#MonaLog: Conservatives Unite Against Trump & Huckabee Challenges Cruz’s Tithing
Welcome to the #MonaLog – a PolitiChicks Insider glimpse into the 2016 race.
Thank God it’s Friday! Up today: Fox News releases criteria for next week’s GOP debate; a Group of Conservatives Unite Against Trump, and Mike Huckabee challenges Ted Cruz’s Tithing.
#MonaLog Countdown Clock- 11 days to Iowa, 19 days to New Hampshire, 28 days until South Carolina…
Debate Countdown- Republicans FOX News (Donald Trump/Megyn Kelly showdown) Debate held in Des Moines, Iowa is in 6 Days… Democrats debate long after Iowa and New Hampshire have their say on February 11
RIP to Ben Carson Campaign staffer Braden Joplin who passed away from his injuries Wednesday night
Fox News Debate Criteria
The January 28 GOP debate held in Des Moines, Iowa hosted by Fox News network announced its format for both primetime round and the undercard round. Moderating the final debate before the Iowa caucuses on February 1 will be Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier, and Chris Wallace.
To qualify for the primetime stage that airs at 9 p.m., candidates have three qualifications where a candidate must do one of the three to qualify for the main stage debate:
- Place in the top six nationally based on an average of the five most recent national polls
- Place in the top five in Iowa based on an average of the five most recent Iowa state polls
- Place in the top five in New Hampshire based on an average of the five most recent New Hampshire state polls
Polls must be conducted and released by January 26 for FOX News to use in averaging
The network will also have a “kiddie table” undercard debate for the lower-tier candidates. To qualify for the undercard, the candidate must register at least 1% in one of the five most recent national polls.
Looking at the polls so far to determine debate standing, the latest five national polls average according to Real Clear Politics has Donald Trump with 34.8%, Ted Cruz with 18.8%, Marco Rubio with 11.6%, Ben Carson with 8.8%, Chris Christie with 3.4% and Jeb Bush with 4.8% as the top six candidates.
The national average of John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, and Rand Paul has them average with 2.4%, 2.4%, and 2.2% in that order. This means that Paul, Fiorina, and Kasich so far will be booted from the prime time stage unless they get a boost in one national poll to help their standing.
Using Iowa polls average, Paul is averaging right now at 3.2%, Kasich with 2.8% and Fiorina with 1.8%. In New Hampshire, Paul is averaging 4.2%, Fiorina with 4.2%, and Kasich with 13.4%. All three candidates place them within the standing for New Hampshire to possible qualify in the main stage if they continue to average high in New Hampshire going forward.
Conservative Against Trump
Prominent online publication National Review published a scornful editorial calling Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump a “menace to conservatism.” 22 political pundits joined in to published additional editorial stating their reason to why they oppose Trump’s candidacy.
Trump took to twitter to dismiss the attack, calling the magazine a “failing publication that has lost its way.” After Trump’s twitter attack, the RNC has disinvited the magazine from being one of the hosts of the February 25th GOP debate in Houston.
Our #AgainstTrump symposium will be live on the website at 10pmET pic.twitter.com/A47BD0aJn1
— National Review (@NRO) January 22, 2016
National Review editor Rich Lowry has been vocal of Trump since his announcement bid for the GOP nod in June of last year. For a while, Lowry reached out to fellow conservatives who oppose Trump to gather a group of essays for this issue. Many conservatives have refused or are unwilling to take a stand against Trump. Jeb Bush tweeted in response to the cover on Thursday night.
“Welcome to the fight, all. Trump is not a conservative,” Bush tweeted.
Mike Huckabee challenges Ted Cruz’s Tithing
Thanks to the help of evangelical voters, Cruz is leading Iowa in first place but according to one of his GOP opponents, he is being criticized over his tithing to the church. “I just think it’s hard to say God is first in your life if he is last in your budget,” former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said in regards to a Buzzfeed story.
Buzzfeed report is based on Cruz 2012 tax returns released when he ran for the Senate. In the report, Cruz who identifies himself as a Southern Baptist contributed less than 1 percent, $44,000, of his income to charity between 2006 and 2010.
Huckabee continued to criticize the 1 percent contribution saying his validation is a political endeavor. “If I can’t trust God with a dime out of each dollar that I earn, then I am not sure how I can tell him that I trust him with my whole life,” Huckabee said. “To me, it’s a validation of a person’s stewardship and whether they put God first in their life, not just in their political endeavors.”
A new group called Americans United for Values has now launched attack ads since the Buzzfeed article to take down Cruz. The 60-second radio advertisement in Iowa harshly criticizes Cruz, accusing the Texas Senator of positioning himself as an evangelical-friendly candidate but says other things. The commercial highlights the recent tax report from Cruz. “I also heard he gives less than 1 percent to charity and church,” one of the female voices in the radio advertisement says. “He doesn’t tithe? Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for a big Wall Street bank, right?” another female voice says.
Click HERE to hear the new radio ad airing in Iowa attacking Cruz’s tithing.
New Poll Numbers: CNN/ORC Iowa and New Hampshire Poll
According to CNN/ORC Poll conducted 1/5-1/20
Iowa
Trump leads Cruz 37%-26%
Rubio- 14%
Carson- 6%
Bush and Huckabee with 3%
Paul-2%
Christie, Kasich, Fiorina, and Santorum all poll with 1%
New Hampshire
Trump leads Cruz 34%-14%
Rubio and Bush with 10%
Christie, Paul, and Kasich are polling at 6%
Fiorina- 4%
Carson-3%
Huckabee-1%
Santorum-0%
Tweet Of The Day
I would have made a great NFL player if it weren’t for my lack of size, speed and talent. #FallonTonight https://t.co/B7xPX1cxEK
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 22, 2016
Follow The Candidates on the Campaign Trail for 1/22/2015:
New Hampshire
- Marco Rubio Town Hall in Merrimack from 6:30p.m to 8:00 (EST)
- Jeb Bush Meet and Greet in Exeter from 3:45p.m, Town Hall in Rochester (6:30 p.m)
- John Kasich Town Hall in Franklin (12:30p.m), Town Hall in Dover (4:30), House Party in Rye (6:30)
- Chris Christie Roundtable with Carroll County Police Chiefs on Drug recovery (9:00a.m.), Town Hall in Littleton (11:30a.m.), Town Hall in Lebanon (6:00p.m.)
- Rick Santorum participate in APPS National Security Forum in Manchester (3:30p.m.), Town Hall in Wolfeboro (6:15p.m.)
- Rand Paul Diner stop in Manchester (12:30p.m) Business Tour in Nashua (2:30), Town Hall in New Boston (7:00)
Iowa
- Ben Carson Town Hall in Mt. Ayr (11a.m. CST), Town Hall in Creston (1:30 p.m. CST), #AllVotesMatter BET Twitter Town Hall in Drake University in Des Moines (7 p.m.- 8:30 CST)
- Mike Huckabee performs with 80’s Rock Band Fire House in Clear Lake (8:00p.m. CST)
Carly Fiorina is in Washington D.C. speaking at March for Life (12:00-1:00 ET)
Saturday 1/23/2015
Marco Rubio (8:00 A.M.), Jeb Bush (8:45), Rick Santorum (9:30), John Kasich (10:40), Rand Paul (11:00), Carly Fiorina (1:30), Chris Christie (3:00), and Jim Gilmore speak Saturday at the New Hampshire Republican Party 2016 #FITN (First in the Nation) Presidential Town Hall in Nashua.
