MORNING MESSAGE
Adiel Pollydore
Young Voters Make All The Difference For Bernie
It took every one of us to bring home Senator Bernie Sanders’ victory in the New Hampshire Primary last night. A lot of us, like me, are young people who have a vision for a sustainable and livable future, a vision Bernie shares with us. There’s an alignment between the vision we see for our futures as young people, and what Bernie’s message about how, as a nation, we can invest in that better future, to build a country that works for everyone. That’s why we’re standing with him. I live in Oakland, California, and this weekend I came out here to support New Hampshire Youth Movement, who are affiliates of Student Action and People’s Action, in their final push for Bernie. In all, NHYM collected nearly 12,000 pledges to vote for Senator Sanders. That’s three times Bernie’s margin of victory. According to CNN, Sanders won more voters under 30 in New Hampshire than all of the other candidates combined. So it’s safe to say young voters – and the NYHM – made all the difference for Bernie here. In just four years, the NYHM has become a force to be reckoned with in the state. Bernie’s success last night, shows they’re just getting started, and they’ll continue to win. But if we want to win, there’s no time to rest. Because young voters want to make sure Bernie’s win in New Hampshire, as he told the crowd in his victory speech, “is the beginning of the end of Donald Trump.”
Sander Scores Back-To-Back Wins
With back-to-back wins for Sanders, pundits proven wrong in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Intercept: "Bernie Sanders is now the undisputed frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Last week, in the Iowa caucuses, Sanders won the popular vote by a clear margin in both the first and second rounds. On Monday, he took the lead in a national Quinnipiac University poll for the first time in the 2020 Democratic race. And yesterday, in New Hampshire, Sanders won with a narrow victory over former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Biden came in fifth. What a difference a year makes. When he launched his second presidential campaign, in February 2019, the independent senator from Vermont was mocked and written off by much of the pundit class. The Washington Post’s Henry Olsen called him a “one-hit wonder,” adding: “After a few concerts that attract ever more “selective” audiences, he will likely drop out and retire, his influence consigned to history.” (On Monday night, a whopping 7,500 people turned out for a Sanders rally headlined by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as rock band The Strokes, in Durham, New Hampshire.)"
Senate Blocks Election Security Bills
Senate GOP blocks three election security bills. The Hill: "Senate Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats to unanimously pass three election security-related bills Tuesday, marking the latest attempt to clear legislation ahead of the November elections. Democrats tried to get consent to pass two bills that require campaigns to alert the FBI and Federal Election Commission (FEC) about foreign offers of assistance, as well as legislation to provide more election funding and ban voting machines from being connected to the internet. But Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) opposed each of the requests. Under the Senate's rules, any one senator can ask for unanimous consent to pass a bill, but any one senator can object and block their requests. Election security has become a point of contention during the Trump era. House Democrats have passed several election-related bills, including a sweeping ethics and election reform measure, but they've hit a wall in the GOP-controlled Senate. A release from Democrats this week that blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for a 'legislative graveyard' included a list of 10 election security-related bills that have stalled in the upper chamber. Senate Democrats have tried repeatedly during the past year to try to bring up election security bills on the floor without success."
AG Barr Turns DOJ Into Arm Of Trump Organization
Barr takes control of legal matters of interest to Trump, including Stone sentencing. NBC: "Attorney General William Barr's intervention in Roger Stone's case wasn't the first time senior political appointees reached into a case involving an ex-Trump aide, officials say. The U.S. attorney who had presided over an inconclusive criminal investigation into former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe was abruptly removed from the job last month in one of several recent moves by Barr to take control of legal matters of personal interest to President Donald Trump, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Senior officials at the Justice Department also intervened last month to help change the government's sentencing recommendation for Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. While the prosecutors had once recommended up to six months in jail, their latest filing now says they believe probation would be appropriate."
Trump, Barr Suffocating The Rule Of Law
Rule of law "gasping for breath" under Trump. Barr. Newsweek: "prominent constitutional scholar at Harvard has said the rule of law is "gasping for breath" under President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr amid the Roger Stone sentencing affair. The Department of Justice has intervened to lessen the seven- to nine-year sentence recommended by prosecutors for Stone, a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign adviser convicted of seven felonies, including lying to Congress and witness tampering. In response, Stone's four prosecutors have quit. Trump has also attacked the Stone case and hinted at a pardon. The president called it a 'miscarriage of justice' and said the original sentence recommendation was 'ridiculous.' Laurence Tribe, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor and professor of constitutional law at Harvard, accused Trump and Barr of wielding 'immoral power.' 'The Rule of Law is gasping for breath, being suffocated by Trump and his personal henchman Bill Barr,' tweeted Tribe, a frequent critic of the Administration. 'Not even a pretense of legality. They're doing it because they can. It's raw, naked, unprincipled, immoral power.'"
