February 9, 2020

Alabama cop posts online about roadside bomb for Nancy Pelosi, other 'Dumbocrats'

The assistant police chief of a tiny Alabama town has apologized for a Facebook post in which he suggested U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could be targeted with a roadside bomb.

Jeff Buckles, the assistant chief of the Geraldine police department, took to Facebook after Pelosi, the Democratic House leader, ripped apart a copy of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.

“Pelosi just ripped up his speach (sic),” Buckles wrote in the public post, which since appears to have been deleted or removed from public view. “Road Side bomb on her way home and any other Dumbocrats.”

He later apologized in a follow-up post for “venting on FB,” saying his remarks “definitely offended” some people.

Read more: https://www.al.com/news/2020/02/alabama-cop-posts-online-about-roadside-bomb-for-nancy-pelosi-other-dumbocrats.html

February 8, 2020

Bloomberg blitzes Florida as 1 million Democratic primary voters receive mail ballots

Nearly 100,000 presidential primary ballots are going out in the mail Friday to Democrats in the bluest county in Florida, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign is flooding South Florida in a push to chase them down.

Bloomberg, a billionaire who has tapped his own fortune to hire dozens of staffers around the state in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, is blitzing Florida during the first days of a one-week period in which more than 1 million mail ballots will be sent to Democratic primary voters ahead of the March 17 primary, including almost 100,000 in Broward County. His Florida campaign announced Friday that it is organizing more than 500 events across the state this weekend, including phone banks in the northern Broward suburbs and an office opening in Little Havana.

He’s also purchased ads blanketing media in Florida including TV commercials, social media and websites.

The effort comes at a key time in the presidential primary, falling immediately after Monday’s glitch-filled Iowa caucuses and before next week’s first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire. And as his opponents chase votes in the Northeast, Bloomberg is uniquely able to hunt mail ballots in the south.

Read more: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article240079453.html

February 8, 2020

Tea Party: GOP voters should help Sanders in Feb. 29 Dem primary

Spartanburg and Greenville Republican voters are feeling the Bern these days, so to speak.

A coordinated effort by each county’s Tea Party is underway to upend the Feb. 29 Democratic presidential primary and help Republican President Donald Trump win re-election.

“We’d like to have a hand in helping the president by giving him an avowed socialist to face in November,” said Ron Tamaccio, former chairman of the Greenville Tea Party.

“We anticipate that if just a small percentage of Republican voters cross over and vote for Bernie Sanders on Feb. 29, that he will prevail over Joe Biden in our state.”

Tea Party organizers have launched a Facebook page called “Trump 229” to urge Republicans statewide to vote in the open primary.

Read more: https://www.goupstate.com/news/20200207/tea-party-gop-voters-should-help-sanders-in-feb-29-dem-primary
(Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

February 8, 2020

Las Vegas Review Journal poll: Democrats beating Trump among nonpartisans

A Review-Journal poll of Nevada nonpartisan voters shows President Donald Trump trailing in hypothetical matchups with top Democratic rivals.

The results of the poll, which surveyed 402 likely nonpartisan voters from Feb. 2-4, found that former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren each have slight leads over Trump in hypothetical, head-to-head November matchups.

Nonpartisans make up about 22 percent of Nevada’s active voter base and will be essential to either party’s hopes of winning the battleground state this year. The poll, presented in partnership with AARP Nevada and conducted by Washington, D.C.-based WPA Intelligence, is part of “The Middle,” the Review-Journal’s yearlong look at nonpartisan voters.

Fifty percent of poll respondents favored Biden to 44 percent for Trump. Sanders scored 49 percent to Trump’s 44 in his matchup, with Warren netting 48 percent to Trump’s 44 percent. Warren was the only challenger whose lead was inside the poll’s 4.9 percentage-point margin of error.

-snip-

Democratic presidential candidates broke down like this: Biden (47 percent favorable, 45 percent unfavorable), Sanders (41 percent favorable, 51 percent unfavorable) and Warren (40 percent favorable, 48 percent unfavorable).

Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/the-middle/rj-poll-democrats-beating-trump-among-nonpartisans-1952931/

February 8, 2020

Culinary Union suggests Sanders, Warren asking union members to trade health plans for 'promises'

The politically powerful Culinary Union hasn’t yet endorsed in the Democratic presidential primary, but it is making clear which candidates it won’t be supporting.

A one-pager from the union, the kind of document usually distributed in employee dining rooms and break areas, obtained by The Nevada Independent obliquely accuses Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren of wanting to take away union members’ hard-fought and much beloved health plans and warns that electing either candidate will lead to four more years of a Donald Trump presidency.

The union, which provides health insurance to 130,000 workers and their family members through a special trust fund, strongly opposes the Medicare-for-all plans the two candidates support, which would eliminate the union’s health plan by design.

However, until now, union leaders have directed their ire more generally at the policy than the candidates who back it.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/culinary-union-suggests-sanders-warren-asking-union-members-to-trade-health-plans-for-promises

February 8, 2020

Sanders, Buttigieg face scrutiny in Democratic presidential debate

Following their top-two finish in Iowa’s controversial caucus this week, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., faced scrutiny from moderators and attacks from their opponents in Friday night’s Democratic presidential primary debate at Saint Anselm College.

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sanders’ “democratic socialist” label would stick to the entire Democratic ticket and sink Democrats among moderates. He took aim at Buttigieg, too, saying he has not yet demonstrated an ability to muster broad support, especially among black and Latino voters.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, noted that Buttigieg said on the campaign trail that he found the impeachment hearings exhausting.

“It’s harder to lead,” she said, than to criticize Washington. “We have a newcomer in the White House, and look where it got us. I think having some experience is a good thing.”

Klobuchar also went after Sanders, especially deflating his effort to portray himself as a victim.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/sanders-buttigieg-face-scrutiny-in-democratic-presidential-debate/article_b1815fb8-654d-58d6-b011-eb5396532aca.html

February 8, 2020

Klobuchar to stump in Keene

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota plans to campaign in Keene Monday, the day before the N.H. Primary.

Klobuchar, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, is slated to hold a get-out-the-vote event in the Keene State College Flag Room. The event is set to start at 9 a.m. (Doors open at 8:30.)

Also on tap that day are events in Nashua, Exeter and Rochester, coming on the heels of a packed weekend on the campaign trail. Klobuchar’s schedule also includes events in Concord, Durham, Hanover, Manchester and Salem.

https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/klobuchar-to-stump-in-keene/article_a142956c-8c00-5420-9ed9-a68d53271893.html
(Keene Sentinel)

February 8, 2020

Jill Biden to stump in Peterborough, Keene

Jill Biden plans to campaign in the Monadnock Region Sunday, on behalf of her husband, Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden.

She’s due to kick off a canvassing effort in Peterborough at 12:15 p.m. (doors open at noon), at 145 Grove St. People can RSVP at https://bit.ly/2tIdWYu.

She’s also scheduled to launch a similar effort in Keene at 36 Hastings Ave. This event starts at 3:15 p.m. (doors open at 3) and people can RSVP at https://bit.ly/388ICkH.

The area appearances come midway into three days of campaigning by Jill Biden, with other events slated in Nashua, Kingston, Exeter and Manchester.

https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/jill-biden-to-stump-in-peterborough-keene/article_45bb43d4-8a56-5ff7-aa40-755d5767e404.html
(Keene Sentinel)

February 8, 2020

Did Sanders answer how much Medicare for All would cost?

I missed the first half of the debate. I thought that the topic was going to asked by the moderators.

February 8, 2020

Boston Globe: Grading the debate performance of the Democratic candidates

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/02/08/metro/scorecard-grading-debate-performance-democratic-candidates/

by James Pindell

Quick summary:

Sanders: A
Klobuchar: B+
Buttigieg: B
Steyer: B
Biden: C
Warren: C-
Yang: F

I was moving furniture around tonight and I only listened to the last half of the debate. I also have not read threads #3 and #4 on DU, but it doesn't appear that the grades from the Boston Globe are consistent with the limited amount of information that I have available.