Clinton has a huge lead over Sanders in total delegates. According to The Associated Press, she holds 1,231 delegates compared to 576 for Sanders. Those totals include superdelegates, the lawmakers and other party officials who have direct votes at the end of party’s nominating contest. Clinton leads Sanders with these voters, 465 to 25.
Clinton could still win more delegates [than Methuselah] with big victories in Florida and North Carolina but close losses in the other three states.
Bad news for Bernie Sanders supporters
If you are a Bernie Sanders supporter, I’ve got some bad news for you: nothing significant will change if your guy gets elected.....
.....Here is the simple reality of the American political system: it was designed to prevent significant change. We have three branches of government intended to check and balance each other. We have states intended to check and balance the federal government.
There are only three real areas where presidents can effect significant change: 1) foreign policy 2)judicial appointees and 3) the bully pulpit. Bernie is only likely to bring change in the latter two areas. So, if you are content to have a lot more left-wing judges and a lot more talk about inequality and social justice — but not much actual action — then by all means “Feel the Bern.â€....
.....If you want to claim that the Obama presidency brought change, I would point to two “accomplishments†of note: the disastrous Obamacare bill and the worthless Dodd-Frank bill. Yes, these were two significant pieces of legislation, but remember they took place when Obama had a Democratic House AND a filibuster-proof Senate. There are no scenarios where Bernie enjoys a Dem House and Senate.....
.....So, let’s say Bernie wins in 2016. He will face a Republican House galvanized more than ever to stop his brand of Socialism. The Senate will probably be won by the Democrats, but probably with 51 to 53 Democrats at most. And then come the 2018 elections, which are likely to resemble, more than anything else, the shellacking that Obama suffered in 2010. This is simply a reality that nearly all presidents in recent U.S. history have faced: off-year elections are usually punishing for presidents, and this happened to Obama in 2010 and 2014, and it will almost certainly happen to Bernie.....
.....Meanwhile, Republicans have made huge gains on the local level. I urge you to read this article if you still think the Obama presidency was all awesome and stuff for Democrats.....
The shift in party affiliation over the past seven years is absolutely incredible. In 2008, there were 35(!) states that were either solidly or leaning Democratic, five solid or leaning Republican and 10 judged as competitive.....
.....From 2008 to 2015, Democrats went from a 30-state lead to a six-state deficit when it comes to states solidly or leaning their way on party affiliation. That is simply stunning.....
.....Gallup’s findings are in keeping with what I think is the most under-told story of the Obama years: Republicans have made massive gains at virtually every level of government other than, of course, the White House.
Republicans have their largest House majority since World War II, having retaken the majority in the 2010 election. They hold a four-seat majority in the Senate, having seized control of the world’s greatest deliberative body in the 2014 midterms.
At the state level, Republicans have 31 governorships — almost two-thirds of all the governor’s mansions in the country. Republicans are even more dominant at the state legislative level; the GOP holds total control over 30 of the 50 states’ legislatures and has partial control in another eight states — meaning that more than three-quarters of the country’s state legislatures are controlled by the GOP.....
.....The reason for the Republican popularity on the local level — in contrast to the horrible image of the Republican Congress on a national level — is that Republicans on a local level are actually a small government party dedicated to lower taxes, lower spending and less regulation. During the Obama years, people have shown less and less trust in government to solve their problems. There is no reason to suspect this would change with a president even more left-wing than Obama.....
.....The most significant thing the Obama years has done for the Democratic party on a local level is devastate its bench of future candidates. If you are wondering why the Democrats have two old, white candidates to offer for president — while Republicans are offering a lot more variety — it is symptomatic of a Democratic party in decline after seven years of Obama. This may also explain why the most popular current presidential candidate — Bernie — is an independent, not a Democrat.....
.....On foreign policy, a Bernie Sanders presidency would be just as disappointing to noninterventionists as the Obama presidency has been. Bernie’s votes show he nearly as much of a hawk as Hillary, and he has shown little desire to actually decrease U.S. militarism. The Daily Beast article “Bernie Sanders Love This $1 Trillion War Machine†is one of its most popular recent articles. So, a wise observer would be very skeptical of any claims that the Bernie foreign policy would be very different than the Obama foreign policy. Maybe Bernie will paint peace signs on the drones before firing them at Yemeni wedding parties?....
Hey WillyT.
Yeah, dude, it’s me again.
And it’s gonna be “me again†over and over again, until you and your buddies acquire some good manners, or until the supporters of the worthier candidate grind your faces into the dirt…..whichever one comes first.(http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/ad335/photoatcc/misc/wtp_zpskwgjtnog.png) (http://s949.photobucket.com/user/photoatcc/media/misc/wtp_zpskwgjtnog.png.html)
Apparently declaring war on those of African derivation isn’t enough to satisfy your blood lusts, as it appears the Bernie bullies have now decided to hound, hector, harass, and humiliate women too.
I’m referring to the way your jackboots dealt with the boston bean primitive, getting her temporarily expulsed from Skins’s island because she had the effrontery to hold Methuselah up to the same standards your thugs and bullies are trying to hold Messalina Agrippina.
It seems pretty fair; what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
I’m really confused, dude; how “democratic†is suppressing a mildly opposing viewpoint?
Isn’t that more like fascism or totalitarianism than like “democratic�
Wouldn’t a true democrat insist, “well, I disagree, but you do have the right to say your piece too.â€
I must remind you, dude, that silence gotten by blood never lasts; it resurrects louder than ever.
You’re so full of it, WillyT, acting all high and mighty, acting as if your side’s already won, when your side hasn’t won shit yet, and isn’t likely to.
If I were you, dude—but I’m not you, and so it’s not gonna happen---as leader of the Bernie bullies, I’d post, and pin to the top of the forum, a humble apology to the boston bean primitive, and to all other primitives similarly treated in the past simply because they prefer to support a worthier candidate.
And then I’d order my minions—actually, your minions—to cool it on their Hate and rage, as it’s gotten out of hand, turning people off. I’d tell them rather than trying to liquidate those who don’t think like they do, they need to live and let live.
But you don’t have the balls to do that, WillyT; you don’t have the balls to apologize to the wronged and to chastise the wrong-wroughters. You’ve probably been singing soprano all your life, ass.
Clinton clobbers Sanders in Ohio, Florida
The Democratic front-runner is seeking to break away from Sanders in the delegate count.
Hillary Clinton scored a trio of early victories Tuesday night, trouncing Bernie Sanders in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina.
With more than 70 percent of the vote reported in Florida, Clinton had 65 percent to Sanders' 33 percent. In North Carolina, Clinton had 58 percent of the vote to Sanders' 38 percent, with 8 percent of precincts reporting. In Ohio, she had 66 percent to Sanders' 33 percent.....
Clinton pads delegates lead
Hillary Clinton will leave Tuesday night having added to her already significant lead in delegates.
Clinton entered election day with a lead of about 200 delegates, and will leave with a lead of about 300.
As of 1:10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Clinton has 1,094 pledged delegates, compared to 774 for Sanders, according to the Associated Press. These are the delegates earned at the ballot box.
With the addition of super-delegates – the party leaders that can support whomever they choose - Clinton’s lead grows to 1,561 to 800 over Sanders.
Democrats need 2,383 to secure the nomination, putting Clinton abut 65 percent of the way home.
With just over 2,000 pledged delegates still up for grabs, Clinton would only need to win about 40 percent of the remaining delegates to secure the nomination – even if she doesn’t gain another super-delegate.
She has won 60 percent of the pledged delegates allocated so far.....
Bye bye, Bernie: The Democratic race is all but over
Bernie Sanders needed a big performance on Tuesday night. It may not have seemed like it; it may have seemed like he could scrape out a win or two and fight on. As Sanders fans have repeatedly insisted over the past week or so, the map for Sanders improves quite a bit from here on out, with fewer states with large African-American populations. Fewer black voters means a better shot for Sanders. So, the thinking was, stay close on Tuesday and grind it out.
But he didn't stay close on Tuesday.
Even if he'd won or does win Missouri -- which still hasn't been called -- and even if he'd won Illinois and Ohio, it wouldn't have mattered -- unless he won big. Hillary Clinton won big in North Carolina and Florida, helping add to her delegate margin. Sanders needed big wins in some states to keep it close. He didn't get big wins -- if he got any.....
.....What was a big Clinton delegate lead became a massive one. The below doesn't include superdelegates, the unpledged delegates that cause so many complaints. This is earned delegates, the people committed to Clinton and Sanders through voting. Clinton's lead over Sanders is now 2.7 times the biggest lead Barack Obama had over her at any point in 2008......
after which a chart
Obama Privately Tells Donors That Time Is Coming to Unite Behind Hillary Clinton
In unusually candid remarks, President Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors last Friday that Senator Bernie Sanders is nearing the point where his campaign against Hillary Clinton will come to an end, and that the party must soon come together to back her.....
.....Mr. Obama chose his words carefully, and did not explicitly call on Mr. Sanders to depart the race, according to those in the room. Still, those in attendance said in interviews that they took his comments as a signal to Mr. Sanders that perpetuating his campaign, which is now an uphill climb, could only help the Republicans recapture the White House.....