Sanders: We're 'fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party'

[Attorney in Texas]

link to Sanders: We're 'fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party'; excerpt:

“We’re also fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party, whether the Democratic Party remains dependent on Wall Street contributions or whether we move in the direction" of the Sanders campaign, he said Wednesday evening on WABC Radio's "Election Central with Rita Cosby," touting his more than 7 million individual contributions.

Members of Democratic establishment, he said, are "not enthusiastic about my candidacy and are certainly not overjoyed by the fact that we have now won 19 states and are poised to win even more."... Sanders remarked upon "a philosophical difference of opinion, a strong difference of opinion" within the party as its superdelegates decide between him and Clinton. "Do we fight for working families, do we work with working families, do we bring them into the Democratic Party or do we remain more dependent than we should on big-money interests?” he said.

[guillaumeb]

1. Big money seems to be winning, but only slightly. eom

[dubyadiprecession]

2. I thought his soul was socialism?

[merrily]

3. Zzzzzzz

[msongs]

6. lthere was no campaign $$ in socialism so he dumped it in a flash nt

[Attorney in Texas]

23. "he dumped it in a flash?" He was the longest serving independent in United States history.

Kind of a long "flash"

[WhiteTara]

33. who reaped the benefits of the party funding structure.

[Dragonfli]

10. You feign ignorance but you know he is a Social Democrat, much like FDR re policy

[RobertEarl]

11. If yours is not

Please stay off the socialist roads. Use only toll roads

Stay out of libraries: You probably wonder what libraries are?

Don't call the socialist cops for help, ever

Don't expect the military to fight your wars: do it yourself

Don't ever depend on any of the government to do a damn thing for you.

Move to Somalia to be happy!

[B Calm]

15. You sound like a Republican.

[Trajan]

30. Or a Hillary supporter ...

Sometimes, there is very little difference ...

[QC]

41. It's gotten very hard to tell the difference.

Conservatives used to really stand out around here, but now it's hard to say if one is dealing with a visiting freeper or a Sensible Pragmatic Centrist®. Who can tell?

[timmymoff]

48. There is one?

[Ferd Berfel]

51. a lot of the CLinton people sound like that.

The arguments I've had with them here are the same arguments I have with my republican friends and acquaintances.
it's uncanny.

[Attorney in Texas]

20. You're thinking of FDR

[dchill]

26. Yes.

Socialism="We're all in this together."

You, I take it, don't agree.

[Fawke Em]

54. If (Democratic) socialism isn't your bag, why are you sporting the FDR avatar, bub?

[merrily]

4. I'm fighting for certain fundamentals.

[mooseprime]

5. Seems more like an ER

reanimation to me.

[chervilant]

45. Another hit and run...

One has to wonder: are these unfortunates getting paid to post indefensible garbage, or is this someone who truly believes such drivel.

Sad, either way...

[silvershadow]

7. Well it went South during the DLC years. nt

[Dragonfli]

8. K&R for needed exposure /nt

[Doctor_J]

9. Meanwhile Mrs Clinton's supporters are fighting for

Mrs Clinton

[grasswire]

31. that's it in a nutshell.

The party of HER.

[Vote2016]

12. kick & rec

[Demsrule86]

13. Bernie Sanders

You should stop pretending you care about anyone but yourself because you don't...the soul of the Dem party...nice excuse for helping Trump.

[Vote2016]

14. If Sanders is helping Trump, does that mean Hillary was helping McCain in 2008?

[B Calm]

16. Bingo!

[hootinholler]

17. Ask President McCain

I'm sure he will confirm and thank Hillary.

[Attorney in Texas]

24. President McCain says that Hillary helped his campaign much in the same was Sarah Palin helped

[Demsrule86]

34. She got out in June

90 days before the convention and she was much closer...and it was McCain not Trump the terrible. She also did not bash the party and softened criticism when it became likely she would lose.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. Dear she got out 2 days after the last primary

after invoking this

[Vote2016]

47. Wow

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. It is like that history never happened

I feel I am back in Mexico at times...or worst

[Armstead]

40. meaningless statements

[Sky Masterson]

18. The Democratic party has no soul.

It gave that up when it went all in for Billary Clinton who is so close to being a Neocon that I have worries that we will be in another war in her first year as President.
Its almost like they want to lose.
Do we get 4 years of Hillary followed by 8 years of a Republican or do we get 4 years of Trump followed by 8 years of a Democrat.
Its a legitimate worry/question.
She is the only candidate out there that people hate almost as much as Trump and that is not enough to win.

[Vote2016]

19. I hope you are wrong but fear you may be correct

[Demsrule86]

35. Bill started no wars

And you know your lack of knowledge is appalling...Clinton saved us from I don't know how many years of GOP presidents...with a bit of help from Perot. You act like progressive could win in 92 ...they couldn't ...the age of the Reagan Democrat. Without Clinton , Roe V Wade would be gone...we also had prosperity and taxes were raised...budget was good...so try to think about the reality of the situation and not the cut and paste nonsense posted here.

[Sky Masterson]

37. You really want to know what Clinton did?

Don't ask don't tell, Repealed The Glass-Steagall Act. Nafta.
Hell you act like he was perfect.
Bill did start a war.
A war on the working man.
A war on Industry while riding a credit bubble and a dot.com boom.
Give me a gawd damn break..
Watch Capitalism: a love story.
And BTW I find your lack of memory appalling.

[Demsrule86]

42. Oh please let's not exagerate

Bernie voted for credit default swaps you know. And don't ask don't tell was supposed to help gays in the military but of course, the Bushies allowed it to be used against people. Do you think the GOP would have done better? Clinton also raised taxes. You judge him now when in 92 Reagan was still a God... he still won when no one thought a Democrat could...so spared me your seriously ignorant rants about Clinton.

[Jitter65]

21. No, you are fighting to beat the soul of the Democratic party. nt

[Attorney in Texas]

22. Which vision of the Democratic party do you subscribe to - FDR's vision of Bibi Netanyahu's vision?

[Ferd Berfel]

50. That is the question

For me it's FDR not the Corporate elite eternal war crowd.

The Clintons (and others) rammed the Party in to a Faustian deal back in the 80's. The Global Corporate elite want their due now

[Attorney in Texas]

52. exactly!

[Uncle Joe]

25. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Attorney in Texas.

[highprincipleswork]

27. Big money and post-Reagan triangulations out, people and traditional Democratic virtues in.

[Sheepshank]

28. ...that's rich

coming from the guy who despised the party for decades, and has been trying to dismantle it.

[juxtaposed]

29. This has been said many times before, The democratic party lost its soul many years ago!

Before clinton became pres. the democratic party moved right b/c of fear we would have another 12 yrs. of republican B/S.
Clinton said, sure our party will move hard right so we can get wall street money and bust unions!!
Yes Bill said lets bust all the unions in america!!!!

[Go Vols]

55. it ain't what it used to be

In the late 1970s, as large corporations turned into transnational giants, they pumped huge amounts of cash into the political system. This largesse lured, first, the Republican Party, in the 80s, followed by the Democratic Party in the ‘90s, and precipitated a rightward political shift as both parties rewrote their policies to compete for the same corporate contributions.

Before this, from 1932-1976, the Democratic Party as a whole was far more progressive. The issues and approaches advocated today by Bernie Sanders were considered mainstream Democratic ideas by Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson, and even many moderate Republicans. It was common to support strict financial regulation, liberal immigration, social services for the poor, and progressive tax policies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-brasunas/there-is-a-moderate-republican-in-this-race_b_9704194.html

[Armstead]

32. Here's some suggested Big Picture reading

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511954521

[Attorney in Texas]

38. excellent article

[Armstead]

39. Can you kick that OP. It's sunk like a stone, and should be visible

Merci Beaucoups

[Vote2016]

46. Good read

[amborin]

43. and for the remaining shreds of our democracy!

[Joe the Revelator]

44. Hell yes we are...k/r

[Sparkly]

53. He's sure got people whipped up into a lather.

I thought peace, tolerance and the good of the community were central themes...

He works with anger the way Trump does.

[Attorney in Texas]

57. That's what voter enthusiasm looks like. If only Hillary supporters could muster even half a lather.

I'm not a religious person, but I was raised religious and know the Bible well, and Hillary reminds me of Revelation 3:16:

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

[Sparkly]

59. It's also what fanaticism looks like,

as well as fundamentalism and other absolutism -- when one is positive of the one and only way forward, and anything else is evil.

[Odin2005]

56. WE NEED TO TAKE THE POWER BACK!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

58. Or, at least, replace the missing one.