Friday Open Thread [7.1.2016]
Ed Kilgore asks whether Bernie will ever concede to Hillary Clinton?
[T]he closer we get to the Democratic National Convention, the more it seems possible that Sanders could endorse and even campaign for Hillary Clinton without ever conceding she beat him fair and square. After all, the piquancy of his demand for nominating-process reforms depends on the feeling that the system this time around was indeed “rigged,” with the way California handled votes by pro-Bernie No Party Preference (i.e., independent) voters being part of the “rigging” (as always, California required indies participating in the Democratic primary to ask for a Democratic ballot, even when voting by mail. That was naturally confusing — especially to first-time voters — since all non-presidential contests involved a single ballot for everybody). After the convention is over and Bernie has raised hands with Clinton and her running mate on the final night, the whole point of making this sort of concession may become moot. So the legend of Bernie being robbed of the nomination could well live on.
I say Bernie gets no speaking spot unless and until he without any reservation or qualification both concedes and then endorses his party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton. Not to go all Breaking Bad here, but I want Hillary Clinton to go all Heisenberg on Bernie:
And you know Trump won’t concede. But we all know that is because he has no integrity or decency. Bernie does. Or at least I hope he does.
Steve Benen has a story today that reminds us that it’s not just what the Supreme Court does that we should pay attention to. Sometimes what they DON’T do is equally important.
The state of Washington has a law that requires pharmacies to dispense medications, even if individual pharmacists have religious objections. One family-owned pharmacy challenged the law in court, saying it shouldn’t be required to sell emergency contraception, which the pharmacy’s owners consider immoral.
An appeals court sided with the state, and the case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Yesterday, the justices announced they would not hear the case, which has the effect of leaving the lower court’s ruling intact.
NATIONAL–PRESIDENT–PPP—Clinton 48, Trump 44
NATIONAL–PRESIDENT–Reuters/Ipsos—Clinton 42, Trump 32
NATIONAL–PRESIDENT–IBD/TIPP—Clinton 44, Trump 40
IOWA–PRESIDENT–Loras College —Clinton 48, Trump 34
FLORIDA–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 49, Trump 38
NORTH CAROLINA–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 48, Trump 38
ARIZONA–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Trump 45, Clinton 39
NEVADA–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 44, Trump 44
MICHIGAN–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 48, Trump 33
WISCONSIN–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 44, Trump 32
PENNSYLVANIA–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 45, Trump 36
OHIO–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 41, Trump 41
NEW HAMPSHIRE–PRESIDENT–Democracy Corps Battleground Poll—Clinton 41, Trump 41
IOWA–U.S. SENATE–Loras College—Grassley 46, Judge 45
BuzzFeed: “At Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort he runs as a club for paying guests and celebrities, Donald Trump had a telephone console installed in his bedroom that acted like a switchboard, connecting to every phone extension on the estate, according to six former workers. Several of them said he used that console to eavesdrop on calls involving staff.”
This is something that Donald Trump said today https://t.co/iPkQsHzWF0
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 30, 2016
Rick Klein: “Much has already been made of the advertising jump enjoyed by Hillary Clinton, whose 12-1 ad spending edge this month means she and her allies have spent $20 million more getting their message out than has Donald Trump and his backers. But is that head start about to get even longer? Speaking Tuesday night in Ohio, Donald Trump suggested that he won’t start spending in battleground states until after the Republican National Convention.”
Said Trump: “She is spending money like – like I’ve never seen before. I figure we start spending it after the convention, which is going to be a tremendous success.”
“Tremendous success or not, this leaves Trump spotting two whole months to Clinton at the start of the general election – critical time Democrats are using to define the opposition. Even if this is being driven by strategy, as opposed to necessity, it’s possible we’ll look back at this period and talk about avoidable campaign miscalculations. Trump has seen his standing erode since he locked down the nomination – six weeks before Clinton became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Clinton and her forces have been freed up to make their case without meaningful pushback on the airwaves.”
In newly unearthed video, Trump smirks about Trump ties being made in China:https://t.co/cgFrYf0NOr pic.twitter.com/2gTItckESM
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 30, 2016
Donald Trump finally had something to say today about the Supreme Court’s recent abortion ruling. And in so doing, he revealed that he is ignorant of the vote count of the Justices, or he can’t do math.
“Now if we had — Scalia was living, or if Scalia was replaced by me, you wouldn’t have had that, OK? It would’ve been the opposite,” Trump said of the ruling, which struck down a restrictive Texas abortion law.
The ruling was 5-3. Assuming that Scalia was alive or if Trump had appointed an anti-choice replacement, the vote then would have been 5-4. I suppose Trump would issue an executive order saying Conservative Trump votes count double.
This is a perfect illustration of how far the GOP has fallen over the last 8 years. pic.twitter.com/LvBmD7soZ7
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 30, 2016
Donald Trump promises to “make America great again.” Daniel Dresser says: “Obama already made America great again.”
When Obama was elected, the United States was not terribly well-liked in the world. By the time he was sworn in, a growing share of the world’s population — including Americans — believed that American power and influence were on the wane. Nearly eight years later, the United States is looked upon more favorably in most (although not all) parts of the globe, and perceptions of American economic power have returned to pre-2008 levels. Americans themselves have greater confidence in the relative power of the U.S. economy than at any time in the post-2008 era.
None of these outcomes — particularly perceptions of economic influence — was preordained after the 2008 financial crisis. I have no doubt that a lot of readers believe that Obama has squandered the public goodwill given to him by the rest of the world. But credit where it’s due: If perception itself is a form of power, then Obama has made the United States great again.
I am not a reader who thinks Obama has squandered anything. History will consider him a Top 5 President.
“Donald Trump’s campaign has begun formally vetting possible running mates, with former House speaker Newt Gingrich emerging as the leading candidate followed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie,” the Washington Post reports.
“Given Trump’s unpredictability, campaign associates caution that the presumptive Republican nominee could still shake up his shortlist. But with little more than two weeks before the start of the Republican National Convention, Gingrich and Christie have been asked to submit documents and are being cast as favorites for the post inside the campaign.”
It would be preferable for Hillary to earn Bernie’s endorsement. Be careful about denying Bernie a speaking spot out of pique. He can always fill his own arenas.
Bernie who?
😉
Puck, it seems to earn Bernie’s endorsement, you have to adopt Bernie’s platform completely with no room for compromise. That said, Sanders did seem less strident in his interview with Chris Hayes last night, where he said he wanted her to agree to “moving towards the goal of” free college tuition and universal healthcare, etc. That goal language is new and hopefully indicates he is willing to compromise and accept the concessions he has already won.
“Bernie who?”
Exactly. Power and influence is a perishable commodity which has a greater value when not used or when used at exactly the right time. Timing is everything. The time has come and gone. Any endorsement now would be meaningless and perceived as an endorsement so he doesn’t get left behind. Clinton no longer needs to compromise.
When you have Republican like Brent Scowcroft (who help Obama put together his national security team) saying “She brings deep expertise in international affairs and a sophisticated understanding of the world, which I believe are essential for the commander-in-chief,” and “I believe Hillary Clinton has the wisdom and experience to lead our country at this critical time.” Those are the endorsements that matter now. In the wake of Brexit, the world is looking for stability. America, a long way from perfect, provides that stability.
I wish Sanders had decided to be part of the wave that is hopefully becoming a juggernaut, but he didn’t and his currency just isn’t worth very much at this point.
“Timing is everything.”
So is patience and foresight. There will be mid-term elections, and then another election in 2020. As satisfying as it might feel to some, it would be a good idea not to slap those future voters in the face in 2016.
If Republicans have the House for the 2020 reapportionment, our children will have a Republican Congress long after Hillary and Bernie have left the scene. Of course, establishment Dems don’t care if they are in the majority and are probably even more comfortable in the minority.
wow, you are losing me with a Brent Scowcroft endorsement. The architect of Obama’s hawkish foreign policy of forever war, drone attacks and bombing more nations since world war 2? No thanks.
Yeah, first, I am not sure it was Brent Scowcroft that put together Obama’s national security team. He may have met with Obama during the transition in 2008-09, but that is to be expected. Second, I too don’t laud the endorsements of Republicans that Hillary is receiving. They can endorse and vote for Hillary all they want, but it does not mean she is a Republican, or she should move to right. The only way it is a positive that some Republicans are endorsing her is to point out the utter disarray in the GOP. That’s it.
The point is not whether progressives approve of the endorsements, which obviously they would not, it’s that those endorsements count more now than a Sander’s endorsement. Clinton needs independents. That kind of endorsement serves that purpose better.
The point is whether progressives can back up the bluster with some real consequences. History suggests no. Hillary can afford to ignore Sanders — certainly the media is — and since the nomination process is all but over, I’d wonder about the ability to fill arenas.
“The point is whether progressives can back up the bluster with some real consequences. ”
I guess we’ll find out in the 2018 mid-terms.
Why not now? There’s still a bunch of Senate and House seats to possibly capture?
2018 will find that progressives still don’t vote in other than Presidentials.
Liberals, forget about progressives don’t even vote in Delaware.
See: Carper, Tom.