Its Time for Bernie Sanders to Apologize to his Supporters, and to President Obama

[boston bean]

Last edited Sat Dec 3, 2016, 07:27 PM - Edit history (1)

After two terms with a popular Democrat in the White House, the American people had a choice between going for change by electing an absurdly inexperienced man from the opposition party, or staying the course, which would have been a vote of confidence for the leadership achievements of the current commander in chief. That argument had to be made in order for the Democrats to win. But Bernie Sanders decided to run in opposition to the “Democratic establishment,” to make the case that they were doing it wrong. On the one side, Donald Trump was braying about “the failed policies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton,” and on the other side, Bernie Sanders was saying essentially the same thing.

As Sanders saw his chances fade and slip away, his attitude turned more desperate and his fury became much worse. Bewildered and indignant, his escalating attacks were not just directed against Hillary Clinton, not just against Obama, but against the Democratic party itself. He held his followers as collateral, as bargaining chips, and badgered the Democrats into changing their platform. That platform was already evolving to satisfy far left supporters, even if some of the shift risked alienating more moderate voters whose main concerns were lower taxes and a tougher stance against terrorism.


It was a dangerous game to play, and Bernie didn’t do it alone. Certainly Jill Stein shares much of the blame for sucking up the disillusioned refuse who turned against Bernie as quickly as they’d embraced him. Stein was busy running her own parallel campaign of resentment and hate. Not against Donald Trump and the Republicans, mind you, but against Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. Bernie had given them a reason to hate, then snatched away their favorite chew toy. Donald offered them a new place to hate Hillary. So did Jill Stein. By the end of the election it would take a village to bring down someone as smart and formidable as Hillary Clinton. We lost and we lost badly, just as Donald Trump warned us we would. There are many reasons why this happened — clever manipulation by Steve Bannon (who will be a one trick pony, mark my words), a difficult candidate to draw enthusiasm from some like Hillary Clinton was. The FBI, scared little men like Putin and Assange playing with their toy guns. We needed all hands on deck to pull out a win and we got exactly the opposite from our own side of the political spectrum.

https://medium.com/sashastone/now-that-they-wrecked-our-future-its-time-for-bernie-sanders-jill-stein-and-their-faux-b83d3d26093#.6ypvx76lc

The above including title is a direct copy and paste.

[WhiteTara]

1. It's past time.

[kacekwl]

100. IMOP people who voted for trump were voting

against Hillary . Right or wrong she was portrayed by the media and the opposition as a liar , criminal , wall street friend etc. Bernie was running for president and indeed brought up the reasons you should vote for him. I don't believe he called her a liar or criminal but someone who was out of touch with the majority of America. EVERY person I asked why they wouldn't vote for Hillary said "because she is a liar" every one. To blame this on Bernie is nonsense. Blame the media , right wing and Fox talking heads , Trump or Hillary herself but not Bernie. I voted for and supported Bernie and in the end voted for Hillary in large part so trump would never see the White House although she shifted to more of a platform I could get behind after the primary. If you want an apology get one from the 40% who couldn't bring themselves to vote because I've got way to much to lose from this businessman as the president. Bernie was who inspired me and gave me hope I might have a chance to be more than one weeks pay from homelessness or bankruptcy. Not so much with Hillary. By the way voted DEMOCRATIC every election since 1974.

[INdemo]

232. Yes ..agreed..Plus

If the Democrats would have wanted Hillary they would have chosen her in 2008 against a less experienced politician on the national level.
It was Debbie Wasserman Schultz that won the primary for Hillary using all the tricks of the DNC chair office.
Which by the way was proven
I voted for Hillary and my vote was a vote against the fascist Trump.

[RiverStone]

130. WTF! Total BS!! Bernie was the only true Progressive...

And I'm so grateful he at least tried to hold Hillary (and the DNC) accountable to Progressive views and values.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

133. The only reason Hillary was close is she adopted much of Bernie's platform!

[WhiteTara]

219. Ah, the white man as savior meme.

[zonkers]

252. Down is up.

[Beartracks]

2. Just to be sure: "Disillusioned refuse" is being used to describe...

... a segment of Democratic and/or left-leaning voters?

========================

[SMC22307]

65. Worthless, useless, trash, garbage... isn't that delightful?

Sounds like something Trump would say, yet some here are applauding. Curious.

Sasha needs to stick to Hollywood award show reviews. You know, important stuff.

[Beartracks]

253. "Like something Trump would say..."

... But with more syllables.



==============

[Crunchy Frog]

173. Attacking the electorate. It's the new strategy for winning elections. n/t

[vkkv]

3. If anyone owes an apology -

it is the American people apologizing to the planet for being so frackin' stupid.

[Gothmog]

4. Agreed-Sanders needs to apologize

[Ken Burch]

249. He HAD to run.

We couldn't just treat the whole corporate control of the economy and life issue as though it doesn't matter.

Corporate control is the reason we as a party are thirty degrees to the right of where we were in the Sixties...why any serious effort to deal with poverty or strengthen the labor movement is off the table-why are agenda now is largely items that are mundanely decent but never genuinely transformative.

And it doesn't matter that Bernie was an independent-he had to because the party hierarchy would have forced him to give up all his principles and say nothing on the House or Senate floor other than "the line". He'd have been as neutered, pathetic and useless as Hubert Humphrey was in '68 if he'd done what you wanted him to do. No one anywhere would have believed him on anything anymore.

Hillary could have won if only she'd let a "no TPP" pledge into the platform(and if only Terry McAuliffe hadn't sabotaged our chances by implying she MIGHT support that agreement after all if elected), if she'd backed off on the insane "no-fly zone" proposal for Syria(a proposal that could have got us into a direct shooting war against Russia) and if her national office had listened to the field coordinators in the Upper Midwest told her they needed a lot more canvassers brought in in the last days, and if her campaign had been a positive appeal based mainly on the good things we DID have in the platform and on an argument that electing her would actually have made people's lives better. She was never going to win by focusing mainly on arguing that Trump was a scumbag(he is, a lot of people who SUPPORT him think he is, but that was never decisive in the voters' minds)

Nothing that happened in the fall would have been prevented if only Bernie had stayed out and if only no one at all had opposed Hillary in the primary, and treating Sanders supporters as the enemy is not going to elect a Democratic president in 2020.

[ismnotwasm]

7. Well there's about 30 bashing Hillary and her supporters so

[MelissaB]

31. It doesn't matter to these posters.

They continue with their Bernie hate and think Hillary is blameless.

[Demsrule86]

181. Yeah I think it is Bernie's fault ...I will never forgive him.

That being said...we do have to move on...it would help if Bernie would not make the sort of speeches he has made lately...he continues to divide...he is not a Democrat and will do us no good ever.

[MelissaB]

239. Oh, boy.

[Beartracks]

33. For some, it's more important that he doesn't have...

... a Democratic Party membership card, even though his policies, priorities, and values are in alignment with traditional Democratic Party positions.

They eschew him even as an ally because he's "not one of us."



==================

[MelissaB]

44. Truth.

[scscholar]

76. If his " policies, priorities, and values" aligned with us...

why isn't he a member of the Party?

[bekkilyn]

159. Many of mine are too, but I remain Unaffiliated.

I was seriously thinking of changing my registration to Democrat over the summer, but I ultimately changed my mind, primarily because of all the Bernie bashing posts and me wondering if I really want to affiliate myself more formally with that type of attitude depending on how widespread it actually is. It *really* turns me off, especially considering how big of an ally Bernie is. The Democratic party should be thanking him profusely not only for his continuing support, but for not running as a 3rd party candidate and splitting Hillary's voting base.

So rather than change my voter registration, I joined my local Dem organization and went out and spent a few volunteer hours campaigning for Hillary and the other Democratic candidates at the polls and plan to continue to be involved in battling the fascism that is growing in this country. I still may change my registration in the future depending on the direction the Democratic party decides to take, but if they go more in the direction of the centrist, big money, Third Way stuff, then I'll probably just pass because they won't really represent my values in that particular case. Time will tell.

[chwaliszewski]

113. Truth!

[Bohunk68]

180. Speaking truth.

When I ran the machine tapes election night, with 378 Dems voting, only 192 voted for Hillary, including myself. Other Dems had said no, they were tired of Clintons and wanted someone different. There was way too much anti-Hillary stuff out there. If Bernie had been on the ballot, he would have won a lot more votes in this area. Upstate NY near Albany. Getting kind of tired of the Bernie bashing. Some out there want to blame him, when it was the fault of the campaign itself and the DNC.

[Jake Stern]

88. Team Hillary

Can't wrap their head around the idea that voters, especially younger voters, might actually expect a candidate to address issues close to them instead of falling in line with the "Vote for us because at least we're not them" spiel.

[QC]

52. Yep, pretty much. n/t

[elmac]

108. yes, that is what this party has disintegrated to

a circular firing squad and the fascist are all grins about it.

[ismnotwasm]

6. Amen

[pangaia]

8. God, not another one !!!

[NWCorona]

24. Let the op work through the grief.

[pangaia]

28. Ok i will try.

Thanks for the support.
😊

[NWCorona]

30. No problem

[JudyM]

46. By mudslinging?

[NWCorona]

53. I don't agree with it. But some people work through things differently

I'm sure the op will work it out in the end.

[SMC22307]

69. By embracing a piece in which voters are called "disillusioned refuse"?

Fuck that noise. Sounds like something Trump would say.

Well, at least we seem to be off of the white working class. It's Sanders and his supporters now. Oh, and Millennials. Wonder who's next on the hit list? We've been through Russians, Comey, and the media. There's gotta be more.

[paleotn]

141. Amen, and amen!

[SMC22307]

171. NEVER the candidate.

First time in election his-tor-eeeee!

[potone]

101. Indeed.

This election is Hotel California for some of Clinton's most fervent supporters.

[murielm99]

158. And what is this election for you?

Did you win anything? If you are such a true progressive, what did you gain, and why are you sneering at Clinton supporters? Why aren't you saving your disdain for trump?

[potone]

251. For me the election is a disaster...

and that is an understatement. No, I didn't win anything and I fear that we all will lose much that we value, not least of which is the prospect of stopping the progress of climate change.

What I am sneering at is the idea that Bernie owes anyone an apology. He had as much right to run for the presidency as anyone else; he brought many new voters into the party; and he addressed the needs of people the Democratic establishment were taking for granted: namely, the liberals.

I am astonished at the continued resentment of some Clinton supporters against Bernie for running for office. Do you truly not see how dangerous it is to decide in advance of the primaries who our nominee should be before anyone has had the right to vote? People here are still excoriating him for not dropping out early despite the fact that he had promised his supporters to stay in until the convention. Those of us who live in states that voted late in the primary season resented having to constantly read on DU that Bernie should drop out BEFORE WE HAD A CHANCE TO VOTE.

Blaming Bernie for Hillary's defeat will not not help efforts to face up to the reasons for the Democrats' defeat and what to do now to prevent this from happening in 2020. As I am sure that you know, we have lost ground all across the country in state legislatures and governors' positions as well as in Congress. Our rout is nearly complete, and the party needs to re-evaluate its policies and practices or it will become irrelevant.

[murielm99]

257. Bernie was part of the problem.

He, the media, Comey, all led to her defeat. I will continue to resent Bernie and name him because he deserves a big share of the blame. If you don't like like my opinion, too bad.

I am astonished that anyone would come in here still bleating about how wonderful bernie is when we need to move on and work against trump. Bernie is yesterday's news.

[boston bean]

261. It is just more daggers thrown.

[potone]

262. The only thing that you wrote that I agree with...

is that we need to move on and work against Trump.

[Me.]

9. Amen

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. He doesn't need to apologize for anything.

[babylonsister]

19. Agreed. nt

[RiverStone]

129. I second your agreement x 100!

[reflection]

38. Word.

You'd think this was the first rodeo for some of these people. Proud to have supported Bernie in the primaries, satisfied to have ultimately voted for Hillary. Bernie doesn't owe anyone a thing, much less an apology.

[SMC22307]

59. You're exactly right. (n/t)

[pangaia]

105. Damn right...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

109. Damn right.

Hillary had no privilege to run unopposed, which seems to be what's being suggested. Primaries exist to test candidates and their ideas, and she wasn't entitled to skate away from that test. Bernie fought hard, which he had every right to do. That's what happens in primaries. I recall Hillary taking some pretty low shots against Obama more than once in 2008, so what's different this time?

[Raine]

123. Absolutely NOTHING to apologize for! nt

[hollowdweller]

265. Obama should also apologize for beating Hillary.

He obviously softened her up too much in 2008.

Couldn't be that she ran a crappy campaign both times could it?

[Laffy Kat]

155. This. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

166. Some people were peeved that there was anything beyond a perfunctory, just-for-show primary

And they're still peeved, even though it forced her to be a better candidate. Quelle surprise.

[saltpoint]

254. Strongly agree. eom

[democrattotheend]

11. There was so much distrust for Hillary to begin with

Bernie's rise was a symptom of that, not the cause. I am not saying all the negative sentiment towards Hillary was fair, but it was there long before Bernie.

Almost everyone I know who supported Bernie but didn't vote for Hillary would not have voted for her if Bernie had never run. And all of them would have voted for President Obama again in a heartbeat.

[democrattotheend]

18. It mattered in terms of the narrative

The fact that she won the popular vote by over 2.5 million votes will make it harder for Trump to claim a mandate. Whether or not that will matter remains to be seen.

You did the right thing.

[SMC22307]

80. Republicans don't care about mandates.

They marched on North Carolina like nobody's business. Regressive policy, lawsuits, court rulings, HB2, jobs lost... they don't care. And it's going nationwide in just over a month...

[MelissaB]

34. I did the same thing.

I held my breath and voted for her, but we are still look upon as traitors here because we supported Bernie in the primary.

[MelissaB]

40. Yep! And they're still saying it.

[democrattotheend]

156. I never know if "traitors" includes us or not

They say things like "Bernie and his traitors", and I don't know if that includes all of his primary supporters or only the ones who didn't vote for Hillary in the general. If you are going to insult Bernie supporters, it would be helpful if you clarify.

[musicblind]

178. Bernie is not a traitor. Bernie backed Hillary in the end.

Bernie supporters who voted for Hillary during the general election are not traitors.

I voted Sanders during the primary and Clinton during the general. Though I like Clinton and don't think of her as a bad person, so that vote was easier for me.

When people refer to traitors, they specifically mean people who did vote Hillary during the General Election.

If you were a Sanders supporter during the primary, but held your nose and voted Hillary to stop Trump, then no you are not a traitor.

[Demsrule86]

182. By the time Bernie backed Hillary after refusing to concede.

and sending protestors to the convention, it was too late. Bernie had caused way to damage...not just to Hillary but to the Democratic party and he is still at it with his recent statements.

[Dems to Win]

152. My California vote felt more like a good luck charm than a real vote, too

Wacky how many of our votes 'don't matter'

[vi5]

73. Exactly....

I knew a fair amount of Bernie supporters who didn't end up voting for Hillary. This proves nothing since those people started out even before they knew who Bernie was, never voting or being politically engaged previously and vowing that they would never, ever vote for Hillary.

I liked Bernie just fine but I honestly even at this point can't figure out what made him appeal particularly to people with no previous political inclinations.

[pnwmom]

91. Bernie fanned it, and helped the flames grow. He could have been on her side,

helping lead the attack against DT, but he chose to hang back for months after the delegate numbers made it impossible.

[democrattotheend]

157. Hillary did the same thing in 2008

And Obama won by 8 points, despite the fact that the exit polls showed that more of her supporters didn't vote for him. You can't pin her loss on Bernie. It never should have been that close. And Bernie did support her after conceding and I'm pretty sure he did more campaign events for her than Hillary did in 2008.

[pnwmom]

170. Wrong. She endorsed Obama well before the convention, unlike Bernie,

even though she ended up leading Obama slightly in the popular vote -- unlike Bernie who was way behind Hillary in both the popular vote and in delegates.

[Devil Child]

174. She could have been on his side

Clinton could've always dropped out and supported Sanders. It works both ways. Sanders was a viable primary candidate and had every right to run. Clinton would have lost regardless of his presence. I know that is a bitter pill to swallow.

How come Clinton campaign did not offer VP slot to Sanders? Would've boosted the campaign much more than choosing Kaine.

[pnwmom]

176. No, it doesn't work both ways. She was millions of primary voters and hundreds of pledged

delegates ahead of him. If he hadn't stubbornly insisted on continuing to campaign against her for months after it was mathematically impossible for him to win, maybe she would have considered him. We don't know because he insisted on fighting her till the bitter end.

[Demsrule86]

183. why the hell should the winner of the primary drop out and support Bernie Sanders?

He couldn't win a primary and would never have come close to winning a general election...his role was alway and continues to be the role of spoiler. He divided the Democratic Party...as Nader did.

[JonLP24]

13. This is mostly fiction

He went easy on Clinton and stuck to policy. He always mentioned how much respect he has for Clinton or Obama when talking policy.

When he says special interests have corrupted both parties he was telling the truth.

[R B Garr]

25. It's reality. We all saw him excoriate Clinton for months on end, long after

there was no pathway to victory for him. And you contradict yourself by calling Democrats corrupt. That's the kind of vile smearing Bernie got away with, causing divisiveness and bitterness in the party. He used the party for its resources to advance his campaign, all while maligning it, so he's the last person to be talking about special interests.

[JonLP24]

26. You don't believe special interests corrupt

Even my rep who is a Dem voted for Citi protection.

The majority of the public feel both parties sell out even those who vote probably feel that way. I know I do. Bernie wasn't saying anything we already didn't know.

[Demsrule86]

184. Oh and who did Trump select? Goldman Sachs... so much better...sarcasm

[JonLP24]

188. I voted for Hillary Clinton

My point was big money interests bought both parties, more so on the Republican side.

[Demsrule86]

231. So did I but Bernie basically calling her Goldman's girl hurt her in the general.

At least my conscience is clear and yours.

[R B Garr]

191. Bernie benifited from the system he claims to be against. He used the Democratic

party for his own needs, so he is well aware of how to enrich himself when it serves his purposes. It would be great to see his taxes, but he only insists on transparency for others and not for himself.

[Nevernose]

127. No, we didn't all see that

I saw a person who stuck to meaningful policy, a person who refused to take the easy way out and rant about Benghazi or emails.

Judging from November 8th, he probably could have won if had. The Democratic campaign was, on Sanders AND Clinton's parts, fairly tame.

It's like people didn't see the months of campaigning Bernie did for Hillary after the convention...

[R B Garr]

192. It's a shame to see Democrats falling into the unreality sinkhole like the Fox watchers.

You can't say that Bernie ran as an anti-Establishment candidate and then claim we wasn't attacking those that he was "anti" about. He framed himself as the attacker to set himself apart, and then he proceeded to spend almost a year attacking. That was the ethos of his entire campaign.

Some examples from the article:
"But Bernie Sanders decided to run in opposition to the “Democratic establishment,” to make the case that they were doing it wrong. On the one side, Donald Trump was braying about “the failed policies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton,” and on the other side, Bernie Sanders was saying essentially the same thing."

"As Sanders saw his chances fade and slip away, his attitude turned more desperate and his fury became much worse. Bewildered and indignant, his escalating attacks were not just directed against Hillary Clinton, not just against Obama, but against the Democratic party itself. He held his followers as collateral, as bargaining chips, and badgered the Democrats into changing their platform. That platform was already evolving to satisfy far left supporters, even if some of the shift risked alienating more moderate voters whose main concerns were lower taxes and a tougher stance against terrorism."

He was incredibly divisive and remains that way to this day. A consummate self-serving politician to the max. An opportunist who couldn't let go and didn't care about the damage he did. It's a shame that Democrats allowed him to continue on as long as he did.

[progressoid]

162. Excoriate?

Bull. He was kinder to her than Obama was in '08.

[R B Garr]

193. Sanders tore Clinton and the Democratic party down. It was the ethos of his

entire campaign. You should read the article. Obama and Clinton didn't rip the entire party down.

[progressoid]

221. Sanders was just a more likable version of John Edwards.

Edwards said many of the same things Bernie did. No one said Edwards tore the party down. In fact, it forced Obama and Clinton to pretend they weren't centrists.

And Bernie didn't rip the entire party down. The party lost it's way. We used to fight for the downtrodden and minorities. He just exposed it. 13 million primary voters agreed with him.

Ironically, if Hillary had won, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Bernie would be praised as one of her great supporters.

[R B Garr]

226. Sanders wasn't likeable for the majority, as was evidenced by the voting.

And his entire campaign was devoted to blaming Hillary for all the political ills of prior generations, although he had no proof of his accusations. Ironically, he had no problem taking from the Democratic party what he needed for his own gains.

Hillary would have been able to attack him more and level the playing field, but she had to kowtow and demure her rhetoric so his supporters wouldn't be upset. It was an extremely unbalanced situation that was entirely to Sanders' benefit.

I would bet Hillary relied on Sanders' appeal to rally some of his holdover supporters, but he failed at that, too.

[progressoid]

229. People keep bitching about him not being a Democrat and using the Party for his own gain.

Would you preferred he run as an Independent? That would have meant a certain runaway victory for any Republican. Running as a Democrat kept the vast majority of his supporters on our side. As well as pulling in some Indies.

[R B Garr]

230. He wouldn't have gotten that far as an Independent. That's probably why he

never ran in the other 11 Presidential campaigns since he turned 35. This time he saw an opportunity to push Clinton aside, and he demonized her to achieve his goal.

[progressoid]

234. Riiiight. Wouldn't have gotten far.

Seems they said the same thing about him running as a Democrat too. Long-shot, fringe candidate, old, Jewish, socialist, independent, populist, crazy-person, loony left.

[R B Garr]

235. He obviously knew he had to hitch his star to something else or he would

simply have run as an Independent. That would have given Hillary room to play more smash-mouth with him the same way he was doing, but she had to play footsie with him because of his supporters. He would have been way behind the curve running as an Independent, so he used the Democratic party to further his goals. It's common knowledge that Independents are generally fringe candidates so they have to have some gimmick to get recognized.

[progressoid]

236. Obviously.

He was only in it for his enormous ego.

[DemonGoddess]

172. Reverse that

SHE went easy on HIM. Didn't use the oodles of oppo I'm quite sure she had.

[DURHAM D]

14. This was just alerted on.

K & R

[MelissaB]

37. Good. This OP is offensive and divisive.

[Hoyt]

15. I think Sanders, particularly his supporters, have a lot to do with Trump winning, but it's time to

move on. We lost. Recounts, infighting, etc., aren't going to change that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. Bullshit.

[renate]

95. I was going to say the same thing

"Bernie should apologize"--what an utterly ridiculous idea. He had, literally, every right to run. Hillary wasn't owed a smooth path to the nomination for any reason whatsoever. And I have more respect for her than to say that she wasn't up to the task of fighting her own battles perfectly capably instead of needing a wide-open field.

[Raine]

177. Yup, actually I was going to say fuck this shit! nt

[CousinIT]

20. It's time for Trump supporters to apologize to the US and the world.

Sanders probably wouldn't have won either. I saw the list of shit they were going to hit him with. And let's not forget the gutted VRA and attendant voter suppression tactics used nationwide, the FBI (Comey), Koch Bros and the Russians all conspiring to plant The Orange Turd into the Oval Office. All of that would still have existed if Bernie were the nominee.

IMO he wasn't and isn't the problem. Ignorant voting populace - decimated public education system, Russian interference, gutted voting rights laws, Koch control via Citizens United, and a reality show cockroach/malignant narcissist who knows how to manipulate media and ignorant people hoodwinked by him are the problem.

NOW the rest of us will pay the price and I mean PAY. DEARLY.

[FreakinDJ]

22. A very good example of a "Fake News Site"

[democrank]

23. Feel better now? Another hour, another anti-Bernie, anti-Bernie-supporters post.

Bernie Sanders and his supporters did not wreck your future any more than Hillary Clinton and her supporters wrecked mine. Yes, I was a Bernie supporter, and proud of it. But, when the time came, I voted for Hillary, and almost every Bernie supporter I know (and there were lots of them) did as well.

Instead of looking for a scapegoat, I`d rather try to figure out why Democrats have been losing House seats, Senate seats, Governorships, which I don`t think we can honestly blame on Bernie. Those who think the only problems we had were Putin, the FBI and voices of opposition are kidding themselves.

Apparently you missed the pro-Hillary rallies Bernie held. He didn`t have to do that. And you`ve apparently also missed the voice after voice after voice of Democrats who said they were fed up with the establishment. Change is coming, you can count on it. It`s time to come together and figure our way out of this mess we`re in.

[Dr. Mullion Blasto]

67. Amen! This is backward thinking, gettting nobody nowhere.

All candidates hate to have opponents, she had one and then months later she lost.
Bernie is still in politics she isn't - what on earth good does it do to keep chewing over this old rag? It accomplishes nothing.
Obama brought her down in 2008 - are we supposed to hate him forever for doing that?
I loved Bernie- still do- but I voted for her. I think he could have beaten her in a fair fight but that didn't happen.
LIfe goes on.

[NWCorona]

27. With the popular vote count as it is.The premise of your post is invalid

This election loss wasn't a reputation of the Democratic party. Hillary lost because the campaign didn't see the warning signs on the horizon during the general, even tho Bill told them what to do, until it was too late.

[pangaia]

32. toi toi

[HassleCat]

43. I'm alerting this.

This is a scurrilous personal attack on one of our candidates.

[HassleCat]

51. I know but I feel duty bound

To try for a modicum of decency and fairness here. My first ever alert, by the way.

[TheCowsCameHome]

45. It's always somebody else's fault.

What a total bullshit excuse.

[FBaggins]

48. It probably is time for an apology from Bernie

If he had knocked Clinton out of the running early in the primary, we might have won and taken the Senate.

[JudyM]

58. Yep, he needed to get visible quicker. Folks didn't start "getting" him until well after Super Tues

I say that from a lot of door to door and phone work. Michigan was when he started to get airplay etc. and he should've worked the south more than he did, especially... even though Clinton lost the red states in the general it would've left him with less ground to make up later.

Oh and BTW, clever riposte!

[JCanete]

245. Fuck that. If the DNC had been smart and not tried to put Sanders and the things he was fighting for

behind them, they and Clinton might have adopted them early and negotiated an earlier exit from Sanders. They thought they could say "fuck you" to Sanders supporters, and even mischaracterize us by finding the worst examples among us and amplifying them, and through that, twist his arm to exit the race. It was disdainful. And, they ended up adopting a platform to appease him in the end anyway, And Clinton even picked up on some of his messaging. All they did was fuck themselves by not doing it sooner. Don't blame the people demanding change, for the actions of those resistant to it.

[Cha]

49. Hey boston.. your link doesn't work..

Thank you for the OP!

[JudyM]

50. If anyone should be apologizing for not playing by the rules it's... oh never mind...

[mtnsnake]

54. That is so misleading because Sanders never ever "said essentially the same thing as Trump"

When Trump bashed the policies of Obama and Hillary, he lied about everything. When Sanders criticized either one, he laid it out with the cold hard truth, no lies like Trump. Only very rarely might Sanders have strayed from the facts, but over the course of the last 40 or so year, there have been very few people who have held to the truth as much as he has.

[Demsrule86]

185. Trump actually used Bernies words...so that is not true.

[JCanete]

246. That is totally different. Trump stole criticisms that were effective, but the two were not selling

similar populist messages at all. Trump's were anathema to Sanders liberal philosophy, and so rife with contradictions that they could hardly be seen as a platform at all, unless hatred and narcissism is a platform.

And by all rights, it was absurd that Trump got away with quoting Bernie's criticisms..thank you corporate media for sucking. He is a dirty business man with all kinds of ties to government through bribes and the like, but Clinton was far less prepared to go at him for that. We need politicians that can call out corporate influence and thrash republicans with the issue, not ones that have to run away from it.

[Exilednight]

271. And McCain stole lines from Hillary in 2008 to use against Obama.

What's your point?

[JCanete]

272. check who I was responding to and in what context. Demsrule was trying to say

that Sanders and Trump had similar messaging. I was saying that was a bogus claim.

[Lotusflower70]

55. I don't see that at all

He has nothing to apologize for. He did what he thought was right and he brought to light party divisions.

[NeoConsSuck]

56. Think about how weak you are making HRC appear

You have a problem with a person other than HRC trying to win the Democratic nomination. And because someone other than HRC ran as a candidate, HRC lost the election.

Then how the hell do you explain Trump? He wasn't in a clown car, he was in a clown *bus* with 15 other candidates running for the Republican nomination. Not only did he knock them out one by one, until he was the 'last man standing', but during the presidential campaign, he didn't even have the support of more than 50% of the Republican party. The speaker of the house (Ryan) wouldn't endorse him until the very end, Cruz and Romney wanted nothing to do with him. What's more, the Democratic party was jumping for joy when he won the nomination, thinking this would be the easiest Democratic presidential win of all time. And looked what happened.

So you and everyone else can complain about Sanders, but if that ONE man was enough to deny her the presidency, she was an extremely weak candidate to begin with.

[QC]

57. You should read this. It contains excellent advice.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1259&pid=12020

[MelissaB]

60. Perfect!

[ybbor]

66. This is hilarious

[SMC22307]

85. LOL!

Glad to see Skinner has weighed in on this.

[paleotn]

143. Caucases with the Dems, just like Angus King did.

For all practical purposes, it's the same thing. Consider this....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8329347

Seems Bernie is more Dem than most Dems. The Rethuglican Lite versions anyway.

[Demsrule86]

187. Bernie is not a Democrat and King did not run in the Democratic Pary and cost us the election

during a crucial year in terms of the courts.

[Barack_America]

223. Hmm, seems the OP is headed for a flame-out.

Was going to ignore, but wouldn't want to miss that.

[QC]

224. No chance. Some people here are strangely bulletproof. n/t

[SMC22307]

61. Stick to film/awards discussion, Sasha.

[mike_c]

62. the bitterness of those who ignored all the signs that HRC was not the candidate...

...the electorate wanted, and now cannot bring themselves to accept responsibility for the outcome. Sanders wouldn't have been a spoiler if he'd been the nominee. He'd be president elect, instead.

[Locrian]

83. it's stunning

The only thing on that link that makes sense is this comment:

Do you realize that you referred to her as Obama’s “chosen successor,” implied that she was that from the beginning of the primaries (and that everyone should have just accepted it,) thereby exposing your own utterly antidemocratic views?

In response to:

Apologize for disrupting the historic milestone of the first female nominee for President of the United States with threats and fears that your infantile little army would burn it down, boo and chant and hiss and spit.

[EffieBlack]

63. Hear hear! I agree with you wholeheartedly, except on one point - we didn't lose big.

[Exilednight]

64. You're running out of straws to grasp.

Sanders will be a footnote in history, while Hillary will go down as the first woman from a major political party to win the popular vote just to be rejected by the Electoral College.

What will history say about Bernie? Very little.

Only a small percentage of people can tell you that Al Gore beat Bill Bradley in the 2000 Democratic Primary.

[budkin]

68. What a bunch of bullshit

Apologize for running a populist campaign that focused on the middle class and not on corporations? That's the whole reason I supported him!

[SidDithers]

70. DU rec...

Calling for Obama to be primaried in 2012 was pretty shitty too.

Sid

[Madam45for2923]

71. Al Giordano's long thread on all of the above!

1. Now that the reality of the impending Trump presidency is sinking in there has been an uptick of "relitigating the primaries..."

https://twitter.com/AlGiordano/status/805092764748828672

[Cha]

74. Mahalo, Madam45!

[Madam45for2923]

75. Did you read the AG's thread? Has 16 lines.

Cha!

[Cha]

79. No, not sure what you mean?..

Thanks!

[Cha]

81. Thank you!

[lapucelle]

82. And he links to an article that reiterates what is said in the OP.

http://www.gazettenet.com/Columnist-Natalia-Munoz-on-how-Bernie-Sanders-divided-liberals-6607925

[Madam45for2923]

84. Yep! From yesterday!

[Cha]

72. "We needed all hands on deck to pull out a win and we got exactly the opposite from our own side of

political spectrum."

Well said. I know people in real life who wouldn't get past the fucking word "establishment" drilled into their heads.. so they had to vote for stein.. who's busy trying to get a recount. too bad she didn't think to worry about the gd selection before the election. they helped facilitate a Climate Change Denier into the WH.. nice goin' geniuses.

Now, not only are the most vulnerable Americans going to suffer, not only are the middle class going to suffer, but foreign-born mothers and their American babies will be rounded up, entire families will be torn apart, and racist hatred will once again be the law of the land. America will burn through tons of fossil fuels with foolish abandon as the only advanced country on earth that officially denies climate change at the highest levels of government. It could not be more of a disaster

.
And, that's just the gd beginning.

[lapucelle]

77. It will be interesting to see what the Democrats do in Vermont in 2018.

There's already one Democrat who is planning on running for the senate seat. Now that Dean has removed his name from consideration for DNC chair, perhaps he is considering a run as well.

And it's interesting that the person planning to run against Sanders is doing so for some of the very reasons cited in the OP.

http://theweek.com/articles/627770/could-political-gadfly-steal-bernie-sanders-senate-seat

[Lucky Luciano]

104. LOL! He will crush anyone. He has an extremely high favor ability rating!! nt

[lapucelle]

112. Not if the Democrats don't allow him to run unopposed as a Democrat.

He won't have DSCC organizational resources to exploit and DSCC funds to spend as he has in the past.

Do you really think that the Democratic party is going to let itself be used again for a non-member's convenience if a declared Democrat is running?

[Lucky Luciano]

114. He is a safe seat. Better to invest in other senate seats, don't you think?

Or is vindictiveness your primary objective?

[lapucelle]

117. Having a Democrat in the seat is my primary objective.

The toxic, vindictive third party vote / no show faction cost Democrats both the senate and the White House. Preach to them.

[Lucky Luciano]

120. I don't think you would be hired as a democratic strategist. nt

[lapucelle]

198. Well bless your heart.

I'm a member and volunteer of forty years standing. I know how these things work, darlin', but thanks for your insight. I'll file it under "irrelevant".

[Lucky Luciano]

200. Thank you for your leadership.

Thank you for your contribution to the current state of the Democratic Party and your forward thinking style.

[lapucelle]

205. I made no contribution to the defeat of Democrats.

It's the third party voters and no shows who you need to thank for Trump's win. We told them what would happen. Clinton, Obama, and even a reluctant Sanders begged them not to do it. It's stunning that those who threatened to weaponize their votes and then did it expect now to be treated as if they had somehow been "right".

They could have been heroes; they chose to be spoilers. They should have realized the degree of blame and concomitant contempt that they would face for the coming four years from the people who counted on them to do the right thing.

[immoderate]

131. A REAL Democrat is more likely to vote with Republicans than Bernie is.

He is, in reality, more democratic than the Democratic party. They service their benefactors.

--imm

[lapucelle]

194. Real Democrats are the people who worked, turned out the vote, and voted

on November 8 for Democratic candidates and the most progressive platform in decades.

People who didn't show up, voted third party, or lolled in their brand new, out of state, lakefront vacation homes writing hasty memoirs and planning book tours to cash in on the gullible youngsters they exploited don't get to define who the real Democrats are.

[immoderate]

199. Yes. But they can define who democrats are.

--imm

[lapucelle]

201. Glad that we agree that Democrats define the membership.

Howard Dean said it best, "I'm from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party."

If a certain book-hawking fiery progressive and his bewildered followers would like to comprise a wing of the party, they should first embrace membership and than be more careful not to help elect Republicans in fits of self-serving pique.

[immoderate]

204. Wasn't that from before when he became a lobbyist?

Big banks are Democrats, too.

--imm

[lapucelle]

207. You don't know much about this stuff, do you.

Dean's PAC focuses on progressive causes.

Let's see if it's true that ignore is my friend.

[immoderate]

208. Having ignore as a friend would be fitting.

--imm

[TransitJohn]

161. I wouldn't put such a boneheaded move past the Party leadership, just look

at how they ran their last campaign. Lost everything. They're not making many smart decisions of late.

[lapucelle]

195. I'm sure that they will not make the same mistakes that they have made in the past.

It will not be as easy for non-party members who don't have the people or the party's interest at heart to exploit the organization or its resources for purely personal ambition in the future.

[TransitJohn]

209. And further restriction of participation would be their MO.

No surprise. The Party doesn't want stupid voters fucking with their 'enlightened' choices.

[lapucelle]

211. There are no restrictions on membership in the Democratic party.

No one has to pass a purity test.

Revisionist history works better when more time has passed between the actual events and the skewed narrative. The voters chose the nominee in overwhelming numbers, not the party. It was a different faction that wanted to install an "enlightened choice".

Weaponized votes, like elections, have consequences. Third party and no show bitter knitter voters were warned about what could happen. It did happen. They shouldn't be complaining about the blame and the concomitant contempt that they will be facing for a long time to come. They earned it.

[TransitJohn]

212. What the country earned was the harvest of running two people most of the country disliked.

I can't say I'm shocked.

[lapucelle]

214. It's amazing the amount of damage that can be done by bad actors

and ambitious politicians in so short a period of time. I'm grateful that I, the people I worked with, and the people I worked for had no part in poisoning the well, thereby helping to elect Trump.

"Clinton has been the most admired woman each of the last 14 years, and 20 times overall, occupying the top spot far longer than any other woman or man in Gallup's history of asking the most admired question. Since 1993, the year she was first named most admired woman, Clinton has stayed in the news as first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of state and a two-time presidential candidate." (2015 Gallup "Most Admired" poll)

http://www.gallup.com/poll/187922/clinton-admired-woman-record-20th-time.aspx

[TransitJohn]

216. How's the weather up on that cross?

Ell Oh Ell

[lapucelle]

218. Backed into a corner, the town wag employs tasteless humor and fails

spectacularly.

I guess I hit a nerve. Spoilers need to get used to the blame and contempt that they are facing now, and that history will confirm.

In the meantime, I've heard it said that ignore is my friend. Let's see if it's true.

[saltpoint]

255. Sanders' seat is safe. eom

[sheshe2]

78. Kick!

[redwitch]

86. I am so tired of this shit. nt

[George II]

92. Sweet.

[pnwmom]

93. The author makes her points well. Thank you. n/t

[TSIAS]

94. Never

If you are hoping for an apology from Sanders or those of us who supported him, you will be waiting until hell freezes over.

[Lucky Luciano]

96. Yes - Bernie's stances on the issues and consistency thereof totally suck!!!

[LS_Editor]

97. This incessant Bernie bashing is like a favorite past time around here...

[n2doc]

98. It's time for you to let it go n/t

[dembotoz]

99. Absurd post

Sorry I did not appear to get the memo from the DNC that hrc was annointed by god and a primary was unnecessary.

[George II]

125. No one got that memo, and there WAS a primary, and Clinton won decisively. And no one....

...."anointed" Clinton - that's just a stale talking point.

[paleotn]

140. And the rest is history.

....Yes, there was a primary, but just as soon as another viable candidate entered the race, many of Clinton's supporters acted like Bernie had crashed a Westminster coronation, picked up the stone of destiny and ran off with it. And it continues to this day...case in point, the steaming pile of stinkyness that started this thread.

[George II]

145. There were several "viable candidates" in the race, all of whom were Democrats.

I don't remember seeing ANY Clinton supporters acting like Sanders crashed a coronation, where did you see that?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

122. Hillary cost Hillary the White House.

If you think Bernie cost Hillary the White House you are conceding she was a weak candidate in the first place.

[GoCubsGo]

124. No.

Voter suppression, electoral fraud, and likely, hacking of voting machines by a foreign entity cost Hillary the White House. For such a "weak candidate", I find it amazing that she got 2.5 million (and counting) more votes than her opponent.

[TheCowsCameHome]

126. Oh, just stop it.

Do you realize how stupid that sounds?

Go to your room and beat up your pillow. Come out when you grow up.

[jack_krass]

137. 1

[elmac]

106. Oh, by all means, its all Bernies fault

and the circular Me Me firing squad continues guaranteeing 8 years of Trump

[randr]

107. I need an apology from

No one. Especially from someone who allowed me to vote for my core Democratic principles and values for the second time in my life.
First was Jimmy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

110. Jesus H Christ.

Does Hillary herself bear no responsibility?

Bernie actually brought up real issues that were being ignored. The ONLY reason Hillary finally and very grudgingly came around to raising the minimum wage was because of him.

She ran a crappy campaign. She didn't inspire enough voters in the right states to vote for her.

It's not as though Bernie went out saying, "Don't vote for her." I seem to recall that he actually campaigned for her.

I've had it with the Bernie bashing.

[Eric J in MN]

111. Trump's rivals called him a 'con artist' (Marco Rubio) and a 'pathological liar' (Ted Cruz).

That didn't stop Trump from winning.

[NRQ891]

148. that's only because nobody listens to little marco or ly'in ted

and Jeb didnt have the energy to chime in

i still can't believe a guy who threw around middle school nicknames like that got elected

[zentrum]

115. What nonsense.

[Wabbajack_]

116. Damn him!

Hillary was entitled to the nomination, damnit!

[Martin Eden]

118. WORST. OP. EVER.

WHY?

BECAUSE with the existential battle before us, the WORST thing we can do is ATTACK EACH OTHER.

TRUMP and the Fascist GOP are the only beneficiaries.

[adigal]

136. Maybe that's the point? To foment anger between us again

I'm going to go check out the OP.

[shireen]

119. you're insulting Clinton

by implying that she was weakened by a formidable primary opponent. I never saw it that way. If anything at all, Bernie's challenge made her a stronger and more appealing candidate.

I'm struggling to understand WHY she lost the electoral college. There are probably several reasons that converged into a perfect storm against her. But Bernie was not one of those reasons.

[LostOne4Ever]

128. He owes no one an apology. nt

[paleotn]

132. Now that's one of the most stupendous...

...stinkiest piles of horseshit I've seen in quite some time. Oh, and here's a tissue if it'll make you feel better.

[opiate69]

217. lmao!

Perfectly stated.

[aikoaiko]

134. Would you like an apology from all 13 million Bernie primary voters, too?

Bernie didn't create the backlash against HRC or establishment party elite or, more importantly, the desire to go a different way. All of that had been growing for years. In fact, it was candidate Obama who planted the seeds as much as anyone.

I feel bad for sasha stone and ryan adams. They will probably never get over this.

[SMC22307]

168. North Carolina, Whiskeytown Ryan Adams?

What did I miss?

[adigal]

135. Jesus Fricking Christ - can this stop please???

Hillary lost because she wasn't a terrific candidate, she had 25 years of the media beating the crap out of her, and because we are a racist and sexist country. Oh, the Russians stole emails which the media played 24/7. Treason, in my book.

Bernie is not the reason she lost. But keep beating that dead horse, why don't ya? Meanwhile, trump is praising presidents who send death squats out to kill drug dealers and users in the street, he's going to start WWIII but first will make damn sure women, mi irities and gays lose all their right.

But Bernie. That's what we should be talking about.

Stupidest idea ever.

[jack_krass]

138. I poop on this article

[SMC22307]

164. You deserve a cigar for that. (n/t)

[ThoughtCriminal]

139. My biggest UNREC in almost 15 years on DU.

Garbage. Unworthy.

[egduj]

142. What's the normal length of time for stage 1?

[paleotn]

144. Very good question. n/t

[SMC22307]

165. Was denial skipped?

We're obviously at anger. Think bargaining is next.

[R B Garr]

220. What phase are you in from Bernie's primary loss?

That was quite a trouncing -- by millions of people. Hopefully, people weren't mocking you, though.

[SMC22307]

263. Are you kidding?

The *old white soshulist male with bad optics that no one has ever heard of and isn't really a Democrat* gave the DNC's hand-chosen and *best qualified candidate in the history of the world* a very good run for her money. Seriously, compare Bernie and Hillary against poor Martin O'Malley. MOM's a good man, but he barely registered. That Bernie did as well as he did is rather amazing. So, I was disappointed, but like a grown adult, didn't resort to cry-ins, conspiracy theories, blaming every -ism under the sun, etc. and accepted the outcome.

[R B Garr]

264. You keep gloating, so it came across

like projection. Making snide comments to others about what grief stage they're in about the GE looks like projection about Bernie's loss, which was a huge and decisive loss, too, not like the GE which basically was decided by about 75,000 people.

And of course any candidate who promises free things is going to be popular. That's a no-brainer! Plus , he had the benefit of not have to prove a thing he said, he wasn't accountable for any of it, and he was never attacked. Huffington had a piece on him attributing his popularity to the fact he was never attacked .

But your thrill with Bernie is still couched in irrational hostility towards Hillary. You had no clue how Hillary came to be Secretary of State, but that didn't stop you from maligning her for no rational reason with falsehoods.

[RealityChik]

146. Maybe it's the Pollyanna in me, but...

Isn't it a bit counter-productive to assign blame to other Democrats? Alienating millennials, blaming Bernie supporters, bashing blue-collar democrats, the Hillary campaign or any other single group is not going to help up grow the base and again be the party of freedom for the many. We need all the help we can get to reform the party and make it relevant to the next generation of would be democrats. We, the people are at fault for the outcome of the 2016 election, and now it's going to take We, the People to fix the mess we're in.

Are we all in? OK, let's get 'er done!

[NRQ891]

147. Enemies List eq Enemies List + Millenials + White Working Class + Bernie Supporters

and since I'm programming this, can I add Salvation Army Bell Ringers? They annoy the hell out of me 'I just gave you guys a buck at the last store. Quit ringing that damned bell at me!'

[JHan]

149. well at least you're consistent.

[NRQ891]

150. ?

[BlueProgressive]

151. 'So sorry for standing up for what USED TO BE Democratic party values'

How's that?

[question everything]

154. I was scolded on these pages when I expressed a similar opinion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512068858

[Crunchy Frog]

189. Un fucking believable.

We're not supposed to hold primaries anymore. We're just supposed to coronate our candidates, and this will make us win elections.

[Warren DeMontague]

160. Who is to blame for Trump Winning?

mmmm, an excellent question. Here's Jonathan Pie's take.

[BobbyDrake]

163. "We needed all hands on deck to pull out a win and we got exactly the opposite" PREACH!!!

I've said the same thing myself already, multiple times.

[Warren DeMontague]

169. The all too predictable

you-a culpa

[Devil Child]

175. GOP loves this shit

as it will benefit them to no end. Keep angrily pointing fingers and not learning from the many mistakes made.

[Crunchy Frog]

190. It's heresy to suggest that there were any significant mistakes made.

Get with the narrative. We only lost because the American electorate sux.

[NRQ891]

197. it's insane not to look for your own team's mistakes

because they are the only thing you really have any control over

[QC]

225. The operation was a smashing success. It's the patient's fault

that he didn't live through it.

[Crunchy Frog]

237. I never thought I'd ever see this level of denial on DU.

I would have expected to see calls for the heads of the people responsible for engineering this fiasco (and any result that leaves Trump taking the WH is a fiasco).

If the Dems don't learn from what went wrong and make some massive changes, our country is on the verge on becoming a defacto one party state. For the dominant voices on this board, this prospect seems less important than self exoneration and finding outside scapegoats to blame.

[QC]

238. It's a consequence of the fan mentality that took over this site

a few years back, when members began posting pinup photos and sharing their romantic fantasies about candidates.

Believe it or not, there was a time when you could participate in some serious policy discussions and get a real education here.

[Devil Child]

242. Amen n/t

[mfcorey1]

179. When pointed out that it was actually Lena Turner who fanned the

flames of bitterness, my post was deleted.

[jfern]

186. You can thank 3rd way for President Trump

[Buzz Clik]

203. You can thank your ridiculous rhetoric for repelling people who might have supported Sanders.

Take your "third way" bullshit and find a nice, dark place for its permanent resting place.

[jfern]

241. 3rd way is a proven loser, it's time to go progressive

[dawg]

196. This is counter-productive.

Bernie ran a strong campaign and he lost. He endorsed the nominee and campaigned for her.

It isn't Bernie's fault we lost.

[JCanete]

247. hehe, yeah, they must all be really dicks. Maybe they even said "fuck all hillary supporters"

at some point. They seem like that kind of people..

[JCanete]

256. at the time I came back into these boards there was a lot of nastiness to go around. Which

continues. I'm sure both sides would argue about what came first though, from their own filtered perspectives.

[stonecutter357]

206. K&R!

[INdemo]

213. Oh please.... Blame it on Bernie Continues?

Last edited Sun Dec 4, 2016, 02:21 PM - Edit history (1)

If Bernie Sanders would have not ran against Hillary she would not have been forced to adapt to progressive issues or ideas brought to you by Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton would have been nothing more than a Presidential Candidate running on the Goldman/Sachs ticket.

Many Clinton voters voted for her because it was a vote against Trump. Instead of having Campaign advisors and managers that were professionals and the best in the business she chose loyalists to run her campaign,a huge downfall.
Republicans had their plans together to run against Hillary since probably 20008. Bill actually encouraged Hillary to primary Obama in 2012.
So very incompetent campaign managers,very bad strategies and voters that was ignored by her campaign cost her.

So Bernie Sanders is being blamed for running against her but what if say Joe Biden would have ran,or Tom Udall ran and Hillary Clinton would have still won the primary would it then have been their fault that Hillary lost.

Hillary Clinton was a flawed candidate and it was the Republican strategy and propaganda for nearly eight years that had Democratic voters believing that.
Bernie Sanders could have won the primary if the Democratic Chairman had not set up strategies as the primary moved along to make sure he didn't.DWS changed the rules as the primary progressed.

Bernie Sanders won the Iowa Caucus and the recounts would have shown that but Debbie Wasserman Schultz stopped that in its tracks.Because had the real outcome of the Caucus been allowed to proceed it could have ended her campaign since Sanders went on to win NH.

So again how much longer will Bernie be blamed

This is a must read and it is so true
http://www.nodynasty4.us/post/153411998443/its-bernies-fault-that-hillary-lost

[R B Garr]

222. Bernie had lost the primary early on. There was no path to victory for him,

and that was determined by the voting. It was just that simple. Why he was allowed to continue on and continue a hateful, divisive shrill anti-Democratic party platform is really the issue.

[lastone]

215. No he doesn't...

Bernie Sanders was railroaded in the primary, media blackout and dnc back room blocking, this is what should illicit an apology - but to Sanders not from him!

[HassleCat]

227. You want a shovel or a whip?

Both, I guess, for shoveling shit, and flogging a dead horse.

[Else You Are Mad]

228. Simply put

If anyone needs to apologize for losing the election, it is Hillary and her failed campaign. Enough of this scapegoating, Hillary's campaign did not successfully counter Trump's message well enough to win votes in even blue states. We can try to blame Bernie, misogynists, idiot voters, etc., but, when it comes down to it, Hillary ran and Hillary lost.

For example, when a football team loses the super bowl, you don't blame the other teams the losing team beat during the playoffs for the defeat.

[liquid diamond]

233. I hate Sanders

but the damage is done. An apology won't make up for the horror this country is about to experience under the fuhrer. I hope the DNC learned their lesson about letting an outsider run on our ticket and using our resources to attack us.

[Buzz cook]

240. Geez let it go.

Blaming Sanders and his supporters is a waste of time. It was the media and Comey and voter suppression that cost the election.


If there is any one politician to blame it is Obama not Sanders.

[JCanete]

244. This is all total bullshit and bad for this board, but for whatever reasons you have

a particular grudge that you want to keep playing out over and over, in basically the same way. Are you seeking the pats on the back from people who totally agree with you already, or just to poke people who you're still pissed off at? Either way, these goals are about as worthless as you can get.

It is the DNC that has been playing a dangerous game, offering vague lip service to serious issues for too long, and being far too beholden to their own corporate backers to effect real change. Their inability to really go after Republicans for their financial ties and the corporate owned media's role in our shitty 4th estate has fucked us as an effectual party.

As long as we continue to rely on corporate support, we will never have control of our legislature for more than two years, because we're basically the second string corporate party...good enough to carry water if their favorite gets sidelined, but given the choice, the corps will go true Pub every time.

[SunSeeker]

248. K & R

[alarimer]

258. Not just no, but hell no.

They have nothing to apologize for.

And if I said what I really wanted to say to this bullshit...

[forjusticethunders]

259. Bernie is clueless on a lot of things and his campaign was myopic in many ways

however, he is waaaaaaaaaaaay down the list of reasons HRC lost (the #1 reason is that the election was rigged, the #2 reason is that the media is rigged, #3, James Comey, #4, Trump's shittiness took up way too much airtime from Hillary's agenda) and he did work for her.

The emoprogs would have sold him down the river even if he did concede in March. The division in the party predated Bernie; the emos were looking for anyone to run against the "corporatist"* Hillary because they wanted someone to automagically push the Dems back left without them having to do the work (it worked with HRC is because, surprise surprise, Democratic POC are pretty progressive, they're more of the party than they were in 92, and HRC was returning to her roots now that the political conditions were there for her to do so).

[grossproffit]

260. If he couldn't be president, then neither could she. I hope he's happy.

[jalan48]

266. Looks like the needle got stuck.

[TheKentuckian]

267. what it is time for is to put down the Crack pipe and pull heads out of asses.

[LexVegas]

268. Yep. Rec. nt

[NRQ891]

269. I think we should have a daily 'Two Minutes Apology'

modern technology makes this possible

at a certain time each day, the party to skype you and tell you what you are apologizing for. The you could apologize as instructed to your camera, knowing Big Brother is watching you

[Goblinmonger]

270. Clinton's campaign owes an apology for

1. not realizing this was an election of change.
2. not listening to Bill Clinton and going after the working class vote.

Those did WAY more to lose this election than anything Sanders could have possibly done.