Month: March 2016

Major Florida Newspaper Won’t Endorse a GOP Candidate

Buck Banks

We cannot endorse businessman Donald Trump, hometown Sen. Marco Rubio or Sen. Ted Cruz because they are unqualified to be president… Gov. John Kasich is the best of the bunch, but if you measure a candidate by the caliber of his campaign, Kasich’s lack of traction and organization make a vote for him count for little.

— The Florida Sun Sentinel will not make an endorsement for the Republican presidential primary because “the kind of person who should be running is not in the race.”

Latinos Seeking Citizenship to Vote Against Trump

Buck Banks

11%

The amount by which naturalization applications increased in the 2015 fiscal year over the year before, jumping 14 percent during the six months ending in January, according to federal figures, the New York Times reports. “The pace is picking up by the week, advocates say, and they estimate applications could approach 1 million in 2016, about 200,000 more than the average in recent years.”

Gingrish: Romney Blew His Chance to Be Nominee with Trump Speech

Buck Banks

I think if Mitt had really wanted to maneuver for the nomination, he wouldn’t have given the speech he gave last week. Because that speech was so harsh and so intense that it virtually guaranteed that I think both for the Trump people but also for a lot of the Cruz people, that Romney would just plain be unacceptable.

— Newt Gingrich, blasting Mitt Romney’s speech denouncing Donald Trump as “vitriolic and nasty,” Politico reports.

Outside Groups Start Spending to Stop Trump

Buck Banks

$10 million

Amount outside groups are moving to deploy “in new attack ads across Florida and millions more in Illinois, casting Mr. Trump as a liberal, a huckster and a draft dodger. Mr. Trump’s reed-thin organization appears to be catching up with him, suggesting he could be at a disadvantage if he is forced into a protracted slog for delegates,” the New York Times reports. Politico: “The goal, according to people familiar with the effort, has been to assemble as much as $25 million to spend against the New York businessman before March 15.”

Another Reason We Don’t Believe Ted Cruz

Buck Banks

The normal way a face moves is what’s called the Duchenne smile, named after the 19th century French neurologist. So the mouth goes up, the eyes narrow and the eyes crinkle at the outside, forming crows feet. Cruz doesn’t give a Duchenne smile. His mouth goes in a tight line across or else it curves down in an anti-Duchenne smile. So he doesn’t come across as sincere at all.

— Neurologist Richard Cytowic, telling Quartz that the unusual movements of Sen. Ted Cruz’s face may make him seem less sincere to the human brain than other candidates.

Biden’s Excellent Ted Cruz Joke

Buck Banks

An inspiration to every kid in America who worries that he’ll never be able to run for president because nobody likes him. He’s running. And look, I told Barack, if you really, really want to remake the Supreme Court, nominate Cruz. Before you know it, you’ll have eight vacancies.

— The Washington Post reports Vice President Joe Biden poked fun at Sen. Ted Cruz as the Gridiron Dinner.