We have data crunchers at the AJC. One of the best is Isaac Sabetai. Over the weekend, he used something called Topsy.com – he swears it is a Twitter search and analytic tool, and we take his word for it.
He was interested in who and what RedState Gathering attendees were talking about. It is not altogether scientific, but here’s what he found by culling through Tweets with the hashtag #rsg15:
-- To no one's surprise, Donald Trump was by far the most common candidate to provoke conversation, followed by Ted Cruz. Then came Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard CEO who stood out in Thursday’s GOP presidential debates. Jeb Bush was fourth.
-- President Barack Obama and Iran were the most popular topics when it came to issues. Hillary Clinton and “leadership” were the next most discussed. Planned Parenthood registered in between.
-- “Common Core,” which has riled up GOP crowds in the past, was a weak performer – as was “debt.”
-- The “Establishment” was a major concern. Which, we suppose, gives current hardcore conservatives something to share with rabble-rousers of the ‘60s. Check out the charts here:
And here:
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It seems as if we have some dissension in Fox News ranks over the defense of Megyn Kelly. Following are a few paragraphs from a Sunday post by Erick Erickson, describing the aftermath of his decision to bar Donald Trump from his RedState Gathering:
….It's the whirlwind of hate right now, but at least voicemail is maxed out and email is crashed.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Rescinding my invitation to Donald Trump was the right thing to do.
Here’s the post he was talking about:
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The Trump/Megyn Kelly/Erickson drama continued to unfold this morning. Erickson weighed in -- again -- with a RedState post. A snippet:
"The longer Trump is talking about Megyn Kelly, me, blood, or himself, he is not talking about Mexico, immigration, foreign policy, the national debt, the other candidates, etc. The very issues that brought Trump to prominence, as they fade from his voice, give other candidates opportunity to pick them up in their own voice and run with them while Trump is bogged down in the August doldrums."
But the Wall Street Journal editorial page said Erickson was part of the problem -- before he got on his anti-Trump high horse:
"Other contributors to RedState.com have been more discerning, but Mr. Erickson represents a strain on the right that has put Trumpian bluster above political reality and conservative ideas. It's the fashion in these circles to celebrate Mr. Trump's rise in the polls as if rage and insult will defeat Hillary Clinton and implement conservative reforms. Some of this is pure commercial self-interest, an attempt to boost Arbitron ratings or Web clicks. But whatever the motive, it doesn't serve the country or the principles they claim to support."
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Buckhead wasn't the only politicking hotspot this weekend in Georgia. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, after appearing at RedState, was the headline attraction at the 8th Congressional District fish fry in Perry -- where he picked up a big endorsement.
From Valdosta Today:
"It's clear to me that Mike Huckabee is far and above any of the others," Perdue said at the news conference.
Jon Richards of Peach Pundit reports that Huckabee also won a presidential straw poll at the event (he was the only candidate on hand). Huckabee's 23.2 percent was followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (17.2 percent), businesswoman Carly Fiorina (10.8 percent), neurosurgeon Ben Carson (10.3 percent) and Donald Trump (8.4 percent).
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Elsewhere, there was much baby-kissing -- or high-fiving, among more discerning future voters. Above is Patrick Francis of Kennesaw, son of Michael and Jessica Francis, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at Lovie's BBQ in Buckhead.
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The New York Times delves into scientific research funded by Coca-Cola:
Health experts say this message is misleading and part of an effort by Coke to deflect criticism about the role sugary drinks have played in the spread of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. They contend that the company is using the new group to convince the public that physical activity can offset a bad diet despite evidence that exercise has only minimal impact on weight compared with what people consume.
This clash over the science of obesity comes in a period of rising efforts to tax sugary drinks, remove them from schools and stop companies from marketing them to children. In the last two decades, consumption of full-calorie sodas by the average American has dropped by 25 percent.
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U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Evans, announced he is joining a freshman-centric trip to Israel this week sponsored by an affiliate of the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Reps. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, and Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, also told us they'll be on the trip.
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In case you're wondering what Cynthia McKinney has been up to, she apparently has a new title: Doctor.
Atlanta Progressive News reports that the controversial former Democratic congressman and ex-Green Party presidential candidate recently earned her PhD in leadership at Ohio's Antioch University. Her dissertation focused on COINTELPRO, the FBI's ill-fated counterintelligence program.
From the APN story:
McKinney's dissertation was on "'El No Murio, El Se Multiplico!' Hugo Chavez: The Leadership and the Legacy on Race." Hugo Chavez was President of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013....
"COINTELPRO is what I studied. Antioch allowed me to study COINTELPRO while there," McKinney said. ... "You'll find students at Antioch were targeted by the FBI because they didn't look 'clean' and were 'spoiled brats,' this is what was written in the documents, and 'they deserved to be surveilled by the FBI,' and… [they] were," McKinney said.
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