Can Bernie Sanders Win the Love of a Party He Scorns?

[workinclasszero]

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 August 10, 2015

"You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.”

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?’”

Bernie Sanders, everybody—the same Bernie Sanders who is running to become the Democratic Party’s candidate for president of the United States.

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

[MohRokTah]

1. I know I'll never vote for him under any circumstances. eom

[think]

14. Yes. You've made that quite clear....

[thesquanderer]

19. There are HRC supporters like you who will never vote for BS...

...and there are BS supporters who will never vote for HRC.

But I think most of us here--at least in any swing state where each vote matters--would vote for whoever the Dems put up, just to prevent a Republican from winning, especially with the likelihood that the next president will have the opportunity to alter the Supreme Court.

[BlueCaliDem]

36. This HRC supporter will vote for whomever wins the Democratic primary.

I fully embrace that Republicans, ALEC, and the Koch Bros are our adversaries. Not Sanders or O'Malley.

[tblue]

53. Bernie supporter here, same goes for me

I have my issues with her but electing another Repub POTUS is unthinkable.

[kenfrequed]

47. Feh...

A lot of people talk tough about that sort of thing...

But honestly, the overwhelming majority of us will stumble to the polls a year from November and vote for the presidential candidate with a big D next to their name no matter who it is.

I am no different on that score. It surprises me that you are that anti-Bernie. That is only a few shades away from the Democrats for Nixon that were so angry when McGovern took the nomination that they threw the election to Richard Nixon. And that had such wonderful results.

[roguevalley]

73. he already has. he's the democrat as in FDR

[MohRokTah]

74. FDR was a Democrat.

Sanders is not.

[dorkzilla]

2. As a life-long Democrat, I have NO problem with what he has said. nt

[workinclasszero]

4. Quote....

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?’” Bernie Sanders


"You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.” Bernie Sanders

Thats some pretty stunning hypocrisy if you ask me.

[Armstead]

6. So I guess you'd prefer he'd run as a third party spoiler

[workinclasszero]

9. Oh Bernie is going to run as a third party spoiler

IMO when he loses the democratic nomination.

He very clearly has nothing but contempt for the party anyway and I'm sure his diehard followers will be demanding it.

[Sheepshank]

30. I see Bernie working in that direction already

yes, he would be the spoiler and herald in a Republican. And then the Bernie Supporters will try and turn the narrative into, "well you shoulnd't have pissed off Bernie and you should have voted for him and then we wouldn't be in this mess".

[kenfrequed]

48. He has already stated he will not

And he actually keeps his word when he gives it.

You are trying to paint him as some kind of dishonorable, lying, politician that does not keep his promises. Considering how good Bernie's record is I actually feel sorry for you.

[dorkzilla]

8. I don’t agree. He’s right. DWS et al are proving it every day. nt

[mmonk]

3. .

[elana i am]

5. i'll say this much

he ain't lying.

"i didn't leave my party, my party left me," and all that. especially now that wasserman-schultz and the DNC have proven to be absolutely despicable.

[tblue]

57. ^^THIS^^

Not his fault of the party doesn't live up to its own principles. The Democratic Party is not infallible. It's not sacrosanct. It's not the Pope.

[whatchamacallit]

7. The party will love him for saving it

At this point he's the only one who can.

[workinclasszero]

13. The party will love Bernie for this?

"You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.”

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?’”

Uh...sure.

[whatchamacallit]

17. Why should we indeed?

FYI brain dead party fealty is not a virtue.

[LettuceSea]

24. If you haven't noticed, party love is at a low on both sides

The generation of blind loyalty is dying off.

2016 is probably the last gasp, really.

[tblue]

61. Yeah, I think millennials will soon change everything

Clearly what we've got isn't working.

[Adrahil]

16. Oh yeah....

I LOVE it when people tell me I'm ideologically corrupt. Because we are all the "Democratic Party."

This is a big stumbling block for me.

[Sheepshank]

33. Bernie will not party build

he has never stated he would (as have other candidates), and everything he is doing says to be he has not such goal in mind. in fact the opposite.

[djean111]

62. The Third Way-advised New Democrat Coalition is rebuilding the party - to the RIGHT - right now.

We are not all going to go along with that, sorry! And Wasserman-DINO actively and effectively shoots down liberal candidates, we can see that in action here in Florida.

[Art_from_Ark]

10. And yet you support someone you had previously called

a "traitor to the Dem Party" who has a "despicable lack of morals".

[NCTraveler]

11. Sandes doesn't feel scorn for the party.

He has been working from within for decades. Even up to the point to working with them to ensure he isn't challenged. The relationship is closer than people think. A big part of why that relationship isn't well known is because of Sanders himself. He knows his base. It isn't something he will discuss often, though he has discussed it. He knows how to keep his supporters happy and he is more politically savvy than some give him credit for. He knows a huge part of his support is younger people and that the propaganda works on them like a charm. He knows where his bread is buttered and does a great job acting as an outsider and presenting that image to his base, all while having a much closer relationship with the party than they know.

[workinclasszero]

28. Really?

To become mayor of Burlington in 1981, he ousted a veteran centrist Democrat.

To build power, his progressive allies in subsequent elections wrested away city council seats, relegating local Democrats to diminished, third-party status. In a series of statewide races in the late ’80s and into the early ’90s, he outdid even that—getting Democrats to all but wave a white flag when he ran.

“He plays it both ways,” said former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, a Democrat who once successfully fended off Sanders from the left in a reelection bid. “He wants to be different, and yet he wants to belong—for political purposes.”

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

[NCTraveler]

31. “He plays it both ways,”

That is exactly what I was saying.

[BlueCaliDem]

34. Yep. I've noticed that it's his forte. eom

[Armstead]

43. That sounds like effectiveness to me

And totally contrary to the bomb-throwing memes that are thrown against him when your're not calling him a phony politician.

Maybe he actually does what so many claim to believe in -- having strong progressive beliefs and working pragmatically to advance them in real terms.

[babylonsister]

12. #bunchabullshit. Consider the source.

He's allowed to have an opinion, and he's allowed to want to improve the party and system. This infighting isn't accomplishing a damned thing.

[workinclasszero]

15. Consider the source.

"You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.”

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?’”


Ok, the source is Bernie Sanders who is now seeking to lead the very party he slammed in these quotes.

[babylonsister]

18. It's not perfect and he is allowed to point that out.

I don't see him joining any other party or starting his own. You are just invested in pointing out negatives because he's not your preferred candidate. We have 3 strong candidates; we should be applauding that and not knocking anyone.

But do what you gotta do.

[workinclasszero]

20. Did Bernie become a democrat?

Did I miss something?

So far as I know Bernie is still a independent.

This is why I will never trust Bernie Sanders or his supporters. I guess we will see what happens when Hillary gets the democratic party nomination, eh?

I mean we regularly get these huge mega threads with 100 plus recs on DU from Bernie fans promising to never ever never vote for Hillary in the GE.

Call me crazy but I have to think that those same people are going to demand that Bernie run a third party bid.

And seeing as how Bernie actually detests the democratic party, I bet he goes for it.

Time will tell but I can't trust any pledges by Burnie that he won't do that unless he disavows his previous statements denigrating the democratic party.

[babylonsister]

38. Who cares if he did or didn't? That's a label.

I will vote for whomever wins the primary; I am thankful we have them both.

[mmonk]

44. I agree a lot with that sentiment.

I've been a loyal Democrat since I was inspired by Bobby Kennedy to join it. I'm currently 59 years old and the Party has changed, but not me much. But the change is noticeable to many of us.

[Fearless]

21. You're making stuff up and we all realize it. Please stop.

[workinclasszero]

22. Excuse me?

Are you saying Bernie Sanders didn't make these statements?

"You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.”

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?’”

[Fearless]

23. You're making stuff up.

Bernie does not "scorn" the Democratic Party.

[workinclasszero]

25. Bernie's a democrat.....LOL suckers?

To become mayor of Burlington in 1981, he ousted a veteran centrist Democrat.

To build power, his progressive allies in subsequent elections wrested away city council seats, relegating local Democrats to diminished, third-party status. In a series of statewide races in the late ’80s and into the early ’90s, he outdid even that—getting Democrats to all but wave a white flag when he ran.

“He plays it both ways,” said former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, a Democrat who once successfully fended off Sanders from the left in a reelection bid. “He wants to be different, and yet he wants to belong—for political purposes.”

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

[LettuceSea]

27. "He ousted a veteran centrist Democrat" Is that supposed to be bad?

The people wanted Bernie, per the vote.

Is the Democratic Party more important than the voice of the people?

[workinclasszero]

35. The hypocrisy...it burns.

I didn't hear Bernie slamming the democratic party in his speech at the JJ dinner, did you?

How can a person that made these statements....


"You don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party.”

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?’”


Want to lead that very same party?

[LettuceSea]

37. Leader of people > leader of DWS "Democratic" party

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. Why would anyone love any politician? Or, any party?

[portlander23]

29. Who cares

If he wins it will be because people agree with him, or he's attracted enough people to register as Democrats who agree with him. If that means he spurts the current establishment, fine. Establishments change.

[BlueCaliDem]

32. No. eom

[Hoyt]

39. If he wins the nomination, he has my support. I hope BS's supporters feel the same way with Clinton.

[workinclasszero]

40. Sadly very many BS backers promise to never support Hillary

Here is just one example with well over 100 recs...

Fine. I'll say it. I won't vote for HIllary if she's the nominee.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025075831

[GeorgeGist]

66. Perspective ...

23908 views.

[kenfrequed]

49. It would be a hell of a lot easier...

It would be easier if supporters of Hillary stopped referring to Bernie Sanders as 'BS.' Is there a reason to do that? Is 'Bernie' that hard to type?

Is that that silly thing where you refuse to mention the name of your opponent?

I mean, that is about the best possible explanation. There are much, much worse.

[workinclasszero]

64. And heres a fresh thread to show what many BS backers will do if Hillary wins the nomination

Nothing presented on this website will convince me to support Hillary Clinton

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251725451

So much for party unity eh? SMH

[Major Hogwash]

65. I'm never getting into bed with a Clinton again.

Politics may make strange bedfellows, but fool me once, shame on that jackass . . there ain't going to be a 2nd time!!

"Bill Clinton, the best Republican President the Democrats ever elected." ~ Rachel Maddow

[99Forever]

41. Hmmmmm....

Another one of those stinkbait threads, huh?

Good thing my trash bin has plenty of room in it.

[MineralMan]

50. Well, stinkbait works pretty well for catching catfish.

I stopped using it, though. It made my tackle box smell like rotting meat. I switched to nightcrawlers for catfish, which turned out to be a better choice anyhow. I caught more catfish with them and, at the end of the day, I could give any that were left to someone else who was fishing that day.

I made that decision when a middle school kid who was fishing with some friends at my usual fishing spot told me, "That stuff's rude," after asking what bait I was using and taking a sniff.

So, I stopped using stinkbait and never looked back. I'm a little disappointed that a nightcrawler has to die for my sport but, as another kid told me at the fishing spot, "They're worms. Can I have one?"

How does all that relate to politics. Well, stinkbait is rude. It isn't worth it, even though it might catch a few fish.

[frylock]

42. Won't somebody PLEASE think of the 30% of voters registered as Democrats?!

I'm not voting for a candidate because I "love" him.

[restorefreedom]

45. a party whose people he represents better

than most who have a D after their name

[valerief]

46. He doesn't need to win the party. He needs to win the people. nt

[MineralMan]

52. Ah, but he does have to win a bunch of Democratic primaries.

If not, he won't be on the ballot at all. So, yes, he does have to win the party over. No question about it.

[valerief]

55. True, but will he ever win over DWS?

[MineralMan]

56. She gets one vote, just like everyone else.

[workinclasszero]

58. Then why does he cynically use the democratic party

when it suits his own personal crusade?

The cognitive dissonance is extreme, not to mention the bald faced hypocrisy!

“My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt.”

But elect me as your leader? Really Bernie???

[valerief]

60. Change comes from within. The system is set up for two parties only.

The others don't count in presidential politics.

[Autumn]

51. No one cares about the love of the democratic party

but Bernie sure does seem to have a lot of love from the members of that party and members of other parties. I dropped my democratic membership earlier this year after being a democrat for over 40 years, the only reason I signed back up as a democrat is so I can caucus for Bernie. Immediately after that, win or lose I will un register as a democrat and go back to uunaffiliated I have no love for the party or it's leadership

[UglyGreed]

54. The Party that turned it's

back on Progressive values??? Bernie has already made Hilary pretend she is leaning left, he will turn around the Party next.

[workinclasszero]

68. Its the hypocrisy that gets me

That and the laughable fiction the Bernie backers put out about Bernie walking on water and raising the dead.

Bernie's not like all those other dirty politicians..LOL

[UglyGreed]

69. Well I don't like it

when we as a nation have to accept the lesser of two evils and be subjected to scare tactics bullying others to vote the way they want you to vote. Nobody is perfect and I don't know if Bernie can deliver what he has said but like others I willing to take that chance.

[djean111]

59. Bernie has won the love from me, from my 43 YO son, and my 20 YO grandson, and our

friends. I have been a Democrat all my life, my dad was a union shop steward, volunteered at his local Dem headquarters. Took us to see JFK speak in Chester, PA.

IMO the Democratic Party has oozed so far to the right that it is not really the same. Rick Warren? Rahm Emanuel? Debbie Wasserman-DINO and her GOP-loving antics down here in Florida?

Sorry. No sale.

[tblue]

63. I'm with you!

[Agnosticsherbet]

67. I never fall in love with a candidate.

If he wins the nomination, I will vote for him.

As a California citizen, our primary is too late for my vote to mean anything.

[bvar22]

70. I LOVED the Party of FDR/LBJ I joined in 1967.

I do not love the Union Busting, deregulating, sending good jobs overseas, importing low wage workers, Imperial Wars for Resources, Low Taxes on the Rich, blind eye to War Criminals, blind eye to Wall Street Crooks....

That used to be the Republican Party, and I hated the Republican Party.
Why should I love another Party that does the same things?

This IS about equal opportunity, equal access, and equal protections FOR EVERYBODY.....something the Democratic Party has forgotten about.


[font color=firebrick][center]"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans.
I want a party that will STAND UP for Working Americans."
---Paul Wellstone [/font][/center] [center] [/font]
[font size=1]photo by bvar22
Shortly before Sen Wellstone was killed[/center][/font]

[Kentonio]

71. This op is a genuinely strange sentiment for any Democrat..

You don't think he should be running for the nominee of the party? So you'd have prefered him to be running as an independant, and siphoning off millions of votes in the general instead? He's put himself in a position where if the party rejects him, he drops out. I can't imagine a scenario that could suit Democrats any better.

[CentralMass]

72. The party is out of touch with the electorate and

Bernie is the best true Democrat that we have seen in years. I don't agree that he scorns the party. He scorns an agenda that had been bought and paid for by corporate interests.