March 28, 2020

Move on up!

March 26, 2020

Joe Biden rises from his Irish wake

A couple of weeks old, but worth reading:
....................................
Joe Biden, like Tim Finnegan, rises from his Irish wake



A few weeks ago I wrote off Joe Biden's chances for the Democratic nomination and suggested the happy warrior of American politics ease into a well-deserved political retirement.

By so doing, I joined a not-so exclusive club led by hundreds of writers who completely wrote him off. He was broke, had just finished fifth in New Hampshire, and a very distant second in Nevada. Let the wake begin.

I had looked at an NBC poll that Sunday morning showing him 20 points or so behind in national polls. He seemed helpless, his cause seemed hopeless. Joe (Finnegan on his mother’s side) Biden, of course, did the exact opposite of what the entire media and political world expected and came roaring back in South Carolina and now on Super Tuesday.

{snip}

Suddenly, there was hope after South Carolina and then there was history on Super Tuesday, as he swept like a mighty wave across the country. In the swirl and whirl of the massive weekend changes, one thing stood out. Joe Biden found his voice.

The halting and stammering debater was replaced by an incisive, deeply personal, and very moving politician who talked about decency and respect and pride in diversity, words you will never hear spoken in this White House.

more: https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/niallodowd/joe-biden-rises-irish-wake

March 25, 2020

Dr. McCoy runs the polling numbers:

note: All persons shown are fictitious. Any relation to actual persons is purely coincidental.

March 21, 2020

He went negative on Hillary with NAFTA TV ads in Michigan and she lost the state to Trump.

Bernie's 2016 Michigan ad:

He had two negative Biden ads, a similar one on NAFTA and another one on SS, running for weeks in battleground states, including Michigan, until this week in fact:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/04/sanders-kicks-new-phase-campaign-ad-blitz-challenging-biden-march-primary-states

"reservations about going negative on Mr. Biden"? Oh please. It's SOP.

p.s. When looking for Bernie's 2016 NAFTA ad I came across one very similar to it -- except that it's a 2016 Trump ad:

March 21, 2020

Reuters: U.S. candidate Biden was vastly outspent by Sanders in February

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-biden-spending/u-s-candidate-biden-was-vastly-outspent-by-sanders-in-february-idUSKBN218074

With that in view, Bernie was smart to yank his ads whether he plans to stay in or not. He probably would have done better without them.

March 18, 2020

BBC: Game over for Bernie Sanders?

Anthony Zurcher
North America reporter
7 hours ago

{snip}

Some have suggested that the decision to continue with Tuesday's primaries is evidence that the Democratic Party establishment is trying to crown Biden before their man can surge back into contention - given them all the more reason to soldier on.

{snip}

Sanders should have a long think about how long he wants to stay in this fight, however, even if he does have more than enough financial resources to carry on.

He was swept on Tuesday and lost five out of six contests last week. With the primary calendar in the coming weeks emptying, there's little opportunity for him to change his momentum at the ballot box anytime soon.

Sanders is going to face growing calls from Democrats to gracefully bow out - something he did not do until the eve of the convention four years ago, much to the consternation of many Hillary Clinton supporters.

The bottom line for Sanders may be evaluating what's best at this point for the movement he created. Will staying in the race give him a greater platform to talk about his issues and buy him time for a comeback? Or will hanging around only increase the chances that he is relegated to an electoral afterthought?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51939829

March 14, 2020

Here is the ad Sanders is running in Illinois. Is this helping us beat Trump?

Source: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/04/sanders-kicks-new-phase-campaign-ad-blitz-challenging-biden-march-primary-states

March 13, 2020

Just in: Karen Bass, head of the Congressional Black Caucus, backs Biden

WAPO, March 13, 2020 at 5:00 a.m. PDT

The chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus is endorsing Joe Biden, framing the former vice president’s strong support among African Americans as “a survival vote.”

“I cannot say it enough: Black women are concerned about saving this country,” said Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.). “This is not about who I’m falling in love with. This is about who is going to protect my children and grandchildren.”

Bass said she was reluctant to back Biden earlier when Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kamala D. Harris (Calif.), both CBC members, were in the 2020 Democratic primary. With their exits, she said Biden is now the candidate best positioned to oust President Trump in November — cited as the top priority of Democrats and particularly black voters, the base of the party whose support is seen as critical to the path to the nomination.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/13/karen-bass-head-congressional-black-caucus-backs-biden/

Thank you Rep. Karen Bass!

March 11, 2020

AP CALLS MICH FOR BIDEN!!!

NPR - just announced

Let's shut this primary down says House majority whip James Clyburn and I agree!

March 11, 2020

Clyburn: It's time to shut this primary down and cancel future debates

if things continue as they began tonight, in which case, Biden becomes the prohibitive favorite

(live interview on NPR)