Much like Jesus, the majority of people in this country are no longer white Christians. The logo of the 2016 RNC features an elephant atop an electric guitar, a bold move for a party whose biggest rock star “get” in the last election was the guy behind “Bawitdaba.” Well, then again, Barack Obama is featured in Coldplay’s upcoming album, so let’s just call the two sides even. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Monday, November 23rd, 2015:
GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES REALLY CRANKING UP THE INSANE FOR SOUTHERN-CENTRIC SUPER TUESDAY - Did you know that members of Greenpeace actually replaced the original poem on the Statue of Liberty's base with the Emma Lazarus one you're so familiar with? The original was actually lyrics from Big & Rich's "Ride A Pony." Phillip Rucker and Robert Costa: "Alabama has become an unusual magnet for Republican presidential candidates because it is one of 11 mostly southern states holding a primary or caucus on March 1 -- the delegate bonanza known as Super Tuesday...For centrist Republicans such as Kasich, the aim may not be so much sweeping Super Tuesday as surviving it. After March 1, the calendar turns more to their liking, with a number of winner-take-all states in less conservative regions where suburban, business-friendly Republicans may matter more than evangelicals and tea-party activists...Trump aspires to knit together coalitions of disaffected blue-collar voters and so-called Reagan Democrats in places like the Houston area or in Western Massachusetts, where more than 10,000 people showed up at his boisterous rally in Worcester last week." [WaPo]
NEW JERSEY FULL OF TERRORIST SYMPATHIZERS, ACCORDING TO GUYS WHO DON'T KNOW ANYTHING - Igor Bobic: Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson joined GOP rival Donald Trump in claiming that he, too, saw news footage of Muslim-Americans cheering as the World Trade Center towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001 -- despite the fact that no such footage has turned up yet. 'I saw the film of it, yes,' Carson told reporters at a Monday campaign event, adding that it was documented by 'newsreels.'" Newsreels. [HuffPost]
DELANEY DOWNER - The great state of Maine would like to stop poor people from using food stamps to buy candy and soda, the latest gambit in Republican Gov. Paul LePage's ongoing crusade to make safety net programs a little less giving. States don't have the power to change the rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, so Maine is asking the federal government for a waiver. "If we’re going to spend millions on nutrition education for food stamp recipients, we should stop giving them money to buy candy and soda," Mary Mayhew, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said in a press release. The waiver request essentially resurrects Republican legislation that failed to pass the Maine State Legislature this year. "Maine is facing an obesity epidemic, especially among its low-income population, and we should be solving that problem rather than enabling it," Mayhew said.
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BENGHAZI COMMITTEE SERVED WITH PAPERS - This will still end in more Hillary Clinton email subpoenas. Lindsey McPherson: "Former staffer Bradley F. Podliska filed a lawsuit on Monday against the House Select Committee on Benghazi for unlawful termination and against its chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., for defamation. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that Podliska was unlawfully fired by the committee in June 2015 following months of hostility against him because he took leave from his job to fulfill his obligations as an intelligence officer in the Air Force Reserve. It asks that Podliska be reinstated “into a position at the level of seniority, status, and pay that he would have enjoyed had the Benghazi Committee neither discriminated nor retaliated against him” and that he be compensated for lost pay and benefits in addition to damages. Podliska is requesting a jury trial to examine his claims of unlawful termination and defamation. The lawsuit claims the committee violated his rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, which prohibits discrimination against someone based on their military service, and the Congressional Accountability Act." [Roll Call]
TALK RADIO IMPORTANT TO CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT, VIDEO AT 10 - Stay tuned to our action-packed report thereafter on how bumper stickers on liberals laptops may really turn the tide. Patrick O'Connor: "A decade ago, Republicans touted conservative talk radio as a foolproof medium to communicate directly with their most ardent supporters. Democrats and liberal groups tried to replicate that success by building their own left-leaning television and radio stations, with far less success. Now, the tables have turned. Republican leaders in Washington are under siege from their own activists, in part, because conservative radio hosts are almost as likely to rail against the party brass in Congress as they are to lament Mr. Obama’s failings in the Oval Office...The most avid conservative talk-radio listeners ranked retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson as their top pick, followed by celebrity businessman Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Just 3% gave the nod to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the heir to the party’s longest-standing political dynasty, and only a third of these voters said they were even open to voting for Mr. Bush, down from half in September. Republican presidential contenders would be unwise to write off this bloc; roughly a third of Republican primary voters strongly identify with conservative talk radio, about 10 percentage points higher than the share of GOP primary voters who consider themselves moderate or liberal..." [WSJ]
RUBIO AND CRUZ BATTLING FOR LEVERAGE IN IOWA - More like Vander Pleaseeeee, amirite? Eli Stokols: "Beginning with their Friday night appearances here at the Family Leader Forum -- an audition of sorts before the influential Christian conservative group and its leader, Bob Vander Plaats -- the outline of their looming showdown began to take shape. And Iowa Republicans, including the 2,000 people in attendance at the event, began taking a much closer look at a rivalry that could determine the outcome of the Feb. 1 caucuses...If Cruz secures Vander Plaats' endorsement before the end of the year, he’ll have assembled a formidable roster of Iowa’s Christian conservative influencers, having already won the backing of Congressman Steve King and scores of conservative pastors...With the caucuses now roughly two months away, Rubio’s organization in Iowa is working to broaden its bandwidth, and the senator will be intensifying his campaigning in Iowa and other early states in an effort to close the sale. He is also beginning to draw sharper contrasts between himself and Cruz." [Politico]
REPUBLICANS VIE TO REPLACE MAN WHO CANNOT BE REPLACED - Laissez les bon temps secure the support of notable bundlers. Jonathan Easley and Scott Wong: "Reps. John Fleming (R-La.) and Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.) will run for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) in Louisiana in a race that will likely attract a crowded GOP field. Boustany has been eyeing the seat for months, and said in a statement on Monday that he’d enter the race, with a formal announcement from his home town of LaFayette coming 'in the near future.' Meanwhile, a source with knowledge of Fleming’s plans told The Hill on Monday that he also plans to enter the race soon. Fleming confirmed that he is eying the race in a statement." [The Hill]
The New Black Panther/Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy marches on! "White Christians have fallen below a majority of the U.S. population." [National Journal]
: -( "Conservative commentator Elisabeth Hasselbeck will be leaving the airwaves for the foreseeable future. The 'Fox & Friends' co-host will say goodbye to the Fox News morning program in late December, a move she says will allow her to focus on raising her children." [HuffPost's Judah Robinson]
RNC REVEALS 2016 CONVENTION LOGO - It was that or an Elephant eating from the spigot of the old Twinkie factory. Andrew Tobias: "Cleveland's status as the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be incorporated into the political history books, through a locally designed logo unveiled on Monday for the 2016 Republican National Convention. The logo features a red elephant -- the symbol of the GOP -- walking atop a stylized, blue outline of an electric guitar with three inset white stars. It will be a prominent part of all official convention-related materials and communications, according to Steve King, the leader of the GOP committee organizing the convention. Falls Communications, a Cleveland-based firm that has been involved with planning efforts through the local convention host committee, designed the logo for the RNC." [Cleveland.com]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a newborn hippo learning to swim.
THIS IS THE SINGLE WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN IN HUMAN HISTORY - Nadya Agrawal: "Coldplay's new album "A Head Full of Dreams," which comes out Dec. 4, will feature vocals by guest singers Beyonce, Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo -- and the president of the United States. That's right, President Barack Obama's dulcet tones will be a centerpiece on the much-anticipated Brit Pop album. In June, Obama was filmed singing 'Amazing Grace' at the funeral of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who died, along with eight others, in an allegedly racially-motivated shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Coldplay was so inspired that they sample his rendition for their new album." [HuffPost]
COMFORT FOOD
- A literal interpretation of the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" music video.
- Fire tornado in slow motion.
- The story of the dollar sign.
TWITTERAMA
@pourmecoffee: Going to add the ISIS monitoring package to my home security system. It's only $10 more a month and they strongly recommend it.
@poniewozik: Any "How to Survive Your Family's Thanksgiving Arguments" article that is not simply a list of very strong cocktail recipes is a lie.
@realaxelfoley: Jesus was the first Millenial.
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