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Tag: reelection
Trolling Hard On Campaign Trail, Don Jr. Riles Trump Base

Trolling Hard On Campaign Trail, Don Jr. Riles Trump Base

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

In the Trump family, 37-year-old Ivanka Trump and 41-year-old Donald Trump Jr. have radically different approaches when it comes to promoting right-wing politics: while Ivanka has been trying to position herself as an intellectual conservative and generally avoids the crude, in-your-face approach of her father, her older brother is more than happy to throw red meat to the worst parts of the GOP base — and Marianne Levine, in a report for Politico, describes the ways in which Donald Trump, Jr. has been firing up that base on the campaign trail.

Levine explains that when President Donald Trump is unavailable for a reelection campaign event, the base often considers his son a very good substitute. And when Trump Jr., like his father, engages in “trolling,” hardcore Trumpistas welcome it.

Matt Mackowiak, president of the right-wing consulting firm Potomac Strategy Group, told Politico that Donald Trump Jr. “loves responding — you might want to even say trolling — on a more active basis. Because he’s more current, he can use modern-day tactics, understands how to make a sharp argument, understands how to sort of cheekily criticize someone, sort of demonstrate a clever but cutting approach. In a way, it’s almost like he’s a next-generation model.”

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was once a vehement critic of President Trump but is now an obsequious sycophant, described Trump Jr. as “very helpful” and told Politico that he “brings a lot of energy” and is “out there fighting for his father and his agenda.”

An anonymous source identified by Levine as “close to Trump Jr.” told Politico that he can be even more in-your-face than his father — which can cause problems at times.

“I think he goes a little bit edgier than his father does, and edgier isn’t always better,” that source told Politico. “It can create a bad news cycle. When his father creates a bad news cycle, it’s by design.”

Much like his father, Trump Jr. is a polarizing figure — and while his presence can excite the base in red states, Levine reports that it could prove detrimental in swing states or blue states.

One such blue state is Maine, where four-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins is considered vulnerable in 2020. When Politico asked Collins if she would welcome Trump Jr.’s help, she replied, “That’s a very premature question because I haven’t made my own decision yet.”

Collins said of Trump Jr.’s participation in his father’s campaign, “I didn’t even know he was playing a role in the 2020 elections.”

Rubio Is Running For Reelection After All… Against Donald Trump?

Rubio Is Running For Reelection After All… Against Donald Trump?

After failing to win the Republican nomination for president, Marco Rubio is now going back on his promise to not run for reelection to the Senate.

“Marco Rubio abandoned his constituents, and now he’s treating them like a consolation prize,” said Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy, who is running to replace Rubio.

What’s worse, Rubio is using Donald Trump’s “worrisome” candidacy, which he has supported in various forms in recent months, as an excuse for his change of heart, citing concern over Trump’s racist, sexist, and xenophobic remarks, as well as his still unknown views on other important issues.

“As we begin the next chapter in the history of our nation, there’s another role for the Senate that could end up being its most important in the years to come: The Constitutional power to act as a check and balance on the excesses of a president,” he said in a statement Wednesday announcing his bid to keep his seat.

“If he is elected, we will need Senators willing to encourage him in the right direction, and if necessary, stand up to him,”

That’s right. Rubio spent months after dropping out of the presidential election failing to rebuke Trump in any forceful way, but now plans to make Trump a central part of his campaign platform.

Although Rubio did not mention the Orlando tragedy in the statement, he previously cited it as a reason for reconsidering his decision to not run. It’s unclear what actions Rubio will pursue to prevent further massacres once in the Senate — on Monday, he voted against four gun control bills, two each from Republican and Democratic sponsors.

Rubio also happens to have one of the worst attendance records in the Senate, something Trump pointed out frequently during the Republican primaries, before Rubio dropped out and Trump encouraged him to seek reelection.

Rubio had previously pledged to support his friend, Florida’s Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez Cantera, in the race to replace him. Cantera scratched plans to run for Rubio’s seat after Rubio’s announcement on Wednesday.

Congressmen Ron DeSantis and David Jolly also dropped plans to reach the Senate and opened the way for Rubio.

 

Photo: Marco Rubio parts the curtains to view the crowd before being introduced during a campaign event in Reno, Nevada February 22, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Keane

Rubio Running For Senate Re-Election: Florida Lawmaker

Rubio Running For Senate Re-Election: Florida Lawmaker

Marco Rubio, the U.S. Senator from Florida and former presidential candidate, is running for re-election, U.S. Representative David Jolly told CNN on Friday, a move that could help Republicans keep control of the chamber.

“Marco is saying he’s getting in,” said Jolly, a fellow Republican who has been running to fill the seat.

Jolly, who represents the area around St. Petersburg and Clearwater, has said he would step aside if Rubio decided to run for re-election. He told CNN he would make a formal announcement at noon EDT but gave no other details.

Rubio, who ended his presidential bid in March, said this week he was reconsidering running and may decide as early as this weekend.

Representatives for Rubio could not be reached immediately for comment.

Jolly spokesman Preston Rudie later tried to clarify the comment, saying the congressman did not know Rubio‘s plans.

“Congressman Jolly has no actual knowledge of a Rubio decision,” he told Reuters in an email.

Rubio‘s entry into the Senate race would complicate Democrats’ efforts to win back a majority there in the Nov. 8 election.

Republicans won majority control of the Senate in the 2014 elections and now hold 54 seats in the 100-seat chamber. Democrats have 44 seats and two independents are aligned with them.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans have urged Rubio to run despite a pledge during his presidential campaign not to seek re-election, citing polls showing him the only Republican who can win the state.

(Reporting by Kouichi Shirayanagi and Richard Cowan; Editing by Susan Heavey and Jeffrey Benkoe)

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and Senator Marco Rubio laughs while speaking during the Heritage Action for America presidential candidate forum in Greenville, South Carolina on September 18, 2015. REUTERS/Chris Keane

Possible Mortgage Refinancing Plan Could Help Housing Market

The Obama administration knows that broad action to strengthen the housing market could both help homeowners and improve his chances of reelection. Even though Congress has resisted further stimulus programs, a refinancing program could have a large impact without necessarily requiring Congressional action. As The New York Times reports:

One proposal would allow millions of homeowners with government-backed mortgages to refinance them at today’s lower interest rates, about 4 percent, according to two people briefed on the administration’s discussions who asked not to be identified because they were not allowed to talk about the information.

A wave of refinancing could be a strong stimulus to the economy, because it would lower consumers’ mortgage bills right away and allow them to spend elsewhere. But such a sweeping change could face opposition from the regulator who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and from investors in government-backed mortgage bonds.

It also would not tap any of the $45.6 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Funds that was set aside to help struggling homeowners. Only $22.9 billion of that pool has been spent or pledged so far, and fewer than 1.7 million loans have been modified under federal programs. But Andrea Risotto, a Treasury spokeswoman, said whatever was left would be used to reduce the federal deficit.

Additionally, the administration is working on a home rental program that would prevent a large number of foreclosed homes from flooding the market.

The government has encouraged limited refinancing already, but this proposal has the potential to create much more sweeping change. If the reports are true, Obama might have found a viable means to ease the housing crisis — one that could boost his chances of reelection next fall.