Sasha Stone
https://medium.com/sashastone/the-bernie-sanders-i-thought-i-knew-is-gone-1b2dc67385de#.uvcjmn860

How must it feel to feel like a god? Bernie Sanders knows. At the end of each of his debates with Hillary Clinton, he never turned toward her or the news anchors. He always turned to his cheering, adoring fans, soaking up the sunbeams of their love each and every time. Who wouldn’t?

Who is the real Bernie? Is he not the guy I once thought he was? The guy whose videos I watched, who was always ready to give voice to the anger many of us felt whenever Republicans blocked any progress Democrats tried to make? I begin to ask myself: How could that guy be getting so few endorsements from his colleagues anywhere in Congress? Why does this Bernie Sanders act like he doesn’t have a son? Why does this Bernie Sanders treat his own wife so disrespectfully? Finally, why does this Bernie Sanders seem unable to face the reality that he has lost the primary to Hillary Clinton?

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The famously obstinate and “holier than thou” temperament Sanders projected was off-putting to his colleagues. Well, to most of them. Not, as it turns out, to an ally who is now the sole focus of his ire — Hillary Clinton. Clinton was a Senator who COULD work with everyone, and still does. As fellow senators, they were on cordial terms, voting along the same lines 93% of the time. They remained friends for over a decade — until the pain of losing to his former colleague became too much for Sanders to bear. It wasn’t just that he was being beaten “by a girl.” It was that he was being beaten by the woman he had first encountered when she was the wife of Bill Clinton, the woman who had the gall to achieve what he couldn’t — delivering a near-socialist healthcare package to Capitol Hill as First Lady. That effort wasn’t pure enough to suit Sanders, the man who never compromised. Too many forces stood in opposition for the Clinton health care plan of 1993 to prevail. Hillary Clinton, though, was undaunted by such roadblocks — she was and is a doer.

All the same, it must have irked Sanders that this woman who had gained prominence as the wife of Bill Clinton rose so fast to be elected Senator from New York and then swiftly proceeded to get things done. She was only in the Senate for two terms, but she accomplished more in that time than Sanders had done during twice as many years in D.C. He would claim that’s because she’s “establishment” — he’d say they’re all establishment, everyone but him. Yes, they are. That’s our government. That’s how it was designed in the Constitution. Three branches, very much established. You can lay blame or credit for solidifying that establishment on FDR, who was as establishment as they come. (You, Senator Sanders, are no FDR).

Full Article ...

TPM Livewire
By Allegra Kirkland Published June 4, 2016, 1:11 PM EDT

SNIP

Gonzales acknowledges Trump’s ethnicity-based explanation at the start of his op-ed, then launches into a list of reasons why Trump may legitimately feel that Curiel won’t give him a “fair trial.”

According to Gonzales, one reason, which Trump’s own aides have floated, is that Curiel is a member of La Raza Lawyers Association, a Latino lawyers group. Gonzales floats their unsubstantiated claim that the group is tied to La Raza, a non-profit Latino advocacy organization that has spoken out against Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“The two groups appear to be unaffiliated, but Trump may be concerned that the lawyers’ association or its members represent or support the national advocacy organization,” Gonzales suggested.

Another cause for suspicion, Gonzales said, is that Curiel appointed a law firm whose head has donated to Hillary Clinton to represent the plaintiffs in the Trump University case.

“It might not be unreasonable for a defendant in Trump’s position to wonder who Curiel favors in the presidential election,” Gonzales wrote. “These circumstances, while not necessarily conclusive, at least raise a legitimate question to be considered.”

Gonzales, whose family also immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, did note that Curiel’s Mexican heritage “would not be enough to raise a question of bias.”

SNIP

Full story at TPM

Originally posted on Jun. 4, 2016, at 2:14 p.m. Updated on Jun. 4, 2016, at 2:36 p.m.
David Mack
BuzzFeed News Reporter


On Saturday morning, Donald Trump shared a tweet from a supporter that purported to show a black family on the “Trump Train.”

“American Families For Trump: We need a common sense PRESIDENT,” the caption attached to the photograph reads.

Continued at Buzzfeed

But we find Sanders far less appealing than his admirers. What feels like idealism to some people looks like grandstanding on closer examination.

Consider his signature proposal to make tuition free at state-supported colleges, with the federal government picking up two-thirds of the cost and individual states one-third. State participation is not mandatory.

At the least, it would have the effect of forcing all participating states to radically reshape their budgets — making free college the top priority over public safety, health care, K-12 education, road repairs and more. States that wanted to maintain existing programs at current levels would have to sharply raise taxes.

States aren’t going to do this. Free college tuition may be the top priority for college students and their parents, but not everyone else. Valuing free tuition over kindergarten and grade school education, for the most obvious example, makes no sense.

No wonder Sanders doesn’t have the support of a single senator for his plan.


Complete Opinion piece at San Diego Union Tribune

By Damien Willis / Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M. (TNS)
Friday, June 3rd, 2016 at 8:20am

LAS CRUCES – Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday addressed an energized crowd of about 500 Hillary Clinton supporters at Picacho Middle School in Las Cruces. In a speech tailored to the needs of southern New Mexicans, Clinton addressed immigration, student debt, education, veterans’ issues and the importance of affordable childcare.

Throughout the rally, Clinton never mentioned the names of his wife’s opponents, and never uttered a line that elicited boos from the crowd. Instead, he spoke against what he called “the politics of personal destruction.”

On one occasion, Clinton reflected on his many visits to Las Cruces.

“I first came here almost 30 years ago,” Clinton said. “I was governor of Arkansas, and the chancellor of our state university became president of New Mexico State. So I came to his inauguration. Then I came back in 1996, and I was the first sitting president since William Howard Taft to come to Las Cruces.”

An excited crowd awaits

SNIP

Matthew Leahy, of El Paso, traveled to Las Cruces to hear Clinton speak.

“I came to hear President Clinton — someone who was elected a year before I was born,” the 22-year-old said. “I’ve read his autobiography and, from my perspective, I feel like he did great things for our country.”

Leahy hoped to hear Clinton speak about immigration.

“We have a lot of people here who care very deeply about family members,” Leahy said. “I’ve volunteered at a citizenship fair, and have witnessed the people who have worked so hard and given so much already, and they just want to be citizens in return. They work hard, pay taxes and contribute to our local economy. We need someone who not only has great ideas for reform, but can also get it done.”

Nice article, more interviews with attendees - Albuquerque Journal

Some U.S. intelligence officials are concerned that Donald Trump's "shoot from the hip" style could pose national security risks as they prepare to give him a routine pre-election briefing once he is formally anointed as the Republican presidential nominee.

Eight senior security officials told Reuters they had concerns over briefing Trump, whose brash, unpredictable campaign style has been a feature of his rise as an insurgent candidate. Despite their worries, the officials said the "Top Secret" briefing to each candidate would not deviate from the usual format to avoid any appearance of bias.

Most of the officials asked for anonymity to discuss a domestic political issue.

Current and former officials said that the scandal over Hillary Clinton's use of emails also raises concerns about her handling of sensitive information. The likely Democratic nominee is facing an FBI probe into whether security was compromised and laws were broken by her use of a private email server for government business while she was Secretary of State.

Reuters Continued...

By ADAM LIPTAKJUNE 3, 2016

Donald J. Trump’s attacks on the press and the judicial system are evidence to some people of his bracing candor. But his comments also sketch out a worldview that many legal experts say is contemptuous of the First Amendment, the separation of powers and the rule of law. Watch in NYT video

WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump’s blustery attacks on the press, complaints about the judicial system and bold claims of presidential power collectively sketch out a constitutional worldview that shows contempt for the First Amendment, the separation of powers and the rule of law, legal experts across the political spectrum say.

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“Who knows what Donald Trump with a pen and phone would do?” asked Ilya Shapiro, a lawyer with the libertarian Cato Institute.

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David Post, a retired law professor who now writes for the Volokh Conspiracy, a conservative-leaning law blog, said those comments had crossed a line.

“This is how authoritarianism starts, with a president who does not respect the judiciary,” Mr. Post said. “You can criticize the judicial system, you can criticize individual cases, you can criticize individual judges. But the president has to be clear that the law is the law and that he enforces the law. That is his constitutional obligation.”

Continued at NYT

John Podesta Verified account
‏@johnpodesta

John Podesta Retweeted NBC Nightly News

Violence against supporters of any candidate has no place in this election.

John Podesta added,
1:03
NBC Nightly News @NBCNightlyNews
JUST IN: Trump supporters being attacked, assaulted by protestors outside Trump rally in San Jose - @Jacobnbc

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8:15 PM - 2 Jun 2016

https://twitter.com/johnpodesta/status/738569676003893248