US Opinion and Commentary

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New York Voters Hold the Key to Hillary, Trump Nominations

Posted April 19th, 2016 at 3:27 pm (UTC-4)
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It’s not enough for them to win the New York primary today — they’ve got to win convincingly.

The #NeverTrump Movement

Posted April 11th, 2016 at 12:14 pm (UTC-4)
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After Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump lost the Wisconsin primary to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, it seemed as though some of the air had come out of Trump’s balloon.

Sure, there have been weeks and weeks of criticism from mainstream GOP players, innumerable editorials calling for conservatives to do something, ANYTHING, to end Trump’s bid for the Republican presidential ticket. Journalists have been shamed for not taking his rise seriously— and for creating him by being his echo chamber. Calls have grown for reporters to conduct deeper truth-squadding.

But there appeared to be a new urgency in the form of Twitter feeds (#StopTrump, #NeverTrump) and, on Sunday, a faked cover by The Boston Globe, which imagined the world with Trump as president. Experts are furiously doing math, counting delegates and calculating the various possibilities the final 16 primaries may offer. And campaign operatives are going back to states where caucuses and primaries have already been held, trying to find delegates to sway or steal.

Next week’s New York primary — with 95 delegates at stake — will give us a clearer picture. In the meantime, the knives are out.

Reality Check for Trump and Clinton

Posted April 6th, 2016 at 2:27 pm (UTC-4)
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Republican party front-runner Donald Trump’s Twitter feed went uncharacteristically quiet in the immediate aftermath of his double-digit loss in the Wisconsin primary to Sen. Ted Cruz. Later in the night, the Trump campaign reverted back to status quo by insulting, not congratulating, the winner. “Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet— he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump,” according to a statement from his campaign. As Trump pouted defiantly, pundits were dissecting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sixth straight win against Democrat Hillary Clinton, who is far ahead in the delegate count. As one newspaper editorial put it:

“For a guy who can’t win, Bernie Sanders is certainly defeating Hillary Clinton a whole lot…. ”

Next primary stop is in New York, where we may learn if Cruz and Sanders’ campaign ‘mojo’ will continue.

Terrorism – Not Climate Change – Dominates Campaign Trail

Posted March 25th, 2016 at 5:35 pm (UTC-4)
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For the most part, the presidential hopefuls from both parties have skirted the threat of climate change – instead, lacing their stump speeches with biting criticism of the current U.S. strategy to defeat ISIS. Despite this week’s deadly reminder of the gravity of Islamic extremism in Brussels, scientists argue strongly that the effects of global warming far outweigh terrorist attacks. Science tells us that 2015 was the warmest year on record. On the same day that 31 people died in twin attacks in the Belgian capital, retired NASA scientist James E. Hansen published a paper stating that the catastrophic consequences of greenhouse gas emissions headed our way at a much faster rate than previously predicted. Both Republican candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump disregard the growing consensus that global warming is real. Even two Republican mayors in Florida urged both men to stop denying the disaster that awaits the Earth and start coming up with policies to address the crisis. Democrat Hillary Clinton is a believer, but it has been her opponent, Bernie Sanders, who has clearly articulated the dangers of global warming while on the stump.

It’s Only Iowa

Posted February 2nd, 2016 at 3:45 pm (UTC-4)
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The results of the Iowa caucuses matter because they are the very first votes cast in this year’s presidential race. Then again, political experts remind us over and over and over again that there is still a LONG way to go: 49 other nominating contests must take place before either party has a nominee that must then fight it out to win the White House. So, yes, Iowa is just a peculiar snapshot, but the way it all unfolded confirms the nature of this campaign: anti-establishment ideas have traction… and, yes, Donald Trump remains unpredictable: his concession speech to opponent Ted Cruz was low-key and dignified.

Trump is the Teflon Donald

Posted January 15th, 2016 at 2:08 pm (UTC-4)
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He also is Teflon-coated because he doesn’t have a Washington record to defend, and no one is willing to challenge his business record, which politely put, is complicated.

GOP Candidates Gang Up on Trump as Terror Threat Dominates 5th Debate

Posted December 16th, 2015 at 2:08 pm (UTC-4)
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Some political pundits say last night’s fifth Republican presidential debate revealed two things: Donald Trump’s polling dominance may be waning, and the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino forced the candidates to engage in a substantive discussion about US foreign policy and national security. Republican Senator Ted Cruz trended upward along with former Governor Jeb Bush, who many agreed gave his best performance yet. Other observers noted that Trump appeared to pull back from the spotlight as others united to attack his controversial proposal to ban all Muslims from the entering the United States. Still others clalim Trump won the debate nonetheless; others say it was a draw. Either way, the race to win the nomination of the party is moving into a new and more serious phase as the Iowa caucus beckons.