AR PAC Memo: About Last Night – Key Takeaways From The #DemDebate

Category: AR PAC

In reaction to Gov. Maggie Hassan’s announcement Monday that she is a candidate for the U.S. Senate, the pro-Republican super PAC America Rising quickly went live with a website that charges the two-term governor has made “every aspect” of Granite Staters’ lives more expensive.

The superPAC, whose executive director is former Scott Brown campaign manager Colin Reed, calls the site the “Maggie Hassan Tax Quiz.”

“How much more expensive has Maggie Hassan made your lives,” the website asks.

The group charges that as a state senator, she supported “more than 82 tax and fee increases that became law.”

“Gov. Hassan has spent her long political career doggedly pushing an agenda of higher taxes that would demolish New Hampshire’s proud ‘live free or die’ tradition,” Reed said.

This article was excerpted from WMUR. Click here to read the full article online.

When it was reported late last week that two Colorado prisons are being scouted as likely destinations for Guantanamo Bay detainees, it seemed clear that Sen. Michael Bennet would welcome them into the state given his voting record in the senate.

Bennet cast multiple votes that enabled the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States to move forward. In 2013, Bennet voted against an amendment that would prohibit the transfer of detainees to the United States. The Hill reported:

Senate Democrats blocked a Republican amendment Tuesday that would have restricted the transfer of Guantánamo Bay detainees for at least one year. The Senate voted 43-55 against an amendment from Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). It needed 60 votes to pass. Their amendment would have prevented the administration from transferring any Guantánamo Bay detainees to the United States, including for medical reasons, and made it more difficult to send them to foreign countries.

In 2012, Bennet voted against an amendment that would have prevented funds appropriated to Guantanamo from being used to transfer or release Guantanamo detainees, and in 2009, Bennet voted to table an amendment that would have prohibited the use of Guantanamo funds to construct or modify U.S. prisons to hold Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Each of these votes was instrumental in paving the way to bring detainees – including terror suspects – to Colorado.

But 2016 is an election year, and Bennet – facing long odds and sinking poll numbers – has already come under fire on national security issues by supporting President Obama’s dangerous Iran nuclear deal, so he decided to do a little strategic repositioning and hoped Colorado voters wouldn’t notice. The Denver Post reported on Bennet’s response:

“The Department of Defense has no authority to transfer these prisoners or make such modifications and they have made no case that it makes sense to do so,” Bennet said in a statement.

Nice try. Unfortunately for Bennet, the facts are clear: he voted against legislation that would have prohibited the transfer of Gitmo detainees to American soil. Empty campaign rhetoric can’t change that.

In a recent interview, Democratic hopeful Eric Kingson (NY-24) admitted to having no plan nor any ideas to address the problems in the Middle East. When asked a specific question on the topic, Kingson answered, “I’m not sure.” [Read more…]

As Governor Maggie Hassan begins her campaign for U.S. Senate, America Rising PAC is reminding New Hampshire voters of her long record of making every aspect of their lives more expensive. [Read more…]

This morning, Hillary Clinton’s campaign released its “leadership council” list—a set of supporters in various states. The list in Colorado included the state’s governor, John Hickenlooper.

The timing of the announcement is a bit awkward, given that just a few days ago, Hickenlooper called Clinton’s email scandal a “death knell[Read more…]

Today in her live town hall on NBC’s TODAY, Clinton dismissed questions about and even the discovery of her private email server, saying the whole situation is “beyond the pale.”

This came after Clinton laughably claimed to be the “most transparent person in American history”:

With each ridiculous claim she makes about her use of a private email server, Clinton continues to show why Americans say in poll after poll that she is not honest nor trustworthy.

Today, Hillary Clinton announced a new, restrictive gun control platform. The move comes as the former Secretary of State is struggling to regain the lead in Iowa and New Hampshire from liberal Bernie Sanders. [Read more…]

Last night, Hillary Clinton appeared on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the latest attempt by her campaign to show her “funny and personable side.” During the sketch, Clinton joked about dodging key issues important to voters, and she allowed SNL to specifically mock her delayed opposition to the Keystone Pipeline and her flip-flop on gay marriage. Check out the transcript below:

SNL’s KATE MCKINNON (AS HILLARY CLINTON): “Well first, I am a grandmother. Second, I am a human entrusted with this one green earth.”

HILLARY CLINTON (AS BARTENDER VAL): “ Oh I get it. You’re a politician.”

MCKINNON: “Yes, yes. And uh, how about you?”

CLINTON: “Well me? I’m just an ordinary citizen who believes the Keystone pipeline will destroy our environment.”

MCKINNON: “I agree with you there. It did take me a long time to decide that, but I am against it.”

CLINTON: “You know, nothing wrong with taking your time. What’s important is getting it right.”

MCKINNON: “Yup, I’ll drink to that. God I love a scalding hot vodka.”

OTHER BARTENDER: “Mrs. Clinton, I’m so sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to say my sister’s gay, so thank you for all that you’ve done for gay marriage.”

MCKINNON: “Well, you’re welcome.”

CLINTON: “It really is great how long you’re supported gay marriage.”

MCKINNON: “Yes. I could’ve supported it sooner.”

CLINTON: “Well, you did it pretty soon.”

MCKINNON: “Could’ve been sooner.”

CLINTON: “Fair point.”

But unfortunately, Clinton’s “jokes” have become commonplace during her campaign. Earlier this summer, she joked about having a new Snapchat account as the FBI’s investigation into her private server was just beginning. Days later, she answered a question about wiping her private server clean with the flippant remark, “What, like with a cloth or something?”

It’s clear that at this point in her campaign – with continued questions about her private server, terrible poll numbers, and numerous attempts to “re-set” her campaign – Clinton would rather laugh off serious issues than confront them with actual answers and explanations.

One of the most vulnerable senate Democrats is facing his second major national security blunder in several weeks. The Associated Press is reporting that two Colorado prisons are being scouted as likely destinations for Guantanamo Bay detainees – including suspected terrorists – being brought into the country:

Senior U.S. officials say a Defense Department team will be visiting a state and a federal prison in Colorado to assess their possible use to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of the Obama administration’s plan to close that detention center.

Officials say that within the next two weeks the team will visit the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City and the so-called Supermax federal prison in Florence.

If Sen. Michael Bennet’s past votes are any indicator, he appears ready to welcome detainees into Colorado with open arms. In 2013, he voted in favor of authorizing funds for the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. He also voted against legislation that would have prevented or put limitations on the transfers.

National security has already become a serious problem for Bennet since he threw his support behind President Obama’s dangerous Iran nuclear deal. The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote:

The Colorado Democrat’s support for President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran — opposed 2-to-1 by the American public — has not sealed his political fate. But it has substantially increased his vulnerability…

…From now until Nov. 8, 2016, Bennet will seek re-election as a man who trusted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with a deal that will enrich the Iranian government in return for promises to curtail its nuclear program. Critics fear the arrangement will make Iran more dangerous, and the Ayatollah appears to agree.

Bennet’s apparent willingness to jeopardize national security and the security of Coloradans to appease national Democrats isn’t likely to help his terrible poll numbers –  the most recent round of polling indicated that only 32 percent of Colorado voters believe Bennet should be reelected.

At his press conference today, President Obama responded to a question about Hillary Clinton’s call for a no-fly zone over Syria by saying, “There’s a difference being president and running for president.”

MAJOR GARRETT: “And lastly, just to clarify, to what degree did Hillary Clinton’s endorsement just yesterday of a no-fly zone put her in a category of embracing a half-baked answer in Syria that borders on mumbo jumbo?”

PRES. OBAMA: “On the latter issue, on the last question that you asked, Hillary Clinton is not half-baked in terms of her approach to these problems. She was obviously my Secretary of State, but i also think that there’s a difference between running for president and being president. And the decisions that are being made and the discussions that I’m having with the Joint Chiefs become much more specific and require, I think, a different kind of judgement. And that’s what I’ll continue to apply, as long as I’m here.”