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I am big Sanders fan, but I don't see his impact being very strong on the democratic party. But regardless, even if he had an impact, this doesn't tell you anyt

by js8 6y ago

I am big Sanders fan, but I don't see his impact being very strong on the democratic party. But regardless, even if he had an impact, this doesn't tell you anything about your assertion. I suspect Sanders would have higher impact in a multi-party system, because apparently there is a group of maybe 30% of Americans who would be his fans and could vote for a progressive party under his leadership. What I would really like to see is a comparison of the political systems, across different countries perhaps. To take an issue and compare how it was pushed through the different systems. I can't help it but today, EU seems more progressive (in the sense of trying to make life of citizens better) than the U.S. (and UK).

keiferski 6y ago
> maybe 30% of Americans who would be his fans and could vote for a progressive party under his leadership. That’s where I disagree. I don’t think the percentage is anywhere near that high. Instead, I’d say that by latching onto the Democratic Party apparatus, his ideas have become far more popular and relevant in the party (and subsequently the country) than if he was running the Green/Libertarian party equivalent.
- js8 6y ago
  Again, based on what evidence? If you ask about specific Sanders' policies, routinely more than half of Americans agree with them (like universal healthcare, green new deal, economic support in dealing with COVID,...). So I think this new platform could have large support - except people are worried that nobody would vote for it. (But the problems with American voting system go far beyond that - voter suppression, gerrymandering, delegates, bribery of the supreme court; the whole system can only be considered democratic under a very antiquated definition.) In the 2nd sentence, you're assuming exactly the conditions of the two party system. In Europe, new parties (like Greens or Pirates) were successfully able to bring new issues to the traditional political divide.

by js8 6y ago

keiferski 6y ago

> maybe 30% of Americans who would be his fans and could vote for a progressive party under his leadership. That’s where I disagree. I don’t think the percentage is anywhere near that high. Instead, I’d say that by latching onto the Democratic Party apparatus, his ideas have become far more popular and relevant in the party (and subsequently the country) than if he was running the Green/Libertarian party equivalent.

js8 6y ago
Again, based on what evidence? If you ask about specific Sanders' policies, routinely more than half of Americans agree with them (like universal healthcare, green new deal, economic support in dealing with COVID,...). So I think this new platform could have large support - except people are worried that nobody would vote for it. (But the problems with American voting system go far beyond that - voter suppression, gerrymandering, delegates, bribery of the supreme court; the whole system can only be considered democratic under a very antiquated definition.) In the 2nd sentence, you're assuming exactly the conditions of the two party system. In Europe, new parties (like Greens or Pirates) were successfully able to bring new issues to the traditional political divide.