Sanders releases a powerful statement but there's more to be said.

from the morning show on twitch
/ open_mike_eagle
join the patreon for full stream VODs and to join the discord
/ openmikeeagle

[@donaldshults2230]

To be fair to Sanders, he did issue statements before the election warning that she wasn't doing enough for the working class and was moving too far to the center in their messaging.

[@adamstrakna6270]

Bernie has been vocally disappointed in the democratic party since 2016. That doesn't mean he isn't going to do what he can to stop a trump presidency, even if he doesn't think Kamala is lefty enough.

[@robdielemans9189]

This is probably the crux of the issues right now. You should never do anything to stop another political candidate, you should trust the democratic process, present your ideas on how you tackle the current problems and if you lose, then either you didn't present your ideas in a way that is understood by the majority, or you were tackling things that isn't even seen as a problem by the majority.

[@hksagemusic1617]

Yeah, Bernie was the choice in 2016 to go against Trump but big money didn't want him so they picked Clinton and lost. He's being criticized for pushing for the lesser evil and being critical of the party at all, which is what anyone in the left has been dealing with since Clinton. Nothing new tbh

[@chrisheiner6584]

He was outspoken in the past and was accused of detracting votes do to his vitriol. I believe this time he tried to avoid criticising in the name of supporting the lesser of two evils in his eyes. Once it was clear that didnt work, he could speak more freely.

[@shiftyslc]

I don't think this gets at the core of why Bernie supported Kamala as much as he did. The choice to back her direct nomination as opposed to go through a primary was probably based on her recognizability, her likeability, her public speaking ability more than anything. For all we know he didnt think his own health would sustain him through another primary and possibile presidential run. He always strikes me as pragmatic; he finds the best possible avenue for policies which help the working class to be enacted. So when he tweets "why Harris should be President" it's not his full throated endorsement it's just the reasons why he will be voting for her. He appears to have very little influence on the directionality of the Democratic party so that is his only means of attack. So even if we don't know the reason why every person who voted Biden didn't vote for Harris, a statement like this gathers together many of the most probable ones and gives hope to those who see their country crumbling. And it needs to happen now, prior to the autopsy of the Harris campaign, because once hope is gone it is nearly impossible to rebuild. A statament like this, at this time, seemed to Sanders to be a better option than fighting through a primary in a short period of time. For many reasons he might have been right, and I don't think we need him to hold himself accountable for rock solid policy beliefs and for that matter his belief in Harris, especially not in a brief statement. The goal of it was to give a voice to the anger that all decent Americans are feeling.

[@JaredEMitchell]

Much agreed. I wasn't politically active until Bernie ran in 2016. I happened to be living in Burlington at the time, and the energy in town was really inspiring. After he lost, I started digging in to what this "socialism" thing actually was, and joined up with the DSA, going out to protests and picket lines, and reading theory. Despite being wary of elections after that, I still supported him in 2020, and did a little phonebanking. Things looked really well after Nevada, but quickly collapsed in South Carolina and then into Super Tuesday, as everybody else dropped out to back Biden, even though he was 4th or 5th in the race. It wasn't hard to see that something fishy had transpired, and I told myself I'd focus on organizing instead of elections from then on. What's really shocking to me is that at the DNC this year, Bernie did that interview with Hasan Minaj, and just openly admitted that the Democratic party conspired to prevent him from winning the primaries. And yet, the very next sentence out of his mouth was that we needed to vote for them anyways. I still have a fondness for him personally, but I just find it exhausting to see him keep making these hollow pitches to people, especially given the grotesque backdrop of Palestine this time around. I am, admittedly, a little heated about how "organizing" has been devalued as a concept over the past few years. A common line I heard before the election was "the president can't do everything, you have to organize to push them left!", or "you elect the person you want to organize under", but to be frank I didn't see a lot of liberals I knew personally doing that, either under Trump or Biden. To see the man who inspired me to go down this path turn around and say that I have to support this campaign, then turn around again and say that the campaign had huge flaws that he knew about all along, is a real headfuck. Sorry, I know this isn't a confessional, I've just been stuck on these thoughts for the past couple days.

[@QuantumEX]

It seems that you don't understand politics and what it takes to win. Sometimes, you have to sing two songs at the same time, for Trump sings hundreds. In politics, until you win, right vs. wrong is reality . Once you win, then you try to do what you think is right for the people.

[@riddlorecvemipre]

He was highlighting the good. But he knew it was not far enough. And he mentioned all those things. Like health care for all and the genocide in Gaza.

[@open_mike_eagle]

I think he legit needs to take some accountability for his role in where the party is tho

[@cry0689]

⁠​⁠@@open_mike_eagleConsidering the DNC’s complete lack of support for either of his presidential bids and his different (though superior) policy approach from Kamala, I don’t believe Bernie had any sway that could actually change how the DNC did messaging or candidate selection. For his entire career in Washington, he’s been an Independent with progressive policies who understands the Democrats have to retain power for his proposals to pass. But despite his positive relationships with Biden, Kamala, and all democratic congressmen, the DNC was never giving him a seat at the table, for better or worse. He has no influence on where the Party stands on issues, at best previous campaigns adopted some of his platform to better compete in that year. I’m honestly impressed with his work this election cycle despite the loss, he constantly put out media statements supporting Kamala and appeared on podcasts she wasn’t interested(?) in going on like Theo Von or Lex Fridman. Even if he might of seen the writing on the wall, in his mind breaking away from the party at this point would have been bad optics.

[@shiftyslc]

​@@open_mike_eagleCan you explain why? One guy who is actually left vs. a party that is centrist, but that's the only chance he feels that he has to make the push towards universal healthcare? And in doing anything other than what he did, how that might help after the Biden/Harris swap?

[@sketchtc]

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Sanders does go back and forth and beyond party unity he should be explaining his positions more. I also believe that the party hasn’t put forth a candidate that you don’t feel like you’re begrudgingly voting for so that the other party doesn’t win. Their focus should be a candidate that actually connects with their base on a personal level. Not disingenuously.

[@zero-rh8nt]

Senator Sanders has been shafted by the Democratic party time and time again. That's why I think it's difficult for him to take accountability. He hasn't been given much power for the amount of effort that he has contributed.

[@NickScott86]

Americans will never get good candidates as long as there's money in politics. Money blocked Bernie from being a candidate in 2016. I'd suggest that all politicians should have their assets frozen while in service and that they be paid the minimum wage and be forced to live in the poorest area that they represent. I want my government to be filled with (figurative) Mother Teresas working from the bottom up to take care of people.

[@open_mike_eagle]

This is legitimately a major problem with our system

[@jfc4798]

Mother Teresa the scam artist would have fitted well into most governments.

[@zero-rh8nt]

I love Bernie Sanders

[@CatmanJimbo]

I wonder if it was even possible for a Dem to win this cycle - if we look outside the US, every single incumbent party has been voted out or at the very least had their ruling majority/coalition heavily reduced in elections this year. Globally inflation and chaotic world events have everyone angry and wanting change - even the massively popular BJP in India lost their majority. That being said, it's clear that Biden and company should have been real about his age and unpopularity - I think Kamala did okay given the Hail Mary of a campaign she had to run at the 11th hour, but it was unrealistic to think a voting public that was unhappy with the Biden Admin would suddenly rally behind his VP, especially after that absolute embarrassment of a debate this summer. Where I think Sanders point is most applicable is actually at the local/state level. Blue cities and states have not been run very well and voters have noticed. California is taking some half hearted steps, but they have to get REAL about building housing and helping reduce the rent/housing cost pressure on people. The bussing migrants strategy, as despicable and cynical as it was, really pantsed Democratic governments in places like NYC - not a coincidence that we saw a big rightward swing there. This train expansion in Cali taking a million years to finish and going overbudget again and again - why would people trust Dems with big spending projects on the national level if they show such pathetic incompetence at the local and state levels with big projects? Can't really convince working people with high minded statements about democracy or expect people to follow the intricacies of how deep levels of GOP plan to remake the structure of the federal government. To casual voters, these sound kind of hysterical, and their minds are on their pocketbooks and costs of living. Dems need to do more and also effectively get the message across when they do make moves to help people. At the moment, new media is pretty dominated by the Trumpworld folks, and legacy media matters less than ever.

[@ijlsk3158]

It was so difficult for me to vote for the dem that I can't judge the folks that didn't vote at all. The DNC has given us all lots of reasons to not trust them. Those reasons probably vary widely from person to person, but it all added up to low voter turnout, which is always how the GOP wins.

[@sydberetta4649]

A major factor here, is the loss in the rust belt. Kamala's Campaign clearly didn't do enough to reach those demos

[@idolgray]

Name 2 things trump said to win over the rust belt other being anti immigrant?

[@rayvonehackshaw3399]

He's been saying the same thing for 60 years. I'm just not sure what you expect him to do. He pushes back and gets sidelined. He does everything he can to defeat trump despite that, and he's not pushing back enough. I'm all for Democrats as a party taking accountability. I'm just not looking at Bernie very high on that list.

[@dradennewberry3290]

The reason I didn’t vote is because of her stance on Pali

[@dark41969]

Thx 4 putting this commentary out there, very valuable. & "A Tape Called Component..." is dope!!!

[@iamjimkelly]

$25,000 for first-time home buyers, raising the minimum wage, investing in small businesses, and assistance for elder-care and childcare wasn't appealing to "working class voters?” Btw, Black people are working class voters too and we voted for Harris.

[@PhatnPhunky]

She fundraised ungodly amounts of money for advertising and yet the only message she could effectively communicate was "orange man bad, save democracy". Normal people aren't policy wonks, but they can smell bullshit when they see Biden & Harris prioritizing a war machine over people's needs at home.

[@weevilman8]

I think you're overestimating his influence on the party in a big way. There's a reason he's an Independent not a Dem. Democrats have worked to undermine him, they never listen to him. It's pretty simple that he knows kamala was way too right leaning but highlighted the policies he agreed with to encourage people to vote and avoid the outcome we got. He's been pushing left his whole career, not sure what else he should've done here.

[@open_mike_eagle]

it's not about what he should have done before as much as it's about being honest and accountable now. he does have a seat at the table. he has had input on legislature. I want to see that reflected in the statement

[@PhilipVideos21]

Mike I’ve always loved your music but this channel has been killing it too. Thanks for conveying your thoughts this way as well

[@cry0689]

I still have no clear idea how Kamala lost turnout that badly from 2020. I want to blame her focus on niche policy, the frustration with high grocery prices, the ease of political engagement with COVID, her corporate image, but honestly I have no clue how much everything factored into the result. Maybe we needed that primary. If I had to guess, it’s that her vague persona and status quo agenda couldn’t change the fact that she was VP of an administration people associated with high groceries, therefore it’s okay to choose the strongman who will ‘fix everything’. She overplayed her hand with abortion and threat to democracy just to gain no increase in Republicans or white women. An institutional Democrat cannot win in this climate trying to copy Obama as an incumbent. People want obvious economic change, regardless of who is selling or what that actually means for everybody else. But again, idk. I hope we continue the discussion of what went wrong now rather than later, no answers means no hope for next time.

[@MomijiSour]

The question I want us to be asking but I have no expectation will ever be discussed by people with actual power is whether the democratic party even deserves to exist anymore. I think hopelessness was a big, big part of this election. I don't personally know a single person who was actually enthusiastic about voting for Harris. The things she was campaigning on were things Biden campaigned on in 2020 and, regardless of the reasons, none of those things were realized in the last four years. It really feels like democrats feel entitled to the progressive and middle/lower-class votes just by virtue of opposing Trump and at least part of this election is showing that is not the case without them actually working to give any of us a reason to believe a word they say.

[@AnarchyIsLove]

I audibly said "yes" out loud when I saw you talked about this, I appreciate hearin ya

[@Rafathy]

Just like i voted for kamala to avoid trump. Even though i legitimately didn't want to because the dems have not been for my core values. I believe Bernie had to suck it up and push shill for the dems because the situation we're now in is worse.

[@sniperboi21]

I know what happened because I almost DIDNT vote Harris after voting Biden in 2020. I feel every one of those people who decided neither candidates were enough.

[@taimatsuko]

I appreciate your viewpoint but I don’t think I agree with you here. It sounds a bit like asking “how can you disagree with the Democratic party’s foreign policy and still tell people to vote for Kamala?” Because that’s pragmatic politics. I do hope Bernie is doing some introspection but it’s the same introspection we should all be doing right now. I’m also in a place where I don’t think a lot of time should be wasted on “what happened/what went wrong”. I don’t want to hear people playing the blame game for the next 3 years, we’re all to blame. What are we going to do moving forward, that’s what I want to know.

[@PhatnPhunky]

Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This is absolutely the time to point out the DNC's intentional decision to work AGAINST populist working class interests in every election since 2016, and how that left the door open for a con artist to steal the blue collar base.

[@open_mike_eagle]

thats not what I was saying at all. im saying if you're going to release a statement going at the party then acknowledge your part in where the party is rather than making it sound like you didn't have a seat at the table the last 4 years

[@taimatsuko]

@ Ah, thank you for clarifying. I’m still not sure that’s the thing I really want to hear from “thought leaders” right now but I do think it would be good for everyone to have a good dose of humility in their retrospection

[@funde19]

Thank you for putting this out.

[@potatoman7475]

What's that music in the background?

[@open_mike_eagle]

a beat I made. Its louder than it should be

[@Quazia]

You can't tell me that Ras Kass shirt isn't intentional

[@open_mike_eagle]

depends on what you think the intention is

[@tjkrueger2655]

The problem is the way we talk about working class issues is based on rhetoric only, not tangible policy. Perception, not reality. And this country doesn't seem to want a woman as president. People aren't making these decisions based on anything but feeling and perception.

[@aaroncoping7483]

bernie still cant call it a genocide

[@open_mike_eagle]

thats a pretty interesting point that I hadn't caught

[@ntrpk7296]

Sanders os an independent

[@open_mike_eagle]

ideologically or officially?

[@ntrpk7296]

@open_mike_eagle historically

[@theaxiom3120]

@@open_mike_eagle yes officially, he just won As independent only when he joined congress he aligned with Democrats.

[@lvl21bellsprout92]

???? idk man 15million people dont just vote once and vanish...

[@dradennewberry3290]

Yeah we do, when the candidate running isn’t representing us. In 2020, Trump was very salient in people’s minds because he had been president for 4 years up to then. This time, it was about keeping him out rather than getting him out. I didn’t vote because Harris is supportive of Israel.

[@TheQzor123]

Didn't most republicans know how it was going to go? You are saying no one knows what happened and I agree to an extent. But Trumpers and leftists both warned of something like this

[@open_mike_eagle]

you're saying republicans knew that 15 million less democrats were going to vote? I didnt hear anything like that anywhere

[@TheQzor123]

@open_mike_eagle i thought it was rhetorical but I heard over and over that Trump would win in a landslide from my peers I grew up with in Ohio. I'm not sure how well known it was but it is something I heard for sure.

[@lvod969]

Sanders' scolding is correct, but he is full of shit because he still endorsed and voted for Harris. He talks out of both sides of his mouth.

[@lemonrancher1037]

I voted for Bernie then voted for trump

[@saberdxebec]

Your take seems somewhat disingenuous and unnecessarily critical of Bernie who had his hands tied due to the lack of a formal democratic primary because of the fall out of Biden not running. Your take lacks the context that until 2 months ago the plan was to have Biden run for re-election. Given that and the fact that we see where Bernie has stood throughout his political career, I don’t think pointing the finger at him for their disappointment in the Biden/Harris/Walz campaign is a fair nor balanced take.

[@open_mike_eagle]

I think it's very necessary and very genuine. the context that you're saying is missing doesnt change any of the points im making.

[@saberdxebec]

Not to mention that the DNC did NOT get behind Bernie for his presidential campaigns as he lost the superdelegates in the primary despite the swell of support he received as a “somewhat populist” candidate. I think what’s missing in this video is that the Democratic Party is more conservative than they’d like to admit, which influences their decision making around policies and elections.

[@saberdxebec]

Your suggestion is that he should have either been silent or spoke against the democratic campaign, both of which would be counter productive for this election cycle.

[@saberdxebec]

@@open_mike_eagleThis is a weak rebuttal and ignores what I just wrote which contextualizes why someone like Bernie would respond the way they did-similar to how he backed Hilary after losing the primary.

[@open_mike_eagle]

@@saberdxebec im not overly concerned with what you think of the quality of my rebuttal. Im not here to change your mind

[@ExistUNDRGROUND]

My problem is, why didn't he say things like this before the election? Between this, and conceding to Biden early in the 2020 election primary, it's hard for me to see Bernie as anything but cowardly. This just strikes me as him trying to distance himself from the Democrats failing.

[@open_mike_eagle]

I think cowardly is a bit far. I just want some honest accountability

[@blondieHPfan10113]

He'd been saying this before the election trying to get the democrats to go progressive. Kamala and her campaign ignored progressive voters to try to get moderate voters! And I seriously think if you don't know he was pushing and doing what he could you should look into it more. He talked about voting for kamala to defeat trump. Kamala barely ran on those things and the way they shifted to the right hurt those very things. Bernie has been fucked by democrats since 2016, and he's been open about that and still is doing what he could to help people therefore still helping the democrats and the democrats made the same mistakes in 2016 with Hillary

[@AnarchyIsLove]

it's pragmatism. He kept quiet not to spoil the election for democrats, the people he's had to coalition build with to get any sort of mainstream attention. He can talk about it now that they've failed on their own! it's politics and it's not cowardly to cooperate with the sea of liberals he has to associate with. few people in american governance have the positions he does, and it doesn't do us any good if he speaks up just to get beat down, or if he harmed the chances of the dems winning over the obviously worse choice (made no difference but we only see that in hindsight). think of it this way, if the pilot of the plane is a piece of garbage, going to the cabin to call them out isn't gonna encourage them to land the plane any safer.