Bernie Sanders Just Changed the Democratic Party

After a remarkable night in Iowa, one that served as a rebuke to Donald Trump and to the opinion pollsters, the Democratic Party was faced with the prospect of confronting a youthful and articulate Republican candidate come November: Senator Marco Rubio, who finished a strong third in the G.O.P. caucus, behind Ted Cruz and Trump. Before then, though, Democrats have some messy internal business to deal with: Bernie Sanders, promoting an American version of “people power,” has confirmed his capture of the Party’s under-forty wing, which means trouble for Hillary Clinton.

Strictly speaking, the Democratic caucus finished in a dead heat. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, with ninety-nine per cent of the precincts having reported, the delegate count was six hundred and sixty-five for Clinton, and six hundred and sixty-two for Sanders. (For some reason, the Democrats release only their delegate counts, not the number of votes cast for each candidate.) In terms of percentages, it was 49.8 per cent to 49.6 per cent, which rounds up to fifty-fifty. Barring something unforeseen, Iowa’s forty-four delegates to the Democratic National Convention will be equally divided.

...

The age gap between Clinton supporters and Sanders supporters was huge. According to the entrance polls, which wrongly predicted a Clinton victory, Sanders got eighty-six per cent of the Democratic vote in the seventeen-to-twenty-four age group, eighty-one per cent in the twenty-five-to-twenty-nine group, and sixty-five per cent in the thirty-to-thirty-nine age group. Clinton, by contrast, was largely reliant on the middle-aged and the elderly. Among forty-something voters, she won by five percentage points. Among the over-fifties, she won by more than twenty per cent.

In this most consequential of elections, one song says it ALL

"Which Side Are You On?" is a song written in 1931 by Florence Reece, the wife of Sam Reece, a union organizer for the United Mine Workers in Harlan County, Kentucky. In 1931, the miners and the mine owners of that region were locked in a bitter and violent struggle (called the Harlan County War). In an attempt to intimidate the Reece family, Sheriff J. H. Blair and his men (hired by the mining company) illegally entered their family home in search of Sam Reece. Sam had been warned in advance and escaped, but Florence and their children were terrorized in his place. That night, after the men had gone, Florence wrote the lyrics to "Which Side Are You On?" on a calendar that hung in the kitchen of her home. She took the melody from a traditional Baptist hymn, "Lay the Lily Low", or the traditional ballad "Jack Munro".

Reece supported a second wave of miner strikes circa 1973, as recounted in the documentary Harlan County USA. She and others performed "Which Side Are You On?" a number of times throughout. Reece recorded the song later in life, and it can be heard on the album Coal Mining Women.

The song is referred to by Bob Dylan in the song "Desolation Row". It was also the inspiration for the title of Alessandro Portelli's 2011 book on Harlan County's coal mining community.

You know why I will forever use the name Mrs. Greenspan instead of Andrea Mitchell?

because it takes too long to write the accurate description: Andrea Mitchell, wife of disgraced Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, the man who was at the center of the massive deregulation and bailouts of Wall Street.

So everything she reports on that deals with Wall Street power, corruption, money in politics, she should clearly state that she is representing her husband's interests, which she has shown over and over again that she does, in fact, serve as an agent of the .01%

Shane Bauer, Former US Prisoner in Iran, Spars with Hillary Clinton

On Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on her calls for fresh sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile tests. Tapper read out tweets by American journalist and former Iran prisoner Shane Bauer criticizing Clinton’s comments. "When I was in prison in Iran, whenever I heard Hillary’s voice, my heart would sink," Bauer wrote. "All she ever does with Iran is inflame tensions." In response, Clinton said while she "appreciate[s] what he went through … we have a very clear path we are pursuing with Iran," that includes new sanctions, if necessary. Bauer joins us to respond.

Go To He11 Andrea Mitchell

Bernie just pwned you just like he pwned your husband.

Who is going to be Bernie's VP pick?

I would like to see Barbara Lee on the ticket.

BREAKING: Eric Holder endorses Hillary

How do you feel about that?

Personally, I have the giggles.

Illinois considers allowing recall attempts of Chicago mayor

Who would you want to pick Supreme Court nominees for the next 8 years?

A. Hillary Clinton

B. Bernie Sanders



PS - Does Debbie Wasserman Schultz possess the necessary qualifications to serve on the SC? Just askin'