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LOOK UP FRIDAY: Plane Banner Urges DNC to End Superdelegates Ahead of July 23 Vote
Clinton and Sanders Backers Unite to Fly “HEY DNC: ENDSUPERDELEGATES.COM” Banner Over Democratic Convention
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.
On Friday, July 22, a plane calling for an end to superdelegates will fly over the Philadelphia Convention Center ahead of a Saturday vote on the topic. The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting is Saturday, July 23rd, and a vote on superdelegates is expected. The plane will be flown on behalf of a coalition of both Sanders and Clinton supporters who agree about the superdelegates cause.
The plane follows increasing online pressure from 14 national groups representing a cross-section of the Democratic Party. The groups have launched a national petition, lobbed thousands of tweets at committee members, and sent an open letter to the DNC.
See the petition that thousands have already signed here: EndSuperdelegates.com
"Superdelegates are undemocratic, and they undermine the very voters who make up the Democratic Party's base," said Aaron Regunberg, a Rhode Island State Representative and DNC Rules Committeemember. "If the Democratic Party wants unity after the primary, they have to move to end superdelegates to ensure confidence in the democratic process."
**WHERE/WHEN**: The plane will fly over the Philadelphia Convention Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, July 22.
Groups involved in the to end superdelegates include: Courage Campaign, Credo, Daily Kos, Demand Progress/Rootstrikers, Democracy for America, Center for Popular Democracy, MoveOn, National Nurses United, NDN, The Other 98%, Presente.org, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Progressive Democrats of America, and Social Security Works.
This past Thursday, the fourteen national organizations representing over 10 million members released a letter calling on the DNC to end superdelegates. Read the full letter at: EndSuperdelegates.com.
The unelected superdelegates have as much weight in the nominating process as the pledged delegates from the District of Columbia, 4 territories, and 24 states combined.
For more information, or for interviews with national leaders in the fight to end superdelegates, please contact Diane May at (317) 292-2922 or by email at dianeelesemay@gmail.com.
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Statements from Clinton and Sanders backers who are campaigning this week to end superdelegates:
Statement from Deborah Burger, RN, co-president of the National Nurses United, who supported Bernie Sanders during the primary:
"The super delegate system undermines the promise of one person one vote that is bedrock of democracy. It was created to block the nomination of candidates who would challenge a political system that has for far too long been dominated by corporate interests and a wealthy elite. Ending this undemocratic selection process would be a strong step forward to making the Democratic Party more responsive to those thirsting for real change and a healthier America."
Statement from Simon Rosenberg, President of NDN, former DNC staffer, who supported Hillary Clinton during the primary:
"There are many reasons to end the practice of superdelegates in the Democratic Party. To me the most important is that it is discordant with broader and vital efforts by Democrats to modernize and improve our democracy. If we want the voice of everyday people to be louder and more consequential in our nation's politics, it must also be so in our Party."
Statement from Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who supported Bernie Sanders during the primary:
"In my view, both as a superdelegate and a former DNC official, the nominee of our party should be decided by who earns the most votes --not party insiders, unelected officials, or the federal lobbyists that have been given a vote in our nominating process. The current system stands against grassroots activists and the will of the voters.
"We've seen a historic number of new voters and activists join our political process in the past year, many of whom are rightly upset at how rigged the political system can seem at times. If we want to strengthen our democracy and our party, we must end the superdelegate process."
Statement from Joe Trippi, former Howard Dean campaign manager, who supported Hillary Clinton during the primary:
"Of all the ideas to reform and improve the nominating process of the Democratic Party the core goal has to be to empower voices from the bottom up. The top down idea of superdelegates is obsolete and is a good place to start."
Statement from Chuy Garcia, Cook County Commissioner and Rules Committee member, who supported Bernie Sanders during the primary:
"I'm proud of the progress this year by the Democratic Party on issues critical to the historically disenfranchised. But we still have further to go to achieve political parity within the Party. The superdelegate system gives disproportionate power to party insiders over rank and file voters. The will of the people is best expressed through elected, pledged delegates. It's time to reform the superdelegate system!"
Statement from Rosario Dawson, actress, who supported Bernie Sanders during the primary:
"Bernie Sanders' campaign was about having governance that actually reflects and represents all of the people of this country and prioritizes their needs. The Democratic Party can truly be the party of the people by demonstrating that it takes these concerns seriously. Ending the anti-democratic superdelegate system is a step in that direction."
Statement from Christine Pelosi, Political Strategist, who supported Hillary Clinton during the primary:
"Let's show America that as the Democratic Party, we believe in democracy and that leaders should never trump the will of the voters."
Statement from Nina Turner, former Ohio State Senator, who supported Bernie Sanders during the primary:
"The 2016 presidential election cycle is a piercing reminder of what happens when absolute power runs amok. If we were not aware before, we are certainly aware now that the 'superdelegate' model within the Democratic Party is on its face undemocratic. It must be reformed to conform in tangible ways to the expressed values of equity, diversity and fairness enshrined in our Party's principles."
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Minnesota's Xp Lee Wins Special Election to Fill Seat of Assassinated Democrat Melissa Hortman
“I have never lost sight of the situation that brought us to this moment, and I will work hard every day to carry forward Speaker Melissa Hortman’s legacy,” said Lee.
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Democrat Xp Lee was elected to the US House of Representatives in a special election in Minnesota on Tuesday, filling the seat left vacant after former state House Rep. Melissa Hortman—alongside her husband, Mark—were the victims of a politically-motivated murder in June.
Lee, a state employee and union member who previously served on the Brooklyn Park City Council, beat Republican nominee Ruth Bittner, a local real estate agent who had never held public office before, in a district that has long favored Democrats and which Hortman held for two decades.
In a statement, Lee acknowledged Hortman as he solemnly referenced the political violence that led to the special election.
“I have never lost sight of the situation that brought us to this moment, and I will work hard every day to carry forward Speaker Melissa Hortman’s legacy,” Lee said. “We did our best to make her proud: knocking on doors daily, making phone calls, and texting every neighbor we could.”
"Now the real work begins," Lee said in a separate statement on Facebook. "Together, we will focus on delivering results—making sure families in Brooklyn Park, Champlin, and Coon Rapids have access to good schools, affordable healthcare, safe neighborhoods, and strong economic opportunities."
The assassination of Hortman, a Democrat, shocked the state and the nation. In the early morning of June 14, an individual posing as a law enforcement officer came to the Hortman's house and shot both Hortman and her husband. Vance Boelter, 57, faces both federal and state murder charges for the killing of the Hortmans as well as the attempted murder and other charges for a similar attack on the same day against Minnesota State Sen. John Hofmman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette. Both John and Yvette Hoffman were shot, but survived, and the assailant also targeted their daughter, Hope Hoffman.
"I offer a heartfelt congratulations to Xp Lee on his victory in tonight’s special election," said Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin in a statement following the win.
"Xp's commitment to expanding access to education, affordable health care, and good-paying jobs honors the legacy of our dear friend, Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman," Martin added. "Across Minnesota, our hearts are still broken by the horrific assassination that stole Melissa and her husband Mark. Political violence is a scourge that has taken far too many lives. Enough is enough. It must end now. And in every case, each of us has a responsibility to condemn and reject political violence wherever it rears its head."
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As anticipated, US President Donald Trump's economic and immigration policies are harming American farmers' ability to earn a living—and testing the loyalty of one of the president's staunchest bases of support, according to reports published this week.
After Trump slapped 30% tariffs on Chinese imports in May, Beijing retaliated with measures including stopping all purchases of US soybeans. Before the trade war, a quarter of the soybeans—the nation's number one export crop—produced in the United States were exported to China. Trump's tariffs mean American soybean growers can't compete with countries like Brazil, the world's leading producer and exporter of the staple crop and itself the target of a 50% US tariff.
"We depend on the Chinese market. The reason we depend so much on this market is China consumes 61% of soybeans produced worldwide," Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland, who is president of the American Soybean Association, told News Nation on Monday. "Right now, we have zero sold for this crop that’s starting to be harvested right now.”
Ragland continued:
It’s a five-alarm fire for our industry that 25% of our total sales is currently missing. And right now we are not competitive with Brazil due to the retaliatory tariffs that are in place. Our prices are about 20% higher, and that means that the Chinese are going elsewhere because they can find a better value.
And the American soybean farmers and their families are suffering. They are 500,000 of us that produce soybeans, and we desperately need markets, and we need opportunity and a leveled playing field.
“There’s an artificial barrier that is built with these tariffs that makes us not be competitive," Ragland added.
Tennessee Soybean Promotion Council executive director Stefan Maupin likened the tariffs to "death by a thousand cuts."
“We’re in a significant and desperate situation where... none of the crops that farmers grow right now return a profit,” Maupin told the Tennessee Lookout Monday. “They don’t even break even.”
Alan Meadows, a fifth-generation soybean farmer in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, said that “this has been a really tough year for us."
“It started off really good," Meadows said. "We were in the field in late March, which is early for us. But then the wheels came off, so to speak, pretty quick.”
It started with devastating flooding in April, followed by a drier-than-usual summer. Higher supply costs due to inflation and Trump's tariffs exacerbated the dire situation.
“So much of what has happened and what’s going on here is totally out of our control,” Meadows said. “We just want a free, fair, and open market where we can sell our goods... as competitively as anybody else around the world. And we do feel that we produce a superior product here in the United States, and we just need to have the markets.”
Farmers are desperate for help from the federal government. However, Congress has not passed a new Farm Bill—legislation authorizing funding for agriculture and food programs—since 2018, without which "we do not have a workable safety net program when things like this happen in our economy," according to Maupin.
Maupin added that farmers “have done everything right, they’ve managed their finances well, they have put in a good crop... but they cannot change the weather, they cannot change the economy, they cannot change the markets."
"The weather is in the control of a higher power," he added, "and the economy and the markets are in control of Washington, DC."
It's not just soybean farmers who are hurting. Tim Maxwell, a 65-year-old Iowa grain and hog farmer, told the BBC Sunday that "our yields, crops, and weather are pretty good—but our [interest from] markets right now is on a low."
Despite his troubles, Maxwell remains supportive of Trump, saying that he is "going to be patient," adding, "I believe in our president."
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“The whole thing is screwed up,” John Painter, a Pennsylvania organic dairy farmer and three-time Trump voter, told Politico Monday. “We need people to do the jobs Americans are too spoiled to do.”
As Politico noted:
The US agricultural workforce fell by 155,000—about 7%—between March and July, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That tracks with Pew Research Center data that shows total immigrant labor fell by 750,000 from January through July. The labor shortage piles onto an ongoing economic crisis for farmers exacerbated by dwindling export markets that could leave them with crop surpluses.
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Painter also said that he is "very disappointed" by Trump's immigration policies.
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Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein on Tuesday challenged conflicting narratives circulating about Tyler Robinson by obtaining online chats and speaking with a childhood friend of the 22-year-old man accused of assassinating far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
Republican US President Donald Trump "and company portray the alleged Utah shooter as left-wing and liberals portray him as right-wing," Klippenstein wrote. "The federal conclusion will inevitably be that he was a so-called nihilist violent extremist (NVE); meanwhile, the crackdown has already begun, as I reported yesterday. The country is practically ready to go to war."
While Kirk's fatal shooting last week during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University has been widely condemned as political violence, the unnamed childhood friend told Klippenstein: “I think the main thing that’s caused so much confusion is that he was always generally apolitical for the most part... That's the big thing, he just never really talked politics, which is why it's so frustrating.”
“Everyone who knew him liked him and he was always nice, a little quiet and kept to himself mostly but wasn't a recluse,” the friend said, describing Robinson as a fan of the outdoors, video games—including Helldivers 2, the apparent source of some inscriptions on bullet casings found by authorities—and guns.
“Obviously he's okay with gay and trans people having a right to exist, but also believes in the Second Amendment,” according to the friend, who said that Robinson is bisexual and his family didn't know he was in a relationship with his transgender roommate.
Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Dan Bongino have publicly identified his roommate and romantic partner as Lance Twiggs—and said that Twiggs is cooperating with authorities and did not know of Robinson's alleged plan to kill Kirk.
Robinson—who ultimately ended authorities' manhunt for the shooter by turning himself in—appeared virtually for his first court hearing on Tuesday. He faces multiple charges, including aggravated murder, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
As Newsweek reported Tuesday, prosecutors have allegedly obtained text messages in which Robinson admits to Twiggs that he killed Kirk and discusses having to leave behind a rifle, later retrieved by authorities. Robinson reportedly told his parents that he targeted the Turning Point USA leader because "there is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate."
In the wake of Kirk's death, many of his critics have also acknowledged his incendiary commentary on a range of topics. Right-wing figures and officials, including key members of President Donald Trump's administration, have responded by launching what Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) called “the biggest assault on the First Amendment in our country’s modern history.”
As Klippenstein wrote:
The federal government, the Washington crowd, and corporate media (based in Washington and New York) see the country in wholly partisan terms, Republican versus Democrat, Red versus Blue, old media versus social media, liberal versus conservative, right versus left, straight versus gay, and on and on. Charlie Kirk’s assassination (in Utah!) should remind us of the actual diversity of the nation, and of the cost of polarization that demonizes the other side.
No one in Robinson’s group is cheering or justifying the murder in any of the messages I reviewed. They’re just struggling to understand what their friend did. But Washington has become obsessed with the Discord chat, convinced it’s some kind of headquarters for the murder and cauldron of radicalization and conspiracy. Today FBI Director [Kash] Patel vowed to investigate “anyone and everyone in that Discord chat.”
What I see is a bunch of young people shocked, horrified, and searching for answers, like the rest of the country.
At least one person on Capitol Hill quickly took note of the reporting. Sharing it on the social media platform X, Congressman Sean Casten (D-Ill.) said: "This is very interesting. The more that comes out the more this doesn't fit into any tidy narrative other than a young man who made a bad choice with a gun."
Other journalists praised Klippenstein on X, saying: "Hey look it's real journalism," and "At the moment Ken Klippenstein has done the best reporting I've seen anywhere on Tyler Robinson."
Journalist Roger Sollenberger wrote: "This is the most valuable and insightful reporting yet on Tyler Robinson—citing current actual friends and messages from a Discord group he was in. And it underscores how stupid and irresponsible the rush has been to assign him to a political aisle."
Appearing before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Patel said the FBI is interviewing more than 20 people who were part of a Discord group with Robinson.
Responding on X, Klippenstein said: "The members of Tyler Robinson's Discord are just as shocked and traumatized by what happened as anyone. That the FBI is treating them like conspirators is so cruel it's stomach-turning."
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