What Bernie has done is extraordinary and magnificent. And he ain't going to fade away.

[cali]

No politician with that donor list and that big a megaphone would fade away.

He started with nothing against someone who was running with all the advantages of an incumbent.

He has raised more money from individual donors than anyone. Ever.

He has won 19 primaries. He will win more.

He has energized millions of voters.

He has influenced the debate more than any other candidate.


I happen to think it is the beginning of a movement or revolution or whatever you want to call it; one that can be traced back to Occupy, but that remains to be seen.

One thing I'm sure of: Bernie won't fade into oblivion after the convention.

[reddread]

1. you sure seem to be trying to sweep him under the rug

unless I miss the cut of your jibs

[cali]

6. You do this Vermonter a disservice. Believing that hillary will, alas, be the nominee

is not remotely the same as sweeping my Senator under the rug.

[reddread]

9. your posts betray your intentions

[cali]

13. Lol. Sorry, but you are full of it.

Clueless.

[reddread]

14. pull that lever

[cali]

17. We don't have levers, dear. Btw, most Vermonters who support and love bernie

in a way you can't possibly, get that barring something huge, he will not be the nominee.

[ljm2002]

44. Sorry, but what you are trying to imply...

...is idiotic. Anyone who has followed cali knows she is a big Bernie supporter. She is also a realist.

Myself, I still harbor hope that there will be a California landslide (of the electoral sort) of epic proportions giving Bernie the advantage. But realistically... well cali is probably right, I'm just not willing to go there yet.

You, on the other hand, are just engaging in foolish baiting for reasons that are hard to fathom.

[cali]

53. Thank you. That was kind.

[ljm2002]

55. Well, truth is truth...

...and for someone to accuse you of throwing Bernie under the bus, and being a secret Hillary supporter, is simply ludicrous.

Good to see you back, cali! You have been missed.

[JDPriestly]

51. On Thursday, campaigning in California, I had to assure a lot of voters that Bernie

is still running.

I think he will do well in California.

Hillary is not popular here.

Once Bernie arrives in California, things will liven up here.

[Codeine]

24. Ooohhhhhh! Even Cali's under the bus!!

[reddread]

26. she been driving the Hillary Hate Bus for all this time

it probably jumped into reverse while she was checking the oil.

[Codeine]

30. Cali's just not in denial.

She's been a strong Sanders voice, but that doesn't mean she's incapable of looking at results and making a rational analysis.

Eventually the Black Knight runs out of limbs and gets left on the road shouting empty threats.

[reddread]

34. i will bite your ankles off

but only if California doesnt come through.

its just a trifle early,
in the craziest primary
EVER

[Codeine]

36. I actually think he may win California

but not by nearly enough to save himself.

[reddread]

38. that all depends on the integrity of the ballot box

Which has been proven suspect already.
aint no tinfoil there.
just liars and thieves and patterns of particularly shady circumstance.

[cali]

54. I'm often under the bus here. It's been that way for years.

People from one faction are another seem to think I've betrayed this or that.

[djean111]

2. If Bernie is not the nominee - my involvement with the Democratic Party will fade away

after the convention. I will vote the down-ticket, but that's it. If the Democratic Party is now defined by the Third Way and War and the TPP and TTIP and fracking and means-testing Social Security - then, obviously, I do not belong there.

Sure are a LOT of what boils down to "Bernie lost so vote for Hillary and STFU" OPs today.
I will miss you, but 'bye.

[rhett o rick]

12. Plez stay and fight. I understand that you are sick of the

gloating of those that side with the Big Money but put them on ignore, trash GD: P and GD if you must and join us in the Sanders, Warren and/or Progressive (Populist Reform) Groups.

As far as abandoning the Democratic Party, again stay and fight. Help at the local level to get more progressives into the system. Try to influence your state DNC. The corruption of the Party is in the DNC leadership and if Clinton is elected that will continue but we might be able to influence the DNC from the states.

We can't abandon the Party of the People. We cant allow the Goldman-Sachs/Koch Bros to rule our Party. Another election will be coming in 2020 and we must be ready.

[cali]

19. I think the party needs a huge kick in the ass and that perhaps the best way of doing that

is by losing so many.

I now consider myself an independent.

[merrily]

3. Sea changes in US politics, thanks to Senator Sanders and his supporters.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1280109865

[emulatorloo]

4. Agreed. This is only the beginning for this movement.

When my some of conservative friends are making arguments about the economic and political inequalities between the 1% and 99%, that's clear evidence.

[casperthegm]

5. Exactly. This is just the beginning.

Many HRC supporters seem to think that when this is over, if Bernie doesn't get the nomination, we'll just fade away. A bunch of naive people who supported a "one issue" candidate who promised them a bunch of free stuff, right?

Wrong. Bernie has helped us see what we should have seen all along; the Democratic party has now come to embrace fracking, regime change, no fly zones, Wall Street money, trade deals that send our jobs overseas, opposes Glass Steagall, opposes healthcare for all, and opposes free college for all.

I'm not sure how that "experience" and platform appeals to so many, but Bernie supporters will continue to fight what appears to look an awful lot like a gop agenda. So, yeah, we'll be here, win or lose the nomination. Feel the Bern.

[rhett o rick]

15. "I'm not sure how that "experience" and platform appeals to so many, "

They don't look beyond the fact that Clinton is a strong authoritarian leader with a (D). That's as deep as they go. Just ask them about an issue, any issue.

[casperthegm]

33. I used to try to get conversations going on yahoo

It was filled with useless gop low information users. So I came here, figuring I'd have better luck actually discussing the ISSUES with like-minded Democrats.

What the heck has happened to this party? And the snarky responses I generally get from the HRC supporter are generally along the lines, "if you don't like it, form your own party."

You know, in retrospect, that might be the best feedback I've gotten from them.

[rhett o rick]

39. When you get tired of their bitterness put them on ignore, move to

the Sanders, Warren, and/or Progressive (Populist Reform) Groups and help us build on our success.

[reddread]

7. are you more willing to sanction the IWR horror now then you were 8 years back?

is there a nice safe place where you can support a war criminal's witting actions in mock terror of someone
who played no part in our darkest shame?
do you think there are no other choices?

oh, bother,
what you think has become inconsequential.

[cali]

10. No, of course not.

And your post is a garbled mess.

[Orsino]

8. Even if/when he does, we'd damned well better have learned his best lessons.

His message is of the utmost importance, and is only going to becone more popular as inequality grows.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Bernie is not the movement. He is a good spokesman for the movement against corrupt government.

[RufusTFirefly]

18. Yes, we are deeply indebted to him, but we shouldn't focus on one individual

Nor should we let electoral politics halt the momentum of the movement.

That is the mistake that the good people in Wisconsin made.

The fact that there is only one Bernie means that we still have a great deal of work to do.

We can't let everything rest on the shoulders of one individual.

I look forward to a country where there are hundreds of Bernies to choose from.

I have high hopes for someone like Kshama Sawant, for example.

[reddread]

21. at this point, as previously, leadership behooves

yet people would come to bury Sanders, not praise him, before some very significant voting takes place.
RALLY.
Without Bernie, you have Occupy 2015.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

22. Kshama Sawant is a great spokeswoman for integrity in government.

[rhett o rick]

20. Well said. One of the most important elements that doesn't get mentioned

is that he took a risk, a big personal risk and found that there was the massive support out their for real progressive politicians. I think this will encourage other progressives to stand up to the corruption of the Wall Street/Clinton culture.

[Skwmom]

16. A movement can't move forward when its leaders are seen as propping up that which people are

trying to change.

The Clinton supporters were giddy the other day about how they can use Bernie to court the blue collar voter that have lost their jobs because of the trade agreements. More than one person has come forward to say that Clinton has only changed her view on trade for the election.

Of course, those that have slammed him for not being a Democrat will be happy to use him in such a manner because they know in doing so they will damage his reputation, they will be able to gleefully say he is a phony like any other politician, and it will discourage the thousands that have stepped forward to support Bernie AND what he stands for.

Irony: They accuse Bernie of misleading voters because he dares to say we should fight for what is good for the people (and what a lot of other countries already do for their citizens) and yet they want to use him to go out and mislead voters about where Clinton stands on the issue.

[RufusTFirefly]

23. You are correct.

To make the focus of one's campaign fighting corporate domination and then turn around and support a longtime corporate enabler would be problematic to say the least.

[rhett o rick]

32. Well said. What the Clinton side doesn't understand is that we

can't help sell what we don't believe in. I can't sell her support for fracking any better than I an for a Republicon. They think that because it's apparently easy for them to overlook the violations of Democratic Principles (like the IWar vote) that it's easy for us. Homey don't play that game.

Seems to me that the Clinton side puts winning before all else. Some have even stated that one must win to be able to do good things. Of course that's not true if you sell you soul to Goldman-Sachs. And we don't think filling the Prisons For Profits is a good thing.

The other side doesn't value freedoms and liberties. The say they do but their actions prove otherwise.

[libdem4life]

25. The Revolution has begun...and it's a Class War, not a political war.

People are finding something worthy in a political representative that honors their "little" vote or contribution.

I so agree with this post. His motivation was not primarily to be the President, although he certainly would/could be. I'm not convinced that the legal mess is over with HRC...which could disqualify her or usher in impeachment charges. I'm also not sure that her health is all that good. This was to be a coronation, not a 50-state fight.

Bernie has his place in history now, and a good number of people behind him...especially the young ones. But he is unarguably The Leader of the Back to Sanity for We, the People.

[KittyWampus]

27. "that donor list". Too bad his campaign was so inept it didn't organize those donors

Last edited Sat May 7, 2016, 09:09 AM - Edit history (1)

and get them to the polls appropriately registered.

He ran a crappy, disorganized mess of a campaign based on anger and demagoguery and never once corrected course.

He's got little clout, never made much difference when it mattered in the Senate and hopefully will be gone form the Senate soon.

[cali]

29. It did. But continue with your bitter bull.

[rhett o rick]

35. You seem to really hate progressives. I wonder why. Do you think

that Goldman-Sachs and the Koch Bros will take good care of the poor and homeless?

[Eric J in MN]

40. Did Hillary Clinton lose in 2008 because

...her campaign was an "inept" "mess" which failed to get its donors to vote?

[JEB]

43. Sour grapes. Sorry your chosen one is letting you down.

[ljm2002]

45. What a load of codswallop...

...tell you what, just point to any other candidate who started out where Bernie did, who did not take a dime of corporate money, and who was able to get to nearly 50% of the vote.

His extraordinary campaign is the very definition of greatness, politically speaking. And as cali said, he ain't going away. Neither are his followers. We have had a taste of real people power.

I know that "populist" is a dirty word to some here. Well you better get used to it, 'cause it is here to stay.

[JDPriestly]

52. Have you read his book, Outsider in the White House?

It explains how he campaigns and why he has the distinction of being the senator who is most loved by his constituents.

The percentage of his constituents who really love him is higher than for any other senator.

Remember. 85% of Vermont Democrats voted for Bernie in the Vermont primary.

That should tell you how much his voters love him.

He will be in the Senate as long as he wants to be.

[NewImproved Deal]

28. Thanks!

It's a generation too late for more mere Clintonism...

[link:|

[ProfessorPlum]

31. agreed, great post

to think that he has "failed" if he doesn't win the nomination is to not understand what he has actually accomplished.

[rhett o rick]

37. Those shouting the loudest know full well what he and we have accomplished

and they are terrified. If they weren't they would have no reason to be so vile and bitter.

[Live and Learn]

48. + a gazillion. nt

[Feathery Scout]

41. I hope he doesn't!

I also hope that he and Obama and Hillary coordinate a 3-pronged attack on Trump from now

until November.

[seabeyond]

42. When you stand up and say whatever you want with no follow thru or sense, it is all pretty easy.

It is actually being responsible doing the homework and putting together viable plans that are doable, maintaining reason and professionalism that is the challenge.

[Live and Learn]

49. Did you say something relevant or even sensible? I didn't think so. nt

[AzDar]

46. K & R

[Live and Learn]

47. You got that right, we aren't going anywhere. And our numbers increase daily. nt

[emsimon33]

50. K&R