#IowaCaucus: Ted 'Cruzin' & Bernie Clinton Tied

The Iowa caucuses are just about over which some interesting results.  On the Republican side, Ted Cruz pulled off a win over front runner Donald Trump, followed by Marco Rubio. It seems that a heavy evangelical vote pushed Cruz to first. On the Democrat side, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are virtually tied for first showing how close the race is between both candidates.  Third remaining Democratic candidate Martin O'Malley barely received 1% and announced he would be suspending his campaign for good. Similarly, Mike Huckabee threw in the towel after barely scratching the surface with votes. No word yet on whether either candidate will throw their support behind the remaining candidates.  However, as the days move on, we may see some endorsements.









Source:

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/live-from-iowa-all-day-all-night-caucus-coverage-163929204.html

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/martin-omalley-is-suspending-his-presidential-031031742.html

GOP Debate 2015

The first debate among Republicans at Quicken Loans Arena had just ended and it was the talk of social network.  An earlier debate was held with Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Governor Jindal and others who were not chosen for the main debate had their chance to present themselves. In that debate, Santorum came off a bit weak, Jindal seemed scripted and Perry flubbed by saying Ronald Raven instead of Ronald Reagan. The only one who was poised, calm and addressed the issues directly was the only female candidate, Carly Fiorina.


In the main debate event, Trump raised his hand to a question asking if anyone present would not run as an independent nor support the Republican nominee.  He received boos from the audience for this. Many worry that he will cause Republicans to lose the debate by running as an independent. Rand Paul then interjected attacking Trump criticizing his donations to Clinton and other politicians. It seemed Rand Paul was trying to get Trump and Chris Christie to lose their temper since he would do something similar later during the debate. During an exchange, Rand Paul interjected as Trump had finished speaking on Obamacare and Trump replied, "I don't think you heard me. You're having a bad time tonight."

Jeb Bush who is expected to be the nominee came off as pale and insecure in his replies.  He stuttered a lot and was meandering in many of his replies. Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were more articulate and kept their temperament in check. Chris Christie also did well but was caught off guard when Rand Paul told him that he hugged Obama and he could go hug him again. Mike Hucklebee was also good, but he came across as too theocratic.  John Kasick of Ohio was meandered a bit, and seemed to be wishy washy on same-sex marriage and took advantage of the fact that the debate was in his home state. Ben Carson did not address questions directly and was too docile.  However, he gave some nice replies regarding divisions, race, and a funny closing. Scott Walker reinforced his views that he is pro-life and was the first to defund Planned Parenthood. However, he was not strong in other areas. Donald Trump was bombastic but toned down a bit. He was clearly unprepared and just repeated the same things he had since first announcing his candidacy. Rand Paul was a bit scripted, raising his voice to get attention but really did not present any plans. He seemed to be the one looking to attack others on the panel.

I was hoping to see a better debate. Much was expected from Trump, but he seemed to have bombed. Chris Christie was also not "himself" on the debate. I was expecting him and Trump to go at it at some point, but nothing happened.  The debate was too controlled by moderators. Some candidates were focused on more than others, and not all received the same questions.  The audience was left wondering where the candidates who were not asked specific questions stood on issues mentioned those questions. The debate broke network news history by being the most watch.  It had over 25 million viewers.







Source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/08/07/marco-rubio-and-carly-fiorina-win-the-republican-debate/

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/the-6-buzziest-moments-from-the-fox-news-126060991291.html

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/august-6-gop-debate-cleveland-live-blog-analysis-125972433101.html

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-kicked-off-gop-012146278.html

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/august-6-gop-debate-cleveland-live-blog-analysis-125972433101.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/us/politics/rivals-jab-at-donald-trump-as-gop-debate-becomes-testy.html?_r=0

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/live-coverage-republican-presidential-hopefuls-debate-n405591

http://time.com/3986043/republican-debate-watch/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/06/politics/republican-debate-fact-check/index.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/07/us-usa-election-republicans-idUSKCN0QB0AX20150807

LGBT Tyranny

A big drama scene is taking place between the LGBT movement and restaurant Chick-fil-a.  The issue began when President of Chick-fil-a, Dan Cathy voiced his support for natural marriage between a male and a female.  The LGBT quicky cried out "discrimination" and "bigot!"   To further escalate the matter, Mayor Tom Menino of Boston vowed to ban Chick-fil-a from Boston.  He claims that Boston will not support any business that "discriminates."  Chicago's politicians also joined in this boycott as well as the company that owns the "Muppets."

To counter this, former presidential candidates Mike Hucklebee and Rick Santorum voiced their support.  Many others are also holding Chick-fil-a appreciation days in support of the franchise.

This is unfortunate indeed.  The LGBT tyranny has got to stop.  Freedom of speech is under attack and must be defended.  It is not discriminatory to speak one's mind.   No governments have the power or right to regulate the political positions of businesses that function in its territory.  This is a scary thing that is happening.  If an elected official can weed out businesses based on politics, then freedom will be a thing of the past.



***UPDATE*** (July 30, 2012)

Mayor Menino has said that he will not block Chick fil-a from opening in Boston.   He has no power to do this and the backlash is obviously hurting him politically.  
http://www.wbur.org/2012/07/27/menino-chick-fil-a-stance


Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/jim-henson-company-chick-fil-a-anti-gay_n_1694809.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/rick-santorum-chick-fil-a-_n_1703044.html

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/07/27/chick_fil_a_sandwiches_become_a_political_symbol/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/27/us/chick-fil-a-controversy/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular