NEWS AND OPINION:
Former White House hopeful and fierce independent Sen. Bernard Sanders has a strategically timed book waiting in the wings. “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In” will be released exactly one week after the presidential election.
It is a big work, weighing in at 464 pages, recounting the Vermont lawmaker’s experiences on the campaign trail, the drama of the primaries, the error of pundits who dismissed him — among other things. “Most important, he showed that the American people were prepared to take on the greed and irresponsibility of corporate America and the 1 percent,” publisher Thomas Dunne says in advance notes.
Only a year ago, Mr. Sanders wrote a previous book titled “Outsider in the White House,” described as “the political biography of the insurgent presidential candidate.”
But the author appears poised for bigger destiny.
“For the millions looking to continue the political revolution, he outlines a progressive economic, environmental, racial, and social justice agenda that will create jobs, raise wages, protect the environment, and provide health care for all and ultimately transform our country and our world for the better. For him, the political revolution has just started. The campaign may be over, but the struggle goes on,” the publisher advises.
HONORING THE OSS: WHY THE HOLDUP?
SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton privately slams Bernie Sanders’ supporters as ‘basement dwellers’
The legislation seemed harmonious and sure-footed. Members of the heroic Office of Strategic Services — the World War II-era predecessor of both the CIA and U.S. special forces — had been nominated to receive the Congressional Gold Medal for their intrepid and productive activities.
The OSS Congressional Gold Medal Act was passed by the Senate and obtained the requisite number of co-sponsors to be passed by the House. Now the legislation has stalled, even as the precious few living OSS members — all in their 90s — wonder if the recognition will come their way. The medal has been awarded to such OSS peers as Native American Code Talkers and the Doolittle Raiders.
“If the bill is not passed by the end of the 114th Congress, it will die and some of the greatest heroes of the ’greatest generation’ will never be honored for their service, which would be a travesty,” says a source familiar with the dynamics.
Military historian Patrick O’Donnell verifies the OSS are the real deal.
“They changed the face of World War II. You’d be very hard pressed to find a smaller group of individuals who made such a profound difference in the history of modern American warfare,” Mr. O’Donnell told The Associated Press, which has done some digging.
“The House Republican Conference enacted a rule that prevents awarding the Gold Medal to groups of people, unless House leadership grants a waiver. A spokeswoman for the House Republican Conference did not return a call and email seeking comment on the rule. McCarthy and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office also declined comment,” writes AP correspondent Matthew Barakat.
Rep. Robert Latta, the Ohio Republican who sponsored the legislation, is working on a rule change that could bring the bill before the House before it’s too late. Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who shepherded the OSS bill along in the Senate, told the AP: “It just shouldn’t be this hard.”
HILLARY’S BUSY SURROGATES
On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will campaign in Toledo and Akron, Ohio. But Mrs. Clinton’s high-profile army of surrogates is also out and about.
Though he has had to coast over certain disquieting aspects of the Clinton campaign — big money connections and elitist connections — Sen. Bernard Sanders will appear three times in the Midwest on Wednesday. He will appear in Des Moines, Iowa, in the morning, and in Madison and Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the afternoon. Three Iowa events planned for Monday, though, were suddenly canceled Sunday night.
Here are the rest, again, just on Monday. Vice President Joe Biden is in Orlando and Sarasota, Florida. Former President Bill Clinton will appear at events in Saginaw and Flint, Michigan. And let’s not forget the far-flung fundraisers. Steven J. Rapp, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, hosts a fundraiser for Mrs. Clinton in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday; former U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues Melanie Verveer hosts her own event in Stockholm, Sweden, on Tuesday — swarming with another 10 events with famous hosts.
NOW THERE’S A THOUGHT
“I don’t think people do trust the Democrats any more. How else does a socialist win 22 states?”
— Filmmaker Michael Moore, reflecting on the Democratic Party and the influence of Sen. Bernard Sanders on the election, to NBC News.
INTENSE VOTER VARIABLES
A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,500 voters find the White House race pretty close after the fits and starts of competing poll numbers following the first presidential debate. Here’s where the candidates stands now: Hillary Clinton has 43 percent, Donald Trump 42 percent. Ever-hopeful Libertarian Gary Johnson has 6 percent, Green Party candidate Jill Stein has 2 percent; a mysterious 2 percent “like some other candidate in the race” and a very important 6 percent are still undecided.
What about those still on the fence?
“Trump has 80 percent of the Republican vote; Clinton has the support of 81 percent of Democrats,” says Rasmussen. “Voters not affiliated with either major political party continue to prefer Trump by a double-digit margin. While 86 percent of both Republicans and Democrats are certain of how they will vote, 23 percent of unaffiliateds are still in play.”
POLL DU JOUR
• 88 percent of registered U.S. voters say crime is a serious problem in the U.S.; 99 percent of voters who support Donald Trump, 82 percent of voters who support Hillary Clinton also agree.
• 70 percent of voters overall say a major terrorist against the U.S. is likely in the next 12 months; 91 percent of Trump voters and 56 percent of Clinton voters also agree.
• 44 percent of voters overall are concerned they, or their loved ones, will be the victim of a major terrorist attack; 55 percent of Trump voters and 38 percent of Clinton voters agree.
Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,295 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 22 to 24.
• Nitpicking, hesitant cheers to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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