I hope you’re right… And I think you’re right. Part of the reason I’ve been hoping for Biden to dominate is so that Bernie drops out early enough that we all have time to deal with our butthurt in time to coalesce. I would have felt the same if Bernie surged 2 weeks ago.
That’s a good point, if we don’t do something drastic to address climate change it will create misery on a scale that makes the Iraq War look like a visit to Disney World. I remain skeptical that Biden’s policies will make any sort of meaningful dent in that regard (even if they are marginally better than Trump’s), but it is a topic I will research further and will keep my eye on as the election progresses. If you know of any sources that make the case that Biden will make a difference in this area, I’d definitely be interested in reading them.
False choice. The wise move is to critically examine the question. Sanders, as has been pointed out numerous times in this thread, is behind by 4%, with ~50% of delegates still pending. It’s not close to over.
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We feel like a faction that is willing to support somebody else is being gracious and reasonable and should be rewarded with a win somehow. But if we actually nominate that candidate, we’re wasting those supporters, who just told us they’d also vote for the other guy. Paradoxically, tragically, if we nominate the asshole whose supporters won’t support anybody else, then we get the most votes.
Yes, and I worry this about Bernie voters… They say they didn’t cost the 2016 election, which is fair, but I also feel like they are holding us hostage by saying Bernie or Bust.
They don’t owe you anything. They were never anybody else’s voters in the first place.
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I know that this statement maligns Bernie supporters, but I have never talked to anyone who supports a different person, but wouldn’t vote for Bernie. The opposite isn’t true.
The numbers from earlier this year don’t support that. The only crossover with double-digit “wouldn’t vote for candidate X” polling were Andrew Yang supporters and…pretty much every other candidate. Sanders supporters were low single digits non-support for other candidates.
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This is the reason why the progressive wing needs to form completely new Progressive Party
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I think we agree that urgent, radical change is needed to protect our basic human rights and the future of the planet. I don’t agree with the idea of “the worse, the better”, often described as accelerationism. Making Trump president again will not hasten radical change, that would be a naive and dangerous assumption. It’s also a naive and dangerous assumption that the Democratic Party can or will help us hasten radical change. In fact they are opposed to it, as the current primary is demonstrating. Not just incompetent or indifferent: actively opposed.
The idea that the DNC will give us a chance at mitigating climate change is just wishful thinking, not supported by recent history. Under Democratic leadership, climate change has worsened, wealth inequality has grown dramatically, racist deportations have continued to rise. This isn’t an accident, it’s part of their strategy for power. They don’t want it to change.
If we are to change these things, we’ll need to do it ourselves - not just without them, but against them.
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I’m not a fan of Bernie, but he’s better about this kind of stuff than a lot of his supporters. He maybe dragged things out needlessly long in 2016, but when he bowed out, he did it pretty well and supported Clinton afterwards. I expect he’ll do the same this year, if it comes to that. 
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Sanders losing in the Midwest is a huge blow, white male voters in the Midwest was a big reason for the surprise ties in Michigan in 2016 and what shook up the polls.
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Overall, I think your take is pretty accurate. I take an issue with this part that I quoted because what I hear as an undertone is that you are saying that a Democrat fixing the machineries of government is good.
My assessment, and that of leftists in general, is that Democrats are a marginal improvement over Trump, but not necessarily good in an absolute sense. Good would be access to health care for all people, an economy that works for everyone, high availability of education, decency in policing that doesn’t target minorities, policies that reflect values of equality for all, lgbt rights and feminism built into our world in a way that cannot be dismantled.
Do we have these things? Uhhh, maybe compared to 200 years ago we have more of it. But we don’t HAVE them. So, when Democrats were completely in charge in 2009, did they fix all this stuff so that people have the rights and life they deserve? What the hell? Dems didn’t fix all this shit? What??? Aren’t they supposed to be Dems? Aren’t they supposed to be looking out for the people in the middle and at the bottom?
Well, reality bites because Dems only partially look out for us. So I take umbrage at the thought process of “Dems good, Repubs bad.” The reality is more like, “Repubs bad, Dems slightly less bad.” …Backed up by the facts of existing policy. (Thus, I rage at “The Majority.”)
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And in the general election, you will be presented a choice between Trump and the Dem nominee, likely Biden. Whether you are willing to accept another 4 years of Trump at that point is up to you.
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I hope that’s true… I get the sense online that there is a strong Bernie or Bust mentality, but maybe that’s just the internet.
It doesn’t help that my phone filled Bust after typing Bernie or
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Siri is such a BernieApp!
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Or the centrists need to start a new centrist party…
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Interesting. While I understand there are only two significant parties in the US, are other political parties similarly restricted in how they hold their leadership competitions?
I don’t live in the USA, and everything I know about how primaries are run I got from Wikipedia, so you might as well look it up on Wikipedia yourself.
Don’t care if he wins the stupid primary, if he doesn’t promise movement on healthcare, I won’t vote for biden. Biden, when it comes to healthcare, is pretty fucking weak.
Being unable to accept a choice between two identical turd sandwiches doesn’t make those who are unwilling to choose the shitheads. Eat up, buttercup.
