I am a Democrat. I vote for and support Democrats. The Democratic Party Platform lays out what I believe. https://www.democrats.org/party-platform Every four years, we craft a new platform in consultation with Democrats from all over the country.
During the 2016 election cycle, Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, was allowed to run for president in the Democratic primaries and caucuses. I did not support him because as I said, I vote for Democrats. But, I did like some of his ideas. Some of those actually made it into the party platform. I am thankful that Senator Sanders caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate and votes with them frequently.
I supported Barack Obama when he ran for Senate here in Illinois in 2004. And I supported him in 2008 when he ran for president. I would have been just as excited if Hillary Clinton had won the nomination that year as I'd always liked her.
When Hillary ran for president again in 2016, I was 100% behind her. As a staunch supporter of Hillary, I was often attacked on social media. I was called a Hillbot. And worse. Many attackers claimed to be supporters of Bernie Sanders. It was so terrible for me and others, that many considered leaving social media. Hillary supporters began calling them Bros. And a huge divide split the party.
Many feelings were hurt by the name calling and attacks from both factions. Republicans and third party candidates were thrilled. The more Democrats and Bernie supporters attacked each other, the less heat they felt. Some of the vilest attackers weren't even true Bernie supporters. They were paid to divide the left.
In the end, most Bernie supporters ended up voting for Hillary. But, the most ardent, the ones for whom everything is a "purity test", either voted third party or chose to sit out the election.
One of the consequences is that we have Trump as president. Another serious consequence is that as a party, we still have divisions that will impact our ability to win elections. Republicans also have divisions, as we've seen with their efforts to repeal ACA. But, Republicans don't let their divisions get in the way of electing Republicans.
I want to win elections as much as any other person. But, I don't want to see the Democratic Party win by becoming like the Republicans, who will do and say anything to win. Democrats are on the right side of history. We support issues that affect every single American.
We don't have to cheat or compromise our values to win. Republicans have won because they have tons of money for advertising and because they stopped millions of people from voting!
We are the majority! We won the popular vote. We can win if we stay true to our Party's values. If you think like I do, then I ask, are you willing to put your money on the line? Two of my friends have started a SuperPac for progressive Democratic candidates. This is a legitimate SuperPac with all of the legal requirements. It is called Democrats Work for America. Here is our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DemsWork4USA/ We also have a website: DemocratsWorkForAmerica.org We have a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/DemsWork4USA
Recently, Angela Marx wrote about us in DailyKos: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/7/30/1685365/-ATTN-Candidates-Democratic-Party-Chairs-DemocratsWorkForAmerica-org-a-SuperPAC-for-you
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