SocraticGadfly: Bernie still burning against Hillz and the DNC, but for the real Donald

December 28, 2015

Bernie still burning against Hillz and the DNC, but for the real Donald

From the Christmas weekend news files, Bernie Sanders is still upset about the Democratic National Committee locking him out of the voter information files, and rightly, per my blogging about that.

First, the staffer he wound up firing was recommended by the DNC. I'm not a full-on conspiracy theorist, so I'm not buying sabotage. I am saying that he, because of this, had multiple reasons to know better. The DNC also has multiple reasons to accept his explanations at something near face value.

The fact that DNC folks and folks with the software provider, NGP VAN, are refusing to comment, speaks loudly.

Second, the fact that Team Clinton got the audit logs of the security breach, but the Sanders campaign didn't, also speaks volumes. It's about the eleventy-seventh time that the DNC and its head, Dancing With the (Debbie Wasserman) Schultz, has shown to be in cahoots with Clinton and not winning.

Third, this is another reason why people like me, even if we didn't have a Green Party alternative, would refuse to vote for Clinton. This anti-democratic coronation process is basically bullshit.

Fourth, it's good that the Sanders campaign hasn't yet dropped its lawsuit. Too bad Sanders himself was presumably speaking for the record and not just public consumption when he disavowed any third party run months ago.

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In a pretty, but not totally, unrelated development, Sanders is saying Trump supporters should back him.

Several things to unpack.

First, is Sanders assuming Trump is fading sooner rather than later? Per friend Brains, a media analyst and insider like Matt Bai is no longer betting on that.

Second, is there really that much overlap? I think not.

Related to that, does such an overture risk alienating core supporters? Probably not much, but maybe a little.

Third, is this a shot across the bow to the DNC? (Here's where it's somewhat related.) "I can pick up 'independent' voters that Clinton can't."

Or, despite his earlier disavowals of a third-party run, is this an even bigger shot across the bow? "Play fair with me, or I'll run as an independent for those votes."

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