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It's rare when a politician says something surprising, or doesn't succumb to a feel-good suggestion. Which made Rick Santorum's response to Joe Scarborough this morning doubly remarkable. On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough had teed Santorum up to agree with his suggestion that we need to "reach out aggressively to let Muslim Americans know that they are every bit a part of the American dream as you or me." But Santorum turned the tables, saying "I would ask that in reverse: what are they going to do to reach out to make sure they are confronting --" Scarborough broke in: "no,...

Donald Trump may have eased some Republican fears Tuesday night when he declared his intention to stay inside the party. But if their angst has been temporarily eased at the prospect of what he would do if he loses, they still face a far more troubling, and increasingly plausible, question. What happens to the party if he wins? Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/12/donald-trump-2016-third-party-bid-213449#ixzz3uunF2pRX

President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 95 offenders - including six drug offenders from the Philadelphia region - and pardoned two more in a year-end spree. Almost all of those receiving commuted sentences are non-violent drug offenders. Many were convicted of distributing or possessing cocaine or crack-cocaine. The commutations are the most that Obama has issued at once time. Four Philadelphia men, a Reading, Pennsylvania resident and a Lawrenceville, New Jersey man - three who were serving life sentences - were among those pardoned. Click here to learn more about each man's crimes and when they will become free.

Full title: Trump Lead Grows Nationally; 41% of His Voters Want to Bomb Country From Aladdin; Clinton Maintains Big Lead PPP's newest national Republican primary poll finds Donald Trump holding his largest lead yet in the wake of Tuesday night's debate. He's at 34% to 18% for Ted Cruz, 13% for Marco Rubio, 7% for Jeb Bush, 6% for Ben Carson, 5% for Chris Christie, 4% each for Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, 2% each for John Kasich and Rand Paul, 1% each for Lindsey Graham and Rick Santorum, and less than 1% each for Jim Gilmore and George Pataki...

[Full title] Trump Edges Cruz in Iowa; His Supporters Think Japanese Internment Was Good; Clinton Still Well Ahead of Sanders In State PPP’s newest Iowa poll finds Donald Trump and Ted Cruz at the top of the heap with 28% and 25% respectively. Marco Rubio at 14% and Ben Carson at 10% are also in double digits with Jeb Bush at 7% the only other candidate who clears even 3%. Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, and Mike Huckabee all hit that level with John Kasich and Rand Paul each getting 2%, Lindsey Graham and Rick Santorum each getting 1%, and Jim...

GOP presidential candidates former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum defended GOP frontrunner Donald Trump's statement to ban Muslims from coming into the United States until the government can put in place an effective vetting process during the undercard debate hosted by CNN in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday. Even without being on stage, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump managed to drive the conversation within the first five minutes of the debate. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a swipe at Trump saying, "Donald Trump has done the one single thing you cannot do, declare war on Islam...

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum argued that "Islam is different" and the idea that its political structure is "protected under the First Amendment is wrong," a point former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee agreed with. Santorum said, "The fact of the matter is, Islam is different. I know this is going to come as a shock to a lot of people, and I mean that sincerely. Islam is not just a religion. it is also a political governing structure. The fact of the matter is, Islam is a religion, but it is also Sharia law. It is also...

Chuck Laudner is Donald Trump’s Iowa campaign director. He is a Marine and a fighter who wants Trump to win and is not looking for a position in the Trump Administration. While other campaign staffs sleep with dreams of Pennsylvania Avenue dancing in their head, Laudner says when the Caucuses are over he’ll just go back to his ordinary life in a town so small it doesn’t have a diner. Trump first spoke to Laudner last December because he goes into every contest well prepared. We have heard about surveys in Iowa and how the caucuses are now a race...

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum talked to Breitbart News exclusively before the fifth GOP primary debate. The former Pennsylvania weighed in on the “Omnibus bill,” which provides the government spending through the next year, saying, defunding the Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States “is absolutely essential.” “Here’s the reality, not all Muslims are jihadists, but all jihadists are Muslims,” Santorum stated. “We can’t be politically correct to the point where we ignore that reality.” “I’m hopeful that they will include some things in there that push the President a little bit on some of these...

A surge in support for Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich has made him the new front-runner in Iowa, which holds the first of next year's U.S. presidential nominating contests, according to a closely watched opinion poll published Saturday. Gingrich, a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has support from 25 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers, up from just 7 percent in late October, the poll conducted for The Des Moines Register newspaper found. --- Texas Representative Ron Paul and Romney finished second and third, with support at 18 percent and 16 percent, respectively. Support for Minnesota Representative...

"We will not start World War III by taking out (Iran's) nuclear capability. We will stop WWIII. WWIII is underway in the world today. Everybody needs to understand that. WWIII has started and unless we short circuit it, it's going to explode into a real global conflict," Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum warns on Breitbart News Daily.

This month, the Islamic State's monthly English-language magazine, The Dabiq, quoted three so-called American "crusaders," including 2016 presidential candidate Rick Santorum. The item, titled, "In the Words of the Enemy" also featured "Virginia state Sen. Richard Black and former CIA officer and author Gary Berntsen, who are all quoted at length in the article on their various warnings about the group's abilities to expand its caliphate." Santorum, who's a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and the runner-up in the 2012 Republican presidential primary election, has been speaking at length in speeches and appearances about the ISIS threat and the need...

Frank Luntz, the moderator of the Presidential Family Forum on Friday night, asked former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) if there was ever a time he cursed God. I was surprised by the question because I thought it was deeply personal, and not exactly an aspect of one's life that a candidate would want to put on full display. Santorum gave a graceful answer to that question that I found very encouraging and inspiring. It also sheds light into the depth of his character. Here's a transcript:

Live Stream from Des Moines, Iowa

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum has issued a bombshell statement about ISIS, claiming that the USA created the terror group and are thus ultimately responsible for the Paris attacks. Speaking at a GOP meeting on Saturday, Santorum said that President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are directly responsible for the creation of ISIS/ISIL. He said that the terrorist group "is a creation of a political decision by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to abandon Iraq -- against all of our generals' recommendations, against all of the policy recommendations." "Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, under her watch, decided politics...

The hard-line conservative arm of the Heritage Foundation has tough criticism for much of the 2016 field, but high praise for the Texas senator. Many of the lines in the scorecard appear destined for future attack ads.Jeb Bush, for instance, is accused of having "kowtowed to the state's environmental lobby" in Florida. Chris Christie "has shown favoritism toward well-connected real estate developers." Rand Paul's "views at times veer outside the conservative mainstream." And Donald Trump backs "massive tariffs that would damage the American economy."Cruz, by contrast, manages to emerge with barely a blemish, only softly worded critiques of his adopting...

Fox Business Network on Thursday announced the candidate line-up for the Nov. 10 Republican presidential debates. The candidates qualifying for the prime-time, 9 p.m. ET debate are: Billionaire businessman Donald Trump; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; former HP CEO Carly Fiorina; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. The candidates qualifying for the earlier, 7 p.m. ET debate are: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. The criteria were different than for past...

<p>Two debates tonight on CNBC live from the Coors Event Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder.</p>

In April 2013, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus secretly met about a dozen writers, directors and producers in a suite at Loews Hollywood Hotel. The topic: How could the industry's quiet network of conservatives help elect more Republicans?

Jerry Perenchio backs Carly Fiorina, Mary Hart likes Marco Rubio and Ann Coulter stumped for Donald Trump in Beverly Hills, as a stealth GOP operates outside the industry spotlight. In April 2013, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus secretly met about a dozen writers, directors and producers in a suite at Loews Hollywood Hotel. The topic: How could the industry's quiet network of conservatives help elect more Republicans? GOP fans in Hollywood tend to hold their political activities close to the vest. This reporter was thrown out of a fundraiser for Rick Santorum at a $35 million mansion on Sunset...