"Political Parties Aren't Sports Teams"

"If the Democrats were able to affirmatively define what they did stand for, Sanders might not appear to be such a threat. Unfortunately, summarizing their own principles is where Democrats struggle. Identity-based slogans like 'I'm With Her,' and 'Stronger Together' failed to galvanize the Democratic base in the last election, and core Democratic interests, such as labor, have been alienated since the 1990s when the New Democrats dismissed them in favor of banking interests and the technocracy. By contrast, Bernie easily makes the case for his brand of democratic socialism: it's an embodiment of the very 'progressive' values that Barbara Boxer insists she, Hillary Clinton, and the rest of the Democratic Party support. It's about guaranteeing people the basics in life: healthcare, education, well-compensated work, and making sure a tiny cabal of rich people doesn't control the lives of everyone else. Unless the Democratic Party doesn't stand for those things, it's hard to see what they could possibly object to about Sanders' agenda."

Briahna Joy Gray at Current Affairs writes that "Bernie Sanders Isn't A Democrat… Thank God."