Tag: Elizabeth Warren

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New Polls Show Post-Debate Shakeup Among Democrats

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (L) and Kamala Harris (R)

New polling shows how the first Democratic presidential debates affected the early race.

The latest from Quinnipiac University polling shows former Vice President Joe Biden getting his lowest numbers to date dropping to 22 percent.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) jumped up to second place with 20 percent support.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren follows at 14 percent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is at 13 percent, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg gets 4 percent. No other candidate garnered more than 3 percent.

The June 11 Quinnipiac University Poll showed Biden at 30 percent, Sanders at 19 percent, Warren with 15 percent, Buttigieg at 8 percent, and Harris with 7 percent.

And in Iowa, Elizabeth Warren has vaulted to the number one position in the new David Binder Research poll.

From IowaStartingLine:

Elizabeth Warren leads the pack in the Iowa Caucus, according to a new poll out this morning from David Binder Research, currently earning the support of 20% of likely Democratic caucus-goers.

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are both within the margin of error with Warren for first place, but they trail just slightly at 18% for Harris and 17% for Biden.

Bernie Sanders has fallen to fourth place in the polling, sitting at 12%, while Pete Buttigieg has 10% in the survey.

Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker round out the the field with 4% and 2%, respectively, while everyone else is at 1% or below.

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Poll: Harris & Warren Surge After 1st Democratic Debates

The results of a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows Democratic presidential contenders Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have each surged nearly ten points since the first debates last week.

Harris saw the biggest increase from 8 percent support to 17 percent, and Warren jumped 8 points from 7 percent to 15 percent.

Former Vice President Joe Biden dropped a precipitous ten points from 32 percent support to 22 percent.

And Mayor Pete Buttigieg, despite getting strong response for his debate performance, dropped one percent.

Asked ‘who did the best job in the debates,” the hands-down favorite was Harris with 41 percent saying she won.

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Night 1 Of Democratic Debates: Warren Leads, Castro Surprises, Booker Strong On LGBTQ Issues

The first Democratic National Committee (DNC) debate of the 2020 presidential election cycle took place last night in Miami and, as expected, there were a few surprises.
Sens. Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and former HUD Sec. Julian Castro

The first Democratic National Committee (DNC) debate of the 2020 presidential election cycle took place last night in Miami and, as expected, there were a few surprises.

Last night’s debate, the first of two, included Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, Jay Inslee, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Tim Ryan, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren.

One of the biggest moments of the evening came when Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was asked a question about her history of opposing LGBTQ rights and supporting conversion therapy.

Gabbard noted that she’s since apologized for those statements and reminded people that she grew up in a conservative family with conservative thoughts on LGBTQ people.

“Maybe many people in this country can relate to the fact that I grew up in a socially conservative home, held views when I was very young that I no longer hold today,” Gabbard said. “I served with LGBTQ service members, both in training and deployed down the range. I know they would give their life for me, and I would give my life for them.”

She also promised to support and vote for The Equality Act.

But Sen. Cory Booker jumped in saying Gabbard’s support of The Equality Act was “not enough,” and expanded the conversation to transgender people saying, “We do not talk enough about trans Americans, especially African American trans Americans and the incredibly high rates of murder right now.”

“We don’t talk enough about how many children – about how 30% of LGBTQ children do not go to school because of fear,” said Booker. “It’s not enough just to be on the Equality Act, which I’m an original co-sponsor of. We need to have a president who will fight to protect LGBTQ Americans every single day from violence.”

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, who appears to have helped himself the most via his debate performance, also brought up trans people during a question about healthcare and abortion rights.

Castro also looked strong on immigration issues as he dominated during that segment of the debate.

The rest of the field didn’t seem to make up any ground, although, sensing they needed their ‘moment,’ Bill de Blasio, Tim Ryan, Beto O’Rourke, and John Delaney began inserting themselves into questions hoping for more speaking time.

At the end of the day, it seems Warren did as expected and came across as the front-runner (in this crowd); Castro elevated himself; and Booker and Sen. Amy Klobuchar each had strong moments.

One surprise was how flat O’Rourke seemed throughout. After a stellar run for U.S. Senate in Texas last year, it seemed his time off from the campaign trail took a bit of a toll on his usual charismatic presence.

Other thoughts from the Twitterverse:

The second group of 10 Democratic candidates – including former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete Buttigieg – face off tonight in Miami on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo at 9 p.m.

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Podcast: Tax Cuts For Married Couples, Wealthy Athlete Looks To Fans To Pay Legal Bills, New Inductee On Hollywood Walk Of Fame

In this week's podcast: • White House hopeful Elizabeth Warren has proposed allowing same-sex married couples be allowed to file amended tax returns for refunds • A Texas couple found a touching note on their porch during Pride Month • Terrorist threats at St. Louis Pride • A wealthy Australian rugby player, stripped of his contract for homophobic social media, wants fans to pay his legal bills • Pose star Billy Porter is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame All that and more on this episode of The Randy Report

In this week’s podcast:

• White House hopeful Elizabeth Warren has proposed allowing same-sex married couples be allowed to file amended tax returns for refunds

• A Texas couple found a touching note on their porch during Pride Month

• Terrorist threats at St. Louis Pride

• A wealthy Australian rugby player, stripped of his contract for homophobic social media, wants fans to pay his legal bills

• Pose star Billy Porter is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

All that and more on this episode of The Randy Report

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Warren Proposal Could Mean Tax Refunds For Married Same-Sex Couples

Massachusetts Senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has proposed a plan to allow married same-sex couples to possibly recoup some of the taxes they paid before the federal government recognized marriage equality.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Massachusetts Senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has proposed a plan to allow married same-sex couples to possibly recoup some of the taxes they paid before the federal government recognized marriage equality.

Warren recently re-introduced her proposal, titled ‘The Refund Equality Act,’ in the U.S. Senate.

Originally introduced by Warren in 2017, the goal of the legislation would be to allow same-sex couples to file amended tax returns in order to collect funds they paid when they were legally married but not allowed to file as married couples.

Current law allows Americans to file amended returns reaching back as far as three years, but Warren’s proposal would give same-sex married couples the right to re-file returns for the entire period the couple has been married.

In a statement, Warren said, “The federal government forced legally married same-sex couples in Massachusetts to file as individuals and pay more in taxes for almost a decade.”

In 2004, Warren’s state of Massachusetts became the first in the nation to recognize same-sex marriage.

But it wasn’t until the 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. v. Windsor, that the federal government (including the Internal Revenue Service) allowed LGBTQ married couples to access some of the tax advantages of being married.

For instance, I married my husband in 2003 in Toronto, Canada. While it was a beautiful, emotional day in my life, once we returned to the U.S. it was (in legal terms) largely ceremonial as it wasn’t recognized at home.

Michael and I getting married in Toronto in 2003

Living in California at the time, other than my using the actual term ‘husband’ to refer to my guy, it didn’t count for much in terms of legal standing until the state Supreme Court ordered same-sex marriages recognized in 2008.

Proposition 8 interfered with that, but after a long back and forth, we were allowed to keep our legal status. But, that’s another story…

But, as our marriage wasn’t recognized by the federal government, we continued to file our tax returns as “Single.”

Until – the Windsor decision.

Our accountant did take advantage of the new filing status, and I can tell you it made a BIG difference in our taxes.

CNBC reports that “married couples have access to higher standard deductions: $24,400 for joint filers in 2019, compared to $12,200 for singles.”

Additionally, couples who file jointly enjoy wider income tax brackets compared to singles.

That’s not to say every couple would benefit financially from refiling their returns.

Known as the “marriage penalty,” two spouses who have similar incomes might end up in a higher tax bracket.

But in the case of married couples where one spouse makes more/less than the other, the joint tax bill could be lower.

The Joint Committee on Taxation reported last week that perhaps $57 million could be reclaimed under Warren’s legislation.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) has introduced the companion bill in the House as well.

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Warren & Buttigieg Surge in New South Carolina Poll

A new Post and Courier/Change Research Poll of likely Democratic primary voters released Sunday shows former Vice President Joe Biden with a commanding 20 point lead in South Carolina over his competitors, but Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren seem to be surging.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (L), former VP Joe Biden (C), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (R)

A new Post and Courier/Change Research Poll of likely Democratic primary voters released Sunday shows former Vice President Joe Biden with a commanding 20 point lead in South Carolina over his competitors, but Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren seem to be surging.

Biden’s support stands at 37% of likely Palmetto state voters, while Warren snatched up the number two slot with 17 percent. Mayor Pete is in the bronze position with 11 percent.

Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tied at 9 percent.

The South Carolina primary, which follows the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, is the first real show of where Black voters are leaning.

While Sanders had some struggle with South Carolina in 2016, some pundits say Buttigieg could have a similar issue connecting with African-American voters. But it appears his team has heard those issues and is working to address his outreach to that voting block.

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New Poll Shows Five Democrats Would Beat Trump

A new national poll by Ipsos/Reuters shows several Democratic candidates beating Donald Trump in hypothetical head-to-head matchups:

A new national poll by Ipsos/Reuters shows several Democratic candidates beating Donald Trump in hypothetical head-to-head matchups:

Biden 47% (+13)
Trump 34%

Sanders 44% (+9)
Trump 35%

Warren 40% (+4)
Trump 36%

Harris 39% (+3)
Trump 36%

Buttigieg 37% (+2)
Trump 35%

Click the link to see much more of the results.

I know it’s waaaaaay early, but I always find it interesting to see what folks might be thinking.

In truth, the next real shakeup will be the first Democratic debates on June 26/27.

Will anyone make a gaffe or suddenly have a shining moment?

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Candidates Offer Rainbow+ Campaign Gear For Pride

With Pride Month just weeks away, some Democratic presidential candidates are serving up LGBTQ-themed Pride campaign swag adorned with rainbow stripes.
(via PeteForAmerica.com)

With Pride Month just weeks away, some Democratic presidential candidates are serving up LGBTQ-themed Pride campaign swag adorned with rainbow stripes.

For the record: yes, I know Donald Trump has a lone rainbow t-shirt on his campaign site. He also openly opposes The Equality Act, so, there you go…

It’s probably not surprising that Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the only openly gay White House contender, is offering the most variety in campaign Pride merchandise – t-shirts, stickers, backpacks, pins – so you can show your support and Pride all at the same time.

The gear comes in not only rainbow stripes, but the familiar pink/white/blue colors of the transgender flag as well.

Interestingly, Buttigieg’s rainbow utilizes the new version of the Pride flag that includes black and brown stripes meant to embrace LGBTQ people of color.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is getting into the Pride mood as well offering a “Persist” t-shirt with rainbow colors.

Warren’s camp got a little creative with the colors as well since her buzz word “persist” has seven letters, so they added an extra touch of light purple to their rainbow.

On a ‘Pride for the People’ page of her campaign website, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) utilizes the traditional Pride rainbow stripes with her first name (which just happens to have six letters), but adds the newer black/brown stripes to her buzzword t-shirt, “Fearless.”

In the past, I’ll admit I’ve purchased Hillary and Obama t’s during campaign seasons, so I’ll probably snag something from the list here.

But even if you don’t want to get political, you can still get your Pride on in style with merchandise from Target (a whole treasure trove of rainbow items there) or sneakers from Adidas or Converse, who put out their own annual Pride kicks.

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One Night, Five Democrats, Five Town Halls

CNN held five back-to-back town hall events with five Democratic presidential contenders last night – Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Good stuff from everyone, they all had strong moments at times.

A few takeaways:

While I appreciate the moderate lane Klobuchar has staked out for herself, it came across a bit timid and noncommittal in some of her answers. I’ll admit that a lot of issues can’t be truly addressed in a couple of minutes on a stage, but she was notably more cautious than her fellow candidates.

I really like Kamala Harris. She’s clear about what she stands for, and she has a strong decisive energy about her.

When asked about impeachment proceedings for Donald Trump, she said Congress should take steps towards impeachment but added Democrats must be “realistic about what might be the end result.”

One of Harris’ best moments came when she was asked about the issue of gun violence in the country and what she would do about it. Here’s what she said:

I have to say I almost became emotional as Mayor Pete took to the stage. As a gay man, to see this 37-year-old mayor take to the stage as a real player and handle himself so well was uplifting and energizing.

Mayor Pete had one of the biggest moments of the night when he was asked about the back and forth he’s had with Vice President Pence, and a comment made by Trump ally and homocon Richard Grennell, the current ambassador to Germany.

Buttigieg’s response: “I’m not a master fisherman, but I know bait when I see and I’m not going to take it.” And the crowd went wild.

A new talking point emerged throughout the night after Sen. Sanders said even the Boston bomber deserved to be able to vote. Sen. Harris concurred saying, “We should have that conversation.”

But Buttigieg was clear and concise in his opinion that prisoners should not be allowed to vote. “While incarcerated? No, I don’t think so,” the South Bend mayor said.

CNN has recapped each of the candidate’s hour-long turns onstage.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Sen. Kamala Harris

Mayor Pete Buttigieg

A few more moments from the night:

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren Calls For Abolishing The Electoral College

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told the audience at a CNN town hall last night that the electoral college should be eliminated and the popular vote should determine the presidency.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told the audience at a CNN town hall last night that the electoral college should be eliminated and the popular vote should determine the presidency.

“Come a general election, presidential candidates don’t come to places like Mississippi,” she told the crowd in Mississippi. “They also don’t come to places like California and Massachusetts, right? Because we’re not the battleground states.”

“My view is: every vote matters,” she continued. “And the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting, and that means get rid of the electoral college.”

The presidential hopeful also called for repealing all of the voter suppression laws in the country.