Thursday Open Thread [4.21.16]

Thursday Open Thread [4.21.16]

Now this is interesting:
Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, said on Wednesday that the senator will remain a Democrat after the 2016 presidential election. [...] "Well, he is a Democrat. He’s said he’s a Democrat, and he’s gonna be supporting the Democratic nominee, whoever that is," Weaver responded. And when asked of Sanders was now a "Democrat for life," Weaver said, "Yes, he is."
Ben and I were discussing in the comments yesterday the future of Bernie Sanders, and he was aiming for VP or Majority Leader of the Senate, and I was going for something more informal: a leader of a wing of the Democratic Party in the Senate and nationwide, who will have considerable sway on a President Clinton. This comment by Weaver indicates Bernie maybe taking that latter track, and if he does, good for him and great for the party.
First Delaware Poll of Presidential and Congressional Primary

First Delaware Poll of Presidential and Congressional Primary

Gravis Marketing, which does not have a good track record, having been called the worst polling firm in America, and which incorrectly predicted a close 53-47 six point race between Hillary and Bernie in New York last week when it turned out to be a 16 point race, has polled our great state of Delaware. So take its results with a boulder of salt. That said, it finds Hillary leading Bernie by 7, 45-38, and Trump leading all with 55% to Kasich's 18, to Cruz's 15. The more important numbers from this poll, however, are found on the Congressional Primary in the Democratic Party. It finds Townsend with a 7 point lead over Barney, 19-12, with Rochester getting 8 percent. A whopping 61 percent said they are unsure who they’ll vote for in the September primary.
Wednesday Open Thread [4.20.16]

Wednesday Open Thread [4.20.16]

Congratulations to the winner of the New York Primary and the presumptive 2016 Democratic nominee, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Democratic Presidential Primary is over. Going forward, in order to promote unity, I will not insult or otherwise attack or criticize Bernie Sanders or his supporters in my comments. And I understand some of you are still in denial and will enter a primal scream phase soon enough, if you are not already there, so I will not engage you over that. Some of you no doubt will proclaim that you will vote for Trump before you vote Hillary. That's fine, I will not engage, I will let you work through it. And I am sure I am insulting some of you right now because you think this little speech is condescending. So I apologize for that. What I will do, however, is still post excerpts of the punditry that is relevant to our politics. Some of that may not speak of Sanders in glowing terms. Indeed, there is a Jonathan Chait piece below that some will find unpleasant. But I won't offer my usual asides and commentary.

What should Sanders do now?

So now what? I can tell you that the answer to that question is not as straightforward as TV talking heads will have you believe. In the fishbowl universe of TV talking heads the choice is binary. Sanders has two choices. 1) Keep going and thereby "hurt" the presumptive nominee. or 2) Quit - and thereby "help" the presumptive nominee. That formulation is obviously stupid and reductive.
Wilmington Mayoral Debates at Ezion Fair

Wilmington Mayoral Debates at Ezion Fair

Last night was another big Mayoral debate, this one including the newly announced (but not filed) Maria Cabrera and finally showing up Dennis Williams. This debate was sponsored by the Complexities of Color Coalition, the Metropolitan Urban League Young Professionals, Interdenominational Ministers Action Council, Delaware Young Democrats Minority Caucus and Delaware Black and held at Ezion Fair church in Southbridge. This was really well attended and the audience was definitely there to be engaged. The NJ provides a bunch of the highlights of the evening, but I want to focus on some campaign themes emerging and a different cattle call at the end.