What is a DemoParty?
I cited an interview he made at a Unity Tour rally to NPR. I'm not claiming Bernie has been deceitful. His words and actions for the past four years have been consistently couched as if he were running against Democrats. Contrast what Perez said with what Bernie said. It's night and day difference.
Listen to Perez: "Donald Trump is a disaster. He's a threat to our democracy," Perez said. "And I think everybody in that room that we were in in Miami, and yesterday, and the day before, and tomorrow, and through the weekend, understands that."
Listen to Sanders: "How in God's name are they (Republicans) winning elections?" Sanders asked, exasperated. "And I think the answer to that is the failure of the Democratic Party — to have a progressive agenda, to bring people into the party, to mobilize people. And that's what I'm running around this country trying to do."
Is what Bernie said true? Your question is valid. So, go forth, prove it is. It's not on me to prove a negative. I can say it wasn't true in 2018, when Democratic Party leaders were criticized for favoring moderate candidates in Republican-held districts. The DNC's strategy to: "back moderates in contested districts" strategy worked quite well then, when they took away GOP control of the House. The same strategy held true in the special election in Alabama when Democratic Party leadership were criticized for endorsing a moderate who ended up winning the first Alabama Democratic Senate seat in ages.
Here is what Bernie said in Jackson, Mississippi last year:
"The business model, if you like, of the Democratic Party for the last 15 years or so has been a failure.. People sometimes don't see that because there was a charismatic individual named Barack Obama."
In his speeches, Bernie would have people believe that the Democratic Party lost ground because it wasn't supporting a far left agenda. I can't dispute the numbers. The Republican Party did well for itself in the 2010's. I dispute the leap of faith required to believe that a right wing fascist movement within the GOP succeeded because Democrats weren't far enough to the left. The logic fails.
On top of that, Bernie was willfully ignorant in his display of disregard for the sentiment of black voters who greatly admire Obama. He diminished Obama with dog whistle rhetoric. Obama was a very good president, yet Sanders claimed he was a failure but we were fooled by Obama's charisma. Buuuuuulshit. I can cite the accomplishments made during his tenure if you like.
Beating Trump is necessary and will make real difference in the lives of millions, not to mention ending the degradation Republicans are inflicting upon our system of government. Trump asserted the rights of a king during his impeachment trial and Republican Senators backed him. So, yes, I do care about Democrats winning back the WH and at least showing a sensible strategy to take the Senate. The whole notion that Bernie can beat Trump never made sense to me and I'm relieved to find that most Democrats agreed. There is no way Sanders could have beaten Trump.