US Opinion and Commentary

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The Knives Are Out

Posted April 27th, 2016 at 11:48 am (UTC-4)
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In the hours after his five-state primary sweep, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump declared the race to the party nomination was “over,” called himself “the presumptive nominee,” and baited Democrat Hillary Clinton for using “the woman card.” Clinton returned the favor, saying if playing that card meant fighting for equal pay, paid family leave and access to healthcare then “deal me in!” And with that, it seemed the tone of the upcoming presidential election was set.

Hillary Eyes November, With the ‘Bern’ Firmly in Her Rearview Mirror

Posted March 3rd, 2016 at 3:23 pm (UTC-4)
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First Lady. Senator from New York. Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton has been part of the American political landscape for 25 years. Even longer, if one includes her stint as First Lady in Arkansas before she and her husband, then President-elect Bill Clinton, arrived in Washington in 1992. After a seven-state win on Super Tuesday, she is well on her way to securing her place as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Senator Bernie Sanders didn’t make it easy. “The Bern” was real, and his supporters remain fiercely loyal. They forced her to highlight her progressive stance on domestic issues. Many have said Clinton has been her own worst enemy over the years, creating doubt or suspicion unnecessarily, and collecting a lot of baggage along the way. But the breadth of her career in politics cannot be denied – from bake sales and community fundraisers across America to being on the Watergate impeachment inquiry staff, tackling healthcare in the 1990s and the controversies leftover from her time as Secretary of State — Benghazi and a private email server. History books already will have a chapter written about Hillary Clinton, even if she doesn’t make it back to the White House.

Was Tuesday Super?

Posted March 2nd, 2016 at 1:23 pm (UTC-4)
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Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each won 7 of the 11 Super Tuesday state primaries. But the outcomes for each mean different things. Here’s why: Presidential primary elections are more about collecting delegates to each party’s convention than winning states. And in Super Tuesday primaries, delegates are allocated proportionally according to the raw vote. Trump won Virginia, but he only got one more delegate than runner-up Marco Rubio. And the number of delegates Ted Cruz got by winning Texas is more than what Trump got in his best two victories. Hillary Clinton’s overwhelming victories in Southern states enabled her to take a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders in the delegate count. What does this all mean? Republican votes will continue to be split three ways among Trump, Cruz and Rubio, while John Kasich and Ben Carson continue to hang on through the March 15th winner-take-all primaries. And Hillary Clinton can start honing her general election strategy.

Tuesday Is Super

Posted March 1st, 2016 at 3:59 pm (UTC-4)
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Super Tuesday is usually the day when a presidential hopeful can morph from frontrunner to presumed nominee. Both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are poised to take that step once polls close across a total of 12 states. While it’s unlikely Clinton will sweep the 11 states holding Democratic primaries today, polls show she will do extremely well against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, walking away with the lion’s share of delegates.As usual, Donald Trump is sucking up most of the oxygen, as supporters and concerned establishment Republicans wait to see if the outspoken mogul will trounce his opponents Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — making the reality of Trump much more than just a television show.

Not-so-Super Tuesday

Posted March 1st, 2016 at 1:59 pm (UTC-4)
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The Party of Lincoln has reaped what it sowed: All these years of anti-government, anti-immigrant, anti-establishment and often hateful, venomous rhetoric and dog whistling attacks on President Barack Obama have produced that strategy’s uber-candidate, someone who embraces all of it without the niceties — or even intellectual consistencies.