Suck it up, Bernitarians

[luzribeiro]

So, Biden puts Neera Tanden, the biggest, most aggressive Bernie Sanders critic in the US, on his team. Specifically at the OMB while Sanders is Senate Budget Committee ranking/chair. Coincidence?

With Tanden Choice, Democrats Stick it to Sanders Voters

Say what you will about Bernie Sanders. He does seem a bit out of touch with the real world, and in the real world he could enact policies that are well meant but don't work. He might also turn out to be a weak leader. Bernie calls himself a socialist but he is just an old hippie democrat from 1968 full of lofty ideals and a Woody Guthrie view of the workingman's blues. It's noble ground but not altogether practical. However, he does what he believes is right, speaks what he thinks is the truth, and shows his genuinity through his standing consistently for his principles with unwavering conviction over the course of several decades.

Problem is, these things directly oppose the DNC, or any partisan establishment to that matter - so he is their enemy #1, and he has suffered politically at the hand of their corruption as much as anyone. He's an infinitely bigger man than most of those guys. But this is what he gets for affiliating with and trusting establishment politicians. The system just grinds you, chews you and spits you out like an old meat chop. They aren't like you Bernie. They don't care and they don’t have morals.

As for the bigger picture. Too bad the DNC power-brokers are choosing to take a dump on a whole section of their electorate. This will definitely come back to bite them on the ass in the long run.

Comments

[garote]

Biden got elected in no small part because he was the only candidate who stood up to the more radical and irrational parts of his own party (that includes Bernie). I expect him to continue doing so.

[garote]

That too is exactly what I expect. I’d still he rather do it than, say, embarrass himself, his party, the courts, and the whole country, by issuing a bunch of executive orders on day one to demolish the Trump Tower in New York, cede California back to the Karok and Paiute people, ban all gasoline, wipe all college debt, and outlaw all white people from having dreadlocks or using the term “spirit animal”. :D

[acequeenking]

As much as it pains me to admit it (and I have voted for Bernie in the primaries twice), the progressive wing of the DNC isn't popular enough yet for Biden to necessarily play well in most of the country. I think the big problem with the more splinter groups of the party is that they are demanding representation from the top down, when what we really need to do is build more local progressives to prove that we can win elections. It's not as sexy as being in the cabinet/being president, but until progressives win in state elections, we're not going to get much representation outside the states where progressives are more common (the ultra-blue states).

Biden's picks aren't all my favorites, but they're at least far better than the Trump equivalent would be so I'm not suffering much angst about my vote. And honestly, with the likelihood that Mitch will continue to own the senate (we can hope for GA but special elections tend to favor republicans), they're going to concentrate on naming that people that will likely pass Mr. "I'm-a-block-anything-getting-to-the-floor-more-progressive-than-1799."

[garote]

So, in that last race, you think Bernie owned the title “progressive”?

[acequeenking]

I think there were more than one progressive in that race (and my heart's pick would have been Warren) but I think Bernie is, for better or worse, the politician who most people would think of as a progressive. Googling progressive + Bernie Sanders gives you more results than progressive + "Elizabeth Warren" and progressive + "Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez (or AOC)" combined so I would say he is the one with the most name recognition...so yes, I think in popular opinion, he owned the title in the last race. That will probably change over time.

[oportet]

Look at it as a person who makes incredible cheese dip, but they also occasionally pick up lamps and smash them.

Do you invite them to your party?

Sure you do. Just hide the lamps, or dont let them near the lamps. Better yet - give them a lamp you dont give a shit about and lock them in the shed.

This is the democrats with bernie, just like the Republicans with the Paul's. Hard to blame the establishment, because it works - they always show up to the next party with more cheese dip.

[luzribeiro]

I want cheese dip now.

[oportet]

White or orange/yellow