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2016 Postmortem

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PeteSelman

(1,508 posts)
Wed Jul 13, 2016, 09:36 AM Jul 2016

My fellow Bernie supporters. [View all]

Ok my fellow Bernie supporters, it's time to move on to the next phase.

I realize none better how painful it is for the dream candidate to concede. Particularly for those of you who are new to politics and are witnessing their first real campaign. I have to tell you that this happens just about every cycle. The best guy rarely wins. Thus the phrase "you fall in love in the primary and fall in line for the general". The sad part of this particular one is that if anyone at all foresaw the kind of support Sanders was going to receive, there would have been a much more concerted effort to see people change registrations to get the votes necessary to take the nomination. Alas, it was not to be.

But it's not for us to despair here. Bernie has fought for and gotten many of the issues that matter to us into the Democratic platform. We got the public option to expand health care on there, we got the tuition free public college on there, we got minimum wage, we got campaign finance reform and dragged the party back toward the left on other issues. It's a win for us, we should be proud of what we've accomplished.

So, now is not the time to be shortsighted and foolish, now is the time to play the long game. The most important thing is to keep the tiny handed, thin skinned, racist angry yam from getting anywhere near the levers of power. A complete know nothing amateur such as he would be a disaster for the country.

One need only look at the results from 2001-2009 to know that we simply cannot afford a person of such shallow intellect and inexperience to be anywhere near the Oval Office. Let's face it, as boorish and embarrassing as he was, compared to Trump, Bush is a sophisticated statesman. It's that bad.

Yes, Secretary Clinton is an imperfect candidate. Yes, she's a little too much of a neo-lib in her policies but there simply is no viable alternative if you care about progress at all. No, she's not the perfect across the board progressive we all want but she's also not the iniquitous villain she's portrayed as by the right wing hate machine that's been relentlessly attacking her for twenty-five years. All those phoney scandals, many of which have sadly been repeated by those on the left in this primary, have amounted to nothing. Like it or not, like her or not, she truly is imminently qualified and probably more prepared to step into the job than anyone in history.

Now, if we want the revolution to continue we need to vote for candidates who will carry that platform out. We can't cut and run or stamp our feet because we didn't get everything we want and allow the far right crazies to continue to hold power in the congress. And further, we need to commit to running Sanders style candidates in every race for every office from now on. We need to take this party over from the bottom up and if we can't jettison all of the corporate whores, we can hold their feet to the fire and make them very uncomfortable. That's the long game.

This is particularly important because a Trump presidency with a teabagger congress means massive damage, if not the outright abolition of, social security and Medicare, massive damage to health care, massive damage to services for the poor and needy, ignoring climate change, an end to the right to organize and collectively bargain, massive deregulation of Wall Street which will lead to another horrific recession, more pointless tax cuts for rich people and all the usual failed trickle down policies from the past four decades that have brought the middle class to its knees. And then there is the disastrous foreign policy Trump envisions. He casually speaks of torturing people, of murdering the innocent family members of terror suspects, of handing out nukes to countries that have never had them and destroying relationships with our allies as he praises dictators.

And if that isn't enough to convince you, the Supreme Court is everything in this election. If women's rights, workers' rights, LGBT rights, voting rights, money in politics, health care and the seperation of church and state, progressive values all, matter one bit to you, you'll vote for the person who will keep these things intact and work to expand them. The person who will appoint judges who will adjudicate fairly and according to the Constitution. I certainly do not want to spend the next thirty years living under the thumb of the far right Christian Taliban. That is what is at stake in the judicial branch.

So, in conclusion, I get the disappointment, I get the mistrust and I get the cynicism. And if your demand for one hundred percent agreement is more important than the health and security of the country, by all means go vote for someone else. Jill Stein is a fine candidate. But what I have laid out is why Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton. It's not because he "sold out". It's not because his life was in danger or any idiotic nonsense like that. It's because he cares about the country, it's because incremental progress is better than regression on a giant scale. It's because we want to continue being the leader of the free world and not reduce ourselves to the level of petty third world tyrants.

We're better than that and that's why we should be with her.

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My fellow Bernie supporters. [View all] PeteSelman Jul 2016 OP
How many days are we going to have to listen to Sanders owning the Democratic positions, seabeyond Jul 2016 #1
The Democratic Party is owned once again by the people not wall street awake Jul 2016 #3
Fact: Most of what Sanders claims as his is Clinton's and the Democratic long held position. seabeyond Jul 2016 #7
I'm really not sure what the hart of your beef is awake Jul 2016 #9
Re defining who the Democratic party is, and what they stand for, to create them as less, to make seabeyond Jul 2016 #11
Well I am sorry if you feel that the work that Bernie and his 2 million backers awake Jul 2016 #14
Standing strong on Clinton and Democratic party positions should be expected. seabeyond Jul 2016 #23
Thank you. (nt) ehrnst Jul 2016 #44
The 'we' in your rhetoric seems to think it is the owner of the Party, which is really Bluenorthwest Jul 2016 #6
Post removed Post removed Jul 2016 #31
Owning our position and not allowing another to own our position so we cannot be defined by seabeyond Jul 2016 #33
They are gone. sheshe2 Jul 2016 #53
Well, good to hear. I have never heard so many people demanding one allow the credit for all. seabeyond Jul 2016 #54
+ one million, Seabeyond! I've been biting my toungue, but enough is enough! lunamagica Jul 2016 #34
You might want to get used to it. SalviaBlue Jul 2016 #39
He can own it along with Clinton and the Democrats. You do not see anyone of them saying, Me Me Me, seabeyond Jul 2016 #43
+1! eom BlueMTexpat Jul 2016 #59
What part of the OP is claiming Bernie owns the Democratic party? aikoaiko Jul 2016 #57
"Jill Stein is a fine candidate??" What part of the new ToS isn't sinking in? BobbyDrake Jul 2016 #2
Jill Stein is unqualified to run for dog catcher jcgoldie Jul 2016 #8
Of course she's an asshole. That's beside the point. What is bullshit is that people here continue BobbyDrake Jul 2016 #37
I wouldn't trust her with my dog! greatauntoftriplets Jul 2016 #50
I thought about taking that out. PeteSelman Jul 2016 #28
Excellent post. Bluenorthwest Jul 2016 #4
Do you believe climate change will wait for "incremental" change? Serious question nt riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #5
Probably not. thucythucy Jul 2016 #12
Nope. Bottom line is the planet is now irrevocably fucked. nt. riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #15
Tom Steyer disagrees with you. KMOD Jul 2016 #19
Ah well then, billionaire hedge fund guy v scientists. riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #21
lol KMOD Jul 2016 #24
Oh I know Tom Steyer. riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #26
"One of my clients works for him." That's not what it means to know somebody. BobbyDrake Jul 2016 #38
Lol, ok. I've been to their house and partied with him several times. riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #41
Sure, great story, so sure it's real. Did I mention l'm the 5th Beatle? BobbyDrake Jul 2016 #45
So what disagreements do you have with him? KMOD Jul 2016 #56
Nice ... nolawarlock Jul 2016 #46
rider what will happen in a Trump Presidency? rbrnmw Jul 2016 #16
Nope. Do you think climate change will wait for "incremental" steps? nt riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #17
No but I do believe we have a better shot rbrnmw Jul 2016 #18
So you're ok with Obama's support of fracking, coal, ozone standards etc? riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #25
No but at least it's something rbrnmw Jul 2016 #27
"Something" equals nothing unfortunately, at this stage :( riderinthestorm Jul 2016 #36
You do realize that Hillary Clinton is our candidate, and whatever her policy is will be better.... George II Jul 2016 #55
No but Trump is a denier. PeteSelman Jul 2016 #29
"It's time" posts are meaningless. Orsino Jul 2016 #10
I find them annoying. 840high Jul 2016 #35
It's high time people stopped posting "It's time" posts! MADem Jul 2016 #58
did you forget which site you are logged into? Oh, and I thought you said this site was "dead" snooper2 Jul 2016 #13
It's certainly not what it was ten-fifteen years ago. PeteSelman Jul 2016 #30
Why ask for feedback from a dead site? nolawarlock Jul 2016 #47
I have said this (more or less) a lot since yesterday and will say it again. LostOne4Ever Jul 2016 #20
+1000 awake Jul 2016 #22
Still stings, huh? LexVegas Jul 2016 #32
For some, yes. PeteSelman Jul 2016 #40
Bernie is everything you said about him. And I also agree with most of your opinions about Cal33 Jul 2016 #42
Hear hear! Philly-Union-Man Jul 2016 #48
It's a bit patronizing and a bit presumptuous cosmicone Jul 2016 #49
Nobody should sit around... Mike Nelson Jul 2016 #51
totally agree with you gopiscrap Jul 2016 #52
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