In Case You Missed It (v120)

I thought I'd have gotten more posts done, but in hindsight, I think my frustration with the week's news got the best of me.

Here's what made it out, starting as we usually do with a recap of the Sunday School classrooms.

It was not the best week for several of the hosts, or some of the guests, for that matter. Here's House Speaker Mike Johnson, the very religious man, talking down to Kristen Welker on the subject of the Mayorkas impeachment (which failed, by the way).

Johnson previously said he's very much against a one-party impeachment, as we saw in a clip. He said three times, "The founders of this country warned against single-party impeachments. 

You guys know why. Because they feared it would bitterly and perhaps irreparably divide our nation.

What they're doing with Mayorkas is not that, and it's not a 'policy disagreement,' either. "It's very different, Kristen, in many ways." Let me mansplain "the many ways."

For one, the House has methodically, slowly, deliberately gone through the impeachment process, impeachment inquiry, impeachment investigation on Mayorkas and – and President Biden himself. We've involved three different committees of jurisdiction: Judiciary, Oversight, Ways and Means. We –we have followed the facts where they have led. Not for political purposes. Not because we take pleasure in this. It's, again, a heavy thing to look at the impeachment of a president or a Cabinet secretary. But these facts require it.

I snickered - I mean, wasn't that the same speech Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi gave?

Senate and House Republicans decided it was more important to show allegiance to someone who's not in office than it was to do something - anything - about the so-called crisis at the border. And I decided it was more important to Rant and Rave than it was to do laundry.

The same people who pretend they don't need to do anything because the other guy can do something. Unless of course he does, in which case they'll challenge his every move, doubt his every motivation, and keep everything ground to a halt so they can claim they can't get anything done because the other guy, blah bippity blah bippity blah blah blah.

And later 

Yep. The Orange Jesus, the OJ. The man who led the charge against the Soros Deep State, the unelected bureaucrats who he thinks should be 'his' people, who should do whatever he wants, regardless of, you know, laws on the books, or what Congress wants to do on our behalf, regardless of what they're required to do. (And who, by the way, the OJ has promised to fire.)

In his kingdom, everyone loves him, works for him, bows to him, kisses his ring (blecch), and if they don't, well, they're part of the Soros Deep State that's trying to subvert him and drive our country down a path that is decidedly not leading to the MAGA Camp. 

I'm not at all afraid of the Soros Deep State - but the other one, the orange one, scares the crap out of me, and - and it's hiding in plain sight.

Tuesday's Extra Credit was the Jake Sullivan show. He's the administration's National Security Advisor and - at least on Sunday - a man possessing the patience of more than a handful of saints. I have to say, at least a couple of the classroom discussion leaders made themselves look like fools, although I'm sure they thought they did a great job. 

Kristen Welker (MTP) was not the only host to try and get Sullivan to divulge the who, what, where, when, and whys of our continuing retaliation against Iran-backed terror groups and Houthi rebels, after asking him to address MAGA accusations we "telegraphed" our fist retaliatory strikes. I. Kid. You. Not. 

I wasn't sure this was a serious question, but she wasn't the only one who asked it, so I guess it was? 

But wait - there's more! Here's how the interview closed.

Okay. Let me ask you, finally, Jake: Our new NBC news poll, which we were just discussing, found only 29% approve of President Biden's handling of the war in Gaza. Sixty percent disapprove of his handling of foreign policy, overall. Should the President be factoring the public's disapproval into his foreign policy decisions?

Obviously, he said no, but part of me wanted him to say, "Why yes - yes he will!" just to see the look on her face. 

I was scratching my head on a few things when it was time for Wednesday's Wondering. Among the things on my mind? Primaries, and how the media handles them, and how Nevada handles them.

The primary was meaningless, you see, because Nevada has both a Republican primary, which doesn't result in delegates being awarded, and a Republican caucus two days later, which does. Obviously, I can't help wondering why the state GOP thought it was a good idea to have both; the Dems don't. 

Haley lost to 'none of these candidates' - the first time any candidate has lost to 'none' since the option became available in 1975.  My last bit of wondering on this is simply this: why don't we all have that ballot option?

Why don't we have that option? I might explore that in another post...

So, that's a wrap - you're all caught up on last week's posts. 

Go, Niners - beat the Chiefs! 

Wondering on Wednesday 2/7/24

Ready... set... wonder!

When the media reports that Joe Biden "easily won" a Democratic primary, I wonder why we don't know who he defeats. I know other candidates are in the race, but you'd think the media was totally unaware, given how infrequently they're mentioned.  And I wonder why they always mentioned other folks on the Republican caucus and primary ballots (at least until yesterday's meaningless primary in Nevada). 

The primary was meaningless, you see, because Nevada has both a Republican primary, which doesn't result in delegates being awarded, and a Republican caucus two days later, which does. Obviously, I can't help wondering why the state GOP thought it was a good idea to have both; the Dems don't. 

Haley lost to 'none of these candidates' - the first time any candidate has lost to 'none' since the option became available in 1975.  My last bit of wondering on this is simply this: why don't we all have that ballot option?

This morning, former president Trump woke up for the first time having been told he's not special - he's just a citizen, like the rest of us. And I wondered, briefly, if there's any ketchup left at Mar-a-Lago. Nah, I'm kidding - I know there's not. Seriously though, I do wonder what the Supreme Court will do if Trump files an appeal of the Yes, You Have No Immunity decision by Monday's deadline. I sincerely hope that they don't take up the appeal on this one, but we can't be sure of that.

In my Ranting and Raving post yesterday, I included a link to an article in which Tennessee's Rep. Mark Green was named as the guy who called Trump 'Orange Jesus'. I don't wonder if someone said it, and it doesn't matter to me whether it was Mark Green, or Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, or someone else. What's more concerning, and what causes my wondering, is the number of people who seem to believe the name fits.

Yesterday, the House failed to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS Secretary. Rep. Al Green of Texas left his hospital bed and, with some medical people tagging along, cast the tying vote, which was enough to kill the measure. The final tally was 214 -216, allowing another vote later. Speaker Mike Johnson said that the vote was a "setback" and that "democracy is messy," and "sometimes when you're counting votes, and people show up when they're not expected to be in the building, it changes the equation." I'm wondering how big Rep. Al Green's smile was after hearing that!

Not to be outdone by the mess in the lower chamber, the Senate failed to advance the bipartisan immigration bill, which fell 49-50, with both Rs and Ds voting 'no.' And, it postponed a vote on a bill that would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. I'm wondering if the actions we've seen over the last few days are what people are talking about when they say America looks foolish and inept in the eyes of the world.

There's always more, but that feels like a good place to stop. What's on your wondering minds these days?

Let's Fight This - TOGETHER!

A Special Message from

the Twice-Impeached 

45th President of the 

United States

They've got it all wrong, the Lame Stream Media, the liars on CNN and MSDNC and the failing New York Times and the Bezos Washington Post and all the rest... they've got it All Wrong. 

Let me give you the Truth about what's happening here. 

First of all, I didn't lose the election. 

I didn't lose the election, so there was no reason for me to pack anything, so I didn't pack anything, because I won and wasn't going to be leaving. And I'd still be your President, Right Now, and there wouldn't have been a problem if only Georgia had found those 11,780 votes like I asked them to, and like Lindsey asked them to, and like Rudy asked them to, and like everyone else asked them to. 

Or Arizona, too, if they had done the right thing. Or Michigan, or Nevada, or  Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. So if they had just done the right thing, none of this would be happening right now, and all my documents would be safe and the Country would be safe, our Borders and our Stock Market and our Taxes - everything would be safe, if they had just done the right thing. 

But they didn't and when that wimp, that un-American, un-Patriotic traitor Mike Pence refused to do the right thing and send it back to the states like he was supposed to, I was stuck. I swear, my Secret Service guys should have just grabbed him and stuffed him in the SUV. Worthless. 

Anyway, Melania was so frazzled that we were leaving - she had more decorating to do, and stuff to document just like she was doing on January 6th and didn't know anything about what was happening, she really didn't - she was upset, she loved it here - she just started throwing stuff in Tupperware bowls and tubs and stuff, even the jewelry I gave her, the ungrateful wench. 

And there I was, alone. Jared was, I don't know, showering all day long or counting his Saudi money with his crook of a father - why did I pardon him again? 

Those worthless sons of mine were probably out golfing or something, or maybe Donny Jr was home waiting for what's her name, the "The Best is Yet To Come!" girl I paid $60,000 to for introducing Don Jr. to the crowd at the Ellipse on January 6th - what a waste of money she is! And how on earth was she married to that incompetent commie nutjob in California, Gavin Newsom? And now she's my son's fiancé? What did I do to deserve this?

And my beloved Ivanka was home with those Beautiful grandchildren of mine, aren't they Beautiful? They are the most beautiful grandchildren a man could have, right? Just Beautiful, through and through.

So the staff people, the ones that I hadn't scared off,  the staff came running up to the residence with boxes every day, packing, packing, boxing up everything they could get their hands on, I don't even know what they put in all the boxes, the stuff was just thrown in, all willy-nilly, and then the boxes were stuffed in the truck and off everything went to my Beautiful, Historic, Important Mar-a-Lago, the most Famous house in all the world.

I barely managed to get my hands on the compromising photo books, and my pictures of Vlad - it was crazy.

And then, when they reached out to me last year, I had no idea there was anything being stored at my beloved Mar-a-Lago that I wasn't supposed to have. I thought I had taken care of most of the stuff anyone would worry about; that was ripped up and disposed of at the White House. 

And what about that Crooked Hillary flunky, Maggie Haberman, the third-rate NY Times reporter - half the kid her parents were, for sure, sharing those pictures... who takes pictures of other peoples' toilets?

And remember when I complained about having to flush and flush and flush? Yeah, well now you understand right? Damn 'green' toilets. You gotta flush and flush and flush them, it's a mess. Horrible.

And in January when I gave them boxes, they were boxes I had never even seen before, maybe someone found them in the back of Melania's closet, that's why I didn't know anything about them. And so, they took the boxes and I thought that was it. They even got back that meteorological map of Dorian - just like I told you, Alabama was in danger the whole time! 

And then they said other stuff was missing.

And so I let the lawyers handle everything, and they all said we gave everything back, and that's what they told them, so I just assumed that there was nothing left. They even signed something, saying they had given everything back, I didn't even know we had anything, I didn't pack anything.

And then we heard from them again - good lord, don't these people have anything do to other than pester me about boxes of stuff I know nothing about? Why aren't they trying to put Crooked Hillary in jail? Why the hell aren't they publishing all the stuff off Hunter's laptop, all the Biden Crime Family stuff, instead of trying to pretend there's a Trump Crime Family? What a lie! Everything I have, I've earned the hard way, ever since I was a kid. Even my bone spurs, hard-fought battle but I got them.

'Put a new lock on the door', they said - 'it's not secure enough,' they said. So we did, and even that wasn't good enough, they wanted the camera footage and they sent a subpoena, and still we were cooperating with them, just like from the beginning when the White House Staff filled the boxes and put them in the truck and then they came and picked stuff up. 

Just like I've said all along, if they wanted the boxes back, I would have given them back, but they never asked. And once they sent the subpoena, why should I give them back the boxes? Just because they sent me a subpoena? 

I've gotten hundreds of subpoenas in my life, and I never just do what they ask me to, that's ridiculous, especially when Trump is under attack, all the time, my entire life. I've been sued more times than anyone in history! My legal files are the biggest you've never seen! They're massive, way bigger than Obama's! I can show you - mine are bigger, no question about it.

And it doesn't matter anyway, because I declassified everything - every single piece of paper, photo, post-it note, article, white paper, briefing book, eyes only piece of paper they shoved under my nose - I declassified it ALL - all at the same time. They must know that, everyone knows that - I can do it, and I did it, and all of this is stupid. Nothing is classified anymore, I declassified all of it, I stood right there over the boxes. 

Oh, wait that's not how I did it, I had no idea what was in the boxes, the staff took care of that. But I declassified everything, everything in the residence was declassified, even if it wasn't classified in the first place. 

And even if I didn't, it doesn't matter, because all of this is old stuff now, since they kicked me out of my White House in January 2021, that bastard Mike Pence, we should have hung him, just like I said. So how can something a year-and-a-half old be a threat to Our Great Country? 

Well, it was Great once, now it's a Third World Country with the libs and Sleepy Joe and Carmella and Drunk Nancy and Cryin' Chuck and the Radical Left Squad and the Woke Mob in charge - what a Mess they have made of our Beautiful Country, right? Antifa and BLM and all the rest...

And now that we've got this NEW Witch Hunt, after the Fake Russia Russia Russia and Impeachment#1 and Impeachment #2 and Mueller's Fake Witch Hunt, now we've got another one to deal with and I tell you, real Americans are just not going to stand for this anymore! We must FIGHT to get Our Great Country back again. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Because these documents that I never took and didn't know I had and they could have had back at any time just by asking for them and they're not top secret any longer because it's old stuff on old paper, and besides, I declassified EVERYTHING, and this RAID on my Beautiful Home, the most Beautiful, Famous home in the world, ask anyone, this Raid and this Unlawful Search - they touched Melania's clothes, can you believe that? I think one of them even put on her I Don't Care Do U? jacket, we saw that on the camera, I'm sure we did.

These are just the tip of the iceberg that's going to hit Our Country if we don't stop the woke mob, the lazy liberals who are trying to turn us into a Fourth World Country and if there weren't any of those last week, we're the first and best Country ever to become one. And don't believe any of that Climate Change crap; if it was so warm, why do we still have icebergs? And that iceberg aiming for America right now? 

Civil war, I tell you. Some people are saying we're on the verge of a civil war.

I even called Merrick Garland - and have you ever heard anyone so wimpy? His mother Judy, boy could she sing, right? He sounds like a little kid up there, trying to convince his parents he wasn't out drinking with what's her name, that Renate person... oh wait, that's a different judge, never mind. 

Anyway, Garland, I called him, asked him what I could do to calm things down after HE raided MY house, SEIZED my documents that I never had and even if I did have them, it doesn't matter because there's nothing wrong with it, and besides, I declassified everything back in January before I left Washington so I wouldn't have to be there for the Fake Inauguration of the Fake President. 

Here I am, trying to help, and what do I get? NOTHING! Merrick Garland, he didn't even take my call. We get nothing, Patriots - you and I, we get nothing. But that's all going to change. 

With your help, and your prayers, and your donations, we will Fight this Together! We Love You. You are all Beautiful, Special people. Stand back and stand by, and if you do that near an FBI office, that's even better. 

We Love You. 

And we will fight this together.

Rush your Generous Donation to the

Protect Melania's Wardrobe and Keep The "Justice" Department 

and the Liars at the FBI from Ruining Our Great Country PAC

right away (you can just ignore the highlighted box

making this a daily contribution - that's just a joke). 

We love you. And together We. Will. Save. America.

And if you donate within the next 45 minutes, we'll make sure

the President sees your name at the top of the list of America-loving Patriots.

And if yours is the lucky name he circles with his Presidential Sharpie,

you could win tickets to his next rally. 

And remember to vote against

Liz Cheney. Even if you don't live in Wyoming. 

Thank you for your support. 

You're a helluva Patriot.

TGIF 11/6/20

Is it really only the Friday after the Tuesday after the first Monday in November? 

It seems like Friday has taken a month or more to get here, right? 

Obviously, if I'm trying to come up with good week and bad week lists, I would have to say the good week list would consist almost entirely of the tireless health care workers who continue to care for our ever-growing list of COVID patients, especially those who are with our loved ones in our absence when they pass from the virus, and to the tireless poll workers and state election officials who are doing their level best to count the votes that are eligible for counting. All of those folks deserve our thanks, and our respect, regardless of where we stand on the COVID battle or the election battle.

Let me assure you, I'm on the side of COVID is real and so will the election outcome be real - neither of these are hoaxes - and I surely hope that you're with me on both of those. If not, let's talk.

Also on the good week side? Assuming things hold, Kamala Harris has to be up there on the list. She's on the verge of being the first female VP, the first African American VP, the first South Asian American VP, and more. And Joe Biden also had a good week, and it could get better before the end of the week, if we see the end of at least some of the counting...

People who exercised their right to vote are having a good week, because votes are being counted. That's what we expect when we vote - we don't expect anyone to steal our votes out from underneath us, and at least so far, we're winning that fight. 

Also, Nevada meme makers.

On the bad week list? Well, pollsters, certainly. Not because, as the president claimed, they were all a coordinated voter suppression effort designed to keep Trump supporters from voting because it was a lost cause. This is patently ridiculous. That the polls were SO wrong, across SO many races, and that this is the second presidential vote in which they were SO wrong should be sending a shudder through the polling industry. I don't want them to tell me what they did right, I want them to explain how they got it SO wrong, AGAIN, and what they have to offer going forward.

Who else? Republicans who are standing by the president as he makes a mockery of the integrity and sanctity of our election process, that integrity and sanctity which he's been calling into question almost daily since February. Those who are standing with him have nothing to gain - literally, nothing to gain. He cannot hurt them anymore. He cannot threaten them anymore. He cannot denigrate them, or call their spouses ugly, say hateful things about them, and endorse their opponents instead of them. It's time for them to stand up, to stand up to him, and to help him slink away.

And of course, the president himself is not having a good week. In fact, he is the personification of a bad week, this week and most other weeks. His tweets are being heavily flagged; his court challenges to the election are so far failing; a few Rs are turning on him and saying publicly that he should shut up and stand down, and he is very, very likely to be less than 75 days away from heading back to wherever he came from. 

As I said last week, there's a picture  0f the president I want to be the one that I remember from his White House occupancy, and I might get my wish. If that's the case, you can be sure I'll be putting myself on the good week list in a heartbeat. 

TGIF, everyone. Stay patient. 

In Case You Missed It (v24)

A busy week here at the pastiche.  If you missed anything, I've got you covered.

We started out the week with Sunday School classrooms jam packed with presidential candidates.  Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer and Pete Buttigieg were making the rounds this morning, with Klobuchar hitting four classrooms and Steyer two.  Papa Joe hadn't been around in a few weeks, it seemed, but he was happy to open up with Chuck Todd. 

On his campaign and whether he's got the urgency, the fire that people want to see, he said maybe being so polite and positive wasn't the best approach after all, but he supported his moderate proposals by saying if he gets elected he'll be "one of the most progressive administrations" in the country's history.

We moved into back-to-back poetry readings. That's right: we had an OrangeVerse entry that was all about presidential pride, including a tip of the hat to his own dreadful remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast. But before that part, we had this.

Transcribe This...

Fortunately for all of us

here today and for our country

we had transcripts.

We had transcribers

professional transcribers. 

Then they said Oh, well, maybe

the transcription is not correct.

But Lt Colonel Vindman and his twin

brother - right? - we had some people 

that - really amazing.

In the second OrangeVerse,

we're well into his remarks in this part, and finally he starts talking about people other than himself - and that got me thinking about that old childhood game. You know the one, where you call out for people to come on over?

Red Rover, Red Rover...

But we have some of

the folks that are going to be leaving

right after this, and they work hard - 

and they did work hard. 

Well, we got Grassley, and Nadler, and Lee, and Romney (or maybe it was Trump himself) and more. And he's still talking...

Then it was Wednesday, and time for our weekly Wondering. Among other things, we learned that

...since January 20, 2017, the day Trump officially declared his intent to run for re-election, his campaign has put $1.9 million of donor money into the president’s private business.

After an itemization of most of that nearly $2,000,000, I had some wondering, for sure:

I don't know about you, but I have to wonder a couple of things: first of all, is there NO non-Trump-enriching space available? And second, is there any wondering why the FEC isn't up to full strength?

And one more - do the folks who are spending all of their money on Trump properties (the same as they did back in 2015 and 2016) do this on their own, or because they know if they didn't, they'd be out of a job?

After Wednesday's debate, I had to do what the real pundit do and declare some winners and losers. I agreed with some of the experts on some things, but not with all of them and definitely not on everything.  And, because I can, I updated how I did with my chosen keywords for the obligatory debate drinking game.

Finally, here are the keywords (from yesterday's post) for my debate drinking game that scored me a beverage: delegates; Super Tuesday; South Carolina; people of color; Nevada Culinary Union; stop and frisk; Elizabeth Warren. (I admit I took some liberties with that last one, scoring three times when other candidates at least said her first name. Which, as noted above, is more than some pollsters bothered to do.)

The debate post (honestly, the post, not the drinking game) slowed my progress on our candidate Email of the Week.

Rather than leaving you hanging, here's how things shook up, with an extra day for them to get their points across. Mayor Pete continues to lead the pack in sheer volume - that's been a trend for quite a while.

And then, almost as if by magic, it was TGIF time. I talked a little about whiny people, and billionaires (and one who is both whiny and a billionaire).

And speaking of that other whiner, and speaking of doing it better, you can say lots of things about Mike Bloomberg and his campaign to beat the whiner, but be sure to say he's got the best darned ads. 

Honestly, you need to see the ads...

And earlier today, I shared some of the history I found on endorsements given - or not given - by the Nevada Culinary Workers Union.  Here's a hint: they didn't make an endorsement in 2016, either.  Which means, one union worker said, that people are on their own.

Caucus results are coming in, and with a mere 3% of the vote counted, Sanders is leading the pack. In the end, we may never know why people are voting the way they are.

The best we might hope for is that the results will be known, with confidence, before midnight.

And now, a couple of hours later, it looks like my hope about getting the results will be realized. The race has been called already, and it's not close.

So, there you have it: this week's veritable pastiche. Don't forget, you can drop your email in the Instant Gratification box on the right sidebar and never miss a thing.

See you tomorrow for Sunday School.

The Missing Union Endorsement

There's an edition of The Field, the NY Times podcast, making the rounds on social media this morning. It's all about the Nevada Culinary Workers Union not making an endorsement in this year's caucus.

Instead of an endorsement, there was a union scorecard, focusing on the three goals the union believes are important: immigration, jobs, and health insurance. On the first two, as we know, the candidates are very similarly aligned - they all want good union jobs, and lots of them, and they all support protections for immigrants. Where the candidates diverge, as the union sees it, is on health insurance. TGFV will end their coverage; Elizabeth Warren will eventually replace it, and the moderate candidates will protect it.

That scorecard, and other information from the union leadership, has led some pro-TGFV supporters to holler fraud, to holler election interference, and to holler about that darned rigged system, which we hear about with every perceived slight. Everything is an offense against him; everything is an attempt to keep him from his rightful claim to the throne, it seems.

What 's so weird is that no one remembers, or chooses to talk about the union not endorsing anyone the last time around, either. There was no endorsement in the 2016 election, when it was a very close race between TGFV and Hillary Clinton.

From Adam Nagourney's February 2016 piece in the NY Times,

When it comes to labor powerhouses in Nevada, few organizations quite match the Culinary Workers Union; 57,000 strong, more than 50% Latino, with an 80-year history of labor advocacy on the Strip and a record of turning out its members in political campaigns. But the decision to stay out also appears to be, at least to some extent, a legacy of the bitter Democratic caucus battles of 2008, when the union endorsed Barack Obama in the final weeks of the campaign. Mrs. Clinton's supporters took the Culinary Workers to court to challenge its voting procedures, while an angry Bill Clinton went casino to casino, urging workers to defy their union and support his wife. 

"It's unforgivable,” a union radio advertisement said at the time of the Clinton camp’s maneuvers. 

Obama won the endorsement, and more delegates, even though Clinton won the popular vote.

Fast forward to 2016 (again, from Nagourney's article)

The union’s decision is also powerful evidence of just how unsettled this race is, with the absence of much reliable polling and a rising sense in both campaigns that the fight is tighter than it appeared just a few weeks ago... And, by many accounts, this union — which Mrs. Clinton had once counted on as a strong supporter — is just as divided as the state appears to be, and union leaders are wary about pushing through an endorsement that could split its ranks.

The candidates had some work to do, and again, ran afoul of the union, just like in 2008.

With union leaders professing neutrality, both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders have moved to win support of the members on their own, with mixed success. Union leaders rebuked Mr. Sanders's campaign after several of his workers, handing out stacks of pro-Sanders literature, posed as culinary employees to gain access to the private cafeteria where union members go on break. 

"It's completely inappropriate for any campaign to attempt to mislead Culinary Union members, especially at their place of work," Geoconda Arguello-Kline, the secretary-treasurer of the union, said in a statement. Yanna Cancela, the union's political director, said in an interview here that the union viewed it as a "huge problem" and that she had complained personally to Mr. Sanders's campaign. Mr. Sanders's campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, later apologized.  

The union leaders knew that both Sanders and Clinton had supporters among union members - but it was heading to the negotiating table and one union leader said they

want to be very unified dealing with the companies, and we don't want anything polarizing our members. 

Today, Geoconda Arguello-Kline is the head of the union, and is taking a lot of heat from Sanders supporters. According to the podcast, Arguello-Kline got a text from her daughter, with screenshots of tweets about her mom; here's a sample.

F--- off Geoconda. If Sanders loses and we don't get Medicare for All and a union worker gets cancer and gets fired and he or she dies, their blood will be on Geoconda Arguello-Kline who for selfish reasons decided to spread these lies.

The assumption that this kind of message was coming from Sanders supporters is what led to a discussion during the debate the other night about how the candidates have a role to play when it comes to their supporters. Here's Senator Warren.

Look, I have said many times before, we are all responsible for our supporters. And we need to step up. That's what leadership is all about.

And here's what Mayor Pete said about it.

...but at a certain point, you've got to ask yourself, why did this pattern arise? Why is it especially the case among your supporters that this happens? ...Look, people know the way your supporters treat them.

And the response?

Well, Pete, if you want to talk to some of the women on my campaign, what you'll see is the most ugly, sexist, racist attacks that are -- I wouldn't even describe them here, they're so disgusting...

I saw some of those tweets regarding the Culinary Workers Union. I have a 30-year, 100% pro-union voting record. Do you think I would support or anybody who supports me would be attacking union leaders? It's not thinkable.

Meanwhile, according to this article from Nicole Karlis for Salon.com, trying to get out the vote is what the union is focusing on - that, and enjoying their time in the spotlight, it seems.

"I've never heard the Culinary Union mentioned on a debate stage so much," Culinary Union member Marc Morgan, 59, told Salon. "We have such a voice [in this election]."  

Karlis wondered if there were "murmurs or sly endorsements" going on during the phone banking, but Morgan, one of several union members manning the phones, said no. 

I'm just encouraging voters to go out and participate, and I think that's most important. We want them to vote Democratic, and to beat Trump.

Karlis talked to another phone bank worker, Diane Woodman, who said that the union sitting this one out changes things.

It's different for our members because they basically have to make decisions for themselves for this election. They know our stand on what we need to protect as far as our union goes and what's important to us because we fought for it for years and years, so they will make their own decision, which is a first for them.

To me, that's one of the saddest things about this entire mess: that voters making their own decision, rather than doing what the union tells the, is "a first for them."

Caucus results are coming in, and with a mere 3% of the vote counted, Sanders is leading the pack. In the end, we may never know why people are voting the way they are.

The best we might hope for is that the results will be known, with confidence, before midnight.

TGIF 2/21/20

Let's make a list, shall we? A very short one. 

That Guy from Vermont made a comment about Russians during the Nevada debate. It was the only time Russia or Russians were mentioned, which in and of itself was interesting. First, the context: they gang was talking about nastiness directed towards folks in the Nevada Culinary Union, alleged to have been perpetrated by his supporters

Here's what he said.

And let me say something else about this, not being too paranoid. All of us remember 2016, and what we remember is efforts by Russians and others to try to interfere in our election and divide us up. I'm not saying that's happening, but it would not shock me.

We now know why he wouldn't be shocked by this: it's because he was warned - a month ago, according to this US News article, that the Russians were interfering in our election, specifically that they were interfering on his behalf. TGFV responded strongly, saying, in part,

Let’s be clear, the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up and, unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts, and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election.

And, he lobbed a complaint about the media into the mix. In response to a question on why this is just coming out now, when he was told a month ago, the sarcasm was dripping.

I'll let you guess, one day before the Nevada caucus... It was the Washington Post? Good friends.

Ignoring, there, that he had the opportunity to say something a month ago, and didn't. And he was the one dropping the "not being too paranoid" bomb the other night. And now he's surprised that someone tracked down the story? Sorry, but the crying about the media, like all the other crying about everything being rigged against him, is just as tedious coming from him as it is coming from that other whiner. Except the other guy does it much better.

And speaking of that other whiner, and speaking of doing it better, you can say lots of things about Mike Bloomberg and his campaign to beat the whiner, but be sure to say he's got the best darned ads. For example, here's one of the billboards he paid for in Las Vegas that are short, to the point, and funny to boot. 

Mark Ralston/Getty Images (from Slate.com)

You can see two more in the Slate article linked above - and learn about why his ads have, so far any way, been so effective.  Need a hint? Think Geico.

TGIF, everyone.

Nevada Debate Winners and Losers

Funny how watching Dems try to convince me to vote for them made me think of the late Keith Jackson, the master of a well-timed Whoa, Nellie! But I've gotta tell you, other than Holy Gloves Off, Batman! Jackson's favorite expression is right up there as a concise description of the whole debacle - er, debate.

Sorry about the slip-up. I forgot I was watching a debate. Well what passes for a debate, anyway. (We really can make these much better.)

I was somewhat prepared for a battle, given that the evil Michael Bloomberg was on the stage for the first time, and, of course, given that Chuck Todd and Hallie Berry were among the moderators.  But I was honestly unprepared for a cage match, - and that's what it was.

From my perspective, here are the two biggest losers.

• The moderators. From the get-go, they had no control. From the get-go, the point was to get the network's talking heads some camera time. From the get-go, why did they bother having the newspaper journalist and the Telemundo representative, if the point was to have Chuck Todd "ok, ok, ok, ok-ing" throughout all of the answers, as if he was sitting at his desk on MTP, and to have Hallie Jackson throwing dangerous eyes at the candidates as they asked questions designed specifically to create sound bites and memes? Lester Holt was window dressing, the other two, even more so. If NBC wants to interview the candidates, they should bring them on their networks and do it that way.

• Voters. Did anyone learn anything new about any of the five candidates who have been slugging it out for months? Nope. The same policies received the same old rebuttals, with little new added. Bernie Sanders, aka That Guy from Vermont (TGFV) waved his arms around, Senator Klobuchar told some more mom jokes, Mayor Pete defended himself and his community, Papa Joe took credit for everything that happened during the Obama years, and Senator Warren reminded everyone she's still in the race. We did learn a little about the new-to-the-debates billionaire, Mike Bloomberg, including what he sounds like in person, if you will, vs. only hearing his voice on commercials. 

Others on the losing side, IMO? Bloomberg, of course. He hasn't been on a debate stage, and I think he underestimated what would come his way, right out of the gate. He will get better in these things, if he wants to, like the rest of them did. They all get better. He did better on the offensive than he did playing defense; and he landed a couple of strong hits on TGFV. It seemed clear Bloomy believes the polls and the pundits who have identified "a clear frontrunner" from the two people who are virtually tied in actual results.

Papa Joe Biden was energetic and animated, but I don't think he made up any ground at all. To me, he was just another old white guy on the stage, one who is living in the past. I think the past is what's keeping him in the polls, and if we ever have a real debate, not one of these circular firing squad things, that will become more apparent. Similarly, TGFV managed to hold his own but his message is getting really boring, and his constant anger is annoying as hell. I'm not a billionaire, I never was a union member, and I didn't want to be either one. Still don't. I don't want to be one - I don't think I even know anyone who wants to be one, to be honest. But I think they have every right to exist, just like grumpy old Democratic Socialists have a right to exist. 

And, here are the two biggest winners.

• Elizabeth Warren. She punished everyone on the stage for being slighted by people who, for the most part, were not in the room. She'd been left out of the key question on not just one poll, but two: the Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll, which Lester Hold actually cited during the debate, on a question to TGFV, and one from Emerson College.  The question she was left out of? Who wins, Warren or Donald Trump.  You know, one of the most important questions these early polls ask. Everyone paid for that slight. The Warren we saw last night was the one who was endorsed by the NY Times as the best of the progressives (along with Amy Klobuchar as the best of the centrists).

• Mayor Pete. I like him, so I admit I have some bias - but not enough to discount anything I might raise as an urgent issue, if you know what I mean.  Last night, I think he did reasonably well pushing back against both TGFV and Bloomy. I think he scored some points when he reminded everyone he's the only one on the stage who's not a millionaire, and also when he said that burning down the house and buying out the house (TGFV and Bloomy) were not the only options, and that Americans can join together and accomplish a lot in the middle. I think he did less well when he battled Amy Klobuchar, but he stood in and took it when she fought back, and he didn't back down. 

Many folks were commenting on social media that Trump voters won the debate. They did have a good night, I think, with only a handful of mentions of their candidate's name, and lots of fodder for the inevitable attack on who ends up the Dem nominee. 

Now, here's what the pundits thought, starting with the Washington Post:

• Winners: TGFV; Warren taking down Bloomy; the moderators
• Losers: Bloomy; Biden; Klobuchar; TGFV defending his supporters from (totally valid) accusations of 'nastiness'

From the NY Times Opinion gang, using a 10-point scale:

• Winners: Warren (8.4); TGFV (7.2); and Mayor Pete (6.9)
• Losers: Biden (6.2); Klobuchar (6.0); and Bloomy (2.9)

From the folks at Vox:

• Winners: Warren; TGFV; and viewers
• Losers: Bloomy; Moderates; diversity; and 'tough on crime' policies

And, from CNN:

• Winners: Warren; TGFV; Mayor Pete and Papa Joe; a contested convention
• Losers: Bloomy; Klobuchar; Jon Ralston (the guy from the Nevada Independent)

I'll close the punditry section of this post with these two points from Politico, who didn't pick winners and losers so much as they set the stage for what we're up against. On the one hand, there's Bloomberg.

Mike Bloomberg may have bought his way onto the debate stage in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, but the rest of us are in his debt. These once-every-couple-weeks rituals had become so familiar that watching till the end was a chore. Anyone interested in the future of the Democratic Party had no trouble sticking through all two hours of this latest one. It was raucous and occasionally rude—also substantive and relevant to the choice Democrats are in the midst of making. 

And on the other hand, there's Mayor Pete, from his closing argument.

“We've got to wake up as a party,” Buttigieg implored. “We could wake up two weeks from today, the day after Super Tuesday, and the only candidates left standing will be Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg, the two most polarizing figures on this stage. And most Americans don't see where they fit if they've got to choose between a socialist who thinks that capitalism is the root of all evil and a billionaire who thinks that money ought to be the root of all power.”

Finally, here are the keywords (from yesterday's post) for my debate drinking game that scored me a beverage: delegates; Super Tuesday; South Carolina; people of color; Nevada Culinary Union; stop and frisk; Elizabeth Warren. (I admit I took some liberties with that last one, scoring three times when other candidates at least said her first name. Which, as noted above, is more than some pollsters bothered to do.)

So, where to next?

• Nevada's early caucus voting is over; in-person caucusing happens this Saturday.
• South Carolina's primary is the 29th. And yes, there'll be a debate before then, and yes, Bloomy has qualified. Tom Steyer has not yet qualified.
• Super Tuesday is March 3rd.

Whoa, Nellie!

Wondering on Wednesday (v198)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, how's everyone doing today? Getting ready for the debate with five moderators and six candidates? I really hope NBC comes up with another person so every candidate can be matched with an individual questioner... and if they don't add one, I'll really have to wonder about their sense of adventure.

I'm going to be watching - and celebrating National Wine Day at the same time, even though I'm a day late on the latter. But no point wasting a good drinking game night, right? Here are some of my keywords for tonight: delegates; family values; Super Tuesday; South Carolina; people of color; Nevada Culinary Union; pardons; stop and frisk; media bias; raise your hand; front-runner; Elizabeth Warren (since she's been inexplicably missing from recent polls); and farmers. My bonus word? Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA.

Now, we won't have a 'debate' or anything close to that -- what we'll likely have, as we usually do, is a group interview, with a little bit - or maybe even a lot - of sniping at each other, particularly the designated front-runners: That Guy from Vermont, who is tied with a former mayor in delegates, and the other former mayor, the billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who hasn't been on the ballot anywhere, so has zero delegates and zero votes.

And speaking of billionaires, let's take a moment to wonder about the other billionaire in the race, Tom Steyer, the one who's actually on the ballot in Nevada, but who didn't make the debate stage.

That other billionaire, the impeached president, is still out there, not spending a dime of his own money, but continuing to make money off everything political. That's right: according to this Forbes article, 

Billionaire Donald Trump still has not donated a cent to his 2020 campaign, opting to fund the effort with money from supporters around the country. At the same time, Trump’s private companies are continuing to charge the campaign for expenses like rent and consulting, according to the latest federal filings. That means that since January 20, 2017, the day Trump officially declared his intent to run for re-election, his campaign has put $1.9 million of donor money into the president’s private business.

So, where's the money going?

• $1.3 million to Trump Tower Commercial LLC, in which the president has a 100% interest from his re-election team, with additional money coming from the RNC;
• $259,000 to the Trump Corporation, in which the president has a 100% interest, for legal and IT consulting;
• $126,000 to the Trump International Hotel;
• $60,000 to the Trump Hotel Collection, a management company also called Trump International Hotels Management LLC, solely owned by the president;
• $84,000 to Trump Plaza LLC, owned outright by the president; and
• $3,000 monthly payments to Trump Restaurants LLC, in which the president has a 100% interest.

Now, the assumption is that this is all legal and above board, as long as the campaign is paying market rates and all, which of course they said it does. However, the article also notes that

Even if a campaign were breaking rules by paying exorbitant rates, there’s not a lot anyone could do about it right now. The FEC, which examines such things, cannot take any official commission action unless at least four of its six commissioners vote to do so. Since Trump took office, three of the FEC’s commissioners have left their posts. Their seats—which demand presidential appointments and senate confirmations—have yet to be filled.

I don't know about you, but I have to wonder a couple of things: first of all, is there NO non-Trump-enriching space available? And second, is there any wondering why the FEC isn't up to full strength?

And one more - do the folks who are spending all of their money on Trump properties (the same as they did back in 2015 an 2016) do this on their own, or because they know if they didn't, they'd be out of a job?

What else is going on?  Let's see...  Virginia failed to pass an assault weapons ban this week, when

Four Democrats on Virginia's Senate Judiciary Committee broke ranks with their party handing the Republican minority a victory in tabling the bill for the remainder of the year. It also sent the measure to the state's Crime Commission for further review. 

The bill would have banned the sale or transfer of certain assault-style weapons in Virginia. It also would have made it illegal to possess silencers and magazine holding more than 12 rounds. 

Lots of people are wondering what happened to everyone's courage, after the Dems took control and turned Virginia into single-party government; this was a shock to many, it seems.

Reports say that Snitty Snitty Bill Barr considered resigning because of Trump's meddling and tweeting and impossible-job-making interference.  I have to say, part of me thinks that's a load of hooey - if he wanted to resign, he could have, and still can. I also wonder if it had anything to do with the couple thousand former DOJ employees calling on him to resign?

And finally, a couple of noteworthy bankruptcy filings making the news: the Boy Scouts of America and the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA have both filed, for the same reason - abuse of young people. There's not a lot left to wonder about in either case, I think for either, I think - other than, have we heard the last of it?

That's where we'll leave it for now. Enjoy the debate, if that's the correct word for it. And don't overdo the drinking game...

Sunday School 2/16/20

I love when there's lots of activity in the classrooms, and today was no exception. Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer and Pete Buttigieg were making the rounds this morning, with Klobuchar hitting four classrooms and Steyer two.  

I narrowed it down to one per show, so we've got Biden with Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press, Klobuchar with Martha Raddatz on ABC's This Week, Steyer with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation (CBS) and Buttigieg with Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union. That's the order we'll take them in.

Here are some excerpts from the Joe Biden interview. He was circumspect on Trump's attacks, saying that he "realized that whomever was likely to be, whoever he most feared, was going to be the victim of his affection" and also noting that he's tried not to show too much frustration because the election is not about him, it's about pulling the country together.  He admitted that "it had crossed his mind" that Trump's attacks might have actually made a difference in Iowa and New Hampshire.

On his campaign and whether he's got the urgency, the fire that people want to see, he said maybe being so polite and positive wasn't the best approach after all, but he supported his moderate proposals by saying if he gets elected he'll be "one of the most progressive administrations" in the country's history. And, regarding That Guy from Vermont and his policies,  

...what you're up against is things that are almost fanciful. Like, you know, Medicare for All. Thirty-five, thirty, forty trillion dollars. Even Bernie's now saying, "Well, how much is it going to cost?" "Well, who knows. We'll find out." I think that's the phrase he used -- or "we don't know." I mean, part of being president is not just the idea you have. Can you get it done? Have you ever done anything big? Have you ever been able to put together coalitions that bring along Republicans and all the Democrats to get things done? And the idea, I mean it's almost fanciful sometimes.

On Sanders and people always knowing where he stands on things.  

And he's never gotten anything done... he's a decent guy...he's been talking about health care, Medicare for All, universal health care, for 35 years. Nothing's happened. I helped get Obamacare. I helped move it forward. I got the votes. I'm in a position where I take something that I promise you, I'll get done. We take Obamacare. We allow people -- like out here in Nevada, what's going on? Bernie requires, and Elizabeth's plan requires you to give up all private insurance. These folks have broken their necks, the culinary union and others, to get the most comprehensive health care that's out there. And they've given up wages for it... 

I mean come on. This is -- I mean, I think people are so tired of the lack of straightforwardness out there. Now, if I'm wrong, I'm going to be dead wrong, but I really believe that you have to lay out why you're doing what you're doing and how you're going to get it done.

On Bloomberg buying his African-American support, cutting into Biden's support by around half, Chuck Todd said. 

... Anyway, the point is that $60 billion can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can't erase your record. There's a lot to talk about with Michael Bloomberg. You all are going to start focusing on him like you have on me, which I'm not complaining, like you have on me the last six months. You're going to focus on him. His position on issues relating to the African American community, from stop-and-frisk to the way he talked about Obama, to, I mean –

On two of his biggest rivals, one not a Dem and the other a former Republican, and what that says about the Democratic party,

Well, I think what it says is money, billions of dollars, can take you a long, long way. And it says that it's going to be awful hard to go out and win those -- the base support of the Democratic party, the African Americans, Latinos and working-class white folks, and put that coalition together. That's how you win an election. You put that coalition together.

On the need for winning South Carolina, and whether he can "do well" without winning there, 

Well, I think so. But look... look, right after that, within -- on March the 4th we end up with -- going into all the states, which the polling data is now showing me doing incredibly well. Whether it's North Carolina or Georgia or Texas or any of these other places. So look, it's not an apt comparison, but Bill Clinton lost his first eight, ten, 12 primaries and caucuses before he won one. I don't plan on taking that long. But we're just getting to the meat of getting to the number of delegates you need to be able to win this election. And I'm confident we're going to be in good shape.

And from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, starting with her positioning in Nevada, her just starting ad buys, and so on, including only being at 2% in the Las Vegas Weekly poll. 

Well, actually the Las Vegas Review Journal that came out after New Hampshire yesterday had me at 10 points. And that's even a day before our ads even started. So, we're pretty excited about that. I think that came out of all the work we did in New Hampshire. We've had huge crowds, including over 1,000 people in Reno. And I think the newspaper endorsement of The Sun is also very helpful. So, we see ourselves on an upward path.

She said she's in every Super Tuesday state with teams on the ground, she's raised $12M in the past week, and she's feeling good. Raddatz pointed out that no major party nominee finished worse than 2nd in either Iowa or New Hampshire.

Obviously, the next month is critical for us, but I think I’m just approaching this in a different way. And we really shocked the pundits in New Hampshire, and it was all hard work, the endorsements of the papers, the endorsement of The New York Times that I share with my friend Elizabeth, and the kind of momentum that you see. It’s a different year.

On building support with people of color,  

Well, that’s going to be on me. I need people to get to know me. I’ve always gotten high support in all of my elections with the Hispanic and African-American communities in my state -- that is a start... my name identification in states outside of the early few states was not that high, simply because I didn’t have the money like Bloomberg to run more ads during your show than I am on being interviewed on your show. I get that. That’s what happens...That is a big difference.

People don’t know me. And then I’m going to emphasize my record of equal opportunity. The work that I have done in leading so many voting rights bills, including automatically registering kids to vote when they turn 18, getting rid of gerrymandering, getting rid of voting purges. I have a strong record when it comes to voting rights as well as equal opportunity --

As have others, Raddatz talked to her about new evidence in a case where she was the initial prosecutor. The defendant was found guilty but the verdict was overturned and he was retried and convicted by a new prosecutor after Klobuchar became a senator. Now, with new evidence, Klobuchar is saying whole case should be reviewed, old evidence and new. 

Martha, as a prosecutor... our job is to convict the guilty and protect the innocent...all of these cases, when anything new comes in that puts into doubt any conviction, no matter when it is, must be reviewed.  

When I was county attorney, I undertook a major review of all of our serious cases involving DNA... I also pioneered a new way of doing eyewitness identification with The Innocence Project. I went around the country and debated other DAs about having interrogations videotaped because I believe so strongly they should be videotaped. So when you look at my record, the 12 percent decrease in African American incarceration rates when I was there, you see a number of things where I was focused on protecting the innocent.

And my response to this case is this, it must be reviewed immediately and brought to court.

And from Tom Steyer, starting with Margaret Brennan's question on what would constitute success for him in Nevada.

Look, I want to come in first or second. I've spent more time in Nevada than any other candidate. We have a great team on the ground here. I've gone out of my way to try and make sure that I see as many people face to face. And I believe we're putting together the kind of coalition in Nevada and in South Carolina that a Democrat is going to have to put together to win in November of 2020.

On being serious about Nevada and about South Carolina, too, where he has the largest state operation of any candidate (and his wife might have moved there, Brennan said).

Both of these states are diverse states. Both of these states reflect the kind of diversity that is America and that is the Democratic Party. And I think whoever is going to be the candidate has got to be able to show that he or she can pull together that diverse big tent that is the Democratic Party. And I think that's what we're trying to do here in Nevada. And I know that's what we're trying to do in South Carolina... I really think it's about grassroots. I'm a grassroots person. I built one of the biggest grassroots organizations in the United States, next-gen America. And I really believe in people being on the ground, the candidate being on the ground and seeing people face to face.

On the problem of labor force participation (which, I must say, is a very specific question to ask a candidate), the Fed Chair has said is due to the opioid crisis and educational issues. What does he think?

What the Federal Reserve chairman is talking about in terms of opioids and education is how you actually develop long term prosperity and justice. And that is by investing in young people through education, specifically including universal pre-kindergarten, and by dealing with issues of health around the country, including the opioid crisis, including mental health... (president Trump is) avoiding the actual long term prosperity of Americans that is done by investing in the American people, by making us productive over time. And that means education, health care for every American, a living wage.  The wages of Americans-- are outrageously low. 

And on reparations - he's said he's the only one in the race saying he's for them - he admitted that he doesn't have a specific mechanism for them yet, but

...the way to figure out the correct solution in this case is I would have a formal commission on race the first day- starting the first day of my presidency to retell the story of the more than 400 years that African-Americans have been here in America, to tell the story not just of legalized injustice and cruelty, but also of the contributions that the African-American community have made--to the building of America--  what I'm saying is this: in order to come up with solutions, you have to go through together and tell the story, because out of the narrative comes the policy changes. 

He also said he'd put $125B - that's right, $125 billion - into HBCUs, which he said have lost over 40% of their funding in a decade, as just one example of what he's thinking. 

Finally, let's turn to Mayor Pete and Dana Bash, starting with what's going on in Nevada with the Culinary Union, which has come out against That Guy from Vermont and his Medicare for All plan because it would wipe out their hard-fought benefits - and union members are now getting attacked by Sanders supporters.

You know, it's really disturbing to see the Culinary Union attacked, when these are workers who have stood up and fought for, among other things, good health care plans. They're not interested in Washington taking away their choice... 

No one should go after working people for wanting to defend and grow what they have earned. And it's a key point of difference at the policy level between me and Senator Sanders, and, also, I think, very important that supporters of any candidate do this with respect. We have a crisis of respect and decency, obviously, in the White House right now. And it's natural that there's going to be the heat of competition on our side...

On whether Buttigieg thinks TGFV is doing enough to keep his supporters in line, that's a question for him, not for Pete.

What I will tell you is that I'm focused on making sure that my own supporters and our campaign conduct this competition, even when it's heated, with a level of respect for where people are coming from, because we're talking about workers standing up for their own care.

On his health insurance plan differing from M4A, and that union workers would be able to keep their private plans if he was elected, he said that's the absolutely the case. Whereas Sanders' plan abolishes private plans, his does not. 

Now... if my plan is the very best insurance plan in America -- and I think it just might be -- then, eventually, everybody will cross over to it. But I want them to be able to decide. And in the event that it's not, if some plans out there are better, why would we want to kick anybody off of it? This is a commonsense position that most Americans support. It still amounts to the most progressive, major reform to health care that we have had in 50 years. But it is doable. It makes sense. It's the right policy. And it has the advantage of being something that Americans could actually unite around.

On race (Buttigieg and Klobuchar face the same problem here, with low support among Blacks and Latinos), and a Quinnipiac poll showing him at 4% support there, "why aren't those voters coming to you?" he said he's continuing to have conversations with voters, and that the support he's gained in Iowa and New Hampshire should help. 

As we come to more racially diverse states, like here in Nevada and South Carolina, many of the voters of color that I'm talking to are focused in particularly on -- in particular on one thing, defeating Donald Trump. Look, nobody is experiencing the pain of living under this administration more than voters of color. And I'm talking to a lot of highly pragmatic voters who want to know, more than anything else, that you can put together the organization and the message that will decisively defeat this president. There is so much on the line right now, and we have got to get this right.

Bash wondered if he was confident he could convince them to look at him, and look at him differently than they have before.

Absolutely. I mean, I still have to go out there and earn it. This is a process of earning trust with voters who have every reason to be skeptical, who have often felt taken for granted by the Democratic Party, who are, again, very pragmatic right now too. And so I am not going to take any vote for granted, just as I'm not going to leave any vote on the table. We are campaigning hard here in Nevada, across -- across the country. We will be working hard in South Carolina too.

On whether it's "fair to say that what you're doing now is whatever it takes to beat Bernie Sanders and your other Democratic rivals in order to get to the point where you can go after Donald Trump?" even if that means having expensive fundraisers where other candidates might not be.

So, let's be very clear. My campaign is fueled by over two million contributions. I believe the average contribution is under 40 bucks. It is the lifeblood of our campaign...I am following the same fundraising practices that President Obama did and that our leaders have in order to make sure that we draw in all of the support that we need to win. And the campaign I'm building right now is not just for earning the nomination...

My campaign is about belonging. It is about inclusion. I don't define this campaign or define myself by whose help we reject. This is about making sure that everybody who shares these values, everybody prepared to defeat Donald Trump is on the same team pulling together. And we built this from the ground up.

Look, I'm not a millionaire. I haven't been in politics for years or decades. I don't have the advantages of having been a senator. We built this from scratch, and with the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have contributed to this campaign, people of all walks of life. I'm proud of what we have been able to do. And, yes, this is how we're going to defeat this president.

On the walking disgrace that is Medal of Freedom recipient Rush Limbaugh saying Buttigieg is a "37 year old gay guy, mayor of South Bend, who loves to kiss his husband on the debate stage," did he want to respond? 

Well, I love my husband. I'm faithful to my husband. On stage, we usually just go for a hug, but I love him very much. And I'm not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.

Busy, busy, busy - hope you have the chance to take it all in.

See you around campus.