The Sanders Institute’s “The Gathering” is underway. Jimmy and Roslyn Carter sent their best wishes to the group. Sister Turner is up on deck first.
Join our Facebook live stream today, Friday, Nov. 30th for the inaugural Sanders Institute Gathering. Today we will discuss bold progressive ideas on healthcare, the climate crisis and criminal injustice, concluding with an international roundtable. #sandersinstitutegathering18pic.twitter.com/7SYj9Fq9g4
For the next three days, some of the best-known supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential bid will come together in his city for the Sanders Institute Gathering. Academics, activists, and candidates for lower office will debate their agenda, discussing everything from housing policy to the fate of Puerto Rico. Sanders himself will gave a keynote speech.
And before you ask: No, this is not about whether the independent senator from Vermont will run for president.
snip
Yet the campaign is coming, with a crowded and unsettled Democratic field that looks nothing like the one Sanders competed in two years ago. No coronation is expected for Sanders — not that he wants one.
Sanders, who released a memoir this week of his “two years in the resistance,” has given every impression that he will run for president again. But after galvanizing voters by running against the party’s “establishment,” and given the peeption that Democrats teed up a nomination for Hillary Clinton, he has not locked up early endorsements or blocked the path for another candidate.
“It’s going to be wide open, with multiple lanes,” said James Zogby, a DNC member and Sanders ally who helped win changes to the party’s primary process. “There’s going to be billionaire lane, a moderate-centrist lane, an establishment lane, and then I think Bernie keeps one lane to himself. He has capacity to mobilize progressives as no one else does, and he’s a proven fundraiser.”
Bernie prefaced his remarks that the main purpose of the conference was to breakthrough the silos in the progressive movement. It’s to make connections, figure out strategies, and mobilize.
The left politics stars are coming out for the three-day Sanders Institute conference in Burlington. @AbdulElSayed and @IronStache hold court at the entrance; inside are Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover, Bill McKibben, Cornel West, et al pic.twitter.com/OlxBe3RhIN
.@Ocasio2018 on her plans in Congress https://t.co/EhXFK05i5p #inners — All In w/Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) November 20, 2018 Head below for more news, tweets, and videos in the comments. This also serves as an Open Thread.
In the past day or so on twitter, there are tweets about what progressives want and especially, what Pelosi must do to garner their support if she wants to regain the Speakership in Congress.
Winnie from People for Bernie started the wish list this way:
David Sirota went outside the box with this thought:
I'm serious here — Democrats could right now nominate @BetoORourke or @StaceyAbrams for Speaker of the House. They have legislative experience, they are from red states, and they have serious national followings. I know it may seem far-fetched, but why would that be a bad idea? https://t.co/0hkUhB5FA2
I’m making this thread separate…something we can chew, nibble, etc.
Personally, I like Sirota’s idea, but given that’s unlikely, I know one thing right away I want: amend the 2017 tax law. I want SALT (state & local taxes) to be completely tax deductible again. Additionally, raise the minimum wage and MFA. Long-game: to add more members to the House to properly represent the American people. The last revision of the numbers in the House was 1911.
To borrow from someone I like very much at TOP, we have some things to cheer about this week. The jeers we’ve mentioning today already, but I’m certain we have a few more to add.
I don’t drink alcohol-infused beverages these days, but I will offer a cocktail that I used to drink occasionally in college: a 39th Street whiskey sour.
Ingredients include whiskey, OJ, splash of lemon juice, and a little bit of confectionery sugar. Shaken not stirred. Served with a bit of shaved ice.
This is for toasting Bill Nelson, Andrew Gillum, Stacey Abrams, and Kyrsten Sinema defending their states’ voters’ rights. Not just their supporters, but everyone’s, in ensuring all votes are recorded accurately. I confess I didn’t expect Bill Nelson to fight back. He deserves some kudos for not folding. They are the sunshine gang.
Feel free to continue posting news, tweets, videos (including music videos) for our happy hour! See you in the comments!
I’ll start this with some parrot head music. #bringithome
TX Sen – Beto vs Cruz
NV Sen – Rosen vs Heller
FL Sen – Sick Rott vs Nelson
AZ Sen – McSally vs Sinema
CA Sen – DeLeon vs Feinstein
MO Sen – Hawley vs McCaskill
TN Sen – Breesan vs Blackburn (Dem Lost)
VT Sen – Sanders vs a pack of Indies (well, not a big race, but it is Bernie’s re-up) Win>!
FL Gov – DeSantis vs Gillum
GA Gov – Kemp vs Abrams
MD Gov – Jealous vs Hogan
WI Gov – Evers vs Walker
IL Gov – Pritzker vs Rauner (Dem win)
AZ Gov – Garcia vs Ducey
ID Gov – Jordan vs Little
MI Gov – Whitmer vs Schulette
IA Gov – Hubbell vs Reynolds
MN AG – Ellison vs Wardlow
Democracy Now is reporting that Donnelly is projected to lose, which means it’s very unlikely the Senate will flip blue. That’s a surprise.
Tonight we find out how much of a check the American people want to have on our Executive Branch. Or put it another way, how many of the 1000 legislative seats will the Dems gain from the last 10 years of losses? Will voters feel comfortable with the economy and overlook Trump? Will Trump’s divisiveness prevail and turn out his base?
Will we see our first women Native American Congressional Reps? First AA governor of FL and first female gov of GA? How well will the OR candidates perform in this cycle?
Of course, we hope there are no machine irregularities, but it’s anticipated that some will occur. And election lawyers will be on hand just in case.
In the Senate, Democrats are defending 26 seats while Republicans are only defending nine.
(those are predictions if they are filled in with red or blue, gold signifies toss-up)
In the gubernatorial races, there are 33 races, in which Dems could possibly pick up 9 of them.
(those are predictions if they are filled in with red or blue, gold signifies toss-up)
First polls close at 6ET in Indiana, VT and KY. Most in the MSM are saying to watch the 6th district in KY, but the bellwethers will be in VA 4 GOP races and FL 4 GOP races when the polls close at 7 ET.
Larry Sabato of Crystal Ball expects Dem pick-ups in the gubernatorial races, including Kansas.
Big races:
TX Sen – Beto vs Cruz
NV Sen – Rosen vs Heller
FL Sen – Sick Rott vs Nelson
AZ Sen – McSally vs Sinema
CA Sen – DeLeon vs Feinstein
MO Sen – Hawley vs McCaskill
TN Sen – Breesan vs Blackburn
VT Sen – Sanders vs a pack of Indies (well, not a big race, but it is Bernie’s re-up)
FL Gov – DeSantis vs Gillum
GA Gov – Kemp vs Abrams
MD Gov – Jealous vs Hogan
WI Gov – Evers vs Walker
IL Gov – Pritzker vs Rauner
AZ Gov – Garcia vs Ducey
ID Gov – Jordan vs Little
MI Gov – Whitmer vs Schulette
IA Gov – Hubbell vs Reynolds
Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for Fighting Sexual Violence The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to two campaigners against wartime sexual violence: Dr. Denis Mukwege, 63, a Congolese gynecological surgeon; and Nadia Murad, 25, who became the bold voice of the women who survived sexual violence by the Islamic State. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the two were given the award “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.” Dr. Mukwege campaigned relentlessly to shine a spotlight on the plight of Congolese …Continue reading →
Hi Birdies, The 33rd annual Farm Aid concert is on. I just tuned in about 20 minutes ago to the beginning of John Mellencamp’s set. As we know, Farm Aid is political as much as entertaining. Mellencamp noted that things needed to be situated a bit differently, meaning our government. He remarked that people working on the farms needed to be paid better, needed to be fair and higher wages. He said “we all know $7.25 an hour is not enough. F**k that! I’ve got kids in high school and they wouldn’t be able to live on that.” He added, …Continue reading →
The past 6 months have been a rodeo. Like the contestants of the rodeo, they all start with great promise. We had a lot of newcomers as well as some seasoned ones aspiring to move into a more risk taking adventure. I enjoyed the primary diaries we all participated in. March 6th saw the first state primary for the general election, and from it, Beto O’Roarke emerged as the Democratic nominee for the US Senate from Texas. Yesterday’s NY-NY primary marked the end of the primary season. While our three preferred candidates didn’t win, we did see the beginning of …Continue reading →
