Nearly 20,000 hacked e-mails from the Democratic National Committee were published to Wikileaks, and it’s not pretty.
First, the DNC was shown to be as petty as they appear to be from the outside. E-mails from Debbie Wasserman Schultz called Sanders Campaign Manager Jeff Weaver an “s–” and a “liar.”
Second, a DNC staffer suggested using religious intolerance as a tool against Bernie Sanders by emphasizing his alleged atheism as a way to frighten off Southern Baptist constituents. In one embarrassing exchange, the DNC’s CFO wrote that Sanders “had skated on having a Jewish heritage. I read he is an atheist … My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.”
Sanders, by the way, says he’s not an atheist. The point is that the DNC – in one email — managed to insult both Jews and atheists. (And anyone who doesn’t believe there should be a religious litmus test in the United States of America.)
Third, they courted wealthy donors by promising access to President Barack Obama, pointing out that big donors often demand such special favors.
But one of the worst revelations is just how cozy the DNC is with the national media. Wasserman Schultz hounded NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd for a personal phone call before appearing on his show – undoubtedly to get a heads up about the questions. She also used him to gain access to MSNBC President Phil Griffin so she could demand an apology from Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski. The DNC chair didn’t appreciate Brzezinski’s (we now know accurate) speculation that the party was rigging the primary in favor of Hillary Clinton.
Not only did they harangue the media, they also fed them narratives. In one shocking e-mail exchange, Politico journalist Kenneth Vogel agreed to send the DNC an article he had worked up on Mrs. Clinton so that they could review it before he sent it to his editors.
Thankfully, they’re beginning to pay the price. Delegates booed Wasserman Schultz off the stage in Philadelphia when she tried to speak to a delegation from Florida, and she deserved every jeer. But instead of letting Wasserman Schultz truly feel the consequences of her actions, Clinton’s campaign immediately offered her an “honorary chair” position to work on the nominee’s “50 state program.” This will turn out to be a nifty arrangement when Wasserman Schultz is up for congressional reelection. I guess Hillary does owe her, after all.
Is there a scandal in Washington that isn’t somehow tied to the Clintons?
If journalists aren’t doing their jobs and are in cahoots with the very people they are supposed to be holding accountable, then corruption rages. Likewise, if the chair of the DNC, who is supposed to remain neutral on Democratic candidates, is actively pushing one campaign over the other, then the power has shifted from the will of the people and into the federal government’s hands.
These emails reveal what every American instinctively knows – not just about the DNC, but the very dysfunctional RNC. Our parties are not going to save us. We must reclaim what is rightfully ours, as established in America’s founding documents. Politicians can’t save us and so-called journalists are not on our side. They’re the very reason we are in this mess in the first place.