omg, and to think we only have 20 more months of this…smh 
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I know, right?
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i don’t know how this thread got this long without someone posting this before now.
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Get off our lawn, grandpa!
Yep. I’m in.
Actually, no. A lot of Bernie supporters stayed home. Some voted for Trump.
The problem is that so many Americans don’t see anyone to vote for. They don’t identify as Democrats or Republicans, just as people that feel forgotten. This was one of the keys to Trump getting as many votes as he did.
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Clinton had about as many votes as Obama the election before, and less than Obama in 2008.
She didn’t lose because of whatever you’re talking about.
It still feels especially silly to re-litigate the 2016 election, because Clinton’s not even running, Bernie supporters didn’t swing the last primary, and if some of them were fine with Trump, that doesn’t sound like a solid voting bloc in an election against Trump.
Every person who drags Sanders vs Clinton stuff up makes me think they’re in historical reenactment land, not mounting a contemporary campaign against Trump.
Clinton went into the 2016 thinking, “Whew, now that Obama’s gone, it’s my turn.” Sanders has to convince people he’s not thinking, “Whew, now that Clinton’s gone, it’s my turn.”
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And creating a binary choice in order to pin me to a position that I never took is the opposite of rational discourse. I tried to explain that I believe that there are multiple candidates with a variety of nuanced positions that I would accept so far, and a few more, like Sherrod Brown and Jeff Merkely, that I would also vote for if they end up with the nomination. I would vote happily for Bernie in the general if he wins the nomination, as I mentioned upthread that I did in 16, but I think his time has passed and he is now too old. He was not a perfect candidate by a long shot. And we are a long way from the time to make a final decision.
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He won’t have the monolithic Clinton machine deliberately sandbagging him and playing dirty this time so…
Edit: I still remember the AP calling the California primary (where Sanders was drawing singularly massive and diverse crowds) the night before the polls opened.
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Merk is alright, but without a change to Oregon law he’ll have to choose between it and keeping his seat. Personally think he’s better in the senate (Brown would too, I think, but he doesn’t have to make the same choice)
ETA: I also definitely think Wyden wants to drop his hat in the game, but is maybe waiting for Merk to figure it out?
Well, as long as he won’t be running against anyone that plays dirty.
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Lest we forget: Bernie Sanders benefited from Russian interference in the 2016 election just like Trump did.
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The only nominally left-wing political party with any influence in the most powerful country on the planet showed itself to be very, very undemocratic in 2016.
If raising criticisms about this is considered “tedious” and “pointless”, then I have to agree: I’m not interested in “ensuring that progressive ideas are heard” by a party which cares only about perpetuating its power. A party which will talk “universal healthcare” at the same time it talks “virtual border wall” just as long as it polls high. There’s no real conversation there to influence. The party cannot be swayed toward social justice in anything beyond appearances, because like the Republican Party, its loyalty to power elites run deep.
I’m happy to see Bernie run because while his 2016 run helped to destroy the democratic party, it’s still not destroyed enough. And unless it goes down for good - to be replaced by an actual popular Left - we’ll be looking at a Trump-style status-quo for the foreseeable future.
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Over 300 replies I have not enough time to read (and, equally, why should anyone read this…) so apologies if others made this point already:
Perhaps he is standing only to diligently ensure that the Overton window stays moved and keeps moving during the upcoming election cycle. He may not intend to win (but cannot say as much, obviously).
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Because the primary goal was destabilization, divide and conquer, to weaken the resolve of their greatest opponent on the global stage. Winning!
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In other words, competition? I have a feeling the other candidates won’t pull out of the race to make room for The One. Those bastards.
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I would much rather see a nice left leaning super majority in the senate and house over the “checks every box of my preference” presidential insanity contest.
Bernie IS able to do so, and in fact already does in his capacity as a Congresscritter.
We don’t have to imagine it. Trump is already there.
YOUR particular attitude, in fact, was the “doom” you mention. You don’t get to treat 1/3 of your party like crap, then demand loyalty when it’s convenient for you. You don’t get to blatantly game the primaries, then shrug and say, “Who, us?” You don’t get to purge ALL progressives from the party leadership, then whine about lack of progressive participation.
You can cram that “Bernie bros” meme right back where it came from, “bro”. It does nothing but destroy your own agenda, in the end.
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