Thread: Clinton, Sanders in talks to host joint event: reports

July 06, 2016, 06:49 pm
Clinton, Sanders in talks to host joint event: reports



The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns are in talks to host a joint event as early as next Tuesday in New Hampshire in which an endorsement would be on the table, according to multiple reports.

NBC News' Andrea Mitchell reported Wednesday afternoon that the endorsement could come if there were "no more hitches" between the two sides.

Neither the Sanders campaign nor the Clinton campaign immediately returned a request for comment.

Sanders has refused to endorse Clinton despite her hold on the nomination but has begun to signal a softening over the past few weeks. He said last month that he'd "in all likelihood" vote for Clinton and acknowledged on multiple occasions that she'd be the party's nominee despite the continuation of his campaign as the convention approaches.

The news comes after a testy day on Capitol Hill where House Democrats peppered Sanders with questions about his commitment to the Democratic Party, a party he first joined during the primary. Multiple people at the meeting told The Hill that lawmakers groaned when he said that his goal was "not to win elections" but to overhaul the political process.

But Wednesday also brought a major sign of warming between the two camps when Clinton laid out a debt-free college tuition proposal — a key issue Sanders has pushed during the primary but that Clinton had swatted away.

While the proposal wouldn't go as far as Sanders's plan, he said in a statement that he wanted to "take this opportunity to applaud Secretary Clinton for the very bold initiative she has just brought forth."

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...-event-reports

July 06, 2016, 11:14 am

Sanders faces tough questions from House Democrats




House Democrats grilled Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about his party loyalty and his timeline for endorsing presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during a meeting Wednesday morning.

Sanders refused to offer a timeline for when he’ll endorse Clinton, despite questions from lawmakers — most of whom backed the former secretary of State early in the primary race.While Sanders began the session with remarks resembling a typical stump speech, the session at times turned tense as lawmakers questioned his commitment to the Democratic Party, given that he has always identified as an independent.

Politico reported that Democrats booed when Sanders said his goal is to “transform America” instead of win elections.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), however, disputed the Politico report. "Expressions of disagreement are NOT booing," he tweeted

Sanders was also asked about whether he’d be willing to reform caucuses in the same way he’s been pushing to overhaul the superdelegate system in future Democratic presidential primaries. Sanders has called for more open primaries, but hasn’t taken a similar position on caucuses, in which he frequently performed better during the contest against Clinton.

“There were some candid conversations. He was asked about his commitment to the party, he was asked about, you want to go after superdelegates, what about caucuses?” said Connolly. “He acknowledged that caucuses can be a problem. But he also talked about firehouse caucuses, which can maybe bridge that gap.”

“He took a little bit of heat and did it with grace,” Connolly said.

However, Democrats viewed Sanders’s coordination on Wednesday with Clinton’s campaign in support of his debt-free college tuition plan as a good first step toward party unity ahead of the party's national convention in Philadelphia later this month.

“I think Sen. Sanders has brought a lot of energy to this campaign and Sen. Sanders has earned a way forward to bring his supporters together. And I think that’s the timeline he’s working on,” said Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who chairs the House Democrats’ campaign arm.

“Today is evidence that Sen. Sanders and Secretary Clinton are working together,” Luján said.

--This report was updated at 1:01 p.m.

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-actio...ouse-democrats