2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie is HONEST?? [View all]Kall
(615 posts)is it your belief that she'll be able to deliver? I doubt the sincerity of her position in the first place, considering that 8 years ago she was running down Obama for being too tough on guns, but she's free to make the case for what she thinks is right if that's what she now thinks.
Candidates are entitled to state what they believe are the optimal solutions and what the public will support, and campaign on them. To do otherwise would be ludicrous. In case you didn't notice from 2008-2010, pre-conceding doesn't get you anything except a stimulus that is too small, a health care bill that is the Republican health care counter-proposal from the 1990s, and budget deals that according to John Boehner were "98% of what he wanted" - and, thereafter, gets you your head handed to you in the midterms.
If you want a public option, you don't start by proposing Mitt Romney's health care bill and asking Olympia Snowe or Ben Nelson for a public option. You make a case for universal Medicare, which is already a broadly popular program, and negotiate from there. Similarly, if you want a $12/hour minumum wage, you don't start by asking for a $12/hour minimum wahe - you start negotiating by asking for a $15/hour minimum wage.