George Soros gave Ivanka's husband's business a $250 million credit line in 2015 per WSJ. Soros is also an investor in Jared's business.

Monday, February 29, 2016

Trump lead expands to 49% in new CNN ORC poll, Feb. 24-27, 2016. Trump nationwide Republican support more than four remaining opponents combined-CNN

Poll dates, Fed. 24-27, 2016 (W-Sat.). 427 registered Republicans and Republican leaning independents, 5% error margin, land lines and cellphones. Link to CNN/ORC poll
Trump has expanded his lead [to 49 from 41 in Jan. 2016] over the diminished field to capture the support of nearly half of Republican voters....

The new survey finds Trump's lead is dominant, and his support tops that of his four remaining opponents combined. The businessman tops his nearest competitor by more than 30 points: 49% back Trump, 16% Marco Rubio, 15% Ted Cruz, 10% Ben Carson and 6% John Kasich.

Trump's supporters are incredibly enthusiastic about the coming election, and largely committed in their support for him. Nearly 8 in 10 say that they are more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous elections, among Republicans who are not supporting Trump, just 39% say they are more enthusiastic than in years past. Likewise, 78% of Trump's backers say they will definitely support him vs. 22% who say they could still change their minds. Among those backing other candidates, 57% say they are committed to their chosen candidate.

Trump is widely viewed as the candidate in the field who would be most effective at solving the country's problems, 51% vs. 17% for Cruz, 13% for Rubio and 10% for Carson, and as being best able to handle the responsibilities of being commander-in-chief, 48% say so, compared with 17% for Cruz and 15% for Rubio. The billionaire is also seen as the one who best understands the problems facing people like you, 46% Trump vs. 18% Cruz and 15% Rubio....

Asked who of the five candidates is most honest and trustworthy, 35% name Trump, 22% Carson-who has largely stayed out of the mudslinging-14% Cruz and 13% Rubio....

The CNN/ORC Poll was conducted by telephone February 24-27 among a random national sample of 1,001 adults. Results for the 418 registered voters who are Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. It is the same for results among the 427 Republican and Republican-leaning voters."

............................

Washington Post article about CNN poll: Trump lead expands, support appears much broader than expected:

2/29/16, "These new Trump poll numbers should absolutely terrify Republicans," Washington Post, Greg Sargent, Plum Line

[Ed. note: How does Washington Post define "Republicans"?]

Trump has wide lead among: college graduates, suburban Republicans, those earning $50,000 or more, and those under age 55:

"From the CNN poll’s internals:

Trump is dominating among Republicans and GOP leaners who are college graduates, with 46 percent, to 19 percent for Rubio, 13 percent for Cruz, and nine percent for Kasich.

Trump is dominating among suburban Republicans, with 51 percent, to 16 percent for Rubio, 13 percent for Cruz, and six percent for Kasich. As James Hohmann has reported, Rubio’s strategy is heavily focused on winning suburban areas in many Super Tuesday states and beyond.

Trump is dominating among Republicans who make $50,000 or more, with 50 percent, to 16 percent for Rubio, 15 percent for Cruz, and eight percent for Kasich.

Trump is dominating among Republicans who are under 55, with 47 percent, to 17 percent for Rubio, 14 percent for Cruz, and five percent for Kasich. (Unfortunately, the samples are too small to break out younger groups.)

These are very crude categories, to be sure. And it’s hard to know how much national numbers such as these tell us about upcoming state contests. But these findings raise at least the possibility that Trump’s appeal is proving much broader among Republican voters than expected. They also suggest the possibility that Rubio may not be able to beat Trump among more mainstream and more educated voters in the manner he must....

The new CNN national poll...finds that Trump has expanded his lead among registered Republican and GOP-leaning independent voters nationally: He has 49 percent; Rubio has 16 percent; Cruz has 15 percent; Ben Carson has 10 percent; and John Kasich has nine percent. Two of the four days of polling were taken after last week’s GOP debate, which was supposed to be a dramatic game-changer for Rubio....

TRUMP DOMINATING IN SOUTHERN STATES: NBC polls released over the weekend find Donald Trump leading Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in Georgia (30-23-23) and Tennessee (40-22-19). NBC re-contacted close to 30 percent of respondents after last week’s GOP debate, which was supposed to be a huge breakout for Rubio, and found:
Movement in the GOP horserace was negligible, according to the re-contact interviews: Trump, Rubio and Cruz kept about 90 percent of their supporters; Carson kept about 80 percent of his; but Kasich kept only about 60 percent of his backers.
Meanwhile, new CBS News polls find Trump leading Cruz and Rubio in Georgia by 40-29-22 and Trump leading Rubio and Cruz in Virginia by 40-27-22. Rubio is making a big play for Virginia, too.

*BUT TED CRUZ LEADS IN TEXAS: The new NBC polling finds Cruz leading Trump and Rubio in Texas by 39-26-16. And the new CBS polling puts it at 42-31-19."...





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Trump rally at Radford University, Radford Virginia, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016
















 








2/29/16, "Donald Trump gestures while speaking during a rally on Monday at Radford University in Radford, Va.," photo via US News, 2/29/16, "Clinton, Trump Poised to Win Big Battles in Virginia," USNews, Joseph P Williams, Richmond, Va.




















 








2/29/16, Trump rally in Radford, Virginia, "THANK YOU VIRGINIA! Get out and tomorrow! Off to Georgia now! Daniel Scavino twitter






...................

NASCAR CEO and race car drivers endorse Donald Trump at Georgia rally on eve of Super Tuesday. NASCAR CEO: 'Mr. Trump is changing American politics forever and his leadership and strength are desperately needed'

2/29/16, Valdosta, Ga., Trump rally




2/29/16, "NASCAR CEO, race car drivers endorse Trump," The Hill, Lisa Hagen

"Donald Trump on Monday night received endorsements from NASCAR's CEO and several race car drivers on the eve of Super Tuesday.

The GOP front-runner announced the support from Brian France at a rally in Valdosta, Ga. Retired driver Bill Elliott and current drivers Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman and David Lee Regan are also backing the real estate mogul.

Mr. Trump is changing American politics forever and his leadership and strength are desperately needed. He has had an incredible career and achieved tremendous success. This is what we need for our country,” (NASCAR CEO) France said.

It is my great honor to endorse Mr. Trump for President of the United States. He is a leader representing strength and common sense solutions,” Bill Elliot said.  

Fresh off three consecutive wins, Trump is expected to sweep many of the 11 Super Tuesday contests and Washington lawmakers have started to flock to his campaign as he begins to look like the presumptive GOP nominee."





















Image above, 2/29/16, Trump rally in Valdosta, Georgia, ""THIS IS A MOVEMENT!" Donald J. Trump| 2/29/2016 ," Daniel Scavino twitter  

....................................

Video image at top of post, 2/29/16, from WALB reporter, Valdosta, Ga., "It's a packed house for the Donald Trump rally. More than 6000 people are here." 4:37pm,

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2/29/16, "NASCAR CEO endorses Donald Trump," Orlando Sentinel, David Harris




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Rand Corp. survey: Greatest factor uniting Trump supporters is: “People like me don't have any say about what the government does.” Exceeds all other characteristics including education level, gender, age, race, job status, income, immigration views-Rand Corp., 1/27/16









 

"Figure 6: Percent Change in Odds of Preferring Candidate, if Respondent Agrees with the Statement, "People Like Me Don't Have Any Say""...  

............

Survey dates: Dec. 13, 2015-Jan. 6, 2016
......... 
1/27/16, "RAND Kicks Off 2016 Presidential Election Panel Survey," rand.org.blog, by Michael Pollard and Joshua Mendelsohn, commentary

(scroll to parag. after fig. 5): "Among people likely to vote in the Republican primary, people are 86.5 percent more likely to prefer Donald Trump as the first-choice nominee relative to all the others if they “somewhat” or “strongly agree” that “people like me don't have any say about what the government does. Using statistical techniques, we can conclude that this increased preference for Trump is over and beyond any preferences based on respondent gender, age, race/ethnicity, employment status, educational attainment, household income, attitudes towards Muslims, attitudes towards illegal immigrants, or attitudes towards Hispanics.

The role of “people like me don't have any say…” is not significantly related to preference for Cruz, Rubio, Clinton, or Sanders as the first choice for party nominee (where Clinton and Sanders are rated by likely Democratic primary voters). (See Figure 6.) [Above]...
.............. 

Current Survey......... 

 

We surveyed 3,037 members of the ALP between December 13, 2015 and January 6, 2016. As with other surveys, we weight responses to ensure that our results are representative of the U.S. (citizen) population, matching to the 2015 Current Population Survey. This survey comprises the baseline of the PEPS, and these ALP members will continue to be surveyed throughout the election cycle. Administering the baseline survey this early will enhance our ability to say with confidence whether opinions have or have not changed over the course of the campaign once the candidates start advertising, and the nominations become clear. These early measures will also help shed light on when an individual's position influences their choice of candidate, versus when a candidate's position influences an individual's views or position about issues.

Because this is only the baseline wave of PEPS data, the major contribution of the effort — the longitudinal, panel aspect — is yet to be realized. However, even with the initial baseline wave, the PEPS can help shed light on unexplored and underexplored aspects of this election, a few of which are illustrated below."...Chart above from rand.org.blog




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Tennessee lawmaker DesJarlais casts early vote for Trump as 'candidate best poised to make America great again.' Fifth GOP legislator to endorse Trump in past week -Washington Times, Politico, 2/29/16

Update, 2/29/16, Pennsylvania Rep. Tom Marino becomes 5th GOP lawmaker to endorse Trump

----------------
2/29/16, "Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee endorses Donald Trump," Washington Times, Victor Morton

"The Trump congressional caucus grew again Monday as a Republican House member announced he had voted for the tycoon as president.

In a statement, Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee said he was supporting Donald Trump for president and had already cast his vote early in his state’s “Super Tuesday” primary.

“While there are certainly things that I admire and respect in each of the remaining candidates, I believe Donald Trump is the candidate best poised to make America great again. As such, I was proud to cast my vote for Mr. Trump and look forward to supporting the eventual Republican nominee whomever that might be,” he said.

Three other Capitol Hill Republicans — Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York, and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama — have endorsed Mr. Trump, all within the past week."
 
..........................

2/29/16, "U.S. Rep. DesJarlais casts ballot for Trump during early voting," Knoxville News Sentinel, Michael Collins, Washington

"U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais on Monday became the first member of Tennessee's congressional delegation to say he is supporting Donald Trump for president.

The South Pittsburg Republican said in a statement released by his office that he voted for the New York real estate mogul and reality TV star during early voting.

"Republicans are fortunate in that we have an incredibly strong field of candidates running in the Republican Presidential Primary," DesJarlais said. "While there are certainly things that I admire and respect in each of the remaining candidates, I believe Donald Trump is the candidate best poised to make America great again. As such, I was proud to cast my vote for Mr. Trump."

Voters in Tennessee and a dozen other states will go to the polls on Tuesday to select their choices for the parties' presidential nominees.

More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel."

============

Rep. Marino "said Trump has “overwhelming support” in his district because “he’s the man for the unprotected...not the protected, not for the Wall Street people, not for the DC insiders, but for the hard-working taxpayers.”"

2/29/16, "Trump nabs endorsement from Pennsylvania Rep. Tom Marino," Politico, Daniel Lippman

"Marino is the fifth member of Congress to declare support for Trump."

"Rep. Tom Marino, a Republican from the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, is jumping on the Trump train.

Marino on Monday became the fifth sitting member of Congress to publicly throw his support to Donald Trump, as the Republican front-runner rolls toward Super Tuesday. In an exclusive interview Monday with POLITICO, Marino, a former prosecutor, said Trump has “overwhelming support” in his district because “he’s the man for the unprotected...not the protected, not for the Wall Street people, not for the DC insiders, but for the hard-working taxpayers.

The congressman called endorsing Trump “one of my life-changing moments” — along with quitting his job at 30 to go to college and law school, adopting his children, and deciding to run for Congress in 2010....

“Donald Trump is saying what the voters agree on and what the voters are feeling,” Marino said, adding that voters are angry at the political system generally....

Marino contrasted Trump's startling success this primary season with an event several years ago that he said epitomized the disdain Washington elites have for average voters. During debate on a border security bill nearly two years ago, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi allegedly told Marino he was "insignificant."

Marino said he wasn't courted by Trump or anyone else, nor is he looking for anything from Trump. “No one’s courted me," he said. "I’m just a third term congressman from rural Pennsylvania.”

He joins Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter (Calif.) and Chris Collins (N.Y.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.) in officially endorsing Trump, while Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) declared Monday that he voted for Trump in his state's primary."...







In red, Pennsylvania district #10, google maps

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Ed. note: Please excuse bright white blotches above and below. Google dislikes free speech.



----------

Trump surging in Georgia ahead of Super Tuesday, now at 39 among Georgia registered Republican voters, wide support across all demographics-WSB TV, Atlanta, 2/29/16

Trump 39
Rubio 20
Cruz 15

No link to poll

2/29/16, "POLL: Trump widens Republican lead ahead of Super Tuesday," WSB TV, Atlanta, Ga.

"Super Tuesday is less than 24-hours away and a new Channel 2 Action News / Landmark RosettaStone poll is showing support for Republican front-runner Donald Trump is growing in Georgia.

Despite an onslaught of attacks, Trump is surging in the polls, up 7 points in a week, leading with 39 percent amongst registered Republican voters.

Trumps gains come at the expense of Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, at 20 percent and 15 percent respectively. Both men have lost ground since the last poll done by Channel 2 Action News."

Trump:

Age groups:

18-39 39.5

40-64 36.7

65+ 41.6
..................

Race

White 39.6

African American 28.8

Other 27.8





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Sunday, February 28, 2016

No screaming allowed from tv studio audience at Republican primary debate in Tampa, Fla., Jan. 2012. Audience told to remain silent. Debate audiences had cheered wildly for Gingrich in South Carolina. Nat. Journal: Gingrich can't win without crowd 'egging him on'-NY Times, Jan. 2012

1/23/2012, "9:47pm: Caucus Click: A Silent Crowd," NY Times Caucus blogs, Tampa, Fla.

























1/23/2012, image caption: "The crowd was asked to refrain from cheering and shouting during the debate." Chip Litherland for The New York Times. Tampa, Florida


==========================

10:04pm, 1/23/2012: NBC GOP debate moderator, Brian Williams, before TV cameras came on, told audience members to refrain from applause during the debate except when cameras were away for commercials:
........... 
Jan. 23, 2012, "Tampa's Subdued Audience," NY Times, Michael D. Shear, Tampa, Fla.

"The audience here has been exceptionally quiet. That may reflect the admonition that the moderator, Brian Williams, gave the audience members before the TV cameras came on, urging them to refrain from applause during the debate.

Or it may reflect a more academic audience, as the debate is being held at the University of South Florida. It might also have something to do with the fact that this is the first debate in a while that is not sponsored by a state Republican Party.

Or maybe it reflects the fact that Mr. Gingrich has been on the defense, not able to get to his usual rhetoric about criticizing the media -- which usually fires up the audience.

Either way, it's been a very quiet, polite night in the hall."

...........

============
........
9:57pm, 1/23/2012, Quiet GOP Tampa Debate compared to South Carolina debates:

"Lack of a big crowd reaction compared to SC debates makes #fldebate feel less of a prize fight than it has been. @dickstevenson on Twitter" Richard W. Stevenson 

================== 
======================

Jan. 24, 2012, "Gingrich Threatens to Skip Debates if Audiences Can’t Participate," NY Times Caucus Blogs, Jeremy W. Peters 

"Newt Gingrich insists his fans will not be silenced. Mr. Gingrich, a former House speaker, on Tuesday morning threatened not participate in any future debates with audiences that have been instructed to be silent. 

That was the case on Monday, when Brian Williams of NBC News asked the audience of about 500 people who assembled for a debate in Tampa to hold their applause until the commercial breaks.

In an interview with the morning show “Fox and Friends,” Mr. Gingrich said NBC’s rules amounted to stifling free speech. In what has become a standard line of attack for his anti-establishment campaign, Mr. Gingrich blamed the media for trying to silence a dissenting point of view. 

“I wish in retrospect I’d protested when Brian Williams took them out of it because I think it’s wrong,” Mr. Gingrich said. “And I think he took them out of it because the media is terrified that the audience is going to side with the candidates against the media, which is what they’ve done in every debate.” 

Mr. Gingrich soared to victory in the South Carolina last week after back-to-back debates in which he took on the moderators with as much zeal as he took on his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. The audiences, which were far larger and encouraged to participate, cheered him on as he pushed back. First he lashed out at Juan Williams of Fox News for suggesting that Mr. Gingrich’s comments about blacks and welfare were offensive. Then he snapped at John King of CNN for opening the debate with a question about accusations that he had asked an ex-wife for an “open marriage.” 

Mr. Gingrich’s performance in the debate in Tampa on Monday night was far more muted. Critics noted that he seemed to be off his game. The National Journal, which co-hosted the NBC debate, compared Gingrich to “a stand-up comedian whose routine suffers without echoes of laughter egging him on. 

Mr. Gingrich clearly noticed something was off, too. “We’re going to serve notice on future debates,” he told Fox. “We’re just not going to allow that to happen. That’s wrong. The media doesn’t control free speech. People ought to be allowed to applaud if they want to.”

Applause and lively audience participation have been a part of most debates this primary season, though some moderators have been more permissive of it than others. Scott Pelley of CBS News scolded a South Carolina audience for booing during a debate in November. “We will have respect for everyone on stage,” he told them.

At debates during the general election, which are governed by rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the audience is told to remain silent. “No cheers, no applause, no noise of any kind,” as Jim Lehrer reminded them in 2008.

CNN, which has encouraged its audiences to be engaged but not disrespectful, will host the next debate on Thursday in Jacksonville under rules that Mr. Gingrich is likely to find more to his liking."






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When Palm Beach social clubs barred African Americans and Jews, Donald Trump's lawyer sent copies of the film, 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,' to members of Palm Beach town council and filed a lawsuit against them

April 30, 1997, "Trump’s Palm Beach Club Roils the Old Social Order," The Wall Street Journal, by Jacqueline Bueno.

1967 film

Nov. 2015 article

11/13/15, "When Trump Fought the Racists," American Spectator, Jeffrey Lord

"A 1997 Wall St. Journal story featured his Florida fight against anti-Semitism, racists."

"The WSJ story...focuses on the battles Trump faced as a new arrival to Palm Beach, including his new competition with the social clubs of the old order....

It revolves around Trump’s purchase and operation of the famous Mar-a-Lago estate, built in the 1920s by Post Cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. Trump had recently purchased the sprawling, seaside estate and turned it into a club. This being located in upscale Palm Beach, Florida, there were other prestigious clubs in the area, clubs that catered to the old order of upper crust Palm Beach society. The problem? Quietly, these other clubs had long barred Jews and African Americans— which is to say they practiced a quiet but steely racism....

The (WSJ) story, which quotes Abe Foxman, the longtime head of the Anti-Defamation League, says, in part, the following: 

"Mr. Trump also has resorted to the courts to secure his foothold here, and many residents wince at the attention his legal battles with the town have drawn — to the town in general, and to the admission practices at some of Palm Beach’s older clubs in particular.
 
…The culture clash began to approach a climax last fall, when Mr. Trump’s lawyer sent members of the town council a copy of the film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” a film that deals with upper-class racism. Mr. Trump then approached the town council about lifting the restrictions that had been placed on the club. He also asked some council members not to vote on the request because their membership in other clubs created a conflict of interest.
............
Last December, after the council refused to lift the restrictions, Mr. Trump filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Palm Beach, alleging that the town was discriminating against Mar-a-Lago, in part because it is open to Jews and African-Americans. The suit seeks $100 million in damages."...

Mar-a-Lago
In other words? In other words, long before he was running for president, there was Donald Trump battling racism and anti-Semitism in Palm Beach society. Using every tool at his disposal.

The film he chose to send the Palm Beach town council was no accident. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was released in 1967 and starred film legends Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and Sidney Poitier. The Oscar-winning story revolved around a liberal, upper-class older couple who are stunned and discomfited when their daughter, played by Katharine Houghton, brings her new fiancé — Poitier — home to dinner and an introduction to her white parents. As liberals, her parents were staunch supporters of racial equality and had raised their daughter accordingly. Yet suddenly, in comes the very personal reality of equality when their daughter waltzes in the door after a vacation with husband-to-be Poitier, a black widower and doctor. Soul searching about just how devoted to equality they really are ensues. 

Thus it was no accident that Trump selected this movie to tweak the members of both the Palm Beach town council and the larger white society it represented. Trump understood exactly what the game was and he would have none of it. In addition to sending a copy of the movie, he launched his lawyers, who filed that $100 million lawsuit “alleging that the town was discriminating against Mar-a-Lago, in part because it is open to Jews and African-Americans.”...

Yet here comes the utterly predictable charge of racism from deportracism.com....

The harsh reality of the racism charge against Trump is not only that it is bogus, utterly false from start to finish. The reality is the charges of racism against Trump are coming from the one political force in the country that has a long, deep, and immutable history of racism. A racism that is no relic of a long ago past but both current and visceral, used now as it has always been used — to divide and judge by skin color for political profit.

The good news here that in Donald Trump someone — finally — is standing up to fight back. Just as he fought back all those years ago in Palm Beach when no one was looking."

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Above images from 11/3/2015, "How Trump Fought Racism and Anti-Semitism in Palm Beach Two Decades Ago," UK Telegraph blog, by brakeshoe

[Note: Despite the UK domain, I am happily ensconced in Cherry Hill, NJ]
[Comments on this article welcome on Facebook here]




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After assuring US Senators that Fox News would present immigration legislation coverage favorable to donor class, Rupert Murdoch advised Senators to get support of radio talk show hosts. Marco Rubio became pitchman on talk radio. Hosts were monitored "to the minute" on time they devoted to immigration-NY Times, 2/27/16, Rubio became donor class salesman on talk radio with hosts such as Limbaugh, Levin

2/27/16, "Marco Rubio Pushed for Immigration Reform With Conservative Media," NY Times, Jason Horowitz. "A version of this article appears in print on February 28, 2016, on page A22 of the New York edition with the headline: Rubio Pushed for an Overhaul of Immigration Policy With Conservative Media."

"A few weeks after Senator Marco Rubio joined a bipartisan push for an immigration overhaul in 2013, he arrived alongside Senator Chuck Schumer at the executive dining room of News Corporation’s Manhattan headquarters for dinner.

Their mission was to persuade Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the media empire, and Roger Ailes, the chairman and chief executive of its Fox News division, to keep the network’s on-air personalities from savaging the legislation and give it a fighting chance at survival.

Mr. Murdoch, an advocate of immigration reform, and Mr. Ailes, his top lieutenant and the most powerful man in conservative television, agreed at the Jan. 17, 2013, meeting to give the senators some breathing room.

But the media executives, highly attuned to the intensifying anger in the Republican grass roots, warned that the senators also needed to make their case to Rush Limbaugh, the king of conservative talk radio, who held enormous sway with the party’s largely anti-immigrant base. 

So the senators supporting the legislation turned to Mr. Rubio, the Florida Republican, to reach out to Mr. Limbaugh.

The dinner at News Corporation headquarters — which has not been previously reported — and the subsequent outreach to Mr. Limbaugh illustrate the degree to which Mr. Rubio served as the chief envoy to the conservative media for the group supporting the legislation. The bill would have provided a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants along with measures to secure the borders and ensure that foreigners left the United States upon the expiration of their visas.

It is a history that Mr. Rubio is not eager to highlight as he takes on Donald J. Trump, his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, who has made his vow to crack down on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign.

Those discussions of just a few years ago now seem of a distant era, when, after the re-election of President Obama, momentum was building to overhaul the nation’s immigration system.

The senators embarked on a tour of editorial boards and newsrooms, and Mr. Rubio was even featured as the “Republican savior” on the cover of Time magazine for his efforts to change immigration laws. He already was being mentioned as a 2016 presidential contender.

2/18/2013 Time cover
Now Mr. Trump has become the Republican leader in national polls by picking fights with Mr. Ailes and offending the Latino voters whom Mr. Rubio had hoped to bring into the Republican fold."...

[Ed. note: No link provided to substantiate this claim.]

(continuing): "And while Mr. Rubio ultimately abandoned the bipartisan legislation in the face of growing grass-roots backlash and the collapse of the conservative media truce, he, and to a certain degree Fox News, are still paying for that dinner.

Fox’s ratings remain strong, but its standing among Republican viewers, influenced by Mr. Trump’s offensive, has dropped to a three-year low, according to YouGov BrandIndex. And Mr. Rubio’s opponents, for whom Mr. Schumer, a Democrat from New York, has become the ultimate villain, continue to depict the Florida Republican as a duplicitous establishment insider.


“If you look at the ‘Gang of Eight,’ one individual on this stage broke his promise to the men and women who elected him and wrote the amnesty bill,” Senator Ted Cruz said of Mr. Rubio during Thursday’s Republican debate. And as Mr. Rubio defended himself, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, posted “MARCO ‘AMNESTY’ RUBIO” on Twitter.

The so-called Gang of Eight was four Democrats and four Republicans, including Mr. Rubio, who drafted an immigration bill in 2013. It passed the Senate but was stymied by conservative opposition in the House.

Details of the dinner, and a previous one in 2011, were provided to The New York Times by an attendee of one of the meetings and two people with knowledge of what was discussed at both get-togethers.

None of the attendees agreed to be identified for this article because the conversations were supposed to be confidential.
  
But on Monday, Mr. Limbaugh shed light on his interactions with the senators when he told a caller frustrated with his criticism of Mr. Rubio that the immigration position the senator had advocated “comes right out of the Gang of Eight bill.”

Mr. Limbaugh added, “I’ve had it explained to me by no less than Senator Schumer.”

Mr. Schumer declined to comment for this article. But before Mr. Obama’s re-election and soon afterward, he could hardly stop talking with conservative senators and media power brokers about the chance to pass comprehensive immigration legislation.

As early as March 9, 2011, Mr. Schumer joined Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and another eventual member of the Gang of Eight, at the Palm restaurant in Manhattan, where they made their case to Mr. Murdoch, Mr. Ailes and Mr. Limbaugh in a private room. The senators argued how damaging the word “amnesty” was to their efforts, and walked Mr. Limbaugh through their vision for an immigration overhaul.

The senators were especially eager to try to neutralize conservative media, which proved lethal to a big push for immigration changes in 2007. A study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism showed that conservative news shows had devoted about a quarter of their time to immigration.

In late 2012, after Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, lost the presidential election in part because of his dismal performance with Latino voters, Mr. Rubio joined the fight. On one Sunday alone in April 2013, he made an appearance on seven talk shows to advocate the immigration overhaul, including on “Fox News Sunday.”

Mr. Rubio also reached out to other conservative power brokers, including the radio hosts Mark Levin and Laura Ingraham, telling them that the legislation did not amount to amnesty. The Fox anchors Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly became more supportive.

At the time, The Washington Post reported that Mr. Rubio’s advisers were monitoring to the minute how much time the hosts devoted to immigration, and that “they are heartened that the volume is much diminished.”

Mr. Rubio publicly and privately worked to assuage the fears of Mr. Limbaugh, who on air called him a “thoroughbred conservative” and assured one wary listener that “Marco Rubio is not out to hurt this country or change it the way the liberals are.”

On Jan. 29, 2013, the same day Mr. Obama highlighted immigration in Las Vegas, Mr. Limbaugh had Mr. Rubio on as a guest to talk about immigration and called him “admirable and noteworthy” during a warm conversation about the bipartisan immigration plan.

I know for you border security is the first and last — if that doesn’t happen, none of the rest does, right?” Mr. Limbaugh lobbed.

“Well, not just that,” swung Mr. Rubio. “That alone is not enough.”

The conversation concluded with Mr. Rubio saying: “Thank you for the opportunity, Rush. I appreciate it.”

“You bet,” Mr. Limbaugh said."

Image: From Time.com, Time cover, Feb. 18, 2013
.............................

"Hanging around and chattering for decades," "the Conservative Entertainment Complex" derives "their income by pandering to conservative anger while offering no real solutions."

1/22/16, "National Review just handed Donald Trump the Election," Republican Newswatch, by Doug Ibendahl "Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party."

11/9/2015, Trump in Springfield, Illinois











"National Review’s publication of the collective anti-Donald Trump missives from 22 self-appointed conservative potentates has caused quite a stir in Republican circles.

The nationwide responses range from, “Wait, I thought National Review went out of business years ago,” to “Ed Meese? Seriously?

The Gang of 22 have officially become parodies of themselves. One would have to reach back to the days of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew to lift an adequate quote to describe them.

“Nattering nabobs of negativism,” “vicars of vacillation,” “pusillanimous pussyfooters,” “the decadent few,” “ideological eunuchs,” “the effete corps of impudent snobs,” or “the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history” – take your pick, because they all apply about equally well to each and every one of them.
............
So clueless is the Gang of 22 they can’t even see how they’ve stumbled right into the narrative Trump’s been communicating so successfully for months. Just like the elected officials from both parties, the Gang of 22 has been GREAT at complaining about stuff, year, after year, after year.

But getting anything accomplished? Not so much.
..........
Many of the Gang of 22 have been hanging around and chattering for decades, and some are active cogs in the Conservative Entertainment Complex, deriving their income by pandering to conservative anger while offering no real solutions.
 
Donald Trump represents a threat to these ineffectual poohbahs in the same way he represents a threat to do-nothing public officials.
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Jealousy is also seriously at work here. Trump is inspiring and exciting a broad spectrum of the country like no member of the Gang of 22 ever has, or ever will.

In just seven months of campaigning, Trump already has more Americans listening to a Republican message than the entire Gang of 22 could muster over decades. Trump understands that before you can advance the ball, you have to convince people to take time from their busy lives to listen. No one on the GOP side since Ronald Reagan has accomplished that like Trump.

No one else has come close, and certainly no one from that “effete corps of impudent snobs” to which the National Review thinks we should defer.

But Americans care about results. They can plainly see that all of the empty talk from the Gang of 22 got us eight years of Barack Obama, and a loss in pretty much every conservative battle there was to lose.
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At the same time when Americans look at Donald Trump’s life they get a lot of assurance that here is finally a man who shares their focus on actually getting results. And Trump returns the respect by recognizing regular hard-working Americans are a lot smarter than any of the “ideological eunuchs” in all of their pontificating glory.

The “pusillanimous pussyfooters” love to nitpick Trump’s words, but what voters are looking for this year is competence and accomplishment. Donald Trump has an actual record of delivering both in spades.
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The Gang of 22 is right to be terrified. A President who could get things done would expose them as the irrelevant creatures they truly are.
 
It can’t happen fast enough."
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Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party." image via Republican Newswatch"

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Added: "He is likable as hell, isn’t he, Mr. Producer!?"
 
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Comment: Most of us have known for years that Rush Limbaugh was Establishment. Meaning donor class, government class, America last, Americans last. He's been especially unhelpful to this country during Republican primary seasons including the one we're having now. At other times, he  provides useful information. For those interested, his website (RushLimbaugh.com) contains transcripts of his daily shows and links to news articles he uses. I don't know of any other radio talk show hosts who do this. A transcript provides information in seconds. A podcast or video, for example, isn't useful, except to authenticate. I need information quickly that can be shared quickly. Most people don't have extra hours daily to transcribe radio talk shows.



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I'm the daughter of a World War II Air Force pilot and outdoorsman who settled in New Jersey.