General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Would you rather of had Bernie run for President as an independent?! [View all]JCanete
(5,272 posts)made him so popular goes to show that the system as is, does not typically privilege the choices the voters actually want. You just said it. Sanders would have been a blip, because it is about money and exposure and it is about viability. Nobody believes third parties are viable. That siphons voters back towards the two parties even if their hearts are elsewhere. It is a credit to the party that it did not use some litmus test to bar Sanders from the primary because at least that gives some level of control back to the voters in the party. If a candidate doesn't resonate with democrats that candidate doesn't go anywhere. If, in-spite of all of the practical forces still against such a candidate, that person emerges with support, well that is the democratic voters talking.
Also, Sanders absolutely had further reach already than Stein, even from the beginning, which is why he was raising the money he was, even as an unknown. He would have gotten more support in the GE than she did. People in liberal circles have known his name for a long time now and have listened to him on Harmann, etc. for years. And there is no evidence I"m aware of that shows Sanders turned people towards Stein, nor influenced them not to vote. He brought people into the process, and most of his supporters voted for Clinton. It is much more likely, had Sanders run as independent, that all the people saying that's what he should have done, would be singing a slightly different vitriolic tune about how third parties play spoiler. No question, running as a Democrat helped Sanders gain traction, and I appreciate you being one of the few on the board who has actually acknowledged that in the early state races Sanders was still an unknown, not "REJECTED" by those voters, as a lot of people like to say here.