Iowa Press Interviews Sen. Bernie Sanders
ooin us in comments and post your tweets, summaries, videos! Cocktails later!
Update: the bar is open for cocktails! Iowa Campaign Update below!
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Campaign Manager Faiz Shakir is live NOW with an update for our grassroots supporters and he’s bringing a SPECIAL GUEST
Posted by Bernie Sanders on Friday, December 6, 2019
Kamala Harris drops out of presidential race: reports
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is dropping her bid for the presidency, she told staff in a phone call Tuesday.
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At times, she seemed poised to replicate then-Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) rapid ascent from state office to the Senate and the White House, on the strength of her appeal to a rising coalition of younger and black voters and her ability to command a debate stage.
But she struggled to convert that early enthusiasm into a sustained movement, and she came under fire for her record on criminal justice reform as California’s attorney general and for her inability to articulate a vision on issues like health care.
After hitting a high in late June, when she confronted former Vice President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate, her poll numbers sank precipitously.
As the money dried up, Harris pledged a renewed focus on Iowa’s critical first-in-the-nation caucuses, where the campaign maintained 17 offices. She laid off staff, including her entire New Hampshire operation, and dispatched several top aides to Iowa, where she spent Thanksgiving with supporters.
In recent weeks, the Baltimore-based campaign faced reports of mounting tensions between rival factions. Maya Harris, the candidate’s sister and a veteran Democratic policy expert, clashed with Juan Rodriguez, the campaign manager, over staffing, spending and policy decisions.
Harris pulled the plug two weeks before the next Democratic debate, scheduled for Dec. 19 in Los Angeles. She had already qualified for the debate stage, and a super PAC supporting her had begun purchasing airtime on Iowa television stations.
The super PAC began canceling those reservations.
To my supporters, it is with deep regret—but also with deep gratitude—that I am suspending my campaign today.
But I want to be clear with you: I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for the People. All the people.https://t.co/92Hk7DHHbR
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 3, 2019
Harris is the first Democrat to drop out without being bounced from a debate – she had qualified for December 19.
At the moment, no non-white Democrat has qualified for that debate.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 3, 2019
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The heat is on! and another one bites the dust…
(photo courtesy of The Nation)
Don’t be surprised if Sanders becomes the kingmaker of the convention
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) rejoined the campaign trail in Tuesday night’s debate for the first time since his heart attack this month. During his time convalescing, conventional wisdom has effectively ruled him out as a potential nominee and concluded that he will have to drop out if, as polls suggest, he fails to win any of the four early contests. His huge third-quarter fundraising haul — combined with the Democratic delegate rules — show why this wisdom might be wrong.
Sanders’s $25.3 million in new contributions last quarter shows that his backers’ enthusiasm has not dimmed. He continues to rake in more money from his committed band of 1 million small-donor loyalists despite slipping in national polls. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) may have surged in support among Democratic progressives at Sanders’s expense, but that has not yet impacted his appeal to his base.
This enthusiasm gives Sanders what other candidates whose support flags don’t: staying power. Rather than spend time and effort chasing big-dollar donors whose support is often contingent on good poll numbers, Sanders can actively campaign secure in the knowledge that his army will keep sending political ammo. It also contributes to good press, as the media won’t be writing about a campaign on death watch as fundraising numbers disappoint.
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The Democrats’ proportional allocation of delegates is key to understanding why Sanders could stay in the race despite finishing third. Unlike Republicans, who give states great leeway to set their own rules about allocating delegates, Democrats have a national, one-size-fits-all approach. Every state must give delegates according to that person’s share of the popular vote if he or she gets 15 percent or more. That means Sanders will pick up delegate votes as long as he hits that threshold — and polls suggest he will in most states.
That sets up the strong chance that Sanders would be the kingmaker at next summer’s Democratic convention. Suppose the other two current front-runners, Warren and former vice president Joe Biden, keep finishing first and second. If Sanders nevertheless stays in the race and picks up 15 to 20 percent of the delegates in each state, neither Biden nor Warren would have enough pledged delegates to win the nomination. Democratic Party officials who have automatic delegate posts — the “superdelegates” — cannot vote on the convention’s first ballot, according to rules changes forced on the Democratic National Committee by Sanders backers. That means that Sanders would be in a position to choose the next nominee by cutting a deal with one of the other two.
Sanders has defied conventional wisdom before, shocking the experts with his strong 2016 showing. Assuming his health holds up, don’t be surprised if he shocks conventional wisdom again and ultimately becomes the most important Democrat in the country next July.
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(photo courtesy of NNPA)
One night after many pundits said he acquitted himself well in the debate in Miami between himself and other 2020 Democratic Presidential hopefuls, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders arrived in Cincinnati to deliver the keynote address at the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Legacy Awards Dinner.
Sanders addressed a large local and national media contingent, which also included many members of the Ohio press.
Earlier this month, Sanders was the lone candidate to accept an invitation to speak at the gala, which is part of the NNPA’s weeklong national convention.
The NNPA is a trade organization that represents the more than 200 African American-owned newspapers and media companies throughout the country.
The organization does not endorse candidates, leaving such decisions up to its member publishers whose influence and readership comprise the nation’s largest media markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Tennessee, San Francisco, and numerous swing states around the country.
After being introduced by former Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner, Sanders gave an inspired 25-minute address in which he blasted President Donald Trump as a racist and a bigot and he promised that, if elected, he will work to make college tuition-free, eliminate student debt, take climate change seriously, and make every effort to level the playing field economically, educationally and in other ways that reflect his stance on social justice for African Americans and other individuals of color.
“It is absolutely imperative to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country,” Sanders said.
“He is a racist and a bigot,” the senator said.
Sanders said he and his wife thought long and hard before he decided to enter the race this year. Even after deciding to run, Sanders said he slept on it and almost reconsidered, but he believed it was important that he step up for the sake of all Americans, particularly the underserved.
“We are going to have to transform this nation and create an economy that works for all of us, not just the one percent,” Sanders said.
“People aren’t able to go to the doctor because they can’t afford to and if you go to a hospital, you’re afraid to get hit with a $50,000 medical bill,” he said, before promising that a Sanders Administration would work to provide medical coverage for all.
“My anger at [Trump] is not just that he wanted to take away health care for 32 million people, but his [proposed] massive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and his tax cuts which …. were for the top one percent,” Sanders said.
The senator drew applause several times from the packed crowd inside the second-floor ballroom of the Westin.
He also blasted Trump for the president’s disbelief in climate change.
“It is the great existential threat of our time and this is not an issue that we have a choice about,” Sanders said.
Sanders also promised to focus his presidency on social, environmental, racial and economic justice.
“We have a president who deliberately is trying to divide America and not only do we have to defeat the worst president in the history of our country, we will have to transform this nation and create an economy for all of us and not just the one percent,” he said.
More Tweets, news, and videos in the comments section. This also serves as a continued open thread. What’s on your mind this weekend?
Such an honor to preside over the House Floor tonight. Every day I am humbled to serve the people of my community. ?? pic.twitter.com/hBqwM5FyeH
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 22, 2019
Ms. Speaker Pro Tempre, Rep Ilhan Omar
More news, tweets, and videos in the comments. Consider this an open thread.
