Have any democrats gotten more conservative due to the sanders campaign?

[Famous Mortimer]

I'm just calling them Tumblrites. I'm not using Tumblr as evidence. If you want evidence, how about the entirety of liberal arts education in the United States.

[Crumpets]

I do feel farther to the right, at least within the party, but I know none of my policy positions have really meaningfully changed over the course of the campaign. And it's not like it's been 40 years when the entire public has changed its opinion and I haven't. Plus, given the Republican primary, I can still easily see how far to the left I am of whatever the "middle" is now.

[Ogre Mage]

No.  The Sanders insurgency is something I have seen before, although the socialism part is new.  Jerry Brown (1992) , Bill Bradley (2000), Howard Dean (2004), etc. all had a political base similar to Sanders with similar rhetoric.  Though I was too young to remember it, I've read similar things about Gary Hart's campaign in 1984. 

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

No, we've just been made to feel more conservative.

[Dr. Arch]

Something about this question strikes me deeply and makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, but I'm not exactly sure how or why. I'll come back if I ever get an answer.

[IceSpear]

No, we've just been made to feel more conservative.

Meh, I don't think so. Most Hillary supporters I know see the "Hillary/her supporters are far right neoliberal warmongering corporatist fascist bankster shills!" stuff as the utter BS we all know it is. We know we're progressives. But many millennials seem to think spamming the same idea across the internet over and over like a broken record will make it true. Sorry, but it doesn't.

Another thing I think gets lost in this discussion is that there are two vastly different camps supporting Bernie. There are the standard Democrats who like Hillary or are neutral toward her, and maybe even supported her in the past, but just want someone more progressive. They are the majority. But unfortunately, there is a minority that is much louder, particularly on the internet. That being, a coalition of Naderites, Greenies, former Paulbots, literal Communists, and other assorted undesirables that have felt marginalized for a long time and see Bernie as "their guy." This group is disproportionately where the Berniebros come from, and it's why so many of them are fond of Trump as well. Think the Reddit crowd. They're only concerned with blowing things up, "rebelling", and throwing a metaphorical temper tantrum with their vote. How else can you explain a Paul/Sanders/Trump voter from any logical and ideologically consistent position?

For the vast majority of the time, Bernie's campaign represented the first group. But the face of his campaign on the internet has always been the second group, which is why there was such a disconnect. It puts him in a tricky position. It's hard to disavow the Bros for both electoral and logistical reasons. On the latter, how can you disavow or distance yourself from such an incoherent mishmash of fringies?

[Landslide Lyndon]

Acquiring a strong dislike for far-left nutjobs like jfern and HA! Goodone, or limousine liberals like Susan Sarandon and Rosario Dawson, doesn't mean that you have become more conservative. 

[Kleine Scheiße]

I've gotten much more socially conservative but much more fiscally progressive. Back in 2012 I absolutely loved Bernie Sanders but at this point he's just pandering to anyone who will listen and I've lost some respect for him -- it's still there considering what he's done in life but it's diminished.

EDIT JULY 19 2019: No longer valid.

[KingSweden]

I would say its more because of relative position why some Democrats feel like they have gotten more conservative because Bernie is quite left wing than the usual Democratic candidate and some Democrats realize they are not as liberal as they think.

Yeah this is me, basically.

[Famous Mortimer]

I would say its more because of relative position why some Democrats feel like they have gotten more conservative because Bernie is quite left wing than the usual Democratic candidate and some Democrats realize they are not as liberal as they think.

Yeah this is me, basically.

Again, Bernie Sanders is not that left-wing. He opposed the war in Iraq and he supports universal healthcare, if that scares you, don't be a Democrat. Especially since the coming generation of leftist Democrats is going to be way more whacked out.

[KingSweden]

I would say its more because of relative position why some Democrats feel like they have gotten more conservative because Bernie is quite left wing than the usual Democratic candidate and some Democrats realize they are not as liberal as they think.

Yeah this is me, basically.

Again, Bernie Sanders is not that left-wing. He opposed the war in Iraq and he supports universal healthcare, if that scares you, don't be a Democrat. Especially since the coming generation of leftist Democrats is going to be way more whacked out.

I might go Indy or Republican in a decade depending on what happens with the parties and how my views might change once I own a home and my wife and I have kids. For now, I'm comfortable in the Democratic Party but I'm definitely not on its left flank

[Statilius the Epicurean]

I've definitely seen this with a friend of mine, a committed Hispanic Democrat who is getting more pro-Wall Street by the day.

[RaphaelDLG]

I've definitely seen this with a friend of mine, a committed Hispanic Democrat who is getting more pro-Wall Street by the day.

Yuck

[Dr. Arch]

I've definitely seen this with a friend of mine, a committed Hispanic Democrat who is getting more pro-Wall Street by the day.

Wait, why!?