Category: Bernie Sanders

I Guess Nancy Wants those Donations from the Insurance Industry

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In yet another “Democrats in Disarray” story, the Washington Post notes that there friction between Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders, because Pelosi wants to make Biden’s subsidies to Obamacare permanent, and Sanders wants to expand Medicare. 

This is really pretty simple, making the Obamacare subsidies permanent is a subsidy for the insurance companies, and not of people in need, while expanding Medicare helps everyone.

Pelosi wants to keep feeding money to the insurance companies because she wants to keep raising campaign donations from the insurance companies:

The White House is facing diverging pressure from two powerful allies — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — over whether to use an upcoming spending package to strengthen the Affordable Care Act or expand Medicare eligibility.

Pelosi’s office is pushing the White House to make permanent a temporary expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidies that were included in the $1.9 trillion stimulus legislation last month, according to a senior Democratic aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.

Sanders said in an interview that he is arguing for lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 55 or 60 and expanding the program for seniors so it covers dental, vision and hearing care.

The contrasting visions for the next phase of President Biden’s legislative agenda reflect divisions within the Democratic Party about how Biden should further overhaul health insurance in the United States. Pelosi is looking to double down on the ACA, which has become more popular in recent years as it offers insurance subsidies to people well above the poverty line. Sanders, meanwhile, is looking for an opportunity to make progress on his longtime efforts to make government health insurance universal.

Lowering the Medicare age is better policy, because it puts more pressure on expanding the program in the future, while Obamacare, while better than what went before us, still sucks wet farts from dead pigeons.

Also, I would note that expanding Medicare is better policy, because older people vote in higher percentages than younger ones.

My prediction:  Biden goes with expanding subsidies to insurance companies, because, he’s always been a creature of the finance and insurance industries.

On the Superdelegate Canvass

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— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 7, 2016

Jake Tapper Wins with a Chinatown Reference

I was watching TV last night, and flipped over to Maddow and found her over the moon because some anonymous source told the AP that they had Canvassed the superdelegates, and Clinton had secured the nomination.

NBC officially called the nomination last night.

It turns out that being pissed off about this is something that both the Sanders campaign and Clinton campaigns can agree on.

Why the Sanders campaign would angry is self-evident.

For the Clinton campaign, it short circuited what they hoped to be a golden moment tonight.

As to the story, it smells:

Last night, the Associated Press — on a day when nobody voted — surprised everyone by abruptly declaring the Democratic Party primary over and Hillary Clinton the victor. The decree, issued the night before the California primary in which polls show Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a very close race, was based on the media organization’s survey of “superdelegates”: the Democratic Party’s 720 insiders, corporate donors, and officials whose votes for the presidential nominee count the same as the actually elected delegates. AP claims that superdelegates who had not previously announced their intentions privately told AP reporters that they intend to vote for Clinton, bringing her over the threshold. AP is concealing the identity of the decisive superdelegates who said this.

Although the Sanders campaign rejected the validity of AP’s declaration — on the ground that the superdelegates do not vote until the convention and he intends to try to persuade them to vote for him — most major media outlets followed the projection and declared Clinton the winner.

One question that is raised by all of this is who made the call to the AP to get this ball rolling.

I can think of 3 possibilities:

  • Someone who is both completely incompetent and in a blind panic about the possibility of the aftermath of the last days of the primary, and a potentially contested convention that they did something mind buggeringly stupid. (I call this the Debbie Wasserman-Schultz hypothesis.)
  • Someone at the AP is a complete idiot, and convinced his similarly dim cow-orkers that this was a plan so cunning that you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel. (I call this the Baldrick hypothesis)
  • This is a ratf%$#ing from someone who wants to sow dissent between the Clinton and Sanders camps while diminishing whatever Clinton says today.  (I call this the Roger Stone hypothesis)

My money is on Baldrick.

    Trump Wimps Out

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    Now he’s not going to debate Bernie Sanders:

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had a bemused response on Friday to Donald Trump’s decision to back out of a suggested debate between the two.

    “Well, Mr. Trump, what are you afraid of?” the Democratic candidate said.

    Sanders said reporters were the first to inform him that Trump pulled out of the prospective debate, shortly after a tech firm offered to put up the $10 million donation the presumptive Republican presidential nominee had named as a condition.

    “Mr. Trump comes across as a big tough guy,” Sanders said. “If you’re so tough, let’s sit down and have that debate.”

    He’s a punk and a wimp, and Sanders called him out as such.

    Good.

    This is a Very Smart Move

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    Donald Trump was on Jimmy Kimmel, and in response a question from the late night host, Trump said that he would be willing to debate Bernie Sanders, and Sanders promptly picked up the gauntlet:

    On ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Trump was asked if he would consider holding a debate with Sanders. Trump agreed to the idea.

    “If he paid a sum toward charity I would love to do that,” said the business mogul, noting that a Sanders vs. Trump debate “would have such high ratings.”

    In a campaign stop in North Dakota, Trump said Sanderrs would need to raise $10 million for charity in order for the debate to happen.

    Sanders quickly responded with a tweet reading, “Game On. I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7th primary.”

    I don’t expect Trump to follow through, but there is no way that this is a losing proposition for Sanders.

    If Trump backs out, he looks weak.

    If Sanders does poorly in the debate, Clinton is not harmed, and her campaign gets a preview of Trump’s debate performance.

    Sanders gets another chance to sell his movement and his campaign.

    If Bernie trounces Trump, he gives a big boost to his chances in California.

    There are no downsides for Sanders, and only one downside for Clinton, here, and all likely outcomes are bad for the “Short Fingered Vulgarian.”

    Well played.

    This is Mindbogglingly Stupid

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    At the Nevada state convention, it appears that the (Hillary supporting) convention chair decided to put her thumb on the scales even though her side had already won:

    Organizers of the Nevada State Democratic Convention said they had to rush to wrap up the “unruly and unpredictable” event on Saturday after security became an issue and objects, including chairs, were being thrown.

    State party officials said authorities at the Paris casino in Las Vegas informed them around 10 p.m. that they could no longer provide the necessary security for the event, where tensions between Bernie Sanders supporters and party leaders flared up. The convention was scheduled to end at 7 p.m.
    ………

    Sanders supporters have accused state party leaders of rigging the process against them, and they objected to procedural votes to approve the rules of the event. They also questioned a credentials committee’s disqualification of 58 would-be Sanders delegates, who state party officials said didn’t provide evidence about their identities or weren’t registered to vote as Democrats by a May 1 deadline.

    ………

    After casino officials told convention organizers to wrap up the event Saturday night, party chairwoman Roberta Lange accepted a motion to appoint delegates pre-approved by the Hillary Clinton and Sanders campaigns, organizers said. She also accepted a motion to elect the state central committee according to rules submitted by county party chairs.

    Sanders supporters upset with the proceedings staged a protest outside the Nevada State Democratic Party headquarters on Sunday, writing in sidewalk chalk “Roberta Lange murdered democracy” and “Fire Roberta.” Officials also said Lange had received hundreds of phone calls and text messages, including death threats, after her cellphone number was posted on social media.

    Sanders issued a statement Friday, as tensions simmered before the convention, saying all Democrats shared the common goals of defeating Donald Trump and electing Democrats to office. “Working together respectfully and constructively on Saturday at the Nevada Democratic convention will move us closer to those essential goals,” he said.

    Hillary Clinton really has two things going for her in the race for the nomination, her “inevitability”, and her claimed ability to unify the party in November.

    The actions in Nevada mitigate against these perceived advantages.

    If the Clinton campaign is as sure as they claim about her victory in the nomination, they aren’t, (and neither am I) they need to stop going scorched earth.

    Bernie Sanders Walks the Union Walk

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    Bernie Sanders walked the picket line with striking Verizon workers, and then the thin skinned CEO of the telco called the Senator contemptible.

    Bernie responded that he welcomed the contempt of the these overpaid CEOs.

    It a appears that the membership of the Transit Workers Union Local 100 also appreciated the contempt shown by those CEOs , because their membship overwhelmingly voted to endorse Sanders for the New York primary on Wednesday.

    Not a surprise.  After all, his opponent was on the board of directors for the virulently anti-union Walmart for years.

    I Just Saw the Debates

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    Hillary and Bernie went toe to toe in Brooklyn.

    I was watching, and Charlie was hooting and hollering like it was the denouement of the next Star Wars movie.

    He has Hillary pegged as being part of the Empire.

    My quick take:

    • It was the most contentious debate yet.
    • Wolf Blitzer could be replaced as moderator by a toaster with a not particularly advanced operating system.  (I should note here that it is not my intent to offend any toasters)
    • Hillary Clinton kept filibustering, and it drove Charlie nuts.
    • Hillary Clinton seemed to be seething with barely suppressed anger at times.
    • It really is a treat to hear Bernie Sanders say, “Yuge.”

    No clue as to what the pundits will be saying in the morning.

      It’s On

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      Bernie and Hillary in Brooklyn 14 April at 2100EDT:

      Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have finally agreed to have a high-stakes debate in Brooklyn on April 14 starting at 9 p.m., five days before New York Democrats vote in the April 19 primary.

      The debate will be held at the Duggal Greenhouse on the Brooklyn Navy Yard, hosted by CNN and moderated by Wolf Blitzer. CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash and NY1 political anchor Errol Louis will join in the questioning of the candidates. The debate will also be covered by NY 1, which serves the New York Metropolitan Area.

      Brooklyn is an auspicious place for the two candidates to meet, as Sanders grew up in Brooklyn, and Clinton’s campaign headquarters is in downtown Brooklyn. This will be the first debate between the two candidates since the Univision-Washington Post debate in Miami on March 9.

      I will be watching.

      The Night of the NCAA Finals? Seriously?

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      The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns are negotiating a time for their New York debate, and Hillary wants it tomorrow night, while the NCAA basketball finals are on the air:

      The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns are still negotiating over the timing of a debate before the New York primary on April 19th, with no resolution in sight.

      Mrs. Clinton’s campaign released a statement Saturday saying they had offered the Sanders campaign three possible dates for what would be the ninth debate between the Democratic presidential hopefuls.

      All were rejected, Clinton press spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.

      “The Sanders campaign needs to stop with the games,” Mr. Fallon said.

      In a statement issued later, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said the dates and locations proposed by the Clinton campaign “don’t make a whole lot of sense.”

      “We have proposed other dates which they have rejected,” he added.

      “We hope we can reach agreement in the near future,” Mr Briggs continued. “The people of New York and America deserve to see and hear a debate on the important issues facing the state and country.”

      In his statement, Mr. Fallon said the Clinton campaign agreed to debate on April 4th, April 14th or April 15th.

      The Clinton campaign’s 15th suggestion is in the morning.

      They really don’t want to debate.

      Yep, Hawaii Too

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      With around 70%:

      Senator Bernie Sanders routed Hillary Clinton in all three Democratic presidential contests on Saturday, infusing his underdog campaign with critical momentum and bolstering his argument that the race for the nomination is not a foregone conclusion.

      Mr. Sanders found a welcome tableau in the largely white and liberal electorates of the Pacific Northwest, where just days after resoundingly beating Mrs. Clinton in Idaho he repeated the feat in the Washington caucuses, winning 73 percent of the vote. He did even better in Alaska, winning 82 percent of the vote, and in Hawaii, he had 71 percent with a few precincts still be counted, according to The Associated Press.

      While the party establishment may not like this, it is a good thing.

      The Republicans in general, and Trump in particular, have gotten a lot more ink, and now that Clinton’s primary campaign seems less a coronation, the Democrats, and Democratic ideas, should start getting some coverage.

      Why You Should Go to Sanders Rallies, and Not Go to Trump Rallies

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      Because if a topless protester shows up, Sanders lets her in, and Trump kicks her out:

      Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders this week joked about a topless woman who showed up at one of his rallies recently to protest Republican rival Donald Trump. 


      “Well, I was trying very hard to get every detail,” the Vermont senator joked during an interview with Phoenix-area radio station KTAR when asked if he could read the text on the woman’s chest.
      “No, just kidding,” Sanders chuckled as the male radio hosts erupted into laughter.
      “No, actually I was trying to focus on a couple of other things,” Sanders continued, trying to stifle another laugh as he pivoted to discuss campaign issues of income inequality.
      A woman who tried unsuccessfully to get into one of Trump’s rallies in Arizona over the weekend opted to show up at Sanders’s rally in Phoenix on Saturday instead.
      The words “stop fascism” were revealed on her back and “hate speech is not free speech” were marked on her chest, as she stood on someone’s back, interrupting Sanders’s rally.

      She was also wearing “Free the Nipple” pasties.

      Photos (she is quite fetching) available at the links.

      Experience My Ass!

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      One of the claims made by the Clinton campaign is that she has experience, and knows how to get things done.

      I’m not quite sure how this makes sense.

      She has no experience in an executive elected position, and Bernie Sanders was mayor of Burlington for 8 years.

      She was in Congress for 8 years, Bernie for 25 years.

      What’s more, all through his legislative career, he has managed to make significant legislative accomplishments despite his status as a party outsider:

      As Democrats cobbled together a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s immigration law three years ago, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York was clear about one thing: His party could not suffer a single defection.

      But one naysayer remained — Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who had opposed a similar effort in 2007 and once again did not like provisions in the new bill that he thought would displace American workers. And he had a price, a $1.5 billion youth jobs program.

      Through wheeling and dealing, shaming and cajoling, Mr. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, got his wish, and his favored provision was grafted incongruously onto a tough-minded Republican border security amendment and paid for by higher visa fees for some foreign travelers.

      ………

      Yet in spite of persistent carping that Mr. Sanders is nothing but a quixotic crusader — during their first debate, Hillary Clinton cracked, “I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive who likes to get things done” — he has often been an effective, albeit modest, legislator. He has enacted his agenda piece by piece, in politically digestible chunks with few sweeping legislative achievements in a quarter-century in Congress.

      Over one 12-year stretch in the House, Mr. Sanders passed more amendments by roll call vote than any other member of Congress. In the Senate, he secured money for dairy farmers and community health centers, blocked banks from hiring foreign workers and reined in the Federal Reserve, all through measures attached to larger bills.

      ………

      His congressional relationships with Democrats and Republicans have been largely legislative and not loving. A backscratcher he is not. Mr. Sanders is far more likely to be found alone in his apartment watching cable news than out for Chinese food with other members of Congress.

      “He is not Ted Kennedy, who managed to have these personal relationships that come from the day in and day out working the halls,” said Representative Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, who replaced Mr. Sanders in the House. “The way he works is consistent with his temperament and his skills.”

      Counter to his reputation as a far-left gadfly, Mr. Sanders has done much of his work with Republican partners, generally people with whom he has little, but sometimes just enough, in common.

      And Hillary Clinton’s accomplishments?

      Voting for the Iraq invasion, destroying Libya, installing a failed puppet regime in the Ukraine, and supporting every other ill conceived American imperial adventure over the past 15 years.

      What experience is there to see?

      Nepotism is not experience, see Bush, George Walker and Bush, Jeb.

      Another Reason to Like Bernie Sanders

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      In an article outlining he rather fraught relationship between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, Politico drops this fascinating anecdote:

      It’s an illustration of the extent to which the two political outsiders, once allies, have parted ways. Nader has known Sanders for decades and the Vermont socialist once referred to him as “a good friend” during a committee hearing, but he said Sanders hasn’t returned his phone calls for the past 15 years. During his time in Washington, as Sanders has fostered congenial relations with Clinton, said Nader, “He’s totally cut people like me out.”

      Gee, what did Ralph Nader do about 15 years ago?

      What has he never offered the most perfunctory expression of regret for?

      It appears that Sanders hasn’t forgiven Ralph Nader for his exercise in narcissistic nihilism that was his 2000 campaign, which was calculated to provide maximize the benefit to George W. Bush, because, as Alfred Pennyworth says, “Some men just want to see the world burn.”

      Good on Sanders for recognizing what Nader has become.

      Well, This is a Surprise

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      In the week leading up to the Michigan primary, Clinton was leading by in excess 20 points in the last few day’s polling.

      Well, when polling places started running out of ballots for the Democratic primary, it was a sign that the polls might not be accurate.

      As I am writing this, the Detroit Free Press has called Michigan for Bernie Sanders.

      It appears that the Sanders got its get out the vote effort right tonight.

      Saw the Dem Debate Tonight

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      I’m not sure who won, but here are my quick thoughts:

      • It was much more contentious than the previous debates.
      • Bernie Sanders is more likable.
      • CNN’s format was weird, and the questions from the audience were even weirder.
      • Clinton was hoarse.
      • Sanders was weak on gun control, which has always been one of his weak points.

      Not sure what it means in the context of the election, though.

      For Sanders Supporters Who are Silver Lining Types

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      First, note that the primaries are structured that all of Clinton’s strong states will be done by mid March.

      Basically, the southern states, the ones that won’t vote for a Democrat, are relatively early in the process:

      I’m keeping this short to put a very simple idea into your head. Because of the way the Democratic Party voting calendar is structured this year, Clinton’s largest lead will occur on March 15. After that, most of Sanders’ strongest states will vote.

       What this means is simple:

      • Hillary Clinton will grow her lead until the March 15 states have voted.
      • Bernie Sanders will erase that lead — partly or completely — after March 15.
      • How much of Clinton’s lead he will erase depends on your not buying what the media is selling — that the contest is over.
      • In most scenarios where Sanders wins, he doesn’t retake the lead until June 7, when five states including California cast their ballots.

      March 15 is the Ides of March; a good way to remember the date. The message — gear up for a battle after the Ides of March, and don’t let the establishment media tell you what to think. They won’t be right until the last state has voted.

       If you want to stop reading here, this is all you need to know.

      ………

      Bottom line — Super Tuesday is upon us, and what’s bad for Sanders supporters on March 1 is going to look worse for a few weeks. Stay heartened. Whatever the result in March, this isn’t over until June, after Sanders’ best states have voted as well.

      (Emphasis Original)

      This is not surprising. Both of the party establishments have attempted to front load the the south, the Republicans because they double down on racism, and the Democrats because they want to forestall the liberal wing of the party. (Super Tuesday was largely a product of the right wing of the right wing of the Democratic Party.)

      This raises an interesting question, “Does Sanders have the resources go to distance?”

      The answer is clearly, “Yes.”

      In fact, it is very likely that Sanders has more Cash on Hand than Clinton does:  (Note that this does not include Super PAC money, but that money does not go as far, because it cannot be targeted as flexibly)

      Hillary Clinton raised $30 million in February and has $31 million on hand, her campaign announced on Wednesday — far less than Bernie Sanders.

       ………

       Her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, raised $43 million in February, with $6 million of that coming on Monday. Sanders’ campaign has not announced its cash on hand, but as of the end of January, he had nearly $15 million in the bank.

      Sanders Raised $20 million to Clinton’s $15 million in January.

      So, Sanders raised $63 million in the first two months of the year, and Clinton raised $37 million, and she has $31 million cash on hand, and we can be reasonably certain that the Sanders campaign has a lower burn rate than Clinton, because she is employing a lot of high powered consultants, and has a far more extensive fundraising apparatus.

      Assuming the same spending rates, and Hillary and Bernie would be neck and neck in cash on hand.

      My guess is that Bernie is a few million ahead, and Hillary’s big donors are running into campaign finance limits, so the Sanders campaign can take this to the convention.