The Future's Here (and the Political Revolution is Now)

Like the song says, the future's here today--and Bernie's big win in Indiana proves that he has the stamina and the momentum to keep the Political Revolution alive and well in the days to come. This week we're focusing on how to keep the grassroots excitement carrying on throughout the campaign season and beyond.  What things are broken in our political system and how do we go about reforming them? Never forget--we are the Revolution. "And when the people stand together, there is nothing, nothing we cannot do."

Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport, either. Join Place a Vote where you can discuss and vote on current issues affecting our country. Brand New Congress means what it says--it wants to help progressives get on the ballot throughout the USA. Sign up and become involved. The season of being a couch potato is over. Let's take it to the streets, Berners!

Election Reform to Support Grassroots Candidates

by Ryan Hamer

The existing two-party primary system has been a disaster for democracy, making it difficult for grassroots candidates like Bernie Sanders to have a fair chance. Some have suggested eliminating the primaries and going straight to a general election where multiple candidates can compete and the one with the most votes wins. Unfortunately, if two of the candidates have similar views, they can end up siphoning off votes from each other, giving an unfair advantage to the third candidate.

Approval voting provides a way around this. Instead of voting for just one candidate, each voter gets to indicate approval or disapproval for each
candidate, with the person receiving the highest approval rating declared the winner. Since voters can approve of more than one candidate, it enables them to vote for both the candidate they truly want to win and a backup choice.

 As a hypothetical example, let’s say three candidates are running for president: Trump, Clinton and Sanders. Let’s assume that 35% will only vote for Trump, 10% will only vote for Clinton, 20% will only vote for Sanders, and 35%  would be okay with either Clinton or Sanders. Suppose that in the primary those who are okay with either Clinton or Sanders end up voting for Clinton on the assumption that she has the best chance of beating Trump, so Clinton wins the nomination 45 to 20. We’ll assume that Trump wins his party’s nomination uncontested (this is, after all, hypothetical). Come the general election, Sanders supporters resign themselves to voting for Clinton to keep Trump from being elected, so Clinton wins 65 to 35.
 

Now suppose we switch to a system where all three candidates face off in a general election without a primary. Let's say Trump gets his 35%, Clinton gets her fully-committed 10% plus another 23% from those who are okay with either Clinton or Sanders, and Sanders gets the remaining votes. That makes 35 for Trump, 33 for Clinton and 32 for Sanders, so Trump wins.

Going straight to a general election with approval voting yields a very different result. Trump would have a 35% approval rating, Clinton 45%, and Sanders 55%, so Sanders wins.

 Approval voting provides underdog candidates with a real chance of winning, and voters a chance to vote for their real choice and not just a fallback position. This is a change that would benefit all voters, regardless of party affiliation.

Bio: Ryan says that he is "Busy conducting research on poverty and its elimination, universal health care, the protection of civil liberties and the environment, and making the political process more collaborative, fairer and more civil."

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This Woman is Bernie Strong

a weekly commentary featuring one of Bernie's female supporters

Bernie's Meta-Campaign 

by Barb McMillen
 

Bernie's is a meta-campaign. I use the term meta as in metagaming. From wiki: "Metagaming is any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed rule set, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself."

Bernie's campaign has from the very start been both his own as well as referential to the outside world of campaigning. As he moves from announcing his campaign to actually running for delegates through votes and caucus processes his own events become referential to those of the larger issues of campaigns in this country. What is the role a party plays in relationship to candidates running for the party? What is the relationship of the party the candidate and the media? What is consensus? What is gerrymandering, bribery, the people's choice? How do economics and democracy function together?

Every step of the way, Bernie's campaign has been a lantern shining its light through, and thereby exposing, the cracks in our democracy.

His campaign will be reviewed for years to come as an historical moment in the United States, the moment when the people became aware of the reality of their own politics. Bernie has had to carry not only his own weight but that of the system and that of the hopes and dreams of those of us who want to see him win despite everything that is mounted against him. Because we would like to see that yes, there still exists We The People, By The People, For The People. 

He is our warrior. Watch him, listen to him, and through the campaign know thyself. #ForeverChanged #FeelTheBern #Bernie2016

Bio: Barb is a co-founder of The Bernie Blog and a Bernie delegate from Ohio to the DNC convention this summer in Philadelphia.

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Superdelegate Reform Needed!

I’m Dave Shanley, I’m age 62 and retired, I live in upstate New York, and I’m a Democrat who supports Bernie Sanders.

My comment/concern has to do with superdelegates and how news organizations are reporting delegate counts in the Democratic primary.

Specifically, in an interview with Chris Hayes of MSNBC on March 9, Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz, Chair of the Democratic National Committee stated, "and at the end of the day we've not ever nominated a candidate for president as our party's nominee with anything but the pledged delegates that are selected by the voters."

That seems right and fair to me.  Can you imagine what would happened if a candidate got the most votes and won the most states and the superdelegates gave the nomination to another candidate?  An example of superdelegates following the lead of voters is when Hillary's lead in 2008 started to evaporate as superdelegates moved to Obama as he started to win races.

Most news organizations report Hillary ahead in delegate count 1645 pledged/520 super to Bernie's 1318 pledged/39 super (as of April 30).   By including the superdelegates in the overall delegate count without any explanation gives an inaccurate picture of the actual status of the campaign.  It gives the false impression that Hillary's nomination is all but inevitable.  It gives a big advantage to the Clinton campaign and is very unfair to the Sanders campaign.

As the chair of the Democratic National Committee made clear, ultimately, the "pledged delegates that are selected by the voters" will be the ones that will determine who will be the Democratic candidate for president.  The current pledged delegate count is Hillary 1645, Sanders  1318.  It's a significant delegate deficit, but given the number of delegates outstanding and given the states where those delegates reside, it can be overcome.

I’m sure there are many voters who are not aware of the significance of this and that concerns me.

We have the chair of the Democratic National Committee’s own words.  How do we get news organizations to report the delegate count in a more accurate and fair way? 

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West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon: It's that time. Get to the polls and get ready to vote for Bernie! #FeeltheBern #LoveTrumpsHate





 

Who Stole The American Dream?

It's time for Indiana to head to the polls on May 3, 6 AM - 6 PM. Bring your state photo ID, Hoosiers, and vote for Bernie!  (This week on the blog we're featuring original artworks decorating the walls of the Fort Wayne campaign office.)

We're also speaking out about recent "voting irregularities" this week on the blog. (That's a nice way of saying voter suppression/election fraud scandals.) What or who is behind the rigging of our recent primary elections and the misleading delegate counts? Who or what is stealing our American Dream? How can we fight back? Could electing the only candidate truly qualified for the job of president--Bernie Sanders--revitalize our democracy?How do we play a part in the Political Revolution?

Our Election?
by Anon.

If Bernie Sanders was losing the primary election to another left-wing, progressive candidate, I could deal with this, but he is not losing to a real Democrat. He is losing to Hillary Clinton, one of the most corrupt, unpopular, neo-liberal candidates to ever crawl out of the power elite and slither her way into the presidential elections. Hillary the warmonger. Hillary the corporate crony. Hillary the polluter. Hillary the mass-incarcerator. Hillary the dynasty candidate and flip-flopper.

If Bernie Sanders was losing this election fair and square, I could still probably deal with it, but he is not. This election has been anything but fair--rigged caucuses and polling stations, rigged voting machines, rigged media coverage, rigged social media sites, rigged funding mechanisms and superdelegates. In many instances, blatant electioneering, visible to everyone. Worse yet, nothing is being done--not by the president (who I also voted for), not by Congress, not by the "Justice" Department or the courts, not by the state officials. It feels like I am living in Russia.

If Bernie Sanders would be willing to run as an independent or third party candidate, I could probably still have some hope for this country. But, apparently, he is not, which is really, really disappointing for me--mainly because I have donated approximately one hundred bucks of my family's hard-earned money so far. I've put a lot of time and effort into this social movement, only to see the DNC steal this election right before our eyes and most Americans passively accept this, including Bernie Sanders himself. So all of my money has essentially gone for nothing productive. Apparently it is okay to take my money and fill me with false hope, but then cave to the DNC and fold.

If anyone wants to challenge what I am saying here and throw some good news my way, go ahead. I am going to keep pushing for Bernie to win and crawling forward for the cause, but to be perfectly honest, at this point, it is simply because I have nowhere else to go, and I have run out of options. I am getting fed up with the American system, and I am tired of people feeding me uber-positive bullsh*t to cover up the steaming pile of bullsh*t that we call the United States of America. The delusional Kool-Aid served by Obama left a better taste in my mouth, but only because he was the first black president and he was so obstructed. Kool-Aid doesn't taste good anymore, though.

Sad part is, I know I am not alone. That is the scary part. Over half of our country lives in relative poverty; we have the largest prison system on earth; one-fifth of Americans are dosed up and more with mounds of student debt. Right-wingers so dysfunctional they are planning another civil war. Left-wingers marching for change. The American people are completely fed up, and no one is listening, and I fear that if the DNC doesn't get its act together or Sanders doesn't find a way to win in November the next decade is not going to be pretty. The US could end up looking a lot like the Middle East.

You'd think this would make Bernie reconsider that whole independent run thing, but we will see...

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What happened to Bernie's votes in Sussex County Delaware? Note how the updated graphic shows him with almost 4000 less votes than the first.  Did the Washington Post "correct" the numbers with help from the DNC?

The Sane Progressive talks about how those who are trying to find out the truth but are being maligned: Washington Post Smears Election Integrity Activists as Conspiracy Theorists in Cover Up

Richard Charnin's Blog has up-to-date coverage of Democratic primary exit polls anomalies. The numbers don't lie--and they don't quite add up, either.  https://richardcharnin.wordpress.com/  

Find out more about recent voter suppression and election fraud at ElectionNightmares.com

How can we fight back? Here's a new movement taking positive action: https://brandnewcongress.org/ 
and remember, "We got the power!"

 

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Do Superdelegates Ever Get Your Goat?
by Paul Wyman

In the past, I’ve never thought much about superdelegates, and it never bothered me.  I guess the superdelegates purpose was to “cement” the selection of the party’s anointed candidate.  This year it bothers me enormously because Hillary Clinton is not my choice. My choice is Bernie Sanders. 

If it weren’t for these superdelegates, Bernie would now be neck and neck or even ahead of Hillary Clinton.

This set me to thinking.  I’ve been noticing that the number of superdelegates varies per state, averaging about one-sixth of the total number of voting delegates.  The Republicans allow only three superdelegates per state (150 total out of 2472 Delegates), which is only 5% compared to the Democratic Convention of about 16.33%

Now let’s think about this for a moment...  Democracy means One Person – One Vote.  But in the so-called party of the “Democrats”, one third of the votes are reserved for the “dignitaries” (senators, congressmen, governors) and the hard working party faithful (the supervisors of all the phone bankers, reception organizers, hand-bill delivery people, etc.) 

Now I have no dispute with giving the party-organizers partial airfare help and hotel discounts, but it has no Constitutional right whatsoever to  violate the principle of One Person – One Vote.  Instead, they are now distributed as 467 Clinton, and 24 Sanders.  This in no way reflects the closeness of the state vote distributions.   It means the Democratic Party is more strongly controlled by “Party Hacks” than the Republican Party.  The number of Democratic superdelegates is about one-sixth (16.33%) of the total authorized convention voters.

This means that the superdelegates, one person each, are claimed by the Democratic Party to have and equal worth and equal impact on selecting the candidate as 100,000 individual human voters in their respective states.
 

No where in the US Constitution is this arrangement of chicanery sanctioned in any way whatsoever.  In fact, the Republican Party pollutes their convention with only 5% of total delegates compares to the Democratic Party’s 16.33%.  In this respect (but this respect only), the Republican Party proves itself to be more truly democratic than the Democratic Party.

And no, I won’t call them the Democratic Party anymore because the obscenity of superdelegates in the party means that the party is distinctly not democratic.

If Bernie is done in by superdelegates, I urge all Bernie delegates to pledge to eliminate superdelegates at the convention as well as in all future conventions, if only to become more democratic than the Republican Party. 

Bernie speaks about the superdelegates and how they should reflect the will of the voters in their state in his  May Day press conference.

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This Woman is Bernie Strong!
a weekly feature written by a female Bernie supporter

 

Sanders, Sanders, Berning Bright
a poem by Irene Hsu

Sanders, Sanders, Berning bright

In this presidential fight

What fat wallet or Wall Street fee

Could fund thy fearful enemy?

In what distant place or time

Burnt the fire of Birdie's eyes?

On what wings of determination,

What great hand dare seize the nation?

And what speech and what art

Could make a country change its heart?

And when thy arms begin to wave

What economy can this man save?

What great hashtags, what droll names

What a gust of fresh air was thy campaign

What injustice to the working class

Dare your passions neatly grasp?

And when the protestors threw down their spears

And showered rallies with their tears

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who felt the Bern burn thee?

Sander, Sanders, Berning bright

In this time of fear and fright

What great love shall we set free

To thwart thy fearful enemy?

Bio: Irene Hsu is a practicing attorney, writer, and animal lover. She supports Bernie for President because she believes income inequality must be addressed immediately and he has the passion, energy, and heart to help us become better as a country.

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Who Stole The American Dream?
by Bill MacKilligan

I am retired and living in Southern Maine. The recent discussion regarding the dwindling of the middle class seemed nothing more to me than a large segment of the baby boomers were finally retiring. In most cases, when an individual retires, his or her income will decrease. So to me it seemed like a natural form of attrition. Boy, was I wrong. Certainly the decrease in income for the retiring baby boomers will contribute to a diminishing  of the middle class, but there are other factors to consider. Bernie has considered them and his platform seems to surround these factors.

I am currently reading a book by Hedrick Smith called Who Stole The American Dream. It is a very difficult book to read. It's like watching a train wreck--only our country is the train. I will not make a lengthy description of  the book, but suffice it to say that it all started in the 1960s and 1970s when big business got smart and started to see the advantage of becoming politically active and hired lobbyists to do their bidding for them. Things haven't changed much since then. Some CEOs earn 900 times the salary of their average workers! For some businesses CEO performance doesn't seem to matter. They still do well even when their businesses lose money. Remember the 2008 recession?

At one time pensions and life time health care was the norm. Then 401K programs became vogue. Companies did not have to fund their employees' retirement plans alone. It became the employee's job to develop the portfolio and act as his or her own financial adviser.  That life time health care program, that the company paid for, became a joint contribution health care plan between the business and the employee with the employee funding the lion's share of the contributions. Wages for the rank and file worker stagnated, but not for the CEOs. Wall Street took over Main Street and here we are--most of us just scraping to get by. 

The government now has us working so hard to pay our taxes (the taxes that CEOs don't have to pay) and to put food on the table that we don't have time to be politically active--let alone have time to vote. That is just where our elected officials want us. If we don't vote, they don't care. In fact, if we are not politically active they can pretty much do what ever they want, which at this time is pretty much nothing.

When labor unions were strong and employees were treated fairly by union shops or by family run businesses that understood how important their employees were to their success--I don't believed we called that Socialism back then. I'm not even sure I would call giving the worker a fair shake Socialism but, if that's what Bernie wants to call it, I am on board. 

The pendulum has to start swinging the other way. Vote for Bernie Sanders for President of the United States of America.  It will be hard to start that pendulum moving in the opposite direction, but if Bernie gets a mandate our elected officials will have to sit up and take notice.

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Some last thoughts...

Poor people don't vote. Because, by definition, poor people are disenfranchised on so many levels. Bernie's stretching his hand out. He's trying to bring all people into the process including the poor, the uneducated, the homeless. What's there for him to explain? But there's a bigger picture -- insiders and outsiders. Right now the insiders have the power. They vote for themselves. When we win this election with the disenfranchised -- all of us together not the poor alone but all of us together -- when we win this thing we will be the People's Party. And the poor will know that together, all of us, we can win. A vote is worth fighting for. Outsiders no more.--Barb McMillen, co-founder of The Bernie Blog

Off to the polls--or it's off with the oligarchs' heads! Ballots not bullets! Be the Political Revolution! Vote for progressive candidates and causes.

Feel the Bern. Not Me Us. Make History.

Why "Any Blue" Won't Do

 

A recent "Dine with the 99" Potluck for Bernie in Maumee, Ohio. Berners know why they're voting for Bernie Sanders. Don't say we haven't done our research. We have.

This week we look at the human being called Bernie Sanders, the only choice for a moral and prosperous America. We look at a government that we tentatively call a democracy and the primary election process we wish we could call fair. We look at the establishment candidate the oligarchs want to inflict upon us and learn why any blue won't do.

Bernie became involved in the political process while still at college. He developed a strong conviction that the segregation of schools in Chicago needed to be protested against vigorously. This short trailer for  the upcoming documentary Bern shows the lengths he was willing to suffer to help bring about a better world for all Americans.

Here's the press release for Bern with links to where you can help them out  and befriend them on social media.

FILMMAKERS RELEASE SNEAK PEEK OF “Bern” – The Bernie Sanders Documentary Film Includes Rare Footage and Interviews of Bernie Sanders from 1960's to 1990's

AUSTIN, Texas / April 29, 2016 – Featuring rarely-seen archival footage of Bernie Sanders, The Bernie Sanders Documentary "Bern" examines the people, places and events that shaped the man who has inspired such widespread grassroots support in the 2016 presidential election.  The film traces Sanders' personal and political evolution from a student activist at the University of Chicago to his four terms as mayor of Burlington, VT and on through his careers in the U.S. House and Senate, and gives viewers a chance to get to know Bernie Sanders the man, so they can learn about Bernie Sanders, the candidate.  The website for the film is: https://www.bernthemovie.com.

 

"We started this project simply as voters wanting to learn more about a candidate, but it quickly became something much larger.  The more we investigated, the more we realized a very interesting story was taking shape and that the only way to tell it right was to take a closer look at Bernie's history and figure out why he has connected so strongly with so many people,” says Executive Producer Jay Matthew.

The project was created by Matthew along with Executive Producer Chris Blankenship and Director/Producer Miriam Paredes to capture what they see as a pivotal time in this country's history, one that touches on issues of economic disenfranchisement, class conflict, social inequity and the shifting value we place on community and individual freedom.

In keeping with the project's mission to highlight the power of community, the film will be distributed free online.  The first installment will premiere on May 27, 2016, ten days before the California, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington DC primaries.  The second installment, which will document the run-up to the election in November and its aftermath, is scheduled to premiere February 27, 2017, regardless of the outcome of the election because, as EP Matthew explained, “We believe that what Bernie Sanders is doing for the political and social landscape of America will go far beyond the 2016 race.”

The sneak peek is available at https://www.BernTHEMOVIE.com ; Find more information on these social media sites:  http://www.facebook.com/BernTHEMOVIE ; http://www.twitter.com/BernTHEMOVIE ; http://www.instagram.com/BernTHEMOVIE

You can see a 14 minute sneak peak of Bern The Movie here: 
https://youtu.be/ESBsC6LwW_4

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Surprise! The System is Still Rigged!

by Suki Liebow

Okay, all you Berners out there. We didn’t win New York. Guess what? Obama didn’t win New York, either! 

Reports of voter suppression and voting machine issues in yesterday’s primary are, not surprisingly but remarkably, similar to the voting issues in the 2008 primaries between Obama and Hillary. 

There are huge (yuge!) numbers of people involved in this year’s primary for the first time and while the harsh reality of our failing democracy is new to many, it is not new at all.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m pissed off, too! 

The whole point of this political revolution is to change the very system we are trying to use to reclaim our democracy. It’s true, the system is rigged, but that didn’t happen overnight. It’s been happening for decades while we’ve been too preoccupied with American Idol and reality TV to care. Changing an established corrupt system from within the system when the people in power are benefiting from the corruption is going to take time, and grit. The establishment is pulling out all the stops and using every trick in the book to maintain control because they benefit from the system the way it is. 

Mainstream media this morning, in a surprise to absolutely no one, blasted the victories of Hillary over the airwaves as if this were the end game and she has unequivocally won the nomination. Don’t we know by now that mainstream media is promoting their own agenda without regard to integrity or, God forbid, factual information?

Let them play their games and tout their lies. The people are paying attention now. The curtains have been pulled back to reveal the reality of our flawed system. The establishment wants us to think there is no point in showing up, that we have already lost, but it has never been more important to get back up and brush the figurative dirt from our pant legs.

This game isn’t even close to over. 

Bio:  Suki Liebow has been writing on the topic of emotional processing for over 20 years, and is preparing the release of her first full length book. Suki founded a unique method of emotional processing that facilitates productive communication leading to more successful relationships.  Suki lives in San Francisco.

Dennis and fellow Bernie Light Brigade members in Toledo.

 From the Field in New York...

And now a field report from Dennis Slotnick, an Ohioan who went to upstate New York recently to canvass. Dennis earlier in the primary season canvassed in Iowa and has been a great help in NW Ohio. Thanks to Dennis for all his hard work for Team Bernie!

News from New York that you won't see on TV.

Journal of an organizer at the staging location in Niagara Falls.

My first turf in New York was to canvass next to Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York, a middle class suburban community with a high percent of people over age sixty. The response to Bernie Sanders was very positive. Residents and passersby lit up when they see the Bernie T shirt, engage in conversation and were generous with their time. Many undecideds agreed to vote for Bernie once they clearly heard his message from a live human being. By the end of the day, I felt more enthusiastic about Bernie than the beginning of the day because of the rapport and widespread support for Bernie's ideas. 

In setting up the staging location in Niagara Falls, two restaurant owners were more than gracious about having us use their facility for sending out canvassers. They gave the canvassers food and stayed open for us after hours.
We had 15-20 canvassers each day, many are new to the processes, even first time voters! In every case, they had good conversations with residents, most strong Bernie supporters who lit up and got excited to see canvassers at their house. The resonance with fellow Bernie supporters kept my canvassers so enthusiastic that they signed up for more canvassing the next day. 

The support staff in Buffalo were absolutely great. All supplies, instructions and assistance I could ask for, with a marvelous attitude and trust.
This is what we call support of nature. In the right place doing the right thing at the right time day long (and into the evening hours, too).

The media would suggest that New York went to Clinton. The truth is that New York City went for the other candidate, but nearly all of upstate New York went for Bernie almost exclusively. See for yourself. Go to this map http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york and scroll down to the county map. Hover over each county to realize how Bernie simply dominated upstate New York taking every county except three which have heavy urban centers. Even in those cities, the difference was less than 5%. In Buffalo, for example, there was only a 0.5% difference. There is no doubt that this upstate New York success is due to the dedicated workers in the field offices, the millions of phone calls and thousands of door knocks made in the last week of the campaign. (Over 20,000 doors in Buffalo in one weekend!) 

More remarkable than the widespread excitement for Bernie among upstate New Yorkers is the power of the team. The dedication of the Bernie staff, the brilliance and persistence through the challenges is beyond commendable. This campaign has proven to me again and again it is not about Bernie Sanders; it is about us revitalizing our democracy. 

In my view the momentum continues. So now is the time to pile it on for Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and others. Do all you can to phone bank, talk to those you know in the critical states that are yet to hold primaries and be an even more active part of this great campaign. 

Oh yeah.
Dennis Slotnick, Feelin' the Bern.

Ohioans and others--we need to step up and canvass this week in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana. My husband and I are heading to Fort Wayne this coming weekend to canvass before their May 3 primary... See you there?

<==Bernie's campaign headquarters at 1137 N. Wells St., Fort Wayne, Indiana, located in the old Jack and Johnny's Pub. (It's a really cool place!)

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This week's "This Woman is Bernie Strong" features Rachel Chevat, an amazing singer/songwriter. Watch her Bernie Sanders Song video and then watch the video below, which gives background into her motivations for creating the song. The talent of Bernie's supporters--wow!

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Why “Any Blue” Won’t Do

by Cindy A. Matthews

This isn’t a piece I wanted to write, but I feel the time has come to say something definitive on the subject. I am the editor of The Bernie Blog after all, so this is a safe place to share these feelings with others of like minds. Perhaps you hold similar beliefs and need reassurance as well. I hope I can provide some.

This is a blog where we don’t make any pretense that we’re not aligned with the ideals of the best candidate running for the presidency--Senator Bernie Sanders. We’re not interested in “second best.” We won’t even consider voting for “the lesser of two evils” because we see a human being before us who isn’t evil, but one who is moral and compassionate and wise and understanding. Bernie has a positive view of what America could be and tells us how we all can take an active part in bringing about this idealistic vision.  

There's none of this "No, we can't!" attitude on Team Bernie. We are The Intelligent Electorate. We're determined to save our beloved country from the corruption of the oligarchs and their paid-off stooges in Congress. Why should we cooperate with those who consume our natural resources and workers' energy and then expect us to live off their crumbs as they ship our jobs overseas? It's time to clean house and return sanity and charity to the hallowed halls of government. Cooperating with evil because it's easier than fighting for what is right and moral simply doesn't appeal to us.

When we’re confronted with the mindless “any blue will do” rhetoric, we of course say, “No, thanks.” When you’re on the winning team, why would you feel obligated to change your loyalty mid-game? But some trolls will continue to berate, accuse and try to intimidate us with all sorts of statements that are, frankly, false and plain annoying.  So, in the interest of returning sanity to the Internet and our personal conversations with friends and family members, here are a few helps to deal with these well-intentioned, yet misguided, folks who insist you back another candidate because “Bernie can’t possibly win.” I guess they haven’t seen the recent polls, but we can rectify that, can’t we? After all, we've done our research, right?
 
Because the list of researched article links is so long, I've placed it on its own page. You can click on this link, or go to the right sidebar and click on the "Why Any Blue Won't Do for Bernie Supporters" page listing. Feel free to share the page link and any and all of the links on the page with others. If you have any links to articles, videos, etc., that you feel could be of help in this ongoing battle of the "any blue will do" trolling, please email them to us at thebernieblog2016@gmail.com and we'll list them on the page. Thank you

To end on a lighter note...

Get out and vote this Tuesday, Pennsylvanians! Voters in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island--get to your polls! Feel the Bern.