Primaries in the United States Democratic Party are a Lot Like the Middle East

Published May 1st, 2018 - 10:19 GMT
Elections in the Democratic Party of the United States are, it seems, not too dissimilar to elections in the Middle East after all. /Shutterstock
Elections in the Democratic Party of the United States are, it seems, not too dissimilar to elections in the Middle East after all. /Shutterstock

Audio has leaked of House Democrat Steny Hoyer, the Number 2 Demcract in the House of Representatives, pressuring a candidate to get out of a race in the Colorado primary.

After details of the recording leaked and were covered by US media, Nancy Pelosi went on record to observe "I don't see anything inappropriate." Nancy Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and one of the most influential individuals in the Democratic party.

According to the Intercept publication, "the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee [DCCC] has moved agressively to crush competitive primaries. DCCC officials and senior democracts are hand-picking moderate, business-friendly candidates, and are attempting to push progressives out of key races."

It's unclear what the publication means by "progressive," but the leaked audio clearly reflects a political system in which one of the most competitive seats in the United States - the Colorado 6th District - is decided not by votes or the popular will, but by internal and anti-democratic party functionaries. 

At one point Levi Tillerman, a candidate that did not appear to be favored by the DCCC, asks Hoyer if "you would like me to get out of the race?"

The congressman replies, "you keep saying I would like you to get out - and of course that's correct." Later the congressman adds, "I am for Crow (the other candidate) because a judgment was made very early on." 

Democratic elections in the United States appear to increasingly have a lot in common with the Middle East.