Why Sarah Silverman Is A Comedian-- Guest Post By Sam Husseini

In remarks from the Democratic National Convention stage applauded by big media, Sarah Silverman lauded the Democratic Party primary process as "exemplary."

I guess that's why she's a comedian.

Perhaps she doesn't know who Debbie Wasserman Schultz is. Perhaps she doesn't know that Schultz just resigned as head of the Democratic National Committee after the release by WikiLeaks of DNC internal emails showing evidence of them conspiring against Sanders. Of course, Schultz was then immediately named "honorary chair" of the Clinton own campaign. Schultz as "honorary" anything-- now that's funny.

Hey Sarah, check this out: "DNC Staffers Mocked the Bernie Sanders Campaign, Leaked Emails Show." Julian Assange accused the Democratic National Committee of “naked conspiracies" against Bernie Sanders.

Still, Silverman insisted: "This Democratic primary was exemplary. No name calling ... that stuff is for third graders."

Yes, name calling is for third graders. Which I guess is why she then blurted out "Can I just say, to the Bernie or Bust people, you’re being ridiculous."

Wow, there's a well-reasoned argument. "You're being ridiculous."

I have mixed feelings about people shouting in a hall, but what was really ridiculous was that as I flipped from network to network, none seems to want to tell me what it was the delegates were chanting. After poking around my twitter feed, here's some of what they were apparently saying-- more substantial than the speeches from the podium:

"Tax Wall Street!" and "Release the transcripts!" and "99 percent!" and, as it was claimed that Clinton would be tough on Wall Street: "Goldman Sachs! Goldman Sachs!" and "We trusted you! We trusted you!" (to Elizebeth Warren) and apparently, at one point, they referred to the DNC scandal-- "Wikileaks! Wikileaks! Wikileaks!" When Bernie Sanders talked about Hillary Clinton on crime, some shouted "super predators!"

But who wants to hear what delegates think when we have Sarah Silverman making STD jokes about "feel the burn"?

Not that activists shouldn't be questioned. I've had my own criticisms of #BernieOrBust for some time. Some of them have made a cult out of an obviously flawed man, who it's been apparent for weeks if not months would not get the nomination. Backing Sanders should be a tactic, not the goal. His supporters now should use the VotePact.org voting strategy-- see in my piece "#BernieAndBoom." This would mean disenchanted Democrats and disenchanted Republicans who know and trust each other pairing up and vote for the independent candidates of their choice, like the Green or Libertarian candidates. Methodical action is the order of the day in the coming weeks, months and years.

And I don't mean to be too hard on Silverman. After all, I don't think her performance with Al Franken was quite the unintentionally funniest bit on Monday night.

I thought it was hilarious when Elizabeth Warren tried to paint Clinton as someone who would stand up to Wall Street. And I thought it was unintentionally uproariously funny when the much touted "first Muslim" member of Congress, Keith Ellison, introduced Sanders without a mention of perpetual U.S. wars-- which have killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims over the last several decades. Seeing the king of rhetoric, Bill Clinton applauding speakers like some kind of phony wise man was sickeningly priceless. And there was comedic irony in Cory Booker's endless empty platitudes about "courage" and such as grassroots activists showed some degree of actual courage-- struggling to find a way to be heard in a rigged system.

Silverman also said: "My shrink says we don’t get what we want, we get what we think we deserve." So, maybe that's what she thinks she deserves: a corporate, militaristic candidate serving the interests of the elite-- of which Silverman is a member at this point.

 

The sign many were waving last night-- "love trumps hate" -- was way off. Clinton-- "we came, we saw, he died" (about Qaddafi)-- is the candidate of love? Really? The Clinton message is actually "fear trumps Trump." Even as speaker after speaker at the DNC attacked Trump for instilling fear (true enough), their own go-to message was: Back Hillary because the Donald should arouse such fear in you that all other thought processes should immediately shut down.

So it took extra chutzpah, and comedic gold, for Silverman to saying that "I will vote for Hillary with gusto"-- showing for all to see her extraordinary delusion.

This is a world view in which substance, debate and democracy must be avoided. The New York Times headlined a piece "Sarah Silverman tames the Bernie beast"-- echoing the now fashionable founding money man of the one percent Alexander Hamilton's derision of the general public: "Your people, sir-- your people is a great beast!”

Appropriately, just as Sanders ended his own sad speech, which induced tears of grief among his perhaps naive delegates, the choreographers of the evening's festivities chimed in a riff from "Taking it to the Street"-- perhaps they didn't think to look at the rest of the lyrics of the song:

You, telling me the things you're gonna do for me
I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see

Quite appropriate for an evening of promises on behalf of the corporate candidate of perpetual wars who has just again reiterated her actual big money allegiance with her vice presidential pick-- to the delight of a stage managed, big media driven system appalled by the threat of accountability and democracy actually breaking out.