Seizing Chance, Sanders Makes Bold Progressive Picks to Shape DNC Platform

[kadaholo]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by mcar (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: CommonDreams by Lauren McCauley, Staff Writer

Seizing on the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) reluctant concession allowing him to appoint five members to the committee that writes the party platform, Bernie Sanders on Monday announced a suite of picks that included activists across the progressive sphere.

Sanders' appointees to the 15-member Platform Drafting Committee include: racial justice activist and scholar Dr. Cornel West, 350.org co-founder and noted environmentalist Bill McKibben, Native American activist Deborah Parker, Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), and James Zogby, a pro-Palestinian scholar as well as founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI).

The announcement came roughly two weeks after Sanders sent a letter to DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) accusing her of stacking the party's three standing committees, including the drafting committee, with "Clinton loyalists."

According to the Washington Post, party officials and the two Democratic candidates "worked out" a compromise "based on the number of popular votes each has received to date." Under the agreement, frontrunner Hillary Clinton would be allotted six members and Sanders five, while Wasserman Schultz will name four.

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/23/seizing-chance-sanders-makes-bold-progressive-picks-shape-dnc-platform

[DURHAM D]

1. .

This is soooooo not important.

[villager]

2. ...that you just had to come in and comment on it.

[DURHAM D]

3. unfortunately I open all OPs

The excitement around this has been cracking me up all day so decided to comment on the silliness

[villager]

4. Keeping it kicked is appreciated

...so that others can see the "non-excitement" unfold in real time...!

[MrMickeysMom]

18. Yes, more exciting comments!

They won't be hard to come by after that.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

5. You're right.

There is nothing substantial about naming a prominent Native American activist, prominent Muslim congressman, prominent social justice activist and prominent pro Palestinian scholar to the committee drafting the Democratic Party platform, nothing substantial at all....


Please proceed Hillary supporters...

[villager]

6. Certainly nothing substantial... to some people.

For others, it matters quite a bit.

[Beartracks]

13. Why would ANYONE at DU be excited for such picks?

Remember when EVERYONE at DU would have been excited for such influence on the party platform? It doesn't seem that long ago...



===================

[Beartracks]

22. Maybe that's why the news is supposedly "soooo not important"...

Because party platforms can be so easily ignored by a President who really isn't all that into parts of it anyway.



===========================

[kayakjohnny]

36. I liked the original Doctor J a whole lot.

And I like you just as well.

Cheers!

[passiveporcupine]

47. I can't believe his post got a hide.

What he said was absolute truth.

[Hydra]

48. Truth has always had a certain scare factor here to establishment supporters

It's just gotten to Ministry of Truth levels.

[Enthusiast]

67. It was an excellent post and absolutely true in every regard.

[disillusioned73]

78. I agree... posted for truth

"if elected Hillary will enact a conservative agenda regardless of the party platform, which is 99% guaranteed anyway. And we also know that the hillarians don't want liberals in the party any more, so this news is just an aggravation to them. But I for one am glad that there is a tiny spark of populism left in the party."

[AllyCat]

73. Me too and astonished that post was hidden.

[fasttense]

82. Do you really not see that he called the poster a Trool?

Everything else would have been OK except he starts with calling names.

I'm a Bernie supporter and will Never vote for Hillary..ever. But if I had been on the jury, I would of reminded the poster no name calling. I agree with you that Bernie voters around here are more likely to get their comments hidden and banned then Hillary supporters. But the rules clearly do not allow name calling.

I had a Hillary supporter call me stupid and other insults. Then, because I said if the Hillary supporter did not stop calling me names I would alert on the post. I had my comment hidden while the Hillary supporter who had made all the insults to me did not get her comments hidden. Then I was banned from the Hillary site and had another post hidden (dealing with the same issue of being called names by Hillary supporters), I was kicked off of DU. For months, I staid away and then I came back to find that Hillary supporters where crawling all over DU and disrupting everything.

But I still think if you are on a jury, you should be as impartial as you can. Name calling and F bombs should not be used on this site. It's in the rules and even Hillary supporters should be required to follow the rules.

OK, sorry about the rant. I guess it still bothers me that after 12 years of only having 1 or 2 comments hidden, I get banned from DU.

[AllyCat]

83. I have been called far worse than a troll and 0-7

Jury let it stand. And that was BEFORE the primary started.

[MrMickeysMom]

21. Them were the good ole days, weren't they?

Yep!

When the Democratic Party was one of inclusiveness... of re-building America's middle class, of recognizing native American's and PoC's long-past due respect of community building, and creating a sustainable world.

[tazkcmo]

51. Remember when Sen Sanders was respected here?

The second he declared all that changed. How dare he challenge The Queen.

[SouthernDemLinda]

49. Hillary is no RFK

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped."

Robert F. Kennedy

I remember RFK,and Hillary is no RFK!

We need (not a few) but a lot more like Sanders, who is more like RFK than anyone!

[Cassiopeia]

64. They don't march in goosestep

With DWS and Hillary.

[leftofcool]

38. And then there is Cornel West. Not a good pick since he supported Nader

[passiveporcupine]

45. Says someone who supports Clinton who is a student of Kissenger.

[Enthusiast]

68. Huge +1!

[MisterFred]

55. So? Clinton supported Goldwater.

But the past is the past. Let's move forward.

[Enthusiast]

69. Excellent relevant point.

[rock]

84. Whose votes will be promptly ignored

By the ruling 10 representatives.

[passiveporcupine]

44. Yeah, the future of America is so unimportant.

Nice to know where you stand.

[rpannier]

7. Rec #5

Now it will be around longer for people to see the supposed non-event

[Hiraeth]

81. Rec #118

[pmorlan1]

8. Great Picks

on the Sanders team.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

9. Clinton's picks were good too.

Elijah Cummings and Paul Booth. Nice progressive lineup.

[mountain grammy]

26. Yes, I agree

[bhikkhu]

40. Very good to hear, and very good for the whole party

...hoping for the best platform to work into the general election, and a solid rout of the non-progressive side. I still imagine people's final choices consider the issues and not personalities, however much the media ignores the isssues.

[lostnfound]

74. Did she only pick two? Who were the others?

[me b zola]

10. Very nice!

[Plucketeer]

11. Perpetuating

the "non-excitement".

[ms liberty]

12. Great picks by Bernie. K&R. n/t

[Sophiegirl]

14. Kick

And rec

[msongs]

15. not LBN - commondreams bernie propaganda and opinion piece nt

[wisteria]

16. Unappealing comes to mind.

Yesh, this group will be able to promote his policies-not.

[LisaM]

19. Ha! That's pretty true.

Keith Ellison seems likeable enough, actually, but the rest of the gang....

[cali]

65. Bill Mckibben, not liked or respected? Only by climate change deniers.

William Ernest "Bill" McKibben (born December 8, 1960)[1] is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College[2] and leader of the anti-carbon campaign group 350.org. He has authored a dozen books about the environment, including his first (The End of Nature) in 1989 about climate change.

In 2009, he led 350.org's organization of 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries. In 2010, McKibben and 350.org conceived the 10/10/10 Global Work Party, which convened more than 7,000 events[3] in 188 countries[4] as he had told a large gathering at Warren Wilson College shortly before the event. In December 2010, 350.org coordinated a planet-scale art project, with many of the 20 works visible from satellites.[5] In 2011 and 2012 he led the environmental campaign against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project[6] and spent three days in jail in Washington, D.C. It was one of the largest civil disobedience actions in America for decades.[7] Two weeks later he was inducted into the literature section of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[7]

He was awarded the Gandhi Peace Award in 2013.[8] Foreign Policy magazine named him to its inaugural list[9] of the 100 most important global thinkers in 2009 and MSN named him one of the dozen most influential men of 2009.[10] In 2010, the Boston Globe called him "probably the nation's leading environmentalist"[11] and Time magazine book reviewer Bryan Walsh described him as "the world's best green journalist".[12]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_McKibben

[Doctor_J]

20. Still 10-5 DINOS to liberals, but I think the platform is just for show

The party and the nation will continue to slide to the right under president Clinton or, God help us, trump

[fleabiscuit]

30. DINO! Now that's a YOUGHE irony ain't it. LOL

[Renew Deal]

39. Who did Clinton and the DNC name?

[nxylas]

61. Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Koch Industries....

Corporations are people, my friend.

[Enthusiast]

70. True. Completely true.

[bucolic_frolic]

23. I hope it's true

that both candidates participated

they need to think of November while herding their flocks and
getting the party battle ready

[MattP]

24. Are you calling barbara lee a DINO?

WTF is that about

[ancianita]

25. These bold Sanders people won't be taking 'no' for an answer. Not after they've gotten this far.

[hughee99]

27. But I'll bet they're outvoted 10-5 a lot. Nt

[MattP]

28. Lee was the only congressperson to vote against the use of force after 911

And you call her a DINO , you have some nerve

[4bucksagallon]

29. Thus ensuring the stagnant quo.......

"According to the Washington Post, party officials and the two Democratic candidates "worked out" a compromise "based on the number of popular votes each has received to date." Under the agreement, frontrunner Hillary Clinton would be allotted six members and Sanders five, while Wasserman Schultz will name four."

[passiveporcupine]

50. Which means Hillary ten and Bernie five.

Yep...status quo.

[Enthusiast]

71. Precisely.

[onecaliberal]

31. Great picks by Bernie!

[Arkansas Granny]

32. Serious question. Is it common practice to allow a candidate in a race

to have so much influence in choosing committee members and party platform. I honestly don't know.

[bemildred]

46. No, this is quite unusual. nt

[chwaliszewski]

58. Me thinks the concessions are meant to sway the Bernie voters...

we will see how this turns out. Stay tuned for the next episode of Leave It To Sanders.

[bucolic_frolic]

33. Trump is the RNC Platform and let me tell you

it's going to be great

There's going to be a wall, a great wall, a very big wall ...

and a balanced budget by selling federal assets like parks and millions of acres

and jobs that are so good we'll need a Canadian Wall as well to keep the Canucks out

and factories flown on airlines from China

and tax cuts for everyone especially the middle class, and low income people
will pay no tax

it will be great, no NATO, no defense

All the women will be beauty queens

It's going to be paradise

[Dont call me Shirley]

34. Bernie picked some amazing talented informed people. Who wouldn't want Bill McKibben or any

of his other choices on a committee together! It's the best of the best!

[SharonClark]

35. Good picks by Hillary and Sanders except

for Cornell West.

[Zen Democrat]

42. Cornell West fights for the poor and the unrepresented. I'm glad he's there.

[Enthusiast]

72. Cornell West is an excellent choice.

[tomm2thumbs]

37. glad to hear enough people involved that what transpires won't be silenced

getting in the room with more than one set of eyes on the process is the first step

[Little Tich]

41. This is good news. K&R. n/t

[billhicks76]

43. So States With Caucuses Don't Count???

Those states heavily favored Bernie in the polling as well as actual proportional caucus votes. That ridiculous DWS and Clinton wouldn't allow those states a say. Why the hell should DWS have any picks? Split them between Bernie and Hillary.

[mudstump]

52. Great picks Bernie....now keep fighting the DNC for progressive representation.

[turbinetree]

53. Yeah-----------------

at least we are progressive and we have inclusion from classes and from all parts of this diverse society, what I am really happy about is that we the Native Americans will have voice on the platform to writing what this country needs. Because we need to end what is happening on not only this reservation but others like the Apache brother and Sisters, and the Navajo.
I am so glad that Senator Sanders said that we the Native Americans need our voices heard, and with this we can move forward-----------------a lot better than the drumpsf and the right wingers republican fascists nationalist that want to sell off our land based on pure greed, and have done nothing to move our culture and society forward with jobs and training and skills-------------and most importantly the end of being disenfranchised from voting



http://www.re-member.org/pine-ridge-reservation.aspx



Honk-------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016

[MohRokTah]

54. The picks only make me despise the man even more. eom

[MisterFred]

56. Well, that's to be expected.

They're certainly not conservative favorites!

[Betty Karlson]

57. Your despising makes me loath Clinton even more.

[chwaliszewski]

59. I would suggest not voting for him.

I'll send a happy face in your direction. There.

[cali]

66. McKinney is someone you think poorly of? You're in lousy company.

Inhofe loathes him,as do all climate change deniers.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

60. IOW: It will be 9 to 5.

[tomp]

63. EXACTLY!

DSW didn't get any votes. A DSW pick is a Clinton pick. No wonder Sanders wants to go all the way to the convention.

[Helen Borg]

62. Does the platform mean anything?

It's just words, no?

[apnu]

76. Quite a lot

The platform defines what the Democratic party is about and campaigning on as a whole. Presidential, Govenors, Senate and Representative races all will be under it.

[apnu]

75. Hillary and DWS' picks are listed here.

From the link, which is citing WaPo:

The Clinton campaign’s choices are Wendy Sherman, a former top State Department official and Clinton surrogate; Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and longtime Clinton confidante; Rep. Luis Guttierez of Illinois; Carol Browner, a former former director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy; Ohio State Rep. Alicia Reece and Paul Booth of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union.

Wasserman Schultz also named former California Rep. Howard Berman; California Rep. Barbara Lee and author and executive Bonnie Schaefer.

[Uncle Joe]

77. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kadaholo.

[disillusioned73]

79. k&r..

great picks all around..

[brush]

80. They always work out a way for the runner-up candidate to get a say on the platform committee

That part is not unprecedented news.

I do like four of Sanders' picks. The West selection is questionable, seems to be a direct swipe at the President.

Seems nothing was learned from all the lost votes in the primaries because of West being a surrogate.

I like also that Clinton picked three women and a labor advocate for her slots on the committee.

[Larkspur]

85. This concession shows that the more rational HRC and DNC advisors know that they need Bernie's

supporters to win the GE and by respecting the success Bernie has had this year they are respecting his supporters.

The picks by Bernie are excellent and show that the platform will be discussed and not just rubber stamped.