As a life long Democrat, it will be a sad day if Sanders is selected as the Democratic candidate.
I don’t care how much money he raises.
He won’t beat Trump.
1
This is important news that will get buried due to the ongoing Iowa disaster.
Bernie Sanders has the most donors, most donations, the lowest average donation, and, per another article linked from here, the broadest base of geographic support. His geographic breadth is so dominant that the NYT felt compelled to produce a second map *taking Sanders out.*
All of this while eschewing PACs and high-dollar fundraisers. Sanders' support is nothing short of historic.
Opposition to Sanders, at this point, is driven primarily by fear. Fear of the socialist label (which has been and will be applied to any Democrat, and which a growing number of Americans in fact see as a positive thing). Fear of his age (he's healthier than Trump). Fear of his white maleness (descriptive characteristics are an impoverished way of looking at representation). Fear that he will redistribute power away from corporate elites (they have good reason to be afraid of this, but not the rest of us). And above all: fear that Sanders *just might be right* about the systemic problems facing this country and the vast courage it will take to confront them.
8
@AG
Fellow Mainer, a great comment, nay, a HUUUUUUGE TRUTH.
And, as you say “about the systemic problems facing our country and the vast courage it will take to confront” the systemic problem — fortunately, there is only one single, seminal, and silent ‘MEGA-problem’ — which is EMPEROR TRUMP and his attempt to Make Empire Great Again.
Which can be easily cured as the cancerous ‘disease of democratic Republics’ (Empire) — but which all sane and “Common Sense” Americans, like Thomas Paine fully understand as we overcame the British EMPIRE to found our first American Political, Economic & Social democracy by ousting with a “Revolution Against Empire” [Justin du Rivage’s deeply researched and definitive 2014 history of our first one in 1776].
1
Money helps but is not sufficient. Even if Sanders managed to get elected, he would lose the down ballot, and thus failed to have the congressional cooperation to push his agenda.
Many commented here argue that Sanders could help raise fund for the down ballot. But money only gets you so far. Those who live in their echo chamber fail to see that fundamentally there is a large population, while may not be the majority, do not believe in big government.
Most people support policies for removing barriers to access to health care, education, housing, etc. But not as many believe the government is in the business of streamlining a industry or preventing enterprising people from making money lawfully.
Democratic needs to get out of their echo chamber. Sanders is admirable, but his policy will not be realized in this country because big government is not supported by overwhelmingly majority of people.
2
This is a lot of money raised, but to put it in context: 25 million is about three to four days worth of income to Bloomberg.
1
It's pretty simple folks. 53% of people under the age of 35 support Bernie, and he does well with independents and working class voters. Moderate, upper middle class suburbanites act like those demographics aren't important and yet they are exactly what win elections. Which is why RCP polls have him consistently beating Trump by solid margins and at a +3 in swing states.
The reality is that the Democratic Party has always been overly reliant on youth but continually nominates people like Gore, Clinton and Kerry who don't represent our needs and go on to lose in the general. Boomers who own stocks and homes are completely detached from the realities facing people under 40.
Biden was supposed to be the electable one. He just got trounced. Trump was supposed to be so unelectable that Clinton attempted to prop him up. Maybe it's time to recognize that the old paradigm is shifting and Sanders is the nominee to beat Trump.
2
I wonder how many Repubs donated to Bernie. There is more than one way to mess with an election.
More investigation on Buttigieg’s skirting of FEC rules by Bigieg Money Super PAC.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/05/buttigieg-super-pac-111217
Only one candidate has high voter favorability ratings along with plenty of funding by average people — to beat the hidden big money high rollers and fight for the people.
And as Bernie’s signs say:
“BERNIE beats Trump”
While my signs simply say:
“Our Revolution”
to Dump
Emperor Trump
and on the other side
GET ‘WOKE’ &
‘FOLK’ THE
EMPIRE
1
I wonder why it wouldn’t occur to a democratic socialist whose economic theories are based on Marx (good for him, by the way) that on some level, money’s money...you know, the “universal solvent,” that dissolves all things into itself?
That maybe there’s something wrong with crowing about how much you can spend, wherever it came from?
no way, not when raising money is the name of the game... our political system has been corrupted by unjust campaign financing and he is totally in the right to gloat about not raising his $$ from corporations but rather the working people of this country.
Millions and millions to grease his ego riddled hollow campaign! He personally gives little to charity out of his vast wealth. His plans will never become law! Just a show from an elderly con artist in bad health.
1
People are waking up to the fact that the best way to beat a fake populist is with a real one. Bernie is going to mop the floor with Trump.
8
Bernie isn’t a Democrat. His candidacy is helping to guarantee we have 4 more years of Orange.
Half the country isn't Democrat or Republican
Bernie Sanders: I raised a $25 million windfall.
Bloomberg: Hold my champagne flute.
BIDEN ENDORSES BLOOMBERG will be the headline after the March Super Tuesday. America simply will not vote for a socialist communist mandate and allow Trump a walk in the park come November vote tallying.
We Democrat’s must get real and support someone who is truly electable come November: a self-made busibess person who has run a major city and won THREE elections (never losing) with MILLIONS voting for him.
The news media should start covering now the inevitable conclusion that there will be no single winner and March will determine the real momentum!!!!
It’s a new fabric being knitted in this country’s voting methods and we Democrat’s must strongly unite.
Too bad it's Republicans donating to him, knowing that an irascible socialist will never win a national election.
After his heart attack, I thought Bernie should drop out and throw his support to Warren. I still think he would have done so had his ego not gotten engaged in pay-back for those years of marginalization. Somehow his Old Testament prophetic fulmination reaches people Warren's coldly academic approach does not. So I was wrong.
1
Candidates raise funds from people they want to be beholden to: with Sanders, it's the general public. This is why he did well in 2016 and why he continues to do well now.
It's time to end the influence of big money in politics. It's toxic to the nation. I want leaders who answer to the population, not to big donors.
5
Oh look Mayor Pete keeps getting his hands dirty. Overstated and greatly exaggerated military record. His refusal to tell voters what he was doing for McKensey (in Michigan at the time there was a big concern among private and public workers pension plans and health plans. Many employers - cities, towns, manufacturers were asking experts to direct them in how to cut or even deny retirees their benefits. It’s why France is in an upheaval right now. Pete?) and how awful the job really was. Mayor Pete was silent on his dismal civil rights record while holding down a job in Tiny Town South Bend.
Pete was secret on who his big donors were and where all the cash was coming from. He refused to open his cash haul gatherings until it was an impossible. When it was revealed that its was Wall Street types Pete closed his eyes and cursed the wind and at this very hour he’s stepped off the trail to go to more fund raisers. And his shameless staff is illegally soliciting Pacs directly.
And there’s the Iowa app by Shadow. Seems that one of Pete Major donors who built the failed app, got the Iowa democratic party to buy the app and it was forced on all Iowa precincts to use it. Mayor Pete paid Shadow forty thousand dollars for a prime exclusive addition of the app. ( Biden like other candidates were solicited by Shadow and bought the Text messaging only edition.) Pete needs to show us his special Shadow edition and what it can do: change the count on votes and delegates?
Don’t trust Pete!
1
@Sendan Conspiracy theories only help Trump and definitely don’t convince voters to vote for your chosen candidate. If anything, it’s the opposite.
I just wanted to tell everyone that this is Sander's January haul. Not the quarter. And he has more in one month than what anyone has raised in an entire quarter.
Let that settle in.
4
What all this is telling us is that millions people who are sending Bernie their lunch money want their voice heard after 75 years since the FDR era closed.
Bernie Sanders is even better than FDR in delivering justice and fairness to our society. We have become a true oligarchy in every sense of the word. Our Democracy is not a Democracy. A few people manipulate the masses through their agents who keep manufacturing consensus for them (Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's 1988 book is superb still) . Citizens United was the last stroke. Next would be Fascism under Trumpolini or Trumpler. What we have seen in the fast few months during the "Impeachment" process and trial shows even the wildest eyed optimist and believer in the American rhetoric that our constitution is a joke because it is not implementable!
Bernie should not scare anyone. Paying higher taxes for those who can afford it (myself include) and seeing the impact on society joyfully is being human. My family taught me how to be a Mensch and how to respect Menschen beyond anyone else. A Mensch is someone who wants a society where everyone goes to bed without not knowing who they would wake up as and do not care. Some call it a Rawlsian Society, some may even call it a society that Jesus envisioned. Both John Rawls and Jesus Christ are excellent examples of A Mensch. Alas both are gone, but Bernie is with us. Let as pray the Lord to give him a long and healthy life, the next eight years as President.
2
There's a beautiful story here of 1.5 million little people coming together to defeat corporate and dark money in politics.
Who will be the first Times reporter to defy the false angry Bernie Bros narrative and write about it?
3
They are not “little” people my friend. They are bigger than you and me. Bless them!
1
It looks like "Mayor" Pete's campaign has learned from President Trump how to communicate (with Dark Money groups) in public, in this case to skirt campaign finance laws. Pretty clever.
"Russia, if you're listening ..."
1
Mr. Goldmacher, Bloomberg is one of Sanders rivals too … and he definitely is not having a financial strain … he probably spent at least $25-million on advertising in January alone!
Bloomberg 2020!
I've actually met several "Bernie or Trump" voters. That is, they'll vote for Bernie or if not him, then they'll vote for Trump.
These voters are invariably young men with a sharp sense of irony and an attraction to the chaotic insurgent element in national politics. They're not dumb, not by a long shot, but they're addicted in a real way to the political circus that's dominated media for the past 4 years and all its attendant phenomenons: memes, breathless Twitter posts, "breaking news", the antics of the far left and the far right.
Politics for as long as they can remember has been a game and because they're well enough off in a good economy, they can be players in it.
1
This is all from small donors, not dark money PACs. While I'm not aSanders supporter at this point, that's impressive
1
The power of a grassroots movement on display!
2
Remember....he’s who Trump wants as an opponent. That is all.
Republicans are pumping tons of money into Bernie's campaign. He's their dream candidate. And I'd love to know how many republicans registered democrat for the Iowa caucus so they could pump up the candidacies of Sanders and Buttigieg. think about it.
Ridiculous. What I think is that darla is making a suggestion!
Everyone is against him, aside from the millions of us who aren't.
He can't win, but he might.
He's too old, but he has twice the energy of anyone else
He's too serious, but maybe it's time we got serious
He harps on a couple of issues, but they happen to be the issues that most of us care about
He's a "socialist," but we already have socialism--for the rich (e.g. who bailed out the banks?)
He's boringly consistent--but so are Biden and the rest of the "moderates"
He's not a Democrat, but from my point of view (remembering LBJ) he's the only Democrat.
People like me, who happen to agree with Sanders and who support him, are portrayed as obnoxious, but we're just happy to have found a candidate--at long last--who will fight for the rest of us
We'll see. I have to go write another $20 check
18
It's going to take a buzz saw to defeat Trump and Bernie is the only Democratic candidate with the street fighting skills to take him on. Including Bloomberg.
Bloomberg with his stop and frisk, nanny state ways will fall flat with a big part of the electorate.
Did you know that under Bloomberg it was legal to drink wine in NYC parks at certain events, but not beer? That's going to go over big with the people of Pennsylvania.
With Bloomberg potential voters who are smokers, beer drinkers, soda pop lovers, fast food aficionados, people with guns, people who are for affordable housing and people who are no fans of stop and frisk are going to have a hard time with the record of Bloomberg's policies and the way he throws his financial weight around to get his way.
Keep in mind when Bloomberg was in his second term of mayor of NYC when he bought a change to the two term limit so that he could over-stay his office for a third term. No emergency. He just had the money and arrogance to do it.
5
If Sanders loses the nomination, hopefully his supporters will vote for whoever is the winner; if they don't they will help Trump win again.
2
@Sherry
Sanders campaigned for Hillary in 2016. Fact.
Now she says nobody likes him.
You think Hillary will campaign for him?
5
@Sherry The same could be said about the very vocal "Never Bernie" supporters of the senator from Massachusetts, the former mayor of South Bend, and the lifelong puppet of the credit card industry. I do hope that if Bernie gets the nomination, you will rail on those folks to "get in line," and not just extend that attitude to the progressives in the party.
3
How about if Sanders wins the Democratic nomination (which is much more likely)? Will you pledge to support him 💯?
3
I was admittedly on the fence about Sanders but my mind swiftly changed after receiving a medical bill that literally made my jaw drop to the floor. I suspect that many of the people who have donated to Sanders are not the fervent, cult-like Sanders backers frequently caricatured in the media but are instead people who donated to send a message saying that things are not OK. People are drowning in debt and desperation.
NYT readers (myself included) are likely a relatively privileged bunch but the aforementioned desperation is working itself "up" the class ladder. Before you know it, your children or grandchildren will be the ones going bankrupt due to a serious accident or injury.
It is in our best interest to try to address this right now. If we don't, this desperation will manifest itself in ugly and maybe even violent ways in the future.
19
The future is now. I can no longer afford dental appointments.
1
Bernie is not my first choice, but I would certainly vote for him over Trump.
6
How much of that came from Republicans? Trump's own campaign admitted recently that they have been going all out to get Sanders to be the nominee, because they assume he is going to be E-Z to beat.
2
@JFMACC Can you share the source from which you pulled the allegation that the Trump campaign has recently admitted anything remotely like that? As far as I've seen, that's an apocryphal tale being told by the "Never Bernie" crowd to deflect from the fact that Trump is veritably salivating at the idea of running against Biden, who is the only candidate who would flail in a debate with him.
1
@proBRUCEr https://politicalwire.com/2020/02/02/trump-campaign-promotes-bernies-rise/
Jonathan Swan: “Bernie Sanders has surged to the front of the polls ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses. And some of Trump’s political advisers say they are doing their best to help him stay there.”
Said a Trump adviser: “We’re trying to promote the rise. The campaign has been pumping up the national messaging behind Bernie, pushing out fundraising emails. When you attack his policies, it gets the media to talk about him.”
“The adviser said that highlighting Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, helps Trump put the whole field of Democrats under a socialist umbrella.”
By many accounts, Trump’s campaign data analysts want Sanders to be the nominee. They know the precincts in each state that will determine the electoral college results and the profiles of voters in these precincts. As in 2016, they will target these voters and apparently are confident they will win - capitalizing on fears of “socialism” and Sanders’ age and health.
Given the GOP strategy, it’s plausible Sanders is getting a steady stream of Republican money in small donations that appear legitimate - he is not intentionally or willingly accepting these funds, just how the game is played by the GOP.
It’s not just money. A tech expert told me GOP troll farms enabled by Facebook once again are telling Sanders fans if their guy loses it’s a vast DNC conspiracy. No matter if verifiable primary votes with paper backups (unlike Iowa) eventually add up for someone else - Sanders fans I know are already saying they’ll only vote Bernie.
It also seems the candidate the GOP strategists have feared most and organized to smear and defeat is Joe Biden. Biden has the critical African American vote. His kindness and decency appeal to key electoral college state demographics, especially suburban women.
Months of calculated, coordinated Republican assaults on Biden appear to be working. Democratic leaders never seem prepared for the GOP machine that chews them up time after time.
2
All this hand-wringing about Sanders, as if he were a fire-breathing Trotskyite! In any other Western country he would be a bit left of center. His policies and point-of-view are a lot closer to the Democratic mainstream than Trump's were to the GOP, and they lined up behind Trump quickly enough.
4
Nobody thought Hillary Clinton was a bad candidate until after she lost. What does that tell you about the moderate candidates today? Are they really worse than Clinton?
Trump's approval ratings are the highest they've ever been. The economy is not going to turn by November, for sure not enough yet to produce negative effects on the workforce.
Bernie is where the enthusiasm is and we need to change the game on Trump or we will lose for sure. We haven't attempted yet to get the workers back from Republicans and the center strategy is no longer working.
It would have been great to have another young Obama, but Bernie's the best we got. It's either him or Trump which all but ensures RBG is replaced by an awful judge like Kavanaugh.
2
Who would throw their money away someone who will never win, but it never hurts to dream.
Put your money where your mouth is. If this is true, voters are speaking. Bernie is not George McGovern, people. That was 50 years ago. The country's demographics, culture and the context (global warming, 40 years of Reaganism and increasing inequality, endless war) are very, very different. Be courageous, unlike the craven Republican senators, and embrace change. If we act from this place, we CAN have nice things.
5
I just got an email from a longtime friend, an old-school Republican: fiscally conservative and socially liberal. She lives in a midwest suburb.
She despises Trump and is prepared to vote for any candidate to stop him - except Bernie. She told me that she will not pull the lever for Sanders no matter what. I will do my darndest to compel her to vote blue no matter who, but she finds Bernie toxic and sexist.
This is sobering to me. I live in a deep blue community with exceptionally high voter turnout. I don't know any Bernie supporters. None.
If the deep blue folks aren't with him, and the persuadables like my friend aren't with him, then how can we possibly win?
1
A lot of voters have had it with lies. Bernie offers refreshing honesty.
4
In a general election, I think Harvey Weinstein could beat Bernie Sanders.
Bernie is the best the Democrats can do?
Bloomberg could beat Trump in a general election, but the Democrats' base doesn't like Bloomberg.
1
None of them can come anywhere close to matching Bloomberg - he will spend a billion before it's all over and that is nothing to him. This could come down to a race between Sanders and Bloomberg. Sanders supporters may not support Bloomberg. However, I think Bloomberg would attract many "swing" voters and traditional Republicans who cannot stomach Trump. I would prefer a Bloomberg vs. Sanders, although would vote for whoever the nominee is. Sanders I do not think would endorse Mike Bloomberg after all the diatribes against "billionaires". Bloomberg has said he will support whoever the nominee is. I do not know if Sanders would do the same, and it's probably many of his supporters would stay home. A rerun of 2016?? Just some interesting observations.
3
No doubt all the prognosticators certain that Sanders couldn’t win in 2020 were equally certain that Clinton couldn’t lose in 2016. Where do such people get their unshakable confidence from? I don’t know the future, and they don’t either.
I’m going to vote for the candidate whose platform I agree with, who doesn’t prostrate before rich donors, whose message has been consistent for decades not months, who excites the base and supported or opposed policy based on principle not popularity.
Running a compromised establishment low-excitement centrist didn’t work in 2016. And running an untested newcomer in 2008 didn’t change the fundamentals of an economy and a political culture working only for a rich plutocracy. It’s time to try a different approach.
3
@Xoxarle
I agree with much of what you say.
But there's a notable omission in your second paragraph: you don't mention the ability to get things done, and a record that reflects meaningful progress on the policy platform.
That's why I am voting for Elizabeth. Same with almost everyone I know.
3
1. Pollsters tell you again and again that polls don’t predict.
2. I’m not sure why pandering to small donors is inherently better than pandering to large donors. Seems to me that the only justification is the one Republicans use: money is speech, money is democracy.
3. Good luck on making capitalism go bye-bye any time soon.
1
If either Warren or Sanders win, they will face pushback from every quarter: Republicans, the media, the rich and powerful corporations and the lobbyist community. Working within the system and counting on the good faith of political colleagues is a fools errand as demonstrated by Obama. You either mobilize working people after you get elected, like Sanders proposes, or you meekly get rolled and endure the paralyzing stasis.
I’m not voting for someone promising no change because only no change is pragmatic and achievable. We tried this already.
1
According to the editorial in the Times a recent poll found that 45% of Sanders' supporters "weren't sure they'd vote for any other Democratic nominee". This scares me enormously for two reasons. First I believe that it is objectively obvious that a self-proclaimed "revolutionary" socialist is unlikely to win a presidential election when the unemployment rate is low and the stock market is high. And don't give me that wish upon a star hypothesis that Sanders will turn out all these hordes of usual nonvoters. One fact we actually do know from the Iowa caucuses is that total turnout was about the same as in 2016 and far below that of 2008. Secondly given the fervor of his supporters I fear that if Sanders doesn't become the nominee many of them will claim the process was "rigged" and refuse to vote for the party's choice. A Catch 22 situation at the worst possible time to prevent an historic disaster for our republic in November.
16
@Zenith Well, the system IS rigged by two parties who have corporate entities that can choose the nominee at will. They do not have to follow convention, primaries, or any other perceived normality in the primary nomination process. The media has consistently suppressed news and achievements of the Sanders campaign and there are copious examples of this malicious treatment online. The media is not covering how Biden is trailing in a distant fourth place or how Bernie is strongly poised to win not only New Hampshire but also California. It is troubling that any Sanders supporter won't vote for the eventual Democratic nominee - I know I will. Most I know will as well.
13
@Zenith sounds like the safest option to get Trump out of office is to vote for Bernie, then.
11
@Zenith
Broad strokes but little substance. Overall Progressives will fight to remove Trump. Will there be issues and calls, sure. They are human beings. It doesn’t help that consistently errors are against Sanders and progressives and favor more corporate friendly candidates. We all hope that’s just bad luck but the pattern is consistent unfortunately.
In the end you need progressive. Apathetic disengaged moderates that read a headline from time to time don’t win against Trump. Moderates need progressives but act like they don’t. Do you ever see republicans tell their constituents they won’t do that but instead side with democrats? Ever? This is constant from moderates because they are funded by corporate entities and think tanks. It isn’t that these people are bad it’s that they are picked because they represent these institutions.
This is why democrats are so weak. It is also why the media is weak against conservative propaganda. They are funded by the same corporations on both sides for advertisements. So they are going to employ and pick people generally in alignment with such. It isn’t so much as corrupt as much as a negative feedback loop of reinforced bias.
Honestly I don’t know why moderates complain so much. Unlike Trump Sanders is ethical and will respect the rule of law. He will act within the rule of law and be constrained by it. He is zero threat to our democratic society and in reality to capitalism. Capitalism will survive.
11
So often, I feel powerless and down-beaten by a corrupt political system that simply grants almost no agency to regular folks. I live a privileged life and still feel disregarded by the political class–how, then, must the working class feel about politics in this country? We have just been turned into spectators and consumers of politics (the Impeachment theater being a case in point). The Sanders campaign–independent of what you think of his policies–is the first one to offer a ray of hope to many Americans and that is why he is drowning in cash. Money does not equal votes, but donors certainly do. And given that he clearly received most votes in Iowa on Monday, the strategy does seem to be working.
162
@David - Bernie Sanders has been elected 8 times by the people of Vermont, sometimes by 70%, which includes Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and even some Labor Party and Libertarians because he runs a strong ground campaign and runs a strong issue-based campaign.
Democratic-voters tend to view Sanders as the candidate with the best proposals on key issues like health care, the economy, immigration, and the environment. And he beats trump by 4 to 7 points in general election match-ups.
70
@David. Sanders will likely finish with a very small advantage in votes over Mayor Pete who he vastly outspent. Iowa is a caucus state which is perfect for Sanders because it favors activists willing to give up their night and cajole their neighbors over regular voters.
While his donations are impressive by any measure, I still worry that he simply will not play in the Midwest which will ultimately decide the general election again.
7
@mjpezzi Sanders beats Trump by 4 to 7 points because Trump is spending all his time trying to knock out Biden.
Once Trump puts all his firepower into convincing America Sanders is a "New York communist" I suspect things will change. Vermont has a population of less than a 10th of NYC, I wouldn't take too much from it.
6
These "money matters - no it doesn't" debates sound an awful lot like the "less filling, tastes great" beer commercials of yesteryear. That is, both have some truth, but failing to acknowledge one or the other will be disastrous for the Democrats in November.
Yes, money matters. Let's be honest. Whether it is in individual donors or dark money, the sad fact is that a presidential bid costs tens of millions of dollars or more. Sure, Hillary outspent Trump, but he didn't exactly spend pocket change. Both spent huge sums of money.
So if money is necessary, but not sufficient, what then, are Democratic pundits overlooking here? My take is that they are overlooking whether the candidates appeal to minority communities. Now, before everyone gets their back up about "purity tests", understand that Clinton lost a few million votes from the African American community (of which I am not a member, by the way) that Obama had won. Now, the vast majority of these voters didn't vote for Trump. Instead, many just sat home, but the result was to hand Trump the win.
The fact is, any ethnic group that continues to suffer discrimination (and sadly in today's climate, increasing hate crimes) is looking for a candidate who, they believe, understands their concerns and will do what is possible to address them. And so far, it doesn't look like any of the white Democratic presidential candidates has made that sale yet. And if they don't, they will lose in 2020. Bet the rent on it.
7
@Orion Clemens
Even if Sanders managed to get minority support and get elected, he would lose the down ballot, and thus failed to have the congressional cooperation to push his agenda.
Many commented here that Sanders could help raise fund for the down ballot. But money only gets you so far. Those who live in their echo chamber fail to see that fundamentally there is a large population, while may not be the majority, do not believe in big government.
Most people support policies for removing barriers to access to health care, education, housing, etc. But not as many believe the government is in the business of streamlining a industry or preventing enterprising people from making money lawfully.
Sanders is admirable, but his policy will not be realized in this country because big government is not supported by overwhelmingly majority of people.
Democratic needs to get out of their echo chamber. They need to nominate a candidate who does not scary away support for the down ballot, so that there is actually a possibility to realize Democrats' agenda.
2
A word of caution: all the money in the world won’t save us if we fracture the party. The conspiracy theories and disinformation Dem supporters are spreading about other Dem candidates during the primaries will be weaponized against us by Trump/GOP in the general. Frankly it’s already happening. We need to be united. And we need candidates who pledge to support Dems down the ballot (fiscally as well as on the trail) regardless of where they fall on the Dem spectrum. Without flipping the Senate and holding the House, we don’t stand a chance.
7
It's not surprising that Buttegeig did well in Iowa. He's a Midwestern kind of guy, low-key, smart, well-spoken, pleasant, conformist in most ways except sexual orientation; he's religious, and has a military background. All that is going to appeal to Iowans. What is surprising is how well Bernie did in Iowa, which makes me think there is indeed untapped demand for a more progressive candidate, even in unexpected places. Trump found a way to win with a tiny base of enthusiastic voters. Sanders may be able to do the same.
9
@Allison I'm more interested in the spread of voters. So many columnists wasted ink claiming a gay man can't win in conservative areas, and yet Buttigieg did. It is early days and any candidate may come out on top at this point, but I think Iowa's results speak well of both Sanders and Buttigieg.
Sanders will never be nominated. He will never win. Just as in the past, he will betray his supporters at the command of the party bosses.
1
You’re wrong. The revolution is happening right now. And Bernie’s gonna win big this time.
Sanders 2020
@Zareen Anyone can say "you are wrong." One has to provide more than such emotional affirmations. Sanders have already betrayed his supporters once. Therefore we know that he can betray. The Democrat bosses have already sent many signals that they are not going to endorse Sanders and they have taken practical steps toward this end. Consequently, if Sanders wants to run for president, he should not run as Democrat. Indeed, Sanders's supporters may be filled with revolutionary spirit but they are not the ones who will decide the nomination. Sanders is little more than a motivational speaker whose role is to ensure the support of the left for the Democrat Party. The party bosses expect that when it comes to elections Sanders's supporters will have no way to go but to vote for whoever they nominate at the party convention. I think they are wrong in counting on it. I also think that Sanders understands his role very well
So Bernie wins Iowa's popular vote and should probably win delegate count too. I mean, it's obvious. In one precinct, Sanders gets 111 votes to Buttigieg's 47 and somehow they are each award 2 delegates apiece? Uh? Explain that logic. His fundraising number are massive with an equally impressive number of individual small-donor contributors. It's comical how the mainstream corporate media and their pundits are absolutely apoplectic and panicked trying deparately to spin this. It doesn't matter. People know who they want and are moving forward, ignoring all the distractions the establishment is throwing at them.
17
"Socialism leads not to an assault on the specific abuses of capitalism but to an assault on reality tout court. It becomes, in effect, an effort to suppress the real world and this is something that cannot succeed in the long run. But for a protracted period, this effort can succeed in creating a surreal world, one defined by the paradox that inefficiency, poverty, and brutality can be officially presented as the summum bonum of society."
Time for the Democrats to wake up and back Bloomberg if they want to win in November. Bernie is unacceptable.
2
@P&L
The quote is from Martin Edward Malia was a historian specializing in Russian history. He taught at the University of California at Berkeley from 1958 to 1991. Malia's best known work is his history of Russian communism, "The Soviet Tragedy"
Whenever I question Sanders' viability in the General, I pretty much immediately get the response: "Actually, polling shows he does better against Trump than the other primary candidates." Ah yes, polling, the same polling that said HRC had it sewn up in 2016.
Here's a thought, let's look at actual election outcomes:
# of Democratic Socialist governors: 0
# of D. Socialist state A.G.'s: 0
# of D. Socialist mayors of top 50 cities: 0 (to the best of my knowledge)
And yet, many are absolutely convinced that the first major executive office that a D. Socialist will hold in modern America will be... the Presidency. Sure, why not.
If you want to know why people love Bernie in the polls, it's cause he's seen as a truth-telling outsider in an era when people distrust government. Expect that love to last just as long as it takes people to realize his actual plan is to make that government twice as big, and monumentally more powerful in their daily lives.
Ordinarily I'd say whatever, vote your heart, we can live with a Repub. administration if it doesn't work out, but these are not ordinary times. This election is make-or-break for the rule of law, maybe even for democracy. Please be guided by wisdom, not passion.
5
Good for Bernie, he is proving that you don't need the wine cave crowd or Wall Street to finance a campaign.
17
Regardless of who the Democrat nominee is, I will vote for them. But Sanders is not my first choice. When Hillary won the Democratic bid to run for President, he should of stepped up and supported her, but he didn't. To me that speaks volumes of who Sanders is as a person. He's not a team player, nor can he discard his ego for the greater good of the Democrats. Sanders is partly responsible for why Trump was elected. As a party, we have to stand together.
To repair the damage created by Trump, we will need to control the Congress and Senate. I hope each and every Democrats will be inspired to vote, having watched the Republican Party's total disregard for our laws and constitution. This madness has to stop now.
4
@Valerie, Sanders did support Hillary once she won the nomination. He campaigned for her, doing a total of 42 campaign events for her between the convention and election day. Just for a comparison for you, when Obama won the nomination over Hillary, she did 8 total campaign events for him.
5
So Bernie plans to spend 5.5 million across 10 states. It's instructive to recognize that Bloomberg spent twice that on a single 60 sec. Super Bowl ad.
Expanding on that perspective, Bloomberg has a net wealth of something like 60 billion dollars. That's 60 thousand million dollars. 10 million, less than a drop in the bucket, is 1 percent of only one of those 60 thousand million, leaving 59 thousand million untouched.
Before the inevitable mounting adulation of a billionaire set on purchasing a political office, resulting from our two centuries plus of an economic Stockholm Syndrome, understand that nothing Bloomberg proposes in his slickly spun ads is beyond anything proposed by any of the other candidates. And, he falls well short of progressive goals of addressing the metastasized cancer of the plutocracy that is eating at the soul of our democracy.
7
Wow! Bernie took in 25 million in January. It would be incredible and instructive if Bernie and Bloomberg duke it out for the Democratic nomination: Bernie with one and a half million individual donors and Mike Bloomberg with one. And Bloomberg will have more money to spend if he needs it. Good for Bernie but we still need publicly funded campaigns so all viable candidates get to be heard in the more populous later primaries.
47
I’m a retired senior citizen and I contribute to Sanders every month. My family needs Medicare for All.
95
@Zejee Me too!!
Bernie, without corporate and dark money, is fighting with one hand behind his back and still winning.
While the little people are giving money they can hardly spare to Bernie in the hope America’s cruelty will finally end, the city Dems are calling Bernie unelectable and buying new AirPods.
92
@Liz Or are the other candidates fighting with 3 hands, one illicit.
1
With one hand tied behind his back and the DNC trying to tie the other one.
3
"What Will Finally Defeat Donald Trump?"
The same thing that defeated Caesar --- the same "disease of Republics" that our founders and framers knew so well from their deep reading of Roman history, which is the cancerous disease of Empire strangling a democratic republic.
Once the first sickening cell starts its work and spreads to other parts of the 'body politic' Republic falls to the disease of Empire --- and the procession of subsequent Emperors falls into succession by murder foul.
11
I look at Donald Trump and I'm sick to my stomach.
I look at Bernie surrounded by supporters and I'm heartened.
Go, Bernie! GO!!!
82
Now, he can travel in private jet and live lavishly in the name of our revolution. There is plenty of money to make in politics. All unemployed go into politics and talk with abrasive lying, you can get rich quick.
6
@Kodali If by "get rich quick" you mean work as a mayor from 1981 to 1989, then a House rep from 1991 to 2007, and then a senator from 2007-2020, then can it really be considered "quick"?
3
Are you talking about Trump? Bernie Sanders fights for the people—not Big Insurance, Big Pharma, or Big Banks.
3
Bloomberg raised 50 billions for this campaign. Just kidding. Money matters
2
This comment relates to the reporting on Iowa. Why does the Times rely at all on Nate Cohen with a clearly flawed model? Last night, as with the projections in 2016 for Hillary Clinton, the needle on the projection meter was over 95% toward Buttigieg. We went to sleep thinking the verdict was a done deal only to wake up this morning to realize that the model completely ignored the satellite caucuses and its likely competition (MSNBC was well aware btw). How clear can it be that like the Iowa app, Nate Cohen's modeling is terribly flawed and until it is fixed it obfuscates at best, and should be interred until it is improved. It adds to the unfortunate impression in the country that "fake news" emerges from all news outlets. I say this as a lifelong academic involved in empirical research. It is inexcusable.
45
@prof Agreed. The New York Times quietly pulled the projection meter last night, but should have addressed the issue with their readers of issues with their own metric. Nor have I seen discussion of the polling before Iowa which did not capture Biden's weakness or Buttigieg's strong performance.
5
@prof
Polls showed a huge number of caucus goers were undecided right up to the day.
Now there are reports that some polls have been hacked. 4chan oppo callers jammed the phone lines. Some caucuses gave up waiting on hold so they mailed in the results.
1
@prof
I know you must lnow this fact -
The mainstream media, working 24/7/365, on behalf of our corporate owned government and the wealthiest elites, is engaged in "Perception Management", techniques requiring that any and all news disseminated, be artfully skewed to create instant impressions, regardless the truth, the intent being the manipulation of mass reaction, so as was the case until very late on election night November 2016, the Times kept reporting Hillary in the lead, until suddenly the charade could not be sustained, so here again we had the exact same condition occur with the Iowa caucuses projection; keep the graphic front and center as long as possible showing anyone but Bernie leading, figuring that fallout would adversely affect his New Hampshire prospects.
What they keep forgetting is that way too many people are now on-board with Bernie, for their tactics to undermine him, which tells me that after New Hampshire they will redouble their efforts and throw everything at Bernie in an effort to stop him.
Google the overheard John Kerry comment alluding to the need to do whatever to "Stop Bernie".
5
As a carpenter I'm ecstatic that a Sander has been able to raise so much money! In the future Joineries, Fillet cutters, and more will be able too tap into Americas love for the Carpenter!
15
Bernie is a winner. He's got the unmistakable scent of winning on him. We'd be a fool not to nominate him, he clearly has the best chances in November.
48
@Charlie He's an old man. His thoughts are flawed. We need a young man like Pete, with fresh idea's, work ethic and the ability to get things done and not fall asleep in the oval office.
with no-corporate-money...!!!
this fact more than offsets the hostility of the corporate owned media and the corporate owned leadership of the democratic party...
29
I'd like to see Bernie's poll numbers among Independents, who will ultimately decide the 2020 election. NYT, can you provide those?
14
I’m an independent and I’m voting for Bernie. I left the Democratic Party when the party left the working class to cater to Wall Street.
11
@Zejee
NY has a closed primary. Only registered Democrats can vote in the primary.
1
Maybe I’m being paranoid but I think it is entirely possible that a good chunk of Bernie’s donations could be coming from Republicans and rightwingers egged on by Trump and his goons who want more than anything to run against Bernie so they can flog him and down ballot Ds w “socialist, socialist, Socialism.”
Trump/Rs want to run against Bernie more
than anyone else. Despite my agreement w many of Bernie’s ideas, we are asking for defeat if we nominate a candidate who can be and will be defined as a Socialist.
Remember, this is a party that defined, disparaged and destroyed a genuine war hero who literally braved fire from both sides of river banks in Vietnam in order to support a draft dodging Alabama National Guard I’d like to have a beer with him compassionate conservative whose Iraq war’s effects (started under LIES) still goes on.
They will make mincemeat of Bernie and all Ds. As long as the Electoral College is what rules, we CanNOT afford candidates who can and will be defined as extreme.
And as for the purists who say “if so and so is the candidate I’ll stay home.” Just, just wow!
17
Except: Bernie is intelligent. American families are struggling to pay for expensive for profit health care and high interest student debt, issues that the establishment continues to ignore.
9
@Lex The Republican party will brand whomever is the opposition as extreme or corrupt or both. So why throw up anyone other than the one person who has been true to their values for their entire decades long political career and who also happens to be the front running primary candidate by any meaningful metric? "Not Me, Us" is a powerful slogan when it's backed by a sincere commitment to improving the lives of millions of working Americans and making every possible effort to preserve a habitable planet for future generations. Go Bernie!
6
@Lex Have you heard the audio from Lev Parnasus's April 2018 dinner with Trump? Trump was worried that Hilary would pick Bernie as a VP. Trump may be a buffoon but has excellent political instincts. His advisors may be chomping at the bit to run against Bernie but Trump fears him.
1
If all it comes down to is money, Bloomberg can raise that much in 30 seconds with one call to his bank.
2
@Paul Presnail Bloomberg is a huge risk for an electoral loss. He has not humanized himself in the Midwest and is betting on outspending other candidates in the big states where name recognition and advertising budgets matter much more.
2
@Paul Presnail
He can vote for himself as well but it doesn't count for much.
1
No matter what the one percent supporters, the DNC, The Times do or say, it is the millions who send their lunch money to Bernie who will determine the inevitable: the victory of the 99 percent. Misinformation and manufactured consent goes only so far.
Bernie, we love you dearly. May the best Mensch win and deliver us from the abyss we have fallen into.
42
I’m voting blue no matter who. If Bernie wins the nomination, I’m going to volunteer for his national campaign.
If Biden comes from behind, I’m going to volunteer for his national campaign.
If Warren comes from behind, I’m going to volunteer for her national campaign.
If Buttigieg prevails, I’m going to volunteer for his national campaign.
Anyone, and I mean this, anyone who focuses more on tearing down the Democrats because they aren’t 100% everything they want and isn’t focused on defeating Trump might as well go buy one of Trump’s red hats.
Every candidate is flawed. No one is 100% perfect. This election is about defeating Trump. Period.
30
@Austin Ouellette Thank you for this. The conspiracy theories and disinformation Dem supporters are spreading about other Dem candidates will be weaponized against us by Trump/GOP. We need to be united. And we need candidates who pledge to support Dems down the ballot (fiscally as well as on the trail) regardless of where they fall on the Dem spectrum. Without flipping the Senate and holding the House, we don’t stand a chance.
3
@Austin Ouellette
It’s going to be decided at the convention.
1
Nothing can make me happier than to see all these Bernie bros spending freely, because socialists need to understand that we are a center right country. Perhaps the loss of cash will bring them more political clarity. Or maybe not.
I don’t think you understand that most American families are struggling to pay for expensive for profit “health care “ and high interest student debt. Most Americans realize that we can invest our tax dollars toward our health care—instead of more trillions thrown at a bloated military industrial complex
7
Why is Bernie refusing to release his health records like he promised? He is at best in poor health at worse in precarious health. He could be permanently out of the race at any moment. That alone is disqualifying.
4
@SMS 1000% agree...and not charitable in his own life...non disclosure is rampant on all sides
I am terrified of Sanders winning the nomination.
Having grown up in the Philadelphia suburbs, I just don't believe he can win those people over or my cousins in Michigan. Particularly after Trump spends a billion dollars painting him as a communist. (And don't think for a second the C word won't be on Fox news the day after he secures the nomination).
I will vote and donate to him if he is our nominee, but I have a sinking feeling we are handing Trump the election with his rise. I pray that I'm wrong.
19
@Sparky He literally won the Michigan primary in 2016 and all polls have shown him winning both Pennsylvania and Michigan. Your fear isn't irrational, but it's not based on any available evidence. And it reflects a fundamental lack of knowledge about his base of support and what draws people to him.
18
So your cousins have no problem paying for high monthly premiums, high copays, high deductibles? Your cousins don’t mind paying four times as much for their prescriptions as our neighbors in Canada ? Your cousins have no problem paying for high interest student debt?
15
@Sparky We tried Hillary, and nobody called her a horrible candidate while she was running, was she really worse than the current crop of centrists? Trump’s ratings are at an all time high, and the economy is booming.
We need to try something different. Being afraid to lose is normal but not a strategy. Bernie looks more solid than ever. Give him a chance.
22
There is only so much campaign money can help with if you hit a wall of "Never Sanders" voters like me.
I simply do not trust Sanders would accomplish anything as President -- just look at what little he's done in his almost 30 years in Congress.
I don't trust his ethics either after his waffling on what he told Warren and on his gun stance, as just two examples.
What I do trust, if Sanders were to win the Democrat nominations, is to give Trump four more years!
4
@Wisconsinite Bernie will preserve & protect from the conservative & libertarian predators what still exists in the social safety net, while fighting hard for expanding the rights of working men & women through collective bargaining & workplace rules designed to protect labor from greed & globalism.
Bernie will advance common sense gun laws, not confiscation. This is not a banana republic.
3
@Wisconsinite
Go ahead and sacrifice your health, your Social Security and your children. As for me, its Sanders or it's just plain over for all of us.
2
@Wisconsinite
Just goes to prove that anyone who voted for Trump in 2016 will do it again no matter what, He is there man (I think it was his gun stance that got ya, right?). He has already done far worse things then shooting somebody on 5th Avenue.
2
Hillary Clinton spent all her efforts raising large amounts of funds from small groups of rich people. This was easier to do, and convenient since it would be their interests she would represent if she took office. Not coincidentally, ordinary people saw that they were ignored, and did not turn out to vote.
Bernie has aimed his entire career to the betterment of ordinary Americans. He sees our problems and offers real solutions. Therefore we donate, in small amounts, which add up to a huge amount, because there are so many of us. And we will vote for him with equal passion.
74
@KM
Bernie has done great with fundraising. I applaud him for it.
But I would be careful about reading too much into the electoral results so far.
3
@Cousy
It will be what it will be.
@KM I am very afraid that Bernie's fundraising is at least in part from big money Republicans trying to steer the nomination to someone who will never will a national election.
1
Yes, it is a staggering amount of money.
But more importantly, it is a staggering amount of people who contributed.
Let's be honest: the reason Biden is struggling today and the reason Clinton lost 4 years ago is a lukewarm feeling among voters - people who feel a sense of safety or duty voting for a candidate but no real conviction or belief that they were part of a movement. Compare this to Trump's foaming-at-the-mouth fan base. Compare this to Obama's massive, engaged crowds in 2008.
The key ingredient for 2020 has got to be enthusiasm. Who is exciting voters? Who is encouraging non-voters to register? Who is convincing people to become politically attentive for the first time?
$25 million in a month from individual contributors - no Super PAC, no closed door fundraisers, no dark money - sure sounds like enthusiasm to me.
100
There is tremendous popular support for Sanders among the young, working people and those who recognize what terrible shape our American democracy is in and the perils it faces in the future.
He has shown one can mount a Presidential campaign without having to ask the rich and powerful for money and thus become beholden to them and their interests.
He knows we need we need a revolution for our country to survive and flourish. This not a time for "moderate" tweaking of the system.
What Sanders proposes in his campaign platform is not all that different from what Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed and accomplished.
That Sanders is considered a dangerous left-wing radical by pundits, the media and the Democratic Party establishment only shows how far to the right this nation has veered since the Reagan revolution that began in 1980.
56
I believe we Sanders supporters are quietly content that Bernie Sanders enjoys overwhelming national support, and we expect, and see daily, that this national support is continuously increasing.
The New Hampshire caucus on Tuesday next will add even greater momentum to Bernies' march towards the nomination, regardless the relentless efforts by the Republican-Lite Pelosi Schumer Biden democrats and their mainstream media mouthpieces to undermine what is so obviously a national groundswell which is attempting to end the crippling status quo that has nearly beggared the poor and middle-class.
There is little doubt that the Republican-Lite Pelosi Schumer Democratic Party will now ramp up their campaign to undermine and sideline Bernie Sanders, which is simply great, because every such effort is laser-focusing a now fully awake electorate on their nefarious tactics, and causing millions of undecideds to choose Bernie.
Our modern-day FDR, Bernie Sanders, will upend the plans of the status quo guardians, in both parties, about nine (9) months from now.
43
Good! Bernie won Iowa with a diverse coalition of young people, first-time voters, and minorities. I'm tired of people saying Bernie can't win or labeling all Bernie supporters as "Bernie Bros." This is a diverse coalition hoping to change the very fabric of this country for good. We are tired of incrementalism and the bare minimum. We are tired of millions of people in this country being in poverty and without healthcare. We are tired of a financial system rigged against the most vulnerable Americans. And we are tired of people doing nothing on climate change.
Bernie has a movement and grassroots funding that should terrify Trump. He can absolutely win the Democratic primary and he can absolutely win against Trump. We encourage you all to jump on board!
36
@BReed
If you really want to "encourage you all to jump on board", then please encourage your fellow Bernie supporters to stop shouting. Stop with the bellicosity. Stop with the paranoia.
I agree with Sanders on many issues, but count me in with a large majority that is put off by his campaign.
I am all for a coalition of young voters etc (please stop using the term "minorities": it is alienating to people of color) but don't forget about the people who have historically determined elections, especially older folks.
2
@Cousy You don't defeat right-wing authoritarianism with flowers and rainbows. Every successful movement in American history has been seen as "belligerent" by those who like the status quo. You need a movement that is fierce and stands up strong for what it believes in. That's the only way change is ever enacted.
1
With a donor base like this, the popular vote in Iowa secured, a probable victory in NH, polls indicating strength down the primary chain, it makes sense for people who want to beat Trump to hop on the Bernie bus. The time approaches for all those calling for unity to stop attacking the candidate best positioned to move this nation forward. Open your hearts, friends, the Sanders campaign is ready for you to sign on. Let’s do this.
38
I love the fact that Bernie is (and always has been) so passionate about his stances on the issues. I doubt, however, that he can beat Trump, despite the huge numbers.
The fact is that he has to resonate with the Obama voters in PA, OH, MI, WI and maybe Florida or Minnesota or they will just stay home like they did in 2016.
Trump's team will blast away at the Socialist label, and that will do him in with voters who do not want to look under the hood and are just swayed by bluster, slogans, and insults.
True independents (which are a huge number of voters) are unlikely to go so far to the left, and many won't vote for King Donald, but they will stay home if there is no move to the center.
Ditch the free college pitch (will never pass), and work to lower prescription prices rather than do away with private health care. Show, in easy-to-understand language, how the economy truly is for middle-income workers (it ain't as rosy as POTUS paints it), and blast him for his irresponsible environmental policies.
Stay far left on environment, come to the middle on health care and economy, and maybe you'll have a chance. Also pick Klobuchar or Harris as your running mate.
In any case, I fear for November's result unless something dramatic changes...
5
@Jeremy. Last time around Sanders did very well in the Michigan and Wisconsin primaries, probably due to his long history of union support and acknowledgement of the downsides of global trade for blue collars workers. There are some other positions he's held over the years that might help with independents too--his push to audit the Federal Reserve, not being as "extreme" on gun control as other candidates, work on reforming VA, etc.
Honest question--do you think voters really need to have it spelled out that his proposals like M4A will be tempered by the legislative process before ever becoming law? IMHO, I fear democrats that want to begin negotiations from the middle and believe we need to push for M4A to get a public option or a lowering of the age threshold for Medicare.
9
The final results in Iowa were overwhelmingly in favor of Bernie. I hope this was not deliberate to hold back his momentum. In any case, it's not working. The liberal press is only turning him into the underdog, and many people from the metropolitan areas just don't understand his success. They think everyone else lives like them, with a 401K and a corporate job with healthcare. The 40% of Americans who can't afford a $400 emergency? Nope.
They also don't seem understand that the coastal bastions can lose millions of votes in favor of hundreds of thousands in heartland states, for the electoral college win.
35
@Liz
Being in second place is not an overwhelming victory. Especially when expected to win big.
1
@Liz
I think I'm one of those people that you're describing, though my spouse and I both work for nonprofits. I live in a deep blue community - coastal, urban, skews older, skews female, highly educated, disproportionately affluent. The kind of people who have good health insurance.
I don't know a single Bernie supporter. Not one. I live in Warren country. I gave Sanders money once in 2016, and I voted for him in the primary - not as an expression of support but to send a message to Hillary that she is too centrist.
Problem is, my people vote. Very consistently. I have heard nothing but bellicosity from Sanders people. While I understand that Sanders voters are fueled by righteous rage, is a risky strategy to insult and shout down a constituency that will help the Democrats win.
4
@uwteacher Sorry, I meant: The final [batch of] results
@Cousy There is risk in it, no doubt. But there needs to be distance between Sanders and the Democratic establishment to dislodge voters from Trump in the heartland and that means saying things that don't resonate in the cities at best, or alienate some people at worst. One can't be anti-establishment and in it at the same time.
I believe it's the best path to victory, as the economy is just too good and Trump's ratings too high to convince enough suburbans to switch back.
I also believe Trump will unveil a replacement for Obamacare before the elections, the only way to fend off a bipartisan Trump victory or Dems looking even more partisan (after the impeachment) by refusing to cooperate is to say Dems will go for universal healthcare first and keep a shored up ACA as a backup plan.
3
According to the latest Real Clear Politics polling data Biden is up on the incumbent by 6 and Sanders by 4, within the margin for error. Most state by state polls also show Sanders ahead. Look at the data, claims that Sanders is unelectable are not supported by the polling data. It would be great if Sanders would spend some of this money on registration and get out the vote efforts in states where turnout is critical.
39
@Tibby Elgato
Why should Sanders contact supporters, ask them for contributions, and use those contributions to hire people to register voters?
He could simply contact supporters and ask them to volunteer to register voters for free.
Which they've been doing for months.*
*Void where prohibited by local laws.
6
@Tibby Elgato
What you neglect to mention is that according to the aggregate polling data of Real Clear Politics, Bernie is not the one who beats Trump the best.
Biden does with 5.4 % and Bloomberg does with 5.2%. Bernie's average is 3.7%
Bloomberg is the only one who can absolutely beat Trump and the polls show that .
As of today he is also number two, higher than everyone else but Bernie in aggregate betting polls.
That, too, will change as he becomes the run away favorite.
2
The difference between Sanders' financial supporters and others such as Clinton and Biden is the funds come $10 and $20 at a time. That means a LOT of broad support and enthusiastic to boot.
104
@Slavin Rose
Yep. And that translates not only in a landslide victory but in Congressional coat tails.
2
Sanders will run away with the nomination. All his competitors should immediately drop out and stop dividing the party, in the interest of unity to beat Trump.
123
@Michael
Bernie has a very loyal base like Trump.
The Socialist base however is made up of people who are preaching to the choir.
The vast majority of us have not drunk the kool aid and will not support him or those like him who would only bring on a massive Trump reelection.
We need someone who will beat Trump.
The only one who comes to mind is Mike Bloomberg.
3
@Michael naaaah, they should do exactly like he did, including that ridiculous urchin pout at the convention. Let them drag this out. Hard. The man had a full blown heart attack and lied about it. Why are y’all ignoring this?
1
@Simon Sez
One billionaire replaces another to what effect?
2016 was insurgents against establishment and Sanders was the likely winner had that contest occurred.
2020 is a repeat and Sanders will put down Trump – no other save Warren has a chance. Trump’s claims ring hollow to those on the line. And ‘socialism’ will reflect FDR’s days.
Reporters need to start asking Bernie regularly how he intends to help down ballot Dems if he wins the primaries. If he's going to carry the Democratic party banner, he has a responsibility to share his wealth and his workers with the other Dem candidates. I would guess he could care very little about this; but only in having a Dem Congress could he even begin to carry out his agenda. Reporters need to ask the hard questions; its not just other Democrats!
11
I think this is an easy question because it doesn't requires specific action. He will mobilized people to vote for him, and vast majority of these people will vote for Fem down of the ballot.
11
@anselm Bernie's strategy is to get as many people to vote as possible. In general, the more people that vote, the more likely a Democrat (in any election, federal, state, or local) will win. This is how he plans on "helping" down ballot Dems.
16
Sanders has been explicit about this: down-ballot candidates who sign onto the revolution will share in its electoral bounty. Those who oppose the revolution will get tossed out by it in upcoming primaries.
12
So political reporting of the candidates focuses on how much they raise.
How about the issues.
13
@Carl
That too -- which is why he has so much popular support.
2
@Carl
Unless you have been sleeping for years you know where every candidate stands on all of the issues.
Even the NYT has addressed these contrasting issues for months now.
1
This has to frighten many Democrats. For a whole host of reasons, Bernie could not win the general election in 2020. In this economy with its historically low unemployment, historically low mortgage interest rates, very low auto and home heating fuel costs, and a booming stock market putting large amounts of money the 401Ks of millions of employees, the lower middle class and upper middle class is not going to vote for an angry, old Socialist whose “everything’s free” approach would break our economy. Liberal tech CEOs and other liberal entrepreneurs will not only not vote for Bernie, they will spend money to defeat him. And the political ads that will saturate the country dissecting his destructive policies will put the final nail in the coffin. If James Carville is frightened, the rest of the Democrats should be too.
1
It’s not the job, it’s what the job pays. It’s what the bills are. It’s whether the job pays enough to cover food and shelter.
It’s about unaffordable healthcare. It’s about skyrocketing pay for executives and stagnant pay for employees. It’s about the lifetime it takes to discharge student loan debt. It’s about doing something about climate change in the narrow window where drastic measures will have an effect. It’s about the unhealthy consolidation of power and money by a few oligarchs. It’s about regulating Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Big Pharma. It’s about preserving a woman’s right to control their own bodies. It’s about saving welfare safety nets. It’s about the rich paying their fair share of taxes.
65
@ehillesum Trump's ratings are up to the highest level of his presidency. Running another centrist in a suit will all but guarantee defeat in November, just like Clinton in 2016.
It's time to change the game on Republicans.
Bernie is raising more than all the other candidates, who are all taking money from corporations and the rich.
Saying the guy who's winning can't be elected sounds weird.
27
After we have “free everything for free” to everybody....After they’ve confiscated the wealth of people, then they’ll decide to pay 1000 a month to people just for the sake of it. Do you sound this all sounds silly and made up?
At what point do you think this economy shuts down?
How much technology, ideas, advances are coming out of Finland or France or any of those countries certain people want to emulate? Venezuela?
The freedom to invest, freedom to try new things and explore will be shut down by sanders mantra.
Contributed several times.
Why no mention of the 219,000 new donors?
68
The question that will be asked by the voters who will decide in November is, 'Should we go with what we know or start making repairs now?'
The damage Trump has done is a combination of irreparable and reparable. Reversing global warming is already under way in a strong enough way to offset Trump's actions. Human rights will always continue to evolve toward getting better.
Trump is accepted by almost everyone as being a liar, cheat, and buffoon. He hasn't yet presented any great immediate danger. So, more fast bucks and shame and stay with the punter or time to look to the future and the potential for America to regain its integrity. Money typically talks, and Trump is designing another tax cut before November.
Americans will reveal themselves as up for sale or up for pride.
6
Democrats are failing the messaging war, and Iowa failed the nation. We must understand this and start doing better now. Republicans have declared war on democracy, and we must learn how to protect and defend it. Stop doing the same old things and figure out how to reach the hearts and minds of Americans, and how to counteract the falsehoods, corruption, and bad faith of Republican con-men!
11
I think Bernie and Warren flat out claiming to confiscate property and money from people is undemocratic.
@John Frankfort That’s a matter of opinion. In any other advanced country I would agree with you. But it’s solidly documented how in the US the richest people have shaped policy sharply to their benefit, and have paid lower tax rates than their own secretaries.
I think some clawback is fair, and realistic thanks to citizenship based taxation and FATCA.
1
When did they ever say that?
1
As a former professional political fundraiser, I offer caution to any Sanders supporters who are gleeful about this report.
In short (and I learned this the hard way), money doesn't equal votes.
In Iowa, Sanders is still behind Buttigieg. That should concern the Sanders campaign. Sanders came into this effort with huge name recognition and an established fundraising machine, and it didn't materialize into a win. Buttigieg was unknown a year ago. He should feel pretty good about his Iowa finish.
Warren too had a lot of funds (including 12 donations from me), but it didn't translate into anything other than a lukewarm finish. I predict the same for NH.
And remember that Trump won despite being significantly outspent by Clinton. Money won't be a decisive factor in this election.
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@Cousy The razor-thin lead Pete has at the moment is likely to dissolve when the remaining votes are tallied. The entire mess is also subject to a recount, which I think could be revealing, since the numbers don't reflect what Bernie's people were documenting on the ground at every caucus site.
I still want to know what Mayor Pete was paying for when he gave Shadow, Inc. $42,500.
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@Cousy
The problem with your analysis is that for most/all candidates in the recent history of fundraising, the dependence has been on the professional donor class and bundlers whose support is high on the front end and fizzles out (e.g., if/when they reach the contribution limit).
Senator Sanders's support is sustaining and will not be exhausted. In 2016 he raised $30 million in February and March. More to the point, his donations come from real people - the lists showing the professions of his most frequent donors indicates teachers, laborers, etc.
At the very least, certainly raising huge sums of money from small dollar donors isn't a 'problem?'
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@Cousy: I would be careful when saying Sanders is behind Buttigieg in Iowa. He currently has about 6000 more votes than Buttigieg in the first round of voting and about 2000 more if you count the second. How that translates into Buttigieg leading the delegates race is a mystery to me.
I also think that the Sanders campaign is unique and cannot really be evaluated with the usual political metrics. His supporters are committed to a movement rather than a person: one designed to rally the disenfranchised into a movement for change. Billionaires donating millions of dollars to a candidate out of self-interest is not sustainable without positive results. Millions of people donating $18 each to a cause they believe in because it impacts their lives is sustainable.
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