August 29, 2015

O'Malley says the Democratic Party primary process is "sort of rigged."

Because there are only 4 debates.

ADDED: Sanders was asked if he too thought it was "rigged." He said "Yes, I think so. Don’t you?"

That word "rigged" — which I originally thought too hysterical — is going to stick. It's going to hang out there, dogging Hillary and the people who closed ranks around her too early.

And what if Biden comes in? Will they change things for Biden? That would be rigged.

30 comments:

David Begley said...


That's the way the Dems roll.Things are always rigged for cronies and insiders. It should be renamed the Undemocratic party.

Bobber Fleck said...

O'Malley is just a small wrench tossed into the gears of the Democrat political machine. He will be ground up and spit out. The party of diversity does not tolerate independent thought.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side a much larger wrench, Donald Trump, has thrown himself into the gears. The outcome there is yet to be determined.

Issues that neither party wishes to discuss are now on the table.

Chris N said...

Isn't this guy from Baltimore? He seems like a dolt, but maybe he's simply a half-decent person.

I'd prefer people in power with less of a gap between ideals/promises and day to day reality, and that sure isn't the Democratic Party, which is particularly dependent on big city machine politics, big money/foreign donors, and cronyism.

I'd prefer to be protected from idealism in general, knowing many of the shenanigans and practical realities involved.

Michael K said...

The Democrats are going to have to unrig it as Hillary crashes and burns.

They have never had any trouble with altering the process to suit their ends. The election in New Jersey being but one example.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

My first inclination was to go on the attack because "sort of rigged" sounds idiotic, but then I read the article and now I think he's got it about right.

Let it never be said that I don't try to keep an open mind.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Bush-Clinton is rigged.

MadisonMan said...

It seems to me that if the Press wanted the Democratic Party process to change -- and most press members are likely Democrats -- they could start reporting -- aggressively -- on how the current process doesn't allow for the exchange of ideas.

Coronation-type Primaries -- in Wisconsin, think Barrett, or Burke (and now Feingold) -- run counter to democratic ideals and are thankfully unsuccessful many times. You'd think parties would learn.

jr565 said...

The dem party is rigged? You don't say.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

The Democratic party saw a lot of Clinton during the Obama-Clinton race. Approximately half decided that she was an acceptable candidate, which is not nothing given how strong a candidate Obama proved to be. Although some star might have arisen during the next eight years, that clearly didn't happen, so the decision to essentially hand this to Clinton is not that unreasonable. She is not exactly an unknown quantity.

Big Mike said...

And what if Biden comes in?

I think he will. The pressure is getting overwhelming.

Will they change things for Biden?

Does a cat have whiskers?

That would be rigged.

Which is why I call it the Democrat Party (when I'm not calling it the "Dumbocrat" Party.) There is nothing democratic about that party and never has been.

Michael K said...

"how strong a candidate Obama proved to be. "

He was a first term Senator with no accomplishments. His strength was his color and the Democrats (and a lot of Republicans who should have known better) were OK with that as his sole accomplishment.

Hillary was never a well qualified candidate but that is not necessary in today's Democratic Party.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Michael K said...
He was a first term Senator


He defeated Romney, in a weak economy, and Romney looks better than any of the current crop of Republican candidates, other than Trump.

Bay Area Guy said...

The Democratic Party doesn't have a reason to have any debates - they all follow a Leftist party line: pro-abortion, pro gay marriage, higher taxes, bigger government, more immigration, less guns, fight global warming, "black lives matter". I bet there's not a single substantive policy difference between O'Malley and Clinton on any issue. So, why even have a debate?

Now, Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist, may have a few differences with Hillary. Technically, he's not a Democrat, but an Independent. And, to his credit, Bernie doesn't try to mask his viewpoints. He honestly believes that we should cap all incomes at about $200,000 per year, and raise the minimum wage to, say, $20 bucks per hour, and then we would finally rid the country of the scourge of "inequality" which he identifies as the major problem. We would finally have heaven on earth. Whether we would destroy our country in the process, like socialism has done everywhere else its tried, doesn't concern him so much.

Maybe, there should be an honest debate between Donald Trump (who builds things and makes gobs of $) and Bernie Sanders (who builds nothing, makes no $, but wants to redistribute it)

Chris N said...

'Say, who's this guy Bernie Sanders, I like the cut of his jib'

'He's a socialist, fella.'

'At the supermarket...all these choices and bright colors...my head hurts'

'I know, kid. Headaches...rampant consumerism. That's science for ya'

'Are you voting for him?'

'Late capitalism is falling apart, kid, look around.'

'I just want to paint murals.'

'Not me kid, I've got....a different set of skills.'

Will Joe and Myrtle keep the baby? Will Uncle Saul ever be found? Tune in next week...

Hagar said...

I am not sure that bernie Sanders knows what a "socialist" is.

clint said...

O'Malley and Sanders should hold their own debate. I'm sure there's a local TV station in NH or Iowa that would love to run it and a local college that would love to host it.

Invite the other candidates, but hold it regardless of whether Hillary comes.

Throw in lots of "Half of leadership is showing up" and "Choosing to hold fewer summits won't solve (BLAH)..."

Achilles said...

"She is not exactly an unknown quantity."

We know she stood on the coffins of veterans and knowingly told polically expedient lies about their death.

She is subhuman and so is anyone that supports her.

pm317 said...

You know what was rigged? 2008 debates and election. You know what else was rigged? 2012 debates (remember Romney and the CNN woman) and election.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

It's only natural that democrats are comfortable with a woman - a family - that emulates corrupt dictators.

Chris N said...

I'd say all politics focuses on people, families, including dictators. This is the stuff of human nature. The ideas, however, and the incentives, and how laws are made, who holds power; accountability etc. Quite different matters.

To some extent, enough citizens need the stomach, heart and mind to look fairly closely at how it works, then choose the least evil and keep the thing upright. I much prefer healthy skepticism. Some trust and duty are required.

It seems the more ignorant, utopian, absolutist, never-make-the-hard-decisions types of citizens you have, the larger the gap tends to be between what politicians say and what they must do.

holdfast said...

It's too bad a Sanders is a Commie loon, because I do like his habit of telling uncomfortable truths, including on immigration and the real unemployment rate.

SteveR said...

Yes. Next question.

Big Mike said...

@ARM, by now it should be obvious to you, as it has become obvious to the DNC establishment, that (1) about 60% of the voting population would walk five miles through chest-deep snow to vote against Hillary,* while (2) hardly anyone would do the same to vote for Hillary. If she's the nominee she'll be lucky to win ten states; it will be a wipeout on the scale of 1980.

The Democrats need to get serious. They need to demonstrate to the rest of us that they get the American people** and are prepared to lead by getting in front of them and not bullying them into line using the IRS and highly politicized DOJ prosecutors as clubs. They need to show us that they get that the US is different from Britain and Sweden and places they seemingly long to turn us into.

Can Biden do it? His pervy roving hands on spouses and female children of administration nominees will weigh heavily against him (or so I trust).

___________
* Damn right I'm in this group. Anybody who conducts America's foreign policy on an unsecured server has no business being inside the White House except as part of a tour group.

** Not that the RNC establishment is a whole lot better. But Trump is waking up some of the candidates. Too late for Jindal, Kasich, and Christie, and probably too late for Walker, more's the pity. Can you say "President Fiorina"?

bbkingfish said...

Is this supposed to be news?



Gahrie said...

And what if Biden comes in? Will they change things for Biden?

Of course they will. The Dems are famous for changing or ignoring election law when it suits them.

There was the time when Torricelli dropped out of the Senate race in NJ and they broke the law and replaced him with Lautenberg.

Or the Mass, Dems who kept changing the law on appointing senators for political gain.

Gahrie said...

She (Hillary) is not exactly an unknown quantity.


She is if you prefer the truth.

Jason said...

If the former Democrat mayor of Baltimore says you have a corruption problem... you have a corruption problem.

Mark said...

Even the name of the party is a farce. The Politburo is in charge, not the unwashed masses. The whole system of "superdelegates" (party cronies and those already in power) alone puts the lie to the primary process.

rcocean said...

Why do Democrats need debates? DO they really disagree on anything?
Not that I can tell. They're a herd of independent minds.

Besides, most of the low information voters would vote for Joe stalin tommorrow and Adolph Hitler the day after if they had (D) after their name and supported abortion on demand, Affirmative action, separation of church and state, and gay marriage.

John Henry said...

Why ask Sanders at all? He has made his entire career out of NOT being a Democrat. He has been pretty explicit that he is not one now. What the Hell is he doing running for the Democrat nomination?

If I were head of the DNC, I would tell him to drag his miserable socialist ass out of our primaries altogether.

The rule permit him to run without being a member of the party? OK, so perhaps he can run but the DNC should not be returning his phone calls unless and until be joins the party.

And re the requirement in SC that Trump agree to support the nominee, has anyone asked Bernie S if he will?

If elected, will be govern as a Dem or as an independent? Demmie voters have a right to know what they are voting for, don't they?

His whole candidacy, as a Democrat, is just too bizarre for words.

John Henry