To all California voters.

[leftcoastmountains]

How do you feel knowing your vote will not count in the primaries for Bernie?
How do you feel knowing that some 30 states will have voted by the time we vote?
How do you feel that your state with almost 39 million people will not have a
say in who will be the Democratic nominee or Republican nominee for that matter?
In the past I shrugged and went about my business and voted anyway.
But this time it's different. This time I have a candidate I'm really excited to elect.
Should I quit wearing my Bernie pin and take my Bernie bumper sticker off my car?
Oh sure I will continue to donate (which I have never ever done before).
As for big donations the candidates always come here.
I have yet to go to a meeting and now that I am thinking about it, why bother?
Why spend any time trying to convince the people of California to vote for Bernie
when it just doesn't matter?


http://www.capoliticalrevie.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/elias-california-not-part-of-2016-presidential-primary-system-again/

[CrispyQ]

1. We need a national primary.

The current system is bullshit.

[daleanime]

4. But that would make it harder....

to manipulate the outcome.

[yeoman6987]

6. If it was national, senator Bernie would not have a chance

How do you campaign in 50 states? Senator Obsma probably would not have gotten the nomination either. The big attention was after Iowa for senator Obama. Then caucus' would go away for primaries which always help established candidates. Horrible idea!

[CrispyQ]

12. It seems like a few minor states have huge influence early in the race.

http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-presidential-primary-schedule-calendar/

Primaries held from Feb 1 - June 14. Seems to me the later you vote, the more one candidate has already been 'selected.'

[yeoman6987]

13. That's true but I still think rotating states would be a better way.

[daleanime]

2. Hummmnnn.....

Time Warner doesn't seem to want me to go there.

[abelenkpe]

3. Often think the same. Nt

[onecaliberal]

5. I've thought that every national election.

Why are tiny states who are NOT representative of America allowed to decide who the candidates are? I'm sick of the stupid making decisions the rest of us are forced to love with.

[Autumn]

7. Maybe start a petition on the lines of this to make TPTB sit up and take notice of Californians

dissatisfaction with the current system. Pledge to support him as the nominee when California finally get's to chose.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/228/903/404/pledge-to-write-in-sen-bernie-sanders-for-president-on-your-2016-ballot/

Your vote does matter

[Le Taz Hot]

8. Because when Bernie says he has a 50-state strategy I believe him.

This is a COMPLETELY different campaign and a COMPLTELY different candidate. The reason the others have to bow out early is because their corporate, big-donor bucks dry up if they don't reach a certain percentage in the early primary/caucus states. But Bernie isn't beholden to Big Money. He's beholden to us so there's absolutely NO reason he needs to think about getting out before it reaches California. And here's a prediction: I believe California will put Bernie over the top if he isn't there already.

Never EVER sit out an election. People fought and died for your right to do that. And if your candidate doesn't win find another candidate and support that person. Politics is a long-distance run, not a sprint.

[silverweb]

9. Hear! Hear!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]We need to GOTV!


[font color="purple" face="Verdana"]Go, Bernie!

[leftcoastmountains]

10. No it isn't different.

The nominee will be decided before June. As far as sitting out the election, I never have.
This state needs to rethink some of it's election policies. A lot of politics come from the
East coast. I have often thought that maybe just maybe California should join Texas, Alaska
and Hawaii and make noise about forming our own nation. There was a suggestion a while
back that California, Oregon, Washington and maybe even BC Canada and Baja California reform
to make a nation called Cascadia. Ok maybe California wasn't included but why not? More local
control. National taxes would stay here. I know military is big here with companies and bases.
But I'm not a fan of the military. Hey no more foreign wars! But we are a huge economy.
We are considered either the 7th or 8th largest economy in the world.
It's a pipe dream I know but when I sat down last night and started thinking what are you doing?
Your vote does not count. I just have to hope the rest of the country does what I would like while I
watch from the sidelines. Talk about disenfranchisement!

[Le Taz Hot]

11. I disagree that it isn't different.

Two things are happening in this primary cycle: Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. What they have in common is that NO ONE saw them coming and I include myself in that. I think both reflect a populism that the PTB didn't even see coming. I acknowledge all the things you say about California and other state's lack of input in the primary process. Hell, if I go back into my journal archives I'm sure I can find an OP or 3 about it, but there's nothing we can do about it this time around as it's too late to fix it. Does that mean we forget about the issue? No. We use the populism of this campaign and, yes, even the Trump campaign which is a weird kind of Republican-type populism that I don't even begin to understand, and demand all primaries fall on the same day. I would definitely advocate for that.

[LWolf]

14. I was pleased to see a later primary for CA.

Why? Because my primary is always too late to affect the outcomes, and often too late for any candidate worthy of my vote to still be on the ballot.

CA has lots of delegates. Nobody will be "calling" the nomination early, making the rest of us irrelevant, if CA is still in play.

It does matter. Bernie, as you know, is building a large following. 28,000 at a rally in my state. 27,000 in L.A.. He will still be on the ballot. I will work from here on the left coast for his campaign in all of those earlier states to ensure that, and I hope the rest of his supporters will, too.

The great news? I think he'll take Iowa and NH, which will propel him further into primary season.

The challenge? NC. We need to pour a hell of a lot more of our time, energy and resources there.