Hillary Clinton
Related: About this forumThe smartly choreographed unification between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders (HRC GP)
President Obama and Elizabeth Warren both endorsed Hillary Clinton last week and had an easy time of doing so, because they never opposed her to begin with. All they had to do was get up and tell their own respective support bases that it was time to get behind her. Bernie Sanders is in a different position. Hes spent the past fourteen months trying to convince his own base that hes better at this than Hillary, that hes going to change the party and change the way elections work, and all of these promises that his base is now expecting.
If he turns around this week and suddenly drops out and endorses Hillary, a number of his fans will feel whiplash, as if it were too soon and they didnt get enough out of it, as if the entire movement had been for nothing. Instead, the best progression for Hillary may be if Bernie gradually nudges his fans in her direction between now and the convention. She can spend the next month throwing him one little bone after another, much of it either superficial or concessions on the issues that she already supported herself, aimed at allowing him to save face. Because the more face he can save, the more of his votes he can deliver to her.
Theres a reason President Obama was trotting Bernie Sanders around the outer corridors of the Oval Office, as if he were a visiting dignitary. Theres a reason that even the Senators who have never wanted anything to do with Bernie, such as Al Franken, are now making a point of talking about what a hero hell be when he gets back to the Senate. Almost no one in the party leadership likes or respects Sanders, but they know that if they can turn him into a momentary deity then his most devoted fans will feel that hes being listened to, that hes now a part of the leadership, and that they can now feel safe voting for the partys nominee Hillary.
For those supporters of Hillary who are frustrated that Bernie hasnt officially said hes dropping out yet, heres the kicker: there is no primary race any longer. Every state has voted. There is nothing for Bernie to compete in, nowhere for him to campaign, nothing to win or lose. Even if he says hes still a candidate, he isnt a candidate for anything. Hes just a free agent wandering around in search of an occasional microphone whose moment of relevance in this election has largely already passed him by. So as long as hes not out there bashing Hillary and not talking about superdelegate fantasies, and hes instead focusing his firepower on taking down Trump, hes not actually hurting anything by pretending hes still a candidate until the convention
Continues in link: http://www.dailynewsbin.com/opinion/the-carefully-choreographed-unification-between-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders/24968/
Her Sister
(6,444 posts)Which means he just doesn't matter and ~all is well. We keep the real fight.
She's got this!
BobbyDrake
(2,542 posts)I mean, he mouths the words, but honestly, because his phrasing is so boring and generic, it comes across as non-committal.
There are two sides, usually, to an agreement, and Bernie Sanders needs to do a better job of holding up his end of this one.
Her Sister
(6,444 posts)Last edited Thu Jun 16, 2016, 06:28 AM - Edit history (1)
and therefore his heart is not really into it. He was more into it when he was attacking DEMS & HRC !
Probably his supporters at the rallies don't care as much when he goes after Trump.
NYC Liberal
(20,343 posts)Every other losing candidate's supporters have had to deal with the fact that their candidate lost. We Hillary supporters didn't get this kind of treatment in 2008. Obama won. Hillary conceded and we all got behind our nominee. Nobody ever insisted that Hillary should get to stay in the race just so we didn't feel "let down."
This is such bullshit. How many other presidential candidates have had to be so coddled lest their ultra sensitive feelings be hurt?
HE LOST! He needs to grow up and concede like EVERY OTHER CANDIDATE!
Sick of the coddling.
Cha
(305,137 posts)filibustering for Sensible Guns Laws right now..
Why should he be coddled? Answer: No damn good reason.
Walk away
(9,494 posts)if this is just another desperate ploy to get free ad time, he is going to look very bad.
Cha
(305,137 posts)the Victims loved ones and thanking the First Responders.
How much attention is BS going to suck out of the air?
Walk away
(9,494 posts)Basic LA
(2,047 posts)He'll run on the Looney Tunes ticket.
Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)#Enough
Cha
(305,137 posts)with this life and death issue.
Wonder if he thought it would be hypocritical since he's been bashing them all this time?
Cha
(305,137 posts)was step away from the podcast and get in on the real Movement! And, do the job he's getting paid to do with taxpayers' money in the Senate.
Al Giordano @AlGiordano
But @SenSanders is too busy working on his Podcast tomorrow to be part of a real movement. Telling.
6:23 PM - 15 Jun 2016
277 277 Retweets 342 342 likes
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/06/15/president-obama-and-the-dalai-lama/#comments
Walk away
(9,494 posts)It's great he is holding Bernie's feet to the fire!
Cha
(305,137 posts)eastwestdem
(1,220 posts)BlueMTexpat
(15,493 posts)So whatever - so long as he's not bashing Hillary and other Dems. If he does ...
DemonGoddess
(5,108 posts)he is no longer relevant. HE LOST. With every action of gracelessness, with not wanting to admit that he lost, he shows how relevant he no longer is. The more he does things like this, the more everyone sees that he is nothing more than a sore loser.
As to coddling his followers, that needs to come to an end. Losing candidates concede. There have been some exceptions, even recently (Hart and Kennedy), that come to mind, but they were DEMOCRATS, whereas Sanders is really NOT a Dem. He shows it every day, how much of a Dem he really isn't.
And then, there's this thing I've seen for a year, of saying he's the new FDR, comparing him to Gandhi and MLK. He's NO FDR, nor is he in the league of people such as Gandhi or MLK. They won't take off the blinders, and we need to, as a party, not be cowed by belligerence from these people.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Until he does, screw him.