It would be helpful if you kept the comments on topic-ask the question you want asked (and to whom you would direct it). First, you can add them as comments under this story. There are two ways you can submit questions. You know how people say, “Why isn’t anyone talking about … ?” Well, now’s the chance to make sure we’re talking about those things. Extra points if you ask something that others haven’t. But overall, this is a grassroots effort to empower you to ask the questions that should be answered. If the candidate equivocates or tries to avoid the question, or if there’s a cool angle that might be worth pursuing, then I’ll prod a bit more. You create the questions, Cheryl and I ask them. Rather, I’m interested in facilitating your questions. I have no interest in going up there to ask my own questions. A couple of other names may confirm soon.īut here’s the thing. Read MoreĪt next month’s Netroots Nation in Philadelphia, Cheryl Contee (who has a great new book out) and I will be hosting a presidential forum, which should be great fun! Joining us so far are Elizabeth Warren, Jay Inslee, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Julian Castro. He’s not going to win any nomination with 15% support.Īll that said (because I’ve said it before, and I don’t want to pretend that I haven’t), Bernie Sanders has been great for the party for one reason: He has been so effective at selling the “Democratic Socialist” label that he (along with Ocasio-Cortez) has effectively neutralized Donald Trump and the GOP’s single biggest attack agains the Democrats. That inability to message past his mostly white (and male) base of support is problematic both as a substantive matter (marginalized communities have challenges that aren’t solved with income equality-just ask the Jewish community, or middle-class transgender individuals), and also because it’s dumb politics. His “my policies help everyone” message mirrored the Right’s “all lives matter” response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Attending the She the People forum, one focused on black women, he refused to answer a question on how his policies would specifically help women of color.
He’s not always a team player.ģ) He’s not interested in broadening his coalition. It was a personally advantageous move, no doubt, but one that hurt the broader progressive movement. Instead, he’s only a Democrat during presidential primary season. Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have the more productive (and far less polarizing) approach.Ģ) He legitimized Fox by doing a town hall on the network at a time when activists have been making gains in their efforts to delegitimize the GOP’s top propaganda arm.
As a hardcore partisan working toward a more liberal Democratic Party (and country), I wish he had used his post-2016 influence to help build the party among his skeptical base. I’m going to write something nice about Bernie Sanders! To recap, I’ve been critical of his campaign for three reasons:ġ) He is only a Democrat when it suits his personal ambitions. Explaining what "socialism" really means hasn't just inoculated Democrats it's HELPING them.
0 kommentar(er)
