From the official transcripts of the DNC lawsuit
http://jampac.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/042517cw2.pdf
I read through it all and thought I’d post some of the more interesting parts.
The DNC lawyers (hereafter referred to simply as The DNC.) try to argue that the court has no right to judge how they enforce internal rules.
THE COURT:
You’re talking about the DNC’s charter
now.
MR. SPIVA:
Yes, their bylaws, which is where this
purported obligation arises to remain neutral as between the
candidates.
THE COURT:
Article V, Section 4.
The DNC says their duty to conduct a free and fair election is a “purported obligation”.
The plaintiffs lawyers (hereafter referred to as The American People) shoot that argument down completely:
in Madigan vs. Illinois, a 2006
opinion from the Supreme Court, the Court held:
“Consistent with our precedent and the First
Amendment, states may maintain fraud actions when
fundraisers make false or misleading representations
designed to deceive donors about how their donations
are used.”
Furthermore:
This is not a case about enforcing political promises.
They want you to think that, I believe, because they want to
paint this case in a line of cases that have been filed
throughout the years where candidates may make political
promises, and then disappointed voters bring lawsuits to
enforce those promises or seek damages in one form or another.
But that’s not what this case is about. We’re not talking
about campaign rhetoric. We’re not talking about a campaign
platform of any kind.
What we’re talking about here is the very core of what
our democracy runs on, the very basis for our democracy, which
is the conduct of free and fair elections. That’s the basis,
that’s the bedrock on which the claims of this case take off,
because the election — the elections — as American history
has developed, the conduct of those elections, for better or
worse, has come under the domain of the two major political
parties in this country.
And then The American People address the real reason the Democrats want you to get all riled up about Russian intervention and take your eyes off of the Real Ball:
I just think the context of when this complaint was
drafted is important. We drafted this complaint and filed it
in June of 2016, which was before the DNC primary — or the DNC
convention occurred in July. And, at the time, the evidence
that we had access to consisted of this set of documents thatyour Honor referenced in your prefatory remarks that were
released by a figure named Guccifer 2.0.
And the core document that was released by that
individual on that website purports to be an internal DNC
memorandum, which outlines a strategy for advancing Hillary
Clinton to the nomination of the Democratic Party before the
primaries had even really gotten off the ground. And this was
at a time — you know, Bernie Sanders I believe had announced
for about a month before this particular memo came out. But we
think that’s clear evidence of what the DNC’s intent was
throughout the primary process. It was to leverage their
connections with the media in order to advance Hillary
Clinton’s candidacy at the expense of everybody else.These additional leaks have shown that DNC officials
participated in creating and disseminating media narratives to
undermine Bernie Sanders and advance Hillary Clinton.
It shows former DNC Chair Donna Brazile giving debatequestions in advance to Hillary Clinton during the primaries.
It shows the DNC at one point changing its donor
policies specifically to favor Hillary Clinton.
It shows the scheduling of debates to favor Hillary
Clinton over Bernie Sanders.
It shows, in general, the DNC pouring its considerable
resources and relationships into propelling Hillary Clinton to
the nomination.
And then the judge makes The DNC look like unprepared idiots:
THE COURT:
Does the DNC help to fund the state
primaries?
MR. SPIVA:
Uhm, you mean literally, the mechanics of
the primaries, your Honor, the actual holding of the election,
the primary election?
THE COURT:
Does the DNC, with the money that it
raises, use some of that money to help fund the states put on
their individual state primaries?
MR. SPIVA:
I don’t believe so, your Honor. No.
THE COURT:
But you don’t know.
And then The DNC alleges it has the inherent right to fix elections:
The party could have favored a candidate. Even if it were true, that’s the business
of the party, and it’s not justiciable.
THE COURT:
All right. Thank you, Counsel.
MR. SPIVA:
Thank you. And I’m happy to answer —
THE COURT:
Oh, no, I’ve got more questions.
And then the judge hands it over to The American People to slam dunk The DNC:
THE COURT:
What does the plaintiff say on the
operational aspect of the DNC?
MR. BECK:
Well, your Honor, I’m shocked to hear that
we can’t define what it means to be evenhanded and impartial.
If that were the case, we couldn’t have courts. I mean, that’s
what courts do every day, is decide disputes in an evenhanded
and impartial manner.I think that’s why the Democratic National Committee has it in
its charter, because if you don’t have the organization that is
responsible for organizing in this very large sense the
nominating process for president, which entails multiple
elections in every state of the union, if you’re not evenhanded
and impartial, then you don’t have a democratic process. I
think it’s that simple.
And then we get into the whole gist of what is a democracy and what constitutes fraud.
THE COURT:
Let me ask counsel. If a person is fraudulently
induced to donate to a charitable organization, does he have
standing to sue the person who induced the donation?
The DNC tries to weasel out of giving a direct answer to the question and instead addresses other hypothetical situations other than what the judge asked. The judge then allows The American People their reaction to The DNC’s response and this is what they had to say:
THE COURT:
First, your response to their answers.
MR. BECK:
Yes. And I’ll take the last part first,
which was the question your Honor had posed, is there — and
I’m paraphrasing it, but is there a material difference between
a campaign promise, such as “read my lips, no new taxes,” and
representations that are made in the DNC’s own charter?
And, quite frankly, if what defendant — or what the
DNC has just said is true — and I really hope it’s not true,
but if what he said is true, then I think it’s a really sad day
for democracy in this country. Because what essentially the
DNC has now stated in a court of law is that it believes that
there is no enforceable obligation to run the primary elections
of this country’s democracy in a fair and impartial manner.
And if that’s the case — and I think counsel just said it himself — then really, you know, the sky’s the limit
in terms of what the DNC and any party, for that matter, can
do.
After a few hours of wrangling over jurisdictional issues and so on, I found this to be quite interesting:
(The American People)
it just doesn’t make sense to me why
somebody would participate in a political process by paying
money into the process, when they knew that that process was
rigged from the start, which is what we’re alleging.
To which The DNC replies:
I think actually the opposite conclusion is more
logical and certainly apparent, that you would to try to beat
the system, if you viewed it as rigged.
The DNC tried to say that there can’t be a class action because:
we would still have the right, your Honor, to challenge each
class member’s standing. Did they rely on statements of the
DNC? Did they even know about them? Would they have not given
if they had known? Same with the Sanders subclass. Same with
the third subclass.
To which The American People replied:
MR. BECK:
Again, I think that — I think,
fundamentally, people give money to candidates and can — and
political parties, because they believe that we have a fair
democratic process. And I think that that’s a baseline
assumption whenever a donation is made.I think that there’s a fundamental understanding in
this country that’s taught from a very early age, certainly I
remember it, that we live in a democracy. And I think a
fundamental part of what a democracy means is that elections
are not conducted in this biased and predetermined way. And I
think that everybody who seeks to participate in the political
process, especially when they’re going to the trouble of
cutting a check to a candidate that they support or a party
that they support, they believe that those candidates and
entities are taking place in a process that is fair and impartial,because they believe in a process that’s democratic.
So, I don’t think someone necessarily needs to read
the articles we’ve cited or the charter to be in the class of
people that have been defrauded or deceived or unjustly treated
in terms of the unjust enrichment claim by the DNC’s conduct.
And in their closing statements, The American People stated:
If it’s the case that an entity, the DNC, its
chairperson can rig an election, and there’s no remedy at law
for people who’ve made financial contributions on the basis of
what they’ve omitted to tell the public, well, I submit that
that’s a really dire road for this country to be on.
Then the judge closed the proceedings with this statement:
This is a
very interesting case, to say the least. And counsel for the
plaintiffs spoke about whether or not our society — these are
the Court’s words, not his words, he did not use the word
“society” — but whether society is in a dire situation. And
so I leave the lawyers with this. Democracy demands the truth
so people can make intelligent decisions.
Comments
I think your analysis is spot on!
For years, on the Thom Hartmann show, Bernie said he would only run if there was no one else. And there wasn't! Unfortunately, there still isn't.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
@The Voice In the Wilderness Well, it's mainly
Well, it's mainly Henry Wallace's analysis, but thanks!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
It seems that the American People aren't going with his back up
plan of jousting at the DNC windmill again.
We've seen exactly how it works out, and so has he. However, it's kinda his groove of being the permanent "loyal opposition" and he's comfortable with it. It's the way Bernie gets things done. When the rubber meets the road, Bernie's a true believer in the system and the way it works, because it almost always works for him. (This recent stuff is new, but he's retreating into the comfortable and familiar now.)
Much as I'd like to think he's the Philip II to the needed Alexander...
He's more of a Don Quixote. Trying to stick with the system of the past that has become hopelessly corrupted. A heroic, tragic figure, who honestly believes himself to be the paragon of goodness.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
@detroitmechworks I hope this is
I hope this is true...I would have hoped that they would reject both Hillary's "resistance" and Bernie's "revolution," but since the anti-Trump marches in December, I've been less than sure of that.
Can you give me specifics as to why you think the people are refusing to be Bernie's Rocinante?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Nothing in the Media I can point to.
Just the vibe on my social media. Most of what I see from those I associate with (And I have many right leaning acquaintances as well as liberal due to shared hobbies)is that enthusiasm for Bernie has dropped considerably. Jill Stein as well has taken a HUGE hit after her stealth shilling for her Heinousness.
Lots of people talking about local issues, sustainability, mass transit, unions, etc. All across the political spectrum, once you filter out the bullshit promoted crap by the MSM. (And as a Gen Xer I got good at understanding traditional media spin. Social media, still getting a handle on.)
Essentially, we're seeing that the traditional ways of getting things done aren't working, so talking about more guerilla style politics. (I freely admit to trying to popularize that term myself. After all, the people are the sea in which the guerilla swims....
)
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
@detroitmechworks That is
That is exactly where I want to go. That's good news...maybe there's a point in making an effort!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@detroitmechworks It's childish
It's childish, but I can't help but see King Kong swimming in the Pacific...the sea in which the gorilla swims, LOL
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@detroitmechworks Which is odd
Which is odd because I've always hated the King Kong story. It's either racist AND sexist, or else depressing as hell, depending on who you think the bad guy is.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Enthusiasm for Bernie has dropped considerably.
It's interesting: I've seen the opposite on social media, among -- of all people -- those who vocally vilified him, and those of us who supported him, during the primaries.
Which actually proves a larger point.
Yup, pretty much.
Hillary die-hards LOVE them some Bernie now.
Can't stop talking about how much we're disrespecting him by not listening to him and voting for her heinousness.
Of course, most of those folks are wealthy... or at least famous and connected to the media. So you know, Big block of salt.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
@WaterLily That he's
That he's now acceptable to Democratic voters who don't want to abandon the party and are comforted by Bernie's continued acceptance of it?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
All he has to do
is get back in it.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
The drop in enthusiasm
for Bernie is Bernie's fault. Had he grabed the reigns in January - or February even - he would still be flying high, the sky for Democrats still the limit.
Instead...
I believe that enthusiams would pick up some if Bernie went back to being Bernie circa 2016. But, we'll never know. For whatever reason - some offer he couldn't refuse? - Bernie has chosen to walk away.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Bernie simply trying to
move that damned overton window Leftward. He ain't any more complicated than that.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Some lady in Iowa
called all those No votes Yes votes and, just like that, history was changed. Had she done the right thing - Ha! - Bernie likely is president, that overton window moved a ton. Instead, he constantly gets shit on for trivial bullshit.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
@Wink But I think
But I think that's of great consequence.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I'm not sure
careless is the right word for a lot of politicians actions, or many people in general for that matter. Imo it is the lack of a logical thinking process on any given subject or skill other than the one they are involved in and many are not even good at that. I guess my point is that when you have the ability to see the big picture on many different things (and from reading your posts you and many others here at C99 have this ability ) we assume others do to but Imo from life experience it simply isn't so.
@pro left Oh. Oh, shit.
Oh. Oh, shit.
They are supposed to be smarter than me.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Except all those thousands
showing up at his events. That just might give an idea that, yes, I have a shot at this. Unknown or not.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
@Wink There weren't
There weren't thousands at the beginning. It took time.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
This is an excellent analysis
I do believe that Bernie first ran to get his ideas out there. I did not see exactly that way at the time, but in retrospect, I believe you pegged this right.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Pass interference! Automatic first down for Bernie—in 2020?! n/t
Good One. I'd nail her for illegal procedure while we're at it.
The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.
@Big Al Discrediting them
Discrediting them (further), and getting the money back, would be worthwhile.
I don't believe any longterm redemption of the Dems is imagined as possible by the people who are bringing the suit, though of course, I could be wrong about that.
If someone lies from you and steals from you, it's understandable that you might want to object in a court of law, even in the crappy excuse for a society we've got.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I , lover of intemperence, would say the DNC wants kleptocracy
If people know that the system is rigged they might try to beat the system, but they would certainly fail - or they might accept the rigging and try to benefit from the rigging by supporting - bribing - the predetermined winner. This is what the DNC is attempting to institutionalize, a third world style state, where the only effective strategy is to bribe those in power, or those who plan to be in power.
On to Biden since 1973
This!
Over that last two decades, we have been watching the normalization of what was once unthinkable in the minds of most citizens. This is just one part of that normalization process. It is also a symptom of an empire in steep decline.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
@gulfgal98
Conditioning or, as Hillary terms it, incrementalism. The frog stays put and boils.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
@doh1304 Well said.
Well said.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
They have already
institutionalized it.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Yup, kinda like saying
taking money from Lobbyists, BAD; taking money from Private Individuals, GOOD. And of course, private individuals never have nefarious means, only those Corps do. Individuals are "liberals" who are inherently good and ONLY want the best for all of us. Great spin attempt by the plutocrats once again.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Thanks for the update. The DNC must be crushed. I am a class
member and just maybe I'll get some of my money back. It's fraud, pure and simple.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
Silly You! You want to pick your leaders? LMFAO
I remember reading in the 70's how the Soviet Politburo had a higher turnover rate that the US Congress. This is business as usual for these fascist pigs. Hopefully, this case can start crumbling that Neocon wall.
The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.
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