According to millions of Democrats President Bernie Sanders is exactly what we need right now.
As Democrats we want Bernie to lead us.
But Bernie has served his entire political career, as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and as both a congressman and a Senator from Vermont, as an Independent.
Yet he's running his campaign as part of the Democratic party. And in order to be our party's nominee Bernie is putting that (D) next to his name. Bernie Sanders is not Ralph Nader, is running as a Democrat, and is vanishingly unlikely to break his word and go third-party.
The correlative point being that once(if) he clinches the nomination, at long last Bernie Sanders will be a Democrat. Officially.
What does that mean?
Well, then the Democratic party becomes a party that has shown, in the most explicit terms possible, that we welcome Independents with open arms and friendly words.
A great many of those American voters with "no party affiliation" will suddenly find themselves enthusiastic about the Democratic ticket.
Folks who at one time might have had nothing at all to do with official party politics will find themselves making phone calls, canvassing and donating time and money for Democratic candidates, and will merge with the official Democratic party machine.
After that there's no telling where this thing will stop.
We could be looking at the most significant advance in progressive thought this country has ever seen, and also the most significant electoral advance Democrats have seen in decades. There is exceedingly fertile ground right now for just such a progressive advance, and Bernie’s incredible underdog success alone shows that fallow electoral soil as clear as day. And the enthusiasm Bernie Democrats feel, alongside the potential for untold numbers of Independents getting onboard with the Democratic ticket, shows just as clear the potential for major advances for Democrats this political season.
Just when we need it most Bernie has given Democrats and progressives a chance to really start turning out some voters.
We need to seize that chance with both hands, by electing Bernie Sanders to be our next Democratic president.
Here's how:
#GOTV #GOTV #GOTV
United we stand
Divided we fall
Monday, Apr 4, 2016 · 11:49:10 PM +00:00 · Hammerhand
Kossack kenlac pointed something out in the comments that I hadn't known: Bernie called himself a Democrat after filing for the New Hampshire primary
When a reporter asked Sanders his party allegiance after he filed, Sanders responded, “I’m a Democrat.”
He then called on Buckley, the Democratic chairman, who confirmed the senator’s party allegiance. Sanders added that he would run as a Democrat in any future elections.
I'll confess I did not know these facts when I wrote this originally, and I've made some edits to reflect them. They do not change my original point.