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...

OrangeVerse L: You Know the Game, Right?

Part three of the free-flowing verse from Trump's post-impeachment, post- National Prayer Breakfast victory lap.

It seems I grossly misunderestimated my ability to corral his verse and get it into two parts, and I'm not sure I'll get it done today.

Here are links to It's Always Festivus and I'm So Proud of Myself, the first two poetic masterpieces from the Stable Genius and his remarks to the nation.  You might remember in the first part, he started talking about wanting to thank certain people but ended up airing grievances. In the second part, still threatening to start naming names, he did praise Mitch McConnell, and he did slam those who swore an oath, but most of the rest of it was deadly sin-type stuff.

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.

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. 

Send Bill Cassidy on Over

Bill Cassidy, Senator.

Stand up Bill. What a guy. Great man

When I need to know about health insurance

and preexisting conditions and

individual mandates, I call Bill or Barrasso.

We get those two guys; they know

more than anybody.

Send Mike Braun on Over

A man who just became

a senator - he's a little bit like me;

we have a couple of them.

A very successful guy in business and he said

"what the hell, I'll run for the Senate" - from Indiana.

And he ran. And I saw him on television...

I said "You know this guy could win" and I got behind him.

And Mike Braun, you have done some great job.

Thank you. Tough. Tough. Thank you.

Send Chuck Grassley on Over

A man who got James Comey

to choke and he was just talking

in his regular voice. He is the

roughest man... actually an unbelievable - 

and I appreciate the letter you sent me today. I got it. 
But he's got this voice scares people. 

You know, people from Iowa 
can be very tough. 
We're doing 
very well in Iowa.

But I'll tell you 
Chuck Grassley... 
Chuck Grassley

is an incredible guy.

Send Josh Hawley on Over

And a man who - you know - he was running

against a tough, smart campaign and we 
learned how good she was, right? 

...And I went to a great place - Missouri - 
and I said "who do you have to beat her?" 

And they said "Well we have four people.
I said "let me see them. I've got to interview... - "

can you imagine?  I'm interviewing people

for the United States Senate. 

This is what I do. 
Where have I gone? 
But I love it...

The first one I met was Josh Hawley.

After about ten minutes I said

"don't show me anybody else." 

You were unbelievable. 

You were tough.

And you are something. 

Send Mitt Romney Donald Trump on Over

And then you have some

that used religion as a crutch.

They never used it before.

An article written today:

"Never heard him use it before."

But today, you know, it's one of those things.

Send Mike Lee on Over

A man who is brilliant,

...comes from a great state,

Utah, where my poll numbers 

have gone through the roof 

and one of the senators'

poll numbers, and not this one, 

went down big.

You saw that. You saw that, Mike? 

But Mike Lee is a brilliant guy. 

He's difficult... Whenever I sign bills - 

you know, we do a lot of legislation

that's - it's big and it's powerful

but it's sort of everybody 

has to approve it. 

And I see 99 to 1 - 99 to 1 - I say

"don't tell me who's the one. Is it Mike?"

And say hello to the people of Utah and tell them

"I'm sorry about Mitt Romney."

Send Jerry Nadler on Over
But we're going to,
we're going to do a job and
we're going to win a lot of seats.
We're going to win a lot of seats.
People are very angry that
Nancy Pelosi and all of these guys -
I mean - Nadler - I know him
much of my life; he's fought me
in New York for 25 years.
I always beat him.
And I had to beat him another time.
And I'll probably have to beat him again.
Because if they find
that I happen to walk across the street
and maybe go against the light or something,
"let's impeach him."
So we'll probably have to do it again
because these people have gone stone-cold
crazy but I've beaten them
all my life and I'll
beat them again
If I have to but
what they're doing is
very unfair very unfair.

There's more -- lots and lots more, which maybe we'll do, and maybe we won't because it might be very unfair, very unfair to put you through it. 

OrangeVerse XLIX: I'm So Proud of Myself

Let us continue with the airing of grievances and the overpowering strength of the impeached one and pick up where we left off with Remarks by president Trump to the Nation.

In the first part, we made it through multiple threats to thank people (only a few people were actually mentioned by name), and grievances going back to the day Trump's campaign began, on an escalator, not an elevator as he stated, and a nasty campaign it was, even in the primaries, where, we know, he was the instigator of the nastiness. He may not remember that,or maybe he was just bragging, I don't know for sure.

In this part, among other things, we'll look at more grievances, transcripts, Mitch McConnell, oath taking, and oh yes - how could I forget - how not to behave at a prayer breakfast.

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another Grievance?

They made up facts. 

He brought it out of thin air.

Just made it up.

They say he's a screenwriter - 

a failed screenwriter.

He tried to go into -

unfortunately he went

into politics after that.

...he said the statement

which is a mob statement.

Don't call me. I'll call you.

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.

We Did it Just Like We Said

But we did everything.

We said What's wrong with it?

Well, they didn't add this word

or that one. It didn't matter

I said Add it. They're probably wrong

but add it.

So now everyone agrees

they were perfectly accurate.

When you read those transcripts Tim Scott

I don't know if Tim is here but

he said Sir...he was the first one

to call me. Sir,

I read the transcript you did nothing

wrong. And Mitch he stayed

there, right from the beginning. 

He never changed. 

Pitching Mitch... 

I want to tell you: he

did a fantastic job. Somebody

said You know Mitch is quiet.

I said

He's not quiet.
He's not quiet.

There are the - he doesn't want

people to know him. And they said

Is Mitch Smart? I said

well let's put it this way: for 

many, many years

a lot of very smart - 

bad, in many cases, sometimes

good - but people have been trying

to take his place and to the best

of my knowledge I've never

even heard the subject come up

because they've been wiped out so fast.

This guy is great and I appreciate it Mitch.

Great guy.

Great guy.

He's a tough guy

To read. I'm good at

reading people.

A tough guy to read. I'd call him

My wife would say how'd you do with Mitch?

Uh. I don't know.

That's what makes him good.

Coast to Coast

...this was crooked politics.

This was crooked politics.

How about all these people

they're running for office

They're saying the worst things about me

like eight senators on the Democrat side.

Most of them got wiped out.

You know they got their 1% or less.

They decided to go home

Let's go back to California

Let's go back to wherever they came from.

Let's go back to New York.

The Oath Takers

And then they take an oath

that they will be fair, 

that they will be reason - and

all of the different things.

And they had to sign.

They're not fair.

But here's the beauty.

So we have four left.

They're saying

the most horrendous things

about me it's OK

it's politics

And they they're

supposed to vote - on me.

They're trying to replace me

and they're supposed to be voting.

So I think it's - I mean

I think it's 

incredible. But - so Mitch

I want to thank you very much. Incredible

And you have some of your folks here

and they're incredible people

and they have been

right from the beginning.

The First Deadly Sin

We did a prayer breakfast this morning

and I thought it was really good.

In fact it was so good it might wipe this out.

But by the end - by the time we finish this 

we'll wipe that one out - those statements. 

(laughter)

I had - 
I had -
Nancy Pelosi sitting four seats away

and I'm saying things

that a lot of people 

wouldn't have said

(laughter)

but I meant every

(laughter)

I meant every word of it. 

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.

In Case You Missed It (v23)

I don't know about you, but I was more than ready for this week to be over.  It wasn't my best writing week, and I had a day and a half or so worth of technical difficulties, but in the end, everything worked out OK - like it always does. 

Here's the week in review, in case you missed anything.

The Sunday School classrooms were rocking with four of the Dem candidates making appearances, some of them in multiple classrooms. Mayor Pete, That Guy from Vermont (TGFV), Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren - four of the five top-tier candidates - made it to the post. Here's Papa Joe on TGFV:

... Look, if I don't get the nomination and Bernie gets it, I'm going to work like hell for him. But I'll tell you what, it's a bigger uphill climb running as a senator or a congressperson or a governor on a ticket that calls itself a democratic socialist ticket.

I'd love to hear what you think about that.

I couldn't help myself and had to dish up some poetry, after watching and reading the transcript of the president's insane remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast and then, in what became OrangeVerse XLVIII: It's Always Festivus, his 'victory lap' comments later the same day. There was more than would fit in a single post. I'll have the rest coming up next week.

Thank You for Being a Friend (I)

I want to start by thanking some of - 

and I call them friends

because, you know, 

you develop friendships
 and relationships

when you're in battle
and war, 

much more so than 

"Gee, let's have a normal situation."

This week's Wondering on Wednesday actually didn't get published until Thursday, for which I apologize - but that's still faster than the Iowa caucus results were released. My wondering was mostly about the New Hampshire primary, including things like voter turnout.

So, let's wonder a bit about what happened on Tuesday. A new record was set, we learn from the NY Times, with nearly 300,000 people voting in the Democratic primary, almost 50K more than voted in 2016 when TGFV beat Hillary Clinton by about 57,000 votes, and a few thousand more than turned out in 2008 when Clinton beat Barack Obama by 8,000 votes.  Pretty exciting right?  

For the Email of the Week, I had a few contenders; between the debate last Friday, the primary on Tuesday, all of the regular fundraising, and some changes in the slate of remaining candidates, it was a busy week. In the end? One who left the race left a mark with his email message. If you've been paying attention, you'll know immediately who sent this.

My goal when I first started was always to solve the problems that got Donald Trump elected. And I know in order to do that, I will support whoever is the Democratic nominee. That said, I hope this campaign can be a message, and word of caution, to all of my Democratic colleagues.

Donald Trump is not the cause of all of our problems. He is a symptom. We must cure the disease that got him elected, and in order to do that we must address the real problems that affect our people and offer solutions to actually solve them.

And this being the week it was, our TGIF post was chock full of list-makers, from DC to NY to Houston. That's right - Houston, by way of Toronto, Japan, and LA.

...I'll end with news that Mike Bolsinger, a relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, is suing the Houston Astros for damages and to have their $30M+ in bonuses donated to charities for kids and for retired major leaguers.

Interesting stuff, that last one - and a nice change of pace for the pastiche.

See you tomorrow for Sunday School.

TGIF 2/14/20

Time to review the lists again...

Happy Valentine's Day - and for those who are celebrating in some way, large or small, congratulations - you're on the good list!

For those of you who think holidays like this are silly, guess what? You're also on the good list - because here at veritable pastiche, the tent is big enough for different opinions on holidays (especially the ones in December...).

Moving on to the bigger picture, I can't decide what kind of week Snitty Snitty Bill Barr is having. On the one hand, he's continuing to do exactly what president Trump wants him to do, but on the other hand he's complaining that the president making his wishes known are making it "impossible" for him to do his job. Honest, that's what he said.

...to have public statements and tweets made about the department, about our people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department, and about judges before whom we have cases, make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors in the department that we're doing our work with integrity.

And of course, the president assures us he's just doing what he's allowed to do, when he interferes and in particular when he attacks judges, which he has started doing with the Roger Stone case, and what he famously did with Judge Gonzalo Curiel earlier on. Here's a compilation of those attacks.

What else is going on this week? Oh - that's right: New Hampshire voters had a good week, with record-setting turnout in the Democratic primary and what's likely a record or near record narrow margin of victory for That Guy from Vermont. And even though I don't understand why, over 150,000 of them showed up to vote for Trump in the meaningless Republican primary. That's desire, I guess.  Other good weeks? Mayor Pete, who earned just as many NH delegates as the "clear front runner," and Amy Klobuchar, who picked up six delegates. Papa Joe left for South Carolina before voting was even done, and Elizabeth Warren? I think only a fool would write her off.

Andrew McCabe, who oh-so-long ago was the Deputy Director of the FBI, got late-breaking good week notification. His lawyers were advised that McCabe won't be charged with anything after being left hanging for nearly two years. I'll let you decide whether this is an effort by AG Barr to demonstrate how independent he is, or if we'll see a review of this decision anytime soon. You know -- after Trump inevitably tweets about it.

In my neck of the woods, NY's Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo went to Albany to try and get the administration to back off on plans to keep New Yorkers from participating in a few travel programs. We were stripped of that right ostensibly because of the Green Light Law which allows undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses and prevents the DMV from sharing info with immigration officials.

Now, there's a little issue of what might look like a quid pro quo here, which came in the form of a tweet from you-know-who.

I'm sure, as you are, there's no question that's a perfect tweet right there, but even if it's neither perfect nor a quid pro quo, our AG Tish James set the record straight.

And finally, I'll end with news that Mike Bolsinger, a relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, is suing the Houston Astros for damages and to have their $30M+ in bonuses donated to charities for kids and for retired major leaguers.

Bolsinger, an off-speed pitcher, had one disastrous inning in the 2017 playoffs and was released by the Blue Jays that night - never to pitch in the majors again. His lawyers say the Astros knew every single pitch in the inning, in which he walked three batters, gave up four earned runs, and got one batter out. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles, home of the Dodgers, who eventually lost the World Series to the Astros. I'm putting Bolsinger squarely on the good week list.

TGIF, everyone.

Email of the Week (v10)

Thursday is 'Email of the Week' day, when I plow through a hundred or so emails from the handful of Democratic presidential candidates I'm following to see what's going on.

Out of the 167 emails received since last Thursday afternoon, I'd guess that around 150 of them were requests for money - crazy amounts of money. We need $2M in the blink of an eye, and then that turned into $4M. We need $7M in the next week. We need we need we need we need we need.  

All but one of Mike Bloomberg's emails were policy-specific, focusing on immigration, veterans, reproductive health, and reforming our broken tax code. The fifth? Tomorrow's his birthday, if you want to send him a greeting. 

Warren reminded us that it was three years ago that the "Nevertheless, she persisted" moment occurred, and reminded supporters that this is a marathon not a spring (but she needs money, lots of money, to stay in the race.)

TGFV  boasted of his big win in New Hampshire, but that wasn't enough to lift him to the top tier. Here's part of that message.

Let me be clear: Now that we've gained another victory in New Hampshire, the establishment and financial elite are going to throw everything at us except the kitchen sink, And I have a feeling that the kitchen sink is coming pretty soon as well. 

So, if it wasn't him, who had the emails that made it to the top of the list?  Mayor Pete came close with 'This Is Our Moment,' which said, in part,

A fresh outlook is what makes new beginnings possible. It’s how we galvanize the majority that’s ready to act. And election after election has shown us that putting forward a new perspective is how Democrats win the White House. The stakes are monumental. We cannot afford to miss the mark or miss this moment. We must get this right. We must be clear-eyed about the challenge before us. And we must be equally clear about the choice ahead.

But the winner of the coveted email of the week is Andrew Yang, who - like Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick - suspended his campaign this week. It was a long email, so I'm including only some key excerpts.

We have accomplished so much together. We have brought a message of Humanity First and a vision of an economy and society that works for us and our families to millions of our fellow Americans...

One of the things I’m most proud of -- we gave $1,000 a month for a year to 13 families across the country.

We highlighted the real problems in our communities as our economy is being transformed before our eyes by technology and automation... Our signature proposal, Universal Basic Income, has become part of the mainstream conversation... We have touched and improved millions of lives and moved this country we love so much in the right direction.

And while there is great work left to be done, I am the MATH guy. And it is clear tonight from the numbers that we are not going to win this race. I am not someone who wants to accept donations and support in a race that we will not win. This is not an easy decision... But I have been convinced that the message of this campaign will not be strengthened by my staying in this race any longer.

My goal when I first started was always to solve the problems that got Donald Trump elected. And I know in order to do that, I will support whoever is the Democratic nominee. That said, I hope this campaign can be a message, and word of caution, to all of my Democratic colleagues.

Donald Trump is not the cause of all of our problems. He is a symptom. We must cure the disease that got him elected, and in order to do that we must address the real problems that affect our people and offer solutions to actually solve them. Those solutions are bold, and many think they are crazy. But I hope my campaign has made it a little less crazy to think we can lead our country to eradicate poverty...

This is the beginning. This movement is the future of American politics. This movement is the future of the Democratic party...

I can't wait to see who brings their A-game next week.