I've finally made up my mind...I support Bernie Sanders

[First Speaker]

...I know that the world--or even DU--hasn't exactly been holding its breath in suspense, waiting for me to make up my mind. But I'm a life-long Dem, first voted for McGovern, have worked and supported every Dem since, had ups and downs...(greatest down: the failure of the Udall campaign in 1976. Dammit, he would have been a great President...) And deciding this time has been a bitch. I do respect both Mrs Clinton and Mr Sanders, have felt that Hillary was more "electable", but admired Bernie's passion and his obvious care for the underdog. But the last few days have finally pushed my ass off its perch halfway between the two candidates. I just can't swallow the Clinton machine any longer. The John Lewis business is the last straw. Having a great American all but implying that Sanders is a liar about his past is disgusting, and for me, goes beyond politics-as-usual. This smacks of Nixonian tactics to me. If Hillary wins, as I expect her to, yes, of course I'll support her. But my heart has finally spoken clearly to me, and I'm feeling the Bern...

[thereismore]

1. Thank you! nt

[restorefreedom]

2. welcome aboard the bernie train!

if you haven't yet, i invite you to check out bernie group. great info there, and lots of positivity!

[closeupready]

3. Welcome!

[Punkingal]

4. Thanks, and welcome!

[Gregorian]

5. You've made a wise choice. Time will prove you right.

No one knows the whole truth, but from what I can see Bernie is as close to what America needs as anyone I've seen. And I was disappointed when McGovern only won Massachusetts.

[femmedem]

6. Welcome!

Glad to have you with us.

I argued for McGovern in the 3rd grade class debate!

[retrowire]

7. Well thanks for joining us.

Now it's an uphill battle, you willing to volunteer or donate?

[First Speaker]

9. Absolutely, and I will...

[AtomicKitten]

8. Welcome to the light. k/r

[MuseRider]

10. Welcome

it feels good to not be a part of the sliming of others but it feels bad to be the recipient.

We all enjoy being part of this campaign, it is far happier and more fun than any I have been involved in before and it feels just terrific to not be a part of needing to smear others. Bernie Bounce for you.

[rufus dog]

11. Mo was great

Although a Mormon from AZ had little chance of winning.

[First Speaker]

13. Do I get the special Ben and Jerry's Trotskyist ice cream...?

[classykaren]

20. Yes and the special sandwich to go with it the hero sandwich.

[cui bono]

33. Don't forget Bernie Sandwiches!!!

.

[cui bono]

42. Not sure, but it wouldn't have any 'secret sauce' on it. ;)

Hm, can't remember which burger joint that's from...

.

[mdbl]

45. well that was a strange remark

having problems today?

[mdbl]

47. or maybe you were watching too many reruns of Dr Zhivago?

[RobertEarl]

14. H can't win the GE

She can hardly even get younger women to vote for her.

Your decision to support Bernie is very wise.

[creatives4innovation]

16. Welcome aboard!

McGovern was a true American hero. I read his book years ago.

[TIME TO PANIC]

17. Welcome.

[Dont call me Shirley]

18. Welcome, First Speaker....

I expect Bernie to win

[MissDeeds]

19. Yes!

Thank you! You will not regret your decision!

[monicaangela]

21. I truly believe

you have elected to support the better candidate. I have spoken with many friends today who were on that same fence as you, but have decided to throw their support behind Bernie Sanders. Many had the same fear as you, they just didn't believe Bernie could be elected and feared that we, the democratic party, might lose the White House in the general if he wins the primary. I am of the opposite opinion. I believe we stand a better chance of losing the White House if Hillary wins the primary. That is my opinion of course. As I have said to all the other friends I mentioned, welcome to the family!

[TryLogic]

62. I agree with you.

[FailureToCommunicate]

22. You have ...

[dubyadiprecession]

23. If only bernie could get another senator to back him...

then that would make one.

[roguevalley]

24. First Speaker, you're alright. :D:D:D Welcome aboard. :D

[Eric J in MN]

25. The implication that Bernie Sanders lied about being a civil rights activist

...reminds me of 2004, when Republicans implied that John Kerry lied about being wounded in Vietnam.

[Art_from_Ark]

31. When you're pals with the Bushes,

that sort of shit rubs off on you, I guess

[southerncrone]

54. +1

Guess that's also why she & Bill seem so nervous of late.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. So I missed something about Lewis?

I remember earlier on, when he was playing crowd control at one of her rallies and helped hustle some BLM protesters out the door, but hadn't caught anything more recent.

[Eric J in MN]

34. This is the controversial quote of Rep. John Lewis.

====
While a student at the University of Chicago, Sanders was involved in the Congress on Racial Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He also was arrested while protesting segregation.

"I never saw him. I never met him," Lewis told reporters. "I chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee for three years from 1963 to 1966. I was involved in the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, the march from Selma (Alabama) to Montgomery and directed the voter education project for six years. I met Hillary Clinton, I met President Clinton."
===

[Blus4u]

43. That's the old, " if I didn't see it, it didn't happen."

Usually the republicans are great at that.


Peace

[MadCrow]

59. Counterpunch

Wouldn't it be nice if Bernie's people could find a picture of Bernie during those years and prove to the other side that Bernie was there. Bernie is usually so reticent about his background that there are probably pictures or write-ups somwhere that the public doesn't have access to.

[mikehiggins]

37. Not really. He couldn't remember seeing Bernie back in the 60's

Probably can't remember a lot of people who were around him back them. That is the nature of mass movements like the Civil Rights movement.

What puzzles me--and maybe I misunderstood what he says--is that he did meet Hillary and Bill. The implication was that they were there. Of course in 1963 she was still in high school and, like me, a Goldwater kid. Bill was still a dirt poor white trash nobody in Arkansas. I doubt Rep. Lewis saw either of them.

Maybe I misunderstood what he was trying to say.

I could be wrong...

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

40. Well, there's another OP out there now, showing a page of a book Lewis wrote

Last edited Thu Feb 11, 2016, 08:14 PM - Edit history (1)

that indicates that he first 'heard of' Bill Clinton in the early 70s, but 'didn't pay attention to him' again until 1988. Which does kind of seem to go against the implications of his quote as I've now seen it posted here.

ETA: Just saw more of the page. He notes that he finally met Bill in 1991. So the implication that he met Bill and Hillary during the civil rights era, while not seeing Bernie, seems to fall flat on it's face, and shows that he was intentionally trying to mislead by putting his lines about meeting Bill and Hillary right after his lines about not seeing Bernie.

[TryLogic]

63. It is very disappointing from a guy for whom I had had a lot of respect.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

68. We're all human, not saints.

He still deserves a lot of respect for his past courage and decades of solid work for human rights. Palling around with the Clintons seems to have overcome his better judgment in this case is all.

[Contrary1]

65. Well, he didn't exactly say when and where he met them, did he?

But, you are right...the implication was that they were there,

The Freedom Rides were in 1961
The Voter Education Project was from 1962-1968
Lewis chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1963 to 1966.
The march from Selma to Montgomery was in 1965

Bill and Hillary met at Yale in 1970 or 71, depending on the source.

[dchill]

27. Welcome, First Speaker!

[sellitman]

28. Good choice!

The best.

[HooptieWagon]

29. Welcome! And thank you!

It was Clinton's racist dog whistles in '08 that put me on Obamas side.

[Duval]

30. Thank you and welcome!!

[azmom]

32. We welcome you to the fight.

It won't be easy, but we will persevere.

[Vattel]

35. I hope the swift-boating of Sanders' civil rights record backfires with many others too.

[PyaarRevolution]

49. Oh I truly think.

It will.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

36. First Speaker

You're in good company that stretches far, far beyond DU. But you'll have the most fun here. Welcome!

[debunction.junction]

39. Welcome to the right side. HA

I will never support Clinton. I will hold my nose and vote for her as the lesser of two evils. Hillary is the status quo, and the status quo has destroyed the American Dream.

[southerncrone]

56. Same here. I fully agree w/your statement.

[MoonchildCA]

57. I'm with you.

My vote for her will simply be to keep someone, even more far right, out of office. My heart will not be in it.

[arely staircase]

41. I'll alert the media. nt

[Helen Borg]

44. Nice, stick with the winner!

[RiverLover]

48. Thank you!!! You're in excellent company :)

nt

[johnnyrocket]

50. it's about the best candidate, best on the issues. Sanders wins. Period.

[Jenny_92808]

51. Spot on

Well said!

[WestSeattle2]

52. After the John Lewis comment today, I sent the Sanders campaign $100. The first of many

such donations, I suspect. Casting aspersions on Bernie's character is way out of bounds.

[WillyT]

53. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[RufusTFirefly]

55. Welcome, First Speaker! I worked hard for both McGovern and Udall!

I think "I understand where you're coming from."

[First Speaker]

58. Thanks...I worked my ass off for Mo in '76...

...and I don't think I've ever spent my time better in my life. Had he somehow managed to take the White House, so much would have been different--including no Reagan...*sigh*... Oh--and I apologize for suggesting on another thread that Rufus T Firefly would make a good running mate for Trump. I'm sure it was a different branch of the family...

[RufusTFirefly]

60. Haha! Now go! And never darken my towels again!

I met "ol' second place Mo" and had a (brief) chance to chat with him even though I was still a teenager. (As you know, this was back in the day when you didn't need an Inc. or a Corp. at the end of your name to be able to chat with a presidential candidate.) An impressive, likable, good-humored guy.

[billhicks76]

66. I Have An Open Mind

I listened to O'Malley. And would've entertained a plethora of others. But never Hillary. Who can support a proven liar that waged war abroad for oil and weapons companies and here at home on behalf of the mass incarceration complex and banks? It's beyond me. And you have to seriously question what is wrong with people who think that's ok.

[Divernan]

67. What? You have a problem with cluster-bombing little brown kids!

(Sarcasm, of course.)Don't hold that against Abuela Hillary! (More sarcasm!)

Here is the bill: the “Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act.”

This was a single purpose amendment to a larger defense bill so was not part of an omnibus bill where she could have had mixed goals. This was an act to limit the use and transfer of cluster munitions to those munitions that have a 99% or higher reliability rate, would prohibit use of cluster munitions in areas where civilians are known to be present and would require a cleanup plan of cluster munition remnants if the US used cluster munitions.

Historically, cluster munitions are particularly troubling because they are left in place and affect civilians ... including those women and children that Hillary expresses she is a fighter for. It is a world wide issue and is the subject of numerous diplomatic attempts to take these munitions that affect civilians off the table.

Of all her warlike votes, this may be the worst. There was no progressive or liberal reason for anyone to vote against this amendment. Her vote was either because she is a defense hawk or because she wanted to look like one and not look soft. It is one of the worst weapons in the world. Hillary joined 15 other democrats and EVERY REPUBLICAN iN voting this way. Her democratic company included most of the conservative war democrats in the senate: lieberman, nelson, landrieu, pryor, shumer. Surprisingly it was a Feinstein introduced Amendment which shows that such munitions even concern people who generally are defense hawks.

And for you Clinton lovers who want to associate her fully with Obama. Of course he voted for the Ban because he does not have the war baggage she has. Hillary voted against banning these munitions and there really is no excuse for this vote.

Some links below on cluster bombs and the Bill.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2012106/hillary-and-cluster-bombs-is-this-what-we-want

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/21/425303/-Hillary-Clinton-Voted-to-Continue-Cluster-Bombing-Civilians

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251413864

[billhicks76]

69. Wow...She's Fuels The Bloodthirst

[kpominville]

70. Agreed

While I am sure Hillary would be a far better President than anyone running for the Republicans, I have too many fundamental policy disagreements with Hillary. She would leave the "too big to fail" banks, which are bigger now than ever, exactly as they are unless they actually start too collapse, which would be entirely too late. That inability to take on the big banks and wall street is a clear example of their influence on her.

[Hiraeth]

71. Look it here, Bernie's comin' on !!

[Mufaddal]

72. The Lewis thing is truly sad

And it makes this a lot more awkward.



Still, I'm sure the machine is glad he got his mind right.