Day: June 23, 2015

Why Aren’t BMW and Adidas Condemning the Rebel Flag?

Trish
Now flying over the South Carolina state capitol
Now flying over the South Carolina state capitol

Both BMW and Adidas have plants in South Carolina but neither company has shown any interest in asking state legislators to stop flying the Confederate flag* over government buildings.

When these companies decided to take advantage of the cheaper, mostly non-unionized labor there, they made a decision to identify with the state. So why aren’t they speaking up? After all, it’s their state now.

[…]

Obama Approval Rating Is Good News for Clinton

Buck Banks

48%

President Obama’s latest approval rating. “Why is that number important? Because the poll shows — once again — how Hillary Clinton and Obama are inextricably tied together,” according to First Read. “And so an Obama approval in the high 40s is good news for Hillary’s general-election prospects, and an Obama approval in the low 40s is bad news (like we saw in 2014). … Oh, and don’t forget this: George W. Bush’s approval rating at this same point in time heading into the 2008 contest was 29%.”

Haley Steps Into GOP Leadership Vacuum

Buck Banks

In a 2016 field with no clear frontrunner, yet no shortage of candidates, it took a non-candidate to recognize a major national moment and, well, lead. Gov. Nikki Haley did what governors and leaders more broadly seek to do all the time – to unite, to push forward, and to heal, all in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.
… Yes, this raises her veepstakes stock. But that’s almost secondary to the example she set. She managed to drain the politics out of a charged debate over the Confederate flag that’s been popping up for longer than she’s been alive. She consulted with national and state leaders in both parties to a degree that she could appear with both Democrats and Republicans in announcing her new position. She cut through a muddled, half-hearted set of responses from 2016ers and now sees them drafting behind her leadership. Out of a tragic story, this is politics at its best – not as pejorative but as a force for the positive.

— Rick Klein, for ABC News.

Roberts Court Is Trending Liberal This Term

Buck Banks

54%

Of the cases in which it had announced decisions as of June 22 were considered liberal decisions, according to the Supreme Court Database, using a widely accepted standard developed by political scientists. “If that trend holds, the final percentage could rival the highest since the era of the notably liberal court of the 1950s and 1960s led by Chief Justice Earl Warren.” “The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been a conservative court. But even conservative courts have liberal terms – and the current term is leaning left as it enters its final two weeks,” the New York Times reports.

Clinton Is Overwhelming Democrat Choice for Prez

Buck Banks

75%

Of national Democratic primary voters say Hillary Clinton is their first choice to win the Democratic presidential nomination – compared with 15% who pick Sen. Bernie Sanders, 4% who say former Sen. Jim Webb and 2% who select former Gov. Martin O’Malley, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds. Looking ahead to the general election, Clinton also leads Jeb Bush by eight points (48% to 40%), Sen. Marco Rubio by 10 points (50% to 40%) and Gov. Scott Walker by 14 (51% to 37%).