[FYI I totally stole this topic title from a Meetup group someone set up in 2004 called "Kerry Haters for Kerry". They had slogans like "Why not the long face?" and "He'll do."]
There are tons of threads already in here talking about Bernie, and socialism, what a disaster he'll be, etc. This one is for something different.
This thread is for people like me, who not only don't view Bernie as their first choice, but view him as pretty much their last choice among all the Democrats who have run this cycle. But we also recognize that a) he looks increasingly likely to win the nomination, and b) we swore to ourselves that we would do whatever was necessary to beat Trump, and well, it looks like supporting Bernie is what will be necessary.
So take your doom and gloom and anti-socialism jeremiads and stick them in another thread. This is for those of us who have reached the final Kubler-Ross stage and are preparing themselves to accept Bernie as the Democratic nominee.
A few questions:
There are tons of threads already in here talking about Bernie, and socialism, what a disaster he'll be, etc. This one is for something different.
This thread is for people like me, who not only don't view Bernie as their first choice, but view him as pretty much their last choice among all the Democrats who have run this cycle. But we also recognize that a) he looks increasingly likely to win the nomination, and b) we swore to ourselves that we would do whatever was necessary to beat Trump, and well, it looks like supporting Bernie is what will be necessary.
So take your doom and gloom and anti-socialism jeremiads and stick them in another thread. This is for those of us who have reached the final Kubler-Ross stage and are preparing themselves to accept Bernie as the Democratic nominee.
A few questions:
- How are you reconciling yourself to this development? For me, it's mostly been a function of a) hoping he can really stir up enthusiasm among younger voters, b) hoping he can win back those Obama-Trump voters in the Rust Belt, and c) falling back on, "Well, no one thought Trump could win, either." Also, blogger Jonathan Chait, no fan of Bernie, forced himself to write a piece titled "Here’s What I Do Like About Bernie Sanders" and I mostly agree with it.
- What do you want to see the other Democratic candidates do? I gotta say, I still hope that Bloomberg turns his barrels on Bernie for awhile, not because I want to see him weakened, but because the one weakness I perceive in Bernie that he could still reassure me on is the fact that he's never really been vetted. I want to see how he deals with a sustained attack, and I"d much rather see him deal with it now than from Trump in the fall. So let's see it all: the honeymoon in the USSR; the speeches praising Castro, Noriega and other leftists; the scandal with his wife and Burlington College. I want to see his response.
- What will you do this fall to help him win? I have a friend here in Florida who is a huge political junkie, a flaming liberal, and who can't stand Bernie. He swears that if Bernie is nominated, he will draw the line at voting for him. No canvassing, no online activism, and he will put his focus on down-ballot races (honestly, that may be the best use of his resources regardless). I haven't decided yet what I'll do, but as I reminded my friend, no matter who the Democratic nominee is, it won't lessen the existential threat Trump poses to our democracy.