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Democracy

Biggest Super Tuesday takeaway: Do not mess with Jill Biden or Symone Sanders

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In the midst of all the exit polling and ballot counting during the Super Tuesday primary race, an unlikely set of heroes (or sheroes, if you will) has emerged.

As Joe Biden delivered his victory speech at a rally in Los Angeles, two vegan protesters stormed the stage, one right after the other. Holding signs and shouting "Let dairy die!" they got frighteningly close to the former vice president, who at this point in the race does not have a Secret Service detail.

Security immediately took the first protester away. But as the second one jumped up on stage, Biden's wife Jill, who was standing by his side, leapt into action. Before anyone even knew what was happening, she'd physically blocked the second protester from her husband.

Photojournalist Patrick Fallon managed to capture her badass bodyguard move:

— (@)

As if that wasn't impressive enough, as the photo was being taken, Symone Sanders, senior advisor to Joe Biden, sprung up out of nowhere to tackle the protester and drag her off stage. In the video, she looks like a lineman just after the ball was snapped—no hesitation, no fear, just pure, instinctual "NOPE, NOT TONIGHT, LADY," as she hurdled up to the stage.

— (@)

No matter who your preferred candidate or what your political affiliation is, you've got to hand it to these women for their immediate fearlessness. They didn't know if those protesters was armed. They didn't know if they themselves would be harmed, and it didn't even appear to cross their minds. They didn't wait for security (which was where, by the way?) to act. They saw danger and pounced. This is what heroes do.

— (@)

And neither has made a big deal out of it. Dr. Biden hasn't mentioned the incident on social media at all. And Sanders simply shared what might be the most perfect tweet for a civilian woman springing up to do the job of a Secret Service agent. So understated. So fierce.

— (@)

If we're going to continue the trend of choosing old white dudes as presidential candidate, we should at least make sure they're surrounded by strong, courageous women. Well done, ladies.

Watch the whole scene here, including Dr. Biden going back to clapping for her husband like nothing even happened:

— (@)

From Your Site Articles

Today is Super Tuesday. Again.

Millions of people in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio will have the opportunity today to vote in their presidential primaries. Hundreds of delegates are at stake and, after the polls close, we'll have an even clearer vision of who might be in the running to lead this country for the next four years.

As weird as this particular election season has been, there's one question about our democratic process that consistently comes up every election:

Why the hell do we vote on Tuesdays?

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

The vast majority of states hold their primaries and caucuses on Tuesdays, and Election Day itself is always on a Tuesday in November.

It's strange because Tuesday is, you know ... Tuesday. It's a work day. It's also kind of the worst one. Tuesday is like Monday, but you don't even get to blame your grumpiness, lethargy, and under eye circles on "The Mondays."

Unsurprisingly, the origin of our Tuesday voting tradition is more embarrassingly outdated than an iPhone 4.

You see, back in 1845 (before California was a state and the Civil War was barely a twinkle in Daniel Day-Lewis' eye), farmers needed a day to travel to their local statehouse by horse and buggy.

Plus a day to vote, hang out, and drink some of that old-timey XXX whiskey, and a day to travel back. They didn't want to interfere with days of worship, and Wednesday was market day, so they settled on Tuesday.

"Election Day is on a Tuesday! Plus, everything costs a penny, and butter is always homemade. I love the 1800s!" Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

Nowadays, voting on Tuesday is way more of an inconvenience than anything.

Tuesday is rough for me, and my biggest responsibility is usually restocking on cereal.

It's a substantially bigger problem for people with families, kids that have to go from school to soccer practice, jobs that lock you in all day, and just enough time to put dinner on the table before falling asleep to "The Voice."

Tuesday voting is more than just a weird historical anomaly. It actively makes voting harder for millions of people.

And let's face it, voter turnout in this country is already pretty bad. In fact, according to some estimates, we're behind 30 other countries in terms of voter participation.

Many countries, including Belgium, Turkey, and Australia, even have laws that make voting required and failing to participate is punishable with a fine.

That's because participating in democracy is not only important, it's essential to how the whole thing works.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

There are plenty of actions and decisions that have made voting harder. Maybe it's time for one that makes it easier.

A lot of people have called for Election Day to become a national holiday, including current presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who said it "would indicate a national commitment to create a vibrant democracy."

It would give more people a chance to vote and make the democratic process way more accessible.

We don't need to go as far as a fine if you fail to cast your ballot, but if we can make a national holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus, we can make a national holiday celebrating democracy. Next to fried food and Bill Withers, it's one of the best things about America.

Plus we'd get to sleep in on a Tuesday. And that's the real prize isn't it?

When tycoon and self-proclaimed "good-looking guy" Donald Trump threw his hairpiece in the race for the White House, so many people never thought we'd reach this point.

"Sticking with my prediction," conservative analyst Bill Kristol tweeted in December 2015. "Trump will win no caucuses or primaries, and will run behind Ron Paul 2012 in IA and NH."

"Trump is generating a lot controversy, but he is not taken seriously as a potential president," a New Hampshire Republican insider told Politico in August. "I have heard from many people who say 'I love him! Love what he’s saying!' But when I ask if they would really vote for him, they say, 'hell no.'"

Yet ... we've watched together in shock as Donald Trump has said the most inexplicable things and continued his unfathomable rise to GOP frontrunner. Now, with his landslide victory on Super Tuesday, we've all been riding the same emotional roller coaster.

Deep down, you probably recognize this pattern of feelings. You don't like it, but you know it all too well.

It's called the five stages of grief:

Photo via iStock.

Don't worry. It's normal to have these feelings.

The saving grace? You're definitely not alone.

And despite how it may seem after Super Tuesday, there's actually a serious, honest-to-goodness light at the end of the tunnel! For real!

Let's do this:

1. First, we were in denial.

Photo by Mark Walheiser/Getty Images.

When Donald Trump descended the gold escalator in a gold building adorned with his own name to declare his candidacy, we thought it was all a big joke.

It had to be a joke, right?

(This has to be a joke.)

Donald Trump couldn't really be running for president.

Donald Trump isn't really leading in the polls. No way. It's just a mirage.

He'll be gone in a month, we told ourselves.

Once they (whoever they are) figure out what a terrible businessman he actually is, he'll go away. After all, we're talking about the guy who sold his brand of steaks (steaks!) exclusively through a retailer best known for free massage chairs at the mall. The guy who could have been worth $10 billion more if he'd just taken the money he inherited and invested it in basic index funds instead of plowing it into failed real estate deal after failed real estate deal. The guy who is, according to some reports, exaggerating his own net worth by a full 100% — in part by valuing his own name at $3 billion.

Once they hear all the horrible things he's said about women, he'll disappear. Like the time he suggested Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever" after the first Republican debate. Or when he said his favorite part of the movie "Pulp Fiction" was when a male character told his girlfriend to shut up.

Once they hear all the horrible things he's said about minorities, we told ourselves, there's no way anyone would vote for him. This is a guy who tweeted a graphic that claimed 81% of white homicide victims were killed by black perpetrators — a totally baseless, pants-on-fire lie.

Once they hear about his fraudulent university — currently being investigated by the state of New York for scamming students — he'll slink away in disgrace.

Everyone within 50 miles of Manhattan knows what a joke this guy is, we told ourselves at night. The rest of the country will wise up soon enough once they get to know him.

We comforted ourselves with the knowledge that Nate Silver didn't think he had a chance, and that Nate Silver almost always get it right.

There is no way anyone could actually vote for Donald Trump in real life. No way in hell. The American people are rational and smart, we repeated to ourselves like a mantra. They won't be fooled. They'll get it.

We went back to sleep.

2. Then, we got angry.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

Donald Trump won New Hampshire, and we were pissed. Royally pissed.

"Donald Trump won New Hampshire?" we asked incredulously. "Like, won won?"

(What the hell?)

Moderate, libertarian New Hampshire just voted for a racist who wants to ban Muslims from entering the United States — as if the First Amendment is just a suggestion? For a con man who wants to build a wall along the border and promises — without a shred of evidence or logic — that Mexico will pay for it? For a preening narcissist who talks relentlessly about how nice his own hands are? (His own hands!)

How could anyone believe this obvious BS? How could anyone vote for him? It's infuriating! Why isn't everybody pissed off about this? We wanted — no, needed — to know.

"Wait, did Uncle Jim vote for him? He did, didn't he? Uncle Jim voted for Donald Trump?! Screw him forever," we said indignantly. "His invitation to the wedding just got lost in the mail!"

Donald Trump isn't qualified to run a Wendy's, we told each other. And yet, despite how many people lost money in his ill-conceived, often sketchy real estate ventures, despite launching a mortgage company in 2006 — just two years before the housing bubble burst — despite four of his businesses filing for bankruptcy, thousands of people actually believe he's a good businessman? Why? Because he fired Meat Loaf and Lil Jon on "Celebrity Apprentice"?

How could America be so blind?

That's it — if he wins again, we're moving to Canada.

3. Next, we started bargaining.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

This was when we realized: Donald Trump wasn't funny anymore.

There had to be a way to stop him.

There ... has to be. Right?

Sure, Trump won South Carolina by 10 points. So what if he won Nevada by even more? That's just three states. Three out of 50. This thing isn't over yet. Can't somebody stop him?

Take him out, conservative billionaires! Ad blitz him into the ground, RNC! Destroy him, John Oliver!

Please? Anyone? We're not actually about to put Donald freaking Trump — former "Miss USA" pageant owner — in charge of our country, right? Right?!

We started to feel pretty desperate. "Just tell us what we need to do!" we said to ourselves. "If we're Republicans, we'll donate to whoever can beat him. If we're Democrats, we'll change our registration! We'll vote for John Kasich. We'll vote for Ted Cruz. We'll vote for a guinea pig!"

Make the cage full of wood chips great again. Photo by Jean/Flickr.

Just let it be a dream, we hoped.

Just make it go away.

4. Then, depression set in.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

"Oh God," we thought.

This is happening, isn't it? It's really happening. Look at his numbers. Look how many states Trump just won on Super Tuesday. It's undeniable now.

"Donald Trump is probably going to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States," we realized, as a giant, gaping pit of despair opened up in our stomachs. "There is now a 50-50 chance that Donald Trump is going to be the most powerful person in the most powerful nation on Earth."

Donald Trump. The man who called Mexicans who come to the U.S. "rapists." The man who refused to denounce the KKK when he had a chance. The KKK!

It is possible — likely, even — that a guy who was too incompetent and racist to successfully manage a beauty pageantcould be in charge of hundreds of nuclear weapons less than a year from now.

Who can even stop him?

Hillary can't beat him, we worried. Too many people hate Hillary.

Bernie can't beat him either, we panicked. Sure, Bernie's numbers might look good now, but if he wins, it's going to be: "Socialist socialist raise taxes Stalin communist raise taxes USSR atheist socialist," 24/7.

It's over. It's all over.

Nothing left to do but go back to bed. Forever.

5. And lastly, we had to accept reality.

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images.

Now, with the dust settling on yet another massive Trump victory on Super Tuesday, only one question remains: Could we be OK with a Trump candidacy? Like, actually OK?

Yeah. Sure. Why not. It's not the end of the world, right?

Donald Trump might be president for the next four years? Fine. We can handle it. We can accept a lot of things. We can accept disappointment. We can accept the inevitability of our own deaths. We can accept Iggy Azalea—

But ... no. You know what?

No.

We don't have to accept this.

Not in a million years.

That's right. Backing this train up. Back to anger. Before anger. Before denial.

Back to hope. Pure, blind, possibly naive hope. If there's one thing Americans do better than anyone else, it's hope, dammit.

Donald Trump is not America. Lots of people may seem to support him — for now, at least. But he's not you. He's not me. He's not even Uncle Jim, no matter what Uncle Jim thinks.

He can't be.

You know why?

America is still a country that doesn't discriminate against anyone because of religion.

Photo by Mandel Ngan/Getty Images.

America is still a country that allows everyone to marry the person they love.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

America is still a country that believes in the words on the Statue of Liberty — a country that welcomes immigrants and refugees with open arms.

Photo by Jewel Samad/Getty Images.

America is a country that doesn't have to be made great again. Because it already is great.

Photo by Toru Yamanaka/Getty Images.

It's true. Today, Donald Trump is one step closer to the Oval Office than he was yesterday. There's no denying that.

Photo by Mark Walheiser/Getty Images.

But from now until November, the rational majority of us — Republican, Democrat, Independent — can work our asses off to make sure he never, ever, ever gets there.

Let's go.

Ladies and gentlemen of the electorate, Super Tuesday is upon us.

And no, that's not the day that "Batman v Superman" comes out, nor is it the day when your workplace cafeteria serves soup. (That's Soup-er Tuesday. Try the minestrone.)

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Super Tuesday is the day when 13 states (as well as the territory of American Samoa and Democrats living abroad) hold either primaries or caucuses.

In honor of America's super-est of electoral weekdays, here are five things you might not know about Super Tuesday:

1. Super Tuesday is usually when one candidate pulls ahead — big time.

The fact is, Super Tuesday is such a massive lurch forward in the election process that whoever comes out on top is likely to be their party's nominee.

A nomination for the general election presidential race comes down to delegates (party representatives who are chosen to do the actual nominating at a convention). On Super Tuesday, roughly 20% of those representatives are up for grabs.

Obama accepting the nomination for president at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.

The Democratic candidates are competing for 865 delegates, which is about 18% of the total they have available.

The GOP is competing for fewer, with only 595 delegates at stake. But those 595 delegates make up 24% of the total GOP delegates, making today a pretty huge deal for whoever comes out on top.

Heading into Super Tuesday today, Hillary Clinton and Donald Drumpf are leading in most of the states, so we'll either see an incredibly anticlimactic confirmation of polling data or a pretty major upset. Either way, the winner today will probably be on a one-way train to general-election land.

That being said...

2. Super Tuesday is not (always) a winner-take-all scenario.

At least not in some states. In Alaska, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Virginia, delegates are awarded proportionately to the actual votes a candidate receives.

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas have a winner-take-most policy, where the winner of the primary or caucus receives the majority of delegates — and, effectively, the support of that state.

Volunteer Rudy Anderson at Hillary Clinton's headquarters in Dallas. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

All that nuance, however, doesn't stop Super Tuesday from being a proper competitive bloodbath. Several candidates are backed into make-or-break situations.

Ted Cruz, for example, is making a last stand in his home state of Texas that would make Gandalf proud:

"You shall NOT win Texas's 155 Republican delegates thereby all but invalidating me in this RAAAACEEEEE." — Ted Cruz the Grey, to the Balrog of Texas. GIF via "Lord of the Rings."

Many commentators have predicted that Cruz failing to win the state he represents would be too big a loss for his campaign to recover from.

As we've seen in all the early primaries, winning isn't just about the delegate math. The ever-growing number of undecided voters look at these primary events to inform them about where the race is going. Early wins often lead to later wins.

But speaking of delegates...

3. Super Tuesday has nothing to do with superdelegates.

Superdelegates are Democratic delegates whose hands aren't forced by the results of a primary or caucus. They can support whichever Democratic candidate they want, and they can even switch their decision right before the Democratic National Convention in July.

Only the Democrats have superdelegates, and if you're thinking there's not enough of them to make a big difference in the outcome, think again.

There are 712 total Democratic superdelegates, which is about 15% of the total Democratic delegates available. Even though there are about 40 undecided superdelegates in Super Tuesday states, their decisions won't necessarily be affected by the results of Super Tuesday.

Hillary Clinton has secured the vast majority of unmovable superdelegates already. Photo by Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images.

The Clinton vs. Sanders superdelegate split is not exactly down the middle. A whopping 451 superdelegates have said they will support Hillary Clinton, with Bernie Sanders boasting a mere 19. So even if Sanders wins every primary and caucus from now on, there will still be 451 delegates for Clinton (although they can change their minds up until late July).

We've already seen that little bit of weirdness in practice too. Despite Sanders' landslide victory in the New Hampshire primary, Hillary Clinton actually won more delegates in that state.

4. Super Tuesday was created to help nominate more moderate candidates.

The idea behind Super Tuesday when it became a thing in 1988 was to create a big primary day to counteract the momentum that candidates would get after early state primaries, a phenomenon known as "Iowa syndrome."

Early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina tended to produce non-Southern, progressive Democratic candidates with a lot of momentum. Those candidates would then go to primaries in the South and not do so well.

The plan was to group a bunch of Southern states together on an early day so moderate Southern Democrats would have more of a chance and the whole election process would be a little more national.

It didn't work at first — the first Super Tuesday saw Al Gore and Jesse Jackson going on to split the Southern states in their race.

Al Gore in 1988. Probably still mostly thinking about whales. Photo by Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty Images.

Of course, we have two of the least moderate candidates imaginable in a race that seems to be a contest to see who can yell "anti-establishment" the loudest.

That being said, on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders had lots of momentum from the primaries earlier this year, especially in Northern states like New Hampshire, but with Clinton's recent huge win in South Carolina and her lead over Sanders in today’s 13 states, we might just get the moderate Democratic nomination that Super Tuesday's founding fathers dreamed of.

5. In a lot of states, you can vote on Super Tuesday even if you're not a party member.

In many cases, states hold "open" primaries and caucuses, meaning that even those who are not officially registered with a party can participate and vote. If that's you, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO GO GO!

(Seriously. I can wait. Find out if your state has an open primary here.)

With 39% of Americans not affiliated with a political party, Super Tuesday is a good opportunity for them to make their voices heard. It's easy to think of the 2016 election as something that's happening on the news or far away from you, but if you're in one of the Super Tuesday states, then the news is happening in your backyard. And you get to go — you get to decide.

If she can make it out, so can you. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

The stakes are high on Super Tuesday, as they are for the rest of the election.

Whether your main voting issue is health care, foreign policy, student debt, religious freedom, gun control, or, frankly, anything else, we have a roster of potential candidates with an incredibly wide array of views.

Not only are you voting for a candidate to participate in the general election, but you're voting for a candidate who might help fill a key Supreme Court vacancy, who might repeal (or not) a significant health care law, who might save a crumbling American infrastructure and take on a million other things that still need to get done.

This election isn't just happening on TV. It's happening for real, and it's happening right now. So whatever you do, make sure you vote.

super tuesday

Biggest Super Tuesday takeaway: Do not mess with Jill Biden or Symone Sanders

In 1845, voting on Tuesday made perfect sense. Now? Not so much.

Today is Super Tuesday. Again.

Why the hell do we vote on Tuesdays?

Unsurprisingly, the origin of our Tuesday voting tradition is more embarrassingly outdated than an iPhone 4.

Nowadays, voting on Tuesday is way more of an inconvenience than anything.

Tuesday voting is more than just a weird historical anomaly. It actively makes voting harder for millions of people.

There are plenty of actions and decisions that have made voting harder. Maybe it's time for one that makes it easier.

Donald Trump won big on Super Tuesday. There's a reason what you're feeling is familiar.

When tycoon and self-proclaimed "good-looking guy" Donald Trump threw his hairpiece in the race for the White House, so many people never thought we'd reach this point.

1. First, we were in denial.

2. Then, we got angry.

3. Next, we started bargaining.

4. Then, depression set in.

5. And lastly, we had to accept reality.

We don't have to accept this.

It's true. Today, Donald Trump is one step closer to the Oval Office than he was yesterday. There's no denying that.

5 weird things you need to know about how Super Tuesday works.

Ladies and gentlemen of the electorate, Super Tuesday is upon us.

In honor of America's super-est of electoral weekdays, here are five things you might not know about Super Tuesday:

1. Super Tuesday is usually when one candidate pulls ahead — big time.

2. Super Tuesday is not (always) a winner-take-all scenario.

3. Super Tuesday has nothing to do with superdelegates.

4. Super Tuesday was created to help nominate more moderate candidates.

5. In a lot of states, you can vote on Super Tuesday even if you're not a party member.

The stakes are high on Super Tuesday, as they are for the rest of the election.

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