2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumANTHONY WEINER: I have one big question for Bernie Sanders
ANTHONY WEINER: I have one big question for Bernie SandersApart from the Donald Trump sideshow, one of the biggest stories in the presidential election this past week has been the apparent momentum Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) is enjoying in his underdog campaign.
Sanders has been drawing crowds of thousands at his rallies and is quickly becoming the main primary rival of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. I totally get Bernie Mania. However, Im deeply conflicted about it.
My wife works for Hillary so theres that. But Im also torn because I dont really understand what he is doing.
I served with Bernie and he is my kind of politician a progressive guy with some New York City attitude. Its hard not to love Bernie Sanders. The Brooklyn accent perfected at Madison High School and Brooklyn College and the rumpled mad scientist look are perfect compliments to his colorful and unyielding presentations...
more at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/anthony-weiner-one-big-bernie-144751949.html
FSogol
(46,256 posts)boston bean
(36,420 posts)The Second Stone
(2,900 posts)Beat me to it! Snicker, snicker, snicker!
artislife
(9,497 posts)One thing Weiner has is....
Name recognition. And not the best kind. It was interesting to see his wife will probably have a place in H's inner circle if so elected. Like attract like, I suppose.
Autumn
(45,964 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)with the dumbass 'big mistake' of both their husbands.
Both woman have handled the historic public floggings over the 'dumbass mistakes' of their SO, with impressive grace and dignity.
99Forever
(14,524 posts)... is sending pictures of his Weiner to women on the internet.
Yeah, let's listen to the guy with real sound "political judgement."
zappaman
(20,607 posts)We can't say that with certainty, can we?
Aerows
(39,961 posts)man's wang?
No?
I didn't think so.
I'm pretty sure that Bernie is aware that sending pictures of his wang isn't exactly going to get him votes. I'm also pretty sure that he isn't the kind of dumbass that would send pictures of his wang ... to well, anybody.
Stellar
(5,644 posts)TheNutcracker
(2,104 posts)demwing
(16,916 posts)Wait...what were you thinking of?
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)djean111
(14,255 posts)Yahoo. Would be surprised if anyone cared who Weiner is supporting.
Oh, and like Weiner was going to not support his wife's boss.
Am trying desperately not to make Weiner jokes.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)That talking point has been floating around for awhile. "He's not a Democrat. Why would you vote for him?" This is a surrogate attack to deflect from the fact that she will not answer questions nor has she presented a campaign platform. They're concocting it right now. Just wait.
And isn't it funny that so far this is the THIRD high-profile surrogate attack, and yet Bernie Sanders and his folk are "meanies." Curious.
kenfrequed
(7,865 posts)Not a very reliable surrogate. If he is functioning in such a role then they must be desperate. Who really wants to play surrogate to attack a guy that could end up as the nominee?
Maybe Weiner is just trying to keep his name in the press somehow.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Huma is as close to Clinton as it gets. They are so out of touch, they think any smear will work. Look who they've used so far. It's all very creepy.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)tblue37
(66,035 posts)Little Star
(17,055 posts)Anthony ever again, it is a good question.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Bernie is right about a lot of things. He is right that a Medicare for All health care program is a simpler, cheaper and more American solution to our health care needs than a jury rigged system that is better under Obamacare but still has too many gaps. And his battle cry on behalf of working Americans is almost as good as Hillary Clintons.
In spite of all this, if Bernie wants to lead this party, he needs to explain what he's doing here in the first place.
TBF
(33,948 posts)Hillary was a Senator for 8 years & Sec. of State 4 years.
I see the experience as roughly comparable in that she also was First Lady so she definitely has been in the upper circles of politics.
So, given roughly comparable levels of experience I then look at positions on issues. For me personally Bernie is the better match - I can go way back and find him consistently supporting working class folks, oppressed folks, voting against war, etc ... If I go way back with Hillary I see her sitting on Walmart's board of directors.
It's not like I won't vote for her if she's the nominee - but then again I would probably vote for a doorknob over Jeb! after what other members of his family did to this country. But as I teach my kids to say about food they don't care for " she's) not my favorite".
marym625
(17,997 posts)And not worth trying to explain.
Divernan
(15,480 posts)Little Star
(17,055 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Why don't Democrats support their base when they get in to office? And, why do some Democrats put their party at risk by partaking in inane and/or illegal activities?
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)...remember when people here LOVED Weiner for his Grayson-type speeches, and couldn't believe the photo stories were true?
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Ridicule is an ugly tactic.
Guess what. It doesn't change minds and it makes people angry.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Akicita
(1,196 posts)AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)Because Bernie's message is undeniably rooted in simple truth. These sort of attacks makes the attacker look unhinged. McCaskill got torn to shreds for her little tirade. Attack Bernie from the right, and they open up an ideological chasm between them, thus undermining her 'Me too!' attitude toward his social policies.
They are likely using Weiner because of his liberal cred, but all they are doing is undermining themselves.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Divernan
(15,480 posts)Guess it's gotten extremely awkward & difficult keeping him away from his wife's involvement in many, many social occasions re the campaign. Would you want this creep in your house if you were sponsoring a fundraiser? Around your wife? Your daughter? Your sister?
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)She sounds like a saint. I am not.
Response to madfloridian (Reply #77)
Post removed
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)Cyber sex isn't a 'sex offense'. IT's pathetic, but if it's between consenting adults then I have no problem with it.
Divernan
(15,480 posts)And if, hypothetically speaking of course, he got caught, got in trouble, caused a public scandal so severe he had to resign his job and sit at home, humiliated your daughter and then had so little self control that he did it again? All of that's no problem?
Well, he wasn't prosecuted in a court of law - I'll give you that.
Cyberstalking or sending pornography to children. If any of the women he was conversing with was under 18, criminal cyber-stalking laws would come into play. Ignorance of their age is not relevant.
Using federal resources for personal use. If that is Weiners congressional office in the photos, or computers at the office or phone lines were used, anything but de minimis use of them for personal use would violate federal law. There is no possible way to define these actions as constituent services, given their purely private nature and the fact that the participants were not, as far as we can tell, voters in his district.
Lewd Conduct. There are state statues that variously criminalize the depiction or showing of an erect penis in public, even if it is covered. New York and D.C. law would come into play. Further, there is an allegation that there is another picture out there of an explicit nature; that picture would be subject to the same state laws. However, both crimes require a victim, and no one here seems to be complaining about receiving the pictures.
Lying to Federal Investigators in the context of an investigation is a violation of federal law and a felony just ask Martha Stewart, who served jail time for it. It looks like Weiner was careful to avoid asking for a federal investigation based on his lies; time will tell if in private conversations with Capitol police or the FBI he lied. If he did, its a crime.
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)Consensual behavior between adults isn't 'stalking'. I don't buy neo-puritanism arguments.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)by far number one. Of course as Mr. Weiner learned , you're never ever really in a private chat on twitter. Plenty of people know the "brebart trick" of viewing what people think are private pics on twitter servers.
IMO, under age shouldn't even be allowed access to twitter at all.
udbcrzy2
(891 posts)Not a sex offender, but referred to as a 'disgraced internet sex-troll' by the media.
http://www.examiner.com/article/probe-of-hillary-clinton-pal-huma-abedin-ordered-by-federal-judge
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)He is an internet sex troll, not a sex offender.
I have a friend into that crap. It is soooo pathetic. He was once taken in by scammers from Ghana pretending to be women, sending them money and phone cards AND pictures of his wang, before ultimately finding out the 'girl' was actually a man.
He kept referring to the 'Ghana girl' as his 'girlfriend'. I warned him that many online dating scams are run out of Ghana and he indignantly said, "She wouldn't do that, she's not like that!!".
udbcrzy2
(891 posts)underthematrix
(5,811 posts)got his ass out of Congress because while he's free to tweet his penis all over the Internet, it is not okay for him to do it while representing the good people of New York. He was a great Rep but did a really really stupid thing. But we still have GOP David Vitter in tbe SEnate also known as Diaper Dan.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)...to see what sticks. First they tried attacking from the right with McCaskill, but it failed. Now they are trying it from the right again, but using a 'liberal' to do it. FAIL.
They really can't attack Bernie from the left because they would look disingenuous. They are obviously in a pickle and frustrated in finding an angle from which to attack him.
Therein lies their weakness: they feel they must 'attack' him.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)What's Hill to do, explain to voters how nice Wall St and Monsanto are?
cui bono
(19,926 posts)He's not liberal/socialist enough somehow. They linked to a socialist site I believe. I don't understand how that is supposed to help.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)seconds after posting them. LOL! we are all losing our minds.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)That is both funny and sad.
Do the Rec Circles meet at the Rec Square? Reccing OPs while having a few glasses of rec wine at the reclusive Recshead Pub while they listen to some Rec-n-Roll?
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)any money in it I will do it full time, cui bono honey.
marym625
(17,997 posts)I don't believe you have rec'd all the posts in the BSG today. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to put you on a time out from posting until you fulfill your recing quota.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)marym625
(17,997 posts)That's okay. Never mind
cui bono
(19,926 posts)I will be rectifying that soon.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)'check it, before you rec it'
Response to cui bono (Reply #173)
marym625 This message was self-deleted by its author.
marym625
(17,997 posts)And make sure you keep it secret!
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)cui bono
(19,926 posts)tblue37
(66,035 posts)rec-lessly! (How'm I doin' pinboy3niner?)
appalachiablue
(42,731 posts)Last edited Sat Jul 11, 2015, 06:39 PM - Edit history (1)
Bernie. Right, Sanders the son of an immigrant. But Bernie backed Garcia, Rahm's rival. Whatev.
tblue37
(66,035 posts)can get the meme out there with plenty of public attention, but no viable Dem candidate suffers the backlash that hit McCaskill when she tried to go after Bernie.
artislife
(9,497 posts)I just question whether he is helping H at all. Because, most people will stop and remember one thing about him and then probably wonder the same thing. Why is H okay with him going to bat for her? There are better people in her corner.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)But I'm glad to see Carlos Danger is batting for Clinton.
xocet
(3,925 posts)London Lover Man
(371 posts)sorry.
Wilms
(26,795 posts)But in my heart, I think you're better than this.
It seems plausible that, and why, AW was put up to author this. You??
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)And I never heard of him til 'weinergate'.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)I don't see many posts before yours, are you talking about those posters?
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)it true about him.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)he was my 1st pick in 08. Should he tender an opinion now, he can go pound sand like Weiner.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)on the Clintons AND on Weiner, simply because they are VILE yet at the same time disagree with their victims when they are WRONG?
bvar22
(39,909 posts)I loved the outspoken Liberal, Anthony Weiner,
and was willing to overlook ONE mistake,
but when he got caught doing it AGAIN,
he's done. I don't care to hear from him again.
The only problem I have is that I am old enough to remember Senior Democrats behaving much worse than Weiner or John Edwards, and that wasn't held against them.
Does anybody here condemn John Kennedy?
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)He did give good speeches and was a good representative at the time. Unfortunately he was human and developed a rather embarrassing habit that didn't play well for someone in a public office.
Now he is embarrassing himself again with this crappy drivel.
By the way, I once loved Hillary but then she let me down. It is not unusual for opinions to shift when actions play out differently than campaign promises.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)I don't take that very seriously. Bernie votes with the Democrats and frankly acts more like a Democrat should act and did act back in the days before think tanks who made the party corporate friendly while ignoring the people of the party..
He's really daring to ask if Bernie's a spoiler. Look around the web, Anthony. Do all those supporters look like they are supporting a spoiler?
His wife doesn't just work for Hillary, they are close friends and have been for years.
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)When labels are more meaningful than actions, it's time for a shakeup.
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)Why does it take an Independent Democratic Socialist to show America what a REAL
Democrat looks & sounds like?
artislife
(9,497 posts)rbnyc
(17,045 posts)2banon
(7,321 posts)99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)historylovr
(1,557 posts)elleng
(135,477 posts)Conversation with the Candidate with Martin O'Malley
http://www.wmur.com/politics/conversation-with-the-candidate/conversation-with-the-candidate-with-martin-omalley/34092642?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=TWITTER&utm_campaign=WMUR9&Content%20Type=Video
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)Oh yah, that O'Malley guy, who recently attacked Sanders.
Who is going to show Mr. O'Malley around Wash. DC?
elleng
(135,477 posts)MANY monkeys are smarter than this.
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)I can think of no reason to NOT support the guy who's been in DC fighting
the good fight, who knows where the bodies are buried, and who knows like the back of
his hand how things work in DC, in favor of someone who doesn't, and who has no Federal
record of votes on national and international policy showing EXACTLY where he stands on
pretty much every conceivable issue.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)its true or not.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)I don't think either of those positions is what Wall Street wanted.
London Lover Man
(371 posts)being Maryland and VA tucking DC...
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)in the halls of Congress. He knows 'how it works' (or doesn't work as case may be),
where the bodies are buried, and how to get stuff done.
Or maybe you were being a tad facetious?
dreamnightwind
(4,775 posts)and we know the answer, Bernie isn't owned by corporate donors, hasn't bought into a corporate enrichment mentality, so he is free to represent our interests and doesn't have to pretend.
valerief
(53,235 posts)I miss Weiner. I loved watching him rant in Congress. I could care less about the friggin' dick pics. But it's obvious what he's doing here. And he can't even come up with a useful question, just a strawman.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)These are the party stalwarts who will play a role in determining the nominee if the race ends up being close. So unless Bernie is able to pull an Obama and be ahead in both popular vote and delegate count, his consistent rejection of the party over several decades is indeed going to matter.
And it will be fair and square, by the rules (whether you like those rules or not). A primary is a party's selection of it's nominees, and its a pretty tough row to hoe for someone who has rejected the party's nomination even in his own state on multiple occasions.
The nominee and eventual president is expected to raise money for the party and to campaign on behalf of its congressional candidates. Are party regulars going to choose the guy who never has done this ever before? It's a valid question. It's realpolitik.
dreamnightwind
(4,775 posts)If the party rejects him in this way, he will have every right, in fact he will be obligated, in the interest of furthering the policies he champions for the people he sees as having no representation, to contiinue without the Democratic Party.
I think the Democratic Party would much rather have Bernie running as a Democrat than on a third party ticket, where he could indeed do real damage to the Democratic nominee.
I actually look at the answer to Weiner's pathetically framed question as Bernie did it as a favor to the Democratic Party. He does NOT want to enable the Republican nominee by running third party. But if the party shows itself unwilling to include the goals of a Democratic Socialist like Sanders, while its upper management pushes Republicans-turned-Democrat like Mark Warner, or not so long ago Arlen Spector, the party is no longer a legitimate vehicle for the people and all bets are off.
I'm not advocating for this, I'm advocating for the Democratic Party to throw off its corporate RW, or at least marginalize them, and represent us. They really need to listen, people are fed up and won't take it any longer.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)disregard it, and they'll pull him across the finish line (just like they did for Obama--remember, it was neck and neck pretty much). But don't expect them to break his way if he's even a teeny bit behind. It's not about ideology. It's about the meaning of "party." What's the use of a party primary if it's not about the party?
I think Bernie knows this. He knows what it's about. I just hope his supporters understand it, and don't try to pull the "corporatist" card or the "media" card. Because it's not about that at all.
dreamnightwind
(4,775 posts)There was controversy where a couple of states moved their primaries earlier than the party authorized, so the party decided to invalidate their primaries. Obama didn't run in those states, in at least one of them I don't even thinkk his namee was on the ballot. Hillary still "kind of" ran in those states, and her name was on the ballots. In the end, the Clinton camp was claiming (falsely I think) to have won the popular vote, I don't have the numbers on hand but IIRC they were including the states where Obama had done what the party wanted and not campaigned, Hillary had many more votes in those states and they weren't properly contested.
Already we're seeing rumors of not allowing Bernie on the ballot in states where being a registered Democrat in your home state is a requirement (even though registration in Vermont is not party-based so it is literally impossible for Bernie to register there as a Democrat). If this happens, I can already see the scenarios where the Clinton camp will claim victory based on those states, or claim the popular vote based on totals including where Bernie is kept off the ballot.
We'll see. It should be about the people, not about the party, and the further away from that principle the party goes, the less legitimate it becomes.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)The DNC has definitively welcomed Sanders into its nominating process as a candidate, and the New Hampshire Democratic Party has all but assured he will be able to be on the ballot.
Victimhood and paranoia are not winning strategies, and I think these positions are being all too often expressed on this site. Whatever happens to Bernie Sanders in this primary will be because of Bernie Sanders and his ideas, his bio/personality, and his on-the-ground organization, not because of any outside conspiracy from the media or the Clinton camp.
dreamnightwind
(4,775 posts)with the points in your second paragraph.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)jeff47
(26,549 posts)Overriding the voters via superdelegates would be the perfect way to lose 2016.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)I was explicit in saying that they would NOT, under any circumstances, do that if, like Obama, Sanders pulled ahead by the end of the game. But if he is not ahead, if he is even a little behind ... fuhgeddaboudit.
frylock
(34,825 posts)decide the nomination.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)That was not the scenario I painted.
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)wyldwolf
(43,891 posts)virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)bravo Team Hillary
nc4bo
(17,651 posts)and Bernie Sanders needing to explain what he's doing.
Go kick some really big rocks Anthony.
Autumn
(45,964 posts)and slide under them.
historylovr
(1,557 posts)libdem4life
(13,877 posts)was the name Mike Nudelman under the graphic. I thought the alter ego was Carlos Danger. Naughty mind...stop it.
The rest of it, well kind of Democratic yada yada. If it's OK for Bernie to be elected in the USA in Vermont, then what's wrong with running for president. He caucuses with the Ds, but is not identifying with them, it's for a very good reason. He states why in every speech. They are bought and sold.
I like the ring of Socialist Democrat myself. I think he'll run as an Independent. Wouldn't it be just great if Trump did too? Don't laugh, in this race...anything is possible. Witness the Republican Debates...LOL.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)He's already stated he's running as a Dem.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)against them as a Social Democrat...which has little to do with the Democratic Party, at least officially. And even though this is still pre-primary, I wonder how many Democrats will publically bolt their corporate ways. Or if they can, based on party estimated financial realities. He's not "one of them" so wonder how the Primary and GE voters will see it...either way.
Stranger things have happened, however.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)I heard the same was true for Illinois, though I googled for that info and never found out either way, so Obama was then not a registered Dem either. Although he had run as a Dem and identified as one previous to his presidential bid. But I don't think there's any way for Sanders to actually register as a Dem other than stating he is running as a Dem candidate in the primary. That's what I've gathered over the last month or so.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)Big Tent exists, because it will be a Primary to remember. Well, so was the last one, but I wasn't quite as much a political junkie as I am now. LOL
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)that a Republican any Republican is a worse choice. So if he got enough support behind him he would step up and run. He does not want to dilute the Democratic ticket by running third party. If Weiner weren't so worried about keeping his wifes job he might already know this. The primaries will decide. What is ANTHONY WEINER doing to make things better?
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)First POTUS candidate in years who speaks for me. Piss on the DLC and Third Way.
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)at the door and some want to pretend their not home.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)Senator Sanders (I-VT) is not.
We do put ideology over party very frequently. We lose a lot of elections.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)I also think we'd be might surprised at how many du-caucusing but technically undeclared party affiliation Duers there
I don't see Sanders as more outside the party than democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman was.
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)Fuck. Stand for something, or fall for anything. THAT'S our problem.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)It appears he is absolutely putting party over lifelong ideology.
Or are PRINCIPLES a relative thing...
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)cui bono
(19,926 posts)underthematrix
(5,811 posts)because If he had any he is would run as an independent. He would run as himself.
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)Entertain us some more please.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)How, exactly, is he not running as himself?
What is he fighting for now that he hasn't been fighting for for the last few decades? What principles has he sold out?
Bernie is a better Democrat than most who are and have been in the party for a while. If the Democratic Party hadn't gone DLC, which the Clintons were a big part of, and Third Way, he wouldn't have felt the need to get in the race in order to bring the Dems back to where they once were, and by doing so, bring this country and its people back to the better place they once were.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)So yes, their ideology is hurting the party.
Autumn
(45,964 posts)and if you do receive any send them to a reporter immediately.
Another thing . Bernie might not have joined that democratic party but he was there when they fucking needed him. One thing I have to say to the democratic party just like the democratic party hasn't always sided with ones who have voted for them some of us aren't seeing any fucking reason to side with them against Bernie.
A nasty smear from a nasty person but it's to be expected from that camp.
He is right that a Medicare for All health care program is a simpler, cheaper and more American solution to our health care needs than a jury rigged system that is better under Obamacare but still has too many gaps. And his battle cry on behalf of working Americans is better than Hillary Clintons.
fixed that paragraph for Weiner
CharlotteVale
(2,717 posts)BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)Depaysement
(1,835 posts)ibegurpard
(16,811 posts)And not at the behest of the Clinton campaign. They need to instruct him to avoid the press. I can't think of a worse surrogate or spokesman.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)ibegurpard
(16,811 posts)Well i suppose that depends on whether one is supporting her or not.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)jeff47
(26,549 posts)If it gains any traction, then valuable surrogates use it too. If it utterly fails and he remains a laughing stock, Clinton hasn't lost anything of value.
They_Live
(3,296 posts)and is a fool.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)She is far more than just an aide to Hillary. I can not imagine she or Hillary would approve of Anthony Weiner's remarks about whether Bernie belongs in the Democratic party.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/hillary-clinton-2016-campaign-huma-abedin-119671.html
I am going to vote for Bernie Sanders in the primary. Posts like this make me more determined than ever. It's time for change. It's time for someone not owned by corporations.
Thanks for posting this, it really settles things in my mind.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)simply went off on his own here, without having it suggested to him. That seems even more unlikely.
Myrina
(12,296 posts)NT
Alittleliberal
(528 posts)Has either lost a shitload of cognitive power or he's being deliberately obtuse. The answer is so simple any one who understands the Democratic party, as a former congressman should, knows why Bernie is running in our primary. The party is stuck between two factions right now and the liberal side is tired of the shifting spectrum. If Bernie doesn't run as a Democrat he destroys the party. Most people don't give a fuck about the party. They want the party they support to support their ideals. If the party doesn't they will move on. It the party's job to support the people, it's not the peoples job to keep the Democratic Party alive.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)I think Bernie recognizes that this country is at a turning point, with both of its two major parties (that within this system are the only parties able to win a presidential election without something like instant runoff voting), some big changes are needed for our system to survive as a democracy, and that the people in general are starting to see that and either have tuned out to politics in general and haven't voted, or are becoming independent voters.
1) As noted he doesn't want to go the Nader route and run as an independent, where is more likely to lose, and also have the Democratic nominee lose too. He understands the wisdom of that, and I would like to think Weiner is capable of understanding that too.
2) Now as to why he doesn't join the Democratic Party to run in the primary. Well, first he really doesn't NEED to with our current set of rules, and secondly, I think by him doing so, it highlights that our system is needing fixing like Citizen's United and McCutcheon decisions being taken down, and something like instant runoff voting, and by him running as an independent, he can highlight that though the Democratic Party is certainly better than the Republican Party or he wouldn't caucus with them or run in their primary, but that it is also in need of fixes too to make it more answerable to its base of voters than those that currently fund it.
3) By him running as an independent in the Democratic Party, it is in effect an invitation to those who feel disaffected by our current system having them being independent voters, or potentially very unhappy Republicans that don't like their party being bought too, that he's an opportunity to really set a course for huge changes in the system to correct these problems. If he just joined the Democratic Party, many of these independents would just write him off as someone else that has been "bought off" by the current system, and is doing this just to get elected president and follow the same problematic centrist BS crap that so many of them have recently too, even if Bernie might still wanting to be doing good things the way he has as an independent.
Quite frankly I think the way he's running the way he does has the best opportunity for a true populist to break the ice in either party and get a large portion of the population that are interested in more populist power from any party in the system to get activated and vote them in to office. I think Bernie is being very smart the way he's running things to activate grass roots movements to bring in those that might have been feeling left out over the last few decades. Perot showed there's a huge segment that want this kind of independent streak to have the masses speak truth to power on issues like NAFTA (that today's TPA/TPP has similar sentiments against it and both parties that have been pushing it).
I think that the Democratic Party should feel honored that a voice like his feels that the Democratic Party is the avenue for change here, and that it is the one that can be fixed, and rebuilt back in to the party of the people that it has been strongly in the past. Dismissing him is as some say here having party loyalty trump ideology and working on issues that affect all of us, which REALLY turns many millenials and other voters off.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Must be scraping the bottom of the barrel with Weiner Dog.
The bigger question is...what is Hillary doing associating herself with a sex offender?
Divernan
(15,480 posts)But since he's come "out", so to speak, supporting HRC, I would like to comment to all those loyal supporters who might dream of being invited, by way of thank you for their loyalty and hard work, to a White House dinner. Who might be at your table? And you'd have to shake hands with them -----eeeeewwwwwwwwww! Tawdry and creepy enough on their own - imagine after they've had wine and liquor to lessen whatever de minimis inhibitions they possess.
The aforesaid Carlos Danger?
Or Bill's buddy, registered pedophile sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/who-is-jeffrey-epstein-a-study-of-the-man-linked-to-worlds-of-celebrity-politics--and-royalty-9954397.html
http://gawker.com/flight-logs-put-clinton-dershowitz-on-pedophile-billio-1681039971
jeff47
(26,549 posts)If it falls flat, you haven't lost anything of value. If it gets a little traction, you have surrogates who are not laughing stocks repeat the attack.
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)Sancho
(9,097 posts)It's a good question!
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Stands up for minorities, workers, the poor and middle class, the young, pretty much everyone the Third Way Corporatists want to piss on.
fredamae
(4,458 posts)"I served with Bernie and he is my kind of politician a progressive guy with some New York City attitude. Its hard not to love Bernie Sanders"
Furthermore, the Same questioned can be asked of ALL the Conservative Wing, Wall Street Democrats! "What are you doing Here (in Our Party) in the first place"?
So, what's in a "title" anyway? We have "Dems" caucusing with GOP all the time. We have Dems who work for, both subtlety and blatantly, Wall Street (TPP etc) so Why do They get a Free Pass on answering this very question WE have already asked for Years now???!!?
Renew Deal
(82,831 posts)Being a spoiler.
Other than guns, Sanders views are well within the mainstream Democratic electorate.
London Lover Man
(371 posts)No matter how much stretching you have to do. It's still mainstream.
The Second Stone
(2,900 posts)and whether he thought he had a real shot at the nomination when he started, I can tell you that any candidate can and will convince himself that he can and will win and will believe so until the returns are coming in.
Bernie is a good man. If he is the nominee I will gladly support him and hope the rest of the party will too. However, I want Hillary. For all the reasons the right hates her guts with a blinding passion. She is a liberal, and she has been in enough fights to know which ones to fight, and how to win them: with her friends.
Puglover
(16,380 posts)I'd be on the phone to Huma sooo fast and tell her to tell hubby that he can keep his support to himself.
Good lord.
Autumn
(45,964 posts)himself to be used as a sleeze to smear a fine man like Bernie Sanders.
olddots
(10,237 posts)"Is this all you got ?"
People will remember Mr. Weiner for the dick he is .
okay end of dick jokes .
MoveIt
(399 posts)All I could come up with was "pics or it didn't happen..."
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Poor guy, he's worried his party is being taken over by socialism!
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Purveyor
(29,876 posts)sadoldgirl
(3,431 posts)Have you with your lovely pictures served
the party well?
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)Not that it's a valid one, since Bernie has always caucused with the Democratic Party.
But his not being a "real" Democrat is going to be the only thing the Hillary camp will have to attempt to discredit him and win the nomination.
antigop
(12,778 posts)FlatBaroque
(3,160 posts)Comical. Being attacked by a douchebag who can't stop sending dick pics. PERFECT.
antigop
(12,778 posts)The State Department, under Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, created an arrangement for her longtime aide and confidante Huma Abedin to work for private clients as a consultant while serving as a top adviser in the department.
Ms. Abedin did not disclose the arrangement or how much income she earned on her financial report. It requires officials to make public any significant sources of income. An adviser to Mrs. Clinton, Philippe Reines, said that Ms. Abedin was not obligated to do so.
The disclosure of the agreement that Ms. Abedin made with the State Department comes as her husband, former Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a Democrat, prepares for a mayoral run in New York City. Politico reported the arrangement on Thursday afternoon.
Ms. Abedin declined a request for an interview, but the picture that emerges from interviews and records suggests a situation where the lines were blurred between Ms. Abedins work in the high echelons of one of the governments most sensitive executive departments and her role as a Clinton family insider.
StandingInLeftField
(972 posts)How about it?
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)Indepatriot
(1,253 posts)If he's now an "attack dog" for HRC would that would make him a "dachsund"...
Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)He's only looking out for himself AGAIN!!!! His wife works for Hillary, so he see's an opening in his pea brain.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)The Dem Party is so corporate now the only way we can really get any change is with someone like Bernie. Weiner knows that and that's why he said all those nice things about Bernie. Weiner railed against a lot of the same things Bernie does when he was on fire.
In spite of all this, if Bernie wants to lead this party, he needs to explain what he's doing here in the first place.
He's been explaining it plenty, Weiner. You are not in a position to demand what people need to explain. I suspect that's why you wrote this article, to try to worm your way back into politics on the HRC coattails.
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)ELAINE: oh, date, the date
JERRY: Ya how was it?
ELAINE: Interesting.
JERRY: Really.
ELAINE: Oh ya.
JERRY: Why what happened?
ELAINE: Let's see, (thinking) how shall I put this.
JERRY: Just put it.
ELAINE: He took it out.
JERRY: (confused) He what?
ELAINE: He took (blows on her glasses twice to clean them) it out.
JERRY: He took what out?
ELAINE: It.
JERRY: He took It, Out?
ELAINE: Yessiree Bob.
JERRY: He couldn't.
ELAINE: He did.
JERRY: (motions of making out) Well you were involved in some sort of amorous...
ELAINE: Noooo.
JERRY: You mean he just
ELAINE: Yes.
JERRY: Are you sure?
ELAINE: Oh quite.
JERRY: There was no mistaking it?
ELAINE: (looks straight into his eyes) Jerry.
that is really all i have to share on this subject
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)I'm sure Sanders will be asked directly and I'm sure he'll answer. For me it's not an issue at all in whether I'll vote for him. Whether it's an issue for anyone else remains to be seen. I kind of doubt it will be much of an issue for anyone in whether or not they'll vote for him. I think most everyone will judge him on his merits, aside from how he answers this question.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)I'm sure he gave a great answer. If you want to share it feel free.
Is it that he doesn't want to be a spoiler in the race? If that's his answer, that's good for me.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)In an interview last year with The Nation, Sanders explained his thought process in deciding whether to run for president as a Democrat:
The dilemma is that, if you run outside of the Democratic Party youre not just running a race for president, youre really running to build an entire political movement. In doing that, you would be taking votes away from the Democratic candidate and making it easier for some right-wing Republican to get electedthe [Ralph] Nader dilemma.
The bolder, more radical approach is obviously running outside of the two-party system, he added. Do people believe at this particular point that there is the capability of starting a third-party movement? Or is that an idea that is simply not realistic at this particular moment in history?
The answer Sanders reached appears to be no.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/04/30/bernie_sanders_joins_2016_field_--_as_a_democrat_126448.html
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Perfect answer, imo.
onecaliberal
(35,455 posts)Photos of your anatomy to random women on the internet?
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Anthony, when are you going to stop being such a dick?
onecaliberal
(35,455 posts)Thanks for the laugh.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Glad I could help.
John Poet
(2,510 posts)Please stop sending pictures of your junk to my ex-wife.
She's hard enough to deal with, already.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)not you, Stellar, that was directed at Weiner. I am sure you know that, but it is better to be safe
Stellar
(5,644 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)is he gets busted, then has to resign from congress. One should learn from that, right? Not this clown. He get busted doing it again while running for mayor. It seems the only head that works on this guy is the one below his belt.
Stellar
(5,644 posts)must be a guy thing.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)but too many men think because their tallywhacker makes them happy it will make everybody else happy, too
Stellar
(5,644 posts)Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)to Republicans.
Sanders may win or lose the nomination or the General with the Democratic Party, but he has no intention of wrapping the
White House up in a bow for Republicans.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)In the political climate of Vermont, Sanders judged, correctly, that he could run outside the two major parties and win.
Weiner writes:
There is nothing unprincipled about not wanting to be Ralph Nader. Sanders's record is that of consistently trying to work for his ideals. Unlike Nader, he makes intelligent judgments about how best to do that. Running outside the Democratic Party was how he advanced his ideals in Vermont, but doing so nationally would hurt those causes rather than helping.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)Fuck that shit, Anthony. You have NO credibility. And reduced to writing for Yahoo? My how the mighty have fallen.
ETA: Notice the hit-and-run Sanders attack by the OP. And newbie too. Been a lot of those lately.
Stellar
(5,644 posts)Can you explain that to me please.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Going by Huma Weiner wouldn't be a good career move.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)The question was. Most was attacks on Weiner or Hillary, a few responded to the question Weiner ask. It was not a smear on Bernie.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)Bernie has answered this question already and more than once. Google could be Weiner's friend, but I guess he just thinks of it as more of a way to try to hook up or whatever.
Stellar
(5,644 posts)he just thinks of it as more of a way to try to hook up or whatever.
underthematrix
(5,811 posts)Someone posted that the reason Bernie is running is because he thought HRC was a bad choice for Democrats. So let me get this straight. Hillary is worse than the GOP KLOWN KAR which now has 17 UNQUALIFIED candidates running for the GOP nomination. You think one of those racist homophobic sexist idiots would be better than HRC? And do you really think any of the DEMOCRATIC delegates are gonna support Bernie, a political opportunist who decided to register as a DEM so he could run in the Democratic primaries to try to weaken HRC's support. It's still early but Bernie just doesn't have any clear path to the nomination. It doesn't exist. Not gonna happen and I'm not even an HRC supporter but I definitely prefer her to Bernie. Bernie is a PHONY.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)Stellar
(5,644 posts)There is nothing wrong with supporting Hillary, but stabbing Bernie in the back at the same time...
And, have you forgiven the Clintons and their operatives for all of those racist remarks about Obama back in 2008.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)And this was the best volunteer attack dog they could muster.
Volaris
(10,540 posts)I support Bernie, as full disclosure...
Damn it's gonna get bad around here for a while...
Yes here we go people HRC surrogates with loose lips.
The ghost of 08' is coming
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)99Forever
(14,524 posts)Sends them out on the net to women he has never met. You get to see those yet?
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)men seem to always post pics of their genitals
99Forever
(14,524 posts)....you really need to see his pics. You like his opinions, right?
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)TheFarseer
(9,465 posts)No one can run besides Hillary or everyone's going to flip out? Why fuck around? Can we just go full on Communist and have only one candidate on the ballot to vote for? Why the charade? We can't even play out the charade without partisan hacks telling us to sit down and shut up?
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)up with a Jeb Bush or Scott Walker, or even a Donald Trump as President. Bernie appeals to Democratic Socialists of the Democratic Party. I don't know what the statistics are regarding this, but it's a huge slice of the Dem Party IMO. We know what a shrewd operator the Clinton machine is, and yeah she's got all the corporate money on her side. Go figure. Guess who she's going to be working for if she gets into office? At least Bernie knows he won't be splitting the ticket.
BKH70041
(961 posts)His policies are not in keeping with the Party itself, despite what many at this site and others like it say the Party should be about. I'm talking about what the party is truly about that you can note in action, and not what the party platform might say it is.
My suggestion to Sanders supporters is after he doesn't get the nomination to go form your own party. You'll never be happy in the Democratic Party, rest assured.
frylock
(34,825 posts)Thanks for you input, Carl.
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)Seriously, Carlos Danger is the best they've got?
ronnykmarshall
(35,357 posts)We all got sick of looking at your weiner ... not that it was so bad. But that's another Oprah. Granted when he was in congress he kicked ass ... but he let his penis do the talking.
HassleCat
(6,409 posts)Another article saying Sanders hasn't paid his dues to the Democratic Party, so he can't be the nominee. Anyone to the left of Clare McCaskill admits he's one of the few true Democrats remaining in the party's great rightward shift, but that's not good enough. And Weiner is probably right. Both major parties are far more tolerant of someone who will sell out the American people to get elected and add one more D or on more R to tip the precarious balance between the two parties. Thus we have Democrats who wouldn't be allowed to join if (1) we didn't need them so badly and (2) we had any kind of threshold. We have a party with many who are fiercely loyal to the party, even if they are not loyal to Democratic principles and ideals. They have thrown away their integrity to keep getting reelected and remain important Democratic Party members, and they must feel the pain of the sacrifices they made, the ideals they abandoned and the whores they laid down with, because they become really, really upset when they see somebody who hasn't made the same compromises they made. They could be right. Maybe the party doesn't want somebody who is unwilling to choose loyalty over principle.
Stellar
(5,644 posts)"Another article saying Sanders hasn't paid his dues to the Democratic Party,
TransitJohn
(6,933 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)senz
(11,945 posts)As a regular listener of the Thom Hartmann show, I have enjoyed one hour a week -- "Brunch with Bernie" -- of Bernie's give-and-take with Thom's listeners for years, learning to like and respect this guy more and more as I got a sense of who he is and how he thinks.
For the past six months or so, Bernie has been considering a presidential run. He openly discussed the pros and cons of running 3rd party or as a Dem (he caucuses with the Dems, votes with them, heads up Dem committees, etc.) His primary reasons, as I understood them, for choosing to run on the Dem ticket were:
1) The Democrats have a nominating organization already set up to facilitate a run. This is much smoother and less expensive than starting from scratch, especially for someone like Bernie who has quietly, steadily worked in the halls of the Congress and Senate alongside the Dems against the Repubs for DECADES, never trying to "be a star," but simply concentrating on representing his constituents without compromising his core democratic values. His votes have always aligned with the progressive side of his Democratic colleagues. He has not amassed big pots of money and fame, necessities for a strong 3rd Party run.
2) Bernie did not want to be a spoiler. He did not want to do what Nader did. Bernie is a realist, and he said he could never forgive himself if his run siphoned off enough votes from a Democrat to open the way for a Republican. Bernie stated that if he loses the nomination, he will throw his support to the winning Democrat. He loves this country, and this country, for him, is the American people. He, better than most, knows what the stakes are and would not put the rest of us at risk.
I was glad that he chose to run in the Democratic primary.
Now as for Mr. Weiner -- how is it possible that someone as experienced and tuned in as Anthony Weiner could be unaware of this? Bernie deliberated openly, not secretively (like some), and his reasons were not only expressed but also obvious to anyone who knows the game. Is Weiner simply doing a favor? Scoring points? Trying to win over certain disaffected parties?
Somehow, Weiner's "confusion" doesn't ring true for me.
peacebird
(14,195 posts)peacebird
(14,195 posts)Mr. "LookAtMyTightyWhiteys" thinks he is relevant any more? Really? I mean, I know his family breadwinner works for Hillary, but this is pitiful.
longship
(40,416 posts)So he's got that going for him.