Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Sanders, who has long trailed former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in Iowa, is now leading her 49 percent to 44 percent among likely Iowa Democratic caucus voters, according to a new Quinnipiac University survey. A month ago, the same polling outfit showed Clinton leading Sanders by nine percentage points.
"Iowa may well become Sen. Bernie Sanders' 'Field of Dreams,'" Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director Peter Brown said in a written statement. "Sen. Sanders' surge seems based on the perception by Iowa Democrats that he is a better fit for Iowans. They see him, by solid double digit margins as more sharing their values, more honest and trustworthy and viewed more favorably overall than is Secretary Clinton."
The Q-Poll, whose margin of error was plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, found that only 3 percent of Iowans were undecided — and only 20 percent of those who have chosen a candidate would consider changing their mind. Just 5 percent supported former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley.
The Iowa caucuses are scheduled to take place February 1.
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"This is a massive vote in favor of Bernie Sanders, showing that grassroots progressives across the country are excited and inspired by his message and track record of standing up to big money and corporate interests to reclaim our democracy for the American people," MoveOn.org political action committee executive director Ilya Sheyman said in a statement circulated by the Sanders campaign.
The MoveOn endorsement represents "boots on the ground" in the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. The organization pledges to turn out its 43,000 members in the Hawkeye State and its 30,000 members in the Granite State.
In December, Sanders received an endorsement from another liberal advocacy group, Democracy for America. But his chief Democratic opponent, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, has generally outperformed him in the endorsement game, winning nods from far more elected officials and most national labor unions. Just last weekend, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced its support for her candidacy.
According to the latest polls, Sanders and Clinton are neck-and-neck in Iowa and New Hampshire. A new poll released Tuesday by Monmouth University showed Sanders faring even better. It found that the Vermont senator had opened up a 14-point lead over Clinton in neighboring New Hampshire, besting her 53 percent to 39 percent.
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Monday, January 11, 2016
In a letter sent Sunday to U.S. Attorney Eric Miller, Vermont Republican Party vice chair Brady Toensing alleged that O'Meara Sanders made material misstatements in a 2010 loan application when the college was seeking to purchase a 32-acre campus. Citing stories published by VTDigger.org and two conservative websites, Toensing accused O'Meara Sanders of overstating by nearly $2 million the amount of money donors had committed to finance the acquisition.
"The evidence indicates that Ms. Sanders, as president of the college, successfully and intentionally engaged in a fraudulent scheme to actively conceal and misrepresent material facts from a federal financial institution," he wrote.
Toensing filed the complaint on behalf of Rutland City Treasurer Wendy Wilton, the 2012 Republican nominee for state treasurer, and "other aggrieved Vermont parishioners" of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The diocese, which previously owned the 32-acre plot overlooking Lake Champlain, lost between $1.5 million and $2 million when the college failed to repay a $3.65 million loan to the church, according to VTDigger.
The complaint comes just three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, in which Sen. Sanders is competing for the Democratic presidential nomination. A spokesman for the senator said Monday in a written statement that Toensing's letter was politically motivated, calling it "recycled, discredited garbage."
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Sunday, January 10, 2016
Clinton has repeatedly criticized Sanders for a 2005 vote protecting gun dealers and manufacturers from legal liability. Though Sanders has said in recent months that he would consider revisiting aspects of the legislation, Clinton accused him Sunday of "refusing to say that he would vote to repeal" it.
"You know, President Obama and I and Sen. Sanders were all in the Senate at the same time," she told CBS' John Dickerson on "Face the Nation." "Two of us voted against what the NRA says was the most important piece of legislation in 20 years for the gun lobby. Senator Sanders voted with them."
Speaking Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Sanders referred to the immunity law as "complicated" and said that there were "aspects of it ... that were wrong" and that he would like to "revise." But, he told host George Stephanopoulous, "There are parts of it that made sense to me."
"Look, George, if you have a small gun shop owner in northern Vermont who sells a gun legally to somebody and then, you know, something happens to that guy — he goes nuts or something and he kills somebody — should the gun shop owner be held liable?" Sanders asked.
As the two leading Democratic presidential candidates argued over the matter, a pair of polls released Sunday showed them statistically tied in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote next month. In Iowa, Clinton leads Sanders just 48 to 45 percent, according to a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, NBC News and Marist. Those same organizations found Sanders leading Clinton 50 to 46 percent in New Hampshire.
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Thursday, January 7, 2016
“Wow, what a beautiful view. Beautiful,” he said, taking his place behind a podium at center-stage. “We’re in Vermont, where the air is so nice and clean.”
Waving white placards and hoisting cellphones aloft, supporters of the real estate mogul and reality television star chanted, “Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!”
“I got here and said, ‘I just wanna breathe that air,’” the candidate continued. “I went outside. There’s like 20,000 people. We can’t get ’em in. So you are very lucky.”
Lucky indeed. After waiting in line for hours, those with tickets to the biggest show in town were asked at the door whether they supported Trump. Those who answered in the affirmative were admitted; others were shown the door.
One ticket holder, Katina Cummings of Waterbury Center, joined a long line that snaked around St. Paul Street at 2:30 p.m., carrying a sign that read, “Refugees welcome, Trump not.” When she disclosed to Trump staffers at the entrance that she did not support their candidate, she recalled, “Two of them started to push me out.”
Calling those who denied her entry “thugs,” she said, “This is a rigged event!”
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Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Speaking in Midtown Manhattan, not far from the epicenter of the financial industry, Sanders invoked — and turned on their head — the words of the fictional corporate raider Gordon Gekko.
"Greed is not good!" he said to thunderous applause. "In fact, the greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the fabric of our nation. And here is a New Year's resolution that I will keep if elected president ... If Wall Street does not end its greed, we will end it for them."
"Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!" the crowd chanted.
Though Sanders' 40-minute address was ostensibly directed at corporate villainy, he clearly had another target in mind: Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Throughout the speech, delivered at a lectern in front of five American flags at Town Hall Theater, Sanders repeatedly invoked the former senator from New York.
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Monday, January 4, 2016
One was arguing that Killacky shouldn’t have agreed to rent the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign for a rally Thursday night. The other defended Killacky’s argument that the Flynn stands for free speech.
“I laughed,” Killacky said. “I haven’t taken it personally.”
It’s been a whirlwind few days for Killacky, and for Vermonters, since the New Year’s Eve announcement that the Flynn will host the bombastic Trump. The controversial candidate has rented the hall and its 1,000 seats (sans balcony) for $3,300, plus personnel expenses.
In email exchanges, on Facebook feeds and via phone calls, Trump opponents around Vermont are in a fury over how to respond to a candidate who has called for banning all Muslim immigrants and regularly disses just about everybody.
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Saturday, January 2, 2016
For the second quarter in a row, Sanders collected nearly as much as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, whose campaign reported raising $37 million for the primary election. Clinton raised an additional $18 million through various Democratic Party fundraising entities for use in the general election, her campaign announced Friday.
Sanders took in a total of $72.8 million in 2015, his campaign said, and ended the year with $28.4 million in the bank. Clinton raised $112 million for her primary campaign in the same period and reported having $38 million to spend.
Details of the candidates' fundraising and spending won't be known until late this month when they file formal reports to the Federal Election Commission. But according to the Sanders campaign, the vast majority of his money came from small contributions in 2.5 million individual donations. Just "a few hundred" of his more than 1 million donors contributed the maximum contribution of $2,700, his campaign said, meaning that most can continue giving. His average donation amounted to $27.16.
“This people-powered campaign is revolutionizing American politics,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in a written statement. “What we are showing is that we can run a strong, national campaign without a super PAC and without depending on millionaires and billionaires for their support. We are making history and we are proud of it.”
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Sunday, December 20, 2015
But the chill wasn't just emanating from below the floorboards. It was in the air around Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) top aides and surrogates, still frosted over the Democratic National Committee's decision to suspend access to its voter files late last week. The sanction came after the DNC caught several Sanders staffers taking advantage of a temporary software glitch to snoop around rival Hillary Clinton's voter data. (The Sanders campaign fired one of the perpetrators Thursday and suspended two others Saturday.)
Speaking to reporters in the arena before the debate, campaign manager Jeff Weaver referred to the suspension, which was lifted late Friday, as a "death sentence" and a "very heavy-handed, unfair overreaction by the chairwoman." He was referring to DNC chief Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
"I think what it demonstrates is there are establishment forces out there that are very, very concerned about the success of this campaign," Weaver said.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) apologized Saturday night for the behavior of campaign staffers who accessed voter data belonging to rival Hillary Clinton — but his apology took a little prodding.
Asked about the controversy at the third Democratic presidential debate, in Goffstown, N.H., Sanders at first delivered an extended explanation of the drama that had subsumed his campaign in recent days. He criticized the Democratic National Committee, its data vendor and even the Clinton campaign, which he suggested may have accessed his own proprietary information.
Only after moderator David Muir of ABC News asked whether Clinton deserved an apology did Sanders actually express remorse.
"Yes, I apologize," the senator said, not looking happy about it.
As Muir turned to Clinton for a response, Sanders jumped back in to offer a fuller mea culpa.
"Not only do I apologize to Secretary Clinton — and I hope we can work together on an independent investigation, from day one — I want to apologize to my supporters," he said. "This is not the type of campaign that we run. And if I find anybody else involved in this, they will also be fired."
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