Розділ: Політика
Buttigieg, Sanders Nearly Tied as Iowa Caucus Results Narrow
Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are nearly tied in the Iowa Democratic caucuses, with nearly all results counted in a contest marred by technical issues and reporting delays.The race remained too early to call with 97% of precincts reporting. Party officials were scrambling to verify the remaining results three days after Iowans gathered at caucus sites across the state to begin choosing which Democrat will take on President Donald Trump in November.A new batch of results released early Thursday narrowed the margin between Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Sanders, the progressive senator from Vermont. Buttigieg has a lead of three state delegate equivalents out of 2,098 counted.The deadlocked contest gave both Buttigieg and Sanders a burst of momentum as they seek to pull away from the crowded field. The nearly complete results show them leading Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar trailing behind.Precinct captain Carl Voss of Des Moines displays the Iowa Democratic Party caucus reporting app on his phone outside of the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 4, 2020.But the results in Iowa were muddied by the stunning breakdown of the caucus reporting process in a state that traditionally kicks off presidential nominating contests. Iowa officials initially attributed a delay in reporting results to technical problems with an app that precinct chairs were supposed to use to record votes, then to backlogs as those volunteers tried to call the party to submit their totals.Even as the total number of results ticked up Wednesday, obstacles remained. Some tally sheets were making their way to party headquarters in Des Moines through the mail, which contributed to the delay.Much of the political world has already shifted its attention to next-up New Hampshire, which holds the first primary election in the Democrats’ 2020 nomination fight on Tuesday.The two early leaders — Buttigieg and Sanders — are separated by 40 years in age and conflicting ideology.Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has been a progressive powerhouse for decades. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old former municipal official, represents the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg is also the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates.
…
By Polityk | 02/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Impeachment Acquittal a Watershed Moment for Him, US
U.S. President Donald Trump’s acquittal Wednesday on impeachment charges is a watershed moment in his presidency, exonerating him of wrongdoing just nine months ahead of next November’s national election when he is seeking a second term in the White House. He was found not guilty on the first charge of abuse of power, 52-48; and found not guilty on a second charge of obstruction of Congress, 53-47.Trump’s acquittal likely will have huge long-term implications on politics and the balance of power in Washington with the president’s hand strengthened heading into the campaign season. Only one Republican, Senator Mitt Romney, the losing 2012 Republican presidential candidate, voted to convict the Republican Trump on the first charge of abuse of power, assailing his conduct as “wrong, egregiously wrong”. On the second charge of obstruction of Congress, Romney voted not guilty.Trump is in a position now to make use of Wednesday’s acquittal to his advantage ahead of the election, even as a collection of national polls shows he remains an unpopular president with a job approval rating in the mid-40% range in a politically divided country.”It’s amazing what I’ve done,” he wrote on Twitter as his impeachment trial neared the end, “the most of any President in the first three years (by far), considering that for three years I’ve been under phony political investigations and the Impeachment Hoax! KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”It’s amazing what I’ve done, the most of any President in the first three years (by far), considering that for three years I’ve been under phony political investigations and the Impeachment Hoax! KEEP AMERICA GREAT!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) TTrump adamantly and repeatedly insisted there was no link between the two elements central to his impeachment, denying that he was demanding a reciprocal quid pro quo deal with Kyiv, the military assistance in exchange for the Biden investigations. He claimed the “us” in his request to Zelenskiy referred to the United States, not him personally.He described his request to Zelenskiy for the Biden investigations as “perfect.” His Republican defenders said that Trump wanted corruption, broadly speaking, investigated in Ukraine, not just the Bidens, although Trump never raised the issue of corruption generally in the phone call with Zelenskiy, according to a rough transcript of the call released by the White House. Trump supporters also noted that the president released the aid after a 55-day delay without Zelenskiy opening any investigations of the Bidens, proof, they say, that the president had not carried out a quid pro quo deal with Ukraine.But Democratic lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and Senate contended that Trump, despite his denials, had engaged in a deal with Ukraine, seeking to help himself politically while endangering the national security of the United States by denying an ally, Ukraine, vital military aid in its fight against Russia. It was a sentiment that only one Republican, Romney, now a senator from the western state of Utah after losing the 2012 presidential contest, agreed with.Through weeks of testimony in the House impeachment inquiry, however, a string of government officials, some of them appointed by Trump, said they came to understand that Trump wanted announcement of the Biden investigations before the military aid would be released. But, as Trump’s Republican defenders often noted, they had not talked directly with Trump and only assumed he wanted the investigations before the Ukraine assistance would be released.That evidentiary shortcoming possibly changed, however, in the last two weeks as news surfaced of a claim in a new book by former Trump national security adviser John Bolton. In his as-yet unpublished manuscript, Bolton said that Trump told him directly last August that he wanted the Biden investigations before he would release the aid. A month later, Trump ousted Bolton from his key White House position as the two feuded over a host of foreign policy issues.Trump denied Bolton’s Ukraine claim, but House impeachment managers prosecuting the case against the president fought to have Bolton testify at the Senate trial. Schiff, the lead impeachment manager, said the trial could not be considered fair without testimony and Ukraine-related documents they wanted to subpoena from the White House, the State Department and the Defense Department.Trump assailed his one-time security aide and complained again about the Democrats’ conduct of the impeachment investigation and trial.”No matter how many witnesses you give the Democrats, no matter how much information is given, like the quickly produced Transcripts, it will NEVER be enough for them,” Trump tweeted. “They will always scream UNFAIR. The Impeachment Hoax is just another political CON JOB!”No matter how many witnesses you give the Democrats, no matter how much information is given, like the quickly produced Transcripts, it will NEVER be enough for them. They will always scream UNFAIR. The Impeachment Hoax is just another political CON JOB!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2020But Schiff needed the votes of four Republican senators to join with 47 Democrats in the 100-member Senate for a simple majority calling Bolton as a witness. In the end, all but two senators of the 53-seat Senate Republican majority stood with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a staunch Trump ally, and voted against hearing witnesses, including Bolton.With that large hurdle cleared, McConnell moved toward the final stages of the trial on the two impeachment articles, reaching the conclusion with Trump’s acquittal on Wednesday.
…
By Polityk | 02/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Iowa Confusion Clouds New Hampshire Primary
The focus of the 2020 presidential election campaign has now moved on to the New Hampshire Democratic primary after confusion over the delayed results from the Iowa caucuses made it difficult for the leading presidential candidates to capitalize on any momentum. New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday will be the second state contest for the contenders seeking their party’s presidential nomination, but as VOA’s Brian Padden reports, the race remains very unsettled.
…
By Polityk | 02/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Iowa Caucus Chaos Clouds New Hampshire Primary
WASHINGTON/MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE — The focus of the 2020 U.S. presidential nominating process has moved on to New Hampshire after Monday’s chaotic Iowa caucuses failed to yield a clear Democratic front-runner in a crowded field of contenders.”The idea is to pick somebody that’s going to be a winner, so that if they won in Iowa, you know they’re off and running,” said Daniel Torpin, a senior citizen from Manchester, New Hampshire.Democratic candidates departed for New Hampshire before the party’s Iowa results were announced. Technical problems delayed the Iowa Democratic Party from releasing any results by almost a day.Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, welcomed partial results showing him clinging to a razor-thin lead, saying the returns came “a little later than we anticipated, but better late than never.”Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, poised to finish a close second, predicted final results would show him leading the popular vote in Iowa. Partial results showed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in third place with 18.3%, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg waves to the crowd during a town hall meeting, in Concord, New Hampshire, Feb. 5, 2020.Biden has led the field in national polls, but his fourth-place finish in the first state to hold a nominating contest could be a sign of weakness going forward.”He did not do very well relative to expectations, and that may damage him pretty significantly,” said David Redlawsk, a professor of politics at the University of Delaware.Biden downplayed his disappointing Iowa loss.”It is time for New Hampshire to speak,” he said.While Iowa may inform New Hampshire voters, the state’s fiercely independent electorate is famous for snubbing Iowa victors. Sanders won the 2016 New Hampshire primary after losing the Iowa caucus to Hillary Clinton by less than one percentage point. In 2008, Clinton emerged victorious in New Hampshire one week after then-senator Barack Obama won Iowa.But these early elections often help narrow the field, as support and donations coalesce around the winners, and poorly performing candidates start to drop out of the race.Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses an audience during a campaign rally in Derry, New Hampshire, Feb. 5, 2020.On the Republican side, President Donald Trump enters New Hampshire without any strong challenge within the party to his reelection. Trump won 97.1% of the Iowa caucus vote, picking up all 38 delegates. His Republican challengers, former Rep. Joe Walsh and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, each won about 1% of the vote.Moderates vs. progressivesIt also remains unclear whether the New Hampshire primary will clarify Democratic voters’ leanings in an ideological tug-of-war between progressive and moderate wings of the party.Progressive candidates — further to the left on the ideological spectrum, like Warren and Sanders — are promising transformational change in America. Both are proposing universal, government-funded health care and free college education, as well as higher federal taxes to help pay for them.Joshua Williamson, a bus driver in Manchester, is a Sanders supporter who believes Democrats just need to get out the vote to win.”We have a lot of support from the Democratic Party, but it’s so spread far out. No one is realizing that coming together is really what’s going to help push this party into winning,” Williamson said.Connie Loguidice, an office worker in her son’s company in Manchester, is also a passionate supporter of Sanders.Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren speaks at a campaign stop at Nashua Community College, in Nashua, New Hampshire, Feb. 5, 2020.”I really like the tuition reimbursement and the health care for all,” she said.But at the same time, she said it is important for Democrats to win back independent and undecided voters who backed Obama in the 2012 election but voted for Trump in 2016. Moderates Buttigieg, Biden and Klobuchar say they want to reform the current system, not upend it, envisioning an enhanced but not overbearing role for the government in American society.Whether the party ultimately nominates a moderate or a progressive, Democrats hope to win over disaffected Trump voters.While Trump retains high approval ratings among Republicans, a slice of the party is highly critical of his actions and policies, as are many independents. Whether Democrats can appeal to them while running on an agenda that unites and energizes the party remains to be seen.”In many ways, Democrats need to do both,” said the University of Delaware’s David Redlawsk, “and that’s the challenge they face.”In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump labeled progressive Democratic support for expansive government-funded health care as socialism that would “destroy American health care” and “bankrupt the nation.”Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire, Feb. 5, 2020.Bloomberg loomingWith no Democrat likely to dominate the New Hampshire primary, a wide-open race is likely to continue, potentially providing an opening for a presidential contender who did not compete in either Iowa or New Hampshire.Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, is spending hundreds of millions of dollars of his personal fortune to blanket the nation with television ads that tout his problem-solving acumen. Bloomberg is casting himself as a unifying moderate alternative in a divided field.
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Rhode Island Governor Backs Michael Bloomberg for President
Billionaire presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg snagged his first endorsement from a governor on Wednesday, as Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo called him the right leader to take on President Donald Trump.
Raimondo, a longtime political ally of Bloomberg’s, was due to appear with him at a morning event in Providence to officially endorse him, the Bloomberg campaign told The Associated Press. Raimondo will also act as a national campaign co-chair.
“Mike is a problem-solver with a long track record of delivering results, and I’m proud to stand with him today,” Raimondo said in a written statement provided by the campaign. “From fighting gun violence, to addressing climate change, to combating the opioid crisis and more, Mike understands the issues that impact our lives every day. We cannot risk another four years of President Trump’s destructive policies, and I know that Mike is the right leader to take him on.”
Raimondo was among the prominent Democrats to whom Bloomberg’s team reached out before the news broke in November that he was considering a 2020 White House run. At the time, she was head of the Democratic Governors Association and held back from endorsing him, but she praised his record and called him a friend.
The two have known each other since 2010, when Bloomberg was the independent mayor of New York City and Raimondo first ran for public office to be general treasurer. Raimondo, a former venture capitalist, called Bloomberg her political idol during that campaign. Later, Bloomberg backed Raimondo’s gubernatorial aspirations when she ran and won in 2014, becoming the state’s first female governor.
She told The Providence Journal in December that Bloomberg’s candidacy was “a long shot” and that “it is a hard time in this age of income inequality for a Democrat to be a billionaire.” But she also praised Bloomberg’s record and called him ‘the American dream,” having grown up the son of a bookkeeper in a suburb of Boston.
Bloomberg launched his campaign in late November, saying he wanted to “defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America.’
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
2020 State of the Union Address Explained
President Trump made the theme of his speech “the Great American Comeback,” and touted workers returning to the economy, low unemployment and rising wages. Here are the highlights of the speech.
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Republicans, Democrats View Trump’s Speech Differently
Not surprisingly, Republicans praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech as a celebration of his administration’s economic achievements and foreign policy initiatives, while Democrats criticized the president as delivering a divisive address focused on appealing to his base and pandering to groups he claimed to be helping.”I think what we were missing were more unifying notes,” Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois told VOA. “I think that the high points were when he talks about the heroism of everyday Americans and people in uniform. I think the low points are when he basically divides people, picks on people, talks down on immigrants, and I just don’t think that’s the way to go.”Congressman Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, called Trump’s address Tuesday night “the most divisive speech” a president had ever given in the House chamber.”He not only didn’t build any bridges to find common ground, he actually was taking out the hatchet and destroying what bridges exist. He doubled down on the divisive issues like immigration, like healthcare, like tax policy. He exploited people tonight for political purpose.”Republicans who spoke to VOA saw the speech differently and said it was Democrats who were not willing to reach out to the other side of the aisle.”He talked about inclusive successes and he gave example after example of them,” Congressman Dan Bishop of North Carolina said. “I think Democrats have to be willing to join him on a crusade of success.”Congressman Jody Hice of Georgia said if any speech were to bring unity to the United States, the one Trump gave would be it.President Donald Trump greets people after delivering his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.”Unity is based on people having shared values, shared beliefs that they coalesce around, and everything from the economy to our military being rebuilt, one thing after another after another, bringing home our military from war, stopping endless wars, and the Democrats just sat there uninterested,” he said.It is common during State of the Union speeches for members of the president’s party to repeatedly cheer and give standing ovations to parts of their address, while members of the opposition party remain seated. A few moments typically bring bipartisan support, such as recognizing a member of the military the president has invited and highlighted.A particular source of division was Trump’s mentions of immigration policy.Senator Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, said he thought the president tried to share the message that legal immigration is good.”I think there’s a lot of people out there that want to hear the difference between illegal immigration and legal immigration, and I think he tried to lay that out this evening as well,” he said.Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas objected to Trump’s repeated references to immigrants who committed crimes.”I think he did make himself feel better by condemning and tearing to shreds immigrants and not speaking of the fact that the nation was built on immigrants and laws,” she said. “We all are against criminal activity, but to have that as the only reference to people of diversity was sad.”One item not in Tuesday’s speech was any mention of the president’s ongoing impeachment on the eve of a Senate vote in his trial.Republicans told VOA that was the correct strategy for Trump.Women members of Congress dressed in white sit behind Republican members applauding President Donald Trump as he delivers the State of the Union address in Washington, U.S. February 4, 2020.”I think it was wise for both President Clinton and President Trump not to mention impeachment,” said Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio. “It’s something that just divides us. This one in particular never should have happened and it’s going to be over tomorrow, so let’s not dwell on it.”Congressman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma said impeachment is not a topic on the minds of his constituents.”People are talking about healthcare and jobs and the economy and how do I grow my wages. They stopped talking about impeachment last November,” he said.Democratic Congressman Marc Veasey of Texas said he had expected Trump to make some mention of the impeachment process, which has involved months of congressional investigations and a two-week trial on charges the president abused his power and obstructed Congress.”I wanted to hear some contrition,” Veasey said. “I wanted to hear something along the lines of, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, American public, I want to apologize for trying to sell America’s foreign policy over to a foreign nation and ask them to investigate a potential political rival.'”Among Trump’s guests was Juan Guaido, whom the United States recognizes as the interim president of Venezuela.Krishnamoorthi said it was “special for him to be present,” but expressed caution about Trump’s approach to Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro.”We have to pursue a strategy and partnership with our allies and partners to bring about positive change in Venezuela,” he said. “We cannot have any kind of armed takeover or armed incursion into Venezuela which is sometimes what I think he’s going to do.”Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida said she was glad Guaido was in the House chamber, but that if it was “window dressing” without concrete steps from Trump to help Venezuelans, “then it rings pretty hollow.””If he was going to announce something significant, it should have been that he was granting temporary protected status to Venezuelans here in this country. That’s what they need,” she said. “To leave the threat of deportation over Venezuelans who have fled Maduro’s regime, where he’s starving his own people, and suggest that it’s okay to deport them back to a country we’re sanctioning and declaring undemocratic is appalling.”
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Trial Reaches Conclusion With Acquittal Expected
The impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump comes to an end Wednesday with what is widely expected to be the president’s acquittal on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.Members of the U.S. Senate will convene for the afternoon vote in their final act as jurors in the two-week trial that followed the House of Representatives approving two articles of impeachment against Trump.In order to remove Trump from office, two-thirds of the 100-member Senate would have to vote to convict him. But Trump’s Republican party holds a 53-47 majority, and no Republicans have publicly signaled they will vote against the president.Similarly, no Democrats have said they would break with their party colleagues by voting to acquit Trump.The president made no mention of impeachment during his State of the Union address Tuesday night. But he has criticized the process throughout as a “witch hunt” and said he did nothing wrong.President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.The articles of impeachment charge Trump with abusing his power by seeking a commitment from Ukraine to launch investigations into former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, as Trump withheld $391 million in military aid to Ukraine.The second charge is that Trump obstructed congressional investigations into his relations with Ukraine by directing members of his administration to not provide documents and testimony to House committees.”The administration, its top people and Senate Republicans are all hiding the truth,” Senator Chuck Schumer said. “The charges are extremely serious. To interfere in an election, to blackmail a foreign country to interfere in our elections, gets at the very core of what our democracy is about.”Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who helped plan an abbreviated trial that didn’t allow new witness testimony or evidence, said the impeachment charges against Trump do not “even approach a case for the first presidential removal in American history.”
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Pelosi Tears Up Trump’s Speech at End of Address
A bitter feud between President Donald Trump and top Democrat Nancy Pelosi boiled over at his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, with Trump snubbing her outstretched hand and Pelosi ripping apart a copy of his remarks behind his back.Trump avoided the subject of his impeachment drama in a pugnacious 80-minute speech, but the scars from the battle were evident with fellow Republicans giving him standing ovations while rival Democrats for the most part remained seated.The Republican-led Senate was expected to acquit him on Wednesday of charges he abused his powers and obstructed Congress.Seeing Pelosi, the U.S. House of Representatives speaker, for the first time since she stormed out of a White House meeting four months ago, he declined to shake her outstretched hand as he gave her a copy of his remarks before starting his speech.Having not spoken to Trump since their last meeting, Pelosi appeared to be taken aback. She avoided citing the customary “high privilege and distinct honor” that usually accompanies the speaker’s introduction of the president to Congress.”Members of Congress, the President of the United States” was all she said in introducing Trump.When his speech ended, Pelosi stood and tore up her copy of the remarks he had handed her, later telling reporters it was “the courteous thing to do, considering the alternative.”It was a sign that little legislative progress should be expected over the next year. The impeachment case has intensified bitter feelings between Trump and Pelosi that have existed throughout his presidency.As he began the speech, Republicans from both houses of Congress chanted “four more years” while he stood at the lectern in the chamber of the House with a presidential election almost exactly nine months away.Democrats sat silently and some could be seen shaking their heads as Trump declared, “The state of our union is stronger than ever before.”Pelosi, who dropped her opposition to impeachment and allowed Democratic lawmakers to seek the charges against him, sat stoically and grim-faced behind Trump and paged through a paper copy of his speech.
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Sanders Declare Victory in Iowa Caucuses Ahead of Final Vote Results
With 62 percent of the votes counted by late Tuesday, former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders appeared to be in a tight race to win the Democratic caucuses in Iowa. Monday’s vote results were counted after an unexpected day-long delay caused by a glitch in a new app designed to deliver results. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports, the chaos and confusion caused by the delay has reignited the question of whether the tradition of caucuses has a place in contemporary elections.
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Excerpts From President Trump’s State of the Union Address
(As prepared for delivery)Three years ago, we launched the Great American Comeback. Tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results.…In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American Decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny. We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back!…The vision I will lay out this evening demonstrates how we are building the world’s most prosperous and inclusive society – one where every citizen can join in America’s unparalleled success, and where every community can take part in America’s extraordinary rise.…From the instant I took office, I moved rapidly to revive the U.S. economy —slashing a record number of job killing-regulations, enacting historic and record-setting tax cuts, and fighting for FAIR and RECIPROCAL trade agreements.…In 8 years under the last administration, over 300,000 working-age people DROPPED OUT of the workforce. In just three years of my Administration, 3.5 MILLION working-age people have JOINED the workforce.…Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far. .…We are restoring our nation’s Manufacturing Might, even though predictions were that this could never be done. After losing 60,000 factories under the PREVIOUS two administrations, America has now GAINED 12,000 NEW factories under my Administration.…Many politicians came and went, pledging to change or replace NAFTA – only to do absolutely nothing. But unlike so many who came before me, I KEEP MY PROMISES. Six days ago, I replaced NAFTA and signed the brand new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement into law.…Days ago, we signed the groundbreaking new agreement with China that will defend our workers, protect our intellectual property, bring billions of dollars into our treasury, and open vast new markets for products made and grown right here in the USA.…To safeguard American Liberty, we have invested a record-breaking $2.2 trillion dollars in the United States Military. […] We created a new branch of the United States Armed Forces, the Space Force.…The next step forward in building an inclusive society is making sure that every young American gets a GREAT Education and the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. […] NO PARENT should be forced to send their child to a failing government school.…A good life for American families also requires the most affordable, innovative, and high-quality healthcare system on earth. […] We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions.…We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare!…I was recently proud to sign the law providing new parents in the federal workforce paid family leave, serving as a model for the rest of the country.…The United States of America should be a Sanctuary for Law-Abiding Americans – Not Criminal Aliens!…My Administration has undertaken an unprecedented effort to secure the Southern Border of the United States.…My administration is also strongly defending our national security.…As we defend American lives, we are working to END America’s wars in the Middle East.…Our ancestors built the most exceptional Republic ever to exist in all of human history— and we are making it greater than ever before!
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Two House Democrats Skipping Trump’s Speech
Two prominent House Democratic freshmen are boycotting President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech over his conduct.Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who are both front and center as members of “the Squad,” said hours before the address Tuesday that they’re skipping it.Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that she would “not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump’s lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution.”Pressley, meanwhile, said she’s boycotting because Trump “consistently demonstrates contempt for the American people, contempt for Congress & contempt for our constitution.”Other “Squad” members — Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — were expected to attend the joint session of Congress.The four freshmen are all congresswomen of color, and they voted to impeach Trump. They have been labeled “The Squad” in part for their criticism of Trump, and the president frequently rails against them.
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump’s Public Approval Ratings Reach New High in Gallup Poll
President Donald Trump’s public approval rating has reached a new high, according a Gallup poll, an American polling company.The poll, conducted as Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate neared an end, found that Trump’s approval rating reached a personal best of 49 percent.Since his election in 2016, his approval ratings have generally been in the mid- to low 40s. Over the past three months, Trump’s approval ratings averaged 43 percent.The poll, based on queries of American voters, also found them evenly divided at 50 percent over whether Trump deserves to be reelected in the November 2020 election.Trump, a Republican, can thank Republican and independent voters for the improved approval ratings. His approval among Republicans rose to 94 percent, a 6-point increase from Gallup’s previous poll on the issue. Trump’s approval rating among independents increased 3 points to 42 percent.Trump’s approval ratings among Democrats fell 3 points to 7 percent.Gallup conducted the poll from January 16 to January 29, during the Senate impeachment trial that is widely expected to result in Trump’s acquittal.
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democratic Primary Pivots to Unpredictable New Hampshire
New Hampshire rarely takes its cues from Iowa. And this time, there aren’t clear cues anyway.The Democratic presidential hopefuls descended on the small New England state on Tuesday, fresh off overnight flights, full of caffeine and without official results from Iowa. That didn’t stop many of them from offering some form of a victorious message — and raising the stakes on the importance of New Hampshire.“Everything we know is extremely encouraging,” Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday after being endorsed by Jim Donchess, the mayor of Nashua. Bernie Sanders, whose campaign released its own caucus results with a claim of winning, wasn’t expected to greet voters in the state until the evening. Andrew Yang held a middle-of-the-night rally at the airport upon landing in the state, while Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden planned mid-day events.New Hampshire had largely taken a backseat to Iowa through January, but the state is poised to take on a more important role following Iowa’s delayed, chaotic results.“New Hampshire becomes, I think, more important because we don’t know what Iowa’s going to come out with,” said Bill Shaheen, a Democratic National Committeeman from the state who is backing Biden.The state’s Feb. 11 contest is a primary, which is far simpler than a caucus; the election is also run by state and local governments, not the political parties, like Iowa. A primary works like a general election, with people going into the voting booth and selecting one candidate. New Hampshire uses paper ballots, with some places counting them electronically.“Even if those systems failed, New Hampshire would still have an election and would report results at the end of the night,” Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan said Tuesday morning.The state’s political class has long liked the characterize New Hampshire as more influential than Iowa, even as Iowa has had a better track record of picking the eventual nominee in recent Democratic contests. Not since 2004 have its independent-minded voters followed Iowa’s lead in an open Democratic presidential primary.While voters have been courted by candidates for the past year, at house parties, town halls and rallies, about half said they still hadn’t decided who to support, according to a January CNN poll, making the final week before the primary a critical opportunity for candidates to close the deal.“You all are extremely famous in this state for folks waiting until the last five days to finally make up their minds,” former Vice President Joe Biden told supporters in January at a campaign office in Manchester, the state’s largest city, at 110,000 people.None of the top-tier candidates had characterized winning the state as a must, though the results of Iowa may change that. While there is a perception that because Sanders hails from neighboring Vermont, and Warren from Massachusetts, they need to do well in New Hampshire, key surrogates have softened the idea that victory is necessary.“New Hampshire’s never been a state that determines who the nominee’s going to be. The question is doing well in New Hampshire,” Kathy Sullivan, a Democratic National Committee member from New Hampshire who has endorsed Warren, said last week.Indeed, New Hampshire is known more for humbling the front-runner than for picking the winner, at least in recent Democratic elections. In 2008, the state backed Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama, setting up a lengthy nomination battle. Eight years later, New Hampshire voters bucked Clinton for Sanders.“We want to make up our own minds, we’re somewhat contrary,” said John Lynch, a former Democratic governor with a centrist bent who is a Biden supporter.Still, polling shows Sanders in the lead, with competitors like Biden and Warren trailing behind.“It is Bernie’s to lose,” said Lou D’Allesandro, a longtime state senator who is backing Biden.That’s despite Sanders having a late start in the state. Warren showered the state with more attention through the summer, though Sanders has dialed up his efforts since. The Sanders campaign says it has over 150 staffers in New Hampshire, which gives the senator the largest publicly announced staff in the state. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has about 80 staffers, while the Biden campaign has more than 50, and the Warren campaign has more than 55, according to aides.“We are confident, but we’re not taking anything for granted and we’re not slowing down,” Shannon Jackson, a longtime aide to Sanders who now works as his New Hampshire state director, said last week.Most of the major candidates, except for Biden, ran television ads in January. New Hampshire has just one statewide television network, and many people in the southern part of the state rely on Boston stations for news. That, combined with Massachusetts voters moving into the state to take advantage of the low taxes and cheaper housing, means Warren is known to many voters in New Hampshire.Rep. Annie Kuster, who is backing Buttigieg, cited voters independent nature — more people are registered without a party than Republicans or Democrats — and history of divided government at the state level as reasons why Buttigieg’s message and personal background can resonate.“It’s a very fluid electorate,” she said. “They are very tuned in to the person.”New Hampshire is richer, whiter and older than the rest of the country. But while unemployment is less than 3%, wages have stagnated over the past decade, rising far slower than nationally, according to a report from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy. The state is dealing with an aging population, particularly in the rural North Country, that will call for a ramp up in health care and personal care jobs in the coming years. Meanwhile, New Hampshire residents have some of the highest student debt in the country. All that combines to show why a candidate like Sanders could appeal to voters in the state in 2016.But this time around, both Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Yang are appealing to those same voters, and they spent far more time in New Hampshire than Sanders in January.Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, meanwhile, skipped Iowa entirely to focus on New Hampshire. He was holding his 47th town hall meeting on Monday night as Iowans went to the polls, and he said he’s hoping for a third place finish. That’s still a long shot, based on polls. Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has similarly emphasized New Hampshire, but doesn’t seem to be benefiting from leading a neighboring state.Klobuchar won the endorsements of three New Hampshire newspapers, offering her a second look and added credibility in the race’s closing days.Voters have frequently pressed on the candidates over the feasibility of Medicare for All and how the contenders intend to get their ambitious plans passed if their tenure begins with a Republican-controlled Senate. But they are quick to say that their main priority is defeating Trump.“I have somebody I’d like to vote for, but I don’t think they can beat Trump,” 78-year-old Rita Kirk said after attending a Bennet event in January.Joleen Little, an administrative assistant at Franklin Pierce University, said she’s an independent who is deciding between Biden, Buttigieg and Yang. As someone in “retirement age,” she cares about health care, as well as America’s place in the world. But her interest in Buttigieg and Yang reflected New Hampshire voters’ desire to see candidates up close and learn what makes them tick.“The ambition they have,” she cited as reason for her interest. “And the comfort that’s in their voices.”
…
By Polityk | 02/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
What Went Wrong: Tech Troubles Behind Delay in Iowa Results
A new mobile app was supposed to help Democratic officials quickly gather information from some 1,700 caucus sites throughout Iowa. Instead, it’s being blamed for delays that left the results unknown the morning after the first-in-the nation nominating contest.
Glitches with a new mobile app Monday caused confusion, and some caucus organizers were forced to call in results for the state party to record manually, introducing delays and the possibility of human error. Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said the delays were not the result of a hack or intrusion.
The party said it expects to release data later Tuesday after manually verifying its data against paper backups.
Des Moines County Democratic Chair Tom Courtney said he heard that in precincts across his county, including his own, the mobile app was “a mess.” When precinct leaders called Democratic Party headquarters, “they weren’t answering the phones,” Courtney said.
The problems were an embarrassment for a state that has long sought to protect its prized status as the first contest in presidential primaries and the nation’s first vetter of candidates. The delay was certain to become fodder for critics who argued that the caucuses -party meetings that can be chaotic, crowded and messy – are antiquated and exclusionary.
The Iowa Democratic Party pressed forward with the new reporting system amid warnings about the possibility of hacking and glitches. Party officials said they took numerous security precautions and maintained that any errors would be easily correctable because of backups and a paper trail.
But organizers running precincts in Iowa didn’t get to test the app beforehand. Iowa party officials had said they would not be sending the new mobile app to precinct chairs for downloading until just before the caucuses to narrow the window for any interference.
Some precinct chairs said they had trouble downloading or logging into the app and didn’t use it.
The apps were barely working Monday night, according to a person involved in processing the data who requested anonymity to discuss the party’s internal system. That forced party aides to record results from the precincts via phone and enter them manually into a database. Officials were left using photos of results to validate results and ensure accuracy.
Jonathan Green, who chaired a precinct in Lone Tree, said that when he tried to put the results into the reporting app, he kept getting a confusing error message: “Unknown protocol. The address specifies a protocol (e.g., "wxyz:??“.) the browser does not recognize, so the browser cannot properly connect to the site.”
He said he ultimately gave up and tried to call in the results to the party. Like others, he was put on hold for an extended period of time. In the end, it took hours to report results from his small site, he said.
The slowdown was exacerbated by the fact that the party was for the first time attempting to report three different sets of data – an initial headcount of each candidates’ support, a count after supporters had realigned, and the state delegate winners.
“We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results,” the party said in a statement. “This is simply a reporting issue, the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an intrusion. The underlying data and paper trail is sound and will simply take time to further report the results.”
President Donald Trump’s campaign quickly seized on the issue to sow doubt about the validity of the results.
“Quality control = rigged?” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted Monday evening, adding a emoji with furrowed brows.
Richard L. Hasen, an election expert and professor at University of California, Irvine School of Law, cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the integrity of the election.
“Most of the time when there is a problem with an election it turns out to be the result of administrative incompetence rather than someone cheating or some outside interference,” Hasen said.
Deploying new technology this close to an election is always a risky proposition, said Lawrence Norden, an elections expert with The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. Norden said it’s akin to a major retailer using new cash registers for the first time on Black Friday.
“To roll out a new technology without really testing it and making it available as early as possible and giving folks the opportunity to challenge it and work out all the bugs is a high-stakes decision which I think is proving to be problematic today,” Norden said.
Norden said party officials were wise to slow down the reporting to ensure accurate results, given concerns of another round of election interference by Russia or other hostile governments seeking to undermine U.S. democracy.
“People aren’t going to remember in two weeks that these results were late, but you can bet if the results changed dramatically they would,” Norden said. “Those of us who work in the election space support accuracy over speed.”
Ruth Thompson, who chaired a precinct at Lincoln High School in Des Moines, said she did not use the app to report results because organizers had problems trying to download and test it.
“We just came to a consensus that nobody was happy with the app,” she said. She also did not try to report her site’s results over the phone after hearing reports of long delays in answering the line at state headquarters, she said.
Instead, veteran caucusgoers at her site used calculators to compute the delegate allocation and then texted a photo of the results to Polk County Democratic Party officials, who drove it to state party headquarters.
Thompson said the delays in results were unfortunate because the process went “remarkably smoothly” in other ways.
…
By Polityk | 02/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Mobile App Snafu Leaves Iowa Caucus Results Uncertain
The first, long-awaited contest for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in the farm state of Iowa was mired in chaos Tuesday, with results yet to be announced a day after complicated caucus voting ended.The state Democratic party was unable to report even a single vote count 12 hours after about 100,000 of the party faithful showed up to vote for their favorite candidate. Party officials blamed the snafu on vote inconsistencies being reported on a mobile app specially designed for the vote counting throughout the rural state, which every four years stages the first political party voting to eventually pick presidential nominees for the national election in November.Iowa Democrats said they expect to report results sometime Tuesday, but it was not clear when.”We are validating every piece of data we have against our paper trail,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price told reporters as the vote counting dragged on late Monday and into Tuesday. “That system is taking longer than expected but it’s in place to ensure we are eventually able to report results with full confidence.”Later, Price declared there was no cybersecurity intrusion in the app.He said, “While the app was recording data accurately, it was reporting out only partial data. We have determined that this was due to a coding issue in the reporting system. This issue was identified and fixed. The application’s reporting issue did not impact the ability of precinct chairs to report data accurately.”Price said that through use of paper documentation of the voting at more than 1,600 precinct caucuses throughout the state it has “been able to verify that the data recorded in the app and used to calculate State Delegate Equivalents is valid and accurate.”Price added, “While our plan is to release results as soon as possible today, our ultimate goal is to ensure that the integrity and accuracy of the process continues to be upheld.”Caucus goers seated in the section for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden hold up their first votes as they are counted at the Knapp Center on the Drake University campus in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 3, 2020.With the Iowa results unknown, the top Democrats immediately turned their attention to the rural northeastern state of New Hampshire, where a party presidential primary is set for next Tuesday. New Hampshire is next in a long string of state contests set to culminate in the party’s selection in July at its national convention of a nominee to face Republican President Donald Trump in November.Several of the candidates flew from Iowa to New Hampshire early Tuesday to begin campaigning there without knowing the Iowa results.Trump, while winning the Iowa Republican caucus vote, gloated about the disarray in the Iowa Democratic vote counting, mocking it as “an unmitigated disaster.”
“The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is ‘Trump,’” he boasted.He claimed that the vote-counting fiasco was “not the fault of Iowa, it is the Do Nothing Democrats fault. As long as I am President, Iowa will stay where it is. Important tradition!” to hold the first presidential nominating contest.It is not the fault of Iowa, it is the Do Nothing Democrats fault. As long as I am President, Iowa will stay where it is. Important tradition! Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden participate at a rally at the Drake University Olmsted Center in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 3, 2020.Polls in Iowa showed Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-declared democratic socialist, and former Vice President Joe Biden, making his third run for the party’s presidential nomination, leading the pack of 11 candidates. Three other challengers — Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota — also had support in the state.But the absence of an outcome on Monday night deprived all of them a chance to tout a victory or high finish on national television as evidence of their standing to take on Trump nine months from now.”The history of the caucuses is that the candidate that does better than expected is often the one that gets attention and a real boost in votes in later states. But, of course, if we don’t know how they did, we don’t know who did better than expected and who did worse than expected,” said David Redlawsk, professor of political science at the University of Delaware. “So in that sense, New Hampshire is only eight days away, even if we get some results from Iowa, they may be eclipsed very quickly.”The Iowa caucus voting was a night of American democracy in action, with voters spending the better part of a winter evening clustering in groups of supporters for Sanders, Biden, Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar and others in hopes of achieving “viability” to qualify for delegates.Voters showed their preferences by raising their hands or gathering in groups of like-minded supporters of the candidates.The goal in the caucus was to reach what was called the “viability threshold” — the 15% of support needed to move on to the second round. Backers of any candidate who failed to meet that 15% were given a chance to throw their support behind their second choice at each caucus.
…
By Polityk | 02/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democratic Presidential Candidates Speak as Iowa Caucus Results are Delayed
Democrats in the state of Iowa began the 2020 presidential primary campaign Monday with its presidential caucus voting. But the Iowa Democratic Party said the official results were delayed for hours due to what was described as “quality checks.” The Democratic contenders did address their supporters in Iowa despite the glitch, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.
…
By Polityk | 02/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Acquittal Expected as Trump Impeachment Trial Draws to a Close
The U.S. Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump draws to a close this week after months of investigation by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives. Trump is expected to be acquitted of charges he abused the power of his office and obstructed Congress’ efforts to investigate him when the 100 senators acting as jurors in the trial vote Wednesday. But as VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, those senators will first weigh in on the most consequential political decision of their careers.
…
By Polityk | 02/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Snubbing Iowa, Bloomberg Charts Own Path in 2020 Contest
Iowa? Who cares. On the day the 2020 presidential election kicked off with the Iowa caucuses, Michael Bloomberg was half a continent and a leap of faith away in California, where the Democratic candidate sought to bring attention to a campaign that has forsworn early voting states and anchored its ambitions to California, Texas and other delegate-rich battlegrounds to come. The billionaire former New York City mayor flew Monday to California with with a retinue of reporters and TV cameras in tow, to remind voters that their election, like Iowa’s, was underway. Early voting in the nation’s most populous state began Monday for the March 3 primary election. It was Bloomberg’s fourth trip to the state as a candidate. His first stop was at a coffee shop in Sacramento, the state capital, where in somewhat rambling remarks he encouraged supporters to get out and vote. Later appearances were scheduled with Latino voters in the heart of the farm belt in Fresno, and in Compton, the Los Angeles-area city known as the West Coast capital of hip-hop, where he planned to launch a national bus tour for surrogates and supporters. Joe Biden says democracy begins in Iowa, but Bloomberg told supporters the path to the White House runs through California. ‘We are going to win’I'm not running against the other Democratic candidates, I'm running against Donald Trump,'' Bloomberg said at the low-key appearance in Sacramento, speaking on a stage with a U.S. flag backdrop andVote early” posters. We are going to win this.'' In the crowd was retiree Ruth Holton-Hodson, a Democrat from Sacramento, who is leaning toward Bloomberg as the most likely choice to defeat Trump. But she said she worries his skip-Iowa plan could alienate voters, who would see a wealthy candidate making his own rules. I think it will turn people off,” she said. College student Myles Hammond, 22, attends a Mike Bloomberg event, Feb. 3, 2020 in Sacramento, Calif.Nearby, wearing an I like Mike sweatshirt, Colorado student Myles Hammond, said he was wavering in his decision, but was closely focused on Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders. Hammond, who was in Sacramento for a graduate school interview, said he was drawn to the former mayor’s push for gun control but also liked Sanders’ strong connection with young voters. However, he worries the Vermont senator’s progressive agenda might drive off middle-ground voters. I don't know if it would push some independent voters away,'' Hammond said of Sanders. He wasn't sure if Bloomberg's unusual strategy of skipping Iowa would work but said he might havea better chancefocusing on a large state like California. Bloomberg's trip amounted to a carefully planned sideshow to the crescendo of campaigning in Iowa, where the crowded and shifting Democratic field headed toward an uncertain finish in Monday's caucuses. Not unprecedentedIt's unusual, but not unprecedented, for a candidate to turn away from Iowa, the time-honored launching pad for presidential candidates. It's similar to a presidential campaign strategy deployed in 2008 by another former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who was an early dropout in a year when John McCain become the eventual Republican nominee. The day of campaigning provided a window into Bloomberg's broader strategy. Financed by his unrivaled personal wealth, he's largely going his own way to secure the nomination to challenge President Donald Trump. But, in embracing his conspicuous absence in Iowa, it highlighted the risk: how to stay relevant when you are competing outside the usual playing field of tradition-bound early contests like Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. In his remarks, Bloomberg said he was planning to enter Iowa when he began considering a presidential run, then decided not to become a candidate. When he reconsidered and got in the raceit was too late to get inthe Iowa contest. No presidential contest awards more delegates than the state of California, the Democratic fortress that is home to 1-in-8 Americans. Iowa's caucuses have 41 delegates at stake, but California will award more than 400. In other words, go big. Torrent of TV adsAs a candidate, Bloomberg has gone from curio to competitor with an unmatched torrent of TV ads, paired with traditional retail campaigning, that appears to have pushed him up in presidential polling. Still, he remains unknown to many voters. But in one sign he is gaining traction, he attracted the attention of Trump, who mocked Bloomberg's height in an interview with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity and accused the former mayor of making a special request for a box to stand on if he qualifies for future presidential debates. Bloomberg's campaign denied the claim. Bloomberg campaign spokeswoman Julie Wood said Trump was apathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan,” she said. The two rival campaigns ran dueling, multimillion-dollar ads during Sunday night’s Super Bowl, with both spending an estimated $10 million for 60 seconds of air time, which Trump used to purchase two 30-second spots.
…
By Polityk | 02/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Entrance Poll: Majority of Iowa Democrats Simply Want to Defeat Trump
As Iowa’s Democrats entered their party’s caucuses on Monday, defeating President Donald Trump in November’s election was at the top of their minds when considering which candidate to support for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination, according to preliminary findings by the National Election Pool (NEP). The NEP, a consortium of news organizations including Reuters that runs election-day polling through Edison Research, found most caucusgoers were simply looking for a winner instead of someone who agrees with them on the issues. Here are some highlights from the entrance poll based on interviews with 745 Iowa Democrats as they headed into the caucuses: — Six in 10 caucusgoers said they were looking for a Democratic nominee who they think can beat Trump. About four in 10 said they wanted a nominee who agrees with them on major issues. — Three in 10 said they were attending the Iowa caucuses for the first time, which appeared to be below that of 2016. Four years ago, 44% of people attending the Iowa caucuses said they were doing so for the first time. In 2008, 57% said they were new to the Iowa caucuses. — Nearly a third of Democrats said before entering the caucuses that they had picked their candidate in the last few days. That appeared to be higher than the share of late deciders in 2016. Four years ago, 16% of caucusgoers said they had made their choice in the last month or earlier. — Health care was the issue that mattered most to Iowa caucusgoers. About four in 10 said that was the issue they cared most about when thinking about picking a nominee. Two in 10 said it was the climate, another two in 10 said it was income inequality and one in 10 said it was foreign policy. — The entrance poll also asked Democrats about which candidate they were supporting for the nomination. The selections were not predictive of the outcome, however, given that many Democrats would change their preferences if their chosen candidate did not win enough support in the caucuses. Edison, a Somerville, New Jersey-based exit polling firm, has been providing election-day poll data to a consortium of news organizations through the National Election Pool since 2004.
…
By Polityk | 02/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Young Hispanic Voters in Iowa Ready to Vote in Caucuses
Hispanic voters have been playing an increasingly influential role in U.S. elections, and this trend is expected to be no less true in 2020 when an estimated 32 million Hispanics will be eligible to vote. In Iowa, where the first in the nation contest is taking place Feb. 3, just 6% of the population is Hispanic and some 50-thousand Latino voters are registered in the state. It remains to be seen how many Latinos turn out for Monday night’s Iowa caucuses. Jorge Agobian of VOA’s Spanish service is in Des Moines with this report narrated by Cristina Caicedo Smit.
…
By Polityk | 02/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
YouTube: No ‘Birther’ Conspiracy Videos for 2020 Election
YouTube is making clear there will be no “birtherism” on its platform during this year’s U.S. presidential election.Also banned: Election-related “deepfake” videos and anything that aims to mislead viewers about voting procedures and how to participate in the 2020 census.The Google-owned video service clarified its rules ahead of the Iowa caucuses Monday. The company is mostly reiterating content guidelines that is has been putting in place since the last presidential election in 2016.Google said that it will remove any videos that advance false claims about whether political candidates and elected officials are eligible to serve in office.The company’s announcement comes about nine years after celebrity businessman Donald Trump began to get notice for claiming that Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American president, was not born in the United States.Trump repeatedly voiced citizenship doubts even after Obama produced his long-form birth certificate. Trump only fully backed off from the idea in the final stages of his 2016 presidential campaign.YouTube said it will also crack down on any attempts to artificially increase the number of views, likes and comments on videos. It changed its systems for recommending what videos users watch last year in a push to curb harmful misinformation.
…
By Polityk | 02/03/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Michigan Governor to Take National Stage to Rebut Trump
Democrats are putting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan on the national stage Tuesday to rebut President Donald Trump, elevating a fresh face and casting an election-year spotlight on a swing state in the Midwest as the party looks to win back states Trump narrowly captured.The 48-year-old’s ascendance comes as Democrats hope to solidify gains with female voters and as two men in their late 70s, former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, lead national primary polls. Her selection has led to increased speculation that she could be a running mate pick, though she said she is not interested.
Whitmer, who rarely mentions Trump, has advised Democratic presidential candidates that Michigan voters are less focused on his Twitter feed than on the “fundamentals” such as fixing deteriorating roads and helping train people for better-paying jobs. She will return to that theme in her 10-minute response to Trump’s State of the Union address, which she will deliver at East Lansing High School — where her two daughters are enrolled.
“These are the fundamentals that people in America are concerned about,” Whitmer told The Associated Press, adding that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “thought I would have a message that would resonate.”
Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said “it’s hard to imagine a better person” to counter Trump.
“Not only did she win the governorship by a wide margin in a key battleground state we lost in 2016 and need to win in 2020, but she is a strong moderate female voice — the perfect contrast to President Trump,” she said.
In high school, Whitmer wanted to be an ESPN broadcaster but switched course after an internship at the state Capitol while attending nearby Michigan State University. She went to law school and, after working as an attorney, won a House seat in East Lansing.
Whitmer said she will talk about that “incredibly hard time” because it shaped her more than any other. She was caring for her mom, who died months after Whitmer gave birth to the first of two daughters. She also was serving as a freshman lawmaker and battling a health insurer over covering her mother’s chemotherapy.
She was an outspoken advocate for women before the 2017 Women’s Marches and (hash)MeToo era, publicly disclosing during a 2013 legislative debate on health insurance coverage for abortions that she had been raped in college.
After leaving the Legislature due to term limits, Whitmer was appointed to temporarily lead the local prosecutor’s office. She launched her campaign for governor days after the stint ended.
She ran as a pragmatic liberal “fighter,” emphasizing her bipartisan work to expand Medicaid. Her primary opponents — including one endorsed by Sanders — criticized her for not backing “Medicare for All.” She more recently said she supports it “in concept.”
Her dad led a state department under a moderate Republican governor before later leading the large health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Her mom, a Democrat, was an assistant state attorney general.
“I think she has some strength in the middle,” said Dan Loepp, a friend of Whitmer’s who first met her more than 25 years ago when he was a top legislative aide and she was a staffer. Now the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield — following Whitmer’s father — Loepp called Whitmer a “reasonable progressive” — someone whom national Democratic leaders that he knows see as articulate, smart and deliberate.
She won all 83 counties in the primary. Her nearly 10-percentage point victory over Trump-backed Republican Bill Schuette in the general election was the largest for a non-incumbent Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Michigan in 86 years.
Michigan’s independent voters were more likely to support Whitmer than Schuette, 53% to 36%, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the AP. Ten percent of Republican voters backed Whitmer, more than the 2% of Democratic voters who supported Schuette. The Kaiser Family Foundation and Cook Political Report’s fall survey said 59% of Michigan’s registered voters approved of the job Whitmer was doing, while 39% disapproved.
Multiple political strategists said Whitmer could climb vice presidential lists given Michigan’s importance, her ability to communicate on TV and social media, and her Midwestern background. Whitmer told the AP she is not seeking the job.
“I have never been drawn to Washington, D.C.,” she said. “My family’s here in Michigan. I love this state and I feel really lucky to have the opportunity to serve as the governor. I’m not looking to join a ticket. But I do want to be a constructive part of making sure I’ve got a great partner in the White House.”
Since taking office, Whitmer has had ups and downs.
She signed GOP-sponsored legislation to reduce high car insurance premiums. But her call for a 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax hike to fix roads flopped, leading to a protracted budget impasse. The deal-making chops she had run on were dealt a blow. This past week, she said she was “done waiting,” bypassed legislators and announced Michigan will borrow $3.5 billion to rebuild aging state roads and bridges.
On Tuesday she will be filling a role that for others has proved thankless. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s lunge for a water bottle became a meme after he delivered the GOP response in 2013.
“When Speaker Pelosi calls and asks you to do something, you prepare to say yes,” Whitmer said. “The message was pretty clear. She thinks Michigan’s really important.”
John Sellek, who advised Schuette’s losing campaign against Whitmer, said while most State of the Union responses are forgettable, this one also has the feeling of an audition.
“National Democrats know their voters are tiring from the endless slog of the primaries, so their goal here is to give these people a fresh face and a general election message that reminds them they will soon have a nominee and turn the fight to Trump instead of each other,” Sellek said.
…
By Polityk | 02/03/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Bloomberg Campaign Works to Appeal to Diverse Voters
Former NYC Mayor and Billionaire Michael Bloomberg was the last among Democratic candidates to enter the presidential race and the only candidate not to take part in debates. Americans learn about his agenda and platform from political ads that he finances himself. Recently, Bloomberg opened a new field office in Harlem, which will become the campaign’s first New York State outpost. Nina Vishneva has the story narrated by Anna Rice.
…
By Polityk | 02/03/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Iowa Democrats Expect High Turnout for 2020 Presidential Caucus
Democrats are expecting a high turnout for the first presidential selection event in the United States, the Iowa Caucuses, February 3rd. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, while many voters in Iowa are still undecided on the candidate they believe can best challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November general election, they welcome the attention the process brings to their state.
…
By Polityk | 02/03/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democrats in Last-Minute Scramble for Support in Iowa Caucus
There’s a last-minute scramble for support ahead of Monday’s Iowa’s Democratic presidential caucus — the first big test of voter preference in the November election.It’s a crowded field with 11 contenders all hoping to be the Democrats’ choice to stop U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election in November.Polls going into Monday’s caucus show Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden neck-and-neck with Senator Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg close behind.But many caucus-goers have said they are still undecided and analysts say a few surprises are possible.Unlike primary elections, where actual ballots are cast, voters participate in caucuses by gathering in meetings at schoolhouses, town halls, empty stores, and even people’s homes.They show their preferences by raising their hands or huddling in groups of supporters.WATCH: Related video by VOA’s Kane FarabaughSorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyBackers of any candidate who fails to get at least 15% of the vote are given a chance to throw their support behind another candidate before a final statewide count is made and a winner declared.Despite all the attention it gets, the Iowa caucus has not always been a reliable harbinger of who will win the Democratic Party nomination.Bill Clinton had a notoriously poor showing in the 1992 caucus with less than 3% support and wound up winning the White House that November.Texas Senator Ted Cruz won the 2016 Republican caucus, but Trump was the nominee.Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack says Iowans believe the purpose of the caucus is to narrow the large field of candidates so the rest of the country has few choices but good choices for the primaries.
…
By Polityk | 02/03/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
