Unless the Democrats Run Sanders, A Trump Nomination Means a Trump Presidency

[monicaangela]

Democrats need to seriously and pragmatically assess their strategy for defeating Trump. A Clinton run would be disastrous; Bernie Sanders is their only hope.

by Nathan J. Robinson


With Donald Trump looking increasingly likely to actually be the Republican nominee for President, it’s long past time for the Democrats to start working on a pragmatic strategy to defeat him. Months of complacent, wishful insistences that Trump will disappear have proven false, and with a firm commanding lead in polls and several major primary victories, predictions are increasingly favoring Trump to win the nomination. If Democrats honestly believe, as they say they do, that Trump poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of the country and the lives of minority citizens, that means doing everything possible to keep him out of office. To do that will require them to very quickly unite around a single goal, albeit a counterintuitive one: they must make absolutely sure that Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee for President.

The electability question should be at the center of the Democratic primary. After all, elections are about winning, and high-minded liberal principles mean nothing if one has no chance of actually triumphing in a general election. Hillary Clinton has been right to emphasize that the pragmatic achievement of goals should be the central concern of a presidential candidate, and that Bernie Sanders’s supporters often behave as if this is immaterial.

Instinctively, Hillary Clinton has long seemed by far the more electable of the two Democratic candidates. She is, after all, an experienced, pragmatic moderate, whereas Sanders is a raving, arm-flapping elderly Jewish socialist from Vermont. Clinton is simply closer to the American mainstream, thus she is more attractive to a broader swath of voters. Sanders campaigners have grown used to hearing the heavy-hearted lament “I like Bernie, I just don’t think he can win.” And in typical previous American elections, this would be perfectly accurate.

http://static.currentaffairs.org/2016/02/unless-the-democrats-nominate-sanders-a-trump-nomination-means-a-trump-presidency

[swilton]

1. The premise of this article - that the Democratic Party

cares whether or not Trump is elected - in other words that the Democratic Party cares about what is good for the country - is a flawed premise. We have seen over and over again that what the Democratic Party cares for is the 1% who run this country....to think that they would consider doing anything for the common good is out of touch with what has been going on for the past 30 years.

They ignored the anti-Iraq War movement and neutralized the peace movement during Obama's presidency. Then they ignored the Occupy Movement. They are ignoring, dismissing and sabotaging the Bernie Sanders movement.

[RKP5637]

3. I've not felt being a part of the democratic party for years, but I've hung on hoping for better.

Bernie is the first one to come along in years that sounds IMO like the old democratic party.

[RKP5637]

2. Hillary carries a lot of baggage which will make her an easy target for Trump. She represents full

well 'The Establishment' which millions and millions of Americans are fed up with. Right or wrong and no matter what she says, I doubt she will be able to shake that perception by millions of voters, and Trump will make full use of this perception.

[appalachiablue]

4. K & R. Excellent article Read ALL of It.

[Mufaddal]

5. This is a profoundly sobering analysis

The most salient part (to me, at least), which really summed up the urgency of the moment:

One’s support for Sanders should increase in direct proportion to one’s fear of Trump. And if Trump is the nominee, Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race and throw her every ounce of energy into supporting Sanders. If this does not occur, the resulting consequences for Muslims and Mexican immigrants of a Trump presidency will be fully the responsibility of Clinton and the Democratic Party. To run a candidate who can’t win, or who is a very high-risk proposition, is to recklessly play with the lives of millions of people.

[malokvale77]

6. The establishment Democrats will do just as well under Trump.

All the major Democratic causes have sold out to corporate lobbyists. I won't bother listing them, we all know who they are.

In the past week they showed they were willing to sell us out on the SCOTUS nominee.

What's left to scare us with?

[WillyT]

7. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!