Hey progressives, Hillary isn’t the enemy: I’m a Sanders supporter, but I’m sick of Bernie Bros’ Cli
Hey progressives, Hillary isn’t the enemy: I’m a Sanders supporter, but I’m sick of Bernie Bros’ Clinton Derangement Syndrome
by Matthew Rozsa at Salon
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/12/hey_progressives_hillary_isnt_the_enemy_im_a_sanders_supporter_but_im_sick_of_bernie_bros_clinton_derangement_syndrome/
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1. Hillary Clinton may not be as liberal as Bernie Sanders, either in her background or current policy positions, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t liberal.
There are plenty of valid liberal concerns about Clinton, from her decision as Senator to support the Iraq War to her unsettling coziness with Wall Street. While this certainly places her to the right of Sanders, that does not mean that she isn’t a liberal herself. During her husband’s presidency, Clinton took the lead in pushing for a progressive health care reform plan that was thwarted by many of the same special interest and ideological groups that later coalesced against the Affordable Care Act. Throughout the ‘00s, Clinton developed a reputation as a staunch legislative progressive, accumulating a record that placed her to the left of 85 percent of her fellow senators. There are even issues like gun control in which Clinton’s stance makes Sanders seem conservative by comparison. As Harry Enten recently explained at FiveThirtyEight.com, “Clinton rates as a ‘hard core liberal’ per the OnTheIssues.org scale. She is as liberal as Elizabeth Warren and barely more moderate than Bernie Sanders. And while Obama is also a “hard core liberal,” Clinton again was rated as more liberal than Obama.”
Of course, none of this would mean very much if Clinton wasn’t also campaigning on progressive policy stances. This brings us to our next point.
2. If Sanders supporters want his candidacy to have a lasting historical impact in the event that he doesn’t win the nomination, their best chance rests in supporting Clinton’s candidacy.
Pundits have already noted that Clinton’s rhetoric and policy stances have moved to the left as a result of Sanders’ campaign. Her current platform advocates raising the minimum wage to $15-an-hour in high cost cities and states, raising capital gains taxes on high-earners, and protecting employees’ right to form labor unions… all positions that, to be sure, are either shared by Sanders or still fall slightly to the right of him, but none of which could be fairly described as anything other than progressive. Like Sanders, she has made income inequality a front-and-center issue in her campaign message, denouncing the American business culture that devalues employees’ contributions and declaring that we should “reward businesses who invest in long-term value rather than the quick buck—because that leads to higher growth for the economy, higher wages for workers, and yes, bigger profits, everybody will have a better time.”
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That is I cannot identify anyone in my family tree who who was not a Cajun. One of my aunts traced many branches of my mothers family tree back into Canada (then Acadia, now Nova Scotia) and then back into France in the late 1600' and early 1700's I was born, grew up, and went to college in Lafayette. Of course I still have roots there, but now call Birmingham home. This state is where anyone to the left of Genghis Khan is considered a liberal. 
I wish you the best because you are a Bernie supporter. I have nothing a against Bernie - though I do have some concerns about his electability in the general elections. I can imagine what the Republicans would try to do with the whole socialist identification thing. On the other hand I would certainly vote for him if he is the Democratic nominee.
by not letting politics get in the way! One good friend > any politician
