How do Superdelegates Work? And Why are People so Mad?

“Democratic Convention @ Invesco” courtesy of rabidmoose; License: (CC BY 2.0)

When news broke that Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary by more than 20 percent, yet may tie Hillary Clinton in delegates, Sanders supporters and Hillary-haters were irate. How could this be? What sort of system lets that happen? Welcome to the primaries, where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter. Okay, they matter a little bit, but it’s complicated. To understand the outrage after the New Hampshire primary, you need to look closer at the role of superdelegates. Read the full article here.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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U.S. Transfers Internet to ICANN, Sparks Criticism

On Saturday, the U.S. government handed over its control of the internet’s DNS, or domain name system, to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Besides its very boring name, the implications of this handoff became clear as Senator Ted Cruz and others claimed free speech was being threatened by this move.

In September, Cruz said at a congressional hearing: “imagine an internet run like many Middle Eastern countries that punish what they deem to be blasphemy.” This certainly sounds crazy awful but ICANN said those claims were unfounded, that the turnover was based on accountability, and that it does not have the ability to regulate content on the internet.

ICANN is a group made up of technical experts and business and government representatives.

STILL, the internet is filled with people worried about what the change will do to their precious virtual world.

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Breitbart Is Anti-Semitic?

Breitbart is coming under fire for… well, being Breitbart. After harboring scum like Milo Yiannopoulos, and the like, Breitbart just published what many are calling an “anti-semitic” attack on Washington Post reporter Anne Applebaum. The article is littered with criticisms of Applebaum that are hard to ignore:

Breitbart’s not racist. They’re just really worried this “Jewish… elitist” is controlling the global media with all her friends. pic.twitter.com/XqkdkpVPnX

— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) September 28, 2016

And apparently most of them are just outlandish accusations:

also, it contains a list of the journalists I supposedly “control,” many of whom I don’t know, and other made-up facts https://t.co/6d4SBCWpbz

— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) September 28, 2016

Should it really matter though? It’s not like Breitbart has the greatest reputation for reliable news.

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Trump will never be between two ferns

Funny or Die is a website and digital production company that specializes in, well, being funny, and producing programs such as Drunk History. One of its recent hits is “Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis”–which feels like a parody of the famous “Inside the Actors Studio.”

Background aside, Galifianakis has had many celebrities and even politicians on his mostly-scripted show, including President Barack Obama and more recently Hillary Clinton. Although the show is clearly meant as a satire, this has been lost on some Trump supporters.

Scott Auckerman, the show’s director, has been quoted saying Trump does have have “…thick enough skin,” to participate in the show. But Galifianakis made it clear that there was no chance Trump would be joining him between any ferns in a quote to the L.A. Times.

Zach Galifianakis on why he won’t feature Donald Trump on “Between Two Ferns.” pic.twitter.com/gqeSmV1td0

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) September 26, 2016

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Matt Lauer #LauerstheBar

Matt Lauer was the moderator last night for an open forum with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Lauer sat down for a 30 minute interview with each candidate, and the forum was broadcast live on NBC. But as the forum progressed, the audience had a lot of criticism for Lauer. Specifically, many were mad that Lauer didn’t press Trump on statements he made about the Iraq War:

Would be good, maybe, if Matt Lauer had done some ~basic~ research about Trump’s repeated lies before you know, doing an interview with him.

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) September 8, 2016

And a new hashtag, #LaueringTheBar was created to mock Lauer’s performance:

No one could have predicted that someone who normally does waterskiing squirrel stories would have failed at real journalism #LaueringTheBar

— Arthur Bannister (@NeverMetAMorph) September 8, 2016

Ouch!

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Governor Gary Johnson is the nominee of the Libertarian Party, a party that places heavy emphasis on fiscal conservatism, limited government, and civil liberties. After studying political science at the University of New Mexico, Johnson founded Big J Enterprises. The construction contracting business became a lucrative success before he sold it in 1999. Johnson ran for Governor of New Mexico in 1994, won, and held that office from 1995-2003. During his tenure, Johnson drastically cut the size of the state government, lowered taxes, favored privatization of services like prisons and Medicaid, and was known for frequently exercising veto power. Johnson was also the Libertarian Party nominee in 2012.

Where does he stand on some of the prevalent issues of 2016?

Economy:

Many of Gary Johnson’s high-priority proposals have to do with Libertarian revisions to the economy. Johnson wants to end the corporate income tax to draw companies and jobs to the U.S., introduce a single consumption tax, and cut government spending by at least 20 percent.   

Immigration:

According to Johnson’s platform, he believes that making it easier for immigrants to legally obtain work visas and enter the U.S. will create a safer national environment. Johnson opposes an increase in border security and building a border wall.

Gun Rights and Control:

Johnson strongly defends gun ownership and wants to seek provisions to make it more difficult for individuals suspected of terrorism and mentally ill individuals to obtain guns.

Health Care:

Gary Johnson favors the repeal of the Affordable Care Act in exchange for privatized healthcare based on free market principles. Johnson has expressed intentions to cut funding to Medicare and Medicaid. He also supports the right for a woman to have an abortion.

Privacy and National Security:

In line with Libertarian Party ideology, Johnson is in fierce defense of personal privacy. He has expressed intention to dismantle the National Security Agency (NSA) if elected. In his book, “Seven Principles of Good Government,” Johnson also expressed that the Patriot Act should be repealed. His platform expresses fierce opposition to foreign military intervention.

What are Gary Johnson’s priorities?

Gary Johnson places strong emphasis on civil liberties, government downsizing, and the private, laissez-faire economic strategy. His platform consists of 13 points: wasteful spending, taxes, job creation, civil liberties, internet freedom, abortion, immigration, the war on drugs, criminal justice reform, education, foreign policy and national defense, creation of term limits and the environment.

Who is Gary Johnson’s vice president pick?

William “Bill” Weld, like Gary Johnson is a former Libertarian-Republican governor. Weld has served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, the head of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, and as Governor of Massachusetts from (1991-1997). He was also nominated as Ambassador to Mexico, ran for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in 1996, and was a candidate for Governor of New York in 2005. While Governor of Massachusetts, Weld had a similar track record to Johnson. He cut taxes, pursued the elimination of state employees and privatization of human services, and drastically reduced state spending.

How is Gary Johnson polling?

According to the last national poll conducted by Public Policy Polling on July 30, Gary Johnson is currently polling at 6 percent.

You can read here about the other third party candidate, Jill Stein of the Green Party.

Ashlee Smith

Ashlee Smith is a Law Street Intern from San Antonio, TX. She is a sophomore at American University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Journalism. Her passions include social policy, coffee, and watching West Wing. Contact Ashlee at ASmith@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Donald Trump and the $400 Million Dollar Question

The White House rejects claims that a $400 million dollar transaction that took place between the U.S. and Iran is anything more than what it is, a legitimate transaction. In January, the United States delivered $400 million in cash to Iran “a long-standing financial dispute,” according to the White House press secretary Josh Earnest. Earnest spent Wednesday deflecting claims and criticism about the money order from all directions, including news outlets and Donald Trump.

Trump tweeted Wednesday that there was more to the money than met the eye:

Our incompetent Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was the one who started talks to give 400 million dollars, in cash, to Iran. Scandal!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2016

Sounds like hot air, right? But it wasn’t until other top Republicans started speaking up that things started to get a little iffy.

Obama administration sent plan load of cash to #Iran as ransom as part of deal on hostages. Just unreal. https://t.co/UHfdK4BEyN

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 3, 2016

Rubio and many others are claiming that the money was a ransom payment for four U.S. soldiers who had been taken hostage in Iran after crossing into its surrounding waters. Earnest says that the money was part of a series of unrelated settlement from a decades-old debt and the release of the hostages just happened to be within the same timeline. Earnest claims that while the scandal rumors “make for a more colorful story,” but that the cash was just a boring debt payment. So opponents of the Iran deal need to shut up.

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