In Final Hours, DNC Election Misbehavior Runs Rampant
June 6, 2016

 
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As the final seven contests of this primary season draw to a close, it appears the DNC is pulling out all the stops to ensure Hillary Clinton does not limp into the Democratic National Convention next month by employing any number of questionable (historically Conservative) voter suppression tactics. Tactics once the stock & trade of the GOP have become commonplace tools of the DNC. If they still want to convince me Hillary Clinton is not a Closet Conservative and the DNC isn’t becoming “GOP-Lite”, I dare say they couldn’t do a worse job. Two weeks before the Puerto Rican Primary & Virgin Islands caucus, when everyone was focused on the then upcoming Oregon & Kentucky primaries, I tweeted Senator Sanders that he should bear in mind that “Puerto Rico (worth 60 delegates) is ripe for a Sanders Landslide with their current economic crisis there and having gone 90% for Obama in 2008.” I don’t know if my tweet reached him, but the day of the Kentucky Primary, he wasn’t in The Bluegrass State but in Puerto Rico giving a speech about their Debt Crisis. Election night pundits even questioned why Sanders was worried about a race that was still two weeks away when Kentucky & Oregon were voting that very same day. It was a brilliant move. No one (else) was even thinking about the island territory worth more delegates than Kentucky (55) in which an eminently possible huge win could conceivably provide a net pickup of some 20 even 30 delegates for the Senator, dramatically lightening the burden on California the following Tuesday.

I’ve noted repeatedly on Facebook that “Puerto Rico is an Open Primary, is furious with Wall Street for bankrupting their economy, and that in 2008, went 90% for Barack Obama [over Clinton]”. Their former governor endorsed Sanders just prior to the New York State primary, and the Mayor of San Juan switched her support from Hillary to Sanders as well. Sanders opposes (and Clinton supported) the PR bailout bill being debated in Washington that seeks to impose Conservative austerity upon the Territory with no say in the matter. But the moment that plan proved unpopular, Clinton flip-flopped in her support declaring that she was now opposed to it as well (which was easy for her to do having previously declared she had “serious concerns” with the plan before she announced she supported it.) Hillary has a history of doing this… expressing disapproval for something unpopular before she supports it, so that later, when the people complain, she can point back and say, “Here! See where I suggested this might be a bad idea? Just before I okayed it?”
 

Hillary wants it both ways

 

How are you supposed to know where a person stands when they issue a “disclaimer” before every decision? Then, rather than stand by that decision, says, “I had reservations from the beginning. Oops!” It’s called “trying to have your cake & eat it too.” It’s also called “It’s easier to get forgiveness than permission.” I call it “having no core principles.” She already did this with her Iraq vote. “Your kid died in an unnecessary war? Forgive me.” TPP: “Your job moved to Vietnam because of a free-trade agreement I wasn’t sure about but approved anyway? Sorry!” The Commander-in-Chief doesn’t get do-overs. Some decisions you just can’t take back.

So, back to Puerto Rico. Sanders starts campaigning down there early, receives a standing ovation for his criticism of Congress and their proposed austerity measures, and was picking up endorsements.

This can not stand.

The DNC, unwilling to take any chances, starts shutting down polling places in Puerto Rico just days after Sanders unexpectedly wins the West Virginia Primary. In 2008, the island had just over 2,300 polling locations. Three weeks ago, they had only 1,500, but as election day drew to a close, the DNC shut down over 1,100 of them till only 432 remained. Worse still, some voters had to vote for president at one location and for their local officials at another [ibid]! The fact polls there close at just 3pm certainly didn’t help matters any (“Not enough time to stand in line at TWO locations before the polls close? Too bad.”) And how much do you want to bet the majority of those closed polling stations were in “Bernie-friendly” districts?

But would it be enough?

Denying Sanders a landslide in Puerto Rico still doesn’t guarantee Hillary won’t arrive at the DNC Convention limping across the finish line, possibly suffering a string of late race loses and potentially more bad news stories dogging her campaign as she loses ground against Trump in the polls while Sanders supporters are energized, motivated & mobilized?

No, we need to throw a few kinks in the hose.

How about we print up millions of different ballots for the state of California depending upon your (lack of) Party affiliation, upon half of which Bernie Sanders’ name doesn’t even appear? And if you try “writing his name in”, your ballot is instantly disqualified and tossed in the trash. If you are registered in California as “NPP” (No Party Preference), this may very well be you. If so, take your ballot back and demand a new one with Sanders’ name on it.

We all saw the misbehavior in Nevada… and I’m not talking about the understandably outraged Bernie supporters. When I watched the video of the Chairwoman holding a platform vote 30 minutes early, hold a voice-vote with no clear winner, declare a winner anyway, then defiantly (and with obvious disdain) gavel the convention to a close and childishly march off stage as conventioneers scream in protest, it’s impossible not to think of Congress cheating on a voice vote and the outrage that sparks… not just on the floor of Congress, but nationwide (BOTH sides are guilty of this.) I’ve heard Clinton supporters give arguments like, “Hey, it was just two delegates!” Might as well tell me not to complain over a “tiny” stab-wound either. It’s “Death-by-a-thousand-cuts.”

Hillary was on CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday, and promised: “After Tuesday, I will begin reaching out [to Sanders supporters]”. I’ve been pointing out for a long time that no one from the Clinton campaign (nor her followers) have made ANY attempt to make Sanders supporters feel welcome, and this quote proves I was right. Nor have I heard anyone provide a substantive argument for supporting Clinton’s policies over Sanders, or assure Sanders supporters their concerns will be addressed. “Math” & “inevitability” are poor arguments for convincing someone to abandon their principles and vote for someone they don’t trust. And I don’t have a lot of respect for anyone who would WANT the support of anyone who would so sell out their values so easily. But then again, look who we’re talking about? As I pointed out above, I’m not entirely sure what Hillary Clinton’s core values are to begin with because there is no principle she hasn’t sold out for political expediency (IMHO).

What infuriates me most is how no one is calling the DNC out for their obvious anti-Democratic chicanery and acts of voter suppression. Voter purges, long lines, not having enough ballots on hand, to even closing literally thousands polling stations. A victor that doesn’t care how they win as long as they win, and there’s no incentive to change a broken system that allowed them to win.

Instead, I must listen to Clinton’s supporters defend these abuses of power in the name of “Democratic purity” (aka: “Sanders isn’t a REAL Democrat. How DARE he try to change OUR Party!”)

A Party this sick needs changing… like a three-week old diaper.
 


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June 6, 2016 · Admin Mugsy · No Comments - Add
Posted in: Election, Partisanship, Politics, Rants, Scandals, voting

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