I wish Bernie would be more explicit in making some points. Don’t just mention that you’re 20 points up against Trump in head-to-head polls; compare that to how Hillary does against Trump. Similarly, when they bring up her delegate count including super delegates, point out that these delegates changed to Obama when it was clear he was beating Hillary even if they’d already endorsed her and that you’ll trust in voters who actually participate actively in the process.
He may make this point eventually but he really needs to hammer that he’s winning mostly Blue states and Hillary’s winning Red States they likely won’t win in the general election.
It’s nice that Jorge Ramos discloses his daughter works for Hillary’s campaign off the top but it really shows how the establishment works. (You think that his daughter fears for her job if dad does too good of a job tonight?)
I love that these moderators, more than any other debate I’ve watched, are asking hard-hitting, relevant questions *and* doing the basic follow-up to re-ask if the politicians (both of them) dodge initially.
But on the topic of pointless questions, someone had an interesting theory that the crazy lady who asked about each candidate’s religion in a recent debate (which seemed like a way to trap quasi-atheist Bernie Sanders) actually backfired as Hillary rambled and babbled (like she tends to do) and Sanders’ genuine secular humanist “we are all equal/follow the golden rule” answer probably resonated with many religious people who were put off by Hillary’s answer.
I really wish he’d throw “artful smear” back in her face when rebuking her cherry picking of his votes.
Does anyone track the actual amount of time each candidate speaks? My biased impression is that Hillary runs long *way* more than Bernie does.
Lots of ideas on how to deal with this issue but I really wish they both would get a 30-second warning and their mics were cut off instead of letting them run on or moderators trying to interrupt repeatedly.
Hillary voted to build a wall with Mexico? WTF? Why am I only hearing about this now??? Trump/Clinton 2016!
Hillary corrects “Fence”, not wall. <snicker>
Hillary is actually pretty funny imitating Trump “A beautiful wall, a great wall.” I honestly like when I see that side of her. I still wish I could find the Reddit comment that laid out how we could’ve avoided all of this if she’d run herself not as a Queen-in-waiting but as a humble, genuine, progressive candidate. (Poorly described but it was a brilliant comment about how she could’ve thwarted any challenge by positioning herself slightly differently than she did.)
Splitting families via deportation? You know what works? Humanity. Empathy.
That woman whose husband was deported gets some authentic “Hispandering” (ha!) from Hillary.
When I get frustrated with Bernie’s answers, I have to remember Hillary doesn’t always shine and could often give better, more effective answers too.
From Reddit:
Honestly all Hillary has to say is “Look, yes Wall St got bailed out by that bill. But it was the only way the auto bailout was going to pass. Without that bailout, hundreds of thousands of Americans would have been unemployed, and our manufacturing industry would have been irreparably harmed. It was a compromise. The fact is Bernie, that your hatred for Wall St is so much that you are fine with letting Main St suffer so long as Wall St suffers more. “
She rambled (which proved her point) but I did like her admission that she’s not a natural politician like Bill or Obama.
On Bernie’s demand that Hillary release the transcripts – two good ways to force her hand: 1) she says she’s being “transparent” with her e-mail stuff but that’s part of a legal Freedom of Information request she can’t deny. If she truly believes in transparency, she should release the speeches. Also, she defends herself that *all* candidates should do it if she does and he needs to point out she’s getting ahead of herself and not running against a Republican nor would he expect what a Republican says to Wall Street to be comparable to what a Democrat says (or should say.)
Holy shit! The crowd basically calls for Bernie to be given a chance to respond to Hillary’s bullshit explanation for taking corporate donations.
Is that Bernie Sanders or Walter White? “He said I’m dangerous. I *am* dangerous for Wall Street.”
Benghazi question gets boos from the crowd. Such a weird election cycle – Fox News town hall was actually “fair and balanced” and a CNN/Univision debate has Benghazi questions?
Why is the Secretary of State even e-mailing her daughter during a national crisis?
Bernie keeps bringing up climate change but has he mentioned the very real threat to Florida and other coastal areas? (Shit – Hillary just did it. Such an obvious point to be made but Bernie missed it. Sometimes I think Bernie’s always operating on the big picture level instead of down on the retail level where his answers could have more impact.)
It’s fascinating to think about the impact of pop culture – Trump is a reality star but Bernie has “YUGE!” as a catch phrase like something you’d like on a sitcom or SNL and repeat to friends at the water cooler the next day.
Again, spell it out Bernie. “Fifty years ago, a high school diploma was like a college degree now” could be vastly improved by saying “Fifty years ago, a publicly funded high school diploma should now be a publicly funded university degree.” (Edit: he almost made the point is passing by saying Trump’s kids can go to public school so why not public university?)
Hillary literally cannot respond to a question from the public without pandering: “You work so hard.” “Good for you on getting your PhD”.
Bernie pointing out how Hillary’s copying his ideas. Has Bernie had *anything* in his campaign influenced by Hillary?
Many say that Bernie repeats himself but you’ve got to admit he’s got some very effective lines – “We bailed out Wall Street, now Wall Street needs to bail out Main Street.”
Hillary 2016: “Make America Meh Again.”
Great response by Bernie to Hillary’s claim that 90% healthcare coverage is great. He says this isn’t actually true due to high premiums, drug costs and wasteful spending.
Climate change discussion – since Bernie does this about universal healthcare and free post-secondary, it’d be useful to point out what some other countries are doing with renewables. What’s Germany at – 20% renewable or something? (27% actually.)
Hillary filibustering after the moderator called on Bernie to speak is probably not helping her cause.
A clip from 1985 to trap Bernie yet Hillary can change her views from debate to debate? Right. To steal a line from Reddit, that video is older than most of his supporters! Also, they pick some ancient video and Hillary just happens to have a quote from that interview at the ready to attack him? Riiiiggghhht!
Bernie could connect back to his overarching campaign message by pointing out that a lot of Latin American regime change was pushed for by corporations.
Great point for Hillary to bring up Bush v. Gore which hinged on Florida.
Hillary 2016: “Like Bernie’s Vision But Smaller”
Was that DNC Chair, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz who leapt to her feet in the front row when Hillary gave her closing statement?
Spell it out Bernie – define oligarchy – don’t trust people to Google it.
Wow – this is the most pro-Bernie crowd I’ve seen at a debate. Unlike Hillary who got one person jumping to her feet then immediately sitting down, he got a pretty wide standing ovation for his closing statement. I’m sure I’ve said it before – for Democrats, enthusiasm wins elections.
It feels somewhat wrong and somehow right to post this list on International Women’s Day. But as she does with so many other things, Hillary Clinton has made her gender an integral part of her campaign (which, in turn, has polarized female voters around the issue of gender) so is there a better time?
For that reason, here’s my list of 10 reasons I don’t think Hillary Clinton should be the Democratic Party nominee for President…
Her Self-Serving Nature
I expect public servants to…serve the public. Ms. Clinton has been a public servant in a variety of roles for nearly 30 years. But she’s also clearly used that public service to raise her profile which has helped greatly enrich herself and her family. A big part of this is the general unseemliness of her raising millions of dollars giving private hour-long speeches to corporations at $200,000+/pop in her few months between being a Secretary of State (when it would be illegal to do so) and declaring herself a candidate for President of the United States (when it is once again illegal to profit in this way.) On top of that, unlike others who’ve gone on to lucrative careers on the rubber chicken circuit after leaving politics, few had little doubt that Clinton would run for President, no matter what she claimed herself.
American Dynasty? We just did the same thing in Canada and I hated it just as much. There’s no rule against it but it seems ridiculous when the wife/son/other family member of a famous existing leader gets an automatic huge head start when they run to be leader of whatever country. I think it speaks very poorly of our democracy when, out of 30 or 300 million people, the best choice is someone closely connected to a previous leader. Or, for Americans in 2016, they face being governed by a member of one of two families for all but eight years (Thanks Obama!) since 1992 with the prospect of (at least) four more years if Hillary wins (and with assorted other Bushes/Clintons either having run this year or waiting in the wings.)
Scandals…Everywhere!
At some point, it’s not just the right wing conspiracy theories for one person to be connected to so many scandals, many of which, like her use of a personal e-mail server as Secretary of State, speak to a general lack of judgement as well as an inclination towards thinking she’s above the law or the rules don’t apply to her. (With the Michigan Primary happening today, I was reminded how in 2008, the Michigan Democratic Party was censured for not following the rules and all candidates – except Hillary – pulled their names off the ballot. Hillary not only left hers on but then tried to claim she won all the state delegates!)
Flip-Flop, Flip-Flop
Her flip-flopping on virtually every major issue depending on which way public opinion is going is stunning. A related part of this is how she tends to follow trends (gay marriage, Iraq war, etc.) rather than show leadership on important issues which is what you’d expect from someone running for the highest office in the land.
(Un)favourability Ratings I posted this the other day but it’s one of the most damning pieces of evidence about the chances for Hillary as a Presidential candidate I’ve seen…
She’s a Hawk
Clinton is well-known for being one of the most hawkish Democrats which I’ve often thought is some sort of way to “make up” for being a female in a male-dominated world of politics. Even if my theory is true, that’s unfortunate that her war-mongering actually ends up incriminating her more by revealing a lack of good judgement and empathy over and over again.
Civil Hillaries
Hillary is a well-known opponent of civil liberties including voting for the Patriot Act, being against flag burning and voicing opposition to Wikileaks and Edward Snowden whom she suggested was guilty of treason.
Vagina Monologues With apologies for the pregnancy metaphor, the United States is long overdue for a female President. Unfortunately, a candidate who rides in, in large part on her husband’s name and legacy, who regularly makes thinly veiled sexist attacks against male opponents, and who pits females of different generations against each other, shouldn’t be the first woman to be President.
I had to work this weekend so Shea took the kids to spend a couple days enjoying the beautiful +13 weather at her parents’ house in Weyburn.
I can’t decide if getting to go to the Bushwakkers for supper tonight (which we rarely get to since it’s a pub with a “no kids allowed” policy) was unintentionally her anniversary gift to me? 😉
Recent Academy Award “Best Animated Feature” winner, Pixar’s “Inside Out” was one of the best movies released last year. Part of the appeal was how it used cartoonish illustrations to show the interplay of emotions within a person’s head.
Shea and I were fortunate to visit Leamington, see the (at the time) Heinz factory (from the outside only – didn’t have time for a tour unfortunately) and get our picture taken by the World’s Biggest Tomato ™.
