2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumFor Bernie supporters:
Tomorrow is the California primary. As one who has been canvassing in California, I think Bernie will do very well.
Still, Hillary has a lot of delegate support, so she may win the nomination.
I have been through many campaigns including the dreadful and historically disastrous McGovern and Kerry campaigns and losses. America paid dearly for both of those losses.
If toward the end of this week, it looks like Bernie may not win the nomination, please take my advice below seriously:
Don't give in to depression and sadness.
Just support Bernie no matter what happens.
One thing that always happens on the left is that we get angry. When we do that, our emotional energy is spent on the anger and we feel once the anger has gone, that we are helpless.
Cynical people, and people on the right whether Democrats or Republicans tend, really to be more cynical than we are, do not get as deeply depressed and discouraged and disabled by political losses as we do. That is because they do not see as clearly how political decisions affect the course of humanity and the environment. They just see their own interests, not those of the vast reality that is life beyond their own lives.
Bernie has not fallen into that cycle of depression and despair in his own life. I would bet that like all of us, he sometimes feels discouraged and disappointed. But, he stays positive and out of that positive energy builds what is possible and good for our society.
Remember. He lost the first elections in which he ran locally in Vermont. And I think his first win was only by about 10 votes. (Correct me if I am wrong, Bernie experts.)
We must follow Bernie's example.
There is no guarantee that Hillary will get the Democratic nomination even if she has the majority of the delegates. And since she does not have enough pledged delegates to meet the required threshold by the first vote at the Convention, we can continue to back Bernie until and for those of us who wish to even after the nomination.
There is still a chance that Bernie will be the nominee. Most Hillary supporters will vote for Bernie if he is the nominee. Many, many Bernie supporters will not vote for Hillary should she be the nominee.
It's in the interest of the Democratic Party to nominate Bernie, not Hillary.
Anything can still happen.
The pressure on Bernie to quit the race is damaging the Democratic Party. It is offending Party grass-roots volunteers like me who will not be there to get out the vote for Hillary. The Democratic Party has to remember that. In the 2012 campaign for Obama's re-election, only a few people really did the work in my area of Los Angeles. I was one of those few. I do not foresee Hillary supporters as doing the grunt work required to elect their candidate. Bernie supporters are young, vigorous and willing to volunteer. That is a factor that the Democratic Party should seriously consider. You cannot run a campaign to get out the vote with crews of people in their 70s and 80s and little youthful support. I know. I'm in my 70s, and I am out there for Bernie, but I don't cover the territory I used to cover back in the 1990s, for example.
We Bernie supporters are volunteering. We are dedicated to building a movement, not just aiming to win an election.
So, if you are a Bernie supporter, do not give way to feelings of depression or anger. They are self-defeating.
I have had a marvelous life but faced many difficulties. Stay positive. From personal and political disasters and difficulties we learn strength and how to organize ourselves more effectively.
This is just one election. It's the most important election of my lifetime. But when I see how many young people are out working for Bernie, how enthusiastic young people are about voting for Bernie, I know we will see many elections in the spirit of Bernie's campaign. We will win the way to a better America.
Remember also: DU is just one website in a world of real and potential websites.
Keep the faith.
Bernie is the best candidate. We all know that. Many Hillary supporters also know that. Hillary has just been hyped as the inevitable candidate. And she is a woman. Many women over 45 fought hard for their equality, and they see Hillary as representing the success of their movement. Understand that, and be patient with it.
Don't worry about it.
Keep working for Bernie and the things you believe in like compassion, love, sharing (just enough not too much), being yourself, helping others, the environment, the joy of education, and all the other good things you believe in.
Focus on the good, not on the bad.
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)You and Bernie both seem to have problems with women today.
Schema Thing
(10,283 posts)tonyt53
(5,737 posts)Sort of like Trump "the judge is Mexican, and that is great". The intent is clear.
LoverOfLiberty
(1,438 posts)What the poster stated was that even though many Clinton supporters recognize that Sanders is the better candidate, they are voting for Hillary because she is a woman.
It is inconceivable to them that there is any other reason Clinton is cleaning his clock.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Hillary's foreign policy will mean war for many years to come.
Her incremental environmental policy will mean death to many.
I do not want my grandchildren to have to fight wars that Hillary starts or succumb to Hillary's too little too late environmental policy.
I cannot vote for Hillary or support her candidacy and look my beautiful grandchildren in the eyes.
Hillary's policies will doom not just America but the world.
We need Bernie no matter what the older generation is willing to settle for.
We just cannot afford Hillary.
That is why those of us who back Bernie need to keep our courage and our faith.
We will succeed.
LoverOfLiberty
(1,438 posts)and someday may have grandchildren. Your credentials in that aspect do not eclipse mine.
You have no proof that Hillary will start wars for years to come. None whatsoever.
The only way you will "succeed" is by destroying democracy and overturning the will of the people. That must never happen again in the United States of America.
Response to JDPriestly (Reply #20)
cyberpj This message was self-deleted by its author.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)I understand how older women feel.
But Bernie is the best candidate. No two ways about it.
elleng
(131,370 posts)Demsrule86
(68,788 posts)Bad advice from someone who should know better.
Response to Demsrule86 (Reply #13)
Name removed Message auto-removed
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)elleng
(131,370 posts)amborin
(16,631 posts)This 50 Y/O feminist Woman agrees 100%, as does my 72 Y/O mother and 55 Y/o sister.
amborin
(16,631 posts)marions ghost
(19,841 posts)I guess people have to find out the hard way.
pmorlan1
(2,096 posts)and yet the first person to comment is a Hillary supporter and it's to hassle the person who wrote the OP. That's really bad manners.
erlewyne
(1,115 posts)Excellent thread!
I am with Bernie.
Algernon Moncrieff
(5,795 posts)It seems like a more appropriate and Hillary-supporter-free venue.
Zen Democrat
(5,901 posts)She's a woman!
But not me.
Response to tonyt53 (Reply #1)
artislife This message was self-deleted by its author.
Land of Enchantment
(1,217 posts)I have been voting for 44 years as a Democrat. I have never trusted her or Bill for good reasons. I had to live through 8 years of their 'mistakes'. As a professional woman I have both worked for and have supervised other women. HRC is the type of woman MOST women would never want to have to work with in any environment. Her way or the highway. Bossy, arrogant, know it all, but the worst is the stubborn inflexibility to get her way and doing whatever it takes to achieve what SHE wants. Backstabbing, lying and sabotaging are the absolute worst. I have zero respect for her and do not trust her as far as I can throw my house. Gender is irrelevant. We could elect Kujo the first Canine President and that would also be a milestone.
Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)Bernie and his supporters should be very proud of what they accomplished
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Bernie's revolution has only just begun.
It is not what we have accomplished but what we will accomplish that will be the focus.
I think the world has some surprises in store.
The old order is fading.
Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)...on the road to success...
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)...what I had hoped Edwards would do 8 years ago...but Edwards was brought down by his personal failings. And those personal failings wiped his message off the table.
He deserves our thanks.
And his 'revolutionaries' must continue to push the envelope.
We need people to own the political agenda by organizing and demanding better from our government.
senz
(11,945 posts)Neither can reach the requisite 2383 pledged delegate count.
merrily
(45,251 posts)is encouraging someone who may be depressed. It's good advice, not only for the election, but for life in general.
JimDandy
(7,318 posts)If Hillary is declared the presumptive winner, there will be no Sanders anymore to provide cover for her.
Just Trump and Hillary.
It's actually going to be hillarious-both parties will have candidates that nearly half the members of each party are revolted by, but which members are being told to vote for them as the "lesser of two evils".
It'll be fun to see which one of those "lesser of two evils" will be the first to:
-refuse to debate the other,
-give a press conference,
-answer question from the public that are not pre-screened,
-triangulate and pander full-time to the other party,
-talk about any issues that affect us, the 99%,
-reach $100 million in donations from the 1% in the other party (Ha ha, who am I kidding? The 1% are their own party and are just hiding out in these parties).
If Sanders is not the nominee, for the first time in my adult life, I will have free time to relax during the run up to a presidential election. No registering Democratic voters, no canvassing, no phone banking, no corralling volunteers, no polling, no poll watching, no event set-ups, no monitoring certifications of voting machine, no electioneering of any kind.
And I wish a blessedly relaxing presidential election season to all other Sanders supporters, too!
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)"If Sanders is not the nominee, for the first time in my adult life, I will have free time to relax during the run up to a presidential election. No registering Democratic voters, no canvassing, no phone banking, no corralling volunteers, no polling, no poll watching, no event set-ups, no monitoring certifications of voting machine, no electioneering of any kind."
Except that I will be doing all I can to rally Sanders supporters, take what it may, into being a positive, forward-looking movement.
We have the young on our side.
Viva Bernie Sanders.
JimDandy
(7,318 posts)but not until August. I am hearing in the wind that something super fabulous may happen right about then and I may get back in the saddle for that, if true.
From one female "JD" to another:
Zen Democrat
(5,901 posts)Which I couldn't and can't say for Obama and Sanders!!!
Response to Zen Democrat (Reply #37)
cyberpj This message was self-deleted by its author.
k8conant
(3,030 posts)Let the 1% pay for their own.
Bettie
(16,145 posts)and Clinton doesn't need our money, she has plenty of billionaires ready to bankroll her.
They know they'll profit from their investment.
Response to JimDandy (Reply #8)
artislife This message was self-deleted by its author.
myrna minx
(22,772 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Response to Scuba (Reply #11)
cyberpj This message was self-deleted by its author.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Bernie has confirmed to many people what they had been feeling all along about the corruption that exists in U.S. politics. It's not a "consipiracy theory", something that TPTB tried to pass it off as. Many eyes have been opened, and since the future belongs to the young, it's as it should be.
Herman4747
(1,825 posts)...what you're writing.
I have been struck by how he very rarely uses "I" or "me" in any of his speeches. He primarily uses "we."
ancianita
(36,216 posts)in the midst of high negativity around here.
Perhaps the movement will be as flexible.
So many who follow Bernie's example will create a sizable population of Bernies.
That, I'm happy for.
Thanks.
LoverOfLiberty
(1,438 posts)of the extreme arrogance of some Sanders supporters.
Response to LoverOfLiberty (Reply #14)
artislife This message was self-deleted by its author.
joshcryer
(62,287 posts)Agree completely. When Sanders announces his support for Clinton we must follow his example. Thank you for being brave enough to say this in our hours of defeat.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)I think of that as we look toward the November election.
Hillary has no real vision of the future. She never did. She would not have voted for the Iraq War Resolution if she had the foresight that Bernie has.
Hillary is not a substitute or alternative to Bernie Sanders. She simply is not. Never was and never will be.
joshcryer
(62,287 posts)senz
(11,945 posts)Zen Democrat
(5,901 posts)2banon
(7,321 posts)and party elite reject the righteous gift of a genuine and popular progressive for the NeoLiberal/NeoConservative candidate, just cuz of gender identity. SMFH.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Agony
(2,605 posts).
.
.
Ok, we rock. dare I say. We Sanders supporters.
Donald Ian Rankin
(13,598 posts)Seriously?
Most of the time, I've viewed the accusations of sexism against Sanders supporters as being inaccurate and over the top. In your case, though, it appears that they're not wholly ungrounded.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)about Hillary. They just shrug and sigh for the most part.
On DU Hillary gets pushed in our faces a lot so we react, but most Bernie supporters are pro-Bernie and not excitedly anti-Hillary.
That does not mean they will vote for Hillary. The number of Bernie supporters who will switch to Hillary is probably smaller than the experts believe.
That's Hillary's problem to solve.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)That's my experience. I haven't met any men who support Hillary.
But then, I'm an older woman, so I notice the fact that other older women are supporting Hillary.
Young people, and the polls support this, are supporting Bernie in huge numbers. I've been campaigning and registering young people mostly. I notice that the parents of many of the young voters are also supporting Bernie. It may just be true in my area of Los Angeles.
djean111
(14,255 posts)coalesce. I will not be paying any more attention to the GE. None.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)And we are going to see it through ...
If Bernie loses and Hillary wins, there will be a continuation of his movement, and I know many will be on board to make the changes he envisioned, over the long haul ...
This is just getting started .. this election will not stop whay has already begun to change the face of the American electorate. .
We WILL take our party back ....
senz
(11,945 posts)The odds of either candidate getting the requisite 2383 pledged delegates is practically nill.
Therefore, there will be no winner tomorrow. The Democratic nominee will be decided at the convention when the special delegates vote.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)I was referring to the final call ....
senz
(11,945 posts)Until then we have no Democratic nominee.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)This convo was knocked off course by your mistaken interpretation .. it seems your answered a question I didn't even ask ..
There will be no more of that ...
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)senz
(11,945 posts)I didn't realize you're one of the good guys and so was a bit short.
Yes, what Bernie has started has already changed the national dialogue and could, it we keep it going, change not only the Dem Party but this entire country.
We the people do have the power -- despite what has been taken from us since Reagan/Clinton -- and we can take our country back.
Absolutely.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)Copy that ... We're good ...
Like I said - we are in it for the long haul, you, I and the rest of those who care about regular folks ...
I get the impression the other side really couldn't give a single fuck what happens to their fellow citizens ...
I cannot abide that mentality ... We, all of us, need a decent society to grow within ... Conservatism does NOT get us there ...
Peace ...
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)and then.
But I think we are talking about after November. No matter who wins or loses, we want to keep our movement going. Bernie has offered a lot of ideas on which we can build a movement. Whether he is in the White House or in the Senate and no matter what he is doing, he is building a movement and building it very quickly. Just over a year. It's quite amazing.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)we have started on. I to worked for McGovern. I was heart broken when he lost but now I know that he did not really lose. Many of us carried his values with us throughout our lives. And they are being carried forward for most of us even in this race.
Our movement is old and we are not giving up on it.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)eyes of many, esp the young, and gives them hope that we can overcome the corruption that now pervades our government.
We need to work hard at the local levels to get a strong progressive base. The corruption of the Corporate Democrats will be exposed more and more. The young people don't watch the corrupt Corp-Media.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)I consider identity politics to be little better.
Elections are important and the country is going to suffer if Sanders is not the next president.
Oh well.
sadoldgirl
(3,431 posts)will stay in strong contact with the movement, because
it needs to stay on focus. OWS had too many diverse wishes,
plans or intentions too succeed.
Our movement needs organization and directions for the
elections in 2018. Up to now that was concentrated on
Bernie's race for the office. It needs to grow and involve
the blue collar workers, which the party has neglected
totally.
And, yes, it has to be positive and looking into the
future!
Thanks for your thoughts.
18ander
(5 posts)Joe Garofoli has a column in today's (Monday's) San Francisco Chronicle. Essentially, he says that there's more to the Bernie movement than the primaries, the convention or even the election. The way the media and the DNC portray Bernie and his supporters says everything about why there are Bernie supporters, most of whom are former Democrats, and why the Democrats exclude us at their own peril. I have been voting for the lesser of two evils since Kennedy and the level of evil keeps climbing. So far the lesser evil strategy has been a delaying tactic at best and has not succeeded in improving the country. Quite the opposite. Even if we hold our nose and vote for the DNC anointed candidate, things will not get better until we have a party that includes us, listens to what we have to say, and moves away from the destructive neo-liberal corporatism.
You're right. Whatever happens tomorrow, we need to keep working towards our goal of equality and inclusiveness.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)I don't quite understand where the mainstream Democratic Party thinks we Bernie activists come from. We are Democrats. It's true that Bernie has attracted a lot of new and independent voters. Yesterday I stopped at a house while canvassing and talked to the mother of a couple of Bernie supporters. Seems she was a Republican and did not change her registration in time to vote for Bernie. But she was an enthusiastic Bernie supporter.
What the Democratic Party forgets is that there are a lot of self-styled "Republicans" out there who are only Republican because of the social issues, usually abortion. When it comes to economic and discrimination issues, they are absolutely on the side of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party glosses over the economic issues especially in order to win on the back of the abortion issue. But Bernie is bringing these misinformed voters back into the Democratic Party where they belong due to his emphasis on economic issues.
The country needs and wants a review of our economic situation. Bernie is making and will make that possible in the future.
We are at a turning point, and this is good.
18ander
(5 posts)If there's one thing that history teaches us is that change is inevitable and countries swing first one way and then the other. Poll after poll shows that the majority of people want universal health care, better Social Security and a more equal distribution of wealth. It will happen when a critical mass of people demand it.
The Bernie events I've attended have included a range of ages but the fact that so many young people are involved gives me hope for the future, that it won't be an Orwellian nightmare, that the planet can continue in a way that supports life and that our culture will give up violence and death. We will finally have that world we prepared our kindergartners for, the one where everyone lives in peace and tolerance.
If the Democratic party continues to say we can't have that, it will go the way of Whigs and the No Nothings. We can have it if we're willing to work for it.
tularetom
(23,664 posts)But I have to say, anger is the catalyst that has traditionally fueled economic change here in the US.
Nothing really happens until enough people get pissed off enough so that the politicians are afraid of losing their phony baloney jobs.
I think we missed the boat with our kids (late boomer early gen-x vintage). They bitch and moan all the time about the way things are but I doubt that any of them take the time to vote.
It's totally different with our grandkids (ages 34, 31 and 20) The oldest one is angry that she is still paying off her student loans 12 years after she graduated and she has to work so her kids can have health insurance because her husbands employer won't provide it. The youngest one is unhappy that it will probably take him 5 or 6 years to graduate from college because costs have gone up so much that his parents can't pay for very much of the total and he has to take crappy minimum wage jobs because of his academic workload.
So I don't necessary think anger is completely a bad thing. But it is a matter of keeping it channeled in positive directions rather than allowing it to be misdirected into destructive actions that ultimately harm the cause.
IMO the ager of these young people is a plus for the future.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)like it is not important. But students still owe on their loans when they are in their 40s and up in many cases. And if you have children and student loans to repay on a teacher's income? Plus maybe you dream of buying a house? The student loans prevent young people from having any economic freedom or security. So they are a very, very serious matter in our country. The cost of higher education is far higher than it was when we went to school. I don't think that Hillary Clinton understands this. Not at all.
senz
(11,945 posts)Hillary currently has 1812 pledged delegates. To reach 2383 -- the number required to win the nomination -- she needs 571 more pledged delegates.
The states that vote on Tuesday with their available pledged delegates:
CA -- 475
MT --- 21
NJ -- 126
NM --- 34
ND --- 18
SD --- 20
It is extremely unlikely -- virtually impossible -- that Hillary could reach 2383 pledged delegates tomorrow. Superdelegates don't vote until July 25.
Therefore, there will be no Democratic nominee tomorrow.
ChiciB1
(15,435 posts)a voter who sincerely feels Hillary IS NOT a person I respect or believe will be a good POTUS because of her DLC/Third Way persona and much more right leaning agenda, I feel Bernie has awakened a sleeping electorate. I seriously doubt the shift that's been occurring in this country started even before Bernie's run for POTUS.
OCCUPY never really died and that movement has been strengthened by Bernie but also because the so called recovery has been so soft. There are MORE people "UP" the food chain who are actually feeling the squeeze and these people NEVER imagined their life style would be affected. I CAN say this because I live in one of the richest per capita income counties in Florida and I've seen a lot of people who make around $250,000 beginning to finally feel they're getting pinched. I'm not one of these richer people in any way.
My daughter and son-in-law have master's degrees as ARNP's and obviously work in the medical field. Actually, the Medical Community is probably the number one employer in this county. They both work for doctors and see their own patients but more and more doctors who have their own practices are having to join "groups" because it's getting harder for them to make the same $$$ they did even 2 years ago. THEY ARE NOT HAPPY!
Anyway, I've thought for some time now that perhaps it's best that SHE/HER gets elected and has to deal with a shaky economy that's being predicted by more and economists and people who work in the financial field. Plus she has so much baggage and this stuff isn't going to disappear should she be elected AND we'll ALL have to deal with this from DAY ONE! Repukes will NEVER let this stuff die! Get ready for more CONSTANT upheaval and continued investigations!! Can this be denied, I don't think so!
I have worried about Bernie actually getting elected because of this and there's NO DOUBT in my mind that should things keep going south HE WILL be the one who will be blamed for ANYTHING negative that happens. After all, even THIS Democratic Party has done everything it can to denigrate and make him go away. Using history as an example of the past it's hard to ignore the probability that there's going to come a time for another BIG economic down turn and I think it will be worse than what happened back in 2007-08. I'm not alone in this thinking because I'm hearing and reading about it more and more. Quite a few new books have been written recently saying this very thing.
SO should she be the one... maybe just maybe people will HAVE to face the reality that Bernie and his supporters have been trying to warn them about for so long now!! UNFORTUNATELY those of us who have been waving the flag will have to endure what we've wanted to avoid, but we've fought the good fight!
KoKo
(84,711 posts)A most welcome post and well said!
Anything can happen....and, Bernie is a Movement. We will not be derailed. Bernie has been a beacon of light about how a Democratic Campaign Can and Should be Run...
We can do it!
JEB
(4,748 posts)felix_numinous
(5,198 posts)There is no reason to call this election before all the votes are counted--if they were actually confident they would not even have to stoop to such dirty tactics!
No one should EVER be allowed to tell people not to vote, and especially in this party!
I am really pissed at people around here tonight, who should be ashamed for misinforming people that their votes don't matter--party unity must be a joke to them.
disillusioned73
(2,872 posts)very well said.. and don't worry about the "sexism posse".. It's clear you have no argument when the knee-jerk (& jerk is the operative word) reaction to a well thought out and presented op is divisive criticism.. they're distractions from the reality of a poor candidate on policy & principle.