'The best is yet to come'? Defiant Trump doubles down in campaign rally-style State of the Union speech
rt.com | 2020-02-05
Teased as "low key," US President Donald Trump's annual address to Congress was anything but, with several unprecedented symbolic gestures and a powerful assertion of American triumphalism that put his critics on the back foot. | Trump did not mention impeachment once in the 90-minute speech on Tuesday evening. Instead, he turned his persuasion skills up to eleven, painting a picture of America with a booming economy and infinite opportunities brought about by his administration, and contrasting that with Democrat proposals such as socialized healthcare and sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. | Amid the standa…
rt.com/usa/480089-trump-state-union-address/

'The best is yet to come'? Defiant Trump doubles down in campaign rally-style State of the Union speech
rt.com | 2020-02-05
Teased as "low key," US President Donald Trump's annual address to Congress was anything but, with several unprecedented symbolic gestures and a powerful assertion of American triumphalism that put his critics on the back foot. | Trump did not mention impeachment once in the 90-minute speech on Tuesday evening. Instead, he turned his persuasion skills up to eleven, painting a picture of America with a booming economy and infinite opportunities brought about by his administration, and contrasting that with Democrat proposals such as socialized healthcare and sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. | Amid the sta…
rt.com/usa/480089-trump-state-union-address/

Overstaying his welcome? Trump spotlights Venezuela's Guaido in cringeworthy reminder of year-long 'interim presidency'
rt.com | 2020-02-05
US President Donald Trump shone an awkward spotlight on self-styled Venezuelan 'interim president' Juan Guaido sitting in his SOTU audience over a year of daydreaming about replacing Nicolas Maduro as the only 'legitimate leader.' | Trump introduced an embarrassed-looking Guaido to the SOTU audience as "a very brave man who carries with him the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of all Venezuelans." Declaring him the "true and legitimate president of Venezuela," Trump contrasted the fidgety self-appointed statesman to "socialist dictator" President Nicolas Maduro

Bernie Sanders Can Silence His Critics in New Hampshire
Norman Solomon | truthdig.com | 2020-02-04
While journalists pick through the ashes of the Iowa caucuses meltdown, thousands of progressive activists are moving forward to make election history in New Hampshire. In sharp contrast to the prattle of mainstream punditry, the movements behind Bernie Sanders are propelled by people who engage with politics as a collective struggle because the future of humanity and the planet is at stake. As a result, the Granite State's primary election on Feb. 11 could be a political earthquake. | Whether or not the Democratic Party's corporate backers truly understand what progressive populism is all about, they're determin…
truthdig.com/articles/bernie-sanders-can-silence-his-critics-in-new-hampshire/

Look to Iowa for a 2020 Election Preview
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-01
What can 24 hours in Iowa tell you about the political circus that is the 2020 election? A lot. You can start by hearing Iowans describe their values: that civic identity that they take great pride in. And you can contrast it to what the president's re-election campaign has put forth as its values, as seen in the medium that Trump knows best. Not political tradition, but Trump-branded campaign merchandise. | Let's start with the high road. Every state has its political vanities. So, it was no accident that one of the first events held Wednesday by Mayor Pete (Buttigieg), to make a closing argument for his long-sh…
truthdig.com/articles/look-to-iowa-for-a-2020-election-preview/

Look to Iowa for a 2020 Election Preview
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-01
What can 24 hours in Iowa tell you about the political circus that is the 2020 election? A lot. You can start by hearing Iowans describe their values: that civic identity that they take great pride in. And you can contrast it to what the president's re-election campaign has put forth as its values, as seen in the medium that Trump knows best. Not political tradition, but Trump-branded campaign merchandise. | Let's start with the high road. Every state has its political vanities. So, it was no accident that one of the first events held Wednesday by Mayor Pete (Buttigieg), to make a closing argument for his long-sh…
truthdig.com/articles/look-to-iowa-for-a-2020-election-preview/