All Online Polls: Bernie Sanders Wins 2nd Debate

According to most people (and I agree) the highlight of the 2nd Democratic debate was when Bernie Sanders criticized Hillary Clinton for taking Wall Street donations, and noted her opposition to reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act — the 1933 law that established a firewall between investment and commercial banking. Its repeal by Bill Clinton in 1999 has been blamed by many for helping to cause the 2008 financial crisis.

Hillary Clinton had stated in the first debate that she would refuse to reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act; but during the second debate she criticized AIG and Lehman Brothers for helping to bring down the economy — but yet, those are two of the very financial institutions that would have been regulated by Glass-Steagall.

Bernie Sanders who favors re-instating Glass-Steagall, said: "Over her political career, Wall Street has been a major, the major, donor to Hillary Clinton. Now maybe they’re dumb, but I don’t think so." [That was when Hillary Clinton feigned indignation and angrily accused Sanders of impugning her integrity. I laughed out loud when I heard her say that.]

Then Hillary Clinton used Osama Bin Laden's attack on the World Trade Center on 9-11 as her reason for accepting millions of dollars in campaign donations from Wall Street bankers — and for all her paid speeches to them. As she said, "We were attacked in downtown Manhattan where Wall Street is." The Atlantic wrote:

Sanders lambasted Hillary for accepting millions in contributions from Wall Street. Clinton, in turn, cited the fact that most of her donors are women, and said that some Wall Street workers donate because they’re grateful for her post-9/11 advocacy for the area. It’s an answer that may come back to haunt Clinton, and which did little to dissipate the force of Sanders’s attack."

According to the Center for Public Integrity, a staggering 77 percent of the $26.2 million Bernie Sanders collected during the third quarter came from contributors giving $200 or less. The haul helped Sanders narrow the fundraising gap between his campaign and that of Democratic Party frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who raised $29.9 million during the same period.

While it's true that 50.9% of Hillary's donors are women, most are NOT small donors — and here's her top donors. Note that Comcast is also on the list, because I mentioned Comcast here — because they own NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. Earlier this year Comcast was forced to abandon a Time-Warner Cable acquisition after spending more than $400 million on lawyers, lobbyists, and consultants. Two months later Comcast executive vice president David Cohen hosted a $2,700-a-plate fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

See the full 9 minute exchange on the subject of Wall Street further below in this post including both video and text.

Bustle reports: "Bernie Sanders walked away the winner of the second Democratic presidential debate, scoring some raw hits against Clinton's Wall Street coziness."

The Huffington Post reported: Bernie Sanders Sweeps Online Polls after Winning Second Democratic Debate. So I went online to check for myself — and while I was there, I voted too. I found a few more polls that weren't mentioned at the Huffington Post, and they all showed similar results. And just like in the first debate, all online polls showed Bernie Sanders was indeed the clear winner.

But we can always expect the Washington insiders and most of media pundits on MSNBC, CNN (etc.) claiming Hillary won the debate, because they're always trying to influence elections. And just like the first debate, corporate-sponsored polls will show the opposite — and these are the polls that the mainstream media always reports.

One corporate polling company (Public Policy Polling) interviewed 510 Democratic primary voters and reports Hillary Clinton won with 67%, and only 20% for Bernie Sanders, with 7% for Martin O’Malley (This poll was also cited in other articles blaring the headlines:

• Politicususa: "Poll of Democratic voters gives Hillary Clinton a Landslide Victory in Iowa Debate"
• The Hill: "Clinton Clear Winner of Second Debate"

But all online polls (as of this post) tells a completely different story — just like they did in the first debate:

• An online poll at TIME with 65,161 Votes shows Bernie Sanders 81 % - Hillary Clinton 14 % - Martin O'Malley 5 %
• A Fox5 online poll shows Bernie Sanders 88.45% (14,878 votes) - Hillary Clinton 8.31% (1,397 votes) - Martin O'Malley 3.24% (546 votes)
• Slate's online poll (a seemingly pro-Hillary website) shows Bernie Sanders at 81% - Hillary Clinton at 13% and Martin O'Malley at 3%
• The Washington Times online poll shows Bernie Sanders with 4,461 (89%) - Hillary Clinton 445 votes (8%) - Martin O'Malley 186 votes (3%) and the GOP 229 votes (4%)
• The Syracuse.Com online poll shows: Bernie Sanders 88.83% (6,067 votes) - Hillary Clinton 7.5% (512 votes) - Martin O'Malley 3.67% (251 votes)
• NJ.Com' online poll shows Bernie Sanders 88.78% (6,517 votes) - Hillary Clinton 8.02% (589 votes) - Martin O'Malley 1.7% (125 votes) - I don't know. 1.5% (110 votes)
• A Philadelphia CBS local's online poll shows Bernie Sanders 92.82% (9,779 votes) - Hillary Clinton 4.79% (505 votes) - Martin O'Malley 2.38% (251 votes)
• The Street's online poll shows Bernie Sanders 86% - Hillary Clinton 10% - Martin O'Malley 5%
• Enstarz.com's online poll shows Bernie Sanders 90% - Hillary Clinton 6% - Martin O'Malley 4%

Also, according to CNBC (below), during the debate Bernie Sanders picked up more than 10,000 followers on Twitter, whereas, Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley each acquired 4,000.

Kevin Drum at Mother Jones (reluctantly, it seems) also gave Bernie Sanders a score of A- and Hillary Clinton a B+ for there debate performances.

And speaking of corporate-sponsored-polls: According to the New York Times, an ABC News-Washington Post poll released this month showed 51 percent of voters have an unfavorable opinion of Hillary Clinton, while a CBS News poll released last month showed 61 percent of registered voters did not trust Hillary Clinton.

But yet, the most recent New York Times-CBS survey (of 1,495 people) showed that 52 percent of likely Democratic voters are backing Hillary Clinton, compared with 33 percent for Mr. Sanders (but he did show a small gain since the month before).

In stark contrast, with a whopping 93,892 votes, the website Democrats.com shows Bernie leading Hillary 45% to 31% (Am I the only one who finds the results of these corporate media-sponsored polls very odd?)

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Below WAS the segment of the 2nd Democratic debate about Wall Street. The video is followed by the full text from the transcript at the Washington Post. Business Insider wrote: Bernie Sanders had a 3-word response when asked if Hillary Clinton's Wall Street plan was tough enough: "Not good enough."

NOTE: I published 8 minutes of video from the 2nd Democratic Debate on Nov 15, 2015 that was aired on CBS. On December 26, 2015 I received a notice from YouTube saying "Due to a copyright claim, your YouTube video has been blocked." Why is the mainstream media trying to shut me down? The entire debate is posted at someone's YouTube channel here.

CBS Moderator (John Dickerson) to Hillary Clinton: Senator Sanders recently said, quote, "People should be suspect of candidates who receive large sums of money from Wall Street and then go out and say 'Trust me. I'm going to really regulate wall street'". So you've received millions of dollars in contributions and speaking fees from from Wall Street companies. How do you convince voters that you are going to level the playing field when you're indebted to some of its biggest players?

CLINTON: Well, I think it's pretty clear that they know that I will. You have two billionaire hedge fund managers who started a super PAC and they're advertising against me in Iowa as we speak. So they clearly think I'm going to do what I say I will do and you can look at what I did in the Senate. I did introduce legislation to reign in compensation. I looked at ways that the shareholders would have more control over what was going on in that arena.

[My note: While it is true that she introduced a bill called the Corporate Executive Compensation Accountability and Transparency Act in April 2008, the proposal did not go very far. The record shows that the bill was introduced, with no co-sponsors, and referred to the Committee on Finance, where no further action was taken. It was only a token gesture by Hillary, and nothing more.]

CLINTON (continuing) And specifically said to Wall Street, that what they were doing in the mortgage market was bringing our country down. I've laid out a very aggressive plan to reign in Wall Street -- not just the big banks. That's a part of the problem and I am going right at them. I have a comprehensive, tough plan. But I went further than that. We have to go after what is called the shadow banking industry. Those hedge funds. Look at what happened in '08, AIG, a big insurance company, Lehman Brothers, an investment bank helped to bring our economy down. So, I want to look at the whole problem and that's why my proposal is much more comprehensive than anything else that's been put forth.

DICKERSON: Senator Sanders you said that the donations to Secretary Clinton are compromising. So what did you think of her answer?

SANDERS: Not good enough. (APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: Here's the story. I mean, you know, let's not be naive about it. Why do -- why, over her political career has Wall Street been a major -- the major campaign contributor to Hillary Clinton? You know, maybe they're dumb and they don't know what they're going to get, but I don't think so. Here is the major issue when we talk about Wall Street. It ain't complicated. You have six financial institutions today that have assets of 56 percent, equivalent to 56 percent of the GDP In America. They issue two-thirds of the credit cards and one-third of the mortgages. If Teddy Roosevelt, a good Republican [my link], were alive today, you know what he'd say? "Break them up." Re-establish Glass-Steagall. And Teddy Roosevelt is right. That is the issue. Now I am the only candidate up here that doesn't have a super PAC. I am not asking Wall Street or the billionaires for money. I will break up these banks. Support community banks and credit unions. That's the future of banking in America.

DICKERSON: Great follow up because you -- (To Hillary) Secretary Clinton, you will get a chance to respond -- (To Sanders) You said they know what they're going to get. What are they going to get?

SANDERS: I have never heard a candidate never, who has received huge amounts of money from oil, from coal, from Wall Street, from the military industrial complex, not one candidate say, oh, these campaign contributions will not influence me. I'm going to be independent. Well, why do they make millions of dollars of campaign contributions? they expect to get something. Everybody knows that. Once again, I am running a campaign differently than any other candidate. We are relying on small campaign donors, 750,000 of them, 30 bucks a piece. That's who I'm indebted to.

[My note: According to the Center for Public Integrity, a staggering 77 percent of the $26.2 million Bernie Sanders collected during the third quarter came from contributors giving $200 or less. The haul helped Sanders narrow the fundraising gap between his campaign and that of Democratic Party frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who raised $29.9 million during the same period. 50.9% are women, and most are NOT small donors — and here's her top donors. Notice Comcast is also on the list. I mentioned Comcast here, because they own NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. Earlier this year Comcast was forced to abandon a Time-Warner Cable acquisition after spending more than $400 million on lawyers, lobbyists, and consultants. Two months later Comcast executive vice president David Cohen hosted a $2,700-a-plate fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.]

CLINTON: Well John, wait a minute. Wait a minute, he has basically used his answer to impune my integrity. Let's be frank here. [My note: This was when I laughed out loud!]

SANDERS: No, I have not.

CLINTON: Oh, wait a minute, senator. You know, not only do I have hundreds of thousands of donors, most of them small. And I'm very proud that for the first time a majority of my donors are women, 60 percent. (APPLAUSE) [My note: Why does she always bring up women? Is she trying to create a gender war between the sexes? Of course not, but it does make me suspicious of her thoughts on women's issues, and whether she's just trying to pander for the women's vote.]

CLINTON: So, I represented New York, and I represented New York on 9/11 when we were attacked. Where were we attacked? We were attacked in downtown Manhattan where Wall Street is. I did spend a whole lot of time and effort helping them rebuild. That was good for New York. It was good for the economy and it was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country. So, you know, it's fine for you to say what you're going to say, but I looked very carefully at your proposal. Reinstating Glass- Steagall is a part of what very well could help, but it is nowhere near enough. My proposal is tougher, more effective, and more comprehensive because I go after all of Wall Street not just the big banks.

(CROSSTALK: O' Malley: John, please, it's... DICKERSON: Hold on. He was attacked... (APPLAUSE) O' Malley: John ...)

DICKERSON: Hold on, he was attacked...

SANDERS: So was I, John. Let me get a chance to respond. This issue touches on two broad issues. It's not just Wall Street. It's campaign -- a corrupt campaign finance system. And it is easy to talk the talk about ending Citizens United, but what I think we need to do is show by example that we are prepared to not rely on large corporations and Wall Street for campaign contributions, and that's what I'm doing. In terms of Wall Street, I respectfully disagree with you, madam secretary, in the sense that the issue here is when you have such incredible power and such incredible wealth. When you have Wall Street spending $5 billion over a 10-year period to get -- to get deregulated, the only answer they know is break them up, reestablish Glass-Stegall.

DICKERSON: All right. Senator, we have to get Governor O' Malley in. Governor, along with your answer, how many Wall Street veterans would you have in your administration?

O' MALLEY: Well, I'll tell you what, I've said this before. I don't -- I believe that we actually need some new economic thinking in the White House. And I would not have Robert Rubin or Larry Summers, with all due respect, Secretary Clinton, to you and to them, back on my council of economic advisers.

DICKERSON: Anyone from Wall Street?

O' MALLEY: They are the architects. Sure, we'll have an inclusive group but I won't be taking my orders from Wall Street. And look, let me say this. I put out a proposal. I was on the front lines when people lost their homes, when people lost their jobs. I was on the front lines as a governor fighting against -- fighting that battle. Our economy was wrecked by the big banks of Wall Street. And Secretary Clinton, when you put out your proposal on Wall Street, it was greeted by many as, quote, unquote, "Weak tea". It is weak tea. It is not what the people expect of our country. We expect that our president will protect the main street economy from excesses on Wall Street. And that's why Bernie's right. We need to reinstate a modern version of Glass-Steagall and we should have done it already. (APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Well, you know, governor, I know that when you had a chance to appoint a commissioner for financial regulation, you chose an investment banker in 2010. So for me, it is looking at what works and what we need to do to try to move past what happened in '08. And I will go back and say again, AIG was not a big bank. It had to be bailed out and it nearly destroyed us. Lehman Brothers was not a big bank. It was an investment bank. And its bankruptcy and its failure nearly destroyed us. So I've said, if the big banks don't play by the rules, I will break them up.

SANDERS: The big banks?

CLINTON: And I will also go after executives who are responsible for the decisions that have such bad consequences for our country. (APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: I don't know, and with all due respect to the secretary, Wall Street played by the rules? Who are we kidding? The business model of Wall Street is fraud. That's what it is. (APPLAUSE) And we have -- and let me make this promise. One of the problems we have had -- I think all Americans understand this, is whether it's Republican administrations or Democratic administrations, we have seen Wall Street and Goldman Sachs dominate administrations. Here's my promise-- Wall Street representatives will not be in my cabinet. (APPLAUSE)

DICKERSON: All right, I want to switch to the -- switch to the issue of guns here...

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