National Horserace And Looking Ahead
In terms of the national horserace (for whatever such a metric may even be worth, at this point!), Soviet Union-honeymooning socialist loon bag Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has officially overtaken the rest of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary field. <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">Sanders currently stands 4.4% above second-place former Vice President Joe Biden</a> in the average of recent national polling. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (who will not actually be in a primary race until Super Tuesday in a few weeks), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg round out the top five in most recent national polling.
Officially, Bernie Sanders is the <a href="https://www.creators.com/read/ben-shapiro/02/20/why-the-democrats-wont-stop-bernie">clear</a> and <a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination">unequivocal</a> frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Unofficially, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-bloomberg-makes-major-moves-after-democrats-screw-up-iowa-caucuses">seems to be gambling</a> that, with his carpet-bombing the airwaves and with his general war chest, he will be able to outlast a rapidly languishing Biden and prove to be the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s (DNC) last man standing in the way of a polarizing Sanders nomination. Of course, query whether the DNC would even be interested in lining up behind Bloomberg, who ran for New York City mayor as a Republican and had a rather controversial video resurface yesterday, if it were to ultimately come down to a Bloomberg versus Sanders long march to next summer&#8217;s nominating convention.
The obvious question, at this point, is whether anyone in the Democratic field (or perhaps not even presently in the field) can ultimately overtake Sanders. Large swaths of the Democratic Party&#8217;s institutional apparatus have been publicly fretting over the prospect of a Sanders nomination, as some within the more moderate older guard (not unreasonably) fear nominating someone with a decades-long track record of praising actual communist regimes, calling for the nationalization of entire industries, and so forth. But for the time being, it seems like Bernie Sanders is on cruise control. Polling in the upcoming caucus state of Nevada is very sparse, but Sanders should certainly be considered the favorite there, at this juncture.
State-By-State Results Since Last Week
Last night marked the first-in-the-nation Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire. Bernie Sanders was the night&#8217;s big winner, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-socialist-bernie-sanders-wins-new-hampshire">reported</a>. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang also ended his long shot bid earlier in the evening; I&#8217;d expect Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to become the next candidate to follow Yang&#8217;s lead and drop out.
Here are the full New Hampshire results, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/11/us/elections/results-new-hampshire-live-forecast.html">reported by The New York Times</a>:
<ol>
<li>Sanders 26%</li>
<li>Buttigieg 24%</li>
<li>Klobuchar 20%</li>
<li>Warren 9%</li>
<li>Biden 8%</li>
<li>Steyer 4%</li>
<li>Yang 3%</li>
</ol>
There are hardly any words to describe the simply calamitous nature of erstwhile national front runner Joe Biden&#8217;s start to this 2020 Democratic Party presidential nominating contest. He has now severely underperformed in both Iowa and New Hampshire, leaving his campaign&#8217;s future looking <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/11/biden-donors-divided-on-his-prospects-after-new-hampshire-primary-loss.html?__source=sharebar%7Ctwitter&amp;par=sharebar">exceedingly grim</a>. I&#8217;d expect him to bow out by the time South Carolina is over.
Latest National Polling Data
The <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">RealClearPolitics</a> polling average for 2/04 – 2/11 shows Sanders with an average national polling lead of 4.4%. Here is the latest in national polling, via RealClearPolitics:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/79zfxkws33/econTabReport.pdf">Economist/YouGov</a> (2/09 – 2/11): Sanders 22%, Biden 18%, Warren 15%, Bloomberg 12%, Buttigieg 10%</li>
<li><a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/">The Hill/HarrisX</a> (2/07 – 2/10): Biden 23%, Sanders 20%, Bloomberg 16%, Warren 9%, Buttigieg 9%</li>
<li><a href="https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_US_021120/">Monmouth</a> (2/06 – 2/09): Sanders 26%, Biden 16%, Warren 13%, Buttigieg 13%, Bloomberg 11%</li>
<li><a href="https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=3655">Quinnipiac</a> (2/05 – 2/09): Sanders 25%, Biden 17%, Bloomberg 15%, Warren 14%, Buttigieg 10%</li>
<li><a href="https://morningconsult.com/2020-democratic-primary/">Morning Consult</a> (2/04 – 2/09): Sanders 25%, Biden 22%, Bloomberg 17%, Warren 11%, Buttigieg 11%</li>
</ul>
Latest Upcoming State-By-State Polling Data
Nevada: Biden 21.0%, Sanders 17.5%, Warren 11.5%, Steyer 10.0%, Buttigieg 7.0%
South Carolina: Biden 31%, Steyer 18.5%, Sanders 17.0%, Warren 9.5%, Buttigieg 5.5%
This article has been updated to reflect the most recent survey data.

Democratic presidential debate stage

Who Will Win The Democratic Primary? The Latest On 2020 Presidential Primary Polling.

2020 Election

Bernie Sanders

Democratic National Committee

Democratic Party

Elizabeth Warren

Joe Biden

Pete Buttigieg

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) defended President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision to fire two brothers at the National Security Council (NSC) and an ambassador on Friday in an interview on Fox News.
Late on Friday, news broke that the Trump administration removed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and attorney Yevgeny Vindman from the NSC, and also recalled U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.
&#8220;You know, the president yesterday, as you probably know, Congresswoman, fired Gordon Sondland, our Ambassador to Ukraine, and Alexander Vindman, top security official,&#8221; host Neil Cavuto said. &#8220;A lot of people were likening it to another, you know, Friday night massacre akin to what Richard Nixon did back in the ‘70s. Do you agree with that?&#8221;
&#8220;Ultimately, whether people like or not, there are consequences to elections,&#8221; Gabbard responded. &#8220;And the president has, within his purview, to make the decisions about who he’d like serving in his cabinet.&#8221;
At an earlier point in the interview, Gabbard took aim at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg when asked what she thought about the DNC making the rules easier for Bloomberg to qualify for the debates.
&#8220;It’s wrong. It’s wrong,&#8221; Gabbard responded. &#8220;The fact that a billionaire can come in and have that kind of influence to change the rules of the DNC all of a sudden, not coincidently, to be able to benefit Michael Bloomberg while voters here in New Hampshire and across the country are saying, hey, we want to be able to make the best informed decision possible before we go in and cast our vote, understanding the seriousness of this election.&#8221;
&#8220;But they’re not able to do so so long as both the DNC and some of the corporate media partners are enacting these rules where they are playing favorites,&#8221; Gabbard responded. &#8220;They are picking winners and losers before voters have the opportunity to do so.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe title="Tulsi Gabbard on Iowa Caucuses, importance of New Hampshire primary" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D6k091R1NEg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So poking around the state here, we’re seeing a lot of the candidates show up at various rallies and events, including Joe Biden who is busy crisscrossing the state as well. A lot of the candidates will be doing that, including my next guest, the Hawaii Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who joins us right now in the flesh.
Good to see you.
REP. TULSI GABBARD (D-HI), 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to see you. Thanks for having me.
CAVUTO: You saw this debate over what happened in Iowa.
GABBARD: Yes.
CAVUTO: A lot of people think even Tom Perez, the head of the Democratic National Committee, he should go. What do you think?
GABBARD: I think first, they should actually solve some of the problems. I think the more we learn about all of the things that went wrong really are a disservice to the voters in Iowa who went and they spent their time to let their voices be heard. And yet, their voices have not been heard in a resounding and very clear way.
I would think that, whether it’s the Iowa caucus chair working in concert with the DNC chair, they would proactively, themselves, want to go and make sure that those results are accurately counted to best serve the residents of Iowa.
CAVUTO: You know &#8212; as you know, Iowa holds a unique position as the first in the nation contest. Do you think it should have that four years from now?
GABBARD: That’s up to the states to decide. The states determine when they hold their primary elections. What I’ve been advocating for now for years are some very key reforms to our Democratic primaries. I think they should be open primaries.
I think they should allow same-day registration so you don’t have people in New York, for example, who if they didn’t register, I don’t know, something like five months before election day, they can’t go and vote. And I think we need to get rid of superdelegates.
Once again, this is continuing to be an issue of concern to voters here in New Hampshire who are worried about their vote actually being counted and how they don’t want it to be overruled by a small group of individuals who can come in and say, you know what, I don’t &#8212; I don’t think you guys know what you’re doing. We’re going to come in and decide &#8212;
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Well, you know they’re talking that way again &#8212;
(CROSSTALK)
GABBARD: &#8212; this election &#8212;
CAVUTO: &#8212; Congresswoman, right?
GABBARD: That’s the concern &#8212;
CAVUTO: I mean, since the emergence of Bernie Sanders as a possible nominee, they’re revisiting this rule in place now &#8212;
GABBARD: Yes.
CAVUTO: &#8212; that superdelegates can’t vote on the first ballot. If they do that &#8212; change that, what do you think?
GABBARD: Well, the issue is &#8212; you know, I think, moving it back from the first ballot to the second ballot was a very small step in the right direction. But I want to be clear, we’ve got to get rid of superdelegates all together. And that change was not anywhere near enough, once again, to make sure that we as Democrats are standing by the decision that voters make on who our Democratic nominee should be.
CAVUTO: And you like the idea of an open primary where this way &#8212; you know, not just anyone in any party &#8212; any stream (ph) would be able to vote. If that were the math, I mean, you would poll a lot better because Conservatives are drawn to you, Independents are drawn to you. But in some of these rules, you’re kind of between a rock and a hard place.
GABBARD: Well, this is bigger than &#8212; this is not about me or my campaign. This is something I’ve been calling for for years, since the 2016 primary elections where I saw and I heard and met with people who are Democrat, who are Independents &#8212; who are here in New Hampshire &#8212; who are undeclared and who want to make sure that their voice is heard. We need to make it as easy and as accessible as possible for people to go in and participate in our democracy.
CAVUTO: How do you feel &#8212; and let’s say, you weren’t able to participate in the debate last night and yet they recently made rules in the party to all but grease the skids for Michael Bloomberg being able to debate. What do you think of that?
GABBARD: It’s wrong. It’s wrong. The fact that a billionaire can come in and have that kind of influence to change the rules of the DNC all of a sudden, not coincidently, to be able to benefit Michael Bloomberg while voters here in New Hampshire and across the country are saying, hey, we want to be able to make the best informed decision possible before we go in and cast our vote, understanding the seriousness of this election. But they’re not able to do so so long as both the DNC and some of the corporate media partners are enacting these rules where they are playing favorites. They are picking winners and losers before voters have the opportunity to do so.
CAVUTO: Do you think you’re just the odd-woman-out in this environment, though, that going after Hillary Clinton, now suing Hillary Clinton out, for saying you’re an agent of the Russians and all that &#8212; challenging the way they go about establishing a nominee and the process they use, that it’s an uphill battle for you &#8212;
GABBARD: Of course.
CAVUTO: &#8212; that you’re going against the tide &#8212;
GABBARD: We’re &#8212; I think it’s how you determine what the tide is. If you’re looking at the powerful elite in Washington, absolutely. I and so many people across the country are challenging the powerful elite who have shown they are not working for the best interests of the people.
So we’re calling for the truth, we’re calling for a straight-forward process for voters to make sure that their voices are heard in this democracy and so that we can actually have a government that’s of, by, and for the people &#8212; not of, by, and for the powerful elite in Washington.
CAVUTO: All right. You’re up against, you know, a fundraising disadvantage. I was noticing, Congresswoman, in this state Tom Steyer has already spent north of $15.5 billion if you include New Hampshire and surrounding media markets.
GABBARD: Yes.
CAVUTO: Michael Bloomberg, who essentially is getting &#8212; you know, not focusing on this state. He’s spent $6.2 million, Bernie Sanders $3.7 million, Mayor Pete, at recently $1.4 million. You are at about $390,000.
GABBARD: We are at a disadvantage. I’ll take the opportunity now to ask your viewers if you’d like to contribute to my campaign &#8212; go to tulsi2020.com because we really are &#8212; I’m focused on really delivering my message directly to voters here in New Hampshire and across the country, understand what &#8212;
CAVUTO: Could you accept any of those other candidates, though &#8212; if any one of them became the nominee, could you support them?
GABBARD: I’m focused &#8212; I’m focused on &#8212; on winning.
CAVUTO: No, I’m sure you are but &#8212;
GABBARD: And here’s why &#8212; and here’s why &#8212;
CAVUTO: You don’t join the camp that says a socialist in Bernie Sanders is the nominee is political suicide?
GABBARD: No, I don’t. I don’t believe that.
CAVUTO: OK.
GABBARD: What I believe and what I hear from voters here is that they want a new generation of leadership. But they also want someone who has experience &#8212; experience to walk in on day one prepared to lead and to serve as Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces and experience to be able to work with Congress to be &#8212; to actually be able to get things done, to solve problems.
And what I bring to the table is experience in both of those areas, having served at the federal, state, and local levels of government, serving in Congress now for seven, going on eight, years, and having served in the military for 17 years and deploying twice to the Middle East, able to bring people together, heal these divides in our country where while we can agree to disagree on certain issues, even strongly, we stand together motivated by this love for our country and an understanding that when we stand and work side-by-side as Americans, we can accomplish anything.
CAVUTO: You know, the president yesterday, as you probably know, Congresswoman, fired Gordon Sondland, our Ambassador to Ukraine, and Alexander Vindman, top security official. A lot of people were likening it to another, you know, Friday night massacre akin to what Richard Nixon did back in the ‘70s. Do you agree with that?
GABBARD: Look, I disagree with so many of Trump’s decisions, especially as it relates to foreign policy. I’ve been very outspoken in that area. Ultimately, whether people like or not, there are consequences to elections. And the president has, within his purview, to make the decisions about who he’d like serving in his cabinet.
CAVUTO: All right. Congresswoman, thank you very much.
GABBARD: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: And you have a long day &#8212;
GABBARD: Good to see you, Neil.
CAVUTO: &#8212; days of campaigning &#8212;
GABBARD: Yes, we do. Seventy-two hours.
CAVUTO: All right. Tulsi Gabbard, thank you very, very much.</blockquote>

Democratic Presidential Candidates Participate In Fourth Debate In Ohio

Tulsi Gabbard Defends Trump Firing Vindman Brothers, Sondland. Rips DNC, Bloomberg.

Alexander Vindman

Donald Trump

Gordon Sondland

Michael Bloomberg

Tulsi Gabbard

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez called for an immediate recanvassing in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday after days of mounting concerns surrounding the accuracy of the results.
Perez&#8217;s call came after The New York Times reported on Thursday that the results &#8220;were riddled with inconsistencies and other flaws.&#8221;
&#8220;According to a New York Times analysis, more than 100 precincts reported results that were internally inconsistent, that were missing data or that were not possible under the complex rules of the Iowa caucuses,&#8221; The Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/upshot/iowa-caucuses-errors-results.html">reported</a>. &#8220;In some cases, vote tallies do not add up. In others, precincts are shown allotting the wrong number of delegates to certain candidates. And in at least a few cases, the Iowa Democratic Party’s reported results do not match those reported by the precincts.&#8221;
&#8220;Enough is enough,&#8221; Perez said. &#8220;In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.
&mdash; Tom Perez (@TomPerez) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomPerez/status/1225468833458245632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The state party, in reforms for 2020, introduced an opportunity for campaigns to request a recanvass and, if necessary, a recounct of the results if they are able to show that new figures could alter the allocation of delegates to the national convention in the summer,&#8221; The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dnc-chair-calls-for-recanvas-in-iowa/2020/02/06/0ec4dc4c-4906-11ea-9164-d3154ad8a5cd_story.html?utm_source=reddit.com">reported</a>. &#8220;The state’s rules do not explain how exactly a recanvass differs from a full recount, though both are more significant than a simple precinct review, which involves checking caucus-level anomalies.&#8221;
CNN Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny added: &#8220;The Iowa Democratic Party did not have advance warning that @TomPerez was calling for a recanvass of the Iowa caucus results, two people familiar with the matter tell @CNN . Perez doesn&#8217;t point out that the DNC has been running the show in Iowa for the last 48 hours.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: The Iowa Democratic Party did not have advance warning that <a href="https://twitter.com/TomPerez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomPerez</a> was calling for a recanvass of the Iowa caucus results, two people familiar with the matter tell <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNN</a>. Perez doesn&#39;t point out that the DNC has been running the show in Iowa for the last 48 hours.
&mdash; Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffzeleny/status/1225472426894647296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Before Perez’s announcement, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders were virtually tied at 26 percent with 97 percent of precincts reporting,&#8221; Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/06/dnc-chair-calls-for-recanvass-of-iowa-caucuses-111514">reported</a>. Buttigieg led in percentage of state delegate equivalents by just one-tenth of a percentage point, but Sanders led in the popular vote by more than 2,500 votes. The Associated Press said the race was too close to call.&#8221;
Commentators and top surrogates for socialist Bernie Sanders responded by suggesting that the DNC was trying to stop Sanders from winning the state.
Far-left activist Shaun King wrote: &#8220;Let me see if I understand this. 97% of the votes are counted. Bernie surges and is about to take the lead in delegates. @TomPerez calls for something called a &#8216;recanvass.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Let me see if I understand this. 
97% of the votes are counted. Bernie surges and is about to take the lead in delegates. <a href="https://twitter.com/TomPerez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomPerez</a> calls for something called a &quot;recanvass.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/R9RdiWdgPD">https://t.co/R9RdiWdgPD</a>
&mdash; Shaun King (@shaunking) <a href="https://twitter.com/shaunking/status/1225471631071567877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Current affairs wrote: &#8220;Tom Perez steps in just as the last unreleased results threatened to put Bernie over the top and calls for the whole count to stop and be scrapped and started all over again.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tom Perez steps in just as the last unreleased results threatened to put Bernie over the top and calls for the whole count to stop and be scrapped and started all over again. <a href="https://t.co/1i92wVsbzU">https://t.co/1i92wVsbzU</a>
&mdash; Current Affairs (@curaffairs) <a href="https://twitter.com/curaffairs/status/1225484944346157061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.

US-VOTE-2020-DEMOCRATS-DEBATE

DNC Chairman Tom Perez Calls For Immediate Recanvassing In Iowa Caucuses

Iowa

Tom Perez

It just continues to get worse and worse for the Iowa Democratic Party — and, by extension, for both the Democratic National Committee and grassroots Democrats across the country alike. The already-infamous app crashing that has resulted in politicos still not knowing the full and final results of Monday night&#8217;s first-in-the-nation caucuses was compounded by the fact, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-acting-secretary-iowa-democratic-party-refused-help-testing-failed-caucus-app">noted</a>, that the Iowa Democratic Party turned down express overtures from the Department of Homeland Security to help with vetting the technology.
As of Thursday morning, The New York Times&#8217; &#8220;live&#8221; caucus <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/04/us/elections/results-iowa-caucus.html?action=click&amp;module=Top%20Stories&amp;pgtype=Homepage">results tabulator</a> showed former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg with a remarkably narrow lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Buttigieg currently leads Sanders 26.2% to 26.1% in the total statewide popular vote, and by 550 to 547 in terms of state delegate equivalents. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is in third place, with 18.2% and 381 state delegate equivalents, whereas bumbling former Vice President Joe Biden is in fourth place with 15.8% and 331 state delegate equivalents. Overall, then, with 97% of Iowa precincts reporting, Buttigieg leads in 59 of Iowa&#8217;s 99 counties, Sanders leads in 19, and politicos everywhere eagerly anticipate the results of the final 28. Despite his minuscule deficit in statewide popular vote and state delegate equivalents, however, the Times&#8217; current &#8220;live estimate&#8221; of who will ultimately prevail shows Sanders as a narrow favorite over Buttigieg.
In short, this is total chaos and a dumpster fire of catastrophic proportions.
But now, the Times is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/upshot/iowa-caucuses-errors-results.html?emc=edit_na_20200206&amp;ref=headline&amp;nl=breaking-news&amp;campaign_id=60&amp;instance_id=0&amp;segment_id=21030&amp;user_id=b715e556383ae49550d07cacec388fa8&amp;regi_id=74074015&amp;fbclid=IwAR1YBbD9XtncQ9h-ewnL6kg3WQsQ6Jf4rekz3cDas72ynCHODBKdenZzTvs">separately reporting</a> that the results finally reported by the Iowa Democratic Party on Wednesday are &#8220;riddled with errors and inconsistencies.&#8221;
&#8220;The results released by the Iowa Democratic Party on Wednesday were riddled with inconsistencies and other flaws,&#8221; the Gray Lady wrote. &#8220;According to a New York Times analysis, more than 100 precincts reported results that were internally inconsistent, that were missing data or that were not possible under the complex rules of the Iowa caucuses.&#8221;
&#8220;In some cases, vote tallies do not add up,&#8221; the Times continued. &#8220;In others, precincts are shown allotting the wrong number of delegates to certain candidates. And in at least a few cases, the Iowa Democratic Party’s reported results do not match those reported by the precincts.&#8221;
&#8220;Some of these inconsistencies may prove to be innocuous, and the irregularities do not indicate an intentional effort to compromise or rig the result,&#8221; the newspaper reported. &#8220;But not all of the errors are minor, and they raise questions about whether the public will ever get a completely precise account of the Iowa results. With Mr. Sanders closing to within 0.1% with 97% of 1,765 precincts reporting, the race could easily grow close enough for even the most minor errors to delay a final projection or raise doubts about a declared winner.&#8221;
This is not exactly the way a political party ostensibly preoccupied with repelling election interference and preserving the integrity of the franchise would prefer that a leading left-wing newspaper cover its first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Separately this week, guru Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/iowa-might-have-screwed-up-the-whole-nomination-process/">weighed in with insights</a> on how &#8220;Iowa might have screwed up the whole nomination process.&#8221;
&#8220;To be &#8230; blunt: The Iowa Democratic Party’s colossal screw-up in reporting results will potentially have direct effects on the outcome of the nomination process,&#8221; Silver wrote. &#8220;The failure to report results will almost certainly help Biden, assuming that indications that he performed poorly in Iowa are correct, as they won’t get nearly as much media coverage. And they’ll hurt whichever candidate wins the state — most likely Sanders or Buttigieg.&#8221;
&#8220;It’s not a good situation for the Democratic Party,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;And it’s already too late for the damage to be entirely undone, even if Iowa eventually gets its act together.&#8221;

Pete Buttigieg continues to hold lead over Bernie Sanders in Iowa

Iowa Results Reported Wednesday Apparently ‘Riddled With Errors’

Amy Klobuchar

Department of Homeland Security

Well, that didn&#8217;t take long.
Democrats in Iowa, using a voting app ordered by the Iowa Democratic Party and designed by Democrats, failed in spectacular fashion on Monday to conduct the first-in-the-nation caucuses to ultimately decide the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.
But wait. The Democrats aren&#8217;t to blame. Apparently, President Trump is.
&#8220;It might be helpful to have a President and government that understand technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen,&#8221; candidate Andrew Yang wrote on Twitter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It might be helpful to have a President and government that understand technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen.
&mdash; Andrew Yang🧢 (@AndrewYang) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1224572709918650369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Yang, 45, made his fortune in the tech industry. But he didn&#8217;t explain how Trump perhaps better understanding technology would have prevented the debacle in Iowa.
In a statement early Tuesday, the Iowa Democratic Party blamed a “coding issue in the reporting system” for the problems, the Associated Press reported. &#8220;The problem kept party officials from releasing results from Monday’s caucus, the much-hyped kickoff to the 2020 primary. It was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting the contest as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled field with no clear front-runner.&#8221;
Top Trump officials also said there was no external influence on the app. “No one hacked into it, so this is more of a stress or load issue, as well as a reporting issue we’re seeing in Iowa,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-acting-secretary-iowa-democratic-party-refused-help-testing-failed-caucus-app">said acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf</a> in an interview with Fox on Tuesday morning.
Conspiracy theories abound, including one in which Democrats are trying to shut down Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the socialist from Vermont who increasingly found himself atop the polls in Iowa.
Wrote Eoin Higgins, a senior editor for Common Dreams: &#8220;Iowa Democratic Party uses secretive app for caucus reporting — App stops working a few hours before caucus begins — Results trickle in but show dominating performance for Sanders, death knell for Biden camp — Counting now shut down by DNC for &#8216;quality control.&#8217; I have that right?&#8221;
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-Iowa Democratic Party uses secretive app for caucus reporting -App stops working a few hours before caucus begins -Results trickle in but show dominating performance for Sanders, death knell for Biden camp -Counting now shut down by DNC for &quot;quality control&quot;
I have that right?
&mdash; Eoin Higgins (@EoinHiggins_) <a href="https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1224535221024034816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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For his part, Trump put the blame squarely on Democrats in Iowa.
&#8220;The Democrat Party in Iowa really messed up, but the Republican Party did not. I had the largest re-election vote in the history of that great state, by far, beating President Obama’s previous record by a lot. Also, 97% Plus of the vote! Thank you Iowa!&#8221; Trump wrote first thing in the morning.
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The Democrat Party in Iowa really messed up, but the Republican Party did not. I had the largest re-election vote in the history of that great state, by far, beating President Obama’s previous record by a lot. Also, 97% Plus of the vote! Thank you Iowa!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1224702718754856960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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And Trump said: &#8220;The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster. Nothing works, just like they ran the Country. Remember the 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare Website, that should have cost 2% of that. The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is &#8216;Trump.'&#8221;
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The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster. Nothing works, just like they ran the Country. Remember the 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare Website, that should have cost 2% of that. The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is “Trump”.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1224657196392370177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Twitter users had a field day with Yang&#8217;s post.
&#8220;You want President Trump to step in and fix this mess for the Dem party? I&#8217;m sure he&#8217;d love to be asked,&#8221; wrote one user.
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You want President Trump to step in and fix this mess for the Dem party? I&#39;m sure he&#39;d love to be asked.
&mdash; Michael (@MkHmmr) <a href="https://twitter.com/MkHmmr/status/1224574929250717696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It might be helpful to have a President who understands the President doesnt have anything to do with that,&#8221; wrote another.
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It might be helpful to have a President who understands the President doesnt have anything to do with that.
&mdash; Dusty (@dustopian) <a href="https://twitter.com/dustopian/status/1224657008730824704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Yes, Republicans did not have any issue. The democrats ran their caucus and simply messed it up every single step of the way. Worse it will be suspect even after they eventually get some results. Democrats have a plan, unfortunately it is a disaster,&#8221; wrote a third.
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Yes, Republicans did not have any issue. The democrats ran their caucus and simply messed it up every single step of the way. Worse it will be suspect even after they eventually get some results.
Democrats have a plan, unfortunately it is a disaster.
&mdash; politically_matt (@MattPolitically) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattPolitically/status/1224676670642237440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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And a fourth summed it all up. &#8220;The President doesn’t get to run the caucus, dumbass. Might be helpful to have a president who understands how elections work or what states or political parties are.&#8221;
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The President doesn’t get to run the caucus, dumbass. Might be helpful to have a president who understands how elections work or what states or political parties are.
&mdash; Ali (@ali) <a href="https://twitter.com/ali/status/1224580659030765568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Presidential Candidates Hit The Soapbox At The Iowa State Fair

Democratic Presidential Candidate Knows Who’s To Blame For Iowa Vote Debacle — It’s President Trump!

Andrew Yang

Chris Matthews likened it to a &#8220;three car funeral,&#8221; Joe Scarborough called it a bad omen, and Jeffrey Toobin simply hailed it an embarrassment. No matter who one consults about Monday night&#8217;s Iowa Democratic Party caucuses, the opinions among Democrats and their allies are nearly universal: Trump won big.
Over at MSNBC, a noticeably disgusted Chris Matthews said President Trump was &#8220;chuckling all night&#8221; as the Democratic Party struggled to so much as organize a &#8220;three car funeral.&#8221;
&#8220;The guy in the White House is chuckling all night here, showing the Democrats can&#8217;t even get a three car funeral organized, or whatever you want to call it. I would say to the people of Iowa, &#8216;Will the last person leaving Des Moines, please turn out the lights?&#8217;  This has not been a success,&#8221; Matthews frustratingly declared, as reported by <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/scott-whitlock/2020/02/04/disgusted-matthews-mocks-three-car-funeral-iowa-preview-dem">Newsbusters</a>.
Matthews then tried to spin this gross display of incompetence on the part of the Democrats into the fault of the Iowa caucuses themselves, even though Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez was <a href="https://twitter.com/TomPerez/status/1224475047974330369?s=20">literally boasting</a> hours before the election about the &#8220;reforms&#8221; the party had instituted to ensure a more transparent primary process.
&#8220;I think we have to ask ourselves about the viability of the Iowa caucuses as an institution to start off this decision this country has to make to find someone to challenge Trump,&#8221; continued Matthews.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Chris Matthews on Iowa Caucuses: This has not been a success. <a href="https://t.co/tAmEUmfDXO">pic.twitter.com/tAmEUmfDXO</a>
&mdash; The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1224567133364862976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Joe Scarborough of &#8220;Morning Joe&#8221; blasted the party for leaving the results of Monday night&#8217;s important election in the hands of a &#8220;crappy app&#8221; they did not even know would properly work.
&#8220;What is wrong with the Iowa Democratic Party?&#8221; Scarborough began on Tuesday morning. &#8220;Again, this is a party who botched the call four years ago, rushed it when the media was shocked that they would be so transparent, and now they get on the phone for 74 seconds? The world&#8217;s watching this. We&#8217;re not being melodramatic.&#8221;
&#8220;For a year and a half, American politics has been focused on this moment, and the Democratic Party has a crappy app and say, well, nothing happened to the app,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Then you hear reports something did happen to the app. Was there election interference? Did somebody try to hack into the app? Was it just pure incompetence? Did they lose the information? Why were they only on the phone for 74 seconds when they should be holding two-hour press conferences explaining to America and the world what happened.&#8221;
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&quot;The world&#39;s watching this,&quot; says <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeNBC</a> of the delayed results for the Iowa caucuses <a href="https://t.co/RqtL1EY6Qj">pic.twitter.com/RqtL1EY6Qj</a>
&mdash; Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe/status/1224656620447289345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Writing at CNN, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/03/opinions/iowa-caucus-is-an-embarrassment-toobin/index.html">minced no words</a> by deeming the night an &#8220;embarrassment.&#8221; Toobin even argued that the whole concept of the Iowa caucuses should be scrapped altogether.
&#8220;Maybe the fiasco of the late reporting results from the Iowa caucus this year will have a positive legacy — the end of the caucus process and the invitation to another state to start the delegate selection process,&#8221; wrote Toobin. &#8220;The caucuses are an embarrassment to the Democratic Party and the United States. This is no way to pick a nominee.&#8221;
None other than hardcore Bernie Sanders supporter Cenk Uygur of &#8220;The Young Turks&#8221; expressed the most outrage over the Iowa results.
&#8220;I’m enraged about the lack of transparency from Democratic officials in Iowa &amp; nationally. Who designed the vote counting app &amp; who paid for it? The point of winning #IowaCaucuses is to get positive press coverage and now that’s ruined,&#8221; Uygur declared on Twitter. 
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I’m enraged about the lack of transparency from Democratic officials in Iowa &amp; nationally. Who designed the vote counting app &amp; who paid for it? The point of winning <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IowaCaucuses?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IowaCaucuses</a> is to get positive press coverage and now that’s ruined. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotMeUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NotMeUs</a>
&mdash; Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) <a href="https://twitter.com/cenkuygur/status/1224566964623798272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/cenkuygur?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cenkuygur</a> on impact of delayed <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IowaCaucus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IowaCaucus</a> results, &quot;The press that you get out of it is the relevant part of Iowa and they just ruined that for the winner.&quot;
Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tytlive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tytlive</a>: <a href="https://t.co/epNjbsjqnS">https://t.co/epNjbsjqnS</a> <a href="https://t.co/vL7WIf6FuG">pic.twitter.com/vL7WIf6FuG</a>
&mdash; The Young Turks (@TheYoungTurks) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheYoungTurks/status/1224567250994094080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Chris Matthews

‘Three Car Funeral’: Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Others Freak Over Iowa Embarrassment

Cenk Uygur

Joe Scarborough

Morning Joe

MSNBC

Last night&#8217;s Iowa caucuses debacle was nothing less than a catastrophe for the Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee. &#8220;You had one job,&#8221; as the <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-had-one-job">popular meme</a> goes, and the Iowa Democratic Party failed did not merely fail that job — it exhibited the kind of reckless and gross incompetence that would be merely embarrassing were it not for the rather Orwellian fact that these are the same people who want to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-the-democrat-party-cant-run-its-own-primary-but-wants-to-run-the-health-care-system">nationalize and control our health care</a>. As of this moment, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-to-watch-for-during-tonights-iowa-caucuses">politicos across the country</a> are still waiting with bated breath for official results from last night&#8217;s caucuses.
The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) has issued a preliminary official response, as The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ashe Schow <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iowa-democrats-on-caucus-debacle-we-gotta-learn-to-code">reported</a> this morning:
<blockquote>As precinct caucus results started coming in, the IDP ran them through an accuracy and quality check. It became clear that there were inconsistencies with the reports. The underlying cause of these inconsistencies was not immediately clear, and required investigation, which took time.
As this investigation unfolded, IDP staff activated pre-planned backup measures and entered data manually. This took longer than expected.
As part of our investigation, we determined with certainty that the underlying data collected via the app was sound. While the app was recording data accurately, it was reporting out only partial data. We have determined that this was due to a coding issue in the reporting system. This issue was identified and fixed. The application’s reporting issue did not impact the ability of precinct chairs to report data accurately.</blockquote>
That underlying app, it turns out, was developed, in large part, with the failed 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign&#8217;s campaign manager, <a href="https://twitter.com/ComfortablySmug/status/1224541115241680902">Robby Mook</a>. Some Democrats and leftists last night were indeed quick to blame Mook for their party&#8217;s Hawkeye State woes.
&#8220;I’ve always felt like Robby Mook didn’t get enough credit for his part in tanking Hillary’s campaign but now knowing he was behind this failed Iowa app I’m positive he was fully responsible for tanking Hillary’s campaign,&#8221; tweeted Mashable&#8217;s Matt Binder.
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I’ve always felt like Robby Mook didn’t get enough credit for his part in tanking Hillary’s campaign but now knowing he was behind this failed Iowa app I’m positive he was fully responsible for tanking Hillary’s campaign
&mdash; Matt Binder (@MattBinder) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/1224540937138966528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Now, as of this morning, we know that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially reached out to the IDP to see if the state party wanted any help with vetting the new technology. The IDP, in turn, brazenly refused the feds&#8217; request.
&#8220;Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf says the Iowa Democrat[ic] Party declined to have their new caucus app vetted by the department,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/dhs-sec-chad-wolf-democrats-iowa-clinton-app">reports</a>. &#8220;Appearing on &#8216;Fox &amp; Friends&#8217; with co-host Steve Doocy, Wolf said that the DHS cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency had offered to test the app from a &#8216;hacking perspective,&#8217; but the party had declined.&#8221;
&#8220;They declined and so we are seeing a couple of issues with it,&#8221; Wolf added, according to the outlet.
Heather Swift, officials spokesperson for DHS, also corroborated Wolf&#8217;s on-air narrative.
&#8220;Homeland Security&#8217;s [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] offered to test the Iowa Caucus app,&#8221; she tweeted. &#8220;They declined. See [Acting Secretary Wolf] interview,&#8221; she added, linking to Wolf&#8217;s &#8220;Fox &amp; Friends&#8221; appearance.
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Homeland Security&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/CISAgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CISAgov</a> offered to test the Iowa Caucus app. They declined. See <a href="https://twitter.com/DHS_Wolf?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHS_Wolf</a> interview <a href="https://t.co/GoQeEMZbuJ">https://t.co/GoQeEMZbuJ</a>
&mdash; Heather Swift, DHS spokesperson (@SpoxDHS) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpoxDHS/status/1224684831558324225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Suffice it to say this is not exactly the start the Democratic Party wanted for its campaign to defeat President Donald Trump this November.

Chad Wolf

DHS Acting Secretary: Iowa Democratic Party Refused Help Testing Failed Caucus App

2016 election

Fox News

Hillary Clinton

Robby Mook

By dawn on Tuesday, it was clear that the debacle in Iowa was unprecedented.
A perfect storm had rolled in just in time for the state&#8217;s first-in-the-nation vote on the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. A newly, apparently untested app meant to ease communication among precinct chiefs during the caucuses failed completely, with the app designers blaming &#8220;coding issues.&#8221; A failsafe backstop — having precinct chiefs simply phone in the results to the state party headquarters — also failed, with workers being too busy to answer the calls.
The whole mess was a terrible start for Democrats vying to replace President Trump in the White House. Memes immediately exploded across the internet, with one being repeated often: The Democrats want to run the country, but they can&#8217;t even hold a caucus in the cornfields.
For the record, the Republicans also held their caucuses in Iowa on Monday. While they garnered little media coverage, Trump blew out his primary rivals, winning more than 97% of the vote over former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh, who each came in with about 1% each.
In many ways, Trump won both caucuses. And he knew it. He took to Twitter early to needle Democrats for their pathetic efforts in Iowa.
&#8220;The Democrat Party in Iowa really messed up, but the Republican Party did not. I had the largest re-election vote in the history of that great state, by far, beating President Obama’s previous record by a lot. Also, 97% Plus of the vote! Thank you Iowa!&#8221; Trump wrote first thing in the morning.
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The Democrat Party in Iowa really messed up, but the Republican Party did not. I had the largest re-election vote in the history of that great state, by far, beating President Obama’s previous record by a lot. Also, 97% Plus of the vote! Thank you Iowa!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1224702718754856960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The Iowa Democratic Party put out a statement early Tuesday morning saying, &#8220;We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results. In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate that all results match.&#8221; Then they added: “This is not a hack or an intrusion.”
That opened another door for Trump, who was investigated for more than two years over charges that he colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election, only to be completely exonerated.
&#8220;When will the Democrats start blaming RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, instead of their own incompetence for the voting disaster that just happened in the Great State of Iowa?&#8221; he wrote mockingly first thing in the morning.
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When will the Democrats start blaming RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, instead of their own incompetence for the voting disaster that just happened in the Great State of Iowa?
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1224699832901799939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Trump even defended Iowa. &#8220;It is not the fault of Iowa, it is the Do Nothing Democrats fault. As long as I am President, Iowa will stay where it is. Important tradition!&#8221; he wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It is not the fault of Iowa, it is the Do Nothing Democrats fault. As long as I am President, Iowa will stay where it is. Important tradition! <a href="https://t.co/bX3FLvua1C">https://t.co/bX3FLvua1C</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1224685852133031936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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And the debacle has only just begun. Already there are allegations that the Democratic Party is somehow trying to derail democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had suddenly risen to the top of the polls. Once the smoke clears, there will be endless charges about the final numbers, with candidates claiming they actually won. The fact that the disastrous app was designed by former campaign officials for Hillary Clinton will only make matters worse.
Which led Trump to type out one more tweet.
&#8220;The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster. Nothing works, just like they ran the Country. Remember the 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare Website, that should have cost 2% of that. The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is &#8216;Trump,'&#8221; he wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster. Nothing works, just like they ran the Country. Remember the 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare Website, that should have cost 2% of that. The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is “Trump”.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1224657196392370177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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He sure got that right.

US-MEXICO-CANADA-NAFTA-TRADE-TRUMP

CURL: President Trump First Ever To Win Republican AND Democratic Caucuses In Iowa

The Iowa caucuses, the first night of the election cycle that Democratic Party voters get to cast actual votes,  has turned into a complete disaster.
As the results of Monday night&#8217;s caucuses continued to be delayed, those watching CNN caught a local Democratic Party official hanging up the phone on a distraught precinct secretary who had been on hold for almost an hour. Take a look:
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CNN got the caucus secretary from the precinct on the phone for an interview. He was on hold for over an hour, waiting to report his results. During the interview, someone picked up, but because he was talking to Wolf Blitzer, he was hung up on. Unreal. <a href="https://t.co/DZoLSpjZto">pic.twitter.com/DZoLSpjZto</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1224547913411497984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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As the clip above shows, Shawn Sebastian, a precinct secretary from Story County, joins CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer over the phone and tries to contain his palpable frustration with how the evening has unfolded.
&#8220;Shawn Sebastian is joining us right now from Story County, he’s a precinct secretary out there, what can you tell us about this delay in getting any results Shawn?&#8221; Wolf Blitzer begins.
According to Shawn, the app that the Iowa Democratic Party promoted as a means to report the election results turned out to be a complete failure.
&#8220;Well, Wolf, I have been on hold for over an hour with the Iowa Democratic Party,&#8221; a noticeably miffed Shawn tells the CNN host. &#8220;They tried to promote an app to report the results. The app, by all accounts, just doesn’t work. So we’ve been recommended to call into the hotline. And the hotline has not been responsive.&#8221;
&#8220;Have you gotten any explanation at all as to what’s going on?&#8221; responds Blitzer.
&#8220;No, I have not. I’m just waiting on hold and doing my best to report the results,&#8221; says Shawn.
It was then, after having waited for over an hour, that the Iowa Democratic Party official answered the phone. It did not go how Shawn expected.
“Hello. &#8230; They hung up on me. They hung up on me. I’ve got to get back to being on hold,&#8221; Shawn says as Wolf Blitzer expresses sympathy for his unfortunate situation.
Shawn&#8217;s frustration with the Iowa Democratic Party&#8217;s gross incompetence resulted in him reporting the election results on Twitter:
<blockquote>I am the caucus secretary for Story County Precinct 1-1. I&#8217;ve been on hold for over an hour to report the results. We have 6 delegates.
First Alignment 
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5">Sanders &#8211; 111</div>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5">Warren- 82 
Buttigieg 47</div>
<div></div>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5">Delegates</div>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5">Sanders &#8211; 2 
Warren &#8211; 2 
Buttigieg 2</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I am the caucus secretary for Story County Precinct 1-1. I&#39;ve been on hold for over an hour to report the results. We have 6 delegates
First Alignment<a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BernieSanders</a> &#8211; 111<a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ewarren</a> &#8211; 82<a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteButtigieg</a> &#8211; 47
Delegates Sanders &#8211; 2 Warren &#8211; 2 Buttigieg 2
Here&#39;s how it happened 1/
&mdash; Shawn Sebastian 🐺🐴 (@shawnsebastian) <a href="https://twitter.com/shawnsebastian/status/1224538096571686912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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On another panel, Van Jones characterized Shawn&#8217;s predicament as a &#8220;debacle.&#8221;
&#8220;They&#8217;re just starting to tweet out their results,&#8221; said Van Jones. &#8220;This is starting to look like a debacle.&#8221;
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On CNN&#39;s panel, <a href="https://twitter.com/VanJones68?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VanJones68</a> says a caucus secretary from a precinct is tweeting out results as the DNC struggles to report the numbers: &quot;This is starting to look like a debacle.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/9NPhJIGdGt">pic.twitter.com/9NPhJIGdGt</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1224542615724490753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Reporter Glenn Greenwald <a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1224541968061075458?s=20">said about</a> the moment, &#8220;This inspires so much confidence — a caucus secretary having to report the results over Twitter because no Democratic official will take his call and he doesn’t know what else to do.
Republicans on social media largely seized the moment to troll Democrats.
&#8220;BREAKING: While Democrats can&#8217;t even figure out how to count their votes or use a simple app, [President Trump] has achieved RECORD turnout in the Iowa Caucus for an incumbent president Americans are fired up to re-elect Trump. Meanwhile Democrats are left confused. Incredible,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1224546212734390272?s=20">tweeted</a> TPUSA&#8217;s Charlie Kirk.
&#8220;The Democrats said if Trump wasn&#8217;t impeached, he would steal the election. It&#8217;s already begun. In Iowa,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1224560106747990018?s=20">tweeted</a> Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro.

Wolf Blitzer

WATCH: Local Democratic Official Hangs Up On Iowa Precinct Secretary Live On CNN

In a recent phone interview with <a href="https://time.com/5776429/alexandria-ocasio-bernie-sanders-iowa/">Time</a> magazine, democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sent some shots across the bow of the Democratic National Committee, warning that they could be getting themselves into &#8220;dangerous territory in terms of defeating Trump.&#8221;
Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most vocal supporters of fellow democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is now running neck and neck in some recent polls with longtime frontrunner Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. With the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses finally upon us, the tension between the various candidates has escalated — and with Sanders once again outperforming expectations, he&#8217;s become the favorite target of the Democratic establishment, or at least that&#8217;s how many of his supporters see it.
While the freshman representative initially tried to downplay the increasing disunity in the party, calling it &#8220;overblown,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s comments revealed the growing concern among Sanders supporters that they are going to see a re-run of 2016, when the DNC appeared to deliberately take steps to ensure Sanders lost to establishment favorite Hillary Clinton.
&#8220;Bernie has said this, I absolutely believe this: whoever gets the nomination, we have to rally behind them, no matter who it is,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez told Time in the interview. &#8220;And I would hope that everybody would do so if Bernie is the nominee as well.&#8221;
If they don&#8217;t, said Ocasio-Cortez, it would be a &#8220;dangerous&#8221; mistake. Also &#8220;dangerous,&#8221; would be the DNC using &#8220;superdelegate[s] or other kind of subversive policies&#8221; to undermine a candidate.
&#8220;I don’t think it’s a good idea for people to try to use superdelegate or other kind of subversive policies to deny anybody the nomination because it’s incredibly divisive to do so, and very demoralizing, which is a direct threat in November,&#8221; the far-left congresswoman warned.
&#8220;The moment you start playing games trying to deny whoever is the nominee, we really start to get into dangerous territory in terms of defeating Trump,&#8221; she said.
The use of superdelegates, which proved to be a divisive issue in 2016, with many Sanders supporters accusing the DNC of &#8220;rigging&#8221; the process to ensure a Clinton win, has come up again, with multiple reports citing Democratic insiders discussing their use, as reported Friday by <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/31/dnc-superdelegates-110083">Politico</a>:
<blockquote>
A small group of Democratic National Committee members has privately begun gauging support for a plan to potentially weaken Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and head off a brokered convention.
In conversations on the sidelines of a DNC executive committee meeting and in telephone calls and texts in recent days, about a half-dozen members have discussed the possibility of a policy reversal to ensure that so-called superdelegates can vote on the first ballot at the party’s national convention. Such a move would increase the influence of DNC members, members of Congress and other top party officials, who now must wait until the second ballot to have their say if the convention is contested.
</blockquote>
Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s reference to other &#8220;subversive policies&#8221; follows a last-second DNC debate rule change that has been met with strong outcry from supporters of several candidates. On Friday, the DNC announced that it will drop the donor quota for prospective primary debaters, a move that allows self-funded billionaire candidate Michael Bloomberg, who has risen to fourth in the polls, to participate.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michael-moore-trump-both-blast-democratic-national-committee-for-latest-move-rigging-game-against-bernie]">Michael Moore, Trump Both Blast Democratic National Committee For Latest Move ‘Rigging’ Game Against Bernie</a>

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ocasio-Cortez: Democrats Could Get In ‘Dangerous Territory In Terms Of Defeating Trump’

Democratic Socialism

Michael Moore and President Trump can at least agree on one thing: the Democratic National Committee is up to more nefarious antics in its handling of candidates, particularly democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), whom Trump has repeatedly said is being deliberately undermined by the Democratic Party machine.
In a speech that has turned some heads for its explosive nature — and one prominent F-bomb — left-wing documentarian Michael Moore unloaded on the DNC at a pre-caucus rally for his candidate of choice, Bernie, in Iowa on Friday. Moore&#8217;s specific complaint, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-michael-moore-explodes-at-dnc-while-speaking-at-bernie-campaign-rally">The Daily Wire</a> reported, was the DNC&#8217;s new decision to remove some debate requirements, allowing self-funded billionaire candidate Michael Bloomberg, who has climbed to fourth in the polls, to participate in the next debate.
&#8220;The D.N.C. announced Friday that in order to participate in the debate, set for Feb. 19 in Las Vegas, a candidate must win at least a single delegate in either the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary or meet polling requirements,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/us/politics/dnc-democratic-debate-rules.html">The New York Times</a> reported Friday. &#8220;It has eliminated the requirement that candidates must have received donations from hundreds of thousands of individuals. Mr. Bloomberg, a multibillionaire, is running a self-funded campaign and is not soliciting donations.&#8221;
&#8220;They removed it so that [Bloomberg] could be in the next debate,” an enraged Moore declared at a Bernie rally in Clive, Iowa on Friday. &#8220;He doesn’t have to show he has any support amongst the American people.&#8221;
&#8220;He can just buy his way onto the debate and I got to tell what’s so disgusting about this,&#8221; Moore exclaimed. &#8220;I watched the debate in Iowa here two weeks, the all-white debate, and the fact that Democratic, the DNC will not allow Cory Booker on that stage, will not allow Julian Castro on that stage, but they’re going to allow Mike Bloomberg on the stage because he’s got a billion f***ing dollars!&#8221;
<iframe title="Michael Moore Explodes: DNC Letting Bloomberg Debate Because ‘He Has a Billion F*cking Dollars’" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GQcZ7P7d_NY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Following a trend dating back since early reports of the DNC torpedoing Sanders in 2016 in favor of Hillary Clinton, Trump posted a series of tweets over the weekend hitting the committee for its treatment of the Vermont senator, who has recently surpassed longtime frontrunner Joe Biden in some polls.
&#8220;Many of the ads you are watching were paid for by Mini Mike Bloomberg. He is going nowhere, just wasting his money, but he is getting the DNC to rig the election against Crazy Bernie, something they wouldn’t do for [Cory Booker] and others,&#8221; Trump said, echoing Moore&#8217;s complaint. &#8220;They are doing it to Bernie again, 2016.&#8221;
&#8220;Mini Mike is now negotiating both to get on the Democrat Primary debate stage, and to have the right to stand on boxes, or a lift, during the debates,&#8221; Trump added in a follow-up post. &#8220;This is sometimes done, but really not fair!&#8221;
Trump continued to hit the issue of the DNC &#8220;rigging&#8221; the game against Sanders on Monday morning in a post quoting &#8220;Fox and Friends&#8221; co-host Steve Doocy: &#8220;The DNC on Bernie Sanders, &#8216;Looks like they’re going to do it to him again, doesn’t it?'&#8221;
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Many of the ads you are watching were paid for by Mini Mike Bloomberg. He is going nowhere, just wasting his money, but he is getting the DNC to rig the election against Crazy Bernie, something they wouldn’t do for <a href="https://twitter.com/CoryBooker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoryBooker</a> and others. They are doing it to Bernie again, 2016.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1223837731056427009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Mini Mike is now negotiating both to get on the Democrat Primary debate stage, and to have the right to stand on boxes, or a lift, during the debates. This is sometimes done, but really not fair!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1223839756234215424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The DNC on Bernie Sanders, “Looks like they’re going to do it to him again, doesn’t it?” <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveDoocy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SteveDoocy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/foxandfriends?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@foxandfriends</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1224317265702801408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bloomberg-fuming-over-trumps-attacks-on-his-height-already-has-revenge-plan-report-says">Bloomberg ‘Fuming’ Over Trump’s Attacks On His Height, Already Has Revenge Plan, Report Says</a>
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Michael Moore

Michael Moore, Trump Both Blast Democratic National Committee For Latest Move ‘Rigging’ Game Against Bernie

Members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have reportedly started discussing the implementation of a plan aimed at harming Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a socialist, in hopes of derailing his campaign.
&#8220;In conversations on the sidelines of a DNC executive committee meeting and in telephone calls and texts in recent days, about a half-dozen members have discussed the possibility of a policy reversal to ensure that so-called superdelegates can vote on the first ballot at the party’s national convention,&#8221; Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/31/dnc-superdelegates-110083">reported</a>. &#8220;Such a move would increase the influence of DNC members, members of Congress and other top party officials, who now must wait until the second ballot to have their say if the convention is contested.&#8221;
Politico noted that it’s an uphill battle for those who want the rule change, but that &#8220;the talks reveal the extent of angst that many establishment Democrats are feeling on the eve of the Iowa caucuses.&#8221;
&#8220;The decision to relegate superdelegates – now called &#8216;automatic delegates&#8217; – to the second ballot in a contested convention consumed the DNC for nearly two years after the 2016 election. Superdelegates overwhelmingly sided with Hillary Clinton, infuriating Sanders’ supporters,&#8221; Politico added. &#8220;The rule change was widely viewed as a major victory for the Democratic Party’s left flank. At the time, Perez called the delegate overhaul &#8216;historic,&#8217; while progressive Democrats and many moderates lauded its appeal to young voters skeptical of centralized party power.&#8221;
The Democrat Party has already started to put its thumb on the scales with new rules that it announced that favored Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/us/politics/dnc-democratic-debate-rules.html">reported</a>:
<blockquote>The D.N.C. announced Friday that in order to participate in the debate, set for Feb. 19 in Las Vegas, a candidate must win at least a single delegate in either the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary or meet polling requirements.
It has eliminated the requirement that candidates must have received donations from hundreds of thousands of individuals. Mr. Bloomberg, a multibillionaire, is running a self-funded campaign and is not soliciting donations.
The changes, which represent the most significant tightening of debate requirements this cycle, set off a fresh and pointed round of criticism at a critical moment in the race, as several campaigns braced for the reality check that the Iowa caucuses will provide. And the edict from party officials, which some saw as a concession to Mr. Bloomberg, quickly reignited concerns among those who believe the D.N.C.’s shifting rules for the debates privilege some candidates and campaigns over others.</blockquote>
The Sanders campaign responded by telling The New York Times: “To now change the rules in the middle of the game to accommodate Mike Bloomberg, who is trying to buy his way into the Democratic nomination, is wrong. That’s the definition of a rigged system.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Just before jumping into the race, <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MikeBloomberg</a> gave $325,000 to the DNC, on top of the gobs he spent on ads this month. Totally normal system. <a href="https://t.co/u4JDelWb7H">pic.twitter.com/u4JDelWb7H</a>
&mdash; Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1223337638691856385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Failed far-left Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein responded to Politico&#8217;s report by <a href="http://archive.is/fKvm7">writing</a> on Twitter: &#8220;Desperate DNC members consider rule change to let superdelegates vote on 1st ballot to stop Sanders. If the DNC rigs another election against its voters, it’ll be asking for biggest #DemExit yet by those who want an actually democratic party. #DNCRigging&#8221;
Dave Wasserman, U.S. House editor of the non-partisan Cook Political Report, <a href="http://archive.is/HBDBu">wrote</a>: &#8220;Yeah, this is going to end well.&#8221;
Left-wing journalist Ben Norton <a href="http://archive.is/nVybW">wrote</a>: &#8220;After rigging the primary in 2016 and stealing numerous states from Bernie Sanders, a small group of unelected corporate-funded DNC elites are plotting to steal the election from him again, reversing the policy to give unelected superdelegates more power.&#8221;
New York Times columnist Elizabeth Bruenig <a href="http://archive.is/wip/d4CKC">wrote</a>: &#8220;they&#8217;re going to throw it to trump, but that&#8217;s alright with them, because he&#8217;s not going to raise their taxes&#8221;
This is a developing news story, refresh the page for updates.

Sen. Bernie Sanders Holds Roundtable Discussion On Water Contamination

DNC Members Discuss Changing Rules To Stop Sanders From Getting Nomination At Convention, Report Says

Far-left filmmaker and activist Michael Moore exploded on Friday in Iowa at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) while discussing how the Democratic Party removed debate requirements to allow Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg to appear during the next party debate.
“They removed it so that he could be in the next debate,” Moore yelled. “He doesn’t have to show he has any support amongst the American people.”
“He can just buy his way onto the debate and I got to tell what’s so disgusting about this,” Moore continued. “I watched the debate in Iowa here two weeks, the all-white debate, and the fact that Democratic, the DNC will not allow Cory Booker on that stage, will not allow Julian Castro on that stage, but they’re going to allow Mike Bloomberg on the stage because he’s got a billion f***ing dollars!”
WATCH:
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Michael Moore (<a href="https://twitter.com/MMFlint?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MMFlint</a>) explodes at the <a href="https://twitter.com/DNC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DNC</a> just now at a Bernie rally in Clive, Iowa: “The DNC will not allow Cory Booker on that stage, will not allow Julian Castro … but they’re going to allow Mike Bloomberg because HE HAS A BILLION F*CKING DOLLARS?!&quot; <a href="https://t.co/76ChQRsKgN">pic.twitter.com/76ChQRsKgN</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1223413799551741959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Moore&#8217;s outburst came after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced that it was changing the debate rules in a manner that benefited Bloomberg.
The New York Times reported:
<blockquote>The D.N.C. announced Friday that in order to participate in the debate, set for Feb. 19 in Las Vegas, a candidate must win at least a single delegate in either the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary or meet polling requirements.
It has eliminated the requirement that candidates must have received donations from hundreds of thousands of individuals. Mr. Bloomberg, a multibillionaire, is running a self-funded campaign and is not soliciting donations.
The changes, which represent the most significant tightening of debate requirements this cycle, set off a fresh and pointed round of criticism at a critical moment in the race, as several campaigns braced for the reality check that the Iowa caucuses will provide. And the edict from party officials, which some saw as a concession to Mr. Bloomberg, quickly reignited concerns among those who believe the D.N.C.’s shifting rules for the debates privilege some candidates and campaigns over others.</blockquote>
Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey responded to the changes by saying, “We are thrilled that voters could soon have the chance to see Mike Bloomberg on the debate stage, hear his vision for the country, and see why he is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump and bring our country together. Mike has run for office three times and never taken a dime from special interests, allowing him to act independently, on the merits, without having to do what donors expect. He is proud to be doing the same with this campaign.”
The Sanders campaign responded by telling The New York Times: “To now change the rules in the middle of the game to accommodate Mike Bloomberg, who is trying to buy his way into the Democratic nomination, is wrong. That’s the definition of a rigged system.”
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren responded in a similar manner, writing on Twitter, &#8220;The DNC didn’t change the rules to ensure good, diverse candidates could remain on the debate stage. They shouldn’t change the rules to let a billionaire on. Billionaires shouldn&#8217;t be allowed to play by different rules—on the debate stage, in our democracy, or in our government.&#8221;
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The DNC didn’t change the rules to ensure good, diverse candidates could remain on the debate stage. They shouldn’t change the rules to let a billionaire on. Billionaires shouldn&#39;t be allowed to play by different rules—on the debate stage, in our democracy, or in our government.
&mdash; Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1223389175468249088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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6th Annual DOC NYC Visionaries Tribute

WATCH: Michael Moore Explodes At DNC While Speaking At Bernie Campaign Rally

The Democratic National Committee is very happy with their system of determining which candidates for the party&#8217;s presidential nomination make the debate stage and there&#8217;s nothing Andrew Yang can do about it, the DNC says.
According to Fox News, the DNC &#8220;shot down&#8221; Yang&#8217;s request that the party hold several of its own polls ahead of the organization&#8217;s final debate in order to correct what Yang believes is a dearth of diversity in both ethnicity and platform.
Yang was the only minority candidate on the DNC&#8217;s debate stage in December, and then only because of a last-minute groundswell of support that put him slightly over the top in several national polls. He was also the youngest, by far, and the only Democratic contender to deviate even slightly from two prescribed platform: either &#8220;mainstream&#8221; or &#8220;Establishment,&#8221; or far-left and progressive. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) did earn a spot in the debate but ended her presidential campaign just days beforehand.
In a memo leaked last week, Yang pressured DNC leader Tom Perez to commission a series of polls, conducted on behalf of the DNC, in Iowa, in order to get a better read on whom the population there was considering voting for.
“With the upcoming holidays and meager number of polls currently out in the field, a diverse set of candidates might be absent from the stage in Des Moines for reasons out of anyone’s control,” Yang wrote. “This is a troubling prospect for our party. Regardless of the DNC’s best intentions, voters would cry foul and could even make unfounded claims of bias and prejudice.”
The suggestion definitely benefits Yang. Although he made the last debate in California, he&#8217;s unlikely to make the January debate &#8212; he is just shy of the polling numbers needed to qualify. Only former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg have crossed the threshold.
If the last name &#8212; Klobuchar &#8212; sounds out of place on that list, it&#8217;s because the DNC&#8217;s decision over who makes the January debate stage is based on polling taken in early December, and then, only on select polls that meet the DNC&#8217;s mysterious qualifications. That puts upstart candidates like Yang, who have relatively little name recognition among voters disconnected from the Internet and who seem to gain traction in short bursts, at a disadvantage; even if he suddenly skyrockets in popularity in Iowa, he&#8217;s already missed the &#8220;right&#8221; window to qualify for the debate.
Yang&#8217;s solution was to have DNC-commissioned &#8220;temperature checks&#8221; of Iowa voters instead, so that the DNC could get a sense of which candidates Iowa voters actually want to see go head-to-head.
“Hence, I propose a simple solution: between now and January 10, the DNC should commission four early state qualifying polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, where all the candidates have invested their time, resources and staff. It would provide an accurate snapshot of the current state of the race and where voters’ hearts and minds are, thus getting ahead of an imminent problem,&#8221; Yang wrote.
The DNC, on Monday, told Fox News that there is absolutely no way they&#8217;ll take Yang up on his offer.
“The DNC has been more than inclusive throughout this entire process with an expansive list of qualifying polls, including 26 polls for the December debate, more than half of which were state polls,” they told the news outlet.
&#8220;The DNC will not sponsor its own debate qualifying polls of presidential candidates during a primary. This would break with the long standing practice of both parties using independent polling for debate qualification, and it would be an inappropriate use of DNC resources that should be directed at beating Donald Trump,&#8221; they added.
In fairness to the DNC, they may not be dismissing Yang out of hand so much as dismissing the cost. The DNC has just around $9 million cash on hand, and fundraising has been slow to non-existent. The Republican National Committee, by contrast, has more than $60 million cash on hand.

DNC Denies Andrew Yang’s Request For More, Better Polling For Future Debates

On Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee released a new ad promoting its &#8220;Democratic Unity Fund&#8221; that featured 10 presidential candidates all reciting the same message, but strangely enough, one candidate who has taken on her party by criticizing party darlings Hillary Clinton and Sen. Kamala Harris as well as refusing to vote for impeaching President Trump was not included.
That’s correct; as Joseph Wulfsohn noted for <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dnc-snubs-tulsi-gabbard-from-2020-unity-ad">Fox News</a>, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) was unceremoniously dumped from the list. Lest there be protests that Gabbard’s poll numbers have been low, let it be noted that one of the candidates reciting the pledge was former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, whose latest numbers in a Fox News poll languished at 0%.
The candidates include former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-VT), South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA), former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, (D-MN)., tech businessman Andrew Yang, Sen. Cory Booker, (D-NJ)  billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer, and Patrick.
All of them stated, &#8220;I&#8217;m running to be your nominee, but no matter who ends up on that stage as our nominee in the convention, we need the whole Democratic Party to unite if we want to take back the White House and win seats all across the country and deliver a presidency consistent with our Democratic values. Unity is what this moment in history demands of us right now because the stakes have never been higher. As Democrats, we know there is so much more that unites us than divides us. And next year, we have the opportunity to make sure that our shared values are represented.&#8221;
Clinton had claimed Gabbard was being groomed by the Russians as a third-party candidate, telling <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/hillary-clinton-appears-to-claim-russians-grooming-tulsi-gabbard-to-run-as-third-party-candidate">The Daily Beast</a>. &#8220;I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on someone who’s currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate. She’s the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far.&#8221;
Gabbard <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1185289627936219136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1185289627936219136&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.dailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D56674%26action%3Dedit">fired back on Twitter</a>, writing, &#8220;Great! Thank you @Hillary Clinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation. We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know — it was always you, through your proxies and powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose.&#8221;
Harris was on the receiving end of withering questions from Gabbard in a July presidential debate which resulted in Harris’ poll numbers plunging and never recovering.  Gabbard fired at Harris:
<blockquote>I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people all across this country today. Now Senator Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president. But I’m deeply concerned about this record. There are too many examples to cite but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana. She blocked evidence — she blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California.</blockquote>
Gabbard’s exclusion did not go unnoticed on social media:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
So Deval Patrick gets included by <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TulsiGabbard</a> does not? <a href="https://t.co/1iCAHCFmvf">https://t.co/1iCAHCFmvf</a>
&mdash; Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) <a href="https://twitter.com/esaagar/status/1209188648270221312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Democrats come together in “Unity” to exclude Tulsi: <a href="https://t.co/2mU21C3xxZ">https://t.co/2mU21C3xxZ</a>
&mdash; Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) <a href="https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1209210076977864705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Strange, a certain woman of color is missing from this video <a href="https://t.co/WakJQ2pWUN">https://t.co/WakJQ2pWUN</a>
&mdash; Michael Tracey (@mtracey) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1209175900421533696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Democratic Presidential Candidates Participate In Debate In Atlanta, Georgia

DNC Promotes Unity In New Ad With 10 Presidential Candidates. Gabbard’s Not Invited.

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) criticized the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s (DNC) primary debate forum on Tuesday, putting forth that is a money-making operation that lacks substance.
&#8220;People are getting really turned off by it. They have alternatives and they&#8217;re not getting anything of value from the conversation that&#8217;s happening in these debates that are really like political reality TV,&#8221; Gabbard told host Joe Rogan during an appearance on his podcast. &#8220;They are completely set up for conflict and confrontation to drive up ratings so that they can make more money — the corporate media can make more money.&#8221;
&#8220;You&#8217;ve got 60 to 75 seconds to get your point across,&#8221; she added. &#8220;To talk about, hey here&#8217;s my position, here&#8217;s what I would do with North Korea, here&#8217;s what I would deal with immigration reform in 60 seconds or less.&#8221;
The Hawaii congresswoman noted that the steep decline in the number of Americans who were tuning in to watch the debates is evidence of a lack of interest on behalf of the American electorate. Accordingly, the first DNC primary debate in June was the most watched to-date, averaging more than 18 million viewers over the course of the two days. November&#8217;s debate, however, which was the most recent, was the least watched of the election cycle, with fewer than seven million viewers tuning in.
&#8220;You know, rather than it being this money-driven, ratings-driven venture — which the media is doing across the board, both in these debates and kind of what issues they&#8217;re choosing to cover — we should go back to the League of Women Voters who used to actually host presidential forums that would have real questions about real issues that people care about in a way that is not broken up by commercial breaks and advertisements so that the people can make money,&#8221; Gabbard said to Rogan.
Gabbard has been an outspoken critic of the DNC&#8217;s lack of transparency and arbitrary determination of which polls are deemed eligible for qualification purposes. Her campaign urged the DNC in September to reconsider their criteria after she failed to qualify and further slammed the organization for hindering conversations &#8220;between future leaders of this country.&#8221;
While the DNC declined to reconsider their benchmarks, Gabbard ultimately received an invitation for the following debates. However, she has still not met the threshold to qualify for December&#8217;s debate.
In order to nab a podium on the upcoming Los Angeles debate stage, presidential hopefuls must raise campaign donations from no fewer than 200,000 individual donors. In addition, they must also receive at least 4% of the vote in four general DNC-approved polls or 6% in two early state polls — such as those in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina.
Gabbard needs either one more qualifying nationwide poll or one more qualifying early state poll to meet the polling threshold, and she also needs fewer than 1,000 new donors, according to her <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1199053032933093377?s=20">social media</a> account.
As of publication, Gabbard sits at just under 2% cumulative support among Democratic primary voters, according to the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">RealClear Politics</a> national polling average.

Presidential Candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Attends Los Angeles Veterans Day Service

Tulsi Gabbard Slams DNC Primary Debates As ‘Political Reality TV’

The Republican National Committee (RNC) raked in more than $25 million during the month of October, nearly tripling what the Democratic National Committee (DNC) raised, according the Federal Election Commission filings.
The RNC <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00003418/1364416">raised $25.3 million</a> last month, bringing the party’s total fundraising haul to $194.0 million for the election cycle with $61.4 million cash on hand. Comparatively, the DNC <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00010603/1364371">raised $9.0 million</a> over the same period, totaling $75.5 to-date with $8.7 million cash on hand.
The RNC also reported no debt, while the DNC&#8217;s debt lingers around the $7 million mark.
&#8220;While Democrats are focused on their sham impeachment charade, Republicans had another record-breaking fundraising month in October — the best off-cycle October in our party&#8217;s history,&#8221; said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. &#8220;When you look beyond the beltway, it&#8217;s clear that the American people are sick and tired of the Democrats&#8217; baseless investigations.&#8221;
&#8220;In 2020, voters will choose results over the Democrats&#8217; polarizing political rhetoric and the RNC is in the strongest position possible to re-elect President [Donald] Trump and Republicans up-and-down the ballot,&#8221; she added.
While the DNC announced that October&#8217;s fundraising haul was the best monthly fundraising haul of the year so far, the RNC continues to surpass its previous fundraising records. The massive influx of cash is the largest off-cycle October haul in RNC history — it is nearly triple what was raised in the same month in 2017, the most recent non-election October. RNC has also generated the most cash on hand since 2012.
&#8220;Fueled by record-breaking fundraising, the RNC continues to target vulnerable Democrats with ads in their districts, including a recent five-figure newspaper ad buy centered around the first day of the public impeachment hearings,&#8221; Steve Guest, the RNC&#8217;s rapid response director, told The Daily Wire. &#8220;As frustration over the Democrats&#8217; impeachment charade grows, our &#8216;Stop the Madness&#8217; campaign has brought in over 75,000 new volunteers to the Party who are ready to re-elect President Trump and secure Republican victories in 2020.&#8221;
Accordingly, the RNC launched the &#8220;Stop the Madness&#8221; campaign in September after Democratic leadership announced that the House of Representatives would be moving forward with impeachment proceedings against the president. The campaign targets those Democrats in Congress for their &#8220;extreme actions.&#8221;
&#8220;Democrats promised to reach across the aisle and work with President Trump and Republicans to serve the American people, but instead are now pushing their hyper-partisan impeachment agenda,&#8221; McDaniel told Fox News in September. &#8220;Enough is enough; Americans are sick and tired of these witch hunts.&#8221;
Interestingly, the DNC chose to release its lagging financial report in the middle of the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate.
Sean Spicer, the former White House press secretary, called the DNC&#8217;s latest numbers &#8220;embarrassing&#8221; and further stated that &#8220;the DNC is effectively bankrupt[,] which is huge problem for the eventual nominee.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Embarrassing. The DNC is effectively bankrupt which is huge problem for the eventual nominee <a href="https://t.co/O5R1dp3p39">https://t.co/O5R1dp3p39</a>
&mdash; Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) <a href="https://twitter.com/seanspicer/status/1197348998308253697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The Trump campaign, in partnership with the RNC, have together raised over $300 million thus far in 2019. Last month, the organizations reported having more than $156 million in the bank.
The two organizations are actively engaged in expanding the 2020 electoral map and have signaled confidence in winning a state like New Mexico, where Trump lost by eight points in 2016.

President Trump Attends Roundtable Discussion On Economy And Tax Reform At Trucking Equipment Company In Minnesota

RNC Massively Out-Raises DNC As DNC Reports Best Fundraising Month This Year

Money In Politics

Republican National Committee (RNC)

Ronna Romney McDaniel

On Friday, Politico’s Natasha Bertrand and Andrew Desiderio <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/08/ukraine-interfere-elections-testimony-068095">reported</a> that Trump officials testified that they had not seen evidence that the Ukraine government acted to stop President Donald Trump from winning the 2016 election.
The authors call it a “conspiracy theory” to suggest otherwise. From Politico:
<blockquote>According to [Trump attorney Rudy] Giuliani, Ukrainian officials conspired with the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee to help boost the Democratic nominee’s campaign and damage Trump’s candidacy. No evidence has emerged to support that idea.</blockquote>
The “no evidence” line is the one the media likes to use a lot in the Trump era. It lets them dismiss evidence that goes against the Left’s narrative. The line could have been used in the Obama era as well, but the media dutifully reported whatever that administration told them as if it was fact.
In January 2017, two other Politico reporters – Kenneth Vogel and David Stern – <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/ukraine-sabotage-trump-backfire-233446">reported</a> that there was evidence of what Giuliani had claimed:
<blockquote>Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office. They also disseminated documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggested they were investigating the matter, only to back away after the election. And they helped Clinton’s allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers, a Politico investigation found.</blockquote>
That seems to vindicate everything Giuliani has claimed.
Journalist Tim Pool, who first noticed the disconnect between the outlet’s reporting, suggested the wording from the most recent Politico story could give them leeway in their claims.
“The way Natasha characterizes what the conspiracy is gives them plausible deniability. ‘oh no we KNOW Ukraine did this, but we meant that they thought it was DIRECTLY with Clinton&#8217;s campaign,’” Pool <a href="https://twitter.com/Timcast/status/1193884100597338113">tweeted</a>.
As Politico reported nearly three years ago, a Ukrainian-American consultant for the DNC, Alexandra Chalupa, shared information she received from her Ukraine sources with the DNC in an effort to undermine Trump’s candidacy. She told the outlet she also shared the information she found on Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort’s Ukraine dealings with the country’s ambassador to the U.S., Valeriy Chaly, and one of his top aides. The aide, Oksana Shulyar, claimed that she and Chalupa didn’t work with Clinton’s campaign to dig up dirt on Trump. More from Politico:
<blockquote>But Andrii Telizhenko, who worked as a political officer in the Ukrainian Embassy under Shulyar, said she instructed him to help Chalupa research connections between Trump, Manafort and Russia. “Oksana said that if I had any information, or knew other people who did, then I should contact Chalupa,” recalled Telizhenko, who is now a political consultant in Kiev. “They were coordinating an investigation with the Hillary team on Paul Manafort with Alexandra Chalupa,” he said, adding “Oksana was keeping it all quiet,” but “the embassy worked very closely with” Chalupa.</blockquote>
The idea that there is “no evidence” that Ukraine officials helped Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC to undermine Trump is the height of media bias. One can object to phrasing, but the evidence we have suggests that there was some level of coordination between the DNC and campaign and Ukraine officials.

Politico Claims ‘No Evidence Exists’ That Ukraine Colluded With Clinton Campaign, DNC In 2016, Dismissing Earlier Reporting

Media Bias

Politico

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) has officially met the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s (DNC) threshold to qualify for the upcoming Democratic presidential primary debate in November.
&#8220;We wanted you to be the first to hear the news,&#8221; Gabbard&#8217;s campaign wrote in <a href="https://www.tulsi2020.com/updates/2019-11-07-breaking-tulsi-qualifies-november-debate?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=breaking&amp;utm_campaign=breaking">a statement</a>. &#8220;Today’s Quinnipiac poll out of Iowa means Tulsi will be invited back on the debate stage in Atlanta in just two weeks &#8212; continuing to speak truth to power, holding the DNC and corporate media accountable to the people and representing all of us in our fight for a more perfect union.&#8221;
&#8220;Polls should never supplant the democratic process embodied in our primary and caucus system, but they can show trends over time and our 100% grassroots momentum is growing stronger every day &#8212; especially in the critical early states where Tulsi is on the ground, speaking directly to voters,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;We just closed on our strongest fundraising month to date, and as of right now we&#8217;re only 8,897 donations away from hitting the unique donor threshold required to qualify for the December debate.&#8221;
A certified poll conducted by <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/images/polling/ia/ia11062019_ipgt76.pdf/">Quinnipiac University</a> shows that the Hawaii lawmaker received 3% support in the the early primary state of Iowa. The poll, released on Wednesday, marked the final benchmark that she needed to overcome in order to receive an invitation onto the stage.
Gabbard is now the tenth Democratic presidential hopeful to meet the qualifying threshold and subsequently accept an invitation onto the debate stage: Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), billionaire financier Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and entrepreneur Andrew Yang will also be participating.
In order to nab a podium on the next debate stage, presidential candidates must raise campaign donations from no fewer than 165,000 individual donors. In addition, they must also receive at least 3% of the vote in four national DNC-approved polls and 5% in two early state polls &#8212; such as those in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina.
Candidates still have until November 13 to reach the required thresholds, however, Gabbard seems likely to be the final presidential hopeful to qualify. To date, former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro is the only other Democratic contender to have met any of the benchmarks &#8212; while he has hit the fundraising threshold, he has not received enough support in any qualifying polls.
Gabbard&#8217;s campaign enjoyed a surge of attention and fundraising in the wake of a heated exchange with twice-failed Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Accordingly, Clinton seemed to suggest that Gabbard is a &#8220;Russian asset&#8221; who is being &#8220;groom[ed]&#8221; to run as a third-party candidate in the 2020 election. The remarks provoked a fiery response from the Hawaii congresswoman who went after Clinton as the &#8220;queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.&#8221; The fierce rebuke provided renewed attention to her previously lagging presidential campaign.
Gabbard announced in late October that she was going all-in on her bid for the presidency and would therefore not be seeking re-election to her congressional seat. She was first elected to serve as the representative to Hawaii&#8217;s 2nd Congressional District in 2012 after winning more than 80% of the vote. She was the first Samoan-American and first Hindu member of Congress, and has since held the seat for three more terms.
As of publication, Gabbard sits at just under 2% support among Democratic primary voters, according to the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">Real Clear Politics</a> national polling average.
November&#8217;s debate will be presented jointly by MSNBC and The Washington Post on November 20. MSNBC revealed earlier in the week that the debate moderators will consist of an all-female panel: Rachel Maddow from MSNBC, Ashley Parker from The Washington Post, and both Andrea Mitchell and Kristen Welker from NBC News.

Democratic Presidential Candidate and Hawaii Congresswoman

Tulsi Gabbard Qualifies For Upcoming Democratic Primary Debate

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) went after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Sunday  for conducting a Democratic presidential primary process that is not working in the interest of the American voters.
&#8220;What I plan to do as the Democratic nominee and as president is to rebuild a new Democratic Party &#8212; one that truly represents the interests of the people of this country, that is fighting for them, fighting for their wellbeing, fighting for the wellbeing of our country and protecting our natural resources on this planet,&#8221; Gabbard told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo during an appearance on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures.&#8221;
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s unfortunate that we have seen, especially throughout this Democratic primary, how the DNC has kind of been implementing their own pre-primary election before voters even get a chance to vote,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;I&#8217;m here in New Hampshire right now and voters here take very seriously the responsibility that they have as one of the very first in the nation to cast their votes about who they would like to see being our Democratic nominee &#8212; that is not something that the DNC or anyone should be taking away from them.&#8221;
This is not the first time that the presidential hopeful has butted heads with the Democrats&#8217; governing body, rather, she has been an outspoken critic of the DNC&#8217;s lack of transparency and arbitrary determination of which polls are deemed eligible in order to qualify for the presidential debates. In August, her campaign urged the DNC to reconsider their criteria and further slammed the organization for hindering conversations &#8220;between future leaders of this country.&#8221;
While the Hawaii congresswoman has previously ruled out launching a bid as an independent candidate if she fails to win the Democratic Party&#8217;s presidential nomination, speculation was reignited that she may after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested that Gabbard is a &#8220;Russian asset&#8221; who is being &#8220;groom[ed]&#8221; to run on a third-party ticket.
Although the former first lady and twice failed presidential candidate refrained from naming the &#8220;Democratic primary&#8221; candidate to whom she was initially referring, Clinton&#8217;s spokesman Nick Merrill later confirmed that it was, in fact, Gabbard.
&#8220;If the nesting doll fits,&#8221; Merrill replied when asked directly about the congresswoman.
The remarks provoked a fierce rebuke from Gabbard who subsequently went after Clinton as the &#8220;queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.&#8221; The heated exchange provided renewed attention to her previously lagging presidential campaign.
Bartiromo addressed the rumors and questioned if Gabbard was mulling over a third-party bid amid the speculation.
&#8220;I am not,&#8221; Gabbard replied. &#8220;I have said numerous times that I would not run as a third-party candidate.&#8221;
&#8220;The perpetuation of that rumor has come from political opponents who really are just trying to create some kind of strange suspicion that I might do something else to try to undermine the support that we are getting from Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, who are saying hey look, we want to come and vote for you in the Democratic primary because of the unifying message and leadership that I will bring to this country,&#8221; she added.

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