2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: How Bernie Sanders exposed Democrats racial rift [View all]lovemydog
(11,833 posts)I've learned a lot reading the AA group here. I highly recommend it. Great people and a lot of excellent discussion.
One thing I've noticed among bernie or bust type posters is an absolute unwillingness to even entertain the notion that Hillary Clinton has many liberal positions with respect to taxes, the economy, prison reform and other issues. And, from reading here over the past year, a lot of racial tone deafness and yes, white privilege. Some even ridicule Clinton for 'evolving' slowly on some issues. But to me, it's much better to evolve in a good way than to evolve poorly. I think evolving well is a very good thing.
It's about way more than what one posts on a message board or what one says or wishes for. It's about what you do and what you can accomplish in a clear manner, with the support of many in Congress and endorsements of powerful people who can actually help affect positive change.
I don't attribute this attitude to most Bernie supporters. The ones in person are voting for Clinton in November. The November vote is of critical importance.
I have no time for those who claim here that they won't vote for the democratic nominee in November. Let them leave and go vote green or democratic socialist or whatever they want. They just seem so pedantic, preaching things that are obvious and repeating themselves ad infinitum.
Nor did I have much time for those who trashed President Obama here for the past seven years. To me, they don't seem much different from those on the right who wish to divide us. They fail to acknowledge how hard the President has worked against a republican brick wall in Congress.
When we don't keep our rather bizarre coalition of leftists, liberals and more mainstream democrats together, we lose. It's critical that we win every election, from the presidency on down to local elections. Lives depend on it. As you've stated so eloquently, it hits much closer to home if that life belongs to yourself or your loved ones.
Loyalty is also very important. The Clinton's have built their coalition over a very long period of time. It's amazing how well Bernie did, but to me it's not surprising that he fell short of attracting the entire Obama coalition. Particularly since a vocal chunk of Bernie's coalition was publicly hostile toward President Obama (see, Cornell West and some prolific posters here).
Hope you enjoy a great weekend.