PJ has been making the argument that Americans would never vote for Sanders. That's clearly not true.
Meanwhile, just days after giving her big climate speech, Hillary Clinton still refuses to take a stance on the Keystone pipeline.
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Still, the Democractic front-runner refused—as she has several times before—to say whether or not she supports construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. That project, which would carry crude oil from Canada's tar sands to refineries and ports in the United States, is seen by many environmentalists as a blemish on President Barack Obama's climate record. It has been stalled for years in a lengthy State Department review that began when Clinton was still Secretary of State. The Obama administration has resisted several recent attempts by Congress to force Keystone's approval, but it has yet to make a final decision on the project—although one is expected sometime this year.
"I will refrain from commenting [on Keystone XL], because I had a leading role in getting that process started, and we have to let it run its course," Clinton said, in response to a question from an audience member.
Her non-position on Keystone earned derision from environmentalist Bill McKibben, whose organization 350.org has been at the forefront of opposition to the pipeline.
"I think it's bogus," he said in an email. "Look, the notion that she can't talk about it because the State Dept. is still working on it makes no sense. By that test, she shouldn't be talking about Benghazi or Iran or anything else either. The more she tries to duck the question, the more the whole thing smells."
I think this type of thing is the reason her "trustworthy" numbers are so far underwater. But it must be hard for Clinton to say no to all that fossil fuel money!
Hillary Clinton Refuses to Take a Position on the Keystone Pipeline
Erikj972 and other Sanders-ites live in a fantasy world, where Bernie will be able to magically change things with the wave of his wand... or something.
Earlier this month, a meme of Sanders' "11-Step Economic Plan" (link below) was making the rounds on Facebook. It reads more like a wish list than an actual plan. He has some good ideas, but it's not pragmatic. His ardent supporters can't seem to get that should Bernie become president, he won't be able to make those things magically happen without a Democratic/Liberal congress... which he won't have. If you think that Congress was obstructionist and difficult for Obama... they'd grind Bernie into powder. America will never transition to a socialist economic system by one man running for POTUS. There is only so much any POTUS can do. He is legally, Constitutionally limited. He needs a Congress who can work with him and courts that will uphold his positions and policies. Our Constitution, our system of government, upholds our capitalist economy. So unless you get rid of the whores in Congress, and limit the amount of influence Corporations have on government (which the SCOTUS upholds), you will never see even a quarter of what Bernie believes should happen.
Furthermore, Bernie gives non-answers in interviews. He sounds like a grumpy old man spouting the same talking points everyone else does. For instance, he said that the way to stop these mass shootings is to make sure that the mentally ill don't get their hands on a weapon. He was asked, "Well, how do we do that?" He totally ditched the questioned and went rambling onto something else. His appearance at Netroots Nation showed how completely out of touch he is with the process of a Presidential running. He had no clue as to how to handle a protestor asking meaningful questions. He was arrogant and dismissive. Many of his supporters retaliated by posting racist screeds. Something that could have been a simple mistake was turned into a utter disaster. And we haven't gotten to any of the debates yet!
In short, Bernie is a cult hero. I can see these supporters becoming disillusioned with Bernie as they did with Obama, when he didn't bring about the revolutionary change he'd promised. So what did they do? They sat out the 2010/2014 midterms, which gave us a Republican majority in Congress.
Oops! Forgot to link the meme:
"His ardent supporters can't seem to get that should Bernie become president, he won't be able to make those things magically happen without a Democratic/Liberal congress... which he won't have. If you think that Congress was obstructionist and difficult for Obama... they'd grind Bernie into powder."
LOL when you start to think you know what other people are thinking you're getting into Headband territory. I'm not someone who is naive about how the political process works. And what you are describing is not in line with my thinking. You should stick to your own opinions instead of making up fictional opinions for other people.
And your assertion that Sanders never answers questions is pretty hilarious.
"PJ has been making the argument that Americans would never vote for Sanders. That's clearly not true."
To be clear, I've been saying that Bernie could not beat a Koch-based Republican in the general election.
I have never said that no American would vote for him. I maintain that in the general election, not enough independents and Republicans would vote for a septuagenarian Socialist Jew to defeat the GOP.
"AMERICANS WILL NEVER VOTE FOR A SOCIALIST JEW."
That's a quote from one of your posts in this thread PJ.
And that CNN poll seems to prove that Bernie could indeed beat a Koch backed Republican like Scott Walker.
Then if you really think he could pull that off, gei gezunt.
Seems more likely than Hillary following through on one of her crowd-pleasing postures.
"Then if you really think he could pull that off, gei gezunt. "
It's not really about what I think.
"A just released CNN poll finds Sanders out-polling all of the GOP's major candidates, though pretty much tied with Jeb Bush. Here's how Sanders stacks up:
SANDERS: 48%
BUSH: 47%
SANDERS: 48%
WALKER: 42%
SANDERS: 59%
TRUMP: 38%"
This week's poll is taken at a moment when the GOP is more split than it ever has been before?
All of those GOP candidates are universally unpopular.
Trump will flame out, the 17 candidates will narrow down to 4 or 5, there will be a series of primaries, and the GOP will coalesce behind a center-right candidate, and the Koch Brothers will use their advertising millions to make that candidate popular.
If Bernie is still able to beat the GOP at that point, I will eat my hat.
That's why I'm for Hillary.
Has Biden announced he will not be running? I know he has a reputation as everybody's lovable goofy uncle but the man has proven time and again that he is full of surprising smarts, insight and depth.
If Hillary is full of inspiring promises with a subtext of scattered follow-through Biden may be her complete opposite.
The New York Times (which holds no love for Hillary) has this analysis of the apparent groundswell of enthusiasm for Bernie and why that might be illusory.
NY TIMES: Support for Bernie Sanders Is Deep but Narrow
If the NYT has written one positive or even objective thing about Bernie Sanders, I'm afraid I haven't seen it.
They like him as much as they like her.
They're saying Biden's decision will be made in September. I'd vote for Biden in a heartbeat.
Good article PJ, without great minority turnout the Dems are doomed, as of now we would fare much better in that regard with Clinton. Step it up Bernie.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
^ Absolutely fascinating. Looking forward to seeing that.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
A large percentage of Bernie's supporters are in favor of abortion. Just sayin'.
At the risk of nit-picking, no one is in favor of abortion. Many of his supporters are in favor of a woman's right to choose.
What is going on with Bernie and Black Lives Matter?
Who knows? It is interesting, however, that they don't show up for Hillary or any of the GOP's candidates.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
Hillary won't send them. She'd just have someone killed. Duh.
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