So, Sanders goes on CNN for a town hall, and gets asked an uncomfortable question.

[LongtimeAZDem]

CNN is immediately attacked by Sanders supporters for "unfairly" seeding the audience with operatives of the Democratic party.

Then, he goes on FOX News (widely accepted here as a right wing propaganda venue) for a town hall, and gets cheered. This is hailed by Sanders supporters as completely genuine.

What's wrong with this picture?

[DownriverDem]

1. Focus

Bernie can not win the electoral college. He can not win the fly over states. Say hello to trump's second term. Folks need to wake up.

[zipplewrath]

2. You're right

We should nominate a more mainstream kinda candidate. Ya know, like we did last time.

[R B Garr]

3. We should definitely not smear our mainstream

candidate like the last time. Hence the common knowledge about protracted primary fights.

We should also not nominate someone who has staff encouraging third party votes.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

4. Wait, just so I'm straight in the point you are making.

1. fuck that guy that is running in the primary.
2. don't talk badly about people running in the primary.

I'm beginning to think this isn't really about the election but your feelings toward Sanders.

[George II]

8. Funny how when someone summarizes what someone else says, it gets boiled down to....

....nothing like what that person actually said, all tied up in a neat package with a left-handed slap at the person being summarized.

[R B Garr]

10. HA, that's pretty much what I was thinking, lol.

It wasn’t a very clever way to start talking about me instead of the undermining attacks on our mainstream candidate.

[tiredtoo]

38. easy there do not offend the masters. EOM

[Cha]

69. Who the hell you talkin' about? "masters"?

Care to share what your insult is all about?

[tiredtoo]

74. Sorry I have already said too much. nt

[Cha]

75. Yeah.. you showed you don't know what

you're talking about.

[tiredtoo]

77. Wont be baited into going over the line, sorry.

Have a nice day.

[Cha]

78. I'm not "baiting" you. I'm responding to

your tired "masters" dig.

[tiredtoo]

86. ok, sorry if i offended you. nt

[Cha]

87. You're misreading again.

[tiredtoo]

88. why did you reply to my original post here?

[Cha]

89. Why did you post "easy there do not offend the masters"?

[tiredtoo]

90. it should be self explanatory. You appear to have got something out of it. What did it mean to you?

[Cha]

91. Just as I thought.. you can't answer the question.

[tiredtoo]

92. No, no, no I asked the question. you are supposed to answer. what did you get from my original post?

[Hekate]

55. Well, she did win by 3 million votes, & that was after hacking, cheating, New Jim Crow, & treason

How should we deal with those issues this time?

[zipplewrath]

59. She lost

For all those reasons, although no one has ever traced a single "hacked" vote. The Russians sure spun up the deplorables though. Those voters list that the campaign gave them surely helped.

[Hekate]

84. "Hacking" is not just vote-flipping. Russian bots/trolls/operatives are now known to have...

...reached out to all 50 states electronically (at a minimum). In what manner? With what results? How about we find out before saying they did nothing to change our votes.

Hillary won the popular vote by 3 million. Yes? The Mad King is sitting in the White House through NO fault of Hillary's. The election was rigged -- just as Trump said so many times. Wouldn't you rather have Hillary Clinton running our government?

[zipplewrath]

107. So she didn't lose?

I'm confused on this point. Because I keep getting lectured on how she won.

[Hekate]

119. The election was rigged. It was stolen. We wuz robbed. The will of the people was overthrown.

Many more of us wanted (and voted for) Hillary Clinton than wanted (and voted for) Trump. That piece of it is what maintains the last shred of my hope in my fellow citizens.

Acknowledging all this does not make us sore losers -- it is an acceptance of grim reality that should spur us all on to fight.

[zipplewrath]

120. It wasn't rigged

Yes, a tremendous number of people were conned. Not much new for an election. It was new that some of the conning came from the Russians. But mostly what the Russians did was to "tempt" peoples worst instincts. But in the end they chose to vote for the moron.

Elections have consequences and I hope for a few cycles some people have learned this.

[Cha]

76. Some can't handle that Hillary

got so many votes with all these negative forces against her.. including jill RF stein.

Link to tweet

Second, a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters weren’t big fans of Clinton. So Stein campaigning on the idea that Clinton and Trump were similar made it harder for Clinton to win over those voters — even if Sanders voters didn’t vote for Stein, they may have stayed home out of disgust.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/jill-stein-democratic-spoiler-or-scapegoat/

[Hekate]

85. No kidding

[zipplewrath]

108. Some can't handle

That she lost.

Strangely I'm probably one of them. None the less, she did.

[Cha]

118. It hurt the whole world that it

was stolen from Hillary and us.

[LanternWaste]

56. After this, therefor because of this.

I'm guessing that's on the back of the t-shirt...

[Cha]

68. Hilllary had a Progressive Platform and she

had millions more votes.

There were just too many Fucking Idiots Hatemongering and Lying against her.. including fucking jill Liar Stein.. the Russians, the M$M, comey, and voter suppression.

[zipplewrath]

106. But she was our best candidate?

Or so I was told. So what will be different this time?

[Cha]

117. Of course she was.

[rebe303]

18. Blue

We "lost" the Blue Wall because of Russian hacking.
Please let's get serious Vote Blue and unite behind Whomever wins the nomination.

[brooklynite]

31. You'll never convince some people...

...especially when the answer excuses the questioner's candidates from doing anything differently.

[Cha]

79. Yeah, that poster won't be

doing much "convincing".

[SleeplessinSoCal]

49. Republicans who hated Trump, hated Hillary more based on fabricated info.

The fact that "Lock her up" HRC received nearly 3 million more votes than the real criminal is so haunting. And it causes many of us to resent Bernie's supporters.

By favoring Capitalism over Democracy, stupid Stephen Moore and DT are saying we don't deserve any form of healthcare coverage. We need a candidate to point out the clear goals of the GOP. Denying Climate Change and an action to protect us, costs to rectify our delay keep increasing along with the side effects - Earth's and peoples' Healthcare.

Jay Inslee may be the most astute of them all. But American voters seem pretty darned confused. Professor Warren could help us understand our mission.

(I realize I'm meandering. But wanted to express my deepest concerns.)

[namahage]

64. Hey there sm6.

Welcome to DU, where we support Democrats, not Trump.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

62. I resent Bernie supporters in my own backyard who divided the 2016 DNC.

Please read my disclaimer.

BS supporters' endless chants fed the "lock her up" crowd watching from home in the rust belt and across the whole country, with no concern about how they were actually helping Trump by that point in the campaign.. This year those same CA supporters chant his name even though his most unrealistic policy proposals would face massive obstruction in Congress.

To me, his way or no way is no way to follow DT.

[hedda_foil]

94. As Obama amply proved to his and our dismay, they will not support ANY Dem proposal.

So we might as well shoot for our true goals instead of trying to compromise our ideals to win support we will never get. They'll call ANY Dem idea Socialist whoever propose s it.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

98. I believe Warren is in agreement with Buttigieg on Medicare for All.

It is going to require more than votes, money, doctors, nurses and facilities. It's going to take time and most likely a gradual move as we build hospitals. Maybe convert insurance companies into urgent care facilities?

[onit2day]

17. People are waking up. That's why Bernie is our leading candidate.

[MrsCoffee]

103. Except he's not.

He is still getting beat by a guy who hasn’t even officially announced yet, lol.

[BannonsLiver]

124. In what reality is that true?

Is there a parallel universe I don’t know about?

[corbettkroehler]

26. His 50-State Strategy And Growing Lead With Prove You Wrong

Per this well sourced video, Biden and Sanders are effectively tied. However, compared with the field, Sanders continues to improve. Moreover, in 2016, Sanders didn't have the time or infrastructure to scale out to all 50 states. This cycle he does and will.

Care to wager that Sanders will win the primary and multiple flyover states? I'm in for real money.

[Tiggeroshii]

35. Vermont has the same demographics as NH. But unlike NH, it is reliably Democratic.

Somehow that wasn't the case before Bernie became popular there. It was a reliably Republican state. If he can do that for VT, he can do that for the other formerly reliably blue states like WI, MI and PA. If nominated, he will win the flyover states, unlike the candidate we nominated last time.

[namahage]

70. Democratic, right up to their governor.

What?

OK, so he won in 2016, beating the Dem challenger 52-44. Surely, they wouldn't repeat this in 2018, right?

[Tiggeroshii]

72. I stand corrected. It is still somewhat Republican.

And this far left socialist happens to win about 70% of the state every time. Sanders will destroy Trump in the electoral college.

[KitSileya]

97. Yeah, Vermont is such a haven that its only Black legislator was threatened out of public office

It's too bad Kiah Morris didn't have a nationally known Senator from her state who could have put a spotlight on her plight and supported her loudly and proudly....Someone who could have used her case on the Sunday shows such a senator would frequent so often to illustrate how Trump has increased hate crimes in the country, even in reliably blue Vermont....

[MrsCoffee]

101. +1

[betsuni]

109. +1

[True Blue American]

111. But

[Not to mention from what I have heard from many who live in Vermont they have one health provider, very few Doctors and the young are leaving in droves to find jobs.

The elderly regularly turn down School funding because they can not affored them on fixed incomes.

[AlexSFCA]

54. I would argue BS has MUCH better chance at winning

MI, WI and PA than Biden. The voters there seem to hate nafta and other trade deals. You can’t win those states without former Obama voters who turned trump. But they can be won back, just not by Biden who is exact copy of HC policy wise. We don’t know if Biden will run for president.

[garybeck]

93. not true

i live in vermont. bernie has a way of getting rednecks on board. i've seen it happen many times.

[KitSileya]

96. Yup, appealing to white men and women he's very good at.

Sure is good that the US doesn't have a problem with white supremacy!

[BannonsLiver]

123. I bet the Vermont rednecks are a lot different than the rednecks in my blood red state

“Vermont rednecks”

[Blue_Tires]

5. I don't dare answer lest I get another 50 alerts to the mods...

[corbettkroehler]

33. Heard That!

I few months ago, I commented on DOCUMENTED FACTS AND KNOWN TRUTHS FROM THE 2016 CONVENTION and received multiple alerts. Some folks here simply can't bring themselves to accept that Bernie is a Democrat and the most Progressive candidate when consistency and durability and included in the calculus.

GENERAL QUESTION TO ALL READERS: If Bernie isn't a Democrat, why does this board have a group for him in the topic labeled "Democrats 2020"?

[John Fante]

65. Answer: your guess is as good as mine.

Bernie is a Democrat when it's convenient.

[MrsCoffee]

104. He is not the most progressive Senator.

He ranks 9th. And his recent scores weren’t helped by him voting against Russian sanctions multiple times.

Kamala Harris ranks the most progressive Senator.

As far as why Bernie isn’t a Democrat, you would have to ask him. He filed paperwork to run in 2024 as an Independent. Bernie is a Democrat when it benefits Bernie.

[corbettkroehler]

112. If He's Not A Democrat, Why Does DU Classify Him As Such?

In case you missed it, this is the page which DU maintains for him in the category labeled "Democrats 2020".

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1296

[MrsCoffee]

113. Because DU is a private website and they can do whatever they want here.

How does that change any facts?

[LongtimeAZDem]

114. +1

[corbettkroehler]

125. Change Facts?

If you don't want to follow the Democratic primary and/or party activities, why patronize a website which, by your definition, lies to you?

[MrsCoffee]

126. What the hell are you on about?

I'll patronize any website I want for any reason I want.

But thanks for playing.

[tiredtoo]

40. Amen EOM

[George II]

6. Not only was he on Fox News, but he criticized, to a right-leaning (if not right wing) audience....

....the Democratic Party, the DNC, the Democratic Party structure, and the Democratic Party nomination process.

[R B Garr]

9. Wow, that is inexcusable. It makes you wonder who he wants

to gain cred with, although I guess it’s pretty obvious.

[George II]

11. Well I haven't done a scientific survey, but of all of my Democratic friends ...

...(being active in local Democratic politics for more than 20 years I know hundreds), I'm not aware of a single one who watches fox news, so the audience was probably 99% republican.

[pnwmom]

30. Or the audience was full of people in both parties who wanted to see Bernie and get on TV. n/t

[LongtimeAZDem]

13. He got a FOX crowd to boo Trump and FOX, and you believe that it was a real event?

MIRT request

[progressoid]

36. MIRT is Malicious Intruder Removal Team

He/she is implying that you are a malicious intruder https://www.democraticunderground.com/10139227

Welcome to DU!!

It does NOT mean Men In Red Tights...

[progressoid]

43. You picked a fun time to join.

The primary season gets kind of contentious around here.

[Politicub]

58. Welcome.

DU is wonderful. I’ve been a member for years. It’s a real community made of all sorts of people who converse about all sorts of topics.

If I could give you a bit of constructive criticism, get to know us before you declare that, “commonly held opinions here seem to be out of touch with the electorate at large and the progressive base”.

Members run the gamut of views. It gets lively around primary time, but the mods are doing a fantastic job with keeping things civil. The more you participate, you will see how diverse we are.

Oh, and this is a Democratic forum. The great thing about our party is how diverse we are. At our best, we all come together. We learned from 2016.

[onit2day]

21. You obviously didn't watch the townhall. Also it wasn't FOX NEWS. It was a

townhall on FOX in Pennsylvania. He said about the above they are straightening up their problems and "it will be fair". Some "criticism" huh. There are those here who try so hard to demean Bernie using petty inconsequential issues. The same players every time. Bernie deserves our praise for his fantastic showing in a townhall on FOX which won over a lot of FOX viewers. Positive democratic attention deserves praise.

[George II]

25. It was on Fox News. I guess I saw more of it that you did? I shudder to post a link to it...

...since it IS Fox News, but here it is:

[onit2day]

28. Says "FOX news "Channel" not FOX news.

You always post all you can find to demean Bernie. You have no credibility with me on being positive toward our candidates since you have a history of attacking Bernie at every opportunity no matter how petty. Bernie did a great job on FOX townhall but you say nothing good though it made all democrats look good.

[MrsCoffee]

51. Wait... there is a difference?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News

Fox News (officially Fox News Channel and abbreviated FNC)

The channel was created by Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch to appeal to a conservative audience, hiring former Republican Party media consultant and CNBC executive Roger Ailes as its founding CEO.[2][3]

[sheshe2]

83. Bingo!

[TwilightZone]

81. Fox News Channel and Fox News are the same thing

You might want to spend ten seconds looking it up next time before you post so you don't look silly.

[BannonsLiver]

122. The audience was packed with his supporters

He didn’t win over anyone.

[Politicub]

57. Were you watching something else?

He did no such thing.

He remarked on the superdelegate change and how the prior way could skew primary results.

He did not speak in a disparaging way about the Democratic Party at all. He even said the campaign stays in close contact with the DNC via a weekly call or meeting.

[California_Republic]

7. He did a great job. I'm glad he is out there

But I agree, He will be unable to be Trump

[onit2day]

24. He will beat Trump by larger numbers than any other candidate.

[BannonsLiver]

121. Fantasyland stuff.

[artislife]

20. What I find strange, not really!

Is that no one is declaring that any other of the candidates who are in the lower than 5% to give up already. Like Inslee, who is my heavy favorite, or Booker who is barely making a mark.

No, just Bernie, who I supported last time but feel he and two others are too old to elect. Gosh the handful of Yang supporters here have me want him to field better because they are just as enthusiastic about their candidate as those who support the old guy. Which ever old guy you like..

NO difference in interpreting crowd reaction by any of them.


So I guess my answer is, supporters are routing for their candidate.

[pnwmom]

34. The reason for that is the candidates like Inslee are still barely known

to the nationwide audience. There hasn't been a single debate yet or a single primary.

Not true with Bernie. He is at the top of name recognition, but he lost to Hillary last time by 4 million votes. It seems extremely unlikely that enough of those 4 million will switch to Bernie to help him win this time. Why would any Hillary primary voter -- who he has never made any outreach to -- choose him instead of one of the others?

[OilemFirchen]

73. I would happily declare that 13 of the 17 choices should bow out.

But I won't give you the satisfaction of naming them.

[artislife]

80. It would have been short lived anyway. Good choice. nt

[mac56]

22. Yup, right on time. The Sanders Daily Dogpile.

You can set your watch by it.

[LongtimeAZDem]

32. So, you trust FOX? I ask for information only.

[mac56]

37. Riiiiiight.

[BlueFlorida]

23. K&R nt

[Kurt V.]

27. zzzz

[seta1950]

39. Bernie is not a democrat

He’s using the Democratic Party and then attacking them

[rzemanfl]

45. Have to wash socks. BBL. n/t

[Thekaspervote]

41. JUST mho the gopeee think they can beat bernie so he gets a pass..he's been tagged a socialist

And they will run with that.

I realize the link I attached is from the hill, but...this who we are up against

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/432734-americans-do-not-want-socialism

[hedda_foil]

95. It hasn't dawned on anyone that they'll call ANY Dem including Biden a socialist?

Because they will.

[Amimnoch]

46. .. hold my tongue.. follow the rules.. -nt.

[Hekate]

48. Oh dear. Deary deary me.

Awkward.

[MyNameGoesHere]

52. March 17th 2020

Less than a year till we get to see an epic fail. I got my fucking 10 pound bag of popcorn kernels sitting at the ready. As the Independent Senator from Vermont takes one of his small primary victories, his own state, the thud of another failure will be sweet and salty with all that popcorn I'm going to devour.

[walkingman]

53. Do Bernie supporters think it is necessary to attack other Dems simply becuase they

don't support Bernie? or Vice-versa ? I hope this time the Dems and Independents come together and stop this stupid childish tribalism. Beating Trump is the goal and it will take everyone pulling together to do it. There are a awful lot of uninformed and deplorable voters in the WPP (White People's Party)

[artislife]

82. Funny how we see the opposition as churlish

The rest of your post is spot on.

[walkingman]

110. I learned a new word today - thank you!!

[artislife]

115. It's a great one! nt

[SleeplessinSoCal]

99. It appears that many do.

It's one reason I have grave concerns. The animus is very debilitating. So much negativity.

[eilen]

100. I have not seen the town hall yet so can't yet comment on that

But I am one of those people who voted for him in the Primaries in 2016, then voted for Hillary Clinton in the General and now, in retrospect, not feeling him in this cycle.

I've gotten to know him better. If today me revisited 2016 me, I would have probably voted for Hillary in the Primary.

I want to vote for someone who has a. had better record of success in law-making and b. has a better chance of winning the General. Bernie, to me, is not the best answer.

I'm sure he's a great guy.

[betsuni]

105. CNN: corporate media conglomerate spin corruption fake rigged.

Fox News: okay.

[coeur_de_lion]

116. Plenty wrong with this

Dude is starting to scare me.