General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWould you rather of had Bernie run for President as an independent?!
I hear a lot of condescending remarks about how Bernie isn't a Democrat and such. He ran under the (D) label so the vote would not be split. He was a team player even though the system was stacked against him. Do you honestly believe it would have been better for him to run for pres under the (I)? Oh my...
![](du4img/smicon-reply-new.gif)
comradebillyboy
(10,379 posts)which is an I.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Generally speaking, I believe that if someone is truthful about their identity and purpose it allows for honest and open discussions that are unencumbered by artificial restraints.
uponit7771
(91,028 posts)GeneMcM
(69 posts)Doodley
(9,725 posts)handmade34
(22,801 posts)Cuthbert Allgood
(5,148 posts)These are the same people that would have been screaming Nadar if he did run as an independent. He ran as a Dem so as not to split the vote. Had he run as an independent, Clinton would likely not have won the popular vote. And by "likely not," I mean would not have.
Garrett78
(10,721 posts)It's like those who think any constructive criticism is from a Russian bot, or that DU posts impact election results when probably 98% of the US population has never even heard of DU.
Some have gone off the deep end.
kcr
(15,460 posts)20/20 hindsight is amazingly accurate, isn't it? I used to think that running within the party to move it to the left was the way to go. I haven't completely changed my mind, but I've since amended my position. I still think that's possible, but it has to be done in good faith. He would do less damage as a fringe 3rd party outsider. I want good, progressive candidates in the Dem party, not spoilers who only want to trash it.
brush
(56,068 posts)Nobody would've heard of him, which is why he ran as a Democrat.
Without the Dem label he would've been just another 3rd party candidate lumped in with Stein and Johnson.
Cuthbert Allgood
(5,148 posts)because of people voting for Stein instead of Clinton. And Sanders is CERTAINLY a bigger name pre-primary than Stein is even now. But, yeah, sure, he would have been just a blip.
It would be nice if there was some consistency in the arguments.
brush
(56,068 posts)Nobody knew who Bernie Sanders was.
He gained name recognition and national exposure from being on the Dem primary ticket as the campaign progressed, but it's evident early on, outside of the north east, few had heard of the independent senator from the small state of Vermont.
That would've remained so without the "D" by his name (for fundraising) and without participating in the Democratic Party TV debates.
Stein did not have that exposure and subsequently bled off a comparatively few votes from Clinton.
Sanders as an independent would've had the same minor effect, but because he was allowed to run as a Dem and gain all the national exposure from using the party's national apparatus, the disloyal-to-the-party Sanders supporters who turned against Clinton when Sanders didn't get the nomination had a much bigger effect in the close election by staying home, writing in Sanders, turning to trump or voting for Stein, ironically, than Stein's 3rd party run did.
Again, he would've been just a blip without the Democratic Party label.
JCanete
(5,272 posts)made him so popular goes to show that the system as is, does not typically privilege the choices the voters actually want. You just said it. Sanders would have been a blip, because it is about money and exposure and it is about viability. Nobody believes third parties are viable. That siphons voters back towards the two parties even if their hearts are elsewhere. It is a credit to the party that it did not use some litmus test to bar Sanders from the primary because at least that gives some level of control back to the voters in the party. If a candidate doesn't resonate with democrats that candidate doesn't go anywhere. If, in-spite of all of the practical forces still against such a candidate, that person emerges with support, well that is the democratic voters talking.
Also, Sanders absolutely had further reach already than Stein, even from the beginning, which is why he was raising the money he was, even as an unknown. He would have gotten more support in the GE than she did. People in liberal circles have known his name for a long time now and have listened to him on Harmann, etc. for years. And there is no evidence I"m aware of that shows Sanders turned people towards Stein, nor influenced them not to vote. He brought people into the process, and most of his supporters voted for Clinton. It is much more likely, had Sanders run as independent, that all the people saying that's what he should have done, would be singing a slightly different vitriolic tune about how third parties play spoiler. No question, running as a Democrat helped Sanders gain traction, and I appreciate you being one of the few on the board who has actually acknowledged that in the early state races Sanders was still an unknown, not "REJECTED" by those voters, as a lot of people like to say here.
brush
(56,068 posts)Which is why he got so far behind in delegate and super delegate count in the early, southern primaries (most voters didn't know who he was) thus his lost of the nomination.
I don't know how you can say he'd have gotten more support in the GE than Hillary when he didn't get more support in the primaries though.
That doesn't make sense, especially considering what happened in the GE. The repug vote suppression, vote hacking machine and other dirty tricks would've have been directed towards Sanders just as it was on Clinton, not to mention the massive Russians/Assange interference.
And I still think as an independent he would've been a blip only known by politically active progressives and liberals who listen to Thom Hartman, and of course in Vermont and New England.
Unfortunately 3rd party candidates in the US rarely gain much traction, billionaire Ross Perot being the rare exception, billionaire and being willing to spend his money being the key there.
I said unfortunately because I actually would like it if we had a parliamentary system with multiple partys say the Democratic Party, a farther left party, the Liberal Party, the Greens (ugh),and of course the repugs and teaparty types on the right.
The parties to the left of the repugs could form coalitions and win every time since we know the rights base is just around 30% of the voters no more of that electoral college crap swinging elections to repug cheaters.
JCanete
(5,272 posts)Nader, and all those people here saying he should have run as independent would have had no kinder things to say about him. Basically, he shouldn't have run at all is the real message.
brush
(56,068 posts)I think you're right on that. Hillary would probably be president now.
JCanete
(5,272 posts)brush
(56,068 posts)JCanete
(5,272 posts)Had he run as an independent they would have no good things to say about that action.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)That his support grew because what he offered was and is popular?
Why, at this point, would you still seem to refuse to take the Sanders phenomenon seriously?
Why still insist that nothing about it was valid.
If he had stayed out, HRC would have had the same showing in the fall or possibly done worse.
The showing John Kerry made in 2004 proves Democratic presidential nominees don't do better in the fall when he primaries are a debate-free formality and there's no free speech at the convention.
brush
(56,068 posts)exposed to them?
Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)shanny
(6,709 posts)But despite starting with virtually no name recognition, and a 60% deficit in the polls, and virtually no money, and ignored by the media (consider the difference in coverage of mega-rallies, Bernie's and Trump's)....hmmm. I think he did quite well.
Maybe it was his message.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)There were huge numbers of people all across the country who said things like "my hearts with Bernie, my head is with Hillary".
And many of those ideas were added to the platform as a measure of the resonance and popularity-had they been mentioned in the fall campaign, they would only have added to out vote total by increasing the turnout (I say that as someone who did all I could to get first-time voters who'd backed Bernie to back the ticket in the fall).
I get it that some people have issues with Bernie as a person and as a candidate-I have some myself, which is why I've repeated argued that he shouldn't run again.
But why would anyone hold a grudge against the IDEAS of the Sanders campaign and those who continue support them? Why does there seem to be this insistence that the party proscribe the ideas, pressure the supporters to break up organizationally and only be allowed in as silenced, powerless individuals from whom support for our ticket and whatever our platform might be because they somehow simply owe it to us? Why stay with "Stop_____!" politics they never work for us and when most voters hate us for using them? We have a lot of good things to offer, most of which are genuinely popular...why not campaign mainly FOR what we would do for the merits of our candidates and with confidence stand for? If we did that, the voters would see it as leadership and rally to us.
And what harm would there be in simply adding a number of the economic ideas to the platform, while centering and strengthening the commitment to social justice-a commitment Sanders SUPPORTERS always shared, whatever Bernie's personal shortcomings on that-and going forward as the party of justice for the many?
This is the argument some of us have been making for decades-and our "pros" have been rejecting. The result of that rejection has been a Republican Ascendancy that never needed to happen. What's the point in "staying the course"?
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)His running as an independent (or Green) in November would have swung some other states, though.
The most obvious example is New Hampshire. Here are the numbers:
2016 Democratic primary
Clinton 95,355 votes
Sanders 152,193 votes
2016 general election
Clinton 348,526 votes
Trump 345,790 votes
We can never know for sure about a hypothetical election, but I think it highly likely that Bernie on the November ballot would have cost Clinton a net of at least 3,000 votes and thus delivered the state to Trump.
If you ask how Clinton might have won the electoral vote, one of the many what-ifs is that, through a combination of campaigning in Wisconsin and succeeding in addressing the voter suppression there, she carries that state, instead of losing it narrowly. Here are the numbers:
2016 Democratic primary
Clinton 433,739 votes
Sanders 570,192 votes
2016 general election
Clinton 1,382,536 votes
Trump 1,405,284 votes
You can think about the what-ifs that would have let Clinton make up a 23,000-vote deficit, but it's a lot harder to envision that outcome if the 570,000 Sanders voters have the chance to vote for him in November. In real life, most of them voted for Clinton. If Bernie had been on the ballot, they wouldn't all have voted for him, but quite a few would have, making it immensely more difficult for Clinton to flip the state.
brush
(56,068 posts)And him running in November...how? He lost the primaries.
Or do you mean as an independent?
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)My point is that, in the bright red Southern states, it wouldn't matter whether Bernie endorsed Clinton (as he actually did) or instead ran in November as an independent. Either way, Trump was carrying those states.
Florida is a Southern state that is not bright red. She lost by only 1.2%, so you can think about how she might have turned it around in the actual matchup. If Bernie had been on the November ballot as an independent, however, Trump's lead over Clinton would have been much greater. Bernie lost the primary but still got more than half a million votes, about five times as many as Trump's margin over Clinton in November. If Bernie had chosen an independent run, Clinton's task in Florida, as in many other states, would have been hopeless. Trump would have won the popular vote in reality (instead of just in his own imagination) and would have padded his Electoral College lead, as Bernie's "spoiler" effect would have cost Clinton some close states like New Hampshire.
Response to Jim Lane (Reply #130)
brush This message was self-deleted by its author.
karynnj
(59,781 posts)Your scenario might be the most likely. One question is whether without Sanders, HRC would easily win every contest or if someone else might have hained traction.
Imagine that were the case. A very quiet Democratic primary. The Trump circus. You still end up with 2 nominees under water on favorability. It is possible that Sanders FDR like announcement would go viral. Could that energy lead to getting on enough ballots ( or getting him the line of an existing third party).
Imagine he, not Stein, gets that line. It is very easy to imagine that he would win far more votes than she did. However, I doubt he could win even one state. What he would likely do as an independent is to take more votes from HRC than Trump. Look at the 1980 results when a liberal Republican, John Anderson ran as an alternative to Reagan and Carter. Consider that he took enough MA vores that Reagan won MA!
brush
(56,068 posts)Last edited Sat Nov 4, 2017, 12:21 AM - Edit history (1)
for Bill Clinton to win. Perot though, being a billionaire, had the money to spend on his campaign and he did.
Sanders didn't have that kind of dough and wouldn't have raised the money he did without being on the Dem ticket. He's even said as much HuffPo excerpt on the Donna Brazile mess:
"Sanders himself said were he not allowed into the Democratic Primary he couldnt have run. He was deemed extremely disgraceful by Donna Brazile, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, when he said In terms of media coverage, you had to run within the Democratic Party, he observed, adding that he couldnt raise money outside the major two-party process."
Joe941
(2,848 posts)Garrett78
(10,721 posts)Clinton not winning the popular vote might not seem like a big deal. Some will say it doesn't matter. But I think it does. It matters in terms of the narrative. It matters in terms of the effort to one day do away with the electoral college, which is a vestige of slavery.
And it would have encouraged future Independent runs.
flying_wahini
(7,562 posts)I believe that there were (are) a LOT of people would have voted for Bernie so
they would not have to vote for Trump. Especially young first time voting Republicans.
It would have been a third option even if it split some
Hillary voters that lots of moderate Republicans would have jumped ship.
Just my opinion.
Garrett78
(10,721 posts)It would have been primarily nonvoters and Stein voters who would have voted for Sanders.
louis c
(8,652 posts)Many "rust belt" voters may have left Trump for Bernie.
Non-bigots who voted for Trump based on the trade issues and economic despair would have voted Bernie instead of Trump.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,582 posts)I have a friend who is evangelical Christian Republican and he HATED Trump. He also hated Clinton. He told me he would have no problem voting for Bernie if he was the Democratic nominee. He ended up holding his nose and voting for Trump because he likes Mike Pence.
I think there are plenty of military members and their families who have no fondness for Bone Spurs either.
I also think that some Greens and Libertarians would have voted for Sanders as a viable option that wasn't a traditional Republican or Democrat.
Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)GeneMcM
(69 posts)I am stuck in a Midwest burb ; have been here for almost 20 years and travel all through it for my work.There's just something too rich about coastal white Bernie fans telling me how popular he'd be here.
Cuthbert Allgood
(5,148 posts)A lot of them were about "change." My guess is they would have gone to Sanders.
Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)Cuthbert Allgood
(5,148 posts)That there were Obama to Trump voters? Or that those people might have gone Sanders? The first one is pretty much just true. The second is certainly opinion which could be discussed.
Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)in the white House. But honestly, let it go. What does it matter with Trump squatting in the White House...Sen. Sanders will not run in 20 and let's work on winning 18 and then getting a candidate all Democrats can rally behind.
emulatorloo
(45,436 posts)Have seen a study from Washington Post, posted it here a couple times.
DU search sucks. It was titled something like "the myth of the Dem Obama to Trump voter"
Ok link to original article (cannot find my OP)
Theres no such thing as a Trump Democrat
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-trump-democrat/2017/08/04/0d5d06bc-7920-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.82b97c833dcd
By Dana Milbank Opinion writer August 4
Do you believe in mermaids, unicorns and fairies?
If so, you may have taken interest in a new mythical creature that appeared during the 2016 election: the Trump Democrat.
It has become an article of faith that an unusually large number of people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012 switched sides and voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. It follows that Democrats, to win in the future, need to get these lost partisans to come home.
But new data, and an analysis by AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer that he shared with me, puts all this into question. The number of Obama-to-Trump voters turns out to be smaller than thought. And those Obama voters who did switch to Trump were largely Republican voters to start with. The aberration wasnt their votes for Trump but their votes for Obama.
More at link
MadCrow
(155 posts)But he would have voted for Bernie if he had been the nominee. He just felt that Hillary was TOO establishment. My grandsons in college were ardent Bernie supporters, as I was, (I did vote for Hillary) and told me that the support for Clinton on the college campuses was tepid even amongst the women. Hillary did not generate the same passion and enthusiasm that Bernie did. Therefore the vote in my family was split among Hillary, Trump and other 3rd party candidates If we want to win in 2020 we need to find a candidate, not Hillary or Bernie, who can unite ALL democrats, and we need to find a message that we can agree on and that will resound to the American public . Just being anti-Trump will not do it !
Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)for Trump would ever vote for Bernie...Trump is a racist, a bully...and if your son supports him after all the racist remarks Trump has made...I don't believe your son would ever vote for Bernie who has his faults but is not a racist.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,549 posts)"They dared me to vote for trump by nominating Clinton. So I did"
25 years of made up scandals and other bullshit took their toll. The email fiasco played right in to their hands.
Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)divide going as shown by Trump's tweets today. That is what this is...are we going to fall for it yet again? Let it go. It really doesn't matter at this point. vote Democratic and save the world.
delisen
(6,294 posts)with less national and international experience.
MadCrow
(155 posts).
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)Joe941
(2,848 posts)Of course Russia but why do we need another person to blame?
R B Garr
(17,295 posts)up to what else he said about needing the Democratic party to get the media attention he needed to gain name recognition and to get into the debates. It sounds like an excuse. Who would he have debated as an Independent?? Why did he need the name recognition if he could have done it on his own.
Plus, one of his most inflammatory accusations about the DNC rigging the system would have been nonexistent, and he obviously needed that to generate the anti-establishment theme he benefitted from.
The posing and bashing are not appreciated.
highplainsdem
(51,126 posts)presidential candidate, and whether running as a temporary Democrat or an Independent, he made it harder for the Democratic candidate and IMO contributed to Trump's electoral victory.
seaglass
(8,173 posts)better for him in any way. Still it would have been the right thing to do.
Response to Joe941 (Original post)
jalan48 This message was self-deleted by its author.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)If being an Independent is good enough for his day-to-day political life, it should be good enough for him to run under for president. He cant expect to be a cafeteria Democrat, picking and choosing when and why hell align with (i.e., use) us and when and why hell insist were full of crap and expect true Democrats to embrace him.
Kirk Lover
(3,608 posts)expect to run as a Democrat though.
mythology
(9,527 posts)I don't blame Sanders for Clinton losing, but don't ascribe purely non-self interest to Sanders running as a Democrat.
coolsandy
(479 posts)And for Donna t say she was surprised about the financial woes of the DNC is hogwash. As early as 2013 they were sending signals and begging for help from supporters. Unlike the GOP whose base is largely the 1% who can afford to keep paying into the coffers of the GOP, the Democratic base is largely working men and women who just can make ends meet and whose disposable income does not allow for much giving to a political party. Bernie raised the money and kept most of it for his own anti-establishment campaign. The available pot of funds is only so big and what was contributed to HRC hurt the DNC even more. Could Obama have done more for raising money for the DNC? Perhaps but we the party base kind of picked up our marbles and went home after 2012. We just didn't put our money where our hearts are.
Bernie wanted to primary Obama in 2012..that would have also resulted in the same kind of disaster as happened in 2016,
http://fortune.com/2013/09/30/the-dnc-is-nearly-broke/
louis c
(8,652 posts)Fresh_Start
(11,334 posts)instead of being propped up through the convention
Blaukraut
(5,821 posts)If his message resonated with enough voters, he could have possibly won the election. As it was, the voters were split anyway, and the damage that was done to the Democratic party was a lot worse than it might have been, had he run as an Independent.
LexVegas
(6,325 posts)![](/emoticons/rofl.gif)
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)It's pretty clear that one side was desperate for it.
"Aren't you glad the rich white male didn't hurt us even worse?"
That really is what your op brings to the table. That's how far the desperation to re-fight the primaries is to those appearing to be on the left.
I think some seriously bad news is about to break on Jane and Bernie. This level of desperation makes little sense if the people pushing it are truly on the left. Burlington College? Uretsky wrapped up in the Mueller investigation? More rape fantasies found? Someone got a hold of their taxes?
Something is about to break.
radical noodle
(8,095 posts)Yes.
WhiteTara
(29,908 posts)but he wouldn't because he needed the DNC to start his campaign.
pandr32
(11,916 posts)We cannot pretend his "grass-roots populism" wasn't by deliberate design. The evidence that Russia was behind it is there.
WhiteTara
(29,908 posts)He's so popular too.
pandr32
(11,916 posts)They would rather think that the surge of social media-driven attention to Sanders was organic in nature and that they were the first to "get" Sanders even though his stump speech has changed little over the decades as a career politician.
delisen
(6,294 posts)the Russian input and keep clinging to their narrative even when facts point away from it.
I consider Trump to promote an evil version of a false narrative the faces backwards into a mythical past.
I consider Sanders to be a liberal version of the false narrative that faces backwards into a mythical past.
pandr32
(11,916 posts)Except to say that Russian interference isn't what "keeps Americans up every day.".
Sanders has lived his whole life in a democratic/capitalist country and spent most of his career in politics.
Rene
(1,189 posts)He's proven every day since he joined the Senate......right up to today and into the future that no other Senators listen to him......he's all mouth / no LEADER.
His 'single-payer' milarkey will destroy many insurance companies and eliminate all those industry's jobs.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,549 posts)delisen
(6,294 posts)DavidDvorkin
(19,730 posts)moda253
(615 posts)It is the fucking truth. He IS NOT A DEMOCRAT!!!!!
And Fuck him!
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Joe941
(2,848 posts)Demsrule86
(70,495 posts)been as great.
Tavarious Jackson
(1,595 posts)I rather him be honest and run as what he believes in and not be fake for media attention.
liquid diamond
(1,917 posts)the division in our party would not persist like it has. Its been a year since we lost the general election, and were still infighting.
guillaumeb
(42,649 posts)If Sanders had run as an Independent, and if Trump had still won, one suspects that the same general arguments would have been made here and elsewhere about splitting the progressive vote, and enabling Trump.
The same rage would still have been directed against Sanders.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Drawing the Nader comparison, you write: "The same rage would still have been directed against Sanders."
Absolutely. I would add: "and justifiably so."
delisen
(6,294 posts)guillaumeb
(42,649 posts)Or some of them.
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)even win the primary. Running as an Independent would likely insure redumbliCONs will rule for decades into the future.
Reiyuki
(96 posts)98% voting record with Democratic party (vs Democratic congressperson average of 93%)
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/8/31/1417001/-Bernie-Not-Democrat-Enough-Let-s-See-How-He-Stacks-Up
And also here:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/bernard_sanders/400357
Ironically, despite not being a Democrat, Sanders' voting record is better than most registered Democrats.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)delisen
(6,294 posts)denounces.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)Bernie proved that by refusing Stein's offer to let him run on the Green ballot line.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)However, the fact that he didn't join-up with Stein does NOT "prove" that he would never consider an independent run for the presidency. And, based on his behavior, words and actions... he does appear to be ramping up for an independent run.
![](http://static.skaip.org/img/emoticons/180x180/f6fcff/hi.gif)
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)There's been no point at which he sought to do this party harm.
He would regard it as political self-destructive to run as a third-party presidential candidate.
There was also the fact that, in 2016, he announced throughout the primaries that he would endorse whoever the Dem nominee was and campaign hard for that nominee,
We agree that Bernie should not run again...and I think he realizes that seeking the presidency at age 79 would not be plausible...I'm just saying he has shown himself to be a person of his word. The dude doesn't lie and he isn't a saboteur.
The way to make sure he doesn't run again-as I truly think he wishes not to run-would be for this party to accept the basic validity of his views on economics and the need to put corporate power in some sort of check, as we keep on working to put institutional bigotry in check and defend choice, and to accept that his supporters have a legitimate place in this party as a group.
The worst way to keep him out is to disregard the ideas of his supporters and to demand that they just disband and give up fighting for what they believe in. He lost the primary, agreed, but 43% of the primary vote-plus the statements of large numbers of HRC primary voters that they agreed with at least some of the Sanders ideas-does show that the ideas his campaign championed have significant support and resonance.
What's the harm in admitting they have some valid points and that we need them, just as we need to turn nonvoters into voters and to unsuppress suppressed voters?
What's the harm in making the party into a broad front, in which the Sanders/Clinton division becomes a thing of the past and we all work together on the shared assumption that all progressives have a right to be here and a right to work respectfully and constructively for what we wish the party to stand for?
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)![](/emoticons/rofl.gif)
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)Why reduce yourself to this?
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)![](/emoticons/rofl.gif)
![](/emoticons/hi.gif)
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)It's not silly simply to be to the left of your personal comfort zone
We agree on the need to defend choice and fight social oppression.
Our only disagreements are on the need to keep corporate power in check, to push back on corporate control of politics and life, and to reduce unjust concentrations of wealth in the hands of the few, and about the need to pull back on the use of force.
It's not as though the only way to defend choice and fight social oppression is to be "centrist" on economic issues and casual about the idea of military intervention as a tool of our foreign policy.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)![](/emoticons/rofl.gif)
![](/emoticons/eyes.gif)
![](/emoticons/hi.gif)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9791319
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)I honestly don't know what else you think I support or oppose. Would you mind just saying what you THINK my views and objectives are?
And I honestly don't have any idea why you think you need to try to ridicule me into silence. I've been posting here for years now and you've never said precisely why you see me as someone who needs to be shut up or driven away. I've campaigned for the party in the fall and I haven't posted anything that harmed the chances of any of our nominees.
I supported Bernie in the primaries. A lot of folks did. Doing so was not a betrayal of this party and was not a crime against humanity. And doing so did not cause Trump. I campaigned hard for Hillary in the fall and so did most Sanders campaign people. The result was not our fault and we mourned it as much as anyone else in this party.
I'm just as much a positive, constructive and loyal member of this party as you are, and you've never had any reason to target me and what I post. All I do is express legitimate views you happen to disagree with. Why can't you just accept that posts you disagree with are simply part of what happens on a discussion board?
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)when I asked that question. Fine, I'll stipulate that we disagree on that point.
I'm not sure why you think the guy would have forgotten what usually happens to third-party presidential candidates and decide to blow the remainder of his political career to bits by turning into being the next Nader. by acting recklessly when he's never been reckless before, but I accept that you believe that.
Let me ask it this way, to clarify: On the issues of the day, on what we support and oppose in terms of ideas, would you actually say we disagree on anything beyond the things I listed.
We are both solidly pro-choice. We are both solidly against any form of institutional bigotry and social oppression.
I support a more egalitarian and small-d set of economic values than you might. You are more open to the frequent use of military force, especially in the Arab/Muslim world, than I am.
Neither of us thinks Bernie should run again, but we have different ideas on how to prevent that happening.
Beyond that, I can't honestly think of anything we are at odds about in terms of the major issues that affect this country and the world.
What views do I hold that you feel have no place in the spectrum of ideas within the Democratic Party?
What views do you see me as holding that are so impermissible that what you call "snark" and what a lot of other people see as pointless personal derision is the only effective way to respond?
Why isn't it enough for you to do what most people do here when facing posters they don't totally agree with and simply respond to what they've posted on the merits of the issue? What do you think you would lose if you treated everyone here with a basic level of human respect and dignity?
It's not like DU would be a better place if nobody here disagreed with you. OR if nobody disagreed with me.
moriah
(8,312 posts)... that if he was going to make the choice to run for President, and do it leading the only major party that does anything to address income inequality and has progressive leanings -- even if it's not perfect -- that he would make a commitment to that Party vs continue to stand on the edge of the Big Tent.
Why?
Because he has legitimate criticisms of the Party, and criticism from the "outside" -- especially when the Big Other's mountain isn't even getting equal time, let alone proportionate time, to our (in comparison) molehill on those problems in that criticism -- feels like an attack vs constructive criticism. I think he would be a better advocate for progress working within the Party than standing outside it because of that. We have room for him, but he won't step in.
In a way, he's kind of like the Party's "friend with benefits" vs even going steady. I have no issues with friends with benefits --they can be fun and beneficial -- but I'm not nearly as likely to arrange or change my life to suit them or take their concerns to heart compared to how I would act with a serious monogamous partner.
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)the nomination shows that he was just using the party for his own benefit. that being dishonest
VOX
(22,976 posts)And he was peeling previous votes away from the Democratic candidate. In that case, Id rather he not be relegated to a spoiler role, in which case everybody loses.
But thats just my opinion. Of course hes free to run as an independent anytime.
pnwmom
(109,296 posts)and had given full throated support to Hillary between then and the election.
Instead, he fought her to the convention. After the convention he spent July and August writing his book, and in September he only did two campaign events for her -- still too busy writing. He could have done much more than he did to encourage his supporters to vote for Hillary, and that could have made a difference despite the Russian interference.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... but, stubbornness and hurt feelings and anger and bitterness come at a very high price. I wonder if anyone has any regrets about it.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)There've been multiple threads refuting the smears. I don't have the patience to compile a complete list of Bernie's campaign events for Hillary, or to dig out that video in which she effusively thanks him for his support. I'll just quickly refute your specific charges.
"After the convention he spent July and August writing his book...." False. Per this C-SPAN report of a July 12 rally:
"{I}n September he only did two campaign events for her -- still too busy writing." False. Per this list of Clinton speeches in September 2016, he appeared for her on September 5 in Lebanon, New Hampshire; on September 17 at two events in Ohio, one in Kent and one in Akron; and on September 28 in Durham, New Hampshire.
And, please, no goalpost moving about "Well it was only four events in September." I stress that this isn't a complete list. I stopped investigating when I had enough to refute your statement. He did many more events during the campaign.
pnwmom
(109,296 posts)But he did very little campaigning for her till October. Here is an article written on September 30.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/09/30/bernie-sanders-step-up-campaign-schedule-hillary-clinton/91342564/
Sanders spent most of August writing a book but has since campaigned for Clinton in Ohio (once) and New Hampshire (twice). An event Wednesday in the Granite State was the first joint appearance for Sanders and Clinton since he endorsed her in July. The event aimed to win more support for Clinton from millennials who supported Sanders in the primaries. Clinton is underperforming among young adults, a significant percentage of whom have turned to third-party candidates.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Beyond that, it's a mistake to look only at "joint appearance{s} for Sanders and Clinton...." He did events that were not joint appearances. It's a traditional function of campaign surrogates to appear separately from the candidate, enabling the campaign to be in two places at once.
I would rather he he not run at all.
Kirk Lover
(3,608 posts)should switch parties. Isn't that what Trashbag did?
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)If he and his people were going to bitch and moan 17 months later and move to eliminate every facet of an electoral primary that didn't help him, then yes...
But if he stayed independent he wouldn't have been able to tap into the party's immense resources and manpower, and that's the bottom line...
mainstreetonce
(4,178 posts)Either you are an independent or you are not
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)There are too many people who can't accept the lessons we must learn from the Hillary loss, and are determined to perpetuate the system that led to catastrophic defeat in 2016. Example: Donna Brazile writes a book blaming Hillary/DNC. DU's response: white men! Hillary haters! Russians! Putin! Blargel blargel! It's like they've twisted it in their heads that Putin wrote the book and not Brazile.
Perhaps it's time to start over. There is too much delusion on the left to take responsibility for what happened in 2016. Trump, ironically, is the only one saving this party from non-existence. If someone like Pence had won, we'd already have become a regional party.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,639 posts)CTyankee
(64,460 posts)Right now, I don't care. He's been a leader for reform (I voted for him in the CT primary, voted HRC of course in the general). I believed and still do that he has been a catalyst for a change in the way we think about lots of things in our political lives today.
Let's look forward not back. No time for that now. We must prepare for the future of our Democratic Party. Onward.
David__77
(23,863 posts)...
mikehiggins
(5,614 posts)Most GOPukes and most Dems KNEW Hillary couldn't lose so all of the "legit" Republican candidates threw the fight. If they had to run against a Socialist from New England they would have gone for the gold. Jeb would have had a good chance in a case like that. As it was, faced with the unstoppable Clinton juggernaut all the big timers chickened out.
And so it goes...
StevieM
(10,521 posts)He just didn't.
LostOne4Ever
(9,537 posts)How many say that if you arent for the Democratic Party you are working for the Republicans?
How many have posted about how Bernie is not a dem and wish they could bash him?
How many of them are saying yes because they wish to ban Bernie and his supporters from the site?
How many of them told Bernie supporters we dont need you during the end of the primary?
Inquiring minds want to know...
Had Bernie run as an indep it would have given Dump the popular vote and legitimacy. It would have been a disaster.
But this reveals something. These people want to run liberals out of the party. They attack liberals for voting third party and tell us if we want change we have to do it thru the Democratic Party, and when one does so they now claim he should have run as an independent.
Fuck that noise!!! I hope Bernie runs for the democratic nomination again and again! We liberals and progressives arent going anywhere!!!
Kirk Lover
(3,608 posts)I'm much more relaxed and have very little purity tests. I would accept and welcome almost anyone into the party because we share some common goals. I feel the ultra liberals are the ones who can be very intolerant..which I understand - they want everybody to 'be as good as them'...but they need to get freakin real here. I'm sorry but a super left candidate is never going to win a general election at this point in time....WE NEED TO GET REAL and start beating them at their own game. WE NEED TO WIN and if that means *god forbid* a centrist candidate....well them I'm all for it...because guess what....I want to win!! The worst Democrat is better than the best Republican any day (totally being dramatic there).
LostOne4Ever
(9,537 posts)But from the centrists.
All the intolerant far leftist permanently left this site for JPR and voted Jill Stein. The far left liberals on here are all like me- voted Sanders in the primary and Clinton in the General. We complain a lot, but are no purists.
That said, I have seen attack after attack upon Bernie and his supporters for not toeing the line. Bernie is attacked over and over and over for not being a democrat. He/we are attacked over and over and over for any perceived deviation from the party line. For instance, one of the few issues where he was to the right of Clinton was on guns. Yet we are called the purists?
I and many like me had issues with Moderate nominees like Clinton, Kerry, and others before them. And honestly, Clinton wasnt that far from Sanders. Regardless, We held our noses and voted for them. How purist is that? Bernie even endorsed and stumped for Clinton over and over again! Where is the purist in that?
But, on the other hand, how many people have been supporting things like super delegates? A tool to keep liberal upstarts out? It seems to me that if there is an intolerance here it is against strong liberal candidates like Sanders.
And I disagree about liberal candidates cant win. Obama won, and he was to the left of Clinton. It goes back to the idea that a hard right or hard left canadite cant win. Trump shattered that idea.
I firmly believe that a part of the reason we lost States that went to Obama was that there was a strong mood in the country against your typical politician. It wasnt about experience or ideology but being different. Sometimes there are election years like that. For a long time only governors could get elected because they were Washington outsiders.
Each year, what the people want changes slightly. It is entirely possible that after Trump people will want a polished politician in 2020 rather than another potentially inept outsider. Or, they may want someone as ideologically different from Trump as possible. The former case hurts a Bernie like canadite, and the latter helps them. We have to listen to the people and give them what they want.
Maybe that will be a strong liberal. Maybe it will be a moderate. We need to let the party decide. Having canadite like Bernie only gives us more options and chances to win. Thus going back to the original point of the thread: Bernie running as an independent would have only hurt us.
That is what I love most about Sanders and HATE about Stein. He did it the right way. He worked for change through the dem party and was a team player when he lost. Stein tried to give the election to the repigs and depending on how many of her supporters would have voted dem had she not run... quite possibly succeeded.
So again, how many of the yes posters in this thread have also attacked Stein? Cause if they have, then the good of the party isnt their real concern...
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)independent as soon as he could. He is not a Democrat, he just says he is when it's convenient to him. He used the Democratic party.
That is just wrong. Is dishonest.
LostOne4Ever
(9,537 posts)Just that he would be a democrat if he became president. I see no dishonesty.
And political parties are nothing more than a tool to be used to instigate political change. The Democratic Party used to be the socially Conservative party of slavery and the south. Back then none of us would have had anything to do with it (I hope at least.).
Now it is the party of civil rights (at least when it is popular) and moderate economic policies.
If they want Sen. Sanders as a full member officially rather than a member just in spirit, why dont they move his way and get all the corporate money out and run campaigns the way he did? By and for the people.
I and most voters like me (Sander primary and Clinton general voters) arent liberals because we are democrats; rather we are democrats because we are liberal. I dont care about if a D after a persons name, I care that they are going to promote liberal social and (to a lesser degree) economic policies. So long as it doesnt risk giving a seat to an even worse republican I will vote for a liberal independent over Zell Miller Democrat any day of the week.
I see NOTHING wrong with what he did.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)He's always does what HE wants to do. And frankly, he was right that he couldn't win as an independent. And
I was okay with him joining the party and running. Only he never really joined the party. We were just an organization he hoped to leverage. I've lost so much respect for him.
delisen
(6,294 posts)saw the Democratic Party as a vehicle (to get hime where he personally wanted to go).
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)The cool kid who "befriends" a nerd who's family has a pool in the back yard. He never cared about the party.
NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)but if he did run, it should have been as an Independent, which is what he was and is, as he himself said numerous times. It's not condescending to call him what he has made clear what he is. "Independent" is not an insult, although to hear some here whine, it seems that it is.
Talk to Bernie about that.
kentuck
(112,151 posts)He should have run as a Democratic Socialist.
Peachhead22
(1,078 posts)Last edited Fri Nov 3, 2017, 08:01 PM - Edit history (1)
...and arguably she pulled enough votes from Hillary in key areas to swing the election. The vast majority of Bernie supporters in the primary went on to vote for Hillary (in the general). Even though they felt they had been wronged by the DNC. He brought many, many new voters in to the Dem fold. And if they aren't run off in the name of "party unity" they'll likely stay Dems for the foreseeable future.
If Bernie ran as an I, either after losing the primary or ran as a 3rd party candidate from the beginning, Hillary would have lost by significantly more and the people Bernie brought into the Democratic party wouldn't be here.
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. Don't mistake DU for what's happening in the wider world. The majority of progressives aren't insisting on "100% my way or else" they just want to be heard and respected just like folks in any other wing of the party.
edited to add (in the general)
kentuck
(112,151 posts)Or took them from the Republican Party?
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)He was the single best candidate I've had the privilege of supporting in a primary, and despite him losing in the end he still managed to give a voice to many of us who had been lacking one for so long.
Snackshack
(2,541 posts)Unfortunately the way system is built it is almost impossible for a third party candidate to run for president.
ucrdem
(15,700 posts)The endless primaries and the fractious convention killed us. Exactly as I predicted in fact but that's life I guess.
MineralMan
(146,864 posts)And she would have {not sic} still won the popular vote, and maybe the Electoral College as well.
romanic
(2,841 posts)Would it have split the votes? Sure. But sometimes you have to go your own way. I think Bernie would habe garnered a lot of support regardless, just not as much without the D label.