I think the ordinary rules just don't apply. We've got an admitted p---y grabber in the white house. Most people's economic situation haven't improved. Bernie isn't my #1, but I just don't think we can look at 2020 through an ordinary political sense. One thing Bernie has above the others, in my opinion, is an ability to communicate clearly and simply, and he sounds authentic when he speaks. That resonates with people, and few of the other candidates have it. Anyhow, my two cents is anything can happen, anything is possible in our topsy-turvy world, even a democratic socialist as president. Fancy title, btw, but he's basically just a liberal.
I’m curious why so many seem to think Bernie securing the Democratic nomination would be a bad thing, or ensure another victory for Trump.
He energizes the youth vote and is building a broad coalition of working class folks and people of color, among others. Isn’t that who we want in a candidate? Someone who actually excites the base and inspires people to vote because they believe in the candidate’s ideals?
Sure, Sanders and his campaign aren’t perfect, and it’s a potential long shot... but saying that he’d never be able to win seems like we’re giving in to darkness & pessimism without a fight. I’d much rather follow with an honest fool trying to make things better (no matter how hard the journey may be) than do nothing at all, or water down our efforts thinking it’s the “sensible” way to victory.
@jovesta Sanders is socialist, Buttigieg is gay, Warren is a woman - pretty much all of the current Democratic contenders have some label that will be twisted against them and used as a demoralizing tactic on supporters. All of it boils down to, “they can’t win because they’re not the status quo,” and I for one refuse to fall for it anymore.
@jovesta Absolutely true. The GOP will run with that one. But if not that, then it would be something else. I mean, they called Obama a socialist for years, and a kenyan, muslims, whatever, and it didn't matter. That's what republicans do. They're masters at smear not matter whether you've earned it or not.
I'm not saying he's the ideal candidate, but I no longe think he's sure to lose. I'm reconsidering my recent pessimism about him. And his ground game is killer, as his ability to fire up the youngsters.
Interesting article on Democratic Socialism:
The Myth of Democratic Socialism
The Nordic countries show the limits, not successes, of Bernie Sanders’s plans.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/08/the-myth-of-democratic-socialism/
@jovesta Bernie has been clarifying that he's a social democrat, not a socialist. Big difference. Denmark is a social democracy. The GOP can and will label him; they did the birther thing on Obama, and, worse, they played the racist issue on Obama.
If Bernie gets the nomination, the dems can hammer away at the true meaning of social democrat. We don't have to buy the GOP talking points. Practically speaking social democracy mainly means moving towards the 1970's where there were better worker rights and benefits.
Also, there is good evidence that the country is going blue regardless of who the nominee is.
@light I read the article and see some interesting truths. I know that in a correctly operating Constitutional government unlike what we have now, the checks and balances would temper the pendulum swing, but it is important to know the pitfalls of the plans that are presented to the voters.
I will support whoever the Democratic nominee is. I just want them to win.
@lynnventura the thing is he has the socialist label which makes him an easy target for the GOP. ?
Dear sweet beautiful @jovesta whose posts I have admired, and all of us who worry:
We must not worry ourselves with anything the GOP says. They are abusers and gas lighters. I have learned from the abusers in my earlier life to shut my ears to them and hang out with light workers.
Abusers will say anything ugly to win. The party that said a trial doesn't need witnesses. The party of child abusers, woman abusers, immigrant abusers and killers, racists, nazis. The party that locks up innocent children in cages and prisons. The party that looked the other way while a sixteen year old child died under their watch. The party that has sold their country to the Kremlin. The Party that is trying its hardest to break the Constitution. The Party that is going to drill in sacred land, national parks, the Arctic. The party that made animal cruelty legal. The party that is responsible, yes responsible for the coming loss of most if not all of the world's coastal cities and all of their history, not to mention untold loss of life from famine.
Come on, you care what they have to say about Bernie Sanders, a good man who has never wavered in his service and who wants our country to be more like Denmark?
We need to focus on winning, not on losing. We are stronger than they are. We are in the light. There are many more of us. They are aging out. We are expanding.
@jeanne-mayell Thank you. I needed to hear that. I have a husband who is so extreme right - it gets to me. But I want to be strong for my kids. I have taken time for myself to refocus. Things have to get better. And I am looking for hope.