Tag Archives: president

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D): out of the 2020 presidential race

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

“…I am very confidant that I will reach the debate stage. [….] And for the people that have turned out for this town hall we need a voice on the Democratic debate stage who puts women’s rights at the fore, who actually talks about why access to abortion is such a basic civil human right. Uh, you need a campion and I am that champion…”

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – St. Louis, Missouri – August 18, 2019.

From Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D) presidential campaign:

After more than eight months, and with clarity that she will not have access to the September debate stage, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is suspending her campaign for president today. While this is not the result we wanted, Kirsten is proud of her aggressive, innovative and policy-driven campaign, and has never been more optimistic about Democrats’ chances to defeat President Trump and lay the foundation for our country’s future.

In a historically large field, Kirsten distinguished herself as the fiercest fighter for women and families. She took bold stances that pushed her Democratic opponents to follow suit, from her Family Bill of Rights to the first comprehensive reproductive rights plan in the field. Overall, Kirsten rolled out more than fifteen policy proposals.

Kirsten maintained an aggressive schedule from day one. She held the most public events in the first quarter of the campaign, connecting with voters in living rooms, breweries and cycling studios across Iowa and New Hampshire. She kept up a relentless pace throughout, including her determined fight for women’s reproductive rights from the frontlines in Georgia, Missouri and on Fox News. Kirsten also led the charge in standing up to Donald Trump, officially launching her campaign in front of Trump International Hotel, laying out a foreign policy vision to contrast with Trump’s endless wars, and highlighting his broken promises to voters in the Rust Belt.

Our campaign earned praise for its strong infrastructure, creativity, digital strategy, policy rollouts, and a state-of-the-art field operation. We built deep ties on the ground, picking up endorsements from influential Iowans and Granite Staters. Despite a historically crowded field, and competitive fundraising and media environment, Kirsten’s campaign consistently generated breakout moments and notable press coverage, demonstrating clout far out-pacing her perceived status in the race.

There is dignity and strength in knowing when it’s not your time. Moving forward, Kirsten will focus on uniting our party and our country to beat Donald Trump, flip the Senate and elect women up and down the ballot—in addition to fighting as hard as ever for New York families in the U.S. Senate by continuing to take on the fights that others won’t.

[….]

Kirsten and the campaign left it all on the field to make third debate in September, recognizing the importance of being on the stage. In the third quarter, the campaign ramped up spending and invested heavily in television in Iowa and New Hampshire, digital advertising, and added nearly 30 field staff in order to build a strong voter contact program. Kirsten traveled through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan for her Trump Broken Promises tour, as well as to St. Louis, Missouri for a reproductive rights town hall.
We end our campaign with under $800,000 cash on hand.

[….]

While her presidential campaign is ending, Kirsten is still on a mission to elect women up and down the ballot. Kirsten will relaunch her Off the Sidelines PAC by October and will raise and invest at least $1 million to elect women this cycle.

Next month, Kirsten will head to Texas to support an Annie’s List event, focused on turning Texas blue with Democratic women candidates. And she intends to do everything she can to elect more women in her effort to flip the Senate, from states like Iowa to Kentucky. Of course, regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination for president, Kirsten is 100% committed to doing what she can to beat Donald Trump.

Kirsten’s work isn’t done—not by a long shot. She has a clear mission: to defeat President Trump, flip the Senate, and elect women up and down the ballot. It’s the only way we can repair our moral fabric and protect everything we care about.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019.

Previously:

Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Reproductive Rights Town Hall – St. Louis – August 18, 2019 (August 18 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Opening Remarks – Reproductive Rights Town Hall – St. Louis – August 18, 2019 (August 19, 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Press Availability – Reproductive Rights Town Hall – St. Louis – August 18, 2019 (August 19, 2019)

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D): – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019

16 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

“…I think that America is looking for a President that tells the truth. Because right now we’ve got a guy in the White House that just doesn’t know how to tell the truth. He doesn’t know how to keep a promise…”

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) spoke at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Sunday afternoon.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapid, Iowa – July 14, 2019.

Senator Klobuchar (D):

“…And I’ll make you this promise. When I’m your President I’m the one that’s taken on pharma for over a decade. They think they own Washington with their two lobbyists for every member of Congress? Well, they don’t own me….And we’re going to bring in les expensive drugs from countries that are safe, like Canada. In Minnesota we can see Canada from our porch, all right…”

“…When you look at a foreign country invading our democracy, not with tans, not with missiles, but with cyber attack, no, Mr. President, it’s not a joke. And as your President I will stand with America, right. I will stand with our allies and I will not coddle dictators…”

Previously:

Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019

15 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

“…I promise you that I will stand with folks at every level of the ticket because we know that things go better when we demonstrate that we realize the presidency is not the only office that matters…”

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) spoke at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Sunday afternoon.

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapid, Iowa – July 14, 2019.

Mayor Buttigieg (D):

“…We are lucky and unlucky enough to be living in one of those moments that only comes around once or twice in a lifetime. But, these moments come along. And they decide how Democrat and Republicans are going to act for the next thirty, forty, fifty years. We’re in one of those moments right now. That’s why even now we may well be under reacting..to the seriousness of the moment we live in…”

“…If the New Deal ended with Reagan, the Reagan Era ends with us today. That’s why this isn’t just about winning an election this is about winning an era. And if we want to end the era we gotta be true to our deepest values…”

“…Normal hasn’t worked the entire time I’ve been alive. And so we cannot promise a return to the 90s to the two thousands any more than the President can keep his promise to return us to the 1950s. And we shouldn’t try. There is only the future, and we can make the future better than the past…”

Previously:

Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019

15 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

“…I have voted against resident Trump’s agenda more than any U.S. Senator…”

That’ a quality we look up to.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) spoke at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Sunday afternoon.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapid, Iowa – July 14, 2019.

Senator Gillibrand (D):

“…This president has launched an all out assault on women’s reproductive freedom since day one. He’s emboldened legislatures across this country, thirty different state legislatures, to overturn Roe v. Wade. All of this to deny women basic reproductive freedoms…”

Previously:

Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019

14 Sunday Jul 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

“…I’m running for President because I feel tremendously blessed with the opportunity that I’ve had in life in this country. And I want to make sure that no matter who you are, whether you live in a big city or mall town, no matter what your background is, that you can have those kinds of opportunity too…”

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro (D) spoke at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa this afternoon.

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro (D) at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapid, Iowa – July 14, 2019.

Julián Castro (D):

“…And then I said, I actually look forward to a moment earlier in the day when it’s traditional for the incoming resident to usher out the outgoing President. I can just imagine being there on the White House lawn, getting ready to say good bye to Donald Trump and Melania Trump, being there with my wife Erica and our ten year old, Carina, and our four year old, Cristian. You know, the helicopter will be right there in the distance with the door open and ready to go. All of the cameras will be there. And right before he leaves, right before he walks away, I’m going to tell him, ‘Adios’.”

Previously:

Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – March 17, 2019 – keep the peace, tell the truth, obey the law

17 Sunday Mar 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , ,

In the second leg of our Iowa presidential campaign road trip we left Altoona, Iowa early this morning for Cedar Rapids. There had been some overnight snow along Interstate 80.

Iowa [photo: Joan Ferguson].

Late this morning well over a hundred individuals (and quite a few media people) gathered in an upstairs meeting room in Cedar Falls, Iowa to hear from Senator Amy Klobuchar (D), a candidate for President in 2020.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D).

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D): [on education]…there are many paths to success in this country. There isn’t just one pat to success. And I see immigration reform as a part of this as well. Uh, we need workers in our factories, in our fields. We’ve got people here that are working in the shadows, right, and I believe comprehensive immigration reform is the answer. Just to give you a sense, the President always talks about it with security. Yes, we want to have security at the border. Not his wall, okay, that’s not what we need.[….][comprehensive immigration reform]… hundred fity-eight billion dollars in savings on that bill that passed the Senate, in ten years. People come out of the shadows, pay their taxes, hundred fifty-eight billion dollars in savings. Think about how that would help with the debt, think about how that would help our country. I see this as an economic issue. Twenty-five percent of our U.S. Nobel laureate were born in other countries. Nearly seventy of our Fortune Five Hundred company CEOs, state from a while back, born in other countries. Immigrants don’t diminish America, they are America….

…when they say there’s an urban rural divide. I will not do it. I go [in Minnesota] not just where it’s comfortable, I go where it’s uncomfortable. I visit every single county every year. I meet with Republicans, I meet with Independents, I meet with Democrats. I have people yell at me, I have people hug me. I don’t care. I think you have to get out there and you have to listen to people….

…and then I see these words on the wall [at the Carter Presidential Library], um, that they put up there, and this is before Trump. [….] Now it is so meaningful. It was Mondale, looking back at their four years….And the words on the wall said this: “We told the truth. We obeyed the law. We kept the peace.” And I think that is a minimum that you should expect from any President and Vice President. And that is, that you try to keep the peace, and that you tell the truth, and you obey the law. And that is what I promise you I will do.

Early in the afternoon Senator Klobuchar walked in the Cedar Rapids St. Patrick’s Day parade with Linn County Democrats.

Sen. Cory Booker (D) in Indianola, Iowa – March 16, 2019 – “Hope is the active conviction that despair will not have the last word.”

16 Saturday Mar 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Early this evening over a hundred indivuduals gathered at a winery across from the balloon field in Indianola, Iowa to hear from Senator Cory Booker (D), a candidate for President in 2020.

Senator Cory Booker (D)

Cory Booker

Senator Cory Booker (D): …So, I want to end by telling you hope, and why this has been two of the most hopeful years of my life. Because hope is the active conviction that despair will not have the last word. When there was the Muslim ban I, I ran out to Dulles Airport because I was a lawyer and I heard that they were detaining people without access to lawyers. And I got to Dulles Airport and the concourse was full of one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen as an American. Hundreds and hundreds of Americans piling into that concourse demanding justice, demanding the release of detained people. And every time a Muslim family not from this country emerged out of the gate everybody erupted into songs. Singing patriotic songs. There were guys with yarmulkes…cheering Muslims coming off a plane. That’s America. [….] Hope is the active conviction that despair will not have the last word. [….][after the inauguration] …And so I went home that night, and I’m telling the truth, I’m being seduced by despair now, I curl up in a ball and I’ve got a headache, I’m worrying. And the next morning I wake up to a chorus of Miss Virginia Jones’s, millions of women from coast to coast, said to me, Cory, despair will not have the last word. I’m bringing the hope. Hate won’t have the last word, I’m bringing the love. Sexism won’t have the last word, I’m bringing the equality. They said to me, Cory Booker, as if they were pointing to me…this is not a time to curl up, it’s not a time to shut up, it’s definitely not a time to give up. It’s time to get up. It’s time to rise up. It’s time to speak up. And so I ask you all right now, in this moral moment in our country what will we do? Each and every one of us has the power to make change in greater ways than we think. We’re stronger than we know. We’re more beautiful than we realize.[….] This is a moment now where we need the best of who we are. We need our traditions, the ones that go back to Birmingham, Selma. The ones that go back to Stonewall. And Seneca. When American gathered together and said our country is going wrong we’re going to make it right. I want to ask everybody in this room right now. I want you to caucus for me, but whatever you do, between now and six hundred days from now, what ever you do, don’t let this election be small. Don’t let it be about just one man and one office. Don’t let it be just about what you’re against. Let this be the moment in American history that we can again revive ideals of civic grace. That we call upon our neighbors to have a more courageous empathy for those people who are hurting, those people who are left out, those people who can’t afford their healthcare, those people who are getting starved in public education. Let this be a moment where we not just show courageous empathy, but we revive ideals of love and seek a loving community. If we can make this a big election, a big moment for America, yeah, we’re in the pit but we can go to the palace.[….] Well, it’s time for this generation to dream again. Dream that we can save this planet from peril. Dream that we can have cathedrals of learning for our kids. Dream that we can have healthcare for all. It’s time for defiant dreams.
Daring dreams. And bold dreams. And if we dream together, and work together, and struggle together, and turn common pain into common purpose I promise you, we won’t just elect a new president in the White House, we will as a whole, as a nation, we will rise. Thank you.

Have a Great Day!

19 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Missouri’s republican Presidential Electors met in the Senate Lounge in the capitol building in Jefferson City today to cast their votes.

About eighty individuals opposed to Donald Trump gathered in the morning outside in sub freezing temperatures on a public sidewalk near the capitol building underground parking entrance. Public speech is always accessible on a public sidewalk, even when you don’t have a permit for the capitol grounds.

There were other protesters inside the building.

For some reason there was an unmistakable Russian air to the proceedings.

In Russian – “We are so fucked”

Yeah, on hearing the translation of that sign and reading the English underneath it several of us shared a gut busting laugh – which probably caused permanent physical damage.

The driver of one vehicle, passing by away from the capitol, rolled down his window and yelled, “Build that wall.” There were a number of passersby who honked car horns, waved, and gave a thumbs up. There were fewer who scowled and a few others who extended their middle fingers.

Make Our Children Proud.

Make Our Children Proud.

A passenger in a passing car rolled down her window and told a protester with a sign, “You should be ashamed.” The protester responded, “You should be ashamed.”

“We are watching, comrades.”

A Trump paraphernalia bedecked supporter came out of the building to watch the proceedings and take some pictures with his phone. He turned to me while I was photographing the demonstration and said, “It’s a great day.” I didn’t respond. Later, his phone rang. He explained to the individual on the other end of the call that he had acquired a seat in the Senate Lounge to watch the proceedings.

20161219-img_4199

Then the real power in Missouri and America showed up:

20161219-img_4460

20161219-img_4411

Tell that to Chris Koster.

In Russian: “Make America Great Again”:

20161219-img_4304

At one point a passing vehicle stopped further down the line, the occupants yelling at protesters, some who responded. As he proceeded down the line the driver shouted, “Get a job!”

That is so last decade.

“Get a job!”

Dude, you were there at the same time. You get a job.

20161219-img_4185

Vote Your Conscience.

Vote Your Conscience.

A conversation (not a Trump supporter):

20161219-img_4261

Dump Trump.

Dump Trump.

This was not going to change any republican Elector’s mind or vote. The reality of this vestigial institution is that partisans fulfill the ceremonial role. They got there because their party put them there. They were never going to and never will change their vote.

Trump’s true believers, like their savior, demand that everyone else acquiesce and accept his ascension. It drives them insane when others don’t. Doubly so when they and he are mocked in public.

It’s going to be a long four years. They should get used to it.

Previously:

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Electors (December 16, 2016)

The resistance (December 18, 2016)

товарищ Trump losing the popular vote by 2,864,978. Never going to be a “mandate”. Ever.

17 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

Compiled by David Wasserman, Cook Political Report:

mbersin121716

Michael Bersin ‏@MBersin
National Popular Vote (to date) – Hillary Clinton (D) 65,844,594 – Donald Trump (r) 62,979,616 – margin for Hillary + 2,864,978
8:26 AM – 17 Dec 2016

Hack that, Kellyanne.

Previously:

Still counting (November 21, 2016)

Still counting – losing the popular vote by 2,017,563 ain’t a “mandate” (November 23, 2016)

Still counting – losing the popular vote by 2,103,941 is still not a “mandate” (November 24, 2016)

Still counting – losing the popular vote by 2,126,705 isn’t even close to a “mandate” (November 25, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,228,232. Nope, still not a “mandate”. (November 26, 2016)

62,409,389 (46.5%) of your fellow Americans (to date) voted for this moron (November 27, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,235,653. Still not a “mandate”. Trump is still delusional. (November 27, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,243,231. What color is the sky in their world? (November 28, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,358,925 (November 30, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,366,367. Still not a “mandate”. (November 30, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,526,184. Still not a “mandate” by any stretch of the imagination. (December 1, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,564,274. Still not a “mandate”, but now China is pissed off. (December 2, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,567,625. Still not a “mandate”, and he still fumes at Saturday Night Live. (December 4, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,620,649. Still not a “mandate”, and China is still a thing. (December 5, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,654,233. Not even a hint of a “mandate”. (December 6, 2016)

Still counting – Trump losing the popular vote by 2,676,670. And still no hint of a “mandate”. (December 9, 2016)

Still counting – товарищ Trump losing the popular vote by 2,835,808. No hint of a “mandate”, except from the Кремль. (December 9, 2016)

Still counting – товарищ Trump losing the popular vote by 2,841,862. Still not a “mandate” (December 10, 2016)

Still counting – товарищ Trump losing the popular vote by 2,843,362. Never going to be a “mandate” (December 13, 2016)

Сделать Америку великой Снова.

14 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Well.

U.S. Officials: Putin Personally Involved in U.S. Election Hack
by William M. Arkin, Ken Dilanian and Cynthia McFadden
Dec 14 2016, 6:31 pm ET

U.S. intelligence officials now believe with “a high level of confidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin became personally involved in the covert Russian campaign to interfere in the U.S. presidential election, senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.

Two senior officials with direct access to the information say new intelligence shows that Putin personally directed how hacked material from Democrats was leaked and otherwise used. The intelligence came from diplomatic sources and spies working for U.S. allies, the officials said.

Putin’s objectives were multifaceted, a high-level intelligence source told NBC News. What began as a “vendetta” against Hillary Clinton morphed into an effort to show corruption in American politics and to “split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn’t depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader anymore,” the official said….

So, we’re a client state then?