Archives for February 2016

For Hillary, Déjà Vu All Over Again?

February 10, 2016 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

In 2008, Hillary Clinton was broadly seen as the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination for president over a little-known, first-term Illinois senator… and lost. Coming into the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination contest, Hillary was once again labeled the prohibitive favorite over a little-known, self-described septuagenarian socialist from tiny Vermont.

Hillary Clinton lost the New Hampshire primary yesterday to the white-haired, fiery Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders. But that is not the real news as his victory was widely expected. The deflating fact for Clinton is that she got trounced. Sanders won with 60% of the vote to Clinton’s 38.3% … a difference of 21.7%!

The Clinton camp had hoped to keep Sanders’ margin of victory in the high single to low double-digit range. Instead, she got beaten by a margin very few pundits had predicted. The Democrat voters of New Hampshire were feeling the Bern.

What has to be most alarming for Clinton, she lost to Sanders in almost every demographic group. Clinton’s only win was among people with incomes above $200,000. Sanders carried majorities of both men and women. He won among those with and without college degrees. He won among gun owners and non-gun owners. He won 83% of the youth vote, virtually identical to the percentage of young people he attracted in Iowa.

The next primary will be held in South Carolina on February 27. The state has been dubbed Clinton’s “firewall.” She is currently leading in the polls by nearly 30% over Sanders. But with a little over two weeks to go and with Bernie’s momentum following his blowout win in New Hampshire, the margins are sure to tighten.

At her concession speech last night, a sullen looking Bill Clinton watched as his wife tried to put a positive spin on a devastating loss. You could almost see the wheels turning … “Damn, not again!”

President Obama won in 2008, despite all the polling and political punditry that labeled him unelectable, primarily because he was able to generate energy and enthusiasm. There is no doubt Hillary Clinton is the most experienced presidential candidate in either party. But she is not able to generate the excitement the 74-year-old Vermont Senator brings to the contest.

While Clinton talks about carrying on the Obama legacy, Sanders is talking about a political revolution. That message seems to be resonating across the board.

Could Bernie Sanders be this year’s Barack Obama? Just look at Bubba’s face.

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Photo | outsidethebeltway.com

Marco’s Big Day

February 9, 2016 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

After absorbing much criticism after his last debate performance, Marco Rubio is worried. Following his triumphant third place finish in Iowa, there is a real possibility his march towards becoming the Republican establishment favorite may have stalled.

Of course, the candidate will not publically admit to such concern. When asked if he thought his poor debate performance in last Saturday’s debate would affect the vote, Rubio said, “ I do not believe it will hurt me. And let me just say this, I do not believe it will hurt me.”

Rubio’s debate performance was roundly criticized by the media as being “robotic.” He kept repeating the same canned talking points over and over. Some political pundits dubbed Rubio: “Marco Roboto.”

But a little delving into Rubio’s past reveals he is not an automaton at all. While a boy, Rubio had a favorite Uncle who was completely deaf in one ear. By necessity, he would repeat himself in order to make sure he was heard by Uncle Manuel. His campaign staff claims this is just an old habit hard to break.

It is also helpful to know that Rubio likes things that repeat. His online bio reveals his favorite movie is Groundhog Day. He favorite movie character is Jack Torrance, the Overlook Hotel caretaker in The Shining.

Marco Rubio’s fate is now in the hands of New Hampshire voters. Many analysts are saying a finish less than second place would be the end of Rubio’s hope of becoming his party’s nominee.

Rubio is trying to remain upbeat in spite of his debate debacle. “I do not believe it will hurt me,” said the candidate. Again.

Photo | pinterest.com

Robot Rubio Malfunctions

February 6, 2016 By John DeProspo 12 Comments

After an impressive and surprising showing in Iowa, Marco Rubio came into tonight’s Republican presidential debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, with the wind clearly behind him. But with higher visibility (or should I say viability) comes the proverbial bull’s-eye on your back. And Chris Christie was ready for some target practice.

After answering a moderator’s question about his accomplishments, Rubio went into one of his well-received, well-rehearsed attacks on Barack Obama.

“Let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing,” said Rubio. “He knows exactly what he’s doing. Barack Obama is undertaking a systematic effort to change this country, to make America more like the rest of the world.”

Just minutes later, when confronted by Chris Christie over his lack of executive experience and of not having done anything meaningful, Rubio slipped back into the same Obama attack line… verbatim!

Christie, looking directly into the camera, said “You see, everybody … the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him.”

Incredibly, Rubio answered Christie’s accusation that he is just reciting well-rehearsed rhetoric … with, well, the same well-rehearsed rhetoric – for the third time!

“There it is!” Christie interjected. “There it is. The memorized 25-second speech. There it is, everybody.” Rubio, to everyone’s amazement, continued on and incorporated the same Obama attack line into his answer – for the fourth time!

The Rubio-Christie exchanges could best be described as surreal – something, if you will, out of the mind of Rod Sterling and The Twilight Zone.

In just a few minutes, Rubio showed himself to be a candidate adept at reciting prepared talking points… over and over. He also showed he could not think on his feet when attacked. I doubt he was even aware of what he was saying. Robots seldom are.

What a difference a day makes! In Rubio’s case, the five days since the Iowa caucus.

Marco choked under the pressure of expectations. Here was a guy with the ball on the opponent’s ten-yard line, only needing a field goal to win, and he commits three consecutive personal fouls sending him back to his own forty-five.

If Rubio finishes New Hampshire in the top four, it would be a miracle. And, even so, most likely not enough. The damage is done. It appears he just may have punched his one-way ticket to the candidates’ graveyard. Look for Kasich, Christie and even Jeb, to do well in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

Photo | consitutionrising.com

There Was An MSNBC Democratic Debate Last Night?

February 5, 2016 By John DeProspo 3 Comments

MSNBC hosted a one-on-one Democratic presidential debate last night that I doubt many people watched. It was added to the debate schedule at the last minute, no thanks to Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

With Martin O’Malley having withdrawn from the race only a few days before, we finally got the match-up we had hoped for: Clinton v. Sanders … mano-a-mano … may the best man (woman) win.

The DNC originally refused to sanction the debate but later relented when both candidates agreed to attend the debate moderated by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd. The debate was held at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire.

If you did watch the debate, you were treated to what a presidential debate should look like. Substantive issues were discussed without any acrimony or name-calling. The evening was more like Masterpiece Theater than the Jerry Springer show offered by Republicans.

The question after any debate is always “Who won?” In last night’s debate both candidates won. They each showed a deep understanding of the issues and communicated their answers effectively. Some pundits thought Clinton needed a knock-out punch because of her poor poll numbers heading into the New Hampshire primary this coming Tuesday, February 9. Time will tell.

Each candidate got rousing rounds of applause during the debate but the loudest came towards the end of the evening when Bernie said of himself, and Hillary, “On our worst days, I think it is fair to say we are 100 times better than any Republican candidate.”

Truer words were never spoken.

Democrats are blessed with two candidates who are both presidential material. Some progressives have stated they will only vote if Bernie gets the nomination. I say to those ardent Sanders supporters, listen to Bernie. If you’re a Democrat, the bottom line needs to be this: vote for your party’s nominee whoever that may be.

For those who are going through Republican-reality-show-withdrawal, their next debate is this Saturday, February, 6, at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire.

Why Marco Rubio Will Never Be President

February 3, 2016 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

Following his resounding third place finish in the Iowa caucus, things are looking up for Marco Rubio. In fact, Rubio was so giddy after the election one might have thought he was the winner.

“So this is the moment they said would never happen,” Rubio said in a speech after the results became clear. “For months, they told us that because we offer too much optimism in a time of anger we had no chance… I will be back in October and September of this year, because when I am our nominee we are going to win Iowa, and we are going to win the election for this country.”

As awesome as his third place finish was, Rubio will not be able to parlay his Iowa success into securing the Republican nomination.

There are a number of reasons why Marco Rubio will never be president. Some roadblocks are already known. His flip-flop on immigration is probably his greatest liability. The man who cosponsored the Senate bill creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants now claims he was never for amnesty… or as he now tries to define it, “blanket amnesty.”

Rubio’s Senate attendance record is also a big problem. According to a recent report conducted by vocativ.org and GovTrack.us, Rubio is the senator “least likely to show up for work” – missing 99 of 1,198 votes over four years. That gives him an absentee rate of 8.2%. By comparison, the Senate average is 2.01%.

On climate change, Rubio is what’s best described as an equivocator. He still believes there is reasonable doubt on the issue even though 97.1% of scientists have “endorsed the consensus position that humans are causing global warming”

As bad as these well-known hurdles are for Rubio, there is one small, personal, previously un-reported fact that will surely disqualify him in the minds of Republican voters.

While a struggling law student at the University of Miami School of Law, in order to make ends meet, Rubio worked as a male dancer at a local Chippendales.

Knowing that someday he might enter politics, Rubio, always the cleaver one, performed under the pseudonym “Buck Naked.”

Photo | fusion.net

Now don’t get your panties in a bunch, it’s satire folks!

Iowa Republicans Pick Another Loser

February 2, 2016 By John DeProspo 8 Comments

Unlike the Democrats, Iowa Republicans picked a clear winner in last night’s state caucus: Ted Cruz. But should the word “winner” be used to describe Cruz?

If history is any guide, Rafael Edward Cruz will not be the Republican nominee for president. Lest we forget, the last two Republican primary winners in Iowa were Rick Santorum (2012) and Mike Huckabee (2008). Enough said.

Do you see a pattern here? If you look at the last three Iowa “winners,” you see a common thread: the candidates’ religiosity. Santorum is well known for his deep Christian beliefs and has even questioned the separation of church and state. Before entering politics, Mike Huckabee was a pastor who preached for 12 years from Arkansas pulpits. Ted Cruz has been quoted as saying any candidate who doesn’t start “every day on his knees” in prayer isn’t fit to be president.

Evangelical Christians make up a large portion of the Iowa Republican base. By picking Cruz, they are following in the tradition of choosing the most religious candidate they could find; a candidate who will be shunned by other Republicans in less evangelical states.

Too bad for Cruz … and the Democrats. Cruz is the one candidate most Democrats want to see get the Republican nomination. It is a toss up as to who detests Cruz more: establishment Republicans or Democrats.

The next primary state is New Hampshire. Ted Cruz is stuck in a statistical tie for second place along with Kasich, Bush and Rubio with roughly 11% of the vote. Donald Trump comfortably leads in New Hampshire with 34% of the vote according to the latest statistics.

Pundits, analysts and the media, in general, like to place great emphasis on the Iowa caucus winners. But with the state’s history of picking Republican “winners,” we ironically have the first loser of 2016… Ted Cruz.

Photo | AP/ChrisCarlson