When ya think about it? This is hillarious.

[sheshe2]

Give me a second to explain my thoughts.

For the on and off years I have read. BERNIE IS A DEMOCRAT. HE IS MORE OF A DEMOCRAT THAN ALL THE OTHERS. HE VOTES WITH DEMOCRATS MORE THAN THE REST. And here he is saying...

Link to tweet

Who is US? They can't stop us? Again I ask, who is us? He is not a single player on the field. He needs a team to have his back to make it to the end zone. He just left the team to soar all on his own. He is flying alone.

Icarus.

[denem]

1. I am laughing myself silly, stupid, and catatonic.

[OhZone]

2. I think I know -

but I ain't sayin.

[wisteria]

3. Is this really his tweet? He seems crazed.

[SunSeeker]

23. I wish it was a fake tweet. I really do. But it's not.

[msongs]

4. an autocratic candidate has no ability to be part of a team or work together nt

[UniteFightBack]

5. I really think Bernie should be walking this 'red meat' back. He doesn't need to throw this out

anymore as his folks are with him.

If he were smart he'd be looking to expand and this is not the fucking way you do it.
I don't understand the tactic.

[Starry Messenger]

6. He's a dessert topping AND a floor wax

I honestly don't know why he does this--it plays to his base, but he's going to need more than that to win.

[redwitch]

44. Ha! Just referenced Shimmer the other day!

When SNL was perfection.
Bernie made a serious gaffe with this one.

[aeromanKC]

8. Bernie would be banned from websites that have policies about disparaging the Democratic Party

Bernie should be denied further access to the Democratic Party if he does not consider his candidacy a part of the Democratic party. We (the Dems) are "they" and not "us" according to him.

[BootinUp]

9. Nina Turner for Press Secretary!!11

[sheshe2]

10. I was thinking Nina would be VP.

Bri Bri would be press secretary.

Siorta? Hmmmm. SOS?

[BootinUp]

12. YEA!!1!

[NanceGreggs]

26. She's just SO Kellyanne ...

... dontcha think?

[calimary]

36. Oh good grief...

Ugh! What a nauseating thought.

[BootinUp]

40. It was meant to be nauseating, lol.

[sheshe2]

61. !!!!

[betsuni]

11. News?

He already said last year that "The cat is out of the bag. The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is publicly 'anybody but Bernie'" and he's a threat to the "billionaire class" in control of everyone.

That cat wan't real. The revolution isn't real, his "us" isn't real. Republicans are real, the real Them.

[sheshe2]

15. The song needs to be played on slow speed on an antique record player.

Slow speed. Reeevoooluuuuuutiiiioooonnn~~~

He is going after the 1%.
Does he realize he to is the 1%? Not sure he does.

[denem]

32. How about a caterwaul played at quarter speed.

Bbbbbeeeeezzzzoooosssssss ~

[sheshe2]

62. Works for me.

With a scratch in the vinyl.

[rainy]

53. The Democratic establishment is afraid to be real

democrats. Afraid the money will run dry!

[betsuni]

54. What does that even mean?

Why don't you think Democrats aren't "real Democrats"? What money? Please give evidence of Democrats "afraid the money will run dry!"

[rainy]

59. Have we all forgotten all about Occupy Wall Street?

Have we all collectively forgotten about Occupy Wall Street? Bernie grew out of that movement that fought against the established corporate corrupt side of both parties. It’s a real movement. Stand for real change or get out of the way!!!‬

[murielm99]

13. He tweets something bizarre,

and we are hearing that he went ballistic before the debate, railing about how MSNBC was covering him.

I am not sure how to react. I would be fine with him shooting himself in the foot and losing what support he has. But this is strange. Is his health worse than we know?

[BootinUp]

14. IDK but seems like the Bernie playbook

get the troops fired up and shit.

[sheshe2]

16. Jaysus.

Please tell me he did not do that.

Fact is he has not told us how he is heath wise. He said he would and now he won't.

[Skittles]

17. no, he has always been like this to those of us paying attention

oh yes

[SunSeeker]

25. Yes indeed. nt

[AtheistCrusader]

19. I think he just took a shot at the DNC.

After all, his campaign did sue them during/after the last election.

The DNC itself is not 'us', so I don't know. It's concerning, but not historically unprecedented for him.

[Bonobo]

18. There is nothing at all hard to understand about this.

[sheshe2]

20. Explain.

Going to bed.

Will read your response in the AM.

[BlueMTexpat]

51. True.

But I don't think that is what you mean.

ss2's take is spot on.

That is indeed how I understood it. I don't seem to be alone in this.

Facts about Bernie's political career actually demonstrate it. He's just NOT a team player.

[NJCher]

21. cheebus, what a disconnect

If you can't see that there is a very strong contingent in the Democratic party that would like Bernie out of the picture, then you are living in another world and I can't help you.

As far as the strong team goes, Bernie's organization is being described as the best, most well-oiled political machine out there. Now, I do not know if that description is Democratic only or includes Republicans (heard on political shows as well as seen around the political sites). We know Trump's internet team is formidable, if unethical. However, if you don't want to believe that, then just look at the results.

The idea that Bernie is flying solo on this is ludicrous. No one has more loyal supporters than Bernie and he knows it. There's nothing Icarian about it.

[SunSeeker]

27. That "very strong contingent" are the 75% of Dems who keep voting for someone other than Bernie.

Everyone but Biden and his supporters want Biden "out of the picture." Everyone but Buttigieg and his supporters want Buttigieg "out of the picture." Everyone is competing against everyone. They all want to win and have the others drop out and get out of the picture. It's called a primary for fuck's sake. But only Bernie is claiming there's some sort of nefarious Democratic cabal out to get him.

[NJCher]

29. hmmmmm

maybe you should take a look at this:

Bloomberg quietly plotting brokered convention strategy

The effort is designed as a potential backstop to block Bernie Sanders by poaching supporters from Joe Biden and other moderates.

snip

LAS VEGAS — Mike Bloomberg is privately lobbying Democratic Party officials and donors allied with his moderate opponents to flip their allegiance to him —and block Bernie Sanders — in the event of a brokered national convention.

The effort, largely executed by Bloomberg’s senior state-level advisers in recent weeks, attempts to prime Bloomberg for a second-ballot contest at the Democratic National Convention in July by poaching supporters of Joe Biden and other moderate Democrats, according to two Democratic strategists familiar with the talks and unaffiliated with Bloomberg.

snip

“There’s a whole operation going on, which is genius,” said one of the strategists, who is unaffiliated with any campaign. “And it’s going to help them win on the second ballot … They’re telling them that’s their strategy.”

It’s a presumptuous play for a candidate who hasn’t yet won a delegate or even appeared on a ballot. And it could also bring havoc to the convention, raising the prospect of party insiders delivering the nomination to a billionaire over a progressive populist.

snip

Link.

[SunSeeker]

30. So? Bloomberg is just employing existing rules that apply when a candidate fails to get a majority.

At the last debate, all of the other candidates (except Sanders) all indicated they favored following the established rules, namely a brokered convention, should no candidate receive a majority of delegates before the convention.

Is that all you've got?

[NJCher]

31. is that all you've got?

This is more than enough. To think that a billionaire can remove the support of what a very large contingent of passionate supporters want, that is enough. This is nothing more than backroom maneuvering to thwart the electorate. It is sickening to think that our democracy has come to this.

There has to be something seriously wrong with anyone who would think this is acceptable. It is wrong on every level and if you can't see that, that is why America is in trouble.

[SunSeeker]

33. I consider what Sanders wants to do is "thwarting the will of the electorate."

75% of the Democratic electorate do not want Sanders. But Sanders thinks we should disregard those folks and make him the nominee at the convention, despite existing rules--that he agreed to in order to run in our primary---that say when a candidate fails to get a majority of delegates, there will be a brokered convention.

By the way, he thought a brokered convention was the way to go in 2016. What changed?

[NJCher]

35. please, common sense

First, I do not buy your 75%, but at any one point in a primary, one could make that argument about any candidate.

As far as Sanders thwarting the rule of the electorate, those rules were not made by the electorate.

As far as whether he thought a brokered convention was the way to go in 2016, I don't know what he thought. I don't see why that is relevant. It's perfectly acceptable to change one's mind in accordance with changing circumstances. I afford myself that right, as I am sure you do, too.

[SunSeeker]

37. Why did he change his mind? Because now the rules didn't suit him?

The DNC rules are our party's rules. If he doesn't like our party, he shouldn't run in our primary. He pledged to follow our party's rules. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-signs-dnc-loyalty-pledge-i-am-member-democratic-n979696 Why is he going back on his word?

And yes, according to recent polls, Bernie is favored by anywhere from 22 to 35% of the Democratic electorate, with Biden, Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Bloomberg favored by virtually all of the rest (78 to 65%). https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/

Assuming those numbers don't change much prior to the convention, Bernie has a much smaller share of the Democratic electorate this time around than he did in 2016. Yet, he thinks we should disregard Democratic party rules and anoint him our nominee. No thank you.

[NJCher]

41. so am I to assume you'd like us to split off to a third party?

Maybe you'd have preferred that Bernie start another party? And based on where he's at now, where would that leave you? Would you like that--a third party? Then you could sit around all night castigating him for splintering the vote of the left.

Really--you're going to add up all the other candidates and use that to say the majority doesn't want Bernie? Do you not see that I could do the same against any one of the other candidates? The argument makes no sense. You should be embarrassed to be making such an argument.

Since you're not, I'll be embarrassed for you. As an educator, we teachers must have failed somewhere.

[SunSeeker]

46. As Sanders has admitted, he ran as a Democrat for the media coverage.

He admitted if he ran as an independent he wouldn't be invited on TV programs, and would not have gotten his message out.
https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/bernie-sanders-independent-media-coverage-220747

Bernie would never have run as an independent if he wasn't allowed into the Democratic primary. He used our Democratic Party apparatus to establish his campaign, develop legitimacy and a national following. He would still be a little known Vermont senator if the Democratic party had not provided him a stage. Yet he continues to heap vitriol on the Democratic Party.

The 75% of Democrats who don't want Bernie want a more moderate candidate. So it makes sense to pick one of the top moderate candidates, even Warren, through a brokered convention to represent them...anyone but a self-avowed socialist.

I am not embarrassed for stating facts. It is unfortunate that you have to resort to personal insults. Your sort of vitriol towards me is what people are referring to when talking about online attacks by Sanders supporters. It's not cool, and it hurts our democracy.

[NJCher]

50. so let me see if I understand you correctly

Bernie should have run as an independent, then. Never mind that most people have a more nuanced view of left-right politics than you do and that he has caucused with the Democrats throughout the time he's been in the Senate. For the sake of argument, we'll go with the only alternative to your position: Bernie should have started an independent party.

Unless you can come up with another option, this is what the situation presents. Then answer the question: where would the Democratic party be now if Bernie had an independent party? Would that make things acceptable to you? Answer the question, please, instead of repeating the same-old same-old.

I haven't personally attacked you; only your arguments. They show you don't have much of an ability to project where situations might go under different scenarios (see paragraph one of this post). This means you don't have the ability to abstract.

I would guess that you have a job that's something like that of a TSA agent. You seem to want to grasp on to a worldview where rules make things very black and white. You don't seem comfortable with even your own representatives having the ability to make a fair judgment.

All I want is an answer to my question: where would the Democratic party be if Bernie had started a third party? And also, would it be good for Democrats had he done so?

[SunSeeker]

55. No, you are not understanding me correctly.

I don't think Bernie should have been allowed to run in our primary, since he has repeatedly said he is not a Democrat and dislikes the Democratic Party.

Neither I nor Bernie himself think he should run third party. But since you asked, I will tell you what I think would have happened. If he had done so in 2016, Hillary would not have been damaged by his ugly attacks during the bruising 2016 primary campaign, calling her "unqualified" and suggesting her positions were bought by whoever paid her to do a speech. There would not have been boos hurled at Democrats at the 2016 Democratic Convention. His third party run would have garnered a few percentage points at best, like Nader's. But without the damage from the primary, Hillary probably would have been able to overcome it.

If the DNC had denied him into our primary in 2016, he probably would never run third party. He'd still be a little known senator from Vermont, doing the Breakfast with Bernie segments on the Thom Hartmann show. And we wouldn't have Putin licking his chops right now at the prospect of having his favored candidate, Trump, running against his favored opponent, Sanders.

Please stop insulting me. It does noting to further your position and only cements the Sanders supporter stereotype. You spend much of your post sarcastically attacking my personal "ability" and speculating what job I have, instead of addressing the facts I have stated.

It's 3:08 am here locally and I am signing off. Good night.

[SunSeeker]

38. Oh, and yes, he did want a brokered convention in 2016:

There is plenty of hypocrisy here. Sanders briefly argued during the 2016 election that superdelegates, who were able to vote in larger numbers and on the first ballot in previous conventions, should swing the nomination to him instead of delegate leader Hillary Clinton. 

https://www.salon.com/2020/02/20/every-democratic-candidate-except-bernie-sanders-indicates-support-for-a-contested-convention/

[betsuni]

39. +1

[NJCher]

42. I don't recall enough of this

to make an argument. I'd have to do some reading to get up to speed, and that doesn't mean going out and finding one article that supports my contention, which is what you've done. I mean reading a broader assortment of articles and hopefully some primary sources rather than secondary.

Again, if you think this is a sufficient argument, I feel embarrassed for you.

[betsuni]

43. Google "Bernie Sanders brokered convention 2016" and numerous sources appear.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512205977

[NJCher]

45. thanks

looking for primary sources.

[dawg day]

56. The rules were changed to please Sanders

...after the last primary season. Now that he's the frontrunner, these rules are a plot against him?

[NBachers]

22. This is it, boyz! We're going to the mattresses!

[KayF]

28. he's taking on the dem establishment by definition

just the fact that he's running. If he was playing ball with them, he wouldn't be running.

[SunSeeker]

34. He pledged to "play ball" as a requirement of being able to run in our primary.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-signs-dnc-loyalty-pledge-i-am-member-democratic-n979696

[krissey]

47. Sanders is not only calling our Democratic leaders the same as Republicans but all the base too,

who supporter our Democratic leaders and who are working for us. Pisses me off. This dead beat dad, not working until hitting 40's living off others hard work and three decades in congress again not accomplishing anything, calling out the Democratic base and the Democratic Leaders that actually get things done.

[SunSeeker]

48. And where would he be if the DNC didn't allow this Independent to run in our primary?

Sanders admitted he needed to run as a Democrat to get media coverage. https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/bernie-sanders-independent-media-coverage-220747

The DNC gave him a stage to get a national following. Yet instead of being thankful, he heaps scorn on the DNC.

[krissey]

49. His hypocrisy. "It would be hypocritical of me to run as a Democrat because of the things I have

“It would be hypocritical of me to run as a Democrat because of the things I have said about the Party"

[BlueMTexpat]

52. Great catch, krissey!

[Iliyah]

57. And WTF is "regular" Democrats . . .

[MrsCoffee]

58. I think he needs a checkup.

He is losing it.

[musette_sf]

60. ....

[sheshe2]

64. Speaks volumes, doesn't it?

[musette_sf]

65. yep

[cwydro]

63. He's not going to win anything in the long run.

Maybe then he’ll go away.