Should Hillary ask Bernie to be the VP on the Democratic ticket...?

[kentuck]

....if she is the nominee?

Or should she assume that Bernie's supporters will support her once the choice comes down to Clinton vs Trump?

Can the Democratic Party win the election without Hillary and Bernie's supporters joining forces?

I have my doubts. I have a feeling that the Democratic nominee will need all the votes they can muster to defeat Donald Trump.

Is it impossible for the two to unite into a Democratic coalition? Or do you think it is not necessary?

[boston bean]

1. NO.

[Buzz Clik]

2. No. She'd prefer to run with another Democrat.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. THIS

[stonecutter357]

30. Democratic party only.......thanks.

[FarPoint]

58. I certainly agree with you on that assessment.

[LexVegas]

3. Hell no. nt

[azurnoir]

5. I'm luvin' the replies here

[djean111]

6. No, Hillary needs to have the spotlight to herself.

And Bernie would just be used to scoop up his supporters, grassroots organizations, and money, and then relegated to dinners and funerals. Bernie, like Liz Warren, needs to be president or else in Congress. I am sure that Third Way Hillary would like both of them out of there. Third Way in the WSJ - "Elizabeth Warren is getting out of hand". That show a certain sense of entitlement, doesn't it?

Not voting for Hillary no matter who her VP is.

[CentralCoaster]

47. She will select someone whom, in her mind, is a lesser individual, a weaker person, as she sees them

And that alone is going to make it interesting.

They will not be a strong leader, they will have an adequate resumé, probably a man and not a white man.

As I said, someone whom, to her, is inferior.

She loves her some spotlight and only shares it with the likes of Kissinger.

[sufrommich]

7. No,not a prayer of that happening.

Her VP pick will be younger than her.

[DrDan]

9. 0% chance

some very good candidates out there - Tim Kaine and Julian Castro to name 2

either an infinitely better choice

[RDANGELO]

10. She needs to pick someone who has a history of being against the trade deals.

Bernie wont want it.

[VulgarPoet]

11. Hell no.

I'm not just some faceless number for Hillary to try to pander to. If he accepted that kind of post, he'd be betraying the entire movement he fostered.

Fuck. That.

[Scuba]

12. She's already got her guy lined up ....

Jeb!

[Fuddnik]

19. I thought it was Larry Flynt

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/larry-flynt-endorses-hillary-clinton-117547

[Feathery Scout]

13. If Bernie Were 10 Years Younger...

If Bernie Were 10 Years Younger, I think This Could Be An Option To Bring Both Factions Together....


I believe Hillary has to take someone younger than herself....

[liberal from boston]

62. Go Bernie

Bernie would NEVER accept a VP offer from Hillary!! Bernie wants a moral economy--Wall Street owns Hillary Hillary's aggressive hawkish foreign policy would never be supported by Bernie. Bernie is in this till the Convention.

[SidDithers]

14. Absolutely fucking not...nt

Sid

[Chan790]

15. I suspect he'd decline if asked.

I think this became personal for both of them a long time ago. Pretty much the only motivation for the two candidates or their supporters to play nice now is the unmitigated disaster that would be a Trump presidency. I think the lyrics to the Deep Blue Something song Breakfast at Tiffany's summarize the state of the Democratic coalition quite well: Nothing left in common, nothing actually holding us together but nostalgia for a party that none of us really want back.

♫You'll say, we've got nothin' in common
No common ground to start from
And we're falling apart
You'll say, the world has come between us
Our lives have come between us
Still I know you just don't care

And I said what about Breakfast at Tiffany's?
She said I think I remember the film
And as I recall I think, we both kind o' liked it
And I said well that's, the one thing we've got

I see you, the only one who knew me
But now your eyes see through me
I guess I was wrong
So what now?
It's plain to see we're over
And I hate when things are over
When so much is left undone♫

Someone asked a few days ago what I would want as a campaign promise to vote for Hillary...I finally have an answer. Hillary pledges to be a one-term President who will not run, endorse or involve herself in any way (other than turning over her donor list if asked to the DNC (and only the DNC, no PACs or candidates)) in 2020.

Hillary wants a Sanders endorsement? I want Sanders to choose who Hillary nominates for the next DNC chair so we can stomp the life out of the center-right corporatist coalition that has taken over the party, whose public face is the Clintons. It's not a cabinet post...it's not a huge demand, but I think it's a critical, strategic demand.

Everybody gets what they want...Hillary gets to be President, progressives get to wrest back the party from the DLC and its ilk.

As a goodwill gesture to seal the deal, can we please shoot David Brock out of a cannon...preferably the general direction of a brick wall? I'll settle for a wrought-iron fence. Even if I was a Clinton supporter, I'd be squicked out by how creepy the guy is...she should have disavowed his support the same time she said she didn't want Charlie Koch's.

[Demsrule86]

20. Keep dreaming

Your side lost. Hillary agrees to nothing...Bernie and those who think she makes some 'deal' are dreaming. We can do without your vote thanks anyway. You don't get it. After the way, some supporters have behaved and Bernie attacks on both the nominee and the party,I want nothing to do with him;he would not help the ticket anyway. I can tell you Bernie would never win Ohio...I live in Ohio. He won't win Florida either. Go back to Vermont Bernie...after you embarrass yourself at the convention.

[Chan790]

21. Hillary has already said (repeatedly!!) she sees the need for compromise to achieve unity.

So, technically...you personally lost if you thought Hillary wasn't going to have to make concessions to be electable in the GE.

Even your candidate sees that she needs Sanders and has to hammer out an agreement.

[Demsrule86]

22. That was before his attacks on her and Democrats in general.

It is clear that he can deliver nothing. Thus, she has no reason. If his platform was so...popular. He would have won the primary.

[Chan790]

25. That was most-recently yesterday. n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

72. For Bernie, it's the opposite of personal; it's about principles.

If taking the VP position meant that he could meaningfully influence policy, he might agree. Otherwise, it's just a job.

[kentuck]

16. So, even if we lose...

we still have our principles?

[Demsrule86]

17. Absolutely not

No, He represents a small state which would gain Hillary nothing. After he concedes, I doubt he will endorse, he can 'sashay' away. I never want to see or hear of him again. I would not join anything he represents. He has shown his true character during the primary...not someone I would choose to lead anything. He can go back to Vermont. His senate career complete with chairmanships etc is over.

[kentuck]

18. Right!

Don't need him or his supporters? That doesn't sound very logical.

[Chan790]

23. Don't mind the delusional.

They'd rather lose than make compromises to someone who dared challenge their "inevitable one." even if it means that she's not viable in the GE.

This one seems to think that VT is the only state that Sanders has pull in. Hillary will lose all of New England without Sanders support if she's running against Trump, something Clintonites don't get because they don't grasp that RI, CT, ME and MA are all indie-dominated states where the majority of polled independents favor Trump over Hillary and Sanders over Trump. NH has more Republicans than Democrats...but Sanders is popular there.

She might have eked-out CT before Dann Malloy endorsed her. There's a good chance that a recall provision passes the state legislature next session explicitly so he can be ousted from office. Everybody hates Dann: Democrats because he's working with the GOP alone to pass a budget, Republicans because he's in favor of a total gun ban, and independents because he's done a shitty job.

[Demsrule86]

24. It is too late

He has crossed the line. I don't think he could deliver his supporters anyway. The time has come and gone...after he talked of a contested convention...he was done.

[justiceischeap]

28. Not what you want to hear kentuck, I'm sure

but the 19% (almost 20%) of Republicans that will vote for HRC if Trump is nominated outweighs the Bernie or Bust voters. She truly does not need them.

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/04/25/bombshell-poll-20-republicans-vote-hillary-clinton-trump-wins.html

[Demsrule86]

44. Whether we need them or not...he can't deliver them

Thus, we will have to try on our own. Bernie people only care about Bernie...the carnage that would ensue if a GOP is elected president...most likley holding three branches of government is of no concern to them. Let them eat cake so say the Bernie supporters.

[Adrahil]

26. No. And he wouldn't take it, if it were offered. NT

[kentuck]

27. That would be ideal, would it not?

Hillary could show a willingness to compromise and Bernie could turn her down?

[hueymahl]

32. Good point. NT

[Adrahil]

40. Maybe, but I think it could be awkward.

Ultimately, I think NRC should ask Sanders what kind of role he'd like to play. He might want to be Secretary of Labor, which would be a great position for him, or he may prefer to stay in the Senate.

[KittyWampus]

29. No. Maybe Hall Monitor.

[asuhornets]

31. NO

[Firebrand Gary]

33. No, there are candidates better suited for that role.

As frustrated as I am with Sander's, he's still a solid senator, even if I don't like his pro gun votes.

[PoliticAverse]

34. Not happening. n/t

[bigwillq]

35. No (nt)

[HooptieWagon]

36. No. She should just assume Sanders supporters will 'come to heel'.

Ghat way the result will hurt much worse, and the wake up call the Democratic Party needs more effective.

[Jitter65]

61. Are you calling them dogs? nt

[auntpurl]

37. She needs someone who can help her in a swing/contested state

Vermont is going to go blue no matter what.

Bernie is not the right choice for VP. She should choose someone young, someone who could potentially carry the flag after her 8 years. Obama was inexperienced and needed the steady hand of Biden. Hillary is nothing if not experienced and needs to bring some young Dem blood into the WH.

[ucrdem]

38. Of course. She probably will.

And she'll probably do it in a way that leaves no doubt as to her actual intention one way or the other. Personally, I'd be happy either way, but if Bernie really wanted it I think he would have run a different campaign. Too bad he didn't.

[desmiller]

39. Fuck no. I believe that making Sanders VP will put a "pacifier" on the movement he started.

[rock]

41. Oh good Lord no.

Why do you think I'm such a strong Hillary supporter? Because Bernie is a very bad politician. I don't understand why his constituency continues to elect him. His ideas are unrealistic, his methods are poor, and political philosophy is almost as bad as the Republicans. But I did enjoy your question as you made a great straight man! Thanks.

[peace13]

55. Love that we have common ground!

For different reasons.......

[rock]

59. The important thing we do agree

That it is a phenomenally bad fit. (From either side).

[peace13]

70. : )

[Frances]

42. Obama did not pick Hillary for his VP

and I don't think Hillary will pick Bernie

But then Obama picked Hillary for Secretary of State

[Tarc]

43. I would prefer someone who was not a) aged, b) male, c) white, to be honest

One or two of the criteria tops, but not all 3. Again. The country needs to broaden its horizons.

[John Poet]

45. I'm SURE Hillary would much prefer JEB BUSH

or some other neoconservative, if she could get away with it.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

46. No. And, if she does he should politely turn her down and laugh at the pandering.

[Betty Karlson]

48. WE should ask Bernie to be the Presidential nominee. - and since he may well enter

the convention with more pledgded delegates to his name than Clinton, Clinton should stop forgoing conclusions.

[Betty Karlson]

49. Actually: on second thought, that would complete her copying of his entire platform.

If you start borrowing the candidate from the platform too...

[Ino]

50. Yes, she should ask him...

and he should laugh and walk away.

But she would never choose anyone who would outshine her. So no Bernie, no Elizabeth Warren.

She is the superstahhhhh!

[MariaThinks]

51. yes

[Tikki]

52. NO

I am hoping for a Julian Castro Vice-Presidency.



Tikki

[TheKentuckian]

69. That way another neolib can be groomed up and use an ism as a cudgel to keep the malcontents in line

[HooptieWagon]

53. Dick Cheney is much closer to her ideology.

And he's happy in the background. Perfect Veep for her.

[aaaaaa5a]

54. Hell no.

Hillary needs Tim Kaine from VA. Or Sherrard Brown from OH. If she wins either state, she is the next President of the USA.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

71. Tim Kaine??? Gawd, I hope not!

He's just useless.

[BeyondGeography]

56. Disaster on a lot of levels

No.

[dana_b]

57. No

Should Bernie ask Hillary to be his VP?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

60. I doubt he'd accept if she offered it,

and it would be seen as blatant pandering anyhow, which is pretty much what it would be. We can count on Hillary to choose another centrist like herself.

One reason some have mentioned for not choosing Bernie is his age; the assumption is always that you have to have a young VP, especially if the Pres. is older. However, if for any reason a President can't continue to serve and the VP becomes president, the new president must appoint a new VP: the 25th Amendment says: "Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress." (This came about after Johnson became president when JFK was assassinated and there was no VP for more than a year). So even if Bernie was Hillary's VP, and then she became unable to serve and he became President, we wouldn't have to worry about the Speaker of the House becoming VP (that being Paul Ryan - gahh!). Bernie could just appoint somebody like Elizabeth Warren.

Not that this is ever going to happen, of course.

[Attorney in Texas]

63. Doesn't have to be Sanders, but if she's nominated, she needs someone to help build her credibility

from a zero starting point with millennials and with the progressive grassroots.

If nominated, she will not to this.

If nominated, she and her conservative white male swing-state running-mate will probably win (unless the FOIA lawsuits blow up) but serve one unsuccessful term (unsuccessful in terms of accomplishing the goals of the Democratic party but totally successful in terms of completing Hillary's resume).

[BootinUp]

64. I doubt Hillary trusts Bernie enough to want him on the ticket. nt

[coyote]

65. No Bernie has too much integrity than to go

On a ticket with a neocon

[enid602]

66. czar

I'd like bern to be given a cabinet level position as ACA Czar. It would be bad news for the insurance execs.

[Beacool]

67. No, she won't ask him to be her VP.

He's too old and from a NE state with little diversity. She will choose someone who is younger than herself and from a diverse state. That doesn't mean that she won't reach out to him for advice and ask him to campaign for her.

[jwirr]

68. Is it possible for the two teams in a tug of war to unite into

one team?

[Waiting For Everyman]

73. I bet ya she chooses Bill.

And she'll say, well, JFK made Bobby the Attorney General.

The most important quality to her, is someone who will do what she wants, someone 100% loyal.

[Sheepshank]

74. suppose she could ask.....

...and immediately follow it up with, "just kidding", give him a playful punch on the upper arm and wink.