Bernie's In

Totally cannot wait. I would love to be in Madison when he's finally perp-walked to get booked and mugshot.

Sanders rattles Trump, Clinton

Francis Rivera

By Brent Budowsky - 08/12/15 04:13 PM EDT

For more evidence that American politics is engaged in the summer of Sanders and not the summer of Trump, witness the fun and fascinating events that unfolded on Wednesday.

Breakfast brought news of a stunning poll of New Hampshire voters from Franklin Pierce University and the Boston Herald showing that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has vaulted to a 44 percent to 37 percent lead over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This poll should be read with caution — it has a small sample and a large margin of error — but it is consistent with trends showing a surge of support for Sanders, who is drawing overflow crowds that are stunning to serious practitioners of politics.

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By lunchtime Wednesday, political aficionados were greeted by the news that Donald Trump had launched into a scathing denunciation of Sanders, who as a young man had attended Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have A Dream speech, for showing respect for Black Lives Matter supporters, giving them time to address his well-attended rallies.

That will never happen at my rallies, bellowed Trump! Of course not. Donald Trump sharing his microphone with anyone is less likely than Napoleon Bonaparte sharing his brioche with the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo!

Trump appears to have been bitten by the green monster of jealousy: While he pretended to attract 15,000 people at his Phoenix rally, where he offended Hispanics across the Americas, he actually attracted barely above 4,000, according to Phoenix Business Journal. Sanders, on the other hand, who does not have to imitate Pinocchio’s falsehoods or Aesop’s Fables when describing his crowds, has been greeted by cheering masses measure in tens of thousands of real voters.

To dramatize the degree to which Trump is rattled by Sanders, notice his scathing charge that when Sanders offered his mic to voices of the Black Lives Matter movement, he gave that voice to “two women.”

Would the man who was put to shame when Megyn Kelly of Fox News brilliantly and professionally asked about the litany of insulting comments he has made about various women feel better if Sanders had offered his mic to two men instead?

On the matter of half-truths, Trump described himself and Sanders as the two candidates who have been drawing huge crowds, when in truth the Trump crowds are nowhere near the size of the Sanders crowds, which is only beginning to be realized by political insider.

Trump is not the only candidate rattled by the Sanders surge.

Hillary Clinton began the week with a plan to unveil her program to make college more affordable. It is a good and worthy plan, not as far-reaching as the Sanders plan to offer free public college education paid for by a tax on Wall Street trades, but a strong and solid program.

At the very moment, almost literally, when Clinton was announcing her education plan she suddenly stepped on her own message, and drowned out the publicity her strong education proposals should have engendered, by veering into a belated attack against Trump, which she should have offered days earlier, and an attack against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) that included the not particularly clever charge that the presidential hopeful is a “very young man.”

Clinton has good reason to worry about Sanders and Rubio. Regarding Rubio, she is on solid ground criticizing his refusal to allow abortion to women who have suffered rape and incest, but her insult of the senator for being a very young man plays to his strength as claiming to be a next-generation leader, dramatizes her vulnerable image as an old politics candidate, and only elevates Rubio with other Republicans — the opposite of what would serve her interest.

My hope is that Clinton finds her bearings, seizes her moment and defines her vision in clear and compelling terms. But until she does, she will have more reasons to be rattled.

As for Trump, after his campaign ends he has a brilliant future in real estate, but not real politics. While he pursues his candidacy in the style of reality television, it is Bernie Sanders who has the really large crowds and the really big ideas and the really large heart of a man on a mission, unlike the rattled real estate mogul who keeps praising his own wealth and running a perpetual commercial advertising the wonders of himself.

It is the Bernie Sanders summer and his opponents on all sides are rattled!



Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. He can be read on The Hill’s Contributors blog and reached at [email protected].

Where did I do that, Bobsal?

If you say so.

Frank, we even shared PMs over it.

Hillary is a crappy candidate. She has a mediocre record on war, foreign policy, gay marriage, welfard policy, policing, the war on drugs and immigration (and I probably missed some things).

If you are correct that now that the Hillary Clinton, name-brand political machine has pushed the good candidates who are electable out of the race, she is the only one who can beat the GOP candidate... consider the implication.

It isn't Bernie's fault that we have reached this place where the only electable Democratic candidate is one who opposed gay marriage and supported the Iraq war...

A few asterisks on that ‘Bernie Sanders leads in New Hampshire’ poll

(some very good poll numbers for Sanders)

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO WAY I HAVE EVER SUGGESTED THAT HILLARY CLINTON IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT THE GOP CANDIDATE.

NEVER.

EVER.

ANYWHERE...OR AT ANY TIME, Max.

Mostly because I do not consider that to be so.

Just want to be sure I am clear about that.

In 1997, Bernie Sanders Warned Us About The Rich Buying Our Democracy

“We continue to see a national disgrace in terms of how the political parties and politicians raise money for their campaigns. Clearly, there is something wrong when corporate America and big-money interests are able to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to political parties, significant amounts of money to candidates, and the result, I think, is that you end up have a Congress that by and large ends up working for the wealthy and big money rather than for the needs of the middle class and working families.”

Sanders saw the writing on the wall twenty years ago, and tried to warn the American people. He was ignored, and the problem simply festered and grew until private financing gained the colossal power that it has today.

Sanders was NOT ignored...and he was certainly not the only one warning about the problem.

Most people in Internet forums have been issuing the same warning.

The problem has not been ignored (any more than you are ignoring the many people you claim to be ignoring)...but actually doing something about it is not easy.

The SCOTUS has ruled in ways that allow it to happen...and although this may seem absurd to you, the SCOTUS has more standing in this than Sanders.

In any case, you were warned.

What did you do about it?

Ok Frank. Who do you think is an acceptable alternative to Hillary Clinton?

When compared with what the Republicans are offering...damn near anyone, Max.

I'd love for it to be someone like Bernie Sanders, Barney Frank or Elizabeth Warren...but the country is not ready for someone like them. I hope that day comes soon.

Joe Biden would be a fine choice.

But it is best not to pick someone. They have to have the fire and desire in themselves in order to be viable.

I expect we will see more candidates come forward on the Dem side. This is like the first hole of golf. Lots more to come.

I am throwing my support (and a little of my money) behind Bernie Sanders.

No problem. Gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Good luck...although (as you probably realize) I think his winning the nomination would be a disaster for the Dems.

Seriously, who gives a flying **** about them? Those assholes sold us out to the ELite, and lie to us constantly. THe only relevant questions are would it be good for American and would it be good for me.

thought this was a good time to pop in a reminder about how to resize pix

inside the [ img ] at the front end

throw in height=x width=x

( with a space after img, as well as a space between the height and width details )

hit preview to see if your proportions are ok

adjust the numbers if the pic is stretched in a weird way (unless you like that )

in this example, I used [ img height=800 width=600]








hit quote so you can see how it works

You're dealing with a dyslexic here. There needs to be a short yellow bus version for people like me. As in a button. 'Technical' writing I do very well, but painfully; 'Technical' reading I do painfully and only accomplish only through repetition.

I do appreciate your assumption that I am one of the sharper impliments in the shed but it takes me a long time to type one of these out and at least two or three edits. It took me weeks to understand the very simple instructions to post youtube videos. It took at least a couple of PMs from butterflye to finally figure it out.

Please bear with me as I attempt to understand the very simple instructions you've kindly posted with no sarcasm that will only surrender meaning with exerted concentration.

You ain't alone, Bobsal.

I appreciate all the help offered by everyone...but I simply cannot master what is needed.

And nobody is suggesting I am a sharp tool in any shed.

I appreciate your patience, too, Frank.

BTW, it is highly recognized on this site that you are indeed one of the sharper implements in the a2k shed, you're nobody's tool.