Tag Archives: President Trump

Trump campaign to Rokita: Take down your yard signs

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They say there are only two things we can be sure of in life: death and taxes. Well, we might as well add another to that list: political campaigns with yard signs.

Every candidate likes seeing their signs with their name, website and ill-conceived logo and color scheme in a voter’s yard. That has to be the case, because why else would campaigns spend valuable funds on signs.

Anyway, one campaign that isn’t too thrilled with another candidate’s signs is none other than President Donald Trump’s campaign. And the candidate’s signs they aren’t real thrilled with: Todd Rokita.

As you can see, the Rokita campaign is prominently displaying the fact that they are endorsed by Trump/Pence. Except, that’s not actually the case.

You see, Rokita was actually endorsed by the Trump campaign’s Indiana leaders. That distinction is emblazoned underneath the much bigger Trump/Pence.  But hey, who really cares, right? Well, apparently the Trump campaign.

The Trump campaign has ordered those signs be taken down, stating that it gives the false impression that Rokita has the support of the president in this contentious, increasingly negative race.

The Rokita campaign’s response to demand?

“We don’t comment on yard sign strategy.”  Huh? Really?

It’s actually fairly embarrassing, especially for a campaign and a candidate that spouts “pro-Trump” ad nauseam.

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Trump needs to put phone down and step away from the blue bird

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There’s no denying, President Donald Trump likes Twitter. At approximately, 6 a.m. or so, every morning President Trump fires of a couple of tweets, usually about the prior days’ events.

Being the President of the United States, Trump knows anything and everything he posts on his personal Twitter page will become headlines around the world in minutes. And that’s exactly why someone really needs to grab his phone and ask him kindly to slowly step away from the blue bird.

For instance, ever since the recent images and videos showing the victims of the chemical attacks in Syria have come out, it has been a hot topic. Will the U.S. respond? When will they respond? How will they respond? What other countries will join the U.S.?

Well, yesterday, just like clockwork, Trump tweeted, but he decided to make Syria the subject of one of his tweets.

See, this is probably not the kind of thing you want to do if you’re the leader the free world. Telling other countries you’re going to attack may not be the best of ideas. You likely want to keep that kind of stuff quiet, and I don’t know, may be even a surprise to the country you’re planning to attack.

Several people close to Trump must have delivered a similiar message because the next day Trump tweeted the following:

Regardless, why in the world is he talking about national security issues on Twitter? Is he talking a poll?

Also, he continues to talk about the Mueller investigation. You know the thing that continues to hang around Trump and his administration like a stray dog that just won’t go away.

Absolutely nothing about these tweets are helpful. Anytime he talks about the Mueller investigation, he isn’t going to win, he just isn’t. The majority of the media already have their minds made up when it comes to that subject, their verdict: guilty.

Instead, he needs to discuss more about the strong economic numbers. He needs to keep the focus on what his administration is doing, the positive.

Instead, he continues to talk on Twitter about subjects that he just is not going to win. It’s starting to feel like he may just like the drama of it all.

 

GOP using Maxine Waters, Hillary Clinton to attack James Comey

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Chuck Schumer. Maxine Waters. Hillary Clinton.  Those names don’t exactly scream conservatism.

Waters, a totally ineffective legislator from the Golden State, spends more time on MSNBC calling for President Trump’s impeachment than she does on any kind of legislation. Seriously, in the nearly 30 years the woman has been in Congress, she has introduced and passed THREE bills!

Also, in 2009 she was investigated for conflict of interest, concerning meetings she took with a bank where had a vested financial interest.

Chuck Schumer, the liberal senator from New York, is a strong proponent for increased gun control and an abortion advocate, who actually high-fived a fellow Democratic senator after voting for late-term abortion. 

Then there’s Hillary Clinton. The former Democratic presidential nominee, who has an issue with emails just seemingly disappearing, was accused of using the State Department when she was Secretary of State to enrich her and her husband Billy’s foundation, and that’s just her most recent scandals.

She also referred to Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables” and blamed white women for her presidential loss to Donald Trump, saying they simply listened to their husbands when it came to voting booth. Apparently, Hillary doesn’t think white women possess a brain.

Knowing all this about these three Democratic all-stars, why in the world would the GOP use them in their defense of President Donald Trump? But that’s exactly what the Republican National Committee is doing with a website they’ve set up, LyinComey.com. Quotes from all three bashing Comey are prominently featured on the site.

The new website is just part of the GOP’s plan to combat former FBI director James Comey as he’s set to begin his media tour; promoting his new book , which hits shelves Tuesday.

You’ve got to ask yourself, why are the Trump administration and the GOP so afraid of Comey?  If there was no wrongdoing on behalf of Trump and his administration in regards to their dealing with Comey- and I’m not suggesting there is – why such an aggressive plan to discredit him? Why not simply let this thing die down on its own?

What’s that old saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Who would’ve thought the GOP would have ever quoted Hillary Clinton in their defense of anything?

Buckle up and hold on tight because from the looks of it things are about to become really, really interesting and that ain’t no Lyin’.

‘Pro-Trump’ Rokita called then-candidate Trump ‘vulgar, profane’ in 2016

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Throughout the Indiana Republican race for U.S. Senate, there has been one overriding, dominant issue: Donald Trump.

All three candidates have gone out of their way saying how “pro-Trump” they are; stating it in interviews, in their lone debate up until this point, on TV and radio ads. Basically, wherever Mike Braun, Luke Messer or Todd Rokita appears, you can bet that the phrase “pro-Trump” will be coming out of their mouth early and often.

However, the one candidate who has essentially made cozying up to President Trump the focal point of his campaign has been Congressman Todd Rokita. He’s gone so far as prominently wearing a MAGA hat in two campaign ads, including his most recent one.

In the most recent ad, Rokita accuses Congressman Luke Messer of “plotting with the Never Trumpers to steal the nomination from President Trump. Wow.”

Needless to say, Rokita wants you to believe he was all Trump from the very beginning, never wavering for a second on his support for then-candidate Trump. But that’s not the case at all. In fact, Rokita referred to Trump as “vulgar, if not profane.” Instead, he was all in on Marco Rubio because, according to Rokita, “he’s the standard bearer for the mainstream Republican Party.” In an interview with Fox 59 in February 2016, Rokita is referred to as “one of the first in the Indiana delegation to back Marco Rubio.”

But…but I thought Rokita was always and forever Mr. Trump’s right hand man? Why would he change? Why would he tell us one thing and the fact be another? Political expediency, maybe? Easiest way to get elected?

Here’s why Rokita is now all about President Trump: Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by nearly 20 percent in the Hoosier state.  And in a red state like Indiana, President Trump is still extremely popular. So why not, if you have no original ideas, use President Trump’s popularity to get elected?

This display of utter hypocrisy from Rokita is exactly why people don’t like politicians. Say one thing and do another. Accuse someone of something that you yourself did.

Maybe Rokita should wear two MAGA hats in his next ad to show how “pro-Trump” he really is!  Well, at least now….you know because it could help him get elected.

-BZ

 

 

Todd Rokita goes negative, dons odd-fitting MAGA hat in latest ad

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If you didn’t already know, Congressman Todd Rokita is unabashedly “pro-Trump” and stands “firmly behind our president and Mike Pence.” And just in case you don’t believe his words, the candidate for U.S. Senate says all of this while sporting an odd-fitting Make American Great Again hate.

However, before he beats us over the head with message of being 100 percent sold out to Trump, he goes, but what else, negative.

Mike Braun is, according to Rokita a Democrat, having “voted for Obama or Hillary.” His campaign apparently isn’t sure which one he voted for, they are still working on that. Please, get back to them on it.

Then Rokita accuses Luke Messer of being a Rino. But just in case you aren’t sure what exactly what a Rino is, Rokita holds up a sign explaining it you.

The entire ad pretty much sums up the entire Rokita campaign up until this point: negative and unoriginal.

-BZ

New Messer campaign ad is about ‘the forgotten men and women’

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More and more political ads are starting populate the airwaves. And unfortunately, it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.

As the primary quickly approaches, the Luke Messer campaign has released yet another ad. But this one is slightly different.

While Messer still wants you to know he’s firmly “pro-Trump” and very much so, this one kind of brings his message home. He talks about his mother’s struggles as a single parent, trying to make ends meet working at factory while raising two boys.  He makes it personal and voters are likely to respond to such an ad.

In just 30 seconds, the ad helps to make Messer a much more likable and relatable figure. It’s easily the campaign’s best ad and it leaves you wondering why didn’t they lead off with this one?

-BZ

Trump is Wrong about Amazon

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President Trump has been waging a war on Amazon through his Twitter feed, saying the giant online retailer is a big reason why the United States Postal Service is losing so much money.

Let’s break things down a bit and fact check the President’s claims.

“Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments”

At one time, this was accurate. But now, in 46 states, Amazon pays and collects taxes where sales tax exist. Five states have no sales tax, so Amazon does not collect taxes there. According to the Institute on Taxation and Policy, Amazon paid $957 million in income tax in 2017 but zero in federal taxes this year because of Trump’s tax bill.

They also found that sometimes Amazon doesn’t collect local taxes or they charge a lower tax rate than some local retailers in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. Politifact states that “the digital retailer’s decision to collect state sales tax is mostly voluntary, as a 1992 Supreme Court ruling effectively gave a free pass on state taxes to companies with no brick-and-mortar property or employees in the state.”

Amazon uses “our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.)”

Losses to the postal system can be attributed to the declining use of paper. As we move toward a more paperless society, people aren’t mailing as much. The USPS also spends billions of dollars in operating costs and have an unsustainable pricing model.

Interestingly enough, growth in the shipping and packages department (that includes Amazon), HELPED the financial woes of the USPS. They even said so in a 2017 press release.

The growth in our Shipping and Packages business provided some help to the financial picture of the Postal Service as revenue increased $2.1 billion, or 11.8 percent. However, that growth was offset in our financials by the decline in mail volumes discussed above, as well as a $1.1 billion 2016 noncash change in accounting estimate and the 2016 roll-back of the exigent surcharge mandated by the Postal Regulatory Commission which further reduced revenue by $1.1 billion from what it otherwise would have been.

Amazon is “putting many thousands of retailers out of business!”

It’s unfair to place the total blame of the decline of brick and mortar stores solely on Amazon. Consumers drive business and they’re flocking to online shopping because it’s easier, the deals are better and there’s more selection.

Business that don’t compete with online retailers, actually saw growth in 2017. And as Politifact points out, online retailers still need warehouses staffed with people to fulfill the orders and processes shipments. It’s usually seen as a positive thing when a major giant like Amazon wants to build a warehouse in your community because it brings hundreds of jobs with them.

Other factors to consider.

Much of their loss is because of a law that mandates the USPS pre-fund retirees health benefits. From CNBC:

US Postal Service workers have a retiree health care benefit in addition to their pension. Before Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, the USPS operated under a pay-as-you-go model for retiree health care funding. The new law requires the Postal Service to pre-fund its benefit obligations.

First class mail usage is down. USPS revenue decreased $1.8 billion in 2017 compared to the previous year. According to the USPS site, “lower revenues were driven largely by accelerated declines in First-Class and Marketing Mail volumes.”

Could the postal service be making more off of Amazon? Probably so. After all they do ship about 40% of Amazon’s packages. From Politifact:

USPS ships about 40 percent of Amazon’s packages. Amazon bulk-delivers packages to a USPS distribution center, and the Postal Service brings it to your door. USPS negotiates the discounted rate for that service with Amazon, as it does all other bulk shippers.

That’s because the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act made it illegal for USPS to price parcel delivery below its cost.


Looking at the facts, it appears our President is very wrong about Amazon. In fact, they actually helped the USPS with growth in shipping and packing revenue – to the tune of $7 billion in the 2017 fiscal year.

-K

 

 

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