Bernie Sanders, don't drop out By Paul Begala

[Cooley Hurd]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/opinions/bernie-sanders-begala/index.html

(CNN)

Dear Bernie:

Don't drop out of the race; redefine it.

As you know, I am a friend of Hillary Clinton's. I also advise a super PAC that helped re-elect President Obama and now supports Hillary. But I also have known, liked, respected and admired you for many years, and you know that, too.
We shared the stage at the 2011 Tom Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa, and I cheered as you lit the crowd on fire that soggy afternoon. You seemed to like my barbs aimed at the GOP, too.
I recall two decades ago, when you and Hillary were both fighting for universal health coverage -- back when it was called Hillarycare -- you hosted the first lady on a trip to Vermont and I tagged along. I still remember how gracious you were -- and how good the ice cream was.

Despite my devotion to Hillary I do not think you ought to withdraw from the race, and it is wrongheaded for anyone on my side of the Democratic contest to presume to tell you to. To quit or not to quit; that is not the question. The question is: Will you use your campaign to show Donald Trump how to attack Hillary -- or to show Hillary how to attack Donald Trump?

</snip>

[CrowCityDem]

1. The calls for him to drop out are because he's still attacking Hillary, and Dems in general.

[Cooley Hurd]

2. And an ardent Secretary Clinton supporter disagrees.

[CrowCityDem]

9. Go read the last sentence again. He's telling Bernie to stop attacking her, and focus on Trump.

[bkkyosemite]

8. He is contrasting Hillary with his stance on the issues. She is bought by Wall Street even if Bernie

wants to remain politically correct. I won't.

[CentralCoaster]

13. the hell you say!

that's is funny!

[Skwmom]

3. Bernie stop trying to win the nomination and stay in to prop up the corrupt sytem & Hillary.

It is hard to say you are for a revolution if you work to prop up a corrupt system.

[Cooley Hurd]

5. By every account, he is trying to steer the trajectory back to the left...

...which I appreciate, since I'm an unrepentant "leftist" (i.e. pro-Labor, pro-Working-class).

[farleftlib]

18. You said it

He's asking Bernie to deliver the left to Hillary, although she hates us and will
never give an inch to the grassroots, while she courts the right who are her true
constituents after all. I've known Begala was full of crap for a long time now and I
hope he doesn't think we can't see through his plea for what it really is. Eat a
shit sandwich and tell us all how good it tastes.

[HooptieWagon]

29. Bingo.

It finally dawned on Camp Weathervane that they can't win without the liberals they pissed on. Fuck 'em, they burned the bridge, leveled it, and hauled it to the smelters.

[tularetom]

4. Passive aggressive bullshit from a longtime Clinton stooge

What he's really saying is don't drop out but endorse Clinton anyway.

[Cooley Hurd]

6. He's asking Senator Sanders to keep on changing the trajectory...

I agree.

[beedle]

7. Can Hillary supporters be any more disingenuous? nt

[HooptieWagon]

30. As phoney as their candidate.

[BootinUp]

10. You're a brave one Mr. Cooley. K&R

[Cooley Hurd]

11. I'm a realist. The machine may try to crush Senator Sanders...

...but he will influence this election cycle in a most positive way.

[Satch59]

12. Even though I support Hillary...

I agree this is a veiled attempt by Begala and at times condescending...asking Bernie to show Hillary how to attack Trump... Hillary can clearly handle Trump and Bernie should be attacking Trump & Hillary if he thinks he has a shot at the nomination...which I think is a no.

Bernie has to walk a line so not to damage his stake in the Dem Party if he wants a voice there. I do agree with Begala that Bernie could achieve that by backing off Hillary attacks, upping Trump attacks in exchange for a voice in the platform...both BS & HRC can bend a bit to make it work for both. I have no doubt Bernie will help unify...and Trump is the reason. The fire power from the Dem party will be massive once the GE officially begins.

I also think Hillary benefits from Bernie staying in by running 2 campaigns at the same time, helps show she can handle 2 separate fights and produce positive results.

[Cheese Sandwich]

14. That would be even worse than dropping out.

I would rather see Bernie drop out that see him stop campaigning.

The whole point of the primary is the contest between rival factions inside the Democratic Party.

Begala is telling Bernie to stop campaigning and instead turn the election into pure theater and become an attack dog for the Democrats against the Republicans.

The time for fighting Republicans is during the general election. Right now is the time for Democrats to fight inside the Party to decide what it stands for. These Democrats need to learn that when they act and vote like Republicans on trade, on cutting social services, on issues of war and empire, then yes they will face an unrelenting challenge from the progressive left. Bernie is simply the one delivering the message. I guarantee you Bernie Sanders doesn't care about winning the respect of Paul Begala. Bernie cares about keeping the respect of the grassroots progressive community that is carrying him.

[MuseRider]

15. There is not one single person in this country

who does not already know how to attack Hillary. Give this shit a rest. After a nice note you end it up with essentially blaming him for arming Trump or at least asking him to stop running but DON'T stop running?

Again, there is no one in this country who has paid one whit of attention that could not figure out how to attack Hillary. It has all been out there forever. If she loses it is not Bernie Sanders fault nor the fault of his supporters no matter how they vote and what any of you think about it. If she offers enough good governing ideas to enough people she will win, it is all on her.

[imagine2015]

16. Trump doesn't need any help from Bernie on attacking Hillary. Hillary gave him plenty of ammunition

Trump and his professional propagandists appreciate Hillary's help.

Trump will use all of it.

[redwitch]

17. I'm glad Paul Begala remembers where Bernie was during that long ago healthcare battle.

It was forgotten by Sec. Clinton.

[w4rma]

25. "Forgotten"

[Beacool]

19. Personally, I have repeatedly said that Sanders has the right to stay in the race until the end.

What IMO crosses the line is the campaign's strategy to try to convince super delegates to switch to Sanders regardless if he goes to the convention lagging in pledged delegates and the popular vote. That is beyond the pale and an attempt to subvert the will of the people. It's dishonorable and undemocratic. I expected better from him.

[merrily]

28. Because those professional politicians who united against him from the off will just be putty in

his hands? Please.

[BernieforPres2016]

20. Begala has the second most punchable face in politics, just behind Ted Cruz

Fuck that pathetic weasel.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. I imagine that both Trump and Hillary are qualified to attack each other without Bernie's help.

Both are ruthless politicians.

[Eric J in MN]

22. RE: '2011 Tom Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa'

So much for the idea that Bernie Sanders doesn't do events for Democrats.

Anyway, Bernie Sanders is already criticizing Donald Trump much more than Hillary Clinton in his speeches.

[merrily]

33. Bernie has campaigned for Democrats. Giving credence to biased posters

who either don't check facts or who deliberately misstate them is not a good idea. It's not as though we know their resumes.

[MisterP]

23. where's Jon Stewart when you need him?

and didn't the Begalas say they were for semiautos because they liked to "atomize" gophers?

[Waiting For Everyman]

24. He couldn't be more wrong on this:

"But Hillary... is simply not the personification of what's wrong with the system --"

OH YES SHE IS! That's exactly what she is. Why even put in a statement like that, which is so 180-degrees opposite of the truth?

He reckons she's the nominee based on two things:

Her greater number of votes are a result of low-balling caucus states. Her lead in supers is another fiction which doesn't even get determined until the convention.

In other words, neither will go to the convention with it sewn up, and Bernie has just as much chance as HRC does. Sit down, Paul. And stay out of the way while states vote.

[highprincipleswork]

26. For once with Paul Begala, I'm actually with him. This is brilliant, good advice.

[merrily]

27. As far as I am concerned, Begala can urinate in his hat and keep his condescending keyboard to

himself.

And no, I would not put that on his facebook page or anywhere I thought he or his staff might actually see it.

[merrily]

36. when I first heard the hat bit, I was a high school frosh and it wasn't about urinating.

At that point, it was the most shocking thing I'd heard in my life. (I had had a bizarrely, um, strict upbringing.)
Who knew that I'd find a use for it?

[merrily]

38. LOL! Thanks for looking on the bright side.

[Kall]

31. Donald Trump already knows how to attack Hillary Clinton.

Duh. It's not complicated. You're hearing it already. Hillary Clinton polls with unfavorability and dishonesty ratings almost as high as Donald Trump, hence the Crooked Hillary nickname to go along with Little Marco, Low Energy Jeb, and Lyin' Ted, his past victims. It's going to stick like those did because of her self-inflicted incidents like Bosnian sniper fire lies, setting up her private server (it was an unforced error in judgment, regardless what comes of it), and giving $225,000/hour speeches to financial firms that wrecked the world that she would ostensibly oversee as President as she was planning out her run (her bad judgment, not Sanders', and the GOP would not have just ignored it if he did). He's already going after her for NAFTA and the TPP, and her weak rebuttal that she is now kind of against the TPP is not going to work - she looks ridiculous, having spent years selling it as the "gold standard". He's already been hitting on the madness of spending trillions in the Middle East, rather than build US infrastructure. Bloody Bill Kristol and his ilk habe already come out and said they're more comfortable with Hillary Clinton.

There's no greater risk than going with the ultimate establishment candidate this year, when 9 of 10 voters say their top voting issue is the economy, people have gone through 8 years of economic "recovery" that they have felt left out of, and people think the political system sucks and is corrupt.

[dchill]

32. I've always thought that the word "smarmy"...

was invented for people like Begala.

[Sky Masterson]

39. He will use his campaign to criticize her on her record.

Do people actually believe that if Bernie treated her with kid gloves that Trump would do the same?
That is Asinine.
Of course Bernie should stay in.
He should stay in to test our voting system at the very least.
This Primary has exposed a shit-load of troubled areas that are better noticed now than on Super Tuesday when it matters the most.
Also, this pandering to Bernie Supporters isn't going to erase the shenanigans pulled by the Dem Leadership in this primary that highly favored a certain ex First Lady.
You can't abuse us at night and say I'm sorry in the morning and convince us that you are good for us.
We aint in that kind of relationship anymore.

[DebDoo]

40. "Show Hillary how to attack Trump" - apparently he thinks she needs help

[Warren DeMontague]

41. It is fallacious to suggest Sanders hasn't been attacking Trump. He has from the get-go.

But he can walk and chew gum at the same time.

He's already helping Hillary Clinton, by pushing her to adopt braver and bolder leadership positions on actual issues. One hopes.