November 16, 2015

How Bernie Sanders Lost the Debate Before the Debate

Before the Democratic debate even began Saturday night, Bernie Sanders was losing. A story, first reported on Yahoo News, began widely circulating that a top aide to the Vermont Senator had vigorously protested CBS’ decision to focus more on foreign policy in the wake of the Paris attacks on a conference call.

It was tailor-made to make Sanders look bad. And Sanders’ aides say that’s because it was “fabricated” and their account was backed up Saturday by a Democratic National Committee official who was also on the call, along with representatives for Sanders, front-runner Hillary Clinton and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Sanders aide Mark Longabaugh said it is true that he argued with CBS about opening and closing statements, which he views as vital to a candidate who is not as well-known as Clinton and who is running an issues-based campaign. But he said the claim that he objected to a foreign policy focus, which came from a rival campaign, was bogus.

“The only bone of contention was, were you going to have closing statement and original opening statement which we agreed to? The rest of it was all baloney,” said Sanders aide Mark Longabaugh. “Any story that implied we were not fully prepared and ready to engage on foreign policy or Paris strategy in any way is just not true.”


http://time.com/4113762/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-argument/

November 15, 2015

Josh Marshall: A win for Hillary

his struck me as a surprisingly substantive debate - not just compared to the Republican debates, a low bar, but the earlier Democratic one too. A hard hitting and spirited exchange on national security and ISIS, with some real digging into the backstory of the invasion of Iraq, the final withdrawal of American troops, etc. Then a similar exchange on banks and the financial sector - though someone explaining what Glass–Steagall was might have helped. The fact that the debate about whether commercial banks should also do investment banking still goes under the rubric of a 30s era piece of legislation tells you a lot about the difference between Democratic and Republican politics.

As I said, there was less focus and intensity as the debate moved on to policing, Black Lives Matter, health care, etc. I think that's because the divisions simply aren't as clear. Secondarily, the candidates seemed to draw back from the intensity of the first hour. On balance, I'd say it's a win for Hillary Clinton - not because she necessarily did better than Sanders but because she's now ahead and I did not see anything happen that looks likely to change that dynamic.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/it-s-a-wrap--2

November 15, 2015

Hillary holds 21-point leads in New Hampshire (non-internet) poll.

Hilary 46%
Bernie 25%
O'Malley 3%




http://gravismarketing.com/polling-and-market-research/current-new-hampshire-polling-2/

November 15, 2015

Reports: Sanders Aide Throws 'A Fit' After Revised Debate Focus On Paris

An aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) got into a heated argument with CBS representatives on a Saturday morning conference call after the network decided to alter the focus of the debate in light of the Friday terrorist attacks in Paris, according to reports from Yahoo News and CNN.

Sanders strategist Mark Longabaugh began arguing with officials from CBS when they began to discuss a new focus on national security and foreign policy, an aide with a rival Democratic campaign told Yahoo News.

"It was a little bit of a bizarre scene. The Sanders representative, you know, really laid into CBS and basically … kind of threw, like, a little bit of a fit and said, ‘You are trying to turn this into a foreign policy debate. That’s not what any of us agreed to. How can you change the terms of the debate, you know, on the day of the debate. That’s not right,'" the staffer told Yahoo.

The staffer with the rival Democratic campaign told Yahoo News that CBS executives on the call assured Longabaugh that the debate would not entirely focus on the Paris attacks.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bernie-sanders-cbs-debate-changes

November 15, 2015

Sanders Takes A Swipe At O'Mally On Gun Control: Baltimore Isn't Very Safe

en. Bernie Sanders checked after Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley touted his record gun control in the state, reminding the governor that Baltimore is hardly “one of the safest cities in America.”

O’Malley was responding to a question about his record on gun control during Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate, saying he passed comprehensive gun safety legislation that included provisions mandating background checks and a ban on assault weapons.

“We got it done in my state by leading with principle, and that’s what we need to do as a country,” the Maryland governor finished.

Sanders cut in to check O’Malley’s framing on the reforms, saying: “With all due respect, I think it’s fair to say Baltimore is not now one of the safest cities in America.”


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bernie-sanders-martin-omalley-baltimore

November 15, 2015

Bernie Sanders Barely Spoke About the Paris Attacks During His Opening Debate Remarks

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders quickly pivoted from the Paris attacks back to his domestic policy-focused stump speech at the start of Saturday night’s Democratic debate.

After a debate introduction began with a moment of silence, CBS debate moderator John Dickerson asked the candidates to comment on Friday night’s attacks, which left more than 129 dead.

Sanders said he was “shocked” and “disgusted” by the attacks, for which ISIS terrorists have claimed responsibility, and vowed that the U.S. would lead the world to “rid our planet of this barbarous organization.” But immediately thereafter shifted back to his domestic policy.

“I’m running for president because,” Sanders said, “what I hear is people’s concerned that the economy we have is a rigged economy.”

His campaign, the Vermont Senator said, is about a “political revolution.” He also did not change his previous statements that climate change is the greatest threat to national security.

Before the debate, the Sanders campaign argued with CBS about the format of the debate, with operatives from a rival campaign claiming the argument was in part about the shift to foreign policy—a claim the campaign denied.


http://time.com/4113452/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-opening-remarks/

November 15, 2015

Bernie Sanders Would Really Prefer Not to Discuss the War on Terror Right after Paris Attack

Roughly 24 hours after several terrorist attacks in Paris left at least 129 people dead and 200 injured, the three remaining Democrat presidential candidates took the stage for a debate; its first segment focusing on the threat of ISIS and al-Qaeda. Bernie Sanders, whose candidacy focuses on income inequality and money in politics, did an admirable—but notable—job dodging the topic of global terrorism.

When CBS moderator John Dickinson asked Sanders the inevitable first question—why are you running for president?—the Vermont senator acknowledged the attack: “Well, John, let me concur with you and with all Americans who are shocked and disgusted by what we saw in Paris yesterday. Together, leading the world, this country will rid our planet of this barbarous organization called ISIS.”

Sanders was in a difficult political position: as a candidate who is decidedly not in favor of expanding U.S. military operations, he had to try to acknowledge that he understood the threat of attacks like those in Paris without appearing a hawkish war advocate. That’s why he followed his one-line acknowledgment of the Paris attacks with . . . this:

I'm running for president because as I go around this nation, I talk to a lot of people, and what I hear is people's concern that the economy we have is a rigged economy. People are working longer hours for lower wage, and almost all of the new income and wealth goes to the top 1 percent. And then on top of that, we’ve got a corrupt campaign finance system in which millionaires and billionaires are pouring huge sums of money into super PACs heavily influencing the political process. What my campaign is about is a political revolution. Millions of people standing up and saying, “Enough is enough. Our government belongs to all of us and not just the hand full of billionaires.”

Soon afterwards, Dickinson brought up Sanders’ belief that climate change was the biggest threat to America, which Sanders doubled down on: “In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say, you're going to see countries all over the world—this is what the C.I.A. says—they’re going to be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops ask you're going to see all kinds of international conflict.”


http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/11/bernie-sanders-democratic-debate-paris-terror

November 15, 2015

Hillary I don’t think taxpayers should be paying to send Donald Trump’s kids to college.

Hillary Clinton dissed Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) proposal to make college free for all Americans by noting that taxpayers should not have to pay to send Donald Trump's children to college.

Sanders has long pushed for free tuition at state colleges and universities, but Clinton on Saturday said that students at those schools should just be able to graduate debt-free.

“I believe that we should make community college free. We should have debt-free college if you got to a public college or university. You should not have to borrow a dime to pay tuition," Clinton said. "I disagree with free college for everybody. I don’t think taxpayers should be paying to send Donald Trump’s kids to college."


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-kids-tuition

November 15, 2015

Disclaimer attached to online debate poll

A disclaimer: Online reader polls like this one are not statistically representative of eligible primary voters. They are a measure, however imprecise, of which candidates have the most energized online supporters, or most social media savvy fan base. After all, what they are counting is the number of Internet-devices controlled by people who want to vote.


http://time.com/4110860/democratic-debate-poll-who-won/

November 15, 2015

I want to thank Bernie for agreeing to revisit gun manufacturer liability.

Tonight he said he was willing to take another look at the issue. I look forward to his possible support for holding gun manufactures and gun stores accountable for their death peddling.