2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Hillary Clinton cannot win the general without Bernie and his supporters [View all]PufPuf23
(8,791 posts)I cried the day of the election.
I am a white male that registered when came of age 1972 in Democratic party and have voted Democrat ever since.
Was first seriously politicized in 1968 age 15 when attending boarding school in the San Francisco Bay Area. My roommate 1968-69 Eric's (RIP) mother was Maya Miller, a noted Nevada Democratic party and feminist activist. The first time she visited she took Eric and I to an antiwar rally at the Marina Green in San Francisco in support of the Presidio soldiers accused of treason. I have identified as anti-war liberal and Democratic ever since (and don't intend to change).
Hillary Clinton was my least favorite of nine Democratic candidates in 2008; I was already any Democrat but Hillary Clinton. The reasons were all from actions post 2001. I had supported and voted for Bill Clinton and readily gave him a pass on the questionable. Some items I did not know nor understand (and I am far better educated and informed than the average voter).
POTUS Obama has been a good POTUS, somewhat disappointing because he is a neo-liberal but he brought the USA back from the brink and has been a good face for the nation.
No way that the next POTUS including Hillary Clinton will be as successful as POTUS Obama.
I supported Sanders originally because he was not Hillary Clinton and I believed that the Democratic Party would retain the POTUS Regardless of candidate. Sanders has turned out to be a refreshing surprise and represents a strong move against the neo-liberalism that has come to dominate the Democratic party and nation.
So I do not want Hillary Clinton to be the next POTUS and particularly do not want Clinton for 8 years. Clinton will continue the neo-liberal status quo and the struggle for a global empire. Clinton is to then right of POTUS Obama. Clinton has been corrupted and gained a fortune from the system.
That said I would never vote for Trump nor GOP and a 3rd party vote is senseless given our two party system. I am voting for Sanders in the California primary. I have said I would likely vote for Clinton in the general but be angry and not support her in spirit.
This may have already changed to where POTUS may be skipped on my ballot. The DNC and Democratic party establishment made a grave error in treating Hillary Clinton as an incumbent and presumed nominee given her high negatives with many within the party.
I have no intention to leave the Democratic party and think others wrong that are leaving or say they will leave.
I tend to think that if Hillary Clinton as expected is the Democratic nominee for POTUS, Clinton will win. Not because of the support of Sanders supporters, but because Clinton gains the sane and moderate GOPs and adjunct media that supported Reagan and both Bushes and the MIC's zeal for empire. Clinton treats this segment as more natural allies than the anti-war liberals, especially those of her own generation.