Saturday, July 16, 2016

Stronger together? Explain this, Hillary.

Hillary says, "We're stronger together." Well, I'd like to believe her. But she's not acting that way. Someone did some very interesting research and found that everyone in recent history that has been caught violating federal secrecy rules has been tried and convicted. Most while Hillary was Secretary of State. Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept notes with interest how the Obama Administration has prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act than all other administrations combined. He also notes this:
This extreme, unforgiving, unreasonable, excessive posture toward classified information came to an instant halt in Washington today — just in time to save Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations. FBI Director James Comey, an Obama appointee who served in the Bush DOJ, held a press conference earlier this afternoon in which he condemned Clinton on the ground that she and her colleagues were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information,” including top-secret material.
So on the day that James Comey made his announcement that Hillary would not be referred for indictment, that pattern of excessive punitive action towards those who betray secrecy rules stopped with Hillary Clinton. As far as Clinton is concerned, we're all in this together, except for laws that we all must obey. Then she gets to skate. Yeah, we're together alright. She has the courage of conviction as long as it's not hers.

Then came the endorsement on July 12th. What I witnessed on that date was nothing short of astonishing. To see Bernie with a bright red face, giving a speech he wanted to give, but giving the endorsement that he didn't want to give, was a demonstration of monumental restraint on his part. 

Bernie or Bust fans were not amused. The more reasoned among them could figure out that Bernie was playing chess with the DNC. We know his hand was forced, and he made a bet, so to speak. OK, you have your endorsement two weeks before the convention. Now watch and see what happens. 

The endorsement changed nothing. In fact, it only made things worse for Hillary. Many are still #neverhillary, #stillsanders and some, probably in the heat of the moment, declared they were voting for Trump. That endorsement only stoked the fire of all who oppose Hillary, this writer included. The memes of that day were unforgettable. Many seemed to borrow liberally from the movie, "300", with viscerally moving pictures of the mood changing from sadness in the morning to fierce defiance by the end of the day. I'd like to show you one sample I'll never forget, but they are damn hard to find right now.

What happened? Hillary is dropping in the polls and is tied or behind Trump in some key swing states. National polling between Clinton and Trump is now very close to or at the margin of error. Donations to the Green Party are going through the roof, though I don't see them as a serious contender as Jill Stein is on the ballot in only 23 states. If you wan to see her on the ballot, get moving. I'm #stillsanders.

The day after the endorsement, Bernie gave a speech with nary a single mention of Hillary. A few hours after the endorsement, he had a conference call to round up all delegates and get them to convention. He's organized funding for those delegates to make sure they get there, too. I'd say that all out war has been declared, but you wouldn't know it by reading the mainstream media headlines. Are we together? It's hard to tell.

Republicans are still mounting challenges to Clinton in Congress, too. But don't get your hopes up. I think they'd rather wait until after she's secured the nomination to sick the FBI on her. And that is if she really does secure the nomination. There is also plenty of litigation to go around this election, too. In California, they're suing over election fraud that swung the votes in favor of Hillary. I suspect that there will be a few delays in certifying the votes in at least a few states.

If you're looking for uncertainty that Hillary will be nominated, it's easy to find. If you're hoping that Bernie will be nominated, you're not alone. You can stoke that hope by lobbying a superdelegate, too. Millions are beside you, like me, looking forward to that day in Philadelphia when we can declare Bernie the nominee.

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