"They're Desperate to Beat Bernie"
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race Monday and will reportedly endorse former Vice President Joe Biden as the party's centrist establishment consolidates against Sen. Bernie Sanders, the progressive front-runner who has won three of the four contests in the race thus far and appears set to perform well in the 14 states that vote on March 3, Super Tuesday.
"They're desperate to stop Bernie," tweeted The Young Turks reporter Emma Vigeland.
As Common Dreams reported, Klobuchar was forced to cancel a rally in the Minneapolis area Sunday night after Black Lives Matter activists and other demonstrators flooded the stage to demand justice for Myon Burrell, whose conviction in a case overseen by Klobuchar is today widely seen as in error after the Associated Press in January published an investigation into the case.
Despite receiving a split endorsement, along with Warren, from the New York Times and the backing of other institutions, Klobuchar struggled to gain traction in the race outside of better-than-expected performances in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Krystal nails why Warren will not drop out. We knew that. She knew that. It's time for Warren's supporters to see that she doesn't give a rat's ass for the things that she once ran on. She has abandoned every issue she said she stood for.
Comments
Amy is endorsing Biden
Can they show how desparate they are to keep Bernie from getting the nomination any more than Pete and Amy dropping out while Liz stays in to keep him from getting it? My contempt for Warren has risen more in the last few days. She is betraying everything she once said she stood for and the people who initially supported her because of her platform
Warren is getting hammered for this stunt. I hope this ends her career in the senate because her actions show how phony she has been the whole time. If she endorses Biden after hammering him all those years ago for his bankruptcy bill that she said was the reason she got in congress in the first place.
Raggedy Anne posted this in the OT. Please listen and share it.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Nq3RG8b84]
]
Might as well endorse Trump.
Biden is not beating Trump.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
Agreed ...
If you read some other headlines, you'll see the Rs in the Senate are gearing up to do their version of Ukraine-gate and Hunter Biden, just like the Ds in the House did last year. To me, that makes Biden (a former two-time loser whose only point has been his so-called "electability") a risky pick for the Dems.
They don't care.
He's not a socialist.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
The Dems do not care
about beating Trump. Their main goal is to beat Bernie and destroy the progressive movement. And they are not even trying to hide it.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
100% right
The big wail is "He's not a democrat!". Imagine if he were. He'd spend his time in the democratic party having his bills killed by leadership, stuck on thankless committees, compromising what he believes, standing in photo ops supporting whatever onerous misbegotten candidate or scheme dem leaders have hatched. Yes, he has little legislation passed in his career, but I can't see any more would have passed if he were a dem. Like now, leadership would never allow it.
That's a powerful
personal testimony from that woman. Is this out just recently?
And it does not bode well for EW giving Bernie the benefit of the doubt towards endorsement.
If she doesn't, and goes with Biden, she had better have a VP promise in her pocket from Joe b/c she will be toast in MA for betraying the progressive wing she claimed to represent.
VP Pick
To me, the electability argument could possibly turn on who the VP is. For example, Bernie has intimated his VP pick is likely to be a woman, and someone considerably younger. IMHO, this should be Tulsi, but if you are looking at balancing a ticket to appeal to both wings of the party, then maybe someone like Klobuchar might make sense.
On the other hand, were Biden to win the nomination, Klobuchar would be a bad pick, IMHO, just like Tim Kaine was for HRC last time around. A Biden-Klobuchar ticket does nothing to reach out to the progressive wing of the party, and would do little to expand the base.
But, as I've noted elsewhere, it's possible that Ukraine-gate could kill off Biden's chances, regardless of the VP selection.
Mucho thanks for the Drucilla Cornell
audio. It's worse than what I'd postulated. Warren's silence on what she left the GOP already told us that it was somewhat late in her life, but I didn't peg her as a staunch Reaganite, only more of a mushy Bush Sr. supporter. She's also been allowed to remain silent on why she switched from being a Republican. These are the sort of snakes that Democratic voters fail to take a close look at. It's exceedingly rare for a Republican to turn left as they age; the alternative D to R is common for several reasons. Flipping an R into a D is merely cosmetic.
OK, was just about to hit "publish"
but let's call this the Klobuchar thread.
Amy Klobuchar to drop out of 2020 race and endorse Biden for president before Super Tuesday
Here's what Kyle had to say:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6RdePCEnn8&t=323s]
Before. She dropped out before Super Tuesday, when she was expected to win her home state. What can we conclude from that?
First, this is a new strategy. The last plan, to have Klobuchar and Warren stay in the race to peel delegates away from Bernie, is out the window. What changed? It has to have been internal polling. The last actual event was Biden winning a strong victory in SC. They had to think that peeling off delegates wasn't going to be enough.
Now it's about clearing the decks to get Biden over 15% in as many states as possible.
Sanders
Biden, Bloomberg
Warren
Gabbard
If they're all in behind Biden, then Bloomberg has been kicked to the curb before his first contest.
Tomorrow will be interesting...
EDIT:
I don't think it's a matter of "if" Sanders wins MN now. First, if he's doing a rally there the night before the election it's because the campaign thinks they can win it. Without Klobuchar in the race, who else is going to take it? They've abandoned MN to Bernie, it's worth 75 pledged delegates.
They must have been waiting to see if Biden could pull off a win in SC. If he lost there, they had nobody left but Bloomberg. Since he won, they're all in for Biden, clearing the field. Warren stays in to peel one or two delegates per contest from Sanders.
Is it Biden making these calls, or Obama? Hoping for some leaks to let us know.
EDIT:
But keep in mind early voting. A LOT of votes have already been cast, this isn't going to make as much difference as it might have two weeks earlier. They kept their powder dry for too long. If Bernie wins big tomorrow, this plan falls apart. If Biden and Bloomberg get 15% in enough states, they might just be able to take it to the convention. Maybe.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Interesting, indeed
From what I've heard Biden, who hasn't been pulling in the bucks, hasn't run ads or done any ground game in many stupor Tuesday states. OTOH, Bloomberg has been running and out and out air assault. So how does that play out? It seems if Blomie was going to jump out and get behind Joe, now would be the time before he risks splitting the vote. And what impact will Warren have, considering her campaign is running on fumes, aside from the SuperPAC money?
EDIT: I agree with your edit, that they kept their powder dry too long. I thing Sanders needs to fight for his life, but I think this plan is just going to create confusion rather than a winner, which of course, is a plan too.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Bloomberg
What a time to run the Bloomberg experiment! Steyer spent $200 million and got zero delegates. Bloomberg, spending 2.5 times as much, should obviously win 2.5 times as many, yes? Math!
I'm guessing the strategy will be "pivot".
If Bloomberg manages to win a significant number of delegates tomorrow, he stays in to gather delegates for the convention fight. If he doesn't, he stays in but pivots to running negative ads against Bernie and Trump. He's an unlimited PAC in his own right, and if he's an active candidate you can't really fault him for running the ads he wants to run.
And, I suppose, he's the last ditch emergency plan if Biden's brain turns to mashed potatoes in the next couple of months.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
IMO, if Bloomie's not run any negative ads
(and, I wouldn't know since we don't watch teevee--just listen to satellite radio cable channels, some) about Bernie, yet--he won't. I'm thinking that he'd likely be too concerned that any negative ads he runs against Dems would be picked up by DT's campaign, and used against them.
Remember, Bloomie's vowed to spend money on electing the Dem Party candidate--including, Bernie.
Initially, Jeff Weaver got on Cable teevee, and said that they would not accept Bloomie's offer to finance the eventual nominee. (if it's Bernie)
However, Bernie, subtly, but, clearly, walked that back on Sunday. (This Week)
Firstly, campaigns can't coordinate with PACs (legally). So, though Sanders doesn't believe that he'll really need his financing, he's clearly not going to refuse it, or try to stop it, as was indicated by Jeff Weaver, almost immediately following the SC primary returns. I thought that didn't make a lot of sense, at the time. It's not like DT's campaign will be working off a shoestring budget, like it did in 2016. (they've already broken fundraising records--for the Republican Party apparatus, that is)
Of course, that's just my 'guess.'
Mollie
“This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man . . ."
~~William Shakespeare
“Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving.”
~~Author Unknown
“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”
~~George Bernard Shaw
Irish Dramatist & Socialist (1856-1950)
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Excellent analysis.
The Joe/Amy/Pete rally in Dallas tonight clarifies "their" plan -- write off MN and maximize what they can grab in AL, AR, NC, OK, TN, TX, UT, and VA, hopefully keeping Sanders below 15% in those states, and boost Biden above 15% in CA, CO, ME, MA, MN, and VT.
Will Warren supporters/voters now see that "they" have thrown her under the bus? "Hey, Liz, thanks for the work in cutting Bloomberg down a bit and humiliating yourself and showing your true colors in attacking Bernie. Keep on trucking for another day in MA and collect a few more delegates, but out machine will be out in Boston picking off whatever we can."
Hey Liz --
Please go back to being a Reaganite. Honesty is the best policy.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
Report just in - private plane chartered from West Bend
IN to Dallas.
Expected that Pete will join Amy and Uncle Joe at so-called Rally. Ugh!
Mollie
“This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man . . ."
~~William Shakespeare
“Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving.”
~~Author Unknown
“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”
~~George Bernard Shaw
Irish Dramatist & Socialist (1856-1950)
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Maybe the few people who show up --
will include a few billionaires. Someone should remind them of how ruthlessly they attacked each other in the last debate. And, yeah, amazing how they've all endorsed a guy with initial-stage dementia.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
What are the odds
that the cameras at the Biden rally don't pan out to show the crowd? Just a handful of carefully selected
actorssupporters on the stage."The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Potentially losing Minnesota
to Sanders (who trounced Clinton four years ago) would have been embarrassing.
She's always going on about winning every statewide race she's been in.
Now I guess she can go back to throwing staplers and supporting milquetoast legislation. What a winner!
(Edited)
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Yesterday, Biden called Chris Wallace - "Chuck" -
as in Todd.
After Wallace corrected him, he gave a feeble excuse about having just interviewed with Todd--which was true, since we'd already heard him on MTP.
Still, absolutely pitiful . . .
Mollie
“This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man . . ."
~~William Shakespeare
“Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving.”
~~Author Unknown
“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”
~~George Bernard Shaw
Irish Dramatist & Socialist (1856-1950)
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
The Nation magazine
endorses Bernie!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Chris Hedges
Class: The Little Word the Elites Want You to Forget
The class war is what is on the line for the oligarchs and us. Make no mistake this is a fight to the death. Either theirs or ours.
truthdig drops me an email routinely.
I just now got around to reading the fascinating article you linked.
I did experience something odd. My browser stopped working and had to recover the webpage at least 10 times. This doesn't happen with any other website but truthdig. It now happens every time.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Biden vs Trump Debate clip
Harry Reid Endorses Joe Biden
Harry Reid Endorses Joe Biden
This probably would have made a big difference before the Nevada caucus. Now? Not so much.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Reid did his usual NV caucus job
working the refs in NV. Got Biden in second place and back in the race.
They aren't too shabby at getting their guy through to the convention. Of course they suck at the second round in November.
Sadly, Bernie needs to be VERY
careful in going after Warren. He's already got the Bernie Bro misogyny label to deal with, so while it seems he should attack her I don't think he dares do that. I've long thought Liz was in it for a VP slot, you know, the token "progressive" the DNC will throw at us to get us on board, but who knows, maybe she hopes to actually get nominated? And WHEN she loses to Trump the liberal establishment can use her loss to shame any of us who didn't do our part for Her? Who knows what these idiots have planned but I am willing to bet losing to Trump is a huge part of it.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
I don't think he'll go after her.
He'll let his surrogates do it.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
JD on the Bernie Bro phenom --
Here's the entire tweet along with its embedded retweet:
https://twitter.com/jimmy_dore/status/1234248249168494595
Bernie's enemies are deeply offended by the tiniest criticism and oblivious to life or death realities.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
He doesn't need to go after her
he just needs to beat her in Massachusetts, then ignore her.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
"Warren Endorse Bernie" hashtag trending #1
Lots going on.
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WarrenEndorseBernie&src=trend_click
Forget appeals to Warren;
she's already burned her bridge to the left. Focus on attracting her supporters/voters.
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
unless it's cider vinegar with a drop or two of dish soap from what I've learned.
I agree
Bernie should just ignore Warren now and pivot to going after Biden for his past policies. People need to know about all the damage he has caused to every generation.
Bernie hits Biden on the Iraq war
This is what he needs to do. Next up is how Biden pushed the other bills that hurt us. BrB with a great tweet he should be doing.
This should bury Biden
Too many people are not aware of what he has done.
Joe Biden on the campaign trail:
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
Daily Caller?
This is just a sampling of what the rightwing has in the can on Biden for the ge. Ready for any Trump SuperPac to cut out any of the numerous most devastating bits and run them non-stop on TV and the internet.
The Democratic poobahs are ready to roll with this roadkill (because they don't mind Trump that much.
Will the solid majority of Democratic voters tell them what the poobahs can do with their roadkill?
An example and not even the best hit bit
7 seconds. Loop it and play over and over again as the MSM did with the Dean "scream."
I'm sure that all America
will ignore the fact that all of these Biden quotes actually took place, and focus upon the identities of the right-wing nut jobs who bother to publicize them.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
Except they won't be quotes
they'll be video loops.
And they won't see them on rightwing nutjob sites, but in TV/intenet ads sponsored by some pac with an innocuous or vague and positive sounding name.
Yes Joe, we know the thing
Question is, why don't you? (rhymes with dementia)
Is this the best the demasblishment can do?
Sad.
Sheesh
question everything
Yes, Joe is the bestest candidate
the DP could come up with. All they care about is defeating Bernie. Trump they can live with.
C'mon, man!
It's totally Joe's turn!
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
OMG
When did he try to say that? He is so UN coherent it's a wonder he has any supporters at all.
I just watched one of him explaining away the torture report. Something like
"Look every country has done something that they aren't proud of, but we are the only one who will take responsibility for it and then promise to never do it again."
Umm Joe? Didn't Germany admit to doing bad things ...? The replies to the tweet are so funny. Democrats just want Trump to win and they will try for the next election.
History Lesson ...
Dems never learn from their mistakes. Every Dem VP that has run for President on their own accord (thus excluding those who succeeded to the office on the death of a President) has lost. Here's the list:
Henry Wallace (FDR's second VP): ran 3rd party and lost (1948)
Hubert Humphrey (LBJ's VP): nominated by Dems, ran and lost (1968)
Walter Mondale (Carter's VP): nominated by Dems, ran and lost (1984)
Al Gore (Clinton's VP): nominated by Dems, ran and lost (2000)
"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." (quote attributed to George Santayana)
Zero for four. Biden (whom everyone seems to be endorsing today, including Beto O'Rourke, whom I had a modicum of respect for after he defending Tulsi against the vicious attacks from HRC) is 1 for 4 in the primaries thus far, yet the MSM narrative today is that he has the "momentum." Yet this guy has run for President twice before and lost, and will likely become the first three-time loser in the Dem party since William Jennings Bryan over a century ago.
If It's Bernie vs Biden ...
.. Potentially, you would have a 78 or 79 yo white male taking office in January of 2021. Therefore, the VP pick is going to be of greater significance than ever before.
Biden will pick Pete.
That's his prize for campaigning for Biden now that he's endorsed him. Pete will be everywhere stumping for ol' Joe. Amy, too. She'll be out there for Joe. Marching orders.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Oh they learn alright
They know what they need to do if they want to take all branches of government again. That they refuse to do those things tells you that they just don't want to. What changes did they make during Obama's tenure when they lost so many seats? Nada.
They ran the worst candidate last time even though polls showed Bernie had a better chance of beating Trump and even though she lost they are going to run with an even worse one this time. People will vote for the real republicans over someone who is just like them.
BTW there are quite a few races where republicans are running unopposed. Fancy doing this when they say they have to beat Trump because he's the most dangerous president ever.
I can't believe more people don't see this. You have to be willfully blind not to. And yet.
Good points ...
… I'd note that the Dems have been in control of the House for 14 months now and while, during the impeachment fiasco, they claimed an amazing ability to walk and chew gum at the same time, pardon me if I missed something, but did they pass any major bills on either healthcare or climate change, the issues that repeatedly come up as #1 and #2 in polls of Democratic voters in 2019 and 2020? Can't think of any.
Yes the house has been very busy since Trump was elected
They have passed over 400 bills including ones on health care and some other things I don't recall right now. But then why not? Nancy knows that there is no way Trump would sign them even if McConnell would bring them up for a vote which he is not doing. There are hundreds of bills stagnating in the senate. But people fell for the ruse again. Look democrats just want to help you and the GOP is refusing to let them.
Funny how Nancy didn't try passing any of them during Obama's tenure when the had a slim chance of passing. They wasted 2 years on the ACA while the country continued to suffer from economic issues.
This is just another game between the Washington Generals and the Harlem Globetrotters. Kabuki theater at its finest.
Well...
Gore didn't lose; he simply wasn't inaugurated.
Democracy lost. The republic lost. The people lost.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
One for five
Everybody forgets abut Martin van Buren, because he was such a forgettable little man. He didn't really do anything in office except carry out Andrew Jackson's policies - the good, the bad, and the downright gruesome (most of the "Trail of Tears" deportations happened under van Buren).
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
I was impressed
By Bernie‘s reaction to Mayor Petes withdrawal: it was classy and positive, despite the litany of bitchy stuff Pete kept spewing about Bernie.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Great Bernie presser.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNb8x83klOk&feature=youtu.be]
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
indeed, he is speaking very clearly /nt
https://www.euronews.com/live
Tell it like it is Bernie
Yes!
question everything
More thoughts
They (the DINO Establishment) only have one shot at this. Clearing the decks of candidates at this late date means they are throwing all their chips into the pot, or whatever the poker term is. Bloomberg was as late into the race as anyone can be, and even he had to skip the first four races. Nobody else can enter the race before the convention. They are surrendering all their options.
It's Biden or Bust. Hail Mary pass. It's time for the Big Play.
The news item about Biden asking Klobuchar and Warren to stay in through Super Tuesday was from Saturday night. By Monday the plan had changed. As I briefly mentioned above, I can't think of anything that changed between Saturday night and Monday morning other than some internal polls coming in. And they had to be hugely in Sanders' favor for them to surrender MN for the tiny bump Klobuchar can provide Biden over 24 hours. They must be desperate for any bump, no matter how tiny.
And yet, they are placing all their bets on a man whose kids should be taking his keys away, can't remember what office he's campaigning for, can't remember the name of the guy interviewing him. He can hardly fill a Holiday Inn conference room, much less a stadium. Sure, he raised some money in the last couple of days, but he was flat broke before that. Where is he going to get staff? Maybe with enough donations he can buy out the contracts of Bloomberg's team. How does he put together a national organization from where he is now to where he needs to be in the time left?
1500 delegates up for grabs tomorrow. The DINO Establishment breaks the back of the political revolution and proceeds to hand the election to Trump, or they go down in flames.
One lonely hobbit named Bernie stands before the gates of Mordor.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
here's what changed...
from a few days ago
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/484840-democratic-megadonor-reachi...
Bernard Schwartz, the CEO of BLS Investments, has recently reached out to both Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), according to CNBC.
Their short list could include Hillary
. It's a possibility. Or that magic AstroTurf combo Bloomberg & Hillary. Or the too-frail-to-last Biden with always-ready Hillary.
(Superstitiously hoping that predicting unexpected outcomes somehow jinxes them.)
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
Hear, hear! Warren's endorsement
would almost be a waste of time, IMO.
Bypass her, and go directly to her supporters--what few she has left, that is.
Mollie
“This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man . . ."
~~William Shakespeare
“Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving.”
~~Author Unknown
“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”
~~George Bernard Shaw
Irish Dramatist & Socialist (1856-1950)
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Polls
Dated today, Monday.
California USA Today/Suffolk..Sanders 35, Bloomberg 16, Biden 14, Warren 12
California Stanford/YouGov....Sanders 28, Biden 19, Warren 18, Bloomberg 13
California Emerson............Sanders 38, Biden 21, Warren 16, Bloomberg 11
Estimated 40% already voted in California. Biden can't take a chance at not being viable, but it's going to be hard to move the needle at this late date.
Texas Emerson.................Sanders 31, Biden 26, Bloomberg 16, Warren 14
Dated Sunday:
Texas CBS News/YouGov.........Sanders 30, Biden 26, Warren 17, Bloomberg 13
Texas NBC News/Marist.........Sanders 34, Biden 19, Bloomberg 15, Warren 10
Texas Dallas Morning News.....Sanders 29, Biden 19, Bloomberg 21, Warren 10
OK. Here's my take on this. The Biden/Buttigieg/Klobuchar rally is in Texas, not California. Biden can't win California, that ship has sailed. He might be viable there without this stunt, or this might be enough to put him over the top. But this isn't about California, it's about Texas. Some of these polls look like Biden might be close enough that with some Buttigieg and Klobuchar supporters he just might be able to eke out a win. Even worse than losing to Bernie (which he will probably do), he just CAN'T lose to Bloomberg. That makes the donors question which horse they should be backing and the money dries up again. He not only has to beat Bernie, he has to beat Bloomberg.
These are the public polls and may not be reflective of what private polls are saying. But there's no denying that the rally is in Texas, so he must think that his best opportunity is there.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Any estimate on how many people
attended the Joe/Pete/Amy/Beto shindig?
One moment while I exercise my google-fu ...
... dunno.
The event took place at "Gilley's Dallas", which "offers nine venues with capacities ranging from 350 to over 3,000". So somewhere in that range. I'm guessing towards the lower end, but that's just a guess.
Klobuchar was there, O'Rourke also was there and endorsed, Buttigieg gave "his endorsement at a campaign stop earlier in the evening".
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Guesstimate is good enough in this case
maximum estimate puts it well below 4,000. Compared to Bernie's SLC rally the drew approximately 5,800 (reported by local press).
In EdMass' diary, Marilyn pointed out that the lights on the audience were turned down; so, no way to estimate from photos.
Wonder how many people "outside Chicken Scratch" can hold.
Ah, thanks for that info, now I see
That footage I saw from tonight’s Hardball (sans Chris Matthews) was actually a different campaign event from earlier in the evening. Still, it was a ridiculously small gathering for a supposedly major campaign event. I hope Mayor Pete feels deeply embarrassed that he stooped so low. But he almost certainly doesn’t.
Wonder why Pete didn't hang around
for the larger evening event that included Amy and Beto? It's not as if he would have any pressing engagements on Monday evening after dropping out on Sunday.
I’d say it was about 40 to maybe 50 people
I’m not joking. I just watched about 10 minutes of the “event” because evidently that is what they filled the Hardball airtime with after Chris Matthews suddenly quit and walked out. I’d read that Steve Kornacki took over rest of the show and was shell shocked, so I wanted to see it for myself. Found a clip that claimed to be Hardball’s coverage of the biden and club rally in Texas. Actually they just ran Pete B’s speech for quite a long time, filling time I guess. So that’s how I ended up watching it, and I am dead serious that the room seemed nearly empty. I could have been a neighborhood pub that was less than half full.
Buttigieg was rambling on in a slight Texas drawl all of a sudden, and there were times with literally one person clapped or whatever. It was unbelievable, how tiny that room was. Biden stood behind him looking just like Trump — arms crossed over his chest, scowling and looking annoyed. Maybe he was mad not at PB but at the lack of any crowd whatsoever.
Normally I don’t think that footage would even have been aired, but with Hardball left reeling after Matthews walked out, they were filling time... and they perhaps inadvertently showed a really pathetic event. There is no way Biden is going to win the presidency. As much as I dislike Trump, if the dems insist on running someone who does not even know what day or year it is or what office he’s running for, 2020 is going to be an epic wipeout of an election.
Maybe that was...
... the "earlier campaign stop" the article I pulled up mentioned. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there were 50 people at that one, and a couple hundred at the big one.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Yes, I think that must be it
See my comment above, and sorry for confusion. I don’t actually follow the election stuff in any detail, didn’t realize there were actually multiple events. Thanks again!
The Joe/Pete event was held outside
wonder how it appeared to be at an indoor small room in the recording.
Clips
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYCZVj_WLSs]
Nothing here except the stage.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCzoYixE8zQ]
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Thanks
Early evening and low lights on the Joe/Pete rally. Still it's obviously very small. Also, looks as if a third of those at the Joe/Pete rally are children well below the age of eighteen.
I noticed that too.
Candidates will bring their children on stage for props sometimes, but not audience children. They must have only had a dozen people there, so they asked the kids to come up too to create the illusion of a groundswell of popular support.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Odd venue --
Was the Chicken Scratch owner running a special for Democratic families? "Meet Joe" and get 50% off your chicken dinner"