Differences Undefined? Clinton, Sanders unite in police criticism amid testy debate

The Commie and the Demo.

While Hillary Clinton launched her harshest debate attacks yet on Bernie Sanders Thursday in a clear attempt to distinguish their differences to voters, the Democratic candidates spent almost as much time uniting in their criticism of America’s criminal justice system, the financial sector and more.
The debate fell at a time when Sanders is trying to build his momentum after his big New Hampshire win, while Clinton is trying to regain hers.
As Sanders pointedly reminded her, “You’re not in the White House yet.”
But the candidates at times offered a similar message. This was evident as they vociferously called for an overhaul of local police departments that they suggested are unfair to black people.
“We need fundamental police reform,” Sanders said, adding he’s “sick and tired” of seeing unarmed black people shot by police. He likened heavily equipped police departments to “occupying armies.”
Clinton, meanwhile, echoed those themes, joining Sanders in calling for sentencing reform while saying the country’s “systemic racism” goes deeper and must be addressed – in education, housing and the job market.
“We are seeing the dark side of the remaining systemic racism that we need to root out,” she said.
The comments were part of each candidate’s revived appeal to minority voters, a key voting bloc as the Democratic presidential primary heads to South Carolina.
But even as they stressed those issues, differences were laid bare at the PBS-hosted debate in Milwaukee. And Sanders came prepared to counter Clinton’s attacks, showing a feistier side than he did at their last showdown.
When Clinton used her closing remarks to suggest Sanders was taking shots at President Obama, Sanders called it a “low blow” and countered: “One of us ran against Barack Obama. I was not that candidate.”
He even underscored his critique of Clinton’s foreign policy by pointing to a book where Clinton said she was mentored by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
“I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend,” Sanders said, calling him “one of the most destructive” American diplomats.
Clinton fired back that “we have yet to know” who Sanders listens to on foreign policy.
“Well, it ain’t Henry Kissinger,” Sanders said.
The two also clashed sharply over Sanders’ high-cost, big-government plans.
“We are not England. We are not France,” Clinton said.
Clinton accused Sanders of pushing programs that would grow the federal government by 40 percent. She suggested his health care promises “cannot be kept “and will be far more costly than he admits.
“We should level with the American people,” she said.
She also said Sanders’ plans would upend ObamaCare – though Sanders said he would not “dismantle” it.
“That is absolutely inaccurate,” he said, when she claimed his plans would leave many people worse off.
“In my view, health care is a right of all people … and I will fight for that,” Sanders said, adding it would take “courage.”
Clinton also criticized Sanders for voting against a 2007 immigration reform bill backed by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Sanders explained that the bill had a guest-worker program that progressive groups opposed.
“I think Ted Kennedy had a very clear idea of what needed to be done,” Clinton said.
Yet the candidates agreed in their joint criticism of the Obama administration’s recent deportation raids.
Sanders, meanwhile, once again hammered Clinton for her Wall Street ties, suggesting the financial sector’s big donations are meant to buy influence.
“Let’s not insult the intelligence of the American people. People aren’t dumb,” Sanders said. “Why in God’s name does Wall Street make huge campaign contributions? I guess just for the fun of it.”
They sparred on the issue as Sanders touted the fact he’s “the only candidate up here” who has no super PAC supporting him. A super PAC backing Clinton, he said, recently raised $15 million from Wall Street.
Clinton countered by noting that Obama took Wall Street donations too, but “when it mattered, he stood up and took on Wall Street.”
“Let’s not in any way imply here that either President Obama or myself would in any way not take on any vested interest,” she said, calling for more regulation of the financial sector.
The showdown comes as Clinton tries to reset the race, which heads next to Nevada and South Carolina. Her narrow victory in Iowa and resounding defeat in New Hampshire have raised fresh questions about her candidacy, which at one point was seen as a sure thing for the Democratic nomination.
Publicly, the Clinton campaign is voicing confidence. The campaign has been refocusing on the battle to lock down minority voter support, asserting that with their help, the former secretary of state can easily make gains against Sanders. But Sanders is at the same time making a bid to expand his own support beyond rural, white voters -- who largely decide Iowa and New Hampshire.
While the Clinton campaign is banking on minority voters as it heads into South Carolina and other delegate-rich states down the primary calendar, Tuesday’s contest exposed serious problems for her. She lost in New Hampshire across almost every demographic, including women.

government land management cartoon

For Real!

Official: Top Clinton aides also handled ‘top secret’ intel on server

The End is Near?

EXCLUSIVE: At least a dozen email accounts handled the “top secret” intelligence that was found on Hillary Clinton’s server and recently deemed too damaging for national security to release, a U.S. government official close to the review told Fox News.  
The official said the accounts include not only Clinton’s but those of top aides – including Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin, Jake Sullivan and Philippe Reines – as well as State Department Under Secretary for Management Patrick F. Kennedy and others.  There is no public evidence they were authorized to receive the intelligence some of which was beyond Top Secret.
A second source not authorized to speak on the record said the number of accounts involved could be as high as 30 and reflects how the intelligence was broadly shared, replied to, and copied to individuals using the unsecured server.
“My contacts with former colleagues and current active duty personnel involved in sensitive programs reveal a universal feeling that the HRC issue is more serious than the general public realizes,”  Dan Maguire,  a former strategic  planner with Africom, and with 46 years combined service, told Fox.  “Most opine they would already be behind bars if they had apparently compromised sensitive information as reported.”
Without access to the actual e-mails, Maguire said it was hard to ascertain what damage might have been done by the disclosure of human spying intelligence and secret material.
“Either way, the intelligence community is undoubtedly conducting damage assessments and evaluating the viability of any ongoing operation that may have been exposed to unauthorized personnel. The vulnerability of HRC’s server to foreign government hacking cannot be overlooked - even the DCI, John Brennan, has been the target of hackers,” he said.
Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey told Fox, “It is counterintuitive to suggest that they (Clinton’s aides) all had authorization and access through a non-secure server to information of that sensitivity.”
The State Department recently confirmed that the messages in question include the most sensitive kind of intelligence. On Jan. 29, Fox News first reported that some emails on Clinton’s server were too damaging to release in any form. The State Department subsequently announced that 22 “top secret” emails were being withheld in full; these were the messages being handled by more than a dozen accounts.
Pressed on whether a damage assessment was being done, State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said, “To your broader question – what is being done to -- as you said spillage – I can’t speak to those efforts today. We’re aware obviously of those concerns.  We are taking steps, but I don’t have any more details to provide.”
Aside from this week’s letter confirming the FBI investigation is focused on Clinton’s server, the Bureau has not publicly acknowledged whom it has contracted or interviewed.
Kennedy recently told the House Benghazi Select Committee that he knew about Clinton's personal email from the beginning, but did not understand the "scope" of its use for Clinton’s government business.  
Kennedy's testimony now appears to conflict with emails released through the Freedom of Information Act that show he routinely sent and received government business from the Clintonemail.com account.
Toner said Kennedy learned about Clinton’s arrangement later. “He did not have knowledge of the computer server that she had set up [for] personal email or computer server she'd set up at her residence,” he said.
However, on the official State Department website, Patrick F. Kennedy’s biography says that he has worked for the department since 1993 and, in his current position as Under Secretary for Management,  he is responsible for the “people, resources, budget, facilities, technology, financial operations, consular affairs, logistics, contracting, and security for Department of State operations.”

Moderate Kasich rejects call to go 'real conservative' in SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. –  Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich vowed Wednesday to stick to his moderate message, as he arrived in South Carolina drawing sizeable crowds following a strong second-place finish in New Hampshire.
“People told me that when I get to South Carolina, I gotta go real conservative,” Kasich told an overflow crowd at a town hall event in downtown Charleston. But he said, “I gotta go with what I think.”
Nearly 100 people, include many with a military background, filled the small second-floor office, challenging Kasich with such questions as how he would improve health care for veterans and help returning vets find jobs.
Kasich argued that the agency must get rid of the bureaucracy that has created so many problems, but he stopped short of calling for privatization or closure.
“Government has to move into the 21^st century,” Kasich said.
The event was the second of three on Wednesday in the Charleston area for Kasich.
In the morning, he attended another town hall-type event at a pizza restaurant in Mount Pleasant. Kasich adviser Scott Milburn said requests to attend the event went from 60 to 300 after the New Hampshire GOP primary where Kasich placed second.
Front-runner Donald Trump won the primary, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz placed third. Kasich invested much of his time and resources in New Hampshire, and whether his good showing there will translate into enough fundraising to keep his campaign going – and whether his appeal extends beyond New Hampshire -- remains to be seen.
“You get close to winning and everybody shows up,” he said Wednesday, before heading to a final event for the day in nearby Huger. “I don’t expect to get out. I’m looking forward to the Deep South. I expect we’re going to be here for a long, long time.”

Sanders aims to boost appeal among minority voters after NH win

Sen. Bernie Sanders, within hours of scoring a decisive New Hampshire victory over Hillary Clinton, was moving quickly to confront perhaps his campaign’s biggest challenge: proving his appeal can extend beyond rural, white voters.
The Hillary Clinton campaign, looking to downplay its loss Tuesday night, was quick to point out that far more diverse states are up next on the primary calendar. Campaign manager Robby Mook boasted in a memo that Clinton enjoys “high levels of support” among black and Hispanic voters.
It was no coincidence that on the day after his win, Sanders held a one-on-one breakfast meeting with the Rev. Al Sharpton at a Harlem landmark, where they discussed issues that affect the African-American community around the country.
“I think it is very important that he sent the signal that on the morning after a historic victory...he would come to Harlem and have breakfast with me,” Sharpton said.
Sharpton said the two men talked at Sylvia's Restaurant about affirmative action, police brutality and the water disaster in Flint, Mich. He added that he and various heads of national civil rights organizations plan to meet with Clinton next week – and won’t endorse a candidate until later.
Sanders also made sure, in his Tuesday victory speech, to include African-Americans and Latinos as part of his campaign message.
“When we talk about transforming America, it means ending the disgrace of this country having more people in jail than any other country in the world, disproportionately African-American, and Latino,” he said. “Not only are we going to fight to end institutional racism, and a broken criminal justice system, we are going to provide jobs and education for our young people, not jails and incarceration.”
While Sanders’ message about addressing income inequality and fixing a “corrupt” campaign finance system has found broad appeal, polls suggest Clinton continues to enjoy substantial support from minority communities in South Carolina, which holds the next primary, and beyond. Those voters are part of what is considered Clinton’s so-called “firewall,” which Sanders wants to break through.
“The question has always been can he expand out to blacks, Latinos,” Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said. “That’s the test.”
The Clinton campaign minces no words in suggesting that once states with a bigger minority population vote, Clinton will recover.
“The nomination will very likely be won in March, not February, and we believe that Hillary Clinton is well positioned to build a strong – potentially insurmountable – delegate lead next month,” Mook said in a memo Tuesday night, noting the electorates in the first two contests are largely rural/suburban and white.
But Clinton, who won New Hampshire in 2008, still lost across virtually every voting group Tuesday including women, exit polls show.
The exit polling showed Sanders won among women, 55-44 percent; among moderates, 58-39 percent; and among voters under 50 by a huge margin.
Sanders won across voters of every education level and every income level – except for those making over $200,000, among whom Clinton had the edge.
The major demo won by Clinton Tuesday night was the over-65 bloc, which backed her 55-44 percent.
Overall, Sanders won the state, 60-38 percent.
Clinton still leads heavily in the polls in critical states like South Carolina and Florida, and it’s unclear whether Sanders will be able to transfer his momentum from the Northeast – his home turf – to the South.
While non-Hispanic white residents make up more than 91 percent of the New Hampshire population, Census figures show they make up just 62 percent of the overall U.S. population – meaning minority voters will be a bigger factor going forward.
In New Hampshire, though, exit polls show Clinton only won the state’s small non-white demographic by a single percentage point.

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Oregon

Is the United States Government getting to big for their Britches?

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, the father of the jailed militia leader whose followers have occupied a federal wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon for the past 40 days, was arrested by FBI agents in Portland, Ore. late Wednesday as he stepped off a flight from Las Vegas.
Bundy's arrest was confirmed on the website of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, which said he had been booked in to the Multnomah County Detention Center shortly before 11 p.m. local time.
The FBI also confirmed Cliven Bundy's arrest but declined to provide a reason or other details, saying further information would be released by the U.S. Attorney's office in Las Vegas Thursday.
The Oregonian newspaper reported that Bundy faces charges related to the 2014 standoff between federal agents and militia members on his Nevada ranch. The charges include conspiracy to interfere with a federal officer, the same charge lodged against two of Bundy's sons, Ammon and Ryan, for their role in the ongoing standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The four remaining holdouts occupying the refuge said earlier Wednesday that they would turn themselves in Thursday morning.
Ammon Bundy's lawyer, Mike Arnold, told The Oregonian that Cliven Bundy was considering joining a news conference held by Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore to discuss the ongoing occupation. Fiore spent most of Wednesday night talking to the remaining militia members as federal agents surrounded the refuge.
"It's terribly unfortunate the timing of his arrest, given all the progress Assemblywoman Fiore made this evening," Arnold said. "He was arrested without incident and without violence. That should give [the militia members] comfort in their decision tomorrow
The Bureau of Land Management said at the time of the 2014 standoff that Bundy owed over $1 million in fees and penalties for trespassing cattle on federal property without a permit over 20 years. Bundy refuses to acknowledge federal authority over public lands.
The standoff began after the BLM impounded Bundy's cattle that were found on federal property. However, federal agents later backed down and allowed Bundy's supporters to turn the cattle loose.

Kasich Cartoon

New Hampshire will go down as the place where Hillary Clinton's campaign lost its way

Hillary Clinton still believes in vast right-wing conspiracy

Political prognostication is an uncertain art, never more so than in the New Hampshire primaries of 2016.   On the eve of the elections, equipped as I am with all the most scientific polling and profoundest opinions of the professional pundits, I still wouldn’t place a bet on the electoral outcome of the race.
On other hand, I’d be willing to put a few dollars on the proposition that, when the history of the 2016 presidential race is written, the past week in New Hampshire will go down as the place where the Clinton campaign lost its way.
Bernie Sanders didn’t do her in. She did it herself, with two unforced  errors.
The first error was her transparently false attempt to recast herself as a bank-busting progressive.  This gave rise to a very public airing of a very inconvenient fact: After leaving the State Department, Hillary got rich selling her services to the highest bidder.
Not all of the $21 million Hillary got for speechmaking and private audiences came from Wall Street companies. But almost two million did.  What did Hillary do for the money?  Why was she worth a quarter of a million dollars an hour?  Did the bankers pay her for leadership bromides (there is no ‘I’ in team!) or valuable insights?  Come on.  She could have serenaded them with the original score of Cats for all they cared. That money was Wall Street venture capital, an investment in access and influence in a Hillary Clinton presidency.
Progressives know this of course, and they despise her for believing they are stupid enough to fall for her act. That’s why they holler ‘liar’ when her face shows up on TV.  Some will vote for her on in November, if she gets there, but they won’t turn out in the Obama-like numbers required for victory.  
Hillary’s second mistake in New Hampshire was boasting that she gets things done  (in contrast to Bernie, a mere dreamer).  This invites the public to focus on her record and opens a door that leads to an empty trophy room.
After graduating from Yale Law School, Hillary flunked the Washington, D.C. bar exam. Her legal career in Arkansas tracked the rise of her husband in state politics. She became an associate at the Rose law firm after Bill was elected attorney general; and a partner when he became governor.
As first lady, Bill Clinton entrusted her with his health care policy. Her team produced an unworkable plan that went nowhere.  She spent the rest of her White House years travelling the globe as a good will ambassador, wrote books about children and her cat, and directed the (unsuccessful) defense of her husband against charges of sexual harassment.
In the Senate, Hillary was hard working but undistinguished.
Her main accomplishment was getting federal aid for New York after 9/11— not exactly a heavy lift.  She is mostly remembered (negatively by progressives) for voting in favor of the Iraq War, a decision she now calls a mistake.
In 2008, Hillary went into her first presidential race as a very well financed front runner.  She mismanaged the campaign and lost to a little known first-term senator.
As Barack Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary presided over a series of diplomatic blunders.  She declared a Russian “reset” that never happened.  She was a cheerleader for the disastrous ‘Arab Spring’ and the Muslim Brotherhood government that took power in Egypt. She was a key architect of the “lead from behind” invasion of Libya that ended in chaos.
What did Hillary really do as secretary of state? She logged a lot of miles. She says she was “in the room” for the decision to kill Usama bin Laden although it wasn’t her call. And lately she has been saying that she set the table for the Iran nuclear deal. If true, this would be a dubious achievement. And, if she is taking credit for things that happened after she left State, there is the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the rise of ISIS to account for.
Before New Hampshire there were plenty of people, not all of them Democrats, who accepted Hillary’s “experienced and competent” image without thinking much about it.  But this week she decided to stake her claim to the White House on her ability to get things done. That invites a skeptical second look. Coupled with her unconvincing progressive remake, this could leave her without a political identity or a credible electoral selling point.