Bernie letter to editor wanting to abolish laws against gays: 1972

[thesquanderer]

15. True, today is what counts

but this kind of thing is helpful to Sanders because it goes right to the heart of many people's critical perceptions of HRC, that she is something of a "whichever way the wind blows" politician.

In 2008, I supported John Edwards, despite thinking he was a "whichever way the wind blows" candidate... I doubted he had much in the way of sincere convictions, but he was saying the things I was most in favor of, and I hoped that, even if he wasn't genuinely so deeply committed to them, if those were the positions that got him elected, those would be the positions he would govern from (especially since he would presumably have wanted to be re-elected four years later). But my support was not entirely enthusiastic because of that perception... I'd rather have supported someone who I thought really felt deeply about these things, but such a candidate was not to be found. I think this may be an important factor for Sanders, this consistency over 40+ years says something, so I do not think it is irrelevant.