Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Pre-Debate Commentary (Hillary vs. Bernie)

Budweiser just agreed to buy Miller for $104 billion. Just think of all that spare cash, just laying around with nothing better to do than buy out a competitor and layoff workers in the process. Last year corporations spent $1 trillion in "mergers and acquisitions" and another $1 trillion in stock buy backs — all while dodging taxes, under-paying workers and hoarding cash in offshore banks.

But the politicians say these corporations need more tax breaks to incentivize more investment — to produce more "growth", create jobs and raise wages. For the past 35 years our entrenched politicians (Republicans and Democrats, Clintons and Bushes) have been spoon-feeding us the same old crap, and leaving us sucking on hot air today.

Now the American people want something different, but both political party machines are resisting any and all change — and have only (as usual) been paying us lip service instead. Moderate Democrats and Moderate Republicans have both been acting like Progressive Populists. What frauds they are!

American elections are fixed.

The Clinton campaign has bought and aired nearly 5,500 TV ads this year in the early presidential caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire — and accounts for nearly one in four of ALL TV ads aired so far during the 2016 presidential race.

On the other hand, Bernie Sanders has yet to air a single TV ad, but still has been consistently drawing the biggest crowds to campaign events. Meanwhile, neither has Donald Trump had to spend any money on campaign TV ads, because his celebrity status gets him a lot of free media time. But everybody also knows Hillary Clinton, more so than they know Bernie Sanders, but yet, Bernie still draws the biggest crowds.

But we have media pundits and politicians trying to convince us that crowds don't matter, only votes do. But if a candidate is nominated by their party, how can voters vote for their preferred candidate? Again, as usual, just as it's been for decades, voters are stuck voting for the "lesser of two evils". People who prefer Bernie may be forced to vote for Hillary to keep a Republican from being president — and visa versa for Republican voters — such as those who may prefer Donald Trump, but might vote for Jeb Bush instead if he's nominated, just to keep Hillary from being the next president.

Among Democrats, according to Zignal Labs, Hillary Clinton is a more polarizing figure than the other Democratic candidates, particularly on social media, where strong criticism from conservative sites and tweeters makes up a large portion of the chatter about her candidacy.

Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, is buoyed by liberal/progressive net-roots support and garnering much more enthusiasm and excitement than Hillary — so much in fact, that Hillary started taking acting lessons to make herself more likeable.

The chart below from Zignal Labs tracks the sentiment of all Twitter mentions by state over the last week. The blue states are states where Sanders has a higher positive sentiment. Red states are ones where Clinton’s sentiment is higher. (The darker blue is where a the wider gap exists between the two, which favors Sanders.)

Zignal Labs

But Hillary Clinton is getting most of the endorsements from sitting Democratic members of Congress: Over 100 members so far — and only two for Bernie. The electoral process allows delegates and supper-delegates to mostly favor Hillary as the Democratic nominee, despite whether or not Bernie has the overwhelming popular vote. The Democratic Party Machine (DNC) clearly favors Hillary over Bernie.

This is how the two-party political system works in the U.S. — to keep themselves in power — maintaining the status quo of a fake democracy.

Anybody who closely follows politics also knows that the mainstream media also favors Hillary over Bernie. The Washington Post newsletter says: "While Sanders rivals Clinton’s traffic on Twitter, the former Secretary of State continues to dominate traditional media, particularly broadcast television, where Sanders has had a hard time breaking through. That suggests that tomorrow might be the first time that many Americans will actually see Sanders in action."

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (the DNC chairperson) has incensed progressive Democrats by allegedly uninviting her own vice chair (Tulsi Gabbard) after she called for more debates. Most people believe the debates were limited to six to favor Hillary — and that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is widely perceived as pro-Hillary. Of course, to maintain some semblance of credibility, the DNC has publicly denied any of this (Bernie Sanders' campaign has evidently offered Tulsi Gabbard a ticket to the debate anyway.)

American elections are fixed.

Many of the more informed Americans rightfully suspect that the Democratic debates will only be a big "dog-and-pony" show for the masses (and advertising for the media), because despite who the majority believe fairs better during the debates, they will have no effect whatsoever on who is eventually chosen to be the Democratic nominee ... and that will be the former First Lady, Bill Clinton's wife.

Something similar may happen on the Republican side, and that's why Donald Trump once said he would run as an Independent if he wasn't treated fairly by the Republican Party Machine. Maybe Bernie Sanders should run as an Independent as well.

American elections are fixed.

Personally (IMHO), I think that if Bernie ran as an Independent, by splitting the votes, it might encourage more people (who might otherwise vote for Hillary Clinton), to change their vote for Bernie instead, for fear of the Republicans winning the general election. That's why there are those inside the Democratic Party Machine who want to see Joe Biden enter the race, because Bernie may have a better chance of beating the GOP nominee than Hillary would. Also, Independents (including some who are Republican-leaning) would be more prone to vote for Bernie, because they wouldn't have to register as a Democrat to vote for him.

Of course, we can expect the Democratic Party Machine (maybe more so than the Republicans) to use the term "socialist" in an attempt to scare voters away from Bernie. But I do find it odd that, despite having a huge trust issue with Hillary ("thought to be a liar", etc.), many voters would still vote for her. It's so typical that many ill-informed and/or mis-informed voters (thanks in part to the mainstream media) will continue to vote against their own best interests — and will either vote for Hillary or a Republican. But again, that's just my humble opinion ;)

The Social Party USA (SPUSA) is not endorsing Senator Bernie Sanders. While Senator Bernie Sanders claims to be a "democratic socialist" (of the type we see in the democracies of Western Europe), as an "Independent", Bernie is a really a "Progressive" (just like FDR was). Bernie Sanders caucuses with "Progressives" — and something that even real socialists acknowledge:

Sanders shared a newly styled “progressive” mantle with [Senator Elizabeth] Warren, and together they became household names sounding a clarion call for the comeuppance of the “1 percent.” From there, a new populism centered around new “progressive” faces began to grow out of a community of left-leaning liberals and post-Occupy adherents ... When socialists support the trendy, progressive faces of liberalism, they not only contravene the principles of socialism itself, but also reinvigorate a position that has historically hurt and bifurcated parties like the SPUSA. And let’s make one more thing clear from the start: Despite any claims otherwise, Bernie Sanders is not a democratic socialist."

The Socialist Party USA will hold their 2015 National Convention on October 16-18, 2015 in Milwaukee, WI. (Their websites are here and here). Bernie Sanders won't be there. He'll be at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia in July 2016.

10 comments:

  1. According to the DNC chair, candidates must receive at least 1% in three national polls, conducted by credible news organizations and polling organizations, in the six weeks prior to the debate to be included.

    https://medium.com/@DWStweets/announcing-the-democratic-debate-schedule-d8e284513221

    While Martin O'Malley may or may not have cleared that hurtle, what about Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee? (Lawrence Lessig isn't included.)

    But I'm glad they will be included, because Bernie may be too polite with Hillary — while the others have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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  2. John F. MacGovern has been a loser for decades. He was the Republican nominee for a Massachusetts congressional seat in 1990, losing to the incumbent. MacGovern later moved to the State Vermont and was again an unsuccessful candidate for the Vermont Senate, both in 2004 and in 2006. Later as the Republican nominee for the US Senate seat held by Bernie Sanders, he lost again in the 2012 election. Nobody wanted him.

    In 2013 the Green Mountain Daily called him John "MacGoo" MacGovern, a clueless Tea Partier.

    http://www.greenmountaindaily.com/diary/10227/you-keep-losing-long-enough-you-forget-how-to-handle-victory

    Now today, just hours before the Democratic debate, the sore loser was on CNN today with Brook Baldwin — and was severely bashing Bernie Sanders — and he couldn't use the word "socialist" often enough. Why does CNN even interview has-beens like this?

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  3. The Nation: How the Populist Moment Will Shape the Debates (by Katrina vanden Heuvel) Clinton, the prohibitive favorite, has been sliding in the polls, burdened by the scandals over her private server and her “character.” Sanders, the insurgent, is rising but can’t win because he’s a “socialist.” The remaining three are too far behind to count. Joe Biden, the media wait for you.

    http://www.thenation.com/article/how-the-populist-moment-will-shape-the-debates/

    The Nation: The Presidential Debate Question No One Is Asking: "Are You a Capitalist?" (by John Nichols) If Americans can handle a debate about socialism’s strengths and weaknesses, surely they can handle a brief back-and-forth regarding capitalism.

    http://www.thenation.com/article/the-presidential-debate-question-no-one-is-asking-are-you-a-capitalist/

    The Nation: What Will We Learn From the First Clinton-Sanders Debate? (by Joan Walsh) A liberal will square off against a socialist atop the most progressive Democratic field in most of our lifetimes. (See my note below)

    http://www.thenation.com/article/showdown-what-will-we-learn-from-the-first-clinton-sanders-debate/

    * That's bull$hit! Hillary is a self-proclaimed "moderate" -- she is NOT a "progressive". A "moderate" Democrat isn't that much different than a "moderate" Republican.

    CNN: Clinton 'pleads guilty' to being a moderate

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/politics/hillary-clinton-democrat-progressive/

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  4. The media has been running that campaign ad for DRAFT Joe Biden's superPAC constantly!!! The Democratic Party Machine must not have much faith in Hillary...but they will still endorse her over Bernie.

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  5. UPDATED POLLS AS OF TODAY SHOW BERNIE GAINING ON HILLARY .....

    New Quinnipiac University Poll (October 13, 2015)

    Favorability ratings:

    Clinton: Negative 42 - 51 percent
    Trump: Negative 37 - 56 percent
    Sanders: Positive 39 - 25 percent
    Carson: Positive 39 - 26 percent
    Sanders: Positive 39 - 25 percent
    Fiorina: Positive 33 - 25 percent

    If a registered Democrat, if the Democratic primary for President were being held today:

    Clinton 37%
    Sanders 25%
    Biden 18%

    http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/connecticut/release-detail?ReleaseID=2289

    REal Clear Politics POLL:

    Clinton 43.3%
    Sanders 25.1%
    Biden 17.4%

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_democratic_presidential_nomination-3824.html

    Huffpo Pollster Trend

    Hillary Clinton 45.6%
    Bernie Sanders 24.4%
    Joe Biden 19.1%

    http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-national-democratic-primary

    Democrats.Com Poll:

    Bernie Sanders only: 50%
    Hillary Clinton only: 21%
    Joe Biden only: 6%

    http://www.democrats.com/2016-presidential-poll-1510

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  6. New York Times: Hillary Clinton’s Opportunist Solution!

    "She is campaigning on a series of positions that she transparently does not believe in. She’ll say what she needs to say now to become Bernie Sanders in a pantsuit."

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/opinion/hillary-clintons-opportunist-solution.html

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  7. Say it ain't so Joe!

    According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll:

    48 percent of Democrats surveyed wish Je Biden were a candidate, compared with 30 percent who said he should stay out.

    Independents were split on the question, with 36 percent saying Biden should stay in and an equal share believing otherwise.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/joe-biden-2016_561cf4b8e4b050c6c4a2ad11

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  8. There sure have been a lot of pro-Hillary pundits on cable news today (CNN and MSNBC). I hope they have more pro-Bernie pundits on later before the debate.

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  9. After watching the debate tonight it was evident that Bernie Sanders would get the top votes for his performance in the debate and on the issues.

    The one thing I fault CNN with is how they had people who speculated on everything and then there were the ANAL-yts. I could care less what they have to say. Consistent voting records and actions should and has, in my opinion, given Bernie the edge!

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  10. Bernie won HUGE in all the polls so far....

    http://time.com/4071956/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-poll-who-won/

    http://www.thestreet.com/story/13322968/1/poll-who-won-the-democratic-debate-who-will-win-the-nomination.html

    https://twitter.com/OceanPleasant?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/10/democratic_debate_who_won_vote_in_our_poll.html

    http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/10/13/poll-who-won-the-cnn-democratic-debate/

    http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/poll-who-do-you-think-won-the-first-democratic-debate

    http://wishtv.com/2015/10/13/poll-who-won-the-first-democratic-debate/

    http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/10/13/poll-who-won-the-first-democratic-debate/

    http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/10/poll_who_won_tuesdays_democratic_2016_presidential_debate.html

    http://newsok.com/article/5453254



    ReplyDelete