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Sen. Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton Respond To Violence At Cancelled Chicago Trump Rally

The two Democratic presidential contenders issued statements today in the aftermath of last night’s violence at a cancelled Donald Trump rally in Chicago.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement:

“As is the case virtually every day, Donald Trump is showing the American people that he is a pathological liar. Obviously, while I appreciate that we had supporters at Trump’s rally in Chicago, our campaign did not organize the protests.

“What caused the protests at Trump’s rally is a candidate that has promoted hatred and division against Latinos, Muslims, women, and people with disabilities, and his birther attacks against the legitimacy of President Obama.

“What caused the violence at Trump’s rally is a campaign whose words and actions have encouraged it on the part of his supporters. He recently said of a protester, ‘I want to punch him in the face.’ Another time Trump yearned for the old days when the protester would have been punched and “carried out on a stretcher.’ Then just a few days ago a female reporter apparently was assaulted by his campaign manager.

“When that is what the Trump campaign is doing, we should not be surprised that there is a response.

“What Donald Trump must do now is stop provoking violence and make it clear to his supporters that people who attend his rallies or protest should not be assaulted, should not be punched, should not be kicked. In America people have a right to attend a political rally without fear of physical harm.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this at an event in St. Louis today:

“The ugly, divisive rhetoric we are hearing from Donald Trump and the encouragement of violence and aggression is wrong, and it’s dangerous.

“If you play with matches, you’re going to start a fire you can’t control. That’s not leadership. That’s political arson.”

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Official Statement From Clinton Campaign Regarding Nancy Reagan / AIDS “National Conversation”

https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/708403247795539968

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has issued this official statement regarding her statement yesterday at Nancy Reagan’s funeral that the Reagan’s helped begin a “national conversation” on AIDS.”

“As Hillary Clinton has said, while the Reagans were strong advocates for stem cell research and finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, she misspoke about their work on HIV and AIDS.

“Hillary Clinton has been a longtime advocate on the treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS.

“In 1992, for the first time ever, the DNC Convention highlighted the AIDS plague and Bill and Hillary Clinton discussed the need to cure the AIDS plague in this country.

“As First Lady, Clinton traveled the world to raise awareness on combating AIDS and assembled government officials and world leaders to discuss how to enhance and coordinate AIDS efforts.

“As Senator, Clinton introduced and voted for legislation to improve and expand global AIDS research and assistance, improve global AIDS programs for women and girls, and prevention and education services.

“As Secretary of State, Clinton began an ambitious campaign to usher in an AIDS-free generation, focusing on improvements in treatment and prevention practices. This blueprint consisted of five goals:

1. Rapidly scaling up the most effective prevention and treatment interventions;

2. Targeting the populations at the greatest risk of contracting HIV, including key populations at risk of discrimination;

3. Promote sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness in the treatment of HIV/AIDS to ensure that we get the most out of every dollar spent;

4. Ensuring a global effort to achieve an AIDS free generation; and

5. Support research on innovative technologies for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

“As President, she will continue to drive towards the goal of an AIDS-free generation and will:

• Call on Republican governors to extend Medicaid coverage to provide life-saving health care to people living with HIV. Clinton believes that every state should extend Medicaid coverage to provide life-saving health care to people living with HIV.

• Cap out-of pocket expenses for people with HIV/AIDS. Clinton has announced a plan to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable and to achieve lower drug costs for Americans, including for medications that help treat HIV and reduce the risk of contracting AIDS. Clinton will ensure that Americans can get the care their doctors prescribe by requiring health insurance plans to cap covered out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $250. She also will allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and will stop direct-to-consumer advertising subsidies for drug companies—reinvesting those funds in research.

• Expand the utilization of HIV prevention medications, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). While we work to diagnose and treat all Americans with HIV and AIDS, we also must work to prevent exposure. Decades of research are beginning to offer a promising path to prevention. Clinton will increase the CDC investment to ensure populations at greatest risk of infection have access to the drug, and encourage states to follow suit.”

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Hillary Clinton’s Major “Nancy Reagan/AIDS” Mistake

I can’t write too much about this because it is, to be honest, physically painful that someone I have admired and championed for over 20 years could make this statement in public.


“It may be hard for your viewers to remember how difficult it was for people to talk about HIV/AIDS back in the 1980s.

“Because of both President and Mrs. Reagan, in particular Mrs. Reagan, we started a national conversation when before nobody would talk about it, nobody wanted to do anything about it. And that too is something that I really appreciate with her very effective low-key advocacy, but it penetrated the public conscience and people began to say, ‘Hey, we have to do something about this, too.’

The Reagans infamously ignored the AIDS epidemic as it swept the country in the United States during the 1980s. It wasn’t until May 1987 when President Reagan even said the word “AIDS” in public. By that point, tens of thousands of gay men had died due to the disease.

I can’t wrap my head around the idea that a woman as smart as Hillary Clinton could say that the Reagans “started a national conversation” about AIDS and HIV.

She knew she was going to be making public statements today. No one in her position goes out on TV without vetting what she’s going to say with her team. Her campaign manager is an openly gay man. She has gay advisers. WHO would have seen this comment prepped for her and not raised a huge red flag?

I can’t express how much this pains me.

I saw she later issued her regrets saying she “misspoke.” While I can’t defend the comment itself, I will say she responded quickly and unequivocally. There was no hedging, it was a straight up apology.

Perhaps as a former First Lady herself she felt the need to be overly gracious and got a bit past herself.

It doesn’t fix the massive misstatement. I see how the issue of mistrust happens now. But at the very least, she did apologize.

Along the way, major figures in the LGBT community chimed in:

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Dr. Ben Carson Endorses Donald Trump: “There Are Two Donald Trumps”

Former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson endorsed GOP front-runner Donald Trump in an awkward press event today.

In previewing his endorsement, Dr. Carson initially tried to tell a story of “two Donald Trumps,” before backtracking on what was coming across as an odd notion.

Finally, he got a little more thoughtful. Via Politico:

“Well, first of all, we buried the hatchet,” Carson said, referring to Trump’s accusation of Carson being a pathological liar who showed the same destructive tendencies as a child molester. “That was political stuff. And, you know, that happens in American politics, the politics of personal destruction. All that is not something that I particularly believe in or anything that I get involved in. But I do recognize that it is a part of the process. We move on because it’s not about me, it’s not about Mr. Trump. It’s about America.”

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Donald Trump: “The Audience Hit Back. That’s What We Need A Little More Of”

When asked about the arrest of one of his supporters for sucker-punching a protester on his way out of a rally, Donald Trump said, “The audience hit back. That’s what we need a little more of.”

Yep – his answer to the situation is that the protester, who was leaving without inciting any violence, got what he had coming to him.

Another reporter asked, “When you say things like, I want to punch a protester in the face… is it just politics or are you playing a character there?”

“Let me just tell you, we have had some violent people as protesters,” Trump responded. “They are not just people saying, ‘oh!’ These are people that punch, these are people that are violent people.”

Trump has attempted to portray the protesters, not his supporters, as violent. But no reporter covering his campaign says they’ve seen evidence of that. Quite the opposite. We’ve seen protesters raise their voices but not their fists, even as they are shoved and spit on as they exit Trump rallies.

The latest incident happened at Wednesdays’rally in Fayetteville, which was caught on camera from several angles. A white man identified as 78-year-old John McGraw approached a group of protesters and punched one, identified as Rakeem Jones, in the face.

Hope Hicks, the Trump campaign spokeswoman, called the violence unfortunate in an interview with the New York Times and said Trump’s campaign had “no control” over its supporters’ behavior.

(source)

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New York Daily News: “This Is Great?”

The cover of today’s New York Daily News.

Even though the attack by a Trump supporter was caught on video, and the Trumpster has encourage such attacks by saying he would pay the legal fees for anyone who “knocks the block off” any protesters, Trump’s campaign says they “are not involved” in the violent episode.

Read the Daily News story here.

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Radio Show: LGBT Activist Aaron Baldwin Talks Presidential Primaries

Check out my latest BlogTalkRadio episode with San Francisco based LGBT activist Aaron Baldwin, who joins me to talk about the current state of the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns.

With the Ohio, Florida, Illinois and North Carolina primaries coming up on Tuesday, and the past Michigan/Mississippi primaries behind us, there’s a lot to talk out.

Will Marco Rubio win his home state of Florida? Will John Kasich win his home state of Ohio?

What new twist will Donald Trump throw in the mix?

Hit play below to hear what Aaron thinks of this unpredictable election season.

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Senate Armed Services Committee Approves Eric Fanning For Army Secretary

A U.S. Senate committee has advance Eric Fanning that much closer to becoming the first openly gay civilian to lead a U.S. military service by approving his nomination as Army secretary.

From The Washington Blade:

The Senate Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over Fanning’s nomination, approved the nomination by voice vote nearly six months after President Obama announced his choice of Fanning as the next Army secretary.

The committee approves the nomination after it held a confirmation hearing for Fanning in January that went smoothly for the nominee. No member of the committee asked Fanning a question about his sexual orientation or objected to having an openly gay Army secretary.

Although the committee has approved the nomination, Fanning faces difficulties in obtaining confirmation by the full Senate. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) has placed a hold on the nomination, citing comments President Obama made about closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. A Roberts spokesperson told the Blade on Thursday the hold remains in place.