theguardian--2020-01-14--Warren and Sanders row highlights divides before Iowa Democratic debate

As six Democratic presidential candidates take the debate stage here in Iowa on Tuesday night less than three weeks before the vital first caucuses tensions among the contenders have risen to a new level .
The non-aggression pact between Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders took a hit after news broke that the Sanders campaign had been urging volunteers to describe Warren as the preferred candidate of wealthy voters and then appeared to collapse completely in a row over Sanders ’ alleged remarks about the viability of a female candidate .
Meanwhile , former vice-president Joe Biden , former South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Senator Amy Klobuchar – the more moderate candidates within the Democratic presidential primary – are all making arguments on electability and their fitness to rally voters in moderate and conservative parts of the country .
All together the final Democratic presidential debate ahead of the caucuses is shaping up to be a full-throated brawl highlighting the underlying divides within the Democratic presidential primary .
It has also caused a level of uncertainty about how stable any of the Democratic frontrunners ’ position in the primary really is amid widespread party fears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opponent to face Donald Trump , who will use incumbency and a strong economy to fight for his re-election .
“ Here ’ s the problem in Iowa right now : any of the top four could finish in any of the top four , ” said Steve Elmendorf , a veteran Democratic strategist .
“ And there ’ s a big difference between first and fourth .
So if you ’ re Joe Biden do you want to go after Bernie , do you want to go after Elizabeth ?
I mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here – a lot of strategic decisions you ’ ve got to make.
” Recent polling of the race has been static , with Biden leading the field by just a few points , enough for his rivals to make the case that despite being a frontrunner , the former vice-president is hardly a lock at this point in the Democratic primary .
Most polls have shown Biden in the lead followed closely by a regular set of three or four of his competitors : Sanders , Buttigieg , Warren and Klobuchar trailing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monmouth University poll found Biden leading the primary field in Iowa by six percentage points .
Similarly , a national Quinnipiac University poll of Democratic voters found Biden leading the rest of the field by single digits with Sanders close behind but ahead of Warren and Buttigieg .
Those poll results have underscored the priorities for the various candidates taking the debate stage .
Biden is looking to retain his lead in the final weeks before the caucuses and leverage a victory here to quell voter curiosity about other candidates in the primary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here makes a gigantic difference , ” Biden told staffers in Des Moines , going on to note that the race is essentially a “ toss-up ” going into the debate .
Meanwhile , after spending most of the campaign refusing to go after each other , Sanders and Warren are finally lobbing attacks at each other .
The trigger was the talking points distributed by the Sanders campaign to volunteers who encounter Warren supporters .
During a campaign stop over the weekend Warren said she was disappointed that Sanders was trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ escalation of the lighter contrasts and comments Warren has made about her progressive rival .
On Monday relations between the two senators deteriorated further when CNN reported that during a private meeting between Warren and Sanders in 2018 the Vermont senator said that he did not think a woman could win the presidential race .
Warren , in an illustration of her new willingness to bash Sanders , confirmed the report ’ s account .
“ Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the meeting .
“ I said that a woman could win ; he disagreed.
” Sanders and his team have strongly disagreed with the description of the meeting .
Jim Messina , former president Barack Obama ’ s campaign manager for his 2012 re-election campaign , warned the sparring between the two senators could hurt both of them with Iowa voters .
“ Warren and sanders are competing for the same voters , ” Messina said in an email .
“ It ’ s inevitable as we get closer to actual voting that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other .
That said , I ’ m skeptical that traditional negative campaigning works with these voters .
These are “ Hope ” voters who want a better world .
That tends to make negative lines of attack more difficult.
” Looming over the entire Democratic primary though is anxiety over electability .
Publicly , and privately , in the closing days ahead of the caucuses and the debate , presidential candidates themselves have focused their closing arguments on electability and beating Donald Trump .
“ Joe Biden is the candidate who can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this president has done to our nation and the world , ” Biden ’ s campaign manager , Greg Schultz , wrote in a memo to donors obtained by the Guardian .
Top-tier campaigns have been frantically rolling out endorsements of Iowa Democratic lawmakers and high-profile party officials to travel around the state to make the electability argument .
Over the weekend , Warren campaigned with the former housing secretary Julián Castro .
Buttigieg ’ s campaign rolled out a coveted endorsement from Representative Dave Loebsack , one of three Democratic members of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state John Kerry , who won the Iowa caucuses in the 2004 presidential race , during an appearance with local Democrats in Grundy county warned that Trump wants Democrats to engage in an extended primary and pointed to the large amount of polling that shows Biden as the most formidable candidate in a head-to-head matchup against Trump .
“ Let ’ s get real here : who ’ s going to beat Donald Trump ?
Every poll that you look at today of the nation shows that Joe Biden ’ s the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state except for a couple where he ’ s tied , ” Kerry said .
“ Nobody else does that .
”

As six Democratic presidential candidates take the debate stage here in Iowa on Tuesday night, less than three weeks before the vital first caucuses, tensions among the contenders have risen to a new level.
The non-aggression pact between Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders took a hit after news broke that the Sanders campaign had been urging volunteers to describe Warren as the preferred candidate of wealthy voters and then appeared to collapse completely in a row over Sanders’ alleged remarks about the viability of a female candidate.
Meanwhile, the former vice-president Joe Biden, the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Amy Klobuchar – the more moderate candidates within the Democratic presidential primary – are all making arguments on electability and their fitness to rally voters in moderate and conservative parts of the country.
The final Democratic presidential debate ahead of the caucuses is shaping up to be a full-throated brawl highlighting the underlying divides within the Democratic presidential primary.
It has also caused a level of uncertainty about how stable any of the Democratic frontrunners’ positions in the primary really are amid widespread party fears that it is fumbling its choice of opponent to face Donald Trump, who will use incumbency and a strong economy to fight for re-election.
“Here’s the problem in Iowa right now: any of the top four could finish in any of the top four,” said Steve Elmendorf, a veteran Democratic strategist. “And there’s a big difference between first and fourth. So if you’re Joe Biden, do you want to go after Bernie, do you want to go after Elizabeth? I mean there’s a lot of permutations here – a lot of strategic decisions you’ve got to make.”
Recent polling of the race has been static, with Biden leading the field by just a few points, enough for his rivals to make the case that despite being a frontrunner, the former vice-president is hardly a lock at this point in the Democratic primary.
Most polls have shown Biden followed closely by a regular set of three or four of his competitors: Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren, and Klobuchar trailing the rest. A recent Monmouth University poll found Biden leading the primary field in Iowa by six percentage points. Similarly, a national Quinnipiac University poll of Democratic voters found Biden leading the rest of the field by single digits, with Sanders close behind, ahead of Warren and Buttigieg.
Those poll results have underscored the priorities for the various candidates taking the debate stage. Biden is looking to retain his lead in the final weeks before the caucuses and leverage a victory here to quell voter curiosity about other candidates in the primary.
Supporters of Amy Kobluchar demonstrate at the Drake University campus in Des Moines on Tuesday, before the debate. Photograph: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images
“The last couple of weeks here makes a gigantic difference,” Biden told staffers in Des Moines, going on to note that the race is essentially a “toss-up” going into the debate.
Meanwhile, after spending most of the campaign refusing to go after each other, Sanders and Warren are finally lobbing attacks at each other. The trigger was the talking points distributed by the Sanders campaign to volunteers who encounter Warren supporters. During a campaign stop over the weekend Warren said she was disappointed that Sanders was trying to “trash” her campaign, an escalation of the lighter contrasts and comments Warren has made about her progressive rival.
On Monday, relations between the two senators deteriorated further when CNN reported that during a private meeting between Warren and Sanders in 2018, the Vermont senator said that he did not think a woman could win the presidential race.
Warren, in an illustration of her new willingness to bash Sanders, confirmed the report’s account.
“Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate,” Warren said in a statement about the meeting. “I said that a woman could win; he disagreed.”
Sanders and his team have strongly disagreed with the description of the meeting.
Jim Messina, manager of Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, warned the sparring between the two senators could hurt both with Iowa voters.
“Warren and Sanders are competing for the same voters,” Messina said in an email. “It’s inevitable as we get closer to actual voting that the campaigns will draw contrast with each other. That said, I’m skeptical that traditional negative campaigning works with these voters. These are ‘Hope’ voters who want a better world. That tends to make negative lines of attack more difficult.”
Looming over the entire Democratic primary, though, is anxiety over electability. Publicly, and privately, in the closing days ahead of the caucuses and the debate, presidential candidates themselves have focused their closing arguments on electability and beating Donald Trump.
“Joe Biden is the candidate who can beat Donald Trump and repair the damage this president has done to our nation and the world,” Biden’s campaign manager, Greg Schultz, wrote in a memo to donors obtained by the Guardian.
Top-tier campaigns have been frantically rolling out endorsements of Iowa Democratic lawmakers and high-profile party officials are traveling around the state to make the electability argument.
Over the weekend, Warren campaigned with the former housing secretary Julián Castro. Buttigieg’s campaign rolled out a coveted endorsement from Dave Loebsack, one of three Democratic members of Congress from Iowa.
John Kerry greets attendees during a campaign stop to support Biden at the Biden for President Dubuque office in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday. Photograph: Jessica Reilly/AP
The former secretary of state John Kerry, who won the Iowa caucuses in the 2004 presidential race, warned during an appearance with local Democrats in Grundy county that Trump wanted Democrats to engage in an extended primary and pointed to the large amount of polling that shows Biden as the most formidable candidate in a head-to-head matchup against Trump.
“Let’s get real here: who’s going to beat Donald Trump? Every poll that you look at today of the nation shows that Joe Biden’s the only person that consistently beats him in every state except for a couple where he’s tied,” Kerry said. “Nobody else does that.”


theguardian--2020-01-14--Trump condemned for retweeting fake Islamophobic image featuring Pelosi

Muslim groups in the US have condemned Donald Trump for retweeting a fake image showing leading Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi wearing an approximation of traditional Islamic clothing and standing in front of the Iranian flag .
“ The image is a hodgepodge of anti-Muslim tropes and garb from many traditions including some that are frequently used to stereotype and attack Muslims , ” Madihha Ahussain , special counsel for Muslim Advocates , a not-for-profit group , said in a statement .
“ It ’ s disappointing but not surprising that the president would use his massive Twitter platform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ignorant , anti-Muslim bigotry.
” Nihad Awad , national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations , or Cair , said Trump ’ s retweet of a “ childish , undignified and offensive … Islamophobic image … further endangers American Muslims , Sikhs and members of other faiths who wear recognisable religious attire and are increasingly targeted by bigots nationwide.
” Trump retweeted the image on Monday , amid continuing controversy and international fallout over his approval of the drone strike assassination of Gen Qassem Suleimani , a top Iranian leader .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pelosi , the House speaker , made to ABC News on Sunday , about protests in Iran since Tehran admitted mistakenly shooting down an airliner , killing 176 people , after it launched missile strikes against US targets in Iraq .
Trump ’ s retweet carried the caption : “ The corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollah ’ s rescue .
# NancyPelosiFakeNews.
” According to the Associated Press , the Twitter account in question has a history of tweeting in English and Persian about Iranian issues , promoting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Senate minority leader , asked in a tweet of his own : “ President Trump : How low can you go ?
Republicans : How long can you cover up for and defend the president ’ s actions ?
” The White House press secretary , Stephanie Grisham , defended the retweet , telling Fox News it was intended to show Democrats have been parroting Iranian talking points , almost taking the side of terrorists and those attempting to kill Americans .
Democrats have questioned Trump ’ s rationale for ordering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tensions with Iran .
No Democrats have praised Suleimani , whom Pelosi described last week as “ a terrible person who did bad things ” .
In his statement on Monday Awad , of Cair , said : “ President Trump has repeatedly targeted Islam and Muslims with bigoted rhetoric and Islamophobic appointments and policies such as the Muslim [ travel ] ban , which media reports say is soon to be extended to other nations .
“ Americans of all faiths and backgrounds must speak out against this promotion of religious hatred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Such bigotry is not normal and must never become acceptable .
”

Muslim groups in the US have condemned Donald Trump for retweeting a fake image showing leading Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi wearing an approximation of traditional Islamic clothing and standing in front of the Iranian flag.
“The image is a hodgepodge of anti-Muslim tropes and garb from many traditions including some that are frequently used to stereotype and attack Muslims,” Madihha Ahussain, special counsel for Muslim Advocates, a not-for-profit group, said in a statement.
“It’s disappointing but not surprising that the president would use his massive Twitter platform to spread this kind of harmful, ignorant, anti-Muslim bigotry.”
Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or Cair, said Trump’s retweet of a “childish, undignified and offensive … Islamophobic image … further endangers American Muslims, Sikhs and members of other faiths who wear recognisable religious attire and are increasingly targeted by bigots nationwide.”
Trump retweeted the image on Monday, amid continuing controversy and international fallout over his approval of the drone strike assassination of Gen Qassem Suleimani, a top Iranian leader.
He also retweeted criticism of remarks that Pelosi, the House speaker, made to ABC News on Sunday, about protests in Iran since Tehran admitted mistakenly shooting down an airliner, killing 176 people, after it launched missile strikes against US targets in Iraq.
Trump’s retweet carried the caption: “The corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollah’s rescue. #NancyPelosiFakeNews.”
According to the Associated Press, the Twitter account in question has a history of tweeting in English and Persian about Iranian issues, promoting pro-Trump content and criticising Democrats.
Schumer, the Senate minority leader, asked in a tweet of his own: “President Trump: How low can you go? Republicans: How long can you cover up for and defend the president’s actions?”
The White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, defended the retweet, telling Fox News it was intended to show Democrats have been parroting Iranian talking points, almost taking the side of terrorists and those attempting to kill Americans.
Democrats have questioned Trump’s rationale for ordering the Suleimani killing and warned about resulting tensions with Iran. No Democrats have praised Suleimani, whom Pelosi described last week as “a terrible person who did bad things”.
In his statement on Monday Awad, of Cair, said: “President Trump has repeatedly targeted Islam and Muslims with bigoted rhetoric and Islamophobic appointments and policies such as the Muslim [travel] ban, which media reports say is soon to be extended to other nations.
“Americans of all faiths and backgrounds must speak out against this promotion of religious hatred by the occupant of the Oval Office. Such bigotry is not normal and must never become acceptable.”


theguardian--2020-01-14--Why Cory Booker failed to inspire young voters of color | Derecka Purnell

After Donald Trump was elected , many of my friends purchased bright red caps that read “ Make My President Black Again ” .
Humorously nostalgic for President Obama , I do not think they anticipated their new options would be Senator Cory Booker , Senator Kamala Harris , or Deval Patrick .
Now , Senator Booker is out .
He announced via Twitter that he was suspending his campaign for president .
My first ever Twitter fight was with Senator Booker .
After a string of police killings and fresh non-indictments , he was tweeting about vegan recipes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his culinary thread , he drowned me in lecture about how black people were dying from cooking and eating habits .
He randomly followed me right after .
He still does .
Ironically , I did not know at the time of our brief Twitter beef that Newark police department was under a federal consent decree .
The American Civil Liberties Union was pursuing more than 400 cases of police brutality against the Newark police , and the city has paid millions of dollars to victims of police violence .
When Vice-President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police department ’ s misconduct during a debate , Booker explained : “ You ’ re dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don ’ t even know the flavor.
” Here ’ s the flavor of the month : as of December 2019 , the Newark police department disproportionately stops , frisks , and arrests poor , black people .
I ’ d been following Booker for a little while because I saw him as the Superman mayor of Newark , New Jersey .
Snowed in at your house ?
Tweet Cory .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mayor .
Traditional public schools need support ?
Well , it ’ s complicated .
In one of his recent tales from living in the Newark projects , he met a mother who asked him to get her son into a private school .
Booker carries this story with him as mayor , where he worked with corporations and the Republican governor Chris Christie to expand the charter school landscape , a public enemy of teachers ’ unions , who typically back Democrats in elections .
Today , Newark ’ s charters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools are still suffering budget constraints .
Beyond education , Senator Booker also gained a less-than-stellar reputation for being in the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry .
He ’ s taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical companies and donors throughout his career , though he did return at least one donation after he said that he did not accept any funds from the industry during a presidential debate last year .
In the same debate , he suggested that pharmaceutical executives responsible for the opioid crisis should be held criminally liable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outlook was not particularly inspiring .
His Next Step Act , for example , proposed shorter mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders instead of simply freeing that group .
Instead of decriminalizing crack or cocaine use , he offered to end the sentencing disparity .
Refusing to side with Senator Bernie Sanders and argue that all prisoners should be allowed to vote , Booker instead wanted to end mass incarceration not by enfranchising the most politically vulnerable people in prison or freeing anyone from cages , but in the same way all centrist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : one non-violent , low-level drug user at a time .
Similar to Senator Harris , Senator Booker especially struggled to gain traction with young voters of color .
In this political moment , Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum have been the only two black candidates who garnered their levels of national momentum while having modestly liberal platforms .
Booker , and his diverse political peers including Julián Castro – who was the only Latinx candidate – Deval Patrick and Senator Harris , are caught between moving further left to capture young people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prove their potential as future establishment candidates .
Harris ’ s , Castro ’ s and Booker ’ s liberal platforms were not enough to cultivate a Black and Latinx voting base .
I doubt Patrick will emerge as a favorite .
Senator Sanders is currently polling the highest among young people of color .
Senator Booker ’ s plan to use “ our common pain to reignite our common purpose ” has ended .
Hopefully , through more nuanced study and relationships , he will come to see that America has reignited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great again .
What we need is for America to discover and create a new and better purpose .
• None Derecka Purnell is a social movement lawyer and writer based in Washington DC

After Donald Trump was elected, many of my friends purchased bright red caps that read “Make My President Black Again”. Humorously nostalgic for President Obama, I do not think they anticipated their new options would be Senator Cory Booker, Senator Kamala Harris, or Deval Patrick. Now, Senator Booker is out. He announced via Twitter that he was suspending his campaign for president.
My first ever Twitter fight was with Senator Booker. After a string of police killings and fresh non-indictments, he was tweeting about vegan recipes. After I expressed disbelief at the timing of his culinary thread, he drowned me in lecture about how black people were dying from cooking and eating habits. He randomly followed me right after. He still does.
Ironically, I did not know at the time of our brief Twitter beef that Newark police department was under a federal consent decree. The American Civil Liberties Union was pursuing more than 400 cases of police brutality against the Newark police, and the city has paid millions of dollars to victims of police violence. When Vice-President Joe Biden called out Booker’s police department’s misconduct during a debate, Booker explained: “You’re dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don’t even know the flavor.”
Here’s the flavor of the month: as of December 2019, the Newark police department disproportionately stops, frisks, and arrests poor, black people.
I’d been following Booker for a little while because I saw him as the Superman mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Snowed in at your house? Tweet Cory. Electricity out on your block? DM the mayor. Traditional public schools need support? Well, it’s complicated. In one of his recent tales from living in the Newark projects, he met a mother who asked him to get her son into a private school. Booker carries this story with him as mayor, where he worked with corporations and the Republican governor Chris Christie to expand the charter school landscape, a public enemy of teachers’ unions, who typically back Democrats in elections. Today, Newark’s charters are “thriving” and traditional public schools are still suffering budget constraints.
Beyond education, Senator Booker also gained a less-than-stellar reputation for being in the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry. He’s taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical companies and donors throughout his career, though he did return at least one donation after he said that he did not accept any funds from the industry during a presidential debate last year. In the same debate, he suggested that pharmaceutical executives responsible for the opioid crisis should be held criminally liable.
Senator Booker’s criminal justice outlook was not particularly inspiring
Senator Booker’s criminal justice outlook was not particularly inspiring. His Next Step Act, for example, proposed shorter mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders instead of simply freeing that group. Instead of decriminalizing crack or cocaine use, he offered to end the sentencing disparity. Refusing to side with Senator Bernie Sanders and argue that all prisoners should be allowed to vote, Booker instead wanted to end mass incarceration not by enfranchising the most politically vulnerable people in prison or freeing anyone from cages, but in the same way all centrist Democrats aim to fix the carceral state: one non-violent, low-level drug user at a time.
Similar to Senator Harris, Senator Booker especially struggled to gain traction with young voters of color. In this political moment, Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum have been the only two black candidates who garnered their levels of national momentum while having modestly liberal platforms. Booker, and his diverse political peers including Julián Castro – who was the only Latinx candidate – Deval Patrick and Senator Harris, are caught between moving further left to capture young people of color, or further right to prove their potential as future establishment candidates. Harris’s, Castro’s and Booker’s liberal platforms were not enough to cultivate a Black and Latinx voting base. I doubt Patrick will emerge as a favorite. Senator Sanders is currently polling the highest among young people of color.
Senator Booker’s plan to use “our common pain to reignite our common purpose” has ended. Hopefully, through more nuanced study and relationships, he will come to see that America has reignited a common purpose: to make America great again. What we need is for America to discover and create a new and better purpose.


theguardian--2020-01-13--Sanders is leading the pack in Iowa – and that's good news for Democrats | Bhaskar Sunkara

Surprise has turned into panic .
With Bernie Sanders leading in early battleground states and competitive with former vice-president Joe Biden nationally , the Democratic establishment is sounding the alarm .
“ Should Sanders actually pull off the feat of capturing the nomination , Donald Trump would have been given a gift that almost assures his re-election , ” says the Daily Beast .
Barack Obama ’ s 2012 campaign manager , Jim Messina , has a similar message : “ If I were a campaign manager for Donald Trump and I look at the field , I would very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The economy is doing well , and if Republicans get to run a “ business ” candidate in Trump against a socialist ideologue in Sanders , Messina figures , they ’ ll win .
Obama himself has promised to intervene , if necessary , to stop Sanders .
If you ’ re a part of the Democratic party ’ s power structures , the same structures that failed to thwart Republican takeover of local and state governments and Trump ’ s election , then perhaps you have reason for concern .
Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rhetoric , ideology and base – than other primary candidates .
And he ’ s clearly a threat to the Democratic party status quo – its large donors and its nomenklatura would be on the outs in a Sanders administration .
But if you ’ re an ordinary Democratic voter , or just someone worried about the possibility of a second Trump term , there ’ s no need for panic .
Sanders is a candidate with both a long record of electoral success and real progressive accomplishments in both executive and legislative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an outsider in Washington , owing to his style and political background , but he ’ s far less of a radical than either his most ardent supporters or implacable foes care to admit .
Sanders represents a new political mainstream in the United States , more egalitarian in outlook than liberalism but less likely to turn off the non-partisan , irregular voters who will need to be won over in November .
The case against Sanders ’ s electability centers on two things : his age and his ideology .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the field .
But despite his October heart attack , Sanders appears to be in good health – energetic at rallies and quick-witted during debates .
It helps , no doubt , that his major competitor in the primary , Biden , just turned 77 and Donald Trump will be 74 this year .
Unable to play up age , for fear of disqualifying Biden as well , most of the attention has turned to Sanders ’ s embrace of democratic socialism .
New York ’ s governor , Andrew Cuomo , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , “ Let ’ s not be so New York and so coastal right ?
I think it ’ s very hard to get elected president as a socialist in this country , when you look at the states we have to win.
” This overstates how important “ democratic socialism ” is as an ideological label to most Americans .
To the extent that it ’ s defined by its mainstream protagonists , such as Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , democratic socialism can be summed up in commonsense terms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Franklin D Roosevelt ’ s New Deal ( though this too is a relatively obscure point of reference ) .
What Sanders ’ s detractors don ’ t understand is that even though it ’ s to the left of contemporary liberalism , his redistributive politics has more appeal with self-described moderate voters than typical Democrat ones .
As Jared Abbott and Dustin Guastella point out , millions of Americans are working class , don ’ t identify with either party , and barely turn out to vote , despite holding more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average Democratic primary voters .
These potential voters , like most of the country as a whole , support demands such as Medicare for All , federal job programs , trade unions , free higher education and student debt cancellation .
Bridging the gap between the one in four Americans who identify as “ liberal ” and the two-thirds of Americans who support tax hikes on the rich is crucial to building a majoritarian leftwing politics .
Sanders ’ s strength lies in his popularity , both among and outside the Democratic base @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressive economic and social demands into a narrative that valorizes working people , vilifies a political and corporate elite , and sidesteps partisan “ culture war ” in favor of populist class war .
He ’ s an outsider , but one who picks his battles wisely and knows how to frame a debate .
Take , for instance , his stance on gun control .
Sanders has a “ D ” rating from the National Rifle Association , and he ’ s worn that as a badge of honor , railing against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics .
He ’ s done this despite representing a state with high rates of gun ownership .
Sanders needs the votes of Vermont hunters .
But luckily , they see him as a foe of lobbyists and a friend of theirs , and not an anti-second amendment zealot .
They keep electing him , despite his support for gun control .
This , in a nutshell , is how we win in a polarized country .
We don ’ t fight a liberal culture war , but rather we change the terms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ win the broadest base possible and marginalize the powerful interests that dominate politics and the economy .
Of course , we can only go so far with anecdotes .
A relatively unknown figure , playing catch-up in closed Democratic primaries , Sanders fell short in 2016 and wasn ’ t able to prove his electability against Trump then .
However , his overall electoral record is a strong one .
As Matthew Yglesias acknowledges , Sanders ’ s statewide results compare favorably to those of Democratic presidential nominees in Vermont : In 1992 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton ’ s 46 In 1996 , Sanders got 55 % to Clinton ’ s 53 % In 2000 , Sanders got 69 % to Al Gore ’ s 51 % In 2004 , Sanders got 67 % to John Kerry ’ s 59 % In 2012 , Sanders got 71 % to Obama ’ s 67 % .
Sanders is personally popular , he ’ s campaigning on a popular set of issues , and he ’ s figured out a popular way to tie those issues together .
Sanders has managed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it seem cohesive , and not like a laundry list of progressive concerns .
And his record speaks for itself , he ’ s a seasoned campaigner who knows how to win elections .
The strongest case against Sanders has nothing to do with his electability or his democratic socialist identification , but rather with the disconnect between his political demands and a gridlocked political environment .
Of course , this concern has nothing to do with his chances against Trump .
A lot of good would be accomplished simply by removing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Office .
Not only would rightwing judicial and agency appointments be replaced by progressive ones , but Sanders would be able to pursue action on a host of issues – from climate change to criminal justice – through executive orders .
He ’ d also be able to chart a new course for American foreign policy , keeping us out of unpopular wars and whittling down our sprawling imperial presence .
But legislative failure and administrative incompetence in Washington would hurt Democratic re-election chances in 2024 and candidates at every level .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record as a public servant is instructive .
When Sanders first came to prominence in Vermont , the state was relatively conservative .
Burlington , in particular , was dominated by a few major families and a bipartisan political machine .
Failed policies and constrained city finances led Sanders ’ s predecessor as mayor , Gordon Paquette , to push austerity , cutting public services and the salaries of municipal employees .
After his surprise mayoral election , Sanders found himself stymied by his city council and powerful business interests .
He moved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coalitions and slowly expanding his base by improving the delivery of public services and communicating honestly with his constituencies .
Yglesias , of Vox , has described Sanders ’ s time in both Burlington and Washington as periods of savvy organizing , pragmatism and success .
But it ’ s worth emphasizing that Sanders did not engage in compromise for the sake of compromise .
He pursued alliances to serve his base and his actions managed not just to deliver material gains , but to help reshape politics in Vermont .
In Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up with liberal representatives ( and occasionally cutting deals with conservatives ) and voting for imperfect legislation , but at the same time using his platform to evangelize for his longer-term vision .
Sanders wouldn ’ t have maintained his reputation as a principled outsider if his effectiveness wasn ’ t married to this ideological stubbornness .
In 2009 , when Obama met one of his leftwing supporters , the Nation publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel , he reminded her that “ the perfect is the enemy of the good ” .
With a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have felt confident that he had a formula for success .
But under his watch , the Democrats lost 13 governorships and a whopping 816 state legislative seats .
The same figures who steered the party under Obama also assured us that Hillary Clinton was closer to the “ median voter ” and thus more electable than either Sanders or Trump .
Maybe it ’ s time we stopped pretending that Messina and Obama know how best to win elections in the United States .
Sanders is an anti-establishment figure , and one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but his policy commitments are not outside the new American mainstream .
If he can galvanize the same “ moderate ” irregular voters who have been drawn to him in the past , he won ’ t just beat Trump , he ’ ll set the stage for a long-term political realignment – the political revolution he calls for .
Sanders is a rebel , but he ’ s one who people know and trust .
In other words , he ’ s the perfect candidate for 2020 .
• None Bhaskar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ magazine and a Guardian US columnist .
He is the author of The Socialist Manifesto : The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality

Surprise has turned into panic. With Bernie Sanders leading in early battleground states and competitive with former vice-president Joe Biden nationally, the Democratic establishment is sounding the alarm.
“Should Sanders actually pull off the feat of capturing the nomination, Donald Trump would have been given a gift that almost assures his re-election,” says the Daily Beast. Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina, has a similar message: “If I were a campaign manager for Donald Trump and I look at the field, I would very much want to run against Bernie Sanders.”
The economy is doing well, and if Republicans get to run a “business” candidate in Trump against a socialist ideologue in Sanders, Messina figures, they’ll win. Obama himself has promised to intervene, if necessary, to stop Sanders.
If you’re a part of the Democratic party’s power structures, the same structures that failed to thwart Republican takeover of local and state governments and Trump’s election, then perhaps you have reason for concern. Sanders is running a different campaign – in rhetoric, ideology and base – than other primary candidates. And he’s clearly a threat to the Democratic party status quo – its large donors and its nomenklatura would be on the outs in a Sanders administration.
But if you’re an ordinary Democratic voter, or just someone worried about the possibility of a second Trump term, there’s no need for panic. Sanders is a candidate with both a long record of electoral success and real progressive accomplishments in both executive and legislative office. He may still be something of an outsider in Washington, owing to his style and political background, but he’s far less of a radical than either his most ardent supporters or implacable foes care to admit.
Sanders represents a new political mainstream in the United States, more egalitarian in outlook than liberalism but less likely to turn off the non-partisan, irregular voters who will need to be won over in November.
*
The case against Sanders’s electability centers on two things: his age and his ideology. At 78, he is the oldest candidate in the field. But despite his October heart attack, Sanders appears to be in good health – energetic at rallies and quick-witted during debates. It helps, no doubt, that his major competitor in the primary, Biden, just turned 77 and Donald Trump will be 74 this year.
Unable to play up age, for fear of disqualifying Biden as well, most of the attention has turned to Sanders’s embrace of democratic socialism. New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, captured the conventional wisdom last April when he said, “Let’s not be so New York and so coastal right? I think it’s very hard to get elected president as a socialist in this country, when you look at the states we have to win.”
This overstates how important “democratic socialism” is as an ideological label to most Americans. To the extent that it’s defined by its mainstream protagonists, such as Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, democratic socialism can be summed up in commonsense terms of fairness and shared responsibility, and associated with Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal (though this too is a relatively obscure point of reference).
What Sanders’s detractors don’t understand is that even though it’s to the left of contemporary liberalism, his redistributive politics has more appeal with self-described moderate voters than typical Democrat ones.
As Jared Abbott and Dustin Guastella point out, millions of Americans are working class, don’t identify with either party, and barely turn out to vote, despite holding more egalitarian views on key issues than your average Democratic primary voters.
These potential voters, like most of the country as a whole, support demands such as Medicare for All, federal job programs, trade unions, free higher education and student debt cancellation. Bridging the gap between the one in four Americans who identify as “liberal” and the two-thirds of Americans who support tax hikes on the rich is crucial to building a majoritarian leftwing politics.
Sanders’s strength lies in his popularity, both among and outside the Democratic base, and his ability to tie together progressive economic and social demands into a narrative that valorizes working people, vilifies a political and corporate elite, and sidesteps partisan “culture war” in favor of populist class war.
He’s an outsider, but one who picks his battles wisely and knows how to frame a debate. Take, for instance, his stance on gun control. Sanders has a “D” rating from the National Rifle Association, and he’s worn that as a badge of honor, railing against the organization and its role in national politics. He’s done this despite representing a state with high rates of gun ownership.
Sanders needs the votes of Vermont hunters. But luckily, they see him as a foe of lobbyists and a friend of theirs, and not an anti-second amendment zealot. They keep electing him, despite his support for gun control. This, in a nutshell, is how we win in a polarized country. We don’t fight a liberal culture war, but rather we change the terms of the conflict so that we can win the broadest base possible and marginalize the powerful interests that dominate politics and the economy.
Of course, we can only go so far with anecdotes. A relatively unknown figure, playing catch-up in closed Democratic primaries, Sanders fell short in 2016 and wasn’t able to prove his electability against Trump then. However, his overall electoral record is a strong one. As Matthew Yglesias acknowledges, Sanders’s statewide results compare favorably to those of Democratic presidential nominees in Vermont:
In 1992, Sanders got 58% to Bill Clinton’s 46
In 1996, Sanders got 55% to Clinton’s 53%
In 2000, Sanders got 69% to Al Gore’s 51%
In 2004, Sanders got 67% to John Kerry’s 59%
In 2012, Sanders got 71% to Obama’s 67%.
Sanders is personally popular, he’s campaigning on a popular set of issues, and he’s figured out a popular way to tie those issues together. Sanders has managed to take a sprawling program and make it seem cohesive, and not like a laundry list of progressive concerns. And his record speaks for itself, he’s a seasoned campaigner who knows how to win elections.
*
The strongest case against Sanders has nothing to do with his electability or his democratic socialist identification, but rather with the disconnect between his political demands and a gridlocked political environment.
Of course, this concern has nothing to do with his chances against Trump. A lot of good would be accomplished simply by removing the president and his party from the Oval Office. Not only would rightwing judicial and agency appointments be replaced by progressive ones, but Sanders would be able to pursue action on a host of issues – from climate change to criminal justice – through executive orders. He’d also be able to chart a new course for American foreign policy, keeping us out of unpopular wars and whittling down our sprawling imperial presence.
But legislative failure and administrative incompetence in Washington would hurt Democratic re-election chances in 2024 and candidates at every level. It’s here that Sanders’s record as a public servant is instructive.
When Sanders first came to prominence in Vermont, the state was relatively conservative. Burlington, in particular, was dominated by a few major families and a bipartisan political machine. Failed policies and constrained city finances led Sanders’s predecessor as mayor, Gordon Paquette, to push austerity, cutting public services and the salaries of municipal employees.
After his surprise mayoral election, Sanders found himself stymied by his city council and powerful business interests. He moved forward by rallying activists, forging new coalitions and slowly expanding his base by improving the delivery of public services and communicating honestly with his constituencies.
Yglesias, of Vox, has described Sanders’s time in both Burlington and Washington as periods of savvy organizing, pragmatism and success. But it’s worth emphasizing that Sanders did not engage in compromise for the sake of compromise. He pursued alliances to serve his base and his actions managed not just to deliver material gains, but to help reshape politics in Vermont.
In Washington, Sanders’s coalition-building meant teaming up with liberal representatives (and occasionally cutting deals with conservatives) and voting for imperfect legislation, but at the same time using his platform to evangelize for his longer-term vision. Sanders wouldn’t have maintained his reputation as a principled outsider if his effectiveness wasn’t married to this ideological stubbornness.
In 2009, when Obama met one of his leftwing supporters, the Nation publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel, he reminded her that “the perfect is the enemy of the good”. With a commanding electoral mandate, the president must have felt confident that he had a formula for success. But under his watch, the Democrats lost 13 governorships and a whopping 816 state legislative seats.
The same figures who steered the party under Obama also assured us that Hillary Clinton was closer to the “median voter” and thus more electable than either Sanders or Trump.
Maybe it’s time we stopped pretending that Messina and Obama know how best to win elections in the United States.
Sanders is an anti-establishment figure, and one with a decades-long history on the left, but his policy commitments are not outside the new American mainstream. If he can galvanize the same “moderate” irregular voters who have been drawn to him in the past, he won’t just beat Trump, he’ll set the stage for a long-term political realignment – the political revolution he calls for.
Sanders is a rebel, but he’s one who people know and trust. In other words, he’s the perfect candidate for 2020.


theguardian--2020-01-13--Bernie Sanders surges in Democratic field after shrugging off health scare

Shortly after Bernie Sanders announced early this month that his campaign raised a showstopping $ 34.5m – the highest sum of any 2020 Democrat during any single quarter so far in this primary – # PresidentSanders was trending on Twitter .
It was an extraordinary reversal of fortunes for a presidential candidate who , three months earlier , was in a Las Vegas hospital recovering from a heart attack .
At the time , Sanders was under immense political pressure , eclipsed by fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren and counted out by many in the party and by the president .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ second quest for the White House had it not been for his army of loyal supporters , whose abiding faith turned the Vermont senator into a formidable contender for the Democratic nomination .
With less than four weeks until voting begins and the next debate looming on Tuesday , Sanders is surging in Iowa and New Hampshire as his campaign touts new signs of growth in his support , particularly among young people of color .
Even Larry David , the comedian who impersonates Sanders with striking likeness on Saturday Night Live , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s resilience .
“ I thought when he had the heart attack that was going to be it – I wouldn ’ t have to fly in from Los Angeles , ” David told late-night host Stephen Colbert .
“ But , you know , he ’ s indestructible .
Nothing stops this man.
” Perhaps , but Sanders would not be where he is in the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses without the unwavering support of a devoted community that he has cultivated since running for president in 2016 .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ campaign slogan – perfectly captures how the 78-year-old senator came to sit atop the latest Des Moines Register and CNN poll of Iowa caucusgoers in a primary contest that has so far been shaped by candidates who are younger , more diverse and newer to national politics .
In the days and weeks after Sanders ’ hospitalization , an outpouring of concern and well wishes turned into a record wave of campaign donations that culminated in a “ Bernie is back ” rally in Queens featuring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , the New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders ’ 2016 campaign .
There , she formally endorsed him in front of more than 20,000 ardent supporters .
“ The heart attack was in some ways the best thing that happened to his campaign , ” said Ana Maria Archila , the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy , a coalition of progressive groups that endorsed Sanders in December .
She said it turned out to be a clarifying moment for his supporters , with Ocasio-Cortez ’ s endorsement serving as a literal rallying cry .
“ Bernie has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a different kind of politics is possible , ” she said .
“ So when he came back , everyone wanted him to feel the love.
” In surveys , Sanders supporters are significantly more loyal to him than those backing any other 2020 Democrat .
They are more likely to say they will definitely vote for him and that they are “ enthusiastic ” about his candidacy .
Their unshakeable support means that unlike many of his rivals Sanders may have the resources to stay in the race for months after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t exit the race even if he doesn ’ t have the delegates to win the nomination , dragging out the primary contest , weakening the eventual nominee and possibly even setting up a dramatic showdown at the party ’ s convention in Milwaukee .
Sanders has said he would support the nominee .
Sanders ’ movement – coupled with a massive fundraising operation – sustained him through a potentially debilitating period of his campaign and lifted him higher still .
More than any other Democratic campaign , his supporters are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , polling and memes across hundreds of pro-Sanders Facebook groups .
And this cycle , his campaign launched its own mobile app , Bern , and its own email newsletter , Bern Notice , that keeps his supporters engaged and up to date with news from the trail .
“ These tools are not as effective for persuasion , ” said Michael Slaby , the Obama campaign ’ s chief technology officer in 2008 and chief integration and innovation officer in 2012 .
“ If you ’ re an undecided voter you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders ’ Twitch channel .
But in terms of his ability to withstand challenges , it is really valuable to have that durable hard support.
” Now an emboldened Sanders is sharpening his case for the presidency , tapping his deep financial resources to launch a large-scale advertising campaign in Iowa .
He ’ s also become increasingly critical of his closest rival , Joe Biden , the putative Democratic frontrunner who has proved resilient at the top of the splintered field despite sustained attacks and self-inflicted gaffes .
In interviews and on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longstanding aversion to war in response to the escalation of tensions with Iran .
It ’ s part of a wider strategy to undermine the core rationale for Biden ’ s candidacy : that he ’ s the most electable .
In particular , the senator has aggressively criticized Biden for his 2003 vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq and his past support for foreign trade deals .
Biden has mostly brushed off Sanders ’ broadsides , though that could change in the next debate on 14 January , the last before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ started to target Warren , a fellow liberal and a friend whom he had refused to engage publicly .
A script obtained by Politico instructed Sanders ’ volunteers to tell voters wavering between the two liberals that Warren ’ s popularity was limited to the affluent and highly educated and that she was “ bringing no new bases into the Democratic party ” – a criticism meant to raise doubts about her electability .
Her campaign responded in a fundraising letter on Sunday : “ This type of attack isn ’ t about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about dismissing the potency of our grassroots movement.
” Sanders ’ potential for victory , meanwhile , has stirred panic among establishment-minded Democrats .
They see a candidate who entered the race with all the advantages of a frontrunner – near-universal name recognition , a prodigious fundraising operation and a message that still draws large , enthusiastic crowds – and yet has faced little scrutiny and relatively few attacks from his rivals .
In recent weeks , many moderate Democrats have urged Sanders ’ rivals to challenge his case for electability .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prove they could build winning coalitions in swing districts and states .
Many of the moderate House candidates who swept the Democrats to power by winning in Republican-held districts face tough re-elections and believe a Sanders nomination could jeopardize their majority , including a group of influential freshmen who recently endorsed Biden .
A memo circulated by the centrist Third Way warns that nominating Sanders would result in “ electoral carnage ” on a scale not seen since 1984 , when Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale by the widest electoral college margin in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia .
Sanders ’ team balks at such analysis , which they believes ignores more recent history .
Hillary Clinton ’ s loss to Trump in 2016 , they say , was the cost of playing it safe .
A recent Fox News poll found Sanders defeating Trump by nearly the same margin as Biden in Wisconsin , perhaps the most critical 2020 battleground .
To win , Sanders ’ campaign says he must expand the electorate by turning out a coalition of people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including young , working-class and minority voters .
Sanders ’ campaign knows it must do better , particularly among black voters , a critical Democratic constituency that prefers Biden by wide margins .
But his team argues that they are making progress .
New polling has him running close behind Biden in Nevada , the first state with a large Hispanic electorate to vote in the primary .
And he is leading the field in California , a state with a large Hispanic electorate that is also the largest prize of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his campaign said it added 300,000 new donors and marked another milestone : it received more than 5 million donations , setting a new record for presidential candidates at this stage in the cycle .
In the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses , Biden has started to consolidate support from establishment Democrats while Warren has started pitching herself as the candidate best positioned to unite a divided party .
Unlike his rivals , Sanders must overcome deep skepticism from Democrats who still harbor reservations about his commitment to the party after years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Many Democrats who supported Clinton in 2016 still resent Sanders for dragging out the primary race and , in their view , not doing enough to help unify the party when the bitter contest was over .
“ Sanders has shown that he can fire up his base , ” said Sean McElwee , the executive director of the liberal polling firm Data For Progress .
“ What he needs to show now is that he can persuade people to vote for him who right now are supporting Warren or Biden .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he can represent them and the party in a general election .
That ’ s the big turn that he needs to make .
”

Shortly after Bernie Sanders announced early this month that his campaign raised a showstopping $34.5m – the highest sum of any 2020 Democrat during any single quarter so far in this primary – #PresidentSanders was trending on Twitter.
It was an extraordinary reversal of fortunes for a presidential candidate who, three months earlier, was in a Las Vegas hospital recovering from a heart attack. At the time, Sanders was under immense political pressure, eclipsed by fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren and counted out by many in the party and by the president.
The episode might have derailed Sanders’ second quest for the White House had it not been for his army of loyal supporters, whose abiding faith turned the Vermont senator into a formidable contender for the Democratic nomination.
With less than four weeks until voting begins and the next debate looming on Tuesday, Sanders is surging in Iowa and New Hampshire as his campaign touts new signs of growth in his support, particularly among young people of color.
Even Larry David, the comedian who impersonates Sanders with striking likeness on Saturday Night Live, has been surprised by his doppelganger’s resilience.
“I thought when he had the heart attack that was going to be it – I wouldn’t have to fly in from Los Angeles,” David told late-night host Stephen Colbert. “But, you know, he’s indestructible. Nothing stops this man.”
Perhaps, but Sanders would not be where he is in the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses without the unwavering support of a devoted community that he has cultivated since running for president in 2016. “Not me. Us” – Sanders’ campaign slogan – perfectly captures how the 78-year-old senator came to sit atop the latest Des Moines Register and CNN poll of Iowa caucusgoers in a primary contest that has so far been shaped by candidates who are younger, more diverse and newer to national politics.
‘Nothing stops this man.’ Bernie Sanders meets his TV doppelganger, Larry David. Photograph: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
In the days and weeks after Sanders’ hospitalization, an outpouring of concern and well wishes turned into a record wave of campaign donations that culminated in a “Bernie is back” rally in Queens featuring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York congresswoman who traces her political rise to Sanders’ 2016 campaign. There, she formally endorsed him in front of more than 20,000 ardent supporters.
“The heart attack was in some ways the best thing that happened to his campaign,” said Ana Maria Archila, the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a coalition of progressive groups that endorsed Sanders in December.
She said it turned out to be a clarifying moment for his supporters, with Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement serving as a literal rallying cry.
“Bernie has built a movement that makes people believe a different kind of politics is possible,” she said. “So when he came back, everyone wanted him to feel the love.”
In surveys, Sanders supporters are significantly more loyal to him than those backing any other 2020 Democrat. They are more likely to say they will definitely vote for him and that they are “enthusiastic” about his candidacy.
Their unshakeable support means that unlike many of his rivals Sanders may have the resources to stay in the race for months after the early-voting contests. Many Democrats fear he won’t exit the race even if he doesn’t have the delegates to win the nomination, dragging out the primary contest, weakening the eventual nominee and possibly even setting up a dramatic showdown at the party’s convention in Milwaukee.
Sanders has said he would support the nominee.
Sanders’ movement – coupled with a massive fundraising operation – sustained him through a potentially debilitating period of his campaign and lifted him higher still.
More than any other Democratic campaign, his supporters are highly organized online. They share stories, polling and memes across hundreds of pro-Sanders Facebook groups. And this cycle, his campaign launched its own mobile app, Bern, and its own email newsletter, Bern Notice, that keeps his supporters engaged and up to date with news from the trail.
“These tools are not as effective for persuasion,” said Michael Slaby, the Obama campaign’s chief technology officer in 2008 and chief integration and innovation officer in 2012. “If you’re an undecided voter you’re probably not tuning in to watch Sanders’ Twitch channel. But in terms of his ability to withstand challenges, it is really valuable to have that durable hard support.”
Now an emboldened Sanders is sharpening his case for the presidency, tapping his deep financial resources to launch a large-scale advertising campaign in Iowa. He’s also become increasingly critical of his closest rival, Joe Biden, the putative Democratic frontrunner who has proved resilient at the top of the splintered field despite sustained attacks and self-inflicted gaffes.
In interviews and on the trail, Sanders has emphasized his longstanding aversion to war in response to the escalation of tensions with Iran. It’s part of a wider strategy to undermine the core rationale for Biden’s candidacy: that he’s the most electable. In particular, the senator has aggressively criticized Biden for his 2003 vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq and his past support for foreign trade deals.
Biden has mostly brushed off Sanders’ broadsides, though that could change in the next debate on 14 January, the last before the caucuses.
He has also quietly started to target Warren, a fellow liberal and a friend whom he had refused to engage publicly.
Bernie Sanders supporters voice their backing at a rally in Los Angeles last month. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
A script obtained by Politico instructed Sanders’ volunteers to tell voters wavering between the two liberals that Warren’s popularity was limited to the affluent and highly educated and that she was “bringing no new bases into the Democratic party” – a criticism meant to raise doubts about her electability.
Her campaign responded in a fundraising letter on Sunday: “This type of attack isn’t about disagreeing on issues – it’s about dismissing the potency of our grassroots movement.”
Sanders’ potential for victory, meanwhile, has stirred panic among establishment-minded Democrats. They see a candidate who entered the race with all the advantages of a frontrunner – near-universal name recognition, a prodigious fundraising operation and a message that still draws large, enthusiastic crowds – and yet has faced little scrutiny and relatively few attacks from his rivals.
In recent weeks, many moderate Democrats have urged Sanders’ rivals to challenge his case for electability.
In 2018, progressive candidates largely failed to prove they could build winning coalitions in swing districts and states. Many of the moderate House candidates who swept the Democrats to power by winning in Republican-held districts face tough re-elections and believe a Sanders nomination could jeopardize their majority, including a group of influential freshmen who recently endorsed Biden.
A memo circulated by the centrist Third Way warns that nominating Sanders would result in “electoral carnage” on a scale not seen since 1984, when Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale by the widest electoral college margin in presidential history. Mondale carried only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia.
Sanders’ team balks at such analysis, which they believes ignores more recent history. Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016, they say, was the cost of playing it safe.
A recent Fox News poll found Sanders defeating Trump by nearly the same margin as Biden in Wisconsin, perhaps the most critical 2020 battleground.
To win, Sanders’ campaign says he must expand the electorate by turning out a coalition of people who vote infrequently or have never voted before, including young, working-class and minority voters. Sanders’ campaign knows it must do better, particularly among black voters, a critical Democratic constituency that prefers Biden by wide margins.
Bernie Sanders arrives for a campaign stop at Berg middle school on Saturday in Newton, Iowa. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
But his team argues that they are making progress. New polling has him running close behind Biden in Nevada, the first state with a large Hispanic electorate to vote in the primary. And he is leading the field in California, a state with a large Hispanic electorate that is also the largest prize of the Democratic nominating contests.
And last quarter his campaign said it added 300,000 new donors and marked another milestone: it received more than 5 million donations, setting a new record for presidential candidates at this stage in the cycle.
In the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Biden has started to consolidate support from establishment Democrats while Warren has started pitching herself as the candidate best positioned to unite a divided party.
Unlike his rivals, Sanders must overcome deep skepticism from Democrats who still harbor reservations about his commitment to the party after years of agitating for change from the outside. Many Democrats who supported Clinton in 2016 still resent Sanders for dragging out the primary race and, in their view, not doing enough to help unify the party when the bitter contest was over.
“Sanders has shown that he can fire up his base,” said Sean McElwee, the executive director of the liberal polling firm Data For Progress. “What he needs to show now is that he can persuade people to vote for him who right now are supporting Warren or Biden. He still needs to prove to Democrats that he can represent them and the party in a general election. That’s the big turn that he needs to make.”


theguardian--2020-01-12--How bad can the climate crisis get if Trump wins again?

Climate pollution in the US is up under Donald Trump and threatens to undermine international efforts to stall the crisis , especially if he wins re-election this year and secures a second term in the White House .
While US climate emissions fell 2.1 % in 2019 , they rose significantly in 2018 , according to estimates from the economic analysis firm Rhodium Group .
On net , emissions are slightly higher than in the beginning of 2017 , when Trump ’ s administration began enacting dozens of environment rollbacks aimed at helping the oil and gas industry .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standards .
This week he proposed to allow major projects like pipelines and highways to bypass reviews of how they will contribute to global warming .
The draft rule is unlikely to become final before the November election , but it is yet another reason industries weighing climate choices might delay significant action .
“ What they have done is created confusion within the business community and the environmental world as to what are going to be the standards , ” said Christine Todd Whitman , who led the Environmental Protection Agency under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Essentially every regulation the agency promulgates gets a lawsuit that goes with it , almost inevitably … that ’ s the only good thing you can say about it.
” Whitman called the approach “ mindless ” and said “ whoever is a bigger donor gets to tell them what the environmental policy should be , it seems ” .
In the absence of any federal climate action , states , cities and businesses have pledged their own efforts , seeking to encourage other big emitters like China and India to continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andrew Light , a climate negotiator for President Barack Obama ’ s state department , said the world is taking note of those efforts , but if Trump is re-elected “ you are going to see a lot of people who are worried anew about what the US can do ” .
Americans choosing Trump would send the signal that they don ’ t care about the climate , Light said .
America ’ s Pledge , a project to quantify ongoing US emissions reductions , estimates that non-federal actors – like states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 37 % below 2005 levels by 2030 .
A Democrat in the White House could increase that to 49 % with what Light described as modest , politically achievable policy changes .
Experts are increasingly calling for the US to halve its emissions by 2030 and neutralize them by 2050 .
“ In the case of a second Trump term , we ’ ve got to totally double down on the efforts to communicate how serious the non-federal actors are in the United States , ” Light said .
“ And what you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that those people in other countries who are not in favor of strengthening their countries ’ own climate target are not able to point to the United States and say nothing ’ s going on there.
” The Trump administration has initiated essentially all of its planned climate rollbacks – from weakening standards for cars to go farther on less gasoline to erasing rules for power companies to shift away from coal .
It would be able to defend those changes in court against environment advocates and Democratic states if the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a second term of a Trump administration would just be more lost time , ” said Trevor Houser , a partner at Rhodium Group .
“ It would be more time in which emissions weren ’ t really declining when they really needed to be.
” The concentration of climate-heating greenhouse gases is at a record high , according to a report from the UN ’ s World Meteorological Organization .
The planet is already 1C hotter than it was before industrialization .
Three-quarters of the commitments made by countries under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” , according to a comprehensive expert analysis .
Temperatures are still rising and the world is “ gravely ” unprepared for disasters , crop failures , coastal flooding and heatwaves , according to another review .
Under Trump , the oil and gas industry contributing heavily to the climate crisis is thriving .
Oil and gas-related industries in the US are planning to build 157 new or expanded plants and expand drilling over the next five years – releasing as much greenhouse gas pollution as 50 new coal-fired power plants , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Project .
As the technology for retrieving oil and gas has advanced , with hydraulic fracturing , the cost of production has plummeted .
The US is now a net exporter of oil products .
Much of the expansion expected would be for feedstocks to make chemicals and plastics , explained Courtney Bernhardt , the group ’ s research director .
Bernhardt said the oil and gas expansion would erase about 75 % of the progress in the power sector since 2012 .
“ The US is already struggling to meet climate commitments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Bernhardt said .
“ This analysis shows that we ’ re heading in the wrong direction and really need to slow emissions growth from the oil , gas and petrochemical industries.
” It ’ s not just climate change that is getting worse .
Trump has loosened rules for clean water and air and safer chemicals .
Air quality is already eroding , linked with 10,000 additional US deaths over two years .
Democrats , meanwhile , are offering a starkly different future for the environment .
The House energy and commerce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of legislation for the US to achieve a “ 100 % clean economy ” by 2050 .
In the race against Trump , all the major Democratic candidates have similarly pledged to seek at least net-zero emissions by 2050 .
The League of Conservation Voters ’ called the House committee effort encouraging and said the announcement “ is further proof that elections have consequences ” .
But other groups were critical , saying the plan would not transition away from fossil fuels fast enough .

Climate pollution in the US is up under Donald Trump and threatens to undermine international efforts to stall the crisis, especially if he wins re-election this year and secures a second term in the White House.
While US climate emissions fell 2.1% in 2019, they rose significantly in 2018, according to estimates from the economic analysis firm Rhodium Group. On net, emissions are slightly higher than in the beginning of 2017, when Trump’s administration began enacting dozens of environment rollbacks aimed at helping the oil and gas industry.
Trump is still working to further weaken bedrock standards. This week he proposed to allow major projects like pipelines and highways to bypass reviews of how they will contribute to global warming. The draft rule is unlikely to become final before the November election, but it is yet another reason industries weighing climate choices might delay significant action.
“What they have done is created confusion within the business community and the environmental world as to what are going to be the standards,” said Christine Todd Whitman, who led the Environmental Protection Agency under the Republican president George W Bush. “Essentially every regulation the agency promulgates gets a lawsuit that goes with it, almost inevitably … that’s the only good thing you can say about it.”
Whitman called the approach “mindless” and said “whoever is a bigger donor gets to tell them what the environmental policy should be, it seems”.
In the absence of any federal climate action, states, cities and businesses have pledged their own efforts, seeking to encourage other big emitters like China and India to continue to slow their growing climate pollution.
Andrew Light, a climate negotiator for President Barack Obama’s state department, said the world is taking note of those efforts, but if Trump is re-elected “you are going to see a lot of people who are worried anew about what the US can do”.
Americans choosing Trump would send the signal that they don’t care about the climate, Light said.
America’s Pledge, a project to quantify ongoing US emissions reductions, estimates that non-federal actors – like states and cities – could cut climate pollution 37% below 2005 levels by 2030. A Democrat in the White House could increase that to 49% with what Light described as modest, politically achievable policy changes. Experts are increasingly calling for the US to halve its emissions by 2030 and neutralize them by 2050.
“In the case of a second Trump term, we’ve got to totally double down on the efforts to communicate how serious the non-federal actors are in the United States,” Light said. “And what you really want to try to make sure is that those people in other countries who are not in favor of strengthening their countries’ own climate target are not able to point to the United States and say nothing’s going on there.”
The Trump administration has initiated essentially all of its planned climate rollbacks – from weakening standards for cars to go farther on less gasoline to erasing rules for power companies to shift away from coal. It would be able to defend those changes in court against environment advocates and Democratic states if the president wins election.
“The biggest impact of a second term of a Trump administration would just be more lost time,” said Trevor Houser, a partner at Rhodium Group. “It would be more time in which emissions weren’t really declining when they really needed to be.”
The concentration of climate-heating greenhouse gases is at a record high, according to a report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization. The planet is already 1C hotter than it was before industrialization.
A train of loaded coal cars heads to the Oak Creek power plant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, earlier this month. Photograph: Tannen Maury/EPA
Three-quarters of the commitments made by countries under the international Paris agreement are “totally inadequate”, according to a comprehensive expert analysis. Temperatures are still rising and the world is “gravely” unprepared for disasters, crop failures, coastal flooding and heatwaves, according to another review.
Under Trump, the oil and gas industry contributing heavily to the climate crisis is thriving. Oil and gas-related industries in the US are planning to build 157 new or expanded plants and expand drilling over the next five years – releasing as much greenhouse gas pollution as 50 new coal-fired power plants, according to a report from the Environmental Integrity Project.
As the technology for retrieving oil and gas has advanced, with hydraulic fracturing, the cost of production has plummeted. The US is now a net exporter of oil products.
Much of the expansion expected would be for feedstocks to make chemicals and plastics, explained Courtney Bernhardt, the group’s research director.
Bernhardt said the oil and gas expansion would erase about 75% of the progress in the power sector since 2012.
“The US is already struggling to meet climate commitments and transition to a low-carbon future,” Bernhardt said. “This analysis shows that we’re heading in the wrong direction and really need to slow emissions growth from the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.”
It’s not just climate change that is getting worse. Trump has loosened rules for clean water and air and safer chemicals. Air quality is already eroding, linked with 10,000 additional US deaths over two years.
Democrats, meanwhile, are offering a starkly different future for the environment. The House energy and commerce committee last week introduced a discussion draft of legislation for the US to achieve a “100% clean economy” by 2050.
In the race against Trump, all the major Democratic candidates have similarly pledged to seek at least net-zero emissions by 2050.
The League of Conservation Voters’ called the House committee effort encouraging and said the announcement “is further proof that elections have consequences”. But other groups were critical, saying the plan would not transition away from fossil fuels fast enough.


theguardian--2020-01-14--House announces ‘trove’ of evidence to add to impeachment process  – live

Released messages between Lev Parnas and his associate appear to show them tracking the whereabouts of Marie Yovanovich , the @ @ @ @ @ .
Yovanovitch , who testified in the House impeachment hearing , was removed from her @ @ @ @ @ Trump , even though the state department had asked her to stay on for another @ @ @ @ @ testified , Trump attacked her on Twitter .
Asked how it felt to be singled @ @ @ @ @ Yovanovitch said , “ the effect is intimidating .
”

Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) , Lauren Aratani and Joanna Walters in New York (earlier)

15 Jan 2020 00.16 GMT An attorney for Lev Parnas said “Mr. Parnas remains committed to testifying as to all the actions he took in Ukraine” on behalf of Donald Trump. HPSCI has just transmitted evidence from Lev Parnas to the Judiciary Committee, which it deemed relevant to @POTUS’ impeachment inquiry. Mr. Parnas remains committed to testifying as to all the actions he took in Ukraine on behalf of @realDonaldTrump. #LetLevSpeak #LevRemembers pic.twitter.com/udaua1zwPj — Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) January 14, 2020 Bondy said hand-delivered the contents of Parnas’ WhatsApp messages, text messages & images to Democratic staff on the House Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, according to a series of his tweets. Setting up Parnas as a valuable witness could earn him some leniency after federal prosecutors said they are likely to file additional criminal charges against him.
14 Jan 2020 23.50 GMT Released messages between Lev Parnas and his associate appear to show them tracking the whereabouts of Marie Yovanovich, the former US ambassador to Ukraine. Um holy sh*t. This certainly makes it sound like Parnas and co. were actively tracking Yovanovitch's movements. This could explain why Yovanovitch was moved out of Ukraine so quickly. https://t.co/4rBRB06ZGN pic.twitter.com/5Gc8WcGPih — Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) January 14, 2020 Yovanovitch, who testified in the House impeachment hearing, was removed from her post in Ukraine by Donald Trump, even though the state department had asked her to stay on for another year. Even as Yovanovitch testified, Trump attacked her on Twitter. Asked how it felt to be singled out by the president, Yovanovitch said, “the effect is intimidating.”
Updated at 23.51 GMT
14 Jan 2020 23.40 GMT Another bit of evidence is a letter that Rudy Giuliani sent to Ukrainian president-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy in May 2019. “In my capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent, I request a meeting with you ... I will need no more than a half-hour of your time,” Guiliani’s writes, under his personal letterhead.
The letter makes clear that Guiliani planned a trip to Ukraine, “which he publicly described at the time as an effort to ‘meddle in an investigation,’ was undertaken with the knowledge and support of President Trump,” the Intelligence Committee said.
14 Jan 2020 23.29 GMT Amongst the documents that the Intelligence Committee provided are hand-written notes that Lev Parnas provided House investigators, scribbled on stationary from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Vienna: One of the handwritten notes that the House Intelligence Committee provided as evidence. Photograph: House Intelligence “Get Zalensky (sic) to annonce (sic) that the Biden case will Be Investigated” it says. The Intelligence Committee also publicly released text messages and letters.
14 Jan 2020 22.14 GMT Evening summary That’s it from the east coast, we’re handing over to the west coast now, where Maanvi Singh will take you through until 7pm ET, at which point Joan E Greve will launch our special debate live blog, ready to prepare for and cover the Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa, at 9pm ET tonight. Most recent key events: Of course a woman can be elected to be the US president, duh.
National Security Agency (NSA) officials announced that they discovered a major flaw in Microsoft ’s Windows operating system – one that could leave users vulnerable to significant breaches, surveillance or disruption.
’s Windows operating system – one that could leave users vulnerable to significant breaches, surveillance or disruption. Opening arguments in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump are expected to begin next Tuesday.
14 Jan 2020 22.02 GMT The security at the US Capitol is telling journalists that only one video camera, no photographers or audio recording, will be allowed when the articles of impeachment are delivered to the Senate, according to CQ Roll Call. Reporters will be confined to a single press pen and won’t be able to move with senators when asking questions (a common tactic when reporting at the Capitol). The rule will heavily restrict journalists’ ability to speak to Senators throughout the impeachment trial.
The Standing Committee of Correspondents, the group of journalists who represent credentialed reporters of the House and Senate, have said the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and Capitol Police have rejected their suggestions in compromising. Sarah Wire, a reporter for the LA Times and the Standing Committee chair, said on Twitter that the committee has not been provided with “an explanation of how the restrictions contribute to the safety rather than simply limit coverage of the trial.”
The Standing Committee of Correspondents vigorously objects to restrictions being considered on press access during the upcoming Senate trial of President Trump. — Sarah D. Wire (@sarahdwire) January 14, 2020
Updated at 22.02 GMT
14 Jan 2020 21.34 GMT Reporters have been asking a few women in politics on their thoughts about the viral story that Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in a 2018 meeting that a woman can’t win the presidency. Sanders has issued a scathing denial saying he did not make that comment.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said she wouldn’t comment on whether she believes the account, but said that “Hillary won 3 million more votes than Trump and Nancy Pelosi eats his lunch daily”.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that she “defer[s] to both of their campaigns,” but added “I think it’s also important to say that of course women can win”. Ocasio-Cortez, who officially endorsed Sanders in October, said that electing women is part of a “progressive ideology” and “I know that the senator believes that as well.”
Kamala Harris’ reaction got the most traction today. She told reporters with a laugh, “Oh, a woman can be president. Of that, I am sure. “Oh, a woman can be president. Of that I am sure.” — @KamalaHarris pic.twitter.com/rg9QdSyeeq — Meena Harris (@meenaharris) January 14, 2020
14 Jan 2020 21.20 GMT National Security Agency (NSA) officials announced today that they discovered a major flaw in Microsoft’s Windows operating system – one that could leave users vulnerable to significant breaches, surveillance or disruption. Here’s more from the Washington Post: The public disclosure represents a major shift in the NSA’s approach, choosing to put computer security ahead of building up its arsenal of hacking tools that allow the agency to spy on adversaries’ networks. “This is ... a change in approach ... by NSA of working to share, working to lean forward, and then working to really share the data as part of building trust,” said Anne Neuberger, director of the NSA’s Cybersecurity Directorate, which was launched in October.
14 Jan 2020 20.15 GMT Main business of impeachment trial expected to start next Tuesday Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell just indicated that the main business of the impeachment trial of Donald Trump in the Senate will begin next Tuesday. That will follow some procedural steps later this week, after the articles of impeachment are transferred from the House to the Senate, such as the swearing in of those Senate members expected to be directly involved. Next week there could be a vote on the rules but McConnell expects that opening arguments will begin on Tuesday. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Mike Rounds said that McConnell’s trial plan will guarantee votes on calling witnesses hearing new evidence, Reuters reports, and that’s expected to happen after the opening arguments are presented. Mitch McConnell addressing the media on Capitol Hill a little earlier today Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
14 Jan 2020 19.38 GMT As someone just said: Go get him Liz! We’ve added Elizabeth Warren’s letter to our original post now, if you want to see what she told the SEC financial watchdogs, in relation to accusations that Trump tipped off pals while at Mar-a-Lago about a planned US hit on Iran, which just maybe prompted some allegedly illegal share manipulation......... Go get him, Liz! https://t.co/BOxBNlTnyY — Norma Duffy (@Ilikewoods) January 14, 2020
14 Jan 2020 19.14 GMT Afternoon summary The Democratic debate in Des Moines tonight and the impeachment trial of Donald Trump beckon, but there is no shortage of drama in US politics as these key events loom. There’s plenty more action to come but here are the main happenings so far: House Speaker Nancy Pelos i just weighed in on the report that Russian operatives have hacked into Ukrainian gas company Burisma , an entity at the heart of the Trump impeachment inquiry .
i just weighed in on the report that Russian operatives have hacked into Ukrainian gas company , an entity at the heart of the . Hillary Clinton is questioning whether reports of the Burisma hack mean American democracy is being set up once again for the kind of election interferenc e that tarnished 2016, and again in Donald Trump’s favor...
is questioning whether reports of the Burisma hack mean American democracy is being set up once again for the kind of election e that tarnished 2016, and again in Donald Trump’s favor... Democratic 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren is calling for an official insider trading probe into whether stocks were manipulated by people acting on tip-offs from Donald Trump while they were at Mar-a-Lago over the winter holiday period that a key US military action was planned against Iran .
is calling for an official probe into whether stocks were manipulated by people acting on tip-offs from while they were at over the winter holiday period that a key US military action was planned against . There will be a vote tomorrow in the House on plans to send the articles of impeachment (aka congressional charges) against Donald Trump to the US Senate, ready for his trial there, which is then likely to begin in short order.
14 Jan 2020 19.00 GMT Speaker weighs in on Russian hack reports Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is weighing in on the reports that Russian operatives have hacked into Ukrainian gas company Burisma, where Joe Biden’s son Hunter used to work, seeking dirt to throw into the US 2020 presidential election. The Guardian’s senior political reporter Lauren Gambino reports. In a new statement on reports that Russia hacked Burisma, Pelosi says: “Congress must be briefed on what the Administration knows about this attack and why the President doesn’t have a plan to protect our elections.” — Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) January 14, 2020 Hillary Clinton spoke out on the issue a little earlier. Pelosi went on to say: “We only learned of this hacking through the press. Congress must be briefed on what the Administration knows about this attack and why the President doesn’t have a plan to protect our elections.” That was then: Nancy Pelosi (left) and Hillary Clinton on Capitol Hill, June 2016 Photograph: UPI / Barcroft Images
Updated at 19.02 GMT


theguardian--2020-01-14--Democratic candidates line up for final debate before Iowa caucuses

Democrats on Tuesday night will kick off a final debate just three weeks before voters in Iowa cast the first ballots in the party ’ s 2020 nomination contest amid increasing infighting between candidates as the party searches for a champion to take on Donald Trump .
The sense from Democrats on the ground in Iowa is that despite the most recent polls showing the former vice-president Joe Biden leading the field , the escalating feuds between the senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren or Biden and the former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg could upend the race .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Norm Sterzenbach , an Iowa-based Democratic strategist who served as the state director for former representative Beto O ’ Rourke ’ s now defunct presidential campaign .
Sterzenbach said the primary is full of Democrats not fully committed to one single candidate and he expects an “ unprecedented of people are going to walk in on caucus night unsure of where they want to be ” .
“ These final three weeks are going to have a major impact of who walks out of Iowa .
The debates are an important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The days before the debate centered on the end of detente between Warren and Sanders thanks to a set of talking points urging Sanders volunteers to tell voters that Warren can ’ t expand the electorate and she is the preferred candidate of the wealthy .
Then Warren herself confirmed an account that at a private meeting in 2018 Sanders said a woman couldn ’ t be elected president in the next campaign cycle .
The Sanders campaign denied that account and in a sign that his team is hoping the back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the campaign released a new ad focused on healthcare and college affordability on Tuesday morning .
That feuding plus recent polling showing Biden and Buttigieg still polling competitively in Iowa has raised expectations for a tense debate centered on electability and factionalism on Tuesday night .
Candidates will need to differentiate themselves in order to gain ground in the state , said Grant Woodard , an Iowa-based Democratic strategist and former chief of staff to an Iowa Democratic member of Congress .
“ They ’ re going to need to differentiate themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to have [ Senator Amy ] Klobuchar trying to get in the conversation as well , ” Woodard said .
There ’ s also a sense that Biden is not impervious and a win in Iowa or a strong debate showing from a rival could oust him from the frontrunner spot .
“ There are still so many variables , even till Iowa , that things could change , ” said Bradley Tusk , a political strategist who served as campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg ’ s 2009 mayoral re-election bid in @ @ @

A post-debate confrontation between progressive senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders capped the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses after an evening of infighting on foreign policy, healthcare and what makes a candidate most fit to defeat Donald Trump.
In a sign of the depth of the tension between Sanders and Warren, at the end of the debate, as candidates were shaking hands, the Massachusetts senator walked over to the Vermont senator. Sanders outstretched his hand; Warren did not. It was not immediately clear what the two said but after a few short, apparently stern words from both sides they shook their heads and walked in opposite directions.
The moment came after several days of tension between the two camps, shattering a longstanding detente between America’s two leading progressives. The squabble culminated in a dispute over remarks Warren claimed Sanders had made to her privately about the ability of a woman to successfully take on Trump.
About 45 minutes into the debate, the issue came up and Sanders repeated the denial that he had ever said a woman could not win the 2020 presidential election. Sanders said “as a matter of fact, I didn’t say” that, adding that it was “incomprehensible” he would hold such a view.
Sanders went on to note that he supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and thought she could beat Trump. When Warren was asked to respond, she earned a loud cheer from the audience by saying only the women on the stage had won every election they ran in.
“Look at the men on this stage,” Warren said. “Collectively, they have lost 10 elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they’ve been in are the women. Amy and me,” referring to the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar.
Then things got pettier. Sanders noted that he beat a popular Republican 30 years ago, causing Warren to pause. She said in the last 30 years, and that particular election was 30 years ago, Sanders noted. Sanders was referring to his fight for a congressional seat against Republican Peter Smith.
Though the clash between the two progressive heavyweights had been eagerly awaited, Warren also signaled she wanted to move beyond it. “Bernie is my friend, and I’m not here to fight with Bernie,” she said, though those sentiments were not echoed in the apparently hostile post-debate confrontation.
Other divisions were also on display. Sanders was also ready to get into it with former vice-president Joe Biden. And all the contenders were eager to talk about healthcare. Six were on the stage: Sanders, Warren, Biden, Klobuchar, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, and businessman Tom Steyer.
The debate began with a wide-ranging discussion on foreign policy, including the war in Iraq and whether to leave some American troops in the Middle East or pull them out. Some divisions were on display. Biden defended his vote on the Iraq war, for which he has been criticized for recently. Sanders contrasted himself with Biden.
“I did everything I could to prevent that war. Joe saw it differently,” Sanders said.
Warren said she supported pulling American troops out of the region. Buttigieg did not give a clear answer on whether to recall all troops or not.
This video has been removed. This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. Elizabeth Warren rebukes Bernie Sanders: 'A woman can win the presidency' – video
Later on, ideological divides emerged. Buttigieg became defensive on healthcare, pushing back on criticism that his healthcare proposal was too modest. Healthcare has been a major marker dividing liberal candidates like Warren and Sanders with centrist ones who don’t support Medicare for All: Klobuchar, Biden, and Buttigieg.
“It’s just not true that my plan is small,” Buttigieg said. His plan, called Medicare for All Who Want It, is not as expansive as the Medicare for All proposals championed by Sanders and Warren. “This would be a game-changer.”
Warren was eager to engage with Buttigieg there.
“Look, the numbers that the mayor is offering just don’t add up,” Warren said.
And later on Sanders was asked about the effect his healthcare overhaul plan would have on towns with a large health insurance industry. Sanders digressed.
“We are finally going to have to stand up to the healthcare industry and hundreds of billions of dollars of waste, and profiteering,” Sanders said.
The sense from Democrats on the ground in Iowa ahead of the debate was that despite recent polls showing Biden leading the field, the escalating feuds between Sanders and Warren or Biden and Buttigieg could upend the race.
“It feels like a free-for-all here,” said Norm Sterzenbach, an Iowa-based Democratic strategist who served as the state director for former representative Beto O’Rourke’s now defunct presidential campaign. Sterzenbach said the primary is full of Democrats not fully committed to one single candidate and he expects an “unprecedented of people are going to walk in on caucus night unsure of where they want to be”.
“These final three weeks are going to have a major impact of who walks out of Iowa. The debates are an important piece of it,” Sterzenbach added.
Candidates will need to differentiate themselves in order to gain ground in the state, said Grant Woodard, an Iowa-based Democratic strategist and former chief of staff to an Iowa Democratic member of Congress.
There’s also a sense that Biden is not impervious and a win in Iowa or a strong debate showing from a rival could oust him from the frontrunner spot.
“There are still so many variables, even till Iowa, that things could change,” said Bradley Tusk, a political strategist who served as campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg’s 2009 mayoral re-election bid in New York.