On June 6, 2016, the Associated Press released a statement saying that they had talked it out with the Democratic superdelegates and Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee for president. The next day, six states were scheduled to hold their primaries to decide on 694 delegates. Without those tasty superdelegates in the mix, Bernie Sanders was only 274 delegates behind Hillary in the actual delegate count (you know, the delegate count determined by the voters and not some panel of mystery delegates that no one gets to talk to except really important people). The superdelegates don't actually vote until July 25th at the convention, and they have to actually be there to vote. Or do they?
Could Bernie have overtaken Hillary? We will never know, because the AP story completely changed the complexion of all six primaries. Bernie supporters are passionate, but the undecided voters that may have voted for Bernie get scared when they think they are voting for a losing cause. With the voter fraud that was suggested in states like New York, how do we know that the delegate count for either candidate is even right?
All six states were close, and Bernie won two despite the affected turnout. Or did he only win two? I am starting to wonder about that, and I may be leaning on the side of the conspiracy theorists (which I hate doing). Something very similar to this happened on June 3, 2008 when Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama when the press indicated that the superdelegates would vote for Obama.
So why are people registered for the Democratic party even voting in the primaries? For that matter, why is anyone even bothering to vote for president?
"Well, if you don't vote then you can't complain."
"Your right to vote is sacred and you should honor it."
Blah, blah, blah...
Here is my biggest issue. We have had military personnel die for our right to vote, and the bastard politicians have taken that right away from us. It isn't a matter of the average citizen doing the right thing to honor what our soldiers have died for; it is a matter of the right thing even making any kind of difference. As we have seen in the past few elections, the people's voice has no volume in national politics.
I read all of these opinions that a political party can do whatever it wants and nominate whomever it wants as its candidate. Ok, fine. Then don't create a year long charade to pretend to ask the people what they think, and don't assume that the people will support your decision. Also, if this were the case, then there would be more than two parties active in this country. Since the country seems evenly divided between the two current parties, I would suggest that what the people think should matter and that a political party is responsible for representing the will of its constituents.
"But Hillary is destroying Bernie without superdelegates."
Is she? Did it ever occur to anyone that we are not getting accurate poll numbers whenever we research the upcoming primaries online? Did anyone stop to think that the media (that has given almost no face time to Bernie Sanders throughout this process but has been infatuated with Trump and Clinton) is twisting those polls to convince people to vote a certain way? Like I said, those conspiracy nuts are starting to make sense to me, the more I look at what is going on.
Sounds crazy, right? If you think that is crazy, then you have not been observing the same American public I have been observing the past 20 years or so. The public will do what the media tells it to do. If the media says Hillary is the best candidate, then the people will believe that. If the media decides that the only information people will get about Bernie is the incorrect negative things that are being said, then that is what the people will get - and the people will believe all of it.
Look, it's okay. You have been brainwashed by people who understand how strong fear is as a motivator and they have convinced you that the word "socialism" in any context equals "evil." They are wrong, but you just don't realize it. How are you permanently injured and elderly folks doing with those SOCIAL security checks? They help out every month, am I right?
The bottom line here is that the powers that be are using the media to determine the outcomes of elections because the people allow it to happen. There are too many undecided voters in this country who prefer to not think for themselves and are just waiting to be swayed by the latest meme that convinces them that, despite his university being exposed as a complete sham (among other lies and issues attached to him), Donald Trump still says what they think, dammit! Or they want to see what the latest poll says before they vote, and that is how they determine where their vote will be cast.
Maybe the founding fathers were right when they created the electoral college. Maybe the American public is incapable of choosing its own leader, so a system has to be in place to protect us from ourselves. The political parties and the media are manipulating the people to get what the parties want. The party with the most compelling story will win the hearts and minds of voters, even if that story is complete garbage. The GOP works through Fox News, and the Democrats have CNN. The AP seems to flip flop back and forth, like any good political organization would do.
We get to really decide this in November, right? If you believe the polls, then Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump by around five points in the general election. Bernie is leading Trump by double digits, but, hey, it isn't up to us anymore, right?
George N Root III is a Lockport resident who would love to be part of the solution, instead of being forced to be part of the complaining masses. Follow him on Twitter @georgenroot3, or send him a message at georgenroot3@gmail.com.
