DNC Superdelegate Promoting Brokered Convention Is A Significant GOP Donor, Health Care Lobbyist

[DanTex]

Time to meet some of the superdelegates that everyone is suddenly such a big fan of.
First up, a corporate lobbyist who donates to Republicans! Who could imagine why he wouldn't want Bernie to be president???

WILLIAM OWEN, a Tennessee-based Democratic National Committee member backing an effort to use so-called superdelegates to select the party’s presidential nominee — potentially subverting the candidate with the most voter support — is a Republican donor and health care lobbyist.

Owen, who runs a lobbying firm called Asset & Equity Corporations, donated to Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and gave $8,500 to a joint fundraising committee designed to benefit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in 2019.

https://theintercept.com/2020/02/27/dnc-superdelegate-convention-gop-donor/

[polichick]

1. Excellent post - wake up sheeple!

[MineralMan]

5. We are "sheeple?"

How nice of you to say.

[polichick]

14. This country has more than our fair share of sheeple...

“Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters.”

[catbyte]

54. Wow, thanks a lot.

[LanternWaste]

2. "And the Blue Scare returns..."

[ehrnst]

22. +10000

[rzemanfl]

3. Article is from

The Intercept not interested.

[DanTex]

6. Interesting that the NYT didn't mention these facts in their article, isn't it?

[Uncle Joe]

10. I agree Dan, that is interesting. n/t

[rzemanfl]

12. Hoping for five. n/t

[greatauntoftriplets]

43. Yep, it's a nice non-round number.

[ehrnst]

31. Yes, one out of 771 unpledged delegates is a statistical bombshell.

The Intercept isn't known for their judgement in the proportional relevance of even the tiniest morsel of "dirt" on the Democratic Party.

But they sure know how to suck in those who are searching high and low for it.

I have to wonder how many bro hours went into sifting through the backgrounds of all those unpledged delegates to come up with something on one of them.

[Cha]

44. glenn greenwald one of 3 founders of the intercept..

..denies Russian involvement in the general election.

Glenn Greenwald Tells Russians Liberals Are Blaming Them As Excuse for Clinton

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/07/glenn-greenwald-tells-russia-liberals-are-scapegoating-them.html

[still_one]

55. Exactly. Jill Stein supporter Briahna Joy used to work for greenwald's intercept, and now

is part of the Sanders campaign

Not interested is right

[MineralMan]

4. Tennessee? Well, they have a Democratic Party organization too,

I suppose. However, he is hardly typical of our unpledged delegates.

Most are Democratic elected officials - House Members, Senators, Governors, etc.

Tennessee does have two Democratic House members, though: Steve Cohen and Jim Cooper. Both voted to impeach Trump. They're unpledged delegates, too.

In the Senate, though there are only Republicans from Tennessee. So they're not unpledged delegates to the Democratic Convention.

Try to find some more characteristic unpledged delegates, like, say, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and people like that to use as examples.

Wouldn't that make more sense?

[DanTex]

9. Most superdelegates are not elected officials. No idea where you got that from.

[ehrnst]

17. Vast majority are elected or formerly elected officials - where did you get the idea they weren't?

According to the Democratic Call for the 2016 Convention, the spots are reserved for Democratic power players. That includes:

The Democratic president, Democratic vice president, and all former Democratic presidents and vice presidents (so, yes, President Obama and Bill Clinton are superdelegates who have—spoiler alert!—said they’ll vote for Hillary Clinton).

All current Democratic U.S. senators and representatives (that includes Bernie Sanders, who, despite being an independent, won the designation when he decided to run for the Democratic nomination; but not Clinton herself, who is no longer a senator).

Current Democratic governors (including territories such as American Samoa, and the mayor of Washington, D.C.).

All former majority and minority leaders of the U.S. Senate.

All former Speakers and minority leaders of the House of Representatives.

Democratic National Committee officials, such as the chair and vice chair of each state’s Democratic party, along with members elected to represent each state at the convention (but if one person fulfills multiple roles, they still only get one vote. For instance, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is both Chair of the DNC and a representative from Florida, but she only gets one vote).

All former DNC chairs.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/81646/how-does-someone-become-superdelegate

You're welcome.

Odd that you did not know even this basic fact about Superdelegates, as much as you discuss them as a threat.

[DanTex]

21. LOL. I wonder why you didn't post the numbers of each of those categories? Hmmm....

[ehrnst]

28. Because I don't have those.. but there's always math, right?

There are 771 unpledged delegates.

How many living former and current elected officials - congress, Senate, Potus, VP, etc. do you think there are?

There are 232 current Democratic members of congress...

There are 45 current Democratic Senators...

Now, recall the definition of "most."

When you find that current list of superdelegates broken out by individual categories that you demand before you will admit you had no idea what you were talking about when you said "most are not," please share.

[TwilightZone]

37. This has been explained to him a dozen times.

The ignorance is intentional.

[ehrnst]

42. Yes, but it's educational to others in the process. They get the facts that they

can deploy on others who are similarly uniformed, and resistant to fact checking.

[Cha]

45. Yes

[ehrnst]

58. OOH - I found out that one of the non-elected Superdelegates worked with PAUL MANAFORT!!!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287596365#post32

[TwilightZone]

36. They're almost all elected officials.

This has been explained to you a dozen times and you still act like you haven't a clue.

Intentional ignorance isn't a compelling argument. It just reflects poorly on you, and perhaps more importantly, on your candidate.

You're doing him no favors.

[DanTex]

38. Umm, no, they aren't. Elected officials are less than half.

[TwilightZone]

39. Yes, they are.

You're not fooling anyone with the clueless routine.

What you are doing, by the way, is dissuading people from voting for Sanders. In fact, you've probably done more to turn people off of Bernie than anyone else on DU.

That your plan?

[DanTex]

40. LOL. No, they really aren't. More than half are DNC members, not elected officials. Sorry.

[ehrnst]

60. Unless you have a source, it's just wishful thinking, Hon.

We're waiting.

[Cha]

46. Absolutely.

[ehrnst]

61. Yep...Nailed it. (nt)

[ehrnst]

59. Source for that stat?

But I know at least one of them is a former associate of Paul Manafort...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287596365#post32

[bluedye33139]

7. He spends a great deal of time working with Tennessee Democrats and for Tennessee Democrats. Not a

big Sanders guy, though!

"A former member of the Tennessee state legislature, Owen is currently an executive member of the Tennessee Democratic Party and DNC, making him one of the 771 unpledged delegates, also known as superdelegates, who could play a hand in selecting the presidential nomination. Owens is a supporter of former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, and has pushed to use superdelegates to make Biden the nominee.//The Tennessee Democrat worked in 2018 to block a Sanders-backed plan to weaken the role of superdelegates in the nomination process. “If we don’t have a vote, then what good are we?” Owen told Politico at the time."

[comradebillyboy]

8. Sorry Dan, it's too late for Bernie to change the rules.

[stonecutter357]

11. you always seem to make Bernie Sanders a victim . Why is that ?

[brutus smith]

13. Not sure why you would be ok with a repub donor being a Dem super delegate.

p

[ehrnst]

23. Strawman/false dillemma - TWOFER!

When one has nothing else..

[brutus smith]

30. What are talking about? You should at least read the OP and the comment I responded to.

[ehrnst]

32. I did. Truth get under your skin?

[Cha]

47. Now that's a "lol"

[msongs]

15. somebody has to be the worlds most persecuted person lol nt

[ehrnst]

24. Some build a political career on it...

[DanTex]

16. That's an odd conclusion to draw from an article about a corporate lobbyist and GOP donor.

[ehrnst]

18. When you have no logical answer, answer anyway, and try a red herring...

[OliverQ]

19. Absolutely disgusting.

He donated exclusively to Republican Senate candidates, including Moscow Mitch, and helped us lose the Senate.

How is he allowed to be a superdelegate for the DNC? This makes Bernie's attacks on the establishment much more appropriate.

[ehrnst]

20. The Intercept... Along with Jacobin, they're Tiger Beat for Bernie, & keep anti-Democratic party

bros with a keyboard in rent money.

[TwilightZone]

27. "Tiger Beat for Bernie"

Best comment ever.

[ehrnst]

34. I remember when they tried to credit Bernie's blessing with Randall Woodfin's 2017 victory

as Mayor of Birmingham, and mentioning once that "Woodfin backed Clinton in the 2016 primary" when he was her campaigns STATE DIRECTOR in Alabama...

I guess acknowledging the facts of the chops gained working for HRC's campaign, along with the fact that she also endorsing him, would have put a dent in identifying him as BERNIE BACKED INSURGENT and "it was BERNIE's intervention and OUR REVOLUTION that pulled off this "stunning" victory of the mayoral runoff and saved AA voters in this deep south city from electing a Red Mayor, by influencing them to vote for a populist insurgent candidate" savior message....

Also minimized... Woodfin was also endosed by Hillary, and an incredibly talented and experienced AA candidate running in a deep blue, predominantly AA city...



But until Bernie uttered his blessing, this 'populist insurgent' wasn't going to have a chance... according to the Intercept

Yes, the Intercept is all about getting the "full story" and focusing on the "relevant" facts...

Also not included in the article.... this photo....



https://www.birminghamtimes.com/2016/07/hillarys-team-in-alabama-ready-for-next-weeks-democratic-convention/

[TwilightZone]

35. I can't take anything the Intercept says seriously.

The Woodfin story is too funny, and you're right -- they're masters at looking at everything through a very, very narrow window and conveniently ignoring all context in pursuit of ideology and their "message".

There's a lot of that going around, unfortunately.

[ehrnst]

25. Well, if you're going to tar everyone who's backed a brokered convention with the same brush...

On May 29, 2016, Sanders said superdelegates had the “very grave responsibility to make sure that Trump [is not] elected president of the United States. Vote for the strongest candidate.

And even as Clinton secured the Democratic nomination the following week, Sanders continued to push for superdelegates to vote to override Clinton’s pledged delegate majority.

Told on June 7, 2016, that his superdelegate convention push would defy history and the will of the voters, Sanders said, “Defying history is what this campaign has been about.””

Bernie Sanders pushed for a contested convention in 2016. Now he wants to avoid one. Feb 27, 2020

[Cha]

48. +++++Thank you! Bookmarked!

[ehrnst]

49. Facts are friends, not foes, to those who care about Democracy.

[Cha]

51. Exactly.. and we do.

[Squinch]

26. Dan, I like your non-election year posts and I love your photos, but this is getting nuts.

Bye till after the primaries. I'll clean out the ignore list then.

[DanTex]

29. Is there anything inaccurate about the article? Is it not noteworthy?

[ehrnst]

50. .....

[The_Counsel]

33. Still Amazed That We Are Talking About a Brokered Convention on Feb. 28...

Guys...we're only three contests in. Lots more delegates to get. Those backing candidates not named "Bernie Sanders" should be focused on how their guy (or gal) can get them.

Those backing Sanders should understand that he doesn't have enough at the moment either, but can still get them. He's in the best position to do just that, too. That should be good news. He does that, and the superdelegates won't matter.

It's not that some superdelegates don't like Sanders, it's that they're worried about his effect on the down-ticket races. In case the superdelegates DO come into play, shouldn't the focus be on how Sanders is going to grow coattails long enough to maintain the House and pull in the Senate? If not, none of those great ideas he has are going anywhere. You can't govern by Executive Order. Convince the superdelegates that you truly have a movement that's going get us the Senate and we'd have something here.

"Eyes on the prize," people...

[AncientGeezer]

41. He's a SD...you know that though.

Last edited Fri Feb 28, 2020, 06:20 PM - Edit history (1)

[awesomerwb1]

52. The Intercept HAHAHAHAHAH

What's next? Articles from the Socialist workers party? Pravda?

[still_one]

56. +++

[NurseJackie]

53. Meh.

What else ya got?

[ehrnst]

57. How about a Superdelegate that used to be a BUSINESS ASSOCIATE to PAUL MANAFORT?

Last edited Sat Feb 29, 2020, 12:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Thanks to Robert S. Mueller III’s prosecution of Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman and sometime business associate of Devine, we now have an unusual glimpse into the role the Democratic ad man had in electing and preserving the power of Ukraine’s Viktor Yanukovych, a crooked pro-Putin autocrat. Though American political consultants routinely rake in cash from foreign leaders — even shady ones — Devine’s seamless pivot from advocate for antidemocratic thug to champion of a principled democratic reformer shows extraordinary flexibility.

Devine wrote with Manafort a January 2006 memo when Russia was cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine, showing Yanukovych how to ride his “good neighbor” policy toward Russia to victory. He became prime minister. Devine drafted a presidential victory speech for Yanukovych in February 2010 (“We are all Ukrainians first,” the American wrote) and later that year wrote talking points showing how Yanukovych and his party could attack the opposition.

Yanukovych’s fraudulent election in 2004 as Ukraine’s president was invalidated, but not before his opponent was poisoned by dioxin. Yet testimony in the Manafort trial and documents released by Manafort’s lawyers show Devine helped Manafort on Yanukovych’s comeback as prime minister in 2006 and successful presidential run in 2010. Devine produced a memo of advice for Yanukovych’s party in 2012, even though by then Yanukovych had thrown the leading opposition politician in jail and had built a $100 million mansion — complete with zoo, helipad, golf course and replica galleon on an artificial lake — while his people were, in Devine’s own words, struggling with “joblessness, hunger and the general despair.”

By April 2012, Yanukovych had jailed his opponent and become an international pariah. Devine told Gates, “I regret that we will not be able to work with you” on Ukraine’s parliamentary elections. But four months later, Devine wrote a strategy memo for Manafort. “The number of people who admit they are having difficulty feeding their family throughout Ukraine today is stunning,” he wrote, urging Yanukovych to “signal” his concern and calling for his party to attack. “I would recommend a roughly 3:1 negative to positive ratio in the advertising,” he wrote.
.....................................................................
Manafort, who worked for the world’s sleazebags, made no pretense of scruples. But Devine was the guy molding the Sanders campaign as a righteous, everyman’s insurgency against the corrupt, wealthy establishment. Devine, who had worked on Sanders’s first campaign for the Senate in 2006 (the same year he plotted Yanukovych’s comeback), earned more than $5 million for his firm from the populist Sanders presidential campaign and at least $10 million in commissions split with another firm, according to a Slate tally.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-bernie-sanders-ad-man-who-played-paul-manaforts-game/2018/08/01/0df78c18-95c7-11e8-a679-b09212fb69c2_story.html