Sanders vows to help Clinton beat Trump, but keeps campaign alive

[TomCADem]

Source: MSN/Reuters

Bernie Sanders promised on Thursday to work with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to defeat Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election, but did not formally pull out of the race for the White House.

Sanders did not endorse Clinton during an online speech to his supporters, but made it clear he was shifting his focus to building a grassroots movement to fight for his liberal policy agenda and transform the Democratic Party.

"The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly, and I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time," the U.S. senator from Vermont said.

"I also look forward to working with Secretary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors," he said in a speech broadcast from his hometown of Burlington, Vermont.

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sanders-vows-to-help-clinton-beat-trump-but-keeps-campaign-alive/ar-AAhaNbb

[yallerdawg]

1. I've always heard congratulations from the loser.

I have no idea what that was.

Can you run third party within a party? Sure looks like it.

[swhisper1]

2. more like the origional dems are rising after the neos beat them down and left them for dead

Out with the corporate 3rd way dems, out with the bluedogs, we will not let you take over

[Gore1FL]

55. +1

[840high]

76. +2

[dubyadiprecession]

3. Why doesn't he reform the socialist party instead?

He can piss them off for a change.

[JonLeibowitz]

4. Awww, are you having a sadz at a legitimate left-of-center candidate performing well in US Politics?

It's impossible to please the centrists: if you run 3rd party you earn irrational hatred for being a spoiler. If you run within the party: you are pissing off the party first crowd.

Fun group you've got!

[hay rick]

11. Bernie isn't pissing me off, he's keeping me in the party.

When the Democratic Party doesn't have room for Bernie it doesn't have room for me.

[roguevalley]

22. I think they don't want us. good with me. I'm with him.

[Roy Rolling]

32. I hear ya

Hardcore Clinton supporters don't understand that driving off Sanders supporters for not having a long pedigree and the political maturity of a 60-year old is the opposite of campaigning. To stroke their egos, they want to piss off the MOST LIKELY CLINTON, but presently uncommitted voters in the election.

[midnight]

39. I second that…..

[KPN]

40. No kidding. After this primary, he's

the only thing keeping me in the Party -- and I've been a Party member for 44 years! As Bernie goes, so goes I.

[wisteria]

5. Whatever Bernie.

What an ego. Personally, I don't think we need him meddling in our party.

[Lucky Luciano]

6. Which policies of his do you dislike? nt

[wisteria]

13. Open primaries, free college at tax payer expense, no super delegates.

That is just a start. Some of his principles are decent, I just don!t think they are in some cases doable or even well though out.

[me b zola]

19. Super delegates = Lobiest and powerful insiders who get to "vote"

...before all candidates have even announced. And who do you think will be paying taxes but young people with a college degree?

We used to hate that kind of shit when republicans advocated for it. We also hated how they would except crappy policy only because their team was for it, and they thought Dems were against it.

Sigh

[dhill926]

21. I echo your sigh....

and I voted for Hillary. Jesus christ...

[Midnight Writer]

29. If Republicans had super delegates, they would not have Donald Trump

The super delegate votes are in place to prevent an outsider from stepping in and taking over the party.

It is their party. They have the right to set rules that outsiders may disagree with.

[KPN]

42. You guys are actually defending a non-democratic, voter suppressive position.

Are you nuts? Nevermind.

[Midnight Writer]

46. Yes, I have been told I am nuts. Thanks for asking. But here is the thing

If you want to join, say, the Boy Scouts, you learn the oath, the motto, the Scout Law, the handshake, the salute.

You do not go in, tell them they are corrupt, they need to fire the Scoutmaster, the oath is stupid, the Scout Law needs to be changed, and you will not cooperate with any of them unless they meet your demands.

If you believe that is the way these things work, you may be nearly as nuts as I am. Oh, and good luck in your future. You are going to run up against a lot of walls of your own making.

[KPN]

68. Lol. So now you are defending corruption.

You are nuts. I appreciate you being honest about that.

Here IS the thing: I was a Boy Scout, I was an Asst Scoutmaster, I was a Cub Master. I attended Council meetings as a leader. When it came to issues like allowing gays in Scouting, I spoke up -- and BSA is better for it.

When it comes to the D Party/DNC, there is no reasonable way to change the institution without being frank, upfront and playing hard ball in a big way. Party members and even leaders have been trying to change the Party's direction from within without ruffling feathers for decades now, running up against a lot of walls as you say without meaningful results. What's that saying about the definition of insanity?

So ... you can either stay nuts and continue to operate in a world of walls built to contain you/us, or you can get real and show some leadership. Those are your choices. Sometimes real leadership means rebellion. After voting Democrat for 44 years, I personally believe now is one of those times. ... I am grateful to Bernie for his strong stance against corruption and the incestual insiderism that permeates the Democratic Party, and will do everything I can to take eradicate it and take the Party back.

[Gore1FL]

56. The GOP does have Super Delegates

They have fewer. The rules are different. The do, nonetheless have super delegates.

They also, apparently, have Trump.

[Midnight Writer]

71. Thank you. I did not know that.

[ZombieHorde]

73. I thought it was our party.

Hmm... you're probably right. It's not our party. We're not "elite."

[SouthernDemLinda]

72. Hillary's theme song Bernie's plan's are not doable= what is?

The politicians and pundits have been lying to the American people for so long about healthcare and college that at this point nobody can tell them the truth. What we need is a "War on Stupid".

Universal Healthcare would create jobs, companies move to countries that have universal healthcare, and that would create the tax base that would pay for healthcare.
Countries like Germany and France that have government funded healthcare have higher paying jobs. Corporations have moved to France and Germany, even though they have better pay and better benefits, because they don't have to pay for healthcare.

What we need to do in order to get change is to change the system. No superdelegates, because superdelegates were not chosen democratically, and do not have to answer to any electorate for their decisions.

Bernie Sanders had a 22 percent win over Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primaries. It was huge, but despite the fact that Hillary suffered the second biggest defeat in New Hampshire's history, both candidates got from New Hampshire 15 delegates. The whole point of superdelegates is to give the party elite more control over the primary process.

Then get rid of the electoral college, and try true democracy, and eliminate the electoral system altogether.

[OwlinAZ]

9. The strength, knowledge and civic bravery of Bernie Sanders

is exactly what the Democratic Party needs and is sorely lacking.
Cannot wait until Philadelphia. We will demonstrate the best of the Democratic Party.

[wisteria]

14. And how long have you been a member of the Democrat party?

[hay rick]

16. Long enough to know it's the DemocratIC Party? nt

[kacekwl]

10. YOUR party needs a lot of meddling

to become what the democratic party should be.

[wisteria]

15. Oh? And how long have YOU been a part of our party?

My guess is no long, if at all. I think our party is damn good with out some of Sander's ideas. He and you don't like our party as is, why not form your own?

[maggies farm]

27. Oh? And how long have YOU been a part of our party?

Just checking is it a 1000 years, 40 or 20?

I have been registered dem for 38 years and for me the rise of the DLC and their assets 2for1 team Clinton has played a significant role in the Trump reality show.


Obama and Clinton furthered the goals of PNAC. Just how good do you feel about that?


Please don't suggest to me that Obama and Clinton were just shining the shoes of PNAC, they are active players.

[KPN]

43. Boom!

[BlueMTexpat]

47. And they are SO much worse

than Trump!

The Democratic Party isn't perfect. But President Obama has managed to accomplish a heckuva lot against unyielding and constant GOP obstructionism. He has also done the USA proud in ways you will likely never even know about. I've had a first-hand seat for some of that. Is he perfect? No. But we are going to miss him and his wonderful family VERY much.

I used to believe that Bernie was a good guy. He said all the right things. But it's easy to talk when you have no obligations to anyone else except constitutents in the most lily-white state in the US who provide you with an echo chamber so that you come to believe that's all there is.

There is a reason that only one of his Senate colleagues endorsed him ... and that colleague has since endorsed Hillary. They all know exactly which candidate has the ability to work with others to actually accomplish things. Despite the RW slurs repeated all too often on a Democratic website, Hillary is an amazing woman and will be a remarkable and respected President of the US.

In recent months, I have seen that Bernie has fallen in love with his own campaign to the point that he believes that he -and he alone - can change this country because "revolution" rather than by any tangible steps or plans of action. He has not helped one bit with down-ticket Dems except in a few races where those he endorsed have not won. Such things do not bode well for his future. Any President - in and of him/herself - has little power without allies. But Bernie considers himself to be a holier-than-thou one-man show and has neglected to build the kinds of relationships during his 25+ years in Washington, DC that would help him to advance any of his policies - which are still very fuzzy. Yes, Medicare for all and free college for all, etc. sound wonderful. But how the heck do you get there? A President does not govern by fiat.

This primary campaign season has demonstrated how little Bernie understands about the functions of other actors in a democracy. He keeps trying to bend them to his will, even when he has lost. That is actually somewhat frightening.

[wisteria]

63. I wasn't asking you, but I have been a registered Dem for 42 yrs.

[Fuddnik]

34. I was a Democrat long enough to remember what it used to be, and used to stand for.

I cast my first vote for George McGovern in 1972. Have never voted for a repuke. In fact I was a congressional candidate in 2004.

I left in 2007, when we kept funding wars, gave the telecoms immunity for illegal spying and renewed the Patriot Act, all when we had Democratic majorities in both houses.

I only came back just to vote for Bernie, and what I see from Clinton and her supporters, I'll be leaving again in September. I won't be voting for Trump.

Now what exactly have you done in your short time as a Democrat, other than post on a message board, and harass people who remember what being a democrat was?

[KPN]

44. You keep asking people how long. What about you?

How long have you been a registered Democrat. Me? 44 years and running. My aim is to run folks like you off, not the other way around. The Democratic Party once stood for the average person, but not anymore with all the elitist neo-liberal, Third Way, New Democrat "free market economics" bullshit that has led to the demise of the middle class and a frightening future for my kids/millennials. Time to run you folks back to the GOP.

[kacekwl]

50. Let's see...I'm 59 almost 60

and have voted DEMOCRATIC since 18 years old. You do the math.

[Gore1FL]

57. I considered myself a Democrat in 1976.

Sanders is closer to the Party I joined. The Current Dem Party seems closer to the GOP of that same era.

[hay rick]

12. I think you mean superego.

Your corporatist Democratic party needs a whole lot of meddling.

[wisteria]

17. If you don't like our party as is, why not form your own party?

And I meant ego, a huge ego. We don't need Sander's input. And as long as he doesn't endorse Clinton, he appears to be a sore loser. And, losers don't get to tell everyone what they should do and not do.

[me b zola]

28. Form our own party?

The reason that most of us are Democrats to begin with is because of the New Deal. There were actual ideals that prompted us to vote our entire lives as Dems. We have not changed, but the people at the helm of the party have.

[Ned_Devine]

30. Wisteria is not bright. Antagonizing? Definitely. But not bright at all

[Fuddnik]

35. We'd rather keep corrupt politicians out of ours.

[KPN]

41. Ego? Meddling in "our" party?

Wrong on both. Bernie's 74 fucking years old and just completed a non-stop campaign over an entire year to try to put our country on the right path, sacrificing a whole year of his remaining life for the good of the common person in this country, and all you can say about that is "What an ego."

No wonder the Democratic Party is getting beaten at local and State levels across the country -- people with your kind of perspective is driving the average person away. Ever wonder why the Independents are growing in leaps and bounds the last 15 years?

Who the hell is "our"? It's my party too ... and has been for 44 plus years (I registered Dem in 1972 and have voted D up and down the ticket in every election since). It's not your party, but as you said is OUR PARTY -- including all of us whether you like it or not.

Go Bernie!

[corkhead]

64. Whatever wisteria.

[yurbud]

74. it's not all of our party anymore, but we should try to make it ours again

which is what Bernie is about.

[MinnieBlum]

7. Bernie has lost his marbles..

[OwlinAZ]

8. What brings you to this conclusion?

Have always found him extremely cogent. He is a remarkable man.

[wisteria]

18. A legend in his own mind.

I never found him that remarkable.

[zonkers]

31. Tell that to his 7 million plus donors. Oh and

way to use a tired and obvious cliche.

[Fuddnik]

36. Did you ever have any?

[Orrex]

20. I'm sure that people here would be just as supportive if the situtation were reversed.

If Clinton had been roundly defeated but decided to "keep her campaign alive" anyway, I have no doubt that Sanders' supporters would praise her resolve and determination.

[BlueMTexpat]

48. Best response, IMO. eom

[Gore1FL]

58. I can only speak for myself,.

I wouldn't delude myself that the events of the convention had already happened as so many here have. I use what I thought in 2008 as my basis for that assertion.

[Jopin Klobe]

23. Sanders vows to help Clinton beat Trump, ...

... but keeps hope in the future (at least) alive ...

[jalan48]

24. Thank you Bernie for standing up to the corporate wing of the Party.

[zonkers]

33. plus a gillion.

[msongs]

25. so where is the part where he vows "to help clinton beat trump"? nt

[Gore1FL]

59. The part of the speech that he talks about beating Trump

Did you watch it?

[redstateblues]

26. Bernie's leverage is disappearing

His low viewership will be noticed by the Clinton campaign

[Doctor Jack]

37. I agree on the leverage point

I think after awhile, he just fades into obscurity as Trump and Clinton fight on. He is rapidly overplaying his hand. Being an integral part of Clinton Vs. Trump will afford a lot more influence than Clinton Vs Trump and Sanders-is-also-kind-of-there-even-though-most-people-have-mostly-forgotten-about-him-by-now.

[TeamPooka]

38. Gotta be able to keep fundraising. It's all about the $$. senior staff needs the jobs.

[corkhead]

65. I'm sure this pretending to be for the little people is all a ruse to enrich himself.

Maybe he should call it The Sanders Foundation.

[KPN]

45. Bernie rocks! What a courageous, egoless man!

Willing to stand his ground despite all the ridicule that will be thrown his way for not being a gracious loser, i.e., groveling at the victor's feet. Bernie stands for something, an absent characteristic of many folks populating party leadership and this site it seems.

[OnDoutside]

49. Socialist Idealogue refuses to accept democratic will of the People, SHOCKER !

Well, not much of a shock really.

[Gore1FL]

60. No, but thanks for playing!

For being a contestant, you get a copy of DU the home game and a box of Rice a Roni.

[OnDoutside]

62. Typical, keeping all the good stuff for yourself

[liberal N proud]

51. Egomaniac who is afraid of losing the spotlight

He is trying to remain relevant, knowing that he will soon fade to obscurity. Go already! GO!

[ucrdem]

52. Bernie has never been one for consistency.

At this point I don't expect he's ever going officially end his campaign. Ah the beauty of being an I from VT.

[beachbum bob]

53. i suspect sanders needs money....

[Laser102]

54. I have an idea. Let's send him more money.

[avaistheone1]

70. I'm good with that.

[rtracey]

61. Hes somewhat

He's somewhat a buffoon. Sanders could take the high road, come out and say he was 100% supporting Hillary, and end his race, but no.

[corkhead]

66. You are not helping your candidate win hearts and minds.

[rtracey]

67. Biden?

What I say about the candidates mean nothing in this race. My feelings about Sanders/Clinton/Trump/Biden....will sway NO One in the way they vote or the way they sit on their asses and not vote. If you withhold your vote because of what anyone besides the candidate says...well ......

[Tribalceltic]

69. i have nothing against his ideas

but his followers have really turned me off. He needs to learn some class.

[yurbud]

75. once Bernie fully endorses, forecloses a convention fight or third party run, his influence will be

zero.

He's old enough and been close to the inside long enough to know what happens when you play the rules.

[rockfordfile]

77. That's good