Here's Who Republicans Wish Hadn't Been Left Out Of The Debate

Just because they're not planning to vote for a candidate doesn't mean they don't want to watch them onstage.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republicans mostly don't mind having their first primetime debate capped at 10 candidates, but they'd prefer a slightly different lineup. 

Fox News, which is hosting the debate on Thursday, chose the politicians receiving the most support in an average of recent surveys, with the remaining seven consigned to a separate forum. But a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, which instead directly asked Republicans to pick up to 10 different candidates they'd like to see debate, found slightly different results.

While they agree with the top eight contenders, rank-and-file Republicans say they'd swap out the two lowest-polling candidates included, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Instead, they'd rather watch two politicians who missed the cut: former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businesswoman Carly Fiorina.

Christie is disliked by a sizeable fraction of his own party, many of whom who don't see him as adequately conservative; Kasich, meanwhile, remains unknown to most in the GOP.

Read more at The Huffington Post

GOP Presidential Candidates Are Really Unhappy About The Iran Deal

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) was one of many Republicans who criticized a nuclear agreement reached with Iran on Tuesday. | Scott Olson via Getty Images

WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidates quickly criticized the nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran on Tuesday, saying that it posed a threat to American national security and would do little to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The deal between Iran and six countries, including the United States, would curbIran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. It would also require the country to reduce its supply of low-enriched uranium and shut down centrifuges, significantly limiting its ability to produce a nuclear weapon for over a decade, The New York Times reported. The deal would also allow UN International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to request visits to military sites in Iran -- though those visits could be blocked, reported the Associated Press.

"The international community will be able to verify that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon," President Barack Obama said during a televised appearance at the White House early Tuesday morning.

But Republicans seeking the White House said the deal, which still needs to be approved by Congress, did not go far enough to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

“President Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran will be remembered as one of America's worst diplomatic failures," Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said in a statement. "The deal allows Tehran to dismantle U.S. and international sanctions without dismantling its illicit nuclear infrastructure -- giving Iran’s nuclear weapons capability an American stamp of approval. In crafting this agreement, President Obama has abandoned the bipartisan principles that have guided our nonproliferation policy and kept the world safe from nuclear danger for decades. Instead of making the world safer, this deal will likely lead to a nuclear arms race in the world’s most dangerous region."

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) accused Obama of "negotiating from a position of weakness" and said that he did not expect the deal to be approved by Congress.

"Failure by the President to obtain congressional support will tell the Iranians and the world that this is Barack Obama's deal, not an agreement with lasting support from the United States," Rubio said. "It will then be left to the next President to return us to a position of American strength and re-impose sanctions on this despicable regime until it is truly willing to abandon its nuclear ambitions and is no longer a threat to international security.”

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said that the agreement wasn't diplomacy, but appeasement. "The nuclear agreement announced by the Obama Administration today is a dangerous, deeply flawed, and short sighted deal," he said. "Based on initial reports and analysis, it appears this agreement does not 'cut off all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon' -- in fact, over time it paves Iran’s path to a bomb."

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) echoed the criticisms of his fellow Republicans, but also referenced Americans currently being detained in Iranian prisons.

"In his remarks this morning, the President glossed over the truth about Iran’s world-leading state-sponsorship of terrorism that is violently destabilizing the region, and would grow more deadly should the Iranians get a nuclear bomb," Cruz said in a statement.

"He failed to mention American citizens Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian, who continue to languish in Iranian prisons, or Robert Levinson, who is still unaccounted for. For them, today is no ‘opportunity to move in a new direction,’ as the President claimed," he added.

While Republican candidates said they were committed to undoing the deal if elected president, former White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer tweeted that he doubted that would be the case.

Here's a fact: none of these GOP contenders would end this Iran Deal if they got to the White House -- wld massively damage US in the world

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) July 14, 2015

The deal could be a possible "death sentence" for Israel, according to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The foreign policy hawk told MSNBC on Tuesday that it was "the most dangerous, irresponsible step I have ever seen in the history of watching the Mideast. Barack Obama, John Kerry, have been dangerously naive about the Mideast in general."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) made similar comments, saying that the deal would allow Iran to "wipe Israel off the map" and "bring death to America,"according to Reuters.

The deal is likely to lead to an arms race in the Middle East, said former Hewlett-Packard executive and Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on CBS This Morning.

"Iran has demonstrated bad behavior for 30 years. We know they have been trying to cheat on this deal, we know they have been funding proxies with a strategic objective of destabilizing the region. We know that when sanctions will be lifted there will be more money to fund those same proxies," Fiorina said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) tweeted that Obama had made "humiliating concessions" and "should have walked away."

However, Democratic presidential candidates were quick to express support for the deal. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Democrats on Capitol Hill that she believed the deal was "worthy of support," Reuters reported.

"This is an important step in putting the lid on Iran's nuclear program," Clinton said on Tuesday.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is seeking the Democratic nomination, called the deal a "victory."

“I congratulate President Obama, Secretary Kerry and the leaders of other major nations for producing a comprehensive agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Sanders said. "This is a victory for diplomacy over saber-rattling and could keep the United States from being drawn into another never-ending war in the Middle East. I look forward to learning more about the complex details of this agreement to make sure that it is effective and strong.”

UPDATE: 5:30 p.m. -- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) tweeted on Tuesday afternoon that the deal was "unacceptable" and that he planned to vote against it. Paul argued that relief from sanctions would take place before Iran demonstrated compliance with the terms of the deal and that Iran would be left with the capacity to develop a nuclear weapon.

Source: The Huffington Post

Hillary Clinton Serves Up Her Policy Pitch To Hill Democrats

Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited with congressional Democrats on Tuesday.Š (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | Mark Wilson via Getty Images

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton trekked to Capitol Hill Tuesday to meet with Democrats in both chambers and pitch her policy stances four months into her 2016 campaign.

Clinton met with Senate Democrats during their weekly party lunches, and was warmly welcomed by the party's leaders.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) praised the presentation Clinton gave to the conference.

“She got several rounds of standing applause,” Reid told reporters after the meeting. “She talked about climate change, about what families need in America today. She talked about how important it was that we make sure that we understand America is more than the urban centers of our country.”

He added, that he was “extremely impressed” by her answers to questions senators asked, and noted that she also talked about the nuclear deal President Barack Obama worked out with Iran and five other negotiating partners on Tuesday.

Clinton told Democrats that she worked on the deal "a lot" herself, and advised them to wait and find out exactly what is in the agreement before passing judgment.

Reid wouldn’t say if he supports the former secretary of state's presidential bid. Clinton is considered the frontrunner but faces four Democratic challengers in the primary, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“I’ve chosen not to endorse her right now -- that’s the way it is,” Reid said. “Everyone knows what a fan I am of her and her husband, and I’m sure at the right time I’ll make the right decision.”

Clinton may have been met warmly by the majority of Democrats in the caucus, but Sanders tried to steal the show when he exited the meeting ahead of other senators and held a presser of his own in the hallway outside the Senate chamber, which is typically reserved for Senate leadership.

Sanders spent about six minutes laying out where he disagrees with Clinton on a variety of issues.

“I very much look forward in this campaign to a very serious debate about the serious crises facing our country,” Sanders told reporters. “Secretary Clinton and I disagree on a number of issues; there are issues where we come from the same place.”

Reid said he has invited Sanders to speak before the caucus as well and expects Sanders to make a presentation in the next few weeks.

Clinton met with House Democrats earlier Tuesday and also separately with the Congressional Black Caucus, during which time she discussed issues affecting the African-American community in the U.S.

"Today's policy meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a constructive meeting where members of the Congressional Black Caucus discussed a myriad of issues that include persistent poverty, the need for criminal justice reform, transportation and infrastructure, economic growth and opportunity, and access to a quality education,” said Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), who chairs the CBC.

Clinton also met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Members said the former first lady requested to hear about issues facing the Hispanic community.

In the meeting, Clinton talked about the economy, immigration reform, health care, the wage gap and the need for an inclusive workforce, according to a readout of the meeting from the caucus.

Source: The Huffington Post

Clinton pitches to working Americans at presidential campaign rally

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves to the crowd as she is joined onstage by her daughter Chelsea and her husband former President Bill Clinton after delivering her 'official launch speech' at a campaign kick off rally in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four...

REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton promised on Saturday to fight for a fairer society for ordinary Americans, staking out a place on the left to cut off any budding challenge for the Democratic nomination.

In the first major rally of her campaign for the November 2016 presidential election, Clinton touched on many of the issues that energize liberal Democrats. She highlighted her support for gay marriage, women's rights, income equality, clean energy and regulating Wall Street.

Speaking on New York's Roosevelt Island, with Manhattan's skyscrapers as a backdrop, Clinton promised to "make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top" if elected president.

The former secretary of state praised working families for leading America's economic recovery after the financial crisis of 2008.

"You brought our country back. Now it's time - your time to secure the gains and move ahead," she told a crowd of several thousand supporters.

By far the front-runner to win the Democratic nomination for president, Clinton nevertheless faces some competition from the left, especially from liberal Bernie Sanders.

The independent senator from Vermont has drawn relatively large crowds at recent campaign events in Iowa, the state that kicks off the party's nominating contests early next year.

The outdoor rally marked a change in gear for Clinton, who launched her election campaign in low-key fashion in April and has so far held small events with selected participants.

Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton and a former New York senator, has huge name recognition. But recent polls have shown a majority of voters find her untrustworthy after controversy about her use of a private email account while she was secretary of state and criticism of foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation.

In her 45-minute speech on Saturday, Clinton mentioned a series of economic proposals, including setting up an infrastructure bank, boosting child care, imposing fees and royalties on fossil fuel extraction and carrying out a reform of the tax code that would not benefit "quick trades or stashing profits overseas."

But there was no major new policy announcement. Adam Green,

a liberal campaigner, said he was somewhat disappointed.

"It was a fine Democratic speech," said Green,

co-founder of the Progressive Campaign Committee, which tries to get Democratic candidates to adopt more populist policies.

"But people will want to hear the policy specifics on the issues like Wall Street reform, debt-free college and expanding Social Security. That's not what we're hearing today," he said.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivers her 'official launch speech' at a campaign kick off rally in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York City, June 13, 2015.

REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON

SIDESTEPS TRADE CONTROVERSY

Clinton's rival Sanders has called on her to say clearly whether she supports President Barack Obama's plans for a free trade deal with Asia.

Trade is a divisive issue for Democrats, and members of the president's party rebelled at a vote in the House of Representatives on Friday, impeding passage of a measure to give Obama fast-track authority to reach the Asia pact.

Clinton avoided the controversy on Saturday but did address trade.

"For decades Americans have been buffeted by powerful currents. Advances in technology and the rise of global trade have created whole new areas of economic activity and opened new markets for our exports but they have also displaced jobs and undercut wages for millions of Americans," she said.

Clinton, who is running to be America's first woman president, cast herself as a defender of women's rights and

talked about her mother's tough upbringing.

"I may not be the youngest candidate, but I will be the youngest woman president in the history of the United States," said Clinton, 67.

Keen to portray Clinton as a longtime member of the political elite, Republicans criticized her speech as offering only "failed policies of the past."

"Hillary Clinton’s announcement speech was chock full of hypocritical attacks, partisan rhetoric and ideas from the past that have led to a sluggish economy leaving too many Americans behind," said Republican National Committee press secretary Allison Moore.

The Republican nominating battle is off to a crowded start, with 10 candidates who have formally declared they are running and several others likely to launch White House bids. They include former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is set to jump into the race on Monday.

Despite serving as America's top diplomat for four years.

Clinton said little about foreign policy beyond a dig at Russian President Vladimir Putin and a mention of support for Israel.

Clinton then headed to Iowa, where in the evening she met with a group of about 50 supporters at a home in Sioux City.

"I outlined briefly in my speech today what I want to do ... to fix our democracy by focusing on dark unaccountable money, which I think is corrupting our entire system," she said.

Source: Reuters