Yesterday, Taliban Launches Dozens of Attacks in Afghanistan After Striking Deal With U.S. to Withdraw Troops | After a period of calm leading up to the deal, the Afghan government said the Taliban subsequently launched 76 attacks across 24 provinces (of 34) prompting the U.S. to bomb Taliban fighters in Helmand, the first American airstrike in 11 days. “Taliban leadership promised the (international) community they would reduce violence and not increase attacks,” Col. Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a tweet. “We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments.” The deadliest Taliban attack since the deal came Wednesday when fighters attacked Afghan Army outposts in Kunduz killing at least 15 Afghan soldiers. The attack was carried out by the Taliban’s elite Red Unit just hours after President Donald Trump and Taliban chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar spoke on the phone. “We’ve agreed there’s no violence,” Trump said after the call. “We don’t want violence.” But since the signing, the Taliban “decided on Monday to resume normal operations against Afghan forces, though sources have said they would continue to hold back on attacks on foreign forces,” Reuters reports.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/taliban-attacks-afghanistan-after-agreement-deal-u-s-troop-withdrawal.html
US launches airstrike against Taliban hours after Trump claimed he'd secured peace, hoodwinked by Islamic terrorists again
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-taliban-airstrike-afghanistan-peace-deal-talks-treaty-latest-a9374836.html
Michael Bloomberg Suspends 2020 Presidential Campaign and Endorses Former VP Joe Biden
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-drops-out.html
Biden's coalition showed up on Super Tuesday. Bernie's did not: Many young voters sat out Super Tuesday, contributing to Bernie Sanders' losses | In Virginia, for example, more than 1.3 million voters cast ballots compared to the roughly 800,000 four years ago. But exit polls on Super Tuesday showed that the share of young voters as a percentage of the entire electorate declined in the Old Dominion, diminishing their influence as a voting bloc. | Even Sanders’ home state of Vermont showed a lackluster turnout of young millennials and 'Gen Zers.' Only 11% of the state’s electorate was under 30 compared to 15% when he ran against Clinton, according to exit polls.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/03/04/super-tuesday-bernie-sanders-youth-votes-fell-short-compared-2016/4947795002/
Former Vice President Joe Biden went into Super Tuesday as an underdog and several underfunded with little-to-no ground game or campaign infrastructure,, but after winning at least nine of the 14 primaries, he ended the night with a very good lead. Biden began his surge with big victories in the South, fed by lopsided support from black voters and white suburbanites, and he ended by scoring an upset victory in Texas over Bernie Sanders. Sanders has argued again and again and again today that he can build the biggest coalition of voters, but in many cases his votes have gone down from 2016. Sanders did increase his support among Latino voters (Nevada, Texas, California) but the young voters he promised would turn out for him failed to materialize. Sanders didn't get wiped out on Tuesday night, far from it. He's crashing because he's attacking DEMOCRATS, and Israel and wealthy people, relentlessly. His plan to "turn out enough new voters" to "sweep away the Democratic establishment and build his own party" failed from the start. Team Sanders quickly needs to accept that if you treat voters and officials in the party you want to lead as the enemy and seriously do nothing but viciously attack them at all times, a lot of people in that party aren't going to trust you to lead them.
Reminder: The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act is universal healthcare crossbred with private insurance, with the public option legislated out by Republicans, virtually ending it. The most important parts of the PPACA have been legislated out by Republicans.
"Let The Professionals Do The Talking": Republican senator Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Senate health committee, has intervened to assert that nonpolitical public health officials should be leading the response to the virus. “My advice to the president and the vice president is let the professionals do the talking,” Mr Alexander said.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-coronavirus-health-expert-advice-republican-senator-lamar-alexander-a9374446.html
Alabama cop fired for Facebook post about roadside bomb for ‘dumbocrats’
https://www.al.com/news/2020/03/alabama-cop-fired-for-facebook-post-about-roadside-bomb-for-dumbocrats.html
Want a Great Example of the Republican’s War on Voting Access? Look at Texas Right Now.
https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/03/want-a-great-example-of-the-gops-war-on-voting-access-look-at-texas-right-now/
The Alabama Republican primary is once again a mess, presenting an opportunity for Doug Jones...: Jeff Sessions Fails To Win Republican Nomination For His Old Senate Seat Outright. Roy Moore received only 6.9%. Sessions and Tuberville require a runoff (March 31st) election because the nominee must win 50.1% of the vote. The winner of the Republican primary will face off against Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). Jones won the seat when Sessions resigned to join the Trump administration. Republicans see Jones as a top target to defeat in 2020.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alabama-senate-race-runoff_n_5e5e87bec5b67ed38b3946fc
🌹people wanted big money out of politics and they got their wish. Biden spent ZERO dollars in VA and Minnesota. He won both. He was outspent 40 to 1 in some places and won there too. No ads and no field offices. The real working class base of the Democratic Party is speaking!
https://twitter.com/brat2381/status/1235064542280871936
Agreed: "Electability" Is Now Code for Not Wanting to Vote for Bernie
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/4ag7ep/electability-is-now-code-for-not-wanting-to-vote-for-bernie
Agreed: Michael Moore defends Sanders: ‘If we vote on fear, we will lose to Donald Trump’
https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/michael-moore-defends-sanders-if-we-vote-on-fear-we-will-lose-to-donald-trump-79846981762
Voter turnout in Virginia nearly doubles from 2016
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/485850-voter-turnout-in-virginia-nearly-doubles-from-2016
Not going to "dissect" results. Biden cleaned up big in 10 states, Bernie kept his campaign alive thanks to 33% of California voters but he mostly crashed and burned, including in Vermont, he barely hit 50% in his own home state, down 37% from 2016 (87%). Remember the people of Vermont have repeatedly voted for Sanders for decades, a huge number of his own voters turned against him
Another AOC-backed "Justice Democrat" Democrat lost a primary against Representative Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat backed by the Democratic party.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/03/us/elections/results-texas-house-district-28-primary-election.html
Trump tweets sinister warning to disloyal aides as he mocks Sessions over primary result | President says 'this is what happens' to his disloyal appointees as Jeff Sessions faces runoff primary race in Alabama
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/trump-sessions-tweet-super-tuesday-alabama-gop-primary-a9374746.html
Coronavirus tsar Mike Pence wipes nose before shaking hands with top doctors at virus press conference
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-mike-pence-video-trump-white-house-press-conference-a9365476.html
Taxpayers Are Likely on the Hook for Eric Trump’s Trip to His Dad’s European Resorts
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/taxpayers-are-likely-on-the-hook-for-eric-trumps-trip-to-his-dads-european-resorts/
Trump donated $100,000 of his salary to fight coronavirus. He’s made much more than that off the presidency. | Don’t be fooled — Trump’s “donation” of his salary is a sham.
https://www.vox.com/2020/3/4/21164477/trump-donates-salary-hhs-coronavirus
Youth activists appeal ruling that they can't sue government over climate change
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/485663-youth-activists-appeal-decision-halting-climate-change-lawsuit
Hard to see Bernie reversing the college+ movement away from him. If he has a path back, it's more likely by restoring the lead he lost Tuesday among non-college whites, especially in the upcoming MW states. In 16, don't forget, he won MI & WI & came very close in MO & ILL
https://twitter.com/RonBrownstein/status/1235267251923824646
An American linguist working for DoD in Iraq has been charged with espionage after allegedly passing the names of human assets to a foreign national w/ties to Hizballah, beginning one day after US airstrikes against Iranian-backed forces in Iraq
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/defense-department-linguist-charged-espionage
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) says Democrats were high-fiving each other over Bernie’s tough night. He estimates that he’s talked to 30 House Democrats about the election results, and only four were upset that Bernie didn’t do better. “We think Bernie is a disaster,” he says.
https://twitter.com/MEPFuller/status/1235282271021740032
Mixed message from Bernie Sanders. He’s running an ad with video of him palling around the White House with Obama but now at a press conference he’s attacking “the establishment.”
Bernie rips the "corporate media" for likening his campaign to coronavirus and references Chris Matthews maginot line comment. Sanders says no other campaign has had to deal with the “kind of venom” his has, points out they’ve been compared to the coronavirus and Nazis. Also, our campaign is unprecedented in grassroots support even though voters clearly disagree.
Did someone say "Scott Pruitt" and "misused agency funds"? Because we've still got the invoices for the $43,000 secret soundproof booth, the fleet of SUVs, the biometric locks, and the fancy wooden standing desk.
https://twitter.com/weareoversight/status/1235286734679805958
"Democratic socialism" is such an amorphous term, that Bernie was given a chance to define it and he chose to include weird, outmoded Lefty grudges in that definition. That was a mistake.
The last patient being treated for Ebola in Congo was discharged on Tuesday, the World Health Organization said, bringing the 19-month outbreak to an end. In that period, the virus killed 2,264 people and infected 1,200 more, making it the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/congo-ebola-outbreak-milestone-1.5483956
Sigh....Researchers identify two coronavirus types as China cases dwindle
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-toll/researchers-identify-two-coronavirus-types-as-china-cases-dwindle-idUSKBN20R07Z
Calls to declare koalas endangered as population declines by two-thirds in 20 years
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/04/bushfires-likely-to-have-killed-about-5000-koalas-in-nsw-report-finds
Coronavirus live updates: Italy closes all schools and universities until mid-March
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/mar/04/coronavirus-live-updates-who-global-recession-fears-update-latest-news
A Chinese Doctor Injected Herself With an Untested Coronavirus Vaccine. She proved her loyalty to the Communist Party by injecting herself (and six members of her team) with a vaccine that hasn’t even been tested on animals
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v74p5y/a-chinese-doctor-injected-herself-with-an-untested-coronavirus-vaccine
Portugal brings down obesity by taxing sugary drinks
http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/obesity/news/news/2020/3/portugal-brings-down-obesity-by-taxing-sugary-drinks
Tropical forests losing their ability to absorb carbon
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/04/tropical-forests-losing-their-ability-to-absorb-carbon-study-finds
Brawl erupts in Turkey’s parliament over Syria involvement
https://www.cbs17.com/news/brawl-erupts-in-turkeys-parliament-over-syria-involvement/
Saudi Arabia bans all pilgrimages to Mecca to fight virus spread
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/485934-saudi-arabia-bans-all-pilgrimages-to-mecca-to-fight
Israel appeared headed into another political stalemate on Wednesday after nearly-complete results indicated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had failed to secure a clear majority for a right-wing bloc in parliament, despite his claim of victory.
https://www.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN20R1JJ
Seeing Warren, Harris, Klobucher, and Gillibrand struggle to convince voters to stick with them has given me new appreciation for Hillary Clinton. I’ve always loved and respected Hillary, but not until now have I really seen how monumental it was for her to win the nomination. We had so many incredible women run for the nomination this year. Smart, capable, qualified women with incredible resumes. And they barely received any traction. Minor issues doomed their campaigns. Voters were skeptical that they could win. And one by one, we lost phenomenal potential nominees to sexism. Hillary convinced those voters to stick with her. She convinced them to look past their internalized misogyny and believe that a woman can be president. She deserves more credit for that, and a lot of things. I hope they remain leaders in the party. And I hope to elect a woman president sometime in my lifetime. Honestly I'm disappointed that she wasn't the frontrunner this year. She's way more qualified than Bernie and actually puts effort into her proposals. Fuck Sanders for running, she ran on his platform and immediately won the support of the left and moderates (Democratic Establishment). Then he ran and the leftists abandoned her immediately, her campaign pushed the policies into hard left territory to win back the leftists, that failed, and in the process, she lost the Democratic Establishment, ending her campaign. She campaigned for nearly two years. Thank you Elizabeth for sticking out this campaign. Thank you for being kind, and hard working, and showing it's possible to be a radical progressive and still build an inclusive, non-toxic coalition. It should have been Warren the entire time. She did everything she could to play nice and be the sensible progressive alternative, but she was torn down for it. Chalk that up to sexism, or just Bro's shitty behavior towards her, but she didn't deserve any of it. She's the smartest person on that stage and I believe she would be the best President we need if she were put into the role. But I guess we can't have sensible ideas. We gotta go the extreme to get progressive agenda passed. Back to Hillary:Hillary was a trail blazer - but none of the women this year followed her trail. She spent decades accomplishing things and building alliances through the gratitude engendered when you do meaningful good on the front lines. She is as charismatic in a 1-on-1 situation as Obama is in front of a crowd. She is results oriented, intelligent, principled, determined, and humble (she'll stoop to conquer like when she joined the rightest wing prayer group in the Senate). And she was the most qualified human being to ever run for the office. The most accomplished progressive of my life time so far. The women running this time were individually like if you shattered Clinton and gave each of them some of the shards. Klobuchar was roughly as accomplished in the Senate as she was. Warren is a lesser version of her advocacy years (fewer years, fewer accomplishments). Harris has her heart and warmth and worked to reform a justice system in California similar to how Hillary reformed k-12 schools in Arkansas. Nobody had anything to match her SoS/foreign policy experience. Or her cabinet experience. And with a few changes everything I just said is also true of the guys running. Hillary wasn't just good, she was superb. A guy can do well just being good. A woman has to be perfect at basically everything. If Amy, Warren, or Harris had been men they'd have done a lot better.
George Papadopoulos Suffers ‘Massive Loss’ in Bid for Katie Hill’s Seat
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/george-papadopoulos-suffers-massive-loss-in-bid-for-katie-hills-seat/
A special shout out to Cenk Uygur who wasted 1 million to get destroyed: ‘The Young Turks’ Founder Cenk Uygur Loses Bid for Katie Hill’s Congressional Seat. Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith and Republican defense contractor Mike Garcia appear headed for a runoff
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/well-go-to-war-sanders-supporter-cenk-uygur-rages-over-bidens-super-tuesday-surge
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/george-papadopoulos-suffers-massive-loss-in-bid-for-katie-hills-seat/
Just like Hillary, Joe Biden's Silent Majority — He doesn't have arena rallies or Twitter mobs. He has voters.
https://thebulwark.com/joe-bidens-silent-majority/
Federal judge invalidates Michigan’s Medicaid work requirements
https://www.chicagotribune.com/midwest/ct-nw-michigan-medicaid-work-requirements-ruling-20200304-zusl4fkumvdnhoujtrz7mubi4a-story.html
‘A snipe hunt.’ KY House passes bill requiring photo ID to vote in McConnell election.
https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article240843021.html
Bernie Sanders Just Released an Ad Touting His Relationship With Barack Obama
https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/03/bernie-sanders-barack-obama-ad/
After 6 hours, Houston man finally gets to vote at 1:30 a.m.
https://abc13.com/politics/voters-wait-hours-to-cast-ballot-at-texas-southern-university-/5983078/
In other news, Pelosi handily won her primary against a Bernie-endorsed leftist antisemite
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/03/us/elections/results-california-house-district-12-primary-election.html
Actually, I’m not so sure Warren’s voters are that pro-Sanders. They look to be roughly 50-50 in our data. Maybe 60-40. Her dropping out would not have reversed last night’s outcomes. Plus, yelling at supporters like this is... not the way to get them to join your campaign?
https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1235204835273625601
I endorsed Elizabeth Warren 10 months ago. I am ride or die until she tells me she has other plans than the White House. If Liz drops, I can tell you one thing with certainty... I’ll walk my happy, sober ass right over to Joe. Bernie had my support in 2016, he lost it in 2020.
https://twitter.com/travisakers/status/1235204793179795456
Biden campaign was broke. He barely campaigned in some of the states he won tonight. Voters turned out for him despite this. When Sanders people tell you the primary is rigged against him, ask them how, exactly?
https://twitter.com/secupp/status/1235073342354452480
I think what happened to Hillary scared the electorate. People saw the sexism in 2016. They're falling back to an old formula because it works and Trump MUST go. Best of intentions propping up old power structures. I get it but I hate it.
Ahh we’ve entered the phase of the Primary where a bunch of privileged college educated white voters peddle conspiracy theories & tell us they won’t be voting to get brown babies out of cages because they didn’t get their way. Bernie lost. AGAIN. Doesn’t make it a #RiggedPrimary" - Kaivan Shroff
https://twitter.com/KaivanShroff/status/1235200453526376454?s=20
YEP, there comes a poin when Sanders and his campaigned needed to stop attacking Democrats and Jews (billionaires and corporations are code for Jews, the rhetoric is straight out of the Protocols of the Elder of Zion) and Israel and start attacking REPUBLICANS and the various industries destroying America and this planet....: Sanders can’t lead the Democrats if his campaign treats them like the enemy
https://www.vox.com/2020/3/4/21164091/sanders-biden-super-tuesday-endorsements-primary-2020
Joe Biden won 63% of the black vote in North Carolina. Folks, it's ain't the "establishment" changing the race, it's the black people.
https://twitter.com/vexedinthecity/status/1235000182481113088
Joe Biden pulls off a surprise win in the Maine Democratic primary
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/4/21161274/maine-primary-winner-joe-biden-super-tuesday
Bernie Sanders and ignoring the African-American base, name a more iconic duo: Majority Whip Jim Clyburn: Sanders Never Courted My Endorsement -- “I find it very interesting that someone is referring to African American voters in South Carolina as the establishment,” Clyburn said. “I don’t understand how that vote can be dismissed.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/majority-whip-jim-clyburn-sanders-never-courted-my-endorsement/
Symone Sanders tackling protester rushing Joe Biden is a metaphor for how Black Women have once again saved Joe and the whole primary season.
https://twitter.com/meenaharris/status/1235063259176120321
For what it’s worth, Sanders is whip-smart, tough as hell, and a credit to the Democratic Party. I am, of course, referring to Biden Senior Advisor Symone D. Sanders. She used to be Bernie’s National Press Secretary, and so much better than Brie Brie. She has to become White House Press Secretary.
Bernie lost Minnesota by 60,000 votes, a state he won four years ago, despite campaigning with Ilhan Omar for months | Biden’s win in Maine Wednesday morning over the Vermont senator — who won 64 percent of the vote in the Maine primary in 2016 — was fueled by new momentum after an overwhelming victory this past Saturday in the South Carolina primary. He also overcame nearly $500,000 in estimated political ad spending in Maine by former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the final few weeks of the race, according to data provided by Kinetiq, a TV intelligence platform.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/4/21161274/maine-primary-winner-joe-biden-super-tuesday
"For voters who said health care was their most important issue, Biden outperformed Sanders, 38 percent to 30 percent"
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/4/21163930/super-tuesday-results-bernie-sanders-joe-biden-medicare-for-all
Carla Reed and Hervis Rogers waited in line six hours to vote for @JoeBiden in TX. It is shameful that this is still happening in America in 2020, but we are so humbled by their dedication and patriotism.
https://twitter.com/BillR/status/1235231392558198784
I disagree. To be clear: we CAMPAIGNED. We had political staff in almost all of the Super Tuesday states pulling rabbits out of hats, we had surrogates and endorsers who stepped up to help and we had people who were committed to this vision and the work.
https://twitter.com/SymoneDSanders/status/1235037468858048514
For the record: @DrBiden went to Tennessee. She did Memphis and Nashville events. She also did events in Okalahoma by way of Oklahoma City.
https://twitter.com/SymoneDSanders/status/1235028112330510336
The Democratic "establishment" is not delivering wins for Biden tonight -- Democratic voters are doing it. Blacks, Latinos, suburban women, college educated and working class. It's insulting to these voters to suggest they are being coerced.
https://twitter.com/joelockhart/status/1235009811370192896
Remember kids. "Ok Boomer" is only funny if you actually go vote afterwards.
This is the most frustrating part: they have been the most vocal about wanting Bernie as our representative and they still didn't fucking show up. It's infuriating because they need to vote Democrat AT ALL TIMES. ALL THE TIME.
Nothing says "your vote doesn't matter" quite like winning an election by more than three million votes (Hillary 2016) and then the other guy gets to take office. It's voter apathy.
Getting young people to the polls is still a challenge. WTF is wrong with these young people, they are in the millions, they donated double-digit millions to him, spent money on his campaign gear, defend him all over the internet, fight with their families over him, turn his rallies into concert events, yet refuse to vote, which is bad for EVERYBODY because it means TRUMP WINS. It means everything Sanders is working hard to do is for nothing. It means all the years and energy and time he's spending FOR YOU - THE YOUNG VOTER - is for nought. It means his platform dies. It also obviously means Democrats lack that voting bloc to defeat Trump and Republicans. Millennials aren’t even young people, most are late twenties and thirties, no excuses.
One of the biggest sources of confusion and surprise for me is how Biden has manged this when his debate performances were arguably the poorest (except Bloomberg) of the bunch. Plus his campaign game hasn't been strong while a lot of these others campaigned hard. But here we are - he's the last one standing, despite being out of touch, defensive, stumbling, and not out there connecting with 2020 voters. No one deserves or is entitled to anything, but Biden definitely seems the least deserving of his status right now. It's kind of a slap in the face to Bernie and Pete and Elizabeth and the others who worked hard. Bernie is still in this because of his tireless work on the campaign trail, but it's still disappointing that the team effort by the Democratic party did all the work for Biden in just a few days.
Obama on Sanders in 2013: "You're treating me like the enemy" | The low point between the two men was a 2013 meeting with other Democratic senators. Obama had just put a chained Consumer Price Index in his budget, a proposal that would cut Social Security benefits by tying them to the rate of inflation. Many Senate Democrats were angry about it. But when they arrived for the meeting, it was Sanders who bubbled up, ripping into Obama for giving in to Republicans and not understanding the impact of the cuts. “I don’t need a lecture,” Obama told him, according to several senators who attended the meeting. Sanders proceeded to give him one anyway. A number of the senators there were struck by what they told me seemed like a lack of respect. “Obama fairly forcefully pushed back and said, ‘That’s just not right—that’s not a vision that’s enactable or possible,’” one senator in the room recalled, asking for anonymity to discuss the private meeting. “‘You’re acting like I’m the enemy.’ Obama was trying to say, ‘I hear you that you want this revolution, but explain to me, how’s this going to happen? Look at the current makeup of the Senate and the House. How am I supposed to lead?’” Obama said, in this senator’s memory. The conversation quickly got testy. “It seemed the match of someone who prided himself on his cool intellect and removed analysis versus someone who was convinced with absolute ferocity with the rightness of his worldview and is not given to accepting anything from those who don’t agree with it.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/02/sanders-obama-primary-challenge/606709/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2020_Democratic_Party_automatic_delegates
I mean, if you're offering free healthcare and erasing college debt and a national jobs creation programme and drug legalization etc I don't know how much more you could offer younger voters. Sometimes you can get a younger voter turnout but it's more then exception than the rule. Because for 18-22 year old's, you're starting from scratch every 4 years all over again. The guy offering $1,000/month to all adults wasn't getting enough traction either.
Socialism (or even Democratic Socialism) will struggle to take hold in America for two reasons: The older, more established among us are of the "screw you, I got mine," mindset. They "had to work for it", so the next generation should as well. The people who stand to benefit the most from these policies simply refuse to vote at all. Many in my generation made the same mistake. The new generation will learn and become more involved as they get older. It just means that the change that we want to see is going to take longer than we'd all like. And the worst part? When we're ready to make the change, Trump's Supreme Court will still be there, holding off that change as much as it can. Also, a lot of the older generation are actually falling into the cracks. Not helped by the fact that being older and unemployed means it's not as easy to find a new career as being young; employers simply don't take chances on the old.
Mandatory voting (which I personally think is a good idea) would be unconstitutional here. Our jurisprudence states that the 1st Amendment freedom of speech also includes the freedom to not speak; the government cannot compel someone to make any political speech or expression (West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnett). Voting is arguably political speech in its purest, most distilled form. Mandatory voting would therefore be compelling political speech. Unconstitutional.
It seems like most Bernie supporters haven't been paying attention to these numbers. Warren captured a large portion of the one demographic that just has been bouncing around this entire campaign. White college educated voters. After last night the polling indicates they are most likely going to go with Biden, not Bernie. Both her and Bloomberg staying in has done nothing but benefit Bernie, not hurt him like some have claimed. The Bloomberg/Warren voters are Biden people.
Bernie is the exact reverse of bipartisonship. He pushes things he knows he cannot get. Which may be popular with some groups, but you talk to the most at risk communities? Black voters, poor elderly voters, Latinos who have just started to hit middle class lifestyles and see the republicans waiting to tear it away, even college educated wonks who see democracy falling apart? Those groups see exactly that. A person making promises they cannot reasonably keep, and it freaks them out.
His claim has been contingent on a coalition of massive new voter turnout. Not just the youth vote (which was below 2016) but about people coming into the party who were Independents. That claim didn't just fall apart, it didn't even begin to materialize in states where non-Democrats are allowed to vote in the primaries. In fact the person who received the most first time voters, was Biden, not Bernie. I mean it's always been a question of that data, and its just seems Bernie's campaign thesis is wrong.
Bernie running in 2020 was either proof of his team's arrogance or evidence of total lack of awareness. He's done incredible work to make progressive ideas more mainstream, but it was obvious that someone more pragmatic or more inspiring to different demographics was going to be required to actually fucking win.
If we want progressive policies to get passed, we can't rush it or pretend that some magical revolution is going to happen where passing it becomes easy. We need to come to terms with the fact that we're not in an advantageous position right now. We need to take a more metered approach to it. Most importantly, we need to not underestimate the number of conservatives that there are in this country. There's a lot of work to be done before we get to the point where a majority of the country is open to and comfortable with the idea of M4A. A relatively small contingent of loud and angry leftists alone is not enough to turn it into a reality. The ball is heavy, and getting it rolling, even slowly, takes a lot of time and effort. If you try to kick it, you'll only end up breaking your foot.
Vote Biden, or you're directly to blame for the collapse of the left and the re-election of Trump. If Trump wins, Democrats will never allow any Democrat to ever promote a progressive or leftist policy ever again. The takeaway should be that getting progressive policies implemented isn't going to be easy and it's not going to happen in a single term or even a single presidency. What's most important right now for the progressive movement is shifting congress to the left. This means replacing Republicans with moderate dems where possible while pushing progressive candidates in safer dem seats. Pushing progressive politicians and policies in more conservative areas doesn't work, and we can't just say "fuck you, we don't need you" to ~40% of the electorate. Things don't turn out well for us when we do that. The process of turning this into a more progressive country can't be done by shoving progressive policies down the throats of people who don't want it. That galvanizes people's beliefs and hurts us in the long run. We have a long road ahead of us. I can see how Bernie is appealing, by offering the vision that this can be done quickly and easily, but I very honestly do not believe in it. I don't think it will be anywhere near as easy as he says it will be, and I fear that trying to take shortcuts will set us back.
Also: Biden's platform has been seen as actually a pretty substantial push forward even from Obama. More than that, its seen as things that can feasibly be passed. Bernie's are not, even Warren's in many case are not. Biden helped implement the largest climate change programme in our nation's history with Obama... If he has a congress that will help him he can push even larger programmes.
Bernie Sanders supporters in Texas are “pissed off.” But Texas Democrats need them in November.
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/04/bernie-sanders-supporters-texas-joe-biden-democrat-2020/
‘Rigged’ rhetoric makes a comeback after Trump’s comments and Sanders’s losses — and gives Russia just what it wants | In this case, the rigging of the primary is allegedly being done by getting candidates such as Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and now Mike Bloomberg out of the race so that the party can coalesce behind Biden to beat Sanders. There has not been any indication the DNC has played a role in that, mind you, and those candidates had their own reasons for getting out. All of them had no real path to the nomination after disappointing finishes, and candidates in those types of spots often drop out. What’s more, they are all more ideologically similar to Biden. This is how politics works. | There was also the debate in South Carolina, where the audience was vocally supportive of Bloomberg and often booed Sanders. More than a few people speculated that the crowd had been stacked, but there is no evidence that it was, and the DNC has said ticketing was handled as it almost always is, with each candidate getting an equal allotment. | The bigger point, though, is about how dangerous this rhetoric is and how much it plays into the hands of those who seek to undermine our democracy. Making such accusations is serious business because it could lead to a crisis of confidence in the results and could lead people to simply sit out the process. Which, as it happens, is precisely what Russia has aimed to do.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/04/rigged-rhetoric-makes-comeback-after-trumps-comments-sanderss-losses-gives-russia-just-what-it-wants/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/25/did-bloomberg-campaign-stack-debate-audience-with-supporters/
Candace Valenzuela, Formerly Homeless Congressional Candidate, Advances To Democratic Primary Runoff In Texas’s 24th District
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/elections/2020/03/04/texas-24th-congressional-district-beth-van-duyne-has-wide-lead-kim-olson-and-candace-valenzuela-headed-to-runoff/
This news is being served to you with a complementary side of "big yikes": Chris Sale not expected to undergo Tommy John surgery at this point, source tells The Athletic.
https://twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/status/1235332748040077314?s=21
@JoeBiden responds to @berniesanders saying the “establishment” is trying to defeat him. “The establishment are all those hardworking, middle class people, those African Americans...they are the establishment!”
https://twitter.com/BoKnowsNews/status/1235323686972018690
Power of money? Bernie and Bloomberg vastly outspent Biden
Yup. Don’t answer the question for millions of Americans on camera and help them out. Yell at those who ask the question. Some things never change.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1235352633545756673
It’s because this isn’t about “funding.” It’s actually much more sinister. It’s an attack on wealth itself. Remember when Bernie said billionaires “should not exist”?
https://twitter.com/saeverley/status/1235352259493588992
The establishment rigged this for Biden by starting with two heavily white states, bowing to Team Sanders on allowing caucuses, not giving Biden enough $ to run ads, & having not 1 but 2 billionaires spend a gazillion dollars to siphon votes from him. A flawlessly executed coup!
https://twitter.com/SethHanlon/status/1235202372235866112
The killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi has found its way into the longstanding 9/11 litigation against Saudi Arabia, in filings alleging witness intimidation. Kashoggi was murdered because he was researching witness tampering by Saudi RF in 911 families case.
https://www.courthousenews.com/9-11-families-detail-meeting-with-slain-reporter-khashoggi/
The House approved an emergency bill to spend more than $8 billion fighting the coronavirus, as health officials briefed lawmakers on how deadly the outbreak could be. The spending bill would expand access to virus testing kits.
https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/1235349789958602757
Alan Gross, who lost 5 teeth and 100 lbs after 5 years in a Cuban prison, said Bernie Sanders commended Cuba during a 2014 meeting with him while on a delegation trip. Sanders allegedly said to Gross, "I don't know what's so wrong with this country."
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/04/811729200/former-prisoner-recalls-sanders-saying-i-don-t-know-what-s-so-wrong-with-cuba
Sanders Said It Takes a Revolution to Beat Trump. On Super Tuesday, Most Democrats Disagreed... Sanders was given 5 years, everything possible, and ruined the careers of two of the most progressive women in politics, Hillary and Elizabeth
https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/03/sanders-said-it-takes-a-revolution-to-beat-trump-on-super-tuesday-most-democrats-disagreed/
Mike Bloomberg didn't attract many votes - but his ads still grabbed the attention of a lot of kids: With his ubiquitous $558 million advertising campaign, the former New York mayor and billionaire assembled an odd and electorally deficient coalition that included children inundated with his spots on YouTube, suddenly enthralled — or at least intrigued — by the spry-looking man who said he would get it done. Bloomberg has vowed to keep spending through November in hopes of defeating Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bloomberg-attracted-few-votes--but-his-ads-still-grabbed-the-attention-of-many-kids/2020/03/04/3e4748b0-5e37-11ea-9055-5fa12981bbbf_story.html
African-American voters, 'Whole Foods moms' and an anti-Trump base: Biden builds a broad coalition that could boost Democrats in November.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-broad-coalition-super-tuesday/2020/03/04/9660a026-5e2f-11ea-9055-5fa12981bbbf_story.html
Trump wants the benefit of asserting constitutional immunity when he is sued personally even as he files lawsuits against others, undermining his defense in the defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll, Carroll's attorneys argued in court.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-jean-carroll-defamation-lawsuit/2020/03/04/8ec0e74c-5e41-11ea-b014-4fafa866bb81_story.html
The hardest thing to do on days like this: remember that everyone is terrified and anxious and looking for a target to vent their fear at. It's possible to condemn toxic online behavior while recognizing it comes from a place of real, shared powerlessness in American politics.
You might recall when House lawmakers asked why aid to Ukraine was halted, the WH claimed in public and in later court statements it was to allow for a policy review. Just one problem: There was never a review, according to a senior Pentagon official. A Pentagon email saying there was never a policy review during the Ukraine aid halt -- kept secret during the impeachment hearings -- adds to evidence that the WH’s public statements were composed to justify a decision taken for reasons they didn't want to admit.
https://publicintegrity.org/national-security/top-pentagon-official-contests-white-house-claims-about-ukraine-aid-delay/
We all knew during the impeachment that there was no review. Republicans and all people who support them do not care. They support destroying existence to remain in power.
Lindsey Graham is offering elbow bumps instead of handshakes, AOC is putting her hand over her heart in greeting. Sen. Bill Cassidy is offering up hand sanitizer and Sen. Marco Rubio is washing his hands so often that he has “to start moisturizing.”
https://apnews.com/cc182f81648fd67bcfd67d56d8b965c9
Sanders was given a huge seat at the DNC table after 2016 and his supporters still act like they got nothing.
Biden has plenty of progressive policies, take a look
https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/joe-biden/
If the establishment means you put your head down, you get to work, you figure out how you're going to pay for things, you build a coalition, you actually make change, then I think that's a misnomer.
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/03/811722590/hillary-clinton-documentary-series-set-to-premiere
When you see a Berner accusing Biden of dementia, ask them where are Bernie's medical reports.
https://twitter.com/eclecticbrotha/status/1235350657353347073
BernieBros™ attack Andrew Yang for slightly pro-Warren sentiment
https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1235062093650350084?s=
Half Of Americans Have No Savings To Fall Back On If They Contract An Illness Like Coronavirus And Can't Work
https://www.newsweek.com/half-americans-have-no-savings-fall-back-if-they-contract-illness-like-coronavirus-cant-work-1490584
The "establishment" isn’t standing in Bernie Sanders’ way. Voters are. Sanders is simply not a national candidate. He has a vocal, very aggressive base of support, but it’s localized and it’s not representative of a majority of Democratic voters. | Joe Biden surprised even the establishment political class with his 10-state win on Tuesday night, after months of defending the health of his candidacy. | Sanders can’t blame the establishment for voters taking to the polls, which is what happened in South Carolina. He especially can’t blame the establishment for voters turning out for his opponent in states where Biden barely campaigned, states like Massachusetts and Minnesota. Or delegate-rich Texas, where Biden had not figured to play, accounting for what Politico called his “11th-hour, shoestring operation in the state.” The Sanders campaign itself criticized Biden’s lack of attention to Texas just before he won it. “You can’t show up in our community at the last minute and think you’re going to get elected off of name ID,” said Chuck Rocha, a senior adviser to Sanders. “You’ve got to invest in the community — that’s why we have spent the second-most amount of money talking to Latinos in that state behind billionaire Michael Bloomberg.” And yet, it still couldn’t buy the state for Sanders. Conversely, Biden’s campaign was going broke. The establishment had nothing to do with that. Bloomberg spent $43 million on ad buys in Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama; Biden spent just $772,000, and still he won all three. The establishment had nothing to do with Sanders’ failure to win important endorsements, including from his own people like Nevada’s Culinary Union and the Chicago Teachers Union.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/3/4/21164783/2020-democratic-presidential-primary-bernie-sanders-joe-biden-s-e-cupp-super-tuesday
How can one "double down" on a strategy if they never did it in the first place?
https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-says-bernie-sanders-should-double-down-
coalition-building-after-super-1490588
No comments:
Post a Comment