Michigan Dem Meeting Breaks Into Violence as Clinton Fans Repel Sanders Partisans

The Observer ^ | December 21, 2016 | Michael Sainato

[2ndDivisionVet]

On December 3, the Michigan Democratic Party held a committee meeting, open to the public and party members, to vote on delegates to represent Michigan at the Democratic National Committee. Unfortunately, rather than learning from Hillary Clinton’s presidential election loss, and sincerely welcoming Bernie Sanders supporters into the party after scolding them for more than a year, the Democratic establishment has continued treating progressives as second class citizens.

Michigan was one of the most closely contested races during the Democratic primaries. Sanders pulled off an upset victory there after polling suggested Clinton was likely to win. The most recent turmoil between the pro-Clinton leadership of the Democratic Party and Sanders supporters is a microcosm of the constant tug-of-war progressives are in with establishment types across the country, over issues such as appointing new leadership roles and determining a direction for the party’s recovery.

During their meeting, Sam Pernick, president of the Young Democrats of Michigan, and other Sanders supporters—who nearly outnumbered the rest of the attendees at the meeting—protested the lack of transparency and openness exercised by the Michigan Democratic Party, which rigged the DNC delegate nomination process behind closed doors. Michigan Democratic Party officials responded with force. Pernick and several others were nearly dragged out of the meeting. Pernick is pursuing charges, and the Westland Police Department recently issued Mike Stone, a senior Michigan Democratic Party official, a ticket for assault and battery.

“We need to make it clear that violence, assault and battery have no place in our party,” Pernick said in a press release. “We came there to protest a lack of transparency and support Keith Ellison for DNC Chair—the reaction from leaders within the party was to violently throw us out of the room.”

Six delegates were to be chosen at that Michigan Democratic Party meeting to represent Michigan at the DNC for the next four years, where they would be able to vote for the next DNC chair, and participate in other important decisions to determine the direction of the entire party. Pernick and his group claimed the voting process was predetermined to reflect the preferences of the party leaders—not its members.

“People keep saying the youth should take part and engage with the party, but if everything is decided beforehand by a handful of elites, then what are they really saying?” asked Pernick. “Despite this unfortunate incident, I want our party to succeed. I want change from the inside and that means organizing youth and showing the party that our voice matters. People need to know that the violent reaction of these senior party members is not acceptable.”

Through a movement Pernick has called “Michigan For Revolution,” he and other activists are organizing meetings across the state to encourage youth and progressives to engage with the state and local Democratic Party, and to push for reforms. He cited eradicating the influence of corporate money in the party, removing the practice of “vote buying” in which party members are influenced by outside interest groups to attend meetings and vote as a bloc, and to obtain greater representation for the young Democrats in the party’s leadership positions.

“This election was a repudiation of elitist politics. The establishment had their candidate and they lost,” Pernick added. “It’s time we started listening to the grassroots. If we have to do the work ourselves, we will. We won’t be stopped by violence and we will continue to peacefully protest and to actively work to change the party from within.”

[4Liberty]

Rat fight!! 🐀🐀🐀

[FreedomStar3028]

Sanders supporters blaming Clinton supporters for Trump.

Clinton supporters blaming everyone else for Trump.

No one blaming Trump for Trump.

It’s delicious watching them tear each other apart.

[arthurus]

Classic Communist tactic. Split the party. Expel the “other” faction. Keep doing it until there is total loyalty and homogeneity of ideology and no questions about acts or words of the general secretary or the central committee. The American Communist Party had periodic such purges and anathematized those forced out.

[Bob]

Can both sides lose? I certainly hope so.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Sounds like a mini-Stalingrad. Nazis against the Commies. What fun.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Leon Trotsky.

[realcleanguy]

And the implosion of the Democrat party begins

[SteveH]

Can’t they all just settle it once and for all in a bikini mud wrestling contest? Sheesh.

[dfwgator]

Leon Trotsky.

Comrades. Bolsheviks. Friends of the Revolution. I have returned. (renewed cheering) The bloodstained shadow of Stalinist repression is past. I bring you new light of Permanent Revolution. Comrades, I may once have been ousted from power, I may have been expelled from the party in 1927, I may have been deported in 1929 but (sings) I'm just an old-fashioned girl, with an old-fashioned mind. Comrades, I don't want to destroy in order to build, I don't want a state founded on hate and division (sings) I want an old-fashioned house with an old-fashioned fence, and an old-fashioned millionaire.

General So! You have duped us. You shall pay for this. Guards, seize him.

General Shall I seize him too?

Senior General No, I think we'll have to keep him, he's going down well.

General He's more fun than he used to be.

Senior General He's loosened up a lot. This is an old Lenin number.

[spokeshave]

Pernick is pursuing charges, and the Westland Police Department recently issued Mike Stone, a senior Michigan Democratic Party official, a ticket for assault and battery.

“We need to make it clear that violence, assault and battery have no place in our party,” Pernick said in a press release.

“We came there to protest a lack of transparency and support Keith Ellison for DNC Chair

Ha.. I see two levels of cognative dissonance going on here

First off....the dim Pernick calls for a Police Officer to issue a ticket for assault and battery

If the tables were turned Pernick would be doing the assulting and battery.

Second ....Pernick supporting Ellison ...doesn't Pernick known that the black muslim Ellison would soon off Pernick's head at the first opportunity.

Exploding dims heads all over.

[Rebel2016]

No, they are not the fighters in the category of the battle of Stalingrad. They are just bunch of metrosexual pussies.

[toddausauras]

Paging Mr. Orville Redenbacker.

[Fhios]

interestingly, the author claims the Dem establishment is isolating the progressives. I think it’s quite the opposite. Main Stream Democrats have been pushed out by the progressives.

[lee martell]

Whenever Dems congregate, it’s starting to resemble what happens when low life parents gather at Chuck E. Cheese.
Somebody thinks they just got ‘dissed’, and a Food Fight breaks out!

[arthurus]

The big one in the USA was the expulsion and anathematization of Jay Lovestone and his faction in, I think, the 30s, who were forever after (still are) referred to in curled lip venom as “Lovestoneites”

[Nextrush]

What’s going on here is the ‘mainstream’ of the Democrats backed by big corporate and banking money resisting a takeover attempt by honest Progressive Leftist outsiders.

The Republican Party ‘mainstream’ has traditionally done this to Conservative outsiders, Libertarian followers of Ron Paul and so on.

The Corporatist System is about big business and big banking control of both parties and that’s what was going on here n in the case of the Democrats, the elites keeping the outsiders out.

[Lockbox]

Yes, the DNC will loose 30 to 40% and the Bernie supports will go independent! Great move DNC, split the party!

[RedWulf]

I so love this election. I never would have guessed when it started that it would be the democratic party that would be tearing itself apart after a colossal loss.

[Paladin2]

The CPUSA supported H->! .