Democrat 2020

[Hooahguy]

He's saying that women and minorities are "ordinary Americans" - part of his spiel since at least 2016.

'The Democratic Party should do X instead of Y' is not in itself an attack on the Democratic Party. It's perfectly mild and civil. Mitt Romney has harsher things to say about Trump and the Republican Party, yet he's all in with them beyond the signalling.

I edited this in after so you might not have seen my response why this is important:

Bernie took a shot an unnamed 'opponents,' literally none of whom believe what he's accusing them of.

It's important to push progressive policies. It's also important to have diverse viewpoints and have elected officials that reflect what America looks like. Other things can be important at once. Bernie is acting like it's one of the other.

He might not have intended it to be that way, but this comments like these which makes a lot of people skeptical he understands the issues that are outside his economic inequality shtick.

Not to mention this recent comment about racism that just is very tone-deaf:
"There are a lot of white folks out there who are not necessarily racist who felt uncomfortable for the first time in their lives about whether or not they wanted to vote for an African-American."

Why do you put it on Sanders if his supporters and Clinton supporters spar? Do only Sanders supporters have agency?

A very common criticism during the 2016 primary was that Sanders wasnt doing nearly enough to try to stop the vitriol, especially online, especially the misogyny and racism.

Side note: I recall seeing a study done where it showed something like half of the Bernie-Trump defectors were motivated in part by racial issues. Not saying it wasnt the same thing in 2008, but the political environment was different, and the impact of the internet wasnt nearly as large in 2008 as it was in 2016.

"Bernie Bro" was indeed a coinage of the Clinton campaign.

Nope, it was coined by a reporter. Picked up by the campaign for sure, but that was to be expected.

At any rate, how do you respond to the figures long making the rounds that Sanders primary voters voted the Democratic nominee (Clinton) at a higher rate than Clinton primary voters in 2008?

This is true, but I think its critical to look at where they were lost in 2016. Losing a bunch of voters in places like Georgia or Tennessee, which would go Republican anyways, isnt nearly as impactful as losing them in Pennsylvania or Florida.

And Sanders himself unequivocally campaigned for her after she gained the nomination.

I dont know about you, but to me it felt as if he was doing it grudgingly. Maybe that was the doing of the DNC. Maybe Im just too cynical about Sanders. Im not saying that Sanders is solely to blame at all, Im just saying that he is enough of a polarizing figure within the party that I think he would do more harm than good in 2020, especially if he loses the nomination again and people resurrect the "DNC rigged the primary" thing.

I mean relative to each other. Sanders' niche is "broad-spectrum social democrat". It wouldn't be right to say that Sanders is equivalent to Harris or the rest in politics, except from perspectives like that of a Communist who genuinely views all non-communists equally.

All this still seems capricious to me. Every single one of these people and organizations - the Democratic Party included - is nothing more than a tool for our interests. They don't need our love or inspiration, only our confidence. We'll pick this subject up again if Sanders decides to run.

Whats that line? "Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line." People fell in love with Sanders. Which is good. But this is why I keep stressing unity. Undoubtedly, people are fired up to defeat Trump in 2020. But I am cautious about people like Sanders who I believe care more about their own brand than actually doing what is best for the country.