June 06, 2016 01:06 PM UTC
Get More Smarter on Monday (June 6)
27 Comments- by: Colorado Pols
Today is the 72nd Anniversary of D-Day; kids, ask your parents or the History Channel. It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols! If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.
TOP OF MIND TODAY…
► The ballots are coming! The ballots are coming! Registered Democrats and Republicans should start receiving mail ballots this week in advance of the June 28th Primary election. For more information on checking your registration or address status, or if you just like reading about elections, visit JustVoteColorado.org.
► California, here we come! On Tuesday, six states will cast votes (or do the caucus thing) in the Presidential race, but none more important than delegate-rich California. As Politico reports, Bernie Sanders is making his last stand in his fight to overtake Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, even if he isn’t willing to admit as much:
Barring a set of unprecedented upsets on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton is expected to be declared the presumptive Democratic nominee. And when the television networks make that call as soon as New Jersey polls close on June 7, it will leave Bernie Sanders with a hard choice: whether to directly acknowledge it or intensify his fight to the July convention in Philadelphia…
…A win in California, his top advisers believe, will enable Sanders to make a much more aggressive pitch to superdelegates and Democrats around the country in the coming weeks. He will be able to point to victories over Clinton in more than 20 states — capped by the biggest, bluest and most diverse in the nation. The symbolic value of winning California, they think, would underscore his point that the future of the party is on his side and rattle superdelegate confidence in her candidacy.
A loss, however, would dismantle that argument. The Sanders camp believes a defeat there would take the wind out of his sails, in no small part because of the negative media narrative that would result after having spent so much time in the state.
In addition to California and New Jersey, voters will pick favorites in Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota (Democrats only) and South Dakota.
► With ballots on their way, things are really starting to heat up in the race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. The Denver Post is profiling each of the 5 Republican candidates this week, starting with today’s piece on Robert Blaha. There are two high-profile GOP debates this week: Tuesday evening on 9News, and Wednesday evening in Colorado Springs hosted by the Gazette newspaper.
Also today, Ryan Frazier debuts his zombie-themed TV ad, which Colorado Statesman reporter Ernest Luning reports includes a $100k buy. Jack Graham has added another $250k to his TV buy, raising the total to about $700k. Blaha has been on TV with an ad buy that his campaign will not disclose, and even Darryl Glenn could be getting his mug on the idiot box pretty soon.
The editorial board of the Denver Post isn’t particularly happy about Jon Keyser’s TV ad, which has been widely panned by media outlets for its blatant lies. As the Post explains in its editorial diss:
But it’s one thing to contend the agreement plays into Iran’s hands and quite another to flatly insist the senator wants to arm the repressive Islamic regime with weapons of mass destruction. Bennet no more wants to see that than Keyser. The claim is not only offensive, it’s preposterous. And Keyser doesn’t have license to throw wild accusations around regarding Iran because he did the noble work of fighting its proxies. [Pols emphasis]
If you haven’t seen the ad yourself, it’s not because you haven’t been watching enough TV; you’d have a hard time catching it since the Keyser campaign only submitted a $5,000 ad buy (which gets him about 49 total spots). According to Luning at the Statesman, however, Keyser’s campaign has spent an additional $100k to extend this already horrible TV spot. If politics were poker, Keyser just went all-in with a deuce and a nine.
Get even more smarter after the jump…
IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…
► The embattled Chair of the Delta County Republican Party is facing a plethora of calls to resign over a series of racist Facebook posts. Linda Sorenson is getting a lot of mail lately.
► Republican Senate candidate Robert Blaha is shifting his policy proposals, not necessarily to the right, but to the Trump. Blaha may have decided that his best chance at winning the GOP nomination on June 28th is to act more like the man who somehow became the Republican nominee for President — including the opinion that waterboarding is totally fine and not torture.
► Jon Keyser hasn’t thrown in the towel on the 2016 election completely — not yet, anyway.
► Reporters continue to ask Gov. John Hickenlooper about the possibility that he could be selected as Hillary Clinton’s running mate on the Democratic ticket for President. Hickenlooper has been relatively cagey about the idea, as he should, but he tells Denver7 that it’s a job offer he’d certainly entertain:
“…obviously if someone feels you would add great value to service to your country, I think you’d be a fool not to consider it very strongly,” said Hickenlooper.
► Can you endorse Donald Trump for President and not by extension support his policy ideas? As the Atlantic writes…not really:
Does Paul Ryan support racism? The House speaker endorsed Donald Trump, who claims an Indiana judge overseeing a lawsuit over Trump University is biased because of his Mexican heritage.
Does Mitch McConnell support religious bigotry? The Senate majority leader endorsed Trump, who would ban 1.4 billion Muslims from entering the United States because of the God they worship.
Does Reince Priebus support sexism? The Republican Party chairman wants to put into the Oval Office a man who publicly calls women fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.
Although these and other GOP leaders will try to distance themselves from Trump’s most offensive comments, they can’t. First, from the moment he accepts the Republican nomination in Cleveland, Trump will be the titular head of their party. Second, they knowingly backed an intolerant narcissist. This was no accident, no bait and switch.
Long before his political meltdown last week, Trump revealed his views on Hispanics, Muslims, and women—not to mention indifference to public policy and the truth. This is no aberration. It is confirmation…
…For Ryan, McConnell, and Priebus, and for every Republican candidate on a ballot in November, there is no pivot from Trump.
They are him.[Pols emphasis]
Now that House Speaker Paul Ryan has endorsed Trump, it’s going to get considerably more difficult for other Republican Members of Congress to avoid the question. This means you, Reps. Mike Coffman and Scott Tipton.
► Speaking of Mike Coffman, the Aurora Republican has reserved $1.2 million in TV ad time for the fall as he tries to fend off Democrat Morgan Carroll in CD-6. As of the last publicly-available campaign finance reports (ending on March 31), Coffman is cutting it close budget-wise; he had $1.3 million in the bank at the end of the Q1 reporting period.
► Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has said a lot of crazy shit in the recent past, but he may finally have stuck a foot in his mouth that he won’t be able to remove. From “The Fix”:
Witness the reaction to Trump’s comments over the last few days regarding Gonzalo Curiel and the allegation that the judge’s Mexican heritage effectively disqualifies him from offering an unbiased view of a pending case regarding Trump University.
Unlike even a few months ago when Trump was making offensive comments, the condemnation from the across the spectrum of the Republican party has been both swift and biting. Newt Gingrich, widely rumored to be a member of Trump’s vice presidential shortlist, called the comment “inexcusable” and described it as the “worst mistake” Trump has made in the campaign to date. Speaker Paul Ryan, a day after he endorsed Trump, said that he “completely disagree[d] with the thinking” behind Trump’s comment on Curiel. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he “couldn’t disagree more with a statement like that.” Maine Sen. Susan Collins tweeted out her disapproval Monday morning…
…Trump is no longer one of a crowd of candidates running for the Republican nomination. He is the presumptive Republican nominee. He is the de facto head of the Republican party, responsible not only for himself but also for the broader brand up and down the ballot in November. There are greater stakes now than at any other time in the past when Trump has said something controversial. He now speaks for the entire party — and doesn’t seem to realize it or, more frighteningly for the GOP, doesn’t care.
Doesn’t realize it, or doesn’t care? We’re going to go with option “C”: Both.
► Congressman Scott Tipton (R-Cortez) is facing a tough general election opponent in Democrat Gail Schwartz, but first he needs to get through a June 28th Primary matchup with Alex Beinstein. According to Beinstein, Tipton’s campaign has ignored his requests to schedule pre-Primary debates. Beinsten says Tipton is avoiding him; he’s probably correct.
OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK
► Republicans are hoping that a reality TV “star” can help them win a traditionally-Democratic seat in Denver’s HD-4. We have our suspicions.
► Your television is about to be taken over by campaign advertisements. Some of them are better than others.
ICYMI
► Muhammad Ali, widely considered the greatest heavyweight boxer in history and a lightning rod for important social issues, died on Friday at the age of 72. Terry Frei of the Denver Post recounts an exhibition fight between Ali and former Denver Broncos defensive end Lyle Alzado that took place at Mile High Stadium in Denver in 1979.
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Either way, the race is over Tuesday, when Hillary will win about 300 more delegates than the 2383 needed for her nomination. But an HRC win in California would remove the last vestige of credibility for the Sanders campaign.
Except for his fantasy of getting all those supers to flock to him because….. good reason, anyone?
Because everybody knows rats swim toward a sinking ship.
"If politics were poker, Keyser just went all-in with a deuce and a nine."
Don't forget about his Bronze Star. That's gotta amount to something?
FYI my county party has notified me of a release from the Secretary of State's office (dated 5/24)…
The Secretary of State found a problem with the mobile version of their registration page that may have caused voter registration and party affiliation changes to fail.
If you plan on voting in the primary, the Secretary urges you to check http://GoVoteColorado.com to verify your current party affiliation and registration status.
If you are currently not registered to vote or are unaffiliated, you may register/affiliate and vote in person at your local designated vote center up until primary election day on June 28th, but if you want a mail ballot, you must register by June 20th or else your county clerk can not get you a mail ballot in time to vote.
Can't believe this shit. Associated Press, via MSNBC, just declared HRC to be presumptive nominee. She didn't even wait for V to post delegate-by-delegate updates.
Premature much?
Someone tell me why Dems should even bother to have primaries, caucuses, or conventions. Just ask the corporations and cable channels whom they would prefer.
Criteria: good hair, well-connected, friendly to corporations who advertise on the network or contribute large sums to campaigns.
Oh, and it will help on the Republican side if they continually spout stupid-ass, but sensational sound bites with easy vocabulary.
If you think the media wants good hair, how do you explain their fascination with Trump? As for me, I will claim victory at 615 tTuesday, when her victory in New Jersey gives her a mathematical lock. I'm pissed but At least this proves bernie cant force the media to slant the news his way. Only trump can do that.
So tonight, just a PBR to celebrate. Tomorrow night, we break out the fracking fluid.
First, Team HRC is no happier about this than Team Bernie. They've both been working their butt's off for the big Tuesday contests. They both want to get their constituencies fired up and turned out.
Second, there are no biased, nefarious or hair related reasons for the media call. They've been contacting supers, just like they did for Trump, and they're calling it, just like they do on election nights long before 100% of the vote is in. They're always chomping at the bit to call as soon as they can, everyone wants to be first, and there are always complaints that early calling will suppress the vote. It's nothing to do with wanting to screw Bernie.
Third, it's not as if we haven't all known for a long time now that HRC is the presumptive nominee. I mean…. seriously. The call isn't going to change the outcome.
That said I join the HRC campaign in wishing they had waited until after New Jersey. As for the Sanders campaign it's hard to be very sympathetic. They're always self righteously pissed off about something and their plan to get all the supers to switch was never gong to work.
Not to mention it's a tactic they turned to only after realizing that, despite all their hyperventilating over the prospect of HRC's supers over-ruling a Bernie supporting majority of the people, the majority were going for HRC!?! How dare the people choose HRC over Bernie? Obviously the people really do need super delegate "correction" after all. Forget everything Team Bernie ever said about the scourge of the supers. Now it's … it ain't over until I get those supers to show those stupid voters what's best for them.
Well guess what? It is over.
Unless the reporting was incorrect from Andrea Mitchell, Hillary was not happy that AP and MSNBC declared her to be the presumptive nominee last night. She wanted to wait until after the New Jersey primary today.
Pols, it's Muhammad Ali. Mohammed is the actual prophet.
Thanks for catching that. Autocorrect strikes again!
AP and NBC made the call in order to suppress voter turnout in the primaries. This would not hurt Clinton much; as BC and V never tire of reminding us, she's got a lock on the nomination due to the undying allegiance of the superdelegates. She could lose every state and still win the nomination.
Suppressing voter turnout or ballot turn-in would hurt Sanders, since there are hoops for his supporters to jump through in California; they have to request a Democratic ballot. As we've seen in Colorado, it's easy to monkey wrench things by having a ballot shortage and requiring people to vote provisional ballots, which are counted late, if ever.
I speculate that the polls were showing that Sanders had a strong chance of winning California, (within 2 points or margin of error) and that's why AP made the call it did – to suppress voter turnout today.
But if Sanders wins CA by a large margin, as he will probably win in Montana and the Dakotas, it cuts into the other part of the Hillary narrative; the often-cited "We're winning by three million!!!!" figure. The "Shut up and quit already!" demand. The" We're sick of hearing you sore losers whine!" complaint.
Hence, it would add to his strength going in to the Democratic convention, to demand real structural changes in superdelegates, party rules, etc.
Comcast, the parent company of NBC, is definitely in Hillary's corner; the CEO, David Cohen, has had $2700 plate fundraisers for her, as well as bundled other contributions, and Comcast lobbyists are among the telecom services who have contributed $414,000 her Presidential campaign, as well as lobbied her as a Senator. Comcast does not want policies such as net neutrality, strict FCC oversight of the industry, antitrust laws limiting its mergers, or the Consumer Finance Protection Agency to limit its profits, and these are the policies it lobbies against. Consider that the next time you fume about your cable bill.
AP, which first made the premature call that HRC had "won", had made "mistakes" in reporting which benefited the HRC campaign in the past, notably in Colorado, where they misreported the delegate totals +8 in her favor for two days. AP still has incorrect Colorado delegate totals on its website. AP reports 77 total Colorado delegates, Clinton 36 to Sanders 41. The correct total, as reported by the Post, is a total of 66 Colorado delegates, of which Sanders got 38 and Clinton got 28. And even that is wrong, as the Democratic Party of Colorado finally admitted that they had withheld a Sanders delegate, so that Sanders actually got 39 and Hillary 27.
I've looked into AP's corporate structure, and haven't found Clinton donors, although there are certainly cozy relationships with Clinton donors, bundlers, and lobbyists. So regardless of whether this is nefarious or just incompetence on AP's part, they got it wrong, consistently got it wrong to Hillary's benefit, and still are getting it wrong. AP is not a reliable news organization.
So proceed with your mocking and name calling – whatever floats your boat. We are set to elect the first woman, yes, and that is a symbolic victory, but only symbolic. The woman we are electing will make no significant changes to politics as usual in this country – corporations and the 1% will still make most important decisions without voter input. This latest call by the corporate media is a slap in the face for voters; it reminds us that we are really unnecessary – that they are the ones in charge.
I'm not going to be on here all day trading barbs with V or BC – got stuff to do, and I've made my case. I predict Sanders will win CA, and of course, Hillary will still win the nomination. …..you'll forgive me if I don't celebrate.
You need to breath into a paper bag mama. AP, NBC and all the rest make these these calls because that's the business they're in and everybody likes to be first. They do it for all elections as soon as they can. They did it for Trump.
What this call tells us is just what we've all known anyway: HRC is the presumptive nominee. No need to try to suppress the vote. Suppress or increase, at this point it doesn't make a difference, just like when a candidate is ahead by 10 points in a general with 75% of the vote in and they make the call before waiting for 100%. That's all the call means. That's all the effect it has other than pissing both Team HRC and Team Bernie off and giving bloggers and talking heads something to hyperventilate over.
Sanders is toast, stick a fork in him and call him "French" . . .
Seriously, this contest has been over for months. Nothing nefarious, yes some predjucial calls, but mostly American politics at its usual, if not finest . . .
. . . It's not personal. Accept it, deal with it, and get over it.
. . . or, go see if there's still any Japanese soldiers left willing to share their caves?
You forgot the part where the elders of zion ordered the AP to make the fix, MJ. If you're going the full conpiracy grip, you don't want to forget that part. When and if you return to our planet, you can still join the celebration in November when we beat Trump.
But Bernie's Jewish! Shouldn't the elders have been on his side?
We elders always keep the goyim guessing. And I read somewhere that we're all international bankers, and you know what Bernie thinks of bankers. And He's married to a Shiksa. Need I go on?
OK but HRC is a Shiksa. And she once kissed Queen Noor. This must be getting as tough for the Elders as The Donald is for the Republican leadership.
To make it even worse, the elders are running out of Maccabee beer and Carmel wine. What's the point of secretly ruling the world if you have to drink Mogen David and
Budweiser"America?"Bernie's not "an elder"??!!??
Fuxsakes, how old do you gotta' be to get into that club?????
Don't ask me. I've apparently been left off the mailing list. I blame my married gentile last name. But my long tall blue eyed western boy is worth it. Alsoour son who can trace his American ancestry back to before the Revolutionary War on his dad's side (but is Jewish by Jewish law so forget the SAR) and who was tall enough to reach things on the high shelves for his little Jewish mom by the time he was 13. Not that the world domination and wealth wouldn't have been nice too.
I blame Michael Gold. His book "Jews without money" ruined it for everybody.
You forgot the part where the elders of zion ordered the AP to make the fix, MJ. If you're going the full conpiracy trip you don't want to forget that part. When and if you return to our planet, you can still join the celebration in November when we beat Trump. Assuming the Masons don't decide to install Trump.
Wasn't aware that those sneaky bastards did it twice?!? Leave nothing to chance, huh? Wow!!! . . .
My Amazon fire tends to repeat things, which my more sophisticated Mac is less likely to do. It reminds me of an actual interview with a prosecutor on a network news show:
"Your typical sex offender is a repeater. He's a repeater."
That's what they're telling you to say . . .
The secret plot to nominate Hillary: Give her more votes
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/hillary-clinton-clinches-democratic-nomination-according-to-ap/