DNC adds fuel to the #Bern
By: Corey Cooling
Tags: Politics, 2016 Election, Bernie Sanders

So I’m sure you’ve heard the recent drama regarding a “data breach” with the Bernie campaign allegedly having access to the Clinton campaign’s voter data.

The breach in question is related to a software called VAN, which you can access yourself at americavotesvan.com. It was reported late Thursday that due to a “glitch”, the Bernie campaign had access to things they shouldn’t have, and they read through things that the Clinton team had painstakingly acquired through manual door-knocking, phone calls, etc. The DNC then accused the Bernie campaign of saving this information, and as a result, with the help of the VAN software vendor, cut off the Bernie team from ALL of the data in VAN- including the data the Bernie team themselves had acquired. In the age of data, this amounts to cutting out the eyes and ears of the biggest grassroots campaign in history. If you’re looking for a way to cripple an insurgent grassroots candidate, this is it.

Facing a court challenge from the Bernie campaign, Debbie Wasserman Schultz (DWS) then relented and gave access back to the campaign shortly after midnight last night. What happened in between the drama and last night was classic Bernie — hundreds of thousands of petitioners calling for the DNC chair to be dismissed, more petitions urging the campaign to get it’s own data back, and research that revealed that the CEO of the software VAN, is a supporter of the Clinton campaign.

It’s obvious that something here stinks. And it stinks bad.

The narrative for months in the Bernie camp has been this — we are fighting against a corrupt political system. Not just the Republican party, but both parties are corrupted by the influence of money and corporate interests. Clinton’s biggest financial supporter is Goldman Sachs, while I’ve donated to the Bernie campaign for the first campaign contribution in my life. The reason Bernie is running, and why he has so much support of real people, is that he alone refuses to engage in Big Money and thinks it is time for the influence of the wealthy to end. This latest fiasco by the DNC will only fuel the fire.

On a casual view from the outside, the game looks rigged. With only six debates, the O’Malley and Bernie campaign have been calling foul since this summer. Fewer debates presumably protect Clinton’s status as a frontrunner — many people haven’t even heard of O’Malley or Bernie. And the timing of the debates is atrocious- the ONLY debate in Iowa was during the Saturday of the Iowa-Michigian State Big Ten Championship game. This next debate is on another Saturday night, right after college kids are done with finals and are traveling home. Compare this to the R’s debate schedule — twice as many debates, and scheduled during the week where people can talk about it the next day. This stinks.

So far, Trump has gained support for playing the media to his own advantage. Say something bombastic, the media criticizes him, he continues his story of being victimized by the media — brilliant. Bernie would be wise to take this moment in the same way- he’s been dogged by the DNC this whole time, and this latest failed attempt only showcases how the DNC is out to get him, and is a pawn of the Clinton campaign.

As the dust settles from this latest turn of events, expect it to energize and galvanize the Bernie team — myself included. I may or may not watch the debate tonight, but I’m at that point now where I #FeeltheBern deep in my heart, and this is only fuel to the fire.