HOW THE ESTABLISHMENT IS BESTING BERNIE

In a political campaign where democracy ruled and voter rights were center stage Bernie Sanders be the next president of these United States of America.

Unfortunately that's not the way it works in America where corruption rules the day and the system is "rigged" in favor of the ruling Establishment; to hell with the voters.

The recent New York primaries is the gold standard example of how this works;

To the Democratic establishment -- and to the mainstream media that obsesses about elections like a horse race -- Clinton's big win in New York on April 19 sealed the deal.

But for the tens of the thousands of people who attended the massive Sanders rallies before the primary, or the much larger numbers who were just inspired by his message, it came as something of a surprise that Clinton could win so resoundingly.

Voter disenfranchisement played a role, as many Sanders supporters have claimed. 

For example, more than 100,000 people were reportedly purged from the voting rolls in Brooklyn. 

But the truth is that the Clinton campaign didn't have to break any rules to have a strong advantage going into the primary.

New York has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. There are no provisions for early voting, same-day registration or excuse-only absentee voting (in cases when voters are out of town or disabled). The voter registration deadline was 25 days before the primary -- and independent or unaffiliated voters, such as those registered as Green Party members, had to change their party registration 193 days before -- a full six months.

As a result, an estimated 3 million registered voters -- 27 percent of the total -- weren't able to vote in the primaries because they weren't already registered Democrat or Republican. 

This had the biggest impact on Sanders supporters. Of the self-identified independents who did vote, around three-quarters supported Sanders, according to exit polls.

Among New Yorkers under 30 years old, 37 percent identify as independent, while 15 percent of African American voters and 22 percent of Latino voters are also unaffiliated with any major party, according to analysis by Prime New York.

Beyond the inbuilt advantage for Clinton of a so-called "closed" primary, the ability of the Democratic Party machine to get out the votes for its favorites can't be underestimated. 

With the argument that she's the only viable choice to beat the Republicans, Clinton won three-quarters of Black voters and 63 percent of Latinos, according to exit polls.

On top of that, Clinton had "inevitability" itself on her side -- 72 percent of Democratic primary voters said they thought she would be the ultimate nominee, according to ABC News.

Is Bernie Sanders a Spoiler?