Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

BlueMTexpat

BlueMTexpat's Journal
BlueMTexpat's Journal
February 7, 2016

Hillary Clinton’s Secret Weapon Is Bernie Sanders’ Colleagues

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2016/02/hillary-clinton-al-franken-friendship

Sen Al Franken (D-Minn.) opened for Hillary Clinton Saturday night in Portsmouth with one very important message: she's good enough, she's smart enough, and doggone it, she's a Paul Wellstone progressive.

Clinton's final pitch to New Hampshire voters is as much about the people she surrounds herself with as it is the former secretary of state herself. On Friday, four woman senators were there to co-opt Bernie Sanders by arguing that the "revolution" America needs is electing the first woman. Stefany Shaheen, daughter of the New Hampshire senator, warmed up the crowd in Portsmouth by name-dropping celebrity backers Lena Dunham, Gloria Steinem, Abby Wambach—proof she's not only experienced, but maybe cool. Franken was there to follow-up on a subject of intense debate over the last week—what it means to be a progressive.
...
"Sen. Shaheen, my colleague, and I, like the only other [Senate] Democrats who have endorsed in this race, have endorsed Hillary Clinton for a reason," he said. "Because this is serious stuff. This is serious stuff. This is Sherrod Brown. This is Cory Booker. This is Tammy Baldwin. We are progressives. And we know what it takes to get things done."

None of these endorsers will shift many votes on their own (notwithstanding Franken's claims of Clinton in Duluth), but it's a death by a thousand cuts strategy. And with Sanders boasting just two members of Congress on his side, Clinton is all too happy to tell voters that the candidates they've worked so hard to get elected in the past—the Baldwins and Frankens of the world—are with her.


February 6, 2016

Hillary Clinton is at her best when she's counted out, campaigning her heart out

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2016/feb/06/hillary-clinton-campaigning-new-hampshire-jill-abramson

The Anointed One may be gone, but so are ‘dem good old days’ of the boys on the bus. There’s no crying in New Hampshire anymore

There is a picture on the wall of the Espresso Café here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in a corner near the exit. Hillary Clinton is talking to voters, but it doesn’t show the famous “Hillary cried” moment from eight years ago, when the senator teared up on the eve of the presidential primary.

She was exhausted, and a loss to Barack Obama was predicted. Some pundits believed the unusual display of emotion was a turning point that helped show Clinton had a human side.

That was sexism. Why do powerful women need to show their softer side or shed tears to be considered fully human?

The whole issue of Clinton’s likeability – now, on the verge of a potential defeat to Bernie Sanders, as then against Obama – rests on a long established, sexist double standard that many sociologists and business-school professors have studied: power and likeability have a negative corollary with powerful women. With men, that is not the case. If Clinton is judged too powerful and aggressive, she’s dinged for being unlikeable. If she’s too soft, she’s dismissed. Women, unlike men, are rarely perceived as warm and competent. This locks them in a classic double-bind. Certainly, I’ve seen it at points in my own career.
February 5, 2016

Morocco to switch on first phase of world's largest solar plant

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/04/morocco-to-switch-on-first-phase-of-worlds-largest-solar-plant

Desert complex will provide electricity for more than 1 million people when complete, helping African country to supply most of its energy from renewables by 2030

The power station on the edge of the Saharan desert will be the size of the country’s capital city by the time it is finished in 2018, and provide electricity for 1.1 million people.

Noor 1, the first section at the town of Ouarzazate, provides 160 megawatts (MW) of the ultimate 580MW capacity, helping Morocco to save hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
...
The north African country plans to generate 42% of its energy from renewables by 2020, with one-third of that total coming from solar, wind and hydropower apiece.

Morocco hopes to use the next UN climate change conference, which it hosts in November, as the springboard for an even more ambitious plan to source 52% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.


Morocco is very much a country of my heart. I spent eight years in all living and working there. One of my sons was born there. I love the country and its people.
February 4, 2016

Bob Woodward's Problems With Hillary Clinton Definitely Aren't Sexist, No Sir

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bob-woodward-hillary-clinton_us_56b21b55e4b08069c7a59b98

He just wishes she would stop shouting.

Woodward apologized for "dwelling on the tone issue," but said "there is something here where Hillary Clinton suggests that she's almost not comfortable with herself."

Clinton should "lower the temperature" and "get off this screaming stuff," he added.

Other guests during the segment defended Clinton. "These are rallies, though, and it's hard [not to scream] at a rally," journalist Cokie Roberts said.

The former secretary of state has been criticized for her appearance and a perceived lack of approachability for her entire career. Much of that criticism is clearly sexist: shouting, for example, is not usually a liability for male candidates.


Bob Woodward ...
February 4, 2016

Consequences of Iowa: Trump still strong, new life for Rubio, long-term trouble for Sanders

http://election.princeton.edu/2016/02/02/consequences-of-iowa-trump-still-strong-new-life-for-rubio-long-term-trouble-for-sanders/

Analysis from PEC's Sam Wang:

My preliminary take on the Iowa caucuses is that they didn’t alter the trajectory of where things are probably headed for the Democrats: Hillary Clinton is still favored. However, the Republican field could potentially narrow to a three-way race (Trump-Cruz-Rubio) sooner than I had expected, thanks to a strong showing by Marco Rubio.
...
On the Democratic side, tonight was substantively bad for Bernie Sanders. After all the talk about hordes of Sanders supporters, in the end he only achieved a near-tie: 23 delegates for Clinton, 21 delegates for Sanders. Iowa is one of the most favorable states for him because of its ethnic composition. But it is not enough to win 50% of white Democrats. To have a chance overall, he needed a big win to (a) indicate that he can get enough white support to compensate for lack of support in nonwhite demographics in other states, and (b) create press coverage to boost him in the coming weeks. Outcome (a) didn’t happen. We’ll see about (b).

One of the most notable features of the Democratic race was the age gap. In an entrance poll, Sanders led by 70% among voters aged 18-29, while Clinton led by 43% among those aged 65 and over. That is a 113-point gap. This difference surely is on the minds of both sides for the weeks and months ahead.
February 4, 2016

Hillary Clinton stresses gun control as 'big difference' of Democratic race

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/03/clinton-puts-focus-on-gun-control

Per the Brady Campaign:

“Hillary Clinton is not only a long-time champion of the life-saving Brady law, she has made gun violence prevention a centerpiece of her campaign,” Dan Gross, the organization’s president, said in statement on Tuesday. Gross noted Hillary’s Iowa victory speech highlighted her commitment “to stand up to the corporate gun lobby to build the safer America we all deserve”.

“Bernie Sanders didn’t even mention the epidemic of gun violence last night, perhaps because – after voting against the Brady Bill five times and for PLCAA [Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act] twice – he has been on the wrong side of this issue for so long.”

Clinton, appearing in Derry, 16 miles south of Manchester, contrasted Sanders’ positions with her own record, saying she had fought for gun law reform “for many years”.

“This is a big difference in this campaign,” she said. “I have been standing up relentlessly calling out the gun lobby and doing what I can to penetrate the fear, the acquiescence, the intimidation that too many elected officials feel in the face of their threatening political retaliation.”

Profile Information

Gender: Female
Home country: USA
Current location: Switzerland
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 04:01 PM
Number of posts: 15,366
Latest Discussions»BlueMTexpat's Journal