tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71867065791897907542024-03-20T22:22:39.149-04:00The Politics of CourageCandid assessments and bold reforms are necessary in order to save civilization from climate change, restore the Constitution of the United States, establish peace, and resume the course for economic justice.Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-39054404109692254252023-07-28T11:02:00.011-04:002023-07-30T11:52:27.621-04:00Of Major Parties’ Contenders for POTUS, Kennedy Most Popular, Biden Most Unpopular, Harvard-Harris Poll Shows<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A</span> <a href="https://harvardharrispoll.com/crosstabs-july-2/" target="_blank">survey</a> the Harris Poll conducted last week for the Ctr. for American Political Studies at Harvard Univ. concluded registered voters nationwide (of whom 2,068 were sampled) have a more favorable opinion of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. <a href="https://www.kennedy24.com/about" target="_blank">Kennedy</a> Jr., Esq.—and a more <b>un</b>favorable opinion of incumbent Joe <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=At1CzQEACAAJ&pg=PA0" target="_blank">Biden</a>—than of anyone else who seeks the nomination of a major party for chief executive of the United States.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">When the unfavorability rating for each candidate is subtracted from his/her favorability rating, the largest positive difference belongs to Kennedy, and the largest negative difference belongs to Biden.</p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b> % favorable</b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> ↓</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b><span> </span>% unfavorable</b></span><br /></div><div><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> ↓</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b><span> </span></b><span>↓</span><b><span> </span>net in pct. pts.</b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFFtYzOqIe5GpekpiTIE_iYwwKOtCxIuPFkmijNf6VpytxzgIcOyq_BfJ3cCWCxZqn0FHkvMNOXyd2G8Rua9rWiAP2D_xPX8BDu6ZWUDCZsOKugy9pcfp7mJQwMFISibEnP9pj3oK7bM34U8-nmeVZ1zeafOGvkXgxUBpcpsCMbMUrxeCwlN0u0p76uI/s172/Kennedy.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="136" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFFtYzOqIe5GpekpiTIE_iYwwKOtCxIuPFkmijNf6VpytxzgIcOyq_BfJ3cCWCxZqn0FHkvMNOXyd2G8Rua9rWiAP2D_xPX8BDu6ZWUDCZsOKugy9pcfp7mJQwMFISibEnP9pj3oK7bM34U8-nmeVZ1zeafOGvkXgxUBpcpsCMbMUrxeCwlN0u0p76uI/s1600/Kennedy.png" width="136" /></a></td></tr><tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><div><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">RFK</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">Jr.</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>(Gage Skidmore)</i></span><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i><span><br /></span></i></span></b></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #0003ac; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Kennedy</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">47</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">26</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #351c75;">+21</span></span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Ramaswamy</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: <span style="color: #463700;">34</span>/<span style="color: #444444;">18</span>/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">+16</span></b> <br /></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 80px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Scott</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">33</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">22</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">+10</span></b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">*</span><b><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Haley</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">33</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">28</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/ </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">+5<br /></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">DeSantis</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">40</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">37</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/ </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">+3<br /></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Burgum</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">14</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">17</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> –3<br /></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Trump</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">45</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">49</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/ </span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">–4</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Hutchinson</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">18</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">23</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">–5</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"></span><span style="color: #0003ac; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Williamson</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">18</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">23</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/ </span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">–5<br /></span></b></blockquote><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 80px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Pence</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">37</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">44</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span>–7<br /></span></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Christie</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">27</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">39</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">–11</span></b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">*</span><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span><span style="color: #0003ac;">Biden</span>: <span style="color: #463700;">39</span>/<span style="color: #444444;">53</span>/<span style="color: #4c1130;">–14 </span></span></b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">*</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>apparent discrepancy </i><i>due to rounding</i></span></span><br /></div></blockquote><p>Of the 23 demographics broken down in the cross-<a href="https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HHP_CAPS_July2023_crosstabs.pdf" target="_blank">tabulations</a>, Kennedy has net favorability of 12 to 34 percentage points in each, and Biden has net <b>un</b>favorability of four to 74 points in 17.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span><span style="color: #0003ac;">Kennedy Biden</span> </span></blockquote></b></span></div><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> females: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">43</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">22</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #351c75;">+21 <span style="color: #463700;">38</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">/</span><span style="color: #444444;">53</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">/</span></span><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span>–15</span></span></span></span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span></span></span></span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> males: <span style="color: #463700;">50</span>/<span style="color: #444444;">29</span>/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+21 </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">40</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">54</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span>–14</span></span></span> </b></span></p></blockquote><p></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> blacks</span><span style="font-family: courier;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">48</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">24</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+24 </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">5</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">7</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">33</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #351c75;">+24</span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> Latinos: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">48</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">18</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+30 </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">39</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">48</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/ </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">–9 </span></span></b></span> <br /></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> other nonwhites: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">41</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">29</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+12 </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">24</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">58</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">–34</span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> whites</span><span style="font-family: courier;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">47</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">27</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+20</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">36</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">59</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">–23</span></span></b></span></div><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> Democrats: </span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #463700;">5</span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">1</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">26</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+25</span> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">76</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">19</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #351c75;">+57<br /></span></span><span style="font-family: courier;"> independents: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">43</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">26</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+17</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">29</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">61</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">–32</span><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Republicans</span>: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">46</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">26</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+20 </span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">10</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">84</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span>–74</span></span></span></b></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4EUqxwyJBFOFvZTTdDLrI39h81h3ItUXMn__pkQ8p62DGsF4-SlUPeDxeCjo4oTb6S5GMUVlHI9i_GKMt4RwHwaMNYC2DUyGFCNg6AjBTJ0agg7iW4xutPHRTin8sRDzzW8pyFsryM_FQpj0hhdxQB6UPpTeN9tD1gRXmKznsMQNQ9CffcfaUPmgts8/s172/Biden.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="136" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4EUqxwyJBFOFvZTTdDLrI39h81h3ItUXMn__pkQ8p62DGsF4-SlUPeDxeCjo4oTb6S5GMUVlHI9i_GKMt4RwHwaMNYC2DUyGFCNg6AjBTJ0agg7iW4xutPHRTin8sRDzzW8pyFsryM_FQpj0hhdxQB6UPpTeN9tD1gRXmKznsMQNQ9CffcfaUPmgts8/s1600/Biden.png" width="136" /></a></td></tr><tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> Biden<br /></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Adam Schultz / WH)</i></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> “liberals”: </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">8</span></span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">32</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+16</span> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">7</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">0</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">24</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+46</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier;"> “moderates”: </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">21</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+23</span> <span style="color: #463700;">43</span>/<span style="color: #444444;">47</span>/ <span style="color: #4c1130;">–4</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier;"> “conservatives”: </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">9</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">26</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+23</span> </span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">1</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">5</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">79</span>/<span style="color: #4c1130;">–64</span></span></b></span></p></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); font-family: courier;"> income</span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><$75K</span><span style="font-family: courier;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">46</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">23</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;"><span>+23</span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">38</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">54</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span></span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span>–16</span></span></span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); font-family: courier;"></span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); font-family: courier;"><u>></u>$75K</span><span style="font-family: courier;">: </span></span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">48</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">29</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+19</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"> <span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">41</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">53</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span>–12</span></span></span></b></span></div></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> urbanites</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">54</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">20</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+34</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"> <span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">55</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">38</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: black; font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #351c75;">+17<br /></span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: courier;"> suburbanites: </span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">43</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: courier;">30</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: courier;">+13</span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">35</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">58</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">–23</span><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> ruralists: </span></span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span>/<span style="color: #444444;">24</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+20</span> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">27</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #444444; font-family: courier;">65</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;"><span>–3</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #4c1130; font-family: courier;">8</span><br /></b></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> ages 18 to 34: </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">6</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">18</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+28</span> </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">3</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">8</span></span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">47</span>/ <span style="color: #4c1130;">–9</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier;"> 35 to 49: </span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #463700;">5</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">2</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">21</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+31</span> </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">7</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">46</span>/ <span style="color: #351c75;">+1</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier;"> 50 to 64: </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">30</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+14</span> </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">3</span></span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">6</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">61</span>/<span style="color: #4c1130;">−25</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier;"> 65 & up: </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">6</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">34</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+12</span> </span><span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">3</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier;">7</span><span style="font-family: courier;">/<span style="color: #444444;">59</span>/<span style="color: #4c1130;">−22<br /></span></span></b></span></div></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">college graduates: </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">6</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/<span style="color: #444444;">31</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+15</span> </span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #463700;">5</span></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #463700;">0</span></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/<span style="color: #444444;">46</span>/ <span style="color: #351c75;">+4</span><br /></span></b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">ot</span></b><b><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">hers: </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(252, 255, 1); color: #463700; font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">7</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/<span style="color: #444444;">23</span>/<span style="color: #351c75;">+24</span> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">3</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #463700; font-family: courier;">4</span></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">/<span style="color: #444444;">57</span>/<span style="color: #4c1130;">−23</span></span></b></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">No published poll has tested how Kennedy—were he the Democratic
standard-bearer—would fare nationwide in the general election. However,
the aforementioned survey found Biden would lose the popular vote to former president Donald Trump by five pts. and to Gov. Ronald DeSantis
of Fla. by one.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">Democrats nevertheless favor Biden over Kennedy by 62% to 16%.</p></div><p style="text-align: left;">Although independents are not broken down by party in whose primary—if any—they intend to participate, those voters prefer the environmental lawyer as opposed to the former senator from Del. by 31% to 20%.<br /></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"></blockquote></div>Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-15419415840045322022017-05-02T11:55:00.004-04:002023-07-30T12:23:50.684-04:00Digital Editor of Ms. Magazine Calls for Death of Jewish Trailblazer and for Vandalism of His GraveThree times in the past month, digital <a href="http://msmagazine.com/blog/contact-us/" target="_blank">editor</a> Carmen Rios of feminist magazine <i>Ms. </i>has openly wished for the death of Senator Bernie Sanders, who in 2016 became the first Jewish presidential candidate to ever win a primary of a major party in the US.<br />
<br />
"Rejoice, for one day Bernie Sanders will... <a href="https://twitter.com/kthalps/status/859395097972146176" target="_blank">die</a>," proclaimed Rios, who is COO <a href="http://www.argotmagazine.com/team/" target="_blank">and</a> managing editor of <i>Argot</i>, which <a href="http://www.argotmagazine.com/about/" target="_blank">describes</a> itself as a publication that "aspire[s] to be a safe space that
centers the feminine narrative -- especially the experiences of those at
the margins -- and to foster community."<br />
<br />
In reference to the daughter of former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, against whom Sanders sought the Democratic nomination last year, Rios vowed to "write in Chelsea Clinton 'til Bernie <a href="https://twitter.com/evepeyser/status/857678123789418496" target="_blank">dies</a>." <br />
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/carmenriosss/status/780598298667126784" target="_blank">The</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/carmenriosss/status/787017032411656192" target="_blank">brazenly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/carmenriosss/status/847933948311216128" target="_blank">misandrist</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/carmenriosss/status/852275260137263104" target="_blank">Rios</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/carmenriosss/status/857762390590476288" target="_blank">who</a> is a <a href="http://everydayfeminism.com/about-ef/about-the-team/" target="_blank">contributing</a> writer at <i>Everyday Feminism</i>, additionally promised to "build a monument for all the women who were right" and to "erect it on top of Bernie Sanders's grave."<br />
<br />
That statement came within three months of the <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2017-03-03/a-look-at-the-threats-vandalism-against-jewish-institutions" target="_blank">desecration</a> of several Jewish cemeteries in the US. On multiple occasions when Sanders has reaffirmed his Jewish identity, he noted his father's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urnFap_MRJA" target="_blank">family</a> was <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/07/politics/democratic-debate-jewish-bernie-sanders-cnn-flint-michigan/" target="_blank">murdered</a> in the Holocaust. As Sanders attempted to become the first Jewish chief executive of this country, he was the <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/142201990709" target="_blank">subject</a> of <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/140412875409" target="_blank">numerous</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/142201733029" target="_blank">anti</a>-<a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/139811606999" target="_blank">Semitic</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/post/139861680749/melissa-tucker-confirmed-hillary-clinton" target="_blank">attacks</a> by supporters of Clinton.<br />
<br />
Gloria Steinem, who co-founded <i>Ms.</i>, declared Sanders "an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgcHk9WpcJo#t=14m19s" target="_blank">honorary</a> woman" as she campaigned for his re-election to the House of Representatives in 1996 against a female Republican. In his bid for the White House, Sanders offered <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/hillary-clinton-late-term-abortions" target="_blank">stronger</a> support for reproductive freedom than Clinton did.<br />
<br />
Writer and broadcaster Katie Halper <a href="https://twitter.com/kthalps/status/859395097972146176" target="_blank">asked</a> Steinem and <i>Ms.</i> to address Rios's remarks. This entry will be updated if there is a public response to Halper's request.Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-8358372641519329262017-04-14T18:17:00.001-04:002023-07-30T12:24:15.591-04:00Dems Avoid Self-Help, Continue to Scapegoat for Self-DefeatIn a "fireside chat" on February 8 about continued work of her party, former <a href="http://www.gp.org/" target="_blank">Green</a> presidential nominee Jill Stein MD briefly discussed a status that appeared the previous day on her account on Twitter. In the interim, several hacks in media seized upon the "tweet" in order to describe the graduate of Harvard Medical School as "<a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte/status/829062775762718720" target="_blank">dumb</a>" and an "<a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/02/08/24857325/jill-stein-is-a-rightwing-tool" target="_blank">a**hole</a> in every aspect" who should feel so much "<a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-02-07/trump-abettor-jill-stein-really-shouldnt-criticize-democrats-on-devos" target="_blank">shame</a>" as "to shut the <a href="https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/829071551723163649" target="_blank">f**k</a> up."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRq4ehXy0BCZFCqTdUh6dOYFB7XvZbDhKfS7Sp66LTxiQpwq05X8AMrshIVq0yuLrNIPYEm6N4mzuL09WhzTJ9vP046Y85Zw-d5EgdTXCRGW8kg0NxAVauwE752WfYwg7ENQVcPUrvQQ/s1600/DeVos.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRq4ehXy0BCZFCqTdUh6dOYFB7XvZbDhKfS7Sp66LTxiQpwq05X8AMrshIVq0yuLrNIPYEm6N4mzuL09WhzTJ9vP046Y85Zw-d5EgdTXCRGW8kg0NxAVauwE752WfYwg7ENQVcPUrvQQ/s1600/DeVos.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Betsy" DeVos<br />
(Committee on Health,<br />
Ed., Labor & Pensions)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In reference to the <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00054" target="_blank">vote</a> on confirmation of Elisabeth DeVos for secretary of Education, the <a href="https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/829008961550553093" target="_blank">status</a> stated there was "a tie on such an egregious nominee... [b]ecause Democrats serve corporate interests." (Via a vote to confirm, Vice President Michael Pence broke the tie.)<br />
<br />
Approximately eight minutes into the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/drjillstein/videos/1490709140969271/" target="_blank">chat</a>, Stein acknowledged the error. "[T]hat the Democrats unanimously voted against... the...
nomination was a real achievement... [A] tweet... not
reviewed by me... was a bit confused... It was kind of a
non-sequitur," she said.<br />
<br />
Although that episode is two months old, those attacks on the former member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School were not a demonstration of genuine concern for accuracy. Rather, the tweet was used as one of countless excuses to do what many people who backed ex-senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as the Democratic presidential nominee continue to do:<br />
<ul>
<li>try to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-4dIImaodQ#t=17m58s" target="_blank">discredit</a> those who, from outside of or within the Democratic Party, work to reverse its <a href="https://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2016" target="_blank">rightward</a> <a href="http://c-span.org/video/?c4632402/every-blue-collar-democrat" target="_blank">march</a>, which has made it -- on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYiZnAiTXeY#t=93.5" target="_blank">some</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-exclusive-idUSKCN12P2PZ" target="_blank">issues</a> -- more conservative than Pres. Trump is, and which has -- in the elections from 2010 to the present -- caused the party to lose so badly as to defy <a href="http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/content/images/KDK2016111701-table5.png" target="_blank">precedent</a>.</li>
<li>deflect responsibility Clinton should accept for her loss to Trump, like prior nominees rightly <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4659875/dukakis-takes-responsibility-defeat" target="_blank">took</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4659861/mccain-takes-responsibility-defeat" target="_blank">blame</a> for their defeat. For example:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I take responsibility for my own loss. I don't look to [my] party as responsible [for it]."<br />Ex-governor Mitt Romney<span style="font-size: small;"> (R-MA) </span><span style="font-size: small;">on his bid to unseat Pres. Obama<br />Quoted in <i>Collision 2012</i> by Dan Balz</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
The premise of such deflection to Stein and her backers is: Had the electorate limited itself to the
two most <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/for-clinton-trump-improving-image-is-a-matter-of-trust-1.12359241" target="_blank">unpopular</a> presidential candidates in at least 64 years, then (almost) everyone who voted for Stein would have voted for Clinton, who would then have won in the critical trio of states:
Pennsylvania, Michigan and
Wisconsin.<br />
<br />
That premise is <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-exit-polls-how-donald-trump-won-the-us-presidency/" target="_blank">false</a>. <b>Among Stein's voters,</b> under the hypothetical limitation, <b>61% would have abstained</b>, <b>≈25% would have picked Clinton</b>, and <b>14% would have chosen Trump</b>. Clinton would have had to beat Trump among Stein's voters by nearly <a href="http://miboecfr.nictusa.com/election/results/2016GEN_CENR.html" target="_blank">21</a> percentage points in MI, over <a href="http://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/Statewide%20Results%20All%20Offices%20%28post-Presidential%20recount%29.pdf" target="_blank">73</a> in WI, <i>and</i> nearly <a href="http://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/General/SummaryResults?ElectionID=54&ElectionType=G&IsActive=0" target="_blank">89</a> in PA.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalYa8KcTUTBke95TEZth0rKQN__s95jujp8KrS3GfiM8Y7cHpg-E_HfdSJ84IAcMnM6mVVw17z3nemJjx7NexdKmHN9Xhv9ZZUJEacnW_UDI5I3dNRv41pKfVoGmiTwheaqYt6xoLXUA/s1600/Pence.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalYa8KcTUTBke95TEZth0rKQN__s95jujp8KrS3GfiM8Y7cHpg-E_HfdSJ84IAcMnM6mVVw17z3nemJjx7NexdKmHN9Xhv9ZZUJEacnW_UDI5I3dNRv41pKfVoGmiTwheaqYt6xoLXUA/s1600/Pence.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pence (Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
People who say most or all votes for Greens would otherwise go to
Democrats tend to also say most or all votes for Libertarians would otherwise go to
Republicans. However, some <a href="https://twitter.com/maddow/status/796433124175605760" target="_blank">corporate</a> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/gary-johnson-jill-stein-election-2016" target="_blank">media</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/10/politics/gary-johnson-jill-stein-spoiler/" target="_blank">suggest</a> at least half
the ballots for ex-gov. Gary Johnson (R-NM) -- who was the Libertarian nominee -- would have been for Clinton under said limitation.
Yet, among his voters, <b>55% would have abstained</b>, <b>25% would have picked Clinton</b>, and <b>15% would have chosen Trump</b>. Clinton would have had to beat Trump among Johnson's and Stein's voters by nearly 5 points in MI, over 16.5 in WI, <i>and</i> over 22.5 in PA.<br />
<br />
Apparently, the state-by-state breakdown of what Johnson's and Stein's voters would have done in that scenario is excluded from all published data from the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/politics/election/2016-national-exit-poll-results?race=pres_all" target="_blank">exit</a> poll. But even if the undisclosed numbers from WI and PA show statistical deviations that favor Clinton and are drastic enough to evince she would have won the presidency in said scenario, these questions remain: Why
should any party, or duo of parties, be deemed <i>entitled</i> to anyone's vote? Why should citizens of a republic not be -- and feel -- free to vote for whichever candidate they deem best, especially a
candidate who, like Stein, advocates for what most of the public wants and needs?<br />
<br />
The response from ardent supporters of either major party is that we must prevent pluralities for the nominees of the other major party. The best counter-response is the proposal for instant-runoff voting (IRV), a.k.a. <b>ranked-choice voting</b> (RCV), which is used for public elections in a few <a href="http://www.fairvote.org/research_electoralsystems_world" target="_blank">countries</a> and in <a href="http://www.fairvote.org/rcv_in_us_elections" target="_blank">numerous</a> jurisdictions across the US, was adopted by the electorate of Maine on Election Day, and is under consideration by <a href="http://www.fairvote.org/2017_beginswith_ranked_choice_voting_legislation_in_nine_states" target="_blank">several</a> other states. (Information on how to help enact RCV is <a href="http://www.fairvote.org/rcv_activist_toolkit#how_to_use_the_toolkit" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
<br />
Many Democrats and Republicans oppose that idea because both of their parties would be vulnerable to alternatives that could no longer be branded as potential "spoilers." In fact, the Senate of ME successfully requested -- by a vote of 24-10, with seven Democrats in favor -- for the highest court in the state to hear a <a href="http://legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/rollcall.asp?ID=280063057&chamber=S&serialnumber=15">challenge</a> to RCV. Attorney General Janet Mills (D-ME) <a href="http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2017/03/03/maine-ag-republicans-take-on-advocates-in-ranked-choice-voting-court-fight/">and</a> Secy. of State Matthew Dunlap (D-ME) filed briefs in opposition to RCV. Oral arguments in the case were delivered yesterday.<br />
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The vulnerability of the Democratic and Republican parties is evinced by more than the efforts to besmirch and <a href="http://observer.com/2016/10/clinton-benefits-after-foul-play-suspected-in-keeping-green-party-off-nevada-ballot/" target="_blank">obstruct</a> endeavors to break their duopoly. To wit, surveys that were commissioned by CNN to measure favorable and unfavorable views toward the major parties date back to 1992. Said data conclude both of those parties are -- but were <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/11/22/rel20b.-.trump.and.obama.pdf" target="_blank">never</a> prior to 2010 -- simultaneously viewed more unfavorably than favorably. Surveys by Gallup conclude the rate of self-identification with neither major party was <a href="http://www.people-press.org/interactives/party-id-trend/" target="_blank">15%</a> in 1945 but is <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx" target="_blank">44%</a> now.<br />
<br />
Moreover, a higher percentage voted against the duopoly in the latest presidential election than in any other presidential election after 1996. That development is due partly to deepened support for a leftist agenda. Last year, the number of ballots cast for the Green ticket tripled for the second consecutive time. Meanwhile, write-in votes for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) -- who is a democratic socialist, sought the Democratic nomination, was not on the ballot anywhere for the general election, and asked his supporters not to cast write-in votes for him in it -- amounted to <a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G16/VT" target="_blank">5.7%</a> in Vermont, <a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G16/RI" target="_blank">0.7%</a> in Rhode Island, <a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G16/NH" target="_blank">0.6%</a> in New Hampshire, <a href="http://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-general/sov/06-sov-summary.pdf" target="_blank">0.6%</a> in California, and <a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G16/PA" target="_blank">0.1%</a> in PA. Those are the only states in which write-in votes for Sanders were tallied.<br />
<br />
The ex-representative and his supporters have endured many <a href="http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/floridians-who-wrote-in-bernie-sanders-or-jokes-got-donald-trump-elected-9114360" target="_blank">attacks</a> between then and now, but <a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/12/bernie-sanders-nailed-it-on-identity-politics-and.html" target="_blank">mostly</a> not because of write-in votes. Instead, Sanders's erstwhile campaign is used as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y84tkDQ2-cA" target="_blank">another</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krP7rqYKHxs" target="_blank">excuse</a> for why Clinton lost. Myriad fans of hers, still averse to the values Sanders espouses, seek to discredit him as his influence rises. He is<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/bernie-sanders-popular" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/b4op8yt1r6xmbxi8j20rjsuzxw9xne4h" target="_blank">most</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUNJ2SKW-Qo" target="_blank">popular</a> politician in the US.</li>
<li>the man fourth-most <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/1678/most-admired-man-woman.aspx" target="_blank">admired</a> in the US.</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">de <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2016/11/16/stop_the_dakota_pipeline_bernie_sanders" target="_blank">facto</a> <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/17/elizabeth-warren-no-longer-darling-of-the-left-commentary.html" target="_blank">leader</a> of <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/316886-sanders-bannon-must-be-removed-from-national-security-council" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-sanders-interview-president-is-a-pathological-liar-875536451517" target="_blank">opposition</a> </span><span style="font-size: small;">to Trump <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/politics/health-care-debate-fact-check/" target="_blank">and</a> to the congressional Republicans.</span></li>
<li>the most <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/democrats-desperate-bernie-sanders-email-list" target="_blank">prolific</a> <a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article132303819.html" target="_blank">fundraiser</a> for Democrats.</li>
<li>newly, with regard to <a href="http://www.periodicalpress.senate.gov/seniority/" target="_blank">seniority</a>, in the top third of senators.</li>
<li>newly in the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/16/senate-democrats-tap-bernie-sanders-lead-outreach/93960822/" target="_blank">leadership</a> of the Democratic senatorial caucus.</li>
<li>the person the plurality of the public supposes should pilot the party.</li>
</ul>
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<br />
The aforementioned Clintonites have egg on their face. Throughout the primary season, they -- in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP7fxNdAs5E" target="_blank">contradiction</a> to the statistical data -- <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/19/bernie-sanders-says-hes-more-electable-than-hillary-clinton-um" target="_blank">insisted</a> Clinton was the most electable Democratic candidate. Such propaganda was very effective among the voters of the Democratic primaries/caucuses who prioritized ability to win the general election.<br />
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<br />
<a href="https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2307" target="_blank">Not</a> <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us12222015_Uhkm63g.pdf" target="_blank">only</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/poll-sanders-outperforms-clinton-matchup-against-trump-n498076" target="_blank">did</a> <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2698240-rel3b-Republicans-6a.html" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us02052016_Ust53w.pdf" target="_blank">polls</a> <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/news/64929.php" target="_blank">consistently</a> <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us02182016_Urpfd42.pdf" target="_blank">demonstrate</a> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/299690763/NBCNews-WSJ-February-Poll?secret_password=Mf2CgQ8zDGpLW73pfCoJ" target="_blank">Clinton</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/n74mnmrwyrmtiooqwppqjkrd1hhf3t3j" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/02/29/rel4b.-.2016.general.pdf" target="_blank">weaker</a> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/303302086/16139-NBC-WSJ-March-Poll-Release?secret_password=4XllUeaGUCBpOaaXhC7Z" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2773296-rel5a-2016.html" target="_blank">Trump</a> <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/305549318/3-21-16-CBS-NYT-Gen-Elect-Toplines#fullscreen" target="_blank">than</a> <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us03232016_Umk53pw.pdf" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rXX28ED96saU/v0" target="_blank">would</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/ikcocsbmakqebuxoixivu8ayu4322c7o" target="_blank">have</a> <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_33116.pdf" target="_blank">been</a>, <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us160329/MCC/General%20Election/McClatchy_Marist%20Poll_General%20Election__Complete%20Survey%20Findings_Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_April%202016.pdf" target="_blank">but</a> both of the <a href="https://today.yougov.com/news/2016/06/06/yougoveconomist-poll-june-2-5-2016/" target="_blank">final</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/n0xmmo4v63ps8kg81hmqufdfmyvq5lrs" target="_blank">two</a> polls to test Sanders versus Trump and test Clinton vs. Trump found<br />
<ul>
<li>Sanders was ahead by <b>11</b> points; Clinton was ahead by <b>3</b> </li>
<li>Sanders had a net favorable rating of at least <b>12</b> points</li>
<li>Clinton had a net <i>un</i>favorable rating of at least <b>9</b> </li>
<li>Sanders outperformed Clinton among liberals, youths, men, <b>women</b>, whites, people whose annual income is <b>below $50,000</b>, people whose annual income is above $50K, <b>independents</b>, and <b>Republicans</b>. </li>
</ul>
Among most of those demographics, come Election Day, there was considerable room for improvement by the Democratic Party. In the contrast between <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20121130143705/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/2012_Elections_Exit_Polls/" target="_blank">2012</a> and 2016, the Democratic ticket's margin over the Republican ticket <b>shrunk</b> by a point among liberals, by 5 points among people under age 30, and by 11 points among people whose family's income the previous year was below $50K; and the Republican ticket's margin over the Democratic ticket <b>grew</b> by 5 points among men, by a point among whites, and by a point among independents (who, in this piece, include members of third parties).<br />
<br />
Trump received 2.1 million <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2012/2012pres.pdf#page=5" target="_blank">more</a> votes than Romney did. But Clinton received 62K <a href="http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2016&f=1&off=0&elect=0" target="_blank">fewer</a> votes than Obama did in '12. Sanders likely would have generated a higher turnout for the Democrats than Clinton did.<br />
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<br />
Here are statistics from each state in the critical trio.<br />
<ul>
<li>Clinton lost WI by <b>0.8%</b>. There, in the last three polls to
test Sanders vs. Trump and test Clinton vs. Trump, Sanders <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_d697f4238943476f89e7cdfc710c309f.pdf" target="_blank">won</a> by --
in chronological order -- <b>4</b>, <b>7</b> and <b>15</b> points <a href="http://www.snc.edu/sri/docs/2016/201604wissurvey.pdf" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/2016/06/15/new-marquette-law-school-poll-finds-clinton-feingold-leading-majorities-have-negative-views-of-presidential-candidates/" target="_blank">than</a> Clinton did.</li>
<li>Clinton lost PA by <b>0.7%</b>. There, in each of the
last three polls to test Sanders vs. Trump and test Clinton vs. Trump, Sanders <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/pennsylvania/release-detail?ReleaseID=2341" target="_blank">won</a> by <b>5</b> points <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/310117398/NBC-News-WSJ-Marist-Pennsylvania-Poll-Annotated-Questionnaire-April-2016?secret_password=hF58jsCziVNNSbqOfw6G" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/pennsylvania/release-detail?ReleaseID=2345" target="_blank">than</a> Clinton did.</li>
<li>Clinton lost MI by <b>0.2%</b>. There, in the last three polls to
test Sanders vs. Trump and test Clinton vs. Trump, Sanders <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/UPDATED_NBC%20News_WSJ_Marist%20Poll_Michigan_%20Annotated%20Questionnaire_March%202016%20pdf%20%282%29.pdf" target="_blank">won</a> by --
in chronological order -- <b>6</b>, <b>8</b> and <b>14</b> <a href="http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=47c9cb86-78f1-4886-a8b3-df6ef090b5b8" target="_blank">points</a> <a href="http://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/detnews/graphics/2016/mac_Pres_poll_053116.jpg" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="http://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/detnews/graphics/2016/mac_poll_sanders_060116.jpg" target="_blank">than</a> Clinton did.</li>
</ul>
Additionally, polls and pundits often <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/03/pundits-call-race-at-halfway-point-hope.html" target="_blank">underestimated</a> Sanders.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBKPAfgSjRcCkHNoVgLqQQRzFnpxQZGKipqmfIa5nSj3FFf3AUg8H0H-Rrpw3vkkIzJ2e3ML7SL2v9iSJt0Mv2jMo_kOKC70mIh5AtrpMwQNxroAqSSO_EZK4tCoKM2T_OXrZaUkK4Wg/s1600/Underestimation.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBKPAfgSjRcCkHNoVgLqQQRzFnpxQZGKipqmfIa5nSj3FFf3AUg8H0H-Rrpw3vkkIzJ2e3ML7SL2v9iSJt0Mv2jMo_kOKC70mIh5AtrpMwQNxroAqSSO_EZK4tCoKM2T_OXrZaUkK4Wg/s1600/Underestimation.png" /></a><br />
<br />
After the election, some people in corporate media <a href="https://twitter.com/Toure/status/796420498448142340" target="_blank">retrospectively</a>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/11/10/hillary-clinton-lost-bernie-sanders-could-have-won/" target="_blank">acknowledged</a> Sanders would have been the stronger nominee
against Trump. However, many who had contended Clinton would win and Sanders would have lost now say the incorrectness of the former prognostication should not cast doubt upon the latter. Let us scrutinize both premises of that argument.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75nKKfWuDvRthCotk_xDDfyTXThg8rHtB_u9q_wH4F50kt4ERIuE8ekIeWm9jSO8KEJKFKMsPaa-2Bf-KHWsReaqcTXiGVQSZRi1HHRESLb7CmpKe_eCtiIQaHm0ny5zaYRqURjxmc30/s1600/Luj%25C3%25A1n.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75nKKfWuDvRthCotk_xDDfyTXThg8rHtB_u9q_wH4F50kt4ERIuE8ekIeWm9jSO8KEJKFKMsPaa-2Bf-KHWsReaqcTXiGVQSZRi1HHRESLb7CmpKe_eCtiIQaHm0ny5zaYRqURjxmc30/s1600/Luj%25C3%25A1n.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luján, D-NM (Jette Carr/<br />
Dept. of the Air Force)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first premise is the alleged worthlessness of polls taken as early as the last ones that tested Sanders. Clintonites posited their candidate would establish a solid lead over Trump after she attained the nomination.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"The head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee [is] Rep. Ben Ray Luján...[, who]</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> said </span>Clinton's numbers will <a href="http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/05/the_other_side_is_rooting_for_donald_trump_the_aud.html" target="_blank">improve</a> as she faces<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> Trump. 'I welcome the contrast between... Clinton and... Trump as we get into... November...,' Luj</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">á</span></span>n said."<br /><span style="font-size: small;">The Auditor (whoever <i>that</i> is), "The Other Side is</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Rooting for Donald Trump," NJ.com, 2 May</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[Y]ou can expect Clinton's numbers to <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/2016-by-the-numbers-hillary-clinton-vs-donald-trump/" target="_blank">improve</a>... when Sanders bows out..."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Jake Miller, "Twenty-Sixteen <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">b</span>y the Numbers:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump?" CBS, 4 May</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Toni Monkovic, editor</u>: </span>"Against Trump in polls, Sanders does better than Clinton does. But it is not nearly so simple."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Nate Cohn, elections analyst</u>:</span> "...Sanders's supporters are a big reason why Clinton does worse... Presumably, most of [them] will... get behind Clinton..."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Monkovic</u>: "How much would Clinton be damaged if he were to endorse her only halfheartedly?"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Cohn</u>: "I think she would ultimately be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/upshot/bernie-sanders-does-better-vs-trump-wouldnt-be-prudent-to-assume-that.html" target="_blank">fine</a>."</span><br />
"<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Bernie </span>Sanders Does Better vs. Trump? Wouldn't Be</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">P</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">rudent<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>to Assume That," <i>The New York Times</i>, 23 May</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"The latest poll by NBC News and <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> shows Clinton with a... lead over Trump, 46% to 43%. But if Sanders were out of the race, the NBC News political unit estimates, her lead would likely be much <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/clinton-lead-over-trump-would-grow-without-sanders-race-n581961" target="_blank">larger</a>, perhaps... 51% to 43%." <br /><span style="font-size: small;">Dante Chinni, "Clinton's Lead Over Trump Would</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Grow Without Sanders in the Race," NBC, 29 May</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Obama's rise in popularity has not immediately transferred to Clinton, whose favorability rating has fallen... as... she has been under fire from Sanders and Republicans... 'Her numbers will drift back up. The president's popularity will help it happen faster and, I think, make it more <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/popularity-of-sitting-president-linked-to-choice-of-successor/" target="_blank">enduring</a>,' said </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Democratic strategist </span>Steve McMahon..."<br /><span style="font-size: small;">Mike Dorning, "Popularity of Sitting President is Linked</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">to Choice of Successor," <i>The Seattle Times</i>, 30 May</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton bested Trump by two points in the popular vote -- one fewer than in the couple of polls detailed above. Both were conducted
sometime between June 2 and June 8. Let us examine the non-tracking polls conducted
at least partially during the equally long span that, in the given year,
was the same distance from Election Day.<br />
<ul>
<li>2012: <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/tw47t92527wrorx31rkdkng5hz96u9pn" target="_blank">Obama</a> <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2012/images/06/01/rel5b.pdf" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="https://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/40802189893/efb058312bdd40aa981064e43f2273bb.pdf" target="_blank">tied</a>, or <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20140122115328/http://www.tipponline.com/presidency/news/presidency/obama-ahead-by-4-points-over-romney" target="_blank">ahead</a> by 3 or <b>4</b> points. He <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2012/2012pres.pdf#page=5" target="_blank">won</a> by <b>4</b>.</li>
<li>2008: <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-06-02-poll_N.htm" target="_blank">Obama</a> <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/06/cnn-poll-mccain-and-obama-locked-in-a-dead-heat/" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080919140340/http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/June2008.pdf" target="_blank">ahead</a> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080612005546/http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2008_poll_tpline_june5.pdf" target="_blank">by</a> 1 <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/may08b-GENERALELECTION.pdf" target="_blank">or</a> <b>6</b>. He <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/tables2008.pdf" target="_blank">won</a> by <b>7</b>.</li>
<li>2004: Bush <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040610090143/http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/presballot/" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040620105450/http://zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=832" target="_blank">behind</a> by 1 or 2, or <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040811175004/http://www.tipponline.com/election/2004/BushKerry.htm" target="_blank">ahead</a> by <b>2</b>. He <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2004/tables.pdf#page=3" target="_blank">won</a> by <b>2</b>.</li>
</ul>
Out of those polls, the margin most different from the one that would materialize on Election Day was off by six points. If, in relation to the last two polls to test Sanders, he would have underperformed by six points on Election Day, he nonetheless would have won the popular vote
by <b>more than twice as many points</b> as Clinton did. In that case, he all but
certainly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moNHfeBJ81I" target="_blank">would</a> have won in the Electoral College.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SY0LijCJXhPPU6vZQ6uTeN_857uyndm1XqVHQAvmKTw2QGsJCXomCxpE361AeCrCfcShcd8UuGJUDVUKwMl2ZDfBsP0gpshwI07OTS1UCZBfJ3uEvQnwv20db3A5TWW_FOLmghgAvWY/s1600/Johnson.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SY0LijCJXhPPU6vZQ6uTeN_857uyndm1XqVHQAvmKTw2QGsJCXomCxpE361AeCrCfcShcd8UuGJUDVUKwMl2ZDfBsP0gpshwI07OTS1UCZBfJ3uEvQnwv20db3A5TWW_FOLmghgAvWY/s1600/Johnson.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G. Johnson<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The second premise is the allegedly unmatched vulnerability of Sanders to attacks. We are told the Republicans would have exposed <i>explosively scandalous</i> information about the senator, which the media and Clinton's campaign did not discover or were so nice as to let slide. Come the general election, Sanders supposedly would have helplessly been sunk by more baggage than either Clinton or Tr-- Alright, let's try not to laugh.<br />
<br />
For several months after Sanders began to run for the White House, neither the corporate media nor Clinton's campaign deemed him a serious threat. His national reputation was thus crafted mainly on <i>his</i> terms. By the time the potential of his bid was understood by the elites, they were unable to bury it. Yet, many Clintonites assert Sanders would have been so negatively redefined by Republican attacks if he had been nominated, he would have replaced
Clinton as the second-most unpopular -- or replaced Trump as <i>the most</i> unpopular -- presidential candidate since 1952 or earlier.<br />
<br />
A pillar of that claim <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCSnWL3Der0#t=94" target="_blank">falsely</a> states Sanders would have been blindsided. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Mitchell</u>: "Are you braced for the onslaught that could come your way...?"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Sanders</u>: "Yes,
we [on my campaign] are... We'll be attacked by corporate America.
Anyone who takes on the establishment anticipates those attacks."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Andrea Mitchell Reports</i>, MSNBC, 31 August 2015 </span></blockquote>
According to another such pillar, VT is naturally ideal political territory for Sanders, his candidacies were all easily victorious against opponents who never attacked him, and he is thus inexperienced in political defense. That is all false.<br />
<br />
In 1981, Sanders's initial bid for mayor of Burlington ended in a recount in which he <a href="http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/its-nine-or-never/Content?oid=2131890" target="_blank">edged</a> the then-incumbent, <b>43.4%</b> to <b>43.3%</b>. As Sanders sought re-election in 1983, the Republican campaign <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/01/10/why-going-negative-bernie-sanders-very-dangerous-move" target="_blank">attacked</a> his socialism and claimed he would raise joblessness and the cost of electricity. Sanders <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19830302&id=3DNSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IjYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1205,178876" target="_blank">won</a> amid turnout that was 42% larger than in '81.<br />
<br />
In 1986, Sanders placed a distant third for governor. In 1988, he placed second for the lone seat VT has in the House of Representatives. In a rematch in 1990, the Republican incumbent depicted Sanders as favorable to the late autocrat Fidel <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/11/08/the-east/f85638fe-f886-4cb0-866c-6e97a8b0796b/" target="_blank">Castro</a> of Cuba and bound to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1990/08/22/challenge-from-the-left-in-vermont/f10e03d5-0540-4c54-9c89-bd926503e5d7/" target="_blank">uncooperative</a> in Congress. Sanders prevailed, even while a Republican was elected governor. At that time, every Republican presidential nominee had carried VT except in 1964, when incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson rode a <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=26262%20" target="_blank">transformationally</a> <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=26467" target="_blank">liberal</a> domestic agenda (the Great Society, which had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQsVVYpY6pI#t=76" target="_blank">begun</a> to be <a href="http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/today-in-history-lbj-s-great-society-is-launched/" target="_blank">enacted</a>) to the largest percentage ever drawn in the popular vote and to 90.3% of the Electoral vote.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyDXae6sW3RWtn5hvN72M-a9UkHcHCPG815_bFP1nwhxG5VVVnVcz4xNfQ_ptiegh7Boracgn8dQena5_1N9Sv-IFfsZMr2P4S-_fN1W66FgBu-anxiGezVv4iYdRWQthXmVspJzt3nU/s1600/1964.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyDXae6sW3RWtn5hvN72M-a9UkHcHCPG815_bFP1nwhxG5VVVnVcz4xNfQ_ptiegh7Boracgn8dQena5_1N9Sv-IFfsZMr2P4S-_fN1W66FgBu-anxiGezVv4iYdRWQthXmVspJzt3nU/s1600/1964.png" /></a></div>
<br />
In fact, VT is of the only two states Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt lost all five times he was on the national ticket, even when he, as a nominee for a second term, rode a transformationally <a href="http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA02/volpe/newdeal/timeline_text.html" target="_blank">liberal</a> domestic agenda (the New Deal, nearly all of which was enacted in his first term) to the <i>second</i>-largest percentage ever garnered in the popular vote. In the Electoral vote, Roosevelt drew <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/18/us/elections/donald-trump-electoral-college-popular-vote.html" target="_blank">98.5%</a>, which is second only to the unanimous elections of George Washington.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJbdtk_ACQt6ZEzM9-SvCG1sdT8NdlshgStcfUFkqylEBfByaR7U_FbP1BZxS7wPg8zVeAcPyf9ZVgxoqwJzaRjPeFqZE2HTswTLDBAugtfGzErQmEj4elZw_Kb1Nq0Q44WbK9xKXoUw/s1600/1936.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJbdtk_ACQt6ZEzM9-SvCG1sdT8NdlshgStcfUFkqylEBfByaR7U_FbP1BZxS7wPg8zVeAcPyf9ZVgxoqwJzaRjPeFqZE2HTswTLDBAugtfGzErQmEj4elZw_Kb1Nq0Q44WbK9xKXoUw/s1600/1936.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
At the Democratic Nat'l Convention of 1940, which was the year when Roosevelt would win a third term, conservative delegates waged a serious but unsuccessful challenge to his choice of then-Secy. of Agriculture Henry Wallace for vice president. When the challenge was underway, Roosevelt -- who had received but not yet accepted the presidential nomination -- drafted a message he thought he might need to send to the delegates in order for Wallace to prevail and in order for Roosevelt to want to be on the ticket. The message read in part as follows. (All boldface in this entry is added.)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"In our century, the <b>Democratic Party has received the support of the electorate only when the party, with absolute clarity, has championed</b> progressive and <b>liberal policies</b> and principles of government. The <b>party has failed consistently when</b> it, through political trading and chicanery, has <b>fallen into the control of... i</b><b>nterests that think in terms of dollars rather than</b> in terms of <b>human values</b>.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"The
Republican Party has made its nominations this year at the dictation of
those who... always place money ahead of human progress... <b>Until the Democratic Party... makes overwhelmingly clear its </b><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yeAVAAAAQBAJ&pg=PP216" target="_blank">stand</a> in favor of social progress and <b>liberalism</b>, and shakes off all shackles of control fastened upon it by the forces of conservatism..., <b>[the Democratic Party] will not continue its</b> march of <b>victory</b>...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"It is <b>best not to straddle ideals</b>... [T]here can be no connivance with the kind of politics that has internally
weakened nations abroad... The party <b>must go wholly one way</b> or wholly the other. The party <b>cannot face in both directions</b> at the same time."</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQR45BUDDUPqk229InKE3mQMorm6_ywvnwam941C7aYlIpmCUWa06YHjeM13jkYCb8nSHVmJ8A5tnkY7kTeCINOPm1RlR_5VQPlrhu8VkUFO8JwxoudAN4V_KmEoOblgy7RhtZWcbMvY/s1600/Wallace.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQR45BUDDUPqk229InKE3mQMorm6_ywvnwam941C7aYlIpmCUWa06YHjeM13jkYCb8nSHVmJ8A5tnkY7kTeCINOPm1RlR_5VQPlrhu8VkUFO8JwxoudAN4V_KmEoOblgy7RhtZWcbMvY/s1600/Wallace.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallace (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Similarly, in a speech to Americans for Democratic Action on 17 May 1952, Pres. Harry Truman stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Mark Twain said..., 'Always do right. It will please some people and astonish the rest.' We did that in 1948. We <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chicagoinc/ct-dewey-defeats-truman-1021-chicago-inc-20161020-story.html" target="_blank">astonished</a>
the pollsters, the sabotage press and the opposition candidates... The
results were good for the country even though they set back, for a
generation, the science of political forecasts. I hope it was set back <a href="http://archive.jsonline.com/greensheet/when-jimmy-carter-lost-the-wisconsin-primary--1976-b99687539z1-373144611.html" target="_blank">forever</a>... The best time of my life was to go up and down this country and tell the people the <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?3389-1/harry-truman-accepts-1948-democratic-presidential-nomination" target="_blank">truth</a>. When they found out what the truth was, you know what they <a href="http://events.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/elections/1948/results1948.html" target="_blank">did</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"When a man in politics -- if he is a <b>leader</b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">--</span></span> has the <b>right ideas, the people are willing to listen</b> to him... <b>[W]hen a candidate</b> goes out and <b>says what is good for the people, they believe him</b>...
When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> for the New Deal and the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/january-05/" target="_blank">Fair</a> Deal, and says he
really does not believe in them, he is sure to lose... If the choice
is <b>between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article</b> every time. In other words, they will take a Republican before they will take a phony Democrat... But <b>when a Democratic candidate</b> goes out and <b>explains what the New Deal and Fair Deal are,</b> when he <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=14116" target="_blank">stands</a> up... and sets the issues before the people, then <b>Democrats can win</b>, even in places where they never won before. It has been proven time and again.<br /><br />"We receive many <b>suggestions to... water down</b> our platform and abandon parts of our program. Those suggestions <b>are Trojan horse ones... [N]ever throw away a winning program. This is so elementary,</b> I suspect the people who hand out th[ose suggestions] are not really well-wishers of the Democratic Party. More than that, I don't believe they have the best interests of the American people at heart. Involved in our program is something more important than the mere success of a political party is. The <b>rights and welfare of millions</b> of Americans are involved... Those... interests <b>must not be betrayed</b>... I am sure <b>the liberal faith is the political faith of the great majority</b>
of Americans. Circumstances sometimes combine to deny its expression.
But the faith is there, and the reactionaries can never hope to have
any but temporary advantage in this country."</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlpEuc0y4vWYM6vDKpIL-mIhckJYZ3YgBh25s97wazsVOY7DOCj1e7p1laldaEQZ_3kNyVKjMdUNaUhpn3bFUZO2aLs_uOAYNYe-agmQx9oOmfZ_GDGbhrmPXwiWZzbEKS9m4gOz41nE/s1600/Truman.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlpEuc0y4vWYM6vDKpIL-mIhckJYZ3YgBh25s97wazsVOY7DOCj1e7p1laldaEQZ_3kNyVKjMdUNaUhpn3bFUZO2aLs_uOAYNYe-agmQx9oOmfZ_GDGbhrmPXwiWZzbEKS9m4gOz41nE/s1600/Truman.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truman<br />
(Library of Congress)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When Sanders sought re-election to the House in '96, his Republican opponent hired an investigator to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/17/us/the-campaigns-for-congress.html" target="_blank">probe</a> Sanders's life. The only damage that resulted was to the Republican nominee when the public learned said investigator dug (in vain) for personal details about Sanders's previous marriage. <br />
<br />
In 2006, Sanders was elected to the Senate over a Republican who had not pursued office before but who touted experience as a corporate CEO and who negatively campaigned. (Does that seem familiar?) Said nominee was Richard Tarrant, who was the <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060321_bernie_sanders_interview" target="_blank">wealthiest</a> Vermonter at the time, ran the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/election.php?state=VT&cycle=2006" target="_blank">most</a> expensive campaign in the history of the Green Mountain State, and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20061027155347/http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/09/high_spending_not_enough_to_sh.html#more" target="_blank">painted</a> Sanders as<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?195068-1/vermont-senate-debate" target="_blank">insensitive</a> to victims of rape and to families of fallen troops.</li>
<li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20061102084802/http://www.berniesrecord.com/" target="_blank">soft</a> on terrorists, pedophiles, and drug-dealing immigrants.</li>
<li>against AMBER Alert and favorable to excessive taxation/expenditures.</li>
<li>extremely hostile to business and devoid of actionable proposals.</li>
</ul>
Sanders <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIa2KlEHhvc" target="_blank">decisively</a> <a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2006/09/21/sanders_vote_on_amber_alert_emerges_as_key_campaign_issue/" target="_blank">defended</a> himself and <a href="http://vtelectionarchive.sec.state.vt.us/elections/search/year_from:2006/year_to:2006/office_id:6/stage:General" target="_blank">prevailed</a> in the election by <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060811023259/http://rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/August%202006/VermontGovernorSenate.htm" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060920221503/http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/" target="_blank">than</a> he <a href="http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5440499" target="_blank">had</a> in <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100531050902/http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2006/election_2006_final_senate_results" target="_blank">any</a> <a href="http://www.wcax.com/story/5589646/sanders-maintains-21-point-lead" target="_blank">survey</a> in the final four months of the race.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqX2_b52y_AzHfWAvicwLJ1pWDo-ha-4bIjCOiRD_21AI26UHtOLVj8blhvqlyW7Dq8Z85aOn_Em9X9KCTxqqGLvrv1Fxv0In4Cr4yp2CtGfjsoSlwlWvJC-zaF_8Wdem-Y9OvrdNzsM/s1600/Johnson.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqX2_b52y_AzHfWAvicwLJ1pWDo-ha-4bIjCOiRD_21AI26UHtOLVj8blhvqlyW7Dq8Z85aOn_Em9X9KCTxqqGLvrv1Fxv0In4Cr4yp2CtGfjsoSlwlWvJC-zaF_8Wdem-Y9OvrdNzsM/s1600/Johnson.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L. Johnson (LBJ Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The other pillar is what the attacks on Sanders could have been. As some media stated, the Republicans could have<br />
<ul>
<li>said he is a <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/04/sanders-socialism-and-myth-november-polls" target="_blank">socialist</a>, 1) as if the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/bernie-sanders-is-not-a-capitalist-542522435717" target="_blank">media</a> (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wPXZkrJCME#t=6m35s" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vulZ8uw2DM#t=1m34s" target="_blank">surrogates</a> for <a href="http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/an-old-fashioned-red-scare-sanders-socialism-and-the-democrats-anti-communism/" target="_blank">Clinton</a>) had not <a href="http://fair.org/home/sanders-redbaiting-and-the-denouncing-double-standard/" target="_blank">repeated</a> it ad-<a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/04/bernie-sanders-redbaiting-communism-ussr-soviets/" target="_blank">nauseam</a> and 2) as if Sanders does not <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/up/watch/will-america-vote-for-a-socialist--482681923797" target="_blank">have</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/sanders-record-distinguished-by-consistency-504479811515" target="_blank">decades</a> of <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4582506/mayor-sanders-runs-governor" target="_blank">experience</a> in <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?240-1/urban-issues-concern" target="_blank">how</a> to <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?6046-1/third-political-parties-america" target="_blank">explain</a> his <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?400961-1/senator-bernie-sanders-address-democratic-socialism" target="_blank">philosophy</a> to a <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?15245-1/102nd-congress-preview" target="_blank">nationwide</a> <a href="http://nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/video/bernie-sanders-explains-why-socialist-isnt-a-dirty-word/2870273" target="_blank">audience</a>. In October 2015, Trump described Sanders as a "maniac" and a "<a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/oct/28/chris-christie/chris-christie-says-bernie-sanderss-plan-raise-you/" target="_blank">communist</a>." That month, Trump and Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) alleged Sanders proposed a tax of 90% on all incomes. Those absurd charges gained no traction. In another attack on him, <i>The National Review</i> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/bernie-sanders-rises-attacks-the-right-get-ugly" target="_blank">conflated</a> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%2Bdemocracy" target="_blank">democratic</a> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism" target="_blank">socialism</a> with <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/national%20socialism" target="_blank">national</a> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Nazism" target="_blank">socialism</a>. That disinformation instantly failed as well.</li>
<li>said he voted for nuclear waste to be stored in the poor and
Latino hamlet of Sierra Blanca, Texas. Last year, that charge was
spread by backers of Clinton despite her <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/07/26/renewable-power-vision/" target="_blank">support</a> for nuclear energy and despite his <a href="https://berniesanders.com/people-before-polluters/invest-in-clean-sustainable-energy/" target="_blank">opposition</a> to it. In reality, the bill in question did <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/629/text" target="_blank">not</a> designate Sierra Blanca, and the waste was stored <a href="http://bigbendnow.com/2015/06/nuclear-waste-facility-proposed-near-kent/" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>. Plus, even though Clinton's husband signed the bill, Trump never mentioned it.</li>
<li>said Sanders was on unemployment insurance <i>in 1971</i>. The <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-vermont-119927" target="_blank">publication</a> of that fact by <i>Politico</i> in July '15 was swiftly met with a nationwide yawn.</li>
<li>said Sanders "stole electricity from a neighbor." So says Kurt Eichenwald of <i>Newsweek</i>. He provides no evidence of that claim but does brag about when -- in person at an airport -- a stranger praised Eichenwald for his work, then revealed himself to have voted for Stein, and Eichenwald replied, "You're lucky it's illegal for me to <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/myths-cost-democrats-presidential-election-521044" target="_blank">punch</a> you in the face. Go f**k yourself." (Eichenwald is a Clintonite but voted for George H.W. Bush in 1988 <a href="https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/255389742613549056" target="_blank">and</a> George W. Bush in 2000.)</li>
<li>said Sanders "violated campaign finance laws." So says Eichenwald, who offers no proof but likely intends to deceive with regard to letters in which the Federal Election Commission 1) <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/619/201602250300038619/201602250300038619.pdf" target="_blank">notified</a> Sanders's campaign its reports included apparent errors, and 2) <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/847/201605100300045847/201605100300045847.pdf" target="_blank">requested</a> amendments to those reports in order for all errors to be corrected. In some cases, the listed total of money from a given person was above the limit imposed by law. Either the listed total was erroneous or the campaign had accepted installments it did not realize were excessive. In other cases, a given donor seemed unqualified to donate. Such mistakes are common for large campaigns and were thus no surprise with regard to Sanders's as it received an <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/07/11/bernie-sanders-defied-expectations-presidential-campaign/85694576/" target="_blank">historic</a> 8.2M donations from 2.5M individuals. That campaign, which was never found to have violated the law, made 15K refunds, which totaled $5.2M. Clinton's campaign made 32K refunds, which totaled $6M. Trump's campaign made 815, which totaled $1.4M, and was -- for other reasons -- in <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/607/201608080300056607/201608080300056607.pdf" target="_blank">much</a> <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/035/201609060300058035/201609060300058035.pdf" target="_blank">deeper</a> <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/388/201610120300063388/201610120300063388.pdf" target="_blank">trouble</a> with the FEC than Clinton's campaign was or Sanders's campaign was. By the way, Clinton's <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/clinton-fundraising-leaves-little-for-state-parties-222670" target="_blank">laundered</a> money.</li>
<li>said Sanders's fiscal and economic policies would be ruinous. Business executives made that <a href="http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/03/04/Brooklyn-born-Bernard-Sanders-a-self-described-socialist-elected-mayor-of/5837352530000/" target="_blank">claim</a> in 1981. But <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/metropolis/2016/01/bernie_sanders_made_burlington_s_land_trust_possible_it_s_still_an_innovative.html" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/how-bernie-sanderss-radical-ideas-entered-the-municipal-mainstream-118447" target="_blank">results</a> of his mayoralty can be summarized by these distinctions near its end, which was in 1989: Burlington tied for the award by the US Conf. of Mayors for <b>most livable</b> city with a population <100K, <i>Inc. Magazine</i> named Burlington the best Northeastern city in which to <b>grow businesses</b>, and <i>US News & World Report</i> named Sanders one of the 20 <b>best mayors</b> in the US. Trump's record is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/12/business/company-news-trump-s-plaza-hotel-bankruptcy-plan-approved.html" target="_blank">different</a>. Moreover, in Feb. '16, an ad by a right-wing super-PAC quoted Sanders out of context about taxation and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/17/hedge-fund-billionaires-fund-super-pac-ad-against-bernie-sanders-and-minimum-wage-hike/" target="_blank">made</a> <a href="http://cepr.net/documents/publications/min-wage-2013-02.pdf" target="_blank">false</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2011-12-01/raise-taxes-on-the-rich-to-reward-job-creators-commentary-by-nick-hanauer" target="_blank">claims</a> about what the effects of his proposals on that and on wages would be. Those attacks did not stick.</li>
<li>restarted the media <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-sanders-campaign-data-breach-20151218-story.html" target="_blank">frenzy</a> that occurred in late autumn of '15 when a
data breach that was the fault of the Democratic Nat'l Cmte. was spun -- by its
then-chairperson, namely Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and by
Clinton's campaign -- as theft by Sanders's. Back then, <i>The Los Angeles Times</i> stated the episode "threaten[ed] to derail" Sanders's candidacy. In what <i>The NY Times</i> called a "Stinging Attack" on 7 Feb. 2016, Clinton's husband <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/us/politics/bill-clinton-after-months-of-restraint-unleashes-stinging-attack-on-bernie-sanders.html" target="_blank">rehashed</a>
said episode. Two days later, Sanders won the primary in NH
by the largest margin ever for a Democratic candidate with serious
opposition in that contest. </li>
<li>restarted the media <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-06-03/what-did-we-learn-from-the-overheated-bernie-sanders-rape-fantasy-story-" target="_blank">frenzy</a> that occurred in the spring of '15 about a piece Sanders wrote <i>in 1972</i>
that questioned why many Americans of both sexes fantasize about
dominance by men over women. Although his candidacy was apparently
unharmed by said frenzy, we are told a rehash of it would have put him
at a disadvantage against a nominee who claimed to have repeatedly
committed sexual <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37599111" target="_blank">assault</a>.
(By the way, former secretary of the Navy Jim Webb, as the Democratic
senatorial nominee in Virginia in 2006, unseated a Republican incumbent
who, 11 days before that election, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/27/webb.allen/" target="_blank">slammed</a> Webb for sexually graphic passages in novels by him.) </li>
<li>cleaned up among the supposedly critical bloc who, à la "Dr. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0792351" target="_blank">Arthur</a> Harmon" of <i>Maude</i>, were (or would have been) <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/04/polls_say_bernie_is_more_electable_than_hillary_don_t_believe_them.html" target="_blank">just</a> <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/05/bernie_sanders_electability_argument_is_still_a_myth.html" target="_blank">appalled</a> to learn Sanders wrote a column <i>in 1969</i> that stated society should permit children to see each other nude. The contrast between such heresy and Trump's <a href="http://theweek.com/speedreads/604559/brief-history-donald-trumps-excuses-uncensored-comments" target="_blank">puritanism</a> would have devastated Sanders's chance to win, we are to believe.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Maude was right. Yeah, I do have a little, you know, hangup </span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">about sex. No, no, it's true, Walter. See, my mother and father were both raised in Vermont."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Conrad Bain as Arthur in season 1, episode 2: "Doctor, Doctor"</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGiZOPxjkklkkck4fo8q8X2__5pJDzmPc0pCIEYc0ees61ckx4HZl1Hjkn9ECIKvX-wL2BSca5TS0U36ZAZ5agVTQHkY8WQmti4ya6tkyMMmZUAkpubwn4nMwXAscgdM_nubi0dS5H2E/s1600/Sanders.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGiZOPxjkklkkck4fo8q8X2__5pJDzmPc0pCIEYc0ees61ckx4HZl1Hjkn9ECIKvX-wL2BSca5TS0U36ZAZ5agVTQHkY8WQmti4ya6tkyMMmZUAkpubwn4nMwXAscgdM_nubi0dS5H2E/s1600/Sanders.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Supposedly, Clinton was so loath to risk alienation of Sanders's
supporters, she never attacked him. That is <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20160506020912/http://www.carlbeijer.com/2016/05/did-michelle-goldberg-just-admit-to.html" target="_blank">false</a>, as indicated by the (<a href="https://newrepublic.com/minutes/139750/david-brock-written-creepy-letter-bernie-sanders" target="_blank">short</a>-<a href="http://observer.com/2017/04/russia-bots-bernie-sanders-progressives/" target="_blank">lived</a>) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HuOHwkJGFA" target="_blank">apology</a> by David Brock, who headed the super-PAC that coordinated with Clinton's campaign. That super-PAC was ironically named "Correct the Record" and released anti-Sanders videos in the primary season. However, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYKhKesMS5w" target="_blank">their</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwMjuoNKoD4" target="_blank">lameness</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na02HWZ93eI" target="_blank">underscored</a> the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIJZoAn_bz8" target="_blank">paucity</a> of useful <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ093tk4s0o" target="_blank">material</a> it could obtain <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MLVmicjAzI" target="_blank">about</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rj3akybC2s" target="_blank">him</a>. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhgQB4rN3ag" target="_blank">Most</a> of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3btY7YViqo" target="_blank">them</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO-76IfidFo" target="_blank">repeated</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC6yCdz0RIE" target="_blank">aspersions</a> by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTt_1M8I9m0" target="_blank">corporate</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhgQB4rN3ag" target="_blank">media</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMy1rjyupEI" target="_blank">included</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vSvn0cfk-Y" target="_blank">deceitfully</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ60aJxlufI" target="_blank">selected</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqqtg5E1DQs" target="_blank">tidbits</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMvn5FcVdJk" target="_blank">and</a>/or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCdxJkgdC60" target="_blank">included</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNIAN5t7XSc" target="_blank">quotes</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thsjo-83SKI" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_YjS7Qzdzk" target="_blank">lacked</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_YjS7Qzdzk" target="_blank">context</a>. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjrhM5LEpr4" target="_blank">The</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/29/nyt-outside-spending/" target="_blank">portrayals</a> by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxBkLVMhRCI" target="_blank">those</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/more-dishonest-attacks-from-the-clinton-campaign/" target="_blank">videos</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eta0VQRCAo" target="_blank">were</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?402319-1/bernie-sanders-campaign-news-%20%20conference" target="_blank">easily</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/28/politics/bernie-sanders-union-nevada-%20%20culinary-union/" target="_blank">debunked</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/15/juan_gonzalez_clinton_has_really_distorted" target="_blank">and</a>, in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxASD4jHgCk" target="_blank">some</a> cases, easily proved <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/national-nurses-accuses-clinton-%20%20campaign-of-trying-to-trick-bernie-sanders-voters-at-nevada-caucuses/" target="_blank">hypocritical</a>.<br />
<br />
Clinton's campaign itself, <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/bernie-sanders-university-of-chicago-free-love" target="_blank">like</a> the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2015/06/11/sanders-reports-credit-card-debt/71088390/" target="_blank">media</a>, <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/21823" target="_blank">exhaustively</a> researched Sanders but discovered no potent ammunition to use against him. Desperate to hit him, however, Clinton and her surrogates along with her allies in media <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/hillary_clinton_keeps_smearing_bernie_sanders_as_a_sexist_now_she_is_reaching.html" target="_blank">dishonestly</a> <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/i-used-to-support-bernie-but-then-i-changed-my-mind/" target="_blank">said</a>/<a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/05/the-media-is-very-upset-that-bernie-sanders-is-sti.html" target="_blank">implied</a> he<br />
<ul>
<li>is <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4602296/sanders-asked-sexist-running" target="_blank">sexist</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEcD6At9Ytk" target="_blank">racist</a>, <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/07/already-desperate-hillary-surrogates.html" target="_blank">xenophobic</a>, an ally of <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/apr/14/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-has-been-largely-ve/" target="_blank">gun</a>-manufacturers, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqgTFA1HnUM#t=1h35m16" target="_blank">uncritical</a> of G.W. Bush, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzadhDQoryU" target="_blank">unconcerned</a> about
reproductive and other <a href="http://fair.org/home/sanders-redbaiting-and-the-denouncing-double-standard/" target="_blank">rights</a>, sought to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH4OyhVoidE" target="_blank">strip</a> health care <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/pat-garofalo/articles/2016-01-13/hillary-clintons-bizarre-attack-on-bernie-sanders-health-care-plan" target="_blank">coverage</a> from
tens of millions of people, was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0QXnqSeq3U" target="_blank">absent</a> from the effort in 1993 to reform health care coverage, favored the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWeRc7qmMEs&t=3907" target="_blank">intervention</a> in Libya, and -- despite all of that -- is an "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHQ80pRS970" target="_blank">extreme</a>" leftist.</li>
<li>is <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/05/those-yet-to-vote-in-dems-race-for-pres.html" target="_blank">unaccomplished</a>; is <a href="http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/paul-krugman-flirting-irrelevance" target="_blank">insufficiently</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-foreign-poicy-213619" target="_blank">knowledgeable</a> <a href="http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/reporters-who-haven-t-noticed-that-paul-ryan-has-called-for-eliminating-most-of-federal-government-go-nuts-over-bernie-sanders-lack-of-specifics" target="_blank">about</a> domestic and foreign policy and how government works. (Nevermind he had a <a href="http://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/bernard-sanders" target="_blank">fellowship</a> at the Kennedy School of Gov't at Harvard.)</li>
<li>proposed, despite his position as ranking member of the Cmte. on the Budget, a budget that did <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0205/765544-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-presidential-debate/" target="_blank">not</a> "<a href="http://robertreich.org/post/140353623180" target="_blank">add</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxNtRTt9a64#t=99.5" target="_blank">up</a>."</li>
<li><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/4/meet_the_greenpeace_activist_who_confronted" target="_blank">lied</a> about donations Clinton accepted from the fossil-fuel industry.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2016/02/clintons-exaggerated-wall-street-claim/" target="_blank">accepted</a> $200K in donations from firms on Wall Street.</li>
<li><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/07/news/companies/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-auto-bailout/" target="_blank">opposed</a> the bailout of the auto industry, and <a href="http://www.snopes.com/sanders-campaign-busing-youths-to-caucuses-and-primaries/" target="_blank">plotted</a> voter-fraud.</li>
<li><a href="http://whowhatwhy.org/2016/03/03/how-clinton-media-machine-blocked-sanders-civil-rights-play/" target="_blank">fabricated</a> his participation in the Civil Rights Movement.</li>
<li>is a <a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/did-hillary-clinton-just-take-a-strange-shot-at-be.html" target="_blank">fake</a> grandparent, and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/07/24/sanders-im-not-an-atheist-its-outrageous.cnn" target="_blank">might</a> be or <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Why-a-smart-woman-should-vote-for-Hillary-Clinton-6852619.php" target="_blank">definitely</a> is an atheist.</li>
<li>ran the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/03/30/hillary_clintons_tone_gate_disaster_why_her_campaigns_condescending_bernie_dismissal_should_concern_democrats_everywhere/" target="_blank">most</a> negative Democratic presidential campaign <i>ever</i>.</li>
<li>may have violated rules of ethics when he <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?327116-3/senator-bernie-sanders-ivt-iran-nuclear-deal" target="_blank">spoke</a>
about the election to reporters in the US Capitol. But at that moment, in that building, congressional Democrats and Clinton met <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/14/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders_n_7796560.html" target="_blank">expressly</a> for the purpose of her campaign. There are <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?62640-1/senate-democratic-campaign" target="_blank">additional</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?70094-1/lugar-campaign-news-conference" target="_blank">examples</a> of when <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?71258-1/dole-campaign-news-conference" target="_blank">space</a> at the Capitol was <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?177605-1/iraq-policy" target="_blank">used</a> in <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?180928-1/democratic-agenda-2004-election" target="_blank">ways</a> that came at least as <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?190780-1/2006-senate-campaign" target="_blank">close</a> to <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/239535-clintons-political-team-huddles-with-senate-democrats" target="_blank">electioneering</a> as Sanders's remarks did. None of those uses prompted action by the Cmte. on Ethics of either house of Congress. </li>
</ul>
By the primary in NH, Sanders was in the
swing of self-defense. When he accepted victory there,
he referred to critics of him.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"They're
throwing <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4657959/kitchen-sink" target="_blank">everything</a> at me except the kitchen sink... [T]hat sink
will come pretty soon... But our campaign is about thinking big, not
small. It is about the courage to reject the status-quo."</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOS9DZuTqWE87u9LIib0SVYaik4X7BkYtsoH2Si61Qx4-UaA7YViQik0V5UYRYzuFEdB1iHPh6VG7NMrn8yDdJo6LEOx3YDscm9JxyGY3mcocEoYuF8eiu7ULhOuBzNfBNOc2m0qUCd0/s1600/Roosevelt.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOS9DZuTqWE87u9LIib0SVYaik4X7BkYtsoH2Si61Qx4-UaA7YViQik0V5UYRYzuFEdB1iHPh6VG7NMrn8yDdJo6LEOx3YDscm9JxyGY3mcocEoYuF8eiu7ULhOuBzNfBNOc2m0qUCd0/s1600/Roosevelt.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roosevelt (FDR Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Naturally, aforementioned libel and slander added to the distrust and resentment Clinton had already earned from pro-Sanders voters. But rather than try to improve her image among them, she and her gang <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/02/08/nomiki-konst-millennial-women-face-different-issues.cnn" target="_blank">maligned</a> them as<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Uwbq9IugQ" target="_blank">affluent</a>, <a href="http://observer.com/2016/03/im-a-young-liberal-and-theres-no-way-im-voting-for-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">selfish</a>, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-cohen-why-women-should-elect-women-20160406-story.html" target="_blank">ignorant</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOwxA69bQMk" target="_blank">violent</a>, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20160207210747/http://mattbruenig.com/2016/02/05/in-reality-the-bernie-bro-argument-shifts-endlessly/" target="_blank">sexist</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/10/white-man-pathology-bernie-sanders-donald-trump" target="_blank">racist</a> <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-is-hurting-himself-by-playing-the-victim/" target="_blank">whites</a>, the men of whom were a vast majority, the women of whom were <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/debbie-wasserman-schultz-thinks-young-women-are-complacent.html" target="_blank">complacent</a>, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/video/2016/02/06/madeleine-albright-stumps-for-clinton?videoId=367316041" target="_blank">traitors</a> to their sex and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoV3UgQBvh4#t=3m28s" target="_blank">athirst</a> for men.</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-feminism-women-perspec-20160210-story.html" target="_blank">Bernie</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/olivianuzzi/status/740367983466414080" target="_blank">bros</a>": men who poisoned the Internet with harassment laden with sexist slurs against Clinton and against her female backers.</li>
<li>plagued by a <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/08/why-bernies-voters-should-reject-his.html" target="_blank">psychosis</a> about their grandfathers.</li>
<li>at <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-clinton-blames-millennials_us_57191d13e4b0d0042da88c9f" target="_blank">fault</a> for national economic hardship.</li>
</ul>
That strategy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1VTPhrnPrw" target="_blank">somehow</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GHyDl6WXLk" target="_blank">failed</a> to <a href="http://observer.com/2016/09/scold-scare-insult-intimidate-clintons-millennial-outreach-flops/" target="_blank">persuade</a> Sanders's backers to switch to Clinton. Perhaps one reason why was the ease with which those portrayals were rebutted:<br />
<ul>
<li>Many of them <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/18834/hillary-clinton-campaign-bernie-sanders-president-obama-attacks" target="_blank">clearly</a> <a href="http://observer.com/2016/02/hillary-backers-dissing-obama-boys-and-bernie-bros-hurts-feminism/" target="_blank">were</a> <a href="http://www.snopes.com/sanders-campaign-busing-youths-to-caucuses-and-primaries/" target="_blank">recycled</a> from attacks waged in 2008 against Obama and his supporters.</li>
<li>There had been <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-01-08/news/0401080274_1_gas-stations-hillary-clinton-diversity" target="_blank">many</a> <a href="http://www.latinorebels.com/2015/10/17/hillary-clintons-latest-hispandering-is-just-plain-insulting/" target="_blank">times</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton/posts/1023766424346553:0" target="_blank">when</a> <a href="https://www.liberationnews.org/socialist-candidate-gloria-la-riva-hillary-youre-nothing-like-abuelas/" target="_blank">Clinton</a> <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/29/hillary-clinton-s-tone-deaf-racial-pandering.html" target="_blank">demonstrated</a> <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/04/29/trump-has-gone-reservation-clinton-says-sanders-campaign-calls-clintons-comment" target="_blank">racial</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/clinton-de-blasio-make-racial-joke-2016-4" target="_blank">insensitivity</a> and many times in the cycle of 2008 when she or one of her <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-shuck-and-jive-debate-of-08-andrew-cuomos-staff-responds-20080116" target="_blank">then</a>-<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jan/10/uselections2008.guardiancolumnists" target="_blank">surrogates</a> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/01/21/minority-reports" target="_blank">race</a>-<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKJVHjZVD60#t=36" target="_blank">baited</a>. (A bit more on that later.) Additionally, on race, Clinton's record is <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-clinton-does-not-deserve-black-peoples-votes/" target="_blank">inferior</a> to Sanders's.</li>
<li>As secretary of State, Clinton approved the sale of <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/hillary-clinton-state-department-approved-weapons-sales-company-made-sandy-hook" target="_blank">$4.2M</a> worth of weapons made by Remington Arms, which manufactured the semi-automatic rifle with which the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was perpetrated. On 21 March 2016, Clinton's campaign held a fundraiser co-hosted by a lobbyist for the Nat'l <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/01/nra-lobbyist-will-co-host-clinton-fundraiser/" target="_blank">Rifle</a> Association. Clinton had favored <i>and</i> <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/christian-heinze/273629-for-16-prospects-guns-may-matter" target="_blank">opposed</a> the idea of a national registry of guns.</li>
<li>Nicholas Silitch, who was and remains on the Democratic Committee of NY and supported Clinton, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74UQn8kcT90" target="_blank">assaulted</a> Moumita Ahmed when she was a delegate for Sanders. Jerry Ogle, as a delegate for Clinton, <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/26/tennessee-clinton-delegate-booted-convention-after-skirmish-sanders-supporter/87581240/" target="_blank">assaulted</a> Amanda Kruel, who was a delegate for Sanders.</li>
<li><i>The Washington Post</i> scanned >52K tweets that mentioned Clinton and were published during the primary in NH. The <i>Post</i> found <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/02/24/these-6-charts-show-how-much-sexism-hillary-clinton-faces-on-twitter" target="_blank">0.1%</a> of them were attributable to pro-Sanders men <i>and</i> included any of 30 sexist slurs.</li>
<li>Clinton's super-PAC paid <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/21/hillary-pac-spends-1-million-to-correct-commenters-on-reddit-and-facebook.html" target="_blank">harassers</a> of Sanders's supporters online.</li>
<li>A poll of likely voters found <b>30%</b> viewed the online behavior by Clinton's backers as very
<a href="http://onlineharassmentdata.org/2016elections/index.html" target="_blank">aggressive</a>. In that poll, <b>16%</b> of respondents viewed the online behavior by Sanders's backers that way.</li>
<li>Some backers of Clinton <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/142201990709" target="_blank">waged</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/140412875409" target="_blank">anti</a>-<a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/post/139861680749/melissa-tucker-confirmed-hillary-clinton" target="_blank">Semitic</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/142201733029" target="_blank">attacks</a> on <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/139811606999" target="_blank">Sanders</a>, <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/140412750334" target="_blank">sexist</a> <a href="http://i.imgur.com/rkVvZCi.png" target="_blank">attacks</a> on his <a href="https://twitter.com/raqimartinez3/status/718274886104453120" target="_blank">wife</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/kate_hess/status/714561635373813760" target="_blank">and</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/kate_hess/status/731879928874958848" target="_blank">more</a> of his <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/140412063549" target="_blank">female</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/139751600879" target="_blank">supporters</a>, <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfbLwyfVAAA3cBs.jpg" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/140411880884" target="_blank">racist</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Endoracrat/status/702963178448281600" target="_blank">attacks</a> on <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/139984791459" target="_blank">his</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/139981697339" target="_blank">nonwhite</a> <a href="http://berniebrowho.tumblr.com/image/139774437404" target="_blank">supporters</a>.</li>
<li>There was an online attempt to trick Sanders's supporters into <a href="http://www.wthr.com/article/viral-recipe-for-bernie-sanders-glowsticks-is-dangerous-hoax" target="_blank">death</a> or severe injury.</li>
<li>Donations from people who each gave -- to the given campaign -- a total of $200 or less, $201 to $999, $1K to $2,699, and the maximum of $2,700 respectively constituted <b>44%</b>, <b>38%</b>, <b>14%</b> and <b>4%</b> of the money Sanders's campaign raised, <a href="http://www.cfinst.org/pdf/federal/president/2016/M7/Table7.pdf" target="_blank">and</a> <b>24%</b>, <b>21%</b>, <b>15%</b> and <b>40%</b> of the money Clinton's campaign raised by the end of June, which was the last month in which primaries/caucuses were held.</li>
<li>In the Democratic contests in which exit/entrance polls were conducted, affluent voters clearly preferred Clinton over Sanders.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnzolbbqOLszEHgyiwJDYXGw4g53RM34OJPN2w4-lrVEV6BNuvI5ptG5FuOqicIgix-lu5bzp7izobPaqpIYABpZftJeaUdjOnkXllgYo6LMOzKdw037cKWyCyjGZSSiLmRC4BiDgVA0/s1600/Privileged.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnzolbbqOLszEHgyiwJDYXGw4g53RM34OJPN2w4-lrVEV6BNuvI5ptG5FuOqicIgix-lu5bzp7izobPaqpIYABpZftJeaUdjOnkXllgYo6LMOzKdw037cKWyCyjGZSSiLmRC4BiDgVA0/s1600/Privileged.png" /></a></div>
<br />
As for the alleged burden that sexism placed on Clinton's bid for the nomination, exit polls for five Democratic primaries asked voters whether a
major factor in their decision was which sex each candidate was. All
five polls concluded <b>Clinton's womanhood was a substantial net-advantage</b> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#FLDEM" target="_blank">for</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#NCDEM" target="_blank">her</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#OHDEM" target="_blank">unlike</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#ILDEM" target="_blank">in</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#MODEM" target="_blank">2008</a>. Given the amount of people who <a href="http://www.ora.tv/larrykingnow/2015/2/20/charlamagnethagodclip-5-0_4pf6gobmttgp" target="_blank">publicly</a> <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/2015/04/17/22064461/yes-you-should-vote-for-hillary-just-because-shes-a-woman" target="_blank">said</a> <a href="https://www.damemagazine.com/2015/04/14/i-am-voting-my-vagina-hillary-clinton-president" target="_blank">their</a> <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/why-this-socialist-feminist-is-for-hillary/" target="_blank">decision</a> to vote <b>for</b> the former first lady in '16 was made <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGUBRbKnKtk" target="_blank">via</a> <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/briannas518life/2016/02/01/im-voting-for-hillary-clinton-because-shes-a-woman/" target="_blank">discrimination</a> on <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/02/im-voting-for-hillary-because-of-my-daughter.html" target="_blank">account</a> of <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/02/21/yes_im_voting_for_hillary_because_she_is_a_woman_but_its_not_quite_as_simple_as_that/" target="_blank">sex</a>, these statistics should be no surprise.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
After Sanders ended his quest for the presidency, and even after the general election, Clintonites
in media and in the political establishment continued to blast him and his supporters. For example, pro-Sanders women were accused of <a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte/status/758376321621848066" target="_blank">self</a>-<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/commentisfree/2016/nov/16/why-did-women-vote-for-trump-because-misogyny-is-not-a-male-only-attribute" target="_blank">hatred</a>. Additionally, <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/09/donald-trump-is-winning-september.html" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/16/if-america-elects-a-president-donald-j-trump-blame-millennials.html" target="_blank">and</a> his <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/debbie-wasserman-schultz-bernie-sanders-scapegoat-230767" target="_blank">supporters</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvucW_2Rpkw" target="_blank">were</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ItlWMG3RA" target="_blank">blamed</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs_O7jaMXtI" target="_blank">for</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/309362-sanders-campaign-chair-dont-buy-david-brocks-blame" target="_blank">Clinton's</a> (chance of) <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/141865/deification-hillary-clinton" target="_blank">failure</a>. However, those among them who declined to vote for Clinton were justified in refusal to tolerate her conservatism and her disdain, which had been underscored by<br />
<ul>
<li>Trump's <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4657961/trump-appeals-sanderss-voters" target="_blank">respectful</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4659491/trump-appeals-sanderss-supporters" target="_blank">appeals</a> to Sanders's supporters.</li>
<li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20161122081630/https://ustr.gov/archive/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2008/asset_upload_file737_14684.pdf#page=13" target="_blank">Clinton's</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/07/21/hours-before-hillary-clintons-vp-decision-likely-pick-tim-kaine-praises-the-tpp/" target="_blank">choice</a> of a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/07/20/tim-kaine-possible-hillary-clinton-pick-for-vice-president-signals-support-to-banks/" target="_blank">right</a>-<a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/media/press-releases/2009/pr03302009_kaine.html" target="_blank">winger</a> -- Sen. <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/31/kaine-blocks-funding-for-embryonic-stem-cell-research/" target="_blank">Tim</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090902215915/http://www.naralva.org/instate/" target="_blank">Kaine</a> (D-VA) -- <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tim-kaine-s-climate-record-is-all-over-the-map/" target="_blank">for</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2011/feb/25/christopher-peace/del-chris-peace-says-tim-kaine-lock-step-obama-opp/" target="_blank">VP</a>.</li>
<li>Clinton's public <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/statements/2016/07/24/hillary-clinton-statement-on-the-resignation-of-democratic-national-committee-chair-debbie-wasserman-schultz/" target="_blank">praise</a> for -- and decision to hire to her campaign -- Schultz immediately after she <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/26/chaos_on_convention_floor_protests_boos" target="_blank">resigned</a> the chair of the DNC <a href="http://observer.com/2015/09/debbie-wasserman-schultz-must-go/" target="_blank">after</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/12/19/debbie_wasserman_schultz_must_go_and_the_case_bernie_sanders_must_make_tonight/" target="_blank">she</a> <a href="http://observer.com/2015/12/dncs-glaring-favoritism-wasserman-schultz-is-untrustworthy-and-must-go/" target="_blank">abused</a> that position in order to <a href="http://observer.com/2015/12/why-democrats-need-to-fire-debbie-wasserman-schultz-and-who-should-replace-her/" target="_blank">undermine</a> Sanders's campaign.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/bernie-sanders-tim-kaine-veep-convention-226313" target="_blank">mistreatment</a> of <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/8/1/sanders_supporters_say_dncs_treatment_of" target="_blank">Sanders's</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/28/no_more_war_protesters_disrupt_ex" target="_blank">delegates</a> at <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/29/the_dnc_protests_you_didnt_see" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/bencjacobs/status/758843101024624640" target="_blank">Democratic</a> <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/27/hundreds_of_sanders_delegates_walk_off" target="_blank">Nat'l</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/29/california_delegates_walk_off_the_floor" target="_blank">Conv</a>.</li>
<li>Clinton's strategy, in the campaign for the general election, to <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/622455/hillary-clinton-already-wooing-antitrump-republicans-huge-mistake" target="_blank">flout</a> liberals and to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUXnLhj441I" target="_blank">court</a> conservatives.</li>
</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8eskUfSfkWvG47AY2cfte_jncSo854dWGVFANajEN-RSdE_bJAWAwqTrs4NUjbH0REtIjaUVjIXAsmbfWRf2D2moWsbdKemgNW4KDPycsIIJYvUZjVN4QNwLDw7pB3t8EEMqeTgV1Eo/s1600/Stein.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8eskUfSfkWvG47AY2cfte_jncSo854dWGVFANajEN-RSdE_bJAWAwqTrs4NUjbH0REtIjaUVjIXAsmbfWRf2D2moWsbdKemgNW4KDPycsIIJYvUZjVN4QNwLDw7pB3t8EEMqeTgV1Eo/s1600/Stein.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stein<br />
(Stein '16 campaign)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some pro-Sanders people voted for Stein, who was <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/11/jill-stein-for-president.html" target="_blank"> falsely</a> depicted as a candidate who garnered support from <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/spin-clinton-campaign-feminist-privilege-politics/" target="_blank">privileged</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/07/27/hanging_with_the_bernouts_and_jill_stein_the_bernie_or_bust_crowd_is_loud_at_the_dnc_but_theyre_powerless/" target="_blank">classes</a> at a higher rate than from others. Yet, she and Green vice presidential nominee Ajamu Baraka drew the votes of<br />
<ul>
<li><b>4%</b> of LGBT people, <b>1%</b> of the rest; 1% of each sex.</li>
<li><b>2%</b> of blacks, <b>2%</b> of Latinos, <b>2%</b> of Asians, <b>2%</b> of other nonwhites, <b>1%</b> of whites.</li>
<li>1% of immigrants, 1% of born citizens.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>2%</b> of people whose family's income in 2015 was <$50K.</li>
<li>1% ... was $50K-$200K.</li>
<li><b>0%</b> ... was >$200K.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1%</b> of people whose family's financial status was worse than in 2012.</li>
<li>1% ... was the same as in '12.</li>
<li><b>0%</b> ... was better than in '12.</li>
</ul>
Stein received a much larger share of the vote than of the free coverage provided by the media to the nominees. Similarly, in the primary season, Sanders received a much larger share of the vote than of the free coverage provided by the media to the Democratic candidates. Those facts, and the oversized platform the media <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ-DGQvW6ws" target="_blank">recklessly</a> gave to Trump throughout his bid, are reasons enough for the public to no longer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc6awl9VrIM" target="_blank">turn</a> to corporate media.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRg846nLW5Ffw5EVIf2Hwpwfz9KtG3k-zaJvPftBsgbBOarYMGuceV3pzT3j8McNcdL1Y3porua3IMisOOkU1zRSUuvnBT-oACp1zkre7gukDxzGUiGRhpHSxKKc_iIWoHyeyvdLL918/s1600/FreeMedia.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRg846nLW5Ffw5EVIf2Hwpwfz9KtG3k-zaJvPftBsgbBOarYMGuceV3pzT3j8McNcdL1Y3porua3IMisOOkU1zRSUuvnBT-oACp1zkre7gukDxzGUiGRhpHSxKKc_iIWoHyeyvdLL918/s400/FreeMedia.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
That Stein drew 1.06% of the popular vote is yet more remarkable when we consider the amount of negative propaganda that passed for coverage of her candidacy. Rather than inform the public about her platform, media<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-trailguide-updates-stein-rally-delayed-because-candidate-1472835621-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">ridiculed</a> her, such as for unpolished tweets and a <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/green-party-supporters-stare-at-empty-podium-after-jill-stein-accidentally-flies-to-the-wrong-city/" target="_blank">mistake</a> <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/09/jill-stein-speech-delayed-she-flew-to-the-wrong-city.html" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/green-party-s-jill-stein-flies-to-wrong-ohio-city-for-rally%2012:56PM" target="_blank">landed</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/294295-jill-stein-delays-rally-after-landing-in-wrong-ohio-city" target="_blank">her</a> in <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/09/02/jill-stein-wrong-city/89773590/" target="_blank">Cincinatti</a>, Ohio, <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/09/02/24536302/jill-stein-accidentally-flies-to-cincinnati-instead-of-columbus-to-give-speech" target="_blank">rather</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/02/jill-stein-wrong-ohio-city-green-party-event" target="_blank">than</a> in <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/09/02/Green-Partys-Stein-mistakenly-flies-to-Cincinnati-for-rally-in-Columbus/6741472850570/" target="_blank">Columbus</a>, Ohio.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.jill2016.com/baseless_anti_vax_attacks_against_dr_jill_stein_distract_from_concerns" target="_blank">grossly</a> <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/jill_stein_answers_science_questions" target="_blank">distorted</a> her words <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/stein_baraka_campaign_debunks_john_oliver_s_deceptive_attack_on_student_debt_bailout" target="_blank">and</a> proposals, especially as related to vaccination, radiation, and student-debt.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/the-case-against-jill-stein-w436362" target="_blank">falsely</a> <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/pubfund.shtml" target="_blank">claimed</a>
if Stein had drawn 5% of the vote, the campaign of the Green ticket in 2020 would not be allowed to accept private money.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/hundreds-rally-against-proposed-tar-sands-pipeline-1881692564.html" target="_blank">falsely</a> claimed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoNoUcepoZw" target="_blank">she</a>, <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/going_green/2013/04/green-party-jill-stein-charlotte.html" target="_blank">between</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6hYD7PP7M" target="_blank">presidential</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-spataro/dr-jill-stein-gets-person_b_3262973.html" target="_blank">elections</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYVxT_18w6M#t=32m30s" target="_blank">does</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm7vThOD0G0" target="_blank">not</a> <a href="http://billmoyers.com/segment/fighting-the-good-fight/" target="_blank">help</a> <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/03/10/fasting-fukushima-third-anniversary" target="_blank">build</a> <a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11821" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLolvORGslQ" target="_blank">Green</a> <a href="http://denvergreenparty.org/jill-stein-visits-colorado-greens/" target="_blank">Party</a>.</li>
<li>cited polls in order to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7NeRiNefO0" target="_blank">argue</a> a vote for her would be wasted.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/15/third-party-candidate-vote-jill-stein-gary-johnson-evan-mcmullin" target="_blank">argued</a> a vote for her would be, in effect, a vote for Trump.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.jill2016.com/beastresponse" target="_blank">dishonestly</a> attacked her about her personal finances.</li>
<li>depicted her backers as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFFYcCP44uI" target="_blank">ignoramuses</a> who should be <a href="https://twitter.com/eisingerj/status/781624270703198209" target="_blank">disfranchised</a>.</li>
<li>claimed because she met Pres. Vladimir Putin of Russia <a href="https://twitter.com/desusandmero/status/831995973392031744" target="_blank">once</a>, she was too friendly with him. That <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/hillary-clinton-kissinger-vacation-dominican-republic-de-la-renta" target="_blank">Clinton's</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/russian-president-vladimir-putin-and-former-us-secretary-of-news-photo/2537031" target="_blank">close</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/event/russian-president-meets-with-former-us-secretary-of-state-henry-kissinger-52176607" target="_blank">advisor</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/moscow-russian-federation-russian-president-vladimir-putin-news-photo/55904000" target="_blank">Henry</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/novo-ogaryovo-russian-federation-russian-president-vladimir-news-photo/71132867" target="_blank">Kissinger</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/moscow-russian-federation-president-vladimir-putin-confers-news-photo/73981865" target="_blank">had</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/moscow-russian-federation-russian-president-vladimir-putin-news-photo/75394665" target="_blank">met</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/russian-prime-minister-vladimir-putin-shakes-hands-with-news-photo/81602198" target="_blank">with</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/picture-taken-on-march-19-2009-shows-russian-prime-minister-news-photo/85525388" target="_blank">Putin</a> at <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/picture-taken-on-january-20-shows-russian-prime-minister-news-photo/137583645" target="_blank">least</a> <b>12</b> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/russias-president-vladimir-putin-meets-former-us-secretary-news-photo/146641896" target="_blank">times</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/pictures/ernesto-zedillo-214635#russian-president-vladimir-putin-shakes-hands-with-former-us-of-picture-id471533882" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-secretary-of-state-henry-kissinger-russian-news-photo/508145894" target="_blank">disregarded</a>. </li>
</ul>
On Nov. 22, <i>New York Magazine</i> reported Clinton was "urged by a group of prominent computer-scientists and election-lawyers" to seek recounts in the critical trio due to what the group deemed as, in reporter Gabriel Sherman's words, "persuasive <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/activists-urge-hillary-clinton-to-challenge-election-results.html" target="_blank">evidence</a>" of manipulation. He noted a "senior advisor to Clinton said" Obama did "not want for Clinton to challenge the election result." We could have guessed so, given Obama <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/307536-obama-urged-clinton-to-concede-on-election-night" target="_blank">persuaded</a> Clinton to concede as early as she did.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVl5o-LPk80CgsaiRyQoANR_5EONQ1rDktWMZrrTGE8gobGsBd3yO9GI4MMawlImGnggAX_b48LsyvVvipVmaIgufh7HN5exJJ7iCuo5w_xo1GUMGZT6zGpJjz99ISQhVgItPbUXHgu7o/s1600/Washington.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVl5o-LPk80CgsaiRyQoANR_5EONQ1rDktWMZrrTGE8gobGsBd3yO9GI4MMawlImGnggAX_b48LsyvVvipVmaIgufh7HN5exJJ7iCuo5w_xo1GUMGZT6zGpJjz99ISQhVgItPbUXHgu7o/s1600/Washington.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washington<br />
(Gilbert Stuart)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Nov. 23, with no decision from Clinton and with two days until the deadline to file for a recount in WI, Stein -- who originally <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/23/hillary-clinton-election-vote-recount-michigan-pennsylvania-wisconsin" target="_blank">declined</a> to seek any recounts -- <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/green-party-candidate-jill-stein-request-recount-michigan-pennsylvania-wisconsin-1593114" target="_blank">announced</a> she would file for them if the money necessary would be raised.<br />
<br />
Clinton eventually became a party to those recounts, from which she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Allies of hers in media <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jill-stein-wisconsin-michigan-and-pennsylvania-2016-11" target="_blank">nevertheless</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte/status/801797680410267648" target="_blank">baselessly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/802200073375510529" target="_blank">implied</a> Stein's effort to collect the aforementioned funds was a <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/11/25/24709708/im-not-giving-jill-stein-a-single-dollar" target="_blank">scam</a> to retire her campaign's (virtually <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/candidate?id=N00033776" target="_blank">nonexistent</a>) debt, funnel money to her party, enrich herself, and/or pursue some other <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/25/the_seven_main_reasons_democrats_shouldn_t_contribute_to_jill_stein_s_recount.html" target="_blank">ulterior</a> motive.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgK0_OsjO28#t=15" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">J</span>effrey</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhqRZT8Bqo0#t=120" target="_blank">Toobin</a>, s<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">enior</span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaHVfHbwcDg#t=24" target="_blank">legal</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo8Amd3rYUg#t=18" target="_blank">analyst</a> for CNN: "[For] Stein -- who did a significant amount to help elect Trump -- to suddenly sort of take Clinton's side is pretty rich. I think Trump has a point when he <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/802671162383802368" target="_blank">talks</a> about how Stein is fundraising, making a heck of a lot more money off of this futile gesture than she ever made during the campaign."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u> Anderson Cooper<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">,</span> Vanderbilt</u>: "Right, and... she is building a mailing list."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Carl Bernstein, f<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ormer</span> real journalist</span></u>: "She is a bad actor and might have cost Clinton the presidency."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Anderson Cooper 360°</i>, CNN, 28 Nov.</span></blockquote>
Though the DNC <a href="http://observer.com/2016/10/wikileaks-reveals-dnc-elevated-trump-to-help-clinton/" target="_blank">actively</a> helped Trump win his nomination, Stein never sought to build up his candidacy. After the election, she did not "sort of" -- or otherwise -- side with Clinton. Rather, Stein sided with the goal of accurate tabulation. Furthermore, Trump did <i>not</i> have a point. Reports to the FEC by Stein's campaign document it paid<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201702019042400877" target="_blank">$3.5M</a> to file for a recount in WI. The State of WI <a href="http://elections.wi.gov/node/4457" target="_blank">confirmed</a> receipt.</li>
<li><a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201702019042400836" target="_blank">$973K</a> to file for a recount in MI. The State of MI <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/RecountFAQs_544577_7.pdf" target="_blank">confirmed</a> receipt. </li>
<li>a <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201612099040596296" target="_blank">total</a> of <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201702019042400823" target="_blank">$2.2M</a> to retain representation by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP, which <a href="http://www.ecbalaw.com/ecba-leads-historic-recount-litigation-behalf-jill-stein-michigan-wisconsin-pennsylvania/" target="_blank">confirmed</a> its representation of the campaign. </li>
<li><a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201702019042400836" target="_blank">$100K</a> to retain representation by Goodman Acker PC, whose representation of the campaign is <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/Response_544145_7.pdf" target="_blank">confirmed</a> in a document made public by the State of MI.</li>
<li><a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201702019042400837" target="_blank">$35,200</a> for consultation with said firm. </li>
</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tCyuxvXtex481bfjK5YwCtO1D6_32towbtFDFnbYB46XMJpkky9IiyLX1C0QlccqLYEsht5U5ajbye0n_gVaGApW6SzU37UP8gFd1jzpFgyF7-RWkQL0YjVuHDPgd687QN4osvGD4jU/s1600/ObamaTrump.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tCyuxvXtex481bfjK5YwCtO1D6_32towbtFDFnbYB46XMJpkky9IiyLX1C0QlccqLYEsht5U5ajbye0n_gVaGApW6SzU37UP8gFd1jzpFgyF7-RWkQL0YjVuHDPgd687QN4osvGD4jU/s1600/ObamaTrump.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trump, Obama (White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
According to <a href="http://www.fec.gov/fecviewer/CandidateCommitteeDetail.do?candidateCommitteeId=P20003984&tabIndex=3" target="_blank">reports</a> to the FEC by Stein's campaign, it -- between Nov. 9 and December 31 -- raised $7.67M and spent $7.62M. As law required, the campaign created an account that was used solely for all money raised for the recounts. The payments that are listed above total $6.81M. Documented in the rest of the reports to the FEC are additional expenditures related to those efforts. Such expenditures were for staff, administration, communications, compliance, observers, etc.<br />
<br />
Due to governmental overestimation, the said account will receive a substantial refund from the State of WI. Ever since Nov. 23, Stein vowed any remainder in that account would be donated to efforts to strengthen the integrity of elections in this country. That money cannot legally be pocketed by Stein or spent on other costs of her campaign.<br />
<br />
The federal judiciary <a href="https://www.apnews.com/322db08ce6eb49fb910d5a84de3cccb8" target="_blank">prevented</a> a recount in PA and halted the one that had begun in MI. The partial recount <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/election-recount-latest-update-2016-pennsylvania-wisconsin-michigan-battle-didnt-help-2460941" target="_blank">revealed</a> various errors -- mechanical and human. The completed recount in WI revealed errors with regard to how more than <a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/recount-found-thousands-of-errors-but-no-major-flaws-in/article_4ad0fe2a-40d8-5cce-8d84-f3e33469c8f1.html" target="_blank">11K</a> presidential votes had -- or had not -- been tallied.<br />
<br />
<br />
More blame for Clinton's loss is deflected to the decades-long history of Republican attacks on her. However, her favorability rating was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/01/23/record-high-for-hillary-clinton-as-she-faces-little-regarded-congress/" target="_blank">67%</a> in January 2013 but <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/washington-post-abc-news-poll-clinton-holds-four-point-lead-in-aftermath-of-trump-tape/2016/10/15/c31969a4-9231-11e6-9c52-0b10449e33c4_story.html" target="_blank">42%</a> in Oct. '16; she led Sanders <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/6_22_PollPDF.pdf#page=11" target="_blank">75%</a>-15% in June '15 among Democratic primary voters but defeated him <a href="http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?f=1&year=2016&elect=1" target="_blank">56%</a>-44% in the popular vote of the primaries/caucuses; and she led Trump <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2179515-cnn-orc-poll-2016-elections-9-a-m-july-26-upd.html#document/p18" target="_blank">59%</a>-35% in June '15 among registered voters. In short, Clinton began her campaign with a tremendous advantage but blew it.<br />
<br />
More blame for Clinton's loss is deflected to the Russian government, which Clintonites allege obtained the e-mails of the DNC and of Clinton's campaign that were passed to WikiLeaks, which published those e-mails and thereby educated the public about unethical practices in the establishment of the media and of the Democratic Party. Some of those practices were by supposedly impartial people to undermine Sanders's campaign. Furthermore, the allegation against Russia is <b>yet unproven</b> despite the intelligence community's much-hyped "<a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf" target="_blank">assessment</a>" of the matter.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctFuyDiV_s9SYkvqj39YIcpc5hdL56F9QFMnTwqZAEbYiMTiH8BuHdx7njS_VPNSNozL0ZLEwMbd5XwHwSHuRvcOg4c5SSm0G52i4MVqFqvyfgXO1cOIJmRncGHmhKKv9lNFK9naRsW8/s1600/Comey.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctFuyDiV_s9SYkvqj39YIcpc5hdL56F9QFMnTwqZAEbYiMTiH8BuHdx7njS_VPNSNozL0ZLEwMbd5XwHwSHuRvcOg4c5SSm0G52i4MVqFqvyfgXO1cOIJmRncGHmhKKv9lNFK9naRsW8/s1600/Comey.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comey (FBI)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
More blame for Clinton's loss is <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/hillary-clinton-comey-letters-defeat-231280" target="_blank">deflected</a> to Director James Comey of the FBI because of his conduct in the criminal investigation of how Clinton mishandled classified information. There are two premises to this particular deflection: 1) the public did not deserve to know whether a former secretary of State had been, in Comey's words, "extremely careless" with classified information, and 2) responsibility for the political harm Clinton suffered as a result of her own misconduct belongs not to her but to the head of the bureau that investigated it.<br />
<br />
On Oct. 28, Comey sent a <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/102816_FBI-Letter.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> to the chairperson of and ranking member of each of several congressional committees. Because the majority of each house of Congress was Republican, so was each chairperson. But therefore, each ranking member -- i.e. the highest-ranking member from the minority party -- was Democratic. His testimony that stated the investigation was complete was no longer accurate, the letter disclosed.<br />
<br />
As the public soon learned, an investigation by the FBI about ex-rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) -- who was (and is) married to an aide to Clinton -- led it to numerous e-mails from Clinton to that aide. The bureau opted to determine whether any of those e-mails contained classified information.<br />
<br />
Before Comey sent the letter, he notified then-Atty.-Gen. Loretta Lynch about it. She could have ordered him not to send it. However, she <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/the-attorney-general-could-have-ordered-fbi-director-james-comey-not-to-send-his-bombshell-letter-on-clinton-emails-heres-why-she-didnt/2016/12/21/7824d00a-c5fd-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html" target="_blank">chose</a> not to issue such an order. Perhaps that choice was because the public was aware that<br />
<ul>
<li>she, for a half-hour on the night of June 27, had a <a href="http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/loretta-lynch-bill-clinton-meet-privately-in-phoenix" target="_blank">private</a> and officially <a href="https://www.justice.gov/jmd/ethics-handbook" target="_blank">unethical</a> meeting with Clinton's husband, the occurrence of which was intended to be kept <a href="http://video.insider.foxnews.com/v/video-embed.html?video_id=5014668891001" target="_blank">secret</a>.</li>
<li>on July 4, <i>The NY Times</i> reported it was told by people close to Clinton that she, if elected, might allow Lynch to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/05/this-may-not-be-the-best-time-for-clinton-allies-to-talk-about-keeping-loretta-lynch-as-attorney-general/" target="_blank">remain</a> AG.</li>
<li>on July 5, Comey announced he, despite "evidence of potential violations [by Clinton] of the statutes that regard how classified information is handled," would recommend against prosecution.</li>
<li>on July 6, Lynch accepted that recommendation. </li>
<li>on July 12, Lynch <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4610482/will-consider-serving-attorney-general-hillary-clinton-administration" target="_blank">refused</a> to rule out service as AG under Clinton.</li>
</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfX_WfScgFliDLY20RxmcpfhsiYvXDvClaSUxta1Q348nFzR1CPI-h6_NFIQemKv1D4fZvmPg5Z2oyyTaUi0igzoGVsY-Gy8LYYJ5NiBUw1ikH33GxRQGABR4QYOWLyv9CkVPGGoA83EU/s1600/Baraka.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfX_WfScgFliDLY20RxmcpfhsiYvXDvClaSUxta1Q348nFzR1CPI-h6_NFIQemKv1D4fZvmPg5Z2oyyTaUi0igzoGVsY-Gy8LYYJ5NiBUw1ikH33GxRQGABR4QYOWLyv9CkVPGGoA83EU/s1600/Baraka.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baraka<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In reaction to news of the letter, Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KlxCmh4AFk" target="_blank">falsely</a> asserted it was originally sent only to Republicans. Two days before Election Day, another <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2016-11-06%20Comey%20to%20Grassley%20et%20al.%20-%20Clinton%20Server%20Investigation%20Update.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> from Comey stated the examination of the e-mails in question was complete and it uncovered nothing that would prompt him to change said recommendation.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/what-clintonworld-thinks-about-the-latest-abedin-weiner-scandal" target="_blank">More</a> blame for Clinton's loss is <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/03/bill-maher-roasts-rapist-donald-trump-in-whinylittlebitch-comedy-special.html" target="_blank">deflected</a> to Weiner due to his conduct that landed him under investigation.<br />
<br />
More such blame is deflected to laws that were enacted after 2012 to arbitrarily restrict the ability to vote. But there were no such laws in PA or MI, and there is no <a href="http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/11/13597452/voter-suppression-clinton-trump-2016" target="_blank">statistical</a> basis on which to believe such laws in other states altered the outcome of the election.<br />
<br />
More such blame is deflected to xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism. But Clinton lacked the credibility to forcefully counter Trump's exploitation of those sentiments, which Clinton previously helped stoke. Unlike Sanders, she had<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRlAMr1Tj4E" target="_blank">supported</a> the presidential bid by the late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), who had voted against the Civil Rights Act.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uCrA7ePno" target="_blank">advanced</a> the <a href="http://fair.org/extra/superscapegoating/" target="_blank">false</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgFqwDsnLtc" target="_blank">racist</a> theory of "super-predators" in order to raise support for mass incarceration. Even last year, she <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/07/democratic-debate-flint-hillary-clinton-super-predators-sot.cnn/video/playlists/2016-democratic-presidential-debates/" target="_blank">refused</a> to deny the racist intent in her use of that term.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/christophermassie/hillary-clinton-used-to-talk-about-how-the-people-on-welfare" target="_blank">used</a> racist dog-whistles against recipients of welfare.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/08/penn-strategy-memo-march-19-2008/37952/" target="_blank">fueled</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnLSkWulPVE" target="_blank">xenophobia</a> <a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/kerrey-tries-to-explain-obama-muslim-remarks/" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2007/12/why-did-bob-ker.html" target="_blank">Obama</a>, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4618991/clinton-obamas-denunciation-farrakhan-insufficient" target="_blank">Islamophobia</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4621641/clinton-attacks-obamas-associations" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/opinion/11patterson.html" target="_blank">Obama</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/23638352" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103281.html" target="_blank">racism</a> <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/72422/poison-penn" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-05-07-clintoninterview_N.htm" target="_blank">Obama</a>.</li>
<li>stated she is "adamantly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxASD4jHgCk" target="_blank">against</a> illegal immigrants."</li>
<li>voted for the <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=109&session=2&vote=00262" target="_blank">fence</a> along the US-Mexico border.</li>
<li>supported <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/12/28/hillary-clinton-now-says-she-has-concerns-about-deporting-migrant-children/" target="_blank">raids</a> to deport children who had fled a Central American crisis she <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gonzalez-clinton-policy-latin-american-crime-story-article-1.2598456" target="_blank">illegally</a> helped <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/13/shes_baldly_lying_dana_frank_responds" target="_blank">create</a>.</li>
<li>reacted <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/super-predator-comment-creates-another-tense-moment-for-hill" target="_blank">snappishly</a> to questioners from Black Lives Matter.</li>
<li>said, after BLM gained prominence, "<a href="https://www.aclunc.org/blog/hillary-its-important-say-black-lives-matter" target="_blank">all</a> lives matter."</li>
<li>supported illegal <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/09/more-prominent-allies-of-hillary-are.html" target="_blank">invasions</a> of countries with a Muslim majority.</li>
<li><a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/11/clearer-contrast-btn-hillary-bernie-as.html" target="_blank">supported</a> unconstitutional mass surveillance, which often, on the
basis of religious affiliation, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2014/07/09/under-surveillance/" target="_blank">targets</a> Muslim Americans not suspected
of criminality. </li>
<li>politically embraced ex-mayor Michael <a href="http://gawker.com/why-hasnt-anyone-mentioned-michael-bloombergs-long-wel-1784482724" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> (R-NYC). The billionaire had implemented a practice
of "stop-and-frisk" that was heavily biased against blacks and Latinos, and said it did not target those groups <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/michael-bloomberg-police-minorities-093577" target="_blank"><i>enough</i></a>. He also implemented surveillance of entire Muslim communities.</li>
<li>made false allegations of racism. They minimized real racism.</li>
</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICkXDtxAGIkMd22fads1ADCOHFlDT54t9omkbah0D0Jk9m1o9PHe06xhg12fmtcSFBfXTl9ntYFctJ2xAaUyqF7jbET2mNlOtZCZkoWNS-3323bPxAhTfhlmHi6EoXJWogRzhGNPefRE/s1600/BushBushClinton.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICkXDtxAGIkMd22fads1ADCOHFlDT54t9omkbah0D0Jk9m1o9PHe06xhg12fmtcSFBfXTl9ntYFctJ2xAaUyqF7jbET2mNlOtZCZkoWNS-3323bPxAhTfhlmHi6EoXJWogRzhGNPefRE/s1600/BushBushClinton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush with<br />
Clinton's husband (Eric Draper / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Also, the plan by the DNC to "<b>acquire the Hispanic consumer</b>" and "<b>own the Hispanic loyalty</b>" generalizes Latinos as "<a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/757277230250745856" target="_blank">unforgiving</a>" and was leaked in July. Plus, Clinton's campaign largely <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/12/latino-leader-attacks-clinton-campaign-hispanic-vote" target="_blank">took</a> the Latino vote and the black youth vote for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/us/politics/young-blacks-voice-skepticism-on-hillary-clinton-worrying-democrats.html" target="_blank">granted</a>.<br />
<br />
In the contrast between '12 and '16, the Democratic ticket's margin over the Republican ticket <b>shrunk</b> by seven percentage points among blacks, by eight among Latinos, by 11 among Asians, and by one point among other nonwhites. Trump drew the votes of<br />
<ul>
<li>17% of opponents of the idea of a wall between the US and Mexico.</li>
<li>22% of people who knew the crim. justice system is unfair to blacks.</li>
<li>31% of immigrants.</li>
<li>34% of people who thought most undocumented workers should be allowed to apply for a status that would protect them from deportation.</li>
</ul>
Trump's backers have been <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/democrats-trump-and-the-ongoing-dangerous-refusal-to-learn-the-lesson-of-brexit/" target="_blank">generalized</a> as racist. Nevertheless, 10% of people who approved of Obama's performance in office voted for Trump. Moreover, some people who voted for Trump had voted for Obama. In response to that fact, a few Clintonites argue a crucial segment of racist whites voted for
Obama due to economic desperation but voted for Trump because the economy
had improved so much that those voters felt free to indulge their racism.<br />
<br />
The truth is: the economy, even for whites in the critical trio, was not better in
2015 (the last year for which statistics on poverty and on income are
available) than when Obama was elected president. For example:<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQB4n0r8Xmqy3rIZhxLid59mI2fakV7hA-7QWWvLTB7vwC4vJV3hhkouunqre0kqav4wUEFpADiZAIrIX8CJiwN4BU5EdRefG7SZu3TSKwXtDxjxwy9PP0Wg8NHXly4_NpMwoTBtHkV7o/s1600/Bloomberg.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQB4n0r8Xmqy3rIZhxLid59mI2fakV7hA-7QWWvLTB7vwC4vJV3hhkouunqre0kqav4wUEFpADiZAIrIX8CJiwN4BU5EdRefG7SZu3TSKwXtDxjxwy9PP0Wg8NHXly4_NpMwoTBtHkV7o/s1600/Bloomberg.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bloomberg<br />
(Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
White poverty in<br />
<ul>
<li>MI was <b>10.8%</b> in 2008 and <b>11.9%</b> in 2015.</li>
<li>PA was <b>9.1%</b> in 2008 and <b>9.4%</b> in '15.</li>
<li>WI was <b>8.1%</b> in 2008 and <b>9.0%</b> in '15.</li>
</ul>
White median <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_S1903&prodType=table" target="_blank">income</a>, in <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm" target="_blank">2015</a> dollars, in<br />
<ul>
<li>MI was <b>$57K</b> in 2008 and <b>$55K</b> in '15.</li>
<li>PA was <b>$59K</b> in 2008 and <b>$60K</b> in '15.</li>
<li>WI was <b>$60K</b> in 2008 and <b>$59K</b> in '15.</li>
</ul>
Yes, there was an increase in PA, but the national average income within the top 1% rose from -- in 2015 dollars -- $990K in 2009 to <a href="http://equitablegrowth.org/research-analysis/u-s-top-one-percent-of-income-earners-hit-new-high-in-2015-amid-strong-economic-growth/" target="_blank">$1.4M</a> in 2015. Let us also note the unemployment rate that includes the underemployed and the long-term discouraged unemployed, although a breakdown of this rate by state or color is unavailable. Nationwide <a href="http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts" target="_blank">unemployment</a> was around <b>17%</b> in Oct. 2008 but was <b>22.9%</b> in Oct. '16.<br />
<br />
As Clinton's husband said on Oct. 3 in reference to the "Affordable Care Act,"<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[T]he current system works for people who are eligible for Medicaid..., are on Medicare, or get enough subsidies on a modest income... But the people who are <b>being killed in this deal are</b> owners of <b>small businesses</b> or are <b>individuals who make a little too much money to get... subsidies</b>. [That is b]ecause th[ose people] are unorganized [and] have <b>no power to bargain</b> with insurance companies...<br /><br />"[T]he people who <b>[work]</b>, sometimes <b>for 60 hours a week, wind up with doubled premiums</b> and <b>halved coverage</b>. It is the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xljSTBDhGG8#t=17.8" target="_blank">craziest</a> thing in the world... [Insurers] overcharge just to make sure and, in good years, just make a <b>profit from the people</b> who are <b>least able to pay</b>. It <b>makes no sense</b>. The <b>insurance model does not work [in health care]</b>."</span></blockquote>
No wonder Trump drew the votes of<br />
<ul>
<li>78% of people whose family's financial status was worse than in '12.</li>
<li>47% of people who were more concerned about the economy than about immigration, terrorism, or foreign-policy.</li>
<li>23% of people who wanted policies that are more liberal than Obama's were.</li>
<li>18% of people who thought the ACA should go further.</li>
</ul>
On a related note, Clinton -- unlike Trump and Sanders -- <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/21/401123124/a-timeline-of-hillary-clintons-evolution-on-trade" target="_blank">opposes</a> protectionism. That fact helps explain why Trump drew the votes of<br />
<ul>
<li>65% of people who knew free-trade causes a net-<a href="http://citizen.org/documents/prosperity-undermined.pdf" target="_blank">loss</a> of jobs <span style="font-size: small;">in the US.</span></li>
<li>43% of people whose household included a member of a labor union.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bhyWl3ZqzlEi8_v0cDQ89gk5i5btM7Y0OiE77D8F7IERKq818reGJSRp2_m53JOcLCEUCcD6a38vVBRpxRoBUJI8U1-1gcTFyW7LqjNkDWu3n2O1scI-_8tZZenQy3LgG95OGj-RiXY/s1600/Clinton.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bhyWl3ZqzlEi8_v0cDQ89gk5i5btM7Y0OiE77D8F7IERKq818reGJSRp2_m53JOcLCEUCcD6a38vVBRpxRoBUJI8U1-1gcTFyW7LqjNkDWu3n2O1scI-_8tZZenQy3LgG95OGj-RiXY/s1600/Clinton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
More blame for Clinton's loss is deflected to sexism. But on that issue also, Clinton lacked the credibility to forcefully counter Trump, who drew 42% of the female vote. That lack was due in part to her <br />
<ul>
<li>coziness with regimes that notoriously <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/hillary-clinton-womens-rights-record-saudi-arabia-116160" target="_blank">oppress</a> women.</li>
<li>laughter about her successful defense of a man she evidently deemed <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/20/exclusive-hillary-clinton-took-me-through-hell-rape-victim-says.html">guilty</a> of the charge, i.e. rape of a girl.</li>
<li><a href="http://observer.com/2008/09/hillarys-friend-shelly/" target="_blank">endorsement</a> of a candidate the public already knew had tried to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/nyregion/14silver.html" target="_blank">conceal</a> sexual assaults on women.</li>
<li>alliance with Brock, who had <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/10/27/anita_hill_clarence_thomas/" target="_blank">libeled</a> Professor Anita Hill in order to discredit her testimony about sexual harassment of her by Justice Clarence Thomas.</li>
<li>six years on the board of <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/clinton-remained-silent-wal-mart-fought-unions/story?id=4218509" target="_blank">Walmart</a>; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_WzQx6mDpE" target="_blank">contempt</a> for pro-Sanders women.</li>
<li>false allegations of sexism. They minimized real sexism. </li>
</ul>
Last week, Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We33Lzoyo0Q" target="_blank">faulted</a>
sexism for the fluctuation in her favorability rating, which she theorized was 1) so high in Jan. '13 because she still held an office to which a
man had nominated her, and 2) so low in '16 because she was a woman in electoral politics. But that theory does not explain why she was <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2179515-cnn-orc-poll-2016-elections-9-a-m-july-26-upd.html#document/p4" target="_blank">usually</a> viewed favorably by most of the public when she held elected office, including as she waged her first bid for chief executive.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/18/politics/ed-rendell-women-donald-trump/" target="_blank">The</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-minimum-wage_us_571143b0e4b06f35cb6f9f1e" target="_blank">enormous</a> <a href="http://www.wcax.com/story/31650376/clinton-claims-ny-criminals-get-guns-from-vt" target="_blank">incompetence</a> <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/clinton-criticized-for-calling-unborn-a-person.html" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-invokes-911-2nd-time-defending-wall/story?id=35511652" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/gilbert_garcia/article/Sanders-Latino-backers-take-issue-with-Joaquin-6491780.php" target="_blank">evident</a> in public displays of Clinton's latest campaign also existed in its internal operations. Examples:<br />
<ul>
<li>The campaign did <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/michigan-hillary-clinton-trump-232547" target="_blank">little</a> to <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canvass" target="_blank">canvass</a>, process data that canvassers collected, produce literature, or distribute <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3YKa6PXkfU" target="_blank">lawn</a>-signs.</li>
<li>The campaign <i>forbade</i> contact between the DNC and state-level chapters of the Democratic Party.</li>
<li>The campaign estimated it spent roughly 3% as much money in MI and WI as in FL, OH and North Carolina.</li>
<li>Clinton never appeared in WI after she lost its primary. </li>
<li>At the direction of then-interim-chairperson Donna <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donna-brazile-democratic-national-committee_us_5824cb95e4b0ddd4fe7954e8" target="_blank">Brazile</a> of the DNC, millions of dollars from the campaign were spent to help Clinton attain a popular mandate via efforts to turn out voters for her in IL, whose Electoral votes she definitely would win, and Louisiana, whose Electoral votes she definitely would lose.</li>
<li>Approximately 10 days before Election Day, officials of the Service Employees Int'l Union realized the futility of its Iowan pro-Clinton operation and thus redirected its volunteers to MI but were then ordered by Clinton's campaign to reverse course.</li>
<li>The campaign <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/hillary-clinton-aides-loss-blame-231215" target="_blank">rejected</a> Clinton's husband's advice to do more to appeal to white workers, and did not heed the "haiku" that guided his successful presidential campaign a quarter-century ago:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Change versus more of the same</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It's the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JqCRibrEoi4C&pg=PT66" target="_blank">economy</a>, stupid</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">And don't forget health care</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKcXIUevZODR8MIX3KwGaW7jidZJ1dV11IpOLujl_P2w3q_NAwP1oz7AyXUetBy7Hxlub3HSePNdGvyfGm1s5TBZ4XoNH7xc2F8Pl3J7p1g7J_lPq6U3Q0wojV3Q0lzo6osXZreOzA5A/s1600/Kaine.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKcXIUevZODR8MIX3KwGaW7jidZJ1dV11IpOLujl_P2w3q_NAwP1oz7AyXUetBy7Hxlub3HSePNdGvyfGm1s5TBZ4XoNH7xc2F8Pl3J7p1g7J_lPq6U3Q0wojV3Q0lzo6osXZreOzA5A/s1600/Kaine.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaine<br />
(Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In 2008, Obama ran the most skillful presidential campaign in a lifetime. His bid for re-election was also impressive, given his approval rating in 2012 was often <a href="http://pollingreport.com/images/12OJ.GIF" target="_blank">below</a> 50%. On Nat'l Public Radio on Dec. 15, the then-president acknowledged some of the reasons why Clinton's campaign -- which was <a href="http://mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/blog/2016-election-study-published/" target="_blank">overdependent</a> on personal attacks on Trump and had no <a href="https://www.campaignsandelections.com/europe/after-2016-does-data-driven-campaigning-matter" target="_blank">message</a> -- failed.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[A] <b>substantial number of people... voted for me</b> twice, <b>support me</b> now, and also <b>voted for... Trump</b>... [T]here are entire states -- and big chunks of states -- where, <b>if we [Democrats] don't show up and make an argument, we will lose</b> and can lose badly. <b>That happened in this election...</b> There are clearly... <b>failures on our part</b> to -- in <b>rural</b> areas or in <b>exurban</b> areas -- <b>[convince] people... that we fight for them</b> or are connected to them...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[P]art of the importance... to <b>engage with and listen to people</b> is it <b>builds trust</b> and gives [to the politicians] a better sense of <b>how to talk about issues in a way that feels salient to and meaningful to people</b>...
Part of why I was elected president twice and still have pretty strong
support in a lot of those communities... is... I ran for the US Senate in [Illinois, which] has a lot of <b>rural</b> communities. Its downstate typically is suspicious of Chicagoans... [In] <b>living rooms</b>, in <b>VFW halls</b>, and at <b>fish fries</b>, [I] listened to people. Then, I traveled Iowa for months to hear people's concerns. <b>They heard me and sensed I understood</b> them...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[At every level,] I think we <b>[Democrats] have not done it as well as we must</b>... [T]he <b>Republicans</b>... have very systematically <b>built from the ground, up</b>.
They communicate with state legislators and fund campaigns for school
boards and for public utility commissions... I think we <b>[Democrats] are biased toward national and international issues</b>, and consequently have <b>ceded too much territory</b>. I take some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEjeKrZxDFQ#t=59" target="_blank">responsibility</a> for that."</span></blockquote>
<br />
The deflections by and excuses by many Democrats are not the only indicators of the party's <a href="http://observer.com/2017/02/nancy-pelosi-cnn-town-hall-appearance/" target="_blank">refusal</a> to <a href="http://observer.com/2017/02/bernie-sanders-progressives-establishment-democratic-party/" target="_blank">change</a>.<br />
<br />
For the last 14 years, the highest-ranking Democrat in the House has been Nancy Pelosi of CA. On Nov. 30, the Democrats of the House re-elected her to lead them. Days later, she said she does not "think people
want a new direction" for her party. But they do.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Xzea4PPrfv_xqoXLpCRXzn0uDolUqOA41FSStb1tePI_NItd6n8ETQqeqX_XcthJbc-7J3gljBYB4bLVHa1Zdt5gDsk8jJpbBJsjs0g4do-UbROo3m5dSqWZHfMH5LY7G58hq5jdvsA/s1600/Democratic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Xzea4PPrfv_xqoXLpCRXzn0uDolUqOA41FSStb1tePI_NItd6n8ETQqeqX_XcthJbc-7J3gljBYB4bLVHa1Zdt5gDsk8jJpbBJsjs0g4do-UbROo3m5dSqWZHfMH5LY7G58hq5jdvsA/s400/Democratic.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
At a meeting of the Democratic Party of MI on Dec. 3 to elect members of the DNC, pro-Sanders Democrats who objected to the secrecy with which candidates for the DNC were nominated were <a href="http://observer.com/2016/12/mike-stone-michigan-democratic-party-assault-battery-against-sanders-supporter/" target="_blank">forcibly</a> removed from the room.<br />
<br />
Shortly after Election Day, the public learned Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) -- who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- would seek to chair the DNC. But a campaign of Islamophobia, of racism and of character-assassination began against him even before he declared candidacy.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Democrats, after their loss of the... Rustbelt to... Trump, could have recruited an industrial-region populist like Rep. Tim Ryan... But... Sanders... quickly backed... Ellison, who is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/us/politics/donald-trump-transition.html" target="_blank">black</a>, <b>Muslim</b> and an ardent progressive."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">Carl Hulse, Julie Hirschfeld David, Alan Rappeport and Maggie Habermann</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"...Schumer Backs Keith Ellison to Head of [sic] the DNC," <i>The NY Times</i>, 11 Nov.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span>"Defeated, Dems could have tapped a populist from the Rust<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">b</span>elt<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">..</span>. In<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">stead, [<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">w</span></span>ill they <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">pick</span> a] <a href="https://twitter.com/jonathanweisman/status/797120114042793984" target="_blank">black</a>, <b>Muslim</b> progressive from Minneapolis?"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">Jonathan Weisman of <i>The NY Times</i>, in a tweet <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">about</span> the quoted article, 11 Nov.</span></blockquote>
How can a person's color and/or religious affiliation mean he is not a populist? How could populism and liberalism be mutually exclusive? And how is residence in Minneapolis a negative attribute? Although that city is in Minnesota, which is the only state that has gone Democratic in each of the last 11 presidential elections, it is not exactly secure for the Democrats. Clinton carried it by only 1.5%.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[Is Ellison] really the guy we need now, as we try to persuade all of those disaffected, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/keith-ellison-democrats-dnc-232838" target="_blank">white</a>, working-class people to rally around our message of economic equality?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">An unnamed,</span> longtime political ally of Obama</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Quoted in "Keith Ellison's One-Man March" by Glenn Thrush, <i>Politico</i>, 20 Dec.</span></span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uvZYtzFSCLaPRYmKgWwE9wsQBzIwlO6iJO5NW1oIx1Bk3wqbjCu2AXq79uAOjKfjyCavKMU9T9vI3m3AAnrvNRx8sivt42-ur7ucV0m6uAvBbQCvdyJjNftyJNkHcvrfcABzxcVjQmU/s1600/Ellison.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uvZYtzFSCLaPRYmKgWwE9wsQBzIwlO6iJO5NW1oIx1Bk3wqbjCu2AXq79uAOjKfjyCavKMU9T9vI3m3AAnrvNRx8sivt42-ur7ucV0m6uAvBbQCvdyJjNftyJNkHcvrfcABzxcVjQmU/s1600/Ellison.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellison<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J2C-U8KtuE" target="_blank"><i>What</i></a> message of economic equality? Anyway, Ellison's district is <a href="https://www.census.gov/mycd/" target="_blank">63%</a> white, and 44% of its households have income and benefits that total less than $50K annually. Ellison <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2006/2006house.pdf#page=46" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008congresults.pdf#page=59" target="_blank">won</a> in that district <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2010/2010house.pdf#page=54" target="_blank">six</a> <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2012/2012congresults.pdf#page=64" target="_blank">consecutive</a> <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2014/2014house.pdf#page=43" target="_blank">times</a> <a href="http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/Results/USRepresentative/100?officeinelectionid=10738&districtid=560" target="_blank">with</a> 56% to 74% of the vote.<br />
<br />
The Anti-Defamation League issued this statement Dec. 1.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"New information... raises serious concerns about whether Rep. Ellison faithfully could represent the Democratic Party's traditional support for a strong and secure Israel... [<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">H</span>e said,] '<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span>A region of 350<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">M</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span> all turns on a country of <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">7M</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span>. Does that make sense? ...When the Americans who trace their roots back to those 350<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">M</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span> <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">become</span> involved, everything changes.'</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Rep. Ellison's remarks are both deeply disturbing and <a href="https://www.adl.org/news/press-releases/speech-raises-new-doubts-about-rep-ellisons-ability-to-represent-traditional" target="_blank">disqualifying</a>. His words imply US foreign policy is <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">driven by special inter<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ests that are based on<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> r</span></span></span>eligion or on national<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>origin<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>rather than simply by America's best interests... [I]ntentionally or not, his words raise the specter of... stereotypes about Jewish control of our government. That poisonous myth... has no place in open societies like the US. Those comments sharply contrast with the [DNC's] platform, which states, 'A strong and secure Israel is vital to the [US] because we share overarching strategic interests and the common values of democracy, equality, tolerance, and pluralism.'</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"...[<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">B]</span>ipartisan support for Israel... is crucial to continued engagement with our most important ally in the region. That ally is a democracy [that places an] emphasis on equality and on commitment to the rule of law<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">..</span>. Th<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">o</span>se shared values are the bedrock for the longstanding relationship between the US and Israel. Whoever <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">t</span>he next head of the Democratic Party will be, we hope he w<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ill</span> have fidelity to th<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">o</span>se timeless ideals at all times."</span></blockquote>
US policy in the Middle East is <a href="http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/IsraelLobby.pdf" target="_blank">indeed</a> <a href="http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/A0043.pdf" target="_blank">driven</a> by pro-Israel special interests in a way that makes no sense and undermines the security of the US. Contrary to the insinuation of anti-Semitism, such special interests reflect the sentiments of Evangelical Christians <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/27/strong-support-for-israel-in-u-s-cuts-across-religious-lines/" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-10/pro-israel-evangelicals-escape-aipac-s-shadow" target="_blank">than</a> of Jews.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVoS9ISIvvuM_EJ07JW_8fpRs9bfE2wWbk66Rcj8uc_NiCyLbB_X7ZJjy7v3rToTnnaUnNFarJY7CCPG7VAl0iF8KcNbycj5RPpf2a1hn1er41kOUoeSYZe7WUXphp7lUXK2Nt1QFOMM/s1600/Ryan.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVoS9ISIvvuM_EJ07JW_8fpRs9bfE2wWbk66Rcj8uc_NiCyLbB_X7ZJjy7v3rToTnnaUnNFarJY7CCPG7VAl0iF8KcNbycj5RPpf2a1hn1er41kOUoeSYZe7WUXphp7lUXK2Nt1QFOMM/s1600/Ryan.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan, D-OH<br />
(Robert Barko Jr./<br />
Dept. of the Air Force)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As for whether Ellison advances "stereotypes about Jewish control of our government," let us consider his endorsement of the presidential bid by Sanders, who is the only Jew who has ever won a presidential primary of a major party. To the credit of the ADL, it <a href="https://www.adl.org/news/media-watch/nprs-diane-rehm-plays-into-classic-anti-semitic-charges-of-dual-loyalty" target="_blank">condemned</a> NPR for its uncritical acceptance of -- and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIPhEBNxha8" target="_blank">confrontation</a> of Sanders with -- a list that <a href="http://www.njdc.org/blog/dianerehm061015" target="_blank">falsely</a> alleged he is a dual citizen of Israel. Yet, Sanders was pestered by other arbitrary notions about Jews in US politics. Specifically, some corporate media suggested he is <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/larry-david-has-the-best-rebuttal-for-people-accusing-bernie-sanders-of-hiding-his-jewish-identity/" target="_blank"><i>unsatisfactorily</i></a> Jewish.<br />
<br />
The ADL's defense of "open societies" is at odds with its condemnation of Ellison's encouragement of political participation by more Americans of Middle Eastern descent. And in spite of the Democratic platform, <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/ElectionDayLongLines-ResourceAllocation.pdf" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/04/16/The-US-is-not-a-democracy-but-an-oligarchy-study-concludes/2761397680051/" target="_blank">US</a> <a href="http://peacenow.org/entry.php?id=23089" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hanan-ashrawi/west-bank-settlements-israel_b_1725963.html" target="_blank">Israel</a> <a href="http://cfed.org/policy/federal/The_Ever_Growing_Gap-CFED_IPS-Final.pdf" target="_blank">are</a> <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/un-issues-scathing-assessment-us-human-rights-record" target="_blank">not</a> <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12657.doc.htm" target="_blank">models</a> <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-arab-droves-warning-may-have-been-decisive-in-his-victory/" target="_blank">for</a> democracy, equality, tolerance, pluralism or lawfulness.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[T]hat <b>Keith Ellison is a Muslim</b> is a non-issue... <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">[H]</span>is positions, his papers, his speeches, and the way he has voted [show] <b>he is</b> clearly <b>an anti-Semite</b>... Ellison would be a disaster for the relationship between the Jewish community and the Democratic Party."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Billionaire Haim Saban, forum at the Brookings Institution, 2 Dec. </span></blockquote>
At said forum, until that comment, there was no reference to Ellison's religious affiliation. So why did Saban mention it if he did not wish to make an issue of it? Anyway, he did <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4661131/saban-defames-ellison" target="_blank">not</a> cite any vote, speech, paper or position. But his opposition to Ellison carried exceptional weight because Saban and his wife had donated a total of nearly <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=haim+saban&order=desc&sort=A" target="_blank">$12M</a> to the DNC, over <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib_all.php?cmte=C00495861&type=A&cycle=2016" target="_blank">$8.2M</a> to the pro-Clinton super-PAC "Priorities USA Action," and over <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=cheryl+saban&order=desc&page=1&sort=A" target="_blank">$2.4M</a> divvied between the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte. and the DCCC. Additionally, the Sabans had donated profusely to campaigns of individual Democratic candidates and to other Democratic organizations. Alas, news of Saban's defamation informed the DNC its potential election of Ellison would jeopardize future donations from that couple to the party.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSGOhIkFCZOiTh4PqV7NMzhfs5xbfLxMjkC2QLwXf_zwaW_6XHB5TCrfrb56mV7L08bVZCzy6cV0IJKpmhyphenhyphenp9tCTQc90u8TmFNBst9np4GrwVytMooddFrgCwHP5NiamucWw0kKvxqj8/s1600/PelosiPerez.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSGOhIkFCZOiTh4PqV7NMzhfs5xbfLxMjkC2QLwXf_zwaW_6XHB5TCrfrb56mV7L08bVZCzy6cV0IJKpmhyphenhyphenp9tCTQc90u8TmFNBst9np4GrwVytMooddFrgCwHP5NiamucWw0kKvxqj8/s1600/PelosiPerez.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pelosi, Perez (Dept. of Labor)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34XvN89FBnA&t=43" target="_blank">Obama</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/02/24/key-question-about-dnc-race-why-did-white-house-recruit-perez-to-run-against-ellison/" target="_blank">recruited</a> then-Secy. of Labor Thomas Perez to run against Ellison. Perez declared candidacy on Dec. 15. <i>CNN Tonight</i> hosted this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5eNBom6dO8" target="_blank">exchange</a> on Feb. 24.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Prof. Alan <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?319161-1/munk-debate-state-surveillance" target="_blank">Dershowitz</a>: <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">["</span>Ellison] made anti-Semitic statements and associated with virulent anti-Semites... [A]fter he worked closely with [Louis] Farrakhan, who called Judaism a 'gutter religion'... [and] said the Jews were majorly involved in the slave trade, Ellison said<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> he</span> did<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> no</span>t know <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Farrakhan</span> was an anti-Semite... Why would the <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">[DNC]</span> pick someone who is so extreme? ...[T]he Democrats tried<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> with moderate leftists like McGovern and Dukakis. They got few Electoral votes..."<br /><u>Nomiki Konst of <i>The Young Turks</i></u><i>:</i> "How could the Democrats ever be worse off than they are now?"<br /><u>Dershowitz</u>: "They won the popular vote<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">..</span>. So they could be much worse off."<br /><u>Konst</u>: "That is how to win elections?"<br /><u>Dershowitz</u>: "No..."<br /><u>Konst</u>: "...In the last eight years, the Democratic Party <b>raised more money than ever before but lost over 1,000 seats</b>... Members of the DNC have forwarded to me <a href="https://twitter.com/nomikikonst/status/835314705807917059" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">libel</span>ous</a> e-<a href="https://twitter.com/nomikikonst/status/835315412917178368" target="_blank">mails</a> about Ellison... Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to national contracts for eight major firms, many of whose members are on the DNC... There is a conflict of interest..."<br /><u>Dershowitz</u>: "...[W]hen Ellison was in law school, he told someone<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> b</span>ecause she is a woman and <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">a Jew</span>, he c<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ould </span>n<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">o</span>t respect her and she should <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">no</span>t have been in law school.<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span>. I would like for you<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> to show to me anything I have said about him -- I wrote two pieces<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> today -- that is not documented. I quote when he said Jews have too much power over American foreign policy... Why pick someone who... would stop contributions from Haim Saban, alienate much of the base of the Democratic Party, and ruin it...?"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Konst</u>: "<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span>[T]he Democratic Party has been <b>hemorrhaging membership</b>. The <b>majority of voters under age 40 are independents</b>... The <b>Democrats... are at their lowest point since 1920... [Y]our mention of Saban is indicative of the problem with the DNC... It is beholden to a few major donors...</b> [A] conversation in the DNC is about why they... <b>fund consultants who lose elections</b> for them. None of the state-level chapters of the Democratic Party<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>have money to organize, recruit, train and activate<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">..</span>. Yet, we convers<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">e</span> about a slanderous attack... Perez has conflicts of interest... He is propped up by five major consulting<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">-</span>firms. This is verified in FEC documents..."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Dershowitz</u>: "...We must unite the party and bring the Rustbelt back. <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Ellison</span> will not do anything for that..."<br /><u>Konst</u>: "About unity: Perez is the only candidate who <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">does not have</span> endorsements from </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">supporters of Clinton</span> <b>and</b> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">supporters of Sanders</span>...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Don Lemon, host</u>: "Alan, will you come back? I want for you to come back... You can see the hypocrisy on both sides."</span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSwqgAHDVQimCvcPx7Ez2aWPepq6z5S4vDbi-IFIbXxhxTf-bBpl_h_WSLF-88LXyJLzQKq11r6tYIfCn1gQNUoKb4mTncbwjgS3tIOMdJKds75faDgky_ZMWxWMNg8TZ95P1j0-S23M/s1600/Schumer.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSwqgAHDVQimCvcPx7Ez2aWPepq6z5S4vDbi-IFIbXxhxTf-bBpl_h_WSLF-88LXyJLzQKq11r6tYIfCn1gQNUoKb4mTncbwjgS3tIOMdJKds75faDgky_ZMWxWMNg8TZ95P1j0-S23M/s1600/Schumer.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schumer (Glenn<br />
Fawcett / Customs<br />
and Border Protection)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Neither in that segment, nor in the <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/national-party-news/321040-i-will-leave-the-democrats-if-keith-ellison-is-elected" target="_blank">one</a> op-ed piece by Dershowitz I could find from that day, nor in any article to which the piece links, is any anti-Semitic remark by Ellison quoted. One such article is by CNN and reports, "<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/01/politics/kfile-keith-ellison-nation-of-islam/" target="_blank">None</a> of the reviewed records [include] any anti-Semitic comments by Ellison."<br />
<br />
Dershowitz's piece paraphrases -- but does not quote or name -- the woman who supposedly told him of the remark Ellison allegedly made to her. Lemon did not specify what "hypocrisy" is supposedly on both sides or invite Konst to return. <br />
<br />
Jews who endorsed Ellison's bid include Sen. Charles <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/keith-ellison-endorsements-dnc-231643" target="_blank">Schumer</a> (D-NY, minority leader), Sen. Alan <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TeamAlFranken/posts/10157848979055492" target="_blank">Franken</a> (D-MN), Rep. Janice <a href="https://keithfordnc.org/news/2017/1/11/nine-new-endorsements-including-state-party-chairs-and-vice-chairs-for-keith-ellison-for-dnc-chair" target="_blank">Schakowsky</a> (D-IL), Rep. Alan <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/keith-ellison-endorsements-dnc-231643" target="_blank">Lowenthal</a> (D-CA), Atty. Gen. Eric <a href="http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2016/11/schneiderman-backs-ellison-for-dnc-chair/" target="_blank">Schneiderman</a> (D-NY), American Federation of Teachers president Randi <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/308640-labor-leader-ellison-anti-semitism-accusations-are-a-smear-campaign" target="_blank">Weingarten</a>, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/YDAJC/photos/a.10152293414651879.1073741827.7115661878/10154082218661879" target="_blank">Jewish</a> Caucus of the Young Democrats, and Bend the Arc <a href="http://www.jewishaction.us/news/releases/bend-arc-reaffirms-support-rep-keith-ellison-democratic-national-committee-chair" target="_blank">Jewish</a> Action.<br />
<br />
Dershowitz, in his piece and on CNN, argued the Democratic presidential nominees of 1972, 1984 and 1988 -- namely then-Sen. George McGovern (D-SD), former vice president Walter Mondale and then-Gov. Michael Dukakis (D-MA), respectively -- lost because they were too "far to the left."<br />
<br />
As a previous entry <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/03/how-clintons-third-inevitability-is.html" target="_blank">explains</a>, McGovern's liberalism was not among the several biggest (or perhaps any) factors that contributed to his loss to incumbent Richard Nixon. One such factor, I now add, was the choice by McGovern to <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27008437/ns/politics/t/mcgovern-shouldve-fought-ridiculous-attacks/" target="_blank">ignore</a> attacks on him. Furthermore, if the policies espoused by Nixon had been popular, he would not have <a href="http://newspaper.twinfallspubliclibrary.org/files/Times-News_TF291/PDF/1972_07_23.pdf" target="_blank">refused</a> to <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f24UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oAEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6510,223899" target="_blank">debate</a> McGovern or, in 1968, to debate Vice Pres. Hubert Humphrey Jr.<br />
<br />
In the election of 1972, the Democrats gained two seats in the <a href="https://www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm" target="_blank">Senate</a> for a total of <b>57</b> of 100, lost 12 seats in the <a href="http://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/" target="_blank">House</a> but kept <b>243</b> of 435 there, and gained one governorship for a total of <b>31</b> of 50 <a href="https://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/directories/PartyAffiliation.pdf" target="_blank">governorships</a>. <br />
<br />
In the Democratic presidential race of '84, there was <a href="http://fair.org/uncategorized/left-to-take-blame-for-centrisms-political-disaster-once-again/" target="_blank">plenty</a> of space to the left of Mondale, who proposed to increase the already-excessive budget of the military and create no new social programs. Said space was occupied mostly by Rev. Jesse Jackson and somewhat by McGovern. Jackson garnered <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/07/us/jackson-seeking-party-role-without-cloud-of-threat.html" target="_blank">21%</a> of the popular vote and took his candidacy to the convention, which adopted a platform that conceded almost nothing to him. The bid by McGovern began under vast derision but earned great <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Erw9nxw-b4UC&pg=PA57" target="_blank">respect</a> and lasted through the first 15 contests, the earliest of which was that of IA, where he placed third of eight. McGovern withdrew after he placed third of five in Massachusetts.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvbQpWSD3grTzweLcF1qe343OGV1_0scZwPPjMjrQaVdb2wBR4_Scr8Ehpr-q7uQp_S1rkO0JWNG2Rtu3JQUieLRXmCbZebxJ_X6_dWd_eQA5Wir2mZ4BfLjHAUMU6Egol4zBQGCF1iI/s1600/MondaleReagan.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvbQpWSD3grTzweLcF1qe343OGV1_0scZwPPjMjrQaVdb2wBR4_Scr8Ehpr-q7uQp_S1rkO0JWNG2Rtu3JQUieLRXmCbZebxJ_X6_dWd_eQA5Wir2mZ4BfLjHAUMU6Egol4zBQGCF1iI/s1600/MondaleReagan.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mondale, Reagan<br />
(Ronald Reagan Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If Mondale had been too liberal to win the presidency, he would not have <a href="http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1984/07/23/page/1/article/mondale-poll-agree-its-a-race" target="_blank">led</a> incumbent Ronald Reagan in a poll in July of that year, Mondale would not have <a href="http://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/20/Mondale-challenges-Reagan-to-six-debates/8488459144000" target="_blank">challenged</a> Reagan to six debates, Reagan would not have agreed to only two, Mondale would not have <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/2479/instant-reaction-gore-edges-bush-debate.aspx" target="_blank">decisively</a> won the first, and Reagan's <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=u8vVW2rKq4kC&pg=PT678" target="_blank">campaign</a> along <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/14/us/gop-seizes-genderless-issue-of-tax-returns-to-attack-ferraro.html" target="_blank">with</a> corporate <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yegCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA11" target="_blank">media</a> would not have made <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/08/22/rep-ferraro-defends-finances/cd3c22d8-23fe-48ad-beff-f0b3184ad7e0/" target="_blank">false</a> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/geraldine-ferraro-paving-way-hamptons-648558" target="_blank">allegations</a> of tax-evasion by then-Rep. Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY), who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee. <br />
<br />
Reagan was a former actor, charismatic, telegenic and a winsome speaker. Media and voters often used those traits as excuses to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/23/us/reagan-appears-to-succeed-by-avoiding-specific-issues.html" target="_blank">overlook</a> problems with his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/19/us/polls-show-many-choose-reagan-even-if-they-disagree-with-him.html" target="_blank">policies</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/14/magazine/the-president-and-the-press.html" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/reagan_ronald/" target="_blank">overlook</a> his <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/train" target="_blank">usual</a> <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/prouder-stronger-better" target="_blank">avoidance</a> of <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/bear" target="_blank">public</a> <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/foreign-policy" target="_blank">discourse</a> <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/statue-of-liberty" target="_blank">about</a> <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/world-leaders" target="_blank">details</a> of <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/peace" target="_blank">them</a>. Reagan would have <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4520747/mario-cuomos-1984-two-cities-speech" target="_blank">lost</a> a campaign of substance. In fact, the victory he eked out in his final debate was apparently due to his delivery of a <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4512060/will-make-age-issue-campaign" target="_blank">joke</a>, which obviously had been rehearsed and was unrelated to policy. Furthermore, Reagan's <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/reaganomics" target="_blank">most</a> potent criticism of Mondale on policy was <a href="http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2010/sep/05/john-loughlin/loughlin-says-reagans-1981-tax-cuts-led-exponentia/" target="_blank">deceptive</a>: Reagan attacked Mondale's acknowledgement of the need to raise taxes but had recently raised them and would raise them again after the election.<br />
<br />
In the election of 1984, the Democrats gained two seats in the Senate for a total of <b>47</b>, lost 15 seats in the House but kept <b>254</b> there, and lost one governorship for a total of <b>34</b> governorships.<br />
<br />
In the Democratic presidential race of '88, there was <a href="http://fair.org/extra/election-myths-88/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=election-myths-88" target="_blank">enough</a> <a href="http://fair.org/extra/fear-amp-loathing-at-the-democratic-convention/" target="_blank">room</a> to Dukakis's left for Jackson to receive <a href="http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/frc2008021901/" target="_blank">29%</a> of the popular vote and for then-Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL), who championed the ideals of the New Deal and of the Great Society, to wage a serious bid. Jackson again took his candidacy to the convention. Simon quit after the first 40 contests but had placed second of six in IA and won in IL.<br />
<br />
If Dukakis had been too liberal to be elected president, a poll in July of that year would not have found him 17 points ahead of his Republican opponent -- namely Vice Pres. Bush, whose means to close that gap was not to honestly discuss policy. He declined Dukakis's challenge to a third debate. With <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-10-15/news/8802070550_1_kitty-dukakis-mrs-dukakis-death-penalty" target="_blank">help</a> <a href="http://www.boogiemanfilm.com/misconceptions-about-willie-horton-ad-politics-and-race/" target="_blank">from</a> the corporate media (which, almost by definition, have <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/what-liberal-media/" target="_blank">always</a> been conservative on the whole), Bush ran the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/fivethirtyeight-elections-backfire-destroy-presidential-candidate-41273511" target="_blank">vilest</a> <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/1988/0921/aflag-f.html" target="_blank">presidential</a> <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19880826&id=mo5TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cYYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4819,6853908" target="_blank">campaign</a> anyone alive at the time would witness before '16. What ultimately sunk Dukakis's candidacy was not the calumny toward him but was his choice not to respond to it until too late in the race.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aw8pJqTC58UXCIAl-9XG-YHNUu7SvZkzzweYS0mSqhAHYNWZ4gsv8j1yolxcTqY_sdxV07QlWfNOOrOkFXVyu3fHTZCsQ1o4zYDgqQVczbabglp3qO_i4FFFwUpkaOPW0KbevXgjNM4/s1600/Jackson.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aw8pJqTC58UXCIAl-9XG-YHNUu7SvZkzzweYS0mSqhAHYNWZ4gsv8j1yolxcTqY_sdxV07QlWfNOOrOkFXVyu3fHTZCsQ1o4zYDgqQVczbabglp3qO_i4FFFwUpkaOPW0KbevXgjNM4/s1600/Jackson.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson ("Dem-<br />
ocracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the election of 1988, the Democrats maintained <b>55</b> seats in the Senate, gained two seats in the House for a total of <b>260</b> there, and gained one governorship for a total of <b>28</b> governorships.<br />
<br />
According to conservative Democrats, their party was saved by its rightward shift, which was stimulated by the nomination of Clinton's husband in '92. That year, although the Democrats won a presidential election for the first time after 1976, their performance down-ballot was nothing special. They gained one seat in the Senate for a total of <b>57</b>, lost nine seats in the House for a total of <b>258</b> there, and gained two governorships for a total of <b>30</b>. Furthermore, that pickup in the Senate was undone shortly afterward because Clinton's husband nominated then-Sen. Lloyd Bentsen Jr. (D-TX) for secretary of the Treasury, Bentsen was confirmed, and the seat he thus vacated was won by a Republican.<br />
<br />
The rightward shift by Democrats led them to a crash in the election of 1994. They <b>lost 54</b> seats in the House and thus became the <b>minority there for the first time since 40 years prior</b>. In the episode that consisted of 1) the election of '94 and 2) two defections that soon followed, the Democrats <b>lost 10</b> seats in the Senate and were thus the <b>minority there for the first time since eight years prior</b>. The Democrats in each chamber, except for less than two years in the Senate, remained the minority until the results of the election of 2006 took effect. The Democrats <b>lost 10</b> governorships in '94 and thus held a <b>minority of governorships for the first time since 25 years prior</b>.<br />
<br />
After eight years of the presidency of Obama -- who in 2012 acknowledged his policies would have made him a <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/finance/272957-obama-says-his-economic-policies-so-mainstream-hed-be-seen-as-moderate-republican-in-1980s" target="_blank">Republican</a> in the 1980s and who is a <a href="https://socialistworker.org/2008/01/25/racism-politics" target="_blank">proud</a> <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-23-ronald-reagan-president-obama_n.htm" target="_blank">admirer</a> of Reagan -- and after the election in which Secy. Clinton was the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party, it now has <b>48</b> seats in the Senate, <b>194</b> seats in the House, and <b>16</b> governorships -- the <a href="https://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/directories/GovernorsList.pdf" target="_blank">fewest</a> governorships <i>since 1922</i>. So which philosophy is ruinous for the party? The following was told to <i>The NY Times</i> in Jan. '16.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I can tell you, as someone who ran the Democratic Governors
Association, that candidates... would face serious problems [if Sanders
were at the] top of the ticket." -Then-Gov. Jack Markell (D-DE)</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"</span>Here in the heartland, we like for our politicians to be in the mainstream. [Sanders] is not... [With] him at the top of the ticket, [Democrats] would [suffer] a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/us/politics/alarmed-hillary-clinton-supporters-begin-focusing-on-bernie-sanders-socialist-edge.html" target="_blank">meltdown</a> all the way down the ballot."<br />Then-Gov. Jeremiah "Jay" Nixon (D-MO)</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"</span>To have [a presidential nominee] who is identified more as a socialist... than as a Democrat would make [the election] impossible for Democrats in a state like Missouri... [and] very difficult for Democrats in states like O<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">hio</span>, P<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ennsylvania</span> and Florida.”</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgRElGin7roZCkUY8EAC9LQMqJR2hmS7-V3TqwNaSiydk07Uf6EjvU9wG_M7HcYMk6pi60moL7RS5WeVlh_CS1rbi_xVSWDmSccSlplFVll5FaC7rgLbfBxU7A0qFYpb9qsv53CqlG3A/s1600/Ferraro.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgRElGin7roZCkUY8EAC9LQMqJR2hmS7-V3TqwNaSiydk07Uf6EjvU9wG_M7HcYMk6pi60moL7RS5WeVlh_CS1rbi_xVSWDmSccSlplFVll5FaC7rgLbfBxU7A0qFYpb9qsv53CqlG3A/s1600/Ferraro.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ferraro<br />
(Laura Patterson / LOC)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In '15, McCaskill 1) said young pro-Sanders women fail to "<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/terrorism-at-the-center-of-gop-debate-587028035953" target="_blank">understand</a> what having a woman as president would mean," 2) said Sanders's proposals of Medicare-for-All and expanded Social Security are "<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/mccaskill--bernie-is-too-liberal-to-win-471130691652" target="_blank">extreme</a>," and 3) <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/legislation/issue/trade" target="_blank">falsely</a> <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/the-deficit" target="_blank">claimed</a> he opposes trade and does not care about the national debt. She now has the <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/326648-red-state-dem-to-sanders-backers-i-need-you-i-want-you" target="_blank">gall</a> to ask Sanders's backers for help if she is challenged from her left in a primary as she seeks re-election in 2018. So let us note the extreme incorrectness of McCaskill's argument about electability.<br />
<ul>
<li>In FL, where Obama prevailed twice: The final poll to test Sanders vs. Trump found Sanders did <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_FL_607161.pdf" target="_blank">better</a> against him than Clinton did. On Election Day, she and the Democratic senatorial nominee lost. </li>
<li>In OH, where Obama prevailed twice: The final poll to test Sanders vs. Trump found Sanders did <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/313450292/CBS-News-2016-Battleground-Tracker-Ohio-May-22" target="_blank">better</a> against him than Clinton did. On Election Day, she and the Democratic senatorial nominee lost.</li>
<li>In PA: Clinton was the first Democratic presidential nominee to lose after '88. In '16, the Democratic senatorial nominee lost. How Sanders would have performed there is addressed above.</li>
<li>In MO: The last poll to test Sanders vs. Trump found the socialist <a href="http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/03/403071e8-60bd-5830-ad9e-0364a168dc67/56e30c95787a8.pdf.pdf#page=7" target="_blank">ahead</a> of Trump but Clinton behind him. On Election Day, the <a href="http://enr.sos.mo.gov/" target="_blank">entire</a> Democratic statewide slate -- which spanned seven races -- was vanquished as Clinton received a lower share of the Missourian vote than any other Democratic presidential nominee did after '72. Also last year, the Democrats lost in six of eight congressional districts by 52, 40, 40, 40, 40 and 21 points, and failed to attain even three-tenths in either house of the state legislature.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Clinton's bid for the nomination of '16 was endorsed by Perez, who supported the proposal for the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/03/environmentalists-tpp-trade-pact_n_7001184.html" target="_blank">Trans</a>-<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/on-tpp-congresss-cat-burg_b_7639572.html" target="_blank">Pacific</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/07/05/despite-what-media-says-tpp-isnt-about-free-trade-its-about-helping-corporations/" target="_blank">Partnership</a> and wrote these e-mails to the chairperson of her campaign.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">[T]</span>he current storyline [says Clinton] does not connect well with young voters... Nevada is far more demographically representative of America [than IA and NH are]... When we do well [in NV], the narrative will change from 'Bernie kicks ass among young voters' to 'Bernie does well only among young <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/4429" target="_blank">white</a> liberals.'" -5 Feb. 2016 </span><br />
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I... look forward to my appearance on Telemundo tomorrow... I can
trumpet her strong support among Latinos and put a <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/26666" target="_blank">fork</a> once and for all
in the false narrative about Bernie and Latinos." -2 March 2016</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3QT_Mt-7j-jWBEtS2R0C7O1IeKWmxmikuaYQvDKVUNzhx2Qa6Vje-11whFU4zSulef4DsPKMuakpLVXq7XrHm_e4mYEIvwMA7poowWtVwublCQHTmjTq4WY-zGihWR_4kT8DYOpmdr5U/s1600/SimonFranken.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3QT_Mt-7j-jWBEtS2R0C7O1IeKWmxmikuaYQvDKVUNzhx2Qa6Vje-11whFU4zSulef4DsPKMuakpLVXq7XrHm_e4mYEIvwMA7poowWtVwublCQHTmjTq4WY-zGihWR_4kT8DYOpmdr5U/s1600/SimonFranken.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon in 1991 with "Al"<br />
Franken, who had portrayed<br />
him on "Saturday Night Live."<br />
(Jamie Howren / LOC)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I searched in vain for that appearance. We are nonetheless able to ascertain what Perez probably meant. For months, Clinton's campaign and its allies in media had referred to the nonwhite vote as her <strike>property</strike> "firewall." It was supposed to halt Sanders's candidacy when caucuses were held in NV, whose large population of Latinos is why NV is the third state on the road to the nomination. However, between the quoted pair of e-mails,<br />
<ul>
<li>Sanders <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/new-hampshire/exit/" target="_blank">prevailed</a> among nonwhites in NH.</li>
<li>Clinton's campaign, nervous about Sanders's increased chance to win in NV, <a href="http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/sanders-clinton-neck-and-neck-in-nevada/" target="_blank">falsely</a> described its electorate as short on racial diversity.</li>
<li>Sanders <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/nevada/exit/" target="_blank">carried</a> the Latino vote there.</li>
</ul>
Rather than admit a setback, Clinton and her gang <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-wins-nevada-latinos-study-shows/" target="_blank">falsely</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/upshot/why-clinton-not-sanders-probably-won-the-hispanic-vote-in-nevada.html" target="_blank">disputed</a> the latter development. Nick Merrill, as a press secretary of Clinton's campaign, went so far as to publicly call the survey of Latinos by the entrance poll "utter <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/clinton-bernie-sanders-latinos-219583" target="_blank">bullsh**</a>."<br />
<br />
Thus, Perez likely meant he would echo said disputation. But on 15 March 2016, Sanders <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/illinois/exit/" target="_blank">carried</a> the Latino vote in IL. Similar disputations came in reaction to the landslides Sanders achieved on 26 March 2016 in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.<br />
<ul>
<li>Although WA is in the <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/chart/RHI825215/00" target="_blank">least</a> white half of states, Nia Malika-Henderson of CNN alleged WA is "very <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1603/26/se.01.html" target="_blank">white</a>."</li>
<li>Although AK is the <b>14th least white</b> state, Priscilla Alvarez of <i>The Atlantic</i> alleged AK is "largely <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/liveblogs/2016/03/democratic-caucus-washington-alaska-hawaii/475551/3458/" target="_blank">white</a>."</li>
<li>Maeve Reston of CNN wrote WA <i>and</i> AK are "predominantly <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/26/politics/election-2016-alaska-hawaii-washington-caucuses-highlights/index.html" target="_blank">white</a>." But 11 weeks earlier, her network reported "the country's three most <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/12/us/most-diverse-place-in-america/" target="_blank">diverse</a> census tracts are all in Anchorage," which is the most populous Alaskan city.</li>
<li><i>The Wash. Post</i> branded WA, AK and HI as "<a href="http://www.snopes.com/alaska-hawaii-washington-voters/" target="_blank">Whiter</a>." But whiter than what? HI is <b>22.9% white</b> and is <b>the least white</b> state in the Union.</li>
<li>Ronald Brownstein of CNN, Dan Carney of <i>USA Today</i> and Michael Tomasky of <i>The Daily Beast</i> <a href="https://twitter.com/RonBrownstein/status/713797182831378432" target="_blank">described</a> WA, AK and HI as "<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/03/28/whites-blacks-latinos-presidential-election-donald-trump-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-column/81985562/" target="_blank">mostly</a> <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/29/hillary-clinton-s-hack-supporters-have-skin-in-the-game-bernie-sanders-s-dreamers-not-so-much.html" target="_blank">white</a>." Although WA and AK do have a white majority, merely four states do not.</li>
<li>Amy Chozick of <i>The NY Times</i> wrote WA and AK are "largely <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/us/politics/election-results.html" target="_blank">white</a>."</li>
<li>Chris Moody of CNN and Julie Kliegman of <i>The Week</i> described AK, WA and HI as "<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/26/politics/primary-election-2016-takeaways/" target="_blank">largely</a> <a href="http://theweek.com/10things/603624/10-things-need-know-today-march-27-2016" target="_blank">white</a>."</li>
</ul>
When we ignore (or, at most, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HawaiiSoWhite" target="_blank">make</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/alaskasowhite" target="_blank">fun</a> of) the propaganda and examine the data, we see the falsehood of the narrative that says the whiter a state was, the better Sanders performed there. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7J7sCqNrFcucX-fFj3g9vi1GCyHCoVJKvsnNrOu4npT8BJ7yeWWA26ZmZJy651KGIBc8ll0T0I7mD_KoV_C796S74cMRVJCwgMKEBd_A35xVUGkNOVDN7fj877hniPOONSrPv-JnA74g/s1600/White.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7J7sCqNrFcucX-fFj3g9vi1GCyHCoVJKvsnNrOu4npT8BJ7yeWWA26ZmZJy651KGIBc8ll0T0I7mD_KoV_C796S74cMRVJCwgMKEBd_A35xVUGkNOVDN7fj877hniPOONSrPv-JnA74g/s400/White.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Throughout the stretch of primaries and caucuses, exit/entrance polls were conducted in 27 states: 20 of the 28 Clinton won and seven of the 22 Sanders won. An analysis of such polls from 25 states -- 20 Clinton won and five Sanders won -- concluded Sanders, in the aggregate of those 25 states, was the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/huge-split-between-older-younger-blacks-democratic-primary-n580996" target="_blank">victor</a> among blacks under age 30. An analysis of exit/entrance polls from <i>both</i> major parties' contests in 21 states -- 17 Clinton won and four Sanders won -- concluded Sanders, in the aggregate of those 21 states, garnered far more votes among people under age 30 than did Clinton and Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/20/more-young-people-voted-for-bernie-sanders-than-trump-and-clinton-combined-by-a-lot/" target="_blank">combined</a>. Hence, contrary to the wishful prediction by Perez, Sanders can be accurately said to have kicked ass among youths overall.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1qrST1mJmqg5zANGRMaWYT05OTA7ose4KTs_bCOhcNip9Jm_aWNB4aj7gY48ORAbaTLQNeNJYmTfoWaQwL2XpZFkZonFuEqqEGvKLu-U5fQXnJi0EL7OsE9Rv2TsOowhlgsBcx0z578/s1600/Youth.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1qrST1mJmqg5zANGRMaWYT05OTA7ose4KTs_bCOhcNip9Jm_aWNB4aj7gY48ORAbaTLQNeNJYmTfoWaQwL2XpZFkZonFuEqqEGvKLu-U5fQXnJi0EL7OsE9Rv2TsOowhlgsBcx0z578/s1600/Youth.png" /></a></div>
<br />
The public pro-Clinton pitch by Perez was to propose pursuit of only <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-perez-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-2016-4" target="_blank">small</a> dreams, imply "revolution" means the opposite of what it does mean, and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20160413080437/https://berniesanders.com/issues/" target="_blank">falsely</a> imply Sanders's campaign addressed merely one issue.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I appreciate the idealistic vision Sen. Sanders articulates. But we are a nation of dreamers and doers. The folks to whom I talk who want to adjust their status want results, not revolutions... <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Secy. </span>Clinton speaks to all the issues. We are not a single-issue nation."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Perez to <i>Business Insider</i>, 14 April 2016</span></blockquote>
On Feb. 8, Perez acknowledged "the process was <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/02/09/tom-perez-apologizes-for-telling-the-truth-showing-why-democrats-flaws-urgently-need-attention/" target="_blank">rigged</a>" by the DNC against Sanders in '16. But Perez retracted that remark the next day. With no <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrJh2mEvZfI" target="_blank">discernible</a> plan to change the course of the DNC, he was elected by it on Feb. 25. Afterward, <a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/post-ad-campaign-1/2870448?snl=1" target="_blank">reminiscent</a> of a <a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/post-ad-campaign-2/2870449?snl=1" target="_blank">series</a> of <a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/mack-north-iii/n11159?snl=1" target="_blank">sketches</a> on <i>Saturday Night Live,</i> <a href="http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/02/26/alan-dershowitz-new-dnc-chair-tom-perez-keith-ellison" target="_blank">Dershowitz</a> <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/02/26/alan-dershowitz-following-defeat-of-dnc-chair-hopeful-keith-ellison-i-will-remain-in-democratic-party-but-will-fight-for-it-to-move-away-from-anti-israel-far-left-trends/" target="_blank">continued</a> to <a href="https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9989/ellison-was-defeated-by-his-own-actions-not-by" target="_blank">attack</a> Ellison.<br />
<br />
Schumer and Pelosi <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/02/24/517037339/democrats-pick-ex-kentucky-governor-to-respond-to-trump-speech-to-congress" target="_blank">chose</a> ex-gov. Steven Beshear ("Proud Republican <a href="http://observer.com/2017/03/democratic-party-future-barack-obama-donald-trump/" target="_blank">and</a> Democrat" of KY) -- an <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/story/watchdog-earth/2014/11/26/gov-steve-beshear-opposes-epas-new-ozone-standards/19538189/" target="_blank">anti</a>-environmentalist whose argument <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2014/07/01/gays-right-marry-kentucky-judge-rules/11900313/" target="_blank">against</a> marriage equality was laughed out of court -- to deliver the response on behalf of the Democratic Party to Trump's address to Congress on Feb. 28.<br />
<br />
<br />
Let us conclude with the words of a Texan journalist. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I spent much of the first three months of this year on the unemployment line... [W]hat I understand about this political year in a way I would not have otherwise appreciated as much<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> and as deeply</span></span> as I do is: people are <b>genuinely angry</b>. <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">They are, a</span>bout politics,<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><b>cynical</b> and <b>disgusted</b> to an extent that is <b>frightening</b> and<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> is quite</span></span> possibly <b>dangerous</b>... [U]nless we see a great change, we will see<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> more <b>candidates created by television who have no base or allegiance</b>...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[I]n this country, the <b>rich</b> became much <b>richer</b>, the <b>poor</b> became <b>poorer</b>, and the <b>middle class shrank</b>. If this were a banana republic, we would all say, 'That is a recipe for <b>revolution</b>.'
...[P]eople say, 'I'm not interested in politics.' ...[T]hat is like
saying, 'I'm not interested in what happens to my life or to my
children... [or] with my money.' </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"...We are <b>perilously close to <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">pissi</span>ng away the most magnificent political legacy</b> any people has ever receive<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">d.</span> The ideas that comprise the legacy we have as Americans still resonate around the world. <b>People die</b> for them today... And in this country, the <b>majority of people don't vote. The dream is dying of inanition and corruption...</b></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<b>The problem is money.</b>
The oldest saying in politics is, 'You got to dance with them what
brung you.' ...If you go into politics, you will dance with... the
people who will have paid to put you into office... [T]he bulk of...
the money that puts people into office comes from organized <b>corporate
special interests</b>. The result is: we have government of, by and for the
<b>corporate special interests</b>... This is a system of <b>legalized bribery</b> and <b>is rotting this country... Unless and until we change how campaigns are financed..., nothing else we try will make any difference...</b></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I kn<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">e</span>w [of Bill Clinton,] ...particularly of his membership in the <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4665229/republic-threatened-concentration-wealth" target="_blank">Democratic</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/04/30/clintonism_screwed_the_democrats_how_bill_hillary_and_the_democratic_leadership_council_gutted_progressivism/" target="_blank">Leadership</a> <a href="http://prospect.org/article/democrats-da-vinci-code" target="_blank">Council</a>: an organization of politicians designed to recapture the White House for the Democrats by becoming more like Republicans, which I always thought was a really bad idea."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">-The late<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>Molly Ivins, 22 September 1992</span></blockquote>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-8121952661128968432016-12-31T08:22:00.001-05:002023-07-30T12:24:44.394-04:00The Presidential Aspirants present ALICE IN WONDERLANDAs we conclude the year of the most surreal election ever, here is how I would cast -- and otherwise employ -- its candidates in a production of <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>, which is based on the books <i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> and <i>Through the Looking Glass</i> by Lewis Carroll.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A</span>lice................Jill Stein</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alice's <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">S</span></span>ister....Carly Fiorina<br />White Rabbit..........Rand Paul<br />Dodo............Martin O'Malley<br />Bill the Lizard...George Pataki<br />Caterpillar........Gary Johnson<br />Cheshire Cat.....Bernie Sanders<br />Mad Hatter.............Ted Cruz<br />March Hare........Rick Santorum<br />Dormouse.............Ben Carson<br />Queen of Hearts.....HDR Clinton<br />King of Hearts........Tim Kaine<br />Knave of Hearts...Evan McMullin<br />Gryphon................Jim Webb<br />Mock Turtle......Lincoln Chafee<br />Tweedledee.............Jeb Bush<br />Tweedledum..........Marco Rubio<br />Walrus...........Chris Christie<br />Carpenter..........Scott Walker<br />Humpty Dumpty......Donald Trump</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">P</span>ro<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">ducer: La<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">wrence Lessig</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Director: L<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">indsey Graham</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Hair stylist: Rick <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4640220/molly-ivins-goodhair-perry" target="_blank">Perry</a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Line prompter: Mike Penc<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">e</span> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;">Videographer: Bobby <a href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a35951/bobby-jindal-president-video/" target="_blank">Jinda<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">l</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;">Usher: Mike Huckabee<br />Refreshment sales: John <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-john-kasich-eating-2016-4" target="_blank">Kasich</a><br />Understudy: Jim Gilmore</span></div>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-6917193602946959842016-11-21T19:55:00.001-05:002023-07-30T12:27:17.441-04:00Down-Ballot, Green Party Grows in Reach and in Votes<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Contrary to the</span></span> notion according to which the <a href="http://www.gp.org/" target="_blank">Green</a> Party <span style="font-family: inherit;">robustly campaigns only for presiden<span style="font-family: inherit;">t</span>, </span>I assembled <span style="font-family: inherit;">this</span> incomplete l<span style="font-family: inherit;">ist of</span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">contenders</span> who<span style="font-family: inherit;"> --</span> in elections that ended on Nov<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span> 8<span style="font-family: inherit;"> --</span> drew at least 5% of the vote. (See </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/12/victories-and-good-showings-for-greens.html" target="_blank">similar</a> <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2014/11/on-election-day-greens-continued-to.html" target="_blank">lists</a> from <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2014/11/on-local-level-greens-score-victories.html" target="_blank">recent</a> <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2013/11/socialist-wins-recount-greens-prove.html" target="_blank">years</a>.) </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Unless otherwise indicated, these <span style="font-family: inherit;">a</span>re nominees of solely the <span style="font-family: inherit;">said</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">p</span>arty. Because full tabulation of ballots often takes weeks or months, <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">some</span> </span>percentages below m<span style="font-family: inherit;">ay</span> not be final.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe"><u><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span>or Congress</b></u></span></span><br />
Mark Salazar: <b>31%</b> in AZ8<br />
Hal Ridley Jr.: <b>11%</b> in TX36<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1eD0MCmKkCK3GjcUe0XB94YxpeyoQRHhKhwSzsWILvzBjdS6Ugp1vr3KDdPFBvd-IzG-Q6bSGY5ZA3H7_MbTzvEMrbWE-ybikDyQg_oF_xwutoQAmuNOwDZCGYlio80IIAYtKBMeTHU/s1600/BallotBox.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1eD0MCmKkCK3GjcUe0XB94YxpeyoQRHhKhwSzsWILvzBjdS6Ugp1vr3KDdPFBvd-IzG-Q6bSGY5ZA3H7_MbTzvEMrbWE-ybikDyQg_oF_xwutoQAmuNOwDZCGYlio80IIAYtKBMeTHU/s1600/BallotBox.png" /></a></div>
Gary Stuard: <b>10%</b> in TX32<br />
Barry Hermanson*: <b>7%</b> in CA12<br />
Paula Bradshaw: <b>6%</b> in IL12<br />
Ray Parrish: <b>6%</b> in AZ1<br />
Gary Swing: <b>5%</b> for Senate from AZ<br />
Mark Lawson: <b>5%</b> in TX19<br />
Paul Pipkin: <b>5%</b> in TX20<br />
Robert Sherman: <b>5%</b> in IL5<br />
Matthew Funiciello: <b>5%</b> in NY21<br />
Natale Stracuzzi: <b>5%</b> in DC<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe"><u><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span>or State Office</b></u><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe">- SD: Senate District, HD<span style="font-family: inherit;">:</span> House Dist.<span style="font-family: inherit;">, AD<span style="font-family: inherit;">:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Assembly Dist<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
Nick Nikhilananda: <b>30%</b> for HD13 in HI<br />
Gabe Barnett^: <b>26%</b> for HD60A in MN<br />
Scott West: <b>25%</b> for SD20 in SC<br />
Valorie Engholm: <b>23%</b> for HD19 in MO<br />
Charlene DiCalogero: <b>20%</b> for HD12 in MA<br />
Edward Weissler: <b>19%</b> for SD3 in MO<br />
Angel Torres: <b>19%</b> for SD27 in AZ<br />
Ellen Skiljan: <b>19%</b> for HD109 in MO<br />
Joseph Rowe#: <b>19%</b> for HD44 in OR <br />
David McCorquodale: <b>18%</b> for HD21 in DE<br />
Hugo Noyola Jr.: <b>17%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">Board</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span><span style="font-size: small;">Education</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>TX<br />
Seth Baker: <b>17%</b> for SD27 in ME<br />
Teressa Ezell: <b>15%</b> for HD80 in MO<br />
Robin Barkenhagen: <b>15%</b> for AD114 in NY<br />
Kealoha Pisciotta: <b>15%</b> for HD3 in HI<br />
James Ofsink#: <b>14%</b> for SD21 in OR<br />
Matthew Went: <b>14%</b> for HD84 in CT<br />
Angela Capinera: <b>14%</b> for HD122 in CT<br />
Katija Gruene: <b>13%</b> for HD51 in TX<br />
Gabriel Lytle: <b>13%</b> for HD60 in PA<br />
Stephen Ruzbacki: <b>12%</b> for SD45 in NY<br />
Edward Cizek III: <b>12%</b> for HD3 in AZ †<br />
Linda Macias: <b>12%</b> for HD18 in AZ ‡<br />
Cara Trujillo: <b>12%</b> for HD26 in AZ ‡<br />
Hector Lopez: <b>12%</b> for HD125 in CT<br />
Fergus McLean#: <b>10%</b> for HD7 in OR<br />
Barbara Daniels~: <b>8%</b> for HD44 in WV<br />
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</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqls3rJEjT6qHu37Ig4XRESkj0KeWsNKX1XPpVgPaC5CjvThBzFe8jugRg3mxgWrQW35uXy96f1AYgn9kZ1K1CSMJ4Qopxa9C62as7tDXnq-Y0-Y0olMkdFx8nL-mkFH3qqWerHKz5YU/s1600/Torres.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqls3rJEjT6qHu37Ig4XRESkj0KeWsNKX1XPpVgPaC5CjvThBzFe8jugRg3mxgWrQW35uXy96f1AYgn9kZ1K1CSMJ4Qopxa9C62as7tDXnq-Y0-Y0olMkdFx8nL-mkFH3qqWerHKz5YU/s1600/Torres.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torres<br />
(Torres campaign)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Ronna Stuller: <b>8%</b> for HD39 in CT<br />
Constance Newton: <b>7%</b> for HD18 in OH<br />
Haryaksha Knauer: <b>7%</b> for HD1 in AZ ‡<br />
Leo Biasiucci: <b>7%</b> for HD5 in AZ ‡<br />
Charlotte Pritt~: <b>6%</b> for governor of WV<br />
Scott Pusich: <b>6%</b> for SD26 in TX<br />
Julia Willebrand: <b>6%</b> for SD31 in NY<br />
Joseph McElligott: <b>6%</b> for HD127 in TX<br />
John La Pietra: <b>6%</b> for HD63 in MI<br />
Jenice Dove: <b>6%</b> for HD34 in CO<br />
John Sweeney: <b>5%</b> for HD117 in PA<br />
Michael Anderson: <b>5%</b> for HD70 in MI<br />
Alexander Polikoff: <b>5%</b> for HD23 in OR<br />
<br />
<u><b>For Local Office</b></u><br />
Thomas Mair <b>elected</b> to Bd. of Commissioners of Grand Traverse County, MI<br />
Wayne Vermilya: <b>34%</b> for Bd. of Comrs. of Presque Isle County, MI<br />
Charles Howe: <b>31%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">Bd.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>Jackson County, IL<br />
Richard Whitney: <b>31%</b> for Bd. of Jackson County, IL <br />
Cynthia Tuell: <b>30%</b> for attorney of Pima County, AZ <br />
Joshua Reilly: <b>27%</b> for Bd. of Supervisors of Pima County<br />
Stacey Lindgren: <b>22%</b> for executive of Jackson County, MO<br />
Celeste Bondie: <b>22%</b> for Bd. of Comrs. of Emmet County, MI <br />
Michael Cease: <b>22%</b> for recorder of Pima County <br />
Martin Bastidas: <b>21%</b> for Bd. of <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="kbe"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Supvrs.</span></span></span></span></span> of Pima County<br />
Santiago Santos: <b>19%</b> for comr. of Webb County, TX<br />
William Barr: <b>16%</b> for Criminal District Court of Dallas County, TX<br />
Arturo Limon II: <b>15%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">sheriff</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>Webb County<br />
Dagmar Noll": <b>15%</b> for registrar of voters of Windham, CT<br />
Georgos Spiliadis: <b>14%</b> for Council of Baltimore, MD<br />
Joshua Harris: <b>13%</b> for mayor of Baltimore <br />
Ian Schlakman: <b>13%</b> for Council of Baltimore<br />
Veda Bella: <b>12%</b> for Bd. of Comrs. of Genesee County, MI<br />
Richard White Jr.: <b>8%</b> for Council of Baltimore<br />
Alexander Durnan: <b>8%</b> for Council of New Castle County, DE<br />
Gertrude Lee Aikin: <b>7%</b> for Council of DC<br />
Ashley Gordon: <b>7%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for comr. of </span><span style="font-size: small;">Travis County, TX</span><br />
Randall Auxier: <b>7%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">Bd.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>Jackson County, IL<br />
Timothy Dehne: <b>7%</b> for Bd. of Comrs. of Benton County, OR<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRF-Rba5UI0Otrws1_iOZQxj321ynCbj6r5HYMti0OpJGe-ZYQGqedNP5iaytk1TaRS4T1JcwiiIC_6MDxP_wgxcS8Cji8HgnJiD1WQA6LX8LSjhcbIIAGL6fUYgtpxWRPT41fEfHbkDM/s1600/Harris.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRF-Rba5UI0Otrws1_iOZQxj321ynCbj6r5HYMti0OpJGe-ZYQGqedNP5iaytk1TaRS4T1JcwiiIC_6MDxP_wgxcS8Cji8HgnJiD1WQA6LX8LSjhcbIIAGL6fUYgtpxWRPT41fEfHbkDM/s1600/Harris.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harris<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Eumir Abela: <b>7%</b> for Bd. of Ed. of Stamford, CT §<br />
Robert Fitrakis: <b>6%</b> for prosecutor of Franklin County, OH<br />
Gary Frazier Jr.: <b>6%</b> for Council of Camden, NJ<br />
Ona Hendricks: <b>5%</b> for comr. of Dallas County<br />
Connor Meek: <b>5%</b> for pres. of the Council of Baltimore<br />
Jerome Bauer: <b>5%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">treasurer</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>St. Louis, MO<br />
<br />
<u><b>Members/Endorsees of the Green Party in Nonpartisan Races</b></u><br />
Bruce Delgado <b>re-elected</b> mayor of Marina, CA<br />
Mayor Paul Pitino <b>re-elected</b> to Council of Arcata, CA<br />
Anna Trevorrow <b>re-elected</b> to Bd. of Ed. of Portland, ME<br />
Korie Blyvies <b>re-elected</b> clerk of Newberg Township, MI<br />
Jane Jarlsberg <b>elected</b> to Council of Point Arena, CA<br />
Jordan Mack: <b>32%</b> for Council of Yucaipa, CA<br />
Brian Ring: <b>32%</b> for Council of Los Banos, CA<br />
Audrey Clement: <b>27%</b> for Bd. of Arlington County, VA<br />
Wayne Pauluk: <b>25%</b> for Bd. of Hennepin County, MN<br />
Alfonso Almendariz: <b>21%</b> for Council of Vacaville, CA †<br />
Douglas Mann: <b>19%</b> for Bd. of Ed. of Minneapolis, MN<br />
Scott Menzies: <b>19%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">Council</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>Fort Bragg, CA<br />
Susan Sonne: <b>18%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">Council</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>Buena Park, CA<br />
Jack Wagner: <b>17%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">Council</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>Sonoma, CA ‡<br />
Howard Wu: <b>16%</b> for Council of Bishop, CA §<br />
Christine Malan*: <b>14%</b> for Bd. of Supvrs. of Napa County, CA<br />
Bridget Duffy: <b>14%</b><span style="font-size: small;"> for </span><span style="font-size: small;">Council</span><span style="font-size: small;"> of </span>Pacifica, CA ‡<br />
Phillip Murphy*: <b>13%</b> for Bd. of Supvrs. of Lake County, CA<br />
Valerie Rose-Campbell: <b>12%</b> for Council of Arcata ∆<br />
Albert Janssen: <b>11%</b> for Council of Cottage Grove, MN □<br />
Francisco Herrera: <b>10%</b> for Bd. of Supvrs. of San Francisco, CA<br />
Jane Rands: <b>10%</b> for Council of Fullerton, CA ◊<br />
Roy Kaylor*: <b>7%</b> for Bd. of Supvrs. of Santa Cruz County, CA<br />
Rex Gressett: <b>5%</b> for Council of Fort Bragg<br />
<br />
*<span style="font-size: small;">candidate in a nonpartisan primary on June 7</span> | ^<span style="font-size: small;">independent endorsed by the Green Party</span><br />
#<span style="font-size: small;">also nominated by the Progressive Party of OR</span> | "<span style="font-size: small;">also nominated by the Bottom Line Party</span><br />
~<span style="font-size: small;">The Green Party of WV is the Mountain Party.</span> | †<span style="font-size: small;">three-way race for two seats</span><br />
‡<span style="font-size: small;">four-way, two seats</span> | §<span style="font-size: small;">four-way, three seats</span> | ∆<span style="font-size: small;">five-way, three seats</span> <br />
□<span style="font-size: small;">six-way, two seats</span> | ◊<span style="font-size: small;">twelve-way, three seats</span>Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-12791733878684007282016-11-04T17:07:00.003-04:002023-07-30T12:27:52.275-04:00Jill Stein for President<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
In 2012, Jill Stein MD defeated comedian Roseanne Barr for the presidential nomination of the Green Party and scored the <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2014/10/prepared-for-jill.html" target="_blank">highest</a>
percentage of the popular vote any woman had ever amassed in a general election for chief executive of this land. This year, Stein achieved the same nomination while her choice of a running mate -- Ajamu Baraka, who is a longtime activist for human rights -- was nominated for vice president. <br />
<br />
Stein and Baraka comprise the <a href="https://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2016" target="_blank">only</a> left-of-center ticket on the ballot in states whose combined sum of Electoral votes is a majority. That duo is therefore the target of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neLugGw1xGc" target="_blank">attacks</a> from the <a href="https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/769214682842275840" target="_blank">establishment</a>. But sadly, the <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/07/21/24371858/the-%20%20green-party-responds-to-dan-savage-says-hes-dead-wrong" target="_blank">ghastliest</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIxjkn-fNbQ" target="_blank">hostility</a> toward the Green standard-bearers and their supporters is from media that had garnered the trust of many liberals.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoVlWHHRX7biEC81cRJk2dxU09qo0LrPP2-bInqiC7fFfRLoJhhizkBDK9gK0s2BxuGQ9D4g0CI-vdZTIWBZVbkrIzuUQqbyRto0QX0ZLn0WXAdyYUGKLC8fICzq-Huk-cPWmuePzMOI/s1600/SteinBaraka.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoVlWHHRX7biEC81cRJk2dxU09qo0LrPP2-bInqiC7fFfRLoJhhizkBDK9gK0s2BxuGQ9D4g0CI-vdZTIWBZVbkrIzuUQqbyRto0QX0ZLn0WXAdyYUGKLC8fICzq-Huk-cPWmuePzMOI/s1600/SteinBaraka.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stein, Baraka (Green Party)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For instance, here
are two responses to a poll in which Stein/Baraka drew <a href="https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2016/09/15/clinton-and-trump-locked-in-tight-race-new-poll-shows/" target="_blank">10%</a> among voters under 30 years old.<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I have never <a href="http://observer.com/2016/09/scold-scare-insult-intimidate-clintons-millennial-outreach-flops/" target="_blank">hated</a> millennials more."<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clara Jeffery, editor-in-chief of<i> </i></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Mother<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>Jones</i>, 15 September</span><br />
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<a href="https://twitter.com/eisingerj/status/781624270703198209" target="_blank">Raise</a> the voting age to 30."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Jesse Eisinger <span style="font-size: small;">of <i>ProPublica</i>, 29 Sept.</span></span></blockquote>
Another example is from August 8, when a woman named Cora called into <i>The Thom Hartmann Program</i>. <br />
<br />
<u>Cora</u>: "[A]ll some of us have left is our voice. So, some of us will vote for Jill Stein because we've protested in the streets, we've written to and called Congress, and they have not paid attention. I can tell you--"<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "So you'll vote for Jill Stein even though her top five donors are from corporations Aon, Xoom Global Money Transfer, IBM, Thoughtworks and UPS?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
By press time, Stein's campaign had received no more than <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contrib.php?id=N00033776&cycle=2016&type=f&src=c" target="_blank">$4,300</a> from any of those companies. To put that into perspective, note Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign has accepted <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contributors?id=N00000019&cycle=2016&type=f&src=c" target="_blank">$503K</a> from J.P. Morgan Chase, $503K from Time Warner, $430K from Morgan Stanley, $421K from Wells Fargo, and $418K from Bank of America. Thoughtworks <i>designs software</i> and Aon primarily manages risk. Thus, Hartmann's question resembled <a href="http://www.theonion.com/article/bernie-sanders-clearly-pocket-high-rolling-teacher-50990" target="_blank">satire</a>.<br />
<br />
For a fuller picture, examine the record of donations from whole industries. Clinton's campaign, in addition to the pro-Clinton super-PACs and the joint fundraising committee known as the Hillary Victory Fund (through which Clinton's campaign receives <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/clinton-fundraising-leaves-little-for-state-parties-222670" target="_blank">laundered</a> money) have accepted a <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/indus.php?id=N00000019&cycle=2016&type=f&src=b" target="_blank">combined</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/jfc/industries.php?id=C00586537&cycle=2016" target="_blank">$105M</a> from the securities & investment industry. From <i>retirees,</i> Stein's campaign (which is not supported by any super-PAC or joint fundraising committee) has received <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/indus.php?id=N00033776&cycle=2016&type=f&src=c" target="_blank">$195K</a>: more than from any industry.<br />
<br />
Later in the conversation, Hartmann jabbed Stein for residing in "lily-white, upper-middle-class Lexington, Massachusetts."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5-CmmwnRJIViWuLCJjR-S0NLXbnjzkWrctAeWF8fXgIJh_-Fkn46dNI-rKXT6J-EgPoUNQwJS8CiimrxPlytXu22PTL-SnYbv72KZfcCREhTmQtD0a0loozN5fH60xkRFXn8pbX95pw/s1600/ClintonNiederauer.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5-CmmwnRJIViWuLCJjR-S0NLXbnjzkWrctAeWF8fXgIJh_-Fkn46dNI-rKXT6J-EgPoUNQwJS8CiimrxPlytXu22PTL-SnYbv72KZfcCREhTmQtD0a0loozN5fH60xkRFXn8pbX95pw/s1600/ClintonNiederauer.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton at the New York Stock Exchange with its<br />
then-CEO: Duncan Niederauer. (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the Town of Lexington, <b>26.3% </b>of people are <b>nonwhite</b>, <b>24.4%</b> are <b>immigrants</b>, <b>4.4%</b> are in <b>poverty</b>, and the median household income in 2014 was <b>$137K</b>. That income is indeed characteristic of the upper middle class. But let us <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI125215/3611950078,2501735215" target="_blank">contrast</a> those figures with others. Clinton resides in the hamlet of Chappaqua in the Town of New Castle, New York. In that town, <b>14.5%</b> are <b>nonwhite</b>, <b>13.0%</b> are <b>immigrants</b>, <b>3.0%</b> are in <b>poverty</b>, and the median household income in 2014 was <b>$186K</b>.<br />
<br />
Clinton lived in a gubernatorial <a href="http://www.arkansasgovernorsmansion.com/index.html" target="_blank">mansion</a> for 12 years and in the White House for eight. The home she and her husband have had in Chappaqua since 2000 is worth <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-are-the-houses-the-2016-presidential-candidates-own-2015-07-10?page=2" target="_blank">$2.3M</a>. They recently bought the property next door for <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/10/28/clinton-house-renovated-without-permits-records/92878768/" target="_blank">$1.2M</a> and began to have renovations done on it without the required permits. The house the Clintons have had in Washington, DC, since 2000 is worth <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/the-home-of-bill-clinton-hillary-clinton-on-white-haven-parkeway-in-picture-id524486382" target="_blank">$5.8M</a> and is in the neighborhood known as Observatory Circle, which includes the vice presidential <a href="http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/10/10/V040212DL-0022edit-NAVOBS-jpg_223132.jpg" target="_blank">residence</a>. Since 2004, the couple has owned an apartment that is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/garden/archive-architecture-setting-the-spin-in-stone.html" target="_blank">186m²</a> and atop the Clinton Presidential Library & Museum. The Secret Service has protected Clinton for the last quarter-century.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Hartmann did not explain how she, regardless of all of that, could be more in touch with oppressed groups than is Stein, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2012/08/stein-green-party-nominee-arrested-079307" target="_blank">who</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120920010453/http://www.jillstein.org/jill_stein_joins_chicago_strike" target="_blank">often</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/09/jill-stein-occupy-climate-change-president" target="_blank">participates</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEi29PbC53U" target="_blank">in</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4_1X8XKm2o" target="_blank">demonstrations</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxBJOtxE17o" target="_blank">for</a> economic, environmental, and racial justice, etc., and would be the first Jewish president of the United States. Clinton <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/27/politics/clinton-and-trump-two-corinthians/" target="_blank">publicly</a> speaks about her Protestant identity, although not much about her connection to religious fanaticism. As Jeff Sharlet documents in <i>The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power</i> (2008), Clinton in 1993 began her many years of association with a right-wing Christian <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/12/sharlet" target="_blank">cult</a> known as "the Family." While first lady, she regularly attended a prayer-group of women in the Family, which prohibits sex-integrated prayer. Said group included<br />
<ul>
<li>Susan Baker, who has served on the board of <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/msnbc-news/6850011#6850011" target="_blank">Focus</a> <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/preaching-justice-slaying-demons/" target="_blank">on</a> <a href="http://respectmyresearch.org/anti-gay-activists/focus-on-the-family/" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/18/15996725-fierce-debate-after-newtown-school-shootings-where-was-god" target="_blank">Family</a> and is the wife of James Baker III: secretary of State, Bush-Quayle administration; secy. of the Treasury, <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/secret-plans-detention-internment-camps-1980s-deportation-arab-muslim-immigrants-214177" target="_blank">Reagan</a> adm.; chief of staff at White House, Reagan & Bush-Quayle adms.; undersecy. of Commerce, Ford adm.; chief representative of Bush 2000 for the <a href="http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,89450,00.html" target="_blank">theft</a> of the <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/06/yes-bush-v-gore-did-steal-the-election.html" target="_blank">election</a> in Florida; director, chairperson, or manager of Bush 1992, Bush '88, Reagan '84, Bush '80 and Ford '76; senior advisor, Reagan '80; regional chairperson, Nixon '72.</li>
<li>Joanne Kemp, who has served on the board of the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/15/leap-of-faith-ryan-lizza" target="_blank">Francis</a> A. <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/02/09/the_founding_of_evangelical_anti_abortion_campaign_wasnt_pretty_partner/" target="_blank">Schaeffer</a> Foundation and is the widow of Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY): the Republican vice presidential nominee in 1996.</li>
<li>Eileen Bakke, who is a former senior vice pres. of <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-18-10.cfm" target="_blank">Imagine</a> <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-calls-it-quits-on-imagine-charter-schools-in-st/article_e721e842-1a93-5e15-a673-f9766d19ee37.html" target="_blank">Schools</a>, which she founded with her husband Dennis Bakke: fmr. CEO of <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2002/nov/16/business/fi-williams16" target="_blank">AES</a>. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDD_Xd2ot5QSXwg43kanyz9ndgF_CAlIjqqZsjbdQHDo5VNqOekmFmjte-KFeinH4wIVLc8bl6lFWF4PeNVQI-sozHNbaz4O_G5ndNEaNYkV8nArb8JSxA_qqSNbYii-9rQ4ovEtMEZgw/s1600/Roosevelt.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDD_Xd2ot5QSXwg43kanyz9ndgF_CAlIjqqZsjbdQHDo5VNqOekmFmjte-KFeinH4wIVLc8bl6lFWF4PeNVQI-sozHNbaz4O_G5ndNEaNYkV8nArb8JSxA_qqSNbYii-9rQ4ovEtMEZgw/s1600/Roosevelt.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roosevelt (FDR Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For decades, Clinton was advised by the late Rev. Donald Jones, who described her as averse to the liberalism advanced by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Jones taught Clinton to be a <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conservatism/#NarSenBurConSceAboRea" target="_blank">Burkean</a> conservative: reverential to the ruling class, averse to timely progress, and suspicious of deductive reason. He encouraged her to embrace the ideology espoused after 1945 by the late Rev. Reinhold Niebuhr, which prioritizes amoral, aggressive pursuit of US interests abroad at the expense of social justice. Jones persuaded her to accept the theology of Paul Tillich, which values individual redemption over the Social Gospel. For Clinton, the Family reinforced those philosophical stances, which show in her <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-hillary-clintons-religion-and-politics" target="_blank">record</a>.<br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "...Stein pops up every four years to be the star of the show. That's it. She has no political experience and has no interest in it..."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/hundreds-rally-against-proposed-tar-sands-pipeline-1881692564.html" target="_blank">That</a> is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoNoUcepoZw" target="_blank">false</a>. Stein, like Clinton, is running for president for only the second time. Stein, before and <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/going_green/2013/04/green-party-jill-stein-charlotte.html" target="_blank">between</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6hYD7PP7M" target="_blank">her</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-spataro/dr-jill-stein-gets-person_b_3262973.html" target="_blank">presidential</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYVxT_18w6M#t=32m30s" target="_blank">campaigns</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm7vThOD0G0" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://billmoyers.com/segment/fighting-the-good-fight/" target="_blank">visibly</a> <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/03/10/fasting-fukushima-third-anniversary" target="_blank">worked</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLolvORGslQ" target="_blank">advance</a> <a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11821" target="_blank">her</a> <a href="http://denvergreenparty.org/jill-stein-visits-colorado-greens/" target="_blank">cause</a>. Among her finest moments in that respect was when she, as the Green gubernatorial nominee in 2002, was allowed into the second-to-last <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?173128-1/massachusetts-gubernatorial-debate" target="_blank">debate</a>, which included Mitt Romney (R), then-Treasurer Shannon O'Brien (D) and two others. Stein was generally <a href="http://archive.fairvote.org/op_eds/globe102702.htm" target="_blank">deemed</a> the <a href="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/daily/documents/02516391.htm" target="_blank">winner</a>
of it.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<b>The kooks should be excluded</b> from the final... debate... <b>That way, Jill Stein will have the stage all to herself...</b> [T]he inclusive... format has demonstrated... 'Green' is synonymous with 'Grownup' in Massachusetts this election cycle. The two major-party candidates... have proven themselves to be no better than schoolyard scrappers... [E]lections are about values. To tell progressive Democrats they would throw away their vote to support <b>the... adult in the... race</b> is a losing strategy."<br />Eileen McNamara, <span style="font-size: small;">"Clock Ticking for O'Brien," </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Boston Globe</i>, </span><span style="font-size: small;">27 October 2002</span></span></blockquote>
In that race, despite 1) exclusion from all debates but one, 2)
<a href="http://archive.fairvote.org/op_eds/hampgaz110202.htm" target="_blank">expectation</a> of a close result between the major-party contenders, 3)
trickery and scare-tactics Democratic leaders waged against Stein and
her supporters, and 4) the conservative wave across the country
on Election Day, Stein garnered 3.49% of the vote. Romney won by 4.77%.<br />
<br />
In 2004, as the Green nominee for a seat in the state legislature, Stein drew
21.3% and placed ahead of her Republican opponent. In 2006, as the Green nominee for secretary of
the Commonwealth, Stein received 17.7% statewide.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNDl6MscDjPOp4-qd35dCJVg1has36RKag7d83lA1G0k_J8SFQkfKXY5ubotkfxA5pJhydKtk2sM2V7LqJ2ln7u6o4Si9xEVAI3B1WRfO58qljWF1AIuoIxL8kjx1vik58J1ZBZJe8PE/s1600/Perot.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNDl6MscDjPOp4-qd35dCJVg1has36RKag7d83lA1G0k_J8SFQkfKXY5ubotkfxA5pJhydKtk2sM2V7LqJ2ln7u6o4Si9xEVAI3B1WRfO58qljWF1AIuoIxL8kjx1vik58J1ZBZJe8PE/s1600/Perot.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perot<br />
(Dept. of the Navy)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As for Hartmann's complaint about "no political experience," let us recall how, in the first debate for the presidential general election of 1992,
candidate Henry Ross Perot (I), who never held elected office, replied to his opponents' talk of experience.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">[T]</span>hey have a point. I have no experience in running up $4<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">T</span> in
debt. I have no experience in gridlock government in which no one takes
responsibility for anything and in which everyone blames everyone
else. I have no experience in the creation of the worst public<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">-</span>school
system in the industrialized world... I have a lot of experience in
figuring out how to solve problems, making the solutions work, and then
moving on to the next <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">problem</span>. I have a lot of experience in not taking 10
years to solve a 10-minute problem. So if this is the time for action,
I... have experience that counts."</span></blockquote>
Earlier in the debate, he said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I was not put on the ballot by... <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">any </span>money from special interests... Over time, we have developed a government that comes <i>at</i>
the people [and] from the top, down... [T]he people are... treated as
objects to be programmed during the campaign with commercials, media
events, fear messages, personal attacks, and things of that nature.
What... makes [my candidacy] unique is that it came from... people...
all over this country who want a candidate who works for and belongs to
nobody but them. I am<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>in this race as their servant<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">. </span>I belong to
them." </span></blockquote>
The reason why this blog includes no review of the face-offs between Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump is that the debates for the presidential general election are illegitimate. They have been that way since 1988. Between the two that were held that year, the board of trustees of the education fund of the League of Women Voters <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?4547-1/sponsorship-presidential-debate" target="_blank">unanimously</a> decided to nix its sponsorship of the final said event. To announce that decision, the League issued a press release that stated in part:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"'[T]he demands <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">by</span> the two [major] campaign[s] would perpetrate a <a href="http://lwv.org/press-releases/league-refuses-help-perpetrate-fraud" target="_blank">fraud</a> on the American voter,' League president Nancy M. Neuman said... '[T]he candidates... aim to add debates to their... <b>charades devoid of substance, of spontaneity, and of honest answers to tough questions</b>,' Neuman said. 'The League has no intention to become an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.'</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"...The campaigns' agreement was negotiated 'behind closed doors' and was presented to the League as 'a done deal,' she said, its 16 pages of conditions not subject to negotiation... Neuman called 'outrageous' the campaigns' demand to <b>control the selection of questioners, the composition of the audience, access <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">by</span> the press to the hall</b>, and other issues...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"'Never in the history of the League of Women Voters have two ca[mpaig]ns come to us with such <b>stringent, unyielding and self-serving demands</b>.'"</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFK68nYNiUHdjX7nS70cdWyONDsf-6l5GaFQXSios8ApZqCM60Q1f4FAxaVT6BOXpd8-GtuSwoMD7IGZF8XWGrHiU-21Oj8nk06X9WvxQO2VGp_IrPH64jGTYcqG97C1S0ZUH2MHstjU/s1600/Romney.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFK68nYNiUHdjX7nS70cdWyONDsf-6l5GaFQXSios8ApZqCM60Q1f4FAxaVT6BOXpd8-GtuSwoMD7IGZF8XWGrHiU-21Oj8nk06X9WvxQO2VGp_IrPH64jGTYcqG97C1S0ZUH2MHstjU/s1600/Romney.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romney<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Later that day, Neuman held a news conference at which she elaborated in part:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Beholden to no political party, the League has, for 68 years, been looked to for the even-keeled information voters need... Soon after the League was founded, it began to bring candidates... together in public to discuss and debate... various issues. These forums were at the local and state level...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"In 1976, the League institutionalized debates at the national level by bringing televised, nonpartisan exposure to the presidential candidates'... positions... After the election of 1984, the League decided... to sponsor a full series of primary and general-election presidential debates in 1988. In early 1987 -- as our site-selection process and other planning were already underway -- <b>the chairmen of the two [major] political parties announced plans to sponsor their own series of debates. They had set up a commission... and... urged us to step aside. We did not.</b> Since... that day, the League has argued <b>an organization set up by the political parties is not an appropriate sponsor of presidential debates</b>...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"We forged ahead with our plans for debates in the fall of 1988. <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I</span>n May this year, we sent to the [major] campaigns proposals that outlined our recommendations for dates, sites, the format and other concerns... After a couple of weeks of negotiations around Labor Day, the... campaigns announced they settled most points of contention... The problem was: the sponsors were not in on any of it. The <b>negotiations... were... by the campaigns alone to serve their interests</b>. Throughout the negotiations, <b>I asked the campaigns to open the door to the League... The[y] said no...</b></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[T]hey went so far as to insist they <b>review<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>the moderator's opening comments</b>... [T]he campaigns <b>dictated... how the questions will be asked</b> [and] <b>how the cameras will be placed</b>... [The panelists of the debate] are under very clear <b>restrictions on what they can ask</b>... [T]he moderator must, before each question is asked, announce the topic... [That announcement] is like a <b>cue for prepared answers</b>. There are <b>not supposed to be follow-up questions</b>... The campaigns... want to be able to <b>communicate with the producer during the debate</b>."</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZe-OZNfH_nGF5CYv34PJZVddNFUaDZGisvl_ybCe1Kk_VZtATLyMCSWgOVehmAk7QVGnnwT4aRou2hMF4QAhcfr_JJYDUbNOV-trgHieGmTY3HjkHADBNgCDlcFD4T41TsPbUgLUl4s/s1600/TrumpClinton.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZe-OZNfH_nGF5CYv34PJZVddNFUaDZGisvl_ybCe1Kk_VZtATLyMCSWgOVehmAk7QVGnnwT4aRou2hMF4QAhcfr_JJYDUbNOV-trgHieGmTY3HjkHADBNgCDlcFD4T41TsPbUgLUl4s/s1600/TrumpClinton.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trump with Clinton's husband<br />
(William Vasta / White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The "commission" is the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has controlled all debates for every presidential general election since then and remains a <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/3/ahead_of_first_obama_romney_debate" target="_blank">private</a> corporation owned by only the two major parties. In 2000, Trump blasted the practices of the CPD as "<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4617309/donald-trump-third-parties-presidential-debates" target="_blank">disgraceful</a>," "inconceivable," and "very, very unfair." This year, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/09/01/suffolk-poll-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-fear/89577824/" target="_blank">76%</a> of likely voters wanted for Stein to be included in the debates. Nevertheless, when police noticed her as she gave interviews on the campus on which the first debate would be held hours later, she was <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/9/27/outside_first_presidential_debate_24_arrested" target="_blank">escorted</a> off the premises. When Stein attempted to enter the same campus for the second debate of 2012, she was arrested and then handcuffed to a metal chair in a warehouse for <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/17/green_partys_jill_stein_cheri_honkala" target="_blank">eight</a> hours.<br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "If you think a vote for Jill Stein, which will elect Donald Trump, is okay, check your white privilege..."<br />
<br />
The next day, a poll commissioned by ABC and <i>The Wash. Post</i> was published. In that survey, the percentage of nonwhites who back Stein/Baraka is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/08/07/National-Politics/Polling/question_16728.xml" target="_blank">double</a> that of whites who back said ticket. Nonwhites for Stein/Baraka include <br />
<ul>
<li>ex-rep. Cynthia <a href="https://twitter.com/cynthiamckinney/status/745773315998941189" target="_blank">McKinney</a> (D-GA) PhD: fmr. presidential nominee (G)</li>
<li>Rosa <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10154171361725630&id=63552525629" target="_blank">Clemente</a>: fmr. vice presidential nominee (G)</li>
<li>Councilwoman Kshama <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUr6HV2I6D8#t=11m28s" target="_blank">Sawant</a> PhD (Socialist Alternative - Seattle)</li>
<li>Marsha Coleman-<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DwggADxhpw" target="_blank">Adebayo</a> PhD: <span style="font-size: small;">fmr. sr. policy-analyst </span><span style="font-size: small;">at EPA, whistleblower</span></li>
<li>Profs. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx0DXEXcInA" target="_blank">Cornel</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyXoYZuYzm8" target="_blank">West</a> PhD, Boyce <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjUi0eApdG4#t=21.5" target="_blank">Watkins</a> PhD, Marc Lamont <a href="https://twitter.com/marclamonthill/status/745592292233322497" target="_blank">Hill</a> PhD</li>
<li>activists Kali <a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=14671" target="_blank">Akuno</a>, Bruce <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNGMoc-cxh8" target="_blank">Dixon</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/26/politics/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-voters/" target="_blank">YahNé</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRBRxXnH7A" target="_blank">Ndgo</a></li>
<li>Arielle <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/its-time-for-black-people-to-break-the-two-party-system/" target="_blank">Newton</a>: founder & editor-in-chief of <i>Black Millennials </i></li>
<li>actors Isaiah <a href="https://twitter.com/IWashington/status/752971656067293184" target="_blank">Washington</a>, Sebastian <a href="https://twitter.com/Seb_Castro/status/752953070749966336" target="_blank">Castro</a> </li>
<li>singer Cristian <a href="https://twitter.com/CristianCastro/status/758892162805174272" target="_blank">Castro</a>, rapper Immortal <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BHxOdBh36E" target="_blank">Technique</a>, poet Kor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o6gjfBrSA4" target="_blank">Element</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<u>Cora</u>: "I have friends who are people of color who will vote for Jill Stein, and--"<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "Just because other people are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W08if11oQKo" target="_blank">stupid</a>, that doesn't mean you should be... Stein has refused to release her tax-returns."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzwKFYSiUrckoMkHzZ2zzBGrtMuoPMvbbQNCq3ZLM2x7NUnBuCGf1JKM8LBCQT1_w24Tdc9_gA5iiuHAjqiWILrKVmNTnJYlj-cKuw6henE0aZQ-OaXZRi8XLnTBCFeiG1C_85TP94SI/s1600/McKinney.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzwKFYSiUrckoMkHzZ2zzBGrtMuoPMvbbQNCq3ZLM2x7NUnBuCGf1JKM8LBCQT1_w24Tdc9_gA5iiuHAjqiWILrKVmNTnJYlj-cKuw6henE0aZQ-OaXZRi8XLnTBCFeiG1C_85TP94SI/s1600/McKinney.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McKinney (Collection of<br />
the US House of Reps.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In 2010, Stein was again the Green gubernatorial nominee in Massachusetts. The three other contenders in that election refused to disclose any tax-returns, but Stein disclosed hers from 2009, during which she and her husband had a gross income of <a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/05/19/mass_green_rainbow_party_candidate_releases_taxes/" target="_blank">$325K</a> while that of Clinton and her husband was <a href="https://m.hrc.onl/secretary/10-documents/01-health-financial-records/WJC_HRC_2009_Form_1040.pdf" target="_blank">$10M</a>. Stein released her tax-return from 2015, during which she and her husband had a gross income of <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/jillstein/pages/2315/attachments/original/1470615389/stein1040-2015_Redacted.pdf" target="_blank">$349K</a> while that of the Clintons was <a href="https://m.hrc.onl/secretary/10-documents/01-health-financial-records/Clinton_2015_Form_1040_with_Signature_Page.pdf" target="_blank">$11M</a>.<br />
<br />
<u>Cora</u>: "Hillary has refused to release those transcripts."<br />
<br />
The caller was referring to remarks Clinton delivered to corporate groups from whom she collected $225K per speech. In public, she <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/04/14/brooklyn-democratic-debate-clinton-bash-speech-transcripts-4.cnn/video/playlists/2016-democratic-presidential-debates/" target="_blank">said</a> the reason for her refusal was the existence of a double standard, not fear of political damage. Clinton's explanation was proven <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/927" target="_blank">false</a> when WikiLeaks revealed that her staff read the transcripts in order to compile potentially troublesome excerpts and assess how much they could damage her bid for the nomination. The transcripts were withheld because such damage would have been enormous.<br />
<br />
WikiLeaks disclosed those <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails//fileid/927/180" target="_blank">excerpts</a> last month. As they document, Clinton said she "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoDpfsQJ-N8" target="_blank">admire[s]</a>" <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-gH2gAXjAw#t=46" target="_blank">Rep</a>. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/04/AR2011030406635.html" target="_blank">Peter</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/10/radicalization.hearings/" target="_blank">King</a> (R-NY), deems chairman & CEO Lloyd <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article24561376.html" target="_blank">Blankfein</a> of Goldman Sachs "a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/14/goldman-financial-crisis-prosecution_n_848994.html" target="_blank">legend</a>" (4 June 2013), wants for both major political parties to be "<b>moderate</b>," and is <b>against -- "in all senses" -- legalization of marijuana</b> (18 March 2014). These additional excerpts are edited for clarity and concision. Boldface is added.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
"[T]o relive a lot of my experiences with [Mayor] <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703808904575025030384695158" target="_blank">Rahm</a> [<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-laquan-mcdonald-poll-20160131-story.html" target="_blank">Emanuel</a>] makes me once again realize how much you want him in any foxhole in which you end up... [N]ow, he has Chicago's back." -18 Sept. 2013<br />
<br />
"Erskine [Bowles] is a very close friend. [<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4591828/simpsons-inquisition" target="_blank">Ex</a>-<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4591837/simpson-trashes-hill-wright-absence" target="_blank">senator</a>] <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/14/us/thomas-nomination-simpson-refuses-make-public-letters-he-says-criticize-hill.html" target="_blank">Alan</a> <a href="http://articles.philly.com/1991-10-21/news/25815328_1_sexual-harassment-harassment-charges-professor-anita-hill" target="_blank">Simpson</a> [R-WY] is someone <b>I
can't help but like</b>. I think they're <b>great patriots</b>. What they've done
because they love this country deserves our respect... [T]heir overall
<a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SimpsonBowles.pdf" target="_blank">approach</a> is right..."<br />
"[Politicians] have to figure out how to... balance the public
efforts and private efforts necessary for political success... But <b>if
everyone watches</b> all the <b>backroom discussions</b> and the deals, <b>then people
become a little nervous</b>... So, <b>[politicians] need both a public position and a private position</b>..."<br />
24 April 2013<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI-KcXgrkdv3TchTbJ743lSzkjAGsJbyH6fzeGp2OURKFkbTKO_wrL115EWafSv8qAKIvBNmPyDwR586GwfIkuKRzRAAQjJXXmR32YZ8mbf8Jcg9Wlz49QwhqJHEMfg_-lMODbVRU9Bw/s1600/Emanuel.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI-KcXgrkdv3TchTbJ743lSzkjAGsJbyH6fzeGp2OURKFkbTKO_wrL115EWafSv8qAKIvBNmPyDwR586GwfIkuKRzRAAQjJXXmR32YZ8mbf8Jcg9Wlz49QwhqJHEMfg_-lMODbVRU9Bw/s1600/Emanuel.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emanuel (Andrew<br />
Nelles / Dept. of Labor)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/04/24/tpp-proponents-close-hillary-clinton-remain-optimistic-will-support-controversial-trade-agreements/" target="_blank">Bob</a> <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/01/markets/goldman/" target="_blank">Hormats</a> is here. He was an <b>instrumental partner</b> in a lot of what we did in the economic area..."<br />
"[I]f
you're in the middle class in Canada, you're better off... than
if you're in the middle class in the US. If you're poor in
the US, you are worse off than the poor in Canada and in
Europe... So, we've..., in my view, not adequately addressed the
challenges that have come in the last 20-25 years. Those challenges slowly crept
up on us... So <b>we're all wandering around, asking,
'What's going on? Why is it happening?'</b>... [E]ver since there have been [scientific]
polls in this country, ...the vast majority of <b>Americans... believed
[life] would be better</b> [for themselves and] their children. <b>That no
longer is the case...</b> So this deserves thoughtful discussion, not the <b>us-versus-them, finger pointing, blame-placing</b>, which <b>will not get us anywhere</b>."<br />
To J.P. Morgan Chase, 22 April 2014<br />
<br />
Clinton evidently thinks the economic <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=14473" target="_blank">assessment</a> by <a href="http://www.americanradioworks.org/fdr-reelection-campaign-speech/" target="_blank">FDR</a> was useless.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Nature still offers her bounty... But a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily, this is because <b>the rulers of the exchange</b>... have <b>failed</b> through their own <b>stubbornness</b> and their own <b>incompetence</b>... Practices of <b>the unscrupulous money-changers stand indicted in</b> the court of <b>public opinion</b>... Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce [us] to follow their <b>false leadership</b>, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. <b>They know only the rules of</b> a generation of <b>self-seekers</b>. They have <b>no vision</b>."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Roosevelt in his inaugural address, 4 March 1933</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"For 12 years, our nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing government... [P]owerful influences strive today to restore that... We had to struggle with the old <b>enemies of peace</b>: ...monopoly, speculation, reckless banking..., and war-profiteering... We now know that <b>government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob</b>... [T]hese forces... are unanimous in their hate for me and <b>I welcome their hatred</b>. I would like [for people to say: in] my first term..., <b>the forces of selfishness and of lust for power</b> met their match. I would like [for people to say: in] my second term..., these forces met their master... [T]hose who <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/christophermassie/hillary-clinton-used-to-talk-about-how-the-people-on-welfare" target="_blank">disparage</a>... citizens on the relief rolls... say th<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ose who are on relief</span>... are worthless. The[ disparagers'] solution... is to... purge the rolls by <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/research/deep-poverty-among-children-worsened-in-welfare-laws-first-decade" target="_blank">starvation</a>... But you and I... refuse to accept that estimate of our unemployed fellow Americans. Your government is... with the Good Samaritan..."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Roosevelt at Madison Square Garden, 31 Oct<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span> 1936</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ghRPAnGkRp9nzPMSkA1XoXtXVV0PHrWMOJkL6MY7PBVjjBEPb8bkwefyKq2EIFGAVWVMQcwe0-UwJmDhasQrtNAVdEc4tl1zY3KVv2KOxGhPXpEbn2zrVEHGhZi3KM4_L2ILUmPSMEE/s1600/Clemente.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ghRPAnGkRp9nzPMSkA1XoXtXVV0PHrWMOJkL6MY7PBVjjBEPb8bkwefyKq2EIFGAVWVMQcwe0-UwJmDhasQrtNAVdEc4tl1zY3KVv2KOxGhPXpEbn2zrVEHGhZi3KM4_L2ILUmPSMEE/s1600/Clemente.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clemente<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"[A] reason why, in February of 2009, I started to travel [as secretary of State] was so
people could literally yell at me that the US and our banking
system caused th[e financial meltdown] everywhere. <b>That is an oversimplification</b>, we know, but was the conventional wisdom. <b>A lot of misunderstanding of and politicization of what happened</b>... could have been avoided via greater... openness on all sides, I think.<b> You guys help us figure it out</b>
and let's make sure, this time, we do it right."<br />
"[T]here were a lot of complaints about <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/47075854" target="_blank">Dodd</a>-<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/08/hrc-inner-circle-lobbyists/" target="_blank">Frank</a>. But there was a need to do something because, <b>for political reasons</b>, ...members of Congress could not sit idly while their constituents lost jobs and shut businesses a[s]... <b>the press said [the financial meltdown wa]s all the fault of Wall Street</b>... But <b>what you do is important... There's nothing magic about regulations... How do we figure out what
works? The people who know the industry be[st] are the people who work in it.</b>"<br />
To Goldman Sachs, 24 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
Who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7WyqWO0Zg#t=4m26s" target="_blank">else</a> could have been at fault for the meltdown? Why should the industry be trusted to police itself?<br />
<br />
"[M]ore can and should be done that <b>must come from the industry itself, a[bout] how we can strengthen our economy</b>... [A]ll of <b>you are up to that</b> job, I believe."<br />
To Deutsche Bank, 7 Oct. 2014<br />
<br />
"I <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/03/us/the-1990-campaign-a-new-gaffe-by-candidate-in-the-texas-governor-s-race.html" target="_blank">would</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/10/romneys_death_squad_ties_bain_launched" target="_blank">like</a> for <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2000/01/25/3312/steve-forbes-cattle-farmer" target="_blank">additional</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mfglobal-settlement-idUSKCN1012GW" target="_blank">successful</a> <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/30/fortune-disappointing-leaders-snyder/82441346/" target="_blank">businesspeople</a> to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2009/12/wrestlers-lob-past-at-mcmahon-030316" target="_blank">run</a>
for <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/20/carly-fiorina/carly-fiorina-incorrect-us-has-record-number-abort/" target="_blank">office</a>... [Y]ou <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/04/nyregion/at-92.60-a-vote-bloomberg-shatters-an-election-record.html" target="_blank">have</a> a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/nyregion/metrocampaigns/offers-of-coal-for-the-mayors-newcastle.html" target="_blank">certain</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/nyregion/28spending.html" target="_blank">level</a> of <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4627565/dont-need-anybodys-money" target="_blank">freedom</a>. There's that...
phrase from a former senator: 'You can be maybe rented but never
bought.' To have people with those experiences is, I think, important,
especially now..."<br />
To Goldman Sachs, 29 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
<u>Clinton</u>: "[Former secretary of the Treasury Robert] <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nomi-prins/the-clintons-and-their-banker_b_7232636.html" target="_blank">Rubin</a> said... when he came to Washington, he had a fortune, and when he left Washington, he had a small-- <br />
<u>Blankfein</u>: "That's how you have a small fortune -- you go to Washington."<br />
<u>Clinton</u>: "...Right. But part of the problem with the political situation... is that there is such a <b>bias against people who have led successful</b> and/or complicated <b>lives</b>. The <b>divestment of assets</b>, the stripping of all kinds of positions, and the sale of stocks become <b>very onerous</b> and <b>unnecessary</b>."<br />
To Goldman Sachs, 29 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm89aeBG6veQj2xqkN9geonCtDpUp_vXVhwYLZAJrK_FkNyvA3czmElp6KYmm95C1VA44mIgyX_3yilvRkibmSDt0ZHr-OXofiei9bloPnwqNvFLgyHgNpd9nYG88qQINiAALCxRv9xwY/s1600/Sawant.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm89aeBG6veQj2xqkN9geonCtDpUp_vXVhwYLZAJrK_FkNyvA3czmElp6KYmm95C1VA44mIgyX_3yilvRkibmSDt0ZHr-OXofiei9bloPnwqNvFLgyHgNpd9nYG88qQINiAALCxRv9xwY/s1600/Sawant.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sawant (City of Seattle)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"<b>[W]e must resist protectionism... My dream is a hemispheric common market with open trade and open borders... I'm all for free trade.</b>"<br />
To Banco Itaú, 16 May 2013<br />
<br />
"A <b>good sign was when</b> Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe said <b>Japan would negotiate on the Trans-Pacific Partnership</b>... [H]e said Japan wants to be part of the TPP. A good sign will be if Japan follows through on that." -29 May 2013 <br />
<br />
"[B]usiness leaders have talked to... me about an idea to allow
repatriation of the couple of trillion dollars that are out there. You
would get <b>a lower rate</b> -- <b>a really low rate</b> -- if you were willing to invest a percentage in an infrastructure bank... I meet with <b>lots of corporate executives</b>."<br />
To the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, 13 Oct. 2014 <br />
<br />
The next three quotations refer to the late chairman & CEO Samuel Walton of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/us/workers-assail-night-lock-ins-by-wal-mart.html" target="_blank">Walmart</a>.<br />
<br />
"[T]wo people who... helped me understand this ethic of shared responsibility [were] <b>my father and Sam Walton</b>...
[W]hen I moved to Arkansas, Sam was already a fixture in its
business community, and I got to know him and <a href="http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2016/mar/14/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-says-walmart-heirs-are-wealthier-bo/" target="_blank">his</a> <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20141216_Pa__Supreme_Court_affirms__151M_wages_ruling_against_Wal-Mart.html" target="_blank">wonderful</a> <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wal-mart-pleads-guilty-federal-environmental-crimes-admits-civil-violations-and-will-pay-more" target="_blank">family</a>...
[When] my husband was governor, ...he asked me to help improve
education. I went to see Sam and talked to him about it... I wanted to
know what he thought... [H]e called the heads of other big
companies in AR, like Tyson Foods... [T]hey pushed hard for comprehensive overhaul...: improved standards, accountability, and teachers'
compensation... Legislation passed and we began to see improvements." -17 June 2013<br />
<br />
Clinton's assertion about "improvements" is <a href="http://harpers.org/archive/2014/10/stop-hillary-2/5/" target="_blank">false</a>. <br />
<br />
"<b>Sam Walton was... a great patriot... </b>I <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/clinton-remained-silent-wal-mart-fought-unions/story?id=4218509" target="_blank">joined</a> <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-1-10.cfm" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=30345" target="_blank">board</a> of <a href="https://www.azag.gov/press-release/terry-goddard-announces-1-million-pricing-settlement-wal-mart" target="_blank">Walmart</a>..."<br />
29 May 2013<br />
<br />
"[H]e and I built a <b>very close</b> working relationship... I had the <b>most amazing</b> experience on <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/8-12-16.cfm" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-25-14.cfm" target="_blank">board</a> and working with Sam..." -4 November 2013<br />
<br />
"People are <b>entitled to make a profit [on health care coverage,]</b> but that [profit] <b>drives up costs</b>,
and we have that built into the 18%-20% [spent on health care as a share of the GDP]. We made decisions and seem wedded to them. So, to build a
political consensus that would dramatically change [the system] would
be very difficult."<br />
17 June 2013 <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwitwYC9LgMVv0L76faqakcthAnK_miGaCyuLh_qwEQyyEy4zfXf8olPXTEeS6pGUD64Rs6zkRertc9ObwssWRx6wHAyrJjIOUm3RvjnZ7v308IDa6sMerg5kpoweqFfR-x1d9wIQIs8/s1600/SteinWest.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwitwYC9LgMVv0L76faqakcthAnK_miGaCyuLh_qwEQyyEy4zfXf8olPXTEeS6pGUD64Rs6zkRertc9ObwssWRx6wHAyrJjIOUm3RvjnZ7v308IDa6sMerg5kpoweqFfR-x1d9wIQIs8/s1600/SteinWest.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stein, West<br />
(Green Party)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The last sentence is <a href="http://pnhp.org/blog/2015/12/17/kaiser-poll-58-of-americans-support-medicare-for-all/" target="_blank">false</a>. Fifty-eight percent of the nation favors the idea of single-payer. <br />
<br />
"Single-payer systems... impose... wait times. To get a hip replaced
takes longer than it might take here."<br />
17 June 2013 <br />
<br />
At best, her assertion is correlation <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2012/june/5-myths-about-canada%E2%80%99s-health-care-system" target="_blank">without</a> causation.<br />
<br />
"[W]e tried to build a universal system around the employer-based
system. With... the Affordable Care Act..., that is what we've done."<br />
21 January 2014<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/" target="_blank">false</a>. Tens of millions of people in the US have no health insurance. <br />
<br />
"[W]hile we try to maintain what makes the <b>American health care system so special and extraordinarily effective</b>, how do we work... so new ideas get to market faster...?"<br />
15 Sept. 2014<br />
<br />
Three months earlier, the US ranked <a href="http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/press-releases/2014/jun/us-health-system-ranks-last" target="_blank">last</a> in a study the Commonwealth Fund conducted about the quality, accessibility, efficiency, equity, etc. of health care in 11 industrialized countries. The top 10, ranked from highest, were the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, France, Canada.<br />
<br />
"We're in a <b>great position... because of</b> our country's <b>increase in production of gas and of oil</b>..." -26 July 2014<br />
<br />
"[W]e are on a <b>path to surpass Russia in production of oil and of gas</b>. I hope we know what we're doing to <b>take advantage of that</b>..." -4 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
"<b>[W]e produce more oil and gas than ever before</b> and we're on our way to be the number one producer in the world. That is a <b>tremendous opportunity</b>..."<br />
4 Sept. 2014<br />
<br />
"I want to be able to <b>export gas</b>, especially to our friends, in order to undercut, in Europe's case, the pressure from Russia..." -7 Oct. 2014<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdx_wvYgUTwdIcgdmvSnvqkAEuXSP66hUoRFlePuj7OSXMWRfgzy_zwU8Mr47cnp8kyWSZqV62aUWUdYU7HcH33BO6CP88ZpsrQZVhWhJkwFKGipzfXn9HQS2M63fgoZobpe8RHZLJHZo/s1600/Dunford.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdx_wvYgUTwdIcgdmvSnvqkAEuXSP66hUoRFlePuj7OSXMWRfgzy_zwU8Mr47cnp8kyWSZqV62aUWUdYU7HcH33BO6CP88ZpsrQZVhWhJkwFKGipzfXn9HQS2M63fgoZobpe8RHZLJHZo/s1600/Dunford.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dunford<br />
(Dominique Pineiro/<br />
Dept. of Defense)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"[W]ith the new discoveries and new techniques to <b>extract oil and gas, the US</b> and Canada <b>will be powerhouses for however the gas is transported and used or exported</b>. We have <b>tremendous opportunities</b>
to be energy independent and energy secure. That has great
ramifications for our own economies and societies as well as globally."<br />
To the Vancouver Board of Trade, 3 March 2014<br />
<br />
"The ability to extract gas and oil from previously used places that didn't seem to have much more to offer... gives us the chance to <b>go in and recover oil and gas</b>; or with... <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/108/20/8172.abstract" target="_blank">fracking</a>, North America is on a path to be <b>net exporters of energy... </b><b>There will always be some environmental cost in extraction... </b>But <b>we ought to... do it... </b>I believe <b>we can afford to</b> do it. I think <b>we have an obligation to</b> do it. So I want for us to <b>become the number one producer of oil and gas</b>..." -24 April 2013<br />
<br />
"We were... up against <b>phony environmental groups... funded by the Russians to stand against any</b> effort: 'Oh, that <b>pipeline</b>, that <b>fracking</b>, that <b>whatever</b>, will be a problem for you.'" -18 June 2014<br />
<br />
Clinton's campaign <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/10/10/clinton-fracking-theworld/" target="_blank">ignored</a> a reporter's request for elaboration on that claim. <br />
<br />
"I would like for us to <b>accelerate development of pipelines</b> from Azerbaijan into Europe. I would like for us to look for ways to <b>accelerate the internal domestic production</b>... [a]nd go at this in a <b>self-interested</b>... way." -18 March 2014<br />
<br />
"Dozens of pipelines already cross our borders... Hundreds of tankers on trains cross our borders. So, <b>one pipeline will not make the difference</b> between the trade in fossil fuels between our two countries, but I think... <b>[n]uclear deserves a role. The problem... is that to build nuclear plants, at least in our country, is economically unfeasible for private interests.</b> The cost and liabilities are enormous. Are there... nuclear reactors that would be less expensive, more efficient and safer? We should have a Manhattan Project about all this, to coin a description from the era that opened the nuclear age."<br />
To the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, 22 Jan. 2015<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLvSDxeW4vnT-dzmX1G9GwLDrPlipgGPgYbj7-6Ot5guq22GOXE44CViTW07yjOCTKtwjuhyphenhyphen-aIIWo9eRcJyriwJCN7ZFkxom2nHddbO-XhNFOGpbaiTe5KVjCAO_YcZdXV7q7HXLOg4/s1600/Ellsberg.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLvSDxeW4vnT-dzmX1G9GwLDrPlipgGPgYbj7-6Ot5guq22GOXE44CViTW07yjOCTKtwjuhyphenhyphen-aIIWo9eRcJyriwJCN7ZFkxom2nHddbO-XhNFOGpbaiTe5KVjCAO_YcZdXV7q7HXLOg4/s1600/Ellsberg.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellsberg<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As Stein knows, the <i>real</i> problem with nuclear power is its extreme <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/safety/accidents/Fukushima-nuclear-disaster/" target="_blank">dangerousness</a>. She has a plan to create <b>20M jobs</b> to transition the US to <b>100% clean energy by 2030</b>.<br />
<br />
"To have a no-fly zone [in Syria], all of its air defense, much of
which is located in populated areas, would have to be taken out. So <b>our missiles... [would] kill a lot of Syrian... civilians</b>."<br />
Clinton, 4 June 2013<br />
<br />
Clinton proposes a no-fly zone in Syria even though Russia has <a href="https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610011045899533-us-syria-agression/" target="_blank">warned</a> against the attack she acknowledged would be necessary in order to create said zone. General Joseph Dunford Jr., who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified on Sept. 22 to the Senate Committee on Armed Services, "[F]or us <b>to control all airspace in Syria would require that we go to war against Syria</b> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4627629/dunford-us-control-syrian-airspace-require-war-russia" target="_blank">and</a> <b>Russia</b>," but to establish a smaller no-fly zone would "<b>Not necessarily</b>" require a war. Although I cannot find specifics by Clinton as to the vastness of the potential zone, it would <b>risk -- if not guarantee -- war between the US and another nuclear-armed country</b>. On a related note, Clinton publicly said she would respond <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/clinton-us-should-use-military-response-fight-cyberattacks-russia-china-1579187" target="_blank">militarily</a> to <b>cyber</b> attacks by <b>Russia</b> and <b>China</b>.<br />
<br />
"Some <b>people think [Edward Snowden] is</b> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/10/edward-snowden-united-stasi-america" target="_blank">quite</a> <b>heroic. </b><b>I don't.</b>" -22 April 2014<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I think it is time... to quit making national heroes out of those who steal secrets and publish them... [W]e are [not] trying to keep anything from the American people that the[y] should know."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Pres. Richard Nixon </span><span style="font-size: small;">at the Dept. of State, in <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=3856" target="_blank">reference</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXlmQeSpqI4" target="_blank">Daniel</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/daniel-ellsberg-nsa-leaker-snowden-made-the-right-call/2013/07/07/0b46d96c-e5b7-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html" target="_blank">Ellsberg</a>, 24 May 1973</span></span></blockquote>
"He did not have to take laptops. <b>When we went to... China or Russia, we...</b>"<br />
22 April 2014<br />
<br />
"<b>...took the batteries out [of our laptops and phones], left the batteries and the devices in special boxes, and left the boxes on the plane... because we knew we were all targets...</b>" -29 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
Clinton was indeed a target. But as the FBI found, she nonetheless "used her personal email-account extensively while outside the US, including to send and receive work-related e-mails in the territory of sophisticated <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4627841/territory-sophisticated-adversaries-clinton-used-e-mail-account" target="_blank">adversaries</a>." Moreover, to insinuate China or Russia obtained classified documents from Snowden is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/world/snowden-says-he-took-no-secret-files-to-russia.html" target="_blank">baseless</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zhgZf3W7QokxikX0U2ceg1AyXRe7mSyldUq4cSrHzZqf85upq-27-76AsZFvl9ycieiivv0MloaQuecdgojKMPjzIGF8JDJRePoEvVy6ik9rolzI1C1iLFNSkFL-5GovmJJgZDAM9KA/s1600/Manning.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zhgZf3W7QokxikX0U2ceg1AyXRe7mSyldUq4cSrHzZqf85upq-27-76AsZFvl9ycieiivv0MloaQuecdgojKMPjzIGF8JDJRePoEvVy6ik9rolzI1C1iLFNSkFL-5GovmJJgZDAM9KA/s1600/Manning.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manning<br />
(Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"[T]he <b>State Department was [cyber]attacked hundreds of times every day</b>, sometimes by state-sponsored groups, sometimes by... independent operators." -29 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
"<b>[T]hey went after the personal e-mails of people who worked in the State Department...</b> So
I have a hard time thinking a champion of privacy
and liberty has taken refuge in Russia under [Pres. Vladimir] Putin's authority."<br />
At the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEQXaIDn0k8" target="_blank">University</a> of Connecticut, 23 April 2014<br />
<br />
Clinton's attack on Snowden is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-ecuador-idUSBRE95S0CC20130629" target="_blank">false</a>. He sought asylum in Ecuador, but the Dept. of State revoked his passport as he passed through Russia. <br />
<br />
"But the collection of the metadata has proven to be very useful." -29 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/19/vindication_for_snowden_obama_panel_backs" target="_blank">false</a>, at least in the context of national security.<br />
<br />
"<b>Private Manning</b> should have never had access to a lot of what he did... access... But it <b>did not expose the guts of how we collect and analyze data</b>."<br />
29 Oct. 2013<br />
<br />
Stein would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/13/pardon-edward-snowden-jill-stein" target="_blank">pardon</a> Snowden, Manning -- who is another whistleblower -- <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-peoples-president-sounds.html" target="_blank">and</a> John Kiriakou, who was imprisoned because he confirmed the name of a torturer to a journalist who did not publish it. Furthermore, Stein believes our civil liberties should be restored via <b>repeal of the Patriot Act</b>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/10/28/if-clinton-campaign-believes-wikileaks-emails-are-forged-why-dont-they-prove-it/" target="_blank">Contrary</a> to what Clinton's campaign has said, no
document released by WikiLeaks has been proven inauthentic, and although
Dir. of Nat'l Intelligence James Clapper Jr. -- who committed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/12/james-clapper-intelligence-chief-criticism" target="_blank">perjury</a> to Congress -- and the Dept. of Homeland Security stated they "<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2016/10/07/joint-statement-department-homeland-security-and-office-director-national" target="_blank">believe</a>" Russia directed the hack that led to the leak of internal e-mails of Clinton's campaign and of the Democratic Nat'l Committee, no hard evidence backs up that belief.<br />
<br />
Julian Assange, who founded WikiLeaks and is its editor-in-chief, discussed that matter on <i>Meet the Press</i> on NBC on July 31.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBYXyJSdqjAu4UUSOlvn-loGxnbT5vOVscJZcHsO2G_iRCth7xqQmYlQ_H5wBf4Ogm1diYCoVWQONN5zZGYGSWe1uO3_5skPlAmS_l1_4kHaIyM03TFP2C6hsqXG7S0sG2EtiIc2Xgi0/s1600/Kiriakou.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBYXyJSdqjAu4UUSOlvn-loGxnbT5vOVscJZcHsO2G_iRCth7xqQmYlQ_H5wBf4Ogm1diYCoVWQONN5zZGYGSWe1uO3_5skPlAmS_l1_4kHaIyM03TFP2C6hsqXG7S0sG2EtiIc2Xgi0/s1600/Kiriakou.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiriakou<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>Assange</u>: "Clinton's campaign, in order to <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-mtp-interview-julian-assange-on-dnc-emails-and-2016-735529027883" target="_blank">distract</a> from proof we published of, within the DNC, subversion
of Sanders's campaign... is pulling the government, pulling the state
of politics along with it, to create an international conflict..."<br />
<u>Chuck Todd, host</u>:
"You are not troubled by the idea of a transfer of this information
from a foreign government to you? Does that not trouble you at all, if a
government tries to meddle in the affairs of a foreign government?"<br />
<br />
That question is particularly nervy, given Clinton's foreign policy and that she regularly seeks advice on it from <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/09/05/hillary_clinton_henry_kissinger_pals.html" target="_blank">Henry</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/hillary-clinton-kissinger-vacation-dominican-republic-de-la-renta" target="_blank">Kissinger</a>, who -- as national security advisor to Nixon and as secretary of State to him and to Pres. Gerald Ford -- participated in <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/2/with_a_record_backing_coups_secret" target="_blank">interventions</a>
in Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, East Timor, Laos,
Mozambique, Uruguay and Vietnam that resulted in the death of many
millions of people. An example from Clinton's record of military interventionism is her <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gonzalez-clinton-policy-latin-american-crime-story-article-1.2598456" target="_blank">criminal</a> support for the Honduran coup, about which she made several <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/13/shes_baldly_lying_dana_frank_responds" target="_blank">false</a> statements.<br />
<br />
Back to the exchange from <i>The Thom Hartmann Program</i>.<br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "I see [Stein] as a bottom-feeder..."<br />
<br />
The definition of a bottom-feeder is "an opportunist who seeks quick profit, usually at the expense of others or from their misfortune." He did not specify any charge of profit, like the $22M Clinton collected for speeches. And in this context, the misfortune presumably is the nomination of the two most unpopular presidential candidates in at least <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/for-clinton-trump-improving-image-is-a-matter-of-trust-1.12359241" target="_blank">64</a> years. Yet, Hartmann implies the electorate deserves no alternative.<br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "Stein is about as far from the Bernie revolution as one can be. She is a political opportunist..."<br />
<br />
Hartmann did not explain those assertions. But the definition of an opportunist is "someone who tries to gain an advantage, or gain something valuable, from a situation, without thought as to what is fair or right."<br />
<br />
He and Assange referenced the quest by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for the Democratic presidential nomination this year. Stein's positions have consistently been very similar to his, including support for a <b>minimum wage of $15</b>, support for restoration of the <b>Glass-Steagall</b> Act, <b>opposition to free trade</b> and <b>opposition to the death penalty</b>. Consistency is indicative of a moral compass. Clinton has contradicted herself so many times, the public is left with questions about whether she has core beliefs, and, if so, what they are. The following quotations are of Clinton unless otherwise indicated.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBko_wQXJkY-lsQBoXmKXi7I_oRqyPouKOFob5UZqCcXfvOLPMdmaMONyII37VQn2M_b2pYKpcWX82vi9m7ALgIZ7wFSLJyAyN731z_gG7OcSUSthe0RxUwWJLdjKsib1UX9hVYsjekGg/s1600/SandersTorres.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBko_wQXJkY-lsQBoXmKXi7I_oRqyPouKOFob5UZqCcXfvOLPMdmaMONyII37VQn2M_b2pYKpcWX82vi9m7ALgIZ7wFSLJyAyN731z_gG7OcSUSthe0RxUwWJLdjKsib1UX9hVYsjekGg/s1600/SandersTorres.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders embraces Alexa<br />
Torres of Nat'l People's<br />
Action & of Citizens for<br />
Community Improve-<br />
ment. (Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For the Successful?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'm running for president for all Americans -- for the struggling, the striving <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4618712/struggling-striving-successful" target="_blank">and</a> the successful..."<br />
29 Nov. 2015<br />
<br />
"I want to be president, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4618711/clinton-changes-wind" target="_blank">not</a> for those who are already successful. They don't need me. I want to be president for the struggling and the striving..."<br />
8 March 2016</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Indolent or Industrious?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We have a lot of kids who don't know what work means... They think... they're entitled to go right to the top... when they have not done <a href="http://www.mclaughlin.com/transcript.htm?id=527" target="_blank">anything</a> to earn their way up."<br />
At a summit held by the US Chamber of Commerce, 11 May 2006<br />
<br />
"You worked hard to be here... Many of you are getting a graduate degree after being in the world of work... I... wish you well as... each of you works hard to hold onto the sense of possibility and achievement you have so richly deserved and earned... The other day, I... said I want to make sure that young people will work hard... I didn't mean to convey... that you don't work hard. I just want to set the bar high because we are in a competition for the future... [Y]our generation... has some of the... <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060901075910/http://www.cwpost.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/conference_services/speech7.html" target="_blank">hardest</a>-working... people we ever had..."<br />
To the Class of 2006 at Long Island Univ. at CW Post, three days later</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The biggest complaint I hear from employers is: young people who show up for jobs... don't get there on time. They <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU7Dyyqw9sE" target="_blank">don't</a> know how to conduct themselves appropriately."<br />
To the annual convention of NY State United Teachers, 27 April 2007</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Did She Land Under Sniper Fire? (No.)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I remember, particularly, a trip to Bosnia, where the welcoming ceremony had to be moved inside because of sniper fire."<br />
29 Feb. 2008, afternoon</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I
remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be... a
greeting ceremony at the airport. But instead, we just ran with our
heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base... Now,
that is what happened." -17 March 2008, morning</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I was sleep-deprived and misspoke."<br />
In response to a video that <a href="http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/columns/heyl/s_559013.html" target="_blank">disproved</a> her story, 25 March 2008 </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Hillary,
one time, late at night, when she was exhausted, misstated -- and
immediately apologized for it -- what happened to her in Bosnia in
1995."<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Clinton's husband, </span><span style="font-size: small;">10 April '08 (The trip was in '96. The war there <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1993-2000/bosnia" target="_blank">ended</a> in late '95.)</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"On a couple of occasions in the last weeks, I just said some things that were <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/apr/11/bill-clinton/not-at-night-not-one-time-not-/" target="_blank">not</a> in keeping with what I <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4621334/clinton-admits-lied" target="_blank">knew</a> to be the case..."<br />
Clinton, asked about her story, 16 April 2008</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeDyaWpYtVnjKXH0s7B_PzLMGBBbQI06gK3tKQaFqqJHXBHl9VFcX9TvNhNrZUZCxmv3QWyZ3Fmpe7pdoxZ21HCnl_nfVW7NH12gKU0GMRcGI81hTLAJOdIxn_2mP4RpuGYeGqhy91I8/s1600/KissingerNixon.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeDyaWpYtVnjKXH0s7B_PzLMGBBbQI06gK3tKQaFqqJHXBHl9VFcX9TvNhNrZUZCxmv3QWyZ3Fmpe7pdoxZ21HCnl_nfVW7NH12gKU0GMRcGI81hTLAJOdIxn_2mP4RpuGYeGqhy91I8/s1600/KissingerNixon.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kissinger, Nixon (WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Is Race-Baiting Acceptable?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The... challenge is to <b>take back our streets from</b> crime, gangs and drugs... [We must] have an organized effort against gangs... We need to take on these people.
They are often connected to big drug-cartels [and] are not just gangs
of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uCrA7ePno" target="_blank">super</a>-<a href="http://fair.org/extra/superscapegoating/" target="_blank">predators</a>': no conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way. But first, we have to <b>bring them to heel</b>."<br />
In Keene, New Hampshire, 28 Jan. 1996</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[A]rticles about [Obama's] boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared to show <b>his background is diverse and multicultural</b>, and to put it in a new light. <b>Save it for 2050... [H]is roots to basic American values and culture are, at best, limited.</b> I cannot imagine America would, in a time of war, elect a president who is <b>not fundamentally American</b> in how he thinks... He told the people of NH yesterday he has a Kansan accent because <b>his mother</b> was from Kansas. <b>She</b> lived in many states as far as we can tell -- but this is an example of the <b>nonsense he uses to cover this up</b>. How can we give some life to this contrast...? <b>Every speech</b> should contain this line: you were '<b>born in</b> the middle of <b>America</b>, to the middle class, in the middle of the last century.' Talk about the... deeply <b>American</b> values with which you <b>grew up</b>... and that drive you... <b>Let's explicitly own 'American'</b> in our programs [and] speeches... Let's use our logo to make some <b>flags</b> we can give out. Let's add <b>flag</b> symbols to the background."<br />
Mark Penn, <span style="font-size: small;">chief strategist of Clinton 2008, in a <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/08/penn-strategy-memo-march-19-2008/37952/" target="_blank">memo</a> </span><span style="font-size: small;">to Clinton, 19 March 2007</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"'When was the last time [you did drugs]? Did you ever <b>give drugs</b> to anyone? Did you <b>sell them</b>...?'"<br />
William Shaheen, then-co-chairperson of Clinton 2008 in NH, on<br />
what <strike>Clinton</strike> Republicans would want for Obama to be asked<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Quoted in "Clinton... Official Warns Obama Will Be Attacked on Drug Use," <i>The Wash. Post</i>, 12 Dec. 2007 (Shaheen resigned amid backlash but evidently <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103281.html" target="_blank">not</a> at Clinton's request.)</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[O]n <i>Hardball</i> on MSNBC, Penn... [was] asked about the Clinton team's turn toward negativity. Penn replied, 'The issue related to cocaine... was not raised in any way by [my] campaign.' ...Penn returned to Clinton's headquarters in Des Moines, giddy as a schoolgirl, and giggled to his colleagues, 'Did you notice how many times I said "<a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/72422/poison-penn" target="_blank">cocaine</a>"?'"<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Game Change</i> by John Heilemann & Mark Halperin, p. 163, in ref. to 13 Dec. 2007</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That he is African-American is a big deal... [H]is capacity to positively influence... the behavior of a lot of underperforming black youth today is very important, and he is the only one who can reach them... I like that his name is Barack <a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/kerrey-tries-to-explain-obama-muslim-remarks/" target="_blank">Hussein</a> Obama and that <b>his father was a Muslim... There are a billion... </b><b>Muslims and... that experience is a big deal.</b>"<br />
Ex-sen. Joseph "Bob" Kerrey (D-NE), surrogate for Clinton,<br />
quoted in "Kerrey Signs On," <i>The Wash. Post</i>, 17 Dec. 2007</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[A]s an African-American, he can speak authentically to underperforming black youth... [P]eople act as if <b>he is an Islamic Manchurian candidate</b>. And I feel it is actually a substantial strength... [T]hat <b>connection to Indonesia and a billion Muslims</b>... is a real strength... I've watched... blogs t[hat] say because he spent a little time in a secular <b>madrassa, he cannot be trusted</b>... I think it is a tremendous asset."<br />
Kerrey on <i>The Situation Room</i>, CNN, 17 Dec. 2007</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[H]e is African-American and can speak to underperforming black youth in a way no other candidate can... [H]is name is Barack <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2007/12/why-did-bob-ker.html" target="_blank">Hussein</a> Obama... I think <b>it enables him to speak to a billion Muslims around the world</b>... There is nonsense out there that says <b>he is a Muslim Manchurian candidate</b>. He should... look the camera straight in the eye and say, '...[M]y <b>father was a Muslim</b>... [T]hat fact and my name mean I can speak to a billion people around the world.'"<br />
Kerrey, quoted in "Why Did Bob Kerrey Mention<br />
Obama's Middle Name...?" ABC, 19 Dec. 2007</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[I]n Iowa and in New Hampshire, ...races require... something no other race does... It is not a TV-crazed race... It is<i>...</i> a process that demands more... [A candidate] cannot <b>shuck</b> <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-shuck-and-jive-debate-of-08-andrew-cuomos-staff-responds-20080116" target="_blank">and</a> <b>jive</b> at a press conference... [T]hose moves [a candidate] can make with the press don't work... in someone's living room..."<br />
Then-Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), surrogate for Clinton,<br />
on <i>Live from the State Capitol with <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/pol-blasts-postie-slime-baby-story-article-1.592996" target="_blank">Fred</a> <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1914&dat=20050113&id=waVGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=efMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3712,1804260" target="_blank">Dicker</a></i>, 9 Jan. 2008</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If you have a social need, you're with Hillary. If you want for Obama to be your imaginary, hip, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jan/10/uselections2008.guardiancolumnists" target="_blank">black</a> friend, and you're young, and you have no social needs, then he's cool."<br />
A Clinton advisor, quoted in "Clinton's Amazing Comeback<br />
Could Yet Crown McCain," <i>The Guardian</i>, 10 Jan. 2008 </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The Hispanic voter -- and I want to say this very carefully -- has not shown a lot of affinity for or willingness to support <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/01/21/minority-reports" target="_blank">black</a> candidates."<br />
Sergio Bendixen, pollster for Clinton 2008, quoted in "Minority Report: After New Hampshire, a Hint of Racial Politics," <i>The New Yorker</i>, 21 Jan. 2008</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Hillary was[, at a rally on Feb. 19,] introduced by Tom Buffenbarger, who... compared <b>Obama</b> to <b>Muhammad Ali</b> -- the best-known <b>black</b> American convert to <b>Islam</b> after Malcolm X. 'But...,' [Buffenbarger] said, 'I've seen Ali in action... Obama is no Muhammad Ali.' The <a href="http://www.gq.com/story/michael-hastings-newsweek-presidential-campaign" target="_blank">cunning</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKJVHjZVD60#t=36" target="_blank">racism</a> of the attack made my heart beat fast and my ears ring..."<br />
The late Michael Hastings, "Hack: Confessions of a Presidential<br />
Campaign Reporter," <i>Gentlemen's Quarterly</i>, 30 Sept. 2008</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I have no... problem with people looking at... <b>Obama</b> in <b>his native clothes</b> -- in the clothes <b>of his country</b>."<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), surrogate for Clinton, while questioned about the leak of a photograph of Obama in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnLSkWulPVE" target="_blank">Kenyan</a> garb, <i>Morning Joe</i>, MSNBC, 26 Feb. 2008</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<u>Timothy Russert Jr., co-moderator</u>: "Sunday, the headline in... <i>The Chicago Tribune</i> was '<b>Louis Farrakhan</b> Backs <b>Obama</b> for President at Nation of <b>Islam</b> Convention...' Do you accept the support of... Farrakhan?"<br />
<u>Obama</u>: "I have been very clear in my <b>denunciation</b> of... Farrakhan's anti-Semitic comments. I think they are <b>unacceptable</b> and <b>reprehensible</b>. I did <b>not</b> solicit this support... [My campaign] is <b>not</b>
doing anything formally or informally with... Farrakahan...<br />
<u>Russert</u>: "Do you <i>reject</i> his support?"<br />
<u>Obama</u>: "...I
have been very clear in my denunciations of him... [W]hat he has said
is... <b>inappropriate</b>. I have consistently <b>distanced</b> myself from him... I [would] <b>not</b> tolerate anti-Semitism in any form... I would not be here if not for... Jewish Americans who supported the Civil Rights Movement... [I]n front of a large, African-American audience, I specifically spoke out against anti-Semitism within the African-American community..."<br />
<u>Clinton</u>: "Tim, ...you asked specifically if [Sen. Obama] would reject. There's a <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4618991/clinton-obamas-denunciation-farrakhan-insufficient" target="_blank">difference</a> between denunciation and rejection. I think when it comes to--"<br />
<i>(laughter from audience)</i><br />
Debate on MSNBC, 26 Feb. 2008</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"As I... watched... Clinton's... '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kddX7LqgCvc" target="_blank">3AM</a>' ad..., I realized I... often in my study of US racial history have seen images much like these and seen the sentiments to which they allude... [T]his... ad... states something is 'happening in the world.' But the ad never says what... [W]hen I saw the... ad's central image: innocent children asleep and a mother who are in... the night, at risk...[, I thought] of D.W. Griffith's <i>Birth of a Nation:</i> the racist movie epic that helped revive the Ku Klux Klan with... portrayal of black men as they lurked... around white society... The ad could... have excluded its <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/opinion/11patterson.html" target="_blank">racist</a> sub-message if the ad had included... a black child... or [parent], or if it had stated the danger is external terrorism. Instead, the first child on whom the camera focuses is blonde. T[he] other... children... are not black... In my view, the ad... says... Obama is... the danger, the outsider within... For over a century, politicians in the US have played on racial fears in order to divide the electorate and mobilize xenophobic parties. Blacks have been the 'domestic enemy,' ...who could always inspire unity among 'us whites.' ...<b>Nixon's Southern strategy... us[ed] coded language</b> -- 'law and order,' 'silent majority' -- <b>to destroy the alliance between blacks and white labor</b>... The ad about Willie <a href="http://www.boogiemanfilm.com/misconceptions-about-willie-horton-ad-politics-and-race/" target="_blank">Horton</a> that <b>George H.W. Bush</b> used... was a crude manifestation of this strategy, as was the... attack... on John McCain's adopted daughter, who is from Bangladesh ... <b>Clinton's campaign used its... ad in Texas</b>, where a poll Fox conducted Feb. 26-28 showed whites favored Obama..., <b>and not in Ohio</b>, where she... comfortabl[y... le]d among whites... [T]he... weekend the ad was broadcast, Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFWyVSBUPL0" target="_blank">refused</a> to unambiguously state Obama... has never been a Muslim."<br />
Orlando Patterson, professor of sociology at Harvard Univ.,<br />
"The Red Phone in Black and White," <i>The NY Times</i>, 11 March 2008</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[M]ute... the ad, and what you see are not images that suggest foreign invasion or terrorists. You see something reminiscent of an ad... about home security... [T]he images that come to mind for the kind of voters Clinton targets... are not of foreign terrorists. They don't creep up at 3:00 in the morning. They want to attack in broad daylight, where they can get maximum coverage. What come to mind are images... that associate blacks with <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/23638352" target="_blank">intruders</a> at night..."<br />
Patterson on <i>Hardball</i>, MSNBC, 14 March 2008 </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[I]n addition to the questions about <b>Rev. [Jeremiah] Wright</b>, what he said, when he said it, and whatever reason he might have had for why he said [it], there were... variations on the explanations we heard, and it... deserves further exploration... [W]e have a choice of with whom we associate and to whom we apparently give... approval... [Wright's] relationships with... <b>Farrakhan</b> [and]... the leader of <b>Hamas</b>... are problems..."<br />
Clinton in an <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4621641/clinton-attacks-obamas-associations" target="_blank">attack</a> on Obama's choice of church<br />
Debate on ABC, 16 April 2008</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Sen. Obama's support among <b>working</b>, <b>hardworking</b> Americans, <b>white</b> Americans, is weakening again... <b>[W]hites</b>... who ha[ve] not completed college <b>support me</b>."<br />
Clinton, quoted in "Clinton Makes Case for Wide Appeal,"<i> </i><br />
<i>USA Today</i>, 7 May 2008 (The audio is included <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-05-07-clintoninterview_N.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.)</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"At the last [Republican] presidential debate, two candidates referred
to [Pres. Obama] as a 'child.' That kind of racially coded rhetoric has
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-clinton/what-president-obamas-legacy-means-to-me_b_9029740.html" target="_blank"> no</a> place in our politics."<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Clinton, </span><span style="font-size: small;">"What Pres. Obama's Legacy Means to Me," <i>The Huffington Post</i>, 20 Jan. '16 </span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCC01JLj880CrIPBO_ikgZYFy90tTxbGXwe9Lq4_f1cTSIfPHEctfPTGxQhcbayY2KOASJOsB74kVk_jlMx5bdQxV6u8vrBrH6wAUOh0zV1KXMnQIyhOoNXpfAnoYVf6oN-ZaTIA7gtkA/s1600/Kerrey.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCC01JLj880CrIPBO_ikgZYFy90tTxbGXwe9Lq4_f1cTSIfPHEctfPTGxQhcbayY2KOASJOsB74kVk_jlMx5bdQxV6u8vrBrH6wAUOh0zV1KXMnQIyhOoNXpfAnoYVf6oN-ZaTIA7gtkA/s1600/Kerrey.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kerrey (David Kennerly/<br />
Lyndon Johnson Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bonus: Which of These Current Surrogates of Hers Was Right?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[Clinton] has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAVwgm6qKKY" target="_blank">not</a> changed a single position in her entire career."<br />
Lanny Davis on Fox Business News, 2 July 2015</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Hillary Clinton will say <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2146251.htm" target="_blank">anything</a> to get elected... She'll say anything and change nothing. It's time to turn the page."<br />
Message approved by Obama, Jan. 2008</blockquote>
<u>Hartmann</u>: "I [mode]rated the debate between [Jill Stein] and <a href="https://news.vice.com/story/gary-johnsons-flubs-just-keep-getting-worse" target="_blank">Gary</a> <a href="http://www.socialistalternative.org/2016/09/29/gary-johnson-third-party-candidate-youre/" target="_blank">Johnson</a> four years ago. Her positions are <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/platform" target="_blank">brilliant</a> but she is a vanity candidate..."<br />
<br />
So we're supposed to disregard policy. Although Clinton has not articulated a rationale for her candidacy, Hartmann spares her from the accusation of "vanity." That accusation is usually hurled at candidates <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-10-26/news/1992300006_1_political-manipulations-lion-fox-cunning" target="_blank">who</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4628312/koppel-asks-braun-sharpton-kucinich-vanity-candidates" target="_blank">threaten</a> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/hendrik-hertzberg/candidates-and-other-vermin" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/10/16/the_ugly_bernie_sanders_fans_freakout_hipster_left_melts_down_with_media_conspiracy_theories/" target="_blank">establishment</a>.<br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "Jill is not even on the ballot in a third of states..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/ballot_access" target="_blank">false</a>, at least by omission, as Stein remained able to obtain a place on the ballot in additional states. She is on the ballot in 44 states and in DC, which amount to 480 of the 538 Electoral votes. (In 2012, 2008 and 2004, the Green ticket was eligible for 439, 368 and 286 Electoral votes, respectively.)<br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "She's [running] to just [say], 'Hey, let's get some money from the rubes.'"<br />
<br />
Again, Hartmann makes an accusation but provides no evidence for it. Stein raised $894K for her previous campaign and has raised $4M for this one. Clinton raised $246M for her previous campaign. In this cycle, her campaign in addition to the Hillary Victory Fund and the pro-Clinton super-PACs -- one of which coordinates with her campaign in a way that is <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/05/12/19677/news-media-give-free-ride-anti-donald-trump-video" target="_blank">illegal</a> at least in effect -- have raised a total of over <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/jfc/summary.php?id=C00586537&cycle=2016" target="_blank">$1B</a>, which includes $31M from the real-estate industry and $13M from the pharmaceutical & health-product industry. Of course, the corporate donors who help Clinton are not rubes. They know which candidates would serve which interests.<br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "...You can vote for Hillary Clinton and -- and, you know, hope that, and, I think, in all probability, have some assurance that--"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBI6Zl_9PUJs0qBNYq685FMrG6ptHa_BMi_mn_WRMiCitPei6y5bnRqLHaRwR7lq71pwed37c2dyv6hrvOBpfpETz2zQR1wBWmyRSnKIkASSV7oJmaEdQwDLOEXzOJ8B62_N3tWeaANQ/s1600/Hillary.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBI6Zl_9PUJs0qBNYq685FMrG6ptHa_BMi_mn_WRMiCitPei6y5bnRqLHaRwR7lq71pwed37c2dyv6hrvOBpfpETz2zQR1wBWmyRSnKIkASSV7oJmaEdQwDLOEXzOJ8B62_N3tWeaANQ/s400/Hillary.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "...[Trump would] put[ ]crazy people on the Supreme Court..."<br />
<br />
The president cannot simply <i>put</i> people on the Supreme Court. He <a href="http://drexel.edu/ogcr/resources/constitution/articles/article2/" target="_blank">nominates</a>
a potential justice, who must then be confirmed by the Senate in order to be
seated. After the first year of Nixon's presidency, the senatorial <a href="https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal70-1292788" target="_blank">Democrats</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/07/archives/senate-confirms-powell-by-89-to-1-for-blacks-seat-first-southern.html" target="_blank">only</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/450_1971.pdf" target="_blank">once</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/603_1975.pdf" target="_blank">prevented</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/22/us/senate-confirms-judge-o-connor-she-will-join-high-court-friday.html" target="_blank">confirmation</a> of a <a href="https://www.loc.gov/law/find/nominations/rehnquist-cj/vote.pdf" target="_blank">nomination</a> by a <a href="https://www.loc.gov/law/find/nominations/scalia/vote.pdf" target="_blank">Republican</a> president to the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/law/find/nominations/bork/vote.pdf" target="_blank">Supreme</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/04/us/senate-97-to-0-confirms-kennedy-to-high-court.html" target="_blank">Court</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=101&session=2&vote=00259" target="_blank">but</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=1&vote=00220" target="_blank">always</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00245" target="_blank">could</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00001" target="_blank">have</a> done so via filibuster if not a vote of rejection. <br />
<br />
<u>Hartmann</u>: "[P]eople of color, immigrants, people who have immigrants in their family, people with $1T of student debt, and people who depend on Social Security... can't afford [to vote for Stein]..."<br />
<br />
He argues they <i>can</i> afford to vote for Clinton, who has no specified plan to increase funds for Social Security (Stein would <b>lift the cap</b> on how much income is subject to the payroll tax), who does not share Stein's goal to <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/stein_baraka_campaign_debunks_john_oliver_s_deceptive_attack_on_student_debt_bailout" target="_blank">cancel</a> student debt, and whose record on race and immigration is dismal. (That record <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/05/those-yet-to-vote-in-dems-race-for-pres.html" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/03/how-clintons-third-inevitability-is.html" target="_blank">been</a> <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/01/beating-back-biased-behavior-that.html" target="_blank">discussed</a> in <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/11/clearer-contrast-btn-hillary-bernie-as.html" target="_blank">previous</a> <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/07/already-desperate-hillary-surrogates.html" target="_blank">entries</a>.)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I am... adamantly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxASD4jHgCk" target="_blank">against</a> illegal immigrants."<br />Clinton on <i>The John Gambling Show</i>, 11 Feb<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span> 2003</span></blockquote>
<u>Hartmann</u>: "[Y]ou can, by voting for Jill Stein..., choose not to participate."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"The issues that face people are so big, the<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> people</span> can become <a href="https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/11406/" target="_blank">either</a> demoralized or radicalized... [Prime Min<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span> Margaret] <b>Thatcher's most dangerous statement was, ‘There is no alternative.'</b> She said to people, 'Whatever you do, whatever you think, however hard you work, you'll get nowhere. Don't even try.' It paralyzed a lot of people... [Y]ou can make progress only by doing something... [Y]ou have to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s1238298.htm" target="_blank">believe</a> it can be done."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Tony <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/audio/2014/mar/14/tony-benn-interview-labour-audio" target="_blank">Benn</a> <span style="font-size: small;">(1925-2014)</span>, member of the Parliament of the UK <span style="font-size: small;">(1950-2001)</span></span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7Zdl0knSwrB9PuRGAeTtYysbDwvKKXZsqxXDFCHoJxLMka_ia0doTueRaev-KPR1A2f0MVhgYEF1BjWQWvzmF6N8k2knTE4YI3Wxs9OVxy9cYrJjdh34Fp2BvfZF8Z7ZbIvszVg3JeQ/s1600/Cuomo.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7Zdl0knSwrB9PuRGAeTtYysbDwvKKXZsqxXDFCHoJxLMka_ia0doTueRaev-KPR1A2f0MVhgYEF1BjWQWvzmF6N8k2knTE4YI3Wxs9OVxy9cYrJjdh34Fp2BvfZF8Z7ZbIvszVg3JeQ/s1600/Cuomo.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuomo is now governor.<br />
(nysenate.gov)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If the Democrats were particularly
disturbed by the prospect of a victory for Trump, they would have nominated the scandal-free Sanders, who, according to a year of polls, would have had a better chance to beat Trump than Clinton has. Yet, many Democrats who voted to nominate Clinton insist people should be so scared of him as to betray their conscience even though, on July 20, Clinton's campaign stated, "Vote your <a href="https://twitter.com/hillaryclinton/status/755967178285907968" target="_blank">conscience</a>."<br />
<br />
In above quotations, Hartmann somewhat vaguely pushed the common argument by which a vote for Stein risks a repeat of when, in the presidential election of 2000, votes for Ralph Nader -- who was the Green nominee -- in Florida "cost" then-Vice-Pres. Al Gore the race. However, that argument is fatally flawed for various reasons, such as that Nader did not cost Gore the race.<br />
<ul>
<li>The critical Electoral votes of FL were stolen for George W. Bush by his brother, who was governor of the state, by Katherine Harris, who was secretary of State of FL and simultaneously co-chaired Bush's campaign there, by numerous Republican operatives, and ultimately by the majority of the Supreme Court in <i>Bush v. Gore</i>.</li>
<li>An objection by at least one member of each house of Congress is required in order for it to debate the legitimacy of Electoral votes from a given state and then vote on whether to void them. More than a dozen members of the House of Representatives objected to the Electoral votes from FL. But every senator, including Clinton, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4522501/objections-floridas-electoral-votes" target="_blank">refused</a> to join the objection.</li>
<li>Although Gore won the popular vote, the Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress from 2007-2011 did not bring forth a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College. Even with Obama as president for the last two of those four years, no federal legislation was enacted to eliminate the various electoral deficiencies that -- via accident or exploitation -- resulted in an unfair loss of many votes for Gore.</li>
<li>Much of Bush's agenda had Clinton's vote. Examples: five <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/21/401123124/a-timeline-of-hillary-clintons-evolution-on-trade" target="_blank">free</a>-trade pacts, the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=109&session=2&vote=00262" target="_blank">fence</a> on the southern border, the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=107&session=1&vote=00236" target="_blank">Bankruptcy</a> <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2015/11/18/flashback-elizabeth-warren-tells-a-story-about-hillary-clinton-wall-street-and-lobbying/" target="_blank">Reform</a> Act, the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213" target="_blank">bailout</a> for robber barons, the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=107&session=1&vote=00313" target="_blank">Patriot</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00029" target="_blank">Act</a>, the authorization to <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=2&vote=00237" target="_blank">invade</a> Iraq, and <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00181" target="_blank">six</a>
<a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00125" target="_blank">years</a> of <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00400" target="_blank">funds</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00117" target="_blank">for</a> the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00366" target="_blank">occupation</a> of it. Gore's <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?172794-1/us-foreign-policy" target="_blank">opposition</a> to the Patriot Act and to said invasion mean he and Clinton are <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?179040-1/freedom-security" target="_blank">fundamentally</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?190733-1/domestic-surveillance-executive-powers" target="_blank">disparate</a>.</li>
<li>Many officials of the Bush-Cheney adm. <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/08/why-bernies-voters-should-reject-his.html" target="_blank">favor</a> Clinton's candidacy.</li>
<li>Corporatism, espoused by Clinton, created the desperation Trump exploits.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIiByPjTgItINhUyJNWqovksm1CbaQLzjCEF_4dqzmsUXwTfMj9d0c77z9mpKgFxh8e5y19zTVPYBYWQsMJNjg5bDe_vpkSzORkRT9_m-Z7Z76xH185_gKJthKaiioPlUdni1vPe8Pv0/s1600/BushObama.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIiByPjTgItINhUyJNWqovksm1CbaQLzjCEF_4dqzmsUXwTfMj9d0c77z9mpKgFxh8e5y19zTVPYBYWQsMJNjg5bDe_vpkSzORkRT9_m-Z7Z76xH185_gKJthKaiioPlUdni1vPe8Pv0/s1600/BushObama.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G.H.W. Bush, Obama<br />
(Jerry Morrison / DoD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When Hartmann interviewed Stein <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXsRTOtOoKM#t=103" target="_blank">twice</a> as she first sought the White House, he did <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm-IP3Ptc1g#t=31m12s" target="_blank">not</a><br />
<ul>
<li>question her fundraising</li>
<li>ask about her tax-returns</li>
<li>criticize her lack of experience in office </li>
<li>hold the demographics of Lexington against her</li>
<li>dismiss her supporters of color as "stupid"</li>
<li>call her vain, opportunistic or a bottom-feeder</li>
<li>claim she was not on enough ballots to warrant support</li>
<li>say participation allows no alternative to corporate parties</li>
<li>assert votes for her could result in a Republican victory </li>
<li>in any other way insult her, insult her supporters, raise suspicions about her motives, or discourage votes for her.</li>
</ul>
<br />
But in his introduction of Stein on 23 Feb. 2012, Hartmann did state this nation should "remake our economy in the <b>fundamental</b> way <b>necessary</b> to revive the dying middle class and increase economic opportunity for all Americans, not just the top 1%." He added, "For that, <b>we need</b>..., to borrow a phrase from... Roosevelt, <b>'a bold New Deal.' ...[N]either Republicans nor Democrats seem committed to a revolutionary New Deal.</b> But that doesn't mean no presidential candidate this year offers a New Deal of sorts. In fact, my next guest does <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/greennewdeal" target="_blank">exactly</a> that. Dr. Jill Stein joins me now... Dr. Stein, welcome! I should have worn <b>my 'Jill Stein for President' button</b>..."<br />
<br />
Later in that segment, Hartmann noted, "I voted for Nader in 2000. I lived in Vermont and did not think my vote would much affect the [outcome of the] presidential election. But <b>I wanted for the Green Party to get federal... funds</b>."<br />
<br />
Indeed, Gore <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/2000presge.htm#VT" target="_blank">bested</a> Bush in VT by 10 percentage points. Hartmann also was referring to this legal provision, as explained by the FEC.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Minor-party candidates and new-party candidates may become eligible for <b>partial public funding of their general-election campaigns</b>. (A minor-party candidate is the nominee of a party whose candidate received <b>between 5% and 25% of the total popular vote</b> in the preceding presidential election. A new-party candidate is the nominee of a party that is neither a major party nor a minor party.) The amount of public funds to which a minor-party candidate is entitled is based on the ratio of the party's popular vote in the preceding presidential election to the average popular vote of the two major-party candidates in that election. A new-party candidate receives <b>partial public funding after the election if he receives <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/pubfund.shtml" target="_blank">5%</a> or more of the vote</b>. The entitlement is based on the ratio of the new-party candidate's popular vote in the current election to the average popular vote of the two major-party candidates in the election.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Although minor and new party candidates <b>may supplement public funds with private contributions</b> and may exempt some fundraising costs from their expenditure limit, they are otherwise subject to the same spending limit and other requirements that apply to major party candidates."</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindeo5uasgrJP4FSG22qRtX9PXjs35DEk_lUW_AXMDF7_JSAz9mVJtv_6-38GK_UUu4uOe0e0QjmCvVSAy7HptmrpRTrBLVAUv3Uw8Ny6YkiBBhAnmUvJP-743zb027SHjdd5fUa_N948/s1600/Thatcher.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindeo5uasgrJP4FSG22qRtX9PXjs35DEk_lUW_AXMDF7_JSAz9mVJtv_6-38GK_UUu4uOe0e0QjmCvVSAy7HptmrpRTrBLVAUv3Uw8Ny6YkiBBhAnmUvJP-743zb027SHjdd5fUa_N948/s1600/Thatcher.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thatcher<br />
(Ronald Reagan Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Green Party has a good chance to meet that threshold in this election. Stein was at <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/clinton-emails-comey-poll-politico-morning-consult-230519" target="_blank">5%</a> in a national poll completed on Sunday. In previous national polls, she has reached <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/poll-clinton-keeps-5-point-lead-over-trump-heading-conventions-n610966" target="_blank">6%</a> and <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/06/21/rel7b.-.2016.general.pdf" target="_blank">7%</a>. In surveys of individual states, she has hit as high as <br />
<ul>
<li><b>7%</b> in <a href="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/2016/08/31/WIGroup/Milwaukee/636082789929763853-MJSMUPOLL01G.jpg" target="_blank">WI</a>, <a href="https://www.qu.edu/images/polling/ps/ps08172016_Spk79cr.pdf" target="_blank">CO</a>, <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_dd659ad4faf34206969d7dbef07995e2.pdf" target="_blank">VT</a></li>
<li><b>6%</b> in <a href="http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2545.pdf" target="_blank">CA</a>, <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_01dca97a9c05411984c50df92d62cf50.pdf" target="_blank">TX</a>, <a href="https://www.siena.edu/assets/files/news/SNY0816_Crosstabs_3987_081516.pdf" target="_blank">NY</a>, <a href="https://www.qu.edu/images/polling/ps/soh07132016_crosstabs_Smba72th.pdf" target="_blank">OH</a>, <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_b53ca6b673c14cdab9d68832bd7e74cb.pdf" target="_blank">MO</a>, <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/320771585/NBC-News-WSJ-Marist-Poll-Iowa-Annotated-Questionnaire-August-2016" target="_blank">IA</a>, <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_98fe8b3559f64960a573ecad7dc22ec9.pdf" target="_blank">NH</a>, <a href="http://www.adn.com/politics/2016/08/21/voter-dissatisfaction-with-clinton-and-trump-has-libertarian-johnson-hoping-alaskans-go-third-party/" target="_blank">AK</a></li>
<li><b>5%</b> in <a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/elections/mc-pa-trump-clinton-poll-20160917-story.html" target="_blank">PA</a>, <a href="http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/elections-2016/192382552-story" target="_blank">MI</a>, VA, <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_c4ce441cb55942e99e386bf56daef127.pdf" target="_blank">WA</a>, <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/328077482/KGW-Oregonian-Poll-2016" target="_blank">OR</a>, <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_e0263220771b4580a605b9c0d8821fc1.pdf" target="_blank">RI</a>, <a href="http://mprc.me/research/0916_presidential.pdf" target="_blank">ME</a></li>
<li><b>4%</b> in <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/318324091/NBC-News-WSJ-Marist-Poll-Florida-Annotated-Questionnaire-July-2016-2" target="_blank">FL</a>, <a href="https://eagletonpollblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/rutgers-eagleton-poll-2016-election-head-to-head-results1.pdf" target="_blank">NJ</a>, <a href="http://www1.wne.edu/news/2016/10/z-press-release-tables3.pdf" target="_blank">MA</a>, <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/08/24/topaz1.pdf" target="_blank">AZ</a>, <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_dd659ad4faf34206969d7dbef07995e2.pdf" target="_blank">CT</a>, <a href="http://nmpoliticalreport.com/89809/poll-clinton-leads-trump-in-nm-johnson-strong/" target="_blank">NM</a>, <a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2016/09/01/metronews-west-virginia-poll-trump-still-the-choice-of-mountain-state-voters/" target="_blank">WV</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
Let us address a few of the other talking-points used against Stein.<br />
<br />
<u>"Stein's investments prove she is impure! What do her backers say to <i>that?!"</i></u><br />
<br />
I say it means we who back her should no longer be accused of insistence on purity. Neither Stein -- who <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/beastresponse" target="_blank">rebutted</a> the attack about her investments, which are indirect -- nor any of her backers ever claimed she is pure. She remains an infinitely better choice than Clinton is.<br />
<br />
<u>"Stein is anti-vaccination!"</u><br />
<br />
That is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnKQJVhIRlk" target="_blank">false</a>. Stein -- who is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, is <a href="http://health.usnews.com/doctors/jill-stein-704710" target="_blank">licensed</a> by Massachusetts to practice internal medicine, and <a href="https://around.uoregon.edu/content/green-party-2012-presidential-candidate-speak-uo" target="_blank">taught</a> it at Harvard Medical School, from which she graduated -- does not think vaccines cause autism. She has been criticized because she does not <i>definitively</i> say vaccines do not cause autism. However, even the latest research does <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25562790" target="_blank">not</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25898051" target="_blank">prove</a> a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24814559" target="_blank">negative</a> on this matter.<br />
<br />
<u>"Well, Stein <i>panders</i> to opponents of vaccination."</u><br />
<br />
That <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/baseless_anti_vax_attacks_against_dr_jill_stein_distract_from_concerns" target="_blank">false</a> charge is based on Stein's proposal to <b>end corporate influence on the Food & Drug Administration</b>. Her policy would likely increase public confidence in vaccines. That increase, and her plan <b>for single-payer</b>, would heighten the rate of vaccination. Stein therefore describes herself as "the <b>most pro-vaccine</b>... candidate in this race." <br />
<br />
Even before 2008, the Nat'l Institutes of Health accepted numerous studies that searched for but did <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10376617" target="_blank">not</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11581466" target="_blank">find</a> any <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1124634/" target="_blank">link</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12415036" target="_blank">between</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15364187" target="_blank">vaccination</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15259839" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16865547" target="_blank">autism</a>. Clinton, that year, nonetheless wrote, "I am committed to make investments to find the causes of <b>autism</b>, including possible environmental causes like <b>vaccines</b>... We don't know what, if any, kind of link there is between <b>vaccines</b> and <b>autism</b>..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLx9UA-Mx76c0EtTPCj_zhdLsKXxJNIc_oeQAOyFpUv8hkiAsr1wZWAIjUJYvGtqz7VCGCDk1BQxl0ZnXPsDnPamY52qxeZcS_lrPHzQbvzHicX6ThS03CUP4OadN7e5yalHBYBnt3D5Q/s1600/Clapper.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLx9UA-Mx76c0EtTPCj_zhdLsKXxJNIc_oeQAOyFpUv8hkiAsr1wZWAIjUJYvGtqz7VCGCDk1BQxl0ZnXPsDnPamY52qxeZcS_lrPHzQbvzHicX6ThS03CUP4OadN7e5yalHBYBnt3D5Q/s1600/Clapper.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clapper <br />
(Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For this cycle, Clinton <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/41381/threes-company-the-vaccine-controversy" target="_blank">changed</a> her position on that issue.<br />
<br />
<u>"Stein said Wi-Fi harms people's brains."</u><br />
<br />
That <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/jill_stein_answers_science_questions" target="_blank">false</a> accusation is based on a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQjaSJP2Xg" target="_blank">comment</a> in which Stein 1) praised <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2009-0216+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN" target="_blank">precautions</a> recommended by organizations such as the European Parliament with regard to wireless technology, and 2) lamented how little research occurs in the US about that matter. Meanwhile, Clinton insists more research is necessary in order to determine whether medical marijuana is safe.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"But we also have anecdotal evidence from Colorado, where coroners
believe that when some people who took medical marijuana died, they had
drug interactions with other things they took."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton's daughter as a surrogate for Clinton, in defense of her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TucRv_01D04" target="_blank">waffle</a></span></blockquote>
By the way, Stein favors <b>legalization of marijuana</b> for medical and recreational use.<br />
<br />
<u>"The Green Party puts forth candidates for president but not for other offices."</u><br />
<br />
That is <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/12/victories-and-good-showings-for-greens.html" target="_blank">false</a>. Moreover, Green candidates on state <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2014/11/on-local-level-greens-score-victories.html" target="_blank">and</a> local levels sometimes do very <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2014/11/on-election-day-greens-continued-to.html" target="_blank">well</a> and even <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2013/11/socialist-wins-recount-greens-prove.html" target="_blank">win</a>. Information about Green contenders in this election is <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/downticket" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
And here are more people who back Stein/Baraka. <br />
<ul>
<li>Coleen <a href="http://kstp.com/politics/jill-stein-green-party-presidential-candidate-macalester-college-st-paul/4298746/" target="_blank">Rowley</a>: retired special agent, FBI; <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?170432-2/counterterrorism-efforts-part-2" target="_blank">whistleblower</a>; Person of the Year for 2002, <a href="http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/2002/1101021230_400.jpg" target="_blank"><i>Time</i></a><i>;</i> fmr. congressional nominee (D-MN)</li>
<li>Councilman Cecil <a href="http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/07/13/bothwell-leaves-democrats-over-clinton/87035754/" target="_blank">Bothwell</a> (I-Asheville)</li>
<li><a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/07/26/the-real-revolution-is-down-the-street-to-your-left-the-green-party-rallies-at-the-democratic-convention/" target="_blank">Medea</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/30/codepink_attempts_to_arrest_henry_kissinger" target="_blank">Benjamin</a>: co-<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?312917-4/medea-benjamin-protest-presidential-speech-drones" target="_blank">founder</a>, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4243272/tighe-tackles-nra" target="_blank">Code</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4243449/medea-tackles-nra" target="_blank">Pink</a></li>
<li>author & activist David <a href="https://www.facebook.com/davidcnswanson/posts/10154279096108320" target="_blank">Swanson</a></li>
<li>Hunter "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_5uJKXnvfw" target="_blank">Patch</a>" <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/public_health/Gesundheit-Patch-Adams-is-coming-to-town.html" target="_blank">Adams</a> MD </li>
<li>actors Susan <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/03/politics/susan-sarandon-candidates-jill-stein/" target="_blank">Sarandon</a>, Viggo <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaWQnpToL8s" target="_blank">Mortensen</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGf4W4KhrZvvqZ6i5kPJV8qDfbUpXBAD3W9pLAqxtlRqzbgYdmRpnsdu0_N89m2_WLPyC0w33_pq5HaLL1cMO3ZvLio12SM41AcPIA3MhukZpWJekyinhVlyeuzilEQ9VSd1kB67La1I/s1600/Blankfein.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGf4W4KhrZvvqZ6i5kPJV8qDfbUpXBAD3W9pLAqxtlRqzbgYdmRpnsdu0_N89m2_WLPyC0w33_pq5HaLL1cMO3ZvLio12SM41AcPIA3MhukZpWJekyinhVlyeuzilEQ9VSd1kB67La1I/s1600/Blankfein.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blankfein<br />
(Myles Cullen / DoD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Aug. 16, Atty. Gen. Kathleen Kane (D-PA) resigned because, the day prior, she was <a href="http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pennsylvanias_former_attorney_general_is_sentenced_to_jail" target="_blank">convicted</a> of perjury and obstruction of justice. She was an official of <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/former_president_bill_clinton_1.html" target="_blank">Clinton</a> 2008.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Kathleen Kane would be a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120527133456/http://www.kathleengkane.com/president-clinton-endorses-prosecutor-kathleen-kane-for-pennsylvania-attorney-general/" target="_blank">great</a> attorney general... I'm <a href="http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2012/04/19/bucks_news/doc4f883f12c39dc440431750.txt?viewmode=fullstory" target="_blank">proud</a> to
endorse my friend Kathleen Kane and I hope she'll be the first woman
ever elected attorney general by the people of Pennsylvania... Who's
more likely to do more good in this job? The answer is Kathleen Kane."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton's husband, before the primary in 2012</span></blockquote>
Speaking of resignation, CNN recently accepted that of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwA5cYcJNpc#t=19m17.7s" target="_blank">pundit</a> Donna Brazile because WikiLeaks revealed she <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/cnn-fired-donna-brazile-it-should-keep-going-214406" target="_blank">sent</a>, to Clinton's campaign, questions the candidate would be asked at a debate and a town-hall-style program that were hosted by said network in March. Since July, Brazile was on leave due to her interim chairpersonship of the DNC. <br />
<br />
On Sept. 5, Clinton held her first news conference in <a href="http://theweek.com/speedreads/647297/trump-ends-press-blacklist" target="_blank">275</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/hillary-clinton-reporters-press-227700" target="_blank">days</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
From Walmart to Wall Street, from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRlAMr1Tj4E" target="_blank">Goldwater</a> to Goldman Sachs, from race-baiting to <a href="http://fair.org/home/sanders-redbaiting-and-the-denouncing-double-standard/" target="_blank">red</a>-<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2Muccak9zo" target="_blank">baiting</a>, Clinton has proven to be so destructive, unethical, <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/hillary-clinton-hit-list-102067" target="_blank">vindictive</a> and secretive as to be an extremely dangerous candidate for any position of considerable power.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[T]here are three ways to judge a politician. The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record. The method is tried, true, time-tested, and pretty much infallible. In politics, the past is prologue. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all of that will be in the record."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The late journalist <a href="http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/random043/00712812.html" target="_blank">Molly</a> <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/2138-molly-ivins-use-it-or-lose-it/" target="_blank">Ivins</a> with Lou Dubose</span></blockquote>
The electorate must have standards that will halt the race to the bottom of quality of presidential nominees of the major parties. Among the values crucial to the endurance of this republic are ethics, courage, and the rule of law. A vote for Stein/Baraka is a vote for those values and for goals the Constitution enshrines: justice, domestic tranquility, the general welfare, and the blessings of liberty.Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-76997604748916514192016-08-18T06:37:00.001-04:002023-07-30T12:29:45.925-04:00Commendation to DE for Its Abolition of the Death PenaltyDelaware is the 20th state to <a href="http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DEATH_PENALTY_DELAWARE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-08-15-16-44-54" target="_blank">prohibit</a> execution.<br />
<br />
In Nebraska, application of the ban on capital punishment is postponed because an initiative to restore it will appear on the ballot there on November 8. The campaign against that initiative is Retain a <a href="http://retainajustnebraska.com/" target="_blank">Just</a> Nebraska.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oXXYVHqzY7vcB6l5Vr6GxEAdN-bRQ7d4pkHFS60ljCO-QBhAgRyU3xG5may9CTZ9x3OmippjPDk325fJbKmgKPxZVQWpNLDfxT-vlx89lAXMKyk92Lu6whC1k1LcjbRTsV2hq24XwvM/s1600/MapDP.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oXXYVHqzY7vcB6l5Vr6GxEAdN-bRQ7d4pkHFS60ljCO-QBhAgRyU3xG5may9CTZ9x3OmippjPDk325fJbKmgKPxZVQWpNLDfxT-vlx89lAXMKyk92Lu6whC1k1LcjbRTsV2hq24XwvM/s1600/MapDP.png" /></a></div>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-31968204364946210682016-08-14T18:01:00.002-04:002023-07-30T13:12:39.723-04:00Why Bernie's Voters Should Reject His Endorsement of Hillary<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nQE8gQzU0gjStdLv3YA3ki-VfF7bhMv6KuCI8MvI4nojqJWSulCnTIsGkI-a00HuaeHfZVi7eug1sctVlUbbuDlIBciAdOSjH-ONUnLc2Hv3flDJhBJ669rma4qvP576FHd51ERQn0Y/s1600/Sanders.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nQE8gQzU0gjStdLv3YA3ki-VfF7bhMv6KuCI8MvI4nojqJWSulCnTIsGkI-a00HuaeHfZVi7eug1sctVlUbbuDlIBciAdOSjH-ONUnLc2Hv3flDJhBJ669rma4qvP576FHd51ERQn0Y/s1600/Sanders.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
True to his word, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) campaigned through the final weeks of Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses. In that period, most of the party's
establishment along with most of the corporate media, after a year
of their attempts to halt his candidacy, lost their patience with
it and very publicly so.<br />
<br />
A conceivable reason was that the months-old assertion by which Sanders retained no
mathematical possibility to acquire the majority of pledged delegates
to the Democratic National Convention was still false until June 7. Another such reason was that ex-sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) remained under federal criminal investigation and, if she had been indicted and had terminated her candidacy as a result, the elite would have preferred for Sanders to be out of the mix. That way, the pledged delegates Clinton had garnered and the pro-Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwA5cYcJNpc#t=32m2s" target="_blank">super</a>-delegates could have used his withdrawal as an excuse to hand the nomination to someone who shares Clinton's devotion to the status-quo.<br />
<br />
Regardless of the reason(s), the breaking point was hit during the Democratic Nevadan Conv. on May 15, where leaders of the state party <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=435x0dQ5Lzg" target="_blank">cheated</a>
Sanders out of several delegates to the national convention. Corporate media
and many Democratic bigwigs, in a distraction from that unfairness, <a href="http://www.snopes.com/did-sanders-supporters-throw-chairs-at-nevada-democratic-convention/" target="_blank">falsely</a> claimed that Sanders's delegates to the state convention committed violence (such as by throwing chairs) while at it. One of the surrogates for Clinton who were there was Sen.
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), whose former son-in-law is <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Barbara-Boxer-in-book-details-experiences-with-7963562.php" target="_blank">Clinton's</a> brother. Boxer subsequently and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOwxA69bQMk" target="_blank">falsely</a> alleged Sanders's delegates caused her to fear for her physical safety during the event.<br />
<br />
Corporate
media then reported that the chairperson of the Democratic Party of Nevada received threats of violence that
were from people we were expected to assume were pro-Sanders. A possibility that
was largely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7B-VTklRdY" target="_blank">ignored</a> was that the threats were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAlb45SmZWA" target="_blank">trickery</a>
by backers of Republican nominee <a href="http://www.cc.com/video-clips/dlpw9d/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-back-in-black---trump-2012" target="_blank">Donald</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4596106/lewis-black-donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump</a> or of Clinton. She has experience in such tactics. For instance, the super-PAC with which her campaign directly coordinates -- and that political <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/opinion/sunday/maureen-dowd-call-off-the-dogs.html" target="_blank">hitman</a> David Brock heads -- had begun to pay for operatives to, without disclosing their employment, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-clinton-digital-trolling-20160506-snap-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">harass</a> backers of Sanders online. Furthermore, Clinton has paid -- including with public money -- for <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/09/27/bernie_sanders_secret_advantage_how_dominating_facebook_could_help_him_overcome_hillary_clintons_financial_juggernaut/" target="_blank">fake</a> followers on social media. And her campaign staff <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3848826" target="_blank">planted</a> questioners at town-hall-style meetings.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKm0hcoCRMftnXZD9jtBTl5vDrcQ8kVA8dfWlvRGVAKuW1yHBcpjZws1V4g9Bg_QCpsXAlxDSL3JJN2GgHYckp8d3SY2PYyc9My4abAUzZ71v8YLS4FkIKQT6X5M031WLKTuEhGmtS8pE/s1600/Clinton.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKm0hcoCRMftnXZD9jtBTl5vDrcQ8kVA8dfWlvRGVAKuW1yHBcpjZws1V4g9Bg_QCpsXAlxDSL3JJN2GgHYckp8d3SY2PYyc9My4abAUzZ71v8YLS4FkIKQT6X5M031WLKTuEhGmtS8pE/s1600/Clinton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton (Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Nonetheless, corporate media and establishment Democrats -- after their demand for Sanders to condemn the nonexistent violence succeeded -- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abnkjCZTJDI#t=14m36s" target="_blank">slammed</a> his condemnation as inadequate. (Prominent allies of Clinton exploited the situation to <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/05/17/debbie_wasserman_schultz_what_happened_at_nevada_convention_was_unacceptable_sanders_added_fuel_to_the_fire.html" target="_blank">defame</a> his supporters by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdJSQuDvIhU" target="_blank">comparing</a> them to Trump's followers and to <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2014/7/8/kochs_anti_civil_rights_roots" target="_blank">Birchers</a>.) Yet, there was no demand for Clinton -- who is delighted by <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/clinton-on-qaddafi-we-came-we-saw-he-died/" target="_blank">war</a>, <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/12/clinton-touts-her-experience-with-guns/" target="_blank">defends</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzQxFtM9cfk" target="_blank">gun</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmoclCzKj4Q#t=4" target="_blank">culture</a>, and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/10/hillary-clinton-stalwart-friend-of-worlds-worst-despots-attacks-sanders-latin-american-activism/" target="_blank">sold</a> weapons to oppressive regimes -- to denounce violence after<br />
<ul>
<li>a <a href="http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/jan/08/bullet-hole-found-at-sanders-campaign-hq-on-day-ca/" target="_blank">bullet</a> pierced a window at the headquarters of Sanders's campaign in NV.</li>
<li>a prominent supporter of hers was charged with <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wendell-pierce-arrested-battery-atlanta_us_57396b82e4b077d4d6f369f0" target="_blank">battery</a> that was allegedly in reaction to a pro-Sanders comment.</li>
<li>Nicholas Silitch, who was and remains on the Democratic Committee of New York and backed Clinton for the nomination, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74UQn8kcT90" target="_blank">assaulted</a> Moumita Ahmed when she was a delegate for Sanders.</li>
</ul>
<br />
On May 17, Sanders pulled a huge <a href="http://www.opb.org/news/series/election-2016/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-oregon-poll/" target="_blank">upset</a> in the Oregonian <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/oregon/" target="_blank">primary</a>. The same day, he <a href="http://washingtonmonthly.com/stuff/KYDemResults.pdf" target="_blank">exceeded</a> expectations when he finished four-<a href="http://www.wave3.com/story/32074367/clinton-wins-kentucky-primary-following-statewide-recanvass" target="_blank">tenths</a> of a percentage point behind Clinton in the Kentuckian primary, which she had won by <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008pres.pdf#page=27" target="_blank">36</a> points eight years ago. This year, her victory in it came at great <a href="http://www.local8now.com/content/news/Hillary-Clinton-campaigns-in-Lexington-prior-to-Kentucky-Primary-379753511.html" target="_blank">expense</a>.<br />
<br />
On May 19, Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KAXrZqGZ0I#t=92" target="_blank">crowned</a> herself the nominee. She thereby dismissed the votes that would be cast in the rest of the contests. They would include those in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, New Mexico, California and the District of Columbia, all of whose populations are majority nonwhite. The corporate media gave a pass to Clinton about that, in stark <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEcD6At9Ytk" target="_blank">contrast</a> to when many of them <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/04/18/why-bernie-sanders-will-rue-his-deep-south-dismissal-of-black-voters/" target="_blank">pretended</a> Sanders's description of the South as conservative was a dismissal of the black vote. Said propaganda mostly excluded any reference to the following facts. (For this entry, the South is defined as AL, AR, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX and VA. There was no exit poll for LA's primary.)<br />
<ul>
<li>Although Sanders lost the Southern black vote, he also lost the Southern white vote, and not by a little. In the Southern states except North Carolina, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/arkansas/exit/" target="_blank">Clinton's</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/alabama/exit/" target="_blank">margin</a> of <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/texas/exit/" target="_blank">victory</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/virginia/exit/" target="_blank">among</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/tennessee/exit/" target="_blank">whites</a> ranged from 8 to <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/mississippi/exit/" target="_blank">37</a> points. Ergo, if Sanders was dismissive of the black vote, he was also dismissive of the white vote.</li>
<li>While Sanders won among whites in NC by 8 points, Clinton won among its conservatives by <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/north-carolina/exit/" target="_blank">21</a>. Her margin of victory among <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/florida/exit/" target="_blank">conservatives</a> in South-Carolina, Georgia and Florida ranged from <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/south-carolina/exit/" target="_blank">44</a> to <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/georgia/exit/" target="_blank">47</a>. Hence, the Southern conservative vote was indeed unfavorable to the socialist contender.</li>
<li>Clinton, during her previous campaign, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaSemy2-ewo" target="_blank">dismissed</a> the black vote. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL6UG5ZNql2eCSYt-34ROY-6E1fJZdwyi3oS2mO2FNffuxBV34ewBrIiTaB0GjBxdcC-OH9N2BQxjv060T1mCpi3-n8cNj5gE5b7GkAVq049Ck4lE3-BVSjzD-cjEH7KDI8Jd8Db4-ZY/s1600/Boxer.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL6UG5ZNql2eCSYt-34ROY-6E1fJZdwyi3oS2mO2FNffuxBV34ewBrIiTaB0GjBxdcC-OH9N2BQxjv060T1mCpi3-n8cNj5gE5b7GkAVq049Ck4lE3-BVSjzD-cjEH7KDI8Jd8Db4-ZY/s1600/Boxer.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boxer (US Senate<br />
Photographic Studio)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On May 23, Clinton <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/No-presidential-debate-in-California-after-7941052.php" target="_blank">violated</a> her agreement to a 10th debate with Sanders. That breach was despite this comment from when she called for what would have been literally the 27th debate between her and then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[The presidency] is the most important [and] the toughest job in the world. [Each presidential candidate] should be willing to<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> debate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0QAewVrR28" target="_blank">anytime</a>, anywhere... I have been willing to do<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> that during the entire process."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton to <i>The Argus Leader</i>, 23 May 2008</span></blockquote>
On May 26, Inspector General Steven Linick of the Department of State issued a report about Clinton's use of her personal email-system for the work she did there. Each of the following three remarks precedes what the IG found about it.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[T]he
laws and regulations in effect when I was secretary<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> of State</span> allowed me
to use my [<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">personal email-system</span>] for work... I fully complied with every rule by
which I was governed."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton at a news conferen<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ce</span>, 10 March 2015</span></blockquote>
That is <a href="https://oig.state.gov/system/files/esp-16-03.pdf" target="_blank">false</a>. Clinton disregarded official "memoranda that specifically discussed the <b>obligation to use Dept. systems in most circumstances</b> and identified the risks of not using those systems... Throughout... Clinton's tenure, the Foreign Affairs Manual stated that <b>normal day-to-day operations should be conducted on an authorized automated information system</b>. Yet, the Office of the IG found <b>no evidence of any request by or obtainment by [Clinton] of guidance to or approval to conduct official business via... her private server</b>.<br />
<br />
"According to the current chief information officer and assistant secretary for Diplomatic Security, ...<b>Clinton was obligated to discuss with their offices the use of her personal email-account</b> to conduct official business, and their offices in turn would have attempted to provide her with approved and secured means... However, according to these officials, because of... the FAM and the security risks..., <b>the Bureau of DS and the Bureau of Information Resource Management did not approve -- and would not have approved -- her exclusive reliance on a personal email-account</b>...<br />
<br />
"During... Clinton's tenure, the FAM... instructed <b>employees</b> that they <b>were expected to use approved, secure methods to transmit sensitive but unclassified information</b> and that, if they needed to transmit SBU information outside the Department's OpenNet network on a regular basis to non-Departmental addresses, employees <b>should request a solution from IRM</b>. However, OIG found <b>no evidence of... any contact by Clinton with IRM to request such a solution, even though... her personal account regularly contained information marked as SBU</b>...<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoc8MDgd03HnP1jkpyoR8pR_-pBOXBQxygzKkT1VDsNOLX6elkDEFRMl8q6oDejQeu5h8tdjfeIYmytLYRFpwgsGW0Dyqmefwrvzhe8972RGKUcMdcfuWNSsrviy04x2wAxMgPrV4GAg/s1600/Linick.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoc8MDgd03HnP1jkpyoR8pR_-pBOXBQxygzKkT1VDsNOLX6elkDEFRMl8q6oDejQeu5h8tdjfeIYmytLYRFpwgsGW0Dyqmefwrvzhe8972RGKUcMdcfuWNSsrviy04x2wAxMgPrV4GAg/s1600/Linick.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linick (Committee on<br />
Homeland Security and<br />
Governmental Affairs)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"[T]he FAM... <b>required that employees</b> who process SBU information on their own devices <b>ensure that appropriate... safeguards are maintained</b> to protect the confidentiality and integrity of records and to, with products certified by the Nat'l Institute of Standards & Technology, ensure encryption of SBU information... Clinton's website states that 'robust protections... and additional upgrades and techniques were employed over time as they became available...' DS and IRM reported to OIG that... <b>Clinton never demonstrated</b> to them that her private server or mobile device met <b>minimum information-security requirements</b> specified by the Federal Information Security Management Act and the FAM."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I'm happy to answer any questions anybody might have."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton, <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">in reference to</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> her email-system,</span> <span style="font-size: small;">on <i>Meet the Press</i>, NBC, 3 April</span></span></blockquote>
That is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AtuS2ugGLk" target="_blank">false</a>. Of the five latest secretaries of State, <b>Clinton</b> is the only one who <b>refused to cooperate with the probe by the IG</b> and his staff. The question of why was given this response:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"What they wanted to ask, we had already talked about in the public arena... The practice was used by other secretaries of State."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton on <i>Special Report</i>, Fox News, 8 June</span></blockquote>
That is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-oVI0Dm5s#t=6m20s" target="_blank">false</a>. How could she have known which questions those inspectors would have asked? Why would they have asked any question to which they already knew the answer? Anyhow, the IG found that Clinton is the <b>only</b> person who, as secretary of State, used a personal server for any work-related e-mails. He also found she is the <b>only</b> person who, as secretary of State, used a private account for all work-related e-mails.<br />
<br />
There would be six contests on June 7, including the primary in CA, which is this country's most populous state. Because Sanders had a <a href="https://gqrr.app.box.com/s/4vekev5avzwhvw1zybpdnuh2acdsqrxe" target="_blank">considerable</a> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/314520082/NBC-News-WSJ-Marist-California-Poll-Annotated-Questionnaire-June-2016" target="_blank">chance</a> to win there -- and because, as was clear, neither candidate would amass enough pledged delegates in order to secure the nomination before the super-delegates would vote at the national convention -- he planned to extend his bid until that event by arguing to the super-delegates that he would be more likely to beat Trump than Clinton would. In <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/313215594/CBS-NYT-Poll-Toplines-May" target="_blank">continuation</a> of a long trend, <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/917esaneau98b6iamunasjqiczgk7ntl" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-CK242_POLL_16U_20160521095411.jpg" target="_blank">last</a> <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2016/sanders_45_trump_41" target="_blank">eight</a> <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/archive/white_house_watch_2016/white_house_watch_clinton_40_trump_39" target="_blank">polls</a> to <a href="https://www.qu.edu/images/polling/us/us06012016_Ugb28vf.pdf" target="_blank">test</a> <a href="http://www.investors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ibdtipp-Tables_June2016_Posting-1.pdf#page=55" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="https://today.yougov.com/news/2016/06/06/yougoveconomist-poll-june-2-5-2016/" target="_blank">argument</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/n0xmmo4v63ps8kg81hmqufdfmyvq5lrs" target="_blank">validated</a> it. A cornerstone of it was Sanders's popularity among independents, which was made obvious by ones who had already voted in primaries and caucuses.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz254_79jkGURIbueRarvfEyoggn_4hEGpzIMwq87YjxSDY5pejXSPyWx99IvFJ9ooWuimMtOmYfEyTnVf4Rt5VbJ1T3eNxEYvGKR6jHxaDPqQ3TX-qrjkyDePQmgQdE_veFcixs4DZco/s1600/Independents.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz254_79jkGURIbueRarvfEyoggn_4hEGpzIMwq87YjxSDY5pejXSPyWx99IvFJ9ooWuimMtOmYfEyTnVf4Rt5VbJ1T3eNxEYvGKR6jHxaDPqQ3TX-qrjkyDePQmgQdE_veFcixs4DZco/s1600/Independents.png" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<br />
As <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/democratic-presidential-candidate-sen-bernie-sanders-appears-at-a-picture-id532060090" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://sfreporter.com/santafe/imgs/media.images/20795/Bernie-Rally-Talks-behind-full-crowd.jpg" target="_blank">series</a> of <a href="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/9692724de34839b637cd536fac325dbc1cf76052/c=150-0-5257-3840&r=x1443&c=1920x1440/local/-/media/2016/05/21/TXNMGroup/LasCruces/635994584773033424-Bernie-Sanders-Rally-20.jpg" target="_blank">huge</a> <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/democratic-presidential-hopeful-bernie-sanders-speaks-to-supporters-picture-id534541756" target="_blank">crowds</a> <a href="http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=vAX64dBs2M1eV$wrzX9D3s$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYuEFkizv0w1$vJrs_eB4UkbWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cki5vpnXAAAwUR7.jpg" target="_blank">gathered</a> for the ex-mayor of Burlington extended, corporate media's own frustration with him boiled over at a news conference on June 6. Upon completion of his initial statement, he called on Jeffrey Zeleny of CNN, who was directly in front of Sanders. Little did he know that Yamiche Alcindor of <i>The NY Times</i>, who was to the side, had decided <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4602296/sanders-asked-sexist-running" target="_blank">nothing</a> would stop her from asking the first question.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
She interjected, "What do you say to women who say--"<br />
Sanders told her, "Excuse me."<br />
"What do you say to women--"<br />
"Excuse me. Yes."<br />
"What do you say to women who--"<br />
"Excuse me."<br />
"--say for you to stay in the race--"<br />
"Excuse me."<br />
"What do you say to women who say for you--"<br />
"Excuse me!"<br />
"--to stay in the race--"<br />
"Excuse me, ma'am!"<br />
"I'm asking a <i>question!"</i><br />
"Well, other hands are up as well. Jeffrey, do you have a question?"<br />
Zeleny deferred, so Alcindor proceeded, "What do you say to women who say for you to stay in the race is sexist because you're in the way of what could be the first female president?"<br />
"Is that a serious question?"<br />
"<i>Yes</i>, it is a serious question."<br />
"Your question implies <a href="http://www.politifact.com/new-hampshire/statements/2015/nov/20/carly-fiorina/fiorina-says-vast-majority-syrian-refugees-are-abl/" target="_blank">any</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/nov/23/michele-bachmann/michele-bachmann-says-iran-has-threatended-launch-/" target="_blank">woman</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/oct/14/sarah-palin/report-finds-palin-violated-ethics-laws/" target="_blank">who</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-hopeful-sues-dole-over-atheist-ad/" target="_blank">runs</a> for president is, by definition, the best candidate. So if Hillary Clinton runs for president, is your point that for any man to oppose her is sexist?"<br />
"No. My point is: if she will have more delegates than you do tomorrow and you stay in the race, is it sexist?"<br />
"I don't think [so... To] defeat Donald Trump is absolutely imperative... I am the strongest candidate [for that task]."</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhEYiWWomAU5hD1WAyzYNz3IlbGgOENJrsR2z9TXPCuD3NewD6zNmLt6l6lEtJA9hLnueXY4HhisLjSRlzdEYCgI-CEHasXfZFABd6rgnzsBOCxMVArlkaHxKEnwqBrmd8FxCoA6dCC4/s1600/ObamaWJC.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhEYiWWomAU5hD1WAyzYNz3IlbGgOENJrsR2z9TXPCuD3NewD6zNmLt6l6lEtJA9hLnueXY4HhisLjSRlzdEYCgI-CEHasXfZFABd6rgnzsBOCxMVArlkaHxKEnwqBrmd8FxCoA6dCC4/s1600/ObamaWJC.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obama with Clinton's husband<br />
(Peter Souza / White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By that night, Clinton won the Puerto Rican primary (by 14 <a href="http://democratas2016.ceepur.org/Island-Wide.htm" target="_blank">fewer</a> points <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008pres.pdf#page=35" target="_blank">than</a> in 2008) and thereby scored <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/justice-department-arizona_us_5702b720e4b083f5c6085933" target="_blank">her</a> <a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/04/21/board-of-elections-official-removed/" target="_blank">third</a> victory that was amid <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/card/long-waits-puerto-ricos-democratic-primary-n586091" target="_blank">widespread</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/card/wait-drags-puerto-rico-voters-primary-day-n586121" target="_blank">disfranchisement</a>. (Democratic officials in the territory <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-campaign-statement-puerto-rico-polling-places/" target="_blank">falsely</a> blamed on Sanders's campaign the <a href="http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/politica/nota/reducena455colegiosdevotacionenlaprimariapresidencialdemocrata-2203982/" target="_blank">reduction</a> in polling locations from 1,510 to 455.)<br />
<br />
Weeks earlier, Sanders <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-sides-people-puerto-rico/" target="_blank">straightforwardly</a> announced he would vote <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=2&vote=00116" target="_blank">against</a>
the creation of the majority-Republican board that now controls the
finances of Puerto Rico but includes no one elected by its people.
Clinton claimed to
"have serious concerns about several provisions in this bill" but added "we must move forward with" it.<br />
<br />
Sanders's collection of 38% of the vote on that island (whose population is 99% Latino) is yet more evidence to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLFtdbAyQScV88F9Iafq7reLdoEUZbjiAjhUjJrqzO0YJmkXaA0hbEVpxZiqSLhCN9Z2TeAH0tPB1vKQjlYsbkM1QbcXg6gQ8zQhrrJfFyGkfhnppta5pfHg8Y61IRUmmYoN-wPkrHXw/s1600/MapPoC.png" target="_blank">disprove</a> the narrative that states his candidacy drew virtually no support from nonwhites. Said narrative overlooks Clinton's <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-clinton-does-not-deserve-black-peoples-votes/" target="_blank">inferior</a> record on racial justice and <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/05/white-workers-bernie-sanders-clinton-primary-racism/" target="_blank">insinuates </a>Sanders's campaign was somehow racist. For example:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[T]he Sanders insurgency is largely a white revolution. All the talk about Sanders as a represent<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ative of</span> the future of the Democratic Party because of his overwhelming popularity among young people leaves out an important caveat: He could n<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">o</span>t persuade minority voters to sign on. In many ways, a Sanders victory, propelled by the least diverse states in the nation, would have been a step backward in American race relations." </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Issac <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/2016-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-democrats-race-racial-divide-213948" target="_blank">Bailey</a></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"...Sanders Exposed the Democrats' Racial Rift," <i>Politico</i>, 8 Jun<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">e</span> </span></blockquote>
Among the facts Bailey omits from his piece because they invalidate his argument:<br />
<ul>
<li>NBC's analysis of 25 of the 27 entrance/exit polls that were conducted in this cycle found that Sanders <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/huge-split-between-older-younger-blacks-democratic-primary-n580996" target="_blank">won</a>
among blacks under age 30 in those 25 states <i>even though</i> Clinton carried 20 of them.</li>
<li>Sanders <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/new-hampshire/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> the nonwhite vote in New Hampshire and <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/illinois/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> the Latino vote in Illinois.</li>
<li>The theory that stated he actually lost the Latino vote in <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/nevada/exit/" target="_blank">NV</a> was <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-wins-nevada-latinos-study-shows/" target="_blank">debunked</a>.</li>
<li>Sanders attained a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/hawaii/" target="_blank">landslide</a> in Hawaii, which is the <a href="http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI125215/15" target="_blank">least</a> white state in the Union (and is a state in which no entrance/exit poll was conducted).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ22nL-rf8qtEpMzm0FIx3HUGPsM4wdwDcy6hEIbSIlSSvKyGANhD05bIAeFA6w_olPna8QeAR9ZdwewDDspCCerjpJPGpiGOm8tNKfGQWMJEaQ8Xo2O8tlJkDKzNiS5rO4x9v2iZMbCc/s1600/DeMoro.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ22nL-rf8qtEpMzm0FIx3HUGPsM4wdwDcy6hEIbSIlSSvKyGANhD05bIAeFA6w_olPna8QeAR9ZdwewDDspCCerjpJPGpiGOm8tNKfGQWMJEaQ8Xo2O8tlJkDKzNiS5rO4x9v2iZMbCc/s1600/DeMoro.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DeMoro<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The aforementioned narrative is racist, as another <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/10/clinton-sanders-democratic-presidential-primary-caucuses/" target="_blank">false</a> one, according to which Sanders's candidacy drew very little support from women and was therefore to be deemed misogynistic, is sexist. On account of color and/or sex, both narratives not only dismiss millions of voters but ignore their very
existence and therefore constitute an attempt to render them
silenced, invisible, and excluded from history.<br />
<br />
Back to June 6: Corporate media undermined Sanders's candidacy <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/19/robert_mcchesney_mainstream_corporate_media_covering" target="_blank">again</a> as <i>The NY Times</i>, <i>USA Today</i>, NBC and CNN joined the Associated Press to <a href="http://fair.org/home/action-alert-aps-premature-call-for-clinton-does-disservice-to-democracy/" target="_blank">falsely</a> declare Clinton had clinched the nomination.<br />
<br />
The next day, Sanders achieved a <a href="http://www.courant.com/hc-north-dakota-primary-results-20160607-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">landslide</a> in the North Dakotan caucuses and prevailed in the Montanan <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/montana/" target="_blank">primary</a> but placed second in CA by 7.1 points (1.2 <a href="http://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-primary/2016-complete-sov.pdf#page=15" target="_blank">fewer</a> <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008pres.pdf#page=21" target="_blank">than</a> those by which Clinton won there previously). There were no additional caucuses and he was defeated in the remainder of the primaries. Because his campaign was devoid of the momentum that would have come from a victory in the Golden State, Sanders abandoned the effort to persuade super-delegates.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, he remained an official candidate so delegates of his would have a role in the formation of the Democratic platform. However, it is nonbinding. And Sanders's choice of RoseAnn DeMoro -- who is executive director of the labor union Nat'l Nurses United -- to serve on the platform drafting committee was <a href="http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-shift/2016/06/dnc-locks-out-nnu-nlrb-takes-class-waiver-fight-to-other-circuits-cornell-reaches-agreement-with-aft-214608" target="_blank">blocked</a> by the Democratic Nat'l Committee, which then explained <b>no leader of any labor union would be allowed</b> to help draft the platform.<br />
<br />
Sanders also kept his promise to back whomever the Democratic nominee would be. Here are several reasons why the people who voted for Sanders should <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/26/chaos_on_convention_floor_protests_boos" target="_blank">not</a> follow suit. Some of the facts that support these points are mentioned above, appear in previous entries, and/or can be applied to multiple points.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>1) The continued disrespect from Clinton and her surrogates is incongruous with her supposed desire for support from Sanders and from the people who voted for him.</b></u><br />
<br />
On CNN on the eve of NY's primary, ex-governor Jennifer Granholm (D-MI) and NAACP ex-president Benjamin Jealous debated on behalf of Clinton and Sanders, respectively. Amid the exchange, Granholm <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WAt3-K4v5s" target="_blank">mocked</a> Jealous's stutter.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRCbK3eRDfI98wzWTwuA91QWWi0uZV2aJr5TTBEDghs2l454XTwfV5VmEaM0vWiLHSMdRFgmMyBG5f0-V1-qrJzT7GfHWk6Oz31ZWrWzJ2jSrOG1x8xjaboa4yKbWFmhur8tde2irOXQ/s1600/Manchin.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRCbK3eRDfI98wzWTwuA91QWWi0uZV2aJr5TTBEDghs2l454XTwfV5VmEaM0vWiLHSMdRFgmMyBG5f0-V1-qrJzT7GfHWk6Oz31ZWrWzJ2jSrOG1x8xjaboa4yKbWFmhur8tde2irOXQ/s1600/Manchin.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manchin (David Vergun/<br />
Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This reference to Sanders came a day later.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"We kicked his ass tonight... I hope this convinces Bernie to tone it down. If not, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/clinton-trump-new-york-off-message-222182" target="_blank">f**k</a> him."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">s</span>enior aide of Clinton's<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">,</span> quoted in <i>Politico</i></span></blockquote>
Shortly after Clinton cowered out of her agreement to debate Sanders in CA, Trump declared he would do so in her stead. Sanders accepted. This is how some of her surrogates reacted, as quoted in <i>Politico</i>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-debate-backlash-223625" target="_blank">Bullsh**</a>. That confirms what we've been saying. Why would you expect Bernie <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">t</span>o be considerate<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">, be</span> nice, or work to bring everyone together?"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)</span></blockquote>
Oh, the irony!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I don't know why [Sanders] would do that. I think <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">th<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">is is the</span></span> time to start to wind down the primary." -Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI)</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"It's all about Bernie trying to get the advantage in CA. It won't work."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)</span><br />
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"What [Sanders] is trying to do... is bring attention to himself." </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)</span></blockquote>
Remarks like that from earlier in the race explain why <i>The New Yorker</i> published <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/clinton-campaign-accuses-sanders-of-trying-to-win-nomination" target="_blank">this</a> satire. Well, Trump eventually cowered out of the agreement, although at least we can <a href="http://fusion.net/video/295548/trump-vs-bernie-debate-for-america-livestream/" target="_blank">observe</a> what would have happened had he kept it.<br />
<br />
After Clinton's husband <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/08/politics/bernie-sanders-bill-clinton-psychoanalyst/" target="_blank">painted</a> Sanders as subconsciously sexist, this was uttered: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[A] psychologist... said the young people look at Bernie as their <a href="https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/05-26-16-sen-barbara-boxer-w-julie-mason-young-people-like-sanders-for-grandpa-factor" target="_blank">grandpa</a>. 'Oh<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">, he</span>'s my grandpa and he'll do great things for me.'"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Boxer on <i>Leading Ladies</i>, SiriusXM, 31 May</span></blockquote>
Does that mean the grandparents who voted for him did so because he reminds them of themselves?<br />
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<br />
On June 5, Clinton's husband told backers of Sanders they were soon to "be <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/282287-bill-clinton-to-sanders-supporters-they-will-be-toast" target="_blank">toast</a>."<br />
<br />
At the national convention, which was held July 25-29, agents of the Democratic Nat'l Committee <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/bernie-sanders-tim-kaine-veep-convention-226313" target="_blank">refused</a> to honor the request some of Sanders's delegates made for the necessary paperwork to nominate a candidate for vice president.</li>
<li>abruptly <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/8/1/sanders_supporters_say_dncs_treatment_of" target="_blank">nixed</a> the speech in which former state senator Nina Turner (D-OH) would have helped to place Sanders's name into nomination for president.</li>
<li>turned <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/28/no_more_war_protesters_disrupt_ex" target="_blank">off</a> the lights on Sanders's delegation from OR when that delegation chanted for peace.</li>
<li>coordinated, with mixed success, to <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/29/the_dnc_protests_you_didnt_see" target="_blank">drown</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/bencjacobs/status/758843101024624640" target="_blank">out</a> Sanders's delegates. </li>
<li>threatened to, and sometimes did, <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/29/headlines/sanders_delegate_dnc_stripped_my_conventions_for_holding_no_tpp_sign" target="_blank">remove</a> delegates who displayed signs that were pro-Sanders or against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (a potential free-trade <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/07/05/despite-what-media-says-tpp-isnt-about-free-trade-its-about-helping-corporations/" target="_blank">pact</a> that Clinton publicly <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/28/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-tpp/" target="_blank">supported</a> and now <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/terry-mcauliffe-hillary-clinton-tpp-trade-226253" target="_blank">unconvincingly</a> claims to oppose).</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGl87imTlbRgZUVEops4KOvXCK6O3dwoKXddfyaE7gVUWv4bEHlg3ifkGBcUwWUqAHnVwXwLKhSTMZe7guFMxa1uHBjy6m_lIkZvxXuF_6fXU63T2Xb9nPDnxk9xaFgtMFOdU9vEpXps/s1600/Turner.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGl87imTlbRgZUVEops4KOvXCK6O3dwoKXddfyaE7gVUWv4bEHlg3ifkGBcUwWUqAHnVwXwLKhSTMZe7guFMxa1uHBjy6m_lIkZvxXuF_6fXU63T2Xb9nPDnxk9xaFgtMFOdU9vEpXps/s1600/Turner.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turner<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hundreds of Sanders's delegates, in reaction to such tactics, <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/27/hundreds_of_sanders_delegates_walk_off" target="_blank">walked</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/29/california_delegates_walk_off_the_floor" target="_blank">out</a> immediately after Clinton was nominated and/or as she accepted the nomination.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>2) Clinton's candidacy is stuck to numerous time-bombs.</b></u><br />
<br />
Any of these could result in destruction of her chance of victory.<br />
<ul>
<li>The Clinton Foundation is under audit by the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/clinton-foundation-irs-complaints-226308" target="_blank">IRS</a>. </li>
<li>There is possibly a federal probe into whether Clinton, as secretary, did special <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/290864-in-email-state-dept-asked-to-take-care-of-clinton-foundation" target="_blank">favors</a> for ex-employees of the foundation and/or <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4609573/look-clinton-foundation" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/clinton-foundation-donors-got-weapons-deals-hillary-clintons-state-department-1934187" target="_blank">corrupted</a> by speaking-<a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/hillary-clintons-state-department-increased-chemical-arms-sales-middle-east-countries-1949653" target="_blank">fees</a> to her husband or by <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/8/12/did_companies_countries_buy_state_dept" target="_blank">donations</a> to it.</li>
<li>The investigation by the Dept. of State into Clinton's use of her personal email-system for work she did there is <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/07/07/State-Department-to-restart-internal-review-of-Clintons-email-use/7881467935101/" target="_blank">reopened</a>. By the way, she still <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR3ltF2uEow" target="_blank">refuses</a> to cooperate with that probe.</li>
<li>There are <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/rnc-hillary-clinton-email-lawsuit-220493" target="_blank">dozens</a> of lawsuits that seek facts about said use.</li>
<li>There is possibly a federal investigation into whether Clinton committed <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Criminal-Referral-Letter-7-11-201614.pdf" target="_blank">perjury</a> in testimony about said use.</li>
<li>The founder of WikiLeaks <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/update/2016-06-12/assange-on-peston-on-sunday-more-clinton-leaks-to-come/" target="_blank">guarantees</a> future disclosures about Clinton. </li>
<li>According to Mika Brzezinski, who is the daughter of former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and is co-host of <i>Morning Joe</i> on MSNBC, a journalist is in possession of <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/279072-gop-operatives-on-the-prowl-for-secret-clinton-transcripts" target="_blank">transcripts</a> of at least two of the speeches Clinton delivered to financial firms for $225,000 apiece. (Clinton owns transcripts of all said speeches, yet refuses to release any of them.)</li>
<li>There are <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/state/cuomo-aide-refuses-to-release-emails-related-to-economic-development-contracts-20160716" target="_blank">federal</a> <a href="http://www.nbc29.com/story/32065847/governor-mcauliffe-addresses-dealings-with-chinese-businessman" target="_blank">investigations</a> into <a href="http://ctmirror.org/2016/07/22/grand-jury-to-probe-democrats-fundraising-for-malloys-re-election/" target="_blank">close</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mayor-de-blasio-under-investigation-for-long-island-college-hospital-sale-2016-7" target="_blank">allies</a> of Clinton -- specifically Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), Gov. Terence McAuliffe (D-VA), Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-CT) and Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC).</li>
</ul>
At the convention, super-delegates for Clinton included that trio of governors as well as Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) while the latter two were under federal <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/The-Latest-Ruling-against-US-Sen-Menendez-will-8636865.php" target="_blank">indictment</a> for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/07/08/rep-corrine-brown-indicted-on-fraud-charges-doj-alleges-charity-used-as-a-slush-fund/" target="_blank">corruption</a>. Ex-rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) and former Assembly-speaker Sheldon Silver (D-NY), after they were <a href="http://articles.philly.com/2016-06-25/news/73995072_1_chaka-fattah-special-election-right-thing" target="_blank">convicted</a> on federal counts of <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/03/20/sheldon-silver-resigns-as-democratic-superdelegate/" target="_blank">corruption</a>, resigned as super-delegates for Clinton. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgC9B3-5mc7olwTfN0Q23fFnv-fv-B3F0mBmNckeVHlkJcp-CUUU1h3e-Dn5qodV_YzL5_E7ATeAU4O1MtF_w3sqF2xwRjth91cFp6mmBWiN6M0Bt_iKmRAxaRNZmvbwup3ZXRFmZOJAs/s1600/Duda.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgC9B3-5mc7olwTfN0Q23fFnv-fv-B3F0mBmNckeVHlkJcp-CUUU1h3e-Dn5qodV_YzL5_E7ATeAU4O1MtF_w3sqF2xwRjth91cFp6mmBWiN6M0Bt_iKmRAxaRNZmvbwup3ZXRFmZOJAs/s1600/Duda.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duda (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Something else that might help sink Clinton's candidacy is the ineptitude she and surrogates of hers continue to demonstrate.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Poland and Hungary, which are two countries that would not be free but for the United States and the long Cold War, have now decided... democracy is too much trouble. They want... authoritarian dictatorship [that will] keep the foreigners out."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton's husband in a speech, 13 May</span></blockquote>
That remark was <a href="http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/253398,Clinton-%E2%80%98grossly-misled%E2%80%99-on-Polish-issues-President-Duda" target="_blank">condemned</a> by Pres. Andrzej Duda of Poland, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo of Poland, <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/hungary-bill-clinton-comments-about-dictatorship-offensive/" target="_blank">and</a> Foreign Min. Péter Szijjártó of Hungary, and sparked <a href="http://www.dziennik.com/wiadomosci/artykul/polonia-chicagowska-protestowala-przeciwko-clinton" target="_blank">protest</a> by Polish-Americans.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"There are probably more <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/18/politics/ed-rendell-women-donald-trump/" target="_blank">ugly</a> women in America than attractive women."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Ex-gov. Edward Rendell (D-PA) on why Trump is at a disadvantage</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">Quoted in "Trump's Appeal Stretches to Suburbs...," <i>The Washington Post</i>, 18 May</span></blockquote>
Then came this advice:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"More than 90% of [Democrats] who served
[in Congress] with both [Democratic candidates] endorse Hillary.
If you believe th[at is] because
the[ congresspeople who endorse her are] part of some corrupt political establishment..., you should <a href="http://listen.sdpb.org/post/bill-clinton-stumps-hillary-clinton-sd" target="_blank">n<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">o</span>t</a> vote for her."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton's husband in a speech, 20 May</span></blockquote>
Okay.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>3) Sanders is on the left. Clinton is on the right. </b></u><br />
<br />
Clinton used to be candid about her <a href="https://www.politicalcompass.org/images/usprimaries2016.png" target="_blank">ideology</a>. (All boldface in this entry is added.)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I feel like m</span>y political beliefs are rooted in the <a href="http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/specials/2016/03/20160323_specials_hillary.mp3" target="_blank">conservatism</a> with which I was raised... <b>I'm very proud I was a Goldwater Girl.</b>"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton on <i>Weekend Edition</i>, NPR, 13 January 1996 </span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGfbiG2ZToNTNj0hkXo-fYTxczG5nyGo479OS2MjxIOImiBLKKXodADrbT8L0PJxdt9JP-yf4IM2rOqspY3cw3Knssx-feCrVs_FscIphkWdqg2MXwjz1I5kUckTxQGDp0ov0kK28ntdU/s1600/Rendell.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGfbiG2ZToNTNj0hkXo-fYTxczG5nyGo479OS2MjxIOImiBLKKXodADrbT8L0PJxdt9JP-yf4IM2rOqspY3cw3Knssx-feCrVs_FscIphkWdqg2MXwjz1I5kUckTxQGDp0ov0kK28ntdU/s1600/Rendell.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rendell (EPA)</td></tr>
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That was a reference to her time on the presidential campaign of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), who pledged to use <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Lyndon-B-Johnson" target="_blank">nuclear</a> weaponry, was <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19640104&id=Mk9SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2nwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7184,1404681" target="_blank">hostile</a> to labor unions, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0619.html#article" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19640813&id=M90jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hScEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5355,944771" target="_blank">opposed</a><br />
<ul>
<li>Medicare and mandatory Social Security</li>
<li>progressive taxation and all public welfare programs</li>
<li>the Civil Rights Act and the decision by the Supreme Court to order desegregation of public schools</li>
<li>the censure of then-Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) for abuses in a domestic witch-hunt of alleged communists </li>
<li>membership of the US in the United Nations. </li>
</ul>
On page 21 of her autobiography <i>Living History</i> (2003), Clinton again expresses pride in her support for the nominee who endeavored to unseat Pres. Lyndon Johnson.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I was... a Goldwater Girl right down to my cowgirl outfit and straw cowboy hat emblazoned with the slogan 'AuH<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sub>2</sub></span>O'... I liked Senator Goldwater because he was a rugged individualist who swam against the political tide."</blockquote>
Naturally, the best indicator of her values is the record of her deeds as a public official. Yet, that points rightward also. Now -- after a primary campaign in which Clinton and many of her surrogates
depicted Sanders as so far to her left that he was "unelectable" -- she and her surrogates try to convince his supporters that she and he are essentially the same on the issues. Part of that argument is that the former rivals' voting records are 93% the same. That statistic is highly <a href="http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/article/2015/sep/02/11-examples-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders-hol/" target="_blank">misleading</a> because<br />
<ul>
<li>it is based only on 2007 and 2008, which were the years during which Clinton and Sanders both served in the Senate. Alas, none of the following are taken into account: the votes in which Sanders participated and on which Clinton opined during her eight years as first lady, the legislation on which both houses of Congress voted during the six years throughout which he was in the House of Representatives and she was a senator, and the disagreements between Sanders and Clinton during her four years in the Cabinet.</li>
<li>votes that were procedural and/or (near-)unanimous <i>are</i> taken into account.</li>
<li>from 2007-08, Sanders missed <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/bernard_sanders/400357" target="_blank">0.9%</a> of votes while Clinton missed <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/hillary_clinton/300022" target="_blank">31.7%</a>.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBax30i5Wdwo_qMrR4KwyhLDgAr0gDMkid3xIP6Bc8vLG3Amfl4w3xAag5hBjjxpV3Y9_zC5mbLh3swwJPf0A3vxaaYToES0Ed2liYNU70rxIfwvAQ00JeVJO6a4tUKNxHVmdUoDTSBLk/s1600/Kaine.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBax30i5Wdwo_qMrR4KwyhLDgAr0gDMkid3xIP6Bc8vLG3Amfl4w3xAag5hBjjxpV3Y9_zC5mbLh3swwJPf0A3vxaaYToES0Ed2liYNU70rxIfwvAQ00JeVJO6a4tUKNxHVmdUoDTSBLk/s1600/Kaine.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaine (Erin Kirk-Cuomo/<br />
Dept. of Defense)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some people who acknowledge Clinton's real record tell Sanders's supporters that Clinton is newly acceptable because Sanders somehow "moved her to the left." However, she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xESuq9HWlRQ#t=34" target="_blank">denies</a> that assertion, stated she will <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEZLNItsqjw" target="_blank">not</a> adopt any of Sanders's policies, and chose one of her fellow center-<a href="https://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2016" target="_blank">rightists</a> to run for vice president -- namely Sen. Timothy Kaine (D-VA). Clinton and Kaine are <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/tim-kaine-virginia-veep-mcdonnell-clinton-224888" target="_blank">corrupt</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/21/401123124/a-timeline-of-hillary-clintons-evolution-on-trade" target="_blank">support</a> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20161122081630/https://ustr.gov/archive/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2008/asset_upload_file737_14684.pdf#page=13" target="_blank">free</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/07/21/hours-before-hillary-clintons-vp-decision-likely-pick-tim-kaine-praises-the-tpp/" target="_blank">trade</a>, <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/11/why-wall-street-loves-hillary-112782" target="_blank">oppose</a> <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/08/investing/hillary-clinton-wall-street-plan/" target="_blank">strict</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/07/20/tim-kaine-possible-hillary-clinton-pick-for-vice-president-signals-support-to-banks/" target="_blank">regulation</a> of the financial sector, <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-hillary-clintons-religion-and-politics" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/hillary-clinton-late-term-abortions" target="_blank">have</a> a <a href="http://www.naralva.org/media/press/20050817.shtml" target="_blank">mediocre</a> <a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/media/press-releases/2009/pr03302009_kaine.html" target="_blank">record</a> on <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/31/kaine-blocks-funding-for-embryonic-stem-cell-research/" target="_blank">reproductive</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090902215915/http://www.naralva.org/instate/" target="_blank">freedom</a>, on <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/05/23/hillary-clinton-fracking/" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tim-kaine-s-climate-record-is-all-over-the-map/" target="_blank">environment</a> <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/clinton-remained-silent-wal-mart-fought-unions/story?id=4218509" target="_blank">and</a> on <a href="http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2011/feb/25/christopher-peace/del-chris-peace-says-tim-kaine-lock-step-obama-opp/" target="_blank">labor</a>.<br />
<br />
No wonder the Democratic <a href="https://www.togetherforamerica.com/leaders/" target="_blank">ticket</a> is <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/09/all-of-the-top-republicans-voting-for-hillary-clinton-instead-of-donald-trump.html" target="_blank">favored</a> by everyone on this [updated] list:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/politics/george-hw-bush-hillary-clinton/index.html" target="_blank">ex</a>-<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2014/12/23/how_the_iraq_war_began_in" target="_blank">pres</a>. <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2014/06/27/the-first-iraq-war-was-also-sold-to-the-public-based-on-a-pack-of-lies/" target="_blank">George</a> <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19911014&id=lNlRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SG4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5710,4365769" target="_blank">Herbert</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/14/us/the-1992-capmaign-voters-words-on-bush-s-lips-in-88-now-stick-in-voters-craw.html" target="_blank">Walker</a> <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1992-12-25/news/mn-2472_1_iran-contra-affair" target="_blank">Bush</a>: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/analysis/back.time/9610/09/index.shtml" target="_blank">vice</a> <a href="http://www.boogiemanfilm.com/misconceptions-about-willie-horton-ad-politics-and-race/" target="_blank">pres</a>., Reagan adm.</li>
<li>John Negroponte: dir. of Nat'l Intel., dep. secy. of State,
amb. to UN, amb. to Iraq, Bush-Cheney adm.; amb. to Mexico, Bush-Quayle adm.; amb. to Honduras (aided
the <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2004/6/24/noam_chomsky_on_john_negropontes_career" target="_blank">Contras</a>), dep. nat'l security advisor, Reagan adm.; dir. for Vietnam on Nat'l Security Council, Nixon adm.</li>
<li>Richard Armitage: dep. secy. of State, Bush-Cheney adm.; asst. secy. of Defense, Reagan adm.; dir., <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/oil-companies-donated-clinton-foundation-while-lobbying-state-department-2348832" target="_blank">ConocoPhillips</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-W-Bush#ref1003279" target="_blank">exposed</a> the identity of <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4617138/testimony-plame" target="_blank">covert</a> agent Valerie Plame Wilson of the CIA after her husband <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/08/leak.armitage/" target="_blank">disproved</a> part of the case G.W. Bush made for the invasion of Iraq</li>
<li>ex-gov. Abner Linwood <a href="http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article_48d4656f-291f-5a64-9fd5-ec2f59969bcb.html" target="_blank">Holton</a> Jr. (R-VA): asst. secy. of State, <span style="font-size: small;">Nixon </span><span style="font-size: small;">adm.</span></li>
<li>Robert Blackwill: <span style="font-size: small;">dep. asst. secy. of State, Reagan adm.; special asst. to the </span><span style="font-size: small;">pres., Bush-Quayle adm.; dep. nat'l security adv., dep. asst. to the pres., Bush-Cheney adm.</span> </li>
<li>Richard Holwill: amb. to Ecuador, dep. asst. secy. of State, Reagan adm.; fmr. vice pres. of gov't info., the Heritage Foundation</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Robert Tuttle: </span><span style="font-size: small;">amb. to UK, Bush-Cheney adm.; special asst. to the pres., Reagan adm.</span></li>
<li>Donald <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/05/16/gregg-tries-to-shield-iran-contra-file/e42f0440-9c0f-4dd9-a1f7-9979847f0277/" target="_blank">Gregg</a>: <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">amb. to S. Korea, Bush-Quayle adm.; </span>nat'l security adv. to VP Bush</span></li>
<li>ex-rep. Constance Morella (R-MD): amb. to the Org. for Econ. Cooperation & Devel., Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li>Matthew Waxman: dep. asst. secy. of Defense, acting dir. of policy
planning <span style="font-size: small;">at Dept. of State, </span><span style="font-size: small;">special asst. to the nat'l security adv.,
Bush-Cheney adm.</span></li>
<li>Daniel Twining: policy planner at Dept. of State, Bush-Cheney adm.; ex-adv., Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)</li>
<li>James Clad: dep. asst. secy. of Defense, Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li>Michael Donley: secy. of the Air Force, Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li>Michael Chertoff: <span style="font-size: small;">secy.
of Homeland Security, asst. attorney gen., Bush-Cheney adm.; nominated
by G.W. Bush to Ct. of Appeals and by G.H.W. Bush to be a US
atty.</span> </li>
<li>Charles <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1908&dat=19890426&id=SkQrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LtUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2443,1804998" target="_blank">Fried</a>: solicitor gen., Reagan adm.</li>
<li>Henry <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350_1877341,00.html" target="_blank">Paulson</a> Jr.: secy. of the Treasury, Bush-Cheney adm.; fmr. chairperson/CEO, Goldman Sachs</li>
<li>Frederick Goldberg Jr.: asst. secy. of the Treasury, Bush-Quayle adm. </li>
<li>Carlos Gutierrez: secy. of Commerce, Bush-Cheney adm.; dir., <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-occidental-peru-20150305-story.html" target="_blank">Occidental</a> Petroleum; dir., <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/metlife-to-pay-123-5-million-in-fraud-probe-at-ex-lending-unit" target="_blank">Metropolitan</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-metlife-finra-idUSKCN0XU1MZ" target="_blank">Life</a> <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/78f6441fc01e4dfd86cb4f2398b6ab61/grandma-who-lost-savings-wins-15m-case-against-insurers" target="_blank">Insurance</a>; </span><span style="font-size: small;">dir., Time Warner</span></li>
<li>Franklin Lavin: undersecy. of Commerce, Bush-Cheney adm.; dir. of the Office of Political Affairs at White House, Reagan adm.</li>
<li>Roger Wallace: dep. undersecy. of Commerce, Bush-Quayle adm.; dep. co-chairperson, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/16/us/reagan-aides-say-only-one-protested-use-of-carter-notes.html" target="_blank">Reagan</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/15/opinion/the-election-story-of-the-decade.html" target="_blank">1980</a></li>
<li>Carla Hills: secy. of Housing and Urban Devel., Ford adm.; trade rep., Bush-Quayle adm.; int'l council of J.P. Morgan Chase</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Warren Chase: </span><span style="font-size: small;">Trade Negotiations Advisory Cmte., Reagan adm.; adv., Romney '12 </span></li>
<li>Michael Browne: dep. undersecy. of Transportation, Ford adm. </li>
<li>ex-<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/christie-whitman-gets-frisky/" target="_blank">gov</a>. <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2007/6/26/ex_epa_head_christine_todd_whitman" target="_blank">Christine</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2016/03/signs-of-life-for-kasich-in-new-jersey-100184" target="_blank">Whitman</a> (R-NJ): admin. of EPA, Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li>fmr. state rep. William Ruckelshaus (R-IN, majority ldr.): admin. of
EPA, Nixon & Reagan adms.; asst. atty. gen., Nixon adm.; fmr.
senatorial nominee (R-IN)</li>
<li>William Reilly: admin. of EPA, Bush-Quayle adm.</li>
<li>Alan Steinberg: regional admin. of EPA, Bush-<span style="font-size: small;">Cheney </span><span style="font-size: small;">adm.; </span><span style="font-size: small;">del., Cruz 2016</span></li>
<li>Douglas Elmets: dep. asst. secy. of Energy, White House spokesperson for
domestic issues, staff asst. to special asst. to the pres. Lee <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85caD4xAWXM#t=10m57s" target="_blank">Atwater</a>, Reagan adm.; special asst. to the dir., Reagan 1984</li>
<li>Louis Sullivan: secy. of Health & Human Services, Bush-Quayle adm.</li>
<li>William Pierce: dep. asst. secy. of HHS, Bush-Cheney adm.; press secy.
to then-Reps. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), William Thomas (R-CA)</li>
<li>David <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/republicans-make-the-case-for-clinton-803387459625" target="_blank">Frum</a>: presidential speechwriter, Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li>Phillip Brady: <span style="font-size: small;">dep. asst. to VP Bush; dep. counsel to the pres., Reagan adm.; staff secy. to the pres., Bush-Quayle adm.; sr. VP of governmental affairs, <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-115-million-settlement-phillips-66" target="_blank">Phillips</a> <a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article54919050.html" target="_blank">66</a></span></li>
<li>James Cicconi: dep. chief
of staff at White House, Bush-Quayle adm.; <span style="font-size: small;">special asst. to the pres., Reagan adm.; </span><span style="font-size: small;">adv., Bush 1988/1992; </span><span style="font-size: small;">sr. exec. VP,
AT&T</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Charles Nicholas Rostow: </span><span style="font-size: small;">special asst. to the pres., Reagan & </span><span style="font-size: small;">Bush-Quayle adms.</span></li>
<li>Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Ashley Tellis: <span style="font-size: small;">special assts. to the pres., Bush-Cheney adm.</span></li>
<li>Lezlee Westine: dep. asst. to the pres., Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li>Richard Painter: associate counsel to the pres., chief counsel for ethics at White House, Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li>ex-sen. David Durenberger (R-MN): pled <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/30/us/ex-senator-is-given-a-year-s-probation.html" target="_blank">guilty</a> on five counts of theft of public funds while in office and was <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/senate-resolution/311" target="_blank">unanimously</a> denounced by the Senate for other violations of law and of senatorial rules of ethics</li>
<li>ex-sens. John Warner (R-VA), Larry Pressler (R-SD)</li>
<li>Rep.
Richard Hanna (R-NY); ex-reps. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), John
Schwarz (R-MI), Claudine Schneider (R-RI), Christopher Shays (R-CT)<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></li>
<li>ex-govs. William Milliken (R-MI), Arne Carlson (R-MN)</li>
<li>fmr. atty. gen. Grant Woods (R-AZ): chief of staff, then-Rep. McCain</li>
<li>fmr. state sen. and fmr. lieut. gubernatorial nominee Howard
Denis (R-MD): state co-chairperson, Giuliani 2008; state leader, Kasich
2016</li>
<li>fmr. state sen. Jack McGregor (R-PA): co-chairperson, transition cmte. for then-Gov.-elect John <a href="http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Rowland-corrupt-former-governor-surrenders-to-9285019.php" target="_blank">Rowland</a> (R-CT); finance cmte., Rowland 1998; fmr. COO, Carey Energy; ex-dir., Bay State Gas</li>
<li>fmr. state sen. Michael <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/spin-cycle/prominent-ny-republicans-announce-support-for-hillary-clinton-1.12548347" target="_blank">Balboni</a> (R-NY), State Rep. <span style="font-size: small;">Carlos Gonzalez </span><span style="font-size: small;">(R-NH)</span></li>
<li>fmr. state rep. David Irvine (R-UT): ex-chairperson, Republican
Party of Davis County; chief of staff, then-Rep. Merrill Cook (R-UT)</li>
<li>Mark Salter: fmr. chief of staff, Sen. McCain; adv., McCain 2000</li>
<li>Vanessa Herman: press secy. to then-Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY)</li>
<li>Kori Schake: adv., McCain 2008; research fellow, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/hoover-institution" target="_blank">Hoover</a> Institution </li>
<li>Max Boot: adv., McCain 2008; adv., Romney 2012; adv., Rubio 2016</li>
<li>Robert <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/us/politics/historians-critique-of-obama-foreign-policy-is-brought-alive-by-events-in-iraq.html" target="_blank">Kagan</a>: adv., McCain 2008; adv., Romney 2012</li>
<li>David Nierenberg: co-chairperson of finance cmte., Romney 2008/2012; fmr. sr. VP, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-sec-idUSTRE5734G420090804" target="_blank">General</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-idUSTRE66M3O820100727" target="_blank">Electric</a> Venture Capital </li>
<li>Maria Comella: fmr. dep. chief of staff for communications, Gov.
Christopher Christie (R-NJ); <span style="font-size: small;">press secy., Giuliani 2008; consultant,
McCain 2008</span></li>
<li>Peter Teeley: press secy. to the Republican Nat'l Cmte.; to G.H.W. Bush as presidential candidate,
vice presidential nominee and VP; to Ford 1976; to the late Sens. Jacob Javits
(R-NY), Robert Griffin (R-MI)</li>
<li>Abraham Lackman: dir. of Office of Mgmt. & Budget of NYC, Giuliani adm.; special adv., then-State-Sen. Joseph <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2014/05/after-all-that-joe-bruno-and-this-system-are-off-the-hook-013016" target="_blank">Bruno</a> (R-NY, majority ldr.) </li>
<li>Matthew Higgins: press secy. to then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R-NYC)</li>
<li>billionaire Margaret <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEPlZYp5-Pk" target="_blank">Whitman</a>:
fmr. gubernatorial nominee (R-CA); co-chairperson, McCain 2008;
co-chairperson of finance cmte., Christie 2016; pres./CEO,
Hewlett-Packard; fmr. pres./CEO, eBay</li>
<li>billionaire ex-mayor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Dj_muuhEU#t=1m38s" target="_blank">Michael</a> <a href="http://gawker.com/why-hasnt-anyone-mentioned-michael-bloombergs-long-wel-1784482724" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> (R-NYC) </li>
<li>billionaire <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2003/08/13/news/buffett/" target="_blank">Warren</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/warren-buffett-green-energy-empire-anger-liberal-213125" target="_blank">Buffett</a>: <a href="http://time.com/money/4494605/wells-fargo-warren-buffett-scandal/" target="_blank">chairperson</a>, <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/04/03/17024/warren-buffetts-mobile-home-empire-preys-poor" target="_blank">Berkshire</a> <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/danielwagner/warren-buffetts-predatory-lender-charges-minorities-a-lot-mo" target="_blank">Hathaway</a></li>
<li>billionaire <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-10-22/goldman-ceo-blankfein-supportive-of-clinton-for-pragmatism" target="_blank">Lloyd</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/14/goldman-financial-crisis-prosecution_n_848994.html" target="_blank">Blankfein</a>: chairperson/CEO, Goldman Sachs</li>
<li>billionaire <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/11/24/why-mark-cuban-opposes-net-neutrality-i-want-there-to-be-fast-lanes/" target="_blank">Mark</a> <a href="http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/06/10/cuban-if-hillary-picks-elizabeth-warren-be-vp-theres-good-chance-i-vote-trump" target="_blank">Cuban</a>: <span style="font-size: small;">crosses street in order to <a href="http://www.eurweb.com/2014/05/dr-boyce-watkins-7-really-disturbing-things-about-mark-cubans-hoodie-interview/" target="_blank">avoid</a> blacks in hoodies</span></li>
<li>billionaire Miguel Fernandez: chairperson/CEO, <span style="font-size: small;">MBF Healthcare Partners</span></li>
<li>billionaire Seth Klarman: pres./CEO, Baupost Group</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkH_dPq7CWTyx2thkXjX-h2hNsuGmUpespOUmkDygIazlZFjT6zFaUQ73_HceHE_VMwiDJm7e9J3YhTOU4yq-6GQGHta6ZYIlPQCMT_XKG6mP5nnX0fl_PHCpbzO6vsdMhbSuO1bWeFc/s1600/PaulsonBush.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkH_dPq7CWTyx2thkXjX-h2hNsuGmUpespOUmkDygIazlZFjT6zFaUQ73_HceHE_VMwiDJm7e9J3YhTOU4yq-6GQGHta6ZYIlPQCMT_XKG6mP5nnX0fl_PHCpbzO6vsdMhbSuO1bWeFc/s1600/PaulsonBush.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paulson with G.W. Bush (Eric Draper / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><b>4) Clinton cannot be trusted to be truthful, to be responsible, or to abide the law.</b></u><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
As the FBI conducted its criminal investigation into how Clinton handled classified material, Pres. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/us/politics/obamas-comments-on-clinton-emails-collide-with-fbi-inquiry.html" target="_blank">Obama</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/275887-obamas-classified-comments-strike-nerve" target="_blank">tainted</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/mj-panel-obama-shouldn-t-talk-clinton-emails-663323715688" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4616417/obama-bias-investigation-clinton" target="_blank">probe</a> by declaring Clinton innocent of endangerment of national security and by endorsing her candidacy.<br />
<br />
In a private section of Sky Harbor Int'l Airport in Phoenix on the night of June 27, Clinton's husband delayed his departure in order to await the arrival of Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch, whom he successfully nominated in 1999 to be a US attorney. When she landed aboard a private plane, he met <a href="http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/loretta-lynch-bill-clinton-meet-privately-in-phoenix" target="_blank">privately</a> with her and her husband on it for a half-hour. Meanwhile, FBI agents <a href="http://video.insider.foxnews.com/v/video-embed.html?video_id=5014668891001" target="_blank">ordered</a> everyone on the tarmac to refrain from photography. Via that meeting, Lynch created an appearance of impropriety and thereby <a href="https://www.justice.gov/jmd/ethics-handbook" target="_blank">violated</a> the rules of ethics of the Dept. of Justice.<br />
<br />
After the media found out about the encounter, Lynch told them her conversation with the ex-president was "about grandchildren, ...our travels and... golf he played in Phoenix." She said the discussion included nothing about the probe for which the FBI would interrogate his wife less than a week later for three and a half hours. However,<br />
<ul>
<li>Clinton's husband did not play golf during that visit to Phoenix.</li>
<li>I can find no evidence that suggests Lynch is a grandparent or ever participated in said sport.</li>
<li>the real-estate developer who reportedly hosted Clinton's husband for that visit did not respond to the media's request for comment on this matter.</li>
</ul>
<br />
On July 4, people in touch with Clinton managed to make public that she, if elected, "may decide to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/05/this-may-not-be-the-best-time-for-clinton-allies-to-talk-about-keeping-loretta-lynch-as-attorney-general/" target="_blank">retain</a>" Lynch as AG. Lynch is <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4610482/will-consider-serving-attorney-general-hillary-clinton-administration" target="_blank">open</a> to the prospect.<br />
<br />
On July 5, Dir. James Comey Jr. of the FBI verbally delivered to reporters the conclusions of his bureau's yearlong probe into whether Clinton's use of her personal email-system included violation of <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
18 USC <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2009-title18/html/USCODE-2009-title18-partI-chap37-sec793.htm" target="_blank">§793</a>(f): <b>Whoever</b>, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any... information related to the national defense, <b>through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place</b>
of custody <b>or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be
lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed</b>... <b>shall be fined</b> under this title <b>or imprisoned</b> not more than ten years, <b>or both</b>.</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3iyREDX8aeYyYoSGBne1Spe6g4KitePThhbdySY8L0-4P5QwPR6BlvcOCKtI_tzxd1U1M_-HkuFVqJA6lCi8_SlIX3x4tNOeSklFx2LrC6YERnOY8TKprL7GcppD_IZkRb21-f6yIck/s1600/Bloomberg.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3iyREDX8aeYyYoSGBne1Spe6g4KitePThhbdySY8L0-4P5QwPR6BlvcOCKtI_tzxd1U1M_-HkuFVqJA6lCi8_SlIX3x4tNOeSklFx2LrC6YERnOY8TKprL7GcppD_IZkRb21-f6yIck/s1600/Bloomberg.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bloomberg<br />
(Teddy Wade/<br />
Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and/or <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
18 USC <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title18/html/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap93-sec1924.htm" target="_blank">§1924</a>: <b>Whoever</b>,
being an officer... of the United
States, and by virtue of his office..., <b>becomes possessed of</b> documents or materials that contain <b>classified information</b> of the United States, <b>knowingly
removes such documents or materials without authority and with the
intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized
location, shall be fined</b> under this title <b>or imprisoned</b> for not more than one year, <b>or both</b>.</blockquote>
Each of the following five remarks by Clinton or her staff precedes what the FBI found about the subject of the given remark.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"The system... had numerous safeguards... [T]here were no security breaches." -<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-03-10/transcript-of-clinton-s-news-conference" target="_blank">Clinton</a> at a news conference, 10 March <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">20</span>15</span></blockquote>
Although that might be correct, the safeguards were inappropriately weak and she does not know whether there was any breach.<br />
<br />
Comey reported, "<b>None of these e-mails should have been on any unclassified system...</b> <b>[A]ll of these e-mails
were housed on unclassified... servers, not even supported by
full-time security staff like those at... t</b><b>he US government or even a commercial email-service...</b> [W]e did
not find direct evidence of a successful hack of Secy. Clinton's
personal email-domain in its various configurations since 2009. But
given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved,
we assess we would be unlikely to see such direct evidence. We do
assess <b>hostile actors gained access to</b> the... commercial
<b>email-accounts of people with whom Secy. Clinton was in regular contact
from her personal account</b>. We also assess Secy. Clinton's use of a
personal email-domain was known by a large number of people and
readily apparent.<br />
<br />
"She also <b>used her personal e-mail extensively while
outside the US, including to send and receive work-related
e-mails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries</b>. Given that
combination of factors, we assess <b>hostile actors possibly gained
access</b> to Secy. Clinton's personal email-account..."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"This is a <b>politically motivated</b> series of <b>attacks</b> we've seen.<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.. </span> [Rep. Trey] Gowdy [R-SC] and his committee have been dragging this out..."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Clinton spokesperson Karen Finney, asked on CNN about the FBI's probe, 6 August 2015</span></span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4rX6njyoUyqk8WvP23So9APLPgboc0sqFvumGsIEPO_K4VyfuCcOr9nKIgOdb0BOe_KOh1SuCgNHFeo1k1V6jTUtCBD1zkGb2ZV0TaQV67qVHwQoko74-USuB06ueeOGl_JjoopPFrM/s1600/Negroponte.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4rX6njyoUyqk8WvP23So9APLPgboc0sqFvumGsIEPO_K4VyfuCcOr9nKIgOdb0BOe_KOh1SuCgNHFeo1k1V6jTUtCBD1zkGb2ZV0TaQV67qVHwQoko74-USuB06ueeOGl_JjoopPFrM/s1600/Negroponte.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Negroponte<br />
(Cherie Thurlby / DoD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That is <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/08/06/clinton_campaigns_finney_private_server_probe_politically_motivated.html" target="_blank">false</a>. Comey reported, "This <b>investigation began</b> as a <b>referral from</b> the <b>inspector general</b> of the <b>intelligence community</b>," not from anyone in Congress.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I never sent or received
any classified material. They are retroactively classifying it."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton in a debate on <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">MSNBC</span>, <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">4 February</span> </span></blockquote>
That is <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?412231-1/fbi-director-james-comey-says-criminal-prosecution-appropriate-hillary-clinton-email-case" target="_blank">false</a>. Comey reported, "FBI investigators... read all of the approximately 30,000 e-mails Secy. Clinton provided to the State Dept. in 2014... From the 30,000 e-mails..., <b>110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains... contain[ed] classified information at the time they were sent
or received</b>. Eight of those chains contained information that was <b>top
secret</b> at the time, 36 of those chains contained secret information at
the time, and eight contained confidential information at the time..."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Every one of the more than 60,000 e-mails were read<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> [by Clinton's lawyers].</span>"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton press secy. Nicholas Merrill to <i>Time</i>, <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">14 March 20</span>15</span></blockquote>
That is <a href="http://time.com/4393705/hillary-clinton-emails-fbi-james-comey/" target="_blank">false</a>. Comey reported, "[Clinton's] lawyers... reviewed and sorted her e-mails for production in late
2014. Her lawyers... did not individually read the content of all her
e-mails... Instead, her lawyers relied on
header information and they used search terms to try to find all
work-related e-mails among the reportedly more than 60,000 that remained
on her system at the end of 2014. Highly likely is: her lawyers' search
missed some work-related e-mails and we later found them... Also
<b>likely is: there are other work-related e-mails</b> that were not
produced to State and that we did not find elsewhere, and <b>that are now
gone because her lawyers deleted all e-mails they did not produce to State</b>, and her lawyers <b>then cleaned their devices</b> in such a way as <b>to preclude
complete forensic recovery... [W]e're unable to fully reconstruct the
electronic record of that sorting...</b>"<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I did not receive any material that was marked or designated classified, which is the way <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">to</span> know whether something is."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton at a news conference, 18 Aug<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">. 2015</span></span></blockquote>
That is <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4612953/clinton-falsely-says-marks-way-know-information-classified" target="_blank">false</a>. Comey noted, "[E]ven <b>if information is not marked classified</b>...,
participants who know, or should know, the subject matter <b>is
classified</b> are <b>still obligated to protect it</b>... [W]e also developed
evidence of a security culture at the State Dept., in general and
with respect to the use of unclassified systems in particular, that
<b>generally lacked the kind of care for classified information</b> that is
found elsewhere in the US government."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEPIMeLdD79QJrqXpOILEvLAJPsk62byjm3LQpvVMyiXUfeA-63R3l7mqqj0jgFM-gXw9yCMi6-2oa3kOZuag6i50Sotx4AGE9z7XWtD1zPWcIlqboh-fKlWdN2hO7z2GSq5YlNuehS0/s1600/Armitage.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEPIMeLdD79QJrqXpOILEvLAJPsk62byjm3LQpvVMyiXUfeA-63R3l7mqqj0jgFM-gXw9yCMi6-2oa3kOZuag6i50Sotx4AGE9z7XWtD1zPWcIlqboh-fKlWdN2hO7z2GSq5YlNuehS0/s1600/Armitage.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armitage<br />
(Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Comey additionally revealed:<br />
<ul>
<li>"<b>Clinton used several different servers</b> and administrators of them <b>during her four years at the State Department</b>..."</li>
<li>"Because she did not use a governmental account or... commercial account..., <b>there was no archive of her e-mails</b>..."</li>
<li>"<b>[S]even e-mail chains</b> concerned matters that were classified under the <b>top secret Special Access Program at the time</b> they were sent
and received. <b>In those chains, Secy. Clinton sent and
received e-mails about those matters.</b> There is evidence to conclude <b>any reasonable person in Secy. Clinton's position... should have
known an unclassified system was no place for that</b> conversation.
In addition to this <b>highly sensitive</b> information, we also found
information that was <b>properly classified as secret... at the time</b> it was
discussed in e-mail..."</li>
</ul>
<br />
Comey stated, despite evidence that established 1) Clinton and colleagues of hers "were <b>extremely careless</b> in how they handled <b>very sensitive, highly classified</b> information" and 2) this case involves "<b>potential violations of the statutes</b> that
regard how classified information is handled," the FBI's "judgment is: no
reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case." The bureau, he elaborated, "did not find clear evidence of intent by Secy. Clinton or by her colleagues to violate laws that govern how classified information is handled." He added, "When we look back at our investigations into the mishandling of or removal
of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support
criminal charges on these facts."<br />
<br />
Comey also said, "<b>This is not to suggest a person who were to engage in this activity</b> in similar circumstances <b>would face no consequences</b>. To the contrary, [many of the <b>individuals who have engaged in it were] subject to security sanctions or
to administrative sanctions. But that is not what we're deciding now.</b>"<br />
<br />
Upon completion of his statement, Comey declined to field questions.<br />
<br />
On July 6, Lynch <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-attorney-general-loretta-e-lynch-regarding-state-department-email-investigation" target="_blank">accepted</a> the recommendation against prosecution.<br />
<br />
On July 7, Comey <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?412315-1/fbi-director-james-comey-testifies-hillary-clinton-email-probe" target="_blank">testified</a> at a hearing by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Many Democrats on the committee alleged any and all critical questions about the recommendation were smears against Comey.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEW3Q8FG6YVuMgiLE_BnzwoxXZqRPg1EHDY7NqgywWnx_nYqveYAHXFSEBJP8bwT59gfhXPds6B1d09AsCGCjMTZzGaVj3UZBWAkWd5PR_t4cmGCSSMSzE7ZXfNESXqW88fZmkOuPPEg/s1600/Cuomo.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEW3Q8FG6YVuMgiLE_BnzwoxXZqRPg1EHDY7NqgywWnx_nYqveYAHXFSEBJP8bwT59gfhXPds6B1d09AsCGCjMTZzGaVj3UZBWAkWd5PR_t4cmGCSSMSzE7ZXfNESXqW88fZmkOuPPEg/s1600/Cuomo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuomo (Kap Kim,<br />
Combined Joint Task<br />
Force 10 Public Affairs)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, Clinton has since <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/287066-clinton-refutes-fbi-charge-of-recklessness" target="_blank">repeatedly</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/07/31/clintons-claim-that-the-fbi-director-said-her-email-answers-were-truthful/" target="_blank">denied</a> certain <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdmf3RumpAM" target="_blank">conclusions</a> Comey had stated. She has also since <i>denied he stated them</i>. Moreover, if Comey had recommended indictment, the public could have reasonably expected for Clinton and her surrogates to accuse him of political bias due to his Republican <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/05/fbi-director-nominee-comeys-conserv/" target="_blank">credentials</a>. That is because in Feb., her surrogates <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/joe-clinton-s-week-just-went-from-bad-to-worse-621688899682" target="_blank">accused</a> Linick of political <a href="https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/sites/democrats.foreignaffairs.house.gov/files/3.9.16.%20Senator%20Feinstein%20Letter%20to%20IG%20McCullough%20and%20IG%20Linick%20on%20anti-Clinton%20bias%20at%20DoS.pdf" target="_blank">bias</a> against her even though he, like Comey, had been <a href="https://www.congress.gov/nomination/113th-congress/636" target="_blank">nominated</a> by Obama and <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00188" target="_blank">confirmed</a> without a negative vote from any Democratic senator.<br />
<br />
Here are excerpts from the aforementioned hearing. As usual, quotes are edited for clarity and concision.<br />
<br />
Gowdy, fmr. federal prosecutor: "...<b>False exculpatory statements are used for what?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "They are used either for the substantive prosecution or for <b>evidence of intent in a criminal prosecution</b>."<br />
<u>Gowdy:</u> "Exactly. Intent <b>and consciousness of guilt</b>. Right?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>Right.</b>"<br />
<u>Gowdy:</u> "In your old job [as a prosecutor], you would <b>prove intent... by showing... evidence of a complex scheme that was designed to conceal the public record</b>, and you would argue... <b>failure to preserve</b>. You would also argue the pervasiveness of the scheme... You would argue all of that under the heading of intent. You would also probably argue the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0705/Did-Hillary-Clinton-violate-protocol-by-using-burn-bags" target="_blank">burn</a>-bags of missing daily calendar entries as a common scheme or plan to conceal... [Clinton] affirmatively rejected efforts to give an e-mail account on state.gov to her. <b>She kept these... e-mails for almost two years and turned them over to Congress only because we found out she had a... rogue email-system...</b> That scheme... resulted in <b>destruction of public records</b>. Yet, you say there is insufficient evidence of intent... You and I know <b>intent... must be proven with circumstantial evidence... Congress realizes how difficult the task to prove specific intent is[, which is why] a statute... allows for gross negligence [to be the standard]...</b> You mentioned <b>there is no precedent for criminal prosecution. My fear is: there still is not.</b>"<br />
<br />
Rep. Ronald DeSantis (R-FL), fmr. prosecutor in the Naval JAG Corps: "In order for Secy. Clinton to access top secret Sensitive Compartmented Information, <b>did she... sign a form... in acknowledgement of her duties and responsibilities, under the law, to safeguard that information?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<a href="http://www.perdue.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Clinton%20NDA.pdf" target="_blank">Yes</a>..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ytg4v91lMjCnvPU8pDygzWKTA4cK6ohFOl4diH3mQ5LTByNLisdCyaaLQgbSsBPgtQ0hVGRn9T77va8qubdc9MUixkBLKIf5X-3mwGqfP0AzrDTcZF_mtlg1XCb8wWnKpEfhOoiQPWY/s1600/McAuliffe.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ytg4v91lMjCnvPU8pDygzWKTA4cK6ohFOl4diH3mQ5LTByNLisdCyaaLQgbSsBPgtQ0hVGRn9T77va8qubdc9MUixkBLKIf5X-3mwGqfP0AzrDTcZF_mtlg1XCb8wWnKpEfhOoiQPWY/s1600/McAuliffe.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McAuliffe (David<br />
Bowman / NASA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That form, entitled the "Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement," states in part:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>I have received a security indoctrination that concern<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ed</span></b> the nature and protection of <b>SCI, including the procedures</b> to be followed <b>in ascertai<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">nment of</span> whether... persons</b> to whom I contemplate disclo<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">sure of</span> this information or material <b>have been approved access to it</b>, and <b>I understand these procedures</b>...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I have been advised the <b>unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized retention, or negligent handling of SCI by me could cause irreparable injury to the United States</b> or be used to advantage by a foreign nation. I hereby agree <b>I will never divulge anything</b> marked as SCI or <b>that I know to be SCI to anyone who is not authorized</b> to receive it without prior written authorization from the US Government department or agency... that authorized my access to SCI...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I further understand <b>I am obligated by law</b> and regulation <b>not to disclose any classified information</b> or material <b>in an unauthorized fashion... I have been advised any unauthorized disclosure of SCI by me may constitute violations of US criminal laws</b>, including provisions of Sections 793..., Title 18, US Code...</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I understand <b>all information to which I may obtain access by signing this <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">a</span>greement is now and will remain the property of the... Government</b> unless and until otherwise determined by an appropriate official or final ruling of a court of law. Subject to such determination, <b>I do not</b> now, <b>nor will I</b> ever, <b>possess any right, interest, title, or claim</b> whatsoever <b>to suc<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">h i</span>nformation</b>. I agree <b>I shall, upon demand by</b> an authorized representative of <b>the... Government or</b> upon the <b>conclusion of my employment... with the... Government</b> entity that provides my access to such materials<b>, return all materials that may have come into my possession</b>, or for which I am responsible, <b>because of such access.</b> <b>If I do not return such materials upon request, I understand this may be a violation of Section 793...</b></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>I have read this <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">a</span>greement carefully. M</b><b>y questions</b>, if any, <b>have been answered to my satisfaction</b>. I acknowledge <b>the briefing officer<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>made available Sections 793</b>... I make this <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">a</span>greement without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>HR Clinton, 22 January 2009 </i></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I hereby acknowledge <b>I was briefed on the</b> above <b>SCI Special Access Program(s)</b>.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>HR Clinton, 22 January 2009</i></span> </blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZZzuioYGMVp7s1_IzyJwxq8jcu44Hc5RAy4W0FFModwoiCWU37VFfv4baB5svIdvmJ2Gsp4vmJRVMDLLKZhYABP5EIxVapomWDT3gYQlxhh-s16dZEDEoheHow-YSJ3cLlVqvbTXifA/s1600/Malloy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZZzuioYGMVp7s1_IzyJwxq8jcu44Hc5RAy4W0FFModwoiCWU37VFfv4baB5svIdvmJ2Gsp4vmJRVMDLLKZhYABP5EIxVapomWDT3gYQlxhh-s16dZEDEoheHow-YSJ3cLlVqvbTXifA/s1600/Malloy.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malloy (Marilee<br />
Caliendo / FEMA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), lawyer: "<b>[A]ttorneys are frequently held to a higher standard of knowledge of the law... [Clinton i]s an attorney.</b> She practiced with a prominent... law firm... <b>She had to have known about [</b><b>18 USC §1924] because she had to have been briefed</b> when she became secretary..."<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "[T]he government... must prove... [a defendant] did what is forbidden by law... He need not have known the code number [of the statute]. But he needs to have known he did something unlawful... So, 'should have known,' 'must have known,' 'had to know,' does not... prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, he knew he engaged in something unlawful..."<br />
<br />
Actually, Clinton <a href="https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/documents/hrc_ndas/1/doc_0c05833708/c05833708.pdf" target="_blank">knew</a> the code number. Her knowledge of it is proven by her signature on the "Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement," which states in part:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">As used in this <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">a</span>greement, classified information is marked <b>or unmarked</b> classified information... I have been advised any unauthorized disclosure of classified information by me may constitute a violation... of <b>Section... 1924</b>, Title 18, US Code... I have read this <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">a</span>greement carefully<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">. M</span>y questions, if any, have been answered. I acknowledge the briefing officer made available to me the... statutes referenced in this agreement..."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /><i>HR Clinton, 22 January 2009</i></span></blockquote>
Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-TN), fmr. judge: "<b>I presided over</b> several hundred <b>felony criminal cases</b> and saw <b>many in which the evidence of criminal intent was flimsier than</b> the evidence <b>is in this case</b>... <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/07/05/reasonable-indict/86731608/" target="_blank">[M]any</a> [former] <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article88564422.html" target="_blank">prosecutors</a> across this country publicly said they <a href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000531765" target="_blank">would</a> have been glad to <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/kallstrom-fbi-director-cant-soft-224400316.html" target="_blank">prosecute</a> <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/clinton-makes-the-fbis-least-wanted-list-1467760857" target="_blank">this</a> case."<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "...I want to ask them, 'Where were you over the last 40 years? Where were these cases?"<br />
<br />
The answer depends upon how many opportunities those former prosecutors had for action on a case similar to this one. It is a highly unusual case, especially because it could not have existed before the late 1990s. However, the answer does not matter.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[A] three-and-a-half-hour interview... in a case that involves tens of thousands of documents... is rocket-fast. I[n] cases way less important than this [one,] people were interviewed for... days [or] weeks... [B]ased on [Comey]'s words, <b>[Clinton's] extreme carelessness squares exactly with the standard of gross negligence... If there is proof..., a case can be brought even though no one has ever done the exact same thing before...</b> This crime is <a href="http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1607/05/cnnt.01.html" target="_blank">not</a> one of intent..."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Fmr. fed<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span> prosecutor Marc Mukasey on <i>CNN Tonight</i>, 5 July</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76LE68VOuTHYctbNNnigmCAqmsJA-APKuZ8j0X13Ka2qm35NrfWyhWUJOeqrn9K5WNooh53FdiGCM-ZIaUqKNMa6haNF0IgcanIk5c7c6SCQMo6I02hwaWQ5X6QEZRA8KacpIYUPnLWM/s1600/Wilhelm.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76LE68VOuTHYctbNNnigmCAqmsJA-APKuZ8j0X13Ka2qm35NrfWyhWUJOeqrn9K5WNooh53FdiGCM-ZIaUqKNMa6haNF0IgcanIk5c7c6SCQMo6I02hwaWQ5X6QEZRA8KacpIYUPnLWM/s1600/Wilhelm.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">de Blasio (Barry<br />
Bahler / DHS)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rep. William Hurd (R-TX): "<b>I spent nine and a half years as an undercover officer in the CIA... I've seen my friends killed. I've seen assets put themselves in harm's way...</b> The Special Access Program... includes SCI. Does SCI include HUMINT and SIGINT?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "Yes."<br />
<u>Hurd:</u> "HUMINT is human intelligence: collected from people who <b>put themselves in harm's way</b> in order to give information to us to drive foreign policy. SIGINT is signals intelligence: ...information that lets us understand what <b>al-Qaeda</b> and <b>ISIS</b> do." <br />
<br />
Rep. Kenneth Buck (R-CO), fmr. fed. prosecutor: "<b>Has this hearing been unfair to you?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>No.</b>"<br />
<u>Buck:</u> "...<b>Most criminal laws in Title 18 have the words 'knowingly' and 'willfully' in them.</b> That is the standard under which US attorneys typically prosecute... <b>[D]o you see the word 'willfully' in </b><b>18 USC §1924?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>I don't.</b>"<br />
<u>Buck:</u> "Would that indicate... a lower threshold for intent?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "No."<br />
<u>Buck:</u> "Why?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "As I understand, judicial practice and the Justice Department's practice will, to any criminal statute at that level, impute a requirement of knowledge of involvement in criminal activity..."<br />
<u>Buck:</u> "But <b>Congress specifically omitted</b> the word <b>'willfully' from this statute</b> and <b>yet you imply </b>the word <b>'willfully' into the statute. Is that fair [to say]?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>That is fair [to say].</b>"<br />
<u>Buck:</u> "...<b>Did she know she did not have authority to have this server</b> in her basement<b>?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>Yes.</b>"<br />
<br />
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), lawyer: "<b>In law school, I was always taught... ignorance of the law is no excuse.</b> If I were to drive at 45 miles per hour without having seen the speed limit is 35, ...I would probably be prosecuted for that..."<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "I don't think the comparison to petty offenses is useful..."<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3l-GnKSzOfcohc0j-aYZZ6vXWEuFyhzymJDr17ile5RVfJwrrLDpmpLj9vwsYrShqjZL6QcOWmMwkV0bAOCXBP_kzmYomM9Hfu_EVHHSSjxTIAk7iol24JAOF0D7DNFUuWOjlI6m-I8E/s1600/Menendez.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3l-GnKSzOfcohc0j-aYZZ6vXWEuFyhzymJDr17ile5RVfJwrrLDpmpLj9vwsYrShqjZL6QcOWmMwkV0bAOCXBP_kzmYomM9Hfu_EVHHSSjxTIAk7iol24JAOF0D7DNFUuWOjlI6m-I8E/s1600/Menendez.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Menendez<br />
(Committee on<br />
Foreign Relations)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>Farenthold:</u> "[T]hat statute [18 USC §793(f)]... does not say 'intent.' So <b>what must we enact in order for you guys to prosecute... gross negligence? Would we have to add, 'And, oh, by the way, we really do mean a person need not have intent'?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "That is a conversation for you all to have with the Dept. of Justice. But there would have to be more than the statute enacted in 1917, which is because, for 99 years, they've been very worried about its constitutionality."<br />
<br />
Firstly, how is comparison to petty offenses useless? Secondly, the Dept. of Justice, which is in the executive branch, is empowered to enforce the law, not share the role of the judicial branch in review of constitutionality.<br />
<br />
Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA): "<b>[B]ased on your assessment,</b> ...Secy. <b>Clinton is unreasonable [or she] willfully disregarded the law</b>..."<br />
<br />
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): "[I]n all 50 states, is negligent homicide not the basis of frequent prosecutions that are upheld by the courts?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "...I think <b>statutes that criminalize negligent homicide... are... common</b> and those [prosecutions] are sustained."<br />
<u>Massie:</u> "<b>Don't we have a history of... conviction of negligence</b> in other domains of justice?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>We do...</b> There are very few in the federal system. They are mostly... in the areas of the environment and of the Food & Drug Administration."<br />
<br />
Rep. Rodney Blum (R-IA): "I've spent most of my career in the high-tech industry... [M]y small business in Iowa does not even use <b>Gmail</b>. That is because it <b>is not secure enough</b>... The going rate to hack into a Gmail account: $129. To hack into corporate e-mails: $500 or less. To hack into an IP address: around $100..."<br />
<br />
Rep. Bradley Mark Walker (R-NC): "I am a little disappointed in [allegations] from my colleagues about... attacks on your character... I have not heard those and hope you've not experienced them. I... struggle with the change of heart we hear today... [O]f... your investigation, ...Pres. Clinton said, 'This is a <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/49142081b3ed47548de161e3c19066fd/bill-clinton-and-his-loose-cannon-episodes" target="_blank">game</a>.' ...Rep. [Debbie] Wasserman Schultz [D-FL] said, 'Secy. Clinton is not... a target of this inquiry, investigation -- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJAv-9RkS4#t=3m19s" target="_blank">whatever</a> I-word you want to use.' <b>Do you feel like this hearing is a witch-hunt by Republicans?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>No...</b> I understand people's questions and interest. I... think [transparency] makes our democracy great."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEOuTmzAHX6E39r-zcDEsM1EzmLlHmpDsY2ItIdGqMd2hybbJzJRKeA8Hte2lEzCj1kE-XOCt3JbhKcAApN8KrI68qcxV30dDjF8-lvF8G9BgFD1_82NfvIRNnccTcmAFjFdG2GCJpoo/s1600/Brown.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEOuTmzAHX6E39r-zcDEsM1EzmLlHmpDsY2ItIdGqMd2hybbJzJRKeA8Hte2lEzCj1kE-XOCt3JbhKcAApN8KrI68qcxV30dDjF8-lvF8G9BgFD1_82NfvIRNnccTcmAFjFdG2GCJpoo/s1600/Brown.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown (Congress-<br />
ional Pictorial<br />
Directory)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rep. John "Mick" Mulvaney (R-SC), lawyer: "[I]f the next president... were to set up a private email-service..., potentially expose national security information... as a result, lie about it, and destroy the evidence during an investigation, there would be no criminal charge against him...?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "...If the facts were exactly the same, and the law were exactly the same, <b>the result would be the same</b>."<br />
<br />
Gowdy: "...Clinton said she was 'well-aware of the classification requirements.' ...[Y]ou say [her intent] was convenience... <b>If it was convenience, she would not have waited two years to return the documents and would not have deleted them four years after they were created...</b> You read a specific intent element into a gross-negligence statute..."<br />
<br />
Rep. Steven Russell (R-OK), retired lieut. colonel: "<b>[Afte]r decades of</b> my service <b>handling top secret SCI in the Army</b> infantry and in Congress, <b>I know those responsibilities</b>. Do you think... she would not have known those responsibilities?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "No. I think, in a way, one would expect she understood the importance of protection of classified information."<br />
<br />
"In a way"?<br />
<br />
Comey: "...<b>Uncleared people had access to the server...</b> [T]here were [people] who maintained the server who were in the private sector."<br />
<u>Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), chairperson:</u> "...<b>Did Secy. Clinton's attorneys have security clearances?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>They did not.</b>"<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "Does that concern you?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "Oh, yeah, sure."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "...They don't work for the government. We can't fire them... What's the consequence to them?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "Well, if they acted with criminal intent or with malintent--"<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "...<b>So if there's no intent, then whether they had clearances doesn't matter?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "Of course it matters."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "<b>But there is no consequence</b>, Director."<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "I don't know what consequence you have in mind..."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "<b>Prosecution...</b> Clinton... turn[ed] her e-mails over... to... people who had no clearance. And <b>there is no consequence. So why not do it again?</b>"<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAHpYQX2yO27_YljsMUYDLy6JAiC6XX4bAPEveTd_aUQk3zPGer-RQcA2yaZZCgV3mdTPX5cdcshvs_VMnwUSUG6RcZHkzlWHf1eci8F3kBn7qYcTREvUt8U-0olLZIvibQU7uMr6ILA/s1600/Fattah.png" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fattah (Peter<br />
Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>Comey:</u> "That is a question I don't think you should put to me..."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "...Did she not understand they did not have clearances?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "Surely, <b>she understood at least some of them did not have clearances</b>."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "...<b>Did Hillary Clinton's attorneys, without clearances, see classified information?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "I don't know."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "<b>The answer has to be 'Yes,'</b> Director... They said they went through all of [her e-mails]."<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "Her attorneys did not read them all."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "So <b>their excuse is, 'We saw the e-mails but didn't read them'?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "No..."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "<b>Did... Clinton give, to uncleared people, access to classified information?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>Yes.</b>"<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "What do you think her intent was?"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "I think it was to get good legal representation and make the production to the Dept. of State..."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "I read criminal intent as the idea to allow someone to access classified information when he has no clearance. <b>Everybody knows that, Director... Is there evidence of an attempt by... Clinton to avoid compliance with the Freedom of Information Act?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "That was not the subject of our criminal investigation..."<br />
<u>Chaffetz:</u> "<b>Do you know who paid for th[e original server]?</b>"<br />
<u>Comey:</u> "<b>I don't.</b>"<br />
<br />
A poll commissioned by ABC and <i>The Wash. Post</i> and conducted July 6-7 found, by <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2972762-2016-07-07-Trend-for-Release.html" target="_blank">56%</a> to 35%, the public thinks an indictment should have been recommended. One week beforehand, a survey by Public Policy Polling concluded 13% of registered voters would prefer to let "a giant <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_63016.pdf#page=4" target="_blank">meteor</a>" hit Earth than to vote for Clinton or Trump. The super-delegates, if they believed their own fear-mongering about Trump, would have nominated Sanders due in part to those statistics and the next point. <br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>5) To vote for Clinton would reinforce a rigged process.</b></u><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vuqskbfzLTQitK_ggC63TJXz5ZaDcRCmb4_MEBw7N8tk_KhJRbE_wzt3htKDnaNnKLzAhEJa3daRDWuVZYLy5EXGdrWFlJwwjOr2ygJchyoYgzDbQ37XRmZEOUzSs1Pa3SntMuAtlXU/s1600/Silver.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vuqskbfzLTQitK_ggC63TJXz5ZaDcRCmb4_MEBw7N8tk_KhJRbE_wzt3htKDnaNnKLzAhEJa3daRDWuVZYLy5EXGdrWFlJwwjOr2ygJchyoYgzDbQ37XRmZEOUzSs1Pa3SntMuAtlXU/s1600/Silver.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silver<br />
(nysenate.gov)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On July 22, WikiLeaks disclosed e-mails that <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/impartial-dnc-finance-chief-helps-hillary-clinton-118558" target="_blank">further</a> <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/347005-dnc-hack-donors-collusion/" target="_blank">prove</a> high-level officials of the Democratic Nat'l Committee were, <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-wasserman-schultz-hillary-clinton-special-leader-20150410-story.html" target="_blank">contrary</a> to its <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/263729-sanders-camp-slams-saturday-debate-i-guess-christmas-eve" target="_blank">public</a> statements and in <a href="http://www.demrulz.org/wp-content/files/DNC_Charter__Bylaws_9.11.2009.pdf#page=8" target="_blank">violation</a> of its charter, <a href="https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/11508" target="_blank">partial</a> <a href="https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/10806" target="_blank">toward</a> <a href="https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/9245" target="_blank">Clinton</a>, <a href="https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/9423" target="_blank">such</a> as via <a href="https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/10808" target="_blank">collusion</a> <a href="https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/5614" target="_blank">with</a> <a href="https://wikileaks.org/dnc-emails/emailid/7908" target="_blank">media</a>. Here are examples.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">5 Ma<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">y</span> </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Brad Marshall, chief financial officer: "It might ma[ke] no difference, but for KY and WV[,] <b>can we get someone to ask [Sanders]</b> his belief[?] <b>Does he believe in a God[?] He had skated on</b> saying he has... <b>Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist.</b> This could make several points difference with my peeps. My <b>Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist. It's the... Jesus thing.</b>"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Amy <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">D</span>acey, chief executive officer:</u> "AMEN"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">17 May</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Mark Paustenbach, dep. dir. of communications: "[T]his morning on CNN, [Sanders campaign manager] Jeff Weaver was asked about the protests and threats of violence in N<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">V</span>. He beg[an] by saying... supporters should 'act in a civil way' but then [he] hit the state party."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Schultz, chairperson:</u> "<b>Damn liar. Particularly scummy</b> that he barely acknowledges the violent and threatening behavior that occurred."</span></blockquote>
When Miss Brzezinski called for Schultz to resign as chairperson due to her obvious bias against Sanders, this is how she reacted.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">18 May<br />Schultz: "This is the LAST straw. Please call [pres<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span> of MSNBC] Phil Griffin. This is outrageous. [Brzezinski] needs to apologize."<br /><u>Luis Miranda, dir. of communications:</u> "Since you already went to Chuck [Todd of NBC], I'll wait for his response."<br /><u>Shultz:</u> "I think we need to speak to both of them. I've been talking to Phil about this since our breakfast."<br /><br />18 May<br />Schultz: "Chuck, this must stop... I would like to discuss this with you today. Can you reach out to Luis to schedule a call? Thanks."<br /><u>Todd:</u> "Avail anytime between 11:30 and 4:30."<br /><u>Schultz:</u> "Thank you. Luis will reach out to schedule."</span> </blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schultz<br />
(Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
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The revelation prompted Schultz, Dacey, Marshall and Miranda to resign from their positions on the committee. Obama, Clinton and Schultz nonetheless implied they believe her misconduct did not warrant censure.<br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">[<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Schultz's]</span></span> leadership... brought Democrats together... Her fundraising and organiz<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ational</span> skills were matched only by her passion, commitment and warmth... I a[m] <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/24/statement-president-chairwoman-debbie-wasserman-schultzs-resignation" target="_blank">grateful</a> for [Schultz's] efforts... [S]he will continue to serve [in] Congress... [S]he will always be our dear friend."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Obama, 24 July </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I... <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/statements/2016/07/24/hillary-clinton-statement-on-the-resignation-of-democratic-national-committee-chair-debbie-wasserman-schultz/" target="_blank">thank</a> my longtime friend Debbie Wasserman Schultz for her leadership... [T]his week's events will be a success thanks to her... There is... no one better at taking the fight to the Republicans than Debbie, which is why <b>I am glad she has agreed to serve as honorary chair of my campaign's 50-state program... and will continue to serve as a surrogate for my campaign</b>... I look forward to<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">...</span> helping... her re-election bid because, as president, <b>I will need fighters like Debbie</b> in Congress..." -Clinton, 24 July</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[T]he staf<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">f of the </span>Democratic Nat<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">'</span>l Committee... has [made] a remarkable team<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">-</span>effort. And sometimes, [people] just have to <a href="http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/07/28/debbie-wasserman-schultz-sometimes-you-just-have-to-take-one-for-the-team/" target="_blank">take</a> one for the team."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Schultz, 28 July</span></blockquote>
Note Clinton acknowledged Schultz had already been a surrogate for Clinton's current campaign. Schultz might need Clinton's help because, despite Obama's apparent certainty, whether Schultz will be re-nominated for Congress is in <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article93583247.html" target="_blank">doubt</a>.<br />
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The presidential nominee whom Sanders's supporters should embrace is Jill <a href="http://www.jill2016.com/" target="_blank">Stein</a> MD of the Green Party, who will be the subject of an entry here before Election Day. <br />
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Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-6689253168268106662016-07-17T16:16:00.002-04:002016-07-17T20:11:47.433-04:00There is a Doctor in the House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-66953421872890683892016-07-05T22:48:00.000-04:002016-07-05T22:51:08.110-04:00Clinton's Campaign Enters a New Phase<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-42890485995674433862016-06-09T21:53:00.001-04:002023-07-30T14:17:55.234-04:00Acclaim to PA, OH for Their Legalization of Medical Marijuana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In April, Pennsylvania became the 25th state to allow for medicinal cannabis. Enactment of a law in Ohio yesterday means <a href="http://norml.org/legal/medical-marijuana-2" target="_blank">most</a> states in this country now do.</div>
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Meanwhile, the acting administrator of US Drug Enforcement continues to be Charles Rosenberg even though his <a href="http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/260769-dem-demands-dea-chief-resign" target="_blank">dismissal</a> of the science of medicinal cannabis prompted seven members of Congress to ask President Obama to fire him.</div>
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Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-72557288606614642552016-05-11T06:22:00.001-04:002023-07-30T14:18:58.875-04:00Those Yet to Vote in Dems' Race for Pres. Should Ponder This<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
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Former secretary of State Hillary Clinton's victory in the Democratic presidential primary in New York was portrayed as epic by corporate media even though she had been a Democratic senator from there, her margin was smaller than in 2008, and, as Comptroller Scott Stringer (D-NYC) attested, "a <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/04/20/NYC-officials-say-theyll-investigate-mass-of-problems-in-Tuesdays-primary/3721461177891/" target="_blank">cloud</a> hangs over these results" due to irregularities. They spurred an inquiry Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D-NY) is conducting, also spurred an <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/369-16/statement-mayor-de-blasio" target="_blank">audit</a> by Stringer with the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC), and are reminiscent of the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-suing-arizona-primary-voting_us_570fdd45e4b0ffa5937e8a59" target="_blank">disfranchisement</a> that tainted the Arizonan primary.<br />
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The tallies from NY and from the primaries that were held afterward are used by corporate media to claim that Sen. <a href="http://www.revelist.com/weird/girl-brought-bernie-sanders-to/2033" target="_blank">Bernie</a> <a href="http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/04/bernie-sanders-supporters-sing-clinton-rally/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> (I-VT), who is Clinton's sole rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, cannot win it. But said media have made that claim almost <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/video/bernie-sanders-adamant-still-win-184140817.html" target="_blank">continually</a> for months and it remains false. According to an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/primary-calendar-and-results.html" target="_blank">estimate</a>, <b>Clinton's lead among pledged delegates</b> to the Democratic National Convention <b>is 283</b> while <b>902 will be allocated via future contests</b>. If that estimate is correct, Sanders needs less than 65.8% of the latter group in order to edge Clinton. <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/vermont/" target="_blank">He</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/KS" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://www.democratsabroad.org/global_presidential_primary_results" target="_blank">already</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/ID" target="_blank">surpassed</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/UT" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/WA" target="_blank">percentage</a> in <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/HI" target="_blank">eight</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/AK" target="_blank">contests</a>. Furthermore, <a href="http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/apr/02/sanders-wins-most-delegates-at-clark-county-conven/" target="_blank">obscure</a> <a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/bernie-sanders-has-reason-not-to-quit-illinois-official-primary-county-shows-hillary-clinton-democratic-party/" target="_blank">intricacies</a> in allocation of delegates render such estimates unreliable.</div>
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Subsequent to the previous entry, <a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/MLSP34Toplines.pdf" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.loras.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Loras-WI-March-2016-release-1-toplines-and-crosstabs-final.pdf" target="_blank">exceeded</a> <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/WisconsinPrimaryPoll33116.pdf" target="_blank">expectations</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/sgnjwngqy9an66atgcy9mzusetzwlifc6-Battleground-Tracker-Wisconsin-April-2016" target="_blank">when</a> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/306816518/CBS-News-2016-Battleground-Tracker-Wisconsin-April-2016" target="_blank">he</a> <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_d697f4238943476f89e7cdfc710c309f.pdf" target="_blank">triumphed</a> <a href="http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres2016/primary/dem/widem.html" target="_blank">by</a> 14 percentage points in the Wisconsinite <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/wisconsin/" target="_blank">primary</a>. He then <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/wyoming/" target="_blank">prevailed</a> by 11 points in the Wyomingite caucuses, the outcome of which was labeled by corporate media as "closer than expected" even though no poll about that contest was published. He later <a href="https://news.brown.edu/files/Brown_Taubman_April_2016_Poll_Final.pdf" target="_blank">exceeded</a> <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/April26thPrimaryPolls.pdf" target="_blank">expectations</a> when he triumphed by 12 in Rhode Island's <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/rhode-island/" target="_blank">primary</a>. <a href="http://www.wthr.com/story/31792956/exclusive-wthrhpi-poll-trump-clinton-ahead-in-indiana" target="_blank">Last</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/5rsiatqn3t0gaoxhbwwvn56wnhfc7pd2" target="_blank">week</a>, <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/310251196/CBS-News-2016-Battleground-Tracker-Indiana-April-24-2016" target="_blank">he</a> <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/local-politics/IPFW-poll--Hoosiers-like-Clinton-12787113" target="_blank">pulled</a> <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/April26thPrimaryPolls.pdf" target="_blank">an</a> <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/NBC%20NewsWSJMarist.pdf" target="_blank">upset</a> in the <a href="http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres2016/primary/dem/indem.html" target="_blank">Indianan</a> <a href="http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/primary/sos_primary16?page=office&countyID=-1&partyID=1&officeID=36&districtID=-1&districtshortviewID=-1&candidate=" target="_blank">primary</a>, which he won by 5. Yesterday, he <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_WV_50316.pdf" target="_blank">exceeded</a> <a href="http://wvmetronews.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/WV-Poll-Democratic-Presidential-Race-05-05.png" target="_blank">expectations</a> when he prevailed by 16 in the West Virginian <a href="http://services.sos.wv.gov/apps/elections/results/results.aspx?year=2016&eid=22&county=Statewide" target="_blank">primary</a>. In 2008, Clinton won the <a href="http://www.elections.ri.gov/elections/results/2008/presidential_preference_primary/statewidesummary.php" target="_blank">latter</a> <a href="http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/AR-M550N_20120404_152743.pdf#page=7" target="_blank">three</a> <a href="http://services.sos.wv.gov/apps/elections/results/results.aspx?year=2008&eid=3&county=Statewide" target="_blank">primaries</a> by 18, 1, and 41, respectively.<br />
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Eleven contests are yet to occur, including the primary in Oregon, whose junior senator -- Jeffrey <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/04/13/bernie-sanders-endorsement-first-senate-colleague-jeff-merkley-lead-intv.cnn" target="_blank">Merkley</a> (D) -- endorses Sanders. And voters now know that money that was raised purportedly for the Democratic parties of 32 states is <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/clinton-fundraising-leaves-little-for-state-parties-222670" target="_blank">laundered</a> by Clinton's campaign to itself in effective violation of law.</div>
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There are additional reasons why Sanders, via the remainder of the primaries and caucuses, might succeed. This year, with regard to <b>12 states that Sanders won</b> but <b>only three that Clinton won, the media neglected to commission entrance/exit polls</b>. Yet, the data that exist prove that the ex-representative has much more appeal across demographic lines than corporate media <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/03/bernie-sanders-whites-race-voters-primary/" target="_blank">portray</a> him to have.</div>
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In <i>The Daily Beast</i> (which is owned by a company of which Clinton's daughter is a <a href="http://iac.com/about/leadership" target="_blank">director</a>), Keli Goff (<a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/Corrections-and-clarifications.htm" target="_blank">who</a> was on Clinton's senatorial campaign) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Uwbq9IugQ" target="_blank">promulgated</a> an aspect of that portrayal by describing supporters of Sanders as "privileged progressives who have the luxury" to "ignor[e] whether a candidate is actually electable." Firstly, she will have to convince many nonwhites that they live in privilege.<br />
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Secondly, Sanders has a sizeable following among moderates/conservatives.<br />
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Thirdly, the depiction of most backers of Sanders as living in luxury is disproved by his tendency to attract more votes from people whose family's income was under $100,000 in 2015 than from people whose family's income exceeded that amount in said year.<br />
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Fourthly, most people who voted for Clinton would be privileged by having, in contrast to most who voted for Sanders, less time to suffer the consequences of Clinton's reign.<br />
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Fifthly, the 11 latest polls that tested both candidates against the Republican presumptive nominee were an extension of a <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_33116.pdf" target="_blank">long</a> <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us160329/MCC/General%20Election/McClatchy_Marist%20Poll_General%20Election__Complete%20Survey%20Findings_Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_April%202016.pdf" target="_blank">streak</a> of <a href="http://www.investors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Tables_Apr2016_Posting-1.pdf" target="_blank">such</a> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/308687713/Toplines-General-Election-poll-4-14-16" target="_blank">surveys</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/a2bf5o7xqlcmafm6tdq1bau37rysf5b7" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/16229%20NBCWSJ%20April%20Poll.pdf" target="_blank">conclude</a> <a href="https://mediarelations.gwu.edu/sites/mediarelations.gwu.edu/files/GWBattlegroundPoll58-charts.pdf" target="_blank">Sanders</a> is <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/documents/SUPRC/4_25_2016_marginals.pdf" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="http://www.investors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Tables_May-2016_Posting.pdf#page=56" target="_blank">electable</a> <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/05/04/rel6b.-.2016.general.pdf" target="_blank">than</a> <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_51016.pdf" target="_blank">Clinton</a> is. Ergo, by Goff's logic, the people "who can afford to vote for a candidate and... not care whether he" would win the general election are actually those who cast their ballots for the former first lady. <br />
<br />
Sanders's ability to earn the confidence of nonwhites was evident when, for instance, he campaigned in the Empire State. The socialist was greeted with fervent <a href="https://twitter.com/ADiLorenzoTV/status/697433456012296192" target="_blank">cheers</a> in Harlem when he appeared for a meeting with Rev. Alfred Sharpton Jr., who had joined others in Vermont on Martin Luther King Day 2011 to <a href="https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/burlington-multicultural-center-keynote-speaker-al-sharpton" target="_blank">award</a> the ex-mayor of Burlington for his efforts to advance the legacy of Rev. Dr. King. On that occasion, Sharpton said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'm
very honored to have been part of the presentation of this award to Sen. Sanders.
I know a lot of elected officials and there is none who serves in the
United States... today whom I respect more than I do Sen.
Sanders."</blockquote>
Additionally, <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/democratic-presidential-candidate-sen-bernie-sanders-speaks-at-a-on-picture-id511768152" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/d4a9dec1f461620a5db1b189aa0d47f3279f3177/c=32-0-2135-1581&r=x393&c=520x390/local/-/media/2016/03/29/WIGroup/Appleton/635948626752503282-uscpcent02-6p2df4lcwc77m0sn6g6-original.jpg" target="_blank">protracted</a> <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/democratic-presidential-candidate-us-sen-bernie-sanders-speaks-to-at-picture-id518402160" target="_blank">series</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BDtSVdPAw2z/" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="http://i1.nyt.com/images/2016/04/03/us/03snapshots-sanders2/03snapshots-sanders2-master495.jpg" target="_blank">huge</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/berniesanders/photos/pb.124955570892789.-2207520000.1460523427./1023875381000799/" target="_blank">rallies</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BEFLUMwgw1F/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160414&t=2&i=1132630551&w=976&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=2016-04-14T025509Z_22185_GF10000382004_RTRMADP_0_USA-ELECTION-SANDERS" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/throngs-of-supporters-listen-as-democratic-presidential-candidate-picture-id521955442" target="_blank">held</a> included a crowd of <a href="https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/715703628552658944" target="_blank">18,500</a> people in the South Bronx.<br />
<br />
However, the most glaring contradiction to the pro-Clinton narrative, aside from ongoing attacks on Sanders, is that Clinton and her surrogates continue to demonstrate an <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/622455/hillary-clinton-already-wooing-antitrump-republicans-huge-mistake" target="_blank">ineptitude</a> uncharacteristic of a campaign that will unite its party and otherwise be well-suited to compete for the general election. Examples are below.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQj0TamcxFYks3SyyONrX2mtEeVkj_XWeC-uhp8Na6R3YPjIaqKIQB1CmDZb7exKLIHi64aY6fP1MH66TL4k4ta2OpGvN4rbB45apnvX19ZtBnHXaI8LdJDUAzCqVft7dvFN5FW1SkbQ/s1600/Stringer.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQj0TamcxFYks3SyyONrX2mtEeVkj_XWeC-uhp8Na6R3YPjIaqKIQB1CmDZb7exKLIHi64aY6fP1MH66TL4k4ta2OpGvN4rbB45apnvX19ZtBnHXaI8LdJDUAzCqVft7dvFN5FW1SkbQ/s1600/Stringer.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stringer (nysenate.gov)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As Clinton's husband campaigned for her on April 7, activists from Black Lives Matter confronted him about when she used the term "super-predators" to promote a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/09/us/as-ex-theorist-on-young-superpredators-bush-aide-has-regrets.html" target="_blank">false</a> theory in support of mass incarceration. Clinton had recently <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/07/democratic-debate-flint-hillary-clinton-super-predators-sot.cnn/video/playlists/2016-democratic-presidential-debates/" target="_blank">declined</a>
to deny that her use of the term was an act of <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/567774/hillary-clinton-needs-address-racist-undertones-2008-campaign" target="_blank">race</a>-<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2007/12/keeping-obama-muslim-smear-going-what-earth-bob-kerrey-doing" target="_blank">baiting</a>, <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-shuck-and-jive-debate-of-08-andrew-cuomos-staff-responds-20080116" target="_blank">which</a> is a tactic <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103281.html" target="_blank">she</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/06/mark-penn-is-apparently-n_n_90249.html" target="_blank">used</a> in her bid <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/opinion/11patterson.html" target="_blank">against</a> then-Sen. <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/23638352" target="_blank">Barack</a> <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/jeremiah-wright-colossal-disaster-barack-obama-press-trick-article-1.277968" target="_blank">Obama</a> (D-IL).<br />
<br />
Her husband <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/04/07/video_bill_clinton_philadelphia_black_lives_matter_protesters_gang_leaders.html" target="_blank">replied</a> to the activists, "I
don't know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got
13-year-olds hopped up on crack and sent them... to
murder other African-American children. <b>Maybe you think th[ose criminals] were good citizens.</b> She did not. <b>You are defending the people who kill the lives you say matter.</b> Tell the truth."<br />
<br />
That reply <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/25/activists-want-hillary-clinton-apologize-hyping-myth-superpredators-1996/" target="_blank">contradicted</a> this statement by Clinton on February 25: "I should not have used those words and I would not use them today." She had been confronted on Feb. 24 about that issue by student Ashley Williams of BLM.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Williams: "I'm not a super-predator, Hillary Clinton."<br />
Clinton: "Okay. Fine. We'll talk about it."<br />
Williams: "Will you apologize to black people for mass incarceration?"<br />
Clinton: "Well, can I talk? And then maybe you can listen to what I say."<br />
Williams: "Yes..."<br />
Clinton: "Okay. Fine. Thank you very much. There are many issues in this campaign. My first speech in April was about criminal-justice reform."<br />
Williams: "You called black people 'super-predators'..."<br />
Clinton: "Now, <b>do you want to hear the facts or do you just want to talk?</b>"<br />
Williams: "...Explain it to us. You owe an apology to black people..."<br />
Clinton: "I'll tell you what. If you will give me a chance to talk... You know what? ...I'm happy to address it but you are the first person to ask me, <b>dear</b>. <i>(Williams is escorted away.)</i> <b>Okay. Back to the issues, the issues I think are important...</b>"</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrS2OdvfS8rVrR27rDn-fJJ5wy1PuxF2cWfpltMXOi0KBwdlkofCji3P2uwg_gw1y_sAr7zeyQ04AX0h63vkMt6msh1BLb54truwgOecIdCA5_ElAgVxCgA6yMopCQUp8cUy3Kdgv74U/s1600/Schneiderman.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrS2OdvfS8rVrR27rDn-fJJ5wy1PuxF2cWfpltMXOi0KBwdlkofCji3P2uwg_gw1y_sAr7zeyQ04AX0h63vkMt6msh1BLb54truwgOecIdCA5_ElAgVxCgA6yMopCQUp8cUy3Kdgv74U/s1600/Schneiderman.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schneiderman<br />
(nysenate.gov)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On March 1, Clinton <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/super-predator-comment-creates-another-tense-moment-for-hill" target="_blank">again</a> reacted snappishly to a young woman from BLM. In an area of Minneapolis that has a large population of Somali-Americans, political operative Stacey Rosana approached Clinton and compared her comment about "super-predators" to current stigmatization of Somali-American youth.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Rosana: "How do we know you'll be accountable to black communities?"<br />
Clinton: "Well, I think, you know, you can look at my history. I always have been..."<br />
Rosana: "<b>I don't think that's true.</b> I looked at your history and <b>that's not what happened</b>."<br />
Clinton: "Well, <b>you know what? You haven't looked at the whole thing...</b> I'm very proud to have met with the Somali-American community, to have a lot of support in the Somali-American--"<br />
Rosana: "Who in the Somali-American community?"<br />
Clinton: "A lot of people, including a young councilman who was here..."<br />
Rosana: <i>(inaudible)</i><br />
Clinton: "<b>You know what, dear?</b> You have a different opinion..."<br />
Rosana: <i>(inaudible)</i><br />
Clinton: "Well, <b>why don't <i>you</i> go run for something, then?</b>"<br />
Rosana: "I work for a Somali-American."<br />
Clinton: "Good. Well, good. Good luck to you."<br />
Rosana: "Thank you."</blockquote>
The first time Clinton was confronted by BLM was on October 30, when numerous members of that group protested at one of her rallies. But her supporters chanted over those protesters and <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/darrensands/protesters-disrupt-clinton-campaign-event-in-atlanta" target="_blank">cheered</a> as they were removed from the venue.<br />
<br />
March did not bring an end to Clinton's <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-01-08/news/0401080274_1_gas-stations-hillary-clinton-diversity" target="_blank">string</a> <a href="https://www.aclunc.org/blog/hillary-its-important-say-black-lives-matter" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="http://www.latinorebels.com/2015/10/17/hillary-clintons-latest-hispandering-is-just-plain-insulting/" target="_blank">displays</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton/posts/1023766424346553:0" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="https://www.liberationnews.org/socialist-candidate-gloria-la-riva-hillary-youre-nothing-like-abuelas/" target="_blank">racial</a> <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/29/hillary-clinton-s-tone-deaf-racial-pandering.html" target="_blank">insensitivity</a>. On April 29, she <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/04/29/trump-has-gone-reservation-clinton-says-sanders-campaign-calls-clintons-comment" target="_blank">affronted</a> Native Americans. On April 9, she and de Blasio delivered a scripted joke that relied upon a stereotype
about "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/clinton-de-blasio-make-racial-joke-2016-4" target="_blank">colored</a> people."<br />
<br />
De Blasio, who is a surrogate for Clinton, is under investigation by the <a href="http://gothamist.com/2016/04/09/de_blasio_fund-raising_corruption.php" target="_blank">FBI</a>. So is Clinton, with regard to how she handled classified documents. That means Rep. Joaquin <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWxaSU5msQk#t=7m16s" target="_blank">Castro</a> (D-TX), who is another surrogate of hers, made a <a href="http://www.startribune.com/fbi-head-no-timetable-for-completing-clinton-email-probe/376593541/" target="_blank">false</a> statement on CNN when he said the "Justice Department... cleared her" of wrongdoing in that matter. But he began to spread <a href="http://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/gilbert_garcia/article/Sanders-Latino-backers-take-issue-with-Joaquin-6491780.php" target="_blank">falsehoods</a> on her behalf eight months ago.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMgW4U88-FL3gJjbgnbEcmUA_75Uw0x2I6dyuAWmFQ3qmuvFarVYg3bI3D63Tcnd_Tc5TMJI9hxeeHYfG7c2iRawE6YrNA2kF7rf7F4uiUu6XA1oHpQfIuPG0B-5DmSXyFeh8CHFGnJ8/s1600/Wilhelm.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMgW4U88-FL3gJjbgnbEcmUA_75Uw0x2I6dyuAWmFQ3qmuvFarVYg3bI3D63Tcnd_Tc5TMJI9hxeeHYfG7c2iRawE6YrNA2kF7rf7F4uiUu6XA1oHpQfIuPG0B-5DmSXyFeh8CHFGnJ8/s1600/Wilhelm.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">de Blasio<br />
(Mikki Sprenkle/<br />
Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Speaking of Clinton's allies and the FBI: She was introduced on the floor of the Democratic Nat'l Conv. in 2008 by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAZ5c45YVFk" target="_blank">Sheldon</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4591295/sheldon-silver-hillary-clinton" target="_blank">Silver</a>, who was <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0503/Will-Sheldon-Silver-s-career-of-corruption-serve-as-a-lesson" target="_blank">sentenced</a> this month to 12 years in prison. His 21 years as speaker of the Assembly of NY ended on 2 Feb. 2015, which was days after
he surrendered to the FBI on felony
counts of corruption and which was many years after he established his <a href="http://news.wbfo.org/post/assemblyman-kearns-people-knew-sheldon-silver-was-corrupt" target="_blank">reputation</a> for unscrupulousness. Silver's total of 39 years in the Assembly ended
in November, when he was convicted on all seven counts. Silver had endorsed Clinton in this race and was not removed by the Democratic Nat'l Committee as a <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/03/20/sheldon-silver-resigns-as-democratic-superdelegate/" target="_blank">super</a>-delegate but resigned that position in March. After 1986, the only year in which Silver was opposed in a
primary was 2008. An issue in the latter campaign was Silver's attempted <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/nyregion/14silver.html" target="_blank">coverup</a> of sexual assaults on women. Clinton, who poses as a champion of women's rights, nevertheless <a href="http://observer.com/2008/09/hillarys-friend-shelly/" target="_blank">encouraged</a> her supporters in his district to cast their ballots for him.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I ask you to... re-elect my good friend, Assemblyman Shelly
Silver... New York is <b>lucky to have Shelly Silver</b> fighting for us in
Albany... I'm lucky to count him as a friend and... colleague who[ ha]s
always... help[ed] advance issues... important to me..."</blockquote>
Last month, Clinton uttered two more contradictions to philosophical keystones of women's rights. On April 5, she said opposition to reproductive freedom is <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/hillary-clinton-the-view-women-221573" target="_blank">compatible</a> with feminism. A couple of days earlier, she said <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/clinton-criticized-for-calling-unborn-a-person.html" target="_blank">fetuses</a> are people. That comment was in an interview in which she <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/apr/03/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-claims-meet-press-wall-street-atta/" target="_blank">falsely</a> claimed to be "the only candidate... against whom Wall St. financiers and hedge-fund managers are running ads."<br />
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A defender of Clinton on the issue of Wall St. is ex-rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who is on the board of <a href="http://investor.signatureny.com/directors.cfm" target="_blank">Signature</a> Bank, which received $120M in the bailout for which Clinton voted and against which Sanders voted. In July, Frank wrote a piece that was filled with <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/09/more-prominent-allies-of-hillary-are.html" target="_blank">falsehoods</a> in order to argue that Clinton should be unopposed for the nomination. Because the voters did not comply, he gave an interview to <i>Slate</i> in March just to show how angry he was. (That outlet did <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2016/03/barney_frank_is_not_impressed_by_bernie_sanders.html" target="_blank">not</a> mention that Frank endorses Clinton's bid.)<br />
<br />
The former state legislator yammered, "The caucuses are the least democratic political operation in America. They cater to the people who have a lot of time on their hands... Sanders is the nominee of the caucuses and Hillary is the nominee of the primaries."<br />
<br />
I can find no record of any previous statement by Frank that blasts the concept of caucuses. His attack aligns with Clinton's attempt to generate a perception of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7BuS1Ks7ic" target="_blank">illegitimacy</a> with regard to 11 <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/MN" target="_blank">victories</a> that Sanders <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/CO" target="_blank">achieved</a> by <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/NE" target="_blank">double</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/maine/" target="_blank">digits</a>. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfN7UquYlY8ZxUp33SaSO9sQh4NSkcGOn8sOp4jfHkW2qLuyFte7SdJfOiRxJjmT2OO0zXMbue9vRWOSCwEVi9XglfCVGOrroS_rnZgkl8PlRzIN8eWGQm0FCRDtGjKoowMG4YQPOAac/s1600/Castro.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfN7UquYlY8ZxUp33SaSO9sQh4NSkcGOn8sOp4jfHkW2qLuyFte7SdJfOiRxJjmT2OO0zXMbue9vRWOSCwEVi9XglfCVGOrroS_rnZgkl8PlRzIN8eWGQm0FCRDtGjKoowMG4YQPOAac/s1600/Castro.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castro (Lauren Gerson/ <br />
Lyndon Johnson Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Frank continued, "I am disappointed by the voters who say, 'I'll just show how angry I am!' I'm... unimpressed with people who sat out the congressional elections of 2010 and 2014 and are angry at Democrats because they have not been able to produce public policies those voters like..."<br />
<br />
Those voters are not trying to impress him. The congressional Democrats <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/" target="_blank"><i>chose</i></a> not to produce such policies and had no message in the campaigns of 2010 and 2014.<br />
<br />
On April 4, Frank expanded his <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/jose-diaz-balart/watch/what-does-a-tight-dem-race-in-wi-mean-for-ny-658498115664" target="_blank">slander</a> of said voters.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Jose Diaz-Balart of MSNBC: "What do you think is the reason why so many people... enthusiastically support... Sanders... [after they], in the past, maybe have not been motivated to vote?"<br />
<br />
Frank: "I think it is a <b>lack of information</b>... [There] are... people who <b>don't understand</b>, frankly, the nature of the American political system... [P]eople have a tendency to <b>blame others for things that are their own fault</b>... So they say, 'See? Sanders pointed out it's that <i>system's</i> fault.'"</blockquote>
The day prior, Clinton similarly <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/4/meet_the_greenpeace_activist_who_confronted" target="_blank">denigrated</a> Sanders's backers but targeted the millennials among them. Chuck Todd of NBC inquired about her outburst toward Eva Resnick-Day of Greenpeace when she, based on research by that organization <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaign-updates/hillary-clintons-connection-oil-gas-industry/" target="_blank">rather</a> than -- as Clinton assumed -- on anything by Sanders's campaign, asked Clinton if her campaign would stop its acceptance of money from the fossil fuel industry. In reference to what Sanders's campaign <i>did</i> state about that matter, Clinton replied to Todd in part, "<b>I feel sorry, sometimes, for the young people who believe this. They don't do their own research.</b>"<br />
<br />
We shall return to that later. On April 21, Clinton's husband continued her effort to malign Sanders's youthful supporters and joined Frank in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-clinton-blames-millennials_us_57191d13e4b0d0042da88c9f" target="_blank">accusing</a> them of culpability for national hardship. The former president said "if all the young people who <b>claim to be</b> disillusioned had voted in 2010, we would not have lost the Congress, and we'd probably have our incomes back."<br />
<br />
Frank told <i>Slate</i>, "Sanders has been in Congress for 25 years with little to show for it."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs-icHbResw-GoXy4c3FBfVpp5DKh-Vet6DNDCjon2a_GzFfdtZyz3d8KdBSi7UITkOsTwre8moFg1cUBnc-PqCO-52J5GybPxO2KEP01ZyYAeCCgcalacK4ZjeKupAmD158dNaHeeMg/s1600/FrankLieberman.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs-icHbResw-GoXy4c3FBfVpp5DKh-Vet6DNDCjon2a_GzFfdtZyz3d8KdBSi7UITkOsTwre8moFg1cUBnc-PqCO-52J5GybPxO2KEP01ZyYAeCCgcalacK4ZjeKupAmD158dNaHeeMg/s1600/FrankLieberman.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank (Peter Souza/<br />
White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-the-horror-show-that-is-congress-20050825" target="_blank">That</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/07/06/gop-senators-support-sanders-obamacare-expansion/" target="_blank">is</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/how-bernie-sanders-fought-for-our-veterans-119708" target="_blank">false</a>.<br />
<br />
"[B]lame [for] the system [is put] on the people in office. That's the same with the Tea Party. It's, 'I voted for these Republicans, we have a Republican Congress..., they didn't accomplish anything.' A party must win at least two elections in a row."<br />
<br />
In 2006, the Democrats won control of Congress. In 2008, they won their largest congressional majorities in 30 years. Nonetheless, they did little to challenge George W. Bush in his last two years in office or bring major change during Obama's first two years as chief executive. Frank's comparison of Sanders's supporters to the Teabaggers <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewqd2qMWYUQ#t=62s" target="_blank">echoed</a> one way Clinton's husband <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/bill-clinton-sanders-backers-would-shoot-every-third-person-on-wall-street-222043" target="_blank">smeared</a> pro-Sanders voters.<br />
<br />
The endeavor by Clinton, and her surrogates, to paint Sanders's
supporters as uninterested in substance was underway for
months. For example, days before New Hampshire's primary, Clinton <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/268063-clinton-id-win-in-landslide-in-race-about-issues" target="_blank">declared</a>
that if it were to be "about our records, I'll win in a landslide" but
that if Sanders were to win there, the outcome would be due to his
residency in a bordering state. As for the latter assertion, she did
not explain, with respect to prior primaries in NH, how former governor Willard Mitt Romney
(R-MA) lost
to Sen. John <strike>Hussein</strike> McCain III (R-AZ) or how the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) <a href="http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1980/02/27/page/1/article/kennedy-defeated-49-to-38" target="_blank">lost</a> to Pres. Jimmy Carter, whose home state has always been Georgia. <br />
<br />
So, <b>what can Clinton show for her time in the Senate? Frank was not asked and did not say.</b> Fortunately, on March 29, <i>The San Francisco Chronicle</i> posed that question to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who endorses Clinton and has served in that chamber since before Clinton did. The ex-mayor of the Golden Gate City <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Feinstein-Clinton-wasn-t-in-Senate-long-enough-7216431.php" target="_blank">replied</a>, "<b>I forget what bills she has been part of or authored</b>," eventually citing aid Clinton helped secure for NY in its recovery from 11 September 2001. But Clinton claims to be the Democratic candidate who "gets things done," not who "<i>got thing</i> done." And her staff's <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/03/30/hillary_clintons_tone_gate_disaster_why_her_campaigns_condescending_bernie_dismissal_should_concern_democrats_everywhere/" target="_blank">absurd</a> allegation of a "very negative" campaign by Sanders was disputed by Feinstein, who remarked to the <i>Chronicle</i>, "<b>He is not slash-and-burn. He has talked about his issues and... </b><b>been constructive.</b> I think there's a high likelihood he won't change from that."<br />
<br />
As for how Sanders would reform financial regulation, Frank proclaimed to <i>Slate</i>, "[T]he only specific I have heard is Glass-Steagall..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblJOoYR1f2JRqn56wF0InUaL5y-gfzGOnKtKUAxEQKwfjtU_2cU6RKCUzpysVRfGO41DuGZq6V7kC2srE4Kdwr51zFHVJH2ZUptwS_hZiSGQ-cNMf9KqEw8kQ5Od1h1fs9PTYmI_phrc/s1600/Feinstein.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblJOoYR1f2JRqn56wF0InUaL5y-gfzGOnKtKUAxEQKwfjtU_2cU6RKCUzpysVRfGO41DuGZq6V7kC2srE4Kdwr51zFHVJH2ZUptwS_hZiSGQ-cNMf9KqEw8kQ5Od1h1fs9PTYmI_phrc/s1600/Feinstein.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feinstein<br />
(Joy Holder / US Senate<br />
Photographic Studio)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then Frank had not done his <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/reforming-wall-street/" target="_blank">homework</a>. Asked if he believes that Clinton should release the transcripts of her paid speeches to financial firms, Frank responded, "Yeah, but... I think Sanders has been outrageously <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-McCarthy" target="_blank">McCarthyite</a> on that."<br />
<br />
"McCarthyite?" the interviewer asked.<br />
<br />
Frank said, "Yes, I saw one commercial that said the big companies were not punished. Why? Well, maybe it's because Hillary got speaking fees. So the secretary of State should have indicted people? I mean, yes, McCarthyite in that it's guilt by association. He complains about what she did with regard to all this money stuff."<br />
<br />
By this point, the reader can understand why Ralph Nader said of Frank, "Sometimes, he talks <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4587298/nader-frank" target="_blank">faster</a> than his mind operates." Comments about Sanders by <a href="http://fair.org/home/sanders-redbaiting-and-the-denouncing-double-standard/" target="_blank">Clinton</a>, by <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-jeremy-corbyn_us_55f73339e4b00e2cd5e79e11" target="_blank">her</a> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/22/bernie-sanders-communist-sympathiser-hillary-clinton-us-election-2016" target="_blank">surrogates</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wPXZkrJCME#t=6m35s" target="_blank">and</a> in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vulZ8uw2DM#t=1m34s" target="_blank">corporate</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/bernie-sanders-is-not-a-capitalist-542522435717" target="_blank">media</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7jlAZSGXf4#t=84" target="_blank">evoke</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/22/bernie-sanders-cuba-castro-revolution-government-final-five-election-special-sot-4.cnn/video/playlists/final-five-john-kasich-ted-cruz-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">McCarthyism</a>, <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/04/bernie-sanders-redbaiting-communism-ussr-soviets/" target="_blank">though</a>.<br />
<br />
Frank continued, "There was this complaint, 'Oh, she has contributions from Wall Street.' ...So does almost every Democrat because we cannot unilaterally disarm."<br />
<br />
Sanders has never raised significant amounts of money from Wall Street. Yet, he won four citywide elections and 10 statewide elections. Without coordination with any super-PAC, he also has won 20 presidential contests this year, including 18 by double digits, against a candidate who<br />
<ul>
<li>already had universal name-recognition when she began the race</li>
<li>has the support of almost the entire establishment of the party</li>
<li>is starkly preferred over him by the corporate media</li>
<li>directly coordinates with a super-PAC</li>
<li>has a nat'l organization that began to be built a quarter-century ago.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Frank said when asked what he thinks of Obama's presidency, "What disappoints me is on trade. I think he bought into the orthodoxy that says trade is good for everyone. He should have said, '...I will support... fast track, but only as part of a package that would raise the minimum wage, re-energize unions, restore the legal rights of unions, and do a massive construction program.' ...I don't understand why he didn't do that,"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghXZy6O5xQ750DN7opcarRoNKgiU17pR4m19Y6cfPZSjQ0rKTi-7BppmNxPh70vOBaPvWifUosy1jJTPbniFyNsObMbqXL_upkT8hiZju9kM6VdzgOTUW0FkXuns40NMTWyNa64BmUq0/s1600/ObamaLewGeithner.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghXZy6O5xQ750DN7opcarRoNKgiU17pR4m19Y6cfPZSjQ0rKTi-7BppmNxPh70vOBaPvWifUosy1jJTPbniFyNsObMbqXL_upkT8hiZju9kM6VdzgOTUW0FkXuns40NMTWyNa64BmUq0/s1600/ObamaLewGeithner.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obama, Secy. of Treasury Jacob Lew and his immediate<br />
predecessor: Timothy Geithner. When the meltdown of<br />
2008 hit, Lew was a COO at Citigroup as Geithner was<br />
CEO of the Fed. Reserve Bank of NY. (Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To understand why could begin with this list of some of the corporations, including firms on Wall St., that back the proposed free-trade pact called the Trans-Pacific Partnership and that donated the specified sums to Obama's bids for federal office.<br />
<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000115&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Microsoft</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000115&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Corp</a>.: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000115&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$1.7M</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000085&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Goldman</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000085&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Sachs</a>: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000085&type=P&cycle=2008&sort=A&state=" target="_blank">$1.3M</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000094&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Time</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000094&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Warner</a>: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000094&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$1.1M</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000071&type=P&cycle=2012&sort=A&state=" target="_blank">Citigroup</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000071&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Inc</a>.: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000071&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$1M</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000720&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">IBM</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000720&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Corp</a>.: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000720&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$909K</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000128&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Disney</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000128&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Co</a>.: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000128&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$835K</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000106&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Morgan</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000106&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Stanley</a>: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000106&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$787K</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000125&type=P&state=IL&sort=A&cycle=2004" target="_blank">General</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000125&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Electric</a>: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000125&type=P&cycle=2008&sort=A&state=" target="_blank">$677K</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000021754&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">Apple</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000021754&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Inc</a>.: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000021754&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">$517K</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000716&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Hewlett</a>-<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000716&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Packard</a>: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000716&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$423K</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000100&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">Boeing</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000100&type=P&cycle=2004&sort=A&state=IL" target="_blank">Co</a>.: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000100&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">$407K</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000804&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">Intel</a>: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000804&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2012" target="_blank">$377K</a>.<br />
<br />
"and why he, without demanding anything, gives Republicans what they want..."<br />
<br />
Whatever the reason is, Obama's actions explain why many voters understood the uselessness of the Democratic majority in Congress.<br />
<br />
Clinton's maladroitness was palpable during her most recent encounter with Sanders, also. Here is a review of substantive parts of it. Quoted wording is edited for clarity and concision. Selectivity is to avoid repetition, including of content in the <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/11/clearer-contrast-btn-hillary-bernie-as.html" target="_blank">reviews</a> of <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/01/beating-back-biased-behavior-that.html" target="_blank">previous</a> <a href="https://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/03/how-clintons-third-inevitability-is.html" target="_blank">debates</a>. Boldface is added.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">D</span>ebate <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">IX</span> | <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thu</span>., <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">April</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">14</span> | <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">New York City</span> | CNN</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
Sanders in his initial statement: "My campaign began almost a year ago... <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/04/20/cnnorc2016poll04202015.pdf" target="_blank">about</a> 70 points behind Secy. Clinton. In the last couple of weeks, there were <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us160329/MCC/Democratic%20Contest/McClatchy_Marist%20Poll_Democrats%202016__Complete%20Survey%20Findings_Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_April%202016.pdf" target="_blank">two</a> <a href="http://publicreligion.org/research/2016/04/prri-atlantic-2016-survey" target="_blank">polls</a> that had me <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-03-24/democrats-evenly-split-over-clinton-sanders-in-bloomberg-poll-im63yb0w" target="_blank">ahead</a>... [T]his country will not significantly move forward for working people unless we overturn the disastrous decision by the Supreme Court in <i>Citizens United</i> and truly reform campaign-finance so billionaires and super-PACs cannot buy elections..."<br />
<br />
Clinton in her initial statement: "...I was honored to serve as a senator from NY... During those eight years, we... faced 9/11..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93mmBLXCaqALUWsFxBY4oKaDS4mzqrizi5ElvGxX5Mfe8X3Yuh-3DmgpORwDv7O-UZz0JkOMCxR8LMwWdTv4EBVf-gryKkaF_sQP6IxM6ZRYTUJu_8XJvH-KfEsf8jXt_l4atUC0h3MY/s1600/BushClinton.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93mmBLXCaqALUWsFxBY4oKaDS4mzqrizi5ElvGxX5Mfe8X3Yuh-3DmgpORwDv7O-UZz0JkOMCxR8LMwWdTv4EBVf-gryKkaF_sQP6IxM6ZRYTUJu_8XJvH-KfEsf8jXt_l4atUC0h3MY/s1600/BushClinton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G.W. Bush & Clinton's husband<br />
(Joyce Boghosian / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
She had already <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-invokes-911-2nd-time-defending-wall/story?id=35511652" target="_blank">abused</a> the memory of that day <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQEKWLo6O2c#t=13s" target="_blank">several</a> times in the campaign.<br />
<br />
"I was particularly concerned about our first-responders and others whose health had been affected by it..."<br />
<br />
She had not been concerned enough to support any effort to hold Bush accountable for his intentional subjection of her constituents to those hazards. While Clinton was in the Senate, then-Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced articles of impeachment against Bush, including "Article XXXV -- <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-110hres1258ih/pdf/BILLS-110hres1258ih.pdf#page=162" target="_blank">Endangerment</a> of the Health of 9/11 First Responders," which explained that Bush "recklessly endangered the health of first-responders, residents, and workers at and near the" World Trade Center and that on 21 August 2003, the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency at the time issued a report that concluded:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<b>[W]hen EPA</b>[, on Sept. 18,]<b> announce[d] that the air was 'safe'...</b>, <b>[EPA] did not have sufficient data... to make such a blanket statement...</b> The <b>White House</b> Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)... <b>convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and to delete cautionary ones</b>... As a result..., <b>information about the potential health effects from WTC debris w[as] not included</b> in press releases issued by EPA... Based on CEQ's influence, reassuring information was added to at least one press release, and cautionary information was deleted from EPA's draft... of that press release...<br />
<br />
"[T]he <b>White House's role in EPA's public communications about environmental conditions at the WTC</b> was described in an e-mail on 12 Sept. 2001 from the chief of staff of the deputy administrator of EPA to senior officials at EPA:</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'<b>All statements to the media should be cleared through the [Nat'l Security Council]</b> before... release...'</blockquote>
"According to the chief of staff of EPA, one... official at CEQ was designated to work with EPA to ensure that clearance was obtained through NSC. The associate administrator for the EPA Office of Communications, Education, and Media Relations said <b>for... three to four[ weeks] after Sept. 11, </b><b><b>no press release could be issued </b> without approval from the CEQ contact</b>."</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLNXW8BP53jug6tTZI8WHLBtlvrdVpINwz4lV2QtKSbZRAO-PzTLfZycFa7vxpqpj15oO3jtY9zSKTS0VwYXzx75FVvbul8qh8lmWkVXDo_E-mEmSZVdMps-mtXfdUOGrYygHs_zQ6ycA/s1600/Kucinich.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLNXW8BP53jug6tTZI8WHLBtlvrdVpINwz4lV2QtKSbZRAO-PzTLfZycFa7vxpqpj15oO3jtY9zSKTS0VwYXzx75FVvbul8qh8lmWkVXDo_E-mEmSZVdMps-mtXfdUOGrYygHs_zQ6ycA/s1600/Kucinich.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kucinich<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The article itself noted:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Acting EPA administrator Marianne Horinko... said... the <b>White House played a coordinating role</b>. The NSC played the key role, <b>filtering incoming data</b>...<br />
<br />
"In the cleanup of the Pentagon after Sept. 11..., <b>Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws</b> were enforced, and no workers became ill. <b>At the WTC</b>..., the same<b> laws were not enforced</b>... [T]he Bush administration has still <b>not effected a cleanup</b> of the indoor air... near the site..."</blockquote>
Moderator Wolf Blitzer to Sanders: "[I]n the last week, you raised questions about Secy. Clinton's qualifications... You said that something clearly lacks in her judgment and... credibility... Do you believe that Secy. Clinton has the judgment to be president?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I said that in <a href="http://fair.org/home/an-unqualified-success-at-media-manipulation/" target="_blank">response</a> to... attacks... from the Clinton campaign. A headline in <i>The Washington Post</i> read, 'Clinton Campaign Says Sanders is Unqualified.' And that's what the surrogates were saying."<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/04/06/clinton-questions-whether-sanders-is-qualified-to-be-president/" target="_blank">exact</a> headline was "Clinton Questions Whether Sanders is Qualified to Be President." That was accurate, as was Sanders's characterization of what Clinton's spokespeople had said. Any competent candidate in a hot race will defend himself with a counterattack that outweighs the attack. Because Sanders did so, Clinton's husband <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/08/politics/bernie-sanders-bill-clinton-psychoanalyst/index.html" target="_blank">added</a> to <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/mika--i-know-sexism--clinton-should-know-better-552655939679" target="_blank">her</a> <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/hillary_clinton_keeps_smearing_bernie_sanders_as_a_sexist_now_she_is_reaching.html" target="_blank">false</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/12/hillary-clintons-claim-that-she-tried-to-join-the-marines/" target="_blank">allegations</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/clinton-chides-worked-up-sanders-supporters-619073091998" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/31/the-bernie-bros-narrative-a-cheap-false-campaign-tactic-masquerading-as-journalism-and-social-activism/" target="_blank">sexism</a>. But <b>her campaign, after it started the fight and then cried foul when Sanders finished it</b>, is the one that sought a double standard. That is surely understood by Clinton's husband, who used to share "the old story of the boy who, with a bloody nose, ran home to his mother. When she asked him what had happened, he replied, 'It all started when the other kid hit me <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-1999-06-07/pdf/WCPD-1999-06-07.pdf#page=19" target="_blank">back</a>.'"<br />
<br />
Sanders continued, "Secy. Clinton has the experience and intelligence to be president. But I question her judgment," and mentioned destructive decisions by her that were discussed in previous debates.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwvKv83whNc7aKyBS5ylTm3dTvn_Y9P3Cc69ZRCO7YUib0D3SshttPRDvzFXIofTPUeJkxFTAFZ4Y_M6xJ0HHiJ9YNmJQwkSbHODTsB_m30gPecSZaQZm_WHillbdxd2DCB1woe8JH3o/s1600/Merkley.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwvKv83whNc7aKyBS5ylTm3dTvn_Y9P3Cc69ZRCO7YUib0D3SshttPRDvzFXIofTPUeJkxFTAFZ4Y_M6xJ0HHiJ9YNmJQwkSbHODTsB_m30gPecSZaQZm_WHillbdxd2DCB1woe8JH3o/s1600/Merkley.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merkley<br />
(Frank Fey / US Senate<br />
Photographic Studio)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "...Sen. Sanders did call me unqualified. I've been called many things in my life. That was a first."<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNASN8ktJyY#t=7" target="_blank">That</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYwHtZnqn0o#t=13m16s" target="_blank">is</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eRnmEgMTBk#t=28s" target="_blank">false</a>.<br />
<br />
"[R]ead... Sen. Sanders's... interview with <i>The NY Daily News</i>. Talk about judgment and the... problems he had answering questions about even his core issue: breakup of the banks. When asked, he could not explain how that would be done."<br />
<br />
In the interview, Sanders's answer on that issue was unclear because <b>the relevant laws are</b>. On <i>Democracy Now!</i> on April 15, that fact was referenced by co-anchor Juan González, who was weeks away from his retirement as a senior columnist for <i>The Daily News</i> and, although he was not on its editorial board, had participated in its interview of Sanders.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Clinton... grossly <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/15/juan_gonzalez_clinton_has_really_distorted" target="_blank">distorted</a> what happened in th[at] meeting... [O]verall, Sanders handled all the questions... pretty well. I came away impressed...<br />
<br />
"<b>[To] get into the details of
the Dodd-Frank Act is to miss the forest for the trees... There would be legal challenges </b>from banks if the
government or the Federal Reserve were to attempt to [break them up]...
Sen. Sanders made clear that <b>there are issues to be resolved that might
require legislation</b> to actually effect a reduction of those bank[s]...</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"So... <b>to characterize his remarks... as showing him to be unfit</b> to be president <b>is... ridiculous</b>... [S]everal <b>members of the editorial board</b> told me they <b>were surprised by the furor</b> that developed afterward, which was largely <b>fueled by the Clinton campaign</b>..." </blockquote>
The rest of that fuel was from corporate media, which feign concern about Sanders's supposed "lack of specifics" but tend to <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/beloved-media/" target="_blank">favor</a> <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/reagan-and-media-love-story/" target="_blank">truly</a> <a href="http://prospect.org/article/gored-media-bull" target="_blank">ignorant</a> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/10/gore200710" target="_blank">politicians</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2010/02/why-the-msm-loves-palin-032885" target="_blank">who</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/upshot/measuring-donald-trumps-mammoth-advantage-in-free-media.html" target="_blank">help</a> <a href="http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-wire-rubin-trumps-ignorance-catching-up-to-him-0403-20160401-story.html" target="_blank">corporate</a> interests. However, although <i>The NY Times</i> endorses Clinton, it printed a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/upshot/yes-bernie-sanders-knows-something-about-breaking-up-banks.html" target="_blank">defense</a> of Sanders in which Peter Eavis writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"To break up the banks would involve arcane and complex regulatory moves that can <b>trip up any banking-policy wonk</b>, let alone a presidential candidate. But, taken as a whole, Mr. <b>Sanders's answers</b> seem to <b>make sense. Crucially, his answers mostly track with a reasonably straightforward... plan he introduced</b> to Congress last year."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1Y9P3YKNpEbWY5yoqH8Fme0wEaFD7n2ks7vRnsv4OasDWcCr4Srqtp1FvanKAZd-XyFRcJiUFVpaHwZZAjpCPMLf0sOr-ZrhAtYeYENJj-ZycE_pwapu0tkpqtwKL7MEMPAMnfoix18/s1600/KnndCrtr.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1Y9P3YKNpEbWY5yoqH8Fme0wEaFD7n2ks7vRnsv4OasDWcCr4Srqtp1FvanKAZd-XyFRcJiUFVpaHwZZAjpCPMLf0sOr-ZrhAtYeYENJj-ZycE_pwapu0tkpqtwKL7MEMPAMnfoix18/s1600/KnndCrtr.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kennedy, Carter in late 1977 (Karl Schumacher / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "When asked about a number of foreign policy issues,"<br />
<br />
What number? Zero?<br />
<br />
"he
could not answer about Afghanistan, Israel, and counter-terrorism,
except to say maybe he could if he had paper in front of him."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/transcript-bernie-sanders-meets-news-editorial-board-article-1.2588306" target="_blank">false</a>. In the interview, there was <b>no mention of Afghanistan</b>, he said a lot about Israel and counter-terrorism, and a question about it had a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-daily-news_us_5704779ce4b0a506064d8df5" target="_blank">false</a> premise, as Ryan Grim of <i>The Huffington Post</i> reports.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>The Daily News</i> asked, 'Pres. Obama has taken from the CIA the authority for drone attacks and given it to the military. Some say that decision has caused difficulties in zeroing in on terrorists... Do you believe he has the right policy there?'<br />
<br />
"'I don't know...,' Sanders said.<br />
<br />
"A nice gotcha, except that while Obama did announce... the authority would move from the CIA to the military, that decision was quietly <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/24/obama-cia-drones_n_7649702.html" target="_blank">reversed</a>..."</blockquote>
Hence, the central mistake by Sanders in this case was to ever be interviewed by <i>The Daily News</i>. It endorsed <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/opinions/war-time-man-overriding-concern-best-win-war-terror-country-new-york-leading-city-emerge-jeopardy-article-1.657649" target="_blank">Bush</a> for the general election of 2004 and endorsed <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/choice-america-future-mitt-romney-article-1.1196299" target="_blank">Romney</a> for that of 2012. For the most recent Democratic mayoral primary in NYC, that outlet <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/christine-quinn-news-article-1.1433371" target="_blank">endorsed</a> then-<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/nyregion/in-private-quinn-displays-a-volatile-side.html" target="_blank">Speaker</a> of the Council <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/04/18/goldmans-blankfein-quinn-as-mayor-wouldnt-be-bad/" target="_blank">Christine</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfMcURAvsmA" target="_blank">Quinn</a>: the most <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfMcURAvsmA" target="_blank">conservative</a> of the top five candidates. For the latest Democratic gubernatorial primary in the Empire State, <i>The Daily News</i> <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/best-dem-big-job-article-1.1921975" target="_blank">endorsed</a> <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/who-advised-cuomo-on-mortgage-industry-investigation-a-mortgage-lobbyist" target="_blank">Gov</a>. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/companies-run-andrew-cuomo-biggest-donors-won-millions-state-grants-state-records-article-1.1927236" target="_blank">Andrew</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zephyr-teachout/the-corruption-beneath-cu_b_5750174.html" target="_blank">Cuomo</a> even though he was under federal investigation for <a href="http://gothamist.com/2016/01/11/no_moreland_cuomo_preet.php" target="_blank">corruption</a> (as he is <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2016/03/8593961/state-pays-dc-based-firm-handle-probe-cuomos-buffalo-initiative" target="_blank">now</a>) and <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/gov-democracy-game-article-1.1926868" target="_blank">refused</a> to debate his main opponent: Zephyr Teachout, who is a <a href="http://law.fordham.edu/16698.htm" target="_blank">distinguished</a> <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674659988" target="_blank">scholar</a> on corruption. Given the history of that newspaper, its eventual endorsement of Clinton over Sanders was not a surprise.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "In America, we must understand we should <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/138504783480" target="_blank">think</a> <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/138894376115" target="_blank">big</a>, not small..."<br />
<br />
Vice President Biden recently articulated <a href="https://berniesanders.com/vp-biden-likes-sanders-approach/" target="_blank">agreement</a> with Sanders on that.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9bcujRdX7I-uJXPuOA81gKBE0r1MOlbIATRmp20pnMPfU1v5MmTkPwfO-hMGgxC9oyzBFtwhBShZK5kF6qFIstC7RJfxM4vOYEKK1jeuXotiMQzIhUMObQv4hlED4ZiiGlGdpyt5NA8/s1600/McCarthy.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9bcujRdX7I-uJXPuOA81gKBE0r1MOlbIATRmp20pnMPfU1v5MmTkPwfO-hMGgxC9oyzBFtwhBShZK5kF6qFIstC7RJfxM4vOYEKK1jeuXotiMQzIhUMObQv4hlED4ZiiGlGdpyt5NA8/s1600/McCarthy.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The late Sen. Joseph<br />
McCarthy, R-WI (US<br />
Senate Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Panelist Dana Bash: "Secy. Clinton, the government announced yesterday that <b>five of the biggest banks on Wall St. have, for the second time in two years, failed to develop credible plans to dismantle themselves in the event of another financial crisis</b>. Would you call on regulators to, as the law explicitly encourages, start the process of a breakup of those banks?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Absolutely... Dodd-Frank sets forth the necessary approach. I will appoint regulators who are... ready... to immediately break up any bank that fails either test under Dodd-Frank... by being a systemic and grave risk to our economy or by having an inadequate living will, which is what you referenced..."<br />
<br />
Bash: "...Sen. Sanders, you were recently asked how you would replace the big banks... if you could break them up. You said, 'That's their decision.' Why would you trust the banks to restructure themselves when you say their business model is fraudulent?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I don't need Dodd-Frank in order to know we must break up those banks... so they do not pose a systemic risk and so we have a vibrant economy with a competitive financial system... The government should say <b>banks that are 'too big to fail' must shrink to a certain size. The banks can decide what to sell off.</b> I don't believe that the Dept. of the Treasury would be appropriate to make those decisions..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "There are two ways to go at this under Dodd-Frank... [S]ometimes, the government must order certain actions. Sometimes, the government can permit the institutions to take those actions. That must be the judgement of regulators. But I believe strongly that executives of any of those organizations should be financially penalized if there is a settlement..."<br />
<br />
Bash: "Sen. Sanders, you've consistently criticized Secy. Clinton for her acceptance of money from Wall Street. Can you name one decision she made as senator that shows she favored banks because of the money she received?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Sure. When... Wall St. brought this country into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression..., the obvious response was that... [the big banks] must be broken up. I introduced legislation to do that..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "He cannot provide any example. There is none... I support Dodd-Frank but... it's not enough..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW9UEonD4Zmw3HdLfUwyWhVF4EJVzkGMiwS5e0TjifCRStm4RqqvBbHwMqs-AtmJ9zOWGSR2n2ln-jq6Hsv1lI5TnjupcASSRnT0EIcClk-bUYMAv03MA-R4x9uMjTMUTHOCafi5nYnI/s1600/McCainRomney.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW9UEonD4Zmw3HdLfUwyWhVF4EJVzkGMiwS5e0TjifCRStm4RqqvBbHwMqs-AtmJ9zOWGSR2n2ln-jq6Hsv1lI5TnjupcASSRnT0EIcClk-bUYMAv03MA-R4x9uMjTMUTHOCafi5nYnI/s1600/McCainRomney.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCain, Romney (Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders obviously had just alluded to Clinton's opposition to reinstatement of Glass-Steagall. Still, I do not understand why he mentioned neither her <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4589855/voted-hoped-wouldnt-pass" target="_blank">vote</a> in <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4580890/voted-hoped-wouldnt-pass" target="_blank">favor</a> of the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/333/summary/35" target="_blank">Bankruptcy</a> Reform Act <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=107&session=1&vote=00236" target="_blank">after</a> she <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2015/11/18/flashback-elizabeth-warren-tells-a-story-about-hillary-clinton-wall-street-and-lobbying/" target="_blank">opposed</a> it nor her vote in <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213" target="_blank">favor</a> of the bailout for Wall Street.<br />
<br />
Bash to Clinton: "Sen. Sanders continues to bring up your speeches to Goldman Sachs. You've said you don't want to release the transcripts of your paid speeches until everyone else releases the transcripts of theirs. But if, in your transcripts, there is nothing you think would change voters' minds, why not just release those transcripts and put this issue to bed?"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for a minute but <b>did not answer</b> the question.<br />
<br />
Bash: "Secy. Clinton, <b>the question was about the transcripts</b>..."<br />
<br />
Clinton again claimed that at least one Republican who was running for president as of April 14 had given paid speeches. But <b>she did not specify who</b>, to whom, or for how much money. She added, "There is a long-standing expectation for all presidential candidates to release their tax returns... I've released 30 years of them... Sen. Sanders... should do the same."<br />
<br />
Bash: "Secy. Clinton, ...you're seeking the Democratic nomination. Your Democratic opponent and many Democratic voters want to see the transcripts you have. <b>It's not about the Republicans at this point.</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton merely repeated herself.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[My wife] does our taxes. We... will <a href="https://go.berniesanders.com/page/-/Bernie%20Taxes%20Full.pdf" target="_blank">release</a> a tax return tomorrow..."<br />
<br />
Blitzer: "From 2014?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Yes." <br />
<br />
On April 26, Sanders's wife <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6ESdzJhlNU" target="_blank">declared</a> that she and her husband will release additional tax returns when Clinton releases her transcripts.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0fSHSaPGYL1g6xmRL50fPVjh8qlQPemTfHmQkFQRaetKiZNB7jen2-LP-devBBwgeR4V9jJXsJSEOGq9F4TaQ90o0t3MV02_lAOmr3a9Uu3THEMlOIXHDSIh87keHe7RB_wBJjxpCnc/s1600/Sanders.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0fSHSaPGYL1g6xmRL50fPVjh8qlQPemTfHmQkFQRaetKiZNB7jen2-LP-devBBwgeR4V9jJXsJSEOGq9F4TaQ90o0t3MV02_lAOmr3a9Uu3THEMlOIXHDSIh87keHe7RB_wBJjxpCnc/s1600/Sanders.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Blitzer: "Senator, experts say no matter the means to bring jobs back to the US, prices of goods for consumers in the US would rise, which would disproportionately impact the poor and the middle class. How would you bring jobs back without affecting the cost of goods to those Americans?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "For a start, we'd raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. While we may end up paying a few cents more for a hamburger..., this economy desperately needs a rebuilt manufacturing sector with jobs that pay well..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I have a comprehensive plan to create more jobs. I think that must be at the center of our economic approach... I... laid out a $10 billion plan I believe would jump-start advanced manufacturing..."<br />
<br />
Blitzer: "Secy. Clinton, you stood onstage with Gov. Cuomo in support of legislation to raise NY's minimum wage to $15 an hour. But <b>you oppose a raise in the national minimum wage to $15</b>. If a Democratic Congress were to pass <b>a bill to raise the national minimum wage to $15, would you sign it?</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Of course I would... But... we must be smart about it the way Gov. Cuomo was. We will move more quickly to $15 in NYC, more deliberately... upstate... That is my position. It's a model for the nation and I would go as quickly as possible to $15."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I am sure <b>many people are very surprised to learn you supported a raise in the minimum wage to $15</b>."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I have debated Sen. Sanders eight prior times. I have said the exact same thing: If we can raise it to $15 in NY, Los Angeles or Seattle, let's do it." <br />
<br />
Sanders: "When this campaign began, <b>I said we must... raise the national minimum wage to $15. Secy. Clinton said, 'Let's raise it to $12.' History outpaced her...</b>"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
It has done so on many occasions.<br />
<br />
"<b>For her to now suddenly announce she's for $15, I don't think is quite accurate.</b>"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Y95I4YNjbfhzNv_EntV5MTC9X5sP3ErsHbFe1MaktaYEpbfDK3bJw_c39y8I5lTroK30dWo-06S49X6GXRI5EwJKmioIOOJ4pksxtMluNRh1fbXJ1IiSndpKnznjEUJtFQ0x-2b61Pg/s1600/SilverCuomo.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Y95I4YNjbfhzNv_EntV5MTC9X5sP3ErsHbFe1MaktaYEpbfDK3bJw_c39y8I5lTroK30dWo-06S49X6GXRI5EwJKmioIOOJ4pksxtMluNRh1fbXJ1IiSndpKnznjEUJtFQ0x-2b61Pg/s1600/SilverCuomo.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silver, Cuomo (nysenate.gov)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "From the start, I have said I support the Fight for $15... <b>I have taken my cue from</b> the Democrats in the Senate... like... Kirsten <b>Gillibrand, who said we will set a national level of $12</b> and urge any place that can go above it to do so... <b>I think setting the goal of $12 is the way to go</b>, encouraging others to get to $15. But if we have a Democratic Congress, <b>we will go to $15</b>."<br />
<br />
Gillibrand later said Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9TB3EDaHYg" target="_blank">should</a> release the transcripts. <br />
<br />
Sanders: "I think <b>the secretary just confused a lot of people</b>. I don't know how she's for the Fight for $15 <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-minimum-wage_us_571143b0e4b06f35cb6f9f1e" target="_blank">when</a> she wants a national minimum wage of $12..."<br />
<br />
Blitzer to Clinton: "<b>[Y]ou said VT... has 'the highest per-capita number of guns that commit crimes in NY.' But only 1.2% of the guns recovered in NY in 2014 were from VT.</b> Do you seriously blame VT, and implicitly Sen. Sanders, for gun violence in NY?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "No, of course not. This is a serious difference between us."<br />
<br />
Sanders and a fragment of the audience then snickered at her mendacity.<br />
<br />
Clinton: "It's not a laughing matter..."<br />
<br />
For Clinton, laughing matters are<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/clinton-on-qaddafi-we-came-we-saw-he-died/" target="_blank">violent</a> overthrow of the Libyan government</li>
<li>the prospect of <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4590241/clinton-laughs-potential-war" target="_blank">war</a> with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF0JyZwqGoQ" target="_blank">Iran</a></li>
<li><a href="http://video.state.gov/en/video/19052660001" target="_blank">piracy</a></li>
<li>the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBypp2hqxaQ" target="_blank">loss</a> of 1 million jobs in the US</li>
<li>her <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/23/clinton-goldman-sachs-laugh/" target="_blank">refusal</a> to release the transcripts</li>
<li>her successful defense of an adult against a charge of <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/20/exclusive-hillary-clinton-took-me-through-hell-rape-victim-says.html" target="_blank">rape</a> of a child. (Clinton strongly implied she believes the charge was true.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Clinton: "In the interview with <i>The Daily News</i>, when asked whether he would support the lawsuit that parents of the victims of the massacre at Sandy Hook are waging to... rein in advertisement of the AR-15..., he said they don't deserve their day in court..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWS7hBWdtd52seoylGztXqW1NCc3zAlBqbW4asjw5UqUVVaHVRTJh5TU8e0N7bbFU-PVM3ZtnPF73M8h2viZ-YdTqm6OsJ9NTYhbdgoF1z9VZ6haHFWdMBFYfyqW0WkZy39nSKgaYksU/s1600/Gillibrand.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWS7hBWdtd52seoylGztXqW1NCc3zAlBqbW4asjw5UqUVVaHVRTJh5TU8e0N7bbFU-PVM3ZtnPF73M8h2viZ-YdTqm6OsJ9NTYhbdgoF1z9VZ6haHFWdMBFYfyqW0WkZy39nSKgaYksU/s1600/Gillibrand.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gillibrand, D-NY (US<br />
Senate Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That is false, as Sanders later pointed out.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Wolf, she did not answer your question..."<br />
<br />
Blitzer: "...She said, 'No.'"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>Then why did she make that statement? </b>...[I]t was <a href="http://www.wcax.com/story/31650376/clinton-claims-ny-criminals-get-guns-from-vt" target="_blank">refuted</a> by the governor of VT, who supports her candidacy..."<br />
<br />
Blitzer: "Secy. Clinton, ...why did you make that statement?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Most guns that commit crimes in NY come from the states that don't have the kind of serious efforts NY has that control guns..."<br />
<br />
Then <b>why did she single out VT?</b> Sanders has never even served in state government.<br />
<br />
Panelist Errol Louis: "Secy. Clinton, the crime bill you supported in 1994 added 100,000 police officers across the country... but imposed tougher sentences of imprisonment and eliminated federal funds for education of inmates. Do you believe this law was a net positive or a mistake?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I think sentences became much too long. The original idea was not to increase sentences for nonviolent, low-level offenders. But once the federal government did what it did, states piled on..."<br />
<br />
Louis: "...Do you regret your advocacy for the crime bill?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I'm sorry for the unintended consequences that have had a very unfortunate impact on people's lives... I want for white people to recognize there is systemic racism in employment, housing and the criminal-justice system."<br />
<br />
Louis to Sanders: "[A]t the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgFqwDsnLtc" target="_blank">Apollo</a> Theater in Harlem, you called out Pres. Clinton for his defense of Secy. Clinton's use of the term 'super-predators'... in support of the crime bill. Why?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>That term was racist and everybody knew it was racist...</b>"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghl4h1uxAY3R4l8bl5fek6PXe9US6wnEQRi77kFPWUpUXESIK6dartD8QlCI-bNxrnDBMEPehX6gw3D7jCMqnNX9Q5ZYmNk6XFgmVXP6VBDJ1ySCJhzcdob7YKrC-qMvtyc9T2GHTvM0E/s1600/Shumlin.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghl4h1uxAY3R4l8bl5fek6PXe9US6wnEQRi77kFPWUpUXESIK6dartD8QlCI-bNxrnDBMEPehX6gw3D7jCMqnNX9Q5ZYmNk6XFgmVXP6VBDJ1ySCJhzcdob7YKrC-qMvtyc9T2GHTvM0E/s1600/Shumlin.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gov. Peter Shumlin,<br />
D-VT (Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Louis: "Sen. Sanders, you said the US would, by the end of your first term, no longer lead the world in incarceration. To fulfill that promise, you'd have to release roughly half a million prisoners. How would you do that when the vast majority of prisoners in the US are not under federal jurisdiction?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I would work with states to make sure that inmates are released under strong supervision... I think there will be progressive and conservative support for it. We can do it if we're prepared to be bold."<br />
<br />
Blitzer to Clinton: "Sen. Sanders said you are in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry. You said you're sick of his lies about your record. What are his lies?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[A]s a senator, I joined with others to try to eliminate the subsidies for big oil-companies. I propose that again because I think it must be done as we transition from fossil fuels to clean energy... [T]hat charge is absolutely false. We both have relatively small amounts of contributions from people who work for fossil fuel companies, as far as we know from the reports..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>[F]orty-three lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry gave the maximum donation to Secy. Clinton's campaign.</b> Some people say those donations, given the hundreds of millions of dollars she raises, constitute a small amount... But... <b>those lobbyists thought she is a good bet on this issue</b>... [W]e must realize that climate change is a global environmental crisis of unprecedented urgency. If we... were attacked tomorrow, this whole nation would rise up and say we have an enemy and must do something about it... We have an enemy that will cause droughts, floods, other extreme weather disturbances, and international conflict... I introduced the most comprehensive climate-change legislation, including <b>a tax on carbon. Secy. Clinton does not support that proposal.</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[A]s secretary of State, I worked with Pres. Obama to bring China and India to the table for the first time to get a commitment to begin to address their emissions of greenhouse gases... [T]he US led the way to the agreement... in Paris with 195 nations who committed to make a difference on climate change. I was surprised and disappointed when Sen. Sanders attacked the agreement by saying it does not go far enough..."<br />
<br />
Just like, earlier in the debate, she "attacked" Dodd-Frank for its insufficiency.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4SZm6BHFnCQ1TjgK2FXdfAq9OazrCwZHoybIUhhqOLVZfpbv32SE4pHu3J_YqRybqrtTpQRTsXUx-V5xdw76mCPZ_VtXHVRXWori39fo2gevC84oFtiT8TgsdRwiGRD5zq22qzq6EN4/s1600/Sharpton.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4SZm6BHFnCQ1TjgK2FXdfAq9OazrCwZHoybIUhhqOLVZfpbv32SE4pHu3J_YqRybqrtTpQRTsXUx-V5xdw76mCPZ_VtXHVRXWori39fo2gevC84oFtiT8TgsdRwiGRD5zq22qzq6EN4/s1600/Sharpton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharpton<br />
(Eric Vance / EPA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...Of course the agreement is a step forward. But... there's a lot of paper there. We must go <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/cop21-paris-deal-far-too-weak-to-prevent-devastating-climate-change-academics-warn-a6803096.html" target="_blank">beyond</a> paper now. We must lead the world in transformation of our energy system... <b>I support legislation to ban excavation for fossil fuel on public land. That's not Secy. Clinton's position...</b>"<br />
<br />
Louis to Clinton: "<b>[A]s secretary of State, you... promote[d] fracking around the world.</b> Fracking is a way to extract natural gas. You now say fracking, under the regulations you favor, would be restricted in many places around this country. Why have <b>you changed your view</b> on fracking?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I don't think I changed my view on what the world must do to go from where it is, which is heavy dependence on oil and principally on coal, to where the world must be, which is clean and renewable energy. For economic, environmental and strategic reasons, American policy was to try to help countries free themselves from constant use of coal... and, especially in Europe, from incredibly intense pressure from Russia. So we said natural gas is a bridge. We want to cross it as quickly as possible because, to deal with climate change, we must move as rapidly as we can. That's why... I want to see us deploy a half-billion more solar panels by the end of my first term and enough clean energy to provide electricity to every home in the US within 10 years..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>[I]ncrementalism... is not enough...</b> We must tell the fossil fuel industry their short-term profits are not more important than the future of this planet is. <b>Secy. Clinton, do you favor a tax on carbon</b> so we can transition from fossil fuel to efficient and sustainable energy at the necessary speed?"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for nearly a minute but <b>did not answer</b> the question.<br />
<br />
Louis to Sanders: "...You call for a nationwide ban on fracking. You call for a phaseout of all nuclear power in the US. Would those proposals drive this country back to coal and oil, and thereby undermine the fight against climate change?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "No... Pope Francis <a href="http://www.phillytrib.com/ap/international/pope-urges-revolution-to-save-earth-fix-perverse-economy/article_2d9e3a31-a638-50c7-b2d2-04cef7d065c6.html" target="_blank">reminded</a> us we are on a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-pope-idUSKBN0TJ2FY20151130" target="_blank">suicide</a> course... There will be some people who lose their job. We build into our legislation an enormous amount of money to protect them... But we must, as we would if we were attacked by some military force, move urgently and boldly--"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nF7Hozd-R60jSRTROskNFzSUrbRY2tzsb8qQw9JqKhYFMAUFJVRNbvN6_DQo0c9izunVMGSzJFMr6NDYvdpmxq_GjNeNrTZLRxsc1TBzb8xeU-87pmetTmoX0KRi26UQVQfNOONrR-w/s1600/BidenPope.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nF7Hozd-R60jSRTROskNFzSUrbRY2tzsb8qQw9JqKhYFMAUFJVRNbvN6_DQo0c9izunVMGSzJFMr6NDYvdpmxq_GjNeNrTZLRxsc1TBzb8xeU-87pmetTmoX0KRi26UQVQfNOONrR-w/s1600/BidenPope.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biden, Pope Francis (Architect of the Capitol)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Louis: "But... less than 6% of US energy is from solar, wind and geothermal, and 20% is from nuclear. If all fossil fuels and nuclear energy were phased out, how would you make up that deficit?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "We would not phase it all out tomorrow. But we should have a massive program -- and I introduced legislation for 10M solar rooftops -- so probably millions of people would be put to work to retrofit and weatherize buildings all over this country, rebuilding our mass-transit system... [U]nder Franklin <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXRxZyTVOUI" target="_blank">Roosevelt</a>, we moved within three years to rebuild our economy to defeat Nazism and Japanese imperialism. That is the kind of approach we need."<br />
<br />
Blitzer: "Secy. Clinton, Pres. Obama says his <b>worst mistake</b> in office... was the <b>lack of preparation for what happened in Libya</b> after Muammar Qadhafi was removed. You were secretary of State then. Are you also responsible for that lack?"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for over a minute and a half but <b>did not answer</b> the question.<br />
<br />
Bash to Sanders: "In 1997, you said about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 'This is not the time to continue to waste tens of billions of dollars to help defend Europe, let alone assume more than our share of any cost associated with expansion of NATO.' Do you still feel that way?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]e spend <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/06/senators-slam-nato-free-riders-in-closed-door-meeting-with-secretary-general/" target="_blank">about</a> 75% of the cost of the military aspect of NATO... I believe that the countries of Europe should pick up more of the burden for their defense. Yes."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I support our continued involvement in NATO. To ask for our NATO allies to pay more of the cost is important. I believe that the requirement for them to do so must be enforced. But... we must modernize NATO to serve as that head of our defense operations in Europe with regard to terrorism and other threats we face..."<br />
<br />
Bash: "...There are 28 countries in the alliance. The US gives more money to it than do 21 of them, combined. If they were to refuse to pay more, what would you do?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I will stay in NATO, and we will continue to look for missions and other kinds of programs they would support... [W]e must work out the financial aspects of it, but... [t]hink of what the cost would be if NATO were not on the front lines to deter Russia by making clear its aggression cannot move forward."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bf76Yxdl5cqlAYSNDdlIgdK5l0XU2yDQkJT97xJWQJxHpjHY-0vn3PgwWkCoPlI4xYPR2lYCYgbzPcQl4B_oACxkqX7Y2up6zEy6_TDCgTfal7g_4S46ymDHYP0Z4FoROR7xv5T3vno/s1600/JohnsonKing.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bf76Yxdl5cqlAYSNDdlIgdK5l0XU2yDQkJT97xJWQJxHpjHY-0vn3PgwWkCoPlI4xYPR2lYCYgbzPcQl4B_oACxkqX7Y2up6zEy6_TDCgTfal7g_4S46ymDHYP0Z4FoROR7xv5T3vno/s1600/JohnsonKing.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pres. Johnson, King (Yoichi Okamoto / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Blitzer to Sanders: "[Y]ou maintain that Israel's response in Gaza in 2014 was disproportionate and led to unnecessary loss of innocent life. What do you say to people who believe that Israel has a right to defend itself as it sees fit?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Israel has a right to defend itself and to live in peace and security without fear of terrorism... But in Gaza, which is not very large, some 10,000 civilians were wounded and some 1,500 were killed... [I]f we will ever bring peace to that region, which has seen so much hatred and war, <b>we will have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity</b>. Unemployment in Gaza is around 40%. Much of that area was decimated and has not been rebuilt: houses, schools, and health care facilities. I believe that <b>the world must work together to help the Palestinian people</b>... I think that would pave the way to an approach that would work in the Middle East."<br />
<br />
Blitzer: "Secy. Clinton, do you agree Israel overreacts... and must end its 'disproportionate responses' in order for peace to exist between Israel and the Palestinians?"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for two minutes and a quarter but <b>did not answer</b> the question.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...<b>You evaded the question...</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for nearly a minute but still <b>did not answer</b> the question.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Secy. Clinton's speech before AIPAC[ included] virtually nothing about the needs of the Palestinian people... [T]here will never be peace in that region unless the US plays an <b>even-handed</b> role in trying to bring people together and in recognition of the serious problems among the Palestinian people..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[T]o describe the problem is a lot easier than to solve it is..."<br />
<br />
How can she solve the problem when she refuses to acknowledge what it is?<br />
<br />
"I held the last three meetings between the president of the Palestinian Authority and the prime minister of Israel... I was absolutely focused on what was fair and right for the Palestinians. I was absolutely focused on what we needed to do to make sure the Palestinian people had the right to self-government. I believe I, as president, could continue to make progress and get an agreement that will be fair to the Israelis and Palestinians without ever undermining Israel's security."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bFl9bUvrs0u8j3Ypk_9fbFlhi5GCvZdx-XSjmniN4ha5oNi_QnHPFswp6U78QGDa8Q99IC0T3zvZV_zDuOrAjORoYuMk8UKtspMCFOu89vzAOaBzuI8_UfVllgNe6_d-SzM0Xil62gk/s1600/Roosevelt.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bFl9bUvrs0u8j3Ypk_9fbFlhi5GCvZdx-XSjmniN4ha5oNi_QnHPFswp6U78QGDa8Q99IC0T3zvZV_zDuOrAjORoYuMk8UKtspMCFOu89vzAOaBzuI8_UfVllgNe6_d-SzM0Xil62gk/s1600/Roosevelt.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roosevelt <br />
(FDR Library)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Blitzer: "...Sen. Sanders, you promise health care for all and free college for all."<br />
<br />
That is false. He <i>proposes</i> health care for all and <i>proposes</i> tuition-free <i>public</i> college.<br />
<br />
"Those plans would be met with political and practical challenges. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says your initiatives would cost up to $28 trillion and, even after massive tax-increases, would add as much as $15T to the national debt. How is this fiscally responsible?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I disagree with that study. Many economists come up with very <a href="http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/ResponsetoCEA.pdf" target="_blank">different</a> <a href="http://www.dollarsandsense.org/Response-to-Krugman.pdf" target="_blank">numbers</a>..."<br />
<br />
What Blitzer said is <a href="http://crfb.org/about-us" target="_blank">false</a>. The CRFB is <i>bi</i>-partisan. Almost two-thirds of its <a href="http://crfb.org/about/board" target="_blank">board</a> is comprised of the following people. Each was at least one of these: a Republican politician, a conservative Democratic politician, an official in the administration of a Republican or of Clinton's husband, an aide to a Republican senator, or an officer of a business whose interests would not be served by Sanders's policies.<br />
<ul>
<li>Ex-gov. Mitchell Daniels Jr. (R): director of the Office of Management & Budget, Bush-Cheney adm.; advisor, Pres. Reagan; ex-pres. of North American pharmaceutical operations, Eli Lilly & Co.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4591828/simpsons-inquisition" target="_blank">Ex</a>-<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/14/us/thomas-nomination-simpson-refuses-make-public-letters-he-says-criticize-hill.html" target="_blank">sens</a>. <a href="http://articles.philly.com/1991-10-21/news/25815328_1_sexual-harassment-harassment-charges-professor-anita-hill" target="_blank">Alan</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/alan_simpson_social_security_n_693277.html" target="_blank">Simpson</a> (R), <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/10/us/chronicle-abuse-packwood-papers-special-report-packwood-diaries-rare-look.html" target="_blank">Robert</a> <a href="http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980804&slug=2764706" target="_blank">Packwood</a> (R), George Voinovich (R)</li>
<li>Ex-sen. Charles Robb: ex-chairman, Democratic Leadership <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/04/30/clintonism_screwed_the_democrats_how_bill_hillary_and_the_democratic_leadership_council_gutted_progressivism/" target="_blank">Council</a> </li>
<li>Ex-rep. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/19/opinion/in-the-nation-a-deliberate-deficit.html" target="_blank">David</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/sec-stockman-idUSN1921195120100419" target="_blank">Stockman</a> (R): dir. of OMB, Reagan adm.</li>
<li>Ex-rep. Thomas Tauke (R): executive vice pres., <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/04/13/verizon-ceo-attack-on-bernie-sanders-receives-gushing-praise-from-fellow-execs/" target="_blank">Verizon</a></li>
<li>Ex-rep. James Kolbe (R): consultant, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/12/henry-kissingers-war-crimes-are-central-to-the-divide-between-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">Kissinger</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWLUL6wrMVo#t=30s" target="_blank">Associates</a></li>
<li>Ex-rep. Willis Gradison Jr. (R): <span style="font-size: small;">ex-pres., Health Insurance </span><span style="font-size: small;">Assoc. of America</span></li>
<li>Ex-rep. David McCurdy: ex-chairman, <a href="http://prospect.org/article/democrats-da-vinci-code" target="_blank">DLC</a>; <span style="font-size: small;">pres./CEO, American Gas Assoc.</span></li>
<li>Ex-rep. Charles Stenholm: founder, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/20/us/split-among-democrats-news-analysis.html" target="_blank">Conservative</a> Democratic Forum</li>
<li>Ex-rep. John Tanner (D): co-founder, <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2008/8/25/at_t_throws_party_to_support" target="_blank">Blue</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2009/08/19/obama_114/" target="_blank">Dog</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/11/03/pundit/" target="_blank">Coalition</a> </li>
<li>Ex-rep. James <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1993-06-03/news/mn-42788_1_north-american-free-trade" target="_blank">Jones</a> (D): amb. to Mexico, Clinton adm.; <span style="font-size: small;">ex-pres., <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tagged-with-a-sweatshop-label/" target="_blank">Warnaco</a></span></li>
<li>Ex-rep. <span style="font-size: small;">Leon Panetta (D): </span><span style="font-size: small;">dir. of OMB, chief of staff at White House, Clinton adm.</span></li>
<li>Paul O'Neill: secy. of Treasury, Bush-Cheney adm.; deputy dir. of OMB, Nixon & Ford adms.; senior advisor, <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/hillary-clinton-denounces-corporate-crime-while-accepting-cash-blackstone-firm" target="_blank">Blackstone</a> <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/gonzalez-u-s-firms-vie-conquer-spain-housing-market-article-1.2110594" target="_blank">Group</a></li>
<li>Daniel Crippen: advisor, Pres. George H.W. Bush; advisor, then-Sen. Howard Baker Jr. (R); fmr. exec. dir., <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-bankofamerica-merrill-settlement-idUSBRE9BB11620131212" target="_blank">Merrill</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-bank-of-america-shortselling-idUSKBN0OH35H20150601" target="_blank">Lynch</a> <span style="font-size: small;">Int'l Advisory Council</span></li>
<li>Joseph Wright Jr.: dir. of OMB, dep. secy. of Commerce, Reagan adm.</li>
<li>Cornelius Eugene Steuerle: dep. asst. secy. of Treasury, Reagan adm.</li>
<li>June O'Neill: senior economist on Council of Economic Advisors, Nixon & Ford adms.; adjunct scholar, American <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/david-frum-fired-aei" target="_blank">Enterprise</a> Institute</li>
<li>Rudolph Penner: senior economist on CEA, Nixon
adm.; dep. asst. secy. of Housing and Urban Development, Nixon & Ford
adms.; asst. dir. of OMB, Ford adm.; fmr.
resident scholar, AEI</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Peter Peterson: </span><span style="font-size: small;">secy. of Commerce, Nixon adm.; ex-chairman/CEO, Lehman</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Bros.; </span><span style="font-size: small;">co-founder, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7949062/Blackstone-chief-Schwarzman-likens-Obama-to-Hitler-over-tax-rises.html" target="_blank">Blackstone</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackstone-sec-idUSKCN0S125E20151007" target="_blank">Group</a>; <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/02/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20121003" target="_blank">opponent</a> of Social Security, of Medicare, of Medicaid</span></li>
<li>William Hoagland: dir. of budget & <span style="font-size: small;">appropriations, </span><span style="font-size: small;">then-Sen. William Frist (R)</span></li>
<li>Maya MacGuineas: advisor, McCain 2000; <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/social_securitys_most_media_friendly_foe/" target="_blank">opponent</a> of Social Security</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Erskine <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SimpsonBowles.pdf" target="_blank">Bowles</a>: </span><span style="font-size: small;">WH chief of staff, Clinton adm.; dir., <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/morganstanley-bribery-sentencing-idUSL2E8JGJ7N20120816" target="_blank">Morgan</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-morgan-stanley-settlement-mortgages-idUSKCN0VK1H8" target="_blank">Stanley</a>; dir., <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wellsfargo-housing-idUSKCN0VC1KO" target="_blank">Wells</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-wells-fargo-fraud-idUSKCN0W91SG" target="_blank">Fargo</a></span></li>
<li>Alice Rivlin: dir. of OMB, Clinton adm. | Carol Cox Wait: <span style="font-size: small;">dir., <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/01/22/cigna-medicare-sanctions/79160738/" target="_blank">Cigna</a> <a href="http://www.theday.com/article/20130522/BIZ02/130529851" target="_blank">Corp</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">David Walker: </span><span style="font-size: small;">ex-dir. of global mgmt. of human capital services, Arthur <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11069713/Arthur-Andersen-returns-12-years-after-Enron-scandal.html" target="_blank">Andersen</a> LLP</span></li>
</ul>
By the way, corporate media are salivating over the "independent" Tax Policy Center's projection of an increase in the national debt by $21T under the proposals by Sanders, whose campaign explained how said projection is based on <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-campaign-statement-on-tax-policy-centers-analysis/" target="_blank">false</a> premises. A majority of the <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/about/advisory-board" target="_blank">board</a> of the TPC consists of<br />
<ul>
<li>Nada Eissa: <span style="font-size: small;">dep. asst. secy. of Treasury, Bush-Cheney adm.; visiting scholar, AEI</span></li>
<li>Nicholas Gregory Mankiw: chairman of CEA, Bush-Cheney adm. </li>
<li>Jeffrey Brown: senior economist on CEA and economist on Commission to "<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_best_policy/2009/02/privatize_social_security.html" target="_blank">Strengthen</a>" Social Security, Bush-Cheney adm.</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Rosanne Altshuler: sr. economist on Advisory Panel on Tax Reform, Bush-Cheney adm.</span></li>
<li>Ronald Pearlman: asst. secy. of Treasury, Reagan adm.</li>
<li>Joel Slemrod: <span style="font-size: small;">sr. economist on CEA, Reagan adm.; </span><span style="font-size: small;">nat'l fellow, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/hoover-institution" target="_blank">Hoover</a> Institution</span></li>
<li>Leslie Samuels: asst. secy. of Treasury, Clinton adm. </li>
</ul>
The <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/about/staff" target="_blank">directors</a> of the TPC are<br />
<ul>
<li>Leonard Burman: dep. asst. secy. of Treasury, Clinton adm.</li>
<li>Eric Toder: dep. asst. secy. of Treasury, Clinton adm.</li>
<li>William Gale: sr. economist on CEA, Bush-Quayle adm. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9xthVN72dDCy5G3QABOYfhNcRyVosWjd5FgKJICjSHtt800IcV-ngmpddKKSC10wZyDnrdgOvwTzXYfypyXT55QiVUozrOGKyOle4RzkC1EHc_t6JmEBKSK3Wp13OfkW52qD3W6xzvE/s1600/FordNixonBushReagan.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9xthVN72dDCy5G3QABOYfhNcRyVosWjd5FgKJICjSHtt800IcV-ngmpddKKSC10wZyDnrdgOvwTzXYfypyXT55QiVUozrOGKyOle4RzkC1EHc_t6JmEBKSK3Wp13OfkW52qD3W6xzvE/s1600/FordNixonBushReagan.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presidents Gerald Ford Jr., Richard Nixon,<br />
G.H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan (David Valdez / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "[O]n health care, most who analyzed what Sen. Sanders put out... have... no doubt... it would impose an incredible burden on the budget and on individuals. <i>The Washington Post</i> called it 'a train-wreck for the poor.'"<br />
<br />
<i>The Washington Post</i>, which <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/09/we-have-a-secret-of-our-own-for-bernie-sanders-your-odds-in-new-hampshire-arent-that-good/" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/130312224165" target="_blank">obsessively</a> <a href="http://fair.org/home/washington-posts-very-rough-guide-to-denmark/" target="_blank">trashed</a> <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/138312932370" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://fair.org/home/even-praising-his-political-skills-washington-post-still-side-eyes-sanders/" target="_blank">throughout</a> <a href="http://fair.org/home/sanders-a-bourgeois-deviationist-washington-post-declares/" target="_blank">this</a> <a href="http://fair.org/home/shocker-wapo-investigates-itself-for-anti-sanders-bias-finds-there-was-none/" target="_blank">campaign</a>, is owned by Jeffrey Bezos, who is the fourth-richest person in the world. He is -- as chairman, president and CEO of Amazon.com Inc. -- a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/amazon-used-neo-nazi-guards-to-keep-immigrant-workforce-under-control-in-germany-8495843.html" target="_blank">brutal</a> <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/06/17/with-6000-new-warehouse-jobs-what-is-amazon-really-delivering/" target="_blank">enemy</a> of <a href="http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/life-and-death-amazon-temp/" target="_blank">workers</a>' <a href="https://next.ft.com/content/ed6a985c-70bd-11e2-85d0-00144feab49a" target="_blank">rights</a>. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/25/bernie-sanderss-health-plan-is-actually-kind-of-a-train-wreck-for-the-poor/" target="_blank">hit</a>-piece Clinton cited was published weeks after the "study" on which it is based was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-himmelstein/kenneth-thorpe-bernie-sanders-single-payer_b_9113192.html" target="_blank">debunked</a>. Since then, a proposal for Medicare-for-All was printed in <i>The American Journal of Public Health</i> and has drawn formal approval from roughly <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/nhi" target="_blank">2,300</a> physicians.<br />
<br />
Clinton soon added, "The same for free college..."<br />
<br />
Again, free <i>public</i> college.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Secy. <b>Clinton will have to explain... how every other major country guarantees health care to all their people, spending significantly less per capita than we do...</b> <b>As for public colleges and universities, please don't tell me we cannot do what many other countries do...</b>"<br />
<br />
Blitzer to Clinton: "...Sen. <b>Sanders challenges you to clearly answer</b> on whether you would extend the life of and expand benefits of Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income. That cap is at $118,500. <b>Yes or no?</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for over a minute but <b>did not answer</b>.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>[Y]ou didn't answer...</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I have supported it. We are in vigorous agreement... We're discussing the best way to raise money from the wealthy to extend the Social Security Trust Fund..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[I]f I hear you correctly, Madam Secretary, you finally favor lifting the cap..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuAZcDuv493VhEV5M49EYVfafn184LrRB2Cx8rtH3zRoaLFbfPK2BmAwaYpSFmzYbpGKM5BriFfBd2nGlfa1r2BUpUDrZMHRtkByRzho5kJln-ygbPaV9wUGecW2GvZI7i-HPTSv_4FQ/s1600/Garland.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuAZcDuv493VhEV5M49EYVfafn184LrRB2Cx8rtH3zRoaLFbfPK2BmAwaYpSFmzYbpGKM5BriFfBd2nGlfa1r2BUpUDrZMHRtkByRzho5kJln-ygbPaV9wUGecW2GvZI7i-HPTSv_4FQ/s1600/Garland.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Judge Garland<br />
(Charles Kennedy / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "No..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...<b>Do you support legislation to lift the cap...?</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I have said yes, we will pick the best way or combination of ways..."<br />
<br />
Some people in the audience then booed her<b> refusal to answer</b>.<br />
<br />
Louis to Clinton: "...Pres. Obama said he would not withdraw his nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, even after the presidential election. If elected, would you ask the president to withdraw the nomination?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I will not contradict the president's strategy on this or engage in hypotheticals... I would take stock of where we are and move from there."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...<b>I would</b> ask the president to withdraw that nomination because... we need a Supreme Court justice who will have made clear, which this nominee has not, that he would vote to overturn <i>Citizens United</i>..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[T]he only people I would [nominate] to the Supreme Court believe that <i>Roe v. Wade</i> is settled law and that <i>Citizens United</i> must be overturned... Donald Trump said women should be punished [for abortion]... Sen. Sanders called that comment a distraction. I don't think it is. It goes to the heart of who we are... [W]e must... defend Planned Parenthood from these outrageous attacks."<br />
<br />
Clinton's characterization of Sanders's words is <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/sanders-hits-trump-another-stupid-remark-655515715634" target="_blank">false</a>. He had said: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"To call Trump's position <b>'shameful' is probably an understatement</b>... [W]omen have the right to... make those personal decisions themselves. But <b>to punish a woman for an abortion is beyond comprehension... I will do all I can to allow women to make that choice and have access to clinics...</b> [T]he Republicans, if they continue in their current direction, will be a fringe party... They have no substance... [E]very day, Trump comes up with another <b>stupid, absurd</b> remark. Of course <b>it should be mentioned</b>. But so should his overall [platform]..."</blockquote>
Sanders: "[W]e must expand funds for Planned Parenthood..."Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-78231817240357408432016-03-28T22:05:00.001-04:002023-07-30T14:21:27.294-04:00Pundits Call Race at Halfway Point, Hope We Have Amnesia<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunuCO0nfFLKNkpM2tun4aWk7IlLEfnC8Dbgrt68qUHnI17kXU7MSZT88eu1ycg0DNKW-fTj-mDA9MM1ohcePMWv2mUcbvB4eVJB8qqQ5YsIZFK7nnK0irw0r1u3cDHfKnh6LtJflliBI/s1600/Sanders.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunuCO0nfFLKNkpM2tun4aWk7IlLEfnC8Dbgrt68qUHnI17kXU7MSZT88eu1ycg0DNKW-fTj-mDA9MM1ohcePMWv2mUcbvB4eVJB8qqQ5YsIZFK7nnK0irw0r1u3cDHfKnh6LtJflliBI/s1600/Sanders.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders<br />
(berniesanders.com)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The primaries/caucuses that will lead to allocation of over 45% of pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention, which is where the presidential nominee will be chosen, are yet to be held. Nonetheless, corporate media maintain -- as they began to do when said share was above 50% -- that ex-senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has an "insurmountable" margin over Sen. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcaCL4OfoLM" target="_blank">Bernie</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwKXs28OjuQ" target="_blank">Sanders</a> (I-VT) among delegates. In reality, her margin among pledged delegates is 12 percentage points. Furthermore, the other delegates -- namely "super" ones, who can vote at the convention merely because they are bigwigs -- would invite calamity upon their party if they were to override the majority of pledged delegates.<br />
<br />
The aforementioned propaganda -- which is <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/bernie-dems-winddown-220966" target="_blank">used</a> by surrogates for the former secretary of State as an excuse to say the ex-representative should not mention differences between her and him anymore -- failed to deprive him of overwhelming victory in six of the seven most recent contests, failed to stall his <a href="http://www.9news.com/news/nation-now/revolution-messaging-helps-drive-sanders-political-revolution/90734745" target="_blank">campaign's</a> <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/sanders-raises-million-saturday-victories-37978819" target="_blank">fundraising</a>, and failed to end <a href="http://www.bw.edu/Assets/stories/2016/bernie-sanders-rally-3.jpg" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BCeQ4iEAw2f/" target="_blank">series</a> <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/democratic-presidential-candidate-sen-bernie-sanders-campaigns-at-picture-id512371740" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CcPgcD9UcAATXow.jpg" target="_blank">large</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/image3-4-1600x1067.jpg" target="_blank">crowds</a> <a href="http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160229&t=2&i=1121197223&w=644&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=MTZSAPEC2TAP16GF" target="_blank">that</a>, <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/senator-bernie-sanders-an-independent-from-vermont-and-2016-speaks-picture-id514702344" target="_blank">from</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BC8sJpYAw9t/" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/election/kck82i/picture66986017/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/DEMS%202016-Sanders" target="_blank">launch</a> <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cd3xeiVUYAAlDK7.jpg" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/tucson.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/d9/6d98756c-ed8e-11e5-81b3-9365231635e4/56ecdb4b0e2d4.image.jpg" target="_blank">his</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/democratic-presidential-%20%20candidate-bernie-sanders-holds-a-news-photo/516752500" target="_blank">candidacy</a>, <a href="http://media.utsandiego.com/img/photos/2016/03/20/818d2f5080fdbf0e930f6a706700db42_tx600.JPEG?1cac1c26287decec7a3e591fce9b6936b1eddfe5" target="_blank">have</a> <a href="http://media2.fdncms.com/boiseweekly/imager/u/magnum/3747980/sanders_3.jpg" target="_blank">assembled</a> <a href="http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/yakimaherald.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/a5/3a50fa32-f23c-11e5-9e03-0fe390e9c6bd/56f4b4b37ce01.image.jpg" target="_blank">to</a> <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/senator-bernie-sanders-speaks-at-a-rally-march-25-2016-in-portland-picture-id517531698" target="_blank">hear</a> <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CecgQiDWAAEXDnY.jpg" target="_blank">him</a>. Those failures might be due to awareness of these facts: pundits in corporate media are grossly <a href="http://www.hamilton.edu/news/polls/pundit" target="_blank">unreliable</a> at prognostication and are employees of moguls whose <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/media-fundraisers-presidential/" target="_blank">greed</a> <a href="http://www.fair.org/static/bernie-static.html" target="_blank">fuels</a> <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-new-york-times-sandbagged-bernie-sanders-20160315" target="_blank">bias</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/opinion/campaign-stops/a-bernie-blackout.html" target="_blank">against</a> Sanders, who, unlike Clinton, is a populist. Next are examples of incorrect predictions that pundits have made about this race.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"One well-connected Democratic operative in Iowa told <i>The Daily Beast</i> <b>Sanders's ceiling would be 15% at best</b> in a... matchup versus Clinton... [T]hat... leaves him far short of... national relevance."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Ben <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/16/vermont-senator-bernie-sanders-likely-to-flop-against-hillary-in-iowa.html" target="_blank">Jacobs</a><br />"...Sanders Likely to Flop <span style="font-size: small;">against Hillary </span><span style="font-size: small;">in <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Iowa," </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">T</span>he Daily Beast</i>, </span><span style="font-size: small;">16 May 2014</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In the Democratic field, <b>O'Malley is probably the strongest candidate to take on Clinton</b>... [I]f one of her rivals <b>somehow can win a few</b> primaries and force Clinton to work hard [for] the... nomination..., that rival is likely to be O'Malley... He is likely to have a moment in [which] he polls close to Clinton, at least in the early states..."<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br />Perry <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/martin-omalley-clintons-strongest-rival-hes-still-way-behind-her-n366046" target="_blank">Bacon</a> Jr.<br />"Martin O'Malley is Hillary Clinton's Strongest Rival...," NBC, 30 May</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<b>Sanders will win
one primary: Vermont.</b>"<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Michael <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/02/who-can-resist-bernie-sanders-s-strange-allure.html" target="_blank">Tomasky</a><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">"Who Can Resist... Sanders's Strange Allure?: </span><span style="font-size: small;">Why Sanders Draws the Crowds, Excites the Base... and Still Won't Make Much of an Impact in 2016," </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Daily Beast</i>, 2 Jun<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">e</span></span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The... poll in [New Hampshire] since Sanders declared candidacy... gave a narrow lead of 44 points to... Clinton... The... poll...
saw a big spike in her support... because prior polls included
Sen. Elizabeth <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/03/25/elizabeth-warren-still-cheering-bernie/82253872/" target="_blank">Warren</a>... because... <b>nobody else had a chance against
Clinton</b>... The reason why Sanders's numbers are so close to where Obama's were in 2007 is: in 2007, Clinton and Obama... had to contend with the
reasonably
strong bid by fmr. sen. John Edwards (D-NC)... Sanders is... second over [Vice President] Joe Biden (5%) and... O'Malley (3%). Give all of that support to
Sanders, and he would be down by only 36... Oh, and: Clinton <i>won</i>
NH... [d]espite... trailing in the polls... [T]he
Sanders optimist might say, 'See? A candidate can come from behind and win!'
...I would reply, 'Sure, if the candidate is... Clinton.'"<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Philip <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/09/we-have-a-secret-of-our-own-for-bernie-sanders-your-odds-in-new-hampshire-arent-that-good/" target="_blank">Bump</a></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"We <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">H</span>ave a Secret of Our Own for Bernie Sanders: Your Odds in New Hampshire Are<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> Not</span> That Good," <i>The Washington Post</i>, 9 June</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Not long ago, ...Sanders was surging. In just a few months, the...
senator halved... Clinton's lead in IA and moved to within shouting
distance of her in NH... <b>No longer is Sanders surging. He
has surged.</b> From now on, to pick up additional support will be more of a
slog... <b>Sanders is maxing out on gains</b> simply because of increased
name recognition."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Harry <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-bernie-sanders-surge-appears-to-be-over/" target="_blank">Enten</a></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"The... Sanders Surge Appears to Be Over," <i>FiveThirtyEight</i>, 11 Augus<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">t</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<b>Sanders... has maximized his potential support</b> and [is] bumping up against his ceiling."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Ken <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-11-06/has-bernie-sanders-peaked-" target="_blank">Goldstein</a><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Qu<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">oted in </span></span>"Has Bernie Sanders Peaked?," <i>Bloomberg</i>, 6 November </span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9VlXO_8kqooqSj8JDthr1G7XwnXs8l4xWjOED8wPfbW7RiVEDwTF2jw_Gxjlu5xU1BSZcNfG9U1fvpc5h2Akz9NxDStVCZHz8DNp4PQ7DW4zoko1IhhSBxhiz86NN3d6xXG70Z4GGFU/s1600/ObamaBiden.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9VlXO_8kqooqSj8JDthr1G7XwnXs8l4xWjOED8wPfbW7RiVEDwTF2jw_Gxjlu5xU1BSZcNfG9U1fvpc5h2Akz9NxDStVCZHz8DNp4PQ7DW4zoko1IhhSBxhiz86NN3d6xXG70Z4GGFU/s1600/ObamaBiden.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biden, Obama (Peter Souza / White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Enten referred to data that showed Sanders at 26% in IA and at 35% in NH. Before the cited article by <i>Bloomberg</i> was published, the latest <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/286672392/Bloomberg-Politics-Des-Moines-Register-Iowa-Poll-Oct-24-2015-release" target="_blank">polling</a> it had commissioned in both states <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/286125782/BloombergPolitics-SaintAnselmNewHampshirePoll" target="_blank">found</a> the ex-mayor of Burlington at 41%. But he subsequently scored 50% in IA's caucuses and 60% in NH's primary, between which O'Malley, who is a former governor of Maryland, terminated his own campaign.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Clinton...
could lose [in] the primar[ies]. Perhaps there's some scandal of which we're
unaware. Perhaps she'll have to drop out because of some health
issue. Maybe Martin O'Malley will straight-up beat her... <b>[Sanders would] win
some plaudits on the left, but that's about it...</b> Clinton has her left
flank well-covered... [T]here [are no] holes in her
support... [T]he ideological differences between candidates
are so small in primaries, voters tend to look to elected officials for cues."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Harry <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-hillary-clinton-steamroller-rumbles-to-life/" target="_blank">Enten</a></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"The Hillary Clinton Steamroller Rumbles to Life," <span style="font-size: small;"><i>FiveThirtyEight</i>, 10 April</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Sanders...
drew enthusiastic throngs in IA last week... MSNBC's Rachel
Maddow... wondered, 'If Bernie Sanders will continue to do as well as he
has been doing, what will that mean?' Answer: Not much. IA produces adoring
mobs... every four years, often for
sharp-edged ideologues and fiery <b>insurgents whose candidacies have the
lifespan of a fruit fly... [T]hat hundreds have turned out to hear him
doesn't mean thousands upon thousands more share similar sentiments</b>,
much less that Democrats in IA are ready to abandon the front-runner.
The crowds Sanders has attracted are not the tip of the iceberg, but the
tip of the ice cube... If there were a big constituency for a
distinctly more liberal option [than Clinton], more candidates would jump in to appeal to it... [T]he crucial thing about magic moments
is not that they're magic. It's that they're moments."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Steve <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-perspec-0604-20150603-column.html" target="_blank">Chapman</a></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Bernie Sanders's Liberal Moment," <i>The Chicago Tribune</i>, 5 Jun<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">e</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[P]eople will have a fling with Bernie. Bernie is like a
great, fun date because you know <b>he won't be around town [for] long</b>."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">David <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/hardball/watch/fighting-for-the-hearts-and-minds-of-democrats-465040963713" target="_blank">Axelrod</a> on <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/11/chris-matthewss-hardball-guests-have-given-79050-to-his-wife-kathleens-congressional-campaign/" target="_blank"><i>Hardball</i></a>, MSNBC, 15 Jun<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">e</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"For the <b>fringe candidate</b> to draw huge crowds and surge in the polls... is nothing new. <b>He'll strut and fret his hour upon the stage and then be heard no more</b> -- just like then-Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) in 2012. In <i>The Wash. Post</i> on April 1, 2012, Nina [sic] Malika Henderson summed up the state of Paul's campaign: '[E]nthusiastic crowds who... fail to carry him to victory... After running in 30 states and gaining a scant 50 delegates..., Paul has learned...: <b>Crowds don't vote</b>.' <b>Sanders will learn the same... in a few months... Any argument by which... he'll score the mass appeal Paul lacked is... zero parts reality.</b> Sanders's... rise... will slam headfirst into the socialist ceiling... <b>If the rest of Sanders's problems don't shut his campaign down, the money problem will.</b> Michael Hagen, associate prof. of political science..., points out, 'For Sanders to let Democrats know who he is and what he stands for will be made difficult by his funding situation.' The largest differences between Paul and Sanders are the advantages Paul enjoyed, which Sanders does not enjoy... The real story about candidates like... Sanders is the same every four years: big crowds, big hype, <b>big loss</b>."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Eddie <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/247470-bernie-sanders-is-the-ron-paul-of-2016" target="_blank">Zipperer</a><br />"Bernie Sanders is the Ron Paul of 2016," <i>The Hill</i>, 10 July</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Sanders will have <b>a good showing in NH and a decent showing in IA, and</b> I think he will <b>fade to black after that</b>... To think any of these insurgency candidates will best... Clinton beyond the early primaries is a pipe dream."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">T.J. <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2015/07/20/sanders-finds-fans-among-michigan-democrats/30443429/" target="_blank">Bucholz</a> </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">Quoted in "Sanders Finds Fans Among Michigan Democrats," <i>Detroit News</i>,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> 21 July</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In
the early stages of the primary process..., base voters are drawn to a
candidate who... taps into a simmering dissatisfaction within the
party... [But], usually <b>when the time comes for actual votes to be cast,
the insurgent's support begins to fade</b>... To get a bunch of news
coverage and put together some well-attended rallies is one thing, but a
much more complicated task is to get voters to the polls, which is a task
that relies on entrenched networks and institutions under the control of
party leaders. That's why endorsements matter in primaries: not just
because they signal to voters that their party is behind a particular
candidate, but because the right endorsements bring with them
connections and resources that make a great deal of difference... <b>
[T]his is the time for insurgent candidates to flourish, which is precisely
because no one is voting yet.</b>"<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Paul <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/08/13/this-is-the-insurgents-moment-but-it-wont-last/" target="_blank">Waldman</a></span> <br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">"This is the Insurgents' Moment -- But It Won't Last," </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Wash. Post</i>, 1<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">3</span> Aug<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span></span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[E]xcept[ for] possibly Vermont, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin, <b>he will likely continue to lose though April</b>... One day soon, Sanders will take to a lectern and announce he has suspended his campaign."<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Goldie <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/22/this-is-the-date-bernie-sanders-berns-out.html" target="_blank">Taylor</a> </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"This is the <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">D</span>ate Bernie Sanders Berns Out," <span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Daily Beast</i>, 22 February </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"According to our latest polls-plus forecast, Hillary <b>Clinton has a greater than 99%</b> <b>chance to win the Michigan primary</b>."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/michigan-democratic/" target="_blank"><i>FiveThirtyEight</i></a>, 8 March</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoQBXIhah2o3tKG6EEw9kQY0ghHdedrJyi6xj5D9sMpShQmu6IGpQzLEfx0oUMNv4XboI9mw1fwujb2Bm5-LAYdr-wyvuSpy7aPWxIDpimvLR4ERgY26CHoRwfbi7xGaQXkJrW5Vu-fA/s1600/Clinton.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoQBXIhah2o3tKG6EEw9kQY0ghHdedrJyi6xj5D9sMpShQmu6IGpQzLEfx0oUMNv4XboI9mw1fwujb2Bm5-LAYdr-wyvuSpy7aPWxIDpimvLR4ERgY26CHoRwfbi7xGaQXkJrW5Vu-fA/s1600/Clinton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton (William Ng/<br />
Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders won NH, VT, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Maine, MI, Democrats Abroad, Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Washington and Hawaii, has garnered 6.4 <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/democratic_vote_count.html" target="_blank">million</a> votes in this fight, and has amassed an estimated 1,004 delegates. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Obama's failure to lead a bold progressive movement has <b>dulled the appetite for another anti-establishment, outsider campaign</b>."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Matt <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/08/how-the-left-wing-learned-to-love-hillary-clinton/278633/" target="_blank">Taylor</a></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"How the Left Wing Learned to Love Hillary<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> Clinton</span>: In 2008, Progressives Knocked Her Out<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> of t<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">he Race</span></span>. This Time, They're Lining Up Behind Her...," <i>The Atlantic</i>, 13 Aug. 2013</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<b>Progressives have... given up [on] denying Clinton the nomination...</b>"<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Noam <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/118432/hillary-clinton-2016-how-she-won-over-left-become-invincible" target="_blank">Scheiber</a> </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"How Hillary Won Over the Skeptical Left: The Surprising Source of Clinton's Invincibility," <i>The New Republic</i>, 29 June 2014</span></blockquote>
Among liberals, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/vermont/exit/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/new-hampshire/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> in VT, NH, OK, MI, Missouri, Nevada, Illinois and IA by 76, 22, 14, 8, 7, 5, 4 and 4 percentage points, respectively, and narrowed the gap in Ohio to 3, in North Carolina to 5 and in MA to 5.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<b>[T]he Sanders surge is about to hit a wall...</b> Nearly
half of the Democratic primary electorate is moderate or even
conservative... [T]he only candidates who could threaten Mrs. Clinton's path
to the nomination would be ones who could break her grip on the party's
moderate wing."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Nate <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/09/upshot/why-bernie-sanderss-momentum-is-not-built-to-last.html" target="_blank">Cohn</a></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"...Sanders's Momentum is Not Built to Last," <span style="font-size: small;"><i>The New York Times</i>, 8 July</span></span></blockquote>
With regard to the demographic that combines moderates and conservatives, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/oklahoma/exit/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/massachusetts/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> in VT, NH, OK and MA by 62, 23, 11 and 9 points, respectively, and narrowed the gap in MI to 9, in MO to 11, and in IL to 13.<br />
<br />
Ten of the dozen states in which the media neglected to
commission exit/entrance polling are states in which Sanders triumphed: AK, UT, ID, WA, HI, KS, ME, MN, CO and NE,
where his margins of <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/CO" target="_blank">victory</a> were <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/AK" target="_blank">63</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/UT" target="_blank">59</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/ID" target="_blank">57</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/WA" target="_blank">46</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/HI" target="_blank">40</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/KS" target="_blank">35</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/ME" target="_blank">28</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/MN" target="_blank">23</a>, 19 <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/NE" target="_blank">and</a> 14 points,
respectively. <a href="http://www.adn.com/article/20160123/adn-poll-alaskans-trump-sanders-president" target="_blank">Several</a> of those margins <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865650529/Cruz-Sanders-top-picks-in-Tuesdays-Utah-caucuses-poll-says.html" target="_blank">substantially</a> <a href="http://idahopoliticsweekly.com/politics/905-poll-trump-leads-in-idaho-ahead-of-tuesday-s-primary" target="_blank">exceeded</a> <a href="http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/colorado_democratic_caucus_survey_topline_final.pdf" target="_blank">expectations</a>. The other two states in question are Louisiana and Arizona. Clinton won in the latter amid <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article67740637.html" target="_blank">suppression</a> of voters that was so severe, Gov. Douglas Ducey (R) branded it "<a href="http://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2016/03/statement-governor-ducey-yesterdays-election" target="_blank">unacceptable</a>" and Mayor Gregory Stanton (D-Phoenix) requested a federal probe of it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh71QiyRqxomSGe_HoETRJJeOg9vkBVGmpRCbPNZu6opUJN4D9BxKTT79U3SEDw1NIFABOfPpCp7163vzyF4C8WdUAzRyL-miV7tOysWItJWapVvqpv0tMqbLFjT57QmUdkO_WtKEFTw/s1600/Warren.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh71QiyRqxomSGe_HoETRJJeOg9vkBVGmpRCbPNZu6opUJN4D9BxKTT79U3SEDw1NIFABOfPpCp7163vzyF4C8WdUAzRyL-miV7tOysWItJWapVvqpv0tMqbLFjT57QmUdkO_WtKEFTw/s1600/Warren.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warren, D-MA (US<br />
Senate Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But in the following ways, the exit/entrance polls that have been conducted supplement the ongoing streak of national surveys that conclude Sanders would be <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2773296-rel5a-2016.html" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/305549318/3-21-16-CBS-NYT-Gen-Elect-Toplines#fullscreen" target="_blank">likely</a> to <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us03232016_Umk53pw.pdf" target="_blank">win</a> the <a href="http://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rXX28ED96saU/v0" target="_blank">general</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/ikcocsbmakqebuxoixivu8ayu4322c7o" target="_blank">election</a> than Clinton would be.<br />
<br />
In the general election of 2012, the Republican ticket prevailed among independents. (In this entry, "independents" include affiliates of minor parties.) They comprised 29% of the electorate then. People under age 30 vote at a lower <a href="https://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p20-573.pdf" target="_blank">rate</a> than does any older age-demographic. Forty-two percent of people who were eligible to vote in 2012 did not. The reason why corporate media hope we forget those facts is that, as evinced by data below, <b>Sanders is much better able to stimulate turnout from those demographics than Clinton is</b>.<br />
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Among independents, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/nevada/exit/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/iowa/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> in VT,
NV, OK, NH, IA, MI, IL, MO, OH, MA, NC, Arkansas, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/arkansas/exit/" target="_blank">and</a> Texas by 84, 48, 48, 48, 43, 43, 39, 34, 33, 33, 24, 19, 16, 14, 9, 7 and 6 points,
respectively.<br />
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Among voters under age 30, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/michigan/exit/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/tennessee/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> in VT, IL, IA, NV, NH, OK, OH, MI, MO, NC, VA, MA, FL, TN, TX, AR,
SC <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/georgia/exit/" target="_blank">and</a> Georgia by 90, 72, 70, 68, 67, 65, 62, 62, 57, 44, 39, 30, 29, 22, 19,
18, 8 and 8, respectively.<br />
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Among voters who were participating
for the first time in a Democratic presidential caucus in their state
or participating for the first time in a Democratic presidential
primary, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/south-carolina/exit/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/texas/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> in VT, OK, NH, MO, MA, NC, SC, IA, TX, NV <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/virginia/exit/" target="_blank">and</a> VA by
84, 57, 57, 47, 45, 35, 26, 22, 20, 9 and 8 points, respectively. (In TN, AR,
GA, Alabama and Mississippi, that demographic failed to constitute a representative
sample. In MI, IL, OH and FL, that demographic was not measured at all.)<br />
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The corporate media's narrative that implies Sanders is supported by virtually no nonwhites has, since the last entry, continued to be disproved. Cases in point: He received <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/missouri/exit/" target="_blank">38%</a>, 37%, 32%, 25% and 25% of the nonwhite vote in MO, IL, OH, FL and NC, respectively. Specifically among Latinos, he <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/IL" target="_blank">won</a> in IL. Also, HI has a nonwhite population of 77%.<br />
<br />
Sanders won the primary of Democrats Abroad by <a href="http://www.democratsabroad.org/global_presidential_primary_results" target="_blank">38</a> points. Someone who voted in it is writer Leslie Lee III, who, on behalf of his fellow nonwhite supporters of Sanders, recently launched a viral <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/berniemademewhite-meet-the-black-writer-who-called-out-the-media-for-erasing-people-of-color/" target="_blank">defense</a> against the aforementioned narrative. <br />
<br />
Moreover, as the following examples demonstrate, Clinton and her surrogates remain stunningly undisciplined despite the narrative that suggests they are best-suited to battle the Republican team. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[B]ecause of <b>Pres. and Mrs. Reagan</b>..., we <b>started a national conversation [about HIV/AIDS]</b> when, before, nobody would talk about it [and] nobody wanted to do anything about it... [H]er very effective, low-key advocacy... penetrated the public conscience..."<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Clinton on MSNBC, 11 March </span></blockquote>
That comment was so much <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/03/11/hillary_clinton_praises_reagans_for_starting_a_national_conversation_about.html" target="_blank">falser</a> than <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/11/clearer-contrast-btn-hillary-bernie-as.html" target="_blank">her</a> <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/01/beating-back-biased-behavior-that.html" target="_blank">usual</a> <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/03/how-clintons-third-inevitability-is.html" target="_blank">falsehoods</a> are, it sparked an uproar that elicited an apology from her. Nevertheless, in a speech the next day, Clinton uttered another bizarrely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0QXnqSeq3U" target="_blank">false</a> remark:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I... chuckle when I hear my opponent talk about [standing up to powerful forces]. <b>I don't know where he was when I tried to [reform] health care in '93 and '94</b>, standing up to the insurance companies [and] the drug companies."</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6FAjLltmSDRUa4WHM7iM9Pl6z3wPEuj4wwmRl71ESPUHLbFrsCwEOmQVDc3DZBy1dBbVza2CHtNADr9zhL9vRwUqRPEN1osgnCv-KzFw653uAL3xp8u9Ak2DZ4nBXBa3HRqWKimAoow/s1600/Stanton.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6FAjLltmSDRUa4WHM7iM9Pl6z3wPEuj4wwmRl71ESPUHLbFrsCwEOmQVDc3DZBy1dBbVza2CHtNADr9zhL9vRwUqRPEN1osgnCv-KzFw653uAL3xp8u9Ak2DZ4nBXBa3HRqWKimAoow/s1600/Stanton.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stanton<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sanders's campaign immediately provided the answer: <b>He stood with her, literally and -- as Clinton, in 1993, said and wrote -- figuratively.</b><br />
<br />
On March 13 on CNN, Clinton stated in reference to potential creation of jobs in clean energy, "[We'll] put a lot of... coal companies out of business... [W]e <b>must move away from coal</b> and all other fossil fuels." But after that remark was criticized by Sen. Joseph Manchin III (D-WV), she wrote to him on March 15, "I was mistaken in my remarks... <b>[C]oal will be part of the energy mix</b> for <a href="http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160316/clinton-letter-to-manchin-i-was-mistaken-in-coal-remarks" target="_blank">years</a> to come." Surely, the donors in the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=E01&cycle=All&recipdetail=S&mem=Y" target="_blank">oil</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=E1140&cycle=All&recipdetail=S&mem=Y" target="_blank">gas</a> and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=E1210&cycle=All&recipdetail=S&sortorder=N&mem=Y" target="_blank">coal</a> industries who have given a total of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E01&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">over</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E1140&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">$1.3M</a> to Clinton's campaigns were glad to read she is not as committed to clean energy as she had seemed to be days prior.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wcax.com/story/31293245/sanders-claims-clinton-is-copying-his-message" target="_blank">Clinton</a> <a href="http://observer.com/2016/03/hillary-clintons-blatant-plagarism/" target="_blank">plagiarizes</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3iBb1gvehI" target="_blank">Sanders</a> even though she <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4586736/change-can-xerox" target="_blank">accused</a> Obama of plagiarism for his use of someone else's words <i>with permission</i>.<br />
<br />
In the debate on March 9, Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqgTFA1HnUM#t=1h35m16" target="_blank">alleged</a> Sanders has not criticized George W. Bush enough. Four days later, she affectionately accepted an <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidChalian/status/709200276226449408" target="_blank">embrace</a> from Bush that was <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/newlyweds-donald-trump-sr-and-melania-trump-with-hillary-rodham-and-picture-id84316778" target="_blank">reminiscent</a> of her interaction with current Republican front-runner Donald Trump at his most recent wedding. <br />
<br />
In the debate on January 17, Clinton's attack on Sanders for having dared to critique the <strike>king</strike> president was so much more dastardly than her typical ruses are, Sanders was <a href="https://vine.co/v/iOU3TAQut33" target="_blank">bemused</a>, albeit for merely a few seconds. She reprised that attack in the debate on Feb. 11, somewhat dishonestly saying:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Today, Sen. Sanders said Pres. Obama failed the presidential leadership test. This is not the first time Sen. Sanders has criticized Pres. Obama. Sen. Sanders has called him weak [and] a disappointment. Sen. Sanders wrote a foreword for a book that basically argues voters should have buyers'<b> remorse about Pres. Obama's leadership and legacy. I couldn't disagree more</b> with those kinds of comments... <b>I don't think he gets the credit he deserves... </b><b>I expect [that criticism] from Republicans</b>, not from a candidate for the Democratic nomination to succeed Pres. Obama..."</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDV5iIRCl9HssT9vgScZQWuromO8aw1gPQ_6Xx6oXhzqa0yub5EYzRCkYXtnoI8HeyYYwo36SvpG_L24qrfzFAx0O3NZdA6YgioQk9T3hTe7LFP7YoHbMPA_IwjpabWXRYrroNl26yWms/s1600/Manchin.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDV5iIRCl9HssT9vgScZQWuromO8aw1gPQ_6Xx6oXhzqa0yub5EYzRCkYXtnoI8HeyYYwo36SvpG_L24qrfzFAx0O3NZdA6YgioQk9T3hTe7LFP7YoHbMPA_IwjpabWXRYrroNl26yWms/s1600/Manchin.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manchin (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, when White House press secretary Joshua Earnest was asked on Feb. 19 for Obama's assessment of Clinton's tactic of depicting herself as more supportive of him than Sanders is, Earnest did not corroborate that depiction. His <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/22/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-2192016" target="_blank">reply</a> included these words to the press corps:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[H]aving spent an hour with the president... in the Oval Office [on Jan. 27, Sen. Sanders told] all of you about how proud he is of the progress our country has made under Pres. Obama's leadership. I think that was a pretty strong statement about how supportive... Sen. Sanders is of Pres. Obama's legacy. That statement... is consistent with the kinds of comments we've heard from Secy. Clinton. Both candidates... have played their unique role in support for the president... Sen. Sanders, on a range of legislative priorities, has been supportive of the president... in an important way."</blockquote>
Furthermore, Clinton's husband said <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/03/22/bill-clinton-obama-legacy-spokane-washington-sot-kxly.kxly" target="_blank">this</a> as he campaigned for her on March 21:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[I]f you believe it's more important to <b>re-litigate the past</b>, there may be many reasons why you don't want to support her. But... if you believe we've finally come to the point where we can put the <b>awful legacy of the last eight years</b> behind us -- and the seven years before that, when we practiced... <b>no regulation</b> in Washington, <b>[and that lack] caused the crash</b> -- then you should vote for her..."</blockquote>
Such deregulation included the demise of the Glass-Steagall Act. That demise was a <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/Time-to-bring-back-Glass-Steagall-6402046.php" target="_blank">direct</a> <a href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000182337" target="_blank">cause</a> of the financial crash of 2008. Yet, Clinton opposes the idea of reinstatement of said law. Additionally, to nominate Clinton would prompt a toxic re-litigation of the past, especially if she were pitted against Trump, who is the sole presidential candidate in <b>at least 36 years</b> who has reached higher <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/03/22/2016-campaign-unfavorable-ratings/82116788/" target="_blank">unpopularity</a> than she has. He <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/why-democrats-fear-donald-trump-n526416" target="_blank">would</a> likely try to raise the former first lady's unpopularity beyond his by <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/272002-clinton-deflects-email-question-to-trump" target="_blank">persistently</a> directing focus to the abyss of a quarter-century of scandals, allegations and suspicions that -- regardless of what fraction of them are legitimate -- have been highly problematic for her.<br />
<br />
On March 8, <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> reported that a poll it and NBC commissioned "indicates <b>one-third</b> of... Sanders's supporters <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clintons-lead-over-bernie-sanders-narrows-slightly-in-wsj-nbc-poll-1457456460" target="_blank">cannot</a> imagine themselves voting for Hillary Clinton in November." If nominated, Clinton would be compelled to portray Trump negatively enough to scare those supporters onto her side. Said task would be hampered by her continued shortage of credibility with them. Among voters who, in choosing their candidate, valued honesty above all
other given traits, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/north-carolina/exit/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/ohio/exit/" target="_blank">defeated</a> Clinton in MO, NC, OH, IL <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/florida/exit/" target="_blank">and</a> FL by
64, 47, 47, 41 and 31 points, respectively.<br />
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<br />
Alas, particularly given Trump's unreservedness and Clinton's <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/hillary-clinton-hit-list-102067" target="_blank">Nixonian</a> vengefulness, along with their deficiency in ethics, in accuracy, and in consistency, and their nonpossession of any discernible philosophy and even of any obvious reason to seek office, a presidential contest between them would probably be the most <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/03/24/camille_paglia_this_is_why_trumps_winning_and_why_i_wont_vote_for_hillary/" target="_blank">disenchanting</a> that anyone alive today will have ever seen.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
As for issues, Trump <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/donald-trumps-view-of-the-middle-east-538217027897" target="_blank">would</a> likely emphasize<br />
<ul>
<li>he was 10 years <a href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/interviews/a37230/donald-trump-esquire-cover-story-august-2004/" target="_blank">earlier</a> in condemning the invasion of Iraq than Clinton <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/hillary-clinton-iraq-war-vote-wrong-article-1.1819012" target="_blank">was</a> </li>
<li>the intervention in Libya was disastrous but Clinton, who supported that action even though Congress did not authorize it, calls said intervention "smart power at its best" and <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/responsibility-hillary-clinton-bear-libya-35869436" target="_blank">refuses</a> to concede that the US made any particular mistakes in that episode</li>
<li>Clinton's plan to overthrow the Syrian government would open the door to another catastrophe</li>
<li>he, and not she, proposes to cut the bloated budget of the military</li>
<li>he opposes free trade but she is highly supportive of it.</li>
</ul>
<br />
None of those points could be applied to Sanders, the nomination of whom would ensure that the general election
campaign will include a major-party nominee who leads a candid, informative,
constructive, inspirational and urgently necessary discussion about subjects that are both important and relevant. Sanders,
who summons the better angels of our nature and
awakens consciousness, has enough moral authority to earn
the respect and confidence of the public and of the international community so we can finally begin
to heal. Under his visionary guidance, this nation would muster the courage to initiate an overdue era that we and our
posterity deserve.Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-50186605901393303122016-03-14T07:23:00.001-04:002023-07-30T14:22:12.245-04:00How Clinton's Third 'Inevitability' is Another Illusion<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-M7G8d5LAS7iZtCRznbR8-6KKTnZiQiNmGaSPXZUivQsptXdkmSU_erL0Bm8uw2xhIqrxztd6JiDYBq4VR_yPrHR6NB4XX4oNnzsTcDtzdT8NY2j10XfPeOAnbvs7Puy_TGlNjUg-Eg/s1600/Sanders.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-M7G8d5LAS7iZtCRznbR8-6KKTnZiQiNmGaSPXZUivQsptXdkmSU_erL0Bm8uw2xhIqrxztd6JiDYBq4VR_yPrHR6NB4XX4oNnzsTcDtzdT8NY2j10XfPeOAnbvs7Puy_TGlNjUg-Eg/s1600/Sanders.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders<br />
(Robert Turtil / Dept.<br />
of Veterans' Affairs)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now that ex-governor Martin O'Malley (D-MD) has terminated his bid for the Democratic presidential
nomination, the only contenders for it are ex-senator Hillary Clinton
(D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Statistics show, between them, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2698240-rel3b-Republicans-6a.html" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us02052016_Ust53w.pdf" target="_blank">still</a> <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/news/64929.php" target="_blank">has</a> the <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us02182016_Urpfd42.pdf" target="_blank">best</a> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/299690763/NBCNews-WSJ-February-Poll?secret_password=Mf2CgQ8zDGpLW73pfCoJ" target="_blank">chance</a> to <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/n74mnmrwyrmtiooqwppqjkrd1hhf3t3j" target="_blank">win</a> the <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/02/29/rel4b.-.2016.general.pdf" target="_blank">general</a> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/303302086/16139-NBC-WSJ-March-Poll-Release?secret_password=4XllUeaGUCBpOaaXhC7Z" target="_blank">election</a>.<br />
<br />
Fourteen weeks after a poll <a href="http://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/30064771087/c83c0429-6c12-47a7-ac86-9bd1beab9bfb.pdf" target="_blank">found</a> Sanders behind Clinton by 41 percentage points in Iowa, he virtually tied her in its caucuses despite <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/caucus/2016/02/03/editorial-something-smells-democratic-party/79777580/" target="_blank">shady</a> practices that likely disadvantaged his candidacy there. Less than a year after a survey <a href="http://newscms.nbcnews.com/sites/newscms/files/new_hampshire_february_2015_annotated_questionnaire_nbc_news-marist_poll.pdf" target="_blank">showed</a> the former representative in second place by 56 points in New Hampshire, he won its primary by 22, which is the <a href="http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/2016/02/09/sanders-notches-2nd-biggest-democratic-new-hampshire-primary-win-in-state-history/" target="_blank">largest</a> margin of victory ever in a seriously contested Democratic presidential primary in that state.<br />
<br />
Corporate media portrayed the outcome in IA as a setback for Sanders and portrayed his victory in NH as one that was always universally <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6RVKCqGhCM" target="_blank">expected</a>. However, those portrayals are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/us/politics/democratic-race-iowa-clinton-campaign.html" target="_blank">disproved</a> not
only by data above but by <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/hillary-clinton-staff-shakeup-218955" target="_blank">behavior</a> of Clinton's campaign.<br />
<br />
Part of how corporate media tried, like they did early in the cycle of 2008, to convince us Clinton is the "<a href="https://images.newrepublic.com/1f6c8b60e53742cf728942b0acdd045654cedd3a.jpeg" target="_blank">inevitable</a>" nominee was to claim she had such a firm lock on the nonwhite vote, Sanders's campaign would be unable to credibly advance beyond the second pair of states on the road to the nomination: Nevada and South Carolina, whose contests are held so early because they have large populations of Latinos and blacks, respectively. But Sanders <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/new-hampshire/exit/" target="_blank">won</a> the nonwhite vote in NH and garnered <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/nevada/exit/" target="_blank">42%</a>, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/massachusetts/exit/" target="_blank">41%</a>, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/oklahoma/exit/" target="_blank">40%</a>, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/iowa/exit/" target="_blank">34%</a>, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/michigan/exit/" target="_blank">34%</a>, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/texas/exit/" target="_blank">25%</a> and <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/virginia/exit/" target="_blank">24%</a> of the nonwhite vote in the Nevadan caucuses, the Massachusettsan primary, the Oklahoman primary, IA, the Michiganian primary, the Texan primary and the Virginian primary, respectively. Nevertheless, corporate media continue to pretend Sanders has no significant support from nonwhites.<br />
<br />
That Sanders <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-wins-nevada-latinos-study-shows/" target="_blank">won</a> the Latino vote in NV was given substantial attention by corporate media but mostly to assist the former first lady and her staff in an <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-hispanic-voters-fight-219578" target="_blank">attempt</a> to discredit the methodology by which Latinos were surveyed in the entrance poll. However, it was conducted by Edison Research, which, as the firm <a href="http://www.edisonresearch.com/about-us/" target="_blank">writes</a>,
"has been the sole provider of election exit poll information to ABC,
CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and the Associated Press" since 2003. (Entrance
polls, rather than exit polls, are conducted for caucuses.) Moreover, an analysis
by the William C. Velasquez Institute found "no statistical basis to
question the Latino vote breakdown" in the poll.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtN-_tfQc488bV-XIoS1AnvJ8BIaCfJfjrJ2nFBGLpCo6_c0DoAVKp_KUrb-4FibxqlacPlsHWHWjxUcYeG9LbvF_dEbEt3vQEpqH1HAbJP48xEwmWydQc_Ph4u9-nvPYOcPUW0KAARg/s1600/O%2527Malley.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtN-_tfQc488bV-XIoS1AnvJ8BIaCfJfjrJ2nFBGLpCo6_c0DoAVKp_KUrb-4FibxqlacPlsHWHWjxUcYeG9LbvF_dEbEt3vQEpqH1HAbJP48xEwmWydQc_Ph4u9-nvPYOcPUW0KAARg/s1600/O%2527Malley.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'Malley<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first survey in NV that was commissioned by a media outlet in this cycle <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2455141-south-carolina-and-nevada-conducted-october-3-10.html" target="_blank">found</a> Sanders behind by 16 points overall. He finished 5 points behind in the caucuses there. A recent survey commissioned by NBC showed that Clinton's lead over Sanders among
Latinos nationwide had <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/clinton-lead-over-sanders-among-latino-voters-rapidly-narrowing-n522291" target="_blank">shrunk</a> to 3 points.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/KS" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/ME" target="_blank">won</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/MN" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/CO" target="_blank">caucuses</a> in Kansas by 35 points, in Maine by 28, in Minnesota by 23, in Colorado by 19, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/NE" target="_blank">and</a> in Nebraska by 14. But no entrance poll was conducted for any of those five contests. At least the media could not hide that his candidacy is favored by many prominent nonwhites, including those on this [updated] list.<br />
<ul>
<li>Reps. Tulsi <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UM8F4EuUbw" target="_blank">Gabbard</a>* <span style="font-size: small;">(D-HI)</span>, Keith <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fP3znoF_WQ" target="_blank">Ellison</a>^ <span style="font-size: small;">(D-MN)</span>, Raúl <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2KIUqwbAng#t=0s" target="_blank">Grijalva</a> <span style="font-size: small;">(D-AZ)</span></li>
<li>State Sens. Vincent <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-vincent-fort/why-i-joined-bernie-sande_b_9330496.html" target="_blank">Fort</a> (D-GA), Bertram <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/michigan-state-senator-bert-johnson-endorses-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">Johnson</a> (D-MI), Martín <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2016/02/08/is-hillary-clinton-giving-up-arizona-bernie-sanders/80024282/" target="_blank">Quezada</a> (D-AZ), Pramila <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcaLUEPKAZE#t=15m14s" target="_blank">Jayapal</a> (D-WA), Robert <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/article66651357.html" target="_blank">Hasegawa</a> (D-WA), William <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-senators-harlem-queens-support-sanders-exclusive-article-1.2480639" target="_blank">Perkins</a> (D-NY), James <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1035839199769306/videos/1107117345974824/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> Jr. (D-NY), Arthur <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o9O-3SyHac#t=42m2s" target="_blank">Haywood</a> III (D-PA), Gary <a href="http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/winfield_porter_board_bernies_bandwagon/" target="_blank">Winfield</a> (D-CT), Gerald Ortiz y <a href="http://www.abqjournal.com/757440/bernie-sanders-knows-what-the-people-of-america-really-want.html" target="_blank">Pino</a> (D-NM)</li>
<li>Fmr. state sens. Constance <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXGdXVYlc8s#t=2m11s" target="_blank">Johnson</a># (D-OK), Nina <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4582744/fmr-state-sen-nina-turner" target="_blank">Turner</a>† (D-OH), Jesús "Chuy" <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2016-01-11/why-bernie-sanders-is-best-candidate-for-minority-voters" target="_blank">García</a>‡ (D-IL), Steve Gallardo (D-AZ), Alfredo <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/raul-grijalva-bernie-sanders-immigration-219542" target="_blank">Gutierrez</a> (D-AZ), Gilbert <a href="http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2016/01/29/latino-leaders-rally-political-force/79350072/" target="_blank">Cedillo</a> (D-CA)</li>
<li>State Reps. Terry <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dVOxxIE6QA" target="_blank">Alexander</a> (D-SC), Justin <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/walter-scott-family-lawyer-endorse-bernie-sanders-article-1.2508690" target="_blank">Bamberg</a>§ (D-SC), Wendell <a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20160130/PC1002/160139932/" target="_blank">Gilliard</a> (D-SC), Cezar <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156635215770226&set=pb.563710225.-2207520000.1456535463.&type=3&theater" target="_blank">McKnight</a> (D-SC), Joseph <a href="http://counton2.com/2016/02/02/state-rep-joe-neal-endorses-sen-bernie-sanders-for-president/" target="_blank">Neal</a> (D-SC), Robert
<a href="http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article43615482.html" target="_blank">Williams</a> (D-SC), LaDawn <a href="http://www.cbs46.com/story/31236696/atlanta-leader-switching-support-for-bernie-sanders-angers-atlanta-mayor" target="_blank">Jones</a> (D-GA), Marisa <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2016/02/27/thousands-turn-out-sanders-austin-north-texas/" target="_blank">Márquez</a> (D-TX), Susan <a href="http://www.keithellison.org/news-clips/local-elected-officials-co-sign-letter-supporting-bernie-sanders" target="_blank">Allen</a> (D-MN), Diana <a href="http://progressiveparty.org/2015/06/progressive-officials-endorse-bernie-sanders-president-give-em-hell-bernie/" target="_blank">Gonzalez</a>
(Progressive-VT), Joseph <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvXGUUXGjRo" target="_blank">Salazar</a> (D-CO), Gail <a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article35052534.html" target="_blank">Finney</a> (D-KS), Carol <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld0gjNo_EZ4#t=40m50s" target="_blank">Ammons</a> (D-IL), Brandon <a href="http://www.kmbc.com/politics/sen-bernie-sanders-speaks-to-enthusiastic-crowd-in-kc/38172416" target="_blank">Ellington</a>∆ (D-MO), Clement <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rr40gfwdl8#t=10s" target="_blank">Smith</a> (D-MO), Rosanna <a href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/bernie-or-hillary-heres-which-arizona-leaders-are-endorsing-each-candidate-8048515/2" target="_blank">Gabaldón</a> (D-AZ), Richard <a href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/bernie-sanders-gets-more-endorsements-from-arizona-latino-leaders-8040287" target="_blank">Andrade</a> (D-AZ), Reginald <a href="https://twitter.com/reginaldbolding/status/687360317135826944" target="_blank">Bolding</a> Jr. (D-AZ), Mark <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/azdc/2016/02/08/sanders-arizona-coalition-includes-legislators-supervisors/80015394/" target="_blank">Cardenas</a>
(D-AZ), Juan <a href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/bernie-sanders-officially-is-on-arizonas-democratic-presidential-primary-ballot-7888086" target="_blank">Mendez</a> (D-AZ), Luis <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcaLUEPKAZE#t=6m13s" target="_blank">Moscoso</a> (D-WA), Kaniela <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDMP7jxM8Y" target="_blank">Ing</a> (D-HI), Robyn Porter (D-CT), Edwin Vargas (D-CT); Delegates Marcia <a href="http://www.pricefordelegate.com/news/price-endorses-sanders" target="_blank">Price</a> (D-VA), Ana Sol-<a href="http://anaforcongress.com/at-baltimore-rally-ana-sol-gutierrez-endorses-bernie-sanders-for-president" target="_blank">Gutierrez</a> (D-MD); Assemblyman Luis <a href="http://observer.com/2016/02/latino-bronx-lawmaker-backs-bernie-sanders-over-hillary-clinton/" target="_blank">Sepúlveda</a> (D-NY)</li>
<li>Fmr. state reps. Gloria <a href="http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2016/02/11/ballot-talks-the-role-of-gender-in-the-democratic-primary-and-more/" target="_blank">Tinubu</a> PhD (D-GA), Bettie Cook <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/29/bernie-sanders-picks-detroit-endorsements/81105734/" target="_blank">Scott</a> (D-MI), Domingo <a href="http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2016/02/domingo-garcia-endorses-bernie-sanders-for-president.html" target="_blank">Garcia</a> (D-TX); ex-assemblymembers Lucy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAojUkH0Z7k" target="_blank">Flores</a> (D-NV), Rafael <a href="http://observer.com/2016/01/meet-the-only-member-of-the-new-york-city-council-endorsing-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">Espinal</a> (D-NY)</li>
<li>Councilmembers Kshama <a href="http://www.socialistalternative.org/2015/11/19/video-kshama-sawant-bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism/" target="_blank">Sawant</a> (Socialist Alternative - Seattle), Jumaane <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4608739/councilman-jumaane-williams-endorses-sanders" target="_blank">Williams</a> (D-NYC), Richard <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RitchieTorresNYC/posts/1027107427369713" target="_blank">Torres</a> (D-NYC)</li>
<li>Professor Enrique <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/our-countrys-future-is-brighter-under-a-sanders-presidency-b99698790z1-374338361.html" target="_blank">Figueroa</a> PhD: fmr. dep. undersecy. of Agriculture</li>
<li>Prof. Rohit <a href="https://twitter.com/RoKhanna/status/862843291997396992" target="_blank">Khanna</a>: fmr. dep. asst. secy. of Commerce </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Prof. Jonathan <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4677037/jonathan-jackson-backs-bernie" target="_blank">Jackson</a>: </span><span style="font-size: small;">nat'l spokesman, Rainbow/PUSH Coaltn.; son of Rev. Jesse Jackson</span></li>
<li>Profs. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8cex4VTrwg" target="_blank">Cornel</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-african-americans-cornel-west-hillary-clinton-213627" target="_blank">West</a> PhD, Adolph <a href="http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html#S160121" target="_blank">Reed</a> Jr. PhD, Lawrence <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-race-idUSKCN0ZE2SW?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313" target="_blank">Brown</a> PhD</li>
<li>Ta-Nehisi <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/2/10/ta_nehisi_coates_is_voting_for" target="_blank">Coates</a>: laureate of the Polk Award</li>
<li>Benjamin <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48cVv8zzo0I" target="_blank">Jealous</a>: ex-president, NAACP</li>
<li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/29/black-lives-like-my-fathers-should-matter-in-america-thats-why-im-endorsing-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">Erica</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syln8IkOIqc" target="_blank">Garner</a>: daughter of the late Eric Garner</li>
<li>Martese <a href="http://www.nbc29.com/story/31098504/hundreds-rally-behind-bernie-sanders-in-charlottesville" target="_blank">Johnson</a>: victim of police brutality</li>
<li>Federico <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article56303625.html" target="_blank">Chavez</a>: nephew of the late Cesar Chavez</li>
<li>Martese <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir3VGaaa2zU" target="_blank">Chism</a>: <span style="font-size: small;">great-granddaughter of slain civil rights activist Birdia Keglar</span></li>
<li>Natalie <a href="http://fusion.net/story/259561/trayvon-martin-family-attorney-natalie-jackson-endorses-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">Jackson</a>: <span style="font-size: small;">atty. who represented the family of the late Trayvon Martin</span></li>
<li>Winona <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEbCNEAa-70" target="_blank">LaDuke</a>: <span style="font-size: small;">fmr. Woman of the Year in <i><a href="http://msmagazine.com/blog/2012/02/05/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-native-american-women/" target="_blank">Ms.</a></i>, </span><span style="font-size: small;">fmr. nominee for vice pres. (G)</span></li>
<li>Symone <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcaLUEPKAZE#t=23m4s" target="_blank">Sanders</a>: <span style="font-size: small;">ex-chairperson, Nat'l Youth Cmte. of the Coaltn. for Juv. Justice</span></li>
<li>Linda <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/11/linda_sarsour_sanders_michigan_win_sent" target="_blank">Sarsour</a>: executive director, Arab-American Association of NY</li>
<li>actors <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NunNrElCRDs" target="_blank">Harry</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/sanders-record-on-civil-rights-622225987881" target="_blank">Belafonte</a>◊, Stephen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeZIggyGKI8" target="_blank">Bishop</a>, Reg E. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rOokMPwEYM#t=1h23m25s" target="_blank">Cathey</a>, Rosario <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/4/love_trumps_hate_actress_rosario_dawson" target="_blank">Dawson</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ydkj5fmZiM" target="_blank">Danny</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ndG5nNClnc" target="_blank">Glover</a>, Jasmine <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jasmine-guy-speaks-in-support-of-bernie-sanders-during-the-news-photo/510809986" target="_blank">Guy</a>, Zoë <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BCCMfZZlS7E/" target="_blank">Kravitz</a>, Tessa <a href="http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a35291/rosario-dawson-tessa-thompson-bernie-sanders-round-table-on-women/" target="_blank">Thompson</a>; director Spike <a href="https://soundcloud.com/bernie_sanders/wake-up" target="_blank">Lee</a></li>
<li>comedians Sasheer <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/standing-up-for-bernie-sanders" target="_blank">Zamata</a>, Margaret <a href="https://twitter.com/margaretcho/status/644950640012079104" target="_blank">Cho</a>, George <a href="https://twitter.com/georgelopez/status/675359404443705344" target="_blank">Lopez</a>, Hasan <a href="http://www.thebellhouseny.com/event/1003935-stand-up-for-bernie-sanders-brooklyn/" target="_blank">Minhaj</a><a href="https://twitter.com/georgelopez/status/675359404443705344" target="_blank"></a><i> </i></li>
<li>singer Joan <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJoanBaez/posts/10154052092404417" target="_blank">Baez</a>; rappers Killer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmtAsnS42_0" target="_blank">Mike</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/08/11/rapper-lil-b-supports-bernie-sanders-bts-nr.cnn" target="_blank">Lil</a> B, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/pushermania/hip-hop-for-bernie-sanders-podcast-1-with-bun-b-fat-tony-matt-sonzala" target="_blank">Bun</a> B </li>
<li>NFL defensive lineman Michael <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seattle-seahawks-defensive-tackle-michael-bennett-on-why-hes-voting-for-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">Bennett</a>; fmr. NFL defensive back Wade <a href="https://twitter.com/Wade_Davis28/status/673289954366197760" target="_blank">Davis</a></li>
<li><i>The Philadelphia Tribune:</i> the <a href="http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/tribune-endorsements-sanders-for-president-sestak-for-senate/article_32557e10-e743-5d6f-bad2-b63cbcf2732d.html" target="_blank">oldest</a> African-American newspaper</li>
<li><i>The Arab-American News:</i> the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170113094842/http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/news/id_11885/cid_10/We-endorse-Bernie-Sanders.html" target="_blank">oldest</a> Arab-American newspaper </li>
<li>Clark County Black <a href="http://www.ccblackcaucus.com/letter-of-endorsement.html" target="_blank">Caucus</a>; Living United for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/842939195743215/videos/972448329458967/" target="_blank">Change</a> in Arizona</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbOuOyfnVOY05iSM3GRP7s7Vk-K2oPia5keUavTO8LGouKM312M21wgB6jh1rfK-nDdx1-tHKugfvi4pg3dAM9C0tIhM871YZq_Z5k4tLu0QtA2PoDS77o-PKSbkcAapMio0CzUa6tTI/s1600/Ellison.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbOuOyfnVOY05iSM3GRP7s7Vk-K2oPia5keUavTO8LGouKM312M21wgB6jh1rfK-nDdx1-tHKugfvi4pg3dAM9C0tIhM871YZq_Z5k4tLu0QtA2PoDS77o-PKSbkcAapMio0CzUa6tTI/s1600/Ellison.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellison<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
*<span style="font-size: small;">First </span><span style="font-size: small;">Hindu, & one of first two female veterans of combat, in Congress</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
^<span style="font-size: small;">First </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Muslim in Congress</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
#<span style="font-size: small;">Democratic nominee for US Senate, 2014</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
†<span style="font-size: small;">Democratic nominee for secy. of state of Ohio, 2014</span></div>
‡<span style="font-size: small;">Candidate in runoff election for mayor of Chicago, 2015</span><br />
§<span style="font-size: small;">Attorney who represented the family of the late Walter Scott</span> <br />
∆<span style="font-size: small;">Chairperson of the Black Caucus of the State Legislature</span><br />
◊<span style="font-size: small;">First black winner of an Emmy; Close confidant of MLK Jr.</span><br />
<br />
In SC's primary, despite a landslide for Clinton in sum, Sanders <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/SC" target="_blank">prevailed</a> by seven points among people who identify with neither major party, 20 points among people aged 17-24, and 26 points among people who had not voted in any previous Democratic presidential primary. In the general election, the ability of the nominee to garner votes from independents, youths and new voters might be critical.<br />
<br />
Lately, corporate media sought a new excuse to insist Clinton will capture the nomination. Every such explanation they had already used was disproved. In the vast majority of races for any office, whichever campaign has fundraised most successfully is regarded by the corporate media as the most "viable." But in January, Sanders's campaign <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/02/04/bernie-sanders-outraised-hillary-clinton-january/79826852/" target="_blank">raised</a> $20 million and Clinton's raised $15M; in February, his raised <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-fundraising-220129" target="_blank">$43M</a> and hers raised $30M; and his is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sanders-keeps-raising-money--and-spending-it-a-potential-problem-for-clinton/2016/03/05/a8d6d43c-e2eb-11e5-8d98-4b3d9215ade1_story.html" target="_blank">likely</a> to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-03-11/sanders-backers-optimistic-and-generous-after-michigan-miracle" target="_blank">remain</a> at a financial advantage. Hence, the corporate media has discarded that standard in this case. Because Sanders <a href="http://www.startribune.com/rubio-clinton-take-early-lead-in-star-tribune-minnesota-poll/366314221/" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/30064771087/493ca395-91a3-466e-83f0-8c006dbfaa1e.pdf" target="_blank">repeatedly</a> <a href="http://cjonline.com/news/2016-02-26/new-poll-shows-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-hold-edge-kansas-caucuses" target="_blank">exceeded</a> <a href="http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres2016/primary/dem/midem.html" target="_blank">expectations</a>, the said media, aware of possible outcomes of future primaries/caucuses, have largely declared Clinton to have an insurmountable lead over him. But she does not.<br />
<br />
The nominee will formally be chosen at the Democratic National Convention by a vote of 4,763 delegates. They will consist of <b>4,051</b> "pledged delegates," who will have been elected via the primaries/caucuses, and 712 "super delegates," who, simply because they are <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/02/13/superdelegates-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-debbie-wasserman-schultz-lead.cnn/video/playlists/bernie-sanders-2016/" target="_blank">elites</a> of the party, will each be allowed to vote for the candidate of his choice. The concept of super delegates was created only so that if the primaries/caucuses were to, by a modest margin, favor a candidate disliked by the party's elites, they could hand the nomination to someone else. However, no candidate with a majority or plurality of pledged delegates has ever been denied nomination.<br />
<br />
The estimated allocation of pledged delegates from states whose primaries/caucuses have been held puts <b>Clinton at 1,139</b> and <b>Sanders at 825</b>. [Updated March 16]<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLeVBGSX3JelkSvbV1DRqMnBDbtqHRRTYjfkRDkTIJpNAYHWinH4iM9ILjxdQ-qlErWiKU8KKRsPv46mdkHAONzTKExyIQYsoofDAvRLPaJGFmnzxmOxbxvcdCl528u9k89UXzhYf1sY/s1600/Grijalva.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLeVBGSX3JelkSvbV1DRqMnBDbtqHRRTYjfkRDkTIJpNAYHWinH4iM9ILjxdQ-qlErWiKU8KKRsPv46mdkHAONzTKExyIQYsoofDAvRLPaJGFmnzxmOxbxvcdCl528u9k89UXzhYf1sY/s1600/Grijalva.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grijalva<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The depiction of Clinton's lead as insurmountable is based on the vast proportion of super delegates who have expressed preference for her. But this nation cannot endure the status-quo for much longer. Accordingly, a passion that is exceptional in both strength and reach is the main source of fuel for Sanders's campaign. Because Clinton is devoted to an unsustainable system, little if any of the said passion is fuel for her campaign. Especially given these circumstances, if Sanders were to win the majority of pledged delegates and they were to be overridden by super delegates, the Democratic Party would probably suffer its worst split in 48 years.<br />
<br />
(In 1968, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsYk316Q23o" target="_blank">tension</a> over the Vietnam War ran so high, many policemen <a href="http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/tu_chicago7_doc_13.html" target="_blank">committed</a> brutal, widespread, indiscriminate and well-publicized violence against pro-peace demonstrators -- as well as against journalists, medics, bystanders and passersby -- outside the Democratic Nat'l Conv., which, after heated debate on the issue, adopted a platform supportive of continuation of the war and nominated, for president and vice president, men who supported that policy at that time and would lose to the Republican ticket, which was headed by former vice president Richard Nixon.)<br />
<br />
Clinton's campaign retains additional glaring vulnerabilities even aside from the federal <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-clinton-email-investigation-justice-department-grants-immunity-to-former-state-department-staffer/2016/03/02/e421e39e-e0a0-11e5-9c36-e1902f6b6571_story.html" target="_blank">criminal</a> investigation (not, as she calls it, a "security review") into use of her private e-mail server. Clinton's campaign has no discernible message or purpose, and <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/02/07/its_almost_over_for_hillary_this_election_is_a_mass_insurrection_against_a_rigged_system/" target="_blank">lacks</a> any decent case against the popular, inspirational, exciting and necessary mission of the movement Sanders leads. As a result, the former secretary of State and her surrogates, when they sense a major loss of ground, malign the ex-mayor of Burlington with what his campaign spokesman Michael Briggs dubs "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-attacks-produce-windfall-of-campaign-cash-for-sanders/2016/01/13/d95b3d38-ba27-11e5-99f3-184bc379b12d_story.html" target="_blank">panic</a> attacks."<br />
<br />
That brings us to Clinton's ultimate vulnerability, which is distrust of her. Among voters who, in choosing their candidate, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/TN" target="_blank">valued</a> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/AR" target="_blank">honesty</a> above all other given traits, Sanders <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/GA" target="_blank">defeated</a> Clinton in Vermont, NH, MA, IA, NV, MI, VA, OK, Tennessee, TX, Arkansas and Georgia by 96, 86, 82, 73, 70, 61, 57, 51, 27, 18, 16 and 8 points, respectively. Although Clinton has <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/01/26/iowa-democratic-town-hall-clinton-dishonesty-18.cnn/video/playlists/iowa-democratic-town-hall/" target="_blank">blamed</a> that distrust on the unsubstantiated allegations Republicans have made against her, she and her surrogates continually provide legitimate reasons for the public to doubt she is honest.<br />
<br />
As if examples of that are not numerous enough in the above text and in previous entries, such examples are plentiful in the following analysis of substantive parts of three of the four latest Democratic presidential debates. So are examples of media's bias against Sanders. (Clinton, despite her "<a href="http://www.rollcall.com/politics/news/policy/hillary-clinton-in-inevitability-ii" target="_blank">inevitability</a>," reversed her refusal to agree to more than six debates. The most recent one included little new content and is therefore omitted.) Quoted wording is edited for clarity and concision. Selectivity is to avoid repetition, including of content in the <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/11/clearer-contrast-btn-hillary-bernie-as.html" target="_blank">reviews</a> of the <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2016/01/beating-back-biased-behavior-that.html" target="_blank">previous</a> debates. Boldface is added.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">D</span>ebate <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">V</span> | <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thu</span>., <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Feb</span>. 4 | D<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">urham, NH</span> | MSNBC</span></b></span></span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gabbard joins Cookie Monster to help the United Services<br />
Organization (Tyrone Marshall Jr. / Dept. of Defense)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Co-moderator <strike>Schm</strike>Chuck Todd: "Secy. Clinton, ...you said that to see how any of Sen. Sanders's proposals are achievable is very hard. Why...?"<br />
<br />
After she talked for almost 90 seconds in which she did not answer the question but said in reference to Sanders's proposal of Medicare-for-All, "I don't want to rip away security that people finally have," Clinton claimed that his "numbers don't add up." She added that "all editorial boards and independent experts who vetted both of us concluded his agenda is unachievable..."<br />
<br />
Why did she not name any such board or "expert"? <br />
<br />
Sanders: "...<b>To say I would dismantle health care while we wait to pass Medicare-for-All is just not accurate...</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton's <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/272790-sanders-spokesperson-fires-back-at-clinton-for-healthcare" target="_blank">false</a> attacks on Sanders's plan -- and on him -- with regard to this issue <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_X-RoRghAY" target="_blank">contradict</a> the response she delivered on 23 Feb. 2008, to criticism by then-Sen. Obama about her proposal on health insurance. That response included:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"It is destructive, particularly for a Democrat, to wage a false campaign in order to discredit universal health care... This... is the <b>worst kind of politics</b>... Sen. Obama knows it is not true... [I]t undermines core Democratic principles. <b>Since when do Democrats attack one another on universal health care?</b> ...[That] Sen. Obama chose not to present a plan for universal health care does not give him the right to attack me because I did... [E]very Democrat should be outraged because <b>this kind of attack... gives aid and comfort to... special interests and their allies in the Republican Party</b>... So <b>shame on you, Barack Obama</b>."</span></blockquote>
Co-moderator Rachel Maddow PhD to Clinton: "Sen. Sanders... said because you voted for the Iraq War, favor the death penalty, wobbled on the Keystone Pipeline and the TPP, and said single-payer health care can never happen,"<br />
<br />
The last remark Maddow referenced <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2014/december/hillary-clinton-1994-statement-on-single-payer" target="_blank">contradicts</a> one Clinton made as first lady:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"[I]f there is not health care reform this year, ...I believe, by the year 2000, we will have a single-payer system. I don't even think it's a close call, politically. I think the <b>momentum for a single-payer system will sweep the country... [The proposal,] even if it is not successful the first time, will eventually [succeed].</b>"</span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Public support for the idea is at <a href="http://pnhp.org/blog/2015/12/17/kaiser-poll-58-of-americans-support-medicare-for-all/" target="_blank">58%</a>. Yet, Clinton now argues it is not even worth a try.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsofXF8TpTiaLTGa4HjpmYJ5LUnNFQPCD_rt85CCTLmD_pJBb3WvYj2NtCfB0lXQFGFyqDNkpOvBfY-HlYAIy1jHyJWQUJGUoFr55RmA2kiZqPCyowM1DqNgwkS8c5EsUCVgb4xRLn5uo/s1600/Turner.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsofXF8TpTiaLTGa4HjpmYJ5LUnNFQPCD_rt85CCTLmD_pJBb3WvYj2NtCfB0lXQFGFyqDNkpOvBfY-HlYAIy1jHyJWQUJGUoFr55RmA2kiZqPCyowM1DqNgwkS8c5EsUCVgb4xRLn5uo/s1600/Turner.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turner<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Maddow continued, "<b>you're too far to the right</b> to be the party's standard-bearer. Given those positions, why should liberal Democrats support you over Sen. Sanders?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...Sen. Sanders's comments... caused me to wonder who's left in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. By his definition, Pres. Obama is not progressive..., Vice Pres. Biden is not progressive..., Sen. Shaheen is not progressive..."<br />
<br />
They're not.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
"Because the late, great Sen. Paul <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/1040293552649907" target="_blank">Wellstone</a> voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, he would not fit this definition..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="https://twitter.com/berniesanders/status/695019034585219073" target="_blank">false</a>. Sanders did not say people who hold even one conservative stance are not progressive. Rather, he cited the <i>many</i> conservative positions Clinton holds. That she holds them may be a reason why MoveOn, which was founded in defense of Clinton's husband, gave its endorsement to Sanders by a vote of <a href="http://front.moveon.org/sanders-endorsement-release/" target="_blank">79%</a> to 15%. <br />
<br />
Clinton added, "I am laying out a specific agenda that would... get us to universal pre-kindergarten..."<br />
<br />
Maddow to Sanders: "[Y]ou... have a long history of running against Democrats... In 1988, your candidacy... arguably cost the Democrats a congressional seat that a Republican won. How can you lead the Democratic Party when you have not been a member of it until very recently?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Sanders replied, "That's inaccurate. In 1988, ...I placed <a href="https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/684385/generalelection_USRep_1932on_1D.pdf" target="_blank">second</a>... In that race, <b>the Democrat was the spoiler</b>," drawing laughter and applause. "I am the longest-serving independent ever in Congress... [b]ut have [always] caucused with the Democrats [there]... They elected me to chair the Veterans' Affairs Committee three years ago... and to now be the ranking member on the Budget Committee... I hope to bring forth a major change in national priorities and see major change in the Democratic Party. I want to see workers and young people come into the party in a way that doesn't exist now. I want to see a 50-state strategy so the party is not just that of 25 states."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "A 50-state strategy was first proposed by former governor Howard Dean... I... am supported by many elected Vermonters...: two former governors,"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9lFa9rlaIktw0MAJVKawGc_PoxRjikTC3hMfkjkd2G4v0FTym6xK1GReY1vhjx9yH0oc5ADQ3IG63lLL2qyLRUsKXoU28g56M_rs-8LuJqqVZyZQl4t78HEXJTQ3susj6zbgxVX8zFg/s1600/Dean.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9lFa9rlaIktw0MAJVKawGc_PoxRjikTC3hMfkjkd2G4v0FTym6xK1GReY1vhjx9yH0oc5ADQ3IG63lLL2qyLRUsKXoU28g56M_rs-8LuJqqVZyZQl4t78HEXJTQ3susj6zbgxVX8zFg/s1600/Dean.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dean<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of those two is Dean, who, along with former speaker of the House of Representatives Newton <b>Gingrich</b> (R-GA) and ex-rep. Ira "Bill" McCollum Jr. (R-FL), works for the branch of Dentons that
lobbies on behalf of pharmaceutical corporations. That may be related to Dean's flip from praise for the idea of Medicare-for-All to reinforcement of Clinton's <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/14/howard-dean-lobbyist/" target="_blank">false</a> attacks on it. But Democracy for America, which Dean founded in 2004 to inherit the torch of the presidential campaign he had just waged, gave its first-ever endorsement of a presidential primary
candidate to Sanders over Clinton by a vote of <a href="http://2016.democracyforamerica.com/results" target="_blank">88%</a> to 10%. <br />
<br />
Clinton continued, "the current governor, the current other senator..."<br />
<br />
That pattern was halted when the sole Vermonter in the House, namely Peter <a href="http://digital.vpr.net/post/vermont-rep-peter-welch-comes-out-bernie-sanders" target="_blank">Welch</a> (D), endorsed Sanders. Other people who have served in Congress with Sanders and endorse him include ex-sen. Donald <a href="https://berniesanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Riegle-Endorsement.pdf" target="_blank">Riegle</a> Jr. (D-MI), ex-sen. Paul <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/shift/watch/live-sanders-holds-conference-in-nh-601889859627" target="_blank">Kirk</a> (D-MA), Rep. Marcy <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/ohio-election-trade-436552" target="_blank">Kaptur</a> (D-OH) and Rep. Alan <a href="http://alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/post/140215957691/i-feel-the-bern" target="_blank">Grayson</a> (D-FL).<br />
<br />
Maddow to Sanders: "Secy. Clinton implies her endorsements from Democrats in your state says something about the people who know you best."<br />
<br />
The people of VT know Sanders best. They elected him to the House eight consecutive times, elected him to the Senate with <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/VT/S/01/" target="_blank">65%</a> of the vote and re-elected him with <a href="http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/senate/vermont/" target="_blank">71%</a>. Last year, they gave him an approval rating of <a href="http://morningconsult.com/2015/11/bernie-sanders-is-the-most-popular-senator-in-america/" target="_blank">83%</a>, which made him more popular among his constituents than any other senator was among his/her own. In VT's primary, Sanders won so overwhelmingly (86.1% to 13.6%) that out of these two candidates, Clinton is the only one who has garnered zero pledged delegates from a given state.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I don't see it quite like that. Secy. Clinton is supported by... almost the entire <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/02/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-primary-president-iowa-caucus-new-hampshire-primary/" target="_blank">establishment</a> [of the party... M]y campaign is of, by and for the people... <b>Americans... are not enamored with the establishment...</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think Sen. Sanders is the only person who would characterize me -- a candidate to be the first female president -- as an exemplification of the establishment..."<br />
<br />
She's wrong. I, too, characterize her as part of the establishment.<br />
<br />
"I will not talk about big ideas like single-payer and then not level with people about how much it would cost."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXYcw_OmGiNX_qnfT3v3oHWuX9dE7PSPh8nldM_5t8yZZ33mzMp8EfWx0Vv-IYUqVuneuwTTBOpooLR91DMt6hhFMgK90sc6-Z20aTM8IDjnsw3qCbXQBlXBrJIlrXkZ0GJd67zn4rsk/s1600/Welch.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXYcw_OmGiNX_qnfT3v3oHWuX9dE7PSPh8nldM_5t8yZZ33mzMp8EfWx0Vv-IYUqVuneuwTTBOpooLR91DMt6hhFMgK90sc6-Z20aTM8IDjnsw3qCbXQBlXBrJIlrXkZ0GJd67zn4rsk/s1600/Welch.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welch (Congressional<br />
Pictorial Directory)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
She will not talk about big ideas <i>at all</i>, except to trash them.<br />
<br />
"A respected health economist said these plans would cost <br />
$1 trillion more a year."<br />
<br />
Who? More than what? <br />
<br />
"I will not say I will raise your incomes and not your taxes, and not mean it... [To] raise taxes on the middle class... would make getting and staying ahead more difficult for many Americans."<br />
<br />
How could anyone be worse off because he is taxed $500 in exchange for savings of $5,000 due to coverage from Medicare? <br />
<br />
Sanders: "To be part of the establishment is... to... raise a lot of money from... special interests... <b>[I]f we do not get a handle on the degree to which big money controls the political process, nobody will make the changes needed</b> for working families."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[T]o ask what's behind that comment is fair. Sen. Sanders said he wants to run a positive campaign... But by innuendo and insinuation, he repeatedly puts forth this attack, which comes down to: anyone who took donations from or speaking-fees from any interest group is bought."<br />
<br />
<i>Special</i> interest group. A given person can be influenced by money without being bought. And the <i>amount</i> of money in question is crucial to this discussion.<br />
<br />
"I absolutely reject that, Senator. I don't think this attack is worthy of you. Enough is enough. If you have something to say, say it directly. But you will not find I ever changed a view or vote because of any donation I received..."<br />
<br />
The role of money in politics was expanded by the Supreme Court in <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i> and <i>McCutcheon v. FEC</i>. The premise of the decision in each is that private funds for the campaign of any candidate -- and for "independent expenditures" in support of or opposition to any candidate -- has a corruptive influence only when it entails an explicit quid-pro-quo. Clinton's apparent agreement with said premise is part of why Sanders is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zephyr-teachout/bernie-sanders-for-presid_b_8752058.html" target="_blank">endorsed</a> by congressional candidate Zephyr Teachout
(D-NY). Prof. Teachout is a scholar of corruption. An article she wrote about it was <a href="http://law.fordham.edu/16698.htm" target="_blank">cited</a> in the dissent in <i>Citizens United</i>. She bolted from obscurity to score <a href="http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2014/Primary/2014StateLocalPrimaryElectionResults.pdf" target="_blank">34%</a> of
the vote against incumbent Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in the Empire State.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jAURas0djMgWjPXeoNbDczNfgXh1fUDSyrY3vp_hM6pncv15VwHPYqeLU3II99uohX1WPo_jyQeLpZ1rCM0HvpdpwQjegKFWnAyIaI2_0TIrD08y4wcaniXWsBQC-fmcwRYIjUgOjzs/s1600/Cuomo.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jAURas0djMgWjPXeoNbDczNfgXh1fUDSyrY3vp_hM6pncv15VwHPYqeLU3II99uohX1WPo_jyQeLpZ1rCM0HvpdpwQjegKFWnAyIaI2_0TIrD08y4wcaniXWsBQC-fmcwRYIjUgOjzs/s1600/Cuomo.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuomo<br />
(K.C. Wilsey / FEMA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton then called on Sanders "to end the very artful smear you and your campaign have carried out..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Oh, come on."<br />
<br />
Clinton, who was then booed by much of the audience, said, "Let's talk about the issues that divide us. We agree with campaign finance reform. I worked hard for McCain-Feingold. I want to reverse <i>Citizens United</i>."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Let's talk about issues. Was deregulation of Wall St. in the 1990s related to the billions of dollars Wall St. spent on lobbying and on campaign contributions? Well, some people might think that had some influence." <br />
<br />
After a few in the audience chuckled in agreement, Sanders added, "<b>[P]rices... of prescription drugs... could be doubled tomorrow. The government would be unable to do anything about it.</b> Do you think that is related to the huge amounts of campaign donations from... the pharmaceutical industry? The Republican presidential candidates do not... recognize that climate change is real and that we must transform our energy system. Do you think that is related to the money the Koch brothers and Exxon-Mobil pour into politics?..."<br />
<br />
Here are examples of actual smears.<br />
<br />
Two and a half weeks after Sanders, in the first debate, said "views on gun control in rural states are different than in urban states," Clinton said the following to the Charleston, SC, branch of the NAACP on Oct. 20.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"There are <b>some who say [gun violence] is an urban problem</b>. Sometimes, what they<b> mean</b> by that is: <b>it's a black problem</b>."</span></blockquote>
So by Clinton's own logic, she made a <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4583845/gun-policy-clinton-separates-urban-rural" target="_blank">racist</a> remark in this exchange on 16 April 2008.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Charles Gibson of ABC</u>: "[D]o you still favor licensing of and registration of handguns?"</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Clinton</u>: "I favor what works in New York. We have a set of rules in New York City and have a totally different set of rules in the rest of the state. <b>What might work in New York City will certainly not work in Montana.</b> So for the federal government to have any blanket rules... doesn't make sense..."</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_HxJ1SYT6CxbyUDOD_LrkTHU-KVHqMmtUkgStmUanVrnSRtjJS8vo2g6E9wCLpgWhdIH56xM7H1ZTnOdnIdvv51tgu3BcNBxb_-KwzdRdCJQ1CiGAOctypB0bFOSLsfiPWyCJuet3Ww/s1600/McCain.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_HxJ1SYT6CxbyUDOD_LrkTHU-KVHqMmtUkgStmUanVrnSRtjJS8vo2g6E9wCLpgWhdIH56xM7H1ZTnOdnIdvv51tgu3BcNBxb_-KwzdRdCJQ1CiGAOctypB0bFOSLsfiPWyCJuet3Ww/s1600/McCain.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sen. McCain, R-AZ<br />
(Glenn Fawcett / DoD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed Clinton by a vote of its board, which includes <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/11/congressional-black-caucus-hillary/" target="_blank">merely</a> eight of 46 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and includes 11 lobbyists. The PAC raises money from lobbyists for special interests. At the news conference at which the endorsement was announced, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/02/civil-rights-movement-johns-lewis-bernie-sanders-segregation-jim-crow/" target="_blank">falsely</a> implied 1) Sanders was not in the Civil Rights Movement and 2) Clinton was. The reverse is true.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Reporter</u>: "What do you say about [Sanders's] previous work on civil rights and--"</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Lewis</u>: "To be very frank -- I don't want to cut you off, but <b>I never saw him. I never met him.</b> I chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee... from 1963-1966. I was involved in the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington [and] the march from Selma to Montgomery, and directed the Voter Education Project for six years. But I met Hillary Clinton." </span></blockquote>
Such prevarication was to be expected because Dolores Huerta, who was a surrogate for Clinton in 2008 and is one now, made a similar <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/1/democratic_presidential_nomination_could_hinge_on" target="_blank">insinuation</a> on <i>Democracy Now!</i> as Clinton ran against Obama, who had resided in Chicago for several years in the 1980s and permanently since 1991.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"I have
been a civil-rights activist... all my life and been
to Chicago many times for many campaigns [in which] the Latino
community was [active]. <b>I have [yet] to meet Mr. Obama. I have never
encountered him...</b>"</span></blockquote>
During the same appearance, Huerta alleged the NV caucuses that year were tainted by <b>"huge
intimidation on the part of the Obama supporters [toward] the Latino
casino-workers..."</b> Huerta did not elaborate. But she recycled that attack by <a href="http://www.snopes.com/sanders-english-only-huerta/" target="_blank">falsely</a> stating in reference to the NV caucus she attended this year, <b>"I offered to translate and Bernie supporters chanted, 'English only!'"</b><br />
<br />
Clinton: "Senator, I don't think... anyone in political life today... has been subjected to more attacks with more money spent against her by special interests... than I... When I took on the drug companies and insurance companies for universal health care coverage, they went after me with a vengeance. Hedge-fund billionaires aligned with Karl Rove are running ads against me to try to persuade Democrats to vote for you..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyep6nYH1PZvy9zM5QM7MYPCubd1J6IX88Fs4Qs_b2dRBkk3u_rKTSR5tZPqHAFmf9GEdOKiLpmuZyu9HeE8Yd-prJI8XsjzJOVVQKuIAg78dXLy0DFixvjzq0HM9Dun_Fks0LHnk_PI/s1600/Feingold.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyep6nYH1PZvy9zM5QM7MYPCubd1J6IX88Fs4Qs_b2dRBkk3u_rKTSR5tZPqHAFmf9GEdOKiLpmuZyu9HeE8Yd-prJI8XsjzJOVVQKuIAg78dXLy0DFixvjzq0HM9Dun_Fks0LHnk_PI/s1600/Feingold.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ex-senator Russell<br />
Feingold, D-WI (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So because Rove, who is a Republican political consultant, thinks Clinton would be the most difficult for his party to beat and because his strategy implies she would somehow be tougher on special interests than Sanders would, that must be true? As a panelist on Fox News on Election Night 2012, Rove adamantly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQLV7nqD3CA" target="_blank">disputed</a> the network's own projection of Obama's victory. The producers at Fox were consequently <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/12/fox-news-puts-karl-rove-on-the-bench.html" target="_blank">required</a> to obtain permission from a particular superior in order to schedule Rove to appear on the air. Clinton asks us to believe an assessment by someone who failed to meet the standard of credibility set for him at the most infamously discreditable news channel in the US.<br />
<br />
Maddow to Clinton: "[W]hen our reporters... find voters who lean toward Sen. Sanders, ...the most frequent area of concern they [cite] is the issue of Wall St. and whether you are too close to it. Last night, when you were asked about the amount of speaking fees you received from Goldman Sachs, you said, 'That's what they offered.' Have you been too dismissive of voters' concerns about this issue...?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[A]fter I left... office, I did go on the speaking circuit as do many former officials, military leaders, journalists and others..."<br />
<br />
How many of them have run for office after accepting millions of dollars for such speeches? Why should whatever the answer to that question is alleviate concern about whether Clinton would give special treatment to interests from which she received such enormous personal benefit?<br />
<br />
"[F]irms on Wall Street... wanted for me to talk about the world and what my experience had been as secretary of State... I called for an end to the carried-interest loophole enjoyed by managers of hedge funds. I proposed changes in compensation for CEOs. I called for a consumer financial protection bureau before it was created."<br />
<br />
Then why does she refuse to call for the release of the transcripts of those speeches?<br />
<br />
"I think the best evidence of the Wall St. people's knowledge of where I have always stood is their attempt to beat me in this primary..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<i>Some</i> on Wall St. are, perhaps due to Rove-style miscalculations. But why do far more robber barons invest <i>in</i> Clinton's candidacy if they are without sound <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/28/hillary-clinton-wall-street-bailout" target="_blank">reasons</a> to expect a return on investment?<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBF1GqHFvKYAdCAY199jFlMqzuJXa8BdIp4di4P5oKg57quN9c66PmdTdO7Rs9iMRnI0KO4J_Mrxnt5Ya1HVqRDmpBhRzisa8TG4ksqXaMDU30A0BrMTEHpqyTf4ICra-94AUXZHgW4vU/s1600/Lewis.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBF1GqHFvKYAdCAY199jFlMqzuJXa8BdIp4di4P5oKg57quN9c66PmdTdO7Rs9iMRnI0KO4J_Mrxnt5Ya1HVqRDmpBhRzisa8TG4ksqXaMDU30A0BrMTEHpqyTf4ICra-94AUXZHgW4vU/s1600/Lewis.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lewis (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"I understand pretty well how to stop them... and will prevent them from wrecking the economy again."<br />
<br />
Maddow: "Sen. Sanders, you criticized Secy. Clinton for those speaking fees from and those campaign donations from Wall Street. What do you think of her defense?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Goldman Sachs was recently... fined $5 billion by the federal government for fraud against investors... [T]his is what a rigged economy, a corrupt campaign-finance system and a broken criminal-justice system are about... No executive has been indicted after payment of... that fine... Many economists, including Elizabeth Warren, who have studied this issue for a long time say we need a 21st-Century version of Glass-Steagall..."<br />
<br />
Although Warren has not endorsed in this race, she has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7YL5U2tEh0" target="_blank">strongly</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liam-miller/elizabeth-warren-sinks-clintons-hopes_b_9058526.html" target="_blank">implied</a> who her preferred candidate is. <br />
<br />
Todd to Clinton: "Our next question comes through New England Cable News... [T]he questioner writes...: 'I am concerned about the abuses Wall St. has committed with taxpayers' money,' and she asks whether you will release the transcripts of your speeches to Goldman Sachs. She adds, 'Don't you think the voters have a right to know what was said?' ...Are you willing to release the transcripts of all your paid speeches?... [T]here were transcription services for all of them."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I will look into it. I don't know the status..."<br />
<br />
Of what? At least she answered with words. Days earlier, she responded to that question with mere <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/23/clinton-goldman-sachs-laugh/" target="_blank">laughter</a>. That was reminiscent of <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-republicans-talking/story?id=30455226" target="_blank">this</a> exchange from April 20.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Cecilia Vega of ABC</u>: "Did foreign entities receive any special treatment [by you as secretary of State] in exchange for... any... donations to the [Clinton] Foundation or [speaking fees to] your husband?"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Clinton</u>: "Well, we're back into the political season and, therefore, we will be subjected to all kinds of distraction and attacks, and I'm ready for that. I know that comes, unfortunately, with the territory. Of note, I think, is that the Republicans seem to talk only about me. I don't know what they'd talk about if I were not in the race. But I am in the race and, hopefully, we'll get on to the issues, and I look forward to that."</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVXOP_3A3XAvoljbPVhO11AXnWs8esXgwcAsZpJmweJpAQ4SKKCNWIxBcxi6Z1UajOLIHvtGddUG5fcjT7EzR8mGaR9Y66wE4-3sOytTinSHWK41Dz0BoKPfPtdMWhmQVkY4tEZ1O88c/s1600/Huerta.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVXOP_3A3XAvoljbPVhO11AXnWs8esXgwcAsZpJmweJpAQ4SKKCNWIxBcxi6Z1UajOLIHvtGddUG5fcjT7EzR8mGaR9Y66wE4-3sOytTinSHWK41Dz0BoKPfPtdMWhmQVkY4tEZ1O88c/s1600/Huerta.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huerta (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I took that as a "<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/10/hillary-clinton-stalwart-friend-of-worlds-worst-despots-attacks-sanders-latin-american-activism/" target="_blank">Yes</a>."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Look at my... proposals... We both want to reign in the excesses of Wall Street. I also want to reign in the excesses of companies like Johnson Controls, which we bailed out..., and now it wants to avoid taxes. I want to go after pharmaceutical companies... [that] increase prices with no regard for people's health. If all we discuss is one part of our economy, and indeed <b>one street</b> in it, we miss the... big energy companies and the big picture. I have a record of trying to go at the problems that actually exist. I will continue that."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...<b>Wall St. is not just one street</b>. It is an entity of unbelievable economic and political power... I believe corruption is rampant. That major banks have reached multi-billion dollar settlements with the federal government amid a weak regulatory system tells me if we don't break up those banks, we'll have to bail them out again..."<br />
<br />
Maddow to Sanders: "...You... have railed against big-name American corporations like Boeing, General Electric, and <a href="http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-announces-settlement-walmart-over-alleged-violations-nys-water" target="_blank">Walmart</a>. But some big businesses in the US have helped advance progressive goals like the nationwide initiative to expand employment opportunities for veterans. That was all about cooperation between the Obama administration and some big businesses."<br />
<br />
That initiative was an <a href="http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/Statement-by-AFL-CIO-President-Richard-Trumka-on-White-House-Facilitating-Walmart-s-Public-Relations-Move" target="_blank">insult</a> to veterans, their families, and the entire public.<br />
<br />
"Some of the thorniest problems in the Affordable Care Act were worked out in cooperation with big businesses."<br />
<br />
That act <i>is</i> a thorny <a href="http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/mar/11/aca-co-ops-lose-millions-in-2015-some-expect-2016/" target="_blank">problem</a>.<br />
<br />
"Could you work with them or have you made enemies of them...?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiTFZfHf6miFLX6grF1F-ica-OgM0MaGQsn-zng5tnDaoA_Y1J1bA6LvgDEC6zDgHch9bjHGcUtE_tCyISSO7IpFXhH7WuoWDyo6SeM596AfqIwMCzFv7_q-Wl47rZ1uxazy79bhE_uw/s1600/Warren.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiTFZfHf6miFLX6grF1F-ica-OgM0MaGQsn-zng5tnDaoA_Y1J1bA6LvgDEC6zDgHch9bjHGcUtE_tCyISSO7IpFXhH7WuoWDyo6SeM596AfqIwMCzFv7_q-Wl47rZ1uxazy79bhE_uw/s1600/Warren.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sen. Warren, D-MA<br />
(US Senate)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "Of course I could... There are good corporations that perform... cutting-edge research and development. We should be proud of them. But many corporations have turned their back on American workers... by... going to China and shutting down in the US... I will do my best to transform our trade policy and take on corporations who want to invest in low-income countries... rather than the US."<br />
<br />
Maddow to Clinton: "...Over 4,000 US troops are in Iraq to help fight ISIS. US military families have borne a disproportionately large burden for 15 straight years of wars and multiple deployments. Is Pres. Obama right to escalate the number of US troops fighting ISIS?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think the president understands we must support the Arab and Kurdish fighters on the ground... I agree with the president. I will not send US combat troops to Syria or back to Iraq... But we have special forces, we have trainers, we have military personnel who help with the airstrikes the US leads so we can try to take out the infrastructure of and leadership of ISIS. Given the threat ISIS poses to the region and beyond, as we have sadly seen in our country, I think [an important task is]... to work with the Sunni tribes in Anbar Province and elsewhere so their fighters can also be deployed... We must give more support to people on the ground in Syria and Iraq who must physically take the territory back."<br />
<br />
Maddow: "...If the strategic goal you describe requires... an ever-increasing number of Americans in Iraq and maybe in Syria, are you okay with the numbers increasing?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "No. I mean, that's a theoretical question and we don't know what the purpose of or size of the increase would be... I think we're making some progress. I want to intensify it..."<br />
<br />
Todd: "[Y]ou both voted to authorize the use of force in Afghanistan. When Pres. Obama leaves office, there might be more than 10,000 US troops in Afghanistan. For how long would those troops be there under President Sanders?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[O]ur job is to provide the equipment and air-support they need, and special forces when appropriate... We can't simply withdraw tomorrow. To do so would allow the Taliban or some other group to reclaim that country..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubzbRvgjctNYGIgWVd8IGgY1el0WCv9GgkHDJeYBpjIdYdHKtk85OuvZRmU19KGg86AEAefHzi5SRQ1fN635u-Ue4N1XOn3617rCDk7i93nRDX_KQo8ZkM-OlEFaP0HmmrtYlU_g9G_w/s1600/Nixon.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubzbRvgjctNYGIgWVd8IGgY1el0WCv9GgkHDJeYBpjIdYdHKtk85OuvZRmU19KGg86AEAefHzi5SRQ1fN635u-Ue4N1XOn3617rCDk7i93nRDX_KQo8ZkM-OlEFaP0HmmrtYlU_g9G_w/s1600/Nixon.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nixon (Oliver Atkins/<br />
White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "...I would make an evaluation based on the circumstances at the time... We see not just the Taliban but outposts of fighters who claim to be affiliated with ISIS... We must build coalitions... to defeat those terrorist networks."<br />
<br />
Todd to Sanders: "...You have not proactively laid out a doctrine on foreign policy. Why?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>That's inaccurate.</b> I <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQcmzGIKrzg" target="_blank">gave</a> a speech at Georgetown about democratic-socialism and foreign-policy..." <br />
<br />
Clinton: "A group of experts on national security and on military intelligence issued a very concerning statement about Sen. Sanders's views on foreign policy..., pointing out comments he made, such as to invite Iranian troops to Syria to try to resolve the conflict there, putting them at the doorstep of Israel, and a request for cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. They can't stand each other and are engaged in a proxy battle..."<br />
<br />
Half of those "experts" <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/21/clinton-foreign-policy-experts/" target="_blank">profit</a> from the military-industrial complex. <br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Of course Iran and Saudi Arabia hate each other. But [Secy. of State] John Kerry... has <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/04/politics/saudi-arabia-iran-isis-syria/" target="_blank">tried</a> to persuade them to at least meet because ISIS threatens both."<br />
<br />
Maddow: "Secy. Clinton, ...Sen. Sanders called for the most aggressive possible move to normalize relations with Iran. Your campaign criticized him for that... [W]hy...?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...We must figure out how to deal with Iran as the principal state sponsor of terrorism. Iran is destabilizing governments in the region. Iran supports Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon against Israel... To normalize relations now would remove one of the biggest pieces of leverage we have for influence on Iranian behavior... I believe we must take this step-by-step to try to reign in Iranian aggression..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>I never said </b>we should normalize relations with Iran now... We must address its sponsorship of international terrorism. But several years ago, people said, 'Normal relations with Cuba? What a bad and silly idea... They're our enemy.' Well, change has come... I... supported the agreement that prevents Iran from acquirement of a nuclear weapon."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYXdLNzdEHzmERanwN1hueNSYnxzLzXKrwl9nRrY-OdxGmKuNQg3YR7h_WBaktmTCC755Zn5rNUElBtI7ANcS_AqqlViq6SfdqwBjFANQXMhOWTSqkHY9gZo0d1Jp0YRHJid65PuzLhc/s1600/Kerry.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYXdLNzdEHzmERanwN1hueNSYnxzLzXKrwl9nRrY-OdxGmKuNQg3YR7h_WBaktmTCC755Zn5rNUElBtI7ANcS_AqqlViq6SfdqwBjFANQXMhOWTSqkHY9gZo0d1Jp0YRHJid65PuzLhc/s1600/Kerry.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kerry (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
James Carter Jr., who was the last president to keep the US at peace for his entire tenure and has, in and out of office, <a href="http://www.britannica.com/event/Camp-David-Accords" target="_blank">made</a> <a href="http://www.cartercenter.org/peace/index.html" target="_blank">peace</a> around the world, supports the idea of <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/95137-jimmy-carter-presidential-diary/" target="_blank">restoration</a> of diplomatic relations between the US and Iran. While those facts do not prove the idea to be best, he is an expert on peace. In contrast, no number of people who attack on behalf of Clinton can undo her dreadful record on military policy.<br />
<br />
Speaking of Carter: As he sought the presidency, he accurately told the public, "I will never lie to you." When Clinton was recently asked to make the same vow, she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0H1AosZdv0" target="_blank">declined</a>.<br />
<br />
Todd to Sanders: "...How would you rank North Korea, Iran and Russia in order of their threat to America's security now...?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...N. Korea is very strange because it is an isolated country that is run by a seemingly somewhat paranoid handful of dictators, or maybe just one, and has nuclear weapons. I would put as much pressure as possible on China, which is one of the few major countries that significantly supports N. Korea... [W]e must work closely with China to resolve the... problem... And I worry about [Russian president Vladimir] Putin's military adventurism in Crimea and Ukraine." <br />
<br />
Clinton: "...We must worry about N. Korea, which... is working very hard on its ballistic missile capability. Some of those plans could lead to a missile that might reach Hawaii if not the West Coast. We must try to persuade the countries in the region to work with us to do all we can to confine and constrain N. Korea... Russia [constantly pressures] our European allies, ...tries to move boundaries of post-WWII Europe, ...tries to set European countries against one another, seized territory, holds it in Crimea, and has begun to explore the possibility to make inroads in the Baltics. Russia deeply supports [Syrian president Bashar al-]Assad because it wants a place in the Mideast, has a naval base in and an air base in Syria, and wants to keep them... We must persuade the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to work for the common defense again. We must do more to support our partners in NATO and send a clear message to Putin: there will be a response to that kind of belligerence... The best way to do that is to put in more armor and put in more money from the Europeans so they contribute more to their defense."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolhXMX79-VZ5EnDsBNA1D15jOwfRSooC850KtheGvOxkfD7oysvImMrQEHBw8jB7RJadwvBdd5YyC4nlrAw9Anco56dQrG5hCgfCyErm0slIf3dUrNoh_BYpLAg85rayJyPbRNDdrLi0/s1600/SadatCarterBegin.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolhXMX79-VZ5EnDsBNA1D15jOwfRSooC850KtheGvOxkfD7oysvImMrQEHBw8jB7RJadwvBdd5YyC4nlrAw9Anco56dQrG5hCgfCyErm0slIf3dUrNoh_BYpLAg85rayJyPbRNDdrLi0/s1600/SadatCarterBegin.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pres. Anwar Sadat of Egypt joins Carter and Prime Minister<br />
Menachem Begin of Israel in signing the Framework for<br />
Peace. Carter brokered that agreement, which is<br />
also known as the "Camp David Accords." (WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Maddow to Clinton: "[The] Republican nominee likely will want to privatize, or abolish, big parts of the Department of Veterans' Affairs... How will you win the argument on that issue given the problems that have been exposed at the V.A. in the last few years?..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I'm absolutely against privatization of the V.A. and will do all I can to build on the <b>reforms Sen. Sanders and others in Congress have passed</b> to try to fix what's wrong with the V.A."<br />
<br />
The said reform that Sanders spearheaded was one of the very few -- and was certainly the most significant -- of the bills the US government enacted in 2014. In fact, from 1995-2005, throughout which the Republicans were the majority in the House, Sanders introduced <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-the-horror-show-that-is-congress-20050825" target="_blank">more</a> amendments that were passed by a roll-call vote than did any other member of that chamber. Yet, Clinton continually claims she is the candidate who can "get things done." The importance of <i>which</i> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/02/05/dems_stop_lying_to_yourselves_about_hillary_sure_she_get_s_done_atrocious_s_that_is/" target="_blank">things</a> get done cannot be overstated.<br />
<br />
"There are a lot of issues about wait-times and services that must be fixed..."<br />
<br />
Then why, other than to undercut appreciation for what Sanders accomplished, did she say <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/257999-clinton-veterans-affairs-scandal-not-a-widespread-problem" target="_blank">dysfunction</a> at the V.A. has "not been as widespread as it has been made out to be"?<br />
<br />
Maddow to Sanders: "<b>[A]s a congressional leader on veterans' issues..., you've worked in a very bipartisan way...</b>"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I worked with the American Legion, the VFW, the DAV, the Vietnam Vets, and virtually every other veterans' organization to craft the most comprehensive veterans' legislation in modern history. On the floor of the Senate, every Democrat and only two Republicans voted for it. We ended up with 56 votes but needed 60. That is pathetic. The legislation was supported by all the veterans' organizations and addressed many serious problems veterans face in health care and in delivery of benefits to them. So, Republicans talk a good game about veterans but were not there to put money on the line to protect them. <b>I had to compromise. John McCain, Jeff Miller and I put together what is probably the most comprehensive V.A. health care bill in modern history...</b> I had a hearing at which I asked representatives of all the veterans' groups what the quality of care at the V.A. is despite wait-times and other problems. They all said 'Good,' 'Very good' or 'Excellent.' We must strengthen the V.A., not privatize it."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxRDsJR1E0KBootzekWahLa5NsMpAUzQcFOO4MkKfcvt_excdaMGFl3RbZssYI2tILsR4bt_HyFkULD4s5HTHtLf13fpfqUSSEZpqec30rmPVtoNdDTsoWI3xOsQFXvuwTjmOjfYoqQU/s1600/Goldwater.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxRDsJR1E0KBootzekWahLa5NsMpAUzQcFOO4MkKfcvt_excdaMGFl3RbZssYI2tILsR4bt_HyFkULD4s5HTHtLf13fpfqUSSEZpqec30rmPVtoNdDTsoWI3xOsQFXvuwTjmOjfYoqQU/s1600/Goldwater.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The late Sen. Goldwater,<br />
R-AZ (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Maddow to Sanders: "...The Republican presidential nominee in 1964 was Barry Goldwater, who was a hero of the conservative movement but far to the right of most in his party. The Democratic presidential nominee in 1972 was George McGovern, who was a hero of liberals... but to the left of his party's mainstream. Both of those nominees... were destroyed in the general election. Even Democrats who love you worry about your potential fate in the general election. I know that <b>you have good poll-numbers against Republican front-runners</b>. But do you have a general-election strategy that is different from the way you seek the nomination?"<br />
<br />
Goldwater and McGovern each ran against an incumbent president who had not been challenged seriously in
the primaries of the given year. Ever since presidential primaries
began to exist, no president who avoided such a challenge has been
denied a second term. Obviously, Sanders would not have a task to
unseat an incumbent. The first polls by Gallup with regard to the
general elections of 1964 and 1972 <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/110548/gallup-presidential-election-trialheat-trends-19362004.aspx" target="_blank">found</a> Goldwater behind by 59 points and McGovern behind by 19, respectively. <br />
<br />
Merely 16 states held Republican presidential primaries in 1964. (Before 1972, the presidential nominations of the major parties were determined with little input from average voters. Even many of the primaries that were held then were nonbinding.) In the combined popular vote from them, Goldwater placed first but with a plurality of just 38%. Because the current Democratic presidential contest is between two candidates, neither could be nominated with so small a share of its primary electorate.<br />
<br />
Arguably, the landslide by which McGovern lost was attributable mainly to the following additional factors rather than to his liberalism.<br />
<ul>
<li>McGovern asked the Democratic Nat'l Conv. to nominate the late Sen. Thomas Eagleton (D-MO) for the vice presidency. A major-party presumptive presidential nominee's choice of a running mate is usually nominated with ease. However, that convention entertained dozens of other candidacies for vice president. As a result, McGovern's speech to accept his nomination was delayed until 2:48AM Eastern time. Within two weeks, Eagleton's history of electroconvulsive therapy was made public. McGovern stated support for Eagleton to stay on the ticket, then reversed himself. Eagleton relinquished his nomination less than three weeks after he accepted it.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>McGovern's Republican opponent -- Pres. Nixon -- refused to debate him. But that
was the last year in which the major-party presidential nominees did not
debate each other.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Twelve days before the election, Nixon's national security advisor -- Henry Kissinger -- declared in reference to Vietnam, "We believe that peace is at hand." That comment essentially negated the core of McGovern's platform. That core was a plan to immediately withdraw all US forces from Indochina. But nothing can deprive Sanders's campaign of its paramount argument.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BQ_9IvVPFe8W52g5JUSWU0FCN74Is-qEphnlU1u1FMCSYSMs39hWnJ55_0YgtceV3mjkuTe7KdJuK6iMzzbJxzq1m6F3ELzQAD4SoyTDD7sy9hwEJ2zV5QAGYSs8jaeslw1WqJvczUw/s1600/McGovern.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BQ_9IvVPFe8W52g5JUSWU0FCN74Is-qEphnlU1u1FMCSYSMs39hWnJ55_0YgtceV3mjkuTe7KdJuK6iMzzbJxzq1m6F3ELzQAD4SoyTDD7sy9hwEJ2zV5QAGYSs8jaeslw1WqJvczUw/s1600/McGovern.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The late Sen. McGovern,<br />
D-SD (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "A general election is different than a primary/caucus process. But... the last <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/IApolls/IA160102/Complete%20January%202016%20Iowa_New%20Hampshire_NBC%20News_Marist%20Poll%20Release.pdf" target="_blank">poll</a> I saw... of NH... had me ahead of Donald Trump by 19 and the secretary ahead of him by one. There were also pretty large margins in IA and Wisconsin..."<br />
<br />
The same NBC/WSJ/Marist poll Sanders cited with regard to NH showed him ahead of Trump in IA by 13 but Clinton ahead of Trump there by only eight. Sanders was also referring to a <a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/2016/01/28/new-marquette-law-school-poll-finds-tight-races-in-wisconsin-presidential-primaries/" target="_blank">survey</a> by Marquette University that found him ahead of Trump by 18 in WI but Clinton ahead of Trump there by only nine.<br />
<br />
Maddow: "Secy. Clinton, your campaign, your surrogates, and people who endorse you have suggested or said if Sen. Sanders were the nominee, Democrats would suffer nationwide and the chance of Democratic retention of the White House would drop... [Do] you believe he would win the general election?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I'm concerned about... the views of many Democrats who know their states, who know the difficulty to win a general election, which will put the nominee into the spotlight. I've been vetted. There's hardly anything you don't know about me..."<br />
<br />
That's debatable. Nonetheless, while Biden grieved the death of his son, the super-PAC with which Clinton's campaign directly coordinates <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/10/clinton-readies-oppo-research-against-biden.html" target="_blank">searched</a> vigorously for ammunition to use against Biden if he entered this race. Therefore, if there were any material that could be of use to significantly damage Sanders's candidacy, Clinton's team would probably have found and used such information by now. <br />
<br />
Clinton continued, "I think... whoever is in that position... will face the most withering onslaught. So, I think I am the person who can do all aspects of the job and is best prepared to take the case to the Republicans..."<br />
<br />
What case? On health-care, trade, military policy, and campaign finance, Trump could easily attack Clinton <i>from her left</i>. And even though she is less likely to defeat the Republican nominee than Sanders is, she was not asked if she has a strategy for the general election. <br />
<br />
Maddow to Clinton: "[Y]ou said that capital punishment has a place in a very few federal cases but that you 'would breathe a sigh of relief' if the Supreme Court were to abolish the death penalty nationwide."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHH3Ry97cO0aCAxDMQJXO-AgXvphlmRU20V3rbzI4QkP1NzHgB5Nc8LYfiEKJ0zxka7t_gK_FaG7_FL4P7ASIh67JtD4syxKNndp9EkrfkHRGxaJ_45nhcXjSBX-JAXX5D2jGUGBLsrzo/s1600/Eagleton.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHH3Ry97cO0aCAxDMQJXO-AgXvphlmRU20V3rbzI4QkP1NzHgB5Nc8LYfiEKJ0zxka7t_gK_FaG7_FL4P7ASIh67JtD4syxKNndp9EkrfkHRGxaJ_45nhcXjSBX-JAXX5D2jGUGBLsrzo/s1600/Eagleton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagleton (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once again, Clinton had tried to take two sides of an issue. <br />
<br />
Maddow continued, "Do you still support capital punishment...?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Yes. I hope the Supreme Court will rule that any state, to continue capital punishment, must meet the highest standards of evidentiary proof and effective assistance of counsel... I have much more confidence in the federal system than in the state systems and would reserve the federal death penalty for particularly heinous crimes, like terrorism..."<br />
<br />
Execution of terrorists makes them into martyrs.<br />
<br />
"I deeply disagree with the way in which too many states implement the death penalty. If the Supreme Court were to separate the federal system from the state systems, I think that would be appropriate."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[P]eople, including African-Americans, have been executed when they were not guilty... [I]n a world of so much violence, I don't believe government should be part of the killing. People who commit these terrible crimes should be imprisoned for life..."<br />
<br />
Maddow: "...MI caused the lead-poison... and... has not fixed it. In Flint, there is no door-to-door delivery of clean water and no replacement of lead pipes. Secy. Clinton, would you order a federal response that would get it right regardless of the wishes of the state?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Absolutely... This is an emergency... [W]hat is being done is insufficient... [W]hat should be done... includes repair of the pipes [and] includes... health care and educational embellishments people there may need... If MI won't do it, there must be ways for the federal government to act, bill the state for it, and hold the state accountable."<br />
<br />
Maddow: "Sen. Sanders, are there things that Pres. Obama could order to be done now in Flint but that are not being done and that you would order to be done?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Absolutely. I think the secretary described the situation appropriately... One wonders what kind of response there would have been if Flint were a white suburb..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCG3f8I5Z4L2XPG1JNKxBFoGQ2NPJio4lJHrWhZAvZXN7Y8orEWWSLAL7KuWiOnIsGDjVdkuZqs3h5v_1zsBOckTRqgMPKPtTg03DqMFrlTa-Bnp3bpu2TwlHjBXZm_0HE73nqyZrFDlI/s1600/Sawant.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCG3f8I5Z4L2XPG1JNKxBFoGQ2NPJio4lJHrWhZAvZXN7Y8orEWWSLAL7KuWiOnIsGDjVdkuZqs3h5v_1zsBOckTRqgMPKPtTg03DqMFrlTa-Bnp3bpu2TwlHjBXZm_0HE73nqyZrFDlI/s1600/Sawant.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sawant<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Todd to Clinton: "...<b>You supported NAFTA</b> in the '90s, <b>then opposed it</b> when you ran for president in 2008. As secretary of State, <b>you supported the TPP... But you now oppose it.</b>"<br />
<br />
That mention of the TPP was a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/22/msnbc-cuts-away-from-bernie-sanders-as-he-condemns-trans-pacific-partnership/" target="_blank">surprise</a>.<br />
<br />
"Should Democrats expect for you to support those trade agreements again if elected?"<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-tpp-chamber-of-commerce_us_56abb9bde4b0010e80e9f5b2" target="_blank">Yes</a>. <br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I voted against... the Central American Free Trade Agreement because I did not believe it was in the best interest of the workers of America... After I saw the outcome [of the negotiation of the TPP], I opposed it... [T]rade must be reciprocal... But we have failed to provide the safety net American workers need in order to win in the global economy. So I'm not interested only in what's in the trade agreement. I helped renegotiate the trade agreement we inherited from Pres. Bush with South Korea. We got the UAW on board because of changes we made. So there are possible changes I believe would make a difference. But I do not support the TPP as it is written."<br />
<br />
Todd: "Sen. Sanders, ...you have never supported any trade deal while in Congress. If you were to continue that pattern as president, how would you prevent China, which will make deals around the world, from essentially setting the rules of global trade?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I believe in trade but not in unfettered free trade. I believe in fair trade that works for the working families of this country..."<br />
<br />
Was Clinton <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-is-reflexively-against-any-trade-deals/" target="_blank">listening</a>? Anyway, that's part of why the Working Families Party gave its first-ever endorsement of a presidential candidate to Sanders over Clinton by a vote of <a href="http://workingfamilies.org/2015/12/working-families-party-announces-endorsement-for-bernie-sanders-for-president/" target="_blank">87.4%</a> to 11.5%.<br />
<br />
"<b>I opposed NAFTA</b> and was on the picket line against it... [T]he trade agreements over the last 30 years were written by and for corporate America. Those agreements resulted in the loss of 60K factories in America since 2001, resulted in the loss of millions of decent-paying jobs, and resulted in a downward spiral in wages..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJu5DAEmHHYjvyvZj1VUD969Cam5m2fx_Hc2lkan06byoRv4nJ_OpsoLmDdJR9lwpIkZtGkLyt4MJ8CN9kXohuDLK1wkBLnB4ePH6iJWrPMKvaFsHz47ef4TAWLnpfsWniax4198gKcM/s1600/West.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJu5DAEmHHYjvyvZj1VUD969Cam5m2fx_Hc2lkan06byoRv4nJ_OpsoLmDdJR9lwpIkZtGkLyt4MJ8CN9kXohuDLK1wkBLnB4ePH6iJWrPMKvaFsHz47ef4TAWLnpfsWniax4198gKcM/s1600/West.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Debate <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">V</span>I | <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thu</span>., <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Feb</span>. 1<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span> | Milwauke<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">e</span>, WI | <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">P</span>BS</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
Co-moderator Judy Woodruff to Sanders: "[H]ow big of a role do you foresee for the federal government? It already spends 21% of the economy. How much larger would government be in the lives of Americans under a Sanders presidency? ...Would there be any limit on the size and role of government?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Of course. But given the massive inequality of income and wealth, ...the government has a moral responsibility to play a vital role in making sure all our people have a decent standard of living."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think the best analysis I've seen of Sen. Sanders's plan concludes it would probably increase the size of the federal government by about 40%..."<br />
<br />
So? Also, why did she not specify who conducted that "analysis"? <br />
<br />
"For us to explain our proposals is important... We should level with the people about what we can do to make sure they receive quality, affordable health care."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Let's level with the people. Secy. Clinton has said I want to dismantle the ACA... I have fought for my entire life to make health care a right for all people... <b>One in five Americans can't afford the drugs their doctors prescribe for them...</b> I don't know which economists Secy. Clinton talks to."<br />
<br />
Perhaps she doesn't, either.<br />
<br />
"However, the family in the middle of the economy would pay <b>$500 more in taxes but $5K less for health care</b>."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "We both have the goal of universal health care coverage. 'Obamacare' was originally called 'Hillarycare.'"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
That is <a href="http://khn.org/022310-bill-comparison/" target="_blank">false</a>. The ACA is essentially what the Republicans offered as an alternative to the proposal that was designed under Clinton's charge in 1993.<br />
<br />
"...I staunchly support... the ACA because I know how hard it was to get done..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxUeCkjoeuyIj2EJKKwX8p-37hF2KoXySGvWaYCLKAhDFsmQ5I1cVEse2ss4lY8wtsdfrRMC3mPwuslojqP-Gd5rwMvFa1gzCPRMf0oIF66mIAiroyEfO0b0pAHrxPJ6TFWeqsn14M9U/s1600/Jackson.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxUeCkjoeuyIj2EJKKwX8p-37hF2KoXySGvWaYCLKAhDFsmQ5I1cVEse2ss4lY8wtsdfrRMC3mPwuslojqP-Gd5rwMvFa1gzCPRMf0oIF66mIAiroyEfO0b0pAHrxPJ6TFWeqsn14M9U/s1600/Jackson.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How is difficulty of achievement directly correlated to value?<br />
<br />
"I think the public deserves to know specifically how this would work. Medicare-for-All would end the ACA, which is based on... exchanges and on a subsidy system... So, if you propose Medicare-for-All, level with people about what they would have at the end of the process..."<br />
<br />
Despite the mysterious name of the initiative, I figured out that people would end up with Medicare. You read it here first.<br />
<br />
"[M]any people would be worse off than they are now."<br />
<br />
Who? I mean, other than executives of health insurance corporations and of pharmaceutical corporations, who are subsidized by the ACA.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>That's absolutely inaccurate...</b> If we in this country have the courage to take on the drug companies, insurance companies, and medical equipment suppliers, we can guarantee health care to all people in a <b>much more cost-effective</b> way."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[W]e are not England. We are not France."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.loc.gov/law/help/campaign-finance/uk.php" target="_blank">That's</a> <a href="https://www.loc.gov/law/help/campaign-finance/france.php" target="_blank">true</a>.<br />
<br />
"We inherited a system that was set up during WWII."<br />
<br />
So don't think the system is outdated.<br />
<br />
"One hundred seventy million Americans get health insurance through their employers..."<br />
<br />
So? Why continue to burden employers with the responsibility to provide health insurance to their employees?<br />
<br />
"[W]hat Pres. Obama succeeded in doing was to build on our health care system so 90% of Americans are now covered."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-PMbDEm_G0z0wO-dPwdrpJomlCjSbijjXVu296juRXYDQhck0Ur8fji4lpBZMEeJ_sPoTT96Xj0Ev5kySF549dW_ZvpqNLlSTON90MJRco6YT8PwjBt2lSKrecjePd_UXmxbXI34WNI/s1600/LaDuke.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-PMbDEm_G0z0wO-dPwdrpJomlCjSbijjXVu296juRXYDQhck0Ur8fji4lpBZMEeJ_sPoTT96Xj0Ev5kySF549dW_ZvpqNLlSTON90MJRco6YT8PwjBt2lSKrecjePd_UXmxbXI34WNI/s1600/LaDuke.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LaDuke<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
He built on an irreparably defective foundation.<br />
<br />
"We must cover the other 10%. I far prefer that and the chance of that succeeding..."<br />
<br />
So do the donors who have made her presidential campaign the one with <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=F09&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H03&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">most</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H04&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">money</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H4100&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">from</a> the insurance industry, the health-services & HMO industry, the pharmaceutical & health-product industry, and the medical supply industry. <br />
<br />
Co-moderator Gwendolyn Ifill to Clinton: "...When exit pollsters this week asked Democrats in NH how they feel about the federal government, 61% said 'angry' or at least 'dissatisfied.' Given that you and Sen. Sanders propose expansion of government in almost every area of our lives, should Americans who fear government fear you?"<br />
<br />
Each question by that point was based on the unjustifiable argument used by libertarians -- and selectively by conservatives -- according to which government is inherently bad. Also, Ifill baselessly implied that <i>Democrats</i> who are dissatisfied with the federal government are that way because they think government is too big. "Fear government" for what reason?<br />
<br />
Clinton: "No... I am very specific about where I would raise the money for my agenda, how much it would cost, and how I would advance it... [P]romises we can't keep would further prevent Americans from understanding we, together, can change people's lives."<br />
<br />
Clinton voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq even though the Bush-Cheney administration provided no estimate of how much that invasion, the subsequent occupation, and the care for the veterans of it would cost. That amount is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314" target="_blank">$2T</a> <i>so far</i>.<br />
<br />
Sanders has governed as a chief executive who not only <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/metropolis/2016/01/bernie_sanders_made_burlington_s_land_trust_possible_it_s_still_an_innovative.html" target="_blank">delivered</a> but did so in a way that inspired a rise in the number of his constituents who engaged in the political process and who did so in support of his leadership. From his election as mayor to his re-election at the end of his first term, voter turnout <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19830302&id=3DNSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IjYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1205,178876" target="_blank">increased</a> by 42% and his share of the vote <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19810313&id=xEdOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ThMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7128,3432391" target="_blank">increased</a> from 43% to 52%. During Sanders's fourth term, <i>US News & World Report</i> named him one of the 20 <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/31/socialist-even-conservative-could-love-burlington-mayor-sanders-was-able-out-republican-republicans/SCmh2TLifXxXRPFKC8NMjO/story.html" target="_blank">best</a> mayors in this country.<br />
<br />
Ifill: "I haven't heard either of you put a price tag on--"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "My price tag is about $100B a year... I will not throw us further into debt. I believe I can get the needed money via taxes on the wealthy [and] via closure of loopholes..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVseNlU0Okv8G49gFLUnFK_NkTyb-IpIYrBaJv5R-H05cBCttaWfpbrbnvYT77XozKmRWM-sv9UKEwPFW3fOZ19JttpUFIPz81RlKq6Pa-i2X5KEYz-gnnThiqXzRwEDlzoD12KdTZqQI/s1600/Perkins.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVseNlU0Okv8G49gFLUnFK_NkTyb-IpIYrBaJv5R-H05cBCttaWfpbrbnvYT77XozKmRWM-sv9UKEwPFW3fOZ19JttpUFIPz81RlKq6Pa-i2X5KEYz-gnnThiqXzRwEDlzoD12KdTZqQI/s1600/Perkins.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perkins (nysenate.gov)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "[E]ach of my proposals includes how to pay for it..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think we both have the goal to try to make college affordable for all young Americans... However, ...Sen. Sanders's plan rests on making sure that governors like Scott Walker contribute $23B on the first day to make college free."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "No."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I'm skeptical your governor cares enough... to make a commitment like that."<br />
<br />
Woodruff to Clinton: "[Y]ou and your campaign have made a clear appeal to women... But in the Democratic primary in NH, <b>55% of women voted for Sen. Sanders</b>... Former secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who strongly supports you, said on Saturday that 'there's a <b>special place in hell</b> for women who don't help each other.' Do you agree with her?"<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
Clinton: "I think she has said that for... about 25 years... [A]s to whether we'll have... some opportunity for women to go as far as their work and talent take them, I think we still have some barriers to knock down..."<br />
<br />
I'll take that as a "Yes," especially because Clinton reacted <a href="http://www.reuters.com/video/2016/02/06/madeleine-albright-stumps-for-clinton?videoId=367316041" target="_blank">enthusiastically</a> to Albright's remark, which she made while she specifically chided female voters who did not intend to cast their ballots for Clinton. In the same speech, Albright accused those voters of ignorance about the status of women in the US. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who is a surrogate for Clinton, did the same on MSNBC on Dec. 16.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Andrea Mitchell</u>: "[I]n the polls, ...older women... support... Clinton; younger women, less so. What do you think is her problem in attracting millennials?"</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>McCaskill</u>: "I think part of it is that, ...[to them, Clinton's candidacy] does not feel as... historic as it does to some of us who <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/terrorism-at-the-center-of-gop-debate-587028035953" target="_blank">understand</a> what having a woman as president would mean..."</span></blockquote>
A similar comment was made by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who, as chairperson of the Democratic Nat'l Committee, is not allowed to endorse any primary candidate but has <a href="http://observer.com/2016/03/rigged-debbie-wasserman-schultz-strikes-once-again/" target="_blank">abused</a> her <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/12/debbie_wasserman_schultz_s_dnc_has_been_incompetent.html" target="_blank">power</a> in order to aid her own candidacy and Clinton's.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Ana Marie Cox of <i>The NY Times</i></u>: "Do you notice a generational divide between women in their excitement about Hillary Clinton?"</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Schultz</u>: "I see a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/debbie-wasserman-schultz-thinks-young-women-are-complacent.html" target="_blank">complacency</a> among the generation of young women whose entire lives have been lived after <i>Roe v. Wade</i> was decided." </span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4HoIqM-OowKPXBSLThDpo59GY9151rp43mLCNZfEzQXyL8iXtoOGY2Pn_y-WCYBI3ZqWIqZPZ8hETWUHKWkmIZpZZqm7aQWbTqEzH4P3xGEJi_393ZpLuipNQqR8XyuAEa4QQYL_tbs/s1600/Albright.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4HoIqM-OowKPXBSLThDpo59GY9151rp43mLCNZfEzQXyL8iXtoOGY2Pn_y-WCYBI3ZqWIqZPZ8hETWUHKWkmIZpZZqm7aQWbTqEzH4P3xGEJi_393ZpLuipNQqR8XyuAEa4QQYL_tbs/s1600/Albright.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Albright (WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Neither moderator asked Clinton about the remark by feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who is a surrogate for Clinton, according to which young women who support Sanders do so <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoV3UgQBvh4#t=3m28s" target="_blank">mainly</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1VTPhrnPrw" target="_blank">seduce</a> men. It was especially odd because Sanders's record on women's rights is so good that Steinem named him "an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgcHk9WpcJo#t=14m19s" target="_blank">honorary</a> woman" in a speech she delivered in support of his congressional re-election bid against a woman in 1996. In what proved to be an ironic part of that address, Steinem shared the following observation about the presidential campaign of 1960.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Nixon said, 'Sen. Kennedy and I... have the same goals. We just have minor differences about how to reach them...' Now, in history, those two guys have turned out to be pretty different [from each other. But Nixon's] tactic to mask the difference was so successful, ...he almost was elected then..."</span></blockquote>
Sanders: "...I... have... a lifetime <a href="http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/congressional-scorecard/?_ga=1.170997088.1353074886.1456860023#/vermont/436" target="_blank">100%</a> pro-choice voting record. I... have been supported by <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/VT/H/01/epolls.0.html" target="_blank">very</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/VT/S/01/epolls.0.html" target="_blank">significant</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/state/VT/senate/" target="_blank">majorities</a> of <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/primaries/VT" target="_blank">women</a> in my state over the years..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I do not ask people to support me because I'm a woman..." <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndoH_GJii8U#t=1m8s" target="_blank">That</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5vZd-7IKxE#t=32s" target="_blank">is</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GzGAW7k2V8" target="_blank">false</a>.<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I... am... endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund because I've been a leader on these issues."<br />
<br />
Or maybe because the daughter of the president of Planned Parenthood has been on Clinton's campaign staff for the <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/19/texas-operatives-prominent-2016-campaigns/" target="_blank">past</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/hillary-clinton-campaign-staff-growing-219638" target="_blank">year</a>. Or maybe because Medicare-for-All would diminish business for Planned Parenthood. That speculation of mine is because Sanders is <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/hillary-clinton-late-term-abortions" target="_blank">more</a> favorable to reproductive choice than is Clinton, who favors some restrictions on it, refuses to specify which, and <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/senate-bill/677/text" target="_blank">cosponsored</a> a "religious freedom" bill introduced by then-Sen. Rick <b>Santorum</b> (R-PA) that would have created a plausible defense for some efforts to frustrate reproductive choice.<br />
<br />
"Time and time again, I have taken on the vested interests who would keep women's health care decisions the province of the government... NARAL endorsed me because we need... someone who votes right but, much more than that, leads the efforts to protect the hard-fought gains women have made..."<br />
<br />
Viewer's question: "WI is number one in incarceration of black males, according to a study by the Univ. of WI, which found that WI's incarceration rate for black men is 13% -- nearly double the national rate. What can we do across the nation to address this?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyHLOhaiLotXMM6LMdxYFH4cJ07et6D0R_2JacapbbL4EnFImGornp_aSH-86rI_3Bgpq31iBstoIiVPn0av5pqast4KU61SzizAu5s9WZyArdQgwqQM-KNyJbMEKeGZ026E1BJDex14/s1600/McCaskill.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyHLOhaiLotXMM6LMdxYFH4cJ07et6D0R_2JacapbbL4EnFImGornp_aSH-86rI_3Bgpq31iBstoIiVPn0av5pqast4KU61SzizAu5s9WZyArdQgwqQM-KNyJbMEKeGZ026E1BJDex14/s1600/McCaskill.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCaskill (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...We must end over-policing in black neighborhoods. <b>Blacks and whites use marijuana at about equal rates. Four times as many blacks are arrested for it.</b> Far more blacks are stopped for traffic violations than whites are. Sentencing for blacks is higher than for whites... I hope we all are sick of seeing videos of unarmed people, often black, shot by police officers..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I completely agree with Sen. Sanders... We must go after sentencing, which is a problem here in WI because much of what happens in the criminal justice system is not on the federal level. Systemic racism also exists in this state and in others in education, in employment, in factors that too often result from young people -- particularly men -- being pushed out of school early and denied opportunities for employment..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I agree with Secy. Clinton... We... are failing abysmally... in the very high rate of recidivism. People are released from jail without the education, job training, and resources they need in order to get their lives together. And then... they end up in jail again... At the end of my first term as president, we will no longer have more people in jail than any other country does..."<br />
<br />
Woodruff: "Secy. Clinton, I recently talked with a 23-year-old black woman who voted for Pres. Obama because she thought race relations would improve under his leadership. Hardly anyone believes they have improved. Why do you think race relations would be better under a Clinton presidency? What would you do that the first black president has been unable to do?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I am not sure I agree completely with that assessment... Blacks, more than any other group, were helped by the ACA to obtain insurance. But we also know a lot more than we did. There is much more social media. Everyone has a cellphone. So, we see the dark side of the remnants of systemic racism we must root out... We have much more information about what must be done to fix our criminal justice system..."<br />
<br />
What information about systemic racism did Clinton lack prior to widespread ownership of cell phones with cameras in them?<br />
<br />
"So my responsibility will be to make sure we move forward to solve these problems that are now in the open and undeniable, to use the Dept. of Justice as it was used when it said it will sue Ferguson, Missouri, which entered into a consent agreement and then tried to back out of it. So we'll enforce the law..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjli9xwyX3ptI9n7K7XSKcz_gx3ySOn8zJjFjDRg_wfN-E-2H4V0bl3Psa-7aaXvWO5e7uS9v9y4DwB5zmlfgJeK3gaTBpHjzkGh-uF98H6bLMZ3Xu1E9N5qoApreKFXyHKb7n0-MFz6Zc/s1600/Schultz.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjli9xwyX3ptI9n7K7XSKcz_gx3ySOn8zJjFjDRg_wfN-E-2H4V0bl3Psa-7aaXvWO5e7uS9v9y4DwB5zmlfgJeK3gaTBpHjzkGh-uF98H6bLMZ3Xu1E9N5qoApreKFXyHKb7n0-MFz6Zc/s1600/Schultz.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schultz<br />
(Maryjane Porter/<br />
Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "[T]he disastrous and illegal behavior on Wall St. hurt millions of lives. People lost their jobs, homes, and life savings. <b>The black and Latino communities were hit especially hard.</b> The black community lost half its wealth due to the collapse on Wall Street. Black childhood poverty is at 35%... [T]he unbelievable rate of incarceration... leaves children without a father or even a mother... The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Sadly, a lot of those poor people are black."<br />
<br />
Woodruff: "So, race relations would improve under a Sanders presidency?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tavis-smiley-obama-black-wealth_us_569820dbe4b0ce496423f053" target="_blank">Absolutely</a>, because... millions of jobs would be created for... young adults so they won't hang out on street corners. We'll make sure that kids stay in school or can get a college education... [W]hen low-income youths of any color have the opportunity to get their lives together, they end up in the productive economy, not in jail..."<br />
<br />
Ifill: "...By the middle of the century, the US will be majority nonwhite. Our public schools already are. Do working-class whites, who are about to be outnumbered, are underemployed in many cases, and, as one study found, die sooner than they did, have a reason to be resentful?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[I]n... white communities, there is increasing... addiction... I've proposed... a plan to revitalize coal country. Coal field communities have been hard hit by changes in the economy... I particularly appreciate the 10-20-30 proposal by Rep. Jim Clyburn to try to spend more federal dollars in communities with persistent generational poverty..., whose jobs no longer provide for them or no longer exist there..."<br />
<br />
Ifill: "Senator, I want for you to respond to that but also tell me if I am wrong to describe this as a matter of race."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]e can talk about it as a racial issue and as a general economic issue. The wages for high-school graduates, regardless of race, are significantly down because of disastrous trade policies [such as] NAFTA and permanent normal trade relations with China... [T]hose policies enable corporations to shut down in the US and throw millions of people onto the street. To work in a factory is not the greatest job but can provide a middle-class wage, decent benefits and a pension. Many decent jobs that whites and blacks had in manufacturing are gone... That is why there is massive despair all over this country. People who have worked for their entire lives make two-thirds or half of what they used to make. Their kids have a hard time in their search for work..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8s0HLXDqhKYQiW1EyFRsLwFZ39ny5iyaw4rpGhf9IjVcWSu7u0FcXdSmj6XzGIdWPQAcvaBJJdmTQVmB0ONhwg-HpWqajNB_zTdmI7eS1tKXehyphenhyphendfD5GUfIFwwdKLh_HD7CoLA3STE0/s1600/Steinem.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8s0HLXDqhKYQiW1EyFRsLwFZ39ny5iyaw4rpGhf9IjVcWSu7u0FcXdSmj6XzGIdWPQAcvaBJJdmTQVmB0ONhwg-HpWqajNB_zTdmI7eS1tKXehyphenhyphendfD5GUfIFwwdKLh_HD7CoLA3STE0/s1600/Steinem.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steinem (WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Woodruff: "...Pres. Obama has issued executive actions to permit some 5M undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows without fear of deportation and obtain work permits. Would you go further than that? If so, specifically how? Should an undocumented family watching this debate... rest easy and not fear further deportations under a Sanders presidency?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Yes... [W]e must pass comprehensive immigration reform... [that creates] a path to citizenship. I agree with Pres. Obama's executive orders to protect families because the House refused to act. I would go further... The guiding light for me on this issue is to unite families... I disagree with Pres. Obama's recent deportation policies..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I support the president's executive actions and hope the Supreme Court will uphold them. I think there is legal authority for them. I oppose the raids and inhumane treatment of families in... the night... We should deport criminals, not hard-working immigrant families, who... often keep economies going in many places in the US. I was an original sponsor of the DREAM Act and voted for comprehensive immigration reform in 2007. Sen. Sanders voted against it then... [W]e need... a path to citizenship..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>[W]hen children had fled horrendously violent areas of Central America..., I thought we should allow those children to stay in the US. The secretary disagreed.</b> I voted against the immigration bill in 2007 because the Southern Poverty Law Center... said the guest-worker program in the bill was <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/20130218/close-slavery-guestworker-programs-united-states" target="_blank">akin</a> to slavery. The program would have let guest workers be abused, exploited and, if they were to defend their rights, deported. The League of United <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/more-dishonest-attacks-from-the-clinton-campaign/" target="_blank">Latin</a> American Citizens..., the AFL-CIO, and some of the most progressive members of Congress <a href="http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/Statement-by-AFL-CIO-President-John-J.-Sweeney-on33" target="_blank">opposed</a> the bill for that reason..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[W]e... had to send a message to families and communities in Central America not to send their children on that dangerous journey in the hands of smugglers. I've called for the end of family detention..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>[C]hildren... are fleeing because their lives are at stake. I don't think we should use them to send a message.</b> We should welcome them and do our best to help them get their lives together."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[M]any of them were treated terribly while they tried to reach our border."<br />
<br />
Yes, as opposed to perhaps being treated lethally where they originated.<br />
<br />
"I've called for counsel for every child so no child must face any process without having an advocate..."<br />
<br />
Viewer's question: "My father gets just $16 monthly from Medicaid's... food-assistance... for low-income seniors. How would you work to ensure that the basic needs of low-income seniors are met?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl3sxyYQXX5badOYYUxqcQDWze8aVlkK5wuU-KWW5RvARjOUTIDiGrqbC6jpxnaF_zuU03D-MtYd75qvqunrXBNwY2Xi54KYK4HrZ1LkgJ1jnEqcuZ8BkgrMkQbd6EfMU2onrQSuL540/s1600/Kennedy.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl3sxyYQXX5badOYYUxqcQDWze8aVlkK5wuU-KWW5RvARjOUTIDiGrqbC6jpxnaF_zuU03D-MtYd75qvqunrXBNwY2Xi54KYK4HrZ1LkgJ1jnEqcuZ8BkgrMkQbd6EfMU2onrQSuL540/s1600/Kennedy.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pres. John Kennedy<br />
during the speech in<br />
which he successfully<br />
challenged the US to, <br />
within the 1960s, send<br />
a mission to the moon.<br />
(Robert Knudsen / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "A nation should be judged... by how it treats its most vulnerable... people. By that standard, we're not particularly doing well. We have a higher rate of childhood poverty than--"<br />
<br />
Woodruff: "What?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "--almost any other major country has."<br />
<br />
Woodruff: "That has nothing to do with it."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "There are millions of seniors--"<br />
<br />
Woodruff: "I can't even."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...trying to get by on less than $13K a year from Social Security... Secy. Clinton and I differ on this issue. I have long supported the proposal to <b>lift the cap</b> on taxable income that comes into the Social Security trust fund, <b>starting at $250K</b>. If we were to do that, ...we... could <b>expand Social Security</b> by $1,300 a year for people who now receive less than $16K... The top 1.5% would pay more in taxes. But a great nation like ours should not be one where elderly people cut their pills in half, lack decent nutrition, and can't heat their homes. I would do all I can to expand Social Security benefits for seniors and for disabled veterans."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...We both believe more money must go into the Social Security system. I'm looking at a couple of different ways."<br />
<br />
What happened to the obligation to be "very specific"?<br />
<br />
"One, which you mentioned, Senator, but also trying to expand the current tax on passive income of wealthy people... I have a... different approach to what to do with that initially. First, rather than expand benefits for everyone, I want to take care of low-income seniors who had low-wage jobs. I want to take care of women. When Social Security was started, not very many women worked. Women have been disadvantaged ever since. They do not get credit for caretaking. Widows are often hardest hit. When their spouse dies, they can lose up to half of their Social Security monthly payment..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...My proposal is essentially the one on which Barack Obama campaigned in 2008. <b>You opposed it then.</b> I hope you will come on board... asking the top 1.5% to pay a bit more, including on their passive income, so the elderly and the disabled veterans can live with security and dignity..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOqKN7n03MfT-cgqImFiMS8ngb7bgZNX6vmzTFjUVccGrTHwjZ3fPOnZNfDOHdc2s4a6t93fYc3xul961CdbVHMR4lBA26Mgqq2cULVQPUOsSfhCqq2tFwwMLtQbgd8TP_EnHeEqxZIA/s1600/Belafonte.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOqKN7n03MfT-cgqImFiMS8ngb7bgZNX6vmzTFjUVccGrTHwjZ3fPOnZNfDOHdc2s4a6t93fYc3xul961CdbVHMR4lBA26Mgqq2cULVQPUOsSfhCqq2tFwwMLtQbgd8TP_EnHeEqxZIA/s1600/Belafonte.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belafonte<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "...I have not seen the proposal you describe..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "That's my bill..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I'm interested in making sure we get the maximum revenue from those who can well afford to provide it..."<br />
<br />
Woodruff: "Secy. Clinton, your campaign recently criticized Sen. Sanders for having attended Democratic Party fundraisers from which you say he benefited..."<br />
<br />
As part of that criticism, Clinton <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2016/02/clintons-exaggerated-wall-street-claim/" target="_blank">falsely</a> claimed that "Sen. Sanders took about $200K from Wall St. firms... through the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Secy. Clinton's super-PAC... received $25M in the last reporting period, including <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/indus.php?cmte=C00495861&cycle=2016" target="_blank">$15M</a> from Wall Street..."<br />
<br />
That super-PAC also raised $3.5M from the
miscellaneous finance industry, $750K from the pharmaceutical &
health-products industry, and $400K from the real-estate industry.<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...Then-Sen. Obama... was the recipient of the largest number of Wall St. donations of anyone who ran on the Democratic side ever... [H]e took on Wall Street..."<br />
<br />
He did so only <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/opinion/elizabeth-warren-one-way-to-rebuild-our-institutions.html" target="_blank">minimally</a>, as Sanders indicates below.<br />
<br />
Clinton continued, "So, let's not imply that Pres. Obama or I would not take on any vested interest... to do what's best for the American people."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Let's not insult the intelligence of the American people. Why do Wall St., the pharmaceutical industry and the fossil fuel industry make huge campaign-donations? Just for the fun of it? They want to just throw money around? Does it have any connection to the US having the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs...? I voted for Dodd-Frank and got an important amendment into it... [But]... <b>that law doesn't go anywhere near far enough</b>. Wall St. and major banks have paid $200B in fines since the meltdown. Meanwhile, none of their executives have been prosecuted."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[B]ecause of Dodd-Frank, we have a process that the president, the Federal Reserve and others can use if any bank poses a systemic risk... We can use Dodd-Frank to break up the banks if that's appropriate..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlLPOH_OlbWc_27SdnLkCjhQg3YbXA8hyll-eT1GoAw2_QAdSF3OW9eYodQuhUL3s1dKRtNts_BwG6clxu3lbtfqNySBlLx5xbN0MLpKYMMRpHcEfaj-PgniQ1ErluiNnv8L7xOmK_CA/s1600/Glover.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlLPOH_OlbWc_27SdnLkCjhQg3YbXA8hyll-eT1GoAw2_QAdSF3OW9eYodQuhUL3s1dKRtNts_BwG6clxu3lbtfqNySBlLx5xbN0MLpKYMMRpHcEfaj-PgniQ1ErluiNnv8L7xOmK_CA/s1600/Glover.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glover<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How does she define "appropriate" in this matter? <br />
<br />
Viewer's question: "Are there any areas of government you'd like to reduce?"<br />
<br />
Oh, <i>that</i> again? <br />
<br />
Sanders: "Many... [T]here is enormous waste, inefficiency and bureaucracy throughout government..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Absolutely. There are programs that I think are duplicative, are redundant, and do not produce the results the people deserve. I think many training programs and education programs can be streamlined and put into a much better format so if we continue them, they can be more useful... I intend look hard at every part of the federal government and do an analysis..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[T]he Dept. of Defense... is the major federal agency that has been unable to be audited. I believe there are many cost overruns as well as wasteful and duplicative activities there."<br />
<br />
Ifill: "...Americans are increasingly worried that attacks abroad are coming home, that they are already here... More than two-thirds of Democrats who voted in the NH primary are worried their children might be sent to fight in wars we can't win. Those voters fret that the next attack is just around the corner and we are not ready. Are we?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think we are readier than we used to be. But we must undertake a constant effort to be as ready as we need to be. We have made many improvements in our domestic security since 9/11. We have been able to foil and prevent attacks, yet we see the terrible attack in San Bernardino and know we haven't done enough... We must go after terrorist networks, predominantly ISIS... We must continue to work with the Iraqi Army so it will be better prepared to advance on some of the other strongholds in Iraq... when able to do so. We must cut off the flow of foreign funds... At home, we must improve coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement. We need the best possible intelligence from our own sources and from sources overseas. That can be a real-time fusion effort to get information where it's needed... After 9/11, we in NY told the public to report anything suspicious they see or hear. We must do that nationwide... [W]e must form a coalition of Muslim nations. I know how to do that. I put together the coalition that imposed the sanctions on Iran that got us to the negotiation table... So, this must be looked at overall and we must go at it from every possible angle..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOBOYUFgGYmqXWGdIXMLPqHBwnVcIzU4KOc8AXt9iVEdwMhf8Xqtp2s1PkovwPc330dZRmwwtejm6dIMl6algSzM2UnIiFV256H9Axq74V6nQTov6L4jriuif4mL6KxxCkoyt_gAWoSA/s1600/Miller.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOBOYUFgGYmqXWGdIXMLPqHBwnVcIzU4KOc8AXt9iVEdwMhf8Xqtp2s1PkovwPc330dZRmwwtejm6dIMl6algSzM2UnIiFV256H9Axq74V6nQTov6L4jriuif4mL6KxxCkoyt_gAWoSA/s1600/Miller.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. Jefferson<br />
Miller, R-FL (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...Secy. Clinton... has enormous experience in foreign affairs after being secretary of State for four years... But <b>judgment matters</b> as well..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[T]he most important counterterrorism judgment of the first four years of the Obama administration was... the very difficult decision of whether to advise the president to go after Bin Laden... I got the briefings and recommended that the president go forward. Not all of his top national security advisers agreed with that..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[I]n her book and in the last debate, <b>Secy. Clinton noted she received... mentorship from Henry Kissinger... Kissinger was one of the most destructive secretaries of State in... modern history...</b> I am proud to say he is <i>not</i> my friend. I will <i>not</i> take advice from him. Kissinger's actions with regard to Cambodia -- when the US bombed that country and overthrew Prince Sihanouk -- created the instability that allowed for the rise of Pol Pot and of the Khmer Rouge, who then butchered some 3M innocent people in what was <b>one of the worst genocides in history</b>."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Journalists asked you who advises you on foreign policy. We still don't know."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "It ain't Henry Kissinger."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "That's fine. I listen to a wide variety of people who have expertise in various areas. Whatever your complaints about him are, I think his having opened China, with which we have one of our most challenging relationships, and his ongoing relationships with Chinese leaders are incredibly useful for the US... [P]eople with whom we may disagree on certain things may have some insights and relationships that are important for the president to understand..."<br />
<br />
Kissinger does not blend into that "wide variety." He is a war <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/2/with_a_record_backing_coups_secret" target="_blank">criminal</a> who was a central figure in the <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?181321-1/worse-watergate-bush-presidency" target="_blank">second</a>-most corrupt federal administration in US history. Kissinger had a major role in the unjust killing of many millions of people --
across not only Cambodia but Vietnam, Laos, East Timor, and Chile. In Vietnam, tens of thousands of Americans
died in the war he helped prolong for years. Clinton does not merely hear Kissinger out when an issue about which he might have unique knowledge arises. She regularly spends <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/hillary-clinton-kissinger-vacation-dominican-republic-de-la-renta" target="_blank">vacations</a> with him in the Dominican Republic. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJim-SirNSvtxisbu1f5agHANaJixeIN3jeTU9BVFpadhpNQGXzu781AeO16tqeH5RLfgthxybkYHPwrWj1CliIG-VUeENPexBurzgZ5Jcv9bvlwDh74VtCkkkcnbb9aRqvXO76OAxz4/s1600/KissingerClinton.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJim-SirNSvtxisbu1f5agHANaJixeIN3jeTU9BVFpadhpNQGXzu781AeO16tqeH5RLfgthxybkYHPwrWj1CliIG-VUeENPexBurzgZ5Jcv9bvlwDh74VtCkkkcnbb9aRqvXO76OAxz4/s1600/KissingerClinton.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kissinger, Clinton (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...Kissinger, during the Vietnam era--"<br />
<br />
Woodruff: "Oh, God."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "--talked about... the 'great threat' of China. Then, after the war, he opened relations with China and <b>pushed trade agreements that resulted in loss of American jobs as corporations moved to China... He urged American companies to... move to China...</b>"<br />
<br />
Woodruff to Sanders: "...Tonight, Secy. Kerry announced an apparent agreement with Russia that could lead to the first ceasefire in the Syrian civil war in five years... In the last few weeks, Russia has bombed in a way that benefits Assad and does not attack ISIS. When dealing with Russia, how hard are you prepared to be? Are you prepared to institute further economic sanctions? Would you be prepared to move militarily if Russia were to move on Eastern Europe?..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I congratulate Secy. Kerry and the president on their work on that agreement... What is happening in Syria is a horror: hundreds of thousands of people have been killed... and people are forced to flee their country. I think we must do our best to develop positive relations with Russia. But Russia's aggression in Crimea and in Ukraine created a situation in which Pres. Obama and NATO correctly... say we must send more of our troops to that part of the world so Putin will know... he will not get away with aggression... We must put more money into, and work with, NATO to protect Eastern Europe against any Russian aggression."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "With respect to Syria, ...[t]he agreement on humanitarian relief must now be implemented because there are... starved people throughout Syria. The agreement on a ceasefire, though, must be implemented more quickly than by the schedule to which the Russians agreed. Russia wanted to buy time... Secy. Kerry is... trying to move that ceasefire up as quickly as possible. But the Security Council of the United Nations finally adopted a resolution. At its core is an agreement I negotiated in June of 2012 in Geneva. That agreement set forth a ceasefire"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg862pzwz9GAjEWMQj3YtwQGN7GafQF_k-ANXNlRyGdkQPBXe_JQY7p5qTVs0M7wHt1GcI4HHU19CJMunSGgJKbgpel4uyN5xsolVw1TALQbPC4nnk32avDQcqR_AbMnbZYBZNOhP-JwHg/s1600/Kirk.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg862pzwz9GAjEWMQj3YtwQGN7GafQF_k-ANXNlRyGdkQPBXe_JQY7p5qTVs0M7wHt1GcI4HHU19CJMunSGgJKbgpel4uyN5xsolVw1TALQbPC4nnk32avDQcqR_AbMnbZYBZNOhP-JwHg/s1600/Kirk.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirk (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/hillary-clinton-and-the-s_b_9231190.html" target="_blank">false</a>.<br />
<br />
"and attempted to bring the parties at stake in Syria together for a political resolution... Iran is a big player. In addition to Russia, there are Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others who believe they have very important interests in this matter. This is an area in which I disagree with Sen. Sanders, who called for Iranian troops"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "No."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "to help try to end the civil war in Syria. To put Iranian troops next to Israel would be a grave mistake."<br />
<br />
How?<br />
<br />
"His suggestion to try to persuade Iran and Saudi Arabia to work together is equally a nonstarter."<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
"So, let's support what Secy. Kerry and the president are doing."<br />
<br />
Kerry <i>is</i> trying to persuade Iran and Saudi Arabia to work together, as Sanders noted in the previous debate.<br />
<br />
"But let's hope for an accelerated ceasefire because I fear that Russia will continue to bomb and try to do all it can to destroy what's left of the opposition. Russia has not fought ISIS or any other terrorist group. So, as we get a ceasefire and maybe some humanitarian corridors, terrorist groups will remain on the doorstep of others in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, etc. So, ...let's try to implement the agreement with Russia."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]e must do all we can to someday achieve decent relations with Iran, as we achieved them... with Cuba -- I hope we will end the trade embargo with Cuba as well -- and maybe pressure Iran into ending its support for international terrorism. I believe the best way to make peace is to be aggressive and principled, to have the goal of improved relations, to work with people, and to make demands of them..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcY-MRNmz8IiQn5HtGbShNT8zo502BUZZcD7lZna7h1JbsPEGueR4l07xMkjv8vVQthnS1pctUarIXR3y0C5nhwLpLktMqTY9vg16RGQIwYBxzMDIb7ZiTl2rRsmmdyPY0kcH0EmN7aM/s1600/Grayson.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcY-MRNmz8IiQn5HtGbShNT8zo502BUZZcD7lZna7h1JbsPEGueR4l07xMkjv8vVQthnS1pctUarIXR3y0C5nhwLpLktMqTY9vg16RGQIwYBxzMDIb7ZiTl2rRsmmdyPY0kcH0EmN7aM/s1600/Grayson.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grayson (Collection of<br />
the US House of Reps.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "I respectfully disagree. I think we have achieved a great deal with the agreement to put a lid on the Iranian nuclear weapons program..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/03/iran-engaged-in-nuclear-weapons-design-until-2003-says-un-watchdog" target="_blank">false</a>. There is no evidence to prove that Iran had a nuclear weapons program at any time since 2003.<br />
<br />
"Iran must leave Syria... and quit attempts to ship rockets into Gaza that can be used against Israel. We have a lot of work to do with Iran before we move toward normal relations with it."<br />
<br />
Ifill: "You both mentioned the humanitarian tragedies that have been an outgrowth in part from what has happened in Syria and Libya. More than 1M refugees entered Europe in 2015. Another 76K did last month. Nearly 400 people have been lost at sea this year as they crossed the Mediterranean. Reportedly, 10K children are missing... What should the US do, Secy. Clinton?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I am pleased NATO... will patrol the Mediterranean, in the Aegean, to try to interdict the smugglers and prevent the kind of tragedies we have seen... [and] to prevent entry of more refugees into the European Union. Of special significance is cooperation with both Turkey and Greece to do this... We should back up the recent donor's conference to make sure we have made our contribution to try to deal with the enormous cost these refugees pose to Turkey and to members of the EU in particular... So, the US must stand with our friends and allies in Europe. We must provide financial support to them, we must provide the NATO support to back up the mission that is ongoing, and we must take properly-vetted refugees."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]e should [not] turn our backs on women and children who left their homes with nothing... [S]ome very wealthy countries in that part of the world -- Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- have a responsibility as well. I think the world must unite to deal with this horrific crisis..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[T]oday, Sen. Sanders said Pres. Obama failed at presidential leadership..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5m1KgsnhI8ccWxSm8z0S_-dKncOw9amad-f9A9hPkJbiuAHi1Z5mk4wDjqX3Tub6Lk01SnyUTD81XMAuaFt5gFCPAVZEVr-eToch7NljPaGpiENWjTZwsBAjYv412vJuFcALSdOBf6qw/s1600/Biden.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5m1KgsnhI8ccWxSm8z0S_-dKncOw9amad-f9A9hPkJbiuAHi1Z5mk4wDjqX3Tub6Lk01SnyUTD81XMAuaFt5gFCPAVZEVr-eToch7NljPaGpiENWjTZwsBAjYv412vJuFcALSdOBf6qw/s1600/Biden.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Biden (Teddy Wade/<br />
Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sanders-obama-hasnt-closed-presidential-leadership-gap" target="_blank">Not</a> exactly, but what Sanders did say is true.<br />
<br />
"That was not the first time Sen. Sanders criticized him."<br />
<br />
<i>Off with Bernie's head!</i><br />
<br />
"Sen. Sanders wrote a foreword"<br />
<br />
That is false. She was referring to a blurb, not a foreword.<br />
<br />
"for a book that... argues voters should have buyer's remorse about Pres. Obama..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/Buyers-Remorse/Bill-Press/9781476792613" target="_blank">false</a>. The book is about why voters <i>do</i> have buyer's <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/michael-moore-calls-president-obama-731528" target="_blank">remorse</a> about Pres. Obama. The blurb is as follows. Brace yourself.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Bill Press makes the case why, long after taking the oath of office, the next president of the United States must continue to rally the people who elected him or her on behalf of progressive causes. That is the only way real change will happen. Read this book."</span></blockquote>
Clinton continued, "I couldn't disagree more with those comments."<br />
<br />
In other words, her presidency would be business-as-usual because she would not make a significant effort to bring public pressure on Congress for the "things" she says she would like to get "done." That is unsurprising, given that she has already <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-same-sex-passports_us_560c68e6e4b076812700bf06" target="_blank">demonstrated</a> willingness to let Republicans frame the discourse. <br />
<br />
"Maybe that's because I understand that Pres. Obama inherited the... financial crisis and the antipathy of the Republicans in Congress... The criticism from Sen. Sanders about our president is something I expect from Republicans, not from a candidate for the Democratic nomination to succeed him."<br />
<br />
She expects that Republicans will constructively critique Obama from his left? <br />
<br />
Sanders: "Madam Secretary, that is a low blow. I have worked with Pres. Obama for the last seven years. When he became president, we were losing 800K jobs a month, the deficit was $1.4T, and the global financial system was near collapse. Due to his efforts... against unprecedented -- I was there in the Senate -- Republican obstructionism, we have made enormous progress. But we live in a democratic society. A senator has the right to disagree with the president... So I have voiced criticism. Maybe you haven't."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kc4xvVR_-2FCflm0EdlcyqPRCI93EX-VEzC8dgMKztL8s4dY7bviF4jPY2k2GqS2F2ppxUx2Cfrr_X_aZk_07f_fSyGNSEDYKamXlQ_Nas5l9_PVC0prJA6TY0wNh3Omo3ah-9jt7F0/s1600/Shaheen.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kc4xvVR_-2FCflm0EdlcyqPRCI93EX-VEzC8dgMKztL8s4dY7bviF4jPY2k2GqS2F2ppxUx2Cfrr_X_aZk_07f_fSyGNSEDYKamXlQ_Nas5l9_PVC0prJA6TY0wNh3Omo3ah-9jt7F0/s1600/Shaheen.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH<br />
(US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
She has. For instance, on foreign policy, she has criticized Obama from his <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/18/hillary-clinton-with-little-notice-vows-to-embrace-an-extremist-agenda-on-israel/" target="_blank">right</a>. However, although she used to frequently say, "I'm not running for Pres. Obama's third term," she deems feigned adoration of him to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/18/hillary-clinton-just-handed-republicans-a-devastating-ad-against-her/" target="_blank">expedient</a> now.<br />
<br />
Sanders continued, "But the blurb you mentioned says the next president... must aggressively bring people into the political process... [T]o suggest I have not been supportive of the president is unfair... Have you ever disagreed with a president? I suspect you have."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Senator, I am not concerned about disagreement on issues... [T]hose personal--"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Ugh."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "--assessments and charges are ones I find particularly troubling."<br />
<br />
She finds they provide a particularly easy way for her to <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/02/hillary_attacks_bernie_for_being_mean_to_obama.html" target="_blank">pander</a>.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>One of us ran against Barack Obama. I did not.</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton said in her closing statement, "We agree we must remove unaccountable money in politics... But I am not a single-issue candidate... [W]e must overcome... the barriers that hold... back... any... American
who feels put down... by racism, by sexism, or by discrimination
against the LGBT community..."<br />
<br />
For Clinton to imply that Sanders is a single-issue candidate is false, obviously, but is just one way in which she attempts to distract the public from the problem that must indeed be solved in order for the government to effectively address other major problems. She employs the classic tactic through which the ruling class inflames divisions of identity (color, ethnicity, national origin, region, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc.) so the workers might lack the unity necessary to end the oppression of the working class.<br />
<br />
Clinton has played on racial sentiment from different angles. She pretends to be offended by what she alleges is Republican-style disrespect from Sanders toward Obama. But in the cycle of 2008, <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/567774/hillary-clinton-needs-address-racist-undertones-2008-campaign" target="_blank">Clinton</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2007/12/keeping-obama-muslim-smear-going-what-earth-bob-kerrey-doing" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-shuck-and-jive-debate-of-08-andrew-cuomos-staff-responds-20080116" target="_blank">her</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103281.html" target="_blank">campaign</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/06/mark-penn-is-apparently-n_n_90249.html" target="_blank">race</a>-<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/23638352" target="_blank">baited</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/opinion/11patterson.html" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/jeremiah-wright-colossal-disaster-barack-obama-press-trick-article-1.277968" target="_blank">him</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlpEur4Hp4g8qo59zPFaoPpUEkD3jDL_FyE3IB3LDFNhhxNxOYBt_EwC2npsXG3CsU6P4fs4m-Ebn_5iq5iB0dCnYEqSt55Hz079aWnyrDm07ZI_CMKDgp6dxV_dmtBw15K-GvowlqBg/s1600/Wellstone.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlpEur4Hp4g8qo59zPFaoPpUEkD3jDL_FyE3IB3LDFNhhxNxOYBt_EwC2npsXG3CsU6P4fs4m-Ebn_5iq5iB0dCnYEqSt55Hz079aWnyrDm07ZI_CMKDgp6dxV_dmtBw15K-GvowlqBg/s1600/Wellstone.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wellstone, D-MN (US<br />
Senate Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In this cycle, she has <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/mika--i-know-sexism--clinton-should-know-better-552655939679" target="_blank">falsely</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/12/hillary-clintons-claim-that-she-tried-to-join-the-marines/" target="_blank">cast</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/31/the-bernie-bros-narrative-a-cheap-false-campaign-tactic-masquerading-as-journalism-and-social-activism/" target="_blank">herself</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/clinton-chides-worked-up-sanders-supporters-619073091998" target="_blank">as</a> a victim of sexism. Surrogates of hers have <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/hillary_clinton_keeps_smearing_bernie_sanders_as_a_sexist_now_she_is_reaching.html" target="_blank">painted</a> her the same way. An example came after Jeffrey Weaver, who manages Sanders's campaign and was evidently tired of the narrative of "inevitability," joked to a reporter that after Sanders vanquishes Clinton, he will consider her for vice president. Various people -- such as, ironically, leaders of the officially sexist group EMILY's List -- decried the comment as sexist. But by their logic, Clinton made a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=4420155" target="_blank">racist</a> remark when she, while losing to Obama, said she was considering him as a choice to be her running mate.<br />
<br />
Also on the subject of sexism: Clinton <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/clintons-mudslinger/" target="_blank">chose</a> David Brock to head the super-PAC with which her campaign directly coordinates. Brock is a political hitman whose best-known work was a book he wrote on behalf of conservatives to <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/10/27/anita_hill_clarence_thomas/" target="_blank">libel</a>
Prof. Anita <a href="http://anitaspeakingtruthtopower.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Hill</a> because, when the Senate considered its
confirmation of then-Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, she
testified about his sexual harassment of her. The most infamous line from that book
described Hill as <b>"a bit nutty and a bit slutty."</b> <br />
<br />
Clinton casts herself as a champion of the gay population even though<br />
<ul>
<li>her record on LGBT rights <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/23/hillary-is-no-gay-icon.html" target="_blank">pales</a> in <a href="http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/bernie-sanders-was-full-gay-equality-40-years-ago" target="_blank">contrast</a> to <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/29/when-mayor-bernie-sanders-created-a-trans-mecca-in-80s-burlington.html" target="_blank">that</a> of Sanders</li>
<li>her excuse for her prior support for "DOMA" is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/10/28/hillary-clintons-claim-that-doma-had-to-be-enacted-to-stop-an-anti-gay-marriage-amendment-to-the-u-s-constitution/" target="_blank">unsubstantiated</a></li>
<li>her husband said she <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/kyleblaine/friend-in-1999-bill-clinton-told-me-hillary-found-gay-rights" target="_blank">complained</a> of, in his words, <b>"a general discomfort" from nearness to gays</b> whom she deemed to be "acting out or pushing her to the limit." Her "<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-hillary-clintons-religion-and-politics" target="_blank">conservative</a> religious temperament," he suggested, is what caused her to be "a little put off by some" issues of
gay rights</li>
<li>a singer whose endorsement Clinton enthusiastically <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/singer-katy-perry-and-democratic-presidential-candidate-news-photo/494452438" target="_blank">accepted</a> and who has performed at official events of Clinton's campaign is Katy Perry, whose work includes <a href="http://www.today.com/id/25802385" target="_blank">homophobic</a> lyrics.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Clinton continued, "The big financial interests along with drug, insurance and oil companies have too much influence. But if we were to stop that tomorrow, ...[t]here would still be governors like Walker trying to rip out the heart of the middle class by preventing the ability to organize for better wages and working conditions..."<br />
<br />
Clinton previously <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyge9MRbB-I" target="_blank">said</a> the middle class was built by capitalism, not labor unions. Concentration of wealth is clearly connected to suppression of unions. During her six years on the <a href="https://www.ada.gov/walmart.htm" target="_blank">board</a> of <a href="https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=19500" target="_blank">Walmart</a>, she did <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/clinton-remained-silent-wal-mart-fought-unions/story?id=4218509" target="_blank">not</a> oppose its <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/12-16-11b.cfm" target="_blank">notoriously</a> <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-19-15.cfm" target="_blank">anti</a>-<a href="https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=24123" target="_blank">worker</a> policies. That may be part of why Sanders is endorsed by the Amalgamated Transit <a href="http://www.atu.org/media/releases/atu-endorses-senator-bernie-sanders-for-president" target="_blank">Union</a>, the Communications <a href="http://www.cwa-union.org/news/entry/cwa_endorses_sen_bernie_sanders_for_president" target="_blank">Workers</a> of America and the American Postal <a href="http://www.apwu.org/news/press-release/american-postal-workers-union-executive-board-endorses-bernie-sanders-president" target="_blank">Workers</a> Union.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHfkbZRLK1iPfzziJB_F4Iq1o-AhZtM7w6Ji7nlVFZ54M2jkI6HiAMC5PQc2TKiaz0vPp3UCMMc9vVHh_sGdWWjyxeKemcm2zQV0B3xBfxEFnLKwn7QXvAuJHkV5Pgn64JQUhn0Yi9GY/s1600/Santorum.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHfkbZRLK1iPfzziJB_F4Iq1o-AhZtM7w6Ji7nlVFZ54M2jkI6HiAMC5PQc2TKiaz0vPp3UCMMc9vVHh_sGdWWjyxeKemcm2zQV0B3xBfxEFnLKwn7QXvAuJHkV5Pgn64JQUhn0Yi9GY/s1600/Santorum.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santorum (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Debate <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">VII | S<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">un., March 6 <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">| Flint, MI | CNN</span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I met with residents of Flint..., and what I heard and saw shattered me... [W]hat is happening in Flint is, to a lesser degree, happening nationwide. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of millionaires and billionaires and an increase in inequality of income and wealth as municipalities struggle to provide basic services and as middle-class families struggle..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[T]he governor should resign or be recalled, and we should support the efforts to achieve that... I fully support the efforts by your members of Congress to get the federal money to begin the necessary work to fix the infrastructure... MI has a fund for emergencies... [and] is derelict by not sending the money required to help Flint..."<br />
<br />
Mikki Wade, undecided voter: "...The constant driving to pick up water just so my children can wash their hair, to wash our fruits and vegetables, and to brush our teeth, is incredibly difficult. Once the pipes are replaced, I'm unsure I will ever be comfortable with drinking the water. How would you restore my trust in the government?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[Y]our government at all levels has let... the people of Flint down... Mayor [Karen] Weaver announced a program we support to begin to help train people in Flint to do some of the repairs... Everything done must be triple-checked... I would work with elected officials I trust, like your mayor and your members of Congress, so we can assure you that after the water system is fixed, you can trust it..."<br />
<br />
Moderator Anderson Cooper: "Secy. Clinton, people here still can't bathe in or drink the water in their homes. They are desperate for accountability and specifics. If you were now president, what specifically would you do to make life easier for people here?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I support what Pres. Obama is doing. He got accountability from officials at the Environmental Protection Agency who should have done more to make sure the state did its job. He expanded Medicaid to begin the process to help kids... He ordered a Head Start program. We support a program the mayor announced today through Flint Waterworks to pay residents of Flint, not outsiders, to deliver the water while the pipes are being fixed. I would do even more of that. What we have put together is a start. I would concentrate resources on Flint for economic development and more jobs as we fix the pipes and provide the health, education and interventions children need."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvHInZQpJ49fm8mRsIIbaYTTqKmo0UeOmzbR3TX-xzSaQjqPaZn6IxfshFkYwGqhwPZa-i4w1d0c0t-xh-0b30QJnd3Y8hyphenhyphen1N8zDXUWgTzJTl80qJwUJc-7mq73JAyY-pJBu4de53ZgY/s1600/Walker.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvHInZQpJ49fm8mRsIIbaYTTqKmo0UeOmzbR3TX-xzSaQjqPaZn6IxfshFkYwGqhwPZa-i4w1d0c0t-xh-0b30QJnd3Y8hyphenhyphen1N8zDXUWgTzJTl80qJwUJc-7mq73JAyY-pJBu4de53ZgY/s1600/Walker.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walker, R-WI<br />
(Michel Sauret/<br />
Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...If local government lacks the resources -- and if state government, for whatever reason, refuses -- to protect children from poison, the federal government should intervene... [The residents of Flint] pay three times more for poisoned water than I pay in Burlington for clean water. The first thing to do is <b>refuse to pay for poisoned water. That refusal should be retroactive...</b> [T]he CDC should examine the amount of lead-poison in everyone in this community..."<br />
<br />
Cooper to Sanders: "This crisis in Flint... was created by government. Your policies would expand it. Why should the people... trust that more government is the answer?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I suppose they can trust the corporations that destroyed Flint via a disastrous trade policy that allowed those corporations to shut down plants in Flint and move to China or Mexico. Or maybe we should let Wall St. run Flint... Look, we live in a democracy. I don't deny that government is failing in many respects. But... I trust the people to create a government that works for them, rather than for corporations."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Secy. Clinton, both of you have now called for the governor to resign. <b>[Previously, only Sen. Sanders had.</b>] To blame Republican governor Rick Snyder is easy. But <b>the federal government also dropped the ball</b> here. Section 1414 of the Safe Drinking Water Act requires the EPA to step in and act when a state is informed about water problems and, for 30 days, has done nothing, as in this case. The EPA knew for months and months but never warned the people of Flint not to drink the water. Would you fire the administrator of the EPA?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think the people in this region who knew about this and failed to do what the law required have been eliminated from the EPA."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "One such person has resigned."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I was told that some higher-ups pushed for changes that were not happening. So I would have a full investigation to determine who knew what, when. I don't know how far up the negligence went. But as far up as it went, people should be fired because they failed this city. But this is not the only place where this kind of action is needed. In many communities, the level of toxins in the water is way above what anyone should tolerate. Cleveland has a higher rate of tested lead in people than Flint does. So I'm not satisfied with just doing all we must do for Flint. I want to tackle this problem across the board. If people in government at any level know about the problem but do not act on it, they should be forced to resign."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMp2UR0EXyFYIiUUeBm3p5SqxXGz60ojci1kaUjGtNKnsH3qGMqsvp-Fyp53dFtsK6EBQxjRP9GWyzs5haze12slFyR4P7lVc9Kio5bwATbkco2pM7dpZO_WGoRJoXT8KWpYOK2ukTN8A/s1600/Snyder.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMp2UR0EXyFYIiUUeBm3p5SqxXGz60ojci1kaUjGtNKnsH3qGMqsvp-Fyp53dFtsK6EBQxjRP9GWyzs5haze12slFyR4P7lVc9Kio5bwATbkco2pM7dpZO_WGoRJoXT8KWpYOK2ukTN8A/s1600/Snyder.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snyder (David Eichaker/<br />
Air Nat'l Guard)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "I would fire anyone who knew of the problem but did not act appropriately... <b>How did we have trillions of dollars to go to war in Iraq but not enough money for infrastructure and education</b> in... communities nationwide?..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Lee-Anne Walters is undecided. She was one of the first people to report problems with the water in Flint. One of her sons stopped growing. Her daughter lost her hair."<br />
<br />
Walters: "[W]ill you now promise that in your first 100 days as president, you would require that all lead service lines be removed from all public water systems in the US, and that the citizens who have the said service lines be notified?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I promise that the EPA,... will make sure that every water system in the US is tested, that the people of those communities know the quality of the water they drink, and that we have a plan to rebuild water systems that are now unsafe..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "There are 10M lead service pipes that deliver water to people nationwide."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I agree but want to go further... [L]ead... is in soil. It's in paint that is mostly in older homes. That's why 500K children have lead in their bodies. So, I want to do exactly what you said. We will commit to a priority to change the water systems and... remove lead from everywhere within five years..."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"That Hillary Clinton said it would take <i>five years</i> actually made me <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d5M5k74siM#t=42s" target="_blank">vomit</a> in my mouth."</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Walters, after the debate</span></blockquote>
Clinton continued, "I later worked with then-Sen. Obama to allocate more money and support
to do more to remove lead. That has unfortunately been moved to a lower
priority in many ways. I will elevate it..." <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Don Lemon of CNN: "[R]esidents of this city... want to see criminal prosecution of the people responsible for the poisoning. Should people go to jail for it?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "That will be up to the legal system. I don't have all the facts. But there must be absolute accountability, whether by resignation, recall of elected officials, civil penalties, or prosecution. I will support the outcome of the investigations."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDhqOuTWtCq5cGzaqsTTm4VlrWUdQZfqZocWvlPIwPsqihOSeAUdQxl3s-2cRdffWTSa3NZabx2Hv5RZbcCVKx6pGJ59_ZU7kg8KTczxTcwI9z6eaiX1KgZcXa_tPOVsLr-YLCYZpa68/s1600/Grinch.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDhqOuTWtCq5cGzaqsTTm4VlrWUdQZfqZocWvlPIwPsqihOSeAUdQxl3s-2cRdffWTSa3NZabx2Hv5RZbcCVKx6pGJ59_ZU7kg8KTczxTcwI9z6eaiX1KgZcXa_tPOVsLr-YLCYZpa68/s1600/Grinch.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gingrich<br />
(Jason Couillard/<br />
Dept. of the Air Force) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "I agree. I can't judge whether someone committed a crime. But if an investigation finds that people committed crimes..., they must be held accountable."<br />
<br />
Bryn Mickle of <i>The Flint Journal</i> to Clinton: "...Why should the people... believe that you are not using this crisis to score political points?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...This problem is particularly outrageous and painful. So, when I heard about it, I immediately sent people here to find out what was happening... We have this problem in other places. But in other places, unlike in this case, it wasn't caused by decisions by public officials of authority. I asked the mayor how I could help. I came here and met with some of the mothers, heard their stories and met their children. I'm determined to do whatever I can. So, I have put together resources from the private and philanthropic communities to help provide a bridge because you must get the federal and state money. I will be with Flint all the way through this crisis. If I become president, it will always be a priority for action from me."<br />
<br />
Mickle: "Sen. Sanders, your first visit to Flint as a presidential candidate was just over a week ago. That was almost five months after the people here were told to stop drinking the water. What took you so long?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "That's inaccurate. Long before that, I quietly met in Detroit with people impacted by this disaster. I then held a town meeting, which was as nonpolitical as I could make it, for hundreds of people to tell me -- and, through the media, tell the world -- exactly what was happening in Flint. I think the legitimate fear of the people of Flint is that... the TV cameras will disappear and then the people of Flint will be left struggling in order to live in a safe and healthy community. I have a long record of having stood with those who are hurt and those who have no money, and I have taken on virtually every powerful special interest in the US..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "...Seventy-five percent of Flint's jobs in manufacturing were lost since 1991. In about the same period, MI lost 230K jobs in manufacturing. Te'Nesha Martin grew up in Flint. She works in Detroit at the Shinola watch factory, which is often held up as the blueprint for how to save American industry jobs. She leans toward Secy. Clinton."<br />
<br />
Martin: "Many people in my family worked in the auto industry in Flint. That's ultimately what I wanted to do... [U]nfortunately, I was unable to... What would you do to convince corporations to keep factories in the US?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR63lo3cdKPJ7S1yVhtWVx6ePeeRHvMgh69acNY0FaExzOz3vMIAFGRBKtvEQqIafBx4yxcCuAXN7fzk4xt4zLTg1vCR_7ZwHPcpubuPC-HamJctblET36WMenhm2DIst2ivDG631XOsY/s1600/McCollum.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR63lo3cdKPJ7S1yVhtWVx6ePeeRHvMgh69acNY0FaExzOz3vMIAFGRBKtvEQqIafBx4yxcCuAXN7fzk4xt4zLTg1vCR_7ZwHPcpubuPC-HamJctblET36WMenhm2DIst2ivDG631XOsY/s1600/McCollum.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCollum (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton: "...When companies decide to leave... after they receive tax benefits from any city or state to stay there, I would claw back those benefits... Those companies would have to pay an exit fee. We would stop this kind of exportation of jobs and start to import jobs and grow them again."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I am glad Secy. Clinton discovered religion on this issue. But she is a bit too late after her support for virtually all the disastrous trade agreements... American workers should not have had to compete against workers in Mexico who were paid 25 cents an hour. I was one of the first, not one of the last, to oppose the TPP. That is because American workers should not have to compete against workers in Vietnam who are paid... 65 cents an hour. We must tell corporations they cannot continue to shut down in the US... If I become president, they will have to invest in the US..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Sen. Sanders opposed the bailout of the auto industry. In January 2009, President-elect Obama asked Congress to pass the bailout... in order to save the auto industry and 4M jobs... I voted to save the auto industry..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "If you are talking about the bailout for some of your friends on Wall St. who destroyed this economy..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
She was.<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[T]he Bush administration negotiated the deal. There were things in it I didn't like. But it included the $350B needed to begin to restructure the auto industry..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I would have been damned if I was going to vote to require that workers bail out the crooks on Wall Street. An amendment that I proposed but that was defeated by a voice vote... would have required that the bailout be paid for by the people who benefited from the greed on Wall Street. Of course the auto bailout made sense. I... supported Pres. Obama's stimulus package..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Given the terrible pressures that were on the auto industry and on the Midwestern middle class..., you were either for or against a rescue of the auto industry..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://6abc.com/archive/6552456/" target="_blank">false</a>. Sanders voted for a bill that would have bailed out only the auto industry.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3oQ2yvOI-Y2eT_wtmlFrZu1oe0h9fxWN-1Pdfaw-FOqRkW5p-iHKt5kUncdqTk4Fn9yjcNlc6uSfYqzD8oLpCGr8YWd3BTvVYG61XQTObMWd7u7NT1oHPtB35gq1vMCK4Gr4CfAOKW7o/s1600/ObamaBush.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3oQ2yvOI-Y2eT_wtmlFrZu1oe0h9fxWN-1Pdfaw-FOqRkW5p-iHKt5kUncdqTk4Fn9yjcNlc6uSfYqzD8oLpCGr8YWd3BTvVYG61XQTObMWd7u7NT1oHPtB35gq1vMCK4Gr4CfAOKW7o/s1600/ObamaBush.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obama, Bush (Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "While we're discussing Wall St.: ...One of us has given speeches there for hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece. If someone is paid that much for a speech, I think it must be a great speech. I think we should show the transcripts to the public."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I will... if all the Democratic and Republican candidates release theirs..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Well, ...I don't give paid speeches to Wall Street..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I said no bank is too big to fail [and] no executive is too powerful to jail..., which is because there must be accountability..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...In 1960, Detroit was one of the wealthiest cities in America. Flint was prosperous. But then corporations did not want to pay a living wage in MI when they could pay slave wages [abroad]. So corporations exported jobs and brought their products back into the US. Those trade policies, as much as any other policies, resulted in the shrinkage of the middle class... [I]n some cases, jobs in manufacturing pay half of what they paid 20 years ago..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[A]fter... my husband's presidency, unemployment in MI was at 4.4%. There had been a net increase of 54K jobs in manufacturing and of 653K jobs overall."<br />
<br />
What happened to her assurance, "I'm not running for my husband's third term"? <br />
<br />
"A way in which jobs were brought to -- and grown in -- MI was through the Export-Import Bank, which helped many businesses, particularly small ones, be able to export... Sen. Sanders opposes that. I think we're in a race for exports. I think... every other country supports their businesses. In recent years in MI, $11B have been used to support exports. I favor that. I want to do all I can for us to win in the global economy."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "...The Export-Import Bank is a federal agency that gives loans to companies that export American products... The vast majority of its customers are small businesses... What do you say to small-business owners who rely on that bank to make their companies profitable?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_k1TSPo5QVDaI42hW-PIlf0D9cORQMaCL8NmsLxbvhNgM4lhKRITPuhuUTbibbdIjrm0t6a5zLfQZ1BS8NHFs8DrzOVxeCDu5frCmwcc2UzZTTlcWTOM5Bn5DttHajb9Ev0kLU3HJSs/s1600/Coates.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_k1TSPo5QVDaI42hW-PIlf0D9cORQMaCL8NmsLxbvhNgM4lhKRITPuhuUTbibbdIjrm0t6a5zLfQZ1BS8NHFs8DrzOVxeCDu5frCmwcc2UzZTTlcWTOM5Bn5DttHajb9Ev0kLU3HJSs/s1600/Coates.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coates<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...Boeing receives 40% of the funds discharged by the Export-Import Bank. Seventy-five percent of funds from it go to large, profitable corporations, many of which have shut down in the US to exploit poor people abroad... [On] the Financial Services Committee, I worked... successfully to make sure at least 20% of the bank's money went to small businesses..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...Without the Export-Import Bank's support for businesses of all sizes, I believe more jobs would be lost in and exported from the US... [I]f we will win in the global economy, we can't take a hands-off approach when every other country supports its companies."<br />
<br />
Ahh, socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest of us. <br />
<br />
Cooper: "...Most of the money from that bank does go to Boeing and companies like Caterpillar. Do they need that money?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I concluded they do. Here's why. There are two big plane-manufacturers in the world: Airbus and Boeing. Airbus does all it can to get contracts to sell planes throughout the world. Outreach from our government is not as aggressive. I did go to many places around the world to sell American products because the alternatives were usually European and Asian -- primarily Chinese..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>[L]arge multinational corporations that make billions of dollars a year...</b> <b>need a handout from the middle class? I don't think so...</b>"<br />
<br />
Cooper: "[T]wo weeks ago, an Uber driver in Kalamazoo went on a shooting rampage on which he killed six people and injured two. One of the injured is 14-year-old Abigail Kopf... Her father Gene Kopf... leans toward Sen. Sanders."<br />
<br />
Kopf: "In recent years, the US has had a rash of mass shootings -- 42 of them this year alone. The man who shot my daughter had no mental health issues recorded and had a clear background. What would you do to address this serious epidemic?..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[O]n average, 90 people a day are killed by gun violence in the US. I think we must try everything that works to try to limit the number of and kinds of people who have access to firearms... [W]e must continue to try to work on... comprehensive background checks... and to close 'the Charleston <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2016/02/clintons-charleston-loophole-claim/" target="_blank">loophole</a>,' which allows people to get a gun at the end of three days even if the background check is incomplete... I believe... the grant of immunity to gun-makers and gun-sellers was a terrible mistake because it... disrupted a very promising legal theory to try to pressure gun-makers to do more to make guns safer... and to try to hold sellers more accountable for improper sale of guns. Sen. Sanders and I differ on that. I voted against that immunity... I think we must have a public discussion because <b>we have created a culture in which people grab for guns</b> all the time."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZacArdUqrt0ReuRcHm65s2Rsa-eJqi6tlluK8ct4XHUZolMHs2flgRqG0rGPojoUcUZe5hJdYv1tp5ppnqTTuLSGQ2y3duM1mRYzYPEgBWaxIwnxjMMBVqNFu_tNM90pw154F-7Nxmzg/s1600/Garc%25C3%25ADa.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZacArdUqrt0ReuRcHm65s2Rsa-eJqi6tlluK8ct4XHUZolMHs2flgRqG0rGPojoUcUZe5hJdYv1tp5ppnqTTuLSGQ2y3duM1mRYzYPEgBWaxIwnxjMMBVqNFu_tNM90pw154F-7Nxmzg/s1600/Garc%25C3%25ADa.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J. García<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Let's start that discussion by asking Clinton to square her statement with <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/12/clinton-touts-her-experience-with-guns/" target="_blank">this</a> one she made on 12 April 2008. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<b>I disagree with Sen. Obama's assertion that stated that people in our country cling to guns</b>... simply out of frustration... [M]y dad... taught me how to shoot when I was a little girl... [S]ome people continue to teach their children and grandchildren how to shoot. <b>It's part of culture.</b> It's part of a way of life. People enjoy... shooting because <b>it's an important part</b> of who they are..."</span></blockquote>
Sanders: "...We must expand and improve the instant background check. The bottom line is that people who should not have guns should not be able to buy them."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, ...would you work to close 'the Charleston loophole'?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Absolutely..."<br />
<br />
Lemon: "A black male born in the US today has a one-in-three chance of ending up in prison in his life. Secy. Clinton, you call for an end to mass incarceration. But many blacks blame the 1994 crime bill, which you supported, for the incarceration of a generation of black men. Given what has happened since 1994, why should blacks trust you to be right about this issue this time?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Sen. Sanders and I supported that bill because of an outcry from people of all communities about the rising crime rate... [That law] solved some problems but created others... One of those was a move to expand the reasons why people could be incarcerated, not just at the federal level... [T]oo many families were broken up. Too many communities were adversely affected. So, we must require cameras on police officers, end profiling, do all we can to make sure there's respect between the community and the police, limit mandatory minimum sentences, [and] end disparities in treatment that leads to incarceration."<br />
<br />
Lemon: "...Do you think that law was a mistake?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...The Violence Against Women provisions have worked well, for example. But other aspects of it were mistakes. That's why I... have a comprehensive approach toward going after systemic racism that stalks the criminal justice system... [and] ending incarceration of low-level offenders..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57lF42L2P_aO_KFZFPk7H3dxO8rpCYriq6DIad7S_JHiQOPiEVt38ecvS8Bp5Rbo79_-PArJGs7tKiSdrxtIYzQaZ3EljBe6eLToeNchXeo8QylE8BwdRr9gpiRQN_ACo79SMeTAJ-Cw/s1600/Sarsour.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57lF42L2P_aO_KFZFPk7H3dxO8rpCYriq6DIad7S_JHiQOPiEVt38ecvS8Bp5Rbo79_-PArJGs7tKiSdrxtIYzQaZ3EljBe6eLToeNchXeo8QylE8BwdRr9gpiRQN_ACo79SMeTAJ-Cw/s1600/Sarsour.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarsour<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lemon to Sanders: "[I]n 1994, you warned, 'We are dooming tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime and violence.' But you voted for the bill anyway. Was your vote a mistake?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[T]hat bill had some good provisions... The Violence Against Women Act, which has protected millions of women, was in it. The ban on assault weapons... was in that bill... I tried to remove the death-penalty aspects in it... I was then, and am, opposed to the death penalty... [I] was torn... [o]n that bill. There [we]re bad things... [in] it..."<br />
<br />
David McGhee, undecided voter: "...What experiences have helped you to deeply understand the mindsets of and values of other cultures?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...As a law student, I met the visionary Marian Wright Edelman, who had worked with Dr. King and was the first black woman to pass the Mississippi bar. I asked her for a job. She didn't have any money... I got a grant from the Law Students Civil Rights Research Council... She sent me to SC to investigate incarceration of juveniles in adult jails. She then sent me to Alabama to investigate segregated academies..."<br />
<br />
Lemon to Clinton: "[I]n 1996, you used the term 'super-predators' to describe some kids.... Was it racial code and were you wrong to use that term?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I was speaking about... criminal activity that deeply concerned folks nationwide. I used a poor choice of words, used it once, and would not use it again..."<br />
<br />
I'll take her answer as a "<a href="http://fair.org/extra/superscapegoating/" target="_blank">Yes</a>" to the first part of the question.<br />
<br />
"...I support early-childhood education... In Flint, we must do more to mitigate the effects of lead because too many kids are... falling back in school and having headaches because of... exposure. So we'll have to do even more here than we would in most other counties."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[In] 1996, so-called 'welfare reform' scapegoated the poorest people in the US. I... opposed that legislation. Secy. Clinton had a different position. Republicans wrote that legislation, which increased extreme poverty."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTZdcM-TalGvjDY_bn3zrYCPtlm0im_ytuBwQ70PD6qdSYFA_pRiRKwCLBV6FuU9RdX0h0oAE4eRAVA350IdKKuGEaZJ2cvWRf2mJ9_GfQ6zBQIHHJapcTYWLcxU6YAbhndjKwLA2Ym0/s1600/Edelman.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTZdcM-TalGvjDY_bn3zrYCPtlm0im_ytuBwQ70PD6qdSYFA_pRiRKwCLBV6FuU9RdX0h0oAE4eRAVA350IdKKuGEaZJ2cvWRf2mJ9_GfQ6zBQIHHJapcTYWLcxU6YAbhndjKwLA2Ym0/s1600/Edelman.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M. Edelman<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTZdcM-TalGvjDY_bn3zrYCPtlm0im_ytuBwQ70PD6qdSYFA_pRiRKwCLBV6FuU9RdX0h0oAE4eRAVA350IdKKuGEaZJ2cvWRf2mJ9_GfQ6zBQIHHJapcTYWLcxU6YAbhndjKwLA2Ym0/s1600/Edelman.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Clinton: "[T]hat law had many provisions that unfortunately were stripped out by George W. Bush and Republican governors. I disagreed with how it was applied and have a clear set of ideas about what should be done to try to... cut poverty in half in the next 10 years."<br />
<br />
Speaking in favor of that law, the title of which is the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," as first lady and as a senator, Clinton described recipients of welfare as "<a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/christophermassie/hillary-clinton-used-to-talk-about-how-the-people-on-welfare" target="_blank">deadbeats</a>" who had "decided" to "sit around the house, doing nothing." Before the enactment of PRWORA, which ended Aid to Families with Dependent Children, several officials in the administration of her husband, such as then-secretary of Labor Robert Reich (who <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/1/we_must_can_aim_high_former" target="_blank">endorses</a> Sanders), warned of what the consequences of PRWORA would be. To protest the signing of it, Edelman's husband Peter resigned
as an assistant secretary of Health & Human Services. Thus, Clinton is dishonest to imply that 'welfare reform' hurt the poor only after Republicans changed it.<br />
<br />
"But if we will talk about the '90s, let's talk about 23M new jobs. Incomes rose for everyone, the median African-American income rose by 33% at the end of the '90s, and we lifted more people out of poverty than at any other time in recent history... Along came Bush and trickle-down economics, which brought the Great Recession..."<br />
<br />
On <i>Democracy Now!</i> on 24 July 2007, Mrs. Edelman was <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2007/7/24/childrens_defense_funds_marian_wright_edelman" target="_blank">asked</a> about Clinton. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Amy Goodman, host</u>: "Hillary Clinton... headed the board of the Children's Defense Fund, which you founded. But <b>you
were extremely critical of the Clintons when Pres. Clinton signed
so-called 'welfare reform.' You said, 'His signature on this pernicious
bill makes a mockery of his pledge not to hurt children.'</b> What are your... thoughts about Hillary Clinton?"</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Edelman</u>: "Hillary Clinton is an old friend. But <b>the Clintons are not my friends in politics</b>...
I support welfare reform but we need... a livable minimum wage, health care, transportation, and
investment in all our children to prevent them from ever needing
welfare... [A]s many people pronounce welfare reform a great success, <b>we
have... more children in extreme poverty... The real test of welfare reform is what happens
to the poor when an economy is down... The poor are suffering.</b>" </span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKOk7ZdDMzoKvR4kxAuDz75dFepl5y10pRuPhiVW2e0sIwTbqWaqH7HIXd6VQ9dR6SHvj6GOyVaU7cAKKbL5WbE2zAkwg-8S6Ybqny97pC01k3uPO62woP2nzI-wuyYtecZNMJnouUqc/s1600/Reich.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKOk7ZdDMzoKvR4kxAuDz75dFepl5y10pRuPhiVW2e0sIwTbqWaqH7HIXd6VQ9dR6SHvj6GOyVaU7cAKKbL5WbE2zAkwg-8S6Ybqny97pC01k3uPO62woP2nzI-wuyYtecZNMJnouUqc/s1600/Reich.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reich<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...In the 1990s, we created many jobs and I supported many of your husband's initiatives, but there was deregulation that allowed Wall St. to destroy our economy, and there was enactment of NAFTA and other disastrous trade agreements... I voted against that deregulation and those agreements."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "...The public schools in Detroit are a national symbol of neglect and failure. That school system is $3.5B in debt. Officials say they could run out of money by April. Shoniqua Kemp's... daughter... is a student there. Shoniqua is one of 10 parents who are suing for improved conditions in Detroit public schools. She leans toward Sen. Sanders."<br />
<br />
Kemp: "[I]n Detroit, schools open and close with no accountability to, or transparency to, the communities they serve... [O]ur schools... have... rats, mold, non-certified teachers..., [and] a lack of accountability in transportation and in special education... Who will instate the policies and procedures that will... bring forth a successful future for our students? My daughter cannot wait eight more years for success..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Thank you very much for your fight against that horrendous situation... We must wage that fight nationwide... We should... make sure that schools have programs after school and in the summer, [and that] we... provide -- as other countries do -- quality childcare and pre-kindergarten..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I would reinstate a program... through which the federal government provided funds to repair and modernize public schools because many communities can't afford to do that on their own. I would use every legal means at my disposal to try to force MI to return the schools in Detroit to the people of Detroit -- end the emergency management... [T]he situation has worsened under the emergency managers, who have put the system further in debt... When Detroit gets its schools back, it should have all the help it can get to be able to hire teachers and find spaces to use while schools are under repair..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Secy. Clinton, you've been endorsed by two of the biggest teachers' unions..."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-clinton-teachers-20151001-story.html" target="_blank">That</a> is <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/hillary-clinton-teachers-union-214190" target="_blank">debatable</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihdhs1tyihb2LQPXDFaKk48tgEXwgXgu0xLRXnJ9Xq4VZpy7f6jQn4oxVHJm1K4GvCKAdqXZbfKxNMJmIuaGPGWh-5o1XfCH2I6G7eqjtSOYQ46WbnEP8y_d0hAOdPP45XdltIUdIiWo/s1600/P+Edelman.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihdhs1tyihb2LQPXDFaKk48tgEXwgXgu0xLRXnJ9Xq4VZpy7f6jQn4oxVHJm1K4GvCKAdqXZbfKxNMJmIuaGPGWh-5o1XfCH2I6G7eqjtSOYQ46WbnEP8y_d0hAOdPP45XdltIUdIiWo/s1600/P+Edelman.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">P. Edelman<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"Do you think unions protect bad teachers?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I've had a very good relationship with both of those unions and with their leadership. We've had candid conversations... Many... people... scapegoat teachers rather than put enough money into the schools that deserve the support that comes when the government does its job."<br />
<br />
I'll take that as a "Yes." <br />
<br />
Cooper: "So you don't believe unions protect bad teachers?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I have told my friends at the top of both unions, 'We must look at this because it is one of the most common criticisms. We must eliminate it... So I want for them to look at anything that could be changed. I would... do whatever I can to support the teachers of our country."<br />
<br />
Yup, that's a "Yes." <br />
<br />
Lemon to Clinton: "...Trillions of dollars would be needed in order to fix our nation's crumbling infrastructure... To do so, Sen. Sanders proposes $1T but you propose only a quarter of that. Is your plan big enough...?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...Congress finally passed the highway transportation bill... I want to add $250B to that. That would get us to $500B. I want to start a national infrastructure bank and capitalize it with $25B that I believe will leverage 10 times as much. That would be another $250B. So I'd try to do this in a way that would gain support and be affordable... I think my plan is a... way to begin to put millions of people to work."<br />
<br />
Lemon: "Sen. Sanders, critics of your proposal say it's... costly and will never pass through Congress... The best deal... Pres. Obama could negotiate with Republicans is $305B for highways. If he couldn't do more, how could you?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[P]rofitable corporations stash their money in... tax havens... By elimination of that outrageous loophole, I would raise $1T to rebuild our infrastructure and to thereby create 13M decent-paying jobs over five years."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRt-zJqViND0DkG9nuUZiA3NIARTdpOzJspEMvN7UcmbT6663MRcUAfYWoHplijD7nsfSH_MPhhRItJuLrn-lwWcQ06WqqbPhl3ligj-anvThjh_2sex62LCkPNc1kGTuducgXEZitbTI/s1600/Clyburn.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRt-zJqViND0DkG9nuUZiA3NIARTdpOzJspEMvN7UcmbT6663MRcUAfYWoHplijD7nsfSH_MPhhRItJuLrn-lwWcQ06WqqbPhl3ligj-anvThjh_2sex62LCkPNc1kGTuducgXEZitbTI/s1600/Clyburn.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Clyburn, D-SC<br />
(FCC)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cooper: "[F]racking... is a process of oil and gas drilling that... raises serious environmental concerns."<br />
<br />
Sarah Bellaire, undecided voter: "Fracking can lead to... pollution that includes, but is not limited to, contamination of a water supply. Do you support fracking?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I don't support it when the locality or state in question opposes it. I don't support fracking that releases methane or contaminates water. I don't support fracking with undisclosed chemicals. So... [under] my conditions, I doubt there would be many places where fracking would occur... Fracking is insufficiently regulated in many places... [W]e must regulate all fracking that is underway and prevent further fracking unless conditions like the ones I mentioned are met."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "My answer is a lot shorter: <b>No...</b> I introduced the most comprehensive climate-change legislation in the history of the Senate. That legislation calls for... massive investments... in efficient...and... sustainable energy..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, ...many Democratic governors say fracking can be safe and helps their economies. Are they wrong?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>Yes...</b> [I]f we don't get our act together, Earth could be 5-10 degrees warmer by 2100 -- cataclysmic problems for this planet... <b>We must be bold now...</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think I have the most comprehensive plan to combat climate change...: deployment of 500M additional solar panels in my first term..., and enough clean energy to power every home by the end of my second term... [A]s secretary of State, I worked with Pres. Obama to begin to put pressure on China, India and other countries to join us in a global agreement, which we finally got in Paris."<br />
<br />
That agreement is terribly <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/cop21-paris-deal-far-too-weak-to-prevent-devastating-climate-change-academics-warn-a6803096.html" target="_blank">inadequate</a>. <br />
<br />
"So I am committed to that transition. I've already said I would end the subsidies for oil and gas... I would set goals and push everyone as hard as I can to achieve them. We would... create millions of jobs through clean, renewable energy."<br />
<ul>
</ul>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-70948184474231940452016-01-31T11:02:00.000-05:002016-01-31T11:02:26.463-05:00Fitting Slogans for the Clinton Campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghJXcNKkDQRcPoKwECgpgPG_jyw5NPuqFg7sMnkjfTQsAJyw3NOihP3tTXAGOPUg2odjzs5xOu2Dm67rdjBd3k-HRVRfRaYibMU7ZuEChCZGs_wwnA_60MANZbZfGKLPi1U_AMSHpYtg/s1600/Slogans.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghJXcNKkDQRcPoKwECgpgPG_jyw5NPuqFg7sMnkjfTQsAJyw3NOihP3tTXAGOPUg2odjzs5xOu2Dm67rdjBd3k-HRVRfRaYibMU7ZuEChCZGs_wwnA_60MANZbZfGKLPi1U_AMSHpYtg/s640/Slogans.png" width="592" /></a></div>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-88068710497931218512016-01-26T21:07:00.001-05:002023-07-30T14:23:14.870-04:00Beating Back Biased Behavior that Burdens Bernie's Bid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Propaganda according to which ex-senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) would have a better chance to win the general election than would Sen. Bernie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWl6TLvlFEk" target="_blank">Sanders</a> (I-VT) -- who is her chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination -- took a hit from a <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us12022015_U45hkpp.pdf" target="_blank">couple</a> of <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us151029/2016/McClatchy_Marist%20Poll_GOP%20Primary%20and%20General%20Election%202016_Complete%20Survey%20Findings_Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_November%202015.pdf" target="_blank">polls</a> that were completed in November and that tested each of those candidates against potential Republican nominees. Quinnipiac University conducted one such survey, in which Sanders outperformed Clinton against Donald Trump, Sen. Rafael Cruz (R-TX) and Ben Carson MD, and equaled her against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). McClatchy commissioned the other, in which Sanders outperformed Clinton against ex-governor John Bush (R-FL) and Carly Fiorina.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYzq2FjmDJqiuPrTJmkQzFtkJSiAxT8ap3dDBno20Wmh1octJM3v-kJdpeIEIr8q83dNH90JT8WpRAb68u1cz3yyHfv5WQ3_Fwqk_r3aujFH1DPYhtfbs1gnxeMCMCKqh0I4Nun2g1ys/s1600/Sanders.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYzq2FjmDJqiuPrTJmkQzFtkJSiAxT8ap3dDBno20Wmh1octJM3v-kJdpeIEIr8q83dNH90JT8WpRAb68u1cz3yyHfv5WQ3_Fwqk_r3aujFH1DPYhtfbs1gnxeMCMCKqh0I4Nun2g1ys/s1600/Sanders.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders (Cmte. on<br />
Health, Education,<br />
Labor & Pensions)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Corporate media outlets have commissioned nine subsequent polls that included such match-ups. <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2640438-General-Election-Match-Ups-November-27-December-1.html" target="_blank">The</a> <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us151115/MSNBC_Telemundo_Marist%20Poll_Survey%20Findings_Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_December%202015.pdf" target="_blank">first</a> <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/documents/SUPRC/12_14_2015_complete_marginals.pdf" target="_blank">eight</a> <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/15564%20NBCWSJ%20December%20Poll%20%28AM%2012-14-15%20Release%29.pdf" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="http://www.langerresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/1174a2GOPElection.pdf" target="_blank">those</a> <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2015/12/18/fox-news-poll-2016-gop-race-trump-muslim-ban-terrorism-isis/" target="_blank">polls</a> <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/12/23/cnnpoll2.pdf" target="_blank">excluded</a> <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2016/01/08/fox-news-poll-national-presidential-race-obama-ratings/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> even though support for him had not been significantly diminished. In fact, a survey by Quinnipiac in December showed Sanders <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us12222015_Uhkm63g.pdf" target="_blank">ahead</a> of Trump by 13 percentage points and Clinton ahead of him by only seven. The last in the aforementioned series of nine <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/poll-sanders-outperforms-clinton-matchup-against-trump-n498076" target="_blank">found</a> <b>Sanders ahead of Trump by 15 points</b> and Clinton ahead of him by only 10. Furthermore, of the six latest polls of Democratic primary voters nationwide, one <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/295270896/CBS-News-New-York-Times-poll" target="_blank">showed</a> <b>Sanders at his all-time high</b> of 41% and two <a href="http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-polls/011116-789089-hillaryclinton-lead-nearly-vanishes-among-democrats.htm" target="_blank">found</a> <b>Clinton's margin over Sanders was in single digits</b> for the first time since Vice President Joe <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/01/12/joe-biden-intv-borger-clinton-sanders-part-4-ac.cnn" target="_blank">Biden</a> announced he will not be a candidate.<br />
<br />
As for how Clinton and Sanders now fare in the first two states where voters will choose from them: The two latest polls in Iowa, whose caucuses will take place on Monday, showed a <a href="http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres2016/primary/dem/iadem.html" target="_blank">tight</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/u6290g4tmgaeurz46a4i4qjqt5vddzqx" target="_blank">race</a> while the 11 most recent surveys in New Hampshire, whose primary will be held eight days later, found Sanders ahead, <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/klquimgh6jiy1o5iw90yfaps8r0jdg66" target="_blank">in</a> <a href="http://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/30064771087/9f985b33-23bc-4c9f-961b-7edf1ab902d8.pdf" target="_blank">most</a> <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2693398-TOPNH1D.html" target="_blank">cases</a> <a href="https://fnn.app.box.com/s/tymehsynupq4dq42phisthry1h24ndw7" target="_blank">by</a> <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/296491290/CBS-News-2016-Battleground-Tracker-New-Hampshire-January-2016" target="_blank">double</a> <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/sites/default/files/media/2016/01/25/FPU-BH-Jan20-24-Dem.pdf" target="_blank">digits</a>.<br />
<br />
Many people in the corporate media have claimed even if the ex-representative were to prevail in that pair of states, his candidacy is doomed to be vanquished soon afterward. On the contrary, history indicates in the event of said wins for him, <i>Clinton's</i> candidacy would be doomed because, <b>with the exception of only two instances since IA and NH began to hold the initial votes of each presidential election cycle, nobody has, in any given year, lost in both states but then attained the nomination of either major party</b>.<br />
<br />
Those instances were in 1972, when then-Sen. Edmund Muskie (D-ME) was victorious in IA and NH but lost critical support as a result of his emotional delivery of a public statement, and in 1992, when then-Sen. Thomas Harkin (D-IA) won in his state without serious competition. Some folks in the corporate media have speculated that if the former first lady were to lose in IA and NH, the Democratic establishment might abandon her and recruit a new contender. However, the deadlines to file candidacy for the party's presidential contests in most states will have passed by then.<br />
<br />
To be nominated, Clinton already must defy the pattern by which, <b>except for incumbent presidents and incumbent vice presidents, the Democratic Party has never given its presidential nomination to anyone who had sought it in primaries of an earlier cycle</b>.<br />
<br />
An additional manifestation of bias against Sanders is the corporate media's disproportionately <a href="http://www.thomhartmann.com/bigpicture/how-why-bernie-being-snubbed-corporate-media" target="_blank">slim</a> coverage of <a href="http://mediaassets.knoxnews.com/photo/2015/09/03/Bernie_005_1441318202195_23611426_ver1.0_640_480.jpg" target="_blank">his</a> <a href="https://s.bsd.net/bernie16/main/page/-/email%2018th/email-image-150818-13-long.jpg" target="_blank">campaign</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/20150818-Bernie-NV-7870.jpg" target="_blank">even</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Kat_Muller/status/634865152635064321" target="_blank">though</a> it <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/big-crowds-turn-out-for-sanders-in-south-carolina/" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/vpr/files/styles/x_large/public/201508/sanders-charleston-pano-goswami-20150822.jpeg" target="_blank">generated</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/greensboro-north-carolina-rally-enthusiasm/" target="_blank">vast</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/73qCQPL2Er/?taken-at=5820382" target="_blank">interest</a> <a href="https://cbsdenver.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/img_0086.jpg" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://photos.lasvegassun.com/media/img/photos/2015/11/08/1108BernieSanders07.JPG" target="_blank">exceptional</a> <a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2015/11/17/us/17firstdraft-sanders/17firstdraft-sanders-tmagArticle.jpg" target="_blank">enthusiasm</a> <a href="http://www.ajc.com/gallery/news/national-govt-politics/photos-bernie-sanders-campaigns-fox-theatre/gCYGK/#8423666" target="_blank">among</a> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/BernieInReno12-27-15" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://time.com/4110428/person-of-the-year-readers-poll-results-2015/" target="_blank">people</a>, <a href="http://www.wptz.com/news/vt-woman-commissions-artist-to-paint-giant-bernie-sanders-face-on-barn/35183542" target="_blank">demonstrations</a> of <a href="http://i.imgur.com/QZKFNAW.jpg" target="_blank">which</a> <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/see-bernie-sanders-rap-in-dj-steve-porters-bern-it-up-video-remix-20151103" target="_blank">have</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLDPkr-mI_M" target="_blank">also</a> <a href="http://www.windbornesingers.com/give-bernie-sanders-your-vote/" target="_blank">included</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6GN4fPrJCo" target="_blank">artistic</a> <a href="https://vimeo.com/144591445" target="_blank">projects</a>, a <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CXXPim0WAAE50TS.jpg" target="_blank">long</a> <a href="http://photos.berkshireeagle.com/2016/01/02/photos-bernie-sanders-rally-at-umass-amherst/#111" target="_blank">series</a> of <a href="http://photos.berkshireeagle.com/2016/01/02/photos-bernie-sanders-rally-at-umass-amherst/#119" target="_blank">enormous</a> <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CXzvULKWMAA1RIR.jpg" target="_blank">crowds</a>, <a href="http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/democratic-presidential-candidate-sen-bernie-sanders-speaks-at-18-picture-id505584666" target="_blank">and</a> a <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/sanders-fundraising-final-quarter-2015-217288" target="_blank">record</a> number of donations, which are from over a million people and are of $27 on average.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmJi-wN1p0QGtCt1SwvxwjhW0ZAOILM1zoOlvglgTuga11rwOI0BR2Na7I7YVW3rSjzjTKHWgrsD6mmEHSa5LyjiPKzANum73HkE5S_5lxL7CajP6q1wVKQ0Ft0D-3B2xioRjTiZIklc/s1600/Schultz.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmJi-wN1p0QGtCt1SwvxwjhW0ZAOILM1zoOlvglgTuga11rwOI0BR2Na7I7YVW3rSjzjTKHWgrsD6mmEHSa5LyjiPKzANum73HkE5S_5lxL7CajP6q1wVKQ0Ft0D-3B2xioRjTiZIklc/s1600/Schultz.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schultz (Congressional<br />
Pictorial Directory)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The candidacy of the ex-mayor of Burlington endures bias from <a href="http://observer.com/2015/09/debbie-wasserman-schultz-must-go/" target="_blank">Rep</a>. <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/12/19/debbie_wasserman_schultz_must_go_and_the_case_bernie_sanders_must_make_tonight/" target="_blank">Debbie</a> <a href="http://observer.com/2015/12/dncs-glaring-favoritism-wasserman-schultz-is-untrustworthy-and-must-go/" target="_blank">Wasserman</a> <a href="http://observer.com/2015/12/why-democrats-need-to-fire-debbie-wasserman-schultz-and-who-should-replace-her/" target="_blank">Schultz</a> (D-FL), too. As chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, she scheduled only six presidential debates for her party in this cycle, she scheduled the last three of the first four of them for slots that were likely to draw relatively <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/latest-democratic-2016-debate-draws-10-2-million-viewers-article-1.2500735" target="_blank">small</a> audiences, she decreed that those events would exclude any candidates who had debated each other elsewhere, and she lunged at the chance to sabotage Sanders's campaign, whose leaders excellently <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?402319-1/bernie-sanders-campaign-news-conference" target="_blank">handled</a> that misdeed.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Four of those debates have occurred. To counter the effort by Schultz to somewhat hide the latest three, this entry analyzes substantive parts of them. The quoted wording is edited for clarity and concision. Selectivity is to avoid repetition -- including of statements in the <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/11/clearer-contrast-btn-hillary-bernie-as.html" target="_blank">review</a> of the first debate. Boldface is added.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Debate II | Sat., Nov. 14 | Des Moines, IA | CBS</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
Discussing military policy toward the Middle East, Clinton said in reference to the revolt against Pres. Bashar al-Assad of Syria, "I did say we needed to try to find a way to train and equip moderates very early so we would have a better idea of how to deal with Assad. That was because I thought extremist groups would be filling the vacuum..."<br />
<br />
The Obama administration eventually took her advice to spend $500 million to train and equip <b>those so-called "moderates,"</b> who then <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/defense/255055-us-trained-syrian-rebels-gave-weapons-to-al-qaeda-pentagon-admits" target="_blank">voluntarily</a> <b>gave no less than one-fourth of their weapons to al-Qaeda</b>. <br />
<br />
Moderator John Dickerson: "Sen. Sanders, you said you want to rid the planet of ISIS. In the previous debate, you said the greatest threat to national security is climate change. Do you still believe that?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Sanders: "Absolutely. <b>Climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism.</b> And if we do not... listen to what the scientists say, countries all over the world -- as the CIA says -- will struggle over limited amounts of water and of arable land..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/press.html" target="_blank">why</a> former vice president Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXRyK4IoG2Zr4eAGdoKUr35Y40e5etmF_YhHcJIbFQqFIzn2YAupXFB_GAsRhMl2JfPbQ0n-kmQcTX6IDqFLOxtZehhMLrYW797_ppkvBGtAa6ox4O-kNWqkCS-mzmc46yTgKsKoIta8/s1600/Gore.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXRyK4IoG2Zr4eAGdoKUr35Y40e5etmF_YhHcJIbFQqFIzn2YAupXFB_GAsRhMl2JfPbQ0n-kmQcTX6IDqFLOxtZehhMLrYW797_ppkvBGtAa6ox4O-kNWqkCS-mzmc46yTgKsKoIta8/s1600/Gore.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gore (Cmte.<br />
on Environment <br />
and Public Works)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders added, "[O]f course, international terrorism is a major issue we must address today... <b>[T]he disastrous invasion of Iraq... unraveled the region... and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and to ISIS...</b> [To destroy ISIS,] we need... an international coalition that includes, very significantly, the Muslim nations in that region, who will have to fight to defend their way of life..."<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
Clinton: "...The United States has... been victimized by terrorism for decades. In the 1980s, ...in Beirut, Lebanon, ...258 Americans... were murdered. Americans were murdered when our embassies in Tanzania and in Kenya were attacked when my husband was president. Then, of course, 9/11 happened before an invasion of Iraq."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
The bombing of those embassies and the attack of 9/11 were perpetrated by al-Qaeda, which had turned against the US partly <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Osama-bin-Laden" target="_blank">because</a> of its military presence in the Mideast, starting with the Gulf War. Sanders voted against that war because it was <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?15938-1/persian-gulf-war" target="_blank">unnecessary</a> in order to compel the withdrawal by Iraq from Kuwait. The said attack in Beirut was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/05/31/judge-iran-behind-83-beirut-bombing/b4e3c60e-2921-45fa-a9fd-a1c48ce81e44/" target="_blank">directed</a> by Iran and in response to military intervention by the US in a conflict that was <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1981-1988/lebanon" target="_blank">none</a> of its business. Thirty years prior, the US aided the successful coup in Iran that ousted the democratically elected Premier Mohammad Mosaddeq and reinstalled the shah -- Mohammad Reza -- who, in 1979, was ousted in a coup that replaced him with the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, supporters of whom then seized the US embassy in that country and held 52 US citizens there hostage for 444 days. Khomeini remained in power until his death in 1989. In sum, the type of <b>interventionism Clinton espouses has resulted in problems she now says justify continuation of it</b>.<br />
<br />
"I have said the invasion of Iraq was a mistake..."<br />
<br />
She said it 11 <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/hillary-clinton-iraq-war-vote-wrong-article-1.1819012" target="_blank">years</a> after the fact. To call it a mere mistake is an insulting understatement.<br />
<br />
Dickerson to Sanders: "...You've criticized then-Sen. Clinton's vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Do you have criticism of her performance as secretary of State?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Sanders: "[T]he disagreement is that not only did I vote against the war in Iraq, [but I recognize that] regime change -- whether it was in the '50s in Iran, whether it was the toppling of Salvador Allende in Chile, or whether it was the overthrow of the Guatemalan government -- has unintended consequences..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZxEyCYsBtpJhaW6aD8c44tA8N6GHVVSTaX4J6BHSuoeFjBRcqpMbcZlT9Ow6gfVbXdOu-HXYQHfBUsUR9CFTztKM2muVoG8CuivJvbiv-juwlT_XTjabD5IHC3Aanxcukq5wqjG34HA/s1600/NixonKissiRumsf.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZxEyCYsBtpJhaW6aD8c44tA8N6GHVVSTaX4J6BHSuoeFjBRcqpMbcZlT9Ow6gfVbXdOu-HXYQHfBUsUR9CFTztKM2muVoG8CuivJvbiv-juwlT_XTjabD5IHC3Aanxcukq5wqjG34HA/s1600/NixonKissiRumsf.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nixon (seated), Kissinger (at<br />
right) and then-Amb. Donald<br />
Rumsfeld in June 1974. (NATO)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The toppling of the democratically elected Pres. Allende on September 11, 1973 -- and the replacement of him with a military dictator -- were orchestrated partly by Henry Kissinger PhD, who was the national security advisor to US president Richard Nixon then. Days later, Kissinger became secretary of State. Clinton is <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/09/05/hillary_clinton_henry_kissinger_pals.html" target="_blank">proud</a> to have "relied on his counsel" when she held that title.<br />
<br />
Dickerson to Clinton: "...ISIS has taken hold in Libya partly because of the chaos that followed the overthrow of Muammar Qadhafi. You championed that operation. Pres. Obama says... the lesson he took from it... [is to] 'have an answer [for] the day after.' Wasn't that supposed to be a lesson we learned from the Iraq War? And <b>how did you get Libya wrong if the key lesson of the Iraq War is to have a plan for after?</b>"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton: "We did have a plan..."<br />
<br />
We saw how well it was made and executed.<br />
<br />
"Qadhafi probably had more American blood on his hands than did any other Arab leader..."<br />
<br />
That did not deter Clinton from <a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/04/121993.htm" target="_blank">saying</a> the following at the Department of State on 21 April 2009, immediately before her meeting with Mutassim Qadhafi, who was then the national security advisor to his father Muammar. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"<b>I am very pleased to welcome Minister Qadhafi... We deeply value the relationship between the United States and Libya.</b> We have many opportunities to deepen and broaden our cooperation. And <b>I very much look forward to building on this relationship</b>. So, Mr. Minister, welcome so much... We're delighted you're here."</span></blockquote>
Sanders: "When we talk about the long-term consequences of war, let's talk about the 500,000 men and women who came home from it with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and with traumatic brain injury. I hope... we do not turn our backs on... them..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Dickerson: "Secy. Clinton, the French president has called th[e] attack [on his nation by ISIS] an act of war. A couple of days ago, you were asked if you would declare war on ISIS and you said no. What would you say now?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "We have an authorization to use military force against terrorists. We passed it after 9/11."<br />
<br />
Dickerson: "And you think that covers all this?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqhjOME4dGb9KsPu2q7WO3ERnlyozqVGY1F29RcxQVUi29mLRwXNWlJIdXsixaCwRCR9rK5zvw765vfKus5QyISSs-DLdenbiu9Sm3-XAWY48c-lLWifGvHfpNycxyK4PaB3CPAk28Qs/s1600/QadhafiClinton.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqhjOME4dGb9KsPu2q7WO3ERnlyozqVGY1F29RcxQVUi29mLRwXNWlJIdXsixaCwRCR9rK5zvw765vfKus5QyISSs-DLdenbiu9Sm3-XAWY48c-lLWifGvHfpNycxyK4PaB3CPAk28Qs/s1600/QadhafiClinton.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mutassim Qadhafi, Clinton (Dept. of State) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "It certainly does cover it..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="https://www.congress.gov/107/plaws/publ40/PLAW-107publ40.pdf" target="_blank">false</a>. The law in question permits force against only "those nations, organizations, or persons [the president] determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on 11 September 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons."<br />
<br />
Dickerson: "If you were in the Senate, would you be okay with a decision by the commander-in-chief to do that if he had not come back to you?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "No... Maybe we can... upgrade the authorization so it includes... everything in our arsenal that we can use to try to work with our allies and friends to gather better intelligence... [W]e must do more to prevent a return of the... foreign fighters who went to Syria... with Western passports... And I want to be sure the AUMF has the authority needed."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...This nation has the most powerful military in the world. We spend over $600 billion a year on the military. Yet, significantly less than 10% of that money is spent to fight international terrorism. We spend hundreds of billions of dollars to maintain 5,000 nuclear weapons... [W]e need major reform in the military to make it more cost-effective and to focus on the real crisis that faces us. <b>The Cold War is over</b> and our focus must be on intelligence and on increased manpower to fight terrorism..."<br />
<br />
Panelist Nancy Cordes to Clinton: "[Y]ou want to cap individuals' prescription drug costs at $250 a month."<br />
<br />
Oh, how merciful.<br />
<br />
"You propose debt-free public college, tuition-free community college, and mandatory paid family leave. Who would pay for all that?..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I will pay for it with more taxes on the wealthy and through closure of corporate loopholes and deductions and of other kinds of favorable treatment..."<br />
<br />
In that case, the program for paid family leave would <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/01/hillary_clinton_s_plan_for_paid_family_leave_is_bad_policy_design.html" target="_blank">depend</a> upon willingness of presidents and Congresses to uphold progressive taxation. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0F8Pc5vKA0PlHoKMUG8kiMztHQPsnYXnu4jFfD6_1JlOciNaVzR8SJnNPr7HM4j3BfTvamrA2CjdKaFLMsT8tdIWLwZfco_wBU0ayxXnMaNy9hKutjWoyWSr-h3mJOmp9RsDl3MsSOM/s1600/Hollande.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0F8Pc5vKA0PlHoKMUG8kiMztHQPsnYXnu4jFfD6_1JlOciNaVzR8SJnNPr7HM4j3BfTvamrA2CjdKaFLMsT8tdIWLwZfco_wBU0ayxXnMaNy9hKutjWoyWSr-h3mJOmp9RsDl3MsSOM/s1600/Hollande.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pres. François Hollande<br />
of France (White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cordes: "[O]n that $250-a-month a cap: Wouldn't the pharmaceutical and insurance companies just pass that cost onto the consumers in the form of higher premiums?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "We have to redo the way the prescription drug industry does business. For example, Medicare is not allowed to negotiate for lower prices. That is outrageous. <b>American consumers pay the highest prices in the world for drugs we helped develop</b> through the National Institutes of Health and tested through the Food & Drug Administration... We must go after price-gouging and monopolistic practices..."<br />
<br />
Cordes: "...Sen. Sanders, you want to make public colleges and public universities tuition-free, increase Social Security benefits, and spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. You've said you'd impose a tax on top earners in order to do some of those things. How high would their rate go under a Sanders administration?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[Those] must be done if we are to revitalize and rebuild the crumbling middle class. <b>In the last 30 years, there has been a massive redistribution of wealth... in the wrong direction: t</b><b>rillions of dollars from the middle class... to the top 0.1%, who have doubled their percentage of wealth...</b> [W]e must end corporate loopholes... [M]ajor corporations, because they stash their money in the Cayman Islands, pay virtually no federal income tax... [T]here must be a tax on Wall Street speculation... So I would pay for those proposals by requiring that the wealthiest people and largest corporations, who have gotten away with murder for years, start to pay their fair share."<br />
<br />
Cordes: "...You've said you'd go above 50%..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "We haven't come up with an exact number yet. It will not be as high as the number under Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was 90%. But--"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
That note about the two-term Republican president provoked some laughter from the audience, to which the famously socialist Sanders replied, "I'm not that much of a socialist compared to Eisenhower," drawing laughter, cheers and applause.<br />
<br />
"--I would end the absurdity... of an effective tax rate paid by billionaires that is lower than the one nurses and truck drivers pay..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ClTeubc2ABLA7YRPBf97MMAqLVd1WoeuKTKWv7di7GSQVsngpc6QuZ5RqFh9_lOQTsx9SZ0JenqbbCI9X9ztaI4J-eMJDFJ-EPiJ68dqzTvtV5yr2KlX-i9QForlBlVZBdjFyBi8RJQ/s1600/Eisenhower.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ClTeubc2ABLA7YRPBf97MMAqLVd1WoeuKTKWv7di7GSQVsngpc6QuZ5RqFh9_lOQTsx9SZ0JenqbbCI9X9ztaI4J-eMJDFJ-EPiJ68dqzTvtV5yr2KlX-i9QForlBlVZBdjFyBi8RJQ/s1600/Eisenhower.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eisenhower<br />
(Dept. of the Navy)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cordes: "Secy. Clinton, Americans say health care costs... are [among] their top financial concerns... Is this something Obamacare was designed to address? If not, why not?"<br />
<br />
The answer is no. The reason is that the law was designed to protect the wealth of the insurance corporations and of the pharmaceutical corporations. <br />
<br />
Clinton: "I believe this country has made great progress with the Affordable Care Act. We had struggled to get this done since Harry Truman was president."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.trumanlibrary.org/anniversaries/healthprogram.htm" target="_blank">false</a>, as Sanders would point out in the fourth debate. Truman proposed a national health insurance program in which: any American could enroll via a monthly fee, any physician could participate, the government would pay for all medically necessary care, and the government would replace wages lost due to illness or injury. <br />
<br />
"It was a great accomplishment of the Democratic Party and of Pres. Obama."<br />
<br />
Actually, the most <strike>blame</strike> credit for that law <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/05/obamacare-fowler-lobbyist-industry1" target="_blank">belongs</a> to the health insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry.<br />
<br />
"To defend it is, I think, important. The Republicans... would like to rip it up and start over again, throwing our nation back into the contentious debate we had about health care for quite some time..."<br />
<br />
The "contentious debate" over the ACA before it was passed would have been short had Pres. Obama not <b>wasted several months hopelessly seeking unnecessary votes for it from congressional Republicans</b>. Nonetheless, Clinton's aversion to contentious debate indicates she is not the "champion" she claims to be. Moreover, <b>the simplicity of the proposal of Medicare-for-All would serve as protection</b> against the level of distortion, suspicion and confusion that fueled the battle over the 2,000-page ACA.<br />
<br />
"I would tackle the cost issues because I think once the foundation was laid with a system to try to get as many people as possible into it, ...we would, for example, have to figure out how to increase competition in the insurance market and lower the cost of... prescription drugs [and] other out-of-pocket expenses... I differ significantly from Sen. Sanders about how best to provide quality, affordable health care for everyone..." <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMXtCI1f7ivGbFN95zNXcsUdzjcryNNZt-bGwqvEwPjsOrUy1-67u_xIMDiL_DVuvP7Kkyr6UBc5vEOkQdxZeKuc5XAOjE3Bsa9VtGVgVMM3idtcKb5-HniyeANp7RFEI_KeFe9_eT0A/s1600/Truman.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMXtCI1f7ivGbFN95zNXcsUdzjcryNNZt-bGwqvEwPjsOrUy1-67u_xIMDiL_DVuvP7Kkyr6UBc5vEOkQdxZeKuc5XAOjE3Bsa9VtGVgVMM3idtcKb5-HniyeANp7RFEI_KeFe9_eT0A/s1600/Truman.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truman (Truman<br />
Library & Museum)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...We have made some good progress. We must now take on the pharmaceutical industry, which rips off the public... I was the first member of Congress to take constituents over the Canadian border to buy breast-cancer drugs for one-tenth the price at which they were sold in the US... [W]e must go further. I want to end the international embarrassment of the US as the only major country that does not guarantee health care to all people as a right... [W]e spend... far more per capita on health care than any other major country does and our health care outcomes are not necessarily as good."<br />
<br />
Panelist Kathie Obradovich: "Sen. Sanders, you've... called for a raise in the minimum wage to $15 an hour... But Alan Krueger, who is a former chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisors, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/the-minimum-wage-how-much-is-too-much.html" target="_blank">said</a> a national increase to $15 could lead to... a loss of jobs. What level of such loss would you consider unacceptable?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[M]illions of Americans work... two or three jobs because their wages are just too low... So... this country needs... a livable wage. To say someone should not be in poverty if that person works 40 hours a week is not a radical idea. To say a single mom should earn enough money to take care of her kids is not a radical idea. So... over the next few years, ...we must raise the minimum wage to... $15 an hour..."<br />
<br />
Obradovich: "...Do you think loss of jobs is a worthwhile consequence?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[A] reason... why real unemployment is 10% and why black youth unemployment and underemployment is 51% is that the average worker has no disposable income. One has no disposable income when paid $10 or $12 an hour. When we put money into the hands of workers, they'll buy goods and services and thereby create jobs..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton: "...Krueger said... <b>the minimum wage</b>...<b> does not result in job loss</b>. However, ...he said... if we were to go to $15, there would be no international comparisons."<br />
<br />
So?<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_on_LrTfjygmXDPu2V0Gw4TqWUVrbXIlimeV1SblU8823ffUrc27XLrp014FDSE2v2NJ4alWYbBUEHsPQevenHC1n0Ke93mpk2A7TiSiLuV5inh_kMPSAmPexCE0ELWj1UdG0LVJMmI/s1600/Krueger.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_on_LrTfjygmXDPu2V0Gw4TqWUVrbXIlimeV1SblU8823ffUrc27XLrp014FDSE2v2NJ4alWYbBUEHsPQevenHC1n0Ke93mpk2A7TiSiLuV5inh_kMPSAmPexCE0ELWj1UdG0LVJMmI/s1600/Krueger.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krueger (WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"That is why I support a <i>twelve</i>-dollar national minimum wage... [P]laces like Seattle, Los Angeles and NYC can go higher..."<br />
<br />
And elsewhere in this country, minimum-wage workers and their dependents would... be out of luck?<br />
<br />
Dickerson to Clinton: "...You've received millions of dollars in contributions and in speaking fees from Wall St. companies. How do you convince voters you will level the playing field when <b>you're indebted to some of its biggest players</b>?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think they clearly know I will. Two billionaire hedge-fund managers started a super-PAC and are advertising against me..."<br />
<br />
What about the donors who have made her the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-hedge-fund_564a7530e4b06037734a8f0d" target="_blank">top</a> recipient of campaign contributions from hedge funds to any candidate for federal office in this cycle? What about her campaign bundlers who work for hedge funds?<br />
<br />
"[I]n the Senate, I introduced legislation to reign in compensation, looked at ways the shareholders would have more control over what happens in that arena,"<br />
<br />
Looked at?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
"and specifically said to Wall St. that what they were doing in the mortgage market was bringing our country down."<br />
<br />
We saw how effective those remarks were. <br />
<br />
"I've laid out a very aggressive plan to reign in Wall St. -- not just the big banks, which are part of the problem and I am going right at them... But... [w]e must go after the shadow banking industry -- those hedge funds. In 2008, AIG: a big insurance company, and Lehman Brothers: an investment bank, helped bring our economy down... That's why my plan is much more comprehensive than anything else that has been put forth."<br />
<br />
Dickerson: "Sen. Sanders, you've said the donations to Secy. Clinton are compromising. What do you think of her answer?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVmQFHDwoQJmQ-KTi-dqoXBA-T5AP3C9h5y-Evz4zxji7XQuGvcWhoB0oDwRDwwTD9glZeFrSIaKulwudsLXsj9cRxSM8iixQAUziyOzfQnXwlsP4EV2b6XNP6QPYI4vNwXjQs1-I_wY/s1600/Roosevelt.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVmQFHDwoQJmQ-KTi-dqoXBA-T5AP3C9h5y-Evz4zxji7XQuGvcWhoB0oDwRDwwTD9glZeFrSIaKulwudsLXsj9cRxSM8iixQAUziyOzfQnXwlsP4EV2b6XNP6QPYI4vNwXjQs1-I_wY/s1600/Roosevelt.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Theodore<br />
Roosevelt (Pach Bros.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "Not good enough... <b>Six financial institutions have assets equivalent to 56% of the GDP</b>, issue two-thirds of the credit cards and issue one-third of the mortgages. If Teddy Roosevelt... were alive, he'd say, 'Break up those institutions. Re-establish Glass-Steagall.' He would be right. I am the only candidate here who does not have a super-PAC. I don't ask Wall St. or billionaires for money... I will support community banks and credit unions... Every candidate who receives huge amounts of money from oil, coal, Wall St. and the military-industrial complex says, 'These contributions will not influence me...' Well, why do those industries [contribute so much money]? They expect something in return. Everybody knows that. I am running differently... My campaign relies on people who give small donations... That's to whom I'm indebted."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...[H]e has basically used his answer to impugn my integrity..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "No..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Oh, wait a minute, Senator. I not only have hundreds of thousands of donors, most of them small, and am proud that, for the first time, most of them are women..."<br />
<br />
So? Actually, if she wants to play that game, let's acknowledge this: As of the last campaign finance disclosures before that debate, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/25/sanders-campaign-says-it-has-more-women-donors-than-clinton/" target="_blank">more</a> women donated to Sanders's campaign than to Clinton's.<br />
<br />
Channeling ex-mayor Rude-olph <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ7-3M-YrdA" target="_blank">Giuliani</a> (R-NYC) and "Lois <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uH2PyZAx-0" target="_blank">Griffin</a>" of <i>Family Guy</i>, Clinton added, "I represented New York on 9/11, when we were attacked in downtown Manhattan, where Wall St. is. I spent a lot of time and effort to help them rebuild. That was good for New York and for the economy and was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country..."<br />
<br />
How does Clinton explain the $3M in campaign contributions she received from the finance, insurance and real-estate sector <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=F&recipdetail=A&sortorder=U&mem=Y&cycle=2000" target="_blank">before</a> 9/11?<br />
<br />
"To re-instate Glass-Steagall... could help but would be nowhere near enough..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yXTv9dZ4mVhhjhUzwyskM2f2jqOGUJfNWsBvyw8JJUDmmjvdRpvyrvtbRHBjale8Dwz52ijBE1dQ2vOUI3AwL-obWLMguSZZTUjkEFb9YOsuCSRcuNzHTVclTaPAKmsJH8qQtLSyyJE/s1600/Giuliani.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yXTv9dZ4mVhhjhUzwyskM2f2jqOGUJfNWsBvyw8JJUDmmjvdRpvyrvtbRHBjale8Dwz52ijBE1dQ2vOUI3AwL-obWLMguSZZTUjkEFb9YOsuCSRcuNzHTVclTaPAKmsJH8qQtLSyyJE/s1600/Giuliani.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giuliani<br />
(Trevon Peracca/<br />
Dept. of Defense)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If Clinton believes Glass-Steagall could help, why would she not re-instate it?<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...To talk about an end to <i>Citizens United</i> is easy but I think we must show, by example, we are prepared to not rely on large corporations and Wall St. for campaign contributions..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[I]f the big banks don't play by the rules, I will break them up and go after executives who are responsible for the decisions that have such bad consequences..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "With all due respect..., <b>Wall St. 'play by the rules'? Who are we kidding? The business model of Wall St. is fraud.</b> A problem... is: ...Wall St. has dominated administrations of both parties. Representatives of Wall St. will not be in my Cabinet."<br />
<br />
On the subject of regulation of guns, Dickerson stated, "Secy. Clinton, you said Sen. Sanders is not tough enough. But he now supports roughly the same things you do. What is the exact difference between the two of you now?"<br />
<br />
Clinton <b>did not answer</b> the question. The difference between them on this was addressed in previous entries. So we'll skip to the end of the exchange about it.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...The problem is that people -- <b>not you, Secy. Clinton</b> -- all over this country shout at each other."<br />
<br />
Some in the audience tittered at that reference to an attempt by Clinton to <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/hillary_clinton_keeps_smearing_bernie_sanders_as_a_sexist_now_she_is_reaching.html" target="_blank">falsely</a> portray Sanders as sexist.<br />
<br />
"[W]e must bring people together to work on where there is broad consensus." <br />
<br />
Cordes to Clinton: "[A] Tweet says, 'Until now, I'd never seen a candidate invoke 9/11 to justify... donations from Wall Street.' The idea is: Yes, you were a champion of the community after 9/11, but what does that have to do with acceptance of big donations?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I'm sorry whoever Tweeted that had that impression."<br />
<br />
What other impression could have been given by Clinton's remark?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNRJ-0M8cbK12hmHZmrxkJ5wN0Ltz0YhrpBK0D-xlBZXtkdBXoNiIH7sD49sZZgocbeoZERIs-YVJSMPnp2hy3v8ZiDC85SyjIcxVzoS81GaxAt9WrRubitijMEsLsOOROQg1fNMrBp4/s1600/GlassRooseveltSteagall.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNRJ-0M8cbK12hmHZmrxkJ5wN0Ltz0YhrpBK0D-xlBZXtkdBXoNiIH7sD49sZZgocbeoZERIs-YVJSMPnp2hy3v8ZiDC85SyjIcxVzoS81GaxAt9WrRubitijMEsLsOOROQg1fNMrBp4/s1600/GlassRooseveltSteagall.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Banking<br />
Act of 1933 while flanked by its cosponsors:<br />
Sen. Carter Glass, D-VA, at far left, and Rep.<br />
Henry Steagall, D-AL, at far right. (fdic.gov) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"[A] lot of my donors from all kinds of backgrounds say, 'I don't agree with you on everything but I like what you do...' I think that is absolutely appropriate."<br />
<br />
Cordes: "...Sen. Sanders, what in Secy. Clinton's record shows she has been influenced by those donations?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "The major issue is whether we re-establish Glass-Steagall. I led the effort, unfortunately unsuccessfully, against deregulation because I knew that the mergers of large insurance companies, investment banks and commercial banks would not be good..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said my plan to reign in Wall St. is more comprehensive and better..."<br />
<br />
Krugman wrote that assertion in <i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/14/specials/onefifty/20FRAN.html" target="_blank">The</a> <a href="http://hij.sagepub.com/content/8/4/114.abstract" target="_blank">New</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/04/07/political-rhetoric-us-never-changes-nyts-attack-mlks-anti-war-speeches/" target="_blank">York</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/07/21/spirit-judy-miller-alive-well-nyt-great-damage/" target="_blank">Times</a></i>, <a href="http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/the-emperors-new-hump/" target="_blank">which</a> is <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/06/05/319233332/new-york-times-editor-losing-snowden-scoop-really-painful" target="_blank">generally</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/04/22/blow_up_the_times_op_ed_page_and_start_again_why_friedman_brooks_and_dowd_must_go/" target="_blank">conservative</a> <a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/berkeley-tragedy/former-president-mcaleese-slams-new-york-times-for-sense-of-%20%20sociopathic-disassociation-in-coverage-of-j1-students-31311410.html" target="_blank">and</a>, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/12/22/the_new_york_times_is_dead_wrong_about_drug_addiction/" target="_blank">therefore</a> <a href="http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-bias-mainstream-media-undermines-sanders-every-turn" target="_blank">unsurprisingly</a>, <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4576023/nyt-blacked-vidal" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4552827/vidal-nyt-smeared-adler" target="_blank">little</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4507208/new-york-times-makes-noam-chomskys-teeth-grind" target="_blank">credibility</a>. Still, let us examine his argument.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Sanders has... focused on... Glass-Steagall, [which] separated deposit-taking banks from riskier wheeling and dealing. And the <b>repeal of Glass-Steagall was indeed a mistake</b> but is not what caused the financial crisis, which arose instead from 'shadow banks' like Lehman Brothers, which don't take deposits but can... wreak havoc when they fail. Mrs. Clinton has laid out a plan to rein in shadow banks; so far, Mr. Sanders hasn't."</span></blockquote>
Former secretary of Labor Robert Reich <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/Time-to-bring-back-Glass-Steagall-6402046.php" target="_blank">debunks</a> that argument. He notes, "For more than six decades..., Glass-Steagall worked exactly as...
intended... During that... interval, few banks failed and no
financial panic endangered the banking system." The professor at the Univ. of California explains how the <b>repeal of Glass-Steagall directly led to the meltdown</b> of 2008 and how <b>this nation is in danger of another</b> meltdown until that act is restored: The repeal enabled the big banks to provide
repurchase-agreements, mortgages, and easy credit to non-banks that had poor collateral. Only then were those non-banks such as Lehman Brothers able to trigger the meltdown.<br />
<br />
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has a similar <a href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000182337" target="_blank">assessment</a>. She identifies Glass-Steagall as "the centerpiece" of the financial reforms Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed to prevent a repeat of the Great Depression. The former professor at Harvard Univ. traces the cause of the meltdown of 2008 back to loopholes in that law as interpreted by the administration of Pres. Ronald Reagan rather than to the official repeal.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPUxeLkCHJq0lo0h-ceczja-f-vetT6h5abFlLqagypL9E7enjf5i4zlsj4kDFGMwFluiTohba7XC5oBsKvIHh44mO4MROuQls3i_DFqVl1iV41wOGhMuUgBJBXHEoQ-wWDntRa7eMuY/s1600/ObamaBoehner.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPUxeLkCHJq0lo0h-ceczja-f-vetT6h5abFlLqagypL9E7enjf5i4zlsj4kDFGMwFluiTohba7XC5oBsKvIHh44mO4MROuQls3i_DFqVl1iV41wOGhMuUgBJBXHEoQ-wWDntRa7eMuY/s1600/ObamaBoehner.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obama; Boehner, R-OH (Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Dickerson to Sanders: "...You've said you'll have a revolution. But there is a conservative revolution in America, as [former speaker of the House of Representatives] John Boehner and Democrats who've lost in statehouses across the country know... [H]ow do you deal with that part of the country?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Sanders: "We will have a political revolution that brings workers, young people, seniors and minorities together because... [t]he problem is, as a result of a corrupt campaign-finance system, Congress listens to the big-money interests, not to the people. The political revolution is about... finally say[ing], 'Enough is enough. This government belongs to us, not just the billionaires.'"<br />
<br />
Dickerson to Sanders: "[W]e've heard already... of [the proposal of universal] background checks on gun-purchasers. Let's look at that as an example. Ninety-two percent of the public was for it. There had been mass shootings. There was emotional and bipartisan support behind it. The president and the full force of his office was behind it... That's the model you talk about, yet that bill did not pass."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "We need leadership that revitalizes American democracy and makes people understand if they take on the billionaire class, we can bring about the change we need. If we continue the same-old-same-old of Washington as run by big-money interests, nothing changes..."<br />
<br />
Dickerson: "Secy. Clinton, you, in a recent conversation with activists from Black Lives Matter, said activism and rhetoric differ from what
you were trying to do, which is push bills through Congress that
would help their cause. But recently at the Univ.
of Missouri, that activism was very effective. So would you
suggest that kind of activism take place at other universities across
the country?"<br />
<br />
Clinton proceeded to talk for nearly two minutes but never answered the question. <br />
<br />
Panelist Kevin Cooney: "Sen. Sanders, you propose free tuition at public colleges and at public universities. Sixty-three percent of those who enroll graduate. Wouldn't we be throwing a lot of money away if one-third of these people will not complete college?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbiSovzv9PDdK0_zD5sgJuqlb0DwknOSc-t85fiu4u8cT5gYAAHFToulXWw8n0N-Zz9MMIDt92OffXOeeXSwLgdsCAO149gSXo_sTHxE-yH_Xrz8Ew6HnGVi4WMW9pdX9L8lC-5p7YxM/s1600/Biden.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbiSovzv9PDdK0_zD5sgJuqlb0DwknOSc-t85fiu4u8cT5gYAAHFToulXWw8n0N-Zz9MMIDt92OffXOeeXSwLgdsCAO149gSXo_sTHxE-yH_Xrz8Ew6HnGVi4WMW9pdX9L8lC-5p7YxM/s1600/Biden.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biden (David<br />
Lienemann / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "No. It would be an extraordinary investment for this country... [M]any other countries do it... [S]ixty years ago, the Univ. of California and the City Univ. of New York were virtually tuition-free... [G]raduates should not be $50,000 in debt..."<br />
<br />
Cooney: "[Y]ou want for the states to pay for about one-third of this $70B plan. Sixteen states have budget deficits. Where are those states expected to come up with the money?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I think they'll be pretty smart because, I think, ...the states that don't do the right thing will pay a heavy penalty..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I want to use Pell grants to help defray the living expenses that often make a difference as to whether a person can stay in school..."<br />
<br />
Cordes to Sanders: "...You prefer to scrap Obamacare and move to a single-payer system, essentially Medicare for all. You want to put the private insurance companies out of business. Is it realistic to think you can pull the plug on a $1T industry?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "It will not happen tomorrow and probably will not happen without real campaign-finance reform... [W]hen millions of people take on the insurance companies and the drug companies, it will happen and I will lead that effort..."<br />
<br />
Cordes to Clinton: "[I]n 1994, you said 'momentum for a single-payer system will sweep the country'... But you don't feel that way anymore. Why not?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "The revolution never came. I waited and have the scars to show for it."<br />
<br />
She got scars from waiting? No. Despite her prediction of an increase in public support for Medicare-for-All, she never fought for it.<br />
<br />
"...I don't think we should have to defend the ACA among Democrats..."<br />
<br />
Why not? It was <a href="http://khn.org/022310-bill-comparison/" target="_blank">originated</a> by Republicans.<br />
<br />
"Sen. Sanders proposes to basically eliminate the ACA,"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmO6vIoNlwiC8dgRcrCkwcFxCoELu1PFNCfj8HH6i9U0AFPrmcCfJ5HComqBl0Sk5-WHqCVbj1MV2HiDZQMyVrAVGK8nzvwCnQp1q5qNP8Guz5iR21HI9boZHZleNCzT2BdSdukPaRdY/s1600/Muskie.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmO6vIoNlwiC8dgRcrCkwcFxCoELu1PFNCfj8HH6i9U0AFPrmcCfJ5HComqBl0Sk5-WHqCVbj1MV2HiDZQMyVrAVGK8nzvwCnQp1q5qNP8Guz5iR21HI9boZHZleNCzT2BdSdukPaRdY/s1600/Muskie.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muskie (WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Medicare-for-All would render the ACA obsolete</b>. The Republicans aim to simply repeal it. But Clinton <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/pat-garofalo/articles/2016-01-13/hillary-clintons-bizarre-attack-on-bernie-sanders-health-care-plan" target="_blank">falsely</a> implies Sanders is somehow in league with the Republicans just because both proposals would mean the end of that law.<br />
<br />
"eliminate private insurance,"<br />
<br />
Medicare is very popular among those who are at least 65 years old -- the age of eligibility for it. But Clinton now says people who are under age 65 should, despite their own strong <a href="http://kff.org/medicaid/press-release/with-medicare-and-medicaid-getting-high-marks-from-the-public-and-beneficiaries-majorities-favor-status-quo-over-major-structural-changes-such-as-premium-supports-or-block-grants/" target="_blank">approval</a> of Medicare, be afraid to be covered by it, i.e. afraid to be <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/bernie-podesta-single-payer-tweet-414215" target="_blank">relieved</a> of the expenses, inadequacies, complexities and frustrations of health insurance that is run by private companies, which not only neglect to offer any essential service but, for their own profit, seek to deny care. Clinton is <a href="http://kff.org/health-costs/press-release/few-uninsured-know-date-of-pending-deadline-for-obtaining-marketplace-coverage-many-say-they-will-get-coverage-soon-though-cost-is-a-concern/" target="_blank">out</a> of the mainstream on this issue, as <b>81% of Democrats and 60% of independents favor the idea of Medicare-for-All</b>.<br />
<br />
"eliminate Medicare,"<br />
<br />
As the title "Medicare-for-All" hints, Clinton's allegation is false.<br />
<br />
"eliminate Medicaid, Tricare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program,"<br />
<br />
Those would be rendered obsolete.<br />
<br />
"and put it all into a big program the states would administer. If I were an Iowan, I would not want for Terry Branstad to administer my health care."<br />
<br />
Clinton's claim according to which governors could obstruct Medicare-for-All is <a href="https://berniesanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Health-care-fact-sheet.pdf" target="_blank">false</a>. But, as Sanders would soon mention, the ACA allows for governors to obstruct Medicaid.<br />
<br />
She continued, "I think we, as Democrats, ought to proudly support the ACA, improve it, and make it the model we know it can be."<br />
<br />
Improve it how? For what or for whom would that "model" be?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Sanders: "<b>My proposal would expand Medicare to all people, not eliminate it</b>, and would resolve a situation we have now <b>with the ACA: many Republican states... deny the expansion of Medicaid</b> to millions of people..."<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEj8H5E_niif1VzWM7-sHMHlAifhcgTP5LLVqbIlcRte3yYjPGbtAP6VMkIlRpnVrpI1grmCI7mbb4y8O8O45uBebC0GufZ7GopCY_5G1zQo2K-vqCUWlbiOFpodAwIfnxnSB_hOpr3E/s1600/Branstad.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEj8H5E_niif1VzWM7-sHMHlAifhcgTP5LLVqbIlcRte3yYjPGbtAP6VMkIlRpnVrpI1grmCI7mbb4y8O8O45uBebC0GufZ7GopCY_5G1zQo2K-vqCUWlbiOFpodAwIfnxnSB_hOpr3E/s1600/Branstad.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gov. Branstad, R-IA<br />
(Gage Skidmore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Debate III | Sat., Dec. 19 | Manchester, NH | ABC</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
Co-moderator David Muir to Sanders: "[Y]ou fired a campaign staffer and sued the DNC -- all this after your campaign acknowledged that some of your staffers 'irresponsibly accessed... data from another campaign.' The Clinton campaign called this 'a very egregious breach of data and ethics,' and said, 'Our data was stolen.' Did her campaign overstate this or did your staffers essentially steal part of the Clinton playbook?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "David, let me give you a bit of background. The DNC has hired vendors. On two occasions, there were breaches in information. Two months ago, our staff found, on our computers, information from the Clinton campaign... [O]ur staffers... went to the DNC..., they went to the vendor..., and that was quietly dealt with. None of that information was looked at. Our staff did exactly the right thing...<br />
<br />
"A similar incident happened a few days ago: there was a breach because the DNC vendor screwed up... In this case, our staff did the wrong thing... As soon as we learned that one of our staffers looked at that information, we fired him. We are doing an independent, internal investigation to see who else was involved... I recognize it as a problem. But... the DNC... arbitrarily, without discussion of it with us, ...shut off our access to our own information, and thereby crippled our campaign. That was an egregious act. I'm glad that, late last night, that was resolved...<br />
<br />
"I look forward to working with Secy. Clinton for an independent investigation of all breaches that have occurred in this campaign. <b>I am not convinced information from our campaign did not end up in hers...</b> I hope Secy. Clinton will agree on the need for that... [R]ather than work to resolve this issue, the Clinton campaign has made many press releases out of it."<br />
<br />
Muir: "But Senator, you... said your staff did the wrong thing. So, does Secy. Clinton deserve an apology?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I apologize to Secy. Clinton and... to my supporters. This is not the type of campaign we run. And if I find that any other people on my staff were involved in this, they will also be fired."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurxQ11_xAv4MU7OicFp1IfZa1N8vL3pRKjbBG3HghXHsqBnevECzw9QhbvVPbM1zOdjFjFlmZd-bKdSKjRO2PNASNMmXjdH3QXmTfT57mGfWvGh6kA9meTvpJKkee8d8eryt14C8d4e0/s1600/Harkin.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurxQ11_xAv4MU7OicFp1IfZa1N8vL3pRKjbBG3HghXHsqBnevECzw9QhbvVPbM1zOdjFjFlmZd-bKdSKjRO2PNASNMmXjdH3QXmTfT57mGfWvGh6kA9meTvpJKkee8d8eryt14C8d4e0/s1600/Harkin.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harkin (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Muir: "Secy. Clinton, he has apologized. How do you react?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I very much appreciate that comment... [W]e've agreed on an independent inquiry..."<br />
<br />
Muir: "...Pres. Obama has acknowledged that the mass shooting in San Bernardino was an act of terrorism. But right before Thanksgiving, he said there was no specific and credible intelligence that indicated a plot on the homeland. The couple who committed the shooting had assembled an arsenal and was not on law enforcement's radar... Secy. Clinton, how confident should the public be that there aren't others like that couple in the US? And what would you do to find them?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...[T]he most important job of the president is... to keep our country safe..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
That is <a href="http://drexel.edu/ogcr/resources/constitution/articles/article2/" target="_blank">false</a>. The most important job of the president is to keep the Constitution safe.<br />
<br />
"I've put forward a plan to defeat ISIS: First, to deprive them of the territory they occupy now in both Syria and Iraq. Second, to dismantle their global network of terrorism... [I]n the first, we must have a US-led air campaign and must have Arab and Kurdish troops on the ground. In the second, we must go after everything from North Africa to South Asia and beyond... We must do the best possible job to share intelligence and information. That includes the Internet because ISIS is a very effective recruiter, propagandist, and inciter and celebrator of violence."<br />
<br />
Perhaps they're following her <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/clinton-on-qaddafi-we-came-we-saw-he-died/" target="_blank">example</a>. <br />
<br />
"[W]e must work more closely with our great tech companies. They can't see the government as an adversary. We can't see them as obstructionists. We must figure out how to do more to understand their plans and who says what. And we must work more closely with Muslim-American communities... They will be our early warning signal..."<br />
<br />
Muir to Sanders: "...Specifically, how would you find would-be terrorists?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDTomTVrBHLJgrQJxX2fq_xieaX1afcUYB02OkHGT5M4JkcVI_P0UDKRdw5y7OQNEl7PZ-8VeQA-_JTGwOttjtyKKBfHGHHJOMTSk9OPWfHR-ik68X3L97W82ldUQl3fx9Rs47Mr_HJA/s1600/Abdullah.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDTomTVrBHLJgrQJxX2fq_xieaX1afcUYB02OkHGT5M4JkcVI_P0UDKRdw5y7OQNEl7PZ-8VeQA-_JTGwOttjtyKKBfHGHHJOMTSk9OPWfHR-ik68X3L97W82ldUQl3fx9Rs47Mr_HJA/s1600/Abdullah.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abdullah (Myles Cullen/<br />
Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "I... agree with much of what the secretary... said... Our goal is to destroy ISIS. What is the best way to do it? Well, ...there are differences... between the secretary and me. I voted against the war in Iraq because I thought unilateral military action would not produce necessary results and would lead to the kind of... instability we see in the Mideast. I do not believe in unilateral action by the US. I believe in action in which we form a strong coalition of forces: in this case, major powers and the Muslim nations... [A] hero... is King Abdullah II of Jordan. His small country has welcomed many refugees. Abdullah <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/king-of-jordan-calls-for-muslims-to-lead-fight-against-terrorism-a6736586.html" target="_blank">said</a> recently... that although international terrorism is, by definition, an international issue, [ISIS] is primarily an issue of the Muslim nations who are fighting for the soul of Islam and that Muslims should lead the effort on the ground. I believe he is absolutely right."<br />
<br />
Co-moderator Martha Raddatz: "[I]n the wake of the attack in San Bernardino, you all emphasized gun control. But our latest poll shows that more Americans believe to arm people, not to regulate guns more strictly, is the best defense against terrorism. Are they wrong?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think you have to look at both the terrorism challenge we face abroad and at home and the role guns play in the violence that stalks us... When Sen. Sanders talks about a coalition, I agree with him. We also must build a coalition at home... Guns, in and of themselves..., will not make Americans safer. We already lose 33,000 people a year to gun violence. To arm more people -- to do what? -- is not something I think is an appropriate response to terrorism. I believe creation of much deeper, closer relations... within our own country is... So we must look at guns as its own problem but also figure out how to deal with radicalization in the US."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]hen we have some 300M guns in this country and... have seen these horrific mass-killings, ...we must bring together the vast majority of the people, who believe in sensible gun-safety regulations..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I'm glad to see th[at] Sen. Sanders has moved in the face of what our country now confronts. He said he wants to take on this immunity issue because we must send a strong message to the gun manufacturers, to the gun sellers and to the gun lobby. I hope Sen. Sanders will join the Democrats who are trying to close the Charleston <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2016/02/clintons-charleston-loophole-claim/" target="_blank">loophole</a> and... to remove the absolute immunity..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8KEpMCBh1IzNUpZHck43aDniKFBE6qL1kU7mcjwAHAjeghIHHphQHfKwjax9x0YhpQbSIsyvX09EU87MXWH1jdGmJZw2Qpg066FQTAkWh3AV7heS_v35KRQ_lieWNF_kXqufed0mps0/s1600/Reich.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8KEpMCBh1IzNUpZHck43aDniKFBE6qL1kU7mcjwAHAjeghIHHphQHfKwjax9x0YhpQbSIsyvX09EU87MXWH1jdGmJZw2Qpg066FQTAkWh3AV7heS_v35KRQ_lieWNF_kXqufed0mps0/s1600/Reich.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reich<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Having been criticized for changes in positions on bankruptcy reform, NAFTA, free trade with Colombia, free trade with South Korea, marriage equality, private prisons, driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the proposed TPP, a potential national registry of guns, the cap on payroll taxes paid by the wealthy, and her ideological self-identification, Clinton is trying to tarnish Sanders's reputation of consistency. However, her characterization of Sanders as having shifted on the issue of immunity for manufacturers of guns is false. More on that later.<br />
<br />
Raddatz to Clinton: "[A] tool used in the terrorist attacks in Paris [was] encryption. FBI director James Comey says terrorists can hold secret communications to which law enforcement cannot get, even with a warrant. You've talked about bringing tech leaders and government officials together. But Apple CEO Tim Cook said, 'To remove encryption tools from our products altogether... would only hurt citizens who obey the law and rely on us to protect their data.' So would you sign a law to force him to give to law enforcement a key to encrypted technology?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I would not want to go to that point."<br />
<br />
But <i>would</i> she go to that point?<br />
<br />
"Given the extraordinary capacities the tech community has and the legitimate needs of and questions from law enforcement, I hope there can be a Manhattan-like project... [M]aybe the back door is the wrong door. I understand what Apple and others say about that... I think there must be a way... Otherwise, law enforcement is blind before, during and, in many instances, after. So we must always balance liberty and security... I hope there can be understanding and cooperation to achieve that."<br />
<br />
The moderators asked Clinton about the issue of refugees but refused to let Sanders comment on it, so we'll skip ahead.<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "...Sen. Sanders, you voted to send US ground forces to fight in the coalition to help destroy al-Qaeda in Afghanistan... [W]hy, then, don't you support sending US combat troops to join a coalition to fight ISIS?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62joz2SgXF_5UUu9OLpEjieEwaJvBfha-kGzcWq9hDwdf1GwPuNftBx-0aFq5Py-yXWqhSxraa8MlbQN8gVKm2fhZlfBSM3QYuTheJoIL3XKC-2tnNP6GoOK5iMNMLrIoPvi3xaOn11U/s1600/Comey.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62joz2SgXF_5UUu9OLpEjieEwaJvBfha-kGzcWq9hDwdf1GwPuNftBx-0aFq5Py-yXWqhSxraa8MlbQN8gVKm2fhZlfBSM3QYuTheJoIL3XKC-2tnNP6GoOK5iMNMLrIoPvi3xaOn11U/s1600/Comey.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comey (Dept. of Justice)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "I also voted... against the Gulf War, which set the stage... for the Iraq War... <b>[T]he US cannot succeed as -- and should not be thought of as -- the policeman of the world...</b> [T]here must be a well-coordinated effort by an international coalition, including Russia... The troops on the ground should not be American. They should be Muslim... [C]ountries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar must contribute the money and troops necessary to destroy ISIS, with support from the US."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "The administration has tried that over and over again. If it doesn't work and this threat is so great, what's your plan B?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "My plan is to... tell Saudi Arabia they, as one of the wealthiest countries, must go to war against ISIS instead of against Yemen. My plan is also to tell Qatar that maybe, rather than spend $200B on the World Cup, they should pay attention to ISIS, which is at their doorstep."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Raddatz: "Secy. Clinton, you too have ruled out a large US combat force, yet you support sending special operations forces to Syria and sending those 100-200 troops to Iraq to do exploitation kill raids. We've already lost one Delta Force member in a raid... We very much seem to already be in ground combat... there. Are you fooling Americans when you say we're not putting US combat troops into Syria or back into Iraq?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton: "No... [I]n Syria and Iraq..., because of the failures in the region, including the failure of the prior government in Baghdad..., there has been a resurgence of Sunni activities, as exemplified by ISIS. And we must support Sunni-Arab and Kurdish forces against ISIS because I believe for the US to put in ground combat troops, as opposed to special operators or to trainers, would be a mistake because... ISIS wants... American soldiers on the ground, fighting them, and giving them many more targets and a great recruitment opportunity. So I think... for us to even imagine we'll put tens of thousands of US troops into Syria and Iraq to fight ISIS would be absolutely wrong..."<br />
<br />
Does that mean she might send as many as 19,999 US troops into that quagmire? <br />
<br />
Raddatz to Clinton: "...<b>One of the lessons</b> <b>from the Vietnam War... is that a little force can turn into a little more and a little more</b>... Are you prepared to risk a bigger war to destroy ISIS or are you prepared to give up that goal if it requires a larger force?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUBp0MxQo7k5UdD1NfT-7FwJBpEMKO5PqdFl2wS05R6C-v7PJg5MdjG5vAzXv-_8bcyM7_zp5eTg4aaqJgYX7ppUzqctzBOI2zGvXveKdvgFK3Dvv0TQ1b8us00lyKdB_QyZKg15DoQw/s1600/Wheeler.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUBp0MxQo7k5UdD1NfT-7FwJBpEMKO5PqdFl2wS05R6C-v7PJg5MdjG5vAzXv-_8bcyM7_zp5eTg4aaqJgYX7ppUzqctzBOI2zGvXveKdvgFK3Dvv0TQ1b8us00lyKdB_QyZKg15DoQw/s1600/Wheeler.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M. Sgt. Joshua Wheeler,<br />
39, father of four, was<br />
killed in Iraq on Oct. 22.<br />
(Dept. of the Army)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "I think you're offering a false choice. I believe if we lead an air coalition, which we are in the position to do, and intensify it; if we continue to build back up the Iraqi army, which has had some recent success in Ramadi; if we resume talks with the tribal sheiks in Anbar to try to rebuild those relationships, which were very successful in efforts against al-Qaeda in Iraq; if we persuade the Turks to pay more attention to ISIS than to the Kurds; and if we put together the kind of coalition with the specific tasks I am outlining; we can destroy ISIS...<br />
<br />
"[A] reason why I advocate a no-fly zone is to create safe refuges within Syria to try to protect people on the ground both from Assad's forces, who continue to drop barrel bombs, and from ISIS. And of course, that no-fly zone would have to be de-conflicted with the Russians, who also fly in that space. I hope -- because of the new agreement, at the Security Council, that embodies an agreement I negotiated in Geneva in June 2012 -- we will get a diplomatic effort in Syria to begin to try to make a transition. A no-fly zone would prevent the outflow of refugees..."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "Secy. Clinton, neither ISIS nor al-Qaeda has aircraft. So, <b>would you shoot down a Syrian or Russian airplane?</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "<b>I do not think it would come to that.</b> We are already de-conflicting airspace."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "But <b>isn't that a decision you should make now if you advocate this?</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "<b>No</b>, I don't think so. Another reason why I advocate a no-fly zone is I think it would give us some leverage in our conversations with Russia. Now that Russia has... adopted that agreement, I think we can have those conversations. I would hope the no-fly zone would be shared by Russia if they will begin to turn their military attention away from the adversaries of Assad and toward ISIS, and put Assad's future on the political and diplomatic track, where it belongs."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I worry Secy. Clinton is too much into regime change and... too aggressive without knowledge of what the unintended consequences might be. We eliminated Saddam Hussein but destabilized the entire region. We eliminated Qadhafi... but created a vacuum for ISIS. <b>We could remove Assad tomorrow but would create another political vacuum that would benefit ISIS...</b> [W]e must... form broad coalitions that will prevent a political vacuum that could be filled by terrorists. We will then move steadily -- and maybe slowly -- toward a democracy that would replace Assad's terrible dictatorship. But... in Syria, the primary goal now must be to destroy ISIS. To, over the course of years, do work to replace Assad is the secondary issue."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqGx5_SbkrhmqKpsF2_YfYrddU18JE42sii4nNDk2rrkBYbmlYH7aDrA2n-C_JtxBLIDedhBX22yxjH8wBv9zgNQnDIAPmK42WyB332DmdKPPuSCQYrEed7hL5AbTFf5q2N7uKCbeBUU/s1600/Warren.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqGx5_SbkrhmqKpsF2_YfYrddU18JE42sii4nNDk2rrkBYbmlYH7aDrA2n-C_JtxBLIDedhBX22yxjH8wBv9zgNQnDIAPmK42WyB332DmdKPPuSCQYrEed7hL5AbTFf5q2N7uKCbeBUU/s1600/Warren.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warren (US Senate)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Clinton: "But that is exactly what I just said and described... Of course we must continue to do what is necessary when someone like Qadhafi... is overturned. But... if we had not joined with our European and Arab partners to assist the people in Libya, you would be looking at Syria..."<br />
<br />
What does that mean?<br />
<br />
Muir to Clinton: "...The senator said we must put aside the issue of removal of Assad and come together with countries, including Russia and Iran, to destroy ISIS first..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I disagree because we will not get the support on the ground in Syria to dislodge ISIS if the fighters there who are not associated with ISIS but whose principal goal is to remove Assad don't believe there is a political, diplomatic channel ongoing. We now have that... [T]o ask for any more Iranian troops in Syria [would be] like asking the arsonist to pour more gas on the fire. For Iran to have more of a presence in Syria, linking with Hezbollah -- Iran's proxy in Lebanon -- would threaten Israel and increase the difficulty of a transition that would deal with Assad's future."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...<b>Assad is not attacking the United States. ISIS is</b>..."<br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
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Clinton: "...Assad has killed about 250,000 Syrians..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/the-syrian-crisis-simplified-whos-fighting-whom-and-why/" target="_blank">false</a>. Many deaths in the catastrophe in Syria have resulted from clashes of rebel factions against each other and against ISIS.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...The US must not be perpetually involved in warfare in the Mideast and cannot successfully fight Assad and ISIS at the same time..."<br />
<br />
Muir: "In 1995, the median household income in the US was $52,600, adjusted to inflation. This year, it's $53,600 -- [less than] 2% higher. In a similar time-frame, pay for CEOs went up by more than 200%. You've all said you would raise the minimum wage. Sen. Sanders, what else would you do to give a raise to American workers right away?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]e must recognize we have a rigged economy... Millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages, deeply worried about their kids... We must rebuild our crumbling infrastructure[. To do so would] create 13M jobs..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU34o5l3xs_2fM6s4odKDN_DHoyfOP-YXbprFQniStT_o5IIa9Y-ajO_pl5Dov_dhTs7agnORETOjSCB3TK7ComPimWVEF72NX-Y_J3iX-qPyE2yUjBTllRuZDPHF9t90tvgbtfA-XHYk/s1600/Buffett.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU34o5l3xs_2fM6s4odKDN_DHoyfOP-YXbprFQniStT_o5IIa9Y-ajO_pl5Dov_dhTs7agnORETOjSCB3TK7ComPimWVEF72NX-Y_J3iX-qPyE2yUjBTllRuZDPHF9t90tvgbtfA-XHYk/s1600/Buffett.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warren Buffett (WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "[W]e must do more to incentivize profit-sharing, like we see with Market Basket, where all employees get a chance to share in the profits..."<br />
<br />
Muir: "...Secy. Clinton, the last time you ran, <i>Fortune Magazine</i> put you on its <a href="https://subscription-assets.timeinc.com/history/510_2007_07_09.jpg" target="_blank">cover</a> with the headline 'Business Loves Hillary,' and pointed out your support for many corporate CEOs... [S]hould corporate America love Hillary Clinton?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Everybody should. Look, I want to... make sure the wealthy pay their fair share, which they have not been paying. I want for the Buffett Rule to be in effect, which would require millionaires to pay tax rates of 30%... I want to create jobs, particularly in small business, and partner with the private sector... I want to do more to help incentivize and create more small businesses. So, if people in the private sector know what I stand for... and if they want to be part of again building our economy so it works for everybody, more power to them because they are the kind of business leaders who understand if we don't make the economy move and grow, we will not recognize our country and will not give our kids the opportunities we had."<br />
<br />
Muir: "Sen. Sanders, how big a role does corporate America play in a healthy economy and will corporate America love a President Sanders?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "No, I think they won't... [W]e must <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFL2qqvEpDA" target="_blank">deal</a> with the... greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street... [T]hree of the four [largest financial institutions in the US] are larger than they were when they were bailed out because they were 'too big to fail.' We must... break up the large financial institutions... I don't want campaign contributions from corporate America. While there are some great corporations that create jobs [in the US] and try to do the right thing, ...the greed of the billionaire class and Wall St. is destroying this economy and the lives of millions of Americans. We need an economy that works for the middle class, not just a handful of billionaires..." <br />
<br />
Clinton: "...Sen. Sanders is the only one on this stage who voted to take away from the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Commodities Future Trading Commission the authority to regulate swaps and derivatives. That lack of authority contributed to the collapse of Lehman Brothers..."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggj0pRpPRhI-e6PdS8gjyEJxVqRe7zTVOyQ4mW8DrUmlKphz13kqvskHH_eNyLl3aMCrHG82uB7LY8-El5drmkmSvto0N9Eltra_KJty9S9pnD_loUUILEnt4LmKGoachg4YTIiYo5C0/s1600/Dodd.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggj0pRpPRhI-e6PdS8gjyEJxVqRe7zTVOyQ4mW8DrUmlKphz13kqvskHH_eNyLl3aMCrHG82uB7LY8-El5drmkmSvto0N9Eltra_KJty9S9pnD_loUUILEnt4LmKGoachg4YTIiYo5C0/s1600/Dodd.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ex-senator Christopher<br />
Dodd, D-CT (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The said provision, hours before the end of the 106th Congress, was, with no hearings or debate, <a href="http://www.texasobserver.org/2767-john-mccains-gramm-gamble-the-gop-presidential-nominee-is-relying-on-the-ex-senator-who-helped-bring-you-the-mortgage-crisis-and-rick-perry/" target="_blank">slipped</a> <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/news/phil-gramms-enron-favor-6414422" target="_blank">into</a> an 11,000-page bill that funded much of the federal government. More than nine months before the meltdown, Sanders <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-bill/2058/cosponsors" target="_blank">cosponsored</a> a bill to restore the authority in question.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I don't get money from Wall Street... Wall St. has too much political and economic power. To be deregulated, they spent $5B in lobbying and in campaign contributions over a 10-year period. Wall St. is a threat to the economy..."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "Secy. Clinton, the Dept. of Health & Human Services says more than 17M Americans who were not insured now have health care coverage because of Obamacare. But <b>for Americans who already had health insurance, the cost has gone up 27% in the last five years while deductibles are up 67%</b>. Health care costs are rising faster than many Americans can manage. What's broken in Obamacare that needs to be fixed now? And what would you do to fix it?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I would build on the successes of the ACA and work to fix some of the glitches you referenced... Women are no longer charged more than men are for health insurance... But <b>out-of-pocket costs have gone up too much</b> and <b>prescription drug costs have gone through the roof</b>. So I propose a tax credit of $5,000 to help people who have very large out-of-pocket costs... I want... to... mak[e] sure the insurance companies in the private employer policy arena and in the Affordable Care exchanges are properly regulated so we are not gamed... We don't have enough competition. And we don't have enough oversight of what the insurance companies charge everybody."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "But you did say the increase in cost by 27% and the increase in deductibles by 67% are... just glitches..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "They're glitches because part of this is the startup challenge this system faces... [A] reason why the cost has risen so much is that governors in some states would not extend Medicaid. So people still receive health care in emergency rooms, in hospitals. Those costs... increase insurance premiums..."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "Sen. Sanders, ...you call for single-payer health care, under which people wouldn't have to pay deductibles or premiums but would have to pay new taxes. Specifically, how much would people be expected to pay?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2lPXG6kmWRNuCCbQFSjIze1XDbe893w8Js_-eZY595xXhO6tSPnHo-tpNCbepn_Tk-VAGgBQFIuBLJDzt8P22ZpFlm0Rjm4uD02N9D3NR7wwLm_ejzK3MWGesqwe3wCm6UvgVyvQUec/s1600/Frank.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2lPXG6kmWRNuCCbQFSjIze1XDbe893w8Js_-eZY595xXhO6tSPnHo-tpNCbepn_Tk-VAGgBQFIuBLJDzt8P22ZpFlm0Rjm4uD02N9D3NR7wwLm_ejzK3MWGesqwe3wCm6UvgVyvQUec/s1600/Frank.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ex-rep. Barney Frank,<br />
D-MA (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...<b>Twenty-nine million Americans still have no health insurance. Millions of people can't afford... primary health care...</b> This ties into campaign finance reform. The insurance companies and drug companies bribe Congress. We need a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system... [People] would not pay for private insurance. Businesses would not, either..."<br />
<br />
Later, Clinton said, "States have been disinvesting from higher education... So under my compact, the federal government will match money the states begin to put back into higher education... Sen. Sanders touched on... his commitment to... free college"<br />
<br />
Free <i>public</i> college.<br />
<br />
"and a single-payer health care system. An estimate of the cost of those programs is $18T to $20T -- about a 40% increase in the federal budget..."<br />
<br />
That estimate is from a <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/what-the-wall-street-journal-gets-totally-wrong-about-bernie-sanders-agenda/" target="_blank">misleading</a> piece in <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>, which -- along with other conservative outlets, which include Fox News and <i>The New York Post</i> -- is part of News Corp. In the cycles of 2006 and 2008, that conglomerate gave a <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2006&type=I&cid=N00000019&newMem=N&recs=100" target="_blank">total</a> of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cid=N00000019&cycle=2008&type=I&newMem=N&recs=100" target="_blank">nearly</a> $112K to Clinton's campaigns. That sum included two <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=rupert+murdoch&cycle=All&sort=A&state=&zip=&employ=&cand=hillary+clinton&submit=Submit+Query" target="_blank">maximum</a> donations from Keith Rupert Murdoch, who owns News Corp and hosted a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/10/16/murdochs-game" target="_blank">fundraiser</a> for Clinton's second senatorial bid. She <a href="http://www.conservapedia.com/images/3/39/HillaryRupert1V.jpg" target="_blank">attended</a> that event, which drew over $60K. Her comment above omits that the alleged increase would be over the course of 10 years.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[T]o say how much more the program will cost but not note that <b>the middle class would pay substantially less... under single-payer than under Secy. Clinton's proposal</b>, is unfair."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I don't think we should impose new big programs that would raise middle-class families' <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1964/boy-on-bicycle" target="_blank">taxes</a>..."<br />
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</div>
<br />
Sanders: "[W]hen Secy. Clinton says she 'will not raise taxes on the middle class,' she disagrees with FDR on Social Security, with LBJ on Medicare, and with the vast majority of progressive Democrats in Congress, who are fighting to end the disgraceful status of the United States as the only major country that does not provide paid family and medical leave. The legislation for it would require $1.61 a week. You can call that a tax... [But it] would provide three months of paid family and medical leave..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Y3XsKwKDhn8bkfwXaAY7eTSFyQ4Ufb1XMmzNWj0DOFCONN4X08o7pJ2yTzIne7mhXqpUWYrf9S21tYRGVDy9ykZTfr0h1I314jTzNhCrAPkrNF6ZLQikmYnCEGbq5XhJSNSxgeEQAg4/s1600/Murdoch.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Y3XsKwKDhn8bkfwXaAY7eTSFyQ4Ufb1XMmzNWj0DOFCONN4X08o7pJ2yTzIne7mhXqpUWYrf9S21tYRGVDy9ykZTfr0h1I314jTzNhCrAPkrNF6ZLQikmYnCEGbq5XhJSNSxgeEQAg4/s1600/Murdoch.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murdoch<br />
(Chad McNeeley/<br />
Dept. of Defense)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Muir: "[W]e now see, with smartphones..., that with which many have dealt for years when in contact with police. But many in law enforcement say... police... hold back in fear of backlash. The FBI director calls it 'a chill wind through... law enforcement.' How would you bridge the divide...?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]e have more people incarcerated than does any other country: 2.2M, predominantly black and Latino. We spend $80B a year to lock up our fellow Americans... [W]e must wage a major effort to... end institutional racism... [T]he so-called 'war on drugs'... has destroyed the lives of millions, which is why <b>I propose removal of marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act so possession of it would not be a federal crime</b>. As a mayor for eight years, I worked closely with a great police department. We tried to move it toward community policing so officers would become part of the community and not, as in some cities, an oppressive force. We must make police departments look like, in their diversity, the communities they serve. We must end mandatory minimum sentences..."<br />
<br />
Daniel Tuohy, senior political reporter for <i>The Union Leader</i>: "New Hampshire has been hard hit by the heroin epidemic. We're on track to have twice as many overdose deaths this year as in 2013. What specifically would you do to address this crisis?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]e must tell the... doctors who prescribe opiates, and we must tell the pharmaceutical industry, that... we cannot have this huge number of opiates throughout this country, where young people take them, get hooked, and then go to heroin... [W]e must understand that <b>addiction is a disease, not a crime</b>... Someone who is addicted and seeks help should not have to wait... to get... treatment..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I would like for the federal government to offer $10B over 10 years to work with states... There are too many prescriptions for opioids... [W]e need more programs and facilities so when someone is ready to get help, there's a place for him to go. Every law enforcement officer should carry the antidote to overdose..."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "Secy. Clinton, ...Libya is falling apart. It is a haven for ISIS and jihadists, with an estimated 2,000 ISIS fighters there today. You... called [the intervention by the US] 'smart power at its best.' Yet, even Pres. Obama said the US should have done more to fill the leadership vacuum left behind. <b>How much responsibility do you bear for the chaos that followed elections?</b>"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTedKSxcV5Q16LM_83aowTd_Prw9vKmOxQlV9iZLyHYvPE_HcjU1Wpoj6ejFap6mIG3JO5dwhZ9TdnnAiFyLv8dp7HPQ34aHULJCgDYFOzcAmqPPdDIASv2ATIXDJydXnOdMJSvYgkGxU/s1600/King+and+Johnson.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTedKSxcV5Q16LM_83aowTd_Prw9vKmOxQlV9iZLyHYvPE_HcjU1Wpoj6ejFap6mIG3JO5dwhZ9TdnnAiFyLv8dp7HPQ34aHULJCgDYFOzcAmqPPdDIASv2ATIXDJydXnOdMJSvYgkGxU/s1600/King+and+Johnson.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King, Johnson (Yoichi Okamoto / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton: "...The whole region is unstable, in part because of the very effective outreach and propaganda by ISIS and by other terrorist groups. But... there is a fragile agreement... among Libyans to try to dislodge ISIS from Sirte, which was the home town of Qadhafi, and begin to create a national government... We did a lot to help. We did as much as we could but the Libyans had very strong feelings about what they wished to accept. But we always look for ways to do more to try to give people a chance to succeed."<br />
<br />
How about we use those resources to give the people of the US a chance to succeed? <br />
<br />
Raddatz to Clinton: "...[They] lacked institutions and experience. The Libyan government had been a family business for 40 years. On the security side, we offered only a modest training effort and a very limited arms-buyback program. <b>Let me ask again: How much responsibility do you bear for the chaos that followed elections?</b>"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton: "We offered a lot more than they were willing to take. We eliminated their chemical weapons... and went after many shoulder-fired missiles to round them up... We offered to send trainers and experts... but there wasn't much responsiveness at first. I think many Libyans who had been forced out of their country by Qadhafi and returned to be in a new government believed they knew what to do. They turned out to be no match for some of the militaristic forces in that country. But I am not giving up on Libya and don't think anyone should give up on it. We've been at this for years."<br />
<br />
Raddatz: "But were mistakes made?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "There's always a retrospective to say what mistakes were made..."<br />
<br />
We're just not entitled to know who did the retrospective or what's in it.<br />
<br />
"Sen. Sanders voted for a resolution that called for an end to the Qadhafi regime and asked the United Nations to go in through a vote of the General Assembly or of the Security Council. We got a vote from the Security Council... That is a part of the world where the US has tried to play two approaches: work with dictators for our own benefit and promote democracy. That's a hard road but I think it's the right road..."<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRtDeUxD7qALqpc5-ep8ShIb1BpWWSRDgPuP7h4jZGFb30fbXcVAlcerA7XkJqbxYGGxB3zC462pA1oWhjKjBKNHU5WzMMKVJx105Pl4z_fIJl12eJxBhfnRiwr6UQAQqh0wB3Q3QOmU/s1600/Goldwater.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRtDeUxD7qALqpc5-ep8ShIb1BpWWSRDgPuP7h4jZGFb30fbXcVAlcerA7XkJqbxYGGxB3zC462pA1oWhjKjBKNHU5WzMMKVJx105Pl4z_fIJl12eJxBhfnRiwr6UQAQqh0wB3Q3QOmU/s1600/Goldwater.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goldwater (US Senate<br />
Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Why? Anyway, had Sanders not been denied an opportunity to respond, he might have noted that the senatorial resolution to which Clinton referred called upon Qadhafi to resign and allow elections. It included no authorization of or encouragement of any military intervention. Thus, Clinton <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/senate-resolution/85" target="_blank">misled</a> via her claim about Sanders.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Debate IV | Sun., Jan. 17 | Charleston, SC | NBC</b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
As this event was on the eve of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Clinton said, "[M]y youth minister took me to hear Dr. King... His moral clarity, the message he conveyed that evening, stayed with me and helped to set me on a path to service. I remember he spent the last day of his life... in the fight for dignity and higher pay for workers..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Part of Clinton's account is contradicted by her actions. Case in point: two and a half years after Clinton heard King in person, she was on the campaign of then-Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) to unseat Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. Goldwater had voted <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0619.html#article" target="_blank">against</a> the Civil Rights Act, had <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19640104&id=Mk9SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2nwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7184,1404681" target="_blank">condemned</a> the decision by the Supreme Court to order desegregation of public schools, and was hostile to labor unions. <br />
<br />
Sanders: "As we honor the extraordinary life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., what is important is not only that we remember what he stood for, but that we pledge to continue his vision to transform our country..."<br />
<br />
Sanders is credible when he says that. King was a fellow <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/01/18/martin-luther-king-jr-celebrations-overlook-his-critiques-of-capitalism-and-militarism/" target="_blank">socialist</a>. Sanders <a href="http://uchicagogate.com/2015/09/18/bernie-sanders-integrating-the-life-of-the-mind/" target="_blank">chaired</a> the social action committee in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and <a href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/06/presidential_race_2016_bernie.html" target="_blank">organized</a> for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He participated in the legendary March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom. To fight segregation in housing, Sanders led the <a href="http://time.com/3896500/bernie-sanders-vermont-campaign-radical/" target="_blank">first</a> sit-in for civil rights in the history of Chicago. He was once trailed by
police as he attempted to inform the public about police brutality. Of 159 people arrested for a particular protest against segregation of public schools, Sanders was among the four who were <a href="http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1964/01/14/page/6/article/race-protest-cases-of-159-are-decided" target="_blank">fined</a> for leadership of that demonstration. As mayor in 1988, he <a href="https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/45-rev-jesse-jackson-visits-burlington-and-mayor-sanders" target="_blank">endorsed</a> the presidential bid by Rev. Jesse <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2015/07/bernie-sanders-the-early-years/002279-032672.html" target="_blank">Jackson</a>, who worked closely with King. In the Senate, Sanders has <a href="http://action.naacp.org/page/-/washington%20bureau/110thCongress.pdf" target="_blank">always</a> had a <a href="http://action.naacp.org/page/-/action%20alerts/111th_report_card.pdf" target="_blank">score</a> of <a href="http://action.naacp.org/page/-/washington%20bureau/resources/112th%20Congress.NATIONAL.1.pdf" target="_blank">100%</a> from the <a href="http://action.naacp.org/page/-/washington%20bureau/113Congress/113th%20National%20Report%20Card.1.PDF" target="_blank">NAACP</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXxMvtDpggBdZAA8-RgcgVokt5uN5d65jiTf0Sb4ewgoyYqydSiTnZ-KrK_g_h9BG4VYzcVlUNOfkfYotqv25WXAAj6hgWfkixWfDJFXq0PTyAkR_EAikvL0ncs_V_95xWbKOmSbi8jc/s1600/Jackson.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXxMvtDpggBdZAA8-RgcgVokt5uN5d65jiTf0Sb4ewgoyYqydSiTnZ-KrK_g_h9BG4VYzcVlUNOfkfYotqv25WXAAj6hgWfkixWfDJFXq0PTyAkR_EAikvL0ncs_V_95xWbKOmSbi8jc/s1600/Jackson.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Co-moderator Lester Holt to Sanders: "[L]ast week, Secy. Clinton called you 'a pretty reliable vote for the gun lobby.' Right before the debate, you changed your position on immunity for gun manufacturers from lawsuits for liability for crimes committed with guns they produced. Why?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "<b>[W]hat she says is very disingenuous.</b> The NRA rates me with a D-... I support the effort by Pres. Obama to close the gun-show loophole... [T]he immunity bill had some good provisions. It required <b>child safety locks on guns</b> and it <b>banned ammunition that can pierce protection that cops wear</b>..."<br />
<br />
There is <b>no change in position</b> on this by Sanders, who remains consistent about which aspects of the bill prompted him to vote for it and which aspects, such as that immunity, he is willing to amend.<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...Sen. Sanders... voted for what we call 'the Charleston Loophole,' ...voted to let guns... into national parks, and voted against research on how we can save lives..."<br />
<br />
Discussing criminal justice, Clinton said, "There needs to be a concerted effort to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice system. That effort requires a very clear agenda to retrain police officers, look at ways to end racial profiling..."<br />
<br />
Look at?<br />
<br />
"[V]ery often, the black men are arrested, convicted and incarcerated for offenses that do not lead to the same results for white men..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Who is satisfied about millions of people having criminal records for possession of marijuana as the CEOs of Wall St. companies who destroyed our economy have no criminal records?..."<br />
<br />
Holt to Sanders: "Just over a week ago, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Secy. Clinton. He said his choice of her was not hard. Our polls show she is ahead of you by more than 2-to-1 among minority voters. How can you be the nominee if you don't have that support?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPP27qhhEbBp8EfG6jn7UKKZiJBElYj4gFXnoexRFSNCCptSntDkXrNadlrTspgOM-FDBkgVWjWf605rq5x6nmqRJyf0ONr6v3HkKUdBVQCSXXAljoBa1JDuFNvnoQ1fCyb7HUSvROHM/s1600/Butterfield.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPP27qhhEbBp8EfG6jn7UKKZiJBElYj4gFXnoexRFSNCCptSntDkXrNadlrTspgOM-FDBkgVWjWf605rq5x6nmqRJyf0ONr6v3HkKUdBVQCSXXAljoBa1JDuFNvnoQ1fCyb7HUSvROHM/s1600/Butterfield.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. George Butterfield,<br />
D-NC, chairs the Black<br />
Caucus. (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...When the African-American community becomes familiar with my record and agenda -- just as the general population has become more supportive -- so will the African-American community and the Latino community..."<br />
<br />
Frenchesca Ramsey via YouTube: "[T]here's a huge conflict of interest when local prosecutors investigate violence by police in their own communities... How would you... ensure that such incidents are investigated fairly and prosecuted fairly?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...The death of anyone in police custody should be automatically investigated by the US attorney general... As a mayor, I worked... well with police officers, the vast majority of whom are honest, hardworking people who try to do a difficult job. But if an officer breaks the law, ...he must be held accountable... We must demilitarize our police departments so they don't look like occupying armies. We must move toward community policing..."<br />
<br />
Co-moderator Andrea Mitchell to Clinton: "...You said Sen. Sanders's proposal of Medicare-for-All would tear up and replace Obamacare. Is to say Bernie Sanders wants to kill Obamacare fair?"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for a minute and a quarter but did not answer the question.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "Secy. Clinton didn't answer your question. Her campaign said I... want to end Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. That is nonsense... <b>[Over 30M people] are under-insured</b> with huge co-payments and deductibles..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "[D]uring the debate over the ACA, there was an opportunity to vote for a public option, which would have let people buy into Medicare. Even when the Democrats were in charge of Congress, we couldn't get the votes for that..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/" target="_blank">false</a>. Obama <i>chose</i> not to provide leadership toward a public option. In fact, his words of support for the idea were contradicted by his deeds.<br />
<br />
"We now have driven costs of health care down to the lowest they've been in 50 years..."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/18/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-we-now-have-driven-costs-down-tgo-/" target="_blank">false</a>. Those costs have steadily risen for 50 years.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1cumRT8AvAaqQTq8bjfUSyjKidx4IxHPtkj3jWMnOYSqMg0I1FLvmt3EegeQYQulMrMw1oyWHbhbkIGRN_8GGCaS9Y0knvjszNirs9XXtjFOzcA6rF9xi-5DAk2SKxSt8reAl4JSb7s/s1600/Blankfein.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1cumRT8AvAaqQTq8bjfUSyjKidx4IxHPtkj3jWMnOYSqMg0I1FLvmt3EegeQYQulMrMw1oyWHbhbkIGRN_8GGCaS9Y0knvjszNirs9XXtjFOzcA6rF9xi-5DAk2SKxSt8reAl4JSb7s/s1600/Blankfein.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chairman & CEO<br />
Lloyd Blankfein of<br />
Goldman Sachs (Michael<br />
Gross / Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Connor Franta via YouTube: "...I'm 23... To get my generation's vote should be a priority for any presidential candidate. I know that Sen. Sanders is pretty popular among my peers. But how do... you plan to engage us further in this election?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I've laid out my ideas for... how we can create more good jobs because many young people I talk with are pretty disappointed in the economic prospects they feel they face..."<br />
<br />
Feel? Clinton later and somewhat abruptly launched the following line of attack.<br />
<br />
"Sen. Sanders... criticized Pres. Obama for acceptance of donations from Wall Street."<br />
<br />
Obama's campaigns for federal office collected a total of over <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=F&cycle=All&recipdetail=M&sortorder=U" target="_blank">$68M</a> from the finance, insurance and real-estate sector. Why should that fact not have disturbed anyone?<br />
<br />
"Pres. Obama led our country out of the Great Recession."<br />
<br />
He led our country to the widest <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/17/wealth-gap-upper-middle-income/" target="_blank">gap</a> in wealth between the rich and the middle class ever, a widened gap in wealth between whites and blacks, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/12/racial-wealth-gaps-great-recession/" target="_blank">and</a> a widened gap in wealth between whites and Latinos.<br />
<br />
"Sen. Sanders called him 'weak,' called him disappointing, and publicly sought someone in 2011 to run against him in the primaries."<br />
<br />
In a poll commissioned by CNN that year, 60% of Americans said Obama had <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/09/13/cnn.poll.obama/" target="_blank">fallen</a> short of their expectations. In another poll commissioned by the same network in the same year, 26% of Democrats said their party should nominate someone <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/11/22/rel19d.pdf" target="_blank">else</a> for president in 2012.<br />
<br />
"I believe that Pres. Obama's successful push for the Dodd-Frank bill... was one of the most important regulatory schemes since the 1930s. So I'll defend... Pres. Obama for taking on the financial industry and getting results."<br />
<br />
With adversaries like Obama, Wall St. does <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/23/untouchables-wall-street-prosecutions-obama" target="_blank">not</a> need allies.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...When I ran for the Senate in 2006, then-Sen. Obama was kind enough to campaign for me. I did my best to see he was elected in 2008 and re-elected. He and I are friends, have worked together on many issues, and have some differences of opinion.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2beOjj6QCnX2pm6NnTSSDbMihCrm0NE8Z6UinRx26xuBnrJnlC9HCwgHTqDieIsEsXlFGG0IqzCE63O4BqkdLFy4zcLj4Emi8TCGEF76LgLn_6X65l7gB2NaDjW6k75c-oQZJOst4tc/s1600/Hagel.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2beOjj6QCnX2pm6NnTSSDbMihCrm0NE8Z6UinRx26xuBnrJnlC9HCwgHTqDieIsEsXlFGG0IqzCE63O4BqkdLFy4zcLj4Emi8TCGEF76LgLn_6X65l7gB2NaDjW6k75c-oQZJOst4tc/s1600/Hagel.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hagel (Glenn Fawcett/<br />
Dept. of Defense)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"But the issue is...: Can Wall St. be reformed when it spends millions and millions of dollars on campaign contributions and provides speaking fees to candidates? To say, 'I'll do this and that,' is easy but I have doubts when people who say it receive huge amounts of money from Wall Street...<br />
<br />
"Two secretaries of the Treasury were from Goldman Sachs: one under a Republican, one under a Democrat. Its leader is a billionaire who advises Congress to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Secy. Clinton... received over $600,000 in speaking fees from Goldman Sachs in one year. <b>Something I find very strange is that Goldman Sachs, which is a major financial institution, pays $5B in fines but none of its executives are prosecuted while kids who smoke marijuana get a jail sentence.</b>"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I'll do all I can to make sure the wealthy pay for... child care..."<br />
<br />
Mitchell to Sanders: "[T]he health care plan you released tonight would raise taxes on not only the wealthy but the middle class..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I'm disappointed <b>Secy. Clinton... made that criticism</b>. It is a <a href="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1964/punchcard" target="_blank">Republican</a> criticism. [S]ome middle-class families would pay slightly more in taxes than they do now. But those families would save some $5,000 in health care costs annually..."<br />
<br />
Spokesperson for MinuteEarth via YouTube: "...[To] burn [fossil] fuels releases gases that trap heat... and thereby contribute to extreme weather and cause seas to rise... To fight... climate change means... to shift to alternative sources for the bulk of the world's energy supply. Some countries have decisively acted to make this transition. But <b>our nation still gets... 82% of its energy from coal, oil, and natural gas</b>. Political gridlock, pressure from industry lobbyists, and the insufficiency of research and of development have made an already tough battle in the US against climate change even tougher."<br />
<br />
Holt to Sanders: "...How do you convince Americans the problem of climate change is so urgent, they need to change their behavior?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1tS35qdDEcc99YZDVzBhdUyzuJgZoVtbrGVgsGMMAkVPqSjC4Tm7vPcGQxOBJPRXGogW6C27NcLd9Y0Ie5OwKBvNgldggQE9HIaDEv0nDg5hxMLbP4h426xN-zFH6dl3YYvM7DSuyuA/s1600/Snyder.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1tS35qdDEcc99YZDVzBhdUyzuJgZoVtbrGVgsGMMAkVPqSjC4Tm7vPcGQxOBJPRXGogW6C27NcLd9Y0Ie5OwKBvNgldggQE9HIaDEv0nDg5hxMLbP4h426xN-zFH6dl3YYvM7DSuyuA/s1600/Snyder.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gov. Richard Snyder,<br />
R-MI (Cmte. on Ed.<br />
& the Workforce)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "I think we already are convinced. The younger generation understands it instinctively. When I was home <b>in Vermont on Christmas Eve, the temperature there was 65 degrees</b>. People there and people who ice-fished where there is no ice anymore understand... If we do not act boldly and decisively, a bad situation will become worse... [W]e can create millions of jobs [if we]... transform our energy system from fossil fuels to efficient and sustainable energy. I have the most comprehensive legislation in the Senate to do that. As president, I will fight to enact it."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Mitchell to Clinton: "[F]ormer secy. of Defense Chuck Hagel recently said Pres. Obama's credibility was hurt when he stood down on planned missile strikes against Damascus after Assad used chemical weapons. Should Pres. Obama have stuck to his red line?"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for 45 seconds but <b>did not answer</b> the question. By the way, whether Assad ordered use of chemical weapons remains undetermined.<br />
<br />
Mitchell: "But should Pres. Obama have stuck to his line? Did it hurt US credibility?"<br />
<br />
Clinton then spoke for 90 seconds but <b>did not answer</b> the question.<br />
<br />
Holt: "[I]s there anything you want to add...?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I [am] outraged by what is happening in Flint, Michigan, ...where the population, which is poor... and majority black, had bathed in and drank lead-contaminated water. The governor of that state acted as though he didn't really care. He basically stonewalled requests for help. If the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had bathed in and drank contaminated water, there would have been action..."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...<b>I have demanded the resignation of the governor...</b> We must eliminate super-PACs by overturning <i>Citizens United</i> and... bring millions of... people into the political process..."Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-62628238416622964202016-01-13T06:46:00.001-05:002023-07-30T14:23:42.671-04:00Socialist Response to the State of the Union Address, 2016Last night, as she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh7LBtrBq1g" target="_blank">did</a> in 2014 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz86qzMsJN0" target="_blank">and</a> 2015, Councilwoman Kshama Sawant
PhD of Seattle, who is a member of
the Socialist Alternative Party and was re-elected in November, rebutted the annual speech by President Obama to Congress.<br />
<br />
The remarks by the former professor of economics begin at 1:06 of this video and, among other subjects, touch on the movements for economic, environmental and racial justice; on foreign and military policy; and on the presidential election along with the need to build a third major political party.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/30pdyzWOxnE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/30pdyzWOxnE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-51049525267420414262015-12-01T08:12:00.001-05:002023-07-30T14:24:13.674-04:00Victories, and Good Showings, for Greens on Election DayHere is an incomplete list I assembled of candidates of the <a href="http://www.gp.org/" target="_blank">Green</a> Party who won -- or did well in -- elections that ended on November 3. Because full tabulation of ballots often takes weeks or months, some of the following percentages might not be final.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Nominees of the Green Party</b></u><br />
Daniel Welsh* <b>re-elected</b> to Council of Lewisboro, NY<br />
Michael Bagdes-Canning <b>re-elected</b> to Council of Cherry Valley Borough, PA<br />
John Sweeney <b>re-elected</b> auditor of Falls Township, Wyoming County, PA<br />
Mirna Martinez# <b>re-elected</b> to Board of Education of New London, CT<br />
Leif Smith <b>re-elected</b> constable of Redding, CT <br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceN8cy8V2Itgfg_DDAfVzoobu1J2AoGEXs_Tw6XUNej0K6bZ5GAHUlmBYpH3Ry6TwnuMHZWm5em43_htK2553JAhR_p_8hC6OdPtdV2HSIgnfAql0l1I6GSabn_cMumPPXbcAUd-Ja_Y/s1600/VoteGreen.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceN8cy8V2Itgfg_DDAfVzoobu1J2AoGEXs_Tw6XUNej0K6bZ5GAHUlmBYpH3Ry6TwnuMHZWm5em43_htK2553JAhR_p_8hC6OdPtdV2HSIgnfAql0l1I6GSabn_cMumPPXbcAUd-Ja_Y/s1600/VoteGreen.png" /></a></div>
Hector Lopez <b>elected</b> constable of New Canaan, CT<br />
John Amarilios <b>elected</b> constable of New Canaan <br />
Howie Hawkins: <b>34.8%</b> for auditor of Syracuse, NY<br />
Jeffrey Staples: <b>30.1%</b> for House of Delegates of VA<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Kenneth</span> Hollenbeck^: <b>24.5%</b> for Council of Hudson, <span style="font-size: small;">NY</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Laura</span> Sikkema: <b>21.4%</b> for Council of Springfield, NY ‡<br />
Darrin Robbins: <b>21.2%</b> for mayor of Corning, NY<br />
Frank Cetera: <b>20.8%</b> for Council of Syracuse<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Lucille</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Prater-Holliday</span><span style="font-size: small;">:</span> <b>19%</b> for Magisterial Dist. Ct. of PA<br />
Alexander White: <b>18.4%</b> for Council of Rochester, NY<br />
Charles Tarr: <b>16.0%</b> for Council of Buffalo, NY<br />
Lance Denno: <b>14.4%</b> for Council of Syracuse †<br />
Joseph Phillips: <b>13.6%</b> for Legislature of Dutchess County, NY<br />
Collin Thomas: <b>11.5%</b> for Council of Troy, NY<br />
Frederick Balzac: <b>10.4%</b> for Council of Jay, NY ‡<br />
Anthony Baney: <b>9.4%</b> for Legislature of Erie County, NY<br />
Anthony Giordano: <b>8.3%</b> for Council of Rochester <br />
Dorothy Paige: <b>7.0%</b> for Council of Rochester <br />
Raymond Blackwell: <b>7.0%</b> for Bd. of Ed. of Syracuse □<br />
Caleb Duncan: <b>6.0%</b> for Bd. of Ed. of Syracuse □<br />
Richard Marra: <b>5.6%</b> for Legislature of Schenectady County, NY †<br />
Benedict Holden: <b>4.7%</b> for Bd. of Selectmen of Canton, CT ⌂<br />
Michael Wakefield: <b>4.6%</b> for House of Representatives of ME<br />
Kenneth Collins: <b>4.3%</b> for Assembly of NJ §<br />
Pauline Salotti: <b>4.3%</b> for Council of Brookhaven, NY<br />
Daniel Plaat: <b>4.2%</b> for executive of Albany County, NY<br />
Billy Collins: <b>4.1%</b> for Bd. of Selectmen of Waterford, CT<br />
Michael Bagdes-Canning: <b>3.6%</b> for Commission of Butler County, PA §<br />
Timothy Hanser: <b>3.6%</b> for Council of New London ◊<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-PcNhT12OWMXvoYK8mpWPmx4k2bpb2IJ9wIwJ7L-Jw-1SBj_2iUsBbNPj8oql6ZHKMt-iykpXIvFb1AdOGp2ErMDdoxPNGT_EXpLkLLtFAXUxgCYMls4fNSLKP980Pk01yPO-VfEC0M/s1600/Sawant.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-PcNhT12OWMXvoYK8mpWPmx4k2bpb2IJ9wIwJ7L-Jw-1SBj_2iUsBbNPj8oql6ZHKMt-iykpXIvFb1AdOGp2ErMDdoxPNGT_EXpLkLLtFAXUxgCYMls4fNSLKP980Pk01yPO-VfEC0M/s1600/Sawant.png" /></a></td></tr>
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Ronna Stuller: <b>3.4%</b> for Council of New London ◊<br />
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<u><b>Endorsees of the Green Party in Nonpartisan Races</b></u><br />
Kshama <a href="http://www.seattle.gov/council/sawant/" target="_blank">Sawant</a> <b>re-elected</b> to Council of Seattle, WA<br />
Renée Goddard <b>re-elected</b> to Council of Fairfax, CA<br />
Holly Seeliger <b>re-elected</b> to Bd. of Ed. of Portland, ME <br />
Josephine Okot: <b>40.8%</b> for Bd. of Ed. of Portland<br />
Paul Okot: <b>29.4%</b> for Bd. of Ed. of Portland<br />
Robert Korobkin: <b>28.3%</b> for Council of Portland<br />
David Foster: <b>20.5%</b> for Council of Portland<br />
James Villani: <b>15.5%</b> for trustee of Boardman Township, OH <br />
Elaine Mastromatteo: <b>15.4%</b> for trustee of Bristol Township, OH<br />
Francisco Herrera: <b>15.0%</b> for mayor of San Francisco, CA<br />
Trahern Crews: <b>14.0%</b> for Council of Saint Paul, MN<br />
Kristin Osbakken: <b>11.5%</b> for Council of Duluth, MN ‡<br />
Thomas MacMillan: <b>10.5%</b> for mayor of Portland<br />
Audrey Clement: <b>10.2%</b> for Bd. of Arlington County, VA ‡<br />
Andrew Schuler: <b>8.3%</b> for Council of Golden Valley, MN ∆<br />
Darlene Elias: <b>3.6%</b> for Council of Holyoke, MA ○<br />
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*<span style="font-size: small;">Member of Green Party; nominated by Democratic, </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Green, and </span>Working Families parties</span><br />
^<span style="font-size: small;">Member of Green Party, nominated by Democratic and Green parties</span><br />
#<span style="font-size: small;">Member of Green Party, nominated by Republican and Green parties</span> <br />
†<span style="font-size: small;">Three-way race for two seats</span><br />
‡<span style="font-size: small;">Four-way, two seats</span><br />
§<span style="font-size: small;">Five-way, two seats</span><br />
∆<span style="font-size: small;">Six-way, two seats</span><br />
⌂<span style="font-size: small;">Six-way, three seats</span><br />
□<span style="font-size: small;">Eight-way, four seats</span><br />
○<span style="font-size: small;">Sixteen-way, eight seats</span><br />
◊<span style="font-size: small;">Seventeen-way, seven seats</span>Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-68693963294718680352015-11-14T12:46:00.001-05:002017-11-11T19:37:14.549-05:00Clearer Contrast Btn. Hillary & Bernie as 2nd Debate is Near<div style="text-align: right;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he departure by ex-governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI), by Professor Lawrence Lessig and by ex-senator James Webb (D-VA) from the Democratic presidential contest, and the decision by Vice President Joseph Biden Jr. to remain out of it, clear the way almost entirely for direct juxtaposition between ex-sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as the two of them compete for the party's nomination for the highest office in this land. That much will be underscored when the second debate between them is held tonight. This entry analyzes statements they made in the first such debate, which has been distorted by corporate media ever since it was aired live by CNN from Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 13.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chafee (Congressional<br />
Pictorial Directory)</td></tr>
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Apparently, the schedule of Democratic presidential debates in this cycle was crafted to protect the front-runner status of the former secretary of State, who is the choice of the establishment in her party. Representative Deborah Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who backed Clinton's previous bid for the White House, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/10/12/the_dnc_screwed_hillary_now_get_ready_for_a_bernie_sanders_earthquake/" target="_blank">unilaterally</a> determined as chairperson of the Democratic National Committee it would organize only six of those encounters. That is less than one-quarter as many as were held in the 2008 cycle and fewer than what was requested by every original candidate in this race except Clinton, who <a href="http://media.thehill.com/services/player/bcpid2764968420001?bctid=4494068098001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAEA-5AE~,7pYsU79IKz2CXW_BSQItHbG6JoyZCfQ5" target="_blank">refuses</a> to call for more. Schultz also decreed that any candidates who engage each other anywhere other than at the six debates she has designated will be banned from them. Moreover, four Republican presidential debates have already been held this year.<br />
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Reasons why Clinton would now prefer as few showdowns with her opponents as politically feasible were made evident in the contest of 2008. Arguably, her downfall in it began when, in a debate, she blatantly <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4542552/clinton-refuses-give-clear-answer" target="_blank">waffled</a> on the issue of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. But in those debates generally, Clinton and other candidates such as ex-sen. Johnny Edwards (D-NC) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTQvKLJGZMo" target="_blank">looked</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4557600/kucinich-calls-edwards-trade" target="_blank">especially</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4557526/kucinich-thats-read" target="_blank">poor</a> when faced by a particular contender: then-Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who was <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/28/outgoing_rep_dennis_kucinich_with_2" target="_blank">appropriately</a> <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/dennis-kucinich-conscience-congress/" target="_blank">described</a> by <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/nancy-pelosi-drones_n_2685891.html" target="_blank">several</a> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/13/uselections2004.usa" target="_blank">journalists</a> as the "<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7276177.stm" target="_blank">conscience</a>" of the House of Representatives, or of the whole Congress, or even of his entire party. As a result of that contrast, Clinton and Edwards <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/14/clinton-edwards-caught-on-open-mic/" target="_blank"> conspired</a> for the exclusion of Kucinich from those events. <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kucinich-left-out-of-iowa-presidential-debate/" target="_blank">That</a> <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20071218_whither_dennis_kucinich" target="_blank">objective</a> <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/kucinich/kucinich0108prnh.html" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/nbc-uninvites-kucinich/" target="_blank">eventually</a> <a href="http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jan/20080124Comm001.asp" target="_blank">achieved</a>.<br />
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Schultz has not only rejected the widespread <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4551711%2Fdnc-chairperson-heckled-demands-debates" target="_blank">demand</a> for more debates but tried to squelch it. Case in point: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who is a vice chairperson of the DNC, received an invitation to October's debate. However, after she publicly joined in said demand, Schultz <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/15/top-party-official-accuses-democratic-national-chairwoman-of-lying-questions-her-leadership/" target="_blank">revoked</a> that invitation. <br />
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Despite the aforementioned favoritism toward Clinton, Sanders approached Las Vegas in a good position. In the third quarter of this year, his campaign raised $26 million, which is within $3M of what Clinton's drew in the same period and which thereby discredits predictions according to which the ex-representative's campaign will be unable to afford to compete with that of the former first lady in paid <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwwwn9zHT-8" target="_blank">advertisements</a>.<br />
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Sanders walked onto the stage fresh from another boost: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZWkd1Ms6CM" target="_blank">endorsements</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/keith-ellison-hands-bernie-sanders-his-second-congressional-endorsment" target="_blank">from</a> Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), which are the first two for Sanders from members of Congress and contradict the narrative that tells us the primary candidacy of the ex-mayor of Burlington cannot garner noteworthy support from racial minorities.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Webb (CPD)</td></tr>
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Statistics, too, defy that narrative. For example, in the tracking poll of registered voters by Reuters/Ipsos, the average of data from the first day Biden was no longer an option until the latest day of polling shows Sanders at <a href="http://polling.reuters.com/#poll/TR131/filters/SC_RACE:2,PD1:1/dates/20151022-20151113/type/overall" target="_blank">18%</a> among blacks, <a href="http://polling.reuters.com/#poll/TR131/filters/SC_RACE:5|4,PD1:1/dates/20151022-20151113/type/overall" target="_blank">27%</a> among Latinos/Natives, and <a href="http://polling.reuters.com/#poll/TR131/filters/SC_RACE:3|-1,PD1:1/dates/20151022-20151113/type/overall" target="_blank">32%</a> among other racial minorities.<br />
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Now for a review of substantive parts of the debate. The quoted wording is edited for clarity and concision. Boldface is added.<br />
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Moderator Anderson Cooper stated to Clinton, "[S]ome Democrats believe you change positions based on political expediency. <b>You were against [the right to] same-sex marriage. Now you're for it. You defended President Obama's immigration policies. Now you say they're too harsh. You supported his [TPP] trade deal dozens of times. You even called it 'the gold standard.' Now, [since] last week, you're against it...</b>"<br />
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Clinton responded, "I have been very consistent over the course of my entire life. I have always fought for the same values..."<br />
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That means her current values are the ones that motivated her to join the presidential campaign of then-Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), who voted <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0619.html#article" target="_blank">against</a> the <a href="http://civilrights.jfklibrary.org/Media-Assets/Address-to-the-American-People.aspx#The-Address--Tune-in-Tonight" target="_blank">Civil</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQsVVYpY6pI#t=76" target="_blank">Rights</a>
<a href="http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/CivilRightsActOf1964.pdf" target="_blank">Act</a> a month before his acceptance of the nomination of his party, broke
from his schedule two months before Election Day to fly
thousands of miles to vote <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/02/goldwater-flies-back-to-capital.html" target="_blank">against</a> the <a href="http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-096.aspx" target="_blank">creation</a> of <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=27123" target="_blank">Medicare</a>, <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19640104&id=Mk9SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2nwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7184,1404681" target="_blank">opposed</a> the Supreme Court's unanimous decision to order desegregation of public schools (<i>Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka</i>), <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19640813&id=M90jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hScEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5355,944771" target="_blank">opposed</a> mandatory <a href="https://archive.org/details/fdrbig" target="_blank">Social</a> Security, opposed progressive taxation, opposed all public welfare programs, supported harsh restrictions on labor unions, advocated for withdrawal from the United Nations, voted <a href="http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/censure_cases/133Joseph_McCarthy.htm" target="_blank">against</a> the censure of then-Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) for abuses committed in a domestic witch-hunt of alleged communists, and expressed a willingness to "drop a low-yield atomic bomb" (<i>Newsweek</i>, 20 May 1963) in order to achieve "defoliation of the forests" (<i>Issues and Answers</i>, ABC, 24 May 1964) through which China transported supplies to North Vietnam.<br />
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On page 21 of her autobiography <i>Living History</i> (2003), Clinton writes:<br />
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"I was... a Goldwater girl right down to my cowgirl outfit and straw cowboy hat emblazoned with the slogan '<span style="font-family: inherit;">AuH<sub>2</sub>O</span>'... I liked Senator Goldwater because he was a rugged individualist who swam against the political tide."</blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnson's campaign answered the slogan of its opposition.</td></tr>
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He certainly did: Goldwater was so conservative, Pres. Lyndon
Johnson not only defeated him by 486 to 52 in the Electoral College but attained 61.1% of the popular vote, which remains the largest share of the popular vote ever
recorded in a general election for chief executive of this land. For years following that election, Clinton stayed active in the Republican Party. For instance, she <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060903132835/http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/gop/history.html" target="_blank">headed</a> the Young Republicans of Wellesley College.<br />
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In the debate, Clinton continued, "[T]ake the trade deal. I did say... I hoped it would be the gold
standard..."<br />
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That is <a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2012/11/200565.htm" target="_blank">false</a>. In the speech to which Cooper referred, Clinton definitively asserted the completed pact would be satisfactory to her.<br />
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When Cooper followed up, "[I]n July, ...you <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/hillary-clinton-i-take-a-backseat-to-no-one-on-liberal-record-119723" target="_blank">told</a> a crowd you 'take a backseat to no one [on] progressive values.' Last month, ...you <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/09/10/bernie-sanders-elections-2016-wolf-intv-pt-1.cnn/video/playlists/bernie-sanders-2016/" target="_blank">said</a> you plead guilty to 'being kind of moderate...,'" Clinton replied, "[W]hen I left law school, my first job was with the Children's Defense Fund. And for all the years since, I have focused on how... to un-stack the deck..."<br />
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That is <a href="http://harpers.org/archive/2014/10/stop-hillary-2/" target="_blank">false</a>. After Clinton became a resident of Little Rock, Arkansas, she joined the Rose Law Firm. Doug Henwood reports in <i>Harper's Magazine:</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[A] ballot measure that passed would lower electricity rates for residential users in Little Rock and raise them for commercial users. Business... filed a legal challenge as Rose represented them... Hillary... argue[d] the case [and] <b>helped to craft the</b> <b>underlying legal strategy, which was that the new rate schedule amounted to an unconstitutional 'taking of property.' This is now a common right-wing argument against regulation</b>... Hillary defended, at Rose, the leading lights of Arkansas business and served on corporate boards -- including [of] the <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2014/5/15/walmart_contractor_settles_21m_wage_theft" target="_blank">viciously</a> <a href="https://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20120801.htm" target="_blank">anti</a>-<a href="https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=21780" target="_blank">union</a> <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/May/08-crt-364.html" target="_blank">Walmart</a>."</blockquote>
Asked, "For the record, are you a progressive or a moderate?" Clinton answered, "...I'm a progressive who likes to get things done..."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnson signs Medicare into law beside fmr. pres. Harry<br />
Truman. Also pictured are First Lady Claudia "Lady Bird"<br />
Johnson and Vice Pres. Hubert Humphrey Jr. (far right).</td></tr>
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As opposed to a progressive who does <i>not</i> like to get things done? No. Unless someone is a left-leaning moderate, which Clinton did not claim to be in any of the three self-descriptions in question, he cannot be accurately described by the simple term "progressive" <i>and</i> by the simple term "moderate" simultaneously. More important than such pandering by Clinton, though, is that she is conservative.<br />
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Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, a Gallup poll says half the nation would not put a socialist in the White House. You call yourself a democratic socialist. How can any kind of socialist win the general election?"<br />
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That poll was more than four months <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/183713/socialist-presidential-candidates-least-appealing.aspx" target="_blank">old</a> by the debate. A clearer indicator of Sanders's electability is the latest poll about potential match-ups for the general election. That survey was conducted by McClatchy/Marist and finds that Sanders does <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article43727049.ece/BINARY/Poll%20details" target="_blank">better</a> than Clinton does against each of the following potential Republican nominees: ex-gov. John "Jeb" Bush (R-FL), Sen. Rafael "Ted" Cruz (R-TX) and Cara "Carly" Fiorina. It also finds Sanders ahead of Donald Trump by 12 percentage points, ahead of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and merely two points behind Benjamin Carson MD.<br />
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Sanders responded in reference to himself and his backers, "We'll win because, first, we'll explain... democratic socialism is about... acknowledgement of the immorality of this: <b>the top 0.1% in this country owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90% owns</b>... [and] 57% of all new income goes to the top 1%... [E]very major country provid[es] health care to all people as a right, except the United States. Every other major country say[s] to moms, '[W]e will not separate you from your newborn baby... [W]e... have medical and family paid leave...' [W]e should learn from what countries like Denmark, Sweden and Norway have accomplished for their workers."<br />
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Cooper: "Denmark... has a population of 5.6M people."<br />
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So?<br />
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"The question is about electability... You supported the Sandinistas in Nicaragua."<br />
<br />
The Sandinistas <a href="http://www.britannica.com/place/Nicaragua/Government-and-society#toc40993" target="_blank">ousted</a> a dictatorship. The Contras existed as a group to attempt a violent overthrow of the Sandinistas. Even after the Sandinistas were popularly elected, the administration of US president Ronald Reagan illegally aided the Contras in part by funneling money to them from its illegal sale of weapons to Iran and by intentionally <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11485819/kill-messenger-gary-webb-true-story.html" target="_blank">allowing</a> the Contras to traffic cocaine into black neighborhoods in California.<br />
<br />
If there were internally consistent reasons why Sanders should have favored that policy, they could not include concern for human rights. The violations the Sandinistas committed in undermining dissent were dwarfed beside the oppression by not only the Contras and the Iranian regime <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2004/6/7/noam_chomsky_on_reagans_legacy_bush" target="_blank">but</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2004/6/7/robert_parry_on_what_the_corporate" target="_blank">other</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2004/6/8/journalist_allan_nairn_reagan_was_behind" target="_blank">oppressive</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/12/the_dictator_hunter_victims_of_us" target="_blank">regimes</a> Reagan supported, such as those in Guatemala, El Salvador, Iraq, Chad, and South Africa.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9WP7Nqxu6MWp5Eh4qrGxvP31RXayBP5ipUWexxOBPQQ9q13I157e1Ol5bDpSemX_S-0cKIBhiyDSFUsA53f2RDEHLJcKNsuWrCr_15ijFLcmrz4WpHVQFGqzx8TZspYGzUPA61G4mmc/s1600/Biden.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9WP7Nqxu6MWp5Eh4qrGxvP31RXayBP5ipUWexxOBPQQ9q13I157e1Ol5bDpSemX_S-0cKIBhiyDSFUsA53f2RDEHLJcKNsuWrCr_15ijFLcmrz4WpHVQFGqzx8TZspYGzUPA61G4mmc/s1600/Biden.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biden (Charles<br />
Kennedy / White House) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"You honeymooned in the Soviet Union."<br />
<br />
So?<br />
<br />
"And just this weekend, you said you're not a capitalist..."<br />
<br />
Although Cooper, Charles Todd of NBC, and Clinton were <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/bernie-sanders-is-not-a-capitalist-542522435717" target="_blank">evidently</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/mark-halperin-grades-the-dem-debate-544196163797" target="_blank">unaware</a> a socialist, by definition, is not a capitalist, Sanders's self-identification as a non-capitalist has been public for his entire career.<br />
<br />
As for electability, Sanders observed, "...Republicans win when voter-turnout is low. That is what happened last November. Sixty-three percent of the people didn't vote. Eighty percent of young people didn't vote." Sanders explained that <a href="https://berniesanders.com/extraordinary-turnout-in-denver/" target="_blank">his</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/senator-bernie-sanders-an-independent-from-vermont-and-2016-news-photo/479180140" target="_blank">campaign</a> is "<a href="http://www.pressherald.com/media/gallery/bernie-sanders-draws-thousands-portland/" target="_blank">bringing</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/in-arizona-sanders-draws-biggest-crowd-yet-more-red-state-rallies-are-set/" target="_blank">out</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-draws-thousands-to-texas-rallies/" target="_blank">huge</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/on-the-road-new-orleans/" target="_blank">turnouts</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/berniesanders/photos/a.880163885371950.1073741827.124955570892789/880164048705267/" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/berniesanders/photos/a.880716105316728.1073741828.124955570892789/880716398650032/" target="_blank">creating</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/berniesanders/photos/a.881505921904413.1073741829.124955570892789/881506168571055/" target="_blank">excitement</a> <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/democratic-presidential-candidate-senator-bernie-sanders-news-photo/488233530" target="_blank">all</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/berniesanders/status/650400816344494080" target="_blank">over</a> <a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2015/10/03/bernie-sanders-boston-rally/" target="_blank">this</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/congressman-grijalva-backs-bernie-at-tucson-rally/" target="_blank">country</a>." He added that Democrats "will win when there is excitement and a large voter-turnout, and that is what my campaign is generating."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Soon afterward, Clinton interjected, "[W]hen I think of capitalism, I think of all the small businesses that were started because we have the opportunity and freedom in our country for people to do that and to make a good living... I don't think we should confuse what we in America must do every so often, which is save capitalism from itself. I think that what Sen. Sanders says makes sense in terms of the inequality we have. But we are not Denmark..."<br />
<br />
The US is certainly not Denmark -- The following countries are listed in order of <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2013-10-08/the-great-gatsby-curve-explained.html" target="_blank">social</a> mobility, starting with the most: Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, Germany, Japan, France, the US. Alas, "the American dream" has become the Danish dream. Clinton implies the nation she seeks to lead should not hope to reclaim it.<br />
<br />
"[O]ur job is to rein in the excesses of capitalism so it doesn't run amok and so it doesn't cause the kind of inequities we see..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07UG9T_fcoKQCLp7DBVtfuZ5pOq5Yy8LTPi-4XHXZEPYaxLHH-aACPgtrmLVqMKVUOHE9uct4EfSscepS_tQg82kfEl9QJN3qBNfy8y1HYzeXNGER5zvMdrPg3wgoGQuRU6UK2SlfHuA/s1600/Schultz.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07UG9T_fcoKQCLp7DBVtfuZ5pOq5Yy8LTPi-4XHXZEPYaxLHH-aACPgtrmLVqMKVUOHE9uct4EfSscepS_tQg82kfEl9QJN3qBNfy8y1HYzeXNGER5zvMdrPg3wgoGQuRU6UK2SlfHuA/s1600/Schultz.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schultz (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Government has <a href="http://rdwolff.com/content/ongoing-crisis-and-liberal-blindness" target="_blank">never</a> proved able to regulate capitalism into stability. <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/11/02/the_betrayal_that_should_haunt_hillary_clinton_how_she_sold_out_working_women_then_never_apologized/" target="_blank">Clinton</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213" target="_blank">cannot</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=1&vote=00236" target="_blank">be</a> <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/21/401123124/a-timeline-of-hillary-clintons-evolution-on-trade" target="_blank">trusted</a> <a href="http://gawker.com/hillary-clinton-is-running-for-capitulator-in-chief-1721296939" target="_blank">to</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/08/12/clinton-is-open-to-raising-social-security-taxes-on-six-figure-earners/" target="_blank">try</a>. Even if neither were the case, why should the public prefer a self-destructive economic system whose stability depends upon the perennial election of politicians who would ensure adequate regulation?<br />
<br />
Capitalism is the economic equivalent of chaos. Socialism is the economic equivalent of republicanism. The reasons for a political system in which the people are sovereign and in which the minority is protected from the majority match the reasons for an economic system in which the right of all workers to negotiate the value of -- as well as have influence over what happens to the fruits of -- their labor is safeguarded and in which the poor are protected from the rich.<br />
<br />
"But to turn our backs on what built the greatest middle class in the history of the world would be a grave mistake."<br />
<br />
The middle class of the US has <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/04/25/chart-of-the-week-u-s-middle-class-no-longer-the-worlds-richest/" target="_blank">fallen</a> behind that of Canada and was built via the struggle of labor <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-labor-union-decline" target="_blank">unions</a>, not through any natural tendency of capital. <br />
<br />
Sanders rebutted, "I think everyone agrees we are a great entrepreneurial nation. We must encourage that... But... <b>growth... means nothing if all new income... goes to the top 1%</b>. So, we must support small and medium-sized businesses -- the backbone of our economy -- but make sure every family in this country gets a fair shake..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, you voted against the Brady bill. It mandated background checks [on] and a waiting period [for purchasers of guns]. You supported allowance of guns in checked bags on Amtrak... For a decade, you said that to hold gun manufacturers legally responsible for mass shootings is a bad idea. Now, you say you're reconsidering that. Which is it: shield the gun companies from lawsuits or not?"<br />
<br />
Sanders, after he noted his lifetime rating from the National Rifle Association is <b>D-</b> and he noted his support <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00097" target="_blank">for</a> a ban on assault weapons, <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00101" target="_blank">for</a> universal instant background checks, and for stricter enforcement of the prohibition on <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/our-impact/resources/what%E2%80%99s-a-%E2%80%9Cstraw-purchase%E2%80%9D" target="_blank">straw</a> purchases, not to mention <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00103" target="_blank">for</a> a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips, stressed "there are thousands of people in this country who are suicidal or homicidal but cannot get the mental health care they need... [T]hey don't have insurance or they're too poor... [E]veryone in this country who has a mental crisis must be given mental health counseling immediately."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLcWidot_gnJ9IAO8latD6YoV-KUGfz1vUxsSAA198__X4IdjMKbCixRSxNlC5eI5jO4Bw5abDNE4yGtEwUZyTPLRdq7gG9BuRyh3IA3evhxp5S1uLJ89ykWt25nxGxV8rb4arR1LvP8/s1600/Kucinich.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLcWidot_gnJ9IAO8latD6YoV-KUGfz1vUxsSAA198__X4IdjMKbCixRSxNlC5eI5jO4Bw5abDNE4yGtEwUZyTPLRdq7gG9BuRyh3IA3evhxp5S1uLJ89ykWt25nxGxV8rb4arR1LvP8/s1600/Kucinich.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kucinich (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cooper followed up, "Do you want to shield gun companies from lawsuits?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Sanders: "Of course not. This was a... complicated bill. There were provisions in it that... made sense... [D]o I think, if a gun shop... sells legally to someone who then does something crazy, the gun shop owner should be held responsible? I don't. On the other hand, where manufacturers and gun shops knowingly giv[e] guns to criminals..., of course we should act."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Secy. Clinton, is Bernie Sanders tough enough on guns?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton, who has <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/christian-heinze/273629-for-16-prospects-guns-may-matter" target="_blank">changed</a> positions on the idea of a national registry of guns, replied, "No, not at all... Sen. Sanders did vote five times against the Brady bill."<br />
<br />
On page 86 of his memoir <i>Outsider in the House</i> (1997), Sanders writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...I opposed the Brady bill because... a handgun waiting period could be dealt with at the state level..." </blockquote>
That stance was vindicated when the <b>Supreme Court ruled the system of the national waiting period unconstitutional</b> (<i>Printz v. United States</i>).<br />
<br />
Clinton continued, "Since its enactment, more than 2M prohibited purchases have been prevented."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/2014-operations-report" target="_blank">false</a>. Clinton overstated the figure by 72%. Furthermore, given that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System began on November 30, 1998, Clinton misled when she implied Sanders has opposed any of the said prevention that has occurred since the aforementioned date. <br />
<br />
"He also did vote, as he said, ...to immunize... on[e] industry... Everyone else has to be accountable..."<br />
<br />
Accountable for what? When a gun is fired at someone, it does what it is designed to do. If any liability for an illegal shooting is passed onto the business that legally sold the gun, that means the criminal is not to be considered fully responsible for a decision he made solely.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIB6HJTHnv2SNSltzkqQ5xC7BGCw6HIFPn-ZycLVu2OCpsu3SrSTlYIb4hi57y-7lcqbtpjg0D0_uQtQGZ2DBfuTFN1Cf5z4-Gg6LiDKkfyhhFRrCx2wUZrGyeFPU4kEu_iAsyYNKQeaA/s1600/Gabbard.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIB6HJTHnv2SNSltzkqQ5xC7BGCw6HIFPn-ZycLVu2OCpsu3SrSTlYIb4hi57y-7lcqbtpjg0D0_uQtQGZ2DBfuTFN1Cf5z4-Gg6LiDKkfyhhFRrCx2wUZrGyeFPU4kEu_iAsyYNKQeaA/s1600/Gabbard.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gabbard (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If governance were to follow Clinton's logic to its conclusion, every manufacturer
of any commercial product would be subject to liability for every time
such a product functions correctly while used to commit a crime. <br />
<br />
The public, if it believes the sale of guns to civilians is tantamount to criminal complicity, should elect a president who would nominate -- and senators who would confirm -- justices of the Supreme Court who would reverse its ruling in <i>District of Columbia v. <span style="color: #660000;">Hell</span>er</i> and thereby resume the centuries-old <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZD.html" target="_blank">acceptance</a> of the <a href="http://drexel.edu/ogcr/resources/constitution/amendments/amendment2/" target="_blank">obvious</a> and sole purpose of the Second Amendment, which was ratified more than 150 years before the US established a significant
standing army. That purpose is to let states arm their militias for protection against invasion from abroad and against insurrection. Were <i>Heller</i> overturned, the public could then elect federal officials who would prohibit the sale of guns to civilians. Except under those circumstances, the policy Clinton advocates does not make sense. That may be a reason why said policy is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/say-someone-legally-damages/2013/05/22/2789abdc-a682-11e2-9e1c-bb0fb0c2edd9_page.html" target="_blank">opposed</a> by three-quarters of registered voters in this country.<br />
<br />
When discussing intervention by the US in Syria, Sanders remarked, "I'm the former chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and in that capacity, I learned a very powerful lesson about the cost of war."<br />
<br />
Clinton has apparently <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/258368-mccain-sanders-has-better-record-on-veterans-than-hillary" target="_blank">not</a> learned that lesson.<br />
<br />
Sanders continued, "I will do all I can to make sure the US does not become involved in another quagmire like we did in Iraq: the worst foreign policy blunder in the history of this country. We should put together a coalition of Arab countries, who should lead the effort. We should be supportive but I do not support the idea to put American ground troops in Syria."<br />
<br />
At his next turn, Sanders noted Clinton proposes "a no-fly zone in Syria, which...
could lead to real problems."<br />
<br />
Those potential problems <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/10/14/sanders_calls_iraq_worst_foreign_policy" target="_blank">include</a> a military clash between the US and Russia, which has over 1,600 <a href="http://www.state.gov/t/avc/rls/232359.htm" target="_blank">nuclear</a> warheads. <br />
<br />
In between those statements, Clinton was asked about her vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq. She responded, "I recall... being on a stage... about 25 times with then-Sen.
Obama as he and I debated this very issue. After the election, he asked me to
become secretary of State. He valued my judgment..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPP7E1KKnn-yaIoPmavOEQxU_8E4YeHtJbE4jVUeV5WFs3f-muin5pQFhK4r_MeeSKHm-78EDWkvwH7NR8_Keb7aGoEotQH0HU3wBaBqNFGP1UYbWlk16yxGY8wZQ_MVjJdY109g-s8I4/s1600/Grijalva.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPP7E1KKnn-yaIoPmavOEQxU_8E4YeHtJbE4jVUeV5WFs3f-muin5pQFhK4r_MeeSKHm-78EDWkvwH7NR8_Keb7aGoEotQH0HU3wBaBqNFGP1UYbWlk16yxGY8wZQ_MVjJdY109g-s8I4/s1600/Grijalva.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grijalva (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So?<br />
<br />
Sanders continued, "I heard the same evidence from [George W.]
Bush, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld about... Saddam Hussein... I
say, without any joy..., much of what I thought would <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/video/flashback-rep-bernie-sanders-opposes-iraq-war" target="_blank">happen</a>... did
happen..."<br />
<br />
Cooper pointed out that Clinton, as secretary of State, "supported more troops in Afghanistan, wanted to arm Syrian rebels and pushed for the bombing of Libya..."<br />
<br />
With regard to her stance on Libya, Clinton rationalized, "A murderous dictator -- Gadhafi -- who had American blood on his hands..., threatened to massacre large numbers of the Libyan people."<br />
<br />
There are numerous regimes that have murdered large numbers of their own people and have murdered citizens of the US but that Clinton has never suggested this country should attack.<br />
<br />
"Our closest allies in Europe begged us to help them try to prevent what they saw as a 'mass genocide,' in their words."<br />
<br />
She overlooked the <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/121879/hillary-clinton-should-take-blame-disastrous-libyan-intervention" target="_blank">lack</a> of evidence to substantiate those words.<br />
<br />
"And the Arabs who stood by our side said, 'We want for you to help us deal with Gadhafi.'"<br />
<br />
So?<br />
<br />
"...I think Pres. Obama made the right decision..."<br />
<br />
Clinton is <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-americans-views-on-foreign-policy/" target="_blank">out</a> of the mainstream on that.<br />
<br />
"[T]he Libyan people had a free election for the first time since 1951. They voted for moderates and with the hope of democracy. Because of the Arab Spring and a lot of other things, turmoil followed..."<br />
<br />
Clinton said that as if turmoil does not <a href="http://bostonreview.net/downes-regime-change" target="_blank">usually</a> result from participation by the US in overthrow of governments. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QKjCPtkFf73sFeEIjmMODKOjTNpTdCsXkWy4DMzxhvVmWjSthYdruRT-3HbU7GOrZ3KTYVajw2Tk1EgBkxfqAGggKwjHgjRbbk1GAGnYhYCMVIClsKgaXpvp-TYlZlsG8fu8XG5-IN8/s1600/Ellison.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QKjCPtkFf73sFeEIjmMODKOjTNpTdCsXkWy4DMzxhvVmWjSthYdruRT-3HbU7GOrZ3KTYVajw2Tk1EgBkxfqAGggKwjHgjRbbk1GAGnYhYCMVIClsKgaXpvp-TYlZlsG8fu8XG5-IN8/s1600/Ellison.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellison (CPD)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cooper: "What is the greatest threat to our national security?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Clinton said it is "the spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear material, that can fall into the wrong hands..."<br />
<br />
The hands of someone like Goldwater?<br />
<br />
Sanders correctly answered, "[I]f we do not address the global crisis of climate change, transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to sustainable energy, the planet we leave to our... grandchildren may well not be habitable..."<br />
<br />
When civil rights was the topic, Sanders acknowledged, "The African-American community knows on any given day, some innocent person like Sandra Bland can get into a car and then, three days later, ...end up dead in jail, or their kids might be shot. We need to combat institutional racism from top to bottom, and we need major, major <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/" target="_blank">reforms</a> in a broken criminal-justice system in which we incarcerate more people than China does. I intend to tackle that issue to make sure our people have education and jobs rather than jail cells."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Secy. Clinton, what would you do for African-Americans that Pres. Obama couldn't?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think Pres. Obama has been a great moral leader on these issues..."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/205766-black-dems-stunned-by-senate-hearing-on-obama-judge-pick" target="_blank">Think</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/after-zimmerman-verdict-obama-needs-to-speak-about-racism/2013/07/16/a3b48432-ee28-11e2-9008-61e94a7ea20d_story.html" target="_blank">again</a>. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-george-zimmerman-civil-rights-20150224-story.html" target="_blank">Rather</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/us/darren-wilson-is-cleared-of-rights-violations-in-ferguson-shooting.html" target="_blank">than</a> act to combat the systemic racial bias in law enforcement, Obama <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/7/22/cornel_west_obamas_response_to_trayvon" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2014/10/6/cornel_west_on_obama_eric_holder" target="_blank">implied</a> <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-6142_2co3.pdf" target="_blank">there</a> is a mere perception of that bias. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/black-america-shouldnt-be-giving-obama-a-pass/2013/06/04/d696a45c-cd4e-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html" target="_blank">Rather</a> than act to combat the racial disparity in economic opportunity, he has chosen to tolerate and reward <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/09/obama.reid/" target="_blank">racist</a> <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-01-31-biden-2008_x.htm" target="_blank">language</a> and to <a href="http://www.timwise.org/2013/05/bullying-pulpit-racism-barack-obama-and-the-selective-call-for-personal-responsibility/" target="_blank">echo</a> <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/02/27/remarks-president-my-brothers-keeper-initiative" target="_blank">racist</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/08/obama-speech-mlk-personal-responsibility" target="_blank">stereotypes</a> such as by understating said disparity.<br />
<br />
"...and has laid out an agenda the Republicans have obstructed at every turn."<br />
<br />
Actually, there was a <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/" target="_blank">turn</a> when the Senate had a filibuster-proof majority of Democrats for over four months while the House of Representatives had its largest Democratic majority in 30 years. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5QoT6kWShWJVaV0NMXhYuc5Z5korJFsxRiEk5UnuXWrj-e9bzeRqDnafSbvGIAJ2xkZZoFuiGpNZN8sIW1pG7Acfxex_ROQfiZg7Mi1wOhA6G_Lc7yi1UIXYIbmcxK5L2NJL-DnFu8w/s1600/Clinton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5QoT6kWShWJVaV0NMXhYuc5Z5korJFsxRiEk5UnuXWrj-e9bzeRqDnafSbvGIAJ2xkZZoFuiGpNZN8sIW1pG7Acfxex_ROQfiZg7Mi1wOhA6G_Lc7yi1UIXYIbmcxK5L2NJL-DnFu8w/s1600/Clinton.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"[W]e must reform criminal justice. I have talked about... things like body cameras. But we also must follow the recommendations of the commission Pres. Obama impaneled on policing... Similarly, we need to tackle mass incarceration..."<br />
<br />
Three weeks ago, in another conveniently timed <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-private-prisons_562a3e3ee4b0ec0a389418ec" target="_blank">epiphany</a>, Clinton resolved to begin to call for an end to private prisons. In this race, Sanders was five months <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13WBk90ZLcs" target="_blank">ahead</a> of her in advocacy for that idea and was nearly three months ahead of her in publication of a plan to reform criminal justice overall.<br />
<br />
On the issue of income inequality, Sanders observed, "[F]or the last 40 years, the great middle class of this country has been disappearing... [W]e need to... create millions of jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure; raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour; ...end our disastrous trade policies, which have cost us millions of jobs; and make every public college and public university in this country tuition-free."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Cooper: "...Glass-Steagall is the Depression-era law repealed in 1999. It prevented commercial banks from engaging in investment banking and in insurance activities. Secy. Clinton, ...Sen. Sanders wants to break up the big Wall Street banks. You don't. You say charge the banks more, continue to monitor them. Why is your plan better?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "My plan is more comprehensive and... tougher... [O]f course we must deal with the problem of the banks still being too big to fail. We can never let the American taxpayer... have to bail out the kind of speculative behavior we saw."<br />
<br />
She meant except for when she voted to make the American taxpayer do so.<br />
<br />
"But we also must worry about some of the other players -- AIG, a big insurance company; Lehman Brothers, an investment bank."<br />
<br />
Yes, because <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000123&type=P&cycle=2000&state=NY&sort=N" target="_blank">those</a> two <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000123&chamber=S&party=D&cycle=2004&state=NY&sort=N" target="_blank">firms</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/toprecips.php?id=D000000123&type=P&sort=A&cycle=2006" target="_blank">gave</a> a <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/toprecips.php?id=D000000123&type=P&sort=A&cycle=2008" target="_blank">total</a> of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&type=I&cid=N00000019&newMem=N&recs=20" target="_blank">over</a> $445,000 to her previous campaigns.<br />
<br />
"There's this whole area called 'shadow banking.' The experts tell me the next problem could come from there. So I'm... putting a lot of attention onto the banks."<br />
<br />
Indeed she is, especially to fundraise. Her campaign has already accepted more than <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=F&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">$5M</a> from the finance, insurance and real-estate sector. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin13a41zh2ANBG-gute01Fub_wXJrKFvLp-NvW5Qbxy8e3K3RtGGvFTuTqeU3JeSiYlR9n2x-2v_c2u2F4yfWDr9F2eOC-l2vsTodHj4Y4F-Cc7kP-NeUZhPm6uQsILLgbgSiGsHnriqA/s1600/Sanders.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin13a41zh2ANBG-gute01Fub_wXJrKFvLp-NvW5Qbxy8e3K3RtGGvFTuTqeU3JeSiYlR9n2x-2v_c2u2F4yfWDr9F2eOC-l2vsTodHj4Y4F-Cc7kP-NeUZhPm6uQsILLgbgSiGsHnriqA/s1600/Sanders.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"The plan I have put forward would empower regulators to break up big banks if we were to think they pose a risk..."<br />
<br />
They pose a risk <i>now</i>. She had just agreed they remain "too big to fail."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, Secy. Clinton just said her policy is tougher than yours is."<br />
<br />
"Well," Sanders said with a bit of a laugh, "that's <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/reforming-wall-street/" target="_blank">not</a> true."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Why?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[T]he greed, recklessness and illegal behavior of Wall St., where fraud is a business model, helped to destroy this economy and the lives of millions of people... [W]hen... the Republican leadership, Wall Street..., the Clinton administration [and then-chairperson of the Federal Reserve] Alan Greenspan said 'a great idea would be to allow these huge banks to merge,' I... helped lead the opposition... [T]he three largest banks in America are much bigger than they were when we bailed them out for being 'too big to fail'..."<br />
<br />
Clinton said in her rebuttal, "I represented Wall St. as a senator..."<br />
<br />
She sure did, and Wall St. returned the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=F&recipdetail=M&sortorder=U&cycle=All" target="_blank">favor</a> <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article29711881.html" target="_blank">financially</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
"I went to Wall St. in December of 2007, before the big crash..., and I basically said, 'Cut it out. Quit foreclosing on homes. Quit these kinds of speculative behaviors.'"<br />
<br />
Is that a joke?<br />
<br />
"I took on the Bush administration for the same thing..."<br />
<br />
How?<br />
<br />
"[M]y plan would have the potential to send the executives to jail..."<br />
<br />
Those executives do <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/08/investing/hillary-clinton-wall-street-plan/" target="_blank">not</a> seem to believe that. Perhaps they doubt Clinton would be willing to so heavily revise her list of donors for the 2020 campaign.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3JGn2TwLCkDBJQI4DCzm0HteB2BgsIye7K-repEiv6ZjC892hqEQnc8fX8r8Q1i8e-8G7uWN3oDV4H8eUXgu6xuL3Eops4aYli685RRFUTswtkNTJUI9auqBPRruMlnYaGtRiCR_hC8/s1600/Greenspan.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3JGn2TwLCkDBJQI4DCzm0HteB2BgsIye7K-repEiv6ZjC892hqEQnc8fX8r8Q1i8e-8G7uWN3oDV4H8eUXgu6xuL3Eops4aYli685RRFUTswtkNTJUI9auqBPRruMlnYaGtRiCR_hC8/s1600/Greenspan.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greenspan<br />
(Cmte. on Finance)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "...Congress does not regulate Wall Street. Wall St. regulates Congress... To go to Wall St. and say, 'Please do the right thing,' is kind of naive."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "...I think Dodd-Frank was a very good start, and... we must implement it..."<br />
<br />
When challenged on her <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/22/hillary-clinton-opposes-keystone-xl-pipeline" target="_blank">inconsistency</a> about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, Clinton responded in part, "I never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone."<br />
<br />
That remark was useful only if it was a tribute to the recently deceased Yogi Berra.<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, in 2008, congressional leaders were told, without the bailout, the US was possibly days away from a complete meltdown... [Y]ou still voted against it. As president, would you stand by your principles if that were to risk the country's financial stability?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I recall that meeting... [Then-secretary of the Treasury] Hank Paulson [and <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/4/eliot_spitzer_geithner_bernanke_complicit_in" target="_blank">then</a>-chairperson of the Federal Reserve Ben] Bernanke... said, 'Guys, the economy is going to collapse because Wall St. is going under...' I said, 'Hank, ...you come from Goldman Sachs. Your millionaire and billionaire friends caused this problem. How about they pay for the bailout?' ...I would not have let the economy collapse. But to ask the middle class to bail out Wall St. was wrong..."<br />
<br />
Panelist Dana Bash to Sanders: "[Y]ou have a plan to make public colleges free. Secy. Clinton has criticized that by saying she's 'not in favor of free college for Donald Trump's kids.' Should taxpayers pick up the tab for wealthy children?"<br />
<br />
Taxpayers <a href="http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/hillary-clinton-delivers-lame-attack-bernie-sanders-free-college-tuition-plan" target="_blank">already</a> do when those children are... children. But since when do the offspring of the wealthy tend to go to public colleges? Trump's daughters and his adult sons did not.<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Trump and his billionaire friends, under my policies, would pay a hell of a lot more in taxes... than they pay now. But... <b>[a] college degree today... is the equivalent of what a high-school diploma was 50 years ago</b>. And what we said 50 years ago... is that every kid in this country should be able to get a high school education regardless of the income of his family... [W]e must say that is true for everyone who goes to college... [W]e don't need a complicated system, which the secretary proposes: the income goes up, the income goes down, if you're poor, you have to work... I pay for my program through a tax on Wall St. speculation. That tax will... substantially lower interest rates on college debt..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpidw3Bd5MAeYLLSZR97QPjq-E3vidmTCCfWmsAcYxp-QRwg5fAd1qb0qt79iUqFQrdj0UhYBbZyadga7znhOoXyZ_tzqtR0S9GmX7UlUrtTAKSwxj8apYWhTQHXQMe_-lVgN_S4WoDmc/s1600/Paulson.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpidw3Bd5MAeYLLSZR97QPjq-E3vidmTCCfWmsAcYxp-QRwg5fAd1qb0qt79iUqFQrdj0UhYBbZyadga7znhOoXyZ_tzqtR0S9GmX7UlUrtTAKSwxj8apYWhTQHXQMe_-lVgN_S4WoDmc/s1600/Paulson.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paulson (Shealah<br />
Craighead / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bash to Clinton: "Sen. Sanders proposes expansion of Social Security and proposes Medicare for all. What's wrong with that?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "Let me address college affordability because I have a plan I think will zero in on the problems. First, all the 40M Americans who have student debt will be able to refinance their debt to a low interest rate. That will save thousands of dollars for people who now struggle under... college debt... My plan would enable anyone to go to a public college or university [debt]-free. One would not have to borrow money for tuition.<br />
<br />
"But I believe... that for everyone to have some part in accomplishment of this is important... I would like for students to work 10 hours a week in order... for them to afford their education. And I want for colleges to lower their costs..."<br />
<br />
The part students play in accomplishment of education is to study. To compel people to take jobs while they are students would be inconsiderate and pointless. To compel the same when the unemployment rate is anywhere near what it is now, which is <a href="http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts" target="_blank">22.8%</a>, would be grossly counterproductive. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Bash: "Secy. Clinton, the question was... about Sen. Sanders's plan to expand Social Security and to make Medicare available to all. Would you support that plan? If not, why not?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I fully support Social Security..."<br />
<br />
Bash: "Do you want to expand it?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I want to enhance the benefits for the poorest recipients..."<br />
<br />
I'll take that as a "No."<br />
<br />
"I will defend Social Security. I will look for ways to try to make sure it's solvent into the future. And we also need to talk about health care at some time..."<br />
<br />
That time was not then, apparently.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyylzWlLxNGYEegXtN6yQyuMmBR-DPQMhv0ZGm75SvEJOhyu9Fzr3Q7HOqZawIEwud2Rj5hu1kho4x3NII7bPm-12irET6JdS0FjL4P9nKsGN5Q0osViyGFogtkR-T3jtlkBmQTkHcDI/s1600/Bernanke.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyylzWlLxNGYEegXtN6yQyuMmBR-DPQMhv0ZGm75SvEJOhyu9Fzr3Q7HOqZawIEwud2Rj5hu1kho4x3NII7bPm-12irET6JdS0FjL4P9nKsGN5Q0osViyGFogtkR-T3jtlkBmQTkHcDI/s1600/Bernanke.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bernanke (Cmte. on<br />
Banking, Housing, <br />
and Urban Affairs)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sanders: "When the Republicans... and some Democrats proposed to cut Social Security -- and cut benefits for disabled veterans -- through the so-called 'chained CPI,' I founded the Defending Social Security Caucus... [As] millions of seniors in this country try to get by... on [less than] $13,000 a year, Social Security should not be cut. We should expand it by lifting the cap on taxable incomes in order to do away with the absurdity of a millionaire paying the same amount into the system as does someone whose income is $118,000. If we do that, benefits can be expanded and Social Security would be solvent until 2061."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Panelist Juan Carlos Lopez: "...Sen. Sanders, in 2013, you voted for immigration reform. But in 2007, ...you voted <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00235" target="_blank">against</a> it. Why should Latino voters trust you now when you left them at the altar when reform was very close?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I didn't leave anyone at the altar... [T]hat <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-bill/1639" target="_blank">legislation</a>... had guest-worker provisions the Southern Poverty Law Center [<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/20130218/close-slavery-guestworker-programs-united-states" target="_blank">described</a> as] semi-slavery. Guest workers under terrible conditions would, if they stand up for their rights, be deported..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, you talked about your record on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. You served on it for the last eight years, including two as its chairman, while veterans died as they waited for health care. You and Sen. McCain ultimately addressed the issue with bipartisan legislation. Why did the inspector general have to file 18 reports... before you and your colleagues took action?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[W]hen I was chairman, we did take action. We passed a $15 billion piece of legislation, which brought many, many new doctors and nurses into the V.A. so veterans... can get health care when they need it... [T]hat legislation says if a veteran resides more than 40 miles away from a V.A. facility, he can get health care from a community health center or the private sector. As a result of that legislation, we went further than at any time in recent history in improvement health care for the men and women... who put their lives on the line to defend us."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "[T]he Patriot <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/3162" target="_blank">Act</a>... created the surveillance program used by the National Security Agency... Secy. Clinton, do you regret your <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=107&session=1&vote=00313" target="_blank">vote[s</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00029" target="_blank">for]</a> the Patriot Act?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Clinton: "<b>No.</b> I think it was necessary in order to ensure we could, after 9/11, put in place the security we needed... [I]t required a process... [H]owever, ...the Bush administration chipped away at that process. And I spoke out about their warrantless surveillance... We always must keep the balance of civil liberties... and security..."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8yOcBZ2WddIMtYVpDNP25psXJycI0rsfRmYohszEDtc9x4iKI8v7KO8ymQH9ON45wwiSPyaDBGqSp7t0m2xCieqvfgPUwFLI7mvwH5uJR4RqvfklJ6i7L543ujxZuuv3cgkOmqaRnDU/s1600/McCain.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8yOcBZ2WddIMtYVpDNP25psXJycI0rsfRmYohszEDtc9x4iKI8v7KO8ymQH9ON45wwiSPyaDBGqSp7t0m2xCieqvfgPUwFLI7mvwH5uJR4RqvfklJ6i7L543ujxZuuv3cgkOmqaRnDU/s1600/McCain.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John McCain, R-AZ (US<br />
Senate Historical Office)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Provisions of that law were <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jan/27/local/me-patriot27" target="_blank">struck</a> <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-06-3095100715_x.htm" target="_blank">down</a> because they <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/27/two_parts_of_patriot_act_unconstitutional_judge_rules/" target="_blank">violated</a> the Bill of Rights. Alas, by "civil liberties," Clinton means the ones we deserve according to her, not to the Constitution. Furthermore, the Patriot Act <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/cia-directors-documentary-911-bush-213353" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?319161-1/munk-debate-state-surveillance" target="_blank">not</a> necessary for national security. When Clinton criticized Bush about warrantless surveillance, she did <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11027207/ns/politics/t/sen-clinton-criticizes-bush-wiretap-rationale/" target="_blank">not</a> call it illegal.<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, you... voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll398.xml" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll414.xml" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll627.xml" target="_blank">Patriot</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00019" target="_blank">Act</a> in 2001 and <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00084" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00201" target="_blank">reauthorization[s]</a>... [W]ould you shut down the NSA surveillance program?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...I'd shut down what now exists: ...virtually every telephone call in this country ends up in a file at the NSA... But it's not just government surveillance... [T]he government is involved in our e-mails and in our websites. Corporate America is as well... [W]e must defend ourselves against terrorism but there are ways to do that without impingement upon our Constitutional rights..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "...Edward Snowden, is he a traitor or a hero?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "He broke the law..."<br />
<br />
Yes, to expose infinitely worse violations of the law.<br />
<br />
"He could have been a whistleblower and had all the
protections of one. He could have raised all the
issues he has raised."<br />
<br />
That is <a href="http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/edward-snowden-is-a-whistleblower" target="_blank">false</a>. By the way, Snowden <i>is</i> a whistleblower, even if not by her <strike>Majesty's</strike> definition.<br />
<br />
"And I think there would have been a positive response to that."<br />
<br />
Why would the people who baselessly claim the disclosures by Snowden harmed national security have welcomed them had they been made through a different process?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjHsYvczf8kOEuYcFnEkJGTQayIN3vJcdAIZejWLpkABot_eKh4aJl2DJFADBbChitj8xAmNzlMNGOKxkcQa02syED8ZRiFQaGLBARY_WtIjyuR0ZrZMK_mTTH8xV9xKk05M1DUIb7GA/s1600/ObamaGWBush.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjHsYvczf8kOEuYcFnEkJGTQayIN3vJcdAIZejWLpkABot_eKh4aJl2DJFADBbChitj8xAmNzlMNGOKxkcQa02syED8ZRiFQaGLBARY_WtIjyuR0ZrZMK_mTTH8xV9xKk05M1DUIb7GA/s320/ObamaGWBush.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barack Obama, George W. Bush (Peter Souza / WH)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cooper: "Should he do jail time?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "In addition, he stole very important information that has unfortunately fallen into a lot of the wrong hands." <br />
<br />
If Clinton had cited proof of that, she would have been the first person in the world who had done so.<br />
<br />
"So I don't think he should be brought home if he would not <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/daniel-ellsberg-nsa-leaker-snowden-made-the-right-call/2013/07/07/0b46d96c-e5b7-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html" target="_blank">face</a> the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2013/jun/24/edward-snowden-america-search-whistleblower" target="_blank">music</a>."<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Snowden played a very important role in the education of the American people about the degree to which... our Constitutional rights are undermined."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Is he a hero?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Sanders: "He did break the law and I think there should be a penalty for that. But... what he did to educate us should be taken into consideration before he is sentenced."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "[H]ow would your term not be a third term of Pres. Obama?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "I think that's pretty obvious. To have the first female president would, I think, be quite a change..."<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Is there a difference on policy?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "There's a lot I would like to do to build on the successes of Pres. Obama but also, as I'm laying out, to go beyond. And that's in my economic plans..."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Sanders: "[T]he power of corporate America, of Wall St., of the drug companies and of the corporate media is so great, the only way to really transform America and achieve what the middle class and working class desperately need is through a political revolution in which millions of people come together, stand up, and say our government will work for all of us, not just for a handful of billionaires."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Cooper to Clinton: "...This has been the year of the outsider in politics -- Just ask Bernie Sanders. Why should Democrats embrace an insider like yourself?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KstGz4wOlCirPhsotKyg7_lGjxWwSd2fEjKyBxLsVbAbNv5CN7co9rlnCpehWj4ftv-31_olO_4W8gD-kcYZ8Zn_hxUv4zZiTl7DEqXNwuWaUOr7LAYQFZ5iUuVgekgam9MsUjLzlEw/s1600/Berra.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KstGz4wOlCirPhsotKyg7_lGjxWwSd2fEjKyBxLsVbAbNv5CN7co9rlnCpehWj4ftv-31_olO_4W8gD-kcYZ8Zn_hxUv4zZiTl7DEqXNwuWaUOr7LAYQFZ5iUuVgekgam9MsUjLzlEw/s1600/Berra.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berra<br />
(Dept. of Defense) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clinton: "I can't think of... more of an outsider than... the first woman president..."<br />
<br />
I can.<br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, does she have the right stuff?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[T]here is profound frustration all over this country with establishment politics. I am the only candidate for president who is not a billionaire, ...has raised substantial sums of money, and does not have a super-PAC. I do not raise money from millionaires and billionaires..."<br />
<br />
Some <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/oct/15/what-bernie-sanders-said-about-not-being-billionai/" target="_blank">misinterpreted</a> Sanders's comment as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfmwGAd1L-o#t=6m56s" target="_blank">claim</a> to be the only presidential candidate who is not a billionaire. He meant he is the only presidential candidate who has substantially fundraised <i>without being</i> a billionaire <i>and</i> without a super-PAC. <br />
<br />
Cooper: "Sen. Sanders, are you tougher on climate change than Secy. Clinton is?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Sanders: "[T]his is a moral issue. The scientists tell us we need to move extremely boldly. I..., along with Sen. Barbara Boxer a few years ago, introduced the first legislation that called for a tax on carbon... [N]othing will happen unless we enact campaign finance reform. The fossil fuel industry funds the Republican Party, which denies the reality of climate change... We must be extremely aggressive in working with China, India and Russia..."<br />
<br />
Clinton: "That's exactly what I've been doing. When we met in Copenhagen in 2009..., Pres. Obama and I... produced the first agreement China has signed about climate change..."<br />
<br />
That agreement was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/29/snowden-nsa-surveillance-_n_4681362.html" target="_blank">not</a> aggressive.<br />
<br />
Lopez to Sanders: "[H]ere in Nevada, there will be a measure to legalize recreational marijuana on the 2016 ballot... If you were a Nevada resident, how would you vote?"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "I suspect... I would vote 'Yes' because I see... too many lives being destroyed for nonviolent offenses. We have a criminal-justice system that lets CEOs on Wall St. walk away, and yet we imprison or jail young people because they smoked marijuana... [W]e must rethink this war on drugs, which has done enormous damage. We need to rethink our criminal justice system and we have a lot of work to do in that area."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wsV7a0NjYTBvPCXxHacWIZ4rwWU0cjB7XJ-a__EHIUZfLUuyRKY4aejXNPiKy_hfohPCFpUpZd7_E_XI9EyhTpw9R4FRBt3YqyAcwI3zbXIORTyuzolNSVF4rVywGffgjRShrx078uE/s1600/Boxer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wsV7a0NjYTBvPCXxHacWIZ4rwWU0cjB7XJ-a__EHIUZfLUuyRKY4aejXNPiKy_hfohPCFpUpZd7_E_XI9EyhTpw9R4FRBt3YqyAcwI3zbXIORTyuzolNSVF4rVywGffgjRShrx078uE/s1600/Boxer.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boxer, D-CA (Cmte. on<br />
Health, Education, <br />
Labor & Pensions)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lopez: "Secy. Clinton, ...[w]hen asked about legalization of recreational marijuana, you [said], 'Let's wait and see how it plays out in Colorado and Washington.' It has been more than a year since you said that. Are you ready to take a position...?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "<b>No.</b> I think we have the opportunity, through the states that are pursuing recreational marijuana, to find out a lot more... I support medical marijuana and I think, even there, we need a lot
more research so we know exactly how we'll help people for
whom medical marijuana provides relief." <br />
<br />
Clinton did not specify which questions prevent her from taking a position on recreational marijuana and from detailing a plan on medical marijuana. But perhaps those questions will soon be answered by her pollsters and focus groups.<br />
<br />
"So, I think we're just at the beginning..."<br />
<br />
Okay, maybe not so soon.<br />
<br />
"But I agree... we must stop the imprisonment of people for use of marijuana. Therefore, we need more states, cities, and the federal government to begin to address this so we don't have this terrible result Sen. Sanders discussed: a huge population in our prisons for nonviolent, low-level offenses primarily due to marijuana."<br />
<br />
Correspondent Don Lemon: "This is for Sen. Sanders from... Manassas, Virginia... 'Pres. Obama has had difficulty in his attempts to persuade Republicans to compromise... How will you approach this...?'"<br />
<br />
Sanders: "[T]he only way we can take on the... Republicans,
who I hope will not continue to control the Senate and
the House when one of us is president, ...is for millions of people... to come together and... say, 'We know what's going on. If you vote against us, you are out of your job.'"<br />
<br />
Cooper: "...Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, 'I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.' You've all made a few people upset over your political careers. Of which enemy are you proudest?"<br />
<br />
Clinton: "In addition to the NRA, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians, probably the Republicans."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5whfhrnmp0gLASR7JObRT01en9Md17SDk1yUWI3OP9WfVQannYPFD2smM-1g6uilFqemyq1W9cFMLD7VsztFhBtNV020-U02slHp34Z_45sn2nR5iZaDeUAfdIMDIaXTpSBsdOt3NBE/s1600/Roosevelt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5whfhrnmp0gLASR7JObRT01en9Md17SDk1yUWI3OP9WfVQannYPFD2smM-1g6uilFqemyq1W9cFMLD7VsztFhBtNV020-U02slHp34Z_45sn2nR5iZaDeUAfdIMDIaXTpSBsdOt3NBE/s1600/Roosevelt.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roosevelt (Leon Perskie/<br />
Roosevelt '44 campaign)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Her campaigns have received a <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=F09%20%20&cycle=All&recipdetail=M&sortorder=U" target="_blank">total</a> of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=H04&recipdetail=M&sortorder=U&cycle=All" target="_blank">nearly</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=H03%20%20&recipdetail=M&sortorder=U&cycle=All" target="_blank">$4.7M</a><b></b> from the insurance, pharmaceutical & health-product, and HMO & health-service industries. With enemies like those, who needs friends? Why should an ex-diplomat be proud to have cultivated enmity with a nation that poses no proven threat to hers?<br />
<br />
Sanders: "...Wall St. and the pharmaceutical industry..."<br />
<br />
Sanders exited the stage with momentum, too -- Within the four hours that followed the start of the debate, his campaign <a href="https://berniesanders.com/press-release/bernie-sanders-scores-big-win-in-first-democratic-debate/" target="_blank">received</a> 37,600 contributions from individuals, which averaged less than $35 each and totaled $1.3M. Even before Sanders left the premises, he <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/57995504" target="_blank">rescued</a> reporter Andrea Mitchell from being trampled (and thereby from the fate she had suffered as a result of what began at 4:50 of <a href="http://www.cc.com/video-clips/njb4bu/the-colbert-report-green-screen-challenge---john-mccain-s-acceptance-speech" target="_blank">this</a> video).<br />
<br />
Giving an honest assessment, Mitchell told Sanders, "Obviously, you did very well. You lit a fire tonight."<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, nearly all of the pundits -- and their bosses -- in the corporate media were already at work to spin the debate in favor of Clinton with disregard for Sanders's victory among all three nationally televised focus groups, including the one on CNN, which <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-hanley/money-talks-why-cnn-wants_b_8313536.html" target="_blank">removed</a> its online poll from public view as the poll hugely favored Sanders.<br />
<br />
That is not a new tactic, however. In 2004, CNN <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041011012859/http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=327" target="_blank">deleted</a> its online poll about the vice presidential debate in order to cover up the tremendous advantage the poll gave to Edwards over Cheney. In 2007, ABC <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2007/08/kucinich-wins-debate-poll-abc-covers-results" target="_blank">twice</a> reset its online poll about its Democratic presidential debate as Kucinich was in the lead.<br />
<br />
With respect to scientific data, the last poll taken before the debate and the first poll taken afterward showed an <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2015/10/13/fox-news-poll-biden-more-electable-than-clinton/" target="_blank">increase</a> of <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/10/18/democrats.pdf" target="_blank">four</a> points for Sanders and no increase for Clinton. Yet, the corporate media has tried to convince us the <a href="http://adamzyglis.buffalonews.com/2015/10/16/cnn-debate/" target="_blank">winner</a> of the debate was the candidate whose remarks included numerous falsehoods, evasions, absurdities, platitudes, irrelevancies, and unpopular positions.<br />
<br />
That teaches a lesson that will be useful tonight: Believe your own ears.Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-79781719477885505712015-09-25T12:47:00.002-04:002023-07-30T14:37:42.049-04:00More of Hillary's Prominent Allies Are Dishonest about BernieAs rising support for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/280669353/CBS-News-2016-Battleground-Tracker-Iowa" target="_blank">brought</a> an <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/280669162/CBS-News-2016-Battleground-Tracker-New-Hampshire" target="_blank">end</a> to the first-place status of ex-sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in polling about the two earliest contests in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, namely the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, the number of well-known backers of the former secretary of State who have hurled <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2015/07/already-desperate-hillary-surrogates.html" target="_blank">invalid</a> attacks on the ex-mayor of Burlington spiked.<br />
<br />
In <i>Politico</i>, ex-representative Barney Frank (D-MA) <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/why-progressives-shouldnt-support-bernie-120484.html" target="_blank">argued</a> liberals should support Clinton, whom Sanders trails in nationwide polling. Next is a candid paraphrase of one part of the former state legislator's column, followed by quotes of it and by rebuttals.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jHCIL-dXMnHkbS7Xoevla70LA5ieDrtpeUgfacLaXq5WB-FI1-_74NZg7xgDhH0JiPJYQ5U25S6stf-Q47uDZmSlEv2bp4Pp5bXIeB87LGq02LzLr71Hzw7zbr2raLjjkiVont_-D5Q/s1600/StateDeptPhoto.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jHCIL-dXMnHkbS7Xoevla70LA5ieDrtpeUgfacLaXq5WB-FI1-_74NZg7xgDhH0JiPJYQ5U25S6stf-Q47uDZmSlEv2bp4Pp5bXIeB87LGq02LzLr71Hzw7zbr2raLjjkiVont_-D5Q/s1600/StateDeptPhoto.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton (Dept. of State)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<b>Frank:</b> The momentum behind Sanders is preventing Clinton from having a cakewalk to the top of the ticket! To incite such an inconvenience to the <strike>queen</strike> quintessential candidate of the <strike>establishment</strike> essence of the Democratic Party by compelling her to <i>work</i> for a nomination to again reside in the White House is just bad form. Ergo, you pesky <strike>peasants</strike> populists ought to learn that competition is overrated and stop causing the former first lady's campaign to campaign. It has better things to do before the <strike>coronation</strike> convention, like raise an obscene amount of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-bundlers-fossil-fuel_55a8335ee4b04740a3df86c5?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=WorldPost&section=world" target="_blank">corporate</a> money, which would be useful against the Republican standard-bearer, whose operation will also have an obscene amount of corporate money but who we will allege is somehow more beholden to the economic elite than Clinton is.<br />
<br />
<b>Reality:</b> Whoever will attain the Democratic nomination, regardless of what his attainment of it will have cost his campaign, does not deserve to win the presidency if he will find arduousness in the attempt to vanquish whichever menace the Republicans put forward.<br />
<br />
<b>Frank:</b> "[T]he most effective thing liberals... can do to advance our... goals on health care, immigration, financial regulation, reduction of income inequality, completion of the fight against anti-LGBT discrimination, protection of women's autonomy... and other critical matters... is to help Clinton win our nomination early."<br />
<br />
<b>Reality, issue by issue:</b> Sanders, <a href="https://screen.yahoo.com/sanders-secures-nurses-union-endorsement-062605196.html" target="_blank">endorsed</a> by National Nurses United (the largest organization of nurses in this country), is in the plurality of Americans that <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131212170551/http://www.srbi.com/Research-Impacts/Polls/Time-Abt-SRBI-Poll-Most-Americans-Eager-for-Health.aspx" target="_blank">backs</a> the proposal of <a href="http://billmoyers.com/segment/bill-moyers-essay-everyone-should-be-entitled-to-medicare/" target="_blank">Medicare</a>-for-<a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4552909/kucinich-vs-anti-single-payer-snob" target="_blank">All</a>, a.k.a. single-payer. Clinton is not. In 1993, then-Rep. Bernie Sanders led a concerted <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-119082.html" target="_blank">effort</a> to persuade Clinton to embrace that idea while she chaired the Task Force on National Health Care Reform, which was impaneled by her husband, who was chief executive of this land at the time. However, she nixed the solution and presented a mainly corporatist concoction: the "Health Security Act," which the then-president sent to Congress but which died in committee in each house of it.<br />
<br />
Sanders <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-conversation--bernie-sanders-on-his-campaign--healthcare--biden-506194499603" target="_blank">remains</a> a proponent of Medicare-for-All. But Clinton, in her original quest for the presidency, lurched to the right on health care coverage by offering the thrust of what congressional Republicans had counter-proposed 14 years earlier.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QOC-xv-OuIG-GlrzdymFPysWFKcyrYlO_jQHUV4dU58-DkujBDkU0sXwUjlbi3UrgHz4Ga34M77_-U2sdrZtTqxUqA5w3qN75_dA25cwQ90fblwBdXWmI_jYFGm5-ZnkZQmdlMvSB2w/s1600/Obama.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QOC-xv-OuIG-GlrzdymFPysWFKcyrYlO_jQHUV4dU58-DkujBDkU0sXwUjlbi3UrgHz4Ga34M77_-U2sdrZtTqxUqA5w3qN75_dA25cwQ90fblwBdXWmI_jYFGm5-ZnkZQmdlMvSB2w/s1600/Obama.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obama (Peter<br />
Souza / White House)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
As then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) ran against Clinton in 2008, he <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4547451/obama-assails-individual-mandate" target="_blank">warned</a> that her plan for an individual mandate, i.e. a financial penalty for the choice not to buy private health-insurance, would create "a situation, which we see... in... Massachusetts, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120630235026/http://www.jillstein.org/romneycare_and_obamacare" target="_blank">where</a> people... choose to accept the fine because they still can't afford [health insurance] even with the subsidies." He added, "The insurance companies don't mind [the proposal for government to] make sure everyone has to purchase their product."<br />
<br />
By the way, <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2010/01/obama-received-20-million-healthcare-industry-money-2008/" target="_blank">despite</a> having knocked that element, Obama codified it as president when he signed the "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/22/obamacare-single-payer_n_4312394.html" target="_blank">Affordable</a> <a href="http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/feb/20/800000-healthcaregov-customers-given-wrong-tax-inf/" target="_blank">Care</a> <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/3590" target="_blank">Act</a>," <a href="http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/conyers-derides-white-house-health-care-strategy/" target="_blank">which</a> is <a href="http://khn.org/022310-bill-comparison/" target="_blank">similar</a> to the Republicans' old bill and was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/05/obamacare-fowler-lobbyist-industry1" target="_blank">penned</a> by a former executive of the most colossal health-insurance corporation in the United States.<br />
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Sanders voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll446.xml" target="_blank">against</a>, and Clinton voted in <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=109&session=2&vote=00262" target="_blank">favor</a> of, construction of the fence along the border between the United States and Mexico. As for the question of whether to allow driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, Clinton has been in favor, been opposed, <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/hillary-clinton-supports-drivers-licenses-undocumented-immigrants-reversing-2008-1885363" target="_blank">and</a> been both simultaneously. <br />
<br />
Sanders proposes a breakup of the financial institutions of at least the size that, amid the meltdown of 2008, was of the smallest to be described by its executives as "too big to fail" and to thus receive a federal bailout. Specifically, he <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-big-ban-break-ups-glass-steagall-120287" target="_blank">backs</a> a bill to restore the Glass-Steagall Act, which was one of the
measures President Franklin Roosevelt signed to prevent another
financial crash of the type that had triggered the Great Depression.<br />
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Sanders voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1999/roll570.xml" target="_blank">against</a> the repeal of that law. Clinton favors the repeal. Al Gore, who was vice president when the repeal was signed, has <a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/extended-interviews/njskc1/al-gore-extended-interview" target="_blank">called</a> it "a big mistake." For his first term in that role, Gore served alongside Robert <a href="http://inequalityforall.com/" target="_blank">Reich</a>, who was secretary of Labor then. Reich has also <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/8/former_labor_sec_robert_reich_on" target="_blank">condemned</a> the repeal and has denounced Pres. Obama's choice not to pursue restoration of Glass-Steagall when Democrats were the majority in both houses of Congress. Additionally, Reich has asserted that unless the restoration is achieved, those "too big to fail" banks, which are 35% <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/08/sen-warren-s-main-street-crusade-to-pressure-clinton.html" target="_blank">larger</a> than they were immediately before the meltdown, will provoke another on as vast a scale.<br />
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Sanders voted against, <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213" target="_blank">and</a> Clinton voted in favor of, the aforementioned bailout, which contained $120 million for Signature Bank, on whose <a href="http://investor.signatureny.com/directors.cfm" target="_blank">board</a> of directors Frank sits. Maybe Frank's <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00000275&type=I" target="_blank">acceptance</a> of a total of nearly $4.5 million from the finance, insurance and real-estate sector for his last 11 campaigns helps him relate to Clinton, <a href="http://politicsofcourage.blogspot.com/2014/10/whos-ready.html" target="_blank">who</a> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/sectors.php?cycle=2000&id=NYS1&spec=N" target="_blank">accepted</a> a <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/sectors.php?id=NYS1&cycle=2006" target="_blank">total</a> of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/indus.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00000019" target="_blank">over</a> $31 million from that sector for her previous bids for office.<br />
<br />
Seven months after the Bankruptcy Reform <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/senate-bill/3186/" target="_blank">Act</a> was pocket-vetoed with Clinton's approval, she voted in <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=1&vote=00236" target="_blank">favor</a> of what was basically the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/333/summary/35" target="_blank">same</a> bill, which failed once more to become law. In 2005, Clinton made another change of position on this issue but was absent when the Senate again <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=109&session=1&vote=00044" target="_blank">passed</a> <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/senate-bill/256/" target="_blank">that</a> legislation, <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1999/roll115.xml" target="_blank">against</a> which Sanders <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll025.xml" target="_blank">always</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll108.xml" target="_blank">voted</a>. It proceeded to be signed by George W. Bush and became a principal <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/hillary-clinton-vs-elizabeth-warren-big-differences-despite-claims-contrary-1640810" target="_blank">agent</a> of the foreclosure crisis by majorly compounding the difficulty of 1) <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4551798/deserved" target="_blank">declaration</a> of bankruptcy and 2) renegotiation of credit-card debt.<br />
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Free trade concentrates wealth by <a href="http://citizen.org/documents/prosperity-undermined.pdf" target="_blank">facilitating</a> corporations' transference of jobs from their own country to places where workers can be exploited to a greater extent. Clinton has supported and opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement. She voted in <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/21/401123124/a-timeline-of-hillary-clintons-evolution-on-trade" target="_blank">favor</a> of free-trade pacts with Singapore, Chile, Australia, Morocco and Oman. With regard to the one with Peru, she missed the vote but announced support for it. With respect to the free-trade pact with Colombia and the one with South Korea, Clinton has supported and opposed each. <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1993/roll575.xml" target="_blank">Sanders</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2003/roll432.xml" target="_blank">voted</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2003/roll436.xml" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll375.xml" target="_blank">eight</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll413.xml" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll392.xml" target="_blank">those</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00413" target="_blank">nine</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00163" target="_blank">pacts</a>, the exception being the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00161" target="_blank">last</a> listed, on which he missed the vote but <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-speech-by-sen-bernie-sanders-on-unfettered-free-trade" target="_blank">against</a> which he spoke.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reich<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
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Clinton has voiced <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/15/politics/45-times-secretary-clinton-pushed-the-trade-bill-she-now-opposes/" target="_blank">support</a> for, but now has a vague stance on, the TPP. The Obama administration has inexplicably classified that proposed free-trade agreement and lets members of Congress read it <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4537448/boxer-blasts-fast-track-tpp" target="_blank">only</a> without carrying any electronic device, without writing notes they would bring out of the room, and without any staff member who lacks a security clearance. Sanders <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00176" target="_blank">has</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00180" target="_blank">always</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00188" target="_blank">voted</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00189" target="_blank">to</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00192" target="_blank">hinder</a> <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00193" target="_blank">the</a> TPP.<br />
<br />
Clinton <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/christophermassie/hillary-clinton-used-to-talk-about-how-the-people-on-welfare" target="_blank">supported</a> the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/104th-congress/house-bill/3734" target="_blank">Act</a> of 1996," a.k.a. "welfare reform," which <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/research/deep-poverty-among-children-worsened-in-welfare-laws-first-decade" target="_blank">intensified</a> extreme poverty among children. Sanders voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1996/roll383.xml" target="_blank">against</a> that law. He <a href="http://www.budget.senate.gov/democratic/public/index.cfm/2015/7/top-economists-are-backing-sen-bernie-sanders-on-establishing-a-15-an-hour-minimum-wage" target="_blank">proposes</a> a minimum wage of $15 per hour by 2020. Clinton's platform <a href="http://gawker.com/hillary-clinton-is-running-for-capitulator-in-chief-1721296939" target="_blank">replaces</a> that $15 with $12, which would be a <a href="http://s3.epi.org/files/charts/img/9048.png" target="_blank">poverty</a> wage for households of at least four people.<br />
<br />
The payroll tax applies exclusively to the first $118,500 of one's annual income. Sanders calls for lifting that cap so more money would be collected from the wealthy and could then be utilized to strengthen Social Security. On this idea, Clinton <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/11/AR2007101101292.html" target="_blank">declined</a> to take a stance, then stood in opposition, then <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/08/12/clinton-is-open-to-raising-social-security-taxes-on-six-figure-earners/" target="_blank">returned</a> to having no stance.<br />
<br />
By endorsing Sanders's current candidacy, several divisions of the AFL-CIO -- which is this country's largest federation of labor unions -- have <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/afl-cio-endorsement-2016-democratic-primary-119701" target="_blank">rebelled</a> against its usual obsequiousness toward corporatist politicians.<br />
<br />
Since 1972, Sanders has been on record in <a href="http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/bernie-sanders-was-full-gay-equality-40-years-ago" target="_blank">favor</a>
of removal from law all discrimination based on sexual
orientation. Accordingly, he voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1996/roll316.xml" target="_blank">against</a> the "Defense of Marriage <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-104hr3396enr/pdf/BILLS-104hr3396enr.pdf" target="_blank">Act</a>,"
which prohibited federal recognition of any same-sex marriage and which
allowed each state to refuse recognition of same-sex marriages granted elsewhere.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank (Congressional<br />
Pictorial Directory)</td></tr>
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In Clinton's first public appearance as a
senatorial candidate after she took residence in the Empire State, she
said she would have voted in <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/hil-nixes-same-sex-marriage-article-1.864728" target="_blank">favor</a> of that law, which was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in <i>United States v. Windsor</i>. Clinton did not endorse marriage equality until 2013, which was after its national inevitability became obvious.<br />
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Clinton <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/kyleblaine/friend-in-1999-bill-clinton-told-me-hillary-found-gay-rights" target="_blank">was</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-hillary-clintons-religion-and-politics" target="_blank">predictably</a> a cosponsor of the "Workplace Religious Freedom <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/senate-bill/677/text" target="_blank">Act</a> of 2005," which <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/politics/2012/01/20/piers-rick-santorum-abortion-gift.cnn.html" target="_blank">then</a>-<a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-04-23-santorum-excerpt_x.htm" target="_blank">Sen</a>. <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/rick-santorum-i-m-pretty-sure-planned-parenthood-practices-eugenics" target="_blank">Richard</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh4KaOFF8RU" target="_blank">Santorum</a> (R-PA) introduced. Other <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/senate-bill/677/all-info#cosponsors" target="_blank">cosponsors</a> of it <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/1445/all-info#cosponsors" target="_blank">included</a> <a href="http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/oct/26/brownback-roberts-moran-tiahrt-cite-hate-crimes-pr/" target="_blank">then</a>-<a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article1092138.html" target="_blank">Sen</a>. <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article9694028.html" target="_blank">Samuel</a> <a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article26668207.html" target="_blank">Brownback</a> (R-KS), <a href="http://www.naral.org/government-and-you/state-governments/state-profiles/did-you-know/oklahoma.html" target="_blank">then</a>-<a href="http://www.salon.com/2004/09/13/coburn_2/" target="_blank">Sen</a>. <a href="http://amarillo.com/stories/2004/10/13/usn_lesbia.shtml" target="_blank">Thomas</a> <a href="http://coburn-senate-gov.sites.frontrunnercms.com/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=3e458618-725a-4fe1-982d-01268686483e" target="_blank">Coburn</a> (R-OK), <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/03/todd-akin-arrest-abortion-clinic-protests_n_2069075.html" target="_blank">then</a>-<a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4548692/akin-condemns-stem-cell-research" target="_blank">Rep</a>. <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4001030/todd-akin-denounces-abortion-providers" target="_blank">William</a> <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/08/20/159308741/weekend-campaign-news" target="_blank">Todd</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Exhy4deRc0" target="_blank">Akin</a> (R-MO) and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/republicans/11697570/Meet-the-Republican-presidential-candidate-who-once-performed-an-exorcism.html" target="_blank">then</a>-<a href="http://theweek.com/speedreads/534460/bobby-jindal-claims-london-muslimonly-nogo-zones-meets-skepticism" target="_blank">Rep</a>. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/24/bobby-jindal-republican-creationism-2016-election" target="_blank">Piyush</a> "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/opinion/bobby-jindal-im-holding-firm-against-gay-marriage.html" target="_blank">Bobby</a>" <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/bobby_jindal_religious_freedom_4.html" target="_blank">Jindal</a> (R-LA). That potential amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would have, as <i>Mother Jones</i> reported, created a plausible defense for those who refuse "to perform key aspects of their jobs -- say, pharmacists who won't fill birth-control prescriptions, or police officers who won't guard abortion clinics."<br />
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<b>Frank:</b> "[H]er position on the war [in Iraq] is a legitimate concern... The question then becomes whether this was a manifestation of a general tendency to support unwise military intervention, or the case of joining every other Democratic senator who had serious presidential ambitions in voting for a war the Bush-Cheney administration had successfully hyped as a necessary defense against terrorism."<br />
<br />
<b>Reality:</b> Whether a decision results from wrongheadedness or from self-interest, the consequence is the same. Hence, the question is whether either is acceptable from someone who asks to be the most powerful person on Earth.<br />
<br />
Clinton <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/all-the-things-hillary-clintons-book-doesnt-say-about-iraq" target="_blank">neglected</a> to read the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq before she voted to <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=2&vote=00237" target="_blank">authorize</a> Bush to invade it in <a href="http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml" target="_blank">violation</a> of the United Nations Charter and, <a href="http://drexel.edu/ogcr/resources/constitution/articles/article6/" target="_blank">therefore</a>, of the United States Constitution. Clinton's oath of office was to "defend the Constitution," not to serve herself. The excuse Frank makes for Clinton is an attack on the rule of law.<br />
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Sanders voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml" target="_blank">against</a> said authorization <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1991/roll009.xml" target="_blank">and</a> that of the <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2014/06/27/the-first-iraq-war-was-also-sold-to-the-public-based-on-a-pack-of-lies/" target="_blank">Gulf</a> War. Clinton voted to <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00002" target="_blank">confirm</a> Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of State even though she <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4522479/boxer-vs-rice-round-1" target="_blank">obviously</a> had <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4522482/boxer-vs-rice-round-2" target="_blank">lied</a> in order to, as national security advisor, <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4522484/boxer-vs-rice-round-3" target="_blank">sell</a> the invasion of and occupation of Iraq.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanders (Cmte. on Health,<br />
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<a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00181" target="_blank">Until</a> Clinton declared her first candidacy for president, she voted in <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00125" target="_blank">favor</a> of every <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00400" target="_blank">allowance</a> to <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00117" target="_blank">prolong</a> that <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00366" target="_blank">occupation</a>. In the same period, Sanders voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2003/roll108.xml" target="_blank">against</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2003/roll562.xml" target="_blank">four</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll161.xml" target="_blank">such</a> <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll669.xml" target="_blank">measures</a>. Clinton did <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4551564/kucinich-cheney-impeached" target="_blank">not</a> favor any <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-109hres1106ih/pdf/BILLS-109hres1106ih.pdf" target="_blank">step</a> <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-110hres333ih/pdf/BILLS-110hres333ih.pdf" target="_blank">toward</a> <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-110hres1258ih/pdf/BILLS-110hres1258ih.pdf" target="_blank">impeachment</a> of Rice and/or Richard Cheney and/or Bush for offenses related to Iraq or to anything else. Sanders <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-resolution/635/cosponsors?pageSort=alpha" target="_blank">cosponsored</a> a resolution that would have formed a select committee to investigate the Bush-Cheney administration's misconduct about Iraq and then "make recommendations with regard to grounds for possible impeachment."<br />
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Sanders <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/after-the-surge" target="_blank">opposed</a> escalation of the occupation of Iraq. Clinton also did, but <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/defense/194673-hillary-opposed-iraq-surge-for-political-reasons-gates-says" target="_blank">simply</a> for the sake of her then-imminent presidential candidacy. Not until nearly a decade after most voters <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=660" target="_blank">realized</a> the invasion was wrong did she call her vote to permit it a mistake.<br />
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Clinton voted in favor of, and Sanders voted against, <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00349" target="_blank">authorization</a> for Bush to <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4551610/five-candidates-iraq-iran" target="_blank">invade</a> Iran. Citing <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/world/middleeast/us-agencies-see-no-move-by-iran-to-build-a-bomb.html" target="_blank">unproven</a> <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/live-news/2015/7/noam-chomsky-what-exactly-is-the-threat-of-iran.html" target="_blank">danger</a>, Clinton illegally <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/31/iran-nuclear-programme-hillary-clinton" target="_blank">threatened</a> an invasion of that country. On her <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/left-ought-worry-about-hillary-clinton-hawk-and-militarist-2016/" target="_blank">advice</a>, Obama escalated the occupation of Afghanistan, which he did <a href="http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/biden-leaked-memo-told-obama-war-plan-flawed" target="_blank">without</a> a <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2011/11/a-meeting-with-mcgovern-040867" target="_blank">clear</a> <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/12/02/george-mcgovern-barack-obama-democrats-need-a-backbone" target="_blank">purpose</a>, and ordered an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/world/africa/18powers.html" target="_blank">illegal</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/05/19/libya_7/" target="_blank">and</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4023726/dennis-kucinich-benghazi-attack" target="_blank">counterproductive</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/02/16/hailed-model-successful-intervention-libya-proves-exact-opposite/" target="_blank">invasion</a> of Libya.<br />
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Sanders sharply <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-sanders-statement-on-afghanistan" target="_blank">questioned</a> the escalation in Afghanistan, conveyed the grievance about Obama's choice to invade Libya <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/28/sanders-questions-war-in-libya/" target="_blank">without</a> congressional consent, urged him to withdraw from there as quickly as possible, and bemoaned the cost of that intervention. Clinton advised Obama to illegally invade <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-j-kucinich/syria-isis-war_b_5869964.html" target="_blank">Syria</a>. Sanders <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-reacts-to-presidents-speech-on-syria" target="_blank">opposed</a> that idea. <br />
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<b>Frank:</b> "There is... no chance... for Sanders to win a national election."<br />
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<b>Reality:</b> The day Frank's piece was published, a CNN/ORC poll of registered voters nationwide commenced. Upon completion, it showed Sanders <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/26/politics/cnn-orc-data/" target="_blank">trouncing</a> Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, 59% to 38%, which would be the biggest victory in the popular vote in a general election for president of this country since 1972. To boot, Sanders exceeded Trump by 5 percentage points more than Clinton did in that survey, which debunks almost all of the rest of Frank's piece. <br />
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In <i>Business Insider</i>, ex-rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) -- whose wife is employed by Clinton -- <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/anthony-weiners-question-for-bernie-sanders-2015-7" target="_blank">claimed</a> that Sanders, who has won elections only when he ran independently of any party, had not explained his decision to seek the Democratic nomination.<br />
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"After a career of steadfastly insisting the Democratic Party was not his home, ...he wants to be not only a member of the party but its standard-bearer," the former NYC councilman stated.<br />
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In Vermont, parties exist as organizations with ballot lines but voter registration does not offer party enrollment. If a candidate in any primary of a given party has never identified with it but represents its electorate better than his opponents who have long embraced that party do, the situation is an indictment of the party's establishment far more than of the candidate in question. <br />
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"Is Bernie's newfound party affiliation just a practical decision to run in a party that can win rather than risk being a Nader-esque spoiler on a third party line in November?" <br />
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That question was answered months before Weiner asked it. For instance, in March, <i>The San Francisco Chronicle</i> <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Sen-Bernie-Sanders-has-a-warning-about-income-6168606.php" target="_blank">reported</a> Sanders "promised he does not aim to be a spoiler. And he could run as a Democrat." (In order to stay on topic, I postpone, until a future entry, my explanation of how Ralph Nader did <i>not </i>spoil the 2000 presidential election.)<br />
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The article quotes Sanders reasoning, "The difficulty of a candidacy as an independent is that... to get on the ballot in all 50 states... is virtually impossible... The advantage[s] of a candidacy in the Democratic [process include]... to be in debates with other candidates [and to] attract more media attention."<br />
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Weiner's commentary continued, "That's a fair calculation, but doesn't it wipe away Bernie's three decades of standing as a principled Socialist? Many times over the course of his career, Bernie has repeated... that his independence made him more able to speak truth. He forcefully argued that his identity was as a Socialist..."<br />
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A false premise is generated by capitalization of "socialist" in this matter. Sanders remains a socialist, i.e. a person whose ideal is a strand of <a href="http://www.britannica.com/topic/socialism" target="_blank">socialism</a>. For as long as he has lived in the Green Mountain State, he has never been a Socialist, i.e. a member of or <a href="http://www.cc.com/video-clips/bxzmkn/the-colbert-report-socialist-candidate-for-president---brian-moore" target="_blank">candidate</a> of <a href="http://socialistparty-usa.net/" target="_blank">any</a> <a href="http://www.socialistalternative.org/" target="_blank">party</a> <a href="http://socialequality.com/" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="http://www.pslweb.org/" target="_blank">has</a> "Socialist" or a variant thereof in its name. Sanders's truthfulness and policies are consistent with what they were before he began to contend for the Democratic nomination.<br />
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"[H]is battle cry on behalf of American workers is almost as good as that of... Clinton."<br />
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<a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/04/12/hillary_clinton_just_doesnt_get_it_shes_already_running_a_losing_campaign/" target="_blank">What</a> is <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/05/17/whos_down_with_tpp_big_business_wins_and_democracy_loses_as_both_parties_lie_about_free_trade/" target="_blank">Clinton's</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/06/03/bernie_sanders_must_bring_it_between_gop_obfuscation_and_hillarys_evasions_someone_needs_to_be_serious/" target="_blank">battle</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/06/14/heres_how_bernie_sanders_could_win_the_one_issue_where_hillarys_vulnerable_and_where_the_tea_party_might_be_right/" target="_blank">cry</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/06/22/hillary_clinton_is_going_to_lose_she_doesnt_even_see_the_frustrated_progressive_wave_that_will_nominate_bernie_sanders/" target="_blank">on</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/07/19/the_trap_hillary_cant_escape_her_bernie_sanders_problem_is_she_doesnt_understand_sanders_policies_are_popular_mainstream_and_the_future/" target="_blank">behalf</a> of <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/this_is_why_hillarys_losing_the_issue_jeb_bush_and_donald_trump_understand_which_may_keep_clinton_from_the_white_house/" target="_blank">American</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/08/17/hillarys_in_danger_trump_is_sunk_the_hard_truths_america_is_ignoring_this_election_season_thanks_to_the/" target="_blank">workers</a>?<br />
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<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-05/cuomo-stands-alone-as-arrests-erode-albany-s-ruling-triumvirate" target="_blank">Governor</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2015/05/08/cuomo_glenwood_memory_hole.php" target="_blank">Andrew</a> <a href="http://www.eastendbeacon.com/2015/07/13/hedgeclippers-chase-cuomo-to-the-hamptons/" target="_blank">Cuomo</a> (D-NY) <a href="http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2015/09/cuomo-reiterates-support-for-clinton/" target="_blank">told</a> reporters, "I don't think there's any comparison between Hillary Clinton's credentials and qualifications and positions, and Bernie Sanders's," which is a valid statement, given that Clinton pales in contrast to Sanders.<br />
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Nonetheless, because the former state attorney general meant the reverse, a juxtaposition of the résumés the two candidates have amassed in public office is appropriate. Sanders spent eight years as mayor of the largest city in his state. Clinton has never been chief executive of any government. Sanders was a member of the House of Representatives for 16 years. Clinton never served in that chamber. Sanders has been a senator for longer than Clinton was. Although Sanders has not headed the Department of State, Clinton has had <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4551081/clinton-fails-cite-anything-accomplished-secy-state" target="_blank">difficulty</a> <a href="http://content.jwplatform.com/previews/OGbH6Olx-hLb0vkFd" target="_blank">citing</a> what she accomplished in it.<br />
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Cuomo, who was secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Clinton's spouse, did not specify any issue on which Clinton supposedly has a better position than Sanders does. But one was named by Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-CT) when "Clinton's campaign dispatched Malloy to New Hampshire," as <i>The Stamford Advocate</i> <a href="http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/printpromotion/article/Malloy-challenges-Bernie-Sanders-on-gun-control-6465661.php" target="_blank">reported</a>, "to help shore up her support with liberals" who have noticed <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/02/clinton-campaign-manager-hrc-is-extremely-conservative/48448/" target="_blank">how</a> <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/02/01/Ann-Coulter-for-Clinton-Its-possible/51161201889370/" target="_blank">conservative</a> she is. <br />
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The ex-mayor of Stamford is quoted saying on gun regulation, Clinton's "position among the Democrats is a lot more popular than" is Sanders's, as if popularity determines rightness. Malloy's lone example: the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-103hr1025enr/pdf/BILLS-103hr1025enr.pdf" target="_blank">Act</a> of 1994, against which Sanders voted due solely to his concern about the aspect under which:<br />
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<li>during the five years the legislation allotted for creation of a nationwide capacity for instant background-checks, no transfer of any handgun from any licensed gun-seller to anyone lacking an applicable permit could occur until at least five days after the seller had requested for the local police to conduct a background check on the potential purchaser, and </li>
<li>the police department in question would be required to reasonably attempt to honor that request.</li>
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Augustino / FEMA)</td></tr>
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The said aspect was subsequently ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in <i>Printz v. United States</i>.<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">[CORRECTION: With reliance upon Politifact's <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jul/10/generation-forward-pac/did-bernie-sanders-vote-against-background-checks-/" target="_blank">misinterpretation</a> of the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/amendment/103rd-congress/house-amendment/390" target="_blank">amendment</a> that allotted five years, I wrote </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sanders backed an amendment that would have prevented federally-mandated waiting
periods. The latter amendment </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/1025/amendments" target="_blank">never</a> existed</span></span>.]</span><br />
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Moreover, as a candidate for re-election to the Senate, Sanders was rated at <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150725024119/http://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/27110/bernie-sanders/37" target="_blank">merely</a> 8% by the National Rifle Association. Plus, in October, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence released a scorecard that documents that ever since Sanders began his first successful bid for Congress, his campaigns had <a href="http://lapdogscorecard.org/pdf/lapdog-scorecard-report-2014.pdf" target="_blank">not</a> received any money from any organization listed on the scorecard as one that lobbies on behalf of corporate manufacturers of guns.<br />
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Clinton has supported <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/christian-heinze/273629-for-16-prospects-guns-may-matter" target="_blank">and</a> opposed a national registry of guns. But I concede that any candidate who takes every position is sure to have the most popular one.<br />
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Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-41211091139863151642015-07-30T12:32:00.001-04:002023-07-30T14:39:06.200-04:00Preview of BEST OF ENEMIES, Which Opens Tomorrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the heat of the most tumultuous year in American history, the flagship of each wing of the bald eagle met in the eye of the storm and, before the eyes of the nation, actualized the quintessence of the clash that was nearly tearing this Union apart.</div>
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<br />Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-33103269628780818652015-07-07T23:14:00.001-04:002023-07-30T14:39:45.947-04:00Already Desperate, Hillary Surrogates Dishonestly Bash BernieTwo members of Congress who have endorsed the presidential candidacy of former senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) were not ready to wait for a truthful basis on which to attack her main rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie <a href="https://gma.yahoo.com/video/bernie-sanders-unlikely-source-competition-115317294.html" target="_blank">Sanders</a> (I-VT), as polls showed the lead held in early February by the former secretary of State over the ex-representative shrinking in Iowa by nearly <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/IApolls/IA150203/Complete%20February%202015%20Iowa%20NBC%20News__Marist%20Poll%20Tables.pdf" target="_blank">seven</a>-<a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/ia/ia07022015_I257tha.pdf" target="_blank">tenths</a> and in New Hampshire by <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/NHpolls/NH150203/Complete%20February%202015%20New%20Hampshire%20NBC%20News__Marist%20Poll%20Tables.pdf" target="_blank">six</a>-<a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/06/25/062515dempoll.pdf" target="_blank">sevenths</a>. Those states will, as is traditional, be the first two in each major party's contest for its presidential nomination.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpauj9Ls8hSKOGihdmgNx4X0dgpXb-kG25Xm89NCT-VWVp5azjpmRMGcl8SNraggxeSIoqHnXs65mVW0gjI20-z6IdNQE9CJIoV3jLYhg4mkQIQdOVe-sEtrrGB-VUXwTOEsBqOato_pI/s1600/ClinSand.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpauj9Ls8hSKOGihdmgNx4X0dgpXb-kG25Xm89NCT-VWVp5azjpmRMGcl8SNraggxeSIoqHnXs65mVW0gjI20-z6IdNQE9CJIoV3jLYhg4mkQIQdOVe-sEtrrGB-VUXwTOEsBqOato_pI/s200/ClinSand.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton (Michael Gross / Dept. of<br />
State), Sanders (berniesanders.com)</td></tr>
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On the June 11 edition of Ora's <i>PoliticKING with Larry King</i>, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) <a href="http://www.ora.tv/politicking/rep-gutierrez-bernie-sanders-quiet-immigration-0_1wgty3pmmrqt" target="_blank">said</a> of the ex-mayor of Burlington, "I don't know if he likes immigrants, because he doesn't seem to talk about immigrants."<br />
<br />
Gutierrez offered no substantive criticism of Sanders, who voted <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll446.xml" target="_blank">against</a> the fence along the US-Mexico border, who <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4578206/sanders-father" target="_blank">often</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4578201/sanders-bravery-poor-immigrants" target="_blank">mentions</a> that his <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4578191/sanders-father" target="_blank">father</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4578205/sanders-father" target="_blank">was</a> an <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4578194/sanders-parents" target="_blank">immigrant</a>, and who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4h1PVE5alw" target="_blank">does</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rfJpRWOQzw" target="_blank">discuss</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZz7DYCfM_s" target="_blank">immigration</a>. Clinton, however, voted in <a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=109&session=2&vote=00262" target="_blank">favor</a> of that fence and <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/hillary-clinton-wrong-on-familys-immigration-history-records" target="_blank">falsely</a> claimed each of her grandparents was an immigrant. Merely one of them was.<br />
<br />
Yet, the congressman confirmed King's remark, "You support Hillary Clinton, who was against driver's licenses for [undocumented immigrants] and now is for it." (Clinton's blatant <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4542552/clinton-refuses-give-clear-answer" target="_blank">waffling</a> on that issue in a debate was arguably the start of the downfall of her first bid to be chief executive of this country.)<br />
<br />
Moreover, in the runoff campaign that was held this year for mayor of Chicago, Sanders <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YesdtA9DNyU" target="_blank">endorsed</a> populist challenger Jesús <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/3/6/jesus_chuy_garcia_meet_the_chicago" target="_blank">García</a>, who is an immigrant. In contrast, Gutierrez backed corporatist incumbent Rahm <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703808904575025030384695158" target="_blank">Emanuel</a>, who is neither an immigrant nor the son of any immigrant.<br />
<br />
On the June 25 edition of MSNBC's <i>Morning Joe</i>, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/mccaskill--bernie-is-too-liberal-to-win-471130691652" target="_blank">stated</a>, "I think the media is giving Bernie a pass right now. I very rarely read in any coverage of Bernie that he's a socialist... [T]hey are not really giving the same scrutiny to Bernie Sanders that they're giving to, certainly, Hillary Clinton."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/26/vermont-senator-ponders-2016-presidential-run" target="_blank">Apparently</a>, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/11572723/Meet-the-socialist-senator-who-is-taking-on-Hillary-Clinton.html" target="_blank">McCaskill</a> <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/hillary-clintons-vermont-socialist-rival-may-cause-her-more-trouble-than-she-thinks-10220028.html" target="_blank">very</a> <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/call-him-a-socialist-but-many-americans-agree-with-bernie-sanders-2015-05-13" target="_blank">rarely</a> <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-06-03/what-did-we-learn-from-the-overheated-bernie-sanders-rape-fantasy-story-" target="_blank">reads</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/bernie-sanders-university-of-chicago-free-love" target="_blank">coverage</a> of <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2015/06/11/sanders-reports-credit-card-debt/71088390/" target="_blank">Sanders</a> or <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-i-can-beat-hillary-clinton/" target="_blank">even</a> <a href="http://nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/video/bernie-sanders-explains-why-socialist-isnt-a-dirty-word/2870273" target="_blank">listens</a> to <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/29/403143428/seeking-presidency-socialist-sanders-looks-to-elevate-less-talked-about-issues" target="_blank">any</a>.<br />
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She continued, "Any other candidate [who were to have] the numbers Hillary Clinton ha[s]... would be talked about as absolutely untouchable."<br />
<br />
Given that the margin between Clinton and Sanders in the Granite State has dwindled to eight percentage points, McCaskill should be asked to name a previous candidate the media considered invincible when his lead with regard to the first presidential primary was as slim.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gutierrez, McCaskill<br />
(Congressional Pictorial Directory)</td></tr>
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"I think Bernie is too liberal to... become president."<br />
<br />
A poll conducted by Gallup last month <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/socialist-president-poll_n_7638400.html" target="_blank">found</a> that 47% of adults in the US (including 26% of Republicans!) are already willing to put a socialist in this nation's highest office -- a percentage that is likely to expand as Sanders continues to explain what socialism means to him. But due to the following factors, support for him might already be sufficient.<br />
<ul>
<li>Said willingness could be higher among registered voters and/or likely voters than among all adults.</li>
<li>The measurement of that willingness is likely weighed down by the states the Democratic ticket will not try to win.</li>
<li>The national popular vote is irrelevant to the selection of the president.</li>
</ul>
The 19 states (DC included) the Democratic ticket carried in each of the last six presidential elections total 242 votes in the Electoral College. To assert Sanders cannot both hold those and garner the 28 Electoral votes he would need from elsewhere is silly. Here are some reasons why.<br />
<ul>
<li>Florida has 29 Electoral votes. </li>
<li>The Republican Party will probably be in a weak position when its 15 (or more) presidential candidates have finished their battle against each other, during which they will expose their foolishness.</li>
<li>The existence of all those candidacies creates a serious possibility of a scenario in which nobody secures a majority of delegates to the Republican National Convention before it is held. In that case, the intra-party fight would stretch into the summer of 2016.</li>
</ul>
When granted the opportunity to scrutinize Sanders by citing three elements of what she had just called his "extreme message," McCaskill made several attempts to avoid specification of such examples but eventually gave the following responses. <br />
<br />
"He would like to see Medicare-for-<a href="http://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/episodes/0/300-episode/video/november-8-2013-clip-healthcare.html" target="_blank">All</a>."<br />
<br />
So <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131212170551/http://www.srbi.com/Research-Impacts/Polls/Time-Abt-SRBI-Poll-Most-Americans-Eager-for-Health.aspx" target="_blank">would</a> a plurality of Americans.<br />
<br />
"He would like to see expansion of entitlement."<br />
<br />
So <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:S.1558:" target="_blank">would</a> McCaskill. So, by her logic, she is extreme. By the way, "entitlement" is used as a misnomer for earned benefits.<br />
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"He is not worried about a debt at all."<br />
<br />
Maybe Sanders should have mentioned the national debt more than the literally 87 times he did during his eight-hour <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/full-congressional-record-transcript-of-sanders-filibuster" target="_blank">filibuster</a> of the 2010 extension of George W. Bush's tax cuts for the highest incomes.<br />
<br />
"He... is, frankly, against trade."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/01/larry-cohen-bernie-sanders_n_7702254.html" target="_blank">Opposition</a> by Sanders to the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/03/environmentalists-tpp-trade-pact_n_7001184.html" target="_blank">Trans</a>-<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/on-tpp-congresss-cat-burg_b_7639572.html" target="_blank">Pacific</a> Partnership does <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/legislation/issue/trade" target="_blank">not</a> mean he opposes trade in general.<br />
<br />
Gutierrez and McCaskill gave publicity to the former first lady's much lesser-known opponent only to show us that her team feels vulnerable to his campaign, has no facts to use against him, and is willing to lie. Smooth.Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-91910343393418472942015-07-02T20:09:00.002-04:002023-07-30T14:40:48.119-04:00Today is the Real Independence Day<div style="text-align: right;">
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Although the break by the United States from the United Kingdom was declared on July 4, 1776, the vote by the delegates to the Second Continental Congress to officially adopt independence occurred two days prior.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abigail Adams, John Adams<br />
(Benjamin Blyth)</td></tr>
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Delegate John Adams (MA), who was the leading proponent of that separation and would be the first vice president of and second president of this country, believed the date of the adoption rather than of the declaration should be when the American Revolution is annually honored, as he <a href="http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/archive/doc?id=L17760703jasecond" target="_blank">wrote</a> to his wife Abigail:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="usercontent">The
Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha in the
History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by
succeeding Generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to
be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to
God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with
Sh[o]ws, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one
End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.</span></span></blockquote>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-84019453548923720202015-07-01T22:57:00.002-04:002023-07-30T16:49:00.659-04:00Acclaim to Louisiana for Its Legalization of Medical Marijuana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Laws in 24 states and in three territories now <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Jindal-agrees-to-medical-marijuana-lessened-pot-6356450.php" target="_blank">reflect</a> an awareness, a sensibility and a compassion the federal government continues to resist for reasons it does not make clear, although they may include fealty to the pharmaceutical industry and to the private prison industry.</div>
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At least spring brought the resignation of Drug Enforcement administrator Michele Leonhart, who was nominated by George W. Bush, was renominated by President Obama and is perhaps best known for her <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4542638/questioning-rep-steve-cohen" target="_blank">spectacularly</a> <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4542639/questioning-rep-jared-polis" target="_blank">disastrous</a> attempts in front of Congress to defend the racist, dishonest, wasteful, destructive and cruel <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4483565/botticelli-stammers-cross-examination" target="_blank">war</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-henry-sterry/mexican-drug-lord-officia_b_179596.html" target="_blank">on</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/its-time-for-obama-to-make-a-move-on-marijuana-2015-1" target="_blank">marijuana</a> -- including on medicinal cannabis.</div>
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Leonhart also <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/10/opinion/ed-marijuana10" target="_blank">impeded</a> <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Pot-compound-seen-as-tool-against-cancer-3875562.php" target="_blank">research</a> of the substance. But the pressure that caused her exit was actually due to the revelation of use of public money by some agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration to hire prostitutes at parties held by drug cartels abroad.</div>
Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186706579189790754.post-52266594734225950402015-06-12T13:25:00.001-04:002023-07-30T16:50:07.210-04:00Mourning a Diligent, Intrepid Champion of Truth & Justice<div style="text-align: right;">
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Vincent Bugliosi, who died Saturday, was known mostly as the lawyer who carried out the successful prosecution of Charles Manson for his notorious murders and who chronicled that prosecution in <i>Helter <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Helter-Skelter/" target="_blank">Skelter</a></i>, the best-selling true crime book ever.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bugliosi<br />
("Democracy Now!")</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I learned of Bugliosi as he promoted his book <i>The <a href="http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/book/paperback/the-betrayal-of-america/9781560253556" target="_blank">Betrayal</a> of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President</i>, which is an expansion of his piece "None Dare Call It <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/none-dare-call-it-treason" target="_blank">Treason</a>: Five Supreme Court Justices Are Criminals in the Truest Sense of the Word," which generated more feedback than did anything else <i>The Nation</i> had ever published.<br />
<br />
Bugliosi had already lambasted the High Court upon penning <i>No Island of <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/20963/no-island-of-sanity-by-vincent-bugliosi/" target="_blank">Sanity</a>: </i>Paula Jones v. Bill Clinton:<i> The Supreme Court on Trial</i>, which analyzes the decision that allows for a civil lawsuit against an incumbent president of the United States to be heard and therefore distract him from his exceptionally important duties.<br />
<br />
In the book <i>The <a href="http://www.vanguardpressbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781593154813" target="_blank">Prosecution</a> of George W. Bush for Murder</i>, which is the subject of <a href="http://www.prosecutionofbushmovie.com/" target="_blank">two</a> <a href="http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/prosecutionofanamericanpresident.html" target="_blank">documentaries</a>, Bugliosi spells out a case according to which Bush is guilty of having unlawfully killed thousands of US troops by ordering them into Iraq under pretenses he knew to be false. For as long as Bush lives without a pardon for the misconduct at issue, that case can be brought against him, with regard to any said victim, in a criminal court whose jurisdiction covers the final residence of the victim.<br />
<br />
Bugliosi's magnum opus is <i><a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Reclaiming-History/" target="_blank">Reclaiming</a> History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy</i>, which proves beyond all doubt the murder of the 35th chief executive of this country was committed by Lee Harvey Oswald and which proves beyond a reasonable doubt the crime did not result from any conspiracy.<br />
<br />
Bugliosi, with his apt frankness and his passionate devotion to logic and to the rule of law, set a shining example of citizenship, including by waging two campaigns for district attorney of the County of Los Angeles. Neither ended in victory but he attained a record of 105-1 in felony jury trials as a deputy DA and managed to produce the album <i>Greatest Latin Love <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Latin-Love-Songs-Century/dp/B00004YLJN/" target="_blank">Songs</a> of the Century</i>.Anthony Gonzalezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00447428891908478065noreply@blogger.com0