theguardian--2020-02-15--The electability business: is Bernie Sanders America's Corbyn?

British politics rarely intrudes into a US presidential election .
In 1988 , Joe Biden was forced to abandon his first bid for the White House after it emerged that he had quoted without attribution a chunk of oratory from the then Labour party leader , Neil Kinnock .
In 2016 , Donald Trump deployed Nigel Farage as an occasional mascot on the stump , the Brexit victory in that year ’ s referendum deemed a happy omen that populists could defy the odds and win .
In 2020 , a third name has surfaced , offered as a cautionary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week confirmed a septuagenarian radical socialist and longtime backbench rebel as its frontrunner .
That name is Jeremy Corbyn .
“ I don ’ t want the Democratic party of the United States to be the Labour party of the United Kingdom , ” James Carville , the victorious manager of Bill Clinton ’ s 1992 campaign , told audiences on cable TV and in New Hampshire this week , warning that if Democrats nominate Bernie Sanders , they will almost certainly be following Corbyn ’ s Labour party to defeat .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strategists for rival Democratic candidates , and even the occasional voter cite Corbyn in the case against Sanders , offering the result of December ’ s UK general election as evidence .
A week spent in New Hampshire watching the Vermont senator and his opponents do battle provides some answers to the question many US Democrats are asking themselves : is Sanders fated to be America ’ s Corbyn – or are the two men , and their two situations , radically different ?
Team Sanders is understandably reluctant to encourage the parallel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that on the streets , I heard it in the bubble , ” Nina Turner , a national co-chair of the Sanders campaign , told the Guardian .
“ The talking heads and the elites said it to try to dismantle Senator Bernie Sanders , to say , ‘ Aha , this can ’ t happen !
’ ” All the same , Turner was keen to add that “ both men have a healthy respect for each other ” .
Yet within minutes of that conversation , the first New Hampshire voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ station in downtown Manchester – retired airline pilot Paul Demars – volunteered , unprompted , that he was voting for Sanders even though “ I was nervous about the electability business : it ’ d be a real bummer if he got Corbyn ’ d ” .
The similarities between the men are obvious .
Both spent decades on the political margins , regarded as perennial troublemakers with no prospect of gaining national power .
To their critics , they remain stubbornly stuck in the 1970s ; to their admirers , they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They both exude a rumpled authenticity , their appearance – Sanders ’ wayward hair , Corbyn ’ s beard – visible proof that they are not careerist politicians of the usual stripe .
Their messages are similar too .
Sanders wants “ an economy that works for all , not just the 1 % ” , while Corbyn stood as the champion of “ the many , not the few ” .
Both are exponents of a particular brand of leftwing populism , offering themselves as tribunes of the hard-working majority against an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rigged the economy in its own favour .
Both boast of the scale of their ambition .
Corbyn trumpeted Labour ’ s 2019 manifesto as the most radical programme in a generation , while the warmup track at a Sanders rally is Tracy Chapman ’ s Talkin ’ Bout a Revolution .
Both have promised that victory for them would see their respective countries transformed .
That has opened up a line of attack against both men which is remarkably similar .
Sanders ’ opponents criticise him for implausibly offering “ free stuff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last Labour manifesto was lampooned as a wishlist of impossible giveaways .
Sanders provokes scepticism from Americans when he says his healthcare plan would not only guarantee free medical care for everyone but also free eyeglasses , hearing aids and dental care .
It triggers a chorus of questions about where the money would come from – a chorus with distinct echoes of the reaction that greeted Labour ’ s pledge of free broadband along with a series of other costly measures .
Some policies are identical , such as free university tuition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases is to redefine internal party opponents as dull “ centrists ” , cautious defenders of the status quo .
Corbyn did that to rivals Andy Burnham , Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall when he ran for the Labour leadership in 2015 , and Sanders is doing it to Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar now , just as he did it to Hillary Clinton in 2016 .
If anything , Sanders goes further .
Corbyn never suggested his Labour opponents were agents of the City of London , the way Sanders supporters broke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” in New Hampshire last weekend .
Which brings us to the followers of both men .
The crowds at Sanders rallies are strikingly similar to the audiences that once came out for Corbyn .
Huge numbers of young people , especially students , joined by sixty-somethings who are thrilled that , at last , “ we have our party back ” .
The latter group reckons Sanders is returning the party to the best traditions of Franklin Roosevelt , just as Corbyn liked to invoke the glory of 1945 and Clement Attlee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much-needed youth and energy that Sanders has brought in , hopeful that the independent senator – he ’ s still not a registered Democrat – might make good on his promise to expand the electorate and bring in previous non-voters .
( That was the promise of Corbyn too . )
But others lament what they regard as the aggressive intolerance of the “ Bernie Bros ” , accusing them of slamming those who dare voice anything but wholehearted devotion to the leader .
A report this week described “ the swarm ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsed Elizabeth Warren rather than Sanders , detailing a level of online abuse that would be familiar to those on the wrong end of what they would call “ the Corbyn cult ” .
When the MSNBC host Chuck Todd quoted an article that had branded Sanders backers digital “ brownshirts ” , a hashtag campaign by Sanders defenders soon had # SackChuckTodd trending .
The result is a wariness in some quarters – most notably among Sanders ’ rivals – to attack him directly , for fear of stirring his supporters ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ albeit privately , to a similar nervousness at going too directly after Sanders – a fear that might resonate with at least some of their counterparts in Britain .
But if there are similarities , there are glaring differences too .
Perhaps most significant is that Bernie Sanders has suffered nothing like the protracted onslaught of criticism that rained down on Corbyn , from press and internal party opponents alike , from the moment he became leader .
It ’ s one reason why many Democrats are sceptical of polls showing Sanders would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sanders , they say , has never been on the receiving end of serious negative campaigning or even a thorough trawl through his back catalogue of statements and past affiliations ( including , for example , to the Socialist Workers party of America ) .
Clinton steered clear of that tactic in 2016 , calculating that it would backfire .
So Sanders has never experienced the scrutiny that Corbyn endured – not yet , at any rate .
When it comes , say the doubters , his numbers will tank .
Still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that might offer Democrats reassurance .
For one thing , Sanders has no credible case to answer on antisemitism ; on the contrary , he identifies strongly as a Jew .
A couple of his congressional supporters have made clumsy and insensitive remarks , but that is a world away from the decades-long , personal record of appearances with , and indulgence of , antisemites that proved so toxic for Corbyn .
Similarly , while Corbyn was often accused of “ siding with his country ’ s enemies ” – note the £20,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the Iranian state network Press TV or his 2009 meeting with Bashar al-Assad – Sanders is rather less vulnerable on that score .
Some admiring words for Fidel Castro and the Sandinistas , along with a honeymoon in Moscow , are about the most damaging items on the Sanders charge sheet .
That ’ s largely because of a difference in world view between the two men .
While the senator ’ s chief focus has long been on domestic issues of economic inequality , for Corbyn , opposition to what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years the defining core of his politics .
One illustration : Sanders supported and voted for the Nato-led military intervention over Kosovo in 1999 ; Corbyn opposed it .
There ’ s one last contrast that should give Sanders supporters cheer .
Even Corbyn ’ s most devoted admirers would never describe him as a great orator .
Sanders , though , is a compelling speaker : focused , strong-voiced , able to land a rhetorical riff in a way that usually eludes the Labour leader .
Sanders will need all those gifts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump in November .
A leftwing leader fighting a fair-haired populist with only a casual relationship with the truth has the odds stacked against him – as Corbyn knows all too well .

British politics rarely intrudes into a US presidential election. In 1988, Joe Biden was forced to abandon his first bid for the White House after it emerged that he had quoted without attribution a chunk of oratory from the then Labour party leader, Neil Kinnock. In 2016, Donald Trump deployed Nigel Farage as an occasional mascot on the stump, the Brexit victory in that year’s referendum deemed a happy omen that populists could defy the odds and win. In 2020, a third name has surfaced, offered as a cautionary tale to a Democratic party that this week confirmed a septuagenarian radical socialist and longtime backbench rebel as its frontrunner. That name is Jeremy Corbyn.
“I don’t want the Democratic party of the United States to be the Labour party of the United Kingdom,” James Carville, the victorious manager of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, told audiences on cable TV and in New Hampshire this week, warning that if Democrats nominate Bernie Sanders, they will almost certainly be following Corbyn’s Labour party to defeat.
On the US campaign trail, journalists, strategists for rival Democratic candidates, and even the occasional voter cite Corbyn in the case against Sanders, offering the result of December’s UK general election as evidence. A week spent in New Hampshire watching the Vermont senator and his opponents do battle provides some answers to the question many US Democrats are asking themselves: is Sanders fated to be America’s Corbyn – or are the two men, and their two situations, radically different?
Team Sanders is understandably reluctant to encourage the parallel. “I didn’t hear that on the streets, I heard it in the bubble,” Nina Turner, a national co-chair of the Sanders campaign, told the Guardian. “The talking heads and the elites said it to try to dismantle Senator Bernie Sanders, to say, ‘Aha, this can’t happen!’” All the same, Turner was keen to add that “both men have a healthy respect for each other”.
Yet within minutes of that conversation, the first New Hampshire voter stopped by the Guardian at a polling station in downtown Manchester – retired airline pilot Paul Demars – volunteered, unprompted, that he was voting for Sanders even though “I was nervous about the electability business: it’d be a real bummer if he got Corbyn’d”.
Bernie Sanders rallies supporters in New Hampshire. Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images
The similarities between the men are obvious. Both spent decades on the political margins, regarded as perennial troublemakers with no prospect of gaining national power. To their critics, they remain stubbornly stuck in the 1970s; to their admirers, they have stayed unwaveringly true to their principles. They both exude a rumpled authenticity, their appearance – Sanders’ wayward hair, Corbyn’s beard – visible proof that they are not careerist politicians of the usual stripe.
Their messages are similar too. Sanders wants “an economy that works for all, not just the 1%”, while Corbyn stood as the champion of “the many, not the few”. Both are exponents of a particular brand of leftwing populism, offering themselves as tribunes of the hard-working majority against an elite of bankers and billionaires that has rigged the economy in its own favour.
Both boast of the scale of their ambition. Corbyn trumpeted Labour’s 2019 manifesto as the most radical programme in a generation, while the warmup track at a Sanders rally is Tracy Chapman’s Talkin’ Bout a Revolution. Both have promised that victory for them would see their respective countries transformed.
Q&A What are the primaries? Show The primaries and caucuses are a series of contests, in all 50 US states plus Washington DC and outlying territories, by which each party selects its presidential nominee. The goal for presidential candidates is to amass a majority of delegates, whose job it is to choose the nominee at the party’s national convention later in the year. In some states, delegates are awarded on a winner-take-all basis; other states split their delegates proportionally among top winners. Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback.
That has opened up a line of attack against both men which is remarkably similar. Sanders’ opponents criticise him for implausibly offering “free stuff” to voters, just as the last Labour manifesto was lampooned as a wishlist of impossible giveaways. Sanders provokes scepticism from Americans when he says his healthcare plan would not only guarantee free medical care for everyone but also free eyeglasses, hearing aids and dental care. It triggers a chorus of questions about where the money would come from – a chorus with distinct echoes of the reaction that greeted Labour’s pledge of free broadband along with a series of other costly measures. Some policies are identical, such as free university tuition for all.
The effect in both cases is to redefine internal party opponents as dull “centrists”, cautious defenders of the status quo. Corbyn did that to rivals Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall when he ran for the Labour leadership in 2015, and Sanders is doing it to Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar now, just as he did it to Hillary Clinton in 2016. If anything, Sanders goes further. Corbyn never suggested his Labour opponents were agents of the City of London, the way Sanders supporters broke into chants of “Wall Street Pete” in New Hampshire last weekend.
Jeremy Corbyn at the launch of the Labour party’s youth manifesto in November 2019. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA
Which brings us to the followers of both men. The crowds at Sanders rallies are strikingly similar to the audiences that once came out for Corbyn. Huge numbers of young people, especially students, joined by sixty-somethings who are thrilled that, at last, “we have our party back”. The latter group reckons Sanders is returning the party to the best traditions of Franklin Roosevelt, just as Corbyn liked to invoke the glory of 1945 and Clement Attlee.
Some Democrats welcome the infusion of much-needed youth and energy that Sanders has brought in, hopeful that the independent senator – he’s still not a registered Democrat – might make good on his promise to expand the electorate and bring in previous non-voters. (That was the promise of Corbyn too.) But others lament what they regard as the aggressive intolerance of the “Bernie Bros”, accusing them of slamming those who dare voice anything but wholehearted devotion to the leader. A report this week described “the swarm” that descended on a leftwing organisation that endorsed Elizabeth Warren rather than Sanders, detailing a level of online abuse that would be familiar to those on the wrong end of what they would call “the Corbyn cult”. When the MSNBC host Chuck Todd quoted an article that had branded Sanders backers digital “brownshirts”, a hashtag campaign by Sanders defenders soon had #SackChuckTodd trending.
The result is a wariness in some quarters – most notably among Sanders’ rivals – to attack him directly, for fear of stirring his supporters’ wrath. Several US journalists admit, albeit privately, to a similar nervousness at going too directly after Sanders – a fear that might resonate with at least some of their counterparts in Britain.
But if there are similarities, there are glaring differences too. Perhaps most significant is that Bernie Sanders has suffered nothing like the protracted onslaught of criticism that rained down on Corbyn, from press and internal party opponents alike, from the moment he became leader. It’s one reason why many Democrats are sceptical of polls showing Sanders would beat Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup. Sanders, they say, has never been on the receiving end of serious negative campaigning or even a thorough trawl through his back catalogue of statements and past affiliations (including, for example, to the Socialist Workers party of America). Clinton steered clear of that tactic in 2016, calculating that it would backfire. So Sanders has never experienced the scrutiny that Corbyn endured – not yet, at any rate. When it comes, say the doubters, his numbers will tank.
Still, there are some contrasts with Corbyn that might offer Democrats reassurance. For one thing, Sanders has no credible case to answer on antisemitism; on the contrary, he identifies strongly as a Jew. A couple of his congressional supporters have made clumsy and insensitive remarks, but that is a world away from the decades-long, personal record of appearances with, and indulgence of, antisemites that proved so toxic for Corbyn.
Similarly, while Corbyn was often accused of “siding with his country’s enemies” – note the £20,000 he was paid to be a presenter on the Iranian state network Press TV or his 2009 meeting with Bashar al-Assad – Sanders is rather less vulnerable on that score. Some admiring words for Fidel Castro and the Sandinistas, along with a honeymoon in Moscow, are about the most damaging items on the Sanders charge sheet. That’s largely because of a difference in world view between the two men. While the senator’s chief focus has long been on domestic issues of economic inequality, for Corbyn, opposition to what he would call US imperialism was for many years the defining core of his politics. One illustration: Sanders supported and voted for the Nato-led military intervention over Kosovo in 1999; Corbyn opposed it.
There’s one last contrast that should give Sanders supporters cheer. Even Corbyn’s most devoted admirers would never describe him as a great orator. Sanders, though, is a compelling speaker: focused, strong-voiced, able to land a rhetorical riff in a way that usually eludes the Labour leader.
Sanders will need all those gifts if he is chosen to take on Trump in November. A leftwing leader fighting a fair-haired populist with only a casual relationship with the truth has the odds stacked against him – as Corbyn knows all too well.


theguardian--2020-02-15--Once a longshot, Bloomberg is gaining ground in California. Will it last?

Californians know a thing or two about self-funded business moguls who attempt to spend their way to high political office in their state .
And what they know is , those candidates almost always lose .
Michael Bloomberg , though , is betting he will be different from the Meg Whitmans and Carly Fiorinas of past elections and that California ’ s Democratic primary – along with 13 other contests being held on Super Tuesday , 3 March – will be the coming-out party that enshrines him as the national candidate most likely to beat Donald Trump .
Bloomberg is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , spending unprecedented tens of millions of dollars on television advertising , opening offices in cities big and small across the state , hiring a full-time staff of 300 people and counting , and racking up high-profile endorsements .
All of these efforts are designed to ram home the message that he is in it to win it and can outspend anybody , even the sizeable Republican money machine working at full tilt to keep Trump in the White House for another four years .
“ This is the biggest presidential primary operation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s state director , Chris Masami Myers , told the Guardian .
“ We ’ re literally doing everything you could possibly do.
” The one thing even Bloomberg ’ s millions can ’ t do is buy the support of a plurality of voters in one of the most diverse states in the nation .
But his message is certainly starting to resonate , propelling him from the low single digits in opinion polls as recently as late January to 13 % – ahead of the former vice-president Joe Biden – in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That boost in support has gone into overdrive since the chaotic Iowa caucus on 3 February , a New Hampshire race that left the central Democratic lane deeply divided , and the precipitous decline in Biden ’ s fortunes after months as the race ’ s presumptive frontrunner .
Despite swirling controversies over Bloomberg ’ s support of discriminatory stop-and-frisk policing when he was mayor of New York , new controversies over his treatment of women and the role he believes black and Latino homeowners may have played in triggering the 2008 financial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polling numbers even among minority voters .
The achievement is all the more remarkable since he didn ’ t compete in the first primary and caucuses , aroused little voter excitement in California upon announcing his presidential bid , and was greeted with deep skepticism by many of the state ’ s more seasoned political professionals .
The short answer may be that Democratic voters are now thinking defensively .
In other words , they are more interested in supporting a candidate capable of defeating Trump than in finding one who best represents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not just Bloomberg ’ s money that appeals to them – or even his trenchant Twitter battles with the president demonstrating that he refuses to be bullied .
He has a strong record on combatting gun violence and the climate crisis , two issues that play particularly well in the Golden State .
He is genuinely revered by municipal leaders – including high-profile black mayors like San Francisco ’ s London Breed and the young rising star Michael Tubbs of Stockton – who have won grants and other forms of support from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plutocrats who have entered the electoral arena in California based on their business record alone , he has a solid record in public office to point to thanks to his three terms as mayor of New York .
Then there ’ s the rest of the Democratic field , which strikes many voters as underwhelming and is spurring many of them to think that the flaws of any given candidate may not be as important , in the end , as the imperative to win .
That ’ s especially true of minority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to choose from even though they make up close to half of the Democratic primary electorate .
“ We don ’ t have an Obama .
The expectation is different , ” said Steve Phillips , a political fundraiser , podcaster and commentator who heads the San Francisco-based organization Democracy in Color .
“ Younger African Americans still want the right person , while older folks want any person that can get rid of Trump .
That is the essential dynamic.
” Phillips questioned how much damage stop-and-frisk or other racial controversies could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other candidate still in the race with the moral authority to call him on it effectively .
“ All these people are flawed messengers , ” he said .
Phillips spoke before the Washington Post published a major expose of Bloomberg ’ s treatment of women going back decades and the legal settlements he and his company have repeatedly reached in an attempt to stop their complaints from becoming public .
In California , Bloomberg may be helped by the fact that the electorate tends to be more centrist than progressive – Hillary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the 2016 Democratic primary .
Only 6 % of the electorate is African American , and Latinos , who make up 35 % , have historically turned out in numbers well short of their demographic strength .
Bloomberg ’ s imperfections have not just been visible from a distance .
On the day of the Iowa caucus , he tried to forge a pop culture connection with an audience in Compton , the birthplace of gangsta rap in the southern Los Angeles suburbs , by referring to the previous day ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mangled the name Shakira – a singer he had in fact met in 2007 – and thus made himself seem more , not less , out of touch .
Such blunders , while small on their own , risk drawing attention to another potential liability – his age .
If part of Biden ’ s slide has been due to the perception that he is past his prime , Bloomberg may not want to remind voters that at 78 , he is in fact nine months older .
His whole strategy , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bet on Biden fading and to fill the resultant void .
Going by the rapidly shifting poll numbers , the bet seems to be paying off so far .
But it remains to be seen if the Bloomberg surge continues , as voters take a closer look at him and , assuming he qualifies and participates , see him in his first candidates ’ debate next week .
Since Bloomberg is not participating in either the Nevada caucus or the South Carolina primary , there is also a danger that former Biden supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in particular , could coalesce around a different Democrat in those races and thus steal Bloomberg ’ s momentum heading into Super Tuesday .
Bloomberg ’ s campaign team is confident , however , that they have given him such an organizational advantage in California and the other Super Tuesday states that the momentum will be with him when it matters .
Myers , his California state director , said he expected Bloomberg to return to the Golden State before 3 March and to continue to emphasize his interest in places that other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country of the Central Valley and some of the heavily Latino inland suburbs of LA .
“ We are in these communities , ” Myers said .
“ Not only do we have validators , we also have people the ground , listening to what people are saying and talking about what Mike ’ s record is .
We are going to show our momentum there .
”

Californians know a thing or two about self-funded business moguls who attempt to spend their way to high political office in their state. And what they know is, those candidates almost always lose.
Michael Bloomberg, though, is betting he will be different from the Meg Whitmans and Carly Fiorinas of past elections and that California’s Democratic primary – along with 13 other contests being held on Super Tuesday, 3 March – will be the coming-out party that enshrines him as the national candidate most likely to beat Donald Trump.
Bloomberg is putting his money where his mouth is, spending unprecedented tens of millions of dollars on television advertising, opening offices in cities big and small across the state, hiring a full-time staff of 300 people and counting, and racking up high-profile endorsements. All of these efforts are designed to ram home the message that he is in it to win it and can outspend anybody, even the sizeable Republican money machine working at full tilt to keep Trump in the White House for another four years.
“This is the biggest presidential primary operation in California history,” Bloomberg’s state director, Chris Masami Myers, told the Guardian. “We’re literally doing everything you could possibly do.”
Bloomberg holds a baby during the ‘Mike for Black America Launch Celebration’ at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston, Texas. Photograph: Mark Felix/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
The one thing even Bloomberg’s millions can’t do is buy the support of a plurality of voters in one of the most diverse states in the nation. But his message is certainly starting to resonate, propelling him from the low single digits in opinion polls as recently as late January to 13% – ahead of the former vice-president Joe Biden – in a Capitol Weekly poll this week.
That boost in support has gone into overdrive since the chaotic Iowa caucus on 3 February, a New Hampshire race that left the central Democratic lane deeply divided, and the precipitous decline in Biden’s fortunes after months as the race’s presumptive frontrunner. Despite swirling controversies over Bloomberg’s support of discriminatory stop-and-frisk policing when he was mayor of New York, new controversies over his treatment of women and the role he believes black and Latino homeowners may have played in triggering the 2008 financial collapse, he has racked up strong polling numbers even among minority voters.
The achievement is all the more remarkable since he didn’t compete in the first primary and caucuses, aroused little voter excitement in California upon announcing his presidential bid, and was greeted with deep skepticism by many of the state’s more seasoned political professionals.
What changed?
The short answer may be that Democratic voters are now thinking defensively. In other words, they are more interested in supporting a candidate capable of defeating Trump than in finding one who best represents their own worldview.
And it’s not just Bloomberg’s money that appeals to them – or even his trenchant Twitter battles with the president demonstrating that he refuses to be bullied.
He has a strong record on combatting gun violence and the climate crisis, two issues that play particularly well in the Golden State. He is genuinely revered by municipal leaders – including high-profile black mayors like San Francisco’s London Breed and the young rising star Michael Tubbs of Stockton – who have won grants and other forms of support from his foundation. And, unlike past plutocrats who have entered the electoral arena in California based on their business record alone, he has a solid record in public office to point to thanks to his three terms as mayor of New York.
Then there’s the rest of the Democratic field, which strikes many voters as underwhelming and is spurring many of them to think that the flaws of any given candidate may not be as important, in the end, as the imperative to win.
That’s especially true of minority voters who now have an all-white field to choose from even though they make up close to half of the Democratic primary electorate. “We don’t have an Obama. The expectation is different,” said Steve Phillips, a political fundraiser, podcaster and commentator who heads the San Francisco-based organization Democracy in Color. “Younger African Americans still want the right person, while older folks want any person that can get rid of Trump. That is the essential dynamic.”
Phillips questioned how much damage stop-and-frisk or other racial controversies could do to Bloomberg because he saw no other candidate still in the race with the moral authority to call him on it effectively. “All these people are flawed messengers,” he said. Phillips spoke before the Washington Post published a major expose of Bloomberg’s treatment of women going back decades and the legal settlements he and his company have repeatedly reached in an attempt to stop their complaints from becoming public.
Bloomberg speaks at a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP
In California, Bloomberg may be helped by the fact that the electorate tends to be more centrist than progressive – Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders by seven points in the 2016 Democratic primary. Only 6% of the electorate is African American, and Latinos, who make up 35%, have historically turned out in numbers well short of their demographic strength.
Bloomberg’s imperfections have not just been visible from a distance. On the day of the Iowa caucus, he tried to forge a pop culture connection with an audience in Compton, the birthplace of gangsta rap in the southern Los Angeles suburbs, by referring to the previous day’s Super Bowl halftime show. But he mangled the name Shakira – a singer he had in fact met in 2007 – and thus made himself seem more, not less, out of touch.
Such blunders, while small on their own, risk drawing attention to another potential liability – his age. If part of Biden’s slide has been due to the perception that he is past his prime, Bloomberg may not want to remind voters that at 78, he is in fact nine months older. His whole strategy, according to campaign insiders, has been to bet on Biden fading and to fill the resultant void.
Going by the rapidly shifting poll numbers, the bet seems to be paying off so far. But it remains to be seen if the Bloomberg surge continues, as voters take a closer look at him and, assuming he qualifies and participates, see him in his first candidates’ debate next week.
Since Bloomberg is not participating in either the Nevada caucus or the South Carolina primary, there is also a danger that former Biden supporters, and his black and Latino supporters in particular, could coalesce around a different Democrat in those races and thus steal Bloomberg’s momentum heading into Super Tuesday.
Bloomberg’s campaign team is confident, however, that they have given him such an organizational advantage in California and the other Super Tuesday states that the momentum will be with him when it matters.
Myers, his California state director, said he expected Bloomberg to return to the Golden State before 3 March and to continue to emphasize his interest in places that other candidates tend to ignore – the farm country of the Central Valley and some of the heavily Latino inland suburbs of LA.
“We are in these communities,” Myers said. “Not only do we have validators, we also have people the ground, listening to what people are saying and talking about what Mike’s record is. We are going to show our momentum there.”


theguardian--2020-02-17--Ocasio-Cortez faces 13 challengers – but can anyone unseat her?

Democratic leftist superstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has risen to national – and even global – fame from an unlikely position as a young first-time congresswoman from New York .
But now she faces 13 different challengers , including from within her own party as well as Republicans , as she prepares for her first congressional re-election campaign .
News of the multiple bids to unseat AOC , however , came as a surprise to many voters on the streets of her district in the Bronx last week .
Some voters still had not heard of the progressive superstar .
Others said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rivals as the contests heat up over the summer .
But most voiced support , arguing that almost two years since Ocasio-Cortez threw a grenade at the Democratic establishment by ousting incumbent Joe Crowley , her progressive agenda – touting universal healthcare and a Green New Deal – was only now taking hold in the nation ’ s political capital .
“ Give her a chance !
We knew who she was when we sent her , that she ’ d make a noise , and making a noise was why we sent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Abbas .
“ She ’ s done good things for the Bronx , ” concurred Carol Heraldo .
“ I like how she presents herself as woman , that she ’ s firm , that she took what she believed and made it real .
We don ’ t see a lot of young people accomplish a lot because they ’ re afraid – and she ’ s not afraid.
” That ’ s not how all see it .
The first-term congresswoman is facing eight Republican and five Democratic candidates aiming to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with little fundraising potential or appetite for collecting the necessary 4,000 signatures to get on the ballot .
At her first campaign rally on Saturday , Ocasio-Cortez said she hoped to multiply turnout by four , reaching 60,000 votes in the primary election .
She declined to be drawn on the challengers that have lined up to contest her seat .
“ I think everyone has a right [ to run ] .
I of course won my seat with a primary , ” she told the New York Post .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a primary.
” Ocasio-Cortez ’ s Republican challengers certainly seem to have their work cut out for them .
In 2018 she steamedrolled the Republican candidate by a margin of 78 % .
With about $ 3.4m in her campaigns re-election coffers in a solidly Democratic district , Ocasio-Cortez ’ s Republican challengers probably plan on merely damaging her or securing a bigger national media profile by taking on such a famed opponent .
John Cummings , a former police officer , raised $ 425,000 in 10 weeks after announcing his candidacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friends .
Jamaican immigrant Scherie Murray gave her first interview to Fox News ’ s Sean Hannity and raised a similar amount .
But having led a campaign to prevent Amazon from establishing a headquarters in neighboring Long Island City , and established herself as a leading member of “ the Squad ” , the self-described group of progressive congresswomen that includes Ilhan Omar of Minnesota , Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan , Ocasio-Cortez is a political target .
In a district that hasn ’ t voted Republican in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are tackling a candidate who has become a lightning rod for rightwing anger nationally .
“ Anything that indicates AOC is vulnerable would be godsend to people who don ’ t like her or are upset about the Amazon loss of 27,000 jobs in New York , ” said veteran Democratic party strategist Hank Sheinkopf , warning : “ Politics are unstable across the nation .
Things are happening that we haven ’ t seen or thought about before.
” Strategically speaking , a challenge to one of the most influential voices on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in other , more marginal races .
Within New York City , more than three dozen candidates promoting progressive , generational change are taking on congressional incumbents .
In her own district , enthusiasm among supporters for Ocasio-Cortez is unwavering .
The Working Families party “ knows Ocasio-Cortez will beat any challengers who might arise because she ’ s fighting tirelessly for her district and her agenda speaks to the people of Queens and the Bronx ” , the group said in a statement to the Guardian .
But the Ocasio-Cortez campaign also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the Democratic party establishment .
Open warfare broke out in July when the House speaker , Nancy Pelosi , took aim at her and her close colleagues in the Squad .
“ All these people have is their public whatever and their Twitter world , ” Pelosi said .
“ But they didn ’ t have any following .
They ’ re four people and that ’ s how many votes they got.
” In a tweeted response , Ocasio-Cortez said : “ That public ‘ whatever ’ is called public sentiment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country.
” The progressive-moderate split could be clearly discerned , too , in the battle last year over the election of a new Queens district attorney when Tiffany Cabán , an Ocasio-Cortez-backed candidate running on a platform to reduce record levels of incarceration , initially declared victory with a margin of 1,100 votes .
But establishment-backed candidate Melinda Katz demanded a recount and ultimately pulled ahead by 55 votes after a series of court challenges over voter eligibility .
Ocasio-Cortez ’ s most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longtime CNBC correspondent and anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera .
Caruso-Cabrera , who published a book in 2011 called You Know I ’ m Right : More Prosperity , Less Government , is a skeptic of big government and a proponent of free markets .
Caruso-Cabrera is a relatively recent Democratic party member who registered her candidacy last week , appear to be preparing a more serious challenge as she seeks to take on Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary .
“ Caruso-Cabrero is as wild a card as AOC was two years ago , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lead a spirited challenge and could be very competitive.
” She certainly fancies her chances .
“ I am the daughter and granddaughter of working-class Italian and Cuban immigrants , ” Caruso-Cabrera said in a statement .
“ I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful career and I want everybody to have the opportunity that I ’ ve had .
That ’ s why I ’ m running.
” Ocasio-Cortez ’ s campaign declined to comment on the challenge .
But people close to the campaign said Caruso-Cabrera could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least from the Democratic side , even though she represents a radically different vision of the party .
“ It ’ ll be interesting if she decides to hide her libertarian-conservative ideology , ” one source said .
“ Certain conservatives are upset that AOC beat Crowley and over Amazon so there maybe certain Koch-type figures who have had some role in recruiting her .
I don ’ t think [ Caruso-Cabrera ] is going to get young Democrats from around the country to work for her , but you could see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they all spend so much time condemning her politics or lusting after her.
” However , candidates on both sides will be looking to raise money from outside the relatively poor , racially diverse district .
Ocasio-Cortez ’ s fame has long transcended the borders of her hardscrabble patch of the Bronx .
“ AOC can raise an awful lot of money throughout the country from all sorts of people , but within the district there ’ s not an awful lot of money to raise , ” said Sheinkopf .

Democratic leftist superstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has risen to national – and even global – fame from an unlikely position as a young first-time congresswoman from New York.
But now she faces 13 different challengers, including from within her own party as well as Republicans, as she prepares for her first congressional re-election campaign. News of the multiple bids to unseat AOC, however, came as a surprise to many voters on the streets of her district in the Bronx last week.
Some voters still had not heard of the progressive superstar. Others said they would weigh the merits of her rivals as the contests heat up over the summer. But most voiced support, arguing that almost two years since Ocasio-Cortez threw a grenade at the Democratic establishment by ousting incumbent Joe Crowley, her progressive agenda – touting universal healthcare and a Green New Deal – was only now taking hold in the nation’s political capital.
“Give her a chance! We knew who she was when we sent her, that she’d make a noise, and making a noise was why we sent her,” said local businessman Abdul Abbas.
“She’s done good things for the Bronx,” concurred Carol Heraldo. “I like how she presents herself as woman, that she’s firm, that she took what she believed and made it real. We don’t see a lot of young people accomplish a lot because they’re afraid – and she’s not afraid.”
We knew who she was when we sent her, that she’d make a noise, and making a noise was why we sent her Abdul Abbas
That’s not how all see it. The first-term congresswoman is facing eight Republican and five Democratic candidates aiming to unseat her. Some appear symbolic, with little fundraising potential or appetite for collecting the necessary 4,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
At her first campaign rally on Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez said she hoped to multiply turnout by four, reaching 60,000 votes in the primary election. She declined to be drawn on the challengers that have lined up to contest her seat.
“I think everyone has a right [to run]. I of course won my seat with a primary,” she told the New York Post. “I would never begrudge anyone trying to run in a primary.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s Republican challengers certainly seem to have their work cut out for them. In 2018 she steamedrolled the Republican candidate by a margin of 78%.
With about $3.4m in her campaigns re-election coffers in a solidly Democratic district, Ocasio-Cortez’s Republican challengers probably plan on merely damaging her or securing a bigger national media profile by taking on such a famed opponent.
John Cummings, a former police officer, raised $425,000 in 10 weeks after announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination on Fox & Friends. Jamaican immigrant Scherie Murray gave her first interview to Fox News’s Sean Hannity and raised a similar amount.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at a rally for Bernie Sanders in Venice, California, on 19 December 2019. Photograph: Christian Monterrosa/EPA
But having led a campaign to prevent Amazon from establishing a headquarters in neighboring Long Island City, and established herself as a leading member of “the Squad”, the self-described group of progressive congresswomen that includes Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ocasio-Cortez is a political target.
In a district that hasn’t voted Republican in half a century, the Republican candidates are tackling a candidate who has become a lightning rod for rightwing anger nationally.
“Anything that indicates AOC is vulnerable would be godsend to people who don’t like her or are upset about the Amazon loss of 27,000 jobs in New York,” said veteran Democratic party strategist Hank Sheinkopf, warning: “Politics are unstable across the nation. Things are happening that we haven’t seen or thought about before.”
Strategically speaking, a challenge to one of the most influential voices on the American left also could affect candidates in other, more marginal races. Within New York City, more than three dozen candidates promoting progressive, generational change are taking on congressional incumbents.
In her own district, enthusiasm among supporters for Ocasio-Cortez is unwavering. The Working Families party “knows Ocasio-Cortez will beat any challengers who might arise because she’s fighting tirelessly for her district and her agenda speaks to the people of Queens and the Bronx”, the group said in a statement to the Guardian.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez serves drinks in support of One Fair Wage at the Queensboro restaurant in Queens, New York, on 31 May 2019. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
But the Ocasio-Cortez campaign also knows that opposition to her remains deep within the Democratic party establishment. Open warfare broke out in July when the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, took aim at her and her close colleagues in the Squad.
“All these people have is their public whatever and their Twitter world,” Pelosi said. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”
In a tweeted response, Ocasio-Cortez said: “That public ‘whatever’ is called public sentiment. And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country.”
The progressive-moderate split could be clearly discerned, too, in the battle last year over the election of a new Queens district attorney when Tiffany Cabán, an Ocasio-Cortez-backed candidate running on a platform to reduce record levels of incarceration, initially declared victory with a margin of 1,100 votes.
But establishment-backed candidate Melinda Katz demanded a recount and ultimately pulled ahead by 55 votes after a series of court challenges over voter eligibility.
Ocasio-Cortez’s most coherent Democratic challenger to date is former longtime CNBC correspondent and anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. Caruso-Cabrera, who published a book in 2011 called You Know I’m Right: More Prosperity, Less Government, is a skeptic of big government and a proponent of free markets.
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera in May 2011. Photograph: Evan Agostini/AP
Caruso-Cabrera is a relatively recent Democratic party member who registered her candidacy last week, appear to be preparing a more serious challenge as she seeks to take on Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary.
“Caruso-Cabrero is as wild a card as AOC was two years ago,” said Sheinkopf. “Caruso-Cabrero is likely to lead a spirited challenge and could be very competitive.”
She certainly fancies her chances.
“I am the daughter and granddaughter of working-class Italian and Cuban immigrants,” Caruso-Cabrera said in a statement. “I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful career and I want everybody to have the opportunity that I’ve had. That’s why I’m running.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign declined to comment on the challenge. But people close to the campaign said Caruso-Cabrera could be AOC’s most potent opponent at least from the Democratic side, even though she represents a radically different vision of the party.
“It’ll be interesting if she decides to hide her libertarian-conservative ideology,” one source said. “Certain conservatives are upset that AOC beat Crowley and over Amazon so there maybe certain Koch-type figures who have had some role in recruiting her. I don’t think [Caruso-Cabrera] is going to get young Democrats from around the country to work for her, but you could see young conservative activists in the district because they all spend so much time condemning her politics or lusting after her.”
However, candidates on both sides will be looking to raise money from outside the relatively poor, racially diverse district. Ocasio-Cortez’s fame has long transcended the borders of her hardscrabble patch of the Bronx.
“AOC can raise an awful lot of money throughout the country from all sorts of people, but within the district there’s not an awful lot of money to raise,” said Sheinkopf.


theguardian--2020-02-17--NSA whistleblower who leaked Russian hacking report petitions for clemency

Supporters of Reality Winner , a National Security Agency whistleblower who leaked classified information about Russia ’ s interference in the 2016 presidential election , petitioned Donald Trump on Monday for her early release from prison .
Alison Grinter , an attorney representing the former US air force intelligence specialist , announced at a press conference in Dallas that she had submitted 4,500 letters of support to the federal office of the pardon attorney , the division of the Department of Justice that advises the US president on executive clemency decisions .
Winner was sentenced to five years and three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the espionage act by passing top secret documents to an investigative news website about the Russian hacking of voting software and its efforts to disrupt dozens of local election systems ahead of the 2016 election .
“ Our country was attacked by a hostile foreign power , ” The Intercept quoted Grinter as saying at the press conference .
“ Our national healing process can not begin until we forgive our truth tellers and begin the job of rebuilding what was taken from us : election security , accountability for those who endeavor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American right to government by and for the people .
None of this can begin in earnest while we are still punishing those who tell us the truth.
” The petition states of Winner , 28 : “ Her continued incarceration is costly , unnecessary to protect the public , burdensome to her health and wellbeing , and not commensurate with the severity of her offense.
” Trump called Winner ’ s sentence “ unfair ” in an August 2018 tweet attacking then-attorney general Jeff Sessions , describing her actions as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alleged his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton had done with classified information while she was secretary of state during the administration of Barack Obama .
A three-year state department investigation cleared Clinton of any wrongdoing in October 2019 .
Winner said of Trump in a phone interview with CBS News from Georgia ’ s Lincoln county jail in 2018 that she “ can ’ t thank him enough ” for the tweet , which she said confirmed her lawyers ’ view that the sentence was unfair .
The Department of Justice did not immediately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Guardian on Monday .

Supporters of Reality Winner, a National Security Agency whistleblower who leaked classified information about Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, petitioned Donald Trump on Monday for her early release from prison.
Alison Grinter, an attorney representing the former US air force intelligence specialist, announced at a press conference in Dallas that she had submitted 4,500 letters of support to the federal office of the pardon attorney, the division of the Department of Justice that advises the US president on executive clemency decisions.
Winner was sentenced to five years and three months in August 2018 after admitting breaching the espionage act by passing top secret documents to an investigative news website about the Russian hacking of voting software and its efforts to disrupt dozens of local election systems ahead of the 2016 election.
“Our country was attacked by a hostile foreign power,” The Intercept quoted Grinter as saying at the press conference.
“Our national healing process cannot begin until we forgive our truth tellers and begin the job of rebuilding what was taken from us: election security, accountability for those who endeavor to undermine our democracy; and safeguarding the American right to government by and for the people. None of this can begin in earnest while we are still punishing those who tell us the truth.”
The petition states of Winner, 28: “Her continued incarceration is costly, unnecessary to protect the public, burdensome to her health and wellbeing, and not commensurate with the severity of her offense.”
Trump called Winner’s sentence “unfair” in an August 2018 tweet attacking then-attorney general Jeff Sessions, describing her actions as “small potatoes” compared to what he alleged his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton had done with classified information while she was secretary of state during the administration of Barack Obama.
A three-year state department investigation cleared Clinton of any wrongdoing in October 2019.
Winner said of Trump in a phone interview with CBS News from Georgia’s Lincoln county jail in 2018 that she “can’t thank him enough” for the tweet, which she said confirmed her lawyers’ view that the sentence was unfair.
The Department of Justice did not immediately return a request for comment from the Guardian on Monday.


theguardian--2020-02-17--Searching for a way to defeat Trump | Letters

Benjamin Moffitt , in his review of the forces of populism , suggests that if anti-populists want to defeat the likes of Trump , they ’ ll need a different approach ( Long read , 14 February ) .
But he doesn ’ t say what .
I ’ ve looked in vain in the Guardian and other enlightened media for a workable game plan for anti-populists ; and I ’ ve listened in vain to those on the left in the hope that someone will emerge with an anti-populist strategy .
Without that strategy , the left in all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ win the political argument for the popular vote by combating the lies and distortions of the populists , who succeed by appealing to the lowest common denominator .
We moderate leftists need an argument and an inspiring leader .
Sadly I can see neither in the desert that is Britain today .
John Pawsey Milton Keynes • Benjamin Moffitt ’ s piece on how to defeat populism never identifies what really divides the two creeds : populists believe their “ tribe ” is superior to others , and so deserves advantages ; anti-populists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entitlement to human rights , whether they belong to one ’ s own tribe ( nation state , political , or religious affiliation , gender , etc ) or not .
So it is hardly surprising that his long read fails to answer the question of how do anti-populists win ?
It is much harder to sell the anti-populist stance , that a civilised society is distinguished by how it treats its “ others ” , like transgressors ( prisoners , drug addicts ) , an underclass ( poor , disadvantaged , asylum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during a time of economic insecurity : see Nazi Germany for the prime example .
The threat of populism is actually best countered with a strong dose of Keynesian economics and wealth redistribution .
Dariel Francis Tunbridge Wells , Kent • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters • Do you have a photo you ’ d like to share with Guardian readers ?
Click here to upload it and we ’ ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition

Benjamin Moffitt, in his review of the forces of populism, suggests that if anti-populists want to defeat the likes of Trump, they’ll need a different approach (Long read, 14 February). But he doesn’t say what. I’ve looked in vain in the Guardian and other enlightened media for a workable game plan for anti-populists; and I’ve listened in vain to those on the left in the hope that someone will emerge with an anti-populist strategy.
Without that strategy, the left in all its guises will not be able to win the political argument for the popular vote by combating the lies and distortions of the populists, who succeed by appealing to the lowest common denominator. We moderate leftists need an argument and an inspiring leader. Sadly I can see neither in the desert that is Britain today.
John Pawsey
Milton Keynes
Benjamin Moffitt’s piece on how to defeat populism never identifies what really divides the two creeds: populists believe their “tribe” is superior to others, and so deserves advantages; anti-populists believe that human beings share a common entitlement to human rights, whether they belong to one’s own tribe (nation state, political, or religious affiliation, gender, etc) or not. So it is hardly surprising that his long read fails to answer the question of how do anti-populists win?
It is much harder to sell the anti-populist stance, that a civilised society is distinguished by how it treats its “others”, like transgressors (prisoners, drug addicts), an underclass (poor, disadvantaged, asylum seekers), minorities and foreigners, during a time of economic insecurity: see Nazi Germany for the prime example.
The threat of populism is actually best countered with a strong dose of Keynesian economics and wealth redistribution.
Dariel Francis
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters


theguardian--2020-02-17--Ted Cruz criticizes vasectomy bill, exposing his hypocrisy on reproduction rights

Ted Cruz , the Republican Texas senator , has given an unwitting boost to an Alabama lawmaker ’ s attempt to push back on restrictive abortion laws in her state , by tweeting about her proposal to force men to have vasectomies when they reach the age of 50 .
Democratic representative Rolanda Hollis introduced the measure to the state House last week , intending it as protest against a law passed by the Alabama legislature last year to outlaw abortion in almost every case unless the life of the mother was at risk .
“ The responsibility is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two to tangle [ sic ] , ” Hollis wrote in a tweet acknowledging that her long-shot House bill , which would also a mandate a vasectomy after the birth of a father ’ s third biological child , was intended to “ neutralize the abortion ban bill ” .
After an initial flare of mostly local publicity , the issue was set to fade back into obscurity – until Cruz waded in with a tweet that placed it firmly before a national audience and his own 3.5 million Twitter followers , exposing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same time .
“ Yikes .
A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything… literally !
” Cruz wrote , linking to an Alabama news website ’ s account of the story from three days previously .
Cruz is noted for his staunchly conservative views on abortion and has previously condemned the Democratic party ’ s efforts to protect access to abortion as “ a war on women.
” Comments on his tweet , however , allude to his opposition to the governance of male reproduction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can and can not do with their bodies .
“ It ’ s outrageous to have government involved in these personal reproductive decisions !
So glad you are pro-choice , Ted !
” one commentator wrote .
The controversial Alabama abortion measures , signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey in May 2019 , was struck down by a federal court judge in October , two weeks before they were due to take effect .
The law , which threatens doctors with up to 99 years in prison for performing abortions at any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its supporters to bolster efforts to have the US Supreme Court overturn its 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling , the landmark case that legalized abortion across the country .
A number of right-leaning states , including Arkansas , Georgia , Kentucky and Louisiana , have passed stricter anti-abortion legislation in recent months as opponents grow in confidence that the supreme court ’ s new conservative majority will reverse its 47-year-old ruling .

Ted Cruz, the Republican Texas senator, has given an unwitting boost to an Alabama lawmaker’s attempt to push back on restrictive abortion laws in her state, by tweeting about her proposal to force men to have vasectomies when they reach the age of 50.
Democratic representative Rolanda Hollis introduced the measure to the state’s House last week, intending it as protest against a law passed by the Alabama legislature last year to outlaw abortion in almost every case unless the life of the mother was at risk.
“The responsibility is not always on the women. It takes two to tangle [sic],” Hollis wrote in a tweet acknowledging that her long-shot House bill, which would also a mandate a vasectomy after the birth of a father’s third biological child, was intended to “neutralize the abortion ban bill”.
After an initial flare of mostly local publicity, the issue was set to fade back into obscurity – until Cruz waded in with a tweet that placed it firmly before a national audience and his own 3.5 million Twitter followers, exposing his apparent hypocrisy over reproductive legislation at the same time.
“Yikes. A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything… literally!” Cruz wrote, linking to an Alabama news website’s account of the story from three days previously.
Cruz is noted for his staunchly conservative views on abortion and has previously condemned the Democratic party’s efforts to protect access to abortion as “a war on women.” Comments on his tweet, however, allude to his opposition to the governance of male reproduction while supporting laws that dictate what women can and cannot do with their bodies.
“It’s outrageous to have government involved in these personal reproductive decisions! So glad you are pro-choice, Ted!” one commentator wrote.
The controversial Alabama abortion measures, signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey in May 2019, were struck down by a federal court judge in October, two weeks before they were due to take effect.
The law, which threatens doctors with up to 99 years in prison for performing abortions at any stage of pregnancy, is intended by its supporters to bolster efforts to have the US supreme court overturn its 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, the landmark case that legalized abortion across the country.
A number of right-leaning states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana, have passed stricter anti-abortion legislation in recent months as opponents grow in confidence that the supreme court’s new conservative majority will reverse its 47-year-old ruling.


theguardian--2020-02-17--Michael Bloomberg dogged by more past controversial remarks

More past comments emerged on Monday to further dog media mogul and billionaire Michael Bloomberg ’ s chase for the Democratic presidential nomination , including an apparent attack on the intelligence of factory and farm workers in the US .
Speaking at Oxford University ’ s Saïd business school in the UK in 2016 , the former mayor of New York appeared to question if blue-collar workers had the skills necessary to adapt to the information technology age .
The comments were reported by Fox News .
Also on Monday there was increasing scrutiny of 2013 Bloomberg speeches , made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported by Politico , branding local members of the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) and New York ’ s teachers ’ union as “ extremists ” and likening them to the gun lobbying group the National Rifle Association ( NRA ) .
The new controversies come as Bloomberg seeks to gain ground in the fractured 2020 race to challenge Donald Trump for the White House in November , which continues with next Saturday ’ s Nevada caucuses and the following week ’ s South Carolina primary .
Bloomberg has opted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focus instead on a grand entrance to the race on Super Tuesday on 3 March , when Democrats in 14 states go to the polls .
The uncovering of the latest videos mirrors recent revelations of other past comments , including leaked “ stop-and-frisk ” audio clips that sparked a Twitter feud between Bloomberg and Trump a week ago and a crisis in his campaign stemming from allegations of racism against the billionaire businessman .
Both Trump and Bloomberg ’ s Democratic rivals have stepped up their attacks , Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Sunday that “ the American people are sick and tired of billionaires buying elections ” .
In his 2016 Oxford remarks , delivered during a distinguished speakers ’ forum , Bloomberg was asked if citizens of middle America could be united with those living on the coasts .
“ I could teach anybody , even people in this room , no offense intended , to be a farmer , ” Bloomberg said .
“ It ’ s a process .
You dig a hole , you put a seed in , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , up comes the corn .
You could learn that .
Then we had 300 years of the industrial society .
You put the piece of metal on the lathe , you turn the crank in the direction of the arrow and you can have a job .
“ Now comes the information economy [ which is ] fundamentally different because it ’ s built around replacing people with technology and the skill sets that you have to learn are how to think and analyze , and that is a whole degree level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different skill set , you have to have a lot more gray matter.
” He continued that it “ wasn ’ t clear ” if “ students can learn , ” even with subsidized housing and education .
The reporting of Bloomberg ’ s comments drew swift rebuke from opponents , including People for Bernie , a pro-Sanders activist group with more than 185,000 Twitter followers .
“ Time and again we see Bloomberg insulting the middle class and the working class , union members and not yet union members , ” it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s apparent attack on civil rights workers and teachers in 2013 came when , as mayor , he was battling his city ’ s chapter of the ACLU over the New York police department ’ s “ stop-and-frisk ” policies , which the group claimed was disproportionately affecting young black males .
“ We don ’ t need extremists on the left or right running our police department , whether it ’ s the NRA or the NYCLU , ” he said in the video obtained by Politico , which explained that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the time that would make it easier for those targeted by the policy to sue the city .
Other Bloomberg comments the same year , just months after the Sandy Hook massacre at a Connecticut elementary school claimed 27 lives , outraged the leadership of the New York ’ s united federation of teachers , which had also been critical of stop and frisk .
“ The NRA ’ s another place where the membership , if you do the polling , doesn ’ t agree with the leadership , ” Bloomberg said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the national teachers union and a former head of the New York chapter , described the comments as “ disgusting ” at the time .
“ By comparing the NRA and the [ union ] , it cheapens his advocacy about gun control at a time when we need his advocacy to be sharp , ” she said .
The two have since reconciled and Weingarten told Full Court Press at the weekend she believes Bloomberg “ can go all the way ” .
The Bloomberg campaign , meanwhile , sought to downplay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ reference to the [ teachers union ] was something Mike said in the heat of the moment that he now regrets , ” Politico reported .
Bloomberg is third in FiveThirtyEight ’ s national poll of Democratic candidates with 15.4 % , trailing only Sanders ( 22.7 % ) and former vice president Joe Biden ( 16.8 % ) .

More past comments emerged on Monday to further dog media mogul and billionaire Mike Bloomberg’s chase for the Democratic presidential nomination, including an apparent attack on the intelligence of factory and farm workers in the US.
Speaking at Oxford University’s Saïd business school in the UK in 2016, the former mayor of New York appeared to question if blue-collar workers had the skills necessary to adapt to the information technology age. The comments were reported by Fox News.
Also on Monday there was increasing scrutiny of 2013 Bloomberg speeches, made in his final year as mayor and reported by Politico, branding local members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and New York’s teachers union as “extremists” and likening them to the gun lobbying group the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The new controversies come as Bloomberg seeks to gain ground in the fractured 2020 race to challenge Donald Trump for the White House in November, which continues with next Saturday’s Nevada caucuses and the following week’s South Carolina primary.
Bloomberg has opted to skip voting in the early states and focus instead on a grand entrance to the race on Super Tuesday on 3 March, when Democrats in 14 states go to the polls.
The uncovering of the latest videos mirrors recent revelations of other past comments, including leaked “stop-and-frisk” audio clips that sparked a Twitter feud between Bloomberg and Trump a week ago and a crisis in his campaign stemming from allegations of racism against the billionaire businessman.
Both Trump and Bloomberg’s Democratic rivals have stepped up their attacks, the Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders telling supporters at a rally in Nevada on Sunday that “the American people are sick and tired of billionaires buying elections”.
In his 2016 Oxford remarks, delivered during a distinguished speakers’ forum, Bloomberg was asked if citizens of middle America could be united with those living on the coasts.
“I could teach anybody, even people in this room, no offense intended, to be a farmer,” Bloomberg said.
“It’s a process. You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, up comes the corn. You could learn that. Then we had 300 years of the industrial society. You put the piece of metal on the lathe, you turn the crank in the direction of the arrow and you can have a job.
“Now comes the information economy [which is] fundamentally different because it’s built around replacing people with technology and the skill sets that you have to learn are how to think and analyze, and that is a whole degree level different. You have to have a different skill set, you have to have a lot more gray matter.”
He continued that it “wasn’t clear” if “students can learn”, even with subsidized housing and education.
The reporting of Bloomberg’s comments drew swift rebuke from opponents, including People for Bernie, a pro-Sanders activist group with more than 185,000 Twitter followers. “Time and again we see Bloomberg insulting the middle class and the working class, union members and not yet union members,” it said in a tweet.
Bloomberg’s apparent attack on civil rights workers and teachers in 2013 came when, as mayor, he was battling his city’s chapter of the ACLU over the New York police department’s “stop-and-frisk” policies, which the group claimed was disproportionately affecting young black males.
“We don’t need extremists on the left or right running our police department, whether it’s the NRA or the NYCLU,” he said in the video obtained by Politico, which explained that the civil liberties group was pursuing legislation at the time that would make it easier for those targeted by the policy to sue the city.
Other Bloomberg comments the same year, just months after the Sandy Hook massacre at a Connecticut elementary school claimed 27 lives, outraged the leadership of the New York’s United Federation of Teachers, which had also been critical of stop and frisk.
“The NRA’s another place where the membership, if you do the polling, doesn’t agree with the leadership,” Bloomberg said.
Randi Weingarten, the leader of the national teachers union and a former head of the New York chapter, described the comments as “disgusting” at the time. “By comparing the NRA and the [union], it cheapens his advocacy about gun control at a time when we need his advocacy to be sharp,” she said.
The two have since reconciled and Weingarten told Full Court Press at the weekend she believes Bloomberg “can go all the way”.
The Bloomberg campaign, meanwhile, sought to downplay the controversy. Spokesman Stu Loeser said the “reference to the [teachers union] was something Mike said in the heat of the moment that he now regrets,” Politico reported.
Bloomberg is third in FiveThirtyEight’s national poll of Democratic candidates with 15.4%, trailing only Sanders (22.7%) and former vice-president Joe Biden (16.8%).


theguardian--2020-02-17--Virginia Democrats join Republicans to reject assault weapons ban bill

Virginia governor Ralph Northam ’ s push to ban the sale of assault weapons failed on Monday after some of his fellow Democrats balked at the proposal .
Senators voted to shelve the bill for the year and ask the state crime commission to study the issue , an outcome that drew cheers from a committee room packed with gun rights advocates .
Four moderate Democrats joined Republicans in Monday ’ s committee vote , rejecting legislation that would have prohibited the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms , including popular AR-15 style rifles , and banned the possession of magazines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virginia is the current epicenter of the country ’ s heated debate over guns , as a new Democratic majority seeks to enact strict new limits .
Democrats ran heavily on gun control during last year ’ s legislative elections when they flipped control of the general assembly for the first time in more than two decades .
But gun owners , especially in rural communities , have pushed back hard .
Last month , tens of thousands of guns-rights activists from around the country flooded the Capitol and surrounding area in protest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military rifles .
And more than 100 counties , cities and towns have declared themselves second amendment sanctuaries , vowing to oppose any new “ unconstitutional restrictions ” on guns .
The proposed assault weapon ban has received the most opposition .
Gun owners have accused the governor and others of wanting to confiscate commonly owned guns and accessories from law-abiding gun owners .
Northam and his allies have said repeatedly they do not want to confiscate guns , but argued that banning new sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines would help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ban possession of AR-15-style rifles or to require owners to register them with state police have been scrapped .
The governor had hoped a watered-down version would win over enough Democratic moderates for passage .
But moderate Democrats in the state Senate have said for weeks they are uncomfortable passing legislation that would affect so many current gun owners .
An estimated 8m AR-style guns have been sold since they were introduced to the public in the 1960s .
The weapons are known as easy to use , easy to clean and easy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , stocks and rails .
The Senate has now rejected three of the governor ’ s eight gun-control measures .
Moderate Democrats have already voted with Republicans to kill a bill that would make it a felony to “ recklessly leave a loaded , unsecured firearm ” in a way that endangers a minor , and a bill that would require gun owners to report the loss or theft of a gun to police .
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have already advanced several other gun-control measures and should finalize passage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include limiting handgun purchases to once a month ; universal background checks on gun purchases ; allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings , parks and other areas ; and a red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others .

Virginia governor Ralph Northam’s push to ban the sale of assault weapons failed on Monday after some of his fellow Democrats balked at the proposal.
Senators voted to shelve the bill for the year and ask the state crime commission to study the issue, an outcome that drew cheers from a committee room packed with gun rights advocates.
Four moderate Democrats joined Republicans in Monday’s committee vote, rejecting legislation that would have prohibited the sale of certain semi-automatic firearms, including popular AR-15 style rifles, and banned the possession of magazines that hold more than 12 rounds.
Virginia is the current center of the country’s heated debate over guns, as a new Democratic majority seeks to enact strict new limits.
Democrats ran heavily on gun control during last year’s legislative elections when they flipped control of the general assembly for the first time in more than two decades.
But gun owners, especially in rural communities, have pushed back hard. Last month, tens of thousands of guns-rights activists from around the country flooded the Capitol and surrounding area in protest, some donning tactical gear and carrying military rifles. And more than 100 counties, cities and towns have declared themselves second amendment sanctuaries, vowing to oppose any new “unconstitutional restrictions” on guns.
The proposed assault weapon ban has received the most opposition. Gun owners have accused the governor and others of wanting to confiscate commonly owned guns and accessories from law-abiding gun owners. Northam and his allies have said repeatedly they do not want to confiscate guns, but argued that banning new sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines would help prevent mass murders.
Earlier proposals to ban possession of AR-15-style rifles or to require owners to register them with state police have been scrapped. The governor had hoped a watered-down version would win over enough Democratic moderates for passage.
But moderate Democrats in the state senate have said for weeks they are uncomfortable passing legislation that would affect so many current gun owners.
An estimated 8m AR-style guns have been sold since they were introduced to the public in the 1960s. The weapons are known as easy to use, easy to clean and easy to modify with a variety of scopes, stocks and rails.
The senate has now rejected three of the governor’s eight gun-control measures. Moderate Democrats have already voted with Republicans to kill a bill that would make it a felony to “recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm” in a way that endangers a minor, and a bill that would require gun owners to report the loss or theft of a gun to police.
Lawmakers in both the house and senate have already advanced several other gun-control measures and should finalize passage in the coming days. Those bills include limiting handgun purchases to once a month; universal background checks on gun purchases; allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas; and a red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others.


theguardian--2020-02-17--Trump attends wedding of immigration hardline adviser Stephen Miller

Donald Trump has attended the wedding this weekend of embattled and controversial White House aide Stephen Miller , who has been condemned for his links to white nationalism and his hardline stance on immigration .
“ The President is at Trump International Hotel for the wedding of Mr and Mrs Stephen Miller , ” a White House statement said .
Trump had been in Florida earlier on Sunday to attend Nascar ’ s 62nd Dayton 500 .
He returned to Washington , DC , shortly after 6.00pm .
According to media reports , Miller is getting married to Katie Waldman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secretary .
Miller is one of the few remaining staffers from Trump ’ s 2016 campaign and widely seen as a powerful driving force behind controversial policies like the travel ban that largely impacts mostly Muslim countries and the zero-tolerance family separation policy that caused global outrage as children at the southern border were kept in cages .
Miller also hit the headlines recently for promoting white nationalist articles and racist books in emails to a writer at Breitbart , who after leaving the hard-right website leaked 900 of the messages to anti-hate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Last week Democratic congressional leaders demanded Miller ’ s resignation in a joint resolution , saying “ his white supremacist , anti-immigrant ideology has no place in our country ” .
The resolution said Miller should leave his job after “ trafficking in bigotry , hatred and divisive political rhetoric and for promoting policies that are inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as a senior advisor to the president ” .

Donald Trump has attended the wedding this weekend of embattled and controversial White House aide Stephen Miller, who has been condemned for his links to white nationalism and his hardline stance on immigration.
“The President is at Trump International Hotel for the wedding of Mr and Mrs Stephen Miller,” a White House statement said. Trump had been in Florida earlier on Sunday to attend Nascar’s 62nd Dayton 500. He returned to Washington, DC, shortly after 6.00pm.
According to media reports, Miller is getting married to Katie Waldman, vice-president Mike’s Pence press secretary.
Miller is one of the few remaining staffers from Trump’s 2016 campaign and widely seen as a powerful driving force behind controversial policies like the travel ban that largely impacts mostly Muslim countries and the zero-tolerance family separation policy that caused global outrage as children at the southern border were kept in cages.
Miller also hit the headlines recently for promoting white nationalist articles and racist books in emails to a writer at Breitbart, who after leaving the hard-right website leaked 900 of the messages to anti-hate campaign group the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Last week Democratic congressional leaders demanded Miller’s resignation in a joint resolution, saying “his white supremacist, anti-immigrant ideology has no place in our country”.
The resolution said Miller should leave his job after “trafficking in bigotry, hatred and divisive political rhetoric and for promoting policies that are inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as a senior advisor to the president”.