If Democrats are going to pretend to be the vehicle for the new progressive revolution, they need to start honestly cleaning house, not just stuffing things in the closet and spraying with Febreze.
After transparency-advocacy group WikiLeaks released emails in July proving beyond a doubt that the Democratic National Committee violated the Impartiality Clause of their own Charter during the primary elections they were responsible for overseeing, then-chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned, along with a handful of other DNC players who came across especially badly in the emails. Her interim replacement, Donna Brazile, immediately issued a public apology to the Bernie Sanders campaign, and then the entire Democratic party began frantically pointing at Russia to get everyone to forget what happened.
Brazile, who is vice chair of the DNC and serving as acting chair until November, had already been implicated in the first DNC leaks for using biased language during the primaries, writing that she wanted to “cuss out the Sanders camp” in one email and responding to news about Sanders with “How stupid. Don’t know how to respond to Bernie anymore” in another. And now WikiLeaks has just revealed that Brazile, in fact, actively conspired against Sanders, acting as a “mole who tipped off Clinton campaign about Sanders planned Twitter storm.”
This is bananas. I mean, was this really the best replacement chairwoman they could find? I picture them all sitting in a conference room somewhere going, “Okay, so that was a disaster. Who’s the cleanest out of all of us so we can make sure this doesn’t happen again?” And after they weeded out all the worst offenders, it was down to Donna Brazile, two interns, and the janitor.
Come on, Democrats. Aren’t you the ones saying you’re going to “hold everyone’s feet to the fire” to force your party to stick to a progressive agenda? Well, let’s see some proof. Here’s your chance to show us Greens and busters that you’re going to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Clamor for Brazile’s resignation just like we clamored for Wasserman Schultz’s. Let’s start hearing some noise from you guys. If it was right for Debbie to resign for violating the DNC Charter and conspiring against Bernie Sanders, then it’s most certainly only right that Donna does, too.
No surprise, but still worth repeating
— Sarah ? Bernie beats Trump? (@DrPeterLang) October 10, 2016
Because I’m going to be a mole here too for a minute. Forgive my treason, fellow Jill Stein supporters, but I just can’t help leaking this information: we’re not buying it, Democrats. We don’t believe any of you truly have any intention of trying to force Hillary Clinton to the left or making her honor the progressive promises she’s campaigned on. Identity politics and culture wars have made you terrified of the prospect of anyone who isn’t from your unbelievably corrupt neoliberal party sitting on America’s throne, and you’re just going to say whatever it takes to keep that from happening.
You all keep telling everyone that the best path forward for the progressive revolution is to help ensure Clinton’s election and then form a large progressive base where you can leverage your party into actualizing Bernie Sanders’ vision for America, but why should anyone believe you’ve got any intention of doing that? You certainly haven’t been doing it with Obama, who dropped 23,144 bombs on Muslim majority nations in 2015 alone, whose administration has bombed twice as many countries as Bush’s did and oversaw more deportations than any administration in American history, and who has been unapologetically doing everything he can to shove the predatory trade agreements TPP, TTIP and TiSA across the line. My Facebook news feed is full of Democrats gushing about what a great presidency this wonderful human being has had. You’re not holding his feet to the fire, you’re celebrating him!
Leaving aside the absolutely idiotic nature of your assertion that the best way to make people in power less corrupt is to give them more power, you’re not even doing what you tell us you’re going to do. But if you hope to gain the support of us Berners going forward, you now have an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is and show us what your vision for America looks like. Show us how you’re going to throw Donna Brazile out of the DNC completely for her blatant assault on American democracy, and how you’re going to ensure no more illicit manipulations happen in Democratic primaries going forward.
We’re watching with great interest.
[Featured Image by Susan Walsh/AP Images]