Samantha
Samantha's JournalI cannot believe what this woman just said about Sanders' supporters
"Sanders' supporters are also Trump supporters." She was featured on Lawrence O'Donnell's show this evening. I had to look her up because I could not believe anyone could actually make a remark like this. So here she is:
https://www.facebook.com/carriesheffield/?ref=br_rs
Carrie Sheffield.
She also mentioned Sanders is a part of the fringe. When O'Donnell questioned her on this, she said, "Of course he is. He is a Socialist."
This woman is either incredibly dumb, very disingenuous or is desperate to drive people to her Facebook page (which is of course what I just did).
I am speechless. How low can these people go?
BUT
All of this was in the context of Sanders' seeking to siphon off some of Trump's supporters. I have always said since this race started I thought Sanders would attract a good number of Republicans. And now that this is a topic of political speculation on MSNBC no less, I have caught my breath and say to Trump supporters who also sympathize with the middle class losses as well as those of the poor these last few decades, come on over, the water is fine. Feel the Bern.
Sam
At this particular moment in time
"The essential ingredient of politics is timing." Pierre Elliott Trudeau
I think it is important to say that the timing of this DNC database breach scandal is truly suspect. It was known for three months the database was vulnerable. The problem was allowed to percolate until yesterday. It blew up into a firestorm today, on a Friday in Washington, DC -- the night before the next Democratic debate, the week before Christmas, and just a matter of maybe five or six weeks until Iowa and NH caucus.
Knowing how close both those races are and knowing that the political destiny of Bernie Sanders rests on his wins or losses in those two states, it is just too convenient for his opponents for his campaign to be database castrated at this particular moment in time.
Just my opinion....
Sam
I support Bernie but I also admire Martin O'Malley - I believe he has been denied coverage as well
One of the reasons I believe both of these candidates are being ignored is that both are against the TPP. Hillary Clinton has given several speeches supporting it, although she now says she cannot say if she will support it until she has a chance to read the finalized version. 
President Obama himself did not want the content of this so-called trade agreement -- there is something like 26 chapters only three of which cover trade -- made public until absolutely necessary because he knew many Americans would be outraged at the content.
Corporation lobbyists wrote much of this document. Among those are companies such as Comcast, and it, for example, absolutely doesn't want even simple constructive criticism on the proposed legislation aired. Many people believe this is why Ed Schultz was dismissed from MSNBC -- because he constantly covered extremely controversial (and that is an understatement) aspects of this legislation on air, and he even had political opponents such as Bernie Sanders often contributing anti-TPP commentary.
Martin O'Malley has publicly said opposing the TPP is just common sense. So I believe this is one of the reasons we see the debates aired at extremely usually odd times, times when obviously not too many Americans will be watching, and opponents of the TPP will be muzzled (again an understatement).
Free speech is one of the liberties of which most Americans are very protective. To protect major legislation from critical scrutiny and public comment before it is essentially finalized in form and close to an up or down vote by Congress is not what this Country is about.
Perhaps this topic is one Iowans should discuss along with the candidates when they caucus. It certainly would be in their best interests (IMHO).
Sam
From The Des Moines Register: Clinton grows lead to 9 percent (December 14, 2015 video)
Sometimes if one has questions, it is good to go right to the home source:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/media/cinematic/video/77272582/clinton-grows-lead-to-9-points-in-new-iowa-poll
Note the use of the word "grows" in the paper's headlines.
Keep in mind that our own DU Iowans have posted that many Iowans do not make up their minds until the day of the caucus. Additionally, Republicans who choose to vote for Sanders can change their registration the day of the caucus.
It is interesting the commentators noted that if Warren chose to join Sanders, that would cut the lead down to 6 points.
IMHO, Sanders will attract a lot of Independent voters. Check out this link on Bernie Sanders' secret weapon:
http://washingtonforberniesanders.com/latest-news/9-bernie-s-secret-weapon-independent-voters
There are more registered Independents than either Republicans or Democrats:
Note: this chart is from the link noted above.
The article itself makes some very significant arguments:
A poll of only Democratic Leaning Independents would likely lead to even greater support for Bernie Sanders. It is therefore likely that at least two out of three Democratic Leaning Independents support Bernie's positions on major issues – more than enough votes to overcome Hillary's lead within the Democratic party.
* * *
Independent Voters Want an Independent President
As a final factor, Independents have long called for an Independent President not beholden to Wall Street or to the power brokers in either political party. Bernie Sanders has not only called himself an Independent, but he is the longest serving Independent to ever be elected to Congress. Many Independent voters would support Bernie because he is like them – a true Independent. This makes Independent voters Bernie's secret weapon. If Democratic Leaning Independents turn out and vote for Bernie in the 2016 Democratic Primaries and Democratic Caucuses, Bernie will be the Presidential Nominee of the Democratic Party in 2016 and he will be the next President of the United States.
Equally important, however, is the fact that four of Bernie Sanders' salient campaign issues are issues equally important to Independents: campaign finance reform, restoring a fair tax structure, reducing income inequality and regulating or breaking up too big to fail banks. (Paraphrased from the Bernie's Secret Weapon article presented by the Washington for Bernie 2016 campaign, specifically David Spring M.Ed.)
Factoring in all of the above plus the addition of some Republicans choosing to support Sanders, and one is left with the obvious hope that Bernie Sanders can indeed win this race, and sorry to be trite, but it ain't over until it's over, and don't allow anyone to convince you otherwise.
Sam
If a network gets rid of someone like Ed Schultz because he is against the TPP
why would that network along with the others participating in supporting the TPP give Bernie Sanders time to campaign against it?
And this is exactly why Hillary Clinton is boxed in. She worked on the TPP for years, and of course she supports it. But when asked recently, she equivocated. She cannot cede an advantage to Sanders since he is a serious threat to her winning; but she can't outright deny supporting it because her corporate sponsors, not to mention some patrons of the Clinton Foundation, might not understand....
Caught in the middle of the proverbial political rock and a hard place, she at least has the comfort of knowing the networks have her back.
Sam
That reporting on the Independents breaking for Sanders was over 50 percent
was once revealed some time ago. Once. That is why all of the polling we see posted here everyday showing Hillary with the lead are misleading. Those polls consider only the Democratic vote. It was also reported that a candidate could not win with less than 50 percent of the Independents. Throw in a percentage of Republicans and I don't see how Sanders' loses.
I do think the Clinton campaign is well aware of this (especially Mark Penn, the man in the middle) which is why the propaganda has been severely ratcheted up. From hereon, it will only get worse. The only thing one can do is to take the reporting by the grain of salt.
And that includes Iowa as well. There are people at this site who are from Iowa who have said most Iowans do not make up their minds until pretty close to the election. I have also read that elsewhere. It seems to me that makes Iowa at least a toss up.
This is going to be a rough sledding for all of us -- there is just too much volatility present and way too much propaganda to obfuscate what is truly the score at the moment.
I also think we will see a lot more hit pieces on Bernie Sanders promoted by those who really want more of a corporate candidate sitting in the Oval Office. IMHO
Sam
When the headline featured Biden scheduling a meeting with Warren hit
there was a lot of speculation that he asked her should he run, if she would be his second. When questioned about the meeting, Warren was mum on that topic. Further questioning revealed that she had also met with Clinton and Sanders.
Biden has dropped out. We know she is keeping her distance from Clinton. That only leaves Sanders as a question mark. I have been hoping against hope that if he wins the primary, he picks her to run with him and that she says yes! If she continues to maintain she is happy where she is, I hope Sanders chooses O'Malley.
I do think the polling we are seeing is very misleading. They only measure Democratic voters, and do not take into account Republican cross-overs (Google Republicans for Sanders some time) and the fact that more than 50 percent of Independents prefer Sanders (reported here on DU).
This begs the question, is there an active arm of the Sanders' campaign steering Republicans and Independents who want him to win to check the voting rules in their states to see if they must register as a Democrat to vote in the Democratic primary. It would be a shame if a substantial portion of those voters were excluded from casting a vote for Sanders in the primary because they did not check the rules in their State.
Sam
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