2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Forget Sanders and Clinton for a moment. This is a symbolic schism that has been long brewing [View all]Gothmog
(147,059 posts)Drawing black and white distinctions are not productive and hurt the party if we want to be competitive. I live in a red state that will turn blue. We are working hard to turn Texas blue and when that happens, then the GOP will be unable to win an electoral college victory. I hate to break it to you but socialism and socialist are toxic terms in many parts of the country. My county party chair was attacked by the local paper for merely attending the Sanders event in Houston to see who showed up. http://www.democraticunderground.com/107827740
Many people are supporting for a host of reasons that do not fit in the narrow slots described in the OP. I have not seen an explanation that explains how Sanders is viable in a general election campaign where the Kochs will be spending $887 million and the RNC candidate may spend another billion dollars. In the primary process, this is a valid concern given that the control of the SCOTUS is at stake. I have repeatedly asked for some assurances that Sanders would be viable in a general election and I have not receive a satisfactory explanation.
In addition, I personally think that Sanders would hurt down ballot races in Texas and that Clinton has a chance of moving Texas towards being blue.