US Presidential Contenders

[Dio]

Incidentally, I cannot help feeling profoundly hostile to the Mayor of San Francisco, Big Brother Google and the federal Department of Transportation thinking they've got any business telling my state to stop being so retarded - and ashamed that so much of the push-back has to come from outsiders.

-This is a stupid hill for anyone involved to choose to die on, BTW - it's a big, big deal over a tiny, tiny fraction of the population.  The smart play would be to have the big fights over something not so desperately fringe; it's a classic progressive blunder - and swiftly becoming a classic social conservative blunder.

The power of the government to control power within the states originates from the distribution of catergorical grants and formula grants. The government can attach specific stipulations on the creation of grants that provide a significant portion of the funding for states activities. The non-compliance of the state with the federal guidelines results in the elimination of funds for the state.

[Buster's Uncle]

I'm in the southeast.  Screw the outsiders.

[Buster's Uncle]

-bad-week-abortion-175934080.html]https://www.yahoo.com/politics/[Sleezebag]-bad-week-abortion-175934080.html

[Rusty Edge]

Yeah, everybody seems to think it was a bad week but him. That's the tone of the articles.

I'm also thinking Bernie was beating Hillary here this week.

[Buster's Uncle]

I'm thinking - look at what I said a long time ago about becoming President would mean giving up control of his business; either whomever runs it does a bad job and loses him money, perhaps all the money, or does well and becomes a rival, perhaps keeping control for good - then look at the superpac lady saying it was never a real campaign.  I don't think I'm reaching wildly to wonder if he's finally found his exit strategy.

[Dio]

I'm thinking - look at what I said a long time ago about becoming President would mean giving up control of his business; either whomever runs it does a bad job and loses him money, perhaps all the money, or does well and becomes a rival, perhaps keeping control for good - then look at the superpac lady saying it was never a real campaign.  I don't think I'm reaching wildly to wonder if he's finally found his exit strategy.

I do not think Donald T rump acts like a great businessman because he inherited a significant portion of the wealth from his father.

[Buster's Uncle]

Fred left him about 100 million, yes.

[Rusty Edge]

Polls are closed. CNN exit polls project Cruz+11%, Sanders +11%

[Rusty Edge]

25% counted. CNN calls it for Sanders 53% to 47%.

[Buster's Uncle]

Fight the system!

[binTravkin]

If Bernie says what he is thinking (and I have no reason to not believe), he's nuts.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/04/05/bernie_sanders_is_the_developing_world_s_worst_nightmare.html

[Rusty Edge]

-campaign-staff-disarray-221557]http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/donald-[Sleezebag]-campaign-staff-disarray-221557

"Donald [Sleezebag]’s campaign is increasingly falling into disarray as the Manhattan billionaire braces for a loss in Wisconsin that could set him on course for an uncertain convention floor fight for the Republican presidential nomination.

Since March, the campaign has been laying off field staff en masse around the country and has dismantled much of what existed of its organizations in general-election battlegrounds, including Florida and Ohio.
Last month, the campaign laid off the leader of its data team, Matt Braynard, who did not train a successor. It elevated his No. 2, a data engineer with little prior high-level political strategy experience, and also shifted some of his team’s duties to a 2015 college graduate whose last job was an internship with the consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive. Some of the campaign’s data remains inaccessible.

As the final stretch of this hard fought GOP primary bogs down into a delegate fight among party insiders and operatives that likely won’t be decided until the July convention in Cleveland, [Sleezebag]’s singular star power appears to be no longer enough—and his campaign’s months-long lack of attention to other fundamentals is emerging as a hindrance to his ability to clinch the nomination outright.

“Presidential campaigns are a team sport, and he doesn’t have that mentality,” one high-level GOP operative said. “That's why they're missing a lot of these opportunities that are passing them by. [[Sleezebag]] might be a great quarterback, but every quarterback still needs a strong offensive line.”

[Sleezebag]’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski flatly rejected the idea that the campaign is in disarray or suffering from low morale.

“Unequivocally not,” he said. “We have the most cohesive, loyal staff, the most loving staff I have ever had the privilege of working with on a campaign.” Lewandowski said the members of [Sleezebag]’s small senior staff “have such an amazing relationship that the morale is the greatest ever.”

While he acknowledged that the campaign has let go of staff in states that already voted, he chalked that up to “the nature of a campaign.” He asserted that his team has retained its best talent, often by offering jobs in upcoming states, noting that it currently has 45 staffers in Wisconsin.


Read more: -campaign-staff-disarray-221557#ixzz454RfzpjK]http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/donald-[Sleezebag]-campaign-staff-disarray-221557#ixzz454RfzpjK
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook


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The phone has stopped ringing.

Oddly enough, [Sleezebag] is blaming his double digit defeat and 6 to 1 loss in the delegate count on talk radio. Well, maybe he is blaming whoever told him to call Charlie Sykes on the air. He's also overlooking Cruz's "ground game".

Today my wife was listening to Sykes over the internet. Turns out he has a new influx of callers and listeners from across the country crediting him for turning the tide on The Donald. There's some sort of delicious irony here, that by blaming Sykes for thwarting him and preventing the "big surprise"  and "landslide" The Leader predicted, he has promoted and empowered Sykes to educate the electorate nationally for the rest of the campaign and keep the thorn in his side.

[Buster's Uncle]

If Bernie says what he is thinking (and I have no reason to not believe), he's nuts.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/04/05/bernie_sanders_is_the_developing_world_s_worst_nightmare.html

Wouldn't it be great if he was the worst candidate for President?

[Buster's Uncle]

Sanders keeps on winning — and losing
Yahoo News
Hunter Walker  National Correspondent  April 05, 2016



Sen. Bernie Sanders is on a roll.

Sanders was projected the winner in Wisconsin’s Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday night. It was his sixth victory in the last seven states. Sanders also won the primary for Democrats living abroad, which was announced on March 21. However, he still faces an uphill battle against his rival, Hillary Clinton.

While Sanders has performed well in the Midwest and Western states, Clinton’s earlier dominance, particularly in the South, has given her a delegate lead that her campaign has dubbed “nearly insurmountable.”

In spite of the long odds, Sanders and his campaign believe his current momentum can propel him across the finish line. In a fundraising email to supporters shortly after media outlets first projected his victory, Sanders noted the pessimistic forecasts many political observers have made for his campaign.

“The corporate media and political establishment keep counting us out, but we keep winning states and doing so by large margins. If we can keep this up, we’re going to shock them all and win this nomination,” Sanders said.



Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won the Democratic presidential primary in Wisconsin on Tuesday, gestures to supporters during a campaign rally in Laramie, Wyo. (Photo: Brennan Linsley/AP)


Wisconsin, with its large college population and tradition of progressive politics, has long been seen as fertile ground for Sanders. Most polls in the state showed him with a single-digit lead over Clinton heading into Tuesday’s election. However, Clinton’s existing lead and the fact that the state awards delegates by congressional district means Sanders will have to win by a much larger margin to make a dent in Clinton’s pledged delegate lead.

Whatever his margin of victory, his recent streak culminating with the win in Wisconsin certainly gives Sanders strong momentum heading into Wyoming’s caucuses on Saturday and the delegate-rich primary in New York on April 19. But the battle for the Democratic nomination won’t just be about the voters and the pledged delegates who are awarded based on ballots cast.

Indeed, momentum was the main theme of the victory speech Sanders delivered from an event in Laramie, Wyo., on Tuesday night. Sanders said the fact he had emerged as a serious challenger to Clinton after being behind in the polls and dismissed by many pundits demonstrates the true strength of his campaign. He also pointed to the fact that he has managed to build a substantial war chest without the help of super-PACs, which allow wealthy megadonors to back campaigns.



Supporters cheer while waiting for Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally in Laramie, Wyo., on Tuesday. (Photo: Brennan Linsley/AP)


“What momentum is about is my belief that if we wake up the American people, that if working people, and middle-class people, and senior citizens, and young people begin to stand up, fight back and come out and vote in large numbers, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish,” Sanders said.

Clinton attended a private fundraiser in New York City on Tuesday night and is not likely to make a public address.

Clinton has amassed a massive lead among Democratic superdelegates, who are not bound to vote at the party’s convention based on the results of their states’ primaries. Sanders and his campaign are hoping his recent wins can help convince some of these superdelegates to change sides. His team and supporters are lobbying superdelegates, particularly in states where he won decisive victories over Clinton, and arguing it would be undemocratic for them to go against the will of the electorate.



Hillary Clinton takes a selfie with a supporter after speaking at a “Women for Hillary” town hall event in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on Tuesday. (Photo: Lucas Jackson/Reuters)


Former President Bill Clinton, who is a superdelegate in New York, has been hitting the campaign trail in support of his wife. At an event in Elmont, N.Y., on Tuesday morning, Yahoo News asked President Clinton about the superdelegate system and the frequently voiced criticism that it is unfair. Though he answered questions from reporters after a similar event in New York City last Thursday, Clinton was somewhat less forthcoming when Yahoo News asked about his role as a superdelegate.

“I don’t answer questions on a rope line, but I got a good answer for you,” President Clinton said. And then he moved on.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sanders-keeps-on-winning-and-losing-023956134.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Sanders has edge over Clinton in fast-moving race in Wisconsin
Yahoo News
Hunter Walker and Liz Goodwin  April 05, 2016



Sen. Bernie Sanders arrives for a campaign event in Milwaukee on Monday; Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally in Green Bay, Wis., on March 29. (Photos: Paul Sancya/AP; Patrick Semansky/AP)



Wisconsin has been a fast and furious fight for the Democratic presidential candidates. Both Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., set up operations in the crucial state, which votes Tuesday, only in the last few weeks.

Most polls show Sanders with a single-digit lead in the race for Wisconsin’s 86 delegates. The Midwestern state, could now serve as a springboard for Sanders, building on a three-week hot streak since March 15, during which he has won five states and lost only one.

But the Badger State might not be the answer to the senator’s prayers. Clinton’s current delegate lead means Sanders would need a huge win in the state — and in several more going forward — to threaten the frontrunner. But the favorable poll numbers have Sanders’ campaign aides hoping to build on the recent momentum as they seek to keep Clinton from clinching the nomination.

Clinton’s campaign is keeping expectations low for the state. On Monday, her team sent a fundraising email with the subject line “We could lose Wisconsin.” Clinton’s presidential campaign manager Robby Mook sent out a memo outlining her “path forward.” The memo cited Clinton’s current delegate lead and noted Sanders cannot defeat her without winning “roughly 60 percent of the vote” in “the four remaining delegate-rich primaries — New York, Pennsylvania, California, and New Jersey.” Mook didn’t mention Wisconsin.

Sanders has performed well in the Midwest, but so far those victories have not been enough for him to catch up to the lead Clinton built in the South and with minority voters. And Tuesday’s contest doesn’t look to be a blowout win for the Vermont senator.

Wisconsin’s progressives have been drawn to Sanders, particularly in liberal Madison, the second largest city in the state.

“He does well in Madison, he obviously does really well,” Jessie Opoien, a reporter who covers state government and politics for the Madison-based Cap Times, said. “He also does really well in the western part of the state, which is sort of that more traditional, progressive grassroots, kind of populist sensibility.”

While Wisconsin’s electorate may favor Sanders, local leaders are largely backing Clinton.

“I think people expect Bernie to pull it out … but there’s also a sense that, either one, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise,” Opoien said. “She’s got the establishment support. There’s no question of that.”

Sanders’ recent wins made Wisconsin an unexpectedly important race, leading both campaigns to set up shop in a state they had largely overlooked. Joe Zepecki, a Democratic operative who is a veteran of many campaigns in the state, including President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election bid, said the fight for Wisconsin was “certainly not a months-long campaign.” Zepecki, who is not working for either of the current Democratic campaigns, said Clinton’s team set up shop “a couple of days” after Sanders’ did.

Sanders’ Wisconsin director Robert Dempsey, who ran the show for the campaign in Minnesota as well, said the staff campaign effort in the state started about a month ago, and has focused on "very aggressive direct voter contact” through door-to-door canvassing and phone calls.

“We are reaching out to Wisconsinites across the spectrum,” Dempsey said, including members of the state’s Native American population, who are “very important for our overall strategy.”



Wisconsin voters in Milwaukee cast their ballots for the state’s primary on Tuesday. (Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)


He adds that although the campaign has only been in Wisconsin for a month, there was “a pretty aggressive volunteer base operation” in place for months before his arrival.

Opoien agrees, noting that grassroots Sanders supporters have been mobilizing in Wisconsin for months now. She recalled seeing groups of Sanders supporters last September at “Fighting Bob Fest,” an annual progressive activist gathering in the state.

“There were three or four different Bernie Sanders groups with tables there,” Opoien said of the festival.

Clinton’s campaign would not comment directly on its strategy, but Clinton’s Wisconsin spokesman, Yianni Varonis, said her team has offices in seven cities across the state. Varonis said in a statement that Clinton has “a nearly insurmountable lead in pledged delegates” in the race overall but remains “committed” to Wisconsin.

Clinton’s team includes operatives with deep experience in the state.

The Clinton campaign in Wisconsin is run by Jake Hajdu, who was the executive director of the state’s Democratic party until last year and has extensive experience getting out the vote for Democrats in Wisconsin. Hajdu returned to Wisconsin after working for Clinton in Iowa and Maine.

“Having him come back here made sense for them obviously to get stuff rolling quickly,” Opoien said, adding, “She’s got a couple of other folks working for her that have been involved in party politics here.”

One possible wild-card factor is Wisconsin’s open-primary rules, which allow people from outside the party to vote in the race.

“We’re an open state,” Zepecki says. “There’s no registration by party. You don’t even pick a different ballot up. Both races are listed on the same ballot.”

But voters have to choose which primary they will vote in. In states that have voted so far, Sanders has done well with independents and in open primaries. Zepecki said Wisconsin may be decided by how many independents choose to vote on the Democratic side of the ballot. It could spell trouble for Sanders if the chance to vote for — or against — Donald T rump lures independents to vote in the Republican primary instead.

“The only way I could envision a surprise, and that’s how I would characterize Clinton winning here, is if the independents go over to the Republican side,” Zepecki said.

Another Wisconsin law that could impact the Democratic primary is a voter ID law that passed in the state in 2011 and has not yet been in place during a presidential race. Zepecki said the law could affect a key Sanders’ base — college kids.

“If there is confusion and people … are disenfranchised I think it’s likely to be on college campuses,” Zepecki said. But “I think the order of magnitude is likely to be pretty small,” he added. “I think the universities have done all they can to educate folks and help them get what they need, but it has been a little confusing.”

Sanders’ campaign has also tried to educate Wisconsinites on the new voter ID law, explaining to them that they must show up with a photo ID with their current address on it or some other proof of their residency. Sanders has called the law “voter suppression,” and Clinton has also denounced it.

Dane County and its major city, the college town of Madison, is the main base of support for Sanders, but Dempsey said they have worked to drum up support across the state to win as many delegates as possible. Delegates will be awarded in each of Wisconsin’s eight congressional tickets rather than simply based on the total number of votes.

“If we were running a governor’s race we’d look to jack up turnout in Madison and then we go home. That’s not how this works,” Dempsey said.

But the delegate math could prove problematic for Sanders unless he performs far better than his promising poll numbers. Zepecki pointed to 2008 where President Barack Obama won just ten more delegates than Clinton in the state, despite beating her by a statewide margin of 18 percent. So, while Zepecki said a “five or six point victory” for Sanders is “expected,” he doubted it would change the daunting delegate math for him.

“A horse-race win has always been nice in terms of momentum, but I’m not sure that the way the state sets up he’s going to be able to get a big delegate haul,” Zepecki said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sanders-has-edge-over-clinton-in-fast-moving-race-125904000.html