A Bernie Sanders Shocker Is Coming

[Indydem]

191. You are somewhat mistaken.

Bernie Sanders seems like a fine guy. He does what he believes in, has a somewhat consistent track record, and seems like a totally personable guy.

My problems with Bernie are many faceted. Some of them are with Bernie himself, some of them are with his political history, and some of them are with his supporters.

Bernie himself is a radical. He may seem kind and grandfatherly, but his ideas are radical. He fashions himself as in the mold of Roosevelt, but he's far more radical than Roosevelt or any other Democratic president in the history of the party. He is a progressive and a borderline socialist - positions I don't agree with. I am more of a Kennedy Democrat - which is more in line with the mainstream of the party.

Bernie's political history matches his own radicalism. His legislative history is a lot of votes, bills, and support that falls far to the left of the party. As such, he's basically been a do-nothing member of congress and an even less important senator. He has consistently trashed the Democratic party and refused to do anything to support the party infrastructure. He caucuses with Democrats now, but for decades he refused to; finally realizing that the power is with the party.

Finally, my biggest issue with Bernie Sanders is his supporters. Their constant trashing of Hillary (or any other candidate) as "the lesser of two evils," or a "corporatist" or any one of the other 5000 disparaging names I have heard used for the rest of the Democratic field is disgusting. It divides the party, and poisons the well. In the end, when Bernie doesn't get the nomination, those people have to walk back and vote for Hillary - or they won't. If they won't, because they have convinced themselves that Hillary is just as bad as X, then X WILL WIN. If X wins, we are in for a world of trouble.

So, I use the term "crazy haired loon" because his supporters have attached themselves to his lack of grooming as some kind of symbol for authenticity, and I consider him more than a little bit of a loon - a politician who gets to be outside the mainstream because of his isolated and demographically homogeneous constituency.

He has already done more damage to the DU than I have ever seen. People at at each others throats. Alerting every 30 seconds because someone gets their feeling hurt. Banning of members from the Bernie group for asking reasonable questions. Harassing and dismissing of AA members and concerns. Take your pick. If he doesn't win the nomination, the furthest left of the party who support him will likely stay home on election day, or at the least, their heart won't be in it and they won't be advocating for Hillary (or Biden). If he does win the nomination, I do not think he can win the general election. He is outside the mainstream and in the end, he does not appeal to many of the demographics that the party needs to elect a President.

So there you go. That is why I don't support Bernie Sanders. He isn't a Democrat, and never has been. His radicalism is outside the American and Democratic mainstream, and in unelectable in the general election. And finally, his supporters are corrosive to the party and to the efforts to keep the White House.