Bernie Sanders, Shill for the Democratic Party
"All I know is first you have to get mad"
Howard Beale
So Bernie Sanders says the political revolution continues. He talks about how the election is about the people and a future for our children and grandchildren.
How it's about ending wealth inequality,. He brings up the statistics about how the top 1% own more than the bottom 50% and how 40 million people live in poverty (it's more than that), to his credit, then he goes on to praise Obama, Biden and the democrats while blaming it on the republicans. He blames the 2008 recession on Bush and the republicans, completing ignoring the role of Bill Clinton and the democrats during the 90's (repealing Glass Steagall, Commodities Modernization Act of 2000, Wall Street central, etc.) He even thanks Obama and Biden for "leading us out of the recession" right after giving those current statistics of wealth inequality and poverty, like Obama's eight fucking years and Clinton's eight fucking years, didn't count.
He says the election is about the issues, listing them while saying how Hillary Clinton understands this and supports that. Free college, LGBT and women's right, the typical Democratic party bullshit from the Democratic party platform agreed on by the Democratic party people that decide those things.
Then he endorses Hillary Clinton and says it's all about defeating the republicans and gaining a democratic majority in the Senate and House, i.e., more and better democrats, or progressives as the leftier partisans like to call them. Sanders supporters can parse it all they want, but that's what it added up to and that's the way it will be.
The entire problem with Bernie Sanders is the democratic party. His primary message was good but his tactics of using the Democratic party were a failure from the start. I know I said as much as did many others. The Democratic party is part of the problem, it cannot be part of the solution. It has supported the same wars and economic policies that have created the mess we're in as the republican party. Actually moreso relative to there being a Democratic President almost 16 out of the last 24 years.
But, people are angry. That's a good thing. First you have to get mad. Some people think you can't operate with anger. Wrong. If the killing wars. the massive poverty and extreme wealth inequality and RULE BY THE RICH don't make you angry, then you need to sit this revolution out. Controlled anger is going to get it done.
Now the fun starts. We've got Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump. The Twilight Zone has arrived and it's getting it's vengeance for the series cancellation. The American people are being punk'd like the punks they really are. The illusion of the Home of the Brave and Land of the Free is being fully exposed and the stakes couldn't be higher. There couldn't be a better time to tell our rulers to stuff it. That can't happen by calmly casting a vote on election day. It has to be much more than that. We'll see if the Serfs have the imagination to pull it off.
Comments
Sleep walking into catastrophe R US Dems !
More and better? Suck it.
Big Al thanks for the summary and analysis since I did not and could not watch.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Watching Bernie....
listing all the things Hillary was supposedly going to do for us, they panned to a crying college girl saying over and over,
I think she pretty much sums it up.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
It's never gonna happen.
Not only is it "not enough," it's never going to happen.
Correct
Bernie Sanders ran a courageous and bold and inspiring "on-message" campaign.
But his one great mistake here was not to immediately pivot (right after being robbed by DNC hacks and the D-Party apparatus and insider club), on to the next phase of the Revolution -- which would have meant carrying on his message right into November 2016 for a final vote (by means of an alliance with the Green Party and Jill Stein who was willing to help him).
With two very unpopular, and untrustworthy candidates, Sanders move over to the Green Party would have made a huge impact (13 million voters), and threatened the 2-Party duopoly at its very core. We may have seen a 30%-30%-30% voter breakdown. And with Sanders large following, he would have definitely qualified for the General Election debates -- and clearly outshined Trump and Clinton, and emerged as the only authentic candidate. In short, he probably would have won it ... and been the new President, because all the past Primary and Caucus gimmicks would no longer be in the picture.
But to believe that Hillary Clinton has really changed on TPP, or Glass Steagall, or Medicare, or breaking up the big Banks, is just stunningly naive and stunningly ignorant. On some level, Sanders must know better. She has a record (and it is not a good one), and she has her appointments and advisers (none of them at all 'progressive' -- Henry Kissinger for example).
So what we are seeing here over this week is a massive effort to just put lipstick on a Pig.
---
But regardless, The Revolution must continue and not be starved out and repressed for 8 whole long years.
Sorry Bernie, we must vote for something genuinely positive here .... and not mere lipstick alone.
That is the only way that the Establishment will ever be eventually pushed aside (and no longer be our masters, and we ... their slaves).
I hope the Bernie delegates walk out of the rest of the
convention. No point sitting through that farce.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I can't beleve Bernie is so naive as to think he changed Hillary
I don't care what he got into the platform. If elected, like Obama, she'll cry, I tried, but...Republicans! Like her husband, she'll lobby Democrats hard for "a veto proof majority" for Republican wet dream legislation and call it bi-partisan and tell America it's wonderful. Progress, as in progressive. Yippee! Then, when it hits the fan, like repeal of Glass Steagall and the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000, she'll pretend she was helpless because...veto proof majority.
Not only is Bernie smarter than I am, but he was actually in the House during the Clinton administration, so I have to assume he is aware of all this and more.
And (apologies to Jerry Seinfeld), what's the deal with being "disappointed" that the DNC colluded with media to shaft not just him, but millions of his supporters? Saying he might not have won anyway because the state parties were against him. Does he not see a connection between the DNC being against him and state parties being against him?
And he wants us to believe that the party that did that to us while claiming total neutrality all year, is going to be reformed from within by him and us and maybe Tim Canova and a couple of others? Against that massive, entrenched, ruthless machine, federal, state and local?
What
the
F*ck?
More than ever, I am sure that we have to go on without him.
In November, I'll vote Green. Either Hillary or Trump will win and we'll all lose, either way. But we have to stop sucking on the teat of lesser of evils at some point and the longer we wait, the more screwed we'll be. If Hillary wins and he succeeds in moving her even a centimeter to the left, cool. (I suspect that, if elected, she will actually go for a minimum wage increase of some kind, in case she wants to run for re-election,) But there will be no "revolution" from within that corrupt, dishonest party. After November, I'll decide what to do next. Unify the left-how? Where to begin? Voting machines, open primaries, etc. Likely, the list is endless, but, very certainly, time and money are limited.
No - she'd have the TPP & a wage increase would cut into
their "anticipated profits." Once she gets in, there won't be any more chances for anyone but her big donors.
Hillary is not any Lesser Evil.
She'll tell us how she doesn't have 60 votes and
then ask us if we want a pony?
Why did he run if he was going to let the Clintons and Dems bully him? He had to have known they would slit his throat in a minute if they had to. I want my money back.
It took me a few years to learn to shut my wallet at TOP. Bernie maybe have just taught me to shut my wallet for good.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I would not be surprised if someone sues him--class action.
that may not be such a bad thing
i was wondering today that if it might not be a bad thing for the Republicans to have control to block Clinton. the concern has been going around about a Democratic congress giving her free rein and that it will take a Democrat to remove traditionally Democratic safety nets. my only concern with that train of thought is that she might be just too willing to compromise with Republicans on their legislation just to show "she get things done" even if it means harm to the working class and seniors.
the thought came to mind today after reading a comment suggesting that we strive to get a Democratic majority in place if it looks like it's going to be a Trump presidency, then conversely, the Democrats would keep Trump in check.
Oh look! Bright shiny object!
Al...
“Those who make Bernie Sanders impossible will make Luigi Mangione inevitable." - Dan Berger
A massive voter turn-out
for anyone who is not a part of the duopoly is what I propose. Let them know that we have left not given up.
That should take all of a few hours between now and on Nov. 8.
I further propose that, with all our extra time, we get on with the revolution. Many, many ways to skin this, er, creature.
Al, you have in comments over the past few months suggested a number of non-violent ways to begin creating a functioning democracy in this country. Perhaps now is the time to begin posting essays about them.
Only connect. - E.M. Forster
Ya, I think you're right dr.
That should be the goal, democracy. Because clearly we don't have it now.
Twilight Zone time
Specially if Trump wins.
The political revolution continues
Feel the Turn
(of the knife in your back)
Our village and town are so small that we don't have a village idiot or a town drunk. Nope, we all take turns.
Boy did you nail this!
I laughed when I read it.
If that isn't the truth.
Just like many people at LOF and others in this country believe, it's only the republicans that are responsible for all the bad things that happen in this country. The democrats had nothing to do with anything
8 years ago many people were in tears when the Obama was elected and the horrible nightmare of the Bush years were finally over and we thought that help was on the way and we would finally be getting help with the insurance companies denying treatments and continually raising costs, the illegal Iraq war was going to end and the rest of the things that Obama promised us during his campaign.
But as usual we soon found out that he lied to us. I believed that he was actually going to at least try to do what he said he would after he said that he would rather be a one term president trying to fulfill his campaign promises than a two term president that wouldn't even try.
But we saw him vote for the FISA bill that he said he would filibuster, we saw his cabinet appointments, the surge in Afghanistan, the back room deals with the insurance and pharmaceutical companies and too many times he went back on his campaign promises.
I didn't vote for him in 2012 because he was campaigning on the same damned promises. I knew that he wouldn't do any of those things during his second term especially because the republicans were in charge.
Then Bernie came and promised many of the same things and I believed him. He promised us that he would take the campaign fight all the way to the convention only to see him break his promise.
He told us that Hillary isn't qualified to be president and gave the reason why and that the Democratic Party was broken because they weren't working for us but for the banks and big business.
Now he is telling us that Hillary is the best person to be president because she is the most qualified and if we work hard and get her a democratic congress then our lives are going to be better.
What utter bullshit!
We have already seen what the Clintons did and who they will work for during Bill's terms as president and we have seen what Hillary did during her time as SOS and the absolute corruption of the Clinton foundation.
Will Trump be worse than Hillary?
I guess we will see because right now the polls show him winning.
Great essay, Big Al.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
1) TPP, 2) high probability of WW III
Who is worse? Really?
We're looking at TEOTWAWKI with Hillary. Vs. rude, crude, many other issues, & often obnoxious. Are we too delicate to consider human survival? Is it seriously a question?
Makes one wonder how he went
Makes one wonder how he went from going against things to now supporting the establishment? Telling his supporters at the convention to knuckle down and NOT protest as is their right all things considered? How is it he is not angered that this was a BS Primary, or was he in on it from the start? seeing how the mood of America actually is so the corporate Overlords can gauge where they need to work their Propaganda BS to make folks go back to sleep and stop waking up to their shenanigans?
Folks need to be angry enough to vote issues, to support the platform Jill Stein offers which is more akin to the platform Bernie was running the Primary on, the same Primary he should have and could have gotten righteously indignant about with the total UN-democratic shit storm it was
Hell, thanks to Wikileaks, the UN now wants to audit the voting records of the Democratic Primary to see the BS that DWS and the DNS and MSM with the Clinton Campaign colluded on together.
Many are right, Bernie made one flawed calculation, you can't fix things with the parts that are already so broken as needing to be totally replaced, it is time the major parties were totally replaced.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
"was he in it from the start?"
Yes. We've been had. And now people are going to shower money on Jill Stein. I'm sure she's a fraud as well. Better to spend your money on some good booze or a good gun.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Come January, Democratic Presidents will have been in office
16 out of the last 24 years.
Bill Clinton, not George Bush, lobbied for the legislation that led to the economic conditions of 2008, which allegedly required a bailout and the untold wealth banks have acquired by keeping interest rates so low ever since. Never has money gone to the tippity top whatever percent faster than it has during the Obama administration. Bernie knows all this and much, much, more.
Please tell me he is not simply that dishonest.
Dems have controlled the White House . . .
But the GOP has controlled the House of Reps for 18 of the past 24 years. It's been a bipartisan problem. The push for de-regulation at the end of the Clinton administration was pushed by Republicans in Congress. Graham-Leach-Blilley, one of the key measures, bears the name of GOP sponsors.
The only pushback to financial de-regulation was coming from Dems.
Even in this most recent period, we had the passage of a weak FinReg law. There was pressure from the left, in Congress, to improve the law. The GOP was AWOL without exception, and its members have been pushing to weaken that law ever since.
The shift in wealth post-Obama inauguration I also see as at least in part a case of correlation, not causation. e.g. the conditions for the massive increase in wealth were made possible by measures that had strong bipartisan support; the bailout of the financial services industry when prices were low passed in George W. Bush's last year with the support of Democrats like Clinton and Obama as well as the rest of the GOP.
If you want to look at the trends too, things started to head south in the early 1970s with Nixon -- in part driven by the cost of waging war in Vietnam, combined with the oil shocks, and other factors. Inequality first skyrocketed under Reagan, and he helped to create conditions that have accelerated those trends. The Democrats have often been willing participants since that time. Sanders has represented something of a throw-back to where the Democratic Party was decades ago on economic policy.
So Sanders went for the Great Undo? Reboot?
And it didn't work, even in one party. So his idea of inside is proven wrong (once). enough for me. I cannot control anyone's vote, but Green for me, reboot (non-militarily, but that must be dealt with realistically) and build something for my adult children. WIP.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Of course, it's bipartisan!
If you consider New Democrats and Republicans two different sides.
From another post of mine on this board from last night:
http://caucus99percent.com/comment/140143#comment-140143
Yes, I know. (BTW, it's Gramm, as in Phil Gramm, ironically, first chief financial advisor to the McCain Presidential campaign, who, IIRC, got replaced after the economy crashed) However, the Clinton White House very much wanted that bill passed. So, the Clinton White House and Greenspan lobbied Senate Democrats hard for Gramm, Leach, Blilely and later, the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000. So, saying Republicans pushed either of them through is not quite accurate. They wanted them, yes.But so did Clinton and most of the pushing came from the Executive. However, Clinton did not want to take responsibility for them. Therefore, he wanted a "veto proof majority," so he could claim he had no choice but to sign them.
That is a bs claim on two counts. Of course, Presidents can and should veto whatever they don't want, no matter how large the majority. Also, so called "veto proof majorities" have vanished in the face of an actual Presidential veto. Especially Senators and members of the House who are in the same party as the President will change their votes. However, in this case, it was the President who twisted arms to get the veto proof majority in the first instance.
Nonetheless, the bs claim serves to give Clinton and his supporters plausible deniability. For instance, Joy Behar asked Clinton about repeal of Glass Steagall on The View during 2008. She said only that people were saying he was responsible for the crash. He replied she must mean repeal of Glass Steagall. He muttered something about the veto proof majority and totally snowed Joy Behar and probably most viewers.
Despite the best efforts of the White House and Greenspan, the CFMA of 2000 did not pass. So, they wrapped into a 2000 page bill and Republicans threatened to shut down government unless it passed, or some such. A shutdown of the federal government was then thought to be, well, unthinkable. So, the huge bill, including the CMFA, was rammed through and, lo and behold, mortgage derivatives were unregulated. Hello, real estate bubble and then 2008 crash. . Of course, Clinton actually campaigned on getting rid of welfare. That was pure DLC Democrat, not anything Congressional Republicans forced on him.
I disagree with you on the Obama causation correlation bit, but this is already too long, so I'll leave that as is. Also, I may leave more room for Buckets O' Kabuki than you do.
As for the bailout, Bush very cagily said he would not release the second part unless President Elect Obama asked him to release it. Very quickly, Obama did ask him. So, no one can pin the entire bailout on Bush. However, the bailout was not as much of a bonanza to the banks as the low, low interest rates they've enjoyed since the bailout, while Grannie's bank account gets a pittance in interest. And, of course. Obama did appoint Geithner and re-appoint Bernanke.
But my prior, brief post was not intended to spur all this. It was simply in response to another post about how Bernie has pivoted regarding who is responsible for the current vast disparity in wealth. Very recently, he attributed it to everyone but him (ish). Now, it's only Republican Presidents (Bush 2) who cause all the economic problems of the 90%; Obama fixed most of them;and we'll all be just peachy under the third New Democrat President/second Clinton President. So, all I wanted to do was point out the fallacy in the "analysis" to which Sanders has pivoted.
The GOP had help getting the House back in 2010
Axelrod was awfully happy about losing the House in 2010. And the states, and therefore redistributing control. Obama only talked to Republicans in Congress and seemed outright hostile to Democrats, especially Pelosi (who was extremely effective until he started undermining her).
You said repeatedly that this is how Bernie-as-Dem would end up
Was hoping for something else but the fact is, you were right.
Yep
It really makes me sad. Bernie had the chance to walk away with his integrity intact and he could not do that. It was not about him, but he owed it to all of those people who supported his campaign to not capitulate and support her whole heartedly. But he did, as has every other supposed liberal in Congress. The Clintons (and by extension the Democratic party) are simply odious They destroy everyone who comes in their way and they compromise the integrity of those who choose to work within the system. I feel horrible for the young people of this country who found something to believe in and then were told to get in line for the same old shit sandwich.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
I feel worse for the older people who finally found
something to believe in again, after one disappointment after another, and who do not have another 40 or 50 years to earn retirement money or whatever. And for some, this could have been their last hope. That breaks my heart.
I feel bad for all of us
All of us - we did feel the bern - we did believe that we could vote in this country- we actually thought things could change. I did think that a guy with thousands of people giving their 27$ could be different, could change things.
But Bernie showed us last night that was a really stupid mistake. Whatever that was, was not the revolution. It was delusion. Now it is Clinton or Trump. Hard to tell the difference, really.
I got the same email about Our Revolution. I can't know what to think. I guess I am numb.
As far as the Democratic Party? - i am so out of there.
Who is going to believe the next person that comes along
And promises us that he/she is going to change this corrupt system?
Millions of young people flocked to the democratic party when Obama came along with his Yes we Can bullshit campaign only to watch his not even try.
8 years later Bernie came with the same song and dance but with a different tune and again millions flocked to his campaign, mainly because he told us the truth about how unqualified Hillary is and how corrupt the democrats are, only to at the last to sell everyone out. Again.
So when the next person comes and says that they are the real deal this time, trust me, who is going to believe them? I know I won't. I am done.
As the saying goes, "if voting changed anything then it would be illegal"
Obama told us to hold his feet to the fire and we tried for years. How many email, petitions and phone calls did you make during the health care debacle when we were trying to get single payer or at least the public option? Millions did for months but Obama had already met with the power players and gave everything to them while the dems and the repubs were dancing in congress.
Bernie did a lot of damage, but maybe it won't matter because the Clintons being back in the WH is going to be disastrous for us and the world. SS will be privatized under Clinton. Count on it. Bill was working on when the Monica scandal broke. And Hillary has the same damned advisers helping he that were in his administration.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
the difference this time is that....
...we, hopefully, are not falling in line.
Exactly
Jill Stein inherits the leadership role
We have a movement, ever since OWS. Bernie helped move it forward, but took that energy and squandered it on supporting the most dishonest, Wall Street shill in politics. Shame on him. It calls into question his intellectual honesty. He now forfeits the role of head of the revolution and assumes the position of chief apologist of the counter revolution.
It's time to get behind Jill. I have been giving her donations and will step it up during the campaign. She has a lot more money now but needs to work on visibility. Trump might help as he seems to want to allow the third party candidates into the debates. In any event, she will not have the exposure of running in a major party primary contest, so she needs to get creative. Bernie's strategy failed, that is, using the Democrat party primary exposure to boost progressive values. Jill needs to find a way to get the media exposure as a more traditional 3rd party candidate. Ross Perot did it with direct TV ads. What do you all think? Ideas, please!
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
A vote for Jill is a vote for Hill
Too early for Jill. Nobody knows who she is yet, her organization is a shambles, can't gear up a major campaign in three months. No more magical thinking, like with Bernie, folks!
I'm voting Trump. Anybody but the Clintons because they'll never leave once installed in the White House again. Trump will be a one-termer and give Jill four years to build up name recognition, her organization, and ballot access in all states. She only is on ballot in 25 states.
Well, a vote for Trump
is a vote for Trump.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Trump has not bought any ad time so far.
He has done it because TV gave him tons of free coverage and because he tweets provocative stuff often. Green party officials can tweet, too and some do. So can all of us. #JillNOTHill or #JillnotHill.
Bernie inspired a lot of creative stuff by his supporters--you tube videos of various kinds, original songs, painting on sides of barns and overpasses, etc. The Green Party doesn't seem to inspire people similarly. I don't know what we can do about that, but Stein and other Green "Party officials can certainly make you tube videos where they explain who they are and how they have picked up the torch Bernie dropped/discarded. (Now, how do we get them to do a lot that?)
Also, Bernie was one of two Democratic candidates. Talking heads shows HAD to have him on. There is no such compulsion about the Greens. We groused about the Democratic primary debate schedule, but there is no counterpart at all for the Greens. I don't think their convention even gets TV coverage and Stein may never make it onto the Presidential debate stage.
The more I type, the angrier I get at Sanders. I bet he could have made this same deal a year ago, just by promising Hillary he would not run against her and saved us all a lot of money, work and heartache. Sorry. I guess I have some grieving to do. Anyway, I am out of time for now.
He had no leverage a year ago.
Why would Clinton want to give advance concessions to someone who was pretty much seen as a nice guy/back bencher from a podunk small state, but kind of a "crazy uncle/eccentric" on that socialist stuff? And that was how the people who knew of him saw him, and they were a very small group compared to the rest of the world who had no idea he even existed.
Sanders had neither stick nor carrot to bring to a deal-making meeting. And in any event why would she want to negotiate anything when she was quite positive that it was her turn to be placed into office because the entire process was in the bag for her?
He had 12 million votes
for 'leverage' going into the convention. . God knows how many votes he would have had if the whole establishment had not massively colluded to suppress the vote. Nobody liked Clinton look at her negatives. I can't believe people still are running around waving Bernie's shoe. It's like a weird repeating dream where people get bait and switched and then go all apologist for the pol 'leader' they have have invested personally in while letting the Democratic off the hook even though the primary was blatantly a fix. I don't care whether or not Bernie knew what he was doing or what his intentions are. I don't believe for a minute that Bernie is playing an 11th dimensional game or has unicorns up his sleeve. None of this matters he sheep dogged. I hope it doesn't work.
Ask me it is a by-partisan screw the same as the last time. I'll say this they had to bring out the really scary overtly fascist clown to scare the pant's off the 'revolutionary's'. The movement itself, the people who said hell no is what I care about In my real life. I watched people I know and respect who had been strong Bernie supporters turn within the last month to berating those of us who refuse to vote for the bitch. We're irresponsible and selfish as voting your conscious will hurt people other then yourself. What a bunch of hooey.
Like the Clinton's and the rest of the corrupt pols with power, including the 'progressives' are not going to hurt people. They are going to kill them dead and blow their villages into piles of rubble. They are going to frack, burn, steal, pillage, imprison, deport and impoverish and that's just for starters. I'm supposed to vote for this complicit nightmare of a duopoly so that the less scary clown doesn't get elected. How stupid are people? How filled with fear do you have to be to not see that both of these 'candidates' are armed and dangerous psycho's who mean humans and the planet harm.
What's the matter with people that they think they need a charismatic insider pol leader to have a political revolution? Bernie was right it's up to humans to pry this vampire squid off humanities face. People need to stop believing that the rigged corrupt system is going to somehow be reformed or revitalized or that the Democrat's are the lesser evil. It's a circus a meaningless circus. I'll vote but I know that's not going to do the trick even if a third party does pick up momentum.
Here's a good summation of this farce from the Allantic.
All Hell Breaks Loose at the Democratic Convention
A 30-step review of the mayhem in Philadelphia, and what Clinton’s convention says about the future of the American political system.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/all-hell-breaks-loos...
What's the matter with people
Uh, well, so many of you are unwilling to even consider radical disobedience that obviously you need to pick some other strategy.
Not me
I think radical acts of civil disobedience are needed. I hope the Bernie delegates do walk out as many are planning to. I marched and supported occupy. I'm not with anybody in that convention hall 'I'm with' the people outside on the street.That Hillary Show disguised as a Democratic convention was revolting including Bernie's speech. Here's some links for the delegate walkout after the roll call. I highly recommend reading the entire Counter Punch article by Seattle's socialist city council member Kshama Sawant.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/26/a-call-to-action-walk-out-from-th...
A Call to Action: Walk Out from the Democratic National Convention!
Here's the Occupy Q&A walkout link...
https://www.facebook.com/notes/occupy-wall-st/dnc-walkout-qa/11867642780...
I saw an ad this morning . I'm in NYC.
It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. Carl Sagan
Al, you were right.
There is no way that we the people can have a voice. This primary showed that explicitly. You were right.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Well I'm not going to play that up gg.
What Bernie did, right and wrong, has created something we can build on, I do think that. It's a unique time here in the Land of the Free.
Let me add to the chorus of you were right.
Why he folded doesn't matter. He folded and disappointed millions of people who sacrificed for him and his message. There is nothing to be built on. "No matter what you do Johnny, you just can't win."
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I am both angry and disappointed with him
The Revolution has moved to Greener Pastures. Roll with it.
Bernie's speech was almost verbatim the same speech he gave when he endorsed her two weeks ago in NH. No new news here.
But people are freaking out; calling him Judas; balling their eyes out; throwing Conniption Fits. Did they really expect he would come to the convention for a revolt?
He has decided to try to work change from within the party. So good luck to him. I doubt it will work and I won't follow him into hell, but I wish him luck.
See you all in Greenville.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
We are our own bottom line.
We are the only ones who can make something happen. No one person can do it for us. We've tried to rest on our laurels, and look where that has gotten us.
After Nixon, we sat back, watched more teevee, went shopping, started using credit cards to satisfy our every whim, and let our country fall into oligarchy. We, alone are responsible.
It is up to us to make change happen, or they will continue to institute change upon us, which benefits only them.
How will we choose? How will you choose?
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Exactly.
And, if I heard Bernie correctly, he again will be in the thick of it, if not leading the parade. I did not hear the word surrender last night.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
I didn't see or hear
any big nod to Hillary. Sure, he mentioned her two or three times, but I did not hear Hillary this and Hillary that every other sentence. I didn't even hear an outright endorsement (although someone I was watching it with swears she heard the "official endorsement," so maybe I missed it). What I did hear, instead, was the Bernie stump speech we've all heard for over a year now. His speech addressed Bernie Bros and his supporters that know what Hillary bots don't know or ignore. His speech kicked butt and gave the impression that once Nov. 10th gets here he's back to work to finish what he started. And, if one didn't know better one would believe s/he was hearing his acceptance speech. Sounded more to me like a rally speech, "keep your powder dry, Berners, we're back at it in November!"
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
He blamed it all on the
He blamed it all on the Repugs. His speech was intellectually disingenuous and we know he is not stupid. He played us - maybe from the beginning. And anyone who talks about domestic reform without connecting it to endless wars and all it reaps, is lying. He did his job well. If not for Bernie, there would be a strong movement now for an eventual, viable third party. I am angry about giving so much scarce funds just to be defrauded by him. Really, I could scream.
He always has blamed Repubs--that was the primary message
during his regular Brunch With Bernie segment on Hartmann's radio program.
(On occasion, he would hastily add--and some Dems, too--as a caveat.)
Some folks call that 'staying on message.'
I call it deflection, misdirection, and evasion--if it serves to keep folks ill-informed, or totally ignorant of important and pertinent facts.
Thanks for your writing, Al.
Mollie
“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit, and, therefore, to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)
National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR) - Dogs Available For Adoption
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
I agree
If anyone believes there would not have been a serious movement against t rump and hrc without sanders they have not really been paying attention and Imo would be wrong. I'm with you a third party would have definitely been in contention at this point. Stein and Johnson are picking up steam now but its most likely to late for 2016.
WUT?
You? Your profile is wiped clean (with a cloth no doubt).
What the heck happened?
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
Even the comments?
I have always been told that was not possible "since it would f up the database".
Curiouser and curiouser.
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
Can't believe all the Bernie hate going on here.
He's going to keep right on fighting the same damn fight he's been fighting all his life. And he'll do it from within because, like it or not, that's where he knows he can do the most good. He can't do that if he loses all his creds within the system which is exactly what would have happened had he burnt the house down last night.
All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth. John Lennon
Totally agree.
I thought he knocked it out of the park - without sucking up to HRC or the party. Same thing he's done for 15, 16 months. I expect come Nov. 10th we'll see Bernie rallying Berners, back on the trail.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
I don't hate Bernie
I don't think anyone here does. He can't have it both ways if he wants credibility within a rigged system that will most certainly neuter any good that anyone can do then he should not have started a 'political revolution' that showed everyone how fixed the primary was. Ironic that his supporters felt the Bern and then he extinguished the fire he voice to. He took his supporters on a ride that ended in the Dem. veal pen of what he fought against.
That's not hating. I do not believe in hating or loving any pol, they are after all pols. One thing for sure he did not deliver 'some truth' when push came to shove, he lied. He did not even fight when the truth came out about the fixed primary. so he did his job for the insiders and I doubt he will have cred inside as these corrupt evil people do not want anything to do with the progressive wing of the party. We are the demographic the owners of place want gone. Good luck Bernie.
Thanks for the ride to nowhere. The movement he gave voice to will continue regardless of which of these psycho's wins. Either way civil disobedience and all hell is going to break loose as they don't not cal l this a anti-democratic duopoly or disaster capitalism for nothing. It's intolerable and it's going down globally. It's not the only 'real world' possible so no thanks Bernie.
People will crawl away from the wreckage into a brand new car
Never had creds within the system
Are you cognizant of the way the system has treated him? Can you imagine what will happen to him in the Senate once the dust settles and Hill $ Bill are ensconced in the White House for eternity? All this revolution crapola, for what? What did Bern gain, except a loss of integrity and the distrust of his supporters? Bern let Hill destroy a nascent progressive movement and her work is now complete.
Of course I'm aware of how the system treated him and of course
I hate it, so does he. I don't agree that he never had any creds within the system and I sure don't believe he has lost any. He has proven beyond a shadow of doubt that hundreds of thousands of voters agree with his agenda. That knowledge will influence future Senate votes for a long time to come. He's done everything he said he'd do and he's certainly not lost any of his integrity in my mind. He did what he had to do in order to continue doing what he's always done. And I believe that you're dead wrong when you say that the movement he started is now destroyed. I'm not giving up and neither has Bernie.
All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth. John Lennon
One thing about him playing the dem shill
He can then look at the democratic party, after our rejection to unify, and say "see, they don't care about the person, they care about the policies, and the party will never unify behind Hillary, because she doesn't support the policies." If he is as good a politician as we gave him credit for, he probably plans that.
Listening to his speech,
I heard him say, "this is what Hillary believes in," even though he (and everyone else) knows damn well she does not. I thought that was pretty smart. "We talked about x, y, z on the campaign, and Hillary supports those." Bernie and everyone else knows damn well she does not, but he got those talking points in. He is set up well for post Hillary. "I did what I could to get our issues on the Platform, but it's clear that Hillary has ignored them in favor of a neo Liberal agenda. Fuck her and them, we're back on the road taking our message to America... "
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.