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Catch the full episode: https://www.wealthformula.com/podcast/224-multifamily-macroeconomics-in-the-twilight-zone/
Buck: Welcome back to the show everyone. Today my guest on Wealth Formula Podcast, he's been on the show before. He's economist Ryan Davis. He actually joined us at one of our last Wealth Formula meetups. Of course, the last one we had was canceled but Ryan was at the one before that. He serves as a chief operating officer at Witten Advisors and provides fact-based research analysis and discussion to help clients like us formulate their apartment strategies and these insights and for investment decisions for multi-family development and buy/sell opportunities which as you can imagine we're all looking for some of this advice these days. Ryan has a PhD in economics from the University of Texas. Ryan, welcome back to Wealth Formula Podcast.
Ryan: Thank you. Glad to be back.
Buck: Yeah it's been like a pandemic ago when we last talked right? Listen, you know I want to kind of jump into the whole you know what the heck is going on, I mean the overall, if you would, you know kind of give me your overall assessment of the economy. I mean obviously we know these huge drops in GDP etc which were expected last quarter. How is this all affecting real estate asset prices especially you know apartments which is you know is our interest and something that you specialize in?
Ryan: Sure so yeah the great unknown is the pace of the recovery. So we had that big drop through April in terms of employment and then we got a bounce back in May and June and the hope was that it was going to be a V-shaped recovery. But then we saw virus cases ramp back up in the second half of June into the early part of July and the local economy started rolling back some of their openings and so with that, we've kind of stalled out recently. So we'll get the July numbers this Friday for overall payroll gains and that could I think the consensus is anywhere between one, one and a half million jobs it could be negative so who knows but it looks like the hope for a v-shaped recovery in the economy has kind of stalled out after the first two months of optimism. And so we think that going forward we won't see any the worst is behind us really and so we won't see you know the big losses that we experienced in March and early into April so kind of what we're calling for right now is for the national economy to continue to add jobs for the remainder of the year and then beginning next year a recovery should emerge and that would sustain demand for housing and ultimately apartments going forward. In the near term as far as multi-family goes we expect some pain through the end of this year and then into the early part of next year. In terms of pricing power, if we had to boil it down to one number it's rent growth so year over year effective rent growth we think that declines to eight percent rent cuts this year and into the early part of 2021. That varies considerably on a local market basis I think our worst-performing market is Metro New York City probably no surprise there but then also many of the other gateway markets such as Boston, LA, the Bay Area, etc. We expect rent declines to be lower than that eight percent across the board, however many of the inner west, Texas, southeastern market should outperform still see rent declines but not closer to five/six percent range at the depth and so we expect near-term pain but then as we get out into 2021 and afterward and the economy begins to add a lot of jobs we would expect rent growth to return to multi-family. And then what that means for pricing in terms of apartment assets for right now in the second quarter hardly any deals trade at hand so it's really tough to get a sense of where pricing is and with the deals that have traded though the cap rates have remained relatively stable which is a good sign. We've heard from some of our merchant builder clients where they had assets they had constructed and were going out to the market to sell in the early part of April they were saying 10 discounts in terms of the compared to pre corona levels but that has since come back in the last 45-60 days and maybe it's only one to two percent in terms of the haircut that they're seeing out there right now. And there's a just a ton of capital that wants to get back into multifamily at the same time there's hardly any distress out there right now so there's a lack of available to you know supply to buy and so everyone is just kind of in this standstill there's a big ass gap because buyers aren't willing to pay yesterday's prices for assets but sellers aren't willing to give any you know deep discounts right now and so it's kind of a standstill and we’ll see how all this plays out.
Buck: Yeah you know it's really interesting we're obviously you know through, you work with Western Wealth Capital, one of my partners and you know it's funny because we were kind of thinking well maybe there'll be some real buying opportunities but you know we've seen a little bit maybe just you know from buyers who are sellers who just are just wanting to get out while they're ahead maybe they made some money you know maybe they and at this point you know they're just thinking let's just cash out and maybe they're willing to take a little bit less but for the most part you know if you look across our own portfolio and it might be because it's largely again Texas and Arizona, etc that and maybe it's because it's mostly working-class B and you know high C class apartment but our portfolio you know the numbers are just as good as they've ever been in terms of you know occupancy in terms of even our we're still raising rents. And so when you look at that you're like well I mean how do you expect there to be any you know smoking deals out there if the sellers really aren't feeling any distress. So is there a difference you know when you look at something like a B and C class apartment scenario versus A right now or have you been able to break that down a little bit because I think the people I know who are in the A-class and new build are you know they're certainly feeling things a little bit more than we are.
Ryan: Yeah so what we've heard from some of our clients in terms of early on so may June in terms of rent collections class A's were actually from a nationwide perspective actually exceeded the class B and C product. Now we don't think that will continue going forward and the main reason is that new deliveries that are coming online they will compete with the existing top of the market product and so we think that it will be short-lived in terms of the top of the market outperformance and another part is due to just the nature of this downturn where low-wage sectors were hit extremely hard in April, got some bounce back in May and June but the leisure and hospitality sectors lower-paying positions those have been the most impacted so far. But going forward we don't think that this downturn would be any different than prior recessions in terms of the class A leading the way down in terms of jobs and occupancy and also rent growth or rent cuts in the near term. So class A’s will lead the market down but then as we get out into the later part of next year and into early 2022 then class A's would outperform the broader market. So yeah we think through the end of this year until early next that B's and C's will hold up relatively better but that's mainly a function of just the competition that it takes to get these new projects they will get leased up it's just a matter of the market-clearing price and so those have to compete those could be mostly with the top end of the spectrum and so we see big rent declines and concessions in the class A space going forward.
Buck: You know there's this thesis that's going around in the multi-family space and you know I've been sort of you know looking at it this way too for a while though I'm starting to you know feel like it's maybe not gonna happen is this idea that there's going to be a potentially before we really rebound and start heading up again that there’ll potentially be a you know big tsunami of defaults and things like that. Right now at least what I'm you know seeing and hearing about in terms of the lending markets and in terms of these properties, there really isn't much indication of that right now is there I mean what do you think?
Ryan: No at least not in the short term I mean again there's it goes back to my earlier comment there's been no distress really and so that is due mainly to the huge stimulus packages that have been passed those from a fiscal standpoint and a monetary standpoint which is it's crazy to think that GDP declined at an annualized rate by 32 however incomes soared and so that's all due to the stimulus that we saw and so that's helped prop up renters incomes and allow them to pay rent. Now going forward I think some of these the number of defaults I don't think there will be a tsunami, at least that's how we view it right now, ask me again in a week and it could change, but I think that the defaults will be very market specific and so those geographies that have been hit harder we'll see a larger number but many of the Texas markets, Phoenix, Denver, southeast high growth markets where you've got this short-term tailwind in terms of folks at the margin more and the trends that have been in place for years of folks moving from gateway markets into these inner markets will be kind of you know given a stairway shot really in the near term and so that would help to prop up multi-family fundamentals and so yeah if you're expecting a tsunami of defaults in any of those markets that I've mentioned again it kind of gets a little bit granular in terms of you know potentially Orlando might have some problems just with the amount of supply and then the you know low-wage in tourism industries being impacted more dramatically and that would lead to some weakness in Orlando but out outside of that maybe Houston you could argue you know somewhat but outside of those two and those those areas of the inner west Texas, southeast Florida should be but hold up you know relatively well and I would think that the main stress points will be out you know on the coast in California potentially portland we do think seattle holds up relatively well and then northeast in terms of you know New York and Boston as well so I think it's very locally market driven.
Buck: Yeah it's interesting you know we did we were a little worried about Houston too but our you know Houston portfolio is actually doing awesome it's not having any problems at all which is which was you know again, knock on wood that’s what it's been so far. Let me ask you another question you mentioned the pent-up demand of you know money on the sidelines waiting to get back in and you know and in many situations, they have to get back in right they're mandated to deploy capital and that sort of thing do you the one thought that I've had through this is you know multi-family and well multi-family in general has held up so well during this period of time does that potentially create a situation where you know the big money that's coming in starts looking at this even harder as potentially a little bit of a hedge or a little bit of safe haven. What what do you guys think is going to be the effect of that you know the relatively stable performance and then ultimately you know having all of this money on the sidelines,? Do you see paradoxical even further compression of cap rates over the next couple years? What's your thought on that?
Ryan: Yeah and so kind of pre-corona our forecast was for cap rates to continue to decline and you know taking a step back it was mainly driven by global factors with the aging populations across the globe that have built wealth up and all that investment needed to be placed somewhere. And so those trends were driving returns lower for longer and so those are the demographic that have not been affected by the pandemic. And so just from a global standpoint, we're expecting returns across all assets whether stocks bonds you know all classes of real estate whether it's multi or industrial retail office, etc those returns would continue to head lower. Now we've had the pandemic and we've seen multi-family and industrial hold up exceedingly well and who knows what to make of retail office and lodging just lots of pain and in those sectors and so if you need to be allocated to real estate then multifamily and industrial or where you want to be at least in the short term and especially if you're looking for consistency of returns and you know risk-adjusted on a risk-adjusted basis you know multi-industrial or have outperformed other asset classes and so really to get into the lodging office retail space probably more opportunistic mindset in terms of those assets may need to be repositioned etc and so I think a lot of that money that's out there is not looking to get there's a lot that's looking for that type of asset turnaround story but there's also a lot of money out there that needs the stability. And so that should continue to compress cap rates or put a really put a cap on that cap rates and so it would be no surprise if cap rates on an aggregate basis hold steady and maybe even decline despite a deterioration in short-term fundamentals and part of that is due to the long-term belief in apartments going forward and so yes there's a short-term dislocation where we expect some move-outs that you know this year actually there are a lot of move-outs that we expect and so there's going to be a lot of doubling up folks moving back in with their families but then there's going to be pent up demand as we as that recovery takes hold next year and that will be released and so we see leasing to be through the roof next year and then out into 2022. Then at the same time as that demand story improves in the short term we see starts decelerating dramatically so we've we're going from a 400,000 unit run rate to about 200,000 units by the early part of next year. And so new production is going to get cut in half now that we don't get any benefit of that immediately so we have to wait till later part of 2022 and 2023 before we see that slowdown and production really lift fundamentals and so I think everyone is seeing that yes there's some short-term disruption in the multi-family market right now, but the long-term drivers are there and if you have the capital to wait out this very painful period in the short term then there will be major benefits after that we should see after next year.
Buck: Now one of the things you said I think earlier is that the worst is behind us do you believe that's the case in terms of rent growth and you know rent cuts and that sort of thing right now?
Ryan: I think the worst is behind us in terms of the economy. I think that going forward we should continue to produce job gains on a monthly basis, though this next report could see some layoffs we'll see the consensus is one million one and a half. In terms of multi-family we do not think the worst is behind us we think that fundamentals will continue to deteriorate into the early part of next year we think that you know kind of right now in terms of year over year rent growth in the early part of this year let's call it three, three and a half percent we've since gone down to zero percent in the second quarter. So on a quarterly basis we've seen some dramatic rent cuts, again this is on a national basis and then as we move forward we see occupancy dropping by about three percentage points into the early part of next year, rent declines of about eight percent through the remainder of this year into the first quarter of next year and so no we do think that there will be some deterioration and fundamentals going forward. On the flip side of that might present some opportunities and so any assets that were purchased specially in your space in terms of if they were bought at the top of the market at the end of last year in the early part of this year and now that value-add story isn't there where you might not be able to get the rent bumps that you were expecting so some of those assets will have to be recapitalized and so that might present some opportunity as the year progresses but again like you said we haven't seen that materialized so far.
Buck: Yeah that's the tricky part right I mean it's sort of like I think when you're on the buy side here you're saying well I mean these prices that we're seeing right now you know with prolonged you know low-interest rates which we can pretty much guarantee at this point for a period of time and then the pent-up demand. It's sort of like okay well I mean this actually might be one of the better times to buy if you consider what could potentially happen in the next you know 18 to 24 months in terms of you know explosive growth. When you look at those indicators that you're you know that you're talking about that may lead to some of the more explosive growth metrics what markets come to mind the most for you?
Buck: Now one of the things you said I think earlier is that the worst is behind us do you believe that's the case in terms of rent growth and you know rent cuts and that sort of thing right now?
Ryan: Yeah so our general geographic areas that we like we like the southeast, parts of Florida, Texas and the inner west. We really like Atlanta, we like South Florida though there's a little more pain in the short term some of our clients are saying it kind of in terms of you know rent collections you know northeast but also yeah LA but then South Florida is outperforming those two areas but still lagging some of these other markets. So we like the Texas markets long term the interwebs you have Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake as well. We like Seattle that's an outlier on the west coast but then the other markets whereas in the Bay Area we expect those you know rent growth numbers to average four, four and a half percent which stack up really well across the nation but for those markets that's a recession pretty much and so compared to what's normal and the cap rates you have to pay the rent growth numbers there kind of you know lackluster. So the midwest the markets they won't be hit as hard but still they don't get that explosive growth going forward and so we really like the inner West Texas, southeast of Florida markets and you know part of that has been driven being driven by the migration flows. So domestic migration numbers have really helped out all of these markets we've seen outflows from the northeast boston new york the bay area Southern California we've seen migration outflows from those markets into the you know inner west you know Las Vegas the inland Phoenix, Denver you know people moving from the coast into those markets and then you know also parts of texas as well but then in terms of the northeast the flows that are coming in to the Nashvilles the Charlottes, Raleighs, Atlanta, Florida markets we and then also Texas as well and so those trends have been accelerated at least in the short term, but it's important to remember that those have been going on for a decade at least even more and then other markets and so it's not anything new but at the margin that will support many of these other markets.
Buck: Yeah on the west coast I mean there's that flight to Arizona as well right from California. One of the things that you know is worth talking about is what effect this has had you know the pandemic and the recession on the lending market, with Fannie and Freddie and you know how that might be playing into any of the growth or lack of growth.
Ryan: Yeah I think on the financing side you know debt for stabilized assets it's there and it's cheap you may have to you know have higher reserves than you've had typically but for the most part it's there and so that's part of the appeal of buying assets right now with these record low interest rates. So I think for stabilized assets yeah it's there for new construction it is dried up considerably and this is a change in the last 30 to 60 days and so the fed does a survey each quarter of banks and their tightening of multi-family construction lending standards and that the latest report shows 70 percent of banks tighten their multi-family construction loans last quarter which we haven't seen those levels since 2008/2009. And so I think part of it's the lenders are trying to make sense of what they have in terms of all these other asset types in terms of real estate or retail, lodging, office loans, they're trying to you know spend a lot of time working those out and so then you add on the uncertainty in terms of the economic recovery etc, they've pretty much put a halt on new construction loans. And so that's been a big change here in the last two months call it. Then on the equity side I think returns have been increased but still available and interested but you know a lot of you know equity and especially focusing in on the new starts pipeline if all the deals that have been started are continuing and it's kind of a mixed bag from our clients in terms of are you seeing delays or actually some other clients that reported these they were able to speed up the timing in terms of getting able to get trucks into sites very easily and then also the construction workers that were on you know working on hotels motels those have come into the apartment sector and so that's provided more manpower in terms of getting these deals done. And so those that were under construction are continuing to proceed, those that were capitalized I think that but haven't begun those have been they haven't pulled out completely they just said let's press pause to see let's say can we get any break in construction costs over the next several months and so the equity and banks they're still willing to do it move forward on those deals that have been capitalized but are you know slow playing it. And then you get to the others where there's land sites and they hadn't been entitled and haven't been capitalized those deals we think have been shelved for right now and so it kind of where some opportunity could be is on the land side of you know potentially purchasing some land sites that might be teed up for development as we get further along in this recovery.
Buck: Again one of the things that you're saying though in terms of construction loans not being there again it helps us for those of us who have apartment portfolios already that are already there that that again goes to the issue of a simple supply and demand issue which we can benefit from if there's not a whole lot of new builds. You know this is a major driving variable in in apartment buildings nationally can you give us a little bit of the idea of you know just not being able to keep up with you know population growth in various parts of the country, can you give us a little bit of you know sort of a thousand-foot view on the perspective on how big of an issue that actually is?
Ryan: I don't know if it's that big of an issue you know on on the whole and I think that you know some of these higher growth markets in terms of where we've you know call it the Atlantas and North Carolina markets, Central North Florida, Texas, the inner west regions where we've seen large population growth statistics you know high growth markets but they're also they also tend to be the highest in terms of supply for housing and so it's more easy to build in those markets especially you know out as you get away from the know central cities etc and so where we've seen the the biggest barriers to supply are out on the coast and so we've seen you know job growth be pretty good in those markets but the supply hasn't kept up at all and so that's why you're seeing you know these big you know rent affordability you know problems in the coastal markets and so we think that supply not keeping up with the population dynamics is more of a coastal problem but then you know as you get into the markets that are more accepting of new development then you know we've seen housing supply increase at a rapid clip in many of these other markets I think you know Austin you know even through the June of this year permit activity for multi-family continued to set it reached big big levels and so I think year to date in Austin it's already pulled permits on almost 10,000 units already which is you know huge numbers. And so I do think that while these population growth numbers and some of these markets are you know off the charts especially compared to you know some of the coastal markets, that supply has been able to keep up there and so yeah you see pockets of where you know rent growth you know bumps up to you know five, six percent levels, it's especially that was the case in Phoenix and Las Vegas over the past two to three years where those markets were leading in terms of rent increases but they tend to you know be markets that you know will accept more new supply and so that will tend to even out over the long term.
Buck: How's Vegas doing out of curiosity because that one was just crushing it. It seemed it seemed a little dangerous you know it seemed like one of those markets where it's like wow is it real or is it one of those things that's just gonna go back to Vegas.
Ryan: Yeah exactly and yeah kind of thinking that you know before kind of goes back to your comment earlier about people moving from the coast to getting in their car and driving to the riverside and then Las Vegas and Phoenix and so it was benefiting from a real out-migration from expensive coastal California. That said that just the nature of this pandemic crushing leisure and hospitality and the conference circuit that the job losses in Las Vegas I think you know through April into May led the nation. We've seen some a bit of a bounce back there but really the question is you know how fast does the the conference you know a circuit come back, how fast are people willing to travel to casinos, I know they have already, but I think that pre-corona the growth was real and yeah absolutely now it's a little bit different you know market in terms of the cost and you don't want to go in there and if you're a developer you don't you know want to build a high-rise there and so your strategy is a little bit different but so far it's held up relatively well, all things considered, but still a lot of weakness that is materializing in Vegas.
Buck: Interesting stuff. Well listen I don't want to keep you all day long, Ryan, but it's been great talking to you. Where can we learn more about your work?
Ryan: Sure. Probably the easiest is wittenadvisors.com you can go there, all our contact information is there, feel free to reach out with a phone call or send me an email anytime and I'll be happy to give you more details on the services that we provide and how we add value to many clients that are in either owner, operators, developers, equity or lender clients.
Buck: Fantastic thanks again and we'd love to have you again you know in a few months to reassess where we are at.
Ryan: All right. Sounds good. Looking forward to it.
Buck: We'll be right back

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On the roster: Voter fraud means new election in North Carolina - Klobuchar’s horrible boss stories pile up – N.H. poll: 40 percent of GOP voters want primary fight – Vilsack won’t challenge Ernst – ‘Love you! Bye, bye!’
VOTER FRAUD MEANS NEW ELECTION IN NORTH CAROLINA
Raleigh News & Observer: “After a stunning reversal by Republican Mark Harris, North Carolina election officials Thursday unanimously ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District, which has gained national attention as the last unresolved House race for the 2018 election. The state elections board’s vote came after four days of testimony about what the board’s staff called ‘a coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ in Bladen and Robeson counties. And it came less than an hour after a startling announcement by Harris, who had been fighting to have his apparent victory certified. … The state board will set dates for a new election in the district with election officials outlining a possible May primary and October general election. A new state law requires a primary election, though legal challenges are expected. It is not certain whether Harris will run again. [Democrat Dan McCready] already has raised more than $500,000 toward a new election.”
State Republicans in a quandary - WCNC: “Charlotte-area Republican leaders are now plotting their strategy following the North Carolina’s Board of Elections decision to have a new election in the 9th congressional district. …Union County GOP chair Dan Barry said, in retrospect, the party was wrong to push for certification of the race before the evidence came out. Barry said it’s too premature to consider possible candidates to run in the special election.”
THE RULEBOOK: NO ONE LIKES A BAD NEIGHBOR
“The interfering and unneighborly regulations of some States, contrary to the true spirit of the Union, have, in different instances, given just cause of umbrage and complaint to others…” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 22TIME OUT: HUMAN SIZED DINOSAUR DISCOVERED
Atlantic: “In 2012, Lindsay Zanno was searching for dinosaur fossils in the hillsides of eastern Utah when she found a bone protruding from the hillside. … It took several years … to work out that they were once the right leg of a tyrannosaur—a cousin of the famed Tyrannosaurus rex. But at just 170 pounds and six feet long from nose to tail, this new human-size dinosaur was _much_ smaller than its more famous relative. … Its discovery means that 96 million years ago, North American tyrannosaurs were still pretty small. That dramatically narrows the timing of their eventual ascension to a much shorter 15-million-year span. … ‘This doesn’t completely solve the mystery of why the tyrannosaurs took over from allosaurs, but like a partial fingerprint at a crime scene, it provides important context and helps rule out some theories,’ [Steve Brusatte] says.”
Flag on the play? – Email us at [email protected] with your tips, comments or questions.
**SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance
Average approval: **41.8 percent
Average disapproval: 54.4 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: no change
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve – 52% disapprove; Gallup: 44% approve – 52% unapproved; CNN: 42% approve – 54% disapproval; IBD: 39% approve – 57% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve – 57% disapprove.]
KLOBUCHAR’S HORRIBLE BOSS STORIES PILE UP
NYT: “Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience. An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it… The moment … encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senator’s team… [M]any of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing — not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust.”
Dems team up against Bernie over his stance on Maduro - Politico: “Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state. Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries European countries. Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. … Democrats, already alarmed that Trump’s inroads with Venezuelans could help him peel off an otherwise-reliable Democratic voting bloc in a toss-up state, were quick to denounce Sanders’ comments. ‘He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation,’ Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles and, told POLITICO.”
Continetti: ‘Why Kamala Harris may be her own worst enemy’ – Free Beacon:“As Democrats search for someone new to lead them against President Trump, [Kamala Harris] has distinguished herself from the field. … In these early weeks of what is certain to be a seemingly endless and certainly vitriolic campaign, Harris has demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses. Her strength is that she seems a perfect fit for the current shape of the Democratic Party. Her weakness is a blithe and insouciant manner that is sure to cause her trouble. … What trips up Kamala Harris is an evident desire to please her audience. She wants no enemies to her left, no identity politics left untouched. She can’t run as a prosecutor—crime fighting is so 1990s—but she can run as brash, bold, and woke. Her verbal miscues are possible evidence that this latest political fashion doesn’t quite fit. She has made a habit of making unforced errors, and the game is only in its first month.”
N.H. POLL: 40 PERCENT OF GOP VOTERS WANT PRIMARY FIGHT
UMass Amherst: “With nearly 40 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire saying they would welcome a primary challenger to President Trump, a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst could highlight potential problems for the president. Thirty-nine percent of likely Republican voters in the Granite State said they think that President Trump should be challenged in the 2020 primary, according to poll results released today by the UMass Poll. … ‘While nearly 40 percent of all likely Republican voters believe President Trump should face a primary challenge, almost half of college-educated Republican voters believe that Trump should be ‘primaried,’’ said Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science and director of the UMass Poll. … Asked if the Mueller report would make them reconsider their vote for Trump, just 22 percent said it would affect their support for Trump if the report concludes that Trump conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.”
Hogan attacks RNC for protecting Trump from primary battle –Politico: “Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he expects to make a springtime trip to New Hampshire as he weighs a 2020 challenge to Donald Trump — and accused the Republican National Committee of going to extraordinary lengths to shield the president from a potentially draining primary. ‘Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It’s unprecedented. And in my opinion it’s not the way we should be going about our politics,’ Hogan, a popular two-term Maryland governor, said in an interview with POLITICO. ‘It’s very undemocratic and to say, ‘We’re in some cases not going to allow a debate, we may not have a primary…’’ ‘And the question is, what are they afraid of?’ he added.”
VILSACK WON’T CHALLENGE ERNST
Des Moines Register: “Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. Iowa operative Matt Paul confirmed the decision to the Register on behalf of Vilsack Friday. He had downplayed speculation that he might enter the race but has not sworn off the possibility completely. … In a Des Moines RegisteMediacom Iowa Poll this month a majority of Iowans — 53 percent — said they have a favorable view of Vilsack, who has a long history in the public eye. Vilsack also was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama and currently is the CEO and president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.”
Steve King re-election run means more headaches for GOP – Des Moines Register: “A defiant Rep. Steve King confirmed Thursday that he will run for a 10th term as an Iowa congressman, despite controversies over his history of caustic remarks, including about race and immigration. The Kiron Republican has been criticized by national and state leaders of his own party, has been stripped of committee assignments in Congress and has drawn three primary challengers for the 2020 race. In a Thursday taping of Iowa Public Television’s ‘Iowa Press’ program, host David Yepsen asked him: ‘Are you sorry for anything that you’ve said?’ The congressman replied: ‘I have nothing to apologize for, Dave.’ King confirmed that he will run for re-election in 2020, despite drawing three challengers for the Republican nomination.”
PLAY-BY-PLAY
_Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wore Confederate Army uniform in college yearbook photo_– Tennessean
Zinke said to face grand jury for lying to investigators about casino deal - WaPo
_Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson concerned over Trump’s emergency declaration_ - Politico
_Cohen will testify to Senate Intel Committee on Tuesday_ - WSJ
Historians worry as Obama ditches precedent, accountability with presidential library - NYT
_The curious case of Nomiki Konst_ - Politico
AUDIBLE: PLEASE CLAP
“The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters on Friday morning. Pelosi announced that the House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to try to block the president’s emergency declaration.ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
This weekend Mr. Sunday will sit down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DNC Chairman Tom Perez. Watch “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
#mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz has the latest take on the week’s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.
FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Thank you for your editorial on civics education. I am an old lady, so I really don’t know what they are teaching in schools today. I am shocked by my grandchildren’s ignorance on certain things I thought all students learned. I am afraid voting by a lot of people is done by popularity and personality and not by policy. I doubt if they ask ‘is this good America.’” – Jean Farrell, Fleming Island, Fla.[Ed. note: I don’t know what you consider an “old lady,” Ms. Farrell. But you most certainly seem to be a wise one.]
“For my entire life presidents have been declaring national emergencies and paying for them with monies that have been allocated elsewhere. I fail to see how anyone can suddenly conclude that this wall building action is suddenly any more constitutional than any of the previous actions. Our tax dollars have gone to build border walls in multiple other countries and no one ever said a thing. Now someone has the courage to try to protect the very citizens that they were elected to serve and everyone gets all shocked and dismayed and cries foul. I do see a problem and it starts and ends with term limits, not with some construction project!” – Brian J. Steiner, Fargo, N.D.[Ed. note: I’m not sure how old you are, Mr. Steiner, but only twice that I’m aware of have American presidents re-allocated congressionally appropriated dollars on domestic projects. Once was after 9/11 and the other was for reprogramming health funds in the face of the 2009 swine flu outbreak. In this case, the president repeatedly asked Congress to fund his project, even when both chambers were under his party’s control, and Congress repeatedly refused him. The will of Congress here is not ambiguous in any way. There have been nearly 60 emergency declarations in total since the law was passed aiming at reining in presidential overreach on the subject in 1975. The vast majority relate to things like foreign sanctions, arms trading etc. Whatever you may think about this bit of imperial execution, it is at the least different than the ones that came before it.]
“I took several of the sample citizenship tests and consistently answered all 20 questions correctly. For one test, I answered 19 correctly. Above the average yes, but what concerns me most is the one question that I got wrong. The question was, ‘Why did the colonists fight the British?’ Is one of the correct answers really ‘because the British army stayed in their houses?’ If that was the case, maybe we could have just asked them to leave! Didn’t ‘taxation without representation’ play a part in it? Just saying.” – Paul K. Schnier, Shoreham, N.Y.[Ed. note: It was a very big deal, indeed, Mr. Schnier. I give you the Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” The quartering of British soldiers was a huge vexation for the colonists. Imagine you and your family are at home on your farm in Shoreham and British troops marching out Long Island suddenly present themselves at your door. You and your family are forced out of your beds and watch helplessly as your house gets trashed and the redcoats eat and drink up all of your stores. In the morning, after you’ve provided them with a hearty breakfast, they march on. Maybe you get paid back by the governor, maybe you don’t. Never forget the degree to which he French and Indian war and the costs, disruptions and frictions it created gave birth to our own revolution.]
Share your color commentary: Email us at [email protected] and please make sure to include your name and hometown.
‘LOVE YOU! BYE, BYE!’
WJZY: “Another Ring video is getting a lot of attention after a little boy used the home security and surveillance system to ask his father to help find his favorite TV channel. In the video that’s now gone viral, the smart little boy from Haslett, Michigan is seen telling his dad that he couldn’t find the ‘Kid Channel’ on his television. So, he went outside to the doorbell surveillance camera to ask his dad for help in a hilarious and cute video that’s now been seen more than six million times. In the video, the boy, called ‘Baby Gracie,’ by his dad, explained that his mom was across the street and said he could come home and watch ‘the Kid Channel.’ The boy’s father is heard in the video walking through how to turn on the TV and use the remote. ‘Baby Gracie’ is seen bouncing off the screen with an enthusiastic ‘Love you! Bye bye!’”
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral ‘massacre’ (the Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government?” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Nov. 5, 2015. Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
Source: Fox News Politics
from MAGA First News https://magafirstnews.com/fox-news/voter-fraud-means-new-election-in-north-carolina/
via IFTTT

Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
On the roster: Voter fraud means new election in North Carolina - Klobuchar’s horrible boss stories pile up – N.H. poll: 40 percent of GOP voters want primary fight – Vilsack won’t challenge Ernst – ‘Love you! Bye, bye!’
VOTER FRAUD MEANS NEW ELECTION IN NORTH CAROLINA
Raleigh News & Observer: “After a stunning reversal by Republican Mark Harris, North Carolina election officials Thursday unanimously ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District, which has gained national attention as the last unresolved House race for the 2018 election. The state elections board’s vote came after four days of testimony about what the board’s staff called ‘a coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ in Bladen and Robeson counties. And it came less than an hour after a startling announcement by Harris, who had been fighting to have his apparent victory certified. … The state board will set dates for a new election in the district with election officials outlining a possible May primary and October general election. A new state law requires a primary election, though legal challenges are expected. It is not certain whether Harris will run again. [Democrat Dan McCready] already has raised more than $500,000 toward a new election.”
State Republicans in a quandary - WCNC: “Charlotte-area Republican leaders are now plotting their strategy following the North Carolina’s Board of Elections decision to have a new election in the 9th congressional district. …Union County GOP chair Dan Barry said, in retrospect, the party was wrong to push for certification of the race before the evidence came out. Barry said it’s too premature to consider possible candidates to run in the special election.”
THE RULEBOOK: NO ONE LIKES A BAD NEIGHBOR
“The interfering and unneighborly regulations of some States, contrary to the true spirit of the Union, have, in different instances, given just cause of umbrage and complaint to others…” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 22TIME OUT: HUMAN SIZED DINOSAUR DISCOVERED
Atlantic: “In 2012, Lindsay Zanno was searching for dinosaur fossils in the hillsides of eastern Utah when she found a bone protruding from the hillside. … It took several years … to work out that they were once the right leg of a tyrannosaur—a cousin of the famed Tyrannosaurus rex. But at just 170 pounds and six feet long from nose to tail, this new human-size dinosaur was _much_ smaller than its more famous relative. … Its discovery means that 96 million years ago, North American tyrannosaurs were still pretty small. That dramatically narrows the timing of their eventual ascension to a much shorter 15-million-year span. … ‘This doesn’t completely solve the mystery of why the tyrannosaurs took over from allosaurs, but like a partial fingerprint at a crime scene, it provides important context and helps rule out some theories,’ [Steve Brusatte] says.”
Flag on the play? – Email us at [email protected] with your tips, comments or questions.
**SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance
Average approval: **41.8 percent
Average disapproval: 54.4 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: no change
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve – 52% disapprove; Gallup: 44% approve – 52% unapproved; CNN: 42% approve – 54% disapproval; IBD: 39% approve – 57% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve – 57% disapprove.]
KLOBUCHAR’S HORRIBLE BOSS STORIES PILE UP
NYT: “Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience. An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it… The moment … encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senator’s team… [M]any of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing — not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust.”
Dems team up against Bernie over his stance on Maduro - Politico: “Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state. Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries European countries. Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. … Democrats, already alarmed that Trump’s inroads with Venezuelans could help him peel off an otherwise-reliable Democratic voting bloc in a toss-up state, were quick to denounce Sanders’ comments. ‘He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation,’ Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles and, told POLITICO.”
Continetti: ‘Why Kamala Harris may be her own worst enemy’ – Free Beacon:“As Democrats search for someone new to lead them against President Trump, [Kamala Harris] has distinguished herself from the field. … In these early weeks of what is certain to be a seemingly endless and certainly vitriolic campaign, Harris has demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses. Her strength is that she seems a perfect fit for the current shape of the Democratic Party. Her weakness is a blithe and insouciant manner that is sure to cause her trouble. … What trips up Kamala Harris is an evident desire to please her audience. She wants no enemies to her left, no identity politics left untouched. She can’t run as a prosecutor—crime fighting is so 1990s—but she can run as brash, bold, and woke. Her verbal miscues are possible evidence that this latest political fashion doesn’t quite fit. She has made a habit of making unforced errors, and the game is only in its first month.”
N.H. POLL: 40 PERCENT OF GOP VOTERS WANT PRIMARY FIGHT
UMass Amherst: “With nearly 40 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire saying they would welcome a primary challenger to President Trump, a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst could highlight potential problems for the president. Thirty-nine percent of likely Republican voters in the Granite State said they think that President Trump should be challenged in the 2020 primary, according to poll results released today by the UMass Poll. … ‘While nearly 40 percent of all likely Republican voters believe President Trump should face a primary challenge, almost half of college-educated Republican voters believe that Trump should be ‘primaried,’’ said Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science and director of the UMass Poll. … Asked if the Mueller report would make them reconsider their vote for Trump, just 22 percent said it would affect their support for Trump if the report concludes that Trump conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.”
Hogan attacks RNC for protecting Trump from primary battle –Politico: “Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he expects to make a springtime trip to New Hampshire as he weighs a 2020 challenge to Donald Trump — and accused the Republican National Committee of going to extraordinary lengths to shield the president from a potentially draining primary. ‘Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It’s unprecedented. And in my opinion it’s not the way we should be going about our politics,’ Hogan, a popular two-term Maryland governor, said in an interview with POLITICO. ‘It’s very undemocratic and to say, ‘We’re in some cases not going to allow a debate, we may not have a primary…’’ ‘And the question is, what are they afraid of?’ he added.”
VILSACK WON’T CHALLENGE ERNST
Des Moines Register: “Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. Iowa operative Matt Paul confirmed the decision to the Register on behalf of Vilsack Friday. He had downplayed speculation that he might enter the race but has not sworn off the possibility completely. … In a Des Moines RegisteMediacom Iowa Poll this month a majority of Iowans — 53 percent — said they have a favorable view of Vilsack, who has a long history in the public eye. Vilsack also was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama and currently is the CEO and president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.”
Steve King re-election run means more headaches for GOP – Des Moines Register: “A defiant Rep. Steve King confirmed Thursday that he will run for a 10th term as an Iowa congressman, despite controversies over his history of caustic remarks, including about race and immigration. The Kiron Republican has been criticized by national and state leaders of his own party, has been stripped of committee assignments in Congress and has drawn three primary challengers for the 2020 race. In a Thursday taping of Iowa Public Television’s ‘Iowa Press’ program, host David Yepsen asked him: ‘Are you sorry for anything that you’ve said?’ The congressman replied: ‘I have nothing to apologize for, Dave.’ King confirmed that he will run for re-election in 2020, despite drawing three challengers for the Republican nomination.”
PLAY-BY-PLAY
_Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wore Confederate Army uniform in college yearbook photo_– Tennessean
Zinke said to face grand jury for lying to investigators about casino deal - WaPo
_Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson concerned over Trump’s emergency declaration_ - Politico
_Cohen will testify to Senate Intel Committee on Tuesday_ - WSJ
Historians worry as Obama ditches precedent, accountability with presidential library - NYT
_The curious case of Nomiki Konst_ - Politico
AUDIBLE: PLEASE CLAP
“The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters on Friday morning. Pelosi announced that the House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to try to block the president’s emergency declaration.ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
This weekend Mr. Sunday will sit down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DNC Chairman Tom Perez. Watch “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
#mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz has the latest take on the week’s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.
FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Thank you for your editorial on civics education. I am an old lady, so I really don’t know what they are teaching in schools today. I am shocked by my grandchildren’s ignorance on certain things I thought all students learned. I am afraid voting by a lot of people is done by popularity and personality and not by policy. I doubt if they ask ‘is this good America.’” – Jean Farrell, Fleming Island, Fla.[Ed. note: I don’t know what you consider an “old lady,” Ms. Farrell. But you most certainly seem to be a wise one.]
“For my entire life presidents have been declaring national emergencies and paying for them with monies that have been allocated elsewhere. I fail to see how anyone can suddenly conclude that this wall building action is suddenly any more constitutional than any of the previous actions. Our tax dollars have gone to build border walls in multiple other countries and no one ever said a thing. Now someone has the courage to try to protect the very citizens that they were elected to serve and everyone gets all shocked and dismayed and cries foul. I do see a problem and it starts and ends with term limits, not with some construction project!” – Brian J. Steiner, Fargo, N.D.[Ed. note: I’m not sure how old you are, Mr. Steiner, but only twice that I’m aware of have American presidents re-allocated congressionally appropriated dollars on domestic projects. Once was after 9/11 and the other was for reprogramming health funds in the face of the 2009 swine flu outbreak. In this case, the president repeatedly asked Congress to fund his project, even when both chambers were under his party’s control, and Congress repeatedly refused him. The will of Congress here is not ambiguous in any way. There have been nearly 60 emergency declarations in total since the law was passed aiming at reining in presidential overreach on the subject in 1975. The vast majority relate to things like foreign sanctions, arms trading etc. Whatever you may think about this bit of imperial execution, it is at the least different than the ones that came before it.]
“I took several of the sample citizenship tests and consistently answered all 20 questions correctly. For one test, I answered 19 correctly. Above the average yes, but what concerns me most is the one question that I got wrong. The question was, ‘Why did the colonists fight the British?’ Is one of the correct answers really ‘because the British army stayed in their houses?’ If that was the case, maybe we could have just asked them to leave! Didn’t ‘taxation without representation’ play a part in it? Just saying.” – Paul K. Schnier, Shoreham, N.Y.[Ed. note: It was a very big deal, indeed, Mr. Schnier. I give you the Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” The quartering of British soldiers was a huge vexation for the colonists. Imagine you and your family are at home on your farm in Shoreham and British troops marching out Long Island suddenly present themselves at your door. You and your family are forced out of your beds and watch helplessly as your house gets trashed and the redcoats eat and drink up all of your stores. In the morning, after you’ve provided them with a hearty breakfast, they march on. Maybe you get paid back by the governor, maybe you don’t. Never forget the degree to which he French and Indian war and the costs, disruptions and frictions it created gave birth to our own revolution.]
Share your color commentary: Email us at [email protected] and please make sure to include your name and hometown.
‘LOVE YOU! BYE, BYE!’
WJZY: “Another Ring video is getting a lot of attention after a little boy used the home security and surveillance system to ask his father to help find his favorite TV channel. In the video that’s now gone viral, the smart little boy from Haslett, Michigan is seen telling his dad that he couldn’t find the ‘Kid Channel’ on his television. So, he went outside to the doorbell surveillance camera to ask his dad for help in a hilarious and cute video that’s now been seen more than six million times. In the video, the boy, called ‘Baby Gracie,’ by his dad, explained that his mom was across the street and said he could come home and watch ‘the Kid Channel.’ The boy’s father is heard in the video walking through how to turn on the TV and use the remote. ‘Baby Gracie’ is seen bouncing off the screen with an enthusiastic ‘Love you! Bye bye!’”
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral ‘massacre’ (the Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government?” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Nov. 5, 2015. Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
Source: Fox News Politics
from MAGA First News https://magafirstnews.com/fox-news/voter-fraud-means-new-election-in-north-carolina/
via IFTTT

Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
On the roster: Voter fraud means new election in North Carolina - Klobuchar’s horrible boss stories pile up – N.H. poll: 40 percent of GOP voters want primary fight – Vilsack won’t challenge Ernst – ‘Love you! Bye, bye!’
VOTER FRAUD MEANS NEW ELECTION IN NORTH CAROLINA
Raleigh News & Observer: “After a stunning reversal by Republican Mark Harris, North Carolina election officials Thursday unanimously ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District, which has gained national attention as the last unresolved House race for the 2018 election. The state elections board’s vote came after four days of testimony about what the board’s staff called ‘a coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ in Bladen and Robeson counties. And it came less than an hour after a startling announcement by Harris, who had been fighting to have his apparent victory certified. … The state board will set dates for a new election in the district with election officials outlining a possible May primary and October general election. A new state law requires a primary election, though legal challenges are expected. It is not certain whether Harris will run again. [Democrat Dan McCready] already has raised more than $500,000 toward a new election.”
State Republicans in a quandary - WCNC: “Charlotte-area Republican leaders are now plotting their strategy following the North Carolina’s Board of Elections decision to have a new election in the 9th congressional district. …Union County GOP chair Dan Barry said, in retrospect, the party was wrong to push for certification of the race before the evidence came out. Barry said it’s too premature to consider possible candidates to run in the special election.”
THE RULEBOOK: NO ONE LIKES A BAD NEIGHBOR
“The interfering and unneighborly regulations of some States, contrary to the true spirit of the Union, have, in different instances, given just cause of umbrage and complaint to others…” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 22TIME OUT: HUMAN SIZED DINOSAUR DISCOVERED
Atlantic: “In 2012, Lindsay Zanno was searching for dinosaur fossils in the hillsides of eastern Utah when she found a bone protruding from the hillside. … It took several years … to work out that they were once the right leg of a tyrannosaur—a cousin of the famed Tyrannosaurus rex. But at just 170 pounds and six feet long from nose to tail, this new human-size dinosaur was _much_ smaller than its more famous relative. … Its discovery means that 96 million years ago, North American tyrannosaurs were still pretty small. That dramatically narrows the timing of their eventual ascension to a much shorter 15-million-year span. … ‘This doesn’t completely solve the mystery of why the tyrannosaurs took over from allosaurs, but like a partial fingerprint at a crime scene, it provides important context and helps rule out some theories,’ [Steve Brusatte] says.”
Flag on the play? – Email us at [email protected] with your tips, comments or questions.
**SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance
Average approval: **41.8 percent
Average disapproval: 54.4 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: no change
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve – 52% disapprove; Gallup: 44% approve – 52% unapproved; CNN: 42% approve – 54% disapproval; IBD: 39% approve – 57% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve – 57% disapprove.]
KLOBUCHAR’S HORRIBLE BOSS STORIES PILE UP
NYT: “Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience. An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it… The moment … encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senator’s team… [M]any of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing — not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust.”
Dems team up against Bernie over his stance on Maduro - Politico: “Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state. Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries European countries. Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. … Democrats, already alarmed that Trump’s inroads with Venezuelans could help him peel off an otherwise-reliable Democratic voting bloc in a toss-up state, were quick to denounce Sanders’ comments. ‘He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation,’ Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles and, told POLITICO.”
Continetti: ‘Why Kamala Harris may be her own worst enemy’ – Free Beacon:“As Democrats search for someone new to lead them against President Trump, [Kamala Harris] has distinguished herself from the field. … In these early weeks of what is certain to be a seemingly endless and certainly vitriolic campaign, Harris has demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses. Her strength is that she seems a perfect fit for the current shape of the Democratic Party. Her weakness is a blithe and insouciant manner that is sure to cause her trouble. … What trips up Kamala Harris is an evident desire to please her audience. She wants no enemies to her left, no identity politics left untouched. She can’t run as a prosecutor—crime fighting is so 1990s—but she can run as brash, bold, and woke. Her verbal miscues are possible evidence that this latest political fashion doesn’t quite fit. She has made a habit of making unforced errors, and the game is only in its first month.”
N.H. POLL: 40 PERCENT OF GOP VOTERS WANT PRIMARY FIGHT
UMass Amherst: “With nearly 40 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire saying they would welcome a primary challenger to President Trump, a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst could highlight potential problems for the president. Thirty-nine percent of likely Republican voters in the Granite State said they think that President Trump should be challenged in the 2020 primary, according to poll results released today by the UMass Poll. … ‘While nearly 40 percent of all likely Republican voters believe President Trump should face a primary challenge, almost half of college-educated Republican voters believe that Trump should be ‘primaried,’’ said Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science and director of the UMass Poll. … Asked if the Mueller report would make them reconsider their vote for Trump, just 22 percent said it would affect their support for Trump if the report concludes that Trump conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.”
Hogan attacks RNC for protecting Trump from primary battle –Politico: “Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he expects to make a springtime trip to New Hampshire as he weighs a 2020 challenge to Donald Trump — and accused the Republican National Committee of going to extraordinary lengths to shield the president from a potentially draining primary. ‘Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It’s unprecedented. And in my opinion it’s not the way we should be going about our politics,’ Hogan, a popular two-term Maryland governor, said in an interview with POLITICO. ‘It’s very undemocratic and to say, ‘We’re in some cases not going to allow a debate, we may not have a primary…’’ ‘And the question is, what are they afraid of?’ he added.”
VILSACK WON’T CHALLENGE ERNST
Des Moines Register: “Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. Iowa operative Matt Paul confirmed the decision to the Register on behalf of Vilsack Friday. He had downplayed speculation that he might enter the race but has not sworn off the possibility completely. … In a Des Moines RegisteMediacom Iowa Poll this month a majority of Iowans — 53 percent — said they have a favorable view of Vilsack, who has a long history in the public eye. Vilsack also was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama and currently is the CEO and president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.”
Steve King re-election run means more headaches for GOP – Des Moines Register: “A defiant Rep. Steve King confirmed Thursday that he will run for a 10th term as an Iowa congressman, despite controversies over his history of caustic remarks, including about race and immigration. The Kiron Republican has been criticized by national and state leaders of his own party, has been stripped of committee assignments in Congress and has drawn three primary challengers for the 2020 race. In a Thursday taping of Iowa Public Television’s ‘Iowa Press’ program, host David Yepsen asked him: ‘Are you sorry for anything that you’ve said?’ The congressman replied: ‘I have nothing to apologize for, Dave.’ King confirmed that he will run for re-election in 2020, despite drawing three challengers for the Republican nomination.”
PLAY-BY-PLAY
_Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wore Confederate Army uniform in college yearbook photo_– Tennessean
Zinke said to face grand jury for lying to investigators about casino deal - WaPo
_Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson concerned over Trump’s emergency declaration_ - Politico
_Cohen will testify to Senate Intel Committee on Tuesday_ - WSJ
Historians worry as Obama ditches precedent, accountability with presidential library - NYT
_The curious case of Nomiki Konst_ - Politico
AUDIBLE: PLEASE CLAP
“The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters on Friday morning. Pelosi announced that the House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to try to block the president’s emergency declaration.ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
This weekend Mr. Sunday will sit down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DNC Chairman Tom Perez. Watch “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
#mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz has the latest take on the week’s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.
FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Thank you for your editorial on civics education. I am an old lady, so I really don’t know what they are teaching in schools today. I am shocked by my grandchildren’s ignorance on certain things I thought all students learned. I am afraid voting by a lot of people is done by popularity and personality and not by policy. I doubt if they ask ‘is this good America.’” – Jean Farrell, Fleming Island, Fla.[Ed. note: I don’t know what you consider an “old lady,” Ms. Farrell. But you most certainly seem to be a wise one.]
“For my entire life presidents have been declaring national emergencies and paying for them with monies that have been allocated elsewhere. I fail to see how anyone can suddenly conclude that this wall building action is suddenly any more constitutional than any of the previous actions. Our tax dollars have gone to build border walls in multiple other countries and no one ever said a thing. Now someone has the courage to try to protect the very citizens that they were elected to serve and everyone gets all shocked and dismayed and cries foul. I do see a problem and it starts and ends with term limits, not with some construction project!” – Brian J. Steiner, Fargo, N.D.[Ed. note: I’m not sure how old you are, Mr. Steiner, but only twice that I’m aware of have American presidents re-allocated congressionally appropriated dollars on domestic projects. Once was after 9/11 and the other was for reprogramming health funds in the face of the 2009 swine flu outbreak. In this case, the president repeatedly asked Congress to fund his project, even when both chambers were under his party’s control, and Congress repeatedly refused him. The will of Congress here is not ambiguous in any way. There have been nearly 60 emergency declarations in total since the law was passed aiming at reining in presidential overreach on the subject in 1975. The vast majority relate to things like foreign sanctions, arms trading etc. Whatever you may think about this bit of imperial execution, it is at the least different than the ones that came before it.]
“I took several of the sample citizenship tests and consistently answered all 20 questions correctly. For one test, I answered 19 correctly. Above the average yes, but what concerns me most is the one question that I got wrong. The question was, ‘Why did the colonists fight the British?’ Is one of the correct answers really ‘because the British army stayed in their houses?’ If that was the case, maybe we could have just asked them to leave! Didn’t ‘taxation without representation’ play a part in it? Just saying.” – Paul K. Schnier, Shoreham, N.Y.[Ed. note: It was a very big deal, indeed, Mr. Schnier. I give you the Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” The quartering of British soldiers was a huge vexation for the colonists. Imagine you and your family are at home on your farm in Shoreham and British troops marching out Long Island suddenly present themselves at your door. You and your family are forced out of your beds and watch helplessly as your house gets trashed and the redcoats eat and drink up all of your stores. In the morning, after you’ve provided them with a hearty breakfast, they march on. Maybe you get paid back by the governor, maybe you don’t. Never forget the degree to which he French and Indian war and the costs, disruptions and frictions it created gave birth to our own revolution.]
Share your color commentary: Email us at [email protected] and please make sure to include your name and hometown.
‘LOVE YOU! BYE, BYE!’
WJZY: “Another Ring video is getting a lot of attention after a little boy used the home security and surveillance system to ask his father to help find his favorite TV channel. In the video that’s now gone viral, the smart little boy from Haslett, Michigan is seen telling his dad that he couldn’t find the ‘Kid Channel’ on his television. So, he went outside to the doorbell surveillance camera to ask his dad for help in a hilarious and cute video that’s now been seen more than six million times. In the video, the boy, called ‘Baby Gracie,’ by his dad, explained that his mom was across the street and said he could come home and watch ‘the Kid Channel.’ The boy’s father is heard in the video walking through how to turn on the TV and use the remote. ‘Baby Gracie’ is seen bouncing off the screen with an enthusiastic ‘Love you! Bye bye!’”
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral ‘massacre’ (the Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government?” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Nov. 5, 2015. Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
Source: Fox News Politics
from MAGA First News https://magafirstnews.com/fox-news/voter-fraud-means-new-election-in-north-carolina/
via IFTTT

Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
On the roster: Voter fraud means new election in North Carolina - Klobuchar’s horrible boss stories pile up – N.H. poll: 40 percent of GOP voters want primary fight – Vilsack won’t challenge Ernst – ‘Love you! Bye, bye!’
VOTER FRAUD MEANS NEW ELECTION IN NORTH CAROLINA
Raleigh News & Observer: “After a stunning reversal by Republican Mark Harris, North Carolina election officials Thursday unanimously ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District, which has gained national attention as the last unresolved House race for the 2018 election. The state elections board’s vote came after four days of testimony about what the board’s staff called ‘a coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ in Bladen and Robeson counties. And it came less than an hour after a startling announcement by Harris, who had been fighting to have his apparent victory certified. … The state board will set dates for a new election in the district with election officials outlining a possible May primary and October general election. A new state law requires a primary election, though legal challenges are expected. It is not certain whether Harris will run again. [Democrat Dan McCready] already has raised more than $500,000 toward a new election.”
State Republicans in a quandary - WCNC: “Charlotte-area Republican leaders are now plotting their strategy following the North Carolina’s Board of Elections decision to have a new election in the 9th congressional district. …Union County GOP chair Dan Barry said, in retrospect, the party was wrong to push for certification of the race before the evidence came out. Barry said it’s too premature to consider possible candidates to run in the special election.”
THE RULEBOOK: NO ONE LIKES A BAD NEIGHBOR
“The interfering and unneighborly regulations of some States, contrary to the true spirit of the Union, have, in different instances, given just cause of umbrage and complaint to others…” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 22TIME OUT: HUMAN SIZED DINOSAUR DISCOVERED
Atlantic: “In 2012, Lindsay Zanno was searching for dinosaur fossils in the hillsides of eastern Utah when she found a bone protruding from the hillside. … It took several years … to work out that they were once the right leg of a tyrannosaur—a cousin of the famed Tyrannosaurus rex. But at just 170 pounds and six feet long from nose to tail, this new human-size dinosaur was _much_ smaller than its more famous relative. … Its discovery means that 96 million years ago, North American tyrannosaurs were still pretty small. That dramatically narrows the timing of their eventual ascension to a much shorter 15-million-year span. … ‘This doesn’t completely solve the mystery of why the tyrannosaurs took over from allosaurs, but like a partial fingerprint at a crime scene, it provides important context and helps rule out some theories,’ [Steve Brusatte] says.”
Flag on the play? – Email us at [email protected] with your tips, comments or questions.
**SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance
Average approval: **41.8 percent
Average disapproval: 54.4 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: no change
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve – 52% disapprove; Gallup: 44% approve – 52% unapproved; CNN: 42% approve – 54% disapproval; IBD: 39% approve – 57% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve – 57% disapprove.]
KLOBUCHAR’S HORRIBLE BOSS STORIES PILE UP
NYT: “Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience. An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it… The moment … encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senator’s team… [M]any of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing — not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust.”
Dems team up against Bernie over his stance on Maduro - Politico: “Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state. Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries European countries. Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. … Democrats, already alarmed that Trump’s inroads with Venezuelans could help him peel off an otherwise-reliable Democratic voting bloc in a toss-up state, were quick to denounce Sanders’ comments. ‘He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation,’ Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles and, told POLITICO.”
Continetti: ‘Why Kamala Harris may be her own worst enemy’ – Free Beacon:“As Democrats search for someone new to lead them against President Trump, [Kamala Harris] has distinguished herself from the field. … In these early weeks of what is certain to be a seemingly endless and certainly vitriolic campaign, Harris has demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses. Her strength is that she seems a perfect fit for the current shape of the Democratic Party. Her weakness is a blithe and insouciant manner that is sure to cause her trouble. … What trips up Kamala Harris is an evident desire to please her audience. She wants no enemies to her left, no identity politics left untouched. She can’t run as a prosecutor—crime fighting is so 1990s—but she can run as brash, bold, and woke. Her verbal miscues are possible evidence that this latest political fashion doesn’t quite fit. She has made a habit of making unforced errors, and the game is only in its first month.”
N.H. POLL: 40 PERCENT OF GOP VOTERS WANT PRIMARY FIGHT
UMass Amherst: “With nearly 40 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire saying they would welcome a primary challenger to President Trump, a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst could highlight potential problems for the president. Thirty-nine percent of likely Republican voters in the Granite State said they think that President Trump should be challenged in the 2020 primary, according to poll results released today by the UMass Poll. … ‘While nearly 40 percent of all likely Republican voters believe President Trump should face a primary challenge, almost half of college-educated Republican voters believe that Trump should be ‘primaried,’’ said Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science and director of the UMass Poll. … Asked if the Mueller report would make them reconsider their vote for Trump, just 22 percent said it would affect their support for Trump if the report concludes that Trump conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.”
Hogan attacks RNC for protecting Trump from primary battle –Politico: “Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he expects to make a springtime trip to New Hampshire as he weighs a 2020 challenge to Donald Trump — and accused the Republican National Committee of going to extraordinary lengths to shield the president from a potentially draining primary. ‘Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It’s unprecedented. And in my opinion it’s not the way we should be going about our politics,’ Hogan, a popular two-term Maryland governor, said in an interview with POLITICO. ‘It’s very undemocratic and to say, ‘We’re in some cases not going to allow a debate, we may not have a primary…’’ ‘And the question is, what are they afraid of?’ he added.”
VILSACK WON’T CHALLENGE ERNST
Des Moines Register: “Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. Iowa operative Matt Paul confirmed the decision to the Register on behalf of Vilsack Friday. He had downplayed speculation that he might enter the race but has not sworn off the possibility completely. … In a Des Moines RegisteMediacom Iowa Poll this month a majority of Iowans — 53 percent — said they have a favorable view of Vilsack, who has a long history in the public eye. Vilsack also was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama and currently is the CEO and president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.”
Steve King re-election run means more headaches for GOP – Des Moines Register: “A defiant Rep. Steve King confirmed Thursday that he will run for a 10th term as an Iowa congressman, despite controversies over his history of caustic remarks, including about race and immigration. The Kiron Republican has been criticized by national and state leaders of his own party, has been stripped of committee assignments in Congress and has drawn three primary challengers for the 2020 race. In a Thursday taping of Iowa Public Television’s ‘Iowa Press’ program, host David Yepsen asked him: ‘Are you sorry for anything that you’ve said?’ The congressman replied: ‘I have nothing to apologize for, Dave.’ King confirmed that he will run for re-election in 2020, despite drawing three challengers for the Republican nomination.”
PLAY-BY-PLAY
_Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wore Confederate Army uniform in college yearbook photo_– Tennessean
Zinke said to face grand jury for lying to investigators about casino deal - WaPo
_Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson concerned over Trump’s emergency declaration_ - Politico
_Cohen will testify to Senate Intel Committee on Tuesday_ - WSJ
Historians worry as Obama ditches precedent, accountability with presidential library - NYT
_The curious case of Nomiki Konst_ - Politico
AUDIBLE: PLEASE CLAP
“The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters on Friday morning. Pelosi announced that the House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to try to block the president’s emergency declaration.ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
This weekend Mr. Sunday will sit down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DNC Chairman Tom Perez. Watch “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
#mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz has the latest take on the week’s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.
FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Thank you for your editorial on civics education. I am an old lady, so I really don’t know what they are teaching in schools today. I am shocked by my grandchildren’s ignorance on certain things I thought all students learned. I am afraid voting by a lot of people is done by popularity and personality and not by policy. I doubt if they ask ‘is this good America.’” – Jean Farrell, Fleming Island, Fla.[Ed. note: I don’t know what you consider an “old lady,” Ms. Farrell. But you most certainly seem to be a wise one.]
“For my entire life presidents have been declaring national emergencies and paying for them with monies that have been allocated elsewhere. I fail to see how anyone can suddenly conclude that this wall building action is suddenly any more constitutional than any of the previous actions. Our tax dollars have gone to build border walls in multiple other countries and no one ever said a thing. Now someone has the courage to try to protect the very citizens that they were elected to serve and everyone gets all shocked and dismayed and cries foul. I do see a problem and it starts and ends with term limits, not with some construction project!” – Brian J. Steiner, Fargo, N.D.[Ed. note: I’m not sure how old you are, Mr. Steiner, but only twice that I’m aware of have American presidents re-allocated congressionally appropriated dollars on domestic projects. Once was after 9/11 and the other was for reprogramming health funds in the face of the 2009 swine flu outbreak. In this case, the president repeatedly asked Congress to fund his project, even when both chambers were under his party’s control, and Congress repeatedly refused him. The will of Congress here is not ambiguous in any way. There have been nearly 60 emergency declarations in total since the law was passed aiming at reining in presidential overreach on the subject in 1975. The vast majority relate to things like foreign sanctions, arms trading etc. Whatever you may think about this bit of imperial execution, it is at the least different than the ones that came before it.]
“I took several of the sample citizenship tests and consistently answered all 20 questions correctly. For one test, I answered 19 correctly. Above the average yes, but what concerns me most is the one question that I got wrong. The question was, ‘Why did the colonists fight the British?’ Is one of the correct answers really ‘because the British army stayed in their houses?’ If that was the case, maybe we could have just asked them to leave! Didn’t ‘taxation without representation’ play a part in it? Just saying.” – Paul K. Schnier, Shoreham, N.Y.[Ed. note: It was a very big deal, indeed, Mr. Schnier. I give you the Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” The quartering of British soldiers was a huge vexation for the colonists. Imagine you and your family are at home on your farm in Shoreham and British troops marching out Long Island suddenly present themselves at your door. You and your family are forced out of your beds and watch helplessly as your house gets trashed and the redcoats eat and drink up all of your stores. In the morning, after you’ve provided them with a hearty breakfast, they march on. Maybe you get paid back by the governor, maybe you don’t. Never forget the degree to which he French and Indian war and the costs, disruptions and frictions it created gave birth to our own revolution.]
Share your color commentary: Email us at [email protected] and please make sure to include your name and hometown.
‘LOVE YOU! BYE, BYE!’
WJZY: “Another Ring video is getting a lot of attention after a little boy used the home security and surveillance system to ask his father to help find his favorite TV channel. In the video that’s now gone viral, the smart little boy from Haslett, Michigan is seen telling his dad that he couldn’t find the ‘Kid Channel’ on his television. So, he went outside to the doorbell surveillance camera to ask his dad for help in a hilarious and cute video that’s now been seen more than six million times. In the video, the boy, called ‘Baby Gracie,’ by his dad, explained that his mom was across the street and said he could come home and watch ‘the Kid Channel.’ The boy’s father is heard in the video walking through how to turn on the TV and use the remote. ‘Baby Gracie’ is seen bouncing off the screen with an enthusiastic ‘Love you! Bye bye!’”
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral ‘massacre’ (the Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government?” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Nov. 5, 2015. Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
Source: Fox News Politics
from MAGA First News https://magafirstnews.com/fox-news/voter-fraud-means-new-election-in-north-carolina/
via IFTTT

Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
On the roster: Voter fraud means new election in North Carolina - Klobuchar’s horrible boss stories pile up – N.H. poll: 40 percent of GOP voters want primary fight – Vilsack won’t challenge Ernst – ‘Love you! Bye, bye!’
VOTER FRAUD MEANS NEW ELECTION IN NORTH CAROLINA
Raleigh News & Observer: “After a stunning reversal by Republican Mark Harris, North Carolina election officials Thursday unanimously ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District, which has gained national attention as the last unresolved House race for the 2018 election. The state elections board’s vote came after four days of testimony about what the board’s staff called ‘a coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ in Bladen and Robeson counties. And it came less than an hour after a startling announcement by Harris, who had been fighting to have his apparent victory certified. … The state board will set dates for a new election in the district with election officials outlining a possible May primary and October general election. A new state law requires a primary election, though legal challenges are expected. It is not certain whether Harris will run again. [Democrat Dan McCready] already has raised more than $500,000 toward a new election.”
State Republicans in a quandary - WCNC: “Charlotte-area Republican leaders are now plotting their strategy following the North Carolina’s Board of Elections decision to have a new election in the 9th congressional district. …Union County GOP chair Dan Barry said, in retrospect, the party was wrong to push for certification of the race before the evidence came out. Barry said it’s too premature to consider possible candidates to run in the special election.”
THE RULEBOOK: NO ONE LIKES A BAD NEIGHBOR
“The interfering and unneighborly regulations of some States, contrary to the true spirit of the Union, have, in different instances, given just cause of umbrage and complaint to others…” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 22TIME OUT: HUMAN SIZED DINOSAUR DISCOVERED
Atlantic: “In 2012, Lindsay Zanno was searching for dinosaur fossils in the hillsides of eastern Utah when she found a bone protruding from the hillside. … It took several years … to work out that they were once the right leg of a tyrannosaur—a cousin of the famed Tyrannosaurus rex. But at just 170 pounds and six feet long from nose to tail, this new human-size dinosaur was _much_ smaller than its more famous relative. … Its discovery means that 96 million years ago, North American tyrannosaurs were still pretty small. That dramatically narrows the timing of their eventual ascension to a much shorter 15-million-year span. … ‘This doesn’t completely solve the mystery of why the tyrannosaurs took over from allosaurs, but like a partial fingerprint at a crime scene, it provides important context and helps rule out some theories,’ [Steve Brusatte] says.”
Flag on the play? – Email us at [email protected] with your tips, comments or questions.
**SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance
Average approval: **41.8 percent
Average disapproval: 54.4 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: no change
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve – 52% disapprove; Gallup: 44% approve – 52% unapproved; CNN: 42% approve – 54% disapproval; IBD: 39% approve – 57% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve – 57% disapprove.]
KLOBUCHAR’S HORRIBLE BOSS STORIES PILE UP
NYT: “Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience. An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it… The moment … encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senator’s team… [M]any of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing — not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust.”
Dems team up against Bernie over his stance on Maduro - Politico: “Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state. Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries European countries. Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. … Democrats, already alarmed that Trump’s inroads with Venezuelans could help him peel off an otherwise-reliable Democratic voting bloc in a toss-up state, were quick to denounce Sanders’ comments. ‘He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation,’ Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles and, told POLITICO.”
Continetti: ‘Why Kamala Harris may be her own worst enemy’ – Free Beacon:“As Democrats search for someone new to lead them against President Trump, [Kamala Harris] has distinguished herself from the field. … In these early weeks of what is certain to be a seemingly endless and certainly vitriolic campaign, Harris has demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses. Her strength is that she seems a perfect fit for the current shape of the Democratic Party. Her weakness is a blithe and insouciant manner that is sure to cause her trouble. … What trips up Kamala Harris is an evident desire to please her audience. She wants no enemies to her left, no identity politics left untouched. She can’t run as a prosecutor—crime fighting is so 1990s—but she can run as brash, bold, and woke. Her verbal miscues are possible evidence that this latest political fashion doesn’t quite fit. She has made a habit of making unforced errors, and the game is only in its first month.”
N.H. POLL: 40 PERCENT OF GOP VOTERS WANT PRIMARY FIGHT
UMass Amherst: “With nearly 40 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire saying they would welcome a primary challenger to President Trump, a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst could highlight potential problems for the president. Thirty-nine percent of likely Republican voters in the Granite State said they think that President Trump should be challenged in the 2020 primary, according to poll results released today by the UMass Poll. … ‘While nearly 40 percent of all likely Republican voters believe President Trump should face a primary challenge, almost half of college-educated Republican voters believe that Trump should be ‘primaried,’’ said Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science and director of the UMass Poll. … Asked if the Mueller report would make them reconsider their vote for Trump, just 22 percent said it would affect their support for Trump if the report concludes that Trump conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.”
Hogan attacks RNC for protecting Trump from primary battle –Politico: “Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he expects to make a springtime trip to New Hampshire as he weighs a 2020 challenge to Donald Trump — and accused the Republican National Committee of going to extraordinary lengths to shield the president from a potentially draining primary. ‘Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It’s unprecedented. And in my opinion it’s not the way we should be going about our politics,’ Hogan, a popular two-term Maryland governor, said in an interview with POLITICO. ‘It’s very undemocratic and to say, ‘We’re in some cases not going to allow a debate, we may not have a primary…’’ ‘And the question is, what are they afraid of?’ he added.”
VILSACK WON’T CHALLENGE ERNST
Des Moines Register: “Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. Iowa operative Matt Paul confirmed the decision to the Register on behalf of Vilsack Friday. He had downplayed speculation that he might enter the race but has not sworn off the possibility completely. … In a Des Moines RegisteMediacom Iowa Poll this month a majority of Iowans — 53 percent — said they have a favorable view of Vilsack, who has a long history in the public eye. Vilsack also was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama and currently is the CEO and president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.”
Steve King re-election run means more headaches for GOP – Des Moines Register: “A defiant Rep. Steve King confirmed Thursday that he will run for a 10th term as an Iowa congressman, despite controversies over his history of caustic remarks, including about race and immigration. The Kiron Republican has been criticized by national and state leaders of his own party, has been stripped of committee assignments in Congress and has drawn three primary challengers for the 2020 race. In a Thursday taping of Iowa Public Television’s ‘Iowa Press’ program, host David Yepsen asked him: ‘Are you sorry for anything that you’ve said?’ The congressman replied: ‘I have nothing to apologize for, Dave.’ King confirmed that he will run for re-election in 2020, despite drawing three challengers for the Republican nomination.”
PLAY-BY-PLAY
_Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wore Confederate Army uniform in college yearbook photo_– Tennessean
Zinke said to face grand jury for lying to investigators about casino deal - WaPo
_Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson concerned over Trump’s emergency declaration_ - Politico
_Cohen will testify to Senate Intel Committee on Tuesday_ - WSJ
Historians worry as Obama ditches precedent, accountability with presidential library - NYT
_The curious case of Nomiki Konst_ - Politico
AUDIBLE: PLEASE CLAP
“The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters on Friday morning. Pelosi announced that the House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to try to block the president’s emergency declaration.ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
This weekend Mr. Sunday will sit down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DNC Chairman Tom Perez. Watch “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
#mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz has the latest take on the week’s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.
FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Thank you for your editorial on civics education. I am an old lady, so I really don’t know what they are teaching in schools today. I am shocked by my grandchildren’s ignorance on certain things I thought all students learned. I am afraid voting by a lot of people is done by popularity and personality and not by policy. I doubt if they ask ‘is this good America.’” – Jean Farrell, Fleming Island, Fla.[Ed. note: I don’t know what you consider an “old lady,” Ms. Farrell. But you most certainly seem to be a wise one.]
“For my entire life presidents have been declaring national emergencies and paying for them with monies that have been allocated elsewhere. I fail to see how anyone can suddenly conclude that this wall building action is suddenly any more constitutional than any of the previous actions. Our tax dollars have gone to build border walls in multiple other countries and no one ever said a thing. Now someone has the courage to try to protect the very citizens that they were elected to serve and everyone gets all shocked and dismayed and cries foul. I do see a problem and it starts and ends with term limits, not with some construction project!” – Brian J. Steiner, Fargo, N.D.[Ed. note: I’m not sure how old you are, Mr. Steiner, but only twice that I’m aware of have American presidents re-allocated congressionally appropriated dollars on domestic projects. Once was after 9/11 and the other was for reprogramming health funds in the face of the 2009 swine flu outbreak. In this case, the president repeatedly asked Congress to fund his project, even when both chambers were under his party’s control, and Congress repeatedly refused him. The will of Congress here is not ambiguous in any way. There have been nearly 60 emergency declarations in total since the law was passed aiming at reining in presidential overreach on the subject in 1975. The vast majority relate to things like foreign sanctions, arms trading etc. Whatever you may think about this bit of imperial execution, it is at the least different than the ones that came before it.]
“I took several of the sample citizenship tests and consistently answered all 20 questions correctly. For one test, I answered 19 correctly. Above the average yes, but what concerns me most is the one question that I got wrong. The question was, ‘Why did the colonists fight the British?’ Is one of the correct answers really ‘because the British army stayed in their houses?’ If that was the case, maybe we could have just asked them to leave! Didn’t ‘taxation without representation’ play a part in it? Just saying.” – Paul K. Schnier, Shoreham, N.Y.[Ed. note: It was a very big deal, indeed, Mr. Schnier. I give you the Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” The quartering of British soldiers was a huge vexation for the colonists. Imagine you and your family are at home on your farm in Shoreham and British troops marching out Long Island suddenly present themselves at your door. You and your family are forced out of your beds and watch helplessly as your house gets trashed and the redcoats eat and drink up all of your stores. In the morning, after you’ve provided them with a hearty breakfast, they march on. Maybe you get paid back by the governor, maybe you don’t. Never forget the degree to which he French and Indian war and the costs, disruptions and frictions it created gave birth to our own revolution.]
Share your color commentary: Email us at [email protected] and please make sure to include your name and hometown.
‘LOVE YOU! BYE, BYE!’
WJZY: “Another Ring video is getting a lot of attention after a little boy used the home security and surveillance system to ask his father to help find his favorite TV channel. In the video that’s now gone viral, the smart little boy from Haslett, Michigan is seen telling his dad that he couldn’t find the ‘Kid Channel’ on his television. So, he went outside to the doorbell surveillance camera to ask his dad for help in a hilarious and cute video that’s now been seen more than six million times. In the video, the boy, called ‘Baby Gracie,’ by his dad, explained that his mom was across the street and said he could come home and watch ‘the Kid Channel.’ The boy’s father is heard in the video walking through how to turn on the TV and use the remote. ‘Baby Gracie’ is seen bouncing off the screen with an enthusiastic ‘Love you! Bye bye!’”
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral ‘massacre’ (the Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government?” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Nov. 5, 2015. Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
Source: Fox News Politics
from MAGA First News https://magafirstnews.com/fox-news/voter-fraud-means-new-election-in-north-carolina/
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This is my entire log for the Murphy to Manteo challenge. On the geocaching.com website I had to break this up since it is way too long. Murphy-to-Manteo Challenge
very long log / ride report
It's cliche to say, but that won't stop me from saying it. What an amazing adventure. Actually, "amazing", is the only one word I can use to describe my trip. If I had to break down the word "awesome" into other adjectives they would include the folowing pairs: scenic/boring, twisty/straight, mountainous/flat, touristy/humdrum. All of these word pairs demonstrate things everyone will experience while driving across this beautiful state. The only pair of words that I left off the list from my experience are: wet/dry. You may not experience this pair, but I certainly did.
When I saw that SmithyP had published this cache I was very excited. I knew I had some vacation days to burn (use or lose). I knew I wanted to put some miles on the motorcycle. I knew I wanted to knock a few pages and counties off my challenge list. Combine those items with my love of touring and I knew I would complete this cache at some point. When was the question.
I finally managed to knock some time out of my schedule and get work to approve leave (using my last two days of vacation on the last two days of eligibility). I had a date set, now I just needed to get a few other things in order. The bike needed an oil change and a new rear tire, I needed to figure out which pages and counties I was missing, and I needed to stop looking at the weather and using it as an excuse to not do it. As of Sunday morning all of these items had been complete and I was off on my epic adventure of the year. Sadly, I'll probably only get one this year so I had to make it memorable. Making this memorable wasn't too hard since I had to put the rain gear on before I even left the garage. Oh well, such is the life of a motorcyclist.
I left my house in north Charlotte about 11:30 surrounded by Snoop Dogs favorite weather (Drizzle....fo' shizzle) I decided to stop in and put my name on the log knowing that come hell or high water (high water seemed likely) I was going to complete this challenge the next day. I meandered my way to the cache parking and tromped my way through the mud to GZ and opened the log book. Strange....two names on the log sheet and no logs online. Immediately I figured I had been duped. No worries though as this was not about getting the FTF (which would have been nice) - it was about touring. I added my name to the book and contemplated leaving my trade item, but saw that the cache was already full of them so I decided to keep it for myself, took a stupid photo, and set off for Murphy.
The trip to Murphy The rain picked up on my short walk back to the bike so I decided to put on the full regalia of rain gear. Like a knight going into battle I suited up, excited to try out the new boot covers, and hit the highway. Here's a little secret about motorcycling in the rain. It's not that bad. Drivers of cars that pass look of either sadness for you or of shock that you are Riding the Storm Out. But once you get over the fact that no matter how good your gear you are going to get wet you can continue relatively unimpeded.
The interstate ride to, and through, Asheville was uneventful as it was gray. Mile after mile of rain pelting my mask, soaking my gloves, and pooling in my crotchal area. I approached the turn off where I would decide if I wanted to take a slightly smaller backroad or continue on the highway - I opted for the backroad. Driving over Lake Junaluska, through Maggie Valley, across an entrance to the BRP and down the mountain into Cherokee I smiled thinking how much I usually love these roads, but with the rain they bring on another set of challenges. Still wanting to push the limits of myself and the bike I sped up through the corners and gained confidence in my new tire.
After passing through the casino-town in the mountains I found myself back on the highway for my last 60 miles. I stopped for a drink and a chance to stretch my legs before heading into one of the most beautiful stretches of North Carolina highways - The Nantahala gorge. This 25 miles (or so) stretch of road offers something for almost everyone. Scenic views, technical motorcycling challenges, slow moving vehicles, geocaches galore, and on a day nicer than the one I had....ladies in bikinis floating down the river. What more could a person want? Oh yeah....dry road with absolutely no traffic. Something else I would not get on this day. None the less I raced, as much as traffic and my nerves would allow, around corners seeing mountain runoff waterfalls flash out of the corner of my eyes and when the road straightened out I marveled in the rapids of the overflowing river to my side. It truly is something everyone should experience on a motorcycle.
About 4:30 PM I pulled into the cheap hotel I booked earlier in the day and settled in. Casually I checked the weather -Rain in Murphy all day. Rain in Manteo all day. One could surmise that every town, burgh, hollow, and 'ville in between had a similar projected fate. I gnawed on my Pizza Hut delivery (not many other choices here when you don't wanna go back out in the rain) and played a game of dry the geaclothes on the hotel heater. Always fun.
I fell asleep with a little dread, but still happier than I would be if I had to go to work the next day. Maybe this says something about my job....
Murphy-To-Manteo The day had arrived. I woke before my alarm at about 5:30 and poked my head outside. No rain!. No rain!! Excitedly I packed up most of my stuff and took off towards my Murphy targeted cache - The Lost Fort - an easy virtual with some interesting history. After reading the signs by the light of my phone and taking the obligatory picture I stopped for coffee, went back to grab the rest of my (now dry) gear and checkout. I was on the (dry) road by 6:30, with an E.T.A in Manteo of about 3:30 (yeah right!!), watching the sun burn through the fog of the smoky mountains. What a beautiful sight. Given the rain the previous day, the forecasts I saw the night before, and the fear mongering weather forecasts on the radio in the morning I knew I had to appreciate the beauty while I had it. I turned off the radio and listened to the sound of my engine accelerate and decelerate as my pegs carved long smooth arches in the pavement. Back through the gorge, over the mountain away from Cherokee, and past Lake Junaluska the first hour and a half of my day was awesome. I wished I could ride roads like this all day and not the super-slab that I needed to do to accomplish all of my goals.
The ride east through Asheville out of the mountains was amazing. A crisp spring morning with enough hope of staying dry that the smile on my face grew even larger with each sweeper. That isn't to say that there "Wasn't a cloud in the sky" though. There were plenty. Dark clouds straight ahead reminded me how much I should appreciate the current weather and the little voice in the back of my head told me not to worry about the future....just enjoy the present. I did.
Miles and time flew by as the curves and altitude of the morning gave way to the straight flat nothingness of NC piedmont interstate. With nothing to do but listen to music and highway for the next few hundred miles I decided to stop for gas (an unplanned cache right there!), a drink, and lean back. With my legs stretched out and my feet keeping rhythm on the highway pegs I soon found myself approaching dark, ominous clouds. I felt my first few drops of rain for the day as I passed through Raleigh. Faced with a tough decision: Put on the gear and ride hot and stuffy, or leave the gear off until I need it and get a little wet; I opt for the latter and push on. With rain drops stinging my face I flip down my facemask, clench my teeth, and race through the drops hoping to get to the clear(er) skies I can see ahead. After about fourty-five minutes of constantly rethinking my decision to gamble and not put on the gear I get rewarded with dry roads, colorless white (at least it wasn't dark) sky, and the first of my needed county caches in about 15 miles. Things really do work out for me. (my motto on life by the way)
I hop off the bike and grab what will be the first of 13 caches I needed to clear pages/counties off those challenges. I didn't need all of them as I built some redundancy into my planning, but it was fun to get a few caches in a different area. Looking back, part of me wishes I had taken the time to find some "better" caches to grab (no offense to the hiders) but in reality I had miles to cover and as much as this was a caching trip it was also a motorcycle adventure. Most of the adventure of motorcycling comes from riding the motorcycle. This is my excuse for why I picked some of the easiest, most mundane, closest to the highway cache-and-dashes I could find.
As time wore on the land got tilted towards the sea eventually flattening out I found myself surrounded by the ever present swamps of the eastern part of NC. Signs warning of wildlife crossing that are not present anywhere I've lived amused me but also heightened my senses to my surroundings. Thankfully, unlike the previous finders, I only had one encounter with wildlife when a fox of some sort darted across the road a good distance in front of me. After crossing bridges that spanned miles and humped liked a camel in the middle I ended up on Roanoke island with a sign reading "Welcome to Manteo" suspended from a light pole at the side of the rode. I pulled the bike to the side, put on the flashers, and took a picture as proof of my conquest. Even though I had only stopped for a minute I realized that I had become "that guy" and blocked traffic on the major road heading north. After a quick conversation with a local LEO i was on my way to grab my second and third caches on the tiny island. Twelve hours after I left my hotel I had accomplished my goal. Now to find a place to rest my head.
After Manteo - Now what I found myself sitting at a hardware store in Manteo checking for hotels. This is something I halfheartedly did prior to leaving and I knew what I was going to have to do. I made the call and set course for Elizabeth City - but first one more cache to clear one more page. That pesky "top-right" page on the one version of the Delormme challenge. Another 75 miles and I'll be done for the day. Not sure if that made me happy or sad though.
I grabbed one last fun cache, turned my back to the ocean, and headed inland while inwardly reminiscing on a great day. I stayed dry. Found every cache (and more) that I had planned on. I accomplished the Murphy-to-Manteo challenge. I saw a lot of this beautiful state. I traveled a comfortable 630(ish) miles on the motorcycle - helping to approach my goal of 5k travel bug miles on it this year. I smiled.
As the mileage to the hotel get lower I saw the sky fade from white, to orange, to a fiery red before becoming a spectacular purple/black gradient. I arrived at my hotel about 8:00, walked to the 7-11 next door to get my first sustenance since the stale muffin I had at the hotel in the morning and walked back to my room. Sitting outside on the steps smiling I talked to a few friends and tried to (in 140 characters or less) describe what an awesome adventure I just had.
Heading Home Not to prolong this read any longer, guessing very few people have made it this far, but the way back to Charlotte from Elizabeth City may have been my favorite day of the trip. It was relaxed, scenic, filled with awesome side roads that meandered through the north eastern NC county side while giving me plenty of photo opportunites. I finally saw a lot of places that I've been putting off for way too long. Like the womans legs in Henderson NC. The Rock garden of America. Old dilipated barns and houses (a personal favorite), and countless tiny roadside cemeteries I'd love to know the history of. Many of these places were stumbled across while others were were deliberately planned using websites like RoadsideAmerica.com and Roadtrippers.com. I'm extremely grateful that I had the time to do this.
While the other pair that did this made mention that this is great when done with multiple people, I'd also challenge people to get out and do it solo. When you do a trip like this alone you get a lot of freedom. If you want to turn around and take a picture you can without worry of boring someone else. You can eat what and when you want. (Or in my case not at all. I don't eat when I ride. I just wanna go) You can take that last second turn down a road that looks interesting without people sliding all over the car. You are alone with your own thoughts. Which can be scary at times, but it can also be exhilarating and introspective. You may find you have some great ideas rolling around in your head or that you are an amazing singer at 80 miles an hour on an interstate. No matter what don't put off doing this, or anything else because you want someone to go with you.
I once read a great line that I thought of many times on this trip. "Many people will spend 8 or more hours sitting in a cubicle, but when it comes to spending that much time in a car or on a motorcycle they think of it as crazy." Why is that? Get out and live!!
Summary:

• 35 (or so caches - still have to count / log)
• 12 new counties
• 6 new pages
• 1263 road miles
• XXX Miles on the Motorcycle TB (yet to be calculated)
• 23 hours in the saddle
• Murphy Cache: The Lost Fort
• Manteo Cache: OBX Hardware Heaven