Is Bernie Sanders committed to the success of the Democratic Party?

[Alfresco]

The Sanders campaign's lawsuit against the DNC and unwillingness to fund-raise for the party have me questioning his commitment to the success of the Democratic Party.
Here are some of his past quotes and behavior. You decide.


"It would be hypocritical of me to run as a Democrat because of the things I have said about the party."

“Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?”

“You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.”

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

“I am not now, nor have I ever been, a liberal Democrat,”

“I am not a Democrat, period.”

"The Democratic and Republican parties are tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, they both adhere to an ideology of greed and vulgarity."

“I am extremely proud to be an independent.”

“The fact that I am not a Democrat gives me the freedom to speak out on the floor of the House, to vote against both the Democratic and Republican proposals.”

"The Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt, they have no ideology. Their ideology is opportunism.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/bernie-sanders-2016-democrats-121181

Can Bernie Sanders Win the Love of a Party He Scorns?

Excerpts:

He has never before chosen to run in a Democratic primary, but here he is, challenging Hillary Clinton—and doing it as an independent, technically permissible but highly unusual. How he’s trying to do this is how he always has—a calculated alchemy of outsider edge and insider smarts, provocation plus pragmatism, all learned and honed over what’s become a unique career in modern American politics.

“He plays it both ways,” said former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, a Democrat who once successfully fended off Sanders from the left in a re-election bid. “He wants to be different, and yet he wants to belong—for political purposes.”

Sanders is nipping at Clinton in the polls, for now—but anybody who wants to, like Clinton, her campaign or its associated machinery, can fill fat files with quotes from Sanders in which he denigrates the Democratic Party whose mantle of legitimacy gives him a stature that unaffiliated candidates rarely enjoy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sanders-long-independent-streak-comes-back-haunt-him
Sanders’ long independent streak comes back to haunt him

Excerpts:
For decades, Bernie Sanders’ independence served him well as he won election after election in Vermont, first to become mayor of the state’s largest city and then to become the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. But now, as he tries to win the first real partisan primary of his life, his complicated relationship with the Democratic Party is coming back to haunt him.

That 35-year independent streak publicly came to an end Thursday at the desk of the New Hampshire secretary of state as Sanders filed his paperwork to compete in the state’s Democratic presidential primary. “I’m a Democrat,” he said. “I don’t think I need to say too much more.”
------------------
Ben LaBolt, who was the Obama campaign’s press secretary in 2012, told MSNBC he remembered things differently.

“Most Democrats — from President Clinton to Governor O’Malley — were all in to support President Obama’s tough re-election campaign,” he said. “Others were promoting the idea of a primary challenge, which would have really handcuffed our ability to fire up the base in the run-up to the general election. Senator Sanders fell into the latter camp.”

Sanders on several occasions said he saw value in a primary challenge to Obama’s left, and four unnamed Obama aides told BuzzFeed News that Sanders was not helpful in the re-election.
----------------
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who is backing Clinton, refused to say the words “Bernie Sanders is a Democrat” while appearing on MSNBC Friday, saying he knew Sanders’ history with the party in the state.

But Sanders’ independence is not just about the Democratic Party. He is simply not a joiner and has, instead, been successful building a movement around himself rather than through a party.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Uncle Joe]

1. If he wasn't Bernie wouldn't have run as a Democrat and ruled out a third party run.

Had he run in a third party, the Democrats would've been more damaged than the Republicans and most assuredly a Republican would be elected as the next President.

Thanks for the thread, Alfresco.

[1StrongBlackMan]

80. His running as a Democrat; rather than, as a ...

3rd party has little to do with the Democratic Party, and everything to do with: 1) needing the Party's apparatus; 2) not wanting a republican in offic ... both of which, are more about self-interest.

[HERVEPA]

90. Yeh, right. Not wanting a Republican in office is about self-interest. What bullshit!

The values he's dedicated his life too are clearly irrelevant.

[1StrongBlackMan]

98. Why YES it is ...

Do you think Bernie thinks he would benefit from having a republican in office?

[HERVEPA]

102. No, and that's not relevant to your previous comment or to mine.

[Uncle Joe]

91. Bernie's ideals have been in sinc with the highest Democratic Values or at least the ones

we state supporting.

His record in Congress combined with being the most popular Senator in the nation speaks toward his commitment to the people but his ideals don't blind him to needing the party apparatus to become President, nor to what would happen should he run as an Independent.

I'm convinced Bernie wants the Democratic Party to live up the highest ideals of its' heritage and in the process be much more successful at all levels of government.

If Bernie were all about "self-interest" he could've run as a Democrat years ago and took advantage of the party apparatus.

Bernie's North Star has guided him throughout his career but he has also kept his feet firmly planted on the ground, I know he doesn't want the Republicans to succeed, he's for the people and if the Democratic Party were wise it would be as well.

[pangaia]

128. Hear Hear !!!!

[pangaia]

127. In my view, Bernie is the only candidate running

who is NOT running for his/her own self-interest.

[1StrongBlackMan]

145. Okay. eom

[Gothmog]

144. The party is responsible for a large number of activities that are needed in a general election

One can not run a national campaign without strong support from the national party

[1StrongBlackMan]

146. True. And Bernie knows this reality ...

Even if his fans don't.

[MyNameGoesHere]

81. Senator Sanders (I)

is not, nor has he ever, been a member of the Democratic party. Until it was convenient I mean.

[tazkcmo]

99. Kim Davis is a Dem. n/t

[restorefreedom]

111. oh snap. nt

[MohRokTah]

122. No, she isn't.

She is officially a Republican now.

[MyNameGoesHere]

129. Even a foul evil person

has enough integrity to change their stripes. At least she isn't pretending anymore.

http://www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2015/9/25/kim-davis-switches-parties-now-republican

[tazkcmo]

132. So she evolved? n/t

[MyNameGoesHere]

136. Sure that's why I said she is foul and evil

then you suggested she has evolved. Are those your thoughts? I am wondering why you thought of evolving. Keep trying. You're a very poor fisher-person.

[dlwickham]

176. was a Democrat

she registered as a republican about the same time she went to jail

[George II]

101. Or he could have not run at all and tried to get some of his agenda embraced......

....by the Democratic Party and our nominee. He knows he's got no chance of winning the nomination, or even win more than three or four state primaries.

This is his few minutes in the sun, but the clouds are moving in and in four weeks they're going to start raining on his parade.

[Uncle Joe]

107. If Bernie hadn't run, Hillary wouldn't either sincerely or pretended (take your pick)

to move to the left embracing core Democratic Values during her campaign in the manner in which she did.

Furthermore I totally disagree with your belief that Bernie believes that he can't win, to the contrary he would be a stronger candidate in the General Election.

Bernie's biggest challenge has always been name recognition, that's why Schultz was loathe to add more debates or schedule them during times when the American People would actually be viewing them.

That's also the reason the corporate media conglomerates have all but blacked out coverage of Bernie, they know he could win and convincingly so.

[George II]

112. Sanders is currently 20 points behind in every state but two or three....

...and this so-called "media blackout" is a myth - I see him being interviewed or coverage of his rallies almost every day. He was interviewed live on CNN this morning already, and probably will on another news show today.

It's simply not true that he's been ignored.

[Uncle Joe]

115. Sure it's a myth your anecdotal evidence trumps the facts.

Polls show that Bernie Sanders would trounce Donald Trump, but you’d never know that from watching TV news.

The Tyndall Report, a non-partisan media monitoring firm that has been tracking the nightly news broadcasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC, found that Trump is tromp, tromp, tromping over the airtime of everyone else.

From last January through November, these dominant flagship news shows devoted 234 minutes of prime-time coverage to the incessant chirping of the yellow-crested birdbrain, with no other contender getting even a fourth of that.

(snip)

And — get this — polls also show Bernie trouncing The Donald if they face each other in November’s presidential showdown. So surely he’s getting a proportional level of media coverage by the networks on our public airwaves, right?

Ha, just kidding! The big networks’ devotion of 234 minutes to all-things-Trump was “balanced” by less than 10 minutes for Sanders. Most egregious was ABC, the Disney-owned network. ABC’s World News Tonight awarded 81 minutes of national showtime to Trump last year — and for Bernie: 20 seconds.

How self-serving of the media moguls. The one candidate who is effectively rallying large numbers of voters to oppose the rise of corporate oligarchy — including in the media — has the plug pulled on him.

Of course, this only amplifies the truth of what Sanders is saying about the villainy of corporate profiteers, and it fuels a greater determination by his millions of grassroots supporters to end the reign of greed in America.


http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/jim-hightower-corporate-media-basically-pretending-bernie-sanders-doesnt-exist

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251966793

I view CNN as well and they haven''t come remotely close to covering Bernie as they have Trump and even second or third tier Republican Candidates not to mention Hillary.

[pangaia]

131. There we go with facts again. You should know better.

[George II]

141. Go to the DU Home Page - the first two "Latest Breaking News" items are about Sanders, and...

....they're from ABC and Boston Herald.

So much for the media blackout.

Next?

[Uncle Joe]

147. Are you suggesting two articles (one of them by a newspaper) today make up for an almost

total lack of Bernie coverage from January to November?

Furthermore my link was referring to nightly national prime time network news broadcasts from January to November.

The Tyndall Report, a non-partisan media monitoring firm that has been tracking the nightly news broadcasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC, found that Trump is tromp, tromp, tromping over the airtime of everyone else.

From last January through November, these dominant flagship news shows devoted 234 minutes of prime-time coverage to the incessant chirping of the yellow-crested birdbrain, with no other contender getting even a fourth of that

(snip)

And — get this — polls also show Bernie trouncing The Donald if they face each other in November’s presidential showdown. So surely he’s getting a proportional level of media coverage by the networks on our public airwaves, right?

Ha, just kidding! The big networks’ devotion of 234 minutes to all-things-Trump was “balanced” by less than 10 minutes for Sanders. Most egregious was ABC, the Disney-owned network. ABC’s World News Tonight awarded 81 minutes of national showtime to Trump last year — and for Bernie: 20 seconds.

[George II]

149. It was just an example disproving the myth that Sanders has been ignored (BTW, he's on CNN...

...again right now!)

[Uncle Joe]

150. Again that's "nightly national prime time T.V. new casts" that's what we're talking about

in regards to blacking Bernie out, simply put because they don't won't his name recognition to grow with or his message to reach the American People.

Trump has been kept front and center every night whether his utterances are news worthy or not and in large part he is a creation of the corporate media conglomerate.

[Kentonio]

160. You might want to check the dates on many of those polls

[shiriu]

165. Bernie is closing in or beating Clinton in several states. What you said is not correct.

Here's the latest polls (mostly from december) from different states:
Vermont: -34%
Utah: -8%
New Hampshire: -2%, huffpost combined poll. Bernie is trending up
Arkansas: +5%
Missouri: +5%
Wisconsin: +9%, in november
Oklahoma: +10%
Tennessee: +12%
California: +15%, huffpost combined poll. Bernie is trending up. Huffpost doesn't account the latest poll where Clinton only lead Bernie by 9%.
Colorado: +13%
Massachusetts: +13%
Iowa: +15%, huffington combined poll. Bernie is trending up
Connecticut: +19% in november

The only states which are +20% in recent polls are:
Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia

In recent polls, there are more states within 20% difference than otherwise. Furthermore, while a lot of states had ancient polls, which are useless now, some presented Bernie coming near or on par with Clinton:
Maine: -1%, in July
Oregon: +5%, in July
Washington DC: +16%, in May! Warren (26%) and Biden (4%) were still on the poll.
West Virginia: +11%, in August. Biden was still in the poll.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statewide_opinion_polling_for_the_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries,_2016

[George II]

173. Single, cherry picked polls. Try this:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/

or this:

http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster

By the way, there hasn't been a single bona fide poll taken in Arkansas since this primary campaign began.

[shiriu]

177. How did I cherry pick polls?! Your point is nonsense.

Your argument is not logical, I did not cherry pick polls just to lie:

1. I used Huffington Post for the NH, Iowa and California polls. I mentioned that in the post you replied to, but you may have forgotten about it.
2. Overtimepolitics made a poll for Arkansas where it showed Bernie was only -5% from Hillary. I don't know if the pollster is reputable or not, but both you and I are not qualified to make that judgement, especially since you already use RCP and HP combined polls at face value.


I mentioned I used HuffPo, so why did you even link me RCP and HuffPo?

Besides, do you still believe that 47/48 states have Clinton +20% against Bernie? What proof do you have to claim that?

[George II]

184. According to HP and/or RCP, there haven't been any credible polls for months in these states:

Arkansas, Utah, Missouri, or Tennessee.

The last poll in California was 5 months ago, and there haven't been any recent polls in Maine, Oregon, DC, or West Virginia.

The last poll in Oklahoma (November) had Clinton ahead by 35
The last poll in Colorado (November) had Clinton ahead by 28
The last poll in Massachusetts (November) had Clinton ahead by 25

Here are the most recent HP Iowa poll summaries:

Nov. 1 51.8 to 36.8
Nov 15 51.6 to 34.5
Dec 6 51.9 to 35.8
Dec 21 51.8 to 36.8 (latest)

The numbers now vs. two months ago are identical, not "trending up" for either.

[djean111]

2. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has openly campaigned for her Florida GOP buddies and refused to

help other Florida Democrats run against her GOP buddies.

I would say that she is a danger to the Democratic Party, not Bernie.

In fact, support for Bernie will bring a LOT of new Democratic Party registrations from those who ordinarily would not have even bothered with the upcoming elections.

I will be sticking with Bernie. He embodies the ideals of the Democratic party platform more than any other candidate.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Yep

Zactly.

OP has a florida avatar. I wonder how they feel about the DWS train wreck.

[djean111]

6. I am getting the feeling that Bernie was supposed to attract people who were not involved with

politics and then hand them over to Hillary, and that ain't gonna happen, no matter what else happens. So - now all the braying about being loyal to the brand.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. She sure doesnt seem to be coming up with many reasons for Millennials to vote for her.

maybe dancing the "nae nae" on Ellen was supposed to cover that.

[LuvNewcastle]

23. Typical Clinton-style campaigning.

Maybe Bill will come back with his saxophone. I'm getting the feeling that isn't going to cut it anymore.

[1StrongBlackMan]

83. You don't think Bernie won't heartily endorse HRC ...

i.e., "hand over" his supporters, should she win the nomination?

[djean111]

86. Honestly, I don't care, at this point. And it is not the time to be pushing for this, IMO.

But - he cannot just "hand over" the Independents and the millennials who are only getting involved because of Bernie.
Bernie's stance on the issues is too different than Hillary's - and if they wanted to support Hillary, they would have been doing that in the first place. The "party loyalty" thing just will not work. The "Party" has been shoved too much to the right.

[SusanCalvin]

89. Of course he will (if it comes up), or try to.

But the above is an interesting theory as to why there were initially no objections (at least that I heard, although I must admit to not having been paying close attention at the time) to his running as a Democrat.

[Ed Suspicious]

93. Make up your mind. He does support or does not? You're all over the map in this thread.

[1StrongBlackMan]

96. What are you taliking about?

[Ed Suspicious]

104. If Bernie loses do you think he will support the Democratic party by endorsing Hillary?

Because reply #80 seems to indicate that his participation in the party is solely for his own benefit.

[1StrongBlackMan]

172. Do you think that Bernie (or the US, or the world - which he is a part of) ...

would benefit, or be harmed, from a republican presidency?

[Warren DeMontague]

168. If he does, and I think he will, that pretty much negates the premise of this OP.

But then, logical consistency isn't really the forte of these sorts of GD: P "neener neener" threads.

[INdemo]

110. And the OP is a newbie.

Seems like Hillary supporters never seem to talk about issues.They always attack,attack and then claim its Hillary being attacked.
So this person could be one of those Clinton 'shills" that has been discussed here on DU.
This is the Bill Clinton attacking style" never about issues just keep attacking"

So I say to the OP author
Cut it out.

[Jokerman]

117. Jury Results

On Sun Jan 3, 2016, 10:21 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

And the OP is a newbie.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=970303

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is an accusation that a "newbie" is a troll. If negative OPs about the candidates is the mark of a troll than GD/P is a haven for trolls.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun Jan 3, 2016, 10:27 AM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I never saw the word "troll", either in the alerted comment, or up thread (I find it's always good to read the posts being replied to for context) Get a thicker skin. If this sort of thing were a considered a legitimate violation, we'd all have been tombstoned long ago.
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Flame bait OP followed by alert trolling. A clear pattern of desperation from the morally bankrupt HRC and DWS supporters on this sad, tired old forum.
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Amimnoch]

18. Agreed, DWS needs to go. So does Bernie.

NT.

[daleanime]

22. Yeahup.....

one to unemployment and the other to the White House.

[sonofspy777]

41. Zing!

[Amimnoch]

56. DWS isn't running for president.

But if she did, she'd STILL be more worthy of being a Democratic Party President than 11 month a Democrat Mr. Burns.

[daleanime]

63. Then you should vote for her....

I'm totally down with that. She needs the support if she's going to continue weakening the party to strengthen one candidate.

[Old Codger]

71. Well then

After HRC loses write DWS in..

[Amimnoch]

74. I know darling, those pesky polls don't mean a thang.

but the internet and big rallies tell all.

February can't get here fast enough. I've got so many of these bookmarked for enjoyment later.

[haikugal]

116. Wow, that's how you enjoy yourself?

What kind of Democrat are you? I didn't leave the Democratic Party, it left me...I tried for years to support it but all I got was a dumb t-shirt and the back of their hands. You want to win at all costs, winning is everything etc. The end justifies the means eh?

You're welcome to it. I'll register to vote in the primary for Bernie and the other good candidates but my vote is my own and I don't owe it to anyone. The lesser of evils will never get my vote again, I'll vote for the best candidate. That's how it's supposed to work.

Have a great day!

[pangaia]

133. WOW again.

I was trying to decide now to reply to that.

I am glad you did because if I did, it would not have gone well.

[haikugal]

135. We stand together!

[pangaia]

139. Absolutely. This is one of the ugliest misguided threads I have seen.

[azmom]

158. In solidarity.

#UnidosConBernie

[bvf]

66. Excellent. n/t

[djean111]

62. If Bernie goes, if Bernie is "kicked out" - he will take a lot of people with him.

No matter what Bernie says, actually. We all think for ourselves.

I know that wasn't the plan, too bad.

[sufrommich]

38. DWS has become the Emmanuel Goldstein of Sanders supporters.

She's been The Reason Sanders Is Going To Lose since day one. Yes,she's a shitty DNC chair,no, she's not single handedly out to destroy Bernie Sanders. The democrats graciously let an independent run as a democrat,they didn't have to and he's going to lose because he's not going to get enough votes from democrats in the primary.

[Warren DeMontague]

48. If he's gonna lose, what are you worried about? No one needs to "kick him out of the party", then,

Do they? Or whatever argle bargle this OP is about.

And if everyone, even the most passionately dedicated Hill folk, agree that Debbie is a craptastic DNC chair, why is she still there? Why the surprise that people bring her up as a point of objection with the status quo of Party leadership?

It's like throwing terminally ill cancer patients in prison for pot. Everyone supposedly agrees it's a terrible policy, oh yes... but pols like DWS keep voting for it.

What gives?

[sufrommich]

51. I'm not "worried about it",I'm commenting

on an internet forum dedicated to the Democratic primaries. DWS isn't going to be replaced during a presidential campaign and she's not going to be replaced because Sanders supporters have made her their favorite dog to kick.

[Warren DeMontague]

167. And again, if even you admit she sucks, why are you surprised that people complain about her?

[djean111]

64. Actually, DWS is a shining symbol of what is wrong with the Democratic Party,

now that it is steaming full speed ahead to the Third Way Right.
And yeah, if he is going to lose, why all the sturm und drang? Makes no fucking sense at all.

[virtualobserver]

84. She's one of the reasons Democrats lose

Bernie is a golden opportunity for our party to live up to its high ideals.

The new move by Hillary supporters to throw DWS under the bus for incompetence is either a cop-out or a smokescreen.

[ljm2002]

87. You're right, they allowed him to run as a Democrat...

...never suspecting the groundswell of support that would arise for him.

I'll bet that smarts!

[pangaia]

134. I think you hit the nail on the head right there.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has decided it is advisable to team up with conservatives, when she feels

It is politically expedient-

Witness her alliance with Sheldon Adelson on the question of medical marijuana and throwing sick people in prison for smoking pot.

i'm a Democrat, have been all my life. Where is my party, that this is supposed to be our national leadership?

[tecelote]

7. +1!

Exactly: Where is my party?

We're supposed to be the liberal, peace loving, party of the people.

[Amimnoch]

19. Agreed, DWS needs to go. So does Bernie.

Neither belong in this party after working against it.

[Warren DeMontague]

24. Her position is appointed. He's competing for primary votes.

If a majority of Democrats choose him as our nominee, hate to break it to you, that's where the party is going.

[DFW]

61. The DNC chair is appointed? When did that change?

The DNC chair is elected by the DNC. Wikipedia can lay out for you who comprises them. That's why Howard Dean had such a rough time of it getting the DNC chairmanship in 2004. He barely won the election to the post. Do you have some secret info on when the change was made to appoint, rather than elect the DNC chair? I really need to let Howard and Andy Tobias know, because as of last week, they were completetly unaware of it.

[Warren DeMontague]

164. DWS was appointed by Obama.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/8/84345/-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Wasserman_Schultz#Party_leadership


The difference from 2004, obviously, is that in 2004 we didn't have an incumbent Dem in the WH.

[DFW]

179. She was no such thing

The fact that she was his preference gave her some strong backing in the election for the position, but if a stronger candidate had announced and impressed the DNC more, she would have been beaten. It would have taken some guts from a Democrat to buck a sitting president, but nothing is in the bylaws to prevent it. Howard was considered an upstart, himself, for going after the position in 2004, but thank goodness he did.

When we have the White House, the president is the nominal head of the party. When we don't, it is the party chairman. This is why Howard had no interest in staying on as DNC chair. No way was he going to go up against a sitting president in case he had some disagreements. So he stepped down. But he COULD have run again. The DNC COULD have gone against Obama's wishes. For that matter, they could have pressured him to back someone else. But no matter how you twist and turn it, the DNC chair is elected by the DNC itself.

For a fun look back at how people underestimated what Howard could/would do as DNC chair, check this out: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/ballot_box/2004/12/empty_chair.html

By staying neutral and having no other distractions, Howard changed the nature of the job, but he had no sitting president looking over his shoulder, either. And still, he barely beat Graham in the election for the DNC chair. When a sitting Democratic president makes his preference known, it is much harder to go up against that preference as a candidate, but it's still an election, and anyone can lose an election. It is not an appointment, no matter what some blog may claim. I am not going to publish Howard's personal email on DU, but if you want to write him c/o DFA, he might take the time to lay it out for you.

[Warren DeMontague]

180. I think Dean did a great job as DNC chair.

Obviously the process is arcane, but even if there is a nominal "election" the fact remains that when a D potus makes the pick, it is invariably rubber stamped by the folks who comprise the official DNC.

Yes, it could turn out differently, but it pretty much never does, does it? So functionally, in reality, when the president makes the appointment that is who ends up being the chair.

And even in the case of an actual election by the DNC proper, you're talking about 400 people who may or may not represent the views of those of us who comprise the voters of the party.

[DFW]

182. My opinion when it comes to Howard is rarely objective

When it's a personal friend who I have always liked since before he became a national figure, of course I'm biased in his favor. Still, even when trying my best to cast all that aside, I think even the most detached observer would have to say he has been unparalleled as DNC chair in recent history. Even Richard Viguerie (!!!!), who is the Prince of Darkness politically, asked me to convey his congratulations to Howard after the 2008 election. True story!

Granted, when the president has a preference, it is rarely denied by the DNC, but the pick still has to go through the campaign process. It is not as much of a rubber stamp as it appears. DWS got away with being elected more due to the DNC electors being UNfamiliar with her rather than her intimacy with them. They might have bucked the trend, had they known her better. For that matter, I was riding in a train with Howard when the news of her selection came though, and he said he had high hopes for her as a hands-on DNC chair. We both thought Tim Kaine had been less than dynamic, although Howard said he was far more active behind the scenes than most people knew. Still, 2010 caught us flatfooted, and after 2008, we had no business resting on our laurels.

We have no choice but to leave the election of the DNC chair to the 400 or so people unless as a party we demand a national referendum, which the DNC just doesn't have the money or resources to conduct. They are already $5 million in the red right now where the RNC has $20 million in the bank.

[Warren DeMontague]

185. However she got there, she's a train wreck. Speaking of trains.

Since you know Dr. Dean, convey my thanks to him. Like I said, I always thought he did a great job. Retroactively I wish I would have supported him in the '04 primaries, instead of Kerry.

I made the mistake, back then, of supporting the supposedly "strategic", establishment choice, the one who we were told would be "stronger" and "more electable".

I learned my lesson that cycle.

[DFW]

186. Agreed, she has been a major disappointment.

No one suspected at the time. She seemed like a power successor to Howard's legacy, not Kaine's. Even Howard was enthusiastic about the choice at the time. Now, he won't even comment except for the usual platitudes for public consumption.

I have conveyed blanket expressions of gratitude and kudos to Howard from DU over the years. He knows. You'll never hear him crow about his achievements, but he knows the impact he has made nonetheless. He is no fool. Our usual meet-up for this week had to be canceled, unfortunately. I am in NYC as usual for the first week in January, but he had to be in DC (unusual for the whole week, but can't be helped). I will be meeting up with brother Jim and Katrina vdH of The Nation later on in the week.

[Warren DeMontague]

166. No, I won't stop complaining that our "leadership" supports throwing terminally ill people in prison

for medical marijuana.

Sorry.

[reACTIONary]

170. I deleted the comment , ...

.... i get annoyed by lements about "my party" - political parties are generally made up of a diverse number of interest groups and viewpoints and I don't think any one should lay claim to an exclusive status.

[Warren DeMontague]

171. I would agree with that. Nor do I lay claim to be emperor of any land beyond my own head.

Still, DWS's leadership pretty plainly sucks, that's really what bugs me about the whole thing.

[sonofspy777]

43. Repeat yourself much?

[Cassiopeia]

54. That's how they've been trained.

Repeat until people believe you.

I'm sure Rove is proud.

[Uncle Joe]

4. P.S. If Bernie had run in a third party, the corporate media conglomerates would've given him much

more coverage instead of blacking him out as a means to damage the Democratic Party.

[safeinOhio]

8. Oh bullcrap

Should we question any Democrat that was once a "Goldwater Girl"?


It's for the voters to decide.

[pnwmom]

27. Nonsense. She was a high school student and the daughter of Republicans.

She wasn't fortunate enough to be raised in a Democratic family, but she was smart enough to see that's where she belonged.

[Thinkingabout]

68. What groups has Sanders been associated with in his lifetime?

The GOP would be singing a song everyday, the only reason why they do not now is they are pushing for Sanders to be in the GE because they do not want to run against Hillary.

[JonLeibowitz]

151. Sanders has been associated with the Democratic Party by caucusing with them since 1991.

[ellennelle]

155. boy do you have that bassackward

if the republicans wanted bernie to win the nomination, he would be getting the same coverage and support by the media hillary gets now.

this is due to the fact that republicans are the party of corporate power, of which the media is one of the largest.

we all know that, if hillary wins, she will be kind to wall street and corporate interests because they are paying her bills; she owes them.

bernie, on the other hand, is and always has been a democratic socialist, which has corporate america utterly petrified. for obvious reasons; bernie has no use for them, no need of them, owes them nothing, and so would have no qualms whatsoever in breaking them up and bringing them down to size. (why does the size so small we could drown them in the bathtub come to mind??

why is this very simple and very obvious calculus so hard to grasp???

[Thinkingabout]

156. Oh, it is the wall street game, what about the Lockheed Martin connecton for Sanders?

Maybe you did not know Republicans have been pushing for Sanders to win the nomination, will not happen. Maybe I missed corporate America being petrified, they may have also.

[1StrongBlackMan]

85. Do you question Elizabeth Warren? ...

She was a republican well into her 40s.

[JonLeibowitz]

152. I actually think that is the poster's point. I at least don't care about the goldwater girl, but

I do care about the here and now and what people stand for. The people are smart enough to recognize whether Bernie and Elizabeth Warren represent the ideals of the Democratic party. And look, they have decided they do!

[1StrongBlackMan]

154. No ... That was NOT the poster's point. eom

[EdwardBernays]

9. Loyalty oaths

Gotta love em.

Parties are a means to exercise influence and maintain control.

If the American media wasn't so broken and the public so beaten down they'd realise that a two party system can never successfully represent hundreds of millions of people. And it doesn't come close. And it stagnates growth and progress.

But still you see people demanding - not improvement in their lives- not progress for their country, but fealty to a party.

Democrats - however you want to define that - should be grateful that a non-1%er - someone who isn't buddies with the opposing candidate and someone who represents a clear alternative to the stagnation of cult of personality politics the US is obsessed with - that someone like that is willing to join with them. Even though he surely knows its a bit of a deal with the devil.

But no. The elite in the party are obsessed with destroying him. Obsessed with painting his as disloyal to their club.

It's painfully obvious that all they want is to keep their power. To keep their influence.

It's all a gross charade.

[GoneFishin]

50. Yep. Their real complaint is that he is running at all. If he ran as third party they would bitch.

If he runs as a Democrat, they bitch. Basically, they are just pissed.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

11. The President is head of his Party.

If Bernie wins the Presidency, he gets to lead the Party and mold it to better suit his vision. Which, if you look beyond the one-dimensional nature of the cherry-picked quotes you've assembled here, is a return to the core values of the Party, as opposed to the corrupted current weak tea version that has lost so much value in the eyes of voters that Republicans hold both chambers of Congress, most of the governorships and many state legislations. Is that the 'Party' we need? Or do we need a revitalized, back to basics Party led by a man who champions the poor and downtrodden?

'He is simply not a joiner and has, instead, been successfully building a movement'... Yeah, he's building a movement bigger than the Party, and inviting us all to join him. He can grow the Party, if the Party doesn't try to simply toss him aside. Had the Party actually embraced him, rather than trying to undercut his run from day one, it would already be far stronger than it has been in recent years. By the blatantly lopsided actions of those in charge of the Party machinery, though, they've already made many of those new voters into 'Sanders voters' rather than 'Democratic voters'. The Party is shooting itself in the foot.

[Uncle Joe]

12. It's like they say "no good deed goes unpunished"

Peace to you, Erich Bloodaxe BSN.

[baldguy]

32. Other Bernie supporters seem to think they don't need no stinkin' party. Which is it?

[thesquanderer]

55. Amazingly, different people can have different opinions.

Even if they support the same candidate.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

183. I don't believe in simply giving up on people.

I think even the worst centrist "Democrats" can be reformed, and brought back to the left.

[left-of-center2012]

13. Throwing mud at Bernie ...

... won't help unite us for November.
Rather than attacking Bernie, state your policies and let the voters decide.

[daleanime]

25. The voters deciding....

I think that's what many are worried about. Just can't have that.

[Thinkingabout]

72. The same is to be said about Hillary and MON. It has not

Stopped the fact there is a twenty four hour seven day a week of attacks.

[FloridaBlues]

14. All his negitive statements about the dem party will be looped on tv by republicans over and over

If he wins the nomination.
And that will be the easy target against him

[Douglas Carpenter]

15. No, I do NOT agree with you tht he should have run as a third party candidate

That could have guaranteed a Trump or Cruz presidency. Furthermore, there is no chance he could have won. I for one am glad that he decided not to do that.

[Kalidurga]

16. Is Bernie Sanders committed to the success of the Democratic Party?

No, he is not. He is committed to the success of the United States of America. He is running to be President of the United States of America, not the President of the Democratic Party of America.

[baldguy]

20. The success of America is prerequisite on the success of the Democratic Party.

You can't have one without the other.

[daleanime]

26. Huh?

[A Simple Game]

118. I'm old enough to remember when people would not have admitted to

putting party before Country. Not so long ago Democrats, especially on DU, would belittle Republicans for doing so. You now see Democrats do it almost every day on DU. I find it shameful.

World, Humans, Country, Family, Self, that is the order of importance, there is no place or need for a party on the list.

[redwitch]

120. Couldn't agree more!

Nice post!

[A Simple Game]

121. Thank you for the compliment. n/t

[daleanime]

130. Amen....

[JackInGreen]

35. Thats a degree of deluded

Or at least badly focused priorities as I've ever seen. Party uber-alles, yah wohl?

[freedom fighter jh]

28. You got there first.

That's what I wanted to say.

The party exists to benefit the nation. Bernie does more for the nation running as a Dem than he would either running as an independent or not running at all.

[mountain grammy]

70. hear, hear!! Well said.

[TheJames]

78. Yeah, I don't give Damn about "The Party".

I care about the candidate, and their position on the issues. If "The Party" can't get behind Bernie's positions, then too bad for them. His positions seem to me to be what "The Party" should be about.

[baldguy]

17. If he did he'd be helping like-minded candidates down ticket, campaigning & raising money for them.

[freedom fighter jh]

34. Doesn't helping down-ticket candidates start after primary season?

At this point, does he even know who the down-ticket Democrats are going to be?

[baldguy]

36. Hillary doesn't think so. The DNC doesn't think so.

Those candidates she's helping don't think so.

[freedom fighter jh]

39. Who are those candidates?

I'm wondering how they're so far along in their campaigns so early in the process.

[riversedge]

42. First the money is given to state Dem Parties. It is up to them

--the individual states to decide who gets the funds. So you will have to ask your state party.

[freedom fighter jh]

47. Baldguy referred to the candidates that Hillary is helping, and what they think.

So I was asking him who they are.

What is "the money" that you are referring to?

[riversedge]

60. I was referring to the money raised by

Hillary---and hopefully Sanders (they both signed the joint fund raising agreements with the DNC)---will raise.

[freedom fighter jh]

175. I see.

I remain confused about why Hillary is doing that now, and why Bernie is expected to do that now.

[baldguy]

69. Hillary raised $18 million for the Democratic party. Who's going to get it?

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-endorsement-primary/

2016 endorsements

FiveThirtyEight has collected 306 endorsements so far, out of a possible total of approximately 585.

Candidate Date Endorser Position Pts.

Hillary Clinton
12/16/15 Linda Sánchez Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
12/15 Brad Ashford Rep. (D-Neb.) 1
12/7 Michael E. Capuano Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
11/30 Jerry McNerney Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
11/30 Jackie Speier Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
11/30 Anna G. Eshoo Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
11/30 Maxine Waters Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
11/30 Pete Aguilar Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
11/19 John A. Yarmuth Rep. (D-Ky.) 1
11/17 Donna F. Edwards Rep. (D-Md.) 1
11/17 Jack Reed Sen. (D-R.I.) 5
11/17 John P. Sarbanes Rep. (D-Md.) 1
11/17 Alan Grayson Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
11/17 C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger Rep. (D-Md.) 1
11/16 Ruben Gallego Rep. (D-Ariz.) 1
11/14 Jay Inslee Gov. (D-Wash.) 10
11/14 Suzan DelBene Rep. (D-Wash.) 1
11/14 Denny Heck Rep. (D-Wash.) 1
11/13 Joe Donnelly Sen. (D-Ind.) 5
11/13 Ann Kirkpatrick Rep. (D-Ariz.) 1
11/13 Eleanor Holmes Norton Del. (D-D.C.) 1
11/11 Tony Cárdenas Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
11/11 Gwen Moore Rep. (D-Wis.) 1
11/11 Corrine Brown Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
11/10 Christopher A. Coons Sen. (D-Del.) 5
11/9 Bennie G. Thompson Rep. (D-Miss.) 1
11/8 Seth Moulton Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
11/5 Maria Cantwell Sen. (D-Wash.) 5
11/4 Jay Nixon Gov. (D-Mo.) 10
10/28 Jared Huffman Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
10/28 Heidi Heitkamp Sen. (D-N.D.) 5
10/27 Sherrod Brown Sen. (D-Ohio) 5
10/26 John Carney Rep. (D-Del.) 1
10/26 Thomas R. Carper Sen. (D-Del.) 5
10/23 Paul D. Tonko Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
10/21 Jack Markell Gov. (D-Del.) 10
10/20 Eliot Engel Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
10/19 Joe Courtney Rep. (D-Conn.) 1
10/16 William Keating Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
10/14 Edward J. Markey Sen. (D-Mass.) 5
10/13 Yvette D. Clarke Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
10/13 Hakeem Jeffries Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
10/5 Robert C. Scott Rep. (D-Va.) 1
10/5 John Hickenlooper Gov. (D-Colo.) 10
9/17 Maggie Hassan Gov. (D-N.H.) 10
9/13 Ann Kuster Rep. (D-N.H.) 1
9/7 David Loebsack Rep. (D-Iowa) 1
9/7 Cheri Bustos Rep. (D-Ill.) 1
9/1 Zoe Lofgren Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
8/31 Tammy Baldwin Sen. (D-Wis.) 5
8/28 Timothy J. Walz Rep. (D-Minn.) 1
8/24 Bill Pascrell Jr. Rep. (D-N.J.) 1
8/24 Bonnie Watson Coleman Rep. (D-N.J.) 1
8/24 Donald Payne Jr. Rep. (D-N.J.) 1
8/24 John Garamendi Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
8/18 Jim Himes Rep. (D-Conn.) 1
8/6 Xavier Becerra Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
8/5 Scott Peters Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
7/15 Marcia L. Fudge Rep. (D-Ohio) 1
7/15 Lois Capps Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
7/14 André Carson Rep. (D-Ind.) 1
7/13 Suzanne Bonamici Rep. (D-Ore.) 1
6/27 Niki Tsongas Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
6/26 Don Beyer Rep. (D-Va.) 1
6/26 Brenda Lawrence Rep. (D-Mich.) 1
6/23 Matthew Cartwright Rep. (D-Pa.) 1
6/23 William "Lacy" Clay Jr. Rep. (D-Mo.) 1
6/13 Tom Wolf Gov. (D-Pa.) 10
6/13 Elizabeth Esty Rep. (D-Conn.) 1
6/13 John B. Larson Rep. (D-Conn.) 1
6/7 Dannel P. Malloy Gov. (D-Conn.) 10
6/5 Steve Cohen Rep. (D-Tenn.) 1
6/4 Christopher Murphy Sen. (D-Conn.) 5
5/27 Katherine Clark Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
5/20 Peter Shumlin Gov. (D-Vt.) 10
5/14 Joseph P. Kennedy III Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
5/12 James McGovern Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
5/5 Michael F. Bennet Sen. (D-Colo.) 5
5/5 Gary Peters Sen. (D-Mich.) 5
5/4 Adam Schiff Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
5/4 José E. Serrano Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
5/4 Ed Perlmutter Rep. (D-Colo.) 1
5/4 Marc Veasey Rep. (D-Texas) 1
5/4 Jared Polis Rep. (D-Colo.) 1
5/4 Rubén Hinojosa Rep. (D-Texas) 1
5/4 Jim Cooper Rep. (D-Tenn.) 1
5/4 Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly Rep. (D-Va.) 1
5/4 Joyce Beatty Rep. (D-Ohio) 1
5/4 Kathleen Rice Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
5/4 Eddie Bernice Johnson Rep. (D-Texas) 1
5/4 Patrick Murphy Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
5/4 Mike Thompson Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
5/4 Adam Smith Rep. (D-Wash.) 1
5/4 Kathy Castor Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
5/4 Julia Brownley Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
5/4 Brad Sherman Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
5/4 Derek Kilmer Rep. (D-Wash.) 1
5/4 Sean Patrick Maloney Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
5/4 Henry Cuellar Rep. (D-Texas) 1
5/4 Daniel Kildee Rep. (D-Mich.) 1
5/4 Kurt Schrader Rep. (D-Ore.) 1
5/4 Filemon Vela Rep. (D-Texas) 1
4/29 Emanuel Cleaver Rep. (D-Mo.) 1
4/24 Robert P. Casey, Jr. Sen. (D-Pa.) 5
4/23 Cory A. Booker Sen. (D-N.J.) 5
4/23 Steve Israel Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
4/22 John Conyers Jr. Rep. (D-Mich.) 1
4/16 Gina M. Raimondo Gov. (D-R.I.) 10
4/15 Jim McDermott Rep. (D-Wash.) 1
4/14 Rosa L. DeLauro Rep. (D-Conn.) 1
4/13 Tom Udall Sen. (D-N.M.) 5
4/12 Debbie Dingell Rep. (D-Mich.) 1
4/12 Jeanne Shaheen Sen. (D-N.H.) 5
4/12 Karen Bass Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
4/12 Rick Larsen Rep. (D-Wash.) 1
4/12 Andrew M. Cuomo Gov. (D-N.Y.) 10
4/12 Diana DeGette Rep. (D-Colo.) 1
4/11 Jerrold Nadler Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
4/11 Nydia M. Velázquez Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
2/2 Brian Schatz Sen. (D-Hawaii) 5
1/29 Alcee L. Hastings Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
1/27 Judy Chu Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/27 Mark Takano Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/27 Ted Lieu Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/27 Madeleine Bordallo Del. (D-Guam) 1
1/27 Tammy Duckworth Rep. (D-Ill.) 1
1/27 Mazie K. Hirono Sen. (D-Hawaii) 5
1/27 Ami Bera Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/22 Loretta Sanchez Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/22 Lucille Roybal-Allard Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/22 Grace Napolitano Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
12/18/14 Bill Nelson Sen. (D-Fla.) 5
12/16 Al Franken Sen. (D-Minn.) 5
12/1 Barbara A. Mikulski Sen. (D-Md.) 5
12/1 Benjamin L. Cardin Sen. (D-Md.) 5
11/14 Terry McAuliffe Gov. (D-Va.) 10
11/10 Charles B. Rangel Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
10/14 Nita Lowey Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
8/5 Mark R. Warner Sen. (D-Va.) 5
7/12 Michelle Lujan Grisham Rep. (D-N.M.) 1
7/12 Martin Heinrich Sen. (D-N.M.) 5
6/21 Patrick J. Leahy Sen. (D-Vt.) 5
6/18 Rick Nolan Rep. (D-Minn.) 1
6/18 Betty McCollum Rep. (D-Minn.) 1
6/7 Richard Blumenthal Sen. (D-Conn.) 5
6/6 Bill Foster Rep. (D-Ill.) 1
6/6 Robin Kelly Rep. (D-Ill.) 1
6/5 Richard J. Durbin Sen. (D-Ill.) 5
6/4 Amy Klobuchar Sen. (D-Minn.) 5
5/22 Debbie Stabenow Sen. (D-Mich.) 5
5/4 Mark Takai Rep. (D-Hawaii) 1
5/3 Tim Kaine Sen. (D-Va.) 5
2/7 Ted Deutch Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
1/31 Joseph Crowley Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
1/29 Joe Manchin III Sen. (D-W.Va.) 5
1/28 Sander Levin Rep. (D-Mich.) 1
1/28 Luis Gutierrez Rep. (D-Ill.) 1
1/28 Mike Honda Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/28 Jan Schakowsky Rep. (D-Ill.) 1
1/28 Cedric Richmond Rep. (D-La.) 1
1/28 Brian Higgins Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
1/28 Danny K. Davis Rep. (D-Ill.) 1
1/28 Gregory W. Meeks Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
1/28 Grace Meng Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
1/28 Terri A. Sewell Rep. (D-Ala.) 1
1/28 Frederica Wilson Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
1/28 David Cicilline Rep. (D-R.I.) 1
1/28 Lois Frankel Rep. (D-Fla.) 1
1/28 Jim Langevin Rep. (D-R.I.) 1
1/28 Janice Hahn Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/28 Louise Slaughter Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
1/28 Gene Green Rep. (D-Texas) 1
1/28 Sheldon Whitehouse Sen. (D-R.I.) 5
1/28 Joaquin Castro Rep. (D-Texas) 1
1/28 Stephen F. Lynch Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
1/28 Chellie Pingree Rep. (D-Maine) 1
1/28 David Scott Rep. (D-Ga.) 1
1/28 Doris O. Matsui Rep. (D-Calif.) 1
1/28 Sheila Jackson Lee Rep. (D-Texas) 1
1/28 Steny H. Hoyer Rep. (D-Md.) 1
1/28 John Delaney Rep. (D-Md.) 1
1/28 Henry C. "Hank" Jr. Johnson Rep. (D-Ga.) 1
1/28 John Lewis Rep. (D-Ga.) 1
1/28 Richard E. Neal Rep. (D-Mass.) 1
1/13 Chris Van Hollen Rep. (D-Md.) 1
12/12/13 Dianne Feinstein Sen. (D-Calif.) 5
11/17 Kirsten E. Gillibrand Sen. (D-N.Y.) 5
11/11 Carolyn Maloney Rep. (D-N.Y.) 1
11/8 Patty Murray Sen. (D-Wash.) 5
11/7 Mark Dayton Gov. (D-Minn.) 10
11/5 Tim Ryan Rep. (D-Ohio) 1
11/2 Charles E. Schumer Sen. (D-N.Y.) 5
10/30 Barbara Boxer Sen. (D-Calif.) 5
8/18 Dina Titus Rep. (D-Nev.) 1
6/18 Claire McCaskill Sen. (D-Mo.) 5

And her opponents:

Bernie Sanders

10/12/15 Keith Ellison Rep. (D-Minn.) 1
10/7 Raúl Grijalva Rep. (D-Ariz.) 1

Martin O'Malley

7/24/15 Eric Swalwell Rep. (D-Calif.) 1


I can see why Bernie and his supporters keep attacking the Democratic Party.

[enid602]

94. interesting

The lists mirror the list of congress people who support each candidate. Really gives you an idea of the depth of BS's 'revolution,' and of the depth of the folks who will carry it out.

[JackInGreen]

37. He's gotta let Deb brand that D

Into his forehead and pay dues in local races first didn't you know? Like yoda, DWS will help him unlearn what he has learned by making him a brainless party shill, only then can he be a TRUE Democrat.

[freedom fighter jh]

44. That's what it sounds like.

[daybranch]

21. It ain't just about party, democrat or otherwise.

It is about democracy and the well-being of our people. Hillary people just do not get it, but then they could not support Hillary if they did. Hillary people seem to like to act as if we Bernie people are traitors to our party, but we choose our people over party and move our party to support of the people. Denocracy first, democrat second. Go Bernie!

[riversedge]

46. If Bernie wins the nomination--you will be happy that doen-ticket Dems get some cash

I bet. As a Democrat Sanders needs to ensure that Democrats get elected to Congress to pass his proposals.

[Broward]

29. Anyone to the left of where Richard Nixon was should be thrilled with Bernie's message.

Why the concern? Is Bernie too liberal for you?

[NorthCarolina]

73. Yes, that's just it...he's too Liberal for them.

Remember the big hub bub a few weeks ago in regards to Bernie's plan to make a college education available to all citizens regardless of their income? If you recall, the main concern of the Clintonites, the thing they pounded in post after post, was:

"Bernie wants to pay for Donald Trumps kids to go to State or Community College"

That was their big take-away after hearing about his plan. Not the benefit to the country and it's citizens as a whole, but just that the Donald would be able to send his kids to ____________ Community College on the taxpayers dime.

Think about that mindset in the big picture and that should tell you all you need to know about the Hillary voting bloc.

[Broward]

125. Hillary was also recently talking down single payer healthcare

which was just fine with many of her supporters.

[LuvNewcastle]

30. Are you beginning to doubt Bernie's commitment

to Sparkle Motion? Gawd.

[JackInGreen]

33. ....

[Proserpina]

40. Bernie is committed to the PEOPLE. People trump Party

unless, of course, you are willing to have the People install the Donald Trump, in which case, just keep on bad-mouthing Bernie with lies and cynical mutterings.

When an organization is as dysfunctional, undemocratic, biased,wasteful and disorganized as the Democratic Party, a new broom is the first thing needed to clean the House, Senate, and the other two branches of our three=part government. The People are that Broom, and Bernie is the wielder.

[Scuba]

45. It's not about party, it's about policy. I only support Democrats who support traditional ...

... Democratic Party policies: strong social safety net, education, healthcare, peace.

These are the things the Democratic Party used to stand for, before the Koch brothers and the Clintons formed the DLC (now Third Way) to change the party's policies to Republican-lite.


Bernie supports ousting that party leaders who don't support the traditional Democratic Party policies. I'm good with that.

[hobbit709]

49. compared to the corporate wing of the party, YES!

[AllyCat]

52. I have supported democratic candidates my entire voting life

Because they supported my values. The party supports those values less, IMO, than they used to. I support Bernie because he represents the values that are important to me and most Americans and used to be a given for Party-supported candidates.

If the Party is not going to support Democratic values, what is the point? We have a candidate willing to fight for those values. All three of them do, but he does it the most. And that is the purpose of a primary.

I'm not voting for a party. I'm voting for a leader.

[Kokonoe]

53. Bernie Sanders is committed to the success of Democrats. eom

[Vinca]

57. Bernie had the option to run as an Independent. He didn't. Question answered.

A third party run would guarantee a Democratic loss.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

58. Is DWS committed to the success of the Democratic Party?

By taking the conversation a little bit "leftward", Bernie helps the Democratic Party far more than DWS.

[Green Forest]

59. When Wasserman-Shultz supported her Republican colleagues over their Democratic challengers in FL...

was she supporting the Democratic Party?

[Martin Eden]

65. Bernie Sanders can save the Democratic Party

The Party has been steadily abandoning The People, and ultimately The People will abandon it.

[baldguy]

75. Save it by destroying it?

Save it by attacking the party leadership & party loyalists with Republican talking points? Save it by handing the election over to GOP fascists on a silver platter?

Sorry, America and the Democrats don't need that kind of "saving".

[shawn703]

95. Hyperbole much?

[baldguy]

97. No. Not really.

[TM99]

105. The only candidate that will hand the White House

to the GOP will be Clinton.

The Democratic Party is festering from the inside with the neoliberal New Dems.

[Martin Eden]

162. Uh, no.

Save it by giving voters a better reason to vote than the Republicans are worse.

Generating enthusiasm and getting voters to the polls -- especially young voters -- is the key to winning the presidency AND electing Democrats in the downticket races.

The Democratic Party takes our votes for granted while drifting further towards the right and serving the interests of Wall Street and the military industrial complex. Hillary Clinton is the establishment candidate representing that course. She is an obstacle to the kind of change the American people need. Rather than inspire voters to go to the polls, the belief would be reinforced that the Democratic Party is not the means for real progress.

Loyalty to Party must be earned. When it is not reciprocated, people will look elsewhere.

Bernie Sanders can bring the Democratic Party back to where it belongs.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

67. He is not interested in the DINO party

I know that

[quickesst]

76. One can only wade through so much bullshit...

.... so I just quit after going through about half the replies to your OP. From the start there was nothing but deflection from your point. Some believe that Hillary Clinton being a Goldwater girl when she was a teenager is equitable to the anti-democratic party statements by Bernie Sanders. It's pretty much all they've got . And so it goes.

[99Forever]

77. Just like all Turd Way DINOs...

... you've got it all backwards.

"The party" serves the wants and needs of We the People, not the other way around. If "the party" doesn't fulfill that basic requirement, then it ceases to be successful. Return to values that stand with We the People and not the rich, corporate scum, or become more and more irrelevant. It's just that simple.

[restorefreedom]

113. a fareaaaakin men! nt

[Thinkingabout]

79. Sanders, a recipient of Democrats supporting his reelections,

Hillary for one has donated and went to campaign for him to be elected to the senate, it is time to stop the hate DWS and DNC and work to get Democrats elected at every level, it will take funds to do this. Fund raising is necessary to beat Republicans.

[mountain grammy]

82. I don't know how long it's been since I got the feeling

my Democratic party had left me. The icing on the cake was a national health care bill that didn't include universal health care for all, but did the bidding of insurance and pharmacy corporations and allowed states to op out of the medicaid expansion, the best part of the bill.
I never changed my registration and I've held on to my liberal beliefs, waiting for a candidate that sees what I see; the oligarchy and corporate power that's ruling America and the rest of the world, exploiting people and resources for greed and profit. We've allowed it in exchange for the shiny objects and entertainment they bring us. Not such a good trade off after all.

[aikoaiko]

88. Yes. Bernie is about loyalty to values.

[Armstead]

92. He's committed to the success of the People of the United States

And a better workd overall.

[baldguy]

100. The success of America is prerequisite on the success of the Democratic Party.

You can't have one without the other.

[TM99]

106. Bullshit.

Only 30% of the registered voters in the US are in the Democratic Party.

The success of America is for all not just them.

I mean we have been yammered at for years that Obama could only do so much. Why? Well because he is President of ALL Americans not just the left.

[baldguy]

114. Your's is the type of argument which allows the GOP to win elections.

It was carefully & lovingly crafted deep in the bowels of the fascist Republican RW. The proof is that it requires acceptance of the lie that the Democratic Party does not represent the people.

[TM99]

143. My argument?

Ha! That argument was presented from day one of Obama's administration on these forums.

Right now the Democratic Party represents those that pay to play. That does not represent most of us.

[Armstead]

108. That depends on the Democratic Party

....and whether or not it continues to follow a leadership dominated by the elites for the elites, and continues to marginalize -- instead of working to advance -- truly progressive and liberal populist values and policies.

(It is not in the interests of the majority to continue to support crap like TPP, forcing people to buy overpriced private insurance, deregulation, TPP. and the the "free trade" con, privatization, Alan Greenspan economics, allowing continuing financial and corporate monopolization, etc.)

[NurseJackie]

103. I do not believe he is. (nt)

[workinclasszero]

109. Hahahahahahaha! Sure he is! "wink wink nudge nudge"

"It would be hypocritical of me to run as a Democrat because of the things I have said about the party."

“Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?”

“You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.”

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

“I am not now, nor have I ever been, a liberal Democrat,”

“I am not a Democrat, period.”

"The Democratic and Republican parties are tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, they both adhere to an ideology of greed and vulgarity."

“I am extremely proud to be an independent.”

“The fact that I am not a Democrat gives me the freedom to speak out on the floor of the House, to vote against both the Democratic and Republican proposals.”

"The Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt, they have no ideology. Their ideology is opportunism.”

[ellennelle]

119. should this be the question?

really? really?? this line of thinking smacks of party loyalty we've seen in old school communist bloc countries, and more recently in the republican party.

is this the script we really want to follow here?

because i see that sanders is committed to principles larger than "the party," principles the democratic party - of FDR and jefferson - once stood for. principles the COUNTRY needs to recover.

the democratic party has lost its way, imho, and requires correction.

we should, as healthy, thoughtful, reasonable, and forward thinking progressive democrats welcome his insistence on this correction!

we should consider his call for correction as something like an intervention!

the democratic party truly lost its way in the 80s when the likes of al from and the middle way DLC seduced bill clinton and his ilk into compromising democratic principles and loyalties TO THE PEOPLE in order to just win. (dot connection, read: in order to win, money had to rule the calculus; need i say more?)

in other words, the DLC orchestrated the red shift in the democratic party. their compromises of democratic principles were made in order to win. this is what clinton did, this is what obama did; which is why sanders questioned obama's first term. we should all be willing to agree, as much as we might admire obama on many levels, he has compromised a lot; some of it necessary, some of it not, and some of that has been clearly and overtly DLC/middle(money)way.

there have been tons of debates on DU about obama's loyalties to those principles, and i even defended him on occasion, tho the misdirection of the party leadership has been glaringly evident and frankly scary. so how can we now be calling out sanders for pursuing those democratic principles with vigor (and i choose that qualifying phrase specifically)?! it's perverse, and smacks of party leadership feeling pressured - even desperate - enough to launch this slander sanders campaign.

i'll add as well that it was once a badge of honor to boast about how independent democrats were! recall will rogers' admission that he did not belong to an organized political party; he was a democrat! we used to joke it was like trying to herd cats.

DEMOCRATS ARE BY TRADITION, PRINCIPLE, AND HISTORY INDEPENDENT!

the party needs this intervention! it needs this correction!! look at what it's become! DWS? really? this debate schedule and the exclusivity clause, really? smoking out strong progressive candidates down ticket to keep the establishment DLC compromising middle way happy, really? hell, smoking - nay, shoving! - out howard dean after his miraculous strategy won us Congress back in 06! plus the majority of governorships and state legislatures! two years later, that dishonorable cretin rahm muscled him out, replacing him with tim kaine, then DWS. rahm was petty and unable to even acknowledge dean's contribution, taking the glory for himself. this is the mentality the party has become, people! do we really want to support and perpetuate this?

NOT ME!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

I WANT MY PARTY BACK! I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!

and i see sanders as our best bet - and likely ONLY CHANCE - to accomplish that.

no one else even comes close!!

ps. and i have to add here, my previous high admiration and support for howard dean has landed in the basement with his current obsequious pandering to the DNC/HRC faction; hell, he even misrepresented (to put it mildly) the exclusivity clause on national TV to cover for the DNC leadership. all this, plus refusing to admit to sanders' honorable support of democratic principles all these decades, i find worse than disappointing, placing the middle way DLC party above traditional progressive principles. this is the choice we are all faced with now; we cannot blow it by getting trivial and petty!

[CharlotteVale]

123. The real question is, is DWS? She's the one who endorsed Republicans.

The Democtatic party has performed abysmally under her and she is running it into the ground. That's on the Democratic Party, not Bernie.

[Warren Stupidity]

124. Oh.

[pangaia]

126. Senator Sanders is committed to the success of America

and to ALL of the human beings who live in America.

[wendylaroux]

157. ding ding ding--We have a WINNER^^^^^^^^

[merrily]

137. Bernie is committed to the success of the 99%. The Democratic Party should be

committed to that as well. At some point, though, the success of the 99% ceased to be the priority of the Democratic Party.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

138. He's being presidential in those statements.

"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all." Thomas Jefferson

[Gothmog]

142. To be successful, the eventual nominee needs to raise money for the party

The Kochs will be spending $887 million and the RNC candidate may spend another billion dollars. The eventual nominee of the party needs to raise money for both their campaign and the party

[Todays_Illusion]

148. The official Democratic Party without consulting their voters moved right. Thank

goodness Bernie Sanders is now campaigning from the old, FDR liberal policy that is very left of Hillary and the DWS Democratic Party.

[AgingAmerican]

153. The Democratic Party (DNC) is run by Debbie Wasserman Schultz

I notice you do not mention her anywhere in your OP.

Is Debbie Wasserman Schultz committed to the success of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders?

[postatomic]

159. Bernie Sanders is committed to the success of Bernie Sanders

Here he is getting to know the "people" after he gives one of his Dystopian Speeches:

[pangaia]

161. There, there. Feel better now?

[Autumn]

163. Bernie Sanders is committed to the success of the American people.

I was a democrat for over 40 years. I'm not a member of that party any longer. And after I caucus for Bernie I will never be a member of that party again. I agree with Bernie when he says

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

To me the defining question is, can a party win the vote of a voter that it has scorned that now scorns the party? I say no.

[nc4bo]

169. LOL! The Democratic Party is all shiny and stuff on the outside

but open that bad boy up and it's a reeking pile of corruption, incompetence and status quo.

Some of us are fed up and are unafraid to speak up.

[underthematrix]

178. i think that's great but if he really trusted the American people's

commitment to him, he would have run as who an independent

[bigwillq]

174. Yes, imo (nt)

[Betty Karlson]

181. Typical camp Clinton reaction: Clinton is not committed to the party

so let us accuse her opponent of the same. The hypocrisy is on full display today.

The coronation committee must be so proud of you, Alfresco.