November 11 and 12, 2016
News and Views
CAN TRUMP BE “UNELECTED” BY SOME POWERFUL GROUP LIKE THE LEGISLATURE, OR THE DOJ?
http://people.com/politics/donald-trump-legal-battles-stop-president/
Inside Donald Trump's Ongoing Legal Battles — and Whether Any Could Stop Him from Becoming President
BY TIERNEY MCAFEE•@TIERNEYMCAFEE
UPDATED NOVEMBER 10, 2016 AT 8:49AM EST
Photograph -- JOHN LAMPARSKI/WIREIMAGE
RELATED VIDEO: Donald Trump Addresses Crowd After Being Elected President in Stunning Upset
President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton have both called for a “peaceful transition of power” to president-elect Donald Trump. But as Democratic voters and #NeverTrumpers struggle to come to terms with the stunning upset, some are still wondering: Is there anything that could stop Trump from taking the White House?
Let’s start with the legal battles the president-elect has become entangled in.
The Trump University Fraud Trial
Just weeks before Trump is set to be sworn in as America’s next commander in chief, he’s due in court on Nov. 28 to defend himself against allegations of fraud in a federal civil trial over the Trump University real estate seminar program.
According to Politico, Trump has been called as a witness by both sides in the trial that will reunite him with U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Trump faced bipartisan backlash after he said during his campaign that Judge Curiel should recuse himself from the case because his “Mexican heritage” was a “conflict of interest.” (Curiel was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants.)
In a previous statement on the case, Trump said his comments about Curiel had been “misconstrued,” saying, “I do not feel that one’s heritage makes them incapable of being impartial, but, based on the rulings that I have received in the Trump University civil case, I feel justified in questioning whether I am receiving a fair trial.” He added: “Throughout the litigation my attorneys have continually demonstrated that students who participated in Trump University were provided a substantive, valuable education based upon a curriculum developed by professors from Northwestern University, Columbia Business School, Stanford University and other respected institutions.”
“This is an extremely unusual situation,” Stephen Kaufman, an attorney specializing in political and election law, told Bloomberg of the case. “Certainly no presidential candidate in modern times has potentially come to the Office of President with such a litigation cloud hanging over his head.”
Kaufman said that while, as president, Trump would have some immunity from lawsuits, it wouldn’t cover suits filed against him before his election.
“Taking the office would not protect Mr. Trump from lawsuits that have been filed against him already or lawsuits that could be filed against him for civil matters that arose before he became President,” said Kaufman. “Having said that, there would be a mountain of logistical issues in trying to pursue a civil claim against a President.”
As for whether the case could affect Trump’s presidency, University of Utah Law Professor Christopher Lewis Peterson wrote an article arguing that there is already enough evidence in the fraud case for Congress to impeach Trump.
He wrote, “A federal judge appointed under Article III of the U.S. Constitution has already determined that Trump’s alleged actions, if true, constitute fraud and racketeering … Congress would be well within its legal rights under the Constitution to insist upon a President who is not a fraudster or a racketeer as defined in its own law.”
The New York Attorney General’s Investigation of the Donald J. Trump Foundation
Last month, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office ordered Trump’s charitable foundation to stop fundraising immediately, accusing the Donald J. Trump Foundation of violating state law. Schneiderman alleged in a cease and desist letter that the foundation solicited contributions in 2016 without being properly registered to do so with the attorney general’s charities bureau. That investigation is ongoing.
Trump’s campaign spokeswoman said in statement last month, “While we remain very concerned about the political motives behind A.G. Schneiderman’s investigation, the Trump Foundation nevertheless intends to cooperate fully with the investigation. Because this is an ongoing legal matter, the Trump Foundation will not comment further at this time.”
Schneiderman also filed a fraud lawsuit against Trump University in August 2013. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in this case.
The Rape Lawsuit
In a dramatic development, the woman who alleged in a federal lawsuit that Trump raped her in the 1990s when she was 13 years old dropped the suit in the final days of the election. The accuser, named in the lawsuit as “Jane Doe,” was set to come forward with her allegations for the first time at a press conference in Los Angeles last week. Her lawyer canceled the conference at the last minute, however, saying her client was too afraid to appear after receiving death threats.
Alan Garten, vice president and general counsel for the Trump Organization, did not return a call for comment to PEOPLE last week. But Garten has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations, telling the New York Daily News they were “categorically untrue, completely fabricated and politically motivated.”
Could Any of These Legal Battles Delay or Stop Trump from Taking Office?
GOP consultant Jean Card, a former Bush administration official whose analysis appears on U.S. News, told PEOPLE it’s unlikely these legal troubles would hinder Trump from the presidency.
“I’m not an attorney, but if there were any way Trump could be stopped, Hillary Clinton would not have conceded and Barack Obama would not have talked to the nation today about the peaceful transfer of power,” she said. “The stories about his legal troubles won’t change what happens on Jan. 20th: a Trump inauguration.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-transition-team-begins-minority-outreach-with-a-new-deal-for-black-america/
Trump transition team begins minority outreach with "new deal for Black America"
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS November 12, 2016, 1:08 PM
Play VIDEO -- Trump on Obamacare
Play VIDEO -- Trump on speaking with the Clintons
After months on the campaign trail of Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric about black communities, the president-elect’s transition team is making its first efforts at minority outreach, pushing a “new deal” for African-Americans with a “plan for urban renewal.”
Surrogates for Trump’s team gave MediaTakeOut.com, which describes itself as “the most visited African American website in the world,” the 10-point plan, an outline of policies Trump first proposed at a North Carolina campaign rally in October.
“In election after election, Democratic party leaders take African-American voters for granted and year after year the condition of Black America gets worse,” the plan reads. “The conditions in our inner cities today are unacceptable. Too many African-Americans have been left behind.”
It proposes to change the condition of black communities by promoting school choice, reduction of crime, business tax cuts, financial reforms, stopping “trade deficits,” ending illegal immigration, new infrastructure investment, protections for “the African American church” and an “America First” foreign policy.
While much of Trump’s plan already exists as part of his general legislative agenda, it also includes policies specific to inner cities, where he would ramp up law enforcement and look to increase investments.
“We will also have tax holidays for inner-city investment and new tax incentives to get foreign companies to relocate in blighted American neighborhoods,” it reads. “We will empower cities and states to seek a federal disaster designation for blighted communities in order to initiate the rebuilding of vital infrastructure, the demolition of abandoned properties, and the increased presence of law enforcement.”
The president-elect’s plan comes just as anti-Trump protesters have filled major urban areas in recent days, crowding the streets with some resulting in violence.
According to election exit polls, the president-elect fared poorly among black voters, garnering just 8 percent of African-American support. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, in comparison, won 88 percent of the black vote.
Fostering more businesses in minority neighborhoods can help, but it shouldn’t be businesses that don’t want to pay a living wage or which plan to pour massive amounts of noxious, toxic chemicals into the air. And as for more law enforcement, that’s a real “pig in a poke.” If those law officers are vicious and racist in their activities, the poor neighborhoods aren’t going to love you for it. If, however, they VIEW the brown to black skinned folk with human respect and INTERACT with them in a humane way, that will be a good thing. Great suggestions, Mr. President-Elect.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sam-dubose-shooting-ray-tensing-trial/
Ray Tensing trial: Judge declares mistrial in fatal police shooting of Sam DuBose
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP
November 12, 2016, 10:31 AM
Photograph -- In this Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, file photo, Ray Tensing re-enters Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan’s courtroom after a short break in the jury selection process for his murder trial in Cincinnati. CARRIE COCHRAN, AP
Photograph -- In this Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, file photo, Ray Tensing re-enters Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan’s courtroom after a short break in the jury selection process for his murder trial in Cincinnati. CARRIE COCHRAN, AP
Photograph -- sam-dubose.jpg, 43-year-old motorist Samuel DuBose shot and killed by Officer Ray Tensing in Cincinnati CBS
Photograph -- ap-16309568695204.jpg, The shirt Ray Tensing was wearing at the time he fatally shot Sam DuBose is submitted as evidence, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016, in Cincinnati. AP
CINCINNATI -- A mistrial was declared Saturday in the case of a white former Ohio police officer who was accused of murder in the fatal shooting of a black man during a traffic stop last year.
The fired University of Cincinnati police officer said he feared for his life when Sam DuBose, 43, tried to drive away after being stopped for a missing front license plate on July 19, 2015. Prosecutors wanted jurors to conclude 26-year-old Ray Tensing “purposely” killed DuBose.
The jury was handed the case around noon on Wednesday. Hamilton County Judge Megan Shanahan said jurors requested to review testimony by experts on police use of deadly force.
On Friday, the jury told Shanahan they couldn’t reach a decision on murder or voluntary manslaughter charges for Tensing. Shanahan said they had enough evidence for a decision and advised them to keep working.
On Saturday morning, Shanahan declared a mistrial because the jury could not reach a unanimous decision after around 25 hours of deliberating.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the jury was tilting toward a voluntary manslaughter conviction and an acquittal on the murder charge but ultimately couldn’t agree. He said he’ll decide within the next two weeks whether to try the case again.
Authorities, downtown businesses and schools have been monitoring developments closely. Some businesses released employees early Thursday and at least two schools closed in anticipation of a verdict that could bring strong reactions.
Police and emergency response agencies activated their regional operations center to monitor and share information about any violence. Before the trial began, city officials met with civil rights and faith leaders. The city was hit by riots in 2001 after a fatal police shooting of an unarmed black youth.
This case has attracted demonstrators, including Black Lives Matter activists, outside the Hamilton County courthouse and is among other shootings across the country that have raised debate about how police treat black people.
The prosecution said evidence including Tensing’s own body camera video contradicted his story of being dragged by DuBose’s car.
“The video is the ultimate witness ... this video exposes Tensing’s lies,” Deters said during closing arguments.
He said Tensing and his lawyer became “almost comical with their word games,” calling shooting DuBose “stopping the threat” and saying he “perceived to be dragged.”
But defense attorney Stewart Mathews insisted Tensing was trying to keep from being run over.
“He was in sheer terror,” Mathews told jurors. “The evidence is very clear that a car can be just as deadly as a gun or knife.”
He said prosecutors tried to use race as “a smokescreen.” They pointed to Tensing’s T-shirt worn under his uniform that day. The “Great Smoky Mountains” shirt had a Confederate flag on it. Mathews said it had “no evidentiary value.”
Deters told jurors Wednesday that “emotions are high,” but they must decide based on the facts.
Tensing wept on the stand Tuesday. He said his arm was stuck in DuBose’s car at the time and the car was turning toward him.
Deters asked Tensing about an outside report that eight out of every 10 drivers that Tensing pulled over for traffic stops were black, the highest rate of any University of Cincinnati officer.
Tensing said he was often unaware of a driver’s race, did not single people out unfairly and wasn’t racist.
Witnesses testified that DuBose had significant amounts of marijuana and cash on him, which Mathews described as a reason why he was desperate to flee.
© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
EXCERPT -- “He said Tensing and his lawyer became “almost comical with their word games,” calling shooting DuBose “stopping the threat” and saying he “perceived to be dragged.”
This kind of pseudolegal language gets on my nerves, too, and it appears in almost all of these trials of officers. The judge usually eats it up, of course. I would be much more sympathetic toward an officer who would simply say, I unwisely stuck my hand inside his car window and he tried to run me down. That doesn’t sound “official” but it does sound REAL.
If this judge doesn’t call for a new trial, I’ll bet this case will be in the news again soon, with the chants of BLM in the background. This nationwide type of police department training, causing officers to see everything as a “threat” is not helpful, and the 8 or 10 bullets that they then pump into the driver is unwarranted at least half the time. RETRAINING, RETRAINING, RETRAINING!!
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/arab-allies-say-messages-from-trumps-transition-team-have-been-very-positive/
Arab allies say messages from Trump's transition team have been "very positive"
By MARGARET BRENNAN CBS NEWS
November 12, 2016, 10:41 AM
Play – CBS NEWS video
Play VIDEO -- Third straight day of protests over Trump win
At the very highest level, the messages from Donald Trump’s transition team have been very positive and reassuring to Arab allies, according to one Arab diplomat who was on a recent call with the transition team. These allies are confident that they can work through any concerns related to the heated rhetoric of the campaign.
The potential national security picks look promising to them, with several potential Cabinet-level members who are very familiar with avenues of U.S.-Arab cooperation on areas such as counterterrorism and intelligence.
That’s perhaps unsurprising given the distrust that grew between the Obama Administration and Gulf allies following the Iran deal and failure to enforce the “red line” in Syria. However, Arab allies also say they are not sure what to expect from the Trump administration and want to see whether he signs off on the proposed appointments. The Trump team has not yet contacted all U.S. allies in the Gulf, many of whom are nervous about Iranian encroachment and have become key to the US campaign against ISIS.
CBS News’ Major Garrett has reported that Trump is considering former Speaker Newt Gingrich or George W. Bush-era U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton for secretary of state. Retired Army General Michael Flynn or Bolton could be national security adviser, and Rep. Michael McCaul, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani are being considered for Homeland Security Secretary. Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee is also in the running as a potential secretary of state.
During the presidential campaign, Trump called for a Muslim entry ban, a proposal that recently disappeared from his campaign website before it was restored.
In July, Trump announced he was expanding the ban to include suspending immigration from “any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place.”
EXCERPT -- “During the presidential campaign, Trump called for a Muslim entry ban, a proposal that recently disappeared from his campaign website before it was restored.” That’s a really odd way of saying something or other which I really can’t decipher. Maybe there was an article on it that I missed. Whatever, it’s good if parties in the Middle East can get along with Trump rather than planning an airplane attack on Trump Tower. I’m all for peace in the world rather than war.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-protester-shot-oregon-demonstration/
Donald Trump protester shot during Oregon demonstration
CBS/AP
November 12, 2016, 7:45 AM
Play VIDEO -- Potential impact of President-elect Trump's economic plans
Play VIDEO -- Trump on Obamacare
Photograph -- A demonstrator is treated for a gunshot wound during a protest against the election of Republican Donald Trump as president of the United States in Portland, Oregon, Nov. 12, 2016. REUTERS/COLE HOWARD
Play VIDEO -- Trump on speaking with the Clintons
Play VIDEO -- Anti-Trump protests continue for third consecutive night
Play VIDEO -- Ugliness persists three days after Trump's election
Play VIDEO -- President-elect Trump ponders changes and cabinet
Play VIDEO -- What might President-elect Trump's Cabinet look like?
PORTLAND, Ore. -- As protests of President-elect Donald Trump entered another day, police in Portland, Oregon, say one person was shot and injured by a man who had gotten into a confrontation with a protester and then opened fire.
Portland police said the victim was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and they were looking for a male suspect, who got out of a vehicle and fired multiple shots early Saturday morning on a Willamette River bridge before fleeing in the vehicle.
The shooting followed rowdy Friday night protests, when police used tear gas in response to “burning projectiles” thrown at officers, police said on Twitter. Hundreds of people marched through the city, disrupting traffic and spray-painting graffiti.
Authorities reported instances of vandalism and assault during a rally that organizers had billed as peaceful earlier in the day.
Anger over the election has had some violent and ugly results, CBS News correspondent Marlie Hall reports.
A video posted to social media shows David Wilcox, a white Trump supporter, being beaten by a group of African-Americans following a traffic dispute in Chicago.
“Somebody yelled, ‘That’s one of them white boy Trump supporters,’ and then I said, ‘What does that have to do with this? We’re talking about insurance here,’” Wilcox told CBS station WBBM-TV. “And I asked the lady, ‘Ma’am, do you have insurance?’ and immediately punches were thrown. They didn’t say a word.”
But the coarseness goes both ways.
Chants of “white power” were heard from students holding a Trump-Pence campaign sign at a school in York, Pennsylvania.
And middle schoolers in Michigan chanted “build the wall,” leaving Latino students in tears. Reaction from the school district was swift.
“This is not who we are,” said Principal Todd Noonan. “Everyone is welcome in our community of learners. We build bridges. We work together.”
In other parts of the country, spirited demonstrations on college campuses and peaceful marches along downtown streets have taken place since Wednesday.
Hundreds joined a Friday afternoon “love rally” in Washington Square Park in Manhattan.
Leslie Holmes, 65, a website developer from Wilton, Connecticut, took an hour-long train ride to the demonstration - her first protest since the 1970s, when she hit the streets of San Francisco to oppose the Vietnam War.
She described herself as an armchair liberal but declared, “I’m not going to be armchair anymore.”
“I don’t want to live in a country where my friends aren’t included, and my friends are fearful, and my children are going to grow up in a world that’s frightening, and my granddaughters can look forward to being excluded from jobs and politics and fulfilling their potential, so I’m here for them,” she said.
Evening marches disrupted traffic in Miami and Atlanta.
Trump supporter Nicolas Quirico was traveling from South Beach to Miami. His car was among hundreds stopped when protesters blocked Interstate 395.
“Trump will be our president. There is no way around that, and the sooner people grasp that, the better off we will be,” he said. “There is a difference between a peaceful protest and standing in a major highway backing up traffic for 5 miles. This is wrong.”
More than a thousand protesters took to the streets across California after night fell including downtown Los Angeles, where over 200 were arrested a night earlier. In Bakersfield, where Trump is far more popular than in most of the state, some held signs reading “Anti-Trump, Pro-USA.”
Small protests also were held in Detroit; Minneapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Olympia, Washington and Iowa City.
More than 200 people carrying signs gathered on the steps of the Washington state Capitol. The group chanted “not my president” and “no Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA.”
In Tennessee, Vanderbilt University students sang civil rights songs and marched through campus across a Nashville street, temporarily blocking traffic. A protest also occurred in Minneapolis.
In Chicago, multiple groups planned protests through Saturday.
Nadia Gavino, 25, learned about the rallies on Twitter and protested Thursday evening. Gavino, whose father is from Peru and whose mother is of Mexican and Lithuanian heritage, said she took Trump’s harshest statements about immigrants and Latinos personally.
“I obviously agree that he’s racist, he’s sexist, he’s phobic, he’s misogynistic. He’s all these things you don’t want in a leader,” she said.
Ashley Lynne Nagel, 27, said she joined a Thursday night demonstration in Denver.
“I have a leader I fear for the first time in my life,” said Nagel, a Bernie Sanders supporter who voted for Hillary Clinton.
“It’s not that we’re sore losers,” she said. “It’s that we are genuinely upset, angry, terrified that a platform based off of racism, xenophobia and homophobia has become so powerful and now has complete control of our representation.”
Demonstrations also were planned Saturday in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and other areas.
Previous demonstrations drew thousands of people in New York and other large urban centers. The largely peaceful demonstrations were overshadowed by sporadic episodes of vandalism, violence and street-blocking.
EXCERPT – “A video posted to social media shows David Wilcox, a white Trump supporter, being beaten by a group of African-Americans following a traffic dispute in Chicago. “Somebody yelled, ‘That’s one of them white boy Trump supporters,’ and then I said, ‘What does that have to do with this? We’re talking about insurance here,’” Wilcox told CBS station WBBM-TV. “And I asked the lady, ‘Ma’am, do you have insurance?’ and immediately punches were thrown. They didn’t say a word.” …. In other parts of the country, spirited demonstrations on college campuses and peaceful marches along downtown streets have taken place since Wednesday. Hundreds joined a Friday afternoon “love rally” in Washington Square Park in Manhattan.”
“This is not who we are,” said Principal Todd Noonan. “Everyone is welcome in our community of learners. We build bridges. We work together.” I wish fervently that Noonan’s statement were the simple truth, rather than sad but hopeful rhetoric, meant to encourage those of us who have fought for fifty years and more to bring a dependable state of common decency about among us “patriotic” citizens of the USA. Fie upon your patriotism.
Patriotism and religion are the factors that cause the greatest amount of harm in human society, by which I mean sheer mayhem. Jesus’ teachings do NOT advocate these assaults on outside groups. Remember the wonderful parable of the Good Samaritan? Jews and Samaritans were arch rivals and enemies in those days. A Jewish traveler who was walking down the trail was set upon by highwaymen. He lay bleeding in the road after they robbed him and left. Several Jews came upon him and walked on by – “it’s not my problem,” or “I’m too busy,” or “he’s of a lower class” – they said to themselves. Finally, a Samaritan came by and instantly provided him with water and bandaged up his wounds. Jesus did not enjoin his followers to kill all Samaritans, you see. Sometimes I think that these modern-day Christians are reading from a different Bible than the one I was taught. I just don’t know about the miracles in the Bible or about whether or not there is a Heaven or a Hell. I do believe that Jesus was a real man and taught IN DEPTH about right and wrong. It’s a spiritual matter that gets translated all too quickly into real life Good and Evil.
Human beings just aren’t the “superior” creatures that we think we are. Our deepest flaws come from one of our most important survival characteristics. We are group forming creatures, and formed by our group. It’s the kind of thing that makes a leopard think twice about attacking a group of baboons. Baboon’s, though rather large, are not apes; but “Old World Monkeys,” which means that they have a tail (apes don’t) that is short. New World monkeys, on the other hand, have a long and “prehensile” tail, which means that it can be used like a hand almost to grab a tree branch and swing on it to a better position. Baboons also have long, sharp fangs just like cats and dogs, and a bad temper. One baboon can kill a man. Twenty is unthinkable.
If more of our citizens had a better education, or a more positive ORIENTATION TOWARD EDUCATION, or a true DESIRE TO BE GOOD PEOPLE, then this excellent school principal would be absolutely accurate. “We” just don’t do such vicious things to those who happen to look or sound different. His gentle and benign statement would be true of a better-informed society. Some of those hard-core “conservatives,” and “religious” people don’t want gentleness and cooperation to be “taught in school,” because that is unpatriotic and “liberal.” Sometimes, I think of giving up the fight, but I can’t and mustn’t. The world needs people like me. (Go, Bernie!!)
I’m going to stop here to make a protest against my computer for “correcting” my grammar and vocabulary into things that are NOT correct. My computer says that the use of “were” rather than “was” is incorrect because of the need for a “singular” verb with a singular subject. Whoever programs these things should read a little more deeply into the issue at hand, which is MOOD. Better yet, hire an English Major!! See Grammar Girl Below.
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/subjunctive-verbs
When to Use Were
Believe it or not, verbs have moods just like you do. Yes, before the Internet and before emoji, somebody already thought it was important to communicate moods. So, like many other languages, English has verbs with moods ranging from commanding to questioning and beyond. The mood of the verb "to be" when you use the phrase "I were" is called the subjunctive mood, and you use it when you're talking about something that isn't true or you're being wishful.
Carrie's example is an easy one to start with because her sentence starts with words "I wish"—I wish I were more perceptive—and that's about the biggest clue you can get that her sentence is wishful. Wishful sentences call for the subjunctive mood of the verb "to be," so the right choice is "I were": I wish I were more perceptive.
EMAILS --
https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=41fdasha0si1l#9611101024
Alan Grayson
Sanders 56%, Trump 44%
Dear Lucy,
I did an interesting national poll, two days before the general election. The question was this: “If the Presidential candidates were Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump, for whom would you vote?”
The results were: Sanders 56%, Trump 44%.
That would have been the largest presidential victory since 1984 (Reagan vs. Mondale), and the largest Democratic victory since 1964 (Johnson vs. Goldwater).
Bernie Sanders would have won more than 400 electoral votes. He would have swept every Atlantic state except South Carolina. He would have prevailed in every state bordering Mexico, including Texas, which the Democrats haven’t won since 1976.
The crosstabs for the poll show that the difference would have been concentrated in the independent vote, with Sanders winning them by 10, instead of losing them by 17. Sanders also would have performed 38 points better than Secretary Clinton (relative to Trump) among voters who didn’t graduate from high school, and 39 points better among voters under the age of 30.
Against Trump, Sanders would have done much better than Secretary Clinton – in fact, equally better -- among both men and women. After the last such Democratic landslide, in 1964, the Democrats held 68 seats in the Senate (a filibuster-proof majority even under the old rules, which required 67 votes) and 295 seats in the House. Both were two-thirds majorities, large enough even to introduce constitutional amendments. A Sanders presidency would have been an opportunity to do good that would have even surpassed what we had in the 111th Congress, in 2009 and 2010.
As we contemplate the dark days ahead, and then as we suffer through them, we Democrats should remember that it could have been entirely different. All we had to do was to elect a Progressive as President – just as a large majority of Americans really wanted.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=41fdasha0si1l#1941639414
Bernie Sanders
Lucy:
In less than 24 hours, more than 250,000 people signed a petition agreeing with me that Keith Ellison should be the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
That sounds to me like people want a political revolution at the DNC and that they want the Democratic Party to move in a very different direction. They want a Democratic Party to stand up to the greed of Wall Street, the fossil fuel industry and corporate America, and represent the working people of our country and all those fighting for economic, social, racial and environmental justice.
Now more than ever, that is the Democratic Party we need. That is the kind of Democratic Party Keith will lead.
We like big goals. I think we will send an incredibly strong message to the Democratic Party if we can get more than 500,000 signatures supporting Keith Ellison to be the next Chair of the DNC when he formally announces his candidacy on Monday.
Please add your name to say you want to see Rep. Keith Ellison – a progressive leader who believes in grassroots politics – as the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
You can read more about why I think Keith should be DNC Chair in my email from yesterday, which is included below.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
Friends of Bernie Sanders
Lucy:
The declining middle class is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics, and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes, and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids – all while the very rich become much richer.
Voters know these problems — yet they chose Donald Trump as their next president. That means the Democratic Party needs to look itself in the mirror and work tirelessly to become once again the party that working people know will work for their interests.
That's why I believe that Rep. Keith Ellison is the right person to lead the Democratic National Committee.
Keith is one of the most progressive members of Congress, and he was an early supporter of our political revolution. He is a co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus, a strong believer in grassroots politics, and someone who would be enormously effective in leading the Democratic Party against President Donald Trump.
If you agree that Keith Ellison should be the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee, add your name to mine. We'll deliver a letter to DNC members to show the tremendous support for Keith.
You cannot be a party which on one hand says we're in favor of working people, we're in favor of the needs of young people but we don't quite have the courage to take on Wall Street and the billionaire class. People do not believe that. You've got to decide which side you're on.
Keith Ellison knows the importance of rejecting the policies of the political establishment and wealthy campaign contributors. He is prepared to take on the billionaire class and all forms of bigotry. He vigorously supports a $15 minimum wage, opposes fracking and dangerous oil pipelines, and he wants to get big money out of politics.
I don't think the political establishment and the billionaire class would like Keith Ellison as the DNC chair. Good.
Keith also understands the stakes of what might happen under the Trump Administration. He knows just how dangerous it will be for Muslims, people of color, immigrants, our LGBT sisters and brothers, and so many others. His experience and perspective would be key to leading the fight against Trump.
I'm sure a lot of you have some feelings about the Democratic National Committee. The truth is that it is an important entity to build, support, and maintain if we are to have the chance to organize and win in the coming elections while Trump is president.
We must also do everything we can to elect Democrats to Congress in 2018, and to take back the White House in 2020. We need a Democratic National Committee led by a progressive who understand the dire need to listen to working families, not the political establishment or the billionaire class.
That is why I support Keith Ellison to be the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and why I hope you'll join me in advocating for him to lead the DNC.
Add your name to mine and tell the DNC you want to see Keith Ellison as the next chair of the Democratic Party.
We have a lot of work ahead of us. Thank you for being a part of our political revolution.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
ADD YOUR NAME TO SUPPORT KEITH ELLISON FOR DNC CHAIR »
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-open-to-amending-obamacare-affordable-care-act/
Donald Trump open to amending Obamacare
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS November 11, 2016, 6:21 PM
Donald Trump will appear in his first extensive post-election interview Sunday on “60 Minutes” at 7 p.m. ET
After running a heated campaign predicated in part on rolling back President Obama’s signature healthcare law, Donald Trump is now signaling an openness to keeping the Affordable Care Act in some form.
People with pre-existing conditions will still be covered in the version of health care that Trump wants to see replace Obamacare, he said in a wide-ranging interview with CBS News’ Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes.”
Production shots from Trump's interview with 60 Minutes
9 PHOTOS
Production shots from Trump's interview with 60 Minutes
“It happens to be one of the strongest assets,” Trump said about insuring people with pre-existing conditions. “It adds cost, but it’s very much something we’re gonna try and keep.”
And, he told Stahl, that there will be no lapse between the repeal of Mr. Obama’s signature health-care law and its replacement by his version. The’re won’t be “a two day period” or “a two year period where there’s nothing. It will be repealed and replaced. I mean, you’ll know. And it’ll be great health care for much less money,” he promised.
“Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced,” Mr. Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday.
Mr. Trump favors keeping in place protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, along with a measure that allows parents to keep their children on their insurance policies until the age of 26, the Journal said, and it also reported that during their meeting Thursday, Mr. Obama asked the president-elect to reconsider repealing it.
In fact, Mr. Trump told the Journal that a big reason for his shift from his call for a full repeal was his meeting with Mr. Obama, who, he said, suggested areas of Obamacare to keep intact. “I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Mr. Trump said.
The measures on pre-existing conditions and keeping children on their parents’ policies are popular even among the most partisan Republican legislators who have called for a full repeal of the law, and they have been included in proposals that would replace the ACA with a GOP-backed alternative. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s “Better Way” healthcare plan, for example, would also prevent insurance companies form denying coverage to those with existing conditions and would keep the parental provision.
Trump himself has said before in a Republican primary debate that he would want to keep some measures Obamacare instituted.
“I would absolutely get rid of Obamacare. I want to keep pre-existing conditions. It’s a modern age, and I think we have to have it,” Mr. Trump said in February at the CNN-Telemundo debate in Texas. “I would absolutely get rid of Obamacare. I want to keep pre- existing conditions. It’s a modern age, and I think we have to have it.”
But Trump’s recent answer in the Journal is a softening even from the plan his campaign team recently put on his website for his first 100 days in office, which explicitly calls for a piece of legislation called the “Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act.” The legislation, according to Mr. Trump’s plan, “fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it.”
In the interview with “60 Minutes,” the president-elect also said talked about the call he received from Hillary Clinton when she conceded.
“[I]t was a lovely call and it was a tough call for her,” Mr. Trump said. “I can imagine. Tougher for her than it would have been for me. I mean, for me, it would have been very, very difficult. She couldn’t have been nicer. She just said, ‘Congratulations, Donald, well done.’”
And former President Bill Clinton called Thurday, Mr. Trump said.
“He couldn’t have been more gracious,” the president-elect said. “He said it was an amazing run. One of the most amazing he’s ever seen.”
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Why some Democrats think Keith Ellison, a congressman you’ve probably never heard of, is the answer to Donald Trump
By Amber Phillips
November 11 at 11:22 AM
Photograph -- Rep. Keith Ellison. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)
Late Tuesday night, Democrats had one name to explain their defeat: James B. Comey. By Thursday, many had another to describe their comeback strategy: Keith Ellison.
Ellison is a five-term congressman from Minnesota, and for a growing number of influential progressives, he's the answer to Democrats' failure to beat Donald Trump.
Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have all floated Ellison's name to be chair of the Democratic National Committee — a normally behind-the-scenes strategic position they want him to make more public. (More on that below.)
So let's learn more about Ellison and why some Democrats think this relatively obscure congressman is their best answer to Trump.
The basics: Ellison was elected a decade ago to Minnesota's 5th District, which includes heavily Democratic Minneapolis.
Since coming to Congress, he's been a reliably liberal Democratic vote — he's campaigned on his opposition to the Iraq War and his support for universal health care, and he's been a vocal opponent of voter ID laws.
He's no Donald Trump: Ellison's biography could not be more of a stark contrast to the most controversial elements of Trump's message.
He's the first Muslim to be elected to Congress and one of only two serving in the House.
When Ellison was sworn in for the first time in 2007, he made national news for taking his ceremonial oath with a Koran — one once owned by Thomas Jefferson, which he borrowed from the Library of Congress.
Since then, he's been frequently called on to be a spokesman for his faith. (Ellison was raised Catholic, but converted to Islam in college.)
A Koran and prayer beads lay in a prominent spot on Ellison's desk. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)
He was also the first black person to be elected to Minnesota's congressional delegation.
And he's from the Midwest, a region where Tump snuck up on Hillary Clinton. (Minnesota voted for Clinton, but for a state that hasn't voted for a Republican since 1972, it was surprisingly close: President Obama won the state in 2012 by 9 percentage points. Clinton won it by 1.5 points.)
He's got progressive cred: Ellison is co-chair of the Progressive Caucus in the House, and he backed Sanders during the primary.
The Sanders and Warren wing is currently the loudest liberal voice speaking out after the election. Both are having an “I-told-you-so” moment with the Democratic Party, saying it should have focused on a more populist message if it wanted to reach the white working class voters that broke for Trump in higher-than-expected numbers.
Ellison, say liberals, is someone they trust to make the progressive wing of the party more mainstream. “There's a big challenge that people feeling really jilted by a party that tried to stop the nomination process before it began,” said Neil Sroka with the progressive Democracy for America. “He would be really helpful for that.”
But some moderates are skeptical that turning the party to the left will solve the Democrats' problems.
“It didn't matter what type of Democrat you were on Tuesday,” said Jim Kessler with the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way. “You were defeated. … every element of the party has to look in the mirror and reassess, and say ‘What can we do better?’ ”
He can handle the cable news circuit: Ellison has a reputation as a level-headed politician who won't shy away from a political fight or controversy. Perhaps the most famous example of this came right after his 2006 election. Conservative commentator Glenn Beck, then at CNN, asked Ellison if he could be politically incorrect for a second, then demanded to know: “Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies?”
Ellison, without getting flustered, replied: “Well, let me tell you, the people of the 5th Congressional District know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There's no one who is more patriotic than I am. And so, you know, I don't need to — need to prove my patriotic stripes.”
The media coverage from that conversation was largely favorable to Ellison. Beck later said it was “quite possibly the poorest-worded question of all time.”
As the Huntington Post pointed out, doing battle with conservatives on TV could be one of the most effective ways for Democrats to reach voters and reshape their party, since there are fewer of them in office to do it the traditional way. Democrats have the fewest seats at every level of governance since the Reconstruction Era.
Which brings me to my next point:
He could shake up what the DNC does.
At the heart of Ellison's sudden popularity among progressives is the opportunity to fundamentally reshape the role of the DNC.
Think of the office of DNC chair as it exists right now as like the chief operating officer of a company — someone focused on logistics like fundraising and coordination to help the party, while the top Democrat in power is like the chief executive — the person providing the vision.
But the current formula, progressive Democrats say, is largely broken. Democrats were so badly decimated on Tuesday they are a leaderless party. So why not let this official position become the visionary leader of the party. The chair could focus less on fundraising — if people are excited about the party they'll donate anyway, Sanders argued — and more about giving the nation a solution to its economic anxiety.
Ellison's colleague in the progressive committee endorsed that idea in an interview with The Post's John Wagner: “They have to be advocates, and not just conduits,” said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.). “The DNC should be both an organizing tool and an advocacy tool.”
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the percentage Obama won Michigan by in 2012. He won it by 9 points.
https://www.facebook.com/theDanRather/?fref=nf
November 11, 2016
Dan Rather
As the administration of Donald Trump starts to take shape in Washington, I find myself thinking back again of that historic city and where we may be headed.
It is no accident that our monuments and institutions of government in our nation's capital are made out of marble. They are cathedrals to our democracy - impressive, imposing, and built to last. They are also beacons to our improbable aspirations. When our predecessors planned and constructed these buildings, our republic was still quite young. It still is, by the measure of most societies on earth. The old saying may remind us that Rome wasn't built in a day, but much of Washington D.C. was built over the course of a few decades.
Rome is a provocative comparison because the remnants of that ancient society remain standing centuries after the empire that built them crumbled and died. For while buildings are important, the heart of a nation lies with its people. Marble may last but the strength of a society must be constantly reinforced.
For the years I lived in Washington, and ever since on return visits, I have loved walking amongst the city's wide boulevards and past its famous addresses. And yet covering the men and women who wielded power from their marble perches is to be reminded that as permanent as our nation can seem, we can never take its future for granted. The strength of our institutions lie within us, and our representatives.
I have seen this nation's spirit of self evidence challenged in the past, with World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, and Watergate, just to name a few. Some of these struggles were largely foreign in origin, others sprouted from our own imperfections.
I believe that we are once again at an inflection point. This presidential election, with its bitter partisan divide and often irresponsible rhetoric, threatens to crumble some of the foundations of our democratic institutions. We now await to see whether the president-elect's actions will match his words. We cannot simply slough off these worries with incantations that everything will work out. The dictionary lists "democracy" as a noun, but because it requires action to be, I like to think of it more as a verb.
We should not expect or even hope to agree on policy or priorities. Fostering healthy and respectful debate is one of the strengths of our system of government. But when we seek to undermine our political adversaries by attacking their right to participate in our national discourse we risk causing longterm harm to the rationale behind the nation we all claim to love.
And the marble of Washington might cease to be cathedrals to democracy and more like mausoleums. Anyone who considers himself or herself a true patriot cannot allow us to head down this dangerous path. It is in our hands to demand that we re-water the seeds of our highest national morals and ideals.
(portions of this essay were first published earlier)
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Daniel Berkowitz
Daniel Berkowitz A friend of mine (pre-Facebook!) asked how we are doing post election. This is my response:
My spouse and I and our family are doing fine for the present. Thank you for asking. The two of us have good jobs at decent pay (for our area), our finances ar...See More
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Antonio Lima
Antonio Lima Dan, I dare to say: We have not seen the bad yet, and I hope to be wrong, but I believe that after Jan 20th, we will enter a new chapter in World History and the consequences of a bad choice, very bad one! What power in the wrong hands can do! I always thought that nothing could be compared to W as the worst President in my life time! How wrong I was! How wrong!
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Dan Rather
23 mins ·
There is no denying that the media is embroiled in controversy these days. Donald Trump made so-called media bias one of the biggest themes of his campaign. Now, judging by the President-Elect's refusal to allow journalists to travel with him to DC for his meeting with President Obama, it looks like his "relationship" with the press hasn't changed yet. With that in mind news organizations are no doubt scrambling to come up with plans on how to cover Trump's time in the White House.
Today, in a rather unusual move, the publisher of the The New York Times directly addressed readers to defend the way the paper covered the election (and both campaigns). In a separate note sent to staffers he addressed their coverage of the Trump administration going forward.
http://www.poynter.org/…/new-york-times-publisher-w…/438886/
New York Times publisher: We will cover President Trump fairly
New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger on Friday told the newsroom in an email that President-elect Donald Trump would be covered “fairly” and “without bias.” In the…
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http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news-campaigns/305603-jane-sanders-absolutely-bernie-could-have-beat-trump
Jane Sanders: 'Absolutely' Bernie could have beat Trump
BY BROOKE SEIPEL - 11/11/16 02:24 PM EST
Jane Sanders, wife of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said Friday that she "absolutely" believes he could have won Tuesday’s election if he’d been the Democratic nominee.
In an interview on CNN, Wolf Blitzer asked Sanders, “Do you think your husband would have had a better chance at beating Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton did?"
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"Absolutely," she responded, "but it doesn't matter now."
Bernie Sanders ran to the left of Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary and was hindered by what his supporters called institutional bias.
Multiple polls at the time showed the self-described Democratic socialist performing better in a general election matchup against Trump than Clinton would — or did.
The senator struck a similar “what good does it do now?” tone in his own CNN interview on Thursday.
"I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to do Monday-morning quarterbacking right now. The election is over. Donald Trump won," he said.
Sanders said he’s focused on unifying the country and fighting for progressive policies under Trump, sharing a message late on Wednesday that “to the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him.”
When Jane Sanders was asked Friday whether her husband would run again in 2020, which he has refused to rule out, she responded, "ask me again in 2019."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/2016-election-poll-bernie-sanders-trump_us_58260f7ee4b0c4b63b0c6928
New Pre-Election Poll Suggests Bernie Sanders Could Have Trounced Donald Trump
The survey, commissioned by a Sanders supporter, backs a theory popular among the Vermont senator’s fans.
Ryan Grim -- Washington bureau chief for The Huffington Post
Daniel Marans -- Reporter, Huffington Post
11/11/2016 02:25 pm ET
Photograph -- Predictions about how Bernie Sanders would have fared in the general election would have to take into account the unknown effects of a campaign battle. BILL CLARK/GETTY IMAGES
Video – Clinton Supporters react after Election
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would have beaten Donald Trump by a historic margin if he had been the Democratic nominee, according to a private pre-election poll provided to The Huffington Post.
The national survey of more than 1,600 registered voters, conducted by Gravis Marketing two days before the general election, found that Sanders would have received 56 percent of the vote while Trump would have won 44 percent. The poll was commissioned and financed by outgoing Florida Congressman Alan Grayson, a Democrat who endorsed Sanders in the presidential primary.
The last election result that decisive was Ronald Reagan’s victory over Democrat Walter Mondale in 1984.
Crucially, independent voters, who made up nearly one-third of the general election voters this year, favored Sanders over Trump, 55 percent to 45 percent, the poll found. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, lost independents 48 percent to 42 percent, according to exit polls.
Although the Gravis poll did not show state-level results, it is safe to assume that any candidate with that type of lead in the popular vote, if the poll is accurate, would win the electoral college handily.
Of course, the poll results are an imperfect indicator of what would have occurred if Sanders had actually been on the ballot on Election Day.
For one thing, Tuesday’s election results have exposed fundamental deficiencies in current polling techniques. The vast majority of polls mistakenly predicted a Clinton victory in Tuesday’s election. Prior to FBI Director James Comey’s announcement that the agency was reopening the investigation of Clinton’s emails at the end of October, Clinton even led Trump by as much as 13 percentage points ― more than Sanders’ margin of victory in the Gravis poll.
Then there is the matter of the general election scrutiny and Republican attacks Sanders would have endured if he were the nominee. No poll can account for how the candidacy of a self-described democratic socialist promising to raise taxes for middle-class voters would fare under those circumstances. Clinton believed Sanders would almost certainly not have survived such an onslaught, she told a room full of campaign donors in February.
And to throw even more uncertainty into the mix, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had threatened to run if Sanders and Trump were the final two candidates. How Sanders would have fared under those circumstances can never be known.
But it will certainly give ammunition to wistful Sanders supporters and other progressives who hope that Clinton’s disappointing election performance will serve as an opportunity to take the Democratic Party in a more populist direction.
For Grayson, who lost a Senate primary campaign in Florida to centrist Democrat Patrick Murphy, who then lost to incumbent Marco Rubio, the poll shows that Democrats err by looking for business-friendly, moderate politicians, even if they end up running on a liberal platform, as Clinton did.
“As we contemplate the dark days ahead, and then as we suffer through them, we Democrats should remember that it could have been entirely different. All we had to do was to elect a Progressive as President ― just as a large majority of Americans really wanted,” Grayson said in an email.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-moore-predicts-trump-impeach-resign_us_58261464e4b0c4b63b0c6dee
Michael Moore Predicts Donald Trump Won’t Last The Full 4 Years
“He will break laws because he’s only thinking about what’s best for him.”
Chris D’Angelo
Associate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii
11/11/2016 03:50 pm ET
Photograph -- JONATHAN ALCORN/REUTERS
Trump will be impeached or resign, Moore argues.
Video – Moore, “The lasting effect of Trump on American Politics”
Video – Moore, During protest
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who in July correctly predicted Donald Trump would win the White House, now says the president-elect’s first term will end in either his resignation or impeachment.
“Here’s what’s going to happen, this is why we’re not going to have to suffer through four years of Donald J. Trump, because he has no ideology except the ideology of Donald J. Trump,” Moore said Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And when you have a narcissist like that, who’s so narcissistic where it’s all about him, he will, maybe unintentionally, break laws. He will break laws because he’s only thinking about what’s best for him.”
When host Mika Brzezinski asked Moore if he were now wishing ill on Trump, Moore replied, “He is ill.”
“He is racist,” Moore said. “He is a misogynist. He is an authoritarian.”
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.@MMFlint: This is going to be a massive resistance
9:32 AM - 11 Nov 2016
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Like Moore, political historian Allan Lichtman predicted Trump would be president. But he also forecast that the next president would be impeached.
“This one is not based on a system; it’s just my gut,” Lichtman told The Washington Post in September. “[Republicans] don’t want Trump as president, because they can’t control him. He’s unpredictable. They’d love to have [Vice President-elect Mike] Pence — an absolutely down-the-line, conservative, controllable Republican. And I’m quite certain Trump will give someone grounds for impeachment, either by doing something that endangers national security or because it helps his pocketbook.”
Moore participated in a massive anti-Trump protest in Manhattan on Wednesday and has urged relentless resistance.
“We are going to resist, we are going to oppose,” he told MSNBC. “This is going to continue, tonight and the next night and the next night. And all he has to do is start nominating Rudy Giuliani as attorney general, and things like that ― or his Supreme Court. This is going to be a massive resistance. Women are calling for a million woman march on the Inauguration Day, and there is going to be the largest demonstration ever on Inauguration Day.”
Earlier this week in New York, Moore called for demonstrations to continue until Trump is out of office.
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Andy Campbell ✔ @AndyBCampbell
Michael Moore happened upon the protest tonight, calling for resistance and agitation.
7:26 PM - 9 Nov 2016
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Donald Trump Win Sparks Protests Nationwide
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/11/11/why-bernie-sanders-voters-like-me-stayed-home/#7c18c8016342
Why Bernie Sanders Voters Like Me Stayed Home
Capital Flows , CONTRIBUTOR
Guest commentary curated by Forbes Opinion.
Mr. Parisi is a progressive activist from Long Island, New York. Twitter: @anthony_parisii.
Photograph -- Hillary Clinton talks with Bernie Sanders backstage before a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 3, 2016. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
President-Elect Donald Trump. Doesn’t that just make your skin crawl? Well that is the reality that is America in 2016.
Early in the morning on November 9, Americans everywhere were slowly hearing the news “Hillary Clinton calls Donald Trump to concede the presidency.” As a progressive, my heart dropped. Of course, like any political nerd, I had been watching the whole night, suffering through Wolf Blitzer freaking out about a few percentage points and the stupid way they called the race by projections on the Empire State Building. But after sitting through all of that, hearing the reporting that Hillary was conceding couldn’t be real; this had to be a nightmare. Unfortunately it was not.
It didn’t have to be this way–if everyone on the Democratic side did their job, under any normal election (not rigged by the Clinton team and the DNC, but we’ll get there). I use the term Clinton “team” because it is so hard to differentiate between the foundation and the campaign.
Hillary Clinton was always going to be at the head of the Democrat ticket in 2016. This was decided by the party leaders in 2008. She would drop out, if everyone got out of her way in 2016. The only serious primary challenge she faced was from outside the Democrat party, independent Bernie Sanders. The DNC saw that the momentum was with Sanders and killed it; they saw the beginnings of an actual political movement that the Clinton campaign could not compete with.
Watch on Forbes: Home Depot founder urged Republicans to vote for Trump
Play Video – He also accused the Clintons of being a corrupt family
The 2016 presidential race should have been the fight between two outsiders, Donald Trump v. Bernie Sanders. If the heads of the DNC would have seen the signs, that were all there, they would have switched their allegiance to Senator Sanders. I believe this for a number of reasons:
1. Rust Belt. Where was this election won and lost? In the “Rust Belt.” The Midwestern former industrial area of the country was struck hardest recently with the loss of factory jobs. Trump won Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Hard to believe that Sanders could do worse than this (also remember that Sanders beat Hillary in Michigan and Wisconsin during the primary season).
2. Enthusiasm. Every reporter out there has claimed recently that Clinton rallies had no enthusiasm and actually were boring, small and didn’t seem like that in the final stretch of a winning campaign. Sanders’ campaign had an enthusiasm that only matches Trump and President Obama’s coalition in 2008. Millenials also came out in large numbers for Sanders; they did not come out for Clinton in the numbers she needed.
3. Anyone who was alive during this campaign could tell that it was a “change year.” Putting all your eggs in the Clinton basket just didn’t make any sense. She is the opposite of change and fooled no one when she tried to prove she could be.
4. Finally, Clinton’s unfavorable ratings should have scared everyone off. Secretary Clinton has been a public figure for decades; there was going to be people who don’t like her. But her numbers on trust should have scared away anyone at the DNC. Maybe they thought they could slip her past us because of Trump’s extreme unfavorable numbers, but why even risk it when our democracy hangs in the balance?
Clinton was just the wrong candidate for 2016, and anyone who ever took PoliSci101 could have seen that. Clinton had such major setbacks that no one should have gone near her this election cycle. These are some of the things that turned off voters:
1. Clinton Foundation. The Clinton Foundation has been an issue for years, and no one on team Clinton had a good enough answer to the questions. The Clintons took money from some of the worst governments in the world, millions of dollars for a 15-minute talk. The Justice Department might need to prove you’re guilty of a crime to go after you, but the voters don’t.
2. Bill. Bill Clinton was a very good president. We had ridiculous growth in our economy, we used our military effectively in the Balkins, and everyone seemed to forgive the impeachment in time. Then President Clinton started going on the campaign trail and bashing Obamacare, and getting into arguments with Black Lives Matter protesters over a law from 20 years ago (it seemed that the former president was trying to defend himself first, over trying to campaign for his wife). Who can forget about his infamous meeting with Loretta Lynch? It’s a shame we have to see such a man who most Democrats used to adore throwing his wife’s campaign under a the bus.
3. Team Clinton. The final major issue with Clinton is the team she surrounded herself with. Robby Mook, her Campaign Director ran a terrible campaign. (Huma Abidin and Anthiny Weiners’ marriage problems–need I say anymore?) She didn’t get the big name she wanted, David Axelrod, who helped Obama win the White House. I can’t emphasize enough how horrendously bad the campaign run by Mook was. Losing Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Michigan is one of the worst showings in a national election of all time. The Clinton Campaign never went to Wisconsin during the general election and too late realized how close Michigan was, and they also thought Florida was a sure thing. It was not.
4. Change. Hillary Clinton was not going to change anything. She told the American people she would, and they just took that as another lie. No one had any confidence in her because she was part of the problem they wanted to get rid of.
In my eyes, the DNC is as much to blame as Team Clinton. The straight-up corruption in the DNC/Clinton Team is mind blowing. Here’s a quick look at all of the ways the DNC was working for the Clinton Campaign the whole time:
1. Scheduling the debates on Friday and Saturday nights, knowing no one would watch and Clinton would win by default, purely our of name recognition.
2. The DNC, under the leadership of Debbie Wasserman Shultz had looked into many different ways of discrediting opponent Senator Sanders, even calling into question his religion.
3. After Wasserman Shultz was forced out of her DNC position, she was immediately brought onto the Clinton team as a campaign chairperson. Showing the Clinton Campaign’s lack of respect for the Sanders’ progressives.
4. Donna Brazile was named Wasserman Shultz’s successor at the DNC. After leaving CNN for her new DNC position, it was found that Brazile was giving questions from the debates she received from CNN (CNN still claims they did not give Brazile the questions). Not only was she obviously biased in favor of Hillary Clinton, she destroyed any credibility she had as a journalist and dragged CNN through the mud as well (something CNN has no problem doing on its own).
If you can point the finger at anyone on the Democratic side for a Trump presidency, there are three fingers to point: Hillary Clinton (obviously), Debbie Wasserman Shultz and Donna Brazile. (Brazile not only lost to this horrible Republican candidate, she also was the campaign manager for Al Gore’s presidential run.) Those three should just be the beginning of what the entire Democratic party must do as an over haul. I am hoping for many firings coming from the DNC. We were expecting the Republicans to have to do an autopsy again after this race, but now it’s the Democrats who must cut open this cadaver and, to quote our future president, “Figure out what the hell is going on.”
The DNC and Team Clinton expected a coronation; they felt it was her turn. They forgot that no one is going to give you a turn; it’s a fight for every vote.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-users-report-being-falsely-marked-dead/
Facebook users report being falsely marked dead
By JENNIFER EARL CBS NEWS November 11, 2016, 4:45 PM
Photograph -- Pages of Facebook users, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, randomly turned into memorials after apparent bug hits the social network. TWITTER/@PETERSTRINGER
Facebook users were forced to do a double take on Friday as they leisurely scoped out their friends’ profiles.
At the top of the page, some people, including verified users, reported seeing memorial banners.
The problem: the person memorialized wasn’t actually dead.
“We hope people who love [Facebook user] will find comfort in the things others share to remember and celebrate [his or her] life,” the banner read.
The switch to memorial pages left users shocked and confused.
“Having a tough day today, but not dead, just in case Facebook tries to claim that I am,” one user posted.
“I’m still alive at the moment!” another person exclaimed.
Even Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg fell victim to the apparent bug.
The company later addressed the “terrible error” in a statement provided to CBS News.
“For a brief period today, a message meant for memorialized profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts,” a Facebook spokesman said. “This was a terrible error that we have now fixed. We are very sorry that this happened and we worked as quickly as possible to fix it.”
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Julia Carrie Wong ✔ @juliacarriew
Facebook Thursday: Fake news is not a problem
Facebook Friday: Mark Zuckerberg is dead. Your friends are dead. We are all dead.
4:07 PM - 11 Nov 2016
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Chuck Thies @ChuckThies
Cool. Facebook thinks I'm dead.
3:54 PM - 11 Nov 2016
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Marc Zwygart @mediaadvantages
Facebook is now saying we're all dead http://ift.tt/2fKjGpE
3:56 PM - 11 Nov 2016
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According to Facebook, memorialized accounts can only be requested after a person passes away.
“If Facebook is made aware that a person has passed away, it’s our policy to memorialize the account,” Facebook explained in a post.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-elect-donald-trump-to-appear-on-60-minutes/
President-elect Donald Trump to appear on 60 Minutes
President-elect Donald Trump to give Lesley Stahl his first extensive post-election interview for Sunday’s 60 Minutes, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. ET/PT
2016 Nov 10 / Last Updated Nov 11, 2016 2:48 PM EST
President-elect Donald Trump will have his first extensive post-election interview on this Sunday’s 60 Minutes. It will be conducted by Lesley Stahl and broadcast on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Stahl spoke with the Trump family, including Melania, Ivanka, Tiffany, Eric and Donald, Jr., on Friday, Nov. 11 at Trump’s Fifth Avenue residence in New York City.
Jeff Fager is the executive producer of 60 Minutes, America’s most-watched news program.
Photograph -- trumpfamily-productionshot.jpg, President-elect Donald Trump and his family speak with 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl CHRIS ALBERT
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/riot-declared-in-portland-oregon-amid-new-wave-of-anti-trump-demos/
Riot declared in Portland, Oregon amid new wave of anti-Trump demos
CBS/AP
November 11, 2016, 3:07 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Another round of protests over Donald Trump’s election hit many major cities across the country Thursday during the day and at night and, while most were peaceful, at least one turned violent and was officially dubbed a riot.
The president-elect fired back on Twitter after demonstrators in both red and blue states hit the streets again to express outrage over his unexpected win.
Trump tweeted Thursday night, “Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!”
Friday morning, he turned to Twitter again:
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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!
6:14 AM - 11 Nov 2016
46,385 46,385 Retweets 166,536 166,536 likes
The latest demonstrations occurred from Portland, Oregon, to Chicago, to New York and parts in between. Many drew several hundred people but some drew thousands.
In Portland, police declared a riot Thursday night, citing “extensive criminal and dangerous behavior” and tweeting that they were getting increasing reports of vandalism and aggressiveness as people marched through the city. They labeled some protesters “anarchists.”
CBS Portland affiliate KOIN-TV reported police put the number at some 4,000.
Marchers were spray-painting buildings, the station said. People were throwing projectiles at officers at one point and significant damage was done at a car dealership, police said. Multiple news outlets posted videos and photos of vehicle windows smashed out.
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
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Cole Miller @ColeKOIN
Just saw a man with a bat smash this window at the H&M store front #KOIN6News
2:59 AM - 11 Nov 2016
13 13 Retweets 4 4 likes
Protesters took over the Hawthorne Bridge, stopping cars on the roadway and climbing railings, KOIN said.
A video captured by freelance journalist Crystal Contreras showed an altercation on the bridge after a woman threw laundry detergent at protesters.
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Crystal Contreras @crystalatencio
Woman throwing laundry detergent at protestors here at the #NotMyPresident march here in #Portland
9:50 PM - 10 Nov 2016
235 235 Retweets 156 156 likes
Police said people were breaking the windows of some businesses in Portland’s Pearl district.
Police advised people to discontinue the use of illegal fire devices such as fireworks and said multiple people with bats were reported in the crowd. Protesters carried signs reading, “No racists, no hate” and “Revolt.”
People not wanting to be associated with protesters should leave the area, police said. At one point, they began making arrests. They had said earlier charges could include rioting -- a felony.
The situation escalated at about 11:30 p.m. when officers began physically pushing the crowd back, arresting more people and using pepper spray, flash bangs and explosions and what appeared to be some kind of gas to disperse crowds. An unlawful assembly was declared.
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Cole Miller @ColeKOIN
Protesters face to face with @ORStatePolice, other agencies. Someone's megaphone smashed amidst the frenzy #KOIN6News
3:09 AM - 11 Nov 2016
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One KOIN reporter was hit by a rubber bullet fired by police.
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Cole Miller @ColeKOIN
Lots of rubber bullets flying at SW5/Taylor, smell of mace/pepper spray in air #KOIN6News
3:28 AM - 11 Nov 2016 · Portland, OR
10 10 Retweets 1 1 like
Oregon Department of Transportation officials closed portions of Interstate 5 and Interstate 84 in the area intermittently as a precaution. Officials urged travelers to use caution and watch for people in unexpected places on roads. Some bridges were also closed.
Police reported 26 arrests in all.
Things also got ugly in Oakland Thursday night, reports CBS SF Bay Area.
Police declared an unlawful assembly as about 1,000 protesters gathered downtown, that station said.
Police said protesters blocked Interstate 580 and at least two were arrested.
Tear gas was used for a second straight night, police said.
An estimated 7,000 people protested on Wednesday night. Demonstrators grew violent as the evening wore on, with police using tear gas and flash bang grenades and protesters throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks.
In Denver Thursday night, protesters managed to briefly shut down Interstate 25 near downtown.
Denver police tweeted around 10 p.m. that demonstrators made their way onto the freeway and traffic was halted in the northbound and southbound lanes. Police say the interstate was reopened about half an hour later as the crowd moved back downtown.
Earlier protests in Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs on Wednesday and Thursday went off peacefully.
In San Francisco’s downtown, high-spirited high school students marched through, chanting “not my president” and holding signs urging a Trump eviction. They waved rainbow banners and Mexican flags, as bystanders in the heavily Democratic city high-fived the marchers from the sidelines.
Trump protests
64 PHOTOS
Trump protests
“As a white, queer person, we need unity with people of color, we need to stand up,” said Claire Bye, a 15-year-old sophomore at Academy High School. “I’m fighting for my rights as an LGBTQ person. I’m fighting for the rights of brown people, black people, Muslim people.”
In New York City, a large group of demonstrators once again gathered outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue Thursday night. They chanted angry slogans and waved banners baring [sic] anti-Trump messages.
“You got everything straight up and down the line,” demonstrator David Thomas said. “You got climate change, you got the Iran deal. You got gay rights, you got mass deportations. Just everything, straight up and down the line, the guy is wrong on every issue.”
Protesters briefly shut down interstate highways in Minneapolis.
In Philadelphia, protesters near City Hall held signs bearing slogans like “Not Our President,” ‘’Trans Against Trump” and “Make America Safe For All.” About 500 people turned out at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky and in Baltimore, hundreds of people marched to the stadium where the Ravens were playing a football game.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside Trump Tower in Chicago.
Another protest was building in Los Angeles, where 28 people were arrested Wednesday for blocking traffic during a demonstration that also saw vandalism to some buildings and a news truck.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, condemned what he called a “very, very small group of people” that caused problems in that demonstration but said he was proud of the thousands more that peacefully protested.
“I actually thought it was a beautiful expression of democracy. I think it was a marvelous thing to see the next generation of this country get engaged and involved,” he said at a news conference, adding that at one time in his life he might have joined them.
As expected, the demonstrations prompted some social media blowback from Trump supporters accusing protesters of sour grapes or worse, though there were no significant counter-protests.
Trump supporters said the protesters were not respecting the democratic process.
As of Thursday, Democrat Hillary Clinton was leading Trump in the popular vote nationwide 47.7 percent to 47.5 percent, but Trump secured victory in the Electoral College.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/11/on-veterans-day-obama-urges-a-disgruntled-and-divided-country-to-practice-kindness/?wpisrc=nl_politics-pm&wpmm=1
Post Politics
On Veterans Day, Obama urges a disgruntled and divided country to ‘practice kindness’
By Greg Jaffe
November 11 at 12:41 PM
President Obama prepares to speak at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
President Obama laid a wreath in Arlington National Cemetery on Friday and used his final Veterans Day speech to deliver a plea for unity and to urge Americans to set aside political grievances and follow the example of those who fight the country's wars.
"We can practice kindness, we can pay it forward, we can volunteer, and we can serve," Obama said on a blustery and bright day. "We can respect one another. We can always get each other's backs. That is what Veterans Day asks all of us to think about."
The president is a former smoker and during moments of stress he has admitted to chewing Nicorette gum. Before he stood to speak, Obama appeared to spit a wad of the gum into a paper napkin, which he slipped into his suit pocket. As he stepped to the presidential lectern, he was welcomed with an unusually long ovation.
The president, normally a polished and confident speaker, seemed to stumble over his words at the beginning of his address. He praised veterans for their quiet and selfless service, but the focus of his remarks was on the need for the country to recover from a bruising election campaign, a theme that is likely to dominate his remaining days in office. He praised the U.S. military as "the single most diverse institution in our country," representing "every shade of humanity … all forged into common service."
The president referred in the most general way to the bitter election campaign to replace him, which was marred by widespread accusations of racism, sexism and anti-immigrant sentiment. "Veterans Day often follows a hard-fought political campaign," he said.
But the president did not revisit the slights of the campaign trail, focusing instead on the "the American instinct ... to find strength in our common creed, to forge unity from our great diversity."
"We can show how much we love our country by loving our neighbors as ourselves," Obama said.
The president defended his administration's record on veterans' issues, noting that he had increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs by 85 percent over the course of his two terms in office, improved access to mental health services and cut veteran homelessness in half. He urged his successor to continue work on the tragedy of veteran suicides, which claim 20 lives a day, and to resist calls to outsource and privatize the VA.
Obama focused his remarks on an increasingly disaffected and angry electorate. "Whenever the world makes you cynical, whenever you seek true humility and selflessness, look to a veteran," the president said.
A SOLUTION TO A TROUBLESOME PROBLEM
http://www.akc.org/news/giant-dog-saves-autistic-girl/#
29 oct 2015
THIS GIANT DOG SAVED AN AUTISTIC GIRL JUST BY SITTING DOWN
By: Mara Bovsun
Photographs:
At top: Goose and Porter at Arches National Park. Jennie, an outdoors writer, feels safe bringing her daughter along on hikes because she knows the dog will keep her daughter from wandering.
service dog leonberger
Leonberger Cassie in training to ride on trains.
Autistic child newfoundland
Goose, Porter, and Jennie
Video -- In this video, you can see some of the work that goes into training a canine anchor.
It was all over in a second, before you could even scream.
Jennie* and her daughter, Goose, 4, had just gotten out of the car in a shopping center parking lot in Durango, Colorado, when the child turned and bolted.
Jennie did not have time to react, but their Newfoundland, Porter, knew just the right move—he hit the ground, stopping Goose in her tracks.
Had he not been there, the girl would have run right into the path of an oncoming car.
“He saved her life,” Jennie said.
For this two-year-old Newfoundland, lying down on the job is exactly what he’s supposed to do. Porter is an anchoring dog, a new kind of service animal trained to deal with one of more frightening aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
It is called elopement or wandering, words autism experts use to refer to the tendency of these children to dart off on impulse. Many of these children drown, are hit by cars, or simply disappear.
“These kids are impulse-driven. When they turn and run, it’s like a dog seeing a squirrel,” said Kirsten Becker, founder of Portland-based Autism Anchoring Dogs (AAD).
Parents of wanderers live in a state of constant vigilance because it’s impossible to predict when the children are going to flee. Becker says that many guardians develop rotator cuff injuries just from holding on to their kids for dear life.
“I’d lost her so many times, I couldn’t go anywhere,” said Jennie, who was unable to continue in her work as an outdoors writer because of Goose's condition. “I was becoming so isolated. I was scared to go to the grocery store.” Even opening the front door was nerve wracking. Goose is so fast she can be out the door and in the street in the blink of an eye.
Now, with Porter, Goose is less likely to even try to run. If she does, the dog keeps her in check.
“We have a whole new life because of Porter,” Jennie said.
SEARCHING FOR CLUES
Sadly, Becker has first-hand experience with the phenomenon of elopement. In 2006, her son, Sam, 8, was on a camping trip with his father in Crater Lake National Park when he wandered off and was never seen again. His case is still open. Each year, Becker follows search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers into the backcountry, hoping to someday find out what happened to him.
After Sam disappeared, the grieving mother turned heartbreak into action by learning how to train assistance dogs. That later led to founding AAD. Stephen Meck, a former apprentice instructor at Guide Dogs for the Blind, is the organization’s head trainer.
“I didn’t want another mother to go through what I’ve gone through,” Becker said. A dog like Porter gives a parent another set of eyes.
In researching autism assistance dogs, Becker saw that the breeds most commonly used, such as Golden or Labrador retrievers, were too small and light to help if a child took off. A long-time fan of Newfoundlands, Becker reasoned that anchoring would only work with a giant breed, a dog is larger and heavier than the child and who will remain that way through several stages of growth. Her program has Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, and Leonbergers, dogs who are often heavier than adult humans. These breeds can weigh 110 to 150 pounds or more—about twice the size of an average retriever— and can easily provide a counterweight for a running child. A specially-designed harness that connects the child to the service dog, and the dog to the adult handler.
Another advantage of these breeds, says Becker, is that they are a "sensory gold mine." Autistic children are often calmed by things they can touch and feel, such as the large abundant coat of a big, shaggy dog. Even the drool from a Saint Bernard or Newfoundland can calm an agitated child.
SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT
A small, but growing, body of literature has suggested that service dogs have an overall positive impact on families with ASD children. In one 2013 review of the scientific studies, published in the Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, showed such benefits as increased social interaction and communication and a decrease in problem behaviors and stress. A 2014 study published in the British Medical Journal examined the outlooks of 134 parents or guardians whose children had assistance dogs, and 87 who were on a waiting list. Those with the dogs rated their children as significantly safer and perceived that strangers treat their children with more respect.
JOB WELL DONE
AAD was founded two years ago, and Porter is among the first dogs placed with a family. The cost for an anchor dog is $15,000. One family has started a GoFundMe account to raise the money for Andy, a Saint Bernard, to help their son, Deklan Montes.
“This is a very expensive cost for us,” Rochelle Montes, the boy’s mother, told a reporter from The Columbian. But, she added, “$15,000 isn’t going to stop us from finding something that could help him.”
AAD canine candidates complete about 200 hours of public-access training. They must demonstrate that they have skills to remain calm and steady in all kinds of environments, through such assessments as the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen test. They also get weeks of team preparation in which Meck instructs the child and the family on working with the dog.
Porter’s training was completed on June 21. Within two weeks, he had already saved the life of his young charge. When Becker got the text from Jennie on July 3, telling her that Goose was alive because Porter did what he had been trained to do, she cried and immediately thought of Sam.
“[Sam] couldn’t be stopped,” she said, recalling the day her son vanished into the woods. “Now, here was a child who was stopped. I was so proud of Porter. He did his job.”
*To respect their privacy, we have not used the real names of mother or daughter in this story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/opinion/bernie-sanders-where-the-democrats-go-from-here.html?_r=0
The Opinion Pages | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Bernie Sanders: Where the Democrats Go From Here
By BERNIE SANDERS
NOV. 11, 2016
Art Credit Mikey Burton
Millions of Americans registered a protest vote on Tuesday, expressing their fierce opposition to an economic and political system that puts wealthy and corporate interests over their own. I strongly supported Hillary Clinton, campaigned hard on her behalf, and believed she was the right choice on Election Day. But Donald J. Trump won the White House because his campaign rhetoric successfully tapped into a very real and justified anger, an anger that many traditional Democrats feel.
I am saddened, but not surprised, by the outcome. It is no shock to me that millions of people who voted for Mr. Trump did so because they are sick and tired of the economic, political and media status quo.
Working families watch as politicians get campaign financial support from billionaires and corporate interests — and then ignore the needs of ordinary Americans. Over the last 30 years, too many Americans were sold out by their corporate bosses. They work longer hours for lower wages as they see decent paying jobs go to China, Mexico or some other low-wage country. They are tired of having chief executives make 300 times what they do, while 52 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent. Many of their once beautiful rural towns have depopulated, their downtown stores are shuttered, and their kids are leaving home because there are no jobs — all while corporations suck the wealth out of their communities and stuff them into offshore accounts.
Working Americans can’t afford decent, quality child care for their children. They can’t send their kids to college, and they have nothing in the bank as they head into retirement. In many parts of the country they can’t find affordable housing, and they find the cost of health insurance much too high. Too many families exist in despair as drugs, alcohol and suicide cut life short for a growing number of people.
President-elect Trump is right: The American people want change. But what kind of change will he be offering them? Will he have the courage to stand up to the most powerful people in this country who are responsible for the economic pain that so many working families feel, or will he turn the anger of the majority against minorities, immigrants, the poor and the helpless?
Will he have the courage to stand up to Wall Street, work to break up the “too big to fail” financial institutions and demand that big banks invest in small businesses and create jobs in rural America and inner cities? Or, will he appoint another Wall Street banker to run the Treasury Department and continue business as usual? Will he, as he promised during the campaign, really take on the pharmaceutical industry and lower the price of prescription drugs?
I am deeply distressed to hear stories of Americans being intimidated and harassed in the wake of Mr. Trump’s victory, and I hear the cries of families who are living in fear of being torn apart. We have come too far as a country in combating discrimination. We are not going back. Rest assured, there is no compromise on racism, bigotry, xenophobia and sexism. We will fight it in all its forms, whenever and wherever it re-emerges.
I will keep an open mind to see what ideas Mr. Trump offers and when and how we can work together. Having lost the nationwide popular vote, however, he would do well to heed the views of progressives. If the president-elect is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families, I’m going to present some very real opportunities for him to earn my support.
Let’s rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create millions of well-paying jobs. Let’s raise the minimum wage to a living wage, help students afford to go to college, provide paid family and medical leave and expand Social Security. Let’s reform an economic system that enables billionaires like Mr. Trump not to pay a nickel in federal income taxes. And most important, let’s end the ability of wealthy campaign contributors to buy elections.
In the coming days, I will also provide a series of reforms to reinvigorate the Democratic Party. I believe strongly that the party must break loose from its corporate establishment ties and, once again, become a grass-roots party of working people, the elderly and the poor. We must open the doors of the party to welcome in the idealism and energy of young people and all Americans who are fighting for economic, social, racial and environmental justice. We must have the courage to take on the greed and power of Wall Street, the drug companies, the insurance companies and the fossil fuel industry.
When my presidential campaign came to an end, I pledged to my supporters that the political revolution would continue. And now, more than ever, that must happen. We are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. When we stand together and don’t let demagogues divide us up by race, gender or national origin, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. We must go forward, not backward.
Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont, was a candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
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