brooklynite
brooklynite's JournalCommentary: Could the Democratic race come down to Bernie Sanders vs. ... Mike Bloomberg?
Quad Cities TimesYet I can't help suspecting that most people don't want to be whipsawed from an extreme presidency on the populist right to an extreme presidency on the populist left. They want temperatures to cool, divisions to narrow and presidential rhetoric to be, well, presidential.
Which brings us back to Bloomberg, who may cause as much heartburn among progressives as Sanders does among moderates. His pitch - which he's making directly to the public through tens of millions of dollars in campaign commercials - is that he gets things done. That's a stark contrast to Sanders' aspirational promises, which the senator admits he won't be able to fulfill without a "revolution" by voters. And it's more concrete than Biden's nostalgia-tinged campaign to make the presidency great again.
Granted, Bloomberg's platform isn't far different from that espoused by other moderates, such as former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.). But Bloomberg has a Croesus-sized war chest, which he's using to raise himself above the white noise of the debates, rallies and punditry. And as Morning Consult notes, the commercials are making Bloomberg considerably more appealing to Democratic voters than he was when he announced his candidacy. Granted, he hasn't faced a barrage of negative ads and coverage yet, so that flirtation may be brief.
But if the Morning Consult numbers are right, Bloomberg is establishing himself alongside Buttigieg as an alternative to Biden for voters worried about how the impeachment proceedings are affecting the former vice president's reputation. That's a remarkable shift in momentum, transforming the notion of Bloomberg winning the nomination from inconceivable into a real possibility.
Boeing will NOT rename the "737 MAX"
https://twitter.com/BeckyQuick/status/1222506702077075457David Axelrod's take on Iowa... (from his HACKS ON TAP podcast)
Sanders has most enthusiastic supporters.
Warren has enthusiasm and the best ground operation.
Buttigieg also has a strong ground operation.
Biden has "affection" but not a lot of enthusiasm and the weakest ground operation of the top four.
New Iowa polls
https://twitter.com/ElectionsIndex/status/1222505420088057857https://twitter.com/ElectionsIndex/status/1222505419098247168
Trump allies target African American voters with new tactic: Cash giveaways
Source: Politico
Allies of Donald Trump have begun holding events in black communities where organizers lavish praise on the president as they hand out tens of thousands of dollars to lucky attendees.
The first giveaway took place last month in Cleveland, where recipients whose winning tickets were drawn from a bin landed cash gifts in increments of several hundred dollars, stuffed into envelopes. A second giveaway scheduled for this month in Virginia has been postponed, and more are said to be in the works.
The tour comes as Trump’s campaign has been investing its own money to make inroads with black voters and erode Democrats’ overwhelming advantage with them. But the cash giveaways are organized under the auspices of an outside charity, the Urban Revitalization Coalition, permitting donors to remain anonymous and make tax-deductible contributions.
The organizers say the events are run by the book and intended to promote economic development in inner cities. But the group behind the cash giveaways is registered as a 501(c)3 charitable organization. One leading legal expert on nonprofit law said the arrangement raises questions about the group’s tax-exempt status, because it does not appear to be vetting the recipients of its money for legitimate charitable need.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/29/trump-black-voters-cash-giveaways-108072
GOP wins closely watched Texas special election
Source: Houston Chronicle
The victory by Republican Gary Gates, who put more than $1.5 million of his own money into his run for state House District 28, is sure to bring a sigh of relief for the GOP in a race that was being tracked far beyond Texas. By the final weeks, the race had escalated into the first big special election of 2020.
In final unofficial results, Gates polled 58% of the vote to 42% for Democrat Eliz Markowitz.
It escalated a normally minor local election into a high-stakes test of Democrats' chances in Texas this November, and whether suburban voters are turning away from the party of an impeached president.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/GOP-wins-closely-watched-Texas-special-election-15012294.php
Beto had been campaigning in this race.
Personally, I'l be putting a lot more focus on Arizona and North Carolina than I will Texas.
Last night was the Texas HD-28 race that Democrats made a play for. Never had a chance
The victory by Republican Gary Gates, who put more than $1.5 million of his own money into his run for state House District 28, is sure to bring a sigh of relief for the GOP in a race that was being tracked far beyond Texas. By the final weeks, the race had escalated into the first big special election of 2020.
In final unofficial results, Gates polled 58% of the vote to 42% for Democrat Eliz Markowitz.
https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/GOP-wins-closely-watched-Texas-special-election-15012294.php
This was being looked at for signs of Texas being in play in 2020.
Bernie Sanders campaign ad: "Generations"
Biden engagement with a voter...
https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1222258335342366721Quinnipiac Poll on the Democratic Primary
With days to go before the Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden holds a modest lead in the Democratic primary for president. Biden gets 26 percent of the vote among Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic, while Senator Bernie Sanders gets 21 percent and Senator Elizabeth Warren receives 15 percent. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg receives 8 percent, Senator Amy Klobuchar gets 7 percent, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg receives 6 percent, and businessman Andrew Yang gets 3 percent. No other candidate tops 2 percent.
https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=3654
Profile Information
Name: Chris BastianGender: Male
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Home country: USA
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 94,757
