2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: What would re-establish trust here? [View all]BainsBane
(53,035 posts)And white people? We'll have to make sure all the poorest Americans and people of color line up and apologize for failing to support Bernie, as clearly was his birthright, and for daring to exercise the franchise as they see fit.
To claim that AA voted based on the direction of the black caucus is insulting. You don't seem to be able to acknowledge that people who disagree with you have the same right to exercise he vote.
Bernie's problems with the black vote began long before that, with Netroots a key marker. Bernie supporters can blame themselves for their reaction on social media and how they systematically, in a way that looked deliberate, alienated black voters. They repeated that performance with Planned Parenthood, Dolores Huerta, Mothers of the Movement, and one progressive advocacy group after another. It became clear who their enemies were. You can't systematically attack and insult Democratic constituencies and expect them to vote as you demand.
In regard to the GE, my view now as several months ago is that people have every right to vote however they please. If they do not vote for Democrats, however, they cannot claim to be members of a party or to have a role in its future direction.
Additionally, the choice couldn't have been clearer in this election. People had an opportunity to stand up to fascism or to enable it. While I acknowledge that people have the right to vote for or otherwise enable White Nationalists, I nonetheless hold them responsible for their choices. We stood at a major turning point in American history, what in my mind is the equivalent of Germany in 1933. That some couldn't find it within them to reject fascism means they are complicit in what follows.