THE DEMOCRATIC DILEMMA
By John P. Flannery
[John P. Flannery has been active in politics since he was in grammar school and passed out literatute for a local NY candidate for the General Assembly, worked on state and presidential campaigns since 1960, and as an adult by 1980 had some responsibility in NY in Ted Kennedy’s primary bid, participated in Dem conventions since 1980, run for congress in 1984, served as a VA state wide co-chair for a presidential campaign in 1988, been a local VA party chair, and is presently an elected County official, when not practicing law and rendering opinions about varied matters legal and/or political.]
We were put on notice that the Russians were interfering in our election by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and Trump fired him quickly because he revealed what Trump preferred left secret, namely, that the nominee the Russians (and presumably Trump) preferred to help was Senator Bernie Sanders, running as a Dem but often described as an independent or social democrat or socialist (especially by his detractors).
Some have noted how Trump without any serious challengers convenes rallies for his candidacy at about the time of every democratic party caucus or primary.
Reports from the field are that Trump is encouraging Republicans at these reallies to cross over to the Democratic voting polls where and how they can to cast a vote for “Bernie,” Trump’s preferred opponent.
That makes Bernie both a dupe and, well, a beneficiary of this foul tactic that he has little ability or incentive (perhaps) to cure. No question this is a challenge for Bernie but it may be a bigger challenge for the Democratic party.
Some rightly say that Trump did what he could to bench former VP Joe Biden by the faux investigation he demanded of Ukraine, if they wanted military defense funds to protect them from Russia and Putin.
Now, Trump, by AG Barr, is offloading that bogus Ukrainean investigation from Rogue Mayor Rudy to Pittsburgh, to the US Attorney, in an electoral battle ground state, to do stateside what Trump couldn’t quite make Zelensky do for him in the Ukraine.
Oh, those pesky whistleblowers. (See the Articles of Impeachment for the details).
Unfortunately, we still have no idea exactly what the intelligence shows is the scope of the Russian “interference” — because of Trump.
We don’t know if it’s just (a) disinformation, or (b) interference with the methods and practices of the various caucuses, or (c) assisting in a cross over campaign to choose Bernie over Biden and the rest of the field, or all of the above.
When Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress on July 24, 2019, he testified that the Russians were interfering in our election, even as he testified before the House Judiciary Committee, andin this very primary election for president underway in 2020 — https://youtu.be/XfDUm8bcAX4
I fully realize that to talk somewhat dispassionately about the candidates, as counters in a high stakes political manipulation, is annoying and upsetting to advocates for the individual candidates.
But these are the unfortunate facts, the deceptive methods in motion, and it doesn’t appear we have anything we can do to stop this nonsense before we convene the convention, and even then, it may be too late.
Those State Dem Parties that are running these primaries and caucuses are, in many cases, allowing Republicans and Independents to appear, to declare themselves Democrats to vote moments after they so (falsely) declare, and then they vote for Bernie (of course, not all of them, but enough).
I have reports from those in the various states that this cross over phenomenon is real.
The most transparent example of this cross over strategy is ongoing on in South Carolina, and this is the case as the polls are due to open Saturday morning.
The South Carolina Republicans are even on line, facebook and other outlets, telling their party members to do exactly this — to cross over — they are saying, “We’re asking South Carolina Republicans to show their support for President Trump by crossing over and voting in the Democratic primary for Senator Bernie Sanders.” You can hear them say this for yourself right here on a link Bill Kristol posted on twitter -https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1232731739467976704
Trump said to a crowd the night before the South Carolina primary — “Are we allowed to tell them who we would like them to vote for?” Trump asked supporters during a rally in North Charleston, seeking his supporters’ opinion on who “the best candidate for us” would be.
After two surveys of the crowd, Trump determined the crowd felt Sanders was the choice.
There are those who challenge the dem party convention rule that says if a candidate does not get 1,991 delegates on the first ballot, then the delegates are free to vote for any nominee, and so may delegates who are elected officials — the so-called “super delegates” — vote for whomever they prefer.
It seems unlikely at this writing that any candidate will have a majority to win on the first ballot at the convention. So there may very well be a 2nd ballot.
Some say this is unfair, to have the 2nd ballot, and not defer to the nominee leader of the first ballot, and some object to super delegates weighin in, but it is the rule and all the candidates have known the rule.
There has been some push back against choosing a nominee who only secured a plurality of the delegates needed. And that’s part of the policy concern to have a 2nd ballot.
Some consider this 2nd ballot rule un-democratic, but these caucuses and primaries are flawed for the reasons stated here, and the question is how do Democrats fix, or remedy, what is wrong and transparently manipulated.
At the law, we say things like, ubi injuria, ibi remedia, meaning “where there is a wrong, there is a remedy.” Well it’s a hard truth that there is not always a remedy.
In the future, the parties could insist, as some states do, on party registration. and that you can’t vote in a caucus or primary unless registered as a partisan, but that can’t be changed so easily or changed at all this year.
In the present, it is possible that Bernie will suffer, and perhaps rightly, for being used in this election, if the public takes notice of the interference and sharp practices of the Republican party.
If that happens, that Bernie loses dem votes, it will be for fear that his campaign has been unfairly enhanced by the Russians and Trump who would choose him over other candidates by these cross-over votes.
For a variety of reasons, I’ve preferred Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President.
Others have preferred other candidates.
I understand that.
In this election, days may be a political lifetime, meaning things may change dramatically between now and November.
But replacing this corrupt autocrat is the democratic objective and we have to bend to that objective if we care about restoring law and order to the West Wing and our dystopic cabinet and the Senate and the Courts.
What’s not going away is the interference of the Russians and the Republicans infecting the caucuses and primaries with their votes to prefer who they believe is a weaker democratic adversary, and our nominee, for the general election.
Some cite polls for the strength of this or that candidate.
Bernie is among those doing just that.
Does anyone want to re-visit the reliability of the polls from 2016 when former Senator, First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was favored in the polls?
Also, I repeat myself, we are light years from the presidential vote in November. A poll is a snapshot not a guarantee of anything.
The South Carolina Republican Party is calling its initiative “Operation Chaos.”
Give them credit for fairly describing their initiative- as “chaos.”
It’s up to us to improvise politically to blunt the deception of the Russians and the once GOP, and to find ways, legal and righteous, to choose the best nominee we can.
Or Trump will have slipped the law and fairness once again.
JPF
