Look Bernie can distance himself as much as he wants from the party and technically not be a member, but his voting record and two attempts at running for president as a democrat indicate that he is a democrat in all but name. I know I know “he couldn’t win unless he joined a party” but come on. His not being a democrat is basically a technicality.
I mean the main reason atleast senate wise he caucuses with democrats is because they are the party that is closest to his views and if he didn’t caucus with anyone he would be powerless in the Senate. And sure you can say from the current place America is in he is basically a Democrat he definitely is more progressive and pushes for more progressive ideas then Democrats would ever do.
Which Democrats? All 50 of them? Yeah, they’re not all progressive. But that doesn’t mean that progressives aren’t part of the party. Being a progressive pushing for more progressive ideas than the entirety of the caucus would support doesn’t mean you’re not a Democrat.
In fact I applaud the progressives who are steadily pushing the Democrats further left - it’s easy to go “I’m changing things from the inside” but it’s another matter entirely to move the needle in a way that is relatively easy to observe.
To look at the party platform in 2014/2015 and then where it is now is wild. The 2019 primaries in particular showed how further left the party has been pushed, even if it’s still conservative by most western standards for “liberal” or “progressive.” Some ideas that are baked into the platform now were unthinkable back then.
You are a sycophant for the broken 2 party system. He votes in line with democrats because it is the lesser of two EVILS. He still voices his opinions that are much farther left than the democrats. If you think he is a Democrat you haven’t actually been paying attention. Maybe the democrats are taking ownership of him and his followers? That would be pretty cool because it might actually pull one of the parties and the country toward sanity, which was his entire life’s goal.
Wow that is a hell of a leap from what I said. I’d like you to point out a single line where I showed any support for the two party system.
There are also plenty of progressives in the Democratic party. It isn’t a rock solid checklist that you either fully fill out or you aren’t one. See: AOC and others.
I have only joined the democrats to stop the lesser
of two evils. My critiques of them and reasons to be independent are exhaustive. But let’s call a spade a spade here. Bernie has been a Democrat for almost 10 years now. And that’s largely due to his very successful efforts to push the party further left, which is a great thing he did.
He’s been asked to join the party, but refused to do so only until he decided to run for President. When he failed he reverted back to Independant. That’s the fact. BTW, Patrick Leahy, another independent Senator from Vermont, was asked to join the Democratic Party at the same time as Bernie. He did so and retired from the Senate after many years. Leahy remained a Democrat although he never ran for President.
Look Bernie can distance himself as much as he wants from the party and technically not be a member, but his voting record and two attempts at running for president as a democrat indicate that he is a democrat in all but name. I know I know “he couldn’t win unless he joined a party” but come on. His not being a democrat is basically a technicality.
I mean the main reason atleast senate wise he caucuses with democrats is because they are the party that is closest to his views and if he didn’t caucus with anyone he would be powerless in the Senate. And sure you can say from the current place America is in he is basically a Democrat he definitely is more progressive and pushes for more progressive ideas then Democrats would ever do.
Which Democrats? All 50 of them? Yeah, they’re not all progressive. But that doesn’t mean that progressives aren’t part of the party. Being a progressive pushing for more progressive ideas than the entirety of the caucus would support doesn’t mean you’re not a Democrat.
In fact I applaud the progressives who are steadily pushing the Democrats further left - it’s easy to go “I’m changing things from the inside” but it’s another matter entirely to move the needle in a way that is relatively easy to observe.
To look at the party platform in 2014/2015 and then where it is now is wild. The 2019 primaries in particular showed how further left the party has been pushed, even if it’s still conservative by most western standards for “liberal” or “progressive.” Some ideas that are baked into the platform now were unthinkable back then.
You are a sycophant for the broken 2 party system. He votes in line with democrats because it is the lesser of two EVILS. He still voices his opinions that are much farther left than the democrats. If you think he is a Democrat you haven’t actually been paying attention. Maybe the democrats are taking ownership of him and his followers? That would be pretty cool because it might actually pull one of the parties and the country toward sanity, which was his entire life’s goal.
Wow that is a hell of a leap from what I said. I’d like you to point out a single line where I showed any support for the two party system.
There are also plenty of progressives in the Democratic party. It isn’t a rock solid checklist that you either fully fill out or you aren’t one. See: AOC and others.
I have only joined the democrats to stop the lesser of two evils. My critiques of them and reasons to be independent are exhaustive. But let’s call a spade a spade here. Bernie has been a Democrat for almost 10 years now. And that’s largely due to his very successful efforts to push the party further left, which is a great thing he did.
He’s been asked to join the party, but refused to do so only until he decided to run for President. When he failed he reverted back to Independant. That’s the fact. BTW, Patrick Leahy, another independent Senator from Vermont, was asked to join the Democratic Party at the same time as Bernie. He did so and retired from the Senate after many years. Leahy remained a Democrat although he never ran for President.