How Bernie Sanders Threatens to Derail Hillary’s Nomination
Michael Goodwin – New York Post
The news that Sanders is surging in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire must be sending shivers through Clinton’s camp. Even though Hillary still leads in the 2016 first states, the gap has narrowed so much that her surrogates are lowering expectations, saying Sanders might win some showdowns….
Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, doesn’t need to win the nomination — and he probably won’t — to block Clinton. He only need show that she’s not inevitable, and that there is a motivated, significant piece of the party that rejects her.
That is exactly what he’s doing, as large, enthusiastic crowds greet him wherever he goes. If she looks beatable, more viable candidates will find the courage to run….
For her part, Clinton already has veered left to head off a challenge from the progressive flank. But her long record as a relative military hawk who is cozy with Wall Street is proving a tough sell in a party increasingly more radical than she is.
The Real Reasons Bernie Sanders is Transforming the Election
Sophia Tesfaye – Alternet.org
More than a protest vote against Hillary Clinton, as some have suggested, Sanders’ support appears to be support for issues Clinton’s yet to fully address. Here are some of the ways that Sanders is gaining support by leading on issues or movements that other candidates ignore:
Sanders was chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee when Democrats last controlled the chamber, and following the VA scandal, Sanders worked with Republicans in the House to pass legislation that expands health care access for veterans and makes it easier to fire under-performing officials….
Sanders’ 2016 campaign embodies much of the demands of the OWS (Occupy Wall Street) movement. Speaking to the largest campaign crowd of this cycle in Wisconsin this week, Sanders said, “The big money interests — Wall Street, corporate America, all of these guys — have so much power that no president can defeat them unless there is an organized grassroots movement making them an offer they can’t refuse.”
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a town hall meeting in Nashua, N.H. onJune 27, 2015. (AP)
The Unexpected Rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump
Kathleen Parker – The Washington Post
Stranger things have happened in American politics, but the sudden surge of Democratic/populist Bernie Sanders and Republican/pompulist Donald Trump puts one in mind of alternate universes….
Sanders, a socialist running on a platform that should send shivers up the spines of most Americans, drew his largest crowd of the season — nearly 10,000 — in Madison, Wis., last Wednesday night. The anti-establishment candidate, who wants to break up big banks and redistribute wealth, makes President Obama (and Clinton) look like robber barons by comparison….
Meanwhile, A WMUR/CNN Granite State poll put Sanders just 8 points below Clinton in New Hampshire. As Sanders remarked in Madison upon seeing the throng that greeted him, “Whoa.”
A supporter holds a sign during town hall meeting for Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at Nashua Community College in Nashua, N.H. on June 27, 2015. (AP)
Hillary Clinton Shrugs Off Bernie Sanders Surge
Chris Cassidy – Boston Herald
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed she is the real progressive in the Democratic race for the White House during a Dartmouth College rally yesterday amid the pressure of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ sudden surge….
The indirect shot at Sanders — who drew a crowd of nearly 10,000 people in Wisconsin on Wednesday and is expecting thousands during a town hall in Portland, Maine, on Monday…
“She should be addressing what he’s saying, because he obviously has the ear of a lot of people in this country,” Sybil Buell of Norwich, who’s leaning toward Sanders, told the Herald. “I think some of these economic issues — particularly wage disparity — she might not actually have addressed outright if he wasn’t pushing her.”