Category Archives: Amy Klobuchar

Democratic candidates zero in on Buttigieg and Sanders at tense debate

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Competing visions for the party were on display as moderate candidates challenged progressives ahead of New Hampshire primary

Democratic presidential candidates clashed on Friday night in a tense televised debate that was dominated by attacks against Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, the two candidates who declared victory after the Iowa caucuses.

In the week that Donald Trump was acquitted in his impeachment trial and days ahead of the New Hampshire primary, the competing visions for the Democratic party were on show as moderate candidates challenged the progressives, and those with more Washington experience called out the relative political newcomers.

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Iowa Democrats apologise for caucus counting problems – video

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The Democratic party in Iowa has apologised after it failed to reveal results from the Iowa caucuses. The system for reporting the votes failed to function, while a back-up telephone line also jammed, leading to no declaration of a winner despite the campaign moving on to New Hampshire

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Iowa caucus results: Pete Buttigieg pulls ahead as state Democrats release partial count – live

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Some Iowans expressed frustration on Tuesday that the state Democratic party had bungled its moment in the national spotlight after the state Democratic party delayed releasing the results of the caucuses because of a technical glitch.

“They’re not complete, but results are in from a majority of precincts, and they show our campaign in first place,” said Pete Buttigieg, grinning widely as he addressed supporters in New Hampshire. “This is what we have been working more than a year to convince our fellow Americans: that a new and better vision can bring about a new and better day.

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Pete Buttigieg holds early lead in Iowa caucuses after chaos over results

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Iowa Democratic party announces partial results with former South Bend mayor trailed closely by Bernie Sanders

Pete Buttigieg, the previously little-known former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, held a narrow lead in the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday night, according to a partial release of a majority of the results by the state Democratic party a day after an embarrassing organizational breakdown that marred the biggest night of the election year so far.

With 71% of the precincts reporting from all of Iowa’s 99 counties, Buttigieg held 26.8% of the state’s delegate count, trailed closely by the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders with 25.2%, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren with 18.4% and the former vice-president Joe Biden falling well behind with 15.4%. Sanders, meanwhile, had so far earned the largest share of total votes cast.

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Iowa caucuses: results in chaos as Democratic party blames delays on ‘inconsistencies’ – as it happened

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  • Party says they are using photos and paper trail to validate results
  • Biden’s campaign sends letter to party demanding ‘full explanation’
  • Iowa caucuses results – live updates
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That’s it from me after a very anti-climatic night in Des Moines. The Democratic presidential candidates and the media circus accompanying them are leaving Iowa with no sense of who won the first voting state in the nominating contest.

Here’s where things stand:

One reporter described Iowa Democratic party chairman Troy Price’s voice on the press call as “deflated”, which is understandable considering the organization saw its worst nightmare unfold before its eyes tonight.

"Thank you and we will be in touch soon," Price said.

An understatement to say he sounded deflated. Since his election in 2017, it's been his sole mission to try to make a fairer, more transparent Iowa caucus that would also run seamlessly. Tonight was IDP's worst nightmare.

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Democratic debate: rivals square off in final debate before Iowa caucuses – live

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  • Six candidates to debate at Drake University in Des Moines
  • Sanders, Warren, Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Steyer feature
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Hours before the debate on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would vote to send its impeachment charges against Donald Trump to the Senate the following day.

Even though six Democratic presidential candidates failed to meet the polling requirement for tonight’s debate, one candidate who did manage to cross that threshold will not be onstage tonight: Michael Bloomberg.

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Klobuchar gains momentum in Iowa – but will her gruelling tour be enough?

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The Minnesota senator is reaching out to Iowa’s smallest towns and rural settlements ahead of the vital February caucus and seeing increasing numbers

Craig Hiller, an Iowa farmer, had just enjoyed a hot chocolate on Amy Klobuchar’s campaign bus as it made a stop in the small town of Rockwell City, population just 2,100.

Hiller, whose state is the vital first one to cast ballots in the party’s nomination race to pick an opponent to Donald Trump, was impressed by the Minnesota senator, a fellow midwesterner who desperately needs a strong showing in Iowa to boost her 2020 presidential campaign.

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Democratic debate takeaways: Buttigieg unscathed as candidates focus on impeachment

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A surging Pete Buttigieg avoided major criticism while Tulsi Gabbard reinforced her outsider status in Atlanta debate

Some of the candidates used the explosive congressional testimony from the ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, earlier in the day as a launchpad to renew calls for Donald Trump’s impeachment.

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Warren under attack as Democrats spar in largest primary debate in US history

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Twelve Democrats targeted Warren over healthcare, taxes and big tech in first debate since Trump impeachment inquiry

Elizabeth Warren came under sustained attack from her Democratic rivals during Tuesday night’s presidential debate, a reflection of the threat her ascendant candidacy poses to the crowded field of hopefuls competing to take on Donald Trump in the 2020 US election.

Twelve Democratic candidates took to the stage in Westerville, Ohio, for the largest presidential primary debate in modern US history, and the first since the launch of an impeachment inquiry into the president’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his leading rival, Joe Biden.

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Trump blasts calls for impeachment of Brett Kavanaugh after new allegations

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  • New York Times details new claims against supreme court judge
  • Harris, Castro and Sanders lead calls for constitutional action

Donald Trump came storming to the defence of Brett Kavanaugh on Sunday, after the publication of new allegations about the supreme court justice’s behaviour while he was a student at Yale led to renewed calls for his impeachment.

Related: Trump is seriously, frighteningly unstable - the world is in danger | Robert Reich

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How did each candidate in the Democratic debate do?

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Klobuchar, Booker, Buttigieg, Sanders, Biden, Warren, Harris, Yang, O’Rourke and Castro – all 10 hopefuls rated

The candidates gathered in Houston, Texas, for the latest Democratic debate represented the top tier of the large field campaigning for the party’s 2020 nomination. But how did each of them fare during a night of policy cut and thrust, some mutual admiration and also some caustic attacks – on each other and on Donald Trump.

Related: Biden clashes with Warren and Sanders in lively Democratic debate

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Democratic debate: Warren and Sanders clash with Biden over healthcare – live

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The 10 candidates on stage in Houston offered competing visions based on Obamacare and Medicare for All

Joe Biden is taking a question on gun control and once again arguing he has the best (and certainly the longest) record on the issue. “I’m the only up here who’s ever beat the NRA,” the former vice president and senator said.

Biden then similarly applauded Beto O’Rourke for his efforts to help his hometown of El Paso heal from the mass shooting that killed 22. Biden originally referred to the former congressman as “Beto.” He then apologized and O’Rourke interjected, “Beto is good.”

In the midst of a discussion on race and criminal justice, Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot, has made this important point:

You know what else is racist? Preventing people from voting. There have been 29 presidential debates in 2020 & 2016 and no questions about voting rights

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Republicans and Democrats denounce Trump’s shock Taliban talks revelation

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  • Amy Klobuchar: ‘This isn’t a gameshow. These are terrorists’
  • Liz Cheney says Taliban should never visit Camp David

Donald Trump’s shock announcement that he had canceled secret peace talks with the Taliban this weekend has prompted criticism and confusion, including from his own Republican party.

The Democratic presidential 2020 hopeful and Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar ridiculed the president on Sunday morning, saying he approaches foreign policy like “some kind of gameshow”.

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Democratic debates get underway as 2020 candidates go head to head – live

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Ten Democrats begin debating each other tonight – will they attack the party’s frontrunner, Joe Biden, or sell their own vision for the future?

We’re less than ten minutes away! Here’s some things to know:

Related: Where do the 2020 Democratic candidates stand on the key issues?

Tonight, the first batch of 2020 presidential candidates will likely face questions about gun control. It’s an issue that many of them have been putting front and center.

So far, some gun violence prevention experts say, New Jersey senator Cory Booker has produced the most ambitious and comprehensive plan, including funding for local gun violence prevention strategies in communities burdened with daily gun violence, and endorsing federal licensing for gun ownership, a policy that Obama labeled out of the question just three years ago.

“The person that has had the most thoughtful approach, as well as the most robust approach, is Cory Booker,” said Dakota Jablon, director of federal affairs at the Coalition to Stop Violence, a gun violence prevention group.

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Heidi Heitkamp talks to North Dakotans about her no vote on…

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As Sen. Heidi Heitkamp hustled down the main drag in Sunday's Uffda Day parade, Elizabeth Ritter, a middle-aged woman in a pink coat and matching hat, stepped off the curb, pulled the lawmaker close and spoke into her ear, carving out a private moment amid the blaring music and cheers. "I said I was proud of her and God bless her," Ritter said later.

Oh no, a rich frat boy is crying! … Are we supposed to feel sorry for Brett Kavanaugh?

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Cry me a river for Brett Kavanaugh, who is, by all indications, a jerk, another rich frat boy who was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. Oh no, a rich frat boy is crying! ... Are we supposed to feel sorry for Brett Kavanaugh? Cry me a river for Brett Kavanaugh, who is, by all indications, a jerk, another rich frat boy who was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.

Sen. Klobuchar: WH Shouldn’t ‘Micromanage” FBI Probe of Kavanaugh

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Sunday the White House shouldn't be allowed to "micromanage" the FBI's investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. In interviews on both CNN's "State of the Union" and CBS News' "Face The Nation," the former prosecutor said it was important for the FBI to get to the bottom of the evidence before the Senate Judiciary Committee takes a vote on Kavanaugh's high court nomination.

Matt Damon Opens a SNLa Season As An Angry Kavanaugh

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Matt Damon helped "Saturday Night Live" kick off its 44th season on NBC by portraying U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a beer-obsessed bro during the show's cold open. Damon was grilled by cast members who played members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a spoof of Thursday's hearing on sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh by former high school classmate Christine Blasey Ford.

Matt Damon Plays a Belligerent Brett Kavanaugh on Saturday Night Live Season Premiere Opener

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Male anger was the primary target for ridicule in this week's Saturday Night Live cold open, as the show unsparingly mocked Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's Thursday testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The first sketch of the show's 44th season premiere had fun with the hours-long committee hearing, choosing to focus more on Kavanaugh than his accuser Christine Blasey Ford.

SNL’ debuts new season with focus on Kavanaugh hearing

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Returning to form by opening its season 44 premiere with political humor, "Saturday Night Live" took advantage of the interest in Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's Thursday Senate hearing. In a 13-minute cold open, Matt Damon guest-starred as an angry Kavanaugh, aping the judge through a parodic "bro" interpretation.