Membership Has Its Privileges: Donald Trump's Man Card Pays Off The Daily Beast

"Meanwhile Trump’s entire appeal is based on hyper-masculinity and machismo. He critiques Clinton, saying it’s “always drama” with her and she “doesn’t have the strength” for the job while he calls his Republican opponents names like “little Marco” and “low energy” Bush. He brags about his hot wife and how rich he is. Hand size innuendo aside, Trump is literally and figuratively boasting that he is the biggest guy in the room and as president will be the biggest guy in the world and will “Make America Great Again” because he’s great.

To buy into Trump’s candidacy, you have to buy into the Trump persona— because, let’s be honest, there’s nothing much else to go on there.

And his appeal is most directly to those who feel they have nothing else to go on themselves—mostly working-class white men who feel somehow that the ever-so-modest increase in rights for women and people of color in America has somehow meant less rights and opportunity for white men such as themselves. These voters would not, very simply, vote for a woman or person of color because that’s who they implicitly blame for their lot in life. Data have shown that, among white voters, higher levels of racial resentment correspond with higher support for Trump."

Sanders Money Machine Takes A Dip

Sanders is biggest spender of 2016 so far -- generating millions for consultants Washington Post

The Sanders campaign raised $25.8 million in April, down 40% from March.

The self-described democratic socialist senator from Vermont had spent nearly $166 million on his campaign thruogh the end of March — more than any other 2016 presidential contender, including rival Hillary Clinton.

More than $91 million went to a small group of admakers and media buyers who produced the steady stream of commercials and placed them on television, radio and online, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission reports. While the bulk of these $$ went to TV stations and websites, three top consultants including Tad Devine have done particularly well, reports the Washington Post.

Because Bernie Sanders has little experience in the financial structures of successful campaigns, he had no cap on consulting revenues in place, as does the Hillary Clinton campaign. The sky is the limit for Bernie's consultants.

Note that Bernie also has FEC issues impacting $10-20 million worth of donations. A significant percentage of these donations is subject to being in excess of $2700 -- both lump sums in excess of $2700 and numerous individual repeating donations that have exceeded the limit. Those lists are public and have been posted by HWN. There is no doubt that money will be returned.

Bernie Sanders Vows Contested Convention, Makes Case for Superdelegate Flips Bloomberg Politics

Bernie insists that he's the man to take on Trump. Ignoring all polling history for a candidate without one negative ad run against him -- I heard not one from Hillary -- Bernie insists the popular vote means nothing. He will persuade the superdelegates.

"The evidence is extremely clear that I would be the stronger candidate to defeat Trump or any other Republican," Sanders said of the Republican front-runner Donald Trump. He cited several polls showing him doing better than Clinton in a hypothetical head-to-head contest against the real estate magnate.

The Bloomberg Politics delegate tracker shows Hillary with 2,156 delegates, including 520 super delegates, while Bernie has 1,357 delegates, 39 of whom are super delegates. A candidate needs 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.

Sanders predicts a strong win in Indiana's Democratic primary on Tuesday. Opinion polls show Clinton holding a lead in there, 50 percent to 44 percent, according to an average compiled by RealClearPolitics.