I love how people act like the end result of a highly manipulated primary somehow means the manipulation didn't happen.

This is 2024, we've now had three primaries in a row where the Democratic Party employed different tactics to push their favored milquetoast neoliberal to the seat. They cleared the field, smeared the opposition, and refused debates to push Hillary. They flooded the field, continued their smearing, and then collectively backed out to prop up boring old Biden in exchange for cabinet or VP positions, and then this last time around they functionally skipped the primary entirely.

Twice that has resulted in Trump winning. 33% is a failing grade.

Easy enough to make it look that way with the full might of the DNC making sure he doesn't win. Do you really think voters matter to them?

He was, but it wasn't without Hillary controlling the DNC to weigh everything against him, including by using the funds that were meant to go to whoever was the elected candidate, during the primary. But don't take my word for that, that's straight from Donna Brazile, who became head of the DNC at the end of the 2016 election cycle: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/02/clinton-brazile-hacks-2016-215774/

“Wait,” I said. “That victory fund was supposed to be for whoever was the nominee, and the state party races. You’re telling me that Hillary has been controlling it since before she got the nomination?”

Gary said the campaign had to do it or the party would collapse.

“That was the deal that Robby struck with Debbie,” he explained, referring to campaign manager Robby Mook. “It was to sustain the DNC. We sent the party nearly $20 million from September until the convention, and more to prepare for the election.”

The agreement—signed by Amy Dacey, the former CEO of the DNC, and Robby Mook with a copy to Marc Elias—specified that in exchange for raising money and investing in the DNC, Hillary would control the party’s finances, strategy, and all the money raised. Her campaign had the right of refusal of who would be the party communications director, and it would make final decisions on all the other staff. The DNC also was required to consult with the campaign about all other staffing, budgeting, data, analytics, and mailings.

I had been wondering why it was that I couldn’t write a press release without passing it by Brooklyn. Well, here was the answer.