Like many Bernie supporters who witnessed the DNC-rigging of the 2016 Democratic primaries, it’s hard to be hopeful about a fair process in 2020.
For those who weren’t paying close attention then, here’s a quick run-down of the anti-Sanders establishment manipulation in 2016. Sanders had secured electoral victories in 18 state primaries. And yet, superdelegates across the board awarded a majority, if not all, of their delegate votes to Hillary Clinton, even in states where Bernie Sanders won by a landslide! In other words, superdelegates acted as spoilers, nullifying and defying the electoral results from their own states.
The DNC, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and the corporate media – who consistently featured superdelegate tallies alongside earned delegates – successfully secured the nomination for Hillary Clinton, who then turned around and lost to Donald Trump in the general election.
After the dust settled from this disaster, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the DNC on behalf of millions of Sanders supporters who financially backed his campaign, and who expected the DNC to administer a fair, impartial and democratic process. Plaintiffs accused the DNC of rigging the primaries: of violating of their own charter in regards to ensuring neutrality.
The corruption was rampant: The Hillary Clinton Victory Fund paid the DNC $3.3 million, effectively merging the two entities. The DNC Chair, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager in 2008. The DNC colluded with the corporate media to smear the Sanders campaign all throughout the primaries. And yet, the class-action lawsuit was dismissed after several months of litigation.
This last November, multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg “donated” a combined $800,000 to the DNC and 44 states, when he announced his bid for president. Since then, he has poured $400 million into broadcast, radio and cable ads, $42 million into Facebook ads, and $36 million on Google ads for his campaign. He’s spent about half-a-billion dollars in three months, and it’s just the beginning of his campaign.
In this same time period, he has risen from four percent to 20 percent in the polls, even though he hasn’t been on the ballot or even participating in the debates, until February of this year. It’s incredible to witness the sheer power he has in manipulating public opinion simply by dropping millions of dollars on an election.
Most people still have a hard time comprehending the scale of Bloomberg’s wealth. His net worth of $62.8 billion is more than 20 times the net worth of President Trump. It dwarfs the net worth of all the other Democratic presidential candidates combined, including Tom Steyer, whose $1.6 billion is a pittance compared to Bloomberg’s wealth.
Many progressives are hoping that Bloomberg’s lengthy and atrocious policy record will trump the power of his money for most voters.
Excerpted from: 'Class War, the DNC, and the Fight for Our Lives'.
Commondreams.org