#bernie sanders mittens

[knithacker]

The Ultimate Bernie Sanders 'Mittens Meme' Patterns Round-Up For Makers, Knitters & Crocheters - Dolls, Mittens, Sweaters, Charts & More: 👉 https://buff.ly/2Yb2r7y

[the-mandolorian]

From the I Got Around file. Feel the “Bern”

[bluemoonperegrine]

[keira-snaps]

I had to make a few Bernie memes and combine them with some classics.

[skeletal-butterflyy]

I miss when bernie sanders mittens

[systemadministratorclu]

I'm going to hell for this

Blame my boredom

[imamastermind-nowurmine]

while i may not have seen taylor this week, i did ride in an elevator with bernie sanders

[robot-carl]

I took a nap today and had a vision. This was that vision. Scarecrow posed as mittens Bernie Sanders. He is once again asking you to donate your body for his experiments.

[weirdnotal]

Me n some friends rewatched lotr so have some commentary from nerdy gay teens in no particular order

*Aragorn sulking in the corner, staring at the hobbit gang*

Friend 1: he does various activities in his spare time

Friend 2: like fucking?

Friend 1: yup

Friend 3: unfortunately not me :/

Friend 4: the Nazguls are having a toddler tantrum bro

Friend 2: they're going to see the elves!

Friend 1: Legolas.... *dreamily*

Friend 4: shhh it's okay

Friend 5: Sam look-

Everyone: DONT INSULT THE BABY

Friend 2: shh everyone shut up the memes

*all intently watch them argue about second breakfast*

*stops movie to show Friend 5 potato song*

*Legolas and Glimli walk in*

*Everyone chanting "ONE OF US" in snyc*

Friend 1: when Saruman sits like that he looks like that one Bernie sanders picture with the mittens

Friend 3: JUST TAKE THE RING OFF FRODO

Friend 2: it's for PLOT REASONS

Friend 4: this is a terrible plan boys

Friend 2: yeah but they're boys

Friend 2: I hate Arwen in this movie she's a bitch

Friend 3: but she's pretty so it doesn't matter

*a lil later*

Friend 3: okay it matters

*stop movie to show Friend 5 the "taking the hobits to Isengard" song*

[knithacker]

The Best Bernie Sanders Doll Pattern, Yes, That One, The One With The Mittens! 👉 https://buff.ly/3pfxLxJ

[transuncletaylor]

My coworker who called herself woke and said the n-word twice to me was just telling me about how she is just "living for Melania" and her idgaf attitude and comparing her to the Bernie Sanders sitting crossed armed in mittens meme. I was like yeah no and left the meeting under the guise of going to do my work cause nah, I'm not sitting here listening to anything remotely nice about those people

Update: I texted her telling her that I was very uncomfortable and could we not talk about that family at work and also, I don't want to hear anything nice said about them around me when I and my loved ones aren't recognized as people in their eyes

[theknitpotato]

The Best Bernie Sanders Doll Pattern, Yes, That One, The One With The Mittens! 👉 https://buff.ly/3pfxLxJ

[evilelitest2]

Was Sander's Robbed in 2020?

Ok so lets walk to the past for a bit. Its 2020, the Democratic primary is getting heated. Biden keeps leading in all the polls, but after three primary elections, he has been coming off short. Moderates are panicking and it looks like Bernie Sanders might be able to get the nomination after all. He was counted out after the heart attack, and yet he kept on going.

So Sanders going in 2020 had two options for how to run his campaign. About 30% of the party loved him, about 20% of the party absolutely hated him, and 55% were mixed more ambivalent about him. He could either

Try to win over the parts of the party that aren't already supporting him, in particular the black community (Sanders does this a bit with the Latino democrats, his latino outreach very impressive and very underreported in the Democratic party

Try to hold unto your 25-30% of the party and hope rest of the vote is split between all the different moderates, so he can win with a plurality of the vote. due to the weirdness of the Democratic primary rules he can still win the nomination even without the majority, the winner only needs a plurality. if the moderate votes are split between Biden, Mayor Pete, Bloomberg, and Klobuchar, then Sanders could squeak in a victory with less than a third of the party.

Biden is the frontrunner, is polling ahead of everybody else, particular among the all important African-American segment of the democratic electorate. However he isn't beloved and there are a ton of Moderates running against him, and all of them are focused on attacking Biden in the hopes that they could take his place.

Sanders too option 2, which was risky. Winning with a plurality rather than a majority always leaves a lot of sore feelings, and had Sanders won the 2020 primary he would have to have dealt with the 70% of the electorate who didn't vote for him feeling sore, but maybe he could have handled it, we will never know. The advantage of his plan is that he just needed to hold unto his base, who already loved him. The danger is that if the moderates ever managed to rally around a single candidate, suddenly he is very outnumbered. Risky play but he did it. This is the same plan that trump use to win the Republican primary in 2016 (to be clear, that isn't a moral judgement on sanders, Trump isn't bad because he won with a plurality, he is bad because he is a fascist). There is one key difference though the Republican primary uses a winner takes all approach, so who ever wins the state gets all of the points, which allowed Trump to expand his lead. This is because Republicans don't believe in democracy.

Those are some great mittens

So far this plan has been working well for Sanders. The moderates have split the vote, Sanders won Nevada, New Hampshire and either won Iowa or it was so close that he basically won Iowa. Biden has yet to do well in any of the first three states.

But Then, South Carolina, the first state with a large black electorate. Biden secures a key endorsement from US Representative and Civil Rights activist Jim Clyburn. The results were a pretty stunning turnaround for Biden, who won 49% of the votes and got 39 of the delegates. Sanders came in second, with 20% of the vote and 15 of the delegates. Buttigieg, Warren, Steyer, and Klobuchar didn't get a high enough percentage of the vote to get any delegates.

Biden almost won more than the rest combined.

So lets take a moment to talk about the US primary system, because it is both illogical and needlessly complicated. Rather than have all the states vote at once like a normal fucking country, each individual state plus the territories plus DC hold there own primary, most of which are not in order. So for example, the great state of NY, fourth largest state in the country and the center of the global economy, has its primary at the literal end of the process. So yeah, I've never in my lifetime gotten to have any effect on a presidential primary, because the race is already over by the time it gets to NY. So who wins a primary is not necessarily the most popular person with the party, its who ever can stay in the race longest, its a marathon. A super popular candidate could still drop out if they aren't popular in the first few state. Maybe Elizabeth warren was super popular in New York and if she had been able to hold unto those state she would have won, but we will never know. this system sucks, and I hate it.

So the way the primary goes down is that you have 4 elections from individual states. Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina. Then you have something called Super Tuesday, where Virginia, North Carolina, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Alabama, Arkansas, and Utah all go at once. So basically you go from 4 individual states to a fuck tone of state (including the two largest) all at once).

So another critical thing about the democratic party is demographics. While the republican party is a white Christianity identity party, the democratic party is a diverse coalition. The most important part of that is the African American vote, who have steadily become the deciding vote in the Democratic party since the 60s. About 90% of African American voters are democratic, and African Americans make up just over a quarter of the Democratic party. They are also by far the most organized and proactive voters, due to years of having to fight against voter suppression (especially in the South). The black electorate in the democratic party is one of the parties greatest advantages, and it also why the party has become steadily less racist every year (Obama really accelerated this process). To be clear this is a good thing, the Democratic party is better for it.

For a series of very complicated reasons I could get into another time, Sanders had never done particularly well with African American voters and Biden has. This isn't universal, the African American community is not a monolith and has a diversity of views but that is how the demographics played out generally in the primary. Most importantly, apart from Biden was the only candidate, moderate or progressive, who seemed to excite the African American voting bloc.

The reason why this matters is that Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada don't have very large black populations, Iowa and new Hampshire are lily white, and Nevada is less than 10% African American. Despite being more than a fourth of the party, the first three states are not representative of the African American vote (maybe we should have one nation wide election eh?)

So once biden won South Carolina, it became obvious that A) Biden's defeats in the first three states were not affecting his popularity in the larger states B) none of the other moderates had any real African American support. This is what leads to the supposed "betrayal"

The Day before Super Tuesday, Obama called up the remaining moderates, and convinced most of them to drop out and endorse Biden. They did so, and it basically shattered Sander's chance of winning. With most of the moderates unified, Biden won 10 states to Sander's 4, wracking up 726 delegates to sanders 505. Biden got 286065 votes to sanders 74,755. Not only was this a great victory for Biden, after super Tuesday all of the other moderates withdrew, allowing him to crush Sanders going forward. Biden had 2709 Delegates to Sanders 1,113, but more importantly Biden won 51% of the votes, with sanders getting 26%. Some Sanders fans have blamed Elizabeth Warren for not dropping out, but even if Warren had and every one of her votes had gone to standers (and there is a lot of evidence to suggest a third of her votes would have gone to Biden), that would only make Sanders at 33% to 51%.

To put this in raw numbers, Biden won 19 million votes. Sanders had just under 9.7 million. Biden won 10 million more votes than Sanders (Elizabeth warren got 2.8 million)

So I see a lot of leftist types claim that this was an example of democratic treachery, that the DNC party robbed sanders of his chance of winning, this was Nixon style Ratfuckery that destroyed Sander's populist campaign to put Biden, who nobody likes anyway, in charge. And as a progressive who didn't want Biden to win, I have to say it sucked...but that wasn't a cheat.

Biden won the popular vote, love him or hate him, he did win more than half of the democratic votes, that makes him the candidate, that is how democracy works, sometimes you lose. Some have claimed that Obama calling up the other moderates and getting them to drop out was a cheat but....how? The moderates knew they couldn't win after South Carolina, and they were ideologically closer to Biden, so they dropped out and endorsed the person they agreed with more. Most Sanders fans wanted Warren to drop out, so I knew you guys understand that importance of consolidating behind a winning candidate. Thats just good politics, the fact that Sanders didn't bother to try to court other candidates to drop out is actually a major weakness of him as a candidate. If the situation had been reversed, and the moderates were trying to win with only 30%, wouldn't you guys want the other progressives to drop out behind sanders

Because Sanders is a populist, and his rhetoric is so tied to the idea of "The people rising up against the elites" that idea that he lost demographically is sort of a trauma his more radical followers can't really deal with, so they retreat to conspiracy theories. Remember, a conspiracy theory is something people turn to to avoid facing a difficult truth. If you identify yourself as populist, and you lose demographically, you have to face some difficult questions. Maybe sanders was the wrong candidate? Maybe he made mistakes? Maybe his fanbase sabotaged his chance of winning, maybe his hardcore fans make a mistake in there understanding of the political situation. Maybe he didn't do anything wrong, it just wasn't the year for a progressive? Or maybe Sleepy Joe Biden actually was a more cunning political operator than they gave him credit for and they were duped.

Or most difficult of them all. Maybe most Americans just don't agree with Sander's position?

Those are hard questions, but you kinda of have to answer them if you want to be a progressive who accomplishes things. I might do later posts that address them if people are interested.

There is a segment of the left who are moving into purple

However, for those who can't face difficult choices, they retreat to conspiracy, and they claim that Sanders was robbed

Hey you know who hasn't been saying that Sanders was robbed by the DNC? Bernie Sanders, because he is an adult who understands how democracy works. He lost, he took it gracefully and then he endorsed and campaigned for the winner, cause sanders actually cares about the cause and not faux revolutionary nonsense.

(Fun fact, Biden and Sanders are friends Irl. Like no joke, those two get along personally)

I didn't vote for Biden in the primary and I was not happy when he won the Primary. However I never thought Biden was senile, or a fool, or a hack, I think that he is a very cunning politician who has a public persona that encourages people to underestimate him And become people can't stand the idea that they could lose to Biden, they retreat into fantasy. This is why MAGA denies the election, they can't face the reality that most of the country doesn't like them, and they can't admit that they lost to a man who doesn't fit there mental image of an impression leader

Yeah...that ends well.

[bradshaws-blog]

The opinions may vary, here are some of the sweetest things in US politics:

1. *Bipartisan moments*: When politicians put aside their differences and come together for the greater good, it's a beautiful thing!

2. *Inspiring speeches*: Powerful orations that unite and motivate people, like President Obama's "Yes We Can" speech or Senator Ted Kennedy's "The Dream Shall Never Die" speech.

3. *Public service dogs*: The loyal canine companions that assist and support politicians, like Senator Bob Dole's service dog, Liberty.

4. *Heartwarming campaign moments*: Candidates connecting with voters on a personal level, like Senator Cory Booker's "Lunch with Cory" events.

5. *Patriotic displays*: The American flag waving proudly at political events and government buildings, symbolizing national pride and unity.

6. *Civic engagement*: Citizens exercising their right to vote, participate in town halls, and engage in respectful discussions.

7. *Politicians' lighthearted moments*: Humanizing instances, like President Joe Biden's humor or Senator Bernie Sanders' viral mittens meme.

8. *Historic milestones*: Trailblazing moments, such as the first women in Congress or the first African American President.

9. *Acts of kindness*: Politicians showing compassion and empathy, like Senator John McCain's thumbs-down vote to protect healthcare.

10. *Democracy in action*: The peaceful transfer of power, respect for the rule of law, and the ongoing pursuit of a more perfect union.

These are just a few examples, but I'm sure there are many more sweet moments in US politics!

[aung-khant-kyaw]

How Viral Memes are Shaping U.S Elections and Public Opinion

Back in the early ages of the internet, memes were just supposed to be fun, mischievous and shareable jokes that many young users used to express themselves. But in recent years, memes have become such a powerful tool to use even for business or politics. The most notable example of this is how in recent U.S. elections, politicians use memes in their promotional campaigns to raise polls, especially among younger voters. In this blog, we are going to look at how meme culture is growing to be a powerful weapon to harness if you want to attract more attention online.

How the Internet Changed Political Communication

Because of the internet, we have shifted the way we engage in politics. While traditional media is still alive and around, younger generations, especially people younger than 35, Millennials and Gen Z, are getting more political news from social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and even YouTube. Memes are a huge part of today's online world, offering either long, detailed video essays on platforms like YouTube or quick attention-grabbing content such as memes.

Why Memes Click with Young Voters

First of all they are short. With so much information and posts out there, memes offer a fast and often fun way to break down complex political topics. Second of all relatable. Political memes tap into everyday frustrations or experiences, making politics feel more connected to real life. And finally they are easily shareable. Memes spread quickly, making it easy for political ideas to go viral on different social platforms.

Politicians Are Jumping on the Meme Bandwagon

Seeing how effective memes are, politicians have started using them in their communication strategies. This marks a huge shift in how they connect with younger voters.

Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign was one of the first to really use social media well. This has made other politicians hop in the meme whip to use on digital political campaigns. Now, we see politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (famous on the internet as AOC) taking it further, using platforms like Instagram and Twitch to engage with voters. AOC mixes internet humor with serious politics, making her relatable to Millennials and Gen Z.

The Two Sides of Political Memes

Memes can shape a politician’s public image, but this can go both ways. They can make politicians seem more down-to-earth and relatable, or they can dig their own grave by accidentally making their past mistakes come out and harm their reputation.

Making Politicians Relatable

Bernie Sanders has become a stable in the political meme world, with images and videos like “I am once again asking for your financial support” and his viral mittens moment at Biden’s inauguration. These memes showed Sanders as authentic and down-to-earth, even appealing to people who might not agree with his politics.

Another great example of a politician connecting with voters through memes and social media is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). She frequently hops on Instagram Live to talk directly to her followers while doing everyday things like cooking dinner or getting ready for bed. These casual, relatable moments have been meme’d endlessly, with screenshots and clips from her live streams spreading across platforms. The combination of her authenticity, humor, and openness has made AOC a favorite among younger voters. Memes from these streams reinforce the idea that she's not just a politician but someone you could hang out with, and that helped her build a strong connection with her fun base.

Another example is Hillary Clinton's attempt to reach younger voters with her infamous "Pokémon Go to the polls" line. While the intention was there, it instantly became a meme because of how forced and out of touch it sounded . The internet took it and memed the living world out of it, highlighting her struggle to connect with Gen Z and Millennials.

When Memes Backfire

On the other side, memes can also be used to mock politicians. Donald Trump’s interview with Jonathan Swan on Axios became a meme when people focused on what they saw as his poor response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These memes made the interview go viral and the video made its impact way beyond its initial broadcast.

And then there’s Joe Biden, who has had plenty of meme-able moments. One of his infamous blunders was when he said he could sum up China in "one word," and then proceeded to say something totally incomprehensible and totally not "one word". That moment, along with other slip-ups, fed into memes questioning his ability to lead and questioning his health especially related to dementia. In fact, Biden recently dropped out of the 2024 election, and many believe it’s partly due to the accumulation of these viral stumbles. The memes, like ones showing him mixing up numbers or fumbling sentences, stuck with people and shaped how they saw him as a candidate.

Memes as Political Game Changers

Memes aren’t just for laughs—they can actually influence political outcomes. They spark conversations, spread messages, and get voters, especially younger ones, involved.

During the 2016 election, Trump’s campaign got a boost from meme makers who helped make his anti-establishment image. Memes like “Covfefe” and “God Emperor Trump” spread his message on platforms like 4chan, Reddit, and Twitter .

In the 2020 election, both Trump and Biden’s campaigns used memes to rally their supporters. Memes about Biden’s speaking style or Trump’s tweets helped shape how the public viewed their leadership.

The Future of Political Conversations

Looking ahead, it’s clear that memes are more than just online jokes. They’re becoming important tools in politics, influencing how people vote, shaping public opinion, and giving politicians new ways to connect with younger audiences.

For Millennials and Gen Z, memes offer an easy entry point into politics, making complex issues more relatable. As meme culture keeps evolving, its influence on U.S. elections is likely to grow, becoming a part of digital politics.

While we still are not sure about the true impact of memes on political conversations, one thing for sure is a meme can be more powerful than we think.

References

Cillizza, C., 2020. 'The absolutely remarkable social media power of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez', CNN [online], 24 July. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/24/politics/aoc-ted-yoho-cspan/index.html [Accessed 28 October 2024].

Donovan, J., 2019. 'How memes got weaponized: A short history', MIT Technology Review [online], 24 October. Available at: https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/10/24/132228/political-war-memes-disinformation/ [Accessed 28 October 2024].

Douglas, E., 2022. 'Texas GOP's voting meme shows how Trump-style messaging wins internet's attention', The Texas Tribune [online], 8 January. Available at: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/08/texas-gop-voting-covid-meme-trump/ [Accessed 28 October 2024].

King, A., 2023. 'How meme culture is engaging Gen Z in politics', Canvas8 [online], 3 January. Available at: https://www.canvas8.com/library/reports/2023/01/03/why-satirical-memes-have-gen-z-talking-about-politics [Accessed 28 October 2024].

Mina, A.X., 2018. 'Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Mastered the Politics of Digital Intimacy', Harvard Kennedy School [online], 30 November. Available at: https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2018-11/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-has-mastered-politics-digital-intimacy [Accessed 28 October 2024].

Ossorio, M.A., 2024. 'Do memes affect our political ideas?', Universitat Oberta de Catalunya [online]. Available at: https://www.uoc.edu/en/news/2024/memes-affect-political-ideas [Accessed 28 October 2024].

Pew Research Center, 2018. 'Social media outpaces print newspapers in the U.S. as a news source', Pew Research Center [online], 10 December. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/12/10/social-media-outpaces-print-newspapers-in-the-u-s-as-a-news-source/ [Accessed 28 October 2024].

Costa, P.O., n.d. 'Barack Obama's use of the Internet is transforming political communication', Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona [online].

[ariverofsongs]

I just remembered that my dad thought sleepy Joe was named that because he was confused by that Bernie Sanders meme of sitting in the lawn chair with mittens on and thought that was why.