Hillary Clinton Has Clinched Democratic Nomination, Survey Reports New York Times

Hillary Clinton became the first woman to capture the presidential nomination of one of the country’s major political parties on Monday night, according to an Associated Press survey of Democratic superdelegates, securing enough of them to overcome a bruising challenge from Senator Bernie Sanders and turn to a brutal five-month campaign against Donald J. Trump.

Almost eight years after she ended her campaign against Barack Obama before a crowd of teary women and girls, Mrs. Clinton signaled the news to a jubilant crowd at a campaign stop in Long Beach, Calif.

“I got to tell you, according to the news, we are on the brink of a historic, historic, unprecedented moment, but we still have work to do, don’t we?” she said. “We have six elections tomorrow, and we’re going to fight hard for every single vote, especially right here in California.”

13 superdelegates added their support to voters in Puerto Rico who gave Hillary Clinton a major win yesterday.

Susan Collins Says She's Not Yet Ready to Back Donald Trump TIME

Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins talked to TIME about her reluctance to endorse Trump and her longtime friendship with likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton -- who knew! Collins doesn't rule out a cabinet position in either -- however unlikely she thinks those prospects may be.

Given Hillary's co-hosting of Susan Collins' bridal shower in 2012, it might be more likely that Collins would lean in with her. Collins says 'no' to voting for Hillary, however much she is concerned about Trump. If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

Hillary Clinton Will Be Nominated Because More Democrats are Voting for Her FiveThirtyEight

Nate Silver does his usual walk through of the key reasons why Hillary is WINNING the Democratic nomination and is now officially the Democratic presumptive nominee.

Besides distorting the truth about when the superdelegates offerred support -- saying that 400 were committed to Hillary when he launched his campaign -- the Sanders campaign is promoting another untruth that campaign manager Weaver said yesterday. The Sanders surrogates -- and not the media -- say he has been winning the popular vote for several months now.

Now he SURE didn't win it in Washington state, where the real popular vote result totally upset the caucus results. That Hillary sweep didn't count. Nate Silver says no deal on the Sanders campaign claim:

"Nor, after a strong run of contests for Sanders in late March and early April, is there much sign of forward momentum for Sanders. Over the past seven weeks, from the New York primary on April 19 through Puerto Rico on Sunday, Clinton has won 505 pledged delegates as compared with 428 for Sanders. Her current lead in our national polling average, 14.4 percentage points, is the widest it has been since mid-February."

Clinton: I expect Sanders to call for unity after Tuesday Politico

"Bernie Sanders should end his campaign and begin convincing supporters to line up behind Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Clinton said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Clinton said that in 2008, some supporters urged her to battle Barack Obama to the convention but noted that she decided to cede to Obama rather than fight because they shared similar policy goals and values. When this year’s primary season largely ends Tuesday, she said, “I expect Senator Sanders to do the same.”

That would enable the party, she added, “to go to the convention in a unified way.”

In a separate interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Clinton added, “I think given where we are in this race, that I will have not only more than a three million vote margin, but I will have a significant majority of pledged delegates by the close of voting on Tuesday.”

How Should America Resist a Fascist? Slate

As always, Jamelle Boule makes so much sense, even though he is criticized by the anti-Trump -- basically pro-Bernie -- supporters who want to take it to the streets.

"Trump doesn’t just promise conservative policy—he isn’t a typical Republican presidential nominee whose views may offend liberals but don’t pose a threat to basic American institutions. His contempt for political norms, his attraction to violence, his bid to be Strongman of the United States of America all constitute a deadly threat to American democracy and an existential threat to Americans in Trump’s crosshairs. If we are living in an extraordinary moment, is it time for extraordinary action?

A group of anti-Trump protesters moved beyond peaceful protests after the candidate's event on Thursday in San Jose, California. A clear and visible minority of protesters began attacking attendees at the rally -- many of them separated from access to the parking garage. A woman was pelted with eggs and water bottles while others were punched and assaulted.

People like Jamelle Boule were criticized for their passivity. “Let’s be clear: It’s never a shame to storm the barricades set up around a fascist,” wrote Emmett Rensin, a now-suspended editor at Vox. He continued: “If Trump comes to your town, start a riot.”

“Journalists with big platforms called Trump a literal fascist on the rise for months. How did you expect people to react to that?” wrote Freddie DeBoer, a left-wing, recent doctorate writer who writes at Jacobin and has a large Twitter following. He continued, “It’s very simple. If this is the beginning of American fascism, real organized political violence is called for. If it’s not, it’s not.”

Reality is that Thursday night's Trump supporters were practising their civil rights in a democracy. As Boule argues, "they weren't members of an armed Trump militia, or shock troops of a reactionary force, or a band of vigilantes." They were engaged in peaceful assembly at a political rally, now making their way to the parking garage.

To attack someone because of their political beliefs is to embrace the logic of authoritarianism. To cite intentions and not actions as justification for violence is to embrace the logic of even worse beliefs and actors. We have to get them before we get us isn’t “direct action”; it’s mobocracy. And it runs counter to the liberal democratic ideal—the thing we’re defending in the first place.

Again, this isn’t a question of protest. Protest is a vital part of democratic life. It isn’t a question of resistance; everyone is entitled to stand against attack. This is a question of aggression. Donald Trump is an authoritarian, but the United States in 2016 isn’t Weimar Germany. Our democracy has deep roots and our institutions are sturdy, if aging. We don’t have private paramilitaries in the streets or an established order with a blind eye to reactionary violence."

Trump Wants To Be A 'Dictator' Clinton Suggests Politico

“We are trying to elect a president, not a dictator,” Hillary said of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump at a California campaign rally in advance of Tuesday's Super duper finish to the Democratic campaign. (Yes, DC votes on the 14th. Why?)

Politico writes that at each campaign stop, Hillary began speaking but was drowned out in applause before finishing her first sentence. It seems that Madame President has found her voice.

“I don’t understand Donald Trump running a whole campaign based on nothing but denigrating immigrants,” she said, pointing out that Trump, whose mother was Scottish and whose wife is Slovenian, has family that came over to the United States from abroad. “Is this nothing but a political stunt?"

Clinton turns Trump attacks up to 11 Politico

Not only has Hillary found her voice, in launching what promises to be an epic thunderstorm on Donald Trump's campaign, but the press has suddently been jolted out of their day-in, day-out Hillary Clinton marrative.

It's like "holy sh*t, there's a new Hillary in town.

"Hillary Clinton has known presidents, the Democratic front-runner told a crowd of supporters at a California rally Friday afternoon. She’s married to one, was secretary of state for another and has worked with Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and both Bushes.

And that, she said, is why she’s so devoted to taking down Donald Trump.

"Hillary Clinton has known presidents, the Democratic front-runner told a crowd of supporters at a California rally Friday afternoon. She’s married to one, was secretary of state for another and has worked with Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and both Bushes.