thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--Nevada Is The First Real Test Of Bernie Sanders’s ‘Political Revolution’

Joe Buglewicz for HuffPost Volunteers for Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) work late during the last day of early voting at their East Las Vegas headquarters before the Nevada caucuses .
“ In order to beat Donald Trump , we ’ re going to need the largest voter turnout in the history of the United States , ” Sanders said on Wednesday night on the debate stage .
“ What our movement is about is bringing working-class people together , black and white and Latino , Native American , Asian American , around an agenda that works for all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class.
” As Sanders has emerged as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination and a clear favorite to win here in Nevada , his moderate critics have increasingly expressed skepticism about the idea that a large number of unactivated voters are sitting around , waiting to be motivated by a sufficiently bold progressive ― such as Sanders , who supports “ Medicare for All , ” a substantial wealth tax , worker ownership of major companies and a drastic liberalization of the immigration system .
Any spike in progressive voter turnout will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , critics argue , and Sanders ’ s policies will alienate a shrinking but still crucial number of swing voters .
“ His whole theory of how he ’ s going to get elected is based around the idea that he ’ s going to get out people who have never voted before , ” said Lanae Erickson , a senior vice president at Third Way , a moderate Democratic think tank critical of Sanders .
“ It didn ’ t happen for him in Iowa and New Hampshire , it didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 , and it didn ’ t happen last time.
” The early signs are strong : More than 77,000 people voted early in Nevada ― almost matching the 80,000 who caucused at all in 2016 .
And the Sanders campaign said it had managed to knock on 500,000 doors ― nearly doubling its internal goal of 300,000 .
Though public polling is scarce , much of it shows Sanders leading with Latinos here .
If the strategy works , Sanders will succeed in more than just Nevada .
Many of the delegate-rich @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially Colorado , California and Texas , have relatively similar demographics , which the Vermonter could use to build a healthy lead in the race to collect the most delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer .
If the revolution has a heartbeat in Nevada , it ’ s Sanders ’ s campaign office in a strip mall in heavily Latino East Las Vegas .
The office , which is decorated with Mexican papel picado ( perforated paper flags ) and often blares cumbia music , is home to a never-ending stream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of them exchanging words in Spanish with the office ’ s many bilingual staffers as they prepare to spread the gospel of “ nuestra lucha ” ( our fight ) .
Many of Sanders ’ s Latino staff members have flown out from D.C. to base themselves here for the week .
She doesn ’ t cite a need to oust Trump or to restore integrity to the country , but material concerns : The educators she works with are among the lowest-paid in the country .
She lives with both her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two of them are forced to share insulin because of high prescription drug prices and rising housing costs .

LAS VEGAS ― Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) talks about the political revolution. But it’s up to people like Vaneik Echeverria to make it happen.
Echeverria, a New York City-based theater professional spending the final week before the Nevada caucuses knocking on doors for Sanders, was in between canvassing stops in a working-class section of East Las Vegas when he spotted Adrian Silva leaning on his car.
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Silva, a 28-year-old father of four who has earned a living through assorted warehouse and service sector jobs, had recently moved to the city from his native Los Angeles, fleeing crime and the high cost of living. He told Echeverria he has never voted in his life.
“I just know they’re all just puppets,” Silva said, referring to politicians. “There’s a bigger system out there than the United States, you know?”
Echeverria, whose jean jacket flair included buttons for Sanders as well as a tongue-in-cheek image of Karl Marx, immediately expressed sympathy for Silva’s perspective.
“This feeling that you’re having ― they’re all fuckers, they’re all liars, none of them watch out for us ― I feel the same way, except when it comes to Bernie Sanders, man,” said Echeverria, who, like Silva, grew up in Los Angeles and is the son of Latino immigrants.
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Vaneik Echeverria, right, talks to Adrian Silva, who never votes, about Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in East Las Vegas. Daniel Marans/HuffPost
Silva nodded. Without making any commitments, he filled out a card with his personal information so the campaign could contact him. He also accepted a button for the Las Vegas chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is coordinating with the Sanders campaign and is operating a staging area for volunteers called the “leftist garage.”
Echeverria’s conversation with Silva seemed like it had almost been staged to illustrate the Sanders campaign’s fundamental conceit: That it can not only win the Democratic presidential nomination but can do so by mobilizing infrequent voters ― often working-class, young and nonwhite ― that put the Vermont senator in a uniquely strong position to unseat President Donald Trump.
“In order to beat Donald Trump, we’re going to need the largest voter turnout in the history of the United States,” Sanders said on Wednesday night on the debate stage. “What our movement is about is bringing working-class people together, black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American, around an agenda that works for all of us and not just the billionaire class.”
The Sanders campaign’s literature in Nevada is offered in up to 16 languages. Ballots for the caucuses are available in English, Spanish and Tagalog. Joe Buglewicz for HuffPost
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As Sanders has emerged as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination and a clear favorite to win here in Nevada, his moderate critics have increasingly expressed skepticism about the idea that a large number of unactivated voters are sitting around, waiting to be motivated by a sufficiently bold progressive ― such as Sanders, who supports “Medicare for All,” a substantial wealth tax, worker ownership of major companies and a drastic liberalization of the immigration system. Any spike in progressive voter turnout will be matched by a spike in conservative voters, critics argue, and Sanders’s policies will alienate a shrinking but still crucial number of swing voters.
They also note that voter turnout didn’t spike in Iowa, and while it went up in New Hampshire, the areas with a boost in turnout mostly saw voters casting ballots for former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
“His whole theory of how he’s going to get elected is based around the idea that he’s going to get out people who have never voted before,” said Lanae Erickson, a senior vice president at Third Way, a moderate Democratic think tank critical of Sanders. “It didn’t happen for him in Iowa and New Hampshire, it didn’t happen for his endorsed candidates in 2018, and it didn’t happen last time.”
Erickson suggested Sanders’s leftist policies appealed to few voters beyond his political base: “His ceiling and his floor are the same thing.”
Sanders’s allies, meanwhile, argue that Iowa ― the nation’s fifth-whitest state ― and New Hampshire ― the third-whitest state and the second-most elderly ― were poor testing grounds for his theory. Nevada, however, is one of the nation’s most diverse states ― it has substantial Latino, Asian American and Black populations ― and a large population of young people.
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Sanders, who has a team of volunteers translating campaign materials into 16 different languages and plenty of supporters with a robust social media presence, is poised to do well with both groups.
Chuck Rocha, the Sanders campaign adviser responsible for integrating Latino outreach into every facet of the campaign, embraced Nevada’s significance in the post-debate spin room.
“There’s a lot of working-class brown people here,” he said of Nevada. “This is the first big scalability test of our program, for sure. We started early, we invested, we hired all of these great brown people ― and now we’re going to see if we can turn them out.”
The early signs are strong: More than 77,000 people voted early in Nevada ― almost matching the 80,000 who caucused at all in 2016. And the Sanders campaign said it had managed to knock on 500,000 doors ― nearly doubling its internal goal of 300,000. Though public polling is scarce, much of it shows Sanders leading with Latinos here.
If the strategy works, Sanders will succeed in more than just Nevada. Many of the delegate-rich states that vote on Super Tuesday, especially Colorado, California and Texas, have relatively similar demographics, which the Vermonter could use to build a healthy lead in the race to collect the most delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer.
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“There’s a lot of working-class brown people here. This is the first big scalability test of our program, for sure. We started early, we invested, we hired all of these great brown people ― and now we’re going to see if we can turn them out.” - Chuck Rocha, Sanders campaign adviser responsible for integrating Latino outreach
If the revolution has a heartbeat in Nevada, it’s Sanders’s campaign office in a strip mall in heavily Latino East Las Vegas. The office, which is decorated with Mexican papel picado (perforated paper flags) and often blares cumbia music, is home to a never-ending stream of volunteers from across the country ― some of them exchanging words in Spanish with the office’s many bilingual staffers as they prepare to spread the gospel of “nuestra lucha” (our fight). Many of Sanders’s Latino staff members have flown out from D.C. to base themselves here for the week.
The friendly vibe in the East Las Vegas office is by design: The campaign sees it as ground zero for its efforts to fuse “culturally competent” community-building with more traditional campaign work.
“What this functions as is not only a place to send volunteers out, but also a place to bring the community in,” campaign spokeswoman Maddy Mundy said. To that end, the office was the site of a raucous Día de los Muertos celebration last October and a bilingual Thanksgiving feast the following month.
On Tuesday night, Lourdes Esparza, a 38-year-old Sanders campaign volunteer who works for the Clark County Education Association and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, was there to explain why she’s spent so much of her time recently working to elect Sanders.
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She doesn’t cite a need to oust Trump or to restore integrity to the country, but material concerns: The educators she works with are among the lowest-paid in the country. She lives with both her disabled mother and grandmother, and the two of them are forced to share insulin because of high prescription drug prices and rising housing costs.
“He sees me, and my family, and my struggles,” Esparza said of Sanders. “He speaks to my everyday life. And I think that’s why he’s so popular. People feel seen.”
“I don’t need him to speak Spanish,” she quickly added.
Lourdes Esparza, like many Sanders volunteers, said concerns about housing and medical costs motivated her to campaign for the senator’s election. Joe Buglewicz for HuffPost
A potential X factor for Sanders is the de facto opposition of Nevada’s mighty Culinary Workers Union. The union has informed its 60,000 dues-paying members, a majority of whom are Latino, that Sanders would end the union’s multi-employer health care plan and require Medicare for All.
Sanders has vowed that Medicare for All, which promises to eliminate all out-of-pocket costs, would offer an improvement over their current coverage. He also updated his plan to facilitate the reopening of collective bargaining after the law’s passage so unions could ensure they share in the company’s health care savings.
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But there is already some anecdotal evidence that the Culinary Workers Union’s stance ― and a subsequent blowup over nasty remarks Sanders supporters allegedly directed at union leaders ― is making a dent in Sanders’s performance. CNN found a union member who admitted she didn’t believe Sanders’s assurances that he’d make sure union members would receive even better coverage under Medicare for All; the Republican opposition research group America Rising promptly promoted a clip of the exchange.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Buttigieg, who has a robust operation in Nevada, may be best positioned to take advantage of attrition from Sanders over the union’s stance.
Buttigieg, in particular, has made preserving health care “freedom of choice” a cornerstone of his closing pitch in Nevada, highlighting it in Wednesday’s debate in an exchange he subsequently promoted on social media.
Nevada Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D), who has endorsed Buttigieg, said the Culinary Workers Union’s decision not to endorse a Democratic candidate before the caucuses, despite the union’s relationship with Biden, is a sign of the inroads Buttigieg has made with his health care message.
“That health care message is resonating with a lot of Nevada,” she said.
Jenny Ordaz and Salma Garcia Hernandez canvass for Bernie Sanders in East Las Vegas. Sanders has attracted strong support from young Latina and Latino voters. Joe Buglewicz for HuffPost
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Sanders has his own outside support. On Tuesday afternoon, two young organizers for the immigrant rights group Make The Road Action canvassed residents of a series of stucco apartment buildings in East Las Vegas. (Make The Road is part of a coalition of progressive groups backing Sanders.)
Salma Garcia Hernandez, a 22-year-old DACA recipient who came to the United States from Mexico when she was 7 years old, had marched with Sanders to the polls a few days prior. On Tuesday, she dashed from door to door, reminding Sanders supporters to vote and helping them make a plan to caucus on Saturday. If they weren’t home, she left a door hanger highlighting Sanders’ support for affordable housing, “citizenship for all,” Medicare for All and ending the school-to-prison pipeline.
As she walked back to a car to hit another set of doors, Hernandez was buzzing about Sanders’s expected victory and the potential results of the revolution.
“I have a good feeling that Bernie is going to win,” she said. “The whole thing.”
She added with a smile: “These billionaires, the top 1%, they’re probably crapping their pants.”
Jenny Ordaz and Salma Garcia Hernandez canvass in East Las Vegas on Tuesday. Hernandez and Ordaz volunteer with Make the Road Action. Joe Buglewicz for HuffPost


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--NASA Reveals Startling Images From Antarctica's 'Hottest Days On Record'

NASA has released images showing extensive Antarctica snow melt over a period of days in early February that included the continent ’ s hottest temperature ever recorded .
On Feb. 6 , Argentina ’ s Esperanza Base , a research station on Antarctica ’ s Trinity Peninsula , registered a temperature of 64.9 degrees Fahrenheit ( 18.3 degrees Celsius ) .
That was about the same temperature as Los Angeles that day , NASA noted .
The previous record , 63.5 degrees Fahrenheit , occurred about five years ago , in March 2015 .
While the World Meteorological Organization is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ images from NASA show dramatic ice cap melting during the week the temperature was recorded .
In a news release titled “ Antarctica Melts Under Its Hottest Days on Record , ” the space agency shared side-by-side images showing aerial views of Eagle Island on the Antarctic Peninsula ’ s northern tip on Feb. 4 and Feb. 13 .
In the second image , about 20 % of the island ’ s seasonal snow accumulation had melted , according to NASA .
Such extensive melting happening so quickly is caused by a sustained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mauri Pelto of Massachusett ’ s Nichols College said in the release .
Those kinds of temperatures have become more common in recent years , according to NASA , which also noted that the Antarctic heatwave in February was the third “ major melt event ” of the past few months .
“ If you think about this one event in February , it isn ’ t that significant , ” Pelto said .
“ It ’ s more significant that these events are coming more frequently.
“

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NASA has released images showing extensive Antarctica snow melt over a period of days in early February that included the continent’s hottest temperature ever recorded.
On Feb. 6, Argentina’s Esperanza Base, a research station on Antarctica’s Trinity Peninsula, registered a temperature of 64.9 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 degrees Celsius). That was about the same temperature as Los Angeles that day, NASA noted. The previous record, 63.5 degrees Fahrenheit, occurred about five years ago, in March 2015.
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While the World Meteorological Organization is still verifying the February reading, new images from NASA show dramatic ice cap melting during the week the temperature was recorded.
In a news release titled “Antarctica Melts Under Its Hottest Days on Record,” the space agency shared side-by-side images showing aerial views of Eagle Island on the Antarctic Peninsula’s northern tip on Feb. 4 and Feb. 13. In the second image, about 20% of the island’s seasonal snow accumulation had melted, according to NASA.
Antarctica's Eagle Island on Feb. 4, left, and Feb. 13. NASA Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens
Such extensive melting happening so quickly is caused by a sustained period of temperatures above freezing, glaciologist Mauri Pelto of Massachusett’s Nichols College said in the release.
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Those kinds of temperatures have become more common in recent years, according to NASA, which also noted that the Antarctic heatwave in February was the third “major melt event” of the past few months.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--This Little-Known 2020 Race In Texas Could Shift Fossil Fuel Politics

The March 3 vote will determine which of four Democrats will take on one of the three commissioners on the Railroad Commission of Texas , a three-person board that has been all-Republican for decades .
The agency ’ s name obscures its power .
The commission hasn ’ t regulated train traffic since 2005 .
It does , however , oversee the fossil fuel industry , dishing out drilling permits , enforcing pipeline safety and monitoring emissions from the thousands of wells that bristle the Texas steppe .
Castañeda thinks she can deliver that message with the right nuance and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Texans to win .
An Army kid raised in Kansas , she attended public schools where she became a cheerleader and mathlete and got in to Harvard University .
But after two years at the elite private school , she couldn ’ t afford to stay , so she moved home and finished her engineering degree at Kansas State University .
After graduating , she moved to Texas and started designing software for the oil and gas industry .
Following a stint at law school , she returned to the industry , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Railroad Commission granted nearly 7,000 permits in 2019 to flare or vent natural gas , up from 158 just 10 years ago .
The practice of well operators spewing excess gas or literally lighting it on fire produces almost a quarter of the U.S. oil and gas industry ’ s emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide , according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates .
Texas accounted for more than half the United States ’ output of flared or vented gas , U.S. Energy Information Administration figures show .
Those emission figures may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the expansive oil field stretching from West Texas to New Mexico , the industry underreported its actual volumes of gas flared by half , according to an Environmental Defense Fund analysis of satellite data released last year .
Drillers flared upward of $ 1 million worth of gas per day , the Houston Chronicle estimated .
That may sound like a lot of value , but gas is primarily a byproduct of drilling for oil , and ― particularly with gas prices at historic lows ― it ’ s cheaper to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pumping black gold .
Waste for waste ’ s sake isn ’ t the only problem .
At a time when United Nations scientists say the world must halve emissions over the next decade to avert catastrophic warming , and rich nations like the United States are expected to make the steepest and most aggressive cuts , the purposelessness of this specific portion of the country ’ s carbon footprint becomes indefensible .
Flaring expels particulate matter into the air in the form of soot , which is dangerous to breathe and has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dizziness , migraines , sore throats and shortness of breath .
In December , pipeline giant Williams Co. sued the Railroad Commission over its decision to grant a flaring permit to Dallas-based driller Exco Operating Co .
The complaint hinged on the fact that Exco ’ s wells were hooked up to Williams ’ pipelines .
Yet Exco didn ’ t have a contract with Williams , and instead opted to extend a flaring permit and forego the cost of paying the pipeline company for access to its conduits .
Sitton vehemently defended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV and told The Texas Tribune that it wasn ’ t the commission ’ s job to force Exco to make a deal with Williams .
Yet the first-of-its-kind lawsuit looks likely to test the limits of that authority .
Environmentalists warn that flaring is just a symptom of the much broader unsustainability of continuing to expand drilling at a point when fossil fuel extraction in the U.S. ― if the world is to meet the climate targets set by the United Nations ― should be on the decline .
By 2030 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 60 % of the world ’ s new oil and gas supply , an expansion four times larger than in any other country , according to a January 2019 report from scientists at more than a dozen environmental groups .
The emissions associated with the build out threaten to add 1,000 coal plants ’ worth of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere .

Of all the places for a Democratic candidate to put a target on the oil and gas industry’s back, Texas is a surprising choice.
At least 352,371 Texans worked for the industry as of 2018. Oil in Texas has long been synonymous with prosperity. Nor have Democrats had a particularly successful run in statewide races; Texans haven’t elected a Democrat since 1994.
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Yet, the Democratic primary in what has been dubbed “the most important environmental race in the country” is turning into a microcosm of the national party’s debate over how adversarial candidates can be toward the fossil fuel industry.
The March 3 vote will determine which of four Democrats will take on one of the three commissioners on the Railroad Commission of Texas, a three-person board that has been all-Republican for decades. The agency’s name obscures its power. The commission hasn’t regulated train traffic since 2005. It does, however, oversee the fossil fuel industry, dishing out drilling permits, enforcing pipeline safety and monitoring emissions from the thousands of wells that bristle the Texas steppe.
Two top contenders have emerged in the field: establishment favorite Chrysta Castañeda, a Dallas oil and gas lawyer focused on reining in the industry’s worst pollution, and underdog Kelly Stone, an environmentalist and former professor who wants to end our reliance on oil altogether.
Chrysta Castaneda poses for a portrait in Houston, Texas on Feb. 12, 2020. Cooper Neill for HuffPost
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Castañeda, 57, thinks she can make a compelling case to oust incumbent Republican Ryan Sitton, who has served on the board since 2015. Her central campaign plank is a pledge to crack down on flaring, an increasingly widespread practice wherein oil drillers literally light millions of dollars’ worth of gas on fire, polluting the air and adding significantly to the industry’s planet-heating emissions.
“This is insane,” Castañeda said on a recent afternoon, recalling the moment she realized, after watching a Bloomberg New Energy Finance presentation, how big a problem flaring had become. “Why are we lighting on fire enough natural gas to power the City of Houston? It just makes zero sense.”
It may seem like a wonky concern, but the issue has been boiling toward a crisis point in Texas. A majority of voters now support forcing fossil fuel companies to pay for climate pollution, a Yale Program on Climate Change Communication poll found last fall. Drilling executives themselves lament the gratuitousness of flaring and runaway emissions.
It’s a sign, experts say, of a political shift that ranges from climate hardliners like Stone running on the Green New Deal to moderates like Castañeda vowing to stop the industry’s buck-passing.
“Climate change can be a saleable political message here,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston. A recent uptick in flash flooding, he said, became “big wakeups for voters across the political spectrum and it’s setting off an alarm that something needs to be done.”
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Castañeda thinks she can deliver that message with the right nuance and credibility to draw a broad enough coalition of Texans to win. An Army kid raised in Kansas, she attended public schools where she became a cheerleader and mathlete and got in to Harvard University. But after two years at the elite private school, she couldn’t afford to stay, so she moved home and finished her engineering degree at Kansas State University. After graduating, she moved to Texas and started designing software for the oil and gas industry. Following a stint at law school, she returned to the industry, where she ultimately spent 35 years.
Chrysta Castaneda in Houston. Cooper Neill for HuffPost
“I want to make sure that we can do what we can now,” Castañeda said. “Flaring is one of those things we can move the needle on now.”
But Stone, 41, called her a “corporatist” whose “slow” approach caters “to the speed at which the fossil fuel industry would prefer we make change.”
A liberal firebrand from the Austin suburb of San Marcos, Stone claims she was pushed out of her teaching job at Texas State University last year after students working with the right-wing group Turning Point USA complained that she was “teaching students to become advocates” in her classes on sexuality and family policy.
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Now, she said, she feels “liberated” to campaign “unabashedly as a progressive,” joining a slate of congressional candidates in blue or swing districts who are running on the sweeping plan to phase out fossil fuels and guarantee displaced workers good-paying jobs known as the Green New Deal.
“At the Railroad Commission, oil and gas insiders continue to be a fox guarding the henhouse,” Stone said. “In light of the climate crisis, I can’t not speak up.”
$1 Million A Day
The Railroad Commission granted nearly 7,000 permits in 2019 to flare or vent natural gas, up from 158 just 10 years ago. The practice of well operators spewing excess gas or literally lighting it on fire produces almost a quarter of the U.S. oil and gas industry’s emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Texas accounted for more than half the United States’ output of flared or vented gas, U.S. Energy Information Administration figures show.
Those emission figures may be conservative. In just the Permian Basin, the expansive oil field stretching from West Texas to New Mexico, the industry underreported its actual volumes of gas flared by half, according to an Environmental Defense Fund analysis of satellite data released last year. Drillers flared upward of $1 million worth of gas per day, the Houston Chronicle estimated. That may sound like a lot of value, but gas is primarily a byproduct of drilling for oil, and ― particularly with gas prices at historic lows ― it’s cheaper to get rid of the gas than to stop pumping black gold.
Flaring near Dallas, Texas on Feb. 12, 2020. Cooper Neill for HuffPost
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Waste for waste’s sake isn’t the only problem. At a time when United Nations scientists say the world must halve emissions over the next decade to avert catastrophic warming, and rich nations like the United States are expected to make the steepest and most aggressive cuts, the purposelessness of this specific portion of the country’s carbon footprint becomes indefensible. Flaring expels particulate matter into the air in the form of soot, which is dangerous to breathe and has been linked to long-term hypertension and short-term dizziness, migraines, sore throats and shortness of breath.
The issue has become so acute the industry itself is making a stink.
In December, pipeline giant Williams Co. sued the Railroad Commission over its decision to grant a flaring permit to Dallas-based driller Exco Operating Co. The complaint hinged on the fact that Exco’s wells were hooked up to Williams’ pipelines. Yet Exco didn’t have a contract with Williams, and instead opted to extend a flaring permit and forego the cost of paying the pipeline company for access to its conduits. Sitton vehemently defended the decision in an interview with Bloomberg TV and told The Texas Tribune that it wasn’t the commission’s job to force Exco to make a deal with Williams. Yet the first-of-its-kind lawsuit looks likely to test the limits of that authority.
Others in the industry seem more self-conscious of flaring’s excesses. At a conference in Houston this week, Parsley Energy CEO Matt Gallagher called gas flaring a “black eye” and urged the industry to slash emissions, Reuters reported. The gas executive is no eco-radical; in the same speech, he pitched a “shale new deal” as a teen-friendly alternative to the Green New Deal movement.
Tinkering Or A Revolution
Environmentalists warn that flaring is just a symptom of the much broader unsustainability of continuing to expand drilling at a point when fossil fuel extraction in the U.S. ― if the world is to meet the climate targets set by the United Nations ― should be on the decline. By 2030, the U.S. is on track to produce 60% of the world’s new oil and gas supply, an expansion four times larger than in any other country, according to a January 2019 report from scientists at more than a dozen environmental groups. The emissions associated with the build out threaten to add 1,000 coal plants’ worth of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Stone said Castañeda’s focus on flaring amounted to “talking about treating the symptoms, when we’ve got to talk about diseases.”
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Stone has the endorsement of Jim Hightower, a progressive activist who served as an elected commissioner at the Texas Department of Agriculture from 1983 to 1991, and she has out-raised her opponents in small donations.
The Green New Deal is having a moment in Texas. The Sunrise Movement announced last week that it is pouring resources into three congressional primaries in the weeks ahead.
Stone hasn’t captured as much attention from national groups. She pledged to refuse any donations from oil and gas workers over $200 and her war chest totaled just over $30,000 in the last reporting cycle, so it’s difficult to see Stone’s pathway to victory in the primary, much less statewide.
In its endorsement of Castañeda, the Austin Chronicle called Stone “the most vocal champion in this primary for sustainability” but said she “doesn’t have a sufficient résumé for this post now.”
Castañeda, by contrast, picked up the Dallas Morning News’s endorsement last week in part due to her plan to tinker around the edges and start enacting the changes that can be made immediately. It’s not an alternative vision to where environmentalists say policymakers need to go to keep warming in a range that resembles the world today, she said, but rather a technocratic approach that demonstrates how Democrats can marshal even sleepy, bureaucratic positions to quickly start scaling back emissions.
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She said “the industry is not a monolith” and ― after decades of inaction on climate change ― there is plenty of “low-hanging fruit.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--Democrats Face An Important Test In Nevada Caucuses

Seven casino-resorts on the Las Vegas Strip stand among 200 caucus locations statewide that will host the presidential caucuses on Saturday , the third contest in a 2020 primary season that has so far been marred by chaos and uncertainty in overwhelmingly white , rural states .
The exercise of democracy inside urban temples of excess is just one element that distinguishes the first presidential contest in the West , which will , more importantly , test the candidates ’ strength with black and brown voters for the first time in 2020 .
The vote comes at a critical moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socialist Bernie Sanders emerges as the clear front-runner and a half dozen more moderate candidates savage one another for the chance to emerge as the preferred alternative to Sanders .
The ultimate winner will represent Democrats on the ballot against President Donald Trump in November .
Campaigning in California , Sanders confirmed reports that he had been briefed by U.S. officials about a month ago that Russia was trying to help his campaign as part of Moscow ’ s efforts to interfere in the election .
“ It was not clear what role @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders said .
“ We were told that Russia , maybe other countries , are going to get involved in this campaign.
” In a fiery speech the night before the caucuses , Sanders lumped the “ Democratic establishment ” in with the corporate and Republican establishment , saying they can ’ t stop him .
He said the establishment was “ getting worried ” about a multiracial coalition that wants higher wages and health care .
Long before voting began , there was skepticism about Pete Buttigieg ’ s ability to win @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after strong finishes in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire .
It was the opposite for Joe Biden , who struggled in Iowa and New Hampshire but looked to Nevada ’ s voters of color to prove he still has a viable path to the nomination .
The two women left in the race , Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar , were fighting for momentum , hoping to benefit from a sudden surge of outside money from newly created super PACs .
Billionaire Tom Steyer has invested more than $ 12 million of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nevada , according to data obtained by The Associated Press , which details the extent to which several candidates have gone all-in ahead of Saturday ’ s contest .
The pro-Warren Persist super PAC , created in recent days , is spending more money in Nevada this week than any other campaign or allied outside group .
Persist , which hasn ’ t yet disclosed any donors and can not legally coordinate with Warren ’ s campaign , has invested $ 902,000 this week in Nevada television on her behalf , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s more than Klobuchar ’ s and Biden ’ s campaigns have spent over the entire year .
“ I think right now predicting who ’ s going to win here in Nevada would be a wild guess , ” former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in an interview .
“ And if I were a gambler , which I ’ m not , I wouldn ’ t be betting on who ’ s gon na win here in Nevada.
” Nevada Democrats have projected confidence in their process , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week refused to commit to releasing the full results on the day of the vote .
He said a number of factors , including early voting and potentially high turnout , could affect the tabulation and timing of results .
In addition , Nevada , like Iowa , reports three sets of data from the multistage caucus process .
Of the more than 36,000 ballots that were cast through Monday , 1,124 ballots were voided largely because voters forgot to sign them , according to the state party , which did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said they were reaching out to these voters and encouraging them to caucus in person on Saturday .
“ I hear their computers are all messed up just like they were in Iowa .
They ’ re not going to be able to count their vote , ” Trump charged .
“ They ’ re going to tell you about health care .
They ’ re going to tell you about our military and jet fighters and the missiles and rockets , but they can ’ t count votes .
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Just past the roulette wheel and slot machines, the smoky bars and blinking lights, Nevada Democrats are preparing to weigh in on their party’s presidential nomination fight.
Seven casino-resorts on the Las Vegas Strip stand among 200 caucus locations statewide that will host the presidential caucuses on Saturday, the third contest in a 2020 primary season that has so far been marred by chaos and uncertainty in overwhelmingly white, rural states. The exercise of democracy inside urban temples of excess is just one element that distinguishes the first presidential contest in the West, which will, more importantly, test the candidates’ strength with black and brown voters for the first time in 2020.
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“Nevada represents an opportunity for these candidates to demonstrate their appeal to a larger swath of our country,” said state Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat who is not endorsing a candidate in the crowded field.
Nevada’s population, which aligns more with the U.S. as a whole than the opening elections in Iowa and New Hampshire, is 29% Latino, 10% black and 9% Asian American and Pacific Islander.
The vote comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party as self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders emerges as the clear front-runner and a half dozen more moderate candidates savage one another for the chance to emerge as the preferred alternative to Sanders. The ultimate winner will represent Democrats on the ballot against President Donald Trump in November.
Yet on the eve of the caucuses, questions lingered about Nevada Democrats’ ability to report election results quickly as new concerns surfaced about foreign interference in the 2020 contest.
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Campaigning in California, Sanders confirmed reports that he had been briefed by U.S. officials about a month ago that Russia was trying to help his campaign as part of Moscow’s efforts to interfere in the election.
“It was not clear what role they were going to play,” Sanders said. “We were told that Russia, maybe other countries, are going to get involved in this campaign.”
He added: “Here’s the message to Russia: Stay out of American elections.”
Despite the distraction, Sanders enters Saturday increasingly confident, backed by strong support from Latinos and rank-and-file union workers who have warmed to his fiery calls to transform the nation’s economy and political system to help the working class.
In a fiery speech the night before the caucuses, Sanders lumped the “Democratic establishment” in with the corporate and Republican establishment, saying they can’t stop him. He said the establishment was “getting worried” about a multiracial coalition that wants higher wages and health care.
The outlook was dire for virtually everyone else.
Long before voting began, there was skepticism about Pete Buttigieg’s ability to win over a more diverse set of voters after strong finishes in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire. It was the opposite for Joe Biden, who struggled in Iowa and New Hampshire but looked to Nevada’s voters of color to prove he still has a viable path to the nomination.
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The two women left in the race, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, were fighting for momentum, hoping to benefit from a sudden surge of outside money from newly created super PACs. Billionaire Tom Steyer has invested more than $12 million of his own money on television advertising in Nevada, according to data obtained by The Associated Press, which details the extent to which several candidates have gone all-in ahead of Saturday’s contest.
The pro-Warren Persist super PAC, created in recent days, is spending more money in Nevada this week than any other campaign or allied outside group. Persist, which hasn’t yet disclosed any donors and cannot legally coordinate with Warren’s campaign, has invested $902,000 this week in Nevada television on her behalf, according to spending data obtained by The AP. That’s more than Klobuchar’s and Biden’s campaigns have spent over the entire year.
New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who dominated the political conversation this week after a poor debate-stage debut, won’t be on the ballot. He’s betting everything on a series of delegate-rich states that begin voting next month.
“I think right now predicting who’s going to win here in Nevada would be a wild guess,” former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in an interview. “And if I were a gambler, which I’m not, I wouldn’t be betting on who’s gonna win here in Nevada.”
The political world, meanwhile, hoped there would be a winner at all.
Saturday’s caucuses are the first since technical glitches and human errors plagued Iowa’s kickoff caucuses. Nearly three weeks later, state Democratic officials have yet to post final results.
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Nevada Democrats have projected confidence in their process, although Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez this week refused to commit to releasing the full results on the day of the vote. He said a number of factors, including early voting and potentially high turnout, could affect the tabulation and timing of results. In addition, Nevada, like Iowa, reports three sets of data from the multistage caucus process.
“We’re going to do our best to release results as soon as possible, but our North Star, again, is accuracy,” Perez told The Associated Press this week.
One potential complication: Early voting.
The state party has added to its responsibilities by offering early voting – something Iowa did not attempt. Nevada voters have been eager to partake, given the alternative is to spend significantly more time voting at a chaotic caucus site.
The party said nearly 75,000 Democrats cast early ballots, and a majority were first-time caucus-goers. In 2016, a total of 84,000 Nevada voters participated in the Democratic caucuses.
A small, but significant number of the ballots cast early were disqualified.
Of the more than 36,000 ballots that were cast through Monday, 1,124 ballots were voided largely because voters forgot to sign them, according to the state party, which did not release the final numbers. Party officials said they were reaching out to these voters and encouraging them to caucus in person on Saturday.
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Campaigning in Las Vegas on the eve of the caucuses, Trump sought to raise doubts about the process.
“I hear their computers are all messed up just like they were in Iowa. They’re not going to be able to count their vote,” Trump charged. “They’re going to tell you about health care. They’re going to tell you about our military and jet fighters and the missiles and rockets, but they can’t count votes.”
Amid such concerns, Nevada Democrats tried to stay focused on the candidates and the issues they represent.
Reid, who at 80 years old remains one of the most powerful Democrats in the state, predicted that Sanders’ signature health care policy, “Medicare for All,: could not win support in Congress. Yet he said he thinks the fiery Vermont senator could bring Democrats together.
“I have no doubt that if Bernie Sanders is the nominee, the party will unite behind him and beat Trump,” Reid said. ___
Peoples reported from Washington. AP writers Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta and Nicholas Riccardi contributed.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--Dick Van Dyke Urges Fellow Way-Past-Boomers To Vote For Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders , 78 , is hoping to appeal to voters of his generation ― and the one before that ― with the help of a new endorsement .
“ I can ’ t wait to see Bernie debate Mr. Trump , ” smiles legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke , 94 , in a new video promoted by the Vermont senator ’ s presidential campaign on Friday .
“ Why wouldn ’ t an older citizen vote for somebody with that kind of a record and with that kind of experience and honesty and trust ?
” Van @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urge my generation to get out and vote for him — please.
” The “ Mary Poppins ” and “ Dick Van Dyke Show ” actor quipped that “ somebody younger , like Bernie , is just the perfect candidate.
” Van Dyke , who also backed Sanders in 2016 , called the election the “ most important ” since the end of World War II .
“ Another four years of the current administration , and we won ’ t have a democracy anymore , ” he warned .
He praised Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not bowing to pressure .
Bernie “ stuck to who he is and what he believes in , ” Van Dyke added .
Sanders has polled high in Nevada , South Carolina and several Super Tuesday contests .
He scores high with young voters — but he ’ s lagging with older citizens .

Bernie Sanders, 78, is hoping to appeal to voters of his generation ― and the one before that ― with the help of a new endorsement.
“I can’t wait to see Bernie debate Mr. Trump,” smiles legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke, 94, in a new video promoted by the Vermont senator’s presidential campaign on Friday.
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“Why wouldn’t an older citizen vote for somebody with that kind of a record and with that kind of experience and honesty and trust?” Van Dyke asked. “I want to urge my generation to get out and vote for him — please.”
The “Mary Poppins” and “Dick Van Dyke Show” actor quipped that “somebody younger, like Bernie, is just the perfect candidate.”
Van Dyke, who also backed Sanders in 2016, called the election the “most important” since the end of World War II. “Another four years of the current administration, and we won’t have a democracy anymore,” he warned.
He praised Sanders for staying true to his vision and not bowing to pressure. Bernie “stuck to who he is and what he believes in,” Van Dyke added.
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Sanders has polled high in Nevada, South Carolina and several Super Tuesday contests. He scores high with young voters — but he’s lagging with older citizens.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--Bernie Sanders Scores Decisive Win At 2020 Nevada Democratic Caucuses

LAS VEGAS ― Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) is the projected winner of Nevada ’ s Democratic caucuses , holding a dominant lead over his closest rivals and cementing his front-runner status in the Democratic primary .
Sanders ’ latest win , and the fractured field of candidates , puts him in position to open up a potentially decisive lead in 10 days , when 14 states vote on Super Tuesday .
Nevada , the third state to vote in the Democratic primary and the most diverse state yet to weigh in , has delivered the clearest victory of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still grappling with recounts , and despite narrowly winning the New Hampshire primary , Sanders went into the Nevada contest behind former South Bend , Indiana , Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the delegate count .
But on Saturday , Sanders confirmed what polling has suggested for months .
Not only did the senator have a double-digit lead in state polls going into the caucuses , he has long had a strong base of support among Latino voters , especially those in the working class .
Latinos make up roughly 30 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around 19 % of Democratic voters in the 2016 election cycle .
Since Sanders jumped into the race , he has polled more favorably with Latino voters than the rest of the Democratic presidential field — and it ’ s a base his campaign has specifically organized around with the slogan “ Unidos con Bernie.
” Two prominent Latino immigrant rights groups , Mijente and Make the Road Action , endorsed Sanders and helped organize on the ground in Nevada .
His campaign held a Spanish language town hall , with the help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) in the state , and organized a soccer tournament at a Las Vegas high school to mobilize Latino voters .
Last week , Sanders faced a potential setback in Nevada when the Culinary Workers Union , one of the more powerful unions in the state , criticized his “ Medicare for All ” proposal .
The union posted flyers in hotel and casino employee areas , warning that Sanders ’ plans for health care could strip the union of its own health care program , according to The Nevada @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorse any candidate for president , though it mentioned its strong ties to former Vice President Joe Biden .
( Biden benefited from the formal support of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers , which also operates its own multi-employer health insurance plan and trotted out its members to speak out against Medicare for All in a digital video . )
But on caucus day , Sanders showed that the political positions of the union ’ s leaders didn ’ t necessarily match those of its members .

And Sanders benefited from an organized labor movement in Nevada that, as in much of the rest of the country, is fiercely divided when it comes to Sanders’ signature policy of Medicare for All. The state’s largest local teachers union, the Clark County Education Association, endorsed Sanders in part because the union has struggled to protect its health care benefits and is less wary of a transition to a single government plan. Nevada’s SEIU Local 1107, which unlike CCEA did not endorse in the race, also condemned the Culinary Union’s critical treatment of Medicare for All, arguing that pitting union health care plans against Medicare for All created a “false choice.”
At the Rancho High School caucus site in northeast Las Vegas, Sanders swept to victory in both precincts, while no other candidate won any delegates.
Rather than focus on the high-minded policy debates over health care and legislative pragmatism that have dominated the national media narratives, caucus-goers who expressed their preference for Sanders there tended to refer broadly to his commitment to expanding access to health care and education, and immigration reform. Several also cited what they see as his authenticity, honed over decades of progressive activism.
“He has been fighting for our rights since he was younger,” said Allison Rangel, a restaurant hostess.
Rodrigo Loera, a warehouse manager, initially expressed a preference for Buttigieg. But after Buttigieg failed to reach viability in his precinct, Loera switched to Sanders.
“I like his ideas ... the way that he wants to change the way that the country is going right now,” Loera said, singling out Sanders’ plan to reform the health care system.
The Nevada caucuses went notably more smoothly than the first caucus-style contest of the cycle. Iowa’s Democratic Party is recounting votes from 10 precincts in the state after the apparent leaders in that race, Sanders and Buttigieg, both requested limited recounts.
Nevada is also shaping up to be somewhat of a comeback for Biden. After disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, where he came in fourth and fifth respectively, Biden said his strength would show through when communities of color began casting their votes.
Biden, who drew criticism for leaving New Hampshire well before results came in, held a caucus day celebration in Nevada after voting, unlike Sanders, who spent the day campaigning in Texas — a Super Tuesday state.
Biden took the opportunity to celebrate a rebound performance, even though it was still unclear how he would place. “Y’all did it for me!” he told a crowd of supporters at an IBEW union hall in Las Vegas. Someone shouted back: “The comeback kid!”
“We’re in a position now to move on in a way that we haven’t been until this moment,” Biden said.
Biden now heads to South Carolina, where he has been polling ahead of the field ― although Sanders has been closing the gap in South Carolina as well.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stepped into the spotlight during the Democratic debate in Las Vegas earlier this week, grilling her opponents and demonstrating she’s still got her fighting spirit. She trained an especially fiery line of questioning on former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has decided not to compete in the first four states of the Democratic primary. She heads to South Carolina without any clear victories to her name.
The stakes of the caucus results are especially high for Buttigieg, who had hoped a strong performance in the state would prove his appeal beyond the predominantly white states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
As of Saturday night, a full picture of how Buttigieg fared with the more diverse electorate had yet to emerge. Still, the former mayor sounded a triumphant note in a speech to supporters in Las Vegas, before pivoting to a lengthy attack on Sanders. He reiterated his criticism that Sanders’ Medicare for All plan would deprive Americans of the option to keep their private insurance coverage. Buttigieg began airing television ads on Friday in South Carolina that blast Sanders by name for “forcing over 122 million Americans off their private plans,” including 22 million seniors covered by Medicare’s private variant, Medicare Advantage.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--MSNBC's Chris Matthews Compares Bernie Sanders Winning To The Nazis Taking France

Cable news has been incredulous that Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) could actually be the Democratic nominee for president , twisting itself into knots to convince itself that it ’ s not so .
The most jaw-dropping came from MSNBC host Chris Matthews , who said he was reading about the fall of France to the Nazis in 1940 , and it reminded him of what was going on with Sanders appearing more likely to win the nomination .
“ I ’ m reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940 , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ British Prime Minister Winston ] Churchill and says , ‘ It ’ s over.
’ And Churchill says , ‘ How can it be ?
You got the greatest army in Europe .
How could it be over ?
’ He said , ‘ It ’ s over.
’ So I had that suppressed feeling , ” Matthews said .
Sanders ’ spokesman Mike Casca tweeted after the segment that he “ never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network to stop likening the campaign of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wiped out by the nazis to the third reich .
but here we are.
” On Saturday , MSNBC had a 10-minute interview with Democratic strategist James Carville , who was most known for his work with Bill Clinton in the 1990s .
He was most recently a supporter of Sen. Michael Bennet ( D-Colo. ) , who dropped out of the presidential race this month after failing to gain any significant momentum .
Carville spent a good chunk of his interview attacking Sanders ― and then , at the end of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ attacking each other ” and talk more about how to push the country forward .
That conversation is actually already happening , with debates about health care , student debt and other issues .
He implied that voters are picking Sanders because they are ignorant , and exhorted the media to better inform the public of the “ risks ” of making Sanders the nominee .
“ I don ’ t know if us in the media are sufficiently telling people what are the risks you ’ re running by doing this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doubts that Sanders could beat President Donald Trump in November .
“ I think voters need to be appraised of what ’ s going on here.
” “ The entire theory that by expanding the electorate and increasing turnout you can win an election is the equivalent of climate denial .
When people say that , they ’ re as stupid to political scientists as a climate denier is to an atmospheric scientist ...
Politically , you ’ re a fool .
That ’ s a fact , ” he added .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ― they ’ ve taken these things to the dark arts of bullying the press , abusing the press , ” said host Nicole Wallace , who served in President George W. Bush ’ s administration .
MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson also came under fire for appearing on a SiriusXM radio show and commenting on whether Sanders has support from people of color .
He said that “ racist white liberals seem to love them some Bernie Sanders ” and then dismissively referred to Sanders ’ African-American female staffers : “ I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the island of misfit Black girls that you throw out there to defend you on a regular basis.
” During the New Hampshire primary , a woman told MSNBC that while she was a fan of the network , she was so fed up with their coverage of Sanders that she was going to vote for him for that reason alone .

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Cable news has been incredulous that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) could actually be the Democratic nominee for president, twisting itself into knots to convince itself that it’s not so.
On Saturday, as results rolled in showing that Sanders was winning the Nevada caucuses, there were horrified reactions and doomsday warnings about Sanders getting the nomination.
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The most jaw-dropping came from MSNBC host Chris Matthews, who said he was reading about the fall of France to the Nazis in 1940, and it reminded him of what was going on with Sanders appearing more likely to win the nomination.
He mentioned he had been reading about the fall of France in 1940 and about a call to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill relaying that “It’s over” for France.
“And Churchill says, ‘How can it be? You got the greatest army in Europe. How could it be over?’ He said, ‘It’s over.’ So I had that suppressed feeling,” Matthews said.
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews likens Sanders victory in Nevada to Nazi Germany overrunning France in 1940: “It’s too late to stop him … it’s over” pic.twitter.com/6GJetLoDkq — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 22, 2020
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Sanders’ spokesman Mike Casca tweeted after the segment that he “never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network to stop likening the campaign of a jewish presidential candidate whose family was wiped out by the nazis to the third reich. but here we are.”
After Sanders’ strong showing in the Iowa caucuses, Matthews also expressed his skepticism of socialists, wondering whether Sanders would like to see people executed in Central Park.
Matthews faced swift backlash for his remarks on Saturday, with some viewers calling for his resignation or urging MSNBC to fire him.
“Chris Matthews has been generous to me a number of occasions, even blurbing my book,” filmmaker Arun Chaudhary tweeted. “However, his constant references to political violence and today Nazism to describe Bernie Sanders campaign is beyond the pale.”
Chris Mathews has been generous to me on a number of occasions, even blurbing my book. However, his constant references to political violence and today Nazism to describe Bernie Sanders campaign is beyond the pale. @HardballChris must resign or be fired from @MSNBC. — Arun Chaudhary (@ArunChaud) February 22, 2020
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MSNBC did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
In a similar vein, during the New Hampshire primary ― which Sanders also won ― MSNBC host Chuck Todd read an article asking whether Sanders supporters were akin to Nazis.
On Saturday, MSNBC had a 10-minute interview with Democratic strategist James Carville, who was most known for his work with Bill Clinton in the 1990s. He was most recently a supporter of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who dropped out of the presidential race this month after failing to gain any significant momentum.
Carville spent a good chunk of his interview attacking Sanders ― and then, at the end of the interview, said the candidates should stop “attacking each other” and talk more about how to push the country forward. That conversation is actually already happening, with debates about health care, student debt and other issues.
He implied that voters are picking Sanders because they are ignorant, and exhorted the media to better inform the public of the “risks” of making Sanders the nominee.
“I don’t know if us in the media are sufficiently telling people what are the risks that you’re running by doing this,” Carville said, referring to doubts that Sanders could beat President Donald Trump in November. “I think voters need to really be appraised of what’s going on here.”
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“The entire theory that by expanding the electorate and increasing turnout you can win an election is the equivalent of climate denial. When people say that, they’re as stupid to political scientists as a climate denier is to an atmospheric scientist ... Politically, you’re a fool. That’s a fact,” he added.
James Carville and Nicole Wallace pushing Russia attacks on Sanders on MSNBC, claiming that Putin is the “happiest person in the world now,” trying to help get Sanders the nomination because electability and tying it to Tad Devine & 2016, “this thing just didn’t start right now.” pic.twitter.com/fVd89GyeDl — wideofthepost (@wideofthepost) February 22, 2020
“The Sanders campaign and the Trump campaign ― they’ve taken these things to the dark arts of bullying the press, abusing the press,” said host Nicole Wallace, who served in President George W. Bush’s administration.
The panel for the Carville interview was Wallace, host Brian Williams and former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) ― not a single progressive.
MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson also came under fire for appearing on a SiriusXM radio show and commenting on whether Sanders has support from people of color. He said that “racist white liberals seem to love them some Bernie Sanders” and then dismissively referred to Sanders’ African-American female staffers: “I don’t care how many people from the island of misfit Black girls that you throw out there to defend you on a regular basis.”
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“That’s where you have crossed the line, sir,” host Karen Hunter said, to which Johnson replied, “I don’t care.”
Johnson apologized on Saturday.
During the New Hampshire primary, a woman told MSNBC that while she was a fan of the network, she was so fed up with their coverage of Sanders that she was going to vote for him for that reason alone.
I love this woman. Said she was so fed up by MSNBC’s “Stop Bernie” campaign, she decided to vote for him. Glad some people see right through the Corporate media bias! #NHForBernie #NH4Bernie pic.twitter.com/fyPsv28K61 — Pepper Oceanna Lewis (@PepperOceanna) February 11, 2020
Hayley Miller contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mentioned a quote from Matthews referencing Gen. [Louis] Renault. However, Louis Renault was not a general and it isn’t clear which general Matthews was referring to.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--It's A Great Day For American Democracy

It's A Great Day For American Democracy

The results of the Nevada caucuses are , first and foremost , a great sign of hope for American democracy .
In an era of rampant corruption and corporate control in both political parties , Nevada handed a blowout win to Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) ― one of two candidates in the race who has sworn off the old pattern of billionaire patronage and instead produced a policy platform designed to make this country work for working people of all colors .
The caucus results are also a reason for optimism about the future of the Democratic Party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party ’ s power brokers and big donors , voters overwhelmingly decided to back a candidate whose agenda calls for a transfer of power away from those elites and into the hands of the people .
These are causes for celebration .
It has been a dark decade for democracy around the world , and the spectacle of Americans coming together to rebuke the Democratic Party ’ s aristocratic drift , which has driven so much of the turn to President Donald Trump ’ s authoritarian populism , is both beautiful and profound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this from the way establishment pundits , including many ostensible Democrats , reacted to Sanders ’ win Saturday evening .
On MSNBC , Chris Matthews literally compared Sanders ’ victory to the fall of France to Nazi Germany .
MSNBC host Nicole Wallace , a former George W. Bush staffer , described Democratic enthusiasm for Sanders as “ political suicide , ” and , puzzlingly , said the supporters of the night ’ s runaway victor constitute only “ a squeaky , angry minority.
” This reaction is yet more evidence of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been clear all year that Sanders is the front-runner for the party ’ s presidential nomination .
And after his impressive showings in Iowa and New Hampshire , the moneyed minds of the party scrambled to get behind untested thirty-something ex-Mayor Pete Buttigieg and erstwhile Republican billionaire Michael Bloomberg .
On the debate stage earlier this week in Las Vegas , both men did their best to beat up on Sanders , but failed to deliver so much as a scratch .
Meanwhile , Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloomberg in a debate performance for the ages .
There were three attacks launched against Sanders during Wednesday ’ s debate .
First , Bloomberg suggested Sanders was a capital-C Communist .
Second , Bloomberg criticized him for owning three houses .
Third , nearly everyone on stage , including Warren , directed at him an inexplicable question : What about your bros ?
The ding on Bernie ’ s houses is a joke .
Bloomberg , one of the world ’ s richest men , could forswear interest income on his vast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a day for more than 160 years without running dry .
Yet Bloomberg claims to think it ’ s a problem for Sanders to own three pieces of real estate .
The explosion of inequality over the past three decades has not been driven by people picking up vacation cabins in rural Vermont .
It ’ s been driven by the financialization of our economy and the eruption of gains for Wall Street , gains secured by downward pressure on wages for workers around the world .
Bloomberg is the walking embodiment of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ houses who advocates for higher taxes for himself , meanwhile , is acting on moral principle .
Most people get that , even if the one-percenters on Bloomberg ’ s staff don ’ t .
Next , the Red Menace .
It ’ s true that Americans are cagey about the word “ socialism , ” if less so than in decades past .
But socialism only works as an attack against a vague abstraction .
The same polls that show Americans wary of socialism show them enthusiastic about Sanders .
When “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are uncomfortable .
When it means universal health care and stiff taxes on billionaires , it sounds about right .
Last but not least , the bros. Everyone who works in politics has been annoyed , harassed or insulted by Sanders ’ crankiest supporters ― including people who work for Sanders .
There is indeed an internet army of jerks who are very psyched about the prospect of a Sanders presidency .
So what ?
Attacking people who are not Bernie Sanders doesn ’ t draw much blood from Bernie Sanders ― particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign is that he can bring in people from out of the political cold , people who might be flirting with Trump , and give them a place in the Democratic Party advocating for economic equality .
Labeling all of Sanders ’ supporters as angry trolls obscures why large factions of the party are drawn to him .
Hint : It ’ s not the chance to score cheap points on Twitter against union officials .
In the real world , millions of people are responding to the message that Sanders is broadcasting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system and its economic practices are rigged against working people , and that something transformative is required to fix it .
It is a very normal thing to support Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party .
It is abnormal to be a Sanders troll .
The women who are part of that coalition , and the people of color , and the white guys who just want to live in a decent society , don ’ t really want to hear from Democratic presidential candidates that , actually , they ’ re all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nobody wants to hear that .
And it ’ s madness that anybody involved in any of these campaigns thinks that attacking Democratic primary voters is a good strategy for winning a Democratic primary .

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The results of the Nevada caucuses are, first and foremost, a great sign of hope for American democracy. In an era of rampant corruption and corporate control in both political parties, Nevada handed a blowout win to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) ― one of two candidates in the race who have sworn off the old pattern of billionaire patronage and instead produced a policy platform designed to make this country work for working people of all colors.
The caucus results are also a reason for optimism about the future of the Democratic Party. Despite the best efforts of the party’s power brokers and big donors, voters overwhelmingly decided to back a candidate whose agenda calls for a transfer of power away from those elites and into the hands of the people.
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These are causes for celebration. It has been a dark decade for democracy around the world, and the spectacle of Americans coming together to rebuke the Democratic Party’s aristocratic drift, which has driven so much of the turn to President Donald Trump’s authoritarian populism, is both beautiful and profound.
But you wouldn’t know this from the way establishment pundits, including many ostensible Democrats, reacted to Sanders’ win Saturday evening. On MSNBC, Chris Matthews literally compared Sanders’ victory to the fall of France to Nazi Germany. MSNBC host Nicole Wallace, a former George W. Bush staffer, described Democratic enthusiasm for Sanders as “political suicide,” and, puzzlingly, said the supporters of the night’s runaway victor constitute only “a squeaky, angry minority.”
This reaction is yet more evidence of the haplessness of the Democratic elite. It has been clear all year that Sanders is the front-runner for the party’s presidential nomination. And after his impressive showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, the moneyed minds of the party scrambled to get behind untested thirty-something ex-Mayor Pete Buttigieg and erstwhile Republican billionaire Michael Bloomberg. On the debate stage earlier this week in Las Vegas, both men did their best to beat up on Sanders, but failed to deliver so much as a scratch. Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) did as she promised she would, torching Bloomberg in a debate performance for the ages.
There were three attacks launched against Sanders during Wednesday’s debate. First, Bloomberg suggested Sanders was a capital-C Communist. Second, Bloomberg criticized him for owning three houses. Third, nearly everyone on stage, including Warren, directed at him an inexplicable question: What about your bros?
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None of these attacks work. They didn’t work four years ago, and they didn’t work in Nevada. Any campaign advisers who suggested using them should be discharged for political malpractice.
Let’s go through them one by one:
The ding on Bernie’s houses is a joke. Bloomberg, one of the world’s richest men, could forswear interest income on his vast fortune and still spend a million dollars a day for more than 160 years without running dry. Yet Bloomberg claims to think it’s a problem for Sanders to own three pieces of real estate.
The explosion of inequality over the past three decades has not been driven by people picking up vacation cabins in rural Vermont. It’s been driven by the financialization of our economy and the eruption of gains for Wall Street, gains secured by downward pressure on wages for workers around the world. Bloomberg is the walking embodiment of this problem. A man with three houses who advocates for higher taxes for himself, meanwhile, is acting on moral principle. Most people get that, even if the one-percenters on Bloomberg’s staff don’t.
Next, the Red Menace. It’s true that Americans are cagey about the word “socialism,” if less so than in decades past. But socialism only works as an attack against a vague abstraction. The same polls that show Americans wary of socialism show them enthusiastic about Sanders. When “socialism” might mean gulags, people are uncomfortable. When it means universal health care and stiff taxes on billionaires, it sounds about right.
Last but not least, the bros. Everyone who works in politics has been annoyed, harassed or insulted by Sanders’ crankiest supporters ― including people who work for Sanders. There is indeed an internet army of jerks who are very psyched about the prospect of a Sanders presidency.
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So what? Attacking people who are not Bernie Sanders doesn’t draw much blood from Bernie Sanders ― particularly when one of the premises of his campaign is that he can bring in people from out of the political cold, people who might be flirting with Trump, and give them a place in the Democratic Party advocating for economic equality.
Labeling all of Sanders’ supporters as angry trolls obscures why large factions of the party are drawn to him. Hint: It’s not the chance to score cheap points on Twitter against union officials. In the real world, millions of people are responding to the message that Sanders is broadcasting ― that the nation’s political system and its economic practices are rigged against working people, and that something transformative is required to fix it. It is a very normal thing to support Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party. It is abnormal to be a Sanders troll.
The women who are part of that coalition, and the people of color, and the white guys who just want to live in a decent society, don’t really want to hear from Democratic presidential candidates that, actually, they’re all a bunch of morally compromised deplorables. Nobody wants to hear that. And it’s madness that anybody involved in any of these campaigns thinks that attacking Democratic primary voters is a good strategy for winning a Democratic primary.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-22--Trump Security Adviser Unsurprisingly Says He's Seen No Evidence Of Russia Helping Trump

President Donald Trump ’ s top security adviser claimed in a recent interview with ABC News that he hasn ’ t seen evidence of Russia working to sway the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Trump ’ s favor .
When asked by ABC News ’ George Stephanopoulos whether he ’ s seen anything from the intelligence community that indicates Russia is working to bring about Trump ’ s re-election , National Security Adviser Amb .
Robert O ’ Brien said no .
“ I haven ’ t seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , noting that , as a national security adviser , he gets “ pretty good access ” to information from the intelligence community .
O ’ Brien called the reports a “ non-story , ” despite Russia ’ s history of tampering with elections in Trump ’ s favor .
The intelligence community concluded in 2017 that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee with the ultimate aim of helping secure Trump ’ s victory in the 2016 presidential contest .
An intelligence official told the AP that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members that Russia was trying to aid Trump ’ s campaign .
However , others familiar with that meeting said Russia was indeed trying to do just that .
One source who was present at the meeting with the director of national intelligence ’ s team said that O ’ Brien ’ s claims about Russia and Trump ’ s re-election campaign “ do not accurately reflect ” what they themselves heard at that meeting , CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta reported .
Speaking to Stephanopoulos , O ’ Brien did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to boost the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) , a front-runner in the Democratic primary .
Sanders has emphatically rejected Russia ’ s help .
Critics noted that Trump himself has taken numerous trips to Moscow and had business dealings there , including the Miss Universe pageant in 2013 and the Trump Organization ’ s previous plans to build a tower there .
Yes Sanders honeymooned in Moscow as opposed to Trump who held a beauty pageant in Moscow , took money from Moscow investors , hired aides linked to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and publicly asked Russia to get his opponent ’ s emails in the midst of the 2016 election campaign .
https : //t.co/4uThdP4GB3 — Mehdi Hasan ( @ mehdirhasan ) February 22 , 2020 The most ugly , xenophobic , and casually imperialist thing in here is the handwringing about how Sanders went to Nicaragua and the Soviet Union in the ‘ 80s .
On top of Cold War and dirty wars , it ’ s this idea that these places are not worth going to at all https : //t.co/OUFx1l3Oc5 — Sarah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2020 The New York Times reported earlier this week that intelligence officials briefed the House Intelligence Committee on Russia ’ s attempts to interfere in the 2020 race in order to get Trump re-elected .
O ’ Brien said he had heard of the reports on the House committee being briefed .
He admitted he wasn ’ t there , but claimed that he heard from those briefing the lawmakers that the reports were “ not what they intended the story to be.
” O ’ Brien also denied reports that Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joseph Maguire after he learned that House lawmakers were briefed on Russia ’ s alleged attempts to meddle in the 2020 election in Trump ’ s favor .
Trump announced this week that Maguire was leaving his post , and named Richard Grenell , an ally of the president , as his replacement .
“ I don ’ t care , frankly , who Putin wants to be president , ” he continued .
“ My message to Putin is clear : stay out of American elections , and as president I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 , Russia used internet propaganda to sow division in our country , and my understanding is that they are doing it again in 2020 .
”

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President Donald Trump’s top security adviser claimed in a recent interview with ABC News that he hasn’t seen evidence of Russia working to sway the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Trump’s favor.
When asked by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos whether he’s seen anything from the intelligence community that indicates Russia is working to bring about Trump’s re-election, national security adviser Robert O’Brien said no.
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“I haven’t seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump re-elected,” O’Brien said, noting that, as a national security adviser, he gets “pretty good access” to information from the intelligence community.
The full interview with O’Brien aired on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” on Sunday. A transcript was made public Saturday.
"I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected," Robert O'Brien tells @GStephanopoulos amid reports that intel officials told lawmakers Russia is meddling in 2020, with a preference for Trump. https://t.co/kHUIBjiIBB pic.twitter.com/AxdWI6mqEr — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 23, 2020
O’Brien called the reports a “non-story,” despite Russia’s history of tampering with elections in Trump’s favor. The intelligence community concluded in 2017 that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee with the ultimate aim of helping secure Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential contest.
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The Associated Press, citing anonymous sources, received contradicting reports about whether there was intel on Russia pushing for Trump’s reelection.
An intelligence official told the AP that intelligence officials did not tell House committee members that Russia was trying to aid Trump’s campaign. However, others familiar with that meeting said Russia was indeed trying to do just that.
One source who was present at the meeting with the director of national intelligence’s team said that O’Brien’s claims about Russia and Trump’s re-election campaign “do not accurately reflect” what they themselves heard at that meeting, CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta reported.
Speaking to Stephanopoulos, O’Brien did agree with reports that Russia is trying to boost the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a front-runner in the Democratic primary. Sanders has emphatically rejected Russia’s help.
In his interview with ABC, O’Brien attempted to link Sanders’ honeymoon, which took place in 1988, to Russia’s meddling.
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“That’s no surprise. He honeymooned in Moscow,” he said.
Critics noted that Trump himself has taken numerous trips to Moscow and had business dealings there, including the Miss Universe pageant in 2013 and the Trump Organization’s previous plans to build a tower there.
Yes Sanders honeymooned in Moscow as opposed to Trump who held a beauty pageant in Moscow, took money from Moscow investors, hired aides linked to Moscow, heaped praise on Putin, and publicly asked Russia to get his opponent’s emails in the midst of the 2016 election campaign. https://t.co/4uThdP4GB3 — Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) February 22, 2020
The most ugly, xenophobic, and casually imperialist thing in here is the handwringing about how Sanders went to Nicaragua and the Soviet Union in the ‘80s. On top of Cold War and dirty wars, it’s this idea that these places are not worth going to at all https://t.co/OUFx1l3Oc5 — Sarah Lazare (@sarahlazare) February 22, 2020
This is actually terrifying. https://t.co/lfHBeeGOXn — Nicole Perlroth (@nicoleperlroth) February 22, 2020
The New York Times reported earlier this week that intelligence officials briefed the House Intelligence Committee on Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 race in order to get Trump reelected.
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O’Brien said he had heard of the reports on the House committee being briefed. He admitted he wasn’t there, but claimed that he heard from those briefing the lawmakers that the reports were “not what they intended the story to be.”
When asked if he has a responsibility as the national security adviser to find out whether reports that Russia wants Trump to win reelection are valid, O’Brien danced around the question.
“I don’t know ― these are leaks,” O’Brien said. “I’m telling you I haven’t seen the intel and I haven’t seen the analysis.”
Stephanopoulos interrupted, “Have you asked for it?”
“Look, I want to get whatever analysis they’ve got and I want to make sure that the analysis is solid,” O’Brien said. “I mean, you know, from what I’ve heard ― again, this is only what I’m seeing in the press ― it doesn’t make any sense.”
Robert O’Brien repeatedly says he has “not seen” U.S. intel reports that Russia is meddling in 2020 to help Trump.@GStephanopoulos: “Don’t you have a responsibility as national security adviser to find out?”
O’Brien: "... I haven’t seen the intel." https://t.co/kHUIBjiIBB pic.twitter.com/rbK7XEOe5f — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 23, 2020
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O’Brien also denied reports that Trump scolded outgoing acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire after he learned that House lawmakers were briefed on Russia’s alleged attempts to meddle in the 2020 election in Trump’s favor.
Trump announced this week that Maguire was leaving his post, and named Richard Grenell, an ally of the president, as his replacement.
Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, on Sunday echoed O’Brien’s denials about Maguire’s ouster as well as reports that Russia favors Trump.
“I think that there’s not intelligence that said that the Russians are trying to help Donald Trump win election,” Short said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
“It’s hard to see why they would be choosing Donald Trump over Bernie Sanders,” he added.
Host Chris Wallace noted that Shelby Pierson, the U.S. intelligence community’s top election security official, briefed Congress earlier this month about Russia developing “a preference” for Trump.
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Short said he wouldn’t comment on the classified congressional meeting, but claimed the president did not receive such information during his own briefing on election security.
U.S. intel says Russia is interfering in American elections to help boost President Trump and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. Marc Short weighs in on FOX News Sunday: “There is not intelligence that said that the Russians are trying to help Donald Trump win an election.” pic.twitter.com/27Ie4TU35d — FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) February 23, 2020
On Friday, Sanders denounced Russia’s alleged interference in the election.
“Unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts, and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election,” Sanders said in a statement.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-23--Buttigieg Campaign Alleges Numerous 'Errors' In Nevada Caucuses Vote-Counting

In the letter to NVDP Chairman William McCurdy II , Buttigieg ’ s national ballot access and delegates director , Michael Gaffney , called on party officials to release early and in-person vote totals by precinct , correct alignment “ errors ” identified by the campaign and explain so-called anomalies in the data .
“ Given how close the race is between second and third place , we ask that you take these steps before releasing any final data , ” Gaffney wrote .
Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) soared to victory on Saturday , winning the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As of Sunday afternoon , with roughly 60 % of precincts reporting , former Vice President Joe Biden was in second with 19.6 % of the votes and Buttigieg , the former mayor of South Bend , Indiana , was not far behind him with 15.3 % .
Nevada saw a massive turnout of early voters in the days leading up to the formal caucuses .
Buttigieg ’ s campaign said in its letter that early voting was “ a success ” in helping more people participate in the process .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ integrating the early votes into the results of the in-person caucuses was “ plagued with errors and inconsistencies.
” Unlike primaries , in which voters cast a single ballot and the winner is determined by who receives the most votes , caucuses are used to award county convention delegates to viable candidates .
The number of county convention delegates determines how many national pledged delegates each candidate will receive .
During the first alignment of a caucus , participants gather in groups based on the candidate they support .
Candidates often need at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precinct to be considered viable .
Caucusgoers who choose a viable candidate in the first alignment may not change their preference .
Those in nonviable groups ( either a candidate or uncommitted ) can choose to switch groups during the second alignment or bow out .
Buttigieg ’ s campaign called on the Nevada Democrats to release electronic or hard copies of worksheets used to calculate the results during the caucuses .
The campaign also requested that the party address “ general issues pertaining to the realignment process.
” “ We know that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few weeks to ensure that the Caucuses would be a success , ” Gaffney wrote .
“ We only ask that you take the time in the next 24-48 hours to deliver on that goal by offering the level of transparency and accuracy that you have promised throughout this process.
” A spokesman for the NVDP told HuffPost in a statement that the party “ never indicated ” it would release a separate breakdown of the early vote and in-person attendees by precinct and that it would not change its reporting process .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Caucus Day processes step by step and we communicated these processes to all campaigns , ” according to the statement .
“ We are continuing to verify and to report results.
” The allegations brought forward by Buttigieg ’ s campaign followed what had widely been hailed as a relatively seamless and successful caucuses process after the disastrous Iowa caucuses earlier this month .
Results of the Iowa caucuses were significantly delayed due to technical difficulties caused by a third-party app , which incorrectly reported some data , as well as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for mitigating these issues .

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Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign sent a letter to the Nevada Democratic Party on Saturday alleging numerous “errors” and “inconsistencies” in the vote-counting process behind the state’s 2020 Democratic caucuses earlier that day.
In the letter to NVDP Chairman William McCurdy II, Buttigieg’s national ballot access and delegates director, Michael Gaffney, called on party officials to release early and in-person vote totals by precinct, correct alignment “errors” identified by the campaign and explain so-called anomalies in the data.
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“Given how close the race is between second and third place, we ask that you take these steps before releasing any final data,” Gaffney wrote.
New: Pete Buttigieg’s campaign is alleging “irregularities and a number of unresolved questions” against the Nevada State Democratic Party.
The complaints center on how early voting totals were folded into caucus day totals & claim “anomalies in the data.”
Here is the letter: pic.twitter.com/HYlvHqsr4n — Dan Merica (@merica) February 23, 2020
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) soared to victory on Saturday, winning the state’s Democratic caucuses by a hefty margin. As of Sunday afternoon, with roughly 60% of precincts reporting, former Vice President Joe Biden was in second with 19.6% of the votes and Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was not far behind him with 15.3%.
Nevada saw a massive turnout of early voters in the days leading up to the formal caucuses. Buttigieg’s campaign said in its letter that early voting was “a success” in helping more people participate in the process. But, Gaffney alleged, the process of integrating the early votes into the results of the in-person caucuses was “plagued with errors and inconsistencies.”
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In some locations, early voting data was not delivered or was not properly incorporated to determine a candidate’s viability, according to Buttigieg’s campaign.
Unlike primaries, in which voters cast a single ballot and the winner is determined by who receives the most votes, caucuses are used to award county convention delegates to viable candidates. The number of county convention delegates determines how many national pledged delegates each candidate will receive.
During the first alignment of a caucus, participants gather in groups based on the candidate they support. Candidates often need at least 15% of caucusgoers in each precinct to be considered viable. Caucusgoers who choose a viable candidate in the first alignment may not change their preference. Those in nonviable groups (either a candidate or uncommitted) can choose to switch groups during the second alignment or bow out.
Buttigieg’s campaign called on the Nevada Democrats to release electronic or hard copies of worksheets used to calculate the results during the caucuses. The campaign also requested that the party address “general issues pertaining to the realignment process.”
“We know that you have worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to ensure that the Caucuses would be a success,” Gaffney wrote. “We only ask that you take the time in the next 24-48 hours to deliver on that goal by offering the level of transparency and accuracy that you have promised throughout this process.”
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A spokesman for the NVDP told HuffPost in a statement that the party “never indicated” it would release a separate breakdown of the early vote and in-person attendees by precinct and that it would not change its reporting process.
“We laid out our early vote and Caucus Day processes step by step and we communicated these processes to all campaigns,” according to the statement. “We are continuing to verify and to report results.”
“As laid out in our recount guidance, there is a formal method for requesting a challenge of results,” the statement continued.
Buttigieg’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it plans to formally challenge the results.
In a statement to HuffPost, Buttigieg deputy campaign manager Hari Sevugan said data shows a “razor thin margin” for second place in Nevada.
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“Due to irregularities and a number of unresolved questions we have raised with the Nevada Democratic Party, it’s unclear what the final results will be,” he said.
The allegations brought forward by Buttigieg’s campaign followed what had widely been hailed as a relatively seamless and successful caucuses process after the disastrous Iowa caucuses earlier this month. Results of the Iowa caucuses were significantly delayed due to technical difficulties caused by a third-party app, which incorrectly reported some data, as well as the state party’s failed backup strategy for mitigating these issues.