Character Matters - A Haslam 2016 TL

[Tricky Nicky]

Coming as soon as I have the time

(if this is not posted here, may I request a mod to move this to where it is needed. Thank you)​

 

[Tricky Nicky]

​

After Mitt Romney's lost the 2012 US presidential election to Barack Obama, the Republican Party must decide which way to turn.

In 2013, first year of Barack Obama's second term as President of the United States, America faces many divisions among its people. The GOP is divided, mostly on immigration issues due to the Gang of Eight's comprehensive immigration reform bill that would have gave access to American citizenship for illegal immigrants. The American people is also divided on the gun control issue.

​

The Syrian Civil War opposing the dictatorial regime Bachar al-Assad, supported materially and militarily by Russia for economic purposes, and the Syrian rebellion intensifies, triggering debates on whether the United States should intervene militarily to support the Syrian rebellion. The Ukrainian revolution of 2014 is marked by protests against Russia's political and economic influence on Ukraine. After multiplied protests, pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych resigns, thus gradually freeing Ukraine from Russia's influence and orienting Kiev to the European Union, a tendency reinforced by the election of Petro Proshenko as President of Ukraine on May 2014. But days after Yanukovych fled Kiev on February 2014, an armed pro-Russian rebellion opposed to the Europeanization emerges in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, multiplying attacks against the Ukrainian army. Determined to protect it's economic interests in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin's Russia intervenes militarily in Ukraine, annexes Crimea, and materially supports the pro-Russian rebellion, all actions marking a violation of territorial integrity.

​

Due to US troops' and US allies' troops withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, this country witnesses the emergence of the jihadist group of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a branch of Al Qaeda operating in Iraq and Syria. Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS takes most of the western part of Iraq and approaches Baghdad. It also extended its territory in eastern Syria. ISIS' rise forced the United States and their allies, including their Arab partners, to start an air-based military intervention in Iraq and Syria in order to fight ISIS through airstrikes.

​

Partly due to such increasing international insecurity and to Obama's decreasing job approval, the 2014 midterm elections were concluded through successes by the Republican Party who increased its dominance in the House of Representatives by gaining 13 more seats, which puts the party at 247 seats against 188 seats for the Democrats. Republicans also took control of the U.S. Senate by gaining 9 Senate seats, thus putting it at 54 seats against 46 seats for the Democrats. So Republicans control both chambers of the Congress, which is likely to complicate President Obama's political agenda.

At the end of 2014, the Obama administration normalized the relations between the United States and Cuba, thus reinforcing the possibility that the Cuban embargo would be lifted, a policy opposed by Republicans who think that it would increase the Castro regime's tyrannical and oppressive influence on the Cuban people. In 2014 and 2015, many innocent African-Americans were killed by white policemen or white supremacists (including in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 2015), which divides the country, triggers riots and contributes to the emergence of Black Lives Matter, a movement fighting for the African-American cause. On June 26 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized gay marriage. On October of the same year the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement of nuclear non-proliferation on Iranian nuclear, is adopted, thus lifting US sanctions against Iran though it increased concerns among the American people since the lifting of US sanctions would allow Iran to earn the necessary revenues to develop its uranium in order to construct nuclear weapons, which would be a threat to international security. And on December 2015, President Obama ratified the Paris Agreement dealing with, greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

Obama's second term is also marked by an improvement of the economic situation through the decrease of unemployment rate. Job creation under Obama's presidency is mostly due to tax cuts for the middle class and small businesses, support to U.S. automobile industry and decreased imports of foreign oil and gas, thus reducing the unemployment rate to 5 % in January 2016. Yet, it's one of the slowest economic growths America has ever known due to increased taxes and regulations on the American people, businesses and energy industry, to a low GDP, to low minimum wage and to an increased national debt that almost hits 20 trillion dollars. In 2015, Obama has urged Congress to ratify a 12-nation free trade pact called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade deal that would lower tariffs and increase economic and trade relations between the United States and Asian countries in the Pacific region, except for China and North Korea, thus making America competitive in Pacific and Asian markets.

In 2015, national security concerns emerged among the American people due to multiplied terrorist attacks around the world, notably two attacks in Paris (January and November) and two attacks on the United States’ territory (the first one in Garland, Texas, on May 2015 and the second one in San Bernardino, California, on December 2015).

Meanwhile, the 2016 US presidential election race starts. On March 2015, Texas Senator Ted Cruz becomes the first Republican to announce his candidacy for President of the United States. A week later, it was Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's turn. On mid-April, former First Lady, former New York Senator and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announces that she launches a second presidential bid, eight years after her failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. The next day, Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio announces his candidacy for President of the United States, declaring that yesterday is over and that America must look to the future as well as Vice President Joe Biden who stated that it was time to continue on the current course of events. 3 days later, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam threw his hat into the ring, claiming that it was time to return to character in leadership and a return to moderate Conservatism in the Republican party. In total, 7 Democrats and 18 Republicans are running for President in the 2016 election cycle. This high number of candidates among Republicans makes the 2016 Republican primary race the most wide-open contest.

But one of the most controversial candidacies among Republicans is businessman, reality television and real estate developer Donald Trump's candidacy who declared his candidacy in mid-June 2015 while declaring that Mexican are "rapists, criminals and drug dealers." Donald Trump calls for a deportation of all illegal immigrants, plans to build a wall on the US-Mexican borders to stop illegal immigration and seeks to renegotiate free trade deals. Trump multiplies it's controversial comments, especially on John McCain's war hero status, and mocked disabled reporter with the following words: "Uh, I don't know what I said. Uh, I don't remember." He also promises to fight terrorism by killing women and children of terrorists. Despite these controversial comments, Donald Trump rises in the polls for the Republican nomination and even rises to the top of all the 18 Republican candidates for President. This is mostly due to the American people's increasing fatigue towards politicians and political elites which, they believe, abandoned them. Donald Trump's rise is also due to his populist message. This anti-establishment sentiment is not only felt among Republicans: it's also felt among Democrats due to Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders' candidacy. Sanders opposes free trade deals and unveiled an agenda more progressive than Hillary Clinton's by promoting a 15$ minimum wage, free education and by making green energy development one of his main priorities. This agenda helps Sanders to become Hillary Clinton's main rival for the Democratic nomination. By January, only 4 Democrats and 10 Republicans remain.

It is now the month of January and at the January 14th Republican debate in North Charleston, South Carolina. Here is the current polling for both parties. This is Haslam's second to last chance to make an impact on voters before the Iowa Caucus on February 1st after consistently losing to Cruz, Rubio, and Trump in them:

RCP Republican Primary Average (Nationwide):

Trump: 36%
Cruz: 19%
Rubio: 15%
Haslam: 10%
Carson: 8%
Bush: 3%
Santourum: 1%
Huckabee: 1%
Kasich: 1%
Fiorina: 1%
Undecided: 5%

RCP Democratic Primary Average (Nationwide):

Biden: 39%
Clinton: 32%
Sanders: 27%
O'Malley: 1%
Undecided: 1%

RCP Republican Primary Average (Iowa):

Trump: 22%
Cruz: 20%
Rubio: 18%
Haslam: 14%
Carson: 10%
Bush: 5%
Santourum: 1%
Huckabee: 1%
Kasich: 1%
Fiorina: 1%
Undecided: 7%


RCP Democratic Primary Average (Iowa):

Biden: 35%
Clinton: 33%
Sanders: 30%
O'Malley: 1%
Undecided: 1%​

​

 

[King_Arthur]

Needs to go into chat. Otherwise a very good start.

 

[Tricky Nicky]

Needs to go into chat. Otherwise a very good start.

Thank you. I'll post in the Help and Rues to request a move.

 

[Tricky Nicky]

SIXTH REPUBLICAN DEBATE

JANUARY 14TH, 2016

LOCATION: NORTH CHARLESTON COLISEUM, NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

PODIUM ORDER (BASED ON RECENT POLLS):

TRUMP CRUZ RUBIO HASLAM CARSON


​

Cavuto: "This Next question is for Governor Haslam. Governor, over these last few months, you have slowly risen in the polls to be in the top 5 candidates in the republican primaries already. Despite this, some say that you have no foreign policy experience and thus it will make it harder for you to be President on the International stage. How would you like to respond to these criticisms."

Haslam: "That's a great question, Cavuto. But before I began, May I ask a question? How important is character in a leader? How important is it that a leader has good character? In my opinion, a leader without good character is a leader not worth a vote or the people's adoration. If a leader has no good character, then they are no real leader at all and instead they are a parasite that leeches off the values and trust of the people who trusted them. Now, to answer your question, I want to say simply that I may not have the experience that Senators Cruz or Rubio, or even Mr. Trump himself has, but I do know one thing, we need a leader with good character that has not been corrupted by Washington. Otherwise, our allies and our enemies will not know how we did shady business deals with them or not. We also need a leader who knows the difference between negotiating and just attacking for no reason. I believe in the ideas of Theodore Roosevelt when it comes to Big Stick Diplomacy, meaning that I will build up my military to such an extent that no one, Russia, China, Iran, or even North Korea, will want to threaten us. I will also use the ideas of Woodrow Wilson when it come to Moral Diplomacy, meaning that for our allies that abuse Human rights and censor anything like a genocide out of their history as well as deny blame for it, we won't deal with you and won't trade with you until you go on the path of Democracy once more. Call it Big Moral Diplomacy.

I have a feeling that my opponents here tonight will say that I can't use Early 20th Century policies for the 21st Century and use that as an attack against me. I will like to give a response before they can attack me on this. Gentlemen, are we not in a similar situation currently? We have a practical dictatorship in Russia, Communist dictatorships in Cuba, China, and North Korea, a Theocracy in Iran, and various Nations treating our military strength like garbage all the while they run rough shot over us and laugh. This very situation is similar to the one during the presidencies of Teddy and Wilson. It's time for Big Moral Diplomacy because it's time for Diplomacy that can actually work. Thank you."

WHO WON THE SIXTH REPUBLICAN DEBATE?

HASLAM: 31%
RUBIO: 26%
TRUMP: 22%
CRUZ: 17%
CARSON: 5%
UNSURE: 1%​

 

[Tricky Nicky]

After his victory in the Sixth Republican debate, Haslam was shown to be gaining on Rubio, Cruz, and Trump in the polls. So Haslam's presidential campaign decided to intensify its efforts in Iowa in order to win that state. The Tennessee Governor targets Polk county (Des Moines' location), Woodbury county (which seat is Sioux City), Linn county (where Grand Rapids is located), Scott county (Davenport's county) and all the rural counties neighboring these urban counties.

Since agriculture is Iowa's main economic activity, Haslam promises, on campaign trail, to boost America's agriculture by cutting taxes for businesses, including tractor and seed companies, to help them to innovate and to manufacture more tractors and seeds in order to create jobs, improve agricultural technologies, ensure Iowa's and America's subsistence. This agenda is reinforced by the fact that his home state, Tennessee, is 44% Farmland. He also promises to give them support in helping to create Ethanol as Green energy for the country.

Following a victory in which he placed another 1st place after giving his stance on budget and the Economy ("In talking about the budget, it's also important to talk about what we in Tennessee did not do to balance the budget the past two years. We didn't raise taxes. In fact, we lowered them. We are also providing tax relief for low-income seniors, veterans and the disabled by fully funding the growth of the property tax relief program.

Another important thing we did not do to balance the budget was to cut education funding. Not only did we not cut funding, we had the second largest increase in state K-12 expenditures of all 50 states in the fiscal year 2012. By doing these very same things across the country we can see the rise of the Economy and a stronger budget.") many which say was a good use of a quote from his State of the State Address in 2013. After this, Haslam increased his focus on Iowa before the Iowa caucus by contacting and meeting with Evangelical Leaders on the 31st of January before going into the main population centers and holding rally after rally with the same leaders before slamming Ted Cruz on consistent lies in Des Moines. Finally, he watched the CNN Coverage of the 2016 Iowa Caucuses at the AC Hotel

 

[ThatRomanFanatic]

Ooooh.
Haslam ain't gonna have the absolute meme power of Trump though....

 

[Tricky Nicky]

Ooooh.
Haslam ain't gonna have the absolute meme power of Trump though....

There is one way to get rid of Trump's momentum.

 

[Tricky Nicky]

2016 Iowa Caucuses Coverage on CNN

CNN Election Theme:

​

Blitzer: "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Wolf Blitzer in the CNN Election center and I have John King and Anderson Cooper accompanying me. Welcome to the coverage of the 2016 Iowa caucuses that are announcing very hot. Will Iowa maintain Donald Trump's momentum or will it undermine it and give other candidates a new boost. Will the progress by Hillary Clinton be stunted here or will a new surprise happen? Iowans are gathering across the state for the leadoff contest at the presidential contest. We can now give exit polls for both party caucuses."

Iowa Republican Caucus Exit Polls:

Trump: 24-28%
Cruz: 18-22%
Rubio: 14-20%
Haslam: 12-18%
Carson: 5-10%
Bush: 3-5%
Santourum: 0-1%
Huckabee: 0-1%
Kasich: 0-1%
Fiorina: 0-1%

Iowa Democratic Caucus Exit Polls:

Biden: 35-40%
Clinton: 30-35%
Sanders: 25-30%
O'Malley: 0-5%
​

Blitzer: "These Exit Polls are predicting both candidates to do as well as the polls had predicted but there can be a surprise that happens tonight as the night hasn't ended yet. We'll keep you posted as more results come in. Currently, Cruz is leading but these are in heavy Cruz counties, so don't expect that lead to continue."

8:30 PM
​

Blitzer: "It's 8:30 pm. Donald Trump has caught up to Ted Cruz as he's leading right now in Woodburry county. But Bill Haslam and Marco Rubio are making progress as they takes the lead in Polk county as well as all the neighboring counties, including Jasper and Story counties. Haslam's last minute appeal to evangelical and rural voters seems to be effective. but until later tonight, we won't know who could this Caucus tonight."

Iowa Republican Caucus (25% Reporting) [30 Delegates]:

Trump: 25.37%
Cruz: 25.33%
Rubio: 20.31%
Haslam: 18.22%
Carson: 3.32%
Bush: 2.31%
Huckabee: 1.14%
Kasich: 1.13%
Fiorina: 1.10%
Santourum: 1.77%
​

Blitzer: "Bernie Sanders is now trailing Hillary Clinton by only two percentage point as he takes the lead in the Woodbury county and in the north of Des Moines while Biden leads Hillary by 3 points as he takes Story and Jasper Counties."

Iowa Democratic Caucus (25% Reporting) [51 Delegates]:

Biden: 34.32%
Clinton: 31.20%
Sanders: 30.58%
O'Malley: 3.90%

9:00 PM
​

Blitzer: "It's 9 pm and Bill Haslam, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are battling for the second place. The Tennessee Governor is making progress in eastern Iowa as he wins in Johnson, Linn, and Scott counties, while Rubio picks up Muscatine county."

Iowa Republican Caucus (50% Reporting) [30 Delegates]:

Trump: 26.33%
Cruz: 22.31%
Rubio: 21.29%
Haslam: 21.20%
Carson: 4.64%
Bush: 1.16%
Kasich: 1.11%
Huckabee: 1.07%
Fiorina: .56%
Santourum: .33%
​

Blitzer: "For the Democrats, in a major Surprise, Senator Bernie Sanders has taken the lead over both Biden and Clinton as he leads in most of Iowa's southern counties due to vote splitting between Biden and Clinton."

Iowa Democratic Caucus (50% Reporting) [51 Delegates]:

Sanders: 33.43%
Biden: 32.34%
Clinton: 32.30%
O'Malley: 1.93%

9:30 PM
​

Blitzer: "It's 9:30 pm and Bill Haslam surprisignly rises to the top while Marco Rubio places a good second. The Tennessee Governor takes the lead with 25.43% of the vote, edging Marco, Rubio, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump as he wins in Dubuque county. Haslam also wins most of the counties around Woodbury county, Sioux City's county, such as Ida, Cherokee, and Sioux counties while Marco Rubio wins in the O'Brien county. Say what you want, but it seems tonight Marco Rubio and Bill Haslam have both exceeded expectations."

Iowa Republican Caucus (75% Reporting) [30 Delegates]:

Haslam: 25.43%
Rubio: 23.34%
Trump: 22.10%
Cruz: 21.54%
Carson: 3.22%
Bush: 1.33%
Kasich: 1.04%
Huckabee: 1.01%
Fiorina: .67%
Santourum: .32%
​

Blitzer: "Uh. Anderson, you seem to have something important to tell us?"

Cooper: "Yeah. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign announced that retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson dropped out of the race after his poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. Now we have to see to which candidate Ben Carson's withdrawal will benefit."

​

Blitzer: "For the Democrats, it's an all out war between the main three candidates as Sanders barely holds onto his lead against Biden and Clinton though Martin O'Malley is continuesly spiraling downwards as he now reaches .96%."

Iowa Democratic Caucus (75% Reporting) [51 Delegates]:

Sanders: 34.71%
Biden: 33.94%
Clinton: 30.38%
O'Malley: .96%

10:00 PM
​

Blitzer: "It's 10 pm and CNN projects that Bill Haslam, the Republican Tennessee Governor, will win the Iowa caucuses. This is a major win for Bill Haslam as he has done remarkably well. We never thought he could win this state, we expected him to finish a distant fourth, but he finished at the top due to his last minute efforts among evangelicals, farmers and mainstream voters. So Bill Haslam wins the Iowa Republican caucuses with 26.37% of the vote, interestingly beating Marco Rubio who got 25.34% of the vote. This is Haslam's first major step towards the Nomination while also striking a big blow to Trump as he finishes a moderate third after barely beating Cruz for that position. We can also announce that Haslam has won 8 Delegates, Rubio has won 7 Delegates, Trump has won 6 Delegates, Cruz has won 3 Delegates, and the remaining 6 Candidates win 1 Delegate each.

Iowa Republican Caucus (100% Reporting) [30 Delegates]

Haslam: 26.37% ✔ (8 Delegates)
Rubio: 25.34% (7 Delegates)
Trump: 21.22% (6 Delegates)
Cruz: 20.34% (3 Delegates)
Carson: 2.45% (1 Delegate)
Bush: 1.21% (1 Delegate)
Kasich: 1.19% (1 Delegate)
Huckabee: 1.12% (1 Delegate)
Fiorina: .54% (1 Delegate)
Santourum: .22% (1 Delegate)

BILL HASLAM WINS IOWA REPUBLICAN CAUCUS
​

Blitzer: "We can also project that after terrible performances in Iowa, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Carly Fiorina will all suspend their campaigns with Santorum endorsing Cruz, Huckabee endorsing Haslam, and Fiorina endorsing Rubio."

Mike Huckabee Drops out of Race
Rick Santorum drops out of Race
Carly Fiorina drops out of Race

​

Blizter: "Now we can also project that Bernie Sanders wins the Iowa Caucus with every precinct reporting. He wins with just a hundredth of a point lead over Vice President Biden. This has been the closest result in the Caucus' History. Bernie will get 19 Delegates, Biden will get 16, Clinton will get 15, and O'Malley gets 1."

Iowa Democratic Caucus (100% Reporting) [51 Delegates]:

Sanders: 32.34% ✔ (19 Delegates)
Biden: 32.33% (16 Delegates)
Clinton: 32.32% (15 Delegates)
O'Malley: 3.01% (1 Delegate)

BERNIE SANDERS WINS IOWA DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS
​

Blitzer: "We can also announce that after a rather bad performance at Iowa, Martin O'Malley has dropped out, stating that whoever wins the Maryland Primary, which will most likely be Biden, will be the one he endorses."

Martin O'Malley Drops out of Race

Blitzer: "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for following the coverage of the Iowa caucuses. We'll see you next week for the coverage of the New Hampshire primary. Have a good night."

 

[King_Arthur]

Is there another update coming today?

 

[Tricky Nicky]

PARTY PRIMARY DELEGATE COUNTS-

REPUBLICANS:

Bill Haslam - 8 Delegates
Marco Rubio - 7 Delegates
Donald Trump - 6 Delegates
Ted Cruz - 3 Delegates
Ben Carson - 1 Delegate
Jeb Bush - 1 Delegate
John Kasich - 1 Delegate
Mike Huckabee - 1 Delegate
Carly Fiorina - 1 Delegate
Rick Santorum - 1 Delegate


DEMOCRATS:

Bernie Sanders - 19 Delegates
Joe Biden - 16 Delegates
Hillary Clinton - 15 Delegates
Martin O'Malley - 1 Delegate​

 

[Tricky Nicky]

Is there another update coming today?

look above, lol

 

[Tricky Nicky]

​

"Thank you, Iowa.

So this is the moment they said would never happen.

For months, for months they told us we had no chance. For months they told us because we offer too much optimism in a time of anger, we had no chance. For months they told us because we didn't have the right endorsements or the right political connections, we had no chance. They told me that we have no chance because I wasn't experienced enough and I had no Washington insight. They told me I needed to wait my turn, that I needed to wait in line. But tonight, tonight here in Iowa, the people of this great state have sent a very clear message. After seven years of Barack Obama, we are not waiting any longer to take our country back.

This is not a time for waiting. For everything that makes this nation great now hangs in the balance. This is a time where we need a president that will preserve, protect the constitution of the United States. Not one that undermines, attacks, and ignores the constitution of the United States. This is a time for a president who will defend our Second Amendment rights. Not a president who undermines them. This is a time for a president that will rebuild the US military, because the world is a safer and a better place when the United States has the most powerful military in the world. This is no ordinary election. 2016 is not just a choice between two political parties. 2016 is a referendum. A referendum on our identity as a nation and as a people. In America, there are only two ways forward for us now.

We can either be greater than we've ever been or we can be a great nation in decline. If Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, or Hillary Clinton get elected, if they were to win, we will be a great nation in decline. If they win, Obamacare becomes permanent. If they win, these unconstitutional executive orders from this president become permanent. If they win, our military continues to decline. And if they win, the balance of our Supreme Court will be controlled by liberal justices for over a decade or longer. They cannot win.

Hillary Clinton is disqualified from being the president of the United States because she stored classified and sensitive information on her email server, because she thinks she's above the law. Hillary Clinton can never be commander in chief. Because anyone who lies to the families of people who lost their lives in service of this country can never be commander in chief of the United States. And so tonight I thank you here in Iowa. I thank you because tonight we have taken the first step, but an important step toward winning this election.

If I am our nominee — and I will be our nominee, thanks to what you have done here in this great state — when I am our nominee, we are going to unify this party, and we are going to unify the conservative movement with the Tea Party Movement and the Moderate Movement. When I'm our nominee, we are going to grow the conservative movement, the Tea Party Movement, and the Moderate Movement. We're going to take our message to the people who are struggling paycheck to paycheck. To the students living under the burden of student loans. To the families struggling to raise their children with the right values, we will take our message to them and bring them to our side. When I am our nominee, we will defeat Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or Bernie Sanders or whoever they nominate.

I want to thank an all powerful and mighty God for the chance that he has given us to be a part of this endeavor here in Iowa. It's been a phenomenal experience. I want to thank my wife and my family. And I want to thank all of you for this contribution to our victory here in the Huckeye state.

I want to thank a good friend of mine, Gov. Mike Huckabee, for his service to our country. He's announced tonight he's suspending his campaign. We have tremendous admiration for Gov. Huckabee and we thank him for all he's done.

Two centuries ago an extraordinary generation living in one place at one time in America — colonists of an English colony — declared their independence from the most powerful empire in the world. They did it with the powerful words and principle that our rights come from our creator, they do not come from our government. And the rest is a two-century history of the most extraordinary nation known to mankind. I know America is special. This is a well-known fact. The story of Senator Rubio, who placed second tonight is a story of immigrants who came here legally.

That's not just his story. That's everyone's story, that's America's story. That's the story of your parents — you know the stories of your parents who sacrificed and gave up so much so you could be what they could not. It's the story of those parents today who are doing the same for their children. It is this that makes America special. And this is what we fight now to preserve.

This is the kind of country that I want to leave for my grand-children. This is the kind of country your children deserve to inherit as well. And this is what we must now decide. Whether we will remain that kind of country, or whether we will be the first generation to lose it. It's an important choice. And one that each generation before us has had to make. For America is not a special country by accident. America is a great nation. Because each generation before us did their part. Each generation before us sacrificed, they confronted their challenges, they embraced their opportunities, and for over two centuries, each generation has left the next better off than themselves.

Now the time has come for us to do the same. Now the moment has arrived for this generation of Americans to rise up to the calling of our heritage. Now the time has come for us to take our place and do what we must. And when I'm elected president of these great United States, we will do our part.

When I am elected president, when we together achieve this victory, we will embrace all the principles that made America great and we will apply them to the unique challenges of this new century. When our work is done, here is what history will say of this generation. It will say that we lived in the early years of this new century, in an uncertain and difficult time, but we remembered who we were. We rose up to the challenge of our time. We confronted our problems and solved them. Because they did, the American dream didn't just survive; it reached more people and changed more lives than ever before. Because we did, our children and grandchildren grew up to be the freest and most prosperous Americans that ever lived.

Because we did what needed to be done, the 21st century wasn't just as good as the 20th century, it was better. It was a new American century. This is the task before us. And I thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ, I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to come this far with each of you.

I am grateful to you, Iowa, you believed in me when others didn't think this night would be possible. When perhaps you were lost in the daily narrative, perhaps it was time to step aside, you believed in me. You walked with us, you made the calls and knocked on doors. You made a huge difference tonight. I will be back here in October of next year and September of this year because — I said next year, I'll be back next year too — but I'm going to be back in October and September of this year because when I'm our nominee, we are going to win Iowa, and we are going to win this election for this country. And so Iowa thank you so much. We will never forget you, we will see you soon again. And New Hampshire, we will see you in the morning. Thank you, God bless you. Thank you very much."

 

[Tricky Nicky]

Bill Haslam's victory in the Iowa caucuses as well as Marco Rubio's surprise second place boosted them in the polls and raised from fourth place (Haslam) to third place and from third place (Rubio) to second, thus considerably threatening Donald Trump's path to the nomination as well as knocking Ted Cruz down to fourth. So Haslam is likely to be the main targets of all the other candidates from the establishment such as Jeb Bush and John Kasich. If Haslam or Rubio is to win the nomination, they will have to eliminate all the other establishment candidates as soon as possible. New Hampshire should be the state deciding who will be the favorite of the establishment. Haslam has to finish at least second in New Hampshire to keep his chances alive. For the Democrats, meanwhile, Bernie's surprise win in Iowa has boosted him to first place in the polls with many agreeing it's time for a new America as the Socialist Vermont Senator rises in popularity.

RCP Republican Polling Average (Nationwide):

Trump: 32%
Rubio: 25%
Haslam: 23%
Cruz: 15%
Carson: 2%
Kasich: 1%
Bush: 1%
Undecided: 1%

RCP Democratic Polling Average (Nationwide):

Sanders: 34%
Biden: 33%
Clinton: 32%
Undecided: 1%

RCP Republican Polling Average (New Hampshire):

Trump: 29%
Rubio: 27%
Haslam: 22%
Cruz: 16%
Carson: 3%
Kasich: 1%
Bush: 1%
Undecided: 1%

RCP Democratic Polling Average (New Hampshire):

Sanders: 45%
Clinton: 32%
Biden: 22%
Undecided: 1%

RCP Republican Polling Average (South Carolina):

Haslam: 32%
Rubio: 29%
Trump: 24%
Cruz: 10%
Carson: 2%
Bush: 1%
Kasich: 1%
Undecided: 1%

RCP Democratic Polling Average (Nevada):

Clinton: 39%
Sanders: 33%
Biden: 27%
Undecided: 1%

RCP Republican Polling Average (Nevada):

Trump: 32%
Rubio: 28%
Haslam: 24%
Cruz: 10%
Carson: 3%
Kasich: 1%
Bush: 1%

RCP Democratic Polling Average (South Carolina):

Biden: 37%
Clinton: 34%
Sanders: 28%
Undecided: 1%​

 

[Tricky Nicky]

New Haslam Endorsements
​

After his shock win in Iowa, Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee has received endorsements from Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, which could help him out in that primary, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada, each helping his polling in said states. The Tennessee Governor is even endorsed by Congressman Trey Gowdy, one of the most conservative Representatives from South Carolina.

Trump hits Lyin' Ted Cruz on Ben Carson false drop-out
​

On the campaign trail in New Hampshire, Donald Trump slammed Ted Cruz by accusing him of orchestrating dirty tricks during the Iowa caucuses :

Donald Trump: Yesterday, during the Iowa caucuses, not before or after, Ted Cruz said that my friend Dr. Ben Carson dropped out of the race, so many people voted for Ted instead of Ben. But you know what, Ben Carson is still in the race. He did not dropped out.

So Ted Cruz lied about Ben Carson during the Iowa caucuses in order to win more votes, hoping that it would help him winning the Iowa caucuses. But it did not work for him because despite of Ted's, I mean Lyin' Ted's dirty tricks, Bill Haslam won this state and topped Lyin' Ted and Little Rubio. So remember how we henceforth should call Ted.

Crowd: Lyin' Ted, Lyin' Ted, Lyin' Ted (chant)

Donald Trump: So Lyin' Ted holds the Bible high, puts it down and then he starts lying. We will bring change in Washington, believe me, and the American people will no longer feel betrayed by career politicians.

Kasich to drop out if he loses New Hampshire Primary

After making poor performance in the Iowa Republican caucuses, Ohio Governor John Kasich indicated that he would drop out of the race if he doesn't finish at least third in New Hampshire.

"If we don't do well, we're not going to be dragging around like some band of minstrels who beg people to come to our show." Kasich said at a Bloomberg Politics breakfast in Manchester, New Hampshire.

You Can Do Anything!
​

The day after the eight Republican Debate, An access Hollywood tape showed Donald Trump demaning women, with the most targeted comment being "Grab them by the P***y. You can do Anything..." Immediately, Trump has lost his first place in polling in New Hampshire and may even do terribly in South Carolina and Nevada, states he needs to do well in. Trump has also suffered as Endorsements have withdrawn from him, most of them going to Bill Haslam or Marco Rubio.

 

[King_Arthur]

Great update! This TL seems to be going in a very interesting direction.

 

[Tricky Nicky]

February 2nd

- Education Policy speech in University of New Hampshire in Manchester, New Hampshire. Here is an excerpt from his speech:

"Last year, In Tennessee, we introduced the Tennessee Promise--the very first state in the country to guarantee high school graduates two years of free community college or technical school. This year, of our 65,000 high school seniors, 58,000 of them applied for the Tennessee Promise. And 9,200 adult Tennesseans signed up to be volunteer mentors for those students.

For the last 30 years, Tennessee's greatest need has been for better trained workers who can fill the jobs that companies want to bring here. We think the Tennessee Promise is a game changer.

My Hope is to use this success for our Nation. With the work done in the Tennessean Promise, I can be able to convert this failed style into a better system for all americans."

February 3rd

- After learning that John Kasich would drop out of the race if he doesn't finish at least third in New Hampshire, Haslam's presidential campaign decided to produce negative ads against Kasich in order to drown him in the Granite State. So the Tennessee Governor's campaign orchestrated ad filmings during the day.

In the same day, Haslam makes debate preparations because he's certain that he will be one of the main targets during the next debate in Goffstown, NH, since he won the Republican Iowa caucus.

Feburary 4th

- Governor Haslam's presidential campaign broadcasted an ad attacking Governor Kasich on comments during an interview in 2004. At that time Kasich said during this interview that "No matter if George W. Bush or John Kerry won the 2004 US presidential election, America will be fine." The ad titled "Lack of judgement and leadership" airs in New Hampshire.

"During an interview in 2006, John Kasich showed that lack of judgement, especially on national security."

​

Kasich: "If Kerry OR Bush wins, America will be fine."

"This is false, Kasich!"

​

"If John Kerry won the 2004 presidential election, America would not have been fine. Under a Kerry presidency the government would have got bigger and bigger, taxes on the American people would have been raised, we would have been much more dependent on foreign oil due to higher taxes on energy industries, government spending would have considerably expanded, the deficit would have been much higher today and President Kerry would have imposed protectionism, thus making us less competitive in the world economy. Many American jobs would have been lost under a Kerry administration."

​

"On national security, if John Kerry was elected President, our defense budget would have been reduced, thus decreasing our troops' readiness, which would have encouraged terrorists to commit more attacks against us and our allies. Osama Bin Laden would still have been on the run today, Al Qaida would have won and democracy would have been in much stronger danger around the world.

We need to cut taxes for all the American people and business owners in order to make them able to hire and to reinforce our consumers' purchasing power. We have to encourage oil drilling in order to make us energy independent and to develop renewable energies with a part of the revenues from oil drilling. We need to promote free trade to make us competitive in the world economy through lower tarifs. We must cut government spending and balance our budget.

We have to increase our military spending, which will help us modernizing our military and to fight terrorism more effectively. We will also have to strengthen our international morality and refuse to deal with countries with severe human rights violations

That's what Bill Haslam will do as President of the United States.

The Choice in this election is clear."

Haslam: "I'm Bill Haslam and I approve this message."

February 5th

- Haslam gives a Foreign Policy speech at New Boston Air Force Station. Here is an excerpt:

"In today's world, we have more threats than we did during the beginning of President Obama's first term in 2009. Russia invaded the Ukraine and annexed Crimea and has put increasing influence in Syria and Eastern Europe. China has had case after case of Human Rights abuses along with Saudi Arabia and Turkey despite the latter two being our allies. North Korea is getting dangerously close to having missiles that could potentially attack the United States and finally we have ISIS running rampant in the Middle East. We need a leader who will carry a big stick and be moral in diplomacy. A leader who knows the boundaries and a leader who can maintain global stability. I promise that as President, I will be the man to do just that..."

February 6th

- Attend Eight Republican Debate. In defending himself from an attack by Bush, Haslam stated on his homosexual rights:

"...Governor, I can understand how you would attack me on this. I personally don't support Homosexual rights but you want to know something, Governor? I am against Discriminating these citizens, which is a reason I vetoed a bill that would allow for people to discriminate freely. I personally don't support it but I will not interfere with it because these people are citizens, Governor. They aren't props you can use to boost your already pitiful numbers in New Hampshire."

He would go on to lose 33%-34% in the poll asking who won the debate, with Rubio barely edging him out.

February 7th

- While Haslam campaigns across the state, his campaign creates an ad set to run in New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina attacking trump on the Hollywood Access tape that has just been released.

February 8th

- Governor Haslam's presidential campaign broadcasted an ad attacking Donald Trump's comments on women titled "Good Character" airs in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.

​

Trump: "Grab them by the P***y. You can do Anything..."

​

Haslam: "Hello. I'm Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee. What you just heard was a candidate for the Republican Party, Mr. Donald Trump of New York, talking negatively about Women. Mr. Trump has done many terrible things so far in this campaign but this takes the lead of everything. New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada need to make a choice. A choice between someone with horrible character or someone with a truly great record and has a remarkable character. A proven leader or a proven bully. It's time to see what the Republican Party truly wants. I'm Bill Haslam and I endorse this message."

February 9th

- Meet with voters in Nashua

- Watch CNN election Night coverage on the New Hampshire Primaries.

 

[Tricky Nicky]

Great update! This TL seems to be going in a very interesting direction.

Thank you. I hope you can continue to enjoy this.

 

[Tricky Nicky]

2016 New Hampshire Primaries Coverage on CNN

CNN Election Theme:

​

Blitzer: "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Wolf Blitzer in the CNN Election Center. Welcome to the coverage of the 2016 New Hampshire primary, the first primary in state. We can already give current exit polls with Donald Trump being bloodied due to the Hollywood Access Tape."

New Hampshire Republican Primary Exit Polls (23 Delegates):

Rubio: 25-30%
Haslam: 20-29%
Cruz: 15-20%
Carson: 7-15%
Trump: 5-9%
Bush: 0-3%
Kasich: 0-1%

New Hampshire Democratic Primary Exit Polls (32 Delegates):

Sanders: 40-50%
Clinton: 30-36%
Biden: 15-31%
​

Blitzer: "Currently, Rubio is in the lead after carrying Chesire County though it's close between Him and Haslam. For the Democrats, Bernie is currently leading as he carries the same county by over 30 points."

8:30 PM
​

Blitzer: "It's 8:30 PM and we can project that Haslam and Rubio battle for First as Haslam wins Hillsborough county while Rubio wins Rockingham county, where his message for energy production seems to be working due to the location of the Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant there."

New Hampshire Republican Primary (25% Reporting) [23 Delegates]:

Rubio: 27.71%
Haslam: 26.33%
Cruz: 19.62%
Carson: 12.13%
Trump: 9.23%
Bush: 3.67%
Kasich: 1.31%
​

Blitzer: "On the Democratic side, Bernie wins Hillsborough County but Biden barely carries Rockingham county due to Vote splitting between Sanders and Clinton."

New Hampshire Democratic Primary (25% Reporting) [32 Delegates]:

Sanders: 47.21%
Clinton: 32.34%
Biden: 20.36%

9:00 PM
​

Blitzer: "It's 9:00 PM and Haslam wins Strafford County while Rubio wins Merrimack and Belknap counties. The race is getting closer and closer between these two as they leave Trump, Carson, Cruz, Bush, and Kasich in the dust. It's very close and we might even have a first place tie for both candidates."

New Hampshire Republican Primary (50% Reporting) [23 Delegates]:

Rubio: 28.09%
Haslam: 27.82%
Cruz: 17.53%
Carson: 11.08%
Trump: 10.56%
Bush: 3.23%
Kasich: 1.68%
​

Blitzer: "For the Democrats, Sanders carries Belknap and Merrimack counties while Clinton wins Strafford county. This is a lop-sided race as Sanders is garunteed to win but the fight for second place is very much alive between Former Secretary of State Clinton and Vice President Biden."

New Hampshire Democratic Primary (50% Reporting) [32 Delegates]:

Sanders: 51.39%
Clinton: 28.27%
Biden: 20.34%

9:30 PM
​

Blitzer: "It's 9:30 PM and Haslam has grabbed the lead from Rubio as he grabs Coos, Carroll, and Graffton Counties, though he barely wins in Coos."

New Hampshire Republican Primary (75% Reporting) [23 Delegates]:

Haslam: 28.39%
Rubio: 28.20%
Cruz: 16.13%
Trump: 12.71%
Carson: 10.91%
Bush: 2.65%
Kasich: 1.01%
​

Blitzer: "For the Democrats, Bernie carries the three counties just mentioned while Biden and Hillary fight to win Second in Sullivan County, which will determine who wins Second Place for the Democrats tonight. But remember, Sanders has won so there is no real hope for his opponents."

New Hampshire Democratic Primary (75% Reporting) [32 Delegates]:​

Sanders: 59.41%
Clinton: 20.37%
Biden: 20.22%
​

10:00 PM
​

Blitzer: "It is 10 PM and we can project that Bill Haslam pulls off another surprise win with 29.56% of the Voter while Marco Rubio is in a close second at 28.88%. This is yet another big win for Haslam and it might be a sign of things to come as Haslam wins 11 of the State's Delegates, Rubio wins 9, and Cruz wins 3. This is also a disaster for Trump as now he has completely lost his front-runner status as he places a second fourth yet again behind Ted Cruz."

New Hampshire Republican Primary (100% Reporting) [23 Delegates]:

Haslam: 29.56% ✔ (11 Delegates)
Rubio: 28.88% (9 Delegates)
Cruz: 15.43% (3 Delegates)
Trump: 12.71%
Carson: 10.91%
Bush: 2.65%
Kasich: 1.04%

BILL HASLAM WINS NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
​

Blitzer: "CNN has also received word that after bad performances in New Hampshire, Neuroscientist Ben Carson and Governor John Kasich will drop out of the race with Carson endorsing Trump and Kasich endorsing Haslam."

JOHN KASICH DROPS OUT OF RACE
BEN CARSON DROPS OUT OF RACE

"For the Democrats, we can project that Bernie Sanders wins with 60.34% of the vote but Biden places a surprise second with 20.27% of the vote and Clinton's 19.39%. As a result, Bernie will carry 28 Delegates, Biden will get 3 Delegates and Clinton will get 1 Delegate."

New Hampshire Democratic Primary (100% Reporting) [32 Delegates]:

Sanders: 60.34% ✔ (28 Delegates)
Biden: 20.27% (3 Delegates)
Clinton: 19.39% (1 Delegate)

BERNIE SANDERS WINS NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
​

Blitzer: "Tonight, Haslam's path to the White House may have just completely opened. Twice, he has beaten the polls and now many believe he may be able to do it again. But Marco Rubio has a chance as well after placing an excellent second against Haslam."

Cooper: "Yeah that's right because the New Hampshire primary winners didn't always won their party's nomination. In 1996, Bob Dole finished second in New Hampshire behind Pat Buchanan but still won the Republican nomination. It's the same for George W. Bush in 2000 when he was edged by John McCain in the Granite State and still won the nomination. And the same for Barack Obama who lost New Hampshire to Hillary Clinton after he finished second and still won the Democratic nomination.

King: "I think the race for both Party nominations is still up in the air as to who might win."

Blitzer: "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for following the coverage of the New Hampshire primary. We'll see you in two weeks for the coverage of the South Carolina primary. Have a good night."

 

[Tricky Nicky]

PARTY PRIMARY DELEGATE COUNTS:
​

REPUBLICANS:

Bill Haslam - 19 Delegates
Marco Rubio - 16 Delegates
Ted Cruz - 6 Delegates
Donald Trump - 6 Delegates
Jeb Bush - 1 Delegate
John Kasich - 1 Delegate
Ben Carson - 1 Delegate
Rick Santourum - 1 Delegate
Mike Huckabee - 1 Delegate
Carly Fiorina - 1 Delegate

DEMOCRATS:

​

Bernie Sanders - 47 Delegates
Joe Biden - 19 Delegates
Hillary Clinton - 16 Delegates​

Martin O'Malley - 1 Delegate​