All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Superbat]

Is Biden winning South Carolina by 15 or 20 points enough to make him a contender again or is it too late for him to make a comeback?

[Tendrin]

Is Biden winning South Carolina by 15 or 20 points enough to make him a contender again or is it too late for it to help him?

I'm not sure how many delegates are up for grabs in SC compared to how many have been handed out and people's positions in the current delegate race, precisely, but like all democratic party primary states, it uses a proportional representation system. If Biden wins with, say, 40% of the vote, he gets 40% of the delegates. It really just depends on how many are actually available. Running up tallies in big states is how Hillary stayed viable for a long time in 2008 and how she won in 2016, much like how Bernie's large caucus victories kept him in the race and narrow wins in a few larger states didn't do much to help him.

A quick google shows that Hillary got 39 delegates from SC in 2012 with 73% of the vote.

[Theleviathan]

I'm not sure how many delegates are up for grabs in SC compared to how many have been handed out and people's positions in the current delegate race, precisely, but like all democratic party primary states, it uses a proportional representation system. If Biden wins with, say, 40% of the vote, he gets 40% of the delegates. It really just depends on how many are actually available. Running up tallies in big states is how Hillary stayed viable for a long time in 2008 and how she won in 2016, much like how Bernie's large caucus victories kept him in the race and narrow wins in a few larger states didn't do much to help him.

A quick google shows that Hillary got 39 delegates from SC in 2012 with 73% of the vote.

https://www.270towin.com/2020-democratic-nomination

So they have 54 delegates. Let's say Biden gets 40% and Bernie gets 25%. Biden would get 22 and Bernie would get 14. That would put the delegates at a 59-37 advantage for Bernie. Significant, but really until the big dogs like Texas vote it's hard to say.

[Tendrin]

The Trump administration sent a team of government officials to receive patients from the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic without adequate protection, a whistleblower reportedly alleged in a complaint.

The unnamed whistleblower – reportedly a high-ranking female official in the Department of Health and Human Services – alleged in the complaint to the Office of Special Counsel that Trump administration officials retaliated against her after she raised concerns about the lack of protection.
The new revelation came in reports from the Washington Post and New York Times.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckra...virus-response

This administration is the worst.

[Tendrin]

Meanwhile, in India:

NEW DELHI — To many in the eastern Delhi neighborhood where a convulsion of religious violence erupted this week, it all began with one man.
Kapil Mishra, a local politician withIndia’s leading Hindu nationalist party, had just lost an election. Acquaintances in the area, which now feels like a war zone, said he had been looking for a way to bounce back.
Mr. Mishra, 39, is known for his outspoken views and flexible politics. As an upper-caste Hindu from a political family, he had worked for Amnesty International and Greenpeace, and risen in the ranks of one of India’s most progressive political organizations. But several years ago he shifted allegiance across the political spectrum to the Bharatiya Janata Party, India’s current governing party, which has deep roots in Hindu supremacist ideology.

None of this is going to end well.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/w...il-mishra.html

“On the whole, the Delhi riots of this week are now beginning to look like a pogrom, à la Gujarat 2002 and Delhi 1984,” said Ashutosh Varshney, the director of the Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University.
While the death toll is nowhere near that of those earlier bouts, the episodes shared a disturbing similarity, Mr. Varshney said, with “mobs unleashing savage violence while the cops look away, or join the mob, instead of neutrally intervening to crush the riot.”

[Malvolio]

Or an unhinged Trump that selects the most non-progressive judges and Supreme Court justices possible.

I found the payment plan on my own but it's still fair to ask how he's going to make it happen.



I'll never say it can't happen, just that the voter should know how he plans to make it happen.

After reading this, I don't want to hear anyone say that Bernie doesn't have a plan to pay for any of his proposed agenda.

[Steel Inquisitor]

After reading this, I don't want to hear anyone say that Bernie doesn't have a plan to pay for any of his proposed agenda.

It's not that he didn't have a plan - it's a bad one whose going to get slaughter in congress. For someone who spent decades of his life in congress Sanders should know better. And that when aja asked and asked he kept getting ignored or his supporters didn't care to discuss the details, all the while saying he had the best plan without backing it up.

[Robotman]

It's not that he didn't have a plan - it's a bad one whose going to get slaughter in congress. For someone who spent decades of his life in congress Sanders should know better. And that when aja asked and asked he kept getting ignored or his supporters didn't care to discuss the details, all the while saying he had the best plan without backing it up.

Perhaps deep down he knows they’ll never pass and he can just blame Republicans and the “establishment” Democrats for blocking everything.

[JackDaw]

It's not that he didn't have a plan - it's a bad one whose going to get slaughter in congress. For someone who spent decades of his life in congress Sanders should know better. And that when aja asked and asked he kept getting ignored or his supporters didn't care to discuss the details, all the while saying he had the best plan without backing it up.

Wouldn’t there be problems even if he managed to get the changes he wants through Congress?

I know everything is bigger in America...but those tax takes through closing various tax loopholes, taxing off shore income, etc seem enormous.

Those forecast takes can only be guesstimates...and may well be super optimistic...large multinational companies will seek new loopholes as quickly as the old ones and are closed. And at least some American multinationals..faced with offshore profits being taxed..will simply re-incorporate elsewhere.

Having said that...closing tax loopholes and raising some taxes to raise money for useful welfare spending is attractive..but it does need to be underpinned by realistic, detailed planned.

[Billy Batson]

Yes, you are wrong. There are actual quotes from your lord and savior.

https://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...etType=PAYWALL

Don't be Trumpian. It's disgusting. Bernie flip-flop, and that's what it is, is politically motivated. Strategically it's smart for him to claim it just like Hillary did because he's the front runner.

Where things go afield is when you and other Bernie worshippers here lie or contort to change facts into falsehoods so your exalted one isn't besmirched. Jesus christ dude....be better.

M8, your article says the same thing I did.

Mr. Sanders urged superdelegates in states that he has won and those who came out in support of Mrs. Clinton before he declared his candidacy to switch their support to him.

Mr. Sanders expressed frustration that Mrs. Clinton had won superdelegates even in states where he won the primary. In Washington State, where he won almost 73 percent of the vote, Mrs. Clinton has 10 superdelegates while he has none. In Colorado, Mr. Sanders won 59 percent of the vote, but again Mrs. Clinton has 10 superdelegates from that state and he has none. Sanders aides handed out a list showing similar situations in states like New Hampshire, Kansas and Maine where he won more votes but has fewer superdelegates than his rival.
“If I win a state with 70 percent of the vote, you know what? I think I am entitled to those superdelegates,” Mr. Sanders said. “I think the superdelegates should reflect what the people of the state want, and that’s true for Hillary Clinton as well.”

[Tofali]

Perhaps deep down he knows they’ll never pass and he can just blame Republicans and the “establishment” Democrats for blocking everything.

To be honest if all he proposes doesn't make a dent i'll be disappointed but at least it will create a clear divide in the Democratic Party which is good IMO and he can make Foreign Policy his legacy

[JCAll]

To be honest if all he proposes doesn't make a dent i'll be disappointed but at least it will create a clear divide in the Democratic Party which is good IMO and he can make Foreign Policy his legacy

The Democrats are divided enough, I would like to know why you think making it worse would be good.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckra...virus-response

This administration is the worst.

I know it's early, but this shaping up to be George W. Bush and Katrina all over again, perhaps worse as the aftermath of the disaster in New Orleans was the result of gross incompetence, Trump and coronavirus is willful negligence backed up by gaslighting and hiding information from the public. Meanwhile....

Investment Advisors Worry U.S. Response To Coronavirus Is Too Little Too Late

California Monitoring 8,400 People For Coronavirus, But Needs More Test Kits

What Would Happen If U.S. Schools Close Because Of Coronavirus?

Anderson Cooper Hits Donald Trump With Stark Reality Check About The Coronavirus

New Yorker Slaps Donald Trump With Sarcastic Coronavirus Cover



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In non-coronavirus news....

Joe Biden Bets Big On South Carolina, But Super Tuesday Could Be A Problem

The former vice president clearly has momentum in the Palmetto State. But his campaign is paying little attention elsewhere in the country.

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Bloomberg On Ex-Felon Voting Rights In 2018: ‘They’re Not Going To Vote Anyway’

The Democratic presidential hopeful now has a plan to restore voting rights for felons, but he didn’t seem to care much about the issue two years ago.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Jesus Would Be Maligned As ‘Radical’ By Today’s Congress

The New York lawmaker invoked her Christian faith in a passionate defense of the dignity and rights of LGBTQ Americans.

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Tribal Leader Blasts Border Wall Construction On Sacred Burial Land In Powerful Testimony

“These sites are not only sacred to the Nation; they are a part of our shared cultural heritage as United States citizens.”

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Report: U.S. Right-Wing Extremists Killed 330 People In Last Decade

A new Anti-Defamation League report also finds that an anti-Latino massacre at a Walmart made 2019 the sixth-deadliest for extremist-related violence since 1970.

[JCAll]

I can't wait to hear about how The Wall would have stopped the coronavirus.

[JackDaw]

I can't wait to hear about how The Wall would have stopped the coronavirus.

I blame the Donald for not being man enough to go out there and build it himself....