After DNC Email Leak, Donna Brazile Says She’s Cleaning Up Their Act

The DNC email leak may not have shown any actionable misbehavior on the part of staff, but it did show some attitudes and ideas that Donna Brazile, interim chair of the DNC, says she will not tolerate. She also says the DNC’s system security is being improved, perhaps preventing any future leaks.

Thanks to WikiLeaks, which released a batch of emails exchanged between a number of key figures in the DNC over almost a year and a half. They include a suggestion by Brad Marshall, CFO, to use Bernie Sanders’ religious affiliation (or lack thereof) to turn voters away from him.

“It might may no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.”

According to The Hill, Brazile says she won’t tolerate this in the DNC and that the party needs to be “reformed” and cleaned up in order to elect Hillary Clinton.

Brazile herself has a few words of note in the email leak, however, when she says she will “cuss out” Sanders supporters.

Abby Phillip, a political reporter for the Washington Post, reached out to Brazile to ask about a disagreement between the DNC and Sanders’ campaign about representation on the committee to draft the Democratic party platform.

Brazile replied.

“I have no intentions of touching this. Why? Because I will cuss out the Sanders camp!”

However, she explained the comment away to CNN‘s Anderson Cooper, maintaining that it was a friendly way of expressing affection.

Sometimes you say I’m going to cuss you all out. That’s friendly way of saying, ‘I love you’. Not a lot of people say, ‘I cuss you out.’ But that’s my way of saying ‘I love you.'”

Donna Brazile took over the DNC as Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s replacement after Wasserman-Schultz was forced to resign over the content of the email leak, which directly contradicted her assertion that the DNC remained neutral in the primary race. (See CNN video below, via Play It Forward, at the 30 second mark.30-second

“I will just reiterate, the Democratic National Committee remains neutral, based on our rules.”

Brazile’s appointment as DNC interim chair clearly didn’t appease Sanders’ supporters, many of whom felt that the resignation of Wasserman-Schultz was insufficient. Throughout the convention, there were protests, chants, and signs indicating as much.

Bernie Sanders Delegates drop this Wikileaks Banner as Hillary Clinton speaks #DNCinPHL #DNCLeak #FeelTheBern pic.twitter.com/oVGkQIc4Qu

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 29, 2016

According to the The Hill story referenced above, Brazile has promised tougher standards won’t be just for DNC staff, but for “all of us.” That may mean no more ‘love’ shown by promises of cussing out.

As for Bernie Sanders’s supporters who say they won’t vote for Clinton now, Brazile, falling back on the narrative that the DNC email leak was the product of an agreement between Russia and Trump, said voters shouldn’t let it stop them from supporting her.

People who call themselves progressives can’t let themselves be manipulated by Donald Trump… or Vladimir Putin. We have better angels.

— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) July 26, 2016

Sanders himself is still reminding supporters that getting money out of politics is key in fair elections.

The American people want fair elections. They want free elections. They don`t want billionaires buying elections.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 31, 2016

According to CNET, the DNC email leak isn’t yet done — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says there is ‘a lot more material’ and it may be released soon.

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]