Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Anyone But Bernie : I'm Officially Through With Bernie Sanders

Last night I was relieved to read Kevin Drum's short article pointing out that Bernie Sanders has tacitly conceded that he has lost the nomination by agreeing to him getting to name fewer members of the platform committee than the winner, Hillary Clinton.  I thought, well, good, he's not going to be lying to his supporters that what he's running for, at this point is the nomination, he's ready to put his big-boy pants on and accept that she's the nominee, the choice of the majority of Democratic voters, the people he thought would have legitimized his nomination if he had won.

But today Sanders is whipping up junk because Hillary Clinton has refused to debate him before the California primary on the invitation of FOX "news".   He's made a speech in which he accuses her of "backing out" of having that debate.  In its "invitation" FOX noted "Democrats have not debated on Fox News for the last 12 years."

Anyone who has to ask why Hillary Clinton, of all possible Democratic candidates, of every other person in the entire world, anyone who has any question as to why SHE wouldn't choose to participate in a debate sponsored by FOX must be 12, if not 6.  They've been trying to destroy her, her husband and her daughter for as long as they've been on the national scene.   For Bernie Sanders to be kicking up crap over that invitation leads me to the conclusion that he is not going to do anything responsibly.  Last night's hope that Sanders had decided to act as an adult has given way to today's assholery.

And, despite having representation on the platform committee, Bernie Sanders is both anticipating and disavowing his responsibility for disruption within the convention in July.   Here's what the AP is saying today.

The Vermont senator, campaigning Monday ahead of California's primary against Hillary Clinton, said his supporters hope the party will adopt a platform at the summer convention that reflects the needs of working families, the poor and young people, not Wall Street and corporate America.

Sanders said he will "condemn any and all forms of violence" but his campaign was welcoming political newcomers and first-time attendees of party conventions. He said the Democratic Party faces a choice of becoming more inclusive or maintaining the status quo.

"I think if they make the right choice and open the doors to working-class people and young people and create the kind of dynamism that the Democratic Party needs, it's going to be messy," Sanders said.

"Democracy is not always nice and quiet and gentle but that is where the Democratic Party should go."

So, apparently Sanders wants to bring everyone on a time machine, back to his salad days of '68, specifically to Chicago.   Which I will remind everyone may as well mark the beginning of the end of the left because that futile stunt brought us Richard Nixon, the man who began to destroy what Democrats had built up over the previous thirty-six years.

And if that isn't enough, also from the AP.

Sanders said he had a "shot" at winning the California primary against Clinton and said, given his delegate deficit, it was "imperative" that he perform well. He estimated his rallies around the state would allow him to speak directly to 200,000 voters before the primary.

"What happens if I win a major victory in California? Will people say, 'Oh, we're really enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton despite the fact that Bernie Sanders has now won whatever it may be, 25 states, half the states?'" he said.


If that happens, he added, superdelegates "may rethink that. That is why you want the process to play out."

I think it's well past time that people were told that Bernie Sanders, opponent of the super delegate system, is a total hypocrite, taking whatever position would benefit Bernie Sanders on the issue when it suits him, including them ignoring the clear will of a majority of Democratic voters, while still pretending to be opposed to super delegates.  He is apparently still willing to try to flip them even as it is clear he will not have the most votes for the nomination.

His excuse for launching this clear blackmail notice, of tacitly threatening violence from his supporters, in front of the camera on the convention floor, is truly jaw dropping.

"A serious debate about serious issues is good for democracy, is good for the Democratic Party. It will increase voter turnout and that always works in our effort to defeat Republicans," he said.

At this point I'm prepared to admit that Bernie Sanders had me entirely snowed since the 70s,  the man is a total asshole.

And for a bit of comedic relief, he also was asked about the possibility of being Hillary Clinton's running mate.

He declined to entertain the possibility of being considered as Clinton's running mate, saying he was focused on winning the nomination. "If I don't, we will see what happens later on." But he reiterated that he would do "everything that I can" to ensure that Trump is not elected president.

Yeah, right, everything except admit to his supporters the fact that he lost the nomination under the rules and that Hillary Clinton, not knight errant, Sir Bernie, is the only person between the world and President Donald Trump, as he blackmails her and the Democratic Party over the platform and other petty, symbolic and meaningless issues.

As for him being chosen as the VP candidate?  After reading his past writings, after seeing his conduct in the past three months?  I'm ready to have the Anyone But Bernie pins printed up now.

Was I that desperate to have someone who called himself a socialist be a prominent American politician that I'd overlooked this kind of stuff all these years?   Or maybe I just hadn't followed Vermont politics closely enough to have seen this coming.

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