Bernie Sanders Leaves the Democratic Party

[RealAmericanDem]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by uppityperson (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Heatstreet

By Emily Zanotti | 5:41 pm, July 27, 2016

The nomination was barely sealed up at the Democratic National Convention before Bernie Sanders, who had campaigned against Hillary Clinton for the party’s nod, went back to being an Independent.

Sanders, who considers himself, officially, an Independent in Congress because his views lean further left than the Democratic party’s platform, caucuses with Democrats. But until declaring an intention to run for the presidency in 2015, he had rarely, if ever, identified as a member of the Democratic Party (he’s been in politics since 1979).

And now, despite pleading with his base to support Hillary, even though they’re concerned that she’s too moderate, Sanders will return to Vermont and to his seat in the Senate, and he’ll do it with no official party affiliation.

Read more: http://heatst.com/politics/bernie-sanders-leaves-the-democratic-party/

[Trust Buster]

1. How can Bernie and his supporters expect to convince a Party to significantly change if they're

only willing to drop by long enough for coffee ?

[GummyBearz]

35. If the DNC screwed me over professionally I'd leave too

[Trust Buster]

37. The people voted and not the DNC. Bernie received most of what he wanted in the platform as well

as DWS's dismissal. So he leaves now in the midst of progress ? Sorry, I'm not buying that.

[secondwind]

46. He did not leave in the midst of progress... his progress stayed behind, as part of the Democrat

Party platform.

[Trust Buster]

50. To collect dust on the shelves ? Very weak.

[avaistheone1]

109. That will never happen.

And if it does the Democratic Party has lost the future - the young people are not going to let the DNC or the Democratic Party conspire against them.

[Trust Buster]

118. But Sanders is bolting the Party.

[George II]

122. He left in the midst of the Democratic National Convention.

[jmowreader]

132. We are NOT the "Democrat Party."

We are the Democratic Party. "Democrat Party" is a term the GOP uses to disparage us. Please never use it again.

[George II]

134. Tells us a lot, doesn't it?

[bklyncowgirl]

79. The DNC was supposed to be neutral. It was not.

Would a neutral party leadership have made a difference in the outcome? I don't know and neither do you. Democrats should thank their lucky stars that Bernie Sanders is a man of his word and did not run as an Independent after the way they screwed him over.

[humbled_opinion]

90. Exactly right

I wonder how it would be on here had the DNC shoe been on the other foot so to speak.. Certainly Bernie would have won the nomination.

[Trust Buster]

120. Was Sanders' staff milling around in Hillary's database an act of respecting neutrality ?

[bklyncowgirl]

142. Nice try at false equivalency.

The Sanders campaign investigated the wrongdoing and fired those responsible. Who has lost their jobs over this? Debbie Wasserman Schultz fell on her sword after the leak and before the ink on her letter of resignation was dry was dry was rewarded with a plum job on the Clinton campaign. A nice thank you and a big FU to Sanders and his supporters.

[lapucelle]

166. It is false equivilancy to compare

data theft with a private email exchanged between two fairly idiotic staffers in which they came up with a stupid idea that was never actually carried out.

And yesterday we had revelations that DNC constituents left voice mails complaining about Sanders. Those bastards! How dare they receive voice mails!

[Charles Bukowski]

152. DNC is supposed to remain neutral PUBLICLY

Privately is another story.

[George II]

85. Remember he wasn't a "Democrat" until April last year, so he was a 16-month "Democrat"...

He spent decades tearing into the Democratic Party and, to use your term "screwing over" the Democratic Party.

Then he "joined" for less a year and a half and even then continued to complain about them (don't forget, his people hacked into the Clinton DNC database)

And now, a day after he didn't get his way (he never was going to anyway) he picks up his ball and goes home.

Sorry, that's not someone to look up to in my eyes.

[GummyBearz]

95. You might want to check his voting record

Specifically the percentage of votes he cast along with the majority of D's. He wasn't screwing them over. For some reason I think the people who are "upset" about him leaving the Democratic Party are the same people who for the last year repeatedly said he wasn't a democrat anyway... it seems that group is actually just upset about any potential challenge to their personal preference

[Indydem]

96. Oh, is that the standard?

Joe Lieberman would be surprised to hear that.

[George II]

97. You might want to check the things he's said about the Democratic Party over the years.

As for those saying he wasn't a Democrat anyway, looks like they were right.

Incidentally, he created his 2018 reelection committee LAST year, he was already calling himself an Independent:

http://www.fec.gov/fecviewer/CandidateCommitteeDetail.do

Name: SANDERS, BERNARD (I - INCUMBENT)
Office Sought: S - SENATE
Election Year: 2018
State: VT - VERMONT, District: 00
Party: INDEPENDENT

http://www.fec.gov/fecviewer/CandidateCommitteeDetail.do

2016 COMMITTEE INFORMATION C00411330
Name: FRIENDS OF BERNIE SANDERS
Address: PO BOX 391, BURLINGTON, VT 05402
Treasurer Name: LORA HAGGARD
Type: S - SENATE
Designation: P - PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE OF A CANDIDATE
Party: INDEPENDENT

[avaistheone1]

116. Advocating that a party reform whether you are a member of it or not is a courageous act.

[lapucelle]

165. Risking the displeasure of your voters to to pass stronger gun laws is courageous.

[secondwind]

42. He left his mark, Trust Buster. He receive many concessions that are now part of the Democrat

Party platform. His efforts were not in vain.

[Trust Buster]

53. If he is unwilling to stand with the Democratic Party and that platform, then dust is that

platform's future.

[hollowdweller]

115. I think the dems can get him back

If Hillary and the dems make good on some of the stuff on the platform I could see him actually becoming a democrat.

Otherwise I'm sure he will vote for nearly anything the dems propose that doesn't give tax breaks to the rich or sell out american jobs or starts another war.

[lapucelle]

162. Or promotes stronger gun laws.

[MellowDem]

83. It won't change...

as long as it's a two party system with first past the post voting.

[0rganism]

131. he wasn't elected to his senate seat as a Democrat

for him to switch to being a Democrat now would, in a sense, be a (minor) betrayal of his constituency

[liberal N proud]

2. If true, that is too bad

But I will say that I predicted this many months ago.

[Omaha Steve]

173. Hillary just thanked Bernie in her acceptance speech and showed him in the audience

This post is discredited. No other source had the story. The source had never been used in LBN before. Seems lots of DUers fell for this story.

[monmouth4]

3. Certainly cannot blame him and I'm thinking of doing the same thing. The way he was treated? n/t

[Demit]

6. Yes, he'd been a Democrat for a whole year & look at the thanks he got!

[think]

7. The DNC thanked him every chance they got....

[stonecutter357]

18. He got more than he deserves.

and i hope the DNC has learned it's lesson.

[think]

21. You mean how to run a campaign without huge donations from the corporations?

Yes. I hope they saw how it was done....

[secondwind]

47. Bingo, think

[asuhornets]

48. No. The lesson is to allow only Democrats to run for President..nt

[think]

49. What were the issues you disagreed with again? Do you prefer he run third party?

[asuhornets]

55. I disagree with the fact that he wants to transform the Democrat Party into his liking

when he is not a Democrat.

[think]

57. Bernie got 43% of the Democratic vote. Did he not? Did he fool them into voting for him?

[asuhornets]

59. They voted for him because they wanted to. But Hillary won. nt

[think]

60. Exactly. 43% of Democratic voters voted for Bernie Sanders.

[stonecutter357]

64. no thay did not open primaries fucked that up..

[asuhornets]

66. Ok. But he lost. He had many supporters, just not enough. He did better than expected. nt

[olddad56]

139. No, we lose. He was more electable that Hillary.

She is very well qualified and I will vote for her, but it will be a vote against Donald Hitler.

[asuhornets]

140. Fine. Thank goodness the primaries are over..nt

[asuhornets]

67. As a staunch Hillary supporter, do I owe him something...nt

[LisaM]

164. Except that it wasn't all the Democratic vote

In states where Independents could cross over or where you didn't need to declare any party affiliation, or where Republicans can vote in the Democratic primary - he tended to do better. Many of the people I know in Washington State who supported him wouldn't really identify themselves as Democrats. He also built up a disproportionate number of delegates through the caucus system.

[tecelote]

61. You mean he's not YOUR Democrat.

His values have always been that of our party.

[asuhornets]

63. And apparently Hillary is not your Democrat..That's the way it works. nt

[tecelote]

71. Not that shallow but nice try.

Proudly voting for Hillary. Proud of Bernie's efforts as well.

[kacekwl]

99. Democrats should be thanking him

for not running as an independent candidate.

[avaistheone1]

107. Clinton would not even had a prayer had that happened.

And Clinton still needs the Bernie folks if she is going to win.

[asuhornets]

106. I didn't disagree with anything, He just wasn't my guy...nt

[Lefty Thinker]

105. It was always a marriage of convenience

Sanders couldn't win without backing from one of the big two and no Democrat could win with Sanders running on an Independent ticket. I think everyone reasonable knew the only way it would last was if Sanders won the Presidency.

Please don't ascribe malice or stupidity on either part or say "OK, lesson learned;" this will happen again and, when it does, the same decisions will be made for the same reasons. The only way to prevent a recurrence is to change the electoral system -- maybe some kind of parliamentary system? Otherwise, complaining about Sanders running as a Democrat is like saying that Democrats should have consigned themselves to defeat as soon as Sanders announced his run.

At least this way he got his run with less, if any, damage to the Democratic nominee.

[avaistheone1]

110. I don't think so.

The DNC at the highest levels were conspiring against him.

[think]

112. Sorry. I didn't use the sarcasm tag but it was sarcasm

[tecelote]

25. Interesting how many people excuse the actions of the DNC

Ethics are not a concern as long as the actions taken are not taken against their candidate?

Wrong is wrong.

[Dustlawyer]

44. Yes, I don't think that with Bernie it's about labels, he is what he has always been.

He ran for us and wanted to do it without weakening our chances against Republicans. He was not going to split the vote and risk a Republican in the WH.

He didn't run for himself, he ran for this country and us!

[Duckhunter935]

56. Don't blame him

I did quite a while ago, the party left me

[renie408]

127. The DNC exists to elect Democrats

Not people who hop on the Democratic bandwagon for convenience.

[True Dough]

4. Too soon!

The strife runs deeper than this, I'm sure, but Hillary swooped in and helped Debbie WS save some face, which was an affront to Bernie (whether intended or not).

Now Bernie has pulled the plug on his affiliation with the Dems in hasty fashion.

At the end of the day, he and Hillary are just too far apart. He couldn't have ever been her running mate or served in her cabinet and, likely, vice-versa.

[NCTraveler]

5. Was anyone at all actually listening to the guy?

What a foolish way to present something that was well known.

How is this LBN?

[downeastdaniel]

9. No, it was a cut deal from before the beginning, as the superdelegates show

[NCTraveler]

10. This was well known.

Sanders himself has talked about it.

[pnwmom]

14. It seems odd that he didn't wait till the convention was even over. n/t

[NCTraveler]

15. He has stated for a long time he would return to Vermont as an Independent.

This is nothing new and has been discussed here. Sanders has been clear on this. The people of Vermont elected him as an Independent and he would continue representing them as one. The only door he left was the possibility of running for his next term as a Democrat, if he runs again.

[pnwmom]

20. As I said, it seems odd that he didn't wait one more day, till the convention was over.

The way he did it, it appears that he's trying to upstage Hillary with his departure.

[NCTraveler]

24. He didn't.

He has said this all along. This is a deceptive story. Very deceptive. Designed to piss people off.

He was asked a question and answered it the same way he always has. Not one thing here is new or news.

[pnwmom]

31. What his campaign spokesman said in that interview was wrong. Bernie could always have been

a Democrat, just like Patrick Leahy, even though Vermont doesn't have party registration. He's just choosing not to be a Dem.

[NCTraveler]

36. He is not going to switch right now as the people elected him as an Independent.

He has often stated that.

I do agree with how you have described that one aspect as incorrect. Just as calling this LBN is wrong.

[Raster]

75. calling this LBN is wrong...

...HOWEVER, calling this flamebait is woefully accurate.

[NCTraveler]

76. That is exactly what it is.

Deceptive flame bait.

[Raster]

81. I have to wonder: Once the convention is over, whatever are the Bernie bashers...

...going to do? Cease the incessant anti-Bernie bullshit and devote their energies into something positive --say, like getting Clinton elected? Probably not. They get much more emotional mileage out of the negativity.

[BlueMTexpat]

135. To get maximum exposure

on the day when Hillary officially accepts the nomination perhaps?

While it is no surprise at all to me to hear that he is leaving the party he hardly ever really belonged to, the timing is not cool, IMO.

He couldn't wait just one more day? Just one?

I hope that there have been a LOT of lessons learned in this experience. Never again.

[chowder66]

11. "If Sanders could register as a Democrat, he would, but that isn’t how things work in Vermont."

If Sanders could register as a Democrat, he would, but that isn’t how things work in Vermont. Sen. Sanders has had a long and close relationship with the Democratic Party. Sanders is a friend of both President Obama and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Sanders has such a good relationship with the Democratic Party that he was given an important promotion to Ranking Member on the Senate Budget Committee.

The fact is that Senator Sanders is not as far out of the mainstream of the Democratic Party as the media and many of his opponents like to suggest that he is.

Whether Sen. Sanders is or isn’t a Democrat isn’t that important. If Bernie Sanders became the Democratic nominee, he would be a Democrat. This is why the Democratic Party has had no problem with Bernie Sanders running for their nomination. Sen. Sanders may not be a Democrat in registration, but his values align with the Democratic Party.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/11/03/time-bernie-sanders-campaign-confirms-democrat.html

[pnwmom]

16. UTTER NONSENSE. Patrick Leahy is the Democratic Senator from Vermont. Bernie could be another one.

In my state we have no party registration, and yet we have two Democratic Senators.

[chowder66]

39. “I was elected as an independent; I’ll stay two years more as an independent,” Mr. Sanders said."

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-mcmanus-bernie-sanders-democrat-20160727-snap-story.html

[LongtimeAZDem]

103. He already filed as an Independent for 2018 last October (nt)

[democrattotheend]

101. Is Vermont a no party registration state?

Is that why he can't change his registration?

[chowder66]

169. Yes.

Though a person can run as a Democrat, Independent, etc. Patrick Leahy ran as a Democrat and Bernie Sanders ran as an Independent.
So you can avow yourself to a party but not register for one.

[democrattotheend]

172. Gotcha

One of many reasons those calling for closed primaries are unrealistic. Many states don't have party registration, so I am not sure how people plan to close primaries in those states.

[rjsquirrel]

12. Lesson learned

No more candidates who haven't been democrats for a few years, I'd say.

At the moment I'd also say the party owes him nothing. Let's see him get out and work for Clinton and a dem congress. Otherwise, I hope we win a big enough majority to tell him to enjoy the view from
the cheap seats.

I used to really like him.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

73. Exactly!! +1,000!!!!

[BlueMTexpat]

171. + a million or so! eom

[Shankapotomus]

13. In an odd way, this kind of vindicates DWS

Bernie was never a loyal Democrat to begin with and his brief positioning himself as one was for political expediency only. He's still a great guy and I wish him well, but he's not a Democrat.

[Odin2005]

17. I find "party loyalty uber alles" to be a creepy, authoritarian notion.

It reminds me of the Marxist-Leninist dogma of "Democratic Centralism" used to silence any criticism of the official party line. He is a solid progressive who caucuses with the Dems, who cares if he is a registered Dem or not?

[Shankapotomus]

74. It doesn't mean you don't recognize the flaws in the Party

It just means you favor a more piecemeal strategy to achieving the same goals and are not willing to risk losing what has been gained in favor of a dream of getting everything in one desperate leap.

It's not a difference of between supporting authoritarianism or not. It's a difference in political strategy.

[BLACK4EVER]

34. I agree

and while my first reaction was "Ain't that a B*tch" . You're right he's basically a good guy (but was never a Democrat) and I, too wish Senator Sanders well.

[avaistheone1]

113. Doing something illegal and unethical is not a vindication of DWS.

I hope Bernie folks who are considering voting for Clinton are reading the tripe on these DU threads.

The Democratic Party has sunk to a new low. Who knew? ....thank you wikileaks!

[Shankapotomus]

119. So you are no longer

supporting the Democratic Party?

[avaistheone1]

123. Clearly I am torn by these revelations and how Bernie has been treated.

As a life long Democrat I am disgusted by what happened at the DNC, and I am turned off by many of the posters' attitudes here at DU.

[rynestonecowboy]

151. Thank you.

I tried my best to avoid the comments during the primary because I would always end up saying things I regretted but now that I'm back reading through all these comments on almost any post I'm really disheartened. The vitriol being thrown at Senator Sanders is far worse than it ever was and the DU really feels like a creepy overly nationalistic echo chamber that it really never was. Everyone should be thanking Sanders, who almost got half the vote, was a man of his word and didn't decide to run a campaign as an independent after all the well documented slights made against him by the DNC.

[Moonwalk]

138. You can say someone is "vindicated" in what they predicted to be true coming true...

That doesn't mean they're vindicated of wrong doings. A person who may have committed an illegal and unethical act can still say, "See I was right." As Julian Assuage proves time and again. Remember, he's accused of having raped two former Wiki volunteers in Sweden and refuses to return to face those charges and prove himself innocent.

[avaistheone1]

141. Are you stating that DWS is vindicated?

[joshcryer]

154. Only because of his shit fake supporters.

If Sanders wasn't made an embarrassment of he may have remained a Democrat.

[stonecutter357]

19. .

[RAFisher]

22. Leaving? He's running for re-election again as an Independent. He said this months ago.

I guess people want to fuel the flames. This is not news, read it. This site is owned by News Corp FYI.

[NCTraveler]

29. How is it so easy for these outlets to twist people up?

There is absolutely nothing new here or newsworthy. Not only that, Sanders didn't out of the blue make some grandstanding comment. He was asked a question and answered it the same way he always has.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

23. I'll will wait until a more credible source announces this action.

I hope he waits until the convention is over rather than prove a distraction to our shared goal of keeping trump away from the White House

[SujiwanKenobee]

26. Oh stop.

Shame. You're coming across like the Speak English in America people. How can you be supportive of multiculturalism if you can't even consider the idea that people can have their own political beliefs and yet work together for the common good. You shouldn't have to convert to a purist D to be recognized for trying for greater betterment in this country,

[Cryptoad]

27. Democrats need to be more careful abt,,,,

who they let run for office under their banner.

[think]

33. They should have forced him to run third party. Because his issues weren't remotely like Democratic

issues.

That'd shown him....

[LeFleur1]

125. Exactly.

Third party candidates have a hard time raising enough money to run for President. Without the DNC money and the money the label DEMOCRAT brought in Bernie would not have had the money he needed. I agreed with many of his ideas until he began to act more like a Republican (or Stein) and bash Hillary in a false and misleading way. It isn't really a surprise that SOME of his supporters are gnashing their teeth, throwing up their hands and pouting. They either do not feel the country is at risk in this election, or they mistakenly believe the right wing hatchet job against Hillary, or they do not care. We'll just carry on without them. Thank you to those who are willing to take the results of the voters and move forward for the country.

Vote Hillary and Vote the House and Senate back to sanity. Stand for your country. Vote Democrat.

[Oneironaut]

28. Party affiliation is meaningless. Bernie went Democratic for the votes.

Party affiliation is useless, give the large overlap between both parties. Independents can really be anything. Voters are heavily biased towards voting either Democratic or Republican, though. A independent can believe many of the same things, but wouldn't have as much of a chance if they went with either party.

[ananda]

30. Sanders did the decent thing running as a Democrat.

He's always been the only truly decent, honest candidate on the stump.

Imagine if he'd run as an Independent? He'd be running against Clinton
in the general and essentially handing the election to Trump.

We all owe such a huge debt to Senator Sanders, for bringing the real issues
to the fore and starting a movement that will not die because it's pro-people
not corporations

[rynestonecowboy]

155. That's not good enough

for this echo chamber that is now the DU. Where did all the free thinking and agree to disagree conversations go? What you stated is the most obvious truth and he has done this while being stabbed in the back by the DNC the whole way. I will be voting for Hillary because she is our nominee, period. But if all these so called Democrats that are crying that Bernie is causing a scene and is lucky that they have put some of his issues on the platform don't realize that the next few generations of voters are far more progressive than the last they are essentially writing a death sentence to our party. Young people are more informed than ever, please don't let the DNC dig their feet in and resist this golden opportunity.

[MyNameGoesHere]

32. His lack of commitment to being a true

outsider is what soured me on him in the first place. There is something wrong with the two parties we have now. Coming in, sitting around and taking a dump on the sofa before you leave is not the way to make change. Get some gonads, run as a new party or independent, and fight for with every ounce of your being to make that change.

[rynestonecowboy]

156. That change would be a Donald Trump presidency.

Bernie doesn't need gonads when he has intelligence.

[dembotoz]

38. and the purge of all things bernie continues on du

[turbinetree]

102. You have noticed this also----------------

its like good riddance, you were never a "democrat", what ever the hell that means.

I guess when you have "Democratic-Socialist principles your not a democrat.

And when me/ myself and I have FDR, JFK, LBJ and my heroine Francis Perkins Labor Secretary values, than I am not a democrat, with socialistic values.

I wish Francis Perkins were alive today, she would be shaking her head at the "New Third Way DLC Democrats " and saying really, why, are you sure your a democrat?

I'm waiting to see what happens in the first one hundred days, after the election and who the appointments are-----------------that is my litmus test



Honk-------------------for a political revolution

[dembotoz]

111. its getting really damn ugly

[turbinetree]

114. It really is, its like, lets rub it in some more, and keep rubbing it in -----------------

and you are not one of us, whatever the hell that means. I will not comprise my principles and my Democratic-Socialist values, it will not happen---my clock starts after the election and those 100 days and going forward----------------that principles of Democratic-Socialist values and the platform that was agreed upon

The commercialization of politics likes its a sports venue----is just amazing





Honk----------------------for a political revolution

[dembotoz]

129. i ran the bernie caucus in my county

i ran it because

1....somebody had to...i ran the bernie thing, my local party co chair ran the hrc one.
2.....I had or have NO desire to go to philly....in my humble opinion....a caucus chair should under no circumstances advance to the next round of delegate selection...,because being caucus chair sort of stacks the deck in your favor and is just not right.....

anyway....the bernie caucus drew twice and many folks as the hrc one did. AND most of them were new to the local party.
Most of them joined the local party on the spot.....these were not jill stein rejects, these were good solid dems. Active but just not with the local party. From what i have heard, this experience is consistent with the other counties with in the congressional district.

seems these dems are now suspect....damn shame

[rynestonecowboy]

161. I haven't been here in a few weeks

and all I have to say is Wow. This has become Bizzaro DU. And I can't blame it all on correct the record because most of these posters have been here for years.

[David__77]

137. How is it a purge?

I'll say that there are plenty of posters here whose posts strike me as alienating. So what? I imagine that, starting in November, the tone of many of the posts will be significantly different.

[Loki]

40. Goodbye committee assignments.

If he doesn't actively support the Democratic nominee, other Democratic campaigns both for the House and the Senate, then his campaign was nothing but the sham we thought it was. To tell the truth, I'm not surprised by this at all.

[rynestonecowboy]

157. And I'm not surprised

by comments just like this one that are just plain nasty and have zero credibility. Please do a little research and you will see on many occasions every year that he has served he has been doing rallies and fundraisers with democrats. DU is getting our of control with this negativity.

[BlueCaliDem]

41. Well, to be fair, he *ran* and was elected as an Independent. It'd be kind of wrong to go back

to the Senate reborn as a Democrat now that he lost the Democratic Party primary - and this is coming from a person who was and is a Hillary Clinton supporter.

However, should be run for re-election as an Independent instead of a Democrat, then Jeff Weaver lied when, during an interview with Mark Halperin, he was asked as much. And if he lied, Democrats were right not to support him in the primaries because he was never a Democrat.

Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver announced that not only will Bernie Sanders stay in the Democratic Party for life, but he will also support Hillary Clinton if she is the Democratic nominee.

Mark Halperin asked Weaver, “If Sen. Sanders is not the nominee, will he stay in the Democratic Party forever now?”

Weaver answered, “Well, he is a Democrat. He’s said he’s a Democrat, and he’s going to be supporting the Democratic nominee, whoever that is.”

Halperin followed up, “But he’s a member of the Democratic Party now for life?”

Weaver said, “Yes, he is. Yes, he is.”
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/04/20/bernie-sanders-stay-democrat-life-support-clinton-nominee.html

[rynestonecowboy]

160. nice reach.

Something Weaver said has made me loose all confidence in Sanders trustworthiness.

[DCBob]

43. He never was a Democrat and he never will be.

That was clear to me this entire campaign.

[Omaha Steve]

45. This souce has not been used before in LBN...see screen grab

Google doesn't find this story in any MSM.

IF you can't find a second source, this should be looked on as not LBN.

[wallyworld2]

52. exactly

more sources needed

this is the kind of thing republicans thrive on

and you know faux spews would be all over it

sad that it's democrats who are

his message and platform are the most Democratic I've seen in my lifetime

[uhnope]

51. not LBN at all, more a diatribe from a non mainstream source n/a

[awake]

54. You do realize there are not enough "registered Democrats" to elect anyone POTUS

With out a large number of independents voting for Hillary she will lose.

Hillary won so please move on and invite as many independents & republicans as you can to vote for Hillary. Please stop the attacks on someones party registration, this is not Us vs Them.

We need to unite not only our party but our nation and I know that Bernie will be playing a big part in that effort.

[Hissyspit]

58. He is continuing his term as an Independent because that is what he was elected as.

And this is a blog post, not LBN.

[Pacifist Patriot]

65. That was my take on it.

What a ridiculous blog post.

[thesquanderer]

94. Right, it is fundamentally an opinion piece, not LBN (n/t)

[bullimiami]

62. Am I the only one that feels badly used by a carpetbagger

[awake]

70. well there are all of those working class Trump supports

Oh wait they are not aware that they are being used yet.

Bernie did not "use" anyone he brought our party back to its roots that of FDR

[avaistheone1]

117. It appears that the Democratic party were the ones using him.

And it still desperately needs his voters to win.

I wonder what would have happened in this election had the DNC not colluded against him.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

68. He couldn't even wait until after the election?

Looks bad to me.

[Chemisse]

80. It does look bad.

Waiting til after the election would've been easy enough to do. Now it looks like he just used the Democratic Party to legitimize a run for president, and this move validates what many critics said of him all along.

[bekkilyn]

69. I've been considering changing my party affiliation from being Unaffliated to Democrat

So that I can better support the current Democratic platform and help Hillary get elected. But it's posts like many of those in this thread that continue to give me a lot of hesitation and one reason why I haven't been fond of binding myself to a political party. I'm still voting for Hillary regardless of what I decide to do, but I'll always love Bernie and have a lot of respect for the respect that he shows to those who elected him in Vermont as an Independent, and for deciding not to split the Democratic vote and hand the election over to the Republicans.

I wish many people here could see these things rather than getting angry and negative with people who are allies and not enemies.

[awake]

72. well said

unfortunately too many people on this site want a small tent.

[woodsprite]

124. Yeah. I'm still adding to my ignore list. Thought I'd be done that by now.

Guess it won't be until after the election -- maybe a year or two

[JudyM]

147. I am too, sad to say. Keep hoping for bridging...

[Mike Nelson]

77. Sorry...

...to see him leave.

[Uponthegears]

78. Divisive S stirring

NOT NEWS

[Tarc]

82. Why is this news? Everyone knew he'd go back to the ol' "I-VT" if he didn't win the nom

Silly shit-stirring by "heatstreet.com", whatever the fuck that is.

[MichiganVote]

84. Is he placing himself on the Nov. ballot for the presidency as an indep.??

[rtracey]

86. well

Im not sure this is news. Bernie Sanders has lost the nomination, and will now need to concentrate on the Senate. I believe he will be coming up for reelection sometime, and he was elected as an independent, so .....lets just say , I am not shocked he did this.

[Joe Nation]

87. Think about this

Two outsiders tried to wrest control of the two major political parties. One succeeded wildly and owns the party lock, stock, and barrel while the other one left the party he had only joined a short time ago but will still work with the party he left.

[mountain grammy]

88. I've argued with Independents for years..

but I'll never quit. Join the party, it's the best way to fix it. One year as a Democrat, and Bernie's movement, of which I'm proud to have played a part, has moved our party and our platform. That's what we can do from the inside, despite the resistance.
As I have in the past, I'll be asking Bernie to formally join the party. He's already a Democrat in my eyes.

[JudyM]

148. He is a Dem, but too constrained by the party rules to be as effective as he wants, IMO.

[deathrind]

89. Good.

...the way the DNC treated him is a clear message that they don't want him in the party so no need being where one is not wanted. He cacused and voted with dems for decades...he should reevaluate that as well. He has a solid base and should focus on strengthening that and moving forward the issues he campaigned on.

[reflection]

91. Whenever I see a weirdly-sourced flamebait headline like this

I go to Drudge to see if it's there. Yep, right there up top. Pathetic.

[TheEuclideanOne]

92. If this post is true, it is another example of The Democratic party shooting themselves in the foot.

I wanted Bernie to win and like many people here I thought that it was pretty obvious that DWS was setting up an environment where Hillary was all but guaranteed a win. Since then Bernie has been arguing that the most important thing we can do is get behind the party so that Trump does not get elected. Now with the DWS stuff dying down at least enough for the convention to have some positive impact, he leaves the party? That will do nothing but throw the election to Trump. If he is really being the adult in the room and truly doing what he can to stop Trump, do not remove your association from the party that you keep telling everybody that you want to win the election, especially right at the time that your supporters are in a Frenzy and want to vote for Trump because you did not win. DWS has been disgraced and you have been vindicated for those who were not already aware. Is that not enough?

[NurseJackie]

93. Because, it's always easier to change things that you're not participating in?

[truthisfreedom]

98. Yawn. Like that changes anything.

We wanted him. He did what he had to do, and he got damned close to winning. He made history.

He'll always be our Bernie.

[democrattotheend]

100. This headline is kind of misleading

He has said for a while that he would keep the I next to his name in the Senate because that is how he was elected. This article makes it seem like he is storming out in a huff.

If that were true he would not have stuck around in Philly after doing his part Monday and Tuesday.

[geologic]

104. ...

[GeorgeGist]

108. Obviously not much fact-checking or critical thinking going on ...

with this story.

[stopbush]

121. Old news. Sanders filed paperwork with the Senate last October

stating that he would run as an Independent in 2018 if he runs again. He had to do that to be able to accept donations towards his next Senate campaign.

Jeff Weaver was lying when he said Sanders would remain a D, and he knew he was lying. Just another shameless lie told to win a few votes.

Pay attention, people.

[fishwax]

126. this is nothing but division-bait

[MelissaB]

128. Agree 100%.

[FairWinds]

130. Who could possibly treat the Democratic Party with more contempt . .

than the Koch brothers and their bought and paid for DLC?

They are using the Dems to utterly destroy FDR's New Deal, and
take the country down the neo-liberal tubes.

But y'all get all riled at Bernie instead.

[DFW]

133. Seems a little early to make such an announcement

Is he intending to continue attending the convention with the Vermont Democrats?

It makes me wonder if he would have made the same move if he had been nominated? Elected?

[Moonwalk]

136. We have to stop re-hashing old hurts and keep our eyes on the prize! PLEASE!

Look. This is all about feelings. Not facts (Yes, there were wrong doings--the hack on Clinton campaign and the DNC emails--those are "facts" but its how we feel about those facts that is at play here. Please, allow me to explain...).

The Democrats feel "used" by Bernie, and are hurt by that--and scared. No one has ever forgotten the Bush/Gore debacle, and the loss of the White House, which left America in debt, filled with wounded veterans, and created Isis. Democrats *FEEL* as if that was used by Bernie in order to (1) get DNC resources to help in his campaign (i.e. he knew Dems would rather he not run as an independent and split the vote) (2) forced the DNC into negotiations where they were told "Change your party to be like we want it, or we'll take away votes and you'll get get another Bush presidency," and (3) after conceding to all this, he is now walking away rather than sticking by them.

It doesn't matter that Bernie intended this all along, it doesn't matter if it's non-news, and it doesn't matter all that Bernie has done to help the Dems (which is a lot), it doesn't matter if it is not, is not, is not a betrayal. It FEELS like a betrayal.

And feelings are what this is all about.

ON THE OTHER SIDE, Sanders people think they've been betrayed by the DNC. Sanders may have known the rules going in, but supporters for Sanders didn't understand the power of super-delegates, the weird rules each state can have, etc. They thought it was going to be: the most votes total = win. And it does not matter, does not matter, does not matter that it *was* the most votes = win (Hillary), it didn't feel fair.

Both sides feel hurt and angry. Like they weren't respected or treated right. And the virulent accusations, name calling and meanness shown by both sides towards the other here, on these boards, is not forgotten.

But we can't go back to that. We really, really, REALLY can't. We have to try REALLY HARD to shake hands, to accept what apologies were made (DWS was taken out and the DNC did apologize, just like Bernie apologized for members of his campaign hacking Clinton's), we can't keep those hurts and anger alive and demanding more apologies and punishments (what more should the DNC do, at this very moment, to make up for the hurt it caused you? What more should Bernie do to make up for what you feel he's doing?). We have to forgive and say "Okay, moving forward."

Because if we don't forgive and try to turn the page, that's the end for all of us and what we hope to achieve. Not just because we give Trump and his side a chance to win. But because we will lose our chance, if we win, to do more than bicker and say "You've scarred me for life and I will never forgive or forget!" which means we won't unite to make things different. We'll just keep re-hashing and re-hashing what was done to us, rationalizing why we're have a right to keep bashing our fellow liberals and punishing them...just like the bashers at DNC. They're punishing the DNC by disrupting it.

And exactly how is that good for them, or us, or our kids or the future of, well, the world?

Look, there were Mothers on that DNC stage the other night who had their children killed by cops. Murdered. But they want to work with cops to fix things. And they don't blame all cops. If THEY can do that...get past THAT, why can't we get past this?

[SunSeeker]

143. Who didn't see this coming? nt

[Scorpionflyx]

144. I have to believe he'll come back...

in 4 years.

[scipan]

145. Snopes says this is mostly false

WHAT'S TRUE: Sen. Bernie Sanders told reporters that when he returns to the Senate, it will be as an Independent; Sanders was elected as an Independent.

WHAT'S FALSE: Sanders did not formally "leave" the Democratic Party, nor did he do so in protest.
http://www.snopes.com/bernie-sanders-leaves-the-democratic-party/

[JudyM]

149. +1. This should be the first post people read in this thread.

[NHDEMFORLIFE]

146. Serious question: Why is this a big deal?

I'm honestly baffled by this being a big deal (except, of course, for the lazy national media fools).
Bernie endorsed Hillary, quite enthusiastically. He has said he will campaign for her. He has urged his voters to work for her election.
He has been an independent throughout his entire political career.
Why is this so surprising to some folks and why is it particularly important? Is this is going to doom Hillary's candidacy?
Am I missing something obvious?

[asimovecho]

150. sad

sad

[joshcryer]

153. His faux supporters ended his revolution.

[WhiteTara]

158. In Texas, he would be known as

a carpet bagger.

[Zen Democrat]

159. Nobody's paying attention and just slinging poo.

Bernie Sanders previously said that if he went back to the Senate he'd still be an Independent caucusing with the Democrats because that's how he ran and was elected in Vermont. He indicated that when he runs for reelection, he'll run as a Democrat.

A rose by any other name, smells just as sweet.

[Koinos]

163. I believe the misunderstanding is Jeff Weaver's fault.

Weaver stated publicly that Bernie would remain a Democrat after the convention. That statement directly contradicted what Bernie himself had said. Jeff Weaver misled people, and I am sure he did this without clearing it with Bernie.

[ClairDiamond]

167. Good! Glad he is at least sort of standing with his beliefs.

But it's too bad he sold out to the Clinton's!

[NobodyHere]

168. DINO indeed

[hurple]

170. Nice to know...

That he's as big an asshole as his supporters.

They're making Trump and his supporters look like the adults in the room and it's repulsive. I hope they all rot. Any respect I had died on Monday.

[uppityperson]

174. Locking, does not meet LBN SOP.

Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.