2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumLet's acknowledge what Bernie and the millennials have done
They supported an older Jewish man with a thick Brooklyn accent. I think there were many Hillary supporters who unconsciously or consciously had reservations about Bernie's electabality because of stereotypes that thrived in the past. There is an amazing quality of the millennials. As a gay man, I know. They have come to totally accept gays. It's not even a political statement for them. It's just natural. They are doing the same for transgendered and nonbinary individuals. They are the most accepting group, and that's why Bernie, to the surprise of most of us, was able to do so well. They heard only his ideas, and dd not otherwise judge him.
They shed the stereotypes of socialism and liberalism that have been around since at least the 1950s to create a new progressivism that recalls some of the best days in the United States, when the fight for economic justice was all powerful and secured for us the minimum wage, the 40 hour work week, Social Security, and so much more. They are bringing back the heyday of the Democratic Party and liberalism. Economic justice is now part of the conversation, and will remain so for at least a generation.
They energized a languishing Democratic Party that managed to lose both the House and Senate in a few short years. They forced Hillary to take a strong stand on gun control to distinguish herself from Bernie. They forced her to put forth very good proposals (not as good as Bernie's) on college funding, college loans, and the minimum wage. They forced her to modify her fracking stand to be much more environmentally friendly. They forced her to campaign and compete and organize in enough states that she is now able to orchestrate a 50-state strategy.
They have gotten thousands of people involved in running for local offices, setting up scenarios where in the next few years Democrats win back state houses. With a possible Democratic ascendancy in all areas of government, there is a chance that the United States will be reshaped in a way that would make FDR proud.
They brought millions of people to the polls, many of whom might not have otherwise voted. All these people now have an increased understanding of the importance of voting. They showed the young just how powerful they are. They created a mini-generation gap, and anyone who remembers the 1960s remembers that generation gap gave us the groundwork for women's rights, gay rights, free love, weed, and bold experiments in the arts. Already, the millennials have taken things to the next step by challenging our thinking on so many different fronts.
They gave voice to rural liberals who for so long have been largely ignored by the Democratic establishment and the city politicians.
They made the Republican Party look even more moribund, the party of the old white folk who long for the return of their special privileges and their narrow values.
They have set up the groundwork for a real political movement that has the possibility to keep Hillary in check, to elect a liberal Congress, and to force the Democrats to champion progressive causes.
They are giving us hope that income, jobs, climate change, equal rights, and education will be at forefront of future debates, without the muddled language of a cowardly Democratic Party that for too long believed it had to appear Republican in order to win elections.
They gathered in awesome rallies around the nation, creating a sense of political excitement that I think was even greater than in the 1960s. They generated more than 7 million individual donations, which is more than Obama got during his entire 2008 campaign! My god, this generation is so involved.
But, most importantly, I don't think the millennials are done. As Dylan said, "He who is not busy being born is busy dying." While I'm glad Hillary is the nominee, other than that, I feel safe putting my future into the hands of the millennial generation.
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elleng
(130,895 posts)My only disagreement: NOT 'elderly!' My father was 'elderly,' and he passed after he'd lived for 98 years. Senator Sanders is SENIOR! (As am I, @ 71, and also from Brooklyn - but without the pronounced accent!)
Onlooker
(5,636 posts)JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)All in for Hillary. Also, Bernie didnt force Hillary into anything. Some of you need to go back and watch her first campaign speech in 2015. It was all about income inequality, raising wages, citizens united, and climate change.
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)We now have the first female nominee in US history.
swhisper1
(851 posts)
leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)I'll be sure to let my daughter know that's not an important issue.
okasha
(11,573 posts)to tell John Lewis that breaking the race barrier at the lunch-counter sit-ins "wasn't that important."
AgadorSparticus
(7,963 posts)
DemonGoddess
(4,640 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)I daren't initiate any posts even remotely connected to Sanders. Someone is alert-stalking me, and has got four of my Sanders-related posts hidden.
Onlooker
(5,636 posts)They don't commit to much until they are forced to. Bernie I think forced Hillary to come out with specific proposals rather than talk in generalities. Hillary is a fine progressive, who I supported, but, like her husband, she's also a very calculating politician. It's the way the Clintons have always played the game, with great success.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)w/r/t income inequality, citizens united and all the rest — to revisit at a time in the future when we hear the inevitable, "she never promised x, y, z."
Lucky Luciano
(11,254 posts)Last edited Sat Jun 25, 2016, 06:34 PM - Edit history (1)
Talk is cheap. Action on these topics in the face of fierce opposition will be critical. "Cut it out" is not going to cut it. Let's see her get LBJ on those republican assholes. I would love to see her pound their fucking heads in (figuratively) while getting what she says she stood for.
Squinch
(50,949 posts)SoLeftIAmRight
(4,883 posts)...
jillan
(39,451 posts)45. And he did so while being a 74 year old man.
Them are the facts, like it or not.
fun n serious
(4,451 posts)
bvar22
(39,909 posts)Bernie and the Millennials, and everybody else who fought for Economic Justice and the end to the Oligarchy are what I have been working and praying for over the last 25 years.
Well Done.
It won't stop here.
bigtree
(85,996 posts)...just ignore the aspirations of Hillary voters and continue to pretend they resemble the Sanders campaign caricature of them.
I credit the black and Latino voters who responded to the direct appeals and representation Hillary provided for their particular interests and concerns in this campaign, more than I credit a Sanders mix of anti-Hillary voters and millennial rally attendees who couldn't or wouldn't show up at the polls in numbers necessary to give life to all of the ideals expressed by their candidate.
Response to bigtree (Reply #17)
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tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)I have never seen a runner up want so much credit after losing a primary race. I think a lot of people forget just how close it was between Barack and Hillary in 2008. Heck, if Florida's election counted, she could have had the entire thing. The two did their negotiation without all of the hoopla like adults. Enough of this crap.
eom
randome
(34,845 posts)
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)there were complaints over and over of mishandling votes, registrations, etc.
coyote
(1,561 posts)Citizens Officially Request Emergency Electoral Assistance From The United Nations
The U.S. State Dept. says that a discrepancy in exit polls of more than 2% indicates fraud, we have had discrepancies outside of that margin in at least 16 of the state primaries all the way up to a discrepancy of 23%. These discrepancies have only happened in one of our political parties and they have all been in favor of one candidate. On top of the exit poll discrepancies there has been reports of ballots cast in the names of deceased citizens, patients of mental hospitals, and elderly people with dementia. There has been reports of registration purging, switching of party affiliations, vote flipping, and massive voter suppression. Not to mention the millions of voters who have not been allowed to vote because they do not claim any party affiliation. Multiple major universities have calculated that in order to get our current results without election fraud, the odds would be 1 in 70 billion.
https://www.change.org/p/u-s-citizens-officially-request-emergency-electoral-assistance-from-the-united-nations?recruiter=560637977&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive
stonecutter357
(12,697 posts)
watrwefitinfor
(1,399 posts)This stood out for me:
I think they did us one better - they did that while winning over large numbers of older Democrats, while in the '60s we managed to antagonize way too many of them.
Wat
vintx
(1,748 posts)Thank you!
My children are millennials and while not all of their generation are politically minded, among those that are, most are on fucking point. Like you, I have no qualms about them taking over.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)the DEmocratic Party. And to those that refuse to acknowledge that the Sen Sanders campaign encouraged H. Clinton to change her stands on the issues you mentioned, like the TPP, fracking, college loans, min wage, etc. are merely not willing to give credit where credit is due. We have to get busy and get some progressive representation in local and state Party structures to avoid having the whole system controlled by one group.
