Tag Archives: Hillary Clinton

Democracy Now! — Monday, July 25, 2016

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DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned after the leak of nearly 20,000 emails, which showed attempts to undermine Bernie Sanders. Image: video still

The Democratic National Convention is opening today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, amid massive party turmoil. Democratic National Committee chairwoman and Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has resigned following the release of nearly 20,000 emails revealing how the Democratic Party favored Hillary Clinton and worked behind the scenes to discredit and defeat Bernie Sanders. The emails were released Friday by WikiLeaks.

Amy and Juan interviewed Julian Assange on — among other matters — the rumor that the documents were leaked by Russia to assist Donald Trump. When asked about his opinion on Clinton versus Trump, he had this to say:

Well, you’re asking me, do I prefer cholera or gonorrhea? Personally, I would prefer neither. Look, I think—you know, we know how politics works in the United States. Whoever—whatever political party gets into government is going to merge with the bureaucracy pretty damn fast. It will be in a position where it has some levers in its hand. And so, as a result, corporate lobbyists will move in to help control those levers. So it doesn’t make much difference in the end. What does make a difference is political accountability, a general deterrence set to stop political organizations behaving in a corrupt manner. That can make a difference, because that changes the perception of what you can do or not do. And so, always—well, almost always, you should choose the principled position, which is to set a disciplinary signal about acting in a corrupt way, and take a philosophical position, which is our institutions can only be as good as our understanding of our institutions.

Also today, the show looks at the record of Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine; reports on Philadelphia’s low income Chinatown and a 10,000-strong climate protest; and discusses the ongoing situation with Puerto Rico’s economy.

We are honored to offer this broadcast as part of our affiliation with the Pacifica Network. Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.

Democracy Now! — Tuesday, July 12, 2016

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Pres. Obama remarking (again) on the problems with current gun legislation. Image: video still

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today at a joint rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The rally comes less than two weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention. Clinton assumed the mantle of the party’s presumptive nominee after winning the California primary in June, but Sanders refused to concede the nomination in part to give his campaign greater power to push the party to adopt a more progressive platform. On Sunday Sanders sent out a release praising the adoption of what he called the “most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.”

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) was one of the five people picked by Bernie Sanders to serve on the Democratic National Convention’s Platform Committee. “It takes a position in favor of $15 and a union for a federal minimum wage. It takes a position on a whole range of things, including the environment, that are progressive steps forward,” Ellison said. “What do we not achieve? Compete opposition to fracking; we don’t have that. What is else not achieved? There’s some things on foreign policy fronts that, I think, would and could be better; some saber rattling with regard to Iran that I don’t think is helpful.”

The Democratic Party platform committee held its last meeting in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend ahead of the party’s convention at the end of this month. The meeting of Clinton and Sanders delegates resulted in what’s being called the most liberal Democratic platform in a generation.

The draft platform still needs to be ratified at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, but it is already widely being touted as a victory for Sanders. Sanders appointed five members to the committee earlier this year, including scholar and racial justice activist Cornel West, leading environmentalist and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben and Minnesota Congressmember Keith Ellison, who chairs the House Progressive Caucus.

The new platform includes Sanders’ call for a $15 per hour minimum wage, Social Security expansion and a carbon tax to price its impact on the environment. Award-winning documentary filmmaker and Sanders delegate Josh Fox guests on the show. He’s the director of “How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is now playing on HBO.

Ahead of the Democratic National Convention, the television and film actress Shailene Woodley has launched a cross-country caravan campaign to bring people to the DNC in Philadelphia. Dubbed the “Up To US Caravan to the DNC,” Woodley is hoping to bring grassroots activists — including many Bernie Sanders supporters — to the DNC. Woodley appeared in the TV series “Secret Life of the American Teenager” and has starred in films including “The Divergent Series” and “The Fault in Our Stars.” She received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Alex King in “The Descendants,” in which she starred alongside George Clooney. She spoke to Amy Goodman.

President Obama is speaking in Dallas, Texas, today at a memorial service for the five Dallas police officers killed by a sniper Thursday evening. Dallas authorities said Micah Johnson, the sniper, managed to amass a personal arsenal including a semiautomatic SKS rifle, bomb-making materials, bulletproof vests and ammunition. Over the weekend President Obama warned that the easy access to guns nationwide has exacerbated divisions between the police and local communities.

Democracy Now! — Wednesday, June 22, 2016

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Hillary Clinton theatrically criticizing the Drumpf and looking all regal and stuff. Image: video still

In a major economic address in Ohio on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton warned the election of Donald Trump would be disastrous for the U.S. economy and result in what she dubbed a “Trump recession.” “He’s written a lot of books about business. They all seem to end at Chapter 11. Go figure,” Clinton said.

But Hillary Clinton’s economic policies are still facing criticism from her own party. Last week, in an address to supporters, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told supporters he planned to go to the Democratic convention next month in Philadelphia to push the party in a more progressive direction.

Thomas Mair, the British man who killed British parliamentarian Jo Cox last week, reportedly yelled out “Britain First” during the attack—a reference to the far-right, anti-immigrant political party of the same name which is pushing for Britain to leave the EU in tomorrow’s Brexit referendum. In court on Friday, Mair gave his name as “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain.” Cox was a vocal advocate for Britain to remain in the European Union.

More information is coming to light about Mair’s ties to neo-Nazi groups in the United States and Britain. Meanwhile, a former paid FBI informant named Todd Blodgett has revealed he met Thomas Mair at a neo-Nazi gathering that the informant set up in London in 2000.

In a major victory for environmentalists, California is going nuclear-free, ending atomic energy’s more than half-century history in the state. On Tuesday, one of the state’s largest utilities agreed to a proposal endorsed by environmental groups and labor unions to shutter California’s last operating nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, by 2025.

California is the world’s sixth largest economy, and it was among the first states to embrace nuclear energy in the 1950s. Diablo Canyon began operating in 1985 and stirred controversy from the start. For years, anti-nuclear activists called for the plant’s closure because of safety concerns over its precarious location near several major earthquake fault lines.

We are honored to offer this broadcast as part of our affiliation with the Pacifica Network. Find out where the Democracy Now! crew is visiting next during the show’s 100-city tour, celebrating 20 years on the air.