28th July 2016, 11:49 AM
Honesty wins over these particular people a lot better than flowery speeches, which to people like them comes across more as fertilizer. I wouldn't worry about Trump using such shocking honesty as a weapon. I mean, of course he would, but the attacks wouldn't win over any more Trump supporters, it'd just be more fodder for keeping what he's already got. That level of honesty would be unprecedented and a breath of fresh air.
On the other hand, here's what I have to say to the "Bernie or Bust" crowd. Bernie is supporting Hillary now for the same reason he kept his campaign going much longer than it was viable for. That is, it was always about making sure that, if he didn't win, at least a lot of his policies would. Hillary agreed to shift her policies further left in exchange for Bernie's support. More accurately, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, she changed her positions in exchange for Bernie's supporters and their VOTES.
This is very important, so read this slowly. If Hillary is not able to get those votes, failing to win over the "Bernie or Bust" crowd, SHE WILL HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HER NEW PLATFORM! She will see that moving her position further left did not gain her any votes, and thus she will say "the deal is off" and move back towards center. Bernie is OUT of the race, he has given that up. He is no longer a candidate, and will not make any further attempt to become that candidate this cycle. Denying Hillary the vote means telling Hillary your opinions don't matter and she will treat them accordingly. It's not right, but it is what it is. The ONLY CHANCE to get Bernie's policies passed is to vote for Hillary. No, it isn't enough for her to win. BERNIE SUPPORTERS need to be the ones making the vote, or she's only going to pay attention to the issues of the people who DID vote her into office.
Hillary has a lot of problematic issues. She's got a good history of standing by some great causes, yes, and she's made some good promises. She's also got a lot of bad baggage that can't just be ignored, like her past position on the Iraq war. That's not something that can just be forgotten, and she would do well to own up to it, admit it was a mistake, and promise never to make such a lapse in judgment again. If she tries to make excuses to make that decision look like it wasn't so bad, Bernie supporters will see through that in an instant. No, tackle it head on and admit it was the mistake it was, and just WATCH as people are shocked that a candidate would have such candor and are suddenly willing to forgive. Admission of wrongdoing and promises of reform do a LOT to win over people, which modern politicians seem to forget. Of course the other side will use that as a weapon, but it'll fall flat coming from a candidate that doesn't even believe PERSONALLY that he's ever made a mistake in his life.
What we've got here is a choice between a politician with corruption, yes, but also with experience and current pressure to stay on the right side of social justice, and a giant toilet fire of a human being. It's not even a choice, but Bernie supporters' support for her is, in fact, way more important than her winning.
On the other hand, here's what I have to say to the "Bernie or Bust" crowd. Bernie is supporting Hillary now for the same reason he kept his campaign going much longer than it was viable for. That is, it was always about making sure that, if he didn't win, at least a lot of his policies would. Hillary agreed to shift her policies further left in exchange for Bernie's support. More accurately, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, she changed her positions in exchange for Bernie's supporters and their VOTES.
This is very important, so read this slowly. If Hillary is not able to get those votes, failing to win over the "Bernie or Bust" crowd, SHE WILL HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HER NEW PLATFORM! She will see that moving her position further left did not gain her any votes, and thus she will say "the deal is off" and move back towards center. Bernie is OUT of the race, he has given that up. He is no longer a candidate, and will not make any further attempt to become that candidate this cycle. Denying Hillary the vote means telling Hillary your opinions don't matter and she will treat them accordingly. It's not right, but it is what it is. The ONLY CHANCE to get Bernie's policies passed is to vote for Hillary. No, it isn't enough for her to win. BERNIE SUPPORTERS need to be the ones making the vote, or she's only going to pay attention to the issues of the people who DID vote her into office.
Hillary has a lot of problematic issues. She's got a good history of standing by some great causes, yes, and she's made some good promises. She's also got a lot of bad baggage that can't just be ignored, like her past position on the Iraq war. That's not something that can just be forgotten, and she would do well to own up to it, admit it was a mistake, and promise never to make such a lapse in judgment again. If she tries to make excuses to make that decision look like it wasn't so bad, Bernie supporters will see through that in an instant. No, tackle it head on and admit it was the mistake it was, and just WATCH as people are shocked that a candidate would have such candor and are suddenly willing to forgive. Admission of wrongdoing and promises of reform do a LOT to win over people, which modern politicians seem to forget. Of course the other side will use that as a weapon, but it'll fall flat coming from a candidate that doesn't even believe PERSONALLY that he's ever made a mistake in his life.
What we've got here is a choice between a politician with corruption, yes, but also with experience and current pressure to stay on the right side of social justice, and a giant toilet fire of a human being. It's not even a choice, but Bernie supporters' support for her is, in fact, way more important than her winning.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)