palmerreport--2020-02-22--This is going to cost Donald Trump some votes

On Friday , we saw Donald Trump rant incoherently on Twitter about a whole host of trivial nonsense .
I don ’ t really condone reading his Twitter feed because it ’ s generally his best opportunity to feed lies to the masses with no filter – and these lies have an unhealthy influence on the media as well .
It ’ s a particularly difficult time as the primary is in full swing and rumors about the candidates , true or untrue , tend to spread like wildfire .
Trump is already taking shots at a few of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his own shortcomings , but there was something tweeted amidst all the noise that seemed out of place .
“ IF OUR FORMALLY TARGETED FARMERS NEED ADDITIONAL AID UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE TRADE DEALS WITH CHINA , MEXICO , CANADA AND OTHERS FULLY KICK IN , ” the tweet read , “ THAT AID WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT , PAID FOR OUT OF THE MASSIVE TARIFF MONEY COMING INTO THE USA !
” This is pretty obviously a tweet that Trump didn ’ t actually write – it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ echoing yet another one of his lies – one that was debunked back in August .
American consumers and companies are paying for nearly all of the tariffs , so it ’ s impossible for there to be massive money coming in from them .
What ’ s more unsettling is why anyone in the Trump White House would need to mention this at all .
The bailout his administration is giving farms has been extremely expensive and just as inefficient in helping farmers make up for the losses they ’ ve sustained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war .
A February report from the Department of Agriculture suggests that even though China and the US have managed to negotiate some kind of trade deal , it could take awhile before farmers see any benefit .
One possible reason is because China is beholden to separate trade agreements .
Whoever wrote the tweet seems to be preparing for bad news – something concerning the trade deal that they fear could cost Trump some crucial support .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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On Friday, we saw Donald Trump rant incoherently on Twitter about a whole host of trivial nonsense. I don’t really condone reading his Twitter feed because it’s generally his best opportunity to feed lies to the masses with no filter – and these lies have an unhealthy influence on the media as well. It’s a particularly difficult time as the primary is in full swing and rumors about the candidates, true or untrue, tend to spread like wildfire. Trump is already taking shots at a few of them via Twitter in hopes of covering up his own shortcomings, but there was something tweeted amidst all the noise that seemed out of place.
“IF OUR FORMALLY TARGETED FARMERS NEED ADDITIONAL AID UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE TRADE DEALS WITH CHINA, MEXICO, CANADA AND OTHERS FULLY KICK IN,” the tweet read, “THAT AID WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, PAID FOR OUT OF THE MASSIVE TARIFF MONEY COMING INTO THE USA!”
This is pretty obviously a tweet that Trump didn’t actually write – it’s someone pretending to be him, echoing yet another one of his lies – one that was debunked back in August. American consumers and companies are paying for nearly all of the tariffs, so it’s impossible for there to be massive money coming in from them. What’s more unsettling is why anyone in the Trump White House would need to mention this at all. The bailout his administration is giving farms has been extremely expensive and just as inefficient in helping farmers make up for the losses they’ve sustained due to Trump’s pointless trade war.
A February report from the Department of Agriculture suggests that even though China and the US have managed to negotiate some kind of trade deal, it could take awhile before farmers see any benefit. One possible reason is because China is beholden to separate trade agreements. Whoever wrote the tweet seems to be preparing for bad news – something concerning the trade deal that they fear could cost Trump some crucial support.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-22--Elizabeth Warren defines the standard

Elizabeth Warren defines the standard

It ’ s time to remind ourselves that we have standards .
However much the low-information cretins who follow Donald Trump may have none , we have standards .
When Michael Bloomberg referred to women as “ fat broads ” and “ horse-faced lesbians , ” that was the end of his bid for the presidency , because we have standards .
He ’ s free to be a multi-billionaire oligarch running anti-Trump adds , he ’ s free to accumulate obscene amounts of cash in the bottomless service of his overarching ego — as an American he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has dollars — he just can ’ t be the Democratic candidate for president of the United States , because we have standards .
At her Thursday CNN Town Hall , Elizabeth Warren reminded us what those standards are , why those standards are essential and why such language from the mouth of the ostensible president of the United States is unacceptable .
It was there that she further clarified her attacks on Bloomberg , attacks that she made during the debate .
To recap , in the debate when Elizabeth Warren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his deplorable conduct Warren replied , “ I hope you heard what his defense was , ‘ I ’ ve been nice to some women.
’ That just doesn ’ t cut it .
The Mayor has to stand on his record.
” Teeteringly is how he stands on his record .
When warren asked Bloomberg if he would release the women in his company from the nondisclosure agreements they signed , Bloomberg replied , “ Maybe they didn ’ t like a joke I told.
” Note the use of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s the language of prevarication .
When Donald Trump was once asked why he was in the habit of not paying contractors for work they did for his company , he replied , “ Maybe they didn ’ t do good work.
” “ Maybe ” is a weasel word .
Either Bloomberg knows exactly what happened or the number of women who filed complaints against him was too large for him to enumerate each in the time permitted .
Either way it reflects poorly on him , so poorly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be president .
It really is that simple and always has been .
You see , despite what Trump does , despite what his pirate ship of an administration or the lickspittles in Congress who worship him do , we have standards .
And here by “ we ” I am employing the egalitarian non-Royal “ we , ” as in We the People .
No candidate understands that better than Senator Elizabeth Warren .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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It’s time to remind ourselves that we have standards. However much the low-information cretins who follow Donald Trump may have none, we have standards. When Michael Bloomberg referred to women as “fat broads” and “horse-faced lesbians,” that was the end of his bid for the presidency, because we have standards. He’s free to be a multi-billionaire oligarch running anti-Trump adds, he’s free to accumulate obscene amounts of cash in the bottomless service of his overarching ego — as an American he’s free to follow as many paths as he has dollars — he just can’t be the Democratic candidate for president of the United States, because we have standards.
At her Thursday CNN Town Hall, Elizabeth Warren reminded us what those standards are, why those standards are essential and why such language from the mouth of the ostensible president of the United States is unacceptable. It was there that she further clarified her attacks on Bloomberg, attacks that she made during the debate. To recap, in the debate when Elizabeth Warren was asked about Bloomberg’s defense of his deplorable conduct Warren replied, “I hope you heard what his defense was, ‘I’ve been nice to some women.’ That just doesn’t cut it. The Mayor has to stand on his record.”
Teeteringly is how he stands on his record. When warren asked Bloomberg if he would release the women in his company from the nondisclosure agreements they signed, Bloomberg replied, “Maybe they didn’t like a joke I told.” Note the use of the distancing, equivocating word “maybe.” It’s the language of prevarication. When Donald Trump was once asked why he was in the habit of not paying contractors for work they did for his company, he replied, “Maybe they didn’t do good work.” “Maybe” is a weasel word.
Either Bloomberg knows exactly what happened or the number of women who filed complaints against him was too large for him to enumerate each in the time permitted. Either way it reflects poorly on him, so poorly, in fact, that he is disqualified to be president. It really is that simple and always has been. You see, despite what Trump does, despite what his pirate ship of an administration or the lickspittles in Congress who worship him do, we have standards. And here by “we” I am employing the egalitarian non-Royal “we,” as in We the People. No candidate understands that better than Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-22--Palmer Report editorial note: enough is enough!

When I cover Democratic politicians , I always approach it with this mindset : if Donald Trump were saying and doing the same thing , would I call Trump out for it ?
If the answer is yes , then I have an editorial responsibility to call out the behavior of the Democrat in question .
That I don ’ t often call out Democrats is a testament to the fact that they ’ re generally behaving like the good guys .
But I ’ m not willing to blindly cheerlead someone just because they have a “ D ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think of it , this guy doesn ’ t even have a “ D ” next to his name .
Throughout the 2020 Democratic primary race , me and a whole lot of other pundits and activists have been giving Bernie Sanders the space to do his thing .
Yes , he ’ s making false promises about magical ideas that he knows he could never get passed into law , and that are too simplistic to succeed even if they did become law .
Yes , he has an embarrassingly lackluster record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has a bizarre personal history .
But he ’ s also managed to get a group of liberals to follow him around like the Pied Piper , thanks largely to the fact that the mainstream media has been hyping him for the past five years in order to drum up ratings .
Everyone outside his support base knows he ’ s a joke .
So why bother antagonizing the guy ?
His support is narrow enough that he ’ s not going to be the nominee anyway .
But this week , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all-out war that Bernie ’ s top advisers declared on the rest of us .
Bernie ’ s 2020 campaign adviser David Sirota amped up his trolling of journalists and pundits on Twitter , pointing to where he wanted Bernie ’ s trolls to attack .
Bernie ’ s 2020 press secretary Briahna Joy went on CNN and falsely claimed that a competing candidate had a heart attack .
Then last night we learned that Bernie has known for the past month that Vladimir Putin has been rigging the 2020 Democratic primary for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to keep that information a secret .
Yes , it was part of a classified briefing .
But that just means he can ’ t reveal the specific details .
Bernie easily could have warned us that Putin was meddling in the Democratic primary race .
He chose not to .
He could have used his power and influence as a United States Senator to get the details declassified .
He chose not to .
We know he chose not to , because when the story broke yesterday and the TV cameras cornered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any defense of his actions .
Instead he dishonestly attacked the Washington Post for having broken the story .
As we ’ ve unfortunately learned from Trump , when a politician offers no defense in a scandal and instead attacks the media , it means that politician has been doing the wrong thing all along in that scandal .
We ’ re now at a point where the Kremlin is trying to rig the 2020 Democratic primary race in favor of the weakest candidate , so that candidate can then lose to Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re supposed to sit back and be diplomatic about this ?
We ’ re supposed to pretend it ’ s not happening ?
Bernie Sanders didn ’ t think voters in these early states deserved to know that at least some of the pro-Bernie influence they were seeing online was coming from Vladimir Putin ?
It ’ s not just that Bernie Sanders is a bumbling candidate full of laughable false promises who would spend four years ineptly getting nothing done while making nonstop excuses for his failures .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spent the past month accepting ongoing help from the Kremlin by refusing to let the public know it was going on .
It ’ s that Bernie Sanders would lose to Donald Trump – and it wouldn ’ t even be close .
Because Bernie Sanders has never faced any real competition or scrutiny in his Vermont races , and because the media gave Bernie a free pass in 2016 while playing him up as a feel-good story , he ’ s never been properly vetted .
If Bernie were the nominee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out every ugly detail from his thirty years of embarrassing political and personal history .
They wouldn ’ t even have to dig .
The dirt on Bernie is all publicly documented and most of it is not in dispute .
It ’ s just that the media has never bothered to run with it .
But once Trump starts talking about that dirt , the media will indeed run with it – and Bernie will be finished a week after he gets the nomination .
There are four very good candidates in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Joe Biden , Pete Buttigieg , and Amy Klobuchar , in any order you want to list them – who would all very likely beat Donald Trump .
There ’ s also a mediocre candidate in Mike Bloomberg , who would also very likely beat Trump .
If we nominate any of them , we get rid of Trump .
If we nominate Bernie , we get four more years of Trump .
So this is what I ’ m going to do about it .
Between now and the convention , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power to educate people on why Bernie should not be the nominee .
If we go to a brokered convention where no one has reached 50 % , I ’ ll do everything in my power to educate people on how to use the established rules to ensure that Bernie doesn ’ t get the nomination .
If Bernie somehow does end up the nominee , I ’ ll do everything in my power to educate people on why Bernie would be better than Trump .
But Bernie would lose anyway , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ base understands .
Even if you think Bernie is a saint ( which he isn ’ t ) , and even if you think Bernie could make any of his magic wand ideas happen ( which he can ’ t ) , the fact is that he would lose to Trump .
He ’ s a nearly eighty year old half-dead socialist whose candidacy is so weak , Putin is using him as a placeholder to try to make sure Trump wins .
In case you need reminding , Bernie just had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now suppressing his medical records , suggesting that he has other health problems that are even more alarming than a recent heart attack .
In my democratic primary analysis , I will rely on all the available facts , logic , and evidence , as always .
And I will take a whole lot of crap from people who don ’ t want what I ’ m saying to be true , as always .
So be it .
I don ’ t know if my primary analysis will make me more popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also don ’ t care .
I just don ’ t want anyone to be surprised about any of this .
Getting Trump out of office means stopping Bernie first , because Bernie would lose to Trump .
That ’ s just reality , whether anyone wants it to be true or not .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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When I cover Democratic politicians, I always approach it with this mindset: if Donald Trump were saying and doing the same thing, would I call Trump out for it? If the answer is yes, then I have an editorial responsibility to call out the behavior of the Democrat in question. That I don’t often call out Democrats is a testament to the fact that they’re generally behaving like the good guys. But I’m not willing to blindly cheerlead someone just because they have a “D” next to their name. Come to think of it, this guy doesn’t even have a “D” next to his name.
Throughout the 2020 Democratic primary race, me and a whole lot of other pundits and activists have been giving Bernie Sanders the space to do his thing. Yes, he’s making false promises about magical ideas that he knows he could never get passed into law, and that are too simplistic to succeed even if they did become law. Yes, he has an embarrassingly lackluster record as a politician. Yes, he has a bizarre personal history. But he’s also managed to get a group of liberals to follow him around like the Pied Piper, thanks largely to the fact that the mainstream media has been hyping him for the past five years in order to drum up ratings. Everyone outside his support base knows he’s a joke. So why bother antagonizing the guy? His support is narrow enough that he’s not going to be the nominee anyway. But this week, a lot has changed.
First came the all-out war that Bernie’s top advisers declared on the rest of us. Bernie’s 2020 campaign adviser David Sirota amped up his trolling of journalists and pundits on Twitter, pointing to where he wanted Bernie’s trolls to attack. Bernie’s 2020 press secretary Briahna Joy went on CNN and falsely claimed that a competing candidate had a heart attack. Then last night we learned that Bernie has known for the past month that Vladimir Putin has been rigging the 2020 Democratic primary for him, and he’s chosen to keep that information a secret.
Yes, it was part of a classified briefing. But that just means he can’t reveal the specific details. Bernie easily could have warned us that Putin was meddling in the Democratic primary race. He chose not to. He could have used his power and influence as a United States Senator to get the details declassified. He chose not to. We know he chose not to, because when the story broke yesterday and the TV cameras cornered him, he didn’t offer any defense of his actions. Instead he dishonestly attacked the Washington Post for having broken the story. As we’ve unfortunately learned from Trump, when a politician offers no defense in a scandal and instead attacks the media, it means that politician has been doing the wrong thing all along in that scandal.
We’re now at a point where the Kremlin is trying to rig the 2020 Democratic primary race in favor of the weakest candidate, so that candidate can then lose to Donald Trump in the general election. And we’re supposed to sit back and be diplomatic about this? We’re supposed to pretend it’s not happening? Bernie Sanders didn’t think voters in these early states deserved to know that at least some of the pro-Bernie influence they were seeing online was coming from Vladimir Putin?
It’s not just that Bernie Sanders is a bumbling candidate full of laughable false promises who would spend four years ineptly getting nothing done while making nonstop excuses for his failures. It’s not even that Bernie Sanders has spent the past month accepting ongoing help from the Kremlin by refusing to let the public know it was going on. It’s that Bernie Sanders would lose to Donald Trump – and it wouldn’t even be close.
Because Bernie Sanders has never faced any real competition or scrutiny in his Vermont races, and because the media gave Bernie a free pass in 2016 while playing him up as a feel-good story, he’s never been properly vetted. If Bernie were the nominee, Trump and the GOP would immediately bust out every ugly detail from his thirty years of embarrassing political and personal history. They wouldn’t even have to dig. The dirt on Bernie is all publicly documented and most of it is not in dispute. It’s just that the media has never bothered to run with it. But once Trump starts talking about that dirt, the media will indeed run with it – and Bernie will be finished a week after he gets the nomination.
There are four very good candidates in this Democratic primary race – Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar, in any order you want to list them – who would all very likely beat Donald Trump. There’s also a mediocre candidate in Mike Bloomberg, who would also very likely beat Trump. If we nominate any of them, we get rid of Trump. If we nominate Bernie, we get four more years of Trump.
So this is what I’m going to do about it. Between now and the convention, I’ll do everything in my power to educate people on why Bernie should not be the nominee. If we go to a brokered convention where no one has reached 50%, I’ll do everything in my power to educate people on how to use the established rules to ensure that Bernie doesn’t get the nomination. If Bernie somehow does end up the nominee, I’ll do everything in my power to educate people on why Bernie would be better than Trump. But Bernie would lose anyway, for reasons that everyone outside his own support base understands.
Even if you think Bernie is a saint (which he isn’t), and even if you think Bernie could make any of his magic wand ideas happen (which he can’t), the fact is that he would lose to Trump. He’s a nearly eighty year old half-dead socialist whose candidacy is so weak, Putin is using him as a placeholder to try to make sure Trump wins. In case you need reminding, Bernie just had a heart attack, and he’s now suppressing his medical records, suggesting that he has other health problems that are even more alarming than a recent heart attack.
In my democratic primary analysis, I will rely on all the available facts, logic, and evidence, as always. And I will take a whole lot of crap from people who don’t want what I’m saying to be true, as always. So be it. I don’t know if my primary analysis will make me more popular or less popular with readers. I also don’t care. I just don’t want anyone to be surprised about any of this. Getting Trump out of office means stopping Bernie first, because Bernie would lose to Trump. That’s just reality, whether anyone wants it to be true or not.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-22--Donald Trump hits a wall

Donald Trump hits a wall

If there ’ s anything you thought Donald Trump might be telling the truth about , without following much of the news at all , it would be the economy .
Hardly a day goes by when he doesn ’ t tweet about how great it is – somehow due to his administration ’ s own policies , when the reality is that it ’ s not that great and only appears to be stable despite his policies .
It ’ s why he had an incoherent meltdown this week when President Obama casually decided to remind everyone that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he likes to take credit for the stock market and therefore believes everyone else in the country is thriving because of this , a few people happen to disagree with him .
Some of them belong to his own Council of Economic Advisers who recently announced the economy is on track for just 2.4 % growth in 2020 .
For reference , that ’ s nowhere near the 5-6 % growth they were promising would happen when the Republican-led Congress signed Trump ’ s tax cuts into law at the end of 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could continue into 2022 ( though not as much as 5 % ) , but that would only be possible if the administration were to take new measures – not just more rollback of regulations , but also immigration reform and new trade deals – two areas where Trump has been stagnant for most of his term .
Even if he wanted to do it , much of this legislation would have a hard time passing through Congress , with Mitch McConnell blocking nearly everything passed in the House .
If nothing is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow down next year .
Trump likes to lash out at Democrats on Twitter , who he says are his enemies , but in this case , it could be uncompromising Republicans like McConnell who prove to be his worst enemy .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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If there’s anything you thought Donald Trump might be telling the truth about, without following much of the news at all, it would be the economy. Hardly a day goes by when he doesn’t tweet about how great it is – somehow due to his administration’s own policies, when the reality is that it’s not that great and only appears to be stable despite his policies. It’s why he had an incoherent meltdown this week when President Obama casually decided to remind everyone that the recovery began under his administration.
While he likes to take credit for the stock market and therefore believes everyone else in the country is thriving because of this, a few people happen to disagree with him. Some of them belong to his own Council of Economic Advisers who recently announced the economy is on track for just 2.4% growth in 2020. For reference, that’s nowhere near the 5-6% growth they were promising would happen when the Republican-led Congress signed Trump’s tax cuts into law at the end of 2017.
The council is optimistic that growth could continue into 2022 (though not as much as 5%), but that would only be possible if the administration were to take new measures – not just more rollback of regulations, but also immigration reform and new trade deals – two areas where Trump has been stagnant for most of his term.
Even if he wanted to do it, much of this legislation would have a hard time passing through Congress, with Mitch McConnell blocking nearly everything passed in the House. If nothing is done, growth is on track to slow down next year. Trump likes to lash out at Democrats on Twitter, who he says are his enemies, but in this case, it could be uncompromising Republicans like McConnell who prove to be his worst enemy.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-22--Marie Yovanovitch is about to get her revenge against Donald Trump

U.S .
Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was so incorruptible , Donald Trump fired her and threatened her safety just to get her out of the way so that his goons could carry out their crime spree in Ukraine .
Yovanovitch ended up testifying against Trump during the House impeachment proceedings , and gained a lot of respect in the process .
They say that success is the best revenge , and Marie Yovanovitch is about to get precisely that .
She ’ s signed a book deal , according to CNN , which will focus on her career as a U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yovanovitch was long regarded with a great deal of respect within the diplomatic community , no one outside of it had ever heard of her .
Now she ’ s getting the kind of lucrative book deal that you can only really land if you ’ re already well known .
Trump just unwittingly made her rich .
Of course we doubt Yovanovitch is doing any of this for the money .
She ’ d surely rather still be with the State Department , doing the thankless work of an international diplomat .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on her feet , meaning Trump ’ s attempts at destroying her have not been successful .
It ’ s worth noting that Marie Yovanovitch was able to pull off this book even while dutifully giving her impeachment testimony .
She didn ’ t try to stall from testifying until her book was ready , like John Bolton did .
If there ’ s any justice , Yovanovitch ’ s book will end up far outselling Bolton ’ s book .
She deserves the success , and he doesn ’ t .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was so incorruptible, Donald Trump fired her and threatened her safety just to get her out of the way so that his goons could carry out their crime spree in Ukraine. Yovanovitch ended up testifying against Trump during the House impeachment proceedings, and gained a lot of respect in the process.
They say that success is the best revenge, and Marie Yovanovitch is about to get precisely that. She’s signed a book deal, according to CNN, which will focus on her career as a U.S. diplomat. The kicker is that while Yovanovitch was long regarded with a great deal of respect within the diplomatic community, no one outside of it had ever heard of her. Now she’s getting the kind of lucrative book deal that you can only really land if you’re already well known. Trump just unwittingly made her rich.
Of course we doubt Yovanovitch is doing any of this for the money. She’d surely rather still be with the State Department, doing the thankless work of an international diplomat. But at least she’s landed on her feet, meaning Trump’s attempts at destroying her have not been successful.
It’s worth noting that Marie Yovanovitch was able to pull off this book even while dutifully giving her impeachment testimony. She didn’t try to stall from testifying until her book was ready, like John Bolton did. If there’s any justice, Yovanovitch’s book will end up far outselling Bolton’s book. She deserves the success, and he doesn’t.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-23--Thank you Joy Reid

Thank you Joy Reid

Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucus today , prompting his supporters to mistakenly decide that this means he ’ s now somehow automatically going to be the Democratic nominee .
This would be a tragedy , because the thoroughly unvetted Sanders would be quickly destroyed at the hands of Donald Trump and the GOP .
But if you ’ re a pundit , you can score some really cheap and easy points right now by simply hoping on the Bernie train and blowing smoke at his supporters .
Fortunately , some high profile pundits are simply refusing to play that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three states have voted thus far ( out of fifty ) .
Two of the three were nearly all white .
Two of them used the gibberish caucus format .
We now know that Vladimir Putin was rigging things for Bernie while all these states were voting , and yet he still only won two out of the three .
The problem is that because the Democrats have four great candidates ( Biden , Warren , Buttigieg , Klobuchar ) and none of them has been dominating over the others , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply can ’ t be stopped .
Enter highly respected MSNBC host Joy Reid .
On Saturday night she sounded the alarm , pointing out that this is simply a turnout problem .
The minority of Democratic voters who want Sanders are voting and campaigning in enthusiastic fashion , and so he ’ s in the lead , despite only getting around 30 % of the vote .
The smart voters need to start pushing harder on behalf of the real Democrats right now , before this gets any worse , and we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders who can ’ t beat Trump .
Whether you precisely agree with Joy Reid ’ s characterization of things or not , the reality is this .
It would be a lot easier for her , and others in her position , to simply start pretending Bernie Sanders is the greatest thing ever .
His most rabid supporters would reward her with huge ratings .
Instead , by calling out the fact that Sanders basically sucks , she knows she ’ s going to be viciously harassed by Bernie ’ s most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s an exaggeration , Joy Reid ’ s name was trending atop Twitter at one point on Saturday night , as Sanders fanatics began demanding that she be fired .
Of course the Sanders fanatics have also recently demanded that MSNBC fire Chris Matthews , Chuck Todd , Jason Johnson , and every other on-air pundit who doesn ’ t sufficiently kiss up to Bernie .
Some of these pundits are better than others , but we need to rally around them on this .
They can ’ t lose their jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders train wreck .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucus today, prompting his supporters to mistakenly decide that this means he’s now somehow automatically going to be the Democratic nominee. This would be a tragedy, because the thoroughly unvetted Sanders would be quickly destroyed at the hands of Donald Trump and the GOP. But if you’re a pundit, you can score some really cheap and easy points right now by simply hoping on the Bernie train and blowing smoke at his supporters. Fortunately, some high profile pundits are simply refusing to play that game.
The reality is that only three states have voted thus far (out of fifty). Two of the three were nearly all white. Two of them used the gibberish caucus format. We now know that Vladimir Putin was rigging things for Bernie while all these states were voting, and yet he still only won two out of the three. The problem is that because the Democrats have four great candidates (Biden, Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar) and none of them has been dominating over the others, it’s created this fatalist notion that Sanders simply can’t be stopped.
Enter highly respected MSNBC host Joy Reid. On Saturday night she sounded the alarm, pointing out that this is simply a turnout problem. The minority of Democratic voters who want Sanders are voting and campaigning in enthusiastic fashion, and so he’s in the lead, despite only getting around 30% of the vote. The smart voters need to start pushing harder on behalf of the real Democrats right now, before this gets any worse, and we get stuck with a disastrous nominee in Sanders who can’t beat Trump.
Whether you precisely agree with Joy Reid’s characterization of things or not, the reality is this. It would be a lot easier for her, and others in her position, to simply start pretending Bernie Sanders is the greatest thing ever. His most rabid supporters would reward her with huge ratings. Instead, by calling out the fact that Sanders basically sucks, she knows she’s going to be viciously harassed by Bernie’s most over-the-top supporters.
If you think that’s an exaggeration, Joy Reid’s name was trending atop Twitter at one point on Saturday night, as Sanders fanatics began demanding that she be fired. Of course the Sanders fanatics have also recently demanded that MSNBC fire Chris Matthews, Chuck Todd, Jason Johnson, and every other on-air pundit who doesn’t sufficiently kiss up to Bernie. Some of these pundits are better than others, but we need to rally around them on this. They can’t lose their jobs simply because they accurately reported on the Sanders train wreck.
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palmerreport--2020-02-23--The Russians are indeed coming

The Russians are indeed coming

Russia is meddling , and “ president ” Donald Trump is livid — at those who are exposing that meddling .
CNN reported that U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia is already interfering in U.S. elections…again , with the goal of re-electing Donald Trump .
Shelby Pierson , the top election security official , revealed that Russia ’ s efforts include hacking , social media aggression , and direct attacks on election infrastructure .
Intelligence further confirmed that Russia is interfering to help Donald Trump , among other things , including creating questions around the integrity of the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it , heads began to roll .
Joseph Maguire , who was scheduled to leave in March , is now leaving immediately .
CNN reported that Trump was “ irate ” in his meeting with Maguire because he “ allowed ” the Russian interference information to be included in their briefing .
Why be “ irate ” if you have nothing to hide ?
Likely , he ’ s irate because it ’ s now in the open , and as with most everything having to do with Trump , it makes him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian interference .
According to CNN , Trump was most upset because Adam Schiff was included in the briefing .
Schiff is yet another person whom Trump spends countless hours hating and attacking .
As far as he is concerned , Schiff finding out is a proverbial slap in the face .
Someone needs to slap Trump ’ s face , literally .
Russia has , not surprisingly , denied its interference according to Reuters .
In addition to releasing Maguire and replacing him with loyalist Richard Grenell , Trump took to Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the information a “ hoax ” and that the Democrats have launched a “ misinformation campaign ‘ saying that Russian prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates.
’ ” Me , me , me .
Too bad he doesn ’ t sing .
If you can say nothing else about this man , he ’ s consistently a self-absorbed asshole .
His complete failure to do the job he stole , while spending his time insulting people and stoking white supremacists , continue to to show that he has no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funny thing is that Trump ’ s viewpoint on events is contradicted by former intelligence officials .
Jake Tapper told Wolf Blitzer on CNN ’ s Situation Room that it is “ quite predictable ” that Russia would once again attempt to interfere .
“ This was not a big surprise , ” opines Tapper , “ but it illustrates the tremendous challenge that the intelligence community has where they ’ re teeing up facts that our President doesn ’ t want to hear.
” Former CIA Director John Brennan said to MSNBC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intelligence ” and that the U.S. is “ now in a full-blown national security crisis.
” Brennan believes that Trump is trying to prevent intelligence information from getting to Congress , which allows Trump to “ abet a Russian covert operation to keep him in office for Moscow ’ s interests , not America ’ s. ” Trump has shown time and again that America ’ s best interests are of no concern to him .
The only thing that matters to him is winning at all costs .
He certainly appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is about America , and the continued support of this fake , traitorous president will always boggle the mind .

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Russia is meddling, and “president” Donald Trump is livid — at those who are exposing that meddling. CNN reported that U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia is already interfering in U.S. elections…again, with the goal of re-electing Donald Trump. Shelby Pierson, the top election security official, revealed that Russia’s efforts include hacking, social media aggression, and direct attacks on election infrastructure. Intelligence further confirmed that Russia is interfering to help Donald Trump, among other things, including creating questions around the integrity of the election process.
Once Trump got wind of it, heads began to roll. Joseph Maguire, who was scheduled to leave in March, is now leaving immediately. CNN reported that Trump was “irate” in his meeting with Maguire because he “allowed” the Russian interference information to be included in their briefing. Why be “irate” if you have nothing to hide? Likely, he’s irate because it’s now in the open, and as with most everything having to do with Trump, it makes him look bad because he has continuously downplayed Russian interference. According to CNN, Trump was most upset because Adam Schiff was included in the briefing. Schiff is yet another person whom Trump spends countless hours hating and attacking. As far as he is concerned, Schiff finding out is a proverbial slap in the face. Someone needs to slap Trump’s face, literally.
Russia has, not surprisingly, denied its interference according to Reuters. In addition to releasing Maguire and replacing him with loyalist Richard Grenell, Trump took to Twitter to make his dissatisfaction known, calling the information a “hoax” and that the Democrats have launched a “misinformation campaign ‘saying that Russian prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates.’” Me, me, me. Too bad he doesn’t sing. If you can say nothing else about this man, he’s consistently a self-absorbed asshole. His complete failure to do the job he stole, while spending his time insulting people and stoking white supremacists, continue to to show that he has no business in the White House. The funny thing is that Trump’s viewpoint on events is contradicted by former intelligence officials.
Jake Tapper told Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s Situation Room that it is “quite predictable” that Russia would once again attempt to interfere. “This was not a big surprise,” opines Tapper, “but it illustrates the tremendous challenge that the intelligence community has where they’re teeing up facts that our President doesn’t want to hear.” Former CIA Director John Brennan said to MSNBC that Trump seeks “to squelch critical intelligence” and that the U.S. is “now in a full-blown national security crisis.” Brennan believes that Trump is trying to prevent intelligence information from getting to Congress, which allows Trump to “abet a Russian covert operation to keep him in office for Moscow’s interests, not America’s.”
Trump has shown time and again that America’s best interests are of no concern to him. The only thing that matters to him is winning at all costs. He certainly appears to be more concerned about Moscow than he is about America, and the continued support of this fake, traitorous president will always boggle the mind.
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palmerreport--2020-02-23--Here’s how to stop Bernie Sanders from being the Democratic nominee

If Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee , he ’ ll lose to Trump .
Not happening on my watch .
We ’ ll keep Bernie under 50 % of the delegates .
We ’ ll have a brokered convention .
And we ’ ll pick an actual Democrat as the nominee .
Bernie will whine like a baby , and some of his supporters will go completely berserk , so we ’ ll just have to work that much harder to beat Trump in November .
To be clear , what I ’ m talking about is simply how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the 2020 convention rules , because he assumed he ’ d be in second place , and he wanted an opportunity to still take the nomination .
So we ’ ll simply follow the rules .
Once the delegates are released at the convention and we enter a brokered convention , the released delegates should line up behind whichever ( actual ) Democrat has the most delegates .
Bernie simply does not have broad enough support to win over a majority of delegates at the convention .
If Bernie does rack up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the convention , then he will be the nominee .
There will be no way around that , and we ’ ll have to get behind him , even though he ’ ll almost certainly lose to Trump .
The key is to make sure Bernie doesn ’ t get anywhere near 50 % of the delegates in the upcoming states .
We don ’ t need to unite behind one candidate yet .
For now , what matters is convincing as many people as possible in upcoming states to vote for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep as many delegates away from Bernie as possible .
We can ’ t allow a Putin-assisted eighty year old socialist , who recently had a heart attack , and who has no chance of beating Trump , to be our nominee .
A brokered convention isn ’ t a perfect plan , but it ’ s literally our only chance of taking Trump down .

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If Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee, he’ll lose to Trump. Not happening on my watch. We’ll keep Bernie under 50% of the delegates. We’ll have a brokered convention. And we’ll pick an actual Democrat as the nominee. Bernie will whine like a baby, and some of his supporters will go completely berserk, so we’ll just have to work that much harder to beat Trump in November.
To be clear, what I’m talking about is simply how the rules work. Bernie signed off on the 2020 convention rules, because he assumed he’d be in second place, and he wanted an opportunity to still take the nomination. So we’ll simply follow the rules. Once the delegates are released at the convention and we enter a brokered convention, the released delegates should line up behind whichever (actual) Democrat has the most delegates. Bernie simply does not have broad enough support to win over a majority of delegates at the convention.
If Bernie does rack up greater than 50% of the delegates before the convention, then he will be the nominee. There will be no way around that, and we’ll have to get behind him, even though he’ll almost certainly lose to Trump. The key is to make sure Bernie doesn’t get anywhere near 50% of the delegates in the upcoming states.
We don’t need to unite behind one candidate yet. For now, what matters is convincing as many people as possible in upcoming states to vote for any of the actual Democrats, to keep as many delegates away from Bernie as possible. We can’t allow a Putin-assisted eighty year old socialist, who recently had a heart attack, and who has no chance of beating Trump, to be our nominee. A brokered convention isn’t a perfect plan, but it’s literally our only chance of taking Trump down.
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Mitch McConnell’s war

I don ’ t know how many articles I ’ ve written explicating the myriad ways in which Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is among the most destructive people to this nation to have ever walked the earth .
It ’ s definitely more than a few articles .
Here ’ s another .
Politico reports this disturbing bit of news : Democrats are denouncing Republicans ’ now-confirmed meddling in next month ’ s primary for Senate in North Carolina after it was revealed that a top GOP super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell funded an outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberal candidate over national Democrats ’ preferred contender .
… It was clear the group was tied to Republicans when it began spending in early February , but the new FEC disclosure filed late Thursday confirmed its sole funding came from the Senate Leadership Fund , which is run by McConnell ’ s allies .
Ever the patriot , McConnell is once again guilty of using his clout to eat away at the fraying fabric of American democracy .
In no way am I surprised by this because , let ’ s be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cronies before anybody else , and his greed before anything else .
I can ’ t fathom what the founding fathers would say about McConnell .
I imagine James Madison would spit in McConnell ’ s face just for his bastardized understanding of federalism .
Think about how bad it ’ s gotten .
The senate majority leader actively supports election meddling to make sure his corrupt party keeps power .
Let me repeat : one of the highest-ranked elected officials in the nation actively and openly undermines democracy in this country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mention how his support for Trump and ruse of a Senate impeachment trial actively contributes to election meddling by ensuring a chief executive stays in power who himself openly welcomes , requests , and receives election interference on his behalf from foreign adversaries .
McConnell is America ’ s undertaker .
This brings me to my second point .
You often hear that we are in a moment of “ constitutional crisis.
” Yes , that ’ s true .
But it seems like it ’ s fairly meaningless to most people .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough people are showing up to the voting booths .
Why ?
Simple — Trump ’ s war of attrition on the American people is working .
The endless news cycle of outrageous tweets and faux pas he engenders is exhausting .
He does it because he knows it will make people stop caring .
We can not let him win that battle .
This upcoming election is the most crucial we ’ ve ever had .
About half of the articles I write end with me saying something along the lines of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s because it ’ s the single most essential thing you do politically as a cog in the wheel of this Republic .
Republicans win when fewer people vote .
If you think “ just one vote ” doesn ’ t matter , think again .
That ’ s exactly the attitude Trump wants you to have , that Russia wants you to have , and that McConnell wants you to have .
We got where we are because not enough people vote , and we sure as hell won ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do .

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I don’t know how many articles I’ve written explicating the myriad ways in which Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is among the most destructive people to this nation to have ever walked the earth. It’s definitely more than a few articles. Here’s another. Politico reports this disturbing bit of news:
Democrats are denouncing Republicans’ now-confirmed meddling in next month’s primary for Senate in North Carolina after it was revealed that a top GOP super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell funded an outside group that spent millions to boost a liberal candidate over national Democrats’ preferred contender. … It was clear the group was tied to Republicans when it began spending in early February, but the new FEC disclosure filed late Thursday confirmed its sole funding came from the Senate Leadership Fund, which is run by McConnell’s allies.
Ever the patriot, McConnell is once again guilty of using his clout to eat away at the fraying fabric of American democracy. In no way am I surprised by this because, let’s be frank, McConnell answers to his donors and cronies before anybody else, and his greed before anything else. I can’t fathom what the founding fathers would say about McConnell. I imagine James Madison would spit in McConnell’s face just for his bastardized understanding of federalism.
Think about how bad it’s gotten. The senate majority leader actively supports election meddling to make sure his corrupt party keeps power. Let me repeat: one of the highest-ranked elected officials in the nation actively and openly undermines democracy in this country. That’s not even to mention how his support for Trump and ruse of a Senate impeachment trial actively contributes to election meddling by ensuring a chief executive stays in power who himself openly welcomes, requests, and receives election interference on his behalf from foreign adversaries. McConnell is America’s undertaker.
This brings me to my second point. You often hear that we are in a moment of “constitutional crisis.” Yes, that’s true. But it seems like it’s fairly meaningless to most people. There are few protests, and not enough people are showing up to the voting booths. Why? Simple — Trump’s war of attrition on the American people is working. The endless news cycle of outrageous tweets and faux pas he engenders is exhausting. He does it because he knows it will make people stop caring. We cannot let him win that battle.
This upcoming election is the most crucial we’ve ever had. About half of the articles I write end with me saying something along the lines of “go vote,” and that’s because it’s the single most essential thing you do politically as a cog in the wheel of this Republic. Republicans win when fewer people vote. If you think “just one vote” doesn’t matter, think again. That’s exactly the attitude Trump wants you to have, that Russia wants you to have, and that McConnell wants you to have. We got where we are because not enough people vote, and we sure as hell won’t get out of this mess unless people do.
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palmerreport--2020-02-23--Oh good, another Donald Trump hostage video

Several months back , Donald Trump and his handlers seemed to believe that the best way to boost his pathetic @ @ @ @ @ in contention for 2020 was to tweet a series of brief videos in which Trump @ @ @ @ @ and reads a bunch of dishonest propaganda from a script .
Trump came off as @ @ @ @ @ , and so obviously didn ’ t want to be doing them , they were @ @ @ @ @ .
They were basically hostage videos .
Now they ’ ve inexplicably resumed : Suffice @ @ @ @ @ responses to Donald Trump ’ s latest hostage video have been less than enthusiastic :

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Several months back, Donald Trump and his handlers seemed to believe that the best way to boost his pathetic approval rating and put him in contention for 2020 was to tweet a series of brief videos in which Trump stands outside the White House and reads a bunch of dishonest propaganda from a script. Trump came off as so lifeless in these videos, and so obviously didn’t want to be doing them, they were discontinued after a short time. They were basically hostage videos. Now they’ve inexplicably resumed:
.
Suffice it to say that the responses to Donald Trump’s latest hostage video have been less than enthusiastic:
You are the biggest con job ever. — Shannon FM (@Katpa73) February 22, 2020
Love watching Grandpa McSyphilisbrain ramble. — Santa Claus, CEO (@SantaInc) February 22, 2020
Bush left @BarackObama a nightmare and Obama left Trump a gift #FactsMatter — Beth #Democracy (@Beth32017) February 22, 2020
.
He couldn’t go one minute w/o mentioning Obama. WTF! — 𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑘𝑎 𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 (@kellabel) February 22, 2020
You are still IMPEACHED — Brenda Howell (@weimsx3) February 22, 2020
.
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palmerreport--2020-02-24--The real trouble with Bernie Sanders

The real trouble with Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders would make a far better president than Donald Trump , for the same reason a bag of fire ants would make a far better president than Donald Trump .
But we ’ re just three states into a fifty state primary race , and Sanders has only won two out of the three , giving him around 35 % of the total vote .
Sanders isn ’ t headed to the nomination ; we ’ re headed to a brokered convention .
In the meantime , let ’ s just say that Sanders suddenly has a CIA problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fact that in 1974 , Bernie Sanders said he wanted to abolish the CIA .
This isn ’ t anything new , of course .
He made these remarks when he was relatively young , during the height of the anti-war movement .
And while you can ’ t just get rid of the CIA and have no spies working for your country , his frustration in 1974 was understandable .
Four years ago , Sanders made clear that he no longer feels this way ; he just wants the CIA cleaned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the position that most reasonable people would take .
Here ’ s the problem , though .
Once Bernie ’ s fans on Twitter saw his quote about wanting to abolish the CIA , several of them began loudly agreeing with him .
They didn ’ t seem to care that he made the remark nearly fifty years ago , in a very different time .
Nor did any of them seem interested in checking to see if Bernie even still feels this way .
They simply decided that because Bernie once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it should definitely be eliminated .
So many of his fans instantly began expressing this notion , the hashtag # AbolishTheCIA began trending on Twitter .
And again , Bernie doesn ’ t even think the CIA should be abolished .
This is nothing short of a cult-like mentality .
In fact it ’ s dangerously cult-like .
Frankly , it has shades of the French Revolution Reign of Terror .
Bernie ’ s most enthusiastic fans are doing no thinking of their own , and are eager to destroy anyone or anything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less than glowing terms .
Their allegiance isn ’ t to progressive values , or to reform .
Their allegiance is to their own cult-like worship of some bloke they ’ ve elevated into saint-like status .
It ’ s no longer even clear if Bernie can control his own cult .
When it comes to the CIA , they ’ re not even abiding by his current wishes .

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Bernie Sanders would make a far better president than Donald Trump, for the same reason a bag of fire ants would make a far better president than Donald Trump. But we’re just three states into a fifty state primary race, and Sanders has only won two out of the three, giving him around 35% of the total vote. Sanders isn’t headed to the nomination; we’re headed to a brokered convention. In the meantime, let’s just say that Sanders suddenly has a CIA problem.
Earlier today, someone dug up the fact that in 1974, Bernie Sanders said he wanted to abolish the CIA. This isn’t anything new, of course. He made these remarks when he was relatively young, during the height of the anti-war movement. And while you can’t just get rid of the CIA and have no spies working for your country, his frustration in 1974 was understandable. Four years ago, Sanders made clear that he no longer feels this way; he just wants the CIA cleaned up. Okay, good. This is the position that most reasonable people would take.
Here’s the problem, though. Once Bernie’s fans on Twitter saw his quote about wanting to abolish the CIA, several of them began loudly agreeing with him. They didn’t seem to care that he made the remark nearly fifty years ago, in a very different time. Nor did any of them seem interested in checking to see if Bernie even still feels this way. They simply decided that because Bernie once said the CIA should be eliminated, it should definitely be eliminated. So many of his fans instantly began expressing this notion, the hashtag #AbolishTheCIA began trending on Twitter. And again, Bernie doesn’t even think the CIA should be abolished.
This is nothing short of a cult-like mentality. In fact it’s dangerously cult-like. Frankly, it has shades of the French Revolution Reign of Terror. Bernie’s most enthusiastic fans are doing no thinking of their own, and are eager to destroy anyone or anything that Bernie has ever spoken of in less than glowing terms. Their allegiance isn’t to progressive values, or to reform. Their allegiance is to their own cult-like worship of some bloke they’ve elevated into saint-like status. It’s no longer even clear if Bernie can control his own cult. When it comes to the CIA, they’re not even abiding by his current wishes.
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palmerreport--2020-02-23--Susan Sarandon goes completely off the deep end – and this time we have to worry about it

As the 2016 election cycle went on , we all watched Susan Sarandon devolve in real time .
She started off as a longtime liberal political activist .
But once it became clear that Hillary Clinton was going to win the democratic primary race by millions of votes , she was reduced to screaming at people about how everything was somehow rigged .
And by the general election , she was on TV suggesting that things would be better under Donald Trump than under Hillary .
At present , Susan Sarandon is just a sad laughing stock who ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person , right ?
We should all be able to safely ignore her inane rambling , right ?
Except , no , she ’ s still somehow a surrogate for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign .
That ’ s why it ’ s particularly disconcerting that Sarandon announced on Twitter today that “ We ’ re not looking to keep Pelosi.
” Wait , what ?
To be clear , Sarandon isn ’ t just talking about replacing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House .
She ’ s actively promoting a fringe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in her district .
That ’ s right , after all that Pelosi has done to help fend off Donald Trump and lead the Resistance over the past year , one of Bernie Sanders ’ campaign surrogates is now trying to get Pelosi kicked out of Congress .
The trouble is that Bernie Sanders is elevating the voices of dangerous crackpots like Susan Sarandon by using them as campaign surrogates .
And now that Sanders ’ supporters mistakenly think he ’ s on a path to the nomination because he ’ s won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have voted thus far , out of fifty states total , Sarandon and other loons like her are feeling more emboldened than ever .
These are the types who just want to burn it all down – and they ’ re being elevated .
Bernie Sanders needs to answer the question of whether he agrees with his campaign surrogate ’ s position that Nancy Pelosi deserves to be bounced out of Congress .
If he refuses to answer it with a “ yes ” or “ no ” then he needs to drop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders can ’ t always predict what ’ s going to come out of the mouths of his surrogates .
But he can control whether he continues using any given person as a surrogate .
If Sanders continues using Sarandon after what she pulled today , he ’ ll become responsible for the harmful things she ’ s saying .

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As the 2016 election cycle went on, we all watched Susan Sarandon devolve in real time. She started off as a longtime liberal political activist. But once it became clear that Hillary Clinton was going to win the democratic primary race by millions of votes, she was reduced to screaming at people about how everything was somehow rigged. And by the general election, she was on TV suggesting that things would be better under Donald Trump than under Hillary.
At present, Susan Sarandon is just a sad laughing stock who’s not taken seriously by any politically sane person, right? We should all be able to safely ignore her inane rambling, right? Except, no, she’s still somehow a surrogate for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign. That’s why it’s particularly disconcerting that Sarandon announced on Twitter today that “We’re not looking to keep Pelosi.” Wait, what?
To be clear, Sarandon isn’t just talking about replacing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. She’s actively promoting a fringe candidate who’s running against Pelosi in her district. That’s right, after all that Pelosi has done to help fend off Donald Trump and lead the Resistance over the past year, one of Bernie Sanders’ campaign surrogates is now trying to get Pelosi kicked out of Congress.
The trouble is that Bernie Sanders is elevating the voices of dangerous crackpots like Susan Sarandon by using them as campaign surrogates. And now that Sanders’ supporters mistakenly think he’s on a path to the nomination because he’s won two out of the three states that have voted thus far, out of fifty states total, Sarandon and other loons like her are feeling more emboldened than ever. These are the types who just want to burn it all down – and they’re being elevated.
Bernie Sanders needs to answer the question of whether he agrees with his campaign surrogate’s position that Nancy Pelosi deserves to be bounced out of Congress. If he refuses to answer it with a “yes” or “no” then he needs to drop out. It’s true that Sanders can’t always predict what’s going to come out of the mouths of his surrogates. But he can control whether he continues using any given person as a surrogate. If Sanders continues using Sarandon after what she pulled today, he’ll become responsible for the harmful things she’s saying.
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palmerreport--2020-02-23--The Democrats are very likely headed to a brokered 2020 convention – so now what?

The established rules of the 2020 Democratic primary race say that if no candidate enters the Democratic National Convention with 50 % or more , then no one is the nominee .
The candidates agreed to the rules beforehand .
The rules aren ’ t going to change .
This means that , if the current voting patterns remain roughly on track , we ’ re headed to a brokered convention .
So what happens now ?
Yes , we ’ re only three states in .
But the pattern we ’ re seeing thus far is that Bernie Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of the vote , while the actual Democrats are getting a combined 65 % to 70 % of the vote .
If one of actual Democrats starts pulling way ahead ahead of the others , it ’ s not going to change that math .
Even if some of the actual Democrats drop out , their support will end up ( mostly ) shifting to the remaining actual Democrats .
In other words , if Klobuchar drops out , most of her supporters are going to shift to Biden , Warren , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So barring something unlikely , we ’ re going to arrive at the Democratic National Convention with Sanders having less than 40 % of the delegates , with the actual Democrats collectively having greater than 60 % of the delegates .
By rule , the delegates will end up being released from their assigned candidates , and they ’ ll be able to realign behind the candidates they think are most viable .
This is a crappy system , of course .
But it ’ s no less absurd than suggesting that Bernie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply because he got one-third or two-fifths of the primary vote .
Because Sanders is running such a divisive campaign , and escalating his rhetoric against the Democratic Party , it ’ s difficult to imagine that he ’ ll pick up many delegates at a brokered convention .
If he enters with something like 47 % of the delegates , then sure , he could conceivably climb up to 51 % at the convention if he knocks off his toxic rhetoric and begins trying to unify the party .
But the reality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lose delegates at the convention than gain them .
So if he enters the convention with thirty-something percent of the delegates , he very probably won ’ t end up being the nominee .
Is this fair ?
Yes .
The overwhelming majority of people are voting against Bernie Sanders in this primary race .
If he were only facing one actual Democrat , he ’ d be losing in a multimillion vote landslide .
Again , this can ’ t be stressed enough : for Bernie Sanders to win the nomination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to start performing massively better in the upcoming states in the upcoming states than he ’ s performed in the first three states .
Considering how heavily these three states were stacked in his favor , with two of them being nearly all-white , two of them using a caucus format , and Putin having been secretly interfering on his behalf the entire time , something would have to hugely change for Sanders to get over 50 % .
Short of that , there will be a brokered convention .
Anyone telling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ math .

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The established rules of the 2020 Democratic primary race say that if no candidate enters the Democratic National Convention with 50% or more, then no one is the nominee. The candidates agreed to the rules beforehand. The rules aren’t going to change. This means that, if the current voting patterns remain roughly on track, we’re headed to a brokered convention. So what happens now?
Yes, we’re only three states in. But the pattern we’re seeing thus far is that Bernie Sanders is getting around 30% to 35% of the vote, while the actual Democrats are getting a combined 65% to 70% of the vote. If one of actual Democrats starts pulling way ahead ahead of the others, it’s not going to change that math. Even if some of the actual Democrats drop out, their support will end up (mostly) shifting to the remaining actual Democrats. In other words, if Klobuchar drops out, most of her supporters are going to shift to Biden, Warren, or Buttigieg, not to Sanders.
So barring something unlikely, we’re going to arrive at the Democratic National Convention with Sanders having less than 40% of the delegates, with the actual Democrats collectively having greater than 60% of the delegates. By rule, the delegates will end up being released from their assigned candidates, and they’ll be able to realign behind the candidates they think are most viable. This is a crappy system, of course. But it’s no less absurd than suggesting that Bernie Sanders should “win” the nomination simply because he got one-third or two-fifths of the primary vote.
Because Sanders is running such a divisive campaign, and escalating his rhetoric against the Democratic Party, it’s difficult to imagine that he’ll pick up many delegates at a brokered convention. If he enters with something like 47% of the delegates, then sure, he could conceivably climb up to 51% at the convention if he knocks off his toxic rhetoric and begins trying to unify the party. But the reality is that he’s more likely to lose delegates at the convention than gain them. So if he enters the convention with thirty-something percent of the delegates, he very probably won’t end up being the nominee. Is this fair? Yes. The overwhelming majority of people are voting against Bernie Sanders in this primary race. If he were only facing one actual Democrat, he’d be losing in a multimillion vote landslide.
Again, this can’t be stressed enough: for Bernie Sanders to win the nomination outright before the convention, he would have to start performing massively better in the upcoming states in the upcoming states than he’s performed in the first three states. Considering how heavily these three states were stacked in his favor, with two of them being nearly all-white, two of them using a caucus format, and Putin having been secretly interfering on his behalf the entire time, something would have to hugely change for Sanders to get over 50%. Short of that, there will be a brokered convention. Anyone telling you otherwise is failing to do the math.
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palmerreport--2020-02-23--Donald Trump just screwed up and gave away what he’s really up to

The thing about a conspiracy is that it ’ s a lot more effective when the public doesn ’ t know about it .
When the Trump campaign and Russia were conspiring in 2016 , they were a bumbling mess about it , but they made headway because no one knew it was going on .
When Trump and Bill Barr started conspiring to get Trump ’ s criminal allies off the hook , it was less effective because Trump kept tweeting out the secret gameplan .
Donald Trump ’ s problem is that he just can ’ t seem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either because his cognitive decline has cost him whatever slight semblance of a filter he might have once had , or because his narcissism requires him to publicly take credit for the secret plan while it ’ s being carried out .
Trump is now doing it yet again , this time when it comes to his opponents .
Trump tweeted this today : “ Are any Democrat operatives , the DNC , or Crooked Hillary Clinton , blaming Russia , Russia , Russia for the Bernie Sanders win in Nevada .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 13 Angry Democrats to do a new Mueller Report , Democrat Edition .
Bob will get to the bottom of it !
” See , we all know what Donald Trump is doing here .
The Washington Post reported this week that the Kremlin has been secretly trying to rig the 2020 Democratic primary race in favor of Bernie Sanders , and Sanders is admitting that he ’ s known about it for a month while keeping it to himself .
Putin is trying to make Sanders the Democratic nominee , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beating him .
Putin has clearly instructed Trump to go easy on Bernie for now , while attacking the rest of the Democratic Party .
But Trump is massively overplaying his hand – and he ’ s giving away that he ’ s in on the plot to help the Kremlin rig the Democratic primary race .

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The thing about a conspiracy is that it’s a lot more effective when the public doesn’t know about it. When the Trump campaign and Russia were conspiring in 2016, they were a bumbling mess about it, but they made headway because no one knew it was going on. When Trump and Bill Barr started conspiring to get Trump’s criminal allies off the hook, it was less effective because Trump kept tweeting out the secret gameplan.
Donald Trump’s problem is that he just can’t seem to keep quiet about these things, either because his cognitive decline has cost him whatever slight semblance of a filter he might have once had, or because his narcissism requires him to publicly take credit for the secret plan while it’s being carried out. Trump is now doing it yet again, this time when it comes to his opponents.
Trump tweeted this today: “Are any Democrat operatives, the DNC, or Crooked Hillary Clinton, blaming Russia, Russia, Russia for the Bernie Sanders win in Nevada. If so I suggest calling Bob Mueller & the 13 Angry Democrats to do a new Mueller Report, Democrat Edition. Bob will get to the bottom of it!”
See, we all know what Donald Trump is doing here. The Washington Post reported this week that the Kremlin has been secretly trying to rig the 2020 Democratic primary race in favor of Bernie Sanders, and Sanders is admitting that he’s known about it for a month while keeping it to himself. Putin is trying to make Sanders the Democratic nominee, because Trump will have the easiest time of beating him. Putin has clearly instructed Trump to go easy on Bernie for now, while attacking the rest of the Democratic Party. But Trump is massively overplaying his hand – and he’s giving away that he’s in on the plot to help the Kremlin rig the Democratic primary race.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-23--Katie Hill just destroyed Bernie Sanders

Now that Bernie Sanders has won two of the first three Democratic primary states , you ’ d think he ’ d start trying to act like a unifying frontrunner .
Of course it ’ s difficult to think of him as a “ frontrunner ” without laughing , as he ’ s only been getting around 30 % of the vote , and he ’ s benefited from facing disproportionately white voters thus far .
South Carolina may not go well for Bernie Sanders , which could explain why he ’ s begun posting tweets that are so offensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nature .
Plenty of people have noticed .
Sanders posted this incredibly divisive and frankly assholic tweet , which has drawn a ton of backlash : Former Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill is among those who have criticized Bernie Sanders for his extraordinarily unpresidential tweet : Wait , is this a Russian bot or the real @ BernieSanders ?
I ’ m confused .
Also , can someone please tell me exactly what the Democratic establishment is ?
I ’ ve never seen a sign that says “ Establishment Over Here.
” Is someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yrs not establishment ?
https : //t.co/Un00Eeh8yW Bernie Sanders has yet to retract his offensive tweet or apologize .
Instead he ’ s been too busy keeping quiet about the fact that the Kremlin has been helping his campaign , and attacking the media for daring to report true stories about him .

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Now that Bernie Sanders has won two of the first three Democratic primary states, you’d think he’d start trying to act like a unifying frontrunner. Of course it’s difficult to think of him as a “frontrunner” without laughing, as he’s only been getting around 30% of the vote, and he’s benefited from facing disproportionately white voters thus far.
South Carolina may not go well for Bernie Sanders, which could explain why he’s begun posting tweets that are so offensive, they’re almost Trump-like in nature. Plenty of people have noticed. Sanders posted this incredibly divisive and frankly assholic tweet, which has drawn a ton of backlash:
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I've got news for the Republican establishment. I've got news for the Democratic establishment. They can't stop us. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 22, 2020
Former Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill is among those who have criticized Bernie Sanders for his extraordinarily unpresidential tweet:
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Wait, is this a Russian bot or the real @BernieSanders? I’m confused. Also, can someone please tell me exactly what the Democratic establishment is? I’ve never seen a sign that says “Establishment Over Here.” Is someone who served in the senate for 30 yrs not establishment? https://t.co/Un00Eeh8yW — Katie Hill (@KatieHill4CA) February 22, 2020
Bernie Sanders has yet to retract his offensive tweet or apologize. Instead he’s been too busy keeping quiet about the fact that the Kremlin has been helping his campaign, and attacking the media for daring to report true stories about him.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-23--Donald Trump’s deep state purge has gone completely off the rails

Whatever your practical definition of a “ Never Trumper ” is these days it needs to include anyone who is unwilling to lie or break the law for Donald Trump .
Apolitical ( or non-political ) entities like Marie Yovanovich , Fiona Hill and Alexander Vindman were , in the parlance of Trump and his drooling , low-information base of cretins , Never Trumpers .
They became Never Trumpers when they told the truth , when they did their jobs .
It makes no difference if you are a Republican who was appointed by Trump either .
You are a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are unwilling to lie or break the law or both in the service of Trump .
There are , therefore , a plethora of men and women in the State Department , the Defense Department , the Treasury Department and the other eleven or so secretariats that compose the United States cabinet who are Never Trumpers .
And they need to be rooted out .
That ’ s where Johnny McEntee comes in .
Johnny McEntee ’ s job is a simple one .
Identify the Never Trumpers , get rid of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The point to this exercise is part of an overall plan for Trump and his pirate ship to take over the United States government by attrition , to make it one big happy Trumper camp .
Imagine the Department of State , for example , populated by attendees of one of Trump ’ s Nuremberg-style rallies .
Sickening , is it not ?
McEntee , 29 , started life in Trump World as a body man , resigned ( or was fired ) under John Kelly because of a security clearance issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easy to come by .
I got one when I was 26 .
Even in the post-9/11 world it ’ s still not that hard .
All you have to do is tell the truth and do a lot of paperwork , a big ask for a Trump man .
Apparently telling the truth for Johnny McEntee included having to talk about gambling debts .
An understandable embarrassment , but in the criminal world of Trump and his usual thugs hardly worth talking about .
Now he ’ s back , and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ various departments and find out who ’ s loyal and who isn ’ t .
It ’ s an alarmingly Orwellian job , but then it ’ s an alarmingly Orwellian world .
The United States Civil Service used to be completely apolitical .
I was a civil servant in the Reagan years and I can not recall a single time when my or anyone ’ s political affiliation made the smallest difference to anyone .
A lot of people in the government hated Reagan .
Few cared , and if they did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could do about it .
Johnny McEntee ’ s job is to change all that .
He is the new commissar of Trumpian orthodoxy .
It is a horrible development , one that can not be overstressed .
The aim is to transfer allegiance of the governmental rank and file from the United States to Trump .
It is the ultimate rape of democracy in the reign of a child-raping monster .

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Whatever your practical definition of a “Never Trumper” is these days it needs to include anyone who is unwilling to lie or break the law for Donald Trump. Apolitical (or non-political) entities like Marie Yovanovich, Fiona Hill and Alexander Vindman were, in the parlance of Trump and his drooling, low-information base of cretins, Never Trumpers. They became Never Trumpers when they told the truth, when they did their jobs.
It makes no difference if you are a Republican who was appointed by Trump either. You are a Never Trumper — even then — if you are unwilling to lie or break the law or both in the service of Trump. There are, therefore, a plethora of men and women in the State Department, the Defense Department, the Treasury Department and the other eleven or so secretariats that compose the United States cabinet who are Never Trumpers. And they need to be rooted out. That’s where Johnny McEntee comes in.
Johnny McEntee’s job is a simple one. Identify the Never Trumpers, get rid of them and replace them with Trump loyalists. The point to this exercise is part of an overall plan for Trump and his pirate ship to take over the United States government by attrition, to make it one big happy Trumper camp. Imagine the Department of State, for example, populated by attendees of one of Trump’s Nuremberg-style rallies. Sickening, is it not?
McEntee, 29, started life in Trump World as a body man, resigned (or was fired) under John Kelly because of a security clearance issue. Security clearances used to be shockingly easy to come by. I got one when I was 26. Even in the post-9/11 world it’s still not that hard. All you have to do is tell the truth and do a lot of paperwork, a big ask for a Trump man. Apparently telling the truth for Johnny McEntee included having to talk about gambling debts. An understandable embarrassment, but in the criminal world of Trump and his usual thugs hardly worth talking about. Now he’s back, and his job is to meet with liaisons from various departments and find out who’s loyal and who isn’t. It’s an alarmingly Orwellian job, but then it’s an alarmingly Orwellian world.
The United States Civil Service used to be completely apolitical. I was a civil servant in the Reagan years and I cannot recall a single time when my or anyone’s political affiliation made the smallest difference to anyone. A lot of people in the government hated Reagan. Few cared, and if they did, there wasn’t anything anybody could do about it.
Johnny McEntee’s job is to change all that. He is the new commissar of Trumpian orthodoxy. It is a horrible development, one that cannot be overstressed. The aim is to transfer allegiance of the governmental rank and file from the United States to Trump. It is the ultimate rape of democracy in the reign of a child-raping monster.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-02-23--The five step plan for making sure Bernie Sanders isn’t the Democratic nominee

Bernie Sanders has won two out of the first three states , and he ’ s gotten around thirty percent of the vote thus far , so naturally his over-the-top supporters have decided that this means he ’ s definitely going to be the nominee .
That ’ s not how anything works , fortunately , because Sanders would almost certainly lose to Trump – for reasons that are obvious to everyone outside Sanders ’ base .
Here ’ s the thing .
Bernie Sanders is not currently on a path to the Democratic nomination .
The rules say that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the convention , unless they have more than 50 % of the total delegates .
Sanders agreed to these rules .
In fact he supported this particular rule back when he thought he might enter the convention with the second-most delegates .
But the reality now is that he could enter the convention with the most delegates , while still being far below 50 % .
That means we ’ ll have a brokered convention , where the delegates end up realigning behind different candidates until someone ends up with a majority .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats who don ’ t support him , it ’ s unlikely he ’ ll end up with the brokered nomination .
Here ’ s the five step plan for making sure he ’ s not the nominee : 1 ) First we have to make sure everyone understands that the established rules require a brokered convention if no one enters with a majority of the delegates .
During the last debate , Bernie refused to state that he ’ ll abide by this rule .
He can ’ t just break the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with less than 50 % of the delegates .
But if he can dishonestly convince the general public that the rules are somehow being changed to conspire against him , it ’ ll give him leverage .
We need everyone to know the truth , which is that if Bernie argues against a brokered convention , he ’ ll be the one trying to break the rules .
There ’ s a term for breaking the rules of a contest : it ’ s called cheating .
2 ) Next we have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anywhere close to 50 % of the delegates .
If he enters the convention with something like 47 % of the delegates , and the next closest competitor is thirty points behind him , he ’ ll have most of the leverage .
But if he enters the convention with something closer to 35 % of the delegates , and some of the actual Democrats have numbers like 30 % and 20 % , it ’ ll give us the leverage for forcing Bernie to play by the brokered convention rules .
3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – yet .
If we come out of Super Tuesday with one of the four actual Democrats thoroughly dominating the other three , it ’ ll be time for a couple of other to drop out , so we can unite behind our best shot at pulling ahead of Sanders .
If we go into a brokered convention with [ Democrat X ] having 40 % of the delegates and Bernie only having 35 % , that ’ ll make it much harder for Bernie to pull a fast one .
But if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the four actual Democrats , it ’ ll actually make for the strong argument that all four of them should remain in the race all the way to the convention .
In such case we ’ ll want the four of them collectively taking as many delegates away from Bernie as possible , to make sure he ’ s nowhere near 50 % .
4 ) We ’ ll need to get heavily involved in state conventions and pick our delegates wisely .
Late in the 2016 primary race , when Bernie Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hillary Clinton even though she had a majority of delegates and she was ahead of him by millions of actual votes , Bernie ’ s most rabid fans flooded the state conventions and tried to install rogue “ Bernie or Bust ” types as delegates .
We ’ ll need to attend these conventions and make sure we pick reasonable people as delegates , because they ’ ll likely end up picking our nominee .
5 ) Don ’ t panic .
Only three states have voted thus far .
Bernie Sanders can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forever .
And the increasingly asinine tweets he ’ s begun posting , that are almost Trump-like in nature , could end up backfiring on him .
There ’ s still a good chance that one of the four actual Democratic candidates could end up winning more than 50 % of the delegates , thus putting Bernie out of his misery before the convention .
As always , fatalism is your enemy .
Vigilance is your friend .
Plot your activism accordingly .
Oh and by the way , if Bernie gets more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ll all have to get behind him , in a last ditch effort at defeating Trump .
Bernie would very likely lose to Trump , but we ’ d have to get behind Bernie anyway .
If that idea makes you sick to your stomach , it ’ s all the more reason to work harder to make sure Bernie doesn ’ t get 50 % of the delegates .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Bernie Sanders has won two out of the first three states, and he’s gotten around thirty percent of the vote thus far, so naturally his over-the-top supporters have decided that this means he’s definitely going to be the nominee. That’s not how anything works, fortunately, because Sanders would almost certainly lose to Trump – for reasons that are obvious to everyone outside Sanders’ base.
Here’s the thing. Bernie Sanders is not currently on a path to the Democratic nomination. The rules say that no one can win the nomination before the convention, unless they have more than 50% of the total delegates. Sanders agreed to these rules. In fact he supported this particular rule back when he thought he might enter the convention with the second-most delegates. But the reality now is that he could enter the convention with the most delegates, while still being far below 50%. That means we’ll have a brokered convention, where the delegates end up realigning behind different candidates until someone ends up with a majority. Considering how despised Sanders is among those Democrats who don’t support him, it’s unlikely he’ll end up with the brokered nomination. Here’s the five step plan for making sure he’s not the nominee:
1) First we have to make sure everyone understands that the established rules require a brokered convention if no one enters with a majority of the delegates. During the last debate, Bernie refused to state that he’ll abide by this rule. He can’t just break the rule and magically declare himself the nominee with less than 50% of the delegates. But if he can dishonestly convince the general public that the rules are somehow being changed to conspire against him, it’ll give him leverage. We need everyone to know the truth, which is that if Bernie argues against a brokered convention, he’ll be the one trying to break the rules. There’s a term for breaking the rules of a contest: it’s called cheating.
2) Next we have to make sure Sanders doesn’t get anywhere close to 50% of the delegates. If he enters the convention with something like 47% of the delegates, and the next closest competitor is thirty points behind him, he’ll have most of the leverage. But if he enters the convention with something closer to 35% of the delegates, and some of the actual Democrats have numbers like 30% and 20%, it’ll give us the leverage for forcing Bernie to play by the brokered convention rules.
3) No one needs to drop out – yet. If we come out of Super Tuesday with one of the four actual Democrats thoroughly dominating the other three, it’ll be time for a couple of other to drop out, so we can unite behind our best shot at pulling ahead of Sanders. If we go into a brokered convention with [Democrat X] having 40% of the delegates and Bernie only having 35%, that’ll make it much harder for Bernie to pull a fast one. But if Super Tuesday ends up being muddled between the four actual Democrats, it’ll actually make for the strong argument that all four of them should remain in the race all the way to the convention. In such case we’ll want the four of them collectively taking as many delegates away from Bernie as possible, to make sure he’s nowhere near 50%.
4) We’ll need to get heavily involved in state conventions and pick our delegates wisely. Late in the 2016 primary race, when Bernie Sanders was trying to seize the nomination from Hillary Clinton even though she had a majority of delegates and she was ahead of him by millions of actual votes, Bernie’s most rabid fans flooded the state conventions and tried to install rogue “Bernie or Bust” types as delegates. We’ll need to attend these conventions and make sure we pick reasonable people as delegates, because they’ll likely end up picking our nominee.
5) Don’t panic. Only three states have voted thus far. Bernie Sanders can’t hide his disastrous health issues forever. And the increasingly asinine tweets he’s begun posting, that are almost Trump-like in nature, could end up backfiring on him. There’s still a good chance that one of the four actual Democratic candidates could end up winning more than 50% of the delegates, thus putting Bernie out of his misery before the convention. As always, fatalism is your enemy. Vigilance is your friend. Plot your activism accordingly. Oh and by the way, if Bernie gets more than 50% of the delegates, we’ll all have to get behind him, in a last ditch effort at defeating Trump. Bernie would very likely lose to Trump, but we’d have to get behind Bernie anyway. If that idea makes you sick to your stomach, it’s all the more reason to work harder to make sure Bernie doesn’t get 50% of the delegates.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.