Harry Reid: Hillary Clinton "has a clear field"...."right now we have Hillary Clinton and that's it"

[Cali_Democrat]

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says in an interview airing Friday that Hillary Clinton “has a clear field” to the Democratic presidential nomination, but the party lacks an “all-star” challenger like President Obama.

"Right now we have Hillary Clinton. And that's it," Reid says.

"There's not another Barack Obama out there. There are no all-stars out there," he says, based on a transcript of the interview set to air Friday on "The Rundown with José Díaz-Balart."

The comments from Reid would appear to serve as a response to a Telemundo anchor who asked if there is any concern about a lack of debate among Democratic candidates. (The GOP field is much larger and growing.)

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/242182-reid-clinton-has-a-clear-field

[think]

1. Harry has ignored other progressive candidates. It doesn't surprise me in the least....

[NobodyHere]

13. So have most Democrats

nt

[Exilednight]

41. It's the same mistake he made in 2008. He pledged his

SD to Hillary very early, and then shifted sides.

[whatchamacallit]

2. Lol whatever

I assume Harry Reid and most-people-outside-the-beltway have very different criteria.

[Cali_Democrat]

12. Don't most polls currently show Hillary taking the Dem nomination handily?

I haven't followed them recently but I do seem to recall polls showing Hillary far ahead of the field.

[whatchamacallit]

14. Most of the polled don't yet know the other candidates from Adam

Hopefully a rigorous campaign season will balance things.

[Cali_Democrat]

16. Here's to a great campaign season!

[whatchamacallit]

17. On this

we toast

[Marr]

3. Hillary Clinton isn't a Barrack Obama either.

She's just got a massive pile of corporate cash. He was the corporate candidate, too, of course-- but there's no denying the man has tremendous charisma and skill as a politician.

I can't even express how pitiful it is that Hillary Clinton is openly regarded as 'the only viable candidate', solely because she's got the support of Wall Street.

[brooklynite]

5. Bernie Sanders isn't a Barack Obama either...

He doesn't have anything approaching the organization, financial resources and political support Obama had lined up at this point in 2007.

[Marr]

7. You're right. Sanders is honest.

But I'm glad you can admit that Hillary is no more charismatic than Bernie.

[brooklynite]

8. To paraphrase a comment from 2008...she's charismatic enough

[Marr]

9. Wall Street certainly seems to think so. /nt

[brooklynite]

28. ...and so do 18 million Democratic voters...

Bernie Sanders is going to have to show how he becomes as popular as Obama was to match her.

[Marr]

29. Yep, she's inevitable. Again.

We'll see.

[eloydude]

39. its because people like you

Want someone who suck up to the 1% like yourself.

Bernie will hand Hillary her keys to her Chappaqua home when he gets the 99% on his side, and becomes a flag bearer for the Democratic Party.

You just confirmed, by supporting Clinton, that you are right of center and lurching to the right.

Wrong direction.

[brooklynite]

40. No, I'm definitely Center...

...but I'm fighting like hell to make sure we don't elect a very right of center Republican because our nominee is too left of center to be competitive.

[eloydude]

42. Well you are supporting someone whos to the right of Obama

Good choice.

[brooklynite]

43. Other than the IWR, name an issue where they differ significantly.

[AJH032]

20. That is disingenuous

"Hillary Clinton is openly regarded as the only viable candidate, solely because she's got the support of wall street"? Whether we want to recognize it or not, she has broad support all over the country. I don't think it's fair to suggest that the sole reason for her candidacy is wall street support.

[daleanime]

26. I kept hearing that, but here is the only place...

where I talk to voters who are enthused about her candidacy. Those I talk to in person range from resigned to distressed.

[Marr]

30. This site is literally the only place I encounter enthusiastic Hillary supporters.

Well, here and a couple of news-type blogs. She's nowhere in my social media, I don't hear anyone talking about her, and I've seen literally one bumper sticker (which I'm pretty sure was from 2008).

I think her 'support' is a mile wide and inch deep-- and utterly dependent on the message that she is the only viable candidate.

[cali]

4. wait, you mean Bernie isn't running? O'Malley isn't scheduled to announce?

Poor Harry, that accident seems to have affected his cognitive function.

And you're so cute with your contempt for Bernie and O'Malley. adorable.

kisses

[brooklynite]

6. No, he's saying they're not consequential candidates.

You're welcome to disagree, but a lot of political observers would say likewise.

[cali]

22. wow. you parsed out that's what he was saying all on your own?

or you couldn't puzzle out that I obviously knew what he was saying? You must be the life of the ... salon.

And candidates are "inconsequential"... until they aren't. That does happen. It's hardly outside the realm of possibility that it will happen again. Aside from President Obama's political chops, there are reasons that Hillary didn't prevail in 2008.

Oh, and a lot of political pundits and observers are saying the opposite- not that Bernie will beat her but that he's hardly inconsequential already. There was an interesting back and forth between Heilemann and Halperin on that a couple of days ago. They're hardly alone.

Oh, and thanks for falling for my satirical Brady piece.

[mylye2222]

10. Reid would enjoy a lack of debate

For many Democrats a unique candidate (Hillary) would be the best. Unfortunely it wont happen. Sorry, Third Wayers. People enjoy real primaries not coronations.

[bigwillq]

11. Talk about Democrats eating their own

[Cha]

31. Yeah, the hypocrite, Sherrod Brown, comes to mind.

[daredtowork]

15. Congressional leaders failed to give appropriate opportunities

All Stars are created by opportunities to be in the spotlight - working on key committees, issuing important bills, and weighing in on issues of International scale.

IMHO, Barbara Lee is an All Star, but she hasn't had the opportunities in the last category. Given the tenor of her speeches, I think she has in fact shunned them, because she has been making a point to emphasize domestic problems. She notes that the US has a bad habit of policing the world and using jingoism as a distraction from impending infrastructure disasters right here. This emphasis on domestic issues might make Barbara Lee seem like she lacks "International stature" - but it actually means she's standing up for the people who live here in the United States: unlike the rest of our so-called representatives who are standing up for an supra-national oligarchy.

[tritsofme]

18. He couldn't be more correct. Hillary's only "serious" challengers would be 2nd or 3rd tier

candidates in any other cycle.

Hillary is the clear consensus candidate among Democrats, and the field is extremely clear.

[hedda_foil]

19. There's an all-star alright. Her first name is Elizabeth.

Her last name is Warren. Only trouble is she keeps refusing to run.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. Who's this "we" he speaks of?

[Jamaal510]

23. HR is right.

HC has all the name recognition and money on her side this time, and while Obama's campaign succeeded in '08, he was more heavily financed than HC's challengers this time around. O hit the pavement running earlier. He also had a unique background going for him (e.g. where he grew up, his race, his last name, and his upbringing), which intrigued the media early on. The political world might not see another candidate with his influence for a long time.

[rock]

24. So does Harry expect the primary debate to have only Hillary in it?

Obvious that Harry isn't interested in what the truth is, he just wants to influence your vote.

[AtomicKitten]

38. +

[aspirant]

27. We have the Silent Corporate Champion,

we have and had the Charismatic Campaign Flipper and now we have the Truth-Teller.

This is a simple choice for me.

[hrmjustin]

32. That statement is going to piss a few off.

[madfloridian]

33. What Reid said is just plain rude and condescending. Been enough of that in our party.

He is indicating that the supporters of Bernie Sanders are not important enough to mention.

[Cerridwen]

34. Wire service? Plagarism? Three articles, two bylines, 3 time stamps or 3 time zones?

Based on a randys1 OP about truck drivers and the teaparty, I googled "truck driver vote teaparty" and found myself a teaparty.org which led me to newsmax.

Tell me if these two articles look familiar. Take note of the timestamps, sourcing, and bylines.

From teaparty.org

May 15, 2015 10:10 am

(Newsmax) – Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has proclaimed that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has “a clear field” to cinch the nomination, but said the party lacked an “all-star” candidate like President Barack Obama.

“Right now we have Hillary Clinton. And that’s it,” Reid said in an interview with “The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart,” according to The Hill.

“There’s not another Barack Obama out there. There are no all-stars out there,” he said.

<snip>

“Think how wonderful that primary was. Two all-stars. Two people that will be in the political hall of fame no matter what happens in the future, and they were involved in a primary,” Reid said in the interview to be aired Friday.

<snip for 4 paragraphs with link to article: here>

Notice it references this article at newsmax, timestamped Friday, 15 May 2015 12:13 PM with the byline: By Melanie Batley. Two hours, 3 minutes later than the article at teaparty.org that cited it as source. Time Zone. What about authorship/byline?

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has proclaimed that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has "a clear field" to cinch the nomination, but said the party lacked an "all-star" candidate like President Barack Obama.

"Right now we have Hillary Clinton. And that's it," Reid said in an interview with "The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart," according to The Hill.

"There's not another Barack Obama out there. There are no all-stars out there," he said.

<snip>

"Think how wonderful that primary was. Two all-stars. Two people that will be in the political hall of fame no matter what happens in the future, and they were involved in a primary," Reid said in the interview to be aired Friday.

<snip for 4 paragraph limit with link to article: here>

Compare the articles. They look an awful lot alike to me. Close enough? Too close?

Common practice? Plagarism? Wire service?

I'm confused.

DU journalists have information for me? Please.

[fadedrose]

35. No more all-stars!! pity nt

[KamaAina]

36. "The Rundown with José Díaz-Balart"?

Of the Miami Castro-hating irredentist Diaz-Balarts? Is Telemundo angling to be Fox en espanol?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

37. The fix is in.