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2016 Postmortem
Showing Original Post only (View all)Expecting Sanders Supporters to "Close Ranks?" [View all]
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/22/expecting-sanders-supporters-close-ranksThink again. Here's why many won't.
"Expecting people to 'close ranks' around the Democratic nominee harkens back to a time that no longer exists."
When the Clinton campaign and the corporate press call for Sanders to drop out and turn his supporters over to Hillary, they reveal just how out of touch they are. Sanders army is not his to command. They arose out of a profound dissatisfaction over politics as usual, and many if not most will not be persuaded to vote for a status quo politician they perceive to be part of the problem, no matter how frightening a Trump Presidency could be.
Here are some of the reasons why:
Reason #1 Party Affiliation Doesnt Matter as Much as it Used to. In 1960, 75 percent of Americans belonged to one of the major political parties, and just 20 percent claimed to be independents. Today, 44 percent of Americans call themselves independents, and only a little over half of the people belong to a party. Most of the dropouts came from the Democratic Party, which claimed 50 percent of Americans in 1960. For the most part, Republicans have hovered between 20 and 25%, standing at 23% today.
(snip)
Reason #2 The Myth of the Centrist Majority and the Disenfranchisement of the People. Democrats share of voters fell sharply after Carter, and continued to fall thereafter, as the DLC brand of corporate centrist Democrats took over the party something both Clintons embraced whole-heartedly. In short, as the party abandoned the people, the people abandoned the party. The further Democrats drifted from the New Deal, the more ground they lost.
(snip)
"The oligarchs controlling the Party believed people had nowhere else to go, particularly with Republicans having a protracted psychotic breakdown, and until Sanders, it worked."
(snip)
Reason #3 -- In Response to their Diminished Status, the Democratic Party Moved to Protect the Entrenched Status Quo, rather than to Assure a Democratic Process. Closed primaries shut out independents -- the largest block of voters -- and in some states, including New York, rules made it difficult for the young or newly interested voters to engage.
(snip)
Reason #4 -- The Rise of the Oligarchy: In their landmark study, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups and Average Citizens, Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page found that the US was functionally an Oligarchy, not a democracy.
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Falling into lock-step is something that the Conservative, Republican-lite brain
Ferd Berfel
May 2016
#5
She showed she was progressive when she said she couldn't support TPP in its current form.
bahrbearian
May 2016
#20
She lied about that, she will implement TPP and the more destructive deals in he wings too
larkrake
May 2016
#73
The pragmatic thing for civil rights protestors to do in the 60's was to stay home and avoid being
GoneFishin
May 2016
#13
Bernie represents my interests. The second he asks me to vote for someone who doesn't, I'm done
GoneFishin
May 2016
#3
When a politician can't convince the voters they are looking out for them and give them a reason to
Autumn
May 2016
#48
...provided you're willing to accept the increased chance that the other candidate will win.
brooklynite
May 2016
#22
I work 60-80 hours a week and I'll make the time to work harder. Like I said, I'm used to it.
grossproffit
May 2016
#29
IMO, getting future progressive pres candidates depends on gaining influence within the dem party
HereSince1628
May 2016
#47
70-80% of his supporters have indicated in polls that they'll support Clinton in November
TwilightZone
May 2016
#23
"...up to the candidate to win my vote, not up to someone to assign me to them,..."
Ferd Berfel
May 2016
#69
"The System Isn’t ‘Rigged’ Against Sanders. Clinton's winning because more DEMOCRATS want her to be
still_one
May 2016
#55
Voting for a label is like buying a car based on the color of its glove compartment.
Tierra_y_Libertad
May 2016
#78
I had hoped for unity at first; but now we will just have to do the best we can.
Feathery Scout
May 2016
#80