2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumSpecifically -- what are the views of fellow Bernie supporters out there in SWING STATES ...
of what to do if Hillary is the nominee.
I believe that hanging in there, first struggling over the platform (with many ideas that a lot of grassroots supporters of Hillary among the delegates should be likely to join in on, unless there is an incredible obedience-machinery afoot), and then, after doing the best if Hillary is the nominee to fulfil Bernie's promise to support the Democratic nominee in any case, and THEN, starting day 1 AFTER the November election to use all the resources (contax, etc) gained in the campaign to seize the opportunity to mass mobilize progressives into an opposition (NO MATTER WHICH CANDIDATE WINS) makes the most sense
Note that the appeal to Democrats who may not have supported Bernie in the primaries but who have progressive leanings on many key issues will be MAGNIFIED if Bernie supports the nominee and platform in this election. Those who insist on, say a 3d Party approach here are not going to slog it out over time within the Democratic Party anyway. And Bernie & his base can and should mobilize BOTH within AND outside the Democratic Party, eg having progressive candidates in solid Democratic districts primary nonprogressive Democrats, and in some cases seek the endorsement of a Green or other platform to challenge the Democrat in that setting in the general. (We are NOT talking about situations where any "Trump-like" candidate has the plausible chance of being handed victory thereby -- and there are a LOT of such situations politically, especially increased as a result of systematic gerrymandering.
Note also that if HILLARY is in the White House, there will be much MORE reason, given the means and the effort by Bernie and his supporters to beging with, for the (relatively) progressive wing of the Democratic Party at the grassroots to mobilize to PUSH the party & the country in a progressive direction. Just as we had sometimes more than one RW response televised to the SOTU addresses by Obama, so there should routinely be an opposition televised in the mainstream in response to the SOTU from the LEFT of a neoliberal Democrat. Under Obama, many factors worked against such a major opposition ELECTORALLY being put together in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. For one, there was no significant portion of the African American community ready to join a progressive opposition to Obama on any issue or series of issues, and of course, other progressives would have difficulty mounting a mass movement of white lefties challenging Obama, which would (not without reason) be pilloried. But with Hillary in the White House, even with overwhelming black support (which Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry all also had) failures on issues to be strongly progressive -- and one could more or less count on there being plenty of such failures -- would NOT yield anything like the same resistance to progressive autonomous mobilization.
Although there is great benefit to the Non-electoral oriented efforts of Occupy Wall Street & those many aspects of the Black Lives Matter Movement that are NOT oriented to working within the electoral system (whether candidates or ballot measures), it also makes sense going forward that a well-mobilized broad progressive movement COULD AND SHOULD use all means available, say, in fighting climate catastrophe INCLUDING electoral. In all these efforts, progressives will be in a much better position to develop an independent voice of importance in US politics if there is someone like Hillary in the White House than someone like Trump (putting us back into a neoliberal/progressive alliance of necessity against the right)
stone space
(6,498 posts)of what to do if Hillary is the nominee.
cloudythescribbler
(2,586 posts)stone space
(6,498 posts)iwillalwayswonderwhy
(2,602 posts)I have voted straight Democratic Party for 40 years.
At this time, I am undecided.
NorthCarolina
(11,197 posts)will be to change my party affiliation from Democrat (which it has been since 1976) to Independent.
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)That is the reason why we are where we are. Current Democratic leadership is all the further left the Parties and MSM allow the conversation to go.
Nice ideas, but I personally think that what you desire will not be allowed to occur within the Party as it is today.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)The State of Florida wouldn't let me to vote if I showed up as drunk as I would have to be to cast a vote for Hillary Clinton
Down ticket dem only for me
Howler
(4,225 posts)Write in Bernie or vote third party. After the primary changing registration to indie. I don't know one Sanders supporter here in Dayton that will vote Clinton or Trump.
Vinca
(50,278 posts)She's probably my least favorite Democratic candidate of all time, but at least she's not nuts like Trump. Back to voting lesser of 2 evils.
cloudythescribbler
(2,586 posts)jack_krass
(1,009 posts)I don't see how I vote for HRC. For many reasons, a couple....
-she is utterly corrupt. She (and Bill) has become filthy rich using political positions and connections. Nobody has ever convinced me that the hudreds of millions she got paid for "speeches" is anything other than money laundering or bribes for future service.
-she blew up Libya creating death and chaos. I hate Bush for doing this to Iraq. I see her doing more of this in other countries, because I really just think she enjoys it.
And no I'm not voting for Trump
Jersey Devil
(9,874 posts)That's it. I like Bernie a lot but Hillary isn't the enemy and we certainly will vote for her if she gets the nomination. We are moving in a few weeks, will register quickly when we get there and hope that our two votes makes NC blue!
nc4bo
(17,651 posts)Is a really great guy in the red zones and if the Dems can't get the Obama folks excited or at least 95% less apathetic, NC will go red.