Cornel West, member of DNC platform committee, comes out in support of Jill Stein

[charlyvi]

http://www.jill2016.com/cornel_west_supports_jill_stein

In an article published in The Guardian today entitled "Obama has failed victims of racism and police brutality", Dr. Cornel West, American philosopher, academic, social activist, author, public intellectual, and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America, publicly expressed his support for Green Party Presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein:



WTF?

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. At last, a voice of reason.

[giftedgirl77]

2. Not surprising...

That's why he's considered a joke & fool to many minorities. Part of the perpetually pissed off overgrown baby crowd.

[charlyvi]

4. Why on earth did he accept the platform committee position?

Feeling the way he does about the Democratic leadership?

[giftedgirl77]

24. I think it was supposed to be a power play to try & get BS

nominated at the convention. But after figuring out no sane progressive was jumping on the bandwagon they went back to their normal attitudes & thought processes.

[charlyvi]

25. His character leaves much to be desired. n/t

[giftedgirl77]

26. Has since he started on his deranged rantings about PBO.

[George II]

103. Don't you mean RE-started on his deranged (and offensive) rantings about PBO?

[giftedgirl77]

144. No, I mean since he initially started.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

147. Is "PBO" code?

Please send relies to this website:
https://www.fbi.gov/

[giftedgirl77]

191. WTF?

President
Barack
Obama

Fuck Cornel West he's an arrogant asshole.

[WhiteTara]

91. Sort of a stick it in your eye.

And it's great exposure for his book tours. Maybe a use and screw you?

[JVS]

198. Why was he offered the platform committee position?

[snooper2]

204. because he wants attention-

[liberal N proud]

3. Explains why Bernie was a hold out so long

This jerk was never going to support the Democratic Candidates.

[charlyvi]

7. Trying to influence the platform of a party you are not supporting

does not speak well for his character. He never should have accepted the position.

[liberal N proud]

11. He never should have been offered

They did a poor job vetting him.

[charlyvi]

12. Yes. Agreed.

Never should have been chosen. If chosen, never should have accepted.

[hrmjustin]

5. He should be removed from the DNC platform committee immediately.

[baldguy]

8. An honorable man would resign.

[grossproffit]

35. Key word "honorable."

[charlyvi]

10. I think the damage is done. n/t

[sarae]

40. He should.

It's ludicrous to have someone on the platform who's working for the opposition.

[fleabiscuit]

64. +1

[George II]

108. Unfortunately I think their work has been completed. But I do think we/they need to re-examine...

...all the concessions and compromises made while he was on the committee.

I wouldn't be surprised if his whole objective as a member of that committee was to sabotage the Democratic Party.

[Gothmog]

203. The work of the platform committee was completed last weekend

There is nothing left but the vote of the delegates on the platform which will be on Monday of the convention. I am being told that delegates need to plan to be on convention floor by 2:30 on the first day of the convention

[Thinkingabout]

6. True colors, sad, makes you doubt his service on the DNC Platform committee.

[bdwker]

9. Brother Cornell ... what a laugh.

[TheDebbieDee]

13. Dr. Cornel West got on my last damn nerve about 4 years ago....

[shenmue]

49. Same here

[Stellar]

88. Mine 8 years ago!!!

[sheshe2]

114. ^Yup, 8 years ago on NPR

[NightWatcher]

14. If the Greens and Libs want to be taken seriously, they need to do more than pop out every 4 years.

This Spoiler bullshit is just that and nothing more.

[HeartoftheMidwest]

92. What're.................

........."Libs?"

[MrScorpio]

104. Libertarians.

[HeartoftheMidwest]

105. Ah, thx....

...thought I knew all the shorthand around here. ( Live and learn. )

[Donald Ian Rankin]

15. I'm astounded! Shocked! Amazed! No, wait, the other thing...

Interesting to see how Sanders play this.

[charlyvi]

17. Whoa!

Calm down now. He's not worth it.

[Gman]

18. I'm good now

[charlyvi]

19. OK. Whew! n/t

[brush]

28. Keep going. You were on a good roll, an accurate one.

[charlyvi]

33. But his blood pressure!!! LOL n/t

[shenmue]

51. Win

[bravenak]

59. Yep

[rbrnmw]

81. To hell with Cornel he thinks he's some kind of authority

but he's an embarrassment, he's a petty little man!!!!

[bravenak]

116. Teeny tiny little silly man

[rbrnmw]

117. yes

[bravenak]

118. People shoulda listened to us. We told them about Cornel years ago

[rbrnmw]

119. and retold them during the primaries

[bravenak]

120. And will have to tell them again soon enough

[rbrnmw]

212. sure will

[rbrnmw]

121. remember this bullshit he said about President Obama?

?w=869

[bravenak]

123. Yeah I remember that weak ass shit

He was still sad about not getting a free whitehouse pass. He just made himself look weak and sad and pathetic... Anybody who made excuses for him should feel ashamed.

[rbrnmw]

126. yes they should

[DemonGoddess]

20. I'm not surprised. He loathes PBO AND HRC

and was never a Dem to begin with.

[charlyvi]

22. I guess he accepted the DNC platform assignment

just to give them the middle finger. That is about as much class and character that I think he has.

[Paladin]

21. Disappear, Dr. West.

You've reduced yourself to nothing more than a pain in the ass. There's serious work to be done, and you've repeatedly shown you're no longer up to it.....

[mcar]

23. And he was on the platform committee?

Why, exactly?

[Cali_Democrat]

27. He's still pissed about not getting an invite to Obama's inauguration ball

https://www.thenation.com/article/cornel-west-v-barack-obama/

[msanthrope]

45. And, he'll never be pissed at Jill Stein for the same thing.

I'd call that a win all around.

[charlyvi]

58. Subtle.

I didn't get it at first. LOL

[msanthrope]

209. I am seldom accused of subtlety. Gotta work on that. nt

[tammywammy]

61. +1 my first thought as well. n/t

[nolawarlock]

146. ^^ THIS! LOL

[riversedge]

29. More smack downs on Pres Obama. Shame on him.

[rjsquirrel]

30. Self-dealing clown

Good riddance.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

31. I'm sure "Doctor" Stein finds him "articulate". n/m

[charlyvi]

32. I think it says more about his character

than hers!

[DinahMoeHum]

34. Eff him, he's always been an ivory-tower asshole. . .

. . .with a severe case of the Nothing-But-The-Best-For-The-Oppressed syndrome.

[gwheezie]

36. You're fucking kidding me

I had to get that out

[charlyvi]

37. Noted. Not fucking kidding you at all!! n/t

[struggle4progress]

38. "And then I felt an urgent need to see my name in the news again!"

[metroins]

39. People need to stop giving him press

He's full of shit.

I don't like to curse online, I think it detracts from your posts, but this warrants a curse word.

[MellowDem]

41. The Green Party is more progressive...

than the Democratic Party on most issues, so not a surprise to me, he's just being consistent in his beliefs. But we have a first past the post election system, which only gives people a practical choice of two parties, so that's what most people will choose between.

[Peigan68]

48. He had no business being on any Democratic platform committee

if he wasn't going to support our candidate in the end.

[charlyvi]

57. ^^^^THIS^^^^

[swhisper1]

65. He has always been a democrat and it is not his duty to support anyone distasteful to him

any more than if a republican has a duty to vote Trump

[charlyvi]

69. If she is so distasteful to him,

He should not have agreed to be on the platform of the party who chose her. That is not something a person of character would do. As for always being a Democrat, I seriously doubt that he voted in 2012 for the man he began trashing soon after his inauguration in 2009. Don't defend him for this; as Skinner said down thread, it was a dick move.

[TwilightZone]

72. He's not a Democrat.

He's a Democratic Socialist. They're not the same thing. He had no business being on the platform committee.

[MohRokTah]

83. West is NO DEMOCRAT

He needs to be thrown out on his ass and removed from the platform committee immediately.

He's a Green now and he can just GTFO.

[Silver_Witch]

112. This

We judge republicans who follow the party by supporting Trump yet demand ALL dems support the Democratic nominee.

I will never understand that.

[nolawarlock]

150. Did you just miss the point of everything everyone here has said?

Fine if he doesn't want to support her, but he wormed his way onto a platform committee for a party for which she was already the clear, presumptive nominee. Now he's giving Jill Stein the ability to claim DNC Platform Committee support. I think it's clearer what your real agenda is here with everything you type.

[uponit7771]

115. Clinton isn't a white supremacist and doesn't repeat their memes, I don't see the parrallel

[nolawarlock]

149. If he found her so distasteful,

Then why weasel his way onto the platform committee of a party that had already chosen her. Thankfully, Jill hasn't been smart enough to say "DNC Platform Committee member chooses Jill Stein" on her Twitter but that both he (and, in a roundabout way, Bernie) gave her the power to do that is despicable.

[MellowDem]

66. When there is only a two party system...

it doesn't shock me when people use those parties and then don't support them. The two parties are the privileged and powerful political entities, not beholden to anyone else, so it doesn't bother me, and it doesn't hurt the Democratic Party anyways.

I blame the shitty ass, archaic, completely anti-democratic electoral system we have, and in such a system, anyone who puts an ideologue like West on their committees is the one to blame when they come out in support of someone more to their liking.

And none of this swings the election one way or the other anyways, and there are much bigger fish to fry, so I don't really get worked up. I get more worked up about things like first past the post and gerrymandering.

Our electoral system has allowed for the rise of someone like Trump while simultaneously encouraging apathy, the worst of all worlds.

[Kali]

77. good post

[nolawarlock]

151. We can thank Bernie for that.

[bonemachine]

217. for what?

nt

[nolawarlock]

148. +1000

[GulfCoast66]

125. Which is why they get 3% of the vote.

[msanthrope]

179. You've misplaced your decimal there, methinks. nt

[TwilightZone]

208. 0.35% in 2012.

Stein isn't getting 3%, even in her dreams.

[oasis]

136. West knew that and should've gone Green long before now. Dishonest,

calculating and deceitful asshole.

[JoePhilly]

42. They forgot "petty", and "nut job" in their list of ...

... descriptive terms for this crank.

[CrowCityDem]

43. Bernie should apologize for putting him on our platform committee.

[nolawarlock]

152. I second that.

He'd gained a few points with me in the past few weeks. This cost him one or two.

[cosmicone]

44. One day, Cornel West will be able to get out of a wet brown paper bag n/t

[msongs]

46. who.....? nt

[Nevernose]

47. I still have nothing but love, admiration, and respect for Cornel West

But he's wrong here. Really fucking wrong. I like the Green Party and their platform, and I like Jill Stein, too. But a vote for the Green Party is a vote for reality star Donald Trump. Hillary's not my favorite candidate, either, but you vote for the candidate you have, not the one you wish you had.

On a related note: it's been fascinating watching and reading him over the last decade, becoming more and more disillusioned with President Obama. Maybe some of that's even justified. There was, for instance, many things he could have accomplished without Congress that he didn't even try. Obama has always been a shitty negotiator with his fellow Americans ironically, whereas his team knocked it out of the park with Iran and Cuba (at least some of which was HRC). Dr. West, though, simply got too disillusioned. He went past pragmatism and into depression, like many of my fellow Sanders supporters.

Emotionally, it's like scuba diving. You have to descend deeper and deeper, but still remain neutral buoyancy. A little in the wrong way in either direction, and you either shoot to the surface or drop like a rock. Either way is bad.

tl;dr I understand where he's coming from, but really wish he wasn't going there.

[charlyvi]

52. Appreciate your post.

Nicely put, even though I disagree with you on a few points.

[swhisper1]

63. He didnt have to stir the pot tho, he is baiting, and far from depressed

[Chathamization]

75. He also did a good job at screwing over Sanders and his movement.

We work hard to get outsiders a seat at the table, and West seems to want to prove to people that it was a terrible idea. Next time around there's going to be a lot more resistance to letting any outsiders onto the platform committee, but I guess West doesn't care - he got his, and is moving on. And for what? After a couple of decades of this, I doubt any intelligent people think the Greens are useful for anything. This just seems like a way to flip off the party - including the millions of progressives, including Sanders, who are trying to make the party better.

[charlyvi]

76. Well said

Very well said.

[Nevernose]

80. I doubt he did it for selfish motives

West doesn't care - he got his, and is moving on.
This just seems like a way to flip off the party

But you're absolutely right: he is totally screwing over Sanders and his movement, and I hadn't even looked at it that way. I wonder if he has? Short sighted and selfish at best.

[MohRokTah]

84. I don't.

Everything the idiot has done for the past eight years has been over selfish motives.

[tblue37]

94. +1. nt

[nolawarlock]

154. Best point on the thread so far.

The next time someone with his crazy reputation gets pushed for that committee, the DNC will fight that much harder to prevent it.

Oh wait, that's actually good news.

[auntpurl]

182. Excellent post, well said. nt

[840high]

87. .+1

[nolawarlock]

153. He's an academic idiot.

And they are the worst kind of idiot. There's nothing worse than a scholar who can gather all the information and yet can never seem to put any of it together in a coherent way.

[Skinner]

50. What a dick move.

Unreal.

[charlyvi]

54. Super dick move.

I didn't realize the depth of his hatred for PBO. Really sad.

[sheshe2]

53. What a loser.

Bernie made a very bad decision here when he embraced West.

[charlyvi]

55. I think it cost him many votes from POC

Who adore PBO, as most of us do.

[sheshe2]

56. And he kept doubling down.

I hate that West and Sanders did this to our President.

[Stellar]

102. Some of us tried to warn people around here about West...

but the Sanders crowd (and I voted for Sanders) almost jumped down our throats. He and Tavis Smiley had it bad for Obama and they went everywhere to dog Obama out, even to FOX 'news'.

[sheshe2]

111. I listened to what they said in 2008.

NPR. They trashed him. He was not black enough! What the hell does that even mean? Egos out of control. It was all about them. Purists....puke!

[nolawarlock]

155. They couldn't shine Obama's shoes.

[geek tragedy]

60. Fantastic choice that narcissistic prick was nt

[milestogo]

67. Dementia?

[bluedye33139]

68. Call me "unsurprised"

When I said that many of the anti-Clintonites were really just anti-Democrats, I was booed. Now, ....

[Blue Idaho]

70. This whole fucking experiment has been an unmitigated disaster...

From the get go. Who the hell ever thought letting a non-party politician run for President on the party ticket was a good idea in the first place? Then letting non party members help write the party platform? Jesus - I'm in favor of canning a few party leaders after this debacle. At the very least - I hope we as democrats have learned something from this really bad idea.

Never Again!

[Warren DeMontague]

73. And what exactly is the problem with the Platform?

That it supports a livable minimum wage? A pathway to marijuana legalization, which a majority of Americans also support?

C. West can go and not let the door hit him on the way out, but as far as the Platform: Got any specific gripes?

[arcane1]

132. Thank you. No matter what one thinks of West or his statements...

we can't allow actual progressive ideals be dismissed just because a controversial figure shares some of those ideals.

[Warren DeMontague]

134. Some people just cant let go of the primary fun.

[nolawarlock]

158. And some people can't let go of their hidden agendas,

Even if those agendas are so crystal clear with a visit to that other site.

[Warren DeMontague]

166. Like who?

Please, im curious who exactly you're talking about, and what the 'hidden agenda' is.

[nolawarlock]

159. You miss the point.

If he wanted to be part of the platform-writing, he should have followed it through. He was clearly just there for the food.

[nolawarlock]

157. He didn't say there was anything wrong the platform.

It's a great platform. It just should have been written by people who would actually follow it through, not help write it and then go support an entirely different one. Like Sanders, he committed to the Democratic Party process when he jumped onboard. This was a disgusting, cowardly, sniveling move by an absolute cockroach of a an academic idiot. If we never see him in the public discourse again, it will be too soon.

[Warren DeMontague]

165. Sanders did what a primary candidate is supposed to do. He lost, he conceded, he endorsed.

if you think im defending West, Im not. He made himself look ridiculous and irrelevant with this move.

But the primaries are over, why some on the winning side want so bady to keep fighting them is sort of confusing.

[nolawarlock]

171. I'm not fighting anything.

This just happened. We're commenting about it. We have every right to think this is wrong. Clearly you do as well. If this platform is as important as you and both believe it to be, West should have followed it through.

[Warren DeMontague]

172. He made himself irrelevant and goofy with this move. Beyond that, by all means, keep commenting.

You seem like you have some stuff you need to get out of your system!

[nolawarlock]

174. Really?

Says a person who's part of that crazy website where there are so-called progressives promoting Trump? I think the people on that site have a lot more in their system to get out than politics.

[Warren DeMontague]

177. Im a part of what?

Got proof of that allegation?

[merrily]

185. On DU, primaries are like diamonds: They're forever.

I was once accused of supporting Sanders because I was still ticked off that Clinton opposed Obama during the 2008 primary.

I kid you not.

[Warren DeMontague]

186. Yeah, and it appears I'm supposed to be a JPR regular, even though I've never posted there.

I mean, the folks over there can attest I haven't signed up there. I have no inherent bone to pick with the place, some people I like are over there to be sure- but I also said from the get-go that I would support the nominee and I have no problem supporting HRC in November.

it's funny that my pointing out that Cornel West's disagreeable action - to my mind, at least- here is on him, and not Sanders, immediately gets me lumped in with some "hidden agenda crowd", lol.

And, I always find it funny when someone blusters into a thread and tries to pick a fight with me that ends with their going "welcome to my ignore list".

Guess I won, then, Hoss.

[merrily]

187. Turned out, I controlled the Bernie Sanders Group, though I was a mod for only about three days

early on and was/am a mod at JPR. Oh, yes, and I posted a link to my own post there (the old JRP) not because I saw no need to copy and paste my entire essay and the better replies, but because I wanted to direct traffic to that site.

[msanthrope]

211. Someone accused you of posting at JPR? You don't post there.....

you have too much respect for yourself.

[Warren DeMontague]

214. Well, look. I have friends there. Good people are there. I'm not going to bad mouth them.

Or indict them wholesale because they look at things differently than I do. Not everyone there is a stealth Trump troll, IMHO.

But I looked around and decided I probably wouldnt gel very well with their TOS, just as I dont have a big problem with the one here. While I supported a different primary candidate, I understood it in the context of a primary process, and at the end of the primary process my intent was always to support the nominee, as I do every 4 years. And I will do so enthusiastically.

It's a shame, when good DU members leave. However, the core rule of this place remains the same as it ever was, namely, support Democrats. It's not like it's anything new.

But... I'm also not going to yell at people who arrive at a different conclusion. I did that in 2000, when I had a lot of pointless arguments about Ralph Nader. Had a lot of fights, but I didn't convince anyone, back then. And believe me, I tried.

People are going to come to their own conclusions, through their own process.

[Rex]

216. Free will, whatyagonnado?

Dam people and their free will! I see a lot of old posters at DI and JPR and also a lot of folks that seem batshit crazy. World is full of different people.

I stick with focusing the GOP, since they are 95% responsible for our current state. Kinda lost my heart for the infighting after we lost our META forum, realized how petty people can get over a virtual world full of bits and data.

So not worth it.

[stopbush]

71. !

[Warren DeMontague]

74. He's wrong.

He should listen to Senator Sanders.

[charlyvi]

78. Exactly, WDM.

He has not done Bernie, who has tried to produce major changes in a major party, any favors with this.

[Warren DeMontague]

79. Well, good riddance.

I don't think his opinion is going to make a whole lot of difference, frankly.

[charlyvi]

82. Honestly, neither do I

But it galls me that he would publically announce this. If he wants to go with Stein, okay, but why announce it? Especially after Bernie's efforts to move the Dems left.

[nolawarlock]

160. Oh it'll make a difference ...

... the next time some Democrat-come-lately decides to bring their entourage to the table. I have a feeling they got to play that trick once, but they won't get to play it twice.

[Warren DeMontague]

167. Oh no!

Well i guess you told them. Whoever "they" are.

[nolawarlock]

169. I haven't told them anything. It's just obvious.

[MohRokTah]

85. Cornel West is a DISHONORABLE man.

He has QUESTIONABLE CHARACTER!

[charlyvi]

93. Agreed

His character is much, much worse than the President he so loves to disparage.

[Eric J in MN]

86. Bernie Sanders probably would have gotten more votes

...if he hadn't asked Cornel West to join his campaign.

They're friends, but I wish Sanders had considered factors besides friendship.

[nolawarlock]

161. Yeah, like sanity.

[LexVegas]

89. The candidate with the better judgement won the primary. nt

[Eric J in MN]

98. The people Clinton appointed to the Platform Comittee

...rejected a fracking ban and clear opposition to the TPP. The Sanders appointees were better on issues.

[MohRokTah]

113. I disagree, the Clinton people were much better on the issues. eom

[nolawarlock]

162. And this person Sanders appointed helped get those things on the platform and then abandoned them.

So what does that say about his commitment to the platform? He had none. It was all about Sanders. Well that's fine. He should have settled for a lawn sign.

[craigmatic]

90. Cornel West has been consistent the whole way through.

He cares about issues facing the black community and I don't think he ever wavered from that it's everyone else that changed around him.

[charlyvi]

97. Bullshit.

[nolawarlock]

163. Cornell West cares about ...

... Cornell West.

Getting on a platform committee, then getting much of what he supported onto that platform, then abandoning that platform entirely in spite of all the successes, is a cowardly dick move. If he was only working with the DNC to get Bernie elected, then he should have held a bake sale for Bernie and stuck out a lawn sign. The committee was never just about Bernie or, for that fact, about Hillary. It's a collection of statements that, while no candidate necessarily has to adhere to them, say much about where we want to go as a party. He got most of what he wanted. So he clearly wasn't there for the platform, just for Sanders, or maybe just the food. Who can say? What an asshole he is though.

[romanic]

180. Yes

the man that called Barack Obama a "ni**erized" president and a "uncle tom" in so many words cares a lot about black people.

[craigmatic]

188. You're talking about

the president who sounds like a republican when talking about black people which is some variation on the old "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" cliche. Most black people don't think Obama has done as much as he can for the community when you compare his attempts to gay rights and immigration rights. I'd say that puts West in good company. It's 8 years later and race relations have gotten worse while Obama has tried to still play the middle even though the community was above 97% for him most of the way through. That's not to say that Obama hasn't been successful as president but he really hasn't done much to improve conditions in the black community.

[romanic]

210. What someone thinks of Obama is subjective

and obviously they have a right to criticize him however they want.

But West has gone beyond constructive and professional criticism; the man is just envious and petty. I just cannot respect someone like that even if he is a friend of Sanders.

[Stellar]

95. Tried to warn peeps around here about that guy and nobody wanted to hear it. nt

[Eric J in MN]

109. When someone at DU wrote

..that Cornel West wasn't a Democrat, I thought that was irrelevant to whether he should serve on the Platform Committee. In retrospect, that DUer was right.

[nolawarlock]

164. I agree.

He just comes across as such a whiner. I am irrupted that Bernie put this guy on the stage but at least Bernie himself is getting it.

[herding cats]

96. This is a knife in the back to all of we Democrats.

Especially Democratic Party supporters of Bernie, and Berine himself.

Throw him off the platform committee, for a start. Then Bernie should denounce his actions and/or apologize to the Party for his being placed there in the first place.

[Eric J in MN]

100. The DNC can ask West to resign from the committee

...but Sanders is friends with West and so he won't denounce him. They obviously disagree. West wrote in his endorsement of Jill Stein that he was disagreeing with Sanders.

[herding cats]

110. West saying that isn't enough.

Bernie is the reason he was on the committee. Ultimately Bernie shares responsibility for the way West just used us (the Democratic Party) to gain attention for Stein.

[pnwmom]

99. Whoever thought it was a wise idea for him to be a top advisor?

And to be on the Democratic platform drafting committee. . . .

[George II]

101. That should put ALL the platform concessions up for renegotiations. Isn't he that guy....

....that made an obnoxious, racial slur about Obama a few years ago?

[Eric J in MN]

107. That would be bad for party unity

...and the reason we're upset with Conel West is that his endorsement of Jill Stein hurts party unity. We shouldn't make things worse.

[Warren DeMontague]

122. Which ones, George?

Which ones specifically bother you?

[George II]

127. All those that Mr. West disingenuously "negotiated" knowing full well......

...he was going to endorse and support a candidate other than the one for whom he was negotiating a platform.

What say you, Warren?

[Warren DeMontague]

128. Im asking what specific platform positions you have a problem with.

The platform is drafted by a committee. So i doubt any specific part of it came solely from Cornel West.

The question is, George, what specific principles and positions as eludicidated in our Democratic Platform- as we know, the most progressive platform in history and one we are all enthused to rally behind- you have such a problem with you think they should be taken out?

[George II]

131. I answered your question. Essentially West was a mole for the Green Party.

[Warren DeMontague]

133. No, you didnt. This is about positions. The platform isnt a personality contest, it is a statement

Of policy advocacy and leadership positions on actual issues.

I have to think either you're unwilling to answer the question or you're not familiar with the subject matter.

[George II]

138. Think what you want. I have very little respect for West or those he lied to....

...or were gullible enough to not see through him.

[Warren DeMontague]

139. right, but you mentioned the platform.

Cornel West is wrong, however, as we have been told, our party is putting forward the most progressive platform in history, and it stands in stark contrast to the GOP document; which is an anti-LGBT screed that proposes craziness like teaching the Bible as science in public schools, and outlawing pornography.

I'm enthused to be a Democrat, moving forward into November. Stronger Together, right? Screw C. West. He's an afterthought.

[nolawarlock]

168. One that clearly West never had any intention of following through on.

[Warren DeMontague]

170. Congratulations on jumping in to also not answer the question.

Upthread you said "its a great platform", but george here wants to change it.

So which is it?

[nolawarlock]

173. The other post I was talking about didn't want to change it.

But that's neither here nor there, West should have followed through with it. I don't agree that everything should be renegotiated. What I do believe, however, is what will probably actually happen and that is that the process of getting on that committee will require a lot more Democrat merit badges than it did this time around. We could debate the future till the cows come home, so I'm willing to take a wait and see, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet lots of money that they won't just let anyone on that committee next time.

[Warren DeMontague]

176. Okay, but this post wants to change it. So it is here nor there. Or here, if not there.

You seem to really want to argue with me, but don't really care why or how. Or maybe I'm a convenient stand-in for the people you actually want to argue with, but they're at that other site. Any port in a storm, or whatnot. However, I'm not them. Sorry to disappoint.

If you don't have a specific thing you want changed in the platform, great, neither do I. But that was the question I was asking in this subthread.

[bravenak]

124. He sure is that guy who called Obama ''niggerized" a few years ago

And also a 'black MASCOT of Wall Street. Not cool.

[JI7]

145. there is nothing on there that Clinton doesn't want . you must not think that highly of Hillary if

you think the platform is something she would oppose and was forced to accept it.

[auntpurl]

183. As a Hillary supporter, I agree with this post.

There's nothing wrong with the platform. Just because Dr West was a disingenuous jerk doesn't mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[George II]

193. Have you read the platform yet? Do you know the wording of the individual planks?

And I don't think you're in a position to be characterizing how I feel about our candidate.

What I do know is that the Platform Committee had a member who just days after the draft was completed turned around and endorsed a candidate who is running against our candidate. I guess you're okay with someone supporting another candidate and party helping to determine the positions of OUR Democratic Party?

I watched some of the Platform Committee meetings, and Mr. West had a huge chip on his shoulder and a crappy attitude, no doubt he was like that in the working meetings when the actual draft was worked out.

[JI7]

194. did he have a gun to their heads ? west is an idiot but he wasn't the only one on the committee

[George II]

195. An apparently he spent his entire time on the Platform Committee trying to undermine...

...the work of the committee.

Essentially he was a mole for the Green Party.

[JI7]

197. it wasn't some secret meeting. And i don't think Clinton is an idiot

that would allow something on there that she did not want just because of someone like west.

[BeyondGeography]

106. He's an utter waste of time

I don't think you'll see any Democrats playing footsie with him again.

[Warren DeMontague]

130. So when Debbie Wasserman Schultz works with Sheldon Adelson to kill medical marijuana in florida

Is that Hillary's fault?

[GulfCoast66]

135. What's with the pot?

And how does it relate to Bernie appointing someone who is not a loyal party member to write the platform.

And a serious question: would you vote for any party supporting legalized pot regardless of the rest of their platform?

[Warren DeMontague]

137. Maybe it's a big joke in Mayberry, but there are 50 million people on the West Coast.

And pretty soon the entire West Coast is going to be legal.

I've been a Democrat all my life, Jack. I've been here- DU- for 12 years. I don't need to prove my bona fides to anyone. Doesn't mean I've always agreed with my party, like when the "realists" were dragging their feet on marriage equality.

But Sheldon Adelson is a Republican, and DWS worked with him to make sure Florida could continue to send medical marijuana patients to prison. "Serious question": Are you okay with that?

As for Cornel West, he and he alone is responsible for this pretty asinine position. I don't think Bernie Sanders had some grand plan for West to endorse Jill Stein after Sanders himself endorsed Hillary Clinton. The Primaries are over. Sanders did the right thing, and yet some people in this thread just can't let shit go, because their six months or so of anti-Sanders axe grinding was so much fun.

[Warren DeMontague]

141. and I don't appreciate people implying that I'm not a real Democrat, so there.

If you're talking about the Ohio initiative, it was a bad piece of legislation, no question. When Willie Nelson is opposed to your pot law, the pot law has a problem.

So write and pass a better one- that's what we did.

The bottom line with all this, though, is the primaries are over. Bernie Sanders has endorsed Hillary Clinton in the strongest possible terms. What's that song say, again? "Let it go"

[Warren DeMontague]

143. Well, fwiw I agreed with your self deleted post.

Whatever level of seriousness I ever might have been inclined to take cornel west, that's done now, so ... there's that.

[auntpurl]

184. Disagree. Bernie's acted honorably. I don't believe he knew about this.

I say this as someone who's been very impatient with Bernie in recent weeks. As it's all turned out, Bernie has not done much to hurt the Dem party throughout this primary. I didn't like when he said Hillary was unqualified (and he paid dearly for that comment in New York) but otherwise I think he's done his best to keep his promises to not be a spoiler.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

207. She can call him. He doesn't owe her an answer though.

[Night Watchman]

156. Go, West, Old Man

And take the other DINOs with you!

[LenaBaby61]

178. Cornel West, member of DNC platform committee, comes out in support of Jill Stein.

[raven mad]

181. First thought, on reading the header? (No, I didn't skip the article, either.)

First thought was "who cares what the fuck this asshole has to say?"

[oberliner]

189. He was one of the worst surrogates Bernie could have chosen

I think that might have had something to do with Bernie's lack of success among African-American voters. Having someone like West who expressed open disdain for President Obama, who is very popular especially among that demographic, was not smart.

[uponit7771]

213. West called Obama "niggerized" last year and it rung loud among black politico's, West and ...

... Smiley were always the "haters" of Obama because they felt slighted by him and their critiques lost all credibility.

[BlueMTexpat]

190. Hope that you don't mind ...

I just borrowed one of your images for my own sig line because I like it so much!

[charlyvi]

199. Don't mind at all

She was wonderful, wasn't she?

[BlueMTexpat]

201. Wonderful indeed and

greatly unappreciated by too many in her day!

[mfcorey1]

192. Bipolar!

[whistler162]

196. Okay

[Historic NY]

200. Two losers together...

[Gothmog]

202. This stunt on the platform committee by West irked me

I strongly disagree with West on all of his positions. I was offended by West's grandstanding on the Democratic Platform committee

[HuckleB]

205. In other words, despite his rhetoric, he is privileged enough to say screw you to many others.

Ugh.

[LWolf]

206. Democracy is messy. nt

[Rex]

215. And we should be happy to live in a free country where he can make that mistake.

I don't care, I thought his 15 minutes were up last year.