[quote]By Prashant Shankar
Online Writer
Graphic by Ana Bicolli[/quote]
Barring a few Sanders upsets in states like New York and Pennsylvania, Clinton is poised to win the Democratic nomination. Throughout the primary season, many Bernie Sanders supporters have started to dislike Hillary Clinton, and either refuse to vote or vote third party in the general election if she wins the nomination. An NBC/WSJ poll in March showed 33 percent of Sanders supporters refuse to vote for Clinton in the general if she wins. It’s a growing movement titled as #Bernieorbust, and has drawn attention from celebrities like Susan Sarandon and Bill Maher, with mixed reception. The notion of not voting for Hillary has been met with criticism that this discourages party unity and could damage the Democratic party. In fact, Clinton’s campaign stated after Sanders’ win in Wisconsin that its plan is to “Disqualify [Sanders], defeat him, and unify the party later.”
After a week of Clinton claiming New York guns mainly come from Vermont, feeling “sorry” for all the young people that support Sanders over her, and even resorting to blaming him for the Sandy Hook tragedy, she expects Sanders supporters to like her, and wants to “unify the party.”
Wait, what? Did I hear that correctly?
Yes, one of the least likable candidates in the race who unjustly attacks and slanders everyone in their way expects you to vote for her in November. If you ask me, I’m not voting for a candidate who ignores me, resorts to mudslinging, and takes millions from everything that doesn’t represent me, like the fossil fuel industry, pharmaceutical industry, and Goldman Sachs. I don’t “vote blue no matter who,” I vote based on a candidate’s policy and character, and Hillary does not live up to my requirements.
But the issue of #Bernieorbust goes past what just Clinton does or says. Many Sanders supporters have criticized the Democratic National Convention (or DNC) heavily, accusing them of rigging the system in Clinton’s favor, and turning a blind eye to her dirty tricks.
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One of the largest discussed examples of DNC corruption is the very concept of superdelegates. Superdelegates are elected officials who don’t have to vote with how their states vote when it comes to selecting the Democratic nominee. Yes, I know why superdelegates were created in the 1970s, but it’s outdated, and still an undemocratic process. One notable example of superdelegates voting against the people’s will was the New Hampshire primary. Bernie Sanders got 60.4 percent of the vote to Hillary Clinton’s 38 percent, and as a result, Sanders got 15 delegates to Clinton’s nine. But six of eight New Hampshire superdelegates (two are still uncommitted) backed Clinton, meaning that Sanders tied Clinton in New Hampshire despite getting 22.4 percent more of the vote. There have been countless states where Sanders has gotten at least 70 percent of the vote, but superdelegates still back Clinton. When CNN’s Jake Tapper asked after the New Hampshire primary why superdelegates existed, DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz stated “Unpledged delegates exist really to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don’t have to be in a position where they are running against grass-roots activists.” If you didn’t get what she meant, she meant that superdelegates are a system put in place to prevent candidates that are actually supported by the people, and instead keep the current system in place that’ll never listen to you. And guess what? If candidates supported by the Democratic establishment continue to win because of this system, Sanders supporters will never get the campaign finance reform they desire. Clinton has no motive to change campaign finance rules when she benefits the most from it, considering she’s raised $55 million dollars in SuperPAC money. Clinton’s campaign even had the nerve to accuse Sanders of “rigging the system” when it came to superdelegates, despite the fact that Clinton had hundreds backing her months before she even announced her run for president, something that would be unheard of in any other developed country. The more I talk about the rigged process, the harder it is to wrap my head around why anyone supporting Sanders would be willing to vote for Clinton come November. She represents everything Sanders supporters fight against.
Both the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign have also turned a blind eye to all the voting issues Independents and Democrats have faced in the primary process. The Democratic Party often prides themselves on opposing voter suppression, but after this election cycle, it’s clear the Republican and Democrat establishments are two sides of the same coin. Voting suppression happens in many forms, such as strict voting laws, very specific requirements, voter intimidation, or sometimes directly throwing votes in the trash, which was something a Hillary representative was caught doing in the Hawaii caucuses. Suspicious acts have been committed all election cycle that have affected both parties, such as Arizona’s Maricopa County closing dozens of polling booths resulting in five hour long lines. Just take a second to imagine what waiting in a line for five hours in humid weather feels like. Would you stay in line? That was an issue that affected everyone of both parties in Arizona, but what about the other unexplained incidents? Like Democrats mysteriously having their party identification changed days before a closed primary like New York or Arizona occurs. Or Bill Clinton blocking off access to polling stations in Massachusetts. Or Clinton getting a mysteriously high amount of absentee ballots from nursing homes. To clarify what I mean by that, there have been multiple instances in caucuses where hundreds of absentee/surrogate ballots from nursing homes are shipped in. This is done by SuperPACs sending mail-in absentee/surrogate ballots to nursing homes telling them to vote for a candidate (Clinton), and paying for the return postage. There have been reports of caucus sites in Wyoming and Nebraska where Sanders supporters outnumber Clinton’s 200-10, but the Clinton supporters coincidentally have upwards of 300 surrogate ballots with them, leading to a Clinton victory. This method is called “granny farming,” which is illegal in places like the United Kingdom. So if you’re wondering where Clinton’s 2 million vote lead comes from, it’s likely mainly from nursing homes where Clinton sends hundreds of absentee ballots for elders to fill out. Issues like these are normally issues the Democrats stand up against, but they refuse to even recognize these voting issues, largely due to the fact that Clinton has benefited largely from voter suppression in the primaries. The fact that you had to change your registration status to Democratic six months before the New York primary, before the first Democratic debate even happened, is ridiculous. The DNC have hand-picked their candidates for years, and don’t want any of you getting in their way. I can’t believe there was a time I believed the DNC would be above the Republican National Committee, but with both parties corrupt to the core, something has to change, which includes who you vote for.
Look, I get that some Sanders supporters still want to vote for Clinton because she’s the “better of two evils,” and “at least she’s better than Trump.” The issue is, she takes as much corporate money and is just as corrupt and manipulative as any Republican nominee, if not more. To vote for Clinton in November would be to go against Sanders’ ideals of fighting the corrupt politicians who take corporate money. To vote for Clinton would be to not only accept, but reward the DNC for contributing to the issue that is our undemocratic process. You’d be contributing to the problem that is the two-party system, and you’re better off voting third party to preserve your dignity. I’d argue Trump supporters should give the RNC the same treatment if they undemocratically steal the nomination from him in a brokered convention. Whether you agree with Trump or not doesn’t change the fact that the process is rigged against him too in a similar manner.
Sorry Hillary, sorry Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and sorry DNC, but I’m not going to reward you for rigging the system, alienating the people that once supported you, and turning a blind eye to fraudulent tactics. I don’t think my family is interested in voting for whoever the Republican nominee is, but one thing’s for sure: They definitely aren’t voting for Hillary Clinton.
*Disclaimer: This article is categorized as Opinions. The views of this article are that of the writer and do not represent the Stampede staff as a whole and should not be interpreted as a staff editorial.
Peter Hans Frohwein • Apr 25, 2016 at 8:00 pm
Hillary’s internet trolls attacking us online, as Bernie supporters IS NOT the way to unify the party. Spirited debate is one thing. And, We welcome that. Abusive language, factless ranting and hateful personal attacks are COMPLETELY unacceptable ! WE WILL NOT support someone who supports and condones this behavior !
See • Apr 22, 2016 at 2:38 pm
Your poll overlooks the best choice of all – a write in for our man Bernie. #BernieOrBust
Dee Spano • Apr 20, 2016 at 9:51 pm
I will not vote for $hillery or Dump the Trump their view’s are very contrary to mine. I dislike liar’s, cheats, thief’s people I hold responsible for the deaths of others. I also don’t like people who are racisit, preach hate against others. People who who call themselves Christian and don’t live by Christ’s teachings.
Thomas Carragher • Apr 18, 2016 at 1:30 pm
Trump is the one and only republican I’ll would choose to vote if I was old enough and my parents will too. The other reason why I like trump is that he’s not politician and he does not believe in the media that is why I like trump. VOTE FOR TRUMP! 2016
Don • Apr 15, 2016 at 1:30 pm
There’s no such thing as “free college”. All this plan will do is send college prices skyrocketing, just like the guaranteed college loans have done. When any company can charge whatever it likes, prices will rise. I haven’t heard anything in the plan that caps annual price increases, limits the number of years the benefit will pay for, or anything else that will keep that from happening.
kirfy • Jun 6, 2016 at 12:51 pm
As opposed to the college prices which are reasonable now? The outrage presently is a response to college prices already skyrocketing! However, Wall Street is so rich that it can give it’s CEO’s and other’s huge millions of dollar bonuses each year. They make trillions of dollars on Wall Street. A small tax on Wall Street profits could easily cover college costs, despite the costs being quite hefty for individuals. It wouldn’t be a hefty cost for Wall Street, and in turn they would get more educated professionals that have money to re-invest on Wall Street. This will fuel a symbiotic relationship, which will help change the system to one that benefits all people, not just those at the top. Since Wall Street is hugely profitable, it can set aside resources to pay for college in the less successful Wall Street years. This should be a static program, like Social Security and medicare. Why would it have to be limited to a number of years. We need to make sure there are programs that benefit all American’s, so the money doesn’t just concentrate in the top 2%. Of course, if we had a functioning congress we could hammer out the details to cap price increases or tweak it however necessary. However, if you paid close attention to republican votes, they have been busy trying to derail public healthcare (despite people paying for it out of their own pockets), privatize or eliminate Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, food stamps, minimizing financial aid and otherwise getting rid of any social welfare programs that benefit the vast majority. They have demonized average american’s being moochers/takers/lazy, rather than all of us benefitting by putting all our resources together. That is America. Looking out for each other. Not, this is mine, and you get what you deserve. We need to be compassionate toward one another and not get turned against each other. If we had a government that worked for us and not corporations, perhaps we would be able to achieve a society that looked out for all of us and not the 1%.That is how we truly make America great again.
Matt Fitzgerald • Apr 15, 2016 at 12:28 pm
I do not support Sanders at all when it comes to his policies. But even a Trump supporter like myself can agree that he is being robbed of the election. What the American people need to do is to not support the parties. What they are doing to Sanders and Trump is wrong and Un-American. These practices are no better than 3rd world countries with rigged elections.
kirfy • Jun 6, 2016 at 12:35 pm
Thank you for that. I appreciate when anyone can be honest about Sanders situation. I am so disgusted with my party’s establishment coronation of Queen Hillary. The super-delegates, closed primaries and Wasserman-Schultz have all got to go. They think we will stop fighting if Bernie doesn’t win. Oh, how wrong they are. They have helped create a movement to make America not great, but great for everyone. Well, at least, “decent for everyone”. I will admit, it’s not much of a slogan though. 🙂
will • Apr 15, 2016 at 12:24 pm
Bernie sanders is the man I think he can lead us out of this bad economy we are in and he will give us free college
Molly L. • Apr 15, 2016 at 5:19 pm
I’ts not exactly free college that Bernie Sanders promises, considering the fact that all of the “free” promises made by Bernie Sanders add up to 19 trillion dollars on our national debt, along with a 50% increase in taxes. It’s hypocritical for Sanders to claim he’s helping to alleviate poverty in our country while simultaneously piling on taxes and debt. Hillary and Bernie are both terrible nominees. The only reason everyone hates Trump is because the media makes him sound racist. He doesn’t hate Hispanic people, like the liberal media says he does. He simply opposes the idea of illegal immigration. Not all illegal immigrants are Hispanic, like the media says. Illegal immigrants could come from any continent: Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, Australia…Additionally, so many people assume that illegal immigrants are hard working, love and respect our country, and crossed the border illegally, because they couldn’t legally enter America. The opposite of this is true. Illegal immigrants have been pouring through our borders for decades now, and want to know a fun fact? 13 American citizens are killed by illegal immigrants everyday, due to the fact that so many are driving on our roads without licenses. What about the immigrants who came here legally? What about the immigrants who contributed hard work and determination and cried tears of joy when they gained citizenship? Are we going to take away their hard work and give it to the selfish illegal aliens who didn’t bother? Go ahead, call Trump a fascist or a racist, but the only thing he is opposing is murder, crime, and disrespect to our country.
kirfy • Jun 6, 2016 at 12:30 pm
Molly, that is plainly not true. Sanders has said that he would pay for college by taxing Wall Street a small percentage of their profits. This won’t damage Wall Street which is making money hand over fist, and not add a dime to our debt. Therefore there will not be new taxes on the middle class to pay for college. Plus, if they are educated, they will be able to get a decent paying job and put that money toward owning a home and retirement, as opposed to paying off exorbitant student loan debt. So, just by eliminating student debt this would improve homeownership, societal stability, and reduce poverty in old age. Bernie has said that in order to pay for free healthcare, we would all have to pay more in taxes. However, we would save, instead of having to pay for healthcare and the poor and middle classes would not be financially devastated by illness. It isn’t the boogeyman you are making it out to be. It works in most other developed countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Canada, Britain, etc. etc. He isn’t saying this would happen overnight, and it probably wouldn’t happen at all given the Republican’s have tried to repeal Obamacare a ridiculous number of times, and Supreme Court challenges. However, this should be the goal. Other societies have shown it can be done, and it is beneficial to all. As for Trump, you are quoting far right fringe propaganda. You need to cast a wide net as to information. You will know that what is being said is a fact because, unlike your claims, they can quote reputable sources and filmed statements. Your statistics are not valid. No reputable news source would validate your (and Trump’s) claims of immigrant violence. In fact, if you look at gun deaths, car wrecks, domestic violence, gangs, etc, we do a great job of killing ourselves. We are not outsourcing this. We do the majority of the damage, as we are the majority. Trump, and you, are painting large groups of people with a broad brush. Most immigrants are trying to escape horrible violence and are looking for asylum. Mexican immigrants aren’t terrorists. Why shouldn’t they be able to come here and get asylum? Looking for asylum and wanting to work hard isn’t selfish. You are demonizing a whole group of people, rather than accept that they aren’t taking your jobs. Most Mexican’s work in unskilled labor, so why can’t american citizens mow lawns or work in a kitchen as well? But if you are hoping the factory jobs will return, that is a losing proposition. Your jobs have been shipped to India, outsourced to China and Vietnam. You think corporate republican’s are going to ship ’em back? Ha. Trump can’t make them do it. They did it to pad their wallets against the interests of everyday American’s and Trump won’t change that. Also, much technology can do much faster what people used to have to do. Coal isn’t coming back, and gas isn’t looking like the panacea it once did (and my grandpa was a coal miner). Our society is changing rapidly and it needs to be reconfigured to work better for all. Trump has already teamed up with the republican establishment. He isn’t going to threaten their corporate system. The Syrian refugees are a more nuanced situation. There are intense cultural and spiritual value differences that will make it difficult to assimilate. Though it could be done through education. And there is the threat of letting in a few people who are determined to become terrorists. I would leave this problem to those who have spent years of their life studying the region to make an informed plan about possibly providing refuge. Apparently you have forgotten the words on the base of the Statue of Liberty: “give us your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to be free.” For the party that likes to talk about freedom a lot, they sure don’t want to give it to anyone else. You also seem to forget that unless you are Native American, your ancestors are immigrants. Mine came from Britain, Poland & czech. And yours? Every time new immigrants have come to this country, they have been met with hatred and suspicion. Yet they assimilate. I understand that resources are scarce. However, scapegoating immigrants doesn’t solve the economic problems we have. Demonizing these groups doesn’t help you. Trump has a track record that says he won’t help you. See how he conned people out of their hard earned savings at “trump university”. That is who he is. He has been bankrupt 4x. That is the poor business man he is. He was born into wealth, he didn’t earn it the hard way. That is the member of the elite he is. He also doesn’t believe in global warming. Denying our problems won’t help fix them. This is the greatest threat to American greatness; threatening our food supplies with drought. Food shortages will become the norm if we don’t act. Life cannot survive. Just ask 99% of scientists. As much as you would dismiss his known racism or potential fascism as unimportant, this disguises the real long term damage he will inflict. The real threat is that he wants to bomb the middle east indiscriminately, cannot single-handedly correct our economic inequality and will deregulate pollution from corporations. I agree with him on bad trade agreements, and that the war in Iraq was a mistake. However, he has spent his time inflaming your fears about the economy, asks you dismiss his flaws, and tells you to misinterpret the motives of immigrants. He is abusing your valid fear of poverty to make you believe in him. In order to think logically and critically, you can’t let your emotions and few news sources determine your beliefs about anyone. You are projecting what you want to believe about him, despite the fact that he is being shown to be a con-man. It is easy to mistake him for someone who won’t damage this country irreparably and leave you off for the worse in the process. You shouldn’t. The facts say so.
Don • Apr 15, 2016 at 9:22 am
Hillary Clinton has been corrupt, a liar, and unscrupulous since before her husband became president. Look at some of the things the pair did when he was Governor or Arkansas. Nothing has changed with her. It constantly amazes me how anyone could support her.
kirfy • Jun 6, 2016 at 11:30 am
Come the general election many people will not see it as supporting her, but voting against Trump. I am deeply conflicted because I know the DNC has tried to make this a coronation from the beginning. The super-delegates, the closed primaries, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Hillary’s friend, co-head of her last campaign funneling funds to her this time at the expense of democrats running in state/local races. She also scheduled debates at times when people likely wouldn’t be tuning in and limited the number of debates. Schultz also derided Sanders for not being a real democrat, even though he has caucused with them for 40 years and is more of a true progressive than almost any in the establishment. She’s not biased. The collusion with the mainstream media is something I have never seen before in regards to the democrats. Of course, the corporations behind them didn’t want Bernie to win and come after their money!
On the other hand, we have a megalogmaniac who wants bomb everything in the middle east and doesn’t believe climate change is real. This is why people like me are considering drinking a bottle of something alcoholic so that they can cope with the disgust of voting for Hillary the entitled cheater. (Just kidding about the drunk voting) Climate change is the world’s greatest threat, the greatest issue of our day. We just had a heat wave of 90 degrees for 5 days in May in New York. Growing up, it used to be in the 50’s/60’s. We will suffer great droughts and food shortages. I know Clinton is okay with fracking. So uninformed or doesn’t care. Still, better than a man who doesn’t believe it exists. I guess. Perhaps it would be better if Trump gets elected, the DNC gets a rebuke for trying to rig things for their chosen candidate (if the primaries had been open, Sanders would have probably won handily and you know it, DNC) and we could impeach Trump in his first term. Also, Trump has listed some who he would put in his cabinet and they are the fringe of the fringe of the fringe. He also wants to put a Scalia type back on the Supreme Court. Can’t have that. What a choice. I have never wanted to vote for neither candidate ever before. It is difficult to tell which is worse. I am trying to think end game. I do not want HRC to be our first female president. It would be easier to live with if we already had a decent representative like Elizabeth Warren as our first female Prez. In the end, I am leaning toward voting for the better choice for the environment as it is not something I feel we can risk. It is imminent and pressing. She will probably be more open to rethinking her position on fracking with democrats pressure, whereas Trump is rigid and many times unreceptive. To quote Mel Brooks: “What a woyald, what a woyald (world).” Anyone got any ideas as to how I can feel okay NOT voting for HRC, without feeling guilty that I let Trump destroy what’s left of America and the world?
Xander • Apr 15, 2016 at 9:07 am
#Bernieorbust? Nay- #Donaldorbust!