The best, most effective way to discourage young people from voting is to tell them that there is no difference between the two sides, that Republicans and Democrats are all the same, that all politicians are corrupt and cannot be trusted. Works every time.
I fear that the new voters who see Bernie Sanders as their savior are coming to view the rest of the Democratic party and those of us who have long worked to achieve it's goals as the enemy. When Bernie Sanders ran for governor as an Independent in Vermont against Madeleine May Kunin, a Democrat, his statement regarding Democrats and Republicans was: "It is absolutely fair to say you are dealing with Tweedledum and Tweedledee." Direct quote. Sure he has since said things like "On our worst day we are better than the Republicans," but it speaks to my larger concern about the tone of this campaign and the rhetoric of absolutism. If you are not endorsing him you are the "establishment" ... you are the "bogeyman." This is dangerous. I am thrilled that these young voters are engaged. I welcome the passion and fervor Mr. Sanders evokes, but I also want to temper this with a simple fact.
We Democrats are on the same side and it is not the one occupied by the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. We may support different candidates at this point, but in the long run we must stay together and work together to promote a Democratic agenda no matter who is leading that charge. Young people it is your future on the line and I care about that. So does Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Democrats who are supporting her. Whoever wins, you will need our help to shape that future. We are not your enemy.
Today's headlines have been screaming that we are going to South Carolina and "it is going to get ugly" I hope not. I truly think it has gotten ugly enough. It is very painful to be told that despite much evidence to the contrary I am not a progressive. Turns out I am just an establishment hack who worships big business and lacks any real conviction. I support Hillary Clinton for president and therefore I must realize that I am a part of the problem. It is more than a little disheartening to learn that all of those years I spent working on behalf of People with AIDS, Good Shepherd Home for Battered Women and Children, The Progressive Majority, Voices for Progress, Power Pac and "establishment" organizations like Planned Parenthood and the HRC I was under the thumb of "the man." All of time that my friends and I spent working to support folks like Howard Dean, Russ Feingold, Sherrod Brown, Claire McCaskill and Barack Obama, I was just a misguided fool in the pockets of the big banks. (Someone should have explained this to my accountant who had to call me into his office and explain that, if I kept giving so much of my money to so called "progressive" politicians and causes I thought were worthy, I was headed for a future of wheeling a shopping cart down Hollywood Boulevard.) My Facebook page is full of people screaming that I am being fooled by the media and that the political process is rigged. The "Berners" are hurling Karl Rove's talking points at me as proof of this.
So let me explain as calmly as I can that while I may disagree with your tactics and support a different candidate than you, I am absolutely on your side. I implore you to understand that there is a big huge gaping maw of a difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
I have issues with some of the proposals in Bernie's platform, but I certainly do not think that he is the equivalent of a Donald Trump. Barack Obama has worked his heart out to achieve what were pre-Bernie known to be "progressive" goals. The fact that he has not been able to convince a Republican congress to collaborate on many of the left's shared ideals does not mean that he is the same as George W. Bush. Bill Clinton recovered our economy from a serious recession and helped usher America into the most prosperous era of my lifetime. He was not perfect on every social issue, but he cared and he tried and he was an entirely different leader in terms of his temperament and values than his predecessor Ronald Reagan.
The response of the Bernie camp to any critique of his platform is to accuse the questioner of being a shill for the establishment. This is also dangerous. When Claire McCaskill dares to suggest that a socialist candidate for president is going to be a tough sell in Missouri, let's consider that she may speaking from experience. She might believe this because she had to spend millions of dollars and campaign very hard to defeat an opponent who suggested that women seeking family planning assistance should "hold an aspirin between their knees." I am going to go out on a limb here and say that perhaps she knows her constituents and would like to see a Democrat in the White House. Maybe she cares about stuff like that. Maybe it matters to her that we h
I fear that the new voters who see Bernie Sanders as their savior are coming to view the rest of the Democratic party and those of us who have long worked to achieve it's goals as the enemy. When Bernie Sanders ran for governor as an Independent in Vermont against Madeleine May Kunin, a Democrat, his statement regarding Democrats and Republicans was: "It is absolutely fair to say you are dealing with Tweedledum and Tweedledee." Direct quote. Sure he has since said things like "On our worst day we are better than the Republicans," but it speaks to my larger concern about the tone of this campaign and the rhetoric of absolutism. If you are not endorsing him you are the "establishment" ... you are the "bogeyman." This is dangerous. I am thrilled that these young voters are engaged. I welcome the passion and fervor Mr. Sanders evokes, but I also want to temper this with a simple fact.
We Democrats are on the same side and it is not the one occupied by the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. We may support different candidates at this point, but in the long run we must stay together and work together to promote a Democratic agenda no matter who is leading that charge. Young people it is your future on the line and I care about that. So does Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Democrats who are supporting her. Whoever wins, you will need our help to shape that future. We are not your enemy.
Today's headlines have been screaming that we are going to South Carolina and "it is going to get ugly" I hope not. I truly think it has gotten ugly enough. It is very painful to be told that despite much evidence to the contrary I am not a progressive. Turns out I am just an establishment hack who worships big business and lacks any real conviction. I support Hillary Clinton for president and therefore I must realize that I am a part of the problem. It is more than a little disheartening to learn that all of those years I spent working on behalf of People with AIDS, Good Shepherd Home for Battered Women and Children, The Progressive Majority, Voices for Progress, Power Pac and "establishment" organizations like Planned Parenthood and the HRC I was under the thumb of "the man." All of time that my friends and I spent working to support folks like Howard Dean, Russ Feingold, Sherrod Brown, Claire McCaskill and Barack Obama, I was just a misguided fool in the pockets of the big banks. (Someone should have explained this to my accountant who had to call me into his office and explain that, if I kept giving so much of my money to so called "progressive" politicians and causes I thought were worthy, I was headed for a future of wheeling a shopping cart down Hollywood Boulevard.) My Facebook page is full of people screaming that I am being fooled by the media and that the political process is rigged. The "Berners" are hurling Karl Rove's talking points at me as proof of this.
So let me explain as calmly as I can that while I may disagree with your tactics and support a different candidate than you, I am absolutely on your side. I implore you to understand that there is a big huge gaping maw of a difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
I have issues with some of the proposals in Bernie's platform, but I certainly do not think that he is the equivalent of a Donald Trump. Barack Obama has worked his heart out to achieve what were pre-Bernie known to be "progressive" goals. The fact that he has not been able to convince a Republican congress to collaborate on many of the left's shared ideals does not mean that he is the same as George W. Bush. Bill Clinton recovered our economy from a serious recession and helped usher America into the most prosperous era of my lifetime. He was not perfect on every social issue, but he cared and he tried and he was an entirely different leader in terms of his temperament and values than his predecessor Ronald Reagan.
The response of the Bernie camp to any critique of his platform is to accuse the questioner of being a shill for the establishment. This is also dangerous. When Claire McCaskill dares to suggest that a socialist candidate for president is going to be a tough sell in Missouri, let's consider that she may speaking from experience. She might believe this because she had to spend millions of dollars and campaign very hard to defeat an opponent who suggested that women seeking family planning assistance should "hold an aspirin between their knees." I am going to go out on a limb here and say that perhaps she knows her constituents and would like to see a Democrat in the White House. Maybe she cares about stuff like that. Maybe it matters to her that we h