U.S. forces must fight IS group, Walker says
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker is calling for U.S. forces in Iraq to engage in direct combat to defeat “radical Islamic terrorists” in the Middle East.
Yet even as the Wisconsin governor predicts a “generational struggle,” he continues to avoid calling for additional ground troops beyond the 3,200 military security personnel, trainers and advisers now deployed. The Islamic state is believed to have up to 30,000 fighters with replacements coming in as fast as the current U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi forces can kill them.
Walker outlined his foreign policy vision Friday at The Citadel, a military college in the early voting state of South Carolina.
“The administration is tying up our troops with political restrictions, preventing them from doing what is necessary to defeat ISIS,” Walker said. “These restrictions must be lifted immediately and all other options should remain on the table.”
Chafee points out he is scandal-free
MINNEAPOLIS –Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee is using his address to the Democratic National Committee to introduce party leaders to his record in the Senate, the statehouse and local government.
The long-shot presidential candidate noted that in the Senate, he voted against the tax cuts pushed by President George W. Bush and opposed the authorization of the war in Iraq.
And in a pointed remark that seemed aimed at Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chafee told the DNC: “After 30 years in public service, I’ve had no scandals. That’s not easy in Rhode Island.”
Trump to offer plan to overhaul tax code
WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is promising to offer a plan within a month to overhaul the tax system, calling himself “king of the tax code.”
He’s been hinting at such a plan recently, saying that wealthy Americans should pay more.
In a phone-in interview Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show, Trump says, “I know the hedge fund guys. ... These guys don’t really build anything. They shuffle papers back and forth.”
Trump says he’ll unveil a plan to simplify the tax code and eliminate some deductions, asserting “nobody knows the tax code better than I do.”
Paul is confident about Senate race
LONDON, Ky. – Sen. Rand Paul says his presidential bid isn’t a threat to his other campaign, the one for re-election to the Senate.
He tells The Associated Press that he’s running for re-election by doing a good job as a senator – that is, attending almost all Senate votes and tending to the public policy concerns of his home state. But he is spending far more time on the presidential campaign trail than running for Senate, and some voters question how he can do both at once.
Paul suggests his anti-spending agenda is the same, whichever office he might win next year. He faces scant Democratic opposition in the Senate race so far, and his seat is key to Republican hopes of keeping control of the chamber after 2016.
Associated Press
