tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903235483068862940.post556508237586474389..comments2024-03-19T15:24:48.864-07:00Comments on Green Eagle: Satisfied Yet, Bernie?Green Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13477132834757467690noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903235483068862940.post-78556141360544490402016-05-14T18:08:13.923-07:002016-05-14T18:08:13.923-07:00Exciting people. Hitler excited people. Mussolin...Exciting people. Hitler excited people. Mussolini excited people. FDR won not because he excited people, but because he represented the only sane change from the policies that had already brought three and a half years of depression. I'm only speaking for myself, but I don't want to be excited; I want a competent leader who can be trusted if not to do the right thing all the time, at least to not do the wrong thing every time. And by the way, I've listened to Bernie for years on Thom Hartmann's show. I like him a lot but he is as capable of being wrong as Hillary, or any of the rest of us, is.<br /><br />Infidel, I agree that things depend a lot on what Bernie does after Hillary has a lock on the nomination, but it didn't need to come to this point, where he essentially has a lot of damage to undo. As for the PUMAs, I followed them fairly closely in 2008, and I think that most of them were not Democrats at all, but Republican dirty tricksters. A lot of the Bernie-bots may be too, but there are a lot that aren't. Of course, as I predicted (no credit to me- it was obvious) the Republicans are all going to get in line behind Trump, but there is a difference between the left and the right. I quote again the well-known saying: Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line. And it's a lot harder to fall out of love than it is to get into the approved line.Green Eaglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13477132834757467690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903235483068862940.post-66289641143388420942016-05-14T16:18:59.771-07:002016-05-14T16:18:59.771-07:00I wouldn't put too much stock right now in pol...I wouldn't put too much stock right now in polls showing that so many Bernie supporters won't vote for Hillary. That kind of thing happens in most hotly-contested nominations, and in the end most voters do stick with their party's nominee. Recall the PUMA phenomenon in 2008 and how little difference it ultimately made. The Republicans' divisions are far more substantive, but even on their side there's some movement to coalesce around Trump.<br /><br />At this point, much depends on what Bernie does <i>after</i> Hillary is formally nominated (as opposed to merely being the inevitable nominee as she is now). If he keeps his implied commitment to strongly support her against the Republican candidate, he can probably bring most of his supporters along. If he goes rogue, he could do some real damage. In that scenario -- or, really, regardless -- Hillary might be well advised to choose Elizabeth Warren as a running mate. Most of Bernie's supporters are the kind of people who wish Warren was running and settled on him as an acceptable substitute.<br /><br />But, yes, this whole thing is a distraction we don't need.<br /><br />MS: <i>the reason Bernie is still around is because Clinton doesn't excite people</i><br /><br />It was a month or two ago, but I've seen polling data showing that Bernie and Hillary supporters are actually about equally enthusiastic about their candidates. Moderates are part of the Democratic base too, and the idea of the first woman President does excite a lot of people, just as the idea of the first black President did. And while Hillary certainly isn't as radical as Sanders, she deserves to be called a liberal, based on her position on most issues. And she's a lot more likely to be able to actually get things done if elected. I care about practical results, not ideological purity.<br /><br />Our party has to unify whether the nominee is a leftist or a moderate, because the Republicans are insane. I've supported Hillary through the whole campaign, but if Bernie had won the Democratic nomination I would have done my damnedest to help him get elected despite the flaws I see in him, because making sure the next President is a Democrat is far more important than <i>which</i> Democrat it is.<br /><br />As things turned out, it's Bernie's crowd that now needs to recognize that. It shouldn't be beyond them.Infidel753https://www.blogger.com/profile/10965786814334886696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903235483068862940.post-55757174150778324262016-05-14T13:16:42.653-07:002016-05-14T13:16:42.653-07:00Come on, Green Bird. Can't you acknowledge tha...Come on, Green Bird. Can't you acknowledge that the reason Bernie is still around is because Clinton doesn't excite people? She is more conservative than Obama, and that has clearly divided the Democratic base. I agree Bernie should step aside if he respects the DNC. But that's just the point. The DNC doesn't respect him. And I am among millions of former Democrats who are fed up with the party not reflecting our liberal values. While the GOP is imploding, the Democrats have no liberal leader to unify it.Mister Sterlinghttp://modifiedlimitedhangout.comnoreply@blogger.com