Bernie: "The Democratic Party has a choice."
This is a very important message from Bernie to the Democratic Party:
“The Democratic Party has a choice. It can open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change – people who are willing to take on Wall Street, corporate greed and a fossil fuel industry which is destroying this planet. Or the party can choose to maintain its status quo structure, remain dependent on big-money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy. -
http://caucus99percent.com/content/sanders-statement-nevada#sthash.ze8GZ... (Bernie's Nevada Statement)
msnbc's First Read reports about Bernie's speech yesterday:
And last night, after his narrow apparent loss in Kentucky and win in Oregon, Sanders struck a defiant tone at his rally in California, challenging the Democratic Party. "The Democratic Party is going to have to make a very, very profound and important decision," he warned. And per NBC's Danny Freeman, the crowd booed mentions of the party and chanted, "Bernie or Bust" repeatedly.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/first-read-defiant-sanders-th...
From a Bloomberg News story about dangerous divisions in the Democratic Party:
Later, at his rally in California, Sanders suggested there would be consequences for Democratic Party leaders if they don’t change its rules to expand participation for independents and newcomers.
“Open the doors; let the people in,” Sanders said, after supporters booed the mention of the Democratic Party. He added that “before we will have the opportunity to defeat Donald Trump we’re going to have to defeat Secretary Clinton.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-05-18/clinton-democrats-...
Meanwhile, Paul Waldman, erstwhile "liberal commentator," proclaims on WaPo's Plum Line:
Why the Sanders movement is just about dead
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/05/18/why-the-san...
No doubt, Daily Kos's owner and front pagers will be spreading this meme. The revolution is over, they will say. Daily Kos is as left as it will be, and we won't rock the boat.
They are as wrong about that as they have been about Bernie so far. Bernie has accomplished much -- millions of votes, spreading the message, and exposing faux progressives and the rot in the Democratic Party. This movement will continue.
I am damn proud to have voted for Bernie and contributed to his campaign. A victory in California will speak volumes!
CARSON, Calif. — Voter enthusiasm in California is surging with more than 1.5 million newly registered or re-registered voters since January 1, according to the latest data from Political Data Inc. With that number expected to surpass 2 million before the May 23 deadline, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has shown he is the candidate who can build the energy and excitement to attract new voters to register and participate in the Democratic process.
https://berniesanders.com/press-release/california-voter-registration-su...
Don't forget: Bernie needs our cash: https://berniesanders.com/?nosplash=true
Also, for those who want to elect actual better Democrats, there is competition to Kos's project:
America needs an honest, accountable Congress to enact Bernie's program. But trying to win each Congressional seat one-by-one is impossible. So let's run one campaign to replace Congress all at once (except those already on board) that whips up the same enthusiasm, volunteerism and money as Bernie's presidential campaign.
We're building on the tools, tactics and networks that we developed together on Bernie's campaign. But to pull this off, the volunteer movement will have to wield more power and resources than on any campaign before. This means volunteers on the ground will run their own offices and voter contact operations, and will have access to all necessary tools and materials from the start. Get ready for the most beautiful campaign ever.
This is just the beginning!
Comments
Non-tip jar since "mojo"
is meaningless.
This place is about change.
Thanks TomP!
Signed up and gave my first $10 to BrandNewCongress because of your post. The first of many more to come.
"Polls don't tell us how well a candidate is doing; Polls tell us how well the media is doing." ~ Me
Thanks Thumb. That's great.
It is the real campaign for better Democrats.
The Sanders Revolution is still alive!
Bernie Sanders could win all the remaining States from here on, except for New Jersey.
But regardless of the exact outcome, what is clear is that Hillary Clinton will not have enough pledged Delegates by herself to clinch the Nomination on the first ballot. In other words, the "math" does not favor Hillary Clinton. There will be technically an Open Convention in July, with no clear cut winner officially declared on the first ballot. The Media won't tell you that.
Now, we all know that the preference of Party Establishment, and the "Super Delegates" will be pointed to by the U.S. Media as proof that the race is all over anyway. The Convention will probably not even be covered on TV at all aside from the final prime time speeches. But the fact is that it is not all over. In an open convention, momentum matters and a reappraisal of which candidate is truly the strongest General Election candidate matters.
Sanders will have ample evidence at that time to prove that he is the strongest candidate with Independents, the political Left, and the General Election demographics. The Party will have to decide: do we allow Clinton to take us all down, or do we turn to the candidate that does best against Trump? That's a fight worth having. There will also be fights over the "Party Platform" which will be symbolic of the big dispute between what Sanders represents and what Clinton represents -- even though it is meaningless in terms actually impacting policy. But that fight will also make it clear that the Sanders voting block is a very, very large one, and the Democratic Party cannot compete with only half of its true constituency.
That's the power that we have. We form one-half of the Democratic Party constituency. If they don't nominate Bernie --- then we walk (Jill Stein could benefit). Hillary Clinton is going to lose either way (Trump will expose her incompetence and corruption like no one else ever has). Protecting Hillary Clinton is not a strategy. Protecting the Sanders Revolution is.
Bernie Sanders should also lead huge rallies right near the site of the Convention itself in July to demonstrate to the public the huge, huge, support that he really has. Had the Elections been fair and inclusive, Sanders probably would have won 28-30 States. The pressure can be put on to make it clear to the public that there is only one candidate in the race that is going to survive a long battle against Trump.
So we will have an Open Convention. The Sanders Revolution is very much alive and well.
Sanders owes no favors, concessions, or cease fires to either Hillary Clinton or the Democratic Party here.
The whole purpose of the Convention is to decide which direction the Party will go in, and what the Party will represent.
And this convention is the first open one in decades.
Game on!
I've been hoping Sanders would continue his campaign
... on past the convention. That he would "campaign for Hillary" by keeping up his rallies and his stump speech, holding Hillary's left foot to the fire. That he would help the political movement he's given so much momentum to a further push, to keep it coherent and intact up to and past the election.
At some point the movement will have to grow beyond Bernie Sanders. We won't have billionaire funders to create an Astroturf cooptation trap, but that means we will have to stay engaged, have to build on the structures the Sanders campaign has already created. Such a movement will continue to require a leader, an inspirational voice, for some time to come. But as it builds new leaders will emerge; new structures will evolve. These are the sorts of developments that will tell us we're on our way. In the meantime, we need Bernie to keep being Bernie. This statement, and some others recently, tell me that this is probably what he intends. I couldn't be happier.
Count me as a new serial supporter to Brand New Congress too. Somebody's gotta do it, dammit.
Please help support caucus99percent!
Yes. New leaders will emerge.
Young folks will build this movement.
I just cant picture it
I get what youre saying but I cannot (for the life of me!) picture Bernie saying, much less giving rally level speeches that say,: "Stop Trump! Vote Hillary!"
Watching MSM TV last night I briefly saw them replay a clip of Hillary in 2008 concession speech wherein she urged her followers to vote Obama. For a nano-second I tried to imagine Bernie doing the equivalent of that for her and I kinda threw up a little.
Im counting on Bernie to play his cards exactly the way he (and we) need to play them, when it comes to that.
But I will never NEVER ever never never vote for the Oligarch.
Seconded! I too signed up for BNC a couple weeks ago. Lets see
if we can get them to help us with seating our new parties candidates in 2018!
Great Essay TomP! So glad that you are here helping to keep the fires Berning.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
Thanks Alphalop.
Voted and donated to Bernie
Voted and donated to Bernie and NO its not over its just starting, will check out brand new congress
Thumb! Good to see you here! I saw Kos brought the ban
hammer down on your head, was thinking and hoping you were here too.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
Great post Tom
We should begin a campaign now targeting 2018 as a "No Incombent " election.
Spread the word to reject any congresscritter with incombent behind their name.
Next we should begin now to divide and conquer the to big to fail banks by collectively choosing one bank ( start with the one that wanted to slap a $5 fee on our debit cards) and disinvest from it and all of its subsidiaries.
And then refrain , as much as possible, from trading with any corporation, foreign or domestic. Keep your money local. Communicate to every corporate sales agent why you are not going to patronize their business.
I could go on and on with this, and probably should do an essay instead. But I'm sure most of you have some great suggestions of your own.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Thanks. Good ideas.
Please support the Bernicrats still running
We asked them to run! now: please help them 119! Sanders-Endorsing US-House and US-Senate Candidates.Goal Thermometer
We set up an ActBlue page for the growing list of US House & US Senate candidates-supporting Bernie Sanders on ActBlue. Since the New Hampshire Primary 600+ People have made/pledged over 18,000+ small ($2.50+ average for each candidate) donations to the now 119 Sanders-supporting candidates. It has been magic to see small actions brought together for a larger effect, or... simply….we are….so much more powerful together …. -
CA Democrat
It's really quite amusing --
Those people continue to say "the Sanders movement is dead!" -- when of course they said the same thing two months ago and it wasn't true then, either. Quick, say something! Doesn't matter if nobody believes you.
'French theory is a product of US cultural imperialism." -- Gabriel Rockhill
Good point.
They keep saying it hoping it will be true.
Whistling past the graveyard!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
What is dying
is the old way of thinking. The establishment has failed to understand that revolution and the movement will not end if Bernie does not get the nomination. There is a lot of shallow binary thinking out there among the Democratic party, the Republican party, places like TOP, and the mainstream media. To them winning is everything, but ideas cannot be killed simply by the results of an election.
People are pissed as hell and if the establishment fails to realize that and do something positive to address the concerns of the overwhelming majority of Americans, then the people will solve the problem for the establishment and it will not be pretty. You can only squeeze people down so far and then they fight back. What Bernie has done is show us that we DO have the power.
The revolution is just beginning and we are not going to go away.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Thank You
Just came from the Boomantribune which is infested with Hilbots. It's good to feel welcome for a change.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I was away last week at a "leadership training"
One of the great things I heard was this:
Please help support caucus99percent!
There is only ONE CORRECT RESPONSE to anyone
Who tries to push the manufactured meme that the revolution is over
BERNIE OR BUST
Seeya in Philly
then drop,your Mic and walk away
and watch out for flying pieces of exploding heads
The more,people declare Bernie or bust the more worried the party becomes!! And we want the party to be increasingly worried as we move closer and closer to the convention.
Right now the establishment thinks they hold all the cards BUT they don't hold the most important card... The WILD card. WE DO and it's BERNIE.
Orwell was an optimist
They say that we're dead, huh?
As Al Pacino said...."Finished? I'm just gettin' warmed up."
[video:
]
"Just call me Hillbilly Dem(exit)."
-H/T to Wavey Davey
Great comment! Loved that.
I like this one
They thought we were dead, so they buried us.
They didn't know we were seeds.
www.Angie4Congress.com
#StrongerTogether for a better future for OUR posterity
Repeating the BIG LIE is a strategy
The reason we are all persona non gratis now is that we not only do t buy into THE BIG LIE... We constantly refute it and challenge it with the BIG TRUTH.
"Perception is reality"
- Lee Atwater
Orwell was an optimist
Honesty; Integrity; Inclusiveness;Respect for the Planet;
Peace-seeking Foreign Policy vs Obscene profits and wealth for the few.
To me, that's Sanders vs Clinton
The Democrats either open up to progressives and leftists or we go elsewhere energized by the fact that ordinary Americans have had enough and the 17 to 30 age group is 85% in favor.
So to Clinton; Rahm; Debbie W-S; the banksters; Boxer; et al: effyouseall!
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Thanks TomP. I think there is a real possibility the
Dem party is going to implode. The corruption has been laid bare for all to see. The HillBots at DKos are lemmings going over the cliff. From a CounterPunch essay:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/17/hillary-and-the-corporate-elite/
It just amazes me how so many people have been duped into supporting HRC.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
The counterpunch
author is underestimating the sophistication of Sander's base of support.
None of the supporters that I know are under any illusions on that score for example. To a person they have always been well aware that the Mad Bomber will swing right at the first opportunity.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Very true. I too know no one who thinks she will do anything
other than go far right once the nomination locked up. But then again, Trump will attack here from the left on a number of issues. I don't know why Republicans don't vote for her in droves. She is a better Republican than any of the Republicans.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
Many Will
Personally I believe that many Republicans, especially those who are feeling that the party left them off when it went Insane, will be voting for her.
Now if Bernie were to pull out a win I believe many more former, and current, Republicans would vote for him.
Not as many as you might think...
I know a lot of republicans, and despite many of them being pissed at their party they absolutely LOATH the Clintons...
One thing we have in common at least...
A Clinton candidacy would be the best GOTV move the GOP could wish for, but I bet they also wish they had an establishment candidate to take advantage of it with.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
One (ed.) nit of the article...
Uh, the only people I see claim that 'Bernie is moving Hillary to the left' are delusional Hillary supporters that also claim to be progressive. Bernie supporters make no such claim - they know who Hillary is and they know she will say anything to get elected.
Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?
Correct, RichM.
That's what the Hillbots are saying that we are saying. All in an effort to secure the votes of Bernie's supporters if she's the nominee. Nothing could be further from the truth. Almost every man, woman and child who supports Bernie knows this to be a lie. If anything she will steer to the right if she gets the nomination. Any promise by HRC that she will do anything that resembles a leftward move if she's POTUS is not worth the scrubbed/redacted email its written on.
"Just call me Hillbilly Dem(exit)."
-H/T to Wavey Davey
Pretty much sums up
Why Hillary will never be President.
Beware the bullshit factories.
This is exactly what
Markos claimed in his July 2014 diary on why Elizabeth Warren will not be the Democratic nominee. He also stated way back then that Clinton would be the nominee and that Warren and her supporters should push Hillary to the left.
The whole idea that Hillary Clinton can be pushed to the left is absolutely absurd. She has a lifetime of policy stances that show exactly what her beliefs are and they are very Republican in nature. As I posted in today's Open Thread, Thomas Frank said the following in a recent interview:
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 often thought...
The GOP bile spit at The Big Dog was profession jealousy over Bill being a better Republican than any of them.
Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?
it has been a meme in the mainstream media
I have seen a handful of articles and cartoons about Bernie pulling Hillary left. She's a corporate tool representing the banks, MIC, insurance companies and big pharma. There is no pulling HRC left.
OBTW, it's a big money grift.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Eisenhower Democrat
Not entirely certain what is meant by this in the essay, but Eisenhower was more liberal than Hillary on a number of issues.
Before there were Reagan Democrats...
there were Eisenhower Democrats.
It's a term for Dems who cross-over and vote (R) for president.
www.Angie4Congress.com
#StrongerTogether for a better future for OUR posterity
I remember Eisenhower's election (yes that old), but
I don't ever recall hearing or reading the phrase "Eisenhower Democrat."
Hopeless, Unprincipled Centrism is What Defines it Now
Daily Kos is as left as it will be, and we won't rock the boat.
Political centrists never have - and never will - bring about meaningful change. It is simply not in their DNA. Period.
Conformity and mediocrity is the rule, rather than the exception, on it. The past few months evoke images of Babbitt-like behavior, as captured brilliantly by Sinclair Lewis in his novel about Middle America.
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma
So true.
I hope you can bring your political cartoons here.
Good to see you.
That so many long-term kossaks are fleeing the place says much.
Kos clearly chose to burn all bridges yesterday.
Just as well. The place has become way too right wing for me.
What?
What happened yesterday? I didn't know he even had any bridges remaining?
"Polls don't tell us how well a candidate is doing; Polls tell us how well the media is doing." ~ Me
LOL!
Compared Bernie supporters to Trump supporters, attacked Bernie supporters. Apparently doubled down afterward. I did not bother even skimming the second post.
Any bridge left unburned was lit afire yesterday. His FU to Bernie supporters.
Many already left, some are leaving, and some will stay (even after the primaries).
People vote with their clicks, I guess.
I go by in the morning to recommend LP's BNR and whatever I see, but I don't see going back to write posts.
He gave us no choice. Submit or be free.
I chose this place.
Awesome!
I like this place a ton too. Also, feel free to swing by https://www.reddit.com/r/Kossacks_for_Sanders/ too. A little different format, maybe better suited to the ADHD inclined among us, but it's really been jumping lately. The exodus from TOP must be strong the last week or two.
"Polls don't tell us how well a candidate is doing; Polls tell us how well the media is doing." ~ Me
I think they need to rename that subreddit from
something other than 'Kossacks'. How about Progressives For Sanders?
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
Naw, leave it Kossacks for Sanders
It will forever burn Kos' s ass that it is because of him that the site even exists.
Kinda like the Gop labeling the ACA as "Obamacare".
"Has a nice ring to it." Barack Obama.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I'm part of that subreddit but
have not been by in a few weeks. I'll come by this week.
Thanks for the synopsis.
I heard he had written two things, but I never, ever go to the front page -- except briefly after I log in, and then directly to the diaries.
I'm only still there to rec and tip BNR, Bob Swern, Sumir, and well, you, when you were writing, and a few others that I don't know how to spell their names. And Bob Johnson when he makes fools out the majority of people who are still there, like he did today.
I really wish LD and BNR would permanently move over here.
Well Tom P, glad to see you sticking to your guns : )
I don't know how MB can stay, it must be very odd for him.
Markos is such an average sort of shallow idiot.
Thanks Katie.
After that statement I go
After that statement I go there for the BNR,OPOL and a couple others, once they go I'm out.
The definition of the Democrats of the last 1/4 century
It is mediocre and conforming, yes. But it's worse than thst wven. It is a bloc of people who allowed circumstances to define what they ARE NOT in the hope that this translates into a definition of what they ARE. If they can be defined by anything it is gutlessness. They'd rather be safe in doing nothing than risk anything to actually make a difference.
Regardless of one's place in the political spectrum, there is 9me thing that should be clear now more than any time since 2980. What voters crave is a stubborn adherence to a clear set of ideals. Not bad does not win elections. Ask the slew of not bad (by GOP standards) candidates that Trump destroyed. He's nuts, but he's entertaining, original, and clearly not forming opinions based on focus groups or financial backers. Clinton is none of these things, and though I think she is going to earn a heap of votes from registered Republicans, I'm more convinced now that she's done. And I want her and her mediocre, fuzzy supporters, who support her only because she says she is the target of obviously backward conservatives, again defining themselves through their enemies, to get off their rides, stop tilting at windmills, and start working toward positive change.
Yes, the Democratic Party has a choice.
We are moving forward. Do they want to go with us?
I know the movement in all of its arms needs money, but I've given all that I can this month. Sigh.
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.
Ha!
Reminds me of the politician's credo...."Look! The people are marching. I must find out where they are going so that I can lead them!"
"Just call me Hillbilly Dem(exit)."
-H/T to Wavey Davey
It reminds me that...
...the Democratic Party is only drifting to the Left...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk47saogI8o]
I want my two dollars!
I'm not tapped out yet
I'll put $27 in for ya.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
You can join the Northwest
When Pres. Obama said never mind to change you can believe in we decided to go ahead without him. 8 years in things are looking good.
Thanks for this Tom P
Bernie really speaks his mind and his mind is laser sharp. Donating today.
Don't believe everything you think.
Thanks hester.
Me. too.
That is a strong statement and message.
Bernie has shown time and time again that he
doesn't suffer fools. The establishment of fools doesn't like that.
“And—get this—after the election they actually expected . . .”
— via Jesse’s Café Americain: Above the law: The age of impunity and the credibility trap
Friends with benefits...
Could any of us ever be so close to Bush without wanting to vomit? Look how Bill is touching him so gingerly. That's connection. That's not politics. They are pals. Trump Kissinger Cheney Bush Rove Koch.... these are not opponents. They are friends. Friends with benefits.
Reminds me of how Karl Rove and Howard Dean looked when we were protesting the both of them here for their damn "speaking engagement". So chummy.
Rs and Ds - they are all in it together.
I wish Bernie would drop the Democrats like they fucking dropped my 10 years registrations so I couldn't fucking vote yesterday. Go Indy Bernie.
I won't re-register as a Democrat. I'm done. They are dead to me. Fucking bastards.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
No secret that
the Clintons and GOP get on very well. Democrats are just scared of them and of course being cowards for the most part they just do the Clinton's bidding.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Cowards - that's a good label for them.
I always thought maybe Democrats were wishy-washy or just wanted to play nice in the sandbox to the point of always getting sand kicked in their face.
No. They are just spineless cowards.
Hell, most always criticized street actions or protests. They weren't being nice - they were being cowards.
I'm no coward. Just as well my registration for D was wiped. However, I would have been nice if it had been my CHOICE.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
Cannot agree more
What the dems have done to the anti-war left is unforgivable.
Let's get out the word
for everyone who hasn't voted yet: Go now & find out your voter status, document it & take it with you to the polling place. Send a copy with any absentee or mail-in vote. Use your phone to document any election fraud you experience. Save & post any fraud, any letters saying not to vote or that Bernie's dropped out. Make notes of (record if possible) any phone calls from the Hillary campaign saying Bernie dropped out. Use your phone to video any sightings of Bill or anyone too close to the polling places.
Then, can the campaign have someone at the end of each poll site to insist on a manual count of paper ballots to compare to machines?
I firmly believe that Bernie would already have a win if not for election fraud.
This is inspired by your terrible experience, Damnit Janet. I sure wish they hadn't cheated you out of your vote.
What Charles Koch said
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
If Bernie would decide to run independent
right after the last primary, we could get him on the ballot on all states except NC and Texas. According to Ballotpedia, many states have sore loser laws but they don't apply to presidential campaigns except in SD and TX.
If he waits until after the convention, several more states will be out of play.
https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_for_presidential_candidates
[long page, go about halfway down]
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.
I don't think he will,
but the recent events make it at least a slight possibility.
This is bigger than the election.
I will be part of the movement regardless of Bernie's decision to go or stay.
This is way bigger than the election
This is about basic human rights, something which this country is supposed to revere.
Beware the bullshit factories.
I agree..
I also do not think he will go Independent, if for no other reason than he promised he would not. However, the way the Democratic Party has been treating him and his supporters might lead him to change his mind eventually. If so, at least I would not have to change my Independent voting status to cast my vote for him in the General. Luckily, here in West Virginia I did not have to change it vote for him in the Primary.
I do think that as an Independent on the ballot in 48 States he might just be able to win it all. He would not have won Texas anyway.
It would be important for all those voting for Bernie to remember to vote for those Dems who were on board with him, as well as any other Independents who were running because of him.
If nothing else, November would be a lot more interesting that way.
If anything Bernie should join up with the Green's
At the very least we need to have the Green's and the Libertarians invited to the Presidential Debates. Good article at the link below on the future of the movement.
About That Post-Bernie Movement
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
I'm convinced
that Bernie won't make an Independent run--unless he decides to leave the Senate at the end of his current term. IMO, the Dem Party PtB would make his life too miserable, if he did that, and stayed.
OTOH, if he's convinced that his supporters will stand behind him, and carry the movement forward after the election (regardless of the outcome), maybe--just maybe, he would consider running outside the Party. I hope so.
Guess we'll know pretty soon.
Mollie
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."--Helen Keller
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
At first I thought that if Bernie ran as
an Independent should he lose to Hillary in the primary, then definitely that would mean Trump would win.
But now after following events pretty closely, I'm not so sure he would have a chance to win as an Independent. I say that because a lot of people don't like Hillary and a lot of people don't want Trump, so maybe... who knows.
Of course Bernie would know best, I guess. But I know I'd like to see him run as an Independent. Boy, would I.
They don't have a clue
The party is in utter denial. I keep hearing that we will go along because...TRUMP!
Wrong! I'm done with corrupt corporate demorats Give me the enemy I know, I'll not abide the fox guarding the hens anymore!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The key for me in his speech
I watched it and thought it was a great speech. It really resonated with me. The thing that stood out was that he did not want the Democratic party to let the Republicans be the party of working people in this country, as has happened since the dawn of the Clinton era.
... the party of working people ...
There's a new book out explaining exactly why the Democratic party is no longer this party, but rather the party of the elite professionals.
I'm a little past halfway through Thomas Franks's new book, Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People. He is having to devote a huge part of the book to the destruction wrought by the Clintons. The case he is making against the Clinton "co-presidency" administration certainly seems air-tight, and I haven't even read to where he finishes making the case.
Interesting "what if?" there
My knowledge is not complete, but didn't the Republican party start out as an abolitionist and working persons party led by honest Abe, the poor farmer from Kentucky? What if Trump caused the abandonment of the Republican Party for the DemocRAT Party by the Kochs and all their oligarchical friends. There would be a national party ripe for the taking by progressives. OK never mind.
Beware the bullshit factories.
The R Party was the abolitionist party
and its first candidate was John C. Fremont. The Whigs were the party of money and since they were collapsing, they glommed onto the Rs and their newfound piety got them elected. Lincoln was a Whig and came over just in time to snag the 1860 nomination.
Twain Disciple
Political parties are a thing of the past.
A relic, really, before social media and instant communication.
Organizations moving an agenda forward, supporting or fielding candidates, non-hierarchichal, technologically oriented, with a shared ideology: that is all that is necessary.
The vast majority of those here, as well as the real owners of the United States political system, have long ago abandoned parties.
That is why the party makes no difference to the Clintons: if Senator Sanders wins, the Democratic party will be reduced to influence peddlers and patrons. Great, let them talk among themselves. If Secretary Clinton wins, then the same thing will happen.
The Republican Party is dead, following its own special route to oblivion.
No one needs a brand anymore.
Peace and love be with you, reader.
Peace and love be with you, reader.
Yup. The two party system must be destroyed. #BernieOrBust
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
The internet makes it possible to be a more Athenian democracy
In ancient Athens, important issues were voted on by all free, male citizens. It was oppressive to women and there were a lot of slaves, but it was a start for the human race. It seems that if people had more of a say on each important issue, political parties would have a lot less reason to exist.
Beware the bullshit factories.
But, but, but...
...The
TitanicDemocratic Party is unsinkable! Markos said so!Hubris: It's not just for Republican'ts anymore...
I want my two dollars!
Shaun King
Shaun King has endorsed Bernie Sanders. Spoken on college campuses for him.
Still writing good stuff for NY Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-stop-blaming-hillary-strug...
Wish I'd book marked some of the other pieces, all good.
The Real Question
The Demcratic Party has a choice.
But exactly what is the Democratic Party? In my view, the DP is structured in a similar fashion to the ruling party described in George Orwell's 1984. There is the elite Inner Party, consisting of elected officials, lobbyists, members of the ultra-wealthy class, and various other privileged aristocrats. Then there is the Outer Party, consisting of low level activists and ordinary citizens. Party doctrine is established by the Inner Party, then it's the Outer Party's job to sell it to the electorate at large.
Party orthodoxy has long been structured to coincide with the interests of those who write the checks. Since virtually all members of the Inner Party are fully on board with this, and the Inner Party members are the only ones possessing any real power, it's highly unlikely that anything Bernie Sanders says or advocates will lead to any significant changes in the Democratic Party's general philosophy or direction. Because what Sanders is calling for is nothing less than a wholesale repudiation of the Party's basic business model, and the only people with the power to make that happen are the very ones who are the primary beneficiaries of that business model.
It may indeed be possible to get rid of the fox, but there's probably not a lot one can say that will induce him to give up his raids on the hen house.
inactive account
They are double plus ungood.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Thanks, Tomp!
Thanks for posting this, Tomp, and it's good to see you here!
Decided this morning that I couldn't stay at DKos any longer. It's all about destroying Bernie Sanders and the progressive left now, and that's too depressing to continue watching or supporting with clicks and page views.
Good to see you.
Yes, Dkos has gone off the rails.
I logged out today
and removed Daily Kos from my Bookmarks Bar. I want to support Liepar Destin and a few others, so may log in once a day to do that. Otherwise, I cannot even tolerate reading the titles of the rec'd diaries.
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