Ali G Loves Romans... And Brunch; Caitlin Jenner Really Hates Hillary; And Marcy Kaptur Endorses Bernie

No matter how horrid a monster, Ted Cruz acknowledges all his fanatic racist and bigoted endorsers. He's always "proud" to be endorsed by someone advocating stoning gay people to death or firebombing women's health clinics. But Caitlin Jenner was a step too far. When the reality show celebrity endorsed him he ignored the vote of confidence. And when she offered to be his "trans ambassador," he refused to comment. Undaunted, she's been pretty vicious towards Hillary Clinton, even using her Kardashian spin-off show-- one of the most universally panned TV shows in the history of the medium-- to slap down Hillary. She said she's supporting a Republican candidate because none of the Republicans say "I hate trans people or I hate gays and "I want a driving economy so every trans person has a job... [I]f we’re unfortunate enough get Hillary as our next president, we need her on our side. Although she won’t be. She couldn’t care less about women. She cares about herself." In the video above Jenner explains why she prefers Herr Trumpf over Hillary.

This afternoon a rumor swept the left blogosphere that Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur had endorsed Bernie 4 days before Tuesday's Ohio primary. At first I thought it was just something that started bout a month ago when she said she was staying neutral but made it clear that she's voting for Bernie.

The longest-serving woman in the US House, Kaptur, a Democrat officially neutral in the race, called Sanders “the only voice we’ve had the last three decades, of all these presidential candidates, who is actually talking about the economic issues that are actually affecting American families.”

Kaptur, a longtime ally of organized labor and outspoken opponent of President Clinton’s free-trade policies, stopped just shy of endorsing Sanders, but praised him for his ideological consistency.

“He hasn’t changed anything, and people are hearing the message now. Unvarnished, now, for the first time in my career,” she told the Globe in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “First time in my career that I’ve heard a candidate give voice to what we’ve been struggling for and against in this Congress for the last quarter century.”

She contrasted that with Clinton, saying, “I must say that when Secretary Clinton was secretary of state, I don’t recall her ever attempting to balance [free-trade agreements] or change them in any way.”

...A Toldeo Democrat and member of the House Progressive Caucus, Kaptur said her comments Wednesday were her most discursive yet about Sanders’s candidacy, and came in response to a question about the day’s back-and-forth between Sanders and Clinton over progressive credentials.

Much of the sizzle in the Democratic primary has focused on Sanders’s ability to corral the energy in the party’s left-wing base, assailing Wall Street and pushing populist rhetoric. In Wednesday night’s town hall, Clinton pushed back, arguing that she and Sanders share the same goals. But she also stumbled over questions about her six-figure payments for speeches to investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Said Kaptur, “Senator Sanders has always been there. He has never been a ‘Johnny-Come-Lately’ and he has never changed positions.”

Kaptur said Clinton had belatedly come to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, noting, “Senator Sanders was there from the very beginning.”

“The issue that has been the most cutting for the American people has been their economic welfare,” Kaptur said. “Over the last quarter century, they have been dealt such heavy blows. I have always regarded Senator Sanders as one of the most pristine voices on their behalf, whether it was auto workers in Ohio or farm workers from New Mexico.”

Comparing Sanders to former President Harry Truman, Kaptur said, “In many ways, his struggle in this campaign is very noble, because he is up against the most powerful forces, economic forces, that have caused so much harm … They’ll try to diminish him. I admire the fact that he’s running, that he is an agent of change in our society, and he doesn’t have the billionaire class lined up behind him. He’s a senator from Vermont.”

However, late in the day, I found a story by Tom Troy in the Toledo Blade that confirmed Kaptur had indeed ditched the neutrality and formally endorsed Bernie when she introduced him at a rally at the SeaGate Convention Centre in Toledo. Until today, she was the only member of the Ohio Democratic Congressional delegation to not endorse Hillary. Now she's the sixth sitting Member of Congress to have endorsed Bernie, following Raul Grijalva (AZ), Keith Ellison (MN), Alan Grayson (FL), Tulsi Gabbard (HI) and Peter Welch (VT).

Miss Kaptur thanked the crowd for "coming to build a stronger a better America. We love you and we desperately love this country and want it to be a country for all, not just the privileged few."

"I come here to introduce the next president of the United States," she said.