Clinton on track despite sound defeat by Sanders in WV

[webfact]

Clinton on track despite sound defeat by Sanders in WV
By LISA LERER and KEN THOMAS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bernie Sanders has won his 19th state, only four short of Hillary Clinton's tally, but that's not the gap that counts.

Despite his decisive victory in West Virginia on Tuesday, winning 51 percent of the vote to her 36 percent, Sanders trails nearly hopelessly in the contest for delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton is in the mop-up phase now, 94 percent of the way to the magic number when the party insiders known as superdelegates are included, and on track to clinch the nomination in early June.

Republican Donald Trump is closing in on his prize, too, 92 percent of the way there after wins in West Virginia and Nebraska on Tuesday — in a field with no rivals left.

Sanders is vowing to fight on. He campaigned in Oregon and California on Tuesday and his victory in West Virginia highlighted anew Clinton's struggles to win over white men and independents — weaknesses Trump wants to exploit in the fall campaign.

"Let me be as clear as I can be, we are in the campaign to win the Democratic nomination," Sanders said at a campaign event in Salem, Oregon. "We are going to fight for every last vote."

Among those voting in the West Virginia Democratic primary, about a third said they would support Trump over either Clinton or Sanders in November. An additional 2 in 10 said they wouldn't vote for either candidate. But 4 in 10 also said they consider themselves to be independents or Republicans, and not Democrats, according to exit polls.

While Sanders is still attracting thousands to rallies, his campaign has grown more difficult as Clinton closes in on the nomination. His fundraising has fallen off and so, too, has his advertising, with only about $525,000 in ads planned for California and $63,000 each in West Virginia and Oregon, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG.

That's a significant decline from the wall-to-wall advertising campaign he ran earlier in the primary, during which his $74 million in ads outspent Clinton by $14 million.

Edward Milam, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, is a self-described socialist who gave money to the Sanders campaign but his vote Tuesday to Clinton.

"After about six-seven months of debating and watching, I think Hillary has a lot more to offer than Bernie internationally," the 68-year-old retiree said. "I think she handles herself well. I've known about her for 30 years, just like everybody else has. I don't think there will be any surprises."

Even as the primaries continue, Clinton has largely shifted her focus to the general election.

"I don't care about what he says about me," she said of Trump in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday night. "But I do resent what he says about other people, other successful women, women who have worked hard, women who have done their part."

___

Lerer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers John Raby in West Virginia and Josh Funk and Grant Schulte in Nebraska contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-05-12

[NovaBlue05]

I understand the fix is in but let's set the "Superdelegates" aside and lets watch them go head to head through the remainder of the schedule.

[mrwebb8825]

This could make things really interesting in the general: "Among those voting in the West Virginia Democratic primary, about a third said they would support Trump over either Clinton or Sanders in November."

[Boon Mee]

She's unraveling - coming undone!

http://nypost.com/2016/05/10/hillary-clinton-is-unraveling-quickly/

[MaxYakov]

I mistaken thought the title was "Clinton on tracks ...". My Freudian dyslexia strikes again.

[RPCVguy]

She's unraveling - coming undone!

http://nypost.com/2016/05/10/hillary-clinton-is-unraveling-quickly/

YES, STOP the CORONATION!

If you look at states where Democrats are favored to win in November, the pledged delegate count is nearly tie (Bernie is up by a few) If you sort those states further and look at where it was an open primary (because independents WILL have a vote in November and an open primary shows who is stronger) then Bernie has a lead.

The election cycle has been controlled by apolitical machine, and the story has been told by a corporate media. That Bernie Sanders is still in this race is a sign of how weak a candidate Hillary is.

Two anti-establishment candidates in this year of angry voters - that might be a contest. If one is Hillary (Establishment since 1992) then there may be a president Trump.

[attrayant]

That Bernie Sanders is still in this race is a sign of how weak a candidate Hillary is.

Was Obama weak also? Hillary is well ahead of where Obama was at this point in his primary.

[Cheesekraft]

The amount of corruption and influence Clinton is using to get the delegates she does is staggering. God help the US if she is somehow elected, despite a small minority of people actually rooting for her...

[attrayant]

A few examples would be nice.

[Boon Mee]

A few examples would be nice.

Here's a few examples of what Crooked Hillary has been up to for decades:

https://www.google.co.th/?gws_rd=cr&ei=ROYbVMrHJNOgugTsvYGwDw#q=hillary+clinton+scandal+in+a+nutshell

[attrayant]

Great. How about a few examples of "The amount of corruption and influence Clinton is using to get the delegates". You know, what you actually said.

[Boon Mee]

Great. How about a few examples of "The amount of corruption and influence Clinton is using to get the delegates". You know, what you actually said.

I didn't say that - you're confused.

[attrayant]

Yes I misquoted. Still though, you replied to the statement as if to defend it. Got any examples?

[Boon Mee]

Yes I misquoted. Still though, you replied to the statement as if to defend it. Got any examples?

I wasn't defending anything but merely pointing out some examples of Crooked Hillary's past performance throughout the years.

Best you address this question directly to the poster whom you want those specific examples explained?

[boomerangutang]

Dems set rules for Dem primaries, Reps set rules for Rep primaries. When Trump was losing delegates to Cruz, Trump was shouting from the rafters, "it's all rigged, it's unfair!" Now that Trump is comfortably ahead, he has shut up, though if there's a hassle in Cleveland, Trump will enjoy his promise of riots with sparked by his gun-wielding supporters.

On the Dem side, Clinton is leading comfortably. It's doesn't look fair to Bernie supporters, but observers have to admit, she and her people know how to play the game. She's playing according to the rules.

Back to Trump: he didn't know the rules of the game. Or if he did, he didn't play smart. It would be the same if he gets in the Oval Office: he'll be learning on the job. Trump supporters want a neophyte who has never been elected to anything - running the country. A man who doesn't know his way around government. In contrast, HRC supporters are voting for a person who does know the rules and how to manipulate her way - to get things done. As a comparison: if you're going to pilot a fighter plane, it would behoove you to know how the controls and weapons systems work. Is piloting a plane more complicated than running the US and being in charge of the world's most powerful military? Trump is like the guy who runs out on the tarmac and says,

"Hey, put that ladder up to the cockpit of that fighter plane. I'll operate that baby better than anyone ever has."

The ground crew ask him, "have you ever flown before?"

Trump responds, "What does it matter? I've bought and sold businesses. I've got a big jet with my name painted on the side. I've been bankrupt four times. I can operate anything. Get out of my way before I slap a defamation of character lawsuit on all you guys."

[Boon Mee]

If Hillary is 'on track' maybe she should be careful this latest Scandal doesn't knock her off her 'track'!

On Clinton Cash, Or, It’s Always Worse Than You Think.

https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2016/05/13/clinton-cash-or-its-always-worse-than-you-think/

[NeverSure]

An exercise in futility. Clinton will probably win the crooked, rigged Dem primary and then Trump will crush her in November. Hillary's inability to put away a lame old socialist named Bernie is just a symptom of what a hopeless loser candidate she is.

President Trump.

[NeverSure]

POLL: 45% of Bernie voters say they’re #NeverHillary, 15% will vote for Trump.

Bernie Sanders supporters may be “feeling the Bern” for their own candidate, but nearly half are planning to give Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton the cold shoulder in November.

A YouGov poll released on Wednesday showed that 45 percent of Democrats who preferred Sanders in the primary, do not plan on voting for Clinton in the general.

Supporters of the Vermont senator are extremely divided; 18 percent said they plan on voting for a third-party candidate like Jill Stein of the Green Party, 15 percent would support the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, 9 percent were unsure, and 3 percent do not plan on voting at all. (Emphasis mine) MORE