This is interesting, and throws another variable into the equation.
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I donated $50 to Sanders a couple days ago. I donāt think heāll win, but heās pushing Hillary to the left. I may come to regret it if he somehow wins the nomination and then loses the general because he refuses to raise serious money, but right now he seems like the right person to support.
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Thatās not going to happen. If Sanders is able to muster enough support to beat H. Clinton, then any of the current Republican challengers are toast. AFAIC, Hillary is the true litmus test for Bernie. Sheās the formidable foe, not the Republicans.
For example, when Obama ran on a platform that promoted single payer (not Obama/RomneyCare) along with anti-war, anti-bankster, anti-disparity progressive agendas he won in a landslide with voter turnout at a 40 year high.
Sanders is not only pushing those same progressive agendas, he also has a solid track record that shows heāll actually follow-through and fight for them. Itās also clear heāll do so in a way thatās vastly more dynamic. Heāll utilize offline and online grassroots support to actualize the agendas. It will be a historic shift in the American political process.
heās pushing Hillary to the left.
Heās pushing her rhetoric wildly to the left, but I donāt think anyone who knows her past very well believes itās much more than political pandering. Even her current campaign rhetoric continues to slyly allude that sheāll be taking care of her bribers (donators).
If Clinton is elected, itāll be business as usual and sheāll go on protecting the corporatist right while throwing most of the rest of the American public under the bus. Sheāll be vaster better than Republicans, but thatās not saying much overall compared to Sanders.
As far as the likelihood of a Sanderās win, I think the fact heās smartly running as a Democrat gives him a huge advantage over past so-called āoutsiderā challengers to the status quo establishment. I wouldnāt even be bothering to support him right now if he had stupidly decided to run as an Independent and potential spoiler.
Sanders is making incredible gains thatās turning established, political principles on its ear. The growing crowds are vital in a strategic sense, but the groundswell of rising polls is what is truly encouraging.
Then again, it shouldnāt be surprising. Sanders is running a campaign based upon ideas that are popular among most of the electorate and polls have already shown that people are tired of āold facesā and are looking for new blood:
via link:
" ā¦ 54% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Democrats should look for a fresh face to run for president in 2016 rather than promote a candidate who has already run in the past. Only 22% think Democrats should go with a candidate from the past. ā¦ "
more:
Hillary Clintonās lead over Bernie Sanders shrinking: polls
However, is Sanders ādoomedā because of the recent polling on socialism?
Or course, the corporate media spin machine will keep trying to demoralize voters against Sanders and say that polls show that he canāt win because heās a dreaded āsocialistā. But, of course, they are, like usual, telling half-truths and lies in the process.
Sanders isnāt simply a āsocialistā. Thatās a lie. The corporate media already knows that, but they are choosing to play ignorant for that poll. For those who still donāt understand the concept, he (and his supporters) will explain that to more Americans over time and especially during the debates.
As far as the āsocialistā poll itself being bad for socialists of any stripe? Thatās a half-truth lie. If one looks closely at the recent poll instead of the just the blaring headlines that say heās ādoomedā, one can see that it actually looks pretty good for a democratic socialist.
Nearly 60 percent of Democrats say they would vote for a socialist candidate. If they are younger voters (18 to 29), they are 70 percent likely to vote for a socialist. Older people are less likely to vote for a socialist, but they are mostly already sold on Republicans in the first place.
While only 26 percent of Republicans say they would vote for a socialist ā Who cares? Polls have shown that an even smaller percentage of Republicans would vote for Hillary Clinton. Obamaās election already showed us that the true majority of voters in the United States lean progressive despite these bullshit polls and pundits that keep trying to convince us otherwise with lies and half-truths.
If this country is so conservative, then why did Obama win in a landslide and 40 year high of voter turnout when he ran on a progressive agenda and then later face a 70 year low in voter turnout once himself and other Democrats like Hillary failed to properly follow through on those agendas? Itās because we are a mostly progressive electorate, thatās why.
What the corporate media wonāt tell us is the āsocialists are evilā mantra is going to become moot over time anyway as people become increasingly educated on Sandersā actual positions that arenāt purely āsocialistā at all, anyway. Heās obviously a capitalist/socialist hybrid and the corporate media knows it.
If a āsocialistā agenda was any kind was a poison pill for a presidential candidate, then Obama wouldnāt have won in a landslide after basically campaigning on a āsocialistā single payer system for health care and a āsocialistā breaking up the banks, etc.
I donāt think heāll win
Ironically, one of Sandersā biggest obstacles is how embedded the corporate media mantra that āhe canāt winā or āis very unlikely to winā is basically indoctrinated into the public zeitgeist.
The only reason Sanders may lose is because people have been told he will lose and will act accordingly.
Youāre a great example of someone who clearly supports Sanderās ideas and wants him to win. Youāve even given money towards his campaign. However, youāre also publicly repeating the very destructive mantra that he probably wonāt win. Youāve more than cancelled out that money you gave to his campaign in the process.
You would have done the campaign better by not giving any money at all and simply not perpetuating the myth that Sanders canāt win.
When people keep repeating it over and over again it goes from a myth to a belief system. Hence, indoctrination. The truth of the matter is Sanders can win against Hillary Clinton and if one looks at the rate heās gaining on her, heās even becoming more likely to win as time goes on.
My Prediction: Bernie Sanders Will Win the White House
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/06/my-prediction-bernie-sanders-will-win-the-white-house.html
Bernie Sanders is Going to Win ā¦ It All ā¦ Hereās Why!
Now, will I be āshockedā if Hillary wins? No, Iām not an idiot. Sheās a formidable foe, but at this point Iām not going to be surprised if Sanders wins, either. He is gaining on Clinton at ridiculous speed this early in the campaign. Unless that momentum stops for some bizarre reason, I donāt see any reason why Bernie Sanders canāt beat Hillary in a close race.
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Update:
One of my favorite comedians has put support behind Sanders now:
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Thatās so cool. Thank you for posting it!
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And, meanwhileā¦ grassroots is greenā¦
Bernie Sanders Makes History By Raising More Money Than Every GOP Presidential Candidate
Unlike Hillary Clinton and the other Republicans who are supported by the corporatist right, Sandersā average donation is about 45 bucks from mostly average Americans.
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Fuck yeah, Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders is seen as the biggest rival to Hillary Clinton. He is frequently cited for his authenticity and for staying true to his core values and principles throughout his entire political life. He is widely favored with the populist grassroots movement and has drawn unprecedented overflow crowds during his campaign stops.
Keeping my fingers crossed till March or so is gonna be tough.
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We have a lot of hunters, and a lot of guns in New England, and very little violent crime. Clearly, weāre doing something right up here (except for MA- I donāt know what their deal is), and it doesnāt seem like gun control is a big part of it. Thereās a pretty wide libertarian streak here, even amongst liberals, so his position isnāt that surprising, all things considered.
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Iām wondering if this wonāt help him win conservatives more than it loses him liberals. Which are more likely to be a one-issue voter? I really donāt like his record on Israel, but heās the only candidate I can remember that actually seems to have a clue about what the economy is actually like right now.
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Iāve said it before (and again see #1), but I think the problem isnāt guns so much as it is desperate, hopeless, angry people with no options left except to lash out. I honestly think that in the long term, fixing our economic and social mobility issues would do more to solve the problem than even magically making all the firearms vanish in a puff of smoke. Bernie is probably the best chance we have of actually turning that around right now. The question is whether gun control advocates will see it that way, and whether itās a dealbreaker for them.
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Thought youād like this article.
I think it makes a good argument against the argument that Sanders canāt win.
I think the only thing stopping Sanders at this point is the poisonous mantra being spread around that he simply canāt win. However, that mantra is losing its grip and looking increasingly silly (and even desperate) as time goes on.
UPDATE:
Fighting gerrymandering.
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We will see. However, more importantly, Iāve already contributed to his campaign. Have you? If not, please do so at earliest convenience.
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Agreed, itās very important to send whatever we can afford. Thank you very much for doing that.
Have I contributed? Yes, Iāve contributed money (and gathered money for him via fundraising), helped set up for his arrival in Denver, worked with others to get a crowd here (offline work mostly and some online) and was part of the staff helping at the event here in CO after he arrived. I documented the crowds with photos and video and shared them to help inform the national media (and the public via social media) of our huge turnout. Iām also working with his campaign on other fronts. Wish I could do more, however.
Quite a lot of Sandersā supporters realize he needs a true, grassroots movement to support him. Itās going to be an effort of money and lots of time donated to make this happen.
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Hey thanks for that reminder to get involved. Youāre right that itās a lot more than money. I just signed up to help down here in Houston and we will see how much headway we can make in as short a time as possible. Speaking of possible, if there is anybody who can prove they can do the impossible, itās definitely Bernie. Basically created his own personal fiefdom in the American political system. Thereās no one like him. Letās get him into office.
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[quote=āawjt, post:95, topic:59394ā]
I just signed up to help down here in Houston
[/quote]Youāre awesome. We need more kickass Americans like you in this country.
Meanwhileā¦
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Is that The They Instituteā¢? Or did you want to offer some additional details? Iām not clear on who They are, is all.
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Ultimately, American elections depend on the desires of the dominant factions of the ruling class. If the rigged votes go for them, then they claim legitimacy. If the rigged votes go against them, then they block the counting, and they claim legitimacy anyway. If they were willing to launch a coup to keep Gore out, and if the people were unable to resist, what wouldnāt they do to keep Sanders out?
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To state the obvious, for other readers not you, Bernie is deliberately running his campaign as a grassroots movement. While Iām not a political strategist, I am aware on a vague level that grassroots movements are:
- unpredictable
- harder to run successfully
- of a different morphism than typical big-donor corporate campaigns, like Hillaryās and all of the current Rās.
- prone to eventually reach a ābreaking pointā as in either they plummet off a cliff, such as Deanās scream, or take on new life because either millions MORE people sign up and donate or a big donor steps in to help carry the campaign to the finish line.
I am getting emails from both Hillary and Bernie. Here are the differences:
H is using more gimmicks like free shit to entice me to click, such as dinner-with-H drawings, free magnets, shirts, etc.
B is just asking for specific amounts, like $20.16, $3, etc.
H has her minions all involved. Anywhere from Pelosi spam which is typically negatively presented, like āYou were wrongā in the subject line or āHope youāre not a Republicanā etc. Jeeeesus. To lots and lots of other people emailing me constantly with H-related missives.
Bernie does not have a network and does not have people doing dirty work for him. His subject lines are āLet me be frankā āOverturn Citizens Unitedā āHealth care is a basic rightā etc. Issue-based.
Bernieās email presence is not as heavy as Hillaryās and the pack of PACs. And they are more issue-based rather than D vs. R. But, the campaigns are being run in the same functional way, as in lots of emails which appear similarly, and websites that behave and look similarly.
So, back to point #3, the polymorphism of campaigns. In your opinion, how can Bernie differentiate for the better? And would it even be useful to do anything different email-wise and web-wise?
Remember Howard Deanās campaign? It was revolutionary. And a lot of it was out of his control, too, with the rise of Meetup and other mob-type social media at the time. But Deanās campaign was a firebrand and since then, all Presidential campaigns on both sides of the aisle have taken lessons from Dean For America.
Your take?
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āBernieās out talking about the issues that the American people want to hear about,ā Warren, who hasnāt endorsed anyone in the Democratic primary yet, told the Herald yesterday.
Asked if she would campaign with Sanders at some point, she didnāt dismiss the idea.
āToo early to say,ā she said.
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