The system for Democratic Party elites isn’t broken, says Caitlin Johnstone. It’s working exactly the way it’s intended to work. It ain’t a bug, it’s a feature.
By Caitlin Johnstone
CaitlinJohnstone.com
The Iowa caucus scandal has continued to get more egregious by the hour, with new revelations routinely pouring in about extremely suspicious manipulations taking place which all just so happen to disadvantage the campaign of Bernie Sanders in the first Democratic electoral contest of 2020. By the time you read this article, there will likely have been more.
Following the failure of an extremely shady app developed by vocally anti-Sanders establishment insiders which reportedly was literally altering vote count numbers after they were entered, Black Hawk County supervisor Chris Schwartz shared the election results in his county on Facebook so the public could have some idea of what’s going on as the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) slowly trickles out the results of the caucuses.
Sanders supporters quickly highlighted the fact that the IDP’s reported numbers for Black Hawk County were wildly different from those reported by Schwartz, with votes taken from Sanders and given to minor fringe candidates Deval Patrick and Tom Steyer. The IDP then announced that it would be making “a minor correction to the last batch of results”, which just so happened to be in Black Hawk County and just so happened to give Sanders back some votes (but still remains different from that reported by Schwartz).
It’s probable that this only happened as a result of one Black Hawk County supervisor taking to social media to report the vote tallies for this one particular county. What about all the Iowa locations where this did not happen and local Democratic Party officials didn’t report their numbers on social media? Does anyone actually believe that the one instance where the IDP got caught is the one instance in which such vote tampering occurred?
That would be a very silly belief to hold, in my opinion. It would be like a store clerk discovering that a can of beans is completely rotten, then going ahead and putting the rest of the pallet on the shelf under the assumption that the other cans are fine.
Another of the countless revelations hemorrhaging from this fustercluck is a report from CNN and The New York Post that the DNC, not the IDP, is “running the show” in managing the Iowa caucus scandal. This means that this Democratic presidential primary scandal is being managed by the same committee which orchestrated the last Democratic presidential primary scandal, and that the campaign being victimized by this scandal, that of Bernie Sanders, is the same in both cases.
This would be the same DNC whose chairperson, Tom Perez, recently stacked its nominating committee with dozens of odious alt-centrist establishment insiders who are ideologically opposed to Sanders in every meaningful way.
“Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez has nominated dozens of lobbyists, corporate consultants, think tank board members, and former officials linked to the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton to serve on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) nominating committee this July,” Kevin Gosztola reported for Grayzone last month. “Many of Perez’s nominees are vocal opponents of Senator Bernie Sanders and spoke out against his campaign when he challenged Hillary Clinton for the nomination in 2016.”
As these scandalous revelations continue to emerge I don’t see anyone online expressing surprise that the Democratic establishment is once again stacking the deck against Sanders, but I do see some people expressing surprise that they are being so brazen about it. Which is perfectly understandable; if this party wants to screw over progressive voters, you’d expect that they’d at least try to hide it a little bit so they don’t alienate their progressive base before November.
The flaw in this expectation is its premise that Democratic Party elites care if their party wins in November. They do not.
Put yourself in the shoes of one of the leading movers and shakers within the Democratic Party for a minute. Pretend you’re getting a nice paycheck, pretend you’re getting great healthcare benefits, pretend you get plenty of prestige and exclusive access and invitations to classy parties. And pretend you’re the type of person who’s willing to manipulate and deceive and kiss up and kick down and do whatever it takes to get to the top of such a structure.
Now ask yourself, if you were such a person in such a situation, would you care if voters pick Donald Trump or Pete Buttigeig in November? Would it affect your cushy lifestyle in any way whatsoever? Would you lose your job, your prestige or your influence? No party elites lost those things in 2016. Why would you expect this time to be any different?
But you might be at risk of losing your cushy lifestyle if a forcefully anti-elitist progressive movement gets off the ground and takes control of your party. So you’d stand everything to gain by doing everything you can to prevent that from happening, and, because you don’t care if Trump gets re-elected, you’d stand absolutely nothing to lose.
These people do not care if Trump gets re-elected, because they lose nothing if he does. The only people who stand anything to lose are the ordinary citizens who are suffering under a corrupt status quo of soul-crushing neoliberalism and increasing authoritarianism, many of whom currently support Sanders. Democratic Party elites are perfectly happy to keep shrieking about Russia for another four years while making sure that the status quo which rewards their manipulative behavior remains intact, and ensuring that they never wind up like those poor suckers out there who are suffering from poverty and lack of healthcare.
And everything I just said is equally true of the media class who are currently working in conjunction with the DNC’s shenanigans to spin Buttigeig as the clear winner of the party’s first presidential electoral contest. They enjoy all the same perks, and move in many of the same circles, as Democratic Party elites, and it’s all conditioned on their protection of the status quo.
I keep seeing the word “incompetence” thrown around. “Gosh these Democratic Party leaders are so incompetent!”, they say. “How can anyone be so bad at their job?”
Well, they are not bad at their job. They are very, very good at their job. It’s just that their job isn’t what most people assume it is.
Their job is not to win elections and garner public support, their job is to ensure the perpetuation of the status quo which rewards them so handsomely for their malignant behavior. Toward this end they are not incompetent at all. They know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re doing it well.
They are extremely competent. Depraved, certainly. Sociopathic, possibly. But not incompetent.
They’re happy to make their nefariousness look like incompetence though, whenever they can get away with it. Any manipulator worth their salt always will be. If they can make their planned, deliberate acts of sabotage look like innocent little oopsies, they’ll gladly do so. But you learn in life that whenever you see someone making a lot of “mistakes” which just so happen to benefit them every time, you’re dealing with manipulation, not incompetence.
What do the bad guys say in the movies when they order someone’s murder? They say “Make it look like an accident.” If it’s an accident you’ve got no trouble. You won’t be seen for what you are.
But of course it’s no accident, and anyone with clear eyes and good intentions sees this. If you see someone working hard to make you believe that it’s incompetence, you are dealing with someone who is invested in maintaining the status quo in some way. You are being manipulated.
The system isn’t broken. It’s working exactly the way it’s intended to work. It ain’t a bug, it’s a feature. And that feature will remain in operation until the entire sick system is torn down and replaced with something healthy.
Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly at Medium. Follow her work on Facebook, Twitter, or her website. She has a podcast and a book, “Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers.”
This article was re-published with permission.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
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Here’s how the DNC stole the 2016 California primary from Bernie Sanders
See: gregpalast.com/bernie-won-california-official-un-count/
While re-reading Caitlin’s excellent work, I’m reminded of a long dead mentor told me: “ liberals, when challenged, always run to fascism.”
My father, an old time professional criminal also advised: “ Always vote Democrat for judges. The Republicans are either too rich or too damned principled to bribe.”
This upheaval is inevitable, Trump the corrupt, and Democratic Party the corrupt, leading to an unrest among a population so comfortable that it has supported genocidal imperialism and the imprisonment of millions of its own.
Since matters of conscience will not send us into the streets, only hunger will.
Charlene we have the power to discipline the people we elect but the way things work now no one has any incentive to do so because the money is too good. Elections and auctions are two different things, and have two different names for a reason.
If I’m a billionaire I like this system, being ran the way it is. They have no competition, none! The number of billionaires world wide increased from 1,810 t0 2,043 in 2016 s 13% increase in one year the largest jump in 30 years of monitoring. There are ~2,200 billionaires in the entire world population.
(you can go to the wiki for The World’s Billionaires for more recent date and stats from Forbes)
I way I see this it only works out well for billionaires.
Clearly their status quo is unmaintainable , no matter what they get it will never be enough, as witnessed by their behavior. Tkese people by a large percentage are driven by greed. There is little else to provide incentive, and it becomes and addicition. Maybe not initially but after they get into the club, look out.
Unless we get this under control we ALL are toast and that is the TRUTH!
Never Give In, Never, Never, Never . . . . Winston Churchill 1941.
Trump is no Patriot , he is a nationalist. Figure it out Kids. Patriots where here before the United States ever existed and they swore to uphold the constitution.
Trump did the same in his oath to become president. Now he tries to gut the document he swore to defend,and bull shit us into believing he and he alone can save the nation.
I see millions of Americans running around claiming t0o be patriotic espousing Trumpian B.S. totally confused about jut who it is they are angry with. Souls lost to the billionaires cause.
Ya’ ll might want to catch The Fifth Columns Beau’s You Tube, “Let’s Talk About patriotism, in America and loyalty. It’s just common sense Kids.
Citizens of the earth , citizens of the USA must unite and accept one another for their wisdom and their folly. Trump,Sanders,Obama,and supporters of anyone, all are perceptive and partially blind.
Divide and conquer the oligarchs strategy, the antidote, reach out to your fellow citizen and gently educate not berate.
Trump is no worse than Obama or Clinton, only different.
The very first thing he did was cancel TPP, a hugely unconstitutional document eliminating USA sovereignty. He is a mixture, just as any president or any person is.
Initially he also badmouthed the CIA and the MSM, (his current prosecutors), is that not also something we are able to support?
Of course his drawbacks are all glaring. But so are the faults of almost every other president if one is able to drop the “identity politics” blinders.
As so many have said Trump is the symptom not the disease he has followed in the footsteps of his precedents. The system needs radical overhaul, predatory capitalism must end, no more murdering millions for profit and no more greatest upwards wealth transfer in history.
Shadow parent company Acronym owned by Bilderburg regular and zionist associate.
Your “analysis” is vague, and makes me wonder if you understand the US Constitution. Dem programs which have enacted all known entitlement programs are NOT CONSTITUTIONAL in any material way. But are merely popular and accepted by the politicians. The often pointed at “general welfare” clause does not enable our officials to tax in order to redistribute, the very EXISTENCE of the Constitution “PROMOTES the general welfare”. That we have rights the govt pledges to defend at all, promotes the general welfare. Its not checks on the first, its having a free press and due process.
it is a sad statement of this country calling itself a “democracy”, when it has NEVER being one in the true sense of the word. The fact the since the inception of the Republic only wealthy land owners had the vote (while owning African human beings and poor indentured white “servants”). Women had to wait over a century to be “allowed to vote” and in case the “People” got democratic ideas the electoral college was there to prevent true democracy to this day. The Unites States is an Oligarchic entity with elections to give it cover for internal and external consumption.
“But you learn in life that whenever you see someone making a lot of “mistakes” which just so happen to benefit them every time, you’re dealing with manipulation, not incompetence.” So true; ‘failing up’ in a nutshell.
Reading this post reminded me of Walter Karp’s book “Indispensable Enemies” from 1973. It’s very worth reading if you can find a copy. Some clippings for you all:
“Because the politics of special privilege is a policy of active, maximum corruption, it can only be carried out by means of two-party collusion. there is no way for one party syndicate to dispense corrupt privilege unless the other party syndicate agrees to connive at it. Since the politics of special privilege helps usurpation in general, the collusion, as always, springs up automatically between the party hierarchies. Only intense public pressure or the most glaring public scandal will prod one party oligarchy into reluctantly attacking its partner. Historically, nothing reveals the necessity for two-party collusion more graphically than the swift ruin of Hamilton’s grand design for oligarchy. Lacking a fake opposition party organization to connive at his bestowal of corrupt privilege, Hamilton had to face a large number of free men hurt by and opposed to his policies. When a free coalition against him was organized by Madison and Jefferson, the Hamilton oligarchy crumbled forever. A durable one-party national oligarchy is impossible in the American Republic. It takes two collusive party syndicates to manage the inveterate abuse of power which the usurpation of power requires. [p 162]
The wielders of usurped party power must entangle all the major sources of wealth in corrupt privilege and corrupt every new source of wealth with new corrupt privilege, for otherwise the politics of special privilege would be futile. It does little good for the party oligarchs to command a large quantity of private wealth and influence, if a great deal of wealth and influence is not under their command.” [p 164]
“. . . through such command over wealth, the oligarchs could not only provide themselves with money but make it difficult for a free opposition to secure any, . . . This was well seen, for example, in late 1969 when the two party syndicates openly united against the peace movement. As soon as they did so the movement’s supply of philanthropic money dried up with extraordinary rapidity. Under present-day party power, few wealthy philanthropists will support for long what both party organizations are determined to crush.” [p 156]
“American foreign policy has been gratuitously aggressive since 1898, a policy carried out for no compelling reason except the oligarchs’ wish to prosecute an aggressive foreign policy. The reason for wanting such a policy, however, is scarcely mysterious and certainly not irrational. An aggressive foreign policy safeguards the power of the power wielders and strengthens their control over those whom they rule. This is a political commonplace applied by historic rulers a thousand different times, and Americans understood it clearly enough when they opposed entangling alliances.” [p 248]
“. . . it is the bastions of the oligarchs, the Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, which control the military pork barrel in Congress. A compliant Congressman troubled by unemployment in his district can have it promptly diminished by the suitable bestowal of a military contract; a Congressman tempted to take an independent line can have unemployment inflicted on his constituents if he steps too far out of line. Through their control of the military boodle, the oligarchs can make a hack Congressman appear a genuine power in the House and an unruly Congressman appear inept and useless in the eyes of his constituents. . . . The party oligarchs have every reason of their own to feed the military-industrial complex and no reason of their own to stop. That is why the American Republic today is saddled with the most profligate military establishment in history . . .” [p 272]
Be prepared: If no one can win on first ballot, they’re going to helicopter in Michelle Obama for the nomination. Oh, you thought that was a “book tour” she went on?
Is seeing truly believable?
great work as always by caitlin j ..and if they succeed in keeping bernie from the nomination and he doesn’t bolt the party and join the greens or ? – in which case, and especially if tulsi is on the ticket , he can win – we’ll not only get four more years of trump but suffer a rupture of the system far beyond the rapture some decent souls and indecent leaders seem to be expecting…really folks,this thing is in far worse than critical shape and with a continued circus performance by the pinhead ceo and the bonehead professional class opposition, the tent may come down – hard – on all of us.
Yes it is on purpose. Get the convention to the 2nd ballot where the SuperDelegates Rule.
It is part of a BIG PLAN. That plan includes endless wars until a catastrophe happens.
I was an operations sergeant for a National Guard engineering company in Mosul, Iraq in 2004.
That was when Paul Bremer took over as “viceroy” of Iraq. He shut down all civil authority and shut down
the state owned economy. That is when all hell really broke loose. I think the Resistance in Iraq had more order and
discipline than Rumsfeld gave them credit.
The plan was to destroy Iraq, to splinter it. It had to be on purpose. Ivy League grads aren’t that stupid!
Back in 2008, the journalist Jonathan Cook wrote a book in which he argued that splintered “failed states” (in Iraq & other parts of the Middle East) WAS the plan:
“Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East”
see: jonathan-cook.net/books/israel-and-the-clash-of-civilisations/
–“Now ask yourself, if you were such a person in such a situation, would you care if voters pick Donald Trump or Pete Buttigeig in November? “–
I like the analogy the DNC don’t care if they win or loose, they still have a job.
This ALSO reminds me of a comment attributed to Connie Mack, baseball’s longest EVER manager.
It goes something like “the BEST thing that can happen to a baseball team, if you’re a manager or owner, is to go to the world series and then lose. You can get afford promising new players, because you got to the extra revenue from post season ticket sales, concessions and merchandise. You ALSO get to keep your existing players, because they LOST and so nobody can ask you for a raise.”
It helps to think about national politics like you think of baseball. The DNC are the coaches / managers / owners, and the politicians are the players. For the DNC, there is ALWAYS another election next year.
My dear departed dad was one of those who couldn’t ask for a raise from Connie Mack. Eventually he resisted and bolted.
Hark, I can predict the future! . . .The first time that Buttigieg (boot-edge-edge) gains front-page photos of himself walking hand-in-hand with his husband, or perhaps something more intimate, most Christian pastors will sermonize on it and B-G-G will be history. . .So then it’s Sanders v. Trump, a contest.
My theory is that the DNC and their masters in the MIC are setting up mayor Pete like a bowling pin to be taken down by Trump in November. The flyover states are not ready to accept an openly gay president. Imagine the optics of him appearing with his “first husband” to be. This will enrage the “Identity Politics” DNC democrats, and Rachel Madcow will be spastic and frothing at the mouth. The culture war will take up volumes of airtime and distract from the very REAL wars with their millions of maimed and dead, and the thousands of PTSD and moral injury related suicides. As Porky the Pig used to say “Th… th… that’s All Folks”.
Buttigieg: the guy rich white neo-liberals think would get the Millenial vote…
Ms. Richards provides the perfect example of the problem our society has currently. The utility of the single voter is lost when that voter becomes a “True Believer” in a corrupt system and cannot bring themselves to break the bonds of tradition.
Kurt Vonnegut: “Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider the capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.”
Kurt Vonnegut, was captured by the Germans during the battle of the bulge and was very likely very well versed in all things vile.
Most free thinkers, students of critical thought would take great issue with your statements here, not me I will simply ask you one question.
Ask yourself “WHY” you know what it is you know about these particular subjects, how is it you know these things. Be honest with yourself for no one will ever know your thoughts. And no I do not care to share those thoughts, they are yours.
My point is it’s time to think, think about what it means to be free.
And remember no one is more blind that the sighted person who refuses to see, what ever the reason.
THE TRUTH is neither major political party gives one hoot about the TRUTH. Neither does any MSM outlet, fox included.
In my humble opinion once an individual , any individual displays affection to either party they surely have discarded their value for truth long ago.
It us not only elections, which are a complete mockery of the US pretense of being a democracy.
Look at the wars of the USA this century-the “greatest fighting force the world has ever known” cannot win against even their “enemies” who have a tiny proportion of the US spending and “intelligence”. Since the huge contractors like Boeing, Northrop Grunman continue with their profits, and the numberless generals and other inhabitants of the Pentagon, plus “reps”for the House, and factories packed with potential voters in every electorate in the country all benefit from the endless wars, there is no reason to seek peace or even discussions or negotiations.
A far greater threat to the entrenched masters of the DNC is Tulsi Gabbard. The evidence is apparent in the efforts they have exerted to silence and sideline her which far exceed the tenor of their attack on Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders is unlikely to defeat Donald Trump. Trump will strut out all of his showmanship to ridicule Sanders as an aging “socialist” without broad based support among more moderate Democrats. He is clearly Trump’s first choice among the Democrat contenders. Gabbard offers no target for Trump showmanship. She is a military officer with combat experience, a Congressman with extensive foreign affairs, armed services, and financial credentials, a moderate with rational positions on the issues, a candidate offering service over self, articulate and informed, a female of color, youthful and vigorous, and someone who wears a white pants suit with real class. Gabbard is the only candidate who can excite progressives, moderates, libertarians, some conservatives, and even a few Trump supporters. The DNC will continue to invest everything into their efforts to deny her a voice in their processes.
What is the one thing France’s yellow vest lack that makes them such a danger to the established order?
For one thing they lack a Political party, structure, and are not looking for one either.
Every time they take to the streets leadership is in flux, you cannot pin point a singular individual as so many form temporary personnel allegiances under not a party banner but idealism.
Strangers meet and greet, one day firemen, the next teachers, millworkers, shop owners with customers and then students, a kalidescope of constantly changing pieces where the Government is in the fishbowl, and not the people, that is being tapped upon by someone new everyday.
One.weekend an individual or small group of individuals grab the bull horn to cheer others on or move to front and accept the gas, clubs and rubber bullets. and the next day someone or some group that was never seen before replaces them.
The old.Emporers idea of cutting the head off the snake to end resistance by followers does no longer work because the Yellow vest is multi headed , and if one head is arrested and beaten ten more appear.
The French yellow vest is the longest running and most massive in numbers anti government protest in History, and gauging by the lack of coverage in US and many other nations capital owned media, the most underreported, and the reason, simple enough it scares they’ll out of those who run US.
Official Iowa Caucus results with 100% in:
Pete Buttigieg
Percent: 26.2%
SDE: 564
Votes: 43,195
Bernie Sanders
Percent: 26.1%
SDE: 562
Votes: 45,826
Etc.
(Iowa Caucus 2020 Live Results And Updates — NPR)
That is, Bernie Sanders wins with 2,631 more votes. However, the official results give a percent based on State Delegate Equivalent — including coin tossing to break ties in precints — so officially Pete Buttigieg wins by 0.1%.
Since the DNC loves to monkey around with the numbers and change them against a certain candidate (Bernie), let them take 0
votes in November! Like many, I did not vote because the two candidates did NOT represent the people.
TIME FOR A 3RD PARTY!!!
He won all the coin tosses using the new DNC coin tossing app.
Rigging to prevent the election of system reformers like Bernie and Tulsi “will remain in operation until the entire sick system is torn down and replaced with something healthy.” Ms. Johnstone’s conclusion is accurate and ominous. Those who are serious about tearing down need to carefully consider the consequences of revolutionary action and reaction in deeply divided, fear-stoked, heavily-armed America. The only practical way to defeat hate-driven reactionaries, as MLK told us in his “Love Your Enemy” speech, is to love them as we dismantle and rebuild with non-violent action, discipline, and solidarity.
But sounds too much like the Love that opposed the Vietnam War with no effect at all.
The right wing saw nothing at all among war resisters but more targets of hatred, and
denounced them as “flower children” and “longhairs” and “commies” and “cowards.”
MLK had no effect at all but as the neutral voice of the violence that persuaded racists
to look for such an excuse, to pretend that were persuaded rather than intimidated.
Love has no effect at all on the right wing; nor do persuasion, facts, or education.
Demagogues don’t want facts, they want targets for their followers’ hatreds.
Now every branch of federal government and mass media are completely corrupted.
We have none of the tools of democracy to restore democracy, just obscure websites.
No, the restoration of democracy in the US will not be peaceful; it never is.
I see a century of defeats and decline, then a century of domestic tyranny.
Show me where Love has done anything in politics but neuter the opposition,
or provide the diplomatic voice for strong and intimidating direct action.
But the Love that opposed racism and the Vietnam War had no effect on oppressors.
The right wing saw nothing at all among war resisters but more targets of hatred, and
denounced them as “flower children” and “longhairs” and “commies” and “cowards.”
MLK had no effect at all except as the neutral voice of the riots that persuaded racists
to look for such an excuse, to pretend that were persuaded rather than intimidated.
Love has no effect at all on the right wing; nor do persuasion, facts, or education.
Demagogues don’t want facts, they want targets for their followers’ hatreds.
Now every branch of federal government and mass media are completely corrupted.
We have none of the tools of democracy to restore democracy, beyond a few websites.
No, the restoration of democracy in the US will not be peaceful; it never is.
I see a century of defeats and decline, then a century of domestic tyranny.
While political parties should always remain reasonable, and even strong activists
must ensure that there is a diplomatic channel to negotiate with oppressors,
Love has done nothing at all against oppression but neuter the opposition.
That was the role of Christianity against monarchy: the king is your lord, so get over it.
Is it a coincidence that Bernie Sanders has spoken out in favor of Palestinian human rights more than any of the other candidates? Buttigieg, on the other hand, has largely toed the line on the issue.
It’s important to remember that Israel partisans played a significant role in choosing Perez as DNC national chair over Keith Ellison, who supported Palestinian rights.
See: israelpalestinenews.org/israel-partisans-make-perez-democratic-national-committee-chair-defeat-keith-ellison/
Also see Alison Weir’s Against Our Better Judgment for a history of US corruption to create Israel.
Thanks, Alison!
This isn’t a game to be played. It is the lives of generations.
The important thing is that the DNC’s Mook mathematics enabled Buttigieg to retain a 0.27% lead over Bernie in state delegate equivalents 564 to 562.5. “Victory!” As if anyone believes anything our political institutions spew.
And with the very hackable electronic voting machines, and the green light from Judge William Zloch, there will be all sorts of mischief through the primaries, mostly aimed at Sanders. Why won’t it continue into the “real” elections, as it did in the special Alabama Senate Election? Don’t remember anyone from New Knowledge imprisoned for election interference; it’s not like some kid getting caught with pot.
Calls have been coming that the UN should be involved with supervising this primary. The way this could happen would be for groups that support the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 were to help build a league for #SDG16 which is for de-corrupting dysfunctional institutional culture so that healthy institutions may advance equal justice for all.
I don’t know of any similar project that has the potential to affirm a genuine acculturation of real UDHR values, and the fact that 193 countries adopted this goal in 2015 gives us an opportunity to set a world standard for fidelity to the public interest in matters of public policy and political organizing.
“Incompetence is a myth” … “The system … isn’t broken” …”It’s working exactly the way it’s intended to work.”
Its the first time I see a journalist acknowledging the obvious. From Bush and his gang to Trump and the whole political system (not only in the US) the excuse has always been the same and the phony argument endlessly repeated.
However after the good start I don’t think the article goes deep enough behind the official version of the facts. I suspect that the DNC is so brazen about this rigging because they want to concentrate the attention on Buttigieg and Sanders and restrict the primaries to a competition among the two. First they want to weed out more dangerous candidates like Warren. After they got rid of Warren, towards the end of the primaries they will begin to turn the attention on Sanders weaknesses.
I don’t think Warren was ever considered terribly “dangerous”by the ruling classes. She’s one of them and always has been- a Republican before she shaped-shifted to Democrat in her late forties no less. Talk about an Obama 2.0- that’s Warren. Stick a fork in her though, she’s done, mostly by her own lying and false charges of sexism at Sanders.
You are SO right, Mr Doe!
” However after the good start I don’t think the article goes deep enough behind the official version of the facts. I suspect that the DNC is so brazen about this rigging because they want to concentrate the attention on Buttigieg and Sanders and restrict the primaries to a competition among the two. ”
Not likely at all. The DNC retains ultimate control of choosing the eventual nominee if no candidate receives a majority of delegates in the first round at the convention , in which case the superdelegates will hold sway in the second round. The best way to accomplish this outcome is to engineer a primary race with multiple candidates drawing votes away from Sanders throughout the primary.
I guess Biden was sacrificed to impeach/weaken Trump.
Now Buttigieg is knowingly sacrificed to eliminate/weaken Sanders.
The DNC’s end play candidate is Bloomberg.
And if this strategy backfires there’s always ‘the Russians did it’ narrative.
John did you ever hear of the Clintons? Time to Dump Trump the repugs the democraps the hole sheebang, and lock up the criminal billionaires.
You may be over thinking this!
Scary, definitely rings true.
“This would be the same DNC whose chairperson, Tom Perez, recently stacked its nominating committee with dozens of odious alt-centrist establishment insiders who are ideologically opposed to Sanders in every meaningful way.”
I never seen “alt-centrist” moniker before, but I observed the phenomenon of centrist fanaticism. Why centrist? Because they select some “progressive planks”, typically LGTB, global warming (in an aesthetic way, in American edition, not making any real difference) etc. Then they “compensate” with stuff like “unconditional support of Israel”, and zealous defense of potentially oppressed minorities like insurance companies and other jackals tearing out huge chunks of cash from monies Americans pay to have healthcare (cumulatively, much more money is involved there than in Military Industrial Complex which is dear to their heart too). And they are damn fanatical about those things, with real hatred to their opponents. And they operate sufficiently long to deserve “alt-“.
A footnote on centrist fanaticism. The general “centrist” phenomenon, balancing “nice” position with imperialism, servile attitude to “business concerns” etc. is wide, but not that fanatical, at least according to public record. But this is a good example:
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_United_Means_Action
Some alt-centrists were enraged that Obama won primaries in 2008. One aspect is that while today we know that Obama was a very safe choice for the centrists, it was not sufficiently clear to them back then. As they were angrily digesting the results, someone said that some action should be taken under “Party Unity My Ass” slogan, and they did it on a large scale (money is not a problem to alt-centrists), but for wider consumption PUMA stood for People United Means Action.
A very recent example is the reaction to the “Peace Plan”:
The Hill
Democrats should redefine their support for Israel in Middle East
BY DOUGLAS SCHOEN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 02/02/20 01:00 PM EST
The gist is that there is unsettling trend: the “support of Israel” is growing in GOP, recently raising to 74%, while among Democrats if grew from 42% years ago to 43% (statistical error is 3-5). And now Trump made a big move that may increase the disparity further. What to do? “Democrats should make clear that no matter who leads the nation of Israel, they will unconditionally support our strongest ally in the Middle East”, basically they should start purging the party from all non-Israel-friendly elements. The author describes himself as “advisor to Hillary Clinton and Michael Bloomberg”, he seems to be an important alt-centrist fanatic.
The Bernie campaign had a precinct captain in pretty much every caucus location, independently recording and reporting results to the campaign. Warren and Buttigieg also had captains in many precincts (although I do not know how complete their saturation was). This means that each time the IDP publishes a falsified or inaccurate result for a precinct, they will be called out on it.
It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you.
The 2020 Democratic (sic) primaries will finally awaken the rest of the population to the fact that the primaries are rigged.
Let’s hope so. It’s about fricking time.
Brilliant, and I totally agree. The DNC members are Oligarchs and really DONT give a damn what happens to the country. Their motto is ” NOT US. ME”.
If anyone still feels like laughing, and it remains powerful medicine to laugh at one’s foes, please find & view the videos of the three Iowa tie-breaker coin tosses. I won’t spoil it for you, but it is ridiculously inept. “How not to toss a coin: practice session at 2 pm, IDP headquarters.” I agree that other than this, the DNC & Minions have been ruthless as a Mafia strike. I saw it on MCSC with Niko House.
That was the most hard hitting, truthful, impactful analysis I have read for a long, long time. I’m sending this to as many of my deluded brainwashed friends as possible. Thank you Caitlin, I lose my mojo in terms of the level of my activism more often lately, but your energy in revealing and framing accurately the corruption of our system is giving me at least temporarily, new life and motivation. Thank you, I feel weak in your literary and activist presence!
Bingo, I agree totally.
Very well said, Caitlin, indeed both major political parties and every branch of federal government are completely corrupted by money, and very sophisticated about it. State governments are just as bad. Only by rigorously isolating government and mass media from economic power can we restore democracy, and we no longer have the tools of democracy to do that peacefully.
I just read this article and it scared the hell out of me, because so much of it rang true and put into words many things I’ve been intuitively suspecting. I have been very unhappy with HRC for years and wish she’d just go away and do some introspection, but I think she’s just so driven and addicted to power and control, that she’s incapable of this. Her superiority complex just turns me off, whereas Bernie’s great authenticity truly inspires me!
The thing I find troubling is your suggestion this has something to do with Hillary Clinton with no suggestion of that in this article at all. Clinton’s name is mentioned only in passing in reference and there is no suggestion she was involved.
This is to Edwin- of course Hillary Clinton had “something to do with it.” That leathery winged serpent is still stirring a witch’s caldron of trouble at every turn. The Clintons ARE the DNC! And they have been for a very long time!
DONNA BRAZILE SAYS SHE HAS “PROOF” CLINTON RIGGED THE PRIMARY AGAINST SANDERS vanity dot fair dot com 11/2/17
Edwin Stow: No mention of Hillary involvement, but has effective DNC control changed hands since Clinton recapitalized the DNC in 2015?
I agree with the Hillary part, she is a sad woman, filled with a bitterness and hunger for power that causes her to evoke disdain. Her accomplishments of riding her husband’s coat tails and her/their world of corruption is repulsive. They will do anything to get what they want. Regarding Bernie, whom I don’t align with, I don’t agree with his socialist agenda; yes I’m a Trump supporter, but I can see how corruption and unfair the entire process is and was with no penalty, no accountability…that’s what disheartening, how we’ve lost our voice in what is supposed to be democracy.
2Edwin Stowe- so what? Do some research, the creators of this idiotic “Shadow App” was created and controlled by Clinton supporters, regardless of if the woman herself had a thing to do with it, what Diane says is justified. How about those coin tosses, you see any of that? Look up the video, there’s a clip of a guy flipping a coin, catching it, then holding it up and looking at it as if to make sure he gets the result he wants before placing it flat in his hand and calling it for Buttigiegggg….it was so blatant as to be criminal. Pathetic, cheating bs. What makes Clinton so deluded that she’s going to spend the rest of her life so obviously embittered by the fact that the Electoral College gave the presidency to one of the most despicable con-men in the world rather than her, and refuses to take an iota of responsibility for it? Now she wants to chip-in on smearing the only guy who has a chance of beating the current sorry-excuse of “leader” the country now has. The Clinton/Obama-worshipping contingent of the Democrats are as much an obstruction to progress of any kind as are the Trumpists and Republicans. Half the country sees the lying, molesting, never-did-a-day-of-public-service-his-whole-life business-criminal Trump as some kind of hero. That’s a problem that isn’t going to be solved by an election, regardless of who wins. And Democrats’ elitist leadership make it clear they’d rather lose to him rather than possibly win with a candidate who has more popular support than any other. As if Platitude Pete or Demented Joe or Oligarch Mike are so “electable.” And people wonder why so many eligible voters refuse to play a part in this corrupt farce….pardon the rant, but the fact is Hillary just can’t let go, her and her supporters make it obvious whenever they pop-up, STILL arguing over how/why they lost in’16 and how it’s everyone else’s fault but their own….she’d do the country and her party a great service if she shut the hell up, sit this one out, and go enjoy what time(which isn’t much)and money(which is a lot) she has left with her family and/or doing something productive, and counting her blessings. Only a massive, inflated ego would keep one in her position from doing otherwise.
Now that you’ve delivered your report, I will rip it up as a courtesy, while appearing confused, drunk, and muttering to myself.
People always see conspiracies when they don’t get what they want. This article is a classic piece of paranoia. And it represents all the reasons why Trump will be re-elected: these only-Bernie voters, after crying foul all spring, will disappear from the fall election.
You keep on thinking that, Nathan. Keep right on deluding yourself. You are in good company. Thankfully though, more and more Americans are waking up to this plutocratic nightmare in which we live. Maybe there’s hope for you yet… read real journalism from real journalists like this fine piece here and perhaps you will awaken to reality.
Aiding criminals isnt called patriotism.
To me this is a classic gas-lighting comment. If you follow the money, question those who have the power, call them on their outlandish behavior then you must be a “paranoid conspiracy theorist.” No where does the author say she’s a supporter of Sanders. And can one really reduce her writing down to “getting what you want”? Is it really about being selfish or is that your own projection? I’ve lived long enough to see this two party shit-show go on for decades and the only people who “get what they want” are the Selfish -the ones with power, who thrive on power/control, who identify with power at another’s expense. How convenient it must be to have a easy, repeatable go-to message (which would have NO effect if the Selfish didn’t own 95% of the media) to keep the peasants/slaves in line.
The message of the article is clear. Voting is a pointless exercise as the system is completely rigged and now becoming (as it can no longer hide it’s consequences) completely unhinged. If you don’t want the shit-show to continue don’t participate in it–as George Carlin once said “those who vote have no right to complain.”
I recently came across this quote from Hannah Ahrendt, the famous WWII person who fought against fascism: ” If everybody lies to you, if everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer…And a people that can no longer believe anything, cannot make up its mind. It is deprived, not only of its capacity to act, but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such people, you can then do as you please.”
This is happening to us in a thousand different ways, thanks to our MSM, our Government, our political parties (both of ’em).
In my opinion, Bernie is the only one who has a plan that might begin to turn the lies around ; no one else comes close.
No one you are allowed to see comes so close, but the rest come far closer.
ranney,
except Tulsi Gabbard. If Bernie manages to get the nomination, in spite of all the DNC cheating and lying, he should ask Yang to be veep and Tulsi to be Sec. of State. That would finally turn the world direction around.
BYW, Pete has been groomed for a long time to be president and carry on the traditions of the DEMS and REPUBS; i.e., favor Wall Street, big banks, corporations, attack more innocent countries, support that rotten Israel, destroy the rest of the water and air, ruin all the national parks, brutally sanction countries that try to do good for their people instead of doing what the US wants, continue illegal coups, and finally use the big bomb on someone via a false flag.
Another brilliant analysis. “Well, they are not bad at their job. They are very, very good at their job. It’s just that their job isn’t what most people assume it is.
Their job is not to win elections and garner public support, their job is to ensure the perpetuation of the status quo which rewards them so handsomely for their malignant behavior. ”
Trump would be an advantage to them, him being to their right somewhat. They could just continue to bellow and holler whining about whatever the latest tweet is and maybe blaming Putin.
Sanders would totally upset their cart of rotten apples, the contrast with his positions and behavior would show the centrists for what they are-neo-liberal and neo-con desecraters of the legacy of the New Deal. Or to use a Vermont expression burdocks up the ass of progress.
Sanders, AOC et. al. are the thrust of an attempt to reform the Democratic party, to save it from itself. Of course the crooks will do anything to stop that-even lose to King Trump.
On the other hand good news- they couldn’t save Biden; he’s cooked, no longer investment grade, like junk bond status. Considering his fondness for the financial sector that is an appropriate metaphor.
Once again Caitlin nails it.
I agree with your analysis Caitlin. At their core both parties are in agreement on most if not all of the major issues. Take Empire (American Exceptionalism?) as an example. The Empire is a force for good and the elites in both parties along with the donor class and the MSM are all on board. Deregulation and privatization are mantras for both Dems and Repubs. QE for the rich and austerity for everyone else, yet again more consensus. It might be possible for some tinkering on the margins with minor issues so long as it does not impinge in any way on the upward flow of wealth to the billionaires. This system, with its corrupted democracy, will never work for the 99%.
“It’s not who votes that counts. It’s who counts the votes.” – Joseph Stalin
“But you learn in life that whenever you see someone making a lot of “mistakes” which just so happen to benefit them every time, you’re dealing with manipulation, not incompetence.”
You could say the same thing about the mainstream media’s reporting errors on Trump and conservatives generally. It only goes in one direction, more or less without exception.
We are seeing the MSM ignoring any sinister intent at play in Iowa. If it is mentioned it is dismissed as a ‘conspiracy theory’. Unfortunately there are many people who have been branded by MSM. If you mention the possibility that the DNC is up to mischief you’ll only see a rolling of their eyes. We can count on some new outrage to pop that will overshadow this election theft. The Iowa scandal will just disappear.
This is 2016 deja vu.
“it’s a feature.”
Quite so, often used when We-the-people-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evidentness loses potency and sleight of handness is required to facilitate immersion in keep-with-the-teamness.
The DNC would rather have a Trump victory than have a President Sanders or Gabbard. They know they’ve already failed to bring forth an Establishment candidate with the chops to go the distance, and they are not about to allow a reformist. So I look for political suicide in the 2020 election, then they can pick up the pieces again after relentlessly bashing Trump for the next four years at our expense.
Why the citizens of the United States haven’t overthrown this insidious excuse for a federal government by now is beyond me. But don’t think this scenario is not being run by back channel agents in the Russian military with lower echelons of the US armed Forces.
As Sun Tzu postulated in his historic text on warfare, “On War”, “The best battle to fight is the one you don;t have to…”
I suggest that many in Russia, Iran, and even China, among possible other nations around the world are already planning such a scenario for taking down the US government. None of these countries want a conflict with the United States as one will be ruinous for every country involved. And I just don’t see our own troops, who for years have been worn down from all such problems related to constant deployments into America’s stupid wars, not being open to ending such conflicts in a peaceful way.
I am hopeful that at some point in the near future, units of the US Armed Forces will enter the Capitol and White House and arrest the entire lot of these sleazy cretins for treason against the United States, Crimes Against Humanity, and War Crimes.
What we have now is not sustainable and if something is not sustainable, it simply will not be around for the long term…
“As Sun Tzu postulated in his historic text on warfare, “On War”, “The best battle to fight is the one you don;t have to…”
Spectators are often immersed in what-you-see-is-what-you-getism lacking in details in respect of how to, encouraging reliance on slogans and summary.
Sun Tzu and others understood some of the advantages of spectatorship.
Practitioners such as Sun Tzu and others were/are informed by “The battle to fight is the one where your opponents fight one another whilst you maintain a “myth of incompetence” (weakness)” and “disengagement”, encouraged by some spectator’s immersion in what-you-see-is-what-you-getism lacking in details in respect of how to’s, thereby encouraging iterations of how to’s being “beyond me”/ spectators and spectator’s iterations of reliance on assertions, belief and hope – “I am hopeful that…” refers.
Chances are … this is another third party election. I won’t vote for Donnie Murdo and I won’t vote for a DNC apparatchik.
Caitlin, you’re on the mark again. The establishment is “one party, and we ain’t in it.” as Carlin said so long ago.
Time for the yellow vests.
She isn’t wrong.
Caitlin – I always love what you have to say, so forceful, so clear-eyed. But tell me, is this prophet accepted in her own hometown?
Bingo!
The failings or “incompetence” of the Dem$ is precisely like the failings of the Perpetual War on Terror.
The money keeps rolling in and there is never any consequence for getting things wrong.
That certainly smells like $ucce$$.
And all personal failure is upward$.
But hey, let’s blame the voters or those who refuse to play, by either voting third party or abstaining from the deliberate “rigging”, deceit, manipulation, and shaming of those who do see what is going on.
That shaming is the task of the MSM who ignore, attack, marginalize, or fire any who do not toe the “proper”, profitable corporate/financial/military/intelligence lines.
The Big $cam.
It ain’t error, incompetence, or honest mistake.
It is deliberate, intended, and horribly effective.
However, too many U$ians refuse to examine the reality and run from the implications.
If the fairy tales can no longer be believed, then it must be up to US, the people, the many to DO something about it.
And voting within a destroyed and intentionally failed $y$tem will not do it.
Frankly, it might be a long and depressing while before that sinks in for enough citizens to make the critically necessary difference in understanding AND behavior.
I used to think that the Democrats were the lesser of the two evils. Now, I think that the Democrats are the other of the two evils.
I also think that what Caitlin says of the Democrats is also true of the media.
The media appears – not to be incompetent – but to be deliberately mis-informative. I have been following this for years. There is simply no other conclusion that fits.
When every single media outlet makes the exact same mistakes, the “mistakes” are not mistakes. It is mis-information by design. When every media outlet prints the exact same story, the only conclusion that fits, is that the whole thing is synchronized. Reality is simply not so “cut and dry” that every single reporter necessarily comes to the exact same conclusion as to what happened. You don’t even see such unanimity in the hard sciences. There is always nuance, always questions.
But nuance never shows up in MSM reporting.
The MSM is engaging in deliberate mis-information. There is no other conclusion that fits.
It is also not only *what* the MSM tells one, nor only *how*, but what they (deliberately) do not tell one. Commission and Omission are equally important aspects of propaganda. So too Repetition, sometimes thrown into “news” items that have no apparent link to insertions. And unwarranted emphasis of an item or an aspect of it to disparage a government not accepting the US’s overlordship.
Mike from Jersey,
Well said! Like Caitlin, you are exactly right.
Why isnt Sanders using his millions in campaign contributions to hire a big name law firm to sue the hell put of the DNC, Iowa election commission and Shadow? It’s not like there is any question of election fraud.
The notion that once Sanders is in office he is suddenly going to grow a spine and take on the darkest, most powerful forces in the world is a sad joke.
Last night Jimmy Dore was on FOX with Tucker Carlson (who has also had other Progressive voices on his show like Glenn Greenwald and Aaron Mate) and he did a perfect job of detailing how the Republicans and Democrats BOTH abhor the idea of a Sanders presidency:
See: realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/02/05/jimmy_dore_on_caucus_debacle_apparently_russians_run_the_iowa_democratic_party.html
We will NEVER see the likes of Jimmy Dore invited to have a national network audience like MSDNC or CNN!
Dore tells the TRUTH. Tucker can handle the truth. MSDNC and CNN cannot.
Yes, Jimmy Dore rocks the house. Saw him live last fall in Portland, Oregon and it was a terrific show. He cuts to the core of every issue he covers and does it with such slicing humor and dicing wit. Now there is a real “patriot,” calling his country out for what it is, a bonafide oligarchy. As he has said, “Your country is just not that into you.”