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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

THE PINOCCHIO EFFECT IN POLITICS

We've all seen what happens when we voted someone into office who was a very different person when they got there. It's called American politics. Tell people what they want to hear to get elected and do what you want to do when you take office. Grandpa Bush is famous for his "read my lips, no new taxes" blooper. Then there's Romney writing off 47% of the population behind closed doors as he was scheming on getting their votes.

The 2016 crop of politicians is not much different with a few exceptions.  That gives voters a rare opportunity to elect someone that might actually "walk the talk." Say what they mean, and mean what they say.

Words like "honest" "trustworthy" are used sparingly in politics. Not surprising given the amount of "canned" BS that spews from the mouths of most main stream Establishment politicians who, as Marco Rubio so eloquently demonstrated are "scripted" by their donors to say  (and repeat over and over again) what they believe voters want to hear. That's the nature of the beast and Republicans and Democrats alike are conditioned to respond that way even, as in Rubio's case, it sounds "robotic"

So, why are these words coming up at the voting booths these days? The answer is Bernie Sanders.

As Hillary Clinton faces increased scrutiny for her use of an unsecured personal email server while secretary of state, the Democratic presidential candidate continues to struggle to win voters over on the basis of trust.

The wide majority of Democratic primary voters who focused primarily on the trustworthiness of candidates backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, according to exit polls reported by ABC News.

Specifically, one-third of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters focused on the candidate who they believed to be most honest and trustworthy. Ninety-two percent of these individuals voted for Sanders, while 6 percent backed Clinton for the nomination.

Overall, Clinton lost the primary race to Sanders by 22 points.

Clinton’s honest rating, along with her poll numbers, has taken a hit since it was revealed last March that she used personal email to conduct government business while at the State Department. The Obama administration recently confirmed that nearly two dozen emails on Clinton’s server contain top secret information. Clinton has insisted that she never sent nor received information marked classified on her private email.

Clinton’s campaign has dismissed the controversy surrounding her email as the result of partisan efforts to damage her presidential ambitions. The FBI is currently investigating her email setup, which the agency formally confirmed for the first time in a letter earlier this month.

More than a quarter of Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire said they focused on the candidate who “cares about people like me,” according to exit polls Tuesday. Eight-in-10 of these voters backed Sanders, while 18 percent cast their ballots for Clinton.

Sanders beat Clinton among most demographic groups Tuesday, including women. Sanders dominated among Democratic voters under the age of 30, winning 84 percent to Clinton’s 15 percent. Sanders was similarly successful among younger voters in the Iowa Democratic caucus last week, where Clinton narrowly beat him.

During a speech from New Hampshire Tuesday night after the results were announced, Clinton acknowledged that she has “work to do” among younger voters. Her campaign has sought to minimize the importance of the first-in-the-nation Democratic primary, instead putting emphasis on states that vote in March.

While Sanders beat Clinton among most demographics , Clinton did prevail among those ages 65 and older and those belonging to families who make over $200,000 annually, according to the New York Times.


1 in 5 Americans say Hillary Clinton is “dishonest” or a “liar.” Here’s why that’s a big problem.

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that several top aides to Hillary Clinton during her time at the State Department were required to testify under oathabout whether exclusively using a private email server while serving as secretary of state amounted to a deliberate attempt to shield information from the public.

This is the latest in a series of developments regarding Clinton’s email server — and her decision to exclusively use it during her time as the nation’s top diplomat. (Clinton is the first and only secretary of state to only use a private server for her correspondence.) Almost weekly now, there is some news in one of the three ongoing investigations — two at State, one by the FBI — into Clinton. And the drip, drip, drip effect of these now-regular revelations continues to have a major impact on how Clinton is viewed by the voting public.

Gallup released a fascinating bit of data Tuesday that speaks to Clinton’s trust problem. They asked people to offer up the first word or phrase that came to mind when the name “Hillary Clinton” was mentioned. Here’s what the results of that open-ended question looked like:



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