I expect that our presumptive nominee, Joe Biden, will wisely build bridges to Sanders voters

[Tom Rinaldo]

I expect that the runner up for the nomination, Bernie Sanders, will try to validate all of the enthusiasm, passion, and commitment to a cause that his core base of supporters has evidenced for years, as not having been in vain. It is essential that he do so.

None of us who recognize how high the stakes are for our nation this November, can afford for even a fraction of the third of the Democratic electorate that stood strongly for Bernie Sanders to leave this primary process feeling crushed and disillusioned. Many of our youngest voters passionately believed in Bernie, and for a good many of those this was their first time really engaging in the electoral process.

Bernie has to find a way of acknowledging and celebrating all of that before he can begin the essential work of effectively converting as many of his supporters as possible into fervent campaigners for Joe Biden. It most likely can't be done in a single day. Joe Biden won. I expect he will exhibit the grace that is so much a part of him as he works to unify our Party. I hope those here who feel relieved to see Sanders defeated are capable of the same.

[The Magistrate]

1. Unfortunately, Sir, That May Have To Done Without Assistance From Sanders

A fact his well-intentioned supporters ought to face.

[Lithos]

10. Strongly depends on the strength of Sanders commitment of support

There are some large rocks which will not move to Biden with out significant support from Biden.

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. It is not as easy for him to accomplish as simply writing a good concession speech

Lawrence O'Donnell, no big Sanders supporter, was commenting on that tonight. Now is a time for bridge building from all sides, and for the patience it may require to allow new realities to set it on one hand, and for principled differences regarding differing "tactics", as Joe Biden wisely called issues that distinguished his views from Bernie Sanders on matters that otherwise unite us all, to not needlessly be belittled.

[PatSeg]

18. Yes, I saw that

I think Sanders does need some time and space, but hopefully, it won't be too much time, as the country is in a state of crisis right now. This divisive primary needs to end.

[The Magistrate]

19. No, Sir, It Is Not: Sanders Will Have To Work At It

Put bluntly, I do not expect him to. He will seek concessions, operating on the 'what's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable' principle, claiming he needs scalps to placate his mass movement. He will do this from a position of material weakness so obvious that those who give him concessions must come to appear weak themselves, which is fatal in a polity of our stamp. Into the bargain, the things he will want will not be actual achievable policies, but things like platform planks and internal party structural changes, that are not of any real significance, important as they have always seemed to fringe left cults of the old SWP sort.

[sheshe2]

16. So good to see you back!

You have been missed, Sir.

[The Magistrate]

22. Thank You, Ma'am

An odd night all around, but a pleasant one. Thank you for the welcome.

[Tom Rinaldo]

17. And now that I responded to the substance of your post....

Let me acknowledge what is really of importance to me in this regard:

It is really wonderful to find you on DU again. I have thought of, and missed you, often.

[The Magistrate]

21. Yours Was One Of The Names I Recognized, Sir

Complete agreement is no necessity of friendship. Thank you for the welcome.

[Skidmore]

28. Welcome back!

I had to look twice to make certain it was you. So happy to have your voice here again.

In this long strange slog, we can only hope that Sanders himself and his supporters start to understand the value of coalition building and consensus. I trust that most will.

[mcar]

46. Glad to see you back here, Magistrate!

You have been missed.

[Rizen]

2. Exactly.

We need to work together now.

[comradebillyboy]

3. Once Sanders concedes that can happen. It can't

happen while Sanders and his team are still attacking Biden.

[Thekaspervote]

14. This! Biden has already stated he would adopt sanders student debt issue an 1 of EW's

The rock throwing has to stop on sanders part!

[Music Man]

4. Well said.

I think they both have taken it to heart that if Trump can be elected, he can be re-elected. They are going to be meeting soon.

I am likely voting for Biden if the primary is still going on in the spring, but I have been disappointed in the tone of *some* of the Biden people tonight. Crap about how Biden doesn't owe Bernie anything, he should just ignore him, etc. Good thing most of these people are commenting in a forum rather than working in national politics!

I realize many of Sanders' supporters are... uh... fervent... and will be hard to convince. I think that's a different discussion. But Bernie can motivate those people who are movable.

I expect both men to come together, be gracious, and work toward a unified convention and fall campaign.

[Demsrule86]

11. I don't think people mean to be difficult but if Sanders doesn't get out and continues to

attack the presumptive nominee, what else can we do but ignore Sanders? The primary is over and we need to move into the General. I hope Sanders will end his campaign and work with Biden to bring his supporters on board. But no matter what Joe Biden needs to turn to the General.

[onetexan]

31. BS is a selfish and self-centered man, to a lesser degree than the Idiot but along the same lines of

me, myself & i. This election is his last hurrah and he knows it. Hence why he is being petulant like his rabid followers, hell bent on sabotaging the Democratic party from within. As disgusting as this is, the root of this problem is the DNC allowed him to run on the Dem ticket, not once but twice! It irks me that the DNC is so spineless, knowing what's at stake. Since BS is determined to drag the primaries out, the only way i see out of this is for the DNC to step in & force BS to concede to prevent further damage to the Biden campaign.

I was listening a replay of David Plouffe on MSNBC earlier. He said, and i summize here, what we've been saying here - that Bernie needs to concede so Joe can focus on the GE given it's 7 months away and we've not a minute to lose. Why? Because if the Idiot get reelected we may not survive his second term. Dire warning but so true given how horrible is first term is going.

[BidenBacker]

36. Dems ignore Plouffe's advice at their own peril

Brilliant strategist.

The Chicago Tribune writes, "Plouffe was the mastermind behind a winning strategy that looked well past Super Tuesday's contests on Feb. 5 and placed value on large and small states". Plouffe also maintained discipline over communications, including controlling leaks and releasing information about the campaign on its terms. Averse to publicity himself, Plouffe's control over the internal workings of the campaign avoided the publicly aired squabbles that tend to trouble campaigns.

In June 2008, when then-Senator Obama clinched the Democratic Party nomination, he thanked Plouffe for being the one "who never gets any credit, but has built the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States". In May 2008, David Axelrod praised Plouffe, stating he had "done the most magnificent job of managing a campaign that I've seen in my life of watching presidential politics. To start something like this from scratch and build what we have built was a truly remarkable thing".

After winning the election on November 4, Obama credited Plouffe in his acceptance speech, calling him "the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the...best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America".

Hire this guy, Joe. Bloomberg can pay him whatever he wants but pretty sure he'll do it for free to get rid of Trump.

[onetexan]

39. Second that. How can we get this message to the Biden camp they need to hire Plouffe?

He was the architect of Obama's wins.

[BidenBacker]

42. If Plouffe

can get a young inexperienced black man elected president of a country where racism is still far too prevalent, pretty sure getting an old experienced white guy the same job would be a slam dunk for him.

Love listening to his insight on TV but his talents are wasted there and his country needs him more than a few cable viewers do. He was questioned not too long ago if he would work for Biden's campaign if asked and it sure seemed to me he was open to it.

[peggysue2]

68. I saw that same interview

Plouffe did sound open to the idea. Didn't he say he and his wife had already discussed the possibility? It's a huge commitment of personal time and energy. He's been there before, so he knows absolutely what he'd be committing to.

But it did sound like a genuine possibility. What an addition to the team that would be. Whoosh!

[BidenBacker]

43. Also

if Plouffe can't placate Sanders supporters then nobody can.

Political wizard David Plouffe: Trump's got time and money — that "should scare us all"

https://www.salon.com/2020/03/14/political-wizard-david-plouffe-trumps-got-time-and-money-that-should-scare-us-all/

[Demsrule86]

48. I wonder if Plouffe would be willing to work for Biden...it would be a service to this country to

Trump out.

[Gothmog]

67. sanders needs to drop out and start working to defeat trump

If sanders prolongs the primary procured, sanders will be helping trump and Putin

[NCProgressive]

5. Sanders has to concede first

[elleng]

6. Hope he retains Plouffe,

to get that and other essential issues started.

[nolawarlock]

7. If there's any of them left by November ...

The young Bernie voter seems to be piled onto the beaches of Florida, attempting to evade police while marauding Bourbon Street, or partying it up at whatever bar is still open. Heck, my niece and nephew, 26 and 32 and both Berners, decided to take their trip to Peru last week in spite of all this, flights got cancelled, they drove ten hours to Bolivia, and then that closed and they're stuck there for god knows how long.

[Demsrule86]

50. Sounds like me as a kid... my poor parents . I thank God everyday that the 'mothers'

curse failed and my kids are so much better than I was at this age...my Mom said I was determined to learn everything the hard way and she was right...sorry Mom...don't know how you put up with it.

[Demsrule86]

8. Of course. And maybe I am wrong but I have a feeling that Sanders and Biden will work it out and we

will move forward together.

[relayerbob]

9. I believe he already has in the last few days

and will continue.

[TwilightZone]

12. "Joe Biden won. "

Someone should probably tell Sanders. He clearly doesn't believe so since he's opening offices in PA and continuing to run the same misleading ads about Biden and Social Security.

[comradebillyboy]

15. While Joe tries to build bridges, Bernie and his team

are still burning them. He can help elect Biden or he can help re-elect Trump. It's his choice.

[sop]

20. It's impossible to call oneself a "progressive" when one refuses to vote for the candidate most

likely to create actual progress.

[Aquaria]

23. You don't build bridges to people

Who go out of their way to lie about and slander Biden and his supporters, and take great delight in doing it.

If they want concessions, then BS, his "advisers," and his supporters need to show some contrition and humility by accepting defeat and conceding first. And then they need to state that they are ready to get behind Biden to defeat the Dotard in November. They're getting nowhere as long as they keep making demands they're not in a position to ask for.

They're not entitled to anything until they show they can and will be team players. Thus far, they have not demonstrated any skill at that.

[Awsi Dooger]

24. Perhaps the quick merciless reversal of fate will help

2016 was long and dragged out, always behind but close enough and many tout-worthy states of 50%+. I'm sure it led to immense frustration especially since many of them had backed Obama in 2008 and assumed they could deny Hillary again.

This time his supporters have no room to pretend. It was the political version of USC/Notre Dame football 1974. I don't mind referencing that here because the demographic includes many who are old enough not to require services of Google.

[NBachers]

25. Check out Biden doing just that in his coronavirus speech tonight- Starts at 3:28, but the entire

speech is good. If you listen to the end, there's a special moment.

Biden reaches out humbly, emphatically, and with huge credit to Sanders, and Sanders supporters. This is the bridge you are looking for.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287674466

[Hav]

27. Yes, reaching out by Biden has already begun but it's Sanders who rejects it

At the very least, it started with the free public college and university proposal and crediting Sanders for the idea. For some reason, that wasn't well received in the Sanders camp. Biden is already standing on that bridge waiting for BS to join him and reality.

[RandySF]

26. #writeinbernie is trending on Twitter at the moment.

[Codeine]

29. The #bendtheknee brigade does not get to

demand bridge-building.

[Lady_Chat]

30. Hope so, we all need to come together to beat Trump.

[beachbumbob]

32. sanders and his people need to build bridges to Biden if they want to part of the process

[ecdab]

33. Well said

Joe needs to move on to the General Election, Bernie needs to navigate a path between staying true to the issues he has stood for over the course of his life time and moving his supporters over to Joe. That will take more than a moment, but there is no reason to believe it will not happen this spring. I'd like to see Bernie get out sooner rather than later, but Joe's a big boy and can take some more pokes from the left without getting hurt at this point, though toning the pokes down coming directly out of the Sanders campaign would be a nice thing to see at this point. But it does take a little time for reality to set in on a political campaign that has been running for as long as Bernie's has been up and operational.

[Squinch]

34. What Sanders voters? There don't appear to be any. BS overplayed

his hand and no one is voting for him any more.

He blew it. He has no leverage. No one needs to appease.him.

[ibegurpard]

35. He needs to continue doing just what he's been doing

Turning his focus to the general and being gracious to Sanders and his voters. Ignore the bomb-throwing surrogates and campaign operatives. Sanders has even less of a possible path than he did at this point in 2016. People just need to chill.

[spicysista]

37. I appreciate the spirit of this post.

How do you build bridges with people whom want to "burn it all down"? I agree that it's well past time for a cease fire. In all honesty, Biden has been making an appeal to you and voters like you since "Big Tuesday". The real test , it seems, is for Bernie and his team to stop firing.
I have no hope of Bernie doing the right thing. I think many of his supporters were never going to support anyone but him no matter what's at stake for the rest of us. They are privileged , some of them, and prove it anytime they speak on the many voters like me from the south who support Biden. The fact they can even consider sitting out in the fall reeks of privilege. My cheeks are still burning. I'm not turning them again until Sanders informs his more inspired fans that this is over.

[BeyondGeography]

38. The "grace that is so much a part of him" has never been evident in his campaign

David Sirota last night, eg:

Link to tweet

In the rest of his tweets he’s using COVID-19 as a proxy to bitch about the Democratic Party and the unfairness of holding elections last night.

I really don’t get why we should coddle the tender feelings of Sanders and the people who voted for him while his surrogates have and will no doubt continue to charge about the room breaking all of our furniture. Perhaps if “the grace that is so much a part of him” was more apparent, we wouldn’t have this problem.

[BidenBacker]

40. Yeah, let's build a "bridge" to this guy

and then throw him off it.

"Vote for Biden instead of Trump because he's less of a liar" is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

[Tom Rinaldo]

44. The comment you quoted was a complementary reference to Joe n/t

[BeyondGeography]

52. I guess that's what passes for diplomacy in Bernie World

Last edited Wed Mar 18, 2020, 10:31 AM - Edit history (1)

Start with a Trump attack line and migrate to something resembling grown-up behavior from there.

No wonder why he has become little more than a collector of non-moderate voters at this point.

On edit: I am talking about Sirota, not you.

[TwilightZone]

54. How is "Joe Biden wildly lied about his record" complementary?

Seriously?

[Tom Rinaldo]

56. WTF? I complemented Joe. It is sincere.

Where in my OP did I say or even imply a single negative word about Joe Biden? You may have an axe that you believe deserves grinding but don't grind it on me when I am being fully supportive of Joe Biden.

[TwilightZone]

61. The poster's comments were about Sirota's tweet.

That's the quote to which I thought you were referring. Not sure what it has to do with your OP, but feel free to comment on Sirota's tweet. I find it hilarious that Biden is expected to magically win over people who clearly have no intention of being even mollified, much less satisfied with him as a nominee.

[Tom Rinaldo]

65. Biden can not win over all of them, I agree with you there

And he can't spend his valuable campaign resources chasing after lost causes. But even in 2016, when too many people didn't not sufficiently recognize how how profoundly important their presidential choices were, I saw some Bernie supporters transition from being grudging backers of Hillary to actual advocates for her over time, and some Bernie or Busters transition to being grudging backers of Hillary over time also.

This year no one can deny how high the stakes are. I'm old enough to remember the 1968 Presidential campaign. Lots of alienated Democrats came home to Hubert Humphrey in the final weeks of the campaign. The problem was HHH needed their support earlier in the cycle. A skilled and principled politician, and Joe Biden is very much one of those, knows ways to move that healing curve forward. Sanders has to work toward the same also of course, but anyone who fails to recognize that positive overtures from the winning side toward those who are initially dispirited serves to empower efforts by the loser to bring his people around, fails to adequately understand either politics or human nature.

[Turin_C3PO]

55. That's actually an encouraging

tweet, coming from Sirota.

[TwilightZone]

57. "Joe Biden wildly lied about his record." isn't encouraging.

I'd have to disagree with you there. These are the people that many keep insisting we're supposed to pander to and mollify. The expectation that that's even possible is wildly unrealistic.

[Turin_C3PO]

59. Not that part, of course.

But at least he’s saying he’ll support Biden as the nominee. Wasn’t he one of Sanders’ advisers in 2016 who voted for Stein?

[TwilightZone]

63. "We should support the Democratic nominee against Trump."

"should" is a weasel word and an interesting choice of words in that context. He's not committing to doing so.

As for Stein, he insists he didn't.

His next tweet isn't any better.

Link to tweet

[TwilightZone]

60. The "grace" comment was in reference to Biden, not Sanders.

Otherwise, I agree with you.

[BeyondGeography]

64. Oops

Thanks.

[Chainfire]

41. Isn't it about time

For Sanders to announce an independent run for the Presidency?

[mcar]

45. He is already doing that

Reached out in his speech last night.

[MrsCoffee]

47. That bridge has already been built. They can cross over or join the trolls underneath.

You are either voting for kids in cages, destroying environmental protections, cuddling up to dictators, taking away healthcare, giving tax breaks to the wealthiest (need I go on?) ...

OR NOT.

None of us is getting every fucking thing we want. Just do the right thing already. FFS.

[LanternWaste]

49. And hopefully, Sanders supporters will do the same rather than passing the buck

Rationals minds realize the two-way transmission of ideas and support is just that-- two-ways.

Hacks however don't... they simply demand it all come to them.

[Tom Rinaldo]

53. I understand and agree

But it would be foolish to lose sight of the fact that millions of Biden supporters have reason to feel ecstatic right now, while millions of Sanders supporters have reason to feel disappointed if not depressed. That simply is the nature of any hotly contested conflict in which the stakes are high and real. The winner always has the advantage of having won, and those on the winning side have never have trouble accepting the results. I trust Biden to handle unifying the Party well. Those who were on his side (now our side) should try not to make that harder for him.

People like me, who supported Bernie, have our work cut out for us in the coming months also, rallying support for Biden among those who were unenthusiastic about him. I've been through this before, I adjust relatively easily, but not all people do, irregardless of their political leanings. Some people need time before they can be positively engaged again. That's simply a part of human nature.

[Evergreen Emerald]

51. Ummm....no one is building a bridge to me...

I supported Inslee, he dropped out. Then I supported Warren, and she dropped out.

Now I support Biden, because he can beat Trump and take back our democracy from the hands of the fascists. No one is attempting to "build a bridge to me."

Please Sanders supporters:Knock it off. Stop whining. Stop demanding attention. Stop demanding wooing. Do your civic duty. You should know better. For F's sake.

[Tom Rinaldo]

58. It is simply Politics 101. No, not everyone "needs a bridge". You don't. I don't. So?

This is about winning in November by winning the most votes in enough states to carry the electoral college. Fortunately, skillful politicians like Joe Biden understand this. Winning involves winning over voters who were reluctant to support you, whether or not you think they should be supporting you in their own self interest anyway. If that can be done without compromising core principles, that is exactly what winning candidates set out to do.

[Hav]

62. Don't you think that Biden has already started that process by adopting

policies by both Warren and Sanders and crediting them explicitly? He tried the same in the last debate. Biden is on that bridge waiting for BS and his followers, maybe not to meet him halfway yet but at least to make a step forward to put a foot on that bridge. When that happens, we'd have a great basis to argue where else we could find common ground.

[Tom Rinaldo]

66. Yes, I do.

And I am confident that Biden will continue to find ways, consistent with his principles, to build further on common ground.

I value movement politics. It was movement politics that fought for and won civil rights. It was movement politics that turned the tide of public opinion against military adventurism like the Vietnam War. It was movement politics that forced this nation to deal with AIDS seriously. It was movement politics that made this nation face the inequality that women face daily in America. It was movement politics that won Gay and Lesbian Marriage, etc. etc. etc.

Bernie Sanders is a hybrid political and movement leader, but if anything he is more of the latter than the former. Movements build on a base of emotional intensity. That is how they are able to confront seemingly insurmountable odds in the first place. But that also comes at a cost. Movements may have "leaders" but in truth movements empower individuals to become their own leaders, they do not respond efficiently to top down direction.

There is a movement behind Bernie Sanders and it can not be turned around on a dime. It is not a political machine receptive to orders. It is fueled by emotional intensity as much as it is driven by logic. His movement, myself included, expected Bernie Sanders to forcefully advance his case during the first one on one debate against Joe Biden, both on the issues and on their perspective leadership records. I already knew then that I would be falling in behind Joe Biden after Tuesday's primaries were concluded. but I also knew in my gut that the movement for social change that galvanized behind Sanders needed to have that moment first before the vast majority of those involved could contemplate moving on.

I expect Bernie Sanders to now slowly make the shift toward unifying the Party behind Joe Biden, but in order for him to be effective in so doing he can't initiate a U Turn so sharp that his supporters will be thrown off the bandwagon in the process.