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Thursday, February 11, 2016

What happens when you're declared too liberal and run for president? You just might win.

I see in the news that Dianne Feinstein and her allies in Congress have big plans for Bernie Sanders. They're planning in the coming weeks to highlight evidence to show that Bernie Sanders is too liberal to win the White House. That's like saying, "I'm a progressive, but hey, I'm not *that* progressive." It turns out that Clinton has "an extensive network of contacts" in Congress that will help to show the American people that Sanders is just too much for us. I guess they're really worried that Republicans might call him a "socialist" should he win the nomination. Right. Like that ever worked.

The power of the Clinton campaign showed up after Clinton suffered a withering loss in the New Hampshire primary. After losing 60% to 38%, Clinton will come away with the same number of delegates as Sanders. Why? Because the superdelegates came to her rescue, vowing to ensure that she gets her turn to be president. Sounds pretty democratic, huh?

Who exactly are the superdelegates? They're high ranking members of the Democratic Party. Congressmen, state legislators, and high ranking party officials. After getting routed in 2008, Clinton has learned her lesson and worked hard to ensure that she gets the lion's share of superdelegates. It is estimated that she already has 95% of the superdelegates pledged to her. She now understands the superdelegate problem.

So the boomers are lecturing those young millenials about supporting Sanders. I'm a boomer, but i was born at the tail end. I guess I didn't get the memo. Anyway, they're telling us that Sanders is just way too liberal. They're telling us Sanders supporters that eventually we're going to cave and have to settle for Clinton. Really, just calm down. We're not ready for someone like Sanders, right?

So some of the millienials have responded. Like this: TO ALL THE BABY BOOMERS LECTURING US ABOUT SUPPORTING BERNIE SANDERS. That is a long list describing how the millenials are getting screwed by the boomers. It's sorta like saying, I got mine, good luck getting yours. By the way, don't forget to clean up the earth on your way out.

So the subtext to the message from Hilary is this: Look, I'm a pragmatist and I have tons of experience. It may not be completely relevant to running the country, but I got experience. And it's my turn! This my third run at president and it's my turn! Now get out of my way and no one gets hurt. Really, you can settle down now because you're not even going to show up in the general election for your man Sanders. By the way, did I mention that he's a socialist?

This is what disenfrachisement looks like by design. Sanders loses the Iowa caucus by less than 1% of the vote and some of that went to a few coin tosses. He wins big in New Hampshire and superdelegates come to the rescue to even it up. He's going up against an extensive network of Clinton contacts who are absolutely sure they have this one in the bag. No matter what happens, Clinton is going to win. Really? Is that what a democracy looks like?

Bill Maher is probably right. If you don't get the fish, eat the chicken. That is to say, if Hilary wins the nomination, yes, I will vote her over anyone else in the GOP Clown Car. But until she wins, I will be writing, pushing and pulling for Sanders to win it. I'm not the only one. There are Democrats who would rather hold their nose and risk four years of a Republican president than to vote for Clinton. I'm not one of them. But they want Sanders to win like I want Sanders to win.

There is also this revolutionary campaign funding system built by Bernie's team. It's being used to defy the money primary and it's working better than anyone dreamed. Since the New Hampshire primary, they've raised $6 million in small donations, most of it in the first 24 hours after the primary closed it's doors. The one thing that the establishment was not expecting was a campaign funded by the people, for the people. That energy is what brings people to the polls.

I will be there. At the caucus. At the primary. At the general election. Voting for Sanders all the way.

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