ENOUGH with the "Clinton campaign didn't ask for our help" whining!

[karynnj]

37. What I saw in my state and through my very large extended family -- is that Bernie Sanders Democrats

DID do what they could. One close personal example - My youngest daughter, who caucused for Bernie in WA state, spent hours writing excellent explanations of HRC's past accomplishments and positions which were consistent with Bernie's. She posted these on Facebook and on other social media and reached out to many of her friends, some very angry at the Clinton/DNC people making the case that the DEMOCRATIC AGENDA was also on the ballot - even though it said Hillary Clinton. She was NOT alone.

What is ignored is that you could use a Venn diagram of people who voted in the Democratic primary. Picture two over lapping circles - place people who would vote for either Clinton or Bernie in the general election in the intersection. There will be two areas not in that intersection. Those who only would vote for Bernie ; and those who would only vote for Clinton. Comments on DU in the primaries, show that there were people in ALL three places. Comments in the primaries and especially in the general election show that the vast majority of people were in the intersection. This reflects that DU is a community of liberal independents and Democrats.

Yet, here when you speak of Sanders people not helping, you are speaking to people who voted for Clinton - however reluctantly - even after the revelations of what happened within the DNC in the primaries. You can not expect that all Democrats will develop enthusiasm for the nominee. The canddiate that I was most enthusiastic in my life time was John Kerry. I am grateful for all the Democrats, who supported Kuchinich and Dean, who worked for or voted for Kerry. I suspect that my long held wish that they could have looked harder at who he was and his record and become enthusiastic about someone who lived their values is what many people 100% behind HRC feel about those who say they "held their nose". I imagine that it is as hard for you as it was for me to accept that the lack of enthusiasm of some is because they really wanted someone very different. I agree that enthusiastic supporters are more successful winning over others than people "holding their noses". I admire that my daughter could make the transition to identifying what she could support in HRC.

One thing I can say is that Bernie and his top surrogates were better proponents for Clinton after the primaries than many Clinton allies were in 2004 - and they were not even defeated primary opponents. Begala and Carville, two pominent Democrats on TV, werebizarely calling Kerry "anybody but Bush" (a primary meme) and Bill Clinton on his book tour in summer 2004 blasting "leftists" questioning the conduct of the war - as our nominee was doing, when he was not explaining Monica as happening "because he could".

One thing that is and was poorly understood is that - contrary to DU claims that Bernie was too far left for mid America - Bernie's votes came not just from liberal independents and Democrats who were entirely likely to be for ANY Democratic nominee. These voters were ours with any nominee and just needed to be pushed to vote. From many accounts, Bernie also spoke to many who felt that he spoke for them - even though they were previously apolitical or even Republican leaning. This is not surprising if you look at the fact that he has the highest approval rating in the Senate. Most Vermonters live in rural areas. You can drive 10 minutes out of Burlington and be in completely rural farm country. It is from this group that many people went from Bernie to Stein or even Trump. This is NOT because Bernie caused these people, who otherwise would have been Hillary's, to reject the Democratic party. These are people who were open to a candidate who has ALWAYS spoken to and for the people - not the elites. These are people Bernie could have won who were not "ours" -- not people who were "ours", who Bernie caused to move against Clinton. She never had them.

My daughter was reaching out to both the liberals flirting with the dishonest Stein or not voting -- and to some who were not historically Democrat, who were skeptical of the Clintons. Here she used Bernie's issues that they had come to support and tried to make the case thateven as Trump said he would not let anyone touch SS or Medicare, he would bring jobs back, and he would build up the infrastructure -- those are all things HRC fought for for decades that teh Republicans were against. Although she and others like her obviously did not win over all or even most of the people they communicated with, these were voters that the Clinton outreach could likely not have reached at all. It was through mutual support for Sanders, that my very liberal daughter had a point of connection with them.

She was not alone. I personally know some people, who voted for Bush, McCain, and Romney, who said that they could not vote for Trump and were open to Bernie had he won the nomination. Some told me they also could not stomach Clinton either and would not vote. For those who I knew to be conservative (prolife) Republicans, I did not push them to vote. If I knew they agreed with us on any issue - climate change, entitlements, healthcare, etc , I pushed them to vote for HRC.