Can Early AFT Endorsement of Clinton Save Her From Sanders and Benghazi?
On Saturday, July 11, 2015, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president.
This news is no surprise, and the AFT’s “long, deliberative process” is pretty much window dressing. It was going to be Hillary.
The July 11, 2015, AFT press release implies that AFT is supporting Clinton for president, but its own FAQ on the issue states that the endorsement is for the Democratic primary and that the vote to endorse Clinton for president has yet to occur:
Q: Is the endorsement only for the Democratic nomination? What about the general election?A: Yes, the endorsement is for the Democratic nomination. The endorsement for the general election will be made by the delegates to the AFT convention, which will be held in July 2016 in Minneapolis.
So, the support is for the Democratic nomination, but Republicans were invited to vie for AFT support….
That AFT would endorse any Republican for president is unthinkable. AFT President Randi Weingarten “is an active member of the Democratic National Committee.” So, for AFT to state in its FAQ in the Hillary endorsement that it did not consider endorsing a Republican because “no Republican candidate responded to our invitation” is pure political nonsense.
In its announcement, the AFT also included the results of a member survey conducted over the phone between June 22 and 27, 2015. Based on 683 responses, AFT declares the following:
Overall, 60% of AFT members either self-identify as Democrats or self-identify as independent and say they will vote in the Democratic primaries. Following are some of the most important results among these AFT Democratic primary voters.§ Hillary Clinton enjoys overwhelming support as AFT members’ first choice to be the Democratic presidential nominee. Fully two-thirds (67%) of Democratic primary voters pick Clinton, giving her a commanding 48-point lead over Bernie Sanders (19%) while O’Malley, Webb, and Chafee allCan Early AFT Endorsement of Clinton Save Her From Sanders and Benghazi? | deutsch29:
