a better chance to win with someone other than Trump.
GOP hopeful (and current leader of the pack) Donald Trump has given his first magazine cover story interview. And what magazine does the very politically serious candidate bequeath the honor?
The Hollywood Reporter, of course.
And he’s right on point throughout the interview, with all the “Trumpisms” you could want.
Here’s just a few gems from the interview:
You’re getting a ton of criticism. Does any of it actually ring true?
People say, “He won’t apologize for anything” — well, I was right on illegal immigration. [John] McCain blew it because he’s done a poor job of taking care of the veterans. And then the third element so far, you had Megyn Kelly, and I think you’ve seen what happened with that. I feel quite confident in my position. At the same time, I believe in apologizing. But to apologize for me is very difficult. I definitely would apologize if I were wrong on something.
What was the last thing you apologized for?
It was too many years ago to remember. I have one of the great memories of all time, but it was too long ago.
You say you would have liked the states, rather than the Supreme Court, to decide on gay marriage. Have you been to a gay wedding?
Yes, I have. [Broadway theater owner] Jordan Roth. You know Jordan, right? Great guy.
So is this a dead issue for the GOP at this point?
Some people have hopes of passing amendments, but it’s not going to happen. Congress can’t pass simple things, let alone that. So anybody that’s making that an issue is doing it for political reasons. The Supreme Court ruled on it.
If you’re Jeb Bush, how would you compete against Donald Trump?
Jeb is a very nice person, but he is very low energy. And you need a person with great energy, enthusiasm and brainpower to straighten out our country. Our country is a mess in almost every way.
Are you having fun? It seems that way.
Well, it’s more fun when you’re leading the polls. I might not like it as much if I was mired in 10th place. Leading the polls is more fun than if you’re in 12th place [or], like, Lindsey Graham in 17th place with zero percent and he’s a senator. He’s actually got zero. How do you do that?
Eventually, HBO will do a movie about this election. Who should play you?
Somebody really, really handsome. That’s the only thing that matters. I don’t care if he can act well. He’s got to be really, really good-looking. OK?
Read the full interview at The Hollywood Reporter.
The folks at Bad Lip Reading give you their interpretation of the 1st Republican Debate highlights.
Some funny, funny stuff.
According to the latest CNN/ORC polling, Donald Trump’s lead in the Republican Party presidential race has boosted him to be within 6 points of Hillary Clinton.
He trailed Clinton by 16 points in a July poll, and narrowed that gap by boosting his standing among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (from 67% support in July to 79% now), men (from 46% in July to 53% now) and white voters (from 50% to 55%).
But Clinton still holds the cards overall in the race for the White House, leading four Republican contenders: She tops Trump and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker by 6 points each among registered voters, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush by 9 points, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina by 10 points.
The race in the Democratic primary has tightened also with Bernie Sanders notching 29% to Hillary’s 47%.
Vice-president Joe Biden received 14% support.
Jimmy Kimmel favorite Josh Groban appeared last night in a bit that introduced his latest “project” – Josh Groban Sings The Tweets Of Donald Trump.
Hit the link and see how Josh does with such original material.
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno, the former highest-ranking officer in Iraq and one of the architects of the 2007 troop surge there, recently took time in a speech Wednesday to correct GOP hopeful Jeb Bush, who has “blamed” the current situation in the Middle East on President Obama due to the military drawdown in Irag in 2011.
“I remind everybody that us leaving at the end of 2011 was negotiated in 2008 by the Bush administration. That was always the plan, we had promised them that we would respect their sovereignty,” Odierno said during his final press conference at the Pentagon.
Here’s what Jeb Bush had to say this past Tuesday at the Reagan Library:
“So why was the success of the surge followed by a withdrawal from Iraq, leaving not even the residual force that commanders and the joint chiefs knew was necessary?” Bush asked. “And where was Secretary of State Clinton in all of this? Like the president himself, she had opposed the surge, then joined in claiming credit for its success, then stood by as that hard-won victory by American and allied forces was thrown away.”
While Bush may like to pivot from his brother’s record while in the White House, the withdrawal timetable was in fact set long before Obama took office. In November 2008, both the U.S. and Iraq agreed that “All the United States Forces shall withdraw from all Iraqi territory no later than December 31, 2011.”
Oh, please! This feud between @realDonaldTrump and @FOXNews reminds me of the "Alien vs. Predator" movie – whoever wins, WE LOSE!!— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) August 13, 2015