manrico1967

manrico1967 https://www.dailykos.com/user/manrico1967/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 01:21:20 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 01:21:20 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Kennedy is not a good guy. He proves it by retiring and letting Trump name his replacement. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/6/27/1776029/-Kennedy-is-not-a-good-guy-He-proves-it-by-retiring-and-letting-Trump-name-his-replacement Like everyone here, I am sorry to see Kennedy go. Mostly because we will get an Scalia clone, a la Gorsuch. Still, he did cast some awful votes: - Citizen United - The muslin ban - The racially motivated gerrymandering. In fact he could’ve made gerrymandering a thing of the past. - It was John Roberts who saved the ACA mandate. Kennedy voted with Scalia on that one. - For years SCOTUS has been chipping away at Civil Rights, especially voting rights, with Kennedy’s help. He is a Conservative Republican, the only difference between him and Scalia, is that Scalia wanted to take us back to the !8th century. Kennedy just to the 1950’s. In any case, anything good that he has done in his 30 years on the Supreme Court are invalidated by letting Trump name his replacement. We thought he cared about gay rights. He knows that Obergefell will be gone the first chance the new SCOTUS get. Lawrence vs. Texas? Gone. Remember DOMA? Good thing Edie Windsor will not see when it’s back. Goodbye Roe v. Wade. This is what the GOP paid for by swallowing all the Trump shit, and Kennedy is the delivery boy. Unless there’s some force majeure making him quit, Kennedy is backstabbing all the people his decisions might have protected from the conservative tyranny. Is almost as if Lincoln had abandoned former slaves by resigning so Andrew Johnson could be President. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Kennedy SCOTUS trump _1776029 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 21:26:01 +0000 What if this happened today? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/12/6/1721814/-What-if-this-happened-today Take a look: <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" href="#">x</a></div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=B4kzceTpmAY" data-frameborder="0" data-height="281" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/B4kzceTpmAY" data-width="500">YouTube Video</a></div> </div> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) sexualasault _1721814 Wed, 06 Dec 2017 20:21:09 +0000 If Roy Moore wins (and probably he will), he should not be expelled. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/11/16/1716282/-If-Roy-Moore-wins-and-probably-he-will-he-should-not-be-expelled Let me say out front: Roy Moore belongs in the Senate as much Donald Trump belongs in the White House. Both could not more unfit for public office. Roy Moore is everything I hate in Evangelical “Christians”. He is a bigot of the lowest kind. But give him this: He is not a hypocrite. That a 32 year old man should be able to get in the pants of a 14 year old girl is a perfectly biblical view. After all, a “Biblical Worldview” means you view the world as if in the bronze age. Now, I fervently hope Moore loses the election. But let’s face it, this is Alabama. Alabama. This is the state that proves that traveling back in time is possible. Talk about living in the bronze age. So as loathsome as he is to us, enough Alabamans might only care he is not a godless, pro-abortion, gay-friendly, Obama-loving dem. If Moore wins, the Senate cannot refuse to seat him. They can refuse only if there was a problem with the election or if Moore did not meet the constitutional requirements for the office. Neither is applicable here. The other choice is to seat him and then expel him. About 15 senators have been expelled from the Senate in all of the US history. 14 of them during the Civil War when they supported secession. And the other one in the 1700’s. Also for treason. The closest case is of a Senator that resigned before he could be expelled for sexual misconduct. But that was while he was in the Senate. Moore would be expelled for behavior long before he became a Senator. As emotionally satisfying as that would be, it would be nothing less that the Senate nullifying a legal election. There would be an argument for it, if the allegations had surfaced after the election. It could be argued that the voters elected Moore without knowing of his predatory behavior and they would not have elected him if they had known. And remember, we all knew of Trump’s “pussy grabbing” ways and he still cleaned Hillary’s clock in Alabama. The fact is that, if Moore wins, the voters would have elected him despite (and in some cases maybe because) his predatory behavior. As much as I would love that being a knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing, asshole were a reason for taking someone’s vote away, Alabamans have the right to vote and send an execrable piece of shit as Moore to Washington to represent them. God have mercy of us all. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Alabama Moore Senate SexualPredator _1716282 Thu, 16 Nov 2017 22:54:53 +0000 More people voted for Hillary Clinton for President than for any white man in history. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/20/1602278/-More-people-voted-for-Hillary-Clinton-for-President-than-for-any-white-man-in-history As per AP, Hillary Clinton’s lead in the popular vote is now almost 1.6 million votes. Since the election, Hillary and her campaign have been second guessed and vilified as weak and incompetent. Some Bernie supporters have been very generous with their I-told-you-sos. Did she run a perfect campaign? No, of course not. But the biggest cliche in the world, hindsight is 20/20, is such a cliche because it is very true. Thanks to a relic from the 18th. Century, twice in the last 16 years, the people of the United States of America did not elect the President. People argue that if the President were elected by the popular vote, the campaigns would have behaved differently, so you cannot guarantee that Hillary would have won that way. Yet the simple fact remains: More people voted for her. It’s her misfortune, and the world’s, that those people live in the “wrong” places. They’re still counting the mailed-in votes in California. Who knows, maybe my vote has not been counted yet. But the message is unmistakable: My vote is irrelevant. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton GeneralElection _1602278 Sun, 20 Nov 2016 22:11:53 +0000 In 6 of the last 7 elections, more people voted for the Democratic Nominee than the Republican. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/15/1599968/-In-6-of-the-last-7-elections-more-people-voted-for-the-Democratic-Nominee-than-the-Republican So maybe the democratic’s party message is not that bad after all. Just saying…. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Elections ElectoralCollege PopularVote _1599968 Tue, 15 Nov 2016 21:35:59 +0000 Emails came from Anthony Weiner's Electronic Devices https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/28/1587993/-Emails-came-from-Anthony-Weiner-s-Electronic-Devices Read this: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/politics/fbi-hillary-clinton-email.html" target="_blank" title="">www.nytimes.com/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton emails _1587993 Fri, 28 Oct 2016 19:36:52 +0000 Forget Florida and Ohio. These are the "must win" states for Hillary https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/26/1587327/-Forget-Florida-and-Ohio-Here-are-the-must-win-states-for-Hillary I have been obsessively checking out the early voting in Florida. We seem to be doing pretty well today, regardless of the Bloomberg poll showing him 2 points ahead. That poll is giving people heartburn (if you’re for her) or hope (if you’re for him). The thing is that she doesn’t really need Florida to win the election. Or Ohio. Or even Nevada, where she seems doing pretty well. Check the following tweet from Nate Silver: <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&gt;&lt;p lang="ht" dir="ltr"&gt;Clinton margins:&lt;br&gt;VA +8.8&lt;br&gt;—&lt;br&gt;NH +8.1&lt;br&gt;MN +8.0&lt;br&gt;MI +7.6&lt;br&gt;WI +7.2&lt;br&gt;CO +7.1&lt;br&gt;PA +7.1&lt;br&gt;—&lt;br&gt;NV +3.4&lt;br&gt;FL +3.2&lt;br&gt;NC +2.7&lt;br&gt;—&lt;br&gt;AZ +0.9&lt;br&gt;OH +0.7&lt;br&gt;IA +0.4&lt;br&gt;—&lt;br&gt;GA &amp;nbsp;-3.0&lt;/p&gt;— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/791435246906540032"&gt;October 27, 2016&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Clinton margins: VA +8.8 Ã¢Â€Â” NH +8.1 MN +8.0 MI +7.6 WI +7.2 CO +7.1 PA +7.1 Ã¢Â€Â” NV +3.4 FL +3.2 NC +2.7 Ã¢Â€Â” AZ +0.9 OH +0.7 IA +0.4 Ã¢Â€Â” GA -3.0Ã¢Â€Â” Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/791435246906540032">October 27, 2016</a></blockquote></div> Let’s add the electoral votes of the states she is currently 7 or more points ahead: Virginia: 13 New Hampshire: 4 Minnesota: 10 Michigan: 16 Wisconsin: 10 Colorado: 9 Pennsylvania: 20 Total: 82 Now let’s add the true blue states: California: 55 Oregon: 7 Connecticut: 7 Delaware: 3 D.C.: 3 Maine: 3 * Illinois: 20 Maryland: 10 Massachusetts: 11 New Jersey: 14 New York: 29 Rhode Island: 4 Vermont: 3 Washington: 12 Hawaii: 4 New Mexico: 5 ** Total: 272 As you can see neither Florida nor Ohio are “must win” states for Hillary. Of course she should do everything humanly possible to win those states. And she is doing that and more. The point of this diary is not to say “She got this in the bag”. Even if you live in Alabama you MUST go out and vote for her. And for any democrat in the ballot. It’s ok to worry or be concerned. Considering the possibility of a Trump presidency, anything else is just inhuman. But panicking because of one stupid poll, that even if it accurately predicted the result in Florida, would not help Trump, is just dumb. * I’m note sure about Maine’s CD 1, so I am not counting it. ** I’m not sure about New Mexico being a true blue state, but according to 538, she’s ahead by 10 there, so I counted it. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton ElectoralCollege Recommended _1587327 Thu, 27 Oct 2016 01:15:37 +0000 Feeling actually sick thinking about Trump winning? You're not alone. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/9/23/1573524/-Feeling-actually-sick-thinking-about-Trump-winning-You-re-not-alone Read this: <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/09/trump_induced_anxiety_is_a_real_thing.html" target="_blank">www.slate.com/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) DonaldTrump Election trump _1573524 Fri, 23 Sep 2016 18:40:19 +0000 If Hillary loses, it's because she was un-electable all along. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/7/25/1552368/-If-Hillary-loses-it-s-because-she-was-un-electable-all-along I am a die hard Hillary supporter. I think she would be a fantastic POTUS. I wholeheartedly agree with President Obama: She is, by far, the most qualified candidate since God knows when. Certainly more qualified than Bill and Obama when they won the presidency. Not only she is far more qualified than any candidate in memory, she has all the advantages that should make this election a rout. Her opponent is not a run of the mill republican asshole. He is, unarguably, the least qualified nominee in history. It’s no just a matter of a lack of resume. He is a demagogue who has expressed admiration for the likes of Putin, Sadam and Kim Jong-Um. He is racist, misogynistic, narcissistic and completely lacking in empathy. Check this out, and tell me if it doesn’t describe Trump: <a href="http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html" target="_blank" title="">www.mcafee.cc/…</a> On top of that, her campaign is doing all the right things, while his is in shambles. Her campaign’s infrastructure dwarfs his. His GOTV operation seems to be non-existent. As for surrogates, she has a “Murderers Row” of political stars: Bill, the Obamas, Biden, Warren, Sanders, Kaine, and the entire Democratic Party. He, in the other hand, has Palin, Giuliani, Christie. In short, she should win this is a walk. And yet, the chances of a Trump presidency are sadly and depressingly real. It all comes down to hatred of Hillary. Some of it is misogynistic. Some is personal. But it is real. And some people would rather vote for a sociopathic demagogue than her. There’s something about this accomplished, brilliant woman that some people cannot swallow. And I am at a loss to explain it. People from the right and left hate her with the same passion, so her politics cannot be the whole answer. How is it possible that the most qualified candidate, arguably, in history might lose to a sociopath? I cannot accept that. I am a pessimist and a cynic, but this a bridge too far. I still have enough hope in this democracy. I still believe that as a people we will not surrender to fear and demagoguery. But, God forbid, if she loses, it would mean that she never had a chance. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton trump _1552368 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 23:23:41 +0000 Is Trump in danger of imploding too soon? (With poll) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/6/8/1536268/-Is-Trump-in-danger-of-imploding-too-soon-With-poll Since Donald Trump clinched the GOP nomination for POTUS, the spectacle of him getting pummeled from every angle has been deeply emotionally satisfying. Hillary ripped him a several new ones with her blistering speech on “Foreign Policy”. I use quotations because it was nothing more than just kicking Trump in the balls. It was beautiful. Democrats like Elizabeth Warren keep taunting him, making him lash out like a petulant child. His campaign is in complete disarray. Reportedly bankrupt, riddled with internal fighting and an almost non existing national campaign infrastructure. Certainly not at the level of the clockwork like Clinton machine. He keeps picking up fights with Republicans. He went to New Mexico and he started criticizing its Republican governor Susana Martinez. Reporters apparently have had enough of him lying to their faces. They have finally started to push back and ask tougher questions. We all know what happens when you confront a bully. And then there’s Trump himself. He is his own worst enemy. He just can’t stop himself from spewing racist and misogynist garbage. He attacks a federal judge because his Mexican heritage, he points out to a black man in one of his rallies and yells “look at my African American”. Every time he opens his mouth Republicans run for cover. Sometimes I wonder if he might be a Clinton plant. It is as if Clinton had hired Dr. Frankenstein to create the perfect GOP monster. My fear is that he might implode before the GOP convention. He is not yet the nominee, he is the “presumptive” nominee. Just like Sanders keeps saying about Hillary, you are not officially the nominee until the delegates vote at the convention. Although it would be unprecedented, the presumptive nominee might drop out before he or she get the official nomination. And Trump is nothing if not unprecedented. In the case of Trump dropping out, the delegates would get to choose another nominee. That’s my fear. But my hope is that Trump is too full of himself and too obstinate to read the writing on the wall. Regardless, we cannot take anything for granted. I know Hillary won’t and that she will campaign as hard as if running against Reagan. But Trump presents a historic opportunity for the Democratic party at every level. I just hope the GOP doesn’t go and fuck it up for us. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton trump _1536268 Wed, 08 Jun 2016 22:47:08 +0000 Per NBC delegate tracker: Hillary short 22 delegates from clinching nomination. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/6/5/1534970/-Per-NBC-delegate-tracker-Hillary-short-22-delegates-from-clinching-nomination Regardless Sanders protestations to the contrary: <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/#delegate-tracker-section" target="_blank">www.nbcnews.com/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) clinching Clinton Nomination _1534970 Mon, 06 Jun 2016 05:58:53 +0000 Now, CA is a must win for Hillary? Give me a f-ing break. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/6/3/1534195/-What-if-Hillary-loses-California Finally, the greatest state in the country (my state) is about the vote for the Democratic Nominee for POTUS. Thanks to being the most populous state, the number of delegates dwarfs the delegate count of every single state that has voted already. There are so many delegates in this state that, theoretically, Sanders could catch and surpass Hillary in the pledged delegates count. Of course, to do that he needs to win by around 60 points. Not win 60% of the vote. Win 80% to 20%. So, no, it will not happen. Then, why is the media waiting the results with bated breath? They most certainly don’t expect him to do that well, right? Of course not. This has to do with holding Hillary Clinton to a higher standard than anyone else. The media “narrative” is that she needs to win big in California to show that she is not a weak nominee. That if she loses California she will “limp” to the convention, already wounded. Also, the theory goes that the super delegates will be so spooked by her loss, that they will give Sanders a second look. This, of course, is pure bullshit. Obama lost CA in 2008 and I don’t remember the media making a big deal of it. They just counted the number of delegates each one got and that was it. Ah, but Hillary must prove once more that she is a “worthy” nominee. Sanders has made the race for the nomination a lot closer than anyone expected. Including himself. Closer, yes. But not close. Hillary took the pledged delegate lead on Feb 27 and never lost it. After March 1, her lead was never less than 175 delegates. But somehow, the media keeps calling her a weak candidate. As if she’s winning by the skin of her teeth. After New Hampshire, she was never in danger of losing to Sanders. Forget that she’s won 9 of the 10 biggest states that have already voted. California is a MUST win for her. Unfuckingbelievable. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) 2016 BernieSanders California Clinton HillaryClinton Recommended sanders _1534195 Sat, 04 Jun 2016 00:25:29 +0000 Are you panicking about the polls showing Trump beating Hillary? Good. You should https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/22/1529711/-Are-you-panicking-about-the-polls-showing-Trump-beating-Hillary-Good-You-should The idea of Donald Trump being POTUS is ludicrous. A bad joke. A dangerous joke. Here is a man who claims to know how to deal with Russia because he had the Miss Universe pageant there. We all laughed at Sarah Palin when she claimed that she “can see Russia from her house”. I never thought a candidate would ever top that, much less the GOP presidential nominee. The objections to Trump go far beyond the “normal” objections a liberal would have for a “typical” GOP nominee. McCain and Romney would have been terrible presidents because of the policies they would prosecute. Trump is unfit to be president, not just from a policy point of view, but from every single aspect regarding the office. Morally, ethically, intellectually, temperamentally, politically, philosophically, diplomatically. In any way you can think of, he would be an awful president. He is a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, authoritarian demagogue. The very picture of a bigot. He being the President would bring unprecedented international ridicule and opprobrium on our country. I personally would vote for George W. Bush over him any day. That is how unacceptable I find him. And he has a good chance of becoming the President of the United States. The latest polls show him getting even or ahead of the most likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. Yes, you can find all kind of faults with those polls. It’s way too early. The Democratic nomination is not really settled yet. The demographics are suspect. But I think it’s a mistake to simply disregard them. Or just believe the ones in favor of Hillary. I love Hillary, but I cannot ignore that many, many people, and not just Republicans, hate her. Also, there’s real anger out there. And fear. Fear and anger make people do stupid things. Maybe “panicking” is too strong a word. Panic also make people stupid. But do not think for a second that Trump cannot win. I really think the odds are 50-50. It is the job of the nominee to unite the party. But she will need all the help she can get. That includes Bernie. After the last primary she did everything she could to help Obama in 2008. And I hope Bernie will do the same. Theoretically Bernie can still be nominee. Even if he gets to the convention behind pledge delegates. But the super delegates will not, and should not, override the will of the voters and hand him the nomination. The most likely scenario, to the point of almost certainty, is Clinton vs. Trump in November. One of those two will be the next POTUS. WE must do everything we can to make sure Trump is not that person. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton GE trump _1529711 Sun, 22 May 2016 22:31:39 +0000 One of these two people will be the next President of the United States. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/4/1523140/-One-of-these-two-people-will-be-the-next-President-of-the-United-States I am a die-hard Democratic supporter. So, it wouldn’t matter to me who the GOP nominates. I will always, always vote for the Democratic nominee. No names required. The last republican I might have voted for was Teddy Roosevelt. But this year the choice goes way beyond the Democratic-Republican duality. As much I would have hated a President Romney, I don’t think it would have been worse than W’s presidency. Who knows, maybe even a bit better. Now, the Republicans are about to nominate a man who makes W look like Lincoln. Here is someone who should not be allowed to take the White House tour, much less to live in it. This is far more than just his toxic personality. He is a misogynistic, racist pig. Vulgar and uncouth. It would make this country the world’s laughingstock to have him as our President. But a Trump presidency is not a laughing matter. Who the President is has life and death consequences. W’s presidency was a catastrophe for the US and the world. I firmly believe Trump would be far worse. This coming November I will vote FOR Hillary. But I hope that voters who don’t like her, will vote AGAINST Trump by voting for her. Make no mistake, the choice is Clinton or Trump. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton GeneralElection trump _1523140 Wed, 04 May 2016 18:39:08 +0000 Forget polls. The name of the game this year is DEMOGRAPHICS. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/3/1522888/-Forget-polls-The-name-of-the-game-this-year-is-DEMOGRAPHICS The polls were wrong again. They predicted a narrow Clinton win, but we got a narrow (but comfortable) Sanders win. But take a look at this tweet from Nate Silver: <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Hmm. Polls have Clinton up in Indiana, but our demographic-based model has Sanders favored there by 7 points. &lt;a href="https://t.co/Z3syp8CZeT"&gt;https://t.co/Z3syp8CZeT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/727615967182868480"&gt;May 3, 2016&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;'> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> Hmm. Polls have Clinton up in Indiana, but our demographic-based model has Sanders favored there by 7 points. <a href="https://t.co/Z3syp8CZeT">https://t.co/Z3syp8CZeT</a>— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/727615967182868480">May 3, 2016</a> </blockquote> </div> Notice the time. This is not hindsight. The polls were wrong, but the demographics-based model got it right. The Michigan polls were deadly wrong, but, if I remember correctly, the demographics pointed to a Sanders advantage. It’s been true throughout the whole primary season. To know who will win a state, just look at the demographics. Clinton wins minorities, older than 45 and registered democrats. Sanders wins whites, younger than 45 and independents. This has been the pattern. It doesn’t seem to matter the state’s place in the calendar. Or “momentum”. The patterns are set. No reason to believe they will change. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Demographics sanders _1522888 Wed, 04 May 2016 03:50:53 +0000 Trump as the GOP nominee, delights and terrifies me at the same time. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/4/27/1520884/-Trump-as-the-GOP-nominee-delights-and-terrifies-me-at-the-same-time After yesterday’s results is pretty clear that the GE will be Clinton Vs. Trump. That prospect fills me with glee and dread at the same time. I almost never watch the debates, either during the primaries or the GE. But this time I will be glued to my TV. The prospect of this clown going head to head with Hillary is almost too delicious to contemplate. I understand why some people wonder if the Clintons are somehow behind the Trump campaign. I can’t think of a better opponent for any Democratic nominee. It’s almost like Hillary made a pact with the devil and sold her soul so she could go against Trump in the GE. As with the rest of the GOP field, Trump is racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, vulgar, ignorant, incompetent, obnoxious. I would call him a pig, but that’s not fair to pigs. But the difference is that Trump is completely incapable of helping himself. He has no filter. The GOP hates him, not because they disagree with him, but because he says out loud what the Republican Party is all about. He has removed the lid, and let out the stench of the cesspool that the party is. The idea of him winning the presidency is laughable. And, yet… It’s not. Like a GOP operative said earlier this year, the party can nominate a ham sandwich and it would get 45% of the votes. They’re nominating a shit sandwich, but the point remains valid. I think he will win the same states Romney won in 2008. That’s 206 electoral votes. The Republicans are doing their best (or worst) to suppress democratic voters wherever they can. And there’s the unexpected. God forbid, but there can be a big terrorist attack in the US. The market could collapse. Fear makes people do stupid things. If this were a rational world, Hillary would bury him without breaking a sweat. But it’s not a rational world. There are plenty of bigots out there. And that is terrifying. Many Sanders supporters say that voting for Hillary is just voting for a lesser evil. That might be true, but if Hillary and Trump were illnesses, Hillary would be a chest cold and Trump would be Ebola. Well, the same can be said about Cruz or Kasich. But the point is that Trump is winning. Every rational voter in this country must do his/her best to make sure Trump is never President. No complacency and no sitting out this election. The stakes a too great. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton GeneralElection trump _1520884 Thu, 28 Apr 2016 01:31:48 +0000 Great response to a Sanders meme. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/4/18/1517146/-Great-response-to-a-Sanders-meme Here is the response: <figure class="image-captioned width-xl align-right"><img alt="CgR01_dUkAIf9JK.jpg" class="width-xl" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/240824/large/CgR01_dUkAIf9JK.jpg?1461027008" title="CgR01_dUkAIf9JK.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> I don’t know if this kind of diary is allowed. These days, who knows? rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Meme sanders _1517146 Tue, 19 Apr 2016 00:51:34 +0000 Sanders Wins Wyoming. Nets 1 or 2 delegates. Hillary beats expectations (well, at least mine). https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/4/9/1513213/-Sanders-Wins-Wyoming-Nets-1-or-2-delegates-Hillary-beats-expectations-well-at-least-mine Congratulations to Sen. Sanders for winning Wyoming. As as Hillary supporter I am happy with this result. I was expecting a blowout like in the previous caucuses. I really thought Sanders would win all 14 delegates. As it is, Sanders will net no more than 2 delegates. More good news for Hillary: There’s only one caucus left. The rest are primaries, and most of them are closed. Everyone knew that, after March 15th, Sanders would win every state before NY. Once again, congrats Sen. Sanders. And good luck in NY Hillary!! rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton sanders Wyoming _1513213 Sat, 09 Apr 2016 21:39:42 +0000 Sanders had a great night, but he still fell short https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/23/1505372/-Sanders-had-a-great-night-but-he-still-fell-short I am using 538 delegate count. 2026 is 50% + 1 of the total pledge delegates at the convention. Before yesterday’s contests, Sanders had 854 delegates. That’s 1172 short of 2026. There were 2020 delegates left to allocate. 1172 is 58.02% of 2020. According to 538, Sanders got 74 delegates of 131 in play. Or 56.49%. Let’s say that Sanders wins 56.49% of the remaining delegates. There are now 1889 left to allocate. 56.49% is 1067, which brings him to 1995 delegates at the convention. Giving Hillary 2,056 total delegates. Math is a harsh mistress. She is also a bitch. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Delegates Democrats Primary sanders _1505372 Wed, 23 Mar 2016 17:51:38 +0000 Sanders needs to win at least 76 delegates today. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/22/1504923/-Sanders-needs-to-win-76-delegates-today In order to catch Hillary, Sanders needs to win 58% of all the remaining delegates. Today there are 131 delegates in play. 58% of 131 is 76. The 538 delegate targets for each state are no longer valid. Even if he were to hit every single target on the nose, he would still come far short at the end. So if you want to know how many delegates Sanders needs, just calculate 58% of the delegates of each remaining contest. If he gets less than 76 delegate today, the target goes up. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Delegates sanders _1504923 Tue, 22 Mar 2016 18:33:09 +0000 For those who are upset about Clinton's comment on Nancy Reagan and AIDS, please view this video https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/12/1500290/-For-those-who-are-upset-about-Clinton-s-comment-on-Nancy-Reagan-and-AIDS-please-view-this-video Hillary Clinton made a stupid mistake when she praised Nancy Reagan on the subject of AIDS. But it was just that, a mistake. She apologized for it. But if you’re upset about it, please view this video: <div class="center-block dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a href="#"><a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=WIqynW5EbIQ" data-height="281" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WIqynW5EbIQ" data-width="500">YouTube Video</a></a> </div> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) AIDS Clinton HillaryClinton LGBT _1500290 Sat, 12 Mar 2016 19:57:19 +0000 For Clintonites who are feeling down about yesterday. Or even if you're not. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/9/1498896/-For-Clintonistas-who-are-feeling-down-about-yesterday-Or-even-if-you-re-not Hello fellow Clintonistas! Like many of you, I found yesterday’s defeat in Michigan a very bitter pill to swallow. I have been feeling down all day. It wasn’t the loss itself what I found painful, it was the total unexpectedness. I did not think she was going to win by 37%, but I never thought she would lose. After all, she lost by 1.5%. By any measure a very close race. But all those damn polls had us seeing stars. But, regardless of the headlines, Hillary won the day! Let’s look at the numbers: She started the day with a lead of 199 delegates. Per 538, she ended the day with a lead of 219 delegates. She won the delegate count 93 to 73. That’s 56%. She lost one state by 1.2%, but won the other by an astronomical 66.1% As for the popular vote, she won 756,242 to 631,570. That’s a net of 127,672. She got 54.58% of all the votes. Are these numbers reason to feel down? Hell, no! Sanders supporters, this diary is for Clinton supporters. Of course, you can comment, but please be respectful. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton _1498896 Thu, 10 Mar 2016 01:07:16 +0000 Congratulations Bernie and supporters! What a stunning victory! From a diehard Hillary supporter. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/8/1498391/-Congratulations-Bernie-and-supporters-What-a-stunning-victory-From-a-diehard-Hillary-supporter Well, you did it. It’s our time to eat crow. In fairness to us Clintonites, we just believed the polls. Let’s have a good night sleep. Tomorrow will be another day. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Michigan sanders _1498391 Wed, 09 Mar 2016 05:16:36 +0000 Who won the Weekend? And, what's the state of the race? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/7/1497267/-Who-won-the-Weekend-And-what-s-the-state-of-the-race As always the answer of “who won the weekend?” is, depends on how you look at it. If you look at the delegate count (and it is the only thing that really matter), Bernie Sanders won the weekend. Per HuffingtonPost, Sanders has won so far 67 delegates in play this weekend. Clinton won, so far, 64 delegates. A net of 3 delegates for Sanders. Good for him. Now, what does that mean for the race for the nomination? Let’s look at the race as a whole: 672 delegates for Clinton, and 477 delegates for Sanders. Clinton ahead by 195 delegates. Or 196 if you look at 538. That’s about the same lead after Super Tuesday. Except that now, there are 134 delegates less in play. He needs to win a greater percentage of the remaining delegates than he did on Friday. Well, you might say, he won 3 out of 4 states over the weekend. Surely it shows a momentum that is greater than 3 delegates might indicate. But, is it? Sanders won NE by 14% with a total of 19,120 votes.4 He won KS by 35.4% with a total of 26,450 He won ME by 28.8%. No popular vote count. But according to the Party, about 46,000 people participated in the caucus. So for the sake of argument, let’s give Sanders the same percentage of the popular vote. He would have gotten around 29,600. In Louisiana he lost by 47.9%. Popular vote 72,240 Total popular vote total: 147,410 Clinton got 221,615 votes in LA. 12,593 in KS. 14,340 in NE. And,say, around 16,000 votes in ME. Total popular vote: 264,548 Clinton won the popular vote by around 117,000 votes. Or around 64%. Even if we gave Sanders all of Maine’s popular vote, Clinton would still win by 100,000 votes. The day after tomorrow there will be 166 delegates in play. If the polls are correct, she will win Michigan and Mississippi. Let’s say she gets a net of only 5 delegates. It would bring her lead to about 200. But now, there are 166 less delegates left. The percentage of delegates left that Sanders must win is now higher. Sanders supporters insist that once “the south” ends voting, the map will get a lot better for him. But Clinton strength is not geography, it’s demographics. The more minority voters in a state, the better she does. There’s absolutely no indication that minority voters, specially Blacks, will vote any differently outside the South. On the contrary, according to the latest NBC poll of Michigan, Clinton leads African Americans 76% to 21%. All the states Sanders has won have one common denominator: They’re very white. Or at least minority voters make a small percentage of the voters. Sanders has not only lost Blacks and Latinos everywhere, but lost them by huge margins. Clinton is actually getting a bigger share of the African American vote than Obama did in 2008. Mathematically, Sanders can still win the nomination. But he has to start winning big in more diverse states. And unless he can make inroads with minority voters, he won’t be able to. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Delegates Democrats Primary sanders _1497267 Mon, 07 Mar 2016 16:01:33 +0000 Comparing Delegate counts between 2016 and 2008 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/5/1496804/-Comparing-Delegate-count-between-2016-and-2008 After Super Tuesday I calculated the number of delegates that Clinton, Sanders and Obama won for the same states that have voted, in 2016 and 2008. Here is the updated graph with today’s states. Obama won 124 more delegates in those states than Hillary. Obama won 55.96% of the delegates of those states. Hillary won 44.4% This year Hillary has won 210 more delegates than Sanders. She has won 59.29% of the delegates. Sanders has won 40.71% Hillary has done better in those states than Obama did in 2008. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) 2008 2016 Clinton Delegates Obama sanders _1496804 Sun, 06 Mar 2016 06:33:46 +0000 Clinton started Saturday with a lead of 201 delegates. Ends the day with a lead of 211 delegates. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/5/1496797/-Clinton-started-Saturday-with-a-lead-of-201-delegates-Ends-the-day-with-a-lead-of-211-delegates Per 538, Hillary got 4 extra delegates from Tuesday’s election. This increased her delegate lead from 197 to 201 delegates. After today’s victory in Louisiana and defeats in Kansas and Nebraska, she got this: Kansas: 10 delegates Louisiana: 39 delegates (538 estimate) Nebraska: 10 delegates 59 delegates to Sanders 49. A very, very good day for her. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Delegates Democrats Primary sanders _1496797 Sun, 06 Mar 2016 06:03:22 +0000 Comparing delegate counts in 2008 and 2016 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/2/1494763/-Comparing-delegate-counts-in-2008-and-2016 One of the main talking points coming from the Clinton campaign is that Hillary is now farther ahead than Obama ever was in 2008. The calendar is very different from what it was in 2008. Super Tuesday in 2008 was actually Mega Tuesday. 23 states and territories voted on February 5th. 2008. Including California and New York. Per Wikipedia, at the end of Super Tuesday, Obama was 11 delegates ahead. It was only after, that he started racking up delegates. A lot fewer states have voted in 2016. So, I went to Wikipedia and totaled the delegates in 2008 for the states that have already voted in 2016. It’s not a perfect comparison, of course. The calendar obviously affects the results. Also, the delegate allocation per state is different. And not all the delegates from yesterday have been allocated, so the 2016 totals will change. But not by much. So for whatever it’s worth, there it is. Hillary, per Huffington Post, is preliminary ahead, by 191 delegates. Obama would have been, more or less, ahead by 93 delegates. Hillary has won 60% of the pledged delegates. Sanders has 40%. In 2008, Obama had 55% vs. 45% for Hillary. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) 2008 2016 Clinton Delegates Obama Primary sanders _1494763 Wed, 02 Mar 2016 22:43:40 +0000 Landmark Communications/RosettaStone poll Georgia: Clinton 70 % - Sanders 23 % https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/29/1493714/--Landmark-Communications-RosettaStone-poll-Georgia-Clinton-70-Sanders-23 For all of you, crack...er, poll addicts: <a href="http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/poll-trump-widens-republican-lead-ahead-super-tues/nqZ49/" target="_blank" title="">www.wsbtv.com/…</a> There’s no such thing as too many polls. Amiright? rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Georgia Polls sanders SuperTuesday _1493714 Tue, 01 Mar 2016 04:57:21 +0000 Washington Post/Univision Poll: Clinton ahead by 29 points nationally among Hispanics https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/24/1490949/-Washington-Post-Univision-Poll-Clinton-ahead-by-29-points-nationally-among-Hispanics I guess the Sanders supporters will point out that she was 72 points ahead last June, when most people wouldn’t be able to pick Sanders out of a lineup. So, her support is collapsing!!! And besides, what does Univision know about Hispanics, right? Link: <a href="http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/washington-post-univision-news-national-survey-of-hispanic-voters/1970/" target="_blank" title="">apps.washingtonpost.com/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Democrats Hispanics Polls sanders _1490949 Thu, 25 Feb 2016 06:15:39 +0000 New Texas Polls: Clinton way, way ahead https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/24/1490866/-New-Texas-Polls-Clinton-way-way-ahead Survey USA: Clinton 61% — Sanders 32% Crosswind Media & Public Relations: Clinton 66% — Sanders 26% Dixie Strategies: Clinton 61% — Sanders 29% Emerson College: Clinton 56% — Sanders 40% Link: <a href="http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/texas-democratic/" target="_blank">projects.fivethirtyeight.com/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) BernieSanders Clinton HillaryClinton Polls sanders SuperTuesday Texas _1490866 Thu, 25 Feb 2016 03:43:10 +0000 Cook Report: Hillary could end this thing in one week. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/23/1489921/-Cook-Report-Hillary-could-end-this-thing-in-one-week Here is a very good analysis of the state of the race for the Democratic Nomination. <a href="http://cookpolitical.com/story/9274" target="_blank" title="">cookpolitical.com/…</a> Someone took me to task for just linking to the stories, without any analysis of my own. There are two reasons for this: I am not an expert in politics or statistics. So it would just be me talking out of my ass. Secondly, the moment you express an opinion here, you just get clobbered. And I am very sensitive. In any case, the story has all the analysis you can possible want. Enjoy. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Delegates DemocraticPrimary sanders _1489921 Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:53:34 +0000 Delegates, Delegates, Delegates https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/19/1487928/-Delegates-Delegates-Delegates The question in everyone’s mind is “who will win Nevada tomorrow?”. But that might not be the most relevant question. The question is “how many delegates will each candidate get?” Unless something goes terribly awry (for either candidate), tomorrow both Clinton and Sanders will add to their delegate total. There are 35 pledged delegates (non super-delegates) at stake. In 2008 Hillary won the popular vote in Nevada, but because of the byzantine way delegates are awarded, Obama got more of them. So, it is perfectly possible that the same might happen tomorrow. That’s another reason polls are less meaningful than usual. They might point to the winner of the popular vote, but not who gets more delegates. Because the number of delegates is an odd number, someone will get at least 1 more delegate. My guess is that the difference will be 1 to 3 delegates for Sanders. Care to guess? rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Delegates Nevada sanders _1487928 Fri, 19 Feb 2016 21:40:19 +0000 Fox 2 Detroit/Mitchell Poll Michigan: Clinton 60% - Sanders 27% https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/19/1487884/-Fox-2-Detroit-Mitchell-Poll-Michigan-Clinton-60-Sanders-27 Link: <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/docs/2016/Mitchell-FOX_2_Detroit_MI_Poll_DEM_Primary_PRESS_PACKET_2-18-16_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">www.realclearpolitics.com/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Democrats Michigan Polls Primary sanders _1487884 Fri, 19 Feb 2016 20:28:44 +0000 NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll SC: Clinton 60% - Sanders 32% https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/19/1487812/-NBC-News-Wall-Street-Journal-Marist-poll-SC-Clinton-60-Sander-32 Here’s the link: <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-s-lead-slashed-south-carolina-poll-n521101" target="_blank">www.nbcnews.com/…</a> Apologies if this is a duplicate diary. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Democrats Polls Primaries sanders SouthCarolina _1487812 Fri, 19 Feb 2016 18:35:06 +0000 Fox Poll in SC: Clinton 56% - Sanders 28% https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/18/1487490/-Fox-Poll-in-SC-Clinton-56-Sanders-28 Here’s the link: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2016/02/18/fox-news-poll-clinton-leads-in-south-carolina-democratic-primary/" target="_blank">www.foxnews.com/…</a> Apologies if this is a duplicate diary rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Democrats Polls Primaries sanders SouthCarolina _1487490 Fri, 19 Feb 2016 01:21:41 +0000 Monmouth Poll SC: Clinton 59% - Sanders 30% https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/18/1487246/-Monmouth-Poll-SC-Clinton-59-Sanders-30 Here’s the link: <a href="http://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/30064771087/0d2797d9-672e-4af0-963c-4462f3db9b19.pdf" target="_blank">www.monmouth.edu/…</a> Apologies if this a duplicate diary. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Monmouth Polls sanders SouthCarolina _1487246 Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:39:49 +0000 Hillary leads Sanders by 19 pts. in South Carolina. Unchanged since January. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/14/1485326/-Hillary-leads-Sanders-by-19-pts-in-South-Carolina-Unchanged-since-January New poll by New YouGov/CBS News in South Carolina: Clinton 59 — Sanders 40. Last poll in January was Clinton 60 — Sanders 38. Statistically unchanged. <a href="https://today.yougov.com/news/2016/02/14/trump-and-clinton-hold-wide-leads-south-carolina/" target="_blank">today.yougov.com/…</a> Apologies if there has been a diary about this already rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Democrats Polls sanders SouthCarolina _1485326 Mon, 15 Feb 2016 02:48:10 +0000 Why I think IA and NH mean more for the GOP this year. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/9/1482552/-Why-I-think-IA-and-NH-mean-more-for-the-GOP-this-year Caveat Lector: This is my own humble opinion. No need to get angry or offended. One of the most annoying aspects of the presidential primaries is that apparent undeserved importance of 2 fairly small states, IA and NH. But I think these two states serve a purpose, that this year is more meaningful for the GOP. The purpose is to separate the true contenders from the riff raff. Cut the fat, so to speak. Iowa already killed two campaigns, Paul’s and Huckabee’s. We’ll see how many will drop out because of NH. For the Democratic side IA took care of O’Malley. No more fat to cut. Regardless of the results tonight, neither candidate is dropping out any time soon. More than showing who will win, IA and NH show who needs to cry uncle. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Iowa NewHampshire _1482552 Tue, 09 Feb 2016 23:53:39 +0000 Hillary supporters, brace yourselves https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/7/1481576/-Hillary-supporters-brace-yourselves Hillary supporters, the next couple of weeks will be hell for us. Once Sanders wins NH, the press and the blogosphere will shred Hillary to pieces. After getting more delegates than Sanders out of IA, the headlines were still horrendous. It was basically “Clinton wins Iowa, a great victory for Sanders” I read a story right after the caucus. The author wrote that, except for the delegate metric, Sanders won IA in every way. The funny thing is that the only metric that really matters is the delegate count. In baseball would be like saying, except for the runs scored, the other team won the game. So even if Sanders is ahead by only 1 or 2 delegates on Tuesday, the headlines will scream how Sanders is clobbering Hillary. So, take a deep breath. Try not to get discouraged by all the abuse Hillary and her supporters will endure. Remember that NH is just inning 2 of the first game of the World Series. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Delegates Democrats NewHampshire Recommended sanders _1481576 Mon, 08 Feb 2016 06:24:01 +0000 Nice article on NH polls https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/5/1480704/-Nice-article-on-NH-polls Here’s a good article on the New Hampshire polls: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/05/new-hampshire-polls-are-all-over-the-place-just-like-normal/" target="_blank" title="">www.washingtonpost.com/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton DemocraticPrimary NewHampshire Polls sanders _1480704 Sat, 06 Feb 2016 00:30:15 +0000 Question to Sanders Supporters https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/5/1480571/-Question-to-Sanders-Supporters One of Bernie’s biggest issues is Single Payer Heatlhtcare. Considering the following: 1) The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) started as a Republican plan 2) Once Obama embraced it, it became the most hated piece of legislation in years. 3) Any Republican that does not condemn Obamacare and promises to repeal it, specially in the house, is committing political suicide. 4) Thanks to gerrymandering, the chances of democrats regaining the house is very low. At least until 2020. 5) Even now, against any evidence, Republicans keep insisting Obamacare is a disaster. 6) Republicans in the house are radicals that hate the government. My question is not rhetorical, I really want to know. How is it not DOA, with Republicans controlling the house? Sanders plan “A” is to lead a revolution that will wrestle both houses of congress from Republicans. What’s plan “B”? What can possibly a President Sanders offer Republicans? Please, be as specific as possible. This diary does not have anything to do with Clinton. Let’s assume Sanders is in the White House. Thanks. PS. I just picked a generic image. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Obamacare Republicans sanders SinglePayer _1480571 Fri, 05 Feb 2016 20:40:32 +0000 The Tea Party experience as a cautionary tale https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/3/1479589/-Why-Bernie-s-supporters-are-just-like-the-Tea-Party But I do I think the tea party experience can be a cautionary tale for Bernie’s supporters. 2010 and, specially 2014, were wave elections for Republicans. After 2014, they got their biggest majorities in Congress in generations. They got there by promising their voters, not governing, but revolution. They were going to, not only repeal every word of Obamacare, but basically destroy what’s left of the new deal. No negotiations with dems or Obama. Compromise is treason. Boehner and McConnell, both truly conservative, but not fanatics, were deemed Obama’s enablers. Eric Cantor was thrown out because he was not sufficiently hostile to Immigration Reform. These republicans were sent to Washington to radically change it. Their motto was “Revolution or Nothing”. And that’s exactly what they got: Nothing. Their voters are understandably furious. They gave the Republicans full control of Congress, and they haven’t got anything in return. Why? Because in Washington DC, compromise is the only way to get things done. And that drives both the right and the left completely nuts. The farther from the center, the nuttier. Washington is not, and never will be, a one party town. Meaning, even if you are in the majority, you still need the other party to get things done. And that is by design. The Senate was created with the purpose of slow things down. The server as “a cooling plate” for the hotter House of Representatives. To deliberate and reach consensus. We can argue about the wisdom of that, but that’s how things are. All president’s want their heads in Mt. Rushmore. The way to get there is to have a transformative presidency. They all go to Washington to change it. And then, reality bites them in the ass. Now, Bill Clinton is reviled by many for signing DOMA into law. It seems that they have forgotten that one of the first things Clinton tried to do, was to lift the ban on gays in the military. There was no law keeping gays from serving, it was an official policy of the military, so the Commander in Chief had the power to lift it with the stroke of a pen. He promised it during the campaign, and he thought it would be easy to do. It blew up in his face. He got crucified in the press and in the polls. Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress made it clear, that if he lifted the ban, they would pass a law banning gays from serving. They had enough votes to override Clinton’s veto. The result was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. A law that no one liked, but at least offered some protection to gays in the Military. By the time DADT was repealed, the country was ready for it. You know, incremental steps. Obama promised to close Guantanamo. He really did intend to do it. We know how that went. On purpose, the office of the President was created to be the weakest of the three branches of government. No kings for America and such. So no president can make Congress do a thing it doesn’t want to do. Obamacare passed because the democrats in Congress were behind it. In order the get their support, Obama sacrificed the public option. If he had insisted on it, Obamacare would not exist today. A president not only needs to negotiate with the opposition, he needs to negotiate with his own party. A president Sanders would have two opposing parties in Congress. He is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. No one in either party would owe him anything. What do you think not one Democratic senator is behind him. He is not one of them. One of the reasons Sanders is so appealing to many liberals, is his apparent unwillingness to compromise. His steadfast belief he is right. Admirable qualities in a person, not so much in a President. Of course, Hillary is not going to fare any better with the Republicans. But I do believe she will have an easier time rallying the Democratic party than Sanders ever will. And she is not promising revolution. Just good governing. rss@dailykos.com (manrico1967) Clinton Democrats Election Republicans sanders TeaParty _1479589 Thu, 04 Feb 2016 03:40:00 +0000