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2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Election fraud in MA,IL,NY,DE,MD,AZ,NV & now KY make Hillary an illegitimate nominee [View all]Gothmog
(145,130 posts)2. The Conspiracy Theory That the Clinton Campaign Stole Votes Makes No Sense
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/
Its 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 wouldnt 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 lets set aside the specifics for a moment and consider whether theres 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? Thats 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 FiveThirtyEights 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 its been winning from the start?
Of course, we dont have a national primary, and Sanders has only gained supportand eaten into Clintonsover time. But looking back at the calendar, there hasnt been a time when the Clinton campaign would have had a rational incentive to start rigging the contests.
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 lets set aside the specifics for a moment and consider whether theres 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? Thats 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 FiveThirtyEights 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 its been winning from the start?
Of course, we dont have a national primary, and Sanders has only gained supportand eaten into Clintonsover time. But looking back at the calendar, there hasnt been a time when the Clinton campaign would have had a rational incentive to start rigging the contests.
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Election fraud in MA,IL,NY,DE,MD,AZ,NV & now KY make Hillary an illegitimate nominee [View all]
ViseGrip
May 2016
OP
None of which have been traced back to Clinton but conspiracy theories thrive on evidence vacuums.
LonePirate
May 2016
#19
You can believe whatever you want, even if there are no facts or evidence to back you up.
LonePirate
May 2016
#32
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
That's right! I totally forgot - haven't visited that forum since my 1st year on DU in '02
Native
May 2016
#33
What a bunch of whiners, sore losers and crybabies you Bernie or Busters are
redstateblues
May 2016
#16
Really? I thought people here actually followed elections and the electronic shenanigans.
ViseGrip
May 2016
#30
bernie is an illegitimate candidate because he whines about electoral fraud but doesn't
MariaThinks
May 2016
#29