Polls show Bernie Sanders popularity among all voters is plummeting

[PatrickforO]

104. I don't feel the same about Bernie now as I did in 2016.

I was having a talk about this with colleagues at work, and the point was made that many of the people who embraced and loved Bernie back then were actually loving his message. His platform. The things he was proposing that would genuinely and significantly improve the lives of most Americans. That's why I went all out to support him in '16.

Now, though, many of the candidates are coming forward with this platform - healthcare, debt-free college, a Green New Deal.

Talk turned to AOC and the new progressives in the party. An esteemed colleague at work who is a bit more centrist than I am said they were going to ruin our chances of beating Trump because they are advocating impractical things, things that will be very difficult to pass even if we take both houses of Congress and the WH.

I countered with the argument that AOC and the other progressives are speaking truth to power. Like me, they are sick and tired of politicians who say what they think we want to hear in order to get elected, then go to DC and do very little that actually benefits us. All of us, if we're being honest, can name a few of these people. And I'm not talking about the right-wing crazies. There really isn't a Republican party any more - it is the party of Trump - a racist, white nationalistic, xenophobic, homophobic, corrupt and treasonous monstrosity that has brought shame upon our entire nation.

Nope. I'm talking about Democrats. And I'm particularly talking about Democrats that are feeling really uncomfortable with some of the things the new progressive group are saying. But why, I ask, should we tolerate anything less than a commitment to vigorous, focused and passionate effort to mitigate climate change from any of our candidates? Why should we tolerate anything less from our candidates that a commitment to universal healthcare, with at least a public option, and ideally Medicare for all? Why should we tolerate anything from our candidates but a commitment to overturn the giant tax cut for billionaires and corporations the Trump party rammed down our throats in 2017?

And, when elected, why should we tolerate candidates who don't act in our best interests like they said they would.

All of us need to speak truth to power. That is the only possible way we can cut through the corporate greed and corruption that tried to take over our government completely with the election of Trump. We all have one vote, but we also all have the ability to make calls, write letters, compose emails, sign petitions, donate money, post on social media and do our utmost to influence the political dialog in this country.

People are tired, damned tired, of a government who only responds to billionaires and corporations. It's time for some serious reform. Bernie used the word 'revolution,' and by that he meant a dramatically increased level of political consciousness and political engagement on the part of us all. The days when we can just cross our fingers, vote for the people with D behind their names and then hope for the best are over.

We need some massive changes NOW, and without MASSIVE pressure from us, those changes aren't going to happen and our grandchildren are going to have to breathe through fucking masks just to stay alive, and the earth will be polluted and dying, whole species of wildlife will die and the earth will become a much harsher place. People will continue to die because they cannot afford life-saving drugs or healthcare. People will continue to go bankrupt when they get sick.

Wake up, people. Things were incrementally better under Obama, but now under Trump all the good he did is being sabotaged or reversed. And for what? So shareholders in big corporations can get richer, so CEO compensation can be even more stratospheric and so we can have more and more billionaires at the expense of the rest of us, who just have to suck it up and work even harder.

Sorry, but that's bullshit. We need serious change NOW.

That is what the progressives are saying.