"March for Bernie" on July 24th

[Ulf_the_Unwashed]

Yes, he hasn’t been much in the public eye lately, and it’s hard to see how a march like this is going to get him back in. His one supporter in the Senate, Jeff Merkley, cheerfully went over to Clinton soon after the last primaries; Elizabeth Warren, who never did endorse him, is clearly 100% in the Clinton camp and evidently drawing lots of progressives with her. The Clinton/Warren tag-team pick-on-Donald-Trump tour did a lot to push Sanders back into the shadows (Bernie, that could’ve been *you *up there), and I think Sanders made a serious error in terms of his own credibility when he chose not to take part in the gun control filibuster.

So, of course, his supporters are allowed to march, allowed to march for anything they please. Call it a March for Progressive Principles. Call it a Down with Wall Street March. But to associate it specifically with Senator Sanders, when it’s evident that many, many progressives have moved on, marginalizes it, makes it seem as though the progressive movement relies solely on Sanders for ideas/guidance/legitimacy/existence. Sorry, that’s not a movement I would care to support.

Note that the OP describes the rally as a rally for Bernie Sanders, not a rally for progressive ideals.
And given that the senator is clutching that towel as tightly as he can and refusing to listen as the fat lady sings (gotta mix those metaphors!), the whole thing sounds like an attempt to keep alive the notion that Sanders CAN and SHOULD be the nominee. Despite having lost the primaries. Having a rally “for Sanders” smacks of “Let’s try to overturn the will of the people, because we really very badly want Sanders to be president!” THAT’s what I mean when I ask why the OP hates democracy.

[Count_Blucher]

@nearwildheaven

I know - that we have to be reminded that he’s still out there campaigning, etc.

“It has to be done, child. Old Yeller is Suffering…”

[Ambrosio_Spinola]

@CarnalK

The media has already stopped talking about him. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen more than a passing mention of him in the paper or nightly news. I think he might have missed his oppurtunity to really cash in by conceding earlier in exchange for more power in the party.

The whole idea that Sanders was going to leverage his delegates for influence at the convention has been very strange. He doesn’t have enough delegates to win, so taking it to the convention won’t get him anything. What he does have is a potential endorsement for Clinton, and I’m sure she’d love to have that; the value of this concession goes way down the longer he sits on it, though. If he’d suspended his campaign and endorsed her after the CA primary then he’d probably have a big keynote speech.

[panache45]

I still haven’t given up on Wendell Willkie.

[Dangerosa]

@Count_Blucher

“It has to be done, child. Old Yeller is Suffering…”

:eek:

[Nonsuch]

The only thing Sanders has that Clinton probably wants is his email list.

[wonky]

@Merneith

By continuing his candidacy, he increases visibility for progressive ideas.

I think it makes him look like a befuddled kook who doesn’t realize the contest is over and he lost.

When someone does something that plays into the opinion you already had of them, it sticks really well. Bernie Sanders is vulnerable to looking like a befuddled kook because he already has the old man yelling at clouds reputation.

[Little_Nemo]

@CarnalK

The media has already stopped talking about him. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen more than a passing mention of him in the paper or nightly news. I think he might have missed his oppurtunity to really cash in by conceding earlier in exchange for more power in the party.

True. If Sanders is thinking he can wait until the convention is over and Clinton is the official nominee and then offer to support her, he better not be surprised when her response is “thanks for the meaningless gesture.” All Sanders and his supporters are doing now is showing Hillary Clinton she can win without them.

[tomndebb]

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