By Ben Schulman
The previous election cycle was very stressful and unorthodox for many Americans. After Trump won the U.S. presidency, I thought that all of the chaos of the election cycle would be over and the nation would move on. Well, I was wrong.
A story has been developing over the past few weeks with little media attention, but I think it is essential to call it out. During the 2016 presidential election, the Democratic National Committee was accused of favoring Hillary Clinton over Senator Bernie Sanders, possibly costing Sanders the democratic presidential candidacy, according to the Washington Post.
The DNC was sued in Florida for fraud by people who claimed that the system was rigged and that they should get their political donations toward the Sanders candidacy back because they did not have a chance of winning and essentially threw their money away. The courts in Florida threw the case out. This is shocking to me to hear that the case was thrown out and no one will get their political contributions back.
Attorneys representing the DNC claimed that the DNC would be well within their legal rights to go into back rooms, smoke cigars and pick its candidate that way, according to the Observer.
Also, the DNC reportedly argued that the organization’s neutrality among Democratic campaigns during the primaries was merely a ‘political promise,’ and therefore it had no legal obligations to remain impartial throughout the process, the Washington Post wrote.
Knowing this information, in my opinion, is very unnerving. It makes me wonder if the candidates of the Republican National Committee are chosen in a backroom, as well. I also question why we have primary elections if they truly don’t matter in the end. However, what we now know undoubtedly is that the DNC chose the democratic candidate rather than the people. The DNC failed to serve the people of the United States.
However, I also feel that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Although the lawsuit was thrown out, it forced the DNC to show its cards and expose its inner workings. This revelation that the establishment defied the people is big and can cause some upset among citizens, especially with the ones who lost money to a rigged system, according to the Observer.
But we also must remember that the constitution does not guarantee a legitimate primary. Hell, the constitution gives no official legitimacy to political parties in general.
At the end of the day, no matter how much money was donated to a candidate and no matter how morally bankrupt it could be, the DNC reserves the right to go as far as choosing a name out of a hat to pick their candidate, and it would be perfectly legal.
What has transpired with the DNC should be taken as a wake-up call to get educated about the constitution and about the political process in general. I hope that what happened will be enough to get Americans angry and hungry for change. The seeds of distrust have been planted by the DNC and their legitimacy is in question by the people. I wonder if our entire political structure will also come under question by the people, as well.
