Hillary Clinton Wins/Loses in Dead Heat Against Bernie Sanders in Iowa
Hillary feeling the bern.
While Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) was projected as the winner of the Iowa Republican caucus fairly early in the night—he gave his victory speech at 10pm CT compared to 11pm CT for Rick Santorum, 2012's winner—running up to the midnight hour in the Eastern time zone, the Democratic race is a dead heat, with Hillary Clinton at 49.8 percent and Bernie Sanders at 49.6 percent with 94 percent of precincts reporting. It's highly unlikely no matter how the last six percent turns out that either Clinton or Sanders will leave Iowa with more delegates than the other.
More importantly, Hillary Clinton gave the first Democratic speech of the evening. The first speech, of course, is usually reserved for the loser. On the Republican side, Donald Trump spoke first (of the televised speeches). Ted Cruz was still speaking when Hillary Clinton took the stage and he was still talking when Bernie Sanders took the stage. Clinton said she was "excited" to continue to debate with Sanders, which definitely doesn't help her build an image as an honest person. The Real Clear Politics average of polls has her being crushed in New Hampshire by Sanders, who is from the neighboring state of Vermont. He's been in the lead since early December.
For his part, Sanders stuck to the script, full of socialist-lite bromides, some of which was, at least, civil libertarian. His primary argument for most of his positions is that it's 2016, as if that ought to explain everything. At one point addressing his detractors directly, saying that the "free stuff" (his scare quotes and mine) he was promising would be paid for by a tax on Wall Street speculation. I've seen no economic analysis that's shown that kind of tax bringing in anything close to what Sanders needs to deliver on what he has promised, not even from the Sanders campaign.
"We don't want their money," said Sanders of the "billionaires" he so often demagogues on the campaign trail while boasting that he didn't have the support of any Super PACs (Some help that was to Jeb Bush, who finished sixth in Iowa). Of course that's not technically true. Bernie Sanders does want billionaires' money. He needs it to even start paying for all the programs he's promised. Bernie Sanders may believe what he says, and that's certainly more than most people expect of Clinton. But he's not being honest (with himself at the very least, with everyone at the worst) about how much his proposals are going to cost all taxpayers, not just "the 1 percent" that kind of screwed him out of a victory today.
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“The Real Clear Politics average of polls has her being crushed in New Hampshire by Sanders”
And he is still way behind Hillary in general ie not defined by state. Bernie’s not going to beat Hillary. This whole thing just demonstrates how irrelevant NH and Iowa are.
“”Free stuff””
Hey Ed,
Do Americans pay anything–anything at all– right now for their health care? Libertarianism sure is getting boring. Fundamentally dishonest too.
I’m so glad that they give you internet access at the group home, Tulpa. It must be so therapeutic. You’ll see a vagina one day!!!
How much are your health care premiums? It’s like $0, right?
Having trouble distinguishing cost and price?
Unclear on the concept of accountability depending on who pays for something?
Of course you are!
In Denmark health care premiums are somewhere in the 58% marginal rate docked off the check. There’s a premium in there, somewhere.
I used to think that you might be somewhat real (although pretty stupid). But now I know you’re just a troll looking to piss people off.
Insurance Journal
I’m just glad Bernie’s getting dirty money out of politics.
Vote HiLIARy!
Vote Vagina!
If I actually purchased coverage, it would cost me around $800 per month for any plan worth even half a shit. So I have nothing. which is what you end up with living under the cunt Obama.
How many people do you suppose realize that Americans basically subsidize the world’s health care?
The people who develop meds and techniques do much, if not most, of the research in the US, with the attendant high Regulaviathan costs attached to actually get anything approved. Socialized medicine countries state that they will pay “this much; like it or lump it”. Well, the books have to balance somehow, so guess who eats the difference?
I refuse to play anymore. I’m working on helping to collapse Obamacare, by not paying into it.
Oh Paine, where art thou?
I figure Hillary is the worst because she has 30+ years of political experience and knows where all the skeleton are and how to make productive use of them.
Bernie is a blowhard who has little chance of getting any program through a Republican Congress. But at least he’s not a chickenhawk.
Trump is an even bigger blowhard who not only is a chickenhawk, he’s a damned careless one, and he can probably get a same-party Congress to do some of his dirty work.
So I suppose of those three, logic would want Bernie.
Cruz, I dunno. Legal foundation sure better than that constitutional law perfesser we got now, but he’s too opportunistic for my tastes. On the other hand, I think he’d at least pay attention to basics, unlike those other three, and he’s the only one other than Rand Paul who might nominate decent Supreme Court justices.
Rubio’s only claim to fame is Jeb Bush heavy. No originality, no honor or integrity, no foresight.
Don’t think any other candidates actually matter much. Pretty sorry lot, all things considered.
Strictly speaking, the Bloods hate all 4 leading candidates, since even among the Blood candidates, one is a pompous asshat and the other is a charismatic outsider wearing their colors. Actually, for the Blood leaders, Queen Crip might be the most appealing of the 4.
Eh, Cruz is better than we’ve gotten in a while from the Republican party — certainly in terms of fiscal policy, probably in terms of cultural policy, and even possibly in terms of foreign policy. Good enough to vote for? Well, we all know that a libertarian will never turn down a chance to go all purity test on any candidate but to be honest I could see lots of libertarians voting for the guy (indeed, it looks like a lot of Ron Paul’s support in Iowa went his way). Even with him deciding to piss on a couple of libertarian causes he picked up on in the Senate.
Agreed on the rest. Bernie, hate to say it, wouldn’t be the worst President in that lot — and I never thought I’d say that about a self-declared socialist running in the US (I’ve had to say it several times about Latin American elections).
The Republican field this year, at least from engagement/competence perspective, is world away from their 2012 draft – which was absolutely terrible. I think one of the reasons a Ron Paul or Rick Santorum broke through, even if so briefly, in that 2012 cycle was such poor competition.
Bernie would be a disaster. A communist with the power of the executive branch? All those cabinet level organizations? EPA, DOE, etc.. Imagine Bernie’s SCOTUS appointments. And if he has control of the military, his weakness will almost certainly make the world a far more dangerous place than it even is now.
No thanks.
Coin tosses can hurt and make an Iowan staemate that much harder to bear.
Was surprised though that Trump nearly sounded a gracious note when he said he was ‘honored’ to be runnerup. Had he won, he would be nasty, oh so nasty.
Hillary won 5 out of 5 coin tosses? Nice run of luck.
Given that Hilda won 5/5, I would take another look at those coins.
I can appreciate that. I’m a gracious loser, but a poor winner. My cackle of cruel glee is legendary in my area. And I know how to repeat a punch line at just the right times to run salt in the wounds.
And Trump is even better at it.
It is absolutely delightful to be reminded that people still hate this loathesome bitch, regardless of how much they might agree with her intellectually. I’m gonna enjoy watching this desiccated cunt have to sweat and hustle for her votes.
Not only sweat and hustle, but ideally she’d stroke out (or have a house fall on her: w/e) so that the contents of her “fuck you” file on Obama, Holder, Jarrett et al, are made public. IOW, the only reason she hasn’t been indicted yet on evidence that would’ve sunk a dozen Nixons.
Bonus points if her illness is as painful as the gut-shooting of George Wallace must have been.
That truly would be the best gift of all.
What a loathsome person. Has there been a more despicable person in American politics since LBJ?
Wasn’t candidates “stroking out” part of a Neal Stephenson political thriller?
He missed his true calling, screaming his inane ideas at a garbage can, in an alley in NYC.
” At one point addressing his detractors directly, saying that the “free stuff” (his scare quotes and mine) he was promising would be paid for by a tax on Wall Street speculation.”
So, when Wall Street billionaires are funding our Medicare for all dreams, are they still villains? Or, do they become heroes?
I don’t get this philosophy: we demonize a class of people, as juistification for hitching our wagon directly onto them, such that our social justice dreams depend on the demons’ continued existence, well-being, and continued success.