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As most of you regular readers know, regular Hillary News & Views writer Lysis is on vacation until April 4, and we have a rotation of other writers subbing in, each in our own voice and style. As a result of the HNV comment threads getting too long and unwieldy, over the past couple of days enterprising volunteers have set up open threads in the afternoon (“Hillary Hangout”) and evening so there’s more room for good conversation — so check those out as well. The ground rules on civil discourse are the same as in this series. It seems to me we are getting more Sanders-leaning folks venturing in, most with genuine good will and an interest in finding common ground as we begin the slow turn toward the general election, and I’d like to extend a cordial welcome to you as well.
Today’s edition of Hillary News & Views begins in Wisconsin, the next contest, where all the candidates are spending time this week. After a fundraising brunch in Chicago, Clinton traveled first to the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison for a speech on the pending Supreme Court nomination. The full speech is available here (the sound is dicey for the first few minutes but gets better). Here’s a brief clip:
xVoters elected @POTUS—twice. He did his job and gave us a @SCOTUSnom. Time for Senate Republicans to do theirs.https://t.co/Ma4DHo22Tv
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 29, 2016Clinton also tweeted out key portions of her remarks, including this chart:
xIn a single term, #SCOTUS could demolish virtually every pillar of progressivism. This is a make-or-break moment. pic.twitter.com/JfoxJwXWg7
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 28, 2016Significantly for Wisconsin voters, Clinton highlighted that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), facing a tough reelection campaign against progressive hero Russ Feingold, is one of the Senators responsible for the obstruction. She also called out Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is obviously part of a coordinated push to make the GOP pay for their behavior in key Senate races around the country — and Clinton’s interest in promoting down-ticket races. As NBC News points out,
The nomination is an issue where Clinton appears to have the electorate on her side; polling - including our own NBC News|SurveyMonkey poll out earlier this month - has consistently shown that a majority would like to see senators take up the nomination rather than punting to the next administration.
Milwaukee volunteersFrom Madison, Clinton moved on to a series of GOTV rallies highlighting, as her campaign put it, “why she is the best candidate to raise Wisconsinites’ wages and incomes and break down the barriers that hold too many families back.” She spoke late Monday at the Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Club in Milwaukee.
Later today she’ll hold similar events later today in La Crosse (at Western Technical College, Integrated Technologies Center) and Green Bay. This morning she is hosting a “Community Forum on Gun Violence Prevention” at Milwaukee’s Tabernacle Community Baptist Church, a predominantly African-American congregation. (Milwaukee itself is 40% black, a contrast to most of the rest of the state.)
I’d like to add the tribute that one Milwaukee participant wrote on the Milwaukee for Hillary Facebook page:
There is nothing quite like seeing a candidate in person. At tonight's event, I felt grateful that I had the opportunity to listen to Secretary Clinton speak and hear her lay out her ideas and solutions.
She is unlike any other politician. It's hard to describe it. She doesn't stop once she says what the crowd wants to hear. She covers every issue. She is thorough. She is dedicated to each issue.
Every great politician brings something to the people that is unique. With Hillary it might be hard to put your finger on it. It's not easy to pin down what makes her so special. It can't necessarily be put into words. But you know it when you see it and she has it.
Meanwhile, everyone has one eye glancing over toward delegate-rich New York, which votes on April 19. The big debate right now is, well, whether there will be another big debate in NY before the primary. Yesterday Clinton campaign strategist Joel Benensen told CNN that right now, given the negative attacks from their opponent, the campaign wasn’t interested in discussing adding a NY debate, although he didn’t completely rule it out:
Joel Benenson repeatedly dodged questions from CNN's Kate Bolduan on "At This Hour" regarding Bernie Sanders' call for scheduling a debate just ahead of the New York primary April 19th and he tried to turn the pressure back on Sanders. "She's done well in the debates. The debates have been very good," Benenson said. "But Sen. Sanders doesn't get to decide when we debate, particularly when he's running a negative campaign against us. Let's see if he goes back to the kind of tone he said he was going to set early on. If he does that, then we'll talk about debates."Beyond New York looms California, with more than 10% of all delegates. The LA Times published a new poll showing Clinton leading Sanders by 45-37 among all Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, and a slightly better 47-36 among those who said they were likely to vote in the June primary. Those numbers are essentially consistent with previous polls. El Mito has a full diary on the California poll.
Finally (h/t etatauri), The Guardian has an opinion piece by former New York Times Jill Abramson entitled “This may shock you: Hillary Clinton is fundamentally honest.” Kevin Drum at Mother Jones then chimed in with “Hillary Clinton Is Fundamentally Honest and Trustworthy,” lamenting that the pervasive — but false — “untrustworthiness” narrative seems to be one major hurdle for Clinton in attracting support from younger voters.
That should give us enough to chew on in the comments. Swiffy will be hosting tomorrow’s HNV, I’ll be back on Thursday, and aphra behn on Friday to close out the week.
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