BTRTN: Thanks, Bernie! Dems Owe Gratitude When You Bow Out. (Uh, You Are Going to Bow Out, Right?)

[reggieandlee]

Born To Run The Numbers offers its appreciation for all that Bernie Sanders has contributed to our national political dialog, and suggests that Centrists extend an olive branch to Bernie supporters... all with a nudge to Bernie that it is time to stand down:

http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2020/03/btrtn-thanks-bernie-dems-owe-gratitude.html

Excerpts: "...I went through the archives of BTRTN essays on a hunch that was quickly borne out. Question: with the exception of The Big Orange Gas Bag himself, guess who is the single individual I have written more about than anyone? Yep. It is Bernie Sanders.
"Why would that be? Well, we’ve covered the last two election cycles in depth, and that means that I wrote about Bernie’s performance in nine debates with Hillary Clinton in 2016, and another eleven in 2020. Add in routine articles on Democratic politics, and that’s over a hundred single-spaced pages of feeling the Bern. That’s a lot of electrons to devote to any single person, and I feel that I have come to know – and appreciate – Bernie very well...
"So for the sake of party unity, Centrists need to have an arm full of olive branches ready to extend to Bernie’s supporters, because convincing Bernie supporters to vote for and work for Joe Biden is now one of the best way to assure that Donald Trump loses in November. The next time you are in a conversation with an unyielding Bernie supporter, try a little sugar. Tell your undoubtedly millennial pal that you want to thank Bernie for seven genuinely vital contributions to our political dialog and social awareness...
"We know that you will do everything you can to help defeat Donald Trump, and emphatically, passionately inspire your supporters to do the same.Now, that means standing down, endorsing Joe Biden, and bringing your supporters to the political mission of our time.
You have made a career of striving to do the right thing, Bernie. Don’t stop now..."

[DownriverDem]

1. When?

Why are you undecided?

[comradebillyboy]

2. Tell me why the Dems should be grateful to Sanders?

I understand the need to attract his supporters. Will catering to his every whim get Sanders to persuade his more die hard supporters to vote for the Democratic nominee? It didn't last time.

[Turin_C3PO]

3. I think the majority

of Sanders voters will vote Biden and won’t require bribing. The ones who are dedicated to Bernie as a personality won’t vote Biden no matter how much he accommodates him.

[reggieandlee]

5. I don't think that is what the article says...

At no point does the author advocate for concessions on policy to Sanders, or that his positions need be integrated in official party platforms. Rather, the piece is more retail in its perspective. It is simply saying that it would helpful toward the broader goal of defeating Trump if Centrists acknowledge the contributions Bernie has made to the political dialog in the Democratic party. Make no mistake: the entire party has already moved far to the left of where it was in 2016. Acknowledging the role that Bernie played in that shift is good: it allows Bernie supporters to understand that they have already had a great deal of impact, and that the nomination of Biden is not a "victory" for centrists... Biden is simply the majority choice to lead a party that Bernie had already moved to the left.

[RobertDevereaux]

4. The seven...from the article...

1.Thank Bernie for teaching us how to fund a fully competitive national Presidential campaign through grass roots funding. We must undo Citizens United through legislation. But until then, bad trends will continue: self-funded campaigns from billionaires, and well-qualified candidates forced to abandon campaigns for lack of the oxygen of cash. Bernie demonstrated how to succeed with integrity in this special-interest-infested soup.

2. Thank him for being the most intense and vocal educator about the appalling income and wealth inequality in this nation. Let's hope Bernie’s vision ultimately becomes operationalized through some form of Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax.

3. Give him a hug for creating a vibrant debate about how to solve the mess that is our healthcare system, and for correctly diagnosing that the insurance and pharmaceutical industries are more part of the problem than they are part of the solution.

4. Give him credit for this: he made a lonely vote against authorizing the war in Iraq, because he did not trust George Dubya Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld to be telling the American people the truth. On this one, Bernie Sanders was absolutely correct… and most leading Democrats -- including Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Ted Kennedy – were wrong.

5. Thank him for his uncompromising intellectual honesty -- a rarity in politics. Bernie actually acknowledged that middle class taxes would go up under his “Medicare for All” plan. Elizabeth Warren’s obfuscating, ducking, and weaving on this exact question is what likely triggered her free fall from frontrunner to losing the primary in her home state.

6. Acknowledge the man’s astonishing passion, commitment, and stamina. Remember, friends, that Bernie Sanders had a heart attack six months ago! If I had a heart attack, I would take a nice long rest, pause to contemplate my mortality, and change every behavior that caused undo stress. Not Bernie! At 78 years old, Bernie hurled himself back into the center of the arena during one of the most polarized, angry, intense political eras in our nation’s history. Can we all just thank him for his devotion to his causes?

7. Make sure you say that you hope Bernie is willing to serve in Joe Biden’s administration. My thought? That he serves our Ambassador to the United Nations. A perfect role for his oratorical passion, his principle, and his advocacy for human rights.