Next week’s prime-time Republican presidential debate will feature 11 candidates, including surging businesswoman Carly Fiorina, CNN announced Thursday.

Fiorina, front-runner Donald Trump, and other Republican candidates will gather Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif., for the second debate of 2016 election cycle, this one sponsored by CNN.

In addition to Trump and Fiorina, the 8 p.m. ET session will include Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul.

An earlier debate, at 6 p.m. ET, will feature Republicans who have finished outside the top 10 in an aggregate of polls: Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal and George Pataki.

“Thursday marked the close of the two-month window for determining eligibility based on averages of national polls,” CNN said in a report.

Trump led the Republican field in the aggregate of polls used by CNN, scoring nearly 24% support. Bush finished second at 11.5%, followed by Walker (9.4%), Carson (8.9%), Cruz (6.3%), Rubio (5.6%), Huckabee (5.6%), Paul (4.7%), Kasich (3.2%), Christie (3.1%), and Fiorina (2.2%).

The candidates in the early debate: Perry (1.8%), Santorum (1.2%), Jindal (1.1%), Pataki (0.5%), and Graham (0.5%).

The prime-time debate could be a contest between insurgent “outsider” candidates and so-called “establishment” Republicans.

Trump, Fiorina and Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who has finished second in more recent GOP polls, are stressing the fact they have never held public office, arguing that the GOP establishment has failed party supporters on items like federal spending and immigration.

More traditional Republicans — including Bush, Walker, and Rubio — have seen their poll numbers drop in recent weeks. They have questioned whether Trump and other newcomers are qualified for the presidency, and can win a general election.

Read more at: usatoday.com

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Marco Rubio, often mentioned as a frontrunner for the Republican nomination, made news this past week when he unveiled a plan that would make drastic changes to the country’s healthcare and Social Security frameworks, making the argument that these programs are not sustainable under the country’s current spending path.

Rubio argues that, with longer life expectancies and the baby boomer generation reaching retirement age, measures must be taken to ensure the survival of America’s largest entitlement, which is Social Security.

In a speech to the National Press Club, the first term Florida senator proposed raising the retirement age, which would apply to workers who are currently under the age of 55.  This proposal was accompanied by his plan to reduce the growth rate on Social Security benefits to retirees in the higher income brackets.

Rubio (currently 42 years old) points out that under the current make-up of the Social Security system, he himself will not be able to tap into the benefits guaranteed him upon reaching Florida’s retirement age of 67, as the current program cannot be sustained for another 25 years.

Following the conservative line, he also suggested that the 12.4% payroll tax on retirees’ income be removed to encourage people who reach the qualifying age to remain in the workforce.

Rubio followed suit on his plan for entitlement reform with suggestions of reforming the Medicare system to allow Americans to have more freedom of choice than offered under Obamacare, by encouraging a premium support plan that opens up the ability for Americans to enroll in private plans or traditional Medicare.

Entitlement spending between these programs has grown to account for 49% of all federal spending.

With all this in mind, one might argue that Republicans are moving to provide appealing options on entitlement reform in recent months to provide a platform on such issues to counteract criticism that they do not have viable options to cut spending and save entitlements instead of simply opposing any Democratic legislation coming from The President of the United States.

Source: washingtonexaminer.com.

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Ever wondered why the Democratic Party’s mascot is a donkey? How about an elephant for the Republican Party? Kind of a funny story… and it involves cartoons!

Way back in 1828, Presidential candidate Andrew Jackson was labeled a “jackass” by his opponents and later in 1837, was depicted in a political cartoon riding a donkey which was said to represent the American People. But it wasn’t until 1870 that it was popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast and became associated with the Democratic Party. It is commonly referred to as the “unofficial” party logo.

Democrats have since embraced the donkey as strong-willed, smart, and brave.

The Republican Party’s elephant was born in 1874. The same cartoonist which popularized the donkey as the symbol for the Democratic President is credited with its creation. In a cartoon original published in Harper’s Bazaar, the democratic donkey was depicted at the zoo in lion’s skin & scaring all of the other animals away. One of the animals was an elephant labeled “The Republican Vote.” That seemed to stick as Nast & other cartoonists continued to use these two animals as symbols for their respective parties well into the current era.

Republicans have since embraced the elephant as strong & dignified.

We here at Follow My Vote, however, don’t take sides or subscribe to either of these political parties or any other political party for that matter. We are a non-partisan organization that simply favors the popular vote among the people.

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