Senator Sanders Deserves Better Supporters (Hillary Group)

[DeepModem Mom]

I used to be proud to be a democrat. And one of the reasons was men like Senator Sanders. Without question Senator Sanders has been a clarion voice for the aspirations of the left, he has unapologetically advocated for the poor and middle class, and his aggressive consistency has seen many liberals through some of the worst periods of fact-free, paranoid, illogical GOP thought.

But now there’s a new fact-free, paranoid, and illogical group terrorizing the political sphere… insisting that the world is only as they see it and that any other perspectives are impure, coerced, the product of vast conspiracies and intrigue. They use arguments with the same logic-free forms and fear mongering invectives that Sanders himself has long been a warrior against. They are his supporters.

Of course, it’s not fair to generalize. Not all of Sanders supporters are lunatics, but one needed only to observe their apoplectic reaction to the consensus view that Hillary “won” the first democratic debate to see the magnitude of the problem our party is dealing with.

The issue wasn’t that they disagreed with the consensus view. It’s quite clear to me (and analysts employed at each and every major media outlet including many who have not been kind to her) that the debate delivered the best new cycle of Clinton’s campaign, cauterizing weeks of bleeding. From a political standpoint Clinton simply could not have asked for a better night. But Sanders could have, a better night for him certainly would have been a worse one for Clinton. But it’s perfectly fair to argue that Sanders won too… he generated a lot of interest and effectively delivered his stump to 11 million viewers. (To put that in perspective, that’s a years worth of 30,000 person rallies.)

The real issue was the knee jerk appeal to a paranoid attack on the media, the anti-intellectual attacks on considered opinion… but not through engagement with the arguments themselves, but an appeal to a constructed majority, to online polls! The issue was their refusal to permit their subjective experience to be challenged in the least. The inability to recognize that they went into the night believing Bernie had won. And to be fair, so did many Clinton supporters… and had the night been a disaster, maybe some of them would have tried to find some way to claim it hadn’t been. But the night wasn’t a disaster, it was the opposite, and honest people should be able to recognize that, at least.

Bernie would.

But many of his supporters seem unable to. They have concluded that either they will win, or they will have been cheated out of victory— and it is through that prism that they view every positive Hillary story. Those aren’t the kind of supporters Sanders deserves....

http://breakingtothink.com/2015/10/15/senator-sanders-deserves-better-supporters/
via breakingtothink.com

[msrizzo]

1. LOL...

I used to feel that way but the way he's been going lately I'm starting to think he's got the supporters he deserves.

[leftofcool]

2. I think so too.

[fleabiscuit]

3. Why do I hear The Rolling Stones in the background? n/t

[msrizzo]

4. LOL.

eom

[Kath1]

6. Same here.

They are shrill, nasty and prone to personal attacks. Nothing against Sanders, but some of his people on DU are over the edge.

[Cha]

9. Completly agree.. Only I don't think there was ever a time since he wanted to Primary Obama that

I thought he deserved much.

[SunSeeker]

21. +1

[Walk away]

5. He is well aware that his supporters and even his staff has been spreading...

anti-party and sexist bullshit through the press and all over the internet. He, himself, is doing his best to damage Hillary as a candidate. He is not a democrat and it shows since he doesn't care if he hands the republicans the White House with his attacks.
He must know that he cannot win but he is happy to sit back and let his "peoples army" try to destroy a Democratic POTUS and a liberal SCOTUS with their constant slander.

I hope the Democratic Party finds a terrific, real Democrat to primary him when his seat comes back up in the Senate.

[Cha]

10. Well Done, Walk away. Why isn't bernie owning up to wanting Obama primaried in 2012..

Why is he denying it now when it's documented?

Does he think the cover up doesn't matter since his fans don't give a shite and will deny deny deny like he does. Yes.

This shows me Bernie really wants to suck up to Pres Obama now.. that one of his genius managers finally read the gd polls and discovered that Obama is more popular than Bernie will ever be.

One of his managers said a couple of weeks ago that if bernie is winning it's because they want a 3rd Obama term.

Well I'll tell you right now.. the President is going to be campaigning for his legacy in 2016.. he needs to bc there's too many who are trying to distort it.. including bernie.

[Starry Messenger]

14. Really starting to agree with this.

There's no way he doesn't know what is going on in his name. The silence means it is condoned.

[Cha]

7. I don't think so.. bernie has exactly the supporters he deserves. Now BS is trying to cover up

the fact that he wanted President Obama primaried in 2012.. Now it's not only that he did it but he's trying to cover it up bc he wants to suck up to Obama.

Not gonna happen, Bernie..

Gov O'Malley, Pres Obama and anyone who can read knows it..

Bernie Sanders Says It Would Be A ‘Good Idea’ To Primary President Obama

"Let me just suggest this. I think there are millions of Americans who are deeply disappointed in the president; who believe that, with regard to Social Security and a number of other issues.. "

http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/07/22/277124/bernie-sanders-primary-obama/

"Confronted with his support for a progressive challenge to Obama in 2011, Sanders said Saturday he “campaigned very hard” for Obama in 2008 and 2012"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110725870#post11

TheObamaDiary.com ?@TheObamaDiary
Martin O’Malley: When PBO was running for re-election I was glad to stand up & support him - unlike Sen Sanders who wanted to primary him 👍🏼
3:33 PM - 6 Nov 2015 68 68 Retweets
58 58 likes

http://theobamadiary.com/2015/11/06/the-presidents-day-76/#comments

Thank you, Gov O'Malley for pointing that out.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110725674

Thanks DM M.. I'll read the article in a few.. I just wanted to get that out now.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. I appreciated that the post-Debate online polls were referenced. Remember that flare-up here...

after the Debate, with some not only insisting that Bernie won, but insisting that online polls were more legit than those from professional pollsters?

[Cha]

12. Of course I remember.. they make sure no one forgets the loud noise they make.

I haven't read it yet.. but when I do.. I'm gonna comment!

Thank you

[cosmicone]

8. Paradoxically, he would have been polling much better

but for for the antics of some of his supporters.

[LeFleur1]

15. Yes. Regarding "antics of SOME of his supporters"

I really liked Bernie, even though I will vote for Hillary. But the more I see of his supporters on DU, the more I wonder what it is in him that attracts that kind of spewers of hatred. It's bad, and I wouldn't want to vote for someone who attracts people with that mindset. I always thought making stuff up to get votes was mainly a Republican thing.

Today the news is that O Malley and Sanders are 'going to start attacking Hillary'. I thought maybe the Democrats could hold their heads up high and show everyone that a campaign should be about ideas and plans, not insulting and dissing one another personally.

For example, I'd like to know how Bernie is going to fund college if everyone goes free. Someone has to pay unless buildings build and care for themselves and teachers and administrators work for nothing. Taxes? How much and who will pass that law? Hillary's plan is much more sensible. He IS right that there would have to be a revolution because I have no idea how he would get just that free college through congress today. He is right that the deck is stacked for the rich and that needs to be changed, but it seems Hillary has plans for that, too. She doesn't intend to demolish the right to buy stocks and bonds, but she does want some rules to play by. She wants banks 'reigned in', which is exactly the right term. Not killed, reigned in. She's very aware of the problems of working families, and the poor, and minorities.

She's a better candidate if we want to move ahead.

[cosmicone]

16. Your problem (as is mine) is that

we are rational thinkers and have a real world experience of what it will take to achieve X.

[Cha]

13. Wow.. dead on, DM Mom!

But now there’s a new fact-free, paranoid, and illogical group terrorizing the political sphere… insisting that the world is only as they see it and that any other perspectives are impure, coerced, the product of vast conspiracies and intrigue. They use arguments with the same logic-free forms and fear mongering invectives that Sanders himself has long been a warrior against. They are his supporters.

Of course, it’s not fair to generalize. Not all of Sanders supporters are democrats lunatics, but one needed only to observe their apoplectic reaction to the consensus view that Hillary “won” the first democratic debate to see the magnitude of the problem our party is dealing with.

She didn't even get into how they attacked #BlackLivesMatters Activists after Netroots and Seattle.

I say let them continue in their Bernie Bubble if that's how they want it.

It will one of these days..

[NurseJackie]

17. I must have been living inside my own little bubble …

… because I've never seen anything like this before. It's pretty amazing (and disturbing) actually.

Is there an equivalent in the Republican party? Would these be our party's version of the "Teabaggers"?

I keep seeing "Third Way" tossed around like it's a bad thing. I didn't know what it was until I googled it. And, actually, it doesn't sound too bad. It sounds like a philosophy that will get things done. Give a little, take a little, compromise knowing that you'll never get everything you want, and make some progress.

Am I understanding it correctly?

If so, I think my own marriage is "Third Way" so to speak. We don't bully each other. We don't ignore each other. We don't pout or rage. We talk. We bicker and we make-up ... and we always work TOGETHER. Forty two years and still going strong.

[DeepModem Mom]

18. Interesting per your post: In remainder of the article, is referenced "the Tea Party of the left":

"But many of his supporters seem unable to. They have concluded that either they will win, or they will have been cheated out of victory— and it is through that prism that they view every positive Hillary story. Those aren’t the kind of supporters Sanders deserves. He doesn’t deserve to be the leader of THE TEA PARTY OF THE LEFT, and as he gains in popularity and the media starts to pay attention enterprising journalists are going to write the story of the people behind the political revolution… and an army of people talking about media conspiracies, who accuses anyone who disagrees with them of being shills, of being unethical, of being less committed to ideals than they are, that’s an army for Glenn Beck not a liberal luminary like Bernie Sanders.

None of this is to say we shouldn’t argue, that candidates shouldn’t be questioned, that the opinions of experts and analysts are gospel. It is to say that we can’t have an argument if we don’t agree on what facts are, on the spectrum of standards for a poll, on the notion that expertise can exist at all or ever be appealed to, on whether the world is awash with pressroom plots as opposed to intelligent reporters perfectly free to draw their own judgements.

If Bernie Sanders becomes the nominee he’s going to need supporters who can articulate and defend his plans, who can use facts organized logically to make a case for his proposed revolution. And they’re going to have to convince members of their own party and independents alike. They won’t if they continue to borrow the argumentative style of the tea party. I want Hillary to be President, but even I think Sanders deserves better."

[NurseJackie]

19. …

"They won’t if they continue to borrow the argumentative style of the tea party." Yes. This is scary too.

[DeepModem Mom]

20. Indeed!

[yallerdawg]

22. Bernie gets it. Why don't they?

Senator Sanders (I-VT):

"Yes, we do agree on a number of issues, and by the way, on her worst day, Hillary Clinton will be an infinitely better candidate and President than the Republican candidate on his best day."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sanders-clinton-on-her-worst-day-still-infinitely-better-than-any-goper/ar-CC6IFi