Bottom-Up

Exit poll results from South Carolina showed more than half of voters felt "betrayed" by the Republican Party. RNC Chairman Priebus argued that it was not reflective of his party, but instead of more widespread anger at the federal government and politics in general.

The party would be ready to support Donald Trump if he won the nomination, despite his past support of Democrats and many liberal positions.

Trump has emerged as the front-runner by winning over roughly a third of Republicans in the early voting states and in preference polls, packing his rallies with men and women, evangelical Christians and military veterans, blue-collar workers and wealthy retirees. 

Voters give Trump the best marks for competence and decisiveness, which were important to more than 9 out of 10 Republican voters.

Ed McMullen, a Trump co-chairman in SC, rejected the impression that Trump's supporters are only a bunch of "lower-income, angry white men" and "rednecks," pointing to a series of campaign events in recent days at exclusive golf resorts and gated communities in South Carolina that attracted wealthy retirees and business leaders.

The party is changing from the bottom up.  Just a thought.

Meaning!!

Donald Trump now owns the Republican party. The only question left is whether what’s left of the GOP establishment can winnow the field fast enough to take it back.

What Trump has established, though, cannot and should not be ignored. He has mocked, taunted and threatened the party establishment on his way to his undisputed front-runner status.

He has called his opponents corrupt, unstable, low-energy liars and losers. He said President George W. Bush lied about the Iraq War and called Pope Francis “disgraceful” for questioning his faith.

Despite all that – and maybe because of it – Trump romped in Saturday’s South Carolina primary.

He’s done it by bringing the party along to his positions. Exit polls show three-fourths of South Carolina voters supporting a visas ban entering the United States.

He again managed to split the evangelical vote, despite coming in last among voters who preferred a candidate who “shares my values.” He ran strong across income levels, among independents as well as Republicans, and among voters who saw immigration, jobs and terrorism as the top issues.

Even if Jeb Bush and Ben Carson bow out soon, John Kasich’s staying in through the Midwestern states that vote in early March.   Rubio and Cruz are too busy feuding to think about getting out of the way of the other. In the meantime, Trump will accumulate delegates as the realization grows that, yes, he could actually be the Republican nominee.    [Rick Klein]

Just a thought.

It all began here

Images from Syria

Russia denied its warplanes carried out strikes on a Syrian hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders, as Syrian government forces and a Kurdish-led coalition advanced in the country's north.

Syria's ambassador to Russia said the hospital was destroyed by the U.S. -led coalition which is carrying out strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria.

In recent weeks Syrian government troops backed by Russian airstrikes have been advancing on Western-backed rebels and other insurgents, hoping to seal off rebel-held parts of Aleppo city. 

U.S.-allied Kurdish forces, mainly battled the Islamic State group, have been advancing in the same region, battling Syrian rebels and other insurgents in a bid to expand a nearby enclave.

Dignitaries from northern Aleppo are trying to negotiate an agreement whereby the insurgents would surrender Marea in exchange for a safe corridor to the town of Azaz, near the border with Turkey.

Turkey views the Syrian Kurdish fighters as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara. Turkey no plans to unilaterally send ground troops into Syria to fight ISIL.

Opinion: US should not participate in the war in Syria on behalf of Turkey or Saudi Arabia who started the civil war, created and supported ISIS. The outcome is a Refuge Chaos which will trouble Europe and USA for a long time to come. We have seen that already in France and Belgium.                                    Just a thought.

The Bushy.

In private and among friends, Bush and his wife, Laura, express amazement at an election season that has been hijacked by Donald Trump. 

On Monday, Presidents’ Day, Bush try to help Jeb do just that. After deliberately avoiding politics throughout his post- presidency, Bush is stepping back into the arena for an evening rally in North Charleston with his brother.

Bush’s appearance is an urgent mission to energize Jeb’s struggling candidacy ahead of next Saturday’s South Carolina primary. But it also will firmly put the stamp of the last Republican to occupy the White House on the GOP contest at a moment of deep division.

The former president has been troubled by a Republican electorate that  so far, at least prioritizes Trump’s anger and projected strength over Jeb’s qualifications and experience.

George W. Bush is popular among Republicans here, especially members of the military services. 
The former president’s approval rating among South Carolina Republicans stands at 84 percent.

However, George Bush will bring back troubles of the past. The war in Iraq, thousands of American military lost their lives, thousands injured, disintegration of the area and the rise of fundamentalism. All will not be good for his brother's run.                Just a thought.

Deadly Cocktail

The headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon was occupied by an armed group. The Hammonds were convicted of arson on federal land,^[15] were sent to prison, and are now seeking clemency from the U.S. President.

The leader of the group said he began leading the occupation after receiving a divine message ordering him to do so. The militant group demanded that the federal government cede ownership of the refuge, and expressed willingness to engage in armed conflict. 

Protest leaders Ryan and Ammon Bundy are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They cited the Mormon scripture as justification for defying government authority. The LDS Church issued a statement, strongly condemning the seizure and that the armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. This group prevented others from using the federal Refuge.

Mixing Scripture, Guns, and Ignorance can lead to a terrible outcome.   
Just a thought.

Burn Baby...!

Donald J. Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders harnessed working-class fury to surge to commanding victories in a New Hampshire primary that drew a huge turnout across the state.

The success by two outsider candidates dealt a remarkable rebuke to the political establishment, and all but guaranteed protracted, bruising races for each party’s presidential nomination.

Mr. Trump, the businessman whose blunt language and outsider image have electrified many Republicans and horrified others, benefited from an unusually large field of candidates. He ran strongest among voters who were worried about illegal immigrants, incipient economic turmoil and the threat of a terrorist attack in the United States.

 Mr. Sanders, who has proposed an emphatically liberal agenda to raise taxes and impose regulations on Wall Street, drew support from a wide cross-section of voters, even edging among women, boosted by his appeal among the young.

Mr. Sanders, flashing a wide toothy grin, pointed to the large voter turnout as evidence that only he could energize the Democratic electorate to defeat the Republicans in November.

“Together we have sent a message that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California,. “that the government of our great country belongs to all of the people, and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors and their ‘super PACs.’ ”

Are we looking at one and the same?   Just a thought.

Feel the Bern

The SNL with Larry David and Bernie's message. It summarizes who Bernie Sanders is.

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/bernie-sanders-larry-david-snl-163608309.html

Trump-less Fox

We may be witnessing the collapse of the Republican party, or at least the Republican party as we know it. And if so, then Donald Trump is the harbinger of its apocalypse.
The signs of the party’s weakness and disarray are everywhere. Trump is the GOP’s presidential front-runner by most any measure. Yet the candidate is now in open warfare with two of the right’s most influential media platforms: National Review and Fox News.

Last week, National Review published a special issue devoted to denouncing the candidate.
Then on Tuesday, Trump announced that, because Fox refused to comply with Trump’s demand.

All-out conflict between two of the right’s leading media outlets and the GOP’s presidential frontrunner is virtually unprecedented. Among other things, it suggests that the traditional party power structures are breaking down, and are now competing amongst each other to retain their dominance.

Trump’s candidacy exists almost entirely outside the traditional support structure for successful Republican candidates. His campaign, for example, is run by a small staff of loyalists with little traditional national campaign experience and funded without the backing of the GOP donor class. He appears to have only one issue adviser, a former trade and immigration staffer for Alabama Sen. 

Trump is essentially running his own party now, housed within a hollowed-out GOP brand. In less than a year, he has all but taken over.

Just a thought.