George Pataki Supporter, Earle I. Mack is Exactly what is wrong with the Republican Party

And probably why George Pataki didn't get any traction in his campaign bid. In short, his suggestion is that Republicans should run like they are Democrats.

The New York Times reported:

• Earle I. Mack, a prominent real estate developer and Republican donor who was supporting Mr. Pataki, said the former governor had faced a difficult national environment for his "middle of the road" brand of politics. Mr. Mack, who spoke with Mr. Pataki ahead of his announcement, said Republicans faced a dire future if they did not tack toward the center, as Mr. Pataki had urged.
  "It's time for a more moderate Republican," Mr. Mack said, adding: "If we don't have a candidate that understands the Supreme Court has ruled that gay marriage is legal and a woman's right to choose is legal, if they can't get that through their head, they're going to keep losing elections."

Bob Dole, Mitt Romney, John McCain are all a part of that kind of thinking. Why don't Republicans realize why it doesn''t work??

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MEME REPORT:
WHAT CAN BE SAID ABOUT HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN SAID ABOUT A TRAIN WRECK?

Cheap Seat Report: The FBN/WSJ Republican Debate 11.10.15

CNBC has just announced that Hillary Clinton has won tomorrows GOP debate

 All the Republicans going into tonights debate all have one bright shared consolation: None of them are David Vitter.

 Looks like the new season of "The Voice" is going to get a new viewer tonight. That George Pataki supporter has to do something....

 Hillary"s campaign is saying they will not watch the debate and instead are going to be "moving our country forward." They didn't explain what country is hers and where they are gong to move it, though.

 Only 35 more days til the next GOP debate

 If the first question to all the candidates is "would you sign a pledge to not stab anyone?" then you know Fox Business is gunning for Carson.

 "The reason we lose nationally is because we try to be a cheaper version of the Democratic party." --Bobby Jindal

 So far Fox Business isn't fueling a cage match between personalities. A debate that stays on topic seems rather bizarre just for not being bizarre.

 Christie has deflected a question about himself 3 times now and diverted it toward Hillary twice and Obama once.

If there's a drinking game where you drink every time a candidate says "I'm the only one", then those playing will pass out long before round two on the big stage.

 Jindal wants to fire everybody in DC. Personally, I lean more toward a straight out deportation.

 Megyn Kelly just blamed the candidates for the Fox News debate kerfuffle. She says she was trying to do it like Fox Business just did it.

 FBN pundits are giving the win to Christie for first debate. I have to lean toward Huckabee. Christie avoided directly answering the most questions..followed by Santorum. .

"We need more welders instead of philosophers." --Marco Rubio

 Kasich doesn't care who's here if they are already here.

 Who cares what the Clinton campaign high fives, Jeb. Hillary high fived her staff after the Benghazi hearing.

 WINNER: "We would see stories about the economic calamity" of illegal immigration if journalists' wages were affected" --Ted Cruz

 "I want a government so small you can't even see it." --Rand Paul

 So far so good: Half way through the debate and Ben Carson hasn't stabbed anyone yet.

 "If Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose" --Ted Cruz

"More words in IRS code than in the Bible." --Ted Cruz
and in may respects they have the same penalties.

 "We should vet all candidates. I have no problem with being vetted. What I do have a problem with is being lied about and then putting that out there as truth." --Ben Carson


 Score again:
"If you think defending this country is expensive, try NOT defending it." --Ted Cruz

 Trump playing the peacemaker among the candidates?

 I think I'm with Trump on this one. (His views on Russia and Putin)

 "We shouldn't have another financial crisis".-- Jeb Bush
.
Whats scary is that I think that is the complete Jeb Bush economic plan.

 Shorter John Kasich: I would let the government do what it has always been doing. I would just let it do what its always been doing better.

"Thank you for not asking me what I said in the 10th grade" --Ben Carson


 Fiorina has already started her "Trump picked on me " media tour. I didn't think she would start on it til tomorrow.

 "You can never say something is never going to happen" --John Kasich.
Actually you can: Kasich will never be president.

 Whine of the Night:
"We Can't deport illegals, there are too many of them." --John Kasich


 "In the two hours of this -- of this debate, five people have died from drug-related deaths, $100 million has been added to our national debt, 200 babies have been killed by abortionists, and two veterans have taken their lives out of despair. This is a narrative that we can change, not we the Democrats, not we the Republicans, but we the people of America, because there is something special about this nation, and we must embrace it and be proud of it and never give it away for the sake of political correctness." --Ben Carson closing remarks

 Over all, I think FBN did a good debate and stayed mostly on target with important issues and not personality driven. A few times I think moderators started to lose control but they reeled it back in and with that many egos on a stage I could see why that would happen.. I thought Cavuto was taking the Bank of America question to Cruz a little personal...but otherwise OK. IMHO

From the Cheap Seat: My Republican Picks as of Today 10.31.15

 I need to clarify again that I am not a Republican, so I have no party loyalty to the Republican party and will never hesitate to throw the party under a bus when necessary. That said, I ID myself as more of a Constitutional conservative and the Republican party tends usually to have a better pick of candidates that lean that way. Also, my main focus is on First Amendment issues like religious liberty and free speech. I have stated many times over the years that I dislike politics as a general rule....but will deal with it when it encroaches on religious freedom and free speech.. So, I look for the candidates who I think are most apt and able to address and protect that.

1) Ted Cruz. Before the CNBC Debacle they called a debate,  I was thinking Cruz would likely not be in 1st place. I was kind of frustrated with what appeared to be a "lead from behind" mentality with the idea that IF Donald Trump drops out that he stands to gain. Trump may not be dropping out any time soon and more likely not at all.  If he did in the future at all it will be too late for Cruz to mount an offense..based on money more than time. However, when he called out the moderators at CNBC for their debate debacle I think he caught a second wind and changed the direction of the debate and the audience knew....even the audience across the country.

2. Donald Trump. Still a wild card, but he has done enough shaking up of DC with just his campaign that I suspect he could do the same in DC. The common enemy most of us face right now is the DC machine and the way it is run year after year after year after year. Anyone going to DC who promises the same old same old should be ignored immediately. Would Trump shake DC up good or bad? I don't think there's any such thing as a good or bad shake. A shake is a shake. The alternative would be to tear it all down and start over. And though that would probably be the best option...a good shake up would work as well.

3) Ben Carson. The top three candidates on this list could be interchanged based on the strength of various subjects, but Carson has my interest for religious liberty issues and as an outsider from DC he would be an asset. He may be soft spoken, but I think he has hard convictions.

4) Mike Huckabee. He's probably a long shot in the scheme of things, but for his stand on religious liberty he is one of the best. There's still some uncertainty on his Common Core position based on some things he has said in the past. However, in a presidential market where a  candidate like Hillary Clinton can change her position on an issue within a matter of minutes in the same debate, a change over a few years by Huckabee is politically  laudable (at least to me)

5) Marco Rubio.  He's very likable.  He's just wrong on some issues, like amnesty. His CNBC Debacle remarks were well thought out and his counter against Jeb Bush's attack was successful.

6) Rand Paul. I  cant separate him from Ron Paul and I was not a fan of Ron Paul. Rand didn't try any misguided attack this time around, so he is teachable.

7) Bobby Jindal. I was gong to put Jindal and Santorum at the bottom of the list.  Not because I don't like their positions on many things, but just because they are long shots at this point...in fact more likely impossibles. However, I am rating all the candidates and once I get past #8, it would take some convincing to support any of them.  So #8 is, in many respects, the bottom of my list. Jindal is strong on religious liberty. In may respects right up there with Huckabee. I had high hopes for him and waited for his entrance into the campaign, but I dont think he is going anywhere.

8) Rick Santorum. Same as Jindal, just not quite up there with Huckabee. Jindal is a bit more personable.

9) Chris Christie. He is still here based on his performance at the CNBC Debacle. Otherwise he's still the same.

10) Carly Fiorina.  I don't trust her. She has taken positions initially and then changed them when it appeared the conservative trend was going another way. .The media, even at the CNBC Debacle were throwing soft ball questions at her. Being a media darling comes with it's own warnings.

11) Jeb Bush.  I cant figure out why he would admit to modeling his campaign after John McCain's campaign. Does he remember that McCain lost???? He tried a cheap shot at Rubio, but Rubio blew it off. Rick Perry's failed campaign sent him RNC establishment clone Austin Barbour from here in Mississippi, which by itself is enough to "just say no" to Bush.  But there was already plenty of other reasons to just say no to Jeb Bush.

12) Lindsey Graham. One of the worst Republicans I know, but he  got in a few humorous lines at the early debate. He's here for entertainment value.

13) George Pataki.  Pataki-who??

14) Jim Gilmore.  See comments at  13

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MEME REPORT:
DNC IS PROBABLY RUNNING A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL ON MEMBERSHIPS

 

Word Slinger Files Republican Presidential Picks As of Today:

My picks up to now with information I have up to now:

First off, I need to clarify that I am not a Republican, so I have no party loyalty to the Republican party and will never hesitate to throw the party under a bus. That said, I ID myself as more of a Constitutional conservative and the Republican party tends usually to have a better pick of candidates that lean that way. Also, my main focus is on religious liberty...and I have stated many times over the years that I dislike politics as a general rule....but will deal with it when it encroaches on religious freedom..  So, I look for the candidates who I think are most apt and able to address and protect that. Followed by illegal immigration, abortion, and the economy.

1) Ted Cruz  His knowledge of constitutional law and issues is impressive.And he is concerned about religious freedom. He would make a great addition to the Supreme Court some day.....or, if not elected president,   attorney general.

2) Mike Huckabee  He has moved up in my interest since the last debate, particularly because of the Kim Davis issue. I see him as a long shot, but he polls OK for a long shot candidate. Huckabee rocks on religious freedom

3) Donald Trump. He is a wild card and still an anomaly. The Republican Party needs someone to kick that shoddy foundation they have laid underneath them. He mentioned the vaccine issues in the debate last night, and issues with autism..which even Ben Carson agreed with...in spite of the fact that Megyn Kelly says vaccines are a settled issue scientifically.

4) Rick Santorum. For his stand on religious freedom, abortion, etc. I thought he did a good job of defending his positions in the earlier CNN debate.

 5) Bobby Jindal. I had high hopes he would be a good candidate, particular in the area of religious freedom. His campaign has not taken off yet...and it may not.


 6) Ben Carson. Very likable and smart guy. Soft spoken, but I think he gets his points across better that way. I am a bit confused on some of the issues with him like minimum wage and immigration. His inclusion, though, for immigrants to come and do jobs Americans don't want to do just wreaks so close to the Democrat philosophy of immigration support as cheap labor. Democrat party was pro slavery in 1800s, Still pro-slavery to be pro-immigration and justify it by claiming we can use Mexicans as cheap labor force. So if that's a position he will stick to, then he will being sliding to the bottom of this list very soon.

7) Rand Paul. I think he is very Libertarianesque which is not entirely bad. I am not for marijuana legalization for recreational purposes, but I do agree with him that it should be left to the states to decide. I have no problem with medical usage. Here in Mississippi we have an attempt to get a marijuana initative on the ballot--which it looks like it will fail to get enough people to sign their petition, but I really dislike the way its being promoted. They are pushing it under the guise of being used for medical purposes. and underplaying the fact that they want it for recreational use.  In debates, Paul has tried too hard to go after Trump or even Christie and it, with maybe once exception, blows up in his face.

8) Marco Rubio. He is getting better at verbalizing his positions.

9) Chris Christie. I would not have ever expected to put him higher than Jeb Bush, but his performance at the debate was actually pretty good. I still don't see him as "conservative" but more time will tell.
When he started to explain what female he would like on the $10 bill, it sounded like he was going to nominate Morticia Addams.

10). Carly Fiorina. I don't have all the "like" for her that other people see. She has flip flopped a several issues, including religious freedom, and sometimes it seems like she says what she says depending on who she is talking to. Carly Fiorina is very wrong on  her understanding of the 14th amendment and seems OK with judicial tyranny.

Jeb smoked what??

11) Jeb Bush. Much better performance in last nights debate  I still see him as playing both sides of the issue on immigration. He is, as Trump mentioned, pro-Common Core. He also does not have a great pro-life record in spite of what he tried to say last night.

12) Scott Walker  His performance can be summed up with this: Oh, was he there?

13) John Kasich. In his opening intro, Shorter Kasich: I am Ronald Reagan. Umm. no.

14) Lindsey Graham. "In my world, Hispanics are Americans" --Lindsey Graham. What can be said about Graham that hasn't been said about a bad case of influenza. I would say Lindsey Graham is dead to me, but that would be an upgrade to the status I already held about him.

15) George Pataki .  "just give them all legal status" --George Pataki on immigration. George Pataki plays the Reagan card right out of the gate. Dead to me starting with his position on religious freedom. His last name is still fun to say, though. (Try saying "President Pataki" 5 times very fast. ) 

16) Jim Gilmore. Gilmore who?? CNN excluded him from the debate.

I think the debate at CNN was much better than the charade that Fox news tried to pass off as a debate last month. This one actually had exchanges between the candidates. The few that Fox had were in spite of Fox and not because of it,. Jake Tapper was clearly gunning fro Trump and for a few moments he kind of morphed into Megyn Jelly.

A quick word on the polls, a practice which is central to modern analyses of political races. I believe that polls are far more scientifically unreliable than they are generally made out to be, and think that wild inductions are not the safest way to go. Talking to 200 people and deciding what 200 million are thinking is . . . risky. --Doug Wilson

Former New York Governor George Pataki Announces 2016 Bid, Hillary Clinton Trust Falls

Bloomberg Politics’ Mark Halperin discusses former New York Governor George Pataki’s announcement that he will seek the presidency and a Quinnipiac poll that shows voters are divided on whether Hillary Clinton cares about their needs and problems. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets.”