Sunday, February 28, 2016
Sanders' presidential campaign announced Sunday that he will appear at a rally and concert Tuesday evening at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. The event will take place as Democrats in 11 states, including Vermont, make their presidential pick by primary or caucus. Roughly 880 delegates will be awarded that day — about a third of those necessary to win the Democratic nomination.
Joining the candidate for the event will be the pianist Ben Folds and several Vermont artists who have performed at other Sanders concerts: Kat Wright, Brett Hughes, Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson. Folds announced on Facebook earlier Sunday that he would join Sanders "to play a few tunes at his rally before he takes the stage, do some press and anything else I can do to help."
He added, "Those who know me know that I’ve never put myself wholeheartedly into a public endorsement for a politician, but Bernie is a rare candidate."
Doors open at 4 p.m. and the program begins at 6 p.m., though Sanders likely won't speak until quite a bit later. According to the campaign, tickets are not required, but an RSVP is "strongly encouraged."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , presidential campaign , Super Tuesday , Vermont , Champlain Valley Exposition , Recommended Reading , Image , Web Only
Two of Vermont's most influential newspapers endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Sunday, delivering a tough blow to hometown hero Bernie Sanders.
The Rutland Herald and the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, which are owned by the same family and share an editorial board, hailed the "serious and substantive challenge" the Vermont senator has mounted against the former secretary of state, calling his contribution to the debate "of historic importance." The papers credited the insurgent candidate with leading a progressive "awakening" that would continue long after the election is over.
"But outsider status, which Sanders has always enjoyed, does not automatically confer wisdom or ability," they wrote. "As the leader of a movement he has been a great success. As president of all the people, he is not the best choice."
Clinton, the papers argued, is the candidate with the "thorough and realistic understanding" of policy and the "breadth of experience" to implement a progressive vision. And in a "scary" election season featuring Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, they wrote, "The Democrats must be prepared to turn back that threat with the best possible candidate."
Tags: Senator , Hillary Clinton , Bernie Sanders , presidential campaign , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
Saturday, February 27, 2016
As she celebrated a jaw-dropping victory Saturday night in South Carolina, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton turned her gaze to the general election.
“Tomorrow, this campaign goes national,” she told a roaring crowd of supporters in Columbia at the University of South Carolina's Carolina Volleyball Center.
With nearly every precinct reporting, Clinton was leading Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) late Saturday 74 percent to 26 percent. The 48-point margin was more than twice what many observers had predicted. Clinton was on track to take 39 delegates to Sanders’ 14.
Even more jarring to the Sanders campaign than the size of his loss was his drubbing among African Americans, who made up 62 percent of the electorate. According to exit polls, black voters split 87 percent to 13 percent in Clinton’s favor.
Clinton’s strong showing came just three days before the biggest prize yet of the primary season: Super Tuesday, when 11 states weigh in on the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders is hoping to score victories in a handful of those states — Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma and his home state of Vermont — but Clinton’s renewed momentum could make that difficult.
Tags: Senator , Hillary Clinton , Bernie Sanders , presidential campaign , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
Sanders' early exit appeared to be part of a weeklong effort by his campaign to lower expectations in South Carolina, where he's expected to lose to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by a wide margin. Sanders touched down in the state just three times in the past week, spending much of the rest of it in states that vote early next month, such as Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Michigan and Ohio.
Clinton, meanwhile, spent most of the week campaigning in the Palmetto State and was expected to speak Saturday night at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
"It doesn't say anything," Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said Friday of his boss' early departure. "Obama used to do that, too. You'd roll ahead to the next contest. The problem is, you've got so many states coming up on Tuesday, right? It's only four days away, so it's difficult to stay."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , presidential campaign , South Carolina , Killer Mike , Recommended Reading , Image , Web Only
The two held competing rallies Friday afternoon at neighboring schools — South Carolina State University and Claflin University — less than a quarter of a mile apart. Then both candidates dropped by an oyster roast and fish fry hosted by a local politician at the county fairgrounds — barely missing one another.
The close encounter was a rare moment of drama in a race that, in the past week, has become a bit of a snoozer. Since losing the Nevada caucuses last Saturday, Sanders has all but conceded South Carolina, where he has long trailed Clinton in the polls. He spent much of the week outside the state.
Speaking in Orangeburg, which is three-quarters black, both candidates sought to appeal to the African American voters who will decide Saturday’s election.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Hillary Clinton , presidential campaign , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
Friday, February 26, 2016
The resolution supports the call for divestment that Gov. Peter Shumlin made in his State of the State address in January. He appealed directly to the Vermont Pension Investment Committee earlier this week.
Treasurer Beth Pearce has argued that decisions about how pension money is invested should be based on financial factors, not politics. But after Shumlin addressed the investment committee, she and VPIC agreed to look into possible divestment of coal and ExxonMobil stocks.
The House resolution focused on both the climate change and financial arguments for divesting from fossil fuel assets. It noted, for example, that a growing number of coal companies are filing for bankruptcy.
Tags: divestment , Gov. Peter Shumlin , Beth Pearce , Rep. Mary Sullivan , Vermont Pension Investment Committee , ExxonMobil , Image , Web Only
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The words “Governor Shumlin’s Anti-Drug Legacy” appeared in large type at the top of the full-page ad. Then, over an image of the governor: “SELL-OUT.”
What made the ad so mysterious was that its sponsor was not identified.
“Paid for by concerned Vermonters,” was all it said — in fine print, near the bottom of the page.
That had Shumlin wondering who paid for the ad — and whether it was legal.
“We’re trying to find that out,” he said Thursday morning. “You shouldn’t be able to run ads like that without saying who you are.”
Tags: Cannabeat , marijuana legalization , Peter Shumlin , Tim Trevithick , Image , Web Only
Shumlin clearly wanted to contrast his administration’s quick action with the slow response that Republican Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan had to the lead contamination of the drinking water in Flint.
Prompted by news that contamination had been detected in water sources in nearby Hoosick Falls, N.Y., the Department of Environmental Conservation took water samples from the municipal water source in North Bennington, and from wells at three homes, a business and the wastewater treatment plant. The test looked for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical used to make Teflon. North Bennington was home to a Teflon manufacturer, and the company, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, still operates a plant in Hoosick Falls.
No PFOA contamination turned up in the town water supply, but levels exceeding what the Vermont Department of Health considers safe were found in the other wells, Shumlin said.
Tags: Gov. Peter Shumlin , PFOA , Department of Environmental Conservation , Alyssa Schuren , Sen. Dick Sears , drinking water , Image , Web Only
"It was pretty shocking," she says.
Khan wasn't the only recipient. The man behind the ad, American Freedom Party chairman William Daniel Johnson, says his super PAC attempted to reach nearly every consumer landline in Vermont Wednesday night. He says he chose the state, after placing similar calls to Iowa and New Hampshire, because he was curious how such a liberal populace would respond.
Tags: William Daniel Johnson , Donald Trump , white nationalist , robocalls , Vermont , Image , Audio , Web Only
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Now the House Committee on General, Housing & Military Affairs is considering a bill that would ban private employers from requiring job applicants to disclose their criminal history on the initial job application. The bill would allow employers to query applicants later in the process, such as during interviews. That approach would let applicants explain their records and possibly provide character references.
Tags: ban the box , Dismas of Vermont , Gov. Peter Shumlin , Maribeth Spellman , T.J. Donovan , Image , Web Only