Is there still a realistic path for Bernie Sanders to secure the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination? My guest today on The BradCast says “Yes!” and explains how it would, could and, in his opinion, should happen. [Audio link for show is at end of article.]
But first, some breaking news as the state of Maryland decertifies the results of the April 26th primary election in Baltimore, due to a number of troubling and currently unexplained “irregularities” brought to their attention by Election Integrity advocates; The Obama Administration issues historic new regulations concerning the release of methane which, our own Desi Doyen describes as “a very big deal”; And Donald Trump and Paul Ryan meet to smooth over disagreements as the GOP continues to coalesce behind their presumptive Republican nominee.
Then, I’m joined by Huffington Post columnist, attorney, author and University of New Hampshire Asst. Professor Seth Abramson to discuss his latest column headlined: “Bernie Sanders Could Still Win the Democratic Nomination — No, Seriously”.
Abramson offers a persuasive, if provocative scenario, for how the Democratic Party may end up nominating Bernie Sanders at their convention this July in Philadelphia, particularly if he keeps winning primaries between now and mid-June and more bad polls — like recent ones from Reuters and from Quinnipiac — show her tied with or losing to Trump in head-to-head matchups both nationally and in key swing-states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.
To understand his argument, you must also understand why the Democrats instituted their system of unpledged “Super Delegates” consisting of party insiders and elected officials in the first place. He offers the history of how that system came about following the party’s contested 1980 convention, and explains why the Party may come to decide this year that it’s the right time to invoke that system for the purpose for which it was originally created.
“The only time that Super Delegates are activated,” Abramson explains, “the only time that they really matter, and they’re actually doing something other than just showing up to the convention and validating what’s already happened, is when they are in fact contradicting the will of the popular vote and the delegate count, and are voting down a presumptive nominee. The reason they would do that is the same reason they would have wanted to do that in 1980, and that’s if they think that the presumed nominee cannot win the fall election.”
Abramson, a long-time Sanders supporter, details the specific, if plausible scenario he says would need to unfold over the next several weeks of remaining Primaries and how, as he argues, “I don’t think it at that point it becomes a question of whether the Super Delegates would change their [support for Clinton]…The only question is how many of them would.” In his scenario, he says, party insiders will be forced to ask themselves what needs to be done to avoid electing Trump to the White House, who he describes as “one of the most dangerous politicians ever to run for office in American history.”
But what about rejecting the collective popular will of Democratic Party primary and caucus voters in such a scenario? What of the early states that initially supported Clinton in such huge numbers? And what of the arguments that the Sanders campaign has made in the past concerning the undemocratic nature of so-called Super Delegates? Tune in for Abramson’s responses to all of those questions and more!
Finally today, we close out once again with another explosive edition of the Green News Report…
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[audio:http://bradblog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman_SethAbramsonBernieNom_BaltimoreDecert_051216.mp3]
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While I would like to share Seth Abramson’s optimism, given the near lock on superdelegates through the backroom deal known as “The Hillary Victory Fund,” I don’t believe that anything short of a federal indictment would prevent Hillary from receiving the nomination.
Whether or not Bernie wins the next several primaries will likely make no difference just as it didn’t persuade the SD’s when Hillary did so at the end of the primaries in ’08 and they were much closer in overall vote total and only 100 PD’s apart. If Hillary and Bernie were apportioned SD’s according to states won, she’d still be at least 550 PD’s and SD’s ahead of him. The polls that show Bernie ahead of Hillary are meaningless considering she has been running against the GOP, the media and Bernie this election while he’s only had to contend with Hillary. He hasn’t been subjected to any opposition research but those numbers would change quickly if he was. Just using taxes alone, the GOP would have everyone running scared about how their taxes would rise under a Sanders admin. not to mention the attacks on his praise of Castro and other dictators, his oh so evil “Socialist” stance and more. What they don’t have, they’ll fabricate as they have done to Hillary for 25 years.
What Ernie said.
Plus, that is a good reason for Sanders to stay in.
The dems will have a candidate if he hangs in there until it is clear that she won’t be indicted.
Salon‘s Ben Norton aptly described superdelegates as the “unelected party nobility.”
See, you guys are all still talking common sense and perceived wisdom….also known as Stockholm Syndrome….tut tut tut….let’s bust the big picture down clean & simple: people are repelled and frightened by Trump, and disgusted and fed up with Hillary….WORST presidential contest in American history, thanks to unparalleled corruption and collusion between the wealth class and our darling news outlets…
If only one other presidential candidate of integrity and capability were somehow still in the race who could….HEY WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE!!!….Bernie Sanders is still running and tirelessly campaigning and WINNING PRIMARIES for god’s sake!!….but you wouldn’t even know it by reading a motherfucking newspaper or listening to the goddamn motherfucking radio or sitting in front of the jesusfuckingchrist goddamn motherfucking television….or to put it less decorously, ALL current political discussion is invalid and irrelevant precisely because it’s ALL premised on misinformation and distorted reality…
Talk is over….these times are a massive call to action….Bernie is singlehandedly leading this nation in a battle to wake the fuck up and save the future of our country and in many ways our world….NO MORE DEBATING WHO WILL DO LESS DAMAGE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, HILLARY OR TRUMP?….are you fucking kidding me??!….LESS DAMAGE???!!!!….just wrap your mind around THAT complete bullshit and let it sink in….your head hurts, now doesn’t it?…
WE’RE IN IT TO WIN IT!!!….period!….we will be surrounding the Philadelphia convention with an ocean of everyday citizens demanding to be acknowledged and heeded….the time for discussion is gone….all bets are off…
And hold on to your fedoras….we can either read about history or make it….guess which one is getting ready to happen?…
Chicago Mel,
“See, you guys are all still talking common sense and perceived wisdom….also known as Stockholm Syndrome.”
That is not what Stockholm Syndrome is, here is what it is:
(Counselling Resource). That is not common sense or perceived wisdom.
The election will go as planned.
Wait, so voters adoring and embracing political candidates who are openly antithetical to said voters’ own well-being don’t qualify for Stockholm Syndrome tax writeoffs?….well then, how bout the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle??….Nothing goes as planned!….just ask my parents….the light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be Melvin….
I wasn’t there so I’m not positive what was going on here, but the following text seems correct in explaining,
This Video.
The establishment has spoken. I saw Congressman James Sensenbrenner do this with his gavel once.
Problem being is that these corporate owned so called democrats would much rather see Trump win than Bernie because Bernie could stop their gravy train.
The ONLY reason Clinton is allegedly leading is because she has clearly stolen several states.
By June 7th Bernie will have won more states.
IF Clinton manages to still the nomination anyway then she has at best a 5% chance of beating Trump.
Chomsky: Sanders is only losing because of an undemocratic system. If Clinton wins nomination, he’d still vote for her if he lived in a swing state.
That’s very interesting Ernest.
I watched Chomski’s “Requiem For The American Dream” last night. I know more about him then I ever have now. He’s a very smart guy.
Of course I’m still hoping for Sanders and Brad’s interview buoyed me up a little. I’m definitely not hoping for another big helping of anticipointment. Too many years of that, being a democrat and all.