"Our Revolution" Mess

I'm very not surprised that "Our Revolution" is a bit of a mess.  The Sanders campaign was a bit of an odd duck.  In advance of the 2016 primaries the Democratic party (DNC) effectively cleared the field for Clinton.  There was some token opposition, either there to nudge the party or to get a platform for themselves for future [potential] runs or whatever, but the script was basically that Hillary would be the nominee.  Bernie really had no obvious chance, but the problem is that lots of Democrats have not been very happy with the party (or the Clintons) and Sanders was a way for them to give the finger to the establishment (not unlike Trump, though in a more aware-of-reality way).

Bernie probably would not have been as successful if the DNC hadn't tried to make Hillary the nominee in advance of anyone actually voting.  The very nature of the coalition that supported Bernie is a bit of a mess, and so trying to form a group out of that is, at best, going to be a challenge.  There are a handful of things that kinda unite them (Medicare for all, maybe free college, probably more generous social security...) but they got a boost from the large number of anti-[Hillary] Clinton people that exist within the Democratic party.  To the extent that those people are anti-Clinton because of her positions (Iraq war vote, big business/bank support) they probably fit well into a post 2016 progressive activist group, but even in the Democratic party a lot of anti-Clinton is really irrational anti-Hillary Clinton, in a similar vein to the Republican anti-Clinton idiocy. 

Without Hillary Clinton on the ballot, even with the DCCC being horrible, there's not as much anger to harness for primary battles as there was in 2016--there's a LOT of anger, but it's pretty much all directed against President Fucking Moron.

There's a Word for That

Hmm...an article at Vox from a "conservative who cares about climate change".  There's a word that describes that person: a Democrat. 

Democrats are the more liberal of the two parties, but there is a more relevant divide: Democrats are pro-fact and pro-reality.  Republicans are neither.  No matter what your opinion on the free market, abortion, even guns, so long as your opinion is based on reason, logic, facts, science and not bizarre fantasies about things that don't describe reality, there is one party that is a fit for you: the Democratic party.  You can look at pretty much any issue and find a wide range of nuanced opinions held by Democrats (lawmakers and voters alike) and a singularly crazy opinion held by Republicans.

Gun control: Democratic opinions range from "ban all guns" to "maybe we should have some very minor gun control laws, that won't do much, but may prevent at least a couple crazy people from getting weapons they could use to kill children".  Republican position: everyone should have a gun on them, probably prominently displayed, and possibly a high powered assault rifle, so they can be the hero in case a bad guy with a gun comes around!

Abortion: Democratic opinions range from "abortions for anyone, on demand, at anytime during pregnancy, and for any reason" to "abortion is wrong, but should remain legal, though making it more difficult is acceptable". Republican position: people who get abortions are murderers and people who kill abortion doctors [you know: actual murderers] are heroes, also women shouldn't be allowed to have sex whenever they want anyway, that should be for men to decide (their actual opinion range actually runs to far worse than that).

Global warming and what to do about it: Democratic opinions range from "ban drilling and fracking, and any new energy development that isn't at least carbon neutral" to "we can't stop this but should really try to slow it down and figure out how to deal with the coming crisis".  Republican position: global warming is a Chinese hoax.

Capitalism vs. Socialism: are you fucking kidding me?!?  Aside from Bernie Sanders (and maybe Elizabeth Warren, though I don't think I'd give you her) name one prominent Democrat that champions socialism over the free market.  Republican position: say "free markets" and "small business" a lot then give tax cuts to the richest people (individuals and corporations) in a fashion that distorts free markets and does nothing for small business. 

The fact is that the Democratic party has for a long time (and to the frustration of many liberals) welcomed all types of conservatives, and the Republican party for a long time and to an increasing degree has rejected all forms of reason/science/evidence/logic/facts, in favor of a tribal world view with the primary goal of winning elections so they can cut taxes of rich people. 

Frustration

This seems to be the way of the world, pretty much since forever.  Every fucking major publication and outlet hosts right wingers and racists complaining about getting silenced (the irony is painful).  I once again stumbled across Real Time when Bill Maher decided to host the Canadian idiot, and was reminded once again why I despise Bill Maher--he may be correct >75% of the time but when he's wrong it's so predictable and stupid (and often bigoted) that I have a hard time understanding why anyone actually likes him.  His core is basically anti-Trump, liberal bigot, and that is an almost non-existent category of person in this country (though many who are in it are surprisingly powerful, and also white...and male).