2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumBernie Sanders’ Real ‘Political Revolution’ Could Happen This Fall
ATTENTION: READ PLEASE FIRST I am NOT condoning this at all. It is strictly being posted for news & discussion in GDP & that is it.Keep in mind this isn't a RW site, in fact, it's Canadian.
What do you all think of this?
The push to make Sanders the Green Partys presidential candidate
Philadelphia Bernie Sanders, to the consternation of critics in the Democratic Party, pundits in the corporate media, and purists on the hard left, has accomplished an amazing thing. Up against Hillary Clinton, surely the biggest, best-funded corporate-backed candidate the Democratic leadership has run since Walter Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984 over three decades ago, the once obscure independent Vermont senator has battled Clinton to almost a draw, down by only some 319 delegates with nearly 900 to go (not counting the corrupt super delegates chosen for their fealty to party leaders, not by primary or caucus voting.)
By doing this well, as a proudly declared democratic socialist who on the stump has been denouncing the corruption of both the US political and economic systems, and as a candidate who has refused to take corporate money or money from big, powerful donors, instead successfully funding his campaign with only small two and three-digit donations from his supporters, Sanders has exposed not just his opponent, Hillary Clinton, but the entire Democratic Party leadership and most of its elected officials as nothing but hired corporate tools posing as progressive advocates of the people.
But now Sanders faces a truly momentous choice. Defeated by the combined assault of a pro-corporate mass media and by the machinations of the Democratic Party leadership machinations both long-established with the intent of defeating upstarts and outsiders, like front-loading conservative southern states in the primary schedule, and current, like scheduling only a few early candidate debates and then slotting them at times (like opposite the Super Bowl) when few would be watching them Sanders knows that barring some major surprise like a federal indictment of Clinton, a market collapse, or perhaps a leak of the transcripts of Clintons highly-paid but still secret speeches to some of the nations biggest banks, he is not going to win the Democratic nomination.
So does he, after spending months hammering home the reality that Clinton is the bought-and-paid candidate of the the banks, the arms industry, the oil industry and the medical-industrial complex, and after enduring endless lies about his own record spouted by Clinton and her surrogates, go ahead and endorse her as the partys standard bearer for the general election? Does he walk away and return quietly to Vermont? Or does he instead continue to fight for his political revolution by another route?
The first and even the second option would mean the demise of his so-called political revolution. A Sanders endorsement of Clinton at this point would be a pathetic betrayal of all the energy and money that his fired-up backers have poured into this extraordinary campaign, and it would send a message that fighting against the nations ruling elite is impossible, at least through the ballot box. It would also be pointless. Some 25-30 percent of Sanders backers, according to pollsters, have made it clear that they will not support Clinton no matter what including if Sanders were to endorse her. That in itself could be enough to doom her candidacy. Furthermore, after all his well-grounded attacks on the corrupt funding of her campaign, and of her horrific record as senator and secretary of state, any endorsement he made would be seen as a joke. He would spend the next three and a half months of the general election running from reporters asking him if he takes back the things he had said about her earlier her crooked speech fees from Goldman Sachs and other big banks, her default advocacy of disastrous wars in Iraq, Libya, Syria and elsewhere, etc. Most seriously, endorsing Hillary after all that earnest, heartfelt campaigning, would be a huge blow to his millions of backers and his movement.
More at link http://www.globalresearch.ca/bernie-sanders-real-political-revolution-could-happen-this-fall-sanders-green-partys-presidential-candidate/5522636
chwaliszewski
(1,514 posts)If he truly walks the talk, he keeps this movement going, even after Hillary is probably named the Dem-nom. By endorsing her, even if it's to keep Trump out of the White House, he will be endorsing her past actions as well. That, in my opinion, would be hypocritical of him.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)Response to chwaliszewski (Reply #1)
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uponit7771
(90,371 posts)... about it with this corporate media CT shit.
There's no revolution, Sanders will go into the back ground and be angry and the midterms will have the same people not vote like they did the last time
We'll see...
JRLeft
(7,010 posts)pinebox
(5,761 posts)JRLeft
(7,010 posts)The movement won't die no matter what he does. This movement is already prepping for the midterms.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)but the movement is also not voting for Hillary.
Many will vote Bernie Or Bust or vote Green. I think what we saw in NV could potentially give rise to a very big 3rd party too. Maybe.
JRLeft
(7,010 posts)I understand.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)But that's my 2¢
JRLeft
(7,010 posts)pinebox
(5,761 posts)LexVegas
(6,121 posts)pinebox
(5,761 posts)I think "launchpad" is a better word to use
LexVegas
(6,121 posts)pinebox
(5,761 posts)We'll see in the end won't we but regardless, many Bernie supporters will never vote for Hillary. The movement isn't about Bernie though, it's about us and giving people a fair shot which has been lost over the years.
barrow-wight
(744 posts)How lovely that you dance around the rules here.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)After what, a 130 posts & joining 4 days ago, I'm unsure you are.
Unless of course you're a "Smurf". Not that I especially expect you to know what that means but whatever.
I'm sorry if you dislike facts and how Hillary is a weak candidate in a GE. Not my problem.
barrow-wight
(744 posts)I may be new but I saw that rule rather quickly.
chwaliszewski
(1,514 posts)Shouldn't it be a blue arrow pointing to the left?
brooklynite
(95,007 posts)For some reason, nobody's mentioned that in the past year...
chwaliszewski
(1,514 posts)seriously, what were they thinking when they designed that? SMH
chwaliszewski
(1,514 posts)Kind of like that kid on The Simpsons who laughs. "Ha, ha!" Karma is a bitch, though. Just saying.
Response to pinebox (Original post)
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jwirr
(39,215 posts)this so we are talking only about how the registered Democrats feel about it.
The party is already torn apart by the issues mentioned in the article. Many members have had it. They will have little problem following Bernie and probably already respect the green party.
I have a feeling that what the foreign countries are telling us is some very good advice.
The truth is that if we follow Hillary she is either going to keep us where we are at or take us further into the corporate world of the 1%. That is not going to do any of us or our movement any good and it may do more harm.
It is a very good article. Thank you Canada.
Response to jwirr (Reply #34)
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jwirr
(39,215 posts)brooklynite
(95,007 posts)GreenPartyVoter
(72,388 posts)would support the Dem nominee, but after everything that has has happened with the debates, voter enrollments, vote counting and other shenanigans, it makes me wonder. He is a man of his word, but it's so unfair to be bound by ethics that others don't have!
pinebox
(5,761 posts)You have to remember, Bernie is an (I) basically and I think many would expect that of him.
In the end, who really knows. It sure makes for good conversation!
Response to GreenPartyVoter (Reply #25)
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lapfog_1
(29,243 posts)Someone from the conservative side... Ted Cruz or similar.
But even should Bernie win in such a 4 way race... he would be a weak President representing only 25 percent or so of the people voting.
forjusticethunders
(1,151 posts)At that point, enjoy President Kasich or fighting a Constitutional crisis, possibly in the streets.
madokie
(51,076 posts)it will be Sanders vs tRump in November
Orsino
(37,428 posts)JudyM
(29,294 posts)I'd thought about this before even though I've been an ardent dem my whole life. This time around, the party is betraying its own democratic principles. I am not so narrow-mindedly tribal as to put party above principles.
What this comes down to for me: what are our best chances for rooting out the big money/crony-power corruption that has led to spending $ on wars and subsidizing big biz instead of on strengthening our society and protecting the planet?
Among the more salient points in the article for me were 1) the symbolic caving to the imperviousness/omnipotence of corporate/political corruption if he endorses Clinton and 2) he would've gotten more votes than her if, as in the GE, the "closed" and other registration restrictions hadn't constrained so many of his supporters.
Re: that 2nd point, I see her electability on its own terms as about to start dropping, independently of either Sanders or tRump. Coming into view on the nearing horizon: front page news of gross negligence re:her unsecured server, at a minimum (according to a combo of statements from DOJ, the FOIA judge and formerly highly ranking federal officials and legal experts). Moving forward, a likely further decline in her numbers during the GE, when wave after wave of bad news is likely regarding the Foundation's corruption being tied to her actions as SOS. Moreover, Billy-boy's deplorable record with women is going to alienate many women from her side with the specter of him in the White House. In sum: my view is that since she is barely keeping up with tRump now and he is going to become better presented as the GE moves forward (as he aligns and gets primped by the GOP) she will lose to tRump.
So, even if I weren't lined up with Bernie, I hope I would see that he is the more electable dem candidate in the GE. If the superdels don't see this, or are too politically cowardly to break rank and nominate him, who becomes POTUS: tRump.
Putting this together: if Bernie were to run as a Green, he would get:
- the small percentage Green-or-bust vote,
- the Bernie-or-bust vote,
- huge percentage of the under-45 vote
- a large swath of the indie vote (many who would otherwise vote for tRump over Clinton),
- a large swath of rethugs who can't stomach tRump (or think he'll hurt the party - there are many now, including many who voted for Cruz, etc) and would otherwise vote for Clinton
- a lot of Dems who voted for Clinton because they didn't really know about Bernie or believed her hype that she was more electable/effective
- a growing number of women who voted for her but become alienated by Bill's predatory history
I can see Bernie beating both of them. I loathe the Nader effect but what we are looking at in 2016 is a different set of candidates altogether -2 of the least popular and both under legal scrutiny - and a live, passionate and principled movement.
Response to JudyM (Reply #33)
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apnu
(8,760 posts)That's ridiculous. Didn't read past it.