2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumSanders loses convention leverage
Politico:But it's the one thing hes been bleeding every day ever since he dropped Californias primary by a much wider-than-expected margin last week. Sanders summer was supposed to be all about building leverage for the Democratic convention, providing him with a better hand to play as he presses Clinton to accept his policy positions and party reform suggestions. Now, the people closest to him arent sure how exactly to get it back.
His first and most prominent endorsers have jumped off the bandwagon, congratulating and in some cases endorsing Clinton from Sen. Jeff Merkley to Rep. Raul Grijalva, and from the Communications Workers of America to MoveOn.org.Each of the big-name Democrats and groups who steadfastly remained neutral in the primary have flocked to Clinton over the past week, from President Barack Obama to Sen. Elizabeth Warren to the AFL-CIO. Even Sanders' highest-profile congressional endorsee, Nevadas Lucy Flores, lost her primary bid on Tuesday despite his cash injection into her campaign.
Someone will probably complain that this is unnecessary "bashing" of Sanders. But since his Campaign Manager says Sanders is "still an active candidate", it's worth evaluating the real future of his campaign.
Response to brooklynite (Original post)
Cali_Democrat This message was self-deleted by its author.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)where she won't have any use for him
harun
(11,348 posts)LoverOfLiberty
(1,438 posts)will happen? Because there seems to be a lot of that going around on the Democratic site.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)worthless to her fight against Trump
Response to harun (Reply #15)
rjsquirrel This message was self-deleted by its author.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)including those who are authentic socialists and leftwingers
his movement is evaporating right under his feet.
now that he's not a real candidate anymore, his movement is losing the glue that held it together.
eastwestdem
(1,220 posts)harun
(11,348 posts)We will see soon enough.
Response to harun (Reply #55)
rjsquirrel This message was self-deleted by its author.
CorkySt.Clair
(1,507 posts)Got it.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)CorkySt.Clair
(1,507 posts)I saw a thread on the "competing', anti-Dem site that shall not be named that was complaining about how another poster had this gif in their sig so I thought, why not make it 4 times as annoying to them.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)with ZERO help from Sanders.
Sanders was an illusion all along, now he is a total non-factor.
obamanut2012
(26,035 posts)imo
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Response to geek tragedy (Reply #43)
rjsquirrel This message was self-deleted by its author.
leveymg
(36,418 posts)Once elected, she'll simply move further to the Right and escalate the New Cold War. That should be fun.
aikoaiko
(34,159 posts)If HRC hasn't offered something to induce his concession, then there really isn't any point in conceding.
Cal33
(7,018 posts)Triana
(22,666 posts)what should be any Democrat's ideals. He's fighting for them and his supporters should fight with him. As for the rest - the oligarchy and their cheerleaders who just want more of the same from the last 40+ years, leave them behind.
Lord Magus
(1,999 posts)We're not talking about whether Bernie endorses Hillary, just about whether he admits she beat him and congratulates her on her win.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)He has made it clear that he plans to actively work to support the Democratic nominee against Trump.
He is not in the same position as his high-profile supporters, who are able to switch quickly. Sanders has to be miondful of the 43 percent of the voters who supported HIM in the primary for a reason.
TwilightZone
(25,423 posts)Clinton had 48% of the voters in 2008 and didn't drag things out. She conceded, endorsed Obama, and actively campaigned for him.
Sorry, but that argument makes no sense. Sanders is not unique in any of this. People win; people lose. Happens every cycle. What they do next is how they're differentiated.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)Sanders -- and those who support him -- are pressing for other goals than just his own political ambitions.
Clinton wanted to make sure she was in with Obama so she could benefit personally. She and Bill wanted to maintain their own power base and not ruin her desire to keep her options open as a future potential nominee.
That is different.
TwilightZone
(25,423 posts)Ah, the bullshit "she only conceded and/or blackmailed him for the SOS job and personal gain" meme.
A classic. Too bad it exists only in the minds of a few Sanders supporters.
And you wonder why there's still animosity between the two sides on DU.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)She made a decision not to fight Obama to protect her own political position. It was not just this magnanimous selfless sacrifice on her part.
(Though I also am fairly sure the SOS job was payback. She was not the most qualified choice available.)
Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)is that if Bernie is so very worked up about promoting his agenda, and wanting to have any sort of clout he should be wanting to make sure he is doing this right so that he can benefit as well. Instead he seems to want everyone to bow down to his whims for no apparent reason that it's what he wants.
Hillary knew how to do it build relationships after the 2008 election, and Bernie in 2016 clearly doesn't and it blowing it all way around. He is coming across as wanting the DNC and Clinton to kiss his ring so that he will finally declare her the winner and also get to reform the DNC, and write the party platform. There was a reason he developed the reputation of not getting along with his peers over he last couple of decades in office.
I am so glad this type of personality isn't leading the nation especially when it comes to international relations and trying to cajole and massage the Republicans into anything. While I think the Republicans are not going to be quite as obstructionist and reticent as they were under Obama, they still don't play well, and some contrarian, inflexible baggers will remain in office. Hopefully a larger group would have learned how much damage this McConnell process (obstructionist/Tea Bagger negativity) has caused, they will try the compromise route a little more often than under Obama. It will take cajoling and massaging to nudge the Reps in the that direction. Bernie doesn't have the ability and personality to do that...at least not that he's shown any passable ability in that area in his 20+ years in office.
Lord Magus
(1,999 posts)And conceding that the winner actually won is not some grand favor that Bernie would be giving to Hillary.
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)to Hillary that Bernie's support is fairly soft. Considering that he got 12M voters in the primary, 218,000 is a blip
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)We would like to get to a place where we could very actively support the nominee, campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Bloomberg Television on Thursday a hope-filled line for Clintons team that nonetheless implied there was still considerable work to be done before true unity is achieved.
To Sanders most steadfast remaining supporters, anything short of a continued campaign to tug Clinton on specific points from embracing a nationwide ban on fracking to axing the superdelegate system would be an abandonment of his political revolution."
There will be no unity.
Tarc
(10,472 posts)But is otherwise fully on-board with supporting Hillary in the fall. Otherwise, this article is pretty spot-on; the longer he holds out the more he loses standing in the party.
JonLeibowitz
(6,282 posts)Other than the fact that the loser of the primaries doesn't become the nominee.
Merkley's support for Bernie and the issues hasn't changed.
HumanityExperiment
(1,442 posts)So ask yourself why you are unable to let it go, if Bernie isn't really a factor any longer why are you dedicating so much time and effort towards him?
onehandle
(51,122 posts)He's being just another politician, which is sad.
calimary
(81,085 posts)I'm sorry, but that sure seems to be about the size of it. He's losing leverage. So glaringly that even the chattering class is on it now. As Nancy Reagan once warned - "people are talking" - to the hapless and didn't-realize-his-goose-is-cooked Don Regan. Buzz had begun that he was in trouble, had fallen out of favor, and was well on his way out of the Reagan White House. It turned out to be true. Bernie does NOT want people talking about this, now. It doesn't serve him or suit his interests. I get a very strong feeling that he does not realize this.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)or he becomes pretty irrelevant.
Yesterday, the last Sanders supporter I personally know (and earlier, a self-proclaimed Bernie-or-Buster) said he would support Clinton in November. He's reluctant, but he's doing it. The other Bernie supporters I know pledged Clinton support following California.
Demsrule86
(68,454 posts)There is a growing consensus that Bernie can't deliver his voters anyway.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... but his vanity prevented him from making the most of things. More opportunities squandered, and it's been downhill for him ever since.
CorkySt.Clair
(1,507 posts)Say around 2 p.m. eastern?
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)And by that I mean work together, albeit not everything happening in a US Presidential campaign is transparent to everyone.
There is a game plan at this point for a unified party and a November victory that includes all the new people brought into the process.
Demsrule86
(68,454 posts)We want one nominee and one former candidate who has conceded and endorsed working to demolish Trump...It won't work any other way.
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)Demsrule86
(68,454 posts)Bernie is no help with any of that. He needs to help as a former candidate. She is the nominee, and we don't need two candidates ...we need one nominee and one former candidate who fights for the Democrats without saying crappy things about Democrats...flipping the house is meaningless if Trump gets in with five court picks.
Dawgs
(14,755 posts)I'll let Cenk explain it to you.
Demsrule86
(68,454 posts)apcalc
(4,462 posts)CHANGE IS INCREMENTAL??????
The revolution isn't dead , and will TAKE SOME TIME?
Work with the grassroots? Work to change the Senate and the House?
Well waddaya know? Hillary was criticized for ' incrementalism' here often.
Duh.
Demsrule86
(68,454 posts)The revolution is dead. Bernie has wrecked it in my opinion...it reminds me of occupy ...so much promise.
Dawgs
(14,755 posts)You wouldn't understand anyways.
MattP
(3,304 posts)Get a couple of drinks in that one and watch him go off on a airline crew, what a jackass
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)damage his own chances and the Republican brand that Sanders clout is bound to evaporate.
Center-Right Republican voters are fleeing either to Johnson or voting for Clinton. Sanders should bring his own people aboard to balance out any center-right movement into the party.
Just as with the Puma's in 2008, there will be some diehards who will not vote for Clinton even if Sanders became her BFF.
zappaman
(20,606 posts)AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)Cracks me up how apoplectic they are
LexVegas
(6,022 posts)obamanut2012
(26,035 posts)tritsofme
(17,367 posts)I never supported sanctioning Lieberman in the Senate for far greater transgressions, and Lieberman continuing to caucus with Democrats allowed us to secure a majority in 2007, and pass the Affordable Care Act in 2009.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)in the Senate even if he's worthless in the general election vs Trump
Chemisse
(30,802 posts)He should do as he likes, without penalty. But he can't expect to have a lot of impact on the platform if he doesn't get on board right away.
WhiteTara
(29,692 posts)impact on the platform is a bit contradictory.
Chemisse
(30,802 posts)Whether he has impact on the platform depends more on his timing and level of cooperation. If he doesn't come around he is just going to become irrelevant, and the DNC won't cater to him at that point. That's not a penalty; it's just a consequence.
Chemisse
(30,802 posts)He is rapidly becoming obsolete in the presidential elections.
He needs to act immediately!