Bernie Sanders: How can we back him without violating party loyalty rules?

[genius]

The Democratic Party has rules which allow people to lose party priveleges for backing non-Democrats. High level officials actually get away with outright publically backing Republicans but lower level people are the ones more in danger of party retaliation. Bernie Sanders is a Socialist but he's got a better voting record than the vast majority of Democrats and he is preparing to run for Jim Jeffords Senate seat. I think the limitations are related to endorsements. Does anyone else have more information on the limitations and how they are enforced?

[JI7]

1. Bernie Sanders and Jim Jeffords are given party support because

they agree to vote for Democrats in leadership positions.

Chafee could agree to do the same thing by switching to independent and the party will back him and not run anyone against him. but as long as he stays a republican we have to get rid of him.

[crispini]

2. Check your state party rules.

Ours is basically, Thou Shalt Not Endorse an Opponent in A Race With A Democrat; forgive me if I don't get up to look it up exactly. The state party can ask you to step down.

And, yes, it is a big deal. Our county party chair basically was forced to resign by an angry mob of precinct chairs. Endorsing a Republican judge -- and it wasn't even a RACE, it was an appointment -- was her #1 big sin.

[librechik]

3. with any luck they won't run a Democrat.

Hope and campaign for that, and that the Green's follow suit, out of respect for Bernie. He'll vote for all of us.

[punpirate]

4. If your state party doesn't want your help...

... because you endorse someone such as Bernie Sanders, why would you want to associate with pricks like that, anyway?

If this country had fifty more people like him in the Senate, Bush would be a pimple on the butt of history....

[Robeson]

10. My feeling, too.

[madfloridian]

5. The support will be there for him.

It may not be announced per se, but it will be there. I believe DFA won't make it official until 2006, which is their policy.

By not running anyway against him, they will be supporting. He always votes with Democrats.

DFA meeting with Bernie this week to thank him for his support on Social Security.

[Radical Activist]

6. Where have you found these rules?

They aren't at the national level. This is something dealt with at the local level. State and local parties can basically do what they want. If the Vermont Democratic Party decides to back Sanders, and it looks like they might, then no one in Vermont will have to worry about backing him.
Those sort of loyalty issues are hard to enforce, and its usually dealt with by the county party.

[Constitution]

21. It's kind of standard in the rules of most states.

This is a good issue. I'm glad it was brought up. I love Sanders.

[realFedUp]

7. Sanders Scares Douglas Out, United Front Crucial

http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/04/sanders-scares-douglas-out-united.html

Sanders Scares Douglas Out, United Front Crucial

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) today announced he is not running in the open-seat 2006 Senate race. This is huge news, and a reflection on how Bernie Sanders has become a dominant force in Vermont and national politics. Douglas was heavily courted by the White House, with President Bush personally lobbying him to run. The fact that he declined such high-powered pleas shows just how frightened the Republicans are - and should be - of Sanders. They no doubt polled the situation, and saw just how wide and deep Sanders support is throughout Vermont. The GOP understands that over the years, Sanders has built an unrivaled following not only among progressives, but, as the Washington Post notes, also among working class conservatives who see Sanders as a lonely voice in Washington with the guts to speak up for their economic concerns. And they understand that for millions of Americans who feel ignored by both parties, Sanders has become a powerful symbol that politicians can be successful AND represent the interests of ordinary people.

Moveon.org also deserves a huge amount of credit for forcing Douglas to back down. They sent an early and strong message that they are not going to let the Republican Party buy this Senate race from Vermonters, and that Sanders is the strongest candidate to win this seat.

Make no mistake about it - the GOP has lost its candidate, but they will find someone to run, and they will still spend a huge amount of money to try to prevent Sanders from winning this seat. Vermont's right-leaning Dwinell Political Report, notes that Republican corporate executive Richard Tarrant "has let it be known that he will personally spend $5 million to buy the seat."

That's why Sanders is still going to need a lot of grassroots help during his campaign. It will also be necessary for Democratic Party officials in Vermont to not try to split the vote and throw the election to the Republicans. The Rutland Herald notes, that while "Democrats have, so far, seemed to be shy to enter" that "decision is far from a certainty, according to speculation among top Democratic operatives in the state." Throwing a nominal Democrat into the race to peel off 5 or 10 percent of the vote could seriously embolden the Republicans - even national Democratic Party leaders understand the danger of that, and are strongly backing Sanders.

This is an area where, as DNC Chairman, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean can play a huge role in making sure a nominal Democratic spoiler doesn't split the vote and help give the seat to the GOP. He knows as well as anyone that progressives and Democrats must remain united behind Sanders (as they have in Vermont for years) in order to make sure we hold this critical Senate seat.

Sources:
Sanders' strength among working-class conservatives: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4481-2005Apr20.html
Sanders boosted by grassroots fundraising support: http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050426/NEWS/504260355/1004
GOP millionaire Tarrant will try to buy the race: http://www.dwinellpoliticalreport.com/dpr_04_28_05.shtml

Help out Bernie: https://secure26.activehost.com/bernie/
Rutland Herald says Dems might field nominal candidate to split vote and throw race to the GOP: http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050430/NEWS/504300379/1004
National Democrats coalesce around Sanders: http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/04/dems-coalescing-around-sanders-in-2006.html

[Wizard777]

8. Ask Bob Ehrlich (R- Maryland).

He is the Republican founder of the Democrat organization "Democrats for Ehrlich." In making the contribution to creating this Democrat organization durring the Governors Race. He became a member of the Democrat Party by contribution. Thereby switching his party afilliation from Republican to Democrat. In turn invalidating his Republican canidacy for the office of Governor of Maryland. The official winner of the Maryland Democrat primaries was Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Bob Ehlich's hijacking and use of the Democrat party name allowed him to circumvent our primaries and run as a Republican and ispo facto Democrat canidate. I'm old school. I believe you have to pick one party and run with it. Literally! But now I can honestly say, Maryland, we're so democratic even our Republicans run as Democrats.

[loudsue]

12. Thank you for the info. However, it's the DEMOCRATIC PARTY,

NOT the Democrat party. The republicans have been trying to push the term "democrat party" because it sounds shitty, and DEMOCRATIC PARTY sounds...well, Democratic! :loveya:

All the points you made in your post are good ones concerning Maryland, and I do believe that some moderate, sane and rational people are, indeed, beginning to blurr the lines between the parties wherever possible, to try and bring the country back together.

:kick:

[Wizard777]

13. I'm a Democrat living in a Democracy that has a Democratic process.

But even so. Picking old scabs will not heal new wounds. Reuniting the GOP (Democrat(ic) Republican party.) Will not unite the country.

[loudsue]

14. No, I guess I didn't word my post just right....

What I meant was not that I want to blurr the lines between the party platforms, so much as to blurr the lines that have been drawn in the sand, that says one party are all traitor devils who are going to hell, and the other party is purely patriotic christian American. The politicians who are willing to be Americans BEFORE they'll be members of either party (i.e., putting country before politics), are the politicians who, these days, should try to lead the charge.

The country is just so dangerously divided, due to the take-over of the republican party by the hate spewing, name-calling fundies, that I'd like to see some leaders trying to bring us all back together again.

:kick:

[Wizard777]

16. Oh okay!

I agree the polarization and divisiveness needs to end. I'm actually a moderate. I'm not right wing and I'm not left wing. So I must be the Eagle. But when everything suddenly shifted to the right. I was forced to run to the left to preserve the balance. So I'm looking for a candidate that will restore the Eagle's middle. That's between the ground and outter space. It's also that body between the two wings. Bush has knocked us all the way back to the Preamble. We are now seeking to form a more perfect union.

[ThomWV]

9. Support for Bernie Sanders Exists In West Virginia - I Can Assure You

Right here.

[Kmarx]

18. Aside from you and the other three,

who else in West Virginia, or the whole South for that matter, supports anything but ultra-right wing southern evangelical types?

[Idioteque]

11. Schumer and Reid have said that the DSCC is going to endorse Sanders

I don't think we have anything to worry about.

[burrowowl]

15. Bernie Sanders is a true

Democrat. Would that we had 50 like him in the Senate and at least 400 like him in the House.
Hopefully, the Democratic Party will soon be worthy of a Bernie Sanders as candidates. We have to make it happen!

[Kmarx]

17. I do,

just pull the curtain and no one will ever know for whom you voted. Don't worry about the Democrats, they are just another appendage of the corporate structure in this country just like the Republicans. One worst than the other.

[paineinthearse]

19. Any VT DU'ers know if any Dems will field a candidate for the seat? nt

[DaveinMD]

20. Bernie caucuses with the Democrats

and the dccc usually supports him financially. The DSCC will do the same.