Interesting article on Al Jazerra

A few outtakes.

American democracy is rigged Hamid Dabashi
Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.

This entirely undemocratic, arcane, draconian, and ipso facto rigged aspect of the US electoral system came to a crucial dead-end during the New York primaries of the Democratic and Republican parties on April 19, when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump won their respective primaries

Now, consider the fact that according to reports, "only 19.7 percent of eligible New Yorkers cast a ballot, the second-lowest voter turnout among primary states after Louisiana, according to elections expert Michael McDonald".

It is not, therefore, accidental that much to the chagrin of Sanders and his massive supporters among independents, "Clinton has won every state so far that's held a closed primary".

And my personal favorite.

These two parties, Republican and Democratic, are today functioning like two identical but competing Orwellian Ministries of Truth - systematically, consistently, unabashedly disallowing any critical thinking or nonviolent democratic action to enter and disrupt the always-already rigged election.

They have steamrollered the process by the sheer weight of cash and influence whereby nobody else can compete. Yes, an extremely rich person can run for President, but they cant as yet afford the party apparatchiks down the ballot.

In another article to day the key quote

Throughout the US primary season we have seen plenty of examples of the American news media not only reporting political developments in the race for the White House but playing a central role in them - especially when it comes to the number of hours given over to Republican candidate, Donald Trump, or the tone of inevitability when it comes to the coverage of Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.

The media and the elite work hand in glove since the latter owns the former, from the first article

So crucial was this victory for Clinton that soon after this primary, the New York Times - which now openly, unabashedly, and against any norm of journalistic decency or professionalism acts as the official organ of Clinton's campaign - was so confident of her victory that it began to speculate about who her running mate might be

The Two Parties have become fundamentally corrupt, exclusion has become their byword to electoral success, either by exclusion or gerrymandering. I remember "Democrats" whining over Republican gains and the subsequent gerrymandering, only because they could not do the same. [Same goes for purely political appointments to SCOTUS]

The Clinton campaigns internet trolling is not to garner more votes but to suppress them., it's aim is not convince but to disgust. Voter suppression at its most insidious. When you profess to embrace democracy but your actions are contradictory to everything you say, then you are lying. The only objective is to maintain the already gamed system.

If Bernie decides to support this system by giving his backing to Hillary, then there is absolutely no point in talking about a revolution; it's called a rendition. Without campaign finance reform the system remains intact and this is why it is denigrated by the Party faithful on both sides of the aisle [as well as their tacit approval of Citizens United] is endangering any thought of a return to the Democratic process.

I am glad that many more people are waking up to the reality and quite frankly I don't care from which side of the aisle they are its about the principle of a fully functioning Democracy or an Oligarchy where two parties have but one face.