General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: So Sanders is going back to running as an Indy for his senate seat. [View all]BainsBane
(53,003 posts)Last edited Wed Oct 25, 2017, 04:00 PM - Edit history (1)
Bernie has insisted the Democratic Party is worse than Trump. He ran against the Democratic Party and continues to do so. That is precisely why he is popular. He is seen as opposing both parties. To claim that improves perceptions of the party is baseless. His supporters have made clear their abject contempt not only for the party but Democratic voters, whom they habitually insult as "neoliberals" and "establishment."
Two days after the GOP passed a banking deregulation bill, Nina Turner insisted the Democratic Party was worse than the GOP on Wall Street. Bernie gave a speech that same weekend at the People's Summit likewise charging Democrats of being in the pocket of Wall Street, while neither mentioned the GOP banking bill. When I posted about the GOP bill, the comments I got from his supporters were that the Democratic Party was the real problem. How exactly does keeping anger focused on the Democratic Party restore its image? It does not.
And when do we see his supporters ever talk about policies? Never. In fact, we are told if we dare ask the details or costs of single payer we are right-wingers. We are declared the enemy for actually caring about how single payer will work rather than using it as a cudgel to attack Democratic politicians, who are despise even as they voice support for single payer and other policies they claim to care about. When Schumer introduced a slate of policy proposals previously advanced by self-identified progressives, they attacked him for it. When I and others have expressed support for issues we are told are litmus tests for being "progressive," I get insulted as "establishment." The fact is policy is irrelevant. Bernie cares about a number of issues. His supporters care about Bernie. What we see is an uncritical adulation of Bernie and fierce defense of political tribe.
And what ever happened to campaign finance reform? That's been entirely abandoned. Instead of proposing systemic reform, we see campaign finance waged in order to attack Democrats who actually obey campaign finance law, while Sanders' record number of campaign finance violations is either excused or ignored. Meanwhile, the GOP is set to pass the biggest transfer of wealth to the rich in US history, and his supporters continue to focus their ire on the Democratic Party. To claim any of that improves the image of the party is pure fabrication.
The fact you and his supporters care so much more about Bernie than the party, issues, or Democratic voters makes clear that he has not improved the image of the party. They celebrate the fact he is an independent, claiming that makes him "principled." Implicit in that admiration is contempt for the party. The behavior of his supporters demonstrates that he has not improved the image of the party. They assail the party, its leadership, and voters at every opportunity. At the recent DNC meeting, they focused on removing three African American women, the most loyal Democratic voting demographic, from the executive committee. People who refused to vote for Clinton in the GE and have insisted they will not vote for Democrats in the future feel entitled to exert dominance over a party they despise. We see more attacks on Democrats by so-called progressives than ever before. Nina Turner has even said she will devote Our Revolution resources to electing more Republicans.
I think we know that if Bernie runs as an independent in 2020, which is a distinct possibility, his supporters will abandon the party in a millisecond. It's obvious that most of his supporters priorities lie with him and not the party or its voters.
As for "energizing turnout." if he was so great at "energizing voters" why couldn't he get them to the polls in the primary? 12% of them voted for Trump, which shows he was not as effective as you claim at generating support for the Democratic nominee. Your argument lacks basic logic.