Subject: Beltway Insiders
From: "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Alexander S. Mackler" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2015 09:22:53 -0400

If this doesn't prove that Beltway insiders don't know what they are
talking about and have no understanding of the GOP base I don't know what
does.

Republicans Think Carson Did the Best
<http://politicalwire.com/2015/08/08/republicans-think-carson-did-the-best/>
August 8, 2015By Taegan Goddard <http://politicalwire.com/author/tdg/>7
Comments
<http://politicalwire.com/2015/08/08/republicans-think-carson-did-the-best/#disqus_thread>

A new Gravis Marketing poll
<http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ben-carson-scores-big-win-at-the-first-gop-debate-followed-by-marco-rubio-300125436.html>
finds
more Republicans thought Ben Carson did the best at the first GOP debate
this week with 22% saying he won, followed by Donald Trump at 19%, Marco
Rubio at 13%, Jeb Bush at 10%, Mike Huckabee at 9%, John Kasich at 8%, Ted
Cruz at 7%, Scott Walker at 7%, Rand Paul at 3% and Chris Christie at 2%.

THE POLITICO CAUCUS
<http://www.politico.com/p/tag/the-politico-caucus?ml=rl_l>
GOP insiders: Donald Trump is biggest loser

Insiders thought it was a rough debate night for the billionaire
businessman and rated Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as the winners.

By KATIE GLUECK <http://www.politico.com/reporters/KatieGlueck.html>

8/7/15 4:36 AM EDT

POLITICO Illustration / AP Photo

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Donald Trump’s first presidential debate was a disaster.

That’s the assessment of Republican insiders in this week’s POLITICO
Caucus, our weekly bipartisan survey of the top strategists, activists and
operatives in Iowa and New Hampshire. They offered their reactions
immediately after watching Thursday’s 9 p.m. prime-time debate in Cleveland.

Story Continued Below

Forty-four percent called the controversial real estate mogul the biggest
loser of the evening, critiquing everything from his refusal to rule out a
third party run, to perceived misogynistic comments to his acceptance of
single-payer health care in other countries.

“Trump is an egomaniacal thug and everyone who never watched The Apprentice
now knows that, too,” an Iowa Republican charged.

“What was his worst response: third party, chauvinism, single-payer, or
bankruptcies?” railed a New Hampshire Republican, who like all participants
was granted anonymity in order to speak freely. “His limited number of
supporters can’t look the other way on this stuff forever.”

“Trump came across as peevish in his refusal to support the victor of the
primary process,” said another New Hampshire Republican. “As a Republican I
was proud of all the candidates on the platform with the exception of
Trump.”
[image: CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 06: Republican presidential candidate Jeb
Bush fields a question during the first Republican presidential debate
hosted by Fox News and Facebook at the Quicken Loans Arena on August 6,
2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. The top ten GOP candidates were selected to
participate in the debate based on their rank in an average of the five
most recent political polls. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)]
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/gop-debate-takeaways-121142.html?ml=ri>

ALSO ON POLITICO
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/gop-debate-takeaways-121142.html?ml=ri>
The GOP debate: 7 takeaways
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/gop-debate-takeaways-121142.html?ml=ri>

GLENN THRUSH <http://www.politico.com/reporters/GlennThrush.html>

Trump, who went into the debate as the highest-polling candidate in the
field, has dominated headlines for weeks, sucking up oxygen from other
candidates and forcing fellow presidential hopefuls to take positions on
some of his more controversial statements concerning issues such as illegal
immigration.

Democrats have reveled at the unsettling effect Trump has had on the GOP
field, and sought to equate his views with those of the Republican Party.
So it was perhaps not surprising that more than a third of the Democrats
who are POLITICO Caucus participants named him as the winner of the debate,
noting that he was the center of attention in every respect— given his rank
in the polls, he even stood at the center podium.

“This was supposed to be the debate where the Trump was pushed out, instead
he got more air time, more often got the last line, and was the most
entertaining person on stage,” gloated a New Hampshire Democrat, who like
all participants responded through an online survey. “Tomorrow he will be
the candidate every American is talking about. And years from now the 2016
election will be remembered as the start of Hillary Clinton’s first term
and that time Donald Trump owned the GOP debates.”

Among Republican insiders, Trump’s refusal to rule out a third-party
candidacy left a bad impression, raising questions about his commitment to
the party and its conservative principles.

“Not committing to support the eventual nominee should send chills through
the GOP,” an Iowa Republican warned.

“He proved many folks’ worries that he’s all about himself and not the
conservative cause when he didn’t close the door on a 3rd party run,” said
another Iowa Republican.

For some Democrats, the distaste was too much to bear, even if many
separately thought his rise in the polls might benefit Hillary Clinton.
[image: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks as
former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, left, listens during the first
Republican presidential debate at the Quicken Loans Arena Thursday, Aug. 6,
2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)]
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/republican-debate-intra-party-fight-please-democrats-121138.html?ml=ri>

ALSO ON POLITICO
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/republican-debate-intra-party-fight-please-democrats-121138.html?ml=ri>
Dems get their 'food fight'
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/republican-debate-intra-party-fight-please-democrats-121138.html?ml=ri>

GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI
<http://www.politico.com/reporters/GabrielDebenedetti.html>

“Finally they put Donald Trump into context and his ignorance became
glaringly apparent…frankly I had to run out of the room every time he
opened his mouth,” a New Hampshire Democrat said.

Read more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/politico-caucus-republican-debate-donald-trump-biggest-loser-121146.html#ixzz3iEI88IzS

Eric D. Schwerin
[email-masked]

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