If Bernie won the Dem nomination for President, would he decline it, like he does in Vermont

[pnwmom]

when he wins the Democratic nomination for Senate?

And having declined the Democratic nomination for President, would he run as an Independent?

And then what? Would we not run any Democrat? Because otherwise we're looking at a 3-way contest, with the progressive vote split between an Independent who'd declined the Democratic nomination, and a Democrat who'd come in at second place.

I was surprised when Bernie left the party after the convention, but nothing he does would surprise me anymore.

[manor321]

1. I think people running have to sign to three things

One of them is remaining a Democrat after winning the nomination.

There are new rules.

[Electrical Arc]

3. Bernie is qualified for the 2020 Dem primary

And will stay a Dem if he wins the primaries.

[Gothmog]

10. Not unless he agrees in writing to join the party

[Electrical Arc]

11. Rules? Show me that part

[Gothmog]

22. Here is the new rule

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Electrical Arc]

28. So should not be an issue

[Gothmog]

34. Time will tell

I also note that Maryland currently has adopted and a couple blue states are in the process of adopting ballot access laws that will require release of tax returns

I personally believe that sanders is out trying to sell his very poorly reviewed book and will not run in 2020

[pnwmom]

12. He's not a Dem now so I don't know how you can say he will "stay a Dem."

And I'm not aware of any promises he made last time to remain a Democrat.

[Electrical Arc]

13. He followed the rules the last time

So you want to make it more difficult for him in 2020?

[pnwmom]

16. I wasn't aware last time that he would leave the party after the convention.

And I didn't know that's what he would do after winning the Democratic nomination for Senator of Vermont -- that he would decline the nomination and run as an Independent instead.

I also didn't know that he would refuse to make his tax returns public. I think ANYONE who runs should have to make at least 5 years of returns public before entering the primaries.

[Demsrule86]

53. He agreed to remain a Democrat in 16 and did not do so.

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will remain with the party if he does not get the nomination, his campaign manager said Wednesday.

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/dem-primaries/277086-sanders-will-be-democrat-for-life-campaign-says

[Cha]

31. BS is 3rd party and Too DIVISIVE.

[lapucelle]

44. Apparently at this point BS is not qualified to run in the Democratic primaries

and won't be until he submits a signed document affirming that he is a member of the Democratic party.

[Gothmog]

61. Under current DNC rules, you are correct

[aidbo]

2. This is a very important thing to consider!

[still_one]

4. He isn't going to win the nomination. He has burned too many bridges. He may not be self-aware of

that, but that is the reality

[Gothmog]

62. There are a large number of hard core democrats with long memories

These democrats will not forget or forgive

[JI7]

5. he isn't going to win the democratic pres primary so it won't matter

[Me.]

6. And Of Course There Is The Tax Return Issue

[rufus dog]

7. Bernie isn't going to win the nomination

As a Bernie Primary voter I guarantee it. He had his shot, I for one will never cast a ballot for him unless he is the nominee,... and he won't be the nominee.

[Cha]

32. Why are you showing a Nazi in your message?

[Gothmog]

9. The new DNC rules prevent this

Link to tweet

?s=20

[pnwmom]

14. Thanks, Gothmog!

[Cha]

33. Should have stated..

Not When It's Just Convenient.

[marylandblue]

55. What happens if they get the nomination then leave the party?

Or if they win the election, then leave the party?

[Mike Nelson]

15. More a response to this total thread...

… can anyone run as a Democrat by just saying they are one? … is it just restricted to "Independent" or "Non-Partisan" people? … can a Republican run as a Democrat? Joe Scarborough has said he's no longer a Republican, so can he run? Mike Bloomberg... is he a Democrat or Independent?

This is a confusing issue, for me... I think people running in the Democratic Primaries should be Democrats... maybe for a period of time... be inclusive, but give people some time in the Democratic Party. A Bernie Sanders in 2016 could get in early on his public record, but there should be some guidelines!

[juxtaposed]

17. I don't think if he won he would decline b/c his platform, agenda would become the democratic

agenda. I could be wrong?

[pnwmom]

18. Why did he decline the Democratic nomination for US Senator from Vermont? n/t

[juxtaposed]

19. I'm not sure? I would expect there is something written about why. He is a man of conviction

so it could be that the state has not fully embraced his views.

[pnwmom]

20. The articles I read didn't explain why -- just made it sound like a routine practice of his.

Which is why I worry about what he would have done if he'd gotten the nomination for President.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/bernie-sanders-democrat-independent-vermont-601844

Bernie Sanders is running for the Democratic nomination in Vermont — but he won’t accept it if he wins.

The famously independent senator, who briefly joined the Democratic Party to run in the 2016 New Hampshire presidential primary only to un-enroll later, officially announced Monday that he would seek a third term in the Senate this fall. He also said that he’ll pull the same maneuver that he did in his 2006 and 2012 Senate races: Running as a Democrat, declining the nomination when he wins and then running as an independent.


The move makes it virtually impossible for another Democrat to seek the party’s nod. And it allows Sanders to loom large in the party primary in August, but still preserve his independence.

[juxtaposed]

23. I may have read the same thing last primary cycle.

The bottom line is he is very well liked in Vermont. I remember hearing about him working with Kennedy getting heating oil up there for the elderly.

[pnwmom]

24. That's true in VT. But the bottom line to me is I don't want him to run as a Democrat

for President, and then decline the nomination if he wins. That would be a slap in the face to the party.

[juxtaposed]

26. What ever you feel you need to do is a personal choice as with everyone.

A good slap in the face at times wake ppl. up, rhetorically speaking that is.

[pnwmom]

29. NO. That absolutely wouldn't help us in the general against the Rethug --

to have our nominee be someone who'd just rejected the party. Vermont may love Bernie and his tactics, but Vermont isn't the US.

And fortunately, I've learned from responses here that new party rules will prevent him from doing so.

[juxtaposed]

37. What ever you feel will work. Vermont is the US more than me and also more than you.

Vermont Yankee's are what gave us america. and they still have not change after 200+ years. If a conservative Vermont voter likes sanders he is a shoe in for new england.
ppl. love him you are screwed.

[pnwmom]

42. Vermont is 95% white and 1.2 percent black -- not typical of America AT ALL.

He wasn't a shoe-in for New England in 2016 -- he and Hillary split New England, in case you didn't notice.

[juxtaposed]

46. He was a shoe in for vermont. Whether vermont is 100% white or not is not relative whether or not

he gets elected. Vermont hypothetically could be 100% minority and still be elected year after year. demo's I do not think matter with Vermont.

[MrsCoffee]

57. Lol.

If you want to play devil’s advocate, at least deal in reality.

[juxtaposed]

63. It is one of the most inclusive states in the country

https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/campaign-against-hate-in-vt/article_5dc2313e-921e-5aa6-8c8e-56abaa318f82.html

[CreekDog]

47. to prevent a Democratic challenger from getting the nomination

[NurseJackie]

21. Nothing would surprise me.

[Power 2 the People]

25. Going to be fun

Lots of good candidates to choose from.

[Progressive dog]

27. Trump and Putin would love to

have a third party candidate in 2020. There will be a real Democrat running for President in 2020. Democrats have a ballot line in every state, third party candidates have to spend a fortune to get on those 50 ballots.
Putin has to find a third party candidate who really wants the GOP to win. Bernie running to help Putin and the Trumpistanis would surprise me

[Cha]

30. LOL! BS is 3rd party.

[Blue_true]

35. Likely not.

In Vermont he has to enter the democratic primary to stop a split vote in the General. There is no reason for that in the presidential race.

[pnwmom]

36. Why wouldn't the same thing apply in the Presidential?

And how do we know he wouldn't have declined the Presidential nomination as he did in VT?

[Blue_true]

38. He could. But seems pointless and suicidal to me.

The fact that he would have won the nomination should be proof enough that his vision was dominant in the party. Why throw cold water on everyone else by refusing the nomination?

[pnwmom]

39. But his vision was dominant in the VT Democratic party and that didn't stop him from declining. n/t

[Blue_true]

41. You make a good point.

I just hope that he is not like that in the event that he wins the national nomination.

[Adrahil]

43. Or, he could accept the Democratic nomination.

But apparently we're filthy and he doesn't wanna do that.

Go away, Bernie.

[brooklynite]

40. This is a pointless question...

I won't be supporting Bermie in the Presidential Primary, but his willingness to forego the Democratic nomination in Vermont has no comparison to the Presidential Election

[WeekiWater]

45. I would have to see the rules.

If he declined at the convention, would the second vote getter receive the nomination?

[Jim Lane]

48. No, he would not.

In Vermont he has always made it clear, in advance of the primary, that if he wins he'll decline the nomination.

What really irritates some people is that, despite all the sage advice on DU pointing out how evil Bernie Sanders is, the Democrats of Vermont keep voting for him in the primary. The Vermont Democratic Party persists in featuring him on its website and accepting his help in fundraising.

People who disagree with his course of action, and who choose to vote for someone else in the Vermont Democratic primary, certainly have that right. So far, they have been in a small minority among actual Vermont voters, whatever their message-board strength might be.

Bernie sought the Democratic nomination for President because, duh, there are relevant differences between running in Vermont and running nationwide. He was vilified by some people for running in the Democratic primaries, vilified even more for NOT running as an independent or a Green in the general election after he lost the nomination, and vilified particularly for endorsing and campaigning for the Democratic nominee. He stuck to his guns despite all this opprobrium.

[pnwmom]

50. I haven't yet heard him commit to running as a Democrat if he runs,

much less to not declining the nomination if he wins the primaries.

So we'll see.

[JCanete]

58. Yes, just name any other candidate. Your version of divisive is you disagree with his positions.

Anybody who agrees with his positions would find mainstream democrats more alienating, whether sanders was in the race or not, and given that Sanders pulled in a huge chunk of democratic voters, that argument could certainly be made. You see?


Or more likely, Just having different opinions about our direction doesn't make HIM the divisive one, it just suggests that we have some divisions on the issues, which we can have and still come together around the candidate we ultimately elect.

[rzemanfl]

51. I knew that "post removed" person would post to this thread. n/t

[KitSileya]

52. I hope the DNC makes sure that any money raised for down-ticket during the primaries aren't bound

Because last time, Bernie's refusal to concede after it was mathematically impossible for him to win (in early May) caused trouble for the party down-ticket funding. Hillary raised tons of money, but it could not be released until Bernie conceded, and since he refused, it could not be spent, per the agreement she signed with the DNC that the nominee (regardless of whether she became the nominee or not) should decide how the money was spent. This hobbled many of our competitive races in '16. To add insult to injury, Sanders' supporters attacked her for not giving the money down-ticket and insinuated she was keeping the money for herself, when in fact it was Sanders who was the roadblock there.

So, regardless of fucking cries of 'rigged' and all, I hope the DNC makes sure that a candidate like Sanders cannot make down-ticket races harder to win because he or she refuses to concede even when it is impossible for them to win.

[Jim Lane]

59. I hope the DNC doesn't give any candidate a veto over its hiring decisions.

In the 2020 cycle, the DNC should not sign any agreement with any campaign unless the same agreement on exactly the same terms is expressly offered to every campaign. Furthermore, no agreement, even if it might net the DNC a lot of money, should say that the DNC's selection of a communications director or any other position will be from among candidates approved by any of the campaigns.

Finally, any fundraising agreement with any of the campaigns should be contemporaneously made public. As Louis Brandeis wrote, sunshine is the best of disinfectants.

[Renew Deal]

54. It's hard to get on the ballot in many states without it

So I doubt he would decline. But this won’t be an issue because he cannot win.

[MineralMan]

56. I believe the Democratic Party will not make him the nominee.

They didn't in 2016, either. He didn't win enough primary delegates to gain that designation.

Frankly, in 2020, I believe he would have even fewer delegates to the nominating convention.

I strongly suggest that Bernie Sanders stick to his Senate job as the Independent he is.

We don't believe him when he claims to be a Democrat just to run for President, any longer. As soon as he was no longer a candidate, he dropped out of the Democratic Party. We should look at his long-term party designation. That is Independent.

[Devil Child]

60. Won't know until he secures the nomination.

If he runs and if he wins that is.