Bernie did not "leave" the Democratic Party

[democrattotheend]

He said yesterday, as he had said before, that he was going to keep the "I" next to his name in the Senate because that's how he was elected. He never said he was "leaving the party", and in fact I read that he is sticking around and will be in the audience for her speech tonight. If he wanted to get up and leave, as that stupid headline in LBN implies, he would have hightailed it out of there after his part was done instead of sticking around to show support.

[pangaia]

1. Something is happening here.

[CentralMass]

9. What it is ain't exactly clear..

[David__77]

2. What striking to me is that I think there's more talk about Sanders than Clinton on this site.

I find that very interesting.

[democrattotheend]

3. A lot of it started by Clinton supporters

I keep saying to them "you won. Get over it."

That said, I can understand their frustration with the protestors. I really hope they don't ruin Hillary's speech tonight.

[zonkers]

4. Its weird.

[Doctor Jack]

5. I think Sanders has done a lot for the dems and vice versa

He has backed many of their most important proposals and they have helped him get elected and made him the chairman of a committee. They actually let him run in the democratic primaries in 2006 for senate, so that no other dem would split the vote with him and prevent him from winning. Other, registered dems ran in the primaries against him but they let him run too in their primaries, so that he could become a senator.

[democrattotheend]

6. Interesting. I didn't know that

When Bernie got started in Vermont he faced fierce opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, so much so that they didn't let him appoint a cabinet when he first became mayor of Burlington.

I think it was only after Democrats realized they couldn't get rid of him that they got behind him.

I don't think Vermont actually has party registration, so he couldn't have run against registered Democrats. But perhaps you mean self-identified Democrats?

That was a smart move in 2006. The alternative might have been Bernie and a Democrat splitting the vote and a Republican winning.

[Doctor Jack]

7. Wikipedia has slightly more info on his first senate election

Sanders won the Democratic primary, but declined the nomination, leaving no Democratic nominee on the ballot. This victory ensured that no Democrat would appear on the general election ballot to split the vote with Sanders, an ally of the Democrats, who has been supported by leaders in the Democratic Party.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Vermont,_2006


I think Sanders to the Democrats is like one of those family members that we all have that can be kind of grumpy and that can snap at them on occasion but that they still love and count on.

[fishwax]

8. Agreed -- that nonsense is just a way to sow division

There are two ways to diminish enthusiasm and turnout among the folks in what we might call the Sanders wing of the party: attack Hillary and/or the party and attack Sanders and/or his supporters. We've pretty clearly seen both those tactics on display this week.

[ericson00]

10. if he doesn't wanna register, he wants to be part of another party;

and he's thus leaving the party whose primary he used to make himself important. He left.

[democrattotheend]

11. Vermont doesn't have party registration

So he can't register as a Democrat. We'll see if he runs as a Democrat or Independent in 2018.