This couldn’t have been timed better. Hours ago, NPR reported that President Obama is prepared to endorse Hillary Clinton. The reporters emphasized the words “prepared to endorse,” adding that the President wouldn’t actually endorse her until “after” the primaries are over. Damage done. Mission accomplished.

Then, moments later, the Associated Press blasted online that “Clinton has delegates to win Democratic nomination.” The New York Times did it too. Their declarations aren’t technically true but that doesn’t seem to matter.

What does seem to matter is that The New York Times, the AP, and NPR’s  announcements were timed perfectly — just hours before Californians woke up and headed to the polls to vote in the biggest primary in the country. According to the polls, this mega-primary is going to be close so mainstream media is placing its proverbial thumb on the scale just as they’ve done for the past few weeks — setting the stage for their desired outcome a Clinton/Trump general election contest.

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How else can you explain their reporting of a future event as if it’s already happened and how else can you explain the 24/7 coverage of  Hillary Clinton engaged in battles against Donald Trump as if she was in a general election campaign. She is not but the media has clearly pivoted to the general election, abandoning serious coverage of the Sanders/Clinton primary – one that won’t be over until the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia on July 25^th. Bernie Sanders has made it clear that he is sticking to his guns till the end.  Much like Hillary Clinton did in her race against Barack Obama. July 25th is the date the mainstream media should be reporting about but you’d be hard pressed to find any of them focusing on that date.

Thanks to MSNBC, CNN, CBS and the like, that date—July 25th—means little to the average person. It’s only us die hard political junkies—steeped in the details that know that the AP’s June 6th headline declaring Hillary the victor is inaccurate because as of June 6^th Hillary Clinton only had 1811 pledged delegates, not the required 2382. (see chart below)

The only way Clinton is going to get the full 2382 is by getting a substantial number of superdelegates to actually vote for her, and not just say they’ve endorsed her. Because while it is likely that she’ll get many of those superdelegates, the  rules state that the actual vote can’t happen until they get to the convention in Philadelphia on July 25^th.

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So why are The New York Times, the Associated Press, National Public Radio and other national corporate media outlets jumping the gun and reporting a win that hasn’t happened?

You can use your imagination but my sense is that we the people are being played like a fiddle. Big media outlets know their headlines have huge impacts on the outcome of elections. They can probably estimate the degree to which that impact will be felt in terms of percentage points. It doesn’t seem coincidental that those announcements went out the day before the biggest primary in the nation.

Manipulating the public may produce short term results but it won’t change this reality.  Regardless of what happens in the weeks to come, the people are demanding real change. There is a movement underway in this country that will not be quieted until the people get what they need and deserve—which is a country that lives up to its core democratic ideals. The Bernie Sanders campaign is not about Bernie Sanders — this is a grassroots movement.

The tens of thousands that came to Sanders rallies are not going to just go home and be quiet. The superdelegates should pay attention. The electeds that endorsed Sanders will ultimately be remembered and rewarded. Politicians like Gil Cedillo, Keith Ellison, Tulsi Gabbard, Alan Grayson, Raul Grijalva, Anthony Portantino, Bao Nguyen, and Nina Turner are standing on the right side of history. They are standing with and expressing the sentiments of the Occupy Movement, the Dreamers, the Fight for Fifteen, Moral Mondays, Black Lives Matter, and others. We MUST transform America. And we will.

IF YOU ARE SICK OF THE MANIPULATIONS OF CORPORATE CONTROLLED MAINSTREAM MEDIA — PLEASE SHARE THIS ARTICLE AND SUPPORT INDEPENDENT OUTLETS.

Sharon Kyle
Publisher, LA Progressive