Hillary Clinton
Related: About this forumThe Privilege of Never Having to Say You'll Concede
This needs to be said. This is not a parlor game or intellectual debate. "If Bernie Sanders is such a progressive revolutionary, why does he insist on undermining an eminently qualified presidential candidate who can beat a fascistic demagogue?" A demagogue who in no uncertain terms has made clear unmitigated ill will towards millions of people?
This is a question none has answered satisfactorily without ignoring the real risk of Donald Trump, his policies and his minions. The lives of minorities, women, immigrants, children and the disabled are constantly being threatened by an egomaniacal leader and his millions of hate filled, armed and dangerous followers. Those who continue to prevaricate are not courageous or progressive when those who have the most to lose are in danger.
Moving the Democratic platform to the left is a laudable goal, but it isnt one that he alone has led. There have been many movements, including the movement to end the Hyde Amendment, the Fight for 15, and the #BlackLivesMatter movement, that have pushed the Democratic party to the left. But Bernie Sanders is presenting it as if he himself is the leader of this progressive revolution, as if he and his candidacy have been doing all of the work. This is privileged ignorance at best, and sinister appropriation at worst. Sanders has constructed himself as the progressive revolutionary savior that we have all been waiting for, a privileged and entitled point of view if there ever was one. He is unwilling to stop mansplaining to the country that hes right because either he believes so deeply that he is right and we are wrong or does he sense that this is the one time that he will ever be this relevant to American politics and his male ego is unwilling to let this go?
The potential of a fascist America is more real than ever. Thats not hyperboleits a fact. A candidate for president from one of the two major American political parties has called for: the closing of the border between Mexico and the United States and the mass deportation of immigrants; a closing of the border to Muslim immigrants; assassinating the family members of suspected terrorists (a blatant war crime, by the way); the criminalization of women who have abortions; and the list goes on. The Bernie or Bust argument seems innocuous if you arent one of the millions of marginalized people whose health, rights, and lives depend on the November election results. To stay in a race that you mathematically cannot win against the first woman presidential candidate of either major party is privileged enough. To do it when the country is facing a very possible descent into fascism? Thats just dangerous.
While Bernie Sanders claims that it is important to defeat Donald Trump, many of his supporters are not convinced. These people, many of whom are young white men who proudly label themselves the real progressives, are watching as the United States stares down the barrel of a fully loaded gun of racism, misogyny, and xenophobia and are shrugging. To even hint at voting for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, or claim that they are the same, is privilege personified.
These are the Bernie Bros": white men who support Bernie Sanders but seemingly ignore the issues that affect marginalized people, who bellow and bully women and people of color for supporting Hillary Clinton, who claim ideological purity without having their rights and lives on the line.
http://www.damemagazine.com/2016/06/29/privilege-never-having-say-youll-concede
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Her Sister
(6,444 posts)Haven't read yet. Looks good. Want to KnR!
Her Sister
(6,444 posts)DemonGoddess
(5,125 posts)mercuryblues
(15,424 posts)and I was happy he got in the race. I am so over him and his "brilliance." If Hillary did this in '08 the media would be all over this as her feeling that she is "entitled" to win. She would have been rightfully lambasted by Democrats and the media all day, every single day. Instead they frame Bernie's refusal to act like a grown up as some sort of a noble cause and Clinton is out of order for not cow-towing to him. Yes the female winner is expected to adopt the male loser's platform. Even though the country soundly rejected the male loser, they also need to bow to him and his platform.
We have our first viable female for President and Bernie feels he is entitled to tell her what she should do. She should sit down, shut up and do as he says. He treats her like a child, when in fact he is the one acting like a spoiled fucking brat having a temper tantrum because he only got 1 scoop of ice cream when he wanted 2 scoops.
You know what I did when my kids acted that way? Throw their ice cream in the trash and put them in their room. They would stay there until they stopped whining and be grateful for what they have. Apparently when Bernie was growing up, no one taught him that lesson in life. He does not play well with others.
His privilege is that as a full grown man, he is allowed to get away with this, in fear of hurting his feelings. He has shown his true colors.
UtahLib
(3,180 posts)BlueMTexpat
(15,527 posts)He feels that he is entitled to tell her what to do.
In a nutshell.
And the M$M - and others - enable him in this.
skylucy
(3,897 posts)I think people need to think about how Bernie's attitude and actions would be playing if Hillary were a man. The loser gets to tell the clear winner what she needs to do and how the convention will play out? I guess if the loser is a white man and the winner is a woman (for the first time in the history of our country) that is ok. I better not even get started about how disgusting this entire thing is...You articulated it perfectly!!!! HILLARY 2016!!
DemonGoddess
(5,125 posts)FloridaBlues
(4,450 posts)At this point does it matter if Bernie endorses? It would be nice but not critical his supporters for the majority who are Dem leaning are already there behind her.
We have moved on. At some point he will realize it too.
DemonGoddess
(5,125 posts)I don't think he's going to bring much to the table at this point, except for trouble. He's still not admitted she WON, so why would he go into this to be helpful? I expect him to do like Jerry Brown did in 1992
BobbyDrake
(2,542 posts)It's a non-story that distracts from the real race, and that's why whatever form it takes is bad news.
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stopbush
(24,643 posts)and is letting Sanders self implode.
With every day and demand, he loses influence and becomes more irrelevant. She's letting her surrogates handle the platform. Notice how Sanders is out front, writing editorials and going on TV to basically lament the lousy job his hand-picked platform team is doing. You don't see Hillary out there talking about these sidebar issues, but it's all that Sanders has left. Hillary is winning the platform battle, just like she won the nomination.
Over and over again, Sanders proves that after a life spent in politics, he's still an amateur when it comes to playing in the big leagues.
Her Sister
(6,444 posts)Am so glad she is the winner! I'm so so so glad!
fleabiscuit
(4,542 posts)The door of being relevant has already closed and those few still looking through the peep hole will walk away.
TeamPooka
(25,577 posts)Cha
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✔ @HillaryClinton
History: made. #IowaCaucus
4:38 AM - 2 Feb 2016
1,856 1,856 Retweets 4,139 4,139 likes
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Haveadream
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Cha
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President Obama is singing Happy Birthday to Malia and she came on stage and gave him a big hug!!!
What a lovely family.#4thOfJuly
2:03 PM - 4 Jul 2016
43 43 Retweets 57 57 likes
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Haveadream
(1,632 posts)will truly think of the consequences for so many innocents and reconsider their priorities. When any of us are called on about advantages we enjoy at the expense of others, it is the least we can do to imagine how the less fortunate feel. In the current situation, there are millions at risk. It is unfathomable how anyone could allow so many to be put in harms way without doing anything and everything possible to stop Trump and the threat he poses.