For Better Or-- More Likely-- Worse, Hillary Still Walks Among Us

If you thought Hillary and the Clintons and-- more importantly-- whatever hybrid vision of governance they stand for, was going away: surprise! She's back, reminding millions of people what's so horribly wrong with the Democratic Party as to make an Obama voter switch to Trump. She's says it was Comey and Putin and she's got a point but does that adequately explain why her approval ratings were so jaw-droppingly bad all through the election. Too many people looked for a lesser of two evils and-- amazingly-- picked Trump. The country we live in!

David Axelrod seemed unimpressed with Hillary's excuse-making when he appeared on CNN's New Day this morning. He told Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota that "it takes a lot of work to lose to Donald Trump... Jim Comey didn’t tell her not to campaign in Wisconsin after the convention. Jim Comey didn’t say, 'Don’t put any resources into Michigan until the final week of the campaign.' One of the things that hindered her in the campaign was a sense that she never fully was willing to take responsibility for her mistakes, particularly that server. She said the words 'I’m responsible,' but everything else suggested that she really doesn’t feel that way, and I don’t think that helps her in the long run. The fact that she was in a position to lose because of the Comey letter is something that deserves some introspection."

For those wondering if the resistance to Trump will continue to grow and gain momentum or start dying off and losing ground going into 2018 and 2020, remember, Hillary now says she considers herself part of the resistance. How's the for the ultimate buzz kill that's remind everyone about how repulsive and corrupt the Democratic Establishment is and how Hillary kept Wasserman Schultz in place at the DNC to make sure Bernie wouldn't get a fair shot in the primaries.

A recently-released transcript of Florida court documents has revealed that the Democratic National Committee’s first line of defense in their motion to dismiss a lawsuit against them by defrauded Bernie Sanders supporters is to state that they are under no contractual obligation to provide the American people with real party primaries.

Yes, really. That’s their Plan A. In order to avoid a situation where they could be forced to return some of the small-dollar campaign donations of Sanders’ base, representatives of the regulatory committee for the Democratic party have tacitly admitted in a court of law that they are running a fake political party using the lie of legitimate primary elections to manufacture political engagement, and that democracy is officially dead in America.

“[T]here is no right to-- just by virtue of making a donation, to enforce the parties’ internal rules,” said DNC attorney Bruce Spiva. “And there’s no right to not have your candidate disadvantaged or have another candidate advantaged. There’s no contractual obligation here.”

Mr. Spiva is of course referring to the charge that Sanders supporters were defrauded of millions of dollars when they poured donations many of them could barely afford into the campaign of a candidate that the DNC was actively conspiring to sabotage, in gross violation of the Impartiality Clause of their own charter. Rather than trying to deny that this act of sabotage took place, the DNC is instead arguing that it is perfectly within its rights to obstruct and favor any campaign it wants in order to ensure the nomination of the candidate that it prefers.

From the DNC Charter

...[T]he DNC and the Clinton camp were colluding as early as 2014 to schedule debates and primaries in a way that favored her, or then-DNC Vice Chairwoman Donna Brazile acting as a mole against the Sanders campaign and passing Clinton questions in advance to prep her for debates with Sanders can truthfully say that this Impartiality Clause was adhered to. It wasn’t. And, according to Mr. Spiva, that’s because it didn’t need to be.

...The elites of the Democratic party are trying to have it both ways. They’re trying to maintain the system which obstructs independents and third parties from finding meaningful purchase within the political process, while at the same time ensuring that no democracy is happening within that rigid two-party system. They’re trying to maintain the “A vote for a third party is a vote for the Republican!” narrative from one side of their mouths while saying “It’s our party, we can rig the primaries however we want!” from the other. If Americans want to say that they live in a democracy, the major political parties can’t have it both ways. Either change the system so that other parties are viable, or give the people the ability to choose the nominees of the only two parties they’re able to choose from. Both of these would be ideal, one would be workable, but right now they have neither. Calling America a democracy is a joke.

...This is what happens when a political party places money above all else; they find themselves in a situation where they’re making politically catastrophic admissions rather than lose a few dollars. I was active in a lot of Bernie forums during the primaries, and the gut-wrenching stories I saw shared by participants there were what got me involved in this political commentary gig in the first place. There were people who could not afford to donate to a political campaign, but they found ways to do it anyway in the desperate hope of creating a more economically just future. Bernie received donations from people living out of their cars. From unemployed people with kids who could have used the money for groceries but chose to try and invest in a better world for their children. The DNC is now openly admitting that it took actions to make sure that that money went to waste, all so that they won’t have to give it back to these people who so desperately need it in the exploitative corporatist nightmare that the DNC has helped create.

Even after Anthony Weiner was exposed as a dangerous sociopath, Clinton chose to cling to her favorite aide, Huma Abedin, Weiner's wife. Did Hillary lose the election because of that terrible, lunk-head decision? Are the country-- and the world-- now stuck with Donald Trump because of that fateful decision? The American people very clearly did not want Weiner and Huma anywhere near the White House and didn't want crooked political hack Debbie Wasserman Schultz anywhere around it either. Who in their right mind would? I released this album and eponymous song by Rochester-based psychedelic rockers New Math in 1981 on my label, 415 Records, and, I admit, I wasn't thinking about Hillary at all at the time.

The Wicked Witch Is Not Dead

Good news: Debbie's fired. Bad news: guess who they want to replace her with

Debbie Wasserman Schultz was finally put out of her misery by her pals in the Democratic Establishment today, as she was forced to walk the plank hours before the opening of the Democratic Party's national convention in Philly. In terms of her toxicity to Democratic values and principles, nothing has changed at all; she's still the foul fount of pay-to-play corruption and a selfish and misguided Republican-lite approach to governance that she was yesterday, last week, last month, last year and all through her miserable political life.

The breach of the Democratic committee’s emails, made public on Friday by WikiLeaks, offered undeniable evidence of what Mr. Sanders’s supporters had complained about for much of the senator’s contentious primary contest with Mrs. Clinton: that the party was effectively an arm of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. The messages showed members of the committee’s communications team musing about pushing the narrative that the Sanders campaign was inept and trying to raise questions publicly about whether he was an atheist.

...Convention organizers had expressed nervousness on Sunday about the specter of Ms. Wasserman Schultz appearing onstage at all during the four-day convention. They were worried that what they intended to be a well-choreographed event, which officials hoped would contrast with the sometimes chaotic Republican National Convention, could be marred by Mr. Sanders’s backers booing and heckling her.

Although the new Interim Chair of the DNC, Donna Brazile, immediately apologized to Bernie, to the party and to the country for Wasserman Schultz's "stupidity," all the creepy corporate Dems who have enabled #DebtTrapDebbie from day one-- from Obama and Hillary all the way down the food chain-- tried to treat this outrage as routinely as possible. I was surprised no one suggested she was leaving the DNC chair to spend more time with her family. One thing she can't do, is use it as an excuse any longer for not debating Tim Canova in her tightening congressional race. Here was Obama's sickening and deceitful statement. It's good he's eating crow; he appointed her and held her in while she was on her reign of terror.

For the last eight years, Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has had my back. This afternoon, I called her to let her know that I am grateful. Her leadership of the DNC has meant that we had someone who brought Democrats together not just for my re-election campaign, but for accomplishing the shared goals we have had for our country. Her critical role in supporting our economic recovery, our fights for social and civil justice and providing health care for all Americans will be a hallmark of her tenure as Party Chair. Her fundraising and organizing skills were matched only by her passion, her commitment and her warmth. And no one works harder for her constituents in Congress than Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Michelle and I are grateful for her efforts, we know she will continue to serve our country as a member of Congress from Florida and she will always be our dear friend.

No shame at all. Hillary was equally deceitful-- as is her default position on all things:

I want to thank my longtime friend Debbie Wasserman Schultz for her leadership of the Democratic National Committee over the past five years. I am grateful to Debbie for getting the Democratic Party to this year's historic convention in Philadelphia, and I know that this week's events will be a success thanks to her hard work and leadership. There's simply no one better at taking the fight to the Republicans than Debbie-- which is why I am glad that she has agreed to serve as honorary chair of my campaign's 50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country, and will continue to serve as a surrogate for my campaign nationally, in Florida, and in other key states. I look forward to campaigning with Debbie in Florida and helping her in her re-election bid--because as President, I will need fighters like Debbie in Congress who are ready on day one to get to work for the American people.

Now let's get another professional shit-eating statement-writers to do one for Biden and one for Kaine. And Pelosi (who hates Wasserman Schultz's guts). Just to show how incapable they are of learning anything from this, they are actually considering putting disgraced and failed former DCCC head Steve Israel in as DNC chair now.

On CNN with Jake Tapper just before Wasserman Schultz was shoved overboard Bernie has said he doesn't "think she is qualified to be the chair of the DNC not only for these awful emails, which revealed the prejudice of the DNC, but also because we need a party that reaches out to working people and young people, and I don't think her leadership style is doing that." He took a more diplomatic approach after he announced her contentious-- much negotiated-- departure. "Debbie Wasserman Schultz," he wrote, "has made the right decision for the future of the Democratic Party. While she deserves thanks for her years of service, the party now needs new leadership that will open the doors of the party and welcome in working people and young people. The party leadership must also always remain impartial in the presidential nominating process, something which did not occur in the 2016 race."

Can you imagine the riot that would have taken place on the floor of the convention if Wasserman Schultz had slithered out to greet the delegates? She made up the chair throwing incident in Las Vegas but there would have been a real one in Philly if they didn't push her out! Just before she "resigned," Tim Canova, her congressional opponent had issued a statement about her latest attempts to undermine the Democratic process. "We started this insurgent campaign," he wrote, "to expose Debbie Wasserman Schultz's pro-corporate, anti-progressive policies and her corruption at the Democratic National Committee. Now, millions of people are seeing what we've always known to be true thanks to these leaks. Our opponent and her staff rigged the system against Bernie Sanders, used their positions of power to try and censor the press, and even coordinated against our campaign... Thanks to the recent Wikileaks disclosure of 20,000 emails, we now know just how rigged the system has become in the Democratic Party from Wasserman Schultz’s DNC and staff. We’ll save you the trouble of having to read them all-- here are some of the highlights:

• Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her DNC staffers mentioned me and my campaign for her House seat dozens of times. They used party resources to monitor our campaign and strategize on Wasserman Schultz’s response, including her response to Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of me. They coordinated a response to the Florida Democratic Party’s decision (at the time) to block our access to the voter file, something they have claimed to have no involvement in.

• Debbie Wasserman Schultz tried to censor Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC co-host of “Morning Joe” after Mika called on her to resign from the DNC for her failed leadership and biased use of the DNC to harm the Bernie Sanders campaign. Wasserman Schultz complained directly to MSNBC’s Chuck Todd about the negative coverage and demanded that Mika “apologize” to DWS. Soon after, Chuck Todd did a “softball interview” with Wasserman Schultz.

• DNC staffers repeatedly mocked Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Wasserman Schultz called Jeff Weaver, Bernie’s campaign manager, a “damn liar” and “scummy” in emails to DNC staffers. In addition, there is significant evidence that the DNC was coordinating with the Clinton campaign during the primary.

Tim went on: "Leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee show that the system is rigged against anti-establishment progressives... For months, Wasserman Schultz has been telling the media that she is “too busy” to debate me. Wikileaks shows that she was furiously lobbying for tickets to the Broadway musical Hamilton. This is particularly disturbing, when combined with her dismal voting record: last year she had the highest absentee rate of the Florida delegation, with the exception of Marco Rubio!

"Wasserman Schultz has rejected debates not because she’s so busy, but because she cannot possibly defend her record of swimming in corporate lobbyist money and pushing for corporate interests over those of South Florida residents-- as evidenced by her support of predatory payday lenders, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, private prisons, and Big Sugar and Big Agribusinesses that have fouled our waterways. If Wasserman Schultz is unwilling to defend her record, she should drop out of our House race. Voters deserve better than an insider politician who shows such open disdain for democracy."



She won't have that excuse to use any longer for not debating Tim. Please consider contributing to his campaign by clicking the thermometer below. Many years ago I released a record by Rochester, New York's legendary New Math, They Walk Among You on my indie label. For the past 10 years, whenever I wrote about Wasserman Schultz, the title track (above) has played in my mind. If FL-23 voters decide to replace her with Tim Canova, that's one nightmare that will be put to rest.

Update: Rove Is Happy, Happy

This was a press release Karl Rove's operation put out this morning. Funny, huh? I'm not laughing.

Outgoing DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz may not be feeling much love from Democrats at the Democratic National Convention, but here at American Crossroads we feel tremendous gratitude for Wasserman Schultz’s record at the helm of the Democratic Party.

“Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s leadership of the Democratic National Committee has been absolutely invaluable for the Republican Party,” said Steven Law, president and CEO of American Crossroads. “Because of her strategic vision, Republicans hold the Senate, have a historic majority in the House, and dominate governorships and state legislatures throughout the country. Now she has helped divide the Democrats in 2016 in a way we never dreamed possible. We stand with Debbie and thank her for everything she has done for the cause.”

They Walk Among You... And By "They," We Mean War Criminals

Ever hear of Kim Howells? His dad was a Communist lorry driver and young Kim was a good Welsh union man and a Communist himself, before joining the Labour Party in 1982. Seven years later he was elected to the House of Commons and gradually distanced himself from his communist roots, finally suggesting in 1996 that the word "socialism" ought to be "humanely phased out" of anything to do with the Labour Party. Pleased as punch, Tony Blair gave him a series of junior ministerial positions starting the following year, until, in 2005, Blair made him Minister of State for the Middle East in the Foreign Office. In a post at CounterPunch yesterday, From Pol Pot to ISIS: the Blood Never Dried, John Pilger happened to mention Howells.

It is 23 years since a holocaust enveloped Iraq, immediately after the first Gulf War, when the US and Britain hijacked the United Nations Security Council and imposed punitive "sanctions" on the Iraqi population-- ironically, reinforcing the domestic authority of Saddam Hussein. It was like a medieval siege. Almost everything that sustained a modern state was, in the jargon, "blocked"-- from chlorine for making the water supply safe to school pencils, parts for X-ray machines, common painkillers and drugs to combat previously unknown cancers carried in the dust from the southern battlefields contaminated with Depleted Uranium. Just before Christmas 1999, the Department of Trade and Industry in London restricted the export of vaccines meant to protect Iraqi children against diphtheria and yellow fever. Kim Howells, parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Blair government, explained why. "The children’s vaccines," he said, "were capable of being used in weapons of mass destruction."

Pinger had nothing more to say about Howells in his essay. In fact, there were far worse villains than Howells sprinkled throughout-- Tony Blair himself, of course, and another Foreign Office minister responsible for Iraq under Blair, Peter Hain (lately Baron Hain), currently working as a propagandist embedded at The Guardian, striving hard on behalf of the establishment at character assassination of Jeremy Corbyn. But, in 2009, the former Communist Howells was knighted and is now known as the Right Honourable Kim Howells. Two years after that he was to receive an Honorary Doctorate but made some derogatory statements, publicly, about Libyan students studying in the U.K. being security risks. He eventually succumbed to widespread student pressure to withdraw from the ceremony. As far as I can find, that's the only "punishment" that particular little war criminal ever received.

Of course, we don't have to hunt up obscure British politicians to find criminals and crooks-- Hains was caught stealing £103,156 before he was made a Baron-- who escaped punishment. We have Cheney. We have Bush. Even the worst war criminal of all, Henry Kissinger, still walks among us. In fact, Pinger ends his essay with this paragraph:

More than 40 years ago, the Nixon-Kissinger bombing of Cambodia unleashed a torrent of suffering from which that country has never recovered. The same is true of the Blair-Bush crime in Iraq, and the Nato and "coalition" crimes in Libya and Syria. With impeccable timing, Henry Kissinger’s latest self-serving tome has been released with its satirical title, World Order. In one fawning review, Kissinger is described as a "key shaper of a world order that remained stable for a quarter of a century." Tell that to the people of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Chile, East Timor and all the other victims of his "statecraft."  Only when "we" recognise the war criminals in our midst and stop denying ourselves the truth will the blood begin to dry.

That these politicians go unpunished for their monstrous crimes against humanity, is outright encouragement for deranged sociopaths like, for example, Ted Cruz. Bad for America. Bad for humanity. But for the world.