Bernie Sanders is doing severe damage to Leftist politics.

[forjusticethunders]

Expecting to get flamed by the usual suspects but riddle me this, after the shitshow of the past few months, how the hell do you sell a leftist candidate now? How do you push a quasi-socialist or socialist candidate without them being associated with the last "socialist" candidate? How close are we to having left-wing politics associated with chaos and anarchy and misogyny?

Remember when we were saying that "Sanders has rehabilitated the word socialism"? I'm not sure about that anymore, now that the Sanders movement has spent the past few months reenacting the worst stereotypes and smears of the Right. Everything that conservatives have said about left-wingers for years is being acted out by the BernieBros, from immaturity to excuse-making to laziness. How are not just conservatives but moderate Dems (the people we have to move leftwing to even have a shot) gonna look at this and say "See, this is what socialism is really about!"?

This is what happened in 68 where a lot of people looked at the radicals then and said "Nope, not for me" and pulled the lever for Nixon. Now,Trump is no Nixon, Nixon wasn't crazy and he was a very competent politician, evil as he was. But the parallels are there.

Believe it or not, you can't just declare victory just because everyone in your bubble agrees with you, you have to convince people outside said bubble, and that has become that much harder.

[TCJ70]

1. "How close are we to having left-wing politics associated with chaos and anarchy and misogyny?"

Depends on how the DNC and Democratic establishment respond. The GOP went all in labelling Obama a socialist and I'm pretty certain there isn't anyone here who would agree with that characterization. Obama is just a sliver left of center. So it's up to Democrats to maintain the policies of the left, unless they aren't interested in that either, which remains to be seen with how they and Clinton proceed.

[Robbins]

2. democratic party isn't lefist

they agree with republicans.come 2017 both partys will be working together on trade and war and screwing the 99% in favor of the top 1%

people like you sell this false memo out there.but i expect that from clinton supporters.

[Sheepshank]

4. OH BULL!

There is a world of difference from the Left and Right, and only those with an agenda to damage the Left, constantly portray the message there is not difference.

[KPN]

16. Oh bull yourself.

Your left is right of Reagan.

[LondonReign2]

49. Ayup

These refugees from the Republican party want the Democrats to move even further to the right and then define that patch of group to the right of Reagan to mean "progressive", since it isn't as batshit crazy as the new Republicans

[passiveporcupine]

27. Oh joy, another yellow button

Plonk

Buh Bye!

[Autumn]

3. Bad Bernie. Here have a hug

[myrna minx]

5. Then tell David Brock and his minions to quit attacking leftist policies as

Unicorn farts and pie in the sky and smearing actual DEMOCTRATIC VOTERS, proclaiming that they're (meaning me and other anti war middle aged feminists like me) horrible people.

[frylock]

6. Here they come.

[passiveporcupine]

29. There you go

Plonk

Another yellow button

Buh Bye!

[frylock]

32. Hunh?

[jack_krass]

7. Translation: Bernie is scaring the SHIT out of the oligarchs, warmongers, and corrupt esablishment

Types.

Go Bernie. ALL THE WAY TO THE CONVENTIO!!!!!!!

[YouDig]

8. There's a more fundamental problem, that the die-hard leftists actually like

the chaos and anarchy, and even in some cases the misogyny. When the angry mob was calling Boxer a "bitch", what is the response from Bernie die-hards? That she shouldn't have said those things to them. I don't know if Bernie's campaign has tainted the product he's selling. I think he's just exposing the taint that was already there.

[cali]

20. And some of you love economic inequality and

want grandmas to eat cat food.

Bullshit is easy to spew.

[YouDig]

23. Except people are actually blaming Barbara Boxer.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511996527

[baldguy]

9. The violence at the 1968 DNC helped liberal icon Hubert Humphrey lose the election to Nixon

And pretty much killed the progressive cause for 30 yrs, and led to Reagan, Bush I & Bush II.

The Bernie fans seems to want the same this year.

[Skink]

10. Actually Nixons southern strategy took effect

Hillary couldn't have done it better.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. LBJ's war gave us Nixon. Not those who opposed the war.

Humpty just offered more of the same.

[passiveporcupine]

31. Another yellow button

Plonk

Buh Bye!

[walkingman]

45. What is your solution?

The GOP does everything it can to discourage voters with Voter ID, extreme gerrymandering, and social retard-ism and the Democrats are doing it with closed primaries, super delegates. What would you suggest. No doubt Hillary is far better than Trump but she by no means represents left-wing politics.

I am ready for the US to join the rest of the world politically. We are not exceptional in any manner except in the love of Money and War.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Mahatma Gandhi

Bernie is not the revolution. He's a helluva good spokesman for the revolution.

Politics-as-usual is past its shelf life and dying a slow death.

[anotherproletariat]

13. You are so right. It's the same with all idealoges - the inabiltiy to compromise never ends well.

The way his campaign is ending will certainly be bad for his movement. If the size of his two SF Bay Area rallies yesterday are any indication, there are clear signs his message is getting old. In a metro area of 7 million, he was only able to turn out 5 thousand total people (2K in San Jose, and 3K in Vallejo)...and that was with tons of advertising on social and broadcast media. My mom works at UC Berkeley, and the Sanders folks asked to have a rally there, but were denied for fear of violence (UC didn't want to provide the police required).

[JCanete]

41. If we're going to compromise, I prefer that we get something. A compromise is not losing less. nt

[Betty Karlson]

14. It's Third Way that has been doing do for thirty years.

Sanders is just the tip of the cleaning team that is going to get rid of the mess DWS and her DINO-pals have been making.

[tokenlib]

22. Exactly!! N/t

[Ferd Berfel]

24. Exactly to the point

THe Damage, has been the 40 year effort by the Corporatist DLC and their spawn to eliminate progressives, liberals and humanists from the PArty and turn it into a 'centrist' Republican Corporate party.

[kayakjohnny]

42. Nice!

[Goblinmonger]

15. Brock should stop attacking him then.

If this primary has proven anything, it is that the Dem party is far from the progressive party it pretends it wants to be.

[KPN]

17. +1!

And millions upon millions have woken up to that. You can't switch that off! The Democratic Party will be the loser in this if they continue along their current track.

You can't alienate 46% of your membership and expect things to go smoothly forward. The D Party is going the way of the GOP -- breaking into two.

[RobertEarl]

18. Kinda funny

I think all the 8 people who recced your pos op are on my ignore list.

What you need to know is that Bernie is Underground personified.

[Doctor_J]

19. Cool story bro. You and the rest of the DINOS should be cheering that.

If your claim wasn't complete bullshit, you should be ecstatic. You hate liberals and liberalism, so enjoy!

[Orsino]

21. ...by introducing it to the Democratic Establishment?

No, the power to deal damage so far rest mainly with the Establishment.

I was going to be okay with progressivism getting slightly mauled in the process. It's new to our party, and will have to compromise.

[aikoaiko]

25. Berner is showing what it means to not give up on a cause. He's doing fine.

[workinclasszero]

26. "Sanders has rehabilitated the word socialism"

Then he killed it all over again.

[bkkyosemite]

28. ....

[Cheese Sandwich]

30. There are a lot of us. Either let us in, or lock us out. Take your pick.

[libdem4life]

35. We're already in. We are the Democratic Party...which is sometimes

confused and convoluted with the DNC/DWS/HRC Party. The Third Way will need to rename, just as we Liberals were forced to take on Progressive...whatever that means.

I can think of a some possibilities...Hawks or We're #3 or The Triangle.

[JCanete]

33. I have an idea. Stop being one of the water carriers trying to destroy leftist politics.

If you are letting the coordinated attacks being brought by the establishment work on you, and you are even propagating them forward, then you are the one who is helping to undercut the leftist agenda.

This is a problem for any idealistic movement that has the establishment's ire. If the powers that be can't ignore you any more, they will sure as hell try to make you a joke, and if they can make you a joke they will make damn sure to saddle any new burgeoning movement with your name. Does the trotting out of Nader every couple days as a foil for Sanders ring a bell? The sad part is its the Democratic establishment that is doing it.

You just don't strike me as having done your homework. All of the criticisms you levy at sanders supporters you can levy at Clinton supporters, and there are far more republican talking points coming from the actual Clinton camp, not just random supporters.

The biggest irony here is that this line of attack you're using is a Republican line of attack. Smear, buy into smear as fact, fake a come to jesus, rinse repeat.

[elehhhhna]

37. we should eat our peas and appease our republidem overlords

[Melissa G]

50. +1

This Op is part of the problems, not the solution.

[AgerolanAmerican]

34. Who uses the word "leftist"?

Not anybody on the left that I'm aware of.

[RufusTFirefly]

43. Never mind Sanders. This is the guy who truly damaged the "leftist" brand

[sibelian]

52. Republicans. nt.

[Broward]

36. Sure, in the mind of some right-wingers.

[DemocraticSocialist8]

38. Bernie is not doing damage to the Left

He's giving people something to fight for and exposing corruption in the Democratic Party and that's upsetting people.

[RufusTFirefly]

39. Yes! And Ben Carson has ruined things for AA Presidential candidates

Sorry, folks. That's reality. Can't be helped.

And if you're a neurosurgeon? I don't care what color or gender you are. Don't even think about running!

[lumberjack_jeff]

40. Bernie! Quit now before they start calling you a loser!!!!

how fucking stupid do you think we are?

[EndElectoral]

44. Socialism....yikes

“It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. No real American wants socialized medicine, but Congress is attempting to fool the nation into adopting just such a program. It has already succeeded in imposing a socialist program on the country by creating and implementing Social Security, which was originally envisioned to bring “all people of Social Security age… under a program of compulsory health insurance they call Medicare...And once the Medicare proposal of King-Anderson is in place, the government will begin constructing an entire raft of socialist programs, and that, he says, will lead to the destruction of American democracy." - Ronald Reagan, 1962

God forbid we have a quasi socialist.

[arely staircase]

46. Sanders cares about Sanders. NT

[libtodeath]

47. So promoting leftist political positions is damaging those positions?

How revealing.

[bobbobbins01]

48. How could he damage something that was on life support until his run?

He almost single handedly revitalized the left.

[Depaysement]

51. Another crock of Brock

[Rex]

53. "you can't just declare victory just because everyone in your bubble agrees with you"

Good luck with that, I hope you reflect on those words yourself.