2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders wistful about a missed matchup against Trump: 'I wish to God I'd had the opportunity' [View all]DeminPennswoods
(15,286 posts)Personally, I think Hillary is a lot more liberal/progressive than people realize. It's not an act, but more of an evolution over time and experience. I don't think it was particularly hard for her to include some of Sanders' positions in the Dem platform and wholeheartedly support them. He should have happily embraced progress on ideas he's championed for many years, but I guess he's like a lot of crusaders where the good is the enemy of the perfect. Nader and Naderites of 2000 were the same way.
I don't have a problem with him honestly answering a question. I do think the GOP would have played the socialist/big govt card hot and heavy on him. I'm not sure how well Bernie would've handled that line of attack. I think the election might have been interesting, though, since both Bernie and Trump are kind of blunt, scorched earth orators and they appealed to the same kind of economically frightened voters.