Just a quick diary on this. I think it’s important to maintain a respectful dialog between as many factions as we can here at DKos. Maybe we can just agree on one thing. Bernie Sanders has a dual role right now as both a candidate for President (yeah, he lost, we know that) and as a gardener of sorts—he planted the seeds for a movement that actually has the power to help our Party and country if we can just make sure that the growing conditions are good. OK, that sounds a bit like “Being There”, only, in this case, the things we’re trying to grow are not actual plants, they’re memes, their ideas, they’re methods of shifting the balance of power from a small class of people and entities to a much broader one.
I read Michael Tomansky’s response to Bernie’s address. This is the same Michael Tomansky that’s adopted a scorched earth policy to Bernie’s campaign since after NY, I’d say (he wanted Bernie to tone it down and concede sooner).
He has this to say.
Firstly, the overall tone, as reflected on by this vocal Sanders critic:
Was that Bernie’s way of saying “uncle”? I’d imagine that most people who watched his video address tonight to his supporters didn’t think so, because he did not officially concede or endorse Hillary Clinton. But I say it was an unexpectedly accommodating affair nonetheless.
Then the thrust of the speech, in addition to the “stump” portions laying out his agenda, which kind of go without saying:
I thought he was going to lay out specific demands for the Democratic Party going forward these next few weeks and insist the demands be met or else. He did some of that. But emotionally, his emphasis was on other things. Metaphorically, he pointed his gun not at the Democratic Party’s head, but at its orotund midsection.
Lastly the takeaway from the speech itself:
Then the last part of the speech, and the part that drew the most attention from Bernie people on Twitter, was the “the revolution must go on” part. This was the section that gave his people the signal that this was bigger than Bernie, and I give him credit for emphasizing it, because to me this was a campaign that had some cult-of-personality aspects to it from the start. But this was Sanders clearly signaling: “I know I’m 74, and I hope what I’ve started here survives me.”
So when I read this diary, on the rec list, detailing how 6700 people nationwide have signed up to actually participate in Dem electoral politics as a result of Bernie’s address...
www.dailykos.com/…
...it was literally music to my ears. It’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell hardcore Bernie supporters for months now who can’t seem to look at the math and step up to the plate to do the right thing—to realize the true goals of the Revolution he started, which was never intended to be about him, because he never imagined he had a chance when he ran.
This IS the Revolution he started in action. Now, if these people only follow through and if they don’t have facial tattoos we can really think about taking back state houses, local gov and creating a true movement that ultimately lays the groundwork for progressive change at all levels of Gov.