Clinton bailed out Dems, so takeover was justified
Former Democratic Party Chair Donna Brazile told the truth about how Hillary Clinton’s operation took over the Democratic National Committee and used it to help her beat Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries.
And guess what? There was nothing wrong with that. Nothing corrupt or dishonest.
Like it or not, political parties are private businesses. The DNC was broke, and Clinton bailed it out. And like any investor in a business being saved from bankruptcy, Clinton had the right to do want she wanted to do with the operation. After all, she was paying the bills.
She not only took over the operation, she turned it into an extension of her campaign-fundraising ma-
chine, through which millions of dollars could be collected over and above the usual limits on presidential candidates. That was smart — and legal.
She did what Barack Obama should have done a long time ago — try to put the Democratic Party in a position to be of assistance to the top candidate.
Yes, Bernie Sanders was the loser in the play, so now his followers are screaming. But Bernie is only nominally a Democrat. He’s always held himself apart from the party operation, and the party owed him nothing.
The real loser in the Clinton party takeover was then-Vice President Joe Biden, who realized too late that the game was tilted and decided not to get into the race.
It’s too bad for Joe, but he was asleep at the switch.
The fact that the Democratic Party was almost bankrupt was common knowledge in the Obama camp. The fact that they didn’t do anything about it was also common knowledge.
Clinton offered to do something about it — and as a result, she got something out of it.
That’s politics.
Birth of a salesman: Tom Steyer certainly appears to have struck a chord with voters, with 1.5 million people — and counting — signing up for his call to impeach President Trump.
A lot of his TV ad’s success can be attributed to Steyer himself. His cool, open-collar delivery in front of a living room fireplace serves as a soft frame for a pretty jolting message — that our commander in chief is an unhinged lunatic who is bringing us to the brink of nuclear war, trying to abolish the free press and profiting from illegal foreign investments.
I’m not sure Steyer will get his wish. But the campaign has given the billionaire former hedge fund manager-turned-environmental activist a lot of attention on the national stage — and a big boost for whatever he decides to do next.
Maybe that’s Democratic pitchman in the 2018 congressional elections. Or, maybe that’s a run for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat.
Full disclosure: As I’ve done every election since Dianne Feinstein got into electoral politics in 1969, I’ll be a ceremonial cochair of her campaign committee when she runs for another Senate term in 2018.
I still don’t know what the job involves. We argue often. She never likes what I write about her.
Sometimes I think she just wants me around to have someone to complain about.
When Trump connects: Most of the time, President Trump is way too bombastic for his own good. But there are times when he connects with more Americans than anyone on the left wants to admit.
The actions of the New York terror truck driver outraged everyone I know, liberal and conservative. The usual voices said Trump was being divisive by calling him an “animal” and saying the U.S. justice system was “a joke.” But that’s pretty much what I heard on the street — especially after the defendant reportedly bragged about what he did and asked for the Islamic State flag to be hung in his hospital room.
On this one, Trump’s critics should leave the indefensible to the defense team. No way are they going to win a case like this against the president in the court of public opinion.
GOP death wish: Any California Republican member of Congress who votes for a tax reform plan that eliminates federal deductions for state taxes is definitely on the road to being retired next year.
Talk is cheap. Political rhetoric is even cheaper. But taxes cost people money, and in the end people vote with their wallets.
So watch closely. The exit could be near for those seven incumbent California Republicans who live in areas where Hillary Clinton outpolled Trump last year. No treat: I witnessed two horrors while walking the streets on Halloween.
One was fun. The other, definitely not.
The fun horror was on Chestnut Street, where all the storekeepers were dressed up and passing out candy during the daylight hours to the little ones.
The other horror was along the backside of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, on Grove Street, which is lined with yet another of the city’s evergrowing tent encampments.
The camp is not just a horror — it’s also an embarrassment. How the city is not humiliated by such a sight is beyond me. Tailor-made trouble: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort supposedly spent $900,000 on clothes.
You wouldn’t know it to look at the guy.
Word is, Manafort was a regular at Bijan on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
My bet is that the clothes weren’t for Manafort, but gifts for public officials. Not too many people know it, but it’s amazing how many political types will take a tie or cashmere over cash. Bar wit: Overheard during an argument at the bar at Kokkari: “If you can’t lead by example, then please be a horrible warning.”
Want to sound off ? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com