2016 Democratic Thread

[RockRaines]

You seriously think Chelsea Clinton can win a nomination for president in 8 years? She hasn't even held political office yet and I wouldn't say she has a ton of political experience.

But he referred to himself in third person. That's serious business

[RockRaines]

Well, after tonight, Hillary's about wrapped it up. The nomination is hers. Congrats to her. I never thought I'd see the day two Clintons were presidents. Please please remember Greg's prediction about Chelsea in nine years. She's actually gonna be in her late 40s when mom is done with the oval office.

Hillary's gonna get 8 years to put her stamp on the USA. Let's hope it's not the demise of the USA. And the difficult part for her was beating out Bernie. She's going to win almost every state against Trump. I mean, cmon, this was all a weird sideshow. I bet even Trump is happy he's assured Hillary the presidency. In the past he wasn't exactly a Hillary hater.

 

To those of you who wanted Hillary, I'd feel better if you'd give me some reasons our country isn't going to fall apart in the next eight years, actually the next 16 with Hillary followed by Chelsea.

When exactly has the country "fallen apart" during your lifetime?

[Kyyle23]

Well, after tonight, Hillary's about wrapped it up. The nomination is hers. Congrats to her. I never thought I'd see the day two Clintons were presidents. Please please remember Greg's prediction about Chelsea in nine years. She's actually gonna be in her late 40s when mom is done with the oval office.

Hillary's gonna get 8 years to put her stamp on the USA. Let's hope it's not the demise of the USA. And the difficult part for her was beating out Bernie. She's going to win almost every state against Trump. I mean, cmon, this was all a weird sideshow. I bet even Trump is happy he's assured Hillary the presidency. In the past he wasn't exactly a Hillary hater.

 

To those of you who wanted Hillary, I'd feel better if you'd give me some reasons our country isn't going to fall apart in the next eight years, actually the next 16 with Hillary followed by Chelsea.

 

Why dont you go ahead and tell us why the country is going to fall apart first

[Kyyle23]

When exactly has the country "fallen apart" during your lifetime?

 

+1

[Steve9347]

Why do people continue to respond to Greg? This is one of life's great mysteries to me.

[Kyyle23]

Why do people continue to respond to Greg? This is one of life's great mysteries to me.

 

Once a month I get curious if he will respond

[Brian]

I'm a Bernie supporter that will vote Hillary, less than enthusiastically.

[RockRaines]

Why do people continue to respond to Greg? This is one of life's great mysteries to me.

Because it's fun to see smoke coming out of his ears as he prepares his statement

[RockRaines]

Something doesn't feel right with her. She has almost no experience and she came from county government. Not sure there is much difference or even any improvement.

 

Every facet of Illinois government is broken and she just seems like a cog that will pander to the vocal liberals. The city is in bad shape from a criminal standpoint and her message did not appear to be looking to solve anything.

She's a Preckwinkle puppet, but Alvarez needed to go.

[StrangeSox]

I'm a Bernie supporter that will vote Hillary, less than enthusiastically.

I've liked how this post explained voting as harm reduction and not as a personal statement.

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2012/09/dealbreakers

[bmags]

She's a Preckwinkle puppet, but Alvarez needed to go.

 

Policies matter more than people.

 

Getting a fresh prosecutor with less experience is not a surprising choice after previous experienced attorney accused of not doing her job for fear of upsetting depts she relied on.

[greg775]

You seriously think Chelsea Clinton can win a nomination for president in 8 years? She hasn't even held political office yet and I wouldn't say she has a ton of political experience.

Yes, of course I do. Chelsea is 36 years old. She has an amazing academic background. She's basically running the Clinton foundation. With mom as President for 8 years she is eminently qualified to start as an ambassador somewhere. Sure she can get involved more. Donald Trump is a serious candidate, Chelsea sure as hell will be one. She's starting to enjoy speaking for mom; she's catching the bug. She will be in her mid 40s when mom leaves office. Prime time. Read this

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=38908262&nid=1...-campaign-swing

 

When exactly has the country "fallen apart" during your lifetime?

I did not say it for sure would fall apart with Hillary but I have my concerns because considering all the things she's done in terms of lying and circumventing the law, yes I'm concerned we'd elect somebody who many people believe should be in prison (or a nice country club jail) with others who have committed the same type of crime.

 

Why dont you go ahead and tell us why the country is going to fall apart first

I apologize for supposedly not responding to people all the time, but since I never get credit for any of my predictions coming true, I feel like I shouldn't respond all the time. Anyhow, I didn't say it would fall apart with 8 years of Hillary, but I believe she will have absolutely no ability to LEAD. That means getting nothing passed through Congress. The Republicans simply despise her and will never work with her. She scares me economically. She is a foreign policy disaster waiting to happen.

Now I respect those of you who say the country will not fall apart. But I fear 8 more years of gridlock could indeed bring down the economy. Wall Street is very brittle and I fear this candidate cannot lead. I do believe where there's smoke there's fire and the smoke (books, articles) says she is not a kind person at all.

 

It's not right to have somebody win who garners no real support. Even you Hillary supporters on here are very timid when it comes to telling me why she is all that. In fact you are the ones who get silent cause I feel anyway that the only reason you want Hillary is either a.) you are a democrat. b.) you feel it's her turn and she must be coronated like a queen of England or c.) she's the only candidate you can stomach at all.

You reprimand me for saying she screams when indeed I still can't listen to her or watch her on TV because of her screaming.

I tried to address your points. Sorry if I do not address them enough.

Edited March 17, 2016 by greg775

[bmags]

General petreaus actively gave up confidential personnel items in the field to his mistress and received probation, no, Hillary would not be in jail for her actions if not for Gregs conspiracy

[greg775]

General petreaus actively gave up confidential personnel items in the field to his mistress and received probation, no, Hillary would not be in jail for her actions if not for Gregs conspiracy

There's some stuff being written that the FBI director may resign before this is all over out of protest in this matter regarding Hillary. I'm not the only one saying she's broken the law.

[StrangeSox]

[Jenksismyhero]

Lol, i've seen that about 20 times and still laugh

[StrangeSox]

Inside the Protest That Stopped the Trump Rally

The plan worked better than they'd ever imagined. Then the trouble began.

 

The plan was straightforward. Once Trump began speaking, Lewis would begin sending messages to the groups around the hall—and, so prompted, they would each stand up, chanting, and disrupt the speech. It would then build to a crescendo: right there, in front of Trump’s podium. Lewis and the other protesters in front were going to link up—“arm in arm,” he instructed the students around him—and make their presence known in a silent, but conspicuous, circle. “It will speak louder,” Lewis said, “than anybody who interrupts Trump’s speeches.”

 

They never got that chance. Just after 6:30 p.m. on Friday, a Trump official appeared on stage and abruptly told the crowd that the event was off. Trump would not be appearing. The crowd was shocked; the protesters spontaneously erupted in cheers. The official cited “safety” concerns, though both Chicago law enforcement and university police said they had reported none. In the coming hours, Trump would appear on television, calling the cancellation a “wise decision,” given the threat of what might have happened. “I don’t want to see anybody getting hurt,” he would tell CNN. On Twitter, he would blame “an organized group of people, many of them thugs” for what happened in Chicago, and assert that Bernie Sanders’ campaign had orchestrated the protesters. Protesters themselves – and even Trump’s GOP rivals – would denounce Trump for fomenting the violence that has flared at his rallies with increasing frequency over recent days, leading up to Friday night’s dramatic cancellation – the single most electric moment for the growing anti-Trump protest movement.

 

“Please go in peace,” the official told the crowd from the stage Friday night.

 

And that was the exact moment when the violence began, pitting Trump supporters against protesters, whites against blacks. An event—teetering on the edge until that moment, but still calm—devolved quickly into an angry scrum, and Lewis and his fellow students found themselves in the middle of it. They were standing near the podium where the candidate would not be appearing—with an increasingly angry crowd around them that knew exactly who had prevented Donald Trump from showing up.

 

“Stay together!” Lewis urged his fellow protesters.

 

The Trump supporters surged toward them, shouting and swearing. The confrontation the student protesters had hoped to avoid was coming, and there was nothing any of them could do to stop it.

 

I can't remember if this was posted here already or not, but it's some pretty good background on the organizing that went into the anti-Trump protests and how events unfolded.

[greg775]

This is a horrible column, one that shows the media's love for Hillary and desire to coronate her. He says people are so cruel and mean for saying they hate Hillary's voice and nobody attacks male candidates like that.

Bulls***. Looks and clumsiness and personal demeanor has been around the last 30 years. People have pointed out superficial things about candidates forever. How do you think SNL has been on TV all these years; parodies of politicos.

 

Anyway the Hillary lovers will like this column. I thought it was simply awful. I will support Hillary in theory if she is president but I will watch NONE of her appearances on TV, that is for sure. I will hope for the best but will not be able to stand seeing her tower over the adoring media during news conferences and addresses to the American people in her eight years.

If Bernie wouldn't have admitted he was a socialist, I bet he'd have won. Sad.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/opinions/why...rini/index.html

[StrangeSox]

Illinois cuts off funding for its public universities

 

A state budget stalemate in Illinois, which has dragged on since last July, is offering a masterclass on the destruction political gridlock can cause.

 

At risk are the state's 57 public universities and community colleges, which were once a model for access and diversity.

 

In the mid- to late-1990s, Illinois was the top performing state in helping its residents attain higher education through need-based grants and affordable tuitions, according to a report by the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Research on Higher Education. The report said such efforts helped minority communities.

 

Today, minority students are akin to collateral damage in a battle between the state's Republican governor and Democrat-controlled legislature.

 

It is not just institutions that are suffering.

 

Illinois has also stopped sending money to students in universities and community colleges, who qualified for need-based state grants known as MAP, or the Monetary Award Program. Those grants can total as much as $5,000, and are used to pay for school tuition and fees. Without a state budget, officials cannot release the funds, even if students are eligible for them. Many state institutions have been picking up the slack, by crediting students for MAP grants for which they were eligible, with the hopes that when a state budget is eventually passed, those universities would be paid back.

 

Such a move has compounded the financial strain on state institutions, and some schools have stopped making such credits - leaving students with the burden of having to come up with the extra money for school. "It definitely hits low and moderate income students very hard," said Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Washington, D.C.-Based Institute for Higher Education Policy. "Many of those students also tend to be first-generation students. Many, often, are students of color."

 

Cooper said loosing state financial aid could mean some of those students give up on college altogether, while others might have to take additional jobs, which slows down their college education, and puts them at risk of never finishing their degrees.

 

The higher education crisis has put increasing pressure on state officials to come up with a resolution to the months-long budget impasse.

 

[CrimsonWeltall]

Illinois cuts off funding for its public universities

 

I work at UIC. The financial situation is a giant mess right now. Units are running on reserves.

[greg775]

I work at UIC. The financial situation is a giant mess right now. Units are running on reserves.

This is just irresponsible of the government. Same thing is going on in Kansas with its moronic republican governor. It's amazing how the government is letting us down and at the top we're going for the same ol same ol with Hillary set to win in a landslide.

[Quin]

This is just irresponsible of the government. Same thing is going on in Kansas with its moronic republican governor. It's amazing how the government is letting us down and at the top we're going for the same ol same ol with Hillary set to win in a landslide.

 

[Jenksismyhero]

Illinois cuts off funding for its public universities

 

Good. Hopefully when people get screwed they'll finally get pissed off at Madigan, et al, and something about the budget can be done.

[StrangeSox]

Ted Cruz announced that Frank Gaffney was joining his foreign policy team last week.

 

A leading proponent of the notion that there is an existential threat from "creeping Sharia," Gaffney is known for his extreme anti-Muslim statements and activism, as TPM has chronicled. He has said that members of the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the Obama administration, specifically attacking Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin. He's also argued that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan wanted to introduce Sharia law into the U.S. government.

 

Gaffney was banned from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2010 after he accused CPAC officials like Grover Norquist of infiltrating the organization on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood. He re-emerged at CPAC this year, where he led a panel called "Countering the Global Jihad."

 

Gaffney told Bloomberg that he met Cruz in 2012, when he advised the senator about an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood.

[StrangeSox]

Trump's interview with the WaPo editorial board was...interesting.

Edited March 22, 2016 by StrangeSox