Something has changed over at the DNC

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It’s like this, Debbie Wasserman Schultz​.

Bernie asked for more debates. Martin asked for more debates. Members of the DNC asked for more debates. Loyal Democratic voters and people new to your party and progressive organizations and the media asked for more debates.

You said no. You said we ONLY need to focus on differentiating ourselves from the GOP, and that was final. You said any candidate who participates in an unsanctioned debate-style event will be banned from future DNC-sanctioned debates. You refused to listen to the critical mass, and you shouted them down because you thought your hand-picked candidate would benefit.

Now we have twelve days until Iowa and she’s in jeopardy of some pretty drastic losses, and your team has assembled a live Town Hall for all three candidates that will air nationally on CNN five days from now.  Suddenly, something changed your view on giving the people access to the candidates, and you took immediate action.

But you’re still missing the overarching story here. You’re completely transparent. The party establishment is completely transparent. We know what you’re doing, we know why you’re doing it, and we don’t approve. At a certain point in the recent past, that wouldn’t have meant much, because “we” weren’t the majority of Democratic voters.

Now we are, and every disingenuous tactic you employ to make a mockery of the process and try to force your candidate on us only makes us stronger in our resolve to defeat you, your candidate, and your establishment.

We will shout your transgressions from every rooftop, then we will donate more to Bernie, then we will phonebank more for Bernie, then we will win.

Face it. The dirty tricks era has ended. The era of transparency and authenticity is here. While you’re helping Hillary with her concession speech, you should write your own for the battle you will soon lose to Tim Canova. This political revolution has no time for the questionable ethics of the establishment.

Make no mistake: This is the year of the anti-establishment progressive. We will win.

giveemhell

SIDE NOTE:  Wow, it looks like this is my most viewed post of all time! Thanks for the shares. I’m gonna take a second to ask you all a favor. For any Bernie supporters stumbling across this article, I’m working on a project with Lorain County for Bernie Sanders to send mailers to hundreds — if not thousands — of residents in the crucial swing state of Ohio.  Most of our funding will come out of our own pockets, but some of it will also come from this “Give ’em Hell, Bernie” bumper sticker which you can order for $6 with free shipping in the US.  100% of the money earned will be used for the mailers.  Please consider supporting our efforts!

  • billknowsit

    Right on

  • Kat Mass

    Agreed

  • Alexander Thorne

    Mic drop. Thanks.

  • Yewey

    TIM CANOVA is running against DWS! Send him a sawbuck!

    • drdoorma

      A sawbuck? F*ck that–I’m moving to his district and voting.

  • Misty Corrales

    We are also going to need to support some candidates in states we don’t live. Those of you in Blue States…. your Red neighbors need your help to purple.

    Alabama has Democratic challenger to Richard Shelby (you *all* know you want him gone!)….. he’s got a primary to win (yeah… we have two peeps a challenging). Ron Crumpton will be needing support. Who we send to Washington impacts ALL of us.

    So please…. let’s help your liberals in the Red States turn their Senate Purple.

    We need you for the general. The DNC does nothing for them…they have written off the South. They don’t spend the money there.

  • Tony

    I like it

  • JoshuaSamuels

    P.E.R.F.E.C.T.

  • Michael Black

    Love it!

  • Joanne Fleming

    Well said. Thank you! #feelthebern

  • Paul Aeschbacher

    Bravo!

  • Merydith Johnson Wilson

    Perfection!!!! Your voice needs to be heard all across the land!!!

    • I’ve been saying that for years! Haha, but seriously, thank you so much for your comment.

      • Merydith Johnson Wilson

        Well, hopefully this will “go viral” as the young kids say and your post will hit the big time…. man this is making me feel old. Still I think you have a lot to say that needs to be heard. Ok I’m going to go on my merry way. Have a great day!

  • Chuck Thiel

    For every stunt Clinton and her cronies pull I donate more money to Sanders. Another $25 to the Sanders campaign today.

    • At this point, I’d suggest that well over half of the donations to the campaign are based on that formula. I’ve been doing the same. Thanks Chuck!

      • Carole

        Me too!

  • MoreLes101

    We are working hard for Bernie in Colorado, and are in it for the long haul to make sure that he wins. Do the same from wherever you are, and there are no limits to what can be accomplished. 🙂
    #FeelTheBern

  • Jordana Sinclair

    My mom’s disabled and yet will be sending $25 to Bernie. Why? Because she doesn’t like Hillary. “I liked Bubba,” She said, “but his wife ain’t no Bubba!”

    • Dane

      I didn’t like Bubba either, he fucked us to death,and I see his wife as more of that.

      • DavidD

        I liked old Bill but I liked this old egg sucking dog I had too.Both would smile and wag their tail while you were looking at them but would raid the hen house when your back was turned.Of course Bill would hit the sorority house on his way back.

  • Jim Rouillard

    Nice analysis. Well-written. Well-presented. Thank you.

    • Thank you! Waking up to all these comments has made my day.

  • Tralbry

    If Hillary goes last allowing her to attack Bernie without giving him a chance to respond/correct her lies then we’ll know that this is just another Wasserman tactic to aid Clinton.

    • Beuserfriendly

      I expect something similar to the great presence he created a few weeks ago in another forum — Bernie was the star at the Black and Brown forum in Iowa a few weeks ago — It’s worth watching if you haven’t seen it yet — compare the interest in the faces of the moderators and audience when Bernie speaks and their boredom when Hillary speaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt3n7ugOj80

  • patrick robertson

    About Time that something is being done about her obvious tactics

  • Frank A. Spain

    DWS helped HRC to lose the 2008 bid for the presidency now she’s going to help her lose the 2016 bid for the presidency!!! Thank you DWS!!!

  • Hillary is no longer part of the equation. This is Wasserman vs. Sanders. Goodbye Ms. W.

  • Bernie Sanders

    Self serving in every respect, HlLLARY has benefited mightily from a media blackout on the news that’s surfacing about her e mails. Why would the corporate media obscure her actions from public scrutiny only weeks away from the start of primaries? Complicity in the cover up only further damages the media’s already highly challenged credibility. Could it be the prospect of a Bernie Sanders landslide has led the moneyed elite to engage in overtly repressive tactics by keeping Americam citizens in the dark regarding information that is highly relevant to their choice of the nation’s next commander-in-chief? What’s a voter to do? Here are some concrete proposals worthy of your serious consideration:

    1. Turn off the television–subjecting your mind to its warping influence hurts not only you personally but our society as a whole. A steady diet of lies does not sustain a well-informed public–it starves it of the truth it needs to arrive at sound judgments. For all too many of us, the thoughts rattling around in our heads are not our own.
    2. Reject ideological stereotypes and oversimplifications–the mainstream media cannot capture the complexity of our time and situation; worse, it looks to sell you a bill of goods (that don’t amount to a HlLL of beans). In this landscape all bets are off, and business as usual will not serve all but a handful of individuals (probably not you and me;-)
    3. Trust no one and do your own research until you find a candidate deserving of your respect. Above all the country’s next president needs to be a human being we can admire and take pride in standing beside as our fellow citizen; someone whose values align with ours. Political expedience is what has gotten us into our current mess; it cannot get us out of it.
    4. Prepare yourself for a fight to the teeth. The moneyed elite will not loosen their vice-like, vice-fueled grip on the body politic without pulling out all the stops. There are whole industries at stake. Time to dig in our heels and take no prisoners: it ain’t gonna be pretty, but then class war never is.
    5. Enjoy the ride of your lifetime. How many people get to experience the thrill of taking part in a revolution? It will only get more interesting with each passing day. Oh, and hang onto your sense of humor: boy, oh boy, are we ever gonna need it.

    Signed,

    An interested party

    PS I will not presume to suggest a candidate: unlike the mainstream media, I trust my fellow citizens to make the choice that reflects their best judgment–as long as we disconnect from the propaganda posing as truth spewing into our homes on a daily basis.

  • alpen

    I LOVE THE TRUTH AND THIS IS NOTHING BUT!!

  • Just a heads-up for all the people who’ve ordered bumper stickers so far: First, THANK YOU! You’ve already paid for over 100 union-printed mailers to be sent out across Lorain County, Ohio.

    Second, I bought some stamps and learned to mail merge in Word so I could print the envelopes. They’ll be in the mail via USPS today and should arrive within a couple of days for most of you, but the ones on the west coast and in Hawaii may take a little longer.

    Finally, now that people are reading, I guess I have to blog more consistently. I promise I’ll work on that!

  • Kim

    I’m a stay at home grandma with a 1 year old, in NJ, I don’t think phone banking will work for me. What else can I do? Suggestions welcome!

    • Hey Kim! Check out http://www.bernkit.com/ for a list of all the different resources volunteers have created to help each other organize.

      Of particular interest to you, I’d recommend Letters for Bernie, which involves writing op-eds for newspapers and letters to legislators all with the goal of spreading the word and picking up endorsements.

      You may be able to do Data Entry for the campaign as well! You can e-mail dataentry@berniesanders.com to see if they need more help, and they usually do.

      Thanks for looking for ways to help!

    • Beuserfriendly

      Write pro Bernie comments on GOP or pro-Hillary news stories and sources — Go to Fox and places you usually don’t find Sanders supporters, comment and introduce Sanders. You sound fact filled and polite, logical. Visit where most of the readers don’t know much about him — a good point to make is that 25% of Republicans in Vermont vote for Sanders! That’s unheard of in most places, but it’s true, he has lots of appeal for Republicans.

      • Sam Smith

        Agreed. And tout his strong support for civil liberties, because that is why a lot of libertarian-leaning folks like Bernie so much. He really does have broad appeal.

  • Cydney

    Hellery keeps digging a deeper hole with me. She has just about dug far enough I can kick the dirt over her for good. I’ll toss Bill and Chelsea in for good measure. #NoMoreReaganDemocrats

  • Astrid Snaucey Luchian

    It is also obvious that he is fighting Clinton & the Democratic National Committe’s dangerous ties to one candidate as well. between Putting the debates at time no one would watch to shield Hill, limiting them to 6, trying to block sanders from his own campaign information. To hillary basically falsely accusing sanders of not being tough enough on guns, claiming she’s the advocate for civil and gay rights (she evolved and some of it way too recently) when his record shows he has been fighting for those people for over 40 years, attacking his his health when she has numerous health issues & he’s healthy, Then on top of it all acting like her bribes er, i mean speaking fees, from wallstreet & big pharma are no biggie because everyone does it (& won’t affect her ability to govern for the people), To the last of all basically trying to copy bernie’s stances in the last debate as if they were her own- they’re not. SHe’s just confusing people. Not to forget her blatent disrgard of protocol on top secret emails (btw she really really IS under investigation by the FBI it’s not some repub made up lie) to the main reasons i don’t like her personnally – her stance on GMO’s and being in bed with monsanto and pushing fracking. She really isn’t the right person for the job. I don’t know of a single thing she stands for other than I will keep the status quo. How’s that working out for you? for everyone?

  • Tzveti Manolova

    Perfect

  • RDE

    My thoughts and feelings exactly. Keep building momentum, let’s blow the top off this biatch! Go Bernie! Go Tim Canova!

  • KillBill

    $100 says at some point during the town hall, HC will play the “SOCIALIST!” card.

  • Meggotty

    Nothing is more patently clear as Wasserman Schultz and her unrelenting bias toward Hillary Clinton. This is so shameful that any thinking democrat would tolerate this breach of ethics. Why the hell is she the sole decider on whether there should be more Democratic debates??? She should be removed from her position as the DNC chair because of her total lack of integrity and inability to address the questions related to the suspicious breach of data information which practically put in peril Senator Sander’s unexpected momentum to eclipse her candidate Hillary Clinton. Shame on those in the DNC who are too timid to admit she should be gone!!!!!

  • Phyliss Rampulla-Kirk

    Mr. Pugh, I do not trust this article. I am supporting Hillary. When Bernie calls Planned Parenthood an establishment organization , it says something about how he views women.

    • Phyliss, I completely respect your opinion, though I feel like I must disagree. When Bernie calls PP an establishment organization, it only says something about how he views PP. Bernie’s record on fighting for equal pay for women, a woman’s right to choose, maternal leave, and universal healthcare speak much more to his views on women.

      Both Hillary and Bernie have 100% perfect records on a woman’s right to choose, and either candidate will continue to defend that right and push for other women’s issues as president. The key difference between the two is how they interact with the DC power structure. I tend to agree with Bernie that some very great, very important organizations appear to lean toward establishment politicians in their endorsements. I won’t speculate why, or even whether that’s good or bad, because it’s not a great use of our time. We both have our preferred candidate for our preferred reasons and that’s what makes democracy so great.

      Thanks for sharing a dissenting opinion in a respectful way! That’s always welcome here.

      • Louise Cooper

        Alan, Bernie was elected to office as a Congressman in 1991 and progressed into the Senate. and has been there for over 20 years.
        Bill Clinton did not become president until 1993 and was there for 8 years. Hillary became Senator and Sec.State. Still all of her time does not equal the years Bernie has been in office.
        How is it that the Clintons can be considered part of the establishment and not Bernie?

        • Andrea Current-Bomer

          Louise, I know that your question was directed at Alan, but I hope I can share my thoughts as well. I think in this case the “establishment” in question is the DNC. Bernie’s years of political experience were gained as an Independent and not as a Democrat. Both the DNC and RNC are strong politcal hierarchies with complex structures and power struggles. Since the Clinton’s have been in office, they have been Democrats and engaged with the DNC. Bernie’s not had the luxury of National Committee support for any of his many campaigns. Just my two cents.

        • Beuserfriendly

          Establishment = friends and loyalties, gifts, speech fees, revolving door jobs, hand jobs and cover ups, Sanders stays apart from all that.

      • Brea Plum

        Democratic candidates vie mightily for a PP endorsement, which is why I think the characterization of ‘establishment’ is valid.

  • Louise Cooper

    Since when is an Independent who declares himself to be a Democrat because he wants to be on the ticket for president to be considered a truthful and honest person.
    He was asked to run as a Democrat when he was a candidate for Senator and he refused saying it would make him a hypocrite.
    He has called this party corrupt for years. Do not lecture any of us who have worked for decades to build the membership of this party about the rights of Bernie Sanders who is doing his best to destroy our party.

    • Louise, with all due respect, the growing progressive movement in the United States is less concerned about the idea of party loyalty and more concerned with electing the right individuals based on their platform and history. That said, Sanders made clear when he declared that he would not “Nader” the presidency by running as an independent, which is a move that protects the Democratic party heading into the general election.

      The establishment in both parties has long been riddled with corruption. A politician is not incorruptible simply by placing a “D” next to their name. If we want a strong Democratic Party, the wisest thing to do would be to encourage all candidates to run clean and honest campaigns and allow the voters to decide who best represents the party. Democracy is a powerful tool and the direction of the party will be determined by the voters.

      Thank you for your comment!

      • Brea Plum

        Well responded, Alan.

    • Sean Buckley

      The fact you are so loyal to some Bull shit party system, IS the EXACT reason why corruption exists. Because it is so easy for them to use Crowd mentality against us. Wake UP!

    • Sean Buckley

      The fact you are so loyal to some made up party system, IS the EXACT reason why corruption exists. Because it is so easy for them to use herd (mob) mentality against us. Wake UP!

  • Lisa Williams

    Nevada is ON FIRE for Bernie! Boo to you, DWS. We are winning this battle and we will win the war against you and your status quo cronies.

  • Brea Plum

    You’re also putting it on CNN which means that only people with a cable subscription can view it (subscription is still required for online viewing of CNN, as I learned to my dismay when I tried to watch Obama’s recent town hall on gun control). This is not making it publicly available to anyone who wants to watch, those of us who have cut the cord can not watch. This is making it available for corporate profit, that of CNN and their parent, whoever the hell that is these days.

    • Beuserfriendly

      They will also show it for free online

  • FlipSide

    Ms. Wasserman-Shultz got her butt kicked in a Politifact post earlier. Her deceit was duly noted and she earned herself a FALSE rating (should have been a Pants-On-Fire!) She wants HRC and is doing everything possible to make that happen. I don’t trust HRC (Wall Street, special interests, and big money), and I believe in Bernie!

  • Crunch

    Great article! I will by a bunch of stickers!

  • nodomino

    I think you were very generous towards Debbie.

  • Robin Stone

    Hello from Iowa where Bernie will win the Caucus! Keep the momentum going so we can win the whole thing!

  • Sigrid VanHorn

    Well said for #Bernie2016

  • nanvan108

    Well said. Thank you. This has been frustrating, but it has backfired at every step. The fact that DWS served as co-chair of Hillary’s campaign in 2008 should have disqualified her from staying in as head of the DNC once Hillary opted to run again. So, besides unwittingly getting more support for Bernie, her actions have shown us some things we need to fix within the party.

  • Heath Hensley

    Indiana is Feeling the Bern I can guarantee you that! We have a great network of volunteers in place. Organized labor in IN is currently mobilizing as well via IBEW and UAW. We turned in more ballot petitions than the HRC camp and did it faster with an entirely volunteer army. We’re also in it for the long haul and phonebanking like crazy at present from all corners of the state!!

  • Michael Paolucci

    She, and Hillary, can share a cab ride to the airport, first flight out of DC, going anywhere! DWS almost single handedly derailed the democrats momentum, she lost sight of the fact that we aren’t the sheep she thinks we are, she has us confused with the GOP voter base! Tim Canova will end her reign as dnc dictator!

  • Khristie Collins-Reed

    I only donate to Bernie Sanders. I won’t donate to the DNC, until we get a better leader.

  • elizabeth

    Life-long Dem, here, active in women’s rights, human rights, and local politics (caucuses, phone-banking, donating to candidates and the DNC in the past.) However, the DESPICABLE WAY the Democratic Establishment has treated Bernie, first ignoring and minimizing him, and now attacking and sabotaging him is BACK-FIRING on the DNC in every possible way. First it’s Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, then it’s Andrea Mitchell, and NOW it’s Andrea McGuire = All HILLARY-BOTS focused on keeping the American voters in the dark, so the same-old, same-old corrupt corporate candidates stay in power and Wall Street and their bought politicians just get richer. But that’s NOT how it’s going down this time. DNC: Did you really believe that no one would notice Andrea Mitchell’s (Mrs. Alan Greenspan) tone and tenor in the questions to Bernie vs. Hillary in last week’s debate? Did you really think we wouldn’t see Debbie’s true motivation in first limiting the number of Democratic debates, and then scheduling them at times that would draw the LEAST public attention? Did you seriously believe we’d not recognize her true intent in scheduling this last-minute Iowa event to “resurrect” her chum HRC’s waning influence ? How convenient for Debbie that Andrea “HRC 2016” McGuire is vetting the questions that Town Hall candidates will be asked, and determining the specific questioners and seating. Hillary’s already been caught using planted questioners at her ‘spontaneous’ public Q and A’s, such behind-the-scenes subterfuge is no big surprise. There has been more underhanded plotting and subterfuge from these three than anything we saw in the “Three Weird Sisters” in Macbeth! As Dr. Cornel West commented on Bill Maher Friday, the first word that comes to mind when you say the name Clinton is not “integrity.” The people don’t like rigged forums or elections. Although the DNC has been preparing for HRC’s coronation for months, the more people see of the shrill, shrewish, harpy Hillary, they less they like. And when the hurly-burly’s done, when the battles LOST, not won . . . it will be the DNC who is the biggest loser – both in reputation and financial support.

  • Meggotty

    Did Bill Clinton share his wifes’ server? Perhaps to hide correspondence with donors to the Clinton Foundation. It’s really hard for me to understand her answer that “I’m not technically savvy”. Really? Someone who understands the complexities of the stock market, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for speeches to financial institutions, understands complex banking issues that she’s voted on, aye or nay, involving mathematical charts, algorithms, ambiguous laws governing all these subtexts of policies, and yet, she wants us all to wrap our heads around the statement that “She really didn’t know too much about the dangers to our security with a private server”?I really have a terrible urge to call bullshit on this one.