# Leaked DNC emails show primary process rigged **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 22, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627 "2016-07-22T20:46:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/41 "2016-07-23T14:50:45Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > If the desired outcome is a rigged election, the government should play no part in the primary process. The only part the government plays is that, if you’re going to hold an actual election in a state, you need to hold it according to state law. Or, you can hold a caucus and do whatever. Or you can have an election and disregard the results (as was threatened in 2008 for states that jumped the line). ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/42 "2016-07-23T15:00:55Z")
AIUI, the state governments pay for the primary elections. [The Story Behind Why You Have to Pay for Party Primaries](http://ivn.us/2015/07/30/story-behind-pay-party-primaries/) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/43 "2016-07-23T15:20:15Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > AIUI, the state governments pay for the primary elections. [The Story Behind Why You Have to Pay for Party Primaries | Independent Voter News](http://ivn.us/2015/07/30/story-behind-pay-party-primaries/) Yes. So, if you’re going to hold a primary election, you need to hold it according to state law. Nothing in those emails comes anywhere near to violating any state laws from states that held a primary election (vs a caucus). Of course, nothing in those emails comes close to actually “rigging an election” either unless someone is being very, very liberal with their definition of “rigging”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/44 "2016-07-23T15:30:25Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > If the desired outcome is a rigged election, the government should play no part in the primary process. That would be fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/45 "2016-07-23T15:39:58Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Yes. So, if you’re going to hold a primary election, you need to hold it according to state law. Nothing in those emails comes anywhere near to violating any state laws from states that held a primary election (vs a caucus). Of course, nothing in those emails comes close to actually “rigging an election” either unless someone is being very, very liberal with their definition of “rigging”. I didn’t say that there was. I was responding to **John Mace** who claimed that the rigged nature of the process was a feature, not a bug. But honestly, I don’t believe that the government should be playing any roll in the selection process of a party’s nominee, much less paying for it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/46 "2016-07-23T15:43:14Z")
Of course its rigged, whoever gets the most votes wins. Totally unfair. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/47 "2016-07-23T15:46:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I will now sit and watch the responses from the Hillary fan boys who will insist that this is not wrong, nothing happened, it’s Bernie’s fault, and anyone who dares to criticize even Hillary’s friend is evil. Luckily we have the Democratic party to preserve democracy by preventing it. Yes, it’s terrible the way the DNC rigged the system against Sanders by allowing people to vote for whether they wanted Sanders or Clinton. A fair and impartial system would have just appointed Sanders as the nominee. That would have preserved the democratic process. I’m not going to say that anyone who criticizes Hillary is evil. But some of them are acting like petulant children who can’t accept the fact that they lost an election. Stop whining and suck it up. Do like Clinton supporters did in 2008: work with the guy who won and start planning for the future. Or decide that the real world is too difficult and you don’t want to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/48 "2016-07-23T16:00:45Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > …the people in the Democratic Party establishment responsible for promoting Democratic values and policies and for guiding the party in selecting the most qualified and electable candidates chose to raise questions in the media about the values, qualifications, and electability of a Democratic candidate? Perfectly put, and confusing only to those who do not understand what “party politics” and “primaries” actually are, especially vis-a-vis general elections. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/49 "2016-07-23T16:07:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Yes, it’s terrible the way the DNC rigged the system against Sanders by allowing people to vote for whether they wanted Sanders or Clinton. > > A fair and impartial system would have just appointed Sanders as the nominee. That would have preserved the democratic process. > > I’m not going to say that anyone who criticizes Hillary is evil. But some of them are acting like petulant children who can’t accept the fact that they lost an election. Stop whining and suck it up. Do like Clinton supporters did in 2008: work with the guy who won and start planning for the future. Or decide that the real world is too difficult and you don’t want to deal with it. People don’t get it. Hillary gets criticized a lot because she deserves it. She’s a lousy candidate. This isn’t like Obama at all. At least, at the time, Obama was much more ‘liked’ then than Hillary is now. So even IF I vote for Hillary, I plan on acting like a petulant child for as long as we have to deal with her. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/50 "2016-07-23T16:12:21Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > LOCK HER UP! LOCK HER UP! LOCK HER UP! > > Is that what we’re supposed to do here? I lost my RNC playbill. They’ve just switched over to orange “We’re Number One” foam pointing fingers because of literacy problems within the base. Oddly, the pointing finger is Very short… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/51 "2016-07-23T16:36:54Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Yes, it’s terrible the way the DNC rigged the system against Sanders by allowing people to vote for whether they wanted Sanders or Clinton. That’s a “terrible” way to paraphrase what the OP is talking about. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/52 "2016-07-23T16:43:43Z")
It’s not as bad as the OP’s own misrepresentation of his own damn link. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/53 "2016-07-23T17:46:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [Article from The Hill here.](http://www.thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/288900-leaked-dnc-emails-reveal-secret-plans-to-take-on-sanders) > > There’s not much to say, as was stated throughout the primaries and denied by the DNC and Hillary fans of all ages, the DNC did not conduct a fair primary process, their job was to guarantee Hillary’s nomination and blame Bernie for the mess they were making. Can you point to the precise points where the primary process was unfair? I’ve asked you this before but you must have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/54 "2016-07-23T17:53:38Z")
> [@dreamregent](#): > > You simply don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you even know what the defining characteristic of communism is in the first place? The word means “adjective with an unpleasant connotation we can attach to our opponents and give our side something to get upset about,” nothing more. That’s also what “socialism” has meant for the last eight years, given that Obama apparently is one in the eyes of Fox and right-wing radio. Any meaning of these words referring to the relationships of government, industry, wealth distribution, and social programs is now archaic. They just mean “bad” now. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/55 "2016-07-23T20:24:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I will now sit and watch the responses from the Hillary fan boys who will insist that this is not wrong, nothing happened, it’s Bernie’s fault, and anyone who dares to criticize even Hillary’s friend is evil. Luckily we have the Democratic party to preserve democracy by preventing it. No, none of that, but I’m not especially outraged either. Bernie Sanders wasn’t even a member of the Democratic party until 2015 so I don’t quite understand the expectation that he should have been embraced, anymore than Trump should have expected to be embraced by establishment Republicans. If the argument is that the process ought to be hands-off and l’aissez faire, then I would remind you of how well that worked out for republicans, who are now forced to sit and watch as their party has been hijacked by someone who is leading the party off into never-never land. The DNC’s main job is to make sure that Democrats remain a relevant party. It’s not their job to ensure that anyone who wants to use their platform to get elected be allowed to do so. The elections themselves were quite fair. Both contestants ran, won, and lost under the same set of rules. You’d have a fairness argument if that were not the case. But the mere fact that the Democrats didn’t want Bernie to win is no proof that the process is rigged. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/56 "2016-07-23T20:32:00Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Seriously, how much does [this Reddit thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SandersForPresident/comments/4u4awa/leaked_dnc_emails_reveal_secret_plan_to_take_on/) reflect any significant number of people out there? I can’t imagine it does, considering Clinton won, but seriously, a highly voted comment says that Trump is the better choice over Clinton for progressives because he’ll just bluster and not be able to do anything. Wow. I wonder how important Bernie Sanders voters are to Clinton’s election chances. It would seem that they are important, but there’s a lot of shifting going on within the electorate. I guess Clinton and the DNC selected Kaine to bring in more disgruntled moderate white-collar Republicans. Not exactly a way to fire up the Millennials. But were they going to vote for her anyway? And would Elizabeth Warren have really brought out enough of the millennials to compensate for the many other moderates and centrists who would have been worried about their jobs and 401ks? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/57 "2016-07-23T22:41:54Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > People don’t get it. > > Hillary gets criticized a lot because she deserves it. She’s a lousy candidate. This isn’t like Obama at all. At least, at the time, Obama was much more ‘liked’ then than Hillary is now. So even IF I vote for Hillary, I plan on acting like a petulant child for as long as we have to deal with her. Clinton isn’t running against Obama this time. She ran against Sanders. And got more votes than he did. If Clinton is a lousy candidate, then what does that make Sanders? Sanders supporters need to face the reality - you are not a majority. You have a choice: Start working with people you’re not in complete agreement. Or become become the new Libertarians - pure and irrelevant. Stop acting like you’re entitled. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/58 "2016-07-23T22:47:08Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I wonder how important Bernie Sanders voters are to Clinton’s election chances. It would seem that they are important, but there’s a lot of shifting going on within the electorate. I guess Clinton and the DNC selected Kaine to bring in more disgruntled moderate white-collar Republicans. Not exactly a way to fire up the Millennials. But were they going to vote for her anyway? And would Elizabeth Warren have really brought out enough of the millennials to compensate for the many other moderates and centrists who would have been worried about their jobs and 401ks? Yeah, I wondered in another thread if a poll asking Bernie or Busters whether they voted in the last presidential election or two, and for whom, may not be enlightening in that regard. ETA: And in my good decision of the month, I’ve decided not to try to inject some sanity from this thread into other discussions. It’d probably get lost in the hive mind anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/59 "2016-07-23T23:03:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by TriPolar > There’s not much to say, as was stated throughout the primaries and denied by the DNC and Hillary fans of all ages, the DNC did not conduct a fair primary process, their job was to guarantee Hillary’s nomination and blame Bernie for the mess they were making. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > Can you point to the precise points where the primary process was unfair? I’ve asked you this before but you must have missed it. My guess is that TriPolar will keep on “missing” it. It’s much more fun to spout inchoate outrage, than to justify the outrage with actual facts. The GOP is _still_ holding out hope that they won’t have to face Hillary–and their very good friends the Sanders die-hards are trying to help them out. Today NPR carried an interview with a Sanders supporter who said that the super delegates have a Moral Duty to nominate Sanders. When asked if he cared that this would likely mean a Trump Presidency, he said that he’d be fine with Trump winning. Okay! (Then he continued to proclaim that the Democratic primaries were corrupt and that Bernie was robbed. He offered no specifics in support of this premise, of course, other than that “votes were suppressed all over this country.”) I wouldn’t have believed that anyone could still be seriously trying to sell this “Bernie can be the nominee if the super delegates come through” fairytale. But, there it is. > **[Barbershop: Democrats Talk Core Values In Philadelphia](https://www.npr.org/2016/07/23/487181196/barbershop-democrats-talk-core-values-in-philadelphia)** > > Democrats Malcolm Kenyatta, who is a Clinton delegate, social worker Amy Hoag, and Gary Frazier of Black Men for Bernie are in Philadelphia for the DNC. They discuss challenges facing the party. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627/60 "2016-07-23T23:10:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Clinton isn’t running against Obama this time. She ran against Sanders. And got more votes than he did. If Clinton is a lousy candidate, then what does that make Sanders? > > Sanders supporters need to face the reality - you are not a majority. You have a choice: Start working with people you’re not in complete agreement. Or become become the new Libertarians - pure and irrelevant. > > Stop acting like you’re entitled. Hillary won because she was essentially the incumbent. Sanders was at, what, 4% a little over a year ago and almost won the nomination. That doesn’t sound lousy to me. Maybe you should stop generalizing people based on a single political thought. I’m ENTITLED to an opinion, just as you are. Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-dnc-emails-show-primary-process-rigged/760627.md?page=4)