Il Douché and His Discontents: The 2016 Primary Voting Thread, Part 4

Candidates who have endorsed him? Is there some story here which details this?

ive been getting emails from Democracy for America (which supports him) asking for $ for candidates. Proxies will have to do?

are there all that many candidates sympathetic to him running?

It's also not like there's no risk, in a tight race, to calling in the elderly Socialist for a photo-op. There are more sensible plays. I mean I doubt he's turning down invitations for reasons other than scheduling. Can you enumerate these?

There is one running for PA senate who has endorsed him and his campaign desperately needs funding. I'm sure there are others but I don't think the Bernie campaign has the resources or wherewithal. They have their hands full just making sure they're opening enough campaign offices in primary states.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sanderss-candidates-for-congress-an-snl-alum-a-hay-farmer-and-a-guy-with-a-bernie-tattoo/2016/02/26/6e44bd7c-da4c-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html

They have their hands full just making sure they're opening enough campaign offices in primary states.

yup, and this is precisely what makes me angry about his campaign - ass-backwards priorities

so easy when you're running against the Machine, dawg

his campaign is prioritizing his bid for the presidency (a non-achievable goal) over actual "revolution" that would produce electoral and legislative victories for the left

xp

xpost Mordy I think that is a fair take

his campaign is prioritizing his bid for the presidency (a non-achievable goal)

yes, that should be the campaign's #1 bead right now, tacitly acknowledging he's lost. Go work for Pelosi.

his campaign is prioritizing his bid for the presidency (a non-achievable goal) over actual "revolution" that would produce electoral and legislative victories for the left

so, his campaign for the presidency is foolishly prioritizing his campaign for the presidency?

p much!

This nerve of this Sanders guy

he should stop pretending that his fairytale dream of being president = revolution

he has said the OPPOSITE of that, clown

Nan's not up for reelection this year Morbz

xp

are you Rob Reiner?

it's extremely unlikely sanders would continue to bring in the kind of money he's been receiving if his campaign (if you could even call it that at that point, maybe more like a PAC) decided to start punting the presidential election and support candidates his donors haven't heard of. which is a problem, insofar as one accepts that this is a problem, with the sanders supporters, not sanders himself

but shakey knows this and is just being a douche

he has said the OPPOSITE of that, clown

This is even more nonsensical! "First I get elected President, then a revolution happens that retakes local, state and federal legislatures - somehow by magic!" it's so delusional.

peronally I find it outrageous that some of these budding down-ticket "revolutionaries" aren't instead devoting their efforts to children in pre-schools across this great nation, spending time to shape the minds of tomorrow's leaders, our future

personally argh

which is a problem, insofar as one accepts that this is a problem, with the sanders supporters, not sanders himself

yes this IS the problem, but idk why we should give Sanders a pass and blame his supporters exclusively, one wouldn't exist without the other

xp

in the meantime Sanders can keep spending his hard-earned $20 donations on billboards in San Francisco - why doesn't he just set his donor money on fire if he's going to be this stupid with it, feel the burn!

this whole line of thinking pr much sums up the Dem party's decades of capitulation

lol right

The billboard does sound like a misstep possibly based on what I think is a misconception that what Bernie lacks is still name recognition. Hard to imagine this is still true at this late date in the campaign but I still hear it from supporters as an explanation for why he's behind in polling in key states.

I'm sure that right now the opposition has really got its panties in a twist that Ted Cruz isn't in Indiana right now shooting hoops with Dan Coats

revolution comes with the 2018 midterms, shakey

you know, when the Republicans get supermajorities bcz of all the ClintonHate.

that billboard probably cost bernie 20 minutes worth of donations, get out of here

i do like this idea that bernie decides to start punting elections and spending money on local races and the money just keeps on flowing in. who's the delusional one?

yes but Morbs you are predicating that on Clinton victory, if indeed she gets the nom it may be the Dems w/ midterm bounce courtesy of President Cruz

/going to take a shower now/

‏@thehill
Clinton: "I'm not even sure" Sanders is a Democrat http://hill.cm/i2yIAZQ

‏@ggreenwald
So often in US politics, campaigns try to turn a candidate's best attributes into liabilities

if indeed she gets the nom it may be the Dems w/ midterm bounce courtesy of President Cruz

lol

"If he says so" deja vu

his campaign is prioritizing his bid for the presidency (a non-achievable goal) over actual "revolution" that would produce electoral and legislative victories for the left

which would be preferable at this moment:

a) bernie quits right now, in the middle of a campaign that is still attracting energetic supporters and introducing a bunch of young people to progressive ideas, before millions of those people get a chance to cast a vote for him and attend rallies with tens of thousands of other supporters, in order to fully devote his time to supporting down-ticket/state/local progressive politics, i.e., the "political revolution"

b) bernie keeps the campaign going for another 2 months, continues to give the progressive movement someone to unite around, and then he devotes his time to supporting down-ticket/state/local progressive politics, i.e., the "political revolution"

i think b) is better. but there's an assumption built into it, which is that keeping his campaign alive helps to build support for progressive ideas. by inspiring a lot of people who weren't previously engaged in politics or aren't satisfied with going with someone like hillary clinton for president, he's helping to inspire a lot of young people to get involved in local/state elections. no, not many - most will just vote in the primary or in november, and then completely forget about everything until 2020, again. but some people nonetheless will get inspired and become active that would not have been otherwise. for example, most people here have known all about single payer healthcare for decades or more, but you should remember that there are tons of college kids who were either too young or too politically disengaged to really pay attention to that short-lived debate during its most recent turn in the spotlight in 2009/2010. so having a democratic socialist in the news everyday to popularize these ideas (and trounce hillary in some states, on top of that) is inherently valuable to the future of progressive politics.

revolution comes with the 2018 midterms, shakey

you know, when the Republicans get supermajorities bcz of all the ClintonHate.

this is entirely likely, and if anyone (like, say, committed leftists) had any foresight this is what they would really be worried about

‏@thehill
Clinton: "I'm not even sure" Sanders is a Democrat http://hill.cm/i2yIAZQ

How is this even possible? Just a terrible, terrible candidate with a frighteningly short-memory

Can she just not manage to step in it, even once? Run-up to the general election is going to be v scary IMO

i think the point that the time to be supporting bernie-style candidates is now -- when the primaries are occurring -- is fair. but i don't see how the sanders campaign does this and manages to sustain its funding. people are donating to him to run for president. if it were the case that people from all over the country were interested enough in the kind of local races necessary to effect a "political revolution", there would be a PAC for this and it would be hugely successful. but there's not. people care about the presidency

I thought he wasn't a Democrat before this run? xp

re: Karl's post - the difference between options a) and b) is two months - and when there are things like filing deadlines and fundraising goals to worry about, idg what the additional two months of "building support for progressive ideas" actually accomplishes. The former is an actual thing that needs to be done to win elections - it's a clear goal that can be achieved. the latter is vague and poorly defined, and its benefits can't be clearlyt quantified.

xp

xpost he wasn't

KM otm

re trouncing (explain it's all a mirage, we've heard that-- the OPTICS are good)

‏@ggreenwald
Last 7 states:

ID- Sanders 78%
UT- Sanders 79.3%
AZ- HRC 56.5%
AK- Sanders 81.6%
HI- Sanders 68.8%
WA- Sanders 72.7%
WI- Sanders 56.5%

if I'm Bernie I see those numbers and know it's time to fold up shop, draft concession speech etc. because REALISTICALLY etc.

the difference between options a) and b) is two months

in order to support him dropping him out right now, you have to believe that he is single-handedly capable (and responsible) of doing all the gruntwork (like the filing deadlines, fundraising you mentioned), and that the reason down-ticket races aren't looking good for progressives is due to his lack of time and attention. given the kind of person he is - as discussed upthread it seems like he's more of a big picture guy than detail-oriented, which i think is totally fine - he seems like a more galvanizing force as a figurehead of the movement.

also it's kind of cheesy, but there's a rally in brooklyn in a couple weeks, and there are going to be a bunch of families and young people and children and formerly disengaged people who hate all the typical establishment candidates, standing together and cheering for sanders and listening to his ideas. that means something, and it's going to inspire a bunch of people. i don't see how abruptly quitting and canceling those kind of rallies is a good move for progressives.

i'm sorry everyone, go home! bernie has a conference call about filing deadlines in rural indiana for a key state representative battle that he needs to attend.

he's more of a big picture guy than detail-oriented ... a more galvanizing force as a figurehead of the movement.

see, Shakey? Reagan.

as you've already elected Clinton, howzbout she fires Wasserman-Stain? does that get your concern as much as Sanders financing a generation of lefty Dem congressppl this year?

where is this Brooklyn rally, km?

er, not in BK - in washington square. but hey, maybe he'll walk over here and say hello!

let's say theoretically bernie loses in NY and he's looking ahead to PA, NJ, MD and the numbers are you know, he's making progress but it seems like he's probably not going to turn it around sufficiently. does it make more sense for him to keep going to the convention knowing that his narrow path to victory has essentially vanished - basically lying to supporters that there's still a chance (at the moment there is enough of a chance that i think his call for support is genuine) - or does it make more sense to tell supporters: "the math doesn't make sense but that does not mean the revolution is over. now announcing: Bernie candidates! we still need to put ppl who agree w/ us in office to change this country and now that will be the focus of this campaign." i mean i think the latter - i don't see virtue in dragging supporters to a convention IF the math really does become impossible. i think it's not so at the moment - i mean he could win in NY, close the gap and win in PA, NJ, not lose too badly in MD, and then get a huge blowout in CA and have a spectacular come from behind victory. but if the numbers actually become impossible does it make sense to keep going just to keep the kids involved? or does it make sense to transition the kids to something new?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bernie-sanders-interviewed-by-spike-880788