Those who expected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be at the forefront of their own convention were gravely mistaken.

Meet the Star of the Convention…

Donald Trump was the star of the Democratic National Convention. His name, policies, character and leadership were mentioned more times than any thing related to Joe Biden. Even when the former Vice President was referred to, it was in the context of his character. Everybody spoke of him as a good guy, compassionate, with dignity, honor, integrity, humility.  One could have mistaken the four-night event for a wake celebrating the life of somebody who had just died.

A Depressing Spectacle

The somber voices of the speakers, together with the gloomy and apocalyptic descriptions of America made the whole thing a depressing affair. The United States were painted as the land of injustice, inequality and repression. It made one feel sorry for the inhabitants who could not escape this doomed country.

Yet, fret not, the speakers cheered. Joe Biden, a new white knight, in service of the light, was about to arrive and save the darkened country currently on the steps of a vast precipice. You could be forgiven from forgetting that Biden has spent more than 40 years either as a congressman, senator or vice president. Otherwise, it would be fair to ask, why has he not done more to solve the ills that trouble America.

Light on Actual Policy

Apart from the good qualities of Biden’s character, and him being the Anti-Trump, it was difficult to listen to anything resembling a governing program. On purpose, there was almost no policy mention, except from self-declared socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, who in his characteristic agitated tone, declared victory on the Party’s ideological front.

Equally absent from the convention were any mentions on the unrest and violence over the summer as well as Biden’s son. While the whole Trump family will be speaking at the RNC, Hunter Biden continues to remain suspiciously hidden.

Finding the Humor in the Bleakness

The depressing atmosphere of the convention would have been hard to swallow, if it had not been for the mix of irony and opposites presented, that served as comic relief. It was without a doubt the convention of the ironies and absurdities, filled with the occasional lie and hypocrisy. In some cases, these aspects left me wondering if they were trying to troll their own base or potential voters, because they could not be taken seriously.

Elizabeth Warren, the far-left senator who infamously lied about being of native American origins so that she could be hired by prestigious institutions, addressed the native American people in her speech and was meant to represent them. Bill Clinton spoke of ethics on the Oval Office whereas Stacey Abrams, who lost the election for Governor of Georgia but never accepted defeat was put on the Governors’ panel.

Just What People Need: More Entitled Celebrities

Meanwhile, there was a considerable celebrity presence, who spoke of the hardships of living in America and lectured individuals on how to vote in November. Surely, these billionaires moralizing people on poverty and how and what they should think is above hypocritical.

It remains a mystery what makes them think that a normal citizen needs lecturing on how to vote and how to live from celebrities who have no idea what living paycheck to paycheck means.

After all these decades, Democrats have still not understood that the value added of using these actors and singers is zero. They appeal to no one with a little common sense and logic.

Pre-Recorded Posturing

An example as to how excited and delighted everyone is regarding the Biden-Harris ticket is Michelle Obama. The former First Lady had recorded her speech way before Kamala Harris was announced as the VP pick, as Michele Obama did not mention her at all.

Throughout the convention it became clear nobody in the Democratic Party cares about Biden. Not that it was not obvious throughout the decades. Otherwise we would have had a President Biden in the last few times he ran for the office. As for Harris, she was one of the candidates who during the primaries received the least votes. She was attacked by the media and by members of the Party during the primaries. Everybody attacking her as radical and weak, praised her as soon as she was chosen VP nominee.

Biden as Trojan Horse

It is interesting to highlight some of the people speaking at the convention, especially those who were not in primetime, to understand the true face of the current Democratic Party and how Biden is an empty vessel for far-left radicals.

On the first night, a black pastor gave a speech during the “Our values” segment, which featured the radical organization Black Lives Matter’s closed fist, which has a frightening resemblance to the communist symbol. The pastor, a supposed man of God, condemned all those who do not accept open borders to hell.

Other actions of radicalism included the removal of “under God” from the pledge of allegiance, as well as a speaker encouraging those who hear the anthem to “either rise or kneel”.

Far-Left Fringe Speakers

A woman speaking on the Youth Council panel condemned capitalism adding that “this future that we all want and we are all trying to build is about the destruction of colonization, white supremacy and capitalism”. In addition, Ayanna Presley, a far-left congresswoman, praised the rioters that have looted and destroyed the American cities under the pretext of slavery reparations and the evil capitalism they represent.

Linda Sarsour, an anti-Semite and radical activist had a speaking slot saying that her ideas were at the center of the DNC. Points to the Biden campaign for disavowing her and distancing the former VP from his Party’s guest at their convention.

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the far-left congresswoman from New York, also had her chance to describe how America was a terrible, racist country all in 60 seconds. That was all the time DNC had given to the rising star of the party, which prompted some displeasure from the radicals who have conquered most of the Party, since the DNC had given more time to former Republicans than the future of the Democratic Party.

It is fascinating how people who became millionaires and billionaires thanks to the US’ capitalistic and meritocratic system advocate for socialism, and how individuals spouting all sorts of radical and nonsense stuff speak of the country as if it were a dictatorship.

Getting Republicans to Back Biden

The Republicans speaking were a favorite talking point of the media. Having Colin Powell, John Kasich, Cindy McCain, the widow of the late senator John McCain, and a couple other Republicans of minor relevance was presented as a big thing. It was not.

A few former Republicans, who have had their personal conflicts with Donald Trump, driven by their hatred for the President, chose to endorse Joe Biden. Although Cindy McCain did not exactly endorse him. CNN contributor and former Governor Kasich spoke of how Biden will govern as a moderate. A shame that the former Governor did not have the farsightedness to plead for another night to talk, seeing as on the same evening, Senator Bernie Sanders assured his followers that Biden would be the most progressive President since Franklin Roosevelt.

No one pushes Joe around said Kasich. Sanders begged to disagree: “Our campaign ended months ago, but our movement continues, and it is getting stronger every day. Many of the ideas we fought for and that a few years ago were considered radical, are today mainstream.”

DNC chair Tom Perez confirmed as much. He said Senator Sanders wrote the party platform together with Biden. As for General Powell, he may have been once a Republican, but has endorsed Democrat nominees for President since 2008. Also, the same Democrats who criticized and condemned Powell and the Bush administration as war mongers for the Iraq War, were now praising him.

Andrew Cuomo as Model Leader? You Must be Joking

Starting with those in primetime, Andrew Cuomo, under whom New York had more deaths than any other state and who will be remembered for covering up deaths in nursing homes, was presented as the example of good leadership. It is the same Cuomo who recently has been begging people fleeing due to massive taxation and growing violence from radicals such as the Black Lives Matter organization, not to leave his state.

On the other hand, President Jimmy Carter, rated constantly one of the top 5 worst Presidents of the US, known for a disastrous foreign policy culminating with the Iranian hostage situation, gave his endorsement and praised Biden’s foreign policy achievements.

Michelle Obama’s Misleading Speech

Then came one of the biggest stars of the left. The Democrats’ obsession with putting former Democrat First Ladies to the front of politics is something that one does not find on the conservative side. Michelle Obama’s speech was full of lies and omissions.

The former First Lady, repeating her famous phrase of going high when the rest go low, apparently did not remember her husband’s campaign calling Mitt Romney sexist because he was considering women for VP (not unlike the current Democrat nominee) or Biden saying Romney was going to put “blacks in chains”.

Michelle mentioned children being torn from their parents at the borders, again forgetting that it was her husband who enforced that policy. Speaking about “teargas against peaceful protesters” she ignored the looters and rioters killing black people and even children and destroying businesses and forgot about Ferguson or other race related unrest during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Giving Bill Clinton the Spotlight to Talk About … Ethics

The Party who crucified Justice Kavanaugh for an unproven sexual harassment accusation, which ultimately turned out to be a lie, gave a primetime speaking slot to Bill Clinton, just as the media were reporting of a picture showing the former President on the plane of the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein with one of the latter’s victims. Clinton went on to speak about ethics and decency on the oval office, in what has to be one of the greatest ironies of modern times.

The night after her husband’s speaking slot, Hillary Clinton finally came out of the woods of Chappaqua to warn about the dangers of election stealing. She lamented about how you can win the popular vote yet lose the electoral college, which is how the American system has always worked which she well knows.

Hillary spoke of the multitudes of people that come to her expressing their regret of not voting for her. Then, she mentioned the foreign powers who took away the victory from her and handed it over to Trump. It would probably have been more believable if she were more charming or likable. Again, there was no word on Biden’s abilities and leadership or any praise for Harris.

Her speech was all about her and Trump, showing once again her disrespect for the American voters and how she has never understood them. That is why she lost and also the reason why Biden may have the same fate.

Barack Obama’s Impressively Delivered Speech was Full of Untruths

The biggest star for the Democrats was Barack Obama. His speech, as expected, was praised by the media and left-leaning sympathizers. There is no doubt that President Obama is an excellent speaker. Moreover, he shines in demagoguery as he showed during his speech. The media loves him, the left adores him. He could have said whatever he wanted, in whatever obscene way, and still he would have received applause.

Yet, he attacked, lied and divided even more through his speech. Obama fundamentally believes that government is the source of all power. He has always expressed his conviction that government is the one who gives rights to citizens and not the Constitution and the President should have almighty powers. So, to have him warn about the danger to the separation of powers and the importance of the constitution is another aspect of the hypocrisy on the left ignored by the media.

Barack Obama’s speech will go down in history for sure. He is the first former President to attack and insult his successor. He did so at a funeral, where people had gathered to celebrate the life and achievements of a great men, while he made it all about Trump. He repeated it again in his speech.

No one can picture President George W. Bush doing the same to Obama, or even Bill Clinton to Bush. Just the same as no one can picture the classy and elegant Laura Bush tearing into Barack Obama. The rhetoric of Trump’s predecessor can never be enough to hide his failures as a president or his lack of class and disrespect for the American constitution. His actions speak louder than his words.

Criticizing Trump on COVID-19

Many attacked Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis and mentioned Obama’s handling of Ebola, a much more difficult disease to catch and totally incomparable to the coronavirus. However, it was surprising to see that Obama himself mentioned his management of the H1N1 pandemic for which he flat out lied. Obviously, few in the media called him out on this.

Back in 2009, while President Obama was golfing, his officials declared a health emergency. Obama promised 100 million doses of vaccines, while only 11 million were delivered, by which point, 22 million Americans had been infected. As the Wall Street Journal points out, 36,000 children were hospitalized, out of which 540 died.

Vice President Joe Biden’s former Chief of Staff in 2019 said: “We did every possible thing wrong. Sixty million Americans got H1N1 in that period of time, and it is just purely a fortuity that this isn’t one of the great mass-casualty events in American history. [It] had nothing to do with us doing anything right; just had to do with luck. If anyone thinks that can’t happen again, they don’t have to go back to 1918. Just go back to 2009, 2010. Imagine a virus with a different lethality, and you can just do the math.”

If it had been a virus with spread of H1N1 and with the death rate of Covid-19, the death toll would have been closer to two million, based on analysis from the Journal. So, to hear Obama mention this disaster in his Presidency and sell it as a victory spearheaded by Joe Biden is not only misleading, but a lie.

The Democrats Don’t Have Real Solutions

The democrats showed that they are making this election about character and not policy. They know that their policies are radical left-wing lunacies that moderates in swing states will reject. However, the danger in running on character is also great. Voters know Donald Trump’s character. They knew every dirty secret and obscene scandal the media could find of then-candidate Trump’s and still voted for him in 2016.

After a terrible summer filled with rioting and looting, even blue states are in play. Before the security of their lives, voters may ignore the brashness and character of Trump, finding instead comfort in his successful economic programs and defense for law enforcement and security. Expect the Republican convention this week to highlight the success of Trump’s economic policies during 2017-2019, the bright future that awaits the American people and the danger of socialism and radicalism to American values and principles. The distinction could not be more clear.

L'articolo The Democratic National Convention: a Somber Spectacle of Failure proviene da InsideOver.

This week’s Democratic National Convention grabbed media attention for two key reasons: it was the first time in history that a black woman — California’s former attorney general Kamala Harris — won the nomination to become the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate, and secondly, it had a selection of well-known speakers such as the Obamas, the Clintons and Bernie Sanders.

Obama’s speech caught viewers’ attention in particular, as he tore into US President Donald Trump for “tearing down democracy,” and referred to Trump as “lazy, corrupt and self-obsessed.” He put aside presidential precedent of not criticizing other presidents to paint a grim vision of a second term under the current commander-in-chief.

Past Precedent: Clinton Saved Obama’s Campaign in 2012

Considering Biden’s campaign has been uninspiring so far due to this year’s election being overshadowed by the coronavirus, former President Obama could be the spark that the Democrats need to mobilize voter turnout in November. It’s conceivable that Obama could win the election for the former vice president.

It is a trick that the Democrats have used before. When Obama’s own re-election campaign was in trouble in 2012, he recruited Bill Clinton, who had a 69 percent approval rating that year, to appear on a TV ad that was played 16,000 times in swing states.

Another, featuring a clip of Clinton’s address at the 2012 Democratic convention, triggered a sense of nostalgia among Democratic voters about the 1990s, a time when the Democrats enjoyed balanced budgets and record employment rates, and provided them with the impression that this could happen again under Obama in 2013-17. John Heilemann of New York Magazine wrote that Clinton saved Obama’s 2012 campaign. And now, a charismatic former president with high approval ratings might have to do the same for Biden.

Obama Has Major Political Star Power

Trump, however, has no such advantage. George W. Bush is the only surviving former Republican president and although his last approval rating stood at 61 percent, he has publicly said that he will not endorse Trump. Therefore, the sitting President lacks political star power — and media supporters — on anywhere near the same level as Obama.

Obama enjoys a 55 percent average approval rating according to YouGov, with 64 percent of millennials, a key voter group for the Democrats, approving of the job he did as president. Furthermore, data collected by Public Policy Polling in 2017 discovered that 52 percent of Americans wished Obama was still their president, and it would be interesting to see if there is any recent data available to see if those views still hold true following the recent Democratic National Convention. These strong approval ratings could help Biden as he was Obama’s former vice president.

The latest poll shows that Biden has an eight-point advantage over Trump, and although a lot could change before November, this is not a bad lead coming out of the recent convention.

Trump Hasn’t Lost Yet

Nonetheless, Hillary Clinton also had the exact same advantage Biden did four years ago. NPR predicted that she would win 273 electoral votes in August 2016, and she then went on to lose three months later. The former first lady also had Obama’s endorsement and still lost.

A study reported on by Vox in 2018 revealed that between 6.7 million and 9.2 million Americans switched from voting for Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. No one knows how those key electors will vote this year, but considering disappointment in Obama appeared to be their biggest reason for switching, it is unlikely rolling out the former president will cause them to vote for the Democrats this year.

Which Way Will Swing Voters Turn This Year?

Although Trump should be worried that 11 percent of Republican voters plan to switch to Biden this year, the latter should be concerned about the possibility of 8 percent of Democratic voters intending to cast their ballot for the current President in November. This is according to a national survey conducted by The Hill and HarrisX. The truth of these findings — along with voter turnout — will determine who wins in 2020.

Trump must also repeat his performance four years ago in rural states such as Pennsylvania, where he won 71 percent of the vote in 2016. In other good news for the current President, his approval rating is also gradually increasing, with his popularity rising by two percentage points to 40.1 percent as of Wednesday evening.

The Obama factor could work two ways for Biden: the former president could either mobilize Trump’s base as he represents everything the latter’s electors voted against in 2016, or he could mobilize the Democratic base as he could remind Democrats of a time when a president was more “eloquent” and “presidential” than Trump arguably is right now.

But if Obama fails to rescue Biden in the same way Clinton saved Obama in 2012, then it is clear that in the future, the Democrats cannot keep rolling out former presidents to mobilize their bases.

Both parties need fresh talent.

L'articolo Could Obama Win the 2020 Election for Biden? proviene da InsideOver.

The Democratic Party is stuck with Joe Biden. They are forced to support a candidate who lacks charisma, energy, ideas and frankly scruples, as proven by the Burisma debacle.

Where Does Obama Stand on Joe?

It is no secret that Barack Obama did not want Biden to run for President. According to the New York Times, the former President told his VP “You don’t have to do this Joe, you really don’t.” Even Biden himself wrote that in 2016 it was his former boss who discouraged him from running. The NYT a few months ago had a report saying Obama was secretly encouraging donors to choose Elizabeth Warren, the far-left Massachusetts Senator ⁠— instead of Biden. Last year, as the Washington Times reports,Obama told a gathering in Singapore that it would be a significant improvement if women were to lead and that “old men should get out of the way.”

Is Joe Biden Mentally OK?

Biden’s frequent gaffes led President Obama to tell Biden’s staff to “make sure he did not embarrass himself”, according to a report by CNN and later by the Washington Times. Many Democratic officials and associates have also voiced their concerns on the former Vice President’s ability to lead. Several public figures have even called Biden’s mental health in question.

DNC Decision: Anybody But Bernie

Nevertheless, the Democratic establishment did not want Bernie Sanders. They fought him in 2016 and they rallied against him during this campaign. Nobody believed he would win against Donald Trump. Sanders is a self-proclaimed socialist, who defends Fidel Castro, does not condemn the communist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro and wants to transform America into a socialist country.

For decades, Sanders has been a staunch attacker of millionaires, even after becoming one and owning three houses. He went on to turn his attacks towards billionaires, while aiming to remake the United States in Cuba’s image. In this context, everyone knew that his odds of defeating the incumbent President were the same as Obama endorsing Trump. Therefore, the establishment had to choose a more reliable ⁠— albeit still bad ⁠— nominee.

Sanders Drags Dems Through the Mud

Bernie Sanders, as many Marxists before him, managed to rally ⁠— through deception ⁠— a considerable amount of people to his cause. In Europe, few know that within the Democratic Party there is an ongoing war heating back up. There are the moderates in the vein of Bill Clinton, and the far-left figures inspired by Senator Sanders represented by Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Elizabeth Warren and many others. Their aim is to take over the Democratic Party and transform it into a grouping that supports massive nationalization, increasing substantially taxes, forgiving all student loans, making university tuition free, medicare for all and climate change related frenetic spending.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Bernie Sanders’ policies would cost $40 trillion over a decade and would include all the policies backed by the progressives, listed above. The WSJ reports that his proposed tax increases would top $30 trillion over a decade, more than 10% of the American GDP. It would constitute not only a massive expansion of federal government, but also a definite destruction of the American economy. Even the Progressive Policy Institute, a left-wing organization, estimates that spending in a Sanders Administration would exceed revenue by $25 trillion.

Sanders’ catastrophic program is important to be discussed, understood and diffused by everybody and to everyone, because even though he has dropped out the race, he and his colleagues hold a considerable influence over the party and Sanders will still seek to shape the platform at the upcoming convention. Biden may have already essentially won the nomination, but Sanders is slowly winning the control of the Democratic Party. Obama’s endorsement of Biden as a nominee but Sanders in terms of ideas is the proof of this.

Obama and Biden Give in to the Aggressive Socialists

The former President knows that his party’s far-left group is aggressive and has a take no prisoner policy. He and Biden also know they are unable to defeat the rising socialist voices in their Party. Even after Sanders’ endorsement of Biden, there were members of the Sanders campaign who did not follow the example of their boss.

Thus, Obama found himself disavowing his own Presidency, in order to please Senator Sanders’ base. His decision not to endorse his friend Biden earlier was noticed by many. Nevertheless, it was a smart move aimed at giving the appearance of impartiality. However, it came late also due to Obama’s lack of enthusiasm about Biden.

What Does Obama’s Endorsement Tell Us?

There were several things of note during Obama’s endorsement video. First, he emphasized Biden’s role in the economic recovery that came after 2008. Considering it was one of the weakest recoveries in American history, I am not sure Biden was that pleased by the emphasis. Secondly, Obama criticized his own signature bill, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, considering it to be insufficient and inadequate for this day and age. Thirdly, he claimed that Biden was the most progressive nominee in the Party’s history and “repented for not having been a more left-wing President himself,” as Karl Rove noted in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. This mea culpa was directed at Sanders’ base who can now declare victory in the ideological battle over the fate of their party. Obama also said Senator Sanders was an “American original”, championing ideas critical in moving America in a direction of progress and hope. It will be the first time in history that the winner of a race is forced to campaign with the loser’s ideas.

There Have Always Been Two Paths for the Democrats

Before Biden, there have always been two paths for the Democrats. With all his wishful thinking, Biden can only choose one and abandon the other. The catch is that choosing either prevents him from unifying the Party and that puts the VP in a dangerous predicament. The first path would represent a continuation of the Obama Presidency. The former VP made several attempts during the campaign to defend various aspects of his administration and to associate his name as much as possible with Obama, knowing the popularity of Obama with party ranks. However, voters rejected this when Hillary Clinton ran for president using this same path. The former Secretary of State’s bid for presidency was seen as a third Obama term. She lost in part because she was perceived as corrupt and unlikable, and in part, because she assured everyone she would follow Obama’s footsteps. Why should Biden think that this time will be any different?

The second path means adopting more left-wing policies. While this may be a step in the right direction to appease twitter mobs and the far-left sect of the Democratic Party, it will alienate many more. Perhaps, in their haste to unify the party by bringing progressives into the fold, Biden and Obama have taken for granted moderates and independents who may prefer the unconventional but well-meaning style of Trump to the siren song of socialism.

Biden’s Choice

It is becoming clear that Joe Biden is choosing the second path and Obama is approving it, even if it means attacking his own record. Biden’s new program already incorporates student debt cancellations of up to $10,000 for each debtor, cancellation of all federal undergraduate tuition debt for borrows earning up to $125,000, who went to public schools, more climate change spending, expanding Obamacare with a public option and will for sure include many more far-left policies that would lead to economic ruin. Foreign Policy expects Biden to adopt policies such as conditional aid to Israel and defense-spending cuts. Even before Sanders’ endorsement of him, Biden favored raising taxes and reversing President Trump’s deregulations and tax cuts.

The pressure from the left will undoubtedly continue, making Biden the most left-wing nominee since Michael Dukakis. This will be coupled with Biden’s lack of enthusiasm, energy and leadership, as he has proven during the campaign. No matter what he does now, whichever way he decides to run his campaign will be a lose-lose scenario.

This will become more evident as he goes up against Trump’s energy, charisma, raucous campaign rallies, popular economic policies, and actual record.

L'articolo Barack Obama ‘Endorsed’ Bernie Sanders and Disavowed His Own Presidency proviene da InsideOver.

After exiting the Democratic race to be the nominee for President of the United States last week, Bernie Sanders has now officially endorsed former VP Joe Biden to lead the nation. The move was essential to prevent a second Trump term jointly, Sanders stated. However, with Sanders’ support, Biden now has to manage a difficult balancing act.

A Welcome Development

Sanders’ support for Biden is a welcome sight for the Democratic party. Four years ago in the 2016 race, Sanders was reluctant to endorse Hillary Clinton and only did so once it was arguably too late for the party to unite around their candidate.

This time, however, Sanders made his decision earlier and called on all Americans to support Biden’s presidential candidacy as he was doing. The Vermont Senator made his remarks during a joint online stream appearance with his former opponent. Sanders repeated a sentence that he has communicated consistently during the primary race: “Donald Trump is the most dangerous president in the recent history of the United States.”

Sanders to Biden: ‘We Need You in the White House’

The latter is why it was so important that Donald Trump loses the general election. “We need you in the White House,” Sanders said directly to Biden, and he would do everything to make the former Vice President the 46th president of the United States.  Biden appreciated the endorsement and said that Sanders was the “most powerful voice for a fair and just America.”

Both announced that their respective staffers would work together in mixed groups on concepts for the future, including core issues such as the judicial system, the economy, the education system, climate change, and health care.

Will Bernie’s Supporters Really Come Around for Biden?

Sanders’ endorsement, however, is by no means a guarantee that the party’s democratic socialist wing will unite around Biden. In fact, various Sanders supporter groups organized themselves and sent Joe Biden a letter on Monday stating their demands in return for supporting him. These include the obligation to switch to 100 percent clean energy for electricity, buildings, and transportation by 2030, to reduce the number of gun deaths by 50 percent within ten years, to protect immigrants without legal status against deportation. Add to that the demand for Medicare for All and a new tax for wealthy Americans.

Meanwhile, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who has emerged as a younger — even more extreme version of Sanders, has stated that Biden’s health care plan is “almost insulting.” Sanders’ heir apparent is tremendously popular among the extreme left, so her words should not be dismissed as idle chatter.

Biden’s Balancing Act

Accordingly, through Sanders’ endorsement, a delicate balancing act for Biden begins. While the Vice President had already announced several times in the past few weeks that he planned to unite the extremely divide Democratic party, he cannot attempt to appease any demands AOC, Ilhan Omar, or other outlandish Sanders surrogates are demanding. Nor can Biden afford to even be put remotely in a box in which he coordinates his election road map directly with Bernie Sanders.

Besides the material the Trump team has already accumulated (on Hunter Biden, alleged Joe Biden mental issues and much more), the president is just waiting for Biden to step into the socialist trap as well. Any serious cooperation with the progressives including any deal, or even agreement in spirit will be assessed, amplified, and utilized fully against Biden. The Trump election commercials would be plastered with images of Biden shaking hands and smiling with the socialists and they have already been full of accusations of him being soft on China because of his family’s financial interests. If the primaries have taught observers anything, it is that socialism does not win elections.

The Biden team is cognizant of these factors. However, Biden still needs the progressives to support him. He thus has a complicated task ahead of him: to persuade a wing of the party that has not shown a proclivity to compromise without decreasing his chances of winning. The crucial point here will be the deal Biden has struck with Sanders in exchange for his early endorsement.

Nothing in politics comes for free. It is conceivable that Sanders will have a say regarding the agenda in some form, such as Biden’s running mate pick or a future cabinet position. It is a perilous path for Biden, who, now that his candidacy has been secured, faces the next encumbrance: not losing his race through alienating Bernie’s base irrevocably nor by overly catering to socialists either.

L'articolo The Devil’s Bargain: Bernie Sanders Endorses Joe Biden proviene da InsideOver.

For weeks, it had been inevitable. Trailing by almost three hundred delegates and with no conceivable path to the nomination left, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democratic Race. It marks the end of his quest to lead a revolution that had started five years ago but never evolved into reality.

Sanders Started the 2020 Campaign Strong but Went Downhill Quickly

Sanders’ campaign began with promising signs. He narrowly missed first place in the Iowa caucus but followed it up by winning the New Hampshire primary as well as Nevada. It had Sanders temporarily ascending to national front runner status, only to get annihilated by Joe Biden in South Carolina, however. It was the beginning of the end for Sanders. With the field of candidates decreasing in numbers, the party’s forces united around Biden, leading him to impressive victories on Super Tuesday and relegating Sanders’ fantasies of a revolution to the dustbin of history. Sanders’ campaign was already facing game over at this point, and decisive losses in Michigan, Arizona, and Illinois marked nothing short of public humiliation.

Nevertheless, Sanders decided to wait for the day after the Wisconsin primary to drop out of a race he had lost weeks ago. It is yet another reminder of the fact that Sanders appears to receive reality differently than others. This claim is reinforced when assessing the words he chose during his announcement that he was dropping yesterday. In it, Sanders did not simply state that he ended his campaign but that over the previous five years, his “movement” had “won the ideological struggle.” Moreover, his ideas, which used to be considered “radical and fringe,” were now “mainstream.”

Sanders Won’t Accept that His Ideas Were Defeated

The refusal to accept reality is a majestic display of Sanders’ apodictic nature. Moreover, it is a testimony of why his campaign unraveled the way it did. His statement that he had won the battle of ideas could not be further from reality. No, the party did not move in his direction. In fact, all candidates and other high-ranking, influential Democrats consolidated around Biden. Each of them was cognizant that the Sanders message could not win a general election. Sanders, meanwhile, was at no point able to purvey to anyone but to his “grassroots movement,” also known as the Bernie Bros.

Moreover, the majority of Democratic voters never displayed any proclivity for his message of a revolution, nor did they appreciate the praise for communist dictators and antisemitism among his surrogates. However, Sanders was never capable of recognizing the latter. Instead, he continued to fantasize ad nauseam about an unprecedented voter turnout he would be able to mobilize, necessary to beat Donald Trump. Sanders never aspired to be anything more than Bernie Sanders. However, just as in 2016, it was insufficient. The result now marks the earliest end to a contested Democratic primary race since 2004.

Sanders is Out ⁠— With One Catch

However, Sanders would not be Sanders if his exit had not come with a caveat. Sanders is inclined to remain on the ballots for the upcoming primaries and to keep the delegates he has accumulated to date. The reason is simple. If Sanders manages to obtain 25 percent of the overall delegate count, he will possess the authority to influence the party’s platform during the Democratic National Convention and offer Biden his endorsement in exchange for partial implementation of his program.

However, even with a Sanders endorsement, radicals might be inclined to either abstain or, in some cases, even vote for Donald Trump. After all, the Trump agenda of chastising the globalist establishment aligns perfectly with the neo-Marxist tendencies many of the Sanders supporters display. Moreover, Trump has already indicated a proclivity to cater to these individuals in the coming months.

For now, however, the path to Biden becoming the Democratic nominee is secured. Sanders’ failure due to lack of self-reflection and false perception of reality are great news for the Democrats and even better news for America.

L'articolo The Failed Revolution: Bernie Sanders Ends his Presidential Bid proviene da InsideOver.

Three more states conducted their Democratic primaries last night. As anticipated, Joe Biden is once again the big winner of the night, particularly in Florida, where Biden duped his opponent. Prior to the primaries, the latest polls had indicated that Biden commanded an unequivocal lead in Florida, Arizona, and Illinois.

Biden’s Big Wins

Biden won Florida with 61.9 to Sanders’ 22.8 percent. In Illinois (99 percent of votes reported), Biden prevailed against Sanders with 59.1 to 36.1 percent of the vote. Biden also won comfortably in Arizona. In the Copper State, he obtained 43.6 percent of the vote to Sanders’ 31.6 percent with 88 percent of votes reported.

Besides the aforementioned states, voting should have been taken place in Ohio. However, due to the spread of the Coronavirus, Ohio’s governor had previously ordered that the polling stations be kept closed.

Pressure on Sanders to End His Hopeless Campaign

However, even without an Ohio result, where Biden is also far ahead in the polls, pressure on Sanders to end his hopeless candidacy is likely mounting. So far, the large donations Sanders has received from his supporters has kept him in the race. In February alone, he raised $46.5 million. However, this number also includes Super Tuesday support and thus will not mirror any March donations. Instead, it seems more likely that the campaign donations have started to decline. The latest results now will thus not help Sanders’ financial capabilities. Although Sanders seems reluctant to accept his destiny, a lack of support will eventually force him to leave the race.

Prior to the primaries in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois, Biden had already led the race with more than 150 delegates. Assuming that today’s results do not change significantly, Biden will receive 130 additional delegates for his win in Florida, 93 for Illinois, and 26 for Arizona. Combined, Biden will thus win 249 additional delegate votes, bringing the total number to 1129. Almost two thousand votes (1991) are required for the nomination.

Biden Knows He Has Already Won

Sanders, on the other hand, obtained 48 delegates in Florida, 46 in Illinois, and 22 in Arizona. His total number now amounts to 861 – 268 votes behind Joe Biden. However, those eternal optimists, who believe Sanders could still turn the tide, ought to take a look at the next noteworthy primary dates. In April, Biden is set to win Louisiana on April 4th and then win Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and of course, Joe Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania on April 28th. Sanders could not win any of these states in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. Needless to say: Biden leads the polls in all of these states.

Meanwhile, Biden addressed Sanders’ supporters directly after his victories and stated that he and Sanders were both sharing a “common vision.” Both were striving for better health care and sought to combat climate change. “I hear you!” Biden said in the direction of Sanders’ supporters.

The message was clear: Biden is cognizant that he has won the nomination and wants to bring Sanders supporters into the fold. Now he seeks to unite the party and the country. Sanders himself has yet to comment on his further plans. However, one can assume that Sanders will address his supporters at one point today. He needs to answer the question of whether he is finally willing to end his nightmare or whether he wants to continue for reasons of pure vanity and ideology. If he drops out it will be a positive step and and the Democrats can cease to unnecessarily prolong the race any further.

Given Sanders’ history, however, one should not be surprised if he came out today, gave his standard grassroots movement speech, and stated that he was in this fight to win it. The smart and honest decision, however, would be to announce what the whole world — except for Sanders himself — seems to know at this point: the Sanders campaign is over and Joe Biden will become the Democratic party’s nominee.

L'articolo Biden Wins Florida, Illinois and Arizona — Can Sanders Still Win? proviene da InsideOver.

After several profoundly successful weeks, Joe Biden entered Tuesday night’s primaries as the odds-on favorite yet again. According to the latest polls, Biden is going to win in all four states. However, after Ohio postponed its primary due to the coronavirus, only Illinois, Florida, and Arizona are voting today on March 17.

Biden’s Surge to Dominance

Biden gained a decisive lead in the Democratic race with a series of victories in South Carolina, which was then followed by spectacular victories on Super Tuesday, March 3 and his decisive win in Michigan the next Tuesday on March 10.

Tonight will look no different. In Florida, where 219 pledged delegates are available, Biden leads Sanders by over forty percent (63.5 to 22.9). Four years ago, against Hillary Clinton, Sanders did not stand a chance either but was at least able to obtain one-third of the vote. However, Sanders would not be Sanders if he had not done everything he could in the past few weeks to become persona non grata in Florida. First, Sanders doubled down on the high praise he had once given the vicious Fidel Castro regime and its “literacy program.” Unsurprisingly, his words were not well received in a state with a high proportion of exiled Cubans. Moreover, Sanders’ statement that the Israeli government was racist did not transform the high proportion of Jewish voters in Florida into Bernie Bros either. Who would have thought?

Tonight’s Primaries Likely to be a Debacle for Sanders

Biden also remains ahead of Sanders in Arizona (55.2 to 31.8), Illinois (58.7 to 29.9), and Ohio (59.6 to 31.8). The polling exposes Sanders’ pseudo momentum and the faulty power of his so-called grassroots movement. In 2016, Sanders also lost all those states to Clinton. However, he managed to receive at least forty percent in every state. Today’s primaries are likely to be a debacle for Sanders, which could easily culminate in humiliation.

Naturally, the coronavirus crisis will have a massive impact on the Democratic primary, too. Not only that, Biden and Sanders canceled a series of campaign events, but the states of Louisiana and Georgia had already postponed their primaries. Earlier on, the news broke that tonight’s primary in Ohio would also be rescheduled.

Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine arbitrarily postponed the state’s primary just hours before voting began. DeWine declared a public health emergency due to the virus’ outbreak, after his previous request to postpone had been rejected by a judge. According to DeWine, the decision was made because the coronavirus outbreak put both voters and campaign workers in potential danger.

Sanders Will Now Suffer Defeats in Only Three States Tuesday Night

Instead of four, Sanders will now suffer defeats in “only” three states. Nonetheless, a scenario in which Sanders becomes the Democratic nominee remains hopeless and this will be further exacerbated tonight. After all, all tonight’s states are delegate-rich. Biden currently leads the race with 880 to 729 delegates. Florida, Illinois, and Arizona alone are awarding another 441, and the majority is going to be obtained by Joe Biden, further increasing his lead.

A “miracle” for Sanders would be if the majority of Biden voters remain at home due to the current crisis. It seems the only way for Sanders to avoid defeat tonight would be if his supporters showed up in large numbers. In any other election year, his current situation would have been judged much more dramatically. However, the coronavirus has rightfully taken over the headlines, and Sanders’ disastrous campaign has thus been flying somewhat under the radar.

With the anticipated results, however, it seems unlikely that the pandemic can continue to provide cover for Sanders and the fact that his race has ended since Joe Biden annihilated him and his aspirations on Super Tuesday and Bernie shows no signs of a comeback.

L'articolo Tuesday Night’s Democratic Primaries: the Final Step For Biden proviene da InsideOver.

No audience, no shaking hands: The coronavirus dictated the first debate held solely between Vice President Biden and Bernie Sanders.

Bernie’s Slide to Second Place

Only three weeks ago, Sanders had still been the front runner of the Democratic candidate field, while Biden seemed destined to end his campaign soon due to continued failures and lack of success in the early primaries.

Everything turned out differently. After a series of landslide victories, Biden has not only become the new front runner but has quasi-ended the race in his favor already, and with it turned Sanders from being the chosen one into a candidate with only theoretical chances. The starting position of the candidates was thus evident: Biden needed to manage the debate and appear as the right choice, Sanders had to win across the board.

However, Sanders being Sanders, he did not offer any new ideas nor angles. Instead, he produced exactly the same visions and allegations that brought down his campaign in the first place.

What Were the Candidates’ Positions on Responding to Coronavirus?

Naturally, the topic of the coronavirus could not have been avoided during the debate. Biden and Sanders were standing next to each other, and instead of the debate taking place in Phoenix, in front of an audience, Sanders and Biden found themselves in Washington D.C. — in splendid isolation.

Once the coronavirus was addressed as a topic, Sanders stated the crisis was a valid argument in favor of his ​​Medicare for All plan. Under his plan, everyone would be treated during a pandemic.

Joe Biden did not concur. He also plans for all Americans to be insured, but ultimately under an expansion of the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare. As Biden stated correctly, people want results and help now. Both cannot be delivered via a Sanders revolution.

Biden’s Plans are Realistic, Bernie’s Aren’t

Moreover, Biden’s plans are feasible as he — unlike Sanders — has had a history of obtaining majorities in Congress. It was crucial to ensure that people received their salary during the crisis, that they received medical care, that they did not suffer under the economic crisis associated with the virus. The message is clear: Biden would be able to help immediately, Sanders would not. Revolutions take time.

Biden’s performance at this stage is presidential, and it insinuates precisely what he aimed for: appearing as a crisis manager. Sanders, on the other hand, utilizes the coronavirus as an opportunity to promote his socialist revolutionary ideas and appeared overly ideological.

Biden Showed He is Willing to Bring the Different Elements of the Democratic Party Together

For Biden’s presidential approach, it is also fitting that he has made offers to the progressives within his party. Just before the debate, Biden stated he was willing to adopt parts of Elizabeth Warren’s program that seeks to make it easier for citizens to apply for personal bankruptcy.

Moreover, Biden seeks to ensure that students from families with an annual income of less than $125,000 do not have to pay tuition fees at public universities – not quite as extreme as Sanders’ plan but far from a moderate position. It once again displays that Biden is not an ideologue, but a pragmatist.

When CNN moderator Jake Tapper steered away from the current situation, Sanders and Biden quickly returned to the old habits of attacking each other’s previous voting records. Sanders accused Biden of having repeatedly called for social security cuts during his congressional career, which Biden denied. Biden, in turn, criticized Sanders for his earlier positions on gun law.

Despite all Sanders’ attacks, both still maintain respect for each other. The promise not to run the election campaign below the belt-line is still being kept, and both reiterated on their promise to support the respective winner — after all, the main agenda continues to be to beat President Trump.

During the debate, Biden also made it clear that he would make a woman his running mate and thus vice president. Already in August 2019, InsideOver commented that Biden was well served to pick Kamala Harris, who remains the most plausible choice. Sanders, meanwhile, did not want to commit himself yet.

Finally, it has to be attested that, as expected, Sanders could not bring about a change in the debate. Biden, meanwhile, offered a first impression of how he would conduct himself as Commander-in-Chief.

L'articolo Democratic Debate: Biden Remains a Pragmatist, Sanders an Ideologue proviene da InsideOver.

The eleventh Democratic debate will take place this Sunday. Compared to the previous ten editions during this election circle, however, circumstances are going to be rather different.

Debate Eleven: a Whole New Ballgame

For one, there is the most obvious reason: the Corona pandemic, which has made its mark on the Democratic campaign trail also. The debate was initially scheduled to take place in Phoenix, Arizona, a coherent location considering that the delegate-rich Arizona primary will be conducted on March 17. On Thursday, however, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced that the debate would now take place in Washington, D.C. instead, for precautionary reasons and to reduce cross country travel. The debate will also take place without an audience for the same reasons.

The debate stage in its entirety is also going to look different. What used to be a field too crowed to put all candidates on the stage at once has within the previous two weeks, turned into a two-person race. No Amy Klobuchar, no Elizabeth Warren, no Pete Buttigieg nor Mike Bloomberg are going to square off.

Biden vs. Bernie

The two last men standing, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will share the spotlight, which means little to no time to digress questions or being shouted down by an opponent. It also offers increased opportunities to expose Sanders’ ill-advised stance on particular issues.

During the tenth debate on February 25, Sanders had still been the favorite and, for the first time, was being treated as such. Meanwhile, Biden had been a political corpse with the majority of pundits and the public arguing his exit was only a matter of time.

Two and a half weeks later, Biden will enter today’s stage not only as the race’s leader (887 delegates to Sanders’ 731) but as the future Democratic nominee. Sanders, despite all his despondent rhetoric of these last days, and the attempts to appear as the nation’s coronavirus crisis manager while continuously claiming that he could still win, remains a closed case. And unlike Biden, whose political near-death experience ended via the reanimation efforts of the Southern states, in particular, Sanders he is highly unlikely to recover from his downward slide.

Biden is Winning Because He’s Not Bernie

The reasons for Biden’s resurgence are self-evident. The comeback of Joe Biden has provided him with immense momentum and a lead in national polls at 53.4 to 36 percent. However, it would be false to praise Biden for this turnaround solely. In fact, Joe Biden has been an imperfect candidate. However, compared to Sanders’ socialist message and apocalyptic ideology that has failed to work, Biden appears as the second coming of John F. Kennedy since Super Tuesday.

As such, Biden is likely to utilize today’s stage as his chance to address the whole nation and act as presidential as possible, a unifying candidate, and the party’s next nominee. Sanders, on the other hand, will throw the kitchen sink at Biden.

To say Sanders has nothing to lose at this stage, is an understatement, however. It thus begs the question of what Sanders can produce to affect the polling and the upcoming primaries, where Biden leads Sanders decisively in all upcoming four states of Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Illinois – all of which are delegate-rich.

Advantage: Biden

Even more fortuitous for the Biden camp is that Sanders, so far, has shown limited to no creativity in terms of adjusting his message. Thus Sanders is going to give it his best shot to illustrate the contrasts between him and Biden, particularly in terms of social security. What will be interesting to see, however, is whether Sanders’ desperation forces him to attack Joe Biden’s credibility, his persona, or his son Hunter during the debate.

In the past, debate performances had the potential to impact upcoming primaries; today’s debate is unlikely to be one of these. Throughout the whole race, Sanders’ campaign has been facing one issue: Bernie himself. Even if Joe Biden started doing jumping jacks live on stage, and crumbled in front of a full-on Sanders onslaught this would not open a path for a miracle comeback, nor a way for Sanders to win any meaningful upcoming primary. Sanders’ race is run, and today should be considered his goodbye tour – with dignity, one would hope.

L'articolo The Eleventh Democratic Debate: The Comeback Kid versus Burned-Out Bernie proviene da InsideOver.

A few weeks ago Joe Biden’s presidential bid seemed to be a pipe dream as his campaign collapsed in slow motion. He had failed in Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire. Then all of a sudden he won the South Carolina primary and started picking up support, followed by endorsements from Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg.

Biden to Black Voters in SC: ‘You are the Reason I’m Back, No One Else’

This new momentum was fueled by a loyal support base of black voters who came out to rally behind him in South Carolina at a time when Sanders seemed to be the definite candidate for the Democratic Party. Biden knew how important the black voters were in reviving his bid and he declared: “You are the reason I’m back, no one else.”

There are a number of reasons why many black voters are vehemently backing Biden. The most prominent one is his association with Barack Obama. Obama is still revered by African Americans as the first black American president. Therefore, Biden’s service under him as vice-president resonates well with black voters who form a key electoral base for the Democratic Party.

As Senator Bernie Sanders recently told MSNBC: “Well we are running against somebody who has touted his relationship with Barack Obama for eight years.”

A Majority of Black Voters Want Trump Out

The reason why they are turning out in large numbers is their dislike for Trump. One recent survey showed that 6 out of every 10 black voters see the removal of Trump as one of their primary goals. According to a poll conducted by CNBC, when black voters were asked who among the Democratic Party contenders was likely to defeat Trump, Biden led with 12 points.

This growing resentment towards Trump by black voters is being driven by his administration’s policies which many believe have incited racial prejudice. According to commentators there is a direct correlation between the racial prejudice and the hate speech coming from Trump and the right wing of the Republican Party.

Last year the FBI reported that: “Personal attacks motivated by bias or prejudice reached a 16 year high in 2018.”

Trump’s stance on immigration has not helped things either. He has “bypassed Congress and used his executive powers to rewrite immigration policy,” said the American Friend Service Committee AFSC, a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice. The organization observes that these policies support a white nationalist agenda by keeping more people out, deporting people, and creating an atmosphere of nativism and fear that affects everybody.

Trump’s Efforts to Overturn Obamacare (ACA)

Blacks have even been more exasperated by Trump’s attempts to repeal Obamacare. On the same day he was sworn into office as president, he signed an executive order directing government officials to “waive, defer, grant exemption from, or delay” implementing parts of the Affordable Care Act which had been introduced by Obama. However, the efforts to repeal the Act were thwarted in the Senate when the late Senator John McCain voted no.

The reason why the Act is so important to African Americans is because it has made it easier for them to access healthcare. According to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “The Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid and reforms to the individual insurance market including subsidized coverage for people with incomes up to four times the poverty line.”

The report further stated that: “Expanding health coverage among African Americans is critical to addressing disparities in health outcomes for this population”.

During one of his campaigns Biden told his audience that “the expansion of community health centers was one of Obamacare’s crowning achievements.” His plan would be to expand on Obamacare by including a Medicare-like public option. “I’ll restore Obamacare and add a public option, a Medicare-like option, for those who want it. And those who can’t afford it would be enrolled.”

Many would have expected Sanders’ proposal of “Medicare for all” to be more appealing to blacks, but this is not the case. Many appear to be cautious of his plan of changing the whole system and are instead favoring Biden’s proposal of improving Obamacare. Their reasoning is that it is better to improve on what they already have.

It is because of these reasons that many black voters see Biden as a safe bet to beat Trump and someone who will act in their interest.

L'articolo Why Black Americans are Voting for Joe Biden proviene da InsideOver.