Been through some rough primary wars here. To me now, though, this one is different.

[carolinayellowdog]

68. one major difference is having an Independent run for the Democratic nomination

which is an implicit reproach of what the Democratic Party has become-- no one willing to stand up for the values that we thought we all shared more or less back in 2004 and 2008. As for regretting one's past emotional involvement and investment-- I voted for Edwards in the 2004 primary and would have in 2008 if he hadn't dropped out just in time for me to switch to Obama. I shudder to think what it would have been like for the Edwards sex scandal to hit a sitting president! Plus I now consider it a mistake to have forgiven and overlooked his IWR vote-- wish I'd stuck with Dean in 2004 as he was my original favorite before the media destroyed him with bullshit.

I daresay most DUers who now support Sanders were Obama primary voters in 2008, and of course voted for Obama in the 2008 and 2012 general elections. And while many have expressed personal disappointment with Obama as an individual, my own disappointment has been more with the way the Democratic Party squandered its mandate and betrayed its base. Nominating Clinton would only reward "centrist" pandering to the 1% and further marginalize the progressive base. It remains to be seen what O'Malley will have to say to and about the Democratic Party; I'm open to persuasion.

But if the Party falls into line and accepts Her Inevitability, and O'Malley is no more than a blip, you can count on its credibility among Progressives to further erode and the appeal of an Independent progressive candidate to increase.