Bernie Sanders is damaging the Democratic Party

[CajunBlazer]

Last edited Thu Feb 4, 2016, 11:55 AM - Edit history (1)

Bernie says you can't be a progressive and a moderate at the same time. This reminds me of the Republican Tea Partiers who want to close down the GOP to all but the radical right. Efforts to create the Republican "Big Tent" have failed miserably and the GOP has been weakened significantly by that failure.

This has been the Achilles heel of Republican party in the last few Presidential elections. Ultra conservative Republican candidates have forced their more moderate and electable candidates to adopt stances which are more conservative than they are comfortable with in order to win their party's nomination. Once they have that nomination those stances have been their downfall in the General Election.

That is exactly what Bernie is doing in an effort to win a pitiful few delegates in in extremely liberal New Hampshire. While now Sanders is obviously in it to win it, one the prime goal of his campaign early on has been to pull Hillary further to the left. He is succeeding.

I strenuously object to the notion that one cannot be a progressive and moderate at the same time. I like many Clinton supporters believe strongly in many of the same progressive values which Bernie professes. We disavow many of the values that Republicans seem to cherish. We are all on the same side folks. What makes some of us moderate progressives is how far we are willing to go to accommodate political reality.

This is what the the Democratic party should be about - a party which deeply rooted in progressive values, but realistic enough in its positions to take and keep the White House. Political ideals without political power is the height of frustration. We cannot be like the Republicans who eat their own, who make their candidates virtually unelectiable.

We can not afford to make the same mistakes as the Republicans. We cannot be constantly fighting among ourselves because that weakens us to external forces. We can and must build a big tent in the Democratic Party where progressives from the far left to the very moderate can all peacefully coexist together. We must succeed where the Republicans have failed. That is the only way we will have the strength to put our ideas into practice.

[stonecutter357]

1. K&R!

[riversedge]

2. Sanders has a Divide and Conquer mentality--same as Republican Governors---like Walker

in WI. He has so divided the state.


But back to your point. I have a hard time believing Sanders is doing this--fight over vocabulary words-so sophomoric IMHO

[workinclasszero]

3. I agree but "inadvertently"?

I think its intentional considering the history of the man.

Can Bernie Sanders Win the Love of a Party He Scorns?
The long, troubled history of Bernie Sanders and the 'ideologically bankrupt' party whose White House nod he now seeks.
By MICHAEL KRUSE and MANU RAJU 8/10/2015

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/bernie-sanders-2016-democrats-121181

[72DejaVu]

4. Respectfully, I disagree

There is nothing inadvertent about it. The point of the Sanders movement is to either take over the Democratic Party and convert it into a far left party, or destroy it in the attempt.

[liberal N proud]

5. Since he was never a Democrat to begin with, I don't know how inadvertent it is

He doesn't give one crap about the Democratic Party and neither do his supporters.

[72DejaVu]

7. Look at what they are doing post-Iowa

Throwing around a lot of complete bullshit about cheating in order to taint the process. They are working overtime to try to set up the narrative that Hillarys eventual nomination is illegitimate.

[liberal N proud]

13. Will they do that for every primary state they lose?

Is that in their game plan going forward?

All it does it create more conspiracy to damage the Democratic party.

[BlueCaliDem]

20. I'm pretty sure they have their canned excuses for the other States as well.

[72DejaVu]

28. Fortunately,

They are likely to run out of excuses before they run out of losing states.

[Ana Hauhet]

6. i blame this in the media also

So many great moments in the town hall last night but the media is only asking about the definition of "progressive". Trying to find a way to divide us.

[still_one]

18. Perhaps, but it is also the strategy of the Sanders' campaign. Before the town hall

looking at the rhetoric of some coming from that direction, Hillary was being referred to as "republican light", to even being referred to as "worse than bush", and this was NOT coming from the right wing.

It didn't matter what her actually voting record was.

No different then when they used the label "establishment", when describing PP or NARAL. They know exactly what they are doing.

Some of the ugliest posts I have seen about Hillary have come from so-called "progressive circles".

Nah, can't blame the media on this one. This kind of stuff is systemic within a campaign

[Iliyah]

29. Corporate media aka GOP is not the only one trying to divide us.

[Cary]

8. Republicans courted the radical right

This was their Southern Strategy and now they have Birchers like the Kochs in powerful and influential positions.

Did we invite the radical left? They are certainly feeling resurgent, for some reason. However we have prevailed without the radical left and I'm certain we will do so again. So the ideological purity thing isn't going to affect us like it has destroyed the Republican establishment. At least that's my hope. One never really knows for sure.

It's distressing in the short term but in the longer run it will work out. The radical left will sulk a bit but they will remain oblivious to their irrelevance.

[CajunBlazer]

12. I hope you are right, but Sanders is pulling Hillary further to the left...

then I think is advisable. I truly believe that has been his strategy all along.

[Lochloosa]

9. I don't see that at all. 2014 had the lowest turnout of Dem voters since 1942.

Maybe they just did not have anything to vote for.

[CajunBlazer]

14. And yet we have won 4 of the 6 previous Presidential elections...

.... without the far left, many of which have been wasting their votes on the Green Party other non contenders. Perhaps we are better off without the zealots on the far left. Prediction, far too many of Sanders' biggest supporters on DU will be gone after the primaries because there is no way that they will vote for Hillary. They are not Democrats.

[Lochloosa]

15. And lost the majority in the House ,Senate and States.

Maybe we need the zeolots on the far left to vote.

[CajunBlazer]

17. We lost the House due Gerrymandering

That's not going to change anytime soon.

We lost the Senate primarily because we had much more vulnerable Senate seats up for election than the Republicans. The opposite is true this time around.

We cannot win the Presidency, the House or the Senate by becoming a far left party. That is simply a fact of life. Like it or not, Americans are not socialists.

[Lochloosa]

24. Losing the House to Gerrymandering is a convenient excuse.

Repugs had to get elected to the seats before they could gerrymander anything. The Democratic party did not or would not pay attention to what was going on. Democrats were not voting!

I never said nor inferred Americans were Socialist. But you might be interested in this poll....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511137465

[CajunBlazer]

34. So who in the Democratic Party refuses to Vote in their selfish self interest

I have never found any candidate that I agreed on on every issue. I don't even think that is possible. However, since the Republican went far right; I have always agreed with Democratic candidates far more than Republicans and I have always voted accordingly.

Are you telling me there are "progressives" who are so caught up in their "principles" that they were not "enthusiastic" enough to vote or were so "idealistic" that they voted third party, both of which played right into the hands of the ultraconservative Republicans that they hate?

I don't believe it. Surely no one is that dumb.

[Iliyah]

10. Yep, and now Dems need a PURITY TEST?

[CajunBlazer]

16. By popular demand I removed "inadvertently" from the title

tough crowd

[BlueCaliDem]

19. "Bernie says you can't be a progressive and a moderate at the same time." And he's living proof of

that. He's done nada for progress in this country but he's been pretty "moderate" (I'd go as far to say even conservative) when it comes to sensible gun laws, nativism (his vote against the 2007 immigration bill citing it would hurt Americans' jobs and wages), and wasteful Pentagon spending (Lockheed Martin's failed and ultra expensive F-35 program) in addition to his unconditional support of Israel.

[artyteacher]

21. He'll be close to irrelevant soon enough...

After a few primaries with more diverse populations.

[Ana Hauhet]

22. Democrats are a large tent

Martin Childs @MartyDelMundo:
Who made Bernie Sanders the commissioner of progressivism? Being more liberal than someone doesn't mean they aren't progressive #ImWithHer
6:18 PM - 3 Feb 2016

http://bluenationreview.com/bernie-sanders-progressive-purity-test/

[Politicub]

23. I refuse to be silenced about sexist, homophobic and racist Sanders supporters

I may get my posts hidden on DU, but I am not going to stop calling out sexism and all of the other isms that are the coin of the Sanders realm.

Hillary will be president for all of the people - not just the people who are in lockstep with her.

[FloridaBlues]

25. I expect nothing else from this non registered democrat.

I hope she puts this race to bed come March 1

[Cha]

26. #BernieSanders is wrong.

ROCHELLE RILEY ?@rochelleriley
#BernieSanders is wrong.
You can be whatever you want to be.
You can refuse to be a poster child for any one group. https://twitter.com/donnabrazile/status/694995716251521028 …
11:30 AM - 3 Feb 2016
8 8 Retweets 6 6 likes

http://theobamadiary.com/2016/02/03/the-presidents-history-making-day/

Thank you, Cajon!

[Gothmog]

27. I agree with your analysis

[dlwickham]

30. K&R

[yallerdawg]

31. He sure is throwing Democrats under the bus!

I think the Democratic Party is getting a little "Buyer's Remorse" for letting him run as one of us!

[FloridaBlues]

32. The DNC must close that loop hole after this election

I think he put himself in a box about this moderate vs progressive issue.
I like Sen Boxer text the best "sometimes Sen sanders is a democrat"

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. I'm sorry, but I view BS with the same disdain as Ralph Nader. Both seem hellbent on destroying.....

the Democratic party. Go after the f***kin Republicans. What is so hard for them and their supporters to understand about that?