Democrats AGAINST Democracy

[Segami]

Last week Allen Clifton, co-founder of Forward Progressives, wrote a column with the terrifying title Bernie Sanders Is Already Making It More Likely Republicans Win The White House In 2016. How dare Bernie do such a thing! Hasn't Senator Sanders read any newspapers over the last six or seven years? Didn't anybody tell him that Hillary is going to be the nominee? Or is the grumpy old Senator from Vermont under the mistaken impression that the primaries have any other purpose than to reinforce what the party leaders have already determined to be our preference? (note: that was sarcasm you just read.)

Geeeshhh! Give me a freakin' break! What is Clifton so terrified of? This...

... what I ultimately fear Sanders is going to do is get liberals worked up just enough to where when he eventually loses the Democratic primary election to Hillary, it’s going to cause many to become apathetic and refuse to show up in 2016 to vote for the “not liberal enough/basically a Republican” Hillary Clinton.

Well, guess what, Mr. Clifton: It didn't take Bernie Sanders officially entering the race for many of us on the left to recognize that Hillary is no progressive. There were reasons why we didn't support her candidacy in 2008, and nothing since then has convinced us that we were wrong. Let's get this clear from the start: If Hillary is nominated and loses, she will have lost it on her own accord, and not because she will be forced to debate an actual liberal before facing the Tea Time Circus. As Harry Truman so perfectly put it, "When a Republican runs against a Republican, the Republican will win every time." Now, Clifton's site is "Forward Progressives," so he feels obligated to start his essay by telling us that "I absolutely love Sen. Bernie Sanders." He claims no such love for Mrs. Clinton, but his fear of a GOP win is enough to give her his endorsement eight months before the first primary ballot is to be cast. I may already be several paragraphs into my response, but let me say that I, too, absolutely love Bernie - I have since the early '80s when I first started reading about that crazy Socialist winning over Vermont. Even more than that, I love democracy.


As a Daily Kos reader you already know, democracy is under fire. From restrictive voter ID laws, to cutting precincts and voting hours, to outright intimidation at the polls, to the one that no candidate is talking about - Citizens United - every effort is being made to bully citizens into either rubber-stamping the candidates endorsed by the corporate brass or staying home and keeping shut about it. And into that barrage of anti-democratic activity steps Allen Clifton of "Forward Progressives" to admonish us to ignore anybody who steps in the way of Hillary ascendant. As Lyndon Johnson so perfectly put it, "I may not know much, but I know the difference between chicken salad and chicken shit." Oh, wait, did I say no candidates were talking about Citizens United? That would be true if the Cliftons/Clintons of the world had their way, but it turns out that Senator Bernie Sanders is talking about it:

If he is elected president, he says, his Supreme Court nominees will have to pledge that they would vote to overturn the Citizens United decision that unleashed huge, unrestricted amounts of corporate and union campaign contributions as dark money into federal campaigns...

Unlike Clinton and the president, who both articulated discomfort with unrestricted corporate campaign money into Super PACs and 501(c)(4)s and (c)(6)s—and then proceeded to take advantage of the dynamic anyhow, Sanders has pledged not to use a Super PAC to raise money for his campaign.

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/26104-the-citizens-united-campaign-for-the-white-house-bernie-sanders-vs-everyone-else.html

Now you would think that's something that "Forward Progressives" would care about. This forward progressive certainly does. So, please, you may be "Ready for Hillary," but when you try to bully others into falling in line, you are not supporting democracy (or winning friends or elections). For once there's a candidate who I have followed and admired for over 30 years, whose opinions most closely mirror my own, who - like me - is an independent who frequently allies with Democrats, and I intend to support him as long as he remains in the race - "viable" or not.



cont'

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/11/1384047/-Democrats-Against-Democracy

[A-Schwarzenegger]

1. Bernie's causing way too much enthusiasm in the Democratic Party's

democratic process. Got it.

[Cryptoad]

2. Hard to believe yall think

that Bernie is electable as POTUS. It not about electing a Democrat candidate that is closest to your ideology,,,, its about electing a President that is closest to your ideology ! Bernie election as the Democrat primary winner would ensure a GOP in the White House. The cold hard facts are that most of America is not that far to the Left.

[billhicks76]

4. They Are To The Left

But only as a whole and only registered voters who show up matter. Who would have a harder time seemingly to be elected...Obama circa 2007 or Bernie circa 2015? I tend to agree that the socialist label prevents a victory...but someone besides Bush honorary family member, Hillary Clinton, needs to step up now.

[Cryptoad]

7. Obama is not know or ever has been a Progressive,,,, apples and oranges.

[billhicks76]

19. Never Said He Was

But he often plied he was on 50% of the issues to get elected. Also, I meant if was seemingly impossible to think a Black man could win the Presidency in 2008 and just maybe the same could happen with Bernie.

[jtuck004]

5. Maybe Bernie wants to lead instead of pander? n/t

[Cryptoad]

9. I have one goal, that is

to see the most Progressive Candidate elected to the White House. has nothing to do with leading and/or pandering,,,,,, I will vote for Bernie if he is on Primary ballot in my state. Only because he will be a reminder to President Hillary of our Progressive values.

[el_bryanto]

8. If Bernie can defeat Hillary in the Primary than

that will raise is profile enough that he can speak directly to the American people without the corrosive filter of mainstream news and a party scared of wall street.

Bryant

[Cryptoad]

10. all the data says otherwise.......

current Cryptoad Polls show that over 60% of American would never vote for a self proclaimed Socialist, no matter what definition you use for a "Socialist" !

[el_bryanto]

11. Well if you favor continuing conservative economic policies

Than by all means support Hillary Clinton - but I believe that Bernie can articulate a socialism that won't actually scare people but actually sound pretty sensible when lined up against the current policy of not changing direction.

Bryant

[Cryptoad]

13. You seriously believe the GOP policies are more Liberal than Hillary's?

[el_bryanto]

15. Yes of course- because that's exactly what I said

Hillary is way more conservative than the GOP. That's the only logical conclusion.

Wait - weren't we talking about Bernie Sanders ? Because he's definitely more liberal than Hillary Clinton - isn't he? I'll bet I didn't mean that the GOP was more liberal than the Wall Street Loving, middle of the road Hillary Clinton - I probably meant that Bernie Sanders is more liberal than HRC.

Bryant

[Cryptoad]

17. you need to go back and read my post..

[el_bryanto]

18. You accuse me of suggesting that HRC is more Liberal than the GOP

And you think the problem is my reading comprehension?

Interesting.

Bryant

[AgingAmerican]

21. Translation

Bernie isn't right wing enough.

Good luck with that tack.

[treestar]

3. There's nothing for Hillary to worry about

Bernie will never get the nomination.

[JaneyVee]

6. I actually think Sanders being in will help Hillary.

People will like his message which eviscerates Republican policy and ideology, yet they will view Clinton as the lite version, being most of America won't vote for a socialist, and being that the Repub ideology will be destroyed, it will prop up Hillary's stance against the GOP. It will drive home the message that Republicans are a clear and present danger.

[Cryptoad]

12. Me too

He will be a reminder to President Hillary of our progressive values when she is making policies.....

[CharlotteVale]

14. I can't wait to vote for Bernie.

[Octafish]

16. ''When a Republican runs against a Republican, the Republican will win every time.''

That's the idea.



Tradition.

[Barack_America]

20. "the 'not liberal enough/basically a Republican' Hillary Clinton"

At least he got that right.