More material for mastication and matriculation, courtesy of your not-so-humble-and-obedient zookeeper.
--> The Iowa Caucuses are not-quite-history, with HRC shouting to the rooftops that she won and Bernie saying much of the same thing. The truth is, the caucuses ended in a virtual tie. MSN-BS and the rest are trumpeting to the Milky Way that HRC won the night. But Bernie, with the near-complete-mass-media-shutout and disparaging by the establishment pundit class, and far more limited campaign cash war chest, still managed to pull even with The Anointed and Chosen One. This fact not only says a lot about the legitimacy of Bernie Sanders as a Presidential candidate, but it also highlights The Chosen One's weaknesses.
Truth be told, if HRC was an actual progressive rather than the paper tiger she and her husband are (and were), and actually pushed for single payor health coverage rather than disparaging it, then she would have won Iowa in a cakewalk. But, that's a rhetorical bridge-too-far for her, as she would offend the health care industry donors on which she depends on for campaign cash. Personally, I think that the increasing irritation she is having with the Sanders campaign and supporters, is that Bernie is forcing her into a rhetorical "box". She is now being forced to write rhetorical checks which she knows will bounce, assuming she wins the White House (no guarantee by any stretch.) I can bet that if the primary campaigns drag on, then there will be noises from The Chosen One's camp for Bernie to stop "dividing the party" and unite behind Hillary. I say to Bernie and his supporters: don't. Take this all the way to the convention if you can. Force the Democratic machinery to determine the nominee, and thus expose how undemocratic the "Democratic Party" really is. Then, the farce will be on full display, in full monty, for all to see. Crown on the head, but birthday suit underneath.
--> Martin O'Malley suspended his campaign upon the end of the Caucuses. He only garnered 1/2 of 1 percent of the vote, so no surprise. It's been reported that his supporters will likely gravitate toward Sanders - wise choice, if you ask me.
--> As you may have seen on my Facebook page, I'm a Bernie-Or-Buster. Under NO circumstances will I vote for Hillary Clinton. There are many reasons for this, the biggest of which is that the corporate ownership of government has to end. Now. As sick as this may sound, and I hope that this doesn't come to pass, but what it may take to shake this grip is four years of a sicko like a Trump or Cruz at the helm of the country. Things may have to get SO bad, where a significant-enough percentage of the country is experiencing third-world conditions (like Flint, Michigan and Camden, New Jersey), that a critical mass of people will actually rise up and demand change. It's been a well-told story in history that when the gap between rich and poor gets wide enough that you have revolution. I hope to God that four years of Repub rule doesn't happen. I hope I'm wrong. I don't want to see people suffer. But, until the country experiences a genuine, deep, painful crisis, I don't see how real, sustained change will be possible. It took the Great Depression to elect FDR. It may take something similar (or worse) this time around, as well.
And the current, corporate-friendly path is not sustainable and not sufficient. It won't do. So no HRC or any Corporate "Democrat" for me. Now, or ever.
