John Oliver on Medicare For All

He does an excellent job of explaining what it is and addresses the three main criticisms that opponents make against it: that it will cost too much, that it will increase wait times, and that it will eliminate choice. He also makes the important point that that while Bernie Sanders calls it Medicare For All, his proposal is actually much better than Medicare now, covering eyeglasses and dental needs and not requiring any premiums.

This is something that everyone should see so that they can better argue against those who criticize the proposal or pretend, like Pete Buttigieg, who claim that they have a better one, whose faults Oliver points out.

Spinning down Sanders success

It is interesting to watch the media’s attempts to spin Sanders’ third consecutive win in the first three contests (something that has never happened before for either the Democratic or Republican primaries), and especially his runaway win in Nevada, as somehow not being significant.

(Tom Tomorrow)

The satirical publication The Onion has been mocking the mainstream media’s attempts at downplaying the success of the Sanders campaign, with ‘headlines’ such as:

“MSNBC Poll Finds Support For Bernie Sanders Has Plummeted 2 Points Up”

and

“Bernie Sanders Holds Secret Campaign Meeting With 15,000 Working-Class Democratic Donors”

But this is my favorite.

“DNC Mulls Asking Donald Trump To Run As Democrat In Effort To Stop Sanders”

Buttigieg gets the comeuppance he deserves

One of the things that is often overlooked about Sanders is that, along with Elizabeth Warren, he is a sharp debater. This is because they both have key facts at their fingertips and use them effectively, and also because they do not pull their punches. This, along with his policies, is another reason why I think Sanders is the best person to challenge Donald Trump. His relentless focus on the important issues means he will not be distracted by Trump’s clownish antics and name-calling. But most importantly, he quickly recognizes bullshit and calls it out in no uncertain terms, which will be very effective in countering Trump who as we have seen is full of it.

Here is Bernie Sanders during the last debate rebutting Pete Buttigieg’s repeated assertions that he is a ‘polarizing’ figure.
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Bernie Sanders already projected to win in Nevada

With just 6% of the votes in, Fox News has already projected that Bernie Sanders has won the Nevada caucuses, suggesting that he already has such a lead that the others are unlikely to overcome it.

With six percent of delegates in, Sanders has 54.7 percent.

According to those returns, former Vice President Joe Biden is in second place with 17.9 percent, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has 9.7 percent, and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg has 9 percent and billionaire Tom Steyer has 7.4 percent. Ultimately 36 delegates are at stake.

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A visual analogy of the Klobuchar-Buttigieg debate spat

The sharp exchanges between Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg at last night’s debate have created a lot of buzz. What was noteworthy was the it was not about major policy differences but rather over trivial things about whether Klobuchar should have known the name of the Mexican president, who is more electable, the dreary old trope about whether it is better to be a Washington insider or outsider, and so on.

This clip on Twitter pretty much captured the spirit of the exchanges.

If you did not see the debate, here are the exchanges between the two of them.

Presidential Medals of Freedom

Conan O’Brien thinks that Donald Trump has the right idea in giving the highest honor that a president can give to a civilian to war-mongering, possibly draft-dodging, conspiracy-mongering, right-wing radio talk show blowhard Rush Limbaugh. Why reserve these medals just for people who have done something good or honorable? Why not freely distribute them to supporters, like the pens used at signing ceremonies or the t-shirts fired into the crowds at basketball games?

The Iowa mess is still not resolved

It is now almost 48 hours after the Iowa caucuses ended and we still do not have a final vote or delegate count and the media seems to have lost interest in it, since things seem to be so muddled. It is a pretty sad state of affairs.

With results from 75% of state precincts as of Wednesday afternoon, former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg has a slight lead in the percentage of state delegate equivalents, the standard that in the past has determined the caucus winner, while Sanders currently leads in the both rounds of caucus voting, including after the so-called realignment process, when voters backing candidates who don’t reach threshold of 15% support at a caucus may choose to realign with another candidate. Sanders and Buttigieg are at the moment tied in pledged delegates, the measure that ultimately decides the nominee at the Democratic National Convention.
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