Do you seriously think Clinton can rally a fractured party like Obama did in 2008?

[Skwmom]

How?

[Fumesucker]

1. By crushing dreams according to one recent OP in GD-P

[UglyGreed]

9. I'm crushing your dreams

[Fumesucker]

14. ...

[UglyGreed]

21. Never heard that

song before. Checked out lyrics, interesting thanks!

[guillaumeb]

28. Have you ever been there?

[Skwmom]

45. I love Green Day. n/t

[PatrickforO]

2. If Clinton wins, I don't see her rallying the Democratic base.

Too many of us feel disenfranchised by the Third Way.

I want the things Bernie is advocating, and the fact Clinton says we can't have them sounds suspicious. Why? Why can't our tax dollars that we pay in be used for our benefit just once instead of for another forever war? She can't answer that.

[NowSam]

31. Perfectly stated

and should be shouted. Why not! ?

[guillaumeb]

46. HRC can answer that. She chooses not to.

[ErisDiscordia]

3. No

I don't think it would occur to her to try, frankly. Nor would she try to rally a fractured nation, since she and Bill and their buddies in the BFEE are the ones that broke it in the first place.

I expect the economy will tank this year, based on all the reports I've seen. I'm hoping it does it before the conventions.

[Zorra]

4. No possibility of that whatsoever. nt

[mother earth]

5. If Clinton wins, the party she will rally is the GOP. nt

[restorefreedom]

6. oh hell yes! thread over. nt

[CharlotteVale]

7. Truer words were never spoken.

[daleanime]

15. Drop mike....

walk away.

[Ed Suspicious]

29. Yes.

[thereismore]

8. I think if she gets the nomination, there will be low Dem turnout and a high Rep turnout.

Bernie knows what this means: republican wins. I don't want to see what happens on DU after that.

[cali]

13. The silver lining to that dark cloud is that it will mean goodbye

to the Clintons.

[thereismore]

16. But the price! SCOTUS at a minimum. But then again, Souter was Reagan's nominee. Go figure. nt

[nc4bo]

10. No.

[Nonhlanhla]

11. Let me share something personal

I was an ardent Obama supporter in 2008, and indeed, I developed a deep dislike for Hillary Clinton at the time, which I now recognize as the product of primary season enthusiasm. That dislike continued until the convention, when I saw the grace with which she helped to nominate Obama. In that moment I saw her, really saw, her for the first time. I realized how hard that must have been. She had fought so hard, and had gotten so close, and yet lost. But she stood there in that convention hall and helped nominate Obama. And in the process she helped rally her supporters to his side.

Here is a video:

Since then I have developed a lot of respect for her. There are things I criticize her for. But I've also come to see the complexity of some of her decision that I have disagreed with (e.g. Iraq), her determination, her fighting spirit, and yes, her graciousness under fire.

That is one of the reasons why I support her this time around.

I am sure that if Hillary is the winner of the Democratic contest, as I fully expect her to be, that Bernie will be gracious and that the two together will rally their respective supporters, so that we can fight the GOP and win in November. And in the event that Bernie is the winner, I know that she will do her part to help elect him, although I have no doubt that it will be very painful to her. Because whatever the differences between them, the GOP as it exists today is extremely dangerous to the health and well-being of people, and cannot be allowed to be in charge of both Congress and the White House.

[daleanime]

19. If Hillary failed to lose the nomination....

yes, Bernie would try. But he would have nothing to work with, a man can only carry so much water with his bare hands.

[still_one]

12. Do you seriously think Sanders can rally a fractured party like Obama did in 2008, after many of

Sanders' supporters have called Hillary every name in the book?

Even within this thread they cannot resist their venom

Good luck with that

[thereismore]

18. I think he can. He is a very gracious man. Have no fear. nt

[daleanime]

22. I think he could pull in enough Indepentants....

to make up the difference.


And do you mean names like sexist and racist? Because I can understand how upsetting that would be.

[still_one]

35. no, I mean names like "war criminal", "worse than bush", "the "c" word" and other junk to describe

Hillary.

It doesn't take too much effort to see he garbage that is thrown at Hillary from supposed "progressives"

Perhaps spamming the PP or Al Franken Facebook page is the way to go if someone doesn't like an endorsement.

Funny that spamming only seems to come from one direction, because I don't see Hillary supporters spamming websites or Facebook pages of endorsements Bernie gets.

As for your independents, let's see how well that works in the red states

[islandmkl]

47. 2008 wasn't THAT long ago....

the blood-letting here was severe...and Hillary HAD to do what she did once she lost or she wouldn't have a goddam chance at 2016....nothing more, nothing less...the fucking graciousness of politics...

[still_one]

48. Just keep this garbage up, and see how far that gets ya

[islandmkl]

52. it will get me as far as i take it...

you've apparently been here a long time...and let's see how far that gets you...

beyond where you are obviously stuck now...

[DanTex]

17. Part of it will depend on whether Bernie is as gracious as Hillary was, and whether his supporters

are as interested in the future of the nation as Hillary's were in 2008. That remains to be seen, but I think that Bernie will do a great job in supporting her and his supporters will understand what's at stake.

[thereismore]

20. Reply #12.

[whatchamacallit]

24. You guys don't get it

Real liberals are freethinkers and don't play "follow the leader". Most will take a Sanders endorsement of Clinton (if it happens) as an expected courtesy, not a mandate.

[DanTex]

25. Do "real liberals" care whether the GOP takes over?

[whatchamacallit]

26. I used to care more

before my party started running lite versions.

[DanTex]

27. Well there you go. If you manage to convince yourself that there's no difference between

the Dem nominee and Rubio/Trump, then you are part of the problem.

[whatchamacallit]

37. Yes, there are differences

depending on the candidate.

[DanTex]

39. Obviously, you're one of the many Bernie fans who are well-off enough not to

mind the loss of social services and rights that a GOP presidency would bring. It's a privilege that not all voters have.

[CrispyQ]

53. A lot of Sanders supporters are engaging in the political process for the first time,

or the first time in many years. I don't think all those votes will translate to HRC if she wins the nom. Old time dems who have voted consistently over the years will support her, but people who joined up this year because of Sanders, will likely stay home like they did before.

I'll hold my nose & vote for her, but I don't think she's the sure thing that dem leadership thinks she is.

[DanTex]

54. Maybe not, we'll see. Part of it will depend on how strongly Sanders makes his case for her.

It's not a particularly difficult case to make -- anyone who believes Sanders' ideals and is not just a cult follower of Sanders himself will obviously recognize that Clinton is far superior to the GOP. But maybe you're right, and it's more about the person than the policy.

[CrispyQ]

55. I believe that Sanders will make an excellent case for HRC,

but I think for new timers it is more about the person. I hope they will consider the person on the GOP side & what life will be like with a repub White House. There is a rabid hate toward HRC on the right & if she's our nom, they will be out in droves to vote against her.

[book_worm]

23. Yes.

[Jarqui]

30. Pass out clothes pins to hold noses and hope for the best!

[Art_from_Ark]

43. Vote for Hillary

The Clothespin Candidate!

[earthside]

32. Hillary is no Barack Obama.

But I would agree with the sentiments of a previous commenter ... if by some disaster she gets the nomination she will totally rally and unite the Repuglican Party.

[bigwillq]

33. Probably not

Obama was a unique candidate.

[LiberalArkie]

34. I think most of the population will just give up, like countries all over the world have.

Although a person can vote does not mean there is a democracy. If the parties that have a chance to win are all branches of the oligarchy then what can the vote change.

[Downwinder]

36. Don't think Bernie wants to be SOS.

[Bjornsdotter]

38. I don't know...

...the assumption has been that the people supporting Bernie are Democrats and Independents that will cross over to Hillary if she were to win the nomination. I'm not sure that is accurate.

However, while those of us who are older may see the Supreme Court as an issue that can sway some, my daughter is a millennial and her generation hasn't lived with the discrimination that older women remember.

My daughter has said she will vote for Jill Stein. My husband will not vote for Hillary and has gone so far as to say he would vote for "the boot guy'. Seriously, he would go Stein also.

I just don't know how this will shake out. I think we will have a better idea as we get closer to the GE.

[thucythucy]

40. I sure do hope so.

I'm supporting Bernie, but if Hillary wins the nomination I'll vote for her.

There's too much at stake for everything I hold dear to allow the Republicans to get anywhere near the oval office. Supreme Court nominations, federal court nominations, the environment, LGBT rights, civil rights, voting rights... The damage to be done by another four or eight years of GOP control of the White House, the House, and Senate would make GW Bush look tame.

And please don't give me the "not a dime's worth of difference" argument. I first heard that one in regards to Nixon/Humphrey, then again Reagan/Carter, then again Bush/Gore. Each time it resulted in a GOP win, and each GOP win lurched the country further to the right.

I have lots of criticisms of the Clintons, but compared to Trump, Cruz, Christie, et. al they fade away.

As to how it can happen, I don't know. Same dynamic works the other way around. Maybe if the two campaigned together for a couple of weeks, or if the loser was allowed to give the keynote at the convention. They're both very smart people with very savvy campaigns, I'm hoping they'll figure out a way before this is over.

[tularetom]

41. The Clintons fractured the party in the first place

20 years ago, while we were all preoccupied with defending Bill Clinton from the consequences of his little intern adventure, the slimy SOB was giving the store away to the corporations.

The public has wised up and a lot more Americans now see the Clintons for the scam artists they always were.

There is no way for Clinton to regain the trust they have lost.

[bigwillq]

42. Fantastic post.

Just about sums up how I feel about the Clintons.

[Jarqui]

44. +1

[sadoldgirl]

49. I don't think, that this will happen.

Many HRC supporters have a wrong idea about
Bernie supporters, who give him their support
due to his policies.

I am sure that Bernie will try his best to help her,
but his "followers" may not listen to him.

What I am very sure about is that if HRC will
become the nominee, the party will shrink
unbelievably. Right now only 30% of voters.
Subtract about 25% from that.

[gollygee]

50. I think either Bernie or Hillary can rally the party

And I think whichever one of them wins the nomination will win the presidency. The other choice will be ridiculously bad.

[Pisces]

51. Don't kid yourself, this party isn't fractured and it is not like 2008. You are trying to hard

to make this a contentious battle.