August 9, 2019

Politico: Tulsi Gabbard's daredevil act

Not a puff piece, but not a hit job either. She addresses Trojan horse accusations at the end (bolded). In respect of the DU rule I included only the last 4 paragraphs:
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By CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO, ERIN DURKIN and DANIEL STRAUSS 08/08/2019 05:02 AM EDT

With her attack on Kamala Harris and defense of Joe Biden, the Hawaii congresswoman is stoking speculation about her endgame.

(snip)

In the lead-up to the most recent debate, Gabbard hinted that she would criticize Harris but not Biden, unlike other Democrats. Gabbard also said that Harris’ criticism of Biden’s positions on busing for desegregation was really “a false accusation that Biden is a racist.” A spokesman for Biden’s campaign declined to comment on Gabbard. On Wednesday, Gabbard was at a co-working space in Manhattan with more than 100 supporters. The focus was on her presidential campaign, and some were wearing leis and chanting “Tulsi.”

Gabbard still needs to register at least 2 percent in three more polls to make the next debate. So she’s been instructing her supporters to answer calls from unknown numbers in the unlikely case they are from a pollster. Mixed in with her talk about the need to end costly regime-change wars and stand up to powerful interests, hallmarks of her speeches, Gabbard alluded to the heat she's gotten since the debate.

“It is about the truth and speaking truth to power. It’s amazing how power reacts to the truth,” she said at the New York gathering.“Because what happened after last Wednesday night? Was the truth responded to with facts, substance or issues?” Urged on by the crowd, she summed up her view of the backlash: “Smears.” “They responded by calling you a puppet of Assad,” a supporter cried out.

Also "smeared," said Gabbard, were Iraq War opponents in the post-9/11 era. “It’s popular today to say, ‘Yes of course I was against the war in Iraq.’ It’s an easy thing for politicians to say today. But what about standing up courageously and speaking against the regime-change wars that are happening today?” she asked. “The gall that these people have now today to try to smear me and tell me that I don’t love my country, that I’m a Trojan horse for some foreign country, that I’m a Russian, whatever you want to call it," she added. The suggestion "that my oath and loyalties lie anywhere but to the country and to the people I have sworn to put my life on the line for is offensive.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/08/tulsi-gabbard-kamala-harris-2020-1452578

July 30, 2019

MSNBC - Biden takes huge lead with black and white voters

This appears to be a Morning Joe segment:
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July 30, 2019

Joe Biden is enjoying a huge lead among white and black voters following the first Democratic debate, according to new Quinnipiac Poll numbers. Also, Steve Kornacki discusses his new research on the history of the black vote.

https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/biden-takes-huge-lead-with-black-and-white-voters-64872517926
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Go Joe!

July 29, 2019

NYT Opinion: Kamala Harris Was Not a 'Progressive Prosecutor'

This is a paywalled article by professor Lara Bazelon that appeared in the New York Times on Jan. 17, 2019. NYT: "Ms. Bazelon is a law professor and the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles." To respect the DU rule I selected four out of two dozen paragraphs:

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Time after time, when progressives urged her to embrace criminal justice reforms as a district attorney and then the state’s attorney general, Ms. Harris opposed them or stayed silent. Most troubling, Ms. Harris fought tooth and nail to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct that included evidence tampering, false testimony and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors.

Consider her record as San Francisco’s district attorney from 2004 to 2011. Ms. Harris was criticized in 2010 for withholding information about a police laboratory technician who had been accused of “intentionally sabotaging” her work and stealing drugs from the lab. After a memo surfaced showing that Ms. Harris’s deputies knew about the technician’s wrongdoing and recent conviction, but failed to alert defense lawyers, a judge condemned Ms. Harris’s indifference to the systemic violation of the defendants’ constitutional rights. Ms. Harris contested the ruling by arguing that the judge, whose husband was a defense attorney and had spoken publicly about the importance of disclosing evidence, had a conflict of interest. Ms. Harris lost. More than 600 cases handled by the corrupt technician were dismissed.

(snip)

Ms. Harris was similarly regressive as the state’s attorney general. When a federal judge in Orange County ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional in 2014, Ms. Harris appealed. In a public statement, she made the bizarre argument that the decision “undermines important protections that our courts provide to defendants.” (The approximately 740 men and women awaiting execution in California might disagree).

(snip)

And then there’s Kevin Cooper, the death row inmate whose trial was infected by racism and corruption. He sought advanced DNA testing to prove his innocence, but Ms. Harris opposed it. (After The New York Times’s exposé of the case went viral, she reversed her position.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html
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There are more examples but basically it boils down to Harris consistently taking positions that were politically convenient rather than progressive or just, including her defense of the death penalty. Also regarding Kevin Cooper: Bazelon mentioned in her NPR "On the Media" segment that Harris refused to allow exculpatory DNA testing until Jerry Brown finally intervened at the end of his term to allow it. And by that time she was out of office.

Note to jury: this is an New York Times op-ed, not a RW source, and the professor makes her case based on facts from a progressive point-of-view. There is nothing RW or defamatory about it.

July 21, 2019

Harris ally says she's running as an "aspirational figure," the rest is "just politics"

from The Hill, BY MAX GREENWOOD AND JONATHAN EASLEY - 07/20/19:

“I think her statements, campaign are smoke and mirrors,” said Dick Harpootlian, a Biden campaign surrogate and the former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. “As the campaign wears on and as she’s pressed to prove details, I think she’s going to find herself realizing this isn’t a campaign for attorney general of California. This is a presidential campaign, and what you say has to be verifiable, and so far it has not been.”

Harris’s allies roll their eyes at such criticisms, saying her rivals are playing an insider game of trying to pin her down on obscure matters that ordinary Americans don’t care anything about.

They say Harris is resonating with voters as an aspirational figure — a woman of color who rose to attorney general of California and a U.S. senator — not because of policy minutiae.

“People are responding to her for who she is and what she says about the future,” said Marguerite Willis, a Harris supporter and former Democratic candidate for governor in South Carolina.

“She talks about the promise of expanding health care, of better race relations, of taking care of our teachers, of getting our terrible gun problem under control. That’s what people are looking for, and that’s what she speaks about on the stump with eloquence and believability. The rest of it is just politics.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/453962-harris-faces-pressure-to-define-policy-proposals
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That's been my impression also. But is that enough to win a primary race in California, or any other state?

July 20, 2019

Morning Consult: The 10 Most Popular and Unpopular Senators (includes 3 Dem primary candidates):

From Wednesday. Apparently it polls constituents, not nationally, and is released quarterly. 2 Dem candidates made it to the top 10 most popular, Sanders and Klobuchar, and one to the top 10 least popular, Warren. Make of it what you will:
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"On a daily basis, Morning Consult is surveying over 5,000 registered voters across the United States on their senators":

The 10 Most Popular Senators:

1 - Angus King (I - ME)
62%
28%

2 - Bernie Sanders (I - VT)
62%
32%

3 - Patrick Leahy (D - VT)
61%
24%

4 - John Hoeven (R - ND)
57%
22%

5 - John Barrasso (R - WY)
57%
26%

6 - Amy Klobuchar (D - MN)
56%
30%

7 - Michael Enzi (R - WY)
54%
25%

8 - John Thune (R - SD)
54%
32%

9 - Jeanne Shaheen (D - NH)
54%
34%

10 - Ed Markey (D - MA)
53%
23%
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The 10 Most Unpopular Senators:

1 - Mitch McConnell (R - KY)
36%
50%

2 - Susan Collins (R - ME)
45%
48%

3 - Bob Menendez (D - NJ)
34%
42%

4 - Joe Manchin (D - WV)
45%
42%

5 - Elizabeth Warren (D - MA)
49%
41%

6 - Lisa Murkowski (R - AK)
41%
40%

7 - Jon Tester (D - MT)
47%
40%

8 - Roy Blunt (R - MO)
37%
39%

9 - Rand Paul (R - KY)
40%
39%

10 - Chuck Grassley (R - IA)
44%
39%

https://morningconsult.com/senator-rankings-q2-19-2/

July 18, 2019

Economist/YouGov: Biden leads field by 8 points, followed by Warren and Sanders

The Hill - BY REBECCA KLAR - 07/17/19 04:17 PM EDT


Former Vice President Joe Biden holds an 8-point lead over Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the latest Economist/YouGov poll released Wednesday.

It’s a 3-point increase in Biden’s lead over Warren compared to the Economist/YouGov poll released last week, with Biden’s support increasing 1 point, from 22 percent to 23 percent, and Warren’s dropping 2 points, from 17 percent to 15 percent.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) closely trails Warren with 13 percent, a 2-point uptick from Sanders’ support in last week’s poll.

Sanders pulled ahead of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), after trailing her by 4 points in last week’s survey.

Harris’ support dropped from 14 percent to 10 percent, knocking her into the fourth place spot based on Wednesday’s poll results.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/453575-poll-biden-leads-2020-democratic-field-by-8-points-followed-by-warren-and

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July 16, 2019

Biden's health care plan is a potent weapon against Trump

Yahoo Finance, July 15, 2019:

Joe Biden can now tell voters he wants to fix the health care system without blowing up what works.



Biden, the front-runner among Democratic presidential candidates, unveiled a health care plan on July 15 that would keep private insurance in place and offer Americans a new “public option” if they wanted it. It’s a repudiation of the “Medicare for all” plan favored by Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and others, which would end employer-provided coverage and force everybody into a government plan.

Biden’s plan would let anybody buy into a new public plan, similar to Medicare, with subsidies for lower-income people. It would also tweak the Affordable Care Act by offering new financial assistance for families who earn too much to qualify for aid under the current program. But if both programs were in place, the new public option might eventually become more appealing and subsume the ACA.

(snip)

Overall, the Biden health care plan would cost about $75 billion per year, which Biden would pay for be repealing some of the Trump tax cuts for high earners and raising the capital-gains tax rate. . . . But the Biden plan is more realistic than Medicare for all, which would move 150 million people out of employer-provided plans most enrollees like, and force them into a government plan. If Biden ends up as the Democratic nominee, his health care plan could provide a big advantage over President Donald Trump—who doesn’t have a health care plan.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bidens-health-care-plan-is-a-potent-weapon-against-trump-174042533.html

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and that's how we're gonna win this one!

July 15, 2019

Biden proposes massive new Obamacare subsidies, public option in health care plan

Mon July 15, 2019:

(CNN) Joe Biden is proposing massive new subsidies to make health coverage through Obamacare's exchanges cheaper -- as well as a new "public option" that would allow people to buy into a program his campaign says would be similar to Medicare.

The former vice president unveiled his health care plan Monday morning amid an escalating fight with his 2020 Democratic presidential foes as some more liberal candidates advocate enrolling all Americans in a national health plan, all but eliminating private health insurance.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to deliver a speech making his case for "Medicare for All" on Wednesday, according to his campaign. And California Sen. Kamala Harris, who has similarly backed a single-payer, government-run health program, teased the upcoming rollout of her plan in front of a crowd in New Hampshire on Sunday, too.

Biden, meanwhile, is pushing for a more moderate approach, built on former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. "We should not be starting from scratch. We should be building from what we have. There's no time to wait," Biden told an audience in Dover, New Hampshire, on Friday.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/politics/joe-biden-health-care-plan-obamacare-public-option/index.html
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And the battle to save the ACA is joined . . .

July 14, 2019

Biden: 'Occupation is a real problem'

Arutz Sheva Staff, 14/07/19 00:36

"The settlements are unnecessary", Joe Biden told a rally participant, "The only answer is two state solution"

During one of the recent election rallies, a Jewish activist approached US presidential candidate Joe Biden and said: "I'm an American jew, who is very concerned about what Netanyahu's government is doing to Palestinians currently".

Biden answered briefly: "There's no answer but a two state solution".

The young man continued and asked: "I am wondering if you think that the occupation is a human rights crisis, and if you'll pressure Israel when you're president"

"The answer is I think the settlements are unnecessary", Biden answered, "The only answer is two state solution, number one. Number two: the Palestinians have to step up to stop the hate. So, it's a two way street".

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265917

July 12, 2019

Biden promises to end 'forever wars' as president

?uuid=16e88cee-a40f-11e9-99c6-9c8e992d421e

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden promised on Thursday to end “forever wars” and reassert American leadership to combat authoritarianism and global instability he says are proliferating under President Donald Trump.

Biden outlined his foreign policy vision in a speech in New York, indicting Trump’s “America first” approach as belligerent, short-sighted, incompetent and ultimately threatening to U.S. interests and democracy across the world.

“The world’s democracies look to America to stand for the values that unite us. ... Donald Trump seems to be on the other team,” Biden said, hammering the president for “embracing dictators who appeal to his vanity” and emboldening a worldwide rise of nationalism, xenophobia and isolationism.

(snip)

Biden emphasized the urgency for U.S-led global alliances to combat the climate crisis, forge new trade agreements to create a more even international economy and to recommit to nuclear proliferation. If the U.S. doesn’t lead those efforts, Biden said, “rest assured, some nation will step into the vacuum — or no one will, and chaos will prevail.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/joe-biden-promises-to-end-forever-wars-as-president-2019-07-11