Sanders and Warren Declare War on Middle Ground Candidates at CA Democratic Convention
A preview of things to come at the Democratic National Convention next year?
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) made one thing clear this past weekend at the California Democratic Party state convention:
So-called middle ground candidates like Joe Biden should not become the party’s torchbearer come election time because in their eyes the only way they can defeat President Trump is embracing a far left agenda. They both believe that candidates like Biden aren’t progressive enough and too willing to play nice with Republicans instead of playing hardball.
Neither of them mentioned Biden by name, but both left very little doubt as to who they meant in the speeches they gave:
“There is a debate among presidential candidates who have spoken to you here in this room and those who have chosen for whatever reason not to be in this room about the best way forward,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), referring to Biden’s absence.
“In my view, we will not defeat Donald Trump unless we bring excitement and energy into the campaign and unless we give millions of working people and young people a reason to vote and a reason to believe that politics is relevant to their lives. We cannot go back to the old ways. We have got to go forward with a new and progressive agenda,” Sanders told the crowd.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) had a similar message.
“Some Democrats in Washington believe the only changes we can get are tweaks and nudges. If they dream at all, they dream small,” she told delegates. “The time for small ideas is over.”
Watch this news report from KPIX on Sanders’s thinly veiled attack on Biden:
Sanders filled with his tweets with a “no middle ground” message and hashtag, including these from over the weekend:
There is no “middle ground” compromise with Donald Trump and the GOP. pic.twitter.com/EKu13ktjyc
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 2, 2019
When it comes to abortion, there is no “middle ground.” A woman has the right to control her own life, not the government. #NoMiddleGround
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 2, 2019
Here’s a video of Warren’s sideswipe of Biden:
Here’s the thing: When a candidate tells you about all the things that aren’t possible, about how political calculations come first, they’re telling you something very important. They’re telling you that they will not fight for you. Not me. I’m here to fight for our country. pic.twitter.com/SZBBUkfomi
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 2, 2019
The audience applauded loudly.
Besides Biden, who has consistently led in presidential polling even well before he declared his candidacy, another non-compliant Democratic party candidate who came under fire from the party’s ultra-progressive wing:
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper – one of the more moderate candidates in the field of two-dozen contenders – elicited loud boos from the crowd in a viral video moment when he declared “socialism is not the answer” to enacting progressive policies and beating Trump.
[…]
Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland also sparked a chorus of boos from the audience when the centrist Democratic presidential candidate declared that “Medicare for All may sound good, but it’s actually not good policy, nor is it good politics.”
Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a rising star among the progressive wing of the party, took aim at Delaney, saying it was time for him to “sashay away.”
“Since there’s so many people running for President (& not enough for Senate), instead of obsessing over who‘s a ‘frontrunner,’ maybe we can start w some general eliminations,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “This awful, untrue line got boo’ed for a full minute. John Delaney, thank you but please sashay away.”
Here’s the segment of Hickenlooper’s speech that turned the crowd against him:
WATCH: Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper is loudly and continuously booed for saying that "socialism is not the answer" to defeat President Trump. pic.twitter.com/5vY9CSprpb
— MRCTV (@mrctv) June 4, 2019
Listen to the boos rain down on Delaney after his comments about Medicare for All:
Democrat John Delaney:
“Medicare for all may sound good but it’s actually not good policy nor is it good politics”
“It shouldn’t be a kind of healthcare that kicks 150 million Americans off their healthcare”
“This is called the battle of ideas my friends”
Democrats boo loudly pic.twitter.com/qP6MnORH6G
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 2, 2019
The Washington Post noted that some high profile California Democrats provided some clues as to why Biden has maintained such an advantage in polling in spite of the sustained efforts from far left activists and Democratic hardliners to dim his star. The main reason? The belief that Biden is the most electable presidential candidate of all of them:
But the power of their newly emboldened movement remains unclear. Even here in deep blue California, it faces hurdles. Late Saturday, the state party overwhelmingly elected a labor leader from the mainstream ranks of the party as its new chairman. He defeated a liberal activist backed by many Sanders supporters.
And interviews with current and former elected officials, strategists and donors in California revealed a relatively high level of confidence in Biden’s ability to defeat Trump. Many Democrats see that as the most important quality in a candidate.
“This is not a normal presidential election,” said former U.S. senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who called beating Trump a “moral imperative.”
Asked who fits that bill, she replied, “I think the only one right now is Joe.” That could change with time, said Boxer, who has not yet endorsed a candidate.
They may be on to something. Polls that go back to February and March indicate that Democratic voters are prioritizing “electability” over everything else this election cycle.
Because Biden has been portrayed as the party’s most “electable” candidate by the mainstream media and some political analysts, that has led to absurd characterizations of the word electable as misogynist and racist by other candidates who have struggled to gain traction in the crowded field.
While Democratic party infighting is music to Republican ears, Biden himself will have to face up to Sanders and Warren soon enough instead of continuing to run his “sleepy” campaign from a safe distance. The Democratic debates are set to start at the end of the month, and you can be assured of one thing if nothing else the sparks will fly.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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Comments
More like a war on America as founded.
When a candidate tells you all things are possible, than you are a fool to believe her.
Old Socialists never die, and apparently, they never fade away.
Will someone please ask Bernie if I “have the right to control my own life” , why I cannot choose my child’s school, my right to work without being coerced into union membership, my right to own a gun for my protection?
I’m rooting for a far-left agenda. Then Trump can point to California and DemoncRat controlled cities for the effects of far-left agendas, especially the third-world plagues breaking out in California.
Divide and conquer…great move for Trump
Never go full retard.
So go crazy or go home….
So go crazy or go home….
It seems like going full left socialist with lead to a spectacular Trump win.
What I find truly sad is the idiots who claim to find socialism favorable, yet have barely an idea of what it really is.
When those who find socialism favorable are taught what it really is, many reject it outright, realizing it is nothing like the American way of governing, and that it is incompatible with our way of life. The kids think it’s cool, something shiny and new, without knowing anything about it.
I have seen too often where the socialist morons who post all over the place make the claims that the only great places in this country to live are those moving toward socialism, and all the places run by Republican leaders are failing. Facts mean nothing to them. History is just old stuff and our branding of socialism is new and edgy.
A lot of blame falls on the education system we have. We spend the most per capita on education for the youth, yet our results get worse and worse. The political leanings of far too many in education is leftist, and it is having an impact on how socialism and communism are viewed by young minds indoctrinated by their teachers.
Bernie and Warren have little chance at winning the nomination, but I wonder about Biden keeping up his hiding being able to weather the contest. Biden isn’t moderate though, don’t be fooled by his act, he may not be full Sanders crazy left, but he isn’t far behind either. He just hides it, as he does with himself, much better. Both Bernie and Warren aren’t polling so well that their message is selling well, but it may improve once one or the other is knocked out allowing the far leftists to join their efforts to one candidate instead of many.
I think Biden is waiting for the field to self reduce, but his leftist ways will become exposed. And there is the whole Spygate thing he was part of in the last Regime, which could end up torpedoing his candidacy.
One observation: It doesn’t matter if the Dems nominate some frothing leftist, or what they consider to be a centrist, because the end result will be just as far Left as they can cram the needle.
All we need is for Antifa to riot the DNC, and Trump wins in a landslide.
In the near future, no Democratic candidate is legitimately electable. The pygmies haven’t a chance against the man who put the lie to “those jobs aren’t coming back” and a whole string of similar Obamanations. The only way they can win is through a tsunami of voter fraud. And to do that they need a ground game. The Party has one; a web of crooked fifth columnists it took years to build. Bernie has nothing practical like that; all he has is socialist fairy-tale cant and a bunch of dumb kids who think he’s some sort of Santa Claus here to distribute freebies to all the good little parasites. And they’re too lazy to actually vote; all they do well is grouse.
Now, the Party fraud machine can work with any candidate—the candidate’s qualities aren’t very relevant when imaginary votes are what decide the issue. But a very unattractive candidate can lose some legit votes, and the D’rats can’t afford to lose any. So they will want to exert their criminal efforts on behalf of the least offensive candidate. The Party will go with Slow Joe because he’s relatively dull and uninteresting. Uninteresting also means inoffensive. But in practice Biden is extremely offensive. That thing of his for pawing the 10-year-old girls is just grotesque—and, worse, it’s a compulsion; he can’t stop. The only way to keep him under control is to put him in a straitjacket or keep him out of sight. The same sort of voter who went with Trump in 2016 will consider Joe to be nightmare material. The Party will have to keep him under wraps as long as it can; the less the voters see of him, the less they’ll be
offendedgrossed out. And that is indeed the tactic the Party seems to be pursuing right now.“A woman has the right to control her own life, not the government.”
As usual, missing the point that the issue is the life of the *child*. The government’s interest in protecting the life of the child is akin to that which leads to its laws against manslaughter and murder.
I generally consider myself a centrist – voted for Johnson last election (Hillary is a crook, Trump is a Creep who used bankruptcy as a business strategy so he’s only slightly better). Given the direction of the DNC these past few years, I will probably vote to re-elect Trump, even if I do find a Third-party candidate more palatable. The Dems need a clear message from We The People.
Bernie is half right about there being no middle ground when it comes to abortion. Either life is sacred or it’s not. If life isn’t sacred then murder laws should be abolished. If life is sacred then you cannot justify killing unborn children by the millions! As for women having the right to control their own lives, of course they do. And while that right includes deciding whether to engage in marital relations or not it does not include deciding whether to murder their children or not, at least not yet.
“Here’s the thing: When a candidate tells you about all the things that aren’t possible, about how political calculations come first, they’re telling you something very important. They’re telling you that they will not fight for you.”
No, they’re actually telling you the truth. Politicians who constantly promise “free” stuff with no idea how to pay for them are lying in order to gain power. Liz and Bernie are perfect examples of this. They have no idea how to pay for the endless list of benefits they promise.
“They have no idea how to pay for the endless list of benefits they promise.”
Nor do they care. If asked, they will simply say “tax the rich” or “end corporate tax breaks.” But none of that matters since their votes come from those who want everything for free and do not worry about trivialities like where the money will come from.
It’s going to be so much fun watching the Communists – er, I mean the Democrats – eating their own while they try to outdo each other in coming up with new ways to take away our freedoms and destroy this nation, with the ultimate goal of turning us into a Communist dictatorship.