Anderson Cooper

Possibly most hated woman by Republicans admonished for acknowledging that they hate her. Okay.

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Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com

sleeping with the enemy
Why do you have to be so strident about this, Julia? Calling him your “enemy” is so divisive!

At the end of last week’s Democratic debate, Anderson Cooper asked the candidates the following question (link autoplays):

“You’ve all made a few people upset over your political careers. Which enemy are you most proud of?”

Note that “enemy” was Cooper’s word choice. Here’s how all of them answered:

Lincoln Chafee: I guess the coal lobby. I’ve worked hard for climate change and I want to work with the coal lobby. But in my time in the Senate, tried to bring them to the table so that we could address carbon dioxide. I’m proud to be at odds with the coal lobby.

Martin O’Malley: The National Rifle Association.

Hillary Clinton: Well, in addition to the NRA, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians. Probably the Republicans.

Bernie Sanders: As someone who has taken on probably every special interest that there is in Washington, I would lump Wall Street and the pharmaceutical industry at the top of my life of people who do not like me.

Jim Webb: I’d have to say the enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to.

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Who Won the Dem Debate? Hillary Clinton!

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Democratic Party debate.
Democratic Party debate.

I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive who likes to get things done. I know how to find common ground, but I know how to stand my ground.
— Hillary Clinton, October 13, 2015

The Democratic Party had its first presidential debate on Tuesday night. If you have to ask who won, you didn’t watch it. In my opinion, there was no contest. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won, hands down. She was poised under fire and smart in her answers. Obviously, the most prepared candidate– which comes with having more experience than anyone else on stage– Clinton took a bashing from CNN moderator Anderson Cooper and pot shots from a few others, but she came out on top.

Yesterday, the “who won?” buzz was all over social media. Senator Bernie Sanders raised a pile of money overnight after the debate, and a few focus groups and unscientific online polls said Sanders won the debate. In my opinion, Sanders stuck to his talking points (which I agree with), but the debate was a good chance to go bold. The only time he went bold, in my opinion, was when he said he would “vote for” legalization of marijuana if it were on the ballot. On legalization, Clinton said, let’s watch the states that have legalized marijuana, like Colorado, and learn from them. (I’m for legalization, but I’m OK with her statement. Thomas Jefferson said the states would be the incubators for democracy– trying out new ideas. I don’t want federal interference in state marijuana laws– as Governor Chris Christie has vowed to do if elected.) Clinton did go bold on gun control and said, it’s time we stood up to the NRA. Hallelujah! I have never heard such a strong gun control statement from any politician. (Unfortunately none of the mainstream media picked up on these other debate tidbits, since they are still focused on “your damn emails”.)

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APS cannot sanitize its shameful dark money legacy with strategic philanthropy and Anderson Cooper

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

aps logo
Dark money has the power to make a lot happen!

Last Saturday the ASU Center for the Study of Race and Democracy hosted an event, “Delivering Democracy Lecture 2015”, headlined by Anderson Cooper. I know many people who attended it and, from what I understand, it was a fine presentation. One of the main sponsors was Arizona Public Services (commonly known as APS, the state’s largest private utility company), which was apparently lauded several times during the event for its generosity. Which is interesting because it was only a few months ago, during the 2014 midterms, that APS (under the rubric of “independent expenditure” Save Our Future Now) dumped an astounding amount of dark money into Corporation Commission races to defeat Republican candidate Vernon Parker in the GOP primary and Democratic candidate Sandra Kennedy. What the aforementioned people have in common is that they are both African-American and also that the hit pieces and ads run against both were crudely obvious Willie Horton-style racist characterizations as far as many people (myself included) were concerned.

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Anderson Cooper Scores

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Posted by Bob Lord So, I'm watching the end of the asshat debate tonight, which then turns to the commentary, and they have Gloria Borger (or Bolger, I'm not sure) interview Jan Brewer. The gist of the interview is Gloria trying to get her to endorse a candidate. Brewer of course resists, like she's holding … Read more