I joined the Democratic Party this year to support Bernie Sanders

[ElliotCarver]

Hello, all. Relative newcomer to DU--but, since arriving, this site has become my first stop for the day's news and gossip! A little background: I am 27 and have voted 2x for Obama, but never been involved in a Primary. I, like so many, was expecting Obama to usher in an era of change. However, after almost 8 years of waking up and wondering why is it still business as usual? Why haven't we cut subsidies and tax breaks for the most profitable industry in mankind's history that is destroying our world? Why can I not find work, despite having 2 degrees? Why have I paid $10,000 for healthcare this year while my insurer has contributed only $3,300? I am among the millions shouting, "Enough is enough!"

America is better than its politicians, who are by-and-large bought and paid for. Even Hillary supporters must acknowledge: Wall Streeters do not fear another Clinton presidency, they embrace it! So, I must assume of Hillary supporters, your heads are either in the sand or you are socially liberal but fiscally conservative, i.e., rich and not looking to share. Because I don't see how we can honestly anoint a person who has shown herself incapable of taking a leadership stand on important issues. She has been wrong on everything that has mattered, from Iraq to gay marriage to DOMA to the war on drugs.

Aren't we a more compassionate people than to allow someone as unfeeling and robotic - not to mention, power-hungry - as Hillary into office? Don't we want to see our highest office occupied by a person of true, moral conviction?

I want you to know I am not alone: I have convinced my siblings, girlfriend and friends to join the Dems so we can all vote for Bernie. I do not believe I or they will still be Democrats come 2017 if we have another President Clinton. That's just a plain fact: she does not stand for any of our values, because adopting some of them in hindsight out of political expediency is not equivalent to standing for them. (Hillary said if she won the powerball jackpot, she would donate all the $$ to her campaign omfg.)

Bernie is truth. Bernie is conviction. Bernie is love. Bernie is tolerance. Bernie is Robin Hood. Bernie is Pope Francis. Bernie is selfless. Bernie is fearless. Bernie has a history of outspoken leadership that we should all applaud. Bernie is the type of person who is fit to lead because he does so out of a concern for others, not out of a desire for power. Bernie is humble. I could go on and on, but you know where I stand. I believe in Bernie because I believe we have a responsibility to one another. And if we are honest with ourselves, we will acknowledge we have thus far been failing our duty, by being a nation of plenty that has allowed so many to live in relative squalor. Enough upper-crust hoarding, it's time to share the American pie!

HEAR ME, IIIIIIIOOOWWWWAAAA!

[Trajan]

1. Welcome, Elliot

Nice to have you aboard ...

You are here and active for all the right reasons ...

GO BERNIE!

[cali]

2. Hey,Eliot

Welcome.

[PatrickforO]

3. Nice post. Welcome!

[GummyBearz]

4. Your story is very similar to my own

Though I came over a few years ago. I have been so disappointed by politicians that I stopped voting for quite a while, and I have never voted in a primary before, but I am so energized by Bernie I will be this year. I found out some states only let you vote in the primary if you have the proper party affiliation, and California is one of them. I knew I was registered as a republican because my mom filled that out for me (gee, thanks mom) back in 2000 when I turned 18. So I went through the paper work and re-registered a few months ago. +1 california vote for Bernie.

My wife also has the same story, except she was voting those years when I just gave up


edit: Come on Iowa, get this ball rolling..... shovel that snow and vote. Californian's will shovel sunshine and vote when its our turn

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. Welcome to DU!

Great post!

(Hillary said if she won the powerball jackpot, she would donate all the $$ to her campaign omfg.)

That sound about right. Typical, mega wealthy greediness.

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[Broward]

6. Great post, nt.

[tk2kewl]

7. Elliot! Elliot!

[ElliotCarver]

9. (= (= ty ty n/t

[tk2kewl]

10. keep spreading the word

there are still way too many people who are unaware of Bernie

[ElliotCarver]

11. all day, every day, but agreed--it's a travesty our media are no longer for us n/t

[Oilwellian]

34. I had to come back to this post

I'm still laughing about it.

Giving Elliot a kick.

[tk2kewl]

36. stream of consciousness posting

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. "Fear" it??!!?? They are *salivating* as we speak.

>>>>Wall Streeters do not fear another Clinton presidency, they embrace it! >>>>>

And...... speaking of vampires...... Vel-come do ze DU.

K and R

[snagglepuss]

12. Fantastic post. Welcome to DU!

Glad you're here!

[Gregorian]

13. On a tense, frustrating morning, this gives one hope.

You have echoed all of my sentiments perfectly. That gives me a sense that there are people out there with an accurate view of how things are going in this election. I'm still shocked that this could be a close race. Disgusted is more like it. How on earth could Dems who have all pulled together to repair the work that the fascist republicans foisted upon this nation. So the response is lukewarm by half the dems who seem to have a fair share of republican in them as well. I've waited 40+ years for this!

Thanks for caring and working to help. Thanks for posting.

[Peacetrain]

14. Well .. Iowa caucuses .. we do not primary

Different experience..

No one but the wind knows for sure what the final caucus result will be.. we usually upset the apple cart..

Happy you have found someone you can believe is.. and welcome to the Democratic Party..

The water is fine..

[firebrand80]

15. LOL, yep, it's definitely primary season nt

[Ron Green]

16. AND, Bernie Sanders joined the Democratic Party to support you.

And me. And most of us.

[thereismore]

17. Welcome and thank you.

[CajunBlazer]

18. Question: Will you and others like you still be around if Bernie does not win the nomination?

[retrowire]

22. I'm someone like the OP and I'm willing to answer this question.

that depends. if he wins, certainly.

if he doesn't, it will factor on why he didn't win.

[jeff47]

39. Ya know, loyalty oaths are not the best way to sell the party to new arrivals. (nt)

[VulgarPoet]

47. Nope. I don't play the loyalty oath game

and I'm an Independent. Thankfully, Texas is a semi-open Primary state; so if this doesn't pan out? Hell no. This party is full of corporate appeasers and warhawks nowadays. Definitely isn't my granddad's Democratic Party.

[FrostyAusty]

19. Agreed!!

27 year old 2x Obama Voter, but Bernie (Well Thom Hartmann who first introduced me to the Senator via his radio show) has actually caused me to become interested in politics, and to pay attention to the important issues that shape our country. It has motivated me to get out there and spread the word about Bernie, and I have even converted a few Hillary voters to Bernie voters. Thanks for the post Elliot... And to IOWA, FEEL THE BERN!!!!! Woo

[99th_Monkey]

20. K&R - Good on you Elliot. Welcome to DU. Go Bernie!! n/t

[retrowire]

21. Me too! We are the next generation of democrats! nt

[silverweb]

23. Welcome to DU, Elliot!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]And thanks for the great job of enlightening those in your circle and adding more Bernie supporters to our great Purple Wave!


[font color="purple"]Go, Bernie!
Feelin' The Bern!

[SammyWinstonJack]

24. Welcome fellow Bernie supporter!

[Oilwellian]

25. Welcome to DU, ElliotCarver

Your generation is inspiring to this Boomer. Getting involved is the only way to make change.

Bernie is the only un-corrupted candidate in this race. It has never made sense to me that we should fight corruption in politics with more corruption.

I just posted in GDP, a diary from Daily Kos called Enough. by Dallasdoc. I highly recommend everyone read it in its entirety. He wrote:

Bernie Sanders is one of the very few politicians in national politics who has not been generally corrupted by Washington. Just like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, he swam through a river of shit and came out clean. Bernie can wield the weapon of corruption, and has been doing so to increasing effect.

It is indeed time to weaponize corruption and make it politically toxic for any politician who is running for office.

K&R

[ElliotCarver]

26. Thank you for all the kind words of welcome!

Now, back to my copy of "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer to pass the time until caucuses!

Feed the Bern, folks, three square meals and dessert every day!

[Marty McGraw]

49. and just to forward this one to you

Posted by a wonderful DU member here yesterday. If you know anybody who may have doubts about Bernie, this is a simple Brief of where he stands.

http://ilikeberniebut.com/

[ChisolmTrailDem]

27. Welcome, Elliot! Sorry our Hillary supporters don't care to welcome you. nt

[Dems to Win]

28. Welcome to DU

Happy to join with you in the Political Revolution.

[bbgrunt]

29. Welcome to the revolution! Great post.

[Gamecock Lefty]

30. Bernie Joined This Year, Too!

[PatrynXX]

31. Well glad to have you aboard

just whats out for certain supporters here. They tend to have earplugs and then earphones on top , they don't wanna hear or read this. But 3rd Caucus lets see what happens.

on the other side (right) never thought my dad who's Tea Party would vote for the most Liberal (on his record) guy running. Trump X_X wait what? dad who's worried the left is going to take his guns away is voting for a guy who's been for the assault weapons ban. Face palm.

[Marty McGraw]

51. So wish my pops

was like yours.

[TIME TO PANIC]

32. Excellent post!

Absolutely spot on!

[PWPippin]

33. I was brought up as a Truman Democrat.

My father, who served in the Truman administration, revered President Truman for his truth telling straight talk. I know he would respect Bernie, too, for the very aspects of Bernie we all have come to respect and love and that you have outlined so well. Remember when most thought Dewey had beaten Truman? May the tables be turned on Hillary tonight and going forward! Thank you for a great post.

[Marty McGraw]

53. Most people thought Wallace

did as well. It was the First time the Established Dems Flexed their Power.

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/14297-henry-wallace-americas-forgotten-visionary

[PWPippin]

57. Thank you for the link and a refresher on the history of such an important era in our country.

May Bernie Sanders prevail where Henry Wallace couldn't. We don't want to once again look back and have the same said of Sanders as of Wallace -"an honest examination of his 1948 platform reveals that most of the ideas for which he was condemned as a radical are now viewed as common sense."

[Marty McGraw]

59. '...May Bernie Sanders prevail...'

Yes indeed.

I wish I knew more about Truman's time in office. I wonder how much influence (at least at the beginning) the mic had backing his candidacy into office to test out their new toy.

[Enthusiast]

35. Happy to have you, Elliot!

We hope to improve the Democratic Party so millions of new voters will join us. New voters will want to join us because we will have their interests as a priority rather than the interests of the uncaring multinational corporations.

[dana_b]

37. hello fellow "new" Democrat!

I also registered as a Dem a few months ago just so I can vote for Bernie. So did my daughter, her boyfriend and a couple of their friends. If he loses, we will be independents again.

[MichaelSoE]

38. Welcome ... and I too

changed my registration from independent to democrat just so I could vote in the primary for Bernie. I have never voted for a Republican in my life and lived in NJ where the candidate was always already picked by the time primary voting occurred in the state. This time my primary vote may actually be needed and will count toward Bernie's nomination.

[Marty McGraw]

55. Kinda Glad

Where I am, don't need to swear any allegiances to vote what we want in the primaries (except for (R's) they do of course have their restrictions)

[TBF]

40. Welcome! #FeeltheBern nt

[Gmak]

41. You said it all, Elliot.

Great to hear that another intelligent and empathetic person is here among us.

[Dont call me Shirley]

42. Welcome, Elloit! Great post!

[yellerpup]

43. Welcome to DU!

Your passion is welcome.

[snort]

44. This:

"the type of person who is fit to lead because he does so out of a concern for others"

[colorado_ufo]

45. Welcome!

[lark]

46. Welcome to DU

Glad to have you with us!

[RoccoR5955]

48. Welcome to the family!

Good luck here!

[DownriverDem]

50. Except

Bernie isn't a member of the Democratic Party. That does bother me too.

[Empowerer]

52. I thought this was satire

Bernie is truth. Bernie is conviction. Bernie is love. Bernie is tolerance. Bernie is Robin Hood. Bernie is Pope Francis. Bernie is selfless. Bernie is fearless ... Bernie is humble. I could go on and on, but you know where I stand.

I still suspect that it may be ...

[mythology]

58. It is more than a little fawning and over the top

[Empowerer]

63. But it does have more than 100 recs and nothing but loving responses, so what do we know?

[pinebox]

54. Same here!

Maybe I should get on twitter and bring folks here to show Hillary supporters that this is a reality!
I was an indy who sided with Greens & The Justice Party and I switched just so I could caucus with Bernie.
Bernie is growing the party. Hillary is not.
Bernie brings a coalition....Dems, Republicans, Greens, indy's, Libertarians....Hillary brings the same people who have been voting straight ticket for years.

[liberal N proud]

56. So did Bernie

[platitudipus]

60. Love your post Elliot

I too am new to posting here, been reading DU for over a year after hearing Thom Hartmann talking about it. I am new to this voting stuff also. I'll be 60 in 2 days and have never voted for anything. The main reason was I didn't identify with either the Republicans or Democrats. Then I started watching Thom Hartmann and discovered Bernie Sanders. In a nut shell...when he said he was running for President, I registered to vote (for the first time in my life) as a Democrat so I could vote for Bernie in Florida's primary. He inspired my vote, he earned my vote, he is going to get my vote. Bernie's got me fired up for the first time in my life! Whether I remain a voting Democrat depends a lot on the DNC from this point on. We are the ones the polls aren't counting, wait till they see us at the voting booths!

[questionseverything]

65. welcome to du

[platitudipus]

66. Thank you questionseverything!

You are my first welcome! It took me a while to figure out how to respond, but I'll get the hang of it. I'm sure there's a lot I will need to learn about posting here.

[questionseverything]

67. du is a great way to get the news

https://twitter.com/Beaverdale

[Samantha]

61. Welcome to DU

Recommended your thread. Very interesting read.

Sam

[Arazi]

62. Welcome!

[bvar22]

64. I joined the Democratic Party in 1967...

..so that I could support Bernie (though I didn't know him then) and Mainstream-Center FDR Democrats like him.
.
.
.
.
Unfortunately, with the exception of a few in Congress, they have been few and far between as our Party has been chasing the Republicans to the Far Right for the last 30 years.
I know who Wellstone would endorse.


[font color=firebrick][center]"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans.
I want a party that will STAND UP for Working Americans."
---Paul Wellstone [/font][/center] [center] [/font]
[font size=1]photo by bvar22
Shortly before Sen Wellstone was killed[/center][/font]

[stonecutter357]

68. Welcome to DU!