NEWS AND OPINION:
The “very conservative” Republican is a much coveted voting bloc among the GOP presidential hopefuls, who officially number 17 now that Jim Gilmore has declared his candidacy. Yes, yes — all the candidates aspire to win over New Hampshire and Iowa voters, that’s a given. But staunchly conservative GOPers are also at the top of the wish list.
“These voters are highly motivated and involved in the political process, and therefore are most likely to turn out and vote in the primaries,” says Frank Newport, director of the Gallup poll.
The demographic has some distinctive preferences. In an ongoing poll that tracked Republicans on a daily basis since July 8, Gallup finds that Sen. Marco Rubio is in first place with very conservative GOP voters in the White House derby, garnering the affection of 74 percent of them. Sen. Ted Cruz is in second place with 70 percent — followed by Rick Perry, Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump, all with 68 percent. And rounding out the top-10: Gov. Scott Walker and Ben Carson, each with 65 percent; Sen. Rand Paul (60 percent), Gov. Bobby Jindal (58 percent) and Jeb Bush at 57 percent.
“At the other end of the spectrum, the losers among conservative Republicans are George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich, Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina, each with a favorable rating of less than 50 percent,” Mr. Newport says.
NETWORKS STILL IGNORING THE VIDEOS
ABC, CBS and NBC are woefully deficient in offering coverage of the damning Planned Parenthood videos that revealed the organization is harvesting and selling aborted baby parts. The Big Three networks have not even mentioned the videos since July 21, according to Katie Yoder, an analyst with the Media Research Center who has monitored the broadcasters major newscasts for days on end.
SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton emails: U.S. intelligence preparing for massive breach of classified data
“They completely censored the third video unveiled Tuesday. The fourth video was released Thursday morning,” Ms. Yoder notes, adding that since the initial release of the first video produced by the Center for Medical Progress two weeks ago, the networks spent only 11 minutes on the story. In contrast, the death of Cecil the African lion at the hands of an American dentist warranted 30 minutes of coverage in just two days as a news focus.
JEB, BEN, HILLARY, MARTIN, BERNIE
Two Republican presidential hopefuls, three Democratic hopefuls — same stage, same time. An unusual moment: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Martin O’Malley and Sen. Bernard Sanders are on hand Friday at the National Urban League’s annual conference, now underway in Fort Lauderdale.
The candidates will share their visions for saving the nation’s cities, and “offer their visions for a better, stronger, more equitable and inclusive America,” the organization says.
“As we convene in Florida to deliberate solutions to the economic and social challenges our cities are facing, it’s vital that those contending for the highest office in the land be part of that conversation,” says Marc H. Morial, CEO of the 105-year-old civil rights group, and moderator of the two-hour event.
See the event streamed live beginning at 8 a.m. ET at NUL.org
SEE ALSO: Obama’s climate change policy driven by outside forces: report
NERVOUS LAUGHTER
“When Americans are asked whether liberals or conservatives tend to be funnier, few say that conservatives are funnier than liberals,” says YouGov poll analyst William Jordan. Yes, there’s a poll that reveals that 30 percent of the respondents say liberals are the funniest while 9 percent say conservatives deserve the title. Another 28 percent say the ideological groups are equally as funny.
“Only 17 percent of conservatives themselves think that conservatives tend to be funnier. Liberals, however, are widely convinced — 62 percent — that they are funnier than conservatives,” Mr. Jordan notes.
PERRY/FIORINA 2016
Now there’s a thought. Rick Perry has taken notice of Carly Fiorina on the campaign trail, and appears to be impressed by what he sees.
“That’s the type of really savvy individual that I think makes a lot of sense to have around you whether it’s in a Cabinet or as a running mate,” Mr. Perry told Fox Business Network. “She is a very, very capable, smart, savvy business woman — and by the way she was born in Texas, so that’s another plus for her.”
THE WEEKEND CAMPAIGN: WHERE ARE THE REST?
Sen. Bernard Sanders will spend the entire weekend on a jaunt through five New Hampshire towns, where he may run into Republican hopeful John Kasich, also touring the Granite State this weekend.
Iowa plays host to the most: Ben Carson arrives in Des Moines on Saturday for an appearance at a farmer’s market. Gov. Scott Walker has returned to the Hawkeye State to continue his tour by Winnebago, appearing at six campaign stops along the way.
The industrious Rick Santorum appears at 13 events in the next two days in a dozen Iowa towns, including Pocahontas, Holstein and Storm Lake. Gov. Chris Christie is almost as busy, appearing at four events, including the much ballyhooed “summer party” hosted by Iowa political kingpin Bruce Rastetter at his country estate near Hubbard.
Sen. Rand Paul is also in Iowa, appearing at three major truckstops for “Coffee with Rand” events, followed by meet and greets in Waterloo, Tipton and Davenport, among other spots. He departs for Illinois on Saturday, where he will host a “Stand with Rand” rally in the town of Niles.
A GOP ARMY IN THE MAKING
A battalion looks to be forming. The Republican National Committee reveals its made a new wave of over 100 hires in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The committee expects to expand that to “thousands of paid staff across the country,” organizers say and are particularly interested in making inroads in “diverse communities” and establishing lots of one-on-one contact with voters.
“The RNC is building the largest, earliest and most data focused field program in GOP history,” says chairman Reince Priebus.
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
For sale: The Lazy Moose Ranch, built in 1917 on 128 acres on Fish Creek in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Completely renovated; five bedroom main residence, guest house, guest lodge, two log cabins, barn, caretakers cabin, 1,000 square-foot greenhouse, traditional outdoor sauna. Spectacular interior woodworking, multiple river rock fireplaces, meticulous rustic detailing, Douglas fir floors, natural wood trunk beams, extensive outdoor decks and landscaping. Fly-fishing, spectacular views, “horse friendly.” Visitors to the site have included Mitt Romney and Dick Cheney.
Priced at $19 million through LazyMooseRanch.com
POLL DU JOUR
• 89 percent of Americans give Congress a negative job rating; 93 percent of Republicans, 92 percent of independents and 85 percent of Democrats agree.
• 66 percent overall say the nation is “on the wrong track”; 87 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of independents and 42 percent of Democrats agree.
• 63 percent overall give their local member of Congress a negative rating; 65 percent of Republicans, 68 percent of independents and 58 percent of Democrats agree.
• 62 percent overall give President Obama a negative review of his work on the economy; 92 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 32 percent of Democrats agree.
• 61 percent overall give Mr. Obama a negative review on his overall job performance; 94 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 29 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A Harris Poll of 2,273 U.S. adults conducted July 15-20 and released Thursday.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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