February 9, 2020

New ad from the Republicans for the Rule of Law. Re: Vindman

https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1226502056242008065?s=20&fbclid=IwAR3oIQh20W-OeelDu9kyYgY0yjht8578M4lu_aJnB5hqVd0koj9U3nJJUlM

February 9, 2020

Take a break and enjoy some comic relief: Bern Your Enthusiasm - SNL

February 8, 2020

538: Why Sanders Does Better With Independents (from 2016)

It’s not because they’re more moderate than Democrats.

During the 2004 presidential primaries, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean made headlines by asserting that he represented the “Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.” His support in the New Hampshire primary was true to those words: He performed better among self-identified Democrats (29 percent) than among independents (23 percent). That’s not necessarily surprising; since self-identified Democrats are more liberal than independents, we’d expect a candidate from the left to do better with them.

Twelve years later, another presidential candidate from Vermont is seeking the Democratic nomination. Like Dean, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders aims to outflank his opponent from the left. But unlike Dean, Sanders does much better among independents than among Democrats. In New Hampshire, for instance, Sanders won Democrats by 4 percentage points while winning independents by nearly 50 percentage points, a split we’ve seen repeatedly since then.1 Some of Sanders’s strongest performances in primaries have come in places such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin, states whose rules allow independents to vote in either primary. In fact, to date Sanders has compiled an unexpected record, performing very well in caucuses but having won just a single closed primary (Oklahoma’s).

So why is Sanders doing so well among independents? It appears to be driven not by their ideology so much as their dislike of partisan politics. And that has implications for Sanders’s prospects in the upcoming primaries in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland, all of which are closed to non-Democrats. Understanding why Sanders does so well among independents in the Democratic primaries can also give us hints about his appeal to moderate voters should he make it to the general election.

More: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-sanders-does-better-with-independents/

February 8, 2020

538: Trump Is The Most Unpopular President Since Ford To Run For Reelection

Observation: Bush got re-elected by the skin of his teeth with an approval rating of 48.4. Trump has never been close to that at 538



Now that the 2020 election has gone from “next year” to “this year,” it’s worth taking a step back and asking a question that we first posed in early 2017: How popular is Donald Trump? After all, a president’s job approval rating can be predictive of his reelection chances, especially as November draws closer.

On Jan. 1, 42.6 percent of Americans approved of President Trump’s job performance, according to FiveThirtyEight’s presidential approval tracker (52.9 percent disapproved). That’s a pretty typical number for Trump (although it’s worth noting that, since Jan. 1, the U.S. and Iran have taken actions that could shake Trump’s approval rating loose from that anchor), but ominously for the president, that’s the second-lowest FiveThirtyEight average approval rating of any recent1 president on the first day of their reelection year. Only Gerald Ford (39.3 percent on Jan. 1, 1976) was less popular — and, of course, Ford lost that campaign to Jimmy Carter.

More: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-is-the-most-unpopular-president-since-ford-to-run-for-reelection/

February 8, 2020

Sanders: 'In Many Ways, Donald Trump Is a Socialist Himself'

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who considers himself a Democratic socialist, on Thursday accused President Donald Trump of being “a socialist who believes in massive help to large corporations and the rich.”

During CNN’s Presidential Town Hall, Sanders was “If you're the nominee, you're expected to face criticism such as President Trump stating, 'America will never be a socialist country.' For Americans who hold this belief, how do you overcome that kind of labeling to convince them to vote for you?”


“In two ways, in many ways Donald Trump is a socialist himself. He is a socialist who believes in massive help to large corporations and the rich. When Trump was a private businessman - he is a real estate developer - he himself received some $800 million in tax breaks and subsidies to build luxury condominiums. That's called socialism for the very, very rich,” Sanders said.

“When we give tax breaks and subsidies to the fossil fuel industry to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars so they can produce a product which is destroying the planet, this is called socialism for large corporations, corporate socialism. Now my definition of socialism, needless to say, is a little bit different, and I think if you look at countries around the world, look at countries in Scandinavia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, what do they have?” he asked.


More:


https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/melanie-arter/sanders-many-ways-donald-trump-socialist-himself?fbclid=IwAR3rxf_9z4ozWo5qUiTRfrPMuU3UznWfKQYGLZLbbP7OfT4YjNWZSrDGmns

February 8, 2020

So 4 polls come out at the same time for NH. 3 Have Sanders ahead 1 Buttigieg and yet

Most of the news articles are all suggesting Buttigieg is in the lead there now as they focus on just 1 of the 4 polls. For two days all I have been seeing is Buttigieg is now in the lead and I was believing it until I went to this page:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nh/new_hampshire_democratic_presidential_primary-6276.html



Pete Buttigieg surges to small lead in New Hampshire amid post-Iowa bounce, new poll finds
Joey Garrison
USA TODAY




https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/08/new-hampshire-primary-pete-buttigieg-surged-ahead-new-hampshire-amid-big-post-iowa-bounce-new-poll-f/4700100002/

February 8, 2020

Bernie Sanders interviews Punks [1988]

I found the respect and kindness he gives to these two kids heartwarming. As one comment said: Bernie got these two to talk through their lack of confidence and concrete ideas by asking the right questions and listening. Clearly very sharp kids who know a lot about the world and history. Studies have shown rockers from this time period ended up becoming very well adjusted adults.

These videos are popping up in my feed since I have watched a couple of them.

February 8, 2020

Exactly why comparing Trump to an orange orangutan is flat out wrong

Orangutans have souls and compassion

This orangutan saw a man wading in snake-infested water and decided to offer a helping hand


?resize=750%2C421

https://www.azfamily.com/news/us_world_news/this-orangutan-saw-a-man-wading-in-snake-infested-water/article_b4f30e54-a7cf-5cbb-b139-3d26dff70939.html?fbclid=IwAR3lcVTj7MD9BwqPZbOtoCDL1tsBxSCR_sZUxQ6WrYHQBIsDO7MCSOHzGTY

February 8, 2020

Trump stumbles with traditionally-Republican religious group, may cause him major problems in 2020

Trump's stumbles with a huge, traditionally-Republican religious group could cause him major problems

While Donald Trump has shored up evangelical voters, the president is not doing as well with Mormon voters.
While almost 80% of Mormon voters threw their support behind GOP candidates in 2008 and 2012, only 61% voted for Trump in 2016.
Mormon support for Trump is closer than most GOP candidates split, with 52% approving of the president and 43% holding an unfavorable opinion.
Daniel Cox is a research fellow for polling and public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute and head of research at College Pulse.

More:

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mormon-struggles-bad-news-2020-presidential-election-2020-1