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[Fantastical]

In all seriousness if Bernie Sanders does this. In my eyes he will be no better than Trump

I think your eyes are broken.

 

[Meowster]

There was internet in '96?



In all seriousness if Bernie Sanders does this. In my eyes he will be no better than Trump

I've grown tired of some of the things he has done but an endorsement is an endorsement. No matter how unenthusiastic it is. It's better than no endorsement.

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

He isn't going to do this. He is in a completely different position than when he was just a congressman.

Yall need to stop shitting on him so much. Hillary won, sanders is just campaigning for the message at this point. As long as people come out to see him, he is going to do the events.

Its up to the part and Hillary if they want to include his message into the platform and act on it. Not long ago, Obama got shit from the right for calling out the Citizen's United case during a state of the union, and all the left stoop up and clapped. For some reason, it doesn't matter anymore....oh but I bet it will matter next time the party loses the presidency. Its effected the last 2 mid terms horribly, too.

 

[see5harp]

In all seriousness if Bernie Sanders does this. In my eyes he will be no better than Trump

For reals?

 

[kmag]

See this is where Sanders loses me completely. Yes, Clintons health care reform was a kludge especially by 1996, but he and his wife had expended a shit ton of political capital on a reasonable multipayer universal health project (Hillary care) in 93-94, which they couldn't get past the legislature.

Their 95-96 plan was very limited in scope

Enacting the Kennedy-Kassebaum health insurance bill that will benefit as many as 25 million Americans. This law expands and protects access to health insurance by limiting exclusions for pre-existing conditions and by allowing people to keep coverage when they change or lose their jobs.

Signing legislation that requires health plans to allow new mothers to remain in the hospital for at least 48 hours following most normal deliveries and 96 hours after a Caesarean section.

Signing into law mental health parity provisions. The President signed into law legislation to prohibit health plans from establishing separate lifetime and annual limits for mental health coverage.

Strengthening the Medicare Trust Fund. The President’s 1993 economic package included policy and structural changes that extended the lifetime of the Trust Fund by three years. This was enacted without one Republican vote. The President’s balanced budget proposal will extend the life of the trust fund by 10 years from today.

Protecting the Medicaid guarantee for children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. The President vetoed the Republican’s proposal to block grant the Medicaid program, guaranteeing health care coverage or benefits to 37 million beneficiaries. The President also presided over the approval of 12 Medicaid waivers to cover 2.2 million previously uninsured Americans.

Issuing guidelines to eliminate easy access to tobacco products by children and to prohibit companies from advertising tobacco to kids. The President’s goal is to reduce smoking by children by 50 percent within seven years.

Increasing childhood immunizations. The President’s childhood immunization initiative includes community-based educational efforts, more affordability, and better detection. In 1995, 75 percent of two-year-olds were fully immunized -- an historic high.

Making women’s health a priority. President Clinton has increased funding for breast cancer research at NIH by 79 percent. He launched the Women’s Health Initiative -- the largest clinical study ever on diseases that affect older women. He has ensured the inclusion of women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in research and evaluation of drugs and medical devices.

but they'd already dashed themselves on the healthcare rocks in 93-94 with no success.

Sanders seems to have wanted them to propose some pie in the sky move to single payer UHC when they couldn't even get traction on what was initially a pretty comprehensive multi-payer UHC proposal EVEN after two years of negotiation and scaling it back.

The reality of the way the US political system is structured is that you have to aim for the changes you can make, and gradually move the direction of travel. Just stamping your foot down and saying my way or the highway doesn't work when you are proposing a major change.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

In all seriousness if Bernie Sanders does this. In my eyes he will be no better than Trump

Seems pretty logical to me.

 

[FyreWulff]

I will be so pissed if he does this

is this your first election, or

 

[Dr_LucienSanchez]

I like how he begrudgingly supported Clinton with the excuse that Clinton would give us time to build up a real left wing infrastructure and movement to protect workers rights and change the direction of the country.

And then he did literally *fuck all* for the next 20 years. To the point where he wouldn't even support down ticket candidates to build a progressive coalition in a hugely public primary, against the most regressive and evil candidates we've seen, because he was too busy. Gods, Bob Dole nowadays is viewed as a sane and good republican compared to the modern lot!

In the frequent waves of new items that many of the whiz kids of poligaf attack Sanders on, this newest one about how he's done absolutely nothing in his political career is actually almost kind of the most baffling.

 

[Kite]

Where did you find this though?

Googling around with this, it kind of just looks like a copy and paste thing circulating around message boards.

Seems fake.

lol work on your google-fu

https://books.google.com/books?id=m...a big fan of Bill Clinton’s politics"&f=false

edit: someone is fast at editing their post so they don't look silly calling this fake

 

[Cheebo]

He won't do this. Hillary is a hell of s lot more liberal in 2016 than Bill in 1996.

 

[Daria Morgendorffer]

There is nothing wrong with this at all, and I wouldn't be mad if he said something like this again.
Gaf would b mad tho, because it's Sanders

 

[SecretMoblin]

Where did you find this though?

Googling around with this, it kind of just looks like a copy and paste thing circulating around message boards.

Seems fake.

You're right.


As linked above, this passage is from his book, "Outsider in the White House", republished last year. He's speaking hypothetically as to what his options are in the 1996 election, and how progressives should deal with the question of President Clinton.

How do we relate to President Clinton, who is rapidly moving to the right? Should we establish links to his Vermont Campaign? How should I respond to the Ralph Nader presidential campaign? Nader is a personal friend and an exemplary progressive, and his supporters have asked me to endorse his campaign.

The passage in the OP wasn't written in 1996, it was written afterward about his thoughts during the '96 campaign.

Spoiler

It's still true though.

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

Wow, its just from his book? That's about as low key of a "endorsement" as it gets. No one probably even read the damn thing in 1997, which is when it was released, per the copyright page.


In other news, he could write the sequal and call it "Outside the Whitehouse" again, because he aint going to be in it, now. =[

 

[Respect]

Bob Dole likes to hear Bob Dole talk about Bob Dole.

BOB DOLE!

10?

Wait, this isn't 2006?

 

[TheSeks]

There was internet in '96?

YES?

 

[Dash_Riprock]

He isn't going to do this. He is in a completely different position than when he was just a congressman.

Yall need to stop shitting on him so much. Hillary won, sanders is just campaigning for the message at this point. As long as people come out to see him, he is going to do the events.

Its up to the part and Hillary if they want to include his message into the platform and act on it. Not long ago, Obama got shit from the right for calling out the Citizen's United case during a state of the union, and all the left stoop up and clapped. For some reason, it doesn't matter anymore....oh but I bet it will matter next time the party loses the presidency. Its effected the last 2 mid terms horribly, too.

What message? The only that's coming out from him staying is that he's a butthurt sore loser. Its the same shit every time: he's the victim, and anyone that doesn't support him is an establishment shill. Whatever positive progressive message he had is lost in the pathetic salt he and his supporters keep spouting.

 

[adamsappel]

As a strong advocate of a single-payer health care system, I opposed his convoluted health care reform package.

Isn't this a lie? What about that picture of him standing behind Hillary, and her note thanking him for his work? I wish I could find it online, but I know that he apologized to Bill Clinton and blamed himself for it not passing. He said he should have railed against it for not being Socialist, but his support of it gave detractors a reason to oppose it.

Of course, seeing how self-centered the man is, perhaps he's taking a bit more blame than he deserved.

 

[kmag]

Isn't this a lie? What about that picture of him standing behind Hillary, and her note thanking him for his work? I wish I could find it online, but I know that he apologized to Bill Clinton and blamed himself for it not passing. He said he should have railed against it for not being Socialist, but his support of it gave detractors a reason to oppose it.

Of course, seeing how self-centered the man is, perhaps he's taking a bit more blame than he deserved.

By 1996 there wasn't anything really left of Hillarycare. For all the Clintons faults they did try something which while not perfect would have been a major improvement in US healthcare provision. It basically eat up two years of Clintons presidency and some of the horse trading he did to try to get it moving forward are the weaker points in his Presidency.

A lot of Clinton's weaknesses as a candidate (falseness etc) is due to her being risk adverse due to the absolute shoeing she took early on because as an unelected first lady involving herself in policy affairs especially a politically charged healthcare reform bill she was an easier target than a reasonably well liked President who was presiding over a decent economic recovery.

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

What message? The only that's coming out from him staying is that he's a butthurt sore loser. Its the same shit every time: he's the victim, and anyone that doesn't support him is an establishment shill. Whatever positive progressive message he had is lost in the pathetic salt he and his supporters keep spouting.

Why so angry?

Also, did you not watch his speech last night? He hardly even attacked, if any, Clinton.

 

[Hazmat]

My god, what a weird brief nostalgia trip reading this sentence was.

That's how strongly general election losers are remembered 20 years on. Imagine what it's like for primary losers.

 

[redmetal86]

History preparing to repeat itself. Does that mean in 2036, Chelsea Clinton will run against Ivanka Trump, and Bernie's son will have to endorse her?

 

[PeskyToaster]

Lol I love that endorsement. Bernie keeps it real. We need more of that not less.

 

[sphagnum]

History preparing to repeat itself. Does that mean in 2036, Chelsea Clinton will run against Ivanka Trump, and Bernie's son will have to endorse her?

Oh god, Ivanka's going to end up being our Marine Le Pen isn't she.

 

[platakul]

History preparing to repeat itself. Does that mean in 2036, Chelsea Clinton will run against Ivanka Trump, and Bernie's son will have to endorse her?

Nah Bern will still be around, futurama style, telling it like it is

 

[Nairume]

Nah Bern will still be around, futurama style, telling it like it is

Bernie Waterfall Jr

 

[Stinkles]

I've grown tired of some of the things he has done but an endorsement is an endorsement. No matter how unenthusiastic it is. It's better than no endorsement.

The difference is that his time he has a significant election altering following.

 

[Sub_Level]

Crazy to imagine that 1996 was already 10 years ago. Time flies.

 

[platakul]

Crazy to imagine that 1996 was already 10 years ago. Time flies.

it's closer to 1996 than it is to 9/11/2001
makes you think

 

[Maledict]

In the frequent waves of new items that many of the whiz kids of poligaf attack Sanders on, this newest one about how he's done absolutely nothing in his political career is actually almost kind of the most baffling.

Point me out the progressive infrastructure he's helped build. Point me out the candidates he's stumped for. Point me out the caucus of progressives he leads in congress.

There was a reason the elected party officials quickly moved behind Clinton - because sanders simply hasn't helped build any sort of progressive movement beyond his own speeches and grandstanding against both parties. Hell, Harry Reid asked him to support downticket progressive dems and a leadership position - and he turned it down!

 

[Abounder]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

Shame there aren't more democratic socialists

 

[digdug2k]

In the frequent waves of new items that many of the whiz kids of poligaf attack Sanders on, this newest one about how he's done absolutely nothing in his political career is actually almost kind of the most baffling.

I always find it funny when people cite that Rolling Stone story as an example of Sanders getting things done. Its about a week of his time in the House where he (by the end of the week) had literally accomplished nothing.

In the end, after just a few weeks, every one of Sanders' victories was transformed into a defeat. He had won three major amendments and would likely have won a fourth, if the Rules Committee had permitted a vote on his Patriot Act measure. In each case, Sanders proved that his positions held wide support – even among a population as timid and corrupt as the U.S. Congress. Yet even after passing his amendments by wide margins, he never really came close to converting popular will into law.

 

[grandjedi6]

Crazy to imagine that 1996 was already 10 years ago. Time flies.

What?

it's closer to 1996 than it is to 9/11/2001
makes you think

What??

 

[Sub_Level]

What?

What??

makes you think, huh