Politico: Bernie's Failed Revolution

[kennetha]

Seems pretty spot on to me.

By any measure, the Bernie Sanders campaign has vastly outperformed expectations of what a self-described democratic socialist could accomplish at the presidential level in 2016. After 35 states, he has won 16. He forced Hillary Clinton to adopt several of his positions. A fundraising juggernaut, he has outspent his opponent since January. National polling shows him roughly tied with Clinton among Democrats and besting all three Republican candidates in November.

And yet, the “revolution” that Sanders called for didn’t show up. Clinton’s 16-point New York win is simply the exclamation point. First, electorally, Sanders hasn’t been able to win any states on Clinton’s natural turf, while she picked off states like blue-collar Ohio and quintessentially liberal Massachusetts. Eleven of his 16 state wins were in low-turnout caucus states, while she has dominated well-populated primary states. He struggled to win the votes of older voters and whiffed with Southern African-Americans.
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But on a more important level, Sanders has also failed to substantially change the Democratic Party at its core: its acceptance of big-dollar fundraising and incremental policy advancement. That was a tough task for Sanders, especially considering he had steered clear of the party for most of his political career until his presidential quest (prompting Hillary to remark at one point, “I’m not even sure he is a Democrat”). For all his success at the polls, Sanders’ ideologically pure campaign foundered on the predictable shoals of policy specifics and political feasibility, obstacles that a progressive populist movement will need to overcome to truly succeed.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-new-york-primary-213829#ixzz46Z604e4N

[LexVegas]

1. Bernie is a footnote in the history that will be made in November. nt

[Armstead]

3. Or a marker on the continuing road to Democratic irrelevance

because a party that offers a watered down version of elite corporate dominance is going to keep sliding into mediocrity, and will continue to lose its hold on voters -- much to the delight of the GOP

[Armstead]

2. Yay...Let's celebrate the continuation of Status Quo Conservative Gridlock

[redstateblues]

4. "political revolution" is an empty bumper sticker slogan

Bernie has no plan- no plan to win back Congress or the Statehouses-he has barely lifted a wagging finger to help down ballot Dems. He has exactly one colleague in the Senate that backs him.

[DrDan]

13. exactly - the word "revolution" was chosen to appeal to a certain demographic

unfortunately that demographic is notorious for not showing up to vote

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

5. Intellectually lazy reporting.

[UMTerp01]

6. I see no lies

That doesn't mean he still can't use his coalition for other things. However, it remains to be seen if most of them are part of a bigger movement or will simply fade after this primary cycle.

[redstateblues]

7. We will see in the mid terms if this is a movement

or just the flavor of the month

[forjusticethunders]

8. and here we go, just more slogans.

No soul searching, no accountability for failure, no critical examination, just more slogans and basking in self-righteousness and blaming everyone and everything but the "movement".

It's essentially the same tears of impotent rage the Republicans have been shedding for 8 years because they couldn't accept that Obama is the legitimate president. Whine, moan, cry oppression and cheating by the other side instead of accept that they lost because of their own shortcomings.

There's no revolution because there are no revolutionaries - just actors. That's how it's been since the 60s.

[frylock]

9. Stay down. You're beat.

[ladjf]

10. This piece is shallow, arrogant political bunk. nt

[DrDan]

14. yet accurate

[Orsino]

11. Silly-ass wishful thinking.

Some of us have been alive long enough to realize that in revolution, not every battle is or can be won.

Sanders and his delegates haven't been to their first convention yet, but proceed, Politico: pretend it's all about one dude instead of the 99%. Such privileged ignorance is why Sanders is running in the first place.

[beedle]

12. A fine 'progressive' --- if by 'progressive you mean, "establishment sellout"

Bill Scher has been known to take positions that are controversial within liberal circles. In 2012, he published a New York Times oped titled "How Liberals Win"[9] which argued that liberals should treat "corporate power as a force to bargain with, not an enemy to vanquish." After the Edward Snowden leaks, he defended the record of the National Security Agency from the liberal perspective in essays for The Week[10] and POLITICO Magazine.[11] He defended his position in an appearance on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell"[12] and later in a debate with Snowden's attorney Ben Wizner on MSNBC's "Up with Steve Kornacki."[13]