Exclusive: Some Democratic leaders are privately scouting around for someone to replace Hillary Clinton if she stumbles again in California and/or the FBI detects a crime in her email scandal, reports Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
For months now, poll after poll have registered the judgment of the American people that they want neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump as the next President, but the two major parties seem unable to steer away from this looming pileup, forcing voters to choose between two widely disdained politicians.
The Republicans are locked in after Trump’s hostile takeover of the party’s selection process, but the Democrats have one final chance to steer clear, on June 7 when they hold several primaries and caucuses including New Jersey and California. If Bernie Sanders can upset Clinton in California – and/or if Clinton’s legal problems over her emails worsen – there remains a long-shot chance that the Democratic convention might nominate someone else.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before Congress on Jan. 23, 2013, about the fatal attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11. 2012. (Photo from C-SPAN coverage)
As far-fetched as this might seem, some senior Democrats, including reportedly White House officials, are giving serious thought to how the party can grab the wheel at the last moment and avoid the collision of two historically unpopular political figures, a smash-up where Trump might be the one walking away, damaged but victorious.
Two Washington insiders – Democratic pollster and political adviser Douglas E. Schoen and famed Watergate investigative reporter Carl Bernstein – have described panicky meetings of top Democrats worried over Clinton’s troubled campaign, with Schoen also describing private talks about possible last-minute alternatives.
I’ve heard similar tales of hushed discussions – with the fill-in options including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry or Sen. Sanders – but I still believe these fretful leaders are frozen by indecision and don’t have the nerve to pull Hillary Clinton’s hands off the steering wheel even to avoid disaster.
But at least I’m not alone hearing these frightened whispers. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Schoen, who served as a political aide to President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, wrote: “There is now more than a theoretical chance that Hillary Clinton may not be the Democratic nominee for president. …
“The inevitability behind Mrs. Clinton’s nomination will be in large measure eviscerated if she loses the June 7 California primary to Bernie Sanders. That could well happen. …. A Sanders win in California would powerfully underscore Mrs. Clinton’s weakness as a candidate in the general election.
“Democratic superdelegates — chosen by the party establishment and overwhelmingly backing Mrs. Clinton, 543-44 — would seriously question whether they should continue to stand behind her candidacy. …
“Mrs. Clinton also faces growing legal problems. The State Department inspector general’s recent report on Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state made it abundantly clear that she broke rules and has been far from forthright in her public statements. The damning findings buttressed concerns within the party that Mrs. Clinton and her aides may not get through the government’s investigation without a finding of culpability somewhere.
“With Mrs. Clinton reportedly soon to be interviewed by the FBI, suggesting that the investigation is winding up, a definitive ruling by the attorney general could be issued before the July 25 Democratic convention in Philadelphia. Given the inspector general’s report, a clean bill of health from the Justice Department is unlikely.
“Finally, with Mrs. Clinton’s negative rating nearly as high as Donald Trump’s, and with voters not trusting her by a ratio of 4 to 1, Democrats face an unnerving possibility.”
Besides the lack of trust, voters simply don’t like her. On Wednesday, the Real Clear Politics poll average of Clinton’s favorable vs. unfavorable numbers were 37.6 percent to 55.8 percent, an 18.2-point net unfavorable.
Looking for a Fill-in
Schoen continued: “There are increasing rumblings within the party about how a new candidate could emerge at the convention. John Kerry, the 2004 nominee, is one possibility. But the most likely scenario is that Vice President Joe Biden — who has said that he regrets ‘every day’ his decision not to run — enters the race.
Vice President Joe Biden addresses a J Street conference in 2013.
“Mr. Biden would be cast as the white knight rescuing the party, and the nation, from a possible Trump presidency. To win over Sanders supporters, he would likely choose as his running mate someone like Sen. Elizabeth Warren who is respected by the party’s left wing. …
“All of these remain merely possibilities. But it is easier now than ever to imagine a scenario in which Hillary Clinton — whether by dint of legal or political circumstances — is not the Democratic presidential nominee.”
In a CNN interview after last week’s scathing State Department Inspector General’s report on Clinton’s use of her home email server, Carl Bernstein said he was hearing similar speculation:
“I was in Washington this week, I spoke to a number of top Democratic officials and they’re terrified, including people at the White House, that her campaign is in freefall because of this distrust factor. Indeed, Trump has a similar problem, but she’s the one whose numbers are going south.
“And the great hope in the White House, as well as the Democratic leadership and people who support her, is that she can just get to this convention, get the nomination – which they’re no longer 100 percent sure of – and get President Obama out there to help her, he’s got a lot of credibility… But she needs all the help she can get because right now her campaign is in huge trouble.”
On Tuesday, Clinton received a boost when California Gov. Jerry Brown endorsed her – reflecting the Democratic establishment’s view that it is safer to leave Clinton at the wheel than try to wrestle it away and face the wrath of Clinton’s female supporters who insist that it’s “her turn” after she lost a hard-fought race to Barack Obama in 2008.
Trump also administered another self-inflicted wound with a bitterly defensive press conference about his fund-raising for veteran groups, and he suffered more bruises with the release of court evidence about high-pressure sales tactics used by the now-defunct Trump University.
Trump’s black Tuesday reminded Democrats why they were so hopeful that Trump might first blow up the Republican Party and then blow up his own campaign, letting Clinton win essentially by default. But the fragility of Clinton’s own position was exposed by last week’s IG report, which reinforced public perceptions that she is imperious, entitled and dishonest.
Voter Uprising
Ironically, the two parties reached this collision point from opposite directions. The Republican Party’s establishment wanted almost anyone but Trump but the party’s favored candidates fell victim to the reality TV star’s skill at exploiting their weaknesses – almost as if he were playing a high-stakes reality TV show.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
In contrast, the Democratic Party’s leadership tried to arrange a coronation for Hillary Clinton by discouraging other candidates from challenging the powerful Clinton machine, arguing that a virtually uncontested nomination would save money and limit the exposure of Clinton’s political weaknesses.
But the unlikely candidacy of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, technically an Independent although he caucuses with the Senate Democrats, revealed both a powerful hunger for change within the Democratic Party and Clinton’s political vulnerabilities amid a season of voter discontent.
Whereas Republican leaders failed to suppress their voters’ uprising – as Trump torched his GOP rivals one after another – the Democratic leadership did all they could to save Clinton, virtually pushing her badly damaged bandwagon toward the finish line while shouting at Sanders to concede.
But it has now dawned on some savvy Democrats that Clinton’s campaign vehicle may be damaged beyond repair, especially if more harm is inflicted by the FBI’s findings about her sloppy handling of government secrets. The Democrats see themselves stuck with a status-quo, legacy candidate at a moment when the public is disgusted with government dysfunction and demanding change.
Yet, whether the Democrats have the guts to go through the pain of denying Clinton the nomination may depend on what happens in California and inside the FBI.
Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com).
Bernie of course. He’s the only candidate that has made any clear sense of things. He’s the only candidate that will address climate change and not engage the U.S. in more senseless war and slaughter. I hope. But he’s the BEST CANDIDATE by far for both the Democractic Party and the Presidency. There is absolutely no need to go “looking” for anyone else. The real problem is how did that war monster Hillary even become a senator, then secretary? Why does Obama endorse this evil woman? Oh, because he’s capitulated on every promise he made. Ok then, but what about the rest of the thinking world? No other country (whose opinions we must at least acknowledge) think that Hillary is going to be beneficial for them, nor Trump (but we’re talking about the Democratic nomination). Bernie would EASILY beat Trump given the opportunity – and should be given that opportunity because this country does not want Hillary, does not even understand how she’s been selected as a candidate and would like to see her put in prison where she and her husband belong.
How can you safely predict that a stumping politician will become an elected one? If the cops are breathing down his (or…) neck… Meet the new boss.
Bernie Sander’s is anti-establishment which makes him someone the Dem party strongly dislikes — However, it’s still politics, he still has to work within the existing system,.. while he may be hard to deal with (on their part) — He’s a near auto victory over Trump. Clinton is 50/50 right now and dropping. By the time the general rolls around, Trump will be favored, perhaps significantly. Trump would pull all her FBI “email server”, her corrupt background/clinton foundation etc etc out and talk about it non stop. The Media loves to play anything Trump says so she won’t stand a chance.
The indictment needs to go ahead and happen this month, June – The main reason it’s even still held off at this point is from pressure from the highest levels of government because she’s the dem presumptive nominee. That said, even Obama can’t keep the FBI from charging her/indicting her — He can pardon and keep her out of jail before he leaves office but he can’t stop what is already going on and I think he’s probably CAREFULLY treading lightly on his influence over the whole thing. He is working on leaving office with a GOOD standing, his popularity is going up every month.. exactly what he wants. He knows he’s done politically for obvious reasons at end of this year. He has an interest for Hillary to be the next POTUS, but he IS the POTUS and isn’t going to need or serve on her cabinet or anywhere in government. Ex-presidents are done,.. they keep some SS,.. then go make tons of money with speeches, appearances, foundations, etc. The rest of his life is a cake walk compared to what he’s been doing and he knows it. Point is, he cares,.. but he’s human, so he only cares SO much — If Sanders were to be nominated he’d be just fine.. If Trump were to win he’d be fine as well (though I would think he’d lean slightly to Sanders over Trump.. who knows.)
Bottom line — Hillary is guilty over several federal crimes, she’s admitted to some of them and they have found the evidence for others. If they wait to indict post DNC (July 25th+) Sanders gets screwed, Clinton has zero chance and Trump is auto POTUS.
The Dem. Party leaders need to just take it,.. and realize that Sanders is there ticket to win — period. As such, support him .. WORK WITH HIM to try and bring him center on some positions (as POTUS he would have to do a ton of compromising anyways) — Trump can’t attack Sanders like he can Clinton.. Sanders has the same stances and record his entire adult life – he doesn’t have skeletons in the closet. The best Trump can do is try and paint him as a communist.. which his voter base isn’t going to be phased by — The only “fair” election this november is between Sanders and , unfortunately, Trump. When has someone being heavily investigated by the FBI ever had a shot in hell at becoming the leader of the United states? What is going on? Why are people overlooking , ignoring that she’s incredibly corrupt – and incompetent? Trump’s supporters baffle me.. but honestly, I’m equally as baffled at people supporting someone as robotic, clearly disingenuous, corrupt, waiting for federal indictment anyday , already failed as Secretary of State (lower position than POTUS obviously) .. as Hillary Clinton is.
At one point she had an impressive resume, wasn’t involved in all this corruption, definitely didn’t have FBI issues, and also wasn’t a key position in government (SoS) — But she isn’t that anymore. Clinton supporters can’t just repeat what she says “Oh it was just a silly mistake..” and everything is peachy. Her handling of so many things as SoS were full of incompetency and frankly apathy/laziness – What makes her so great to be the POTUS?
Anyhow,.. At one point I had Clinton as the definitive next president — now, the odds all seem stacked for Trump to run the country for at least 4 years. Meanwhile the ONLY person genuinely representing the majority of the people of this country, Sanders, is getting the literal shaft.
-Rant off. :)
FBI only interviews a subject post indictment so basically they indict or mention interview to close a case. They never show up when you expect if indictment comes and they never show to interview with no indictment unless closing a case so this is closed and done. Good news for Hillary who will win Cali but even if she lost it, she still gets 200 delegates from it and needs 71 so she is nominated and she has electoral college numbers so is next President. Game over so Sanders can finally unite with her and get on ticket as VP or be banned from conventions. That is his choice post Cali elections no matter who wins pop vote. She is still almost 4 million pop votes ahead of him which is more than Obama was of her!
67% of Americans say they will not vote for Trump but only the EC elects so voters get to decide if person has political mandate or not. Trump under investigation for Tax evasion and 199 other investigations so most likely will be arrested before November but won’t matter since he has lost too.
Hillary is in fact your next President. Time to embrace truth, accept, deal with it and move on to other things that actually affect your life since no President has anything to do with your life unless you’re an uneducated bum who makes no money or under 50k per year at Burger King. Are you boss of your life or do you want someone else to be? IF you are boss then you don’t care who is elected. I won’t vote. No need to. I pay huge taxes unlike Trump who paid none! To earn money yet pay no tax is in fact fraud.
How many years will Trump be in prison? His former friend Queen of Mean went up river for same thing in her 70s. He should have learned from her that you pay taxes or you go to jail. IRS will get you faster than FBI!
“We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”
– Leona Helmsley, quoted in New York Times (July 12, 1989)
“Leona Helmsley is a truly evil human being. She treated employees worse than any human being I’ve ever witnessed and I’ve dealt with some of the toughest human beings alive.”
– Donald Trump, quoted in Playboy magazine interview (March 1990)
“I can’t wait to read Trump’s new book, especially chapter eleven!”
– Leona Helmsley, quoted in Playboy magazine interview (November 1990). At the time, Trump’s casino holdings were being reorganized to avoid bankruptcy.
Assertiveness does not make one right. It only makes you look like an idiot.
Since I didn’t really address the “voting fraud” bit in my previous post, here is a link to a possibility which I’d never even heard of before.
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/37203-placebo-ballots-stealing-california-from-bernie-using-an-old-gop-vote-snatching-trick
Another update: the scheme in California appears to be to give the No Party Preference voter the wrong ballot unless he or she specifically asks for the correct one.
http://bradblog.com/?p=11699
It may work – simply playing dumb on a state-wide scale could tip the election in CA to Hillary.
Forcing the voters to demand the correct ballot is simply dishonest, but that’s Hillary’s Campaign in a nutshell.
For some reason or other I’m indecently pleased to have independently come to the same conclusion on this issue as Mr. Parry. As an extension on this, voting fraud is available as a “save” to Candidate Hillary in California. Likewise, Obama can – if he wishes – save her bacon with the FBI investigation.
Sticking out my neck here, I’ve got a vague feeling that Bernie Sanders might be the eventual Democratic candidate. Call it one chance in three.
If it’s Hillary after all, I see no chance she can beat Donald Trump in an honest contest – unless Trump throws the election!
Why would Trump do that? Simply because he was bought off. Last year I read an account which made the case Trump is not a member of the Super-Rich. Check it out for yourself.
http://www.thealphapages.com/content/trump-change-is-donald-trump-broke
Then today there was this:
hXXp://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/top-ten-reasons-to-doubt-trump-is-even-a-billionaire
Yes, the talkingpointsmemo site is an all-in Hillary place, but the man is either right or he isn’t. A not-very-wealthy Trump might snatch at the enormous sums the Clinton backers would have available to buy him off.
Under normal circumstances the Trump supporters are going to stick like glue to their man, but what if he goes totally berserk? Like with declaring the latest mass shooting is simply one too many and gun control must be immediately become much more drastic. Or – abortion on demand is a woman’s right, and that’s how he’ll select for the Supreme Court. It would be explained by the mainstream press as the True Trump surfacing.
So my conclusion on Hillary vs Trump: Trump wins if he doesn’t play to lose.
Finally, another essay on Hillary which is simply superb.
hXXp://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/wall-street-2016-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-213931
I predicted a Sanders win in 2016 a few months back. Hillary is forced to withdraw, and Trump was never in it for real (trojan horse), the (s)Election goes to Sanders. It may just be a pipe dream or something I ate…
Despite what Comey says, if the FBI fails to disclose essential findings of its year-long investigation before the convention, the agency will bear the suspicion that it interfered with the political process by depriving voters and delegates of information they needed in a highly consequential decision. I think they’re most likely to release something — a report, criminal referral, or even indictment — a few weeks before the convention.
I just caught a piece of Hillary’s speech in San Diego. She sounds like she is ready to go to war with Iran and Russia. That was as much as I could listen to. Her pro-Israel donors and neocon accomplices will be in ecstasy, but the rest of the world should be very much alarmed.
Like it or not Bernie Sanders is from the chosen race in whom both Christians and Muslims believe. And he has not reneged. The problem is that he acts and dresses like a socialist and not a pospective Democratic US president which which loses him points.
I agree with the Bernie supporters, but when it comes to any article, I critique for or against what the author actually wrote rather than what he did not. It may have made the critics feel better had Parry addressed what they wanted, but like it or not, he is right; the fix is in. Do I want a miracle? You bet, but that is what it will take, and I do acknowledge it ain’t over ’til it’s over. Parry has written favorable pieces about Sanders’ goals—just not in this one.
So they do a last minute replace and lose to the Rs. Then the blame game begins on why they lost it’s the demodogs do best. The last time it was Nader and this time it will be bernie. Groundhog day.
The Democratic National Committee doesn’t have guts enough to buck Hillary Clinton.
And if the Committee really wants to unify Democratic voters and set the stage for a Democratic win in the 2020 election, Hillary Clinton is not the person to make that happen.
But a win by Sanders would.
Joe Biden is not much of an offering to the voters.
With the largest voter turnout in GOP primary history one should not lump Donald’s selection by the voters into the same category as Hillary’s DNC coronation. One would have to make the same observation of Bernie and his ground swell of grass roots support. The party faithful and their typical candidate selection in both parties are being utterly rejected by the voters. Western media is also being utterly discounted by the voters as biased. If I were British I would wake up every morning and play,”The World Turned Upside down”, like it was Yorktown all over again but I am not British. I am a Yankee Doodle so I will enjoy the soft revolt and pray that it succeeds in upending the status quo and begins a new political reality for We the People.This is the best election of my life time, you couldn’t ask for more. I cast my first vote when Tricky Dick was running for POTUS.
“Mr. Biden would be cast as the white knight rescuing the party, and the nation, from a possible Trump presidency. To win over Sanders supporters, he would likely choose as his running mate someone like Sen. Elizabeth Warren who is respected by the party’s left wing. …”
There you have it!
What is wrong with the democratic party? It’s right of center.
Democrats and republicans are one side or the other of the same coin.
GovCo is run by Wall Street and corporate whores…
How sad.
?#?HillaryTooBigToJail? #FBI #DOJ #WhiteHouse #BernieorBust #Straightup #NoChaser
I agree with you. I just had a thought, to what if the Democrate establishment is going to give Hillary the nomination, and then afterward when she gets indicted, and has to leave the race, then have a clear field to hand off the nomination to one of the corrupt party’s chosen one. Bernie, will not be a contender, at least in their eyes, since the primary would be officially over. I would not put anything a pass these slime balls. This would possibly lessen the amount of protesters in the street. This is going to be a long hot summer. To be continued…
Tulsi Gabbard, as Bernies VP
Enough with the Lizzie Warren mantra. She is nothing close to a savior, not even a decent senator. While certainly left of killery, she toes the party line just the same. I’m from MA, she is bought and paid for like all the rest, can’t get elected without the lobby money. She says everything you want to hear, but tell me one thing she has done? None. Zero. Nothing. I’m sure she has secured some small victory of limited impact here or there, but the big banks are getting bigger and her rhetoric is hollow. As phony as the day is long. Hillary lite.
Ah the Lobby.Who is the only candidate on the outs with this Lobby?Their MSM
Trumpet alleged scandal after alleged scandal about him,but the traitors don’t realize America is awakening to their game.
Will Trump be independent of this traitorous Lobby?
I don’t know,but he must know who his enemy is,and they are Americas mortal foe.
The only way forward for America is to throw that f*cking monkey off our back,and Trump is our only hope.
The rest are all Zionists of varying degree,even Jill Stein.
“I WANT MY SAVIOR!!”
If Bernie Sanders should miraculously “win”—something or other—
he would lose the election. If he won the election it would be
without the black vote, As President he would be unable to
serve. (Do Black Lives Matter Bernie? etc.)
Both HRC and Trump are horrible. If one wishes to continue
to ponder what is unlikely and improbable (Bernie’s election)
you cannot be dedicated to any transformative change.
Aren’t we all getting all-too-wrapped up in this election show
that has been planned for us?
(Perhaps all the students will throw away their careers entirely
and become permanent “volunteers for Bern”. That has never
happened but there is always hope…not here)
Personally, I feel our goals would be best served by
addressing what we are to do when HRC or Trump becomes
President. It is not IF but WHEN.
(See Gabriel Kolko, THE ROOTS OF FOREIGN POLICY,
“Epilogue”.)
—-Peter Loeb. Boston. MA, USA
I’ll tell you what (and many people may have already said this), neither John Kerry nor Joe Biden would be any less dangerous in the office of president than Killary. Biden has been in charge of Obomber’s “Ukraine project” and Kerry has been totally ineffective as Secretary of State. Both are philosophical neocons based on their service under Obomber.
Biden, Kerry, or Gore to replace Hillary smacks of 1968 when Humphrey was given the nomination as Lyndon Johnson’s vice President even though he ran in few primaries and Gene McCarthy received many more votes of PEOPLE as opposed to PARTY INSIDERS.
Joe Biden and John Kerry carry the Obama Administration’s war footing on Syria and Ukraine. Does the Democratic Party simply throw away the “peace vote?”
Trump has said he would talk with Putin. Clinton, Biden, and Kerry all seem to want to overthrow him.
Al Gore? Anyone remember the story of Gore half naked chasing a woman around a number of years ago? — http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/the-gore-allegations-what-you-need-to-know
As for Hillary speaking to the FBI.
1) Hillary said she would release the transcripts of her paid speeches to bankers – HASN’T.
2) Hillary said she would debate Bernie in California – REFUSED
3) Hillary said she was willing to cooperate with investigations of her emails – REFUSED TO SPEAK TO STATE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION.
4) Hillary said she would speak with the FBI – YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING IF SHE WILL DO THIS!!!!
“Die Hard” film director John McTiernan was put in jail for lying to the FBI. The original story I saw was that he was contacted by phone by a person claiming to be an FBI agent and asked if he had hired a specific private investigator to which he falsely said no.
Can you imagine, given Hillary’s inability to tell the truth that she could get through a multi hour questioning session with the FBI without lying?
Just lie to the FBI and it is a crime. Lie to the American people and it is expected.
In 1968 the Democratic Party ignored the votes of the voters and Republican Richard Nixon became President.
In 1972 after the Democratic Convention Vice Presidential Tom Eagleton had to drop off of the ticket because he had once sought treatment for a mental health problem. The McGovern campaign was stuck in the mud and won only one state.
If Hillary Clinton is given the Democratic Party endorsement to be President and is indicted it is disaster for the Democrats up and down the ticket to dog catcher.
Watergate begat the testimony of a minor official that President Nixon had a taping system in the White House and Nixon was toast.
Benghazi led to the fact that Hillary Clinton did not do State Department business through State Department Channels opening up her emails which led to arms sales to countries that donated to the Clinton foundation and opened up the entire Clinton foundation thing.
Trump will hammer Clinton over her emails if she is the candidate.
And for those that think Trump is a lightweight, look what Trump did to Jeb Bush over the Bush OWNED issue of “9/11.”
The question I have is whether Trump will pull out LBJ’s “Daisy Ad” to run against Hillary of Libya, Syria, and whose minions gave us Ukraine?
If Hillary has to drop out and the Democrats nominate someone not Bernie Sanders or hand picked by Bernie Sanders a lot of Sander’s voters might just vote for Trump to destroy the Democratic Party.
Yeah, Chicago, 1968. HHH was anointed by the cigar chompers in the back room of the convention, despite having racked up exactly ZERO delegates in the primaries. RFK was taken out by an assassin, whereas, HillBillious is slowly committing political suicide. If she implodes, the party elites will trot out a vetted substitute and Bernie Sanders will be shunted aside, a la Eugene McCarthy.
Read through the Al Gore link – it’s b.s., woman had ample opportunity (time, appointments, etc.) to make her case, chose not to (for whatever reason), then comes back and asks for $1 million for “rights” to the “story” AND asked to modify her statement. Doesn’t pass the common sense test.
Re: Gore – always thought we should have had him as President instead of that smirking monkey we got stuck with. We’d probably have started on the path towards climate change mitigation and renewals too. If Gore was drug out to run as a Hillary replacement? Won’t happen. But it should have happened, years ago. Instead the deceptive Supreme’s threw the (s)Election and the rest as they say, is history.
If Clinton doesn’t stop attacking Trump’s character and past business record and start nailing him on his (lack of) policy, then she can’t complain when he drags her gender, her marriage, and her son-in-law’s business affairs into a consideration of her worthiness. That’s what happened to Geraldine Ferraro: the Reagan campaign didn’t like her husband, didn’t like her father, so therefore she wasn’t qualified to be vice-prez.
(PS Those who seem to think that Elizabeth Warren would jump at the chance to run as VP really haven’t been paying attention.)
I’m a 67 year old who will stand with you millennials to support Bernie.
All this talk about Biden, or Kerry, to substitute for Hillary…or Al Gore?
Come on….these guys are all status quo has-beens. Useless.
Go Bernie!
I think it might be time we millennials form our very own Progressive Party that represents us! How dare they float this idea around?! As if they think it’s reasonable to just choose a candidate for us! Bernie beats Trump in general election polling already, so why would they need to choose someone else? I’ll tell you exactly why: they don’t want Bernie and they never did! It doesn’t matter what we the voters actually think…that’s their message now, isn’t it? He nearly beat Clinton after fighting the entire Democratic establishment including the head of the party Wasserman and the President himself. This so in spite of voter suppression and all sorts of dirty tricks. Moreover, he won every state that had an open primary or caucus which tells us that he is liked by more people than Clinton even though she got more votes technically–and the democratic leaders/ “super” delegates understand this already, so it’s a real slap in the face. I am so f’ing offended at this bullcrap!
I’m a 66 year old who will stand with you millennials to support Bernie.
All this talk about Biden, or Kerry, to substitute for Hillary makes me wonder why has Elizabeth Warren been popping up in the press so much these days?
Go Bernie!
Oh C’mon, this whole thing is dripping with condescension for Senator Bernie Sanders, a dedicated Civil Rights activist and career long humanitarian. Why in hell would they need to have a different candidate altogether other than Bernie anyway? I always said I would consider voting for Hillary if she brought on Warren as VP, but I’m declaring myself an ex-democrat if Clinton is replaced by Biden. Who is with me? I will forever vote straight ticket independent or maybe we need a real progressive party of our own guys. This is absolute bull honkey! How offensive this idea is??!! The democratic party is going crazy…
Jon, I’m with you, but not even if Jesus ran on the same ticket with Hillary, would I vote for a Clinton.
I would hate to see Warren pollute herself with Hillary Clinton. Better she wait to run in 2020 against a failed Trump.
Hillary will win. But people don’t think the super delegate system is fair. So after she wins, we former Bernie supporters will be mad– especially since she is not progressive but is about where Nixon used to be on the political spectrum.
What makes you so sure that Bernie knows about the “manufactured” email and the Benghazi “scandals?” The latter are scandalous. Did you know that Libya in some respects had a higher standard of living than what we supposedly “enjoy” here in the US of A before Killer-Hillary went in there and turned everything upside down? And she did not have the approval of either Obama or the top military command… this was an HRC special. She’s a fascist. Far more dangerous than Donald Trump. And if we get her for President, we can say good-bye forever to the America we hope can be once again.
The press loves to bash Hillary 24/7/365 and has done so for decades. But she’s still going to win because she has the delegates. I prefer Bernie because he has better policies and because he is not bought and paid for, as politicians always have been, before Trump and Sanders arrived on the scene. But Bernie knows himself that all the manufactured email and Benghazi “scandals” about Hillary are bs.
Here’s something relevant to why Bernie is being X-d out of the game… Carl Bernstein reporting on the White House in an uproar over their fear that Hillary’s campaign is deep-sixing. The kernel of this piece comes on the second page when it is suggested that the White House must be hiding something of considerable import if they’re so desperate to have this tarnished piece of goods carry on their legacy. Important point to ponder.
Why does this woman seem to be so crucial to Obama’s legacy? He can’t make it on his own without a harridan who has been hopelessly compromised by her own hand? Perhaps we need to think deeply on why this might be so.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/DownWithTyranny–Bernstei-by-Gaius-Publius-160531-349.html
When the TV Networks declare Hillary the winner, and the race ‘officially’ all over by dinner time on June 7, I sure hope that the Bernie Sanders Campaign is prepared and ready to launch a Media counter-offensive at that point to take control of the narrative.
The TV Networks always refuse to ever tell anyone that none of the Super Delegates matter at all, until after both candidates have been found to have FAILED to win, and to meet the threshold at the July Convention. At that point, the delegates should naturally get behind the candidate that has the strongest General Election credentials (Sanders). To do anything less than that is just suicidal.
But what we always see from the Democratic Party Elites is that they would rather happily let the Republicans win (and walk all over them) to keep all these right-wing policies moving forward , then to ever actually move the Party a single inch “to the left”. The Democratic Party has been steadily moving to the Right ever since 1972. Essentially, we have two right-wing Republican Parties, and there is no Party at all defending the FDR New Deal policies (much less advancing them, or talking about FDR’s vision of “The Four Freedoms”).
Well, I certainly hope that will be the last bit of confidence any American has in cable news networks. After all, that would be entirely inaccurate. Can you imagine if they actually did this as planned and then Bernie went on to subsequently win? The news networks would be so damaged beyond repair…hopefully. They have stopped reporting the news and are now in the business of trying to make it happen instead. Pathetic and journalistic malpractice!
I wrote about this about three weeks ago. It’s almost certain that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee of the Democratic Party and the next President of the United States. But her email problem is a lot more serious that she pretends. Whatever anybody says in public, it’s inconceivable that Hillary, and the DNC/Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, are not worrying—at least thinking—about this in some juice-filled room. And for the latter, that means preparing—at least considering—a plan B. If Hillary she gets derailed by something like the FBI investigation, you can bet that the Democratic Party will have a Plan B, and it won’t be Bernie Sanders. It will be another attempt to stop Bernie Sanders. And I suggested that Joe Biden-Elizabeth Warren would probably be the alternative.
See: Plan B Is Not Bernie
Plan B Is Not Berne http://www.thepolemicist.net/2016/05/plan-b-is-not-bernie.html
Read it. Ridiculous. Not a threat? Then you’re not paying attention. It may be that in this kountry the people’s choice doesn’t matter (it is a (s)Election after all), but they are very threatened by the groundswell taking place.
It’s too late to trot forward a new candidate (should Billary be bopped). That’s akin to simply handing over the (s)Election uncontested to Trump. No, if that were to happen – it will be Bernie. He’s got the support of the people, and the exposure, is not a threat to the establishment as you claim and doesn’t represent any of the real fears either party has the other candidates.
I’m hoping for a ‘upset’ myself – go Bernie. This season, he was always the best choice and still is. The only question is whether or not he will be given a fair chance.
Trump will beat any other Democratic candidate other than Sen. Sanders like an old rug. I don’t have the sophistication to understand any other meaning to Parry’s article other than ‘if its not Hillary, it won’t be Sanders either’. Even if that’s not what he is trying to say, that’s the conclusion any reality based human being will get from Parry’s (and I for one do not agree with the narrative Parry outlines) writing. I live in CA and so will vote only for the down ticket candidates who have publicly endorsed Sen Sanders. Not very clever or sophisticated of me I know. Sen Sanders is not Superman and will not stop our climate from heating up nor will he stop the pigs in the top 1% from pushing themselves in front of us at the trough. But Sen Sanders will at least slow the rate of global warming and will use the force of WE the People (US gov) to beat the crap out of the largest of those pigs! Listen to what he is at least willing to fight like hell to do for us. For those who don’t support him, you might want to read up on the Stockholm Syndrome and do a little self introspection. Those of you in the top 1% to 5%, you are rightfully scared to death of him.
Nice! Agree with everything you’ve shared.
Thanks for a fine article Mr Parry,
But I disagree with your point about Hillary not being trusted…..I know I trust her, very much, to be the first woman president to use mini-nukes on Iran….initiating yet another catastrophic war in the middle east.
I trust she will do that….I really do.
Thank you, Alexander!
Humor, precious humor. In truth, humor makes the world go round and people like Hillary sufferable.
And someone as belligerent as Trump will not?
If Sanders doesn’t get the Dem nomination, and it looks like he won’t, then we’re screwed, as far as being able to stay out of totally unnecessary wars.
Somehow Bill and Hillery remind me of Bonnie and Clyde. Robbing banks and creating mayham till their final run in with the FBI. This will not be pretty but my bet is the whole family is indicted, Bill, Hillery and daughter. Understand the daughter makes 600,000 a year working for the Clinton Foundation. The Foundation that pays less than 10% of their contributions to worthwhile causes.
If the FBI bends to political pressure God help all of us.
I have not seen R Parry reply to any comments his articles receive. More arrogance from the media.
Maybe the man is just busy.
Self preservation is a powerful force in the universe.
Why brand his silence as ‘arrogance’? Whatever the silence means, people are getting their say. He does not appear particularly defensive.
Josh… Well I have seen more than a few articles where Mr. Parry replies to comments – as I am sure many readers have become accustomed to. I have also seen other articles where other authors also reply such as Ray McGovern etc. I am not sure if you are new to Consortium News or not but there are replies, from time to time, and I am sure that Mr. Parry is also a busy man…
Let’s the voters decide. This should be a race of the outsiders . Trump vs Bernie
When is Bernie going to flip the script and tell Hillary straight out, ” It would be in the best interest of the Democratic Party, in order to aviod horrific embarrassment, that you conceed your inability to win this presidential election with all the criminal investigations surrounding your current situation”.
I agree, Hillary has to much scandals, blood on her hands, lies, Benghazi , corruption. Bernie has been to nice to her because he is a nice guy but it’s time to make her feel the burn
Precicisely, get on with it and deal with witches the good old fashioned way….
‘Bern’ Hillary at the stake already!!!
Cheap shot…hilarious cheap shot. Thank you.
HIllary has no real scandals at all. Benghazi, emails etc. are manufactured bs. The only issue with her is that she’s bought and paid for, so Bernie is a better candidate because he isn’t.
Ukraine,Libya,Syria,Iraq are all in flames,and she laid the groundwork.Boat people are dying by the hundreds,all direct deaths on her legacy of absolute catastrophe as Senator and SS.She is a bubblehead,the epitome of the banality of evil.
The worst candidate in American history,bar none.
The problem is that the Dems DO have an Establishment and Bernie is not part of it. Neither is Elizabeth Warren. And while Joe Biden is an obvious replacement for Hillary, many will still want a woman running against Trump. I can see three obvious women as compromise candidates if it comes to that. Amy Klochubar D-MN, Diana Stabenow D-MI and Kirsten Gilliband D-NY, who took over Hillary’s old Senate seat. Of the three, I would lay odds on Kirsten Gillibrand who likely has the closest ties to Wall Street.
No more Clintons. If Bernie would pick Elizabeth Warren for VP and run them as “Independents” this would end all discussion and with a few progressives in Congress, we could start kicking ass (finally).
The DNC really doesn’t get it. They think they can substitute anyone for Sanders. They think millions of us will say, yeah he’s a nice guy. They think we are not voting on ISSUES and PRINCIPLED POSITIONS. They think we’re STUPID. They better figure out soon that it’s Sanders who we’re coming out for because he is the only one with the honesty and courage to run a campaign based on truth. Period. You can’t undermine millions of voters and all the work and money we’ve put into his candidacy.
The DNC really doesn’t get it.
The role of the DNC is not to “get it.” The DNC is the un-Democratic Party’s machine to ensure the continued viability of the party’s oligarchs so they can do the bidding of their paymasters – not what the people want.
“Unpledged delegates exist really to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don’t have to be in a position where they are running against grassroots activists,” Debbie Wasserman Schultz (un-Democratic National Committee Chairwoman)
I am not sure Robert Parry is ignoring the fact that Bernie Sanders has all but won, but that the powers that have always planned to anoint $Hillary Clinton, are looking to at least save face with another establishment figure. Kerry, has his on sizeable unlikable factors, we have already gone through the complete process with, & he has gotten more criticism as Sec. of State than Hillary ever did. I like & could support Joe Biden, but if they ignore the will of the Democratic people that have voted for him, stood with, against every curve ball the DNC could muster, I will not vote any Democrat for POTUS!
Biden-Warren 2016 = Mondale-Ferraro 1984
Sanders-Warren 2016 = 45th President of the United States
Right on Abe. Thanks.
It’s so obvious. However, the “Democratic establishment” has been captured by Wall Street. FDR would be speaking vigorously for Sanders.
Warren is another bubblehead like the HB,and has not backed Sanders one bit.If she did he might have won Mass.
Keep clutching straws,maybe a long one will show up that you can grab.
And Mr.Parry,trusting polls by the monsters who hate Trump is an exercise in futility.
If Sanders is marginalized,I see a landslide for Trump.
As a lifelong Democrat, it is incredible and utterly disillusioning to me to see that while the Republican party establishment has been “railroaded” by Republican voters successfully making their choice the candidate of their party, the Democratic establishment is waging all-out war to ensure that same thing doesn’t happen to them, and that the real candidate of choice within the Democratic electorate absolutely is NOT the candidate of their party.
Why does the US go through this charade? Isn’t the theme of this site that we are ruled by the deep state? If the Democrats gifted Hillary Clinton 576 super delegates? Still Democratic voters refuse to give in. Ideas in both parties are now officially an endangered specie. American citizens are way ahead of the author and their own authoritarian and failing government. Vote for HRC? Jeez we just had eight years of a failed Wall Street crony, four more? Ug.
I believe Americans think so.So now the author thinks the Democrats can act like any Authoritarian Government, just hand us the candidate to vote for? Taxation without representation?
Everything you wrote is true, but you miss the point of article big time. Mr Parry only discusses DNC plans and options, whilst you are trying to kill the messenger – Mr Parry.
Agree with you both. Mr. Parry seems to be reporting on what the DNC might do, not what he would think is the best course. And I hope you are right, GW, when you write: “American citizens are way ahead of…their own authoritarian and failing government.” Because this would be really saying something – that despite all the propaganda shouted and printed daily by the corporate-mouthpiece media, people understand deep down that they are being conned. It’s time to flip the script on all this buggery and get back to actual facts and ideas, which you rightly state are endangered species within the two-party corporate charade.
There has never been a time more saturated with obvious examples of the gross inequities that our western societies produce. We cannot continue down this path. It’s unsustainable.
– and/or if Clinton’s legal problems over her emails worsen –
Until proved otherwise, place your bet on Obama passing the word, if he has not already done so, telling AG Lynch and FBI honcho Comey to not find anything illegal with Hillary’s emails. Obama’s aphorism about no one being above the law is just another example of his fluency in Orwellian-speak. Utter BS. There is talk that there is no love lost between Obama and the Clintons, but it is questionable if Obama would be up to the task of tossing them under the bus.
As for replacing Hillary with Joe Biden, John Kerry or Al Gore the best that can be said about these politicians thoroughlypolluted after their years in Washington is that they would be lesser evils. They have been completely discredited in the eyes of people who have been paying attention.
All very true. No one in the executive agencies will attack a candidate who might someday be president, as it would then end their career. But Obama knows Hillary as a warmonger, and could order up something if the evidence was there, but could have as many skeletons to hide, and would likely prefer peace in retirement to disharmony in his party.
Perhaps though, “peace” can only come through the “disharmony” of TRUTH before it?
Obama has no option but to throw them under the bus, given the magnitude of criminal violations the FBI is sitting on. Millions of federal employees and contractors understand how seriously the system takes Title 18 provisions on information handling by the burdensome procedures they they are forced to comply with, and that’s without having security clearance. A declaration of no laws broken around the server issue — from Prez, Justice, or FBI — would be an affront to the logic given what’s in the public record, without some amazing explanation, and would create a legal precedent that’s unacceptable to the national security establishment. And it would be an insult to career FBI agents, especially given the behaviors seemingly begging obstruction of justice charges.
Also, it’s hard to imagine that the FBI hasn’t already built a case for public corruption around the intersection of the Clinton Foundation and Shillary’s Secretary of State Office — because that intersection runs through the ClintonEmail.com server.
Sorry, but there is no chance Hillary will not be the nominee barring indictment on the email server issue. In 2008, she won California by a sizable margin and won 6 out of the last 9 primaries. She was much closer to Obama in pledged delegates and basically tied him in the primary popular vote. When the last vote was tallied, she did the right thing, stepped aside for the victor, and gave him her endorsement and support.
This time around, she leads Sanders by about 3 million votes, she’s won more in primary states where more people participate, including recently in the Washington state primary, which was nonbinding, but where she secured an 8-point popular vote victory. She is more likely than not to win in New Jersey and is currently ahead in California, though that race may tighten and could go Sanders – we’ll see.
Either way, wouldn’t it be the antithesis of democratic principles if party bosses (you know, the “political establishment”) took the nomination away from the popular vote winner who won more pledged delegates, won more states, and won more diverse votes and gave it instead to either Sanders, who earned millions of fewer votes and did better in more restrictive caucus states, or to Kerry or Biden, who didn’t even bother to run?
Some may really not like Hillary, and I get that. Fine. I understand those concerns. But how do you override the will of the people? Is this an argument that the few know what’s better for the country than the many? I thought we were opposed to oligarchy.
Hillary stands poised to be indicted for acts which may potentially prove to be high treason.
This is the very reason for the ‘superdelagates’ existence. To prevent those who attain the popular vote with outright lies and deception that dupe the general public into believing they are not criminals when in fact they may be pathological liars and actively practicing felons.
Anyone hear of the Chicago way?!
Yes. That’s the essence of the Right Wing, including Libertarians. Belief in oligarchy.
The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin
https://www.amazon.com/Reactionary-Mind-Conservatism-Edmund-Burke-ebook/dp/B005H5O20C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464835504&sr=8-1&keywords=Palin+Burke
How do you override the will of the people? You do so through “superdelegates”, electoral college rules, or via “one-time only” decisions of the Supreme Court.
Otherwise, the Democratic primary is an event run by the Democratic Party. They can (is this not true?) ultimately nominate anyone the Convention decides.
Clinton is winning by 3 million? Not really. Bernie is winning.
https://richardcharnin.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/democratic-primaries-is-clinton-leading-by-3-million-votes/
The 3 million Clinton vote margin is repeated endlessly by the media. This analysis shows that the number is grossly inflated. Sanders may very well be leading the popular vote and corresponding delegate count.
This is why Sanders is doing much better than his recorded vote:
– Actual votes in caucus states are not included in the count – to the benefit of Clinton.
– Exit polls indicated voting machines were hacked – to the benefit of Clinton.
– Voter rolls were manipulated – to the benefit of Clinton.
– Long lines and reduced polling stations reduced voter turnout – to the benefit of Clinton.
Sanders leads by approximately 780,000 votes (51.5-48.5%), assuming a) caucus votes are included, b) unadjusted exit polls represent the true vote, c) 10% of Sanders voters were disenfranchised and d) 5% of Clinton’s votes were fraudulent early/absentee ballots. View the Democratic Primaries spread sheet.
Thank you Richard. I like your web site…
Don’t forget, in Iowa Hillary won 6 coin tosses…what are the odds? If president, she could go to Vegas, and get us beyond the national debt.
The will of the ‘registered Democrats’ (people), that is. And therein lies the problem. Hillary is fumbling to the Democratic party nomination on media and DNC favor almost exclusively. Yes, she has won more registered Democrats’ votes in the primary cycle than Bernie (so far), but this a small minority of total eligible voters (only 8%!), and she loses with independents. And there is the problem. The whole two-party system is set up to discredit challengers to the status quo of corporate dominance over all aspects of our lives, and does not reflect the actual majority opinion of the country. To sustain this, they need a charismatic person to keep the con going. But, in Hillary, they have a real loser. She isn’t as good at hiding the corporate agenda as others, hence the fear she can’t fool us and, by extension, safely secure the White House for her conspirators/masters.
The only person many will accept is Bernie Sanders – or, at the very least, someone who has the same beliefs and integrity, at least when it comes to domestic policy. Still, I will not be surprised to see Joe Biden accepting the nomination in tears at the convention, playing the reluctant statesman begged to save the party and the country. What great and tragic theatre that will make.
Sam-
Bernie has been sandbagged by the DNC from the git-go. In states where they allow independents to vote in the primaries, Bernie has won handily. In poll after poll Bernie has a better chance against the Donald in a general election. Opting for Bernie would not be “overriding the will of the people”. The system has been rigged on multiple fronts to subvert the will of the people. All the numbers you mentioned obscure that basic fact.
Obama wasn’t facing federal indictment and didn’t have record unfavorably numbers.
It’s sort of astonishing that people would have voted for her given that information was already available regarding her private server. At this point your showing that your il-informed, or have no understanding of basic ethical principles, or willfully ignorant.
Mind bogglingly stupid to consider replacing Clinton and completely ignore the Sanders in the room.
Donald Trump is the new face of neoliberalism and CAPITALISM, that is trying hard to be saved of all the structural crisis and the final defeat by SOCIALISM. The GOP is trying Trump now as Italy had Mussolini in order to save capitalism from Communism that was almost inevitable in Italy when Mussolini and fascism took power. Trump is a fascist and the new face of neoliberalism that needs to be saved of total collapse. Opposing this view and ideas, is obviously the great transversal movement of revolutionary change sponsored by Bernie Sanders. This is what the oligarchs and neoliberals are really afraid of. They are trying every mean to obstruct and demonize Sanders. The important issue beyond this election is the birth and development of the great popular movement that Sanders originated that eventually will purify the Democratic party of the oligarchs and neoliberals blue dogs that do not belong to the party. More power to you Bernie!!!!!
joe Biden cant win either. They don’t come more establishment than he is. He was my Senator and I an tell you he probably couldn’t win Delaware for President. His establishment credentials are in sync with Clinton including her interference in Ukraine and pushing fracking all over the world. In fact, Bidens son Hunter is now working in Ukraine. The establishment better understand, they ONLY candidate who has run and would win (if not for the DNC, the Clinton corruption machine and the Democratic State Party chairs who not only delivered voter suppression, but allowed voting machines to flip votes. Since 2004 when Howard Dean (A DNC party insider) went on national TV and showed the world how to flip a vote with a source code in 20 sec…neither party did anything to stop it…they had an ace in the hole…flip the votes if the establishment candidate didn’t win. So we have Bernie so beloved and has brought millions into the party, who has the blessing and the support of millions still in the race. HE will be the candidate or the Democratic Convention will see more than just some angry people…take that to the bank.
Joe Biden will be seen as a cardboard-cutout space-filler. He will need Elizabeth Warren as his VP to gain traction. John Kerry will rerun his bad campaign of 2004 and be labeled “Loser” by Trump.
liz allen:
Biden’s son, Hunter, is on the board of directors with Burisma Holdings in Ukraine.
If by some “Comey miracle” Clinton (and her husband and daughter as well) is indicted and is forced to drop out of the race, Sanders will be the ONLY choice for the Democrats in Philly since he is the only other candidate who actually RAN against Clinton and stayed in until the end never giving up hope of winning the nomination.
The thought that the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s delegates would be so ARROGANT to completely disrespect Sanders and his delegates and instead put Joe Biden’s name in with the Super delegates putting HIM over the top is ludicrous.
If this were to happen there would be a MAJOR political uprising among Sanders supporters and I am sure Bernie himself. There wouldn’t be ONE SINGLE SANDERS SUPPORTER voting for Joe Biden in the fall. As a protest they would all probably vote for Jill Stein or even Donald Trump or Gary Johnson.
And regarding the California primary on June 7th. Chris Matthews made an absolutely shocking statement on MSNBC recently where he declared that on June 7th at 8pm EST (which would be 5pm PST….THREE HOURS BEFORE THE POLLS CLOSE in California), MSNBC and the other networks will be declaring the Democrat race for president OVER and that Hillary Clinton WILL be the nominee! Even though she will NOT have the necessary number of pledged delegates and that the Super delegates do not VOTE until July 26th!
Tweetie even said to Jeff Weaver: “Who do you think will be most affected by our early announcement and won’t bother voting? Clinton or Sanders supporters?”
I just called the Secretary of State’s office in Sacramento to complain about this. Forget Sanders and Clinton. There is a race in California for the Senate, there are House races up and down the state, there are ballot propositions etc. These down ballot campaigns will also be affected by the drooling Chris Matthews and Co. popping their champagne for Clinton three hours before the polls close in California.
The networks are playing dirty and I believe illegally. I would like to see the Attorney General or Alex Padilla, the Secretary of State go to court to gag the major networks from making any kind of announcement about Hillary Clinton until the polls close in California. It would be a shame to gag them until 11pm EST, but so be it. Besides, what they are announcing will be a LIE because the Super delegates cannot put her into the nomination until July 26th!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT7hBV0_NFo
Bernie Sanders supported Bill Clinton’s illegal bombing of Serbia. He supports Obama’s illegal drone strikes, the provocation of Russia, says nothing about the threats to China and the accelerating risk of nuclear war. He wants Snowden to stand trial… and so on. He is not very different from Hillary.
Sanders is rocking the DNC merely by suggesting that Palestinians be treated a bit more fairly, that Israel overreacts. Then, he placed two pro-Palastinian intellectuals on the DNC platform committee and terrified the Party.. Bernie is also against the endless “regime-changes” supported by Hillary, he accuses her and Obama of being similar to Bush in not using goid judgement in forseeing consequences. I know this doesn’t seem revolutionary by more civilized standards. In the US political environment, though, being blind to Hillary and Bernie’s differences regarding war makes you seem very naive.
Bernie may not be perfect on foreign policy, but he is a veritable Gandhi compared to Killary. Also if he successfully takes on the banks and corporations much of the pressure for their imperial ambitions would be lessened and that would be a BIG plus for world peace. Killary is bought and paid for, and she would send in the troops or drop the bombs wherever they tell her to. My fear for Bernie is that if he is elected the BIG MONEY that RULES the WORLD would resort to assassination like they did in the ’60’s.
If Sanders wins California and/or Hillary gets indicted, and the DNC chooses someone other than Sanders for the general election, I will be voting Green Party. I know there are plenty of people like myself who are fed up with corporate sponsored democrats. Bernie should consider going over to the Greens and running with Jill Stein if he gets railroaded at the convention.
You think Bernie should be VP on the Stein party ticket instead of going back to the Senate?
No, he would be top of the ticket, Stein would be VP. #BernieOneWayOrAnother
Dr, Stein is running for the office of president. Why would a joinee expect top billing?
Stein is running for President of LaLaLand
Garrett & Lin, Stein has offered to be the VP on a Sanders/Stein ticket.
I believe that Jill Stein has already agreed to a Sanders/Stein ticket. Bernie has the momentum. I personally would vote for it either way, but at this point I think Sanders/Stein has a better chance than Stein/Sanders just because of name recognition.
No she hasn’t and if bernie joined the Greens as VP I would vote for another third party. If what you say comes true then the Greens will be come as bad as the demodogs in a few short yrs.
The other way around, and Jill is ok with that.
You mention Biden and Ketty as alternatives to the Clinton. But you forget that Al Gore is the obviously best candidate, a man of totally good repute (compromised only by an eight-year association with Clintons), with worldwide stature and respect, recipient of the highest awards, deeply experienced in both public and private realms, foremost authority among political figures on the most pressing issue of our times, and who, to boot, would receive really enthusiastic support from Sanders and his supporters. A man who would win in a true landslide, especially with Elizabeth Warren as Vice-presidential candidate.
Gore and Biden are neoliberals just like both Clintons and Obama. They politely followed Reagan with a few crumbs tossed in…same trickle down, wouldn’t you say?
The world’s first Green Billionaire!? Of course, he would win in a landslide, whilst sliding and slipping on inconvenient truths about himself.
I agree, Kiza. And re your comment above on the MSM, I’ve not ventured anywhere near that propaganda chute for years now. The NYT and their direct link to Jerusalem when they needed someone to mouth their POV drove me bananas and off their site for good. Just learned today on James Corbett that some of our illustrious lawmakers have decided we need a bureau to Counter Propaganda — especially that delivered by Russia who has the audacity to take a strategic interest in Ukraine.
What we definitely do need is a dog catcher to round up all the creatures (mainly going under the name of Neo something or other — including HRC) and throw them in the clinker. Which would be a favor to them.
This Bernie supporter wouldn’t even THINK about voting for yet another establishment tool like Gore.
I see, let us bring [ throw] Joe Biden in to the fray.Stanley Kubrick is alive and well, if he isn’t directing this then Fellini is writing the screenplay
Fellini? Kubrick? You have a great point, but the current political debauchery looks to me more like Paolo Pasolino’s 1975 masterpiece, “Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom”. This morning, Joe Scarborough (the ex-congressman famous for the mysterious dead girl in his office) and Mika Brzezinski (daughter of the crypto-fascist who created Al Qaida from the Mujahideen in collaboration with H.W. Bush and Richard Pipes as part of the CIA’s “Team B” project) conducted an interesting interview. They showcased a ‘holier than thou’ former Army Colonel who lamented that we had never “finished the job” after our falsely framed invasion of Iraq. Typical of the lack of historical depth displayed by American military analysts, he resorted to a comparison of Iraq’s instability with Italy’s “42 governments” since the end of WWII. He forgot to mention that those “governments” were “changed” in accordance with Italy’s constitution, a beautiful document that has never changed since its adoption after the war. Recently, comedian Roberto Benigni, in a moment of rhetorical seriousness, brought tears to the eyes of millions of Italian viewers with a soliloquy regarding the sheer humanity of that political masterpiece. The military analyst in question left out the saga of NATO’s and CIA’s “Operation Gladio”, which gave Italy the “Red Brigade” and the subsequent wave of terrorism that destabilized Italy for years on end. It made “kneecapping” (shooting victims in the knees rendering them paraplegic) a household word. Accusations of “fascism” have been bandied about during our own current political mayhem. The word Mussolini preferred was “corporatism”. As its ideological godfather and first proponent, Mussolini would be sure to recognize the fascist nature of NAFTA, CAFTA, TTP, TTIP and the neoliberal destabilization of countries like Ukraine, Georgia, Romania, Brazil, Honduras and Venezuela for the purpose of resource extraction and vulture capitalism. As the principal “corporatist” candidate in our current elections, Mrs. Clinton and her sidekick Victoria Nuland installed a blatantly Nazi regime in Ukraine, but that reality still flies below the radar of American political punditry. The Peronista fascists vying for control in Brazil, Venezuela and Honduras are also warmly regarded by Mrs. Clinton and her cronies in the current administration. But, the punditry insist that Donald Trump is the fascist, and Hillary Clinton is a left-leaning “progressive” liberal. Roberto Benigni’s “Pinocchio” never could have accommodated such a lie. His nose would have been long enough to skewer the entire White House Press Corps, with enough left over to sniff the stench from Mussolini’s grave. One thing is certain. Fellini, Kubrick, Pasolino and Begnini would all vote for Bernie if given the chance. But that’s a chance we may never get.
Funny thing… I had no idea who this Mika and Joe were (I don’t watch MSM — EVER) except for the other day, someone posted this link in a comments column on Truthdig:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkJE0U8Qby4&index=18&list=PLDIVi-vBsOEy6jMSt_r_SMj9F5tuqdtKe —
and after watching, thought: Well, maybe… just maybe someone in the MSM is beginning to wise-up to the game that’s being played against every hard-working and genuinely discouraged American in this country… And now I learn that this Mika is Brzezinski’s daughter???
Well, that destroys everything…
I only get really, truly deceitful, sick, in-your-face phonies like HRC. And despite all that’s said about Trump, if there were only two possible choices, I’d vote Trump. At least he’s got a sense of humor. I’m still laughing when I think of Pocahantas… (And I do like and admire Elizabeth Warren.) Someone used the word “comedian” to describe Trump. Would that we could append that descriptive adjective to Shillary.
Similar here Susan, I do not consume MSM – almost never. The main reason is that I came to understand that they do not add to understanding and knowledge – they actively diminish our pool of knowledge and understanding. After all, this is what they are paid for (not by you and I).
But there is an exception, just like the video you linked too. I do watch a random sample of MSM to know what the establishments wants us to know, this weeks government edicts, who is this week’s Hilter, have the Israelis stopped massacring Palestinians this week (yes, I know how silly I am) and similar. In other words, when I watch/read news I take the same attitude as when watching/reading ads. One is commercial, the other is pure political propaganda, but we need to know what new products are out there in the market place.
Yes, the Ziocon hydra has many heads and many deep tentacles, thus HRC is one one head, which does not even hide what she really is.
This election’s cinematic analogy isn’t Kubrick or Fellini… it’s Guccione https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6luDjtfs0UY
“‘Lord of the world.’ I like this dream.”
Much that never occurs is noised abroad, and much that happens beyond a doubt is unknown, and in the case of nearly every event a version gains currency that is different from the way it really happened.
— Dio Cassius
http://caligula.org/what.html
Very nice analysis. Sanford has some keen insights on the fascist nature of the present US posture in the world. I wrote a piece about a year ago for Hip Fish, a Northwest alternative paper called “The Twin Pillars of the American Warfare State.” They are neoliberalism, or world economic domination by a financial/corporate transnational elite (birthed in the US as the “Washington consensus”), and neoconservatism, the US imperialist/militarist side of the same coin. Interestingly the Democratic Party, which in the Vietnam era, when I came of age, had a number of Doves, who seriously questioned the underpinnings of the Cold War and the international fight against a supposedly monolithic “red menace,” now is all hawk, all war all the time. The Republican establishment is no different. Indeed, both parties accept the neoconservative and neoliberal warfare state. Both Sanders and Trump challenge it. The media feigns great outrage over Trump’s racism and misogyny. But those things have been the Republican stock in trade since Nixon’s Southern Strategy, Reagan’s Philadelphia, Mississippi speech against civil rights, and Bush the elder’s Willie Horton ads. And Bill Clinton’s preying on women definitely trumps the Donald. The real reason for the outrage against Trump is that he questions neoliberalism, saying we are getting a bad deal from free trade and wanting to renegotiate the trade agreements. He thus falls afoul of the financial/corporate elite that greatly profits from the free trade regimen at the expense of the average worker. And Trump also states the obvious when he says that NATO is obsolete. In doing so, he agrees with what George F. Kennan, the foremost US Soviet expert of the Cold War era, stated in his strong disagreement with Bill Clinton’s post-Cold War NATO expansion. Here Trump runs up against the neocon imperialists, who have established a powerful stronghold in both parties, supported by the defense establishment, including all the war profiteers. Sanders has also played down NATO and interventionism, though not as strongly as has Trump, who has said he would get along with Putin and Russia, demonized by the establishment of both parties. Though Sanders is much better on issues like climate and domestic policy. Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate goes Bernie one better. She argues cogently that the only way to green the economy and rebuild sagging US infrastructure is to end the empire (as the British ended theirs). She wants too close down the thousand or so military bases the US has scattered all over the world. Her arguments recall those of Marine general Smedley Butler, in his classic booklet, “War is a Racket,” (written in the thirties, still relevant and in print). It’s too bad that in our duopoly of two thoroughly bought and corrupted parties, Stein not only can’t win. But most Americans have never heard of her or her superb positions on all the issues.
So, according to this account, there is just no possibility that “unlikely candidate” Senator Bernard Sanders could EVER, under any circumstance, become the nominee! No WAY.
That is pitiful – and absolutely outrageous. DeMOCKracy in action, eh?
Yes, a mockery of Democracy! Well said, and right to the point.
The idea is anyone but Bernie Sanders…
Exactly. Never accept a candidate the people want!
Joe Biden has spent forty years proving he is hopeless, and Liz Warren surely would not stoop so low as to support him and not Bernie.
” DeMOCKracy” Oh, good one! Democracy refers to demographics–the people.
The Democratic establishment connived with Jerry Brown to endorse Clinton for the same reasons that this article unveils the utter disarray that the DNC is experiencing. It’s a discredited party and needs to be replaced.
Bernie Sanders has demonstrated enormous drawing power across this nation. What is the problem with just telling it like it is? If we are a democratic nation that relies upon popular vote for establishing ruling candidates and ultimate winners (which is hardly the truth — although we don’t mind playing the hypocrite everywhere we go in the world), why won’t the PTB accept that voters everywhere are disenchanted with both parties? And disenchanted also with the ruling elite in this country (who are a bunch of hypocrites).
The one person who seems to be emerging with powerful appeal is Bernie Sanders. He has integrity (which is very important after all) and can be trusted to try very hard to implement the policies he has enunciated… Give the man the presidential nomination he deserves and get on with it!
+ Susan Sugar Well the problem is that your logic is correct. Amazing that WE the people are being ignored, let Bernie go for the brass ring, If he losses at least he had run at it.
Kafka is laughing at us
I agree with you Susan Raikes Sugar, Bernie has demonstrated great courage and conviction speaking truth to power. In doing so, he has worked hard to explain both the trouble in America and the possible solutions that he believes in. He deserves the opportunity to run and try to implement those ideas which I think will be accepted and successful… Thank You.
The people have chosen . Bernie & trump. The race of the outsiders
Agree with you Brandon. NevercrookedHillary. Never the establishments.
If the Democratic Party establishment chooses to shun the developing Political Revolution, Senator Sanders still has the option to run as an independent to ensure it’s born.
They had better not take the nomination away from bernie. What your article fails to mention is that not just any candidate, not even Elizabeth warren can replace sanders, the voters who support sanders do so because who he is and what he represents, they know he will not give up and secumb to the establishment power (proof is in his candidacy, which has been belittled, ridiculed and undermined and written off, yet thousands of people continue to flock to his clarion call)! So if they (the democratic establishment) want to destroy the Party then so be it, just try to push bernie and millions of voters aside.
I agree. Bernie vs trump
Wrong … bernie toast trump
I really like Bernie and I want him to beat crooked Hillary. But I also want Bernie to change from Socialism to be a real democratic society free from corruption. All Socialist countries are poor and collapsed. Let us stay as a democratic society.
With OB’s socialism for more than 7 years, I hate it, he destroys almost every erythings we have and he added more debts. Now he wants to destroy the 2nd amendment? Dick Morris wrote a book that OB will use Marshall law to grab power from whoever wins the election??? He won’t make it even if his master Childsroth/George Soros owned the planet, because GOD will strIke them all down.
[[[“They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us from the face of HIM who sits on the throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb”]]]
GOD Bless AMERICA.
Your article completely dismisses Bernie Sanders. Of course he will be the nominee if Clinton faces worse difficulties!
Bernie Sanders has run a brilliant campaign and it’s as if no one has noticed. I’m really disappointed that you have not seen that, Robert Parry!
Karen, et. al., I think Robert was expressing Democratic insiders’ take, not his own ‘druthers’. I could be mistaken, but the corporate-bankster Demo insiders do not want Bernie either and have not a scintilla of concern for what the people want.
Most alternative media are less alternative than people assume.
Perry should have at least mentioned the radicality of the impact the breathtaking power of the Sanders campaign/movement has on both chicken camps, Clinton’s and Trump’s, and what it is that makes it radical.
Well said.
I’m for Bernie, but I think he scares a lot of the upper crust Dems. They are all getting nasty rich off this system and he is calling for a revolution. I’d guess they go with Biden, he will have gotten through the primaries with a clean shirt on and most liberals know he was the dove in the room when HRC was pushing war every other day.
I completely agree with Karen above. It is exactly this arrogant dismissal of Senator Sanders (and his supporters) by the Democratic party, in the face of his amazing campaign, tremendous support, and incredible integrity and record , that has led the country to this dangerous brink. It is this dismissal that truly threatens the chances of unifying the party around HRC should she prevail. If things crash for HRC and the democratic establishment doesn’t rally around Senator Sanders they alone can shoulder the blame for a Trump presidency.
The democratic establishment “can shoulder the blame” and they should shoulder the blame, but they will blame Bernie if they lose.
Kooky old Bernie, who has never worked a day in his life, never sponsored meaningful legislation, and never served in harm’s way, was blatantly pro-soviet in the cold war. He sided with the Soviets to defeat the West and Reagan at all costs. He openly supported the Cubans and Nicaraguans as US troops were in harm’s way fighting the spread of Bernie’s communism down there. He honeymooned in the USSR and while he is now appalled at the US for trying to keep money seeking illegals from Latin America out and hevserks to further open our borders, he oddly didn’t mind his Soviet and East German heroes machine gunning freedom seeking unarmed civilians, including women and children, on the Berlin Wall. He was silent on the Korean Air shoot down, on Soviet support for world terrorism and it’s genocides worldwide. Anyone who thinks Bernie’s communist utopia is great, look at the former USSR and now Venezuela, which has 1000% inflation and is about to explode and recently the implosion of Greece. As China, Russia, N. Korea and lran line up to abuse us and prepare for wsr, Bernie is focused on rewarding deadbeats. Kooky old Bernie, promises the lazy, disloyal and unproductive a hefty retirement for life with no work required, by siezing private companies which will simply move away. He says global warming makes ISIS commit genocide, mass rape women, behead children and burn people alive. He belongs in an insane asylum and Shrollary belongs in prison
The 1% thanks you. Now get back to work, you lazy moocher!
Well said, Mike. This John Millan sounds like a Muslim guys called himself Tommy. Yeah the guy
Ignored the fact that this government created ISIS.
Exactly right! #BernieOrBust #NeverHillary
Karen, I totally agree. But then, the entire establishment has been trying to dismiss Senator Bernie Sanders from the very beginning.
It’s just another one of the establishment
Bernie or Bust !!
If The Criminal get the node, then all my buddies and I are voting for Trump……She is a MONSTER !
Me too KR. If Bernie is out, I will vote for Trump. That woman is a suspect criminal, corrupted and a warmonger.
Why did she take millions to billion dollars from foreign countries? She will do what the foreigners want, but not for us. She will destroy all the amendments that our forefathers left for us.
Dear GOD, please save us, your children and heal our land.
Please LORD stand before us and fight against our enemies for us. Amen
GOD Bless America.
agree: voters dont seem to want honest candidate!