Tag: GOP

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Sen. Lindsey Graham To Announce 2016 Bid For Prez Today

Either Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is finally coming out, or he’s announcing his run for the 2016 GOP nomination for president this morning.

Graham will bring the number of declared GOP candidates to eight. Rick Perry will make it nine later this week. Still to declare: Scott Wilson, Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush.

With the addition of Graham, that will bring the total number of announced GOP candidates to eight.

Still waiting on expected announcements from former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Wilson, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

UPDATE: The AP has this clip from Graham’s announcement today. In his announcement, Graham says he has more national security experience than anyone else in the presidential race adding, “And that includes you, Hillary.”

He also threw this red meat to the followers, “I’ll be a voice for social conservative values without apology or animosity.”

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Rick Santorum Is Back In The Hunt

Rick Santorum, an uber-vocal advocate for conservative family values and longtime opponent of LGBT rights, began his 2016 White House bid on Wednesday, promising to fight for working-class Americans in a new election season that will see him find his footing in a different Republican Party.

The former Pennsylvania senator surprised many by scoring a second-place finish in the race for the Republican presidential nomination four years ago. But this time, he may not even make it to the debate podium as the most recent Fox News poll for GOP contenders puts him at only 2% or 12th on the crowded list of hopefuls.

“I am proud to stand here, among you and for you, the American workers who have sacrificed so much, to announce that I am running for president of the United States,” the 57-year-old senator said, flanked by factory workers and six of his seven children in a cinderblock warehouse near his western Pennsylvania hometown.

“The last race, we changed the debate. This race, with your help and God’s grace, we can change this nation.”

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Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry: Rand, Ted and Marco Should Go Be Governors Before Running For Prez

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has advice for Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio: Go run for governor before you run for president.

He shared that thought with the Weekly Standard in an interview last week:

“I’ve had more than one individual say, ‘You know what, if you want to be the president of the United States, you ought to go back to your home state and be the governor and get that executive experience before you go lead this country,'” said Perry.

The former governor calls the senators “Marco, Ted, and Rand,” and made sure to say he has “great respect” for the trio. “They are smart as a tree full of owls,” said Perry, “These guys are very, very capable United States senators.”

Perry ran a short, unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination for president in 2012.

He has signaled he will probably announce a second presidential bid on June 4 near Dallas.

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Fox News May Limit First GOP Presidential Debate To Ten Candidates

Fox News has announced a plan to limit to ten the number of candidates to take part in the first 2016 GOP debate announced for August 6.

As of today, it looks like there could well be 18 likely Republicans running for the 2016 nomination.

In a statement by the network, officials said that to be allowed on stage, candidates “must place in the top 10 of an average of the five most recent national polls, as recognized by Fox News.”

It said that “such polling must be conducted by major, nationally recognized organizations that use standard methodological techniques.”

Fox News did not elaborate on which polling organizations would be considered credible.

The debate will be moderated by Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace, all of Fox News.

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Rick Perry To Announce Run For President June 4th

According to the Dallas Morning News, former Gov. Rick “Bang Bang” Perry plans to announce his official candidacy for the 2016 GOP nod for president in Dallas on June 4th.

For months Perry has said that he would announce his decision in May or June.

But his constant travel to the early contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida has left little doubt of his intentions.

Unlike four years ago, when he rushed into the contest after seeing he could raise quick money and was leading in polls, Perry enters this contest as an underdog. He is polling in single digits, but again unlike his last run, he has spent more than a year in preparation.

In the last presidential cycle, Perry was a fresh face on the national political stage. But several gaffes quickly ended his brief candidacy.

This time around he will have to not only overcome the memory of those gaffes, but try to carve out a niche to make his similar sounding policies be heard. Perry touts his experience as a governor, but with Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Perry can’t claim that territory for his own.

Also, while he will surely stress his economic record of job creation in Texas (mostly in low paying entry level jobs), the economy in Texas has taken a bit of a downturn as oil prices have dropped in recent months.

Perry is currently polling in single digits.

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Ben Carson: Federal Gov’t Doesn’t Have To Recognize SCOTUS Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

Newly-minted GOP presidential contender Dr. Ben Carson tells Newsmax that, should the Supreme Court rule in favor of marriage equality, the federal government doesn’t have to recognize that decision:

“First of all, we have to understand how the Constitution works, the president is required to carry out the laws of the land, the laws of the land come from the legislative branch,” Carson said. “So if the legislative branch creates a law or changes a law, the executive branch has a responsibly to carry it out. It doesn’t say they have the responsibility to carry out a judicial law.”

(via Right Wing Watch)