The new South Carolina poll reveals some interesting data.  • SC is the 3rd primary state and home to Lindsey Graham.  Lindsey is only polling with 4% support; as such his value to the GOPe road map greatly diminishes.  • On the heels of an announcement three weeks ago “Rick Perry unable to pay SC staff“, now Rick Perry is dead in the water at 0%.

However, the biggest “red flag” warning signal for the Wall Street RNC/GOPe plan, is Jeb Bush polling at 9%.  Far below the needed threshold for their primary/delegate plan to work.  This provides more fuel for Donald Trump to fertilize the seeds of doubt amid Jeb’s bankers on Wall Street.  [ Full data pdf below ] (more…)

Political campaigns don’t normally sell you the $1-$3 trinkets or gimmicks until the last month of a fiscal reporting calendar (March, June, Sept, Dec.).  So when a trinket email hits in August, that usually means a big infusion of cash is coming from somewhere (usually Wall Street) and they need to dilute the visibility of it with lots of smaller donations.

This email (transmitted yesterday) is from Karl Rove (mentored by Lee Atwater), although it doesn’t link to Rove’s Super-PAC, instead it links to the GOP website. (more…)

Well, there you have it.  First the Warning – Next the arrow, now the visible wound:

This is impressive spin but when staff take pay cuts in the middle of a campaign, it's a sign something is very wrong http://t.co/GbQMLVDref

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 25, 2015

New York Times – Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign has asked various divisions to be mindful of their spending, in a reminder that despite his giant “super PAC” bankroll, campaign dollars are ultimately more valuable.

Campaign officials asked workers to tighten their belts a few weeks ago, according to two people briefed on the matter. In some cases, staff members’ paychecks shrank, these people said. (more…)

Here’s a question.  Given the current landscape, and understanding the full plan of the GOPe, and accepting we are a low budget operation (LOL), we’re establishing another series of “tripwires” to watch.

We’ve already staked out a BIG TRIPWIRE long before anyone was paying attention to it.  However, we still have a lot of people who refuse to see/accept the flares as they are triggered; but, fortunately, more eyes open as each occurs. So we’re moving forward to set another perimeter.
It’s a given that Rick Perry will be the first of the GOPe crew to drop out.  His “splitter value” has greatly diminished – and he’s essentially irrelevant now.
The RNC/GOPe planners are now in the refinement and reaffirmation (Bush at Border) phase.  So the question becomes:
Who will be 2nd GOPe candidate that Team Donohue can afford to lose? (more…)

The Charge Of The Main Street Vulgarian Has Begun !

Much like the battle at Thermopylae Donald Trump chose the political landscape which removes the Jeb Bush numerical advantage. And today he just hit the lead general right where it hurts:

Via Int'l Business Times: Jeb Bush Got $1.3M Job at Lehman After Florida Shifted Pension Cash To Bank. http://t.co/UbprPUWHQ9

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2015

As we shared yesterday, Trump has three audiences. In this example he just nailed Jeb in his most exposed vulnerability.

[…] Donald Trump is talking to Wall Street. Like the RNC, Trump knows full well the preferred candidate for Wall Street is Jeb Bush. He needs to make their support for Bush a losing proposition; no-one on Wall Street likes to lose. In essence he is creating a self fulfilling prophecy for them. Again, he’s masterful at exposing their weakening flank, their only winning play will be to support him, reluctantly – on his terms. (link)

There has been much talk of wall building amid the punditry regarding Donald Trump, but the most effective wall candidate Trump’s building is actually between the Bush Campaign and the Wall Street financiers who are both Jeb’s treasury and armory. (more…)

Donald Trump is pouring sunlight upon the entire crowd behind the GOPe curtain.  Two weeks ago you saw George Will saying “the Trump supporters (vulgarians) needed to come to the Republican party on our terms, not theirs“; last week Charles Krauthammer said “it’s impossible to deport illegal aliens“; meanwhile the entire class of elite republicans are apoplectic at the thought of Donald Trump winning the GOP primary.
As the sunlight poured upon them another professional GOP Consultant, Rick Wilson, took aim at the Republican base, and hours later directed his hatred toward Ann Coulter saying: “Does Trump pay you more for anal“.

However, the latest sunlight comes from GOP consultant Alex Castellanos who was questioned about how the GOP could stop Donald Trump.  As shared via Breitbart: (more…)

GOP Candidate Donald Trump has three distinct audiences for his message: The 1.) The Electorate; 2.) Wall Street, and 3.) The RNC machine.

One audience, the electorate, is a friend, the other two are potential foes.
Each audience requires a strategic approach, and when you are listening to his openly visible campaign”messaging” don’t get confused on interpretation based on your place within the audience.
♦  Toward THE ELECTORATE – Trump is explaining why he is running, and what he intends to do to “Make America Great Again”.   Unfortunately, in many cases he has to message through the prism of the media, so it’s best to listen directly to his words – rather than listen to the interpretation, by the media, of what those words mean.
♦  At the same time, Trump is also speaking to The RNC Machine writ large.  Trump knows full well the RNC machine is not his friend.  The RNC Machine wants Jeb Bush, their preferred candidate.  In order to keep them in retreat, Trump needs to make their preference transparent – and he knows exactly how to draw them out and force them to do so.  He’s quite masterful at exposing them; everyone (within the electorate audience) is witnessing that right now. (more…)

There’s a narrative being pushed about Trump being willing to accept donations for his presidential campaign from big business interests. Within the interview (today) below you can hear his own words about that. Additionally Donald Trump speaks about taxes, hedge fund managers, and more.
I’ll expand some thoughts after the article and video:
(VIA CBS) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he would change the tax laws to force people who work at hedge funds to pay more in taxes, because “the hedge fund guys are getting away with murder.”

In an interview with Time Magazine published last week, Trump said he might want to “switch taxes around” because “I have hedge fund guys that are making a lot of money that aren’t paying anything.” He confirmed on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that he would change the tax system to force those who work for hedge funds to pay more. (more…)

2015 GOPestablishment Pro-Jeb Bush Republicans continue to make false claims about Donald Trump and his historical political affiliations. Here’s video of Donald at the RNC convention in 1988. Enjoy:

Watch video. Your thoughts?