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Friday, March 29, 2024

A preemptive strike against Bernie Sanders

bernaCSMS Magazine Staff Writers

The Associated Press announcement last night, “confirming” Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party presumptive nominee, was not only politically expedient but also a strident electoral coup against Bernie Sanders. The rationale behind such arrogant declaration was an assertion that Mrs. Clinton had secured a sufficient number of additional superdelegates to clinch the Democratic Party presidential nomination. The report was and still is at best pure speculation because it did not identify the superdelegates who have just declared their support for Clinton in order to put her over the top.

Nonetheless, that was beside the point. In the calculus of establishment politics, there isn’t even a thin line between plutocratic greed and the thirst for power, especially in moments when the status quo feels threatened. Understandably, the AP report was immediately picked up and featured prominently by the Washington Post and the New York Times. Equally, the cable news networks wasted no time to jump in. There have been many reports, claiming that President Barack Obama would officially endorse Clinton this week, possibly on Wednesday when he travels to New York for a fundraising event.

The Democratic Party has long made its choice on the persona of Hillary Clinton, and the DNC knew it had what it took to make it happen. At its belt is an army of so-called superdelegates which have been used as its best defense mechanism against any intruder, as Bernie Sanders, a self-declared democratic-socialist, was viewed at the beginning. The Democratic National Committee appointed 712 superdelegates consisting of elected officials, Democratic Party operatives and party leaders, including former office-holders. As of last weekend, 547 of these denizens of the party establishment had publicly announced for Clinton, while only 46 had come out in support of Sanders.

A hollow show

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand this latest maneuvering is a concerted effort created under the craftsmanship of the DNC, Party establishment and sections of the media to proclaim Clinton the victor before a single vote is cast ahead of a hotly contested primary campaign on Tuesday night. Furthermore, California, which votes tonight, is the prize to win. About 450 delegates are at stake.

In crowning Clinton before the voters go to the polls, they intend to disarm Bernie supporters thereby sparing the favored candidate of Wall Street and the military/intelligence establishment a humiliating defeat. Media outlets also reported on Tuesday that Clinton intended to declare herself the presumptive Democratic nominee as soon as the polls close tonight in the New Jersey primary election, where opinion polls show Clinton leading Sanders by a double-digit. Polls in California close later than in New Jersey due to the four-hour time zone difference with the US east coast. Opinion Polls in California show Clinton’s one-time double-digit lead over Sanders evaporating amidst a record surge in newly registered voters, most of them younger than 45, a demographic that has consistently backed Sanders by a two-to-one margin.

Sanders, who has won 46 percent of the elected delegates, has taken 16 of the last 25 primary contests and triumphed in major industrial states such as Michigan and Wisconsin. He has held some two dozen rallies in California, attracting large and enthusiastic crowds, dominated by young voters. His campaign estimates it will have addressed some 250,000 people by primary election day in California.

Barry Grey from the World Socialist website sums up the move this way: “Behind this is fear within the ruling class over the social opposition that has found an expression, for the present, in popular support for Sanders, who has benefited beyond his own wildest expectations from his self-promotion as a “democratic socialist.” There is also frustration within the Clinton camp that Sanders’ continued presence hinders the frontrunner from pivoting as far and as rapidly to the right as she would like in preparation for the general election.”

The big question is: How will Sanders react after the polls close tonight and Madame Secretary is declared the victor. No matter the outcome, however, Bernie Sanders seems ready to continue the fight for social justice. He can ill afford to ignore the desires and the aspirations of millions of Americans who voted for him in the hopes that his movement would finally put an end to the political trickeries that have always been playing or subverting against the will of millions of Americans by the political establishment in Washington.

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