2020 presidential race
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The Lonely Case for Joe Biden
Joe Biden has been, in order, a dangerous young politician, a disappointing older politician, a laughable Democratic presidential candidate, a middling vice president, an uninspired Democratic presidential candidate, and now an uninspiring Democratic nominee. The most charitable encapsulation of him is that he’s merely a benevolent anachronism in over his head—an innocuous relic yet to…
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Bernie Sanders' Messenger: Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray Keeps Fighting the Good Fight
SPARTANBURG, S.C.—There are few political operatives who have turned the role of national press secretary on its head like Briahna Joy Gray. As Bernie Sanders’ top messenger, she speaks for the senator in ways he often can’t articulate himself. More directly, she not only speaks for the campaign, she defends his political revolution. I call…
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Bernie Sanders' Path to Victory Looks Mighty Slim
DETROIT—Bernie got his ass kicked and it’s not looking any better moving forward. There really is no better way to slice or dice. it. Super Tuesday II was supposed to be the day Sanders closed his delegate gap with Joe Biden, but it only widened—in the former VP’s favor. Outside of winning North Dakota, Sanders…
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Joe Biden Tells Auto Worker 'You're Full of Shit' After Being Pressed on Gun Control
So is it just me or is it starting to feel like Joe Biden can’t go anywhere without having someone try and run up on him? Today’s installment of “Square up with Joe Biden” takes place at an auto factory. According to NBC News, Joe Biden was visiting with workers at a Fiat Chrysler factory…
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Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren Drops Out of the Presidential Race
Sometimes the right decision is still the tough decision. With little to go on except the hope that one of the preeminent Democratic nominees is caught in a urine-soaked Russian bed or a has a secret lover who’s decided to tell all, Elizabeth Warren, the woman with all the plans, has decided to end her…
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Weed Justice Is at the Top of Some California Voters' Minds on Super Tuesday
OAKLAND, Calif.—Chaney Turner has already voted in California’s primary and said that the person who got their vote was most likely to liberalize America’s federal marijuana policies to empower black cannabis entrepreneurs. Turner (whose pronouns are they/them/their) and I are in downtown Oakland at the Make Westing bar, which is located in an area where…
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Bloomberg LP Is Such a Toxic Workplace, Three Black Employees Urged Their HBCU to Not Send Grads There
If you’ve watched a YouTube video or a TV show in the last few months then you have certainly seen an ad for one Mike Bloomberg. He’s the other billionaire trying to buy the presidency. His campaign has been beleaguered with him having to answer for his racist policies as mayor of New York City,…
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The Miseducation of Mayor Pete
There is a hilarious episode of The Cosby Show where Rudy, the youngest Huxtable, informs the family that she is seriously contemplating dropping out of elementary school. When her older sister Vanessa hears her sibling’s harebrained scheme, she asks Rudy what she plans to do for the rest of her life with only a fourth-grade…
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Black South Carolinians to Joe Biden: You're Welcome
COLUMBIA, S.C.—Saturday in South Carolina went as expected. Joe Biden won the state in a landslide and black folk across all age brackets favored the former vice president over U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and the rest of the Democratic primary pack. Black voters made one thing very clear to The Root as I traveled the…
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Ayanna Pressley's Pitch for Elizabeth Warren
ORANGEBURG, S.C.—It’s hard to ascertain how much endorsements help a political candidate and the data that measures it often show it has little effect on voters—especially with independents. The best way to rally support behind candidates is usually local, grassroots politicking and years of familiarity. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s support of presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren…