Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii
© AP Photo/Evan VucciRep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, said although she wasn't privy to details about the particular case, she "was not surprised" by former Democratic National Committee head Donna Brazile's remarks that the Clinton campaign exercised considerable power over the DNC during the 2016 election.
On November 2, 2017, Politico published explosive excerpts from former interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile's upcoming book Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House confirming the Democratic Party fixed its 2016 primary for Hillary Clinton before a single American had voted.

The reality that the Democratic Party undermined democracy by designating Clinton as its nominee before its primary contests has been widely reported in independent media, but actively dismissed by the state-aligned corporate media that had coordinated with the Democrats and permitted this fraud to occur unchecked. With American media beholden to Clinton and the establishment, Brazile's bombshell broke the "Bernie blackout" that originated in 2016 to silence Bernie Sanders' campaign to Clinton's benefit.

Renowned hypocrite Elizabeth Warren was swift to join Brazile in throwing Clinton under the bus, doubling the irony considering the active roles Brazile and Warren both played in ushering Clinton into the general election, despite the clear and obvious likelihood that she would lose to Donald Trump as she did - bigly.


Fortunately, breath of fresh air Tulsi Gabbard seized the opportunity to constructively address the truth behind Brazile's claims, reminding Americans the Hawaii representative occupies a league of her own.

Famously, Gabbard took a principled stand during the Democratic primary in February 2016 when she resigned her post as Vice Chair of the DNC to endorse then-candidate Bernie Sanders. Her recent swearing-off of political action committee contributions and her consistent and sincere leadership across virtually all issues are enough to pardon a fair cynic's concerns.

Without hesitation, Gabbard politely eviscerated the party she's stuck in:
Earlier today we heard from Donna Brazile that what people had suspected for a long time has turned out to be true: the DNC secretly chose their nominee over a year before the primary elections even occurred.
This shines a light on how deeply broken our campaign finance laws are, and how they've weakened individual candidates while strengthening and empowering political parties and special interests.
These laws essentially allowed the Clinton campaign to bypass individual campaign contribution limits by funneling millions of dollars through the DNC and state parties, taking control of the DNC in the process.
Along with the recent retaliatory purge of Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison supporters from the DNC's executive committee, this is just further evidence that the DNC needs to be completely overhauled to take our party back from the special interests of a powerful few, and put it back in the hands of the people.
Gabbard's statement packed in more truth and reconciliation than Americans have heard from any sitting politician as to the severity of the damage caused by Clinton's illicit theft of the Democratic party primary.

In under two minutes, she publicly acknowledged
  1. the party rigged the primary before Americans had voted, and
  2. did it in secret,
  3. taking advantage of corrupt campaign finance loopholes
  4. while disabling the grassroots. Further, she
  5. blasted Clinton for skirting campaign finance laws
  6. in setting up a money laundering scheme within the DNC that
  7. depleted state party resources and
  8. assumed ownership of the party apparatus, unbeknownst to voters.
Here, Gabbard is right to kick Clinton while she's down. As the impropriety of Clinton's overseeing of an illegal uranium deal and the cover-up of her funding the infamous Steele Dossier continue to expose the depth of her corruption, Sanders supporters now react in real-time to the fact that their votes, time, and money were systematically robbed from them in 2016, as they suspected or knew all along. The way Clinton and the Democrats lied to the voters about the party's financial and political alliances as it solicited financial contributions in the 2016 primary is inexcusable, if not outright criminal.

Gabbard went on to sit down with The Young Turks' Nomiki Konst to discuss the state of the Democratic Party in the aftermath of Brazile's bombshell. Gabbard asserted that she is "not surprised" by Brazile's reveal and blasted the way joint fundraising agreements were used to launder money within the party to the detriment of the American public.


As if she were sincere, Konst openly framed the interview asking for Gabbard's advice on how to most productively reform the party. Cornered by her overt intentions, Konst admitted in "full disclosure" that in addition to her role in the media as a reporter for the indefensible and corrupt TYT, she also - ethics be damned - sits on the Democratic Party's Unity Reform Commission.

Konst's disclosure is not as "full" as she suggests. While she may deserve praise for confessing her flagrant conflict of interest when she repeatedly has failed to in the past, she makes no reference whatsoever to the recent $20 million TYT received from Clinton and Democratic Party donors. An investigative journalist would have pressed Gabbard on the civil or criminal liabilities the party is facing from defrauding and disenfranchising voters; of course, Konst herself openly aligns with the party guilty of all this and proudly serves as one of its many dutiful media shills to boot.

In broad daylight, the corporate media was exposed for playing an active role in advancing the DNC and Clinton campaign's joint agenda with the flagrant ethical abandon that defines the rotting American justice system. Despite the implications of fraud, and despite the media's theoretical obligation to hold the powerful accountable on behalf of the greater good, the all-powerful American media Konst occupies aided and abetted a major political party in its strategy to ensure the nomination of a candidate before the candidate would even enter the race, before a single primary contest was conducted, and disenfranchised millions of engaged citizens in the process.

Konst does not appear to be bothered.

Fortunately, Gabbard's messaging on reform is unique in its diligence. Gabbard is one of very few public figures in America that understands that its democracy is what needs to be fixed, not necessarily its Democratic Party. Certainly, partisan politicians and establishment stalwarts are invested in only fixing the party; this dedication to people is what makes Gabbard stand out.

As Brazile waffles on her account and establishment hacks lash out in a frenzy, Gabbard's clear vision of a better democracy is a nonpartisan one. Addressing the abysmal turnout in state and national elections across all parties in her interview with Konst, Gabbard acknowledged the reality that the Democratic Party is, in fact, anti-grassroots:
"These are simple things we can do to increase engagement in our elections overall, and specifically in the Democratic Party. ... Unfortunately what we've seen is that more hurdles have been put in place for people to get involved, than actually making it easier.
The only way to bring about meaningful change in the party is if people - in every state across the country - stand up and demand it."
As disgraced former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has openly confirmed, the Democratic Party's superdelegate system specifically serves the purpose of thwarting the interests of "insurgent" candidates supported by the grassroots to protect the party's elite. At this point, the party operates without any pretense that it should respect the interests of the broader grassroots. As seen in the DNC Fraud Lawsuit hearings, the party doesn't even respect the interest of its own members.

Herself certainly included, Konst closes her interview lamenting that many people "have vested interest in keeping the party the way it is" and asks what Gabbard would say to those considering a "Dem Exit".

Not falling for the bait, Gabbard goes on:
"I'm not gonna sit here and tell anyone to stay in the party or to leave the party, that's up to every individual to make that choice.
It's important for us to in all ways find ways that we can constructively strengthen our democracy."
Again, Gabbard demonstrates that the first and foremost fight to retake American democracy is to retake democracy - not the Democratic Party. Given the diverse needs and lives of Americans across the country, there should be no expectation that a one-size-fits-all party exists.

Despite how ingratiated she is in the party, Gabbard understands it must get rid of the undemocratic system of superdelegates, and advocates tirelessly that it does so. She calls for implementing open or same-day registration for primary contests, to actually encourage voter engagement. She understands that this means that things will change, and she reminds us to be positive and not to be afraid of seeing change occur.

While Gabbard, like others, has so far came short of calling for criminal investigations of the Democrats responsible for the rigging of the primary, she has openly stated her support for the special counsel investigations into the forces that undermined democracy in 2016. As Trump's administration roots out these corrupt actors, Gabbard is fine to focus on forging an inclusive path ahead that focuses on people, not parties.

Americans would be wise to do the same.