Donkees
Donkees's JournalWatch live: 2020 candidates speak at the She the People Forum
Scheduled for Apr 24, 2019
In Houston, Democrats running for president answer questions from voters at “She the People,” a forum focused on women of color and the issues that matter most to them.
I Was Bernie's Biggest Critic in 2016--I've Changed My Mind
Bernie Sanders can beat Donald Trump—and it would be an epic act of self-destruction for Democrats to try and hobble his campaign.By Peter Daou - TODAY 2:09 PM
Excerpts:
Bernie Sanders is unquestionably in the top tier of candidates for the Democratic nomination, and it would be an epic act of self-destruction for Democrats to plunge into an internecine conflict over his candidacy at a time when they need to marshal every asset to defeat Trump and his GOP cronies. I am calling on Democrats, progressives, and leftists to hit the pause button, to table our disagreements, no matter how intense, as we fight to preserve the rule of law and the last semblance of our democracy. We owe it to ourselves and our country.
This is what I see: An extremist GOP that is methodically consolidating power, stacking the courts with far right ideologues and making a mockery of the rule of law. It is everything we feared from a Trump presidency, and worse. And I see that Bernie Sanders is a strong frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic nomination. He leads Trump in several match-ups. He has millions of dedicated supporters. He is raising tens of millions of dollars from small donors. He is a seasoned campaigner with a presidential race under his belt.
Virtually every state and national poll shows Sanders at or near the top of the Democratic field. Polls are fluid at this stage, but Sanders is a known quantity and his base of support is solid. His proven appeal to young voters and independents is a powerful asset, and his ability to deliver a well-crafted and unapologetic progressive message to Americans across the political spectrum is crucial if Democrats hope to take on an increasingly extremist GOP.
Alarmingly, the ferocity of the GOP’s attack on our norms and values is met with timidity from the Democratic Party leadership. Even after grassroots activists and voters generated a 2018 blue wave that swept Democrats back into power in the House, the party leadership has proven incapable (or unwilling) to rise to the historic challenge of facing down encroaching fascism. There are no saviors coming to rescue us. We must become our own leaders. To defeat Trump and to reverse the rising tide of white nationalism that threatens the foundations of our democracy, we must have the courage to set aside old grievances for the greater good. Bernie Sanders is not the only candidate who can defeat Trump, but he’s certainly one of them. And he should not be treated as the enemy.
https://www.thenation.com/article/peter-daou-bernie-sanders-critic-2016/
Bernie Sanders Adds Top Iowa Operative To Team
BERNIE SANDERS ADDS TOP IOWA OPERATIVE TO TEAM
On April 23, 2019 By prynard
Excerpts:
Bernie Sanders is bringing on Jessica Vanden Berg, a well-known veteran of Iowa and national campaigns, to his caucus team. She will serve as a senior advisor for their Iowa operation.
Vanden Berg ran Christie Vilsack’s 2012 congressional campaign, worked for former Congressman Leonard Boswell, and served as the deputy director for the Iowa Democratic Party. Outside of Iowa, she ran Jim Webb’s successful 2006 campaign for Senate and served as Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s chief of staff. She also helped start up Emerge Iowa, a group that encourages and supports women who run for office.
“We couldn’t be happier to have Jessica joining our growing team here in Iowa. She has a long track record of working for successful statewide campaigns that have brought real progressive change to Iowa and across the country,” Misty Rebik, Sanders’ state director, said in a press release. “I have no doubt her expertise and vision will play an important role in driving us to victory in next year’s caucus.”
Although Sanders’ Iowa team got started a little later this year than several other candidates who announced earlier, they’ve quickly built up a sizable operation. By Starting Line’s count, this is their 12th publicly-announced staffer in a leadership role for Iowa, and they’re working on building out a field team. Given their significant fundraising advantage, it’s quite possible that Sanders will end up with the largest team in the state.
https://iowastartingline.com/2019/04/23/bernie-sanders-adds-top-iowa-operative-to-team
Photos: Bernie Sanders talking strategy with his Massachusetts organizers in Cambridge.
https://twitter.com/Byron_Barnett/status/1120752060666871810
Congratulations to @BernieSanders for his first place finish in our DFA Presidential Pulse Poll!
https://twitter.com/DFAaction/status/1120689677886009344
Sanders releases internal poll showing lead over Trump in PA, WI and MI
APR 22 2019, 5:33 PM ET
Excerpts:
WASHINGTON—Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign is releasing new internal polling that shows him leading President Donald Trump in hypothetical matchups in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
According to the internal data released to reporters by the campaign, Sanders is up by double-digits in Michigan and Wisconsin (by 11 points and 10 points respectively), and leads in Pennsylvania by 8 points.
Some data points the campaign highlighted include that, across all three states, a majority of voters believe the country is on the wrong track, disapprove of Trump's handling of the job, and support Medicare for All — a platform that's becoming increasingly popular among Democratic presidential candidates.
The three states were key to Trump's 2016 victory. Before Trump’s success there, the last time a Republican presidential candidate had won any of those states was 1988.
Sanders' allies believe his message on economic equality helps him connect to the kinds of blue-collar voters that Democrats lost in 2016. Earlier this month, the senator went on a four-day road trip through the Midwest, highlighting his general-election focus on the region.
https://www.nbcnews.com/card/sanders-releases-internal-poll-showing-lead-over-trump-pa-wi-n997281
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5974060-Tulchin-Research-Memo-Sanders-Defeating-Trump-in.html
🌎 This Earth Day, I Believe Bernie Sanders Has Our Back on Climate Change
In an op-ed, climate activist and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatle Martinez explains why he supports Bernie Sanders’s 2020 campaign.
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
APRIL 22, 2019 1:03 PM
Excerpts:
In the scramble for Democratic presidential hopefuls to hop on the sustainability train, the guy who’s been there all along remains the top choice for my generation. Unlike most politicians, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has created a political space that authentically includes and respects the voices and participation of young people. He doesn’t treat us like our opinions and our work are less valuable because we haven’t lived as long, or write us off like most politicians because we don’t vote at as high a rate as our elders.
In December of last year, Sanders invited me to speak at a town hall called “Solving the Climate Crisis.” A panel of Sanders, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, actress and activist Shailene Woodley, and CNN commentator Van Jones welcomed panelists like myself and then-Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to break down the climate solutions our nation needs. When it came time to introduce me, Sanders said, “Of all of the generations out there who are helping us to lead the fight against climate change, it is clear that it is the young people who are in the forefront.” He gets it.
Recently, Bernie 2020’s organizing department brought on Becca Rast and Yong Jung Cho as National Field Director and Constituency Organizing Director, two powerful leaders in campus organizing for divestment from fossil fuels. These were the students that helped launch this powerful movement that has successfully moved more than 1,000 institutions managing $8 trillion in wealth away from fossil fuels and pushed more than 58,000 individual people to divest from fossil fuels.
Now we’re taking our fight to the courts, where I and 20 other young people are suing the US government for knowingly contributing to our climate crisis for over 50 years. If we win, it will force the US government to enact a climate recovery plan. Sanders has our back on this one, too.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/climate-activist-xiuhtezcatl-martinez-earth-day-op-ed-bernie-sanders-climate-change/amp
Harvard Institute of Politics Youth Poll Spring 2019 - Bernie Sanders 29%
If the Democratic primary for President were held today, which one of the following
candidates would be your FIRST CHOICE? (n=1,534) All Likely Voters All Others
Bernie Sanders............................................... 29% 29% 28%
Joe Biden ....................................................... 18% 21% 13%
Beto O’Rourke............................................... 8% 10% 4%
Kamala Harris................................................ 5% 5% 3%
Elizabeth Warren ........................................... 3% 4% 1%
Cory Booker .................................................. 2% 3% 2%
Andrew Yang................................................. 2% 1% 2%
https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/spring-2019-poll
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https://iop.harvard.edu/about/newsletter-press-release/institute-politics-co-host-cnn-town-hall-featuring-five-democratic
https://twitter.com/harvardiop/status/1120266293230415873
JUST OUT: Larry Sanders on his brother Bernie's campaign
https://twitter.com/josiahmortimer/status/1119169313875857408You must get asked a lot about Bernie, but how do think the campaign is doing?
He’s doing very well. It’s Bernard versus everybody. Elizabeth Warren is a strong candidate [but] besides her I don’t think anyone is serious. In America the Green New Deal is very big. [Also] very big is the health system which is such a disaster.
On health care, they’re all fudging. They’re all drifting towards maintaining private insurance. And the private insurance system makes it impossible to have a good health system. It absorbs such a vast amount of money. Americans are already spending more than they need to for a good health service on a crappy health service. So they could very easily make the change in terms of money. They’re lucky in that.
There’s hundreds of billions being poured into pockets – it has no economic or health function whatsoever. I don’t think anyone has beaten that quantity of money. The whole industry goes. It’s useless, unnecessary, and it will go –I don’t think any of the other [candidates] will stand up to it. So he’s doing very well, but the battle is only just commencing.
Will you go out to campaign for him?
I’ll be out there, yes, whether I’ll be campaigning or drifting around I don’t know.
Do you speak to him a lot?
We used to speak very regularly, but now he’s so all over the country. He used to have his Sundays free. But he doesn’t have any more. But we stay in pretty good contact.
The Housing Crisis - The Sanders Institute Gathering 2018
At the Sanders Institute Gathering, Senator Bernie Sanders, actor and activist Danny Glover, CEO of Champlain Housing Trust, Brenda Torpy and President & Founder of Healthy Housing Foundation, Michael Weinstein sat down to talk about the housing crisis in America.
We are the wealthiest country in the world. We spend seven hundred billion dollars on the military. We just gave a trillion dollars tax break to the top 1% and have spent trillions bailing out Wall Street. Clearly, there is no lack of resources to address the housing crisis. This is a lack of political will. And this is something we must change.
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