Yeah, the system is rigged - and its working

by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, March 17, 2016.

I can’t help but like Bernie Sanders. His message is on the money: Income inequality and a rigged system are holding the country, especially the middle class, back. He’s got that socially awkward, but gentle manner that I’ve found in so many of the activists I’ve admired in my life. And he will forever be used as an example of how message discipline can drive and save a campaign. Finally, he seems genuinely down-to-earth and unpretentious.

A lot of his supporters, on the other hand, are on my last nerve. I don’t like and don’t trust self-righteousness whether it’s coming from a fundamentalist preacher or a social justice crusader. The world is full of gray areas. It’s not black-and-white. It’s possible to have firmly-held convictions without attaching devious motives to those who disagree.

Right now, I’m fed up hearing complaints from the Sanders supporters that the Democratic Party’s nominating process is rigged. It is. It’s been rigged for about 30 years. Bernie Sanders and his team knew it when he got into the race and he ran anyway. Sanders could have run as the independent he claimed to be for the entirety of his political career. Instead, he became a Democrat, subject to the long-standing rules of the Democratic Party nominating process.

The party created Super Delegates to prevent a candidacy like Trump’s. Super Delegates are made up of elected officials and local party officials most of whom have been involved in politics for many years. They’ve been through general elections so, theoretically, they have a better sense of the overall electorate than just primary voters. Right now, Republicans wish they had Super Delegates, too.

The Super Delegates are not leaders, but followers. They’ll side with the presidential candidate that’s most advantageous to their own elections. In 2008, they started with Clinton but switched to Obama because of his broad appeal and ground swell of support.

This year, they’re sticking with Clinton. Sanders may have a groundswell of support, but it’s not broad. It’s confined to a younger audience that has been less active politically and an older, traditionally lefty audience that will almost certainly vote Democratic in November regardless of the nominee. And they are predominantly white in a coalition that depends on people of color to win.

Clinton leads in the popular vote by a margin of 58% to 40%, the same margin she has among delegates. The system is meant to nominate more centrist candidates with broader appeal. It’s doing what it was meant to do.

Sanders knew the rules when he got into the race. His supporters complaining about a rigged system really have no argument. If they want to change that system, they should stay involved instead of threatening to go home if Sanders isn’t nominated

.http://www.politicsnc.com/yeah-the-system-is-rigged-and-its-working/