Arguably the most important debate in the history of the United States has just finished, and there sure was a lot of arguing done. The first of three debates between Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Nominee Donald Trump gave the candidates the opportunity to reintroduce themselves before America and the world to promote their candidacy for the Presidency of the United States.
Throughout the past few weeks, each candidate has taken time out of their schedule to prep for this debate. In Clinton's case this meant practicing with a Trump stand-in where she was able to solidify her responses into two minute answers as stated by the debate rules. For Trump, debate prep was less sophisticated than Clinton's. Rather than practice answers to likely questions, it seems that he spent more time answering questions in whatever way he felt was best. But which style of preparation ultimately won? That's hard to say.
From the responses I received after watching the debate with fellow students on campus, it appears as if Clinton presented herself as presidential while Trump didn't change from his usual self. Throughout the debate Clinton remained relatively calm whenever Trump interrupted her or tried to talk over her. Clinton seemed to know that using the tactics Trump is best known for, interrupting and name calling, would get her no support in the polls.
However, as some of my peers observed there were a few moments in the debate where they either agreed with Trump or saw why people might be drawn to his candidacy. Most notably when he compared the United States to a business and how he would focus on creating jobs in America rather than ship them overseas. While there are many flaws in his candidacy, it's clear that some Americans like the idea that Trump would use a business background to run the country rather than a more traditional political mindset.
Another stark difference between the two candidates is the number of facts each used when discussing their ideas and opinions on how to move this country forward. Clinton continually used as many facts about the economy and foreign affairs as she could which proved that she has taken the time to look over various briefing books and is familiar with what she is taking about. Trump in comparison used less facts and focused instead on words that generalize his stances on issues such as "bring jobs back" which is helpful in theory but barely describes plans he theoretically would implement.
So the first debate is over. What's next?
What will the second and third debates focus on that this one did not? Will either of the third party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein be on the debate stage with Clinton and Trump? Does it matter that they are or are not? Will the moderator of the next debate attempt to fact check the candidates to a higher degree than Lester Holt attempted to do tonight? Are polls going to change dramatically over the next few days or do Americans even care about what a candidate says during a debate? Does a candidate's two minute answer have the ability to change the mind of a voter or is the election already decided by the time September rolls around? The only way to find out the answer to any of these questions is to tune in for the next debate on Sunday October 9.
Showing posts with label United States of America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States of America. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Day Three of the Democratic National Convention
"One Last Time"
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Hillary Clinton's Univision Debate Performance
On March 9th, both of the Democratic candidates took the stage at Miami Dade College in Florida for their eighth debate. It was just one day after Senator Bernie Sanders upset win over Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Michigan Primary. But while Sanders was able to eek out a win, Clinton was still able to gain a greater number of delegates that night, mostly from her large margin over Sanders in the Mississippi Primary. After all of the primaries prior to March 15th Clinton's delegate total is at 775 while Sanders has a total of 552.
From the beginning of this debate, the moderators immediately asked pressing questioning of the candidates, wasting no time in getting started. Clinton was asked where she failed with regards to her loss in the Michigan Primary and why she has started to sound more like the Democratic nomination is already hers rather than continue to battle for it in the primaries. She responded by saying that her campaign was focusing on her other wins from that night, not her one loss in Michigan, and that this entire process is a marathon where you need to look for positive solutions to get things done. As Sanders stated just a few minutes later when asked about how his delegate count was far less than Clinton's, he said that his win in the Michigan Primary could possibly be one of the greatest political upsets in modern times. This statement and many others throughout the debate from Sanders were aimed at convincing the American public that he is by no means out of the race for the Democratic nomination even though Clinton has begun to pander to a more general audience.
Pandering was also one of the next issues brought up by the moderators when discussing Clinton's stance on immigration. Had she been "His-pandering" when she changed her stance on illegal immigrants from stating that she was "adamantly against them" in a 2003 interview to today's stance where she plans on attacking immigration reform in her first 100 days in office? Clinton fired back saying that she had supported the Dreamer Act that was proposed to Congress in 2003 and in every Congress since then, as well as stating that she is a strong supported in immigration reform. Throughout the debate on immigration Clinton frequently brought up her record on various Senate votes that she had participated in during her time in Congress. She even attempted to discredit Senator Sanders stance on immigration when she mentioned that he had voted against the 2003 Dreamer Act whereas she had voted for it. Sanders was not taking the bait however and defended his vote on that bill as well explaining what he would do with immigration reform as President of the United States.
It was clear that Clinton was put on the defensive from the beginning of the debate as a way to test her and see how well she could hold up after a surprising loss in Michigan. Her strategy was to use her Senate voting record to show how she has been in favor of immigration reform for years as well as stating that she would build off of Obama's current plans if she were to be elected president. Another strategy was to attack Sanders in as many areas as she possibly could so she could call him out on anything he said that might appear out of line, a technique called "the spread" that many debate teams, use according to an article written by James Hohmann for the Washington Post. Hohmann's article had an educated critique of the debate in general and on Clinton's performance in particular which helped to put the Democratic race in perspective. While Clinton's debate performance seemed strong there was still room for improvement, especially when it comes to how her campaign strategy should evolve over the next few weeks. Sanders proved in this debate that he too was in the race for the long run and should not be overlooked by Clinton who was beginning to change her rhetoric to a wider base in the hopes that she could skip over the Democratic convention and go straight to November.
From the beginning of this debate, the moderators immediately asked pressing questioning of the candidates, wasting no time in getting started. Clinton was asked where she failed with regards to her loss in the Michigan Primary and why she has started to sound more like the Democratic nomination is already hers rather than continue to battle for it in the primaries. She responded by saying that her campaign was focusing on her other wins from that night, not her one loss in Michigan, and that this entire process is a marathon where you need to look for positive solutions to get things done. As Sanders stated just a few minutes later when asked about how his delegate count was far less than Clinton's, he said that his win in the Michigan Primary could possibly be one of the greatest political upsets in modern times. This statement and many others throughout the debate from Sanders were aimed at convincing the American public that he is by no means out of the race for the Democratic nomination even though Clinton has begun to pander to a more general audience.
Pandering was also one of the next issues brought up by the moderators when discussing Clinton's stance on immigration. Had she been "His-pandering" when she changed her stance on illegal immigrants from stating that she was "adamantly against them" in a 2003 interview to today's stance where she plans on attacking immigration reform in her first 100 days in office? Clinton fired back saying that she had supported the Dreamer Act that was proposed to Congress in 2003 and in every Congress since then, as well as stating that she is a strong supported in immigration reform. Throughout the debate on immigration Clinton frequently brought up her record on various Senate votes that she had participated in during her time in Congress. She even attempted to discredit Senator Sanders stance on immigration when she mentioned that he had voted against the 2003 Dreamer Act whereas she had voted for it. Sanders was not taking the bait however and defended his vote on that bill as well explaining what he would do with immigration reform as President of the United States.
It was clear that Clinton was put on the defensive from the beginning of the debate as a way to test her and see how well she could hold up after a surprising loss in Michigan. Her strategy was to use her Senate voting record to show how she has been in favor of immigration reform for years as well as stating that she would build off of Obama's current plans if she were to be elected president. Another strategy was to attack Sanders in as many areas as she possibly could so she could call him out on anything he said that might appear out of line, a technique called "the spread" that many debate teams, use according to an article written by James Hohmann for the Washington Post. Hohmann's article had an educated critique of the debate in general and on Clinton's performance in particular which helped to put the Democratic race in perspective. While Clinton's debate performance seemed strong there was still room for improvement, especially when it comes to how her campaign strategy should evolve over the next few weeks. Sanders proved in this debate that he too was in the race for the long run and should not be overlooked by Clinton who was beginning to change her rhetoric to a wider base in the hopes that she could skip over the Democratic convention and go straight to November.
Super Tuesday
12 states.
7 candidates.
2 political parties.
595 Republican delegates at stake.*
865 Democratic delegates at stake.**
A political junkies dream.
After an entire day of voting in 2016 Presidential Election, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were the two candidates who came out on top of their respective parties. Trump won a total of 234 delegates across a variety of states including Alabama, Vermont, and Virginia while Clinton won a total of 488 delegates across Texas, Georgia, and Massachusetts. But in order to get a better sense of how Super Tuesday went down, its best to separate each state by their delegate counts and how each party did overall.
Alabama
The Republicans: Trump led in Alabama leading up to Super Tuesday by around 15 points compared to his nearest competitor Marco Rubio with Ted Cruz coming in third in most polls. As expected Trump won 26 out of the 50 available delegates with Cruz coming in second with 13 and Rubio ending up in third place with 1.
The Democrats: According to the Monmouth poll, Clinton led Bernie Sanders by almost 50 points, similar to her lead over Sanders in most Southern states. She won 44 of the states 53 delegates while Sanders earned 9.
Alaska
The Republicans: Little polling was done in Alaska before the primary took place because it was not a hotly contested state for the Republican candidates. However it proved beneficial to Cruz because he ended up winning the state and 12 of their 28 delegates with Trump picking up 11 despite his exciting endorsement from former governor Sarah Palin. Rubio also picked up 5 delegates.
Arkansas
The Republicans: For the top three Republican candidates, Trump, Cruz, and Rubio, polling showed that Arkansas would be one of the closer races of the night. This could be seen when all of the delegates were awarded with Trump winning and receiving 16, Cruz with 14, and Rubio with 9 out of 40 that were available for the candidates.
The Democrats: Clinton led in polling data over Sanders which was not surprising due to the fact that her husband Bill Clinton was a former governor of Arkansas as well as the state residing in the South where Clinton tends to outpace her opponent. At the end of the night she won 19 of the total 32 available delegates with Sanders taking 9 for himself.
Colorado
The Democrats: Prior to the primary, Quinnipiac had polls showing the Clinton would come out on top of Sanders to win the state. However, Sanders gained 35 of the states 66 delegates in comparison to the 24 which Clinton received, helping him win one of his four victories of the night.
Georgia
The Republicans: Georgia's polls showed that the Republican race was relatively close with Trump around 35 points, Rubio around 22, and Cruz around 18. At the end of the night Trump won the state with 40 of the 76 available delegates with Cruz taking second and 18 delegates, and Rubio rounding out the top three with 14 delegates.
The Democrats: Clinton had a huge lead over Sanders in Georgia due to the makeup of the electorate being more diverse than previous states Sanders had won. And it was no exception that Clinton won and received 70 of the 102 available delegates while Sanders only picked up 28.
Massachusetts
The Republicans: Trump led the Republican field in Massachusetts, but as polls showed, Ohio governor John Kasich was consistently coming in third. By the end of the night Trump won, receiving 22 delegates out of 42 available with Kasich coming in second winning 8 delegates. Rubio also received 8 delegates while Cruz only picked up 4.
The Democrats: For the Democrats, Massachusetts was seen as a battleground state because of its location to Sanders home state of Vermont as well as polls that showed the two candidates were anywhere between 5 and 10 points away from each other. Though it looked like Sanders was going to come away with a win, Clinton ended up winning the state by a narrow margin along with 45 of the 91 available delegates; just two more than Sanders who received 43.
Minnesota
The Republicans: Minnesota is not known to be a battle ground state or even a state that most candidates are counting on unless they are from there or absolutely need to win. In Rubio's case it was the latter. This was the only state that Rubio won on Super Tuesday and helped him get 14 delegates compared to 13 for Cruz and just 10 for Trump. While Rubio's campaign was excited by his first win it was also the first time that Trump had finished third in a primary contest, something unknown to the GOP front runner.
The Democrats: Similar to Colorado, polls showed that Clinton was ahead of Sanders by a fair amount, but because Minnesota was not one of the battle ground states of the night newer polling had not taken place for some time. Sanders was able to pull off another win here and received 46 of the 77 delegates available while Clinton received just 28.
Oklahoma
The Republicans: Trump was shown to be leading Cruz in polls by a margin of about 10 points, but due to the fact that Oklahoma borders Cruz's home state of Texas it looked like it could be a close call. At the end of the night Cruz won and picked up 14 of the available 43 delegates followed by Trump with 12 and Rubio with 11.
The Democrats: Clinton and Sanders were also in a tight race with Sanders leading Clinton by 5 points. By the end of the night Sanders was victorious, earning 20 out of the available 38 delegates while Clinton received 16.
Tennessee
The Republicans: Trump again led the polls over Cruz and Rubio in Tennessee and ended up winning the night with 31 out of 58 available delegates followed by Cruz with 14 and Rubio with 9.
The Democrats: Again it was unsurprising to see Clinton leading Sanders in Tennessee by a 30 point margin as well as her winning the state and 41 delegates out of 67. Sanders also picked up 22 delegates.
Texas
The Republicans: As Texas is Cruz's home state, this was a crucial win for him. But polls leading up to the big day showed that Trump was not that far behind Cruz and could possibly overcome him and take the lead. In the end Cruz came out on top with the biggest single state delegate win of the night, picking up 99 of the 155 available delegates. Trump finished second with 33 and Rubio came in third with 3 delegates.
The Democrats: Clinton led Sanders by almost 30 points in the Texas primary and won this state as many expected her to. She picked up 138 of 222 delegates while Sanders picked up 61.
Vermont
The Republicans: Since very little polling data had come out of Vermont, and it wasn't a competitive race for anyone on the Republican side, it was expected that this would be yet another state for Trump to increase his delegate count. And it was. He received 6 of the state's 16 delegates while Kasich came in second once again to receive 6 delegates of his own.
The Democrats: Being the home state of Sanders it would have taken an act of God for Clinton to beat him here especially because he had led the polls since the beginning of the primary season. Vermont was probably Sanders biggest and most sentimental win of the race so far because he took home 16 delegates compared to Clinton's 0.
Virginia
The Republicans: Polls showed that the race for delegates here would be between Trump and Rubio with the possibility that Rubio could come out with an important win. And it looked like Rubio's dreams might come true when polls closed at the beginning of the night. But while Rubio was able to turn out voters in the Virginian suburbs of DC, Trump eventually won the state and 17 of their 49 delegates with Rubio coming in a close second with 16 delegates. Cruz finished in second picking up 8 delegates, Kasich with 5, and Ben Carson even picked up a few delegates here gaining 3 for his campaign.
The Democrats: Clinton led Sanders in Virginia as she had for weeks by a lead of about 20 points. She was able to keep that lead and take 61 of their 95 available delegates at the end of the night while Sanders picked up 32 for himself.
Overall, Super Tuesday went according to plan for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton who won substantially in a variety of states across the country. But for Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Ben Carson, and Bernie Sanders it was a different story. For Cruz, who won 3 states he has the ability to continue in the race for quite some time. As his campaign has begun to say, he is the only candidate in the Republican field who has actually beaten Trump in a primary and caucus. With this fact on his side he could possibly stay in the race until the convention in July in the hopes that he could spoil Trump and take the nomination away from him. Rubio meanwhile has a harder decision to make. After winning only one state, Minnesota, and placing third in almost every contest where he was able to break the required threshold, it is looking like Rubio will drop out of the race soon if there are not drastic changes made. Rubio will most likely hold out until his home state Florida votes on March 15th in the hopes that he will win and be able to reinvigorate his campaign. Kasich seems to be in the same boat as Rubio. While he came in second in two states he did not win any outright. This means that he will also be holding out hope that he can win his home state of Ohio on March 15th and campaign as the establishment candidate of the Republican party, someone who more moderates and conservatives might think about voting for instead of Trump or Cruz. But wait, there's one more Republican candidate to discuss! Dr. Ben Carson who received just 4 delegates at the end of the night. With no hope of continuing a successful campaign, Carson dropped out of the race just days after Super Tuesday.
And let's not forget about the other Democratic hopeful, Bernie Sanders. While Sanders was not able to get quite the amount of delegates that he was hoping for on Super Tuesday he did come away with a substantial amount and a substantial amount of momentum looking forward in the race. When comparing the pledged delegates of both Sanders and Clinton the picture looks even better for Sanders because they are relatively close in number. But what Sanders needs to improve upon is the number of Super Delegates he can get to support him. Super delegates are elected Democrat officials or other significant members of the party whose votes weighs more than the traditional delegates of the party; and almost all of them support Clinton. If Sanders wants to continue to inspire a political revolution he needs to work on gaining as many Super Delegates as he can, like Barack Obama did in 2008, as well on increase the diversity in his voting electorate.
As a whole Super Tuesday turned out to be what political pollsters and pundits were expecting. No surprise margins of error in their polls to cause an unknown candidate to win. No serious scandals were revealed about any candidate. No controversial drop outs. But this is just the beginning of the official voting cycle for the next President of the United States. Who knows what the next 34 contests will bring.
* According to data based on FiveThirtyEight which excludes Colorado and Wyoming's delegates because these states are holding caucus' and not primaries
** According to data based on FiveThirtyEight which excludes the 150 Super Delegates which have the ability to change there pledge until the Democratic Convention in July
7 candidates.
2 political parties.
595 Republican delegates at stake.*
865 Democratic delegates at stake.**
A political junkies dream.
After an entire day of voting in 2016 Presidential Election, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were the two candidates who came out on top of their respective parties. Trump won a total of 234 delegates across a variety of states including Alabama, Vermont, and Virginia while Clinton won a total of 488 delegates across Texas, Georgia, and Massachusetts. But in order to get a better sense of how Super Tuesday went down, its best to separate each state by their delegate counts and how each party did overall.
Alabama
The Republicans: Trump led in Alabama leading up to Super Tuesday by around 15 points compared to his nearest competitor Marco Rubio with Ted Cruz coming in third in most polls. As expected Trump won 26 out of the 50 available delegates with Cruz coming in second with 13 and Rubio ending up in third place with 1.
The Democrats: According to the Monmouth poll, Clinton led Bernie Sanders by almost 50 points, similar to her lead over Sanders in most Southern states. She won 44 of the states 53 delegates while Sanders earned 9.
Alaska
The Republicans: Little polling was done in Alaska before the primary took place because it was not a hotly contested state for the Republican candidates. However it proved beneficial to Cruz because he ended up winning the state and 12 of their 28 delegates with Trump picking up 11 despite his exciting endorsement from former governor Sarah Palin. Rubio also picked up 5 delegates.
Arkansas
The Republicans: For the top three Republican candidates, Trump, Cruz, and Rubio, polling showed that Arkansas would be one of the closer races of the night. This could be seen when all of the delegates were awarded with Trump winning and receiving 16, Cruz with 14, and Rubio with 9 out of 40 that were available for the candidates.
The Democrats: Clinton led in polling data over Sanders which was not surprising due to the fact that her husband Bill Clinton was a former governor of Arkansas as well as the state residing in the South where Clinton tends to outpace her opponent. At the end of the night she won 19 of the total 32 available delegates with Sanders taking 9 for himself.
Colorado
The Democrats: Prior to the primary, Quinnipiac had polls showing the Clinton would come out on top of Sanders to win the state. However, Sanders gained 35 of the states 66 delegates in comparison to the 24 which Clinton received, helping him win one of his four victories of the night.
Georgia
The Republicans: Georgia's polls showed that the Republican race was relatively close with Trump around 35 points, Rubio around 22, and Cruz around 18. At the end of the night Trump won the state with 40 of the 76 available delegates with Cruz taking second and 18 delegates, and Rubio rounding out the top three with 14 delegates.
The Democrats: Clinton had a huge lead over Sanders in Georgia due to the makeup of the electorate being more diverse than previous states Sanders had won. And it was no exception that Clinton won and received 70 of the 102 available delegates while Sanders only picked up 28.
Massachusetts
The Republicans: Trump led the Republican field in Massachusetts, but as polls showed, Ohio governor John Kasich was consistently coming in third. By the end of the night Trump won, receiving 22 delegates out of 42 available with Kasich coming in second winning 8 delegates. Rubio also received 8 delegates while Cruz only picked up 4.
The Democrats: For the Democrats, Massachusetts was seen as a battleground state because of its location to Sanders home state of Vermont as well as polls that showed the two candidates were anywhere between 5 and 10 points away from each other. Though it looked like Sanders was going to come away with a win, Clinton ended up winning the state by a narrow margin along with 45 of the 91 available delegates; just two more than Sanders who received 43.
Minnesota
The Republicans: Minnesota is not known to be a battle ground state or even a state that most candidates are counting on unless they are from there or absolutely need to win. In Rubio's case it was the latter. This was the only state that Rubio won on Super Tuesday and helped him get 14 delegates compared to 13 for Cruz and just 10 for Trump. While Rubio's campaign was excited by his first win it was also the first time that Trump had finished third in a primary contest, something unknown to the GOP front runner.
The Democrats: Similar to Colorado, polls showed that Clinton was ahead of Sanders by a fair amount, but because Minnesota was not one of the battle ground states of the night newer polling had not taken place for some time. Sanders was able to pull off another win here and received 46 of the 77 delegates available while Clinton received just 28.
Oklahoma
The Republicans: Trump was shown to be leading Cruz in polls by a margin of about 10 points, but due to the fact that Oklahoma borders Cruz's home state of Texas it looked like it could be a close call. At the end of the night Cruz won and picked up 14 of the available 43 delegates followed by Trump with 12 and Rubio with 11.
The Democrats: Clinton and Sanders were also in a tight race with Sanders leading Clinton by 5 points. By the end of the night Sanders was victorious, earning 20 out of the available 38 delegates while Clinton received 16.
Tennessee
The Republicans: Trump again led the polls over Cruz and Rubio in Tennessee and ended up winning the night with 31 out of 58 available delegates followed by Cruz with 14 and Rubio with 9.
The Democrats: Again it was unsurprising to see Clinton leading Sanders in Tennessee by a 30 point margin as well as her winning the state and 41 delegates out of 67. Sanders also picked up 22 delegates.
Texas
The Republicans: As Texas is Cruz's home state, this was a crucial win for him. But polls leading up to the big day showed that Trump was not that far behind Cruz and could possibly overcome him and take the lead. In the end Cruz came out on top with the biggest single state delegate win of the night, picking up 99 of the 155 available delegates. Trump finished second with 33 and Rubio came in third with 3 delegates.
The Democrats: Clinton led Sanders by almost 30 points in the Texas primary and won this state as many expected her to. She picked up 138 of 222 delegates while Sanders picked up 61.
Vermont
The Republicans: Since very little polling data had come out of Vermont, and it wasn't a competitive race for anyone on the Republican side, it was expected that this would be yet another state for Trump to increase his delegate count. And it was. He received 6 of the state's 16 delegates while Kasich came in second once again to receive 6 delegates of his own.
The Democrats: Being the home state of Sanders it would have taken an act of God for Clinton to beat him here especially because he had led the polls since the beginning of the primary season. Vermont was probably Sanders biggest and most sentimental win of the race so far because he took home 16 delegates compared to Clinton's 0.
Virginia
The Republicans: Polls showed that the race for delegates here would be between Trump and Rubio with the possibility that Rubio could come out with an important win. And it looked like Rubio's dreams might come true when polls closed at the beginning of the night. But while Rubio was able to turn out voters in the Virginian suburbs of DC, Trump eventually won the state and 17 of their 49 delegates with Rubio coming in a close second with 16 delegates. Cruz finished in second picking up 8 delegates, Kasich with 5, and Ben Carson even picked up a few delegates here gaining 3 for his campaign.
The Democrats: Clinton led Sanders in Virginia as she had for weeks by a lead of about 20 points. She was able to keep that lead and take 61 of their 95 available delegates at the end of the night while Sanders picked up 32 for himself.
Overall, Super Tuesday went according to plan for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton who won substantially in a variety of states across the country. But for Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Ben Carson, and Bernie Sanders it was a different story. For Cruz, who won 3 states he has the ability to continue in the race for quite some time. As his campaign has begun to say, he is the only candidate in the Republican field who has actually beaten Trump in a primary and caucus. With this fact on his side he could possibly stay in the race until the convention in July in the hopes that he could spoil Trump and take the nomination away from him. Rubio meanwhile has a harder decision to make. After winning only one state, Minnesota, and placing third in almost every contest where he was able to break the required threshold, it is looking like Rubio will drop out of the race soon if there are not drastic changes made. Rubio will most likely hold out until his home state Florida votes on March 15th in the hopes that he will win and be able to reinvigorate his campaign. Kasich seems to be in the same boat as Rubio. While he came in second in two states he did not win any outright. This means that he will also be holding out hope that he can win his home state of Ohio on March 15th and campaign as the establishment candidate of the Republican party, someone who more moderates and conservatives might think about voting for instead of Trump or Cruz. But wait, there's one more Republican candidate to discuss! Dr. Ben Carson who received just 4 delegates at the end of the night. With no hope of continuing a successful campaign, Carson dropped out of the race just days after Super Tuesday.
And let's not forget about the other Democratic hopeful, Bernie Sanders. While Sanders was not able to get quite the amount of delegates that he was hoping for on Super Tuesday he did come away with a substantial amount and a substantial amount of momentum looking forward in the race. When comparing the pledged delegates of both Sanders and Clinton the picture looks even better for Sanders because they are relatively close in number. But what Sanders needs to improve upon is the number of Super Delegates he can get to support him. Super delegates are elected Democrat officials or other significant members of the party whose votes weighs more than the traditional delegates of the party; and almost all of them support Clinton. If Sanders wants to continue to inspire a political revolution he needs to work on gaining as many Super Delegates as he can, like Barack Obama did in 2008, as well on increase the diversity in his voting electorate.
As a whole Super Tuesday turned out to be what political pollsters and pundits were expecting. No surprise margins of error in their polls to cause an unknown candidate to win. No serious scandals were revealed about any candidate. No controversial drop outs. But this is just the beginning of the official voting cycle for the next President of the United States. Who knows what the next 34 contests will bring.
* According to data based on FiveThirtyEight which excludes Colorado and Wyoming's delegates because these states are holding caucus' and not primaries
** According to data based on FiveThirtyEight which excludes the 150 Super Delegates which have the ability to change there pledge until the Democratic Convention in July
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Hillary Clinton's Performance and Media Framing of Forum Results 2/18/2016
On February 28th MSNBC hosted a town hall event for the Democratic candidates for president former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. This town hall was moderated by Chuck Todd and Jose Diaz-Balart both of whom are well known political journalists and have their own political commentary shows on MSNBC.
Unlike other Democratic debates that have occurred so far in the election cycle, this town hall was set up in a way that the candidates took a few questions from the moderators at the beginning of the night followed by questions from the audience for the remainder of the time. Senator Sanders went first and was asked a variety of questions ranging from immigration reform, his ideas on feminism, and his plans to raise the minimum wage over the next 15 years. It was unclear how this town hall would receive Sanders due to his recent image in the media being portrayed as a "single issue candidate." From the beginning Sanders denied that he was a single issues candidate and by the end of the night was able to close Clinton's national lead in the polls from 25 points in the middle of January to just 11 points in the middle of February according to NBC News.
But for a majority of media outlets, Clinton was the main focus of the night. After a double digit loss to Sanders in New Hampshire, the country was eager to see how she would perform. And perform she did. Clinton was precise and almost eager to answer as many questions as she could in a relatively honest, basic manner. When asked about the Supreme Court appointment being considered after the recent death of Antonin Scalia she said that Congress needs to do their Constitutional duty and let the process of nominating someone occur in a timely manner. When talking about this issue, Clinton acknowledged Senator Harry Reid from Nevada and multiple other Congressmen throughout the night. It seemed that this tactic was a way for Clinton to show that she has had experience working with Congress and that she would be able to do so successfully if she were to be elected president.
Clinton also stated that "like many Americans, I have evolved...in my views" when asked about gay marriage and immigration reform. These statements from Clinton were a way to depict her evolution as a politician and associate her with other like minded Americans. In an implicit way Clinton seemed to appeal to voters that have changed their minds on issues from the past to show that she has human characteristics just like everyone else and is more than the disconnected candidate the media has portrayed her as. Because Clinton was predicted to come back from her New Hampshire upset and perform well in Nevada and South Carolina, this town hall was a way for her campaign to reset themselves and begin to look at the larger election.
Unlike other Democratic debates that have occurred so far in the election cycle, this town hall was set up in a way that the candidates took a few questions from the moderators at the beginning of the night followed by questions from the audience for the remainder of the time. Senator Sanders went first and was asked a variety of questions ranging from immigration reform, his ideas on feminism, and his plans to raise the minimum wage over the next 15 years. It was unclear how this town hall would receive Sanders due to his recent image in the media being portrayed as a "single issue candidate." From the beginning Sanders denied that he was a single issues candidate and by the end of the night was able to close Clinton's national lead in the polls from 25 points in the middle of January to just 11 points in the middle of February according to NBC News.
But for a majority of media outlets, Clinton was the main focus of the night. After a double digit loss to Sanders in New Hampshire, the country was eager to see how she would perform. And perform she did. Clinton was precise and almost eager to answer as many questions as she could in a relatively honest, basic manner. When asked about the Supreme Court appointment being considered after the recent death of Antonin Scalia she said that Congress needs to do their Constitutional duty and let the process of nominating someone occur in a timely manner. When talking about this issue, Clinton acknowledged Senator Harry Reid from Nevada and multiple other Congressmen throughout the night. It seemed that this tactic was a way for Clinton to show that she has had experience working with Congress and that she would be able to do so successfully if she were to be elected president.
Clinton also stated that "like many Americans, I have evolved...in my views" when asked about gay marriage and immigration reform. These statements from Clinton were a way to depict her evolution as a politician and associate her with other like minded Americans. In an implicit way Clinton seemed to appeal to voters that have changed their minds on issues from the past to show that she has human characteristics just like everyone else and is more than the disconnected candidate the media has portrayed her as. Because Clinton was predicted to come back from her New Hampshire upset and perform well in Nevada and South Carolina, this town hall was a way for her campaign to reset themselves and begin to look at the larger election.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Hillary Clinton's Performance in Nevada
After a double digit loss to Senator Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire almost two weeks before the Nevada Democratic Caucus, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was looking for a resurgence in her campaign. As the grassroots idealism of the Sanders campaign grew, Clinton's campaign was forced to take a step back and evaluate how her campaign needed to move forward towards the next vote. Based on exit polls received from Nevada it was clear that Clinton did a much better job than Sanders in regards to winning a diverse electorate. Voters that were women, voters that were over the age of 45, voters that were African American, voters that were registered Democrats, and voters that were also union workers, voted for Clinton more often than they voted for Sanders according to CBS News. However, Clinton was not able to gain an advantage with Hispanic voters or voters under the age of 45; Sanders continues to crush Clinton with this percentage. Yet Clinton seemed perfectly fine with this.
In her victory speech, Clinton focused on thanking her supporters both in Nevada and around the country for all of the hard work and donations that they have contributed to her campaign. She promised to "break down every barrier that holds you back" and went after the Sanders campaign stating that "we aren't a single issue country...we need more than a plan for the big banks, the middle class needs a raise." These cracks at the Sanders campaign were not the primary theme in Clinton's speech, but were instead used to highlight issues from her traditional stump speech. With the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday rounding out the first month of official campaigning, Clinton is starting to focus on the general election in November rather than every primary between now and the convention.
Though she needs to find a way to excite young voters, particularly women, she continues to dominate the national media over Sanders. After winning three of the first four contests in the 2016 presidential election cycle, the media is realizing that Clinton still has the power to take the Democratic Nomination in July even with the growing momentum of the Sanders campaign. As the race begins to head South, the media is predicting that Clinton will dominate in almost every contest, especially during Super Tuesday. It seemed as if the media knew Clinton would win Nevada by a reasonable margin that they immediately shifted their attention to her national campaign strategies as soon as she was declared the winner in Nevada. According to Real Clear Politics, Clinton is ahead in almost every poll ranging from the Carolinas, to Michigan, to Illinois. It is clear that the media is predicting a large margin of victory in regards to pledged delegates to Clinton on Super Tuesday, but there is still the possibility that Sanders could have some surprise wins in the Northeast in Massachusetts and his home state of Vermont.
In her victory speech, Clinton focused on thanking her supporters both in Nevada and around the country for all of the hard work and donations that they have contributed to her campaign. She promised to "break down every barrier that holds you back" and went after the Sanders campaign stating that "we aren't a single issue country...we need more than a plan for the big banks, the middle class needs a raise." These cracks at the Sanders campaign were not the primary theme in Clinton's speech, but were instead used to highlight issues from her traditional stump speech. With the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday rounding out the first month of official campaigning, Clinton is starting to focus on the general election in November rather than every primary between now and the convention.
Though she needs to find a way to excite young voters, particularly women, she continues to dominate the national media over Sanders. After winning three of the first four contests in the 2016 presidential election cycle, the media is realizing that Clinton still has the power to take the Democratic Nomination in July even with the growing momentum of the Sanders campaign. As the race begins to head South, the media is predicting that Clinton will dominate in almost every contest, especially during Super Tuesday. It seemed as if the media knew Clinton would win Nevada by a reasonable margin that they immediately shifted their attention to her national campaign strategies as soon as she was declared the winner in Nevada. According to Real Clear Politics, Clinton is ahead in almost every poll ranging from the Carolinas, to Michigan, to Illinois. It is clear that the media is predicting a large margin of victory in regards to pledged delegates to Clinton on Super Tuesday, but there is still the possibility that Sanders could have some surprise wins in the Northeast in Massachusetts and his home state of Vermont.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Jeb! Bush
As most of America had expected for the last few weeks, Jeb Bush ended his bid for the presidency on Saturday night after he finished fourth with just 7.8% of the vote. Though his campaign never seemed to have a real chance, Bush persevered for months trying everything he could to gain people's votes. In honor of him, The Huffington Post created an article entitled "The Top 10 Most Jeb! Moments of the 2016 Race", and because it was every bit as amazing as you think its going to be I decided to share it here on my blog. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 14, 2016
The Democratic Debate February 11, 2016
On Thursday night, just two days after the New Hampshire primary, Democratic candidates Senator Bernie Sanders and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took the stage for their sixth presidential debate, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, hosted by PBS News Hour and Facebook. Before this debate began, there was speculation circulating on how Clinton would do after her 22-point loss to Sanders in the New Hampshire primary. Would she remain calm during the debate and subtly make up for the votes she couldn't get in New Hampshire or would she come out blazing with a need to succeed?
It turns out Clinton used both implicit and explicit tactics to show she has what it takes to become America's next president. She took to the stage in seemingly ready to go with an opening statement that focused on breaking down all of the barriers that are in the way of the American people who are just trying to get ahead. Sanders' opening statement was similar to a point; instead he focused more on the idea that just 9 months ago he was a virtually unknown candidate and now he has been able to insight a political revolution against the establishment of the Democratic Party. The first part of the debate focused on how each candidate saw the role of the federal government in everyday Americans lives. Sanders at first did not answer this question directly but rather danced around it saying that he wanted to guarantee health care, public education, and good infrastructure, essentially implying that the federal government would grow under his presidency. Clinton meanwhile explicitly stated that under her administration the federal government would increase in size by about 40%. She also agreed with Sanders goal to guarantee health care to Americans, but didn't understand why there needed to be another health care debate in the country and why the plan that he proposes doesn't seem to add up monetarily. She instead proposed that we continue on the path that the Affordable Care Act provides, a fight she said she has been fighting since it was called "Hillarycare." The debate continued with questions surrounding Social Security, homeland security, and immigration, all important issues that both Sanders and Clinton spent time discussing their plans to solve in much more detail than it seems the Republicans tend to do when they debate.
However, some of the moments that stood out to the media were not when Clinton or Sanders described their differences on immigration or how they want to fix the growing issue of Social Security, but how each candidate conducted themselves during the debate. In a world where the 30-second soundbite could be the most news an American gets during the day, candidates must be perfectly poised 24/7 so they can get the most appealing shot on replay. To some, like myself, Clinton appeared confident and knowledgeable about the issues at hand while other such as the prominent conservative newspaper The National Review thought otherwise. They thought Clinton had a "sleepy showing" and that "she tried to trip up Sanders with detailed policy answers...but caught in a defensive crouch and struggling to explain her own campaign's shortcomings, she never really found the opening she needed." In comparison, The National Review painted Sanders as a winner whenever he said something that could criticize Clinton or put her on the defensive such as immigration reform or her ties to Wall Street with phrasing such as "he showed up" and the idea that he was "forcefully" answering questions. By using specific language the media has the ability to influence voters by describing a candidate either in a flattering or unflattering light.
Another point that the media tends to focus on, specifically when talking about the Democratic race for president, is the gender difference between Clinton and Sanders. Clinton was asked during the debate why such a large percentage of female voters were turning out in support of her opponent Sanders, rather than her. In my opinion she responded with one of the best answers I have heard when listening to a political debate on gender. Clinton essentially said that just because you are a female, that doesn't mean that it is necessary for you to vote for me, the female candidate. She instead said that women have the right to choose who they want to vote for based on their own ideals and directed the conversation to one focused on raising the standard of equality for women in this country. This answer was a refreshing break from the notion that all women must vote for Hillary Clinton based on their gender and a relatively good response to the quote from Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who said that "there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other."
Overall, Thursday's Democratic Debate appeared to be much more substantive than the Republican Debates have been in recent weeks. Perhaps that's due to the candidates who appear on stage, but I think that it also has to do with the media that surrounds each parties presidential nominees. Clinton was portrayed as the De facto nominee and given free media attention for months before Sanders and his grassroots momentum grew into a national campaign gaining their own media attention, that for both candidates tends to appear slightly more professional than that of the Republicans. In contrast, the Republicans tend to be portrayed as a bit of a circus with multiple clowns running around stage at any given time. So as a student of political science I have a challenge from you: read news articles that go against what you normally believe. Try to dig deep and figure out how much of what the candidates say is really true by using sources such as FactCheck.org. This is something I plan on doing for the remainder of this presidential debate because to be an informed voting citizen you need to gather actual information from reputable sites, not just what the biased media outlets repeat every hour.
It turns out Clinton used both implicit and explicit tactics to show she has what it takes to become America's next president. She took to the stage in seemingly ready to go with an opening statement that focused on breaking down all of the barriers that are in the way of the American people who are just trying to get ahead. Sanders' opening statement was similar to a point; instead he focused more on the idea that just 9 months ago he was a virtually unknown candidate and now he has been able to insight a political revolution against the establishment of the Democratic Party. The first part of the debate focused on how each candidate saw the role of the federal government in everyday Americans lives. Sanders at first did not answer this question directly but rather danced around it saying that he wanted to guarantee health care, public education, and good infrastructure, essentially implying that the federal government would grow under his presidency. Clinton meanwhile explicitly stated that under her administration the federal government would increase in size by about 40%. She also agreed with Sanders goal to guarantee health care to Americans, but didn't understand why there needed to be another health care debate in the country and why the plan that he proposes doesn't seem to add up monetarily. She instead proposed that we continue on the path that the Affordable Care Act provides, a fight she said she has been fighting since it was called "Hillarycare." The debate continued with questions surrounding Social Security, homeland security, and immigration, all important issues that both Sanders and Clinton spent time discussing their plans to solve in much more detail than it seems the Republicans tend to do when they debate.
However, some of the moments that stood out to the media were not when Clinton or Sanders described their differences on immigration or how they want to fix the growing issue of Social Security, but how each candidate conducted themselves during the debate. In a world where the 30-second soundbite could be the most news an American gets during the day, candidates must be perfectly poised 24/7 so they can get the most appealing shot on replay. To some, like myself, Clinton appeared confident and knowledgeable about the issues at hand while other such as the prominent conservative newspaper The National Review thought otherwise. They thought Clinton had a "sleepy showing" and that "she tried to trip up Sanders with detailed policy answers...but caught in a defensive crouch and struggling to explain her own campaign's shortcomings, she never really found the opening she needed." In comparison, The National Review painted Sanders as a winner whenever he said something that could criticize Clinton or put her on the defensive such as immigration reform or her ties to Wall Street with phrasing such as "he showed up" and the idea that he was "forcefully" answering questions. By using specific language the media has the ability to influence voters by describing a candidate either in a flattering or unflattering light.
Another point that the media tends to focus on, specifically when talking about the Democratic race for president, is the gender difference between Clinton and Sanders. Clinton was asked during the debate why such a large percentage of female voters were turning out in support of her opponent Sanders, rather than her. In my opinion she responded with one of the best answers I have heard when listening to a political debate on gender. Clinton essentially said that just because you are a female, that doesn't mean that it is necessary for you to vote for me, the female candidate. She instead said that women have the right to choose who they want to vote for based on their own ideals and directed the conversation to one focused on raising the standard of equality for women in this country. This answer was a refreshing break from the notion that all women must vote for Hillary Clinton based on their gender and a relatively good response to the quote from Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who said that "there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other."
Overall, Thursday's Democratic Debate appeared to be much more substantive than the Republican Debates have been in recent weeks. Perhaps that's due to the candidates who appear on stage, but I think that it also has to do with the media that surrounds each parties presidential nominees. Clinton was portrayed as the De facto nominee and given free media attention for months before Sanders and his grassroots momentum grew into a national campaign gaining their own media attention, that for both candidates tends to appear slightly more professional than that of the Republicans. In contrast, the Republicans tend to be portrayed as a bit of a circus with multiple clowns running around stage at any given time. So as a student of political science I have a challenge from you: read news articles that go against what you normally believe. Try to dig deep and figure out how much of what the candidates say is really true by using sources such as FactCheck.org. This is something I plan on doing for the remainder of this presidential debate because to be an informed voting citizen you need to gather actual information from reputable sites, not just what the biased media outlets repeat every hour.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Back in Oneonta
After an exciting weekend spent in New Hampshire witnessing their 100th primary, our class returned home late Wednesday night. It was somewhat surreal to be back on my college's campus after being in the thick of the presidential race for so long and definitely less exciting. Waking up this Thursday morning knowing I had to attend class rather than some type of rally or town hall was a struggle, but knowing what I got to do over the weekend, I was able to get through it.
I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but while I was in New Hampshire I met a journalist name Jack Hitt who writes for the Huffington Post "Highline." My friends and I were interviewed by him when we attended the Chris Christie town hall and subsequently ran in to him at other events in New Hampshire. It turned out that he was doing the same things we were; going to any candidate events that he could and writing about them with his writing partner Kevin Baker. If you get a chance I would highly recommend you read his articles on Highline (you can get there by following the link at the bottom of this post). His articles give off the idea that he is having a conversation with his readers, telling them what he has been seeing and what he thinks of candidates and the primary process in general. And my friends and I happen to be mentioned in Day Two of his journey, which is pretty cool.
As I was in the van on the way back from New Hampshire I also had the pleasure of doing a phone interview with Casey Seiler from the Times Union, a newspaper that is based out of Albany, New York and focuses on people and issues affecting the Capitol Region, the area where I grew up. He wanted to know more about my experience in New Hampshire and about this blog, which I was extremely flattered by. His article was published in the Times Union today, Thursday February 11th both in print and online and can also be found at the bottom of this article. Mr. Seiler was also able to interview one of my classmates who is from the Capitol Region, Hannah Smith, and her experiences from New Hampshire are documented in this article as well.
Going from the nonstop action of a presidential election to the much calmer air around the campus of Oneonta is a transition that I wish I didn't have to make. Spending five days in New Hampshire definitely solidified the idea that I want to be involved in politics or the press in some form when I graduate college and maybe even to a lesser extent while I spend the next 3 years in college. So I just wanted to say thank you for reading this blog. I never thought that I would be getting noticed with it; it started out as an assignment for a class and has begun to blossom into something much more than that. I'll continue to keep you updated on the presidential election, just not to the extent I did during my trip, I am a college student after all. And maybe I even instilled in you the curiosity to learn more about politics or the presidential election process or just getting involved in your community. I hope you continue to follow along with me as this race continues because you never know what could happen next.
Jack Hitt, Huffington Post Highline article: http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/american-electoral/#day-1
Casey Seiler, Times Union article: http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/A-lesson-in-presidential-politics-6822330.php#photo-9385368
I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but while I was in New Hampshire I met a journalist name Jack Hitt who writes for the Huffington Post "Highline." My friends and I were interviewed by him when we attended the Chris Christie town hall and subsequently ran in to him at other events in New Hampshire. It turned out that he was doing the same things we were; going to any candidate events that he could and writing about them with his writing partner Kevin Baker. If you get a chance I would highly recommend you read his articles on Highline (you can get there by following the link at the bottom of this post). His articles give off the idea that he is having a conversation with his readers, telling them what he has been seeing and what he thinks of candidates and the primary process in general. And my friends and I happen to be mentioned in Day Two of his journey, which is pretty cool.
As I was in the van on the way back from New Hampshire I also had the pleasure of doing a phone interview with Casey Seiler from the Times Union, a newspaper that is based out of Albany, New York and focuses on people and issues affecting the Capitol Region, the area where I grew up. He wanted to know more about my experience in New Hampshire and about this blog, which I was extremely flattered by. His article was published in the Times Union today, Thursday February 11th both in print and online and can also be found at the bottom of this article. Mr. Seiler was also able to interview one of my classmates who is from the Capitol Region, Hannah Smith, and her experiences from New Hampshire are documented in this article as well.
Going from the nonstop action of a presidential election to the much calmer air around the campus of Oneonta is a transition that I wish I didn't have to make. Spending five days in New Hampshire definitely solidified the idea that I want to be involved in politics or the press in some form when I graduate college and maybe even to a lesser extent while I spend the next 3 years in college. So I just wanted to say thank you for reading this blog. I never thought that I would be getting noticed with it; it started out as an assignment for a class and has begun to blossom into something much more than that. I'll continue to keep you updated on the presidential election, just not to the extent I did during my trip, I am a college student after all. And maybe I even instilled in you the curiosity to learn more about politics or the presidential election process or just getting involved in your community. I hope you continue to follow along with me as this race continues because you never know what could happen next.
Jack Hitt, Huffington Post Highline article: http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/american-electoral/#day-1
Casey Seiler, Times Union article: http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/A-lesson-in-presidential-politics-6822330.php#photo-9385368
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Day Four: Bernie Sanders
The only presidential candidate we had yet to see during our time in New Hampshire, and one who we were more excited to see than most of the others, was Bernie Sanders. We had been planning to go to his primary night rally at Concord High School just a few minutes from our hotel. One of the other students on our trip, Frank, had been volunteering with the campaign for some time and was supposed to be getting a ticket to the rally in order to get a better seat, while we waited in line and went in with the general public. In order to get his ticket we had to go into Manchester to the Sanders campaign office. Yet when we got there we were met by two deputy directors who didn't seem eager to help us out. These campaign staffers weren't welcoming to us, nor did they really believe that we were there just to pick up a ticket and see how they ran their office. They told us that because it was primary day they weren't willing to give tours or be able to talk to us for very long because they were so busy, something that was extremely disappointing to us. They also did not have any tickets to give out to the event which was odd because Frank had been promised one.
Obviously this entire situation angered us and reflected poorly on the people hired by the Sanders campaign, but we were hopeful that by showing up early to the rally we would be able to get front row seats. So we drove back to Concord, got a quick dinner and headed to the high school where the rally was being held. By 5:20 we were in line outside hoping to be let in by 6:00 so that we could wait inside for the rally to start around 7:30.
Though it was a cold New Hampshire night everyone was willing to brave the weather in order to see one of the most intriguing candidates of this campaign cycle. At 6:00 the doors were opened and a security guard had us start to file in towards the metal detectors at the front entrance of the school. But right when we got to the doors the security guard said that this event was actually a ticket only event and anyone without a ticket would be turned away. We were all shocked. This had to be a joke. No where had this event been advertised as a ticket only event and at no point while we were waiting in the cold had anyone from the campaign or event come out to tell us we would only be allowed in if we presented a ticket. And we weren't the only ones in this situation. 90% of the people we had been waiting in line with did not have tickets either and had no idea that we needed them to get in.
But we weren't giving up so easily. With so few people with tickets we figured that if we just waited a little while longer the event staff would realize that the 200 people waiting outside to Feel the Bern weren't going anywhere and would have to be let in.
We waited until 7:00. Almost 2 hours in freezing weather. And to make it worse no one from the event staff had any answers as to when we might be able to get in to the event or why it had not been advertised as a ticket only event.
We were crushed. And more importantly we were frozen. So we went to our van to warm up and try again in a half hour. But when we went back, nothing had changed. Now, we were devastated.
The combination of unwelcoming staffers at the Sanders campaign office, having to wait in the cold for hours, and never being able to actually get in to the event did not leave us with a flattering image of how the Sanders campaign was being run. Now, we know that this was in no way Bernie Sanders' own fault and was most likely poor communications between various campaign staffers. But what we couldn't fathom was why we had to stand outside for so long without ever being told this event was for ticket holders only or why we never got a direct answer when we asked if there was a chance we would be let in to the event at some point during the night. Disappointed and slightly disenfranchised with the Sanders campaign, we headed back to our hotel to thaw and watch the primary results on tv.
Probably the only good thing about standing outside for 2 hours was seeing this creative sign and the shirt pictured below.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Day Four: The New Hampshire Statehouse
Since there were fewer scheduled campaign events to go to today because it was Primary Day a number of us decided to go to the New Hampshire Statehouse since it was down the road from our hotel. Being a resident of Upstate New York and living only 40 minutes north of Albany, the Capitol, I have been to the New York Capitol building countless times. The Capitol building is massive with huge, ornately decorated chambers for both the State Senate and State Assembly and an aptly named Million Dollar Staircase. The New Hampshire Statehouse in comparison is practically the size of a dollhouse.
The small yet impressive Senate Chamber.
We parked near the back of the Statehouse and were able to walk in without going through security, something you could never do in New York. Once inside we were free to walk around the three floors and explore the Senate and Representative Chambers, the Executive Office room, and the hundreds of portraits that hung on the walls. It was amazing to be in such a small Statehouse because it seemed as if democracy was right at our fingertips. Both the Senate and Represenative Chambers were significantly smaller than either of the New York ones and had a style dedicated to the colonial era whereas the New York Capitol building has a style that is almost gothic and extravagant in nature because it was constructed in the late nineteenth century.
A mural in the downstairs hallway that depicted a battle on the third day of Gettysburg. This mural was gigantic, easily 6ft tall and 9ft wide.
Political memorabilia that was displayed in the gift shop of the Statehouse.
I even got a selfie with President Obama in the gift shop!
The House of Representatives Chamber which was astounding because it held so many seats along with portraits of famous politics figures on the front wall.
A portrait of Josiah Bartlett who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 hangs in the Executive Room on the second floor.
A variety of pictures from the front of the Statehouse including one with my friend Jenny.
Day Four: Happy Primary Day!
Today is the day! After weeks of campaigning, debating, and shamelessly promoting themselves the candidates will finally get to see if all of their hard work paid off. Most voting places are open from 6 am until 7 pm but a few towns run things differently on primary day. Because the towns of Dixville Notch, Millsfield, and Hart's Landing all have fewer than 100 residents they are allowed to begin voting at midnight and close their polls after everyone that is eligible to vote has voted. In past elections Dixville Notch has successfully predicted every Republican nominee since 1968, an astounding 12 elections. Today, these were the results:
Dixville Notch:
Sanders 4, Clinton 0
Kasich 3, Trump 2
Millsfield:
Clinton 2, Sanders 1
Cruz 9, Trump 3, Kasih 1, Rubio 1, Christie 1, Bush 1, Fiorina, Paul 1
Hart's Landing:
Sanders 12, Clinton 7, Greenstein 2
Kasich 5, Trump 4, Christie 2, Rubio 1, Bush 1, Carson 1
Now these towns may not have much to do with the overall outcome of tonight's election but it does showcase American democracy at its finest. And if this story sounded slightly familiar to you, the political drama "The West Wing" dedicated a sentimental plot line to the people of these towns during the reelection of their fictional President Josiah Bartlett.
Day Three: Donald Trump
If you weren't sure yet about how crazy a Donald Trump for President rally could be, imagine going to a rock concert with a performer who hasn't toured in years. Everyone in the arena just can't stop talking about what it's going to be like and what their idol will actually do. That is exactly how Trump's rally on Monday night went.
We were lucky enough to get VIP seating to his rally because one of the students on our trip has been volunteering for Trump for the last few weeks and knew how to get us some of the best seats in the house. As we waited for the man of the hour we got to talk with some men from the Boston area who were Trump supporters and had already been to some of his other events in New England. At the other events these guys had been to the they said the crowds had been much more energetic, but clearly they were excited to see their favorite presidential candidate. Now I'm sure some people would expect these Trump supporters to be racist or Un-American but these guys are simply tired of politicians in this country who never seem to get anything done. They believe that because Trump has never held political office that he will be able to get more things done than those who have been in political power for so long.
After waiting around for two hours Trump's family was introduced in preparation for The Don himself to come out. All of his family members looked like supermodels, perfectly poised to be America's next generation of political royalty. And that's when he appeared, Don Trump in all his glory. From behind a black curtain Trump proceeded to the stage where he was met with enthusiastic crowds screaming at the top of their lungs and frantically waving their signs.
Once he started talking people calmed down and actually seemed to be listening to what his political proposals were. But of course, with supporters come protestors. One protestor yelled obscenities about Trump's wife and was subsequently removed from the arena. But as Trump said himself, without protestors "you wouldn't be able to see how many people show up to my events."
Last night almost 5,000 people came to the Verizon Center in Manchester to see Trump in action including numerous members of the media. I was able to spot Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, completing the trifecta of seeing the entire Morning Joe cast in one day which was great for a fan of the show like me. Major Garrett and Jonathon Karl from CBS and ABC respectively were just a few of the other evening news reporters covering the event.
Overall, Trump's raly was one for the history books. Not just because I was able to see him live but because he said one of his most obscene words in front of thousands of people and one I won't repeat here. But I think that is the best way to sum up Trump: you may have been following him for months, but you never know exactly what he's going to do or say next.
Don't worry, I haven't been converted to a Trump supporter. (Left to right) Jenny, Frank, Me, Josh, Hannah.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Day Three: Chris Christie
As the third day began we ventured back out into the madness of American politics see a whole variety of politicians. Our first stop was to see Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie at a small town hall event held on the floor of a factory outside of Manchester. We got to the event right as Christie was being introduced by Buddy The Cake Boss, a fellow New Jersey guy, and Christie supporter. Christie spoke for around 20 minutes before taking questions from the audience for another hour. This event has been my favorite of the Republican candidates so far because Christie took the time to listen to each of the audience members questions and give thoughtful, detailed answers to their questions that ranged for homeland security to social security. Christie himself is also an impressive orator, knowing exactly how to work his audience and implicitly go after his opponents.
Day Three: The Clintons
From the Christie event our team hit the road to go to a Clinton rally at Manchester Community College. While waiting at the Clinton event I was able to spot several journaists and members of the media including Willie Geist, Mile Barnacle, Sam Stein, and Lawrence O'Donnel. This event was such a unique experience because we were able to see Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton all at once. It was truly a historic moment, no matter if you agree with their politics or not, these are some of the most well known political figures of our time.
As Chelsea and Bill introduced Hillary, the crowd's intensity steadily grew so that everyone was severely excited by the time Hillary took the stage. She then talked for around 40 minutes about healthcare, making college affordable for young adults, improve our energy standards, work on giving women equal rights, and how we need to take back the country from those who want to destroy it. Her most notable quote from the rally was when she indirectly went after the younger generations who have been supporting Bernie Sanders in record numbers by saying "You may not support me, but I will support always support you." As someone who goes between supporting both Hillary and Bernie this quote struck me because it showed that Hillary is presenting herself as someone who cares more about getting young adults into public service because they want to have a say in their countries future rather than saying something that makes it seem as if she only cares about winning and nothing more.
However great these speeches were the venue that this event was held at was not the bet to accommodate such a large crowd. Because there were so many members of the mainstream media at this event the number of people allowed in to the arena was very limited. This meant that I had to stand just outside the glass wall that separates those from the room were the Clinton's spoke and the overflow room where I stood. It was slightly annoying to be forced to stand in the overflow area because there was clearly enough room to stand near the back where the media was stationed. But with this being the only downside to this event it was begrudgingly overcome.
By the way, did I mention I shook former President Bill Clinton's hand and almost got a selfie with him? Because I did and it was awesome!
Chelsea and Bill Clinton introducing Hillary Clinton.
The woman of the hour, Hillary Clinton in the flesh.
My almost perfect selfie with our 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton.
Day Two: Carly Fiorina
In last nights post about the second half of my second day in New Hampshire I got so caught up in theVermin Supreme mayhem that I forgot to mention we also met Carly Fiorina. She was holding a pre game party for the Super Bowl at The Yard Restaurant outside Manchester. This event was much smaller than the Marco Rubio event we had visited earlier that morning, but that wasn't actually a bad thing. Because there were fewer people at this event everyone was able to meet Carly Fiorina, shake her hand, get a picture with her, and grab some free campaign swag. Though she may not be anywhere near getting the Republican Nomination it is impressive that she continues to campaign hard for votes and stick up for herself when most people in her party are trying to take her down.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Day Two: Campaign Headquarters and VERMIN SUPREME
After an intriguing morning at the Rubio event our vans decided to continue into downtown Manchester to look for some food because standing for 3 hours tends to make a person quite hungry. Initially we were going to eat at the quintessential Red Arrow restaurant but because it was so busy our groups split up. A small group of us went to an Irish Pub called The Shaskeen which had delicious and authentic fish and chips fare. I even got to meet up with my Uncle Tod and catch up after not seeing him for a few months. Post lunch we met up with our fellow liberal leaning friends before going to visit the campaign headquarters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
The Clinton campaign headquarters in Manchester seemed to be hidden in plain sight and took us some time to find them. It turned out they were on the top floor of an office building on a side street in Manchester, but because of building restrictions, were not allowed to display any signs to promote their candidate. This made it difficult for us to find their office and seemed an unfortunate area to pick to house a campaign's headquarters. It seemed unusual that such a well known campaign would not want to be in an area where they could clearly be seen from the street by people passing by. Once inside the office we met a welcoming volunteer whose name was Mary and had flown up to her home state of New Hampshire from Florida on January 6th just to volunteer for the Clinton campaign. Mary was helpful and patient as we asked her questions on her day to day activities, personal opinions on candidates, and campaigns in general (during both 2008 and 2012 she was a strong Obama supported and worked endless days to get him elected). Yet Mary's friendliness could not seem to cover up the sense that the Clinton headquarters were being run like a business with a certain air about them that seemed somehow too professional.
Bernie Sander' headquarters on the other hand were unmistakably marked with signs outside the building and wall papering every available inch of space inside. The young woman who first greeted us was named Erica and she was a college student that had been volunteering with the Sanders campaign since September. Erica not only answered our questions but gave us a tour around their offices and offered us any literature and signage that was leftover from the last few weeks of intense campaigning. There was even a gigantic Bernie mural with props that people could take pictures with! Overall the Sanders campaign seemed more eager than the Clinton campaign was to have college students touring their facilities and learning more about the presidential election process. It seemed like each campaign was reflected by the ways their offices were set up and who was at each office when we stopped by.
After visiting each of the Democratic candidates headquarters we had planned to see if we could visit Donald Trump's headquarters which were around Manchester, but due to timing issues we decided to skip this stop and head straight to the Carly Fiorina Super Bowl pre-game party at The Yard Restaurant. And what a good decision this was. As soon as our van was parked our driver and unofficial leader Frank spotted Vermin Supreme.
Yes. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Vermin Supreme.
I know, most of you may be thinking, "who is Vermin Supreme?" Well, Vermin Supreme is a candidate running to be President of the United States just like Bernie, Hillary, and Donald are all trying to do. He's run every four years since 2004 and tends to take his campaign to the extreme (yet with this election cycle he seems perfectly normal compared to what we've seen already). Most notably Vermin is known to wear a boot on his head and come up with slightly nutty campaign proposals. For instance, promising a pony to every American or making sure we are prepared to handle a zombie apocalypse which was his 2012 platform. And while he may look like a crazy old man to most people, I think he is the embodiment of our democratic system in the United States; to think that anyone who meets the Constitution requirements to run for president can in fact run and receive votes (he got 41 votes in 2008 and 833 in 2012) is frankly amazing.
The Clinton campaign headquarters in Manchester seemed to be hidden in plain sight and took us some time to find them. It turned out they were on the top floor of an office building on a side street in Manchester, but because of building restrictions, were not allowed to display any signs to promote their candidate. This made it difficult for us to find their office and seemed an unfortunate area to pick to house a campaign's headquarters. It seemed unusual that such a well known campaign would not want to be in an area where they could clearly be seen from the street by people passing by. Once inside the office we met a welcoming volunteer whose name was Mary and had flown up to her home state of New Hampshire from Florida on January 6th just to volunteer for the Clinton campaign. Mary was helpful and patient as we asked her questions on her day to day activities, personal opinions on candidates, and campaigns in general (during both 2008 and 2012 she was a strong Obama supported and worked endless days to get him elected). Yet Mary's friendliness could not seem to cover up the sense that the Clinton headquarters were being run like a business with a certain air about them that seemed somehow too professional.
Bernie Sander' headquarters on the other hand were unmistakably marked with signs outside the building and wall papering every available inch of space inside. The young woman who first greeted us was named Erica and she was a college student that had been volunteering with the Sanders campaign since September. Erica not only answered our questions but gave us a tour around their offices and offered us any literature and signage that was leftover from the last few weeks of intense campaigning. There was even a gigantic Bernie mural with props that people could take pictures with! Overall the Sanders campaign seemed more eager than the Clinton campaign was to have college students touring their facilities and learning more about the presidential election process. It seemed like each campaign was reflected by the ways their offices were set up and who was at each office when we stopped by.
After visiting each of the Democratic candidates headquarters we had planned to see if we could visit Donald Trump's headquarters which were around Manchester, but due to timing issues we decided to skip this stop and head straight to the Carly Fiorina Super Bowl pre-game party at The Yard Restaurant. And what a good decision this was. As soon as our van was parked our driver and unofficial leader Frank spotted Vermin Supreme.
Yes. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Vermin Supreme.
I know, most of you may be thinking, "who is Vermin Supreme?" Well, Vermin Supreme is a candidate running to be President of the United States just like Bernie, Hillary, and Donald are all trying to do. He's run every four years since 2004 and tends to take his campaign to the extreme (yet with this election cycle he seems perfectly normal compared to what we've seen already). Most notably Vermin is known to wear a boot on his head and come up with slightly nutty campaign proposals. For instance, promising a pony to every American or making sure we are prepared to handle a zombie apocalypse which was his 2012 platform. And while he may look like a crazy old man to most people, I think he is the embodiment of our democratic system in the United States; to think that anyone who meets the Constitution requirements to run for president can in fact run and receive votes (he got 41 votes in 2008 and 833 in 2012) is frankly amazing.
Pictures from inside Clinton campaign headquarters and outside of Sanders campaign headquarters.
Vermin Supreme ladies and gentlemen.
Casually posing with Vermin Supreme and fellow classmates!
Left to right: Emma, Jenny, Frank, Vermin, Cassidy, Silas, me
Day Two: Rubio Rally
Another early morning for politics here in New Hampshire. After a quick breakfast at the hotel our vans headed off to a small town near Manchester called Londonderry to witness Marco Rubio in action. We got to the school where Rubio was scheduled to speak around 8:30 but were forced to wait almost 2 hours before he eventually showed up.
In the meantime we were able to watch how volunteers handled crowd control with the almost 800 person crowd in just a small elementary gym. By chance our group happened to be stationed near where the media were going to be filming Rubio as he walked in. This gave a lot of us the opportunity to ask questions to reporters and even be interviewed by the media. I myself was interviewed by a man from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. I was asked about my views of the race thus far, what made Rubio a good candidate, and why Donald Trump seemed to be so popular with voters.
Once Rubio showed up he proceeded to give his speech which highlighted the major focuses of his campaign. He talked about uniting the party, increasing the conservative movement, repealing most of President Obama's policies, and increasing the size and quality of our military. Afterwards he shook hands with almost everyone in the room, but unfortunately I wasn't able to meet him personally.
GOP Debate Article
Good morning! As our vans head towards our first event of the day, here is an article from The Washington Post analyzing the candidates from the debate last night: who won, who lost, and everything in between.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/06/winners-and-losers-from-the-new-hampshire-republican-debate/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/06/winners-and-losers-from-the-new-hampshire-republican-debate/
Saturday, February 6, 2016
The Bern-rito
This "Feel the Bern-rito" was their burrito of the week and it needed its own post because it was just that creative (and good)!
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