Even if I *could* speak for "all" of my party, I couldn't do it for
Democrats because I'm an Independent, which is poised to become THE
largest "party" in the US, bigger then GOP and Dems combined.
Hillary comes off as extremely
hawkish, which I don't agree with. She's a corporatist and/or Third
Wayer, who is funded almost completely by Wall Street and Corporations.
She has NEVER held these further-left views that she has recently
espoused, and clearly has been driven that way by Sanders and even the
other Dem candidates, no doubt much to the dismay of the DNC chair
Debbie Washerman Schultz.
Schultz, said, in an indulgent, amused tone as one would used with a
child, when asked about Sanders or socialism of something: "Oh, pff, no.
That's... the Democratic party is left-wing of course, but we're still
American. We certainl aren't socialist" (paraphasing). And then when
asked what the difference was BETWEEN Democrats and socialists, couldn't
answer. (Maybe the first part of this paragraph was here reply, can't
recall offhand).
I don't pretend to understand everything in life or politics or money or
social issues or whatever, and anyone that says they do is either lying
or selling something, probably both. Sanders has stated his stance
against (unnecessary) war, he's much more focused on income inequality,
free tuition for 4 year colleges, breaking up monopoly monolithic
corporations, actually setting tax rates right for PEOPLE, righting the
economical spending, etc. A litany of things. Actual REAL progressive
things.
Not "liberal", past that - PROGRESSIVE. I don't care if he calls it
socialism or ham-sandwichism. I'm not intimidated by words, and I judge
things by what I can see or read or currently understand about them. I
do lament the fact that "progressive" is a somewhat reviled term because
it has been co-opted by leftist extremists the way some see other terms
as also co-opted by leftist extremists, to authoritarian, speech
stifling extents.
There is criticism of Bernie Sanders because he's "not a Democrat".
That's still this same nonsense at work. If you compare him to ACTUAL
*real* Democrats, from just a bit over a decade or so back, or
especially multiple decades, he is the ONLY Democrat in the Democratic
party. Hillary is CERTAINLY not one, and the media doesn't give enough
exposure to the others to even tell.
I don't claim to know the intricate details of exactly how Bernie is
going to do X or Y, but you can say that about ANYONE. Whoever someone
is voting for, that person very rarely will be able to comprehend what
is involved in the claims they make, about how they're going to make
certain things come about - and that is still on the general surface
level. Unless you yourself came UP inside political circles, you really
have no idea how the guts are cut, even if you understand the topic.
Bernie Sanders isn't perfect. He's not "powerful", and yes he's been in
politics for 30 some years. But in those years, you can look at his
actions and his record, in politics and in society, and see how he've
voted and what bills he's sponsored or voted for or against, and what
sides he's been on during social issues. Sanders is one of the few,
possibly the ONLY person that even comes CLOSE to being authentic and I
believe he will do everything he can to make exactly the changes and put
the plans into place that he says he will. I don't give that benefit of
the doubt to ANY other politician in any party. Hillary, if elected,
will immediately or as quickly as possible, return to her Neo-Republican
roots and ignore, undo or twist any promises or claims she made that
are "too left leaning" for the banks or corporations to be happy with.
*Elizabeth Warren and Larry Lessg, both no longer in the picture, are also included with Sanders