2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumBernie is the first Serious Democratic Prez candidate in years who is 75 Percent Uncorrupted
Last edited Sun Mar 6, 2016, 01:44 PM - Edit history (1)
(Dennis the K could be included in that, but his lack of political acumen kept him a minority candidate.)I'm leaving that 25 percent because Bernie is a politician and nobody's perfect -- and to head off the Clinton meme Machine ("Oh but he tried to steer some defense jobs to Vermont" or whatever.)
You just have to look at his campaign to see that. Huge campaign donations from schmucks like me, rather than Corporate and Wall St. fat cats and their lobbyists and shills.
Ever since the Clintons and the DLC made it an art of drawing Big Donations and creating SuperPacs from the oligarchs, it's been assumed that Democratic politicians have to be beholden to the Rich and Powerful.
But think of what would happen if the Democratic party were to take heed of what Bernie is doing, and started tapping into average voters with a message and agenda that would inspire them to give $10, $20, $50...$100 -- and the max contributions from affluent people who donated for the right reasons rather than buying favors.
Then perhaps, there's be no reason for excuses for not pushing for fair policies and a message that we actually CAN do the right things for the right reasons.
That is very mainstream. I hate to see us blow the chance for real reform that most people really want.
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)Was Walter Mondale. He won one state. His home state MN. Those who don't learn from history are destined to repeat it
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)Scared of everything, scared of the young, the other races, the Russians, the Iraqis, their own damn shadows.
This is a campaign for the young, the upcoming, the best generation ever that will fix the problems the old people have created.
The Democratic party should quit putting down the young people and realize that the young are the future. But then most of the party heads are old people who are scared.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Younger people aren't showing up- where they are is entirely on them. The older generations had the same problems when they were young, lifelong voters like me are an anomaly.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)Oh, they've got their properties that have inflated in 'value' so much that young people can't even afford a small piece of dirt and the old are scared of paying a minimum wage enough so that the youngsters labors are not dirt cheap and the old get medicare and police protection and the military soldiers who die for nothing so the old can be safely sacred.
It's not rude, it's the facts. What's rude are the old people that say "No, you can't".
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)know of. lots of older people are struggling too. safely sacred? I don't even know what you're talking about with this divisive crap.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)...as business as usual. And they've allowed or supported things that are directly contrary to the interests of the majority.
I'm 63 and I've witnessed the devolution of the political system.
I'm not going to downplay past problems. It's never been utopia. But things that are considered commonplace today would have been thought of as appalling and unacceptable when I was younger.
PatrickforO
(14,577 posts)If some lizard like Shkreli did that with a lifesaving drug in say, 1960, there would have been price control legislation passed by a huge bipartisan majority.
At least a few of the big Wall Street crooks that ruined the economy would be in prison now.
Among other things...
DrDan
(20,411 posts)those that are bound to solve the ills of the world . . . if only the party "would quit putting us down"
Armstead
(47,803 posts)Hydra
(14,459 posts)Mind you, that hasn't stopped the politicians from trying to convince the working class and the working poor that they are the "middle class" they are going to save.
Also, the lack of that Middle Class is and should be making the Upper Class nervous- the Middle class was always the buffer that protected the insanely wealthy from the working class and below.
Same ol' isn't going to work anymore.
surrealAmerican
(11,362 posts)He was the "safe" establishment candidate. He won that primary because the more inspiring candidates seemed too much of a risk. We sold out or ideals, and lost.
Nitram
(22,822 posts)Am I on DU?
ibegurpard
(16,685 posts)That taking an unprecedented political opportunity and using it to sell a Heritage Foundation taxpayer giveaway to insurance companies as bringing healthcare to those in need was what a Democratic president should have done?
Nitram
(22,822 posts)Any real Democratic president would have just kept going without any improvement to healthcare at all. How silly of me.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)people to buy overpriced and totten private health insurance.
So yeah.
ibegurpard
(16,685 posts)The Government's protection racket for the insurance companies? Being penalized for not buying insurance you can't afford to use?
Please.
Nitram
(22,822 posts)...children can remain on their parents' insurance plan until age 26, if the insurance company isn't spending at least 80 percent of premium dollars on benefits then money must be refunded to the client, many kinds of preventive care are required to be included, plans must cover mental health services - to name a few.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)He was not nearly as progressive as he might have been were he not beholden to some degree to the big donors. I don't think, for example, he would have handed over the FCC to a former lobbyist for Comcast had there not been the npressure of political influence.
Nitram
(22,822 posts)No understanding of the only way democracy actually works. Negotiation and Compromise between parties in a balance of power can proceed, and incremental goals achieved. But I know, revolutionaries have little patience for compromise, negotiation and debate. They want results and they want them now! It's better to have nothing than to make progress only a step at a time.
ibegurpard
(16,685 posts)To the OTHER TEAM'S END ZONE (guess you forgot the very recent TPP fight) that's not progress. That's regression.
Nitram
(22,822 posts)Personally, I consider the criticism of TPP vastly overblown. But putting TPP aside, Obama achieved a great deal against almost insurmountable odds.
Skwmom
(12,685 posts)bernie_FTW
(43 posts)he is closing in on Hillary with more wins this weekend.
Michigan is OURS!
Vattel
(9,289 posts)As Bernie pointed out, those jobs would be somewhere, so why not Vermont? Bernie is not against having a strong military. The primary function of a military is to deter attack, and we should make sure that our military is strong enough to effectively deter attack. The difference between him and Clinton on issues of war is that Clinton is a hawk. She wanted to invade Iraq. She wanted to use military force to change regimes in Libya. She failed.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)...when we need it to be the new standard for Democrats.