February 27, 2016

HuffPo: Sanders Fans Think He'll Lose SC Because of Bill Clinton

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA -- On the eve of South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke in a mostly empty gymnasium at the historically black Claflin University in Orangeburg. It was an unusual sight for those accustomed to massive rallies for Sanders packed with thousands upon thousands of screaming supporters.

Sanders, as candidates tend to do, spun the appearance as an auditorium-half-full, rather than half-empty, moment.

“When we first came here, we knew very few people,” he said. “But in the last nine months, we have come a very long way, and that’s because of your support.”

(snip)

“All of our parents grew up with President Clinton,” Bradley said. “We don’t really know (the Clintons) the way they know them, we just know what we hear on social media.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-south-carolina-bill-clinton_us_56d1d0b8e4b0871f60eb9d9e
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moral: you can buy a tweet but you can't buy truth.

February 27, 2016

Bernie Sanders, 1994: "horribly violent ... deeply sick and sociopathic ... must be put behind bars"

and more, from "Crime Bill Politics: A Flash Point In Democratic Race," NPR, February 26, 2016. Bernie on the 1994 crime bill he voted for :

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/26/468297933/crime-bill-politics-a-flash-point-in-democratic-race

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So it appears that Bernie voted for this package of police state measures, and Hillary did not.

Am I missing something?

February 27, 2016

Nevada: AmericanCrossroads "ran ads branding Sanders as the only true progressive in the race."

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/26/468216156/conservative-superpacs-ads-take-aim-at-hillary-clinton

February 26, 2016

WaPo: Why black voters remain in Hillary Clinton’s corner

Clinton participates in a Breaking Down Barriers town hall campaign event at Morris College in Sumter, S.C., on Feb. 24
Jonathan Capehart - February 25 at 9:07 PM


There are three reasons Clinton’s firewall of black voters won’t #feelthebern in South Carolina and beyond.

First, Obama. His approval rating among African Americans is 89 percent in the latest Gallup tracking poll. This explains why Clinton has left no daylight between herself and the man who bested her in 2008 and for whom she worked as secretary of state. And it explains why she highlights the many times that Sanders argued for a primary challenge to Obama in 2012.

Second, Clinton doesn’t shy away from race. Sanders talks about race, too, of course. But he seems to do so at a remove, and his attempts to make a convincing link between his economic message and race continue to fall short.

(snip)

The third reason is perhaps the most important, because of how deeply it resonates with African Americans: Clinton openly talks about the necessary role that whites must play in healing and bridging the racial divide.

“Ending systemic racism requires contributions from all of us, especially those of us who haven’t experienced it ourselves,” she said in Harlem. “White Americans need to do a better job of listening when African Americans talk about the seen and unseen barriers that you face every day. We need to recognize our privilege and practice humility, rather than assume that our experiences are everyone’s experiences.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-black-voters-remain-in-hillary-clintons-corner/2016/02/25/7a86100a-da7d-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html

February 25, 2016

Hmm... so who was the unidentified colleague?

And who filmed the SC event and posted it onto Huffpo and the rest of the Twittersphere, three days before the SC primary? And who paid the $500.00 admission?

Which is to say that whatever political merit tonight's confrontation might have had is greatly diminished if not defeated by its rather conspicuous appearance as a partisan political stunt.

February 25, 2016

Clinton seeks to cement S.C., Super Tuesday with gun issue

USA TODAY 4:23 p.m. EST February 24, 2016

Hillary Clinton's gun-control offensive against Bernie Sanders in South Carolina will provide the template she follows in upcoming state contests with sizable African-American electorates.

Two days in a row this week, Clinton campaigned with mothers who’ve lost children to gun violence, including Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin. Her campaign also cut a new web video and held a conference call highlighting Sen. Bernie Sanders’ record on guns, including his support of the so-called Charleston loophole, which allowed Dylann Roof to acquire a firearm before completing a background check.

Clinton has also been hammering the Vermont senator for his 2005 vote shielding gun makers and sellers from lawsuits stemming from injuries caused by their merchandise — he's recently co-sponsored legislation that would repeal that measure. The focus is on this 2005 vote as a way to undercut Sanders both on the gun issue and on his populist anti-corporate message since it is a rare instance of him siding with companies.

A January CNN/ORC poll shows 68% of Democratic voters say gun policy will be very important in determining their vote, and as the race turns to states with large African-American communities that have been disproportionately impacted by gun violence, the issue is becoming a bigger focus. The former secretary of State wants to cement what polls show is a nearly 30-point lead over the Vermont senator in the Palmetto state’s Feb. 27 primary, as well as her advantage in states like Alabama and Texas that vote on March 1.

Guns are a particularly emotional issue in South Carolina after Roof killed nine African Americans in a Charleston church in June. On Tuesday, Clinton was joined by Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who survived being shot in the head, and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly.

“Elections matter,” said Kelly. “Looked at the records,” he said. “There is only one candidate that has the record and the experience to stand up to a very powerful special interest.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/02/24/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-south-carolina-guns/80859356/
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give 'em hell Hill!

February 24, 2016

ABC News: Why Hillary Clinton Has the Upper Hand on Super Tuesday and Beyond

Feb 23, 2016, 12:34 PM ET

After two razor-thin victories for Hillary Clinton and one blowout for Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire, the two Democratic presidential hopefuls are separated by just one pledged delegate.

But maybe not for long.

Notwithstanding Clinton’s significant superdelegate advantage over Sanders, next on the calendar is the South Carolina Democratic primary. Clinton is expected to win there by double digits, thanks to her large support from African Americans, who made up more than half of the state’s Democratic electorate in 2008.

And on March 1 -- also known as “Super Tuesday” -- Democratic voters in 11 states will head to the ballot boxes. Seven of those Democratic contests are in the South, where many analysts believe that the large African-American and Hispanic populations will create a “firewall” for Clinton.

In several of those states -- Alabama, Georgia and Texas -- more than half of the 2008 Democratic electorate was nonwhite. Furthermore, these states are much more moderate. At least six in 10 voters from 2008 were moderates -- not liberals -- in Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. These two groups are likely to boost Clinton to victories in most of these states.

more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-upper-hand-super-tuesday/story?id=37136465
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The video at the link talks about a 30-point lead in SC and a Morgan Freeman-narrated ad naming several recent victims of police violence. I'm not gonna say it's over but folks this parrot is dead.

February 21, 2016

Predictions:

1) Sanders will win Vermont and maybe Maine.
2) He will continue to haul in millions with every rousing concession speech laced with anti-Clinton innuendo.
3) He will make the same speech at the Convention. There will be tears and considerable acrimony.
4) He will return to Vermont and make a bare minimum of campaign appearances.
5) He will not run for reelection.

February 21, 2016

Here. Listen to both:

Bernie's concession speech:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/bernie-sanders-concession-speech-nevada-219554
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Hillary's victory speech:

February 21, 2016

Bernie's concession is one indirect insinuation after another.

Wall Street, criminal behavior, Obama let them go free (he doesn't say Obama), Hillary's in their pocket (but he doesn't say Hillary). Snide and basically mean-spirited.

Hillary on the other hand gave a gracious, issue-oriented speech that puts everything in perspective inlcluding Wall Street. She's right: she's not a one-issue candidate and I believe that is why she won tonight.