General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Meet Bernie Sanders' 2018 challenger [View all]Zinner88
(6 posts)Bernie is not divisive. He simply recognizes that doing the same thing that has been losing elections for Democrats is not going to work, because it's not just the presidency, but also more than 1000 seats in Congress and state races that have been lost to Republicans. Change is desperately needed so the party can win and Bernie is on the right track with the kind of change that is needed, and wouldn't be criticizing if what the party was doing was winning elections, but it is not. Bernie's popularity has soared as more people get to know him and he has been named the most popular active politician in the Harvard Harris poll, while the Democratic party has actually gone down 5 points in favorability according to Gallup, so Bernie's ideas could help.
The Democratic party needs to take strong stands on issues like single payer healthcare, minimum wage, free tuition at state colleges and universities, things that affect people in their everyday lives. They need to get everyone in the party who holds an office to actually act on these things, not just talk about them, to show voters they are on the side of working people. When people see the party actually acting in the best interests of the public, it will be easy for Democrats to win again.
The DNC put Bernie in charge of outreach for the party, and he has been actively going on tour and talking to crowds and getting enthusiastic applause, promoting Medicare for All. He will introduce or co-sponsor a bill and, hopefully, Democrats will be on board. Something like this could win over a lot of voters. Voters need to see Democrats taking action for them.