Nearing the end of the worst primary season ever.

Best “How Did I Get Here?” Expression goes to Chris Christie

When I say that it is the worst, I mean overall, for both Republicans and Democrats. By the way, have you noticed that very few people are challenging Hillary’s right to challenge the nomination right until the convention in 2008? That’s what happens when beautiful theories are destroyed by ugly facts. She had the votes, delegates and right to do it in 2008. Bernie? ehhhhhh, not so much. But we will find out on Tuesday.

I just hope that the Bernie supporters in California sleep on their votes on Monday night. New Jersey is a semi-closed primary where you must declare for a party in order to vote in the primary, at least that is the way it worked when I lived there. You can wait right up to the day of the election to declare. So, it’s possible that independents can be Democrats for a day to cast a vote. California had a registration cutoff back in May, if I recall correctly. If you didn’t make the cutoff, you can’t vote. But I’ve heard that many independents were motivated to register for the primary.

The Children’s Table

Why Clinton is leading by 17 points in NJ but is inching ahead in California is puzzling. Maybe some of it is due to demographics, though the number of highly educated Asian STEM workers in New Jersey has probably decreased dramatically since 2008 with the collapse of the pharmaceutical industry. Maybe it has to do with California not really being a true blue state but one where coastals are balanced by more rural independents, conservative Republicans and libertarians. Who knows?

“Most Likely to Succeed”

If I were a Bernie supporter, I’d ask myself if I hate Hillary more than I hate Trump. If Hillary wins the nomination with NJ before the polls close in California, what message will be sent? That Bernie forced Clinton to hobble to the finish line? And if Bernie’s hoping to be given equal time at the convention after trailing Hillary by a significant number of delegates even after California, should he get more consideration than Hillary got at the 2008 convention? I’m guessing the guys will scream bloody murder if they get the same treatment that Hillary got in 2008. Let’s see whose side the party comes down on.

Bernie’s Filibuster- His Finest Hour(s)

Anyway, I’m glad it’s almost over. I’ve had enough of the penis wagging and the Bernie bros being nuisances. I really like Bernie and I stand with him on the issues but he’s let his supporters get into his head and may have damaged his legacy. His campaign has really pissed me off lately. I just want it to end before I lose all respect for him. Let’s get this over with already.

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On another note, I was listening to Reliable Sources on CNN and one journalist was going off on the Obama administration for clamping down on the media and smothering whistleblowers and not letting them get anything to report on. I think it is now dawning on them that Hillary might use the same evasive tactics to keep the press guessing.

This is a good and a bad thing. The good thing is that we were not plagued during the last 8 years with a string of stupid, time-wasting congressional hearings and special prosecutors rifling through Michelle’s underwear drawer. They zipped it, zipped it good. There was nothing to grab onto. The Obama years were profoundly boring.

On the bad side, we have no idea how many times Jamie Dimon visited the White House. I’d like to know that kind of information, wouldn’t you? Who did Obama meet with on the financial bailout, the stimulus package and the affordable care act? What connections did Michelle bring with her to the White House where the hospital industry is concerned? How much or little did Obama expand the NSA creeping into our lives during his tenure? There’s lots of little things that we don’t know anything about and probably won’t until he leaves office and officials start spilling the beans.

The thing is, the clamp down is likely to continue in a Clinton administration. She is already notoriously reticent about speaking to the press gaggle that follows her campaign. I completely understand this. If all they are looking for is a confession of sins so they can force her to do a Cersei Lannister Walk of Shame on a regular basis, as has been their habit for the last 25 years, then why should she participate in her own self-destruction? A presumptive nominee and president has an obligation to her party to maintain a certain degree of dignity. If the media is always trying to undermine that, they shouldn’t be surprised if she cuts them out. She has to do it. They have brought it on themselves.

Going forward, she’s going to learn from her husband’s terms to button things up just to be able to do her job on a day to day basis without unnecessary distractions. But that means that we aren’t going to be aware of when things go off the tracks too. This level of vigilance will need to be maintained until the end of her term.

Rebecca Traister wrote that Hillary has to learn to get over her distrust of the media, even if this distrust is merited.I’m not so sure I see it that way. It used to be the media had an obligation to keep the public informed but these days, it seems like it’s more motivated by keeping the shareholders happy. If Clinton clamps down on journalists’ access because of their past behavior, as I expect she will, then what will they have to report? Well, I guess they could still create mountains out of molehills and make shit up but I think the public is getting really tired of that, especially when all the investigations result in big nothingburgers. How is that going to please the shareholders?

My prediction is that she’ll continue the Obama clamp down and they’ll be outraged by it. The question is, will they learn anything?? Sometimes, I get the impression that they took an oath years ago to never let Hillary become president or they will die trying to prevent it. It’s like some kind of Grover Norquist Club for Growth vow that has long outlived its usefulness. It’s just spite for the sake of spite, journalist “rebels” without a cause. And they really mean it. They just aren’t so clear about why anymore. None of it makes any damn sense. Unless there’s something radical about Clinton that they know that we don’t.

I guess we are all about to find out.