THE DNC RIGGED THE 2016 PRIMARY FOR HILLARY CLINTON
By BC DeGRAFF
By now, you’ve heard someone say that the election was rigged, either by the propaganda that it was Russians, or you’ve heard the truth. The Democratic National Committee rigged the 2016 Primary in favor of Hillary Clinton in nearly every state using Voter Suppression tactics that would steal the nomination from Bernie Sanders, cheating him out of the Presidency and risking the election by disenfranchising the voters who witnessed and experienced the favoritism of Hillary Clinton. 20,000 of WikiLeak’s leaked E-Mails would prove that the Primary was rigged.
Witnesses flooded social media to show that they were unable to vote, given Provisional Ballot (used to record a vote when there are questions about a given voter’s eligibility). States like Michigan, that Bernie Sanders won would see every Superdelegate in the state go to Hillary Clinton, despite her losing the state. This would happen in various other states.
It’s time to begin educating everyone on my research. We need to be aware that New Hampshire was rigged to a tie between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Iowa was decided via a coin toss. That’s not how you decide elections. With Superdelegates with 10,000 votes and a quarter. Like say maybe if the count goes over 2 million, you elect the popular vote like a smart person, or hey, how about people like Jill Stein who has the idea of a ranked system where you vote more than once and in the order you would prefer. That’s the most Democratic you can get. What we have here is a Republic-Plutocracy with the illusion that your vote counts, but if we stop voting, they win.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
“The state Bernie Sanders won in a landslide would become a tie using the Superdelegates at the Convention.”
As you can see from the picture on the left, Bernie Sanders won the state in a landslide. Bernie won 152,193 votes and 1 Super delegate. That’s 162,193 votes total for Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton took 6 unearned superdelegates who voted Hillary Clinton despite their state voting for Bernie Sanders. 95,355 votes went to Hillary Clinton which with her 6 superdelegates at 10,000 each, that brings Hillary Clinton’s total to 155,355. New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley, would not cast his superdelegate vote for either candidate and at the roll call, Hillary Clinton would tie with Bernie Sanders despite Bernie Sanders winning the state by a landslide. All of this was possible because of the Superdelegates.
Martha Fuller Clark would cast her superdelegate vote for Bernie Sanders at the convention and would eventually support Hillary Clinton in the General claiming that the Bernie of Bust movement was ensuring a Trump presidency.
“They’re really taking a risk of putting the presidency in jeopardy. We’ve heard over and over again over the last 24 to 48 hours that this really is the most important election in our lives. Democracy and the Supreme Court are at stake. It’s fine to stand on principle, but also politics is the art of the possible and I would hope they would understand the seriousness of this campaign.” -Martha Fuller Clark (New Hampshire Bernie Superdelegate)
In conclusion of this state, Hillary Clinton was not as popular as Bernie Sanders and 6 Superdelegates changed the outcome of Bernie Sanders victory making it a tie. This was an abuse of democracy as it was unfair to the American people who can only cast 1 vote while Superdelegates are 10,000 to 1 vote.
IOWA
“How the DNC cheated Bernie Sanders and his voters and delegates in the state of Iowa in 2016”
“ I knocked on a door in my town- spoke to couple for over an hour. We really bonded. Asked if they could caucus, said they couldn’t because of health reasons and crippling PTSD from the war. I still cared about them even though they said they couldn’t. I still call them and they call me. Caucus night arrives, they show up. Not only did they come to stand up for their beliefs and themselves despite their struggles, they stood up and defended Bernie to an entire crowd of their peers. Was such a proud and happy moment. Bernie brought us together. He helped us to believe in ourselves and that our voices matter. He gave us the confidence to stand up for what is right.” -Jesica Butler (Iowa State Delegate)
Hillary Clinton (49.8%), Bernie Sanders (49.6%) would lead to a close call and the traditional coin toss where Mainstream Media would lie for a long time that Hillary Clinton won the state fairly and yet, the overwhelming evidence would show otherwise. During the Iowa caucuses on February 1, 2016, the state would come down to a coin toss. An unfair 6 coin toss that all 6 times they claim Hillary Clinton won. The video evidence shows the truth. This is not how elections should go down, this was obviously a bias decision and a lie to cause the state to go to Hillary Clinton. She did not win fairly, she won by 25 cent piece and according to the video evidence, she didn’t even win that.
“In Polk county they found the workers were rigging it, but I don’t know how, and they split that county 50/50. “The final count was like .3% difference but Hillary had 2 extra delegates by Philly. I know at least 5 people that were purged from the caucus between county and state. One of my really good friends was getting calls on his way to the district convention and when he got there he had been purged. No records of him at all. He was a Bernie or Buster”
— Daniel Clark 2018 Candidate for US House
The Mainstream Media ignored the foul play that the DNC was doing and covered it up, not covering any of the election rigging with the coverage it needed. What happened in Iowa? Did Bernie win the coin toss and the DNC declared Hillary Clinton the winner, awarding her with more delegates and every super delegate in the state. According to The Huffington post, Hillary Clinton would end up with 29 Delegates to Bernie Sanders 21. It’s clear to see that the DNC favored Hillary Clinton through out the DNC, but right at the start of the race, the DNC wanted to seal the win for Hillary Clinton, giving the illusion of democracy. Hillary Clinton would receive 5.7 Million votes from 570 men and women who were chosen by the DNC to become Superdelegates. 60,000 votes from 6 Superdelegates would give Hillary Clinton a landslide where there was a close call before.
NEVADA:
“How the DNC favored Hillary Clinton in another close call that went to Hillary out of bias and how vulgar they were about it.”
Hillary Clinton took the state by 5 percent and during the State Convention Delegate count, it was clear they favored Hillary and during the count, a dispute over the delegates erupted and the DNC would give 5 more delegates to Hillary Clinton unfairly, despite there being only an alleged 5 percent spread from Bernie Sanders. The DNC would concoct lies after the facts were presented, claiming that Bernie Sanders voters threw chairs, despite the facts that the whole event was recorded and posted on social media outlets. Debbie Wasserman Shultz would call Jeff Weaver and “ass” and a “Liar” for calling out the DNC on their favoritism and bias. This was also the same night Barbara Boxer, who would announce the state for Hillary Clinton, lied and claimed she felt threatened. She flipped Bernie Sanders supporters giving the “fuck you” to Democracy.
“I don’t want to see Sen. Barbara Boxer walking off the stage claiming she’s in fear of her life while she’s contemptuously blowing kisses (flipping the bird) at Sanders supporters. No, absolutely not.” -Jeff Weaver
I would interview Nevada Delegate Andrea Warzlow who recalled what stood out the most in her mind:
BC DeGraff: “What moment stood out the most to you at the convention?”
Andrea Warzlow: “The clarity that I am one with so many that think like me at the same time are traveling different paths. I am am truly alone but I am not. We had Roberta Lange blatantly first, seconding, and “thirding” her own motions. She passed Roberta rules as a test for pre-mimicked National managing. July did not surprise me. Nevada was mutating so fast the DNC had to be blatant. This was weeks before 5/14/16. Minority report for the DNC came out at the end to state that 64 Bernie delegates were disqualified for Hillary’s win by 32, and we still look for flying chairs. Because of Roberta ‘reset’ to February we flipped 200+ for Bernie’s win in May. I was not alone, many, We/US together. They guy with the chair walked right past me to set it down for someone to sit up front by the way. Not a climatic as the tale.
BC DeGraff: “You’re talking about the state convention?”
Andrea Warzlow: “Yes, 16 hours of fun.”
BC DeGraff: “Did you see anyone throw a chair?”
Andrea Warzlow: “Absolutely not.”
The Barbara Boxer Incident:
There was also a rumor that Bernie Sanders Delegates were throwing chairs, this was untrue and probably to cover up the fact that Barbara Boxer was vulgar to Bernie Delegates to the state convention floor. I would interview Bernie Sanders Delegate Judy Meinhold of Las Vegas, Nevada to see if she witnessed Barbara Boxer’s rude and disrespectful lack of respect for the Bernie Sanders Delegates.
BC DeGraff: “Did you see Babara Boxer in fear for her life?”
Judy Meinhold: “No”
BC DeGraff: “Did you witness in real time, her flipping off Bernie Delegates?
Judy Meinhold: “She came out wagging her finger at us. We were still booing the rigged vote count. I couldn’t see her very well when she left the stage though. Wouldn’t swear it was flipping us off.”
BC DeGraff: “But she clearly flipped you off?”
Judy Meinhold: “ It looked like it but I was towards the back of the room so couldn’t be positive.”
The Final Delegate ( Deborah Gordillo) I would interview would tell me her entire experience which show exactly what the other Delegates were talking about:
“The Nevada State “Democratic” Convention. The Convention was scheduled to begin at 10:00 am. Many of us Berners were urged to get there early, and were showing up by 8:30 and even by 8:00, yet already the room was filled with Hillary delegates, as they had been bused in by the NV Democrats at 6:00 am. Although the official start time was 10:00, they called the vote for Hillary by at 30 votes at 9:30, when many of the Bernie people still had not arrived. Also, they called it a win for Hillary by at 30 votes, however they had to DE-credential 64 Bernie delegates to win the state for her, otherwise it would have gone to Bernie.”
She would continue talking about Barbara Boxer’s unethical behavior:
“Barbara Boxer got on the stage and insulted and ridiculed the Bernie people. When she was finished, she exited the podium walking through the crowd, crossing to the other side of the room so that she could strut through the Bernie crowd and mock them. The Committee announced that they had “adopted a temporary set of rules” behind closed doors but would not explain what they were. In other words, license to cheat anytime, any way they saw fit. The Committee also announced that they were going to disregard the results of the County Convention. The way a caucus state works is that each round counts for something. You don’t just get your delegates based on the results of the State Convention. You get your number of delegates based on the (Precinct) Caucuses, the County Convention, and the State Convention. In spite of all the corruption that was taking place in Nevada, Bernie still managed to win the County Convention. So, the Committee decided to disqualify that round and not factor it into the equation. In addition, one of the districts had four delegates, and according to the math, that district was to divide them two delegates Hillary and two delegates Bernie. The Committee just decided, with no justification, to give Hillary three of those delegates and only one to Bernie. Another law of the conventions is that it is only the very last count that is valid. Also, we can go as late as midnight as long as the meeting is not yet adjourned. So, late in the afternoon, the Committee put their Hillary supporters back on the buses and sent them home. (we have no idea who those so-called “delegates” actually were.) Then, we took a quick count and estimated that Bernie delegates now outnumbered the non-bused Hillary delegates by at 700 to 200. As long as we could get to the podium and motion for a recount, we would win the state. They kept turning off the mics when we approached, but finally someone was able to make the motion and we won overwhelmingly. So the recount began. The recount was underway when suddenly, Roberta Lange, who was the Committee Chairwoman, rushed onto the stage very flustered, motioned for an adjournment, seconded her own motion, LOST the motion by a wide margin, yet called the meeting adjourned regardless, slammed the gavel down, and rushed back out the nearby door to the stage.
We were all in disbelief over what just happened. We were being told by people in the DNC that this was absolutely not an adjourned meeting, and that whenever a motion is passed, the ONLY thing that can happen next is to follow through with the motion. We were told by people on the DNC that the meeting was not over, that we should stay, and that we should sit on the floor if need be.
This is when the armed guards, who, up until now, were hanging out in the back of the convention room, paraded to the front of the room and lined up facing us. They ordered us to leave. They threatened us that if we did not want to have any problems, that we were to leave calmly, quietly, and IMMEDIATELY.
There are other things, like the fact that after the County Convention, they gave us a convoluted system for per-registering online, but giving us links that did not give us the option to per-register and you could try to contact them, but then just get sent the wrong info over and over until after 5 attempts or more, you’d finally get sent a link that worked. Some never got a link that worked. Others gave up after the third try. Others were being counted in the list as Hillary delegates rather than as Bernie delegates.”
Lastly, when I won the delegate seat at the caucuses, another guy I know also won in my precinct. He is now doing nothing but preaching the most brainwashed Hillary Clinton propaganda there is, and he is always running around Facebook attempting to shut people down who speak out against her. I am getting the very strong sense that he was a plant, someone instructed to take a Bernie delegate spot and then use it to vote for Hillary Clinton.” — Deborah Gordillo
With all of this, with Barbara Boxer’s vulgar display of absolute disrespect to the voters and Snopes falsely reporting that Barbara did not give Bernie Sanders and democracy the bird, we are left to wonder if this was part of the “unity” Hillary Clinton and the DNC would preach at the DNC Convention. It’s not hard to see why they lost. The level of disrespect by Nevada DNC officials questions the parties integrity and shows that they have no problem losing to Donald Trump in 2020 the way they did in 2016.
Erin Bilbray would stay grounded for Bernie Sanders as the only Superdelegate to cast her vote for him:
BC DeGraff: “How. did you feel being the only Bernie Sanders Superdelegate in a state where every other superdelegate voted Hillary?”
Erin Bilbray: “It was not easy. Most wouldn’t even speak to me in spite of knowing me for years”
BC DeGraff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Erin Bilbray: “ No, I was very clear that I would support the nominee.”
To make Bernie Sanders voters feel less important, less comfortable than everyone else and show outright neglect to the voters were all the makings of the Nevada rigging and the rigging of a state with the lack of respect for everyone who participated in their primary.
MASSACHUSETTS
“A state that wanted Bernie Sanders more than Hillary Clinton was rigged with the help of Elizabeth Warren and the DNC.”
Massachusetts was better known for the state where Bill Clinton came out with a mega phone and tried to sway voters at the voting booths to vote for Hillary Clinton. Bill Clinton violated the state law to stay 100 feet from the polling stations. It was a sign of how unpopular she was and an illegal tactic. The DNC and the Chair were on Hillary Clinton’s side, they chose her and that was their candidate, she would become the nominee. They didn’t care how they had to get it done.
I would interview a Bernie Sanders delegate from the state:
BC DeGraff: “Were you one of the many who was Bernie or Bust? and What was the message you left the convention with and who did you vote for?”
James L. Bedard: “I was not explicitly Bernie or Bust. I’m not hostile toward the Democratic Party as an institution, but rather I was highly critical of those in powerful positions within the party who worked so hard to stifle new voices in every primary state. I did leave the convention area and took to the stage in FDR Park to speak to the thousands of disaffected youth and folks left behind by the party’s one-sided nominating process. I resented the sour treatment many of fellow delegates received by party regulars not used to real democracy at their conventions.
The party regulars and Hillary herself did nothing to bring Berniecrats and Bernie-independents into the process. There was literally zero outreach in any regard. Even our champions in the decision-making rooms like Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison were swept aside when they dared to speak against over arcing corporate influence within the party.
I left the convention dishearten by the process but clear-eyed in the movement we began. The message from the Hillary campaign was clear: get on-board or get left behind. We delegates left with our goal solidified by what we had already accomplished. This goal was simple: get home and get to work changing the awful system that suppressed our voices. If you look around the country, Bernie delegates and supporters have made huge gains inside and outside of the Democratic Party structure. When I got back home, I got back to work on the “Save Our Public Schools” campaign and supporting our local progressive candidates. I don’t care for the general election question because it doesn’t define me. My work as a children’s mental health counselor and behavior therapist, working to improve a decrepit criminal justice system, combined with my work in local progressive politics is what defines me. I will never cease that fight to help young folks in dire need.
For Bernie supporters, our candidate wasn’t on the ballot. So to shame anyone to voted for Clinton, Stein, or Johnson or just left the presidential bracket blank just lends strikes against our movement.
We need to focus on the tasks at hand and not dwell in the past. I believe Bernie’s message in bringing folks from all backgrounds together will change this country for the better. I’m focused on that goal.”
Though James L. Bedard was unaware, Bernie or Bust means Bernie Sanders or no one. Many who voted for Jill, voted for their best interests, that’s still a Progressive platform as she closely related to Bernie Sanders’ platform. James says he’s focused on the future and he’s right to take this stance. American must never allow Democracy to be so bias and rigged in favor of one candidate. James L. Bedard made an honorable vote, he stuck to his better interests and voted for the candidate that stuck closest to Bernie Sanders’ platform.
Hillary would receive 210,000 voted from the superdelegates. The voters never had a chance when superdelegates like Elizabeth Warren have a vote worth 10,000 votes.
Massachusetts exit polls didn’t match up and He was seen outside the polling station, encouraging voters to vote for Hillary with a megaphone. Un-adjusted Exit Polls Indicate that Bernie Sanders had actually won the state after the votes were already counted, beating Hillary Clinton by 53%. Hillary Clinton would walk out of Super Sunday with 8 out of 12 including Massachusetts.
ILLINOIS
“Chicago Election fraud, superdelegates and rule violations handed the Illinois Primary to Hillary Clinton, despite Bernie winning in majority of the states counties.”
Illinois was another state the Clintons would violate the rules of the Primary getting within 100 feet of a polling place, like he did Massachusetts. He would violate this rule with Hyde Park as well as in the Austin neighborhood, accompanied by Congressman Danny Davis and Attorney General Lisa Madigan where they rallied to get voters for Hillary Clinton. According to the wikileaks Podesta E-Mails, they bribed the Delegates to nominate Hillary Clinton.
The Chicago Board of election witnessed that the electronic voting machines were deleting votes from Bernie Sanders. They admitted that there were votes being deleted and people adding Hillary Clinton. What this is, Election Fraud. The auditors covered it up and Hillary would take the state. Many in the Chicago Board of election who confronted the auditors about this and the auditors would ignore them. An insult to anyone who believes this country has a fair democracy.
240,000 unearned votes went to Hillary Clinton through the superdelegates. I would interview a Bernie Sanders delegate who would confirm that the Superdelegates refused to budge for the people Illinois:
BC DeGraff: “How were you treated at the convention by the DNC and Hillary Clinton delegates?”
“I was one of three people who coordinated the IL delegation and one of about 20 that coordinated the TPP interruption. The Democratic Party and Hillary delegates made it clear at the convention that Sanders and his supporters we’re not welcome at the convention or in the Democratic Party.”
BC DeGraff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
John Laesch: “I voted for Jill Stein. I don’t vote for corporate Democrats at any level. Less about Bernie. More about not supporting the corporate takeover of the Democratic Party.Really, there is now one party — the corporate party with a Democratic wing and a Republican wing.”
BC DeGraff: “What was the message you left the convention with?”
John Laesch: “Hard for me to believe that the Democratic Party can be reformed. We need a second party to represent working people.”
BC DeGraff: “Do you believe your state and the primaries were rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton?”
John Laesch: “Superdelegates we’re unmovable even in districts’ we won”
The voters didn’t have a chance to have a fair democracy in Illinois. Ultimately, Hillary Clinton would take 24 of the Superdelegates and cheat the voters out of the candidate of their choice, Bernie Sanders.
FLORIDA
“How the DNC used voter suppression, Voting Machine Hacks, money and various other maneuvers to rig the Florida Primary in favor of Hillary Clinton.”
Florida was the state where many were removed from voter registration. Florida is also the state where Jared H. Beck and Elizabeth Lee Beck would fight against the DNC for the rigging of the 2016 Primary elections.
“We have a wealth of information that was released by WikiLeaks that comes from emails from officials of the DNC, as well as the Hillary Clinton campaign, which really, I think, flesh out and fill in the detail of this really seminal internal document that Guccifer released. These additional leaks have shown that DNC officials participated in creating and disseminating media narratives to undermine Bernie Sanders and advance Hillary Clinton.” -Jared H. Beck
According to Florida voters, the reality of the rigging of states like Florida sank in when voters were unable to cast a vote. One Florida voter (Elizabeth Solana) shared her story with me:
“ I couldn’t vote in the primary. They changed my voting location and issued a new card with the wrong name too close to primary to change it.
My cousins location was changed too but when he went to vote they didn’t have him on record. The person he went with had his party changed.
That’s three missing Sanders votes in my area. I’m sure there’s more.
We went to early voting for the general to avoid more problems. Now if we all voted third party why did third party get the same percentage of votes it always gets? Doesn’t make sense to me with all the people who claimed they were going 3rd party after the DNC screwed Sanders. I called my local Dem party and legislators about our problem voting. They didn’t care.”
Elizabeth Solana would go on to tell me about what she discovered when she looked closer into the voting machines:
“There’s a company called Del Sur. It’s a computer company that controls the voting machines. I was told by a campaign consultant I’ve worked with did they change money to votes. I got there false front company info and send it into the feds. They haven’t done anything about it though.”
Unadjusted polling would show that the Media lied about the General Election, although it wouldn’t matter as Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the General Election. This would also show that Jill Stein’s poll numbers were wrong as well.
Another voter would come forth and share with me a similar story to Solona’s experience:
“ When Ichange my party affiliation to Democrat it was wrong twice (but Icould not verify who made the mistake). I almost couldn’t vote in the FL primary” -Dana A Deck
She would later tell me about another occasion where the voting machines switched her vote in 2014:
“In 2014 when Dick Scott ran against Charlie Crist in Florida for Governor, I voted on a machine for Crist and it switched it to Scott. I voted for Crist again, it switched it to Scott. Now, I would never have noticed this had I not gone through and double-checked all my votes before I cast them and saw Scott’s name. So, I voted Crist again, and again it switched it to Scott. I called a poll monitor over and showed her what was happening and she took me to another machine and closed the one I had been using down (at least as long I was I was there, I’m not sure what happened after I left). The other machine took my vote… as far as I know. But Scott won. I don’t think he won it without this vote switching because we hate him and his posse here.” — Dana A Deck
A Delegate would share with me her experiences at the convention and how it would influence her:
BC DeGraff: “How were you treated at the convention?”
Jackie Rock: “I was treated respectfully until our long ovation for Bernie. It was cathartic to chant his name and scream with a choir of fighters who came from a working poor class to be there for him. Letting it go on really made the Hillary supporters get uncomfortable. So while I was busy keeping the ovation loud and hold my Bernie sign up high a man turned to me and yelled, “What had he done?!” He snapped and asked again in the same animated way, since I was ignoring him on purpose. He had pissed me off earlier by trying to teach me history about the Reagan years as a former pilot who had been laid off during the union bust. I told him my knowledge of the event despite being only in first grade at the time, which made him more rude towards me throughout the time we sat close. I know he felt unity was allowing me to be loud and hold my sign up, or tell some women badmouthing me to be respectful, but, while the longest ovation in DNC history roared on, he snapped. So, I looked at him and in a quick one word answer screamed, “EVERYTHING! BERNIE DID EVERYTHING FOR US!””
BC DeGraff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Jackie Rock: “I voted for Jill.”
BC DeGraff: “Me too! That’s Bernie or Bust all right. What message did you personally leave the convention with?”
Jackie Rock: “That we were fucked. I walked out right behind Bernie with 800+ more. We (Bernie delegates across the nation) had a strategy planned to walk out during Hillary’s speech but since she threw a fast one and was a no show to accept her nomination on Tuesday when Bernie suspended the rules we just walked out anyway. It was emotional and many of us had the instinct to walk anyway. I personally was done my job and refused to be a prop for such a sleazy organization. I hate the DNC. We (Daniel Carter Jr.) kept close to the Media tent and recorded live footage of events unfolding with the sit in which had been organized by the “coalition of 57”. I was proud the walk out was successful as was the silent protest of media tent.”
BC DeGraff: “Do you think the voting system in Florida was rigged last year against Bernie Sanders? In the Primary?”
Jackie Rock: “I never heard anything like that, it’s a red state, so, no need to go through the trouble. DWS needed Obama,Clinton, and Pelosi to look good against Tim Canova and beat him, but, that’s all that I can remember here.Our local DEC officers tried to discourage me and Daniel for running as delegates by saying we couldn’t possibly win. We proved them wrong. I Turned my business into a Bernie grassroots office one block from their DEC office, they hated that too.”
BC DeGraff: “I was referring to the voting machines.”
Jackie Rock: “If the voting machines were hacked we didn’t hear about it during the primaries. Really we just don’t know. Our district had watch captains and I had no reports of anything suspicious.”
CNN would even report that Florida was hacked, however they would claim it was Russia. There is no evidence and there never will be evidence that Russia hacked the state, the state was already rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton would take Florida in the Primary and she would lose to Trump in the General Election.
KENTUCKY
“How the Super delegates cheated Kentucky Delegates like Janice Thomasson”
Neville Blakemore, Charles E. Moore, Sannie Overly, refused to cast their Super Delegate votes. at the convention. The rest would vote Hillary Clinton despite the even spread count of Hillary Voters and Bernie Voters. One Kentucky delegate gave me this statement of her civilian experience into the Democratic National Convention and how it would affect her:
“My name is Janice Thomasson and I was a 69-year old Kentucky Bernie Pledged Delegate (CD1). College educated, and a Democrat for 45 years, I am a retired University Chief Information Officer (VP of IT). This was my experience at the 2016 DNC event. It began Saturday July 23 2016, the day Bernie delegates were warned to attend the Platform and Rules Committee Meeting where a decision would be made on keeping Super delegates in future years. The meeting room was smallish (capacity maybe 250) and filled with the Media and delegates from both candidates. Hundreds of people were waiting to get in. It was apparent the DNC did not anticipate delegates would arrive in Philly early to attend this and frankly they really didn’t want us there. Bernie Indiana delegate (attorney) Susie Talevski and I speed walked with confidence to the front of the line and insisted we be allowed inside as we were delegates. For whatever reason the young female monitor let us in. Many Bernie delegates were still outside in a que chanting “Let us in!” Meeting Moderator Barnie Frank was visibly annoyed at this disruption. He warned us spectators if we acted inappropriately we would be removed from the meeting. For the next two hours we watched as the Committee members voted on many critical party issues including Super delegates (which they kept).
That evening at my assigned ($630 a night) hotel my traveling buddy Megan Meyer (a fellow KY Bernie supporter) got “profiled” by the Kentucky Democratic Party Coordinator. He stopped Megan at the elevator and grilled her on who she was and why she was in the hotel. Perhaps he believed (based on her casual dress and tattoos) that she might be going in to make trouble. I had to explain she was my hotel suite mate and official convention guest. Incidentally there was a life-size Hillary cardboard figure greeting us delegates in our hotel break room (Picture 1). Most insulting since there was no corresponding Bernie figure and we had not yet voted! In our convention “goodie bags” was a pro-Hillary book “Killing the Messenger” by David Brock. No book by Bernie. At the massive Wells Fargo Center on Monday evening we found a flashy televised fantasy event staged just for Hillary. Even the Opening Convention Prayer only mentioned Clinton. It is the only time I have ever “booed” a prayer (as did most other Bernie delegates). A slap in the face. Monitors handed us signs based on the script of the moment.
If Michele Obama was about to speak we were offered signs bearing her name or it might be a Hillary sign or a “Stronger Together” sign. What a waste of paper. The Bernie people declined to take them. If we tried to hold up homemade “No TPP” signs they would be taken from us. They did not want Obama to be embarrassed. Before we delegates voted the pro-Hillary convention speakers repeated over and over: “We are so excited to be at this historic event to elect the first woman President of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.” Premature and insulting. On the last convention night (Thursday) as I searched for a seat in the convention center almost all chairs in the Kentucky section had “Reserved” signs on them, so I sat next to a KY Hillary delegate whom I did not know. This really bothered her and she asked me (three times) if I would be “more comfortable” with the Bernie delegates. I declined to move. As I interacted with her it hit me that she and the other Hillary delegates had apparently been told that we “Bernie people” were going to make trouble when Clinton was given the nomination. I said to her “You know we’re not going to make any trouble tonight, don’t you?” That seemed to calm her down. I now believe Hillary delegates were given information to make them fear us so we would not interact with one another. The DNC insiders REALLY didn’t want us talking to each other. Since the convention I went to South Florida to support Tim Canova in his run against Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I then traveled to Standing Rock North Dakota to stand with the Lakota against the Energy Transfer Partners Pipeline. I voted for Jill Stein in the Presidential Election.”
What Janice went through was the biggest disappointment for Bernie Delegates. to watch the Super Delegates that went to Hillary Clinton while the delegation remained a half and half spread at the convention would be the exact reason Hillary Clinton would lose. The American voters simply did not want Hillary Clinton and preferred Bernie Sanders over both Trump and Hillary. Hillary Clinton had stacked the deck and in the long run elected Donald Trump.
MICHIGAN
“How the DNC and Hillary Clinton stole the state that Bernie Sanders unexpectedly won.”
After an insane loss, Hillary Clinton would bribe the Superdelegates in the state to voting for her and convincing the Bernie delegates to follow suit. It would would also be confirmed on wikileaks that Hillary Clinton targeted the Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow as a potential Vice President. The state went to Hillary Clinton at the Convention, stealing it from Bernie Sanders.
A recent interview with Bernie Sanders Delegate Zackary Reinhardt and asked him questions about being a Bernie Delegate and the convention:
Me: “Did you remain for Bernie Sanders even after the Primary? Or did you switch to Hillary?”
Zackary Reinhardt: “I actually couldn’t vote because I was doing field for another candidate and couldn’t make it back in time and couldn’t get an absentee because we have a rule that makes you go the clerks office the first time you vote absentee/ That being said I would have written in Bernie. It’s the only blank on my voting record.”
BC DeGraff: “Did you attend the convention?”
Zackary Reinhardt: “I helped organize the walkout. The original intent was going to be storm the stage until we warned we could face serious charges because of the people present and some were worried that it might be more risky for POC. I helped organize it with a group called the Coalition of 57 which was comprised of 2 Bernie delegates from each state and territory. We walked out immediately following the nomination and then returned for the mothers of Black Lives Matter out of respect.”
BC DeGraff: “How did you feel when they announce Hillary won Michigan, despite the people of Michigan wanting Bernie Sanders, not Hillary Clinton?”
Zackary Reinhardt: “I actually told one of our super delegates Representative Sandy Levin that he was not only making a mistake but that his vote would inevitably lead to a Trump presidency.”
BC DeGraff: “Do you believe Bernie Sanders would have won in 2016? and do you think he will in in 2020?”
Zackary Reinhardt: “We had printouts of this election prediction from that week by five thirty eight. Yes I think Bernie would have won and so do Trumps very own pollsters and I think 2020 is an open field or at least I hope so.”
Another Bernie Sander’s delegate would give me a statement that would shed light on her experience and how the convention played out for her:
BC DeGraff: “Did you vote for Hillary in the Primary? Did you write Bernie in or did you choose another candidate?”
Sara Alicia Huerta Long: “I flew home from Philly for 6 hours to vote for a third party candidate who doesn’t accept corporate donations.”
BC DeGraff: “I voted Jill Stein in the General Election, that was the closest to Bernie Sanders’ platform. Yes, I’m breaking the 4th wall here a little and my rules, but you guys are heroes to me and many Progressives. One final question. Do you think the Democrats have learned from the walkout?”
Sara Alicia Huerta Long: “Shucks. Brandon, it was an honor to be there to represent our comrades. The 4th wall be damned! Thank you for the work you are doing. Until the average democrat accepts that the election was rigged they will never understand the reason for the walkout, and so can’t learn from it. Until campaign finance reform happens I refuse to believe that the Establishment Democrats are interested in learning from the walkout.”
Another Delegate I would interview:
BC DeGraff: “What did you feel when you first got to the convention?”
Charles Niswander: “Before we went, we had the idea we would be able to make some headway on policy issues with other delegates and party officials. When we arrived, it became obvious every Hillary delegate as well many “neutral” party officials did not want heavy discussion about policy issues that drew a strong contrast between the two. Every time, a surprising number of times, we were “advised” to relax and enjoy ourselves because it was over, and that “arguing” the issues made us look “divided” and might hurt Hillary. I had to resort to the above homemade sign after they began physically ripping Bernie and anti-TPP signs out of our hands. Having read the leaked emails long before the convention, I knew about the HFA Victory Fund and how much the DNC needed it, and I saw how the media was wrapped around Hillary’s finger, taking her advisement for their “journalism”. Donna Brazile has no excuse to have “not realized” as a leader of the Democratic Party. I’m just a nerd from Michigan and I knew.”
BC DeGraff: “How did you feel when Hillary won the Nomination?”
Charles Niswander: “While it wasn’t a “surprise” given the fact the results became obvious at least after New York, it was a shock. Here in Michigan, people just don’t like her. They loved Bernie. That was reflected in the vote, of course. But I saw the crowds Bernie got in Brookly. I just can’t believe she won there. I believe it has something to do with the many thousands of people wrongly dropped off voter rolls in NY- a LOT of people were unable to vote in the primary. It probably also has a lot to do with inherent unfairness of having closed primaries, especially with crazy requirements like having to have registered with the party months in advance- I mean I’ve followed Bernie for years, since he’s been in the Senate, but not everyone has time to keep up on Washington names- some people only start paying attention close to election time. That can’t be blamed on Hillary- but with all else that has been proven, I sincerely believe strings were pulled regarding the voter rolls in NYC and elsewhere. This was not an uncommon belief among Bernie supporters and fellow delegates. And so many forms of collusion have been proven, such as cutting the debates (and dis-inviting Tulsi Gabbard from them for disagreeing) and colluding with the DNC to suggest story spins that hurt Bernie to major media outlets, or stories meant to keep positive focus on Hillary and skepticism of Bernie. I believe much of the blatant media bias was in part due to that- using the authority and weight of the DNC to spin stories to media contacts, many (or most) of whom were already quite comfortable with taking spins direct from the HRC campaign anyway so many factors involved, but when Hillary basically BUYS the nomination, and everyone in the DNC looks the other way because the party is broke,well, if that’s not corruption and fraud, then what is? So I think history will find me justified in my holding up the “Fraud” sign at the convention in Philly. Note also- all the TV camera’s turned away when I held it up. I was elected by the people of SW MI knowingly. My attitude and opinions about Hillary, her right-wing policy and her provable dishonesty and corruption, were all known to those who elected me to be a delegate. So how is it not a story, why would the camera’s turn away? It is shameful. We’re talking about the future of our nation, and they acted like it was a big party. A coronation. It made me sick. I was on the Platform Committee for the Michigan Democratic Party as well, where I officially confirmed Michigan’s opposition to the TPP in the Michigan platform. My opinion is that the party elite just don’t care about the issues- they care about their positions.”
Hillary Clinton would later go on to lose Michigan like she did states like Indiana where she did the same rigging. Hillary Clinton did not have a chance of beating Donald Trump because she acquired the Democratic Nomination without the people. She acquired the nomination through the super delegates. She did not win the Democratic Nomination correctly like a leader wins elections, she won it like a dictator, she took it.
WYOMING
“The state where MSM reported on the rigging in real time.”
MSNBC’s Morning Joe would report this state as being rigged and openly discuss how the Democratic Party was ultimately rigged against Bernie Sanders and the Progressive Movement that did not want Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Nominee. Bernie Sanders, who won the state only received 7 delegates and Hillary Clinton won 11 and would take all the Super Delegates at the convention. This marks just one of many states to see this happen. This one was confirmed in real time.
The people of Wyoming wanted Bernie Sanders and that would definitely show in the General Election where the people of Wyoming voted Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton was genuinely unpopular among the voters in Wyoming, yet she managed to take the state at the convention and lose the state in the General Election. The DNC and Hillary Clinton underestimated the average voter and didn’t connect with the people of Wyoming the way they did with Trump and Bernie Sanders. A Bernie Sanders delegate from Wyoming would share his story with me:
Brandon De Graff: “How were you treated at the convention?”
Erik Molvar: “That’s an interesting question. Overall, I was treated pretty decently at the convention, although I did get in a very heated argument with our State Chairwoman at one of the morning meetings. The one exception was this: I went over to the protest area the day of the VP nomination, to hear from the protestors and carry their concerns inside the convention, since they were walled off inside FDR Park by high fences as if it was a concentration camp. When I went to leave, the police had locked the entrance to the park. I asked them through the fence where I could go to get out, and they told me to follow the fence toward the river to find the exit. They lied — the exit was the other way — and I wasted half an hour in a pouring thunderstorm without an umbrella trying to find it.
Brandon De Graff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Erik Molvar: “I was Bernie all the way to the vote. I supported Hillary after the convention, because there was a ‘half a loaf’ of progressive priorities offered by her campaign, including free college for families making less than $125,00 a year, and a $15 minimum wage, thanks to Bernie’s leadership. And I suspected that Trump would not only deprive us of any progressive policies, but also would reverse a lot of past progress. And he has. But the Bernie or Bust movement is absolutely understandable and justifiable, and I spent a lot of energy over the months following the convention explaining to Hillary supporters that Bernie voters didn’t owe Hillary their allegiance, and that Hillary needed to convince Bernie voters that she really would advance their progressive priorities to get them.”
Erik Molvar: “For that reason, I always got along pretty well with the Bernie or Bust crowd (although I did get kicked off a couple of particularly purist Facebook groups).”
Wyoming will always be remembered as the state they rigged in the light of day what they normally did in the dark. The rigging of Wyoming reached fever pitch on a “Morning Joe” segment on MSNBC, where host Joe Scarborough admitted that the “system is so rigged” and asked why Americans even bother voting.
INDIANA
“How the Delegates reacted to the Convention and how the Super Delegates stole the State at the Convention”
John Zody and Pete Visclosky would be the only Super Delegates to not vote Hillary Clinton. The rest would vote for Hillary Clinton, giving the state to Hillary Clinton at the convention after Bernie Sanders won the state. Hillary Clinton only won the state because of the Super Delegates. This is also why she lost the state in the General Election. She did not have the people on her side. One delegate, who would vote for Hillary Clinton in the General Election would tell me her story:
“I was treated fine at the convention. The Hillary delegates from Indiana gloated a little, but were otherwise civil (to me, at least). I was treated rather obnoxiously by some Bernie delegates from other states, who still believed, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that something might happen on the convention floor. I felt fine when Hillary received the nomination. Was I happy? Not really, but she crushed us. It was inevitable after the March primaries. I did not walk out. It may have been nobly intended, but it served no useful purpose. It fed a Republican media narrative of dissent and disorder. It did nothing to actually shake the democratic establishment or to demand their attention. They ignored those who walked out as sore losers. The message I left the convention with was of two competing narratives, both of which I hated. The two competing narratives? Official DNC Narrative: Hillary is great! Feminism! Years of hard work and experience! Unity! Bernie also is here and everything is fine! Everything’s fine! It’s fine! Loudest Bernie Supporter Narrative: Hillary is a warmongering hell witch. Bernie was robbed. Maybe there will be a revolt at the convention and he’ll be named! Ok that didn’t happen; why is everyone gloating about Hillary winning? Why are her supporters so blind/stupid/happy? They suck. I’m going to put duct tape on my mouth, because I’ve been silenced by the DNC. Meanwhile, I’m over here with a sense of foreboding because everyone, EVERYONE, is missing the bigger picture. The DNC failed because they didn’t actually work to listen to and incorporate the Bernie supporters in a substantive way. The Bernie core failed because the loudest group preferred to protest rather than than try to figure out the DNC game, and try to fight/win. It was a week of failing to listen and build bridges. Of clinging to our separate groups and pretending our selected group was the only group of real Democrats/liberals/leftists. Of each side being more concerned about getting our own way than about forming a team to do work that matters. I loved most of the people I met at the DNC; I loved or liked the Indiana delegates. But the entire week was incredibly frustrating, and I felt both ignored and yet berated by both sides. In the end, I voted for Hillary, because even though I’m from Indiana, and my state would go red no matter what, I refused to waste my vote even more by leaving it blank or doing a write in. And I would never vote for Stein. We cannot re-litigate the 2016 primary until we die. It is over, it is done, and we must MOVE FORWARD. Helping other people is ALL THAT MATTERS. Are you actually doing the work? Organizing? Listening to all of the people in your community? Or are you just picking a piece of ground, putting up a flag that says “I’m right”, and defending it until the end? Because that is not fighting for people; it is fighting for your own pride. People’s lives and homes and health matter more than the purity of any movement or ideal.” — Elizabeth Merrill Hyde
After this interview, I would inform Elizabeth Merrill Hyde that her state was actually rigged, to which she she added: “We should move on!” Hyde is a party loyalist and was not concerned with the parties corruption.
Another Delegate would not feel the same way about the DNC openly rigging the primary in favor of Hillary Clinton:
“I voted for Jill in the general. I knew Indiana would go Trump and wanted to support a third party possibly getting FEC funding, so I voted my conscience. A lot of us delegates in Indiana did the same
I did walk out. I’d been staying in constant contact with my volunteers and supporters in Terre Haute via Facebook and asked them what they wanted me to do on their behalf. They unanimously told me to walk the fuck out because I went there to speak for them, and they felt cheated and pissed off about the DNC’s treatment of Bernie and his delegates. I was probably going to walk out anyway, but I wanted to make sure my district supported that first.
I left the convention feeling invisible. We’d been silenced heavily. Our state dem chapter called on us to embrace unity and think of the good of the party from day one. The same message was pounded into us at every event we attended. Our delegation was given assigned seating that purposely kept the Bernie supporters out of camera view because we were not supportive of our superdelegates voting against the popular vote of the state.
They confiscated our signs, but we snuck in markers to doctor the premade signs they’d made for us to hold preaching Hilary’s message.
We were warned to not protest, to not show disrespect and that if we violated those requests we would be kicked out and have our credentials taken.
When the roll call vote happened, our delegation was furious that one of our super delegates didn’t even show up, and the others voted against the popular vote. Indiana is a famously, deeply red state — people came out to vote BECAUSE of BERNIE. This was the protest my county was screaming while I was there — I know for a fact I registered at least a hundred new voters myself who ONLY registered to vote Bernie. Other delegates from the state reported the same from their districts. We felt strongly that Indiana was completely misrepresented — and that anger turned into apathy at the polls in the general.
The Bernie delegates had tried numerous times to talk about this with our state party leaders. We warned them that if they voted against the people, they’d be sinking Indiana in the general. They demeaned us, called us sour grapes and told us to shut up and fall in line.
Many of us attended the rules and regulations meeting at the state convention and pleaded for a change to the rules that requires superdels vote in line with the popular vote. The rules committee chairperson told us to stop being sore losers. In a state we had won. It did not sit well, and that contention was heavy and lasted through the entire state convention and into Philly.
Beyond Indiana, we saw several other delegations punished and silenced on the convention floor. Oregon, Washington and California were treated awfully. They had white noise fans set up near their sections to drown out their protests and chants, had the lights dimmed on their delegates so their signs and shirts didn’t show up on tv. There was HEAVY protest from all 1900 of us the entire convention but everyone back home was telling me the news networks weren’t reporting any of it and were spinning a tale of unity and solidarity. The experience America saw was 100% the opposite of what actually took place in those walls.
I left the convention angry. We were not given a fair voice. The entire convention was a coronation. Every speaker was preaching party unity and they shoved that message down our throats and ignored every attempt we made to stand up for ourselves. Dels in every state will tell you they tried to warn their local parties that endorsing HRC meant trump victory. They wrote us ofd. We were the ones out in the field talking to the people. We KNEW and we tried every way we could to prevent this disaster, and nobody listened.
There were volunteers who’d paid to come all the way to Philly to work at the convention. The Bernie supporting ones were denied their credentials after arriving, which was utter bullshit.
In the end, most of my fellow Indiana delagates made the choice to walk out because we knew it’d been rigged from the get go. We had experienced it in our own state and were very active in keeping close to delegates in other states, so we knew it was country wide. Our network of 1900 was very close and well organized and we knew we got played and tossed aside like children. When I left Philly, I knew I’d be welcoming Trump in November. We all did. We were the 1900 people in the country NOT shocked by the election.
I came home to a county of really pissed off people. Many of them completely pulled out of politics after watching the fiasco. The election was on my birthday. It was awful. I’d devoted my LIFE to a grassroots campaign, started the effort in my county and built a group of 1000 volunteers over ten months. I gave up normalcy and sleep for a year to be the voice of the people in a country that tells me that matters. I left Philly discouraged, depressed and uninspired to take part in politics again. I’ve still been involved, but I no longer trust the DNC, my state party or the Dems in general. The recent Donna Brazille stuff has been vindication, but too little too late. We knew we got robbed and we were called conspiracy theorists. Our own state chair treated several of our delegates terribly during and after the convention, and has been dismissive and rude since — gatekeeping many Bernie delagates from assuming positions of importance in the state party. Notably, Gina Ungar from Evansville and Amanda Schutte from district 6.
If there’s anything else you’d like to know, I’m an open book. Gina and Amanda have both been incredibly involved since the convention but were treated like dogs during and since.” -Gina Paradis
In conclusion, the DNC cheated to steal Indiana from Bernie Sanders, many are unaware of is like Elizabeth and many are aware of it like Gina. The unfair Democracy we have needs reformed.
I would interview another Bernie or Bust voter Anand Balar:
BC DeGraff: “Tell me about how you were treated at the convention, how you felt when Hillary received the nomination, did you walk out and what message did you leave the convention with and who did you vote for!”
Anand Balar: “ I was treated decently by the Indiana delegation until the day President Obama spoke. We had a No TPP banner to protest him and a Hillary delegate in a row above ours got pissed off at us and said “this is so disrespectful of our president”. And then he tore the sign outta our hands. That was the most aggressive I experienced someone be antagonistic toward me. When HRC won the nomination I felt sick to my stomach and participated in the walkout. I left the convention thinking the DNC cared about nothing. They are more money hungry than the GOP at this point. And that’s just what they must do to compete unfortunately. And so I radicalized fast and am now a hardcore Trotskyist. I realized we need systematic change.”
BC DeGraff: “Who did you vote for?”
Anand Balar: “Jill Stein”
BC DeGraff: “ Do you have anything you want to say to my readers?”
Anand Balar: “ Thank you for sharing it Brandon. I’d like readers to know that the biggest takeaway from the convention and also from the election in general was how much power we have if we have strength in numbers and are conscious. Trump v Hillary was by and large a disastrous election because we lost a feel for how much control we could have. In a country of 300 million+ we don’t have to have an uninspiring election like that. Look out for more anti establishment candidates and populists if you want change in the country.”
Another Indiana Bernie Delegate would give me her story and tell me about her experience:
“I have publicly stated I overheard a State Chair complaining about the financial arrangement with “National”. He said when they took back their deposit, they took “more than they put in”.
Here in Indiana we lost almost everything. We were poised to take back the Governor’s office but lost every statewide race.” -Sue Spicer:
BC DeGraff: “Were you Bernie or Bust at the convention?”
Sue Spicer: “Not exactly. I was in the delusional group still working to save the party from this huge mistake. It was an education. Now I’m running to unseat my superdelegate myself.”
BC DeGraff: “Are you part of the #DemExit movement currently?”
Sue Spicer: “I am not. I am #DemEnter. My journey into the party started in Iowa with Bernie.”
BC DeGraff: “When you discovered that the election was rigged against Bernie Sanders, what was your ultimate reaction?”
Sue Spicer: “I want to fire the crooks myself. I want to show them you just can’t do this to people and keep your job.”
BC DeGraff: “Do you plan on supporting Bernie Sander’s 2020 run that he’s silently hinting at?”
Sue Spicer: “I’m #StillSanders. It’s him or whoever he’s standing next to.”
BC DeGraff: “who did you vote for and what message do you have for voters?”
Sue Spicer: “I traded my Indiana write in for Jill Stein for an Ohio Hillary vote. Don’t let them discourage you. I’ve said for decades, one of my mantras is “don’t let the evil people get you down”. Another, “ there’s a one in front of every million” to get folks to vote. VOTE. To not vote is to hand over your power.”
Sue is absolutely right, the lesser of two evils and the evils that have taken advantage of the American people the way they did at the Democratic Convention is nothing short of corrupt. The Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton Campaign crossed the line and it would eventually cost her the Election. Bernie Sanders would have more than likely been President if Hillary Clinton had not stacked the deck and ran a fair campaign without using the DNC to shoo Bernie voters out. The Convention showed that the Bernie Delegates were mistreated, misinformed and deceived.
OREGON
“The state where nature endorsed Bernie Sanders would go to Hillary Clinton by the Superdelegates and her own greed.”
Everyone knows the story of Oregon, the state where a bird landed on a podium in a classic moment that lasted for several seconds. In those several seconds, we captured history and a moment that will go down in history as the moment nature endorsed Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders words after the bird flew off will live in infamy as they resonate with the message of Progressives: “No more war”. Bernie Sanders has openly opposed wars, sanctions and in 2017, the 700 Billion Dollar military budget increase.
Solea Kabakov, a Delegate I would ask about her experience would tell me a little about her experiences with the DNC:
BC DeGraff: “How were you treated at the convention?”
Solea Kabakov: “ It’s a long story. Oregon Berners organized and strategized prior to the convention, but we were not treated well. It was traumatizing. I was part of the organized walk out after Clinton was declared the nominee.”
Solea would indicate to me that there was a lot to tell. By her words, this is likely because the convention was so hard on the Bernie Delegates as many of them were mistreated. She would later tell me:
“She (Hillary Clinton) was not elected by the people, this was a stolen nomination absolutely.”
The people in Oregon wanted Bernie Sanders, they didn’t want Hillary Clinton. for 7 superdelegates to go directly to Hillary Clinton despite losing in every county but one shows that the representatives of Oregon weren’t willing to bend to the will of the voters they supposedly represent. With superdelegates being 10,000 for every 1 vote, this betrays the average voter and gives rise to corrupt politics that don’t share the same interests with the people.
WASHINGTON
“Bernie Sanders won Washington, at the Convention, Hillary Clinton would steal all the states superdelegates”
Bernie Sanders won the state by a landslide, yet would not receive a single superdelegate, going against the will of the Washington voters. A Washington Delegate (Nick Vaidyanathan) would tell me how the convention would go down and what he would experience:
BC De Graff: “How were you treated at the Convention?”
Nick Vaidyanathan: “Complex question. I was the whip of delegation. Pithily, like I was irrelevant. The mics were turned off. Absolutely no discussion about the future of the party or actual debate was done. I paid thousands of dollars (forced hotel rooms that were $300+/night, plane tickets, etc) to sign my name affirming a vote and sit through a commercial that denigrated Bernie and pretended we weren’t there.”
BC De Graff: Were you Bernie or Bust?
Nick Vaidyanathan: “Very much so. Though I may have been convinced to swallow bullshit if any kind of olive branch had been extended. I.e. actually ending Superdelegates, adopting Bernie’s symbolic platform recommendations without reservations, naming Bernie or Elizabeth Warren as the VP coffee. Instead, the DNC and Democrats acted with a combination of condescension, annoyance, and generally gloated about Hillary’s “victory.””
BC De Graff: “What moment at the convention stood out the most and what message did you leave the convention with?”
Nick Vaidyanathan: “When Bernie moved for recording the results as counted and then nominating Clinton, 68 out of the 72 of us walked out. Conservatively I’d say 1000 Bernie delegates walked out, probably closer to 1500. There was almost no discussion about this on MSM, no analysis of what that implicated for the Clinton campaign. The message the DNC and Clinton have Berners was, simply “fuck you. Things are gonna go our way. Deal with it.” It was most obvious contrasting T-shirt design for Bernie being sold at the DNC versus the Hillary poster. Democracy in the Democratic Party is a sham. That convention had nothing in the way of actual policy, decision making, or transformation as attended by the delegates. I’d heard that’s the way it was going to be, but it’s quite a different thing to actually experience it.”
Another Bernie Delegate (Charles James Adkins) I would talk to had a different take on the rigging and seem to ignore the Democratic National Conventions unorthodox rigging of the state using the superdelegates:
BC De Graff: Hi, Charles, I’m doing an article and was wondering if you could answer some questions about the DNC National Convention last year.
Charles James Adkins: I’m up for answering some questions!
BC De Graff: What state were you a Bernie Delegate from and how were you treated at the convention?
Charles James Adkins: “Washington State and I was treated Alright I mostly stuck with the other Native American Delegates though.”
BC De Graff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Charles James Adkins: “I was not.”
BC De Graff: “What was the message you left the convention with and who did you vote for?”
Charles James Adkins: “I left the convention saddened at how little the Clinton campaign felt they needed to do to get the Sanders supporters on their side. the lack of outreach is what I think ultimately lost them the election. I voted for sanders at the roll call vote at the convention and in the general I ultimately decided to vote for Hillary Clinton. though I do not blame those that decided not to.”
I would then go on to ask him about the rigging:
BC De Graff: “Are you aware your state was rigged? All the Superdelegates defied the people’s unanimous vote for Bernie and voted for Hillary?”
Charles James Adkins: “I strongly disagree with that statement.”
BC De Graff: “Bernie won in every county yet received no superdelegate, why do you think that is?”
Charles James Adkins: “I have no comment What other questions do you have? And I don’t mean to come off as adversarial I just have my own frustrations with the process and don’t really want to relive that.”
Charles James Adkins strongly disagreed that his state was rigged, yet Delegate Nick Vaidyanathan describes in detail a different story. The proof is in the system as Hillary would receive 110,000 votes from 11 Superdelegates, taking the state from Bernie who won the state by 72.7%. The DNC and Hillary Clinton cheated Bernie Sanders out of the state of Washington using the superdelegates and would see the repercussions when 4 Electors that were supposed to vote for the will of the people, would not voted Hillary Clinton. 3 would vote for Colin Powell and a Bernie or Bust Robert Satiacum, Jr., A member of the Puyallup Tribe, refused to vote for Hillary Clinton. Washington preferred Bernie Sanders.
ARIZONA
“The state that refused to let voters vote”
Arizona was perhaps one of Bernie Sanders’ most campaigned state. He would campaign there after Jane Sanders witnessed the Ten City Prison Concentration Camp. The polling stations were reduced the polling stations and gave way to massive crowds and lines to vote for their candidates. Maricopa County in particular had one polling site for every 21,000 voters. 868 places removed is a sign of a declining democracy. The way that the delegates were treated shows the lack of respect for the voters who want their voices heard in their illusive Democracy that purges their votes and demonizes them if they speak out against their selected Candidate.
I recently interviewed an Arizona Delegate Kelly Thornton Jones, who would tell me about the State Convention and the National Convention in Philadelphia:
BC DeGraff: “What stood out the most in your experience? What moment was most memorable?”
Kelly Thornton Jones: “Where should I begin? We Bernie delegates were treated like wedding crashers by Arizona Hillary Clinton delegates. From the time of arrival we were separated into our respective camps.”
BC DeGraff: “So you didn’t feel welcome there?”
Kelly Thornton Jones: “Fuck no, we were interlopers. Made very clear. Hillary Clinton folks looked down their noses at us from the get go. The vibe prepared us for what was to come. For the next 5 days.”
BC DeGraff: “What happened at the State Convention? Was the voter suppression discussed by the officials running the floor?”
Kelly Thornton Jones: “We were constantly harassed. That’s actually laughable, Not a peep”
BC DeGraff: “ Since the Primary, did the experience change your mind on the 2 party system? Who did you vote for in the General Election?”
Kelly Thornton Jones: “Yes, we need more parties. I #demexited right away. I voted for Bernard Sanders. Wrote him in proudly. We are far too diverse a culture to have only 2 viable options. Chocolate or vanilla? I want mocha almond fudge.”
Despite Hillary Clinton winning, she would have lost if voter suppression had not occurred. Bernie Sanders did immense canvasing the state.
ALASKA
“A state that went to Bernie Sanders in a landslide went to Hillary Clinton in a landslide at the Convention.”
Bernie Sanders would take the state at almost 80 percent. nearly 80 percent of Alaskan voters wanted Bernie Sanders. Only 2,146 people voted for Hillary Clinton. This would change at the convention.
Only 1 Superdelegate did not cast their vote for Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders would not receive a single Superdelegate. 6 Superdelegates would cast their votes for Hillary Clinton. The total of the votes would be 62,146 votes for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders would lose the state with only 8,447 votes.
MINNESOTA
“superdelegates steal another state in the 2016 Primary for Hillary Clinton”
Hillary Clinton would lose the state, but her 78,381 votes would increase by 120,000 votes. How you ask? Using the superdelegates which are 10,000 votes to your 1 vote. Hillary Clinton barely made away with 10 counties and would steal the state at the Convention. The math doesn’t lie and the results speak for themselves, Minnesota did not want Hillary Clinton to be President. They strongly wanted Bernie Sanders and the 126,229 votes tell the story.
Rick Nolan and Colin Peterson were the only 2 superdelegates to vote for Bernie Sanders bringing his total in Minnesota to 126,299 to Hillary’s 198,381. Hillary Clinton should have had 78,393 under a fair election and Bernie would have had 126,231. The Superdelegates are the ones that get to pick the nominees, leaving the people out of elections.
MISSOURI
“Despite being one of the closest calls, the Superdelegates would make it a landslide at the convention.”
Despite Bernie Sanders winning half the vote, Hillary Clinton would take every superdelegate. Every Superdelegate is 10,000 votes.
A Bernie Delegate would send me an e-mail on her experience with the DNC:
“A year of volunteer work went into this trip. Bernie enthused me and renewed my belief in an ethical government of, by and for the people. This kind, outspoken old man, a socialist Jew, embodied a dream for millions. He fought for civil rights in the 1960s and spent the last 40-plus years working for the good of the people — all the people. He addressed wealth inequality, corruption in government and the need to save our planet for future generations. I envisioned American jobs (no TPP and harmful trade agreements), an improved environment with protection of our natural resources, Medicare for all, campaign finance reform and a public understanding that the game we are playing has to change in order for us to survive. This one honest man seemed to have the answers and worked tirelessly in his campaign. He ignited my passion and inspired me to take his message to the national convention.
This was my first time in Philadelphia, and the atmosphere inside the convention hall varied greatly from what was happening outside in the streets. Bernie supporters, environmentalists and activists traveled from all over the country to participate in the marches, rallies and actions. The inside of the convention represented a broken system ruled of, by and for the elite; the outside represented real America — people uniting for democracy.
The trip was an emotional roller coaster. Sunday, I marched with environmentalists and attended a Josh Fox film screening with Sarandon, Jealous, Nahko, Goodman and other champions. Monday, the hell began as speakers at the convention all referred to Hillary Clinton as our “next president of the United States” before delegates even voted. Bernie came on last and received a three-minute standing ovation from supporters before his speech. The experience was heart-wrenching, and fans cried with realization that Bernie was bending to unknown forces. His words were carefully chosen as he addressed us. The responses to his surrendering speeches varied from sadness, anger and acceptance. Tuesday was roll call, and many supporters questioned the need for our presence at the convention.
Somewhere through the haze, I had an epiphany. I knew that many of us had come to love this man. What began as simple support for a politician had evolved to all-encompassing devotion to a hero. What I realized, though, is that he loved us first, and we had responded to him with our hearts. That is what made him different from the others, and for that, we will always be grateful.
Now we are left to heal and move forward in the fearful, undemocratic oligarchy of our current political environment with a feeling of defeat and embarrassment. We could have had Bernie.”
-Vickie Kepling
(Springfield, Missouri)
Rob O’Connell a Bernie Delegate from Missouri and Veteran would tell me his story.
BC De Graff: “How were you treated at the convention?”
Rob OConnell: “Depends on by whom. After I walked out I was treated like a rock star by a lot of people. The establishment Democrats talked down to us. I was threatened by a super delegate before the walk out. It was all Hillary all the time and Bernie people were treated like a bunch of stupid kids.”
BC De Graff: “What was the most memorable thing you remember at the convention? What sticks out the most from this experience?”
Rob OConnell: “Well, the most memorable thing was the hug I got from Bernie. Aside from that it was Super Delegate Melba Curls threatening me and me being genuinely scared because shes from a political dynasty in this state. Her daughter is a state rep. Shes a former KC city councilwoman. Her daughter was also supposed to replace her on the DNC but we elected Berniecrats instead after shenanigans at the state convention.
Rob would go on to talk about the rigging openly:
“I can tell you about actual rigging though. Last place counted (Missouri Primary) in was the city of St. Louis. This is important because the primary in the city of St. Louis for state rep was STOLEN by an establishment democrat. Stolen to the point where they went to court and the judge ordered a new election. The Berniecrat won the new election 75–25. The lady who stole the election’s husband was the chairperson for the 5th ward Dem committee. He stole that election too. Both do over elections were at the same time. Bernie had an overwhelming lead before they counted the city of St Louis. Berniecrats won the convention though. This means we got 4 Berniecrat DNC members instead of 2.
Rob would go into more detail:
“The shenanigans at the state convention are as follows. The Bernie caucus and the HRC caucus agreed beforehand to split the seats 50/50. The convention came and the HRC caucus was putting out a slate of 4 of their candidates that they wanted to be on the DNC. The Bernie caucus caught wind of it and ran their own 4. More Bernie people showed up at the convention. That’s how Missouri got 4 seats. The important thing to remember is a primary in the city of St Louis WAS PROVEN IN COURT to be stolen. On the same night
what do you think of that info?”
The bombshell of pure astonishment from Rob’s Revelation left me in shock:
BC De Graff: “You’re giving me some of the best information, honestly. I didn’t even know any of this, so people need to know this. Who was the Superdelegate that threatened you, what did he say?”
Rob OConnell: “Melba Curls. She stuck her finger in my face and said “Are you going to shut up about Bernie, and fall in line?” Knowing who she was and trying to be diplomatic, I said “Maybe, we shall see.” She said “You better or else,” on the floor of the Wells Fargo center”
BC De Graff: “Last question, what did this experience teach you and what would you tell delegates in the future?”
Rob OConnell: “Well I did not vote Democrat at the top of the ticket after having been a lifelong Democrat. The convention is all a show and none of it matters. And I learned I really don’t like rich people. And Vermin Supreme is a cool guy. “The people who stole the election were Penny and Rod Hubbard. The state rep who won is Bruce Franks jr. He is from deep in the hood and has tattoos all over his face and he gets arrested all the time protesting with the people. Bruce Franks kicks ass. Missouri has a state rep with a heavily tattooed face.”
Rob O’Connell was another Bernie or Bust voters and would eventually vote for Jill Stein in the General Election. It’s not hard to see how Rob was a disenfranchised voter, he was threatened, treated like an outsider at something that was supposed to be a democracy that welcomed people’s voices. Instead, like many of the Bernie Delegates, he was silenced.
Rob O’Connell would introduce me to a man who has pledged his vote to Bernie Sanders in 2020. Curtis Wylde, A 2020 Superdelegate and a Professional Wrestler and an every-man:
BC De Graff: “How was your experience at the Convention?”
Curtis Wylde: “Before leaving STL, I spoke at a Pro-Bernie rally under the Arch. So, I was pumped for the DNC Convention. Which turned out to be, In a word, Bittersweet. Heading in… I realized Bernie would not be the nominee, so I was prepared for the eventual outcome before going. Then, I saw & felt the energy on the ground in Philly. I was surrounded by people of all ages, races, genders, and backgrounds who were filled with inspiration and hope, and it was infectious. I felt there was a chance, however small, that America may still have a chance at a ‘Future to Believe In”. I thought me being elected into the DNC was impossible, so who knows, “the impossible may be possible again”, was my thought. It didn’t help when the morning of the vote, there were rumblings that Bernie won the first delegate count. Those rumors ended up being unfounded.”
Curtis Wylde would go on to speak about the most racist and insensitive product sold at the Convention.
“Things went as planned. I think anyone would be hard pressed to say the Convention was anything other than a coronation. They had one shirt that was Sen. Sanders themed shirt was brown, and made him look like a rat. It was a direct shot at his supporters. Nothing less.”
The DNC, which has supposed to be about racial tolerance would display Bernie Sanders as a rat is nothing more than racist and intolerant and that’s exactly how they treated the Delegates at the convention. This was just another example of the unwelcoming of Bernie Sanders voters. and the lack of respect they had.
“Daily, we spent our time bouncing between the convention and the protests. The last day, when Bernie suspended the rules, and handed his delegates over, I gave my first #DemEnter speech. Not for us to bow down and acquiesce, but because I saw first hand how hard “The Establishment” was fighting, and fearful of the sudden influx of Progressives. I watched the blatant attempts to disenfranchise these energized voters, and came to the conclusion that it was strategy. They wanted them to leave or fall in line. They needed a #DemExit to maintain power. Doubt they expected 13 Million registered Democrats to stay true to their pledge of #BernieorBust and leave the Democratic Party though.”
The DNC offered unity and used bully tactics to try and gain it. This didn’t set well with a more knowledgeable crowd of delegates as well as people who were single voter (only allowed 1 single vote that is for 1 person) Bernie or Bust voters. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but would lose ironically to the Electoral Votes and cry Russia. Wylde would continue on:
“That evening like so many, I was angry, disheartened, and genuinely fearful for the future of this country. I even spent a good 5 mins crying like a baby outside during (after getting a couple chants going inside a club next to Wells Fargo dome), not because Bernie/We lost, but because I knew that Bernie not winning would result in a Donald Trump Presidency. (Which it did) I saw the writing on the wall. (Pun intended)Special thanks to National Delegates Derrick Nowlin & Tony Brescia consoling me. The day following the convention, Interim Chair Donna Brazile give a powerful “heads are going to roll” if there was any “impropriety” in the Primary. So, it restored a sliver of hope that had been stripped away. Little did I know at the time that she herself was complicit in some of the impropriety’s in the 2016 Primary process.”
Donna Brazile would later go on to admit to the bias and admit to Hillary Clinton held the party on a starvation diet which ultimately meant she would take the nomination by force by establishing her candidacy. This would also explain why she received 570 people pledging 5.7 million votes for her.
“I was just as devastated as every other Progressive Bernie supporter, but knew I had to push forward. I flew home to St. Louis, MO., my wife picked me up at the airport, we drove through the night to Kansas City, I spoke at a political event alongside Cori Bush (who was running for Senate)(Brand New Congress’s first endorsed Candidate of 2018)and Winston Apple (who was running for Lt. Governor), then wrestled at a Pro-Wrestling show in KC (in a building Charlie Chaplin had performed in), and we drove home to take my State Rep campaign to the next level, and fight towards a Political Revolution. Winston Apple was also one of the other 3 Berners elected the day I was, and on the State Committee with me.”
The DNC’s tactics in the state of Missouri showed in the math. 11 Superdelegates would go to Hillary Clinton despite Bernie Sanders winning half the vote. At 11 Superdelegates, that’s a total of 110,000 bringing her to 412,285 votes. These tactics don’t work in favor of the people and show the Democratic Party is not willing to bend to the will of the voter, but rather the loyalty to money and Hillary Clinton as Donna Brazile herself said, the party was on a starvation diet and Hillary Clinton was feeding them.
MONTANA
“Only one Superdelegate voted for Bernie sanders in Montana and the state that Bernie Sanders won, would go to Hillary Clinton with the rest of the superdelegates voting for her.
Bernie Sanders would win the state at 51 percent and would take the state at the state level, but would see the state go to Hillary Clinton with an unfair 50,000 votes
5 Superdelegates would cast their voted for Hillary Clinton who would take the state at the convention.
RHODE ISLAND
“Even when Bernie Sanders has majority of the votes, Superdelegates would take the states, Rhode Island was no different.”
66.9 Thousand voters would cast their vote in favor of Bernie Sanders and 52.7 thousand voters would vote Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton would pick up every Superdelegate which at 10,000 votes per Superdelegate would bring the total to 142,749 votes. That’s 90,000 votes from 9 Superdelegates.
KANSAS
“Hillary Clinton would acquire 40,000 votes between 4 Superdelegates that nearly doubled the Bernie Sanders votes.”
Since before Jimmy Carter, Kansas has always given a clue to who the Democratic Nomination voting for every Democratic Nomination since before Carter. in 2016, the Kansas voters picked Bernie Sanders, who would get over 26,000 votes. The entire state wanted Bernie sanders more than they wanted Hillary Clinton based on the over 12,000 votes, less than half of what Bernie Sanders had gotten.
Dustin Stumblingbear, a Kansas Bernie Delegate would answer some questions:
BC De Graff: “ How were you treated at the convention by the DNC?”
Dustin Stumblingbear: “ I never met anyone who was directly working as part of the Democratic National Committee. The volunteers for the convention were always kind and courteous. I felt I was treated with respect and dignity by my fellow delegates both Clinton and Sanders delegates. I got to meet many elected officials and they were always willing to chat a moment and take a photo.”
BC De Graff: “ Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Dustin Stumblingbear: “No.”
BC De Graff: “ What was the message you left the convention with and who did you vote for?”
Dustin Stumblingbear: “ I left the DNC with the message that we are one political party filled with diverse people and perspectives. I left with the message that the Democratic Party stands up and fights for the citizens of America. I left the DNC with the message that as a person politically active I need to get out and get Democrats elected using my personal talents. I voted for Hillary Clinton in the general election and every Democrat I could that was on my ballot.”
BC De Graff: “ Thank you, Dustin”
While many know by now, the DNC and Hillary Clinton actively worked against the Bernie Sanders campaign to sabotage the primary and make sure Hillary Clinton captured the nomination without out the intent of ever establishing unity within the party once they got it. At the Convention, 40,000 votes went to Hillary Clinton as she took the state of Kansas despite the people wanting Bernie Sanders.
MAINE
“How a state like Maine could go from a Bernie Sanders landslide victory to a Hillary Clinton landslide victory.”
Bernie Sanders would take 16 delegates and win the state at 64 percent. 2,226 people would cast their vote for Bernie Sanders and only 1,231 would vote for Hillary Clinton. This would change when at the convention when 4 superdelegates for Hillary Clinton to 1 superdelegates from Bernie would hand the state to Hillary Clinton.
The total would be brought to 41,231 votes for Hillary Clinton to 12,226 votes.
NEBRASKA
“Nebraska went to Bernie Sanders in a contest that would end up going to Hillary Clinton at the convention using only 3 Super Delegates.”
The story of Nebraska’s Primary was something even Wikipedia won’t admit. Probably because they don’t investigate and do the math to see the state was rigged. The state would see Bernie win with over 19,000 votes to Hillary’s 14,000 votes. This would be another state where the Superdelegates votes count more than an average persons and we see that Hillary Clinton takes the state. at 3 Superdelegates that go for 10,00 each, Hillary Clinton would steal the state using the Superdelegates at the Convention. Maureen Monahan would be the only Superdelegate to go to Bernie Sanders:
Hillary Clinton would receive over 44,000 votes, Bernie would receive over 29,000. A state that didn’t want Hillary Clinton would be stolen by 3 people who refused to vote for Bernie Sanders despite Bernie Sanders winning the state at 57 percent.
I would interview a Bernie Delegate who would tell me about how Maureen Monahan helped sabotage the Bernie Sanders Campaign in the state of Nebraska:
BC De Graff: “How were you treated by the DNC?”
Linda Bowman: “like shit”
Linda would continue to tell me:
“ We were told that our credentials would be taken if we did interviews that were derogatory to the DNC or Hillary. I did an interview with my back to the camera.”
BC De Graff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Linda Bowman: “Yes. Several of us were. We even walked out.”
BC De Graff: “Were you fully aware of your state being rigged?”
Linda Bowman: “Yes! particularly my County, Douglas County.”
Linda would continue and tell me about Maureen Monahan:
“Actually Maureen Mohahan was the ring leader of the rigging. She conspired to keep the list of those who caucused for Bernie from other party officials. Also, Symone Sanders from Omaha, who was Bernie’s press secretary was a mole. The Super Delegate votes were terrible but the rigging and the moles were there from the beginning. He never stood a chance. Maureen only promised to vote for Bernie to keep her State position which thankfully she lost.”
BC De Graff: “What was the message you left the convention with and what did you learn from this experience?”
Linda Bowman: “ I am horrified that America does not gave a functioning democracy. I am horrified at the level of corruption. I am saddened beyond words that Hillary supporters and some Bernie supporters will not open their eyes to what happened. If we have any chance at all of not becoming a 3rd world nation, we MUST have 3rd parties on national ballots.”
Linda would continue to tell me about her experience:
“It was the most traumatic experience of my life. We went there to change the world and found out that it was all a lie. People donated money to pay for my expenses in Philly, money they didn’t have. And it was all a big joke. I feel so horrible that I couldn’t do anything, and those people trusted me.”BC De Graff: “Why do we have Donald Trump as President?”
Linda Bowman: “ Because of Hillary and the DNC’s corruption. They all conspired to prevent Bernie from getting the nomination even though it was clear Hillary couldn’t win.”
BC De Graff: “Final question, who did you vote for in the General Election?”
Linda Bowman: “Jill Stein. I would have written in Bernie, but NE wont count write ins and I hoped Jill would get 15% vote. We need 3rd parties”
Linda, like many other delegates were Bernie or Bust and would vote for Jill Stein in the general election. Delegates like Linda wanted change and got sabotaged looking for a path forward for the current and future generations. Maureen Monahan who likely sabotaged democracy and may have voted for Bernie Sanders in favor of her state, but the state ultimately went to Hillary and she helped make that possible. Was Monahan a spy? Was Simone Sanders a mole? We may likely never know.
NEW YORK
“DNC and Hillary Clinton used voter suppression tactics to cast out voters, purging them by over 200,000”
New York was perhaps the worst rigged state in the Primary Election. more than 126,000 registered Democrats in Brooklyn were purged, switching many of them to Independent. This forced many voters to protest at Washington Square Park. Some were protesting that they missed the deadline. Why does New York have a Deadline? It’s every American’s right to be able to vote. New York is a closed Primary and it seems apparent that the DNC targeted potential voters to ensure that new voters would be easily controlled not to vote for Bernie Sanders. No word from any Hillary Clinton voter being purged from the records has ever been recorded through out my research.
I would conduct an interview with a Bernie Sanders Delegate who attended the Democratic National Convention, Sandy Przybylak.
Then I learned another new term, “sheep dogging”, as alluded to in this blog for which I was interviewed:
BC DeGraff: “Do you think the Primaries were rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton?”
Sandy Przybylak: “I do but not by some computer hacking type thing. Good old fashioned voter suppression and the actions of the DNC. The Brooklyn voter drop has not been proven conclusively.”
BC DeGraff: “How were you treated at the convention?”
Sandy Przybylak: “Not very well, I’m afraid. We couldn’t even find seats Weds and Thursday. The Hillary camp took over. I left during the walkout on Tuesday because I felt physically ill. I couldn’t get back in. The next day we picked up our credentials and go in there but there were no seats in our delegation. When I say we, I mean me and Kate Eskew. My roommate and another 60+ delegate from Buffalo.
BC DeGraff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Sandy Przybylak: “Yes and no. I gave up a couple weeks after getting home I’m now Green Party and ran for Town Council.
Sandy Przybylak would share with me an open letter to Bernie Sanders:
Dear Bernie Sanders,
First off, I want to Thank You for opening my eyes to what is really going on in our corrupt two party system of government. I am a much more informed and engaged — although quite discouraged– voter turned political activist because of you. I have learned the terms oligarchy, demagoguery, duopoly; and about the many injustices; climate, social, racial, and economic. I’ve watched the CSpan video clips of your filibuster speeches in the House and the Senate, and was encouraged by your dedication to change our government from one which benefits large corporations and the billionaire class to a government that benefits all people. You didn’t take their money — you could not be bought. Your campaign was financed by the people for the people — or so I thought.
Then I learned another new term, “sheep dogging”, as alluded to in this blog for which I was interviewed: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/dnc-unconventional-bernie-sanders-sheepdog-socialist. The realization hit me like a slap in the face: I, along with hundreds of thousands of others who had volunteered for your campaign often with great personal sacrifice for over a year, had been led to Hillary Clinton! The Wall Street corporately financed candidate who has supposedly been moved to embrace the most “progressive platform in history”. The old bait and switch brought to you by the Progressive Democrats of America.
In hindsight the signs were there all along. The failure of the campaign to investigate voter suppression in Arizona and Puerto Rico; the mysterious party switching and 100,000 plus voters purged from the rolls in Brooklyn, New York; the millions of votes not counted in California. Then just days before the “contested convention” barely a whimper from campaign officials when emails describing the DNC’s efforts to sabotage your campaign, often with the help of the main stream media, were leaked.
It was an honor to represent you and the voters of my congressional district who voted for us. I proudly wore all my Bernie buttons, Stop the TPP armband and held up my no TPP signs. But the realization started to sink in: This convention was not so much a convention as it was a four day infomercial, the nominee having been decided 8 years ago. The third day I was denied a seat with my delegation and returned to my $500.00 per night hotel room to watch it on TV. I returned my credential the fourth day because really, what was the point?
However, I do not regret one moment of the last year. I have worked alongside some of the most dedicated and compassionate people I have ever met. People who are committed to being the change needed to take back our government from the 1% by any means necessary. The time for the revolution is NOW. We got this — for ourselves, our children and grandchildren.
Sincerely,
C. Sandy Przybylak, Elected delegate NY26
Carol “Sandy” Przybylak
Green Party Candidate for Cheektowaga Town Council
“By most accounts, voters cast their ballots smoothly and successfully, However, I am deeply troubled by the volume and consistency of voting irregularities, both in public reports and direct complaints to my office’s voter hotline.” — New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
Bernie Sanders would even address this in Manhattan after the Primay:
“This is a tough race for us. We have a system here in New York where independents can’t get involved in the Democratic primary, where young people who have not previously registered and want to register just can’t do it.”
Donna Brazile would come forward with damning revelations that Hillary Clinton had control over the DNC and was keeping the DNC afloat. Every Super Delegate but the ones who refused to cast their vote, voted for Hillary Clinton. Recently, New York City’s Board of Elections admitted it purged more than 200,000 voters from city rolls. The people of New York were cheated out of their voted and were not given a fair chance to vote for a candidate to best represent their needs. Bernie Sanders has championed hard in New York and more than more than 28,000 would attend Bernie Sanders rally at Brookyln’s Prospect Park. If the New York Primary had not have been rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton it’s very likely Bernie Sanders would have had another apparent “upset” the mainstream media claim like what happened in Michigan. to purge more than 200,000 shows that there’s nothing the DNC won’t do to prevent an outsider from winning the New York Primary and the Democratic Nomination.
WEST VIRGINIA
“How the state that loved Bernie the most went to Hillary Clinton, despite Bernie Sanders winning in every county in a landslide victory”
Bernie Sanders won the state of West Virginia in the Primary election. I recently interviewed one Bernie Sanders Delegate from the WV Delegation:
BC DeGraff: “ Did you walk out?”
Kachina Mooney: “Yes, I am apart of the core group The Coalition of 57 (now The Coalition) and we were the group who organized the walk out. Our state chair for WV actually lied on national TV about our vote, several of our super delegates were not present at convention. This will be on a local, state, and national level including all issues facing the 99%.”
BC DeGraff: “ Can you tell me about The Coalition?”
Kachina Mooney: “Sure, we were founded as Bernie delegates from all 57 states and territories. We are currently working on building a multilevel education/communication platform for progressives looking to change the narrative of the current political climate. This will be on a local, state, and national level including all issues facing the 99%”
BC DeGraff: “In the General Election, did you vote Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump?”
Kachina Mooney: “I did not, but according to the democrats, my state doesn’t matter. But to be clear, I didn’t vote for Donald either — I voted my conscience and my morals. That’s not reflective of The Coalition as many of our core group did vote for Hillary”
BC DeGraff: “I voted for Jill Stein. I’m breaking my rules not to get personal, but the Bernie Sanders Delegates that left the party are my heroes. Do you still support Bernie Sanders and will you in 2020 when he officially announces his candidacy?”
Kachina Mooney: “ Bernie is the one of the only people I still trust out of this entire mess. I will support him 100%. 150%. I also voted for Jill. And as a side note, WV is one of the only states in the US with a viable 3rd party. The Mountain Party is our “Green Party” and we did so well in the election last year that we have ballot access + debate access.”
West Virginia was another state like Michigan, Colorado, Indiana and Montana that went to Hillary Clinton at the convention despite the majority of the people in the states who wanted Bernie Sanders and voted Bernie Sanders. I would interview a volunteer for Bernie Sanders and she would give me a very deep and moving experience as well as the truth of our Democracy:
BC DeGraff: “What was a your experience when you arrived in Philly?”
Alissa Ponzurick:”We arrived to our dorm accommodations at Rutgers in Camden, NJ. Our room was nice, and there were four of us total. It was more like an apartment. The vibe was so infectious- it felt like we were all there because we’d ‘woken up’ and wanted to make the world a better place. And here, in this big hodgepodge of people, all ages and colors, from everywhere- there was just so much hope and Positivity. When we arrived at Bernie’s speech at the convention center, it was as if everything had changed overnight. We had our training the day prior, and the plan was to hold two seminars in rooms A&B, and then to man the doors, locate and situate press, and the room would be combined into one larger space, and Bernie would be speaking”
BC DeGraff: “When you left the convention, what was the message you left with?”
Alissa Ponzurick: “Democracy isn’t real. It’s a smokescreen from the ruling class. It gives us the illusion of choice. However, the moment Bernie preserved the roll and did not request contention, the world as I’d known it, ceased to exist.”
BC DeGraff: “Did you watch your state go to Hillary right at the convention? If so, what were your thoughts? How did you feel?”
Alissa Ponzurick: “I did, and I’ll never forget it. It was one of the most defining moments of my life. I knew, exactly at that time, that filling stadiums, selling out concert halls, blatant winning of states (WV was 55/55 counties for Bernie in the primary), none of it mattered. All the rules we’d been living by, the media blackout, it was so definite in that moment. It was seeing WV super delegates, whom were NOT in attendance, cast a vote magically to flip our state to Hillary. It was realizing that even though WE TOOK OUR STATE 100%, we still lost.”
BC DeGraff: “ Who did you vote for in 2016?”
Alissa Ponzurick: “Jill Stein, I don’t agree with her on everything, but I could not vote for either candidate from the major parties. My moral compass would not allow for that. Back to arriving at the Convention Center…
the room was already opened up. There was an ‘audience’ of chairs. We were confused as to whether the workshop seminars were still being held. I worked the center doors because I’m loud. Press that was previously not given access were eventually given access. We checked credentials, and that was the speech from Bernie where Jane famously whispered “they’re still with you”. The entire room was adorned in robin-hood hats. And honestly, that was the last of my hopeful, ignorant perspective on politics. Later that day, our world as we knew it would never be the same. And we haven’t stopped working to change things since then”
BC DeGraff: “Do you feel that the DNC is salvageable?”
Alissa Ponzurick: “I’m not sure. If you had asked me two weeks ago, prior to the purge of Bernie stalwarts, I’d say yes. If Bernie founded his own party for 2020, or runs as an Independent, I still believe that he’s a viable winner. I’d say the DNC needs Bernie more than Bernie needs the DNC.”
David Bowen, Elaine Harris and Chris Regan would all cast their Superdelegate votes for Bernie Sanders, then have them stripped from them and replaced with 2 who cast their votes for Hillary Clinton like the The rest of the Super Delegates would against the will of the voters., according to Bernie Delegate Selina Vickers. Another West Virginia Delegate I would interview would have a message about party reform.
BC DeGraff: “How long have you supported Bernie Sanders?”
Selina Vickers: May 2015. Didn’t even know who he was until I saw a meme-quote on Facebook. Was impressed with whoever this Bernie Sanders person was — looked him up — watched YouTube videos of him in senate and house hearings — then joined the political revolution.
BC DeGraff: “What was your overall impression of the DNC?”
Selina Vickers: “Washington insiders running everything and the vast majority of the dnc follow. The up-risers get shut down quickly. They are going to be playing identity politics primarily.”
BC DeGraff: “What was the message you left the convention with?”
Selina Vickers: “Interesting question. What they said they were going to do — “every zip code counts” and “Unity” sounded great. What their actions said — stacking the deck with insiders, sent a different message. I left thinking that we need to #BecomeTheDNC We have to take over our state and national Dem parties.”
BC DeGraff: “After the recent Donna Brazile revelations that the event was paid for by the Hillary Clinton Campaign, are you still willing to remain a Democrat despite Hillary Clinton taking control of the party financially?”
Selina Vickers: “Am I willing to remain a Dem after all this? Why should I leave? I haven’t done anything wrong. I didn’t get drunk with power and throw up on the couch at the party and ruin things for everybody. THEY need to leave — and they won’t go willingly. We have to replace them. And, its hard because they DO have the power. But, what else can we do? I don’t understand the DemExit strategy. Once you exit you have NO say in what goes on. The 2 party system is too pervasive and corrupt to let both continue with out any checks. I’m all about staying, challenging, pushing, and replacing the corrupt people. AND, what I have found both in the state and national level is that most people are ready for change. There are a few people that keep things blocked at the top. The people are ready to move and its bottlenecked at top.”
BC DeGraff: “What moment stood out the strongest in your experience at the convention?”
Selina Vickers: “Can I say 2?”
BC DeGraff: “Yes”
Selina Vickers: “There are many, but the 2 most significant that stand in my mind are 1. The Tuesday morning of the convention (that’s the day the vote is given). You vote in the morning delegation meeting. We were scolded for booing the night before, we were told that we MUST be in the WV delegation area for our vote to count. If we aren’t there, our vote will not be counted. I asked to speak before we voted. I went over the primary numbers in Wv (See graphic). I told them that if HRC was the nominee, we would lose everything in Wv — which we did — because we couldn’t get the vote out for HRC, but everyone for Trump would show up and vote R down ballot. We talked about the Wikileaks that had just come out and how now we knew the primary had been rigged. We told them about the polling showing Bernie could beat Trump and HRC might not. They treated us like we were stupid. Like they knew everything. We knew nothing. Not everyone. But, several. Some were sympathetic in that room. I remember that. I remember who they were. The chair thought it was outlandish to suggest that HRC might not win the general. It was inevitable. (I think Shane has recording of this meeting) 2. That night, the vote. They were going through the states. They got to around Louisiana and I noticed that 2 of the supers weren’t there — Sen Manchin and Gov Tomblin. I went to Belinda Biafore (WV chair) and told her that they weren’t there and that the vote count should change. She said no. I reminded her what she had told us that morning about needing to be present and she ignored me. Other people were calling for a roll call. She ignored us. She gave the vote. I called the parliamentarian back home and he told me what motion to make to challenge and I did. She ignored that. She said that Manchin had a proxy — Supers aren’t allowed to have proxies and she said Tomblin was there. He was — but not in the WV delegation area. She never picked up the phone to register our motions, which was the process. The lies were what got me the most, I think. Now, knowing we were right and that if maybe we had done something more, maybe we could have Bernie now. I can’t change that. What I/we can do is make sure that the next time a Bernie comes around, there is a fair process in place. We are getting rid of our chair as soon as we can. We are going to state and national meetings and shining a spotlight on unfair and unethical activities. I did that today, btw. Wv State Exec meeting held without following their bylaws to have public meetings announced. They didn’t make any public announcement. I just happened to learn about the meeting and 2 Berners showed up. Called that out — politely. Next time they will probably make a public announcement.”
Selina Vickers would leave me with a startling revelation about the two Super Delegates who were replaced in favor of Hillary Clinton:
“There were 2 supers that pledged to Bernie in the primary, but one (Chris Regan) was ousted. And the other was supposed to vote for Bernie because she was a union rep and her union supported Bernie. The WVDP got rid of Chris Regan at the state convention and replaced him with William Laird. Laird and Elaine Harris both voted for HRC.” -Selina Vickers
Despite the state being made up of voters who wanted Bernie Sanders, not Hillary Clinton, yet all the Super Delegates went to Hillary Clinton. This was the most rigged state in the 2016 election and it shows. Bernie Sanders won the entire states and lost it at the convention to Super Delegates. Against the will of the American voters.
WISCONSIN
“How the DNC rigged the state where Hillary Clinton only won in one county and in a twist, won every Super Delegate but 1”
I would interview Wisconsin Delegate Rev. John Stanley who would tell me his experiences at the convention:
BC DeGraff: “My first question for you is what were you feeling when you arrived at the Convention?”
Rev. John Stanley: “Hopelful and excited. I felt like we were going to sweep up and win across the board. I didn’t know about all the corruption around at the time. and it wasn’t just the DNC”
BC DeGraff: “How were you treated and how were other Bernie Delegates treated by the DNC and Hillary Delegates as well as the Superdelegates that attended?”
Rev. John Stanley: Like lambs being lead to the slaughter. The first clue should have been all the placards that were on the chairs for HRC, but we were not allowed to bring in banners or signs, but I figured things would get better. I wasn’t totally blind, but I didn’t know HOW orchestrated HRC and the DNC were until the grand opening. I thought we were welcomed, with the little trinkets we got in our DNC delegate bags and our pep talks before hand and the news about all the parties. The delegation parties being held.”
BC DeGraff: “How was your first day at the convention, what do you remember the most?”
Rev. John Stanley: “Nearly passing out. It was nearly over 100+ temp in Philadelphia I had just walked what seemed like a couple miles. The excitement and the rise of my blood pressure with the opening prayer saying “God Bless President Hillary Clinton, didn’t do me any good considering I had been fasting for 19 days for Bernie Sanders.”BC DeGraff: “You’re a true hero. After that, you just became a bigger hero to me. Charles was right. Who did you vote for in the General?”
Rev. John Stanley: “I voted for Jill Stein, I am no Hero, I just wanted people to bring attention to the fact that there was so much at stake and we were electing someone that wouldn’t just lead our country, but could possibly save us from the rapid decay into a despot system.”
BC DeGraff: “What message did you personally leave the convention with?”
Rev. John Stanley: “I had a very nice woman, very upset, because she was worried about Trump deporting her friends. I told her and CNBC, when I was interviewed. that I would pull the lever for Hillary, but than HRC stood behind Debbie Wasserman, and I knew there was no one who could keep Hillary in check. i left the convention angry at what I saw and heard. Many people tried to shut me up at the convention, but my own DWP chair Martha Lanaing, told people to let me talk and she was more concerned with my health than in the pressure that the DPW and DNC were putting on her to keep me quiet. There is a picture of me screaming , it was in the New York Times. I was Yelling Nevr Hillary and Charles Niswander could hear me nearly half across the arena. even under the white noise machines. I screamed so loud, because they opened the damn convention saying “God bless President Hillary Clinton? I was madder than hell. Wisconsin delegation, I believe waa the only delegation that received an apology from the DNC for the collusion. I believe that was our delegation and our chairwoman’s work.
BC DeGraff I would love to see this apology to put it in my article as well as photos. Your story is good, like they told me.
Rev. John Stanley: Did Charles tell you about Bernie Stand up revolution?
BC DeGraff: “No, tell me about it”
Rev. John Stanley: The Bernie Revolution, was not actually started by Jeff Weaver.We had started it when Bernie first ran. Before he even announced. Charles, Rich Lyons, Caludia Pringes, Betty Elisabeth Frye , Richard Maynard, James Roguski and many others, came together to form our own group. It’s aim was to help Bernie. I had been made a point person (not officially campaign) but a liaison between state grassroots groups for Wisconsin and the campaign, by Andrew Virden and Later Robert Dempsy. Our group tried to use me as prototype for all 50 states. We talked to Phil Fermonte and Jeff Weaver and they put us in touch with Corbin Trent and others. We wanted to TRULY have a GRASS GROUPS led campaign. That’s what majority of Americans want. But they moved people around and every time we got someone to work with, the campaign would shuffle the deck and we had to try and explain the whole concept over again. The campaign was nervous about trusting us and for good reason. They had moles and people who were trying to undermined them. So it was hard to trust anyone, when some of their own people were actually working for HRC. One such man actually was pretty high up. He lied and told our Chair, that Bernie was dropping out a month before the convention. I had contacted every county chair in Wisconsin and asked them to consider supporting HRC. We had 3 county chairs step down (whether I had anything to do with it I don’t know) to work for Bernie. This same guy who was supposedly working for Bernie, asked me for the list and notes and he got them. He was the one I was trying to work with to get Bernie to our Wisconsin Grassroots festival. the 2 years prior to Bernie running,. I was not happy with Jeff Weaver running OWR, not because of anything he did, but I didn’t feel he was quite as grassroots as he should have been. I was Pleased as punch when Nina Turner took it over I also felt at the time, like all the news agencies were waiting for me to croak, I feel like my hunger strike was a rodeo for them. I really wanted to send the American people a message about the need for good leadership. I was inspired and felt obligated to do this after listening to Peter Paul and Mary’s Song “The Great Mandela”.
BC DeGraff “My final question to you is, what would you tell voters after your experience?”
Rev. John Stanley: “That resistance is the beginning of change. We can say that what weyhat it doesn’t matter, but that is a cop out. We don’t need to exit the Democratic party, we need to take it over. In the early 1900’s the republicans had the very same platform that we are fighting for today. Presscot Bush himself (the father of George Bush Senior) came up with planned parenthood. But the rich took over that party. The warning about the Military industrial complex, that Dewight Eisenhower talked about, for example, when unheeded. People talk about third parties. and that would be great, but many are just running away from a problem and are not staying to fight. We need Progressive to Dem-enter and take back the DNC, not to be democrats, but to stand for values and fight for issues. The elite are happy to see us go. They don’t want our involvement. If the green party can get up to the position the Dem and republican parties are in size and power, you think they won’t be capable of becoming corrupt? Will those who ran to the green, party fight against the corruption there? Greens and Democrats MUST work together. I hope for a day when we can have more than one patty, but we need to clean the houses we have now and we need to take a stand. Scott Walker is the (IMO) acting governor of Wisconsin. He said it all when he said “divide and conquer”. We cannot allow people to be fractured to their OWN detriment, any longer. The convention taught me something that JFK once said. (in context of going to the moon” We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard”. The wrong way is always the easier way. We must stand and fight if we want to be a true democracy again! Bernie did it when he was arrested for fighting against segregation and he stood in picket lines as a senator. We follow Bernie, not because he is Bernie Sanders, but because he chooses to fight and Charles says he (himself is) long winded. but the intricacies and the plots and all the little things that made this convention a nightmare and in some ways a blessing ( meeting other Bernie delegates) is a novel.
My conclusion to this interview was that Rev. John Stanley was a man of great passion and a very strong Delegate. His tenacity and moral roots were unquestionably tested at this convention. The lack of conviction that the DNC had at the Convention would be their downfall and their ultimate unraveling as they traded out their integrity for their corporate overlords and to elect a nominee best suited to line their pockets. They however did not count on the power of the people. Men like Rev. John Stanley, who are rare and come with faith against evil corruption unite within the Democratic Party today to create a Progressive opposition to the elitist Democratic Party within the Democratic Party. “A system that is rigged in favor of the rich”
COLORADO
“How the DNC and the Super Delegates favored Hillary Clinton and cheated the delegates and the Bernie Sanders voters.”
Colorado as you can see in the picture below, was genuinely a Bernie state. Bernie won more counties than Hillary Clinton, but the state would go to Hillary Clinton at the Convention when Hillary Clinton would take all of the Super Delegates, or the Super Delegates would not vote.
Colorado Delegate Cleo Dioletis would give me her perspective on her and her experience in an interview:
BC DeGraff: “ How did you first hear about Bernie?”
Cleo Dioletis: “ I had been following Bernie for about a year before he announced he was running.”
BC DeGraff: “ What policies of his did you like compared to Hillary Clinton’s?”
Cleo Dioletis: “ His Medicare for All, Free College tuition and the $15.00 minimum wage.”
BC DeGraff: “ Were you a Bernie or Bust voter?”
Cleo Dioletis: “ Yes though I never told many people. I voted for Jill Stein.”
BC DeGraff: “ I also voted for Jill Stein. Did you feel welcomed at the convention? How did the DNC treat you?”
Cleo Dioletis: “ No I did not feel welcomed. It was first of all to Corporate, second, they would not let us hold up signs against wars, and the Oligarch, They were selling a Bernie Tee shirt that had Bernie looking like a Nazi was drawing a Jewish face, which I thought was despicable. During one of the Generals who spoke for Hillary I thought I was in the Republican Convention when the Hillary supporters drowned us out yelling USA, USA and had red, white and Blue signs.”
BC DeGraff: “ Tell me more about the chanting, why was that going on?”
Cleo Dioletis: “ When Representative Cummings was speaking we tried to drown him out because of what he was saying, On this Brandon, it was a long time ago for me that I don’t remember all that we chanted about but it was either the oligarchy, or anti war chants.”
BC DeGraff: “ Did you experience the 2nd day black outs in the stands?”
Cleo Dioletis: “ I walked out with others to the media tent when Bill Clinton was speaking and spoke to different journalist from the US and other countries. I heard that they tried to fill the seats vacated with Hillary people.”
BC DeGraff: “ There was an ad that the DNC placed for seat fillers. I watched a video where Jeff Day was discussing it. He was another Delegate. Final question and then we can wrap this up. Would you vote Bernie Sanders in 2020?”
Cleo Dioletis: “ Yes, though I hope he will not run as a Dem. I am Independent now and I and a group of Bernie Delegates and Staffers are trying to form a new Party. It was called Draft Bernie for the People’s Party and since Bernie did not take the bite to join us we are changing our name and working on progressive coalition party building. Gave up on the Democrats. What has happened this week vindicates us Bernie people.”
Colorado was another state that Bernie had won, but all the Super delegates would go to Hillary Clinton except Lisa Padilla, Rick Palacio amd Beverly Ryken who refused to cast their votes.
BC DeGraff: “Did you watch the first roll call?”
Gabriel McArthur: “yes, I walked out as soon as Bernie moved to nominate Clinton by acclimation. Many of us immediately walked to the media tent after that.”
BC DeGraff: “When it was official, what was your next move?”
Gabriel McArthur: “Wednesday I didn’t attend the convention. I went and gathered with protesters at the Black Men for Bernie rally to advocate for Jill Stein.”
BC DeGraff: “You planned to vote for Jill?”
Gabriel McArthur: “I didn’t plan on it initially, but with the DNC leaks, and the way Clinton delegates treated us, I decided to vote for her the day I skipped the convention.”
BC DeGraff: “I also voted for Jill Stein. What part about all of this disgusted you the most?”
Gabriel McArthur: “The way the delegates were basically choreographed to do as the “whips” demanded. They covered up our anti-fracking signs. They confiscated our anti-TPP signs. They told us when to cheer, when to stand. It was like being a prop in a commercial. The whole affair felt like being in the middle of a cult.”
BC DeGraff: “Would you say they wanted to dumb you down?”
Gabriel McArthur: “I think their primary goal was to exhaust us or make us look crazy”
BC DeGraff: “What was the message you left the Convention with?”
Gabriel McArthur: “The message I left the convention with was that the Democratic Party is morally bankrupt, and willing to squash anyone who lifts the veil on it. Their behavior since has only solidified that perspective.”
BC DeGraff: “Is there anything you’d tell people about your experience?”
Gabriel McArthur: “I’d tell people that it’s important to question what they’re shown on television. The news tried to present the convention as a perfect picture of unity, while everyone present knew that wasn’t true.”
HAWAII
“The Rainbow State that loved Bernie was stolen by Hillary Clinton and the superdelegates.”
Bernie Sanders is no stranger to the Rainbow State and voted against The Defense of Marriage Act that Hawaii championed for. December 2, 2013, is when the state would finally legalized Same-Sex-Marriage in the state. The state would also legalize Medical Cannabis in 2000. The state went to Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Election because he championed 2 of these Progressive issues that Hillary Clinton opposed. Hawaiian voters voted Bernie Sanders in a landslide and would lose an Electoral Vote to Bernie Sander. David Mulinix, Hawaii elector who voted Bernie Sanders would criticize her for not being Progressive enough. Hawaii has one of the only Progressive Democrats in the Senate who would join the Bernie Sanders campaign and cast her superdelegate vote to Bernie Sanders.
“They can call me faithless, but the point is if we don’t think someone’s qualified — and Hillary Clinton I do not feel is qualified She did not lose the vote to Russian hackers; she lost the vote right there at the convention. They robbed us, and the millennials know it.” -David Mulinix (Hawaii elector)
David Mulinix would also note that Bernie Sanders was the most qualified. Mulinix is the highest form of the Bernie of Bust movement that would vote for the most Progressive candidates. Something that has been on the rise since the elections. Younger generations like Tulsi Gabbard, who promote themselves as Progressives are seen as leaders and candidates for Progressive voters who are seeking change and want cannabis right, gay rights and equal rights in general. Hillary Clinton was not the candidate that was featured as Progressive. She was against Gay Marriage and against marijuana legalization. Other Electors Janice Bond, said she wanted to voted for Sanders but didn’t believing she couldn’t. The people of Hawaii wanted Bernie Sanders, not Hillary Clinton. At the convention, the delegates were not treated kindly by the Hillary Clinton Delegates and superdelegates.
I would interview a Bernie or Bust Delegate from Hawaii, Chelsea Lyons Kent:
BC DeGraff: “How were you treated at the convention?”
Chelsea Lyons Kent: “That’s a simple question with a long answer. We were not treated well. To say the least.”
BC DeGraff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Chelsea Lyons Kent: “Yes”
Chelsea Lyons Kent was told if she apologized to the DNC, she would receive her credentials back. She chose not to. She feels that the DNC should have voted in for the will of the people. The DNC owes her an apology for rigging an election, not the other way around. The Delegates were mistreated and led to believe they were participating in a fair election. This is definitely a reflection of Hillary’s dangerous strategy. She did not have the people’s vote because she didn’t earn it. She stood against the American people and stood against a fair democracy. To openly rig an election and rig a primary after a candidate who the people wanted won shows the lack of leadership and lack of respect you have for the people you’re supposed to represent. Hillary Clinton was not who Hawaii wanted representing them. Hillary Clinton isn’t who the American people wanted representing them, the American people proved that at the end of the election.
CALIFORNIA
“The state where the DNC worked the hardest rigging the primary instead of connecting with the voters.”
California has 4 million uncounted ballots from the General Election that have not been added to the count. This is incredibly unprofessional and is certainly an undemocratic scandal that is overlooked and deemed “unimportant”. This is a clear indication that the Political Parties don’t share the interests of the people. By selfishly leaving votes uncounted, they are sending a message that “your votes simply don’t count.”
“We’re such a huge state with so much fraud it’s hard to keep track of it all. But there was how the major news channels announced HRC had already won the night BEFORE the election even happened and told people not to bother voting, there was the whited out Bernie ballots that were taken into a back room away from the vote count watchers so they couldn’t see what was happening in San Diego (a judge actually ruled this was illegal months after the fact but by then it was too late). There’s the fact that something like 30% of our mail in ballots were deemed to be not countable because of whatever reason and thrown in the trash. How about the videos of poll workers (all white middle aged middle class women I might add) stuffing piles of ballots into ballot boxes while the polling places were empty looking over their shoulders all guilty like (caught on camera) in counties where HRC miraculously won despite exit polls. How about the only major county in CA where the results matched the exit polls was Humboldt, where Bernie won in a landslide (but the population isn’t big enough to make an impact in the state overall)” — Kyle Vasquez (For Perspective Purposes)
California was indeed a very large state and voter suppression was at an all time high in the state. Poll Workers deliberately told misinformation to give to voters. One of the Delegates I would interview would recount his experience with the DNC:
BC DeGraff: “ What did the atmosphere feel like when you got to the convention?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “For many of is, we knew everything we had been led to believe with regard to collegial work with our rival delegates, and any chance to get Bernie the nomination, were over within the first 30 seconds of the opening gavel on Monday night. As an opera singer, I booed myself hoarse halfway into the evening, and didn’t get my voice back until nine days later, I was so pissed.”
BC DeGraff: “ How did you first hear about Bernie Sanders?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “ I had known about Bernie for decades, and felt pretty supportive of him and his values, long before he ran.”
BC DeGraff: “You guys are like heroes to me, so I want to represent you as best as I can. Did you feel the DNC didn’t want you to be there?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “ Yes, at least some of us definitely felt that way. Everything from abusing us at the convention — both verbally and physically — to ripping us off with the exorbitant room rates at the delegation hotels they required us to stay at.”
BC DeGraff: “ Were you a Bernie or bust guy”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “Yes, I was. I had voted for an establishment candidate only once in my life; Obama in 2008, because I felt there was a chance he was as good as his rhetoric. And, I was never a member of either side of the duopoly, except while Bernie ran. We had hoped to be as friendly as possible with our rival delegates. We had discussed this at the grassroots level prior to the convention, but we were treated with scorn and derision at the convention. We were told things like, “You will fall into line!” That was their version of alleged “party unity.”
The other thing that made us feel like we were unwanted was what happened at the end of the roll call vote on Tuesday. Bernie, for whatever reason, made that motion to suspend the process and make Hillary the nominee, and then Martha Fudge acknowledged it as an acclamation, which totally nullified the Bernie delegate votes.”
BC DeGraff: “Who did you vote for in the General Election?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “Jill Stein. I’ve long identified ideologically with the Green Party, and I voted for her in 2012 as well. By the way, as for allegations regarding Bernie sheep dogging for the DNC, did you ever hear about the cut on his cheek that suddenly appeared on Tuesday night of the convention. I was on stage next to Bernie and Jane the day before, and he looked just fine. And this photo is of him leaving the convention Tuesday night, after the acclamation. Looks gut-shot, doesn’t he?”
BC DeGraff: “ Do you recall what Julian Assange said about Bernie being threatened? Do you think that’s what this is?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “Yes, and yes. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his grandchildren’s lives were threatened.”
BC DeGraff: “We can’t be for sure, we can only suspect. I suspect that myself. We can’t prove it without a doubt, but it seem like the DNC and Hillary were definitely out for blood. Did you ever have conflict with Hillary Supporters at the convention?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “Indeed. Kind of like the JFK assassination; we may never know the truth. Yes, I did. Several of them screamed at me, and a couple of them pushed my arms down when I was holding up a sign. They were incredibly rude, for the most part.
And then, there were all of the instances where convention volunteers kicked Bernie delegates out of the convention. BTW, did you hear what happened with regard to convention volunteers, and then the actors?”
BC DeGraff: “Actors? Like Bradley Cooper?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “Ah, no. The DNC posted a Craigslist ad looking for 700 actors to take seats away from Bernie delegates. I have a screenshot of the ad. A lot of us actually met the actors at the convention; they were being $50 a night to be there. The people they refer to as removing were of course Bernie delegates. And then, there was their move against us and our chants of things like, “No TPP!,” and “No More Wars!” They sent out a message to our rival delegates, instructing them to chant these in response to our chants.”
BC DeGraff: “ One last question, do you think the DNC will ever change their ways?”
Jim Ahab Boydston: “ Absolutely not. They are corporately-owned, and the power of money will always be with them. My two big hashtags these days are #DuopolyExit, and #DuopolyDestroy. To me, taking down the political duopoly is the only hope We The People have of taking our government back from the oligarchs.”
Rachel Binah, John L. Burton, Maria Elena Durazo, Mary Ellen Early, Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker, Pat Hobbs, Matt Johnson, Keith Umemoto all would not cast their votes for Hillary Clinton in California, why wouldn’t cast their vote for Bernie Sanders either. Every single Superdelegate besides these names all went to Hillary Clinton. Jim Ahab Boydston would introduce me to another Bernie Sanders Delegate in California:
BC DeGraff: “ What did you feel when you first entered the convention?”
Josephine Piarulli: “ I felt disgust. Frustration. Despair disillusioned dismissed. Disenfranchised. Unwelcome. Shunned. Outcast. I felt hated by the Hillary supporters. I felt fear that we would be removed at any time.”
BC DeGraff: “ How was your experience at the state convention?”
Josephine Piarulli: “ I felt anxiety. I felt anger that we were cheated.”
BC DeGraff: “ Did you walk out?”
Josephine Piarulli: “ I did walk out. That was the most joyful and liberating moment. That was empowering”
BC DeGraff: “ Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Josephine Piarulli: “ Oh yes. I Was a bernie follower for many years, since he put Alan Greenspan on the spot. I was following Bernie Sandra since around 2005 or thereabouts. My best friend and I were always hoping that he would run as president. But at the same time we also knew that he was very much needed as senator. But the minute he announced, we immediately started doing grassroots work For over a year we were out in the streets registering people to vote for him, giving out information about Bernie at street fairs at farmers market’s. once a month we were registering people at the naturalization ceremony. we had meetings and out reach and barnstorms. we were on social media for hours a day. We devoted probably 30 hours a week on Bernie on a grassroots level. We had rally’s. We did Banda for Bernie fundraiser we organized. and it was crushing to our soul to watch the election being stolen from him state-by-state. Oh yes. Bernie or bust. We knew how corrupt Hillary is. She was the antithesis of Bernie. The complete opposite of all the good Bernie was preaching. He walked the talk and never faltered for 30 years. Honest and integrity. She was a liar and cheater. Bernie or bust. Yes.”
BC DeGraff: “ One last question, now that Bernie has dropped hints of a 2020 run, will you continue to support him?”
Josephine Piarulli: “If he runs third party I will devote all my time effort energy and fec max donation as I did last time. If he runs as democrat I will vote for him but the luster of him winning as a democrat is gone. They rigged it once. Got away with it in so many states. Nothing happened to them. Nothing. They will absolutely rig it again. I won’t donate my time effort and energy and money again. Fool me once shame on me… I pray he runs third party. IDK how many times the establishment democrats can spit in our faces before people realize the party is corrupt to the core and it’s time to tear it down and start over. Should have happened 30 years ago. And as I thought about the convention, it was a complete Truman Show. FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE. Just like their unity bullshit.”
Josephine Piarulli would also tell me about people coming into voting centers and tampering with the ballots:
“We were observing at the ROV for over a month as they “processed” ballots. Sharon Windham Joie Kincaid-Peringer Patricia Gracian. We witness all the abnormalities and can attest to it.”
It’s safe to say that the DNC really went to great lengths to rig the California Primary because they didn’t want to meet with voters and earn the win fairly.
PUERTO RICO
“Read how the DNC ignores the people of Puerto Rico’s needs in favor of Hillary Clinton’s selfish desires capture the Nomination”
Puerto Rico is a US territory that has been neglected by Barrack Obama and Donald Trump so far, their roads need repair, they need a little more care than they’re being given. The people of Puerto Rico wanted Bernie Sanders, not Hillary Clinton who would do nothing for them, yet she seems to have won the state in 2016, yet many were unable to vote in the general election, so why is Puerto Rico voting against their best interests? They’re not. Their voices aren’t being heard and some are just unable to vote. In 2008, the island’s Democratic primary, there were more than 2,300 polling locations, they slashed that number to just over 430.
A Delegate I interviewed who was for Bernie Sanders would tell me her story and tell me about the Convention and the current state of Puerto Rico that the DNC is completely ignoring and how Bernie Sanders would address some of Puerto Rico’s concerns.:
BC De Graff: “How were you treated at the Convention?”
Gendy Tchuda: “ we definitely encountered ‘not so nice’ situations during the convention.”
BC De Graff: “Did you feel like your voice was being heard?”
Gendy Tchuda: “No.”
BC De Graff: “ What as the most memorable moments at the convention?”
Gendy Tchuda: “When we protested outside the convention because as you know, Puerto Rico is in an economic crisis and we definitely have a difficult situation. So we protested the unfair treatment of Puerto Rico and it’s citizens. We had roll call, we also did a small to protest to release one of our prisoners we used the convention to really call attention to to Americans the Puerto Rico is in a current state of crisis. Americans really need to know about that. I remember when we protested, we (Puerto Rican Delegates) united with the other delegations like California. ”
BC De Graff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Gendy Tchuda: “Yes, definitely. What we saw from him in the campaign, all the things he addressed, definitely, we were Bernie or Bust.”
BC De Graff: “What was the message you left the Convention with?”
Gendy Tchuda: “I remember they were pushing unity, everyone needs to come together, that everyone should forget about what happened during the elections, (the rigging) and to tell everyone to vote for Hillary despite what happened.”
BC De Graff: “Do you think the Primary was rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton?”
Gendy Tchuda: “Yes, I do.”
Puerto Rico is a small island, it’s our island. It’s an American Territory and Gendy Tchuda is as much entitled to what we have as everyone else. What the DNC and the United States are doing to the island we’re supposed to take care of is inhumane. The people of Puerto Rico’s President is Donald Trump and he’s not even trying to help the people of Puerto Rico’s current state. Hillary Clinton did not have a plan for the people of Puerto Rico either. Puerto Rican’s voices are simply not being heard.
The Final: The 2016 DNC CONVENTION
“The 2016 Convention failed to unite the Democratic Party after it was openly rigged against Bernie Sanders. Before the Convention, WikiLeaks would reveal that the DNC sabotaged Bernie Sanders’ Campaign.”
“Bernie did not win the first round. There was only one vote for the role call and Hillary won. She had almost 400 more pledged delegates than Bernie did.I don’t know where the rumors of Bernie winning started, but he didn’t. He lost the role call but I was told they read the results WITH super delegates rather than one without and one with. I don’t know if this is outside the rules but they seem to have made their own rules” — Daniel Clark 2018 Candidate for US House of Iowa
A Florida Bernie Sanders Delegate recalls her time at the convention: How were you treated at the convention?
BC De Graff: “How were you treated at the convention?”
Jenn Powell: “There is also another link at the bottom of that article that has another delegates report. There is also another link at the bottom of that article that has another delegates report. It’s still painful to relive. I don’t think it’s anything we will ever get over. But it keeps us working within the party (we live in a closed primary state) to ensure it never happens to any delegates in the future.
BC De Graff: “What moment will always stick with you?”
Jenn Powell:: “How the Hillary delegates chanted “USA, USA” over our chants of “No more war”. The anti war protest began as a silent protest, us just holding up peace signs. When we were forcibly blocked from the TV cameras, and flags draped over us to hide our protest is when the Bernie delegates became vocal chanting No More War.
The day they nominated Hillary, and delegates walked out, we knew, from our work on the ground during the primary, that Trump would win.
We heard it over and over. Republicans were not going to cast a vote, and i quote “for a Clinton, EVER”. Those same republicans respected Bernie.”
BC De Graff: “Were you Bernie or Bust?”
Jenn Powell: “I was a huge defender of anyone who chose to cast their vote for a 3rd party. I despise “vote shaming”.
This is what democracy looks like.
I hope the Democratic Party learns from its mistakes. I’m currently managing a congressional campaign, Tom Wells is a Berniecrat running against a tea party/freedom caucus republican in Florida’s 3rd Congressional district. We hope to offer up candidates people don’t have to hold their noses to vote for.
I also ran for city commission in March, I filed on the last day against a democratic incumbent who had opposed a living wage. My campaign was 47 days, i raised and spent less than $10k and got 45.6% of the vote. Not enough for a win, but we gave them a run for their money with an all volunteer campaign.”
Bernie Sanders won both Indiana and Michigan, States that would go to Hillary Clinton at the Convention. These states would also go to Donald Trump in the Election. This is how utterly ignorant the DNC is. They refuse to accept defeat on the things they cannot win, but stubbornly persist and fail over and over again into a viscous cycle of bad policies and voter neglect.
The DNC Convention on the first day was not prepared for the Bernie Sanders delegates who were educated and knew about Hillary corruption and knew about the WikiLeaks. They knew about Seth Rich and knew about the E-Mails that were leaked the day before the Convention that implicated Hillary Clinton in staging the Primary and sabotaging the Bernie Sanders campaign.
This “walk-out” was a direct result of the sleight-of-hand attempt to force a paper vote as a replacement for the floor roll call vote. On Tuesday, after Oregon’s and Washington’s delegates remained in absentia, within 45 minutes those seats and all of the rest of the third level of the convention quickly filled in with “paid” fillers. We had observed advertisements in downtown Philly from the DNC asking for people to serve as seat fillers — for pay. They were expected to hold and wave signs, chant for Hillary, and follow the lead of the Hillary delegates.
The Superdelegates would outweigh the will of the people and states like Michigan, West Virginia, Indiana and Montana would go to Hillary Clinton despite the fact that Bernie Sanders had won them. It’s easy to see how Bernie Sanders was cheated at the convention. It was all planned all orchestrated by the DNC. Debbie Wasserman Shultz would quit before the Democratic Nation Convention as WikiLeaks exposed her corrupt plans and assistance in rigging the Primary Election. She made it known through her E-Mails that she was on Hillary’s side, playing hardball against Bernie Sanders.
Donna Brazile through out the campaign would help Hillary Clinton cheat by giving her the Debate Questions and CNN and Liberal Media would lie when Bernie Sanders would win a Debate and claim Hillary Clinton won that debate, despite internet polling. Hillary Clinton would go on to lose to the worst candidate imaginable, making Hillary Clinton the worst candidate imaginable. Bernie delegates spent $2000–4000 or more each to be at that convention, money most did not have. Many donated money for that, many Bernie supporters donated money for them to attend and subsequently be corralled, bullied out of their seats, blocked from getting back into the convention floor, harassed and physically intimidated by Hillary Supporters, drowned out by loud noise filtered in, to name a few. Perhaps she could reimburse all the Bernie delegates for their trip to a rigged convention and also pay for the therapy for the PTSD she helped them acquire, however Hillary has no intention of being kind to anyone who isn’t paying her money.
Tom Perez, Elizabeth Warren, Keith Ellison, Bernie Sanders and Donna Brazile would all come forward through out 2017 and openly admit that the Primary was rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton.
This is an open article and will have more added to it based on the eye-witness and the updates on this. Until then, vote for your best interest, it’s all we have left to combat the political tyrants that bend to the will of the money and not the people they were meant to serve. Tom Perez, Elizabeth Warren, Keith Ellison, Bernie Sanders and Donna Brazile would all come forward through out 2017 and openly admit that the Primary was rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton.
With 570 people to give Hillary Clinton 5.7 Million votes, Hillary Clinton would have lost without these votes. She would not have beaten Bernie and she didn’t. Technically, there were more people who wanted and voted for Bernie Sanders than they voted or even wanted Hillary Clinton. The math is simple. Hillary Clinton was at 16 million, Bernie Sanders was at 13, when you adjust the actual voters and not include their voter status of 10,000 votes to each Superdelegate, Bernie Sanders beats Hillary Clinton at 12 Million and Hillary gets an 11 million. Bernie Sanders clearly won the popular vote by all definition and should have been the nomination. This is why Hillary Clinton would lose to Donald Trump. As people like Curtis Wylde said, she lost the day she was nominated. Republican voters would likely have voted Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton and what we seen in the General Election were people who wanted Bernie Sanders, Not Hillary Clinton against Hillary Clinton, who ran an empty campaign that didn’t represent the people’s needs.
Credit to: Laura Hockenberry
(Created 09/24/2017)
