He's In, But Vermont's Delegation Isn't Ready for Bernie

[oberliner]

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is holding his kickoff rally in Vermont Tuesday, hoping to capture the support of progressives seeking an alternative to Hillary Clinton.

But he doesn't have the backing of a group close to home -- his own state's congressional delegation.

Fellow Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) endorsed Hillary Clinton back in April on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports."

And Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin endorsed Clinton last week.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/hes-vermonts-delegation-isnt-ready-bernie-n364651

It will be interesting to see what happens in New Hampshire as well.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Given that Shumlin also ditched single payer healthcare for Vermont, I'm not surprised. nt

[cali]

5. I have a great deal of respect and fondness for Pat Leahy

Shumlin? Really creepy guy. I think what did it for most Vermonters (and the majority didn't vote for him in 2014- had there not been a 3rd party candidate, he would have lost) is that he cheated a disabled, poor neighbor out of his land. He got caught and tried to backtrack, but this powerful guy worth 10 million, pulling this ugly stunt, was a big story here.

[HassleCat]

2. Tough Path

We have a two party system, and those unwilling to commit to one of the two major parties really have to struggle. They're lucky if they can get on the ballot as independents, let alone as a D or an R. The parties appreciate loyalty, so the Democratic state organizations will largely support Clinton, even though Sanders may be with them on more of the issues. It's unfortunate the primary system, caucuses, etc. are not more open, to encourage new candidates, but it's been pretty much an "insider" del ever since I can remember.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Open primaries would also give some voters an opportunity to game the system

Open primaries would also give some voters an opportunity to game the system by voting not for the candidate they desire but for the candidate they feel their preferred candidate can most easily beat in the general election.

[HassleCat]

10. This and That

Yes, open primaries do make the system more "open," just as the name suggests, but they also allow the crossover voting you mention. There are two factors that keep the two party system entrenched: winner-take-all primaries, and single member districts. In countries with parliamentary systems, a district may be represented by more than one person, and the candidates sent to the parliament may be from two, three or more parties. Imagine what would happen if a congressional district could be represented by two Republicans, a Democrat, three Socialists and a Libertarian. This encourages smaller parties, like the Greens in Europe, because government are often formed by coalitions of several parties, and this gives the smaller parties some real influence, which they do not have here. On the down side, a small party can make or break a coalition, and may make outrageous demands to join the coalition, thereby exercising influence way above the level of the votes they got.

[Thinkingabout]

3. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, this will all play out in the primary and then it will be on

to the general election.

[JaneyVee]

4. A Leahy endorsement is pretty huge.

[cali]

8. I'm fine with Leahy's endorsement. He's a good guy

and yes, he's fairly influential. It won't make much of difference with people in Vermont, I don't think, but it may in other circles. Leahy endorsed HRC before Bernie announced- actually well before April of this year. He endorsed her on VPR last June.

Shumlin's endorsement is unlikely to mean anything to anyone. He's by far and away the most unpopular politician in Vermont and his sphere of influence is very small.

Hey, I bet Leahy's off of Hillary's enemies list now!


<snip>

There was a special circle of Clinton hell reserved for people who had endorsed Obama or stayed on the fence after Bill and Hillary had raised money for them, appointed them to a political post or written a recommendation to ice their kid’s application to an elite school. On one early draft of the hit list, each Democratic member of Congress was assigned a numerical grade from 1 to 7, with the most helpful to Hillary earning 1s and the most treacherous drawing 7s. The set of 7s included Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), as well as Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Baron Hill (D-Ind.) and Rob Andrews (D-N.J.).

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/hillary-clinton-hit-list-102067.html#ixzz3bG4ucTVD

[oberliner]

9. Whose endorsement would make a difference with people in Vermont?

Is there a person whose endorsement would really carry a lot of weight with those voters?

[cali]

11. Probably not. I don't know how Vermonters are leaning, but I doubt that

there's an individual whose endorsement would actually carry weight. I suspect this is true in most places. Endorsements are undoubtedly nice to have, but there is little evidence that endorsements sway voters.

[merrily]

6. No surprise.