Thread by @LeftwardSwing

Ok it's time I wrote an autopsy thread about Bernie & what I feel went wrong in his campaign. I know for some this may be some tough truths to hear but it needs to be said once & for all.

A LOT of us are very angry & downright pissed off. And you have every right to be. /1

Bernie should have never ever called Biden "my close friend". Nobody needed to hear that & it immediately marginalized him & his cause. I'm not "good friends" with people who have locked up millions & shit on the heads of the sick & poor. /2

This immediately made Bernie sound like he's part of the establishment, the very thing he has fought against for decades. This was an unnecessary self inflected wound that never should've happened. /3

And excuse me if I say this but why would you ever say such a thing when Libs are literally saying you aren't a Democrat? There's a real lack of self awareness here with all this and it's absolutely befuddling. I can only say it's due to bad info he received. /4

One of the biggest complaints I have is that Bernie never truly went after Biden on some of the biggest issues of today. I get Bernie's a nice guy but the gloves needed to come off. We needed a boxing match not a flag footfall event. /5

We saw Bernie say a few things here & there but it wasn't nearly enough. This was a massive mistake & one of the things which ultimately lead to his campaign ending IMHO. For example, my opposition research file on Biden is well a 1,000 individual sources on Biden. /6

Yet almost none of it Bernie used to go after Biden. Seriously, why in the world?! Why didn't Bernie call out Biden's fight to make cancer drugs unaffordable in developing countries for instance? People would've been mortified! /7

When Democrats started the bullshit narrative with Cuba, Bernie should've immediately hit back with Democrats loving Israel & AIPAC which is a lot more relevant to today than Cuba. /8

I think what Bernie was trying to do is reach Dem voters as much as he was trying to reach indies and those on the left. Many of those Dem voters are a lost cause & have done nothing but disparage him & us, his supporters for years. /9

That is a bad course to take. Bernie doesn't owe the Dem party jack shit & quite frankly either do we. They owe US, the people. And I don't know if Bernie just doesn't know this or what but most of us who support him are NOT Democrats. /10

And we see the Dem party as the enemy of the people as much as the GOP is. That veil was lifted long ago but here we are. And I certainly think certain people within his campaign had NO BUSINESS being part of it at all. /11

As far as I'm concerned, people like Jeff Weaver can suck a basketball through a garden hose. Anybody who immediately starts a SuperPAC after the campaign ends is a sell out defined. That's exactly the sort of thing we are against as a whole on the left. /12

And it only says Weaver was a bad mistake. That is directly opposing what Bernie stood for. Why is someone like that involved as a big wig in his campaign? Certainly there are far better choices for that position by people who talk the talk & walk the walk. /13

And whether Bernie realizes it or not, he is making it impossible for us, his supporters, to support Biden. We have moral issues with issues with Biden alongside ideology & policy differences but this sheepdogging is bullshit. /14

I find it absolutely horrifying that there's like 2 different Bernie's right now.

*The Bernie who still is tweeting how badly we need M4A and other things.

*The Bernie saying how we need to get behind Biden who doesn't even support such things.
/15

That's playing both sides and is something which something I certainly don't & can not support. You don't get to say one thing & do another. That's not how it works & someone needs to scream in Bernie's ear saying this LOUDLY. He's pissing all of us off a LOT. /16

Lastly, I can't fathom why Bernie didn't do a "zero fucks given" attitude. Let's be real, Bernie is 78 years old. he could've drastically changed everything by taking Howie Hawkins up on his invitation to run as the Green Party nominee. He didn't. /17

And he absolutely should have. Instead he left most of his supporters in a sense stranded with no way out. Why didn't Bernie align with Greens who support his policies instead of Democrats who work hard against him? WTF is THAT!? /18

I think there's a lot of misreading Bernie did about us his supporters. And I don't place blame solely on him but a select few who were advising him. No, not Bri & Nina. They're the "good guys". Others. /19

I'm not sure where we go from here. I'm unsure who will lead the left. I'd like to think the lighthouses we need for a future are with @ShahidForChange & @carterforva. I think Lee will be POTUS one day. I truly believe that. He has the "IT" factor. /20

And that's a very heavy burden to carry I realize that. It's a big cross to carry. But I have faith in them because of who they are & what they represent. I think we're in good hands there. The problem is the coming years. A lot of people are going to really suffer bad. /21

A lot of us are very angry & upset. We don't want to suffer anymore. I know I have for decades. I'm so tired. I'm so exhausted. I don't want to this anymore. Bernie was my one & only hope that for once things would change for me for the better. /22

I know many feel the same. Instead we'll get absolutely nothing. To us who have nothing, there is no difference between Trump & Biden. And Dems own this. Every damn bit of it. By rejecting Bernie they rejected helping the sick, poor, & working class. /23

They literally told all us that we don't matter & don't mean shit to them. To them party affiliation is more important than people who are homeless or the person dying right now because they don't have healthcare. I don't support that & won't participate in it EVER. /24 end

@threadreaderapp unroll please