Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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Is Senator Bernie Sanders is a Democrat In Name Only (D.I.N.O.)? Welcome back My Dear Shoevians to The Other Shoe. I cast my very first vote, as a Democrat, in the 1976 Presidential Election. That day I went into the tall metal box (with a cloth curtain covering the back) and ‘Pulled a Straight Democratic Ticket’. Since that day in 1976, I have voted as, and been registered as, a ‘Card Carrying’ member of the Democratic Party! Forty years I have held a voter registration card indicating that I am a Democrat, a member of the Eldest political party in America. . Conversely, Senator Sanders just joined the Democratic Party, in 2015, simply to take advantage of the National Democratic Party. Having been a member of the Democratic Party, for less than a year, Senator Sanders has taken it upon himself to ‘Reinvent the Wheel’ by way of demanding changes in his newly adopted party. Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. Senator Sanders has no great love for either party. He has caucused with Republicans whenever it furthered his own personal political ambitions.
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Gun Laws (PARTY Legislation)
Case In point:
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- The 1992 ‘Brady Bill’ (Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act[1] – A bill, started in the House of Representatives, as a legislative response to the shooting of President Reagan and his Press Secretary James Brady by John Hinckley Jr. The bill carried provisions for:
- Mandated Background Checks for all purchases of firearms
- Prohibits certain persons from shipping or transporting any firearm in interstate or foreign commerce, or receiving any firearm which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or possessing any firearm in or affecting commerce.
- STOPS guns sales to:
- Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
- Is a fugitive from justice;
- Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;
- Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution;
- Is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States;
- Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
- Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced S. citizenship;
- Is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner, or;
- Has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
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Spoiled Child Syndrome
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Most of us, My Dear Shoevians, have; started a new job, moved to a new company in the same field, or moved into a new field to further our careers. If you have, then you (most likely) have heard this adage:
“Learn how OUR system WORKS, before you go reinventing the wheel.”
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It is age advice, and is given to a new employee in hopes that they learn how things are done (at their new job, or new field) prior to working to change a job or company where you are a freshman member. Senator Sanders would do well to heed these words, for he is inciting violence among his supporters, all in the vain attempt to change the Democratic Party WITHOUT learning how it works… FIRST!
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Further, I can make a very good analogy that most (if not all) parents can (or should) relate to:
You are holding a Birthday party for your… let’s say ten year old son or daughter. You have invited the ‘New Kid’ on the block, to your child’s birthday party. They are new to the neighborhood, but you want to be inclusive of the children your child shares and neighborhood with, and goes to school with, it is just being a ‘Good Neighbor’.
However, when it comes time for your son or daughter to open their birthday presents? The ‘new kid’ jumps up from his seat and declares:
“This party is unfair! I think that each time your son or daughter gets a birthday present, I TOO should get a present! It’s not fair to ME!”
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Now, without having worked to be a part of your neighborhood, without taking the time and effort to learn the rules governing ‘Birthday Parties’ this ‘new kid’/interloper begins making unreasonable demands of a system that was in place well before they arrived!
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Now, let’s apply this same example to… well, how about…
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SUPERDELEGATES
.Superdelegates: Superdelegates have been a part of the nomination process since 1980. Nearly the entire time that I have been a voting member of the Democratic Party. . First, what are Superdelegates?
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“For Democrats, superdelegates fall into three categories based on other positions they hold, and are formally described (in Rule 9.A) as "unpledged party leader and elected official delegates"[3] (unpledged PLEO delegates) consisting of:
- elected members of the Democratic National Committee
- distinguished party leaders, consisting of current and former presidents, vice presidents, congressional leaders, and DNC chairs
- sitting Democratic governors and members of Congress.
"For Republicans, there are three delegates in each state, consisting of the state chairman and two RNC committee members, who are automatic delegates to the national convention. However, according to the RNC communications director Sean Spicer, convention rules obligate these RNC members to vote according to the result of primary elections held in their states, if the state holds a primary."[2].
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Next, how did Superdelegates come into play in the Democratic Party Nomination Process?
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. “Following a series of meetings held from August 1981 to February 1982, the Hunt Commission issued a report which recommended the set aside of unelected and unpledged delegate slots for Democratic members of Congress and for state party chairs and vice chairs (so-called "superdelegates"). While the original Hunt plan, superdelegates were to represent 30% of all delegates to the national convention, but when it was finally implemented by the Democratic National Committee for the 1984 election, the number of superdelegates was set 14%. Over time this percentage has gradually increased, until by 2008 the percentage stands at approximately 20% of total delegates to the Democratic Party nominating convention.”[3].
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The creation of Superdelegates was two-fold. One, the National Democratic Party wanted “more electable candidates’. To that end, they handed more power to Democrats that ALREADY held office! This is common sense, if you want more electable candidates for your party, have members of your party that have WON elections have a lager voice! This process helped a little known Governor of Arkansas become the first Two Term Democratic Party President since President John Kennedy. . Second, the Superdelegates were to act ‘Gate-Keepers’ for the National Democratic Party. In essence, these ‘Gate-Keepers’ are meant to keep interlopers from coming into our party and high-jacking the most revered and highest office a party member can obtain! THAT is THE reason that Senator Sanders is railing against Superdelegates! Senator Sanders IS that interloper! . Finally, and I am wrapping this up at this point merely out of pain blinding me right now, let us discuss:
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Party Unity
Secretary Clinton is already pledging 1% of ALL campaign funds she receives to go to ‘Down Ticket Races’. That means new Congressmen/Senators hoping to get elected, returning Congressmen/Senators hoping for reelection and state offices (like Governors), too. Sec. Clinton has already made appearances for some down ticket races, as has Bill Clinton. Conversely, Senator Sanders has opted to hold hostage any involvement in down ticket races
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“we’ll see…”[4]
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...how the party treats Bernie Sanders, BEFORE he commits to assisting with any down ticket races. . These are the actions of a man with only one person/campaign/agenda/future in mind, his own! This is not, what I have come to know, as a genuine Democratic Party Member.
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To withhold support, to withhold monies, to withhold being a genuine party member until after his ‘Coronation’ is the ultimate in hubris and lacks the real party unity the Democratic Party NEEDS to; take back the Senate, hold on to the White House, GET our SCOTUS judges confirmed, PROTECT the reproductive rights of WOMEN, rein IN the ORGY of gun violence, and further Equality!
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Senator Sanders, if elected, simply cannot further his progressive agenda solo! This man has come into the Democratic Party at the Eleventh Hour then demands that we ‘Change how the party works’ to fit with ‘Independents’? What about all of us lifetime members of the Democratic Party? What about the people who have stood with are party through thick and thin? . This is why I have decided to decry Senator Bernie Sanders as a Democrat In Name ONLY! (D.I.N.O.) From where I am sitting it is obvious that Sen. Sanders is willing to nuke our Democratic Party if we don’t give him a birthday present, TOO! I deeply tire of reading the comments, on Facebook, of people who have LEFT our party. Gone ‘Independent’ then, when it looks bleak if the Republican nominee gets elected? They invade our party and make unrealistic demands!
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The rules, of this election, were decided LAST YEAR! Where were these ‘Independents’ when the time came for the HARD WORK of; Rules Committees, Convention Site Committees, Delegate Committees, and on and on and on? Where were they, then? . Were they supporting Sen. Sanders while he supporter Gun Manufactures Rights? Where were they, when we Life-Long Democrats were doing the hard work? Now, when it is time for cake and balloons and the elevation of a Nominee for President of our party.. then they show up making demands? As well, where will they BE when the time comes to make the rules for the 2020 election? Where will they be when the time comes to vote for or against Superdelegates, then? Will they return to be ‘Independents’ or will they stay with the Democratic Party though thick and thin? . Many of Bernie’s supporters are already threatening that ‘if Bernie is not the nominee, then we will not vote for Hillary…’!
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Where is the Party Unity? This is what disturbs me most about this election, this 2016 Presidential Election. It really feels more like “Voting for Dances with the Stars’ than any Presidential Election I have ever taken part over the past forty years. . Now, the ball is in your court… Bernie supporters? What will you do?
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Adieu!
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Thank you!
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Be good to one another!
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Danny Hanning Writer, Editor, Research Staff and Publisher at The Other Shoe
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© 2010 – 2016 Hanning Web Wurx and The Other Shoe
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Handgun_Violence_Prevention_Act
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate
[4] http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bernie-sanders-fundraise-down-ballot-democrats-maddow
