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Bernie Sanders
Related: About this forumClinton Iowa Volunteers Train When To Push Backers To O’Malley — To Block Bernie
Hillary Clintons campaign for president is instructing its Iowa caucus leaders to in certain cases throw support to former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley, with the goal blocking her main opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, from securing additional delegates.
The tactical move is rooted in the complex math of the Iowa caucuses Monday night, where the campaign is looking to defeat Sanders in a state whose caucus-goers have historically backed progressive challengers.
A precinct captain, Jerome Lehtola, confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the campaign has trained precinct captains to release supporters to OMalley if the move can make him viable without hurting Clinton. A Clinton aide said the campaign has trained more than 4,000 volunteer precinct captains to handle a host of different scenarios, including ones where caucus-goers are released to or recruited from another camp.
Our precinct leadership teams have worked hard to get to know as many people in their precincts as possible and theyll use those relationships to maximize Hillary Clintons delegate count depending on which groups are viable on caucus night, the aide said.
The goal, in the caucuses complex terms, is to cost Clinton no delegates in the states 1,681 caucuses while ensuring stray OMalley supporters dont defect to Sanders.
This kind of tactical maneuvering is an old Iowa pattern, part of what a former Iowa aide to John Kerry in 2004, Addisu Demissie, described as being part of the states brilliantly, gloriously, esoterically small-d democratic tradition. (Demissie describes the caucus math in excruciating detail in his piece.) The Clinton and Obama campaigns played similar tactical games in 2008, and a deal between Obamas and Bill Richardsons campaigns was controversial enough to be kept top secret at the time. At the time, outraged Clinton aides called reporters to denounce the deal.
This time around, there is no indication that an agreement is involved.
Were urging all of Gov. OMalley's supporters to hold strong on caucus night, and we welcome all of Secretary Clintons supporters to back a real progressive who has actually gotten things done and can build on president Obamas progress, said OMalley spokeswoman Lis Smith. Come on over, the water is warm!
And in 2016, of course, theres an app for that.
The software, which Lehtola showed BuzzFeed News on his iPhone, allows them to enter the complete number of attendees at a given caucus, and then to divvy them up by candidate. The app shows how many supporters each candidate needs to reach their thresholds. Precinct captains can then calculate easily whether, say, Clinton can without cost to her own delegate count boost OMalley to a viability. And theyve been trained, Lehtola said, in that maneuver.
A senior Sanders caucus strategist, who also spoke on background, allowed that caucus rules allow for these kind of math games, but said the Sanders campaign has no similar plan. They have trained their volunteers to play it straight, the strategist said try to get as many people to the caucus site as possible, and then try to recruit caucus goers from among the candidates not deemed to be viable.
A spokesperson reacted much more strongly.
Its sad and telling that their campaign doesnt think they can win without these kinds of tactics, said Rania Batrice, Sanderss Iowa spokesperson. At the end of the day though, we believe in the caucus process and know its in the very capable hands of Iowans.
Still, the tactic depends on the willingness of Clintons supporters to act tactically, and everyday Iowans dont always make disciplined cadres.
Thats what they told us in the training sessions Im not sure how well its going to work, said Lehtola, 69, a retired hospital worker who is a Clintons precinct captain in Iowa Falls, and who showed off the apps ease of use to a BuzzFeed News reporter.
Lehtola, standing in back as supporters waited to hear form former President Bill Clinton, said he was most worried about the deep divisions between Clinton and Sanders supporters, and among Americans more broadly.
Im a Vietnam vet, and Im just hoping it doesnt get that ugly again in this country, he said. Its so polarized again.
The tactical move is rooted in the complex math of the Iowa caucuses Monday night, where the campaign is looking to defeat Sanders in a state whose caucus-goers have historically backed progressive challengers.
A precinct captain, Jerome Lehtola, confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the campaign has trained precinct captains to release supporters to OMalley if the move can make him viable without hurting Clinton. A Clinton aide said the campaign has trained more than 4,000 volunteer precinct captains to handle a host of different scenarios, including ones where caucus-goers are released to or recruited from another camp.
Our precinct leadership teams have worked hard to get to know as many people in their precincts as possible and theyll use those relationships to maximize Hillary Clintons delegate count depending on which groups are viable on caucus night, the aide said.
The goal, in the caucuses complex terms, is to cost Clinton no delegates in the states 1,681 caucuses while ensuring stray OMalley supporters dont defect to Sanders.
This kind of tactical maneuvering is an old Iowa pattern, part of what a former Iowa aide to John Kerry in 2004, Addisu Demissie, described as being part of the states brilliantly, gloriously, esoterically small-d democratic tradition. (Demissie describes the caucus math in excruciating detail in his piece.) The Clinton and Obama campaigns played similar tactical games in 2008, and a deal between Obamas and Bill Richardsons campaigns was controversial enough to be kept top secret at the time. At the time, outraged Clinton aides called reporters to denounce the deal.
This time around, there is no indication that an agreement is involved.
Were urging all of Gov. OMalley's supporters to hold strong on caucus night, and we welcome all of Secretary Clintons supporters to back a real progressive who has actually gotten things done and can build on president Obamas progress, said OMalley spokeswoman Lis Smith. Come on over, the water is warm!
And in 2016, of course, theres an app for that.
The software, which Lehtola showed BuzzFeed News on his iPhone, allows them to enter the complete number of attendees at a given caucus, and then to divvy them up by candidate. The app shows how many supporters each candidate needs to reach their thresholds. Precinct captains can then calculate easily whether, say, Clinton can without cost to her own delegate count boost OMalley to a viability. And theyve been trained, Lehtola said, in that maneuver.
A senior Sanders caucus strategist, who also spoke on background, allowed that caucus rules allow for these kind of math games, but said the Sanders campaign has no similar plan. They have trained their volunteers to play it straight, the strategist said try to get as many people to the caucus site as possible, and then try to recruit caucus goers from among the candidates not deemed to be viable.
A spokesperson reacted much more strongly.
Its sad and telling that their campaign doesnt think they can win without these kinds of tactics, said Rania Batrice, Sanderss Iowa spokesperson. At the end of the day though, we believe in the caucus process and know its in the very capable hands of Iowans.
Still, the tactic depends on the willingness of Clintons supporters to act tactically, and everyday Iowans dont always make disciplined cadres.
Thats what they told us in the training sessions Im not sure how well its going to work, said Lehtola, 69, a retired hospital worker who is a Clintons precinct captain in Iowa Falls, and who showed off the apps ease of use to a BuzzFeed News reporter.
Lehtola, standing in back as supporters waited to hear form former President Bill Clinton, said he was most worried about the deep divisions between Clinton and Sanders supporters, and among Americans more broadly.
Im a Vietnam vet, and Im just hoping it doesnt get that ugly again in this country, he said. Its so polarized again.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/hillary-bernie-math?utm_term=.kx8vnGX4g#.jhxlQGpyM
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Clinton Iowa Volunteers Train When To Push Backers To O’Malley — To Block Bernie (Original Post)
Mufaddal
Jan 2016
OP
She and her campaign are corrupt to the core. LIE, CHEAT AND STEAL should be her motto.
in_cog_ni_to
Jan 2016
#4
JudyM
(29,251 posts)1. We can hope the O'Malley team will let stray caucus goers know about this scheme.
And urge them to head to Bernie's corner in solidarity.
bkkyosemite
(5,792 posts)2. As she has said she will do anything to win.
SandersDem
(592 posts)3. Tactical but offensive
to all caucus goers.
Is she really getting that desperate?
in_cog_ni_to
(41,600 posts)4. She and her campaign are corrupt to the core. LIE, CHEAT AND STEAL should be her motto.
PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE
Bernie will win with his INTEGRITY intact. Hillary can't do that since she has none to keep intact.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)5. Very dumb and short-sighted. If by doing this she gets the nomination,
she will have thoroughly alienated young and independent Bernie supporters who she needs in the GE. Most of Berners aren't supporting because he is a Democrat, they are supporting him becasue of who he is. Labels means nothing. She'll have won the fight but lost the war.