The 2016 election is the fight we’ve been waiting for…

A new CBS battleground tracking poll (full pdf below) released today shows the top three candidates continue to be Trump, Cruz and Rubio.  Jeb Bush and Dr. Ben Carson are far behind.

Jeb is hoping that bringing his brother, George W. Bush, into the state of South Carolina will provide him more benefit than bringing Mom, Barbara, into New Hampshire.  Although many voters in South Carolina are now asking “why can’t Jeb compete for the nomination on his own merits“?

It does seem oddly weak, and profoundly poor advice, for a presidential candidate to be unable to achieve support – and decide the best option is to rely on Mom, Dad and his brother as a crutch.  (more…)

Donald Trump makes the post debate rounds on the Sunday Talk Shows.  Here’s the interviews:

CBS Face The Nation

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The headline might sound odd at first, until you realize the debate audience was so over-the-top part of the establishment GOPe, even the willfully blind pundits couldn’t ignore it.

We knew the South Carolina audience was going to be structured by the RNC to be mostly entrenched Brooks Brothers republicans in favor of Marco Rubio.  The same general sensibility was evident in the North Charleston FNB debate.

However, what no-one could expect was how the desperation of the donor and cocktail class would cause them to lose any semblance of objectivity and instead launch into a full-throated screaming session on behalf of Senator Rubio, and to a slightly lesser extent Jeb Bush.

The GOP audience reflected one of the long-time republican truisms: the donor class is completely, intentionally and insufferably, disconnected from the general electorate.

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The South Carolina debate moderator is CBS News political director John Dickerson.  He will be joined by CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett, and The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel.

The debate will air live on CBS from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST tonight. – Live Stream HERE

For those watching at home – feel free to join in with your thoughts on the debate below.

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2016 is the fight we’ve been waiting for…

The debate moderator is CBS News political director John Dickerson.  He will be joined by CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett, and to provide the Rupert Murdoch influence, The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel.  The debate will air live on CBS from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST tonight.

Fox News has already positioned their optics and narrative front-man John Roberts on the ground in/around Greenville.  The Roberts production team is one of the key follows for anyone interested in discovering where Fox News executives are directing the public’s attention.

South Carolina has been hosting the evangelical-dominated Faith and Values conference in advance of the debate tonight.  The audience has been carefully selected from conference attendees and professional republican party insiders.

Given the absolute need for young Marco Rubio to regain his viable candidate footing, every possible lean and party indulgence will be apportioned to provide maximum benefit.  Knowing also that Roberts production staff is on the ground at the venue, The Peace Center, we can remain confident Murdoch is leveraging furiously on behalf of his preferred candidate, Rubio. (more…)

Candidate Donald Trump sold out the University of South Florida Sun Dome stadium tonight for a campaign rally.   With 11,000 inside the venue and thousands outside, Trump vows to return.

Long lines to get in: (more…)

Tonight Donald Trump is holding a rally in Tampa, FL at the University of South Florida Sun Dome. The event is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM EDT.

Live Stream Link – Alternate Live Stream #2 – Alternate Live Stream #3

Fox10 Live Stream HERE:

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In the southern rock spirit (genre) of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Kid Rock: ‘Merica

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A Southern Political Poll released today (full pdf below) conducted for the Augusta Chronicle and Fox5 is exceptionally interesting.  The poll data itself is deep, extensive, succinct and well presented.  Good sample size, low MOE and few assumptions.

The top line results, show remarkable consistency with the previous NBC/WSJ and Maris polls conducted in January.  With the exception of a modest bump for John Kasich, the latest polling shows almost no change – and most of the SC electorate have not only made up their mind, but their decision has been settled for quite a while:

A close review of the poll internals, shows some remarkable and consistent insights when contrast against ground reports, alternate polling and field data.  What many political junkies might find remarkable is the dominance of the Trump coalition.

After reviewing the poll data, the current decisions of the Trump campaign’s approach in South Carolina make VERY good sense.

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