Disclaimer: This is a Hillary Clinton appreciation thread, which means that most people who come here really like Hillary Clinton. If you have criticisms, please be respectful.
Happy Guam primary day, everyone! I have no idea what the outcome will be—don’t think we’ve had a single poll—though Guam is thought to favor Hillary. If she wins, the delegate haul would be minimal, but could be enough to erase Bernie’s gains from Indiana.
Though the Democratic race is basically decided and there are several other primaries to be held, it seems as though California is the place where Bernie wants to make his last stand. My guess is that he wants to win the state for bragging rights, and for possible leverage at the convention, since it’s highly doubtful he will get the 30-point margin he needs to overcome Hillary’s pledged delegate lead.
That’s why, as a Californian, I’ve decided to add some local news with each Open Thread from now until the California primary. More on that in a moment.
First, if you haven’t had the chance, check out the daily News & Views, now with Lysis and a host of dedicated Hillary Clinton supporting writers, and the Hillary Writers Circle, as well as the afternoon Hillary Hangouts and the #ImWithHer evening open threads. In addition, here are some new diaries:
Fuzzybigfoot: Opinion: Hillary poised to win a majority of our nation’s congressional districts
*BoiseBlue: ”The only way to unify our party is to elect Hillary Clinton,” the republican says
Tamar: Hillary on CFPB Plans to Bar Mandatory Arbitration Clauses
Susan Grigsby: The high price of delegitimization
* May not be Hillary-positive, but is not Hillary-negative and is thought provoking.
Hillary is visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, including stops in Oakland and San Francisco. She was a big hit in Oakland:
The highlight was an afternoon rally at La Escuelita Elementary School, where supporters began lining up early in the morning for a chance to get inside the auditorium for the 4 p.m. appearance.
By the time Clinton hit the stage, about 800 people were in the house, with an additional 500 kept outside by the Oakland fire marshal.
The former secretary of state gave the partisan crowd a full-out fall campaign speech, virtually ignoring her primary challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and focusing her fire on Donald Trump, who is just about guaranteed the Republican nomination.
“I will do everything I can to make sure the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party never gets near the White House,” Clinton told the crowd.
Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders’s campaign is running out of money just when he needs it most, for the expensive California media market.
The change of fortune is already forcing the Sanders team to run a different kind of race in California, one that focuses on rallying activists and students in a part of the country with a strong tradition of protest, an affinity for quasi-socialist government and a Democratic electorate that skews left.
It is unclear, though, how her campaign will use Sanders' fundraising drought of late to its advantage. Campaign officials were cagey about their spending plans in California.
If Sanders does not come up with the cash to run an aggressive advertising push, Clinton may opt to ease up herself. Her campaign has been conservative with its resources, even allowing itself to be outgunned on the air in key primary states as it redirects its attention to the general election. As Sanders lays off dozens of staffers in states that have already voted, Clinton has begun staffing up in preparation for the fall.
"She's been smart with her money, and she needs to be," said Bill Burton, a Los Angeles-based Democratic strategist who worked on President Obama's first campaign and now supports Clinton. "The general election is going to be expensive.... To spend a lot of money on a race that's essentially been decided would be foolish."
But Bernie has a bigger publicity issue, due to the ugly behavior of a segment of his supporters. These supporters recently protested at Hillary Clinton’s rally in East LA, and the results should make the campaign blush.
I feel fairly confident that most Bernie supporters will support Clinton in the general election against Donald Trump. I can already see it happening here and elsewhere. It’s really disheartening, though, when a small segment displays so much ugliness toward people who are supposed to be their allies.
Anyway, with each Open Thread, I’ll aim to include some California content. I’ll try to add more personal touches than just news. For instance, since both of my trials got moved to the fall (whoo! sort of), I intend to go to a training for Hillary Clinton supporters tomorrow morning. Walk precincts for Hillary? #DealMeIn #ImWithHer
If you have any dollars to spare, please consider
**CONTRIBUTING TO THE CAMPAIGN**
This is your open thread.