It's the corruption, stupid

You can relax.
The Democratic primaries were not rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton.
Every single candidate for DNC Chair testified to their fairness.

In a recent forum of the seven Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair candidates, all of them, including Sen. Bernie Sanders backed candidate Rep. Keith Ellison, refused to acknowledge the Democratic primaries were rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton. “There was so little dissent among the seven participants that at one point, when asked whether they thought the DNC tipped the scale for a candidate [Hillary Clinton] in the 2016 primary—a criticism lodged frequently and vociferously by Sanders’ supporters—none of the participants raised their hands,” reported Real Clear Politics.

Boy, that's a relief.
I was worried for a moment.

A lot of people, such as Elizabeth Warren, have used the term "rigged" in recent days.
But "rigged" is just an example of a much more powerful word: Corruption.

Saikat Chakrabarti, who was director of organizing strategy for the Sanders campaign and now runs a group aiming to change the Democratic Party, said he wasn't surprised to hear the admission from Brazile.
"We all knew that the primary was rigged," Chakrabarti said on behalf of Justice Democrats, a group he founded. "But the corruption that plagues the Democratic Party is bigger than one primary—it's become a rot set at the very root of a party [that] claims to be for working people."
Chakrabarti added that the Democratic Party is currently "devoid of message, devoid of money, and devoid of a winning strategy."
"The people want a party that works for the people and wins," he said. "We are sick and tired of wasting money on helping a party that wastes it through incompetence and corrupt negligence."
Justice Democrats says it has seen an uptick in donations—$2,500 an hour—since Brazile's admission broke on Thursday morning. The group currently has a slate of candidates running for office in 2018, many of them challenging Democratic incumbents.

It's mind-boggling to think that the Democratic Party could be more corrupt than the already extremely corrupt Republican Party, but that appears to be the case.
Just look at the response by establishment Democrats.

During a segment on CNN, Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, shot down Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen’s claim that the party and its members needed to stop “re-litigating” and move on from Clinton and Sanders’s tussle for power.

The Democrats are blowing it.
The Brazile book opens a window of opportunity to take the Democrat's greatest weakness head-on. The Clinton's corrupt, neoliberal stranglehold on the Democratic Party has finally been weakened.
However, corruption never willingly concedes power.

Anyone that voted for Trump will recall four things that he said:
The stupid border wall that already exists (and was mostly built under President Clinton).
His opposition to free trade agreements (while Obama was pushing the unpopular TPP).
"Corrupt Hillary" (Now we can add rigging the primary to Clinton Foundation corruption)
And "Draining the swamp"

Trump never intended to drain the swamp, but he was the only politician talking about taking on government corruption, and that resonated with the people.
It didn't take a genius to figure this out. Just someone who could read poll numbers.

As in previous years, corruption of government officials was top by a significant margin in 2017 with 74.5 percent of U.S. adults saying it makes them either "afraid" or "very afraid".

US_Fears.jpg
It was the same last year.
Corruption.PNG
And the year before that.
2015.PNG
And the year before that.
corruption1.png
Gosh. You don't suppose the public is trying to tell us something, do you?

The Democrats could address this problem now in the strongest terms, something the public wants.
Or they can continue to pretend it doesn't exist, and get their asses kicked again.
Which do you think will happen?

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lotlizard's picture

@gjohnsit  
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=leave+britney+alone&t=ffsb&iax=videos&ia=videos

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gulfgal98's picture

and perhaps I am wrong in my assumptions. Here goes: (1) The Clinton campaign laundered money through the DCN, ostensibly to support down ticket races. (2) However, most of that money was never returned to the states for down ticket races and was instead given to the Clinton campaign, thus allowing donors to exceed federal limits on donation.

My questions are thus: (1) Is this not something more than just against internal DNC rules? (2) Is this not something that is against the law and should be prosecuted as such?

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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
That's an honest question. I really don't know.

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@gulfgal98

Obtaining money under false pretenses?

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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.

gulfgal98's picture

@Ellen North that limit the amount a single donor can give to an individual candidate in the primaries to $2,700. Donors can give much more to state parties to be used in down ticket races. What the Clinton campaign was doing in 32 states where they had sharing agreements was having those large donations funneled to the DNC which in turn funneled them to Brooklyn, home of the Clinton campaign headquarters. Most of that money stayed in Brooklyn which meant it went into Hillary's campaign chest. Some miniscule percentage went back to the states for down ticket races.

The contract for this arrangement was executed in August 2015, long before Hillary formally declared. What this scheme does is launder the money so that Hillary benefited from large individual donations exceeding $2,700 per donor during the primary. IMHO, this is in violation of federal campaign finance laws.

Apparently Jamarl Thomas thinks so too as he describes in his video below.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=bUHJIe8qtbk]

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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

Dammit, I repeatedly posted on this at the time and can't even recall the woman's name who was running? the FEC? and spoke about this, but The Federal Election Commission was unable to act on both Bush and Hillary Clinton breaking campaign finance law due to Republicans invariably blocking the equal number of Dems voting in all such cases during the nominations. Can't even recall if I packed my brain during that last move... in any event, as you know better than I, the fix has been in for so long as to have become a fixture.

If only America had ever fully adopted democracy, then nobody would be above the law...

This must have been the same person, although I lack the energy to keep searching for an article which may have been 'disappeared' or re-written, in a case when you'll no doubt remember this far more clearly than I, as well as knowing far more about the situation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/us/politics/fec-elections-ann-ravel-c...

Democratic Member to Quit Election Commission, Setting Up Political Fight

By ERIC LICHTBLAUFEB. 19, 2017

WASHINGTON — A Democrat on the Federal Election Commission is quitting her term early because of the gridlock that has gripped the panel, offering President Trump an unexpected chance to shape political spending rules.

The commissioner, Ann M. Ravel, said during an interview that she would send Mr. Trump her letter of resignation this week. She pointed to a series of deadlocked votes between the panel’s three Democrats and three Republicans that she said left her little hope the group would ever be able to rein in campaign finance abuses.

“The ability of the commission to perform its role has deteriorated significantly,” said Ms. Ravel, who has sparred bitterly with the Republican election commissioners during her three years on the panel. She added, “I think I can be more effective on the outside.”

Her departure will probably set off an intense political fight over how a new commissioner should be picked. By tradition, Senate Democrats would be allowed to select the replacement, but, by law, the choice belongs to the president, and Mr. Trump has shown little interest in Washington customs.

The outcome could have a major impact on a commission long derided for inaction, even as record amounts of money have poured into campaigns. Spending during last year’s presidential and congressional races exceeded $6.9 billion, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, as “super PACs” and other outside groups spent freely as a result of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision. ...

...Mr. Trump can pick a nominee himself so long as he does not choose a registered Republican, said Richard L. Hasen, an election law scholar at the University of California, Irvine. The panel, which already has three Republicans, cannot have more than three members from any political party. Mr. Hasen said he would not be surprised if Mr. Trump made the pick himself, especially because his White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, was an election commissioner himself and has pushed fiercely for deregulating campaign finance.

“It would be transformative,” Mr. Hasen said, if the president nominated someone more aligned with the panel’s Republican members to push for even further deregulation.

Mr. Trump has promised to “drain the swamp” of special interest money in Washington, but his record so far has been mixed. While he claimed repeatedly during the campaign that he was “self-funding” his run, Mr. Trump and organizations supporting him took in nearly $600 million, and he put in far less than the $100 million of his own money that he had pledged.

... Her claims that Republican commissioners have been unwilling to rein in obvious violations and abuses have drawn wide attention — as well as angry rebukes from those Republicans, who have accused her of grandstanding and of exaggerating the problem. The publicity even earned Ms. Ravel an appearance on “The Daily Show,” where her interviewer suggested the commission had become as irrelevant as male nipples.

Ms. Ravel said she would return to California, where she had served as a state regulator in identifying millions of dollars in “dark money” that flooded California elections.

She considered leaving the commission last year, she said, but decided to stay through the election after President Barack Obama had asked her to do so. ...

...Ms. Ravel plans to release an analysis her office has prepared on what she says is the worsening gridlock at the commission. The title sums up her feelings: “Dysfunction and Deadlock: The Enforcement Crisis at the Federal Election Commission Reveals the Unlikelihood of Draining the Swamp.” ...

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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.

ggersh's picture

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Meteor Man's picture

and notorious Hillarycrat corporate lobbyist sees no evidence of corruption at the DNC. I am shocked!

Nope. No gambling going on at Rick's Cafe or at any casinos in Vegas. Everybody loves Hillary! Bill never inhaled or had sex with Monica. Nope. No way.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Amanda Matthews's picture

Intelligence Quotient, old Howie would be a flat liner.

He’s devoid of one and the other has dropped like a rock.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

EdMass's picture

Back in the day. Then it all fell apart.

As DNC Head there was the 50 State Strategerie.

It worked.

Now just another shill in a bubble.

Etc.etc.

Crap.

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

EdMass's picture

Back in the day. Then it all fell apart.

There was the 50 State Strategerie.

It worked.

Now just a shill.

Etc.etc.

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

EdMass's picture

@EdMass

Can't "Cancel" Can't delete.

Oh well.

Enjoy!

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

stuff.

I was single in 2003 & sent to see him in May in Seattle cuz of ... single stuff ... & didn't expect much & WOW! Oh well, it was fun.

He's reverted to his Ivy'd, sell out, top-of-the-upper-cla$$-sewage-tank-scum crowd. yawn. good riddance to bad trash.

rmm.

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But then I sigh; and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil:
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ;

SparkyGump's picture

I think, that when someone lies to me, they think I'm gullible and I find it insulting. Howard Dean has distilled down to his lying core. His words mean nothing to me anymore.

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The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.

lotlizard's picture

@SparkyGump  
But people are lost in the political Sahara and slowly dying of thirst. Can you blame them (us) for having been drawn to a mirage in hopes of finding water?

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with lots of money, but you can't buy ethics with money. Wealth and political power normally go hand in hand -- but ethics and political power only rarely do.

Running for public office costs a lot of money. I don't see any way around that fact, do you? HRC for example, has spent her entire career chasing around after money, as if it were the Holy Grail. Most politicians do that. If you ain't got the do-re-mi boys, you ain't got much.

If there were a way to accumulate power without money, I'd be all for it. But how could that ever be? Money is power... is it not? In almost any contest between money and ethics, money will usually prevail.

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native