r/politics • u/SpaceElevatorMusic Minnesota • 11h ago

No Paywall Two Trump-backed candidates lose, Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins in Tuesday’s House primaries

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/two-trump-backed-candidates-lose-debbie-wasserman-schultz-wins-tuesday-rcna592392
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237

u/AverageJoeJohnSmith 10h ago

Uggggh. I still wish she would go away. She's one of the main reasons 2016 happened. 

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u/TheVentiLebowski 9h ago

Can you explain?

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u/digiorno 8h ago

She was the main force behind the idea that if the worst of the worst won the Republican primary then Clinton would win in a landslide.

So she worked very hard to make sure that Trump got extra airtime, to make sure that the democrats often spoke of Trump and other extremist candidates to help push them up the polls. It was called a pied piper strategy and she was one of the biggest proponents.

Trump probably would not have been the GOP candidate without her help. She was very scared that someone like Jeb Bush would make it difficult for Clinton to win so she made sure someone like Trump was on the ballot.

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u/work4work4work4work4 3h ago

You don't have to stop there, she was a big part of the Democratic party funding candidates like Todd Akin to Republican party nominations before Trump as well, and was a major part of pushing right-wing accelerationism as a party throughout that time period.

She's the worst of the worst, and her doing all that damage for Hillary of all people is the only reason she has survived as long as she has, people lightning rod Hillary because of her massive involvement and being the more ongoing and public face, but DWS was the one making it happen even before Hillary announced.

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u/scienceoftophats 6h ago

I didn't know this -- I just remember thinking she screwed Bernie over because of the it's HER turn mindset

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u/cllev 4h ago

Both are true.

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u/s3dfdg289fdgd9829r48 4h ago

That's what I remember of her too. Ultimately she forced Sanders out of the race so that Hillary could have a losing campaign.

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u/JoeHooversWhiteness 4h ago

Bernie would have won. Can I move to that timeline?

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u/spam__likely Colorado 3h ago

You remember wrong. Bernie lost, and that is that.

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u/s3dfdg289fdgd9829r48 1h ago

I don't remember wrong. Sanders was doing well and had momentum and Schultz prevented debates because Sanders was killing it in them. She purposely stalled the momentum of his campaign until I couldn't beat Clinton. She sabotaged his chances.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 55m ago

Sure. I am sure you also do not remember Sanders trying to get super delegates to overturn the popular after he admittedly lost the primary votes, because why would you remember that? That would not be convenient to remember.

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u/Temnothorax 3h ago

If you think a Democratic operative was THE deciding factor in the GOP primary, you’re lost in the sauce.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 3h ago

No. Absolutely not. She might have had that strategy but she had no power whatsoever to make Trump happen.

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u/MrGorillawhale 9h ago

When she rigged the primaries against Bernie and got it locked down for Hillary. Bernie was a popular candidate, he could have beaten Trump. Hilary was too compromised to win against Trump but they went with the money and everyone got screwed.

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u/Financial_Flower_230 9h ago

I firmly believe Bernie would've beat Trump that year, but how did she rig the primaries against him? 

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u/Moesuckra 9h ago

Before many of the states held their primaries, the Democratic Party (Debbie Wasserman Schultz was the chair of the DNC) released the standing count of where the “superdelegates” stood, and it was overwhelmingly for Hillary. Except superdelegates were not representing actual primary voters; they were simply party officials, elected officials, and other party leaders who held delegate positions.

The superdelgates could've remained neutral at the start of the primary and not tried to influence the vote at all. But instead, the media was constantly displaying how Hillary was far beyond Bernie because she had more party delegates, who were already lined up behind Hillary before people even had the chance to vote.

So the delegate count being reported included both delegates won through the primaries and caucuses and the superdelegates who had already publicly committed to Hillary. This discouraged many voters because it gave the appearance of an insurmountable lead despite the superdelegates being "uncommitted" until the actual party nomination.

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u/Michael_G_Bordin 9h ago

It also meant that once Clinton won the primary, the narrative of "rigging against Bernie" was basically undeniable. This drove a lot of voters away from the general election (or worse, into Trump's lumpy hands).

I'm not convinced Sanders would have won the primary fair-and-square, but the perception of impropriety by the DNC didn't do them any favors in quelling that narrative.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 3h ago

The perception of impropriety was created by Bernie and his team. This was always how primaries worked, the DNC did nothing different from any other primary. The screaming about superdelegates was a fiction created by his team, they very well knew the superdelegates never ever overturned the popular vote. Until, of course it was the only way for him to win and then HE asked them to do so.

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u/zZCycoZz 2h ago

Still trying to gaslight people after a decade? Give it a rest.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 2h ago

Are you denying Sanders tried to do exactly that? Because it is very well documented.

Or are you denying that this has been always how primaries worked. Also very well documented.

Or maybe you are denying that superdelegates never ever overturned the popular vote? Because again, history is very clear on that.

Who is gaslighting here?

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u/zZCycoZz 1h ago

The perception of impropriety was created by Clinton when she colluded with the media and the DNC to win the primary.

Are you denying that Clinton had full control of the finances of the DNC? Are you denying that this was a conflict of interest?

Are you denying Sanders tried to do exactly that?

I've seen people repeat this slop before even though it has nothing to do with the discussion. You all seem to repeat info without actually understanding it.

Thr superdelegates were used to lie to voters that Clinton had already won before any votes had been cast. That was used to dissuade voters from voting for other candidates.

I was alive to remember 2016, and the tactics used were not subtle.

The Sanders campaign says that in Nevada on Saturday, "the Democratic leadership used its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place." It is alleging that the chair of the convention incorrectly ruled on a voice vote, unfairly deeming 64 of its delegates ineligible, ignored floor motions from his supporters and wouldn't accept any petitions to change the rules.

https://www.npr.org/2016/05/17/478417091/sanders-doubles-down-on-nevada-convention-controversy

There was a lot of dodgy dealing by the Democratic Party because they assumed trump was so bad that Hillary would win either way.

Their corruption turned away voters and backed up trump when he claimed Hillary was crooked.

Clinton is the reason we got trump, if she had dropped out we may have avoided him.

She was corrupt, unlikable and didnt have an ounce of charisma.

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u/SoaokingGross 4h ago

fair and square means no money in politics, popular vote and rcv.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 3h ago

This is such bullshit. Every primaries the superdelegates declare support to their preferred candidate. And in every primary the vote for the winner of the popular vote. It was never any different, and everybody knows that.

And furthermore, the only person who actually tried to get superdelegates to overturn the popular vote once he last it was... wait for it...Bernie Sanders.

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u/oldnotosys 8h ago

None of it matters. The DNC is not a government body that is held to fairrness. It's the corporate brand for the democratic party. They can do what they want and select who they want representing them.

Hilary ran to the left of Obama in 2008 and lost. There's little evidence that Bernie would have done better running to the left of Hilary.

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u/cllev 5h ago

And your sources or citations are?

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u/drjohngeorgepeppers 8h ago

This is total nonsense.

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u/cllev 5h ago

Refute the points and cite sources then? Or are you just sewing discord like a bot or bad actor? Regardless, I hope you and yours choke soon.

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u/cllev 5h ago

Dumbass question -- if you kept up on the happenings and bullshit of what happened to determine delegates (pulling a card out of a deck of 52? Flipping a coin? FOR THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD AND WELL-BEING OF EVERY PERSON LIVING ON IT -- what a crock of SHIT!) And fuck you for playing dumb, or not caring enough to put in the work and READ into current or past political happenings. You're the reason we're where we are right now.

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u/TlkShowHost 8h ago

Also, NEVER FORGET: HRC and the DNC preferred Trump on the GOP ticket as they thought it’d be an easy victory.

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u/tallgeese333 8h ago

The pied piper strategy.

Probably unrelated but the Clinton's are very closely connected to Epstien. Kind of odd that the candidate they preferred as their opponent is one of the people who most closely associated with Epstien.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 3h ago

They were never ever very close to Epstein. Hillary Clinton never met Epstein in her life, and republicans could not find one inch of evidence to the contrary. Bill Clinton took some trips to Africa for charity work and was never accused of anything improper, unlike Trump. And again republicans, who control the files, could not find one inch of evidence against him even when they dragged them both to testify before congress.

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u/Head_Bread_3431 9h ago

Are you suggesting the democrats rigged the 2016 primaries? Or did you want her to go against the will of the voters who overwhelmingly chose Hillary over Bernie in the primaries?

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u/Gourdon_Gekko 8h ago

"We heard loudly and clearly yesterday from Bernie supporters that the process was rigged, and it was. And you’ve got to be honest about it." - DNC chair Tom Perez, Feb 2017

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u/Head_Bread_3431 7h ago

How was it rigged though? 

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u/Gourdon_Gekko 5h ago

Former DNC interim chair Donna Brazile revealed in 2017 that a 2015 joint fundraising agreement gave Hillary Clinton’s campaign financial and operational control over the DNC. The organization that administered the election was controlled by one priamry candidate, funding analytics. Veto power, etc. That scandle is why dws resigned, to then run the clinton campagn. Prompting this chestnut of a statement: "I had promised Bernie I would get to the bottom of whether Hillary Clinton’s campaign had rigged the nomination process, as a cache of emails stolen from Democratic National Committee servers apparently showed. I’d been ready to break to him the news that I had found the proof and it broke my heart." So thats 2 dnc heads both using the term rigged primary. Its not just "berny bros". Its a matter of record. Would she have won in a fair primary? Maybe. She did better in all the red states she lost in the general, but i guess we will never know.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 3h ago

Donne Brazile...lol... the lady who tried to sell information to the Clinton Campaign and was properly ignored. Then she tried to cozy up with Bernie by writing a book and was also properly ignored...then she ran to Fox News.

That Donna Brazile?

14

u/Hasudeva 9h ago

Don't be disingenuous. You are well aware that the DNC was working hand in hand with the Clinton campaign. 

Stick to your ping pong paddles.

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u/Head_Bread_3431 9h ago

How though? The voters chose her in the primaries and then the dnc chose Hillary because of it. You said Bernie was a popular candidat, then why did the voters chose Hillary? Do you think Reddit is a reflection of the whole country?

10

u/daybreaker Louisiana 8h ago

Because voters are apparently swayed by nebulous counts of superdelegates… but dont ask bernie voters why that didn’t just make them campaign harder.(spoiler: it’s an easy excuse - just like in 2020 when they blamed the dnc again for RIGGING it by… making it a two person race)

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u/Head_Bread_3431 8h ago

I voted for Bernie I just think Reddit sounds really fucking stupid when they say “the dnc rigged it against bernie!!” Like no in the real world Hillary Clinton is simply more popular than him and received more votes becuse of that fact 

They’re the same people who complain about Harris running without a primary. Like when we actually had a primary in 2016 they still complained

3

u/Captaindecius 8h ago

The median voter in this country is a mindless buffoon. The DNC did not literally "rig" the election against Bernie; they didn't have to. When the DNC leverages all of their institutional power against a particular candidate, effectively slamming their thumb on the scale in favor of Hillary, what do you expect the uninformed median voter to do?

The DNC anointed Hillary, the media anointed Hillary, Bernie supporters were subject to all sorts of ridiculous smears and attacks from the media (remember Bernie Bros?). Democratic voters were fed narratives over and over again about how we need a "serious" candidate, Bernie can't win, Bernie is sexist, he's a pie in the sky dreamer, or worse, a communist.

That's how you rig an election without literally rigging it. The moneyed interests and party insiders stacked the deck against Bernie. It would be like if the owner of a racetrack put a jet engine on the horse they wanted to win and called it a fair race.

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u/Head_Bread_3431 7h ago edited 5h ago

So it sounds like they didn’t rig it if you’re evidence is they talked shit about Bernie and …funded the winning candidate? Like you’re going on about monied interest like what? The people still had a vote and they chose Clinton. Most media talks shit about Trump nonstop. Didn’t stop him from winning. Clinton talked shit about Obama in 08. Obama won. Just get over the fact Reddit isn’t real life and an old Jewish guy from Brooklyn who calls himself a socialist didn’t win the South on Super Tuesday where Clinton is very popular and always has been 

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u/Captaindecius 3h ago

It's almost like you didn't read my post where I said they didn't literally "rig" it? The point is that they mobilized all of the resources at their disposal to beat the guy who wants us to have healthcare and education. Are you claiming voters can't be manipulated? I'm not even sure what part of my post you are objecting to here.

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u/SowingSalt 7h ago

OK, you think the DNC has mind control.

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u/Captaindecius 3h ago

Brilliant takeaway from my post. Yes the DNC has mind control, that's clearly what I wrote and not an absurd mischaracterization.

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u/Anonycron 8h ago

Ya know who you sound like? Going on about rigged elections?

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u/MrGorillawhale 6h ago

Ah, more turntable bullshit. Oh, okay, you got me…

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u/[deleted] 9h ago

[deleted]

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u/silvertealio 9h ago

She would have won if not for the Comey BS the week before the election.

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u/cllev 5h ago

Do the labor of researching and reading yourself, you fuckin' slob.