Largest Democratic Donor comes out in support of Bernie & his ideas

[Shadows]

Mic recently caught up with Steyer, a California hedge fund billionaire who spent a whopping $87 million on Democratic candidates and causes in 2016 and endorsed Clinton after the primaries, to discuss the state of play for Democrats in the Trump era — the good, bad and yes, the ugly. Today, Steyer is an unabashed supporter of Sanders' progressive vision.

"When people say Bernie is crazy, no. Bernie is talking about inequality. That is the burning issue in the United States." There is an absolute, unspoken war between corporate interests and the American people," he said. "That's the underlying subtext for all of the public discussions within the Democratic party." "We're seeing a deliberate attempt to take away [working families'] future by really rich people. Until we address that, I don't think we're dealing with the reality Americans are facing today," he continued. "Before you freak out on the jobs question, which everyone loves to do, understand that we [only] have 4.3% unemployment," Steyer said. "But what we do have is a whole bunch of people who have jobs they can't live on," he added, a reference to the thinking behind the Fight for $15 and other progressive campaigns to raise working class wages.

"Being not-Trump is not nearly enough. We have to put forward our positive vision for the future. If we can't do that, then I don't understand the point." "One of the things people get mad at Bernie about is single-payer," Steyer said. "You know who is also calling for that? Warren Buffett. We have got to start looking at things with a fresh eye." "The idea that we're not going to cover people is over," Steyer explained. "Health care is a right. The question is how do we deliver it in the most efficient manner possible." Steyer admitted that getting to a single-payer system in the U.S. would be "really difficult," but he believes that other countries' systems are hurting American competitiveness. "Single-payer is a system [elsewhere] that is kicking our ass," he said. When the Democrats' biggest donor calls single-payer the gold standard for the country, that is a clear indicator of Sanders' long-term impact.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/07/16/the-democrats-biggest-donor-says-the-party-is-blowing-it-and-sh/23032495/

[Mr. Morden]

There's already a thread on this:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=268742.0

[NeederNodder]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

[NEW JERSEY FOR MENENDEZ]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

[Liberalrocks]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

Yes and Amen. If he runs again contrary to belief here on this forum it will not be a cakewalk.

[Famous Mortimer]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

If higher taxes replace even higher Obamacare premiums, they will be.

[NeederNodder]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

A majority of most Americans agree with Bernie's policies and the Democrats need to realize it for both 2018 and 2020.

[GoTfan]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

A majority of most Americans agree with Bernie's policies and the Democrats need to realize it for both 2018 and 2020.

Pfft. People like Admiral President would rather lose with a corporate Democrat than win with a progressive.

[NEW JERSEY FOR MENENDEZ]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

A majority of most Americans agree with Bernie's policies and the Democrats need to realize it for both 2018 and 2020.

Pfft. People like Admiral President would rather lose with a corporate Democrat than win with a progressive.

How would we "win", exactly? I'm curious how Sanders' policies make us "win"

I'm also curious what makes someone "corporate Democrat", since that label is used for like, I don't know, literally any sitting Democrats who aren't Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

[Liberalrocks]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

A majority of most Americans agree with Bernie's policies and the Democrats need to realize it for both 2018 and 2020.

Pfft. People like Admiral President would rather lose with a corporate Democrat than win with a progressive.

Ugh so whiny, rolls eyes....

[Mr. Smith]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

A majority of most Americans agree with Bernie's policies and the Democrats need to realize it for both 2018 and 2020.

Pfft. People like Admiral President would rather lose with a corporate Democrat than win with a progressive.

How would we "win", exactly? I'm curious how Sanders' policies make us "win"

I'm also curious what makes someone "corporate Democrat", since that label is used for like, I don't know, literally any sitting Democrats who aren't Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

Easy, you get higher minority turnout by better social programs they benefit from in the Rust Belt, you get better college town turnout by doing something about student debt, and you get more of the WWC by doing more for stagnating wages.

Also, Jeff Merkley, Keith Ellison, Adam Schiff, Jason Kander, and Russ Feingold [ya' know, the guy who would've won if Hillary had bothered with Wisconsin] all say hi too

[NEW JERSEY FOR MENENDEZ]

This is a growing trend I see within the party. Even the major established figures knows that Bernie's ideas are universally loved.

I don't think high taxes on everyone is "universally loved"

A majority of most Americans agree with Bernie's policies and the Democrats need to realize it for both 2018 and 2020.

Pfft. People like Admiral President would rather lose with a corporate Democrat than win with a progressive.

How would we "win", exactly? I'm curious how Sanders' policies make us "win"

I'm also curious what makes someone "corporate Democrat", since that label is used for like, I don't know, literally any sitting Democrats who aren't Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

Easy, you get higher minority turnout by better social programs they benefit from in the Rust Belt, you get better college town turnout by doing something about student debt, and you get more of the WWC by doing more for stagnating wages.

Also, Jeff Merkley, Keith Ellison, Adam Schiff, Jason Kander, and Russ Feingold [ya' know, the guy who would've won if Hillary had bothered with Wisconsin] all say hi too

It's a bit racist to assume that minorities only care about social programs, but that's just my opinion. The only case I can see is with college towns, but the rest is malarkey. Bernie performed terribly with minorities, and while he'd still win minority votes in the general, they'd be depressed compared to that of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The whole "WWC loves Bernie" thing is also way overstated. Sure, the WWC somewhat preferred him over Hillary, but not by a lot. If you look at Pennsylvania, Clinton defeated Sanders by a 13-point margin, and even took a good chunk of the WWC counties with her, notably Southwestern PA, Erie County, and the Delaware River area. Then you hear about how Bernie defeated Hillary in West Virginia in a 15-point margin, thus meaning the most WWC state loves him, right? Wrong. Bernie only managed to hit 51%, while Hillary hit 36%. Who got the other 13%? A man named Paul T. Farrell, Jr. managed to get 9% there, while 1.8% went to Keith Judd and 1.5% went to Martin O'Malley, and the rest went to Rocky de la Fuente. Even Michigan, while Bernie managed to pull an upset, it was still only by one point. He didn't score a decisive victory over Clinton. Then you head over to Wisconsin, which by your own admission, is known for Progressive Democrats, so its no surprise Bernie Sanders won there. Trump only won it because Hillary didn't campaign there, and even managed to get less votes than Mitt Romney in 2012 despite his victory. I'd love to go over state by state, but I wanted to focus on the three "blue wall" states Trump won and the most WWC state in the country (West Virginia).