When the national polls show Biden or Warren ahead, this newspaper trumpets it all over the "front page."
When the CNN poll shows Sanders pulling ahead nationally, they bury the news in the "upshot." No offense to Nate Cohn (who has at least a 50% chance of getting it right this time).
I'm sure it also killed CNN to publish that information, given the hack-job attacks on Sanders at the last debate. But at least that news outlet, dishonest though it is, was honest enough to actually report the news.
Not this paper, though.
146
"Bernie Sanders is the Only Beacon of Light we have Left in this Corrupted Country".....
"Bernie Sanders is a Man of Conscience"(tm-c)....
We should be so fortunate to have Bernie Sanders as President of the United States of America....
Biden (Asleep at the Wheel) and Clinton (Deranged & Diabolical) are Jealous of Bernie and so is Warren (Flinty), Jealous of Bernie and she Stole 90% of his policy platforms.
Clinton the Hypocrite is still upset because NO Bernie voters voted for her they ended up NOT voting and or Voting for Trump, Clinton still does Not understand why she lost and she Never deserved the Nomination in 2016 it should have gone to Bernie but the Hypocrites at the Democratic Party worked behind the scenes to harm the Great Bernie Sanders
Only Bernie Sanders could Beat Trump as the Democratic
Candidate....
No One Else Could Beat Trump Except for BERNIE...
Bernie Sanders is the Only Candidate who Represents We the People and deeply Cares about We the People!!!!
"Bernie Sanders is a Man of Conscience"(tm-c).....
86
I Like Bernie and am Nobody!
72
Very funny. A whole article trying to deny the facts of recent polls. Had Joe Biden established a lead, that is exactly what the headlines in the NYT would say. This article is trying to prove that leading in the polls is a handicap that will probably lead to Sanders's ruin. But the last sentence is there as a warning. The NYT's endorsements seem to have had negligible effect.
73
Exactly:
"Bernie [is] an old school socialist, revolutionary and professional agitator: He talks big but has never delivered..."
38
And, as a follow-up to my earlier comment, know this, both parties are beyond terrified that Bernie will win and corporate America is moving closer to a state of panic as Bernie gains momentum, and tens of millions across our land realize that Bernie is our last hope of redemption.
Watch carefully these next weeks and months as the big guns come out, as perception management gets into full gear, and the mainstream already co-opted media trots out every and any whisper, suggestion, and outright lies to undermine Mr. Sanders.
Won't work this time, simply because we have met all the corrupt politicians, all of them, including Trump, his Republican partners, Hillary, her corrupt Pelosi Schumer Biden Democrats, and of course their corporate backers and bankrollers; God, have we ever met you all, you self-serving sycophantic cabal of lying cheating representatives of yourselves and your corporate owners.
A bit over the top ?? Perhaps, but darn it felt good to tell it like it is.
90
and meanwhile Bloomie is now in 4th simply from advertising.
13
This from the news outlet 5hat never saw Obama coming in 2008 and insisted that the easiest candidate for Clinton to beat in 2016 was Donald Trump.
Forgive me if the track record causes me to reject this peremptorily.
46
So... You want Bernie Sanders to win. Check. Check. Check.
11
Sanders as the Democratic Party nominee guarantees trump's reelection.
48
Bernie has already been vetted "up the wazoo" as they say, with all kinds of articles on his chiidhood, hippie youth, activist mayoral tenure, Senate campaigns, and Presidential campaigns.
The NY Times editorial board has never liked Sanders. They endorsed Hillary in 2016. In 2020, of course, they urged readers to vote for anyone but Bernie--especially a woman. (In a first-ever split decision, the NY Times editorial board endorsed TWO primary candidates: Klobuchar and Warren.)
Assuming he wins the primary, will the NY Times editorial board endorse Bernie against Trump? Or will they stick with Hillary (their favored elite) and "not go there"?
62
But other than that ...
"Bernie is morally arrogant and uncompromising ... the average age of an American male is 76.1 years, Bernie is 78 years."
Most "first" heart attacks are fatal. Bernie's wasn't, but the next one may be. If it doesn't kill him, it will cause him to withdraw.
By the way, this number clearly seems way too high -- several decades too high, in fact: "...the average age of an American male is 76.1 years..."
10
So is Trump, and Biden:
"Sanders is so obviously too old and sick to be President..."
But Sanders and Biden are REALLY old.
I suspect Obama is amazed that Biden is running.
1
I suspect Warren feels just the opposite:
"Liz should drop out so her supporters can vote for Bernie..."
7
Ain't gonna happen. Bernie benefits from dumping on Clinton supporters:
"If [Bernie’s supporters] want more support from Democrats, quit treating...Hillary Clinton’s former supporters like garbage..."
In the general election, Bernie didn't campaign for HRC as if his heart was really in it. She won't this time.
7
I find it interesting that the story says the media hasn't paid much attention. I think that was their point, to deprive him of the oxygen of free media aka coverage. They hope to continue to do so though it doesn't seem to be working. At some point, they will have to cover him.
I also find it interesting that they had no problem with their nonstop covering of a racist, alleged serial sexual assaulting narcissistic liar over an opponent who though far from perfect was more obviously much more qualified. He is the president because there was a whole lot of tolerance and bias for the pursuit of I guess... ratings? Didn't do much to live up to the responsibility one would expect of the Fourth Estate.
37
Do you think Bernie Sanders will still be alive and running for President in November? I think he will withdraw by then, and perhaps will be dead:
"Sanders ... just keeled over with a heart attack a few weeks ago ... "
1
Hillary Clinton has dumped on Bernie, big-time, justifiably: He hasn't ever "accomplished" anything, and now he's so old (78) that audiences respectfully hear him out.
What's amazing to me is that so many "Bernie Bros" act as if this is the first time Bernie's said these things. He's been saying pretty much the same thing for several decades.
14
Bernie is the only candidate in my lifetime to mirror my own values. He'll stomp Trump in the general election, and make a mockery of the tired Democratic establishment. As for Hillary's pilloring of Bernie that "nobody likes him," ain't that calling the kettle black!
66
Please, how about an analysis of the latest polls that really matter: Sanders versus Trump, in the swing states of PA, MI, WI, NC, NH, AZ.
And while you are at it, let's see the latest head-to-head polling results in those states for Biden vs. Trump, Warren vs. Trump, Klobuchar vs. Trump, etc.
42
As I thought all along: Some of the Repub's are saying they will vote for Bernie. Get Bernie the nomination and that will salt it for Trump it goes. There is no way in heaven that the US voters will elect a 60's radical as POTUS. The GOP will find much to tar him as he is vulnerable.
What has he accomplished? What about his wife's bank loan? What really happened to the school they were involved with? What was he doing in Russia? Why has he not released his medical records? He is pushing 80, what about his heart attack? What are his thoughts on anything? Whatever it is it will be fodder for the GOP.
26
With Hillary Clinton claiming "Nobody likes Bernie"; and Barak Obama indicating he would need to stop Sanders if it looks like he'll get the nomination; and the NYT editorial board deciding not to endorse Sanders; and the ladies on "The View" bragging that they agree with Clinton; and Elizabeth Warren accusing Sanders of sexism; and cable news pundits saying things like "Bernie makes my skin crawl"; and other nonsense — it should be apparent to those among the powerful elite class that it's all starting to backfire.
Pardon me while I donate to the Sanders campaign AGAIN.
87
"Her standing began to falter around the time she matched Mr. Biden in national polls, which invited scrutiny from the news media and her opponents. .... At the same time, Pete Buttigieg surged to the lead in Iowa; .."
Actually that was the result of a full blown coordinated assault by the media, while they promoted just intensely a nobody because he was acceptable to neoliberals.
10
Americans have finally figured out, voting for Bernie is voting for ourselves, our neighbors and life on earth.
60
I'll vote enthusiastically for the Democratic nominee, whoever it is. But I worry about nominating Bernie for precisely this reason:
"Throughout all this, Mr. Sanders has gone relatively unscathed. His position in the polls — just behind the front-runners, without obvious momentum — gave his opponents no incentive to attack."
This same thing happened in 2016. Not only was he relatively untouched, he was even complimented by Trump while Trump was campaigning. Why, I asked myself, were the Republicans taking a hands-off approach to the most radical leftist on the campaign trail?
The likely answer is troubling to me and should be troubling to all Democrats.
The Republicans are holding their fire until he gets nominated. If he does, then the firing will commence. They want him to be the nominee.
There are films of Bernie with Sandinista president Daniel Ortega at a parade in Nicaragua. Bernie invited to Vermont a Sandinista Mata Hari, Nora Astorga, who lured a Somoza general to her apartment. The general's throat was slashed, and his body was wrapped in a Sandinista flag and dumped. There are films and tapes of Bernie praising Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
If he's the nominee, the Republicans won't just be calling him a socialist; they'll be calling him a communist. And if the election of Trump proved anything, it proved that facts don't matter to millions of voters. Lies are accepted and image prevails.
I worry about what polls aren't telling us about Bernie ... yet.
30
I don't believe the national polls. Whoever wins Iowa and NH will face off with Bloomberg. My prediction is that Bernie will not be the nominee. Key democrats are sharpening their knives and like 2016 they will knife him with thousand cuts. Already the women that matter have began cutting him. Wait till he does not win Iowa and NH.
7
Nate Cohen describes Warren and Sanders as "...these two idealistic liberal candidates..." There are no others that are actually more realistic. But then again, Mr Cohen got 2016 massively wrong, didn't he?
14
Oh God. This will be Jeremy Corbyn vs. Boris Johnson all over again, and with the same result.
17
If Bernie wins 2020, then Hillary's 2016 defeat would be complete. Not only would she be the candidate who couldn't beat Trump, she would be the candidate who colluded with elements within the DNC to tilt the scales of the nomination against the candidate who demonstrably could.
Obviously, there are some people, and even national newspapers (whom we need not actually name), who could never face that reality. So, the knives are out -- again.
The major noticable difference is that the rerun is looking decidedly more desperate and pathetic this time around.
23
On most of the major policy issues Sanders policies align with the majority of Americans. This is why there has been such a united campaign against him from the wealthy. Higher taxes on the rich are widely popular, climate change action also, moderate gun control, improved healthcare, less involvement in foreign wars. Strangely enough Trump won promoting (lying) that he would reduce taxes for the lower and middle classes, would give people better health care and improve the position of farmers and return manufacturing jobs to the mid-West and get out of foreign wars and won't touch Social Security (recent Davos anyone) . Bernie has only to run hammering ads showing how Trump has done and will do the opposite to his promises. My only concern is the massive publicity campaign the rich will will run and the MSM will be of course be complicit. "Bernie Bro's" despite the evidence most of his under 64 supporters are female and very diverse, "angry and confrontional" rather than enthusiastic and committed, "radical" for policies most Americans actually support.
Taxes on the wealthy:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-inequality-poll/majority-of-americans-favor-wealth-tax-on-very-rich-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1Z9141
Gun control: https://news.gallup.com/poll/1645/guns.aspx
climate change: https://news.gallup.com/poll/1615/environment.aspx
Healthcare as a government responsibility: https://news.gallup.com/poll/4708/healthcare-system.aspx
38
Sanders won't get the African American vote. If he gets the nomination. The Democrats will lose the election.
His candidacy is a nightmare, guaranteeing perhaps another term for Trump.
16
Tired of listening to endless speculations about who will win the race and why? Better use your precious time studying the the problems we are facing in the real world. No other requirement necessary. You will find out very quickly that not unlike a good product, a good candidate sells on its own.
10
Donald Trump is hoping that Bernie wins the nomination because he knows he can beat him. To win as a Democrat, you have to be able to compromise and you have to appeal to moderates. Obama did it, Bill Clinton did it, and Jimmy Carter did it. But in all of Bernie’s years in the Senate—despite his many big ideas—he has accomplished precious little because because he is not a compromiser and is not known for reaching out to moderates.
35
We Americans have finally figured out voting for Bernie is voting for ourselves, our neighbors and life on earth.
69
This all means nothing. You should be looking at how he polls among probable voters in the general election. He won’t do well with any moderate or swing voters. I’m a moderate dem and will have to bite the bullet although I don’t like him. But many others won’t. George McGovern redux and you’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise.
25
@Peter That’s an understandable concern, but it’s important to recognize that Bernie’s appeal is not limited to a linear spectrum, falling only at the farthest left end of our political conceptions. If you look at the polling in the key swing states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania..) he not only performs strongly in the democratic contest but in the general as well. Bernie’s working-class message speaks to many of the same voters who elected trump - he is absolutely our best shot at beating him and charting a new path for this fractured, angry country.
61
Thank you for doing the work of the oligarchy with your comment.
7
Sanders cannot win the election since he will not win the electoral college. God help us all if he is the "Democratic" nominee.
29
I do believe I will live to see the reincarnation of FDR, Bernie Sanders, be sworn in as our 46th President, January 20th 2021, and what a nationwide sigh of relief will ripple across America as Bernie Sanders places his hand on the bible and intones the words -
"I, Bernie Sanders, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
"... preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Image that, the Gentleman from Vermont, by way of Brooklyn, pledging to - "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States', steadfastly and with his entirely honorable being, pledging to the people of America and the world, that he will do what is expected of every American President, and that he will not engage in the perfidy that was, and will always be, the hallmark of Donald Trump, the former Impeached 45th President who left no stone unturned in his efforts to destroy our Democratic Republic.
May the wind be at Bernies back, for the eight years thereafter, as he steers our nation one more time into a new and lasting dawn.
67
I think Sanders is doing a little bit better because no one is attacking him. As soon as he is a threat, they will start attacking him and he will begin to do worse. It’s the same dynamic as the other candidates. It’s less meaningful than this indicates.
8
It's stunning that Democrats don't come to the realization that their candidates have to offer people something to vote FOR. That's the way it always used to be....chicken in every pot, etc. What's encouraging is that people are finally catching on that Democrats don't care about anything but perpetuating a party and raking in the dough. If the Democratic Party folded tomorrow it would be the best thing that could happen for the American people who continue to suffer under this system that denies them.
31
What the elites in the DNC and GOP fail to understand is the same thing that the Bourbons didn't understand in 1789, or the Romanovs in 1917. Those who make peaceful change impossible make violence inevitable. Keep grabbing all the wealth for yourselves, keep destroying the planet for a few more bucks, and we will have more blood on the streets. Personally, I prefer peaceful. Go Bernie!
58
Bernie Sanders and the Not me Us Movement - I believe - is a step towards a more stabile world.
41
Because those who might (and should) have "vetted" Bernie expected he'd have a heart attack if they ever pressed him:
"St. Bernie will finally face increased vetting... Bernie has continually been let off the hook on this: WHY?"
6
Bernie is for people who think we need big changes but get nauseated at the idea of voting for Trump.
He's for people who think that too much is controlled by too few.
For those who think the concerns and fears of ordinary people are less important to most politicians than getting elected.
For those who tire of watching politicians change their "beliefs" at the drop of a hat, depending on polls, activists and other politicians.
He is for those who are scared and discouraged and still have hope.
48
I believe in everything Bernie stands for. Yet I am concerned. Not about the age, which can be dealt with by choosing an equally "presidential" running mate. But because of the fragile line between a rigorously principled stand and stubborn dogmatism that may get him nowhere.
17
Bernie is always pointing out how we all need to participate to make democracy, our precious experiment, function. We Americans have finally figured out participating in increasing democracy and voting for Bernie is voting for ourselves, our neighbors and life on earth.
30
The eventual Democratic nominee does not even matter at this point. Either vote a straight blue ticket, or pay the cost.
15
"Not a Democrat."No, Bernie is what Democrats should be, and where the voters are. He is independent of the pro-Wall Street Republican-lite Washington Democrat establishment, which includes pro-fossil fuel blue dogs like Joe Manchin. No, it is they who are not Democrats in the tradition of FDR and JFK.
In Sen. Sanders we have the best candidate since RFK. He is a true statesman, and a man for all seasons.
My fellow Democrats and Independents, please don't pass up this opportunity again for some weakling like Biden, or someone as despised as HRC. Don't pick a watered down version like Warren. Bernie is the real thing.
He is unflappable and unbeatable--able to stand up to Trump, who would eat most of our candidates alive, especially Biden.
And, of course, stand behind whoever is the nominee, as Bernie will.
54
Most of the comments are certainly strong on personal feelings. The data, however, seem to show the Electoral College will make the election come down to 10-15 battleground states (e.g., AZ, WI, FL, NC, PA) https://www.270towin.com/maps/consensus-2020-electoral-map-forecast. Here is where more progressive candidates may be a detriment to Democrats. Beating Trump is not based on CA, NY, MA etc. It is going to come down to these more purple/blue states. I have my doubts about Sanders there, though I wish it was otherwise.
18
@Gerald Leibowitz That’s an understandable concern, but it’s important to recognize that Bernie’s appeal is not limited to a linear spectrum, falling only at the farthest left end of our political conceptions. If you look at the polling in the key swing states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania..) he not only performs strongly in the democratic contest but in the general as well. Bernie’s working-class message speaks to many of the same voters who elected trump - he is absolutely our best shot at beating him and charting a new path for this fractured, angry country.
24
Sage43,
I like Bernie, I do not like Trump, but unless Tulsi Gabbard or Amy Klobuchar have the nomination for Democratic contender for the Presidency, I will vote for Trump because I am convinced that both Democrats and Republicans have been negligent with illegal immigration and they give deference to China as well as every other European country with massive trade deficits and treaties that have adversely affected American citizens.
7
Those supporting Mr. Sanders please read up on how Argentina turned from one of the 5 most prosperous countries in the world in 1930s into the permanent economic and political disaster that it is today. Also, please read on Mr. Peron's popularity and free stuff for everybody.
I'd never ever voted R for President, and the current White House occupant is the worst of Rs that had been on the ballot in my lifetime. However I will vote for Trump without a yota of doubt if Bernie is the alternative.
7
If the Democrats have a candidate with what seems to be an impenetrable ascendancy, it might be wise for the elite establishment to not resist Sanders. There are three winsome reasons for this:
1) It is self-defeating to join the opposing party in attempting to tear down a candidate with strong electability.
2) Sanders greatest accomplishment this season has not been in expanding his base among existing Democrats. He doesn’t need to since A) he is already widely favored as America’s most liked senator and B) He is #2 choice amongst the other top tier candidates Biden and Warren. His greatest accomplishment has been EXPANDING the democratic base to appeal to first time voters, independents, republican Cris’s-over voters, and non-voters, the majority of which won’t be included in typical democratic polling. Sanders likely has a much greater base of support than the numbers are showing, especially compared to the “landline primary”. It would be perilous, not just for this election but for the future of the Democratic Party to denigrate this and not recognize it’s long term advantages.
3) Supporting Sanders would make for a more effective Presidency, and would likely yield such a torrent of support that Trump and vulnerable Red congressional seats can be monumentally overcome. A President with a mandate. Now THAT’s victory.
Sanders is pragmatic. There won’t be guillotines to dear. The elites can be part of history by working together with Sanders, to bring change we need.
21
Polling? What did polling tell us about Trump's chances in 2016? There's never been a left-wing liberal elected to the presidency, but for some reason my party continues to nominate these people in an effort to make it happen. Sanders is this generation's McGovern.
6
@KCF Democrats continue to nominate left-wing liberals? Hillary was hardly left-wing. Before her was Obama (who won 2 terms), before him Kerry and Gore werent left-wing. Before them Clinton (who won 2 terms). So we're already back to the 1988 election without any evidence for your point.
The McGovern reference is a trite red herring. Candidates and circumstances too different to select policy positions as key variable.
9
@KCF Mm, FDR? TR was a Progressive and would be considered a flaming liberal these days.
4
Why settle for "free" with high taxes, especially when the taxes will go to pay the exorbitant prices charged by the US healthcare industry? In Taiwan, I pay $57 a month for my National Health Insurance premium for excellent coverage, and Taiwan's income taxes are lower than those in the States. Post-high school education is not free here, but is far more affordable than in the US, partly because professors rotate in and out of part-time administrative positions for extra pay instead of having full-time administrators with extravagant salaries. Corporate powers have paid many millions to get Congress and regulators to enact thousands of "tweaks" in their favor. Instead of a major rise in taxes, we need a candidate with the knowledge and persistence to locate and undo the most pernicious tweaks. Other countries have done it. Why can't the US?
26
As a member of Sunrise Movement, I can confidently say Bernie is the climate candidate. He's also the healthcare candidate, the education candidate, and the antiwar candidate.
He can crush Trump, because it would be impossible for Trump to depict Sanders as a pro-war, pro-NAFTA elitist as he did for Clinton. And a Sanders presidency would be our best shot at finally emerging from our 40 year Guided Age. Please vote Sanders, everyone!
95
I have to disagree about why Elizabeth Warren started to go down in the polls. For me it was because she started wavering on Medicare For All, and in the debate she wouldn't give an honest answer about funding. That Taxes will go up, but the premiums will disappear. I would be fine with her as President, but Bernie is the main man. And I think he is going to do it this time. Maybe he will pick Warren for VP. She certainly deserves a cabinet post esp as a financial watchdog. Hopefully Tulsi Gabbard will be considered. But I think if Sanders gets the nomination his first pick will be Stacy Abrams. Assuming they get along.
56
@Doctor Woo Your analysis of why Warren slipped in the polls is spot on, and unlike the Times/MSM ppsition, fits with the timing.
5
I believe that Bernie Sanders is the candidate best suited to unseat President Trump in this year's presidential elections. Therefore, I will vote for him during the Democratic primaries. Senator Sanders has a vision of transforming the United States and the world along the lines that I embrace and that many people all over the world embrace, especially Jews and Muslims.
In addition, being an applied economist with a PhD, I'm convinced that Senators Sander's and Warren's economic plans are the best way forward, if the United States is to maintain its leadership in global economic affairs. Right now China is engaged in massive investments, domestically & overseas, with the goal of surpassing the United States, so that as the new would-be global economic leaders, they can underwrite the new world order to their advantage.
China's economic miracle is the result of economies of scale using its military, direct foreign investments & state corporations. However, due to our market economy in the United States, which I fully support, the United States only uses economies of scale in the defense industry, which I also support. Also, like many Trump supporters, I believe that China doesn't play fair in global trading. Another very important issue to me in global affairs is the issue with Iran. Here, Sanders has the best & most consistent stand.
Regarding domestic issues, & as an African American, I'm concerned about criminal justice reforms, & find the policies of Sanders the best.
171
@James O. Mboya .... "Sanders has a vision of transforming the United States"....But he doesn't have clue as to how to do it. He has accomplished zilch in all his years in the Senate and in 2016 had the support of only one of his Senate Colleagues, which gives you an idea of what people who have none and worked with him for years think of his ability.
6
@James O. Mboya Sanders is a classic nutty visionary who will wreck the Democrats chances of taking the White House.
7
Bring on the studied ignorance and ignoring of Bernie's surging campaign. Bring on Hillary and Obama's disapproval (as they continue to reap the millions of corporate support dollars from their "noble service" to the corprate/moderate wing of the Democratic Party). Bernie has street cred and always has, because he has always cared utmost for the left-outs, not the savvy and connected. His support for universal healthcare (not corporate, gauging "insurance"), very limited foreign military engagements (not forever wars all over the world), and a LIVING minimum wage (not unadjusted since the 1970s so wealthy corporations like Wal-mart could reap the difference into the billions) have always made him unpopular in Lobbytown of Columbia.
101
@UARollnGuy I pray that Obama does not go on the attack as news sources have indicated he is willing to do. It would be such a disappointment. It appears that Bernie is approaching peak “Teflonability.” Hillary just found that out.
13
Whenever reading about a recent poll’s results, particularly on a topic about which I feel strongly, I wonder whether it was an actual statistically accurate poll—i.e. the traditional telephone callout questionnaire. For, I realize that such polls taken will be used to support some partisan or business interest via mainstream news or social media dissemination.
I especially notice this with big business interests, such as with the fossil fuel industry expansion efforts.
Yes, there’s the manner of questions asked by the commissioned pollsters; however, there’s also a growing number of poling firms that gauge public opinion through their online surveys, accessible to anyone wishing to register their perspectives simply by becoming a member of the entity.
Since the mainstream news-media (at least those which I consume) don’t seem interested in asking the question themselves, I asked one local firm how they ensure that these membership online-survey participants genuinely statistically reflect the general ideological inclinations of the populace as a whole?
On that matter I received no reply.
Perhaps this is why some governments appear to not take too seriously such poll findings.
5
@Frank Sterle Jr
As a fellow Canadian, I am not sure I believe in polls either. And as Canadians, our First Past the Post system is no better than America's Electoral College.
After all, Trudeau did not receive the most votes in our last election. That honour went to Tory leader 'Hillary' Scheer. Yet Justin is able to form government.
Newfoundland may receive a lot more snow than we do, but a federal Newfie vote carries a lot more weight than a British Coumbia federal vote. And JT's party promised electoral reform in his first term. He is a poor leader. Hope we go back to the polls in a year or so. His party came in fourth in our riding.
1
I’m no elite but I am old enough to remember the George McGovern boon in 1972 when the enthusiasm for him in the lead-up to the nomination, especially among new voters like myself, was palpable. And the Vietnam War issue at the time, in terms of emotion and centrality to politics, would swamp Medicare-for-all or other Sanders issues key to his platform today. McGovern was also possessed of a Midwesterner’s dry sense of humor sorely absent in Sanders, who appears to lack any humor bone, most importantly a self-deprecating one. (Think how a little humility on his part could have defused the Warren electability skirmish, buy no, Sanders double-downed in a way disturbingly remindful of how Trump responds to criticism.)
Yet McGovern was overwhelmed by the Nixon CREEP operation, which was Pollyanish in comparison to the bot-fueled machine Trump would and will bring to the table about Sanders and his strange foreign-policy flirtations and even his health. More critical than the skirmish over Warren’s electability is a debate over the way Sanders would be sliced and diced in a general election leaving his head spinning—and down-ballot Democrats as road kill.
28
@Johnson "Well, some days my wife likes me." Bernie, on being told Hillary said no one liked him. If that's not a dry sense of humor, I dunno what is.
Also, I'm not here to elect a sense of humor. I'm here to help elect a good, principled man as president before our planet burns beyond recovery.
26
@Johnson Bernie lacks a humor bone? In the eye of the beholder I guess. Many funny quips at the debates, and have you heard Bernie interviewing Bernie? Sanders strikes me as the only one, with the possible exception of Warren, grounded enough to stand up to the onslaught of taunting and bullying that will come from Trump, our abomination in chief. Everyone should worry about another McGovern type debacle, but this is a different time, and a more desperate situation, and you can't assume the same thing will happen. Bernie and Elizabeth's appeal to the vanquished middle and working classes, their resolve to do something about climate change and campaign finance laws, could be decisive.
16
"Bloomberg is the one Trump fears."
Seriously, I doubt that Trump fears Bloomberg. Elizabeth Warren would come closest to beating Trump, and she'll get the nomination. It's a long way to Election Day, of course, and so much could change. But if the 2020 election were held tomorrow, Trump would win easily.
7
@Commenter
Actually, Newsweek today published match up polls, and Sanders has the biggest lead on Trump. Warren has no lead in a general election match up as of today.
88
why do people support Trump? They may not like him but they like his policies and results. they look at the democratic canidates, specifically Bernie and not only do they not trust or like this guy but his policies are politically and financially not feasable. that is the truth of it.
25
@sage43 Exactly. Trump has always struck me as a buffoon, but I like his policy of keeping the US out of "endless wars" -- particularly wars of the Middle East persuasion. If HRC had won in 2016, I have utterly no doubt that we'd be deeply enmeshed in Syria, and we'd be nowhere close to pulling out of Iraq or Afghanistan. Trump has many faults, but I like his views on war.
6
@sage43 Guess all us millions of supporters are still not considered people? Okay, we'll see.
4
@sage43
Every other comparable, developed country has universal healthcare for citizens. Those countries all have either free or much more heavily subsidized higher education. Bernie Sanders' policies are absolutely financially feasible - they just require a lot less welfare for the wealthy, and a few less ridiculous military equipment contracts for big boy toys that will never work (except in lobbyists' fantasies).
1
So St. Bernie will finally face increased vetting...the guy who has continually been given a pass on producing any intelligible plan or funding for all of his grandiose "policies"? Bring it on and for once hold his feet to the fire. Bernie has continually been let off the hook on this: WHY?
How ironic that the "man of the people's" only steady paycheck in his life and entire employment resume has been 40 years of living off the American taxpayer, representing the smallest, whitest, lowest GDP state in the nation: With NOTHING to show for it! ZERO accomplishments!
Let's all get behind the far left's version of Trump, the great Socialist: An old, ailing, angry, ranting, uncompromising, unaccomplished white man with big promises he has no way to deliver and his very own nasty, aggressive, petulant cult following who are willing to break the furniture and burn the house down in a delusional grab for all the "FREE Stuff"...NOT!
Bernie has never been anything but an old school socialist, revolutionary and professional agitator: He talks big but has never delivered: God's gift to Trump.
Bloomberg is the one Trump fears.
38
@CitizenX
Good grief..talk about nasty, aggressive, and petulant.
Just go on his website or watch some interviews to find the information you think he's not telling us (he has been). Go watch to him on Joe Rogan's podcast on YouTube to hear how thoughtful he is. He's literally the Anti-Trump.
That's not an endorsement - though far and away better than Trump, he's not my preferred candidate. But your characterization of him and his supporters is grossly misinformed.
12
You sound scared. When Medicare for All is finally enacted, I hope you get some treatment.
9
Sorry, the last thing in the world that America needs at this point is another angry old white male who specializes in yelling and who has essentially accomplished noting in his 70 plus years.
You can fool some of the people all of the time.... and this applies to both left & right in politics... Donnie & Bernie are flip sides of the same coin & I don't much like the currency.
Pity, cuz my politics are basically closer to Sanders than just about anyone else but I really feel that his heart is with the Bernie Bros... & the rest of us are excluded.
34
@Sandra @CitizenX Whenever reading about a recent poll’s results, particularly on a topic about which I feel strongly, I wonder whether it was an actual statistically accurate poll—i.e. the traditional telephone callout questionnaire. For, I realize that such polls taken will be used to support some partisan or business interest via mainstream news or social media dissemination.
I especially notice this with big business interests, such as with the fossil fuel industry expansion efforts.
Yes, there’s the manner of questions asked by the commissioned pollsters; however, there’s also a growing number of poling firms that gauge public opinion through their online surveys, accessible to anyone wishing to register their perspectives simply by becoming a member of the entity.
Since the mainstream news-media (at least those which I consume) don’t seem interested in asking the question themselves, I asked one local firm how they ensure that these membership online-survey participants genuinely statistically reflect the general ideological inclinations of the populace as a whole?
I received no reply on the matter.
Perhaps this is why some governments appear to not take too seriously such poll findings.
2
@Sandra I’m sorry but this point of view is becoming tiresome.Sanders has the most diverse coalition and the most female donors of anyone in the race. Voices I’m sure take offense to the “bro” label.
Saying Sanders and Trump are the same is just lazy. I encourage you to look up Bernie record, to say that he has done nothing is absurd. He’s has worked his whole life for working people, amended more bills in Congress than anyone, and fought for equal rights before it was the woke thing to do. There is too much to list but I invite you to google “Bernie Sanders” and any of the following words; Amazon, Walmart, Union, Environment, Healthcare, etc.
This country been in a rightward slide for 70 years, with modern democrats indistinguishable from early 2000 Republicans. The only reason we are even talking about “progressive” policies is because of Bernie Sanders.
I understand people’s hesitation to allow themselves to objectively look at his campaign. But look at the people he has directly inspired to run for office, specifically AOC, Ilan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. Clearly there must be something to the message of a yelling old white man. Maybe we should all try and listen.
13
@Sandra The Bernie Bro concept is a myth. Every candidate has a percentage of nasty supporters, so why is Bernie singled out that he "must" hold them accountable? He has the most diverse coalition of potential voters, he also pays his female staff better than Warren does hers. That's not attacking Warren, mind you - I'm just pointing out how ridiculous some of these attacks are.
He is a threat to the status quo of the political and economic establishment, and they will try to destroy him through any measure.
Also, that horseshoe argument about Bernie being the flipside of Trump is so ridiculous - do you even listen to what he's arguing? He wants to treat border crossers better, he has a plan for better women's healthcare and rights, and he won't give tax breaks to corporations like Trump does.
We won't get a progressive candidate of this quality, experience and strength for many years, so we need to take it.
14
It’s funny, I didn’t even have to see the polls. I knew his numbers must be rising when the NYT started printing negative articles. We the people can always depend on the Times to try and make sure we get four more years of Trump. Thanks again, Times, for attacking the most viable candidate. You must be really worried about all your stock options.
126
Here’s a suggestion, Bernie’s supporters should stop acting like a bunch of rabid dogs, foaming at the mouth when anyone points outs weaknesses in their cult leader ... er, I mean, candidate.
If they want more support from Democrats, quit treating Democrats and Hillary Clinton’s former supporters like garbage because Sanders needs their votes. Maybe they should try persuasion instead of bullying and see how that works? For a bunch of people who have done nothing but complain that Clinton acted “entitled” to the nomination, it is a little odd that they now demand that their geriatric candidate who just keeled over with a heart attack a few weeks ago be treated like a crown prince to whom all must defer. This while they spread half truths and outright lies about all Bernie’s opponents.
If Sanders supporters think Hillary Clinton was critical yesterday, wait till Trump and the Republican slime machine start on him. Republicans are carefully keeping hands off now so that they can hit with both barrels once Sanders has the nomination.
Repeatedly telling Democrats how much Sanders supporters hate them is, sadly, not constructive. And repeatedly bragging about how Sanders supporters in 2016 spitefully threw away the election by voting for Stein, leaving the top of the ballot blank because their feelings were “hurt,” or actually voted for Trump in a fit of stupidity is just making it harder for Democrats to reward Sanders and his annoying advocates with their votes!
31
@Christine Juliard Well, it would certainly help things if other liberals stopped calling Bernie supporters names like "rabid dogs" who "foam at the mouth." We're enthusiastic - and how could we not be? Bernie is the only candidate whose plans address the fibers of the many grave issues in America. He's the only one on that stage demanding quality healthcare for you and for me. Unless you're a multimillionaire, you and your whole family are one medical emergency away from despair and bankruptcy.
Pointing out Biden's austerity measures is not an "attack" in the way you're portraying it either. The man's legacy is compromise on some of the most important social programs in this country - voters deserve to know that.
80% of Sanders supports voted for Clinton in 2016, not that it's really worth re-litigating the past. We're thinking about the present and the future. We're trying to fix healthcare, education, and our woeful response to climate change. It's not a typical election with so much at stake. I hope you'll agree and come around to Bernie soon.
18
@Christine Juliard
Wow. Nothing like painting a whole group of people with one broad angry brush stroke! I support Bernie, and I’ve never acted the way you describe his supporters as acting. I voted for Clinton, as most Sanders supporters did, and I’ll vote for whomever wins the democratic nomination. I’m open minded, and I understand that just because someone supports someone different than I do doesn’t mean the other person is wrong and I am right. Please, be more open minded. It’s unfortunate that you’ve been at the end of negative Bernie supporters’ wrath, but I haven’t encountered any other Bernie supporters that act like you describe.
17
@Christine Juliard
When I think of CT, I remember Joe LIeberman, instrumental in throwing out the public option., with his obeisance to his corporate insurance buddies. Here we are, ten years on, with Biden resurrecting that option, as if we don't remember. From small rabid dog trying hard not to bite you back and not succeeding this time.
5
Nate: Worth mentioning in your that the Aplus Monmoth poll has Biden up over Bernie by 7 points and runs through Jan. 20, a day later than the CNN poll. Your claim that Biden's overall poll lead has been cut in half uns close to a full Pinocchio. Your discussion of "elite donors is devoid of any real analysis. It sounds like a piece by a Bernie Bro.
16
Senator Sanders is so obviously too old and sick to be President that his continued candidacy tells us a lot about the blindness of the electorate.
24
It signifies that we refuse to allow the oligarchy to destroy our lives and life on earth any longer.
5
Bernie will win because he takes a principled stand on issues that actually matter to ordinary people. Of course the Democratic establishment is terrified -- the party is run by liars and crooks who refuse to take a principled stand on anything. Bernie threatens to sweep away the very corruption from which they draw their life force.
88
@Joe Hill ...The trouble with Bernie supporters is they can't count. The Democrats took back the House in 2018 by flipping several Republican seats, and not a single one of those flipped seats was taken back by a hard left liberal. Not one. And then there is the small problem of the Senate which is still in Republican hands and likely to remain so. Bernie supporters - all emotion, no brains.
2
@Joe Hill Sanders is part of the establishment. He’s a career politician. Can’t be sucking on the public teat that long and pretend to be anything else. And what stand has Sanders taken? Oh, he talks a lot. But what has he actually done in all those congressional years? Not a whole lot. The only thing that Sanders threatens is nothing getting done because checks and balances means Bernie won’t get his way.
1
"He `s gaining" - which explains the billionaire and liberal media attacks in the last three days. The slightest hint of socialism is enough to sharpen the knives of the wealthy one percent who own of world and the "independent" media.
80
@Dominick Eustace It has nothing to do with socialism, which is just another red herring. Bernie has done nothing during his years freeloading as a democrat and his program consists of giveaways that could never be funded successfully. It is hard to imagine what his cult has to gain by promoting him again. Most of us will vote for any reasonable candidate that is not trump but why is it so impossible to find a good one?
4
Bernie is morally arrogant and uncompromising, just like our current President. In many ways Bernie is the other side of the Trump coin. Sanders scapegoats the rich like Trump scapegoats the undocumented. Also, Bernie is just too old to be President; the average age of an American male is 76.1 years, Bernie is 78 years. Bernie recently had a heart attack- according to the American Heart Association, 1 in 5 people who have a heart attack will be readmitted for another one within five years of their first.
20
@Carolyn Rich people are a bit different from undocumented immigrants. Also, there's truth to "scapegoating" the former, while the latter is nativist distraction.
2
Bernie and Liz are canabalizing each other. Liz should drop out so her supporters can vote for Bernie so he - and the liberal wing of the party - can win.
23
@Bjh
... OR: Bernie should drop out so his supporters can vote for Elizabeth Warren so she - and the liberal wing of the party - can win.
Warren is far more likely to be a good president than Bernie; they may share ideas, but she is the one who can implement them.
11
Warren will make a good advisor. She flip flopped from last election to this. If she actually cares about progressive policies, she is welcome to help implement them - this time.
6
@Fran
I agree she’d be a better president - but Bernie is more likely to beat and remove trump.
1
I’m voting for Bernie.
92
The cult of Bernie is the mirror image to the cult of Trump.
What is it about stubborn, angry old white men that the American electorate finds so utterly charming?
27
@Sparky
Not so: the other side of Trump's coin, that was Hillary Clinton, and let's hope she choses to spend her remaining time with her family.
4
I like his policies and his consistency. I don’t care that he’s old, white and angry - so am I!
7
@Sparky
There's nothing "charming" about Sanders. His appeal is that he is angry enough to tell the truth and try to do something about the fact that there are millions of hungry kids in the richest country in the world, that 30,000 people die of lack of health insurance every year, that the country has spent 6 Trillion dollars and taken hundreds of thousands of lives in pointless wars over the last decade and a half.
Aren't you angry?
9
Bernie was the one candidate in 2016 who didn't give some gutless non-response when asked about Israel's policies regarding the Palestinians. For that alone, I would vote for him (and you'd be hard-pressed to call me an anti-Semite when my preferred candidate is Jewish).
I'm 58, and I am now well-off financially--TOO well-off, I often think, when I consider how many people in the US and other countries struggle to get by. I would be thrilled (as I would have been four years ago) to vote for a "Democratic Socialist" who sees economic inequality as an enormous and shameful problem, and who has demonstrated a commitment to real change.
Give me a forthright, no-punches-pulled candidate who has fought all his life for the things I consider important and meaningful. He is someone I could believe in. Never mind his hair, or his demeanor, or the other trivial things that are constantly brought up about him!
I was so furious about the DNC that I registered as an Independent after the next election. Hillary's schoolyard remark that "no one likes him" just seals the deal for me, although I will of course vote for anyone who is not Trump, including, in a worst-case scenario, a moderate, intelligent Republican who can at least demonstrate some common decency (and can beat Trump).
88
Democrats need to wake up and stop all the Bernie bashing. If Sanders get there nomination they would be wise to put all effort behind him or risk another Trump win.
The reality is that people are sick of lying politicians and the wealthy having all the advantage. Bernie is authentic and not a corporate politician.
96
There is an old saying.......
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is King. What the story tells us is Bernie is the least weak candidate, and he has some money to spend.
Its going to be an interesting Democratic National Convention.
11
Compared to 2016, he is 4 yrs older/79 yrs old and just had a heart attack and 2 stents and still trying to work 2 full-time high stress jobs --senator and candidate, still not exercising or following a healthy diet--he said so. His chances of another heart attack or stroke in 4yrs remains high. He has lied about his conversation with Warren regarding a female president and alienated her supporters. He is lying about Biden's record on social security--according to Paul Krugman and alienating his supporters. Rather than projecting an image of a maverick change agent, Sanders appears to be your typical lying politician-- who will say anything to get elected. I believe Warren which makes Bernie a bold faced liar. This does not add up to a better chance of winning the nomination, no matter what one poll says.
16
@EPMD Biden's long record of wanting to cut entitlements is very easy to find in video and in the Congressional Record. But you don't want to look because you don't like Bernie and apparently don't rely on Social Security.
7
@EPMD
A misunderstanding between friends does not mean that one of them is a "bold" faced liar (nor a "bald-faced" one either). I believe they are still friends and ready each one to support the other, irrespective of which of the two gets nominated.
1
@EPMD Paul Krugman was already debunked, with receipts. Go look it up.
2
Look, I would gladly vote for a canned ham if I though it could beat Trump. While Bernie would perform better than McGovern, Mondale, and Dukakis (remember those guys, who were all basically crushed to varying degrees by their Republican opponents), Trump would likely defeat Sanders in the general by a wide margin. The notion that a socialist will defeat Trump, while enticing, is almost laughable.
When you further add that Sanders honeymooned in Russia, has supported left wing dictators, wants to significantly reduce military spending, has accomplished almost nothing in the Senate, has a wife whose career has been touched by hints of scandal, is Jewish, and does not seem to play well with anyone -- he almost makes Trump look reasonable by comparison -- Bernie is going to go down in flames.
God Save America (please).
P.S. To those who love Bernie, he's a dirty politician, not some savior. Look at what he is doing now by attacking Biden. His win at all costs approach will again bring down the Democratic party and help to re-elect Trump. Shame on him for putting his massive ego and largely impossible agenda ahead of the effort to defeat Trump. It is completely disgraceful that he has gone negative.
20
@RDR2009
I think the country will be a better place if you do just what you say: vote for a canned ham.
2
@RDR2009 But he’s SO “authentic”! .
I was just having a conversation about how the NYT is covering BERNIE again and realized how sad this made me when I burst into tears. The NYT reports on the amounts raised by Bernie compared to every other campaign as an apples to apples comparison. It isn’t. Every dollar raised by Bernie represents poor or vulnerable Americans who have already been brought to their knees, or know people who have, or, like me, are afraid they will become homeless if my follow up tests tomorrow show I have cancer. My daughter’s office mate who works 80 hours a week, asked her how he’s supposed to pay for desperately needed dental work, student debt and rent? He can’t. We millions who fund Bernie know that if Warren was being honest and cared about how much suffering there is, she would have helped enact these policies four years ago and saved that much degradation of the environment and how many millions from suffering. How does one fight the power of the NYT, who help control the national narrative? But, we have nothing left and have to try. Bernie2020
110
@Lilly
Thanks, Lilly. Its been 4 years and while I'm older, wiser, and more jaded, I still can't get over the fact that the NYT and the rest of the MSM decided that what should've been the biggest, most uplifting political story of the last 25 years - a truly grassroots, nationwide, populist progressive movement - isn't worthy of honest coverage. Its tragic. Imagine where we'd be if the Times gave Us even a tenth of the coverage they gave Trump.
63
@Lilly
I am moved by your post, but also saddened by the fact that Bernie won't be able to address any of your concerns. Saying things does not make them happen and saying things is what politicians do. 40 years as a career politician, he has gotten nowhere, convinced no one of anything and accomplished nothing of substance. As any of the worst politicians, he is using divisiveness for his benefit. Trump blames immigrants and minorities for the problems in the midwest. Bernie is using class warfare and is labeling anyone who disagrees with him as being corrupt and tied to the wealthy.
1
@Lilly Why do you blame Warren? Sanders has been a politician for DECADES and has little to show for it. Plenty of opportunities yet zippo. I’ll be voting for a candidate who likes to work for the people, not just hear himself yell, I mean speak.
1
When Sanders ran in 2016, the Democratic establishment's response was a condescending smile while saying, "Don't be ridiculous."
But that crew got egg on their face from HRC's loss. And their back up reason from 2016--"But dear, he's not a Democrat!" with a head pat--is showing up again. This time said angrily.
They don't seem to get that the Democrats who support him don't care. In fact to many, it's a plus.
51
@Talbot And their support is sad to the point of being sickening.
Sandars/Gabbard 2020 would be a dream team that would bring at least 1/3 of the non-Evangelical Republicans and win big time.
15
One thing stands out in this analysis. As soon as a clear front runner emerges, they will be attacked and hobbled. If every leader is thus maimed, it's almost certain the only kind of person who survives this strange means test will be the biggest bully.
That's how you got Donald Trump the last time around and its how you will get him again. Is this American Gladiator or an election?
9
Maybe I should be thankful for Hillary Clinton's "Nobody likes him."
Nobody liked Trump either and that is exactly how he got elected - not caring what other people thought, not compromising, and being consistent in message about being for the people.
I am not saying Bernie is like Trump. The key difference between then is that Trump is a self-serving, narcissistic liar while Bernie actually believes what he says being consistent in decades of public service.
But their public attitudes are similar and that is attractive to many people in fly-over states where Hillary Clinton had minimal support.
Let's hope the Democratic Establishment (and you Liberal Media aka NYT, WaPo, MSNBC et al) let Nature takes its course where Bernie is concerned; a man who can out-Trump Trump when it comes to identifying with real people who actually have to work for a living.
38
I am so sick of Bernie Sanders. If he wins the nomination, I may not vote at all.
The only way I can rationalize a vote for Bernie, is through the certain knowledge that he'll accomplish nothing in office, the Republicans will sweep the midterms, and then Bernie will receive the same scorn as Obama: once a progressive beacon, now derided by progressives as a weak corporate shill.
10
@Patrick Please don’t make the sam mistake Hillary just made. Nobody worked harder for her than Bernie. We just ran a moderate and she’s not our President. Maybe a true liberal can win.
3
@Patrick He's leading in WI so you better get out and vote.
2
This is just a nightmare. Two insane candidates with anti-democratic tendencies who thrive by dividing people and demonizing whomever doesn't agree with them egged on by cult followings who live in alternative realities.
The American Century is over, democracy has died, and there really doesn't seem to be a way out of this. Voting this year is like trying to choose between suicide or firing squad.
20
@CSK Now you can feel what we felt in 2016. At least this time, democracy won't be completely undermined in the primaries and the candidate with genuine, enthusiastic, grassroots support will actually win.
6
@CSK ll You framed it perfectly.
1
@CSK
Kind of reminds me of choosing between HRC and Trump.
I hated both of them.
I voted Libertarian, along with 4.5 million others, just to avoid being sick to my stomach when I looked in the mirror.
This time I am supporting Bloomberg.
He will destroy Trump and be a great leader.
3
Sanders would face an onslaught of opposition from Wall Street, Big Pharma, the huge for-profit healthcare sector, neocons, neoliberals, the DNC establishment, AM hate radio, Sinclair-owned local TV across the nation, hedge fund billionaires, the NRA, Fox, Koch and Mercer owned media assets, evangelicals, Facebook and other tech monopolists, oil and gas polluters, and anyone and everyone engaged in concentrating wealth, exploiting the impoverished and abusing tax havens and loopholes.
It’s likely more incoming fire than any one candidate could deflect. Especially now the forces of greed, discord and opposition have been empowered by Citizens United, egged on sympathetically by the corporate media and weaponized by social media.
We’re not a democracy. We’re really not. A Sanders candidature would prove it. We are an oligarchy, a corporatocracy, a political duopoly.
21
@Xoxarle
Sanders agrees with you, prominently in most every speech.
Except for you prediction that he can't handle the attacks. That's the plan.
The Times has no idea what to do with a workers' campaign, and assumes Bernie is running for president of DC, Wall St, and the Big Corporate Media. In other words of all they know.
4
@Xoxarle Or he’d just win.
2
If the hapless Democrats choose Bernie Sanders as their nominee, look for a landslide by the Republicans in 2016- both for the Presidency and Senate. Why do you think tRump continues to tweet on Bernie's behalf? Do you think they are ideological soulmates or could it be that tRump views Bernie as a lamb ready for slaughter? I suspect the latter. Currently, no one is willing to lay a glove on Bernie. Hillary was terrified of him in 2016 and the rest of the Democratic field behaves the same way today.
The Republicans won't be so kind. Just wait until tRump and the special interest groups spend a half billion dollars on opposition research. They turned John Kerry and Max Cleland, decorated war heroes, into perceived traitors. Just what do you think they're going to do to a 78 year old socialist who never worked until he was 30 and has a treasure trove of skeletons in his closet. Please don't quote the favorable Sanders polls in January either for an election that won't occur until November. They are meaningless. No one has touched him yet. Just wait.
17
Buried under the headlines ...but a refreshing welcome analysis of facts based on real polling data of Bernie’s surging support. Thank you for this article.
Now that the NYTimes is finally publishing some real investigative reporting on this Democratic race, (and we hang on skeptically to our subscriptions as the scandalous warmongering continues) ... I find my analysis of Bloomberg one of cautious curiosity. Obviously, an anti-regime-change and get-the-money-out-of-politics marijuana and climate policy reforming Bernie/Tulsi supporter like myself does not wish to see another selfish billionaire sitting on some corporate board trying to flip the dollar into the yuan for personal profit over the American people to become President.
And yet wittingly or not, Bloomberg’s involvement in this race is a blessing for Bernie’s campaign. He’s investing millions here in Texas promoting Democratic policies. His mere presence took Biden’s numbers down by competing for wealthy Democratic votes and helped reveal Warren’s moderate record from her progressive disguise by invigorating the progressive movement into heavier scrutiny of accepting large donations with profit over people ties simply by adding a billionaire with baggage to the race.
It’s like we’re watching Bloomberg get stopped and frisked all lined up with the rest and only Bernie and Tulsi came out with clean donations! It’s wonderful!
14
@Pass the MORE Act: 202-224-3121
Glad to hear you are appreciative of Mike's ads.
He will be our next president when the dust settles. Now at 4th in latest polls nationally ahead of Pete, Amy and the bottom feeders.
He will beat out Sanders, too.
1
He’s not a Democrat. Why is he participating in the Democratic debates? Why isn’t party affiliation a basic requirement?
14
Because Americans care about policies. Policies are what effect our lives directly. Who actually cares about party purity? Only those who cling to power that the DNC tries to hold on to, like Clinton.
8
Here's what really bugs me about Sanders and his supporters: they talk about the managerial class, the corporate class, the establishment in a way that paints them as bitter people who couldn't make the grade and need to lash out. Take Sanders' proposed transaction tax on Wall Street trading. A more perfect example of populist demagoguery would be hard to find. The tax would wipe out all kinds of small and large business not to mention retirees and others who depend on frequent trading for additional income. The Sanders left wants not only to extinguish but also wants to hold individuals to shame and suffering.
7
@TMS Retirees depend on frequent trading? Frisky!
3
Hum... I've been a registered Democrat for 50 years and nobody has ever asked me for my opinion on the candidates. IMHO Sanders is an egotistical nothing burger who couldn't care less about whether Trump is deposed unless its by Bernie Sanders.
19
I consider myself a liberal democrat and am not opposed to Sander's socialistic ideas, though I seriously doubt they will ever become enacted. My problem with Bernie is that he impresses me as being nearly as narcissistic as Trump, and it seems many people have bought into Sander's self-view as the lone champion of justice, single-handedly fighting for the right no matter the odds! Just as Trump's supporters look at him and see him as they wish him to be (no one could like him as he really is), I think we're doing some heavy-duty projecting with Bernie. Bottom line: He's my last choice among democrats, but I would vote for him over Trump in a heartbeat.
10
@Eric
Honest question:
How do you look at a campaign with the slogan of Not Me. Us, a candidate who says "I" less than any other presidential candidate (its always "we" with Bernie), who flies coach, wears cheap suits, and who has over one million volunteers, who has said he'd support whoever gets the nomination and has said that any of the dem candidates would make a fine president, and call that candidate a narcissist? Seriously, I really wonder where this comes from. Is it because he's so decent and altruistic? Is it that you just can't believe your eyes? That someone could be that consistent, that unselfish, that loved? Is it the strength of his convictions? The audacity of taking on the establishment? Is that what you call narcissism? If so, I don't think that word means what you think it means.
10
Why do we pay any attention to polls they never get it right look who’s President.
7
I keep coming away from reading these articles so terribly depressed and frightened. It seems the only questions we have left to answer are:
Who will lose to Trump?
How badly?
For what reasons?
7
True, Sanders is not technically a Democrat, but to most Americans (the majority of whom are independents), that is a good thing. And even so, he's caucused with the Democrats for a very long time in Senate. He also has a deal with the Democrats that they will not put up a serious Democratic challenger to him in Vermont, so for all practical purposes he works with the Democrats and people should stop yelling "but he's not a Democrat!" Who really cares except for a few ideological Democratic party insiders.
21
I saw Robert F. Kennedy campaign in 1968. Old white ethnics and young minority people alike were excited by RFK's challenge to a rotten system. I see the same response from the same range of people for the same reasons, at Bernie Sander's rallies today. He is the real deal, and the voters know it.
45
It looks like the Clinton supporters haven't completed their grieving process. They lack acceptance of reality. She ran an incompetent campaign and lost to the worst candidate ever.
She ran for the Presidency twice and blew it twice. She has no one to blame but herself and her campaign managers who mistook a campaign for a coronation. One that they didn't achieve.
33
We need Bernie Sanders. He's a candidate I'm actually excited about, not a Democrat, not a Republican, and most importantly, not Biden.We can do so much better than Biden. We don't need to be so afraid of offending voters that we settle for mediocre.
34
@Kristin We do, however, need to be of offending voters to the point that they re-elect Trump. Especially the Obama-to-Trump voters in PA, MI, and WI, who we need if we are to defeat Trump in 2020. Show me some credible polls and analysis that shows Sanders with a 6 to 8 point lead over Trump in those three states and I will enthusiastically support his candidacy.
5
@Karl Lawson
The Obama-to-Trump white working class voters are going to overwhelmingly support Sanders. That is why Mrs. Clinton and NYT smear Sanders. Any candidate who can unite the working class must be prevented from winning the presidency; Obama, Clinton, Bloomberg have been drafted to oppose Sanders and prevent expansion of working class consciousness, which their identity politics divided.
6
@Karl Lawson I will enthusiastically support the Democratic nominee in 2020 no matter who it is.
3
It is gratifying and not in the least surprising Senator Bernie Sanders is rising in the polls.
29
"As Ms. Warren can attest, front-runner status brings a different kind of treatment from the news media and rival campaigns, which can halt or reverse a candidate’s gains."
Right - as if the establishment media (and media darling Hillary Clinton) haven't been smearing the Senator at every turn already.
15
I protest your statement that Sanders has been relatively unscathed. For WP columnists. and to a lesser extent
NYT columnists. have been quite critical. Stealth editorializing in political reporting is routine. and not favorable to Sanders.
Multimillionaire blowhards on the cable news networks have declared him unelectable. The electability of Biden is just presumed although in polling against Trump. Sanders trails Biden in minimal margins. That he is also very electable is seldom mentioned. His M4A proposal has been dismissed by the media as too costly and impractical. In the debates, the questions posed of M4A have been how the proposal will deprive everyone of private insurance, raise "middle class" taxes and be excessively costly. With the other candidates teaming up against Sanders and Warren. Never any questions about the gaping holes in affordability of the other plans. Or Social Security expansion, or affordable housing or income inequality
Yes, there was a period of time when Warren emerged, and the attacks and questions started to be directed against her progressivism - indirectly against Sanders ideas. Sanders was simply dismissed as a candidate, and this before his heart attack. The emergence of Warren was in part because the collective media regarded her as less dangerous. She did not really bend, and she faced a windfall of criticism.
It is not a question of Sanders being unscathed. More of a question is how vicious the scathing will be
13
I question this analysis. Of the most recent seven polls nationally, only one (CNN) shows Sanders leading. The other six, including two that are more recent, show Sanders behind by between 5% and 11%. In South Carolina, Biden has always led Sanders and has a commanding lead of 36%, beating Sanders by a full 22%.
In IA, the two recent polls (Monmouth and FRA/DBR, a Democratic polling firm) show Sanders falling from second place (Biden +6) to third (Biden +10).
In the case of SC, in particular, you give short shrift to African American voters when you suggest that Sanders can "surge" without their support.
4
Bernie outowerformed his polling in 2016 by quite a margin, and was up against the entire Democratic machine and most of the media (remember the Bernie blackout?) The Democratic establishment just won't get away with the dirty tricks this time, and no one has a base and a ground operation has fired up as he has. Prepare for fireworks, people! he's definitely in contention to win the nomination, and given the favorable head-to-head polls of him against Donald Trump, he has a fighting chance that him and his groundswellingly diverse army are going to transform America - and the world will rejoice! Go Bernie! Go Bernie!
Aaron from England
24
@Aaron
Remember the Bernie Blackout? It ended less than a week ago.
2
Scary. It looks like Trump has already won his second term, with some effective help from Sanders -- yeah, Sanders and his people appear to accomplish it again, following 2016.
The ignorance and lack in real world experience of some young people are just shocking.
Well, well, add another 4 years of miseries.
7
It will be a second major black eye to the neoliberal order if Sanders get the nomination, four years after Trump upended and humiliated the neocons in the GOP.
The established forces in both parties have been so out-of-touch and smug for so long that they're both facing revolutions within their ranks. Turns out that when you ignore kitchen table issues like medical costs and student loan debt, you leave yourself wide open for someone to come along and promise radical solutions to these and for other problems that the government appears unable or unwilling to solve.
14
Bernie's anti immigrant history will resonate with many Trump voters. Even though he is covering up nowadays to pander to the so called progressive democratic base.
1
trump can’t wait to run against Bernie. A billion dollars in corporate-funded ads decrying Bernie as a socialist and he goes down in a 40 state sweep.
This is not going to be pretty!
4
Care to tell us the Odds that the Super Delegates will cast One Single vote for Sanders when it goes to a Brokered Convention?
4
@GregP Good point and a good illustration of how out of touch Democratic leaders are with working class Americans, which is one reason Trump is President.
9
Sorry to get into the weeds, but...
Re Iowa caucuses, if a candidate doesn't reach 15% at the initial tally, they are out (basically) and they need to move to their second choice. My guess is that Klobuchar (if spelling counted, she would never win) with about 8% in the polls would lose out, and most of her support would move- my guess- to Warren, though some to Buttigieg (another spelling disaster) if he gets 15%. As for the much lower, 3-4% votes of Steyer and Yang, who knows.
1
The article forgot to mention the assistance of the Trump campaign - who would be absolutely delighted to face Mr Sanders in the election.
2
This idea that Sanders has avoided scrutiny is so hilarious. He was outright maligned in 2016 from all sides and hasn't had an easy ride this time either. He is and has been a genuinely good person with a solid record who wants to fight for people power and save the planet.
That he is currently being painted as sexist by the press, the DNC, and his opponents is testament to how little they actually have on him. While it may work, (see Clinton and Corbyn's trumped up antisemitism) it's certainly indicative of how desperate his detractors have become.
21
I completely oppose Mr. Sanders" policy positions and would never vote for him. On the other hand, he is a GENTLEMAN and is never mean spirited in the way he competes with all the other candidates, even Donald Trump. In that way, he is like Obama minus the terrible money lust that Mr. Obama has shown since leaving office. On a personal basis, I wish Bernie well.
5
@Alex
Sure you would NEVER vote for him? I so agree with you otherwise. Thanks for your comment.
3
Americans don't seem to have learned their lesson from the 2016 campaign, because they still put too much stock in polls even though they've proven time and time again to be untrustworthy and inefficient -- and not only because there are so many, but because their results often cancel each other out.
I say this not because Sanders is supposedly in the lead, like most folks in Iowa, I'm still a undecided voter -- I say this because Donald Trump is president and not too many polls saw that one coming.
1
@N. Smith
Respectfully, that you're still undecided really doesn't lend much credibility to whatever you have to say on this topic.
1
"And he received less scrutiny from the news media than he might have otherwise."
Thanks - I needed a good belly laugh.
The guy is the longest serving independent in the history of congress, and is on his second run for the presidency. The notion that there's more to scrutinize than has already been done ad nauseum is frankly baseless.
16
You clearly don't like Sen. Sanders' surging popularity. And you just don't get that Sen. Warren's diminished backing is due to her getting wishy-washy on Medicare for All, not her backing of it.
Bernie did not lose Iowa in 2016. He lost because three coin tosses all went in Sec. Clinton's favor, a one in six chance.
I am hoping we (Sanders) will win Iowa and New Hampshire and gain momentum from there.
Bernie has the best chance of defeating Trump. He is within the margin of error of Biden in polls against Trump, and the polls do not take into account Biden's weakness as a candidate--Trump would eat him for breakfast, whereas Bernie can stand up to Trump.
This is not a temporary surge. Bernie has momentum. It is unfortunate that Biden and Buttigieg can continue to campaign while Sanders, Warren and others are stuck in Trump's trial. Did Pelosi lan that? If Biden had any sense of fairness, he would suspend his campaign during the impeachment trial. Fortunately, Bernie's campaign is extremely well organized, and he has surrogates in Iowa and elsewhere.
21
Good. Bernie is our best chance in ages to finally defeat the neoliberalism at the heart of the Democratic establishment, which has not just squashed progressive policy at every turn, but has in fact given aid and comfort to Donald Trump by turning its back on working people.
And judging by Hillary Clinton's obnoxious attack on Bernie this week, the attempt by Democratic elites to scuttle his nomination is already well underway. This time, we're ready for it. And part of a counterattack is pointing out that Joe Biden, the candidate who helped give us Clarence Thomas, the Iraq War, and musings on whether to cut Social Security, is a creature of this same elite.
Bernie gives us working folks both hope and a high likelihood of defeating Donald Trump -- perhaps even handily so. The Biden/Clinton wing of the party offers nothing but reassurance to the donor class, which is a sure recipe for Trump's second term.
26
Bernie's popularity does not surprise me at all. I am impressed by his integrity and his genuine compassion. He addresses concerns that affect all of us as Americans, and he has acted courageously to lead the Democratic Party towards a progressive platform. Some people think he is too radical to find common ground with moderate Republicans. In normal times I might agree, but in these disturbing times it is pretty clear that there are no longer any moderate republicans to speak of. Many of us feel a sense of rising despair and panic knowing that our democratic senators are this very moment being silenced and prevented from participating in a legitimate impeachment trial, as if this were already a totalitarian dictatorship under McConnell's iron fist. Bernie has clearly laid out a path forward for America, and he has made a promise that he is on our side, the side of freedom and justice. He marched with Martin Luther King. He has stood up for veteran's rights by co-sponsoring a bill that, sadly, Republicans voted down. He cares about the planet. He cares about civil rights. He has done an outstanding job of sharing his message that a vibrant democracy is possible. People like Bernie!
29
The reason Bernie is still standing is the reason he's there in the first place -- his integrity and consistency.
Elizabeth Warren lost her lead when she started to backtrack. Biden has made excuse after excuse. But Bernie plows ahead, making the same points he was making four years ago, the same points he was making 50 years ago.
To a public fed up with dishonest politicians, Sanders is something new, fresh, and longed for. That won't keep the Republicans from smearing him -- but if anyone can withstand those smears, it's him.
31
Two points:
1. Russia is still there, messing around with their trolls and bots. When I hear about “Bernie Bros.”, all I can think is that. Personally, I think Hillary should remember that, as well. Every Bernie supporter I have met have been decent folks.
2. There are powerful monied interests that would want to avoid Senator Sanders becoming president. This includes the owners of large media corporations. Even though coverage is not as biased as it was in 2016, there are a lot of subtle ways it shows itself.
19
Moderates completely misdiagnose the country's taste for an anti-establishment candidate. They did it with Trump and they're doing it with Sanders.
The last two presidents, Obama and Trump, were change candidates. Hillary Clinton was the moderate establishment personified. The results speak for themselves, yet the centrists want to keep pushing us down that same road, even with the wheels coming off the car. It reminds me of that old definition of insanity.
There is a faction of the population that is just so afraid of change that they'll put themselves in peril to avoid it.
11
As in 2016, Sanders is willing to go as low as he has to. His base follows suit but other Democrats find it unacceptable. Consequently, either he wins or he does irreparable damage to the winner, taking everybody down with him. This week alone, for instance, Sanders distributed a misleading video clip that made it seem as if Biden was saying the opposite of what he actually said (as described in the Krugman column yesterday), and he lied about Warren, calling her an elitist. This willingness to do whatever is necessary is one advantage he has as far as the election goes. Another advantage: Twitter Americans vote for 140-character candidates like Trump or Sanders. A good Twitter candidate does not a president make. Readers should take a look at Sanders' interview with the endorsement committee for this paper. That interview, which was vague, shifty, and vacuous, makes it clear that his one-line talking points are all there is to him.
6
@Robert
By the way, this comment is similar to one I submitted earlier. Sanders supporters took issue with my claims but I was not able to submit my own reply to their comments. Here I have added the source for my information about the misleading video clip that Sanders just distributed about Biden. He was implying that Biden planned to cut Social Security. Of course, nothing could be more untrue. In fact, none of the Democratic candidates plan to cut Social Security.
5
The Sanders supporters I know have never stopped beating the drum for him. Four years of evangelizing, it matters. Warren's crude attempt to attack him will continue to hurt her, and push votes to Sanders. Don't assume that lost Biden votes go to another moderate, either. Many will go to Bernie. There are two candidates who attract blue collar voters, Biden and Sanders.
28
@Duncan
Sanders is not a Democrat! If you want to support him fine but he is a 3rd party candidate. This is at least the second time the Democratic Party has let him fly under their banner and they are wrong to do so. I'm a Vermonter and I can tell you that Bernie only cares about Bernie!
5
It seems ironic; I despise Trump, but Sanders is the one Democratic candidate that I would rather stay home than vote for.
Other than complain about the status quo and declare that student loans and healthcare will be free, he has no specifics, no plan, nor has he had any results from over twenty years in the Senate of ever accomplishing anything, particularly in coordination with other legislators. It's his way or the highway, but his way has accomplished nothing.
The GOP would ravage his campaign in about five minutes, based upon his past positions regarding national defense and socialism. They have said little or nothing bad about him, simply in the hopes that he will become the Democratic candidate. Trump would roll up the election like Nixon did against Humphrey (or Boris Johnson did recently against Jeremy Corbin). Game over.
21
@MassBear
A large portion of Americans disagree with you.
You have the option of one of the most liked senators who has an ethical stability to go up against one of the most disliked unethical.
They can smear him but his record with the populists on Trumps side will be difficult. Who is the most anti-war candidate?
We already know their smears. Socialist, communist. No context nor meaning associated. Just meaningless words.
Trump said he would get us out of conflicts. Who has tried to keep us out?
Trump promised bigger and better medical while they dismantle it. Who has promoted solutions for decades and means it.
They can smear but his policy and his record on that policy is strong. And policy matters.
20
@MassBear All the more reason for you to hold your nose and vote for him. I'm not a big fan either but not voting at all if Sanders is nominated will put trump back in the white house, a far worse fate than Sanders as president.
8
@MassBear I would politely ask you to rethink your conventional wisdom. All of your reasons have another side.. that you have failed to consider. Bernie was dubbed the amendment King in the house, he passed more amendments into law during republican control than any other member of congress. Recently as his following and public persona has grown, he yielded that new public voice to coerce wall mart to embrace a 15/hour minimum wage, the same with amazon. He is currently involved with keeping minor league baseball around the country. He has convinced republicans to fund 10s of millions of dollars towards community health centers. There are on the record interviews with retired Republicans who mention moments where Bernie would convince them of a needed action, then selflessly take his name off the bill in case that made it easier for other Rs to support it.
There are two candidates that polls show gain some blue collar, white voters of Trumps base, Biden and Sanders. But Biden is horribly unliked by young people and Bernie is beloved. Bernie is the most popular 2020 democrat in terms of likely voter favorability, therefore he will have less trouble than any other to bring the party together.. Now so much of this goes against main stream media, cable-news narratives, but these are the facts. He either ties or is slightly behind Biden in head to heads against Trump, while being positioned even better to bring out infrequent independent voters.
3
For the overwhelmingly vast majority of voters, the identity of the candidates does not matter in their general election vote. Virtually every actual voter will reliably vote for the Dem or the Rep, regardless of who their favored party nominates.
Where a candidate can make a difference is motivating people to actually BE a voter. HRC/Trump was an election where black eligible voter turnout dropped from 66.7% (in 2012) to 59.7%, the lowest such rate since 2000. This drop in turnout by a reliably Democratic voting demographic entirely explains why HRC lost in 2016. Youth turnout was up in 2016, but all other categories were essentially unchanged.
Can Bernie raise black eligible turnout to 63%? If so he would easily beat Trump. Or would Bernie lower black eligible turnout even further? If so he would certainly lose to Trump.
Biden, I fear, is HRC redux. He's the guy black Dems support because black Dems think white people will turn out for him. But white people turn out for everyone, no matter the nominees. The question really is: who will black people turn out for?
16
Bernie is ahead in the polls because people like him and feel that he is trustworthy. I believe that even against overwhelming odds and entrenched power, if he is elected he will continue to fight for higher wages, national healthcare and our environment. He has been fighting for the same things for 40 years! The other candidates for the nomination are either an unknown, or helped get us into the mess we have now. America wanted big change when Trump won the election...they still want big change, just not the big crook we have now.
45
@Anne Albaugh
Speaking as a Vermonter that has lived with Bernie for the whole time he has ben in office, he has been fighting for all those things you mention and has accomplished nothing.
Bernie is for Bernie. That's why he doesn't speak to the local press, they want to ask him questions about his proposals that he cannot/will not answer. Trump is a disaster and Bernie is just another Trump in Progressive clothing.
6
@Wayne Thank you. I wish the press would talk to more ppl from Vermont to get a real sense of how effective Sanders has been. Take away the college student absentee voters and would he even still be in office? He doesn’t even want to be on Capital Hill. Sanders is for Sanders.
3
@Jolton Bernie routinely wins his VT elections by margins in the 70+% range, and represents the interests of a broad range of Vermonters—left, center and right—on a broad range of issues. He also seems to be at the supermarket most of the time he's here, given the avalanche of photos locals post with their arm around him. I know him and his family well, and I can assure you that he's a man of integrity, compassion and deeply held moral beliefs. I voted for him in the first election for which I was eligible, his run for Mayor of Burlington. He won by 10 votes, and changed the city's political and economic landscape with a principled determination to make it livable for all residents, not just the developers who wanted to build condos on the waterfront. His commitment to social, economic and environmental issues hasn't wavered in that time—and he remains beloved and admired across party lines here. We're behind him, and we're proud of him.
18
Of course he's rising--more and more voters realize that Bernie gives the people what they want. He has fought, and will fight for rising wages and income equality; fair taxation; environmental protection; gun reform; healthcare; justice reforms; on and on.
He's not the same old Dem of the last 40 years, who got us into this mess.
In 2016, 60-70% of voters said they wanted "radical change." Not just change, but "radical" change.
Look who won. Not the establishment candidate (who said she didn't want Sanders' 42% of the Democratic voters). But the one who claimed to be for change.
Wise up, DNC. This time, be on the winning side. Give the people what they want.
86
@F. T.
For the DNC and Establishment Democrats
"...Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'"
12
@F. T. “Give the people what they want.” And get he has zero path in the Senate to accomplish any of his grand goals, he never compromises, and as shown by his decades in Congress, has accomplished little more than renamed a few post offices.
Those who do not understand politics like Bernie because he *tells* them what they want to hear. He will never give the people what they want. He is a fraud.
5
The issue for the establishment is that Bernie's base doesn't really have eyes for anyone else, to quote a NYT headline on the topic. Most of his supporters will stick with him even through scrutiny, especially if that scrutiny comes from the establishment, which his whole campaign positions itself against. His grassroots support seems to be unshakeable and growing.
35
@Daniel Blair
They voted 9 out of 10 for Hillary. She got nearly 88%of their votes while disparaging his supporters. They seem unbelievably generous in my opinion considering she felt she was owed their votes without earning them.
19
We are unshakable and we are growing. I hope you make the effort to understand why. I can start you off on this journey of discovery by mentioning, it’s not because we are deplorable.
14
@Lilly I'm already with you. I just wanted my comment to take an objective tone.
2
"At this point, his main weakness is arguably among white voters."
Really? I don't find that to be the case, but what does that say about white voters? I think the issues is more ideological - too many white Democratic voters are locked into a centrist political view having been spoon fed by establishment Democratic candidates in the past. Those voters need to start thinking outside the box - and start thinking about the welfare of others and not just themselves. The time for real political change is now, we won't have any second chances after 2020.
31
The chronology of evolving feedback by voters over the last 20 or so years speaks loudly about the ineffectiveness of mainstream political positioning. Greater access to non-traditional media resources, as well as cumulative personal experience, has made disbelievers of many. Reassurance is not as effective as it once was. By this measurement, Hillary Clinton’s recent disparagement of Mr. Sanders may be seen as an endorsement of sorts.
31
Scrutiny is the word. Sanders has had little of it. He's wrapped himself in programs that some say are radical and it is like he is concealed inside the wrapping, bellowing in his raucous voice, so far impervious to scrutiny both from the media and from other candidates.
Forces within the Democratic Party would strongly oppose his rise to the nomination; after all, he's not a Democrat and there's no fondness for him among Washington Democrats. But with scrutiny in coming weeks, he may not get that far.
16
@blgreenie
How is Medicare for all radical?
Every industrialized country in the world, save us has government-funded healthcare. Need I mention we pay twice what others pay per capita for ineffective coverage?
People under 40 are no longer under the sway of insurance and pharmaceutical company propaganda and demand real change. The profit-making of a private market has lead to higher costs, not lower.
I am still a believer in capitalism, but one where we acknowledge the situations where it has obviously failed.
28
@blgreenie Most of us working class voters who vote democrat don't actually care about Forces Within the Democratic Party. We really, really don't. We care about issues and we care about courage, and none of those 'forces' have displayed any grasp of either of those. Something that establishment apologists should probably learn and bear in mind from here on out, yeah?
12
Radical ... like socialized healthcare similar to every single other first world nation? That kind of radical?
Radical like unwinding tax cuts for billionaires and corporations, that have left us with a 1 trillion budget deficit? That kind of radical?
Radical like protecting a woman’s right to control their own body? Supporting unions so that workers can organize to demand living wages? Addressing crippling student loan debt and the threat of climate change?
16
For me -- born in '80, so late GenX or early Millennial, I'm never sure -- Bernie is the anti-Trump. He doesn't say one thing and do another. He's been utterly consistent for his career, and when you think of the sheer chaos we're facing in this world, from climate change to corporate misdeeds (check out Rolling Stone's expose on radioactive brine from gas and oil drilling!), it's downright heady to realize that if we elect Bernie, he won't suddenly change in office. He will be ideological and consistent and persistent.
Beyond that, as a working-class Ohioan, and a woman, I've gotten to see the devastation of neoliberal trade policies and the toll of no universal, affordable healthcare. I want a candidate who has marched on picket lines and backed workers' rights. I want one who believes healthcare is a human right.
I'm not backing Bernie because I believe he'll get everything done all by himself. I'm backing him because he outright admits he can't, and that he needs all of us. That he needs everyone to get involved. And let me tell you, what a powerful message that is, in this time of disunity.
184
@Abigail
Well said! I backed both him and Warren but have shifted to Bernie. I believe he has the best chance for progressive policy at this point.
Donate and give him funds to run his campaign while trapped in Washington. Nice timing corporate Dems!
29
@Abigail I'm another working-class Ohioan (originally) and am with you on this all the way.
24
@Abigail The only reason to back ANY of the current Democratic candidates is if he/she can defeat Trump in the three states that matter: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Nothing else matters.
Show me some credible polling and analysis demonstrating that Sanders can defeat Trump in those states by 6 to 8 points, and he will be my candidate. The same goes for Biden, Warren, Klobuchar, etc.
If we don't beat Trump in November, don't be surprised if there are no more elections in this country. Kavanaugh and Barr will be in charge, fortified by whoever replaces Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
6
"Large elements of the Democratic establishment strongly oppose Mr. Sanders, who is not a Democrat..."
Have these same "Large elements of the Democratic establishment" not learned anything from 2016 when the "Democratic establishment" scuttled Sanders' 2016 campaign to ensure HRC's nomination and then blew the 2016 presidential election through arrogance, insouciance and over-confidence?
223
@HapinOregon
Bernie Sanders lost the 2016 because of Bernie Sanders. For whatever reason, he didn't campaign in the South and lost every southern primary. I think he didn't truly believe he could win the nomination, but when he realized he could, it was too late. And then he hung around just to make a point. Bernie Sanders is the death of the Democratic Party.
21
@Mike
The "death" of the Democratic Party began with Clinton's centrist "Third Way" and continued through the two terms of Obama. Both Clinton and Obama were closer to Rockefeller Republican philosophy than they were to the Democrat philosophy that gave us the New Deal and the Great Society.
Sanders is trying to resuscitate the Democratic Party and return it to the ideals of FDR and LBJ.
38
@HapinOregon Thank you. I'd add that people have short memories when it comes to the really defining moments of a politician's career. Bernie came out against the war in Iraq while the fine folks at the DNC were scrambling like lemmings off the cliff into a trillion war against the wrong country. Big decisions count and Bernie makes the right ones, no matter what direction the wind is blowing from.
19
I really do not understand Sanders' continued rise at all. In the past two weeks, he has begun to attack Warren and then Biden in ways that (to me) are - to all appearances - unfair & with falsehoods. Politifact recently rated some of his attacks as False. He denied Warren's statement about having said that a woman couldn't win, then essentially accused her of lying about it during the debate. He has run ads against Biden that are false. Many of his followers are mean-spirited, having lashed out against both Biden & Warren. I think that Sanders is basically an uncompromising, unrealistic ambitious politician with a mean streak who has somehow pulled the wool over millions of people's eyes. I don't understand how he can continue to rise.
36
@Jean C
I'm tired of polite managerial class politicians telling me that better things aren't possible and that they can only bail out the rich while ignoring major problems plaguing the middle class like medical and student loan debt. Major change is needed and Sanders is the only politician who is talking seriously about bringing that change about. Bourgeois pearl clutching about decorum doesn't factor into it.
114
@T. Warren
Does Senator Sanders' home state, Vermont have universal healthcare, free college education, or 15 dollar minimum wage?
12
Vermont has a state children’s health care program. There is also the Champlain Housing Trust, set up by Bernie, to help low income workers buy a house. Burlington has a beautiful waterfront open to all. Bernie saved the space from developers. Bernie is much loved in Vermont for many reasons.
American families need single payer health care and free community college or vocational education. Americans struggle to afford expensive for profit health care and high interest student debt.
54
We already have a disagreeable curmudgeon driving the country apart, why should anyone believe that a second one would somehow make things better?
Especially one who is explicitly promising to fundamentally re-shape the American presidency, even further than it already has been.
If Bernie were to win the primary, we'd be committed to either left-wing fascism, or Donald Trump's re-election.
Ego cults are super cool. Is it too late for that whole Heaven's Gate thing?
20
@ubique unlike this president if he wins it will be be with a truly democratic mandate, and those who care about climate change for the plight of working people will not be complaning but rather, celebrating. Those who really care about the environment, democracy (think PACs) or, I would say, beating Trump, would find the idea of a Biden nomination unacceptable.
After all, how would a Biden coronation not be a repeat of 2016?
37
@Aaron A Biden nomination would definitely not be a repeat of 2016 for one reason alone - he's not Hillary Clinton. Centrism had nothing to do with her loss - people hated and disliked her (mostly irrationally) more than any other living being in the world, it seemed.
@ubique
Corporate democrats can't seem to get their head around that what drives Bernie's support is policy, not personality.
People under 40 years of age see that capitalism has failed in several major ways, most notably healthcare.
Medicare for all is my signature issue and I'm not even sick. I'm just sick of seeing how much better the rest of the Western world has it when it comes to ways to pay for care and get the populace covered.
People see that our military leadership has failed to be honest about the fruitlessness, spectacular cost and utter failure of efforts in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Complete military withdrawal from the Middle East is my second most important issue. Its just not worth the trillions of dollars spent with zero light at the end of the tunnel. We could have had a China-quality infrastructure spending bill and paid for medicare for all with just the money wasted overseas.
11
New Monmouth poll still shows Biden +6.5.
9
"But Mr. Sanders faces fewer obstacles than he did in 2016".
I don't agree with that. He faces a major obstacle from women, Hillary Clinton does not like him but that is not news, she is proclaiming that 'nobody likes him".
Elizabeth Warren claims that Sanders told her ' a woman cannot win".
NY times also reported last year that Sander's 2016 campaign fostered a hostile work environment for women, with several coming forward to allege that they were paid less than their male counterparts and subjected to sexual harassment and poor treatment.
In Iowa, 23 percent of women said they would vote for Sanders if the caucus were held today, in New Hampshire, just 26 percent women were saying they’d support Sanders in the primary but that was several weeks ago.
8
@Padman
Clinton's comments were almost an endorsement for Sanders to some of us.
Sanders' campaign apparently did have some bad male apples in 2016, but can you point to a single news report regarding the kinds of issues you mention in this cycle?
5
I believe Hillary Clinton’s remarks of “Nobody likes him,” may have been referring to his years in the Senate, where (historically) it helps to have friends and be willing to make deals. Bernie doesn’t strike me as a deal maker, which is what people love about him as a candidate, but may work against him in helping to shepherd legislation. Heck, Obama was criticized for not schmoozing enough with the opposition; is Bernie going to be better?
1
@Padman this actually means Bernie is leading with women because Biden and others score less. Scientists is actually doing not quite so well with men as he is women, and he scores first or second in all demographics.
2
It's the demographics, stupid.
In 2020, 1-in-10 eligible voters will be Gen Z. Gens X, Y & Z now represent over 60% of the electorate. They outvoted Boomers & Silents in both 2016 and 2018. This demographic trend will increase in 2020. There are also more progressive Boomers out there than you might think.
Here's a list of supposed negatives about Bernie that don't mean much to the younger generations:
- He's old.
- He yells.
- He's Jewish.
- He's a (democratic) socialist.
- He had a heart attack.
- He's not a registered democrat.
His detractors might as well be saying, "He wears glasses" ... it's equally irrelevant. His supporters like his policies, and they trust him to fight for them. It's not that complicated. #NotMeUs
249
@Zep they don't mean much until someone points it out to them in an election campaign. If you don't think that young voters might be a bit concerned electing an old man with health problems then you clearly underestimate their intelligence.
6
@Zep There are a lot of boomer females around here (yours truly among them) who supported Bernie in 2016 and still do.
23
@Zep Exceptionally well said, thank you.
11
Bernie is a once-in-a-generation politician. Everyday he fills me with excitement and hope. He promises a lot because he believes in a lot.
To have a clear ideology is an asset, not a liability. A clear ideology means that voters can count on consistency and determination.
I see Bernie, and more importantly, Bernie's ideas as the path to reducing inequality, bad-faith governance, and the stress and pain of the working class.
239
@sofi But that once-in-a-generation politician is, while admirably earnest, also 79 years old, just had a heart attack, and doesn't have a good track record of forging alliances with people whose votes he will need.
4
@sofi Remember as my marxist professor used to opine- The Center never holds.
3
@RVC He has never had a national mandate before. He plans on bringing a movement with him, no other candidate can claim that. If you mean to suggest that others will get more stuff done.. I will remind you of our complete inaction of climate change, how the only healthcare proposal offered by the left leaning party is a corporate customer drive, how the trade deals that they 'got" done, have hurt a lot of people. I actually am more scared of a corrupt Washington led by "consensus builders" than I am by a obstructionist Washington led by a president with a true moral mandate and a history of consistency and principle to be an example.
If any part of you, in your bones, in your more irrational emotional side believes the phrase "they are all corrupt", this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to tell them you have HAD IT! While also showing them what you prefer, a consistent morals-driven, honest, trustworthy politician who centers the people in everything they say and do!
10
For me, the most concerning thing about Bernie is his lack of support in the Senate. He's selling a populist pie that he's unlikely to bake. He has no base there from which to enact his agenda, and no clear plan overall for governing.. IN his 30 years, he has no history of leading and drafting any major legislation.
Warren may be disliked by some, but she is certainly respected by her colleagues, as is Klobuchar.
And Yang may yet be heard from as a serious alternative if this recent food fight among the top democrats continues .
36
@RFM I don’t know what you are talking about when it comes to legislation. You might be happy to learn that Bernie has a history of reaching across the aisle and get things done. The most recent was just a few weeks ago when he wrote, with a republican, a piece of legislation that would require Congress’ approval before trump can continue his antics with Iran. Plus Bernie Sanders is known as the “Amendment King”, because he has passed so much legislation. Instead of starting in the middle ground, Bernie starts from farther left and more room not negotiate that way. #Bernie2020
74
@RFM Neither did Trump, but if you rule with an iron fist, anything is possible. Bernie will likely return to the grassroots tactics and attempt to have ppl march on Washington and elsewhere. When you're president, the media can't refuse to cover you.
He'll jack up my taxes but it'd be a welcome change. I've never seen an outsider candidate win (not counting Trump... who I despise).
20
@RFM I certainly agree with your first sentence, but the rest I disagree with because I think he's actually thought about all of this. In his answer to this very legitimate concern he always makes reference to the need for or a movement powered by millions up and down the country, and I think what he's saying is it depends on a huge vote turnout, which as the 2016 election indicated, and as his high popularity amongst independent suggests, is not based merely on wishful thinking. I don't think he wants to spell out his full thinking, however, so there is room for some anxiety about this, but we'll have to wait and see what happens I think because let's face it, Warren is not going to win in against Trump according to polls and it doesn't look like she's going to win the nomination either. Oh be happy but her to win but it looks like to be a choice between Bernie and Biden against Trump, and for me Biden would be a disaster as bad if not worse than Hillary.
18
"Mr. Sanders’s position among nonwhite voters is also better today than it was in 2016. Polls suggest he is leading among Hispanic voters, who will play a meaningful role in Texas and California on Super Tuesday."
What's important is the strength of Sander's support in Texas. Texas with 38 Electoral College votes in November. California is overwhelmingly blue, but flipping Texas in November would be a very, very big deal.
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@The Poet McTeagle : Bernie is not going to win Texas if he's the nominee. Does the word 'socialist' mean anything to you? Even though it doesn't scare me, it does scare a lot of US citizens. Trump gives away billions to the farmers that he hurt with the trade war but the Iowa farmers don't call that socialism. They call that help. But Bernie? To them, Bernie is a 'socialist' and would never vote for him. It's poor thinking, but there it is.
4
@The Poet McTeagle he's very popular with Latinos so there's a chance I think
7
Seems the Dem establishment is sending out an all-points-alarm that the people's choice-- Bernie Sanders-- might actually win if things are allowed to proceed unimpeded. So Krugman, Clinton, the Times, now Cohn are out there playing Paul Revere.
Only Bernie Sanders can defeat Trump because only he can combine progressives with a goodly portion of formerly-Dem workers who deserted to Trump after decades of neo-liberal sabotage by that party.
176
@David Actually, it's a stretch to conclude that Bernie can bring in "a goodly portion of formerly-Dem workers who deserted to Trump". Most of the Obama-Trump voters say they would never vote for Bernie
11
@Jean C
How do explain Bernie performing first or second best against Trump in every head to head poll this year?
The most recent poll had him beating Trump by a significantly larger margin than Biden.
11
I’m a former Dem and I’m voting for Bernie. I’m not voting for anyone else.
9
He's the most popular candidate with the most popular policies and the corporate Democrats would rather lose to Trump than have their taxes raised. End. Of. Story.
146
@William O’Reilly ...or...the corporate Democrats don't want to lose to Trump and they are trying to point out to unquestioning Sanders supporters that he will lose.
1
@William O’Reilly Not true.
3
So, from the first few paragraphs, it is clear that the preponderance of polls have Sanders trailing Biden by six points. Why then report on one outlier poll that shows a different picture? Without further reason to believe that one poll, this is the quintessence of abuse of statistics.
9
@Swift because Bernie outperformed all the polls by considerable margin, over 15 points in some States! I think he's going to wipe the floor with Biden!
5
As a Sanders supporter I must say that this is news indeed.
Naturally the backlash against him has already begun. Hillary’s shot was I predict just the beginning. I think that the problem the Bernie haters are going to face is that he is very much a known quantity—and a much better candidate than he was in 2016.
The big question is can he beat Trump? Conventional wisdom says no but then conventional wisdom said that Hillary Clinton was unstoppable in 2016.
How about we stop the handwringing and the woe is me attitude. Let’s let all the candidates have at it and let the woman or man who best suits the spirit of the day win.
If that turns out to be Sanders, great. If it’s someone who beats him in a battle of ideas then I for one can live with that.
64
Any candidate can beat trump if voters just decide to vote him out, regardless of the primary winner. Sitting out if Bernie didn’t win would be a gross betrayal of the most vulnerable. And we still have a Senate election which means just as much.
Fight a fair primary and support the winner. Show up for your representative and senator and give the new president the power to pass bills.
Just commit to do something and do it. Enough divisive self-defeatism. Take a page from the GOP playbook and stick together, for once!
29
The Dems can’t win without progressives. That’s just a fact.
3
@MIPHIMO
We’re going to rock their world.
And then we target Fox News. Time to go for the throat.
3
@Zejee And the proressives can't win without the Democrats. That's a fact. But if we do what MIPHIMO is suggesting and all vote for the person who wins the Democratic primary then we get rid of one of the worst, if not the worst, president in our history.
1
"And he received less scrutiny from the news media than he might have otherwise."
You are kidding right?
Bernie has been the recipient of almost daily media hit pieces, smears, lies, misrepresentations and distortions going all the way back to his 2016 campaign.
Perhaps the recent polling suggests that Americans are no longer buying the propaganda that the mainstream media spews everyday.
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@John I'm a reporter with the mainstream media, going on 40 years. You hit the nail on the head, especially with female journalists who will blindly support any female candidate. In a profession based on reliability, integrity and hard work, these journalists disregarded all of Hillary's lies and shortcomings and running interference for Bill's philandering.
16
He has had media hits since he was elected mayor of Burlington in 1980.
5
The polls were a disaster in 2016. Fool me once...
12
Except for the youth vote, I would be amazed if centrist and moderate democrats, or voters in general vote for Sanders. Of course if he wins the nomination, they won't have much of a choice unless they want to stay home, which would be a particularly disastrous choice in this election.
9
Who are these centrist voters? Americans across the country, in small towns and big cities, are struggling to pay for expensive for profit health care and high interest student debt.
We need Medicare for All and free community college or vocational education so that no one goes bankrupt paying for medical bills and every young person has a start in life.
11
@Rebecca Hogan
How do explain Bernie performing first or second best against Trump in every head to head poll this year?
In the polls from this month he's outperforming Biden head to head vs Trump.
12
@Rebecca Hogan it would. So why risk him as the nominee?
I’m voting for Bernie in the primary and whomever the nominee eventually is in the general.
Bernie represents actual everyday people. Get behind him and see the masses thrive and not the rich and powerful. Go, Bernie, go!
181
One advantage: Sanders is willing to go as low as he has to. Consequently, either he wins or he does irreparable damage to the winner, taking everybody down with him. This week alone, for instance, Sanders lied about Biden, telling us that Biden wanted to cut Social Security, and lied about Warren, calling her elitist. Another advantage: Twitter Americans vote for 140-character candidates like Trump or Sanders.
11
@Robert Hi Robert! There are literally video clips of Biden bragging in 1995 about his attempts to cut Social Security. Please do your research! Thank you!
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@Noah
Thank you for your reply. The Krugman column yesterday describes what I have said above. Please read it. I assume you are not implying that Biden plans to cut Social Security, cause that would not be true.
@Robert Sanders "lied about Warren, calling her elitist" - if he did, that's an opinion, not a lie. (Not doubting he did; I just wasn't aware of it).
2
One considerable disadvantage Bernie lacked in 2016 that he now has: he’s 4 years older. I’m not sure why the Democratic focus on septuagenarians; I’m in my 60’s and wouldn’t vote to national office anyone older than Warren, and that would be a stretch. Reality bites.
12
@JFB Supporters of Bernie are realistic. If he gets into office and remains healthy for four years, great. If his health fails two years in, then we still have the right people (hopefully) in place to hold onto the oval office.
9
I’m still a bit curious about the Sanders/Warren dust up. I’ve seen some references to Sanders’ comment that indicate he was concluding that in 2020 a woman couldn’t win, but the reference to 2020 was not in all of the reporting I’ve read. I’m not sure it makes a huge difference because Sanders is certainly entitled not to have to bow to political correctness, and should be allowed the right to his opinion. Certainly, that opinion can, right or wrong, be a simple political calculation about a woman’s chances. One must allow that in politics there are few certainties, and nothing does, or should, guarantee that a women must win.
If the remark was specific to 2020, then it undoubtedly is predicated on doubt introduced by Trump’s rampant misogyny, which does have, unfortunately, wider support than could be wished. Yet, that simply means there is work to be on making women truly equal, which I dont think is a controversial notion. Certainly Trump brings an anti-woman perspective to the ballot, but on the other hand Clinton did in fact beat him by nearly 3 million votes. Perhaps another of the shortcomings of the Electoral College system is that it gives undue weight to votes in states were women are not seen as equal, which is more reason to eliminate it.
Regardless, this is a crucial election since we cannot afford 4 more years of Trump. In my mind, this isn’t the time for a squabble about whether a woman can be President. Whoever can beat him should be the candidate, period.
15
I’m curious too since a good friend of mine was in the grammar school classroom when Bernie, as Burlington mayor, told the class that the girls too could become president. Bernie has always supported women.
17
Bernie's inability to lead his followers towards any other Democratic candidate besides him is what makes him a carpetbagging albatross to our party. The Bernie or Busters enabled Trump in 2016...no question. Now that a country is at stake, one has to ask if they will make the same decision out of petulant, self-interest in 2020. I hope not.
19
@Bernie looks the other way...too much Your tired, disproven and antisemitic trope won't work this time. the only person responsible for Hillary's loss is Hillary, and Democrats have learned nothing from their failures in 2016 and 2004. Your centrist do-nothing elites will never fix our problems. Never.
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@Bernie looks the other way...too much In 2016 Bernie had 40 events supporting Clinton, the nominee. In 2008 Clinton only has 12 events supporting Obama. You want to reword your comment?
46
@Bernie looks the other way...too much
here we go again with Clintonian nonsense. Bernie campaigned actively for Clinton, appearing in dozens of places while she herself was busy raising ever more unneeded money instead of meeting people in WI, MI,PA. And it is a fact that TWICE as many Clinton supporters in 2008 voted for McCain rather than Obama compared to Sanders supporters who stayed home or voted Trump (combined).
"Our party" as you call it deserted working class Americans, and Trump is the result.
51
Bernie Sanders the socialist, who loved the labor movement, Cuba, the old Soviet Union and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, we knew about.
Bernie the millionaire, who knew?
Actually, why is anyone surprised that Bernie is now part of the 1%? He owns three homes, including one on the "Vermont Riviera," the shore of Lake Champlain, that cost a bundle.
Clearly Bernie has become accustomed to the upscale lifestyle he has long made a career of eschewing and excoriating. Now that he is in a higher tax bracket he is surely getting schooled on tax avoidance and sheltering income, lessons that plutocrats learn at their fathers' knees. And I wonder how much of his considerable income he is willing to redistribute. And his wife does their taxes? Right.
I guess Bernie will have to stop ranting and raving against millionaires and spend more time explaining to voters 1) why he is not a hypocrite and 2) how socialism will benefit his "working class" supporters while he is feeding at the trough of good old capitalism.
As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." That's when everybody's taxes go up.
As for policies, Sanders' espousal of free everything for everyone, not to mention allowing felons to vote from prison, can only guarantee Trump's re-election if Bernie is the Democratic candidate in 2020.
12
@Mon Ray What a "Fountainhead" of propaganda! The problem with capitalism is that sooner or later you destroy the economy and start wars that the rich people avoid serving in. Greed is cancer.
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@Mon Ray
Beautifully put, I've often wondered about the irony between his words and his lifestyle. He's made millions being a professional politician. How did he get his money? Which lobbyists lined his pockets?
3
@William O’Reilly
The truth really hurts, lol. So much so that you can't address the facts.
4
If Sanders becomes the nominee, I will vote Trump!
4
@Carol Gebert vote blue no matter who. You owe it to the country.
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@Carol Gebert
That's sad Carol, but you are not alone. Apparently Hillary Clinton, the MSM, Wall Street, and the rest of our billionaire overlords and war mongers agree with you.
39
Because you don’t need medicare for all. You can afford expensive for profit health care. You don’t need free community college or vocational education for your children. You can afford to pay the cost. college tuition.
And you don’t care about the rest of us who struggle.
11
Since 2016, I have found Sanders to be shallow---a lot of shouting, but few ideas. His self-styled "socialism" would be fodder for the Republican attack machine. He's a terrible speaker, and a terrible debater. He appears disheveled most of the time, like an absentminded professor or worse. His health is a grave concern. His wife was involved, or said to have been involved, in financial malfeasance. His sexism is well known. In short, he'd be a disastrous pick as the nominee for the Democrats. Which is why Trump is promoting him.
19
@Fourteen14 Because the far-right avoided initiating in major conspiracy smear campaign against him the way they had done for years with Hillary at that point in the campaign (or at this point) because they wanted him (still want him) to win the nomination. Just give them time - if he's the nominee, they'll go to town unleashing relentless and likely damaging attacks against him harping on socialism.
@Fourteen14
The polls said Hillary would beat Trump, too.
As for Bernie's popularity---well, he's populist, selling snake oil like Trump. Unfortunately, a lot of people buy it.
5
@Umberto So says someone who says 'Westchester' and therefore lives in one of the richest counties in the country, but okay, we'll totally take your words to heart out here in flyover country.
3
I will not vote for Sanders under any possible circumstances. That is not true of any of the other people running for the Democratic nomination. I will cast my ballot for one of them even if I need to write in their name.
5
Most American families need Medicare for All and free community college or vocational education. But your family doesn’t.
Sanders is the only one I’m voting for. I might be persuaded to vote for Warren. But Biden, never.
14
@Judith Turpin
Well, Judith, Sanders is the only one I will vote for. He is the only one of 5he candidates that I believe will put the welfare of the American people first. And, I will never vote for anyone who voted for the Iraq war, period.
6
@Judith Turpin
A good portion of the country disagrees with you.
3
From Warren's latest 'day one' action plan: "Establish a Justice Department Task Force to investigate corruption during the Trump administration and to hold government officials accountable for illegal activity."
Why haven't I heard anything like this from other candidates?
13
@rls
She's often ahead of the pack. I also think her McConnell workaround, should he prevail, is brilliant. If she plays chess, the only candidate who might be able to beat her is Andrew Yang cause he went to "nerd camp".
1
@rls
The truth is that we need much stronger anti-corruption laws before that tactic could actually be effective.
The Supreme Court actually threw out McDonnell's (former GOP Virginia governor) corruption conviction and Dean Skelos just had his sentence reduced.
Anti-corruption positions and an end to self dealing sounds great, but I wouldn't count on anybody being able to hold the Trump admin accountable with the laws on the books now.
1
Thank you Nate. This is the kind of reporting we missed from you.
9
If Bernie wins the nomination then it would be time to get the popcorn out. Bernie would absolutely crush Trump in the national election. It’s the epic fight we all want to see, and you know it.
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@Matthew Gray
In 2016 he could have beat Trump. It would have been close, but maybe Sanders would have won it. In 2020? No chance at all. Trump is a Proven Quantity in 2020. We all know what we will get. It was a roll of the dice in 2016 for me. I just wanted him to keep the Anointed One from her Throne and thought he would fail soon after. He still stands today. He has Earned my vote and Sanders is Toast if he is the nominee.
10
@Matthew Gray
Too late. The popcorn has been out for the past three years.
3
@GregP What has Trump done to earn your vote?
29
I disagree that the Warren sexism allegations were not explored in depth - that was the main story of the week and the damage lingers.
I also think that if Sanders doesn't win the nomination in the 1st round of voting, the superdelegates will then be free to backstab him and push an establishment candidate across the finish line. So, he needs a definitive victory in order to triumph.
36
I don’t believe Warren and her accusations make me distrust her. My good friend was in the grammar school class when Bernie, as Burlington’s mayor, told the class that girls could be mayor. Bernie has always supported women’s health rights.
6
The Democratic Party establishment dismissively said Trump would never be elected. They are not good judges of the American voter. We have them to thank for Trump. They can’t put forward a decent in touch candidate. People want change, including me, a lifelong Democrat. If the party’s leadership doesn’t like him, all the better. It means he can win.
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@SPN
Nice try. But it's not the Democratic Party that elected Trump.
It's uninformed, easily-led and entertainment-starved Americans who are too busy looking for excitement to look behind the circus tent that got Donald Trump elected.
"Change" can be a good thing, but only when it's for the better.
And sorry, with Trump it just isn't.
4
@SPN I really wish Sherrod Brown had run.
2
A Sanders-Harris ticket would crush President Bone Spur.
9
@Eric Harris is opposed to everything Bernie stands for. She's a corporate lackey with no principles or morals, and very bad judgement. Why would you think this would be a good idea?
20
@Eric I'm a fan of Sanders and found Harris too close to the corporations for my taste as a presidential candidate.
But I think you are right. I think Kamala Harris would be the best "unity" pick for a Sanders VP running mate.
7
If you folks are thinking that an African-American candidate for vice president would be needed by Bernie to balance the ticket… Stacey Abrams of Georgia would be the best choice. Harris does not excite African-American voters. Her standing in the polls with them is abysmal. Not just “any black face” will do.
19
I am so chomping at the bit to have a nominee to get behind. Hope it is a progressive, Warren or sanders, don’t care much which. I would canvas for either. If biden I will likely support monetarily a little but not canvas. I assume change will come increments if biden wins, but no time for that, the world is moving fast and time to take our future seriously and honestly. Bernie will bring idealism and energy in the form of youth and cutting through special interests.
27
@ben
Help progressives win seats in Congress and the senate. Let the moderates handle their candidate. It’s their job to win us over not our job to fight their battles while they blame us for their loses.
3
Bernie was doing well in the caucuses in 2016, but faltered when he hit the primaries. And there are fewer caucus states this time around. The polls may look very different after Super Tuesday.
4
@Fourteen14
Sanders tanked in South Carolina and the majority of Black Democratic voters still aren't on board with him.
That hasn't changed since 2016.
@Fourteen14
That's right. Sanders won 23 contests in 2016 and most of them were rust belt states that flipped to Trump in the GE.
Sanders won every county in WV!
3
@N. Smith The majority isn't on board for anyone, Biden has a weak plurality at this moment. Bernie has more overall people of color support than Biden does in fact.
1
Is Sanders less of a Democrat than Joe Manchin?
78
@Joe Not The Plumber
Yes. Joe Manchin is a lifelong Democrat. Bernie Sanders has quite literally never been a Democrat. So yes, he is by any definition less of a Democrat than Joe Manchin.
7
@Mike What does a democrat stand for? Certainly not the interests of the left. If you have the dumb argument that Bernie isn't a democrat so he shouldn't compete, fine. I hope he runs 3rd party, I'd vote for him and know loads that would as well. Torpedo the fake Corporate Democrats.
21
@Rick
Stop playing semantics. And why is it that the Bernie Bros. want the nomination of a party of "fake Corporate" people? You clearly hate the Democratic Party, so why do you want to win its nomination? Because you're lazy. Because you guys don't have the gumption to start your own party and get your candidate on 50 ballots. So you take the lazy way out.
Please, be my guest. Start a 3rd party, run Bernie, and send Trump back to the White House. Knock yourself out.
11
The bitterness of the ordinary citizens have already spilled over. The majority will say enough to the exploitation. If the could they would have stopped Trump.
4
Sanders isn’t the choice of the New York Times or the rich coastal elite Democrats. He doesn’t stand a chance against the correct choice- Warren.
10
@William McCain You mean in the same way in 2016 that Hillary was the choice of the NYC? How'd that turn out?
2
Professional pols know lovable Bernie would be a disaster. Oh, let me count the ways....
2
@Hugo Furst
For their agendas.
2
Dear Bernie Bros:
Ask your Mother what she thinks of Bernie. And really listen.
Just saying.
14
@Phyliss Dalmatian My mother is voting for Bernie.
59
@Phyliss Dalmatian
Thanks for the demeaning Bernie bro put down. Really endears his supporters to the Democratic party.
I asked my mother about Bernie and came away a bigger supporter. Given my mother's healthcare profession, she gets it.
78
@Phyliss Dalmatian Mine texted that she was voting for Bernie after being on the fence at best until HRC weighed in. "The right people hate him!" My own thoughts exactly, as it turns out.
73
Donald and his smear machine will label Bernie a communist and a socialist.The swing vote will go to him not Bernie.I will vote for the primary winner and hope it is not him.
16
@GPN I can't think of any times in the past when they've labeled a Dem nominee communist/socialist, so we'd better avoid that!
6
Ignore progressives and the Democrats will lose. Centrists seem oblivious to the struggles of average Americans. We can’t afford for profit health care or high interest student debt.
10
Ignorance is bliss...until it isn't. Ironic that so much money was spent fighting Communism for the last 60 years -the entire Vietnam War too- and now a dyed in the wool Marxist has captured the hearts of the Millennials. Can't really blame them though, sometimes it seems that the cry "Burn it all down" is actually appropriate. A re-elected Trump would clearly be far more dangerous than Sanders, except to the 0.01%
15
@Joe A re-elected Trump would be an embarrassment who might take us into another war. But a President Sanders would ruin the economy and send us on a path to poverty. I hold my nose and vote Trump.
22
@Carol Gebert How would a guy who wants to put more money in the hands of people who will spend it ruin the economy?
35
@Carol Gebert I believe you meant to say restructure the economy. The poor are already poor and the rich are already rich. There’s no middle class. We’re already on the path to poverty. Another war to prop up the economy isn’t a substitute for fiscal policy.
12
A call for jujitsu genius: I dare Sanders to pick Billionaire Bloomberg as VP. The Sanders tribe would go along with it because he’s Bernie, and Trump would be denied his central speaking point about “those radicals who don’t know business and will raise your taxes.”
Do it Bernie! Do it Bloomberg!
(VP Runner-Up: Klobuchar)
11
I lived in New York. Stop and Frisk is all over Bloomberg’s hands and I won’t forget it. I would LOVE a Bernie/Klobuchar ticket, if Klobuchar would be willing.
11
@SDH
It’s an interesting though hard to imagine. One plus would be that Bloomberg’s spending on ads could really knockout Trump.
3
“Who is not a Democrat.”—Really? And Hillary, who was taking millions from Wall Street for “speeches” is a Democrat? What exactly does “Democrat” mean anymore, then?!?
167
Bernie is a true believer and a great American
But in a general election it would be far too easy to hammer him with 30 second ads that highlight/exaggerate his socialist positions. 500 million dollars of Superpac GOP money will turn him into Vladimir Lenin.
5
Except that American families need Medicare for All and free community college or vocational education.
4
I suggest that something similar to Bernie's resurgence is happening in the U.K. If you check out the campaign for the Labour Party leadership being conducted by Lisa Nandy you will find the same straight-talking passion as Bernie has always displayed and lived by.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Nandy
9
@Ruskin You realize that the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn (often compared to Bernie) were just crushed by the Tories. MPs who had held their seats for 20 years and were much loved by their constituents were voted out. Why? Because the voters couldn't stand Corbyn. There is no resurgence of the Labour party right now. They are licking their wounds and trying to figure out the way forward. I don't know if Bernie or Elizabeth Warren or who else will be be the Democratic candidate. But if they are in the same position as Labour in UK, then Trump is President again.
Go Bernie!
72
And one more thing--you folks keep mumbling about how little scrutiny Bernie has gotten. And yet, time is what you have had. What got your tongue, Nate? And the rest of NYTs?
What you folks do have going for Bernie is a line of cockamamie and half-baked reporting which passes neither the sniff test or is evidence-based. I would call it scraping bottom barrel.
Are you really telling me a man who has a public record for nearly half a century has nothing despite all the resources your "paper of record" can unearth? Is it because he has no skeletons in his closet? Until ofcourse, you folks come up with the latest untruth about him.
If you and your colleagues are half as interested in actually reporting on the real crimes going on in the country, the standing your paper has might improve.
92
If Bernie wins the Democratic nomination, Trump is guaranteed another four years. Trump will probably win regardless of who the nominee is simply because incumbents never lose when the economy is good and we're not at war or (in Carter's case) being humiliated by a foreign power.
10
@Thomas J Pain If Biden is the nominee Trump will win for sure. The only chance Democrats have is to get back the Obama voters (white working class) - that can be done only with Bernie.
23
Not at war? Then why are our service members still dying in Afghanistan Iraq and Africa?
15
I guess the millions of Americans working 2 jobs and still in poverty don’t count.
6
What do you mean when you say Dem elites might work to stop Bernie if he becomes the clear front/runner? They might prevent democracy from asserting itself? Not listen to the people’s votes?
If this occurs, I would expect civil unrest. We are sick of this patronizing treatment from the establishment.
60
Bernie the non-Democrat at the top of the Democratic ticket will mean 4 more years of trump, a terrible Democratic showing in the House and Senate races and a more solid republican control over redistricting. In other words, Bernie is a republican dream candidate.
Every so often the Democratic Party has to implode by nominating a disaster and this time around that disaster is named Sanders.
91
@Lewis We’re not there yet, thankfully, but yes with Bernie as the nominee we may as well pack it up in November. He’s our own Jeremy Corbyn , albeit without the anti-Semitism.
24
@Lewis Hillary was the disaster. She lost to the worst person on earth, who everyone claimed was unelectable, because she and the party were completely out of touch. Bernie is the correction, the return to the party's true principles. He is the only Dem who can beat Trump. The rest will go the same way Hillary did.
96
@KM "Hillary was the disaster. She lost to the worst person on earth"
And Bernie lost to the person who lost to the person you call the worst person on earth. What does that make him?
31
Sanders has been scrutinized and attacked relentlessly throughout his political career. He is probably one of the most vetted candidates of all times. The problem for the elites is that Sanders' positions resonate with many of the voters. The establishment attacks and smears by the corporate elites and their media representatives (including, of course the NY Times) are not working this time because bread & butter, existential issues like wealth inequality, climate change, economic racism, outrageous health insurance premiums, college debt, drug addiction, suicide, etc. are creating desperation and rage among the American people. The centrist argument is no longer going to work. Bernie Sanders speaks the language of the majority of Americans, which is why he is currently polling better against Trump than any of the other candidates. If the corporate elites don't want a repeat of 2016, they would do well to listen to voters instead of their lobbyists and corporate patrons.
458
@RM *IF* the corporate elites don't want a repeat of 2016, that is. I think they would rather have that than Bernie. This is even more a reason to vote for Bernie. #NotmeUs
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@RM
It seems to me that Bernie Sanders belongs to a rather elite club; politicians who have taken on the Clintons and survived with their political reputations intact.
Bill and Hillary have a well deserved reputation for being willing to go down in the dirt as low as is necessary to win and they never let go of a grudge.
The only other one I can think of off hand is Barack Obama.
35
@RM Amen! Well said. Bernie Sanders is giving the people what they want--environmental protection, income growth, fair taxation, healthcare, gun reform, justice equality, etc etc. More and more voters are realizing this. And more and more progressives are being elected.
Sanders says it in every speech: Once voters realize that they have an alternative to the corporate, elitist politics of the last 40 years, those corporate elite politicians will be out on their heels.
Good riddance!
56
National polls mean nothing. It still amazes me that people don’t realize that.
13
Mind-boggling that in this article acknowledging that Bernie Sanders has a good chance to win both Iowa and New Hampshire, Nate Cohen tries to spin that fact as possible bad news for Sanders. "If he wins, he will face greater scrutiny...there is no reason to assume he can building a winning coalition in the face of heightened scrutiny..." I thought wishful thinking wasn't part of data analytics?
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@calantir
Ever since 2016, I ignore any pollster named Nate.
2
Sanders is my least favorite of the candidates. It's not primarily because of his positions. It's because his followers seem divisive and overly aggressive. We already have that.
Statements we often read like some of those below support that view. Are we saying here that Sanders core wouldn't even vote for Warren, who has many similar positions. What's going on here?
I'd be happy to support whoever gets the nomination, even (sigh) Bernie. That's because I care what happens. I don't plan to opt out even if I have loads of concern about a dynamic in his core group that appears to be hostile toward our country as a whole. (We'll punish you with four more years of Trump).
I just can't wrap my head around this "staying home" or "voting for Trump" business.
27
Some of Bernie’s supporters do hold this dumb position. But I definitely think they are a very small minority based on conversations. I will vote for whoever the democratic candidate is and be happy about it. They all look great compared to Trump. I like Bernie because he’s trustworthy and consistent, but literally anyone who is not Trump will do.
19
@Eliz Thank you, Eliz! Please try to influence others in your sphere to tone it down, empathize and become kinder. I actually like many of Sanders' proposals. He'll need the support of moderates if he becomes president to get anything done. Polarization is a bad idea within your party if you are president. Of course, we want honest differences of opinion, debate, compromise when necessary. Hostility just diminishes the party and its influence.
Being a fiery radical can be an important role, and I believe that he has had a lot of influence already. That can be a good thing. But there's a thin line sometimes between that and "tear it all down" which is dangerous and will stop progress. Also may hurt potential Senators.
Hoping for a landslide in Congress whichever candidate is nominated!
3
@Kathleen I'm going to vote dem regardless of who gets it, but I would like to point out that a lot of Bernie's supporters are independents who will switch registration so they can vote for him in the primary. They were never dem-adherents in the first place.
And the smartest thing to do when confronted with angry Bernie supporters is to remember that we absolutely need independent voters in order to win, and to not fight fire with fire. A lot of us -- meaning, Bernie supporters -- were infuriated by the way the DNC handled things in 2016. Those feelings are valid. Acknowledging that the dem-leaning independents and the people still hurt over 2016 are real people with real feelings and not a label will go a long way to disarming the rhetoric.
In other words, people need to drop the 'BernieBro' rhetoric. Survey after survey show that most of us are women, people of color or both.
11
Bernie's positions are essentially those of FDR, the most popular president ever. Bernie's enduring support and popularity among the people and the intense hostility from the establishment was predictable. FDR faced the same and an attempted coup once on office. Sometimes the people win. Hopefully 2020 is one of those times.
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@Saints Fan Someone has been sleeping in history class. FDR inherited the big depression, he did not cause it. The depression started with the market crash in 1929. FDR was president from 1933 to 1945 and led the country through the most difficult time in the last 100 years. Nice try. Similar to blaming Obama for the last recession which started in 2007/2008 before he was even elected.
18
So the WPA, Social Security and the minimum wage were bad ideas?
12
@Saints Fan
The Great Depression did not last until 1942 in the US, and it is not one of the "results" of FDR's administration. FDR did not cause the market crash that occurred 4 years before he took office or the severe drought that followed. The consensus among economists is that his policies likely aided recovery, which began around the time he took office, and certainly did not hinder it.
As to the implication that FDR caused WWII: most historians agree that other factors--such as Hitler's rise to power--were more responsible than FDR's enactment of Social Security in the United States.
9
Close poll watchers know that CNN is not a particularly well regarded poll. The ones with more credibility (Monmouth etc.) show Biden with a meaningful lead in IA and NH.
The core issue is that Sanders performs well among people who have a poor history of showing up to the polls: working class white men and young people.
Aside from his robust fundraising, I do not see much reason to believe that Sanders is going to do well in Iowa. The last few weeks have been rough for Sanders - he has had spats with Sanders, Clinton, Krugman and others. His Bro supporters (which are only one component of his support) have not conducted themselves admirably, and Bernie has not even tried to subdue them.
Count me in as someone who would vote for Sanders only if I had no other choice. I don't think that is a real world problem.
8
@Cousy
How is it possible for Biden to keep leading? He just phones it in. And how is never having apologized to Professor Hill OK?
4
If you followed the elections closely in 2016 and now, there is certainly a difference. The outlook for Bernie is better now.
Don't rely on polls either. Bernie won Michigan in 2016 when all the polls said Hillary was a shoe in. Many of the polls were wrong for the general election of 2016 as well...
Bernie is a once in a lifetime representative of the people. He has the same message for decades; let's take care of everyone, not just a select few. Please don't let this opportunity pass, fellow citizens. Think about your children and grandchildren.
Bernie/Warren 2020.
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Warren will make a great advisor.
7
Sanders has "received less scrutiny from the news media than he might have otherwise"?
I wonder what's left for the media to scrutinize him about. How many times can it say that Medicare for All is an impossible dream, that he supported left wing regimes in Latin America, that he is a socialist, etc.
If his supporters are staying with him perhaps it's because unlike any of the other candidates they know where he stands on the major issues and unlike any of the others doesn't need to apologize about his past positions with the possible exception of gun control where he has clearly evolved, or feel the need to shift his current positions depending upon what the polls show him are most likely to draw voters.
And if the Democratic "establishment" opposes him, all for they good. That's the same establishment that did everything it could in 2016 to insure that Clinton got the nomination and that certainly didn't work out very well. We'll never know if Sanders would have won against Trump but we do know Clinton didn't.
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@Steve
Oh, there is lot's that can be asked and pointed out about Bernie.
His honeymoon to the USSR where he was photographed singing Communist songs.
His subsequent trip to Russia, as mayor of Burlington, where he was photographed sitting with a big fat grin under a portrait of Lenin.
His volunteering in 1980, 1984 to be a Vermont elector for Andrew Pulley, presidential candidate of the Socialist Worker's Party, a k a the Trotskyites. And his refusal to support the Dems.
And lots, lots more.
Where would you like to begin.
The GOP is stockpiling this stuff for an enormous dump on Bernard if the Dems are dumb enough to let this man who refuses to join our party be our nominee.
1
We have finally reached the tipping point.
Millions of our fellow citizens have become tired of having to struggle for basic necessities for them and their families. They question why we have trillions for endless wars but somehow we can’t afford basic health care while all the other civilized countries have it.
Why millions of our fellow citizens suffer daily while so many others accumulate billions.
They have voted for and at times put into office the Democrats, but have realized that the entrenched Dem party establishment has failed them, with policies favoring the wealthy elite, while their daily lives become more difficult.
Enough of us realize that Bernie is the only chance we have left to elect an honest man who will fight for us. Then we can crush Trump and start to turn things around.
It won’t be easy but will be worth the effort. There is nothing less than the future of our country and the world at stake.
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The possibility that Bernie Sanders could win the nomination is disturbing.
He is the only candidate among the front-runners who would seem likely to lose to Donald Trump.
He is just too old, his health is in question, and some of his policy proposals cannot possibly win over Congress. It is difficult to imagine him building a majority consensus (or anything close) to make political progress. He lacks the broad appeal, the negotiating skills, the character traits in general to forge such a consensus.
If he gets nominated, it will be time to worry.
37
It seems that you believe that the impeachment and trial is a waste of time and that Trump will remain in office. Everyone knows that investigating past criminal acts by a potential election opponent is far worse than forcing a young subordinate woman to repeatedly have sex with you and then covering it up.
8
@Just Ben This is backwards. Bernie is the only one currently running who would defeat Trump. Trump would wipe the floor with Biden, Warren, Klobuchar, and the rest, with the possible exception of Yang.
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@Just Ben Then why does Sanders beat Trump in almost every general election poll out there?
68
I predict...
Bernie wins by a couple percentage points in Iowa.
He then wins New Hampshire and probably Nevada.
Comes in a strong second in South Carolina.
Come Super Tuesday, he will be the obvious front runner and will take California and many other states because most people want to back a winner.
I'm a Warren supporter and will continue to give her my monthly donation until after South Carolina.
38
@IanC
'Come Super Tuesday, he will be the obvious front runner and will take California and many other states because most people want to back a winner. '
Come Super Tuesday Joe Biden will magically capture the Super Delegates and win the nomination.
You're deluded if you think the DNC would ever back Sanders for President.
3
@AutumnLeaf
The DNC has changed their rules regarding Super Delagates this year. They will only come into play in the case of a brokered convention.
5
@IanC Fair enough! Also, quite a good prediction and classily put.
3
Voters are realizing that Biden won't be able to defend Trump's attacks on trade, war, student loans bankruptcy protections, Social Security and Medicare cuts. It's Hillary Clinton again but with excess baggage. Sander is authentic and has a progressive record on these issues that swing voters will contrast with trust.
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@Marcelo
What you call his progressive record is really not a record at all. He takes positions all right, pretty easy to do when you’re representing a tiny homogenous state. But he has a poor record when it comes to actually passing legislation. Probably the only thing he’s been able to accomplish in his 30 years in office is to oppose meaningful gun control legislation.
Look, I share a lot of his views of what’s wrong in the world. He’s very good at ginning up a crowd of people predisposed to his way of looking at the world. But he’s an iconoclast, not a leader. He divides people, treating as enemies those who are uncommitted or don’t agree he has all the answers.
But most of all, I fear Sanders isn’t committed to winning the presidential election unless he alone is the nominee. He raises money by trashing Democrats and the media in the same sentence as Trump and the GOP. He may really believe we are all evil, but he’s not going to win a national election with those views. He’s not. Which is why GOP operatives are registering as Democrats so they can vote for him in state primaries, a dark arts practice called Party raiding.
I‘ll vote for him if he’s the nominee, of course, which isn't a tough decision given Trump’s likely victory. But until then, he’s going to need to stop kicking the rest of us in the teeth.
9
@Marcelo He's also getting more sassy. @Christina That's what the DNC wants you to think, and that's why it failed with Hillary. Wake up.
12
Football terms:
Biden- Tom Brady. Not exciting, love to hate him but he has a legacy of winning based on experience
Bernie - Colin Kapernick - Maverick, disrupter, respected activist who sticks his neck out. Can't get hired. NFL doesn't want his "radical" image.
Mayor Pete - Patrick Mahomes - Talented, young, speedy but deserving rise to the top.
Elizabeth Warren - Russell Wilson - Great scrambling in the pocket, pushing 10 yards creatively .
I would vote Pete Carroll as President in a second. And he would win.
1
@Mona
Biden has a legacy of winning? How about the multiple previous times he sought the Democratic presidential nomination and quickly fell by the wayside. Hardly what I'd describe as a legacy of winning. It would have been as if Brady lost every Super Bowl he played in.
23
I have donated to four Democratic candidates; Bernie, Biden, Warren and Buttigieg, but would wholeheartedly support whoever is the eventual Democratic nominee. That being said, I’m thrilled that Bernie is increasingly being recognized by more voters and I like his chances in the battleground states based on the polling that I’ve seen. Bernie has always had my heart; he’s always believed in the right things and for example, fought for the rights of the underprivileged and LGBTQ community long before it was popular or socially acceptable to do so. He’s shown near-prescience in important international issues such as the Iraq War and rise of ISIS. I proudly served as a volunteer lawyer in his 2016 primary campaign, and would proudly support him again. I recently took WaPo’s policy quiz, “Which of these Democratic candidates agrees with you most?” and Bernie finished last in my results, with Warren and Steyer tied for first. Nonetheless, Bernie remains my top choice because I wholeheartedly trust his judgment and intellect, and recognize we still allegedly live in a democracy and are not ruled by one king. While I’m not volunteering in any candidate’s primary campaign this season (I’m in the “Any Functioning Human 2020” camp), he has my vote in the primary and I’d be thrilled should he win the nomination.
154
@RMY The whole poll “Who do you most agree with” poll was kind of a sham. I got
A similar result but I am still voting for Bernie.
3
Sanders' supporters are just like Trump supporters. That is why it was easy for 6 millions of Sanders' supporters to vote for Donald J. Trump for President in 2016.
Think about it, two Supreme Court judges and hundreds of unqualified judges on the federal bench, thanks for Trump, Mitch and Sanders' supporters.
If Sanders doesn't win the Democratic nomination, his supporters will vote for Trump in 2020.
Democrats should not reward someone whom supporters did and will put Trump back in the White House.
13
@Listening to Others
Please cite the sources of your numbers. I certainly don't recall seeing them anywhere else.
20
@Listening to Others More Hillary voters in 2008 voted for John McCain, up to 28% of them!
22
@Listening to Others
Your discussion of judges makes no sense, and Bernie will not "put Trump back in the White House." He campaigned vigorously for Clinton and against Trump in 2016, and there is no evidence his supporters flocked to Trump. His supporters will overwhelmingly support the Democratic nominee.
29
Sanders has the largest number of voters who will stay home if he isn’t the nominee. Voting for anyone else as the nominee is handing the election to Trump.
60
@Brian Carver -- so Bernie supporters, if they don't have their way during his last run at the White House, would make it certain that the country shifts rapidly to a position even farther away from Bernie's ideals and positions.
Let's hope they're not so eager the ruin the country if he doesn't get the nomination.
31
@b fagan
Sanders's base is wide, many of his voters are the "deplorables" that don't care so much about progressist ideals (or any others), but only care that they have enough money at the end of the month.
Those are the voters that the nominee will need to defeat Trump in the general election.
18
Hey, it’s 2016 all over again!
7
Nate Cohn says Sanders has faced few attacks from his rivals but that scrutiny will increase if he is the front-runner in the early states. Actually, the scrutiny has already begun, with the Democratic Party establishment and MSM piling on. Clinton’s despicable comments about Sanders show how far Sanders’ rivals will go to block a leftist candidate. Fortunately, many Americans seem willing to give him a fair shake.
329
Yes, seeing Hillary emerge from her bunker just to take potshots at Sanders was such a low moment for me; evidence she has learned nothing about her own agency in her political demise, and ample evidence that her sense of entitlement is unchanged and unhinged.
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@garibaldi I hope those pot shots include demands that Bernie release his health information post heart attack.
His refusing to do so, instead only posting a few vague doctor's letters is nothing if not Trumpian.
The American people have a right to know just how physically sick of a man he is. No doubt, the Trump campaign will make it a major talking point.
9
@Sparky I hate to break this to you, but it's downright illegal to demand someone's medical records for employment, even for the US president. I can't stand Trump either, but Bernie's an honest man and I'll take his doc's word over a thousand establishment pundits anyway.
15
If Bernie wins the Democratic nomination, he must not undermine his campaign by choosing an unsuitable (likely to become President if he can’t serve out both terms for whatever reason) VP running mate; specifically not choose AOC or Gabbard.
To those who are against him because he is “not a Democrat.”
Please do not be so partisan, inflexible, black and white, rigid, nitpicking, etc. (dare I say tribal, AR, or OCD) that someone who has consistently caucused with Democrats and has a more than stellar Democratic voting record, will be a great upholder/standard bearer of the Democratic platform and principles as President. He’s just somewhat iconoclastic and mavericky.
44
@Joel H Bernie-Kamala Harris; or Bernie-Stacey Abrams
7
@Joel H AOC is 30, you have to be 35 to be president. He probably won't choose her.
10
@Joel H Why is Gabbard unsuitable to you? She is a Bernie supporter (just spoke out in solidarty with him yesterday) AND she could get a lot of crossover votes, unlike AOC.
12
Bernie Sanders has had more than 4 million individual donations to his campaign, all by actual people. That is not only support, that is votes in the bank. Sanders volunteers are making millions of calls and doing the work of democracy -- talking to people. We have not had this kind of candidate in decades. Let's not ruin it by listening to our pettier, more selfish instincts, no matter who we are. I say this from the Midwest -- Bernie is popular here. He might be the only one with the right combination to take Trump on here. Bernie has a wide base, more young women than young men support him, his has the most support among Latinos, is nearing Biden's number among African Americans and polls the best in the Midwestern/swing states we need to win. #Notmeus
470
@Parapraxis
I gave money to Bernie in 2016 but would never ever ever vote for him, especially this year.
9
@Cousy
Stop being divisive. Vote Blue No Matter Who, right?
33
@Fourteen14 Thanks for this important stat, do you have a link to it. Thanks
2
He will do far worse in 2020.
11
@Allan a trumpster
4
I wanted Bernie in 2016. This time many, (including the Times,) seem to be saying: "Don't go too far left or Trump will win!" Well, hogwash. I'm voting for Bernie. We need serious change. If Bernie doesn't win, I will, of course, vote for the Democrat. We cannot afford four more years of this mess we have now.
528
@Had Enough I will support Bernie through the primary, but even if someone else wins the Democratic nomination, I will vigorously support them. The world cannot afford four or more years of a 1930s Chancellor.
23
All this speculation for naught. I'll vote for a dead cat over 45 - enough said.
123
@Lisa I think we need a reprise of Loudon Wainwright III 's song: "I'd vote for a dead skunk in the middle of the road, before I'd vote for Trump." :-)
7
@Saints Fan
I was referring to the article because it's still all speculation at this point. The Democrats could win by 20M votes and still loose the election due the the electoral college.
4
@Saints Fan he got 49.2% in 1996, more than current pOTUS received in 2016. Also, pOTUS received 2.1% less votes than Hilary.
If Sanders wins the election, I'm out of here.
There is no chance he will beat Trump. Period. And although David Plouffe, who steered the team that supported Barack Obama winning the election twice, he proclaimed that Hillary would win, 100%, I truly believe that 99.9%,not to repeat the 100% claim, that Sanders will loose and loose badly.
15
@Mona Lose*
3
Whatever it means to “loose.” When we have a loose cannon for president!
4
@Mona I will enjoy seeing you eat those words! Just wait...
10
Sanders faces an even playing field this time around mostly because the Super Delegates system has been reformed since 2016. But Bernie Sanders is a radical, anti-establishment candidate so he can expect an intense level of opposition across the board if he wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Imagine the panic in the insurance and pharmaceutical corporations if he becomes a serious contender. And that's just for starters. Wall Street may not be happy either!
82
@PP Unhappily, the superdelegates are lurking, not gone. If no candidate wins 51% on the first vote (a likely possibility with so many candidates unlike last time) guess what? Superdelegates get to vote the second time. Alas.
3
The only one fighting for the people. Go Bernie GO!!!!!! Bernie or Bust all 2020.
220
@Rick You don't believe Amy, Pete and Liz are fighting for the people? I do. And they're Democrats!
18
@Will McClaren I don't believe so. And after the absolute hatchet job Liz did on Bernie, I will never vote for her.
20
@Rick
No, to me Bernie is the Trump enabler for the last 4 years. He's not a team player and could only think of his own agenda and ambition. In his luke-warm support of the Democratic agenda he has deluded the young and those in need with sugar coated socialistic idealism. He took advantage of innate bias against women and pretended to be otherwise. He's now going to repeat this game against Warren. Don't be fooled. He behaved exactly like an ambitious old pol wanting to make his mark before HIS time runs out.
8
The idea that someone with views as far left as Bernie's (and who actually calls himself a socialist, even when that is largely untrue) could actually prevail in a general election, given the outcome in 2016, remains to be seen. Although I would love to see a President Sanders, if only for the entertainment value, I remain skeptical of his chances.
7
@Campbell Watson
"Far left"?! That's a joke. He's nothing more than a good old-fashioned FDR-LBJ type liberal. (Save for the Vietnam War debacle.)
It's a choice between progressive, realistic change and corporate moderation and the status quo.
81
Why do Americans have to spend down their savings, go bankrupt or start GoFundMe and beg for money to pay for medical bills? Why is this acceptable?
Why do Americans have to pay 4x what our neighbors in Canada pay for drugs? I know mothers who could not afford medicine for their sick child. I know seniors who ration their meds if they want to eat. Why is this acceptable?
Why do we burden our youth with onerous high interest student debt that will take decades to discharge? Why is this acceptable?
Why?
10
I voted for Bernie in the 2016 primary and only voted for Hillary as a civic duty to the country, and unfortunately many other voters did not share this sense of duty. I am on several Democrat e-mail lists due to prior donations and the bias against Bernie is apparent in the content of those e-mails. It is a shame, but I think Hillary refusing to say she would support Bernie if he wins the nomination actually helps his campaign. He is a true outsider that will actually motivate people to get to the polls, and the Democrat establishment should get behind him or at least stay neutral until he secures the nomination. But hey, Trump did it without the Republican establishment so maybe Bernie doesn't really need the establishment, either.
368
@Hurlbut B
Probably most of the very wealthy donors to the Democratic Party would be more happy with a President Trump than a President Sanders. They know the former will be happy to continue allow them to continue to make as much money as they can grab and pay little or no taxes while a President Sanders would follow through on his word to make sure that those who are at the bottom of the economy actually get a chance.
129
Bernie could have beaten Trump back in 2016, and he can beat Trump in 2020, if he can win the nomination. People may notice that this Democratic primary is a lot more meaningful than the attempted coronation 4 years ago. For that you can thank Bernie, who prudently made changing the Democratic primary rules to be more open and fair a condition of his support for Hillary Clinton. He is the conscience of the party, and it's no co-incidence that most of the remaining candidates have adopted parts of his platform.
564
@KM "if he can win the nomination"
Therein lies the rub, ha.
10
@Justin Indeed. If I recall last time he didn't win the nomination. I'm sure that Bernie Bros (as they are sometimes called) will write in and say that he was robbed. But the fact remains he didn't get the nomination. Just as the fact remains that, though Hillary received 3Million more votes than Trump, she does not occupy the Oval Office. It's tough, but it's reality. I'm afraid of his Bernie Bros, and I voted for Bernie last time. Knowing what I know now, I never will again -- unless he actually gets the nomination. Vote Blue No Matter Who. But I think he's not a good candidate now. Klobuchar on the other hand ...
18
@KM Where’s the proof he could have won? Are you simply assuming all of us who voted for HRC would happily have voted for Sanders instead? I’d have voted 3rd party as many Sanders supporters did, if they didn’t 1) stay home 2) vote for Trump.
10