Archives for 2015

Debbie “Madusa” Wasserman Schultz May Have Done Bernie A Favor

December 20, 2015 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

It has been clear to anyone who has been paying attention, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), headed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, has been out to derail the Sanders’ campaign from day one. Wasserman Schultz, Hillary Clinton’s campaign co-chair in 2008, is not about to have another insurgent candidate usurp the rightful prize that is Hillary’s: the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

First, it was the DNC limiting the number of sanctioned debates to six, as compared to the Republican National Committee’s 12. Then it was holding half of those debates on weekends, traditionally known for low TV ratings.

This Saturday night’s third debate coincided with a Saturday night NFL football game on CBS, and competed with the opening weekend for the highly anticipated Star Wars sequel. The debate, just six nights before Christmas, was held when many Americans were likely traveling, or simply out for the holidays. The next debate in January will also take place on a weekend, at the same time as an NFL playoff game. The next weekday debate isn’t until February, around the same time as the early primaries.

But Wasserman Schultz’ decision to prevent the Sanders’ campaign from accessing its own voter database maintained by the DNC, as punishment over a “cheating” scandal, has caused the most uproar among Democrats, especially Progressives. Of course, the DNC retracted the suspension, but only after the Sanders camp initiated a lawsuit against Wasserman Schultz and the DNC.

Bernie fans are not taking the DNC’s perceived Clinton bias lightly. Sanders’ supporters are pushing to remove Wasserman Schultz from her position, citing a conflict of interest with her past relationship with the Clinton campaign. A petition has been started which gathered nearly 40,00 signatures within less than 48 hours.

The Sanders’ campaign is taking full advantage of the mess created by Ms. Wasserman Schultz. It has reported raising an additional $1 million in just one day after it started maligning the Democratic National Committee as a saboteur working on behalf of Bernie’s rival.

Yes, the deck may be stacked against Bernie, but at this same time in the 2008 race, all the pundits were saying the same thing about the upstart Obama.

Photo| isthatbaloney.com

The One Word That Describes Hillary Best Could Be Good For Bernie

December 18, 2015 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

For all those Progressives who vow it is Bernie or bust, a recent Quinnipiac poll offers some good news. I am reprinting an article by H.A. Goodman, columnist for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Baltimore Sun, The Hill, Salon, The Jerusalem Post:

If the polls are gospel, then it’s only logical to actually read the polling data, as opposed to simply a headline stating Clinton leads Sanders by an overwhelming margin. In reality, when these polls are analyzed from a critical perspective, it’s apparent that Bernie Sanders is well positioned to win the Democratic nomination. Democrats had a chance to elect Clinton in 2008, with the same polls extolling a wide lead over Obama, but chose to elect the more trustworthy candidate. Like Gallup reported in 2008, despite the dominance of Clinton in prior polls, there existed a Perceived Honesty Gap for Clinton Versus Obama, McCain.

So much emphasis is placed upon poll numbers as accurate assessments of public opinion that they’ve turned into public relations tools. Like all elements of public relations, it’s natural that supporters of the Clinton campaign would only want to emphasize the positive, while ignoring the negative or inconvenient truth behind the numbers.

Quinnipiac University, when asking respondents to think of a word that correlates to Hillary Clinton, found the following results:

Clinton tops the Democrats’ “no way” list with 11 percent.

“Liar” is the first word that comes to mind more than others in an open-ended question when voters think of Clinton.

“Arrogant” is the word for Trump and voters say “Bush” when they think of Bush…

Trump and Clinton have the worst scores among top candidates on honesty:

Clinton is not honest and trustworthy, voters say 61 – 34 percent, her lowest score ever;

Trump is not honest and trustworthy, voters say 54 – 38 percent.

For various reasons, encompassing endless evolution on key topics to an ongoing FBI investigation of emails, voters correlated the word “liar” to Hillary Clinton. Also, 61% of voters find Clinton “not honest and trustworthy”; even a racist xenophobe like Donald Trump had a better trustworthiness rating.

Therefore, why would Democrats vote overwhelming for a candidate whom voters correlate with the word “liar”?

They didn’t in 2008, why would they do so in 2016, with an ongoing FBI investigation and further questions about honesty?

In November, Quinnipiac found the same results, citing Clinton’s issues with favorability and honesty among voters:

Clinton has the lowest rating for honesty as American voters say 60 – 36 percent she is not honest and trustworthy. Trump is not honest and trustworthy, voters say 58 – 38 percent.

Subsequent polls also found a similar results, with voters saying they’ll vote overwhelmingly for Clinton, but also saying they don’t trust the former Secretary of State.

In contrast, Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to ever get two million individual donors.

When voters drive to the polls, honesty and integrity will be the biggest issues in 2016; media and pundits have almost completely ignored this fact. Quinnipiac found in a September poll that voters find Sanders more honest, as explained in a report titled Sanders 41 To Clinton 40 In Iowa Democratic Caucus, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dems Say Sanders Is More Honest And Caring:

Sanders gets a 78 – 6 percent favorability rating and likely Democratic Caucus-goers say 86 – 4 percent that he is honest and trustworthy, and 85 – 5 percent that he cares about their needs and problems. Voters say 76 – 9 percent that he has strong leadership qualities and 65 – 15 percent that he has the right temperament and personality to handle an international crisis

Bernie Sanders has much higher favorability ratings than Clinton, which has allowed him to go from relative unknown to serious challenger in a matter of months. Clinton spent an entire career garnering power and support and now still has to contend with the Sanders campaign. The primary reason is the discrepancy in favorability ratings, as was the case with Obama in 2008. I explain why Hillary Clinton is unelectable due to negative favorability ratings in this YouTube segment.

Finally, from opposing gay marriage to supporting Keystone XL and ground troops to fight ISIS, Clinton’s perpetual evolution on key topics is perhaps another reason Quinnipiac found voters correlated Clinton to the word “liar.” In addition to prison lobbyist donors, Clinton also has oil and gas donations, despite not being able to remember them. The latest news regarding donors is explained in a Huffington Post article titled Hillary Clinton Says She’s Unaware Of Receiving $150,000 In Oil & Gas Contributions:

“Have I? OK, well, I’ll check on that.”

At a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton claimed to be unaware that she’d ever received campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry — even though she has received over $150,000 from oil and gas representatives during the 2016 cycle alone…

But Clinton’s ties to top fossil fuel donors have raised questions about her commitment to other environmental policies in the past. One of her top “Hillblazer” bundlers — people who have assembled over $100,000 for Clinton — is Gordon Giffin, a former lobbyist for TransCanada, the company that spent years urging the U.S. to build the Keystone XL pipeline.

As HuffPost has previously reported, Giffin serves on the board of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which invested in the pipeline and paid Clinton $990,000 for speeches in the months before she announced her presidential run.

In light of this latest revelation in Iowa, as well as her initial support of Keystone XL, I don’t trust Clinton to veto Keystone legislation if she becomes president.

I do, however, have complete faith that Bernie Sanders will veto Keystone XL legislation, like Obama, and also address the structural issues of Wall Street greed, perpetual war, and climate change. Only Sanders wants to break up the banks and reinstate Glass Steagall. Only Sanders demands Saudi Arabia and other send ground troops to fight ISIS. I trust Bernie Sanders, I don’t trust Clinton or Trump, and I state why in this YouTube segment.

The reality is that polls today contradict the belief that Clinton will run away with the nomination. Democrats won’t vote for a candidate they don’t trust, no matter how many poll say Sanders is behind Clinton. Ultimately, Bernie Sanders will win the Democratic nomination because he’s more trustworthy than Clinton, and few people can dispute this fact. You’ll get to evaluate the character and integrity of both candidates during the next Democratic debate this Saturday, December 19, at 8 p.m. ET.

H. A. Goodman

Putin Riding High On Trump

December 17, 2015 By John DeProspo Leave a Comment

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently weighed in on the Republican presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump. “The man is brilliant, “ said Putin. “He is strong, like me.”

While stopping short of endorsing his fellow macho man, Putin did say Trump would make a great president, unlike the cerebral Obama. “Trump, as they say in your country, takes no sh*t. I say that right? He says what he means and means what he says. He’s man you can trust. When he says his hair is real, I believe.”

Putin biggest praise was reserved for Trump’s taste in women. “The man could have any woman on earth and who does he marry? Soviet woman!” exclaimed the former KGB spy. Trump’s first wife, Ivanna (nee Zelníčková) was born in Czechoslovakia and his current wife, Melania (nee Knavs) was born in Slovenia (formerly a part of Yugoslavia.)

Trump is indeed very much a lady’s man, like Putin. In his book, How to Get Rich, Trump wrote: “All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me—consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”

In a 1991 Esquire interview, Trump said: “You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of [expletive].”

When informed of Putin’s praise, Trump remarked, “ Vlad and I are like two brothers from a different mother. We’re both tough, appreciate beauty, don’t believe in political correctness and like riding horses bare-chested.” Asked to provide a photo of himself riding a horse shirtless, we were told, like Trump policy specifics, it would be provided after he’s elected.

Photo| businessinsider.com

CNN Republican Debate Brings Some Much Needed Clarity

December 16, 2015 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

Last night’s fifth Republican presidential debate will probably go down as one of the most out of control, worst moderated and least informative debates in a long time. The winner? Anyone who found a better way to spend two and one half hours of his or her time.

From my perspective, two things became clear from last night’s dysfunctional family melee. One, Jeb will be withdrawing from the presidential race sooner rather than later. And two, Ted Cruz will be the Republican presidential nominee.

Jeb Bush came out swinging against his nemesis, Donald Trump, calling him a “non-serious” candidate. “You can not insult your way to the presidency,” scolded Bush.

As much as Jeb tried to bloody Trump, the in-your-face attitude was too little, too late. Yes, Bush landed a few punches but not enough to turn around his moribund campaign. The only question is when will GOP establishment leaders and donors finally see the light and pull the plug on a rotting corpse.

Jeb could be right. Trump may not be able to ride his Don Rickles routine all the way to the presidency but he could certainly insult his way to the Republican nomination!

But Trump does not want the nomination.

When asked about his recent criticisms of his nearest competitor, Ted Cruz, Trump demurred. Earlier in the week, Trump questioned Cruz’ temperament and judgment to be president. He went so far as to say Cruz was “a little bit of a maniac.”

When Cruz was asked about a comment he had made in private questioning Trump’s competency to be commander in chief, Cruz skirted the issue. But then, in the most telling moment of the night, he and Trump looked at each other … adorningly.

In an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet The Press, Trump was quoted as saying he would leave the race if his poll numbers started to slip. “I’m not a masochist,” said Trump. “And if I was dropping in the polls where I thought I wasn’t gonna win, why would I continue? I’d go back to my business. I have no problem with that.”

Trump and Cruz have what some like to call a “bromance.” I think it is more than that. (My Trump Question For Upcoming Debate.)

Look for Trump to lose Iowa to Cruz. Watch for Trump to employ his exit strategy. See Trump throw his support behind his amigo, Raphael Edward Cruz, born December 22, 1970, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Oh the irony!

Photo | cnn.com

My Trump Question for Upcoming Debate

December 12, 2015 By John DeProspo 1 Comment

The next Republican presidential debate will be held in Las Vegas next week. With Ted Cruz gaining significant ground on Donald Trump in the most recent polls, especially in Iowa, here is the first question I would ask the billionaire Republican frontrunner:

“Mr. Trump, during your campaign, you have aggressively attacked some of your fellow Republican candidates. You’ve called Jeb Bush “low energy,” Marco Rubio a “lightweight” and Ben Carson “borderline nutty.” Yet you have not offered any such criticism of your now nearest opponent, Ted Cruz. Why is this so? Especially when some people are questioning his right to even run for the presidency, having been born in Canada?”

I can just hear the cop-out answer now, “Well you know I think Ted Cruz is a fine man. We agree on many issues. It’s that I would just make a better president. And for the Canadian birth, some very smart people who know about such things have told me he is eligible to run as his mother is an America.”

Of course, the fact that Obama was also born of an American mother did not stop Trump from questioning the president’s place of birth as a disqualifying factor in his right to hold the office of president of the United States… even though, unlike Cruz, Obama was actually born in the U.S.!

To me there is one obvious answer to Trump’s “soft on Cruz” tactic and the corresponding failure by Cruz to attack Trump. They have a mutual non-aggression pact going on. Cruz is Trump’s heir apparent when he decides to employ his exit strategy and go back to being a billionaire realty TV star. Once Trump loses Iowa and starts seeing his national numbers slip, Trump will tell his rabid followers that Ted is the right man for the job.

If I am wrong, and Trump is really in this thing to win it, it will be easy to tell. The attack line is so obvious. Trump will mercilessly go after Cruz as a Cuban-Canadian who has no business running for president of the United States. And Cruz will come out swinging, lambasting Trump as not a true conservative but a RINO, Republican in name only.

And for all those threats of Trump running as a third party candidate if he is not treated nice-nice by the Republican Party? Fugetaboutit! It’s all about leverage.

Photo | thedailybeast.com

Bill Clinton’s 3 A.M. Phone Call

December 11, 2015 By John DeProspo 1 Comment

Having been persuaded to run for president by his good friend Bill Clinton (The Genius Of Bill Clinton), Donald Trump makes a frantic 3 a.m. call to Bubba:

Trump – “Bill you gotta help me. I’m scared.”

Clinton – “Hey buddy, do you know what time it is?”

Trump – “Yea, but I know this is the best time to get you. I need your advice.”

Clinton – “My advice? You seem to be doing well on your own!”

Trump – “That’s just it. I’m doing too well. I’ve gone from front-runner to prohibitive favorite and I don’t know what to do now. People seriously think I can be the next president of the goddamn United States, for chrissake! I’ve tried sabotaging my campaign with some pretty crazy stuff lately but it’s not working. My numbers just keep going up.”

Clinton – “ You’ve done a great job upending the Republican Party and decimating the field. I’m proud of you. Why not just drop out now?”

Trump – “Bill you know me. I could never do that. I’m not a loser, you know. I need my numbers to go down so I can employ my exit strategy. You know, like I told George Stephanopoulos.”

Clinton – “I got to say you have a crazy group of loonies that just love you. How about this … you propose that we nuke North Korea? That should do the trick.”

Trump – “No, I think that might work out just like my last idea about closing our borders to all Muslims. Numbers went up!”

Clinton – “OK. How about you announce that you are in favor of reasonable gun control and you support a woman’s right to choose?”

Trump – “Yes, that’s it! There is a reason why you’re called a political genius!”

Clinton – “Well… you know.”

Trump – “Thanks and give my best to Hill. See you Sunday. That was an 8 a.m. tee time, right?”

Photo | cnn.com

Will Progressives Abandon Their Party Over A Hillary Nomination?

December 10, 2015 By John DeProspo Leave a Comment

Hillary and Bill Clinton have been hated by the right since first stepping onto the national stage in 1992.

From the Republican perspective, it has been one scandal after another; from early “Travelgate” to the recent “Emailgate.” During the two Clinton administrations, conservatives feasted on Whitewater, secretive Hillary healthcare task force meetings, the Vince Foster “suicide,” lost Rose Law firm billing records, renting of the Lincoln bedroom, John Huang, Mark Rich “Pardongate,” Monica Lewinsky and the Clinton impeachment.

Surprisingly, hatred of all things Clinton is not limited to the opposition party. There is a very strong dislike coming from within the ranks of Democrats, most notably Party Progressives.

Progressives, who overwhelmingly favor Bernie Sanders, see Hillary Clinton as a political opportunist; one prone to political expediency. She is not seen as a true, trustworthy champion of the liberal agenda. Many Progressives she her as a moderate Republican too cozy with Wall Street and the moneyed interests who support her super PAC and Clinton Foundation.

The fact that many in her own party do not like or trust her would not normally be a problem. Progressives have found their hero in Sanders and will support him in the primaries. But what if Bernie is not the nominee?

For many Progressives, the idea of voting for Hillary if she were to become the Democratic nominee is a nonstarter. It’s Bernie or bust. Even though they might see Hillary as the lesser of two evils, many have vowed to stay away from the polls.

Are these the fickle feelings of childish Democrats or are they genuine? Would a Democrat not vote for their party’s nominee based on their dislike for the candidate’s progressive purity, making the possibility of a President Trump or Cruz more likely? I hope not.

Progressives are a passionate bunch. I am betting cooler heads will, in the end, prevail.

Photo | dailycaller.com

Trump’s Excellent Adventure No Longer Funny

December 9, 2015 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

Like everyone else, I have been amused by the rantings and ravings of the Republican presidential frontrunner, Donald J. Trump. Watching the GOP establishment try to figure out what has hit their party has been nothing but pure pleasure.

It doesn’t say much for your brand when a narcissistic, racist, xenophobic, loudmouth carnival barker is running rings around your experienced, career politicians. This is truly beyond embarrassing.

But even an entertaining buffoon can cross the line.

In his most outrageous proposal to date, Trump has called for a “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

Of course this idea is patently absurd and has been soundly criticized by both Democrats and Republicans. Perhaps no one summed up the situation better than fellow Republican presidential nominee, Lindsey Graham, when he urged his party to rebuke Trump by telling him to “go to hell.”

Trump’s fanning the flames of Islamophobia plays right into the hands of ISIS and all other radical groups who want to perpetuate the narrative that the West is at war against the religion of Islam. Trump’s remarks are nothing short of a national security risk.

On the domestic front, USA Today reported that attacks against Muslims are on the rise in the United States. Since the Paris massacre, nearly two dozen attacks have ranged from a cab driver in Pittsburgh being shot, to a pig’s head thrown at a mosque in Philadelphia yesterday and vandalism across the country.

In a country awash with guns in the hands of the unstable, Muslim Americans are rightfully afraid for their lives.

Donald Trump will not be president. You can rest assured of that. But that is beside the point. His hateful rhetoric needs to be called out in as strong a manner a possible.

In the unequivocal words of Lindsey Graham, the GOP establishment needs to grow a pair and tell candidate Trump to “go to hell.”

Photo| Jeff Malet/Salon.com

For Trump Supporters, It’s Unconditional Love

December 3, 2015 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

The pattern by now is all too familiar. No matter how outrageous the comment or how verifiable the lie, Trump supporters will stick with their man. The truth simply does not matter to devout Trump backers. They are too enamored by the force of his personality.

Donald Trump has found what few of us ever find in our lifetimes: unconditional love. So he lied about seeing thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrate the attack on the Twin Towers. So deporting eleven million illegal immigrants is a ridiculous idea. So what!

Trump is like a divine shepherd who can lead his sheeple anywhere… even if it’s to the slaughterhouse!

The mainstream media can spend all the time it wants pointing out Trump’s distortions, misrepresentations and outright lies. It will not matter in the end. Trump has found unconditional love from his acolytes.

And as with all unconditional love, the more their revered one is attacked by his critics, the more his followers will circle the wagons and come to his defense. Logic and facts do not matter for those blinded by true adulation.

Will the steady, roughly 25% support of Republican base be enough to carry Trump to the presidential nomination? Probably not… unless Trump can build on his base of die-hard, smitten supporters. The odds are that all those Trump followers who have found unconditional love for their candidate are all present and accounted for.

Photo | ammoland.com

Everyone Needs A Vacation!

November 22, 2015 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

Dear Moron Majority readers. I am closing shop for the next two weeks for a much needed holiday break. I am re-posting “The New American Majority.” Have a great Thanksgiving!

The New American Majority

A serious disease has infected our country. No one really talks about it much although signs of this contagion have existed for quite some time. Like a slow growing cancer, the symptoms have gotten progressively worse to the point where they are no longer avoidable. They cannot be denied. The problem we now face is that this cancer has metastasized to an extent where a cure, or even treatment, is very doubtful.

Our media, politicians and business elites have known about this disease for years. They have not only stood by as the disease spread, but have encouraged – and profited from- its propagation. Like a seemingly caring doctor wanting to spare the patient needless pain, the prognosis offered is that all is fine and there’s nothing to worry about.

What is this sickness I am talking about? In one word… stupidity.

We, as a country, once had the “silent majority.” Then came the “moral majority.” Today we have been transformed into a new majority… the “moron majority.”

Is there any doubt we’ve become a nation of morons? Just look around you the signs (symptoms) are as clear as could be. The late night infomercial claiming that drinking a milk shake will make you lose 30 pounds in only two weeks… no exercise needed! The drug company claiming your itchy skin can be a thing of the past if you only take their pill… and, oh yes, the side effects can be vomiting, diarrhea, hearing loss, and, in rare instances, death! Yes, death! But not to worry… just ask your doctor if Itchamedaphin is right for you!

But there is no greater proof that we’ve become a nation of morons than by simply looking at some of our elected political “leaders.” Yes there have always been plenty of buffoons, scoundrels and hucksters in our body politic but the sheer number of such blockheads at the top of today’s political ladder is astounding! Just look at some of the 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls … Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, and “The Donald!” Could the clown car get any more crowded?

The dumbing down of America has been a slow, gradual process. The first sign that it had reached critical mass became evident during the Bush v. Gore presidential race. An election that should have been an easy victory for Gore (could you have picked a more intellectual lightweight than GWB?) became a defeat (well, sort of!)

The pivotal moment of that election was the first debate. As Bush answered questions in less than a clear and intelligible manner, the camera kept focusing on Gore and his facial expressions. Gore was caught rolling his eyes, shaking his head, frowning and sneering. He was deemed the clear loser of the debate not on the content of what he said but on his body language! Gore came off as the intellectual snob who only has condescension for the less gifted competitor. A veritable Mr. Goody two-shoes. Certainly not the type of guy you’d want to have a drink with! Now Georgie… there’s a guy who can relate to the common folk! Gore tried to change his style in later debates but it was too late. The mold was set right then and there.

Only a nation of morons could elect a dim-witted, draft-dodging, hard drinking frat boy with his “gentlemen’s C” average at Yale over a Harvard graduate (cum laude), Viet Nam War veteran and Vanderbilt Law School graduate. And while there are those who still think Bush stole the election thanks to his brother’s help in Florida, with a big assist from the Supremes, it should never have gotten to that point. As GWB famously said, “Fool me once, shame on… shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.” Oh yeah, enough voters got fooled again by reelecting you, sir.

Image courtesy of artur84 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net