2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumI watched Hillary Clinton’s forces swipe Nevada: This is what the media’s not telling you
FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016 06:19 AM E
I watched Hillary Clintons forces swipe Nevada: This is what the medias not telling you
Bernie's forces were justifiably outraged over arbitrary rule changes and a chairwoman determined to ignore them
GAYLE BRANDEIS
It probably wasnt the best time for me to go to Vegas. My beloved father had just died the week before, and I was feeling hazy and vulnerable, prone to weeping at the slightest provocation. Grief made me feel like I had no skin and no brain; grief had turned me into a cloud, and I was in that floaty state when I got on the plane with my husbanda state delegate headed to the Nevada Democratic Conventionand our 6-year-old son. I wasnt sure what would happen once we got to Vegas, whether all the lights and bells would hammer me back into my body, or whether I would drift even further away from myself, hover like the cigarette smoke over the casino floor.
I had wanted to be a delegate, myself, but knew I was going to be out of town during the county convention in April, so I didnt put my hat in the ring at the February caucus, where I had served as a precinct captain for Bernie. It was my first election season in Nevada, my first caucus, and the whole process seemed wild to me, taking what was normally such a private experiencevoting quietly in an individual boothand turning it into a political game of Red Rover, people taking sides in a room, trying to sway folks to come over to their side, their candidate; it was a civil game in our precinct, but I could see how easily things could turn nasty. I was grateful my husband had volunteered himself to be a county delegate, and was excited when he got the email that he was chosen to be a state delegate, as well. Nevada has a strange three-tier systemHillary had won a majority at the February caucus, but more Bernie delegates showed up at the county caucus, negating Hillarys win, so the race for delegates at the state convention promised to be a tight one. I looked forward to seeing the process in action; I never expected that process would become so chaotic and surreal, although I had become used to surreal of late.
We arrived late Friday night and all around me, women were dressed to the nines and looking miserable. My heart broke for them. I wanted to know their stories; why were they so unhappy? The weight of crumbling expectations seemed to fill the smoky air. I found myself sending little silent affirmations to all these sad, fancy womenYou are beautiful, I beamed to them. It will be okay. Perhaps I was channeling my dad, who always did whatever he could to make people feel better about themselves.
The convention started out well the next morning. Everyone seemed excited to be therepeople were decked out in their Bernie and Hillary gear, smiling, passing out buttons, bustling about. I signed a petition to bring solar energy incentives back to Nevada, feeling happy that my son could witness this whole process, witness democracy in action. He and I found a place to sit on the floor on the side of the room as my husband took his seat in the Washoe County Bernie section near the front of the hall. The chairwoman, Roberta Lange, gave a rousing welcome, reminding all of us that we were there to defeat Trump and his misogyny, his xenophobia, his hate, his lies. The room felt unified, energized, cheering as a group; I felt inspired, felt yes, we can do this together.
more: http://www.salon.com/2016/05/20/i_watched_hillary_clintons_forces_swipe_nevada_this_is_what_the_medias_not_telling_you/
Response to silvershadow (Original post)
rjsquirrel This message was self-deleted by its author.
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)However the author, who says she was not a delegate, appears to have improperly participated in a voice vote:
It might have felt good but if she wasn't a delegate she shouldn't have been voting. So her story basically undermines the Bernie narrative that the voice vote was unfair.
Don't they ever think these things through?
Response to ucrdem (Reply #2)
rjsquirrel This message was self-deleted by its author.
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)In the least.
ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...but the rules that were set up by the party have 3 levels of caucuses, and Bernie won the second round due to his delegates having enough enthusiasm to actually show up (which Hillary's supporters call "cheating" .
Then at the state caucus, the chair did change the rules, giving herself absolute power, which she then used to railroad the caucus into a win for Hillary again.
But wait: the whole Hillary contingent here are usually the ones shouting "But Rulez is Rulez!"... until the rules work out unfavorably for her, and then all of the sudden, well it's okay to change the rules because they don't like the outcome of their own arcane process.
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)May 18th, 2016 at 6:40 p.m.
{snip}
Clintons supporters simply turned out in larger numbers and helped her solidify her delegate lead in Nevada.
Theres no clear evidence the state party "hijacked" the process or ignored "regular procedure."
We rate this claim False.
http://www.politifact.com/nevada/statements/2016/may/18/jeff-weaver/allegations-fraud-and-misconduct-nevada-democratic/
If that's what the media isn't telling us why didn't you say so!