"Bernie Sanders Has Always Sacrificed Pragmatism For Idealism, But Now Its Hurting Democrats"

[JCanete]

38. There is absolutely nothing right with this argument.

First, it is total bullshit that he has ALWAYS, or even most of the time, sacrificed pragmatism for idealism. Does anybody actually want to defend that position with a straight face? Anyone? I'm not even going to bother to provide evidence unless somebody wants to step up and say "sure, I like eating shit...."


Second, that is not the right way to think about Sanders outreach at all. Is the democratic party the one closest to the ideals he's selling? Is the GOP furthest away from them? The ideas are less ephemeral than a party name. They are more concrete. Showing how far afield the republicans are on human decency, and how possible these proposals are if we stand up and demand them, is doing the right work. It is undercutting that first round reaction of "pfffft, free stuff" that Republicans like to play on that people still buy into. It is opening the door for Democrats to come out the gate swinging because they don't have to test the ground to see how slippery it is first.

So he's selling the fucking ideas, not the D. You know what somebody with a D behind his or her name should be doing? Selling the fucking ideas.