BlueMTexpat
BlueMTexpat's JournalHillary Clinton Just Delivered the Strongest Speech of Her Campaign—and the Media Barely Noticed
Nothing sums up the high-drama, low-substance nature of 2016 race coverage more than the underplaying of a serious speech about the Supreme Court.http://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-clinton-just-delivered-the-strongest-speech-of-her-campaign-and-the-media-barely-noticed/
This is an excellent article - more substantive than most on the subject - and is a very Good Read. But because just about anything laudatory about HRC is shot down quickly or sneered at other than in this group, I am only posting here. Here are a couple excerpts:
Then Clinton worked her way through the Courts docket for this term:
* The Court is reviewing how public-sector unions collect the fees they use to do their work. The economic security of millions of teachers, social workers and first responders is at stake. This is something the people of Wisconsin know all too well, because your governor has repeatedly attacked and bullied public sector unions, and working families have paid the price. I think thats wrong, and it should stop.
* The Court is reviewing a Texas law imposing unnecessary, expensive requirements on doctors who perform abortions. If that law is allowed to stand, there will only be 10 or so health centers left where women can get safe, legal abortions in the whole state of Texas, a state with about 5.4 million women of reproductive age. So it will effectively end the legal right to choose for millions of women.
* The Court is also reviewing whether Texas should have to exclude non-voters when drawing its electoral map. That would leave out, among others, legal residents, people with felony convictions and children. The fair representation of everyone in our societyincluding 75 million childrenhangs in the balance.
Etc., etc., etc. This is definitely worthwhile and only cements my already strong support for HRC.
WaPo's take on upcoming delegate math
Bernie Sanderss insurmountable delegate problem, in one simple graphThere's actually more than one graph, but ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/03/31/bernie-sanderss-insurmountable-delegate-problem-in-one-simple-graph/
This comes on the heels of a survey showing Sanders stretching out his lead in Wisconsin. Sanders is up four points in that state, according to a Marquette Law School survey released this week.
But we must be clear: These states are not equivalent. This is not a tie, with Clinton winning one state and Sanders winning another. It is, instead, a clear demonstration of why Bernie Sanders almost certainly won't be the Democratic nominee.
After all, it comes down to delegates. Wisconsin has 86 delegates; New York has 247. Since the party distributes its delegates proportionally, that means that Sanders's slight Wisconsin lead would earn him a slightly bigger portion of the state's small delegate haul. Clinton's larger New York lead would earn her a larger portion of the state's large delegate haul.
But we should take no vote anywhere for granted.
I'm Backing Hillary Because I Hate Simple and Shallow Caricatures
This is a long essay and worthwhile reading. Not all is complimentary to Hillary and I don't necessarily agree with all that the writer says. But that is perhaps what makes the conclusion stronger.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/03/28/1507316/-I-m-Backing-Hillary-Because-I-Hate-Simple-and-Shallow-Caricatures
I dont remember vilifying Hillary then. I just remember sitting in small classrooms listening to people like Kal Penn tell me why the president had inspired them to spend his afternoons visiting with small groups of college students in some South Carolina backwater. I was inspired in my very naive way by the way Obamas campaign brought me in close contact with black students who I didnt often have the chance to work with during my childhood in a still very segregated part of the world. Of course my expectations for the Obama presidency were outsized and childlike, believing that the election of a black president might excise the racism that Id grown to hate through decades of exposure therapy. The last decade has been a revelation in growth the learning to disagree with the President who inspired me so. Learning, as a person heavily invested in the public defense, to disagree with the president when he declared in his Merrick Garland nomination speech that the fourth amendment was a mere technicality. Learning to disagree with the presidents use of drones and mass surveillance. More than disagreement, its been learning to deal with the disappointments brought on by the presidents pragmatic, incremental approach to change.
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Something nastys happened since Sanders rose from political obscurity to his current place in the mainstream. Along the way, hes attracted and cultivated a following thats engaged in the same sort of demagoguery endured by President Obama. The empty caricatures of the president that hes a socialist, that hes the worst president in the countrys history, and that hes a shill for the corporate middle have long since failed to fully encapsulate the man or the politician. Theyve failed to describe easy-to-muster reasons why the presidents tenure has been a mild disappointment to some of his supporters. Theyre devoid of nuance, of flavor, of the sort of political spice that lifts the conversation to a constructive place. And so, too, have the most recent critiques of Hillary Clinton.
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Its not Hillarys imperfections that pressed me into her corner. Nor is it just her advocacy on an issue that strikes a real emotional place for me. Its the deceitful caricatures that have plagued the last few months of this primary. I dont like to be pissed on and told its raining. When you tell me that Hillarys a liar, or evil, or a shill, or no better than Ted Cruz, I go further than not believing you. I go as far as not wanting to support you in your advocacy. Its clownish, cartoonish even. To create a caricature of Bernie Sanders that would equal the one thrown at Hillary Clinton, youd have to call him Stalin. Hes not, and neither is she the incarnation of evil.
That the Democratic Party has two candidates whose core values represent the movement forward should be exciting. But thats not cool enough. Not edgy enough. In our rush to run from the simplistic, us v. them rhetoric of the Republican Party, weve created a similar (albeit more palatable version) on our side. The snide insults and simplistic portrayal of Clinton are reminders to all of us whove been paying attention of the way Republicans painted President Obama. Its made me run into the corner of a candidate whose core has been maligned in a way that no longer squares. And truly, its the fault off the less constructive supporters of Senator Sanders. They can shoulder the blame for highlighting in Hillary what would otherwise be only mildly remarkable traits. Taking a Yale Law School education and using it to fight the evil of your day should be the expectation. Its what Id want my kids to do. But when you tell me Hillary possesses malignant insides, evidence of her goodness is magnified in the face of incessant and obnoxious misdirection.
Op-ed: I'm a radical, and I support Hillary Clinton
The writer makes some excellent points.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-progressive-clinton-20160330-story.html
Hillary Clinton talks about and works for the least privileged in society, not middle class millennials and their parents who worry about health insurance and college loan payments every month. Low income women need free and easy access to birth control and family planning. If a woman becomes unintentionally pregnant and doesn't have the resources or desire for a child, she needs to be able to terminate that pregnancy in a safe, low cost, nearby facility. Giving women the power to choose their number and timing of children has been linked to improved levels of literacy, infant and maternal mortality, women's and family health, education and income. Every child deserves to be loved, wanted and well cared for. Hillary Clinton is a powerful proponent of women's health care access and calls for reversing the Hyde Amendment that blocks many low income women's access to abortion.
Here in Baltimore city guns and gun violence blew up last year with an alarming number of murders. If you live in the wrong neighborhood, firearms are a much bigger problem than Wall Street or the corporations Mr. Sanders rails against. Low income children and families desperately need the changes in gun regulation that will hold gun manufacturers responsible, require locks and safe gun technology, and tighten the market both for legal and illegal firearms. This violence is a waste and a burden that should be a primary concern of any Democratic candidate, and I believe Hillary is absolutely in step with my feelings on this issue.
None of this means I wouldn't vote for Bernie Sanders for president if he wins the Democratic nomination. But I'm tired of being told that Hillary plays it safe and Bernie stands for real change. I don't agree, and if his policies will only help my privileged, middle class family and friends, then it's not my revolution.
Maryland governor expected to ban bee-killing pesticides in US first
While I support this, I dislike the fact that Larry Hogan (R) seems to be given full credit for it if he signs this when the bill was actually passed my MD's Democratic-controlled legislature.
http://inhabitat.com/maryland-governor-expected-to-ban-bee-killing-pesticides-in-us-first/
Still, it is a step in the right direction, however achieved. There is also a good slideshow at the link.
I Saw Hillary Clinton in Person. I Was Surprised.
This is an absolutely lovely read!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-kraus/i-saw-hillary-clinton-in-_b_9559208.html
The first thing she (Hillary) does is show gratitude to the people who got her onstage: the elected officials, her staff, and volunteers. She says shes proud of the schools accomplishments and the crowd goes nuts! The golden rule of public speaking is to know your audience and Hillary is no slouch in this department.
I watch closely in a way only a close-up view allows. Im struck by her elegance, in part because a young fan next to me exudes, Shes beautiful. Its not just her stature and that coat, her scarf, and pumps. Im also struck by her emotion. Her face shows passion and anguish at times, as in when she talks about the horrific terrorist attack in Brussels just hours before. Ive heard her talk about terrorism before, but this night it feels decidedly urgent.
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When the microphone stops working, she handles it like a champ. She says this would be a good opportunity to be quiet. Then off the cuff, she remarks about how she gets criticized for speaking too soft, or too loud, smiling too much, or not enough. All this judgment seems to be launched at her, in no small measure, because of her gender.
Looking around at the range of eager faces in the crowd, I reject the way she and her supporters have been simplified and demonized. I know of hundreds of staffers and volunteers who are working their hearts out, and millions (not just millionaires) have already voted for her.
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OK, So Hill lost the WA caucus. I do not believe that she will lose WA state in the GE. Not at all.
Clinton Digs In as Trump Moves On
Democrat keeps her Iowa office open while Trump operation shuts down; looking to the general electionhttp://www.wsj.com/articles/clinton-digs-in-as-trump-moves-on-1459208576
It unequivocally is helpful for a campaign that spent a year-plus working in Iowa to keep some people in play, said David Oman, a former Iowa state GOP co-chairman and senior political adviser to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who quit the race last month. It would be a mistake to let people go and then have to put the team back together again to marshal a general-election campaign.
Mr. Trump has largely eschewed implementing a traditional ground game, instead relying on large rallies and his star power to turn out voters. As a consequence, strategists in Iowa and New Hampshire say theres little left of his already-sparse operations in the states.
That's our candidate - seriously digging in and already planning for the next phase!
Clinton camp on Sanders: 'What kind of a campaign is that?'
http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-tone-debate-221328I think what Joel was getting at a couple of things we had a process whereby we were talking about adding additional debates," senior Clinton adviser Karen Finney told CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday. "That seemed to be working just fine. And then we see this kind of stunt, as Brian Fallon pointed out yesterday, they send this public letter about lets you know, demanding a debate. At the same time, we see reports about how theyre doing polling on new lines of attack on Hillary Clinton."
"And so it just felt like hold on, here you dont get to set the terms and conditions around when or where we debate," Finney continued. "Weve had a process. Lets stick to that process rather than public stunts, particularly at a time when you had said at the beginning of this campaign, I dont do negative attacks. I think at one point Sen. Sanders also said, Im not really into polling. Well now its all about polling and how to attack Hillary Clinton? What kind of a campaign is that?
All these created tempests! The Sanders campaign should be very careful what it wishes for and how it proceeds in NY. NYers know and LIKE Hillary. NY is also a closed primary. These tactics can backfire.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Updates Educational Video Game 'Win the White House' for 2016
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-03-28-justice-sandra-day-o-connor-updates-educational-video-game-win-the-white-house-for-2016...
The game teaches players about the processes by which candidates conduct a campaign and garner support. It taught us a few things about how states swing back and forth for one or another candidate. Unlike real politics, the campaign deals in binary situations: your statements either help you or they don't. There are few freak outcomes. Our biggest takeaway was learning about the typical sides taken on each issue, i.e. how does the GOP normally talk about energy independence? What do the Democrats usually have to say about global cooperation?
The NYT also has a good article about this: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/technology/sandra-day-oconnor-supreme-court-video-games.html
This may shock you: Hillary Clinton is fundamentally honest
Ive investigated Hillary and know she likes a zone of privacy around her. This lack of transparency, rather than any actual corruption, is her greatest flaw. --Jill Abramsonhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/28/hillary-clinton-honest-transparency-jill-abramson
I would be dead rich, to adapt an infamous Clinton phrase, if I could bill for all the hours Ive spent covering just about every scandal that has enveloped the Clintons. As an editor Ive launched investigations into her business dealings, her fundraising, her foundation and her marriage. As a reporter my stories stretch back to Whitewater. Im not a favorite in Hillaryland. That makes what I want to say next surprising.
Hillary Clinton is fundamentally honest and trustworthy.
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The connection between money and action is often fuzzy. Many investigative articles about Clinton end up raising serious questions about potential conflicts of interest or lapses in her judgment. Of course, she should be held accountable. It was bad judgment, as she has said, to use a private email server. It was colossally stupid to take those hefty speaking fees, but not corrupt. There are no instances I know of where Clinton was doing the bidding of a donor or benefactor.
As for her statements on issues, Politifact, a Pulitzer prize-winning fact-checking organization, gives Clinton the best truth-telling record of any of the 2016 presidential candidates. She beats Sanders and Kasich and crushes Cruz and Trump, who has the biggest pants on fire rating and has told whoppers about basic economics that are embarrassing for anyone aiming to be president. (He falsely claimed GDP has dropped the last two quarters and claimed the national unemployment rate was as high as 35%).
Excellent read!
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