A suggestion for the restoration of progressive unity:

[charlyvi]

33. We disagree.

Last edited Mon Jan 2, 2017, 01:20 AM - Edit history (1)

If a candidate wants to run in a Democratic primary, he/she should actually BE a Democrat. Not just pledge to support them. We live in a two party system, yes, but if one chooses not to be a member of either party, then one should not use the access or infrastructure from either to try and get elected. It's dishonest. And the consequences can be disastrous to this nation. Sanders knew what the system was and chose to play it. At least Stein and Johnson were straight up enough to not pretend membership in a party they would never join.

No one said anything about a rule requiring long term membership before an election. Long term membership? You're joking, right? He was an independent one day, a Democrat the next day when he declared he was running, then went back to being an Independent when he lost the primaries. Oh, and he filed his paperwork to run for his senate seat again even before the primaries were over; he filed as an Independent. To say that he ran as a Dem is laughable. Putting a D after your name on a ballot doesn't make you one. So I guess you are saying that anyone of any political belief ought to be able to run in any primary because, well, the system. Then change the system. Sanders is supposed to be good at that. But stop saying it was perfectly okay for him to use the party as he did. I, and millions more like me, will always resent him for it.