Sanders: No, I'm Not Ready To Endorse Clinton Yet

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo

After Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday said he was confident that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will endorse Hillary Clinton, the Vermont senator insisted that he is still not ready to back the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"I talked to Joe, I think it was three weeks ago," Sanders said on MSNBC's "All In with Chris Hayes" when asked about Biden's comment. "On that issue, we are trying to work with Secretary Clinton’s campaign on areas that we can agree on."

Biden told NPR in an interview published earlier in the day, "I've talked to Bernie, Bernie's going to endorse her, this is going to work out."

After Sanders told Hayes that he will do everything he can to make sure Donald Trump does not become president, Hayes asked if that would involve campaigning for Clinton. In response, Sanders said that he is working with Democrats on the party platform.

-snip- (video @ link)

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sanders-biden-endorse-clinton

[Arkansas Granny]

1. At this point in the game, who cares. Even if he endorsed her today,

it would be too little, too late, IMO. He took a gamble and it didn't play out the way he had hoped. Now he is more or less an afterthought and no longer has any bargaining position.

[obamanut2012]

6. I agree -- Warren stepped in and is a vigorous and effective public advocate for HRC

[Dawgs]

12. You're right. It wouldn't matter.

Many of his supporters will never like her. It doesn't matter what he does.

[MynameisBlarney]

32. Oh come on now.

The Bernie or Bust faction is such a tiny percentage of the Bernie supporters.
Most of the Bernie supporters support him because he is a progressive and they absolutely do not want trump in WH.
Every Bernie supporter with half a brain in their head will be voting for HRC in Nov.

The BoB'ers are this election years PUMA's.

[Dawgs]

37. Possibly voting for and liking/supporting are two different things. n/t

[MynameisBlarney]

50. Fair point.

[OwlinAZ]

77. So, Hillary should not be criminally prosecuted

BUT sanctions are in order and are frequently imposed in similar circumstance.
Senator Sanders should keep his powder dry.

[MynameisBlarney]

82. Yeah

He should.

[Tarheel_Dem]

68. That seemed to be the feeling on NPR's "Here & Now" today as well. His "leverage" was before CA & DC

[OwlinAZ]

78. NPR has tilted farther and farther rightward.

Even Diane R. whom I deeply respect will not stand up to the right wing guests.

[Dustlawyer]

2. She needs to sit down with him and work this out.

Since the media is putting all of the pressure on Bernie and none on Hillary I don't think this will heal anytime soon.

She doesn't want to deal because she can't. She has too many campaign debt issues to give in. The people/entities she owes expect their Quid Pro Quo and Bernie's demands would mean she would have to go back on whatever promise she made to these big Donors.

[rocktivity]

3. Hillary didn't endorse Obama for nothing eight years ago

Why should Bernie endorse her Hillary for nothing?


rocktivity

[DonViejo]

7. If you're trying to suggest the position of Sec'y of State...

was the price paid for Clinton's endorsement, you'd be incorrect. She wasn't offered the position until just after Christmas 2008 and she said "no," when President-elect Obama first offered it.

[rocktivity]

20. But what if that's what we were SUPPOSED to believe?

Maybe the reason why she initially turned Obama down is because they both knew how it might look!


rocktivity

[LanternWaste]

42. Most creative what-if of the week. Add the Illuminati and Rothschilds and you'll have a crappy Bond

Most creative what-if of the week. Add the Illuminati and Rothschilds and you'll have a crappy Bond movie.

[DonViejo]

60. What if and what if. Come on, get off the conspiracy bandwagon.

Axelrod was opposed to the appointment, as was former President Clinton. With all due respect, if you're willing to buy into conspiracy theories about Democrats, why are you a Democrat?

[Evergreen Emerald]

5. There is nothing to work out.

She won. To the winner go the spoils. She does not want to 'deal' because he has nothing to offer in the way of a platform or plans to achieve his ideals.

She, conversely has laid out in great detail her ideas and plans and goals.

[Dustlawyer]

66. So to Hell with what 48% of Democratic Primary voters want?

Why do I think you would see it differently if the situation were reversed?

If she wants to unite our Party she needs to make some effort to compromise. You cannot lay all of this off on Bernie, Hillary is responsible for our unity and to the other 48% of us as well.

If you want an all or nothing response from Hillary fine, but good luck defeating Trump when much of the 48% don't show up at the polls.

[Evergreen Emerald]

67. It was reversed--8 years ago.

She fully embraced Obama's platform and worked her ass off campaigning for him.

[OwlinAZ]

79. Exactly right

[merrily]

9. The media has been a trip this primary season, hasn't it?

I don't think Sanders's endorsement will make any further difference anyway.

Unconditional party loyalists who were ever actually supporting Bernie (as opposed to part of the fake supporter contingent #BernieLostMe) pivoted when she became the "presumptive nominee." Others did so when Bernie said he would vote for her. The rest will never pivot, no matter how much more Bernie does or does not say.

[stonecutter357]

4. No Shit Given.

[merrily]

10. Inasmuch as Bernie has already said he will vote for Hillary, and wants to see Trump defeated,

vetting Bernie to be Trump's V.P. seems like a waste of time, but whatever.

[tom_kelly]

11. Well. That should get him banned from the new DU. Right?

[LongtimeAZDem]

26. +1 (nt)

[Surya Gayatri]

44. One would think so. The new rules seem to require it.

[Mass]

14. He said he would vote for her and fight to defeat Trump

But I can see the Clinton's forces are still busy going after Sanders until he falls on his knees and kisses her feet.

Makes me sad there is nobody else than her to vote for (and no, Stein is not an option. A protest votes would hurt us more than than anybody else)

Sad to see Hayes and TMP are aiming at becoming another CNN by asking irrelevant questions.

[Beacool]

16. No feet kissing necessary.

Just being gracious in defeat by conceding and joining the other Democrats in combating, not just Trump, but the rest of the Republicans running for office this year.

Instead, Sanders is arguing about open primaries and super delegates.

[Surya Gayatri]

45. ^^^AMEN to this!^^^

[LongtimeAZDem]

54. +1 (nt)

[QC]

51. "It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail." -- Gore Vidal n/t

[comradebillyboy]

57. So when will he begin to fight against Trump?

[avaistheone1]

15. Good on Bernie.

I am proud of him. Sanders has really had a positive influence on this election and I sincerely hope he continues to do so.

[geek tragedy]

17. "Will do everything" to defeat Trump, he may want to pay attention to

Elizabeth Warren to see what that means.

[Surya Gayatri]

46. Excellent role model for him, if he cared to follow it.

[brooklynite]

19. From what I've heard, she's picking up most of them already.

[Igel]

27. It's rather like being in an Olympic track meet until the medals are handed out.

Once the rest of the people are off the track, you can stop running.

[Gamecock Lefty]

21. Why so much focus still on Bernie???

There are going to be Bernie supporters that will never vote for Hillary. These are probably the same folks that went to his rallies and didn’t remember to actually vote in the primary for him!

And I’m tiring of the storyline “what will Hillary do to win Bernie supporters?” I say do exactly what she’s been doing - taking her message to the people and then using Trump’s own words against him. If BS supporters join in, fine; if not, who cares?

We have received Bernie’s message loud and clear and it is important. But Bernie did not win our nomination; Hillary did. If Bernie wants to play coy and say we must defeat Trump and certainly he’ll vote for Hillary, yet no endorsement and the Dems had better listen to him, well, guess what? We’re moving on, Sanders.

Bernie, you are important member of the Senate. Don’t blow your relevance because you seem to be trying to do just that.

[leftyladyfrommo]

22. I liked him at one point.

But I like him less and less.

[LiberalLovinLug]

40. Funny, I like him more and more

The easy route is simply acquiescing and disappearing. Almost half of Democrats, by the end, supported his more progressive platform. It would be remiss of him NOT to stand up for that amount of Democrats. As it would be remiss if Hillary did NOT realize she needs the support of those Democrats to bring the party together.

Its ironic that a candidate, that was for most all his political life has been an independent, is the one that is pushing the traditional Democratic ideals and positive directions. He is a thorn in the side of those in the DLC that are salivating at completing the process of changing the Democratic party to the new 1% party, in wake of the GOP meltdown.

[mountain grammy]

76. +1

Me too!

[brooklynite]

23. My tweet got 44 likes and 24 RTs...

"Fighting" isn't getting him any progress; Sanders would achieve far more as a partner than as opponent.

[riversedge]

34. It is a meaningful tweet.

[OwlinAZ]

80. Why would he partner with such as Hillary?

[brooklynite]

81. Perhaps the fact that she'll be the President of the United States in five months?

[Godhumor]

25. His time for maximum effectiveness is long gone

The only move he has left is to endorse and start campaigning for her.

[brush]

28. He's the only one who doesn't know that.

[liberal N proud]

29. His loss!

By not endorsing Hillary, Bernie has made himself insignificant

[Gamecock Lefty]

30. Shebear . . .

You say Bernie supporters were kicked off voter rolls and couldn’t vote. How do you know Hillary supporters were not kicked off?

And you say you know Hillary wants to move to the right after the election. Did she tell you that?

Funny that primaries where Bernie lost it was rigged but those he won were just fine. That always happens to the 2nd place finisher, doesn’t it?

Sounds like sour grapes to me.

[cstanleytech]

35. While Bernie may or may not keep on trying to sway the delegates to vote for him

I honestly dont think he is the type who will run as a spoiler candidate when it comes down to actually voting for whatever Democrat is running (probably Hillary) vs Trump.

[left-of-center2012]

36. I'm a long time Bernie supporter ...

I even sent him a few bucks and bought some Bernie merchandise.
But it's time to move forward, united, against "The Donald".

[Jakes Progress]

38. Reminds me of Clean Gene

and his holier than thou followers.

How did that end up for us?

[Surya Gayatri]

47. I still remember the shock of that debacle. Total, unmitigated disaster.

[Jakes Progress]

61. It was my first political reality shock.

I couldn't believe the country could vote for someone as obviously bad as nixon.

And I couldn't believe that a bunch of self-congratulating idiots could let the country down the way the Gene stay-at-homes did. I was young. I was an idealist. I was not savvy to the finer parts of politics. But even then, I knew Humphrey would better than nixon.

A lot of the ills our country has faced since then can be dumped at Eugene McCarthy's clay feet.

[Surya Gayatri]

62. "A lot of the ills our country has faced since then can be dumped at Eugene McCarthy's clay feet."

Agree totally. Purist absolutism is self-defeating. Nixon was the beginning of the end of FDR's liberal dream.

That was my first presidential election, and I was gutted.

[Jakes Progress]

73. Mine too.

I was in college. I remember leaving the dorm and wandering the campus almost all night long. It was the beginning of a long stint of cynicism that I still have problems with.

That is why the deja vu of our current situation bums me out so much. I mean, come on people, at least 3 Supreme Court judges. Do we really want three thirty-year-old scalias?

[mountain grammy]

39. Bernie got 46% of Democratic votes, not a small accomplishment..

considering he began with nearly no recognition. Despite the fact Bernie's not been a Democrat, 46% of us felt like he is speaking to issues that our party should be supporting. Thanks to Bernie, the Democratic platform is addressing issues, I believe, would not have been addressed. I think Warren withheld her endorsement for just these reasons.
From charter schools, to a private insurance based health care system, to drone strike diplomacy, etc., the Democratic party has moved away from a commitment to provide basic goods and services and peaceful solutions as products of good governance. Bernie has renewed this commitment in 46% of Democratic voters, and, now it's our job to convince the rest.

[LiberalLovinLug]

48. +1000

I sure hope Hillary herself is not as dumb, vindictive, and sore winner as some on this board.
Its only a "winner take all" in an abstract way. In reality, she needs most of that 46% to win in November.

Bernie's platform is desperately needed in these times. Dems blew their chance to have a truly transformative change and to refocus back to the 99% from its slow slide to be the new Republican party. But lets hope they don't blow it again by ignoring almost half their members in forming a platform.

[mountain grammy]

52. I believe Hillary isn't so dumb or vindictive

or I don't believe Warren would be spending so much time with her. Hillary knows, Bernie has been on board with Democrats for decades, and he's always fought for liberal voices to be heard too. We're still here, and we still vote, and we sent a message loud and clear. What a shame some here want us to go away.. go figure.

[harun]

65. He won more blue states than Hillary, that better get their attention.

[mountain grammy]

70. He delivered the message of "a future to believe in"

and it stuck. The people who showed up for Bernie at my caucus were hearing a message that gave them hope. This being a small, mountain community, I know these people. They are the working poor, saddled with crushing debt because they got sick, or the car broke, or they were forced to move because the landlord could get richer by renting to tourists. Simple life events that, at best, are disruptive and expensive, at worst are the difference between shelter and the streets.
I think those who run our Democratic party have largely forgotten the working poor, who can't afford insurance, but make $100 too much a month to qualify for Medicaid. The system is rigged and Bernie Sanders honestly wants to fix it. Honestly! If withholding Clinton's endorsement gets us closer to fixing the system, I'm all for it!

[harun]

75. Yes, I see the same. Agree.

[LanternWaste]

41. The guy's holding a pair of three's, but still thinks he's going home with a stack of chips.

The guy's holding a pair of three's, but still thinks he's going home with a stack of chips.

[Surya Gayatri]

43. Take all the time you need, Sen. Sanders. Make sure to cross all the "t's"

and dot all the "i's".

Meanwhile, everybody else is focused on the GE.

[Cryptoad]

49. Demands????

Thats a lot of demands by someone who lost the election by 4 million votes.

[David__77]

53. Those who have power need not accept the demands of those without power.

Realclearpolitics shows Clinton with 15.8 million votes and Sanders with 12.0 votes. More importantly, Clinton has more delegates than Sanders.

I can understand those who lose elections making demands. I can also understand those who win elections not accepting those demands.

[BlueCaliDem]

55. K&R! ^^^This!^^^ Spot ON. eom

[CherokeeDem]

56. I am so over this man.

Someone needs to explain to him, he lost. I am appalled at his continued need to steal the limelight like anyone cares.

The job now is to elect our nominee and keep this country out of Trump's hands. That Sanders cannot acknowledge that is very telling about his personality.

Disappointed in him.

[Leontius]

59. Sometimes the head swelling can't be controlled and can be a serious condition.

[CherokeeDem]

63. How very true.... (nt)

[leftyladyfrommo]

74. So he will vote libertarian?

Or just not vote?

I know some people voting libertarian because they don't like either candidate.

He needs to pack it in and go do great things in Congress that need doing. Back to being an independent which is what he was all along.

[OregonBlue]

58. All Bernie is doing by holding out is making himself irrelevant. I'm so disappointed in

how he's handled his loss. I thought he would be much more magnanimous but he just seems grump.

[MFM008]

64. I think if Sanders

Can't stick to his word. He said he would endorse. His speaking slot would be about where Bill Clinton was in 1988.

[nest]

69. Sanders is waiting for an indictment that will NEVER come.

And even if Hillary were recommended for an indictment (Which will never in a blue moon happen), The DNC would go with Biden NOT Bernie. He is toast no matter how this plays out.

[RussBLib]

71. and I wonder how many Dems would accept Biden

and how many would go back to Bernie?

Quite a mess of a campaign season.

[bigdarryl]

72. If any of this were to happen the dems would be done

In November in the Senate races and all down ballot races.