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HerbChestnut
HerbChestnut's Journal
HerbChestnut's Journal
November 29, 2017
Highly doubtful Republicans will vote for this, but it's what the island needs. Also nice to see the Virgin Islands are included.
Bernie and several Democrats will unveil a "Marshal Plan" for Puerto Rico on Tuesday
On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will unveil an ambitious $146 billion Puerto Rico recovery plan he says will allow renewable power sources such as solar and wind to provide about 70 percent of the islands energy needs within the decade.
The bill, which has the backing of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, also calls on Congress to consider retiring Puerto Ricos debt and would give the island billions in additional federal funding for transportation, health care and education in the hopes of stemming a feared mass exodus to the mainland. It would also allocate funds to the Virgin Islands, which were similarly devastated by Hurricane Maria.
This is the closest we have to a Marshall Plan for Puerto Rico, said Ramón Luis Nieves, a former member of the Senate of Puerto Rico who has testified to Congress about the hurricanes impacts.
Highly doubtful Republicans will vote for this, but it's what the island needs. Also nice to see the Virgin Islands are included.
November 16, 2017
Story continues...
Tim Kaine calls for eliminating superdelegates
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/15/tim-kaine-end-superdelegates-244944Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine is urging the Democratic National Committee to end its tradition of using superdelegates, which activists say diminish the influence of regular voters at the expense of party bigwigs in the presidential nominating process.
"I have long believed there should be no superdelegates. These positions are given undue influence in the popular nominating contest and make the process less democratic, Kaine wrote in a letter Wednesday to DNC chairman Tom Perez, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.
The plea from Kaine himself a former DNC chairman, Hillary Clintons 2016 running mate, and a superdelegate puts him on the side of many backers of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clintons primary opponent in last years race for the White House. Under the current system, elected officials and influential party members get to cast a vote for their preferred presidential candidate with extra weight, regardless of how their state or district votes during the primary.
Pointing to the ongoing work of the Unity Reform Commission appointed last year to review and change the DNCs nominating process, Kaine urged the group to recommend doing away with the superdelegate system altogether, and by extension encouraged Perez to adopt that proposal.
"I have long believed there should be no superdelegates. These positions are given undue influence in the popular nominating contest and make the process less democratic, Kaine wrote in a letter Wednesday to DNC chairman Tom Perez, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.
The plea from Kaine himself a former DNC chairman, Hillary Clintons 2016 running mate, and a superdelegate puts him on the side of many backers of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clintons primary opponent in last years race for the White House. Under the current system, elected officials and influential party members get to cast a vote for their preferred presidential candidate with extra weight, regardless of how their state or district votes during the primary.
Pointing to the ongoing work of the Unity Reform Commission appointed last year to review and change the DNCs nominating process, Kaine urged the group to recommend doing away with the superdelegate system altogether, and by extension encouraged Perez to adopt that proposal.
Story continues...
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