Bernie Sanders has agreed to debate Donald Trump on live TV. This all started when Trump appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last night. Trump was asked if he would consider holding a debate with Sanders and Trump agreed, saying: “If he paid a sum toward charity I would love to do that…. [Because it] would have such high ratings.” Sanders quickly tweeted back: "Game On. I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7th primary." Hillary Clinton recently backed out of debating Sanders in California. A Clinton spokeswoman said that Clinton’s time was: “… best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California.” In other words, hiding from any direct questioning by anybody. I’m still reporting from Washington. Good day.

from June 18, 2016

To become Partner #480: www.billstill.com, then Click "Subscribe”. Last week, Senator Jeff Sessions, sent out a list of 5 questions that he feels are the minimum bar for anyone running for the Republican nomination for President. The Alabama Republican has been my favorite Congressman since my Rep. , Frank Wolf retired last year. Donald Trump was the first candidate to reply. Trump sets a high bar for other candidates to follow: Question 1: How would you vote (or how did you vote) on fast-track, and would you support or oppose advancing a final trade agreement which enters the United States into a new international commission with binding authority on future United States trade policy? ANSWER: I was steadfastly opposed to giving Obama his Fast-Track powers, and would have absolutely voted against it. This is one of the strongest distinctions between me and the other candidates in this race. The Congress, apparently under the magical spell of donors, gave massive new powers to a President who has repeatedly abused his authority. The other candidates in this race actually fought on Obama’s side to give him more power to abuse. As for creating a new international commission with authority over United States trade policy I am, again, steadfastly opposed. No foreign power should be given any control over the United States. Yet the other candidates who supported Fast Track allowed President Obama to do just that. It’s not too late to save our sovereignty: when I win the nomination, I will put America back in charge. Question 2: If the vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership were held today, and you had a vote to cast in Congress, would you vote for it or against it? ANSWER: I have strongly and consistently opposed the TPP. For decades, I have warned about how our terrible trade deals are killing the middle class. We are getting taken to the cleaners. My message on trade has been consistent from the beginning, and if politicians had listened to me years ago we would have saved millions of jobs, rebuilt our crumbling infrastructure, and saved trillions of dollars. My candidacy is the only way to stop this terrible deal that will send our manufacturing – including our auto manufacturing – overseas. TPP allows foreign countries to cheat by manipulating their currency, making it impossible for American companies to fairly compete. Yet other candidates in this race have voted in favor of the currency manipulation that is killing our middle class. What our incompetent leaders don’t understand is that the United States holds all the cards. Other countries need access to our markets. Yet we refuse to use that leverage, and we negotiate one terrible job-killing deal after another. We buy from other countries, but they refuse to buy from us. Under my Administration, we are bringing these jobs back to America. No more one-sided deals. Stopping the TPP is a matter of economic security and national security. When I am the nominee, I will stop Obamatrade in its tracks and bring millions of new voters into our party — putting new states in play in the general election. Question 3: Upon entering office, will you promptly and unconditionally terminate and rescind all of President Obama’s illegal executive amnesties – which provide work permits and entitlements to illegal aliens – including President Obama’s first executive amnesty in 2012, which remains in effect? ANSWER: I will immediately cancel both of President Obama’s illegal executive amnesties, and all other unconstitutional executive orders. After my inauguration, for the first time in decades, Americans will wake up in a country where their immigration laws are enforced. Question 4: A supermajority of GOP voters say immigration is too high. Every year, on autopilot, we let in another one million immigrants on green cards, 700,000 foreign guest workers, half a million foreign students, and 100,000 refugees and asylees. Historical precedent would be to reduce record-breaking immigration, rather than continuing to surge it beyond all historical precedent. Will you support legislation to reduce immigration numbers, and will you oppose legislation that would add to the number? ANSWER: I will support legislation to reduce the numbers, and will oppose legislation to increase the numbers. I have laid out a detailed plan to accomplish this goal on my website www.DonaldJTrump.com. My suggested reforms include a requirement to give all open jobs to Americans first — instead of importing foreign replacements. This plan will appeal to voters from all walks of life by making it easier for workers in this country to find jobs and support their families. It will also help minority workers, youth, and previous immigrants who face intense job competition from waves of incoming foreign workers. I also proposed a temporary timeout on Muslim immigration until we can figure out what is going on and get our security situation under control.

Carly Fiorina, apparently itching to get back into the good graces of mainstream conservatism after humiliating herself as the Mama Protectress of the Junior Senator from Alberta, made some great points at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s conference yesterday in Washington. Fiorina dealt a blow to Hillary Clinton, saying that as a feminist, she will not be supporting her bid for the White House: “"Mrs. Clinton, newsflash, I'm a feminist and I'm not voting for you." Fiorina made an excellent case for why progressivism doesn’t work to create the representative, incentive-driven society the Founders intended. "Progressivism, pure and simple, is the tyranny of the few over the many. It is what our founders feared most. It is one of the reasons why they wrote the Constitution — to prevent the concentration of power. This is a fight that we must win." "Progressives believe some are smarter than others, some are better than others. So some are going to decide for others and choose for others. This is not what this nation can stand for….” Fiorina than drew a sharp distinction between what Clinton et al stand for, and what the rest of us believe. “Our government was intended to be a citizen government — of the people, by the people and for the people — that is what our founders intended." “… every single one of us is gifted by God. All of us have the capacity to live lives of dignity and purpose and meaning. And all throughout time, work, if done well, brings us dignity. Family brings us purpose and faith brings meaning to our lives.” However, Fiorina stopped short of an outright endorsement of Donald Trump. And if I were writing her speech, here is how I would express the will of the average American. We don’t care if Donald Trump doesn’t know all the details of foreign policy necessary to sound good in response to a reporters’ trick question. Experts will know all that. Here is all we care about: We would vote for any American over Hillary Clinton no matter how little they knew about issues – if – and only if we believe that they will #1, tell us the truth, and #2 put the interests of America first for a change. I’m still reporting from Washington. Good day.