Clinton cedes the mantle of "Progressive" to Sanders

[portlander23]

Hillary Clinton:

You know, I get accused of being kind of moderate and center. I plead guilty. I think sometimes it’s important when you’re in the elected arena you try to figure out how do you bring people together to get something done rather than standing on opposite sides yelling at each other.

Bernie Sanders (in response):

I am somebody who for the last thirty years has stood up and fought for working families, I've taken on virtually every special interest in the country from Wall Street to the drug companies. I am a proud progressive.

[NowSam]

1. Thank you Bernie.

We need a fighter right now.

[AgingAmerican]

2. 'Center' = half Democrat and Half Republican

Given 99% of the nations problems are caused by right wing policies, why would any sane Democrat claim to be half Republican

Someone needs to ask her, "Which Republican policies do you support and why?

[craigmatic]

4. That third way shit is only for politicians who don't believe in their party's principles.

It's cowardly and only wins in times when conservatives have held power for a long time like going into a fourth term like 1992 in the US or 1997 in the UK.

[daleanime]

25. +1

[Fawke Em]

32. I believe another Kennedy is going to come out for Bernie soon. eom

[RufusTFirefly]

22. Given that right-wing nutjobs are routinely called "conservative," I guess it's worse than that. n/t

[craigmatic]

3. Nobody is inspired by moderates. We live in times that demand action on big issues Obama showed us

that. Hillary and Jeb on the republican side are boring and represent the past. Hillary's moderation is a throwback to the 90's when the center was further right but now we live in a time where the center is further left. She's out of step and that's why she's losing. If she wanted to be president this badly she should've ran in 2004 when she could've won and people would've flocked to her.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Sadly, what usually happens when people say they try to bring people together

to get something done, it usually means that due diligence is going to be kicked to the curb.

[dreamnightwind]

47. Right, and the intersection where centrist Dems and Republicans...

can get something done, is strictly limited to the wishes of their corporate donors. No thanks to that.

[Baitball Blogger]

53. You just never realize how far the power of the executive office has on local issues,

until you get steam-rolled by their large campaign donors.

[monmouth4]

6. I can see why DWS wants to keep the debates to six, the more she speaks the worse it gets..n/t

[LondonReign2]

49. +1,000

The more people see of Hillary the less they like her, same as it was on 2007/08

[CharlotteVale]

7. When you get "people" together, somehow the Democratic people always get screwed.

And with Hillary in the White House, that certainly won't change.

[Doctor_J]

8. I wonder if her supporters will now stop claiming that she's liberal

It would be a time saver to stop seeing that ridiculous fantasy posted.

[RufusTFirefly]

23. +1 But, but they've got evidence!

Unfortunately, everything but the candidate's own words, actions, and policies.

[jeff47]

40. We already know Clinton's own statements won't change their mind on other issues.

Why would this be any different?

[hifiguy]

42. As I noted a few days ago, HRH could have an hour-long televised sit-down

with DicKKK Cheney where they barbequed live kittens together and the Hillionaires would find ways to spin/deny/deflect/explain it all away.

It's sad, really.

[jfern]

9. Moderate in this country means the same as right-wing Republican 35 years ago

[jalan48]

10. The problem is that moderate these days means 80's Republican.

We've gone far enough right. It's time for Democrats to become Democrats again.

[Gman]

11. I like Hillary's comment better

She gets things done.

[MannyGoldstein]

14. What, in your estimation, were the three most important things she got done?

Anyone else is invited to answer the question, too.

Only positive things, please!

[frylock]

27. Awful quiet here.

[MannyGoldstein]

29. It's a magic question. nt

[frylock]

30. Gosh, it's gotta be hard to narrow it down to just the three.

[MannyGoldstein]

31. That's almost certainly the problem. nt

[dreamnightwind]

48. Well done

and that is no empty snark, it speaks to the hollow essence of her political existence.

[JonLeibowitz]

56. kick.

[paleotn]

20. Bringing working class Americans

"together" with Wall Street financial sharks. Oh, that will work our really well. We'll take a middle approach on only half screw the average American. Gotcha.

[hifiguy]

43. No more of this kind of bullshit:

for Bernie!

[dreamnightwind]

50. Thanks for resurrecting an alltime favorite - eom

[frylock]

26. Who cares if they're the wrong things?

By golly, things are getting done.

[leveymg]

28. Like, the Iraq War? Got done to death.

[rhett o rick]

46. Yes but the wrong things. If you haven't noticed we have a 22% of American children living in

poverty. Someone has not been getting the correct things done. We are losing jobs to China and our environment is being decimated for oil company profits. She helped get the Iraq War "done". Thanks a lot.

We need change from the Oligarchy run government and she is not going to do it.

[tomm2thumbs]

12. To many Democrats 'moderate' can equate to 'wishy washy and unprincipled'

well, I guess truth in advertising

[lobodons]

13. Just like the GOP needs Teabaggers to win elections

The Dems will need Bernie Progressives both locally and nationally to win elections.

[thesquanderer]

15. Calling yourself moderate may help in the general...

...but makes it harder to get there.

I guess she's confident enough about winning the nomination to risk that. Sounds like she's playing the long game, already running her November campaign.

[dreamnightwind]

51. I think she's just realized she can't hold the left flank

so she's doubling down on what she wants to be viewed as the moderate center (it's really corporatism masquerading as centrism).

[Cosmic Kitten]

16. Hillary is the CHAMPION of ????

She say's she's the champion of the middle class...
but won't yell at the "other side" to win the fight!

Go Bernie!

[hifiguy]

44. Any Clinton is the "champion" of one thing:

Advancing the Clintons. And nothing else.

[mdbl]

17. The mind of a true DCCC'er

The DLC and DCCC has turned the Clintons into someone I know longer recognize. Is she really idiotic enough to think that Repugs will work with her? They will treat her as bad if not worse than Obama.

[dflprincess]

18. As Jim Hightower has said

"Nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos."

[SomeGuyInEagan]

19. Yup. Made a great book title, too.

Like Jim's radio commentaries in the '90s.

[Bubzer]

21. That says a lot all on its own.

[paleotn]

24. We know exactly what happens to "moderate" Dems....

....they get slaughtered in the general. How many times have we seen some blue dog, DCCC Dem get crushed by a Republican wackaloon, so insane they're barely functional? More than a few times. If you don't fire up your own side, you lose, period, end of story. What little momentum or buzz there is doesn't carry over to those who pay little attention to day to day politics and they stay home. The base is lukewarm and many of them fail to vote as well. The right wing nuts do turn out and we end up with the Congress and state houses we currently have. Firing up the base put Barrack Obama in the White House twice. Hillary Clinton....no student of political history is she.

[Katashi_itto]

33. K&R

[Spitfire of ATJ]

34. Hillary, you're not preventing people from standing on opposite sides yelling at each other.....

You're standing on their side claiming you're not with us.

You tell them you don't know us. You aren't like us.

....and you know what?

They STILL hate you.

BTW: You're supposed to have OUR backs. We're not supposed to have yours.

[Hydra]

35. It's the whole "Imperial Presidency" thing

The people in the beltway have forgotten that they are public servants. They don't think enough of us down here on the ground to actually consider having our backs.

[840high]

36. Perhaps because we vote the same

crooks in over and over - as long as they have a D after their name. Sure they take us for granted.

[Hydra]

37. That's certainly been a problem

But maybe we're growing past that. Hard to say, lots of entrenched interests and bad power players to uproot.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

38. Some of her fans are acting like it's a "loyalty to the Party issue"....

The Clintons don't OWN the Democratic Party.

[CoffeeCat]

39. I am so sick and tired of Democrats...

…who insist that a failure to stand up for basic, Progressive, core Democrat-party principals--is simply compromise.

Bullshit.

Republicans don't compromise. Do you ever hear conservative Republicans telling their party faithful to back down on being pro-life because it's so important compromise and get things done?

Hell no!

Do you think any Republicans tell their evangelical wing that they must tone down the God stuff so Democrats will like us and work with us?

The Democrats in our party who suggest that we must work together--always cave. Compromise is code for--Republicans win and Democrats fold.

We have a two-party system for a reason. It's ok to debate, discuss and listen. It's ok to be somewhat flexible on some things. However, when it comes to your core principals--you fight. We elected you to FIGHT--not play footsie with a bunch of extremist, right-wing, nut job, Fox-watching derelicts!

[emsimon33]

41. At least Hillary is honest

She is just more of the same. Enough is enough.

[Armstead]

45. Hell I'm a moderte too -- That's why I support Bernie

Sanders is trying to drag the political/economic system back to a true centr, where there are checks and balances to restrain the gred and lust for poser of the already powerful, where the middle class can survive and where the poor are given support and opportunity to rise.

In order to be a rel moderate these days, it's necessary to shake the system loose from the stranglehold.

[Buzz cook]

52. This is Tim Russert journalism

Look for a supposed contradiction and there ya go, Al Gore is fat.

[L0oniX]

54. Just guessing ...Kim Davis will be voting for Hillary?

[Hollingsworth]

55. A display of more awkwardness and lack of self identity

Earlier in the summer she was an echo of what Bernie and Warren were saying, a mimic of their ideas they have held for many, many years.

And now she decides that isn't working (people were actually laughing at her poor attempt of rewriting history) and retreats to the center.

This is not the comport of a successful campaign. She seems to be flailing around trying to hit any lucky spot and that is a sign of confusion and weakness.

Disclaimer: This does not mean I hate Hillary Clinton. This is an observation of a political candidate.