Do Democratic Party rules prevent Bernie Sanders from running as a Democrat for the 2020 nomination?

[sfwriter]

In another thread, the Newsweek article below was cited as evidence that Sanders can't run for the nomination. I'm afraid I don't see that. The rule seems to be saying you claim to be a Democrat and promise to run and serve as a Democrat. That doesn't seem hard. It's what he did last time.

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-2020-election-new-rule-967928

"In order to seek the party’s nomination, a candidate must publicly announce that they are a registered Democrat, will accept the Democratic nomination, and will “run and serve” as a member of the Democratic Party."

That seems an awfully low hurdle.

I'm not sure Newsweek is a reliable source on this as the article contains a glaring error, claiming that Sanders failed to endorse Clinton until a month AFTER the convention.

"Sanders received 43 percent of the delegates votes at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 but at first refused to throw in the towel to Clinton. After about another month of campaigning after the convention he finally endorsed Clinton against Donald Trump and stepped down from the race."

He endorsed her ahead of the convention, in July.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/us/politics/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton.html

"After 14 months of policy clashes and moments of disdain, Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday, clearing away the last major obstacle to a united front for the party heading into its convention this month and the fall election."

Does anyone know if that IS the only rule?

Also, while I hope both Sanders and Clinton don't run because of their age, I think in Sanders case, he won't do it because of his elusive tax returns.

I voted for Sanders in the primary and Clinton in the general. This time around I'm looking forward to younger candidates.

If anyone has any actual information on the rules, I'd love to see it.

[David__77]

1. You quoted the applicable rule.

That's the rule.

[PoliticAverse]

2. It takes less than 30 seconds to find a youtube video of Sanders appearing with and endorsing...

Clinton before the convention. Newsweek (what's left of it) should be embarrassed to make errors like that. Do they still have enough money for basic fact checkers?

[Gothmog]

5. i was a delegate to the national convention

I saw what sanders did at the convention and it was clear that sanders did not do much to help Clinton

Here is a good example. The Clinton campaign vetted her delegates who were all members of the party. To be a delegate to the national convention all delegates signed an oath to support the nominee of the party. The sanders delegates ignored that oath and tried to hurt the party. For example, there was a planned stunt by the sanders delegates to boo Congressman John Lewis. The Clinton campaign warned all of her delegates about this stunt about 30 minutes in advance. According to my whip, sanders was asked to stop this stunt and sanders declined. In addition a large group of sanders delegates marched onto the Texas delegation breakfast and demanded that we condemn Clinton

Finally a group of sanders delegates yelled at my daughter and called her the c-Word because she would not try to get me to change my vote. Again sanders was asked to tell his delegates to behave during the convention and sanders refused

Many democrats do not believe that sanders really tried to help Clinton. Many democrats blame sanders for helping trump win

I was at the convention and I know exactly how little sanders did to help defeat trump.

[PoliticAverse]

10. I really don't want to rehash 2016, but nothing you wrote has to do with the error in the Newsweek

article. Sanders endorsed her before the convention (and campaigned for her after:
https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/292086-sanders-looking-forward-to-campaigning-for-clinton-after ).

[Gothmog]

13. Sanders is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party

Many real democrats know that sanders helped to elect trump. We have long memories. I saw how little sanders did for Clinton. For example in sanders’ so-called endorsement speech, sanders spent most of the time talking about himself. That was a horrible speech by sanders if his goal was to help Clinton.

I was a delegate to the TDemocratic convention in 2008. Hillary Clinton dropped our before the state convention and it was a great unifying event. Sanders played games and waited until long after the Texas Democratic convention to endorse Clinton in a speech where sanders mainly talked about himself. The Texas state convention was not unifying due to sanders stunt. The difference between the two conventions was amazing

Again, many Democrats know that sanders did little to help Clinton win and in fact took many actions designed to hurt the party and help trump. I doubt that sanders will comply with the new DNC rule. That would involve sanders caring about the Democratic Party and agreeing to stop taking actions designed to hurt the party. I doubt that sanders will do this

If sanders tries to comply with the rule he will be grilled in any debate about his past actions that were designed to hurt the party. Again, many Democrats have long memories and will not forget or forgive sanders past efforts to hurt the party

BTW, the John Lewis stunt will make a great TV ad and sanders already has little or no support in a key base of the party. I look forward to such ad.

[PoliticAverse]

15. I agree with you that Sanders won't be the nominee. n/t

[Gothmog]

20. The real question is if sanders will run for the nomination

The new DNC rule and the new ballot acces rules requiring the filing of tax returns should cause sanders to think long and hard about running

The fact that many democrats know that sanders did little to help Clinton and in fact took many steps to hurt the party and help trump should prevent sanders from becoming the nominee. I remember sanders’ so-called endorsement speech I had a low opinion of sanders before that speech and that opinion went down after that speech. It is was a horrible speech that was mainly about sanders.

The comments made this week by sanders should kill any chance that sanders will be the nominee

[Hortensis]

32. Are all these I-Sanders posts about 2020 or are they

about what undermining what Democrats will be able to accomplish in congress come January?

Or is it also about distracting from the midterms, which not only are still on but gave us real reason for pride, renewed confidence, and expectation for more in 2019.

Let's face it, Sanders is not a midterms subject and at his advanced age and given his role in electing Trump will NOT be a 2020 Democratic candidate, though he could be used in a third-party spoiler role.

So this is certainly not about electing Sanders. Someone's investing in spreading this subject, and I suspect all this untimely social media activity could be tracked back to any of the three big subversive groups that benefited from promoting Sanders in 2016. I've also noticed a disproportionate number of new members seem to be interested in it.

[Hekate]

18. I don't see Gothmog's first-person experience as "rehashing 2016." It is what it is. Also...

...and this may shock you, most of us here are fully aware by now that Sanders putting a (D) after his name at that time was strictly a liaison of convenience on his part. He went back to the Senate as an (I), dropped the Democratic Party like a bad date, and didn't respect us the next morning.

This history affects both the present and the future of his national political career. He's not going to get access to any support from the Party apparatus going forward, because he is not a Democrat. Projecting him as the Dem nominee is pure wishful thinking, because he is not a Democrat.. No hard feelings. It is what it is.

As for the weirdly numerous posts at DU this week, stating things like "you must vote Bernie in 2020 or leave DU" -- it evidently comes as a shock to some people that DU exists to support Democrats and Bernie is not a Democrat.

Cheers.

[Gothmog]

24. The thread demanding that Democrats who do not support sanders was removed

As for the weirdly numerous posts at DU this week, stating things like "you must vote Bernie in 2020 or leave DU" -- it evidently comes as a shock to some people that DU exists to support Democrats and Bernie is not a Democrat.

The thread here was removed. I did not accept the premise of that thread

I also disagree with the claims that sanders really tried to help Cinton defeat trump. Again, I was at the national convention and saw sanders actions up close. Heck, I was there when a good percentage of the sanders Texas delegation demanded that we condemn Clinton and vote for sanders.

sanders spoke to the Texas delegation the next morning. Again, sanders mainly talked about himself and did nothing to heal the problems caused by his delegates. sanders did very little to help Clinton win and actually took steps to help trump and to hurt the party.

The new DNC rule was accurately described in the Newsweek article. I doubt that sanders will run in 2020 and if sanders does try to run, he will be called out for his past actions taken to hurt the party

[Gothmog]

3. Sanders never formerally joined the party

Sanders pulled a stunt in Vermont where he won the Democratic primary but did not run as a Democrat. This rule would stop sanders from doing this stunt. Sanders made a big deal about not joining the Democratic Party

This rule was adopted as the quid pro quo for the sanders inspired rule on super delegates. Members of the CBC were not happy with the super delegate rule but felt that the new rule described above would irk sanders

Sanders would have to change his past practices signicantly to comply with the new rule.

[aeromanKC]

4. I hope so

Bernie needs to pass the Progressive Baton to the younger generation ready to take the Democratic Party to the next level!! (Beto)

[onetexan]

19. HEAR! HEAR!

[dawg day]

30. Yeah, Sanders should do that-- graciously pass the baton to a younger candidate.

Is there the slightest indication in his past behavior that he will do that?

Remember when he flirted with the idea of debating Trump... when Clinton was the presumptive nominee?

Trump refused, saying it was "inappropriate". Seriously, when TRUMP thinks something is inappropriate, you've really stepped out of line.

He likes being a disruptor, which is okay when you're a senator in Vermont. It's kind of childish on a national level. He could start helping some younger, far more MATURE progressive.

[question everything]

6. Hope so. He is not a Democrat, never been a Democrat, actively campaigned

against Democratic candidates including hoping for someone to primary challenge Obama in 2012.

I think that his participation cost us the elections. He and Trump campaigned on similar topics, appealed to the similar groups and many who supported him either stayed home or voted for Trump.

I think that his supporters should not use these pages to promote him.

[Cha]

7. That's right.. BS wanted President Obama

primaried in 2012. I haven't respected him since then.

[Gothmog]

14. I remember this stunt

This desire makes sense given Sanders recent statements about his supporters not wanting to vote for African American candidates. I doubt that sanders will get any support in the primaries from key groups in the Democratic base

[world wide wally]

8. Bernie reminds me of Ralph Nader sometimes...

There is so much good he can do from the sidelines, but his ego makes him want to be the leader.
Bernie, you already ARE a leader. Now use it wisely.

[Tavarious Jackson]

9. He reluctantly supported democrats.

He made the democratic party the boogie man to his supporters. He screamed "The democratic party ( fill in criticism)" at every rally, he made people believe everything was rigged against him, he used anger to rile people up to vote for him. He made people believe he had a chance to win the nomination if he took it all the way to the convention for a floor fight. His wife even said the FBI should hurry up with their investigation against Hillary suggesting the outcome of the FBI investigation would somehow make BS the nominee. None of this was "running and serving" as a democrat.

[George II]

22. Exactly. His "endorsement" was lukewarm at best, and he didn't even begin campaigning...

...for Clinton or Democrats until Labor Day weekend, more than a month after the convention ended.

Contrast that to eight years earlier, when Hillary Clinton took a day or two off after the convention then joined Obama on the campaign trail.

[Tavarious Jackson]

36. Yes, when he did campaign for Hillary he spoke about himself.

He rarely even mentioned the person he was campaigning for. His wife promoted voting for ANYONE and not really Hillary or democrats.

Link to tweet

[FiveGoodMen]

11. The party will push Sanders out (again) with or without a rule

[nini]

12. How do you push someone out who isn't in?

He chooses not to be a Democrat. I'm not quite sure why the democrats would then owe him anything.

[George II]

23. How was he "pushed out"?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

16. Sanders is simply not going to be the nominee.

If he tries to run, he will gain no traction.

And I'm one who strongly supported him in 2016 and am still genuinely sorry he wasn't the nominee. But he's the past. As is Hillary, although for very different reasons.

We need to be looking to the future, not the past. Our nominee in 2020 needs to be someone who wasn't on the national scene two years ago. I have my own opinions about who might be a good choice, but those opinions don't matter. It's the looking forward that matters.

[Thekaspervote]

17. Yes! There are a bizillion posts on this and as many articles about the dnc bylaw passed this year

Her’s just one

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-2020-election-new-rule-967928

[George II]

21. The Newsweek article includes a photo of the actual rule.

It includes a requirement that the candidate submit a SIGNED statement that he/she is a Democrat, will run as a Democrat, and serve as a Democrat.

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[Gothmog]

25. You are correct

That is the rule

[Garrett78]

34. And if Sanders wants to run, he'll simply do just that.

I hope he doesn't and he has zero chance of winning if he does, but that rule won't stop him. If our party did try to stop him, the inevitable negative press and protests would harm us more than letting him run and lose.

[George II]

35. There is also the issue of tax returns, release of which will be required in several states.

[Garrett78]

38. And fewer caucuses. I'm hoping he has enough sense to not run.

[MontanaMama]

26. The only thing that's clear to me

is that just the suggestion of BS running in 2020 is enough to cause freaking uproar on DU. If causing this amount of stress and strife over Bernie can happen on this site, imagine what it would do on a larger front. He is obviously not a candidate that Dems can get behind if this crowd gets this upset on every thread where he is even mentioned. Bernie is a romantic political figure... even a messiah to some...but not to many many others. He ran a good race. He wasn’t the nominee in 2016. He’s not going to be the Dem nominee in 2020 either. JFC, can we move forward?

[LexVegas]

27. I wish. nt

[dawg day]

28. "a candidate must publicly announce that they are a registered Democrat,"

Was he a registered Democrat? Just asking.

What about states where you don't declare a party?

[realmirage]

29. You are correct. It doesn't say you need to be a registered Democrat

That Newsweek article is dogshit. The author of it lacks basic reading comprehension skills.

[George II]

37. From the article, here's the rule.

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[Gothmog]

39. That is the rule that was adopted by the DNC

sanders would have to change the way he ran in 2016 significantly to comply with this rule. In addition, sanders would have to file tax returns to comply with ballot access laws in some key blue states

[George II]

40. No rules prevent anyone from being a candidate. Only the candidate him/herself...

....prevents one from being a candidate if he/she refuses to abide by the rules.

[Small-Axe]

31. I'm glad to read that Democrats on DU are not going to be gas lighted when it comes to Bernie Sanders

He has attacked and deeply damaged our party (attacks that are ongoing),is not a Democrat, and will never be our nominee.

Democrats will not forget.

[beachbum bob]

33. sanders is NOT a democrat. No way we should let him do to us what he did in 2016