On handling the Bernites

[Batman]

I don't know if you saw the Chris Matthews segment with Rand. But he got lots of cheers from Berners in the background for calling Hillary a neocons and predicting she would take us back to war in the middle East. I feel as though this is a strong area of common ground that we should be taking advantage of as much as possible. Too many Rand fans these days are trying to talk like diet Cruz when maybe we can galvanize supporters by being distinctively against both parties. I know I'm preaching the choir, but it hasn't felt that way in a while. Rand will be Rand and our progressive friends will still be progressive. But it makes no sense to go out of our way and call Bernie a Stalin or a Hitler. It does us no good and it makes them dig their heels in more. At the end, Rand won't look any better to them when Bernie drops out. He will drop out and we have a strong antiwar anti wall street candidate that the protest vote can flock to. It might even solidify our poll numbers coming up.

[Ronin Truth]

I'd really rather not. They have kooties.

[timosman]

I'd really rather not. They have kooties.

Let's be real. We need allies. Bernites' anger have been hijacked and misdirected. I am sure many of them can be educated and become Rand supporters.

[Ronin Truth]

Let's be real. We need allies. Bernites' anger have been hijacked and misdirected. I am sure many of them can be educated and become Rand supporters.

With allies like that, who needs adversaries?

[William Tell]

I just let Batman handle them.:cool:

[timosman]

With allies like that, who needs adversaries?

Most people are amiable. You can mold them into whatever you want. Except for the hard core policy wonks :)

[69360]

I really don't have a problem with them. Yeah Sanders is a socialist. But he would not be able to implement socialist policy if elected potus any more than Rand would be able to implement Liberterian policy. At least Sanders is honest and wouldn't start WW3 and get us killed. My kid likes Sanders, I'm ok with it.

[timosman]

I just found this picture from the time he was taking honeymoon in Soviet Union, it is getting long in the tooth now:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f5/07/4c/f5074c03264e8749abff892ce5d0e96d.jpg

[Sola_Fide]

I just found this picture from the time he was taking honeymoon in Soviet Union,

I bet that was romantic.

[Batman]

If they're willing to vote for Bernie as a protest vote, they might be willing to cross the aisle. Goodness knows I've been thinking about it many times in the last decade. Hillary is up to 70% in the polls. She's running away with the nomination. The debate criteria could easily get Bernie off the stage and into single digit territory. He will endorse Hillary as he's expected to do so. Rand can still swoop in and get the ones hungry for change. All it takes is this:

1. Don't call Bernie a nazi or Hitler when his supporters are watching you. Don't bring down their candidate at the expense of introducing them to your candidate.

2. Those pictures and memes that insult Bernie and his fans you're posting to social media? They make us look partisan. Especially memes that draw similarities between Hillary and Bernie. Don't unite those factions against us. Post memes that draw similarities between Rand and Bernie. It brings them closer to us.

3. Bernie fans are disconnected. Their elders are likely neocon voters. That's a major reason they gravitate away from their parents politics. If you convert a Bernite, you probably have a Rand subverter in a neocon household. At least the kid is thinking Republican and it may help with outreach to Republicans we have trouble connecting with.

4. Bernie fans are disconnected. Again. Bernie will fade away. He's not doing an educational campaign. He's got people thinking, but he doesn't appear to have the infrastructure to start a lasting movement. We do. When this season is over, those Bernites will go back to being apathetic. But not a whole lot will go back to being party zombies. They've had their eyes opened for the first time and now they're looking for something to call true. We have a movement. We have a philosophy. We have a plan. It's Ron. It's Rand. It's Amash. It's Massie. We're in it for a long haul. Present your ideas as the truth they're seeking.

5. If and when the OutsidersTM fall they fill up a Cruz balloon. Cruz can continue past Texas. Don't count on building our support at his expense any time soon. Build it at Bernie's. Bernie is no threat to us. Hillary will keep him in line. Cruz is a serious threat. We can't attack him directly because he's just such a nice guy. He has to deflate on his own. That's gonna take time. In the meantime we gain serious staying power by bringing more voters to our side.

After all, isn't that really the goal of the big tent idea?

[erowe1]

We don't really need to handle them. We need supporters in the GOP primary. And attacking the Democrat opponents, both Hillary and Sanders, as fascists and socialists is both prudent and accurate.

And some kind of pseudo-debate between Rand and Bernie would still be a great campaign event.

[dannno]

I have a friend who is a Trump supporter, he likes to refer to Bernie Sanders supporters are Bernouts, as opposed to Bernites.

[Ronin Truth]

Most people are amiable. You can mold them into whatever you want. Except for the hard core policy wonks :)

Ah yes, the sheeple.

Most of the sheeple get the shepherds that most of the sheeple deserve.

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

Sanders supporters are all about gibsmedat. Foreign policy is a very distant third place priority after socialist economics, and federalized liberal social policy. The ones that will be open to voting for Rand are a small minority; most will not vote for a remotely free market candidate.

[VIDEODROME]

I'm almost willing to say let them stay on the Democrat side to vote against Hillary in the Primary. (Assuming she keeps skating by criminal charges somehow)

[luctor-et-emergo]

Someone I work for is a Bern supporter. Not a socialist per-se. Just pissed off with politics as usual.

It's different from the Ron Paul revolution, there are fewer principles involved.. The grassroots 'bernouts' are much more shallow than 'paulites' were in 07/12. We were and still are highly critical of our candidates. Not so much on that side. Apart from that, the energy is similar to what we had here the past two general election cycles.

[Suzanimal]

I'd really rather not. They have kooties.

Ronin's right. They have kooties and I haven't been vaccinated. Plus, I don't have any free shit.


I have a friend who is a Trump supporter, he likes to refer to Bernie Sanders supporters are Bernouts, as opposed to Bernites.

I like Bernout better.

[Batman]

I'm saying Hillary is the nominee. She won't do jail time. Bernie is likely to Bern out before super Tuesday. We should harbor no illusions that she has a primary contest. She wants Bernie in the race to make her look like a champ when she kicks his controlled opposition ass.

And why should we want anyone else as the nominee? She's easier to beat in a general election than the other two also-rans.

[VIDEODROME]

I'm saying Hillary is the nominee. She won't do jail time. Bernie is likely to Bern out before super Tuesday. We should harbor no illusions that she has a primary contest. She wants Bernie in the race to make her look like a champ when she kicks his controlled opposition ass.

And why should we want anyone else as the nominee? She's easier to beat in a general election than the other two also-rans.

I don't assume she's easier to beat at all if she can get the nomination despite all the political baggage she has. She will have a lot of support even though it makes no sense.

Hell, it never made sense to me why Obama had so much support either.

[limequat]

I just found this picture from the time he was taking honeymoon in Soviet Union, it is getting long in the tooth now:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f5/07/4c/f5074c03264e8749abff892ce5d0e96d.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vu2pFaKCGug/maxresdefault.jpg