Candidate Donald Trump is holding two rallies today in Indiana.  The first event rally is in Carmel, IN at The Center for the Performing Arts. The event is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm Eastern:
Live Stream Link – Alternate Live Stream #1 – Alternate Live Stream #2

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The media is abuzz about candidate Ted Cruz walking across the street today to confront a group of “pro-Trump protestors” outside one of his events.

Perhaps it’s the cynic in us; perhaps it’s because we’ve followed politics closely for decades; perhaps it’s because we’ve been warning how desperate the GOPe are; perhaps it’s the unusual font on the signs; or perhaps it’s because we’ve spent time studying the maneuvers of the master contrarian designer, Lee Atwater,… but something doesn’t pass the proverbial sniff test.
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Candidate Donald Trump appeared on New Day with Chris Cuomo this morning to discuss the state of the race:

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This is a modified and updated repost from an early January ’16 outline which collected data from all of the various Donald Trump interviews, position papers, and historical outlines. Candidate Trump has been speaking about broad U.S. economic issues for decades. Trump approaches the challenges by focusing on “Main Street”, not Wall Street.
For the sake of brevity, I’m going to accept that most readers here are familiar with who is funding and directing Jeb Bush, and in larger, more consequential measures, the DC apparatchik in charge of U.S. Policy, ie. Wall street.
During the January 2016 South Carolina debate, and in response to Trump pointing out a necessary shift in trade position (a shift to put American interests first – a shift to stop the dependency on cheap import goods – a shift to use China’s dependency on access to our market to OUR advantage), Jeb Bush came back with an example of Boeing manufacturing.
Donald Trump, responding to Jeb’s Boeing example, and pointed out China is forcing Boeing to open a manufacturing plant in China.  As would be typical from a candidate who is unfamiliar and unbriefed on the issue, Jeb looked back incredulously and said:

“C’mon man”…

There you have it. (more…)

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “2016 Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Presidential Race and/or any of the candidates therein.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Fort Wayne Indiana earlier today, 20,000 supporters showed up.

FORT WAYNE, Indiana – Donald Trump did something unusual Sunday.
The Republican presidential frontrunner, a master of hype and salesmanship, urged his audience here to ignore new numbers that show him headed for victory in the Indiana primary.
“We got great polls today,” Trump said at a rally in front of thousands packed inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. “Don’t listen to them. Forget it. Pretend we’re losing – we’re not; we’re winning big. But pretend we’re losing, because we have to win big. (more…)

Originally posted six months ago, reposted due to timely relevance.
Regardless of who you supported in the 2016 Presidential primary race, most will admit there’s one strategic advantage held by Donald Trump over all other candidates – Trump’s willingness to “own the downside“.

All policies and proposals have a “downside“, there’s no such thing as a policy proposal with benefit to all and harm to none.
This empirical truth is toxic to professional politicians – therefore they spend an inordinate amount of time using pretzel logic to avoid it.  As a direct consequence of avoidance, the media love to use the downside as a weapon.
For the first time in recent political memory Donald Trump represents a candidacy who is unafraid of their spear; and as a consequence, immune to the damage. (more…)

Today in Indiana Carly Fiorina represented the visible metaphor for the Ted Cruz campaign when she literally fell off the stage – and Ted Cruz ignored her distress.
You can’t make this stuff up folks:

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Today Donald Trump’s convention manager, Paul Manafort, made an appearance on Face The Nation.  Manafort discusses the state of the race, the shifts and nudges as the convention framework is shaped, and the ongoing Trump perspective toward Washington DC.

For those who are interested – the discussion behind the discussion. One of the reasons Dickerson keeps bringing up the “lobbyist” issues, is because Dickerson is conducting this interview from the FtN base of operations in Washington DC.
John Dickerson spends all his time surrounded by the business end of politics.  The lobbying business is an industry, a massive industry; a billion dollar per year industry. Dickerson’s questions stem from him being hounded by those within the industry trying to understand what is going to happen to their interests, their jobs, their finances.
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