Super Tuesday Reads
Posted: March 1, 2016 Filed under: just because 61 Comments
Good Morning!!
This should be an exciting day. I’m looking forward to voting for Hillary. I’ll probably wait until after the noon hour. I don’t know what the turnout is expected to be, but I don’t really want to wait in line.
Other than going to vote and picking up some groceries, I plan to be home today following Super Tuesday events. I’m so excited! We will add new threads if we need them.
There are new Donald Trump controversies today–violence and racism at his rallies and a leak about something he told The New York Times about immigration. First, the leak:
Ben Smith at Buzzfeed: Donald Trump Secretly Told The New York Times What He Really Thinks About Immigration.
The New York Times is sitting on an audio recording that some of its staff believes could deal a serious blow to Donald Trump, who, in an off-the-record meeting with the newspaper, called into question whether he would stand by his own immigration views.
Trump visited the paper’s Manhattan headquarters on Tuesday, Jan. 5, as part of a round of editorial board meetings that — as is traditional — the Democratic candidates for president and some of the Republicans attended. The meetings, conducted partly on the record and partly off the record in a 13th-floor conference room, give candidates a chance to make their pitch for the paper’s endorsement.
People who were at the meeting, including columnist Gail Collins have suggested that Trump’s sees his positions on political issues as endlessly changeable and negotiable.
So what exactly did Trump say about immigration, about deportations, about the wall? Did he abandon a core promise of his campaign in a private conversation with liberal power brokers in New York?
I wasn’t able to obtain the recording, or the transcript, and don’t know exactly what Trump said. Neither Baquet, Collins, nor various editorial board members I reached would comment on an off-the-record conversation, which the Times essentially said it cannot release without approval from Trump, given the nature of the off-the-record agreement.
Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal told me he would not comment “on what was off the record at our meeting with him.”
“If [Trump] wants to call up and ask us to release this transcript, he’s free to do that and then we can decide what we would do,” Rosenthal said.
Release the transcripts!
David Wiegel at The Washington Post reports than Sean Hannity asked Trump about the leaks last night.
Hannity prodded Trump to explain himself.
“The New York Times is claiming today that they had an off-the-record conversation with you in January,” he said on his Fox News show. “Off the record, by the way. Now they’re leaking it.”
“Yeah, of course they’re leaking it,” said Trump. “The most dishonest media group. And it’s also failing. I call it the failing New York Times. It’s doing so badly, it’s dying. But I did. We had a board meeting. It was off the record. All of a sudden, they leak it. It’s all over the place.”
“They said you said it’s negotiable on the wall,” said Hannity.
Trump did not miss a step. “It’s negotiable,” he said. “Things are negotiable. I’ll be honest with you — I’ll make the wall two feet shorter, or something. I mean, everything’s negotiable.”
“It’s not negotiable to build it?” asked Hannity.
“No!” said Trump. “Building it? Not negotiable.”
“Would it be negotiable about the 11 million?” asked Hannity, referring to the frequently cited estimate of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. “Maybe let some people stay if they register in a period of time?”
“I would say this,” said Trump. “I’ve always said, look, we have some great people over here. And they’re going to go out, but we’re going to work out a system that’s fair.”
Whatever. Trump is a disgrace. Let’s make sure he never has a chance to set foot in the White House!
On the incidents at Trump rallies:
Valdosta students after Trump order them removed from rally.
Raw Story: Black college students kicked out of Trump rally in Georgia for no reason.
A group of 30 black Valdosta State University students was removed from a rally by Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Monday before the event even began, the Des Moines Register reported.
“We didn’t plan to do anything,” said one of the students, 19-year-old Tahjila Davis. “They said, ‘This is Trump’s property; it’s a private event.’ But I paid my tuition to be here.”
Davis and the other students were reportedly asked to leave the event by a Secret Service agent, hours after footage circulating online showed another agent attacking a photojournalist at a separate Trump event in Radford, Virginia.
That’s right. Chris Morris, a 63-year-old Time photojournalist, was grabbed by the throat and slammed to the floor by one of Trumps Secret Service agents. Time responds:
Chris Morris, a veteran White House photographer working on the campaign for TIME, stepped out of the press pen to photograph a Black Lives Matter protest that interrupted the speech. A video shows that Morris swore at a Secret Service agent who tried to move Morris back into the pen. A separate video of the event shows that the agent then grabbed Morris’ neck with both hands and threw him into a table and onto the ground.
Video also shows that once on the ground, Morris kicked at the agent who was trying to restrain him. Later, Morris briefly put his hand on the agent’s neck. After the exchange, Morris said that he did so in order to demonstrate the choke hold he had just experienced.
Video also shows that once on the ground, Morris kicked at the agent who was trying to restrain him. Later, Morris briefly put his hand on the agent’s neck. After the exchange, Morris said that he did so in order to demonstrate the choke hold he had just experienced.
Journalist Christopher Morris is arrested by police during a rally of Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, at Radford University in Radford, Va., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Why is the U.S. Secret Service getting involved in removing black people from Trump rallies and enforcing ridiculous efforts to prevent the press from covering his events?
TIME has contacted the U.S. Secret Service to express concerns about the level and nature of the agent’s response. Morris has also expressed remorse for his part in escalating the confrontation. A TIME spokesperson said, “We are relieved that Chris is feeling OK, and we expect him to be back at work soon.”
Unlike other presidential campaigns, which generally allow reporters and photographers to move around at events, Trump has a strict policy requiring reporters and cameramen to stay inside a gated area, which the candidate often singles out for ridicule during his speeches. The entrance to the penned area is generally monitored by the Secret Service detail, which also screens attendees at his events and personally protects the candidate.
“I’ve worked for nine years at the White House and have never had an altercation with the Secret Service,” Morris says in a statement. “What happened today was very unfortunate and unexpected. The rules at Trump events are significantly stricter than other campaigns and make it very difficult to work as a photographer, as many others have pointed out before me. I regret my role in the confrontation, but the agent’s response was disproportionate and unnecessarily violent. I hope this incident helps call attention to the challenges of press access.”
Read more at the link. Frankly, I don’t understand why the media has been putting up with this sh%t. If this happened at one of Hillary Clinton’s events–or if she even tried to enforce such draconian rules for the media–the outcry would be endless. Apparently reporters and editors are afraid to stand up to Republicans.
As for the many primaries and caucuses today, Harry Enten at FiveThirtyEight has all the information you need to follow Super Tuesday results. Here are his posts on the Democratic and Republican contests:
Super Guide to Super Tuesday (Democrats)
Super Guide to Super Tuesday (Republicans)
More news, links only:
CNN: National poll: Clinton, Sanders both top Trump.
CNN: After GOP establishment ‘froze’ on Trump, Democrats ready battle plans.
Politico: Is the Trump show ready for prime time?
Huffington Post: Obama Showed Us How To Take Down Donald Trump 5 Years Ago, And The Video Is Just As Brutal Today.
The Daily Beast: When Bernie Sanders Thought Castro and the Sandinistas Could Teach America a Lesson.
Miami Herald: Bernie Sanders traveled to communist Cuba and urges a ‘political revolution.’ Will exile Miami take him seriously?
A disturbing story from Fort Wayne, IN. The police says it’s not a hate crime, but the Darfur diaspora community believes it is:
The Washington Post: The mysterious ‘execution-style’ killings of young men in Indiana.
The New York Times: The Model Whose Lips Spurred Racist Comments Speaks Out.
I haven’t included any Hillary news; I’m going to leave it up to you guys to post anything you’re hearing and reading in your local areas. It looks to me as if she will win in Massachusetts and of course the South. Bernie will likely win Vermont and perhaps Colorado and Minnesota. We’ll find out later on today.
Have a great Super Tuesday!
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Going to be a heck of a day/ Feeling good but nervous as a cat. Hope people haven’t gotten too confident and everyone comes out to vote!
Me too. I’m really excited. I hope the turnout will be good. What are you hearing about Texas?
My sentiments exactly Ralph. We can take nothing for granted. Hillary supporters have to turn out and vote.
I just got home from voting for Hillary. In my precinct here in Paris, Tx I was the 83rd person to vote. Not a strong turnout by any means.
Thanks for linking the Daily Beast article that shows Bernie Sanders great affection for dictatorial socialist regimes. I think this pretty well exposes what he means by “revolution”. We don’t want or need his brand of socialism, we’ve seen it destroy too many countries, too many people. With all of our problems, with income inequality, with everything that needs to be fixed in this Nation, it’s still far superior to dictatorships that Bernie pointed to as models of socialist progress. I’m upset that the MSM, especially those at MSNBC didn’t have the courage to do their due diligence and vet this guy.
The creepiest part was when Bernie defended Daniel Ortega for shutting down the newspapers. He said sometimes that is necessary during a revolution.
Then it’s a good thing that a Bernie revolution isn’t going to happen.
Hillary went to Minnesota this morning. Maybe her campaign knows something?
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Their internal polling likely shows them that she can win there even while the skeptics have believed that the caucus there worked against her. The Maddow’s of the world have been trying to bank this one for Bernie because there’s no polling to say otherwise and the demographic favors him there and in OK.
Here is a lovely piece about voting inin a Boston precinct.
My polling place was busy but moving right along. Was very happy to finally fill out that little circle for Hillary!
I voted at 10:30 this morning and there was hardly anyone there. I the turnout is,better as the day goes on.
Bernie supporters are blaming their failures on Elizabeth Warren now. I knew that was coming.
Thanks for nothing, Elizabeth Warren: How the Democratic Party’s rock star missed her chance, hurt the progressive agenda
I had been optimistically counting ten wins for Hillary, but I had forgotten about Colorado. Sanders will obviously win Vermont, and perhaps Oklahoma, for whatever reason I cannot quite understand. I would hate to see him win four states; three would be enough to allow him to make another victory speech.
All the Republicans’ (candidates and establishment types) sanctimonious attacking of Trump is giving them cover so as to look like a reasonable party, rather than a bunch of extreme right-wing radicals, which they are. If the media is going to allow the campaign to be about things like who can more passionately denounce the KKK, the Republicans might be able to stealthily pass for mainstream, which they absolutely are not.
I lived in the state-that-is-not-remotely-OK for a while, and I think I understand it. 1) There are almost no Democrats there. All there Reps, Senators, Governor, are Repubs. The state leg. is wall-to-wall Repubs. 2) Practically the only concentration of Democrats is around the universities in Tulsa and OKCity (incl. Norman). 3) So white, college, yadda yadda yadda. Carrying that state in a Dem primary is 100% meaningless in the general election.
(Gah. All *their* Reps, of course.)
The state democratic party also voted to open the primary vote to independents. I was at the state convention and voted against this. My feeling is that Democrats should pick their candidates. If an independent wanted to have a say they could join and support the party. Needless to say my side was voted down.
Totally agree with you.
Your last sentence also applies to any of the Southern states that had (SC) or will vote for Clinton.
Bill Clinton carried Tenn. and Ark. twice.
Probably because Bill was the Arkansas governor running on the ticket with a Tennessee senator. I highly doubt Hillary will be able to carry these states in the general.
VA is a swing state.
I meant GA, TX, AL, LA, MS, KY, WY, SD that she won, winning now, or is expected to win.
Really, let’s blame a woman?!
That’s just another version of the “any woman but that one” meme.
Riiiiiight. It’s all Warren’s fault, because it’s not Bernie’s. /s
Maybe she’s got the good sense to know Bernie’s not the right candidate.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a42573/hillary-clinton-boston-rally/
Men hassle women outside the Boston Hillary rally.
Why am I not surprised.
I voted at around 12:30. There was only a short line, but the ladies at the desk said they had quite big crowd this morning. I think it will be a low turnout, but as long as Hillary wins I’m OK with it, I guess.
The lower Democratic turnrouts are concerning to me, but I think that in a national election, they will turn out, particularly against Trump, and with the Supreme Court at stake. However, if the Republican Party cannot stop Trump, they will very likely run soneone else as “their” candidate. That would unfortunately drive up the conservative turnout, and probably cost us some Congressional seats we might otherwise win.
I’ve kind of wonder about that low turnout too.
Low turnout on the Dem side means the revolution is not happening.
I’m not worried about low Democratic turnout in the primaries. Trump or Cruz or Rubio will be a strong motivation to get out and vote.
I voted for Bernie, sorry. I’ll have a chance to vote for Hillary in November.
By the way, there was no line and most of the voting booths were empty.
No need to be sorry. You’re always welcome here, and I’m glad you have stuck with us through this.
Aww, thank you…
We’re a loyal bunch.
More power to ‘ya! That’s the beauty of this country. Never apologize for your vote. It’s yours and yours alone.
My daughter and I were numbers 842 and 843 in our primarily Republican precinct. That’s definitely lower than a general election but kind of on the high side for a primary. When you check in, you have to request either a Republican or Democrat ballot which is kind of weird. In a state that is so proud of the fact that you do not register as any party, you have to announce what party’s primary ballot you want. I seem to remember back in 2000, the primaries of the two parties were on a different day because I voted for McCain over Dubya in the Republican primary and I didn’t have to ask for a special ballot. Actually, I think the Democrats chose their primary nominee by convention in this state back then. I know crossing over is a shitty thing to do but I was so desperate to stop Dubya I would have done anything. Turns out I was right. It felt really creepy to go in and vote among all of those Republicans and I swore I’d never do that again. It’s probably better to have them both on the same day to prevent that sort of thing from happening again.
I’m registered as unaffiliated so I have to ask for a Democratic ballot. Everyone in front of me in line was getting the Dem one. Not surprising in my town.
janicen, I have cross-over voted several times in primaries in non-presidential years. I knew I would vote D in the general election no matter who it was. It is a way to get rid of the worst Republicans. I was happy to do my part to get rid of Paul Broun!
I just got back from voting. The ‘Democrats Abroad’ ballot, requires you to fill in your name, address, phone, email, date of birth, and then you get to fill in the little oval splot of your choice. You can choose between Hillary Clinton, Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, Martin J. O’Malley, Bernie Sanders and Uncommitted. Hardly a secret ballot! but the upside is you get to chat about the election with the person officiating. He let me know I shouldn’t worry about the outcome, while patting Bernie on the back for moving the conversation leftwards. I let them know I’m available to volunteer, as long as Hillary is the candidate. (In 2008, DA was in the tank for Obama, so I disaffiliated myself after the primary.)
I saw Judy Collins in concert the other night, and she said that she was just back from Europe speaking to Democrats Abroad. She is a long-time supporter of the Democratic Party, so I hope she was supporting Hillary.
“What this confirms for us that racism and bigotry aren’t dying with previous generation. They are gleefully passed from one generation to the next and Donald Trump is energizing this process.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-trump-racism-spreading-younger-generation-article-1.2547682?cid=bitly
Gloria Borger continues to harp on Hillary’s “trust issue.” Trust about what?
Exactly. We just need to push back just as hard that Hills was never a dishonest liar. That was always a false narrative perpetuated by the vast right wing conspiracy. Fortunately for us, that story is the truth. When will the women in the media wake up and smell the misogyny.
Borger’s distrust of having to look at the reality of Hillary’s long record of fighting for progressive and liberal issues.
The whole “trust” thing is a smear campaign.
Nine Republicans Reject Naming Post Office After Maya Angelou, by Luke Russert (ugh)
Two questions from yesterday on the CNN poll:
Who is more honest and trustworthy
Sanders 69
Clinton 36
Better to handle the responsibilities of Commander-in-Chief
Clinton 73
Sanders 24
I’m still scratching my head over that.
Weird.
Actually, I think that Hillary is one of the most trustworthy major political figures I have ever seen. It is sad that much of public reflexively believes the character assassination campaign which was orchestrated by the right wing, and then purveyed by the media. In eight years in the Senate, four years as Secretary of State, there was not even a hint of scandal or misrepresentation. The email “story” is just nonsense.
Agree.
Shows they haven’t completely bought the BS.
Supposedly MA is on pace for greater turnout than 2008. High turnout in Boston where most are Democrats.
http://patch.com/massachusetts/boston/ma-2016-democratic-presidential-primary-results-hillary-clinton-vs-bernie-sanders
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And 99% of those are from male Bernie supporters.
Sanders need to speak up loudly on this.
“Sanders need to speak up loudly on this.”
The part I don’t understand is the deafening silence from him, since he said he doesn’t run negative campaigns. (Wild laughter, of course.) I guess, like Drumpf, he has “his people” for that.
Did you see the story that Clarence Thomas finally asked a question in the Supreme Court case?
Only it was a question an average high school student should know the answer to – whether a violation of law can suspend a violator’s constitutional right. Just as a quick example – someone in prison loses the right of liberty.
Also prisoners don’t appear to be subject to searches and seizures, and at least some of them lose the right to vote.
Yes. He was worried about domestic abusers not having access to guns. What a horrible man.
Yeah, God forbid if THAT constitutional right is taken away from anyone.
Live blog is up!