Miriam:
Do you know of a procedure available to us to actually read some of
these 'leaks' ?
Richard
On 8/2/2016 4:34 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
The Un-Democratic National Committee
Tuesday, 02 August 2016 00:00 By Elizabeth Schulte, Socialist Worker | Op-Ed
Wikileaks' release of nearly 20,000 e-mails and more than 8,000 attachments
from seven officials on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) just before
the party's convention meant a quick end for Debbie Wasserman Schultz's
position as DNC chair, after the e-mails revealed favoritism toward the
Clinton campaign and organized hostility to rival Bernie Sanders.
But if the e-mails -- and the convention itself -- show anything, it's the
undemocratic nature of the whole Democratic Party, and firing one official
won't come close to fixing that.
The e-mails paint a picture of a party infrastructure that was not only
rigged for the establishment choice in the presidential nomination race, but
that trades lucrative donations for access on a daily basis.
The e-mails, which span the period from January 2015 to late May 2016, are
crystal clear about party insiders' view of Bernie Sanders' left-wing
campaign for the nomination. Probably the most quoted one since their
release is a May 5 e-mail in which a DNC staffer questions Sanders'
religious beliefs. Under the subject line "No shit," DNC CFO Brad Marshall
wrote:
It might may [sic] no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to
ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a
Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several
points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big
difference between a Jew and an atheist.
He adds, "It's these [sic] Jesus thing" -- to which DNC CEO Amy Dacey
responds: "AMEN."
In e-mail correspondence, former DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz, who is
supposed to be unbiased during the nomination process, doesn't bother hiding
her contempt for Sanders and his campaign. In response to Sanders' claim
that if elected, he would get her out of her DNC chair position, she
commented: "This is a silly story. He isn't going to be president.
It will have surprised no one that after Wasserman Schultz was forced to
resign as DNC chair, she quickly got a new title: honorary chair of the
Clinton's 50-state campaign to boost the chances of Democratic candidates.
The leaked e-mails also reveal the DNC's close working relationships with
key members of the Clinton team. For instance, when the Sanders campaign was
drawing attention to the Clinton campaign using funds earmarked for state
campaigns under the auspices of the DNC, committee staffers got some useful
advice -- from Clinton's campaign lawyer.
"My suggestion is that the DNC put out a statement saying that the
accusations the Sanders campaign are not true," attorney Marc Elias wrote on
May 3 in response to an e-mail sent by communications director Luis Miranda
to other DNC staff that copied Elias and another lawyer at his firm, Perkins
Coie.
Of course, this isn't the first time the DNC has shown how cozy it is with
the Clinton campaign. It was revealed earlier this year that in Nevada, the
Clinton campaign rented offices inside the DNC offices in Carson City. You
remember Nevada, right? Where during the May convention, chair Roberta Lange
ignored motions from the floor and miscalled voice votes obviously favoring
Sanders -- and then accused Sanders supporters of "rioting."
***
But even more revealing than the DNC's ties to Clinton is its intimate
connection to money and power.
Many of the leaked e-mails concern where major donors will sit at gala
events, and their proximity to President Barack Obama and other top
government officials. DNC staffers pored over the seating charts for the
convention, deciding which donors would be relegated to the far corners and
which would get star treatment.
Some contributors are offered the chance to join "roundtables," where they
could take part in discussions about national economic and social policy.
In one leaked e-mail attachment, a menu of contributions and corresponding
rewards are listed. For a donor to reach the "Rittenhouse Square" level,
they had to raise a minimum of $1.25 million or personally give $467,600.
Among the perks they received in return:
Priority booking in a premiere hotel within the National Finance Committee
room block
• VIP credentials for all Democratic National Convention proceedings
• Nightly access to stadium/arena VIP lounges
• Six tickets for an exclusive preview and photo opportunity at the
2016 Convention podium
• Six reserved places for an exclusive roundtable and campaign
briefing with high-level Democratic officials
In one e-mail, Alexandra Shapiro, a deputy to the national finance chair,
laments the news that Obama wouldn't make it to an event in in Chevy Chase,
Maryland, to secure $350,000 in donations. Shapiro writes, "so they really
won't come down 20 minutes? thats fucking stupid."
***
But you didn't need a leaked e-mail to recognize the lack of democracy --
hidden in plain sight -- at the Democratic convention.
On the convention floor, delegates reported DNC handlers ripping signs from
their hands or turning the lights out if they tried to raise demands that
didn't fit the Clinton campaign's script -- like opposition to the
Trans-Pacific Partnership or fracking, chanting "No More Wars" or simply
supporting their candidate Bernie Sanders.
Delegates who had protest signs weren't allowed to enter the convention, and
their seats were filled with replacements so that the arena still looked
full.
The protest placards might have marred the picture-perfect sea of signs that
the DNC planned for each speech: "USA" signs for ex-CIA ghoul Leon Panetta;
"Change Maker" for former President Bill Clinton of crime bill and welfare
"reform" fame; and "Stronger Together" for Bernie Sanders, when he took the
convention stage to call on his supporters to abandon their hopes for an
alternative and fall in line behind Clinton.
Several hundred delegates took part in walkouts from the convention -- one
marched to a media tent to hold a silent vigil. In order to be seen on the
darkened convention floor on the last day, one group of Sanders delegates
wore lime-green T-shirts that glowed in the dark and read, "Enough is
enough."
But if you watched the convention from home, you probably didn't see any of
this. Instead, you probably saw network broadcasters talk about the
"historic" nomination of a woman presidential candidate -- or compliment the
DNC's stage-management, oohing and awing at every say-nothing speech or
maneuver to keep Sanders supporters in line.
The Democratic convention is the most undemocratic moment in a long election
year that is exposing the undemocratic nature of the US political system in
general -- and the Democratic Party in particular.
A system where millions are unable to even register to vote because they
were caught in the net of the criminal justice system and their state
doesn't allow felons to vote. A system where the political conventions
aren't about democratically debating and electing a candidate, but wining
and dining rich donors. A political system where the "official" choices are
so narrow that the choice is between the "lesser evil" and "greater evil."
Carlos Marroquin, a convention guest from California, was among those
protesting the alleged purge of some 2 million voters from the rolls before
the California primary. He told Democracy Now!:
[W]e represent literally millions of young people that...put their lives on
hold, so that they can actually go out there and register other people to
vote. We have children. We want to teach them the right way.
We want to teach them responsibility, to vote...We cannot do that in good
faith, to tell them, "Go ahead and be a Democrat, because they are going to
stand up for the rights of the people." They're not doing that. Why? Why is
it that they are so quiet, suppressing the vote of the people?...
And if you think that we are leaving out of this convention inspired, you're
wrong. We are leaving out of here divided. We have broken hearts.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
ELIZABETH SCHULTE
Elizabeth Schulte is a journalist and reviews editor for the Socialist
Worker, writing frequently on low-wage workers, the Democratic Party and
women's liberation.
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By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video Report
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By Juan González, Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video Interview
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________________________________________
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The Un-Democratic National Committee
Tuesday, 02 August 2016 00:00 By Elizabeth Schulte, Socialist Worker | Op-Ed
• font size Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.
• Wikileaks' release of nearly 20,000 e-mails and more than 8,000
attachments from seven officials on the Democratic National Committee (DNC)
just before the party's convention meant a quick end for Debbie Wasserman
Schultz's position as DNC chair, after the e-mails revealed favoritism
toward the Clinton campaign and organized hostility to rival Bernie Sanders.
• But if the e-mails -- and the convention itself -- show anything,
it's the undemocratic nature of the whole Democratic Party, and firing one
official won't come close to fixing that.
The e-mails paint a picture of a party infrastructure that was not only
rigged for the establishment choice in the presidential nomination race, but
that trades lucrative donations for access on a daily basis.
The e-mails, which span the period from January 2015 to late May 2016, are
crystal clear about party insiders' view of Bernie Sanders' left-wing
campaign for the nomination. Probably the most quoted one since their
release is a May 5 e-mail in which a DNC staffer questions Sanders'
religious beliefs. Under the subject line "No shit," DNC CFO Brad Marshall
wrote:
It might may [sic] no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to
ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a
Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several
points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big
difference between a Jew and an atheist.
He adds, "It's these [sic] Jesus thing" -- to which DNC CEO Amy Dacey
responds: "AMEN."
In e-mail correspondence, former DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz, who is
supposed to be unbiased during the nomination process, doesn't bother hiding
her contempt for Sanders and his campaign. In response to Sanders' claim
that if elected, he would get her out of her DNC chair position, she
commented: "This is a silly story. He isn't going to be president.
It will have surprised no one that after Wasserman Schultz was forced to
resign as DNC chair, she quickly got a new title: honorary chair of the
Clinton's 50-state campaign to boost the chances of Democratic candidates.
The leaked e-mails also reveal the DNC's close working relationships with
key members of the Clinton team. For instance, when the Sanders campaign was
drawing attention to the Clinton campaign using funds earmarked for state
campaigns under the auspices of the DNC, committee staffers got some useful
advice -- from Clinton's campaign lawyer.
"My suggestion is that the DNC put out a statement saying that the
accusations the Sanders campaign are not true," attorney Marc Elias wrote on
May 3 in response to an e-mail sent by communications director Luis Miranda
to other DNC staff that copied Elias and another lawyer at his firm, Perkins
Coie.
Of course, this isn't the first time the DNC has shown how cozy it is with
the Clinton campaign. It was revealed earlier this year that in Nevada, the
Clinton campaign rented offices inside the DNC offices in Carson City. You
remember Nevada, right? Where during the May convention, chair Roberta Lange
ignored motions from the floor and miscalled voice votes obviously favoring
Sanders -- and then accused Sanders supporters of "rioting."
***
But even more revealing than the DNC's ties to Clinton is its intimate
connection to money and power.
Many of the leaked e-mails concern where major donors will sit at gala
events, and their proximity to President Barack Obama and other top
government officials. DNC staffers pored over the seating charts for the
convention, deciding which donors would be relegated to the far corners and
which would get star treatment.
Some contributors are offered the chance to join "roundtables," where they
could take part in discussions about national economic and social policy.
In one leaked e-mail attachment, a menu of contributions and corresponding
rewards are listed. For a donor to reach the "Rittenhouse Square" level,
they had to raise a minimum of $1.25 million or personally give $467,600.
Among the perks they received in return:
Priority booking in a premiere hotel within the National Finance Committee
room block
• VIP credentials for all Democratic National Convention proceedings
• Nightly access to stadium/arena VIP lounges
• Six tickets for an exclusive preview and photo opportunity at the
2016 Convention podium
• Six reserved places for an exclusive roundtable and campaign
briefing with high-level Democratic officials
In one e-mail, Alexandra Shapiro, a deputy to the national finance chair,
laments the news that Obama wouldn't make it to an event in in Chevy Chase,
Maryland, to secure $350,000 in donations. Shapiro writes, "so they really
won't come down 20 minutes? thats fucking stupid."
***
But you didn't need a leaked e-mail to recognize the lack of democracy --
hidden in plain sight -- at the Democratic convention.
On the convention floor, delegates reported DNC handlers ripping signs from
their hands or turning the lights out if they tried to raise demands that
didn't fit the Clinton campaign's script -- like opposition to the
Trans-Pacific Partnership or fracking, chanting "No More Wars" or simply
supporting their candidate Bernie Sanders.
Delegates who had protest signs weren't allowed to enter the convention, and
their seats were filled with replacements so that the arena still looked
full.
The protest placards might have marred the picture-perfect sea of signs that
the DNC planned for each speech: "USA" signs for ex-CIA ghoul Leon Panetta;
"Change Maker" for former President Bill Clinton of crime bill and welfare
"reform" fame; and "Stronger Together" for Bernie Sanders, when he took the
convention stage to call on his supporters to abandon their hopes for an
alternative and fall in line behind Clinton.
Several hundred delegates took part in walkouts from the convention -- one
marched to a media tent to hold a silent vigil. In order to be seen on the
darkened convention floor on the last day, one group of Sanders delegates
wore lime-green T-shirts that glowed in the dark and read, "Enough is
enough."
But if you watched the convention from home, you probably didn't see any of
this. Instead, you probably saw network broadcasters talk about the
"historic" nomination of a woman presidential candidate -- or compliment the
DNC's stage-management, oohing and awing at every say-nothing speech or
maneuver to keep Sanders supporters in line.
The Democratic convention is the most undemocratic moment in a long election
year that is exposing the undemocratic nature of the US political system in
general -- and the Democratic Party in particular.
A system where millions are unable to even register to vote because they
were caught in the net of the criminal justice system and their state
doesn't allow felons to vote. A system where the political conventions
aren't about democratically debating and electing a candidate, but wining
and dining rich donors. A political system where the "official" choices are
so narrow that the choice is between the "lesser evil" and "greater evil."
Carlos Marroquin, a convention guest from California, was among those
protesting the alleged purge of some 2 million voters from the rolls before
the California primary. He told Democracy Now!:
[W]e represent literally millions of young people that...put their lives on
hold, so that they can actually go out there and register other people to
vote. We have children. We want to teach them the right way.
We want to teach them responsibility, to vote...We cannot do that in good
faith, to tell them, "Go ahead and be a Democrat, because they are going to
stand up for the rights of the people." They're not doing that. Why? Why is
it that they are so quiet, suppressing the vote of the people?...
And if you think that we are leaving out of this convention inspired, you're
wrong. We are leaving out of here divided. We have broken hearts.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
Elizabeth Schulte
Elizabeth Schulte is a journalist and reviews editor for the Socialist
Worker, writing frequently on low-wage workers, the Democratic Party and
women's liberation.
Related Stories
DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Faces Criticism for Bias and Opening Up DNC to
Lobbyists
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video ReportWikiLeaks' Julian Assange on
Releasing DNC Emails That Ousted Debbie Wasserman Schultz
By Juan González, Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video InterviewDebbie
Wasserman Schultz Resigns in Disgrace, Only to Be Elevated by Clinton to Key
Campaign Role
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet | News Analysis
Show Comments
