Well Bob,
I was a young adult, just finishing graduate school and starting to work as
a social worker when JFK was elected. He was young and charismatic and
glamorous, and he gave lovely speeches. But he didn't give a damn about poor
and working people. It was Johnson who passed social legislation, and that
was because he was very political and he responded to political pressure. He
was not glamorous or popular. He was a real bastard. But his Great Society
programs were good and might have really helped, had the money not been
eventually drained away to fund the war in Vietnam. When I look back, I
realize how much I was captured by all the mythology dished out to us by our
government via the media, every day. It's only in retrospect, as I can look
back, and because I've been able to read so much stuff and listen to stuff
and compare what is happening now to what happened in the past, that I
realize how brainwashed all of us have been for most of the time.
Miriam
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Bob Hachey (Redacted
sender "bhachey" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, March 5, 2020 10:47 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Who's zooming who?
Hi Miriam,
I do agree with you here for the most part except I do believe that the
Kenedies did try to make life better for the middle and lower classes. I
think that dureing the 1960's, the Democrats still tried to forward FDR type
domestic policies. But in the 1970's with Carter and friends the democrats
really lost their way domestically and this was ensconced into party
leadership all the way by the time we got to Bil Clinton.
IN so many ways, this whole thing seems like a dog and pony show that has
been fixed from the get go.
One thing has stayed the same. The majority of Americans are sick to death
of the status quo which is why they keep on voting over and over again for
the change candidate.
Bob Hachey
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2020 9:51 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Who's zooming who?
It all depends on which articles one chooses to believe. I've read the
Sanders is the only opponent whom Trump really fears.
It is my belief, and this is only after having been a loyal member of the
Democratic Party for my whole life, (I am now 82 years of age), that the
Democratic Party has changed radically over the years, but that it never,
except during FDR's presidency, was a party that cared about poor and
working people. It has taken on socially liberal values and it appeals to
educated people who have those values. But when you look at what it has
actually been doing in terms of foreign policy ever since the end of world
ward 2, it has a terrible record. For a time, it relucdtantly served
unionized workers, white ones. My disillusionment with the party is like
the terrible crisis I went through when I truly understood the nature of
what Israel is and how it came to be. What the Democdratic Party has going
for it now, is that it opposes Trump. But I would remind you that Trump was
a democrat until he ran for President. He contributed lots of money which
the party happily accepted. He and his family were friends with the Clintons
and they attended the same social functions.
I find it extremely disturbing to watch how almost everyone who is
approximately 40 years of age and older, has been so completely captured by
the establishment media, that they are completely unaware of the constant
stream of lies and distortions that are being churned out. Everyone takes a
position that feels comfortable, and then chooses whatever they hear or read
that appears to verify what they already believe.
Miriam
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Thursday, March 5, 2020 8:08 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Who's zooming who?
For the past 6 years or so when I hear all of these supposed far-left
pundits, authors and podcasters trying to convince people that the
Democratic party is out to get Bernie Sanders and that we all should either
not vote or vote against the Democrats I have to ask myself who is lining
their pockets? This well written article makes it quite clear who is behind
all of these far-left attacks on the Democratic party.
Why Trump wants Bernie Sanders to win the Democratic nomination
President Trump
President Trump speaks at a rally in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 10, the night
before the state primary. He urged registered independents in the crowd to
vote for the "weakest" Democrat. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
By Noah Bierman | Staff Writer
Feb. 28, 2020|4 AM
With Sanders hoping to lock down a clear delegate lead after the
all-important Super Tuesday contests on March 3, Trump also is playing a
card that fires up his own base, taunting the iconoclastic senator from
Vermont as a "crazy" socialist who would lead the country into economic ruin
if elected.
Sometimes he combines the two messages. After Sanders won the Feb. 22 Nevada
caucuses, for example, Trump congratulated "Crazy Bernie" in a tweet,
warning "Don't let them take it away from you!"
On Tuesday in New Delhi, Trump claimed without evidence that Democrats had
leaked intelligence to undermine Sanders' campaign. Democrats "don't want
him, so they put out a thing that Russia is backing him," Trump said.
And in South Carolina, where registered voters can vote in either party
primary, Republican activists urged Trump supporters to vote for Sanders in
Saturday's Democratic primary - echoing Trump's instructions to New
Hampshire independents to "vote for the weakest candidate" before that
state's primary.
"The only thing better for Trump than Bernie Sanders getting screwed out of
the nomination is if Bernie Sanders wins the nomination," said Michael
Caputo, who worked on the 2016 campaign and remains in touch with Trump's
advisors. "It's a win-win situation."
Many of Trump's allies see Sanders as the most beatable Democrat in
November, although there is growing debate over whether they are
underestimating Sanders' ability to galvanize a hidden bloc of disgruntled
voters, as Trump did in 2016.
Sanders' thumping win in the Nevada caucuses, where he swept every voting
group except people over 65, stunned operatives in both parties. The results
suggested for the first time that he could build a broad-based coalition, as
he long has claimed.
Unlike in 2016, Sanders had a hand in crafting the Democrats' nominating
rules this year, giving him less room to argue that the process was designed
to make him fail.
But if he loses the nomination, Trump wants Sanders' impassioned supporters
to believe he was cheated so they will either stay home on Election Day or
vote for Trump. The two share some of the same raw populist rhetoric on
trade and elites, despite fundamentally different ideologies, grievances and
solutions.
"The last time we had a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters," Trump told a TV
station in Arizona, which holds its primary on March 17. "If they take it
away from him like they did the last time, I really believe you're going to
have - you're gonna have a very riotous time in the Democrat Party, because
they really, they did a lot of numbers on him."
Stirring dissent in the opposition party "makes sense," said a Republican
operative with close ties to the White House, who requested anonymity to
reveal internal strategy discussions. "When the big man is already talking
about it, I can guarantee you it will be front and center" in the campaign.
If Sanders wins the most delegates but loses the nomination at a brokered
Democratic convention, "it will be seen as outrageous by his folks, and I
know our campaign and our party will gaslight that," the operative said.
It's a reboot of what Trump believes worked well for him in 2016, when he
capitalized on bitter disillusionment from Sanders' supporters during the
senator's first presidential run. Trump was aided by hacked Democratic Party
emails showing party leaders favored the ultimate nominee, Hillary Clinton.
Russian intelligence operatives stole and released thousands of internal
emails and other documents in an effort to boost Trump's chances, according
to U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Political operatives long have mounted backroom efforts to disrupt opposing
campaigns, sometimes illegally. But Trump's overt calls to interfere in the
Democratic primaries, and sow doubt about the results, shows him bulldozing
another democratic norm from the Oval Office.
"It's terrible and it's very harmful as we try to have a nation where
there's true democracy," said Tad Devine, Sanders' chief strategist in 2016
and a veteran of previous Democratic campaigns. "He's undermining it at
every turn."
Trump likely will get help from a Republican party that is firmly in his
control.
Nate Leupp, who chairs the Republican Party in Greenville, S.C., is one of
several county leaders who publicly urged Republicans to vote for Sanders in
Saturday's primary. The Republicans canceled their primary in the state this
year.
Leupp cited several goals, including frustrating the Democratic
establishment and weakening Joe Biden, who is counting on the state to
revive his flagging campaign. Leupp has since pulled back from his official
calls for cross-party voting, saying party activists should lead such
efforts.
Trump believes he can woo Sanders voters. In a secret recording of a 2018
dinner that was released last month, Trump claimed without evidence that he
won 20% of Sanders' disaffected voters in 2016 after Clinton won the
nomination in a bitter primary fight.
"All those people that hated her so much voted for me," Trump said. Sanders
"basically says we're getting screwed on trade and he's right. I'm worse
than he is, and we can do something about [the trade imbalance]. I don't
know if he could have."
Pollsters did not find evidence that Trump won a sizable share of Sanders'
supporters. But they both draw from a similar set of male blue-collar
workers and others frustrated with globalization and eager to take down the
establishment.
"Populist sentiment drives both the Trump candidacy and the Sanders
candidacy, so it makes sense that there would be some overlap in their
support," said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster who works for congressional
candidates.
But Ayres argues that Sanders is Trump's ideal opponent in a head-to-head
race, noting that Democrats who helped win control of the House in 2018
mostly ran on moderate platforms. Sanders, he said, is "exactly the wrong
candidate" for suburban women who are crucial to the Democratic base.
Some Trump allies worry he may be boosting a candidate who has created a
movement, exciting young people and other new voters, and see his
broad-based Nevada win as a possible red flag.
"Be careful what you wish for with Bernie Sanders," said Sam Nunberg, a
former Trump campaign advisor. "It's not as if the president got close to
50% nationally last time."
Clinton won nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in 2016, but Trump won
the electoral college thanks to narrow wins in several swing states.
Noah Bierman
twitter
instagram
email
facebook
Noah Bierman covers the White House in Washington, D.C., for the Los Angeles
Times. He previously wrote for the paper's national desk.
