"Feel the Bern": The BERNIE SANDERS Thread - Part 1

[summerteeth]

Bernie could continue to make himself known to the Democratic Party in a Sarah Palin/Tea Party figure kind of way. A force seeking change from within the party. If the current crop of Republican candidates are any indication, this kind of approach will eventually produce results.

He's going to be like 80 by the next Presidential cycle so I kinda doubt it.

 

[OcStat]

On Becoming Anti-Bernie

Everyone should read this article. It destroys the hypocrisy of the Sanders campaign and calls out every lie and half-truth his campaign has been built upon. It is well worth the read.

I'm sure there could easily be one of these articles for each candidate running, if there isn't already. But we need to hold Sanders under closer scrutiny right, because he's the "Captain America" of the bunch?

 

[BatLobster]

I'm sure there could easily be one of these articles for each candidate running, if there isn't already. But we need to hold Sanders under closer scrutiny right, because he's the "Captain America" of the bunch?

When so much of his platform for running basically boils down to "moral superiority", then...yep. He at the very least deserves as much scrutiny as all the other candidates.

If you're going to support him, at least support him knowing his weaknesses. All of the stuff in that article is exactly the type of ammo the right would use to demonize him (just like they did Obama)- either in the general, or when he's in office. There's nothing people hate more than hypocrisy. That's the double-edged sword of the super idealistic candidates. The more "perfect" they look on paper, and the more they stand to lose when their imperfections come to light. Everyone's got skeletons in their closets. I think of it as Harvey Dent syndrome.

I don't agree withe very single point of the article, but overall I think it's a very worthwhile read and makes a very solid argument. "Professional protester" sums up Bernie in a lot of ways, for better or worse.

But I think it's absolutely true and irrefutable that his campaign pushed Hillary further to the left, so in a sense Bernie's idealism has not been all for naught. And his ability to mobilize a campaign at this level with a grassroots effort may very well be the start of a massive paradigm shift in elections (let's just hope it's for the better and we don't get more nutjobs like Trump). I think his supporters should be proud of what they managed to accomplish.

And it's too bad he's gone so harsh on Hillary, cause I think a Hillary/Bernie ticket would've been pretty cool and would've pretty much guaranteed a D in the oval office. I really think it's gotten too nasty for that to happen at this point.

 

[Kelly]

Bernie could continue to make himself known to the Democratic Party in a Sarah Palin/Tea Party figure kind of way. A force seeking change from within the party. If the current crop of Republican candidates are any indication, this kind of approach will eventually produce results.

I don't think so, probably the direction he MIGHT and that is a big MIGHT could go would be an appointment of some kind. But, I think he is pretty much spending his political bank account down to the penny in this election.

 

[Matt]

I don't think so, probably the direction he MIGHT and that is a big MIGHT could go would be an appointment of some kind. But, I think he is pretty much spending his political bank account down to the penny in this election.

I agree that him becoming a Sarah Palin figure is unlikely. As Kelly points out, he has spent all of his political capital in recent weeks. Beyond that, for all her shortcomings, Palin did a lot for down ticket candidates. She worked tirelessly to raise funds and campaign for tea party candidates. Sanders has given weak endorsements of three long shot House candidates. This doesn't build the coalition he needs to have influence. If anything, he has merely set the table for Eizabeth Warren to become the leader of a sect of the Democratic Party.

As to an appointment, I don't think he would leave the Senate for anything short of VP or Treasury Secretary and I doubt Clinton will give him either. In fact, I more than doubt it. I guarantee it. Best he will get is Labor. And he would be a good choice for that. He could effectuate a lot of change as Labor Secretary. But that position does not get glory or limelight. So he won't want it. He is too arrogant to take it. Sanders's recent actions indicates to me that his movement is about him first, his positions second. It may not have started that way, but his recent behavior seems to indicate that he has transformed into the very thing he built a campaign criticizing: an arrogant, self-serving politician.

 

[DDS]

On Becoming Anti-Bernie

Everyone should read this article. It destroys the hypocrisy of the Sanders campaign and calls out every lie and half-truth his campaign has been built upon. It is well worth the read.

That article combined with the NYDY interview is quite the one-two punch against Sanders. Maybe somebody else could write something scathing for Hillary too, but that doesn't erase those two pieces of writing.

 

[Matt]

That article combined with the NYDY interview is quite the one-two punch against Sanders. Maybe somebody else could write something scathing for Hillary too, but that doesn't erase those two pieces of writing.

Well, as that article pointed out, the basis for Citizens United was an effin movie produced about how horrible Hillary Clinton is. There is a small library worth of material about how awful Hillary is. I think one reason Hillary does not get as much crap for her shortcomings is the simple fact that Hillary has never claimed to be perfect. She has never built a campaign around criticizing others for moral inferiority. She doesn't put herself in an ivory tower. She is usually smarter than that. In fact, she has only tried once to my knowledge. "Shame on you Barack Obama." And look what happened. It backfired horribly when everyone pointed out all of her shortcomings and the hypocrisy of her statement. Its fair to criticize a politician with their shortcomings when they are so eager to point out those of everyone else. Yet Bernie Bros seem to believe that he should be immune from this criticism. They seem to think he should be entitled to sit in his glass house and throw stones.

 

[Marvolo]

On Becoming Anti-Bernie

Everyone should read this article. It destroys the hypocrisy of the Sanders campaign and calls out every lie and half-truth his campaign has been built upon. It is well worth the read.

Thank you for posting that. Very informative.

 

[Hypestyle]

This is the type of foolish mentality that Sanders encourages. Clinton is pragmatic and works with Wall Street (as she should, trading, banking, etc is all legal). Being a broker or banker doesn't make you intrinsically evil and the President should be working with leaders of these industries to promote responsible economic growth, rather than demonizing an entire industry/class of people. But I digress, Clinton is far from a "right leaning DINO." She was ranked as the 11th most libera senator during her tenure.

Stop trolling. Corporations aren't people.
Responsible banking is fine.
Redlining inner-city neighborhoods is atrocious.
The "legal" stuff that led into the 2008-09 meltdowns is abominable.
Plenty of banks who were gung-ho on subprime mortgages ended up foreclosing like crazy; and now all of a sudden some of them want to offer "charity" projects for small business loans and the like, for "post-Bankruptcy" Detroit (as one glaring example). I'm not buying it.

The hedge-fund Democrats don't do it for me. Racial justice concerns are considered a liability, at best, and militaristic tough-on-crime law-&-order platforms will never be off the table when it comes to running toward conservative independents.

 

[Marvolo]

Stop trolling. Corporations aren't people.
Responsible banking is fine.
Redlining inner-city neighborhoods is atrocious.
The "legal" stuff that led into the 2008-09 meltdowns is abominable.
Plenty of banks who were gung-ho on subprime mortgages ended up foreclosing like crazy; and now all of a sudden some of them want to offer "charity" projects for small business loans and the like, for "post-Bankruptcy" Detroit (as one glaring example). I'm not buying it.

The hedge-fund Democrats don't do it for me. Racial justice concerns are considered a liability, at best, and militaristic tough-on-crime law-&-order platforms will never be off the table when it comes to running toward conservative independents.

Stating facts and common sense is now consodered trollin? Where in Matt's post did he say or imply that any of the stuff you mentioned was ok or something a president should support?

A president has to work with the banks and wall street to some degree. Thats a reality of american politics. Bernie will too if he gets elected. Because the banks and wall street arent going anywhere and he isnt going to get anything done to change anything because he isnt adequalty helping democrats down ticket and the GOP sure as **** wont help him get anything through congress. Neither will the democrats that he is currently ****ting on.

But, hey, at least Bernie will have his "principles" while he setting in the oval office getting nothing done.

 

[DDS]

Well, as that article pointed out, the basis for Citizens United was an effin movie produced about how horrible Hillary Clinton is. There is a small library worth of material about how awful Hillary is. I think one reason Hillary does not get as much crap for her shortcomings is the simple fact that Hillary has never claimed to be perfect. She has never built a campaign around criticizing others for moral inferiority. She doesn't put herself in an ivory tower. She is usually smarter than that. In fact, she has only tried once to my knowledge. "Shame on you Barack Obama." And look what happened. It backfired horribly when everyone pointed out all of her shortcomings and the hypocrisy of her statement. Its fair to criticize a politician with their shortcomings when they are so eager to point out those of everyone else. Yet Bernie Bros seem to believe that he should be immune from this criticism. They seem to think he should be entitled to sit in his glass house and throw stones.

They've deified Sanders, and all criticism of him is heresy.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Stop trolling. Corporations aren't people.
Responsible banking is fine.
Redlining inner-city neighborhoods is atrocious.
The "legal" stuff that led into the 2008-09 meltdowns is abominable.
Plenty of banks who were gung-ho on subprime mortgages ended up foreclosing like crazy; and now all of a sudden some of them want to offer "charity" projects for small business loans and the like, for "post-Bankruptcy" Detroit (as one glaring example). I'm not buying it.

The hedge-fund Democrats don't do it for me. Racial justice concerns are considered a liability, at best, and militaristic tough-on-crime law-&-order platforms will never be off the table when it comes to running toward conservative independents.

And thank you for demonstrating all of the stereotypes associated with the Bernouts.

 

[TheBat812]

I think it's tough because most Bernie supporters don't necessarily think he'll be able to accomplish everything he's saying, BUT it's incredibly important that those are ideals and directions we strive for as a nation. (Ie, we should want a more educated populus - we're already falling behind most other developed nations in that arena. That it would cost money is obvious, but what kind of ideals do we as a nation want to promote. These are not really things that typically enter the modern conversation in politics. Our country is so obsessed with money, we many times don't think about the longer term benefits of certain things. Unless it comes to the military of course)

That Hillary Clinton never really mentioned most of the issues Bernie has brought up is sad when you see a candidate actually bring these to light and speak to reversing the tide of oligarchy that has been creeping into our system for years. If Hillary wins the primaries, I will vote for her, because she will be the best realistic candidate for the job at that point. She will likely push us in some of the directions Bernie has put to light, but it doesn't really feel like there will be much conviction or really that much progress in those arenas. I mean, look at Obama, somebody I think actually might be one of the greatest presidents in our history - even he had to forgo many of his more idealistic points - ones that Hillary Clinton won't even really come in with. So ya, I'd much rather vote for an idealist than somebody so entrenched in the system, they don't even show much interest in dealing with the problems most Americans want dealt with.

Matt- just because it's legal doesn't mean it's right. That is one of the most basic things that Bernie represents to voters. Citizens United is legal. The horrible policies for mortgages that led to the last recession were legal. We need somebody who will be proactive in these arenas of things that should be much more debated regarding their legality. Yes, banking, trading and things are legal - but there needs to be accountability and a balance there, and I hope clinton looks into all that and does work with them to create a system that is less self-perpetuating and more useful to society. Her track record kind of makes that unlikely, but it would be my hope.

Anyways, in short, I think that only good can come from the general ideas that Bernie puts forward. Let's stop overincarceration/disenfranchising entire communities, overcharging Americans for healthcare, get money out of politics to the best of our abilities, reteach our businesses that short term profits aren't king and that actually paying taxes to improve America is actually good for them in the long run, etc. Hopefully, Clinton has seen how much these things matter to Americans, and if she does win, she actually works towards seeing us move in those directions.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

On Becoming Anti-Bernie

Everyone should read this article. It destroys the hypocrisy of the Sanders campaign and calls out every lie and half-truth his campaign has been built upon. It is well worth the read.

Scary how much I agree with this. I was big on Bernie, but the way he has been running his campaign recently has been embarrassing imo.

 

[Hypestyle]

And thank you for demonstrating all of the stereotypes associ

​

ated with the Bernouts.

I haven't demonstrated anything but the contempt I have for corporate-assimilation sensibilities in government.

Trickle down economics absolutism has done nothing for the genuinely vulnerable.

I'm not begging for a seat at anyone's $1,000-a-plate fundraiser, largely populated by people who wouldn't dare to drive through my neighborhood let alone live in it.

Inner-city America is devastated due in no small part to deregulation policies that led to any number of mortgage crises. NAFTA policies and similar initiatives led manufacturing to pack their bags and go to foreign countries, drastically cut their domestic tax responsibilities, and pretty much evaporate most entry-level blue collar jobs that were relatively prevalent in the early half of the 20th century.

My support isn't bought with photo-ops of somebody playing dominoes or quips about hot sauce in one's purse (or pocket).

There are vast swaths of the public who are fed up with "everyone" who is seen as too connected to the system, regardless of how 'well-meaning' they may be. You can casually double or triple the unemployment rates near me, because a lot of these folks have either dropped off or never were on any official tallies. Making college "a little more affordable" means nothing to people whose week-to-week survival is preeminent in their minds.
I'd be more prone to use "Super predators" in describing law-enforcement reps who are racist, reckless and in some cases corrupt, who see themselves as damn near Judge Dredd, based in their behaviors. http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/20/us/new-orleans-danziger-bridge-plea-deal/index.html

These are the people that politicians from both major parties need to be paying attention to in the utmost. It won't take much for another Baltimore or Ferguson "situation" to happen. People know when they've been ignored deliberately, and they despise being patronized.

Whoever gets elected had better immediately get to work with bold proposals.

 

[souvlaki]

Definitely feel like the end is near. The Hillary vs. Bernie news cycle was non-stop for the last month and I have heard barely anything from either campaign the last week negative or positive. Totally anecdotal but it's also been the first week in a while where I can go on social media without being bombarded with Bernie memes. Kind of debating the over/under on him dropping out if he loses all the contests next week or if he stays in until California.

 

[DDS]

Lol I got unfriended on Facebook by an upset hardcore Bernie supporter for posting that "On Becoming Anti-Bernie" article and my thoughts on it. I'm gonna vote for him or Hillary in November. People are so petty.

 

[Kelly]

Stop trolling. Corporations aren't people.
Responsible banking is fine.
Redlining inner-city neighborhoods is atrocious.
The "legal" stuff that led into the 2008-09 meltdowns is abominable.
Plenty of banks who were gung-ho on subprime mortgages ended up foreclosing like crazy; and now all of a sudden some of them want to offer "charity" projects for small business loans and the like, for "post-Bankruptcy" Detroit (as one glaring example). I'm not buying it.

The hedge-fund Democrats don't do it for me. Racial justice concerns are considered a liability, at best, and militaristic tough-on-crime law-&-order platforms will never be off the table when it comes to running toward conservative independents.

It is apparent that you have no idea what trolling is, so leave it to the mods to make that decision....give your opinion on the discussion, not the people posting, or move on.

 

[Chance Jackson]

If you have noticed a ton of pro-Hillary accounts on social media that have nothing to them what so ever but pro-hillary copy-paste they are a part of a campaign from her David Brock Super Pac that her Campaign donated money to:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-hillary-clinton-paying-trolls-attack-people-online-article-1.2613980

Here is the David Brock spin
http://correctrecord.org/barrier-breakers-2016-a-project-of-correct-the-record/

 

[DDS]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-...ax-returns-hillary-clinton-transcripts-222457

Sanders camp still playing chicken with his tax returns and wants Hillary to release her speech transcripts first and it's just getting annoying, on both ends, at this point.

 

[Marvolo]

What do speech transcripts have to do with tax returns? Is he trying to find scandals in Hillary's speech transcripts? Has she hidden state secrets in her speeches?

 

[DDS]

What do speech transcripts have to do with tax returns? Is he trying to find scandals in Hillary's speech transcripts? Has she hidden state secrets in her speeches?

They're probably hoping Hillary has a "47% moment" in these transcripts, on top of the negativity they've heaped on that these speeches happened at all. She probably should release them, but EVERY presidential candidate releases their tax returns, so what's the hold up for Sanders?

 

[DarkKnight]

Just curious, not trying to start anything. I have a legitimate question for the Bernie Supporters here.
How do you feel about his Tax plans? from what I've read and calculated he is the candidate that would raise the taxes the most and quite substantially at that.

 

[chaseter]

And thank you for demonstrating all of the stereotypes associated with the Bernouts.

Bernouts lol

 

[Matt]

Page bump