Second Place Remains Wide Open in New Hampshire Polls, with Donald Trump in First

Associated Press

by JORDAN SCHACHTEL7 Feb 2016117

Five different polls have been published Sunday indicating that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is the heavy favorite to win Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

However, full-scale battle for second place has emerged, with establishment candidatesSen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeb Bush, and Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) consistently polling in the double-digits, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), an anti-establishment conservative, also polling favorably.

Meanwhile, support in the Granite State for outsider candidates Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson continue to fall, as the two candidates continue to poll in the single digits, along with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

The poll results do not reflect the outcome of Saturday night’s ABC News debate, as the surveys were gathered beforehand.

In the five polls, Trump averaged 32 percent. Kasich averaged 12 percent, Rubio averaged 15 percent, Bush averaged 10 percent, Christie averaged 5 percent, Fiorina averages 3.5 percent, and Carson averaged 2.5 percent.

Trump leads all the polls. But Rubio gets three second-places and two third-place scores, including tied scores. Kasich gets two second-place finishes, Bush gets one third-place score.

Below is a summary of where the Republican candidates placed in the five polls released Sunday, ranked by their finish in the following polls in order:Monmouth, CNN/WMUR, Boston Herald/FPU, Umass/7News, ARG.

Donald Trump: 1(+16); 1(+17); 1(+15); 1(+22); 1(+14)

Sen. Marco Rubio: T3; 2; 3; 2; T2

Sen. Ted Cruz: 4; 3; 2; 3; 5

Gov. John Kasich: 2; 4; 4; 5; T2

Jeb Bush: T3; 5; 5; 4; T4

Gov. Chris Christie: 6; 7; 6; T6; 6

Carly Fiorina: 7; 6; 7; 7; 7

Dr. Ben Carson: 8; 8; 8; 8; 8

On the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) maintains his lead in New Hampshire. However, a Boston Herald/FPU poll among likely voters said his lead is down to only 7 percentage points. A loss in New Hampshire would be a devastating blow to the Vermont Senator, who has, since early January, been a favorite to win the state’s delegates.

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NH Poll: Trump +16, Kasich in 2nd, Jeb Bush Surging

AP/David Goldman

by MIKE FLYNN7 Feb 20165,234

The latest Monmouth University poll of New Hampshire shows Donald Trump continuing to lead the GOP field by a double-digit margin.

The poll, however, shows a very tight race for second place, with Jeb Bush surging 9 points since Monmouth’s last survey in January.

Trump leads the field with 30 percent support, essentially unchanged since Monmouth’s last poll in early January. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is second with 14 percent support, also unchanged since early January. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has 13 percent support, up just one point in the last month. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has 12 percent, down just two points since the beginning of the year.

The momentum seems to be with Jeb Bush, who has surged 9 points in the last month. Bush has moved from 4 percent support in early January to 13 percent support today. He is tied with Marco Rubio for third.

Considering the poll’s 4.4 percent margin of error, New Hampshire currently has a four-way race for second. Kasich, Rubio, Bush and Cruz are all well positioned to finish runner up in Tuesday’s primary. Chris Christie is much further back with just 6 percent support, down slightly since January.

All the pundit talk about Marco Rubio having momentum going into Tuesday’s vote looks hollow against this poll. Rubio’s support level in the state is unchanged since November. The only significant change in New Hampshire since the Fall is growing support for both Bush and Ted Cruz and a collapse in support for Ben Carson.

Two notes of caution, however. The Monmouth poll was conducted before Saturday’s Republican debate, which may reshuffle the race for second and third in the state. Marco Rubio was widely acknowledged to have stumbled in the debate, while Govs. Bush, Kasich and Christie were perceived to have done well.

In addition, only 49 percent of likely Republican voters say they are certain in their vote. Almost one-third of voters, 31 percent say they have a “strong preference” in whom to support. Monmouth did a follow up survey after the Iowa caucus and found that just over half of those voters with a “strong preference” stuck with their candidate on election day.

“Volatility is the name of the game in 2016’s first primary contest, just as it was in the first caucus state last week. While Trump’s placement as the top finisher seems fairly secure at this point, the margin of victory and final order of the remaining candidates are still very much up for grabs,” Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth polling, said in a release.

Monmouth’s final poll in Iowa greatly overestimated Trump’s support and underestimated support for both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Almost half of likely Republican voters, 49 percent, say they have been personally contacted about supporting at least one of the Presidential hopefuls. This indicates a very active and robust ground game currently trying to turn the vote out for Tuesday’s election. This high level of retail politicking is a feature of New Hampshire’s primary.

It is also one of the reasons that the final outcome is so predictable. With so many voters making their ultimate decision in the final hours of the campaign, that “last touch” with voters can prove decisive.

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NARAL Attacks Doritos ‘Ultrasound’ Super Bowl Ad For ‘Humanizing Fetuses’

by DR. SUSAN BERRY7 Feb 20161,796

Abortion industry political advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice America attacked a Doritos Super Bowl ad which features an ultrasound of an unborn baby as “anti-choice.”

Taking to Twitter, NARAL charged the humorous ad that showed a spunky unborn baby responding to a Dad eating Doritos used an “antichoice tactic of humanizing fetuses and sexist tropes of dads as clueless and moms as uptight.”

You can see the ad here

NARAL also weighed in on the Snickers ad seen during Super Bowl 50. It depicted a grumpy man wearing the blowing white dress Marilyn Monroe wore in the midst of her iconic scene from the film The Seven Year Itch. Once the male stand-in eats a Snickers candy car, he turns into the real Marilyn Monroe who then appears in her famous scene.

The abortion industry advocate tweeted the Marilyn ad was “transphobic” and that it suggests women are agreeable to “being objectified as long as they have snacks.”

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Super Bowl 50: Broncos Win 24-10 Behind Dominant Defense; Von Miller Wins MVP

AP Photo/Julio Cortez

by TONY LEE7 Feb 20166,080

When the Carolina Panthers battle the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has a chance to become the second player after Marcus Allen to win the Heisman Trophy, college football national title, MVP, and the Super Bowl. All that stands in his way is Denver’s dominant top-ranked defense. Though Carolina is 4-0 this season against top-five defenses, top-ranked defenses are 9-2 in Super Bowls.

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will try to ride off into the sunset with a Super Bowl victory like John Elway did, but the windy conditions in San Francisco may cause some problems for The Sheriff. For all the deserved hype that Carolina’s top-ranked offense has received, their defense has been undervalued. And Manning must avoid throwing interceptions that have haunted him throughout the season. If Manning turns the ball over, this will be a repeat of the Broncos-Seahawks Super Bowl matchup in which Seattle thrashed Denver.

The Broncos defense will have to contain Newton, but the key may be how well Denver’s defense can stifle Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, Newton’s top target. Something tells me, though, that the game may well rest on whether Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn, a “feast or famine” player, catches—or drops—a wide-open deep ball from Newton.

Another interesting note: Denver is 5-0 in games Clete Blakeman (today’s referee) referees. As ESPN pointed out, the Broncos had been 6-0 in games in which Ed Hochuli was the referee and made it 7-0 after their AFC title game victory over the Patriots.

I’m not betting against Newton, though. He always is at his best when the klieg lights are the brightest.

Stay with Breitbart News for live updates/commentary throughout the game.

Kevin Scholla: Gotta love Peyton Manning pumping up Budweiser in Coors country!

Von Miller wins the MVP. Much deserved.

Tony Lee: Great moment: Elway says “this one’s for Pat.” Bowlen famously said “this one’s for John” after Denver’s Super Bowl XXXII win. Bowlen, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, was not well enough to make the trip to San Francisco for the Super Bowl.

Kevin Scholla: Enjoy the post game, but get the clicker ready so you can flip the channel before Stephen Colbert infects your TV.

Kevin Scholla: Von Miller should be MVP. I just love when defensive players get that prestigious honor.

Tony Lee: I think the worst thing that happened to the Panthers was thrashing Arizona in the title game. Give Denver’s defense all the credit that it deserves. But Carolina’s game plan on offense was predictable and terrible. Carolina’s defense gave the Panthers every chance to win the game, but Carolina’s offense seemed liked it had been preparing for Tampa Bay and not Denver. I think the Panthers underestimated how good Denver’s corners are and Denver’s speed on defense. Newton wilted on the grand stage and his not diving to retrieve his fumble will haunt him–and hurt his image–for a long time.

Final: Denver 24, Carolina 10

Manning becomes the first NFL quarterback to get 200 wins (playoffs and regular season). The Sheriff doesn’t answer when asked if this was his final game. He says he wants to kiss his wife and kids and hug his family. Manning says he’s going to drink “a lot of Budweiser tonight” and “say a little prayer and thank the Man upstairs” for the great opportunity.

Kevin Scholla: Classy move by Josh Norman giving Peyton Manning a little Mile High Salute. Two super players.

Kevin Scholla: Jim Nantz has a new baby?! Who is he, Billy Joel???
Dan Flynn: Out of left field: I wonder if Peyton Manning buys a piece of the Tennessee Titans (he lives in Chattanooga) and/or joins their front office.

Kevin Scholla: Does Gary Kubiak go down as the Super Bowl winning head coach that had the least impact on his team’s fate? This is Wade Phillips all the way.

Tony Lee: Denver’s defense benefited from two key fumbles in the playoffs. They may not have reached the Super Bowl had Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Toussaint not fumbled as the Steelers were looking like they were about to put the game away in the divisional game. I think Tolbert’s fumble tonight really changed the momentum of the game.

John Pudner: Peyton Manning missed having the fewest yards passing in Super Bowl History by 22 yards (141 to 119 for Roger Staubach vs. Miami). And he won by being smart and realizing he needed to manage this one and let his defense win.

Cole Muzio: Von Miller HAS to get the MVP nod, right?

Dan Flynn: Cam Newton looks like the goat for not jumping on his fumble. Ron Rivera talked about not holding Newton back as a runner in the last game of the season. It turns out that Cam Newton held Cam Newton back. He’s not going to live down that reluctance to recover his own fumble anytime soon.

Denver 24, Carolina 10.

C.J. Anderson plunges into the end zone as Denver turns the turnover into points. Broncos convert the two-point conversion. Manning two minutes riding off into the sunset with a Super Bowl win like Elway. Fantastic story for the NFL.

Dan Flynn: Thirteen punts, six turnovers, and one offensive touchdown–a year after arguably the greatest Super Bowl in history the Broncos and Panthers play in a largely forgettable contest. Lots of impressive defensive performances on both sides of the ball. But too much sloppy play on offense. The Cam Newton fumble, and hesitation to recover it, puts the exclamation point on the kind of game this has been.

Tony Lee: Miller likely ices the game by knocking the ball out of Newton’s hand. T.J. Ward recovers the fumble. Is Newton hurt? He doesn’t even dive after the fumble

Cole Muzio: Our ranking of the top 25 recruits featured 11 defensive linemen. Though QBs will always get the hype, today’s Super Bowl is a perfect illustration of what you can do if your DL dominates the line of scrimmage

Tony Lee: Denver is betting that Carolina can’t score a touchdown on its defense by running on the third-and-nine play. Panthers get the ball back with 4:51 left.

Kevin Scholla: So fun to watch Josh Norman. One of the very few DBs who can still excel and dominate in a league that stacks all the rules against the secondary.

Dan Leberfeld: Von Miller is a free agent after this season. Love to be his agent. What a tremendous talent.

John Pudner: “Pressure” by David Bowie at the commercial cutaway perfect. Carolina defense under pressure – cannot give up a score of any kind. Manning under pressure – he cannot turn it over again. This is why they are paid the big bucks.

Kevin Scholla: Greg Olsen must get more involved if you’re Carolina. Still plenty of time for a Newton to Olsen scoring play and a 17-16 squeaker.

Denver 16, Carolina 10

Gano hits a 39-yard field goal as the Panthers pull to within one score. It’s amazing that the Panthers still have a chance to win with all of their mistakes/turnovers.

Dan Flynn: Kony Ealy playing the game of his life. Strip sack of Manning his third sack of game. Should Carolina come back, look for Ealy for MVP.

Dan Leberfeld: Peyton Manning used to put teams on his back and lead them to great heights. With Denver this year, he’s along for the ride. He’s a game-manager. And that is okay, along as you win.

Kevin Scholla: Back in the old days when men ran the NFL, a player slapping the ball out of someone’s hand in a meaningful game would be told ‘Cut it out’. He wouldn’t be penalized. Get a perspective, for Johnny Sample’s sake!

Tony Lee: Kony Ealy having the game of his life, he causes a critical Manning fumble to give Carolina some life. Panthers with the ball at midfield and face a must-score drive.

Kevin Scholla: The only time two coaches were carried off the field after a Super Bowl was 30 years ago when the Bears carried both Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan off following Super Bowl XX. If things don’t change here, Denver may want to carry off Kubiak and Phillips. Kubiak is optional. Bum’s son is the story.

John Pudner: Peyton Manning passed for 280 yards in the 43-8 loss to Seattle. Through three quarters he has 123 yards passing through three quarters – but knows he may just need to avoid turnovers for the win. A crazy punt return and defensive touchdown give him the lead.

Third Quarter: Denver 16, Carolina 7

Cole Muzio: Two Missouri defensive ends were drafted in 2014. Media and left-wing darling Michael Sam will likely never play a snap in the NFL. The man who generated much less conversation, Kony Ealy, has been one of the best players on the field today for the Panthers. Two sacks for the second year defender.

Kevin Scholla: Phil Simms, the man who refuses to say ‘Redskins’, says Newton threw the ball ‘too hard’ to Ginn. Come on! That catch has to be made.

John Pudner: Ted Ginn’s speed (one of very few to crack a 4.3 in the 40) resulted in three big plays in third quarter. But the wrap on his hands came back again as Cam’s throw went right through them for an interception to stop another drive. Pressure growing on Carolina.

Tony Lee: After completing a deep pass to Philly Brown, Denver gets the ball back as Carolina was driving deep in Denver territory. Denver intercepts Newton when Ginn can’t hold onto Newton’s pass (if it hits your hands, you have to catch it). T.J. Ward, who picked off the pass, fumbles while returning the pick, but Denver’s Trevathan recovers. Cole’s right. The ball is not bouncing Carolina’s way tonight. Huge defensive series, to say the least, for Carolina here.

Denver 16, Carolina 7:

Broncos again fail to score in the red zone. They settle for a field goal but are now up two scores. Denver’s offense still has not scored a touchdown.

Perhaps because the Patriots aren’t playing, Donald Trump thinks the Super Bowl has been “very boring.” He thinks politics is much more exciting:

Cole Muzio: Football is a game of bounces. So far, the ball is bouncing the Broncos way. The clang off the goal post is emblematic of the game thus far.

Tony Lee: Carolina has a chance to cut the lead to three on its opening drive of the second half, but Gano hits the upright on his 44-yard field goal attempt. Another wasted opportunity by Carolina to put points on the board.

Kevin Scholla: Lady Gaga was tremendous! Thank you for honoring our country in a powerful, respectful way. I will think of you often to try to erase that halftime train wreck from my mind.

42% of Democrats are in favor of socialism

www.marketwatch.com

Many Democrats are feeling the love for socialism.

More than four in 10 Democrats say they have a favorable opinion of socialism, according to a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults released in January by data and research firm YouGov; this percentage is nearly identical to what the researchers found in May of last year. Meanwhile, only about one in three say they have an unfavorable opinion of the ideology.

Among Republicans, those numbers look significantly different: Just 17% of Republicans have a favorable opinion of socialism, while 71% have an unfavorable opinion of it. And for the most part — no matter what the party — it is young people who are most in favor of socialism. Fully 49% of people ages 18 to 29 have a favorable opinion of socialism, compared with just 23% of those 65 and up.

Also see: Karl Marx is the most assigned economist in U.S. college classes

On the whole, nearly half of all Americans say they have an unfavorable opinion of socialism, the YouGov survey revealed.

That may explain why, in a separate survey, less than half of Americans said they would vote for a socialist president (sorry, Bernie). Indeed, only 47% of Americans said they would vote for a president who was a socialist, according to a survey of 1,500 adults released by Gallup last year, which looked at 11 types of candidates people would be willing to vote for, including a woman, gay or lesbian, Muslim and evangelical.

Among Democrats, 59% would do it, while among Republicans just 26% would. “Republicans and Democrats differ most in their willingness to vote for a socialist candidate, by 33 percentage points,” according to the Gallup data.

Table: Who are Americans willing to vote for?

DemocratsRepublicansEvangelical Christian66%84%Mormon79%84%Jewish92%95%Catholic95%93%Hispanic94%91%Black96%90%Woman97%91%Atheist64%45%Gay or lesbian85%61%Muslim73%45%Socialist59%26%Source: Gallup More from MarketWatch

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Debate Crowd Boos, Trump Hits Back: ‘That’s All Jeb’s Donors and Special Interests’

by JOHN NOLTE6 Feb 2016157

During Saturday night’s ABC News debate, Donald Trump and former-Governor Jeb Bush got into a feisty exchange on the issue of eminent domain. Bush hit Trump for his use (or attempted use) of eminent domain to enrich his casino business in Nevada. Trump responded by saying, “Jeb wants to be a tough guy tonight. I didn’t take the property.” Boos then rained down on The Donald, who was ready. Pointing at the audience, Trump charged…

That’s all of his donors and special interests out there. So,  that’s what it is. And by the way, let me just tell you, we needed tickets. You can’t get them. You know who has the tickets to the television audience? Donors, special interests, the people that are putting up the money. That’s who. The RNC told us. We have all donors in the audience. And the reason they’re not loving me — the reason they’re not loving me is, I don’t want their money. I’m going to do the right thing for the American public. I don’t need their money. And I’m the only one up here that can say that.

The audience continued to boo throughout.

Sean Spicer of the RNC told Breitbart News that in the audience of 1000, there are 75 donors.

According to sources on two different campaigns, individual candidates received fewer tickets than at any other debate,  just 20.

According to Breitbart News’ Matt Boyle, when you look at the ticket ratio of donors and various special interests, “Way more donors to non-donors ratio this time at debate audience.”

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Follow John Nolte on Twitter@NolteNC               

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North Korea may be ready to launch a rocket by Super Bowl kickoff Sunday

www.theguardian.com

Satellite imagery from Thursday shows the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in North Korea, where coverings obscure whether a space-launch vehicle is present on the pad. Photograph: Reuters

Satellite images taken this week ofNorth Korea’s Sohae rocket launch site show apparent fueling activity seen in the past one to two weeks before a rocket launch, a US think tank said on Friday.

North Korea has told UN agencies it will launch a rocket carrying what it called an earth observation satellite some time between 8 and 25 February, triggering international opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.

Commercial satellite images from Wednesday and Thursday show the arrival of tanker trucks at the launch pad, said Washington-based 38 North, a North Korea-monitoring project. It said the presence of the trucks likely indicated the filling of tanks within bunkers at the site rather than a rocket itself.

“In the past, such activity has occurred one to two weeks prior to a launch event and would be consistent with North Korea’s announced launch window,” the report said.

A US defense official said on Thursday activity detected at the site was consistent with a launch in the time frame given by Pyongyang. On Friday, a US government source said US intelligence agencies believed North Korea could be ready by the US Super Bowl kickoff on Sunday, which will be Monday Korea time.

On Friday, Barack Obama spoke by telephone with President Xi Jinping of China, North Korea’s main ally and neighbor and agreed that North Korea’s planned launch would represent a “provocative and destabilizing action”, the White House said.

The US president and Xi also said they would coordinate efforts to respond to North Korea’s nuclear test last month and said they would not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapon state.

“The leaders emphasized the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea’s provocations, including through an impactful UN Security Council Resolution,” the White House said.

Washington and Beijing have appeared divided over how to respond to North Korea, with the United States urging tougher sanctions andChina stressing the need for dialogue.

Earlier on Friday, Xi told South Korea’s president that China was dedicated to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

“We hope all sides can act bearing in mind the broader picture of maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, and calmly deal with the present situation,” China’s Foreign Ministry quoted Xi as saying.

The 38 North report said activity could also be seen around a building at the launch site used in the past to receive and assemble rocket stages.

It said the imagery showed vehicles including one or two buses and a crane and added: “This level of activity compares favorably to that seen prior to the previous launch in 2012.“

The report said the images indicated no significant changes at the launch pad itself, where work platforms on the gantry towers remained folded forward. It said coverings obscured whether a space-launch vehicle was present on the pad.

“Although there is no activity indicating an imminent launch, the gantry tower and launch pad complex appear to be capable of conducting a launch within the announced launch window,” it said.

North Korea says it has a sovereign right to pursue a space program. But it is barred under UN Security Council resolutions from using ballistic missile technology.

Coming so soon after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test on 6 January, a rocket launch would raise concern that it plans to fit nuclear warheads on its missiles, giving it the capability to strike South Korea, Japan and possibly the US. West Coast.

The United States has deployed missile defense systems that will work with the Japanese and South Korean militaries to track the launch.

COMMENTS