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March 26, 2016 12:24 AM UTC

Weekend Open Thread

  • 117 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Without alienation, there can be no politics.”

–Arthur Miller

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117 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Welcome, gentle reader, to this week's installment of "Long Pause".

    Setting:  An impromptu press conference with Lyin’ Ted Cruz whose wife has been, shall we say, unfavorably compared to Donald Trump's wife.  And, who, indirectly through Trump, has been accused of multiple affairs.

    We join the press conference in progress…

    Lyin’ Ted:  "and for attacking my wife and children, I say that Donald Trump is a sniveling coward!!"

    Reporter:  Does that mean you will not support Donald Trump if he is the GOP nominee?

    Long Pause…...

    Join us next week on "Long Pause" when Paul Ryan is asked if he will support Trump if Trump is the nominee.   And, be sure to watch an earlier episode when Marco Rubio combines Long Pause with a deeply pained expression.

    1. I like the idea, so I used the Google to go look for other long pauses of the week. I liked this one:

      Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie said Tuesday Ohio Gov. John Kasich cannot win the GOP presidential nomination and should drop out of the race. …

      So what does he think of Trump?

      “His candidacy is a product of our dysfunction in Washington,” Massie said after a long pause. “If it causes people up here to do something different, then it’s a good thing.”

      “… He’s a bull in a china shop,” Massie added. “I’m just not sure whose china is going to get broken.”

       

      1. I like it.

         

        GOTP conventions and Assemblies are pretending to choose the RNC delegates this week and next.

         

        If we don't have Constitutional carry at the Convention, haven't we announced to everyone that we are an open target?

         

        uhh…

         

        a. Nah, it's mostly about drinking.

        b. Well, we believe in the local police, and Secret Service, and stuff.

        c. 'Merica! Freedom! 

        D. Duh.

        1. WooHoo!

          Trump just got the question on ABC This Week.

          to paraphrase "… Uh, I haven't read that petition…so i have nothing to say…"

           

          Everyone who respects the Constitution should sign the petition.

      1. Cruz's statement on the accusations began with "Let me be crystal clear…".  So we know he was lying through his teeth. We can look for an explosive bimbo eruption any day now

        1. Supposedly three of the five ladies include "a foxy political consultant, a high-placed DC attorney and a detestable Republican spokesperson."

          Now as for that last one, there's probably a long list of contestants who qualify for that title. And besides, it makes sense. Why wouldn't the most detestable man in the U.S. Senate hook up with a detestable woman.

          This is going to get a lot worse for the Party of the Elephant before it gets better.

    1. I saw mannie's speech.  Weren't no gaffe.  Bernistas wanted him to vote with them, he said he was stickin with hillary and they werenT happy.  So what?

    1. He mentioned that he was a super delegate. After the Bernie crowd settled down, he stated, "You all are passionate about your candidate, but let me tell you about mine." This drew more boos to the point that he backtracked and stated that he wasn't committed to a candidate yet but that Hillary courted him in 2008. The room wasn't having that, so he eventually stopped talking.

      1. Bernie knew the make up of the contest going in. The super delegates have been around since 1972. Most of them supported Clinton in 2008. Then when Obama got ahead in elected delegates they switched. Maybe Bernie and his supporters should try and win more support before acting so ignorantly. They also apparently don't know what super delegates are or their function. Plus don't blame Hillary that Bernie can't get any Senate Democrats to endorse him, even Warren won't officially endorse him. he appears to be the Ted Cruz of the left, no friends even though he has spent years in elected office.

        1. I am a Hillary supporter and he was out of line. It came across as condescending towards the majority Bernie delegates in the room.  We will need to come together soon and that was not a smart approach…that's why I said it was a gaffe.  I hope so…

          1. aye, here be the rub.

             

            the been-there-done-that crowd telling team Bernie how it's gonna be.

             

            but what the fail to realize, is its not HRCvs Trump that's driving them to Jill Stein (think Nader).   It's a major disgust with the D party. Denver o and Veeger, and so many others might wish to tone it in, cuz they'll be thank ful for the feet, hands, and, most of all, hearts come… September.

        2. Hillary earned super delegates the old-fashioned way: she earned them, one chicken dinner fundraiser at a time over many years. Obama, while he had been on the political scene for fewer years, did his share when he was in the Senate.

          Bernie did none of that. He only became a Democrat to run for president.

          Loyalty runs both ways. Bernie's folks don't get it. Or refuse to.

            1. You are both correct.

              that kind of part building is crucial to building the D party.

              70-80% of Bernie supporters are not interested in building a party. 

              So the question you gotta ask your self is how best to get those folks to support the party, up and down the ticket, in the wallet, and, time sensitive, in the general.

               

              a.  Belittle Them and their values, their motivations.

              b. Ignore them.

              c. Engage them, acknowledging their concerns but reminding them that in the general and up and down the ticket if their frustration punishes  D candidates, we're all going to hate the results.

              d. Spit on them.

               

              Just like everyone else- you get to choose.  Choices have consequences, and while D loyalists are celebrating the destruction of the GOTP,  others are looking at the splinters and cracks and looking forward to celebrating the destruction of the Democratic Party.

              2. Let's also remember it works both ways. The vitriol towards HRC and HRC supporters coming from Bernie enthusiasts is no less counterproductive in promoting unity for the general than the other way around. 

                Happy Easter to all who celebrate it.

                1. Tomorrow is the best holiday; National Half-Price on Chocolate Bunnies Day!

                  Happy binging! And remember, chocolate is good for you; it has phenols, antioxidants and phenylalanine.

                2. Yesss, and you fail to acknowledge the frustratig paradox: if Sanders is the nominee, registering and GOTV of the disappointed HRC, the apparently more been there done that crowd – should be easier.  

                  IT apparently doesn't matter- I heard CNN, ABC and NBC this morning put Bernie's required win percentage in the remaining delegate events at 73-78% – which is  nfw going to happen.

              3. I had the pleasure to meet Bernies wife last week in Hawaii. I went with a friend who is active in their campaign. Jane was crystal clear when she talked to the crowd: "if you sign up for Bernie, you're signing up to work." She told the crowd that if Bernie is NOT the nominee, their work is not done: they must be committed to changing the system with down ballot votes. 

                Fingers crossed that we can integrate their passion into change across the board. 

                 

                 

                1. Exactly what I thought would be the case. It's not Jane and Bernie's fault if some of his supporters leave a different impresssion. I always believed Bernie would be no pissy sore loser if he doesn't win. And congrats on being in Hawaii last week! 

      2. Also, at the Adams county convention I had a chance to speak with about 40 Bernie supporters. Most were in their 30's and 40's and half had never voted before. The ones that had voted were either ex Independents or Ex Republicans who swithched last year just to vote for Bernie. When Jesse Ulibari got up to nominate Clinton, he was booed and called a fag. Jesse is President of Young Dems and gay. Another woman was hit in the face for holding a Hillary sing by a bernie supporter. He was arrested and taken away.Even during the Obama/Hillary contest we did not have this kind of rude behavior. The Bernie supporters also told us that they were told by the Bernie campaign that the convention would end at noon – really? They were pissed when it ran longer and accused the Clinton supporters of making them vote ( a straw poll, delegates were chosen at the caucus, this in itself shows their limited knowledge of the system) or be late for work. I used to admire and at one point even supported Bernie but he runs an uncontrolled campaign.

         

          1. I think Denverco presents a more likely explanation.  Many new people drawn in for Bernie who, like Bernie, have not been Dems are not familiar with the party process and may see and be angered by alleged anti-Bernie shenanigans where none exist. As Denverco points out this wasn't the general tone during this stage of the Obama/HRC race.

            The fact is Bernie has caucused with but never been a Democratic party member and neither have many of his supporters. There is nothing odd about party member super delegates feeling first loyalty to a long time Dem. Bernie, unlike Obama, is not ahead in delegates earned by winning ordinary voters, so they are under no pressure to change out of consideration for popluar support either.

            Bernie has made a point throughout his career of remaining aloof from the Democratic party. If he had planned on running for president as a Dem at some point in the future it would have been helpful for him to have officially become a Dem a long time ago. He could have had his own network of party connections and supporters by now. He didn't. He doesn't.

            What's so strange about Dem supers preferring to support one of their own, someone who has fought in the trenches with them, rather than someone who has never wanted to be one of them? Why must there be plants or other dirty tricks? Even Warren, a real Dem, only goes as far as saying nice things about Bernie while stopping short of an endorsement. 

            When you really think about it, he and his supporters have a lot of nerve to complain about the loyalty of Dem supers to a long time Dem who happens to be running ahead when Bernie has only been a Dem for about 15 minutes and only to try to get on the Dem presidential ticket and is running behind. 

            Now if the general does somehow turn out to be between Trump, not really a Republican, and Bernie, not really a Dem, that would be a very radical development that would change the the political landscape profoundly. I'm not holding my breath for that match up, though.

             

            2. "Plants" I was speculating about were the caucusers calling Ulibarri a fag, or hitting a Clinton supporter. We won't know the truth of this unless somebody fesses up.

              I hadn't mentioned superdelegates at all in this last comment, nor have I written much about them, other than to point out that Super Dem Nancy Pelosi is not necessarily a fan of the superdelegate system. I'm not accusing superdelegates of dirty tricks or of being plants.

              You and Gertie may have a valid criticism about Sanders bringing in naive, idealistic, inexperienced voters. That's what every Democratic old timer I've ever met has ostensibly longed for. "We need new blood! Where are the young people?"

              Now that they have the "new blood" showing up, it is up to the old timers to set norms and rules. Of course, Sanders supporters have that same responsibility, and BTW, the groups "Sanders supporters" and "Long time Dem organizers" are not two mutually exclusive groups.

              Superdelegates, in Colorado, as elsewhere, are of course party loyalists who have put in the volunteer hours. Nevertheless, some of them will choose to support Bernie Sanders. Enough of them to make a difference? We'll have to see.

              I'd be careful about dissing Independent and unaffiliated voters – that is the largest group of voters in Colorado, after all.

              According to the Co S of State's latest voter reg stats, (active voters) (34% are I and U, 31% D, 32% R, the remainder various 3rd parties)  . For "inactive" but registered voters, the proportions of Independent / unaffiliated are striking: 45% U or I, 28%D, 24% R.

              Pre-registered 17 year old voters are also not wooed by the charms of the Democratic party:

              57% are U or I – The other major parties are more or less  21% each R and D. Neither major party has made its case to the future Colorado electorate. Blaming the young and disenchanted for not being loyal to established institutions never ends well – see the history of protest in our country.

              Are they bad, disloyal people because they don't swear undying loyalty to the Democratic party? Should their wishes be ignored because they didn't toe a party line?

              I'm a proponent of a straight primary system, where the winner of the popular vote gets the nomination, per county, per state. It sounds as if Nancy Pelosi is leaning that way, as well. And I've been a registered Dem since age 18.

              If Bernie Sanders gets more popular votes than Hillary Clinton, supers should switch. Right now, that isn't the case – Hillary has the popular vote edge as well as the superdelegate edge.  I can live with her being the winner if that dynamic remains.

              You write:

              Now if the general does somehow turn out to be between Trump, not really a Republican, and Bernie, not really a Dem, that would be a very radical development that would change the the political landscape profoundly.

              Yes…..seen the news lately? The political landscape has already changed profoundly, and it's not finished changing yet. This may well be the year of the Independent /Unaffiliated voter.  If Democrats (or Republicans) don't like that dynamic, they better the hell figure out how to appeal to the unaffiliated masses. Trump and Bernie have figured that out – will your candidate?  Her political survival depends on it.

              1. ps. If the rabble rousers hitting and abusing each other at the county conventions are in fact "plants", I would suspect that they are provocateurs paid by Republican groups – they would have the greatest interest in dividing Democrats against each other.

                 

                1. I've never had the honor to meet Jesse but I follow his work.  Seems like such a passionate, wonderful soul.  I'm sorry this happened to him. 

              2. My point was it's as unlikely that assholes were plants as it is that anything nefarious is required to explain Supers sticking with HRC or HRC beng ahead. 

                I'm not dissing the unaffiliated when I say they probably don't have much of an understanding of party affairs. We got plenty of new fresh young Dems participating in the 2008 caucus process.  Maybe the difference is they didn't sign on grudgingly to support a candidate who only became a Dem grudgingly. They were happy to be Dems supporting a Dem candidate in Obama and wanted to learn about the process, many of them remaining active in the party.

                The caucus process has nothing to do with the general election process. Unaffiliated are extremely important in the general. Here in Colorado we have closed party caucuses which are party events, not state run elections. So at caucus, they are irrelevant.

                I'm sick of Bernie supporters implying that the assholes among them must be plants. Yes some grass roots regulars, most here in Colorado, including some supers support Bernie but he and his supporters shouldn't be surprised that most supers don't and if he doesn't pull ahead of HRC in regular delegates they aren't going to.

                If Bernie and his supporters are so attached to being independent the honest thing to do would have been to run as an independent. Of course nobody who seriously wants to be President is going to do that so Bernie decided to convert at the last minute and try for the Dem ticket. Naturally he doesn't have the network within the party that a real, long time Dem has.

                Let the unafilliated come together and organize the way Ds and Rs have done and they can run their own anti-establishment candidate minus the hypocritical whining and constant  complaints of "no fair' or "assholes must be plants" or "Look out for HRC supporters trying to take over our caucus", all of which I've heard from you over the past months ad nauseam. 

                1. Let the unafilliated come together and organize the way Ds and Rs have done and they can run their own anti-establishment candidate

                  Be careful what you wish for.

                  And I'm sure you understand that your complaints and whining about my complaints and whining will have zero effect on what or how much I write. If anything, you'll see more of me on here.  I only step back when I get sucked into a name-calling flame war, and I have years of practice at being the grown-up in the room.

                  There are plenty of accusations out there of dirty tricks by other Presidential candidates – Republican and Democratic. That's the kind of nasty ooze I love to turn rocks over to investigate, as you know – but so far I haven't seen any hard evidence of malicious intent and follow-through. When/if I do, you'll be among the first to know.

                  1. Who says I wish anything about indies organizing one way or the other. Simply saying Bernie became a Dem to run for president because he knows damn well that, at this point in time and regardless of the increasng number of indies, you can only make a serious run as an R or D. He knows that that much of the political landscape is still very much the same. So why don't you go argue about the rise of the indies with him?  

                    And how brave of you to stand up to me by insisting you'll valiantly continue to post as if I'm trying to stop you?  So I'm sick of you complaining about HRC supporters when you're every bit as nasty about them as any of them are about Bernie supporters. Big deal. 

                    Quite the persecution complex you have there, both on your own account and as a Bernie supporter. Plots! Plants! Lions and tigers and bears! Oy vey!

              3. Actually, our candidate's survival depends on runnung against donald trump or Ted "IQ 40 and falling" Cruz. Either will do nicely.   And if she can win two terms, I can die happy at 79 as president Warren ushers in a socialist paradise.  Just promise me you'll aboliish the designated hitter rule while I'm alive to gloat about it.

              4. You win.

                when we meet you get to choose from the prize closet.  Just so I can be prepared – would you choose a hat, some drinks, a trip, or sincere acknowledgement of a job well done?

              1. So what would you call Bernie's 24 year history of caucusing with Dems in the House and the Senate, in many cases being the deciding vote on bills, promoting amendments to legislation that accomplished Democratic goals?

                The Congressional Dems were happy to work with Bernie as an Independent all those years – as an Independent, he was able to pull together bipartisan support when they couldn't. Democratic leadership tapped Sanders to be the ranking Democratic member on the Senate Budget Committee in 2015. So, there's little gratitude – seven House members and two Senators have endorsed him.

                Carpetbaggers are illegitimate. Is that how you characterize Sanders? If so, how do you reconcile that with his history of "getting shit done" in the "horror show that is Congress"?

                 

                 

                1. I'm just saying that he only officially affiliated because he knew he didn't stand a snowball's chance of getting anywhere as the proud independent he'd been for all those years. He may have caucused with the Dems but he wouldn't wear the label until it suited his purposes.

                  1. Valuing the D label over Bernie's progressive legislative record and results is why we have a lot of corporate D's in office. Bernie has provided a great deal of support for Democratic Party goals. Hillary has done a tremendous amount of work for the party, but you can also argue that she did not take on some progressive policy positions until it suited her purposes in competing with Bernie. So the changes to suit one's own purposes cuts both ways.

                2. Dems are fortunate to have him in their caucus even though he has never before been interested in becoming a Dem. But the Dem party picks the Dem candidate for president and it's no one's fault but Bernie's if he's at a disadvantage because he's chosen not to affiliate for all these years.

                  It's hardly insulting to point out that he is now running as a Dem only because that's the only way for him to make a serious run. It's not an insult to decline to consider a politician a saint. And everybody in elected office or shooting for it is a politician including Bernie. It's not a dirty word. You can't have our system of government without them.

              2. Carpetbagger? Kind of like moving to New York in 2000 to run as a Senator, after living in Chicago, Arkansas and DC for most of her life.  The accusation of "carpetbagger" was certainly applied to Hillary Clinton.

                It's called being a politician. You do what you have to do to follow your ambitions. 

                1. That's ridiculous, M;J , implying New Yorkers would vote for a carpetbagger.  What next – they send bobby kennedy to the senate?  Actually they just don't feel very provincial because so many came from other states.

                  Obviously, I spent the day doing my all for Hillary.  But if the unlikely happens and newbie Democrat Bernie gets our nomination  I have  different name for him, I hope.  

                  "Mr. Pesident." 

                  I don'tthe sound of that nearly as much as "Madam President."   

                  But it sure as hell beats "President Trump"

          2. I doubt any are plants.  Never posit conspiracies when stupidity will suffice.  A lot of Bernistas are new to the game and.naive.  But in Denver they were a very convivial lot and several went out of their way to help me despite my prominent hillary sticker.

            1. I'm with VG.  A lot of rednecks I know hear something completely different coming out of Bernie's mouth than I, a Dem BernieBot hear.  They like him supporting the little guys and think that he's a closet racist like they are.  And they have no idea, and I mean, noooooo idea that he's Jewish.  Trust me, these are my relatives and the crowd they hang around with.  So this stuff doesn't surprise me at all.

  4. Early congratulations to the Sandernistas on what will likely be Bernie's best night since his win in Michigan!

    Bernie sweeps all three states, gets 100 delegates to HRC's 42, narrows the pledged delegate gap from 303 down to 245 delegates. 

    1. If it was up to Senator Sonnenberg and his caucus we'd have none of this.  Their mythical free market would somehow, someday give us clean energy; they have fought every step of this transition. The national water savings from wind energy (226 gallons per capita) applied to the Colorado population (5.356 million) means our contribution to the national water savings equation is in excess of 1.2 billion gallons – 10x the amount of water that it would take to fill the 2-55 gallon rain barrels proposed under the new law if every single Colorado household decided to use the barrels. 

      So, indeed, remain the carnival barker on protecting the monopoly of last century's energy resource, dinosaur poo, pretend that water conservation and rain barrels are a threat to our future – and thank God every night that the masses in SD-1 don't connect the dots between your legislative positions and their everyday lives. 

      Carry on. 

      Colorado farmers reap $9 million in payments from turbines

      Logan County, (home to Senator Sonnenberg) with 700 turbines churning out electricity, is a hub for wind generation in the state, said Trae Miller, the northeastern Colorado county's executive director of economic development.

      "They boost the valuation of our tax base and provide additional income streams for our farmers and agricultural producers who are suffering with commodity prices being down," Miller said.

      Wind generation provides a secondary benefit to rural communities, in that it saves about 226 gallons of water per person in the U.S. each year, the AWEA said.

      Water that isn't going to cool power plants can stay on farms, putting less pressure on farmers to sell their water rights  and abandon farming. 

      1. Who'd have thunk? The #BakkenMiracle and the #ShaleRevolution are as real as #MarcoMentum? The nation's largest private coal company is bankrupt; this on the heels of the Arch Coal bankruptcy filing.  Meanwhile, 90% of last years new energy installations were renewable and the solar industry employs more people now that the oil and gas sector.  Fossil fuels have lost their cost advantage over solar and wind.  

        The #Fossilonan gluttony is having a predictable end…guess who's next in line to be asking for a federal bailout? 

        The big bust in the oil fields

        "This new wave of bad loans [to fracking-ops] isn’t the same magnitude of the housing bust, but it reflects similar behaviors. Borrowers feasted on what Bloomberg estimates was $237 billion of easy money without scrutinizing whether the loans could endure a drastic downturn. The consequences are far-reaching: The U.S. oil industry, having grown into a giant on par with Saudi Arabia’s, is shrinking, with the biggest collapse in investment in energy in 25 years. More than 140,000 have lost energy jobs. Banks are bracing for tens of billions in defaults, and economists and lawyers predict the financial wreckage will accelerate this year."

          2. And he won Hawaii too although that was closer (only 70%-30%). With the exception of Hawaii and Oklahoma, Bernie does very well in cold places:  ME, NH, VT, MI, MN, WA, AK, the plains states, and CO.

    2. That is about what I predicted and feared.  But we're about out of lily white caucus states.  When you have to deal with primaries in states like new york and Pennshylvania, where polls show her with huge leads, I expect her to close strong.  And even if she only breaks even in California, where she now leads by 10 points,  she should have a healthy majority even without superdelegates, an outcome the bernistas can accept.  The for ces. of  fascism will face a united democratic resistance this fall swollen by millions of Republican women unwilling to get down on their knees to Donald Trump.  And the Republican Senate will go the way of the Nehru jacket.

       

      1. Why is delegate math only interesting when your guy had net gains?

         

        we need voter reg.

        we need unity and stuff.

        later were gonna need GOTV.

         

        if everything your doing makes that easier- we are aligned.

         

        but it doesn't.  Tread with care.

      2. Ps

        lets bet beers or dinner or something on California.  No one would suggest California is not diverse. They elected Jerry Brown- who recently campaigned on raising taxes. (Gasp)

        Of course Governor Brown is smart enough to know he would have been buried in a Presidential campaign, in the party and out. And wise enough to stay out of it.

        But California voters are the ballgame.  When an R candidate puts CA in play, the D's will be forced to rethink the wings outside the DLC legacy, the so called WallStrret/ corporatist Dems.  It will be worse if it's a reasonable Green Party candidate.

        1. The game could well be over before Calif., Madco.  Delegate math is very different than electoral math. Yes. California is very diverse, a majority minority state.  Latest poll I saw had Hillary leading by 10 points.  But suppose Bernie rallies and edges her michigan style, 52 48.  That doesn't give him more than a few net delegates under the proportional system,  Delegate math needs big wins in big states.  Bernie just did that in Wash.  But her previous blowouts in Florida, Texas louisiana,  south carpolina etc still give her a cushion,  Even much touted Wisconsin is likely to be a thin victory touted only for supposed momentum.  The game will go on to California but I expect New York, New Jersejy and Pennsylvania to lock it up.  But sure, it would be fun to get together for lunch or a beer.

              1. Well…I happen to be planning a trip to Denver on the 15th /16th of April to spend some time with an old and true friend who will be visiting his daughter, a recent transplant from Minnesnowta. 

                I would be honored if ya'll could arrange to have a meet up while I am in town…as I so rarely get over the hill to your fair city……and you fuckers never come over here….just sayin'laugh

    1. Fox news is going to miss Obama, too. Attacking Bernie or Hillary just won't have the same racist tang. And if God forbids, Trump  wins, they'll have to get the Donald's seal of approval for every news anchor they hire. So they're probably slanting for Cruz, now that Rubio's history.

  7. Feeling the Bern………

    Alaska, the state that gave us the bill for its "Bridge to Nowhere," goes all out (80% to 20%) for the candidate offering free stuff.

    1. With numbers like that one wonders how they ever managed to send forth The Dim Bulb. I guess they're more Polarized than I imagined. I'll go to my room now.laugh

  8. Anyone have any news – other than the Manny Rodriguez kerfluffle – from the Denver convention/assembly? Looked in the Politics section of the local rag and all they had was recycled stories about Ted Cruz' alleged mistresses (which anyone can read about first hand in the National Enquirer), Bernie's caucus wins (which I had already read about in NY Times), and Hick's refusal to promise to serve out his second term.

    P.S. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I really miss the Rocky Mountain News. Not so much for its content or quality but it made the Post better.

    1. Rocky Mountain News also had better comics and better sports coverage. Being a tabloid, it fit way better on the breakfast/lunch/dinner table. 

  10. I managed to catch most of the MSM network news shows this AM..

    two things came through loud and clear…

    1. It is hard to knock Bernie Sanders off message…

    2. The Republican Convention is going to become a melee of historical proportions…

     

     

     

     

     

    1. All the more reason for the RNC to live it's values.
       

      1. "Allow Open Carry of Firearms at the Quicken Loans Arena during the RNC Convention in July"

      Sign here: https://www.change.org/p/quicken-loans-arena-allow-open-carry-of-firearms-at-the-quicken-loans-arena-during-the-rnc-convention-in-july-2

      http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/26/20000-sign-petition-allow-guns-republican-national-convention/82289342/

       

      2. Ban Muslims at the convention

      3. Ban women who have had an abortion or use contraception.

      4. Ban anyone on expanded Medicaid, or that supports Obama Care. (Hell – ban anyone in the 47%, except no candidate this cycle has said that- unless you count Romney as a candidate (I do)).

       

       

      1. I thought you were kidding about the constitutional carry movement until I saw the Drumpf this morning on one of the news shows saying he is open to the idea because he doesn't want all the delegates and alternates being sitting ducks unable to defend themselves. 

        1. I thought you were kidding

          Its hard being me. Even in my most snarcastic moments, I'm not that far from what's real.  When I find the wacky but real news- my (undeserved) reputation precedes me. I "heard" him on ABC This Week  – he dodged it.

          Which one did yousee?

  13. In response to FU request for Denver info:  

    Top race was Denver DA.  CU Regent Michael Carried barely edged state rep.  Beth McCann for top line, both will be on ballot.  In Sen. 31, Steve Sherrick outpaced State Rep. lois Court and shud get top line when Senate dist 31 meets April 9 at South High.  The district includes parts of Arapahoe and Jeffco.  Lois is likely to make the ballot.  I'll be there to vote for her.

    1. Denver cont. 

      Diana Degette was cheered when she promised the mostly Bernie crowd she would "not override" their vote for president in.Her role as a super delegate.  That helped her win a 72/28 win over Chuck Norris.  Because Cd 1 stretches beyond Denver it is too early to tell if Norris will make the 30 pct cutoff.  I sat next to Norris in the Senate 31 session.  It isn't just the straw poll that counts but how many supporters show up.  In my Hd 2 vote, Diana earned 68 delegates. But I was almost at the end of the line and was just 50 when I signed up.  Maybe she got 55 in all.   If Norris filled all his slots– a big if — and they all show at South High He could make the ballot.  Diana's gracious and tactically wise bow to the bernistas was a contrast to mannie Martinez's stickin with hillary talk.

       Finally, in hd2, hillary fell short of filling all her slots to the state convention in loveland.  So I signed up.  If – another big if — bernistas fill all their slots, they may do better in loveland than straw votes indicate.  It is actual boots on the ground that count in the voting.  Not everybody is as willing to wreck three weekends as I am but I promised BC I'd stick with her hero Hillary and I will do just that!smiley

       

       

      1. Thanks for the update…..You should think about going into journalism.

        And Chuck Norris was at the Jeffco assembly last week. There are a handful of Jeffco precincts in CD 1 – mine included. (Think about that: I have DeGette as my US Rep, Andy Kerr as my State Senator, and the egg-loving, gun nut Justin Everett as my State Rep.) 

        I was only an alternate (HRC Alt. # 15 at that) for HD 22 and left once it became clear that they were only seating Alt. # 1-10, so I didn't hear how Norris did in the Jeffco precincts.

        1. Other Denver results:

          *For SD 33, Angela Williams (current HD 7 rep) over Jon Biggerstaff, 61% to 39%.  Actually a surprisingly strong showing for Biggerstaff against a much more well-funded opponent.  Khadija Haynes petitioning on ballot, anyone's game for Primary.

          *In HD 7, Angela's seat, her chosen successor Michele Wheeler barely qualified for ballot at 32%.  Strong showing from Elet Valentine with 43% for top line. James Coleman announced a week or three ago and got 24% and will petition on.

          *No-PAC-$ Jeff Hart over Chris Hansen for HD 6 top line, 55% to 45%.

          *Former HD 8 Captain Aaron Goldhamer top lines there with 54% to establishment darling Leslie Herod's 46%.

          *As mentioned above, Steve Sherick over Lois Court (current HD 6 rep) for SD 31 multi-county delegates, 58% to 42% (Erin Bennet petitioning on in race).

          Overall, strong resistance to establishment politics…will it hold up past Assembly?

  14. Now that public reactions to Obama's visit to Cuba and choice to stay and complete his itinerary following Brussels and the rightie attacks on those choices have had their chance to fully affect rolling poll averages the results show……. not at all what Republicans, rightie pundits and columnists and the folks at Fox have been spinning and hoping for. Still +9 in Gallup and continuing improvement in RCP average:

    RCP Average 3/16 – 3/26 –49.0/46.3 +2.7

    Hope this doesn't spoil Easter for them. devil

  15.  

     

     

     

    HERE ARE THE REMAINING CONTESTS

     

    The Democrat and Republican presidential primaries are starting to slow down in the month of April and May as front-runners businessman Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fight to get the needed delegates before the summer conventions.

    The next major Republican primary is April 5 in Wisconsin. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have already started airing television ads. Some political experts are saying this could be Kasich's last stand.

    The big Northeast primaries will take place April 19 in New York and April 26 in Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Rhode Island. This should be an interesting showdown between Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

    Clinton needs 2,383 delegates on the Democrat side to take the nomination. On the Republican side, the winner needs 1,237 delegates to win outright. Otherwise there could be multiple voting rounds by the delegates to determine a winner.

     

     

     

     

    Here is the list of the remaining contests:

    April 5 – Wisconsin Republican and Democratic primaries

    April 9 – Wyoming Democratic caucuses

    April 19 – New York Republican and Democratic primaries

    April 26 – Connecticut Republican and Democratic primaries, Delaware Republican and Democratic primaries, Maryland Republican and Democratic primaries, Pennsylvania Republican and Democratic primaries, Rhode Island Republican and Democratic primaries 

    May 3 – Indiana Republican and Democratic primaries

    May 7 – Guam Democratic caucuses 

    May 10 – Nebraska Republican primary, West Virginia Republican and Democratic primaries

    May 17 – Oregon Republican and Democratic primaries Kentucky Democratic primary

    May 24 – Washington Republican primary

    June 4 – U.S. Virgin Islands Democratic caucuses

    June 5 – Puerto Rico Democratic caucuses

    June 7 – New Jersey Republican and Democratic primaries, California Republican and Democratic primaries, Montana Republican and Democratic primaries,  New Mexico Republican and Democratic primaries. North Dakota Democratic caucuses. South Dakota Republican and Democratic primaries

    June 14 – District of Columbia Democratic pri

    1. Why California os too complex to be decisive

      From San Diego Tribune:

      Bernie Sanders’ thunderous rallies in San Diego and Los Angeles this past week, along with high-profile appearances by Hillary Clinton, bolster the growing notion that California will actually be in play this time for the presidential nominations.

      That seems to be even more likely on the Republican side. Politically, California is a complex state and its delegate math isn’t simple either. It’s not winner-take-all as in GOP recent contests. It’s not really even a battle for the state so much as it is a fight for each of the 53 congressional districts.

      For Republicans, each district has three delegates and they go to the candidate who wins that district.

      So while your instincts want you to focus on Rep. Ducan Hunter’s heavily Republican 52nd District in North and East County, it may be more cost-effective to zero in on Rep. Susan Davis’ Democratic 53rd District in central San Diego. Fewer Republicans to contact, but you get the same three delegates.

      That’s not to say a candidate would simply abandon a district, but such calculations are made given the enormous resources it takes to campaign here. In a way, it’s similar to the reality that the November election is really 50 battles for each state’s electoral votes.

      So if, say, Hunter’s district looks big for Donald Trump, John Kasich might think about concentrating on Davis’ territory.

      Then the candidate “who gets the largest number of votes statewide claims a bonus of 10 more, plus the state party chairman and Republican National Committee members for a total bonus of 13,” according to The Associated Press. (172 delegates in all)

      Now get a load of how the Democrats divvy up delegates. This was laid out in an email from a California Democratic strategist who’s been involved in helping shape process for decades. Better bear down.

      “CA has been allocated 546 (could change + or – 1 or 2) which includes 71 Superdelegates (Gov Brwn, Senators Boxer & Feinstein, House members and DNC Members which includes the Chair & Vice Chair of each State Party), 317 district level delegates distributed in each of the 53 congressional districts (4 to 9 per district), then there are 158 total allocated statewide. If candidate A gets 55% of the state vote then that candidate would get 87 and candidate B would get 71. CA also gets 40 Alternates for a total Delegation of 586 and with spouses, partners, over 1,000 going to Philly.”

      Nothing to it.

      1. takeaway:

        R: 53 separate, small campaigns. Winning the smallest, remotest CD = winning city center SF.

        D: Hard to imagine a uuge blowout type win (75/25) with large net delegate swing.

  17. Madco, as the above article explains, California is more like 53 small primaries than one large one.   If Hillary holds her current 10 point edge she might net 50 delegates or so.  A bernie upset by ten points might give him those delegates.  But Bernie's big win in caucus of Washington State in all likelihood will exceed in delegates the net from large but ultra complex California.   That's why I think the real showdowns are New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to be Hillary's best shot for a knockout.   Even tying those states would basically run out the clock.  

  18. While Eduardo Rafael tries to calm nervous evangelicals over his (theoretical) lack of interest in copulating with rats, Drumpf is talking about 'lighting up' the Middle East, confiscating their oil and pondering open carry at the convention, Kasich is parading around as a moderate, Sonnenberg is gnashing his teeth over rain barrels, lubes his gun with ObamaTears and looks for ways to go back to the good ol' days of using our atmosphere as a toxic waste dump – this happened. 

    Happy Isthar, everyone…

    Pope Francis washes the feet of Muslim migrants, says we are ‘children of the same God’

    1. And, those are the cream of the GOPer crop, so to speak — the one's capable of forming sentence-like structures from letter groupings resembling words …

      … here in Colorado, most of Dudley's peeps probably just used it as yet another reason to stock up on additional rounds.

    2. That's breathtaking, Michael! It scares me that people so stupid and gullible are allowed to vote. I've said it before; literacy tests are illegal for voter eligibility, but how 'bout IQ tests?

      I had to print that off and save it for karen. She’s gonna LAUGH.

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