Overflow crowd–biggest for any candidate yet this year–greets @BernieSanders in Denver. Remind me why he can't win? pic.twitter.com/bIbwYFCXIK
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) June 21, 2015
Category: Power to the People
Bernie Sanders continues to draw big crowds
Bernie feels the love
Five thousand people at his kick off rally in Vermont. Three thousand in Minnesota. The largest crowd of any candidate this year in Iowa. Standing-room-only in New Hampshire. A surprising finish in a straw poll in Wisconsin.
Armed with low expectations and a stopped-clock message that has finally found its time, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ longshot Democratic presidential campaign is resonating with voters more than anyone expected just a few weeks ago.
The latest sign came this weekend in Wisconsin at the state’s Democratic convention. In a straw poll of delegates at the meeting, 49% party officials and activists who cast ballots picked Hillary Clinton as their top choice for the Democratic presidential nominee. No surprise there – Clinton is dominating every poll and has a stronger lead than any non-incumbent presidential frontrunner in modern history.
But Sanders was within striking distance, just 9 percentage points behind Clinton, capturing 40% of the vote.
It’s just a straw poll, which are far from predictive (ask 2012 Iowa straw poll winner Rep. Michele Bachmann). And only 511 ballots were cast total, according to a tally posted on the blog WisPolitics.
Nonetheless, it shows a desire for an alternative to Clinton and an interest in Sanders among the party’s most committed members, at least in Wisconsin. And the results show that Sanders has, at least for the moment, solidified his place as Clinton’s main rival.
Other Clinton declared and potential challengers didn’t even come close. Vice President Joe Biden and former Gov. Martin O’Malley, who declared his presidential run last weekend, each got 16 votes. Former Sen. Jim Webb got 8 and former Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who also recently declared his run, got 5. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is not running, got 4 write-in votes.
Clinton lawyers file voting lawsuits
This is some good news:
1. As with the new Ohio litigation, the case is not officially being brought by the Clinton campaign but is being backed by the Clinton’s general counsel, Marc Elias. It is hard to believe such a suit would not be brought with Marc’s involvement without political vetting by the Clinton campaign.
Mike Luckovich …
Bernie Sanders promises Supreme Court litmus test on Citizens United
He’s in
AP says Bernie Sanders to run as a Democrat:
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is going to run for president as a Democrat.
The independent who describes himself as a ‘‘democratic socialist’’ will announce Thursday that he plans to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2016.
That’s according to two people familiar with Sanders’ plans. They aren’t authorized to discuss the decision by name and spoke to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity.
Sanders will become the second major Democrat in the race, joining former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In the run-up to his announcement, Sanders has urged Clinton to speak out strongly about issues related to income inequality and climate change.
The return of the 50-state strategy
Wow, this is good news. That means not only will Clinton make the Republicans fight in every state, it also indicates she’s likely to to run a coordinated campaign with local races — something Obama wouldn’t do:
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is launching a major grassroots organizing effort Wednesday, sending staffers to every single state to start building an infrastructure of volunteers ready to pound the pavement.
What’s being called the “Ramp Up Grassroots Organizing Program” will have paid staffers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories through the end of May. They’ll be working with Clinton supporters to organize local meetings, volunteer trainings and other grassroots events, according to the campaign.
Wednesday’s announcement recalls the “50-state strategy” pushed by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean when he was chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Dean argued that Democrats shouldn’t concede any state as “unwinnable” and should invest resources in building an infrastructure in every single state — a strategy Clinton will be testing should she make it to the general election.
Zappa on Crossfire
Student debt strike
This is what it will take to stop these crooked schools. Just refuse to pay them! They’re crooks, they lie to the students and they get rich doing so. Why should they profit from fraud?
A group of students refusing to pay off loans they took out to attend a now-maligned for-profit college has ballooned from 15 to more than 100 over the last several weeks.
The group, initially dubbed the Corinthian 15, sent a letter to the Department of Education last month, saying they would stop paying the federal student loans they took out to pay to attend various outposts of Corinthian Colleges, a chain of for-profit colleges. Under a deal with Department of Education last year, the company agreed to shut down or sell its schools last year amid allegations the company lured students by advertising dubious job prospects and career services.
The CFPB reached an agreement last month to help Corinthian borrowers get rid of their private debt. That deal, with ECMC Group, which now owns many former Corinthian schools, forgives $480 million for students who took out private loans from Corinthian College that the CFPB describes as “high cost.” According to the CFPB, the loans had interest rates that were typically much higher than their federal counterparts and were often for tuition costs that were more expensive than comparable programs.
Those borrowers covered by the deal will see an immediate 40% drop in their outstanding private student loan debt. Politicians and activists are pressuring the Department of Education to wipe away former Corinthian students’ federal loan debt.
The protesters, part of an Occupy-backed movement called the Debt Collective, have chosen a different route, by simply refusing to pay. And they seem to be attracting attention, in addition to bolstering their ranks. The group is meeting with the CFPB and at least one official from the Department of Education this week.
“This is a historic strike,” Ann Larson, a director of the Debt Collective and one of the organizers of the Corinthian Collective, the group’s pilot initiative, said in an interview on a train Sunday en route to Washington for the meetings. “Officials in Washington recognize that.”
Hundreds of students reached out to the Debt Collective after it first announced the Corinthian campaign last month looking to take part, Larson said. Each interested student was vetted by volunteers and told some of the possible consequences of participating, including garnishing tax refunds, wages, Social Security and a ding to their credit score. In the end some chose not to take part, Larson said.
Many of those who expressed interest are already in default, meaning they’re at risk of suffering these consequences. Larson added that the group is still getting in touch with the students who want to be strikers, indicating that the group will likely continue to grow.
In addition to the strikes, the group is launching a legal strategy. Former Corinthian students and activists plan to submit Defense to Repayment claims on the steps of the Education Department on Tuesday. This legal appeal asks the Education Department to discharge on the basis that the school engaged in wrongdoing.