DNC – Top GOP Targets – Today – Cruz hauls in 51 Million – Tops Charts – Sanders Advancing – Pragmatic Progressive

The Hill Blog provided a list of the top targets for the DNC based on negative mentions – topping the chart consistently is Kentucky Senator, Rand Paul, who is perceived as the greatest threat with 203 mentions– he is followed by Christie and Bush – others fall through the cracks – with a few more exceptions at the top: Walker, Cruz who has 95. (The Hill)

Cruz may not be staying at 95 mentions for long – his campaign announced he has amassed a 51 Million dollar war chest between individual donations and PAC’s. Clinton the front runner has raised for than $45 million.(yahoo news).

Clinton, no longer the front-runner in the minds of progressives, has a bigger problem in one Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont – the Wall Street Journal reports Sanders is outpacing both Clinton and the lesser known Martin O’Malley (WSJ) Perhaps it’s what may be coined as pragmatic progressive think – Sanders who tells it like it is – notes that he is a socialist (which is rare for a politician to attach a label that might alienate 50% of the voters – but he is who he is, which is appealing to many. Pragmatic – in a manner of speaking – Bloomberg’s article notes that Sanders would let groups against gay marriage stay tax exempt”, allowing for the Constitution (in some respects) to stand – as they are entitled to their opinion.(Bloomberg). One might suggest the various churches, mosques and synagogues around the nation breathed a sigh of relief. If they are paying attention.

Bernie, from this p.o.v. stands the best chance at this point of grabbing the nomination on the DNC side of the aisle for the same reason certain members of the GOP 20 something would do the same - – It’s who votes in primaries, given that on the Dem side, it’s progressives in droves, and on the GOP side, dedicated mixture of conservatives – one can narrow that bunch down to a handful – Cruz, Paul, Perry or Walker from this take. Of course it’s early, and fortunes rise and fall. This maybe the most interesting race in a lifetime, given the sudden change and additional candidates on the Democrat side, and the double digit number of candidates on the Republican side – a true exchange of ideas for the public.