#contested convention

I don’t do odds, but I honestly believe that in a fair fight, Sanders can take Biden. Politically speaking, ofc.

But that is not what’s happening. At this point it’s almost undeniable that mainstream media and the DNC have their thumbs on the scale, just like they did in 2016.

This time around, the DNC’s game plan to rig the primaries is to starve Sanders of just enough delegates (via Bloomberg and Warren) so that he cannot win outright, and then force a contested convention (also referred to as a brokered convention) where the superdelegates get to pick their preferred Democratic nominee. A “moderate” who will probably lose to Trump.

If we get to the convention this summer and Bernie has a commanding plurality of delegates, but the superdelegates decide to anoint Joe Biden, all hell will break loose and many Democratic voters will stay home in protest, handing Trump a second term.

And please note: I am not necessarily telling people to stay home if this scenario happens, I’m just saying that as a rational thinking adult, voters WILL stay home if Sanders is robbed. It doesn’t take a fortune teller to predict that. The DNC isn’t stupid. Surely they must know this as well. But the question is, are they really willing to risk it? (unfortunately, I fear the answer is “yes”).

It’s funny that the same people who screamed bloody murder about the Electoral College in 2016 are more than happy to have superdelegates do the same thing to Sanders in 2020. It’s grossly hypocritical. Both the Electoral College and superdelegates nullify the principle of, one person one vote.

Elizabeth Warren, as of this moment in time, has no viable path forward to the nomination. And I doubt that Mike Bloomberg will have a viable path. But they are both bleeding crucial delegates away from Sanders, and at the convention I’m afraid that they will both throw their support (and more importantly, their delegates) to Biden. So we aren’t safe until it’s a done deal. It ain’t over until it’s over.

Bernie needs to do well today, and earn enough delegates so that he cannot be robbed at the convention. So that means it’s not good enough for you to go vote all by yourself. You gotta get several other Bernie supporters to go out and actually vote. Like, irl. Not tweets. Not tumblr posts. Vote.

Small cash donations to Bernie’s campaign are good, but today? Today we actually go out to a polling place and vote for Bernie.

I say that if people feel Warren is the candidate they like the most, they should vote for her. I've been told too many times I should vote for someone who hasn't earned my vote, that I refuse to turn around and tell that to someone else, just because my candidate (Bernie Sanders) is the front-runner this time.

BUT, anyone voting for Warren now needs to know that *this* is why she's still in the race and this is what she's using her candidacy to do. It's all about leveraging a contested convention. I don't think it started like this, but there's no denying it now.

LOL. “One Trump, Two Trump, Red Trump, Blue Trump”

Okay that was funny, but on point af. Bloomberg is a Republican (aka, Blue Trump).

If the DNC inserts him into the primaries, then Clinton Democrats can go right back to their more “normal” amounts of (covert) racism, and not caring because their “good” racist is in control. He probably won’t come right out and openly SAY racist stuff like Trump. He won’t be as much of an embarrassment, but he most definitely will push the same regressive policies.

If Democrats want the left to stop saying that they’re no different than the right, then they gotta stop caping so damn hard for Republicans.

Centrists are the fucking worst.

The word “Dixiecrats” comes to mind.

Centrists remind me of that cute little monkey from that Indiana Jones movie. Remember, the one from Raiders of the Lost Ark, where it was all innocent looking and really friendly with everyone but then it turned out to be working for the Nazis?

There it is: “Mike Bloomberg is privately lobbying Democratic Party officials and donors allied with his moderate opponents to flip their allegiance to him — and block Bernie Sanders — in the event of a brokered national convention.”

The effort, largely executed by Bloomberg’s senior state-level advisers in recent weeks, attempts to prime Bloomberg for a second-ballot contest at the Democratic National Convention in July by poaching supporters of Joe Biden and other moderate Democrats, according to two Democratic strategists familiar with the talks and unaffiliated with Bloomberg.

The outreach has involved meetings and telephone calls with supporters of Biden and Pete Buttigieg — as well as uncommitted DNC members — in Virginia, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and North Carolina, according to one of the strategists who participated in meetings and calls.

With Sanders’ emergence as the front runner in the presidential primary, Democrats in those states have recently raised the prospect that the democratic socialist could be a top-of-the-ticket liability.

“There’s a whole operation going on, which is genius,” said one of the strategists, who is unaffiliated with any campaign. “And it’s going to help them win on the second ballot … They’re telling them that’s their strategy.”

Honestly? If Bernie has a significant leading plurality, then I cannot see myself supporting any candidate the DNC anoints at a brokered convention. Especially not Joe Dixiecrat Biden. But then again, I said I wouldn’t vote for Hillary and I ended up holding my nose and doing it anyway. (LOL not that it helped).

But .... Idk if I can play another round of “stfu voters, we know what’s best for you” from the DNC.

Remember, superdelegates haven’t always been around. They didn’t come into existence until the 80’s. And they were specifically created to block a grassroots populist like Bernie Sanders.

Like I said before, if you think the Electoral College was wrong in 2016, if you’re going to be consistent then you should also think superdelegates are wrong. The purpose of both is to negate the principle of “one person one vote”. They are both undemocratic and undermine the will of the people.

But yeah, screw me once shame on you, screw me twice and I might do something you really do not want me to.

So that’s the risk the DNC is running with a brokered convention. It’s not gon work out the way they think it will.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS UNDEMOCRATIC

(written by Ruth Ann Oskolkoff)

Now the fix is in politically. On January 20, 2020 at 8:20 p.m. PDT I received a communication from a reliable source. This person had interactions earlier that evening with high level party members and associates of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) who said that they have now selected Biden as the Democratic Party nominee, with Warren as the VP. They also said the plan is to smear Bernie as a Russian asset. So the DNC has coronated Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren as the presidential and vice presidential nominees.

Part of the plan for Bernie is for the Democratic Party to label him a Russian operative. They will engage in a massive smear campaign. If this sounds too far-fetched—just wait for them to label everyone who supports him as Russian operatives. This is how they will deal with anyone who they want to get rid of: people who do not play by the DNC rules or candidates who are honest and upfront. I'm sure they will label him and his supporters as Russian operatives. Nobody needs proof, they just need an accusation, though hopefully they will rethink this plan now that Tulsi Gabbard has sued Hillary Clinton for defamation to the tune of $50 million.

The Democratic Party is Undemocratic

These insiders said that Bernie is not getting the nomination because he is not a democrat. The Democrats plan to give the nomination to people who have been loyal to the party. Many liberal Americans still think the Democratic Party is the last bastion or last holdout against Trump and all he represents. Against hate. Against racism. Against demagoguery. They think the Democratic Party will set everything right. That the Democratic Party is democratic. Is fair. Is going to fulfill the will of the people.

Well, I'm sorry to report that the fix is in—just like last time. The Democratic Party establishment must think that because we have the horror of Donald Trump, this gives them leeway to do anything they want. That there is no need for voting. That there is no need to wait for a vote. That there is no need to see who the best candidate is to beat Trump. There is no need for democracy. In fact, we no longer have a democracy—The Atlantic reports that public policy does not reflect the preferences of Americans.

The DNC must think it's enough to just have a candidate. Forget popular enthusiasm. So what if Biden hung a noose around students neck in the form of non-dischargeable debt? So what if he sided with Bush about war? So what if he enacted racist prison policies? He can barely fill a hall—while Sanders fills stadiums with enthusiastic supporters.

Who will stop it?

Remember last time when Las Vegas union bosses made casino employees vote for Hillary while on-the-clock—or lose their jobs? There were reports in the media that union bosses had their workers vote for Hillary in a move that won the state, and possibly the election. Are the Democrats planning the same thing for Nevada? The one question I have is this—is there any fairness or democracy left in the Democratic Party? Will it happen again? How can anyone stop it?

Because in truth, the DNC doesn't need to be democratic. There was a class action suit after the 2016 election filed against the DNC. The lawsuit requested money back for Bernie supporters who had given millions, often in very difficult circumstances. In fact, on August 25, 2017 the court verified the DNC has a right to rig primaries. They can make any backroom deals they like. The lawyers argued that they could do what they liked and they won. And now it appears they are at it again. And now, according to my source, they have selected their final candidates and are prepared to smear Bernie as a Russian asset.

Of course it's not over by a long shot. We must do everything we can to stop those bastards. Bernie’s popularity is surging. He is gaining in the polls and whenever he is blatantly attacked his supporters dig deep in those near empty pockets to donate again. Warren painted Bernie as sexist, claiming he said a woman cannot win the presidency. Time to donate. Hillary says no one likes Bernie. It's time to donate again.

Bernie Supporters

Much of America does not realize that Bernie supporters are on social media en masse to encourage each other, share news, have donation drives, strategize, and share memes. The Democrats do—and they are hitting back hard. Many of the American people do not realize how large the crowds are when Bernie speaks. They do not know because it is not on mainstream media (MSM). No. They just don't know.

Another fact not touted on MSM is that Bernie Sanders does great in a head-to-head matchup with Trump. Also, most of Sanders' supporters do see Trump as a destructive, racist president. Facing the horrors of another four years of Trump, or the status quo, pro-corporate Democrats who will carry on many of the same policies as Trump—many supporters openly acknowledge the need for another party. One that meets the needs of working people, the poor, and the destitute. That will declare a climate emergency.

For most Sanders supporters, activists, and volunteers, the news that the DNC has selected Biden and Warren will come as no shock. The DNC had selected Hillary Clinton previously, and it is, even now, still perfectly legal to be as corruptly undemocratic as they wish. However, Sanders supporters are just likely to buckle down, donate a little more, do more doorknocking and phone banking. More tabling, sign waving and Bernie house parties.

From the August 5, 2019 article:

The South Bend mayor’s team held a conference call with a group of so-called superdelegates on Monday to ask them for their support, according to an invite obtained by The Daily Beast. It was just the latest sign that the mayor’s aides are still playing catch up against competitors such as former Vice President Joe Biden, who has been cultivating relationships with party insiders for nearly 40 years. But it also signals that—for all the focus on the early voting states—Buttigieg's team sees a convention floor fight as a possible path towards securing the party’s nomination.

...

The courting of superdelegates has taken place during every modern Democratic presidential campaign. But after the Democratic National Committee instituted a rules reform package at their 2018 summer meeting, the significance of those party insiders was supposed to have lessened. Responding to complaints from supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders—who had decried a “rigged” primary in 2016—the DNC made it so that superdelegates could no longer vote on the party’s first presidential primary ballot.

But the reforms still allowed the 769 superdelegates to vote if the convention was contested. And with a historically crowded field running for the party’s nomination, the possibility of a contested-convention has become more likely, prompting campaigns to accelerate their courtship of superdelegates.

...

According to elected DNC members who have been courted by other campaigns, Buttigieg’s overtures have been more personalized. “This is a little bit different—it’s actual hands-on content,” said Alma Gonzalez, of Tampa, Florida’s only Hispanic elected member of the DNC, who remains uncommitted to a candidate.

Gonzalez, who was invited to the call but wasn’t able to attend, said Buttigieg’s efforts are further along than those being conducted by former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX).