General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: HOW BERNIE SANDERS IDEAS ARE WINNING IN THE TRUMP ERA [View all]FDRsGhost
(470 posts)I don't think any of us expected Bernie to get a leadership position in the party yet here we are! Of course that was a very smart move by Schumer knowing how popular he is and how Bernie is able to motivate people to get out and vote. People may say "he helped Hillary lose" but IMHO Obama was a lot more harsh on Hillary in the 2008 primaries than Bernie ever was. Primaries are fights, they can get very nasty at times and they can be downright mean. It's not a bake sale after all.
The party may have a lack of love for Bernie but the party also loves him. I see it as a love/hate relationship and where I think the big gap lies is between those who are younger voters vs. those who are not. There's a big division there and yes we NEED both in order to win elections. One area where Bernie is very strong is with indy voters and considering they are now 46% of the electorate, we can't win without them. He's the guy to bring them in.
Bernie has a "real movement" as it is now. If anything; Bernie's movement is massive. Think of it, before the election he had a 2% name recognition and he challenged the most famous woman in the world for the presidency. Stadiums seating 10s of thousands were filled and lines to see him stretched miles. He brought more young voters out to vote in the primaries than anybody else in history & he's the most popular politician in America. This is the very definition of a "movement".