There's no good reason to anathematize Bernie and his supporters.

[Kentonio]

216. Ok, well you've made quite a few sweeping assumptions in there.

A couple of corrections first of all..

a) He isn't a multi-millionaire unless you start adding up lifetime pension stuff. His net worth was calculated around the 300,000-600,000 range IIRC.

b) Playing to cameras? The guy was known as the Amendment King because of his tireless work over many years trying to influence legislation to improve normal people's lives. He was an independent, and the road to getting major legislation passed is a hard one. Instead he did the exact opposite of what you're accusing him off, eschewed the high profile glamour stuff, and instead just worked his ass off getting progressive amendments made.

c) It's ironic that you talk about him 'playing on the public's ignorance of civics' while you are doing exactly that. You accuse him of voting against bills, while completely ignoring the often quite complex reasons why he took the positions he did. In some cases he voted for/against a bill in an earlier format than its eventual outcome. Other times he mounted a spirited defence, before eventually voting for a bill he didn't like because he'd negotiated amendments that at least reined in the worst aspects. When he accused others of voting for something (like Clinton on the Iraq war) that was because those people actually supported the bills in question. But of course it makes for a great way to accuse him of hypocrisy when you can just play on people's ignorance of the process, and just say 'Look, Bernie voted for that thing!' despite the fact he fought tooth and nail against it at the time.

d) Enriching his family through donations? That doesn't even deserve a response.

e) Making empty promises he had no intention of keeping? Well that's just nonsense. He laid out a platform that half a century ago would have been considered fairly mainstream, yet today is called 'unicorns and rainbows' by people supposedly on the left who seem to have forgotten what that is actually supposed to mean. He's fought for the same damn things his entire life, so the idea he was just making empty promises is ridiculous.

Finally, the idea that he 'loathes' you is just beyond a joke. He is a cast iron supporter of abortion rights, which is why he had a 100% rating from NARAL. He has never insulted African Americans and most certainly never said they weren't smart enough to vote for him. He also certainly has never used racist dog whistles while running against an African American, which is more than can be said of Clinton. He has stood up for equal rights and opportunities his entire damn life, yet because he ran against Hillary suddenly half the party (who adored him before he ran in the primary) are falling over themselves to paint this false narrative that the most progressive member of the senate is suddenly a racist and misogynist.

The only way Bernie Sanders is a 'divisive figure' is because he showed everyone that millions of people share his belief that the status quo is deeply unfair and that radical change is required to restore fairness to the system. If that's divisive, then good. It's a hell of a lot better than everyone just nodding along while the outrageous inequality in society continues to grow and more and more people become disconnected from politics in any form.