Governor Christie and Businesswoman Carly Fiorina suspend campaigns in the aftermath

Written by Juliana Simone

New Hampshire –

“Republican’s win when people are demoralized and turnout is low.”

This is the view of the twenty-somethings give or take a few years who primarily support Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who won the New Hampshire caucus with 60.4% of the votes and 15 delegates. Other statements made by Sanders in his speech after being pronounced the winner of the Democrat caucus were: “Now it’s Wall Street’s time to help the middle class” after which he rambled on for a lengthy thirty minutes reiterating his usual talking points of unfair income distribution, raising taxes on the rich, and free this and free that for all.

Ironically, what Sanders fails to see in his vision of America today, is how the people became demoralized and why now a Republican would win. As a sitting U.S. Senator, he somehow does not see Americans have slipped into this negative state of mind after seven years of President Barack H. Obama, and living with the “change” Obama promised if elected in 2008, is change they now see for the worse not the better. This Democrat President has been a virtual wrecking ball to the country most Americans know, past present and future.

Democrats will say they are not entirely to blame for the mess we’re in right now, noting correctly that the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate have Republican majorities, so they are equally at fault. Yes and no. Yes, the Republican leadership has frittered away its advantage by remaining lax in any effort to stop the Democrat agenda, and by failing to support any of their brave and vocal colleagues when they attempted to block bad bills and policies. But, no, Obama had his phone and his pen, as he always liked to remind the people, and when the Republicans didn’t cave, he would just push through his agenda through executive orders.

Former First Lady, New York Senator, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who expects to be the Democrat Party’s nominee no matter how well her popular challenger does, came in second to Sanders with 38% of the vote and nine delegates out of twenty four. There is a news story being reported about how the New Hampshire delegates will ultimately be awarded to Sanders and Clinton, due to super-delegates votes that move her from nine to fifteen votes. For those familiar with the state party conventions, this portion of the story won’t be new. To read more on this: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/268935-clinton-likely-to-leave-nh-with-same-number-of-delegates

Barely “winning” the preceding Iowa caucus as she and Sanders basically tied, a series of coin tosses repeatedly called in Clinton’s favor, deemed her the winner of certain precinct delegates. Heading into New Hampshire, with Sanders showing huge leads in the polls, her campaign told the media throughout the day they would be happy if she at least kept Sanders winning percentage in the single-digits.

She was trounced by Senator Sanders by 22 points – an enormous spread. Adding insult to injury, she also failed to win the women’s vote over challenger Sanders. She is expected to do better in South Carolina, the next primary on the calendar, due to what analysts say is her popularity with minorities.

Others too point out that the Clinton’s, long known as a force to be dealt with, will pull out all of the stops now to assure Hillary wins upcoming primaries and the nomination. Behind the scenes in her second attempt to become the first female President of the United States, is her email scandal which apparently is being reviewed quite seriously by the FBI owing to her breach of top secret documents and classified information meant for her-eyes-only while serving as Secretary of State. The mainstream media rarely addresses this growing scandal, and wouldn’t be heard at all were it not for talk-radio and political blogs.

General David Petraeus was forced to resign his position in an earlier case similar to this but not as severe. Petraeus received two years’ probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor crime, and paying a hundred thousand dollar fine.

What lies ahead for Hillary Clinton both in terms of her campaign which does not seem to be resonating with voters, and in terms of the email and other scandals, should keep this election season interesting in itself.

What is clear from the New Hampshire results last night, is that voters regardless of party, recognize Washington is broken, a common political phrase for years now. Both men who won big on Tuesday, are considered anti-establishment choices.

Taking the stage as the Republican Party’s winner of the caucus with 35.3%, twenty points above the second place winner, and ten delegates, businessman Donald Trump thanked New Hampshire for the support which brought him this huge win. He also thanked Democrat winner Bernie Sanders for winning on his message that ‘we’re going to give America away.’ Trump said his goal was different – in that he wants to ‘make America great again’.

Trump made it clear he wants to rebuild our military, take care of our veterans, establish strong borders where people can only enter the U.S. legally, build the wall that will keep out illegal migration, and he addressed the drug problem New Hampshire and other states are dealing with in terms of heroin addiction. Other goals Trump announced with his usual use of superlatives that resonates with his voters, were if he’s elected “Obamacare will be gone; Common Core will also be gone.” The second amendment will be upheld under his Presidency, he said. “We’ll knock the hell out of Isis,” he asserted with zeal. “We’ll take care of unemployment…” He reminded people our country is 19 trillion dollars in debt… “We don’t win as a country anymore,” he told supporters and under a Trump Presidency, using his campaign slogan, he proclaimed “We’ll make America great again!” He told everyone he loved them, thanked them and said it was now on to South Carolina for another win.

Ohio Governor John Kasich pumped some life into his otherwise floundering campaign by coming in a surprising second to Mr. Trump with 15.8% and four delegates. One source http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/soros-adviser-gave-200k-to-boost-kasich/?utm_content=bufferb13d7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=lifezette_buffer reports that a long-time associate of George Soros, Scott Bessent, was the third largest donator to Kasich contributing over two hundred thousand dollars. Kasich’s moderate stances and establishment ties make him stand out to Democrats and donor’s that contribute to both parties, as the Republican who,if elected, would be the easiest to work with – or to use democrat language, would be the most easily manipulated and influenced, unlike some of the other formidable contenders. Bessent has donated to candidates from both parties, 65% to Democrats as well as a few Republicans running in 2016, such as Jeb Bush’s Super Pac and Senator Lindsey Graham, as well as other Republicans in prior elections. But none received anywhere near the amount Kasich did this campaign.

Still, Kasich had a good ground game in New Hampshire holding the most town halls with voters in more intimate venues for Q and A, and made many appearances as a nice guy who left people feeling good about voting for him; money alone didn’t get him to second place. It will be interesting to see if this continues for him in South Carolina and Florida.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, winner of the Iowa caucus, came in third with New Hampshire voters with 11.7% and three delegates. He also is perceived to be anti-establishment even though he is a sitting Senator in Washington. But this is because he has shown himself to be one of the few elected officials in D.C. who bucks the system and goes against his party’s leadership. In the New Hampshire debate, Cruz summed up his goals if elected President: he would repeal Obamacare, establish a flat tax, and abolish the IRS. His detractors point out he may not be qualified to run for President, having been born in Canada, though his mother was American. Well-known for his debating skills, he doesn’t seem too worried about this topic when it’s been brought up in various venues.

Interestingly, Senator Cruz spent the least amount of money in New Hampshire, and was still able to earn the number three spot, showing that a candidate’s message and appeal can beat the campaign with the largest treasure chest.

It’s worth a small digression here to go over some of the amounts campaigns spent in New Hampshire, according to data given out during Rush Limbaugh’s radio show this afternoon. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush spent thirty-six million dollars and finished in fourth place, with 11.0% over Marco Rubio in fifth with 10.6%, comes out to $1,200. a vote. Governor Christie spent eighteen million and came in sixth around $850. a vote; Governor Kasich spent twelve million to come in second; Rubio spent just over $500. a vote. Trump and Cruz were the most fiscally conservative, Trump spending about $40. a vote and Cruz $20.

Early returns showed Florida Senator Marco Rubio as coming in fourth, but with final tallies recorded, he placed fifth. His mentor and fellow Florida Republican, former Governor Jeb Bush, who appeared to be in fifth until late last night, edged out his protégé after 100% of the polling places have reported today. Each received three delegates. Delegates totaled 23, and after the top five finishes no other candidates received a delegate vote.

Though the two have bantered between each other during some of the debates, it’s not clear what these New Hampshire results show other than Rubio came ahead of Bush in Iowa and behind Bush by a small margin in New Hampshire. Rubio, who gets static for his original participation as one of the ‘Gang of Eight’ immigration legislation, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) Bill, maintains he has now changed his position on this issue, and feels stricter laws need to be passed in regards to illegal immigration.

He points out Bush, in comparison, is much softer on all immigration policies and future goals for those illegally already here and those who want to immigrate to America. Bush does not deny this and steadfastly maintains his initial position that some who have gained illegal entry into the United States, should be allowed to remain here if they meet certain conditions.

Coming in sixth was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie with 7.4%, after spending more time than any other Presidential candidate here and garnering the endorsement of the states oldest newspaper; Christie hoped to do better. The Mainstream Media seemed unusually excited by his poor showing; his results were almost as big a news story last night as Trump and Sanders big wins. Remember it was the Mainstream Media who sought Christie’s demise when he first appeared in polls as being the only Republican potential Presidential candidate that would soundly beat media darling former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Democrat Hillary Clinton. Featuring a non-story in the fall of 2013, about a bridge lane closing at commuter time in New Jersey causing traffic jams – dubbed “Bridgegate” – the Main Stream Media made this a top news story for weeks to tarnish the popular Governor’s reputation and bring his polling numbers down.

Cleared in an investigation of the scandal, Christie suffered irreparable harm from the coverage. After calls all night from the media for him to drop out, after his formal announcement suspending his campaign, high-fives must have flied around all the newsrooms across the country. Governor Christie, in his announcement said, “he has no regrets” in terms of his run and he shouldn’t – he would make a fine Attorney General if a Republican is elected this November.

Following his announcement, Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO whose story about starting out as a receptionist and working all the way up the ladder to be the CEO of one of the largest companies touched many, came in seventh with 4.1%, also announced she was suspending her campaign. She chose to do this on Facebook. In her press release, Carly said, “This campaign was always about citizenship—taking back our country from a political class that only serves the big, the powerful, the wealthy, and the well connected. Election after election, the same empty promises are made and the same poll-tested stump speeches are given, but nothing changes…. While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo that no longer works for them.”

To young girls and women she said, “Do not let others define you. Do not listen to anyone who says you have to vote a certain way or for a certain candidate because you’re a woman. That is not feminism. Feminism doesn’t shut down conversations or threaten women. It is not about ideology. It is not a weapon to wield against your political opponent. A feminist is a woman who lives the life she chooses and uses all her God-given gifts. And always remember that a leader is not born, but made.  Choose leadership.”

The Mainstream Media, in this instance network ABC, which the Fiorina campaign amusingly dubbed “Anybody but Carly” refused to let her partake in the New Hampshire debate. Appeals to the Republican National Party and leadership to help get her on stage apparently went unheeded. The Mainstream Media did their best to keep the only other female running for our highest political office out of view. Those who watched the preliminary debates that took place two or three hours before the prime time debates, all were impressed with Fiorina’s debating skills.

Clear on policy, always with a plan, familiar with all world leaders names and having even met with many of them when working as the CEO for HP, she stood out among her colleagues as someone who was well-researched, focused and quick on her feet. If the United States of America were to have a first-female President in our history voted into office this November, Carly Fiorina would have been a far better choice than the scandal riddled Hillary Clinton, so intent on stressing her gender in order to capture the female vote. The debates between the two women would have been enlightening entertainment and there is little doubt Carly would have run circles around Hillary. Let’s hope there is a cabinet position for this fine lady, under a Republican President.

Last, but certainly not least, in New Hampshire last night, was Dr. Ben Carson with 2.3% of the vote. The media didn’t even mention him in their analysis as results came in, which was the case with Fiorina, as well. Again, they were much more interested in calling for Christie to drop out. Dr. Ben Carson deserves way more respect than what was given him in this run. He is an amazing man with one of the most impressive stories out there in terms of making your life into all that it can be trusting in God, hard work and dedication. Carson says he’s in it until the end. Fine with me.