May 19, 2016

How The Nevada Democratic Party Stole Nevada From Bernie.

The reason there is so much focus on Bernie supporters being upset and going crazy is because it takes the focus off of what was simply the theft of the state of Nevada.

Here's how it went down.
The Nevada Caucus has three tiers.
Hillary won the first tier on February 20th.  Part of the reason she won is that Harry Reid called the president of the Culinary Workers Union in Nevada to ensure that "tens of thousands" of culinary workers would not have to work the day of the caucus. That was done, with pay.  They were just told to vote for Hillary.   Hillary won the first tier but anyone who watched video of the caucus knows it was the definition of a shit show.  
Next up was the 2nd Tier.  It turns our 20% of the voters at the original caucus were missing valid ballots (shitshow).  That meant 20% of delegates were up for grabs and they flipped to Bernie in the 2nd Tier on April 2nd. It also means Hillary did not legitimately win the 1st tier.  But, whatever.  Win, lose, who cares?
Then came the holy fuck what are you doing 3rd tier.
Now, the Democratic Party knew Hillary was looking at a loss because of what happened in the 2nd tier. So, they changed the rules.  First, the switched the rules around so the delegates would be awarded to the winner of the 1st tier.  Just because.
They knew enough Bernie supporters were savvy and would make motions at the convention to object to this absurd rule change.  In order to stop that from happening, they changed the Nevada Democratic Party rules so all votes on the floor of the convention would be decided only by a voice vote, instead of a vote on paper.  "Ayes" and "Nays."  Because, in the year 2016 why not hold a vote the way Vikings did?  Of course, only one person would decide who won the voice vote - Nevada Democratic Party Chair Roberta Lange.  Once she ruled, that was it.  No mas. Done. 
But these changes were considered "temporary rules" and they had to be voted on and passed.  That WAS done by paper ballot.   The vote was to be held first thing when the convention started at 10 am. All good, right?
Nope

The vote was held at 9:30 am, not 10, as scheduled.  So, when all the Bernie supporters came rambling in and found a  convention hall full of smirking Hillary supporters, they learned the vote had already taken place. The Bernie supporters that did arrive early still did not all have ballots when the vote was held.  Hillary's supporters did.  That's some Tammany Hall shit.
A motion to have a revote of the "Temporary Rules" was then demanded.  Nevada Democratic Party Chair Roberta Lange then held a voice vote (she's really into those) to decide whether the temporary vote would remain.  On video, you can year the "ayes" are much less that the "nays" but she passed it anyway.  Who gives a fuck? It's democracy.
And then the good times kept rolling.  Sixty four delegates were ejected from the convention hall for not having proper credentials.  They say they did.  They were not allowed to prove they were credentialed.  They were just tossed. The VAST MAJORITY of those delegates were Bernie supporters.  Clinton then won by 30 delegates. 
Different motions are made by Bernie supporters but they are ignored. Then Roberta Lange jumps onstage and speeds through a bunch of motions that declare everything that happened today stands, she does the "ayes" and "nays" so fast it's almost like a shitty SNL sketch and then adjourns the meeting by banging her gavel angrily.  It's so fast it would be hilarious if it wasn't so disgusting.  And she runs off the stage. 
Bernie supporters are screaming because they can't believe what just happened. Someone holds a chair over their head.  My Senator, Barbara Boxer, mocked Bernie supporters, by blowing them kisses while surrounded by police. 
Cops then order everyone to leave.
The net change of delegates is 8.  Bernie Sanders should have won 19-16 but now has lost 20-15.
Roberta Lange received threats on social media and her home phone, which she was more than happy to publicize. 
Stupid
The victory here is so hollow and means so little to a candidate easily in the lead that it is mind boggling they would be so stupid. It will clearly end in Bernie voters not supporting Hillary in the general. But, that's the Democratic Party. They've been as stupid as stupid can be my entire life. Why change now?
In my opinion, chairs should have been thrown.  And lots of them.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This whole episode is making it hard to get behind Hillary. It's so demoralizing. I am glad that you posted here. This is where I found you in the first place during the Bush administration. Been a big fan ever since. The Dollop is the best. I ran a lefty blog myself at the time. Looks like it's time to fire it up again. Let's go get 'em.

NoDeuces said...

I read this on the toilet.