Bernie Sanders response to losing on Big Tuesday

[egbertowillies]

Bernie Sanders made some very important points in why he is not going to leave the race. He was frank. He already set the parameters for the Sanders/Biden debate.

[blue-wave]

1. Translation:

I want another 2016, just one more time.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Why does he think he gets to set the parameters for the debate?

He's losing, and badly. That will continue. He might as well stop embarrassing himself and concede now, but he won't because he thinks he'll have some influence at the convention. However, it's pretty clear that most Democratic voters aren't buying the watered-down '60s-era college dorm Marxism he's trying to sell, and his influence is waning rapidly. Maybe he should just acknowledge his defeat like a gentleman and start working to get the real enemy out of the White House and STFU about this mythical "establishment" he likes to bloviate on.

[Docreed2003]

3. +10000

[brush]

34. VO, you nailed its so beautifully with this description of Sanders. I've never heard..

it put so well.

"...Democratic voters aren't buying the watered-down '60s-era college dorm Marxism he's trying to sell, and his influence is waning rapidly. Maybe he should just acknowledge his defeat like a gentleman and start working to get the real enemy out of the White House and STFU about this mythical "establishment" he likes to bloviate on."

[Thekaspervote]

5. This!!

[Turin_C3PO]

16. I agree that he should drop out soon.

I will say I think it’s a bit over the top calling Sanders a Marxist. In my mind, his positions, although left of the mainstream of the party, are still within the vein of American progressivism. Same with Warren’s plans.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. He's not a Marxist per se. But quite a bit of his rhetoric is very reminiscent of

the Marxist-ish jargon I heard at a few Socialist Workers' Party meetings I went to when I was in college in the '60s. I gave up on the SWP very quickly when I realized that they were mostly entitled middle-class college boys cosplaying Che Guevara and trying to get laid. Bernie would be more convincing if he'd just stop yammering about how "the establishment" is out to get him and explain exactly how he intends to implement his so-called progressive policies - none of which are new to the Democratic Party and were developed much better by Warren.

[Turin_C3PO]

21. Warren should have been the

standard bearer for the left this year. Bernie should not have entered the race. If Warren had been able to poll better against Trump, I probably would have supported her this year.

[Tarheel_Dem]

19. +10000 x 2 👍

[RussBLib]

20. I think it was a good video

and a good idea, why not pose a few questions in advance of a debate so perhaps the debaters can develop some cogent answers?

We have a lot of serious issues. Get the fluff out of the way and talk about the real issues. Maybe Bernie, by posing those questions, can reveal that Biden is in fact very acceptable to Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Win-win.

Why should "moderators" be the only ones who ask candidates questions? Well, they are not, in our social media age, they are taking questions from people online too. We've seen the level of comments online. They often degenerate into the sewer.

Why not allow the debaters to ask a few questions before the debate? I think it's rather a great idea.

[William769]

25. +1000000

[dalton99a]

28. +1. Ridiculous

[Demsrule86]

4. Fuck that ...shouldn't even be a debate...who does he think he is?

[Thekaspervote]

6. Exactly!!

[lapfog_1]

7. Why the fuck does Bernie get to "set the parameters"

Fuck that.

The race is over, Bernie lost... time to move on.

[Jersey Devil]

8. Does he think Joe will get drunk before the debate and pee on the podium?

Maybe Joe will moon the voters on camera?

[oasis]

9. Bernie "set the parameters for the debate"?????

I suspect a bunch of gotcha crap will be coming Joe's way.

[djg21]

10. Because he's an Egomaniacal asshole.

He’s an egomaniacal asshole who’s doing his best to assure that we get four more years of Trump. This is not in the best interest of the Country or the Democratic Party. The last thing we need is to have Bernie slamming Biden from the left flank, weakening him in advance of the General Election. Biden should withdraw from the debate as it is unnecessary, and will only allow Bernie to swing for the fences and try to kneecap Biden. This is not what we need.

Question for Bernie. When you return to the Senate, are you going to serve as Democrat? If the answer is no, Bernie needs to be opposed by a good Dem candidate in 2024 and should not be allowed to caucus with the Dems in the interim.

Duck off Bernie!

[world wide wally]

11. If Bernie really thinks the most important thing is to beat Trump, why is he rerunning his plan to

weaken the Democratic candidate as much as possible again.
This is like an old movie being rerun over and over.

Fact: It's over again, Bernie.... You lost. Now get on board or go work for Trump out in the open.

[LostOne4Ever]

12. I hope he stays in till the convention

It gives his supporters a chance to vote and have their voice heard and for him to use the spotlight to promote the issues we care about.

[PubliusEnigma]

13. His supporters can vote for the actual nominee. Instead of continuing a pipe dream,

and eventually having their hopes dashed.

[LostOne4Ever]

27. We can vote for whoever we want in the Primary

That is our right and Bernie has the right to stay in the primary till the convention.

We don’t need or want others to decide these things for us.

[MineralMan]

35. Well, apparently, you already voted.

Here's what happened in Texas when the people decided with their votes:

Joe Biden
111 34.5% 716,030

Bernie Sanders
102 30% 622,360

Of course it is your right to vote in the primary election in your state. Yes, Bernie can stay in until the convention, if he chooses to do so, as well. Whether that makes any sense is another issue.

The people in Michigan and Mississippi also had the right to vote in their primaries. Joe Biden won in those states, as he has in many others already, and as he will in future primaries in other states.

The people are exercising their right to vote, and the results are pretty clear. A majority of them want Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee. Biden is winning. Bernie is not.

So, sure, he can stay in as long as he wants, but it will be the people in 50 states who decide who the nominee will be. Candidates don't get to dictate who the winner is. The people do.

[LostOne4Ever]

36. Can't disagree with that

If that is what is meant to be, then so be it. At least the people of the Democratic Party all got to be heard and have their votes counted.

ALL OF THEM!

A good thing no matter who wins.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

23. His supporters have had the same opportunities to vote and have their voices heard

as the other candidates' supporters (actually more, since the other non-viable candidates were actually able to read the handwriting on the wall and drop out before they made fools of themselves). He has also had ample opportunity to promote his issues, but it's become apparent that a significant majority of Democratic voters don't agree with him. Why does he think he's entitled to go to the convention and demand something that the majority doesn't want?

[LostOne4Ever]

29. All the more reason to stay in

To change their minds.

And that is on the other candidates that they choose to give up before most of their supporters ever got a chance to vote.

I personally don’t like that. If one is going to run and get people to support them, get their hopes up, and take their donations then they should stay in to the bitter end.

If one gives up so easily or is so quick to be deterred then I don’t think they should have run in the first place.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. When you have no significant likelihood of winning

but you keep taking your supporters' donations you're just grifting.

[LostOne4Ever]

32. That or you respect their own decision

We don’t need people deciding for us who to support or why.

[RussBLib]

24. stay in at least through a couple of one-on-one debates

and a few other primaries. It will become quite obvious that Bernie will not have the delegates. I do think Biden should not be quick to quash Bernie and his ideas. I hope that the upcoming debate(s) will reveal that Biden is actually quite progressive (it would help to elect a progressive US Senate too) and is quite acceptable to carry the moderate progressive flag.

[LostOne4Ever]

30. I hope so too!!! (Nt)

[beachbumbob]

14. sanders is hurting whatever "input" he thinks he may have, he can't even get young voters

out to vote, none the less vote for him. After next week's whomping, sanders will have zero input at all.

[RussBLib]

26. I don't think he is hurting his cause

I think you have to give Bernie the time to develop the case that Biden will do just fine vs Trump.

We may not like the "Bernie Bros" if they act abusive, but you also don't want to alienate all of them and take votes from Biden.

[SunSeeker]

15. Put your country first, Bernie. QUIT. nt

[frazzled]

17. It's up to us to speak up to the DNC

and tell them that we don't want a repeat of 2016. No fawning to the losing contender. No outsized platform privileges. No bad behavior at the convention on the part of Sanders delegates, or consequences will ensue (such as loss of committee chairmanships).

We can't just vote our way out of another Sanders attempt to weaken the party and our chances in the next election. We have to make it clear to the DNC, the DCCC, and the DSCC that there is more harm than good to come from the hopeless attempt to win over the small percentage of Sanders voters who are not going to vote for the Democratic nominee anyway.

[elleng]

22. Thanks for posting.

[PatSeg]

33. It is basically his stump speech

with the name "Joe" added in. Otherwise, we've all heard this speech over and over again and he still is losing.

[fishwax]

37. I wish he'd get out, and hope he does so soon, but I thought this was a good speech

I think he's made it clear that he recognizes that the game has changed, but also argued that there is a lot of ideological support for his campaign (which I think is true) and that consolidating that support will be important for the democratic party not only in this election cycle but in the future. I think that is true.

He acknowledged that he's getting his ass kicked in electability. There is no doubt that this is true.

Then he offered a pretty good set of questions that ought to be important questions not only in the primary, but in the general election as well. That wasn't a power move on Bernie's part--rather, it was giving Joe a road map for how to consolidate the support of the demographics and concerns that have driven Bernie's campaign.