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2016 Democratic Primary Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 23, 2016 10 Comments
Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer this week, Hillary Clinton sought to paint her opponent Bernie Sanders as part of the establishment and she has a valid point. Bernie has served in congress for years which makes him part of the establishment. Hillary Clinton on the other hand is not just part of the establishment, she is the walking embodiment of it. Here's how the conversation went, via CNN:
Hillary Clinton pins 'establishment' label on Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton on Thursday sought to turn Sen. Bernie Sanders' "establishment" attack right back on him -- saying he served in Washington much longer than she did.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 22, 2016 33 Comments
Earlier this week, Fox News reported Hillary Clinton's emails contained information from the most secretive, classified sources. Their report was based on a letter obtained from the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Charles McCullough III.
Fox News exclusively obtained the text of the unclassified letter, sent Jan. 14 from Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III. It laid out the findings of a recent comprehensive review by intelligence agencies that identified “several dozen” additional classified emails — including specific intelligence known as “special access programs” (SAP). That indicates a level of classification beyond even “top secret,” the label previously given to two emails found on her server, and brings even more scrutiny to the presidential candidate’s handling of the government’s closely held secrets.
Blown off as an attack by the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, Clinton's campaign ignored the specific accusations outlined in the OIG's letter. Friday afternoon, Fox News reported classified information in Hillary's emails exposed intelligence from human spying.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 22, 2016 23 Comments
Retired four-star general and former head of the CIA, David Petraeus, may be demoted for his 2012 scandal involving classified material.
The Pentagon is re-examining whether retired Army Gen. David Petraeus should be retroactively demoted for giving his biographer unauthorized access to classified information, defense officials say. While the Army officially determined last year that Petraeus should retain the status — and pension — of a retired four-star officer, that decision is now under review by Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s office, officials said.
This is a troubling development, given that Hillary Clinton is asking to be promoted to Commander-in-Chief despite her allegedly knowledgeable mishandling of classified electronic communications. But is it really fair to compare the two?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 21, 2016 33 Comments
Establishment Democrats are scared to death of a Bernie Sanders win over Hillary for many of the same reasons the Republican establishment is scared to death of a Ted Cruz primary win: People will lose party jobs and access. In Democratic circles, people like Claire McCaskill are worrying that Bernie will be a general election disaster because Republicans will run ads with a hammer and sickle on them. So how will the self-identified Democratic Socialist convince America to vote for him? Simon & Garfunkel. I agree with this assessment of a new ad released by Sanders:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 20, 2016 16 Comments
The decision by Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz to keep an abbreviated presidential primary debate schedule ruffled the feathers of just about every non-Clinton acolyte. Democratic presidential candidates vocally opposed the meager schedule which they claimed was designed to help Hillary Clinton. So incensed were New Hampshire delegates that they shouted down Wasserman Shultz chanting, "we want debates!" Three of the last four Democratic Presidential Primary debates were scheduled on weekends. The last? Scheduled to compete with two NFL playoff games and PBS favorite, Downton Abbey. After the most recent debate Sunday night (which was cut short by the network), Wasserman Shultz was chastised by CNN’s Brian Stelter for the lack of debate opportunities. Monday, I suggested the paltry debate schedule was doing more harm than good for Hillary, whose poll numbers continue to tank:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 20, 2016 17 Comments
SHE'S ONTO US! Wednesday, a spokesman from Democratic presidential frontrunner (?) Hillary Clinton's campaign, "accused the Intelligence Community Inspector General Wednesday of working with Republicans to attack the Democratic presidential front-runner," reports Anita Kumar for McClatchy. In an exclusive report published by Fox News Tuesday, a letter from the Intelligence Community Inspector General Charles McCullough III, "laid out the findings of a recent comprehensive review by intelligence agencies that identified “several dozen” additional classified emails — including specific intelligence known as “special access programs” (SAP)." Also included in the letter was the claim that among the classified information contained in Clinton's emails were data of the most secretive nature. Intelligence Community Inspector General Charles McCullough III was appointed by President Obama and confirmed with laudations from Democrats as the best man for the job. But that's irrelevant. Forget addressing the substantive claims of the Fox News report; Hillary's campaign whipped out an old 90s era retort. Clearly, the Intelligence Community Inspector General was colluding with the vast right-wing conspiracy to undermine her candidacy.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 20, 2016 10 Comments
Last week, I noted that Bernie Sanders was reluctant to reveal how he intends to pay for everything for everyone; this week, the Washington Examiner has some answers. The Washington Examiner estimates that the bill for Bernie's "free stuff for everyone!" promises will be approximately $19.6 trillion.  Our national debt, which has nearly doubled under Obama, is under that at just over $18 trillion. Where's the money going to come from?  Taxes.  Of course. The Washington Examiner writes:
Sen. Bernie Sanders' populist message has put him in the position to potentially win Democratic nomination contests in both Iowa and New Hampshire, shaking the sense of inevitability that has surrounded Hillary Clinton. As the socialist senator from Vermont gains traction in polls, Clinton has more aggressively attacked his policy proposals, forcing Sanders to release details on how he would pay for his ambitious economic and social agenda.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 19, 2016 31 Comments
Hillary Clinton's decision to use a private email account while serving as Secretary of State was a security disaster if ever there was one. Not only did she route her personal email account through a home-brewed server (a home-brewed server that was kept in the bathroom), classified information has been found in over 1,000 emails reviewed by the Department of State. Worse still, emails released by the State Department as part of court-ordered monthly document dump suggest Hillary instructed subordinates to remove classified designations from documents in order to send them through insecure channels. Now, the Inspector General says Hillary's emails contained information from the most secretive, classified sources.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 18, 2016 7 Comments
The Democratic Party's decision to limit presidential primary debates to a paltry six drew the ire of non-Hillary candidates and delegates alike. O'Malley and Sanders vocally opposed the meager debate schedule, delegates in New Hampshire shouted "we want debates" at DNC Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and candidates considering extra-DNC sanctioned debates were told they'd be ineligible for future DNC debates should they go rogue. As if that wasn't bad enough, three of the last four debates were scheduled on the weekend. Last night's NBC/YouTube debate was scheduled up against two NFL playoff games and Downton Abbey (a PBS favorite). It's almost like the DNC is trying to tuck their presidential debates away in plain sight. CNN’s Brian Stelter prodded DNC Chairwoman Wasserman Shultz on the limited weekend-only debate schedule. Wasserman Shultz claimed other candidate forums, like the one held on Fusion last week, are meant to draw national exposure in lieu of more debates. Stelter expressed his frustration with incredibly low ratings in other candidate forums saying, "I feel like your all's [sic] voices aren't getting heard the way the could be if there were more of these events."

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 17, 2016 18 Comments
Hillary Clinton advocate David Brock of Media Matters thinks he's found a clever way to take Bernie Sanders down a notch. He wants Bernie to release his medical records. Hillary's official campaign has already distanced themselves from Brock's demand. Annie Karni reports at Politico:
Clinton surrogate to demand Sanders release medical records A top surrogate for Hillary Clinton is prepping a new attack in an intensifying and increasingly personal war against rival Bernie Sanders — calling on the 74-year-old to release his medical records before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1. Clinton defender David Brock — founder of the Correct the Record PAC, which coordinates directly with Clinton’s campaign — is expected to hit the airwaves this weekend from Charleston, the scene of the third Democratic debate on Sunday night, and challenge Sanders to cough up a clean bill of health and doctor’s note in the next 16 days, according to a Democrat familiar with his thinking who was not authorized to preview any strategy.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 16, 2016 7 Comments
Have you heard that there's a Democratic Party debate Sunday? If you haven't, you're not alone. Once again, the DNC has scheduled a debate at a time to minimize viewership. FOX News reports:
With Sunday debate, DNC places NFL, 'Downton Abbey' fans in tough spot Once again, a Democratic debate is being held on the weekend, and this one could have a slimmer audience than usual -- coming on the same day as two NFL playoff games, not to mention "Downton Abbey." The Sunday night debate in South Carolina, hosted by NBC News, is the latest in a series of weekend Democratic bouts. The timing has fueled allegations from Hillary Clinton's rivals that party leaders are working behind the scenes to minimize her exposure.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 16, 2016 10 Comments
Talk about a bad week. Poll numbers tanking, polling shows millennial ladies prefer Bernie, her attempts to connect with minority demographics flopping hard, 13 Hours hits theaters, resurrecting the Benghazi story, and now a second Congressional investigation. This latest investigation centers around the security of Hillary's home-brewed email server used during her tenure as Secretary of State. According to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman:
Understanding these companies’ roles in providing software and services to maintain former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server is critical to improving government cybersecurity standards. A high profile government official deviating from established information security requirements raises significant concerns. The sensitive nature of the information stored on Sec. Clinton’s private server created a unique challenge to ensure all of the information was properly safeguarded. The Committee takes seriously its duty to ensure the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is properly equipped to safeguard our nation’s information.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 15, 2016 12 Comments
More bad news for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton ahead of the next Democratic presidential primary debate -- millennial-aged women prefer Bernie Sanders. A USA Today/Rock the Vote poll conducted between January 4-7, and released Thursday night, questioned over 1,100 women ages 18-34, 77% of whom were registered voters. According to USA Today:
Sen. Bernie Sanders, 74, a Vermont independent, will head into the Democratic presidential debate Sunday with a 19-point lead over front-runner Hillary Clinton, 50% to 31%, among Democratic and independent women ages 18 to 34, according to a recent USA TODAY/Rock the Vote poll.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 14, 2016 12 Comments
Earlier today, the Washington Post compared Hillary's poll numbers from her presidential run in 2008 to data from the current election. The results? Bad news for Mrs. Clinton and her supporters. Philip Bump writes at WaPo:
If we compare where Clinton is now in the Real Clear Politics polling average, the 2016 picture and the 2008 picture aren't really all that similar. Nationally, she was doing much better in 2008 than she is right now, perhaps in part because the anti-Clinton vote in 2008 was still split between two people -- Barack Obama and John Edwards -- instead of just one. But that recent trend line, a function of two new national polls that were close after a bit of a lull, is not very good news.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 14, 2016 47 Comments
Bernie Sanders' "Democrat socialist" policies sound good and have a lot of popular support among certain demographics, but when pressed on how he would pay for all the free stuff he's promising, he's a bit nonplussed.  Pesky details like that just don't interest him; it's all about the utopian ideal in his dreamy little head, not about reality. For example, although he pledged to release his plan for paying for his health care plan before the Iowa caucuses, he's now decided that might be a mistake and is considering breaking that particular pledge. CNN reports:

Bernie Sanders could break his pledge to release details on how he would pay for his health care plan before the Iowa caucuses, according to a top aide.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 12, 2016 17 Comments
During a Fusion-hosted event at Drake, Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was asked, "Can you tell us what the term ‘white privilege’ means to you and can you give me an example from your life or career when you think you have benefitted from it?" "Look, where do I start? It is hard when you're swimming in the ocean to know exactly what's happening around you so much as it is when you're standing on the shore, perhaps watching," Hillary began.
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