Friday, June 03, 2016

We're pulling for you, Bernie!


19 comments:

  1. Ayup.

    Waiting for California and the FBI [Click]

    "As far-fetched as this might seem, some senior Democrats, including reportedly White House officials, are giving serious thought to how the party can grab the wheel at the last moment and avoid the collision of two historically unpopular political figures, a smash-up where Trump might be the one walking away, damaged but victorious.
    Two Washington insiders – Democratic pollster and political adviser Douglas E. Schoen and famed Watergate investigative reporter Carl Bernstein – have described panicky meetings of top Democrats worried over Clinton’s troubled campaign, with Schoen also describing private talks about possible last-minute alternatives.
    I’ve heard similar tales of hushed discussions – with the fill-in options including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry or Sen. Sanders – but I still believe these fretful leaders are frozen by indecision and don’t have the nerve to pull Hillary Clinton’s hands off the steering wheel even to avoid disaster.
    But at least I’m not alone hearing these frightened whispers. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Schoen, who served as a political aide to President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, wrote: “There is now more than a theoretical chance that Hillary Clinton may not be the Democratic nominee for president. …
    “The inevitability behind Mrs. Clinton’s nomination will be in large measure eviscerated if she loses the June 7 California primary to Bernie Sanders. That could well happen. …. A Sanders win in California would powerfully underscore Mrs. Clinton’s weakness as a candidate in the general election."
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    If what I saw at the Bernie rally in Fresno is any indication, an upset is not at all out of the question. I have NEVER heard of anyone campaigning in California as Bernie is doing; it is like one hears of in New Hampshire and Iowa, albeit writ large. Californians [who are paying attention] seem simply blown away by it, and HRC is not competing. One might think of it as asymmetric warfare.


    --Alan

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    1. If the Democratic Party tries to shove Biden or Kerry into the race rather than Sanders it's going to blow up in their faces in spectacular fashion. Bernie has worked harder than any candidate I've ever seen. He does multiple events every day and he actually talks to people who are not holding a check. If Hillary fails the Dems better not even *think* about shoving Bernie aside for somebody who hasn't even campaigned!

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    2. {{{ {{ { Yea, verily and Amen!! } }} }}}

      Gee, it's almost as if the Dem Party leaders care more about power than the people, care more about having things their way than sharing, care more about exclusion than inclusion. Is our young country still only 2 yrs old?

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    3. My comment above is in response to Susan's comment.

      With regard to California and Bernie's phenomenal campaigning, my heart sings! This is what happens when mature people come together. For decades our country has been nuclear family oriented and the people in power were the 30-50 aged folks. But Bernie's campaign brings the older and younger generations back together! The wisdom of the elder(s) meets the fervor and vision of youth and WOW!!

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    4. The difference, Alan, is that Bernie takes nothing for granted, no voter for granted. Maybe that's hangover from being rep and senator from a small state. Maybe it's a reflection of his attitude towards life. Whatever the reason, he has this peculiar idear that he actually has to earn votes. HRC would seem, from her behavior and that of her operatives, to believe she deserves or is owed votes and primary/caucus victories...and the presidency. Hers is not an attractive attitude to my way of thinking. If you want something, you work or pay for it in some way; you don't go around telling everybody and his twin uncle Louie that it is yours by right. If she won't or can't campaign to earn the nomination, then she shouldn't (and won't) get the nomination. Nobody owes it to her just because she thinks she should have it...especially since she is not a strong candidate to begin with.

      I mean, it's like me demanding to be allowed to join the astronaut corps. Never mind that I'm half blind. Never mind that I'm crippled. I always wanted to be an astronaut and by gum, NASA owes me to make me an astronaut! Now, anybody would see the ridiculousness of that. So,why is it that otherwise intelligent people can't (or refuse to) see the ridiculousness of HRC's presumption that the country somehow owes her the presidency?

      Of course, the Clintons are (or are perceived to be) powerful, so especially in the early states party leaders were afraid to come out for Bernie. I saw an article discussing this in South Carolina. The problem with that kind of perception and the intimidation it carries is that the longer the campaign has continued and the weaker HRC becomes,the less well it works; especially when juxtaposed to a vibrant candidate with mass appeal.

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  2. With 24 hours to go before HRC’s alleged 7:00 AM Saturday appearance in Fresno, the location has not yet been announced; it is now too late to get into the local newspaper. Bizarre—it has to be another dinky, semi-secret, probably invitation-only event. It isn’t mentioned at all on her official schedule of events. I wonder if she needs to swoop in and out of Fresno early in order to get to another $27,000 per plate fundraiser in a part of California that “counts.” The Central Valley DOES have enough voters to tip elections…

    —Alan

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    1. No kidding?! Her campaign manager may never work again. Well, I hope the people of Fresno see what's happening. Hmmm, maybe they do and that's why HRC is slipping through quietly; maybe she fears photos of protesters, above the fold. ;-)

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    2. Noon here, still no word of where HRC is supposed to appear at 7:00 AM tomorrow. Just looked at a CNN article about how California is the ULTIMATE TEST of the Clinton Machine! The chowderheads at CNN seem to think that everything is determined by endorsements of office holders and celebrities--voters merely do as the beautiful people tell them to.

      Alan

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    3. Even without protesters, how about photos of a miniscule gathering of supporters? After Dump Truck (I like that) attracted 6,000 or so and Bernie 10,000 or so... But keeping the venue secret and the time inconvenient turn the small turnout into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

      --Alan

      Oh-- and most people in California have probably voted already.

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  3. BTW, I love the photo of Bernie that's out front. Now I want Bernie out in front!!

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  4. Nurse Teri has been phone banking for Bernie. EX: Say she makes 35 calls: 18 are pro-Bernie (she hears their excited stories!), 5 are pro-Hillary (though usually less enthusiastically), 10 undecided and 2 "for the Dump Truck." She has been calling that many daily and these are her typical results. Let's hope it's indicative!

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  5. I just watched a video tape of Bill Clinton talking to Paul Ryan backstage at a Pete Peterson event (super-rich guy who had donated a billion dollars toward eliminating Social Security and Medicare). Bill says "We've got this election won, but don't worry, we're still going to cut Medicare" and then Ryan goes onstage. Filthy, disgusting subhumans who don't care even for a second about their fellow humans in this country. They're going to keep on in this vein until they find that even gated communities won't keep the mobs away. Swell, now we not only have to fight the hateful Republicans but the Democrats have joined forces with them.

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    1. The Clintons aren't Democrats, Susan,they never were. I was saying that when BC was in office. Lots of good points, BC has, a whole lot more than HRC, but Democrats they ain't.

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  6. Yep, that is a GRANDE picture of Bernie!!

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  7. Finally, 29 hours' advance notice. Evidently I took 7:00 to mean 0700 hrs, whereas the source meant 7:00 PM, 1900 hrs. That IS more sensible.

    Hillary Clinton will be holding a rally in Fresno on Saturday, June 4th.

    The program is scheduled to start around 6:30 at the Edison High School gymnasium.

    Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and Hillary Clinton will take the stage around 7:00 p.m.

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    Note: I think many HRC supporters will be afraid to attend because of the location and fears that people from the neighborhood will attend. The new gymnasium is pretty big, though; I'd estimate floor and bleachers combined might accommodate between one and two thousand people, but how good that estimate is I really can't say. Whether the school would allow folding chairs and street shoes on the basketball court is another question; the cost of repairs could be significant.

    Alan

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    1. She's reduced to playing high school gymnasia? That makes state fairs look high tone. If she and Bernie were musicians on tour, which of them would be perceived as the star and which as the has been on the way down? A high school gymnasium? That's pathetic!

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    2. I think they would be hard pressed to get ten thousand people into the Edison High Gymnasium...but five hundred or a thousand people wouldn't look lost in it. As for air conditioning, Bernie had air conditioning at the Fresno County Fairgrounds--he took off his suit coat and tie. (And spoke from a shaded stage in the evening--but he was in full sunlight in Visalia, during the hottest part of the day.)

      Alan

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  8. Not pleasant reading, for the most part, but worth at least passing consideration, I think.
    --Alan

    Why Some of the Smartest Progressives I Know Will Vote for Trump over Hillary [Click] This is nothing if not full-throated opposition to Clintonism. But the thing that particularly caught my attention was a neologism: "the Vichy Left," for "progressives" who acquiesce in or approve of regressive policies in hopes of retaining some influence/relevance. Rather a powerful analogy.



    Why Millennials Love Bernie Sanders [Click] "The media condescends to Sanders the same way it does to millennials. Maybe that's why he gets their concerns."

    The Bigger Nuclear Risk: Trump or Clinton? [Click]

    Hillary Clinton’s Speech Against Trump Hypocritically Touts Her Foreign Policy Strength [Click]

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