Lee Camp has presented some very compelling evidence that there has been massive, systemic fraud committed in this year's Democratic primary elections to deliver votes to Hillary Clinton and deny them to Bernie Sanders. By the very same metrics used by the US government itself to gauge the integrity of elections in foreign countries, these primaries have been revealed as exercises in cynical and criminal manipulation designed to create the illusion of voter consensus favoring Clinton, irregardless of voters' actual preference. And naturally the corporate media has done everything in its power to assist in this fraud.

I fervently hope that Sanders can nonetheless score the kind of decisive victories in the upcoming primaries to overhaul Clinton in the pledged delegate count, thus creating a compelling case for superdelegates to go along with his nomination and not subvert the will of the voters. But I'm enough of a realist to understand the likelihood of such a thing happening is somewhere very close to zero. Not that I don't think it's important for Sanders to soldier on and continue vigorously fighting for the nomination until the last primary vote is cast in Washington DC on June 14. The closer he comes to Clinton in pledged delegates, the more legitimacy his cause has in the minds of the general public. And of course it's also true that political miracles sometimes do happen.

But considering the facts on the ground, and the forces arrayed against him, it's not too soon for Sanders to begin thinking seriously about Plan B - what's his best course of action when and if it becomes clear that Clinton's nomination is a foregone conclusion. Certainly he can forget about flipping superdelegates - overwhelmingly a sorry lot of political hacks and lobbyists - should Clinton emerge from the primaries with a clear lead in pledge delegates, which as of now seems far and away the most likely outcome. In recent days Bernie has been talking about influencing the Democratic Party platform, and also about the imperative of preventing Donald Trump from being elected President. I'm sorry to say that if that is Bernie's Plan B, it seems like pretty weak tea to me.

Firstly, party platforms are routinely ignored by unprincipled, opportunistic politicians like Clinton - time and again she has shown a willingness to embrace a policy position when it's politically convenient, only to abandon it when she no longer has to worry about appeasing voters, and can instead concentrate on her real agenda of paying off donors. What makes anyone believe this time would be any different? And as far as the imperative for blocking Trump, perhaps there is an even stronger imperative for breaking the stranglehold the corporate duopoly has on the entire political process. Because, you know, dramatic and irreversible degradation of the natural environment, making the earth uninhabitable for future generations, and stuff like that. I can't help but wonder, has Bernie really thought this through?

There is, in my view, a different and much better and more effective road that Bernie can travel, assuming he has both the foresight and courage to do so. I'm going to present without further comment a posting I found a few days back on Alternet from a gentleman calling himself MinneSooTa, that lays out one possible alternate scenario. Perhaps the optimal strategy would deviate somewhat from what this poster recommends, but personally I find it very hard to argue with the proposition that Sanders and his followers could have a far greater and more beneficial impact on the process if collectively they are willing to chart a bold and independent course, as opposed to allowing themselves to once again be co-opted and folded back into the Corporate Democrat coalition. Been there, done that - it really hasn't worked out too well, and I don't think you need a crystal ball to realize it won't work out any better in the future.

A Call to Arms

(re-published from Alternet)

The Democratic party is corrupt and beyond redemption. It cannot be fixed from within. Nader is exactly right. At the convention they will deny Bernie's policy requests the same way they will deny him the nomination. There is no chance superdelegates switch over. Too much money is on the line in a rigged system they control.

Bernie should use the party just like they used him and then discard it just as they would discard him at the convention. Stay in the race until the DC primary so he can achieve maximum exposure. Then the morning of June 15th he should announce that he is leaving the Democratic party for the Greens.

Going to the convention would be a strategic blunder. The trap has already been set. The opportunity to create a viable third party is now. He can turn the tables on the DNC. Bernie has millions of supporters loyal to him and his policy platform with little to no allegiance to the Democratic party. They will come along.

In the meantime the Sanders campaign should backchannel with the Green Party to make sure they are on every state ballot. He can start a real fifty state campaign for the general election the same day he announces the switch. States not normally in play for Democrats will be fair game given the high negatives of the two other candidates. The announcement will also reinvigorate Sanders supporters and donations will come flooding back in.

At the same time the air will be sucked right out of the Democratic National Convention. With no suspense and controversy and without Bernie's attendance it will be dead on arrival. Sanders can go back on the offensive and will immediately be the favorite to win the presidency.

There really is nothing to lose with this plan. If he stays in the democratic party and goes to the convention it will just be a soul sucking march to defeat. His Kobayashi Maru. She has the nuts and he knows it. All options would be untenable. Integrity lost. Revolution over.

Thankfully this need not come to pass. The viability and legitimacy issues will be moot thanks to the primary campaign. Name recognition... forget about it. Together we will break through the entrenched corruption of the two party duopoly and win the presidency for all of us. There is no other way.