Bernie Sanders Sayings #sanders

As Vermont's senator and a member of the Budget Committee, I will not support a plan to reduce the deficit that does not call for shared sacrifice.

Bernie Sanders roars into March 15 Primaries #sanders

Here are the latest Democratic Primary polls by state from late Monday afternoon:

Quinnipiac - Ohio

     Sanders-46%
     Clinton-51%

Quinnipiac - Florida

     Sanders-34%
     Clinton-60%

CBS -Illinois

     Sanders-48%
     Clinton-46%

Public Policy Polling - Missouri

     Sanders-47%
     Clinton-46%

Huff Post - No. Carolina

     Sanders 34.6%
     Clinton-54.8%

Bernie Sanders leads in Illinois (Clinton's home state-does that tell you something?) and Missouri, not a big one but a lead is a lead. He is close in Ohio (5 points) but still has work to do in Florida and No. Carolina. From here we are on to Arizona, Idaho and Utah for March 22. More on that later.

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Bernie Sanders Sayings #sanders

There must be a major economic recovery package which puts Americans to work at decent wages.

David Axelrod chides Hillary Clinton on misleading comment in Flint, Michigan debate #sanders

David Axelrod was a senior adviser to President Barack Obama when Bernie Sanders supposedly voted against the "auto bailout bill," according to Hillary Clinton. Not so says Axelrod. To begin with it wasn't an auto bailout bill, rather an extremely unpopular Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) -- the emergency funding requested by the Bush administration to help stabilize reeling banks and financial institutions.

Bernie was against this as he has said repeatedly during his candidacy.

Axelrod continued, "It was true that the TARP funding financed small bridge loans to help Chrysler and General Motors survive temporarily and give the new administration a few months to decide if and how the iconic companies could be saved." Clinton purposely turned this into a Sanders "vote against the auto industry bailout." She later qualified her statement, sorta, but continued to confuse the two programs with no real clarification.

Obama's former adviser says he understands why Clinton would be reluctant to identify the bill she supported and Sanders was against because TARP was and is one of the most rejected bills to ever come out of the Congress. Apparently Axelrod pissed off some Clinton supporters doing this because in actuality TARP did eventually provide the much needed funds to save the auto industry.

It's just the way she went about the whole thing in the implication that made Bernie Sanders look like the bad guy and Hillary Clinton the good girl. But apparently it didn't work. The Bern came from a 20-point deficit to win the Michigan primary. He plans to do the same thing in Ohio and Illinois.

FLASH: Bernie Sanders surges in Illinois polls #sanders

Just heard from the Bern and the forces are rallying around him again providing new poll results in Illinois whose primary is next Tuesday:

NBC News - Illinois - 3/13

Hillary Clinton: 51%

Bernie Sanders: 45%

Only just recently his campaign was down 19, 42, and 37 points. Join the momentum now...donate to Bernie Sanders today.

  

Is Hillary Clinton flustered over Bernie Sanders continued campaign success? #sanders

Bernie Sanders feels that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, is upset over his ability to keep winning primaries...like coming from behind in Michigan (20 points) for a solid win. He doesn't say but implies that momentum in the campaign has always been on his side. As a matter of fact it seems that most of the strategy of Clinton's candidacy has been to stop the Bern's momentum. In other words, one would have to say that much of the time she is fighting back from behind.

Surprises like Michigan, if played over in states like Ohio, Florida and Illinois, or any one of the three, could throw Hillary Clinton's campaign completely off balance. She started with the notion that Bernie Sanders was only a flash in the pan but quickly learned that he could become a formidable opponent. He did. Many asked even then if he could continue his early successes. He did. So Hillary has every reason to be nervous going into next Tuesday's primaries.

Hillary Clinton steps up BS on Bernie Sanders record #sanders

I just got an email from Bernie Sanders that points out the stepped up distortions Hillary Clinton is making on his past record. Read the following quote taken from a Washington Post article:

"But it's striking that, as Clinton has doubled down on the attacks, she has with some regularity played pretty fast and loose with the facts.

"She'll take a vote Sanders has made during his 25 years in Congress and gloss over most, if not all, of the details about it. The result is a carefully worded insinuation or even outright accusation that Sanders has voted against his base on everything from immigration to the auto bailout to fossil fuels."

This is a mark of a running-scared campaign that has been completely diverted from the issues to attempt to stave off the recent surges in the Bern's campaign...like his coming from behind (20 points) and winning Michigan. Something he plans to do again in Ohio and Illinois.

Coming tomorrow, David Axelrod faults Hillary Clinton for doing the very same thing as above in the Michigan debate, this time re. Bernie's vote on the TARP bill/Auto Bail Out.

FLASH: Bernie Sanders wins right to 17-year-old vote in Ohio #sanders

If you're 18 on election day Nov. 8, 17-year-olds are eligible to vote in the Ohio primary on March 15. "Franklin County Judge Richard Frye determined that Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, erred when he ordered that Ohioans who are currently 17 but will be 18 on Election Day in November not be allowed to vote in the presidential primaries," according to CNN. The decision was legally challenged by Bernie Sanders and overturned.

This age is an important demographic for the Bern improving his chances of pulling off a Michigan upset here. Along with the fact that Clinton's black support dropped before the Motor City election, the Sander's team hopes for more of the same. Demographics in the two states are very similar, and Bernie bases his new-found success on the fact that the black community, formerly in Clinton's court, are learning more about him and changing their minds.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

American democracy is not about billionaires being able to buy candidates and elections. It is one person, one vote - with every citizen having an equal say - and no voter suppression.

Voter ignorance explains an impotent Congress

First, let's establish the fact that election spending by candidates is completely out of hand. According to an opinion piece in U.S. News by Anthony Gaughan, "The 2012 election set an all-time record of $7 billion in campaign spending, and the 2016 election is projected to far surpass that figure." 2000 was $3 billion+, 2008 cost over $5 billion with the 2004 election $4 billion. So you can see it's not all the fault of Citizens United.

But it isn't all this money that causes the problem, muses Gaughan, "...It's what too many Americans don't know and won't bother to learn." The last part, "won't bother to learn," really bothers me. The fact is pathetic but true and is the primary reason morons like Donald Trump lead the GOP slate of presidential candidates. I have talked to people who admit they aren't up on the issues and my gut tells me they are just waiting for someone to tell them who to vote for.

This ignorance carries over to things like not even knowing who the Vice president is, which puts that individual in the third grade, or less, as far as their political education goes. Gaughan reasons there are two major reasons for this onslaught of ignorance. First, interest in the news has dwindled. Two, because of the enormous cut back in education spending throughout the U.S., less attention is paid to civics, history and world affairs.

Ask an average American who won the Academy Awards and they can probably tell you. Ask them who their local Congress person is and they are stumped for an answer. So when they are told by some Super Pac to vote for XYZ because ABC is a fraud, they do it. Or some blow-hard gets in front of them espousing hate and fear, they believe him or her. Ignorance of politics should be a crime like ignorance of the law is. 

Bernie Sanders Sayings

You go to Scandinavia, and you will find that people have a much higher standard of living, in terms of education, health care and decent paying jobs.

The Super Delegates will be there

Bernie Sanders said today his lack of super delegates to date didn't worry him because the states involved heavily favored Hillary Clinton. He was more concerned about those states to come in the West like California, Oregon and Washington. Through a little research I found that coming down the home stretch Hillary began to lose super delegates to Barack Obama in 2008, eventually losing the nomination to the current President.

It's a matter of choice, says Nate Silver in his FiveThirtyEight blog, commenting, "Superdelegates were created in part to give Democratic party elites the opportunity to put their finger on the scale..." Isn't this a part of Bernie Sander's promise to balance the inequality in the U.S.? As Silver also remarked, "If you’re a Sanders supporter, you might think this seems profoundly unfair. And you’d be right: It’s profoundly unfair."

Not being a Democrat, the Bern has no control over this process, but something tells me that somewhere in the future the Party will re-think this maneuver.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

The history of American democracy, to say the least, has been checkered. Our nation was founded at a time when people of African descent were held in bondage. After slavery was abolished, they were forced to endure legal discrimination for another 100 years.

Bernie Sanders winning in Michigan

Hillary Clinton won Mississippi but it does look very good for Bernie Sanders in Michigan, a much more important state. The Bern didn't expect to win much of the South and thankfully we have those states out of the way now. At this writing, Bernie led Hillary in Michigan 51% to 47%, 81% reporting. This will be a key win for Sanders for Michigan is a diverse state and the Detroit population, its largest city, is heavily black. 

Bernie S

Bernie Sanders Sayings

At its worst, Washington is a place where name-calling partisan politics too often trumps policy.

Bernie Sanders one-issue candidate...Don't think so

Hillary Clinton continues to call Bernie Sanders a one-issue candidate because of his focus on inequality. Just that one word alone suggests so many branches which include racism, poverty, education, medical care, and many others. It is possible that the Bern hasn't made the above clear, that all these other matters are covered under his umbrella issue of inequality. These categories occurred to me at the beginning of his campaign so it is possible Sanders took this for granted.

But Bernie went further in Ypsilanti, Michigan, broadening his reach beyond what appears to be on economics only by listing 20 issues during an hour-long speech to a crowd of 9,400 supporters proving his campaign is much more diverse than is painted by Clinton. Things like universal health care, minimum wage, the jail population, same-sex marriage, trade policy and more. You can see all twenty in the Washington Post article.

FLASH: Bernie's new Michigan poll numbers

Just heard from the Bern and Michigan State University just released their final poll before tomorrow’s primary:

Michigan State University Poll - Michigan (March 7, 2016)

Hillary Clinton 52%

Bernie Sanders 47%

As late as last week Bernie Sanders trailed Hillary Clinton by 20 points. Some are even saying he could win the state of Michigan.

Go Bernie!

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Public vs. private healthcare by country

People don't trust private health insurance companies for all the right reasons.

Hillary Clinton's "inevitability" is pure bunk

Hillary Clinton said following Super Tuesday results that it was inevitable that she win the Democratic nomination. Sure, and I'm going to be her vice president. Okay, she picked up eight states, six of which were in the South, thus, a win from the black vote. Although Bernie Sanders won only four states, they are more representative of what most of the rest of the country is like: Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and his home state of Vermont.

Much of this reasoning comes from the early results of Iowa and New Hampshire; the former a tie and the latter a blow out for the Bern. Finally getting around to the April primaries, Clinton takes the lead in most but in two states Sanders runs a close second: Wisconsin, Clinton 45%-Sanders 43% and Rhode Island, 49% to 40%. The others are going to take some work. Now, in a recent analysis, Bernie is capturing some of Hillary's Hispanic supporters.

“Latinos will play a pivotal role in Sen. Sanders’ path to victory in important states like Arizona, Illinois, New York, California and Florida," says Arturo Carmona, Sanders’ deputy political director in an MSNBC article. The Bern won big in Colorado where the Hispanic population is 20.7%. So tracking these five states, Latino numbers are Arizona 29.6%, Illinois 15.8, New York 17.5, Calif. 37.6 and Florida 22.5.

When you add the Millennials to the above, on which Bernie Sanders has a lock, the same states in the same order show the following younger population: Arizona 36.2%, Illinois, 37%, New York 37.4 %, Calif. 38.7% and Florida 34.4%. In 2012 54.9% of the voting age population voted so it is easy to come up with the numbers from the latter percentages. These figures are important in determining Bernie's chances of receiving the Democratic nomination.

But the obvious from all of this is that Hillary Clinton's nomination is not "inevitable" and she and her staff know it. What is inevitable is a long fight where the odds are clearly in favor of the Bern. This is supported by the fact that I reported on Feb. 19, that his surge continued with national polls jumping 14 points against Hillary Clinton in just one month. Will the Clinton camp still be saying the same thing when Bernie passes Hillary in the polls? I think not.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

CEOs of large corporations earn 400 times what their workers make. That is not what America is supposed to be about.

Shouldn't we listen to Vermont to tell us about Bernie Sanders?

Bernie Sanders Vermont shop tattoo

Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane came home to some 4,000 screaming supporters congratulating him on his Super Tuesday success. And rightfully so since he carried the four most diverse states. And the Bern won 86% of the Vermont vote yielding all 16 of the state's delegates. Who in this country knows Bernie Sanders better than the people of Vermont? This man wins elections by tripling his opponents' vote.

From Mayor of Burlington to the U.S. Senate, Sarah A., a 10th-generation Burlingtonian said, “He put us on the map for more than just weed and Ben and Jerry’s.” The Revolution started in Burlington, and Rebecca Haslam exclaimed, now “We are at ground zero of the political revolution.” Poetry professor at the University of Vermont who co-wrote Sanders’ autobiography commented,
“He has been dramatically important to the redefinition of the state.”

It is true that Vermont is a "tiny homogeneous state" almost all white but since starting his campaign, the Bern has shown the he can understand the problems of the black and Hispanic populations. His background in civil rights is not to be questioned. Besides, if you have the passionate urge to help people, all people, like Bernie Sanders does, and have 30 years in government experience to back it up, it would be hard to vote for anyone else for President. Right?

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Minimum wage McDonald's

The minimum wage in Denmark is about twice that of the United States, and people who are totally out of the labor market or unable to care for themselves have a basic income guarantee of about $100 per day.

The Bern collected some good Super Tuesday numbers

Not as much as we wanted but certainly an amount that shows Bernie Sanders is still solidly in the race for President. Sanders has 394 delegates or 16.5% of those needed. Clinton has 577 or 24.2%. What you have to consider looking at these figures is that the numbers include six states with reasonably heavy black populations: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

With a more diversified profile in states like Colorado, Minnesota and Oklahoma Bernie did well; and of course in his home state of Vermont.

In yesterday's blog I covered states in the balance of March including Nebraska, Maine, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, No. Carolina, Arizona and Washington state. The states encompass 960 delegates. Based on past results along with Super Tuesday, some recent polling and general analysis, I think the Bern will collect 323 new delegates. With the 386 he now has that is a new total of 709. That will give Clinton 637 for a total through March of 1,214.

Understand, Bernie could do much better in the above states as his national polling improves and if his popularity within the Hispanic community continues to rise. Said I would get into April today but will start that tomorrow.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

For every $1 billion we invest in public transportation, we create 30,000 jobs, save thousands of dollars a year for each commuter, and dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Bernie Sanders beyond Super Tuesday

Nebraska caucus votes on March 5, with Bernie Sanders polling 66.52% and Hillary Clinton 33.68% as of March 1. There are 30 delegates. The Maine caucus votes on March 6, with no late polling available. There are 30 delegates. Michigan's primary is March and as of February 17, Hillary was ahead 10 points. There are 148 delegates. Florida's primary is March 15, with Clinton at 59%, Sanders 33%. There are 246 delegates.

The Illinois primary also March 15, finds Sanders trailing Clinton by 11 points. There are 182 delegates. Missouri the same day, no late data available. There are 84 delegates. Also March 15, North Carolina, where Clinton is at 52% to 35% but the race is tightening. There are 121 delegates. Arizona is March 22, with Clinton at 56.2%, Sanders 21.5%. There are 85 delegates. Washington state caucus isn't until March 26, with no meaningful polling numbers to date. There are 118 delegates.

These eight states are not all the primaries and caucuses being held through the month of March but those most likely to yield a significant number of delegates, win, lose or tie. Starting with April tomorrow.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

I think the overwhelming majority of the American people know that we have got to stand together, that we're going to grow together, that we're going to survive together, and that if we start splintering, we're not going to succeed in a highly competitive

Bernie Sanders Super Tuesday

In my post yesterday, I acknowledged that Bernie Sanders had hit his first bump with a loss to Hillary Clinton in the So. Carolina Primary. The loss was quickly qualified somewhat and you can read about it in the above link. What's important is that it is only a bump, and just another reason for you Progressives to come out and work that much harder for the Bern. Today is Super Tuesday and eleven states are in play. Here's the way I see it.

Based on the So. Carolina results, there are four Southern states that would be questionable due to their black population: Alabama 26.2%; Arkansas 30.9%; Georgia 30.5%; and Tennessee 16.7%. Total delegates 289. I am also dubious about Oklahoma, 42 delegates. These five states won't be a total loss and based on percentages (61 percent of voters in So, Carolina's primary identified as black) Sanders delegate count should be higher. So that leaves six states that really count.

In the remaining six states Bernie will compete for the Hispanic vote and the younger vote (age 18 to 44). Bernie carries the younger vote hands down and a recent study found the Latinos were slipping away from Clinton. In the Nevada Caucus the Bern took 53% of the Hispanic vote. In these six states, only two have a sizable Latino population, Colorado 20.7% and Texas 37.6%. The former younger group is 38%, the latter 38.4%, both significant amounts.

The balance of four states' younger populations is Massachusetts 36.8%, Minnesota 35.8%, Vermont 34% and Virginia 37.5%. Vermont with 26 delegates is solidly behind Sanders; Colorado with 79 delegates is about even, may be tilting toward Clinton; Massachusetts with 116 delegates in a recent poll shows Bernie with 42% of the vote, Hillary 50%, obviously needing some work; Minnesota with 93 delegates shows Clinton with a measurable lead but there are still those 35.8% younger voters to deal with.

This younger vote has come through for Bernie in Iowa and Vermont but wasn't enough in Nevada and So. Carolina. It is up to this group to come all out for Bernie Sanders today to give him a comfort level to continue the fight. It is up to you.

Should the Bern lag in some of the above, tying in others, and carrying where his strength is, beyond Super Tuesday looks encouraging. More on that tomorrow. 

Bernie Sanders Sayings

It is incomprehensible that drug companies still get away with charging Americans twice as much, or more, than citizens of Canada or Europe for the exact same drugs manufactured by the exact same companies. Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders really needs your support now because there's hope

Bernie Sanders took a hit in South Carolina with Hillary Clinton gleaning just over 73% of the vote to Bernie's 26%. But with significant qualification. 61 percent of voters in So, Carolina's primary identified as black, with only about 35 percent saying they were white; Almost 47% of So.Carolina's white population is older, a group which identifies with Clinton. And although Bernie captured the younger vote, even with blacks, the numbers just weren't there.

No excuses...we had all hoped and somewhat expected better for Sanders but it just didn't happen. So where do we go from here? Naysayers like Nate Silver's 538 are saying that So. Carolina is the beginning of the end for the Bern but he's never given him a chance from the beginning and look where the candidate has come from there. The delegate momentum in heavily on Hillary's side 544 to 85, most of which are super delegates.

If you count just pledged delegates, It's Sanders 65, Clinton 91, a reasonable margin considering the odds against Bernie. But let me explain the agenda behind super delegates that could be trouble for the Bern in the long haul. They can support whomever they want to and it is expected a number of them will simply follow party lines. Unless some of them switch their support before the convention, and they can because the commitment is not binding.

So it is yet again too early for the naysayers, as it has been now several times. In the last RealClearPolitics combined national polls for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, it was Bernie 42.2%, Hillary 47.2%, a gap of only 5%. And this included the Fox conservative poll. The Bern has shocked the media enough times already that they should have learned by now. But like the Fiddler on the Roof, it's "tradition." Tomorrow, what's ahead.

African-Americans should think twice before voting for Hillary Clinton-2

Bernie Sanders involved in civil rights in early years

In Michelle Alexander's The Nation article she said, They {the Clintons didn't take extreme political risks defending blacks, didn't fight right-wing demagoguery about the black communities, did not give black communities the hope they needed after industrialization devastation of their neighborhoods. In fact, the writer claims, they did just the opposite. And then I proceeded to separate Hillary from Bill's deeds...sort of.

But the connection continues. "...Clinton declared that 'the era of big government is over' and immediately sought to prove it by dismantling the federal welfare system known as Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC). Hillary Clinton supported this move and continued to call it a success as recently as 2008. Clinton said in one of the Democratic debates, “The economy does better when you have a Democrat in the White House.”

The above was said in reference to her husband’s record of lifting wages and creating jobs, both of which are in question when it comes to black communities. But for years these two have have been adored by African-Americans as if all during this time no one else has championed civil rights for blacks. Bernie Sanders has been working quietly all during this period and, of course, he is Hillary Clinton's opponent for the Democratic nomination.

Here are the Bern's accomplishments: In 1962 as a student at the University of Chicago, he was arrested for desegregation; He participated in the March on Washington;  Achieved high ratings from leading Civil Rights Organizations; Endorsed Jesse Jackson the first competitive black candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency; Strongly condemned police violence over the past year. There's much more and you can see it in the above link.

The point here is that Bernie Sanders doesn't just talk the talk, but he goes into the street to back up his words. That's why he deserves the nomination over Hillary Clinton.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

A growing number of communities do not trust the police. Law enforcement officers have become disconnected from the communities they are sworn to protect. Violence and brutality of any kind, particularly at the hands of the police meant to protect and serve our communities, is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. We need a societal transformation to make it clear that black lives matter and racism will not be accepted in a civilized country.

African-Americans should think twice before voting for Hillary Clinton

Rosa Parks famous bus ride

In The Nation, Michelle Alexander, an African American journalist, writes: "The Clinton's legacy has been the impoverishment of black America--so why are we still voting for them?" The article comes at a time when Hillary is using black Americans as her "firewall" again opponent Bernie Sanders, who also is proud of his civil rights background. And the South Carolina Primary February 27, will be the first battleground to test the mettle of both candidates before blacks.

"What have the Clintons done to earn such devotion?, Alexander asks. Her answer...Not take extreme political risks defending blacks, not fight right-wing demagoguery about the black communities, not give black communities the hope they needed after industrialization devastation of their neighborhoods. In fact, the writer claims, they did just the opposite. It is true Clinton should not be held accountable for what her husband's administration did. Or should she be?

Hillary Clinton supported Bill Clinton's 1994 crime bill using, "...racially coded rhetoric to cast black children as animals. 'They are not just gangs of kids anymore,' she said. 'They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.'” This kind of discourse is a far cry from what she is saying in South Carolina today.

And while on the recent campaign trail, "...she continues to invoke the economy and country that Bill Clinton left behind as a legacy she would continue."

Alexander goes on, "When Clinton left office in 2001, the true jobless rate for young, non-college-educated black men (including those behind bars) was 42 percent. This figure was never reported. Instead, the media claimed that unemployment rates for African Americans had fallen to record lows, neglecting to mention that this miracle was possible only because incarceration rates were now at record highs." Likely because of the 1994 crime bill Hillary supported.

More on this tomorrow, including Bernie Sanders record on civil rights.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

The cost of college education today is so high that many young people are giving up their dream of going to college, while many others are graduating deeply in debt.
 

How Bernie Sanders will pay for his programs

I have read several instances of where people have questioned how Bernie Sanders will pay for the free programs he is proposing, like college tuition, universal healthcare, expansion of Social Security and more. You can see a full explanation of all issues by the candidate here but let me cover the above three in this post. For those of you who follow the Bern, you probably know that his aspirations are quite lofty, but that he believes sincerely in his ability to reach for and attain these goals. And in each case he has a specific solution to fund each program.

What the general public has to understand--something Bernie's supporters already know--is that these reforms have been so long coming that the momentum of needed change is now on their side. The time has come to rid this country of the corporate and wealth control that has been building for so many years now. The people need America delivered back to them and this is exactly what Bernie Sanders plans to do. There will be a fight and ideologues like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, plus the bulk of the conservative right, will have to be dealt with. We can only hope the people will win.

First, free college tuition for all will cost around $75 billion a year. It will be paid for by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculators that would generate about $300 billion in revenue. See the link here for detailed information.

Second, healthcare coverage for every American, paid for by a 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers, a 2.2 percent income-based premium paid by households, progressive income tax rates, taxing capital gains and dividends the same as income from work, limiting tax deductions for the rich, adjusting the estate tax, and savings from health tax expenditures.

Three, the expansion of Social Security Paid for by lifting the tax on taxable income over $250,000 so that the wealthy pay the same percentage of their income into Social Security as working people. More information here.

A Bernie Sanders presidency will give us the chance to catch up with other Social Democracies around the world that already offer these programs to their people. But it is up to the people of the U.S. to make this happen.

NOTE: I do plan to repost this randomly.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Do the elected officials in Washington stand with ordinary Americans - working families, children, the elderly, the poor - or will the extraordinary power of billionaire campaign contributors and Big Money prevail? The American people, by the millions, must send Congress the answer to that question.

Mitch McConnell is Senate token asshole

Mitch McConnell the village idiot at work

It takes the language of a sailor--used to be one--to describe this numbnuts who has opposed everything Barack Obama has done from the first day he took office. Most likely Mitch McConnell is a racist, but it is confirmed that he hates the President and makes me ashamed that Kentucky is my birth state. It is beyond me how McConnell was ever elected to Congress, then became Senate head? This jerk is the epitome of what is wrong with the GOP Congress, actually the Republican Party in general.

Apparently there is nothing we can do to get rid of him now, but it should prove to Republican voters what is wrong with their side of the aisle, and to Progressives that we need to get to the polls in November to vote conservatives like him out of office. But I can't imagine those on the right coming to their senses when 35% of them support Donald Trump, with Ted Cruz even in the double digits. This country is fucked up and will only survive under a Progressive President like Bernie Sanders, with much of the unrest pointing certain segments of the population in his direction.

The naysayers are already condemning the Bern for his Nevada loss. Clinton should have won that state with a unanimous vote but she didn't and Sanders walked away with 15 delegates to her 19. Do you remember that Bernie was once behind by 40 points in Nevada? And by the way, here's where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders stand in the pledged delegates that will choose the Democratic nominee...they are tied at 51 delegates apiece. But Sanders still needs more money to fight off Clinton's Super Pacs and you can contribute here.


 

Bernie Sanders Sayings

What the American people want to see in their president is somebody who not necessarily can win every fight, but they want to see him stand up and fight for what he believes, take his case to the American people.

Bernie Sanders holds his own in delegates

Wasn't able to post again on Saturday due to a glitch on Blogger, but Bernie Sanders did come in second with 47.4% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's 52.5%. Not significant and certainly not what Clinton expected with her experience in 2008 from this state. And she was outdone by Sanders on the Latino vote with Bernie getting 53% while winning 68% to 28% of the younger voters. Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight noted that most of Nevada voters are "mostly old.

But at the outset Bernie Sanders won 15 Nevada delegates to Hillary Clinton's 19. Overall, Sanders has 52 delegates, Clinton 67 and with this close a race, and the fact that we have only gotten started in primaries and caucuses, I'd say Bernie is sitting pretty good.

Clinton Nevada Hispanic lead over Sanders cut to 3 points

The Latino vote in Nevada will be very important today and Bernie Sanders has improved his standing in just one week from behind 11 points to just 3 on Feb. 14. Overall Bernie is within 2.4 points. Of course we are in the moment, Nevada, that is, but Clinton's steady decline and Sanders durable increases bode well for the rest of the country. A win in Nevada should carry positive momentum into the So. Carolina primary.

More later on the Nevada race.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Establishing a 0.03 percent Wall Street speculation fee, similar to what we had from 1914-1966, would dampen the dangerous level of speculation and gambling on Wall Street, encourage the financial sector to invest in the productive economy and reduce the deficit by more than $350 billion over 10 years.

Bernie Sanders surges again in national polls

Bernie Sanders jumped 14 points in national pools against Hillary Clinton in just one month. On January 16, it was 59 to 34, Hillary by 25 points. By February 16, this had changed to 53 to 42, Hillary still ahead but by only 11 points, while in the process Clinton lost six points with Bernie gaining 8. Sanders still has a problem with minorities but holds strong on white men, Independents and voters under age 50.

Clinton concerns voters with her ties with Wall Street and for Sanders it is his foreign policy experience. The key factor here is the 14 point advance for Bernie in just 30 days, and these increases have been consistent. With this kind of escalation, and on a regular basis, Bernie could be running very close to his opponent by March's Super Tuesday. But I believe the key states for Sanders will be Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania and California.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders, on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America.

Corporate CEOs demanding better education laughable

It was an Arizona newspaper headline that said it, "CEOs see schools as a key weakness," but unique as this state is in its stand alone nature, particularly with guns everywhere, I think the issue might apply nationwide. Corporations want our schools to train the people they will eventually hire, but they don't want to spend one penny to support this education. I don't mean with direct donations to the schools; I am talking about them simply not paying their federal taxes.

Here is a chart of corporations that do not pay any taxes broken down by the S&P companies and Fortune 500 companies. Included are corporations like Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Americans for Tax Fairness says, " Tax avoidance through offshore tax loopholes is a significant reason why corporations, which paid one-third of federal revenues 60 years ago, now pay one-tenth of federal revenues.

This is one of Bernie Sanders major talking points, to make these companies pay their fair share of taxes again. Bernie has his own list of "Top Ten Corporate Tax Avoiders." It includes: General Electric; Verizon; Bank of America; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and FedEx. In a way, it is un-American not to pay these taxes when it deprives children of an education, in some cases the only meal they may have all day.

LATEST: Bernie sanders within one point of Clinton in Nevada Caucus

Bernie Sanders has literally destroyed Hillary Clinton's lock on the non-white vote by pulling to within one point of his opponent; Sanders 47%, Clinton 48%. This just three days before Nevada caucuses on Saturday. The new figures were apparently a shock to the Clinton campaign, and yet another sign that Bernie Sanders has grown to the candidate for all the people of the U.S. We're not only talking African-American but the large number of Latinos working in the casinos.

The Bern nas gained 13 points on Clinton since the last poll in October of 2015, a phenomenal jump when considering the odds he is up against. But Nevada isn't really as diverse as many think and less than some of the future primaries, coming in at 15% of caucus-goers, Latino, 15%, African-American, and 3% Asian-American. 65% were white. Nevertheless it is a good test for Bernie Sanders and one that he both relishes and plans to excel in.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

For many, the American dream has become a nightmare.

Under the Republicans...government doesn't work

This is something a Bernie Sanders Presidency will correct and take to new heights.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

If our school curricula took the rights and duties of citizens as seriously as they do varsity football, home economics, and even study hall, young people would be far more likely to participate in the democratic process, and be better informed.

Latest Republican trickle down bullshit

The GOP's leading moron, "Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on NBC’s 'Meet the Press' that it is 'not remotely' the Senate’s obligation to consider the Supreme Court nominee that President Barack Obama will choose following the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia." Just consider the quoted words, "not remotely" to gauge the level of rebellion by Republicans against anything that President Obama is connected with. Perpetual interruption of government.

Senator Patrick Leahy said in an MSNBC interview with Andrea Mitchell that the Supreme Court has not gone without a seat for a year for as far back as the Civil War. He chastised Mitch McConnell for making a political issue out of the situation, commenting that in his history in Congress, no other Senate leader had done this. In other words, it is another contemptible move by McConnell to block anything the President does.

Leahy also questioned McConnell's remark about letting the people decide the next Supreme Court nominee by citing Obama's 2012 win by 5 million votes, a likely referendum on his potential choice of someone for the high court. the Vermont Senator seemed exasperated with his Republican colleagues to the extent that none of this made sense, which, of course it doesn't. At one point Leahy exclaimed he didn't think even Scalia would approve of these tactics.

One can only hope the Progressives of this country have finally had enough and will change the whole system come November.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

We need to do more than just increasing voter turnout. We must do a better job in educating our citizens about the political process. It is time for our schools to offer young people an education for democracy.

Mitch McConnell still convinced Obama not elected in 2008 or 2012

Get this from the dufus GOP head of the Senate: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President,” as if they didn't have a voice, overwhelmingly, in the 2008 and 2012 elections when Barack Obama was elected in a landslide over John Mccain in 2008, and similarly over Mitt Romney in 2012. McConnell needs to go to the home now.

This blockhead has dogged the President from the first day he was elected when he exclaimed, "my number one priority is making sure President Obama’s a one-term president." Well it didn't happen and Barack Obama has gone on to do great things, the most important of which is to bring the economy from near disaster after Geo. W. Bush to where it is thriving today. Why is Mitch McConnell on the President's back all the time? Is Mitch McConnell a racist?

Top Democrats and pundits called for his resignation over comments he made in a speech: “For four years, Barack Obama has been running from the nation’s problems. He hasn’t been working to earn reelection. He’s been working to earn a stop on the PGA tour." MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell quipped about the way McConnell's speeches were constructed, "That — there’s — these people reach for every single possible racial double entendre they can find in every one of these speeches."

And there's more. It dates back to McConnell's candidacy for the Senate when he was accused of telling racist jokes in private meetings. As a former Capitol Hill worker said, “The candidate saw racist jokes as a way to make him seem like one of the boys in Kentucky.” When he opposed giving Washington, D.D. a seat in House of representatives, "Opponents said McConnell had expressed concern about granting such power to an area with more than 650,000 African Americans."

History will no doubt see this bush-league politician for what he really is, the one who stood in the way of many of the good programs of a great President, doing a great disservice to his country.