RNC Response To Bill Clinton In New Hampshire

By Michael C. Short

 

Folks – Bill Clinton is another reminder of the conflicts of interest and ethical lapses that have tarnished Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. If you're covering his campaign stops in New Hampshire, please see the below comment and blog post from the Republican National Committee:

 

"With new reports about conflicts of interest and favoritism toward donors at the Clinton State Department, the deployment of Bill Clinton to the campaign trail only reinforces the fact the Clintons are untrustworthy and have used public service to enrich themselves and reward their friends. Our country faces too many challenges at home and abroad to have a White House where ethical lapses and fundraising scandals become global in scale." – RNC spokesman Michael Short

 

Ethics Concerns Trip Bill Clinton Out Of The Gate

 

Today Bill Clinton Is Starting Off 2016 By Campaigning For Hillary In New Hampshire

Today, Bill Clinton Is On The Campaign Trail For Hillary Clinton In New Hampshire. "The Granite State's first-in-the-nation presidential primary is in the home stretch and due to intensify today with former President Bill Clinton stumping for his wife, Democratic front-runner Hillary, in Nashua and Exeter, N.H." (Kimberly Atkins, "Bill Clinton Lands In N.H. Fray Today," The Boston Herald, 1/4/16)

BILL CLINTON'S PAID SPEECHES HAVE RAISED QUESTIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST WHILE HILLARY WAS SECRETARY OF STATE

 

Bill Clinton Joins The Campaign Trail As Ethical Red Flags Were Raised In A New Report On Conflicts Of Interests With His Paid Speeches While Hillary Was Secretary Of State

 

Bill Clinton Was Paid $8 Million For Speeches Given To Companies, Groups And A Foreign Government "Around The Time They Also Had Matters Before Mrs. Clinton's State Department." "At Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearing for secretary of state, she promised she would take 'extraordinary steps…to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.' Later, more than two dozen companies and groups and one foreign government paid former President Bill Clinton a total of more than $8 million to give speeches around the time they also had matters before Mrs. Clinton's State Department, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis." (James Grimaldi And Rebecca Ballhaus, "Speaking Fees Meet Politics For Clintons," The Wall Street Journal, 12/30/15)

• Fifteen Of These Companies Also Donated Between $5 And $15 Million To The Clinton Foundation. "Fifteen of them also donated a total of between $5 million and $15 million to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the family's charity, according to foundation disclosures." (James Grimaldi And Rebecca Ballhaus, "Speaking Fees Meet Politics For Clintons," The Wall Street Journal, 12/30/15)

Several Times Those Who Paid Bill Clinton In Speaking Fees Benefitted From The Actions Of The State Department. "In several instances, State Department actions benefited those that paid Mr. Clinton. The Journal found no evidence that speaking fees were paid to the former president in exchange for any action by Mrs. Clinton, now the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination." (James Grimaldi And Rebecca Ballhaus, "Speaking Fees Meet Politics For Clintons," The Wall Street Journal, 12/30/15)

Bill Clinton Has Refused To Say He Will Stop Doing Paid Speeches If His Wife Becomes President, Claiming "I Gotta Pay Our Bills."

 

Bill Clinton Has Not Made Clear "Whether He Would Abandon The Paid-Speaking Circuit If His Wife Becomes President." "Mr. Clinton has given mixed signals about whether he would abandon the paid-speaking circuit if his wife becomes president. Asked by NBC in May if he would remain on the speech circuit while his wife was running for president, Mr. Clinton responded, 'Oh, yeah. I gotta pay our bills.' In June, Bloomberg TV asked Mr. Clinton if he would still give paid speeches if Mrs. Clinton gained the White House. 'I don't think so,' he replied, saying he didn't want to make news that detracted from the presidency. Then he added: 'I will still give speeches, though, on the subjects I'm interested in.' A spokesman for Mr. Clinton, asked to clarify, pointed to the former president's previous statements." (James Grimaldi And Rebecca Ballhaus, "Speaking Fees Meet Politics For Clintons," The Wall Street Journal, 12/30/15)

In May 2015, Bill Clinton Said He Will Continue To Give Paid Speeches, Saying, "I Gotta Pay Our Bills."MCFADDEN: "Regular working Americans look and say '$500,000 for a speech'?" CLINTON: "Why shouldn't every -- It's the most independence I can get. It's -- I don't -- If I had a business relationship with somebody, they would have a target on their back from the day they did business with me until the end. Any kind of disclosure is a target. But it looks bad, there's no facts, of course, but it looks bad. Me, I work hard on this. I spend a couple hours a day just doing the research. People like to hear me speak. And I have turned down a lot of them. If I think there's something wrong with it, I don't take it. And I do disclose who gave them to me. So people can make up their own minds." MCFADDEN: "So she's now running for President. Will you continue to give speeches? CLINTON: "Oh, yeah. I gotta pay our bills." (NBC "Today," 5/4/15)

Click To Watch

 

In June 2015, Bill Clinton Said, "No, I Don't Think So, I Don't Think That" When Bloomberg's Betty Liu Asked About Whether Or Not He Will Still Give Paid Speeches If Hillary Clinton Wins In 2016.  LIU: "Will  You Still Give Paid Speeches, If Your Wife Was In The White House" CLINTON: "No, I Don't Think So, I Don't Think That, Because Once You Get To Be President Then You Are Just Making A Daily Story, I Will Still Give Speeches Though On The Subjects I'm Interested In, I've Really Enjoyed Those Things." (Bill Clinton, Interview With Bloomberg's Betty Liu, 6/10/15) Minute: 20:08 – 20:32

THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME THE CLINTONS HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST WHILE HILLARY WAS SECRETARY OF STATE

 

The Clinton Foundation Failed To Disclose That They Accepted Donations From Foreign Governments While Clinton Was At The State Department

 

Reuters Headline: "Exclusive: Despite Hillary Clinton Promise, Charity Did Not Disclose Donors"(Jonathan Allen, "Exclusive: Despite Hillary Clinton Promise, Charity Did Not Disclose Donors," Reuters, 3/19/15)

"She Made A Pledge To Publish All The Donors On An Annual Basis To Ease Concerns That As Secretary Of State She Could Be Vulnerable To Accusations Of Foreign Influence." (Jonathan Allen, "Exclusive: Despite Hillary Clinton Promise, Charity Did Not Disclose Donors," Reuters, 3/19/15)

The Failure To Disclose These Donors Raised Questions Of Whether Foreign Government Donations Were Screened By The State Department, Per Another Assurance Hillary Clinton Made To The Obama Administration. "The Reuters inquiries also raised questions about a second assurance Hillary Clinton made to the Obama administration: that the State Department would be able to review any new or increased contributions to CHAI by foreign governments while she served as the nation's top diplomat. The Clintons said the pledge was intended to defuse accusations that foreign governments might use such donations to earn favors." (Jonathan Allen, "Exclusive: Despite Hillary Clinton Promise, Charity Did Not Disclose Donors," Reuters, 3/19/15)

The Clinton Foundation "Has Given Contributors Entree, Outside The Traditional Political Arena, To A Possible President." "The financial success of the foundation, which funds charitable work around the world, underscores the highly unusual nature of another Clinton candidacy. The organization has given contributors entree, outside the traditional political arena, to a possible president. Foreign donors and countries that are likely to have interests before a potential Clinton administration — and yet are ineligible to give to U.S. political campaigns — have affirmed their support for the family's work through the charitable giving." (Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger and Steven Rich, "Clintons' Foundation Has Raised Nearly $2 Billion — And Some Key Questions," The Washington Post, 2/18/15)

• The Washington Post's Review Of The Foundation's Seven Biggest Donors Found "That There Is Strong Overlap Between The Family's Political Base And The Foundation," And that A Substantial Number Of Its Donors Are Based Outside Of The U.S. "The review found that there is strong overlap between the family's political base and the foundation and that a substantial number of the foundation's largest donors — those who have given at least $1 million — are based outside of the United States. Financial institutions also make up the largest portion of the foundation's corporate giving." (Rosalind S. Helderman, "Here Are The Seven Biggest Donors To The Bill, Hillary And Chelsea Clinton Foundation," The Washington Post, 2/19/15)

MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION ALSO LANDED THE CLINTON'S IN ETHICAL HOT WATER

 

Companies Who Lobbied The State Department Donated Heavily To The Clinton Foundation

The Wall Street Journal Headline: "Hillary Clinton's Complex Corporate Ties" (James V. Grimaldi and Rebecca Ballhaus, "Hillary Clinton's Complex Corporate Ties,"The Wall Street Journal, 2/19/15)

As Secretary Of State Clinton "Was One Of The Most Aggressive Global Cheerleaders For American Companies…" "Among recent secretaries of state, Hillary Clinton was one of the most aggressive global cheerleaders for American companies, pushing governments to sign deals and change policies to the advantage of corporate giants such as General Electric Co. , Exxon Mobil Corp. , Microsoft Corp. and Boeing Co." (James V. Grimaldi and Rebecca Ballhaus, "Hillary Clinton's Complex Corporate Ties," The Wall Street Journal, 2/19/15)

• "At The Same Time, Those Companies Were Among The Many That Gave To The Clinton Family's Global Foundation…" "At the same time, those companies were among the many that gave to the Clinton family's global foundation set up by her husband, former President Bill Clinton." (James V. Grimaldi and Rebecca Ballhaus, "Hillary Clinton's Complex Corporate Ties," The Wall Street Journal, 2/19/15)

"At Least 60 Companies That Lobbied The State Department During Her Tenure Donated A Total Of More Than $26 Million To The Clinton Foundation…" "At least 60 companies that lobbied the State Department during her tenure donated a total of more than $26 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of public and foundation disclosures." (James V. Grimaldi and Rebecca Ballhaus, "Hillary Clinton's Complex Corporate Ties," The Wall Street Journal, 2/19/15)

Hillary and Bill Clinton's War on Women

RNC ANALYSIS - EXTRACT:

Hillary Clinton's 'war on women' attacks will ring hollow with her campaign putting her husband on the trail. The Wall Street Journal editorializes: Against Republicans, she'll play the "war on women" theme non-stop. Yet no one in American politics better personifies a war on women than Mrs. Clinton's husband … Mr. Clinton was a genuine sexual harasser in the classic definition of exploiting his power as a workplace superior, and the Clinton entourage worked hard to smear and discredit his many women accusers … No wonder that Ruth Marcus, the Washington Post columnist and no conservative, called Bill Clinton's record with women a fair political issue. At the very least if Mrs. Clinton wants everyone to forget about Bill's harassment of women, she ought to stop playing the sexism card, or drop Bill as surrogate, or both.

-----

Glenn Reynolds on

Since Hillary announced that her husband would be joining her on the campaign trail, people have been debating whether or not it's fair for the GOP to attack Bill's sexual misdeeds in order to indirectly attack her. 

This makes sense. After all, we're talking about a guy who has been accused of the sexual assault of more than ten women. Think about it: How is her appointing him really any different than if she'd appointed Bill Cosby? 

But here's the thing: The real issue isn't whether or not to attack Bill &66to indirectly attack Hillary — it's about directly attacking Hillary for how she herself treated the women involved. Hillary Clinton claims to be pro-women, yet has actively worked to ruin lives of so many of them. She's running on a "feminist platform" — she's even dared to say that sexual-assault survivors have a "right to be believed" — despite the fact that what she did to the women who accused Bill went far beyond not believing them. She attacked them. When allegations of sexual misconduct emerged during Bill's 1992 presidential run, she's reported to have said "Who is going to find out? These women are trash. Nobody's going to believe them." Multiple people also report that she called the women "sluts" and "whores" — you know, for daring to be raped. A private investigator named Ivan Duda claims that, after Bill lost his second governor's race, Hillary told him: "I want you to get rid of all these b****** he's seeing . . . I want you to give me the names and addresses and phone numbers, and we can get them under control."

She's a real charmer, that one.

ROGER SIMON ON SEX, LIES, CLINTON, AND TRUMP:

More importantly, times have changed and morality with it. I don't think Bill, and certainly Hillary, would want Juanita Broaddrick brought up at a time when, on our campuses,  even an unwanted kiss is legally considered rape, thanks to Title IX. Can you imagine how many instances of what is called "unwanted touching" could come out of the woodwork now if Bill started to pick a fight with Trump? It's hard to imagine Clinton making it through Georgetown or Yale Law under today's rules, or even through his freshman year.

The truth is Bill's relationships with women are the product of another era, one that is fading remarkably fast in the rear view mirror.  There is little tolerance these days for his kind of behavior — no more winking — not in the USA anyway.  Clinton's well known hypocritical wagging of the finger at the television to swear to us that he "never had sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky" may not have looked terrific back when he did it, but today it would seem downright repellent.  Imagine it being played again and again next to a Hillary commercial.

Doubtless Donald Trump has not been a saint, but there is a big difference between him and Bill.  The Donald may often be rude.  He may be a thin-skinned bloviator.  But he's not a creepy hypocrite.  In that sense he's the opposite of the Clintons, both of them.

Lastly, what if Trump were to raise the Jeffrey Epstein case?…. whoa.

---

TRUMP SCHOOLS NEWS ANCHOR FOR CALLING CLINTON'S AFFAIR 'ALLEGED'

'You mention Monica Lewinsky ... is that fair game?'

 
 By DOUGLAS ERNST

Donald Trump turned the tables on NBC News' Savannah Guthrie when she tried 

to frame Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky as an "alleged" incident.

The "Today" show had the Republican presidential front-runner on live Tuesday to discuss his decision to highlight the sordid past of Hillary Clinton's husband. It wasn't long before Guthrie was on the defensive.

"You mention Monica Lewinsky," Guthrie asked. "Are you saying an alleged extra-marital affair, that of course he has now admitted, is that fair game?"

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2014/05/monica-lewinsky-vanity-fair-600.jpg

Monica Lewinsky in the May 8, 2014, online issue of Vanity Fair

"Is it alleged? I don't think that's alleged," Trump responded.

"No, he's admitted it, he's admitted it," said Guthrie.

What do YOU think? Why don't news media understand Donald Trump's appeal? Sound off in today's WND poll

"If he's admitted it, you don't have to use the word alleged," said Trump.

"Right, exactly," the NBC host conceded.

 

NBC News' Savannah Guthrie was corrected by Donald Trump on Tuesday when she said former Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was "alleged."

Trump has been under fire since last week by Clinton's supporters for saying her 2008 campaign was "schlonged" by President Obama.

"She was going to beat Obama. I don't know who would be worse, I don't know, how could it be worse? But she was going to beat – she was favored to win – and she got schlonged, she lost, I mean she lost," the billionaire said Dec. 21 at an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, WND reported.

See Donald Trump's exchange with NBC's Savannah Guthrie:

Trump told Guthrie that attempts by the former secretary of state to portray him as a sexist will be countered by discussions on her husband's treatment of women.

"You look at whether it's Monica Lewinsky or Paula Jones or many of them – that certainly will be fair game. Certainly, if they play the woman's card with respect to me, that will be fair game."

 

Hillary Clinton watches as President Clinton discusses the Monica Lewinsky scandal at the White House in January 1998.

Some of the sexual stories and allegations Trump may bring up, besides Bill Clinton's affair with his former intern, include:

• Eileen Wellstone's claim that Clinton raped her in 1969. The two allegedly met at an Oxford pub.
• Juanita Broaddrick's claim Clinton raped her April 25, 1978.
• Gennifer Flowers' claim that she was Clinton's mistress for 12 years.
• Kathleen Willey, a former White House aide, claimed Clinton sexually assaulted her Nov. 29, 1993.
• Paula Jones sued Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994. The lawsuit was dropped in 1998 after an $850,000 out-of-court settlement was reached.

The Democrat front-runner is likely to face increased scrutiny of her husband's behavior toward women whether her campaign backs off Trump or not. Clinton was already cornered at a New Hampshire campaign event Dec. 3 and asked if women who accused her husband of sexual assault should be believed.

"You recently came out to say that all rape victims should be believed, but would you say that about Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey and Paula Jones? Should we believe them as well?" an audience member asked, WND reported.

"Well, I would say that everybody should be believed at first until they are disbelieved based on evidence," Clinton replied.

Juannita Broaddrick reveals rest of the Clinton rape story. "'Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine'"

The former secretary of state had previously tweeted Nov. 22, "Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported."

The Schlong Also Rises

By Scott Johnson

Donald Trump has proved himself to be a man with substantial insight into the mind of the average Republican voter, a category in which I place myself (in case that's not obvious from my comments here over the past many years). Having made illegal immigration and American greatness the primary themes of his campaign, he floated to the top of a competitive field and has if anything continued to increase his lead over the rest of the field, at least as measured by the national polls so far. I think Trump's candidacy represents a reaction to the Age of Obama among Republican voters.
Obama's promotion of illegal immigration represents a larger component of the Obama syndrome. It stands for Obama's promotion of lawlessness for political purposes.

Bret Stephens assesses Obama's approach to foreign policy in his book America In Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder (now available in paperback). David Bernstein takes the measure of Obama's lawlessness in Lawless: The Obama Administration's Unprecedented Assault on the Constitution and the Rule of Law. These books are essential guides to the Age of Obama.

Except insofar as they take up the issue of immigration, Republican candidates haven't made a theme of Obama's lawlessness or the restoration of the rule of law. (Ted Cruz, incidentally, contributed the foreword to Bernstein's book.) I think the theme badly needs a spokesman in the campaign. Bernstein himself shows what a useful tool it was in Obama's hands in the 2008 campaign.

Obama's promotion of illegal immigration, Obama's rule by executive decree, Obama's disparagement of law enforcement in the service of the racial hustle, Obama's assault on the rule of law — there seems to be a method to this madness. They all take us closer to the status of a Third World country.

In the 1968 presidential campaign, Richard Nixon promised the restoration of law and order in response to the riot culture that has seen its return over the closing years of the Age of Obama. Nixon smartly called out LBJ Attorney General Ramsey Clark as a conscientious objector in the war against crime.

Obama is something worse than a conscientious objector; he is more of an agitator-in-chief. If updated with the necessary changes and elaborated properly, it is a theme that would make an important contribution to the campaign.

2016 Election - Will America Become A Failed Socialist Nation?

 YES, WE ARE ALMOST DONE. 

JUST ONE ELECTION DECIDES OUR FATE.

II HILLARY GETS ELECTED, WE ARE FINISHED!

ALMOST THERE! There are 8 levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a socialist/communist state.  The first is the most important.  5 OF THE 8 ARE DONE - THE LAST 3 ARE ALMOST THERE!  1.  Healthcare:  "Control healthcare and you control the people."  DONE!  2.  Poverty:  "Increase the poverty level as high as possible."  Poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.  DONE!  3.  Debt:  "Increase the national debt to an unsustainable level."  That way you are able to increase taxes and this will produce more poverty.  DONE!  4.  Gun Control:  "Remove the ability of people to defend themselves from the Government."  That way you are able to create a police state - total local control.  ALMOST THERE!  5.  Welfare:  "Take control of every aspect of their lives" (food, housing and income).  DONE!  6.  Education:  "Take control of what people read & listen to take control of what cHildren learn in school."  ALMOST THERE!  7.  Religion "Remove faith in God from the Government and school."  ALMOST THERE!  8.  Class Warfare:  "Divide the people into the rich and poor. Racially divide."  This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to tax the rich with full support of the voting poor.  DONE!  We are ripe for our country being turned into a failed socialist nation, like Cuba and North Korea. The fate of America rests in the hands of the voters in the 2016 Election.

Elites and media really hate Donald Trump’s voters

by Ed Driscoll

 

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Elites and media really hate Donald Trump's voters, Michael Walsh writes:

In the movie business, there's something called the "cheer moment," when the long-suffering hero finally decks his tormentor with a satisfying right cross. What the Beltway Republicans fail to understand is that their conservative base — which gave them stunning congressional victories in 2010 and 2014 and has nothing to show for it — has been longing for precisely that moment since Reagan crushed Mondale 49-1 in 1984.

The Trumpkins are sick of winning and having nothing to show for it, and their vengeance will be terrible. Maybe the Establishment should stop belittling them and listen instead.

See also: past hatred of establishment GOP and DNC-MSM for libertarians, Tea Party voters, Perot voters, and any group whose goal is the most radical of all: for government to leave you the hell alone. I'm not at all sure that's Trump's goal for government, but then, as Glenn has noted, "Trump and Sanders are just symptoms. The real disease is in the ruling class that takes such important subjects out of political play, in its own interest. As Angelo Codevilla wrote in an influential essay in 2010, today's ruling class is a monoculture that has little in common with the rest of the nation."

Permalink

 

•

 

10:14 am by Ed Driscoll

 

The Global Warming Hoax

What's Really Going On With the Earth's Climate By John Hinderaker The Earth's climate is changing, as it has for millions of years. Recent changes, however, are mild and benign, as opposed–for example–to being plunged into another ice age. The most accurate record we have of modern temperatures comes from satellites. Their readings are, in fact, the only transparent, uncorrupted temperature records in existence. Surface temperature records are unreliable because of siting issues, poor coverage of the oceans, failure to recognize the urban heat island effect, and deliberate falsification by alarmist climate scientists, who constantly revise temperatures recorded decades ago to make the past look cooler. The problem with satellite temperature data, of course, is that it only goes back to 1978.  That said, we now have 37 years of satellite data. What trends to those records reveal? Anthony Wattsprovides an excellent summary: The average temperature of Earth's atmosphere has warmed just over four tenths of a degree Celsius (almost three fourths of a degree Fahrenheit) during the past 37 years, with the greatest warming over the Arctic Ocean and Australia, said Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Microwave sounding units on board NOAA and NASA satellites completed 37 complete years of collecting temperature data in November, giving us nearly global coverage of climate change during that time. If that trend was to continue for another 63 years, the composite warming for the globe would be 1.1 C (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) for the century, Christy said. That would put the average global temperature change over 100 years well under the 2.0 C (3.6 degrees F) goal set recently at the climate change summit in Paris. Are the alarmists trying to set a low bar that will be achieved regardless of any changes in CO2 emissions, and then claim credit for saving the planet? Watts notes that a "1.2 C or 2.2 degrees F rise over 100 years would be roughly equal to the warming seen most spring days between 10 a.m. and noon." Interestingly, however, the warming over the last 37 years has not been uniform. The North Pole and Australia have warmed the most, while other regions, like Antarctica, have cooled. Here are the basic data, expressed in average temperature change per decade: Global average trend.: +0.11 C (about 0.20 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade since December 1978. Northern Hemisphere: +0.14 C (about 0.25 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade since December 1978. Southern Hemisphere: +0.09 C (about 0.16 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade since December 1978. Tropics: +0.10 C (about 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade since December 1978. Of course, the trends of the last 37 years may not continue. The Earth might warm more rapidly over the next century, or it might begin to cool. But the best data that we have, the satellite records, reveal only mild and benign warming.  They also conclusively refute the computer models on which the alarmist project is based; only a fraction of the warming predicted by the models has taken place. To quote, once again, the great physicist Richard Feynman: It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.

News From The 2016 Campaign Trail - Complied By The RNC

RNC Complied News Also Available Via FlipBoard: https://flipboard.com/@rnc/rnc-morning-reads-jht598j5                  

 

MORE DEBATE FALLOUT: Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a combat veteran and DNC Vice Chair, criticized Hillary Clinton's comment that we're "finally where we need to be" in the fight against ISIS. The Daily Caller reports: Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard criticized Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's ISIS strategy explaining, "We've got a strategy executed frankly, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense." … Tapper asked Gabbard to comment on Clinton's statement from the last Democratic debate where Clinton siad, "We are where we need to be in the fight against ISIS." "I would heartily disagree with that," Gabbard insisted. "We've got a strategy executed frankly, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense." The Major in the Hawaii National Guard said, "We are not where we need to be."

 

DNC Vice Chair Gabbard: "Heartily Disagree" With Clinton ISIS Assessment

 

 

Click Here To Watch

 

The DNC data debacle has left many Democrat tech gurus questioning the security of the party's data infrastructure. MSNBC reports: While the initial crisis has been resolved, there's still more fallout to come from the data breach that rocked the Democratic primary last week. In addition a yet-to-begin investigation and a still-pending lawsuit, the repercussions could cause lasting damage to the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and especially Bernie Sanders … But neither campaign is quite ready to let the issue go … More broadly, the breach has led many Democratic data officials, regardless of which candidate they support, to question the security of the party's current data scheme, which is almost entirely dependent on a single vendor. The breach could undermine trust in the DNC and the vendor for a long time to come.

 

Hillary Clinton is lowering expectations about her fourth quarter fundraising haul as Sanders builds momentum. POLITICO reports: Hillary Clinton's donors say they think Bernie Sanders will raise more money in the fourth quarter than their candidate for the first time ever – a testament to the underdog's online cash juggernaut and harbinger of donor fatigue among the front-runner's backers … Low-balling your candidate's fundraising totals is a time-honored practice in presidential politics … But the concern appears to be real. Over the past few days, Clinton's advisers have taken steps to stoke donor enthusiasm: Bill and Chelsea Clinton, who on Monday announced she is pregnant with her second child, have stepped up their fundraising for the campaign. They are expected to become even more involved in the campaign beginning in January.

 

An online push by the Clinton campaign targeting Hispanics backfired. The Hill reports: A post on Hillary Clinton's website meant to showcase how the former secretary of State is like "your abuela" — Spanish for grandmother —  is drawing mockery online. In a post called "7 things Hillary Clinton has in common with your abuela," the campaign says Clinton is like an ordinary Hispanic grandmother because she "worries about children everywhere," "reads to you before bedtime" and demands "respeto" – Spanish for respect … The post was pilloried by Twitter users, who said Clinton never had to face the hardships of their own Hispanic grandmothers. The hashtags #notmyabuela and #nomiabuela shot to the top of the trending list on Twitter. Screenshots posted on Twitter suggest the Clinton campaign changed the headline on the post, which originally said: "7 ways Hillary Clinton is just like your abuela."

 

Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of shutting down as many as half of the country's schools. The Washington Free Beacon reports: Hillary Clinton has the support of powerful teachers' unions, but they may not like what she just said at an Iowa school on Tuesday. Speaking at Keota Junior-Senior High School in Keota, Iowa, Clinton said that underperforming schools would be closed under her administration. "This school district and these schools throughout Iowa are doing a better-than-average job," Clinton said. "Now, I wouldn't keep any school open that wasn't doing a better-than-average job. If a school's not doing a good job, then, you know, that may not be good for the kids, but when you have a district that is doing a good job, it seems kind of counterproductive to impose financial burdens on it." By Clinton's logic, about 50 percent of the schools in the United States would be shuttered as a result of this policy.

 

An ethics watchdog said Hillary Clinton was "in a league of her own" when it comes to unethical behavior. The Washington Examiner reports: An ethics watchdog group argued that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is "in a league of her own" when it comes to ethics violations, and therefore reserved a separate category for her outside of its list of the top seven offenders of 2015. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust cited four examples of ethics violations it said Clinton committed this year alone when explaining its decision to exclude Clinton from its rankings of the "top congressional and campaign ethics violators of 2015," a list the group made public Tuesday. "During her time as secretary of state, overwhelming evidence shows, primarily through the State Department's release of her emails, that she abused her official position," FACT wrote of Clinton. "Since becoming a presidential candidate, she has on numerous occasions violated campaign and ethics laws."

 

Voters are less confident about the economy heading into 2016. POLITICO reports: Despite relatively steady views on the economy over the past year, Americans are less confident in next year's economy than they were in January 2015, according to a new Pew Research Center poll out Tuesday. Just over one in two Americans (54 percent) expect economic conditions in 2016 to remain the same, 22 percent project they'll get worse and 20 percent foresee an improvement. But those numbers are lower than last January when 31 percent thought things would improve, 17 percent thought there would be a downturn and 51 percent expected things to remain the same.

 

The Republican-led Congress is tightening the screws on Obama's EPA. The Wall Street Journal editorializes: The EPA received $8.1 billion or $451 million less than Mr. Obama had demanded, and no increase from the year before. Congress has cut the EPA's allowance by $2.1 billion, or 21%, since fiscal 2010. This has forced the EPA to cut more than 2,000 full-time employees over the same period, and its manpower is now at the lowest level since 1989. Mr. Obama sought an additional $72.1 million to turbocharge his extralegal climate rule on power plants … Congress denied every penny. It also denied the nearly $30 million extra that Mr. Obama wanted for the legal department that defends the agency in court … The budget also zeroed out the nearly $44 million increase Mr. Obama sought for his "water quality protection" initiatives … Republicans were able to insert a few modest policy riders in the budget. Congress barred the EPA from attempting to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, and it added a requirement that the Administration inform Congress how much it is spending on climate initiatives across the federal bureaucracy … The budget pressure on the EPA and the use of the Congressional Review Act show that GOP control of Congress has made a difference.

 

IN THE STATES …

 

In Iowa, Bernie Sanders slammed the DNC's favoritism toward Hillary Clinton and called for an investigation into the embarrassing data breach. The Des Moines Register reports: Sen. Bernie Sanders didn't mince words Monday night, saying Democratic leaders aren't doing themselves any favors airing debates at times when few people are watching. "Is that an accident? No, I don't think it was," Sanders told The Des Moines Register. "I think it was intentionally designed to make sure that I and Gov. (Martin) O'Malley get less exposure." While the Republican debates have garnered more viewers in their weekday prime-time slots, the Democrats have so far scheduled two of their three debates for Saturday evenings. The Nov. 14 debate in Des Moines aired concurrently with an Iowa football game and last weekend's contest in New Hampshire was scheduled for the Saturday before Christmas. Sanders blames the Democratic National Committee for trying to tip the scales in favor of front-runner Hillary Clinton.

 

In Nevada, Bernie Sanders is going up with a new TV ad. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports: The campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic candidate for president, launched television ads in Nevada on Tuesday. His efforts join others who are ramping up advertising efforts in advance of the February caucuses. The one-minute spot gives Nevada voters an introduction to Sanders, putting his life and policy goals in broad strokes. The ad tells of Sanders' path as the son of a Polish immigrant who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and went on to become mayor of Burlington, Vt., before his election to House of Representatives and then the Senate. It gives snippets of his platform of wanting free public college tuition and fighting for wage equality and rejecting politics as usual.

 

In Pennsylvania, Harry Reid praised Democrat Senate candidate Katie McGinty for her work on a state budget proposal that "raised taxes on all Pennsylvanians and was rejected by every member of the legislature." The Allentown Morning Call reports: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Katie McGinty is getting a little holiday fundraising help from the Senate's top Democrat. In an email from his leadership PAC, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid urged support for McGinty, touting her work on Gov. Tom Wolf's state budget proposal during her six months as his chief of staff … Toomey campaign spokesman Steve Kelly said the state budget that Reid praised "raised taxes on all Pennsylvanians and was rejected by every members of the Legislature."