Tuesday Reads: Wrap it up and put a Bow on it
Posted: June 7, 2016 Filed under: 2016 elections, Afternoon Reads 41 Comments
Good Afternoon!
On August 26th, 1920, women finally achieved the right to vote by Constitutional Amendment in the United States. Three-quarters of the states finally ratified the 19th Amendment. My maternal grandmother was coming up on her 4oth birthday when this happened. Every time I vote–and I vote for everything under the sun–I vote for my grandmothers who could not vote until they were well into middle age and my great grandmothers before them who either never voted or had to wait until they were well on in age.
It is also no small detail that it took nearly 100 years to get a woman as a Candidate for President from the major parties. But, the deed is done. It has not been for lack of trying or hoping on the part of many people. It’s been a long time coming but today is a day for herstory.
Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, faces a general election race against Republican Donald Trump that will be seen as a referendum on women in politics, gendered stereotypes about power, and women as a voting bloc. Polls show dramatic splits based on gender, with men going for Trump and women favoring Clinton — even as Clinton has struggled with winning over young female voters in her primary run against Bernie Sanders.
“I know we have never done this before. We’ve never have had a woman president,” she said Saturday night in Fresno, California. “That is why I want you to understand, that I have spent eight year in the Senate on the Armed Services Committee, four years as secretary of state. I have spent a lot of hours in the Situation Room working to solve some of the hardest problems we face. And I know how hard this job is and how much humility you need to have and how you should actually listen to people who have good ideas.”
Clinton’s close primary loss to Barack Obama in 2008 was itself historic, setting up the nomination of Sarah Palin as a running mate on the Republican side, and the sense that a woman in the White House was an eventuality.
Eight years later, Clinton has a shot at making that sense a reality.
“This is the most historic moment for women in politics that we’ve seen in contemporary times,”said Jennifer Lawless, co-author of “Women on the Run” and director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University. “If you look back to the ’18 million cracks’ speech, that seemed monumental and that was a loss. Symbolically it’s a big deal, and substantively, it means that the country is willing to move forward with a female president.”
Among Clinton’s endorsements is one today from our nation’s first woman Speaker of the House. Nancy Pelosi announced her support this 
morning.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed Hillary Clinton for president this morning on “Good Morning America” before her home state’s primary today.
“I’m a voter in California and I have voted for Hillary Clinton for president of the United States and proud to endorse her for that position,” the Democratic superdelegate said, though adding “it’s not over until it’s over.”
Senator Sanders continue to provide some bizarre logic on why Super Delegates should select him instead of the Clinton who has won majorities in every way possible on her way to the Democratic nomination. Sanders voters are trying to make a last stand in California. The announcement of Clinton’s passing the magic number appears to have made them even more angry and delusional. Jonathan Chait has made a laundry list of all Sander’s “crazy process arguments” which still seem to be flying from the mouths of the campaign.
The system isn’t rigged. Clinton is going to win the nomination because she has won far more votes. She currently leads with 55 percent of the total vote to 43 percent. That’s fairly close for a primary, but it’s not Bush-versus-Gore close. It’s not even Bush-versus-Dukakis close (the 1988 election, widely seen as a landslide, was settled by less than 8 percent). Clinton’s lead in pledged delegates is proportionally smaller than her lead in total votes because Sanders has benefited from low-turnout caucuses. Yet Sanders has enjoyed astonishing success at framing his narrative of the primary as a contest that, in some form or fashion, has been stolen from its rightful winner. His version of events has bled into the popular culture and fueled disillusionment among his supporters.
Sanders initially discounted Clinton’s success as the product of “conservative” states, which is a technically accurate depiction of the states as a whole, but not of the heavily African-American Democratic voters in them who supported Clinton. As Sanders has continued to fail to dent Clinton’s enormous lead in votes and delegates, his campaign has devised a series of increasingly absurd formulations to defend its theme that Sanders, not Clinton, is the authentic choice of the people.
Clinton plans to call Sanders tonight. I’m as interested in that phone call as the one the President made to the man on Sunday. Will any amount of logic reach the ears of this pathetic old man?
Hillary Clinton on Monday night said she will contact Democratic rival Bernie Sanders following the results of Tuesday’s primary elections, most notably in California.
Our campaigns are certainly talking,” Clinton said in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that aired Monday. “I’ll be reaching out after tomorrow night because I obviously want to unite the party.”
“We have so much more in common and we face a serious threat from Donald Trump,” she continued. “There’s no doubt that Donald Trump is the threat … that is going to unite the Democratic Party.”
The interview was taped prior to The Associated Press reporting that Clinton had secured the 2,383 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination for president.
The AP’s tally comes ahead of primary contests in six states on Tuesday.
“According to the news, we are on the brink of a historic, historic, unprecedented moment, but we still have work to do,” Clinton said at the start of a Monday rally in Long Beach, Calif., shortly after the AP made the call.
In a response, the Sanders campaign said it was wrong to count the superdelegates — party leaders free to support either candidate — before they actually vote at the Democratic National Convention in July.
“It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgment, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer,” the campaign said.
During the Maddow interview, Clinton called Sanders’s quest to sway superdelegates “perplexing” and said her campaign is not lobbying them.
Tonight, we’ll live blog the returns and speeches. The press may have taken the some of the steam out of the day by announcing her win early but we will be there until the last vote is counted.
Also, make sure all your friends and relatives that can vote today go out and vote. We want this to be a huge statement to both Trump and Sanders and their supporters.
What’s on your reading and blogging list today?
peej
Carissa
dakinikat
ecocatwoman
grayslady
mablue2
NW Luna
peggysue22
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Thanks for this and all your posts. I have lurked here for years, but had to start commenting this spring because the sky dancers and HRC’s campaign has been so exciting.
My fingers are crossed that we win CA. Have you heard anything about the turnout in NJ?
These women are the greatest!!! All of their posts are informative, inspiring and extremely well written. We’re lucky to have such great advocates.
Definitely!!!
Thank you, Mouse. The feeling is mutual!
For sure, all of you who have made contributions, and all the articles, and all the social/psychological responses, including statistics, numbers and figures, and facts, has sincerely been a significant and positive improvement in all our lives. It is in the spirit of all sky dancers that we have truly become a community, and tonight we ripple with pride and love for Hillary Clinton.
It all begins TODAY
I’m having beer with mine!!
😁
I’m chilling a bottle of wine.
Par tee for Hill A Ree! Woohoo!
We’re gonna party like it’s 1969! I figured we should pretend we’re in our prime partying years. And no twerking!!
Ha! I’d throw my back out if I tried to twerk! I’ll celebrate quietly.
What sort of creature is this?
Love all of your pictures by the way. 😊
Cute, I love antelope!
I’m glad this started off with the mention of the “Right to Vote” from 1920- not even 100 years ago, which hasn’t really been that long in terms of history. We have come a long way, baby. So proud that Hillary will be the first woman nominee ( and then president)! We have come a long way!!!
I thought AP’s announcment did cut some of the steam (the bums) but tonight will be fabulous!!
How cool will it be to have our woman president celebrate the 100th anniversary of the women’s vote?
Way cool!
Post Politics
Sanders plans to ‘assess’ presidential bid at home in Vermont after Tuesday contests
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/06/sanders-plans-to-assess-presidential-bid-at-home-in-vermont-after-tuesday-contests/?postshare=2611465324837614&tid=ss_fb
While he’s there, he can pick up those pesky tax returns he keeps forgetting to get when he’s at the house.
I read in one of today’s articles on Hillz’ historic accomplishment that in ’08 she was the first female candidate to win a state primary while Obama was not the first black candidate to win a state primary and yet his candidacy was considered the historic one.
Jesse Jackson won state primaries.
I can’t help but tear up every time I see this one…
Lindsey Graham Two Jameson Shots Away From Shrieking, ‘I’m With Her, Y’all!’
Read more at http://wonkette.com/602669/lindsey-graham-two-jameson-shots-away-from-shrieking-im-with-her-yall#012vt5ummY0QUSTq.99
Evan Hurst is my fav.
They attack Trump but follow with”But Hillary’s not the answer!”
How pray tell do they come to that conclusion?
Of course she is the answer.
She has been the answer!
I don’t think they understand the question.
Let’s say it slowly for them, “How do you keep a sexist male fucktard egomaniac from ruining the country?”
Let’s say it together…”why Hillary Rodgam Clinton of course. Madams President for short.”
I know … totally frustrating
This is my favorite comment in the wonkette piece.
“Republicans have turned into that girl that thinks that if they love him enough they can change him”.
Dak, could you fix my post down thread, my name instead of pd?
Apparently the uncommitted superdelegates got a weird deluded letter yesterday from the Sanders campaign. After which, 23 of them endorsed HRC. At least that’s what I saw on twitter.
I’m thinking she’ll win CA but, even if she doesn’t, it’s still all over but some shouting and loud partying.
ah …. that and Puerto Rico
Can you imagine what those SD’s are thinking? Were it me, I’d be thinking “hmmmmm….vote for the first ever woman nominee of my party who will most likely become the first woman POTUS and who has won the popular vote hands down – or throw away my vote on a guy who hates my party and who no one will remember in 20 years?”
I imagine “Old man yells at cloud” Grandpa, The Simpsons.
Wish I could post the picture!
Does SD have open voting?
The Sanders campaign’s silliness over the superdelegates is that they don’t vote until the convention. Note to the Sanders impaired: NONE of the delegates votes until the convention.
Since Mar 15, Hillary has been the winner, and no matter what Sanders would have done, he would never have passed her. Nothing has changed since Mar 15, and the old fart refuses to accept the truth, and the simple math.
I think Hillary broke twitter. It’s going so slowly, I’m afraid it will crash.
2008 I said Hillary was in the race for the long haul, and we had a long to go, and it’s not over for her. Tonight, 8 long years later, is the night for her supporters. More than 18 million strong.
And then there was this lady, who tonight I honor, because she herself was at the threshold of a historic moment, and she was right when she said “This is the land of Dreams for everyone”………..and tonight Hillary Clinton voice will be heard through out this land.
You know who she was:
Oh, yes! Right with you, Fannie! I hadn’t registered to vote until Geraldine Ferraro was nominated for VP.
I just love this blog.Most of the time I just lurk and read, but this week was stupendice- thanks to all of you for making it even more special than it is!!!
Thanks! What’s happening in NJ?
We creamed BS!