Saturday, February 27, 2016

Apparently Bernie Sanders and I share the same religion. Update!

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

"Every great religion in the world -- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism --essentially comes to do unto others as you would like them to do unto you," he said during CNN's Democratic town hall event on Tuesday night. 

Though Sanders was raised Jewish and believes in God, he identifies as a secular rather than a religious Jew. He doesn't often address his religion, and The New York Times notes that he sometimes even shies away from using the term "Jewish." 

But asked about his faith on Tuesday, he boiled it down to the belief that "we have got to work together." 

"It's very easy to turn our backs on kids who are hungry or veterans who are sleeping on the street, but I believe that what human nature is about is that everybody in this room impacts everybody else in all kinds of ways that we can't understand." he said. "That's my religion. That's what I believe in."

You know that's also what I believe in.

I obviously would not characterize it as my religion, but it is my philosophy.

I have to admit this is the answer concerning religion that I have been waiting to hear from a presidential candidate, and it is like music to my ears.

However having said that, it is also yet another reason why Sanders is unlikely to win a general election.

For all intents and purposes Bernie has just outed himself as an Atheist, more or less. And NOBODY is more reviled and mistrusted in this country than Atheists.

Christians especially are terrified of those who do not identify as religious, believing that morality is impossible without an all encompassing belief in God.

Preferably their god.

So even though Bernie Sanders has lived an incredibly ethical and honest life, the mere fact that he refuses to identify as religious, or let's face it Christian, makes winning the presidency a fantasy.

And believe me, probably nobody wishes that were less true than I.

Update: For those doubting my premise about the mistrust felt toward Atheists 

Social science has long revealed high rates of secularphobia – the irrational dislike, distrust, fear, or hatred of nonreligious people – within American society. For example, a study by Penny Edgell of the University of Minnesota, from back in 2006, found that atheists come in last place when Americans are asked to rank members of certain racial, ethnic, or religious groups as potential spouses for their kids. And a Gallup poll from 2012 found that 43 pecent of Americans said that they would not vote for an atheist for president, putting atheists in last/worst place, behind Muslims (40 percent of Americans said they wouldn’t vote for a Muslim for president), homosexuals (30 percent wouldn’t), Mormons (18 percent wouldn’t), Latinos (7 percent wouldn’t), Jews (6 percent wouldn’t), Catholics (5 percent wouldn’t), women (5 percent wouldn’t) and African Americans (4 percent wouldn’t). 

Additionally, psychology professor Adrian Furnham found that people give lower priority to patients with atheist or agnostic views than to Christian patients when asked to rank them on a waiting list to receive a kidney, and legal scholar Eugene Volokh has documented the degree to which atheist parents have been denied custody rights in the wake of a divorce.

THAT is why no national politician in America will actually cop to being an Atheist, though in my opinion Bernie comes the closest.

I have read other interviews with him where he is even more blunt that belief in God plays virtually no part in his day to day life, nor on his political point of view.

90 comments:

  1. 66gardeners4:03 AM

    Bernie Sanders is honorable and well intentioned. The same can not be said of berniebros.

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    1. Anonymous9:04 AM

      +1 - that's because many of them are displaced Paulites--not exactly Democrats.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous4:08 AM

    I like the fact that young people don't care if Bernie is an atheist. They are hearing his message of fairness. That gives me faith in the future. History will view Bernie's candidacy as a move in the right direction for those of us who identify as atheists, and moral - a concept the extreme right refuses to grasp.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Bernie has already won. He has done what he set out to do.

      He wanted to bring issues to the forefront and force discussion and he has done that.

      He has also gone as far as an Agnostic/Athiest/Jew has gone in a presidential campaign.

      He's also done really well as an independent even though he is running as a Democrat. If he had run as any other third party no one would have taken any notice or given him any press at all.

      So Bernie has already won.

      He can only win more from here.

      Delete
    2. fromthediagonal4:19 PM

      mlaiuppa @1:47pm... you are absolutely right! I do not think he can win in this nation at this time, but he has lived his life on the side of altruism and honesty and, like President Carter, his stature will only grow from here on in. Love both men. (But will vote for HRC when the chips are down, because hopefully she will pull more votes overall that megalomaniac whom we need to dump on his rump...) That's all!

      Delete
  3. SallyinMI4:09 AM

    As I'm sure you have noticed, Gryph, the most honest and ethical people around are NOT the ones going around proclaiming Bible verses and scaring their kids to death with threats of spankings and hell. I do attend church, but my little pacifist church is down to about 20 folks, a majority over 70, so we are not long for this world as a group. People are not interested in spending Sundays listening to someone act superior and trying to scare them into good behavior. They don't see the point in maintaining aging buildings when they can't pay their own mortgage easily. Their kids are doing fine, thanks, and wouldn't Sunday be a grand time to catch up on homework, play a board game as a family, and just chill? We have two younger families, but neither is really involved, and one only comes because her parents are heavily involved in this group. Her brother and his family are there maybe twice a year.
    All good people, but they would still be good people without any commitment to this church. As is my husband, who just doesn't attend, and is the more honest guy I know. We also aren't spending 'two hours a day on our knees' asking some imaginary wizard for guidance. Cruz makes me ill. Such fake devotion.
    Actions do speak louder than words, and Bernie is brutally honest. America doesn't seem to want honesty, do we?

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    1. Sally, that is exactly how it is for my family. I was raised RC, my husband Episcopalian (and other protestant denominations over the years) and yet my family doesn't attend church. We have the morals and values we were raised with - that doesn't get shaped by religion but by the character of the parents and the family life. My own children have gone to different churches over the years but none have felt enough like "home" that I would forgo the other family activities we are involved in just to prove something to the other churchgoers. I am motivated by a desire to do the right thing, to be a loving and involved and considerate human being. I am trying to pass that on to my children. (teens now, all three, OMG! and lovely and loving people!)

      Delete
  4. Anonymous4:15 AM

    Good for Bernie, but I don't think atheists come close to being reviled or mistrusted as do African Americans or other people with "darker skin". The religious people can (and probably do) know, respect and even like other folks before realizing that a person is not Christian, religious or even atheist. Plus, most atheists don't shout their lack of belief from the rooftops. However, an African American person is far more likely to be prejudged because they cannot hide the color of their skin before even so much as introducing themselves. As a white, agnostic female living in the South, I see this type of prejudice all of the time.

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  5. fromthediagonal4:25 AM

    I totally agree with your assessment.

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  6. A Superfan In Atlanta4:33 AM

    Uncle Gryph,

    I don't see Bernie's approach as claiming to be an atheist. He acknowledged that he believed in God which is really the one main requirement and common denominator in mostly all of the religions that cause war, destruction and suffering to the people of the world. The fact he does not wear it as a label and actually lives and models his actions as most religions imply, suggest and command, makes him more Jesus-like.

    If anything, Bernie should make the religious feel more comfortable when he speaks about his beliefs -- not alienated.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous5:54 AM

      I agree, Superfan. Bernie just doesn't make religion a big deal in who he is but that doesn't make him an atheist which is a person that doesn't have a belief in a superior being.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:01 AM

      Bernie respects the separation of church and government. That doesn't make him an atheist. As an atheist myself, I appreciate his approach.

      Delete
    3. I think Bernie is more an Agnostic than an Athiest.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous4:42 AM

    If the general comes down to Trump vs Clinton - Trump will win. Consider all of the votes for the anti-establishment from both sides, consider how Trump runs--he will beat Hillary with every scandal that ever existed, and if Hillary plays at his level, it will turn people away. Trump has the anti Clinton support. Hillary could only turn off people to her. Nobody really cares about Hillary's resume. She says she went to Wall Street and told them to "knock it off" - and then what? We had the financial crisis. Hillary will fight for you, but will say no to Gays serving openly in the military, no to gay marriage, no to people on welfare... She hasn't been as effective as Obama has been. Obama's secret is the people behind him. Bernie is right, we need a political revolution--it is the only thing that worked in other countries, it is what worked for Civil Rights, Women's Rights, Gay Rights. It takes the people demanding the change, and not electing "a fighter". Hillary is Ms Status Quo. She is invested into the corrupt political system. No wonder why Bernie has people on edge, they don't want the rules to change. Hillary is a fighter, Trump is a fighter and they are both noise, while things don't change for us, but they will get richer. Hillary is telling people to put down an anchor after all what Obama has accomplished, and not to dream for more. It is like telling the slaves to be content in moving up to being a house slave rather than a field slave and not to even consider rebelling to become free. I am supporting the rise of a new nation.

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    1. Anonymous6:04 AM

      Bernie Sanders is an old man. Why did he wait until now to try to force this "revolution". Was there too much competition before?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:34 AM

      There is no revolution. No one showed up to hear Sanders yesterday in South Carolina at a college -maybe 200 folks? This after all the press he's had this week? The Revolution Will Not Be Televised because this one is apparently only online.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous8:42 AM

      I agree. Too many people hate Hillary. There are skads of people in the Trump camp that will switch to Bernie's side long before they would ever accept Hillary. I've watched their fb walls and they will mention the similarities between Trump and Bernie being anti establishment. Usually they are shot down by those who are too caught up but I see it appear in the backs of their minds and what they cave into on fb is not necessarily what they'll do in the privacy of the voting booth. What Trump followers want is someone who will fight the gov. Bernie will. Hillary? Not so much.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:02 AM

      I wrote a previous reply to this, but here goes again, @8:42. Many GOP voters are either going to side with HRC or start a third party conservative movement. Anyone who goes from Bernie to Trump is a libertarian, and we know how many of them there are.

      The Democratic Party will register upwards of five million new voters this year, and that will easily counteract any libertarian swing to Trump.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:40 AM

      @8:42 - Additionally (I'm 10:02), Trump will depress all down-ballot voting enthusiasm for the GOP and they will lose the Senate this fall, if Trump is their nominee. And the oppo research dump on Trump is just getting started.

      So I actually hope Trump is the GOP nominee. He doesn't scare me at all. Let's all work hard for the Democratic Party and bring up the voter turnout in November.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous5:06 AM

      Why would you want those trump supporters?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous4:47 AM

    If Bernie wasn't electable, then people would be ignoring his campaign. The media is trying awfully hard to dismiss him as being unelectable. Can you imagine Chris Mathews spending a hour trying to attack a Republican candidate? They are afraid of Bernie.

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    1. Anonymous5:58 AM

      That's not really true.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:04 AM

      In that Mathews interview with Bernie, Bernie said that change comes about with a "revolution" which he explained by saying there would have to be people outside the capitol building protesting and demanding change. I lived in the Vietnam years when people protested and kids/people just don't seem interested in doing that these days. Hell, you can't even get the kids to get out there and vote in EVERY damn election! You can't even get people to call, write, or talk to their representatives in Congress or at the state level. People are busy working one or two jobs so I don't see things changing when that is most people's reality.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:35 AM

      No one is showing up for the Revolution. Sad. But TRUE.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous8:05 AM

      There was a huge ground swell of populist support for Obama. There have been protests and petitions. A lot of good it did.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous8:59 AM

      8:05 - I love President Obama, so yes, it did a lot of good in my view. Bernie has peaked in terms of enthusiasm. Reality has set in.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous1:06 PM

      8:05 here. What I mean is that all of these Sanders supporters need to face reality. The county will not embrace socialism just because he's elected and there are protests and petitions. I love Obama, too and I do think he did lots of good. But he was hamstringed by the republican congress despite his populist support.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous4:51 AM

    "I have the deepest respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton, and if she wins the Democratic primary I’ll work my heart out to help her become president," Reich wrote. "But I believe Bernie Sanders is the agent of change this nation so desperately needs." Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's Secretary of Labor

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    1. Anonymous6:02 AM

      There's a man who believes in God. Obviously.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:06 PM

      This is the exact attitude I wish all Sanders supporters had.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous5:03 AM

    So sad to see someone like Trump have a chance of becoming your next President while a man with the integrity of Bernie Sanders is thought of as an unelectable Socialist.

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    1. Anonymous12:30 PM

      Agree 100%

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:07 PM

      Have you met the American public?

      Delete
  11. Black people and others who are not white are actually the most reviled and mistrusted. It's hard to recall the last time an atheist was dragged out of a car and later beaten to death in jail.

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    1. Anonymous12:47 PM

      In a perfect world with no black atheists or atheists of color, that would be true.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:47 PM

      Hear, hear!

      Delete
  12. Anonymous5:14 AM

    I would guess that Bernie Sanders would disagree with you on your assessment . I'm sure he has no problem with atheism, but being a secular Jew does not equate. He seems to believe in God, but does seem to have an argument with organized religion.

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  13. Let's just hope Hillary can beat Trump... polls are not looking good.

    This article explains why: in rational, convincing detail.
    We ignore it at the world's peril.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-25/why-hillary-clinton-cannot-beat-donald-trump

    But this is far from a typical previous American election.And recently, everything about the electability calculus has changed, due to one simple fact: Donald Trump is likely to be the Republican nominee for President. Given this reality, every Democratic strategic question must operate not on the basis of abstract electability against a hypothetical candidate, but specific electability against the actual Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

    Here, a Clinton match-up is highly likely to be an unmitigated electoral disaster, whereas a Sanders candidacy stands a far better chance. Every one of Clinton’s (considerable) weaknesses plays to every one of Trump’s strengths, whereas every one of Trump’s (few) weaknesses plays to every one of Sanders’s strengths. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, running Clinton against Trump is a disastrous, suicidal proposition.

    Her supporters insist that she has already been “tried and tested” against all the attacks that can be thrown at her. But this is not the case; she has never been subjected to the full brunt of attacks that come in a general presidential election. Bernie Sanders has ignored most tabloid dirt, treating it as a sensationalist distraction from real issues (“Enough with the damned emails!”) But for Donald Trump, sensationalist distractions are the whole game. He will attempt to crucify her. And it is very, very likely that he will succeed.

    to be cont'd.

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    1. Anonymous7:59 AM

      Just a suggestion, but how about quickly telling us what the gist of the article is and post the link. Then since this is Gryphen's blog and not yours, he can do a post on it if he thinks it is worthy. It is considered bad form to post complete articles or long posts on someone else's blog.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:47 AM

      A Hillary vs Trump ticket would be nothing but ugly. All she would succeed in doing is stoking the fires of hatred coming from that sick Trump camp. Nothing but fodder. Bad news. Very bad news.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous8:55 AM

      8:47 - sorry but St. Bernie versus Trump would be the battle of old white men. Cannot imagine anything grumpier. #imwithHer

      Delete
    4. Anonymous1:08 PM

      You think Trump and his people wouldn't go after Sanders with a vengeance? They will hate Sanders just as much.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous5:17 AM

    The article says Bernie Sanders believes in God.

    Gryphen says Bernie Sanders is an atheist.

    Yep.

    ReplyDelete
  15. But Hillary Clinton is neither the best campaigner nor even a skilled one. In fact, she is a dreadful campaigner. She may be a skilled policymaker, but on the campaign trail she makes constant missteps and never realizes things have gone wrong until it’s too late.

    Everyone knows this. Even among Democratic party operatives, she’s acknowledged as “awkward and uninspiring on the stump,” carrying “Bill’s baggage with none of Bill’s warmth.” New York magazine described her “failing to demonstrate the most elementary political skills, much less those learned at Toastmasters or Dale Carnegie.” Last year the White House was panicking at her levels of electoral incompetence, her questionable decisionmaking, and her inclination for taking sleazy shortcuts. More recently, noting Sanders’s catch-up in the polls, The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin said that she was a “rotten candidate” whose attacks on Sanders made no sense, and that “at some point, you cannot blame the national mood or a poor staff or a brilliant opponent for Hillary Clinton’s campaign woes.” Yet in a race against Trump, Hillary will be handicapped not only by her feeble campaigning skills, but the fact that she will have a sour national mood, a poor staff, and a brilliant opponent.

    Every Democrat should take some time to fairly, dispassionately examine Clinton’s track record as a campaigner. Study how the ‘08 campaign was handled, and how this one has gone. Assess her strengths and weaknesses with as little bias or prejudice as possible. Then picture the race against Trump, and think about how it will unfold.

    to be cont'd

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    1. Anonymous6:00 AM

      "Everyone knows" no such thing. You're full of it. Go back to studying Bernie Sanders' campaign, he could sure use the help. Show him how to be accountable for the toxic dump he wants to force on the poor he loves so much.

      Delete
    2. "toxic dump he wants to force on the poor" ? Don't follow you here. Please explain.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:12 AM

      How are we on this site any different from the right-wing flying monkeys if we can't assess the strengths of the candidates in relation to the GOP's in a rational way?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous8:41 AM

      In recent weeks, BNR and other progressive outlets have raised concerns about a 1998 bill co-sponsored by Bernie Sanders to dump nuclear waste on a low-income Latino community in Sierra Blanca, Texas. The bill was fiercely opposed by progressive icon Paul Wellstone and environmental activists and became a point of contention in the 2004 presidential primary between Howard Dean and John Kerry.

      http://linkis.com/bluenationreview.com/3R4OH

      Delete
    5. Anonymous9:12 AM

      How could any Bernie supporter not already know about Sierra Blanca and Bernie's vote? Have they vetted Bernie or not? I guess not.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous1:09 PM

      I wish Paul Wellstone was still with us. That was a man with integrity.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous5:09 AM

      They don't know about Sierra Blanca, they don't know about a lot of thing because they believe he is a man of integrity and they don't want to know about any example that refutes it. Or maybe they don't care.

      Delete
  16. Charges of misogyny against Trump won’t work. He is going to fill the press with the rape and harassment allegations against Bill Clinton and Hillary’s role in discrediting the victims (something that made even Lena Dunham deeply queasy.) He can always remind people that Hillary Clinton referred to Monica Lewinsky as a “narcissistic loony toon.”

    Furthermore, since Trump is not an anti-Planned Parenthood zealot (being the only one willing to stick up for women’s health in a room full of Republicans), it will be hard for Clinton to paint him as the usual anti-feminist right-winger.

    Trump will capitalize on his reputation as a truth-teller, and be vicious about both Clinton’s sudden changes of position (e.g. the switch on gay marriage, plus the affected economic populism of her run against Sanders) and her perceived dishonesty. One can already imagine the monologue:

    “She lies so much. Everything she says is a lie. I’ve never seen someone who lies so much in my life. Let me tell you three lies she’s told. She made up a story about how she was ducking sniper fire! There was no sniper fire. She made it up! How do you forget a thing like that?

    She said she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the guy who climbed Mount Everest. He hadn’t even climbed it when she was born! Total lie! She lied about the emails, of course, as we all know, and is probably going to be indicted. You know she said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq! It was a lie!

    Thousands of American soldiers are dead because of her. Not only does she lie, her lies kill people. That’s four lies, I said I’d give you three. You can’t even count them. You want to go on PolitiFact, see how many lies she has? It takes you an hour to read them all! In fact, they ask her, she doesn’t even say she hasn’t lied. They asked her straight up, she says she usually tries to tell the truth! Ooooh, she tries! Come on! This is a person, every single word out of her mouth is a lie. Nobody trusts her. Check the polls, nobody trusts her. Yuge liar.”

    Trump will bob, weave, jab, and hook. He won’t let up. And because Clinton actually has lied, and actually did vote for the Iraq War, and actually is hyper-cosy with Wall Street, and actually does change her positions based on expediency, all she can do is issue further implausible denials, which will further embolden Trump.

    Nor does she have a single offensive weapon at her disposal, since every legitimate criticism of Trump’s background (inconsistent political positions, shady financial dealings, pattern of deception) is equally applicable to Clinton, and he knows how to make such things slide off him, whereas she does not.

    Unquote.
    Worth considering -- I am not a "BernieBro", just a realist
    who doesn't want lose to Trump!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:59 AM

      Not a BernieBro but you just spent half an hour here trashing Hillary Clinton?

      Or do you just copy and paste?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:08 AM

      Your precious, strong, masterful Donald Trump can say whatever he wants. He won't withstand a presidential campaign, he doesn't have any mental toughness. He has been cosseted by the GOP and the media, but that will end the minute he is nominated. In your anxiety to disparage Hillary Clinton you seem to have overlooked that.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous6:16 AM

      You're selling it, Barbara. Good job. And now that Fat Ass Krispy Kreme is working with the Donald there will be no end of the sliming of Hillary from July to November. How will Bernie be slimed by Trump and Fat Ass?

      Delete
    4. @5:59 Yes, cut and paste, if you bothered to read where it came from:
      http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-25/why-hillary-clinton-cannot-beat-donald-trump

      @6:08 Trump is obviously a sick & dangerous bully who would be a disaster for America and the world. Whatever gave you the idea I like him? Stand back a moment and think before you lash out.

      @6:16 Thank you. This article is one alternative to the Hillary (right or wrong) that pervades many of these posts. If Democrats are going to win, they will have to think rationally, something we accuse the GOP of being incable of doing.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous7:38 AM

      Barbara, do you think we are too dumb to follow a link if we cared to? Stop insulting us. Spamming is troll behavior. "Make your case of agreement/interest/disagreement and provide a link" is usually the best mode of sharing unless you are the author of the article.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous8:04 AM

      Too long, didn't read.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous8:53 AM

      Good article, Barbara. Thank you. Too bad those who think they've got it in the bag won't take the time to read it. Those are all very good points. Points people should consider instead of calling you a Bernie Bro and dumping the election right into Trump's hands because they're too damn stubborn to think intellectually instead of emotionally.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous9:10 AM

      8:53 - Insulting us does not make it seem as if your points are worth consideration. That's troll behavior. You're welcome.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous9:16 AM

      It's funny that you say others are too stubborn to think intellectually instead of emotionally since most of the emotional outpouring comes from Sanders supporters.

      Voting for Clinton doesn't dump the elections into Trump's hands, but refusing to vote for Clinton if she's the nomination certainly will.

      Whoever loses the Dem nomination owes it to his or her supporters to endorse the winner, just as Hillary Clinton did in 2008.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous9:20 AM

      Do you have any idea how insulting your comment is, 8:53? I've read a great deal about both candidates, know their history, their past votes and activities, and their proposed policies if elected. I am coming at this from an intellectual standpoint, even if I vote for Clinton in our caucus. To suggest that all Sanders voters are thinking intellectually while all Clinton voters are thinking emotionally is just plain insulting.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous12:05 PM

      Hey people! Read the Matt Taibi artcle in Rolling Stone about Trump. I respect his opinion. (I looked on the left side of the blog rolls here to find the article) We live in denial if we don't consider all opinions and then get out of our comfort zones and help out this year in getting out the vote. My God!! The Supreme Court hangs in the balance. Let's get off our duffs and help the Democratic campaigns whether you're for Bernie or Hillary we're all on the same side. Please!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous1:12 PM

      Cutting and pasting huge swaths of an article into a comment section is bad form. It's not only close to plagiarism (even if you cite your source), people just skip over it because it's too long. I skip over it because it pisses me off when people do it. Choose a couple important paragraphs, post the link, and move on.

      (Obviously this is my opinion. You can do whatever you want and this is Gryphen's blog so he makes the rules).

      Delete
  17. Anonymous5:46 AM

    Gryphen, you want Hillary so bad, you are dissing Bernie unnecessarily. I wish you would stop it. We need to support both Hillary and Bernie all the way to the White House. Either one is so much better than any GOP slime-ball. So, just leave Bernie's religiosity alone, will you?

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  18. Anonymous5:47 AM

    I want to vote for Hillary in the Primary but if more people think that Bernie is the one then I will vote for him in November. He is a good man.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous6:17 AM

    I am a Democrat from a big family of Democrats residing in a swing state. We are united --- come November, if Hillary is the nominee, we'll pinch our noses in the booth and vote for ANYONE else. Go Bernie!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Sorry you have a typo in your comment.

      You called yourself, and your family, Democrats, and then went on to explain why you are anything but.

      Might want to fix that.

      Delete
    2. If you support Bernie, then everything you are supporting is the opposite of what you (and all of us) will get if a Republican is elected president. I suggest that if Bernie is not the nominee you hold your nose and vote for the Democrat - as I'm sure Bernie would.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous8:01 AM

      So, Trump, Rubio, and Cruz are better than Hillary?

      You and your family members are idiots.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous7:10 AM

    This is very interesting people. Rubio's senate record. Pass it on.

    http://politicsthatwork.com/voting-record/Marco-Rubio-412491

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous7:15 AM

    I will vote for whomever the Democrats nominate. I just wish we had more choices. There are better picking in the Democratic party.
    We need to make sure we have a maximum turnout for the Democrats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:59 PM

      I'm more a quality over quantity type of person.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous7:37 AM

    Organized religion is whatever that organization teaches. Worship, honesty, ethics and character is from your soul. Some people practice mindful respect of the earth. Some feel better handing money to a organized religion. Some meditate. It is not our business how and why one worships or donates. It is our business when it is forced onto us. Indians, Hawaiians, Alaskans and all other cultures have their form of worship and religion. There is no one way to appreciate Life and Living.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous7:49 AM

    Will trump be forced out of election in march by FEC? Crimes against 140 characters/people that have been attacked by the trumpsters/cruzy steam rollers hired to arrange campaign wins. So many victims and now so many criminals involved. Lots of piglets talkin and given it away.

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  24. Anonymous7:50 AM

    WTF? He said he believes in God. How does that make him an atheist? Now he may have said that to be politically correct, but until he says he believes there is no god, he isn't an atheist.

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    1. Anonymous9:42 AM

      Yep, he did say he believes in God.

      Delete
  25. A huge yup to all of it. You nailed this and there is nothing to be offended by but as you say many will be.

    He says it soooo well.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous8:32 AM

    I have to disagree. The evangelists have reared their ugly heads so high people are fed up with it. There are many more atheists and anti organized religion than ever. We can put this crap to rest now. Or we can let our fears rule once again. Bernie CAN win if you'd only stop with the fear mongering.

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    1. Anonymous8:45 AM

      St. Bernie, the fake Democrat, is done. When the Paulites infiltrated, it did not help him.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous8:57 AM

    "For all intents and purposes Bernie has just outed himself as an Atheist, more or less. And NOBODY is more reviled and mistrusted in this country more than Atheists."

    No, he did not. He says he believes in gawd. That is not an atheist. And as far as atheists being the most reviled in distrusted? Puleese, you sound like the flip side of the war against christmas crowd.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:20 PM

      True 8:57, you nailed it. This is more of Gryphen's evangelical atheism and "atheists are sooo persecuted" bs. It is the flip side of the phony war on Christmas. Gryphen just WANTS Bernie to be atheist. As a white man in the USA, Gryphen has no friggin idea what it's like to be reviled or mistrusted. This post was total bs.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:51 PM

      Bravo anon 8:57!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous3:22 PM

      8:57, yours is the best comment on here in a very long time.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous9:01 AM

    Mitch McConnell: Republicans will drop Trump ‘like a hot rock’ if he wins the nomination

    In private meetings in Washington, Republicans are preparing for their latest worst case 2016 election scenario: Donald Trump might be their presidential nominee.

    Normally at this point in the election cycle the GOP would be gearing up for attacks on their anticipated Democratic rival for the White House. But party leaders are so distraught at the idea of the blustery businessman heading the ticket, that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has taken to advising candidates to keep their distance from Trump.

    According to the New York Times, McConnell is assuring Senate candidates running for reelection that they should feel free to run ads against Trump if they feel he is hurting their own campaigns. According to senators attending private lunches with the Majority Leader, McConnell is taking the approach that Trump will lose badly in the general election and that senators should sell themselves as a bulwark against a Hillary Clinton presidency.

    Pointing out that he still won easily when President Bill Clinton was reelected, McConnell reportedly told colleagues that the party will drop Trump “like a hot rock” if he is the nominee.

    Read more at
    https://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/mitch-mcconnell-republicans-will-drop-trump-like-a-hot-rock-if-he-wins-the-nomination/

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous4:15 PM

    Good grief...we have a candidate like Cruz who is saying God wants him to be President and Cruz has one of the most hateful campaign rhetorics out there.

    There is a big difference between someone saying they are “Christian” and actually living a Christlike life. Would Christ be waterboarding people? No He would be bleeding for them. Would Christ be sending the children back to Central America? No, remember the “suffer the little children to come unto me” verse? He would welcome them with open arms. Ostracize the Muslims? No, He would be having dinner with them. Christ was not politically correct, but He was kind and loved all people.

    I’ve been a Republican my whole adult life, but have had to leave the party because of this very issue.

    This is just my interpretation: Religion is only man’s interpretation of God. The real picture of God comes in understanding His love for 100% of humanity, in the beauty and peace found in nature, and in those who love others from the inside out. Bernie, in my opinion, comes closest to that and that is one of the reasons I want him to be our next president!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous4:50 PM

    Bernie says he believes in God. Just because he lives a secular lifestyle does not mean he is an atheist. He strikes me as agnostic more than anything.

    Real men admit they wrote something stupid in their "updates" instead of pathetically trying to defend something that just isn't true. Gryphen's obnoxious, militant atheism is just as offensive as Ted Cruz's obnoxious, militant Christianity. Donald Trump is probably the most atheistic candidate in the race.
    If Gryphen has been reviled for his atheism it is probably because he insulted someone's critical thinking skills and behaved like a asshole. Agnostics are wise enough to admit that there are many things that we just don't know. With Gryphen's history of censorship, he probably won't let my comment through. Regardless, I stand by what I've written.

    Casey B.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous5:38 PM

    A poll that says only 4% would not vote for an African American? I think we all know better than that.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous9:26 PM

    So Jessie what is Hillary's religion? Why isn't that even a question? Where are the interviews asking her about her faith?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous8:19 PM

    Scammy shut down mega church and it's slimy founder sued.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/29/lawsuit-controversial-pastor-ran-mars-hill-megachuch-like-a-crime-syndicate.html

    "Among the fraudulent spending alleged in the complaint—which includes accusations of mail and wire fraud—is the $210,000 the church supposedly spent to buy a place for Driscoll’s 2012 book on The New York Times’ and other best-sellers’ lists by using a list-fixing company called Result Source. (These allegations were first reported by World Magazine.) It’s unclear where the money from book sales went, though Driscoll has said he put 100 percent of the profits back into Mars Hill.

    “This scheme has been fairly described as a ‘scam,’ and resulted in personal inurement to Driscoll and Turner,” the complaint states."

    Hmmm. That sounds familiar.

    ReplyDelete

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