Republicans jittery over Trump's takeover

By seizing the Republican presidential nomination for Donald J Trump on Tuesday night, he and his millions of supporters completed what had seemed unimaginable: A hostile takeover of one of America's two major political parties.
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AP: Trump tells Connecticut voters he's "not toning it down"

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A confident Donald Trump told supporters on Saturday that he's not changing his pitch to voters, a day after his chief adviser assured Republican officials their party's front-runner would show more restraint while campaigning.
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Candidate Wall: 2016 Republican Primary Races for National, State and Benton County Offices

Click on images to visit the campaign websites (if available) of these Republican candidates, who will be on your Oregon Primary Election ballot in Benton County.

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Republican Debate Grades: Big Night For Cruz,While Trump Consolidates His Lead

The penultimate Republican debate prior to the Iowa caucuses contained plenty of fireworks, a plethora of great moments, and Governor John Kasich (R-OH) air chopping pineapples. There were winners, there were losers, and there were also-rans. It was, in short, the most telling debate thus far in the campaign.
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Sen. Ted Cruz: The Republicans in Congress Are Surrendering to Obama

It’s Christmastime in Washington, D.C., and that can mean only one thing: Congress is once again playing Santa Claus. The names at the top of its list are the Washington Cartel: The big businesses and lobbyists who get in bed with career politicians to do nothing but grow government. And left off the list: the American taxpayer.

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Donald Trump taps into deep Republican anger at government

A sustained outburst of anger and deep disdain for government that has shaped the Republican race for president and confounded the pundits is not going away.
The spirit of insurrection that has powered outsider candidates like Donald Trump to the head of the polls is threatening to close an already narrowing lane for more traditional candidates in the frenzied run-up to the first early voting contests early next year.


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Poll: Six Republican candidates would beat Hillary in head-to-head general election match-up

Do you smell that?  I love the smell of panic in the morning – especially from Democrats.  Perhaps not panic.  But the results of this latest Fox poll should elicit some hand-wringing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth from Democrats.  Six Republican candidates – several who are barely registering in GOP polls – would beat Hillary Clinton in the general election, according to the poll.
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In Obama Era, G.O.P. Bolsters Grip in the States

Young, telegenic and news media savvy, State Auditor Adam Edelen looked like a shoo-in for re-election when Democrats gathered in a horse barn here for a buffet dinner late last month. Most figured he would go on to challenge Senator Rand Paul, whose Republican presidential bid is faltering
even as he seeks re-election.

Now a Paul-Edelen matchup is off the table. Kentucky Democrats, including Mr. Edelen, were trounced last week in an election that swept aside decades of their dominance over state government — and added Mr. Edelen to a growing list of Democrats across the country who have had painful defeats since President Obama was elected.

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Why 2016 could be shattering for Republicans

Election Day 2016 will produce a shattering crash larger than anything the pundits anticipate because the revolutionary economic and social changes occurring in the United States have now pushed both the burgeoning new majority and the conservative Republicans’ counterrevolution beyond their tipping points.


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Joe Biden splits with Hillary Clinton: Republicans not 'chief enemy'

Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Republicans are not the "chief enemy," contrasting with would-be chief Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton should he jump in the race.
"I really respect the members up there and I still have a lot of Republican friends. I don't think my chief enemy is the Republican Party. This is a matter of making things work," Biden said Tuesday, during an event honoring former Vice President Walter Mondale.


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‘It’s a F—ing Bitch, Man’ - Why Republicans Hate Political Consultants

One day after Scott Walker dropped out of the presidential race, the Politico headline read: “Walker’s campaign manager unloads.” The same day, the Washington Post had an article, “Inside the collapse of Scott Walker’s presidential bid,” which also drew heavily from Walker’s campaign manager, GOP consultant Rick Wiley. It’s almost as if Wiley had an agenda.


You’ll be shocked to discover that Wiley was preparing an “all-in Iowa plan” that would have slashed personnel, moved headquarters to Des Moines, and rejuvenated the campaign. But Walker and his wife said no.


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Wanted: Small-Government Republicans

For anyone hoping that the next president will get serious about reducing the size and cost of government, the early days of the campaign have been disappointing, to say the least. The Democrats, of course, have been campaigning as if Greece were a model rather than a warning. But what else can one expect from a party that has moved to the left of Barack Obama? The real disappointment has come from Republicans who seem intent on returning to the big-spending ways of the George W. Bush administration.


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Is the party over for Republican establishment presidential candidates?

Stuart Rothenberg, writing in Roll Call, wonders if the dominance of the GOP establishment in presidential politics might be coming to an end.
Rothenberg looks at every race since 1952, pointing out that in all but two nomination contests, conservatives were shut out. Those two races – Goldwater's insurgent campaign of 1964 and Reagan's run in 1980 – stand out as the only victories by a candidate of the right in more than 60 years.
Some candidates like Mitt Romney have tried to run as conservatives but failed to attract much support. But the litany of establishment winners – Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Bush 41, Dole, Bush 43, McCain, and Romney – has frustrated the right. Until now.


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Why polls are ridiculous … until they’re not

Yippee. The Republican race is taking shape! The latest poll conducted by Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University says so.
There’s former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. There’s also Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. (I use their titles to help you keep them straight. As the race gets even more crowded, you will thank me for this.) In the poll, each man clocks in at a mere 10 percent.


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New NH poll shows Republicans within the margin of error with Hillary

Keep in mind that polls this early in a presidential cycle measure mostly name recognition rather than solid voter choice. Even with that caveat in mind — or perhaps because of it — the Bloomberg/St. Anselm poll released last night delivers bad news to Hillary Clinton and Democrats for 2016. Instead of a commanding lead over a field of emerging names, Hillary barely edges out most of the GOP field:


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A way forward for Oregon Republicans

It’s no secret that Oregon Republicans have had a tough time at the polls lately.

Republicans haven’t won a statewide election for an embarrassingly long time. Oregon hasn’t had a Republican Governor in decades. And, like a girl who doesn’t get asked to the prom, the Beaver State GOP faithful had to watch this year’s Republican wave sweep across the country while sweet Oregon sat next to the phone waiting for the call that never came. We have to do something different.

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Former NFL Pro Explains Why He’s a Republican: Democrats Are Destroying Black Communities

Garry Cobb played football for USC and then for 11 years with the Philadelphia Eagles. He is now running for New Jersey’s 1st District seat as a Republican, and his explanation of why he is no longer a Democrat is very compelling.  Explaining that he kind of discovered that he was Republican due to his upbringing, he said that the massively negative effects of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty had the most impact:  This was an incentive for the man to leave the home and it’s destroyed African-American families throughout the country.

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Why Republicans and Independents Must Vote

By John Detweiler
In Benton County, Republicans have been turning in their ballots in both primary and general elections at rates less than the Democrats turn in their ballots. Moreover, there are many more Democrats than Republicans, therefore it is imperative that all Republicans turn in their ballots. It is also imperative that Republicans convince as many of the non-Republicans and non-Democrats to vote for Republican candidates as possible. If we don’t, we will surely lose.

I examined the data in the Benton County voter and voter history database of all currently registered voters and found that for the primary and general elections for 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012, Republicans turned in their ballots 5% less often than did the Democrats. Moreover, the difference was statistically significant at approximately the 5% level. It is also apparent that there are less Democrats than the sum of all Republicans and voters that are not Democrats or Republicans. In other words, there are enough non-Democrats to be able to beat the Democrats.

Therefore, we Republicans need to turn out for the primary election in May and vote for someone who can win in the general election when the non-Republicans and non-Democrats can vote for the Republican candidate.

The statistics can be found at www.peak.org/~detweij As time permits between now and the general election, I will analyze this data further, write more articles, and post the statistics on my website. Read More......

Polls: Republicans lead in 5 key Senate races

Republicans have leads in five crucial Senate races, according to new polling conducted for the GOP-aligned group American Crossroads.

The automated surveys from Harper Polling find Sens. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) trailing GOP opponents, as well as Republicans holding leads in Democratic-held open seats in Montana and Michigan. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) is tied with her most likely opponent, while Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) has a lead in her race.

Read more at The Hill

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Rep. Kim Thatcher seeks Senate seat; Bill Post runs for Oregon House

Oregon state Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, announced Tuesday that she will run for the Oregon Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Larry George. ✧ George, a Sherwood Republican, announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election shortly before Thatcher announced her bid for his seat. ✧ Bill Post, who hosts a political talk show on Keizer-based KYKN radio, also announced Tuesday that he will run for Thatcher’s seat in the House.

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