January 29, 2016

First on CNN: Chong wants Sanders for next 'commander in kush'(video at link)

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/29/politics/tommy-chong-bernie-sanders-marijuana/index.html

Tommy Chong loves Bernie Sanders, and he describes that affection for the insurgent candidate in a way only Tommy Chong can.

"Bernie's like a kush, like the best kind of weed you can get, because he's the answer to all our problems," Chong told CNN this week.

To prove it, he's releasing a public service announcement supporting Sanders for president rife with the tongue-in-cheek marijuana jokes that ran throughout the "Cheech and Chong" comedies of the late '70s.

(snip)
"To me, Bernie seems more suited for the country," Chong said. "There was some writer from the Washington Post who said that Bernie would be a disaster because he's a socialist. Well, people don't realize that ... in the last eight years, socialism is not a dirty word anymore."

January 29, 2016

I Support Bernie Sanders, And I'm Not Stupid or Unrealistic

Today, I read for maybe the 10,000th time an assertion that supporters of Bernie Sanders are unrealistic, that Bernie Sanders supporters will all be disappointed if they elect him because he won't be able to bring the change he's promising, that Bernie Sanders's policies will be "just another example of Democrats making promises they can't keep," and so on and so forth. And I'd like to briefly dispel a misconception about people who support Bernie Sanders as the next president of the United States:

We're not stupid

I've got a college education and a good job, and I'm guessing I'm not the only Sanders supporter who does. Now, this doesn't necessarily make me smart, but it is at least an indicator of having achieved some level of learning that would indicate that I'm capable of coherent and independent thought.

And guess what? Neither many of the Bernie Sanders supporters I've encountered nor I expect any of Bernie Sanders' major proposals to take effect in the next 2, 3 or possibly even 4 years. I don't support Bernie Sanders simply because I think he'll magically overturn Citizens United, fix our indisputably broken campaign finance system, legalize marijuana, eliminate privately owned prisons, institute a single-payer healthcare system, crack down on Wall Street, or pass most of his other proposals within his first year of office.

(snip)
As a supporter of Bernie Sanders, I fully recognize that this whole "political revolution" thing is not a guarantee. But right now, the opportunity to start one is a whole lot more appealing to me than the status quo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cody-gough/i-support-bernie-sanders-not-stupid_b_9103152.html

January 29, 2016

Vámonos! An Unprecedented Latino Voter Drive Could Tip the Scales in Iowa

And Bernie Sanders may be the beneficiary
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/01/iowas-latino-vote-mobilizing-first-time-caucuses

Across Iowa, thousands of Latino voters are getting the same call. "It is important the Latino community participate in the presidential caucuses," a young Latina woman says on the robocall. "If we don't participate in the Iowa caucuses, then everyone else gets to decide for us what issues are important and which candidates will address those issues."

A total of 50,000 Latino voters are receiving direct mailings bearing similar messages, and 25,000 are receiving robo and live calls encouraging them to caucus on February 1. For those living in the 20 Iowa counties with the highest concentration of Latino voters, they are getting knocks on their door and caucus training opportunities in their communities. It's all part of an ambitious effort to organize Iowa's Latino population into an influential voting block in the caucuses next month. "People will be surprised," predicts Joe Henry, the man spearheading the effort. "I think you're going to see a little history here."

Henry's plan is the first time that there has been a targeted effort to engage Latino voters in the Iowa caucuses. If the majority of those who turn out caucus for a Democrat, the effort could help decide the tight race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders—and thanks to the large number of young people in the Latino community, Sanders may reap the benefits.

Henry, a real estate agent with decades of political organizing under his belt, met Mother Jones in downtown Des Moines at Ritual Café, a Latina-owned coffee house that only sells vegetarian and vegan fare. There's a Bernie Sanders sign posted in the window and a stack of "FeelTheBern" and "Bernie2016" bumper stickers inside, along with the latest edition of Hola Iowa, a local paper that prints stories side by side in both English and Spanish. The Vermont senator, who gave an exclusive interview to the paper, graces the cover.

January 28, 2016

Bernie Sanders just hit back at the Washington Post with the most perfect jab

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders hit back at the Washington Post on Thursday after the paper published an editorial accusing him of “peddling fiction” to voters with his progressive politics.

(Snip)
“People are telling us, whether it’s the Washington Post editorial board or anybody else, our ideas are too ambitious — can’t happen,” Sanders responded. “Too bold — really? Well, here’s something which is really bold. In the last 30 years, there has been a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class and working families of this country. The middle class has become poorer and trillions of dollars have been transferred to the top one-tenth of 1 percent… Where was The Washington Post to express concern that the middle class was shrinking?”

But that retort apparently wasn’t enough for Sanders.

According to The Hill, Sanders lashed out again during a Bloomberg Politics breakfast, saying of the Post’s editorial board, “check out where all the geniuses on the editorial page were with regard to the invasion of Iraq.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/bernie-sanders-just-hit-back-at-the-washington-post-with-the-most-perfect-jab/



video of Bernie on Bloomberg talking a little about the WP
3:30 in the video
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2016-01-29/breakfast-with-bernie-sanders-talks-about-going-negative

January 28, 2016

What Paul Krugman gets wrong about Bernie Sanders

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/28/what_paul_krugman_gets_wrong_about_bernie_sanders/
The NYT columnist has criticized Sanders for what he views as an overly idealistic politics. He misses the point

As everyone knows by now, Paul Krugman is not “feeling the Bern.” After the fourth Democratic debate — which most pundits believed Sen. Bernie Sanders won — the New York Times columnist went on a bit of an anti-Sanders spree, with a critical blog post on the candidate’s “unrealistic” health care plan (released the night of the debate), a column on his faulty and idealistic view of change, and a rather bizarre blog post arguing that a Sanders nomination and an independent run from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg would ensure Donald Trump a “yuuuge victory.” This deluge of criticism, from one of America’s most well regarded progressives, resulted in backlash from some Sanders supporters and progressives in general. According to Krugman, he has been receiving some pretty nasty mail:

“Right now I’m getting the kind of correspondence I usually get from Rush Limbaugh listeners, although this time it’s from the left — I’m a crook, I’m a Hillary crony, etc., etc..”

This is an unfortunate, though not entirely surprising response. Such scathing criticism for the truly progressive candidate, from a revered progressive writer, came as a shock to many. But anyone familiar with Krugman’s past work should know that he has always been reproachful of anything he views as being overly idealistic. “In an ideal world, I’d be a single-payer guy,” he wrote in 2007. “But I see the chance of getting universal care, imperfect but fixable, just a couple of years from now. And I want to grab that chance.” Seven years ago, Krugman was also very critical of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama — and especially of his supporters:

(snip)
The Sanders campaign is not about conjuring up the better angels of America’s nature. It is about creating a nationwide movement demanding real change. Clinton is running to play within the current broken system — the system she has thrived in. Sanders is running to overhaul it, which he regularly admits will not happen without a “political revolution” in the same vein as past protest movements. Former Secretary of Labor (under the Clinton administration), Robert Reich, summed it up succinctly on Facebook:

January 28, 2016

Red Hot Chili Peppers Headlining Bernie Sanders Fundraiser Concert

Red Hot Chili Peppers will "Feel the Bern" by headlining a Los Angeles concert fundraiser for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. The rock veterans will perform February 5th at Theatre at Ace Hotel, Loudwire reports.

Tickets, ranging from $40 to $2,700, will go on sale day of show at 10 a.m. PST via AXS. Sanders – who proudly relies on grassroots fundraising and refuses campaign donations from Super PACs or corporations – has earned widespread support from the music community.

In September, all four Chili Peppers signed a letter of endorsement posted on the senator's website. "Bernie Sanders is the only remotely reasonable candidate for President of the United States," bassist Flea tweeted the previous month.

Members of Vampire Weekend will join Killer Mike (an outspoken Sanders supporter), Foster the People, Josh Hutcherson and more at "Students for Bernie," a Sanders rally scheduled for Saturday, January 30th at University of Iowa Field House. The event is free and open to the public.


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/red-hot-chili-peppers-headlining-bernie-sanders-fundraiser-concert-20160127

January 27, 2016

Lowcountry Democratic state legislator announces he supports Bernie Sanders

Another state legislator has announced his support for Democratic Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.

Charleston’s Rep. Wendell Gilliard announced Tuesday he was supporting the Vermont Senator, because he is fighting to address the issues that matter the most to African-Americans.

“He is a leading voice in the movement to end the failed “War on Drugs” that has crippled communities of color and has proposed the most substantive solutions of any candidate in the race to end the disastrous era of mass incarceration,” said Gilliard in a written statement. “Bernie consistently affirms the importance of black lives, by insisting that police forces reflect the diversity of their communities and advocating for body cameras to ensure greater officer accountability.”

It’s the second endorsement of a state legislator Sanders receives this week. On Monday, Rep. Justin Bamberg, of Bamberg, announced he was defecting from his initial endorsement of Hillary Clinton and supporting Sanders

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20160127/PC1603/160129470


Representative Wendell G. Gilliard
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0675568101

January 26, 2016

Bernie Sanders is right about Obamacare: Here’s why it’s time to talk about single-payer

The Affordable Care Act advanced healthcare in America in important ways — but it's also fatally flawed
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/26/bernie_sanders_is_right_about_obamacare_heres_why_its_time_to_talk_about_single_player/

(snip)
Obamacare does have some very good features, including the expansion of Medicaid (in many states thwarted by Republican governors with the Supreme Court’s permission). Thanks to Medicaid and tax credits provided to those close to the poverty line (and the threat of a fine) an estimated 17.6 million uninsured people had, as of September, become insured since the law’s implementation began.

But many working- and middle-class people are still getting squeezed hard, forced to sign up for bad and confusing programs with high deductibles, high co-pays (and coinsurance) and in many cases high premiums—all so that they can hunt for care in sometimes very limited networks.

In November, the New York Times reported that more than half the plans on many states’ HealthCare.gov marketplaces had deductibles of at least $3,000. A recent Kaiser/New York Times survey found that 1-in-5 working age Americans with health insurance had trouble paying medical bills over the past year. Many had to spend down their savings, spend less on food, run up credit cards, and work more hours to pay for medical expenses. More than half of those without health insurance—a population that still includes more than 1-in-10 Americans—reported problems paying their bills.

(snip)
The case for single-payer isn’t that it can be passed tomorrow. Rather, the left needs to fight for single-payer now to build momentum and a movement: Healthcare and economic crises will persist, American politics will continue to change in unpredictable ways, and a new policy regime will at some point become both possible and necessary.

January 25, 2016

Bloomberg doesn’t poll better against Sanders than Clinton

(SNIP)
But a poll taken last weekend suggests that interest in the former mayor and founder of his eponymous media conglomerate doesn’t really change much based on the other participants.

Morning Consult found that in a national race involving Sanders, Trump and Bloomberg, Sanders would take 35% of the vote, Trump 34% and Bloomberg 12%.

In a race with Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bloomberg, Trump takes 36%, Clinton 35% and Bloomberg 13%. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

(SNIP)
Further complicating any calculus is the electoral college. If Bloomberg actually carried any state, it would make it difficult for any candidate to reach 270 votes needed to win the presidency, sending the presidential race to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the vice presidency to the GOP-held Senate.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bloomberg-doesnt-poll-better-against-sanders-than-clinton-2016-01-25

January 25, 2016

Officials Throw Their Support Behind Sanders At Portland Rally

Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba and Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick endorsed presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Saturday during the campaign’s downtown Portland rally.

Gamba and Novick were among more than a dozen officials and others who spoke at the Pioneer Courthouse Square rally before a crowd of several hundred people who waved signs and cheered.

“Bernie Sanders is the first presidential candidate in my 56 years that has spoken truth regarding the widening disparity between the ultra wealthy and everyone else and the fact that they are no longer taxed accordingly,” Gamba told the cheering crowd.

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/290219-167502-officials-throw-their-support-behind-sanders-at-rally

http://www.opb.org/news/article/bernie-sanders-oregon-portland-endorsement/



TRIBUNE PHOTO: DIEGO DIAZ - Several hundred people rallied Saturday afternoon in Pioneer Courthouse Square to support Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in his bid for the Democratic nomination for president.