The sharp divisions in the DKos community are not just a dispute between advocates of two Presidential primary candidates; they are reflective of a civil war that will engulf the Democratic Party. It is a war between contending and incompatible principles. Establishment democrats, ever since the Clinton Presidency, have built a political machine friendly to corporations and plutocrats. The insurgent reformist wing of the party is repudiating this establishment and its back-room dealings with the plutocratic elite.
Contests between candidates are settled quickly, but contests between incompatible principles are stubborn and bitter. Hundreds of Democratic party leaders owe their positions to a system that is now under aggressive attack — from a grassroots rebellion. It is a system that has relied on the stealthy corruption of influence buying, and it has resulted in the betrayal of the rank and file members of the party. Responsibility for the stagnation of living standards and perpetuation of endless foreign conflicts rests on the Democratic party establishment as much as on the Republicans.
The reformers backing Sanders are disgusted by the normalization of the stealthy corruption practiced by the Clintons. Using a charitable foundation to mask the trading of influence; peddling influence in exchange for “speaking fees;” and back room dealing to influence superdelegates should all be repugnant practices in a healthy democracy. The fact that HRC supporters view these as routine political tactics shows how far we have fallen from democratic principles.
Hillary Clinton may well become the next President, but the party machine that puts her in the White House is not likely to survive the impending civil war. The best the plutocracy can hope for is to recruit a socialist Obama, who will notionally lead the Warren/Sanders wing of the party while quietly protecting the interests of the plutocracy. They will try to engineer a “change” so that things can stay the same. But with luck we will be able to elect a genuine socialist leadership and break the power of the monied interests. Only then will there be a Democratic party worthy of the name.