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…)

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…)

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…)

(HatTip Nation) This is so bad it almost has to be intentional.  The Jeb Bush campaign sends out a seriously flawed mailer noted here:

IOWA: Check your mailboxes today. Mail piece hitting more than 86k households. #conservativeresultsmatter pic.twitter.com/94Qb2hZy5X

— R2R USA (@r2rusa) August 20, 2015

Obviously Donald Trump picks up on it:

Jeb Bush has a photoshopped photo for an ad which gives him a black left hand and much different looking body. Jeb just can't get it right!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2015

Look how bad it is: (more…)

The GOPe plan is struggling.  Their candidate is in single digits; but not to worry – they’ve got plans, they’ve always had plans.  FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

The Super-PAC that Jeb Bush constructed, well, Jeb and Tom Donohue, and Mitch McConnell and the Wall Street power brokers who planned the entire gig, prior to the announcement of his candidacy, have a plan.
The problem is they’re having to pull the trigger earlier than expected:

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The heavily funded super PAC backing Republican Jeb Bush will spend at least $10 million on television time in the earliest voting presidential primary states, the first salvo in a massive TV ad campaign to support the former Florida governor’s bid for the Republican nomination.
Officials with Right to Rise USA say they will buy time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina TV markets and on cable television in the three states. Ads are scheduled to begin in Iowa and New Hampshire on Sept. 15, in South Carolina a week later and then run continuously through the end of the year. (link)

So who exactly is behind this Right To Ruse USA Super-PAC?  (more…)

Another predictable tripwire triggered TODAY.   Back in the spring of 2014, when we first discovered the GOPe roadmap for 2016, there were essential elements in the financial constructs of Jeb’s hope for success.
One of those constructs was the necessary use of Super-PAC’s to avoid the pitfalls of electoral support withdrawal from candidates who were important to the overall objectives.
In essence, regardless of electoral support, specific candidates would need to be kept in the race beyond their traditional ability to do so.  The Super-PAC’s would be the guarantors of the retention.
Former Governor Rick Perry was, and is still, part of that original construct.  We shared yesterday it would be too risky for the GOPe roadmap to rely on a Texas electoral splitter who was not part of the team strategy, ie. Ted Cruz. (more…)

With 20 percent of Republican voters, Donald Trump is the clear leader in the crowded Republican presidential primary field, but he trails any of three leading Democratic contenders by wide margins in general election matchups, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today. (more)

This national poll data, in combination with the Florida poll data released yesterday, reflects a devastating reality for the GOPe professional political class and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the GOPe financiers.

While there is still a long way to go, the strategic plans of the white wine spritzer and crust-less sandwich crowd are being compromised by Donald Trump and his coalition of supporters who are rebuking traditional candidates.

(more…)

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has announced his official entry into the 2016 Presidential race.

Miami (CNN)—Sen. Marco Rubio cast himself as the forward-looking candidate to lead the nation toward a new American century when he announced his presidential bid Monday, framing the election as a “generational choice” for Americans.

“Grounded by the lessons of our history, but inspired by the promise of our future, I announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America,” Rubio told supporters at Miami’s Freedom Tower.

Rubio’s candidacy will lean heavily on his personal story as the son of Cuban immigrants and argue that the American Dream seems unattainable for many because “too many of our leaders and their ideas are stuck in the twentieth century.”

“My candidacy might seem improbable to some watching from abroad,” Rubio said. “In many countries, the highest office in the land is reserved for the rich and powerful. But I live in an exceptional country, I live in an exceptional country, where even the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege.” (more…)