Tag Archive: Democratic Party

Trump’s treasonous troubles

Donald Trump on the campaign trail in March of this year.

Donald Trump on the campaign trail in March of this year.

Donald Trump is not having a good week. Trump managed to cast himself as both unpatriotic and treasonous within the space of a few days. First, Trump invited Russia to commit cyber espionage against the U.S. in order to influence the upcoming presidential election in Trump’s favor, which many have called possibly treasonous or at least a violation of the Logan Act. Then Trump attacked the Gold Star family of Captain Humayun Khan, a U.S. soldier of Muslim faith who was killed in Iraq in 2004 while protecting his troops. Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton‘s lead against Donald Trump is now growing.

Democrats take patriotism back from the Republicans

Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention

Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention

Beginning in 1980 and throughout his presidency, Ronald Reagan appropriated the idea of patriotism and America and planted it firmly with the Republican Party. This week, however, at their national convention and with a big boost from Donald Trump, the Democratic Party and their presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took patriotism back.

Raucous unity at the Democratic National Convention

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at recent unity event in New Hampshire

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at recent unity event in New Hampshire

The diverse, outspoken and sometimes raucous Democratic Party was on full display on Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania yesterday. This is the party whose unity is likened to “herding cats.” On the other hand, the outbursts from some delegates at the convention hardly spelled doom and gloom, as some chattering heads on the cable TV news networks intimated. Rather, if you caught the unfiltered convention proceedings via live stream or C-SPAN, you saw a political party reach a noisy state of unity, as only the Democrats can do.

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and the Democrats unite against Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders during primary season.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders during primary season.

Today in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders held a remarkable unity rally in which Sanders enthusiastically endorsed Clinton for president. Standing in front of a giant American flag with his beaming former rival, Sanders said:

Secretary Clinton has won the Democratic nominating process. And I congratulate her for that. She will be the Democratic nominee for president, and I intend to do everything I can to make certain she will be the next president of the United States.

Sanders went on to say, “I have come here to make it as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton, and why she must become our next president.”

Both Clinton and Sanders gave substantial speeches at the boisterous event, which highlighted each of their strengths and interests. For example, Sanders focused on economic issues, while Clinton spoke passionately about gun violence, saying, to big cheers, “surely we can agree that weapons of war have no place on the streets of America.” However, one area on which Clinton and Sanders both clearly agreed was the need to defeat Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election. For instance, Sanders said that Trump’s position on health care is the “same old Republican contempt for working families,” while Clinton said, “Donald Trump thinks wages are too high. . . . He does want to get rid of the federal minimum wage altogether.”

Democratic revolution in U.S. House

U.S. House Democrats stage anti-gun violence sit-in on House floor

U.S. House Democrats stage anti-gun violence sit-in on House floor

Yesterday, the type of “political revolution” that Bernie Sanders called for but did not deliver during the 2016 Democratic Party primaries was launched instead by the Democrats in the House of Representatives. In a stunning, unprecedented move, Democratic Representatives protested the Republican majority and the National Rifle Association by staging a “sit-in” on the House floor after the Republicans refused to vote on gun violence legislation in the wake of the June 12 Orlando, Florida nightclub shootings in which 49 people were killed by a man using a semi-automatic assault-type rifle and a semi-automatic pistol. 

The Democrats’ day of unity

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at 2008 Orlando, Florida rally

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at 2008 Orlando, Florida rally

President Barack Obama formally endorsed Hillary Clinton for President of the United States via video on Thursday. The video was released after Obama met with Bernie Sanders at the White House, at Sanders’ request. Obama’s endorsement of Clinton was part of a dramatic series of events orchestrated to celebrate and build upon Clinton’s clinching of the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, and to showcase a newfound unity in the Democratic Party in support of Clinton.

Moving on from Sanders to Trump and the general election

Donald Trump and his taxes, a current focus of the Clinton campaign

Donald Trump and his taxes, a current focus of the Clinton campaign

Hillary Clinton has been practically ignoring Bernie Sanders for a month. She hasn’t been attacking Sanders over his scorched-earth efforts to tear down the Democratic Party from within. Clinton hasn’t even been calling on Sanders to release multiple prior years of tax returns, which any serious presidential candidate must do. Instead, because the delegate math now makes her the unstoppable 2016 Democratic Party presidential nominee, Clinton has turned her attention to the general election and her likely opponent, Donald Trump. Yesterday, I decided to follow Hillary Clinton’s lead and attempt to just move on from the battles with Bernie to focus on Trump & the general election. I have to say, it’s very refreshing.

President Hillary Clinton is going to disappoint me, and that’s OK

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, both imperfect.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, both imperfect.

I’m astounded by the number of purity tests and “the perfect is the enemy of the good” sentiments coming from some Democratic Party primary voters this year. Do these voters insist on perfection from anyone else in their lives — their significant others, friends, bosses, co-workers or family members? Do they receive it? Has anyone in their lives never disappointed them? So why are voters expecting perfection and purity from their presidential candidates? I have no doubt that President Hillary Clinton will disappoint me sometimes, and that’s fine with me.

Bernie Sanders’ third party infiltrates the Democratic Party

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democratic Senators at U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democratic Senators at U.S. Supreme Court

Republicans must feel like they’ve dodged a bullet. We have written for years about the GOP Civil War, which threatened to spill out into the open and tear the party apart during the Republican National Convention this summer. That could still happen, but meanwhile, Republican leaders recognized Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee within hours of his Indiana primary win on May 3. Instead, it is now the Democratic Party that is threatened with civil war, as Bernie Sanders essentially runs a third party campaign against the Democratic Party, from inside the Democratic Party.

The secret weapon in this year’s elections

Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump 2016

Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump 2016

There’s a not-so-secret weapon looming in the likely 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Want to guess what it is? Here are a few hints: it’s very powerful, it exists in large numbers, and one of the presidential candidates is one. What’s the secret weapon?