Thursday at the White House press briefing while responding to a question about Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was found in contempt of court and jailed for refusing to issue any marriage licenses because of her opposition to same-sex marriages, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that “there is no public official that is above the rule of law.” Earnest said, “On principle, the success of our democracy depends on the rule of law. And there is no public official that is above the rule of law. Certainly not the President of the United States, but neither is the Rowan County clerk. That’s a principle that is enshrined in our Constitution and in our democracy and it’s one that obviously the courts are seeking to uphold.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Author: Pam Key
Trump: I Have Signed the Pledge
Thursday Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced he has signed the Republican National Committee’s pledge stating he would not run as an independent candidate if he does not win the Republican nomination in 2016. The pledge that was sent to all the candidates reads: “I [name] affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is. I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.” Trump said, “Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you for all being here. This is some turnout, my great honor. The chairman just left as you probably know, and he’s been extremely fair. The RNC has been absolutely terrific over the last two-month period.
Graham on Gay Marriage: GOP Can’t Pick, Choose Which Laws to Follow Like Obama
Thursday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” while discussing Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who is refusing to issue any marriage licenses because of her opposition to same-sex marriages, Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “We can’t on the Republican side, do what Obama has been doing, pick and choose the laws we like.” Graham said, “Marbury v. Madison said it’s the job of the Supreme Court, the judiciary, to interpret the Constitution. The Supreme Court has ruled 5-1 that same-sex marriage bans imposed by states violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. It is the law of the land until the Supreme Court changes their decision or there’s a Constitutional Amendment overriding that decision. This clerk, I understand her concerns. I believe in traditional marriage, but she’s a public official. We can’t on the Republican side, do what Obama has been doing, pick and choose the laws we
Jeb: Trump Does Not Believe in the Shared Values of America
Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) said his rival Donald Trump doesn’t believe in America’s shared values of diversity and tolerance. While discussing their public back and forth over Bush answering questions in Spanish, Bush said, “I think Donald Trump is trying to insult his way to the presidency and it’s not going to work. People want an uplifting hopeful message. People come to this country to pursue their dreams. Sometimes they start without speaking English but they learn English and they add vitality to our country. And the fact that he would say you only can speak English is kind of ridiculous. If you think about it, are we going to close all the foreign language classes? Why would he have a contract with Univision for his beauty pageant. This is a diverse country and should celebrate it and embrace a set of
Watch: Christie Signs RNC Party Loyalty Pledge Live on Fox News
Thursday on Fox News Channel Republican presidential candidate Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) signed live on the air the Republican National Committee’s pledge stating he would not run as an independent candidate if he does not win the Republican nomination in 2016. The pledge that was sent to all the candidates reads: “I [name] affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is. I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Todd: Hillary Aide Taking The Fifth Politically Looks Like Admitting Wrong Doing
Thursday on NBC’s “Today,” while discussing Bryan Pagliano, the former staffer who helped set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server plans to assert his Fifth Amendment rights before the Benghazi Congressional Committee, “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd noted there was likely wrongdoing at play if such rights are exercised. “In a court of public opinion when you plead the Fifth, as far as the political world is concerned, then you’re already admitting to some potential wrong doing, regardless of the legal part of this,” Todd said. “This is what makes this investigation so potentially damaging to Hillary Clinton. Not just now, but it’s also a reminder that — let’s take the campaign at their word that they encouraged Mr. Pagliano to testify, what is in the best interest of Hillary Clinton may not be in the best interest of Mr. Pagliano. Which is of course, as you know, what a lawyer
Roland Martin to Bill O’Reilly: ‘Shut the Hell Up‘ on Black Lives Matter
Wednesday on TV One’s “News One,” host Roland Martin went on a rant against Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly for calling the Black Lives Matter movement a hate group because Minnesota Black Lives Matter protesters chanted “pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon” after the execution style murder of a Texas deputy this weekend. Martin said, “I don’t recall you Bill O’Reilly ever saying that you are going to take out police brutality. I don’t recall you ever saying that you are going to take out police corruption. But all of a sudden you want to take out Black Lives Matter movement because you don’t like the fact that they are out there protesting.” Martin listed several cases where he believes police brutality was at play and said, “When are you going to use your voice and platform to go after cops. When are you Bill O’Reilly going to tell
En Español, Jeb Slams Trump: ‘El Hombre No Es Conservador’
Tuesday in Miami Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush went after his rival front-runner Donald Trump while speaking in Spanish. Bush said “El hombre no es conservador” — the man is not conservative. He continued in Spanish, “Besides, he tries to personalize everything. If you’re not totally in agreement with him you’re an idiot, or stupid, or don’t have energy, or blah blah blah.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Begala: Dick Cheney a ‘Manipulative, Dishonest, Political Sociopath’
Tuesday night on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” long-time adviser to President Bill Clinton and CNN political commentator Paul Begala called former Vice President Dick Cheney a “political sociopath” for saying President Barack Obama is responsible for the rise of ISIS because of the effects of the complete pull out of U.S. troops from Iraq. After a clip of Cheney, Begala replied, “Amazing. what a valuable piece of videotape. That is a portrait of a political sociopath… I went and looked up on the Mayo Clinic website the description of that disorder and it fits Mr. Cheney to a T—inability to ever express remorse, error—manipulative, dishonest. This point about ISIS, for example—ISIS exists because of the invasion of Iraq. Iran is stronger because of the invasion of Iraq. We invaded Iraq because Mr. Cheney twisted intelligence to try to persuade the country to invade a country that was no threat to America. Now
Christie: ‘Every Death Iran Causes Is on Barack Obama’s Head’
Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered,” Republican presidential candidate Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) said now that President Barack Obama has secured enough support in the U.S. Senate to uphold the nuclear agreement with Iran, he’ll be directly responsible for any bloodshed that is a result of the deal. Christie said of the Senators that are supporting Obama’s deal, “Everything that Iran does to foment terrorism in the world, attack Israel, attack America is their responsibility as well. I hope they are ready to live with it. I hope they are ready to live with it the conduct of people who are the largest state sponsors of terror in the world. I hope they are ready to live with the conduct of people who say they want to wipe Israel off the map. I hope they’re ready to live with the conduct of people who say we are the Great Satan. There