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($27s especially welcome)
First, a hearty welcome to any new HN&V readers. This community has come together out of ardent support for Hillary Clinton, and we welcome all who come in that spirit or out of open curiosity, regardless of who you voted for or donated to during the primary. For now it looks like we will be continuing this Hillary-focused series, and the BNR diaries likely will continue as well, even though we expect more crossing back and forth of the communities and comments. There have been a wealth of good and unifying diaries, written by dedicated people from both perspectives, so don’t limit your reading to your usual list. (But please play nice, especially when you’re not on your home field.)
The big news yesterday (in case you slept for 36 hours straight and missed it) was the joint appearance by Hillary and Bernie Sanders in Portsmouth, NH. It was liveblogged by El Mito, and by front-pagers Joan McCarter (Bernie’s speech) and Laura Clawson (Hillary’s response). I won’t attempt a complete summary; go read those or watch the full video here, or read the transcript (Bernie speech only) here. Several Kossacks were there, and we had on-the-scene comments during the liveblogs, and a full first-person account from violining247 (with lotsa photos).
The Cliff Notes version: Bernie congratulated Hillary on her win, endorsed her, and outlined why we have to move forward together to defeat Trump and elect a progressive Congress and down-ticket officials. In her response, Clinton thanked him and his supporters and vowed to include them in the campaign and at the table once she’s elected. (She reminded them that she’s happy to get $27 contributions too, and even added a $27 button to her donation page — a deft touch.) A handful of Bernie supporters pointedly walked out when he said the word “endorse,” but overall the event seemed to go smoothly and both of them seemed relieved to have it resolved and done.
Here’s one other (unidentified) first-person account that seems to capture the moment:
Sanders followed up his speech with a long letter to his e-mail list. It’s been covered in a couple of diaries by TomP and delphine, so go there to read the full text and comment threads. Here’s what to me was the relevant portion for Hillary supporters:
Today, I endorsed Hillary Clinton to be our next president. I know that some of you [his own supporters] will be disappointed with that decision. But I believe that, at this moment, our country, our values, and our common vision for a transformed America, are best served by the defeat of Donald Trump and the election of Hillary Clinton.
You should know that in the weeks since the last primary, both campaigns have worked together in good faith to bridge some of the policy issues that divided us during the election. Did we come to agreement on everything? Of course not. But we made important steps forward.
Hillary Clinton released a debt free college plan that we developed together which now includes free tuition at public colleges and universities for working families. . . .
Secretary Clinton has also publicly committed to massive investments in health care for communities across this country that will increase primary care, including mental health care, dental care, and low-cost prescription drug access for an additional 25 million people. Importantly, she has also endorsed the enactment of a so-called public option to allow everyone in this country to participate in a public insurance program. . . .
During the Democratic platform proceedings in St. Louis and Orlando, we were victorious in including amendments to make it a clear priority of the Democratic Party to fight for a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, expand Social Security, abolish the death penalty, put a price on carbon, establish a path toward the legalization of marijuana, enact major criminal justice reforms, pass comprehensive immigration reform, end for-profit prisons and detention facilities, break up too-big-to-fail banks and create a 21st century Glass-Steagall Act, close loopholes that allow big companies to avoid taxes by stashing their cash in offshore tax havens and use that revenue to rebuild America, approve the most expansive agenda ever for protecting Native American rights and so much more.
. . . . But none of these initiatives will happen if we do not elect a Democratic president in November. None! In fact, we will go backward. We must elect the Democratic nominee in November and progressive Democrats up and down the ballot so that we ensure that these policy commitments can advance.
Sanders’ top policy adviser, Warren Gunnels, also announced that his camp will not be filing “minority reports” on the platform issues where their proposals were rejected, which I believe include Israel/Palestine, fracking, and the TPP (h/t TomP’s diary).
Sanders’ endorsement paved the way for others who had endorsed him during the primary to switch over to Clinton for the general election campaign. MoveOn.org did so almost immediately:
Clinton also received the endorsement of Pramila Jayapal, a Sanders-supported candidate to succeed retiring Progressive Caucus veteran Jim McDermott in WA-07. Jayapal wrote (via Angie Marx’s diary),
I am proud to announce that I am endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.
Hillary Clinton shares many of the same values that I do -- that all progressives do. She has been a longtime champion of issues that are near and dear to my heart: a woman’s right to have control over her own body, gun reform, and health care for all. She has tremendous experience in a number of roles, including as U.S. Senator and Secretary of State, and she has shattered glass ceilings again and again against a gender-biased media and society. As a proud feminist and someone who has fought my whole life for equality and justice on every level, I will proudly join forces with President Hillary Clinton to continue these battles every day on behalf of women, men, and working families here and around the world. On the issues where we differ, I will continue my track record of taking principled stands and seek to find common ground even when it appears impossible.
Kossack Angela Marx, running in WA-03, also tweeted her support for Clinton:
I expect we’ll see other prominent Sanders supporters publicly endorse Clinton over the next couple of weeks leading up to the Convention, so that the party goes to Philadelphia essentially united (even while agreeing to disagree on some key issues — we are, after all, Democrats).
In other news, National Intelligence Director James Clapper responded swiftly to Paul Ryan’s outrageous request that because of the email kerfuffle, Clinton be denied the national security briefings that are routine for Presidential candidates (after they are officially nominated). Per CNN:
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Ryan in a latter [sic] obtained Monday by CNN that he "does not intend to withhold briefings from any officially nominated, eligible candidate."
* * * *
"Nominees for president and vice president receive these briefings by virtue of their status as candidates, and do not require separate security clearances before the briefings," Clapper wrote to Ryan. "Briefings for the candidates will be provided on an even-handed non-partisan basis."
(This also means that efforts to block Donald Trump from receiving briefings would likely be met with a similar response.) In other anti-Clinton news (which I try to avoid covering in detail), “Lynch frustrates House Republicans with steely testimony on Clinton’s emails.” (GOP Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09) said that her performance was so uninformative that it made him miss Eric Holder. LOL.)
FInally, Clinton accepted an invitation to speak at the NAACP Convention in Cincinnati next Monday. (They also invited Trump, who predictably turned them down.)
Let’s amend that: You can’t run for President successfully while snubbing one of the oldest and most respected civil rights organizations in the country.
Hillary closed out the day with a fund-raising performance of “Hamilton” on Broadway.
(How many of us put our names in to get a free ticket plus travel and hotel, because the minimum $2,700 ticket price was way beyond our means? Hands? [Raising mine]). Oh, well. Anyone see a report on who the lucky person/couple was?) The proceeds, a minimum of $3.5 million, will be split between the campaign and the DNC.
The joint Victory Fund has now raised at least $62 million, much of it already hard at work supporting state and local party infrastructure and down-ticket candidates. How robustly the campaign can roll out in every state, every Congressional district, depends on us — both our volunteer time and our money. Some of us have more of one than the other. Everyone can contribute something, even if it’s just talking to your neighbors, the guys at the union hall, the people in your anti-fracking group, the barbershop or hair salon, the barbecue or beach picnic, or wherever your travels take you.
*** SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON ***
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Crossposted at HillaryHQ, an independent, progressive blog committed to the electing Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States. Please consider donating to Scan’s GoFundMe account to support his work and help pay his way, with official press credentials, to the Democratic National Convention.