The Commentariat -- Feb. 21, 2016
I'll be travelling for a few days. I'll try to get up skeleton pages, so you all can comment. -- Not-So-Constant Weader
Presidential Race
Clinton's victory speech:
... Vindictive in Victory. Daniel Politi & Jeremy Stahl of Slate: "Hillary Clinton delivered a victory speech after her Nevada caucus win over Bernie Sanders that emphasized her campaign theme that she was fighting for ordinary voters, while also taking knocks on her rival and, it seemed, his supporters."
Sanders' concession speech:
Amy Chozick & Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "Buoyed by the support of enthusiastic workers in the city's big casinos, Hillary Clinton defeated Senator Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, thwarting his momentum and proving to an anxious Democratic Party that she maintains strong support among minority voters that she can carry to a general election.... The Culinary Workers Union, which represents 57,000 members, many of whom are Latino, declined to endorse a candidate. But on Thursday, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, who also remained neutral, said in an interview he had spoken to D. Taylor, the head of the union's parent group, to make sure its members could have paid time off to participate in the caucuses, a move that operatives in the state believed helped tip the race in Mrs. Clinton's favor. She overwhelmingly defeated Mr. Sanders in the caucuses that were held at six major Las Vegas casinos...."
John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton held off a powerful late challenge from rival Sen. Bernie Sanders in Nevada's Democratic caucus vote Saturday, securing what is projected to be a narrow victory that could help her renew a claim to the mantle of presumptive Democratic nominee. With more two-thirds of precincts reporting, Clinton held a four-point lead over Sanders -- a margin more decisive than her razor-thin Iowa win but much closer than the Clinton campaign had anticipated as recently as a month ago, when they touted polling showing the former Secretary of State with a 25-point lead."
The AP called the Nevada race for Clinton at 5:18 pm ET, Saturday, according to the breaking news banner on the New York Times site. Fox "News" & MSNBC have also projected Clinton would win.
The Las Vegas Sun News is liveblogging the Nevada caucuses. At 5:20 pm ET, Saturday, the headline has Clinton & Sanders "in a virtual dead heat," with Clinton currently at 52 percent, Sanders at 48, with 62 percent of precincts reporting. ...
... "Surveys of caucusgoers taken as they entered caucus sites showed that older women turned out in force to support Clinton, pushing her to victory despite her continued struggles to attract young women."
Maureen Dowd is here to put a damper on Clinton's victory: "Hillary believed that there was an implicit understanding with the sisters of the world that now was the time to come back home and vote for a woman. (The Clintons seem to have conveniently forgotten how outraged they were by identity politics when black leaders deserted them in 2008 to support Obama.)" Much of the column recycles old material from the Lewinsky scandal. (Dowd won a Pultizer for her column on Clinton-Lewinsky, so, hey, who can blame her?)
Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: "In recent days, Hillary Clinton's campaign has questioned Senator Bernie Sanders's commitment to civil rights, trying to cement her support among black voters who could be crucial in upcoming primaries such as South Carolina's." But film footage unearned by a film company, Kartemquin Films, shows Sanders being arrested in an August 1963 while protesting segregation in Englewood, Illinois. ...
... Chas Danner of New York: "It was Sanders himself who confirmed it was him in the video, according to his campaign. In addition, the Chicago Tribune subsequently found a photograph in their archives showing Sanders's arrest as well, which they then released early Saturday morning. (Senator Sanders also confirmed the authenticity of the photo.)"
The polls for the Republican primary in South Carolina close at 7:00 pm ET.
The New York Times is liveblogging both states' results. @6:02 pm ET, see Sanders' statement.
AP: @12:28 am ET: "Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has finished second in South Carolina's Republican primary, according to complete but unofficial results. Rubio edged out Texas Sen. Ted Cruz by less than two-tenths of 1 percentage point. The results are unofficial, pending the state's formal confirmation of the outcome. That will take place by next Saturday."
Eliza Collins of Politico: "Ted Cruz may not know if he's in second or third place yet, but he's chalking up South Carolina as a win. 'We don't know the exact results right now ... but each time [we're] defying expectations,' Cruz said. 'Indeed the screaming you hear now from across the Potomac is the Washington cartel in pure terror that the grassroots are rising up,' he said repeating a line that he's used before." ...
Alex Shephard of the New Republic: "Hey, looks like Ted Cruz also won South Carolina! Marco Rubio won Iowa by coming in third. John Kasich won New Hampshire by coming in second. Tonight, Marco Rubio won by coming in second and Ted Cruz won by coming in third. (Donald Trump actually won by winning.)"...
... CW: Surely somebody lost. Oh. Yeah. ...
According to a breaking news banner on the New York Times site, Jeb! is dropping out of the presidential race. ...
... Ashley Parker & Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "Jeb Bush suspended his presidential campaign on Saturday, ending a quest for the White House that started with a war chest of $100 million, a famous name and a promise of political civility, but ended with a humbling recognition: in 2016, none of it mattered." CW: I still think the media should give him First Prize for Contributions to Advertising Revenues. ...
... Dara Lind of Vox: "The slow, torturous twilight of Jeb's campaign offers a couple of lessons. For one thing, it throws the political skills of his brother George W. Bush into sharp relief: W. might have gotten flak for being 'dumb,' but seeing what happens to someone with all the same advantages makes it clear how much of W.'s success was his own. For another thing, it's a reminder that (for all the problems associated with money in politics) it's extremely hard to buy a presidential campaign." Lind recalls some of the "tortured moments of Jeb!'s campaign. Funny, unless you're Jeb! ...
... Gwenyth Kelly of the New Republic on why Ben Carson & John Kasich are still in the race & Jeb! isn't: "Probably a potent combination of denial and lower stakes. Neither Carson or Kasich represent the dying light of a political dynasty, and Carson's campaign has more closely resembled a money-making scheme than a real campaign since the beginning. Both campaigns are clinging to the glimmers of hope given by their very brief surges earlier in the campaign. Kasich's team went so far as to spin his loss as a win in the completely invented 'Governors Bracket.'"
Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump won a clear victory in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, cementing his position as the Republican presidential front-runner as he enters a tougher test in a series of potentially decisive March contests. Mr. Trump ran ahead of Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, who were locked in a battle for second place."
Marco & Tailgunner Ted are neck-in-neck, trading places a few times for second place at around 21 percent. (Trump's at 34 percent with 26 percent reporting.) Jeb! & Kasich, next in line are both in the 8s.
... The AP is projecting Donald Trump as the winner of the South Carolina primary @ 7:33 pm ET, with less than one percent reporting. Cruz currently tops Rubio.
The Washington Post's liveblog is here. ...
Early results on the South Carolina primary show the race as going to Trump, Rubio & Cruz, in that order.
The Mexican Government Is Totally Awesome. Daniel Denvir of Salon: "Trump honestly seems to believe that Mexican migration to the United States is controlled by the Mexican government, rather than, say, complex economic changes and cross-border social ties. Now, it turns out, he thinks that the Mexican government controls the Pope as well, and tricked the head of the Catholic Church into disliking Trump.... Trump thinks that world events can be reduced to the raw genius or stupidity of a given country's leaders.... Just as Trump represents a poor man's idea of what a rich man must be like, his theory of governance is statecraft as a marketing executive might see it.... It's becoming increasingly clear that Trump isn't just inexperienced -- he's actually living in a fantasy world."
Caitlin Cruz of TPM: "Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) latest move in South Carolina is a mailer that merges President Barack Obama's face with that of Cruz's rival Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). South Carolina state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D) told The Wall Street Journal that she thought the mailer "moved beyond the dog whistle." South Carolina presidential politics are notoriously dirty. 'My first reaction was, "Oh my God, we've moved beyond the dog whistle, we’re just full blown with the race card,'" Cobb Hunter told the Journal."
Other News & Commentary
Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Sunday that a 'provisional agreement in principle' has been reached with Russia for a temporary truce in the Syrian civil war, and it could start within days."
Alec MacGillis, in a New York Times op-ed: Mitch "McConnell's blunt declaration [that President Obama should not bother to nominate a replacement for Justice Scalia] was taken as the starkest exhibition yet of the obstructionism that has characterized the Kentucky senator's stance toward President Obama and congressional Democrats. The resistance from Mr. McConnell has had an enormous influence on the shape of Obama's presidency. It has limited the president's accomplishments and denied him the mantle of the postpartisan unifier he sought back in 2008. But it has also brought the Senate, the institution to which Mr. McConnell has devoted his life, close to rupture." MacGillis postulates the reasons McConnell is going for broke here.
** Bill McKibben reviews Jane Mayer's Dark Money for the NYRB: The Koch brothers "distorted American politics in devastating ways, impairing the chances that we'll effectively respond to climate change, reducing voting rights in many states, paralyzing Congress, and radically ratcheting up inequality.... They merged three forms of political spending -- campaign dollars, lobbying expenditures, and philanthropy at think tanks, universities, and media properties -- into a juggernaut. Mayer highlights the strategic insight of the effort in several ways. She describes, for instance, how various think tanks had worked for years to lay the groundwork for the Citizens United and SpeechNow decisions, which made it far easier for big donors to influence elections.... Mayer devotes considerable space to demonstrating that the Tea Party emerged in large part from the Koch network...." ...
... CW: I recently linked to a post by some librul-thinking pundit (can't recall who) who placed the blame for the 2010 election debacle on President Obama. Yeah, I know everything is Obama's fault, but the fact is that the Kochs & their minions have spent decades & billions of dollars creating long odds for not just liberals but also for ordinary Americans. One president can hardly mitigate that damage.
Beyond the Beltway
AP: "A gunman drove in and around a western Michigan city randomly shooting people in the parking lots of a restaurant, car dealership and apartment complex, killing at least seven, including a 14-year-old girl, authorities said. A 45-year-old man was arrested early Sunday in downtown Kalamazoo following a massive manhunt after the shootings began about 6 p.m. Saturday, authorities said." ...
... William Cummings of USA Today: "Forty-five-year-old Jason Dalton was arrested early Sunday after a massive manhunt in response to the shootings that began about 6 p.m. Saturday, Michigan State Police Lt. Dale Hinz said. Dalton surrendered without incident but had weapons in his vehicle." CW: Of course he did. Look at his mugshot. He's white.
Jennifer Dixon of the Detroit Free Press: "Flint’s water crisis has unleashed a tsunami of lawsuits that could cost Michigan taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. 'The only deep pocket in the vicinity of Flint is the State of Michigan,' said Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor. 'This could be a tax liability on the citizens of Michigan. This is the worst nightmare when a bureaucracy goes completely off the rails and makes decisions that cause widespread harm.'" CW: Because this is what happens when you have a "fiscally-responsible" governor who doesn't care about black people.
Leah Sottile of the Washington Post: "Peter T. Santilli, host of a right-wing YouTube show ... [who was] indicted earlier this month on felony charges due to the armed occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge [is arguing] ... he was there as a new media journalist and a 'shock jock.'... Santilli’s case has attracted the support of groups as disparate as the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon and the Oath Keepers, a citizen militia."
Way Beyond
Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Britons will vote on June 23 on whether to stay in the European Union or to quit, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday, announcing the date of a referendum that could have momentous consequences for a divided Britain, and for the rest of Europe."
News Ledes
AP: "Two Serbian embassy staffers who had been held hostage since November died in Friday's U.S. airstrikes on an Islamic State camp in western Libya that killed dozens, Serbian officials said on Saturday."
AP: "Speaking via Skype from Russia, Edward Snowden told an audience of supporters in New Hampshire on Saturday that he is willing to be extradited to the United States if the federal government would guarantee he would get a fair trial."