Yesterday I expressed my disapproval of a particularly nasty e-mail in which DNC CFO Brad Marshall discussed questioning Bernie Sanders’ religious faith as a way to score political points.

This is largely to update some of the news that has happened since then.

Yesterday, Brad Marshall took a good first step by apologizing on his Facebook page:

"I deeply regret that my insensitive, emotional emails would cause embarrassment to the DNC, the chairwoman, and all of the staffers who worked hard to make the primary a fair and open process," Marshall said. "The comments expressed do not reflect my beliefs nor do they reflect the beliefs of the DNC and its employees. I apologize to those I offended."
I say it’s a good first step because while I appreciate that Marshall at least takes some responsibility and apologizes for what he did, I still believe that Mr. Marshall should face real consequences for his actions. This isn’t just about violating the neutrality of the primary process, it’s about attacking a fellow Democrat on the grounds of religious faith. That’s not acceptable in the Democratic Party or the progressive movement.

Sadly, it seems the Clinton campaign is continuing its historical pattern of of refusing to take any responsibility, admit any wrongdoing or offer any apology. The campaign did not say it was unacceptable for DNC officials to tip scales during primary battles nor call for those responsible to be disciplined in anyway. Instead, the Clinton camp basically yelled squirrel...er bear:

Saturday, the campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton released a statement that said: "We are very proud of the campaign that we ran. Hillary Clinton has said a number of times publicly that Sen. Sanders ran an extraordinary, hard-fought-campaign based on a real vigorous, and contested primary."

"This is further evidence the Russian government is trying to influence the outcome of the election," the Clinton campaign statement said.

We ran a great campaign. Sanders ran a great campaign. Russia is trying to steal our elections!

Wait...what?

No, the real story here is that the DNC, which has bylaws calling for it to remain completely neutral in primary elections, had top officials who were using their work emails to discuss ways to prop up one presidential candidate and tear down another. To claim that this is just about Russia trying to influence our elections is to basically claim the problem here is not what happened but that we unfortunately found out.

This does nothing to help bring in Sanders supporters. It does nothing to speak to the millions of independents and moderate Republicans who detest Trump about Hillary Clinton’s credibility or trustworthiness which is clearly her biggest negative. Instead it reinforces, for both groups, the perception that the Clinton modus operandi is to deny responsibility, never apologize and avoid any accountability for any involved. It is an unforced political error and we have absolutely got to stop making them.

Thoughts?