DNC chairman aims for diversity with delegate nominations

[Jim Lane]

194. Your response epitomizes one view of how to oppose Trump

The fact is that 13 million people voted for Bernie in the Democratic primaries. Some context: In 2008, Obama beat McCain by about 9.6 million votes, and that was the biggest margin for a Democratic nominee since the LBJ landslide of 1964.

So, how do we prepare for 2018 and 2020? Two views have been seen on DU:

* Tom Perez and other party leaders make their decisions, and everyone else should just shut up. Any public disagreement is bad, regardless of whether it's justified, because it undermines party unity. Besides, Bernie's not a Democrat, so anything he says, and anything said by people who supported him (even supporters who are Democrats), doesn't count.

* Sanders came in second in the primaries, but that doesn't mean that the Democratic Party can afford to write off 13 million voters. It's important to recognize that, among people who are united in opposition to Trump and the right wing, there are nevertheless some disagreements. The party must conduct itself so that it's seen as the natural home for progressives of all the different factions, not just the people who backed Clinton for the nomination and Perez for DNC Chair.

To me, it's quite clear that the second approach, besides being morally right (for those who care about stuff like fairness), is, in practical terms, the course more likely to lead to Democratic victories.