“State after state we have closed the gap, including here in Michigan,” Sanders said in an exclusive interview. “… We think that short term and longer term, a lot of states out there are in play and we can win. ... I’m not going to tell you it’s necessarily an easy path, but it is a path.”
Sanders said he will seek to differentiate himself from Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton in Michigan by pointing out their “very different views” on trade policies often derided by unions. He noted he opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement that Clinton’s husband signed into law.
“Our disastrous trade policies — NAFTA, CAFTA and permanent normal trade relations with China — have decimated the state of Michigan,” he argued. “Tens of thousands of good-paying jobs have been lost.”
[...[
Clinton has not yet confirmed any Michigan events this week ahead of the Sunday night debate in Flint. She visited Flint earlier this month and addressed the city’s water contamination crisis. Sanders spoke with Flint residents before Feb. 15 campaign events in Ypsilanti and Dearborn.
For Jobs, For Us | Bernie Sanders — Duration 0:30
h/t TomP
EAST LANSING - Delegate counts and Super Tuesday results did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the more than 10,000 people who came to see Sen. Bernie Sanders speak at Michigan State University's Breslin Center Wednesday evening.
Crowds composed primarily of young adults listened as Sanders leaned heavily on his messages of social and economic equality during his hour-long speech.
“People out there don’t want you to vote or to participate in the political process because they want to make all the decisions for you,” Sanders said. “They love the idea that in the last winter election in 2014, 63 percent of the American people did not vote.”
[...]
Lines to get into the building wrapped around the Breslin Center hours before Sanders took to the podium. Several hundred attendees sat or stood on the floor, while roughly 10,000 filled the surrounding benches and seats, with some even catching the speech from high above in the upper level.
[...]
Much of the second part of his speech involved comparing his record against Hilary Clinton's, who bested Sanders in seven of the 11 states where primary elections were held Tuesday.
"We had to make a decision,” Sanders said. “Were we going to do what virtually every other campaign did in establishing super PACs to beg Wall Street for money?”
He answered no, to the approval of the crowd. He noted Clinton’s active super PACs, as well as her vote in favor of the Iraq War, contrasting it with his opposition to it back in 2002. In 10 months on the campaign trail, Sanders said he’s received more than 4 million individual donations.
Bernie: Corporate America should invest in Michigan manufacturing — Duration 1:40
1. The map ahead favors Sanders, according to Devine.
“We understand that we have a long road ahead of us that we’re going to have to take if we want to win the nomination of the Democratic Party,” he said. “Super Tuesday, in my view, was perhaps the the single best day on the calendar for Hillary Clinton.”
[...]
Michigan is next on the calendar. Public polling shows Sanders trailing badly there, but the Sanders aides said a message focused on Sanders long-running opposition to free trade deals will close the gap. There hasn’t been much polling of California and New York yet.
[...]
2. Anything can happen, Sanders aides say. Things happen!
Devine pushed back on delegate math showing Clinton with a huge lead. He said late contests matter, and candidates can stay in because gaffes or other events can occur that up-end the presumptive nominee.
[...]
3. Clinton did it.
Hillary Clinton chased President Obama all over the country in the 2008 primary, with the pair fighting tooth-and-nail until the last day of the process in June. Four days after the last primary vote was cast, and the math showed Obama could not be defeated, Clinton conceded the nomination to him.
[...]
“As Secretary Clinton demonstrated in her own campaign, in 2008, in her challenge to Barack Obama which went all the through the final primary, I think President Obama benefitted from that competition all the way through the process,” he said. “I believe that we owe it to the voters, certainly Bernie feels the he owes it to the millions of people who have already come forward to support his candidacy through volunteering, through contributing and through other means to give them an opportunity to support him.”
Can Bernie win after Super Tuesday Results? — Duration 3:02
In an hour-long speech, Sanders talked about the need for a higher minimum wage and limits on money in politics, called out Gov. Paul LePage for “beating up on poor people” and insisted that a large turnout Sunday at the Democratic presidential caucuses around the state would mean a win for his campaign.
“If we win Maine, we move another step forward toward a political revolution in this country,” the Vermont senator told the crowd of about 1,800. Some who came to the rally were turned away when the State Theatre reached capacity. Another 650 people watched a live stream of Sanders’ speech from an overflow area at The Westin Portland Harborview hotel.
Sanders’ visit to Maine came a day after a flurry of Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses in 11 states around the country. He won contests in four of those states: Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado and Vermont. But he fell farther behind front-runner Hillary Clinton, who expanded her overall lead in the race for delegates with wins in seven states: Texas, Massachusetts, Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Tennessee.
Clinton now has 1,052 delegates to Sanders’ 427, with 2,383 delegates needed to win the nomination. There are 30 Democratic delegates at stake in Maine.
Hillary Clinton raised $30 million in February and has $31 million on hand, her campaign announced on Wednesday — far less than Bernie Sanders.
Half of Clinton's donations came online and the average donation was less than $50, according to a campaign statement.
"We continue to beat every fundraising goal and, more importantly, make smart and efficient investments," said Hillary for America Campaign Manager Robby Mook. "Grassroots support is truly powering this campaign as the majority of our fundraising came from online donations. That support has helped Hillary Clinton gain momentum by winning three out of four contests in February, and eight on Super Tuesday. We move forward with a commanding pledged delegate lead and the resources we need to run a competitive race."
Clinton also raised $4.4 million for the Democratic National Committee under her joint fundraising agreement with the party.
Her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, raised $43 million in February, with $6 million of that coming on Monday. Sanders' campaign has not announced its cash on hand, but as of the end of January, he had nearly $15 million in the bank.
Bernie Sanders took a strong policy stance on Wednesday by rightfully declaring Phish to be one of the country's greatest bands.
The Vermont senator, who rose to political fame as the mayor of Burlington, made the comments at a rally in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, where he thanked the band's drummer, who had just performed with the opening band.
"Let me thank, I guess, one of Vermont's heroes who is now transplanted, Jon Fishman," Sanders said, prompting Fishman to yell out, "No, thank you!"
"Jon and Phish have made New England proud," continued Sanders. "They are one of the great bands, have been one of the great bands in this country," he accurately proclaimed.
[...]
Fishman, the group's eclectic drummer and namesake, is a vocal Sanders supporter, having appeared in a campaign video earlier this month, where he called on supporters to vote in the primary.
(There’s two videos in the story)
Ha ha! Fox News wasn’t expecting this.
APPROACHING BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Jane Sanders, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, is a near-constant traveling companion these days and has made a habit of making her way to the back of the campaign’s chartered jet to visit with the traveling press. The sessions have been off the record, until Monday night, when Jane Sanders decided to share her thoughts on the campaign more freely. It’s not an altogether unfamiliar role. During the candidate’s congressional career, his wife at times has temporarily filled staff vacancies, and she is a highly trusted adviser on the campaign, with input into advertising content and other decisions. Here are some excerpts from what Jane Sanders had to say on the eve of Super Tuesday, when Bernie Sanders will face off with Hillary Clinton in 11 states with primaries and caucuses.
- On the outlook for Tuesday’s contests
- On the outlook beyond Super Tuesday
- On whether there’s a point at which her husband drops out of the race
- On whether her husband has gotten tougher on Hillary Clinton
- On whether the campaign has made mistakes in strategy
- On whether Bernie Sanders staying in the race could wind up helping Donald Trump
Read full article: Jane Sanders on the campaign plane: 'Those issues and Bernie, they're not going away'
Jane Sanders Shuts Down Trump Question — Duration 1:29
Yes, every single vote really does count.
Bernie Sanders won over Hillary Clinton in the city of Methuen by exactly one vote on Tuesday, as he received 3,409 votes to her total of 3,408. That means Sanders won by a margin of .01 percent, according to Methuen’s official tally [PDF].
[...]
Methuen wasn’t the only close win for Sanders, according to initial results. He beat Clinton by two votes in Avon, with 402 votes to her 400. Not to be outdone, Clinton bested Sanders in Chatham 669 to 661 for a total of eight votes.
"I'm Dreaming Of A Better World" For Bernie Sanders — Duration 1:01
Bernie Sanders won four out of 13 Super Tuesday contests last night — his home state of Vermont, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Sanders knew the last three states, as well as Massachusetts (which he lost narrowly) were critical to remaining competitive with Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. He had a natural advantage in these states, given that he polls better among white and blue-collar voters. But he had another secret weapon that gave him an additional edge: In battleground primaries, Sanders emphasized his firm position against hydraulic fracturing to drive a wedge between Clinton and Democratic voters.
[...]
Days before Super Tuesday, Bernie Sanders launched an ad campaign in Minnesota and Colorado highlighting his opposition to fracking. If elected, Sanders would be limited in how much he could do to ban fracking outright, but my colleague Ben Adler outlined some of what he could do to reform it.
It’s no coincidence that fracking and its associated operations is controversial in three of the four states he won in. Oil production has doubled and tripled in Oklahoma and Colorado, respectively, since 2009. Besides local concerns over its impact on water quality, there’s also been a corresponding boom in minor earthquakes near fracking sites. Scientists are growing more and more certain the quakes are linked to the wastewater injected in the ground after drilling.
[...]
Minnesota, meanwhile, is a popular source for silica sand, or “frac sand,” a sediment needed to drill in nearby fracking hotbeds. Industry groups say these operations in Wisconsin and Minnesota have more than doubled over the past decade to 75 million metric tons, primarily driven by the oil and gas industry’s demand for frac sand. Silica dust is a carcinogen that causes lung problems.
Nigel Holland & The Right On Band - Bernie In The House — Duration 2:29
Our political system is shot through with cynicism. The media creates and then revels in it. It’s so pervasive that someone who is not cynical risks being discredited and dismissed as naive, wide-eyed, and unsophisticated. Politics is like a house of mirrors in which attempts to be authentic are filtered through the lens of cynicism and emerge on the other side as mere examples of posturing. I would argue that that is precisely what we are seeing in the “spin” around Sanders and his idealism.
[...]
This is the psychological dynamic behind some of the current attacks on Bernie Sanders, both by Hillary Clinton supporters, as well as by a significant portion of the media. Whatever you think of the political feasibility of his programs or his electability, Sanders’ plain-spoken manner, enthusiasm, and passion about economic inequality momentarily break through the drone of policy wonks and Washington “insiders” who react defensively by cautioning us to be realistic and, above all else, to be ready, at any moment, to vote for the lesser of two evils. Having momentarily awakened us from our political sleep, Sanders inevitably triggers our cynical defenses. He’s a naïve idealist, the cynic in all of us whispers. Play it safe and support someone who knows the rules of the game and how to win it.
In truth, Hillary Clinton’s goals and ideals may be as high as Sanders'. But she has chosen to present herself as the candidate that practical people should vote for, the candidate for realists, pragmatists, and down-to-earth rationalists. Clinton’s “realism” hides its underlying cynicism, one that mirrors the cynical political zeitgeist that all of us assume is the natural state of affairs.
Sanders, for better or worse, challenges cynicism. True, many people who support Clinton do not fit into these caricatures and feel, themselves, genuinely inspired by her story and her ideas. But Hillary’s campaign and the media in her camp are putting special emphasis on the distinction between her realism and Sanders’ impossible idealism. They are playing the cynicism card. The media that is crucial in framing this contest is cynicism on steroids.
[...]
It seems to me that that’s what a progressive movement should be doing on a social level; namely, challenging cynicism and drawing people to our cause because our cause is big and grand and mirrors their own buried wish to be part of something just that big and grand. We need leaders who can present such a vision and fight the “realists” who want us to be afraid of our own deepest longings.
This is a long article, but the whole thing is worth reading if you have the time.
Feel The Bern Song #5,683 — Duration 3:32
The Bernie News Roundup is a voluntary, non-campaign associated roundup of news, media, & other information related to Bernie Sanders' run for President.
Visit the BNR group page to join or find past editions.
More information about Bernie & The Issues @ feelthebern.org