2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders needs to embrace being a Democrat.. [View all]jeff47
(26,549 posts)Clearly, the way to fix the status quo is by voting for the status quo. It'll totally revitalize the party to do exactly the same thing that has destroyed our party's health.
We are in the beginnings of a political realignment. The surge to the right embodied by Reagan is ending, because the generations behind that surge are dying. The following generations want something different.
We had two choices: Lead that wave, or be fragmented by it. Our party has chosen the latter, because our party is lead by the same generations that brought us Reagan and has steadfastly ignored "the kids". They weren't needed in a winning coalition. Until now.
Now, "the kids" are needed. And the party leadership is responding by demanding "the kids" fall in line. That will not work.
So what's going to happen over the next 30-ish years: The Republican party will wither away as it heads further and further into insanity. The Democratic party will split into two parties. One will take over the "traditional" position of the Republican party (ie. Ike). This party will also pick up the sane former-Republicans. The other party will take over the "traditional" position of the Democratic party (ie. FDR). We don't know yet which party will end up with the "Democratic" name.
Btw, that split will allow Republicans to win sometimes, despite their insanity. Just like Maine's governor.
Our party had an option to not split, and for us to not go through the massive disruption we are entering. Unfortunately, our party decided to turn further to the right instead.
So no, the letter after Sanders's name is really not important to a vast swath of voters. Because they've been desperately trying to make having a "D" be meaningful for 30 years, and been crushed repeatedly by the leadership.
And don't give me shit like "well, you didn't run anyone". We did. Lots of times. We were actively sabotaged by the entrenched parts of the party.