Political pundits have been analyzing polls and fretting over voter turnouts in the primaries to try to determine just who will win the Democratic presidential nomination. Or at least some have, even though a significant number simply crowned Hillary Clinton the nominee from the beginning. But regardless of which nominee you’re supporting, something happened today that speaks volumes about which way the tide is turning in the Democratic primary.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D – CA.) has just dropped the biggest bombshell of the campaign, and you may not even have heard about it. Mark my words, when we look back, we’ll see that this was the turning point. The Hill reported today that Pelosi came out against the superdelegate system which is currently of great benefit to Hillary Clinton.
“I’m not a believer in the sway of superdelegates deciding who is going to be the nominee. I think we have a democratic process where people vote on both sides of the aisle … and that that should determine who the nominee is.”
Now, you may be saying, “Hey, that’s not that big of a deal,” but stop for a moment and think about this. No matter how you feel about Pelosi, good or bad, there is no denying that she is one of the best political players on the planet. And she just made a statement that is not Clinton-friendly. That’s a very dangerous thing to do. Just ask Nina Turner or Tulsi Gabbard.
Someone asked on Facebook if Pelosi was really against superdelegates or simply doesn’t like Clinton. And I say this: Nancy likes Nancy, and she’s always going look out for Nancy’s best interests. Bet on it.
So when you apply that principle to what Pelosi said today, you can bet there’s something Nancy Pelosi knows that the rest of us don’t yet. My bet? My bet is it’s no coincidence that Pelosi makes the statement right when there is an announcement that Hillary Clinton’s former emails staffer has been given immunity from prosecution by the U.S. Justice Department in exchange for his cooperation and that he’s accepted it.
Let’s be clear on this. While the email scandal has been going on for a long time (and even I was in line with Bernie Sanders’ feelings about “enough of the damn emails”) this is a game changer. It’s highly unlikely that the Justice Department is going to offer immunity — and even less likely that the staffer would accept it — if there wasn’t something there. Something very important and very damaging, it would seem, when we’ve gotten to this level of an investigation.
The Clintons are a political force you don’t play games with, and Pelosi knows this as well as anyone. Just a little over month ago, she was cuddling up to Hillary Clinton when she denounced Bernie Sanders’ single-payer health plan (which she used to advocate for) and heaped glowing praise on her political sister, according to Politico .
“That Hillary Clinton happens to be a woman is a wonderful thing. But I, yes, have confidence that she will be one of the most qualified people to go into the Oval Office in a long time.”
Now Pelosi — who insists she hasn’t officially endorsed anyone yet — has suddenly gone off the reservation in the Clinton camp and is advocating for changes in the Democratic primary system that would hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances of getting the nomination.
If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the whisper of a butterfly waving its wings in China, and the thundering crash of the House of Clinton collapsing. Seriously.
Something big is about to happen in the Clinton campaign, and given how Pelosi is already starting to cover her backside and distance herself, you can bet it’s not going to be good news for Hill and Bill.
And while we’re on the subject of superdelegates, those superdelegate votes — even those who say they are leaning towards Clinton — are still up for grabs until the convention. The media is being completely disingenuous on this point by counting superdelegates in the totals so far in the Democratic primary.
Note that most of these media outlets are owned by big businesses who have a vested interest in keeping a corporate-friendly president in office and have come out and endorsed or financially supported Hillary Clinton. This is a blatant attempt to discourage Bernie supporters and make them think that the gap between Hillary and Bernie is insurmountable.
Well, guess again.
The real count, as it stands today, without superdelegates, is 577 delegates for Hillary Clinton and 394 delegates for Bernie Sanders, according to Vox . That’s with 35 states to go, and some of Hillary’s biggest southern states are out of the way. There is a long history of superdelegates changing to the other side when the people vote for a different candidate. Just ask Barack Obama.
So no, those votes aren’t cast and those superdelegates can change their mind at any time. Pay attention, corporate media: you aren’t fooling us. And as Bernie Sanders has said many times, he’s in it for the long haul and he’s not dropping out. Your desperation is showing, and Nancy Pelosi has just confirmed this race ain’t over yet.
In fact, I’d guess it’s about to get real. And someone besides the Sanders camp is about to feel the Bern.
[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]