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Aside from the titillating internal campaign anecdotes, nothing revealed in the new book, "Shattered," surprised anyone closely engaged in the 2016 elections, particularly those of us who publicly supported Bernie Sanders.

It is clear that an arrogant, incompetent campaign royally blew an election, handing the Oval Office to an unhinged, unqualified, dishonest man. A retread coterie of pollsters, consultants and insiders tried to sell an out-of-touch, elitist candidate to voters who were in full-scale revolt. It was a campaign so clueless that, during the general election, it could not find Wisconsin on the map.

Yet, let me offer a backhanded defense of the Clinton campaign: too much is being made of the failure of one candidate, and the alleged influence of foreign powers, because the demise of the Democratic party has been in the making for many years. One campaign did not hand the Republican Party two-thirds of the state legislatures, a solid majority in the House and control of the Senate before losing the White House. You had to screw up for a very long time to amass that track record.

The deeper party crisis boils down to two related problems. First, there exists a permanent "Liberal-Progressive Edifice Complex" that has corroded the party. This "complex" is a circle of people and organizations -- inside the Democratic Party itself, as well as non-profit organizations, lobbyists, consultants of very stripes and individual self-promoters -- who work mightily to maintain an iron grip on power and prestige.

This complex is run by well-paid operatives and professional non-profit leaders -- who, funded by rich people and foundations, often earn significant six-figure salaries and benefits that put them firmly in the one percent, and sometimes even in a better station.

Within the complex, failure does not disqualify people from future positions. Senior operatives who spend millions of dollars in losing campaigns, time and again, still get the call to do it all over again. Nothing new to say? C'mon out to speak at our umpteenth, useless conference to "Take Back America." Selling your personal brand on TV and demanding big bucks for a speaking fee? The complex anoints you and celebrates you, even when you lavish praise on Donald Trump simply for not embarrassing himself in his State of the Union speech.

The Democratic Party is essentially a legal money-laundering entity for individual and corporate donors, especially in presidential years when the party's nominee dictates the flow of money. Big donors don't care about party-building at the local level; they care about being attached to national brands. Astonishingly, at a time when people abhor the buying of elections by the rich, the party at its recent national meeting approved taking in large corporate donations.

A long-time Democratic operative who worked on the 2016 campaign recently told me that when the Clinton campaign was told it needed to invest in local grassroots efforts, which support down-ballot races, it was hostile to the idea. Republicans, by contrast, have assiduously funded local efforts.

Second, beyond campaign mechanics and candidates, the Democratic Party has promoted, and continues to embrace, the great bi-partisan myth of American exceptionalism. Like all effective myths, it is powerful because it is repeated year after year. However, for many people who long for a real alternative, the reality behind the myth casts an ominous shadow.

To start, Democrats routinely embrace the celebration of the "free market" and the American "dynamic economy," even though our abysmal economic model is run increasingly like a kleptocracy, which drains the wealth from millions of average people.

American exceptionalism trumpets to the world that we have a spectacular model of justice built on a set of values that Democrats say Donald Trump is violating. That is an utterly empty claim if you are black or poor. The rule of law or the idea of equality under the law is the province of the privileged, the rich and the powerful who, when they steal from us, rarely face justice.

The idea of American exceptionalism has meant being the largest, by far, seller of weapons around the world -- including to regimes likes Saudi Arabia, which treat women as second-class citizens. It has meant we have the biggest military in the world, justifying endless war for economic benefit, including interventions, overthrows and the manipulation of elections going back long before Vladimir Putin was even born.

From conservatives and liberals alike, we hear the boast that we have the "best workers in the world," an inherently racist view that questions the quality and worthiness of workers everywhere. This sets up a narrative of "us versus them" competition among workers. It, then, stirs voters' fears about their economic desperation and prompts them to blame phony enemies -- immigrants, for example.

When you hear some voices in the party urging "unity" and scolding people from replaying the 2016 party primary, be vigilant. Too often those are the same people who have failed for a very long time, who are hitting up donors and churning out mountains of warmed-over position papers. Amusingly, a few are branding their organizations as the "resistance," even when their boards of directors include corporate lobbyists, billionaires and proud purveyors of American exceptionalism.

Democrats should be voicing clearly that the real threat to people is the power of big corporations racing across the globe, plundering the planet and exploiting people of all races. Hillary Clinton was not that voice, allowing Donald Trump, a man who has used the broken economic system to defraud thousands of regular people, to seize the populist megaphone.

If the party fails to embrace a different vision of America, and a different idea about the country's place in the world, Democrats will not win -- and they should not win.

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Hillary Clinton doesn't deserve all the blame for Democrats' failure - CNN

"We may not ever be able to count on this administration to lead on LGBT issues," Clinton said in a speech in New York.

Clinton was addressing a fundraising dinner for The Center, an LGBT community organization, where she received an award and thanked members of the audience for supporting her unsuccessful 2016 presidential bid. But she told those gathered there to watch out for "the progress that we fought for, that many of you were on the front lines for."

"It may not be as secure as we once expected," she said.

At her speech Thursday evening, she listed several controversial moves by the Republican administration and stressed their importance.

"When this administration rescinded protections for transgender students, my heart broke," Clinton said. "When I learned about the proposed cuts in funding for HIV and AIDS research, I thought about all of our efforts to try and achieve an AIDS-free generation."

Clinton criticized Trump in particular for his decision to nominate Mark Green, who she called an "outspoken opponent" of LGBT rights, to replace former Army Secretary Eric Fanning, the first openly gay man to hold the job.

"Some of the changes that we're seeing should seem small, but they matter a great deal if you're the person affected," Clinton said. "Others carry historic significance, like the future of the Supreme Court."

She called on attendees to participate in organizations that would foster progress on human rights and for the United States to call out abuses of gay people abroad, like the reported homophobic killings in Chechnya. She said due to the Trump administration's posture on gay rights, people needed to "never stop fighting" and focus on winning upcoming elections, from the midterms on.

"I know the election hit a lot of us hard," Clinton said, pausing for laughs before continuing. "I can tell you this: Even when it feels tempting to pull the covers over your heads, please keep going."

Clinton's historic stances on same-sex marriage have often been criticized, too. When her husband was president, he signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law, which stood for years as a roadblock to marriage equality.

As secretary of state, she declared, "gay rights are human rights," echoing her famous words in China as first lady. She repeated the statement Thursday evening, to sustained applause.

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Hillary Clinton blasts Trump on LGBT rights - CNN

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Photo:Hunter Abrams,Samantha Nandez/BFA

It isnt enough to just resist, we must constantly be taking steps to make actual change and have an impact on peoples lives. That line, from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center executive director Glennda Testones speech last night, resonated. Testone was addressing a room full of activists, donors, and friends who had gathered for The Centers annual dinner at Cipriani Wall Street. The crowd included Edie Windsor, Huma Abedin , Lana Wachowski , and Arianna Huffington, many of whom bid on art donated from the likes of Richard Prince and Hanna Liden on Paddle8 and Katy Perry tour tickets, which fundraised, along with donations, more than $1.75 million for the organization last night. That money will go to implementing the actual change Testone spoke of.

Then, there was Hillary Clinton , who arrived in a yellow jacket to accept The Centers Trailblazer Award. Being with all of you is a little bit like a very stylish family reunion, began Clinton, warming up the crowd with a few lighthearted jokes about missing Bette Midlers Hello, Dolly! debut and her long friendship with Marc Jacobs , who received The Centers Visionary Award last night, before getting to more serious topics. As reports of bias-related violence and discrimination have gone up in the months since [I visited The Center last spring], so has the need for The Centers services, especially among young people of color, immigrants, and the transgender community. And weve learned something important: That the progress that we fought for, that many of you were on the front lines of, and that weve celebrated and maybe even taken for granted may not be as secure as we once expected . . . . And it is not just here in our country that were seeing clouds gathering on the horizon. In recent weeks weve heard terrifying accounts from Chechnya of gay and bisexual men being taken form their homes and families, tortured, and even killed. When government authorities were confronted with these reports their response was chilling. They said you cannot arrest or repress people who do not exist. The United States government, yes, this government, should demand an end to the persecution of innocent people across the world.

Clinton continued, I will say again what I said in 2011: Gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights . . . I think we have to face the fact that we might not ever be able to count on this administration to lead on LGBT issues. Here a guest screamed out 2020! Without missing a beat the former secretary of state responded, Just remember 2018 the mid-term elections! We can never stop fighting. We need to dedicate these next years, the next two years, the next four years, and beyond to supporting people and organizations that are advocating for the best of American values around the world, here at home, and we also have to win elections to make it clear where our country stands.

She ended her speech on a hopeful note, saying Lets not forget, even now were seeing glimmers of hope in the courts and an outpouring of grassroots activism across our country, and riffing on her recent sightings in the woods of Chappaqua with a laugh. Now Ive had new mantra these few weeks, the kind of thing that does pop into your head when youre out in the woods, but I really believe its a good way to remind ourselves, when you feel a little down, when a good friend or loved one says quit yelling at the television set, just remember we need to resist, insist, persist, and enlist and make sure our voices and our goals are heard. Were going to keep fighting together side by side for equal rights and were going to make sure that nobody turns the clock back on what we have achieved as Americans. That is a promise and with your help lets make sure we keep it.

Other honorees included Jan Siegmund, corporate vice president and chief financial officer of ADP, who received the Corporate Impact Award, and Carmelyn P. Malalis, chair and commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, who received its Community Impact Award. By 11:00-ish the hoards of stylish guests has poured out into Wall Street, turning the sleepy area into the spot to be seenand to try to get a Lyft fromon a Thursday night.

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Hillary Clinton Champions Gay Rights at The Center's Award Dinner - Vogue.com

Its been nearly six months since Hillary Clinton lost the presidency to Donald Trump, and if she had any hope that people would stop talking about how bad her campaign was, she got a rude awakening this week when Shattered: Inside Hillary Clintons Doomed Campaign was released.

Article after article has revealeddetails from the book that make Clintons campaign less like a well-oiled machine up against unforeseeable forces and more like the Titanicif the crew knew the iceberg was there all along and deliberately ignored it.

At least, thats according tonearly every review.

Clinton apparently ran such a spirit-crushing campaign that aides coinedthe mantra: Were not allowed to have nice things. Her campaign tried to copy President Barack Obamas model without understanding that there was more to Obama than mere dataand that 2016 America was very different than 2008 or even 2012 America. (If 2016 was 2012 America, wed have President Ted Cruz; if it were 2008 America, wed have President Bernie Sanders.)

But Clintons campaign ignored the advice of the candidates husband, former President Bill Clinton, and other Democratic Party elders, who argued that the campaign needed to work harder to persuade undecided and ambivalent voters (like working-class whites and millennials), instead of focusing so insistently on turning out core supporters, wrote New York Times book reviewer Michiko Kakutani.

Even some of herbest friends said Clinton bears the blame for her defeat, because of things she did before her campaign started, like setting up the private email server or giving speeches to Wall Street or allowing the Clinton Foundation to operate like a pay-to-play scheme.

These things, her friends said in the book, hamstrung her own chances so badly that she couldnt recover.

Speaking of her email server, the authors reveal that Obama thought Clintons handling of the scandal amounted to political malpractice. Obama had emailed Clinton several times on her personal account, but its still plausible that while he was aware of that account, he may not have been aware that it was tied to a homebrew server.

Whats worse is that these arent revelations written by someone who already despised Clinton or Obama and whose allegations may be questionable. Shatteredwas written by Jonathan Allen of Roll Call and Amie Parnes of the Hill. The two had reported on the campaign for over a year, spoke to more than 100 individualsand were only able to publish long after the election because some of those peoplenearly all anonymous in the bookwere more willing to speak and reflect.

But even before her failed 2016 campaign, the book revealed, Clintons paranoia and steadfast refusal to accept personal blame led to her spying on her staffers in 2008.

She believed her campaign had failed hernot the other way aroundand she wanted to see who was talking to who, who was leaking to who, said a source familiar with the operation, Allen and Parnes wrote.

Members of Team Clinton are now trying to figure out who talked to Allen and Parnes.

The knives are out to find the people who spoke about the campaign to the authors of this book. Dennis [Cheng, the campaigns finance director] has been texting prominent campaign staffers, asking who talked. Hes on a witch hunt to find out who talked to save their own skin, throwing Hillary and her campaign manager Robby Mook under the bus, a source told Page Sixs Emily Smith.

In the wee hours of November 9, when the race had been called for Trump, Clinton was apparently not ready to concede. It took a phone call from Obama to get her to a place where she could call Trump and congratulate him. You need to concede, Obama had said to her.

Allen and Parnes wrote that Obama didnt want Clinton to reinforce Trumps message about an illegitimate election. After Clinton called Trump, Obama called her again. This time, Clinton apologized to him.

She had let him down. She had let herself down. She had let her party down. And she had let her country down, Allen and Parnes wrote. Obamas legacy and the dreams of her presidency lay shattered at Donald Trumps feet. This was on her.

But it wasnt long untilClinton and her team quickly began blaming everything under the sunracism, sexism, Russia, the FBI, even Obamafor her loss. She and her family are still out there blaming sexism.

The book is pretty damaging. Jim Geraghty of National Review lays it all out. Ten people crafted Clintons announcement speech (well, one of her announcement speeches; remember, she launched her campaign more than once). Obamas speechwriter, Jon Favreau (not the director), who helped write the speech, thought it sounded like a generic Democratic speech, which lacked a central rationale for why Hillary was running for president.

In the weeks leading up to the election, campaign manager Robby Mook stopped spending money on polling, even though White House political director Craig Smith and southern Democratic operative Scott Arceneaux begged him to poll Florida. In Wisconsin, campaign staffers didnt have enough literature to hand out while knocking on doors.

Once FBI Director James Comey reopened the investigation in Clintons server, aide Jake Sullivan began pressing Mook and others to efforts to expand the Electoral College map in favor of locking down states that added up to 270. Clearly, that didnt happen, as Clinton lost the Democratic strongholds of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and lost all of the states in her expansion strategy.

If theres one thing in the book that makes Clinton appear sympathetic, its the revelation that Clinton didnt want to use her concession speech to attack Trump, and thought the speech written for her that did so was tone-deaf.

Its not my job anymore to do this, Clinton said, according to the authors. Other people will criticize him. Thats their job. I have done it. I just lost, and that is that That was my last race.

With so many damning stories coming out this week, I briefly felt bad for Clinton. Leave Hillary Clinton alone, I said to myself in Chris Crocker fashion. But wait, I thought, Clinton isnt trying to be left alone. Shes out there giving interviews and opinions and blaming everything but herself for her loss. Shatteredshould lay to rest any arguments that anything other than the campaign itself bore the brunt of the responsibility for Clintons loss.

Link:
Hillary Clinton Has 'Shattered' to Thank for Yet Another Terrible Week - Observer

They ate lobster salad and lamb chops, with baked Alaska for dessert. The dinner-table conversation veered from hunting and music to the Supreme Court. There was also a White House tour led by their host, President Trump.

And, of course, they documented every moment.

Trump's Wednesday-night dinner guests Sarah Palin and conservative musicians Ted Nugent and Kid Rock posted numerous pictures after their visit to the White House, becoming quite a topic of conversation.

One photo in particular has drawn attention the one in which the three high-profile visitors are seen posing in front of the official portrait of Hillary Clinton, when she was a first lady.

In the picture, Palin, Nugent and Kid Rock appear to be mocking Clinton, who has been the subject of sharp criticism and sometimes crude insults from the trio.

The photo, posted on Palin's Facebook page without a caption, hasricocheted around social media, thrilling Clinton haters and upsetting others who have called it disrespectful and straight up classless. Some in the latter camp have referred to Palin and her rock-star friends as the redneck holy trinity.

What a bunch of disrespectful idiots, one person wrote beneath the photo. You call yourselves proud Americans and behave like 3rd graders in the White House. I don't care if you like her or not. You are disrespectful.

Even Paul Begala, a former White House counselor to President Bill Clinton, had something to say about it.

Its a white trash Mount Rushmore, the CNN punditsaid Thursday on Anderson Cooper's show.I love it. Look at them. Thats just perfect.

Then hetweeted about his televised remarks.

It is hardly the first time controversial photos of White House visitors have attracted scrutiny.

Five years ago, during Obama's presidency, two gay activists from Philadelphia sparked a firestorm after photos showed them extending their middle fingers in front of President Reagan's portrait. The behavior of the activists, who were attending the White House's LGBT Pride Month Reception, earned an official rebuke after Philadelphia magazine reported on the photos prompting considerable attention from conservative media outlets.

While the White House does not control the conduct of guests at receptions, we certainly expect that all attendees conduct themselves in a respectful manner. Most all do, a White House spokesman said at the time, according to Fox News. These individuals clearly did not. Behavior like this doesnt belong anywhere, least of all in the White House.

Palin and friends didn't go that far, though bird-flipping was discussed, Nugent said after the dinner, tour and photo ops.

[Ted Nugent, Sarah Palin and Kid Rock visited the White House for dinner with President Trump]

Apost on Palin's blognoted that Trump invited the former Alaska governor to dinner and told her to bring some friends.

It was the highest honor to have great Americans who are independent, hard-working, patriotic, and unafraid share common-sense solutions at the White House, according to the blog post, BEHIND THE SCENES: Photos From An Awesome Evening At The White House.

She added: Asked why I invited Kid Rock and Ted Nugent I joked, 'Because Jesus was booked.' "

Remember when then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told the nation the difference between "a hockey mom and a pitbull?" Or when she called for President Obama to be impeached? Here are those moments and more from Palin. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

As The Washington Post's Emily Heil reported, Nugent and Kid Rock (Robert James Ritchie) were among the few celebrities to support Trump on the campaign trail. Nugent is an outspoken Barack Obama critic and has regularly slammed Trumps presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

Nugent told the Detroit Free Press that it was his wife's idea to take the photo in front of Clinton's portrait.

She said, 'You guys have to stop here; Ive got to get a picture of this,' " he told the newspaper.Ever the thoughtful wife, yeah. And I guess that its made its rounds.

Thats another thing about it. Getting to that s---kicker term nobody said, 'You cant do this and you cant talk about that, you cant go here and you cant touch that.' It was a damned free-for-all. The president had faith that we knew how to conduct ourselves, regardless of what someone might have printed in Creem magazine about the Motor City Madman.

According to the New York Times:

Mr. Nugent said one member of the group he wouldnt say who asked the three to extend their middle fingers beneath the portrait. I politely declined, he said. Let the juxtaposition speak for itself.

On Palin's Facebook page, some of her supporters cheered the photo.

Awesome and the expressions are as appropriate as they are priceless! one person wrote.

Palin, wrote another, looks Great w Killary the Global Socialist Queen in the background.

Why the hell is that picture even still up. That would be the first thing I burn in the fireplace, another person wrote.

Still, the criticism kept coming.

Among those chiming in, with an Instagram subtweet:Obama's former White House photographer.

[Is the former Obama White House photographer trolling President Trump?]

Pete Souza, who often uses his archival photographs to compare his old boss with Trump, posted a photoThursday showing Obama sitting withformer White House chiefof staff Bill Daley under an official portrait of Ronald Reagan.

The caption: Being respectful.

Being respectful.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 20, 2017 at 12:22pm PDT

On CNN, after making his white-trash Mount Rushmore remark, Begalawent on to say that he does admire Palin.

She has spoken out when she has been the target of really vicious sexism from the left and good for her, Begala said Thursday. She has defended her children when they have been attacked.

So it's kind of unfortunate that she's buddying up with Nugent, who has said the most vile things about Hillary you can say, he added. And I think when those things had been said about Sarah Palin and they have, it was outrageous then I wish she would hold her friends to the same standard.

This post has been updated.

Read more:

I certainly meant no disrespect, Kellyanne Conway says of her pose in Oval Office couch photo

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Did Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock go too far in mocking Hillary Clinton's portrait? - Washington Post