If Bernie is not accepted here as a Democrat

[BlueCaliDem]

83. You *can* see it that way - OR - you can say that you have enough

belief in the Democratic Party platform to want to take the next step and make it official and register as a Democrat. It speaks to character.

He is running as a Democrat on the Democratic ticket.
That's good enough for me.

If, for example, Rand Paul decided to run on the Democratic Party ticket but doesn't register as a Democrat, would that be a-okay with you? It wouldn't be okay with me.

As a Party, we seem to be all fine with people who say they are Democrats (and register as such) but don't act like or vote as Democrats. Why is that? Is the label more important than actions?

Fist of all, we need to understand that not every single Democrat is perfect. We need to look to their constituency to understand why that is. No politician is perfect. Not a single one. Even Bernie Sanders.

That said...

Labels are NOT more important than actions. I make that case every day. Actions always speak louder than words. I have NO problem accepting Bernie Sanders as a Democrat. He's voted with Democrats 98% of the time (the core reason the Democratic Party has allowed him to run in their primaries). He's strong against wealth inequality. He's pro-labor, pro-Social Security, pro-universal healthcare, pro-education, pro-strong national security, pro-veterans, and isn't afraid to vote for war when it's necessary. So why is HE so adamantly against registering as a Democrat and making it official. Because he doesn't, and his resisted all these decades, people who vote Democratic Party distrust his motives. It's why his poll numbers seem frozen. They don't trust him.