Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/10/27/amo-bernie-sanders.html
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I appreciate her faith in the idea that it is possible to reform our government to work for us. This a belief that we can’t waiver on, or we won’t have the courage to see it through. No matter who the candidate is ultimately what we all have to remember is there is no turning back to the status quo.
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"I am endorsing Amo Bernie Sanders because he’s not gonna sell us out.
Roger That!
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[ It’s too bad they didn’t make a bigger splash with this, rather than just releasing a video on a Sunday. The way they did it with AOC was inspired. ]
Edit: They had a big rally in Detroit with Rashida Tlaib and Jack White, so I take back my criticism. :]
Don’t expect Ayanna Pressley to endorse Bernie while Warren is still in the race, or even after. Besides the home state thing, also note that during the 2016 primary Ayanna Pressley was in the spin rooms representing Hillary Clinton and complaining that people were “mansplaining” to her that she should support Sanders. She really seems like a poser to me.
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Go Bernie!!!
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Why do you doubt her claim that people were mansplaining whom she should support? Sounds extremely plausible to me. Is that what makes her a “poser” in this context? I’m curious how you’re defining that characterization.
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Amo Bernie Sanders? WTF?
Edit:
Oh, Amo is Arabic for Uncle. Got it.
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Heh, yeah. Ammo Bernie Sanders is definitely not the Bernie we need! 
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During the Clinton/Sanders primary, the Clinton side would roll out the Bernie-bros trope as a way of attacking Sanders without talking about progressive policies (which Clinton wasn’t really in favor of). Ayanna Pressley pulling out “mansplaining” there was another gross version of that. Was Nina Turner “mansplaining” when she would make the case for Bernie?
I see Ayanna Pressley as a poser because she wants to do photo ops with the “squad” and be seen as part of the ascendant progressive movement, but when crunch time comes she will cave and vote with corporate Democrats. Recent indicators include the BDS vote and not endorsing Sanders.
But maybe she’ll surprise us. I certainly prefer her over the average corporate Dem.
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Maybe you should respect the other members of The Squad who consider her part of their movement. If you trust their judgement on other things, why not trust their judgement on who they publicly associate themselves with?
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What I respect more than anything are actions. When Ayanna Pressley starts taking principled actions when the actions are difficult (like voting against anti-free-speech bills and supporting Sanders), I’ll be as big a fan boy of hers as I am of AOC and Bernie.
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Like this:
or this:
or this:
For a first-term Congressperson, she’s already done a lot. If you’re waiting for passed legislation, then you need to lump her in with the rest of The Squad, and the rest of the House, as McConnell won’t even table any legislation in the Senate that might be even slightly progressive.
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Well, like I said, I certainly prefer her over the average corporate Dem. But what Pressley has done so far is pretty weak tea compared to AOC (Green New Deal, Loan Shark Prevention Act – really in a different class).
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That judgement depends upon your priorities. Others could easily say that Pressley has done more for them, with her greater push for criminal justice reform.
Progressive isn’t only defined by your pet issues. And it’s not a contest. At least, it’s not a contest that leads to anything but Pyrrhic victories.
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Green New Deal, Single-Payer Medicare-for-All, campaign/election reform, and ending the wars are not “pet” issues. They are core.
Continuing to elect politicians that say that they’re for progressive policies and then go on to serve the corporate interests would indeed be empty, Pyrrhic victories.
I see Bernie and AOC as leaders of a small but growing group that will serve in the interest of the 99%, not the billionaires and mega-corps. So far I’m having trouble seeing Ayanna Pressley as a reliable ally in this fight. Can you really imagine AOC or Ilhan Omar working as a Clinton surrogate spouting that kind of BS? It shows a disturbing willingness on Pressley’s part to push hard on the wrong side of progressive issues.
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So, no, you don’t trust AOC’s, Rashida Tlaib’s, or Ilhan Omar’s judgement that Pressley is a part of their movement, and an equal partner. What special insight do you have that is more valid than their direct interactions and relationship with her?
The purity test BS has to stop. Sanders went out and campaigned for Clinton after the primary. Maybe Bernie’s a closet corporatist!?! Because if you see someone as progressive as Pressley as suspect, then your purity test won’t mean jack when we’re shitting in a foxhole trying to keep out of the line of Oathkeeper sniper fire.
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I really couldn’t care less about who is considered part of the “squad” or clique. I care about policies and who is really going to fight to get them enacted. The way to win is to give people something real to vote for.
I just don’t get how you can claim to support AOC and yet not respect that she and Tlaib and Omar have chosen Pressley as an ally and partner in the shakeup that they are doing in Congress.
I completely agree that we need to give people something real to vote for. But blowing off other’s concerns isn’t how we can do that. You might care more about climate change and M4A, while others (who also care about those things) might care more about justice reform, gun control, or abortion rights. Those issues are core to them. And blowing them off as less important is how progressives become a bunch of infighting and politically irrelevant loonies instead of a dominant coalition.
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I would say that it’s about trust. Based on what I’ve seen, I trust Bernie Sanders and AOC to do right by the 99% and not participate the legalized bribery that the vast majority of Congress partakes in.
I don’t have the same level of trust when it comes to Pressley – there are things I’d consider positive (allying with AOC, etc) and things I’d consider negative (allying with Clinton). It’s not black and white.
What I’m not going to do is blindly cheerlead for team Blue no matter who. That’s how we got Trump.
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If a legislator never compromises on an issue then they’re not doing their job.
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