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Gothmog

(145,130 posts)
2. The Conspiracy Theory That the Clinton Campaign Stole Votes Makes No Sense
Thu May 19, 2016, 09:58 AM
May 2016

The claims in the OP are simply false http://www.thenation.com/article/the-conspiracy-theory-that-the-clinton-campaign-stole-votes-makes-no-sense/

It’s a conspiracy theory, and conspiracy theories tend to fall apart under the weight of their own internal illogic. Consider the 9/11 attacks: If they were a “false flag” operation pulled off by a cabal of extremists within the Bush administration in order to create a casus belli for the invasion of Iraq, why wouldn’t they make the attackers evil Iraqi intelligence officers rather than citizens of Saudi Arabia? And if they really felt the need to bring down the World Trade Center, why bother shooting a missile at the Pentagon? Why crash an airplane into a field in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania? Even judged on its own terms, the theory makes no sense.

Obviously, if campaign operatives were caught rigging a primary or caucus, their candidate would face a media shit-storm, their political careers would be over, and they might well end up in prison. So let’s set aside the specifics for a moment and consider whether there’s a coherent motive for these crimes that would be worth the risk.

Put yourself in the shoes of a vicious Clinton operative with loose ethics and a desire to win at all costs. Why would such a person bother rigging the vote in Wyoming, the state with the fewest delegates up for grabs? That’s a significant risk and a lot of trouble to go through to turn what might have been an 8-6 or perhaps 9-5 delegate split into a 7-7 outcome.

he same problem holds more generally. While Sanders has run an excellent campaign and exceeded all expectations, at no point during the Democratic primaries has he been on track to win. Sanders has held a lead in a handful of national polls, but at no time in the past year has his support broken 42 percent in FiveThirtyEight’s weighted polling average. And at no point in the race has Clinton held a lead narrower than 9.7 percentage points in that average. Why would any campaign, no matter how unprincipled, fix a race that it’s been winning from the start?

Of course, we don’t have a national primary, and Sanders has only gained support—and eaten into Clinton’s—over time. But looking back at the calendar, there hasn’t been a time when the Clinton campaign would have had a rational incentive to start rigging the contests.
This message was self-deleted by its author Gomez163 May 2016 #1
The Conspiracy Theory That the Clinton Campaign Stole Votes Makes No Sense Gothmog May 2016 #2
suppression, reregistering voters in the wrong party, lying, lying, lying reddread May 2016 #9
None of which have been traced back to Clinton but conspiracy theories thrive on evidence vacuums. LonePirate May 2016 #19
in other words, yes but its ok she didnt do it herself reddread May 2016 #31
You can believe whatever you want, even if there are no facts or evidence to back you up. LonePirate May 2016 #32
"none of which" reddread May 2016 #34
Haven't most, if not all, of the problems traced back to state or county-wide issues? toddwv May 2016 #35
Well, given that Clinton supporters keep excusing Bush' Florida election fraud by blaming hte left.. Scootaloo May 2016 #27
Gore won Florida-Sanders never was really in competition to be the nominee Gothmog May 2016 #40
Ridiculous apcalc May 2016 #3
I imagine tinfoil prices spike sharp_stick May 2016 #4
Sore losers always say this book_worm May 2016 #5
Cheaters always say THAT. dchill May 2016 #17
The only legitimate election is one Bernie wins, eh? CrowCityDem May 2016 #6
The DNC bias alone calls the legitimacy into question. Cosmic Kitten May 2016 #7
You should be embarrassed leftynyc May 2016 #8
Shouldn't this be in the Conspiracy Theory Forum?? RockaFowler May 2016 #10
+1 n/t SFnomad May 2016 #14
OMG - WE SO NEED A CONSPIRACY THEORY FORUM. I BOW TO YOU!!! Native May 2016 #23
du has one obamanut2012 May 2016 #25
That's right! I totally forgot - haven't visited that forum since my 1st year on DU in '02 Native May 2016 #33
You guys are out of your goddamn minds Recursion May 2016 #11
Emphasis on NOMINEE Renew Deal May 2016 #12
Right! The General Election doesn't matter lagomorph777 May 2016 #22
When someone is losing, they'll desperatly grab at any straw they can SFnomad May 2016 #13
my friend predicted this.... artyteacher May 2016 #15
What a bunch of whiners, sore losers and crybabies you Bernie or Busters are redstateblues May 2016 #16
And this is why Bernie needs to release his delegates before the convention Godhumor May 2016 #18
Seriously. This is approaching chtemtrails levels of crazy (nt) Recursion May 2016 #21
Really? I thought people here actually followed elections and the electronic shenanigans. ViseGrip May 2016 #30
With or without links Progressive dog May 2016 #20
... Here we go, buckle up y'all. Agschmid May 2016 #24
We often pretend that what sticks longest to the wall is objective... LanternWaste May 2016 #26
Yeah, maybe, but she's OUR illegitimate nominee ... JustABozoOnThisBus May 2016 #28
bernie is an illegitimate candidate because he whines about electoral fraud but doesn't MariaThinks May 2016 #29
ha ha..illegitimate is when you can't run for public office due to past crimes in office. ViseGrip May 2016 #39
Still waiting for Sanders legal team to challenge any of these state's results... Tarc May 2016 #36
NO SALE oasis May 2016 #37
We are not going away felix_numinous May 2016 #38
Your candidate lost. barrow-wight May 2016 #41
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