So, very, very wrong. I dont understand why people hate (and love hating) Hillary so much. Still.
Just walk away.
No, not “every other candidate” would have won versus Trump. And he’s got a very good chance of winning against “every other candidate” in 2020, too.
Well, and also, Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat. He is an Opportunist. He used the Democratic Party when it was useful to him to run in the primaries. Then, he left immediately as soon as he longer had a path to the nomination. Oh, he’s running again? I guess he joined the party again. Oh, he didn’t make it? Oh, I guess he’ll leave the party again. It must be wonderful to keep yourself pristine, tossing out policy suggestions that have no hope of implementation, outside of the party you claim to represent.
And 79 is fucking old. He’ll be 87 in 2028. This is an issue that cannot be ignored. (And, I think it’s weird that when people say “What about Beto?” the response is “Really? Another white male?” But for some reason Bernie, “another old white male,” is OK.)
The two questions every presidential candidate with a long career in the Senate need to be judged against:
What is their legislative track record: What is their voting record? / Which legislation did they sponsor? How did they work with others to move legislation forward?
How are they perceived in their home sate: What is their track record of representing the interest of their constituency at large? What is their track record of working with more vulnerable / underrepresented communities / local activists and groups.
Here is the (not particularly encouraging) evidence on Sanders:
Helpful to bear in mind that Vermont is 94% white–whiter than any other US state.
Proof of AOC PR genius: Endearing herself to the Bernie crowd, while outing Sanders for what he is, a rock star, rather than a unifying presidential contender.
It will be interesting to watch how AOC will handle Sander’s poor reputation among minority ethnic voters, especially African American Women (AOC’s main constituency) without undermining her own credibility while also keeping the Sanders crowd on board.
I don’t think he personally contributed, as he did campaign tirelessly for Clinton once she won the nomination. He did make many, many appeals to his supporters to support Clinton as well.
It was a tiny minority of Sanders supporters who didn’t support Clinton, but they were vocal, and the press loved them and doted upon them, making them seem like a much larger phenomena than they were.
Look, I honestly would prefer a President Harris or a President Warren, but if Sanders does clinch the nomination he will get my support. I just think a whole lot of his appeal is due to tabloid reporting because he fits their prejudices so well.
She ran up huge margins in the states which were slam dunks for any Democrat. Now some day, if the constitution is amended to get rid of the electoral college, that would be important.
Interesting angle. And extraordinarily misogynistic one at that. The first few minutes on sport and the bit about Kamala Harris perceived ‘sassiness’–wow in 2019.
On Sanders: It would be helpful if people listened to Sanders’ interviews.
e.g.
This one on reparations is a train crash. We know exactly what is meant by reparations. Sanders especially should really know. The precedent for reparations are West Germany’s payments towards individual Holocaust survivors as much as to jewish communities and the state of Israel.
Reparations are not some mythical thing and are not the same as addressing economic inequality. Also you can have both: reparations and addressing inequality.
Ugh, when asked about reparations to descendants of slaves, he adds a “Well, then there’s a check to every Native American…”
Is that what he thinks the problem is with reparations? UGGGHH.
Now I don’t think he’s worse than other people or politicians, but stuff like this is the reason people think he stumbles on racial issues.
I wish he wouldn’t pivot to “a rising tide will raise all boats” rhetoric when asked about what he would do to help black people specifically.
It’s like saying “All Economic Lives Matter” and then wondering why people aren’t satisfied with that. And then arguing with them that they should be happy with that.
just wow. just wow. The whole narrative on Harris discovering her blackness somewhere around November 2018 is incredibly offensive and goes way back:
e.g. here is Eartha Kitt on not being black enough, on being that ‘yellow girl’
Also way to sideline the reality of the Democratic Party in 2018: There IS a "new wave of young democratic urban professional women in Congress. They were supported and endorsed and encouraged to run for office by the Democratic Party. Unlike Sanders they are contributing to and benefiting from the party.
They were not denying her Blackness; they were critiquing her campaign’s use of it.
Nevertheless, it would be inappropriate for me to make that critique myself; I’d be out of my lane. But it is not within the rights of White people to dictate how Black people discuss issues of race amongst themselves.
However, this is a derail from the thread. As I stated, I posted that podcast for the purpose of highlighting some of the critique of Sanders from the Black left. Which is directly on topic for this thread.
I love Bernie, and I’d vote for him above pretty much anyone else in the foreseeable DEM primary field, but who the hell let @cowicide contribute this article to boing boing?
Given that this article claims (in spite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) on the basis of a single poll that '…Sanders enjoys strong support from African-Americans…"
and that the linked podcast makes a huge spiel on how Harris is using (and by implication abusing) her Blackness this doesn’t seem to be a derail
Race and gender are / will be the central themes of this election. And we need to develop more nuanced ways to discuss them.
One way to do this is to focus more on what candidates actually say and do and less on how they appear.
Thank you. Yes, that is exactly my thoughts. I remember an issue with a coop board where the board president got all his investors votes in his pocket so he could fill all the seats with whoever he wanted. The building residents arguing among themselves always ended up splitting the vote so they could never get a fair representative on the board. Finally, after a third election, the resident shareholders banned together to vote for one person because they realized that even if they didnt like that resident shareholder, it was better than whatever corruption the board president was going to do. And we won. Moral of the story is if you are up against a corrupt united group and you dont suck it up and unite as well, the alternative is always going to be worse and not in your favor. Half a step in the right direction is better than three steps back or whatever that song lyric is.
(checks calendar) it is 2019, 2016 is done and dusted
please all the Bernie supporters and the Clinton supporters, please, put that behind you now
the goal must be to get Hair Twittler out of the office.
I’m an independent voter and have been most of my life, yet as I get older i find myself more and more aligned with Democratic (Green?) positions and policies. The Rs have gone far far into looney land and supporting the current regime divides the sane from the insane Rs. Please folks while no single candidate is perfect on the D side ALL, yes ALL of them would be better than presidnyet Trumputin for four more years. And yes, I’d love to vote for Bernie! Also kinda like Harris. Booker a smart guy. Warren mb better in supporting role? Gabbard, meh, but compared to Trump she’s Joan of Arc. Buttigieg sure, but how the hell do you pronounce that name?
Please, get over it, let it go, stump for the D candidate. You could install a turnip in the White house and it would do a better job then Ill Douche.
If Bernie wins the nomination, who would be his VP? Same question on Harris? Harris/Booker? Sanders/Gabbard?
