2015 - Page 67 of 102

‘Hillary’ Rhymes with ‘Humility’

April 13, 2015 Buck Banks

Humility is the order of the day. Last time, they launched as a big juggernaut cloaked in the veil of inevitability and at 20,000 feet. There was a tremendous backlash to that.

— David Axelrod, quoted by the Washington Post, on Hillary Clinton’s somewhat low-key presidential campaign kickoff this weekend.

U.S. Is Becoming a Majority-Minority Country

April 13, 2015 Buck Banks

78

Number of counties in 19 states that are now majority-minority, according to Wonk Wire.

Rand Paul’s Consistent Inconsistency Could Be an Asset

April 13, 2015 Buck Banks

As the press struggles to label him, Paul’s plunge into the primaries has the potential to upconvert his opponents. His value to Republicans is that his final position on a number of issues cannot be predicted from his past statements. This is valuable, and not a knock against him, because his unpredictability will force the rest of the field to respond in real time to a politician who seems willing to change his mind. … Paul can’t quite acknowledge his penchant for inconsistency, because there’s a convention in politics that equates consistency with strength. But it’s perhaps his most genuine quality.

— Marc Ambinder, in The Week.

Obama’s Popularity Soars — In Cuba

April 13, 2015 Buck Banks

80%

President Obama’s favorability rating in Cuba — nearly twice as high was he rates in the United States, according to a new Bendixen & Amandi Poll.

He’s a Testitarian

April 9, 2015 Buck Banks

While his libertarian views are, at best, sketchy,
And his toupee looks like it belongs on a yeti,
Rand Paul on TV
Is quick to get angry,
And do we really want a president who’s that testy?

Bloomberg: Clinton and Bush the Only Viable Candidates

April 9, 2015 Buck Banks

Hillary and Jeb are the only two who know how to make the trains run.

— Michael Bloomberg, quoted by the New York Times, when asked what he thought of the growing field of presidential candidates.

Christie Breaks His Old Disapproval Rating

April 9, 2015 Buck Banks

54%

Of New Jersey voters disapprove of the way Gov. Chris Christie (R) is doing his job — his highest disapproval ever — while 41% approve, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.

Cheney Accuses Obama of Trying to Take Down America

April 9, 2015 Buck Banks

I vacillate between the various theories I’ve heard, but you know, if you had somebody as president who wanted to take America down, who wanted to fundamentally weaken our position in the world and reduce our capacity to influence events, turn our back on our allies and encourage our adversaries, it would look exactly like what Barack Obama’s doing.

— Former Vice President Dick Cheney, accusing President Obama of trying to “take America down,” Politico reports. He added: “I think his actions are constituted in my mind those of the worst president we’ve ever had.”

Roger Ailes On Competing Networks

April 9, 2015 Buck Banks

I flip to MSNBC occasionally to make sure their blind pig didn’t find an acorn. But they never have once. I tell you who I do like at MSNBC — I like Joe and Mika. I don’t watch much CNN, they got out of the news business in primetime. But I look to see if they have a good documentary or movie. If they do, I’ll watch that.

— Fox News chief Roger Ailes, quoted by the Hollywood Reporter.

Cruz Makes Record Fundraising Haul

April 8, 2015April 9, 2015 Buck Banks

$31 million

Amount that a cluster of affiliated super-political action committees that was formed only this week to support Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign is expected to have in the bank by Friday, Bloomberg reports. “There are no known cases in which an operation backing a White House hopeful has collected this much money in less than a week.”

Humility is the order of the day. Last time, they launched as a big juggernaut cloaked in the veil of inevitability and at 20,000 feet. There was a tremendous backlash to that.

— David Axelrod, quoted by the Washington Post, on Hillary Clinton’s somewhat low-key presidential campaign kickoff this weekend.

78

Number of counties in 19 states that are now majority-minority, according to Wonk Wire.

— Marc Ambinder, in The Week.

80%

President Obama’s favorability rating in Cuba — nearly twice as high was he rates in the United States, according to a new Bendixen & Amandi Poll.

Hillary and Jeb are the only two who know how to make the trains run.

— Michael Bloomberg, quoted by the New York Times, when asked what he thought of the growing field of presidential candidates.

54%

Of New Jersey voters disapprove of the way Gov. Chris Christie (R) is doing his job — his highest disapproval ever — while 41% approve, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.

— Former Vice President Dick Cheney, accusing President Obama of trying to “take America down,” Politico reports. He added: “I think his actions are constituted in my mind those of the worst president we’ve ever had.”

— Fox News chief Roger Ailes, quoted by the Hollywood Reporter.

$31 million

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.