Parties' 2016 Conventions Could Go Old-School

"Tonight, voters in Colorado, Oklahoma and Minnesota have
joined the people of Vermont in showing America
that a political revolution is spreading across
our country, that people want to take on the
billionaire class and make our government
work for all Americans and not just the top 1 percent,"
said Sanders after winning four states on Super Tuesday.

The Democratic Party National Convention in Philadelphia (July 25-28) and the Republican National Convention in Cleveland (July 18-21) may both become throw-backs, like something out of the Fletcher Knebel novel, Convention, (Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey, II (Harper and Row, 1964)), marked by back-stabbing, horse-trading, and in 2016 John Lewis disgracing himself, as Wall Street gives Hillary Clinton marching orders, (Dayen, The Intercept).

"If Sanders stays within 150 delegates ... he can potentially narrow Clinton’s lead in the spring and overtake her in the summer as Sanders-favorable coastal states take to the polls," notes Tom Cahill, (USUncut).

Following the Sanders' blow-out victory with the 20-29 demographic on Super Tuesday (and win with Latinos in Colorado), Sanders faces a favorable delegate map as spring and early summer approach, (Huffington Post) so the calls for the coronation of Clinton will come loud and often, (538.com).

Clinton currently leads 544 delegates to 349 delegates, and a nominee needs 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.

New York, California, the west coast, Michigan, Wisconsin, in the Clinton math these areas don't matter so very much.

On the Republican side, who knows what these idiots are doing? But plenty of Republicans are beginning to despair.

Hillary the Chickenhawk and Henry Kissinger

In Milwaukee last night Bernie Sanders called out Hillary Clinton's ludicrous admiration for (and mentoring from) war criminal, Henry Kissinger, (Informed Comment), as Clinton sent her message to the war-mongering neocons: I'm with you.

Sanders would have none of it.

"I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend. I will not take advice from Henry Kissinger. ... So count me in as somebody who will not be listening to Henry Kissinger."

Henry Kissinger? Are you kidding?

Three Questions for Sanders-Clinton Debate in Milwaukee

• Is this really the election when SuperDelegates—one Super equals 9,000-plus voters in delegate math out of New Hampshire—should determine the Democratic Party nominee for the presidency?
• Why have primary elections if Establishment Party insiders are calling the game?
• Ought polluting fresh water—literally our lifeblood—be considered a crime against humanity, and will you pursue policies reflecting this ethic?

Lobbyists Fret Clinton Loss

Lobbyists and consultants paid good money for Hillary Clinton, and she was slaughtered last night; they are not happy.

Lee Fang at The Intercept has the story.

Sanders and Clinton, Save Our Water

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate in Milwaukee on Feb. 11.

The candidates should be asked: Will you as president commit to massive, new funding for the EPA, aggressive federal enforcement of the Clean Water Act and declare a war: A war to protect our water?

Scott Walker and Idiots Have Another Great Idea for Wisconsin's Water

The predictable consequences of Scott Walker and the Republican scheme to sell off municipal water systems to an out-of-state, for-profit corporation is a health and environmental catastrophe.

Combine this imbecilic idea with the complete abdication of the state protecting our life-blood, fresh and safe water, and it should be clear Scott Walker is selling off the future of Wisconsin.

Charles P. Pierce has the details at Esquire.

Does anyone contend describing Scott Walker and his band of idiots as sociopaths, plotting to toxify Wisconsin citizens, is a reach?

When Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate in Milwaukee on Feb. 11, the candidates should be asked: As the "out of state money and the rising plutocracy chose Wisconsin as their lab rat for the new gilded age (Pierce)," will you as president commit to massive new funding for the EPA, aggressive enforcement of the Clean Water Act and declare a war: A war to protect our water?

Making of Hillary Clinton

CounterPunch is re-running its must-read exposé on Hillary Clinton.

For those undecided on the Hillary-Bernie race, Jeffrey St. Clair and Alexander Cockburn's three-part piece will reveal how calculating and callous Hillary Clinton is, over the last 55 years.

Bernie and Hillary in Dead Heat in Iowa

Coin flips for delegates, Hillary Clinton falsely claiming victory last night, and a disorderly process marked the cluster-frack defining the 2106 Iowa Caucuses last night.

Sanders relied on the will of the people throughout his campaign against the Establishment.

This people-should-rule campaign is a thud to Clinton's campaign, so desperate already, she is placing placing her hopes already on the super-delegates.

Reports Tony Leys for the Des Monies Register:

'I think the people of Iowa have sent a very profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment and, by the way, to the media establishment,' Bernie Sanders told supporters.

Many political experts dismissed Sanders’ chances when he joined the race last May. But the Vermont senator drew increasingly big and enthusiastic crowds by relentlessly projecting his passion to fight economic injustice.

He lives this. He’s the real deal,' said Lloyd Levine, 62, of Des Moines, a retiree who watched Sanders speak at Grand View University on Sunday night. 'He’s speaking the truth, and he’s supported these issues all his life.'

Grassroots v. the Establishment

From the Bleeding Heartland:

2:30 am: The Iowa Democratic Party released a statement a few minutes ago, which I’ve enclosed below. According to the party, statewide turnout was 171,109, much higher than I expected but nearly 70,000 below the record turnout of 2008. The party says 'Clinton has been awarded 699.57 state delegate equivalents, Bernie Sanders has been awarded 695.49 state delegate equivalents, Martin O’Malley has been awarded 7.68 state delegate equivalents and uncommitted has been awarded .46 state delegate equivalents.'

O'Malley announced he is suspending his campaign.

The Clinton campaign looked dazed and confused last night, as its massive campaign infrastructure coronating her as the nominee met the will of the citizenry who in theory elect public officials in American democracy.

Reports Jason Noble of the Des Monies Register: "In all five situations [where a coin toss took place], Clinton won the toss."

The state delegate equivalent totals as of early this morning are just outside the margin of coin tosses.

Hillary Clinton decided she is entitled to win, the people voting in the Democratic Party primary for the presidency the have different thoughts on the topic. We should all listen before the Democratic Party rigs the election and blows a historic opportunity.

Pierce on the Anti-Clinton Politics Embodied in Bernie Sanders

Charles P. Pierce on the progressive politics waiting to explode in Iowa: "people ignore it at their peril."

Hillary in Full Slime Mode in Iowa

The last Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll shows the race virtually tied the weekend before the Iowa caucuses, so Hillary Clinton is doing what she does best: Lying.

Clinton has an ad saying Bernie Sanders is hostile to Planned Parenthood though Sanders was working for civil rights before Clinton was a Goldwater Girl.

Sanders has a 100 percent rating from NARAL and Planned Parenthood Action Fund's rating dating back as far as data are available.

Clinton has the Democratic Party establishment behind her, and is facing a grassroots, people-focused campaign in Bernie Sanders that has Clinton in a desperate situation. A confident campaign does not go negative the weekend before Election/Caucus Day.

Lose Iowa, and the dominoes will fall the wrong way for Clinton.

The establishment leadership is behind Clinton, and the grassroots is behind Sanders.

Only a fool would vote for Hillary Clinton because she will sell you out, and put Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block, then announce a third way with Paul Ryan and the Health Insurance industry from which Clinton has sucked in $ 13 million.

Bernie Sanders, America

Wow, did I ever need to see this today:

Franken Files Brief in Recount Case

Update: See Eric Black at MinnPost for an analysis of Franken's reply brief.

From Election Law at Moritz (respondent Al Franken filed his brief [see Franken brief] May 11 with the Minnesota Supreme Court [See Franken case page for additional documents from the case].

Franken has already been declared the winner of the race by the unanimous ruling of the Minnesota State Canvassing Board.

Franken seeks a definitive ruling that would certify him as the winner in a "final determination of the election contest," under Minnesota Statute, "notwithstanding any subsequent action at the federal level—whether that subsequent action be through direct review by the United States Supreme Court, a separate federal lawsuit, or a proceeding in the United States Senate."

Leading national Republicans said last month that regardless of how the Minnesota Supreme Court rules, the Senate will not seat Franken, and will attempt to drag the dispute out in the federal courts.

From (ThinkProgress, May 11):

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman, ... said the GOP is prepared to fight 'World War III' to prevent Franken from being seated.

Michael Steele Keeps Up ACORN Lie

ACORN did it.

Yeah, new Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, is steering the GOP in a new direction.

This is business as usual on the right, see Lies and the Lying Liars Exposed.

And read this nonsense circulated in an e-mail through Human Events:

... It seems the Obama Administration has plans to rig the Census results.

President Obama's old friends from ACORN, the leftist, urban ‘community’ organization with a long history of promoting vote fraud, has been chosen by the Administration as a ‘partner’ with the Census Bureau to determine population counts in cities around the country.

With this group's track record of coming up with countless fraudulent voter registrations in heavily Democrat areas to sway elections to ultra-liberals, you can be sure they'll be manipulating population numbers as well.

And after receiving millions in political payback from the Democrats' recently passed ‘Stimulus’ Bill, ACORN's community organizers are eager to once again take action to aid their old friend in the White House.

Why is this important? The U.S. population has shifted in the last ten years. States like Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania (all states Obama won in 2008) have smaller populations, and states like Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina (all states that John McCain carried) have gained population.

The trend illustrates that urban strongholds, which favor Democrats, continue to lose population to more decentralized areas in states more likely to lean Republican.

If the Democrats and their friends at ACORN have their way, the Census will only ‘estimate’ state populations and therefore be subject to political calculations. And surely their estimate will be far higher than the actual number of people, and voters, present.

We must not let the Democrats and their radical leftist allies falsify the U.S. Census and manipulate elections in their favor. Our democracy, and the principle of ‘One Person, One Vote’ are in jeopardy.

Even NBC's Russert Says It's Over, But Not Hillary ... Yet

Update III: David Plouffe: An Update on the Race for Delegates, Obama Needs 36 Percent of Remaining Delegates to Win Nomination [Those Obama elitists are sooo into math.]

Update II: Hillary doesn't say it's over. This morning's press release: As West Virginia Takes Center Stage, Clinton Campaign Ramps Up Statewide Get Out The Vote Effort

Update: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue by John Judis, a big Clinton supporter -

Even the major networks are admitting it's over.

From AmericaBlog: Russert: "It's over for Hillary. She just lost the nomination."
That's a big step for the pretend-to-know-nothings on broadcast TV, next thing you know, maybe we'll have a campaign about substantive issues.

Maybe we'll hear the refrain of questions that were posed to Jesse Jackson in 1988 and Jerry Brown in 1992 when they overstayed their welcome from the talking heads in the Democratic primary: What do you want?

John Aravosis at AmericaBlog:

NBC declares Hillary the winner, barely, in Indiana. Hillary may get one delegate more than Obama in Indiana. Chuck Todd says Obama will get 13 more delegates than Hillary tonight, and that wipes out the 12 delegates more than him that she got in Pennsylvania. Obama now has a pledged delegate lead of over 160, he's got a popular vote lead of over 700,000, per Todd.

There is simply no path to victory for Hillary. Now she's just screwing around and hurting the party. Look at what Chuck Todd just said, again - even with Michigan and Florida, she has lost ...

Russert's quote in response to the question "Did it just end tonight?" from Olbermann:

(Russert): 'We now know who the democratic nominee is going to be and no one is going to dispute it.'

This is it. The media finally turned on her. It's over. It's finally freaking over. I say this because the race was over 2 months ago. But the media kept it alive by pretending as though Hillary had a chance, when they knew she didn't.

But, their pretending permitted her to keep going with a straight face. Now that the media is turning on her, she's going to have an impossible time continuing. If she continues to run the only question she will be asked from now on is 'you've lost, why are you still in this race?' There is nothing she can do now. Yes, she can stay in the race, says she's not quitting until the convention in August. But now that the media has turned on her, good luck with that.

NC, Indiana Primaries' Breaking News - Obama Takes NC., IN Too Close to Call

Updated - Obama looks to net some 16 pledged delegates, (200,000) margin in popular vote count. Hillary advisers expect contributors and staffers to call for Hillary to bow out. Hillary's speech lacked recent fire and tone.

**** Live Election Results in Indiana ***
**** Live Election Results in North Carolina ***

FIRST EXIT POLLS: HILLARY +7 in INDIANA; OBAMA +12 in NORTH CAROLINA, via Huffington Post

Huge turn-out in both states; in Indiana , its vote-suppressing voter ID law and Rush Limbaugh-inspired GOP crossover votes for Hillary should help contribute to a Clinton victory.

Multiple sources report anecdotal data indicating huge black turn-out in NC, possibly in response to Hillary's friendly (to her) and publicized voter suppression group.

Barring an independent run in the general, Hillary is history and is just stirring the ashes of her slash-and-burn campaign. [Note: Exit polls are often off a few points, but these number are consistent with the most recent polling and trends.]

CNN: Black voters in Indiana: Obama 92%, Clinton 8%.
Black voters in North Carolina: Obama 91%, Clinton 6%. This is slightly above Hillary's horrendous performance with blacks in other primary states.

Best guess: Big Obama double-digit win in NC, toss-up or Hillary win in Indiana.

Sources for breaking news throughout day:

The Primary Source (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Huffington Post

Kos IN/NC (see comments section)

Indy Star

Talking Points Memo

Time

Americablog

Drudge and NRO, The Corner often have leaked exit polling, worth checking.

- By the way. Gingrich warns of ‘real disaster' for GOP this fall. -

Wisconsin's Obama Delegate Win Equals Clinton's Penn Win

Wisconsin Obama Delegate Win - 10

Pennsylvania Clinton Delegate Win - 10

The question is not if but when Obama wins the nomination.

Faced with Obama's inevitability, and apparently intent on stretching the primary out as long as possible, what will Hillary do?

Obama Campaign E-mail on The Facts

... Last night, Senator Clinton used up her last, best chance to cut appreciably into Barack Obama's elected delegate lead.

She came up short.

In fact, she barely made a dent. At most, she picked up a net gain of 12 delegates -- less than our gain, for example, in Colorado (where we gained 17) or Kansas (where we gained 14). Her gain in Pennsylvania was less than half of our gain in Virginia, where we added to our lead by 25 delegates.

But there is one measure by which her campaign's gains are real. ...

Here's how it breaks out:

After Pennsylvania, we have a lead of at least 159 elected delegates earned through all of the primaries and caucuses so far. We have a total of at least 1493 pledged delegates.

Meanwhile, we've been rapidly gaining ground among the so-called superdelegates (elected leaders and party officials who get a vote to choose our nominee), cutting Senator Clinton's lead from more than 100 early this year to less than 25.

We have a total of 238 publicly committed superdelegates.

The total number of delegates needed to secure the nomination is 2,024. That means we are only 293 delegates away from securing the nomination.

In less than two weeks, we'll square off in the key battleground states of North Carolina and Indiana, when there will be as many delegates at stake as there were last night in Pennsylvania.

To grow our significant lead and close out this race, we must remain competitive in these contests and the 7 others that will follow. ...

Pennsylvania was considered a state tailor-made for Senator Clinton -- she was always expected to win, and we trailed by as much as 25 points in the weeks leading up to the election.

But thanks to people like you, Barack gained support among key voters in the face of long odds and unrelenting negativity from Senator Clinton, and kept the margin close enough that her delegate gain was insignificant.

Indeed, the only surprising result from Pennsylvania is how much Barack was able to improve his standing among key voter groups since the Ohio primary.
Among white voters, Obama narrowed the gap by 6 points. Among voters over 60, he nearly cut the gap in half, from 41 points to 24 points. Meanwhile, we continued to run strong where we have all along -- for example, winning voters ages 18-24 with over 65% of the vote.

Barack campaigned hard in Pennsylvania. He talked about his plans to stand up to the special interests and bring people together so that we can change Washington to turn our economy around, make sure that every American has quality health care, and bring this misguided war to an end. ...

Third Party Run for Hillary?

via MAL Contends

Most rational, honest observers (those are not whom we see on cable TV) know that absent a historic meltdown by Obama, Hillary Clinton has virtually no chance of winning the Democratic nomination.

Her nine-digit win in the quasi-machine state of Pennsylvania excites only those with a vested interest in seeing her continue in the race.

Here's an updated reposting of one rationale explaining why Hillary stays in, consistent with known facts: A third-party/independent run.

In Hillary Clinton's willingness to blow up a historic Democratic constituency (the African-American vote, now voting against her nine-to-one), her embrace of John McCain's national security credentials over Barack Obama's, and her utilization of rightwing media organs to smear Obama, right as her money is drying up, one sees at least the outlines of a rationale for the messianic Hillary to morph into Joe Lieberman and stage an independent run for the presidency.

Said James Carville in April: "Well, you know the convention is not the end game, folks. Now, don’t get me wrong I think Hillary Clinton will get the nomination in the end. But, if the Washintonian elites decide to throw her under the bus, who could blame her if she took this all the way to November."

Bill has been building up McCain for months, saying McCain is a “moderate”

Certainly Hillary possesses the sense of entitlement and burn-down-the-house drive to wage such a battle.

And the Clinton's loyalty to the Democratic Party has never been that strong. Hillary is a Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) Democrat.

Her continued presence in the race and her general-election attacks speaks clearly that she really does not care what damage she inflicts on the Democratic nominee.

Maybe Hillary does care, and wishes to subtly inflict as much damage as possible, weakening Obama for her historic third-party run facing a weakened Obama and a historically weak GOP.

Such a run would be the realization of the ultimate triangulation.

What's to stop her? Hillary's lack of ambition, Hillary's loyalty to the Democratic Party?

We'll see.

McCain Using Progressive Media Buy as Fundraiser

John McCain's free ride from the media is coming to an end. And his illegal campaign spending is garnering notice in the press.

Now McCain is using the plans of a progressive group buying ads displaying McCain's many lies as a fundraiser. From a McCain e-mail:

George Soros the 'liberal megadonor' is at it again. He and his group of billionaire left-wing Democrats have pledged $40 million dollars of soft money to smear John McCain in a national television ad campaign.


In an article published in Politico, it was reported that Paul Begala and David Brock met with a gang of Manhattan liberals at the home of George Soros to outline their plans for a $40 million dollar ad campaign against Senator McCain. Brock is quoted as saying the group could do the work of the press corps that has 'fallen down on the job' when it comes to McCain! ...

Soros and his liberal friends need to know that they cannot buy this election with their billions. With your help we will continue to get out the straight talk on the issues that Americans care about.

McCain complaining about billionaires against his candidacy; that's precious.

Hillary: I'm Losing, Change the Rules

Update: Listen to Hillary on Michigan: Pathetic.



After agreeing not to campaign in Florida and Michigan last year, Hillary Clinton now wants the elections, such as they were, to count.

From the Miami Herald:

Trailing Democratic rival Barack Obama in delegates and running out of options, Hillary Clinton's campaign on Tuesday launched a two-pronged attack in Florida.

In Fort Lauderdale, supporters brandished petitions and called for the Jan. 29 primary -- which she won -- to count toward delegates.

If you're losing the game, change the rules. Reminds me of Bush on the Iraq War for which Hillary voted, though she still denies that she did so.

From Time:

The Pledge Clinton Signed
WHEREAS, Over a year ago, the Democratic National Committee established a 2008 nominating calendar;
WHEREAS, this calendar honors the racial, ethnic, economic and geographic diversity of our party and our country;
WHEREAS, the DNC also honored the traditional role of retail politics early in the nominating process, to insure that money alone will not determine our presidential nominee;
WHEREAS, it is the desire of Presidential campaigns, the DNC, the states and the American people to bring finality, predictability and common sense to the nominating calendar.
THEREFORE, I, [Name], Democratic Candidate for President, pledge I shall not campaign or participate in any state which schedules a presidential election primary or caucus before Feb. 5, 2008, except for the states of Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina, as "campaigning" is defined by rules and regulations of the DNC.