MI5 Foiled Over 20 Republican Paramilitary Attacks In 2014 (8/1/15)
The head of MI5 has claimed that MI5 foiled more than 20 such attacks and up to four times that number were thwarted from Republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland in 2014. The attacks...
By: glaigh Na hireann
View post:
MI5 Foiled Over 20 Republican Paramilitary Attacks In 2014 (8/1/15) - Video
Republican or Democrat?
Republican or Democrat-- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/join -- Create animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool that allows you ...
By: lotus motion
Read more:
Republican or Democrat? - Video
For every action, there's an opposite and equal reaction. And that's true inside the Republican Party with Mitt Romney inching closer and closer to a third presidential bid. (Romney isn't just talking about running; he's making a ton of calls, even to former bitter '08 rival John McCain.) While diehard Romney supporters are giddy about another White House run -- with one BOLDY claiming that ISIS wouldn't exist and Putin would be cowed if Romney had won in '12 (really?) -- other parts of the party aren't so sure. Some Republicans are polite. "He got defined early, after he got through the nomination process, and they spent a lot of money to define him," Sen. John Thune (R-SD) tells the New York Times' Jonathan Martin. "And those issues are still there. That doesn't change, and that narrative is still out there." Others aren't as nice. "You can say what you will about Jeb, but at least he can effectively communicate about policies that are going to have a material impact on people's lives. Romney has proven he's incapable of that," GOP strategist Jim Dyke also tells the Times. Some are placing their bets with Jeb Bush. "I have great affection for Mitt Romney and his wife," GOP mega-donor Mel Sembler said, per the Tampa Bay Times. "They ran two very strong campaigns and I supported both of them. We wish him good luck, but I'm supporting my friend of many years, Jeb Bush." And others can't forgive him for Romneycare becoming the basis for Obamacare. "It isn't just because we lost and just because our base didn't show up," GOP donor Randy Kendrick tells the Daily Caller. "[I]t's because he couldn't fight against the primary thing that motivates me and motivates millions of other Republicans: Obamacare."
Were the nice things Romney was hearing from Republicans since '12 really sincere?
Now NBC's Perry Bacon has other 2012 Romney backers saying they're taking a wait-and-see approach. "I could certainly see myself doing that [backing Romney again]. But at this time, I'm uncommitted. We don't know who the field is yet," said Brian Kennedy, who was the chair of Romney's 2012 Iowa campaign. Yet given the other negative comments above, you do have to wonder if some of the positive feedback Romney has been getting since the 2012 campaign was simply Republicans saying nice things to the defeated GOP presidential nominee -- rather than actually BELIEVING it. Was he mistaking hearing nice things for actual support? This is going to be the real test for Romney over the next few weeks: How honest is the feedback, and just how real is the groundswell that many of his close aides claim is there for him? And careful of the early polling -- of course, the former nominee will be at the top. But how does he go anywhere but down as others get in? And how will he handle not being the polling frontrunner when that time inevitably comes?
Romney to speak at RNC confab on Friday
Nevertheless, it appears that Romney is marching closer and closer to a run. As NBC News reported yesterday, Romney is now slated to speak on Friday at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting in San Diego. These will be Romney's FIRST public comments since the word came out late last week that he was considering another presidential bid. Also speaking at the RNC winter meeting are Ben Carson and Scott Walker.
Rand on the attack
Here is how Rand Paul appears to be defining his GOP presidential opposition, and how he's defining his own potential candidacy, according to an interview he did with Politico. Rand on Jeb: "He's been a proponent of Common Core, a proponent probably of a much bigger government - a Big Government Republican who believes more things should be occurring in Washington rather than decentralization." On Mitt: "I think he could have been a good leader of the country. But I think many people are going to say, 'He's had his chance.'" And Rand on what the GOP needs in 2016: "You need a candidate who reaches out to new constituencies and is able to bring new people into the party. Because if we do the same old, same old candidates, we are going to get the same old result." As we mentioned yesterday, Romney and Bush (and maybe Christie) in the 2016 GOP field is VERY GOOD news for Rand Paul and Scott Walker, because it divides up the GOP establishment vote and donor base and allows them to present themselves as the new generation of the Republican Party. And the more time Romney and Bush (and maybe Christie) spend attacking each other, is less time they spend attacking Paul or Walker. By the way, Paul spends the day in New Hampshire, and he heads to Nevada later in the week.
Walker and Christie sure didn't sound like your typical governors giving a "State of the State" address
Speaking of Walker, his "State of the State" address in Wisconsin last night certainly had some national -- and international -- themes to it. "Last week, innocent people were targeted in France by terrorists," Walker said. "These cowards are not symbols of confidence. They are overwhelmed by fear. They are afraid of freedom." More Walker: "Tonight, we must stand together Democrat and Republican and denounce those who wish to threaten freedom anywhere in this world. We need to proclaim that an attack against freedom-loving people anywhere is an attack against us all. And we will not allow it. When we take a stand, we will make it easier to work for freedom and prosperity right here in Wisconsin." You don't include international events in a State of the State unless well, you know. Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's "State of the State" also looked well beyond New Jersey, NBC's Andrew Rafferty writes. "We are a nation beset by anxiety, and it's understandable. Economic growth is low by post-war recovery standards. America's leadership in the world is called into question because of a pattern of indecision and inconsistency."
Potential 2016 campaigns staffing up
See the original post here:
Here Comes the Republican Opposition to Mitt Romney
Top Republicans in Congress plan to introduce legislation that they say will ensure net neutrality protections for Internet users and will spur U.S. economic growth.
The proposal would create unambiguous rules prohibiting broadband providers from selectively blocking or throttling Web traffic, while avoiding a reclassification of broadband as a regulated public utility, said a Wednesday blog post at Reuters.com by Senator John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, and Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican.
The bill would not allow broadband provides to charge a premium to prioritize content delivery, but it would create new rules without relying on reclassification of broadband under Title II of the Telecommunications Act.
Reclassification, under consideration by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, would be an ill-fitting tool, wrote Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Upton, chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Title II rules were conceived in the Franklin D. Roosevelt era for public utilities, they added. Policymakers, however, need updated tools written for the Internet age.
Several groups calling for strong net neutrality rules have asked the FCC to reclassify broadband as a public utility. Late last year, President Barack Obama also called for reclassification of broadband.
Suggesting the Telecom Act is stuck in the 1930s is ridiculous, said Matt Wood, policy director of Free Press, a digital rights group calling for reclassification. Its an insult to the bipartisan Congress that updated and future-proofed Title II when it passed the Telecom Act in 1996.
Preventing unreasonable discrimination against Internet users is not outdated, Wood said by email. If [the Republicans have] suddenly seen the light and realize that Internet users, businesses, and innovators need these protections, thats a big step forward for lawmakers whove been denying these truths for so long. But these principles are the same ones that Congress has already enshrined in Title II, and that the FCC still has available to it at the core of that law.
The FCC is scheduled to vote on new net neutrality rules in late February. Its unlikely that Congress could pass new legislation before then, but a later law could preempt FCC action. Republicans hold the majority in both the House and the Senate, but several lawmakers in the party have objected in the past to any new net neutrality rules.
Even as Thune and Uptons blog post was published, another Republican leader questioned whether new net neutrality rules are needed. Instead of new regulations, the U.S. government should look to antitrust law to enforce uncompetitive practices by broadband providers, said Representative Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Read the rest here:
Republican bill: Net neutrality protections without reclassifying broadband
The list of potential 2016 Republican candidates has changed again this week as Rep. Paul Ryan confirmed he will not join his colleagues in a run for president, instead focusing on his role as chairman of Ways and Means Committee. His former running mate on the other hand, Mitt Romney, may be close to confirming his name on the ballot.
"The people I've talked to say yes, this is for real, and Republicans have rewarded people for doing this in the past," Republican strategist and CBS News contributor Frank Luntz said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning." "Richard Nixon was unable to win in 1960 -- they renominated him in 1968. Ronald Reagan in 1976 almost won the nomination -- he comes back in 1980. George Herbert Walker Bush -- 1980 to '88."
Romney hasn't been clear in the past though. In October, he told CBS News Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes, "I'm not running."
Play Video
If former Governor Mitt Romney wins the 2016 presidential election, he will match President Richard Nixon in an historic and rare occurrence.
If he does confirm the decision, Luntz said he will have to address three areas that left supporters disappointed with a loss in 2012.
"First, on election night, they thought he was going to win. Paul Ryan thought he was going to win. What was wrong with his staff? With the input he was getting that he actually thought he was going to be successful, he's got to explain that," Luntz said.
As CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford reported in November 2012, Romney's team was shocked by the loss. They said his campaign became aware of problems on the afternoon of Election Day, when states started reporting huge turnout in areas favorable to President Obama.
In Ohio, for example, Romney's team missed the mark in several key areas; primarily underestimating African-American voter turnout and devaluing the need to implement neighborhood offices in the state.
"Second he's got to explain why he didn't defend himself," Luntz said. "He never talked about private equity, he never talked about jobs he created, he's going to have to do a better job there."
Read the original:
Who's on the ever-changing 2016 Republican ticket?