Sanders Fans, I Get Your Pain. But Let’s Unite Against Trump.

[SecularMotion]

WE had lost. And I was as sure as I’ve been about anything else in my life that my party was making an enormous mistake. My candidate had won 23 primaries, about 1,900 delegates and, by one count, the popular vote. My candidate may have actually gotten more votes than the guy we Democrats were about to nominate, who was inexperienced and, I thought, unelectable.

Putting aside these macro issues, I was also deeply depressed. Anyone who has ever lost a serious presidential campaign can tell you it is an excruciating experience. I know what I’m talking about — I’ve lost three, including one in 2008 that was, we thought, un-losable: Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama. I was her 31-year-old press secretary.

Losing is crushing: If you’re a staff member you’re immediately unemployed. And whether staff member or die-hard supporter, you’re disappointed and angry — really, really angry. You have come to believe (because you must in order to work 18 to 20 hours a day for very little pay) that your candidate is a hero who will save the world, and that your opponent is a horrible person who will ruin it.

So once we lost the long primary fight, I wanted to shout my certainty that she was the right nominee and he was the wrong one to anyone who would listen. Night after night I sat down and wrote excoriating op-ed essays taking on Mr. Obama, the press and the party structure that helped elect him. I’d wake up in the morning and realize that what I had written sounded shrill, sometimes crazy and way too upset, and I’d tear it up and start over again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/06/opinion/campaign-stops/sanders-fans-i-get-your-pain-but-lets-unite-against-trump.html

[Sky Masterson]

1. We tried to

But the Party wanted to run the weakest possible candidate ever.
One that is a living gotv machine for the republican side.
It amazes me that the going tactic is Someone to vote against instead of someone to vote for.
When voting becomes as annoying or uninspiring as a trip to the DMV why even show up.
I survived 8 years of the Buffoon, and I will survive 4 years of the Orange devil.
Maybe after that our party will wake up and realize that they themselves are the problem,
they themselves are the reason Clinton lost when she loses.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. Or maybe the party didn't run Clinton...

She decided to run on her own?

[Sky Masterson]

5. With 400+ superdelegates before a vote was even cast.

Spare me.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. So you're saying Hillary didn't decide to run on her own?

You're making very little sense, which is not surprising.

The party doesn't decide for candidates.

The candidates decide for themselves if they want to run for the nomination.

[Sky Masterson]

12. That is funny

Because i don't see any sense coming from your response.
Hillary has been babied,debates were scheduled when nobody would watch them by DWS, and what happened in Nevada was clear proof that she is being "Helped" by the party hacks.
I have to leave for work so I can't answer your response which I'm sure will be just as asinine.
Enjoy your Nominee.

[AgingAmerican]

70. Everything they say is false

Everything..

[MineralMan]

96. Millions watched those debates. I remember looking at the ratings

when they happened. Millions.

[Lord Magus]

17. But if those 400+ superdelegates were to decide after all votes have been cast to overturn the vote

you'd be fine with that? So long as they're overturning it in your guy's favor of course.

[Peachhead22]

77. If the SD's made their intentions known AFTER all votes...

...I'd be very happy. No matter who the SDs voted for. Because I would know they had no possibility of influencing the results of the popular vote. Of course I'd be a little unhappy if the SDs didn't go for my candidate. But at least I would feel like it was a fairer process.

[Sky Masterson]

87. Preach it!

[gollygee]

10. Thank you for being the first person to admit it's about your privilege

YOU survived 8 years of the GWB and you are convinced, probably with good reason, that you'll survive 4 years of Trump as well. Lots of people are not convinced they will survive four years of Trump.

And historically, when Democrats win, the party moves to the left, and the more consistently they win, the more they move to the left. Conversely, they more they lose, and the more they lose by, the more the party moves to the right. We are where we are because of how popular Reagan was. He won by so much that the party moved to the right.

This was posted by Robert Reich on Facebook:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512051205

Some of you say a Trump presidency would be so horrible it would galvanize a forceful progressive movement in response. The problem with this argument is twofold. First, Trump could do huge and unalterable damage to America and the world in the meantime. Second, rarely if ever in history has a sharp swing to the right moved the political pendulum further back in the opposite direction. Instead, it tends to move the “center” rightward, as did Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

[Sky Masterson]

14. Whateves.

Go project on someone else.

[Ned_Devine]

78. Thank you for your post Sky

I'm with you all the way

[Sky Masterson]

86. You are welcome.

I love the whole "White Privilege"argument used against me.
I am a 50 year old small business owner who made less than 25 grand last year and lived on rice and soup yet I am "White Privileged"
I wonder if they believe their own donkey shit.

[bahrbearian]

21. Hillary, GWB's third term.

[gollygee]

22. So I assume you are not friendly with any Republicans?

I have Republican friends and family,whom I would never in a million years vote for.

[bahrbearian]

25. Yes I have Republican friends and I never agreed with them that war was the answer,

I never helped them argue their case for War. And after Iraq I never gave them a hug, I shame them.

[gollygee]

36. So you're at a funeral with a friend with whom you have political disagreements

And you don't hug them?

[bahrbearian]

49. Ya, I'd hug the giggling Murder Monkey because He Would be my friend. I have Morals.

[Kelvin Mace]

30. I cannot help who I am related to

but I do get to chose who I hug.

[gollygee]

33. I have been known to hug my brother

And he's horribly right wing. Still my brother.

I have long time friends who are right wing too, and they sometimes get hugs. Particularly at funerals, and as I recall that's where this was.

[bahrbearian]

50. Did your brother bring untold Death and Misery to Millions, Did you promote his recklessness.

[Kelvin Mace]

63. I can understand familial ties

but not why anyone would hug say George Bush or Henry Kissinger who was not obligated to by some familial relationship. I can even understand a hug at a funeral

Again, HRC WILLFULLY associates with these people outside these narrow contexts. She vacations with the Kissingers and the Bush's.

Some lines cannot be crossed without moral peril. I would pour water on Kissinger, or Cheney, or Bush or John Yoo if they were on fire. I would even call 911 and stay with them until the paramedics arrived, but I would never forget the monsters they are. Not for ONE second. And I would never associate with them outside of the circumstances required by human decency (mine not theirs, since theirs would mean toasting marshmallows over their burning corpses).

[LibDemAlways]

76. Please don't post something like that without a warning.

It's repulsive. No self respecting person with an ounce of integrity would allow themselves to be embraced by the blood stained hands of a war criminal. My mom always reminded me that I would be judged by the company I keep. The same holds true for Hillary.

[Exilednight]

43. this time, the party didn't move further left, it moved right

With Hillary. Obama's second term was much more productive, and liberal.

Hillary's first foreign policy issue in the middle-east will be to repair tied with Bibi which is a big no-no for me.

[gollygee]

45. We don't really know yet

I voted for Bernie and I prefer him because he is very progressive.

But Hillary seems to follow her perception of public opinion. I think she'll be strongly influenced by how successful Bernie's campaign has been. And yes, he's going to lose, but that doesn't mean he hasn't done way, way better than anyone thought he would going into this. He's been revolutionary despite losing IMO.

[mac56]

72. "Hillary seems to follow her perception of public opinion."

AKA "Camp Weathervane."

[gollygee]

74. Yeah but

If she wasn't able to change with the political climate, she'd be criticized for that too.

[mac56]

75. Joking, I'm sure.

[MariaThinks]

54. Its disgusting that anyone would support Trump over any Democratic Nominee

Period.

[Lord Magus]

11. "The party" didn't decide to run Hillary as the nominee.

The voters decided. But since the voters didn't pick your guy, democracy is no longer a valid way of selecting a candidate?

[Sky Masterson]

15. No.

Try again

[bkkyosemite]

35. the DECISION WAS CLINTON'S AND THE DNC..NOT DEMOCRACY BUT OLIGARHCY..just emphasizing not yelling.

[Lord Magus]

56. This is what democracy looks like:

http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/D

It doesn't cease to be democratic when a candidate you dislike wins.

[GulfCoast66]

71. What is it

With you guys and all CAPS!?

I really, really weakens your argument.

[Joe the Revelator]

2. Nah man, according to Bill Clinton, we're all toast.

Unity is a two way street.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

41. You were one of the hecklers?

Because that's who he was referring to.

[Joe the Revelator]

64. LMAO, no he wasn't

[Dr Hobbitstein]

69. Yes, he was.

Quit with the BORG-think. Bernie supporters are not Legion. Calling a couple asshole hecklers out does not equate to calling out all of his supporters.

[840high]

80. Poor excuse and you know it.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

82. Yes, it's a poor excuse to think

that a couple of asshat hecklers are representative of Bernie supporters as a whole.

[BeyondGeography]

4. The standard Sanders diehard response is "but they were the same"

policy-wise, that is. But this article serves as a reminder just how different that race was in other ways that made it very hard for HRC's supporters to move on. It was much, much closer and the experience argument was a strong one, at least strong enough for HRC's diehards to sincerely believe that nominating Obama was a tragic mistake.

In the end, none of that mattered because of the candidate herself, who sent a clear conciliatory message that saved people like Jay Carson from himself. There's a lot to be learned from the way she handled herself after the primaries ended in 2008. Hopefully, Bernie took some notes.

[Kelvin Mace]

28. Long term, all are corrupt and all will serve the god of money

It is just a matter of the timeline.

[Jackilope]

6. Sanders run opened up the curtain and exposed sunlight

.... on the DNC and our flawed voting integrity here in the US -- not GOP vs Dem, but Corporate Dem against Dem.

You cannot un see that. You can't plug your nose and expect that corrupt will fix their corruption.

You can't have Big Dawg shooting off his mouth and calling Sanders supporters toast. I throw up a little bit in my mouth at the thought of either he or HRC or tRump in the White House.

[Lord Magus]

16. Integrity is not defined by a Bernie victory. Hillary winning a state doesn't make it fraudulent.

These "voting integrity" complaints aren't just nonsense, they're a vicious smear against the millions of voters who cast ballots you think shouldn't be counted.

[Jackilope]

18. So people knocked off and registrations changed are in my imagination?

Our voting integrity has been compromised long before this. One has to run above margin of error by several points to ensure a win. Each year we become complacent of our candidate "wins".

[babylonsister]

20. OR Bill comparing us to teabaggers.

That I won't forget...

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bill-Clinton-Compares-Bernie-Sanders-Supporters-to-Tea-Party-20160216-0009.html

Bill Clinton Compares Bernie Sanders Supporters to Tea Party

[Jester Messiah]

24. Yeah, that was the last straw.

He didn't burn his bridges with us, he called in a drone strike on them.

[bkkyosemite]

37. Yes he did .........the truth is very TELLING.

[pengu]

7. I'm not disappointed, I'm pissed off

The primary was crooked. The likely nominee is worse than awful. The only argument they're deploying is "She's not Trump". To hell with that.

[840high]

81. ...!100++++

[Orsino]

8. That's what the convention is for. n/t

[Vattel]

13. I get it, support the hawk to avoid the loon.

Lovely choice we will have in November.

[Jackilope]

19. Establishment House deals the deck. House always wins.

[Jester Messiah]

23. Sure, I won't vote for Trump.

I won't vote for Hillary either, but I won't pull the lever for Trump.

[Kelvin Mace]

26. The party and many people here have made it quite plain

they don't want us, or our votes. They got it covered, and if they don't they'll just blame us for their failure.

[Hiraeth]

27. still ... not ... ready ...

[SmittynMo]

29. July 25

tells the whole story. See ya then.

[Baitball Blogger]

31. The sad thing is that we will do what we have to do and Hillary

will take the win as a sign that she has carte blanche to pursue neo-liberal tactics.


I hope Bernie makes it as close as possible so she can see what a tenuous win it is.

[Miles Archer]

38. The "She'd better..." posts slay me

"She'd better make room for a progressive agenda"

"She'd better (fill in the blanks)"

She's going to do whatever the hell she wants to do, and anyone who thinks it will differ from any other point in her career is in for a rude awakening.

She is "The Decider." It's how she acts, how she talks, how she reacts to criticism, how she does everything.

She will absolutely see it as carte blanche to do whatever she chooses, whenever she chooses, and she will handle any blowback from that the same way George W. Bush handled it.

[Baitball Blogger]

60. Hillary will have one problem that Bush didn't have.

Not only will she have to deal with heighten scrutiny and on-going investigations, but she does not have party supporters that will be abusive in their tactics to demand submission from everyone else.

The Republicans were united in their support of Bush and every bone-headed decision he made. Hillary will not be able to count on this kind of wall to slow down dissent.

[Andy823]

65. Bernie is the most partisan Senator in congress

He does not work well with others, it's pretty much his way or the highway, so how would it be any different if he won?

What I really get tired of is the old "Bernie is the only one that can save us" line.

[Miles Archer]

66. What the hell does that have to do with anything I just said?

seriously, are you replying directly to me, or someone else in this conversation?

[LoverOfLiberty]

32. It was a valiant effort

but you can't reach agreement with people who actually think of Hillary Clinton as GWB.

[restorefreedom]

34. and today's loyalty oath brought to you by......the nyt

whoever wrote this piece is clueless. the clintons and the dnc have proceeded to lie, cheat and shit all over bernie and his supporters. and have been clear that they neither need nor want our support.

too late now

#bernieorbust
#neverhillary
#fuckunity

[ncliberal]

61. +1. nt

[Loudestlib]

39. If there is no one that represents my interest this election cycle, I'll probably just sit this one

[aikoaiko]

40. I'm uninterested in your empathy. I'll talk about uniting after the primary is over.

Hillary conceded early in a quid pro quo to have Obama help erase her 12 million in campaign debt to herself.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

42. That's a major crime you're accusing the President and former SoS with.

Do you have proof of this? You should inform the proper authorities.

[aikoaiko]

44. Her communications director in 2008 alluded to it.

US elections: Hillary Clinton 'about to drop out'
By Alex Spillius in Washington
6:14PM BST 12 May 2008

Howard Wolfson, Mrs Clinton’s chief of communications, meanwhile admitted to debts of $21 million, but insisted the show would go on. The candidate has already lent her campaign $11.6 million, and there are suggestions that Mr Obama may help her out with a fundraising event if she quits soon and works for the good of the party.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1949789/US-elections-Hillary-Clinton-about-to-drop-out.html

Is it a crime or just good old fashioned Clinton pragmatism.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

53. That's about dropping her campaign and helping the party (legal).

There's nothing there about a quid pro quo appointment to the SoS position (illegal).

[aikoaiko]

90. If you reread my post #40, I addressed the quid pro quo involving debt

And not a cabinet position.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

91. That is still legal.

Telling someone if they drop their (losing) campaign and you will help them fundraise to pay for their debt is perfectly legal.

[aikoaiko]

93. I did t say it was illegal. I stated that it happened.

And it helps explain why HRC didn't keep campaigning.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

94. For some reason, I swear I saw a reference to Obama giving HRC the SoS

position in exchange for dropping the race in your first post. I was apparently wrong. My mistake.

[Lord Magus]

57. That's not what actually happened though.

Her campaign debt didn't get erased, except by fundraising for the next 4 years.

[aikoaiko]

58. Yes, but what did happen was Obama asking his donors to donate to HRC to erase her debt.

[Live and Learn]

89. + a gazillion. nt

[VulgarPoet]

51. Clinton fans, I get your jackbooted elation over getting to kick us while we're down a little more.

But we've been getting told by the Clinton campaign for the past three months what we can go do, where we can go do it, and what we can go do it with. What the actual, everliving fuck makes y'all think we'd come out for them other than the weaker willed who are easily swayed by fear? Her and her kind have been saying they'll win without us, okay, I have no problems taking them at their word. She won't get a dime, or a second in campaigning from me, and she'll be LUCKY if I can bring myself to vote for her. Because if I do, the blood of my brothers and sisters in arms-- a loyalty I hold over loyalty to this political jackass and pony show-- will be on my hands when she gets them killed.

[MariaThinks]

52. Deal.

[floriduck]

55. As long as I vote my conscience, I will sleep like a baby at night.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

59. No sale. The the "lesser of two evils" ploy is past its sell-by date.

[Barack_America]

67. Love it.

Stale, moldy, and likely to induce vomiting.

Clinton is just too much to ask.

[Dems to Win]

62. Fight the new Mussolini by supporting his wedding guest? No Thanks

I refuse to watch the Hillary-Trump Reality TV Show, directed by Bill Clinton

What we are seeing is Reality TV, directed by Bill Clinton, who talked with Donald Trump prior to Trump's entering the race and reportedly encouraged him to get into it. Bill and Donny are working together to elect Hillary.

If Hillary is nominated and we really do have a Trump-Clinton race, I'm going to try to develop new hobbies and give up on following presidential politics. I hate reality TV, and I'm convinced that's all a Clinton-Trump race will be -- a reality TV show that ends with Hillary in the White House.

The more outrageous Trump is, the more he pushes people, who 2 years ago would have said they would NEVER vote for Hillary, into voting for her in the fall. It's the only way she can plausibly win, so that's the theater show Bill and Donald are producing.

I'm also convinced that the powers that rig the voting machines will do so on Hillary's behalf. She's the Establishment choice, by far. She's the one who will keep the Military Industrial Complex and Wall Street rolling along as usual, lining the pockets of the rich and powerful. The outcome is not in doubt. The show will go on without me.

[PowerToThePeople]

73. This is the plan.

[840high]

83. .+1

[azurnoir]

68. yes forget that as little as 18 hours ago our party lied through it's teeth about Sanders demanding

polls closed in Puerto Rico forget that we fabricated him creeping away with boxs loaded with ballots (presumably for Hillary) forget Nevada and our fabrications about what happened there forget that we've played divide and conquer among racial groups within the Democratic VOTE FOR HER or.......

[AzDar]

79. Best get behind the Candidate who can beat him, then...

Go, Bernie..GO!

[Live and Learn]

88. +10,000 nt

[BKH70041]

84. Meh

Sander's supporters need to go form their own party. They'll be much happier in the long run. Even in the short run they'll be better off.

[democrattotheend]

85. I've come to terms with it

After New York, I was forced to accept that Bernie probably wouldn't be the nominee. I cried for days, and it still makes me really sad, because I think he is a really good man and one of the few politicians who could genuinely say he is not in the pocket of the corporate oligarchy. Even my libertarian boyfriend and his conservative friends respect Bernie for being true to his convictions, and some of them would have voted for him over Trump, but will not vote for Hillary because they don't trust her.

I don't hate Hillary, and there are things I admire about her. When I was a little girl I idolized her, and I still admire her tenacity, intelligence, and the way she has not been afraid to defy gender stereotypes. I certainly think she is a million times better than Trump, and don't see how any true progressive could disagree.

I certainly want her to win if she is the nominee, but I am not confident that she will. While I think she would (for the most part) be a good president, she is a lousy candidate. She never should have lost the 2008 primaries to Obama, with all the built in advantages she had. Bernie never should have been able to get as far as he has, given how much institutional support she had. She makes it hard to trust her by being opaque and wishy washy, even though I don't think she really has much to hide.

I guess all we can do now is hope for the best, and do what we can to beat Trump. I am willing to do my part even though Hillary wasn't my first choice and even though I don't think the nominating process was entirely fair. I may still be tempted to cast a protest vote, but only because I live in a solidly blue state and I think the long term interests of democracy would be better served if a Democrat loses the popular vote and wins the election, because if that happens to both parties in a span of 20 years, maybe there will finally be enough impetus to get rid of the electoral college.

[VulgarPoet]

92. There's no point. To quote a good friend, this is all kabuki theater.

Hillary picked her foe, and save the one season-long technical hiccup that was Sanders, everything is going exactly to script. Act 3 will involve another 47% moment that even manages to alienate the wingnut right wingers, and down comes the crown-- I've read this script before. There's no point. Most I can do is cryptologically harden everything I own before the "Democratic nominee" makes it illegal.

[Orsino]

95. Convention comes this summer. It'll be okay. n/t