One buried comment from Bernie. Wake up NYT. He is the guy this time around. A man whose sensible (might I say, obvious) policies are considered centrist in every other part of the world. This country has swung so far to the right that even venerable left-of-center publications like the Times seem to imply that providing health care for people and having a fair system of taxation are somehow radical notions. You guys are always giving Bernie short shrift. Or worse, you feel compelled to mention that he is "old and white," as if these facts were somehow relevant. Yet I have faith. When Bernie is on the debate stage against the incumbent national nightmare this fall, I expect the Times to step up to the plate. Oh, and Lincoln assassination jokes? Too soon!
Bernie is certainly the most honorable candidate in the field. I'm not sure that's much of a complement as honor is not something frequently found in politics. It is unfortunate that most Sanders supporters don't really understand who Bernie is running against. No, it isn't old Joe, or Mike or even Liz. Bernie is running against Democratic Party leadership who are desperate to deny him the nomination just like they were four years ago. Progressives need to band together and speak with a single voice if the Sanders candidacy is going to have any chance at all. To that end, you should all be urging Liz to give it up and support Bernie. At the beginning of the campaign there was talk of the two of them cooperating. What happened? It appears that leadership has gotten to Liz and enlisted her in the fight against Bernie. If she doesn't drop out and soon, she and Bernie will split the progressive vote dooming the Sanders candidacy. Fortunately, leadership isn't particularly enamored with any of the current candidates. So write or call Liz and tell her that if she's a true progressive, it's time to support the only one who can win the nomination. Go Bernie!
2
Democracy is messy. Democrat unity will be derived from one person: Donald Trump. I can't wait to vote against him, no matter who our candidate is.
5
It is interesting how dismissive some Democrats are of Sanders, stating that he isn't a Democrat.
Does that mean that would choose Reagan, McCain, Giuliani and Trump over Sanders since they were once card-carrying Democrats?
Keep in mind, two-thirds of the electorate aren't Democrats, and they are voting in the general election
4
@Is
To add to that, isn't it annoying that the Repubs get to pander to the rightwing fringe with impunity, but we must hew to the center? Then again, that's the nature of running a big tent coalition that consists of just about everything but the far-right.
3
For those of you who still think a moderate (with a terrible policy record, by the way) like Biden is the right candidate, I ask you to consider how we got here. We've had 40 years of a bipartisan neoliberal consensus that's deregulated finance, destroyed jobs, and concentrated power at the tippy top like never before. We're moving toward the brink on climate change (oh, but Obama's meager fuel standards saved us), and in the richest country in world history, people have their lives destroyed by seeking medical treatment, all while we have billionaires who own more than entire small countries.
And some think we should just put another corporate (or as I call them, "Republican-light") Dem in the WH to make cosmetic changes to the existing failed system?
Wake up, people. There's a malaise. There's a reason so many people don't think there's a real difference between Trump and anyone else. We have a first in my lifetime chance of putting an FDR-style reformer (LBJ had good domestic policies, but he was a genocidal war criminal as well) in the WH and actually inspire the downtrodden to rejoin civic society
Then again, what do I know? I must just be a silly Bernie Bro.
Side note: Why is it always the leftists who are expected to move to the center? Why can't the Third Way crowd meet us in the center-left lane? Food for thought.
Solidarity forever.
-A. Bernie Bro
5
Not sure who we’ll nominate, but all candidates are infinitesimally superior to the President of the United States Republicans. To oust him from office, we have to quit being nice. We need to have everyone boycott Trump’s SOTU speech. He doesn’t speak to all Americans and by not showing up for him, we would send a profound (and legal) message. He will only take the opportunity to bully Democrats, gloat and lie. We should deny him a large part of his audience-narcissists demand attention and we need to just say no. To anyone who thinks this move would lack decorum, we no longer have any. We don’t have respect, integrity, negotiations or civility from the White House so there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.
2
@Miriam Webster Boycott the SOTU? Who would notice?
3
The blind spot in the Sanders campaign is SC. Black voters tend to vote Democratic in large numbers but they are not “progressive”
as such. Remember, black voters are of the party of Lincoln.
They were better Republicans than their fellow citizens until the white people got jealous and burned their business down and destroyed their neighborhoods.
Black voters believe in self reliance and they don’t fancy government handouts. But they vote democratic because voting republican now days would be like sleeping with the enemy.
Sanders lost that vote to Clinton and he will lose it again. And I don’t see how anyone can win the Democratic nomination without winning the black vote. 
4
Given the outcomes of the impeachment fiasco, we should be prepared to see a whole lot of not quite what they expected, for it is likely to require a summary court martial to be rid of Trump and Trumpers. Not a single one of the current crop of candidates has the resilience and courage to remain in the field after a real and violent fascist begins to unleash his weapons of mass repression and domestic sabotage. These candidates are not your daddy's Chicago '68 fire breathers, nor are they your mama's Austin '72 pipe swingers. They know nowadays if they intend to be elected, boy you better keep your head down. Saying 'leave it to the voters' is now synonymous with 'let them eat cake.'
Lindsey Graham said today that the Senate would acquit Trump "before Tuesday." Last I hear is that the Senate vote would come no earlier than Wednesday. Does Graham know something we don't or, if not, is his credibility weakened by this statement?
Unity is in essentially un-democratic because elected officials are expected to represent their own constituents.
When issue-based questions are asked, Gallup Polls have consistently shown considerable variances from election district to district.
Let's face it. Most Americans are far more willing to compromise than the powerful leaders from their respective parties.
The best way to bring America whole again would change Congressional rules to require a two-thirds majority in the House & Senate to pass most legislation, EXAMPLE: In the 100-person Senate if the parties were devided 55 to 45, the majority party would to receive 12 votes from the minority. The only way to pass legislation would necessarily require compromise.
To those who believe that a simple majority should win . . . I can only say that anyone who believes that they should be able to shove legislation down the throats of those 49% who are against their legislation . . . are mentally sick individuals who are destroying our country.
I can't even imagine any of the Democratic front-runners beating Trump. But what about the second tier? Tom Steyer, for example, who's up to 18% in one South Carolina poll. I've never quite understood why the Democratic Party seems to care so much about SC, since the Republicans will win it anyway, but they do. Setting aside SC, Tom Steyer is looking pretty good right now. Bloomberg too.
Biden and Sanders are too old. I still think Warren will get the nod, but I can't imagine her beating Trump. That points the fickle finger of fate at someone else, such as Tom Steyer or (if a moderate is preferred) Bloomberg or Klobuchar.
We have a wealth of talent in all these candidates. You can't deny their hard work for this campaign. I'd feel enthusiastic about any of them, but in different ways. Not one of them is perfect. There never has been a perfect candidate.
I have concerns only about Sanders' supporters. (No, not all of them.) But enough. I've seen them in real life and online. When people deny this it just sounds like gaslighting to me. I still like Sanders and his policies, including the gruffness. Being unpleasant is not a crime. Being nice is not kindness. These are just personality traits.
But personal threats and attacks are different. We just cannot have this on the left like we do on the right! The civil rights movement set the right tone with nonviolent protest. This is what we need now to win. People will be on our side, even Bernie's, but the tone is important. If it was good enough for MLK and Gandhi, it should be good enough for Bernie's supporters.
I'm not bashing Bernie's supporters. If he does win, he'll have my wholehearted support. But if there are attacks on others who don't see eye-to-eye, I can't support that. It's not ok. What he'll do to change this would be my question to him.
6
I don't have a favorite at this point, but I do have a rejoinder for anyone who throws the term 'socialist' at you like it's up there with child molester.
Ask that person if they have living parents or grandparents who receive Social Security and/or use Medicare, and if they too will take advantage when they reach the required age.
When they most likely answer yes, tell them welcome to socialism.
Then ask them to think of their quality of life with neither of those things and make a choice: accept or decline.
Like you can't be just a little bit pregnant, you can't be just a little bit socialist when it suits you personally.
5
It's early. Calm down.
1
Nonsense. Democrats don't need unity to defeat Donald Trump. We just need to AVOID one of the preferred candidates of the DNC and the Democratic establishment. We'll need to get past the trickery of the nomination process and move on to the general election where our candidate needs to appeal to Independents and non-affiliated voters (who are almost 1/2 of all voters!) - and to POTENTIAL voters (who are almost 1/2 of all voting-age Americans!) - and a candidate who can appeal to some Trump supporters would be ideal (since every convert is like getting TWO new voters). Bernie Sanders is currently the only democratic candidate that can do all this and the only one who can beat Trump right now.
Please folks, do the math - it is sort of important. If establishment Democrats represent 80% of registered Democrats, this would equal only 20% of registered voters and just 10% of all Americans of voting age. One tenth! You can be sure that the other 90% does NOT share many views with this group, in general. It's pretty clear that an establishment Democrat should not be leading the country (at least until this establishment changes). Until Democrats recognize their self-centered biases and stop giving lip service to Democracy and accept more responsibility in representing the American people they will continue to lose. Bernie Sanders is now their best hope.
6
The only people making a fuss over the supposed "divisiveness" of the Democratic party are Donald Trump and the media, who both are churning up drama for their own purposes. All of the candidates have pledged to support whomever the Democratic nominee. That is solidarity. And all have pledged to do whatever they can to get Trump out of office. Stop with the constant pot stirring and let us have our process to hear our candidates and have our pick.
5
I'm torn between the self-indulgent fractious factionalism of this essay, and the attacks on it that some Comments display in writing about inevitable pre-primary winnowing.
2016 showed us how Bernie's folks could steal Hillary's votes, rightly or wrongly. The passion for him now could do the same if he's not crowned. Biden's underwhelming presence, in coming up against Trump, seems, well, underwhelming. And the rest? Who knows.
In the vast scheme of things, America will survive. Trump won't rule forever, nor will the McConnellites or those tromping on American values -- it just feels like it.
But I do have to moan as well about the fear that Democrats, myself included, don't have a clear message, a powerful dynamic, an overwhelming party unity beyond beat-Trump, nor a unifying game plan to take charge.
And the media -- making every sigh and syllable into another breaking news update. Stand back, take a breath, it's the long game -- and I fear Trump is going to give us four more years to get our act together.
4
I won't vote for Joe Biden because he's more of the same "Corporate Light Republican Democrat" that has steered the party into the mess we are in now. 2016 is long gone but the Democrats haven't learned anything from it. We're more divided than ever because of the dishonest effort that's been made to bring the party together. Bernie is the easy target because he's been an Independent who has to run as a Democrat because of the outdated two party grip on this country's political process makes it impossible to get a message out. I have to ask how is what Hillary Clinton and her supporters doing with their constant "Bernie-Bro" bashing been constructive at all? I'd respect Mrs. Clinton more if she would run again instead of sniping from afar. Even President Obama has piled on.
Democratic Congressional Leadership continues out of public view to vote for Trump's defense budgets, approve federal budgets, confirm his judges, while wasting millions in an election year on an impeachment proceeding that was never going to succeed.
Donald Trump is banking on our party divisions. He's banking on the rhetoric that gives him a good bit of his political power.
Please get out an vote beyond the poultry 58-59% of registered voters in 2016. Please demand more from Democrats in Congress and stop the political game playing and get to work helping the constituents that put them in office in the first place.
1
@Dean M.
Fine. Don't vote for someone. Just vote AGAINST Trump. Even if that means voting for someone other than your preferred candidate, as I will do.
5
You want everyone to vow to support Sanders, but in your first sentence you say you won’t vote for Biden. Who in their right mind does not believe that Biden or any of 20 other Democrats would be a vast improvement over Trump?
I dislike a big subset of Sanders supporters - many of whom actively tried to defeat Clinton in the last general election or sulked and whined and threw away their votes - but if necessary, I will hold my nose and vote for Sanders. Just because a quarter or more of his supporters are acting like destructive idiots (your first sentence my prime evidence) does not mean I want to risk Trump in a second term. Grow up and vow unity. If I can do it, so should you!
This kind of talk actively undermines Sanders in the eyes of many! I am so sick of Sanders supporters self-righteous cult-like attempts to brow beat everyone else as they demand a Sanders coronation and mean spiritedly threaten other voters “we kneecapped your candidate last time and we’ll do it again if we don’t get our way.” If Sanders is the best candidate, win a few actual elections and that will convince people. That’s the way Obama did it, not by threats and nastiness! Sadly, in a democracy, you can’t always get exactly what you want, but you can try to get the best available!
7
I watched a few snippets of the TV coverage of the Bernie, Elizabeth, and Biden rallies from yesterday. Bernie's crowd was very fired up, Elizabeth's crowd was somewhat fired up, and Biden's crowd was moribund.
Bernie got big cheers when he said he was running against the Democratic establishment. The progressive wing of the Democratic party would not really have been considered that progressive during FDR's time in office. But Bernie and Elizabeth are the best we have. I hope that they do not split up the progressive vote too much and thereby hand the nomination to Biden who seems like a merge of all the worst qualities of the conservative Dems who have run for office in the last 30 years.
6
If Sanders gets the nomination, Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon should be appointed as his co press secretaries so they're compelled to face the full consequences of what they wished for. Of course in the real world Sanders can't possibly beat Trump so Moore and Sarandon, after tanking another election with with matchless idealism, will go back to their comfortable and fulfilling lives every once in a while mourning about how the poorest and most vulnerable among us can never seem to catch a break.
13
I predict the Dem Party will be crushed by the avalanche of conspiracy theories from certain Dem voters when their candidate doesn’t win the nom. I wish I didn’t feel this fatalistic, but the in-fighting ugliness thus far is not simply “primary business as usual.” Primaries are a time for testing and tempering policies so we arrive at the most compelling platform that addresses the concerns of the many. So far I see a lot of rigidity and refusal to listen to and consider opposing views.
6
Lefties, take a road trip outside the bubble. EVERYWHERE there are help wanted signs, restaurants and airplanes are full, and new home construction is sizzling. Whatever the reasons for that, the economy is what Trump and the Republicans will campaign on. Many decent, ordinary people who are not fixated on Trump's immorality and criminality will simply vote their pocketbooks. They won't sign on to the revolution.
If the Democratic candidate fails to build a coalition, we're probably looking at 1972 all over again, with drastically more dire consequences. Most people are not interested in pushing to see see how low we can go.
8
Senator Sanders is preaching exactly what he did in 1968! It was bold and exciting to an 18 yr old college freshman. It is a tired, worn out and very impractical message to a retired 70 yr old. I worked very hard. I do not care to have my doctor’s visit akin to a DMV visit. Every American needs to have skin in the game.
Before we address free college, let us address the state on education K/12.
9
Divided is one way to put, but then there are the rest of us Democrats who don't like any of the choices in Iowa.
3
I’m not a moderate— I like Sanders and to a lesser degree Warren ( even if tensions have arisen between them lately).
But I have no idea concerning electability. After Trump, who does?
One thing I don’t get on the moderate side is why it is Biden, Buttigieg and Klobucher. I never understood why a Booker didn’t take off. Too moderate for me politically, but he has more experience than Buttigieg ( as does everyone), no stories about meanness to subordinates that I have heard about, and he doesn’t have a record of lying and foot in mouth disease that Biden has going back decades. Yet Booker didn’t last.
3
What's in stake in Iowa for the Democrat party on Tuesday? That's easy. Will the Democrat party take the far left road to socialism, or will they return to the mainstream politics of the American way, and capitalism? In this case it's a no-brainer. The Democrats will cave to the far left fringe that now controls the narrative of their party, and they will go the Sanders route. And that way leads to ignominious defeat once again in November. The reality show host and billionaire builder is far preferred by the American people to the socialist hypocrite who would take away your gas powered cars and destroy millions of energy sector jobs, nationalize healthcare in the failed British model, forgive legitimate college debt to buy votes, and destroy the capitalist model that has served America well since its founding.
3
What's great about the people supporting Sanders is they really do not have to deal in reality. They love his Magic Wand programs which will never ever become law. They dismiss the fact that the GOP and Trump are not just a political opponent but are an ideological force of evil that needs no help destroying their opponent – McConnell and Barr are proud of the work they have done in dismissing the Constitution. Sanders will not win the national election and his supporters will once again say that politics is rigged and they are right: it is rigged to pick people who can lead, who can work with others, who have viable track records of accomplishments and who actually understand that Denmark has less than nine million very white people, ten times larger than Vermont, and is the worst comparison to the USA anyone with a clue would ever posit as a role model. And finally, if the progressives who support Sanders want programs that really have a chance to become laws the clear choice is Warren. She has all the qualities Sanders lacks and the energy to unite the country and become president. Sanders is happy to admit he is not a Democrat. So lets be happy to choose someone who is to be the next leader of the Democrats and who can restore the United States to prominence in the world. Warren/Booker or Warren/Castro is the wining combo.
7
As much as it's become fashionable for the media to publish "Democrats in Disarray" articles, I think most of us primary voters will gladly vote for any human being who is nominated to challenge Donald Trump.
2
I'm no big fan of Bernie Sanders, and was a maxed out donor to HRC's campaign in 2016. This election cycle I am supporting Biden, Bloomberg & Klobuchar. However, make no mistake, should Sanders win the nomination I will put my time and my bank account to work to get him elected. Donald Trump is an existential threat to the future of humanity, and there is no more important task than getting him the heck out of the White House. What unites us Democrats is stronger than anything that divides us. Every Democrat I know feels the same way. It's all hands on deck to save our democracy and the future of this planet.
9
Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren. Period. 2020
Bernie is the FDR-style Democrat everyone needs and wants the restore our Republic and bring us into the modern era with the rest of the first world in terms of healthcare and democratic policies and protections. Everyone but corporate news, billionaires, the DNC, Tom Perez knows this.
4
Bernie Sanders. Period. 2020
He’s the moderate Democrat we need and want. Stop try my to frame him as left. FDR was more left than Bernie. If the DNC and Tom Perez try to force another corporate “democrat” down our throats, they will lose again in 2020.
2
FDR? You may as well try to remind the Republicans that Lincoln was one of their own
1
Since when is “divided” the default characterization for an election? The concept of a robust election is to have an opportunity for voters to hear a contest of ideas, and then pick one or some combination thereof.
This is disgraceful reporting, propagandistic entertainment masquerading as journalism and imho contributes heavily to the rank discourse that fouls the political environment.
1
Unity? Supporters of Hillary Clinton and Mr. Sanders have found themselves relitigating the quarrels of 2016, a feud revived by Mrs. Clinton’s recent assertion that “nobody likes” Mr. Sanders and exacerbated when a top Sanders surrogate, Representative Rashida Tlaib, joined some Iowans in booing the party’s last nominee on Friday night.
"Only in political conflict do soldiers try to kill each other first for the privilege of killing their enemy second".
1
Have you not been reading any political coverage for the last four year?
Bernie Bros have been actively bullying all and sundry, trashing the Democratic Party leadership and generally acting like political thugs while whining endlessly about unfairness, how much they hated and continue to hate Clinton and all her supporters. (At least most Ralph Nader supporters in 2000 had the decency to feel some shame that their selfishness was responsible for the Bush Victory!) So Clinton didn’t exactly start this (although she was wasting her breath on Sanders fanatics and preaching to the choir among her own supporters) but she might have saved us all the sound and fury!
Sanders supporters have no crystal ball (though they think they do)- no one knows how Sanders would have fared in the last presidential election and there is no lock on victory in the next with him as the candidate either - I wish there were! But stop demanding unity for Sanders, while in the next breath saying you won’t consider voting for anyone else! And you guys said Clinton acted “Entitled!”
If you think Trump is bad for democracy, vote for whoever runs against him. I am willing to vote for Sanders if he actually wins the nomination! You should do the same for other candidates!
1
Gotta love all the handwringing by Democrats over a candidate that actually isn't and never will be a Democrat...
4
This field is a disaster. I registered as a Democrat as an 18-year-old in 1976 and proudly voted for President Obama twice 30 years later. This field of candidates is a total disaster except for Joe Biden and possibly Elizabeth Warren if she would quit apologizing and bowing to identity groups.
No socialists. That’s a sure-fire loser in November.
6
So this is “ the best” candidates the DNC can find today for President? None of them are very exciting or dynamic types with charisma. A real combat veteran such as Jim Webb ran in 2016, but was pushed out by Hillary and the old DNC clique, remember? So the party has only themselves to blame with the current stable of has beens and losers! Scary for America...
3
The Democrats sold out hard to the coastal liberals who are utterly clueless about how the rest of the country thinks. They have no chance against the Trump machine in November.
9
None of the democrat voters, and none of the candidates definately did not envision or expect 2 kabillionaires to stick their noses into the race.
1
Nine more months of this! And by “this” I mean campaign journalism churning out pieces like ... this one.
3
Who is this "they" you speak of, white man? (glossing the old joke where Tonto responds to the Lone Rangers's statement that "we're surrounding by Indians" by saying "what do you mean by we?"
These articles are frustrating because they assume that unity happens before the primaries and that these events are mere coronations.
The reality is that the sequence of primaries is the exact way that you build unity and a strong, multifaceted governing coalition. Indeed, the very process in each state exercises the stiff muscles (the ground game) that would not be ready in the general election. A longer unresolved primary season is therefore beneficial.
14
At least this will be easier this time for the Dems. The GOP message is always clear and simple - more money for corporations and the wealthy. This time the Dems message will be singular and simple as well - more votes for whoever the Dem candidate is and none for Trump.
1
I remember all too vividly 2016 when you did your best to ignore Bernie's campaign right up to the very end....and then blamed him for Hillarie's defeat in loud headlines. I love the NYT but we're on to you and your corporate liberalism. I happen to be a supporter of Warren this time for her more nuanced stands but would be happy for either to be the candidate. But then again, like most Americans, my 401K isn't so great and my paycheck isn't delivered by way of stock and bond dividends.
12
I'm beginning to feel a party that cannot defeat trump does not deserve its place at the helm.
12
This is a good and realistic article. I have read the readers' comments and wish to add a sobering thought. Firstly, the idea that the majority, if not all democrats will automatically vote for whoever the final democratic nominee will be, appears to me to be unsupported. Why should any individual voter vote for somebody whose policy one strongly disagrees with, such as the implementation of a socialist agenda into our society? If the voters believe that the status quo (capitalism) is better than the change (socialism), they may think twice before committing their vote to the change. Finally, trying to send any voter on a guilt trip over their choice for whom they intend to vote is very un-American. "Follow the party line" is socialism; "freedom of choice" is a free society like ours.
16
Campaign 2020 is pretty much the same as 2016 for Democrats. The DNC trying to destroy Bernie again and Democrats without a clarifying message other than get Trump.
11
Getting Trump - that's a perfectly clear message to me given what Trump stands for.
1
Whoever gets to be the nominee matters, but so does his or her running mate.
Whoever these two are, hopefully they'll cover all the bases.
1
This election cycle's collective of Democratic candidates is about as exciting as a dinner of boiled chicken and warm milk. A reasonable centrist with the appropriate skills, knowledge, and abilities would run away with the nomination. Instead, we see Democrats behaving like Democrats. Cliquish whiners who are agenda lite or exceptionally bad at math. This election will be decided on kitchen table issues so you better know how to balance a checkbook. One wonders if they can.
13
The graphic above this article is misleading and inaccurate. It shows Biden and Sanders huddled around "22%" in the average of Iowa polls, with Biden presumably slightly ahead since he's positioned to the left of Sanders.
Well, the RealClearPolitics average shows Sanders at 23% in Iowa and Biden at 19%. For the other candidates, your graphic aligns exactly with RCP, and RCP is considered the gold standard, so I assume that's your reference point.
Looks like just another attempt by the establishment media to tamper with the info in graphics to make it seem Sanders is not doing as well as he is. You guys have convinced much of the 45% of Americans who support Trump that you are "fake news" and the "enemy of the people." Are you now trying to do the same with Sanders supporters? You realize that will be well over half the country, right?
6
No one has a clue what will bring Trump down because so many factors have come together to keep him "up". Trump is in fact a giant balloon, kept aloft with lots of different strings, with the two biggest being Citizen's United to the Electoral College. And his tribes are many--there are the corporate Trumps and the coal country Trumps; the racist Trumps and the just plain angry-about-everything-but-nothing-in-particular Trumps. There are many good people among the Democrats, but only one can really go toe-to-toe with the current occupant of the Oval Office. And he's not on the stage yet. The Progressives, like AOC and Michael Moore, will need to stop fanning hysteria about this still missing candidate, unless they want four more years of Trump.
1
You would think that the New York Times could at least comprehend that this is a Primary, and foremost the first one. The candidates are running against each other at present and need to create their own brand. Bernie is running as if its 2016 all over again and its doubtful that his popularity, if that is what it is called, will grow much beyond his avid supporters. Warren tries too hard to have answers for everything, while somehow remaining clueless to the tepid level of support for most of what she promotes. Biden is the only candidate who can run on an basically anti Trump agenda given his role in the Obama presidency. Buttigieg is a serious candidate, but probably not yet ready for Primetime. Come back and see us in 2024. Bloomberg is the wild card. It all depends on when it is played.
All the rest will likely be gone by March. It was just a waste of millions of dollars on their part.
Anyhow, the true identities will emerge when a front runner is clear. Until then, Trump is a back story to the Democratic primary.
2
Remember to vote folks, it's your only voice. Put it on your calendar now!! November 4, 2020 is the day you will cast you vote and make yourself heard!
@RS
Is that you, Donald? Election Day this year is Nov 3.
2
Not diverse?!? Let’s see . . . an LGBT candidate, 2 female candidates, an Asian-American candidate, two Jewish candidates. It is less diverse than when the race started, but that was to be expected.
14
Dear supporters of Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, or Bloomberg:
If Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee, will you actively support and vote for him?
---
In 2016, I voted for Sanders in the primary. And then I stood in line for two hours to vote for Hillary Clinton in November. I hope you will do the same.
Vote blue, no matter who.
I did. Will you?
---
ps: My first choice candidate at this point is Buttigieg. But I will vote blue, no matter who, in 2020. Including for Sanders. Or any of them, including Biden or Bloomberg, among all others. And I will do so enthusiastically!
Will you?
Vote blue, no matter who.
19
@MidtownATL
Strategy straight from the days of Tammany Hall... obedience no matter what is more important than principle apparently.
2
@Matt Carey
"Strategy straight from the days of Tammany Hall... obedience no matter what is more important than principle apparently."
Oh, I have principle in my views alright. Every single Democrat running supports the positions I believe in.
It is the Republicans who have abandoned every conservative principle in their bones to blindly support Donald Trump. He is not a conservative. He is just a con man and a two-bit populist huckster.
3
@Matt Carey
Sounds more like today's Republican Party. Trump over principles, morals, ethics, decency., truth.....
2
If I could vote it would be for Joe Biden or Amy Klobuchar. Both of these candidates have the experience to succeed on the world stage while having the ability, respect and foresight to act for the benefit of the United States.
The United States need the next President to be able to unite a divided nation and compromise with people from all parties for the best interests of the people.
Personally, I would vote for Joe Biden because:
1.Trump fears him
2. He has integrity, empathy, ethics and values truth
3. His ideas demonstrate a practicality lacking in others
Despite not being able to vote, I do have a stake in this election. Your choices for the future have a great impact on me, as an ally and as a pathway forward.
Whatever your choice, it will be a just one as long as it's the will of the people and not some hacker. God bless you all!
4
Much ado about nothing. All the Democratic contenders have great things to offer. We can't go wrong with any of them. May the best man or woman win.
7
As a Republican, thank you for quoting Michael Moore. Please do so in the future. A lot.
13
Have to admit that I’ve never heard the term, “Icelandic gender parity,” before today. I did a search and came up with nothing. Like, what the heck does this even mean? Is this a slur on Sanders for wanting gender equality? What is Iceland’s relation to gender equality that makes it uniquely theirs? I sensuous don’t understand what the author is going for here except to paint Bernie as some sort of outsider pushing crazy ideas (that work everywhere else).
5
What genius allowed Bernie to run on the Democratic line anyway, when he's spent his career running as a Democratic Socialist?
7
I will vote for Andrew Yang if he is nominated. His propaganda makes sense to me. He should wear a tie. He is too informal. We don't need an informal guy in the White House. Trump always dressed properly. The guy from South Bend always dressed neatly. We will end up with old Bernie Sanders.
1
I'm about as far left as one can get, and I like the Warren and Sanders platform, but then again, I like Klochubar, and what she stands, and Biden is okay too, and that Yang fellow has some great ideas, then Steyer with his stand on climate change.
I'm a Democrat and not one bit concerned which candidate gets the nomination. Because this country is going to decide in the November election whether we go forward or back to the dark ages.
This election is not about party, or candidates, it's about our Democratic Principles.
131
@cherrylog754
I'm on the same page. I'd love a Warren presidency, but I think the other candidates bring a lot to the table and I hope we can energize the entire party to elect whoever the nominee is. I hope people don't sit at home sulking if their favorite drops out, we need to get Trump out at all costs.
37
@E B
"I hope people don't sit at home sulking if their favorite drops out, we need to get Trump out at all costs."
Unfortunately, a recent poll showed that about half of the supporters of two candidates claim they'd do just that. These are people that would condemn this nation if they don't get what they want.
That's very dangerous group to have in a big tent.
...Andrew
10
@A. Gideon I think it does this election a huge disservice to state “a recent poll...” and to continue the sound bites of “half of” the supporters of “two candidates” as a dangerous group. Just stop. Instead of predicting what Sanders and Warren supporters *might* do, get out there and vote for your candidate in the primaries, and then get out and support the nominated candidate so we can beat Trump.
11
Mr. Flegenheimer you are pot stirring and labeling. Not a diverse running field of Democrats? Age differences, gender differences, and gay. If you want even more diversity go look at the 2018 field of Democrats elected to the House. Now go look across the aisle.
This messy, strongly debated, heated discussions, frustratingly uncertain process of choosing a candidate is called how a democracy works.
Or you could look at the debacle of the Republicans.
132
@Alice
"Not a diverse running field of Democrats?"
The diversity argument is weak. There will ultimately be a single nominee, about as non-diverse a set as one can have. That diversity is reduced as the pool shrinks to that one is necessarily true.
...Andrew
4
@Alice
Of the top Democratic contenders you have two women, two Jews, an Asian, a Catholic and a gay guy. Their ages range from mid thirties to late seventies.
Even though the African-American and Hispanic candidates failed to catch fire it’s hard to argue that it isn’t a diverse group.
9
Trump ran against the Establishment and he won. Sanders is running against the Establishment, too, so will it work for him?
3
@Jackson
Not only a career politician, but a do-nothing politician at that. He was kicked out of a hippy commune for laziness, and he famously promoted breadlines as being “good”. He is the LAST person we need.
3
Dear Democrats who think Bernie will lose to Trump,
1. I will vote blue, no matter who. As should you.
2. Bernie Sanders is not my first choice as the Democratic nominee. But I will wholeheartedly support him should he win the primary, and be our nominee.
3. I agree with the broad vision that Bernie Sanders has for the United States. Every Democrat in America should also agree with this this vision -- opportunity for all.
4. I do not support every specific detail of Sanders' policy proposals. But I am not worried. He will push for the the big vision, and Congress will constrain him. That is our political process. And if you don't ask, you don't get.
We should all move toward affordable health care, opportunity for all, infrastructure to support our future, and affordable public education.
5. I am a pro-business Democrat. I own stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. My wife and I have been fortunate in our lives. We are willing to pay higher taxes. We support opportunity for all Americans, like what we have been fortunate to have.
My wife (a former Republican) and I see no contradiction between supporting Bernie Sanders, should he be the Democratic nominee, and supporting American progress through capitalism -- a well-regulated capitalism that supports both entrepreneurship as well as labor and the middle class, which we previously had for most of the 20th century.
Bernie Sanders is not a radical. He would be considered a moderate in Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, etc.
17
I dunno. Amy Klobuchar was always kind of my vision. Still is.
9
Bernie is electable only for the kids that want their college parties paid for by somebody else. The adults can't elect Bernie, he's even worse then Trump for the country. Buttegieg got nothin, uncle Joe can't tie his shoes without strangling himself, and Amy/Warren should be having 40% of the Democratic vote each. I doubt that either one of the two can debate with Trump one on one because they don't get it that nice guys finish last. Detailed policy debates may be interesting to 10% of the population, but 60% flat out do not get rhyme and reason. We are so cooked.
7
I like how reducing college tuition to something manageable or forgiving a chunk of debt is “paying for college parties” to you. Many of us went into well-paying fields with our degrees and still have debt. Maybe you’d be more sympathetic if you also had to fork over 1/4 of your paycheck to Sallie Mae. And if I didn’t get that degree, I couldn’t even get into my field, so what does a person do?
5
You know, during the run-up to the primary, a lot of analysis went into which candidate pulled in how much from campaign donations. And yet, so many democrats froth at the mouth regarding the Citizen's United supreme court decision. Does anyone else see some sort of disconnect here?
5
The core of Sanders support is right back to where it was all during the run-up to the 2016 election, all those drowning in Student Loan Debt. So why is this breaking news?
They've been waiting and simply got back together again. Oh, and then you can toss in their parents, grandparents, and friends who've been sending in their dollars hoping to help get these types out of debt, out on their own, when applicable, buying houses and cars, instead of endlessly surviving by 'grub-rubbing' their meals, using 'uber' and seizing on all that crazy 'Free Delivery' we keep seeing.
And then toss in the rumors of our government initiating the Draft to get more than the less-than 1% of our 18 to 20-somethings' who serve doing anything to help the country, and there's their Pied Piper no-more-wars, Bernie Sanders waiting with his had out. He knows what to tell these potential voters, simply what they desperately need to hear.
2
@merc Wrong on all counts. I am old, comfortably off, and sick and tired of watching the government game the populace for fun and profit.
I went with Hillary last time. Big mistake.
Bernie? Bring it. Open arms.
3
I participated in a Colorado caucus 4 years ago which solidly supported Bernie Sanders and would not even listen to those few supporting Hillary Clinton. And this attitude persisted right through the election to point that some would not vote for her or listen to what she said. So it was not surprising for me when she lost knowing this was not an isolated aberration. Have we learned our lesson to go beyond our internal squabbling, our search for purity, to win an election so vital to us all?
Ruth Bader Ginzberg is hanging on at the Supreme Court valiantly to find out what our answer will be.
4
@just Robert
Ginsburg
@just Robert
Sorry, no sympathy from me for RBG. She should have retired at the beginning of Obama's first time. It was just plain vain/selfish of her not to.
3
How about Adam Schiff for President! Watch his closing impeachment argument. Tremendous.
9
The Democratic Party can't lose either way. If Bernie or Warren ends up being the nominee and loses the general, this will silence the progressive wing for the next 20 years. Or if Biden, Mayor Pete, or Amy end up being the nominee and loses, then the Democrats will be all in on Democratic Socialists for 2024 (moderates need not apply!). If anyone of these people gets the nomination and wins, the Democrats will have another identity crisis, but, hey, we win the White House in 2020 so who the heck cares!
3
I'm so grateful to you for this comment. All of this media angst is extremely unhelpful. And it's toxic.
There are two things that Democrats agree on: There's a good chance that Trump will be toast no matter who the nominee is, and second, Hillary is a bitter, divisive, politically naive person who, like Trump (gulp) will never admit her many failings. It won't matter to her who becomes president, because she's rich. The rest of us (well, a lot of us) wish she would scurry away for good.
5
@steve
The Dems always think they are going to win.
That's why they lose.
3
I am anxious, that’s for sure. As Bernie and his supporters have made it their mission to wreck the Democratic Party, it’s a serious concern for me where that’ll leave actual Democrats if they should succeed. I could never support a Republican but on the flip side, there’s not chance that I’ll support Sanders or anyone else at the extreme left of the political spectrum either and I’m willing to bet that many other Democrats feel the same. There’s a struggle going on in the party and that struggle and the fallout will, I fear, lead to Trumps re-election. Good job Bernie, you wanted to take a wrecking ball to the party and you have succeeded. I just don’t think the result will be what Sanders and his rabid supporters are hoping for.
12
@Ajvan1 Bernie isn't wrecking the party, he's bringing it back to its true roots with FDR and the New Deal. If you think this is a bad thing you belong in the Republican party.
4
@Ajvan1 I hope that you do help bring the party together by voting for Sanders, should he win the primaries. It is a time to consider a unification under the Left of the Democratic Party, the party of FDR. Sanders is not extreme.
He just wants for every American what most Europeans take for granted: Universal Healthcare, Accessible Education through college and Social Security and more public goods. My working class parents who adored FDR would be rooting for Sanders if they were still with us!
2
Here's a novel way to approach the primaries: Which of these candidates is worth the (not inconsiderable) risk of losing to Donald Trump in November?
1
Healthy disagreements isn’t division.
There is real division but it is typically from establishment wealthy individuals attempting to rig the system and throw shade while claiming unity. In terms of the people themselves we are simply disagreeing and actually arguing the details.
Isn’t that better than the republican exile like Justin Amash under party dictatorship and republican loyalty squads like Rush Limbaugh attacking anyone who disagrees with Trump?
2
Divided?
It's called Democracy!
Democracy is not for those who are afraid we the people want someone they don't want to disturb their privileged status quo!
6
Note to Dems: Quit wasting all this time and money in Iowa! We have to come up with a better method in 2024. Maybe a series of regional primaries; midwest, northeast, south, southwest and west. Putting so much time and money into Iowa is ridiculous. What matters is who can beat Trump in Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, etc. The Iowa caucus tells us almost nothing about that.
3
Surely, if we've learned nothing else from the 2016 debacle, it's that party unity determines electability.
A sufficient number of Republicans held their noses to vote for Donald Trump and handed Trump the presidency.
A sufficient number of Democrats sat on their hands rather than vote for Hillary Clinton and handed Donald Trump the presidency.
What does 'vote your conscience' mean when it translates into 'me first' rather than 'the greater good'?
In 2016, I thought it better to have a Clinton presidency on my conscience than Trump in the White House. In 2020 I will 'vote Blue no matter who'. If you seriously oppose Trump and the GOP agenda, then there is no other credible option.
7
Thank you for this - it’s so true. We must vote blue - no matter who!
2
Democrats had a vision. Under Kennedy. And under Obama. But not lately. And probably not for a long time to come.
3
Who would not be Anxious given majority knows the current occupant does solicit and use help from foreign adversary's to influence the outcome, it is quiet scary
It really makes no sense for candidates to exhaust their funds and energy in a single state like Iowa which is not representative of the voting population.It is also nonsensical that the voting takes place in caucuses which favor the politically astute, the committed and those who have the luxury to spend several hours in an evening at a gathering not necessarily near where they live.If a large political field needs to be winnowed it should be in perhaps six early voting states-this would be more representative and would keep a few candidates from getting an early bounce on the basis of one state’s preferences .This is not fair and is not necessarily dispositive-ask Dick Gephardt and Tom Hardin!
2
Dems are anxious because front runner Bernie Sanders keeps talking nonsense like abolishing all student debt. You want to win? Run on capping student loan interest at 2%. Those of us who lived simpler lives in order to pay our loans won't vote for such foolishness. I don't want another 4 years of Trump, but running Bernie will get us exactly that.
Just give the nomination to Bloomberg. He can win.
8
I’m praying for Andrew Yang.
I have been supporting him for almost a year, doing everything I can. I hope that he and the Yang Gang shock the world tonight.
5
Every cycle , the same anxiety arises about party disunity, and every cycle those anxieties are gone by the time of the convention in the summer.
Also , how many times will I forced to read the NYT go on and on about the “old, white, male candidates? If the Democratic Party was actually able to recruit non white candidates of substance and not just the mediocre ones we’ve seen , this problem have been solved. Michelle Obama would be wiping the floors with Biden or Bernie right about now. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris demonstrated early on that they don’t have what it takes.
Until we have those candidates, please stop your reflexive whining about all the white candidates.
2
This is starting to look like a redux of 2016. We need someone inspirational who can unite the various clans of the Left. Someone who can bring us all together. Inspire us! Unite us! Bring us together so that we can rise up and fight as one against our cruel and treacherous enemy.
We need another Barrack Obama or a Joan d'Arc or Dani Ramos or a John Connor.
Alas, I'm just not feeling it..
1
@jhine,
Joan d'Arc was burned at the stake by her foes, the English.
1
The English, my other ancestors.
1
If the democrats nominate a socialist, Trump get re-elected in a walk.
12
The people are with Bernie. Elizabeth was on her way and some seriously impaired insider convinced Ms. Warren to make a complete and utter fool of herself. Buttigieg is so transparently a tool for the status quo and fortunately black American's see right through his translucent facade. Biden is the mother of all jokes. Really, Hunter isn't an issue because Trump is that much grosser? Don't know how effective that is. Bloomberg? Really? Steyer? I like him but I'm sorry, the fact he cashed in on coal and no sings a different tune just rubs me the wrong way. This is what should happen. Bernie should start driving to the heart of it all with details. Not the vagueness that continues to make him appear either clueless or not committed to truly overturning that which is the focus of his/our "revolution." Speaking of fraud with out details is Change We Can Believe In Part II. Corporatist dems and Bernie naysayers need to step aside and watch what happens next.
5
I find it hard to believe that there are Democrats who thought the party would unite to defeat Trump. The number one characteristic of Sanders supporters is they don't compromise. If a Democratic candidate doesn't pass every litmus test (e.g., Medicare for All, not accepting corporate contributions) they are not going to get a lot of support from the Sanders side. The Republican Party came apart with the moderates now having literally no party. The Democratic Party as of now has two strong wings and they have differences that cannot be easily reconciled. It is this division that is contributing to the Democrats inability to stop what appears to be the US sliding toward fascism.
6
@Bob Sanders supporters were more loyal to the party in 2016 than Hillary supporters were in 2008. Corporate stooges are the unreliable ones, not progressives.
2
"On the brink of actual voting, the party that preached of unity to defeat President Trump finds itself very divided."
I disagree. Everyone I know will vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
Chris Matthews once said, regarding elections, that "Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line."
Democrats in 2020 have resolved to fall in line on November 3, and vote in unity to rid our nation of the scourge currently occupying the oval office.
Sure, we are having healthy debates among the candidates in the primary process. But we all agree on the big picture issues, and the vision of a positive future for all Americans. The candidates just have different ways of getting from here to there.
I am highly engaged in the election this year. And I have my personal preferences for the outcome of the primary. But that is not very important to me. The general election (up and down the ballot) is what I care about. I will vote blue, no matter who.
I am saving most of my campaign contributions until after the primary elections. I have given a little money to both Pete Buttigieg and to Bernie Sanders. But I will happily support Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, or Michael Bloomberg (listed in no particular order), if he or she is the Democratic nominee.
Vote your conscience in the primary. And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
15
@D
That is a myth. I voted for Bernie in the 2016 primary, and then voted for Clinton. Every Democratic-leaning voter I know voted for Clinton in 2016.
I am frankly more concerned that a few DNC moderates will stay home if Bernie Sanders is the nominee. That would be equally damaging, and stupid.
That all said, I believe that the overwhelming majority of Democrats will vote blue, no matter who, in 2020. I know I will. And so will all my family, friends, and neighbors.
7
@MidtownATL
Hillary has already said she won't vote for Bernie. That is one bitter woman blaming everyone and taking no responsibility. Where else have we seen this?
Why is it that even the so-called liberal press finds a way to overstate the weaknesses of Democrats even as the GOP is gorging itself on absolute moral and judicial failure and weakening the country with nearly every lurching move Trump and his cronies make, some of which border on traitorous?
These are the primaries. They are supposed to highlight the differences among candidates. It's not unusual to see a course change toward unity once a candidate is selected. I still have considerable hope that will happen this time, with strong endorsements for it from all current candidates. That is what we need. Because any differences pale in comparison to the horror that another four years of Trump will bring.
13
In response to those who believe the DNC smear that Sanders has done nothing I offer a post from another person a couple of weeks ago:
Wrote 'n passed an $11billion HC Clinics Bill. Serving an estimated 30 million citizens in 11000 rural and urban locals. Negotiated the $5 billion bipartisan Landmark Veterans Bill of '14. Recently helped the workers in the Fight for $15 win a doubling of wages. 350,000 Amazon workers, 60,000 Disney workers, 20,000 Wholefoods workers and tens of thousands more. Restored $320 million in pension benefits to 130,000 IBM workers. Passage of the first and only audit of the Federal Reserve in '10. Passage of $3.2 billion Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy grants. Stopping bailed-out banks from replacing US workers with low wage guest workers. Stopping the Postal Service from closing up to 15000 post offices and over 100 mail processing plants, ending Saturday mail and slashing over 100,000 jobs. Passage of the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act. Raised wages of Federal contractors to a min. of $10.10 hr. or more. Created the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve. Would you like me to continue? The man is The Amendment King. Passing more amendments under heavily partisan Republican controlled gov. than any other congressman/woman.
My apologies to the original author whose name I did not get.
4
Biden, Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar... These are all establishment politicians whose supporters will vote for whoever the party nominates. Of that I have little doubt.
But for a non-insignificant number of Bernie supporters Trump has and will continue to be their second choice. That's obviously a major problem.
Following this establishment vs anti- or non-establishment candidate thread... it's hard to know what impact the Yang Gang will have on all this. He has inspired alot of people who were previously politically disengaged, along with what appears to be a significant number of disaffected Trump voters and libertarians. What happens to them if he doesn't shock the world (as Yang would say)?
2
The fact that Bernie supporters would get behind Trump were he not to get the nomination is incredibly off putting. They’re willing to hold this country hostage and for what.
2
@hicountryho It is a myth hat Sanders supporters would get behind Trump. It was a convenient myth for Hillary and her supporters so she didn’t have to face the fact that her downfall was voting for the War on Iraq, Syria and Lybia and not campaigning in three states she thought she had in her court.
1
It is clear the only supporters that are constantly complaining and playing the victim during this primary season are from the Bernie Sanders camp.
Does this sound familiar?
Well, it should.
Check out Donald Trump and his "playing the victim" Deplorable Nation and how they all jumped for joy when they got an unexpected boost in 2016 from Bernie Sanders' Bro Nation.
6
I don't get all this wringing of hands over at the Times as the title of the article says, " . . . the party that preached of unity to defeat President Trump finds itself very divided." How about using diverse instead of divided? If you have a very diverse party, like the Democratic Party, are you not going to have a diverse slate of candidates -- especially before the first primary? Is that not a good thing? My advice is don't get your knickers in knot at this stage. IMO, having all these candidates is a strength, not a weakness.
4
The democrats biggest obstacle is... the state of our union. "Life is Good."
We have the lowest unemployment in history - especially African American, Hispanic and Asian demographics.
The stock market reaches new all-time highs every month or so - 401Ks are more valuable than ever.
New trade agreements will have long-lasting positive benefits. Military is strong.
The World knows better than to mess with trump.
The democrats running for president all agree on one issue: "Democrats Will Dismantle All This Good." Nobody can win on that platform - even with a free $1,000/month stipend for everybody.
11
I think it is tactically to Democrats' advantage for the primary to last as long as possible before we choose an eventual nominee. It is fine with me if we don't choose a candidate until the convention in July.
1. Donald Trump is confused. He doesn't know who to attack with his childish tweets. His efforts are spread thin.
2. Democrats are resolved to vote blue, no matter who.
7
Oh dear. The Democrats seem to be circling the wagons and shooting inwards. How hard can it be to get a few candidates to take one for the team and withdraw in favour of some of the others? Some people are panicked by the accusations of Trump about the “radical left”. Rubbish. Left and right in politics are relative terms, compared to Trump half of the GOP are on the “left” so the man plainly does not know what he is talking about. Dismiss him and move on. One thing though, please get your act together, November is coming.
As George W. Bush once infamously said, "Seldom is the question asked, 'Is our children learning?’"
In case of the Democratic Party, the answer is clearly “No, they haven’t.”
The incompetent centrists (hello, they lost to Trump!) still running the party have spent their time moaning about misogyny, the voters "betraying" them, "Bernie Bros" upsetting their plans, and fruitlessly trying to get moderate Republicans to reject Trump. Not once since Clinton lost have the centrists done any serious self-examination or soul-searching.
They still rely on the tired, disproven "strategy" of "vote for our guy, he's not Trump" to carry them to victory in 2020.
The centrists claim American voters fear socialism and the USSR, therefore Sanders can't possibly win, forgetting that most voters today don't remember the USSR and Soviet communism because the centrists live in the far past for the most part (see Biden).
Sanders can and will win if the centrists don't sabotage him and throw the election again. he is the one person best equipped to defeat Trump: lifelong honesty and commitment to the same goals of improving life for all vs a lifelong liar and commitment to personal profit.
The centrists keep going after the voters who resemble them the most: supposedly moderate Republicans; they keep rejecting those they fear the most: progressives, which is why centrists keep losing elections.
Why vote for someone neither fish nor fowl when you can vote for the genuine article?
Bernie/Tulsi 2020
5
Whenever I see Michael Moore trotted out for a hubris laden rant on TV I know things are getting boring. With his fake rural costume and scolding speech, he is the first one who should be shelved. The problem isn't the number of Dem candidates or the debates instead there is no candidate who combines being prepared for the office with enough charisma. I like all of the boring candidates but Bernie and Bloomberg who aren't Democrats and should have run as Independents. 2020 voters are shallow and they will only vote for someone who is charismatic and theatrical. It's a "Hey, look there's a squirrel!" mentality and currently Bernie is the Dem squirrel. Trump has long been the squirrel to the rural MAGA crowd of entertainment starved shallow voters.
1
@PugetSound CoffeeHound Micheal Moore predicted Trump would win, so maybe you should listen to him a little more. He saw what the Clintonistas did not.
3
I don't understand NYT's continuing concern with unity among the candidates. They are competitors, not a team. No 11 people are identical. Democrats are as different from each other as Americans in general. It's ludicrous to expect a 37 year old moderate midwesterner to be the same as a 78 year old liberal New Yorker.
3
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
7
Democrats lack of focus. Trump will be re elected.
The reason are simple:
Trump has not stopped campaigning since he got elected. He is smart enough to use the negative media coverage in his favor.
Democrats are divided between socialists and moderates. They can’t find consensus. If the socialist really wanted to remove trump they should be out of the 2020 election
5
The Democrats are like the 49ers head coach: Bad at clock management.
*sigh*
Being a Democrat is like being a New York Jets fan - all hope, but that quickly fades as reality sets in.
Expect re-election of Trump.
Worse, expect a no-holds-barred Trump who won't have to worry about a 3rd term.
7
You know what? Every last person in the Democratic field would be a far better president than Trump. We have a deep bench, and we're going to have a great ticket of a moderate + liberal, whoever they turn out to be. Stop the handwringing and fight the fight.
8
This article’s title is exaggerated for drama.
Every democrat I know is going to vote blue no matter who. That’s a big “duh” for most reasonable democrats.
6
As of today, we have a gangster as a President and a GOP held US Senate, bought and paid for by the oligarchs, that likes having a compliant gangster administration. So if you want a constitutional democracy, rather than a thug run Trump run kleptocracy, you better vote in November. And it doesn't matter who. Anybody but Trump!
4
Sanders isn’t even a Democrat
6
But Trump was a Democrat, as was Giuliani and Reagan.
So, would you have voted for them?
1% Corporate America, including their "mainstream media" and the New York Times, are wringing their hands, terrified over Bernie Sanders, champion of we, the 99%, who are sick, tired & fed up over corporate status quo championed by Biden & Warren. POWER TO THE PEOPLE! GO BERNIE!
4
I don’t know anyone nervous. We Democrats know what is at stake. Whoever wins we support them . Their will be a cabinet where selfish smart people will be in it
Trump is a looser write about that for a change
No Democrats are allowing safety nets to be destroyed by a rich GOP who are traitors to America
2
The minority (Republicans) are unified by their religions — god, zygotes, guns — all wrapped up in a tidy package of fear and ignorance nightly on Fox. Monolithic “thinking” is what binds the minority together.
The unwieldy majority (the rest of us) is united solely in the knowledge that America is being led by a very Useful Idiot.
When governing, seeing our diversity as our strength is good for the country. However, when trying to get elected, it is that diversity that sinks the Blue Team every time. We can’t get merely competent leaders elected amid the internecine conflict; we need the truly exceptional to come along. Alas, this year we only have the qualified, ideologically motivated, competent in the race. It’s probably not enough to topple the clown.
Vote for TRUMP or the economy tanks
6
Oh stop it, New York Times. And all of you media people. This is the PRIMARY. This is where specifically when we are SUPPOSED to challenge each others' ideas as Democrats, Liberals, and/or Progressives. Stop running a narrative that we're "divided" during a process that is specifically meant to pit our different options against one another and may be best argument/option win. Once we pick a candidate, THEN you can decide how divided or united we are. Until then, stop enabling the kind of knee-jerk worldview you then pay all your op editors to bemoan about.
328
@Dave Baxter Maybe you should go listen to The Young Turks instead.
@Dave Baxter
Yes, the primary is the time to air differences
Intraparty struggles are necessary because the Democratic Establishment and its media are desperate to protect their comfortable status quo, against the ordinary people desperate for Real Change.
As for Sander's ideas, a 2016 Harper's article by Thomas Franks, after having meticulously examined Washington Post reporting on Bernie Sanders. "As we shall see, for the sort of people who write and edit the opinion pages of the Post, there was something deeply threatening about Sanders and his political views. He seems to have represented something horrifying, something that could not be spoken of directly but that clearly needed to be suppressed." ...
"Think of all the grand ideas that flicker in the background of the Sanders-denouncing stories I have just recounted. There is the admiration for consensus, the worship of pragmatism and bipartisanship, the contempt for populist outcry, the repeated equating of dissent with partisan disloyalty."
The NYT and other Establishment media continue this primary season to promote fear of Sanders and his ideas.
From a recently released 2016 video of Trump at a fundraiser: "Had she [Clinton] picked Bernie Sanders it would've been tougher. He's the only one I didn't want her to pick," Trump can be heard saying in the recording.
Bernie Sanders' integrity, bold ideas, vision and courage way outshine the media's attempt to marginalize him and his ideas.
21
@Dave Baxter
Your objection might be credible if more supporters on the left were willing to commit to voting blue no matter who.
While even David Brooks has written 'vote for the Democrat even if it's Warren', unlike Sanders himself, Bernie supporters are willing to elect Trump, again.
11
If I were Bernie Sanders, I would ask Michael Moore to work for Elizabeth Warren. In all of the Iowa coverage, I am stuck by the fact that the most sensible comments come from the voters, not the candidates.
3
As much as I like some of his policies, a Vote for Sanders is a Vote for Trump. Sanders does not stand a chance nationally. The only two who do compete with Trump are Biden and Bloomberg.
7
@Philip W
"a Vote for Sanders is a Vote for Trump"
That is not accurate.
- https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/
In the overwhelming majority of polls of Trump vs. each potential Democrat in swing states (and also nationally), Bernie Sanders performs about the same as Joe Biden or Michael Bloomberg against Donald Trump.
I do not write this as a Sanders advocate. He is not my first choice in the primary, though I would be happy to support him should he become the nominee. Rather, I write this as one of the majority of Americans who will vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
4
After the dust settles vote Blue.
11
The DNC exposed the tip of the corruption iceburg in the 2016 election when it rigged the primary against Bernie and for Hillary. What we are experiencing now is the gradual and painful return to some element of equilibrium within the democrat party. It may take another eight years to work through the swings.
Trump is a leader. You may not like him, but he thrives in the role of an executive, making difficult decisions, taking tough actions. The democrats do not have a leader (can you really imagine Warren or Klobuchar or Bernie or AOC negotiating with Xi or Putin?).
The big money is working through the ranks, hoping to find the right candidate. It used to be Biden, but he is unelectable after the Joe/Hunter/Burisma scandal. It might be Warren or Bernie, but a socialist cannot beat Trump this cycle, and a heavy majority of citizens just don't agree with socialism. That leaves the back of the pack (ha!) or the long shot - but who wants a president telling us we can't have a large Pepsi with out burger?
So in the meantime, the party flails in all directions while the house struggles with some big turnovers in November.
10
@99percent
Trump may be a "Leader," in the totalitarian sense, as in Duce or Fuhrer, but a leader? Spare me. He has none of the classic attributes of a real leader.
What he is, is a narcissistic, unqualified, inarticulate, mendacious, arrogant, amoral con artist. A leader? Not hardly.
Hopefully many independents like me will be voting against him. The alternative will probably be better; it can't be worse.
4
@ 99 percent
And the Democrats take the Senate in November. You forgot that part.
And Mike Bloomberg is not only a leader but he’s a REAL billionaire.
4
The democratic party would try to marginalize and defeat FDR if he was running today. When did mainstream democratic values become "radical"? Probably when democrats realized they could ride the same gravy train as the republicans. It is a good thing that as an FDR democrat Sanders "divides" the party. Lickspittle kowtowing to the monied interests is not in the interest of this country. It's about time that a "radical" like Sanders shakes the party loose from its craven allegiance to wealth and returns it to recognizing and implementing the interests of the citizens it used to represent.
14
@Jackson FDR was a millionaire at a time when a million dollars was actually worth something. I don't care how much money Sanders is worth. I care about how he funds his campaigns and who he is beholden to as a result. I care about his policies and that they are in the interests of ordinary citizens. One can become a millionaire just on a senate salary. Apparently, Sanders made some money on a book deal as well. That is a far cry from being beholden to special interests because they funded your campaigns. It is also a far cry from the "gravy train" I mentioned, where exorbitant sums of money are traded for special interest legislative favors.
4
"The top remaining Democratic contenders are all white, mostly male and mostly old, encapsulated by Mr. Biden"
Age is a factor, but I'm voting Democratic no matter who. I don't understand why the media doesn't make a big deal of Trump's age, and as I've read from many sources, he clearly has signs of dementia.
None of the Democrat contenders do.
6
Biden certainly is sounding his age when he debates. Most of his debate answers are gibberish
6
Democrats won't beat Trump because all they want to do is beat Trump. That may be enough for Trump's strongest critics but it's hardly enough for those whose lives aren't dependent on how they personally feel about a president. They look at results, and in that regard Trump has been effective.
11
@AACNY
"Trump has been effective."
Mr. Trump has been effective at:
- Alienating our allies.
- Enabling dictators (Kim Jong-un, Ergogan, Duterte, MbS, MbZ, Putin, et. al)
- Dividing our nation.
- Giving us $1,000,000,000,000 deficits as far as the eye can see.
- Fomenting endless war in the middle east (the Kurds, Iran, Yemen, etc.) -- while sending MORE U.S. troops there.
- Destroying separation of powers and checks and balances in the federal government.
- Permanently destroying the export markets for American farmers.
- Greenlighting corruption.
- And I could go on and on and on.
I'm tired of all this "winning." Please make it stop.
3
@AACNY
That’s where Sanders and Warren come in. They have broad visions beyond beating Trump. This will resonate with disaffected Republicans.
4
@Oliver
Actually, no. Having a broad vision is not the same as being able to deliver. Progressives don't mind this. Republicans tend to be more grounded and expect measurable results.
3
Whittle it down to the top 3-4 serious candidates ASAP. We don't need billionaires with 2% in the polls getting involved. Serious candidates with a REAL CHANCE of winning only, please!
4
Well if anything ought to help unite the perennially factious Democrats in their efforts to stop Donald J. in his tracks in November, it certainly ought to include GOP Senator Lindsey Graham's recent warning to them of pending retribution, "(Sc)We're coming"- Following the recent vote to shut down the witness process of the Impeachment trial.
One would think that the Demo's historical memory would include remembering Richard Nixon's infamous 'Enemies List', and how he as President had already begun to execute his Dirty Trickster campaign to smear, co-opt or criminally shut down his critics or rivals, when his trickster band of Plumbers were caught burgling the DNC National headquarters. It should also have to go unsaid, that the Demos should pause in their fraternal bloodletting at least long enough to recall, via Hacker Gate, that the Orange One himself has already shown that he is more than willing to go along with any type of shady scheme or ruse (foreign or domestic) which he thinks could rid him of or damage a rival.
So, if for naught else than self preservation ( to say nothing of thinking of the future of our floundering Republic), it seems more than high tIme that the Democratic Party put aside their individual differences, and begin to act as if they, as a united and historic Champion of Democracy, have been here before-Because you have!
1
Younger voters see the older generation of Democrats less like battle hardened veterans forced into being "realistic" and more like the British guards in The Great Escape. "we can't escape we lost 3 men last time, let's just forge a good relationship with the Colonel."
4
The Bernie Sanders supporters are already starting to complain about the media ( wrongly) and the DNC ( correctly). So now I have my answer. If Sanders is the nominee and loses the election they will blame the DNC and the media. 
3
@Oliver
They will blame everyone and everything. It will be the usual suspects (ex., electoral college, gerrymandering, etc.) on steroids.
5
NYT: Go back to REPORTING news instead of stirring up anxieties. Your readers are rebelling, look at the comments. Stop with the both side-isms. REPORT on the ACTUAL destruction of the election process by the repubs. FACTS are what count - not some click bait, not some false desire and inconsistent desire to be neutral between dems and repubs and trying to lead people to form opinion between dem candidates.
I, for one, will stop taking the bait. You're at risk becoming facebook. STEP BACK and take the journalistic high ground of reporting facts and look at how you are contributing to stoking fears.
Signed, a print subscriber and daily reader for more than 30 years.
21
@Better American than Republican This is a news analysis piece and its placement here is completely appropriate.
The DNC is changing the rules like a 1st grade brat playing hide and seek. They stole the Iowa primary from Bernie last time and they have every incentive to do so now that they are openly hostile towards him. Bernie needs to expose every attempt at fraud within the DNC on social media to win the primary. Then he needs to clean house by firing everyone in the DNC since they’re treasonous losers, throwing the fight for the same Koch network of donors keeping a treasonous coup of Republicans in power.
Then Bernie needs to pick Tulsi as his running mate, and then hire Greg Palast and Stacy Abrams to run the DNC and reregister all the Democrats that Republican attorneys general unconstitutionally purged from voter rolls to steal the last election and the every other one from now on.
The rest of us can go to Greg Palast dot com, click on “How Trump will Steal the 2020 Election” and scroll down to click on “STOP THE PURGE.”
Our Democratic Republic literally hangs in the balance.
9
You just don't get it...
As a human being, woman, mother, scientist, tax payer, and patriot,
I will vote for a ham sandwich before I vote for Trump.
17
This column reads like something written by someone who's amazed that candidates competing for the same office are actually, you know, in competition. Wow. Stop the presses.
No, how about this instead: Stop with the "Democrats' disunity" riff. Just stop.
I prefer Warren; Bernie's my second choice. And I gladly debate their merits over those of the other candidates. But I will vote for whichever Democratic candidate wins the nomination.
It's called democracy. I'm sorry Mr. Flegenheimer doesn't seem to get it. Perhaps he should be sent back to the Metro desk.
8
Any Functioning Adult 2020.
8
Vote. Blue.
And send your spare bucks to Kentucky. The most important election very well may be there. We cannot let Bait and Switch Mitch continue to hold the majority of the country hostage.
9
The next debate will feature socialists in the middle, bookended by two billionaires. All white .
3
@JQGALT
Cannot wait until they again claim Trump won't go quietly.
With a straight face.
4
A divided primary is exactly what the DNC and New York Times wants as they work hand in glove.
The DNC has HRC and Warren try to smear Bernie with unfounded nonsense of women hating and "nobody likes him."
And the Times runs hit piece after hit piece against Bernie from Stephens, Brooks, Krugman, Collins et al to divide the party and keep progressive Bernie from winning.
And, dear reader, how is it that so many candidates are running? The Times first choice is Klobuchar. And she is nowhere near mass traction. Could it be that the DNC wants to confuse, water down and break up Bernie support with so many candidates?
Bernie 2020!
9
If you like socialism move to Venezuela. That said, I do get a kick out of Bernie nevertheless. He reminds me of my late uncle, a grumpy old Jewish man with a Brooklyn accent who argued with everyone about everything. My uncle had no business being president and neither does Bernie.
8
Vermont elect Bernie Sanders to the US House 8 times. He was know as the "Amendment King" for his ability to right and get passed hundreds of Bill's introduced by members of both parties; and his amendments made life better or at least more bearable at a time when no Democrats could get anything accomplished by a gridlocked government (thanks to Mitch McConnell.)
3
@mjpezzi
Not particularly effective as far as i can see.
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/bernard_sanders/400357/report-card/2018
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/bernies-record-220508
watch out DNC democracy is coming your way.
5
The Iowa caucuses are as about as ' democratic' as the selection of a Roman Catholic Pope, an American organized crime Godfather, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chief Executive Officer of the Trump Organization.
5
The Democratic Party as a coalition is so divided against itself that it's never really made sense. It has two completely opposed interest groups. On one hand is the donor class, lobbyists, health insurance companies, Goldman Sachs, Raytheon, pushing for things like Medicare Cuts, school privatization, endless war and NAFTA TPP trade deals. One the other hand are the large voter base whose entirely livelihoods and lives are often directly destroyed by what the first group has done. It was held together for 40 years by the first group threatening the latter what "where else are you going to go? the GOP will only be worse, now get in line."
4
We had dinner this weekend with some friends who are maybe more ideological than pragmatic. They are Sanders supporters who admitted they didn't vote for Clinton (not for Trump either), and wouldn't vote for Biden this year, but rather would "vote their conscience."
We need a Democratic candidate who will inspire people like our friends to vote for them.
I fear that there are many like our friends (farther left than the party machine) who will attempt to break the 2-party system in key electoral states. And by voting for third-party or write-in candidates they'll succeed.
And we will be a one-party (GOP) country.
3
We need preference ranking.
2
Won’t vote for Hillary or Trump? Have to be “inspired.” How about being patriotic? How about being a citizen of conscience.
Maybe your friends need to be more pragmatic and less petulant.
5
@MM Itmis very pragmatic for the Democratic Party to unite around Sanders. It is pragmatic to support Universal Health Care, Higher Wages, Accessible Higher Education and to improve Medicare and Social Security. Sanders supporters just want for Americans what every European takes for granted. This is pragmatism. We already had 8 years of Hope and Change and were left with little Hope and little Change. Enough already!
Lindsay Graham has announced that the whistleblower will be called in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Lindsay seems to be forgetting that he and his fellow disgraces voted to end Congressional subpoena enforcement on Friday. So good luck with that, Lindsay.
4
@ondelette
Perhaps as part of the impeachment trial. But his committee can always issue subpoenas.
4
I urge all Representatives to turn their back to Pres. Trump during his State of the Union address today.
7
@Robert Langham
Democrats already look bad enough. This would result in an even worse shellacking than the one following passage of Obamacare.
7
@Robert Langham
That's fine. They can do that today. Since the SOTU address is tomorrow.
2
It's fine to be divided during the primaries. We slog out our differences, choose a winner, then coalesce. And coalesce we will, because Trump is a huge motivator.
Get over the anxiety. All of the Democratic candidates with a chance to win are good.
Sanders is an uncorruptible champion of equality with decades of steady, honest idealism in his pocket.
Warren has an stellar track record fighting corruption and for the rights of everyday people.
Buttigeig is whip smart, calm and gracious, but young and forward thinking.
Biden is a good, caring man and a familiar comforting face in a time of severe trial.
Klobuchar is a steady, strong hand and a moderating force for sensibility and measured progress.
Bloomberg has the most executive level success, which we're gonna need after 4 years of salt-the-earth governance.
Yang has an eye firmly on the future and is far ahead of anyone in thinking of novel solutions for the challenges we're up against.
Steyer... Well, I honestly don't know much about Steyer.
But my point is that all of these politicians have strong redeeming qualities and it will be very easy to get behind any of them in the general election. Thinking about it, I'm actually turning the corner towards optimistic. Trump is a monster and what he's done to the hearts and minds of our countrymen needs to be healed through good governance. We may have a real chance to do that; any of these individuals can lead the effort.
6
Iowa is way overblown in importance, and their arcane caucus system deters people from showing up. I expect Bernie to win because militant voters are most likely to show up on a freezing night and announce to a room full of neighbors who they support.
I don't think we'll know much until Super Tuesday when Bloomberg's name is on the ballot. He's rising in the polls, so deep pockets surely speak.💰
1
If Bernie is a millionaire isn’t he an elitist also?
9
@Lucia, no, Bernie's exceptional. Joe Biden is too old, not Bernie. Mike Bloomberg is too rich, not Bernie. Elizabeth Warren is too impractical, not Bernie.
I think the Republican word for exceptional is "stable genius".
To me Bernie is the only real deal in the race who can stand up to Trump and call him out for what he is. Joe would like to take us back to the Obama days which gave us Trump. Pete’s young and paying dues in honorable. I like Elizabeth only not as POTUS. Too much harsh medicine too fast might kill a patient just as easily as cure it.
2
When Bernie Sanders the far left socialist wins in Iowa, it will be fun to watch the other Democrat presidential wannabes scrambling to try to out do each other with even more "free stuff for everyone paid for by the evil rich 1%" proposals. Then it will no holds barred and they will go at each other tooth and claw. The very Democrat party that claims to be inclusive and tolerant, will suddenly become a pit of vipers with their fangs out for each other.
9
@paul Sanders is just an FDR Democrat who my staunch democrat parents would have been pleased to vote for.
Stop already with the “far left”.
This is another in a long series of stupid horse race articles that does nothing to inform anyone. This is the easiest and yet most wasteful use of our efforts as voters to make a good decision. Lets focus on policies and then you will see that most Democrats are essentially the same when contrasted with what the Trump GOP party offers. The substantial differences between them mostly exists in their appeal to non-Democrats. Here Bernie has the edge with more Trump voters choosing him than any other.
3
JFK, LBJ, Carter, Clinton, Obama.
See any progressives on that list?
4
Downhill all the way.
United we stand, divided they fall.
The GOP is a solid red block, firmly behind their guy and this is not about to change any time soon. The Democrat tantrum in DC, the daily attacks, all that looked to the folk in red like an attack on them by the Liberals in the coasts who boast of being the better humans and their media cadre out to undo their guy. This has only resulted in a solid red block.
The Dems, trying to play to see who was the most woke, progressive, socialist, alternative, etc have crumbled themselves into a bunches of my way or the high way groups, each of which is better than the rest, at least to themselves.
For some reason these Democrats and Liberals think that the rest of the country will join them in singing Kumbaya when they produce their candidate.
The DNC of course will end up running their own guy anyway, because the DNC chooses the candidate, not the people. That guy will be Biden, who is synonym with corruption, DC politics and nepotism. Good luck getting independents to join that chorus.
Result will be a landslide re-election in November, courtesy of the Democrats and Liberals who could not beat Trump.
8
You have an oligarch who is right now buying up the DNC for his own political interests.
Worse? The Democrats are letting it happen.
You know...Trump will be gone in 2024 and then you're going to look at your party and realize that you no longer have a democratized process...you are owned lock, stock and barrel by one of the richest men in America..the oligarch of NYC who is one of the most authoritarian Establishment types you'll ever meet in your life.
He just bought an impeachment trial for $100,000,000, which he gave to Nancy Pelosi and the DNC to push this impeachment forward against her best instincts.
When the dust settles, Pelosi will be retired and you'll find yourselves saying "Yes Sir" to a man 100x more dangerous over the next 20 years than Trump will ever be.
This is about to get very interesting.
Will he spend $20 billion of his own money to own your party, or will it take $40 billion of his $70 billion fortune?
Anyone have a problem with an oligarch dictating to his own media organization to not do any investigations of any Democrats but to do every investigation imaginable against your opponent?
Is that the 1st Amendment you want? Is that the 4th Estate you've dreamed of?
This is happening to your party. You're being taken through a Leveraged Buyout by a guy with intentions that are not democratic in any way, shape or form.
I hope you know what you're all doing, because from where I sit..that's an unanswered question.
8
I agree with this article. How can there be unity when Sanders and his supporters are constantly attacking establishment Democrats as corrupt. They can't even take responsibility for the fact that they were reason for the 2016 loss, and when Hillary plainly speaks her mind about it, she gets labelled as the one causing disunity.
6
I think the way Hillary plainly spoke her mind had nothing to do with unifying the party. What do you think.
9
@Maria Holland
What Hillary said is the truth. I would like to see some humility or acknowledgement of that truth from Sanders. All I see is a stubborn old guy who has zero humility or accountability. His supporters are even worse, in the four years since, instead of saying something like, yes Hillary got a raw deal from us they are out attacking her again.
Every other candidate including Biden I see heart and reconciliation, but not Sanders.
9
Does everybody remember that Trump carried Iowa by the largest margin of any republican since RR in 1980. He will probably carry it by even a greater margin this time. Iowa has very low unemployment and with the new trade agreements, lowering the estate tax and revisions to regulations, there isn't a farmer in Iowa that won't vote for him.
10
We've just experienced a coup. Thanks to the GOP and the shadowy reactionaries, domestic and foreign, pulling the party's strings , DJT is now free to wreak political, economic, social and global havoc unchecked. The coming election is our last chance to stop the autocracy train. My fervent wish is that the Dem candidates will a) recognize the emergency; b) advocate for themselves, but refrain from tearing down opponents-that just turns people off; c) state that they will vigorously support whoever is the eventual nominee in the interest of saving our democracy. My other fervent wish is that all of you do the same. Tout your candidates amazing qualifications, and stop there. Don't tell us why you don't want to vote for someone unless it's DJT.
1
The primary is the time to air differences.
Intra party struggles are necessary because the Democratic Establishment and its media are desperate to protect their comfortable status quo, against the ordinary people desperate for Real Change.
As for Sander's ideas,
a 2016 Harper's article by Thomas Franks, after having meticulously examined Washington Post reporting on Bernie Sanders. "As we shall see, for the sort of people who write and edit the opinion pages of the Post, there was something deeply threatening about Sanders and his political views. He seems to have represented something horrifying, something that could not be spoken of directly but that clearly needed to be suppressed."
..."Think of all the grand ideas that flicker in the background of the Sanders-denouncing stories I have just recounted. There is the admiration for consensus, the worship of pragmatism and bipartisanship, the contempt for populist outcry, the repeated equating of dissent with partisan disloyalty."
The NYT and other Establishment media continue this primary season to promote fear of Sanders and his ideas.
From a recently released 2016 video of Trump at a fundraiser:
"Had she [Clinton] picked Bernie Sanders it would've been tougher. He's the only one I didn't want her to pick," Trump can be heard saying in the recording.
Bernie Sanders' integrity, bold ideas, vision and courage way outshine the media's attempt to marginalize him and his ideas.
10
The way to win the presidency is to not have the DNC manipulate voters. Putting select candidates center stage in debates, giving select candidates more questions, more time on camera before, during and after debates, CHANGING the debate RULES mid election season, and on and on just ends up being a problem.
If the American people were given a fair representation of all candidates, and the American people chose the candidate, without fierce manipulation of the DNC, and being force fed a "top three", then there would be a lot more enthusiasm and voter turnout for the final candidate.
Let the people decide. Not the party.
8
@Laura get over it. You didn't mind at all when the DNC rules were knocking Jay Inslee out of the race.
2
@ondelette Not sure how you came to that conclusion. I'm asking for "fair representation of all candidates". Paragraph two is backing your point.
1
If one has paid close attention to the substance of what candidates have addressed during the Iowa campaign, two things are clear: Sanders shows neither statesmanship nor a sense of humor. We have a grump like that in the Office of the President right now, and cannot afford another. I say this as a Democrat, deeply disappointed that the putative (narrow) leader of the pack in Iowa lacks the personal qualities that we, the People, should demand in our next President.
5
I was excited by the variety of candidates, and the breadth of ideas and potential directions. We are in the midst of a winnowing process. Now people are making choices out loud. What's so awful about that?
3
It's such a shame that Obama cannot run again. He was one of the best inclusive "uniters" this country has ever had and, in comparison to Trump, an absolute saint.
If the Republicans in this country had an ounce of sense and could foresee their lack of a future as clearly as I can, they would want someone who is likely to preserve the integrity of what this nation used to be pre-Trump so that their children would have a future to look forward to. There does not exist a single Republican at this moment that manifests decency and true national concern; they are all self-serving cowards and epitomize "the swamp" and corruption. That lack of character, morality and courage will sink them all, as they deserve. If I did not believe this I would gladly move elsewhere where sensible, intelligent, honest people live; people who understand the most important things in life are not money and power.
6
@RealTRUTH
"they are all self-serving cowards and epitomize "the swamp" and corruption"
Tell that to the most corrupt politician in the last 50 years: Joe Biden.
2
I really wish California would push their primary to a day before the worthless and irrelevant Iowa primary.
6
Why is Yang now either not mentioned at all, or barely mentioned, in any of the more recent news reports? Is he really that much a lost cause? ;-(
I loved Bernie in 2016 but feel his time came and went, that he's become a caricature of himself, and frankly, that he's now too old (esp after that heart attack). Warren, love her. But too acerbic imho to win over needed votes from centrists or Trumpers who are now on the fence about Trump. Biden, not a fan, but seems like an easy bet to win votes, but wouldn't do well in debates vs Trump. Amy, don't like or trust her...too much like a 'politician'. Mayor Pete, loved him....that is...until I began to learn and hear more from Yang. Once I started hearing more from Yang, Mayor Pete paled in comparison.
Yang is smart, very likeable, witty, a visionary, and every time he's asked a tough question, he comes back with a measured, detailed response. More importantly, he's never made a disparaging remark about Trump or his supporters. To me, this is significant, and 'smart', if you want to win over former Trump supporters.
Yang may have no political experience, but then, how many who did have the experience didn't serve us well? I've no doubt if Yang were president, he'd surround himself with a capable, seasoned cabinet.
Why aren't more people talking about him??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01_GwH786ic
4
@Lisa
Anybody who gives every American $1,000/month but still cannot get votes is a big loser.
1
@Lisa these interviews with Tucker Carlson along with his other appearances on FOX is why I think he's the only candidate with a legitimate shot to beat Trump:
https://youtu.be/IotorCh7dPM
https://youtu.be/lF17Wy3keRo
I’m a Democrat, and I’m not anxious.
4
@SH
There's plenty of time.
2
@Wine Country Dude Really, trust me, I’m fine.
The rhetorical cuteness in the writing of this piece is emblematic of why democrats manage to consistently snatch defeat from the jaws os victory. The Lincoln reference is a great line, but rather than aptly describing the moment, it tells us that the writer can write with rhetorical flourish. The truth of the story is more nuanced. One truth is that the Times has consistently gone after Biden, like they did Hillary. Sometimes they deserved the treatment, sometimes they didn’t, but the net result is to build a narrative that the party is more divided than it actually is. Listening to the dogs who bark the loudest on Twitter only amplifies the opinions on the outer margins. The polls suggest greater unity than the tone of this article suggests.
2
Here is my problem with Iowa: it is not an accurate snapshot of what America truly looks like. It’s 3% Black, 5 % Hispanic, and the median age is higher than half of the fifty states.
The Democratic Party is young and ethnically diverse. Why are we still focusing on a state where 85 % of voters are white? Is it helpful to focus on Iowa? No.
I hope people will keep in mind that Iowa is not that important in the game of electoral math. Iowa has two of the worst Republican senators in the whole joint, one who is the dinosaur of the senate, and another who has no backbone and seems to blow whichever way the wind blows. Why should we trust you to choose the Democratic frontrunner? I certainly don’t.
3
@Corrie South Carolina is 2/29, followed by the bu Mach 3 group of states. March 3 is what really matters for donors. Iowa is really just about Media.
2
After Iowa, if they don't all get in a room and have a serious discussion about strategy, Trump will get re-elected.
How can it not be objectively obvious that a Biden/Klobuchar ticket would have the greatest chance of winning?!?! I'm saying that as someone who is a passionate believer that Buttigieg would be the best person for the job.
4
@David Everyone said that Hillary was the objectively obvious electable candidate. Everyone was wrong. Maybe boring corporate sellouts aren't what everyone's looking for this time around.
I don't understand this reporter. Why is he condescending, sarcastic and negative? Obviously he has an agenda but i don't know what it is. I hope someone at NYT reads the comments. Most of them concur. Mr Flegenheimer's reporting on Democratic primary in Iowa is offensive and the last thing we need now is a reporter promoting cynicism.
5
@mary bardmess, naw, it's much simpler than that. Many journalists in all walks of media feel that it gives them added sophistication to be cynical and contrary. It doesn't really, but some people never passed 2nd grade.
4
@mary bardmess: Totally agree. Democrats can do without snarky articles by condescending reporters who think they're funny. One Maureen Dowd is more than enough already, considering the damage she did to Hillary Clinton. This article belongs in the opinion section, not the politics section.
1
Joe Biden jumped the shark referring to himself as the "third term of Barack Obama".
7
And that is all good. Got to have real fights. they all did. Obama vs HRC, Trmp and Cruize etc No drama no interest.
As much as the Democrat and Republican parties are polarized, so will be the Democrat party should a Socialist, or a billionaire who bought his way into the process, or an old, flip-flopping establishment candidate, win enough primaries to be the indisputable nominee. I don't see how any of the current front-runners can unite the Democrat party. Right now, the Democrats' disparate factions are too large to cede to any of the other factions within the party.
2
Very true the divided state of the democratic party will result in their downfall and ensure the reelection of Trump even though the party is united on defeating Trump, not knowing how.
5
The best result from Iowa and then New Hampshire would be rejection of Sanders and Warren's fantasy that the 2020 electorate is the most liberal in the history of this country, by a long, long shot.
It isn't.
Then we can have a vibrant debate between the candidates who know how to win and aren't offering a word salad of proposals that will cause people to vote against us up and down the ticket.
4
the greatest fear is that Sanders & his followers will do exactly what they did in 2016, stay in the race long past his expiry date, attack the nominee, & hand the election to Trump
10
@Steve kohl Bernie did far more for Hillary in 2016 than Hillary did for Obama in 2008, and his followers were more loyal to the party than hers were. And what was his thanks? She tries to smear him with playground insults right before the primary.
Hillary's arrogance, incompetence, and spite cost her the election, not Bernie.
2
I'll venture on a comment on what the "Democrats" of this article's headline did not expect: a Sanders resurgence or, with Warren's numbers factored in, a socialist surge. (Using the word "socialist" with its laughably watered down relatively leftist significance as applicable in American political discourse, naturally.). If we look at Sanders + Warren, there isn't a whole lot of division. They lead. Yes, we can only have one of them. Bracketing that minor detail, however, we have an historically remarkable consensus on the urgent need for serious economic justice in this country. In my opinion, it will be an irreparable historical tragedy if the Wall St. Democrats have their way and nominate Biden. He will lose--who doesn't think that the Republicans actually don't have tons of dirt (slanderous or semi-slanderous, Facebook doesn't care) on Hunter? Not "very divided." Actually, astonishingly and historically united, if the reporter can look at actual substantive values and commitments.
6
Why not focus on the fact that, while most voters have a favorite candidate, we like all of them to one degree or another? This is glaringly obvious from reading the comments. This will not be a repeat of 2016, when the eventual candidate was someone that most of us did not want to choose. "Hold your nose and vote for Hillary" wasn't exactly a great winning slogan. No matter which candidate prevails in the primary, we won't have any reluctance to cast a vote for them.
5
If you want a Democratic candidate to win, don’t criticize ANY of the candidates. Support the candidate of your choice and let the Caucuses and Primaries decide. Hillary Clinton set a terrible example by saying that “Nobody likes him.” Is she going back to Middle School?
15
Oh, I am so tired of this! Save the "resistance is futile, prepare to be assimilated" for the GOP. As far as I can see, Democrats are pleased to see an array of choices, all of whom would end up governing more-or-less sensibly. Generally any one of them would govern by moderate consensus and with some respect for the facts.
I have preferences for some over others, but since I strongly prefer democracy over authoritarianism I'm pretty happy about the lot.
9
horse race political media has to cover the primary like this because anxiety and drama is good for clicks and comments. please do not address the fact that in a two party state with one well defined reactionary party the opposition will inevitably be a broad coalition but please please please continue emphasizing disunity in every story, after all terrorizing tour audience works so well for fox news.
1
Life-long Democrat here. I have pulled the lever over the years for candidates who had no chance of winning (Carter in 1980), less than inspiring (Dukakis, Kerry), or were deeply flawed (a Clinton trifecta). This year's front runners are equally uninspiring. Try to convince themselves though they may, Sanders and Warren cannot win and would be a disaster as the nominee. Think McGovern all over again. Mayor Pete is too young, Klobuchar has gained very little traction, and Biden is just past it. I guess that leaves Bloomberg who will not be the nominee but will delight everyone (myself included) by getting under Trump's skin. I have contemplated sitting this one out and changing my registration to independent. My experience has been - Democrats = poor choices = electoral defeat followed by rinse and repeat.
6
We may be feisty and rambunctious, but we are not divided. We will vote blue, no matter who. Furthermore, as the photo shows, we're a better looking group than Trump's adoring followers!
3
Hopefully the Titanic that is Biden doesn’t get selected as that equals Trump 2020.
5
@JDK True, but any of the other candidates also is a guaranteed win for Trump in 2020
1
Many Democrats confuse democratic participation with ideological purity and rigid inflexibility. Advocating on behalf of a particular candidate in a primary is laudable. Ripping others apart and refusing to listen to them, and insisting upon one's own particular tribe's way at all costs is not laudable or valid democratic participation. Being part of a polity is not as easy as tweeting out dogma to the church choir and bashing everyone else, or refusing to concede any point whatsoever, or mocking and sneering at people who have different ideas to present. Legitimate participation is work that involves listening to others respectfully and forging a coalition to hopefully accomplish the most important collective goals. That is work that too few of today's self-appointed left-wing activists want to do. So they're losing, again, to a right wing that shares many of the same attributes, but that doesn't pretend to support democracy anyway, and prefers to tear it down.
64
@Joe
The primary is about ideas and vision.
Bernie will beat Trump.
He has worked all his life to make the lives of ALL working people better.
Bernie will get the votes of the nine percent of Trump voters who had voted for Obama in 2012, and had not gotten the promised Change or Hope.
Bernie, with his awesome integrity, authenticity, bold ideas, vision and courage will lead America towards a more just and thriving society.
Bernie's outrage at the obscene, colossal and growing inequality of opportunity, income and wealth is highly appropriate.
Joe does not even notice that the American Dream has been dead for decades, and his compassion is irrelevant when is unaware that the richest .1 percent take in over 196 times the income of the bottom 90 percent..
https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/
Change is desperately need.
Bernie offers bold ideas, vision and courage.
Joe offers consolation.
As to Biden's judgment:
He voted for and supported the Iraq War enthusiastically.
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said of Biden, "he's been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."
The empathy of clueless Joe, the corporate bagman, is mostly illusion, not based on deeds.
Bernie, not Joe, will beat Trump,
And revive the Soul of America!
A Future To Believe In!
12
@Joe
Bernie stumped for Hillary. Hillary returns the favor by slamming Bernie's likability. Hillary was/is the centrist (view) that you are lauding. Last, none of the folks running today are "self-appointed" unless you are talking about Tom Steyer or Andrew Yang here--all of the others have been elected into the offices they held or still hold.
18
@Joe I would argue that center and right of center citizens believe in democratization as much as any other ideology.
Fact is...we were handed a bowl of lemons in 2016 and us NeverTrumpers did what we did when Obama got elected.
We waited. We were patient. We wanted to see what kind of policies he put forth since it's well known that politicians of every political flavor lie on the campaign trail.
We gave Obama a shot before ruling that those policies were not good for the country.
After 3 years of Trump, we look at the signals (while ignoring the 'noise') and we see good things coming from his policies.
Sure his personality is grating, but I'd rather have a guy tell me where we stand right here right now than doing this Midwest passive-aggressive Minnesota Nice thing.
Results speak for themselves and the results thus far are rather impressive.
I've moved from a NeverTrumper to a "Hey Democrats? I'm from Missouri.."
In other words "Show Me" and what you're showing us isn't going to produce any better results for the country, which is what this election will really be all about.
Democracy requires participation of people who are living on Main Street who get as much of a voice as those who live on Wall Street.
Do you really think Democrats live that creed?
I don't see it.
Take Bloomberg for instance.
He's buying your party..through a LBO...with $100m to the DNC..and you don't even know it.
He's an oligarch taking you over.
Don't let it happen.
4
The Democratic Party is manifestly united behind universal health care (if not immediately, as a strongly-held goal), civil rights, economic security for the middle and working classes, and most of all the urgent need to address the climate crisis. Right now we're trying to pick our strongest standard-bearer. That will be the person who gets the most votes & turns out the most new voters. I wanted Warren, but it's looking like Bernie. Fine with me. I'm all in. Stop it, please, with the idiotic characterization of him as a crazy radical -- unless you prefer the mobster currently wrecking democracy and the planet.
339
@Portia
Sorry I will support whoever is the Democrat nominee but if it is Sanders I will have to hold my nose to vote for him. I like all of the candidates but Sanders.
34
@Fred me too. For me, Sanders is just a bunch of hot, old, angry air. I know times are tough, this country has become more and more unequal, but can you be a little more optimistic, nicer, not scream as much?? Please?? Plus, he has accomplished absolutely zero in his life. But if he's the candidate I will vote for him. Hopefully, because of his age, he may be a 1 term POTUS which means his VP pick will be an important consideration.
34
@Fred If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you don't like about Bernie Sanders? I'm just curious.
18
With 11 people still vying for the Democratic Ticket is anyone surprised? Fact is that being divided now isn't as much of a concern as it would be if they had their choice already and remained divided. Today is the beginning of the process to select the person who will take on Trump. If the party is frayed in July then there is a problem. Until then I see it as a sign of health for the party.
89
Then there’s Hillary with her flame-throwing pod casts. Bernie’s supporters won’t be so nice this time.
7
@Edward stop blaming Bernie's supporters. The DNC created this rift by giving Hillary a clear lane in spite of Bernie's better match up against Trump. And Bernie campaigned hard for Hillary in the general election. Don't forget that It is Hillary now that says she will withhold support for him if he is our candidate. That shows she is the problem, not Bernie. Sour grapes?
10
Jill Biden’s notorious threat that progressives would “have no choice” but to vote for Biden against Trump goes double for “moderate” feminist women and blacks if Bernie’s the nominee. Are the suburban women in the Trump “resistance” really going to either stay home or (gasp!) vote for Trump to protect their pocketbooks from Danish social democracy? Are they really going to vote for Federal courts which will be anti-feminist for the next forty years? Are blacks really going to vote for courts that could easily roll back the gains of the whole Civil Rights Movement just because the most biggest fighter for black rights in the field, Bernie not Biden, is a “socialist@? Especially now that Biden’s “firewall” is crumbling in (gasp!) South Carolina. Maybe rich Dems will vote their picketbooks, but they are a small part of the electorate. Meanwhile, Bernie will unite and expand the Dem base just fine.
88
@Fred White, excuse me - why is it bad to be a rich Democrat? Who do you think is best able to support the good candidates? Is $1,000 in funding better in one donation or 100? The answer, really, is both.
15
@Fred White
That is if Sanders is the nominee which I believe is not going happen. I think he is the worst of the bunch. I can happily support all but Sanders. But if he is the candidate I will hold my nose and vote for him.
18
Warren. She is not a self proclaimed socialist who honeymooned in Cold War USSR and said breadlines are good.
The GOP will crush Bernie with this
22
I don’t know how it is nationally, but on the ground here in Iowa many Dems are approaching this process with a congenial spirit. The goal isn’t Sanders/Warren/Biden 2020, it is Someone Else 2020. Someone Who Cares for All of The American People 2020. We need change.
Trump and his supporters give us a reason to unify.
9
@DDans, well seeing as how you feel that way, where is the mobilization against Joni Ernst? You Iowans could do much more for this country than pretend you are deciding on the next president for all of us. Ernst needs immediate recall, plus a primary to her right and a solid Democrat running against her in the general. Send the pig farmer back to her sty.
4
The author of this article must work for Trump because every democrat I meet is completely united in the defeat of Trump. The animosity and disgust with this inept, scurrilous president has created a solidarity of purpose I've never seen in all my 70 years as a democrat.
I wish the D selection was made today so we could focus all our efforts towards ridding America of this looting pariah.
14
Dems should be nervous. The economy is doing great, especially compared to the rest of the world.
The Dems don’t have a single candidate who knows how to fight trench warfare against Trump, let alone win it.
10
@Jay Peters , yeah, we're running trillion dollar yearly deficits in the late stages of an expansion when the economy is beginning to push up against limits. No worries at all, eh, couldn't be better!
9
It is a crime shame that Adam Schiff is not now a contender for the presidency. He is a 21st century Patrick Henry, who, in 1765, stood up in the Virginia colonial assembly and incurred shouts of treason for suggesting that if the kind did not change his policies, the king should lose his head as tyrants in the past had.
10
Surely you jest
Latest tweet from Donald Trump: All Republicans in Iowa should go out and caucus today and make the State of Louisiana great again.
(Check out Calcasieu Parish)
3
NY Times: stop trying to divide Democrats to help Trump win. I know you like your corporate tax cuts, but the Constitution is at stake.
I personally think that Bernie has the best chance to win, because he energizes the young people that we need to overwhelm the electoral college, win the Senate, and turn the ship of state in the right direction.
However, I would vote for Nixon over Trump, because Nixon at least had enough respect for the Constitution to resign when caught.
I would vote for any of the Democrats to remove this threat from the Oval Office
The NY Times has been letting Trump getting away with pubic High Crimes, like calling for violence against citizens without due process, for years, while sowing divisions in the Democratic Party.
You attack Bernie. You attack Warren. You attack the policies coming from the Left even though they work in Europe far better than they work here, as a cursury internet search for health outcomes by nation easily proves. You go on and on about metaphorical "mobs" on the left that shame people for bad behavior like mysoginy and racism, while ignoring the fact that the Right base commits 90% of hate crimes and 70% of mass murder.
Enough. Put your journalistm ahead of your profits.
13
If Bernie, his campaign and his supporters want to be taken seriously then they need to start acting respectful to other people. Bernie needs to answer questions in interviews- not deflect. He needs to stop yelling and treating reporters like the enemy.
His campaign needs to stop spreading slander ( she is a liar) . His campaign is so cruel.
I feel bombarded on the left and the right by bullies.
And misogynists .
4
@Lucia
OK, Lucia. From your dozens of posts in this thread, I get that you support Warren. But you need to put aside your vitriol regarding Sanders' supporters.
Perhaps you haven't seen (or are willfully blind to) posts from "centrists" attacking those promoting more "progressive" policies. It may be ancient history, but I clearly remember the personal attacks from Hillary Bots declaring Sanders supporters to be children who should grow up.
Flaming has been a feature of anonymous social media since the birth of peer to peer social networking.
However, to all sides, it's unfortunate that there are those who don't understand that uncivil discourse does nothing to help their cause. I am of the belief that if you could point to one factor (other than a misguided campaign strategy) that cost Clinton the 2016 election, it's "deplorables". Like a locker room posting, that characterization energized the opposition to a much greater extent than it aided in bringing more fence sitters into her fold.
Add to that the reaction to the repeated insults Sanders supporters suffered at the hands of the Hillary bots and the role that may have played in keeping some at home or sending them into the arms of third party candidates (or even Trump, for that matter), and you have the perfect storm that gave us the ultimate result.
The takeaway: Be civil. Don’t let those lacking in the social graces affect your consideration of the goals being advocated.
3
@Ray Harper There I a difference between incivility and argument. Unfortunately, many Americans have no idea what it is. I attribute it to the fact that they don’t teach critical thinking in schools here. The problem with Bernie supporters that they take any argument against their candidates’ ideology as a personal insult. So if you point out that socialism is a failed system, they call you a tool of the oligarchs. If you quote Marx, they want you to “educate yourself”. They lie about Europe being “socialist” when in the model social democracy of Norway, democratic socialists have 6 percent of the popular vote. They minimize Bernie’s past of praising dictators and totalitarians. And they whip us the hysteria of “if you are not with us, you are against us”. I invite you to look up the source of this quote. Educate yourself.
No charisma...no vote! HRC is right again...nobody like him and/or them.
2
ANY SANE ADULT.
Seriously.
8
Yes, we’re anxious. It’s too late for us to drive to Iowa, secure residency, and caucus this evening. However, so much of the future for competent candidates now rests on the shoulders of the tiny population of IOWA.
2
How about Kentucky. Maybe we need a massive movement to Kentucky to unseat Mitch.
He is the twisted mastermind of all that is wrong right now.
3
Before November, Trump will announce a replacement for Obamacare, while also continuing to chip away at existing healthcare at the same time.
It will put Pelosi in an impossible spot: strengthen healthcare by bipartisan agreement but cede ownership of it to Republicans and hand a major victory to Trump, or vote it down and risk having the tables turned on Democrats as looking like the partisan party who refuse to work with Trump.
Republicans have already tested this strategy with NAFTA/USMCA and will now go for the kill.
We need to take a leaf out of McConnell's book here and stick with the progressive agenda, promising universal healthcare.
It's the only way to avoid disaster with the Repblican's upcoming play.
7
Your headlines always seem to portray that, but out here in voter land I think we’re tired of that slant and are just waiting for one of them to win by the ballot box. I just wish, for once, all the candidates would go on stage together and speak to the public as one democratic body and just say that they all support each other. Each one has strengths and good ideas. If they all become part of a new administration we could simply focus on getting the jobs done. I’m really sick and tired of the current admin. saying do nothing democrat’s, when it just ain’t true.
4
I have a friend who lives in London. Before Brexit, she saw the country rushing to the lip of a precipice but could not do anything to stop it. I feel the same way today. We are going forward either to four more years of an unprincipled con-man or four years of a socialist (NOT a social democrat). Either is a disaster in the making. The only candidate on this stage who is looking to the future, not the past, is Mayor Pete. This is not because of his age or because he is gay (even though both are positive qualifications). No, he is the only one with the intelligence, experience and education to understand the complex world we live in and to jettison the old ideologies which hamper progress. Everybody else is feeding you the stale slogans and failed solutions of yesteryear. Biden wants to go back 10 years, Sanders - 50 years and Warren doesn’t know what year she is in. But I have no hope that the Democratic Party will have enough collective mind to nominate Mayor Pete.
2
I think the thing that the democrats forget is that they, the democrats, had control of the entire government for two years and they basically did nothing because they were afraid to upset the economy. And by economy I mean the economy of the corporations. Sure, the ACA, but that was weak and was really not a solution, just a corporate handout. So, now they expect to win because Trump is destroying the country, which is exactly what he was supposed to do. If your going to work only for the corporations, which is what democrats do, your not really better than Trump, just different. You still don't work for the people.
Since Reagan Democrats have abandoned the people and acquiesced to corporate rule. Just because the party has a dozen or so real liberals does not mean it is a liberal party. The results of their leadership shows they are in fact conservatives that are a little less homophobic and racist, but who are loyal to the wealthy overlords.
7
what does non corporate rule look like? Just askin’
The party is not divided, and it certainly isn't Bernie's fault. Quit pushing these falsehoods, NYTimes.
Folks don't know which path is the best to beat Trump -- the centrist approach as embodied by Biden and Bloomberg (and Buttigieg, but he's fading) or the liberal approach as embodied by Sanders and Warren but Warren is fading too.
That's the dividing line. It isn't some massive infighting, just a legitimate search for which is the best way forward. It's as a primary should be. So stop pushing this false narrative and especially stop laying it at the feat of these supposed "Bernie Bros".
18
Bernie bro’s and sis are real ive seen it in action. Maybe it’s helped by Russian bots not sure .
Then one has to ask themselves why Russian strategists want Bernie to win the nomination.
It’s glaring.
2
@Tim
You're correct. The party is not divided. Sanders isn't a Democrat.
The voter are divided, which will play right into Trump's hands, unfortunately.
We need to unite behind the BEST candidate to beat Trump. It's not Sanders, or Warren. It may not be someone I would want to support in ordinary times. These are not ordinary times.
If you don't get rid of Trump, nothing good happens. This is not time to stand on principle. He certainly won't, as he has none.
@Dave It's not a matter of principle but one of excitement. Bernie, undeniably, has it.
6
Surprise, surprise. By the way, isn't it funny that when the impeachment of Trump was announced is was major headlines, but not that it's failed miserably, there's barely a mention of it!
7
Here's a question to think about.
If republicans could not use fear or lie, what exactly would they be offering the voter?
1
It is now time to dig out my Bernie 2016 sign that is buried in a drawer and post it above the front door in the transom. I may have to scribble 2020!
2
Imagine… wondering when Maxine Waters or politicians like her might be held in contempt or held responsible for the inflammatory hated they seem to delight in spewing from this at that soapbox provided by the mainstream media.
Imagine… galling, or Elizabeth Warren showing up in Iowa; isn’t she one of those elitist wunderkinds badmouthing the electoral collage! If Liz and her elitist ideologues get their way, the notions of Iowa caucuses having any meaningful relevance near or long term will be relegated to the killing fields of socialist history.
Imagine… if Bernie Sanders and his buds get their way, the lyrics for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ by Francis Scott Key and the grand old Flag will be reduced to the dustbin of socialist chicanery. Watching the woebegone antics of political charlatans at best exposes political wastrels in search of Rubes and shekels for their tax-sheltered campaign chest.
2
@Wolfgang
"shekels." Interesting choice. Deliberate, I'm sure.
1
This is what democracy looks like. Funny, that even esteemed journalists of the NYT forget this and have fallen in line with, well, falling in line.
Every Dem candidate wants to expand healthcare, which is badly needed. Sure, they have different ways to get there, but all are united in the same goal. Every Dem candidate wants to address worsening income inequality. Again, different roads to get there, but the same goal. I could say the same about addressing immigration compassionately and legally, protecting our elections, engaging in sane foreign policy, tackling climate change, etc...
Democrats and their candidates are united. And, if the elections are not fixed by the criminal enterprise occupying our White House, we will prevail. Regardless of who the final candidate is.
I'm proud to be part of a party that celebrates different voices while working to achieve the same goals. The NYT would be wise to frame this primary season for what it is, not the "division" they'd like to sell us.
13
The race begins? It’s been going on for over a year already. I’m tired of it.
3
Looking at the statistics, it's clear the party divide is generational. The old party members have a choice to make, either embrace the youth or face defeat. There is only one candidate that has the support of the youth, and he is an old jewish man from brooklyn.
2
Most, but not all, of the people I know LOATHE Trump (as most certainly do I).
Some appreciate Trump’s policies in general but are repelled by his childish antics, idiocy, hatefulness, lack of ethics, and immoral policy execution - children in cages, anyone? They are just looking for an intelligent, sane leader with a moral compass. That descriptor applies to all the democratic candidates.
Personally, I like some of Warren’s policies particularly related to ending government and election corruption - these goals appeal to everyone. But as time has gone on she has doubled down on give aways and identity politics pandering. The more I see Elizabeth Warren the more divisive she seems. She’s gone from my favorite to least favorite. But if she’s nominated I’ll donate to and heartily campaign for her because she’s still smart, energetic, and genuinely cares for the powerless. That makes her an improvement by light years over Trump.
And that’s all that matters.
5
Why would you not support her in the primary?
I think if she separates from Bernie and socialism and focuses in on her amazing plans for fighting corruption and regulating wall streets - then she can win.
With women- it’s always personality isn’t it? Oh she reminds me of a principal or a teacher or a this or a that ... why can’t we see her as the smartest and most prepared pen for the job instead of getting into her identity ?
Imagine what she has been up against her entire career and does she bemoan about it?
Yet i see the sexism glaringly - from leftists as well. It’s awful.
1
@Lucia
I don’t support her in the primary because I don’t like all her policies, which I mentioned in my original comment. I also mentioned she originally was my number 1 choice but I became disillusioned with her identity politics. Yet I lauded her for her intelligence, energy, and compassion - and would support her if she is the candidate. How you can conflate that as an attack on her personality? Let alone attack me as a sexist I don’t understand. I haven’t even mentioned who I’m now supporting.
What you’ve displayed is identity politics on steroids - or, estrogen, if you prefer.
2
Nothing would ensure a bigger Republican voter turnout than Bernie Sanders.... Here’s hoping.
3
@Matt Carey Republicans will turn out... to vote for Bernie. He can recapture the white working class which the Reps have been taking for granted.
Bernie is the only one who can pull the votes needed. Take the elites and money out of the democratic party. The message is clear the republican elites didnt support Trump the populous that was sick of social capital elitism did and if they had a chance at decency Bernie would be saving the world today, dont blow it democrates, BERNIE OR BUST!!
7
Most Democrats and left leaning Independents are united on the subject of defeating Donald Trump. The disunity bemoaned in the article lies in which it the best path to take and who is best equipped to lead that effort.
All of the candidates have pledged to support the eventual winner. I believe that as long as the contest is fair and transparent most rank and file voters will have no problem supporting doing the same —let’s face it even with all the shenanigans we went through in 2016 the overwhelming majority of Sanders supporters voted for Clinton in the general election. Even more would have done so if she had shown the slightest interest in, taking them seriously reaching out to them, maybe picking a running mate who they could rally behind.
The question is whether the DNC will have the integrity and intestinal fortitude to let the primaries play out or will they try to do what they did in 2016 and insure that the nominee will be someone who will not rock the boat.
60
@Brooklyncowgirl
Exactly. The voters aren’t the issue it’s those with power. We are having normal disagreements about policy and a path forward for all of us.
On the other hand those who want to tip the scale are the real issue. The voters aren’t the problem here.
For more details see...
Are Tom Perez and the DNC preparing for a battle against Bernie Sanders and the left? | Salon.com
2
If Bernie Sanders wins the nomination two scenarios are possible:
1- We return to 1972 when McGovern, buoyed by the excitement and energy from the far left, lost over 45 states. It was one of the worst “what were we thinking” cases in all of American politics. In this scenario I give Sanders four states: VT, MA, NY, CA.
Democrats will wake up the next day and wonder what we’re we thinking.
2- We are NOT in 1972 and progressive policies reach out to many many more voters. The Democrats register millions of new voters and Trump just has the same 40 percent but isn’t able to get the 7 percent of Independents and moderates like he did in 2016.
In this scenario Sanders gets over 50 percent and wins 300 electoral votes. This would be tantamount to a revolution and maybe it’s time.
I want Sanders to win if he’s the nominee. But my gut tells me America is not ready for any candidate with the word socialist next to his name. I really hope I’m wrong.
94
@Oliver
Scenario 1 is the probable one. Hope that we're wrong, but your third paragraph is probably correct as well.
12
Agree- wait till the general election - just imagine it.
They can find footage of him in the 80’s from his Cuba - and Sandinista tv exchange- his belligerence in answering questions for his support of the Sandinistas with no apologies after their massacres and mesquite indian removal.
They have so much ammunition on him they are not using Bc they want and are pushing him to be candidate.
Isn’t this what the mueller report found? Russia was aiding Bernie and Jill Stein’s campaign. Why isn’t anyone taking about this and that his numbers could be falsely boosted?
28
@Oliver
After every election, the Democrats complain that young people didn't vote.
Those under 30 are far more excited about Bernie than any other Democratic candidate.
If you tell those under 30 that the policies they want are extreme and their candidate is extreme (compared to Supply Side Economics and Trump? Really?) then the Democratic Party will turn off another generation of young voters that are supposed to be the future of the Democratic Party and the votes we need to win.
I'd vote for Nixon over Trump, but young people are not necessarily going to. They are not interested in protecting a status quo that has them deep in college debt, watching the parents struggle to pay medical bills, and in "independent contractor" jobs (that basically mean low pay and no benefits), and global warning.
Young people are not interested in going back to 2015, when all of these problems got Trump elected. They want a Party that deferentiates itself from Republicans by actually promising to do good things.
Cliche alert: YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE. They never heard of McGovern. McGovern was twelve elections ago. The world has cleaned since then. Supply Side Economics has been tried over and over, and has only lowered GDP growth by ONE THIRD since McGovern.
You cannot beat Republicans by offering to compromise with their terrible policies that are destroying the country and the world.
Compromise is the last step, not the first.
WIN!
42
Just going through the comments thus far, many here are hesitant about Bernie despite the reports that he can win Iowa and NH.
May I remind you that a whole new generation voters are in place for this year. This will be the 1st election that I will get to participate in - and happily so.
With this base, there is potential for structural change. Embrace us. We are not that scary. We just want things to change and the status quo to be abolished. Clearly you have seen with Trump's administration what chaotic change looks like--and we do not want that. But regardless change has to be had, and not the incremental type all the moderates are proposing.
Are we not allowed to believe and work towards that promise?
Giving us a chance is giving Bernie a chance.
6
@Up Down All Around Not really a surprise NYT commenters are hesitant about Bernie. How many of them lack health insurance? How many of them are earning poverty wages? What's best for them isn't necessarily what's best for the country.
2
@Up Down All Around Bernie is not my top choice but I like him and would definitely vote for him.
That said, the perception that his supporters are often insufferable (and incredibly insulting about other candidates) is valid. Just look at all the comments about how he's the only "good and decent person in the race who isn't bought by corporations." Do Bernie supporters really have any grasp of how that sounds to supporters of Warren? Or Buttigieg? Or Klobuchar? I don't know how he's going to build a viable candidacy when his supporters keep insulting every other candidate -- or get legislation passed, which requires forming alliances -- when that's the tone set by his movement.
"It better be Bernie or I won't vote at all!"
"If Bloomberg wins, I won't vote at all!"
"Literally any negative criticism of Bernie is just the corporate media trying to attack him because they fear him! Never mind that it's a reporter I've liked for 20 years. If they say anything bad about Bernie, they're just a corporate shill."
"So he's 79 and had a heart attack? So?"
It's all a bit much.
1
I had to suspend my fb account. Now - not only will I be estranged from my trump supporting extended family in Ohio but from the “leftist devotees” of Bernie.
I support Warren. I’ve spent hours debating. Hours taking horrible demeaning words and symbols about her as a snake . Having to explain sexism to tons of people is tiring especially when they throw decades old footage of some guy telling girls they can be president someday instead of promoting , respecting a woman who is currently making pinky promises w little girls that women can run.
I want a woman to win. It’s time america : you are failing miserably in the sexism enlightenment Dept. Including women. Watch what you do and how bias you are is all I ask.
It was brutal on Warrens page. I voted for Bernie in 2016 and I hope I never have to again. After what I saw I don’t trust him at all- or that he is capable of leading.
1
I'm an independent (that leans slightly conservative) so I don't really have a dog in this hunt. I'm not a "never Trump" or "never Bernie" (or "never anything") ... just waiting to see who emerges.
But I am puzzled by the fact that the Democratic front-runner right now is a guy that is barely even a member of the Democratic Party. I think he finally joined the party in 2015 or 2016 or something, but then said he'd serve in the Senate as an independent. Last year the DNC required him (and everyone running) to sign a pledge that he was a Democrat, and would serve as one if elected President - but he apparently hasn't really changed his affiliation ... the Senate.gov website still lists him as "I - VT", not "D - VT".
Would be bizarre if the Democratic candidate turned out to be someone who not only has (at best) mixed feelings about the party, but is actually often openly and publicly antagonistic towards the party leadership.
Last time I can remember something like that happening was Goldwater - who had serious issues with the
Republican Party... a party who's mainstream members and leadership - similarly enough - had a pretty overt "stop Goldwater" movement. They thought he was too extreme to win in the general. Yet he beat all the mainstream candidates, including the likes of Rockefeller, Lodge, and Nixon (who basically opened the door for Goldwater by splitting the moderate vote).
The Bernie situation is historically interesting ... a once-a-generation phenomena.
21
@JRC
The last time that happened was 2016. Trump was a Democrat, even contributed to Senator Clinton's campaign. Trump has no affiliation to what the Republican party stands for and never will.
14
@JRC - Well, then there is Trump who has always been a Democrat and who once stated that Oprah would be his ideal running mate and that he is pro-choice. He even gave money to Hillary's campaign.
And Bloomberg seems to change party affiliation with every election.
And Warren has only been a Democrat for about 6 years now. And......
13
@JRC
Good analysis, but you almost lost me when you said that you're not never Trump, or never anything. I am independent who's voted for Republicans at all levels of government in the past, and may in the future. My motto in general (not just politics) is "never say never," based on personal experience.
Having said that, I will NEVER vote for Trump, unless I'm on a jury, voting to put him in prison. And then, only if the evidence proves his guilt, as tempting as it would be to go on personal dislike and contempt for the man, which I've proudly had for over 35 years.
11
It’s normal at this point that Democrats seem divided while Republicans get behind their president. This will change as November approaches.
I think enough people who are not Republican for life now see the danger Trump poses to our democracy and will vote in November for the Democrat, regardless. In that sense, the impeachment was an overwhelming success.
We do need to focus a lot more on the possibility of Republicans trying election fraud, now we know for a fact that the Senate won’t impeach. If they win the elections with fraud, they can exonerate their own party.
The stories we have read about voting machines running old Windows software etc. are not inspiring confidence.
16
Nominating Bernie-not-a-Democrat would be the worst thing my party could do in 2020, but it would finally give the left wing the chance to prove that a leftist/socialist could excite and energize enuf voters, esp new ones, to overcome the now-establishment Trumpistas. They keep saying this is the formula for success. I can't see it happening, and we may have to learn another lesson about the centrist if not conservative nature of the masses before we can live in reality. However, I'm not sure our country can stand another lesson like 2016.
I'm not sure either party is prepared to live in reality. I know Republicans aren't because of who they support and the news networks they consume, but this nation needs one party with an anchor in reality before it can begin to solve problems like climate change, the crisis of our times. Most Americans don't appreciate how much change in their lives is needed for the world--to say nothing of their communities--to adequately address global warming.
We need a leader who can educate people, bring them along as rapidly as needed and not expect them to be bowled over by promises of "major structural reform" from above. Don't see a certified leader-candidate of this ilk in the Dem field, but will support Mayor Pete in tonite's Iowa caucuses, from the basis of hope. Hope is all we have.
7
Look at Warren’s plans and goals to combat climate change- watch and read about her. She is completely different than Bernie. She is positive - has plans- some may be too much - the wealth tax will not pass.
But her plans are sound and doable . She knows policy inside and out. Right now I feel she needs to break free of the socialist association w Bernie.
2
@Tom
More voters are registered in neither party than in either party.
You need not-a-Democrats to win.
A private club can't win an election.
1
@McGloin
That independents outnumber either party in numbers is debatable, but not worthy of debate. Most of the not-a-Dems are not where Bernie is.
We Dems need a member of our party and someone electable to represent all Americans in the WH--not Bermie
Dems are a big tent, always more than the GOP. Whatever exclusivity they represent can be solved by democratic processes extant in the party.
1
The only democrats not united are the ones with boatloads of money and in love with the status quo in politics.
Once again, like 2016, big money, democratic heavyweights and their donors, don't like the way the primary season is taking shape. Thus, you get, Bloomberg entering the primary season, Kerry and HRC still thinking they could be president, and concerted efforts by the MSM and liberal pundits looking to bring down Sanders. Then is will be Warren to take down, and then Trump wins.
27
@Michael Piscopiello
Yes, exactly.
I will vote for any Democrat that actually took part in the debates.
If you offer me Bloomberg, who is just a polite Trump, I may stay home for the first time in thirty years.
Bloomberg is such a manipulator that he is manipulating the Democratic Primaries. Bernie at least plays by the rules. If I wanted a manipulator I would just vote for Trump.
AD 2020 - Any Democrat in 2020. But I have to separate my personal and pragmatic sides. I don't think that Sanders and Warren are going to be able to carry key states that are necessary to overtake Trump. While I like Joe Biden, I think his shelf life has expired, and it makes me sad to feel that way. While any of the Democrats - any! - would be my choice versus Trump, my preferences run to Klobuchar, Buttigieg and Yang as appropriate combinations of moderate and progressive. Each has their own shading, and all of them are potentially inspirational.
But here's a major takeaway: once we have woodshedded and found our candidate, all Democrats must stand behind him or her and get Trump and his fellow mobsters out of there. We have to overwhelm a system that is stacked against us. We can't have the kind of internal crossfire we have experienced in the past and win elections, never mind survive as a viable party. We can parse positions now, but must unify soon. As Ben Franklin said, which desperately needs frequent repetition, "We must all hang together or we will surely hang separately."
5
@CP
The past statistical ceiling for the Sanders/Warren wing of the Dem party is 40%. Unlike what you might hear from others, they are still struggling to transcend that number. We'll see if the 2 of them (Steyer seems another with a foot in this camp) can do it this time by "exciting" a new base, as they all claim they can do, to appeal past people's conservative biases against radical change promises.
3
Here is my fear that the Democrats will not win the presidential election in 2020:
Usually the incumbent is re elected. Only twice in 40 years have they not. In 1992 if Ross Perot doesn’t get in the race and siphon votes from Bush, Clinton doesn’t win.
But the Democrats don’t have a Bill Clinton, a Barack Obama, a JFK. A candidate with a big persona who could galvanize a large coalition. As it is now we Democrats are always infighting about something and splintering ourselves further apart.
I voted for Hillary Clinton but she was wrong to attack Bernie Sanders and then Sanders’ surrogates hit back with boos and Twitter storms.
But it exposed a rift between moderates and progressives that will go all the way to November. And now progressives are upset with the DNC over Mike Bloomberg.
If the Bernie supporters feel the DNC robbed them of a fair election again then they will stay home and or maybe even leave the party for good.
So at this point the infighting scares me and the fact that our leading candidate is a Democratic socialist who is not a very likable person and our moderate candidates don’t have any magic.
8
@Oliver Yes PLEASE leave the party for good. Bernie and bros are not Democrats. They need to start their own socialist third party and get out of Dodge.
1
If Warren stops aligning w Bernie she will be our moderate winner.
2
@ Mary
I agree. They should run in the Green Party or start a Democratic Socialist Party if they really believe in their supporters. But on the other hand the Democratic Party needs their support and their votes.
1
Bernie stayed in the race too long the last time and helped Trump. He appears ready to help Trump get reelected. We need someone who can get legislation through Congress. For that I would look at who members of Congress are endorsing...Mostly Biden.
8
Warren. Research her. Smart as a whip and that’s only one of the tools in her arsenal against Trump.
She just needs to separate from Bernie mob.
2
Personally I suspect the party will fragment coming out of the convention. Either there will be a brokered convention which will give candidate that no faction of the party is very fond of. Or we will get a a candidate with a very very slim victory at the convention and one or more of the other factions will choose to stay home. If only because many of the factions in the party hate each other more then they want to win election. Purity being more important then winning.
Compromise is very unlikely this time because for several factions this convention will view has existential. By that I mean if they don't win they will cease to be relevant in the party. And they're right they will become irrelevant.
The 2 major possibilities are milquetoast candidate or a divider rather then any kind of unity. A compromise is unlikely if only because all the factions have a long track record of going back on any agreement at the drop of hat. Nobody can or will trust anyone else. Not good.
2
If I was a Republican at this time in history I would encourage this division as much as possible through social media certainly, and in any other way I can. Will the Democrats notice? Will the 20-something Sanders supporters flee if Biden is nominated, and the Sanders bullies actually continue to go after Biden? I've been voting as a Democrat since 1970, and I've never seen anything like this. The possibility of free college and Medicare for All has certainly brought in the 18-35s. Will they (again) desert the party if they don't get their way like a pack of spoiled children?
4
@M.S. Shackley
Well, calling them spoiled children is another good way to keep them from voting. In the 2018 midterms there was historic turnout from the 18-35 demographic - and Bernie wasn't even on the ticket.
Perhaps reaching out to the younger folks and understanding why they stayed home when Hillary was the candidate may be a better option than thinking they took all just their toys and went home when Bernie wasn't nominated. Perhaps Hillary was just a bad establishment candidate, and all the mainstream media had already claimed her as the winner before the election.
If Biden is the candidate, you may get the same response from the younger crowd. And can you blame them? What is Joe Biden really offering any of them? Another old white guy in the White House. He can barely get through a debate speaking in clear sentences.
From the 1970's onward the baby boomers have been coddled to by nearly every politician. No real change has happened. Biden is continuing that trend, and you think the younger people inheriting a dying planet and historic wealth inequality with huge student loans and record healthcare costs want more of the same?
I'll tell you who is spoiled, and it isn't the young people.
4
@M.S. Shackley
I'm 73 and support Bernie, as I did in 2016. I'm not now and never was a bully. If you're worried about "division" -- which I don't see, slanted NYT articles notwithstanding -- you may want to examine your own attitude which you seem to be projecting.
1
The question in my mind is whether or not the media chooses the "they are divided" meme. If so then we are in trouble (so please stop!). My own two cents--the campaign sign I would love to plant in my front yard is a nice blue square. Charlie Brown could be the Democratic nominee and I would vote for him over Trump. Just because each of the Democrats is actually fighting to win does not mean that we are doomed to be a split party.
10
Impeachment was the last nail in the coffin of Democratic hopes for 2020. across the board. What kind of leaders do you have that you could give Trump a victory like that before the first Iowa vote is cast?
5
It would be entirely aligned with our liberal DNA to make sure that no democrat ever wins anything. The most powerful statement center left can make at this time, is to not even show up to vote for anyone, and make sure the survivor of the primaries is criticized and plain ignored. We have learned no lesson that a real-life Hillary - warts and all - seems pristine compared to Trump; yet we still profess that we had 'concerns' about her. Sure. I don't think liberals can hear the boxcars.
So snub our own, we must.
Because a democrat president will deprive us of the thing we crave the most: the glorious, noble, laudable status of chief victims. The satisfaction of crying, whining, complaining after Trump's next victory is so palpable and within grasp. All I have to do is not vote, or vote for the third party candidate, or even better - vote for Trump. That will show them.
4
@Kalidan
So on target.
1
If a tree get nominated , it will get my vote.
23
@sam,
I’ll vote for a corpse over Trump
1
Why is Hillary inserting herself into yet another presidential election and why does the NYT continue to report what she says? Does she think we need yet another polarizing personality in these treacherous times? Why is she so Trump like in not being able to let go of 2016, a year that gives me no pleasure to recall.
Nothing speaks to the diversity of women more than the "likability" issue which was leveled against Hillary during her disastrous 2016 run. When Elizabeth entered the 2020 race, the likability question was also raised for her. But I was impressed with Warren's warmth and friendliness at televised town halls. I was probably not alone in this impression; the reporting on Warren turned to her policies. In fact, "likable" got lost in this race until Hillary accused Bernie of not being likable.
And nothing shows up the difference between Warren and Sanders more than their responses to the public apprehension on Medicare for All. Sanders has a Father Knows Best approach: trust me, you'll love it. Warren's response to the public apprehension is to offer Medicare for All who want it and she'll make it so much better than private health plans that people will vote for it in three years. That's Mother can prove it to you or you win.
8
Warren is our winner. She needs to play up her ability to moderate radical plans- disengage from Bernie and his devotees who harassed her with snakes and non truths. Turned her into the next female sacrifice for their screaming white male candidate.
She answers questions and is smart. I am not convinced of Bernie’s above average intelligence.
Repeating the same sentence does not make you smart.
2
@citizen vox
I completely agree with you: Hillary Clinton should be quiet. She has nothing of importance to say, so why push into the limelight? BUT -- as much as I like Elizabeth because of her warmth and genuine concern for us who don't belong to the elite, the ultra-rich, the few -- I like Bernie TOO, for his integrity (his ideas and policies are the same since the '60s; in 2016 they seemed radical but have since been picked up by all the other candidates to some degree). And his genuine concern for us is unquestionable.
2
American voters are not afraid to go radical when it suits them. After all, they elected a decrepit reality TV star, without any political credentials, to the highest office in the world. It’d be difficult to get more radical than that. Even three years on, Trump can’t believe he won. So, it wouldn’t be surprising, in this age of hyper mercurial politics, that a Bernie or an Elizabeth could get elected on a radical platform as long as they look into the eyes and speak unto the heart of Everyman.
Of course, outside of the US, these American radicals look a lot like our conservatives. We have socialised medicine; we have gun control, we still have right wingers. No conservative here dare touch those institutions, however. We also have legalised marijuana too, so we’re not perfect in our social causes, but if Sanders, Warren, et al could start relentlessly pushing how much better life could be with free access to vital medical treatment or how much more enjoyable mall shopping could be without an AR15 punctuating the experience, America might actually progress towards being the country that it has long needed to be instead of deluding itself into believing its own misguided logic about rights and privileges that usually counter other people’s rights and privileges.
In Canada, we prize our healthcare like the US prizes it’s armoury. I’d say, based on direct comparison and experience, that life here is better. We made Canada great because of radical values.
14
Warren can win. Bernie cant w his history from the 1980s the republicans will flatten him.
3
I’m not anxious. I’m excited. We’re going to nominate Bernie, and we‘re going to beat Trump.
11
@Andy Dwyer
If you're correct about the first part, you're wrong about the second part. I will be voting against Trump, though.
The key question raised but not answered in this piece is: Do the majority of Democratic voters want a revolution? Certainly, if you are a Bernie or Warren supporter the answer would be yes. But I remain unconvinced that either of them can win. The track record for progressives has been terrible. This point can't be emphasized enough: almost every progressive candidate in whom Dems invested tremendous time, money, & energy in 2018—Beto O’Rourke in Texas, Andrew Gillum in Florida, Stacey Abrams in Georgia— lost. If Warren or Sanders are the nominees they will come under mind-boggling scrutiny that will make Democratic debates look like an Easter Egg hunt. Not just from the GOP & Fox News who will hit them with everything they have 24/7 but the MSM who will continually ask: will their proposals work? CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell confronted Sanders last week over the cost of his ambitious agenda. She was astonished when Sanders told her “nobody knows” what his programs will cost. What will be the reaction when Sanders travels to swing states with Michael Moore & he tells women’s underrepresentation in Congress a form of “gender apartheid.” Or when AOC, says in Texas, “I’m here because Senator Sanders has actually committed to breaking up ICE.” Sanders' codependents are already writing the GOP attack ads. Sanders may have 25% of the Democratic party on his side but the other 75% are adamantly against what he is proposing. A moderate gives us the best chance in 2020.
6
Warren is nothing like Bernie .
She can win, he can’t.
He can’t even talk to people in interviews kindly.
His baggage is too great. His praise of Castro etc will kill him.
1
Democrats were united on the witnesses vote in the Senate, even Manchin. That was encouraging.
With the lawless acts the newly emboldened Trump will commit in the coming months, Democrats will unite against him.
1
Just saying “I hate Trump more than the other Democrat candidates”, doesn’t seem to be working. What are your plans to decrease unemployment among African Americans and women? Yes, they are lower than they have been in decades, but could still be lower. How will each candidate open our borders to anyone who wants to come in? Will you extend all public aid programs to them? What will be done to improve the economy? How will you get homes and jobs for the homeless? What is your timetable to shut down all power plants that burn coal, oil, or natural gas? How will everyone get free, comprehensive medical care, paid for someone else? What should be done about problems in the Mideast? Should all troops be removed? Does the US spend too much on defense? What would you cut? Trump lowered taxes on over two thirds of taxpayers but rich people pay more because of limits on how much they can deduct from Federal taxes for the State and local taxes they pay. Will you work with Senate Democrat minority leader Schumer to promote tax relief plans for rich persons who pay a lot of state and local taxes? The list goes on and on, far beyond “I hate Trump”.
7
Progressives must form a third party because they are the reason we're so divided. Extreme socialist ideas belong in the same camp, and the Democrat party could stop confusing loyal voters. Every single candidate has good ideas, but as we have recently seen, might makes right in the Senate, and any good Democrat idea will probably never make it into reality. Choose the one person most likely to beat Trump. Or else, prepare for more "disastah" in the White House.
2
"Anxious"? Ha! With that jam band rally on Saturday for the Sanders campaign of over 3000 people as any indication, I'd say "exhilarated" is a better word to use for describing the days mood - well, at least for his campaign where glimpses of the suppressed poll showed him at 30%
9
About 90 percent of Republicans support Trump, about 20 percent of people attending Trump rallies are Democrats, 35 percent of black voters polled said they like Trump, and a recent poll said 10 percent of people who voted for Hillary in 2016 plan to vote for Trump this time around. You do the math.
4
The most important vote in Iowa is against Joni Ernst. The most important vote in Kentucky is against Mitch McConnell. The most important vote in South Carolina is against Lindsay Graham. The most important vote in Colorado is against Cory Gardner.
Down ticket matters. If you want to defeat Trump, you have to take out these corrupt people from the Senate. The vote Friday was a vote cast in infamy. Time to end the terms of the senators who cast it.
40
@ondelette "The most important vote in Iowa is against Joni Ernst. The most important vote in Kentucky is against Mitch McConnell. The most important vote in South Carolina is against Lindsay Graham. The most important vote in Colorado is against Cory Gardner." Frame this and put it on your wall, everyone.
Then donate $5 or more to one of these or to turn another vulnerable Senate seat in your own state. Live in a solid blue state? This is your chance to "vote" for someone in another state. Your money is your vote!
Vote Blue No Matter Who!
Support Blue Down-Ticket, Too!
1
What we have here is an overreaction by the Democratic Party to the situation they tolerated in 2016, where they co-opted the "field" of candidates in an obvious effort to boost Ms. Clinton's candidacy. So Bernie Sanders showed up and out-campaigned her and the party made them make their peace. Fast forward to 2020 and we have many candidates and a glaring lack of organizational purpose. It's sad that some good candidates dropped out during the televised debate phase before a single vote was cast or caucus held. Their electability problem is of their own making.
3
I keep reading these articles about disunity, and I'm just not buying them. It's as if they are written by people who expect Democrats to be a monolith and not a party of diverse backgrounds and multiple ideas. Is it the increasing participation in caucuses and primaries by young voters that are throwing everyone off because they are way more used to seeing the older crowds? The only real division in the polls is between the older and younger generations, and if that's the case, I welcome it because young people have often sat out elections (aside from the massive blue wave of 2018! Thanks, young folks!).
83
@Zifmer Democrats do not need to have monolithic ideas or even agree on methods to our goals, but we do need unity at the polls and a passion to get others out to vote.
1
Unfortunately, I will have to wait to vote until next presidential election. I wanted to share a positive thought: The wide range of progressive agendas is beautiful to watch. The fact that Warren and Sanders are pro social democracy is just beautiful to see regardless of their conflicts; It’s also inspiring to witness the possibility of a gay couple in the WH; Biden brings comfort and he is stretching his agenda and believes due to the fact of how many citizens of the US are willing to follow Warren’s or Sander’s ideas. I am sorry, but I find the article very pessimistic. I think it is good news to know the Dem have expanded their ideology more towards the ideologies that countries in Europe or Canada live by. I think the FarWest thinking of surviving has to shift. So, go DEM’s!! Beautiful to see all the enthusiasm out there in the cold ground of Iowa!!
90
Former Iowan. I live across the river now in Illinois. I've been to a few rallies. What I've noticed is the cross-section of supporters in attendance. Yang Gang and Bernie Bros at a Pete event. Biden and Amy supporters at a Warren rally. What I witnessed wasn't ugly or nasty or divisive but a "we have to beat Trump" attitude. Each group of supporters thinks it is their candidate but, in the end they seem to realize the bigger target.
143
@lion2019 From your lips to God's ears. I hope you are right that we can unite around the candidate who is selected. Last election, the Bernie group didn't vote for Clinton, and it most likely cost her the votes she needed.
11
You said it all, the Dems have no platform except beat Trump. The Trump economy, the avoidance of wars in Iran and N. Korea will carry him to a landslide. I am also a registered non-partisan, that will be voting, not for Trump, but for the Trump economy.
3
@Chris And when it collapses as economies do? Will you impeach him then?
13
The Democrats thought impeaching Trump would either remove him from running for re-election or mortally wound his chances. It did neither. So panic is indeed pursuing. Their candidates are a foggy thinking old white male, who campaigned in Iowa and kept thinking he was in Ohio, and a group of clear thinking socialists. The primary platform agenda item is Beat Trump. Not the economy. It’s doing too well. Not healthcare. Universal healthcare is not selling well. Not immigration. Open borders is a bust. And not climate change. The only candidate with that as his primary platform agenda item, Inslee, was not even allowed to participate in the climate change debate. Not a good prospective for Democrats.
13
@B. There are many reasons why the economy is doing well, and it has nothing to do with Trump and his tariffs. Lowering taxes on corporations is a short term, band-aid approach that has only increased our debt and set us up for recession and printing money. I don't see the Republican candidate with a single plan for healthcare, immigration, climate change, etc. only a plan to destroy anything Obama liked. He's a vindictive man, and he should be removed from office no matter how well your stock account is doing.
5
@B. T.
Sorry your analyst is incorrect. I thing healthcare is very important as well as climate change to just about all Americans. As far as the economy it is going good but what you are forgetting it was doing great when trump took office and the only boost it got from him was the tax cuts which have large corporations and the wealthy big cuts not most Americans and it has given us a trillion dollar defict. And no one is suggesting open borders - that is Nathan out and put lie put out by right wing media and republicans. No we have great candidates and anyone of them can beat trump. I too like Gov Inslee but he just did not catch on in the crowded field.
And I do not see panic. But you are right we need to beat trump and take the senate. It is very important for our country.
4
@B. T. We live in very different worlds, it seems. I pushed a very reluctant to vote for impeachment representative. My final statement was we have a criminal in the white house who will continue to hurt our country until or if someone stops the him. Stopping him from breaking the law and obeying the Constitution is as likely as a bat's chance in hill. HIS lawyers and GOP are lying and breaking the law and ignoring the Constitution (this is what fascists/despots do).
Pelosi dragged her feet because she didn't want to land on impeachment.
So, I didn't expect impeachment and never expected it. I didn't expect acquittal (and technically, without witnesses or documents presented, there's no acquittal from something that never was tried). This is a mob running our country into the ground and that's a consistent view of people I know.
2
Will Rogers was right -- he didn't belong to any organized political party -- he was a Democrat.
How true!!
23
Only divided until November 3, 2020!
Then lookout! United we will stand and good-bye Donald J. Trump. And his family.....
47
@MIMA
PLEASE be right.
6
"It's the economy, stupid." -- James Carville, 1992
8
@Gary E
That was a nice sound bite by Mr. Carville but he is not correct. I’ll grant him that phrase for local politics or maybe even Congressional mid term elections.
But when it comes to presidential elections voters vote on personality. Eisenhower, JFK, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, G W Bush ( remember the “he’s a guy I’d like to have a beer with”?) Obama and now Trump, all won on personality and / or “change.”
I like James Carville. But he’s wrong.
2
To write of “conspicuous passion” with examples of Warren and Buttigieg t-shirts, and not Bernie’s massive crowds, is quite a feat.
40
@TPK I know! And then you move onto the fundraising numbers (an article further down the political page) and realize that Bernie's pulling in the most donations from EVERYDAY people across the country, the WHOLE country and yet....here we are with this completely false narrative. Its so frustrating.
18
Each candidate knows that they can do the job better than anyone else. It reminds me of many job interviews I had. Personal gain of each Democrat is more important than winning the Presidency for the Party.
4
One party is hollow, a fierce posture but nothing inside. The other is overstuffed, with wild antics and insides leaking out. Haven't we seen this movie before?
5
The two party system is clearly broken. Trump has taken over the nominally Republican Party and the Democrats need to nominate either Sanders or Bloomberg, one of two septuagenarian New York Jews to win outside the corrupt establishment. One a mega-billionaire and the other an avowed anti-billionaire. Saul Bellow couldn’t have written a better story.
9
@Paco It’s not broken, it’s just not a two-party system anymore. It’s a one-party system.
I will support whoever is the nominee. Democrats are united in their desire to get rid of Trump. That’s it.
161
This is the time to debate which candidate is your favorite. It the Democrats don't support the person they eventually nominate and campaign hard, we know what will happen. People will have only themselves to blame for a second term of the menace in the White House. There are too many stories like this one in the NYT. Concentrate on rallying behind the eventual nominee because that's what counts. That means you whether you support Bernie or Biden - or any other candidate. And no third party votes this time either. The stakes are too high!
32
@Marilyn I agree. Cheering for and advocating for your favorite candidate of the field at this point in the process isn't division--its passion. Its democracy. Its healthy. Its okay. Its good.
6
The candidates are faced with a Herculean task: having to make the case that they are the best candidate to beat Trump and govern the country, while minimizing their criticism of the other candidates in the interest of "party unity."
4
So the Dems have a slew of strong candidates. Seems like a good problem to have, no?
189
Give me a break on the Democratic angst stories.
This is what democracy looks like, a competition between candidates and their ideas for votes. Compare and contrast with the GOP side where to even suggest any dissatisfaction with Great Leader Trump and Trumpism is an act of treason.
While the press goes out of its way to heighten stories about Democratic division, why so little about how Trumpism has the GOP by the throat, how the party is canceling primaries and caucuses?
And while that is going on, the GOP Senate under Mitch McConnell is giving Trump a pass on trying to rig the 2020 election, and is packing the courts with activist judges. GOP Senators are now on record saying impeachable conduct is not reason enough to remove a president. Meanwhile hundreds of bills from the House are gathering dust on McConnell’s desk.
Democrats agree on the rule of law, the right to vote, accountability, science, reason; Republicans on holding on to power by any means possible. They are engaged in a long-term coup going back decades.
That’s the real story. Report it.
436
@Larry Roth Right? This hand-wringing in public by the left-leaning press is what creates disaffection and indifference. Drives me bananas. Great comment.
37
@Larry Roth
Amen. If people couldn't see this coming as soon as Trump took office, it's crystal clear today. Vote your Passion in your Primary and Vote Blue no Matter Who in November. (And let's not have Iowa decide!)
45
@Larry Roth Don't let the Op-Ed pages fool you. The media conglomerates would rather see trump re-elected for the obvious reason. They are perfectly happy playing chicken with the dismantling of the Constitution and the separation of powers if it means keeping this kinetic news cycle going for another four years. But no matter how impressed Matt Flegenheimer is with trump's rallies, trump is done. The Bernies to the Bidens don't want him. Americans will vote the garbage out in November.
24
Wow. Who did this?
1
Just curious DNC and media outlets and Hillary...how do you not have division when you actively work to undermine...especially...one candidate...Bernie...and did you not learn your lesson to not promote division and misinformation towards Bernie...as you did in 2016...and then wonder why some Bernie supporters didn’t vote the way you wanted? Honest criticism is fine, but not cheating nor deceit as it will only hurt the party. Be fair and honest, not manipulative.
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@Gene Nelson your whine against Hillary because she beat Bernie fair and square is why the party is not united. Bernie Sanders and his supporters make this Dems flesh crawl. Hillary beat Bernie like a dirty rug. Get over it. This Dem will never vote for that angry old Hector McStabby-Finger.
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So you won’t vote “blue no matter who”. Neither will I. My family needs Medicare for All. My expensive for profit insurance almost killed me. I’m angry too.
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@Gene Nelson
Bernie supporters, knock it off with the attacks on the press.
Blue no matter who -- but I also remember my futile votes for McGovern and Dukakis.
Please no Bernie.
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Party Democrats seem to have a brazen response to one of the real issues of the day, our border invasion. AOL and her crowd act like they are speaking for Us, those that vote for Democrats. How insulting that in the 1st debate, nearly all,but Biden, raised their hands about supporting an open border. We, the real Democratic electorate, want border enforcement, not PC platitudes. This is the problem with primaries. Candidates play to the activist primary voters, the rest of us are never consulted. Don't make policy by being 180" opposed to the R's carefully crafted minority magnets.
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@Timit not true. Beto O’Rourke also opposed decriminalising illegal border crossing.
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@Timit
Notice the lack of any talk about illegal immigration among the D candidates since those hands went up. Open borders is an unpopular position, and Trump will hammer them on it.
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Why is anyone surprised that voters are supporting different candidates and not uniting to defeat Trump?
I watched all the debates and though I like Pete and think he is the best person for the job I also know that he will not be the nominee.
So a few weeks back I asked, Who is best positioned to beat the psychopath?
There is only one person that I believe can truly unite all of us to get rid of Trump.
He is spending his own money to get under Trump's skin and is taking the fight via TV and internet ads all over the country.
Mike Bloomberg, who is rapidly rising in the polls, is just 0.02% behind Biden in the aggregation of all Trump vs. Dem polls on Real Clear Politics ( the other candidates are far behind).
He has more on the ground governing experience than all the others combined.
He knows Trump and delights in getting under his skin. His ads are drawing blood and the current occupant of the WH is tweeting up a storm, even devoting much of his pre Super Bowl interview on Fox to yelling at Mike.
Mike is fulfilling my dream list of what I would do if I had money to burn and wanted to take down the wicked witch. He is sticking it to Trump in ways that make the yellow haired one squirm. Good job, Mike.
Mike is the one to follow.
He gets things done when he sets his mind to it.
He will make us all proud again to be Americans.
He cleaned up NYC over 12 years and will save America, too.
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@Simon Sez I can’t tell if this is satire.
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@Simon Sez Bloomberg is like Trump just on the other team. Bloomberg is exactly what is wrong with politics and the system. No one wanted him in the past and no one will want him in November.
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@Kimberley
Bloomberg is a Republican billionaire. He is on the same team as Trump.
Talk about not a real Democrat.
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There is only one issue. Getting rid of Trump. Nothing else happens unless that it is accomplished. Unfortunately, the Democrats haven't figured that out, and it probably won't happen. Sad.
Sanders is not a Democrat.
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@Dave There was a Vox article recently that did a survey and came to the conclusion that Bernie polls higher with Trump when they remind voters that he is a “socialist” rather than the word “Democrat”.
It’s a feature, not a bug.
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@Dave
You can't win this election with only real Democrats.
There are more people registered in nether party than in either party.
Do you really think you gain their votes by calling them "not real Democrats?"
The fact that Sanders is not a Democrat makes it easier for Republicans to vote for him. It makes it easier for non-voters to vote for him.
They know they are not Democrats. That is why they registered in neither party.
A private club does not have enough members to win an election
If you want to lose this election, keep calling people "not real Democrats."
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@Shamanth
From the article. I'm sure that this was totally unbiased. Vox, though a fairly accurate publication, skews hard left, so I take it with a grain of salt. Actually, a shaker.
The polls said Trump would lose, BTW.
"It is difficult to know whether that’s true or not, but a recent message-testing experiment run by the progressive group Data for Progress at least calls that theory into question.
In their experiment, tagging Sanders as a socialist did not seem to undermine his campaign — something we’ve also seen over the years in Vermont. Sanders consistently does a bit better in elections for his Senate seat than you would expect from the state’s baseline party lean."
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Democrats want to fall in love with their candidates while Republicans always seem to fall in line... Do you want to win or do you want to feel good? Probably won't get both. I have a bad feeling about all of this
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It can really be summarized up by one sentence. Weak candidates and unreaslistic as well as to left of center policy proposals.
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@Tammy
Try this. Go with a friend to the playground and find a see saw.
Sit your friend on the Right side of the see saw.
You sit in the middle on top of the fulcrum.
Your friend will have full control of the see saw, and you will have no affect at all.
A two party system requires two opposing parties that balance each other out.
When the Democrats offered to tax the mega-rich to help most people with big programs, they controlled Congress for nearly 60 years! They built the middle class by investing in workers and infrastructure.
It is the move to the center that threw the whole system or of balance, lost Congress and the states to Republicans, and made Trump president.
When a strategy fails, a smart general changes his strategy. A general that acts the way Democrats have, using the same failing strategy over and over as Replicans win again and again, would be dead in a real war.
Try something new before Trump makes himself King.
The extremes determine the mean.
If Trump is one extreme and the center is the other, the best you can hope for is hallway between the center and Trump.
That is losing before the election starts.
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This is like 24/7 news, gotta talk about or write about something! Democrats are united and will vote for the final candidate.
Write instead about Trump! The backward President taking away the necessities of life, clean water and clean air to fill the pockets of his corporate billionaire friends. We have another year of this. Where are the features about his destruction of our resources? 24/7 news is the worst thing to happen in our country. Anchors and reporters always looking for dirt but somehow the vastness of this President's turning us backwards is not reported. Does he have all the network and press owners in his pocket?
C'mon NY Times get real the Democrats and many Republicans want him out. Why don't we hear about that?
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@Jane Meyers
I add my voice to yours. This is an example of the way media attempt to create buzz. I would think the ongoing serious damage this administration is responsible for would be the most newsworthy of any topics.
The Democrats are going to fail again, like 2016. Middle America, Heartland is not ready for "Progressive Socialism", regardless of the opinions of the liberal states on the east and west coast (I live in California, and our state would elect Karl Marx). Trump absolutely did not win in 2016 (actually lost the popular vote, but landslided the electoral college). Anyway, the Democrats lost 2016=what did Americans Not want=a dishonest professional politician which is exactly what Hillary was. So what are the Dems doing now=looking socialist???????? Get smart Dems, defeat Trump!
7
The news media profits more when it sells stories about division, unity not being as newsworthy as conflict. Every last bit of conflict within the Democratic Party has been highlighted. The endless and fairly exclusive pointing to disagreements hasn't done the country any favors. We live in a divided nation - a nation where the media profits by bringing conflict to everybody's attention. Not the enemy of the people, but certainly part of the problem.
There are 100,000 swing voters in the upper mid-west that will decide the election, and the sad fact that Democrats need to cater to them, instead of the millions who are in agreement with Sanders/Warren is not what we'd hoped for, but I wouldn't call that a lack of unity.
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A single vexing problem, Trump's presidency in this case, could have multiple solution options. Taking the health analogy, I have had knee pain and unsuccessfully tried many treatment options in an attempt to find out what works. And am now reconciling to finding a way to live with the pain as the only viable option. Ugh. Maybe I will wait another four years before looking for more options.
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@Srini V : I knew an older gentleman with very bad knees (osteoarthritis). He couldn't walk much, used a cane -- shuffled. His doctors talked him into a double knee replacement.
He never walked again. Too agonizing. He went from slow but ambulatory with SOME pain (controlled somewhat with drugs) -- to a total cripple for the remainder of his life, utterly dependent on caretakers.
Make of this what you will.
Now that the DNC effectively got all the people of color other than Andrew Yang out of the race they want to shift the rules to derail Bernie Sanders (superdelegates getting more power in direct proportion to the support Sanders is gaining)), and undercut all the candidates to get Michael Bloomberg into the debates.
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@Robert Roth
You sound like a “Democrat” who is going to vote for Trump or a third party candidate or maybe not vote at all if a more moderate candidate gets the nomination. I am as progressive a Democrat as they come, but democracy is more important than my personal political preferences. Another four years of the Trump Cult would destroy our democracy.
Real democrats will Vote Blue No Matter Who!
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@Dawn R -- 'Real' Dems do not like their Candidate getting cheated out of any Election -- the last one, or this one.
Corporate Dems running the party have proven to be quite Undemocratic.
That's why The Rules are so fluid.
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@Robert Roth : I don't think the "DNC effectively got all the people of color... out of the race". Those candidates did that to themselves by virtue of their unpopular proposals and/or shifting positions on important issues.
7
I think the tenor of this downbeat report is captured in the opening sentences where the reporter eagerly reports the shrimpy crowd at the Biden gathering while tactfully making no comment on the size of the Sanders crowd. God forbid you report that the crowd was large and pumped up. So much for making us depressed. Better luck next time.
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@Capt Planet Exactly right. Reading between the lines we observe that the real “anxiety” being felt is on the side of the corporatist Democrats and their media mouthpieces who fear what an impending Sanders victory means to their personal livelihoods.
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I am quite poor and live in an African American neighborhood.
The education programs and initiatives for black farmers that Warren proposed are much more convincing and pragmatic than Bernie’s slogans.
I literally cannot find any interview with him where he answers questions not in a scripted slogan way.
The same thing as he has been doing for forty years. This isn’t integrity it’s under accomplished:
This election reminds me- again- how a man can repeat a sentence for years and it’s considered something . Something electable.
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@Lucia
I really like Warren too.
"This election reminds me- again- how a man can repeat a sentence for years and it’s considered something . Something electable."
It means he means it.
Period.
Full stop.
No despair, the party will come together when the time comes. Right now, we are at the peak of selecting our leader, so some roughness is necessary to pick the best candidate.
Come November, we'll rush to beat Trump and his accomplices.
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I take issue with this article. The fact that there is a contested primary does not mean Democrats are not united: Democrats all still share certain values and most will support the party’s candidate once he or she is nominated.
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What evidence do you have of your latter point? I spoke with a Bernie supporter after the 2016 election and I asked him if was okay with sitting out the general election given its result. He said “absolutely.”
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@Alex. Which state was this Bernie supporter in? I felt pretty comfortable not voting for Clinton in 2016 as well (though I did vote down ballot) because my very blue little state was going to go 90%+ for her. Now that I'm in a purple state, I'll vote blue, even if the eventual nominee is not someone I'd want to vote for.
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@Alex
I know at least five Republican Trump supporters that wanted to vote for Bernie, but voted against Hillary.
Yesterday there was an article in the NY Times that mapped the small donors of all the candidates across the country. Bernie has donors everywhere. The other candidates were popular in specific areas. Bernie literally has broad support across the entire map, not just in cities, but in the vast rural areas as well. Those are the Republican voters.
Bernie is the candidate that you are looking for and you keep ignoring all the evidence.
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