DECEMBER 19, 2019
NEWS AND VIEWS
PEOPLE’S ACTION IS THE TYPE OF PROGRESSIVE COALITIONS THAT
I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT RECENTLY BECAUSE IF THE DNC DISRESPECTS BERNIE AGAIN
IN THE WAY THEY DID IN 2016, I WILL BE WALKING TOWARD THE DOOR. I WILL VOTE
DEMOCRAT THIS TIME TO KEEP DONALD TRUMP OUT, BUT I WILL NOT FOREVER STAY WITH A
PARTY THAT SO OFTEN IS NOT WITH ME. WHAT COULD SUCH A GROUP DO? THEY COULD
ENCOURAGE THEIR MEMBERS TO BAND TOGETHER TO SET UP A PROGRESSIVES PARTY ON A
FORMAL BASIS, AND SEE WHO WILL JOIN IT. THEY COULD USE THE KIND OF BLOC VOTING
PRESSURE ON REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS THAT THE BLACK COMMUNITY DOES TODAY, OR
RUN THEIR OWN CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY AND FOR ANY NUMBER OF OTHER OFFICES.
I THINK HAVING A NAMED PARTY HAS MORE EFFECT THAN JUST REGISTERING AS AN
INDEPENDENT.
Bernie Sanders nabs key progressive group endorsement
People's Action represents more than 1 million members in
key early-voting states around the country.
By HOLLY OTTERBEIN
12/19/2019 08:10 AM EST
Updated: 12/19/2019 10:35 AM EST
PHOTOGRAPH -- Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders has won the endorsement of People’s
Action, a coalition of 40 progressive groups that said it represents
more than 1 million members in key early-voting states and others across
the country.
The nod is a triumph for the Vermont senator in the
competition with Elizabeth Warren to become the leading left-wing candidate
in the presidential primary.
“We were really struck by the fact that for the last few
decades, this guy has been able to see through the haze of a neoliberal
worldview that has affected so many parts of American life,” said George
Goehl, national director of People’s Action. “We also think he’s uniquely
positioned to win. He’s already stitched together a multiracial, urban,
rural, multi-generational campaign.”
Sanders received nearly 74 percent of the ballots cast
by delegates from the group’s affiliates, according to People’s Action.
Goehl said that there was a period in the primary when it seemed the vote
“might be closer.” Sanders' rollout of his housing plan, which calls for
building almost 10 million affordable housing units as well as national rent
control, was a turning point, Goehl said.
The nod from People’s Action is the latest in a string of
progressive endorsements nabbed by Sanders in recent months. Reps. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) backed
him in October, giving a jolt of excitement to his campaign after he had been
eclipsed in the national polls by Warren and suffered a heart attack.
Sanders has since leapfrogged Warren and is now in second
place behind Joe Biden, according to the RealClearPolitics average. He also
recently bested her in scoring an endorsement from the Center for Popular
Democracy, a left-wing group that counts 600,000 members.
Analilia Mejia, Sanders’ national political director, said the backing of
the two coalitions sends a message by progressives.
"Combined, it’s over 1.5 million members,” she said.
“It gives you a sense of the popularity of our candidate, especially with those
who are doing the work.”
The Sanders team worked for months to court People’s
Action: Sanders met and spoke with the group’s affiliates, and his team
convened conference calls with them while putting out policy proposals. Omar and Tlaib
also contacted the organization’s leaders in their home states to vouch for
the presidential candidate, according to a Sanders aide.
Omar said an event hosted by one the group’s affiliates
helped convince her to endorse Sanders: “It was at the Iowa People's Action
presidential forum in September where I saw the power of their grassroots
movement. And it was clear then that Bernie was the candidate to take on Trump
and take back the White House."
People’s Action has a presence in Iowa, New Hampshire,
Nevada and Super Tuesday states, including in rural areas. In addition to
Sanders and Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro and Kamala Harris also
responded to the group’s questionnaire.
“People’s Action is one of the great grassroots
organizations in this country,” said Sanders in a video that will be released
after the endorsement is announced. “I am just so proud and excited to have
the endorsement of People’s Action because they understand what I understand:
That at the end of the day, the only way we make real change in this country is
through grassroots activism.”
THERE IS A TIME TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION, AND THIS IS ONE
OF SEVERAL ISSUES THAT HAVE COME TO MY MIND SHOWING SUCH A NEED OVER THE LAST
FEW YEARS SINCE I’VE BEEN DOING THIS NEWS BLOG. I SEE SO MUCH MORE WHEN I LOOK
FOR ARTICLES EACH AND EVERY DAY. IT IS SOMETIMES SHOCKING, OTHERS IRRITATING, SOMETIMES
HAPPY, AND OFTEN FUNNY, BUT ALWAYS
FASCINATING. I RECOMMEND IT AS A PRACTICE TO ALL WHO ARE CURIOUS OR INTERESTED
IN BEING A GOOD VOTING CITIZEN, ESPECIALLY IF YOU READ NEWS ON THE INTERNET,
WHERE THERE WILL BE MORE PERSPECTIVES AVAILABLE THAN JUST ONE.
ON THE SUBJECT OF HOW TO IMPEACH A PRESIDENT, WE NEED MORE
INSTRUCTIONS ON WHAT TO DO, NOT LESS. IT’S LIKE THE QUESTION OF WHAT
QUALIFICATIONS THERE ARE FOR A PRESIDENT TO TAKE OFFICE. THE CONSTITUTION SAYS
THAT HE OR SHE MUST BE “35 YEARS OLD OF AGE [SIC], U.S. CITIZEN, AND RESIDENT
FOR PREVIOUS 14 YEARS UNDER ARTICLE II OF THE CONSTITUTION.” THERE ARE NO
INTELLECTUAL OR CHARACTER QUALIFICATIONS MENTIONED, AND WHILE I’D LIKE TO THINK
THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD NEVER, EVER CHOSE AN INCOMPETENT THUGGISH AND CRUEL
PERSON, THAT IS NOT PROHIBITED AS A PRACTICAL MATTER AND THERE IS NO SCREENING
TO PREVENT IT.
CONGRESS DOES NOT OVERSEE ELECTIONS ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL, EFFECTIVELY
ANYWAY, WHICH IS WHY STATES CAN MAKE LAWS TO USE FOR PURGING THE VOTER
REGISTRATION OF ANY LIBERAL-LEANING VOTERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE BLACK,
NATIVE AMERICAN OR HISPANIC. THERE IS ONLY THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE WHICH WAS SET
UP (READ THAT CONSTITUTION) TO PREVENT, YES PREVENT, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FROM
BECOMING “RABBLE.” POPULISM IF IT OCCURS ON THE LEFT WAS IN THE 1700S AND STILL
IS HIGHLY FEARED, WHILE WHEN IT EXISTS ON THE RIGHT IT ISN’T. SOCIALISM IS VERY
BAD, BUT NEO-NAZIS ARE “FINE PEOPLE.” INTERESTING.
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS ABOUT IMPEACHING A PRESIDENT,
THAT I HAVE SEEN, PERHAPS I JUST MISSED IT, BUT THERE ARE MAYBE 4 OR 5
SENTENCES; BUT WORSE, IT IS BOTH AS VAGUE AS A FOG AND AS CLEAR AS MUD. THAT
CAUSES THOSE LAWMAKERS WHO WOULD PURSUE SUCH A “DIVISIVE” PATH IN A TIME OF
NEED, SUCH AS TO DISLODGE A WOULD-BE TYRANT FROM HIS PLACE IN THE WHITE HOUSE, TO
BE UNCERTAIN HOW TO BEGIN. THEN OUR PRESIDENT AND HIS FRIENDS REFUSED TO ANSWER
QUESTIONS IF THEY SHOWED UP AT ALL. MITCH MCCONNELL WHO CALLS HIMSELF (PROUDLY)
“THE GRIM REAPER,” IS ALREADY DECLARING THAT HE WILL SEE TO IT THAT A FULL AND FAIR
TRIAL WILL NOT OCCUR, AND THAT TRUMP WILL BE EXONERATED.
THERE IS NO PENALTY FOR THAT, EITHER, WHICH IS ANOTHER
PROBLEM. BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS DO AS THE DOMINANT (RULING) PARTY THINK THEY
CAN GET AWAY WITH, NOT WHAT THEY SHOULD. THAT WOULD BE “STATESMANSHIP,” AND
THAT IS NO LONGER IN FASHION – TOO “FOOLISH” AND “IDEALISTIC.” IF A GOOD MAN
DOES FIND HIS WAY INTO THE SENATE OR THE HOUSE, MAKE SURE THAT HE IS NOT
ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING. THAT’S LIKE “THE RABBLE” – IT’S DANGEROUS. IN THIS KIND
OF SITUATION, EVIL WILL FLOURISH. MY INFORMATION SOURCE IS: https://quizlet.com/126857370/0303-the-executive-branch-exam-flash-cards/.
MY OPINION SOURCE IS YEARS OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
Published on
Thursday, December 19, 2019
byCommon Dreams
Sanders and Warren Demand McConnell Hold Full and Fair
Impeachment Trial for 'Most Corrupt President in Our History'
"U.S. senators take an oath to support and defend the
Constitution, not the president of the United States," said Sen. Elizabeth
Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential contender.
byJake Johnson, staff writer
PHOTOGRAPH -- Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.) speak during the Democratic presidential debate at the Fox Theatre
July 30, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, two of the
leading contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, joined
grassroots progressives Wednesday night in demanding that Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell hold a "full and fair trial" following the
House's historic vote to impeach President Donald Trump.
"U.S. senators take an oath to support and defend the
Constitution, not the president of the United States," Warren tweeted.
"The Constitution requires the Senate to conduct a fair and honest impeachment
trial, and that's what the American people expect."
In a statement following the House's approval of two
articles of impeachment charging the president with abuse of power and
obstruction of Congress, Sanders said he is "fully prepared to uphold my
responsibility as a juror in the United States Senate."
"The House of Representatives rightly carried out its
constitutional responsibility by voting to impeach Donald Trump, the most
corrupt president in our history. No one, including the president, is above the
law," said the Vermont senator. "I call on Mitch McConnell to conduct
a full and fair trial to hold this president accountable."
Lawmakers and progressive advocacy groups who support
Trump's removal from office have voiced concerns that McConnell is planning to
rig the impeachment trial to deliver a rapid acquittal for the president.
Sparking calls for his recusal from the process, McConnell
told Fox News last week that he is "coordinating with White House
counsel" on the Senate impeachment trial and said "there's no chance
the president's going to be removed from office."
As Bloomberg reported Tuesday, McConnell "is
setting a course to quash Democrats' attempts to extend the impeachment trial
of President Donald Trump by calling new witnesses, as he pushes toward a
goal of ending it swiftly in acquittal."
Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), a member of the House Judiary [sic]
Committee, said McConnell's comments on Fox News demonstrated that "he is
not suited to lead the Senate impeachment trial."
"The Constitution requires that after articles of
impeachment pass the House of Representatives, the president must be given a
fair trial in the Senate," Demings said in a statement last Friday.
"Senator McConnell has promised to sabotage that trial and he must recuse
himself. No court in the country would allow a member of the jury to also serve
as the accused's defense attorney."
Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.
This is the world we live in. This is the world we cover.
THE DAILY BEAST IN TODAY’S ARTICLE PICKS UP ON AN
INCREASING ATMOSPHERE OF TEAM SPIRIT FROM ALL SIDES, AND A LITTLE READINESS TO
FIGHT. THAT’S GOOD. THIS ARTICLE ON THE SUBJECT OF WHY OTHER 2020 DEMS HAVE NOT
HIT BERNIE HARDER, AND ESPECIALLY FROM THE FRONT, STATES THE FACT THAT HE
HASN’T BEEN SEEN AS A SERIOUS CONTENDER BEFORE. BUT I THINK THE REASON IS HIS
REACTION WHEN CONFRONTED IN THAT WAY. “I WROTE THE DAMN BILL!”
Why Democrats Haven’t Laid a Glove on Bernie—Yet
NOT TODAY
The Vermont senator has risen in the polls, but he’s
unlikely to receive the frontrunner treatment on Thursday’s debate stage.
Hanna Trudo
Published Dec. 19, 2019 5:14AM ET
PHOTOGRAPH – BERNIE SANDERS Scott Eisen/Getty
By this point in the Democratic nominating contest, there’s
a basic blueprint for how to publicly dress down an opponent on stage: identify
the target, mount the prosecution against a perceived deficiency, and deliver
the kill shot.
Think Kamala Harris on Joe Biden; Pete Buttigieg on
Elizabeth Warren; and Julián Castro on everyone else. The methodology, which
nearly every 2020 aspirant has attempted with varying degrees of success and
failure, has played out over the first five debates against all contenders on
the rise, save one: Bernie Sanders.
Since the first debate in June, Sanders has largely escaped
the high-velocity attacks that plagued his fellow frontrunners. Instead, the
battles have raged above and below his steady second place position in the
polls. When Harris, who ended her presidential bid earlier this month, accused
Biden of being on the wrong side of desegregation issues, he visibly froze. And
when Buttigieg sought to poke holes in Warren’s vague outline to pay for health
care, it teed off a months-long proxy war over transparency—a feud that’s
expected to continue on Thursday night.
“We stay ready!” a senior Sanders 2020 adviser told The
Daily Beast about the prospect of fresh, from-the-side hits from his
competitors. Lest anyone think he’s coasting, the adviser added: “it is fully
expected” that Democrats will start pouncing.
The fact that it hasn’t happened yet is curious, but not
without reason.
Some allies point to the shifting nature of the primary
conversation, where progressive policies have become more broadly accepted
in the party post-2016. Multiple aides and allies of Sanders told The Daily
Beast his rivals may have a harder time criticizing some of his policy
prescriptions that they have adopted in their own campaigns. Others note
the potential overlap in support bases. While some suspect their
opponents are merely waiting for the right time.
“The reality of the Democratic primary is [that] the Bernie
Sanders agenda is being debated to one degree or another. Period,” a senior
Sanders adviser said.
Currently occupying the top slot in New Hampshire and
polling in a close second in Iowa, Sanders’ rivals have turned away from
taking him on directly, typically favoring critiques on Biden, Warren, and
more recently, Buttigieg.
“I don't think anyone is going onto the debate stage
looking to go after Bernie,” one progressive strategist told The Daily Beast.
“But many people are willing to engage Pete.”
Another operative directly familiar with Sanders-world put
it all on the candidate himself: “You shouldn’t come into it needing a moment,”
the operative said. “And I don’t think Bernie does.”
After suffering a heart attack in October, Sanders has
largely been on an upward trajectory—securing the coveted endorsement of Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) and continuing to raise large sums of money,
most recently posting $25.3 million in third quarter fundraising numbers,
second only to billionaire Tom Steyer, who is self-funding. In California,
the state that holds a treasure trove of delegates on Super Tuesday and site of
the debate Thursday night, he’s tied with Biden at 21 percent.
But as the sub-primary between Buttigieg and Warren over
financial issues has escalated in recent weeks, some Sanders allies are
wondering why his turn hasn’t come yet.
RELATED IN POLITICS
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“Some people are easier to hit than others,” Keith Ellison,
Minnesota’s Attorney General who endorsed Sanders, told The Daily Beast.
“Bernie is Bernie.”
The concept of Medicare for All—known on the debate stage
by Sanders’ own rhetoric as the “damn bill” he first introduced in the
Senate—enticed several of his Hill colleagues enough to co-sponsor his
legislation, including Warren, who has since offered a version to fit her own
campaign.
But as Warren faced increased scrutiny over the financial
details of her plan, Sanders’ opponents have largely given him a pass,
leaving an opening for the senator to restate his own talking points—ranging
from Medicare for All and tuition-free college, to the billionaires and the
like—without sustaining wounds.
At times, they’ve even praised him. Throughout the seven
months of debate seasons, several opponents have spontaneously declared “I
agree with Bernie,” as Biden and Sen. Michael Bennett (D-CO) did, respectively,
or have given a nod to his honesty, as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) acknowledged
in October, with the caveat that she thinks his plan is all wrong.
“At least Bernie's being honest here and saying how he's
going to pay for this and that taxes are going to go up,” Klobuchar said in the
Ohio debate about Medicare for All while attempting to draw a contrast with
Warren.
Those Democrats who have offered praise, albeit sometimes
wrapped in firm disagreement, are not likely to pull a 180 now. Indeed,
multiple senior aides and allies to rival campaigns told The Daily Beast their
candidates are not planning full throttle attacks on Sanders for Thursday.
Still, some progressives see attacks on Warren and other
liberal Democrats as also trickling down to Sanders.
“We want Sen. Sanders to see an attack on other progressive
candidates as an attack on him,” Jennifer Epps-Addison, co-executive director
of the Center for Popular Democracy Action, which represents 40 progressives
organizations and 600,000 members and recently endorsed Sanders, told The Daily
Beast.
“Every single time Pete Buttigieg or Joe Biden tells hard
working people in this country that there isn’t enough money to ensure that
everyone has health care or housing, it is an attack on Sen. Sanders and an
attack on people who believe much more is possible in this country.”
Sanders’ campaign did not return multiple requests for
comment. But they have nonetheless dropped clues of what the Vermont
Independent might throw down on the Loyola Marymount University debate stage,
the site of the sixth contest, if prompted. In particular, he’s started
calling out Buttigieg by name, publicly mocking his penchant for flashy
fundraisers.
“I am not entirely sure what happens when people pay huge
sums of money to have dinner with a candidate at a wine cave with ‘1,500
Swarovski crystals,’ but I would guess they are not talking about standing up
to the greed of the billionaire class of this country,” Sanders wrote in an
email to supporters, referencing the extravagance of a recent Buttigieg
fundraiser.
“Needless to say, we will never have a fundraiser at a wine
cave.”
For Sanders’ observers, it’s a line of contrast worth
pursuing.
“I’ve personally been really happy to see them going on the
offensive on that stuff,” one progressive strategist familiar with
Sanders-world said. “They have been effective in reminding people who maybe
have strayed away in the last several months why they were drawn to Bernie in
the first place.”
Buttigieg’s campaign declined to comment on the record
about their debate strategy, but the mayor’s own messaging indicates Sanders
is, for now, second fiddle to Warren, often placing his name behind hers on
campaign materials and grouping the Vermont senator as just one of other
progressives in the race.
“I know Pete,” said Ellison, who unsuccessfully ran against
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez for party leader in 2016. “He
openly touts himself as ‘the millennial,’ he went on, before adding a
hypothetical come-back for Sanders: “And Bernie’s like, ‘I’ve been around the
block a few times and the young people like me,’” he said, with a laugh.
“It’s really ironic.”
NEW EMERSON POLL RESULTS: TRUMP IS AHEAD AMONG MEN, “ANY
DEMOCRAT” IS AHEAD AMONG WOMEN.
JOE BIDEN AND BERNIE SANDERS BREAKING AWAY FROM REST OF
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES, NEW POLL SHOWS
BY JASON LEMON ON 12/18/19 AT 9:26 AM EST
VIDEO – BERNIE SHOOTING HOOPS
A new national poll suggests that Democratic presidential
candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have started pulling ahead of the rest
of the pack, with candidates Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg trailing
further behind the two frontrunners.
In the latest poll released Wednesday by Emerson, former
Vice President Biden remained in the lead with 32 percent support, while Sanders,
a senator from Vermont, had 25 percent. Warren—a senator from Massachusetts—was
a distant third with 12 percent and Buttigieg—the mayor of South Bend,
Indiana—was in the single digits, with 8 percent. Businessman Andrew Yange came
in fifth with 6 percent and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii polled at 4
percent, coming in sixth.
The poll results stand at odds with speculation over the
past couple months that Warren and Buttigieg were surging, which led the South
Bend mayor to optimistically forecast that the race was shaping up to be
between himself and Warren. While Buttigieg has continued to surge in some
polls in early voting states, Warren's momentum has appeared to slow and even
decline.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders
PHOTOGRAPH -- Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) smiles during the Democratic Presidential
Debate at Tyler Perry Studios November 20 in Atlanta, Georgia
ALEX WONG/GETTY
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Endorsements
Despite some concerns that Biden, 77, and Sanders, 78, are
the oldest candidates running for president, both politicians have remained
consistent frontrunners in the Democratic primary over the past year. A
national poll by Quinnipiac University released earlier this week showed Biden
with a clearer lead, at 30 percent, while Sanders had just 16 percent. An
aggregate of national polls by Real Clear Politics shows the former vice
president with an average of 27.6 percent support, followed by the Vermont
senator with 19.3 percent support. Warren has 15.4 percent support in the
aggregate, and Buttigieg remains in the single digits, with just 9 percent.
However, polling in early voting states suggests that
Sanders or Buttigieg could build early momentum by winning Iowa and New
Hampshire at the start of the primary season. An aggregate of Iowa caucus polls
by Real Clear Politics shows Buttigieg in the lead at 22.5 percent support,
while Sanders comes in second with 19.3 percent support. Biden and Warren are
close behind, however, with 18 percent and 16.3 percent respectively.
In New Hampshire, Sanders has a narrow lead over Buttigieg,
with 19 percent compared to the mayor's average of 17.7 percent. Biden again
comes in third with an aggregate of about 14.3 percent support, followed by
Warren at 13.3 percent.
Notably, the new Emerson poll suggests that President
Donald Trump remains the most popular choice among male voters. The incumbent
would comfortably beat all of the four Democratic frontrunners if only men were
voting in hypothetical one-on-one matchups. Meanwhile, the
result is completely the opposite with women voters, who would vote for any of
the top four Democrats by wide margins over Trump.
“MAYOR PETE” BUTTIGIEG’S MCKENZIE CLIENT LIST IS IMPORTANT
BECAUSE IT IS BELIEVED THAT HE TOOK MONEY GLEANED FROM SOME OF THE BUSINESSES THAT
HE WORKED FOR AT MCKENZIE, WHICH IS A PROFIT BUILDING AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COMPANY, AND MANY OF ITS’ CLIENTS HAVE VERY DEEP POCKETS. WHILE THAT PROBABLY
ISN’T ILLEGAL UNLESS THEY GAVE BEYOND THE CURRENT LIMITS, IT DOES CAST A SHADOW
ON HIM FOR RECRUITING BIG MONEY DONORS FOR HIS CAMPAIGN. HE IS ALSO CRITICIZED
FOR HIS RECENT FUNDRAISER WITH THE VERY WEALTHY AT THE NOW INFAMOUS “WINE CAVE.”
FOR LOTS OF SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE, GO TO WIKIPEDIA AND THE
FEC:
PETE BUTTIGIEG RELEASES LIST OF BIG-MONEY DONORS, WHILE
SOME SMALL DONORS ASK FOR THEIR MONEY BACK WITH #REFUNDPETE HASHTAG
BY MELISSA LEMIEUX ON 12/13/19 AT 11:17 PM EST
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg released a list of
"bundlers," who organize and collect contributions from other donors,
on Friday. However, the big-money donors, combined with the release of his McKinsey
client list have cause some smaller donors to ask for their money back.
In reaction to criticism from his fellow Democrats,
including Senator Elizabeth Warren, about the fundraising he's been doing in
the private sector, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has released the names of those who
have donated $25,000 or more to his presidential campaign.
The list released by Buttigieg's campaign includes just
over 150 names of those who raised thousands for the campaign, including
Representative Don Beyer of Virginia. Prior to this, Buttigieg had held
closed-door fundraisers which were not open to the press.
"Pete's campaign has been more transparent than any
other campaign this cycle. In addition to releasing these names, which no other
current campaign has done, Pete has also opened his fundraisers to the press.
He has made public 12 years of tax returns, he has held three multi-day bus
tours with reporters that were completely on the record, and he has committed
to restoring daily press briefings in the White House," said Buttigieg's
campaign in a statement given to The Hill.
"We are proud to have the support of more than 700,000
grassroots donors across the country who are helping power this campaign. The
only thing people are promised at an event with Pete is that he will use that money
to beat Donald Trump," the campaign added exclusively to Newsweek.
Buttigieg's campaign added that the average contribution
size to the campaign in Q3 was $32, and 98 percent of their donations were
under $200.
The release of this list comes on the heels of Buttigieg's
campaign releasing a client list from his time working with the consulting firm
McKinsey & Co., a firm that's come under fire for its work for Immigration
and Customs Enforcement and Purdue Pharma. Buttigieg worked for neither group during
his three years with the company.
Among the other top candidates in the field, former Vice
President Joe Biden has allowed press access to his high-end fundraisers, while
Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders do not have bundler programs nor do
high-end fundraisers.
The call for the release of information largely stemmed
from an argument between Buttigieg and Warren over their proposed health care
plans. Warren supports the Medicare for All plan, Buttigieg supports a Medicare
for All Who Want it Plan—a plan that Joe Biden accused him of stealing during
his No Malarkey Bus Tour earlier in December, and which Buttigieg's campaign
notes Buttigieg was talking about months before he entered the race. The
argument resulted in Warren bringing up Buttigieg's previous consultation work,
which prompted Buttigieg to release some of the names of his previous clients.
PHOTOGRAPH -- Pete Buttigieg Iowa front-runner Pete
Buttigieg has come up against criticism for his closed-door fundraising and
big-ticket donors. He has released a list of those who've donated over $25,000
to his campaign on his website - and some voters have replied with the #RefundPete
hashtag on Twitter as they get back their own donations in response.
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY
Meanwhile, disappointed Twitter followers are requesting
their money back from Buttigieg under the #RefundPete hashtag. Some say they
are disappointed by his taking large donations, some say they they're
disappointed by his consultation work, some say they felt "fooled" by
his behavior and donated earlier in his campaign. Some are even posting
screencaps of their refunded donations.
Tom Edwards🌵
@JustTomEdwards
I got my refund! #RefundPete
View image on Twitter
1,557
5:50 PM - Dec 11, 2019
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390 people are talking about this
"I got my refund!" said Tom Edwards.
Jenny Tinch
@jennytinch
This past summer, upon reading about his excessive private
jet use and seeing his response to Eric Logan’s death, I asked for a refund.
I’m glad we are using our “pocket change” to send a message. Power in our
collective rebuttal to his lack of transparency. #RefundPete
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339
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"This past summer, upon reading about his excessive
private jet use and seeing his response to Eric Logan's death, I asked for a
refund. I'm glad we are using our 'pocket change' to send a message. Power in
our collective rebuttal to his lack of transparency," said Jenny Tinch.
Tinch refers to the case of Eric Logan. Logan was an
African American man shot by police officer Sgt. Ryan O'Neill in South Bend.
O'Neill's body camera was not on at the time of the shooting.
Logan's shooting was an early controversy for Buttigieg
during his campaign. This June, the candidate took a break from the campaign
trail to head back home to address his constituents.
Buttigieg's campaign notes that the Twitter hashtag was
amplified by Twitter accounts with ties to the alt-right.
Updated (12/14/2019 10:30 a.m.): With comments and notes
from the Buttigieg campaign.
Bernie Sanders knocks rivals for taking donations from
billionaires
BY CARA KORTE
DECEMBER 16, 2019 / 1:04 PM / CBS NEWS
At campaign rallies, the Vermont senator has a habit of
listing the various people and groups he's tangled with over the years, such as
health insurance companies and President Trump. But for many of the crowds
that turn out to see him, the entity that garners the most hisses and boos is
the Democratic establishment.
In a race that's seen quite a lot of volatility in the
polls, Sanders' support has remained relatively consistent. An independent who
identifies as a democratic socialist, he's widely adored by the left wing of
the party, which still resents the Democratic power brokers they blame for
Sanders' loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary.
Yet Sanders remains something of an ideological outlier
among Democrats despite the fact that some of his signature ideas, such as his
"Medicare for All" plan to replace private health insurance, have
become much more mainstream than they were just a few years ago. And he
continues to swear off the big-money donors who are helping propel some other
candidates for the Democratic nomination, such as South Bend Mayor Pete
Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Sanders, a fierce critic of 2010 Supreme Court
"Citizens United v. FEC" decision that allowed for individuals
and corporations to give more freely to political campaigns, believes
candidates who rely on big-dollar fundraisers are beholden to the interests of
wealthy backers.
"Why would many, many billionaires be contributing to
candidates if they didn't think they were getting something out of it? They're
not doing it through the goodness of their hearts," he said.
A recent Forbes list found that Sanders was the only
candidate among the fields' top tier, which also includes Biden, Buttigieg, and
Senator Elizabeth Warren, to not have a single billionaire donor. According to Sanders
and his campaign, this means that the senator is the true champion of the
working class, relying almost exclusively on small donors while his
opponents show open hands to the open wallets of the ultra-wealthy.
Biden and Buttigieg have defended themselves from these
allegations and say that big donations from do not make them beholden to any
donors' interests. When asked if that defense showed either naivete or a lack
of honesty, Sanders was hesitant to say his opponents were lying but still
expressed skepticism.
"[Accepting money from billionaires] doesn't the pass,
in a sense, the lab test," said Sanders.
The Vermont senator is never slow on the trail to contrast
his fundraising style with that of his rivals. For example, he's remained an
outspoken opponent of super PACs, which are groups that are allowed to raise
and spend massive amounts of money to support a candidate so long as they don't
coordinate with the candidate's campaign.
Most candidates also swore off super PACs in the early days
of the campaign. But when a pro-Biden super PAC emerged last month, Sanders
promptly added to his stump speech a line about neither wanting, having, nor
needing a super PAC.
At a town hall in Ottumwa, Iowa, on Sunday, Sanders
added to that line, saying that his campaign doesn't have "bundlers"
– a term for people who help wrangle donations from mostly high-dollar donors –
two days after the Buttigieg campaign released the mayor's list of bundlers.
Despite his self-imposed limits on what money he's willing
to accept, Sanders has reached historic fundraising heights. The campaign
announced last month that they had received more than 4 million individual
donations by more than a million Americans. According to the campaign, no
candidate in history has reached that mark so quickly.
The average contribution to Sanders is $18 and the
campaign's emails to supporters have stated that their goal is to reach 5
million donations by the new year.
Back on the trail, Sanders mocks his opponents, saying that
he does not spend time "in billionaires' living rooms and walk away with
hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Buttigieg recently came under scrutiny for holding fundraisers
that were closed to the press. For the sake of transparency, the campaign
reversed that policy last week.
CBS News asked Sanders if Buttigieg having media present
ensured that no nefarious deals between candidate and donor were taking place.
"No, not really," said Sanders, who still
acknowledged allowing press into the fundraisers was a step in the right
direction.
"I think what history tells us is that the big donors,
the people who make large contributions, do get access. They get tax breaks,
they get deregulated. That's the way the unfortunate system is
working."
First published on December 16, 2019 / 1:04 PM
© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BERNIE GIVES MAYOR PETE A LITTLE POKE IN THE RIBS – A
REMINDER OF THE HIGHLY EXPENSIVE CRYSTAL CHANDELIERS FROM ONE OF HIS GRAND FUNDRAISERS.
COLBERT THEN TAKES A SWIPE AT BERNIE, A VERY TELLING ONE ALSO, AND THEN SWINGS
AT ANDREW YANG AND OTHERS. STEVEN COLBERT HELPS FILL THE PLACE OF THE SMOTHERS
BROTHERS AND DICK CAVEAT DURING THE NIXON YEARS. HE MAKES THINGS THAT COULD BE
VIEWED AS GRIM INTO A LAUGH.
Stephen Colbert and Bernie Sanders troll Mayor Pete
Buttigieg for Napa fundraiser
By Dan Gentile, SFGATE
Updated 11:35 am PST, Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Dan Gentile is a digital editor at SFGATE. Email:
Dan.Gentile@sfgate.com | Twitter: @Dannosphere
PHOTOGRAPH -- The Late Show With Stephen Colbert/CBS
You’d have to be living in a cave to not know about Pete
Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, but thanks to a recent fundraiser, now
even cave dwellers are hip to Mayor Pete.
But like many of his other recent campaign events aimed at
affluent donors, his outreach to the spelunking demographic targeted
millionaires who use their caverns to store priceless wines.
RELATED: See photos from Buttigieg's lavish, private Napa
winery fundraiser
On “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” last night, the
host skewered Buttigieg for its elite and cultish appearance event, hosted in
the Napa Valley at the Hall Rutherford wine cave. The dinner featured $900
bottles of cabernet sauvignon, chandeliers made with 1,500 Swarovski crystals
and an onyx banquet table.
“You’ve gotta have onyx,” says Colbert. “You know how hard
it is to get human sacrifice stains out of walnut?
RELATED: 'Angry white mail': Late-night hosts mock Trump's
'bonkers' letter to Pelosi
Bernie Sanders’ campaign also joined the fun, registering
the domain “peteswinecave.com” and using it as a fundraising portal of their own.
Colbert quipped about a potential Buttigieg response:
“Buttigieg hit right back at Bernie’s favorite drink,
‘PolandSpringBottleThatGetsRefilledWithTapWaterUntilTheLabelFallsOff.net”
Watch the full segment below:
VIDEO – 3:31 duration
Dan Gentile is a digital editor at SFGATE. Email:
Dan.Gentile@sfgate.com | Twitter: @Dannosphere
BERNIE ON MLB LAWSUIT
Bernie Meets with MLB Class Action Plaintiffs
18,057 views • Streamed live on Dec 15, 2019
THUMBS UP 1.6K THUMBS DOWN 25
Bernie Sanders
260K subscribers
SAVE MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: The MLB is threatening to
eliminate the entire Minor League Baseball system. That would destroy thousands
of jobs and devastate local economies, and we will not sit idly by to let that
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Category
News & Politics
IN WANDERING THROUGH THE INTERNET, I FOUND THESE THINGS
THAT WE WEREN’T TAUGHT IN SCHOOL, POSSIBLY BECAUSE WHEN I WAS YOUNG THESE
HEAVENLY BODIES HADN’T BEEN DISCOVERED AND NAMED YET. ERIS AND DYSNOMIA ARE A DWARF
PLANET AND HER MOON AT THE OUTER REACHES OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. THEY ARE IN THE
KUIPER BELT. OUR PLANET PLUTO IS ALSO LISTED AS BEING IN THE KUIPER BELT.
SOMEWHERE OUT THERE IS ALSO A DANGEROUS AREA CALLED THE
ASTEROID BELT, FROM WHICH OCCASIONALLY A STRAY LUMP OF ROCK FLIES OUT AND COMES
NEAR THE EARTH, OR EVEN HITS. MOST OF THEM AREN’T TOO TERRIBLY LARGE AND BURN
UP IN OUR ATMOSPHERE, BUT IT IS COMMONLY BELIEVED AMONG SCIENTISTS NOW THAT A
VERY LIKELY CAUSE OF THE DEATH OF AT LEAST SOME OF THE DINOSAURS WAS DUE TO AN
ASTEROID HIT. OH, DEAR.
REALIZING SUCH DANGER ALL MY LIFE I HAVE COME TO PEACE WITH
IT. IT PROBABLY WON’T HAPPEN TO ME, AND THERE IS A TIME TO DIE FOR US ALL. SEE THE
RELATED SUBJECT SPINOFFS FROM SEVERAL ARTICLES BELOW WHICH I COLLECTED AS I
CAME ACROSS UNFAMILIAR TERMS, AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE IMAGES
FROM THE BRITANNICA ARTICLE ON CIRCUMSTELLAR DISCS. THEY’RE REALLY BEAUTIFUL.
Dysnomia (moon)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dysnomia (Greek: Δυσνομία)—officially (136199) Eris I
Dysnomia—is the only known moon of the dwarf planet Eris (the most massive
known dwarf planet in the Solar System) and very probably the second-largest
known moon of a dwarf planet, after Pluto I Charon. It was discovered in 2005
by Mike Brown and the laser guide star adaptive optics team at the W. M. Keck
Observatory, and carried the provisional designation of S/2005 (2003 UB313) 1
until officially named Dysnomia[6] (from the Ancient Greek word Δυσνομία
meaning anarchy/lawlessness) after the daughter of the Greek goddess Eris.
Discovery
During 2005, the adaptive optics team at the Keck
telescopes in Hawaii carried out observations of the four brightest Kuiper belt
objects (Pluto, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris), using the newly commissioned laser
guide star adaptive optics system. Observations taken on September 10, 2005,
revealed a moon in orbit around Eris, provisionally designated S/2005 (2003
UB313) 1. In keeping with the Xena nickname that was already in use for Eris,
the moon was nicknamed "Gabrielle" by its discoverers, after Xena's
sidekick.[7][8]
. . . .
Formation
Astronomers now know that the six brightest Kuiper belt
objects (KBOs) have satellites. Among the fainter members of the belt only
about 10% are known to have satellites. This is thought to imply that
collisions between large KBOs have been frequent in the past. Impacts between
bodies of the order of 1000 km across would throw off large amounts of material
that would coalesce into a moon. A similar mechanism is thought to have led to
the formation of the Moon when Earth was struck by a giant impactor early in
the history of the Solar System.
Kuiper belt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kuiper belt (/ˈkaɪpər/),[1] occasionally called the
Edgeworth–Kuiper belt, is a circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System,
extending from the orbit of Neptune (at 30 AU) to approximately 50 AU from the
Sun.[2] It is similar to the asteroid belt, but is far larger—20
times as wide and 20 to 200 times as massive.[3][4] Like the asteroid belt, it
consists mainly of small bodies or remnants from when the Solar System formed.
While many asteroids are composed primarily of rock and metal, most Kuiper
belt objects are composed largely of frozen volatiles (termed
"ices"), such as methane, ammonia and water. The Kuiper belt is home
to three officially recognized dwarf planets: Pluto, Haumea and Makemake.
Some of the Solar System's moons, such as Neptune's Triton and Saturn's Phoebe,
may have originated in the region.[5][6]
WHAT IS AN AU?
“The astronomical unit (symbol: au,[1][2][3] ua,[4]
or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun
and equal to about 150 million kilometres (93 million miles).”
CIRCUMSTELLAR DISC
A circumstellar disc (or circumstellar disk) is a torus,
pancake or ring-shaped accumulation of matter composed of gas, dust,
planetesimals, asteroids, or collision fragments in orbit around a star.
Around the youngest stars, they are the reservoirs of material out of which
planets may form.
HUBBLE IMAGES: Circumstellar discs HD 141943 and HD
191089.[1]
ESA/Hubble
The two panels at the top of this image reveal debris discs
around young Sun-like stars. These were uncovered in archival images taken by
the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and
Multi-object Spectrometer observed these discs in near-infrared in 2007.
Astronomers blocked out the bright light from each star in order to analyse the
faint light reflected off dust particles in the discs. The illustration beneath
each image depicts the orientation of the debris discs. Astronomers retrieved
these images from the Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes
(MAST) and used more powerful image analysis techniques to search for
planetary systems.
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