I have tried to be neutral for the good of the party, but when I hear that Bernie

[mfcorey1]

said he doesn't know if Ossoff is a true progressive, it burns me. I live in Georgia and I know how that will become the theme of many commercials twisted to help Handel. Why? Why? say that in the middle of this battle. Now I am pissed. It is hard enough fighting the possible corruption here without assistance from the left. Damn!

[NCTraveler]

1. It was just ignorant on Sanders part. He has made a career of yelling at walls.

That said, Ossoff is going to be labeled everything under the sun by Republicans, regardless of what Sanders says or does.

Sanders is pissing in the wind to hold his base together for his next Presidential run. It should be expected from a career politician. We need to use him better than we currently are. Because he isn't a Democrat doesn't mean he can't hold value for us.

[mfcorey1]

2. OKAY, pull me back from the edge because that really pissed!

[NCTraveler]

3. I think it is going to have more of a minimal impact nationaly than it is in GA.

It's going to stick with many people. Some things are hard to forget. It's good when our politicians speak in short bits so it sticks with people. That is what will happen with this foolish move. Sanders will have little to no impact in GA. I doubt he is even wanted there.

[StubbornThings]

5. Why would say he's not wanted here? nt

[NCTraveler]

8. The make-up of the electorate in GA.

Not his strong suit.

[StubbornThings]

9. Based on what?

Did all those people that voted for Hillary in the primaries say they wouldn't also support Bernie?

And, here's a poll from yesterday that shows he does just fine with all groups.

[NCTraveler]

10. Based on history.

Has he ever been in an election in GA? You know, factual information? Not polls when one is not even campaigning.

Even if I put weight in your poll, it says not one single thing about GA, the topic of the discussion.

[panader0]

13. Hillary beat Bernie there--Where is she?

[NCTraveler]

19. I don't know where she is. Not sure what that has to do with anything.

She is not out there casting doubt on his candidacy.

[panader0]

21. "I don't know if he is a true progressive"

How in the world does that cast doubt on his candidacy?
Do you know if Ossoff is a true progressive? I had never heard of him
before this special election. I'm positive that Bernie would want him to win.
Are you suggesting he doesn't?
As for HRC, she beat up Bernie in the South. Where is her endorsement?

[NCTraveler]

24. "Are you suggesting he doesn't? "

Never said anything close to that.

"As for HRC, she beat up Bernie in the South. Where is her endorsement?"

I have no clue where she is an have no idea why you want to interject her into this conversation. She didn't make the foolish comment. And few question if his comment was foolish or not. There is simply no holding it up.

"I don't know if he is a true progressive"

Gotta get that purity test out there.

[panader0]

25. Well, is he or not?

Do you know? I don't. Perhaps Bernie doesn't either.
There's nothing "foolish" about that comment except in the minds of bashers.

[NCTraveler]

27. "bashers"

[emulatorloo]

39. You're not the head of Democratic Outreach, so it isn't your responsibility to know

[quakerboy]

77. Outreach to.. Whom?

Because based on what I've read, I'm pretty sure his position has to do with trying to get public support behind the issues Senate Democrats want to try and work on in the senate. NOT to vet every candidate running as a Democrat across the nation.

[Tom Rinaldo]

41. I think if anything it's more likely to help Ossoff than hurt him

I would feel differently if Jon was having trouble with grass roots fund raising, but he isn't. Ossoff has plenty of grass roots support so Bernie serves no critical role there. You know your district better than I but it doesn't look like a good match for Bernie to me. Suburban conservative isn't his strong suit. He does better with rural working class Republican leaners. Jon needs to pull in some sane anti-Trump conservative voters. Being saddled as a Bernie guy could hurt with that. Democrats aren't going to worry about whether Ossoff is progressive or not, not when they smell a chance for winning for the first time in decades.

In a way I think this talk set it up for Jon to handle it perfectly.

[NCTraveler]

46. .

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8956185

[Lone Star]

66. How much money did the DNC contribute? Why didn't they help fund the Kansas race?

[quakerboy]

76. To be fair, she also did not fair well in Georgia

GE numbers are a bit more relevant to this discussion than Primary numbers.

[fun n serious]

23. I'm pissed too

But to be fair I bet it will be GOOD for Osseff not bad to have distance from Bernie.

[pnwmom]

11. Then he should have said "I haven't followed that race." Instead of saying he didn't know

if Ossoff was progressive. That implies doubt rather than ignorance.

[randome]

15. He's just not good at speaking off-script.

He only knows a handful of responses no matter the question.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[pnwmom]

17. Then he shouldn't go off script to speak about Democrats or his habitual negativity

will kick in.

That is, if he actually wants to be helpful in 2018.

[NCTraveler]

20. His script is even worse when it comes to Democrats. nt.

[NCTraveler]

16. You are arguing a point not in contention in my post.

Sanders says what Sanders wants to say. I also think ignorance is a fine word to use considering the importance of the race to the party. As you stated, he promoted doubt as well. It's not either or.

[iluvtennis]

33. agree that gopers will throw a lot of garbage at ossoff, but sanders shouldn't give em bullets gah

[StubbornThings]

4. I live in Atlanta and I disagree. nt

[mfcorey1]

6. I beg to differ. Let's just see what develops! I live in District 6.

[StubbornThings]

7. I live in District 5.

I'm lucky enough to have John Lewis as my representative.

[panader0]

12. Did you ever hear about Ossoff before this election?

I hadn't. I don't know if he's a "progressive" or not. I do know he's a
Democrat and I would love to see him win. I'm sure Bernie would too.
Do you know if he's a true progressive?

[JI7]

18. yes. that race got huge attention for a house race

It was posted on DU more than most races that level.

And Trump got involved also.

[DanTex]

28. Who cares if he's a "true progressive"? What does that even mean?

Bernie's comment is ignorant and wrong on several levels.

First, it implies that if Ossoff doesn't pass some ridiculous ideological litmus test, then he's not worthy of support. Wrong. He's a Democrat, which makes him better than the Republican there. Also, if he wins, it will be a setback for the Trump administration, which will help Democrats block his agenda.

Second, it implies that Bernie, who now has a political leadership position, couldn't even be bothered to read up on an important race that has gotten national coverage. It's not like there were a bunch of other races going on at the same time. It's part of his job to know about things like this.

Seriously, how hard was it to say "yes, I support Ossoff, I think he has a great opportunity to take back a seat in the house, and the people of Georgia have an opportunity to show that they oppose the Republicans' extreme right-wing agenda".

[panader0]

38. Out of curiosity--do you know what question was posed to Bernie

before his comment. I agree that he could have answered better.
But there are so many deplorables to gang up on, why pick Bernie?

[Heartstrings]

45. Exactly

Too much energy focused on and interpreting a statement when the target needs to kept on the orange man and his band of deplorable...

[Fla Dem]

57. Here you go.

Link to tweet

[panader0]

58. I don't know either.

[kytngirl]

43. Hear! Hear!

Agree with you 100%.

It really burns me when we don't support our own. Ossoff is a democrat, not a socialist. Bernie wants all democrats to be socialist. Ain't gonna happen. It's apparent that he doesn't like democrats or republicans. Why didn't he run as the independent he is then? Because he wouldn't have been able to get the traction he needed, so he used the democrat's platform to spearhead his election chances. He didn't care about us then and he doesn't care about us now. Bernie has his own agenda.

That old adage: Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line is very true.

[quakerboy]

78. It confuses me that you think Bernie running as a spoiler would have been a good thing

Bernie running as a Democrat was a Win/Win, right up up until the party's dirty laundry got aired. It was more just a lackluster win for the Party after that.

It was a win for Bernie. He would not have polled as highly as a third party candidate. He would not have gotten 13 million votes, 43% of the democratic primary vote. Instead he would have gotten fewer votes.. but the percentage would have been far higher, easily sweeping whatever 3rd party he ran in. Probably the greens, but who knows.

But then would have been running in the GE. And he would have gotten far more votes than Stein did. Votes that would have had to come from somewhere.

Instead he ran as a Democrat, which meant that if he didn't win that primary.. He was not on the GE ballot, actively pulling votes from Hillary.

[RedWedge]

37. A true progressive like Mello?

[Fla Dem]

59. Mello, anti Pro Choice

Link to tweet

[RedWedge]

60. I'll use my sarcasm typeface next time.

[Fla Dem]

61. I knew what you were saying. Simply reinforcing your point and providing info for others.

[mvd]

93. Yes, he never criticized Ossoff.

He just said he doesn't know enough to know. He said he wants Ossoff to win. Should he have read up on Ossoff? That can be debated, but remember Bernie is an Independent. I am sure he is very busy also.

[JI7]

14. Ossoff is lewis' guy and georgia went for hillary over him

So that's why he questions it.

He is supporting the nebraska candidate.

[mtngirl47]

32. No, Georgia did not go for Hillary Clinton

Trump 51.3%, Clinton 45.6%

[Whiskeytide]

34. I think he meant GA went for Hil ...

... over Bernie. District 6 went for Hil 60-39 in the primary. A Sanders endorsement there would not be worth much ... at best. And could actually hurt.

[mtngirl47]

40. Ok....now I get it!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

22. Yeah, I don't think it is his place to comment on a race in Georgia. n/t

[musette_sf]

26. 'doesn't know if Ossoff is a true progressive'

but campaigning for a gestational slavery advocate in Nebraska.

WTF???

ProTip to Sen Sanders: Gestational slavery is NOT PROGRESSIVE.

[Warpy]

29. Uh, why is this such a huge problem?

This is Newt Gingrich's district. A "true progressive" who ran with a picture of Bernie Sanders on his sleeve would likely not get enough votes to win.

I would strongly suggest Bernie Sanders isn't the problem here.

[That Guy 888]

47. That's the way I see it, but there is a sizable number of people here refighting the primary

And they really want to beat up on Bernie for any reason they can get. Unless it turns out that Ossoff is running as a progressive (it doesn't seem like he is), or he asked Senator Sanders to show up and campaign for him and Bernie refused this is a non-issue.

From what little I've seen of his campaign, he seems to be running more as an anti-Trump candidate then as an outright progressive.

[Warpy]

48. My ignore list is growing

Anyone enabling Farcebook trolls is going on it.

And I don't give a flying fuck which candidate's cult of personality they belong to.

They can't be allowed to let their spite split the party.

[Cattledog]

79. Exactly...this is a good thread to "thin the herd".

[TheBlackAdder]

51. That pretty much sums it up. The same actors are involved in most of these OPs.

[Vesper]

53. What do you mean?

Are we not supposed to criticize some people if we disagree with what they are saying? Seems like a new rule around here. Also, why can we not say anything when candidates in active races are being unfairly maligned and outright right wing anti choicers are being supported?

Shouldn't all Democrats be speaking out?

[Warpy]

62. This isn't just disagreement, this is a blatant attempt to split the party

I'm being as charitable as possible in guessing the paid Russian trolls are over at Farcebook. However, people in a permanent snit and gardening their spite over the last primary are carrying their water on DU. It has to stop, the primary was over 6 months ago.

At this late date, trollish behavior and trying to split off one part of the party or another means the writer is a TROLL and trolls don't belong on my screen.

And if people were serious about not supporting antichoice candidates, Bob Casey of PA wouldn't have had a chance. Think about that one and the hypocrisy people are spouting about Sanders.

No, this goes WAY beyond mere disagreement.

[Vesper]

68. There are a lot of people disagreeing, and it might be a blatant attempt to split the party

but, by whom. The people endorsing an non progressive who violates the basic principles of the party, or those who object to it?

It seems that a lot of the people doing the trolling are pro Bernie, I got attacked because one such divisive poster decided to make up something to be offended by based on his assumptions. I don.t even gave a lot of posts here, and I merely expressed my disgust over the man Bernie endorsed. Who was doing the trolling and splitting there?

How many 20 week bans has Casey sponsored? How many ultrasound bills? I will be happy to criticize him for the same infractions Melli has committed. See, it's a question of consistency here, and I am seeing that there are trolls here who are remarkably inconsistent. So, it did not take much thinking to prove that there is no hypocrisy here for those criticizing Sanders.

Quite a bit of evidence of which way the trolling is going, and when there is this level of imbalance, you are correct about the trolls, and the bitterness, but for those observing, the snit seems to be initiated by one party, and they really do seem to want to make disagreement into something else entirely.

It is all over social media and here. I gave an issue with Bernie and Ellison supporting this regressive, while attacking one who is a ndeniably progressive.

Planned Parenthood agrees Melli is terrible, and no one believes him on abortion. Spiteful people and trolls are just on automatic attack, the substance does not matter here, just attacks,and lies and from what I've seen, projection.

This is what I usually see in resident trolls on liberal sites, anti choicers on anything to do with abortion in the news etc. I did not expect so much of it here, yet here they are, with use gardening boots on troweling the fertilizer seeking to sow the division and not even hiding their hypocrisy. They are all over the place. Primaries gave winners and losers, that's a given, but I don't Martin O'Malley supporters posting obnoxious threads, though he is not everywhere irritating Democrats on a daily basis either.

I think your guess is 180 degrees off, but do keep calling out the trolls, that's how you out them, on other platforms anyway. Works well on Twitter, the trolls are not very smart and are very thin skinned. A few well sourced facts and they implode.

[That Guy 888]

95. I didn't think a Democratic candidate should seek and accecpt the endorsement of war criminals.

I don't like conservadems... a nickname which was verbotten about a year ago. If those rules are still in effect, suck it up and embrace anti-choice Democratic candidates. Don't mention Joe Manchin except to praise how large the Democratic Party's tent is. I've never believed we had to back conservative Democratic candidates, but some here believe that that involves purity tests.

I gave an issue with Bernie and Ellison supporting this regressive, while attacking one who is a ndeniably progressive.

Has Ossoff asked for Sanders support? His general audience public appearances didn't make me think he was progressive. I assume that he is running a "southern style" campaign, like I've seen here in Texas. They might be progressive, but they want to conceal it from the general populace. It's not a winning strategy, at least here in Texas. Wendy Davis didn't want to appear too liberal, and I think that cost her the election. Republican voters who drank the kool-aid aren't going to vote for Democratic candidates that pretend to be moderate Republicans.

Primaries gave winners and losers, that's a given, but I don't Martin O'Malley supporters posting obnoxious threads, though he is not everywhere irritating Democrats on a daily basis either.

I don't see people going on and on about how horrible O'Malley is, or try to blame him for a failed campaign either. I'm sure if O'Malley was prominent today and had lasted longer in the 2016 primary, some people who can't accept that 90's style campaigns don't work in the age of smart phones would be blaming him for Trump winning too.

[Vesper]

96. No, thank you.

Neither I, nor any other Democrat, is required to lay back and take it, while a bunch of men do not take no for an answer and attempt to force their eagerness to deprive us of our human rights upon us.

We will NOT "suck it up". Do NOT EVER make thus demand of us. Yeah, supporting the human rights of women us NOT a purity test, failing to do so is a despicable violation of progressive values and principles. Asking us to "suck it up" is deeply offensive. This is what the Right Wing zealots keep telling us, anyone supporting this is no progressive, liberal or a Dem.

Please post the anti choice bills sponsored by Manchin, or whatever Dem one wants to bash, so we can compare Right Wing anti choicers head to head, if you can't stop making this comparison.

Is there some procedure of obsequiousness required to keep Bernie from saying damaging things? If so, please forward that to Ossof, who never asked Sanders to bless him with his personal title of "progressive" as defined by Vernie, which includes a guy who sponsors right wing abuses of women.

Stop assuming, that always seems to end people on these jingoistic tirades into avoidable mistakes a little homework would prevent. His specific policy positions will inform you of what his positions are, no need for general assumptions that leave you misinformed. Bernie should also do his homework, and not just allow his ego to determine who is a progressive and who is not. Ossified is not concealing anything at all, it is out there on his website, it is in his speeches etc. not sure what the mystery here unless there is there is something blocking the information from getting in.

Wendy Davis was not pretending to be a Republican, nor is Ossoff. Mello literally was being a right wing extremist Republican, but Bernie rushed over to endorse and appear with him. Democrats are not happy here, not with the candidate, the endorsement or the comments here.

Well, is that because O'Mallley is not attacking the party on a daily basis, throwing out women's basic rights, did not Dutch the party while demanding to remake it in his image, despite promising things, failing to follow through on them, excusing the obvious racism and misogyny of Trump voters, and demanding we ignore the vase to embrace these people who wish harm upon us?

O'Malley did not do damage to the party or the base, he did not lie yo the, he did not foster distrust through conspiracy theories, he did not go on RT and push this bike stuff. I am sure that O'Malkey would not be behaving this way even if he was more prominent hisar, it's not who he is, or has ever been. People are placing blame where it was due, when there is evidence of the dirty tricks that were employed in this century.

Attacks on your opponent for releasing her taxes when you refused to? Attacking her for positions you took, but she had no standing to vote on, blaming her for her spouse's actions? Lying outright, inviting hacking and blaming her for being hacked? Exploiting Russian produced crap from Wikileaks? Yeah, it was not just Trump doing every one of these things, it was not O'Malley either. People are going on about what we actually saw happening in real time, and we do not forget. If he acted like O'Malley, there would be no reason for this anger that his comments and behavior gave justly invited.

That whole "we must not be rigid about women's basic rights"thing is infuriating and supporting a guy who sponsored a 20 week ban and forced ultrasounds? Utterly disgusting. Anyone who says this or supports such people deserves the anger and the blame for what they have chosen to support. Marin O'Malkey never did such a thing, if he did, he would also be justly excoriated. Stop excusing Bernie with all these false comparisons and equivalencies. He is responsible for what comes out of his mouth, and we have the right to do so, and that's not anyone being mean to him. It,s treating him like the national leader he wants to be. This is deliberate behavior that seeks to irritate, inflame and denigrate the base of the party, the women. We will not stand quietly and be ignored by people seeking to diminish us, period.

[That Guy 888]

97. ontheissues.org - Joe Manchin - "Pro-life; pro-NRA; anti-EPA " - Tim Kaine is pro-life too

Last edited Wed Apr 26, 2017, 06:42 PM - Edit history (2)

First off, sorry to take so long in responding, this is literally the first time I've been able to log-on since posting.

For Sanders (who caucuses with the Democratic Party) Elizabeth Warrren and other well known Lefties in (or allied to) the Party, there seemed to be some demanded vote swapping from the powers-that-be in our party. I feel that Sanders support for that mayoral candidate is more of the same. Since Clinton's people said the South was "Clinton Country" and they rejected Sanders, I imagine that plays a part too.

We will NOT "suck it up". Do NOT EVER make thus demand of us.

I DID NOT DEMAND THAT YOU VOTE THAT WAY. That is what the "any Democratic Candidate is better than a Republican" people said in the last election when promoting the ticket with anti-abortion VP candidate Kaine. I'm not going to vote for my homophobic mayor unless there's a run off. Once again, I DON'T LIKE CONSERVADEMS. What some people here call "purity tests" I call minimum standards. Why should any Democratic voter back conservative Republican plans?

Wendy Davis was not pretending to be a Republican

She was too cautious, very carefully trying not to appear "too liberal" in order to win her election, IMO. I'm worried by Ossoff's cautious general public appearances that he might be as well. His only general public appearance that I've seen he talked about foreign policy in a way that didn't really differentiate his positions from a generic moderate politician (Republican or Democratic). Part of being "not too liberal" would be avoiding Senator Sanders like the plague.

O'Malley did not do damage to the party or the base, he did not lie yo the, he did not foster distrust through conspiracy theories, he did not go on RT and push this bike stuff.

I've been a Democrat since I could vote, and I don't feel the same way that you do about Senator Sanders. I imagine you don't share my opinion about former Secretary Clinton either. What you stated is an opinion, not fact.

That whole "we must not be rigid about women's basic rights"thing is infuriating and supporting a guy who sponsored a 20 week ban and forced ultrasounds? Utterly disgusting.

I absolutely agree 100% with you here. If I wanted shitty Republican (or Taliban) policies I would vote or move accordingly. To me the only way a Democratic candidate should be "pro-life" is by:

Opposing the death penalty. (Death penalty opponents were the first to use the term "pro-life" - they didn't assassinate anyone either)

Demanding Full and complete sex education.

Making birth control readily and easily available.

No abortion bans should ever be backed by a Democratic candidate or office-holder; even if they are supported by former Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders.

Anyone who says this or supports such people deserves the anger and the blame for what they have chosen to support.

So who in our party Leadershiphas condemned the anti-abortion asshat? or my mayor for that matter? There is a certain amount of leadership in our party that just want numbers and don't care how they get them or what they do with the power that they wield in our name.

This is deliberate behavior that seeks to irritate, inflame and denigrate the base of the party, the women.

I think some people that blame Sanders for Trump really want to see it this way. That doesn't make it true.

Troubling as Mello's views on abortion are and upsetting as his past is, Hogue, Doyle, and others may have a difficult time convincing anyone who didn't already share their views of Sanders, that their grievances are not motivated by personal bias. That is because Mello's evolution on the issue of women's health closely mirrors that of another prominent Democrat—one supported and elevated by Hillary Clinton.

In September, Clinton's VP pick, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told NPR, “I don't think my job as a public official is to make everybody else follow the Catholic Church's teaching, whatever their religious background or lack of a religious background.”

Kaine had raised some eyebrows given his support for the Hyde Amendment and the fact that as recently as 2011, the Senator supported outlawing contraception. He had also supported a ban on partial-birth abortions, promoting abstinence, and requiring—of course—“informed consent” for those seeking abortions as well as parental consent for minors. During his time as Virginia's Governor, Kaine was instrumental in the passage of the state's “informed consent” law, stating at the time that the measure would give “women information about a whole series of things, the health consequences, etc. and information about adoption.”

Given that in 2008, Clinton said abortions should be “safe, legal, and rare,” and in 2015, told reporters she could compromise on abortion if the mother's health were accounted for—and given that Kaine was not the first anti-abortion Democrat she elevated (in 2006, she campaigned for Bob Casey, who would later return the favor, becoming one of her surrogates in 2016)—one would have expected vocal opposition to the VP pick as it could have easily be taken as a sign of her tepid commitment on the issue of reproductive rights despite her platform.

However, Hogue and company gave deference to the Democratic nominee.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/04/clinton-feminists-ignore-hillarys-endorsements-of.html

[mvd]

94. I'm about to hide all of it.

I am already stressed about Trump and don't need to constantly see posts bashing Bernie (many unfairly) in addition to that stress.

Is Bernie perfect? No, no one is. There are a couple things he could do better - give up his e-mail list for one - but overall he is a very positive force. I feel he'll actually grow the Democratic Party.

[Gothmog]

30. I agree

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-fix%2Fwp%2F2017%2F04%2F20%2Fbernie-sanderss-strange-behavior%2F

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-fix%2Fwp%2F2017%2F04%2F20%2Fbernie-sanderss-strange-behavior%2F

[Whiskeytide]

31. Look for a simple answer ...

... to your question rather than fret over this imagined slight.

This is Georgia. Hillary beat Sanders 60-39 in District 6 during the primary. Why would Ossoff want open support from a socialist Yankee guy who keeps talkin' 'bout free stuff from the government? Could Ossoff and Sanders NOT being BFFs actually HELP Ossoff? Perhaps. A ringing endorsement from Sanders certainly could hurt him, though.

If they run ads saying Sanders doesn't know Ossoff, so what? The democrats/progressives are going to come out - I hope, anyway - motivated by the freak show in the WH.

But if they ran ads saying "Looky here who has endorsed Ossoff ... it's that Vermont Socialist!". Well - THOSE buzz words activate the base, and the zombies would stumble to the polls in a horde.

Chill. I suspect they are playing for the prize in what they believe is the smartest, most strategically sound way.

[Lucky Luciano]

54. Yes! In fact Bernie saying OSsof may not be a a progressive

...coul make the deplorables less likely to attack and the more conservative democrats more comfortable.

If that is not the strategy, it is disappointing.

[bekkilyn]

35. I don't understand the conspiracy here

Someone must have asked Bernie and he said he didn't know. Was he supposed to pretend he knew instead?

I don't know either.

I know Ossoff is a Democrat and from what I've heard of him, it sounds like he's better than the GOP candidates, but I have no idea how progressive he is and what exact policies he supports as I can't vote in that election and haven't been paying such close attention.

So if someone asked me if Ossoff was a true progressive, I, too, would say, "I don't know."

Not because I have anything against Ossoff at this point, but I would just be stating truth. I really just don't know. Also, what did the questioner mean by the term, "true progressive?"

I can understand disappointment that Bernie didn't involve himself in the race, though maybe he will later (I don't know. ) but it just seems to me here that he was just answering a question on whether or not Ossoff is a true progressive.

[loyalsister]

36. The last thing Claire McCaskill would want anyone to say about her is

"Bernies Sanders said that she's a true progressive." I suspect that is true of Joe Manchin, Ben Nelson, and a great many other Democrats in congress. Without all of the facts, I reserve judgement.

[MRDAWG]

42. I just saw the 1st negative ad vs Handel by the DNCC. None before now despite...........

negative ads against Ossoff every 10 minutes. I am watching channel 11.

[lexington filly]

44. Alright already!

I logged out of my account before the election because of all the "Sanders is horrible v Clinton is horrible" and the ensuing vitriol. Kept returning to DU daily because DU is an important resource to me. Just logged back in yesterday. And you all are going at it again. I had my strong preference for one of the candidates but would have voted in the general for whomever won. That said, I thought both of them were too old as is Trump. And I'm a senior.

Can we not put both Hillary and Bernie on a park bench and focus on much younger Democrats who are our future? Can we not put personalities aside and focus on issues? I want us to win back all we've lost on the local, state, and federal level. That's not going to happen if folks are too busy shadow boxing.

Keep your eye on the prize.

[progressoid]

52. Thanks for this post lexington filly

This happens all too often. Too many grudges and personality fights within our ranks distracts from the real enemy.

Keep the eye on the prize indeed.

[seaglass]

86. I would be thrilled to never see Bernie's name on DU again. Unfortunately and stupidly some

Democrats gave him a role in outreach and unity so he continues to shoot his mouth off. The only unity and outreach that is happening is Bernie solidifying his own supporters to support him - NOT democrats.

[n2doc]

49. Your concern is noted

on ignore.

[world wide wally]

50. I can't believe we are 3 months into a fucking Trump Presidency and so many people even give a shit

what Bernie or Hilary says or doesn't say. Sadly, they are both ancient history and we better get used to it and live in the NOW.
I don't think anyone gives a shit what Bernie does anymore. (at least I hope they don't). Bernie had his 15 minutes of fame and now it's time for everyone to move on... including the "Revolution". We had one of those back in the 60's and that one didn't work out too well either. It's nice to talk about and all, but there comes a point when you actually have to do something concrete.
Run for office! ( and stop expecting Bernie or anyone else so save you)

[Mike Nelson]

56. Yikes...

...or is Bernie trying to help Ossoff win in GA by bad-mouthing him?

[Cha]

63. But, he's campaigning for a pro-"lifer"..

"As the Wall Street Journal's Reid J. Epstein and Natalie Andrews note, Mello in 2009 sponsored a bill that would require a woman to look at ultrasound images of her fetus before undergoing an abortion (he still opposes abortion rights). Indeed, it's tough to think of something that progressives would hate more."

Link to tweet

And, yet..

Link to tweet

[kentuck]

64. I have seen quite a few of Bernie's posts on Facebook since election.

But he does not call himself a "Democrat". He sends those posts as a "Democratic Socialist".

It seemed to me that Bernie never wanted to be a Democrat. It was convenient because so many Democrats supported him in his effort. But now, he seems to believe that he has enough supporters to start a third Party? That is just my impression from his Facebook posts - not a scientific study.

[Ms. Toad]

65. You might want to listen to how Ossoff identifies himself before going off on Bernie.

Georgia Democratic House candidate Jon Ossoff on Thursday declined to place himself on an ideological spectrum, saying he's not interested in "purity tests."

"I'm simply not interested in ideological labels or purity tests. I'll tell you where I stand on the issues, and then I'll let the pundits decide how to label me," Ossoff said during an interview on CNN.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/329770-ossoff-on-whether-hes-a-progressive-not-interested-in-purity

[pnwmom]

67. Bernie could have read Jon's website and found that he IS a progressive,

which is why orgs like MoveOn endorse him.

Or he could have just said, "i haven't followed that race" rather than casting aspersions .

But in a Republican-gerrymandered district, Jon is smart to reject simplistic labeling. He wants Republicans and Independents to consider him.

I don't understand how Bernie could support someone like Heath Mello and not Jon Ossoff.

https://electjon.com/

[Ms. Toad]

69. Since Ossof has rejected labeling - for whatever reason

it is nothing but Bernie bashing to have thread after thread complaining that Bernie didn't identify him as a progressive.

The constant Bernie bashing is both making DU suck, and is a violation of the TOS.

[pnwmom]

70. Which post violates which TOS? Do you think it's okay for Bernie to bash Democrats

(for example, calling Senate leadership "feeble&quot but not for Democrats to express their concerns about that?

[Ms. Toad]

72. If he is posting on DU, I would alert on it or hide it if I was on a jury.

But Bernie isn't posting here.

Any post bashing Bernie is a violation of the TOS, which prohibits bashing Democratic public figures.

As to which one - take your pick. There are a few hundred of them at the moment. Here's a thread with quite a few. https://www.democraticunderground.com/10028947540

[pnwmom]

73. Except he doesn't consider himself a Democrat. So why should we?

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/329418-sanders-i-do-not-consider-myself-a-democrat

Sanders: I don't consider myself a Democrat

BY BEN KAMISAR - 04/18/17 09:09 PM EDT

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday night that he still does not consider himself a Democrat despite taking part in a Democratic National Committee (DNC) unity tour with the party's new chairman, Tom Perez.

"No, I'm an Independent," Sanders said when asked by MSNBC's Chris Hayes whether he now identifies as a Democrat.

[Ms. Toad]

74. Because the TOS say he is treated as one here. n/t

[pnwmom]

75. The TOS allows constructive criticism, but not "disrespectful nicknames, insults,

or highly inflammatory attacks" or "viciously" denigrating Democrats or aligned Independents.

I don't see any of these violations in the bolded sentences below. (The non-bolded parts apply to a general election.) Just constructive criticism in response to his criticism of the party.

Don't bash Democratic public figures
Do not post disrespectful nicknames, insults, or highly inflammatory attacks against any Democratic public figures. Do not post anything that could be construed as bashing, trashing, undermining, or depressing turnout for any Democratic general election candidate, and do not compare any Democratic general election candidate unfavorably to their general election opponent(s).
Why we have this rule: Our forum members support and admire a wide variety of Democratic politicians and public figures. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but our members don't expect to see Democrats viciously denigrated on this website. This rule also applies to Independents who align themselves with Democrats (eg: Bernie Sanders)

[Ms. Toad]

89. You didn't include just plain old insults -

plenty of those around.

[quakerboy]

81. I dont get why yall think its an aspersion

If anyone has a full text of the interview, I would be most curious. Context is often important. The most complete i've run across so far reads as follows

"If you run as a Democrat, you're a Democrat," Sanders said. "Some Democrats are progressive and some Democrats are not."
Sanders was then asked if Ossoff is a progressive.
"I don't know," Sanders replied.

So.. he didn't go out of his way to cast aspersions. He didn't just volunteer a comment. He answered a question awkwardly. He did just what you say Ossoff was smart to do, and chose not to try and label Ossoff anything other than Democrat, which the candidate has already tagged himself with.


The support for Mello does seem odd and very troubling. But as usual, real problems that should be dealt with get buried in a mound of irrelevancy and factionalism that gets everyone all lathered up and fighting, rather than talking or thinking. Bashing and pointless attacks do not build a solid foundation for credibility when real issues arise.

[pnwmom]

82. He also didn't endorse the only Democrat in the race with a chance to beat the Republicans.

(The others each won less than 1/2 of a percent.) Meanwhile, he has no problem endorsing Heath Mello. It makes no sense.

[quakerboy]

90. Did Ossoff ask for his support?

Did/does Ossoff even want him to step into the Georgia race? There are a lot of assumptions flying around, and most of them seem entirely unfounded.

I have concerns about the mello deal. But harping on Bernie for doing nothing wrong in the Ossoff situation is only obscuring the problems that appear to underlie the Mello support.

[pnwmom]

91. I wouldn't have minded if Bernie had just said , "I didn't follow that race."

But what he said questioned Ossoff's progressive views and that wasn't okay..

[quakerboy]

92. I disagree

I think in a fair reading of what he actually said (IE not the edited version I've seen used in pretty much every article title bashing him), in as much context as Ive been able to find, he said just what you wanted him to say. Awkwardly, but such is life.

[Spider Jerusalem]

71. I think that Ossoff being labelled as a progressive would hurt him a lot more.

Especially in a district that's been represented by Republicans for 40 years. I used to live in Georgia (in the old Sixth District before they redrew the boundaries, in fact; Gingrich was my representative, for a while). There are a few places in Georgia where the "progressive" label might be a benefit; the Sixth District is not one of them.

[underthematrix]

80. Were of you alerted for abuse? I'm asking because someone alerted on a tweet

I posted in another Bernie thread that was no more offensive than any of the tweets people have posted here.

Very strange.

I just don't understand how my post violated community rules.

Thank God for the Obama Diary.

[Cha]

83. I'll toast to that..

"Thank God for the Obama Diary."

[Cha]

84. BS said "..he isn't prepared to back Democrats just because of

a party label.."..

Link to tweet

But he calls Mello a "progressive".. who is "..Aggressively Anti-Choice"..

Sanders voiced his support for Mello in a statement published Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal. “If this fellow wins in Nebraska, that would be a shot across the board, that in a state like Nebraska a progressive Democrat can win, that will give hope to folks in other conservative states that perhaps they can win as well,” he said.

https://rewire.news/article/2017/04/20/why-is-dnc-embracing-aggressively-anti-choice-democrat/

And, Jon Ossoff, who is Pro-Choice, actually is one.. but BS "doesn't know him"..

"Jon Ossoff on the issues, presented in a way Bernie Sanders can understand"

snip//

Women’s Heath & Planned Parenthood”

Ossoff is an unapologetic supporter of the concept of women being able to make their own decisions regarding reproductive health care, and Ossoff is a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood.

What a concept for a "progressive"!!!

snip//

National Security”

•Ossoff has promised to “oppose unnecessary military intervention overseas and...only support the use of force where US national security is at stake”
•Ossoff opposes the use of torture
•Ossoff has called for an investigation into "Russian interference in American politics”
•Ossoff referred to the Iraq War as “reckless”

Much More.. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/04/19/1654449/-Jon-Ossoff-on-the-issues-presented-in-a-way-Bernie-Sanders-can-understan

Jon Ossoff took the high road in Georgia.. I hope he wins so badly.. Nancy Pelosi was there for him as was Samuel L Jackson.. Hollywood came out for him! Alyssa Milano and Christopher Gorham got the Vote out!

We'll never know if a few positive words instead of dismissal could have made the difference from the "most popular politician in America".

Not sure why BS wouldn't want to have gotten to know Jon Ossoff who would have immediately gone to Congress if he had won 50% and we would have had one more Dem to fight the Fascistrumps.

[lillypaddle]

85. I've kept my mouth shut, too

but he and his followers make me want to scream.

[obamanut2012]

88. Especially since he is campaigning for an anti choicer and calling HIM progressive

wtf