It's true that politicians favoring Medicare for All are like Jeremy Corbin. They are also like Boris Johnson, Margaret Thatcher, and every other Conservative politician in the UK who support their health care system. Except Bernie doesn't want the government to hire all the doctors. So Bernie is more conservative than British Conservatives!
10
Frank Bruni's alter ego may be Pete Buttigieg. It is not only because they are married to wonderful either.
11
Correction: Wonderful men.
8
Perhaps, also, Sanders, like Corbyn, represents (if he does not vocalize it) his party's new anti-Semitism? Yes, Sanders is not really a Democrat, but an old-time Independent playing for the Democratic nod. Yes, Sanders is Jewish (and I am), but a good many people see (and fear) the far-left Democratic party as as a revised and reborn anti-Semitics as bad as Corbyn, if not HItler. At least not yet. Spare me the "whataboutism"" of the GOP.
11
Having a permanent job as a columnist leads to stagnation and the inevitable creeping bias of one's own personal agenda.
Frank readily demonstrates this. Why not just let the process play out, and comment on how the public reacts and/or why rather than on your personal hand wringing and head shaking?
42
Wait until undocumented immigrants start showing up with coronavirus, and then see how many Americans don't want them covered by public health insurance.
38
Sanders will not beat Trump ; he's nastier , meaner and the GOP has made him president for life , exhibit all the power he has been given to ride roughshod over anything the Dems can do . If Sanders supporters are as nasty as Trump's , they're still minor league since they concentrate on destroying our Dems instead of focusing on Trump's which don't eat their own .
25
You know what folks? Sinn Fein just won the Irish general election, and they weren't even trying. Again: Sinn Fein just won the Irish general election, and they weren't even trying. And there are people here who don't think Bernie Sanders can beat that guy with his face painted the colour spaghetti sauce makes in a tupperware? Please.
22
Never forget that Trump won with a lucky bounce in a flawed system that had been tampered with. The economy may be good for most and incumbency is an advantage, but really he should lose in November. Dems just have to make sure they don't blow it.
29
Norway 1912 Single Payer
New Zealand 1938 Two Tier
Japan 1938 Single Payer
Germany 1941 Insurance Mandate
Belgium 1945 Insurance Mandate
Britain 1948 Single Payer
Kuwait 1950 Single Payer
Sweden 1955 Single Payer
Bahrain 1957 Single Payer
Brunei 1958 Single Payer
Canada 1966 Single Payer
Netherlands 1966 Two-Tier
Austria 1967 Insurance Mandate
United Arab Emirates 1971 Single Payer
Finland 1972 Single Payer
Slovenia 1972 Single Payer
Denmark 1973 Two-Tier
Luxembourg 1973 Insurance Mandate
France 1974 Two-Tier
Australia 1975 Two Tier
Ireland 1977 Two-Tier
Italy 1978 Single Payer
Portugal 1979 Single Payer
Cyprus 1980 Single Payer
Greece 1983 Insurance Mandate
Spain 1986 Single Payer
South Korea 1988 Insurance Mandate
Iceland 1990 Single Payer
Hong Kong 1993 Two-Tier
Singapore 1993 Two-Tier
Switzerland 1994 Insurance Mandate
Israel 1995 Two-Tier
United States 2014 Insurance Mandate
57
The Bloomberg ad makes Trump "look fat and unhinged"? Excuse me, but Trump does that on his own quite effectively.
81
Frank, Frank, Frank. There is no way Trump was going to win the 2016 election. It was more likely that the Earth would be hit by an asteroid on Election Day. Any statistician will tell you that even very very unlikely events happen sometimes. That this odious, ignorant, stupid person won the election hardly makes him a genius. U.S. history has many instances where some idiot was nominated as a sacrificial lamb because everybody else in the party knew there was no chance of winning and the idiot won. The entire GOP establishment was looking forward to seeing the sacrificial lamb get skewered.
Of course it didn't hurt that the US Press gave Trump the equivalent of some hundreds of millions of dollars in free publicity and did very little to educate voters about his false claims to be a billionaire "successful businessman" - too boring.
If a self-dealing paragon of corruption, hate mongering, racism, misogyny, incompetence, and dishonesty - what a winning combination!!! - can win again against any breathing human being, then the US Press will again not have done the job that the First Amendment was created to allow them to do.
48
I think the only one who can beat Trump is Bloomberg. And beat big!!! I’ve always liked Warren and Sanders and still do however our Democracy is on the line. Bloomberg’s all about Green Energy and Gun Control. That works for me. Medicare for all will happen when Americans are ready. They’re not there at this time. Mike 2020
39
I’m still trying decide between Mr. Sanders or Larry David. (All kidding aside, whomever is the nominee, I’m going with them with all of my heart)
28
When Bernie was ignored by the media, I began to believe in "fake news". As Bernie came under attack by the media, I began to see his nomination looming. Once Trump begins to attack Bernie, I can foresee his election to the Presidency...
27
Really? Conflating Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump? I'm not a huge fan of Sanders, but this column is sickening. Sanders has some integrity. Trump does not. Sanders wants to fix inequality. Trump does not. Sanders cares about human suffering. Trump does not. Why NYT bent over backwards to support HRC over Sanders in 2016 and now continues to browbeat him is something all its journalists/editors should consider.
I was disappointed that Sanders didn't have an answer to the NYT panel in 2016 about his details on bank breakups. After all, he has spent his professional life decrying economic concentration of power. But I've never questioned his intentions. But then that's also true for Trump, who has only seen situations through the lens of self-interest.
These two are on the opposite ends of the moral compass.
59
sanders and his cult followers handed the election to (t)Rump in 2016 and it looks like they are going to do it again in 2020. if sanders wins the nomination the republicans will mop the floor with his socialism. if he doesnt win the nomination half his supporters say they wont support the democratic nominee. so either way is four more years of (t)Rump unless we get lucky and he dies in office.
21
Voters under the age of 50 (along with our progressive elders) will win the 2020 election for the Dems. Skeptical? Please review the 2016 and 2018 voter turnout charts from the Pew Research Center below.
In 2016, Gen X + Millennial + Gen Z vote totals surpassed vote totals for Boomers + Silents. That was entirely due to demographic trends, as you can see looking at the trend lines. It's hard to remember, but most of us didn't believe Trump would win at that point.
Now look at 2018. This is what I call the real "Trump Bump." Turnout for voters under age 50 surged. People under 50 might not match the turnout rates of 65+ in 2020, but they don't need to match it in order to make up a significant majority of votes cast. And remember, there are young people in every state. Median age doesn't vary much from state to state.
In the 2018 midterms, Gen X favored Dems over Repubs by a 1.24 : 1 ratio. Millennials favored Dems by a 2.14 : 1 ratio. Not all of Gen Z can vote yet, but in 2020 they already account for 1-in-10 eligible voters. And they're just as liberal as Millennials.
I'm not saying we should be complacent. But we should be confident. Together, we can do this.
2016 Turnout: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/31/gen-zers-millennials-and-gen-xers-outvoted-boomers-and-older-generations-in-2016-election/
2018 Turnout: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/29/gen-z-millennials-and-gen-x-outvoted-older-generations-in-2018-midterms/
22
To Bruni, Biden or Buttigieg are the better presidential candidate - even if they lose the Democratic nomination. I know he's paid to write opinions, but it is a bit tiresome having the same people who got the last election calamitously wrong still telling voters that they don't really want the person who has received the most popular support in Iowa and likely will in New Hampshire. A little more humility and faith in democracy is in order.
27
Well, I hope all the vehement supporters of Bernie Sanders here are correct and if he is nominated we will see whether there is truth in their support. I will support him to the best of my ability if he is nominated, but not with passion I believe he stands little chance of winning. Too many people in this country have a knee jerk unreasoning fear of the word socialism whether that fear is justified or not. And an old white guy from Vermont will not inspire a ground swell of support as he claims as long as that deep seated fear exists.
12
Trump has already shown how mercilessly, and I expect effectively, attack the self proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders, and expect the same for Elizabeth Warren. How many times does one have to state that facts that left-wing ideologues that hope to takeover the democratic party (just as right wing ideologues have taken over the Republican party) were not responsible for the democratic congressional victories that regained a house democratic majority in the mid-terms? How many time does one have to point to the trouncing of Sanders' analog in the UK as evidence of the dangers of nominating a left wing candidate? Frankly, I think Sanders is a jerk. Rather than helping the democrats unite behind a policy of "healthcare for all" he selfishly and narrow-mindedly focused on a divisive campaign "medicare for all." This country needs a unifying candidate. I agree with Mr. Bruni that Sanders nomination increases the risk of another four years of Trump. Moreover, even if nominated he will likely fail to achieve his campaign promises and likely will hurt the economy by creating uncertainty and his complete lack of economic knowledge.
12
Mr. Bruni apparently thinks that the Republican platform would be just fine if only they were pro-choice, supported gun control, and acknowledged climate change. (And, oh yeah, if they had a decent human being in the White House.)
Apparently the deficit-funded tax cuts, growing income/wealth inequality, ridiculous growth in military spending, and undue influence of money over all else in government and our civic discourse are just fine.
It is exactly that type of thinking that got us where we are today, with Democratic losses in 2000, 2004, and 2016. Bill Clinton and the DLC in the 1990s were a one-tricky pony. That dog won't hunt any longer.
The Republican Party has truly jumped the shark. The rot in the G.O.P. is much deeper that a handful of issues. Donald Trump is just a symptom.
21
I say, better Sanders of the populist left, in a straight up political battle against Trump of the extreme populist right.
The times call for a national catharsis. Carville espouses a retrogressive, myopic, here and now, with a malleable doughboy like his former boss Bill Clinton as the torch bearer.
Trump has effectively made such retroactive thinking defunct. It's about health care stupid!
Democrats must put nostalgic longing behind them, and embrace the excitement that Sanders brings to a younger energized set, who traditionally steer clear of the ballot box. I haven't an iota of concern about the insider, irreverent chants within Sanders' campaign, not when a sitting President cages children and vigorously lies before the Houses of Congress and the Chief Justice.
And any comparison with Corbyn is cockeyed. He was a candidate who never sought to combat his reputation for promoting anti semitic tropes, and the British electorate had no clue whether he was for Brexin or Brexit. Corbyn was a walking weather vane, who succeeded in losing Labour's base because he was out maneuvered by Britain's malleable doughboy, who promised to be all things to everyone, and still Brexit.
Colorless, bland, sheep-like politicians like Biden and Corbyn are out this season. Indefatigable and uproarious are in.
Buttigieg and Biden in no way resemble anything about the word Resistance. Ask Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, even they eventually figured that out.
15
In 2018, the Democrats flipped 40 Republican House seats—no mean feat. How’d they do it? They got off their ideological hobby horses and listened to the voters.
They focused on kitchen-table issues important to voters, while avoiding grandiose schemes with fancy names, and divisive cultural issues that turn voters off.
In other words, they were credible. And they won over suburban women, independents and moderate Republicans to gain control of the House.
It is this same group of moderate, swing voters in a handful of swing states who will decide the Electoral College.
Will they find Bernie credible when he promises to put 300+ million Americans under Medicare in five years? Who can believe that, when the political, financial, legal and administrative obstacles are so obviously prohibitive?
Like most Americans, these swing voters are jaded and cynical. They've heard all the promises before, and they regard them as pie-in-the-sky. What they want is pie-on-the-table—practical solutions to their everyday problems.
Bernie will not beat Trump, because he will not win over the moderate, swing voters who will decide the election. It’s not a matter of left and right. It’s a matter of credibility.
21
As a Canadian who lives in the much feared "socialist democracy" everyone decries, I find the attacks and concerns about Mr. Sanders' "radical" agenda both amusing and very, very sad.
Healthcare for all is too radical a notion to pass muster? How is it my country manages to do this without wrecking our economy and delivering good healthcare for all its citizens? How do the Nordic countries do so?
How do we all have better standards of living in every measurable way than the United States?
The misinformation about what democratic socialism is, what it could do for you and your fellow citizens is astonishing.
Instead of fearing it, you should look beyond your own borders and ask why you don't have healthcare, maternity leave, free prekindergarten and the myriad of other social services the rest of the developed world takes for granted.
And then ask yourselves if Bernie Sanders is really the bogeyman those vested in keeping the status quo say he is.
By the way, Mr. Sanders would not out of place as a member of Canada's New Democratic Party, which is now the party running British Columbia and is one o the holders of the balance of power in the current Federal Minority Government.
39
Bernie is the strongest candidate when it comes to the climate crisis and protection of our Public Lands. Everything else are minor details. We, people 50 or older, wrecked the planet, it's time to let the young people take over and Bernie represents them. He represents the future or there is no future.
26
I do not understand why so many of us who despise Trump are willing to concede that he deserves credit for "the good economy".
First, the economy is only good for Trump, fellow billionaires, multi-millionaires and wealthy corporations. For everyone else it's not. And, this is the Obama economy we're enjoying. The stock market did better under President Obama, and Obama created more jobs. President Obama saved the auto industry which is a big contributor to the jobs picture and to the health of the overall economy.
In addition, President Obama prevented a collapse of the financial markets, and he successfully turned what was nearly another Great Depression into a Great Recession. Plus, it is NECESSARY to increase SHORT TERM government spending in such circumstances, but R's did not cooperate. Since Trump's election, R's gave massive tax cuts to the wealthy (lying to the middle class) and have created the largest budget deficits and national debt in history.
Lowering federal interest rates has cause irresponsible borrowing by businesses. This guarantees a much more severe recession (or depression) when the next downturn comes. And there's no where left for the feds to go with lowering interest rates.
Under Trump, the economy is a mirage. It's going to implode!
33
NY Times Fan, why give credit to Barack Obama for saving the auto industry? That was George W. Bush's doing, using funds from the TARP legislation that was enacted in his last year.
3
Republicans always say Sanders wants to give us a socialist country like Venezuela.
They never say Sanders wants to give us a socialist country like Denmark.
I give Republicans credit. They are much better at messaging. And to have Juan Guaido from Venezuela attend the State of the Union was brilliant on their part.
It helps that Republicans have no shame.
17
Independent, but Denmark is not a socialist country like Venezuela. Denmark is a capitalist country with welfare benefits paid for by high taxes. There's a big difference between redistribution of wealth (like Denmark) and governmental control of the economy (like Venezuela).
Bernie Sanders wants the government to control large portions of the economy. That is socialism, not social welfare.
8
@John Smithson
Yes, I agree with you about the difference between Denmark and Venezuela.
But show me where Bernie has said he wants government control of the economy like Venezuela.
For years, Bernie has been very emphatic to say he is a Social Democrat like Denmark.
And all he wants is to get rid of the for profit insurance companies whose priorities are profit not patients.
I understand why he thinks we can trust working with the for profit insurance companies. They have already proved their (lack of) character.
We pay twice as much for healthcare per capita and percent GDP as the rest of the first world industrial countries. They get universal healthcare. We have parts of the US with infant mortality rates of a second world country.
And Medicare for All still leaves all the for profit hospitals and doctors and laboratories, etc.
And we already have community colleges and state universities. All Sanders wants to do is make them affordable again.
I graduated from a state university in 1975, working part-time and without debt. You could do that at that time.
Get people trained and working and paying taxes instead of paying for welfare and prison. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Anything you are seeing that Bernie himself is saying he wants state control of the economy is edited. Go look at his website.
All Bernie and Warren and many of us want to finally catch up to all the rest of the first world industrial countries.
17
Bernie Sanders does seem like a poor choice for voters. Not just for the Democratic nomination, but for the presidency.
What would anyone gain by having a president who refuses to join the Democratic party? In the midst of his second run for the presidency in the Democratic primaries, he still insists that he is "I-Vt" rather than "D-Vt".
Bernie Sanders would not, as president, lead the Democratic party. He would remain independent of, but allied with it. That would be a disaster for the Democrats, and a disaster for the country.
7
Why? Who cares if he is an independent? Are we so wedded to the idea that we can only have two parties that anything else seems like the end of the world? Plenty of other countries have more than 2 political parties & they still do fine.
18
Smilodon7, no other countries share our peculiar balance of powers so it is difficult to compare.
But it is easy to see the problem if you look at what happened to the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. He tried to drag the party to his radical agenda. In the end, the party fell apart.
Bernie Sanders appeals to many Democrats, and shares many Democratic party beliefs. But he is not a Democrat and will never be one. As leader of the Democratic party he would be a disaster. As president he would be ineffective.
Democrats, pick someone else.
7
@Smilodon7 Yes, you are right, other countries do have more than two parties, like Canada, and they actually have all those Parties represented in their Legistatures. And when they have elections those Parties have Leaders. And whichever Party wins the majority, their Leader becomes Prime Minister and then knows he or she can count on support from THEIR Party members. Each Party and its Leader work together. That is how countries with multiple Parties work. But they do NOT switch their Leaders to other Parties. Though some Parties form coalitions. But here in the U.S. we don’t have that system. To all intents and purposes we only have two Parties because only two Parties have the power to get things done. And Sanders is a fraud who is trying to have it both ways. He wants the Democrats to give and give to him. But he won’t give back. He just takes. He even lied and promised to run as a Democrat after 2016 but he didn’t. The Democrats have no reassurances that IF he wins, he will implement their platform. He is NOT, shall I say, the Leader of our Party. He even makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be. So YES we DO care that he is an Independent because we do NOT trust him!!
7
I was looking at the entrance polling for Iowa done by WaPo. Sanders' demographic groups are pretty stark: under age 45, the farthest left category in the poll ("very liberal"), and most ideologically driven ("Agrees with you on major issues" as opposed to "can beat Trump"). That's not a winning combination for a general election.
Sanders has been organizing for years and his supporters are young, energetic and vocal. But from this data they are not widely representative of the country as a whole. Sanders is building momentum on the appearance of electability, not real electability.
The two candidates with more equal support among various groups in the same poll are Warren and Buttigieg. I cut a check for Warren over the weekend. I'm willing to support Buttigieg also.
9
That all depends on who shows up to vote. If he can get the young people to turn out to vote, yes, there are enough of them. We have young people in every state
11
@Smilodon7 Young people, Sanders or no Sanders (remember, he lost to that boring old woman right?), typically do NOT turn out to vote. Older voters, who most likely would not support Sanders are the voters you can count on. And they have the life experience to know just how dangerous trump is so THEY will turn out in large numbers, especially African American women. Not like the sulking Bernie Bros who stayed home in 2016 because their feelings were hurt and thereby elected trump by default. Thanks a LOT young voters!!
9
If Trump has made one thing very clear, it is that politics is based on perceptions not the truth or even what is good for people. Bernie has great ideas, but whether he can win the battle of perception and prejudices is problematical at best.
1
@just Robert With his strong, honest messages and convincing record, Bernie Sanders is better prepared than any smug, flipflopping, triangulating centrist to win that battle.
8
Consider: 1) Dems, by nature, and to an extent by definition (liberal) tend to be more independent thinkers. Getting them in line is more akin to herding cats whereas the GOP has always been much more cohesive. By personality/definition, conservatives are more likely to accept and even like or want authoritarians, or "the answer". This would not bode well for a Bernie victory but because so many of us just want to defeat Trump we seem to be more likely to vote for him than his threatening "Bernie or Bust" people are to vote for another candidate. So, this doesn't bode well either. 2) If he wins, and even if (doubtful) he gets both houses, how would he get anything done without compromise? Those already there aren't so likely to just bend over. Also, it invites a tug of war for 2022 and 24. 3) I venture to say many in the party realize Medicare for all with no insurance is a ways off, if at all. But, do his peeps? Would the "average voter" who is not politically involved? How does he expand his base when this is already the scare tactic? 4)Not all "youth" are the same. Lots at Trump rallies.5) With Trump's no holds barred, no one can predict anything.Polls are irrelevant. "Armies" won't matter. Where are those armies anyway? Are they activists for the country or do they just want what they want? Are they waiting for it to be handed to them? We need an intelligent, competent leader. Often the "salesperson" is the reason we buy or not.
4
People ask how we are going to pay for Medicare for all.
We spent $3.5 Trillion on healthcare last year.
We already are paying for it. We just aren’t getting it.
We spend around $10,000 per capita on healthcare. The other first world countries spend $4,500 to $5,500 per capita.
They get universal healthcare. We have parts of the US with infant mortality rates of a second world country.
All the money we spend with private insurance would be redirected to Medicare for all.
And we would save money.
33
Bernie's coverage of immigrants in health care looks better and better as the coronavirus splashes across the newspapers and other media. The more universal health care, the better and necessary. Who wants holes in the defense?
Bernie's Health Care for All just seems like FDR's Social Security, a "socialist" program.
Bernie's many years in Congress have convinced both him and me that if you want to get anything done, it makes sense to push it. You can compromise later.
I started out thinking "not Bernie" but he makes the most sense now.
19
Those terrible far left Democrats!
They want universal healthcare like all the other first world countries.
They want to continue public education with two years of trade school or community college.
We are the richest industrial country on the planet GDP / capita. But we have poverty those other countries don't and the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Those terrible liberals want to protect the air and water and stop global warming.
They want to give women birth control so they don't have unwanted pregnancies and don't have to consider having an abortion.
Shades of Karl Marx!
We pay around $11,000 per capita for healthcare compared to the $5,500 the other first world countries pay.
They get universal coverage and we have parts of the US with infant mortality rates of a second world country. Seriously, look it up.
With the savings to healthcare, we could pay for the additional two years of education.
And maybe that would decrease poverty and crime. Then we would get more people working and paying taxes instead of paying for welfare and prison.
I can't believe how far left these new Democrats want to take us.
What would the Founding Fathers be saying today?
In the meantime, the 2017 Republican tax bill just increased the deficit.
Again.
The deficit is increasing from $600 Billion to $1 Trillion.
To be paid for by ourselves, our children, and grandchildren. Every Republican senator voted for it. Not one Democratic Senator voted for it.
21
I will cast my vote for any of the democrats to embrace our nation of laws. I do hope whoever is nominated is a democratic-socialist in the likes of FDR (to raise up the common man), Teddy Roosevelt (who placed a soul-believing truth that our earth should be preserved), Eisenhower (who put citizens to work to continue FDR's infratructure with good-paying jobs, Johnson ( who truely believed that ALL men were created equal and put his signature on the Voting Rights Act, Jimmy Carter and VP Al Gore, for directly warning us early on Climate Change), and several others, including Richard Nixon who supported healthcare for all citizens. We've had our share of leaders who agreed with "socialism" before and hopefully, we'll have a new one to replace Trump.
14
The umpteenth gazillionth attempt to deny that if Bernie Sanders had not faced the tone deaf resistance of the Democratic Party establishment in 2016, he would probably have won the presidential nomination in 2016, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania in the general election that fall, and the presidency. Will Democratic primary voters fall for that same false logic again, four years later?
15
I keep hearing that the lesson of 2018 is the Democrats win with moderates. Here in Wisconsin that is exactly not the lessons. Two candidates, both holding statewide elected offices, one a moderate and one very left ran for statewide office; Tammy Baldwin one of the most left Senators won by a much larger margin than moderate Tony Evers. In this battleground state, the lesson is there is no danger in being too far left.
16
This column today struck a cord. I just wish you hadn't buried this important sentence several paragraphs in:
"There’s no alignment of agendas among the two of them, no common set of political values and no moral equivalence — not remotely."
That said, down ballot votes are important, and intransigent purity tests would be detrimental. But above all, electoral votes, electoral votes, electoral votes. It literally is immaterial how many popular votes a candidate gets. Crazy as this is, it's where we are at. This is the current system.
That's why it is so important to stop talking about things that absolutely won't fly in those states, like reparations, decriminalizing illegal border crossings, and free healthcare for illegal immigrants. Because to keep talking about those issues in the swing states is political suicide. So is Medicare for all if the majority of Americans don't want it. Hello?
This refusal of Bernie to pay attention to what the voters want and what they adamantly do no not want is what worries me about him and gives me pause. And what does it mean to be a populist then, if the majority holds no sway?
7
Are you sure the voters don’t want it? Or just the ones lucky enough to have a cushy health plan from work? They are in the minority. Most of us either get expensive, crummy plans or nothing at all from our employers.
10
We need to stop believing that we’re going to get Medicare for All in the near future. I wish I could wave a wand and make it happen, but our system of government is designed to prevent revolutionary change. You would need a supermajority in the Senate, and that’s not going to happen. You would also probably need a majority on the Supreme Court.
In fact a public option is going to be hard, but it has the advantage of being very popular, even in red states. We need to prioritize achievable goals like reining in the drug companies. Healthcare was a winning issue for Democrats in 2018 because candidates talked about Trump’s trying to repeal the ACA. They talked about Trump’s taking away protections for preexisting conditions. Those are the issues we win on, not Medicare for All.
First you take the castle. Then you redecorate it.
8
Why? If you keep asking the question you may change your stoicism. Bernie is a fighting mensch. Let’s get behind him and demand. I joined people to stop the war in Vietnam some decades ago. Against all odds, it worked.
12
No question Trump and his hangers on (Graham, etc.) are angling mightily even today to have Sanders as the nominee. It's really hard to see how Sanders can win back any of the states Trump won and Sanders might lose Minnesota as well.
4
The electorate is not the same as it was a few years ago. This changes the equation profoundly. Arizona, Nevada, even Texas will be the new swing states.
3
The upcoming election will not be a replay of 16. Too much has changed since then.
Bernie is the only candidate who is personally strong enough to go up against a Trump in the general - a couple of nervy, loud, outer-borough guys who roll over the nice MidWesterners like steam rollers.
Bernie is unlikely to win the nomination for any number of reasons but manages to be the candidate building the most excitement - both pro and con. Socialism in this election’s context is a scare word, not any kind of real political philosophy. Bernie is more like FDR than Eugene Debs.
America is not going to vote for a Jew for president, whether it’s Bernie, Bloomberg, or some mythical Jewish Republican, because too many voters in too many districts believe America is, or should be, a Christian nation. Proof: Christmas is a national holiday and Yom Kippur never will be.
You figure it out.
3
@Pottree - THAT’S who you want — someone who will “roll over the nice MidWesterners like steamrollers”? Sarcasm ahead: Yeah, that’s JUST what the Democrats need. As for excitement, I’d be almost orgasmic if Amy and Stacey were our nominations. However, just as this country won’t elect a Jewish president (at least not at this time), we have no hope of having two women as President and Veep.
Fuggedaboud excitement. If people, especially the young, are not “excited” enough by the threat of more Trump and don’t bother to vote unless Bernie wins, well, they’ll be the ones who inherit Trump’s scorched Earth after we older voters are gone.
5
And that group of supposedly Christian voters is getting smaller all the time.
2
I am at a loss how so many Bernie supporters seem to really believe that his plans would "improve life for all". Bernie wants to take control of American wealth by government power and distribute it as he sees fit. This may help some--even many--but most certainly not all. Those who have worked and saved are among Bernie's targets--they will pay for Bernie's plans. The notion that he will only take from the wealthy is a fairy tale, like all something-for-nothing promises; the numbers don't add up. He cannot begin to implement his many programs without hefty middle class tax hikes. It is neither charitable nor goodwill to forcibly confiscate and redistribute other people's wealth, but that is the whole idea behind Bernie's plans.
6
It is neither charitable nor goodwill to accept the economy as it is, regulation as it is, nor taxation as it is. If you don’t like socialism, let me ask: do you deliver your own mail and put out your own fires?
Sanders does not want to redistribute the wealth as *he* sees fit, but as *we* see fit, through our democratically elected government. Unfair? Unamerican? Perhaps you’re unaware, just to pick one example, that the oil and gas industry is subsidized by hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Or that government patents drive up the price of drugs. Or that you’re still paying for music recorded 50 years ago thanks to successive extensions to copyright protection.
26
do you think that we have a "free market" economy and all of us have the same opportunities be wealthy, healthy, and well educated?? Don't you think there is some government control over who gets the largest share of newly created wealth? and don't you think that the very wealthy have more influence over those government decisions that you do?
The US will spend almost $750 Billion (that is 3/4 of a TRILLION dollars) this year on "Defense". That is more than the next 8 countries' military budgets COMBINED. For that we get a lot of very expensive to buy and to maintain military toys - some of which the military doesn't even want. There is another couple of hundred billion dollars not in the "Defense Budget" that goes to the C.I.A. and other "intelligence" agencies who failed to see 9/11 coming as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall and which field their own combatants in secret wars. And there is also another $50 Billion or so that goes to the V.A. and to pay the part of the debt due to past military spending. Pretty soon, as Everett Dirksen sort of said (he was talking about millions, not billions of dollars) "you're talking about real money". Like a TRILLION dollars every year that is not used for education, infrastructure, health care, etc.
We have a "defense policy" that creates a military prepared to wage three major wars at once anywhere in the world - and, given past performance not win any of them unless we use the nuclear option and destroy the planet.
6
@jrd "It is neither charitable nor goodwill to forcibly confiscate and redistribute other people's wealth"
You're a Republican, right?
1
I consider myself a Progressive Democrat and I am starting to get behind a Bloomberg nominee and may very well vote for him in my state's primary next month. He is looking more and more like the person that can beat Trump.
We don't need a revolution right now, we need to get rid of Trump.
299
@Raydeohed
No one has a clue "who can beat Trump." Conventional wisdom was that Hillary Clinton would beat Trump.
The primaries are the time to vote for the person who most represents the direction that you want the country to go. Vote your heart. Dream. Stop trying to be some modern day Nostradamus and predict the future.
Vote for the person you want to win in the primaries. Rally behind the nominee in the general.
53
@Concernicus Hillary Clinton did win more votes than Trump. If she tripled or quadrupled her margins in NY and CA she still would have lost the election because she did not win over voters in other states who had voted TWICE for Obama because they wanted and believed in change.
15
How much you charge per Mike per post?
18
I’ve been waiting for exactly this, Frank. I’m really, really trying to remain neutral in this primary process, and let the process work. I don’t need to repeat any specifics about Bernie and his not-so-merry Band, that information is readily available, from many neutral sources. For the record: I Vow to Vote for the Democratic Nominee. Period. Also for the record : this prediction, from a Woman baby Boomer, lifelong Democrat and political Junkie- IF Sanders is the Nominee, WE will LOSE. And forfeit any chance to retake the Senate, and possibly lose the House.
Mark the Date, please. I’m going out on a limb, without any net or incentive. Sometimes, you just have to scream “ FIRE “ when you smell the smoke but before you see the inevitable flames.
187
However conventional the wisdom, that’s still speculation, as certain as the stock markets values this or any year.
36
@Phyliss Dalmatian
Agree. I will also vote for the Democratic nominee, whoever he or she maybe.
In addition, voting for anyone over 70 doesn't thrill me.
Time to let go and have younger people become leaders.
Still, vote blue!
19
@Phyliss Dalmatian Phyliss, I too will vote for - and fully support - the Democratic nominee. Is Sanders my first or even second choice? No. But I am not so sure that we can predict that if Sanders is indeed our presidential nominee, "WE will LOSE." He is no more vulnerable than any other candidate when faced with the downright thuggery and deviousness of a Trump re-election campaign. And we should not be solely dependent on whoever is our final choice. After all is said and done, it is ultimately up to us to put our woman or man in the White House. The onus is upon us to put Warren, Biden, Sanders, Pete, Amy, or any other candidate in the Oval Office where actually each does belong. If Trump is reelected, the fault will be ours. And we will rue the day.
28
One is an unabashed Democratic Socialist. The other is a moral degenerate.
You decide which one you want with the power to destroy.
10
Is this supposed to be a serious article ?
As a socialist, Bernie would be neutered by the Congress and nothing would ever get done. We would have four years of chaos.
2
@Jack Only in a very unlikely worst case scenario. Anyway, how did you like 2012-2016?
1
That’s better than having a maniac as president who keeps asking why we can’t use the nukes, which is what we have now.
3
You've got to be kidding. But I see it now the latest anti-Bernie talking point is Bernie=Trump. Also you NYT establishment types don't seem to care about the working class at all.
I am a white working class woman who has been a life long democrat, raised in Chicago. The party sold us out long ago
and figured we would stick with them no matter how many
bad decimating trade deals etc. they stuck us with. Bernie
works for and stand with us. Who else does? For more
read Matt Taibbis latest article in Rolling Stone on the debacle in Iowa and what all the Dem's have for thirty years
wrought on us. I voted Hillary last time, I can't keep doing this.If the Democratic Party try to undermine Bernie again,
I'M out. I'm not voting for a Oligarch nor a errand boy for billionaires.
7
If Bernie loses the primaries honestly, so be it. If they deliberately manipulate things to disadvantage him, that’s a whole different thing there.
3
Frank, have you traveled to or lived in other countries? Maybe you should try, it would be good for you. Last time I had medical procedure in Amsterdam, I payed less out-of-the-pocket than my copay in the US for the same procedure. How's that?
9
How about focusing on Bernie's use of "WE." He says all the time it must come from the people. They must support the vision. That is exactly what it means when one says democratic socialism.
8
Maybe the primaries will show a low voting turnout because nobody really KNOWS who can beat trump. Maybe people do not want to be responsible for electing the Democrat who will fail at this, so they are waiting for the general, where they will vote blue no matter who. And then? Bang zoom! Trump to the moon!
I have to have faith.
2
The idea of not leaving people to suffer and die, or go bankrupt if they cannot afford needed medical care is apparantly considered radical and outlandish in our society.
10
The NY Times assault on Bernie Sanders continues. One might say there is a disconnect between the majority of the people, and the coastal elites.
10
I stopped reading op-eds in the NYT a long time ago but nevertheless, I write a comment now and again. I voted for Trump in 2016 and Obama before that. The only Democrat I would possibly vote for is Mike Bloomberg. I like Amy Klobuchar too. The rest of them, including Sanders, are horrors and unelectable.
5
More horrible than having Donald Trump with the nuclear football? Please, think about that very carefully.
4
The Trump cult would love to run their fanatic crazy candidate against Bernie Sanders. They will cross over in the primaries, maybe stuff the ballot box if necessary to get Bernie in.
They are readying the smears already, recording Democrats' themselves for use in the election. Trump money, Trump techies, Trump worship. It could spell win if Bernie is the target.
1
Donald Trump has been more fair to Bernie Sanders than he has been to most Democrats. Not only that Trump has done a BIG FAVOR to Bernie by exposing the Bidens BURISMA connection and weakening Joe so much that I expect Joe to drop out of the presidential race for the third time and have his torch reluctantly passed over to the younger generation of mayor Butti and congresswoman Tulsi of Hawaii.
I would appeal to the NH voters to give Tulsi a fighting chance to stay in the race. She is the most qualified woman of the 3 (others being Sens Warren and Klobuchar) to be a commander in chief and keep America from going into any more regime change wars. She is the only woman among the 3 Dems to be sent close to harms way in the costly and useless regime change war in Iraq. Go Tulsi.
4
I’m not so sure that is what has hurt Joe. I think people are tired of the same moderate, make tiny changes, don’t upset the donors Democrats. We want someone who will really work for US.
1
There is a scientific group from the Netherlands named The Movement To Abolish Ignorance. You may see their presentation on Ted,com.
One of their central messages is that the pundits and the conventional wisdom crowd are not only likely to be wrong most of the time, but they are the LEAST LIKELY group to accurately assess any situation.
2
I like Bernie Sanders.
I do not like many of his supporters, who seem intent on tearing down every other candidate in a 'scorched-earth' strategy that will get Trump re-elected.
I would be saying this even if I was voting for Sanders in the primary.
4
This column is spot on. You can’t unite swing voters under a socialist banner (even democratic socialist). Most voters in the middle will choose the devil they know, no matter how much they dislike him. They’ll make excuses.
The presidency and Congress are important, but not the most important stakes in this election (unless Trump blows us all up). The biggest stakes are the third branch, the federal courts, which will determine which bills enacted are allowed to stand. If the courts are in the grip of rightwing ideologues, we won’t get big money out of politics because SCOTUS has ruled that money is speech.
We need five Supreme Court justices and fair-minded judges throughout the court system. If Republicans get six or seven Supreme Court justices, it’s game over. They’ll simply rule that every law that disadvantages big business is unconstitutional.
Winning is everything. If we win we make progress; if we lose we’re set back decades. The ACA will be declared unconstitutional (it’s on the Supreme Court docket right after the election). Voting rights will suffer a permanent setback. Climate change will be mocked and ignored. Congress will be neutered and Trump, with the help of Barr, will transform the presidency into an autocracy where civil servants swear an oath of allegiance to Trump.
2
Let's cut to the chase of this piece, i.e., the thesis that an establishment candidate is more suited to beat Trump. To prove it, one has to clear the hurdle of the inconvenient FACT that the 2016 election says otherwise. Here is Bruni's attempt:
"As for the argument that Hillary Clinton’s defeat proves the inefficacy of an establishment or center-left nominee, well, Clinton won the popular vote by about three million ballots and lost the Electoral College by only about 77,000, despite Russia, despite James Comey, despite a relentless focus on her emails and despite her own uniquely heavy political baggage. Subtract all of that and you get a winner — a winner who looks nothing like Bernie Sanders."
One can hear Steve Bannon laughing in the background while he reads such a complete validation of what he told Bill Maher "This is what I love about you guys, you've got to whine about everything. You know what the rules are and you can't win". Indeed a litany of excuses does not make an argument. Among the list of culprits, my favorite is Hillary's "heavy political luggage". Back then it was seen as such a liability that scared all establishment competitors to sit out that primary.
Addressing such logical contortions with a minimum of intellectual honesty should suggest that identifying the most electable candidate is nothing but a fool's errand. When such a fool's errand is pursued by bashing the most popular candidate the only goal achieved is gifting more voters to Trump.
4
Here’s an "ask your dad" comment. Back in olden days the political conventions had not-quite-What-the-party-wants candidates who, seeing the nominations veering away from them, would pile their numbers onto the agreed upon one or two finalists. Maybe the Dems can return to that old fashioned idea.
Why do you think health care for all - minus the remarkably high insurance premiums and profits - is such a radical and alarming proposal? Just look north of your border, as Bernie Sanders had done. It works very well here in Canada, as it does in many other similar countries.
No one has to mortgage their house or forfeit medical care here; no one dies or suffers for fear of the cost. Sure, doctors and Mennonites complained when Tommy Douglas proposed it decades ago...but they are all doing rather well now.
I would also add that I am sorry to note that Frank Bruni - whom I generally respect in the NYT and on CNN - is espousing a view of Bernie Sanders that sadly differs little from that of Bret Stephens.
Comparing Trump and Bernie Sanders is to simply deny the latter's depth and breadth of thought, of his sincerity and general honour and decency. It makes me very, very sad to see mainstream American media treat him so unfairly.
If you don't want him, perhaps we could import him. A man with substance. Imagine. But you need him more than even we do. Please support him if he wins the nomination; he supported your Ms. Clinton.
14
Another difference: Sanders has a functioning moral compass; Trump show no evidence of one.
16
Like many, I've already recognized that regardless who the Democratic nominee turns out to be, it's vote for that person, or give up the Democratic ghost and wait out 4 more years of Donald Trump.
The real question, then, is this: How many others feel precisely as I do?
If the answer is 100 percent, then we have nothing to worry about (I think, I hope, I pray...).
If the answer is murky, then . . .
4
@DameAlys
There is a line of thinking.. first propagated by some celebrities who were chaffing at Bernie losing out to Hillary for 2016: Maybe we sit it out and let it happen (Trump) ... so that it creates a crisis that requires change in 2020.
I believe this same group of idiots.. will follow the same approach this time around and use their celebrity influence to tank the Democratic ticket.. again.
This distorted approach by some angry influential celebrities is basically... let Nero burn down Rome.... we can always rebuild it when he is gone. It is very fatalistic.. and damages millions of American's quality of life as collateral damage (something they have no similar worries.. being wealthy and influential).
6
There is just one thing that is shared by Trump and Sanders supporters, they think that winning elections means winning gives them license to change whatever they want without having to gain the consent of all the rest of their fellow citizens. This “election has consequences” attitude disregards the consensus from which a government by consent of the governed derives authority.
10
I started as a Warren supporter because she's so smart and empathetic, but as she's faded in the polls I've made my peace with Bernie. Worth remembering Trump ran to the left on economics in 2016, saying he would tax Wall Street and protect Social Security. But he's governed like a typical country club Republican, cutting taxes on Wall Street and now threatening Social Security. Bernie's stands on these things are not radical, they're mainstream. Lower the cost of education and healthcare so that everyone has a chance to succeed in a competitive world. It's a winning message if you ignore the noise.
11
One supposes any hint, no matter how tenuous the similarities inferred between Trump and Sanders, would be greeted by fiery and explosive denials and even threats of physical harm to the author from the Bernie or Bust Bro crowd.
To throw a little more fuel on the Trump/Sanders comparison/differentiation, Trump was elected with zero political experience but his lack of any political accomplishments or failures made him a safer bet for some voters seeking to shake up the status quo. And Sanders, in spite of a 30 year career in the Senate has no real accomplishments of note to show for that long career, in addition to not forging any solid relationships with his peers. In many ways, Bernie is a blank slate to many "less engaged" voters other than recognizing his name and maybe hearing about his socialist ideology. A President Bernie would need a supportive Congress to even consider his progressive agenda, let alone legislate it into actual law. If loner Senator Bernie has alienated all Republican Representatives and Senators, in addition to many, if not a majority, of Congressional Democrats, how successful will he be as President?
9
Even if you thought Bernie could win vs. Trump (which I don't because as a moderate democrat I would have extreme difficulty voting for Sanders), do we really want to live in a country that lurches from far right to far left and back again so that the militancy around each election is enormous due to the stakes?
5
@Gail Excuse me please? What you call "far left" are centrist policies here in Europe that even the right wing doesn't openly question. If our countries can afford universal healthcare and free tuition, so can the US, richer than us. What's wrong with you that you see that as a radical idea?
8
you write "He described the country as a failing experiment and promised to explode the status quo. He and his followers practiced (and aced) absolutism: You stood with or against them — there was no squishy in between — and America could be sorted neatly into villains and victims. "
actually, so did Obama. He maligned the intention and character of political opponents. Rather than debating their policy ideas, he encouraged us to see them as mean-hearted and evil. Thus began in the decline in civil discourse.
while we can agree with some of Obama's policies, his habit of attacking character had unintended consequences.
5
When you subtract all the political baggage and Clinton drawbacks you get Amy Klobuchar who I believe could beat Trump handily and be a great president to boot.
10
Go read the OpEd piece at USA Today....
"Moderate Democrats have a duty to consider Sanders. He has a clear path to beating Trump."
They're right on the money and illustrate perfectly why Sanders is the only one who can beat Trump.
14
@Sparky
Yes, that article is all the more impressive because its author has a favorite other than Sanders.
Here's the link:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/02/09/bernie-sanders-could-beat-donald-trump-2020-column/4694526002/
5
I don't understand way the media continues to insist that Trump's victory in 2016 is anything other than example of the clear and present danger of the Electoral College system.
The 77,000 voters, spread among 3 states, represents less the .06% of the combined total of votes casts for Clinton and Trump. The decimal is in the right place in that, folks. If you add other candidates on ballots for president,of course the percentage is even lower.
The Clinton baggage, media coverage, and a poorly run campaign gave the 77,000 a freakishly large impact. The 77,000 who delivered the Electoral College to Trump do not represent any kind of telling point about the 2016 election or the electability of anyone running against Trump in 2020, or in 2016, for that matter.
The .06% reflects the the idiocy of the EC for choosing a president. 77,000 equals less than .06%, not a Red Tide. It's almost like a rounding error. The Red Tide is actually a product of the truly fake media, same as "Hillary's emails" were/are.
That Democrats shouldn't be continuously beating themselves up, wringing their collective hands (or necks) or clutching the pearls around their metaphorical necks. That's self-defeating negativism.
Voter turn out is key. Duh. We know the number and location of anyone who is likely to cast a vote for the Orange Man. How difficult could it be to switch 77,000 Obama/Trump voters in 2020?
But "socialist" (read: mincemeat) candidate Sanders is not the man who can do it.
5
Apt comparison, but, as an Engineer friend of mine once pointed out: The direct inverse of a thing is the closest you can get to the thing itself.
Put another way, the characterizing qualities that both Trump And Sanders have in common should disqualify them both.
The remedy for one disharmonious force is not another, opposite, equally disharmonious force.
Unless you want everything now stable to become unstable and explode...
4
The origin of anti-Sanders in the Democratic Establishment is the elections they lost when a liberal was their candidate for President after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. LBJ saw it coming and he was right: the Republicans got the South and what went with it. All the Confederate flags and what they stand for go with Trump, who loves it. The Democratic Party did deliberately rig their election of a Presidential candidate against Liberals: the Special Delegates insured a big block of "too far left" votes and even the order of the elections, which put red states first so a liberal would start out falling behind was a barrier to winning. After Bernie some of these barriers that got him sympathy were reduced and, Presto!, his chances of winning are way up.
The new baloney is that Bernie is like Trump because his young followers are more passionate than centrists and moderates courted by fearmongering about socialism. He is an FDR Democrat and he has young followers because of the gig economy and low wages and weaponized debt have ensured that the next generation will not do as well as their parents. That's wrong and it's wrong to consider it "too far left" to fix the economic policies that keep them down. Bernie is actually the best candidate to beat Trump because he appeals to angry voters in a constructive way and beats Trump in polls and the Demos won't become a Bernie Cult. The Constitution and the Separation of Powers will Return!
12
Woodrow Wilson's Creel Committee !915-1919) taught Josef Goebbels everything he knew. The blacklists of the late forties and early fifties looked to destroy those fighting the gaslighting that turned black into white, up into down and wrong into right.
Gaslighting has made America insane. When facts are in dispute and truth is totally allusive democracy cannot exist.
Sanders is 100% American , he believes in Jeffersonian democracy and a government of the people by the people and for the people regardless of whether or not we approve of his policies his goals were the same goals most of America aspired to. I had my first portrait taken in my Davy Crockett shirt and coonskin cap. Davy Crockett died at the Alamo but he was a Bernie Sander's social democrat and fought for the people of Texas not for Texas or Mexico.
It is hard for me to deliberately forget the fact that the San Patricios fought with Mexico because the Irish found Protestant America more Ireland's landlords than their fellow Irish peasants.
When in 1917 Mexico claimed sovereignty over its oil William F. Buckley attempted to get the USA to declare war on Mexico. When that failed Buckley oil moved to Caracas.
When your media talks about Venezuela's dysfunction I don't think of the abstractions of socialism I remember the Alamo.
7
@Montreal Moe
The world moves ever forward. Maybe as fortuitous as it seems now Remember the Alamo as wonderful as it may seem right now was a Mexican victory then and may soon be seen as the American disaster.
I know which side Texas took in the Civil War. Fertility alone tell us Texas' majority may not be of European descent. "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."Even now more people are leaving the USA to move to Mexico than are coming to America.
Of all the candidates Bernie is the one I think would actually be a good president. He's not driven by greed or a personal agenda as far as I can tell, and I am from Vermont. I've lived with Bernie as my Mayor, Representative and Senator. He has demonstrated countless times that he is intelligent, caring, sensible, educable, and ethical.
Democrats, Republicans (real ones, not the Trump nazi kind) and Independents can all rally behind Bernie because he will get the country back on track to being a place that is inclusive, altruistic, and fair (all things we have striven for but not achieved).
I feel like I have seen this movie, and the bad guy wins. In other words, it seems likely, between Trump-owned voting machines and Russian interference, that Trump will steal this election too. It makes me sick to my stomach.
All that being said I will continue to support Bernie Sanders for President in 2020. He would actually be a good president, not just a lesser evil.
14
Don’t you think that any of the top Democratic candidates would make good presidents, not just the lesser evil?
I hate the trope that those rivals who disagree with Sanders are evil. If Sanders were to win the nomination, I would hold my nose and vote for him. But I consider him an ambitious opportunist, not evil.
Most Americans dislike “Medicare for all”? I am sure most American's dislike driving cars less and eating less meat, too. Sorry, maybe we need to educate Americans about those things and try to change bad habits.
How I understand your logic is, we should not strive for better America because Trump will have attack against it. Very lame.
12
You have about five months to convince Americans that socialism isn’t a dirty word. Good luck with that.
Every Democratic candidate has the same goals. They all want universal healthcare, affordable college, immediate action against climate change, election reform, gun safety legislation. They differ only in how to achieve those goals. Sanders isn’t the only one fighting for a better country.
It's time that someone in the media quit lionizing Bernie Sanders. Bernie is just the Trump of the Left. Both Trump and Sanders make unachievable promises that can never be enacted and their gullible supporters eat it all up. Both Bernie and Trump think that they alone can save the country.
Both have a record of non achievement. Trump is a bankrupt, tax evader, and swindler. Bernie has no legislative achievements other than sponsoring a couple of bills naming Vermont post offices. Both are frauds, deluding themselves and their gullible supporters. Just two old men in love with their own voices and lost in their narcissistic fantasies.
6
Sanders vs Trump. Good versus Evil.
14
Well, Mr. Bruni, you covered all your bases on this one, lol.
2
Anyone caring about this Country’s future doesn’t have the luxury of being picky about whoever will be the Democratic candidate .
Just vote ! Do you want your children to grow up under a new nazi-Russian dictatorship, under the thumb of klepto-plutocrats , to sustain the brunt of dangerous politics taking away their rights , healthcare, education, environment etc ?
Please just vote !
Being picky or inert will only bring the collapse of our Great Democracy ! VOTE !
9
Well said! Bernie and his followers are the best shot of Democrats having the 'fire' and conviction needed to beat Trump. They stand for something and have a story. The 'just beat Trump' mentality by playing it safe will never work. It never works to play it safe against a provocative politician. I am a democrat and support very few of his far-left views, but still believe this is the person who will grab the mindshare and voters needed to defeat Trump. Case and point, Joe Biden's go back to the old days and safe message hasn't worked out so well.
10
@Hanna1020 You may be correct, but it doesn't say anything positive about the mentality of the American voter.
I'd like to see rational analysis, but I guess we're stuck with reality show America.
2
Twenty-five years ago the Clinton administration tugged the Democratic party toward a soft form of Reaganomics. Although essentially conservative, it was soon embraced as the new "mainstream" of the party, because it allowed them to appeal to and tap into the corporate wealth that had been fueling the Republican party's electoral wins. Sanders' positions, endorsed by policy heavyweights from Robert Reich to Noam Chomsky, are a departure from this "new normal," but they are not radical. They hew far more closely to those of FDR than do those of the current Democratic mainstream. For that matter, Sanders is closer to Eisenhower than the current GOP is.
Commentators taking Bruni's view not only seem unaware of the Democrats' role in championing unsustainable economic policies, they seem unaware of the election of 2016 when the Democratic mainstream went up against Trump and was defeated. Why look for lessons from the UK when you need only look at the last US election? In the last two months of the 2016 Democratic primary Sanders beat Clinton in every single national poll as a contender against Trump. (https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/358599-sanders-wouldve-beat-trump-in-2016-just-ask-trump-pollsters) And in my own large, conservative family, Sanders is a far more sympathetic candidate to those seeking a Trump alternative than any other candidate in the Democratic primary field.
Why not trust the Democratic primary voters?
11
@jodo7 - I agree: let’s trust the primary voters — as soon as the primaries, not the caucuses in two very unrepresentative states — are over. And, guess what? It’s Sanders’ supporters who think he’s a “...far more sympathetic candidate....” Those of us who want anyone BUT Sanders beg to differ.
1
There's one big difference: Sanders means what he says. Trump says whatever he feels like to get elected (and goes ahead and does whatever benefits him while in office).
14
Please note: The turnout of people under 25 in Iowa was 65% HIGHER than 2016.
NB also: Sanders won the popular vote. And the tie coin toss was flipped over after landing.
13
The turnout of young voters in Iowa in 2016 was minuscule because many of them had been convinced through relentless propaganda that Clinton was no better than Trump. It wouldn’t be hard to beat those numbers.
So far no presidential election has been decided by young voters, not even Obama’s. I think the Iowa caucuses proved that there is no hidden groundswell of support for Sanders.
"Everything in moderation, including moderation." All the Clinton baggage, Russian interference, Comey shenanigans...aside, in the last election Democrats ran a moderate against a radical, and lost. I think we need to acknowledge that many Trump voters need someone who will speak to them from his or her soul, and would welcome hearing from a soul that is not so dark. I am coming around to the possibility that Bernie is that person most able to do this.
9
I like Bernie.
He seems the least political of the candidates.
I know what I'm getting with Bernie.
That's more than enough for me.
14
The ground swell of support for Trump is not in opposition to the socialist/communist du jour representing the Democrat Party, it is in opposition to the media that props up this comedy troupe and provides no scrutiny or criticism of any Democrat candidate, past or present. It is this lack of objectivity which has engulfed the entire media that is repulsive and so damaging to the republic.
Being tutored on what to think not how to think is representative of a culture and country in decline, but it is a choosing to prefer narcissism to inquiry and introspection that probes beneath the surface. Until that seismic shift recurs, Trump, in all his crudeness, offers an authenticity far outside the media and Democrat surface dwellers. It is that that resonates with an uncommon allure. Bernie Sanders is but a relic from the past and about as useful as a bust of Carl Marx.
2
Trump is about as authentic as his Trump University degrees.
1
God bless Burnie, but he will not be a winner for the Dems or America.
Take a hard look at Amy K and its hard not see the personification of all the Right Stuff to lead and to beat Trump.
3
@G. Sears
No.
Amy appears to be the PTA class mom.
Don't cross her, just bring the right snacks.
Those tired wisecracks....(!)
No.
5
@G. Sears
I would be very surprised if Amy wins the MN primary.
5
I watched the NH Democratic Party event at the Southern NHU Arena on C-Span last night. The stands were full of cheering sections for each candidate, which was great.
Buttigieg was the first candidate to speak, and I couldn’t hear exactly what the Bernie crowd was chanting, but I now read they were yelling “Wall Street Pete!” Pete’s section countered from across the arena with “We need Pete!” What the *hail*is wrong with the Bernie supporters? Their nastiness is divisive and it follows a pattern I see online as well.
When it was finally Sanders’ time onstage, he remarked that he sensed there was tension in the room. As if he was shocked and he had nothing to do with it. And that follows a pattern as well.
10
@Vicki
But Pete IS a Wall Street guy, after all, isn’t he? That‘s what really matters.
4
@Mr. N
No, Wrong info Mr. N.
Buttigieg never worked on Wall St. or in the financial industry. Get your misinformation straight!
1
Iowa and NH should be completely ignored as they are in no way indicative of the country as a whole (no state truly is) and shouldn't make such an impact on picking a candidate. That was Harris and Booker's mistakes. Why put so much time and resources there, save it for SC and beyond. Dems should spend more energy rallying their base than trying to win those angry, old white men who are not going to vote for anyone other than Trump. We don't need them, we need the young, the brown, the black women etc etc.
3
Mr. Bruni has it right this time. Bernie is a populist, like Trump. But the problem is that Bernie will wind up with fewer Bernie Bros than Trump has Trumpers. Bernie truly has a cap on his "popularity."
As Mr. Bruni suggests, this is all the fault of the Progressives' obsessive hatred of Trump. It distorts their vision and judgment, and they will nominate an interesting, aggressive, absolutist counter-Trump, who will fail them. Then they will really be angry. And powerless.
1
I made this comparison to a liberal friend and he took umbrage - that Bernie was nothing like Trump. This is the problem. Some Democrats are not able to see the nuances of analogies. I have always disliked Bernie's bombasity and he's old. Too old. I am 64 so I can speak on age. His rabid supporters get way too much media coverage - they will claim the election is rigged if he is the nominee and loses to Trump. Extremes on the left and right are the only ones it seems that get media attention. Some of us prefer reasoned and intelligent candidates. I just hope the DNC doesn't mess it up which is not a given.
3
I'm 64. You're wrong about age. It's not that uniform or simple. there is 78 and there is 78. as, it seems , there is 64 and there is 64. I used to hang out with a 95 year old when I was in my 40s. He was as crisp and observant and energetic ad anyone I knew. Eschew simplistic categories; see people as individuals in process. It will make you younger.
4
My problem with Bernie Sanders is his continual insistence that he is a democratic socialist.
Every socialist society (democratic or otherwise) has devolved into totalitarianism. The Soviet Union, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cambodia…
Many in this column point to Europe, but European countries to varying degrees are all capitalistic systems, albeit, with a larger social safety net than in the US.
If Bernie wants to promote a European model in the US (not a bad idea), he should re-brand himself. The socialist brand has an awful history.
But Bernie is too hard-headed to admit that socialism is a bad thing, WHICH IT IS! (Please forgive my all caps.)
This bothers me. Either he cannot change his pitch because of pride or intellectual laziness or he really is a socialist which is far worse. A wolf in sheep's clothing.
If you want to sell apples don’t advertise that you are selling manure. There is a market for manure but not at the Safeway. Pun intended.
4
@gpickard
Thank you for the Luxembourg perspective.
3
Debating Bernie's policy ideas or personal traits diverts attention from the sole vital question. That is, will a sufficient number of actual voters in the states that might go either way vote for him to put those states in the blue column?
If not, every other point and every other argument is flat out irrelevant.
So, if you're one of those swinging voters in a swing state and not already one of the progressive faithful, will you vote for an almost 80 year old democratic-socialist Jewish guy from a tiny Northeastern state instead of Trump this year?
For that matter, will you vote for a 39 year-old gay guy who has most recently been a mayor of a mid-sized town instead of Trump this year? How do you feel about the prospect of a gay couple in the White House?
2
BoJo and Trump are the same, reactionary, loudmouthed, occasionally funny incompetents with weird hair. But Bernie Sanders is not Jeremy Corbyn. Bernie is rousing and radical. Corbyn is boring and hypocritical. As well, Corbyn had less to sell, because the UK has better labor protections and health care than the US. Sanders is offering Americans something we don't currently have.
Let's drop the Sanders/Corbyn comparison. It doesn't hold water.
5
The establishment Democrats have not honored the will of the people for year's..Donald Trump is a result of that, the frustration was so great that people who used to vote Democratic voted for him! Obama inherited a mess, and chose to not deal with the crisis by hiring the same people that got us there to begin with, so in consequence the most of us were never made whole after the collapse of the system!! He should have changed course then, but he didn't and now we have Bernie who has always known and spoke his truth to the elites..Corporations, Wall Street have got to change, Citizen's United has wreaked havoc on all of us, it has to be overturned we can't go on indefinitely like this, the world is on fire! Think of the children, our natural world..Trump is a scourge to life as we know it! I say GO BERNIE!!
8
The centrist New York Times opinion people don't get it. Bernie is not the Messiah for us Bernie supports. We don't follow Bernie because of his looks, his tone of voice, or any soaring rhetoric (he has none).
We follow him because he presents real solutions to real problems. We needed the Green New Deal decades ago. The best way to get affordable, easy to use, universal healthcare is Medicare for All. $15 minimum wage is really only barely a living minimum wage. (Obama's $10.10 and Hillary's $12 are not.) College and trade schools should be tuition free and leave graduates debt free. (They were essentially that 55 years ago when tuition was pocket change and federal student loads were at or less than 3%, and federal Work Study was abundant.) As Bernie says, agreeing with Eisenhower, we need to rein in the military industrial complex. Labor unions need strengthening to again give the working class a voice.
Bernie has no special charism, except honesty and truth about the important issues and their urgency. If he backs away from those issues and their urgency, you can be certain that his adherents will back away from him. We're with Bernie (and I'm a senior citizen) because of his stand on important and urgent issues -- nothing more and nothing less.
12
This is concerning.
I'm a Sanders supporter but I do not support any behaviour that even comes close to the level of rank inappropriateness we have seen from Trump and his supporters. However, I've been reading more and more about online bullying and general virulence coming from individuals in the Sanders camp. This includes the punitive online targetting of the Working Families Party and members who recently endorsed Warren for President.
Bernie Sanders generally does not brook any nonsense from anyone. However, I would like to see him manage the more negatively disruptive forces within his coalition. I think he can do this in a positive way without deflating supporter enthusiasm or even acknowledging significant shortcomings in this area. In time, however, this problem could greatly expand beyond his ability to restrain it.
It is essential for citizens to demand from their next President strong evidence of deep a personal commitment to integrity. Our next president should embrace comity among dissenters as a basic style of governance and should strive to honour and cherish dissent by respectfully challenging those differing views on their merits.
It is the mark of an effective leader who likewise demands civil comportment and self-restraint from his sometimes unruly coalition. I hope Mr Sanders can set the example much better than the current occupant.
3
@Thomas - No worries: Bernie will never be president. Unfortunately, he’s once again doing his best to ensure that no Democrat will be, either.
4
The spectacle of a punditry that professes itself liberal and enlightened ganging up to scorn and vilify a candidate who's devoted his political mission to guaranteeing better life conditions to the most vulnerable shows us how deep down the drain our society has fallen. Trump might be the most visible expression of our societal disease, but the values that one can glimpse behind pieces like this explain how we got him.
8
The second to last paragraph is a masterclass is cognitive gymnastics. It's essentially saying "if you ignore the fact that Hilary lost, I think you'll find that she won!"
10
Another hit piece against Bernie from the neocons. And as for why Jeremy Corbyn's political position was butchered, look no further than the so called "anti-semitic" accusations and the vast amount of money that this false narrative gained, all based on the lies about Mr. Corbyn's actual stance on the matter. And the MSM media was the vehicle.
10
Bernie Sanders - multi-millionaire socialist who has hardly worked outside the government. And who will make everything 'free' for everyone, everywhere.
hmmm
8
The Times' coverage of the Sanders campaign is reprehensible. After he's elected, the paper of record could consider hiring some opinion writers that reflect the electorate. I am tired of reading this irrelevant centrism. It does not reflect our times.
12
@Abraham Adams At least they have Elizabeth Bruenig. Hooray for her, she's a very nice person who feels the pains of the working class!
5
Don't see anyone but Bloomerg with a reasonable chance of beating Trump.
4
"Subtract all of that and you get a winner — a winner who looks nothing like Bernie Sanders."
So who does this winner look like? Who is it?
All of you NeverBernie scolds love to trash his candidacy, but you have no one else in the race who has any hope of winning. Don't complain about a "problem" unless you're willing to offer a better solution. Otherwise, it's just useless complaining.
9
Maybe we need a full generation of the Cult of Personality before it burns itself out and we can work together to address the pressing issues which confront us. Seems like we’re close to wire right now unfortunately.
1
Trump won the Republican primaries, mostly because Republicans were looking for a nasty pit bull to run against Hillary. They believed he would do well in the debates against her. His policies were secondary. He won, because they believed he was the only Republican who could beat Hillary.
Bernie is loved by his followers, because of his policies. They believe the rest of the country will ultimately be convinced of the wisdom of his beliefs. They don’t seem to realize they are in the minority.
This is no way to win a general election .
3
The writer of this commentary appears to contradict himself at the end, arguing that political pundits did not predict Trump's victory--just as present-day pundits, like himself, might not predict Bernie Sanders' victory. So what is his point?
10
The point is that Mr Sanders is a conundrum wrapped in a dilemma.
1
The problem with a "let's have Bernie do like Trump, it worked for him" strategy is it flies in the face of the basics of how to win an election.
Yes, in 2016 Trump won—but with 48% of the popular vote. The other 52% voted for Hillary or the Green Party, or something. The 52% hate Trump, and it's hard to imagine Trump winning any of them over after three years of his divisive antics.
So for the Democrats this should be easy. All you have to do is have a moderate candidate like Mike Bloomberg who immediately books the 52%—they have nowhere else to go—and then starts chipping away at Trump's 48%.
The LAST thing you want to have is a candidate who's marketing socialism and who is leaving a lot of people drifting in the middle. You lose your chance to win over any lukewarm Trump supporters, and with the talk of socialism you risk creating more lukewarm Trump supporters. And so voila, Trump gets another 48% or 49%, and we get four more years of the Trump evil. So sorry, Bernie's a great guy, but a Bernie ticket is a built-in disaster.
11
@Jerry Schulz "All you have to do is have a moderate candidate like Mike Bloomberg who immediately books the 52%"
Dems already tried that in 2016, remember? And Hillary Clinton. another moderate and darling of Wall Street, just like Bloomberg, lost. Because working class voters in rustbelt states deserted her. And they won't switch back for Bloomberg, another aloof establishment guy.
Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, a fighter for the working class since decades, with many union endorsements, can do the trick. Let the 52% vote for him, most will do so gladly.
6
@Gray Goods - You're right, it isn't quite this simple. Hillary's biggest mistake may have been her argument of, "Trump is awful, so I guess you're stuck voting for me."
You have to work hard to market to those people in the middle, creating an exciting vision of how you can improve their lives. I agree Bernie does a great job of this, but some of his stands also risk alienating the people in the middle we must win over.
2
@Jerry Schulz I agree that the nominee will have to unite many voters behind his candidacy. But Sanders' appeal to many different groups is promising. He got strong support from the younger generations, African Americans, Latin people, Independent voters, working class folks, even from some Republican leaning guys. That's the wide tent Dems need to fill to win!
And as a very well respected veteran politician, Sanders can and will convince more people. Thus, his polls versus Trump look fine. Don't worry, he can win!
4
Just to point out. So many commenters talk about Bernie wanting to help the less fortunate. This is not clearly defined and feeds the historic perspective that these folks can't help themselves or worse are lazy.
The average American worker income in 2019 was shy of $48,000 a year.
The unfortunate ones are a majority of Americans who can't afford health care, food, housing, transportation and be able to save for college and retirement.
How sad so many accept this, especially the comfortable in society.
5
@Michael Piscopiello - Yes, what got Trump elected in 2016 was not so much the crazies in the red hats but disaffected middle class and working class people who felt they were sliding downhill, who fell for Trump's stuff of "I'll rebuild the steel mills in Pittsburgh." I think they will be a tougher sell for Trump this time. But they don't view themselves as unfortunates needing a handout. All they want is family-sustaining jobs.
3
@Jerry Schulz Proud working class guys understandably are against welfare handouts, but they sure would prefer a system where healthcare and tuition was more affordable. Remember The West Wing episode when Josh Lyman met a worried family guy at a bar, Jerry? That guy said something like "I don't mind working hard. I just wish life wasn't that hard." That's the sentiment, imho. A good life with hard work. There's a huge desire for a fairer system, like in the 50s.
2
"as Sander's cements his front runner status?" Really?" I would swear he was beaten by a complete newcomer who is a moderate with little governmental experience whatsoever. And I could swear that Biden still outpolls him nationally So I don't think he's "cemented" anything at all yet.
But I will say this. If he possibly becomes the nominee and campaigns on open borders and free health care, even for illegal immigrants, and the government takeover of the supply of electricity, no moderate State will ever vote for him. Not one. We will lose this election in a landslide and we may well lose our Democracy in the process.
The monster Trump is praying that we nominate him. He knows full well he can scare the bejeebers out of voters while he stomps all over Sander's plans. There will be no face to face debate, because Trump will refuse to debate him. Trump will bring up things about Sanders that no one else has...like his friendliness with dictators like the Castros and how he loved the Nicaraguan dictator, Daniel Ortega enough to go down and meet with him during his revolution and even try to intervene with Reagan on Ortega's behalf...all this while he was a mayor in Vermont.
He is George McGovern in disguise...whose supporters were sure would sweep Nixon out of the White House...he ended up just barely winning one state...his own.
11
You have to remember that the MSM have already chosen their favorite candidates and tried to anoint the winners. You can see that in the reporting that assumed that Biden would win Iowa, even though it was obvious to those of us in the state that he wouldn't. Biden couldn't even make viability at my caucus.
4
McGovern won only Massachusetts, not his own state. In retribution, Nixon, who won the other 49, closed MA military bases, pulled government contracts from the state, and had the FBI identify MA residents who had donated money (even a few bucks) to McGovern, then slapped the donors on his famous enemies list and ordered the IRS to investigate these voters and subject them to a tsunami of false tax charges and money demands for invented tax infractions. Ask me how I know. Addendum: once you have been audited by the IRS, no matter the vindictive reason, you find yourself on the list of likely suspects to be audited again, about every 2 or 3 years, for decades... even after Nixon was safely in his grave. The evil than men do lives after them. This is just one endearing way Republicans make lifelong friends.
2
@Steve Dumford This ain't 1972 anymore and the allegedly harmful facts you cite are public knowledge since a very long time. If Trump attacks with this old stuff, those will be his most boring tweets ever. Will only reinforce Bernie's anti establishment rebel image that's attractive for 2016 Trump voters.
2
I don't really see such a similarity between Trump and Sanders.
A populist is a person who repeats the things that people like to hear and on that Trump is a master.
So Trump is a right populist but Sanders is not populist at all, joust because Bernie says things that people don't support by now, so he suggests them to think about and make their own mind, while Trump dictates to the people what they have to think and to forget their mind.
10
I can give you a list as long as your leg of stuff Sanders says that isn’t really true, and point to a thousand places where his devotees scream at you if you say so.
3
I just don't like Sanders, his ideology or his style, but, if he is the nominee I will hold my nose and vote for him. I'm certainly not voting for him in the primary because I fear we will lose if he is the nominee.
8
I believe the new voting populace of America is now motivated to send a very clear message to the Republican and Democratic party leadership. Stop government for the special interests and super wealthy and unify and feed the core of the country. As donors rush in to by political favor not who the actaul voters are sending money to. Will this election be bought but Trump and the super wealthy and their hundreds of millions of "dark" free speech money? Will it go to the cautious Democratic centrists with their carefully cloaked big business and special interest contributions. Marianne williamson brought morals and ethics into the campaign and paid a price for it.
A voice will emerge that actually speaks to a majority about what is wrong with America and who seems to have the will to fix it. We all know our countries wealth and benefits are a charade. Soon a voice will resonate with the truth- not the carefully crafted plan to manipulate. We will vote, I hope, for that candidate.
6
So many of us are SO tired of angry old men!
We want to take Trump out, sure. But we want the rest of them to shut up too.
14
I AM kind of a cranky old guy, and I couldn’t agree with you more. In fact at this point, I think Biden, Sanders and Warren should all go home.
3
If you're not angry, you're not paying attention.
3
I'm not sure why attempting to help ordinary Americans is such a bad thing. What Bernie is suggesting isn't that radical and really follows some of the models in Europe. I came from the UK and worked in the healthcare system which was terrific, I cannot begin to understand why Americans are so wedded to a system that is for profit and basically rips them off. Nobody goes bankrupt for getting sick in the UK. Why do Americans believe that they get to choose their healthcare. Most is at the discretion of employers. Bernie is also very aware of the problems we have with climate change and has embraced AOC's climate ideas, again why is that a bad thing? He is a seasoned politician, a thoughtful and very intelligent man and he is the real deal when it comes to following through on his ideas. Bernie will also work with the Senate and the House to get things done and as Mr Krugman rightly pointed out, will to an extent be constrained by the rules and the process. Please Mr Bruni, just consider the power of your platform and listen to Bernie and consider how many people consider his ideas terrific.
21
@Sally M: Here in the US, we expect doctors to be entrepreneurs.
@Len Charlap I agree with your assessment. If private health insurance plans were so good, then why do medical costs bankruptcies lead the list??? Unlike Medicare, private plans have huge deductibles, you have to see their doctors, and what most are unaware of: ceilings of payment per calendar year. Private plans are 'great' until you need them.
Bernie, Elizabeth, and the other candidates ought to have their staffers call around to various insurance companies and quote their plans, and contrast with current Medicare plans, in their public appearances. It's irrational to believe private plans are better than Medicare. Example: a decade ago, the CEO of Aetna made $34 Million a year; your premiums at work, for the CEO.
15
1. Medical bankruptcies don’t lead the list. The “Post,” gave Bernie’s “half million,” number three Pinocchios, for very good reason.
2. My current employer-supplied medical insurance is more-comprehensive than Medicare, and costs me much less.
I’m on two insurance boards, and have been for going on twenty years. So, I see all the books and all the plans.
Sanders et al are in for quite the shock, when they go to our members and tell them they have to give up their employer subsidies, accept an unspecified government plan, and have their taxes raised significantly.
My advice is, have a car outside the meeting room with the engine running and the door open.
3
@Robert : So pretty much, it's fine to have a two-tiered system where those of you who have employer-sponsored medical insurance have decent coverage and low deductibles while the rest of us under 65 have mediocre coverage with astronomical monthly premiums and enormous, potentially bankrupting deductibles.
This whole attitude of "I've got mine, I don't care about everyone else" is part of what is tearing this country apart.
12
I don't know why the 'Post' gave three Pinocchios to Sanders considering that the number of more than 500k bankruptcies per year tied to the medical cost was cited by CNN from the research in 2019, but your service on two boards of insurance companies could explain your rosy outlook of the h insurance company. Unfortunately, we don't need your books to know how the insurance works, we use it for many many years and know the real situation. No wonder health cost is one of the main voter's concerns.
7
Bernie is a populist of the far far left of this country, appealing only to those who want to progressively turn this Country toward socialism. And that, my friends, is a political and economic model that has failed everywhere and is one that will be resoundingly rejected by the vast majority of Americans. Working Americans will never embrace the steps toward socialism that Bernie and his surrogate AOC pepper us with on a daily basis, and will never endorse a Bernie candidacy.
4
Like so many, you are confounding Socialsm with Communism.
5
@Brewster’s Millions Just one minute checking polls at realclearpolitics proves you wrong. Sanders has broad appeal and can beat Trump.
3
There is no guarantee that people can keep the health care plan provided by their employer. Employers are constantly changing their employees' health care plans, and the new plan is always more expensive and covers less. How many people can say that the health care plan provided by their employer hasn't been changed for the worse in the last three years?
19
Senator Sanders could not even get an affordable healthcare bill passed in his left-leaning state of Vermont. Why? State taxes would have gone through the roof. Socialized medicine is fine if somebody else is paying for it, but one it comes down to everyone chipping in a lot more into the Federal till that is not going to happen.
Now, compare the specter of a 10-20% rise in federal taxes if Bernie miraculously shepherded a healthcare bill through a Republican Senate with the absence of such a bill. The beauty of Trump's 4 years is that no meaningful legislation has been passed. Hence the economy has hummed.
I think most working people will vote with their pocketbooks no matter which candidate the Democrats put up in November.
3
But we do pay for the medicine either way: through the taxes or through premiums and deductibles or both. Bernie just proposes the system that was shown to be more efficient and cheaper, covers more people and prevent unpleasant surprises. Unfortunately, the system can not work just in one state, to be efficient it requires federal implementation
7
Sanders did not motivate young voters sufficiently in highly white Iowa to win, or in greater numbers than the last 3 Presidential caucuses, what reason do we have to believe that he will do so in places that are more diverse, like the South, where he struggles to connect with voters almost as much as Mayor Pete? If the Bernie raft contention is that it's bigger and has more occupants, they need to prove it. Overwhelmingly old people vote more frequently and in higher percentages than younger ones, which is part of the reason we have DJT, and a craven Republican Senate. Until that changes, Bernie's youth enthusiasm differential is all hearsay. Do us a favor, and prove it right. We need the numbers.
2
@Mark
GenX, Millennials and Gen Z already cast more total votes than Boomers + Silents in both 2016 and 2018. Bernie is not just poplar among teenagers ... he's popular among people under 50, which happens to be the majority of voters.
14
I’m 51 and I love Sanders.
Don’t count out Gen X: we have been “trickled down” on, for our entire adult lives.
7
Not true. Young voter turn out in the Iowa causes was up by 30 percent this year. And most of these young voters caucused for Sanders. Same goes for non-white voters. Get your facts straight, please. We should not promote alternative facts in the Democratic primaries.
6
I get tired of moderates comparing Sanders chances of winning to Jeremy Corbyn's. First of all, Corbyn had no plan for Brexit, the biggest issue of that campaign - nothing comparable to health care, climate change, etc in this campaign. But no one mentions the disastrous results for both the centrist parties of the Liberals and New Democrats, which are representative of the moderate corporate Democrats. How convenient.
12
When my rural Maine neighbors were saying, in June of 2016 they were going to vote for either Sanders or Trump, I could not wrap my brain around that statement! I now understand that the low-information voter (HS graduates, possibly...) does not study policy, but listens to sound-bites, and just wanted someone to "stir things up" in Washington.
Well we got that in 2016, for sure. No real swamp-draining, just more feeding of the ever hungry gators.
I may just end up breaking my life-long record of never voting for someone who was elected president (and I have voted in EVERY election since I was 18 in 1970.)
If the right candidate is nominated by the Dems, and I cross party lines (I am a Green), I will do whatever is necessary to stop that Stable Genius.
3
Try to persuade your Maniac friends and neighbors not to re-elect Collins and see if you get the same kind of response, along the lines of resistance to change and fear of the new confused by anger at the status quo.
1
Frank, thanks as always, a brilliant piece! I’m a former Republican, who switched parties after George W Bush and my husband is now an Independent. We are still undecided as to which of the Democrats we wiki vote for in our state’s primary. We like Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Mike Bloomberg. Bernie, while we would vote for him if he is the nominee is not even our 3rd choice!
Klobuchar/Buttigieg 2020 OR Bloomberg/Klobuchar 2020
5
Bernie and Pete spent a huge amount of extremely valuable time, money, energy in Iowa, and emerged as the winners with very low caucus turnout. Low turnout for the Democrat caucuses
in Iowa and the most recent national poll numbers strongly suggest that neither Bernie nor Pete could possibly defeat Trump in the general election in November 2020. It looks like a lot of sound and fury, much ado about nothing. Democrats need to go back to the drawing board with respect to their method of picking their presidential candidates.
3
@David: Mike Bloomberg blew this contest off as a silly waste of time. One can see he has good financial judgment.
1
@Steve Bolger
What else is he going to blow off as a "silly waste of time" and "poor financial judgement"? Following through on this promises?
Bloomberg is certainly rich enough to waste money campaigning in places he has no chance of winning. It would show a modicum respect for voters, and give people an opportunity to ask him questions, get to know him.
Of course he's too good for that, right? Can't afford to hang around podunk towns of little people pretending to care about their problems when there are more important "investors" and "job creators" to listen to.
Why didn't he any qualms about inequality as mayor of NYC? That wasn't even on his radar. Luxury condo developers, like Trump, certainly were on his priority list and his policies benefited them the most.
1
If I were Putin, I would be flooding the Sanders campaign with money to assist in the reelection of the so-called President. Which begs the question, "Is there a real transparent accounting of where Sanders's money comes from?"
3
Why would Putin do that? Sanders is not a Russophobe, his foreign policies are pretty peaceful. Why would Putin spend the capital to re-elect Trump vs Sanders?
2
@Tony As everybody but you knows, Bernie is funded by millions of small donations, many of them from working class folks, even servers. Not one billionaire among them, unlike the donors of other candidates. Those finances get scrutinized by the FEC. No dark money to be found there, no Russian Rubles, only hard earned US dollars.
3
First of all, the Democrats took on the wrong strategy against Trump. He won saying that the establishment was against him and the Democrats, with the tarnished impeachment process acting like the DC establishment he warned against, made his claim seem true. They are doing the same thing to Sanders and it does not look like this will turn out well. Sanders is not a Democrat so it appears that he taking on the establishment. The only hope is that the Democrats can come up with a candidate that will not chase the Sanders voters away. Many think that is Warren despite her poll numbers.
2
I am not a Sanders supporter, nor will I be supporting him during the primaries. I favor Elizabeth Warren. However, that being said, I will support Bernie Sanders, or any other Democratic candidate, with my complete support. This is a time where we cannot quibble about the nuances between candidates. Once a candidate is chosen to oppose Trump, we either vote that individual into office, or say goodbye to our democratic republic public.
9
Nuances is exactly right. The difference between the Democratic candidates, which in other years might be yawning, is now mostly in style and volume, not in basic substance when compared to the GOP and President What’s His Name.
1
If Bernie Sanders is the Democrats' nominee for President then Trump is the luckiest man on the planet.
America is a business.
Sanders is anti-business.
It won't happen.
Exactly, what has Sanders actually accomplished in his lifetime?
I'd love to see a list.
5
@P&L
Bernie's most significant lifetime achievement is getting Trump elected. So there's that.
5
@P&L
America is not a business, and people need to stop thinking of it as if it is.
Businesses are all about self-interest and zero sum victories. The common good means nothing to a business. That's not how a nation works.
But you're a Republican, so you wouldn't understand.
4
He was mayor of town, the Representative and the Senator. He was re-elected several time. And he brought new ideas and new people to the Dem party.
4
Bernie will lose to Trump. He is not even a Democrat but is using the platform to get his nomination of a party that he does not belong to. Figure this out
3
What here to figure out - the political system allows only two party to compete. Sanders uses system for his ambitions. You don't like it, campaign for change of the system that members of other parties would have reasonable shot on the Presidency. Otherwise, you don't really want him to ran as a third party candidate because then Dems will never win anything.
5
@Hrao
Do you say the same about Republican Bloomberg using the Dem. platform too?~!
3
It’s up to citizens who dislike our two-party system to work for change at the STATE level. You do this by passing a law mandating ranked voting, which allows voters to choose more than one candidate for a position, in order of preference. With ranked voting people can vote their hearts without fear that they’re throwing their vote away.
2
"Any responsible political analyst could see it. And almost every responsible political analyst saw it wrong."
Statements like this are essential scams that lure voters into an inconceivable outcome of 2020 -- and that is Sander's election to the presidency.
It is not going to happen. There is no hope here and Bruni should be ashamed to try and imply that there is.
Warren would have the best chance against Trump. She is smart, can argue well, good at public speaking without shouting and is part of a constituency that is 50% of the population. She is a woman.
But facing reality, none of the candidates in these early primaries are setting things on fire on a national scale.
Best hope may be Bloomberg. Right now he has a lot of people listening to his ads. And he actually makes Trump look bad. And of course he has lots of money he is willing to spend.
Bloomberg could bring people to the polls.
My take on this is let Bloomberg run for President. And let the Democrat Party operators concentrate on taking the Senate and keeping the house.
2
I am not a Bernie partisan but I could give him and his campaign some unsolicited advice. It would be more helpful politically and more accurate if he called himself a Social Democrat rather than a Socialist. Social Democratic parties have long ruled dynamic capitalists countries since WWII like Spain, Britain, France, Germany and the Scandinavian states for extended periods. Tony Blair who is a polar opposite of Jeremy Corbin, was the head of a Labour Party when it was in power which has always been considered a Social Democratic party. To my knowledge Bernie has no plans to nationalize any existing private or public companies. Even his aspirational changes in health care cannot be done by his fiat and probably would result in a public option similar to what was originally in Obamacare . When the Trumpists poise, as they will, the question of whether you would rather live in the "capitalist' US or the failed "socialist' state of Venezuela, the answer should be whether you would rather live in Denmark or the failed crony capitalist state of Putin's Russia that with little regulation, which in many ways the US is beginning to resemble, for many reasons, more each day.
8
@Milliband Too late to change his own descriptor of democratic socialist. What he MUST do is define what he means by democratic socialist in some detail. Why ? To assure voters that he's NOT against the private ownership of things like personal property, the home, the automobile, a small to medium business. If voters believe that democratic socialism entails the public ownership of everything, Sanders is threatened with the worst beating in electoral history.
2
@Milliband
That horse has left the barn a long time ago. Democratic Socialist will be cast as Socialist and sticks like glue.
1
@Edward I am not sure. The media always gloams on to the ext new thing, If he said I am a democratic socialist but let me explain what kind of democratic socialist I am - I am a Social Democrat like many main stream political parties in Europe that have some of the highest living standards in the world, "Social Democrat" would be way up on twitter feed and on google. He needs to better define was his version of "socialism" is or Trump will define it as synonymous as to Pol Pot in Cambodia or Stalin's Russia.
2
I'm not sure that Bernie can beat Trump in 2020. I think he could have beaten him in 2016. Hillary was an awful candidate. She and her advisors totally misread the electorate:
-- the country has tired of unending wars in the Middle East and our self-assigned national role as policeman of the world. Hillary campaigned as the toughest neo-con in the room -- exactly the wrong position to adopt.
-- there was a populist spirit on both the right and the left. Hillary totally ignored this, adopting a corporatist stance and focusing upon simply telling people how awful and corrupt Trump was. She also was corrupt, including her paid-right-into-her-own-pocket speaking tour at a time she was a not-quite-yet-formally-declared candidate for president and the renege on the pledge to shutter the Clinton Foundation at the start of the campaign
-- of all the Democrats, Bernie has correctly diagnosed and simply explained the problem: gross income inequality, stagnant real wages for Americans who didn't go to college, the increasing purchase of government by corporations and the wealthy, sharply rising corporate profit as a share of GDP, and Americans dying needlessly because of the lack of healthcare. Bernie alone has explained this consistently in simple terms (Warren has too many detailed plans and ties them to an unconstitutional wealth tax)
Is Bernie right for 2020? He seems too old. I don't think that much socialism is needed to solve our problems. But who else stirs any enthusiasm?
5
@allentown : Wages aren't just stagnant for those without a college degree. They are also stagnant for those *with* a college degree who are working in the gig economy rather than for a full-time employer. We're all drowning in healthcare expenses (astronomical premiums, family deductibles of $6K to $13K), with zero job security, sick leave, vacation time, holiday pay, unemployment, worker's comp, or retirement matching funds (let alone a defined-benefits pension plan).
2
Underlying the comparisons between Trump and Sanders is a sense of embarrassment on the part of Democratic establishment figures. The embarrassment comes from recognizing in some way that the center they had appealed to for so long is no longer holding. It's especially embarrassing because they themselves never really believed in it in the first place. Like Sanders, they wanted things like universal healthcare, marriage equality and greater attention paid to environmental concerns. But they spent their whole lives--whole long careers--kicking their real aims down the road in the interest of an electability they assumed came at the cost of those aims. At some point when you do this long enough, you forget what your real aims are. Now that Sanders is surging, it's a judgment on Democratic centrist political strategy, and that's got to be bothersome.
12
After Sanders lost the Democratic nomination in 2016 he stomped off to sulk, a sore loser whose vision was blinkered by his ego. Rather than call urgently upon his base to cast aside their disappointment and go to the polls and vote for Clinton he retired to Vermont to lick his wounds. A good sport - and here he and Trump differ - would have seen the dangers posed by Trump and campaigned vigorously for Hillary. His tepid endorsement came far too late and many of his followers stayed at home, did not vote. He is too often one angry man who does not allow for much, if any, wiggle room in what he proposes. All or nothing at all. But now "anyone but Trump" applies even more so in 2020. The situation is dire. Tomorrow Trump will propose 800 billion in Medicaid cuts which does nothing to alleviate a 3 trillion deficit. A preview of more proposals which would do the same to Social Security, Medicare, education. The Democratic message needs to be unified and focussed on what has NOT been accomplished these past three and a half years for the common good. The rarified few keep laughing all the way to the bank.
2
@JT There is no evidence to support the thesis that Hillary lost because Sanders' backers stayed home--none at all. There IS evidence to suggest that Hillary lost because she had no ground game in the Midwest. This may be blamed on her or on her campaign, but the decision was made to skimp on getting out the vote in places like Detroit and Milwaukee. Campaign workers in these areas warned the higher-ups but they did not respond. If her campaign hadn't been so hubristic and taken the urban vote in the Midwest for granted, they would probably not have lost. Why blame Sanders for this, against all evidence, where there is an explanation that is corroborated by evidence?
15
@Jeremiah Crotser There's plenty of evidence to document that Sanders primary supporters voted for Trump in the key states -- MI, WI, PA -- in numbers high number to hand the election to Trump. In those three states, they also voted third party in numbers high enough to hand the election to Trump.
5
Not true. It is documented that more voters in 08 switched from supporting HRC in the primary to supporting McCain in the general than voters in 16 switched from HRC to Trump. As to the Midwest, the real issue was ignoring black voters in cities, but she could have helped herself by acknowledging how bad the economy was there. No double of that.
5
The choice is not between capitalism and socialism, it's about what kind of socialism people prefer:
Republican socialism = corporate welfare, a tax system that favors the rich and punishes W-2 wage earners, and which supports billions in subsidies to rich corporations, but resents "giveaways" like free school lunches for the children of the working poor.
Democratic socialism = medicare for all, a tax system that expects corporations and the rich to pay their fair share, and policies favoring income inequality
19
Frank — if you want to ‘get it right,’ talk about the cascading effects of the Coronavirus on the economy Trump is depending on, and their intersection with climate change catastrophes —both of which are on a trajectory to encumber a president who may have Supreme Court rulings go against him on his taxes and financial probity.
All right around June 1st — just when his supporters in Congress are finalizing their plans for re-election.
3
Sanders gets 25% of the democratic votes, but somehow pretend that 75% preferring others has no meaning because 25% happens to be more than others got.
6
For me, this analysis was spot on. I recently watched Michael Moore (who often has smart and insightful things to say) open for a Bernie rally, and his cursing and fiery language, and the crowd’s response, gave me a familiar, uneasy feeling: just like when I see a Trump rally.
Most of us who have lived on this earth for several decades, and worked/interacted with people of different backgrounds, realize changing minds is hard; and perception often trumps reality (pun intended, unfortunately).
In my 20s and early 30s, I thought change was easy: just nominate the leader with the best ideas or vision, and voila! Now I know the ability to form coalitions, think pragmatically, and build plans are equally important.
I like a lot of Bernie’s ideas, but I don’t think he can execute them. Nothing in his work experience has demonstrated that (what are his big legislative accomplishments in 30 years of public service?).
Because of this, and because his message doesn’t resonate with large constituencies outside his base, I don’t think there is any hope he can defeat Trump. This is likely why Trump and the GOP want him to be the nominee.
I think Bloomberg is our only hope. Yes, I know he’s a billionaire. But he is self made, and didn’t create the system that let him become one. His big issues are climate change, gun control, education and inequality; and he has the experience and acumen to actually get something accomplished. With his broad appeal and deep pockets, he can win.
8
The economy is strong at the moment, and it appears to be going to stay that way through the 2020 election. That being the case, Bernie’s free lunch agenda is not going to move moderate voters to rock the boat.
Trump is only going to beaten by someone who can demonstrate that they give back to America the integrity it once had. I don’t need another angry old white guy, making life better, just someone honest and trustworthy.
2
@Vin
The moderate middle is a myth. Self-described Moderates, Independents, and Undecided voters are in fact all over the ideological map. This FiveThirtyEight article explains it well: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-moderate-middle-is-a-myth/
Also, it's not free lunch. Young people pay taxes, too. We are willing to pay more taxes for a better social safety net.
10
Frank, you conflated Sanders with Trump, Sanders with the Corbyn, and the US with the UK. Argument through analogy is a weak choice to begin with and you tripled down on it. More leaks than ship; doesn't hold water.
Sanders is arguing for the US to be more like 21st century Toronto, not 1950s Moscow. That's not even a revolution.
And as a commenter rightly pointed out, health care survey responses are dependent on how you ask the question. It's framing. the Sophists have won, now it's just who plays that game better.
Please write a meta-analysis about the zeitgeist we're swimming in, not its symptoms and affectations.
14
Donald Trump is not the disease but one of the many consequences of it. The harsh reality is that our American democracy is and has always been a myth, a lie. America has always been a plutocracy rather than a democracy. Our government has always been captured by big money which has infected our constitutional democratic republic from the beginning. From The Great African Slave Trade to The Great Recession of 2008, money has always compromised our values. This reality has just become obvious to the average American in recent years due to the hard work of progressives, such as Robert Reich, Sheldon Whitehouse, Elizabeth Warren, George R. Tyler, and others.
9
"Subtract all of that and you get a winner — a winner who looks nothing like Bernie Sanders." The author conveniently omits a potentially large game changing factor in his description of the future- that the Resistance has grown new legions of leftist radicals who are as angry as Trump's sycophants ever were, and who will spur others to join them voting for Bernie's revolution.
3
It feels like 1972 again. We have a president reviled by liberals and admired by working class whites who identify with him and are receptive to his racial and culture war appeals. The economy is good though with storm clouds visible. The Democratic Party leaders, wanting to avoid accusations from the left of being undemocratic, have opened up the nominating process, and now, if history repeats itself, the left will nominate their dream candidate who will lose the general election in a landslide.
5
Being a southern liberal surrounded by conservatives and Fox News everywhere I go, I agree that Bernie will win the Dem nomination but lose to Trump. We Dems like Mayor Pete but fear he's too young and inexperienced to the point where Trump would chew him up & spit him out in the debates. The rest of the Dem field is weak although I think Klobuchar would make a good VP running mate for the Dem winner. But historically many presidential wannabes simply miss their chance at the Oval Office for a plethora of reasons and I think the Clinton machine cheated Bernie out of his chance 4 years ago before Trump and the GOP (with Putin's help) cheated Hillary out of her chance. Medicare For All and free tuition sound great but most voters don't want to pay for their neighbors' surgeries nor their kids' college thru higher taxes. I think Bloomberg would be a solid president but his strategy to skip the first 25-30% of the primaries will come back to haunt him because many voters will feel he doesn't deserve it since he didn't start from scratch. So let's brace ourselves for 4 more years of Trump and God help us.
3
Proving once again, that this has nothing to do with what Trump really believes, I personally think this is all about power and Trump is a hollow vessel. To gain it and retain it, he will make promises to assorted groups of disenfranchised people to retain it. The Country doesn't matter, but what this does for his business, his legacy is all important. Because he has gone hard right, he can use Sanders as a punching dummy. Democrats who are voting for him will do it for the sake of what they like about Sanders ideas, but it is not a defensive vote and that's what we need. Essentially with Trump this is the machinations of a madman in a giant reality show. Truly frightening.
1
Very unfair. Quit slandering Sanders. And quit comparing him to Corbyn. Bernie’s message is resonating now more than ever. And what you and your centrist/Republican-lite cohorts most fear of that he can actually win. Our movement is growing and there’s nothing you can do about it. We will defeat DJT on November 3 , 2020 with or without you.
12
The Establishment, the moderates, the center have aided and enabled the American Dream to die.
America has obscene, colossal and growing inequality of opportunity, income and wealth.
The richest .1 percent take in more than 196 times the bottom 90 percent.
https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/
Time for Change!
A Future To Believe In!
President Bernie Sanders!
Had the 2016 election not been rigged against Sanders he would have beaten Trump.
The Iowa Democratic Party, with the Democratic elites' vote counting app, indicates the DNC/Democratic elite will do their best to rig the primary against Sanders again.
The Democratic Establishment and its media seem very comfortable and willing to live with a dead American Dream, and America having the highest rate of incarceration in the world and obscene inequality of opportunity and justice.
8
You know, Lucy, shouting slogans and numbers we’ve all heard a zillion times don’t exactly impress nobody much.
1
These guys are similar in another way: Trump has accomplished almost nothing through the Congress, and Bernie in 30 years also has only a small portfolio of bills to his name.
Big egos and top down “wave that magic wand.” Oh, but Trump has managed to “charm” lots of bankers into giving him millions because the current system is into him for so many millions already. So, why not give him more millions to throw into projects. (Cuz that’s how they think.) Republican Senators have also seen the handwriting on the wall that would have threatened their jobs if they had opposed Trump.
And you can bet your last dollar that Bernie won’t recommend a “wealth tax” like Warren is asking for, which is more reasonable and more adoptable than simply continuing the nonsense of taxing only salaried or interest income which is most painful to the middle class.
But too many voters are wowed by that “masculine thing” and the idea of radicalness both Progressive (Bernie) and Regressive (Trump.) You pick your personality and takes yer chances: both are blowhards but Trump thinks only for his own advantage and Bernie thinks mostly of what we quaintly used to call “the general welfare.”
Bernie Sanders is very old, has a heart condition, grouchy and humorless in temperament, and also has never been a Democrat, until now. Not the optimal attributes to successfully take on a sitting president, even a reprehensible one in Donald Trump.
1
Who is not only old but obese, unhealthy looking, immoral, stupid, cheating and ugly.
Bernie 2020. Despite the 1 percenters and their paper The NY Times!
4
Enough Bernie primary voters in 2016 voted for Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to give Trump a victory in those states. Thus, it is probably accurate to say that Bernie would have beat Trump in 2016 but the DNC and the NYTimes refused to acknowledge what was obvious to so many people well before Election Day—that people wanted real change not more of the same and HRC was exactly the wrong candidate to run against rump. Unfortunately it seems they still fail to acknowledge this and I imagine it is because they are so afraid of ny changes to the status quo because the status quo has been very good to them.
9
Sanders’ biggest challenge right now is to defend himself from attacks, not by the right-wing that will supposedly crush him for his socialism, but by so-called liberal columnists who fear that he threatens the status quo that they benefit from. These pundits consistently point to the disaster that will occur if Sanders is the Democratic candidate. In fact they are leading the charge they say people are supposed to fear.
12
Thank you for your false equivalency between Sanders and Trump. Sanders is highlighting and reminding us of the current state of capitalism which moderate Democrats including Frank Bruni is most relevant reason of election of Trump. The unregulated capitalism has lead to massive and obscene income inequality, free trade that only the wealthy and elites have benefited from, opioid crisis which have alienated and pushed white Americans to bosom of the Republican Party and Trump. The moderate democrats have not helped the causes of health care, criminal justice reforms, and voter suppression.
I am social democrat who believe in liberal democracy and not any other system and I wish Sanders and lesser extent Warren while fighting to their programs state that the current state of politics in USA will require unity among the Democrats and other progressive, gradual approach to solve many problem such as health care and immigration and income inequality. But to equate Sanders with Trump is absurd and does not help the most important objective of the 2020 election is to defeat Trump.
7
From all the hand wringing over Bernie, I guess the US should never join the community of rich, industrialized nations providing universal health care for all.
We should never give up the thoroughly inculcated belief that socialism is identical to Stalinism, Venezuela and all the bugaboos of totalitarianism, while capitalism is Christianity and democracy and all things shiny and good.
Our poor should suck it up and remain so. We shouldn't provide free college for all so they could get out of poverty. We like the status quo where we know what to expect. And people stay in their lanes.
Getting gouged and uncovered by private insurance is fine, because at least we know this devil and we just can't wrap our heads around a universal healthcare system.
Imagine being able to quit a terrible job without fear of losing coverage. Imagine businesses slipping the expense of providing expensive but inadequate private insurance to employees.
But socialism is spooky. The idea that everybody would have a level playing field is spooky. Bernie is scary.
I'm not a Bernie fan for other reasons, but his socialism is not one of them.
10
I advise your readers to Google Shadow, Inc., the app that was used in Iowa. The Clintons' hands are all over it. Remember Hillary's diatribe against Sanders two weeks ago when she stated nobody likes him. Remember the 2016 election, and what the Democratc National Committee did to Saunders? Those are the answers to the Iowa Caucus debacle in my opinion.
8
Nowhere else in the developed world are his moderately social-democratic ideas considered extreme. And every day there is a fresh batch of anti-Sanders op-eds in the Times, WaPo, and WSJ.
Every torpedo further emboldens him and his supporters, and alienates them from mainstream. And the same journalistic voices that punch down to his supporters are the same ones calling for unity. You’re naive, they say. Stupid. Too extreme. Calm down, they say. But UNITY!
And then if things go wrong in November, they will claim that the blood is on the Bernie Bros’ hands.
10
The Democrats will lose if they keep showing fear. Everyone, yes everyone, agrees that turnout among Democrats will be the key, and the Democratic voters will tell us whom they will come out for in November by showing how they vote in the primaries. This Democratic hysteria that oh my, voters may all have health care, free college, and relief from student loans is ridiculous.
They are not selling their health care plan very well because they are not comparing future projections based on our current system with what we will spend a universal plan plan, leaving others the opening to criticize the cost of the universal plan they will propose. Without the comparison the figures are meaningless and Democratic candidates are not providing the comparison.
2
Time to stop agonizing about how Trump will be so tough to beat in November. If you look at the details of the two most recent polls rating approval vs. disapproval of Trump, both of them show registered independents at least two to one disapproval percentages (roughly 60:30 in each, with about 10% not having an opinion).
This is significant in that, in every Presidential election in which party id has been recorded, the incumbent running for re-election has won had the approval of the independents (and those who call themselves ideological independents as well).
Unless Trump does something positive that boosts his approval ratings among independents he will lose in November, no matter who opposes him.
7
The question should be, what is best for our country? The answer should be the thing everyone gets behind and for which everyone pushes.
Are we brave enough to embrace the kind of change this country needs to emerge from this darkness, and to forge a sustainable future that does not include a few of us turning our backs on most of us dying?
Is the NYTimes, its opinion writers, its editors capable of confronting the fact that even though it is the paper of note, and even though they are the selected few, the facts remain that there are real problems in this country, that the "economy" is not booming or even recovered for most americans, that many live in emptiness and despair, that the democrats and republicans have long ago been bought and sold, and real change is needed to fix what is broken?
Are there enough in the current elite who have the guts to see the need for change even if it undermines the system that has given them, the few, so much? Are there enough to do the right thing?
Please.
12
All the democratic candidates are worthy people , have good policy ideas and in many cases have throughly thought out platform positions. In fact, they don't differ a lot from each other except in personality, branding and approach.
It seems to me all the candidates should meet together, create a union among themselves and campaign as a unit for a common goal, which is to defeat Trump. I dont believe it is a time for politics as usual which keep the democrats fighting among themselves and vying for attention. Lets work together for the common good.
Let Bernie go out and harangue the status quo. Let Elizabeth Warren develop policy positions and present them as she does so well. Let Joe go out and talk as the friendly Uncle who has a grasp on how things have worked in the past. Let Michael Bloomberg be the successful business guy with far more assets than the con man in chief. A bundle of sticks has for more strength than each single stick on its own!
8
@Mata Mandir Khalsa This is not a parliamentary party country. Five people don't run; and can't--one wins, and it sorts itself out., There happens to be more reason to unite behind the winner--later--than ever, and fr the overwhelming percentage of people who know there must be a change already understand that..
Although I voted for Sanders (California vote by mail here), I admit I am puzzled by some of his contradictions. He has rightly identified free trade agreements as being for the benefit of global corporations not workers, yet, he seems to think unfettered immigration isn't a problem. Unfettered immigration lowers wages too. He wants free college, but doesn't say much about the inflated tuitions, the overpaid administrators, the sports stadiums and the watered-down curricula. Why would taxpayers pay for bogus educations? He wants healthcare of all, which is great, but doesn't address the doctor shortage and isn't specific about how he would address the obesity epidemic--I'm shocked that with all the villains he's attacked, he has not attacked the food and beverage industries that are killing Americans.
9
I love him but chose Warren for these reasons after much agonizing. But, don’t we need a candidate with an army to combat Trump’s? Bernie would be as relentless as President as he is a candidate advocating for progressive issues across the board. He’s a battering ram with an army who will not waver. That is enormously appealing to me.
4
Let's put the McGovern analogy to rest. Only half of Boomers were eligible to vote in 1972. And nobody is going to win or lose 49 states in 2020. The U.S. is too politically polarized today.
In 2020, Gen X + Millennials + Gen Z = over 60% of eligible voters. Gen X + Millennials + Gen Z already cast more votes than Boomers + Silents in both 2016 and 2018. They will do so again in 2020, by an even larger margin.
12
@Zep: And don't forget that later-born Boomers tend to be more in line politically with Gen Xers and Millennials. We were the first ones to be crushed by older Boomers, as they already had all of the jobs and controlled most of the wealth by the time we entered the job market. We grew up in an age when we were told we would be better off than our parents, no matter what we chose to do. But we graduated into the first era of cutbacks. We saw the elimination of pensions, the introduction of 401Ks, and the decimation of unions and publically funded arts and schools. We were the first to see corporations turn their backs on employees and engage in mass layoffs. There have been seven recessions in my working life, and every single one has left us worse off than we were before. We are the first ones to be far worse off than our parents. We are facing old age unable to retire, and having to compete in a working world that heavily favors the young and discriminates against the old. On top of that, the Trump administration is threatening cuts to Social Security and Medicare to pay for more tax cuts for their wealthy donors. We have paid into both systems all of our lives and are now being told that they won't be there for us. I am ready to vote for democratic socialism all the way.
11
@Allison
Well said, thank you! There are a lot of progressive Boomers out there. Together we will win in 2020.
7
@Zep true, but where do they live? They will overwhelmingly vote democrat but they also overwhelmingly live in urban areas. Our electoral college system gives extra power to rural and red states. This is actually by design to protect those states from more populous states but it also has a downside: Trump. If it were simply by popular vote Hilary would have won. I'm hopeful but very nervous.
1
Bernie Sanders shouldn't be president because he's a very old man. It's that simple.
The founding fathers wisely set the minimum age for being president at 35. They never stipulated a maximum age because there was no need: infectious disease took care of that. For most of American history, the oldest president ever was William Henry Harrison (1841-1841), who gave an overly long inaugural address in the rain and died of pneumonia a month later at the ripe old age of 68.
Today, Harrison would be one of the younger presidential candidates.
Airline pilots must retire at 60, and maybe that should be the limit for incoming presidents: a candidate who turned 60 on inauguration day and served two terms would leave office the same age as President Harrison, an obscure coincidence history buffs might find satisfying.
It's true that such a mandate would eliminate Elizabeth Warren, whom many believe would be a fine president. But I'm sure there are former pilots in their 70s who are perfectly capable of flying too. I just don't want to be on that plane.
2
So. he chooses a worthy VP. Case closed. Are you actually old enough to comment on age?
1
@Kevin
I'm 60. You'll notice that I've disqualified myself, too, assuming I had any political acumen.
Well, Frank, at least you haven't had a total meltdown like Chris Matthews the other night, regarding Bernie. There's too much terror about Bernie. Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid, and the Interstate Highway System are all "socialist" phenomena. Medicare for All might seem too extreme, but, Bernie's right that it's part and parcel of every other Western democracy. One shouldn't be afraid of losing one's private health insurance if a Medicare plan could simply replace it, fully.
13
Most Americans, regardless of party, want stronger social safetynets like a realistic COLAs for Social Security, health care as a right and the corrupting influence money out of politics.
Bernie and Liz United are the only hope of making that our future.
17
We need an insurance policy in case we end up with four more years, and that policy is the US Senate. Two names - Breyer and Ginsburg. Two numbers - 81 and 86 years of age. A scenario where Trump appoints two more justices should be enough to frighten anyone. Yes, the Democratic nominee is important, but we may be missing the real prize.
12
@David
Absolutely on target! The real folly of Obama was losing the Senate, House, Governorships, legislatures, etc... in such a massive undemocratic scale. Whatever the excuse, what his team did was abominable. Chuck Schumer has been a failure. He seems like a very nice guy, but leadership requires going to N Dakota to campaign for Heitkamp, to Missouri for Macaskill, even if the pollsters say it is a bad idea. You go there and look people in the eye and say, I am here as an American, New York is not a foreign country, I want to ask you to re-elect Heidi and Claire (and others) because we need them in the Senate to do the people's business, and do it well, for the people.
When leaders sit on their hands like chickens, the voters think they are hiding something. Democrats need to fire their pollsters and do the hard work of campaigning everywhere and not expecting a guaranteed vote and focussing only on that.
Getting the House back was Pelosi's work. Schumer and co need to work to get the Senate back, defeating not just the weak candidates but also McConnell. Send a message generations from the next century can see, "American voters will not reward cheaters!" Where possible we should have propositions Condemning and Censuring Republican Senators for their cowardly and unpatriotic votes on impeachment. There is no recall option, but a referendum will send a message. Encourage Republican moderates to write-in Romney. Fight like this country and constitution matters!
3
I’ll pick the alter ego to Trump any day of the week and so will the majority of grounded and thoughtful voters in 2020.
8
@Neil What portion of voters are grounded and thoughtful?
2
All these pieces are written as if half a million Americans don't go into medical bankruptcy every year. As if the earth isn't being fried by fossil fuel companies, which use their political power to stymie a technologically feasible green energy revolution. As if costs of healthcare, housing, and education aren't galloping away from wage growth.
It seems to be the same across the Americas, with the well off fully reactionary against even the slightest forms of social democracy. Even when the evidence shows it's both popular and cheaper to consolidate health insurance costs, and tackle the climate crisis. Bernie is the only candidate looking to do both in a meaningful way. His main barriers are entrenched interests that go a long way toward shaping public opinion & imagination.
Many younger people see through this, but if your news only comes from cable and mainstream outlets, it may indeed seem outlandish that we can improve society for everyone. Clearly, our system is collapsing around us. Bernie 2020
25
Yeah, sure, except that half-million number isn’t true—which is why the “Post,” gave your claim three Pinocchios, calling it, “a classic case of twisting a scientific study,” for political ends.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/28/sanderss-flawed-statistic-medical-bankruptcies-year/
It’s this sort of twisting, and the absolute refusal to even glance at certain hard realities about what Americans will actually vote for, that worries me about Sanders.
Be nice if you’d stop the silly name-calling, too.
1
@Robert hardly "Three Pinocchios". The article doesn't say what you claim and the Post's methodology was to only count bankruptcies caused by hospitalization. Which will way under count. Both the New York Times and Washington Post are doing all they can to discredit Sanders in any way possible. It's rather obvious. I'm not voting for Sanders in the primary but even I can see it.
3
@Robert
Bankruptcies stemming solely from medical costs are difficult to determine statistically due to all kinds of factors entering into the equation. There are plenty of studies showing far higher rates of medically induced bankruptcies per year than TedB provided. (see Kaiser Family Foundation study of over a million in 2015). But this all misses the point. Even one is too many and entirely unnecessary.
There is no telling what Americans will vote for. Past is not prologue, and the bar needs to be moved or we will continue to slide backwards as we have been doing for the past two generations. The strategy of "triangulation" forced onto the Democratic Party by moderates has only served to drive the party further and further to the right.
Not sure what you're referring to about "the silly name calling", didn't see any of that.
1
what this voter learned from Iowa is that it would be a grave mistake to turn the country over to a party that is unable to count its own votes. pretty simple.
4
Those who say Bernie can't beat Trump are using the same crystal ball they used to predict the 2016 election.
15
@Claude Those who say he can are using the same crystal ball they used to predict the 1972 election.
@walkman
Only half of Boomers were even eligible to vote in 1972. Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z make up the majority of voters today. It's not just teenagers supporting Bernie.
4
“Sanders supporters are not real Democrats.”
Well, you know, we are not.
Would you rather have us back candidates like Sanders or AOC outside the party, or inside?
You know what they say about keeping your friends close, and your (perceived) enemies closer.
10
@unreceivedogma well said.
Is it just me or Pete Buttigieg reminds me of the Mad Magazine kid with better teeth!
8
@Ronan is coming for you sorry wrong analogy. We love Adam Schiff. He systematically revealed and exposed the lawlessness that inhabits Trump administration.
You are so right :-)
Genuine question: Why has Elizabeth Warren support fallen? Wouldn't people who like Bernie Sanders but worry about him getting smeared in the general election (and Bernie supporters if he starts to lose momentum, for that matter) back her enthusiastically?
4
Her decline coincided with the coordinated smear orchestrated by Jess McIntosh and Abby Phillip during the CNN debate that she went along with when Bernie was accused live on tv of being a chauvinist and a liar when he denied saying that a woman can’t win the presidency.
Bernie’s record of support for women is well documented, easily googled, going back to the 1988 video of him talking to grade school girls about growing up to be president.
I’m sure many progressives saw this as dishonesty on her part, and her authenticity took a hit.
My wife and I had donated to Warren’s and Sanders’s campaigns equally until that point, when we shifted to Warren and Yang.
5
Correction:
SANDERS and Yang.
2
@CLP I know! We love both Bernie and Liz, heartily.
1
It is not unusual when individuals that are extreme leftists become, at sometime in their lives, extreme rightists or vice versa. Trump and Sanders (and their supporters) have more in common than they wish to believe. Hopefully, neither one of them is sworn in next January.
5
It's disappointing to see Frank Bruni perpetuating the myth that Dems did so well in 2018 due to moderates. The truth is, voter turnout surged among Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, and those generations supported Dems at much higher rates than their elders.
In 2018, Millennials DOUBLED their turnout rate, and they voted for Democrats over Republicans by a ratio of 2.14 : 1. (As opposed to Boomers, who only favored Dems 1.07 : 1.)
Sources:
- https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/29/gen-z-millennials-and-gen-x-outvoted-older-generations-in-2018-midterms/
- https://www.people-press.org/2018/03/01/1-generations-party-identification-midterm-voting-preferences-views-of-trump/
9
Sanders didn't increase the turnout this time nor the last time. He's back in 1960s with his approach of a rising up in the streets. For all the marches, etc., the war in Vietnam didn't end until 1975 and Nixon won in 1968 and 1972. Winning against Trump will take going door to door, constantly pointing out his lies on social media and going to those social media sites favored by his supporters and trying at least to tell them the truth. Yes, we will be attacked by them. So what! We can't be like the Republicans in the Senate who quake in fear that he might give them a demeaning soubriquet.
3
Correction: SANDERS and Yang
@jabenda2
Nothing about Trump has been a secret for the past 4 years. Everyone knows who he is. Continuing to call him out will not move the needle because you're never going to convince his staunch supporters to vote for any Democrat. They're locked in.
The moderates want to attack Trump as their campaign strategy, without offering voters anything of substance to get them out to vote. That's a loser if there ever was one.
Change does come from the bottom up, not from Washington insiders, who are benefiting from the status quo and have no motivation to change things. That's what the revolution is about. It's not about pitchforks and torches, but about real change that makes life better for everyone and not just for the chosen few. That gets votes.
2
Trump gets his way because the Senate is behind him. Any democrat will be a toothless tiger as President if the Senate master continues to be McConnell.
6
This piece is a false equivalency that focuses on form over substance. While Sanders and Trump may both be outside of the Centrist lanes of their parties, that’s about as far as the comparison holds up. Trump persecutes political enemies, Sanders listens to them. Trump belittles, bullies, and berates. Sanders builds up, is tolerant of, and supports others. Trump is illiberal, has profited handsomely off the presidency, and is and a threat to the rule of law. By all means, Bernie is at the very least a law abiding citizen who’s served the communities he represents without immense personal gain.
Once you go beyond the cheap headline, it’s clear this just doesn’t add up!
15
To some degree, I agree with Mr. Bruni's assessment; however, when one fights fire with fire, one risks having nothing left but charred ruins.
3
"You see it in Mike Bloomberg’s merciless trolling of Trump with commercials that make him look fat and unhinged..."
Just telling it like it is.
12
As long as one looks through the lens of yesterday he or she will not see what is happening today.
Frank, you and several of your co-journalists, Krugman for example, are not registering what has and is happening in the consciousness of most individuals below 40 and a significant number of those who are over 40. They see that the the never have worked solutions of halfway moderation are simply stupid. The system as it stands is an utter failure. It has produced an insane person as the President, massed the Public's wealth in the hands of a few thousand billion and millionaires, and literally purchased our Democracy, the proof of which is the acquittal of the criminal who occupies our White House. This insane person is an exact image, a product actually, of halfway measures.
And you Frank do not need to join him in spewing their favorite poisons, fear and hate.
9
If ANY other candidate had the donation numbers and supporter passion that Bernie does there there would be calling for everyone else to drop out and embrace reality.
Sanders support is unprecedented and historic.
Media, money and the revenge powers this resistance.
Media, money and revenge will hand Trumo another win if this persists.
10
I'm a Democrat but I will vote for Trump a thousand times before I vote for a Socialist.
2
Why?
8
So you would never vote for FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy, or LBJ? Every one of them pushed “socialism”.
18
Then you’re really not a Democrat.
Fight Truth Decay, Vote Democrat on Election Day!
Sanders 2020
10
The people saying medicare for all costs 34 trillion dont tell you that healthcare inflation runs at 5.5 % annually. If you stay with the for profit system it will cost 50 trillion in ten years. Funny they never tell you that part.
21
I am voting on Tuesday here in New Hampshire. Bernie can fire up a crowd, and it makes good TV. But in all his years in the Senate, has he managed to get enough Democrats to vote for Medicare for all? No he has not. I fear he was a spoiler for Clinton in 2016 as the Bernie Bros did not come out to vote. His supporters need to learn the lessons of history, and should look at the 1972, 1992 and 1860 elections in particular.
After a lot of thought, town halls and reading, I am voting for Klobuchar, the most underestimated candidate in the field. She is practical, smart and will get the job done.
12
If she could not convince the Dems to nominate her, how will she persuade the Senate to work with her?
if Bernie is seen as too radical by voters, it will be because the Democrats vigorously labeled him as such. In Europe, Bernie would be a centrist candidate. His ideas are far from radical
23
@Jamie Bernie’s ideas can reasonably be considered radical compared to this country’s current and historical political status quo. Bernie’s status as a centrist candidate in Europe is essentially irrelevant: the election takes place in the United States.
It is relevant because we can always to see how Bernie's ideas working in the real life.
If you were to compare the Bernie campaign 2020 to Trump campaign 2019, than Bernie's campaign has a disadvantage that Trump's campaign did not. 4 years. Money.
Bernie wants to raise taxes to bring about true structural reform. Trump promised to cut taxes and bring about structural change. He did and is. I will vote for Bernie because Trump is more than dangerous to our country, he is actively dangerous to our country. I would rather have a man who wants betterment for all than a man who wants betterment for a few.
10
For all the insanity the Democratic Party is putting itself through right now, it doesn't even have a final candidate yet. When it does, unless that candidate is Biden (Or, God help us, Hillary again through a brokered convention.), I see a Democratic victory in the fall.
Trump's record quite frankly stinks. He's broken tons more promises than he has kept, and has made us the laughingstock of the world in moments that have been captured on video, such as when other world leaders audibly laughed at him when he lied at the United Nations.
Bloomberg grinds Trump into dust, and that's all I care about at the moment. Bloomberg will have my vote in the California primary.
5
@Vesuviano He completely flopped on his two biggest promises: repeal and replace ACA with something better; big infrastructure program. Despite control of both houses of Congress in his first two years. An unprecedented failure -- don't remember a President who failed to deliver on a single major promise.
4
@MKR
I am in complete accord. Running against Trump is a campaign-manager's dream.
2
The Democratic Primaries are a shambles .Only one candidate has what it takes to beat Trump and that is Bloomberg.Forget about the fact he is rich and remember he delivers.
5
@cwt This year does not look any different from 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2008, 2016. Agree that Bloomberg would be a strong candidate.
1
No one is in love with their insurance company but something is better than staring into the abyss.
3
@I Am R.
What abyss? The systems are already in place. They just need to be expanded to cover everyone. It does require money, but a lot less money than we're currently flushing down the toilet with for-profit insurance corporations.
8
"The reasons for his success include his similarities to Trump, but don’t get me wrong..." and then Mr. Bruni begs you to do just that.
I've tried to understand just what it is about Bernie Sanders that gives the heebie-jeebies to a broad spectrum of journalists. Four years ago, back when $15 an hour and Medicare-for-All were knee-slappers, the NYTimes had them bad. I can understand Anderson Cooper, probably the richest newsman that ever lived being unable to pronounce "tax the rich," and a whole lot more of the Evening News anchors struggling as well.
But I've decided that it's probably more a matter of pride. How could so many talented and wonderful people on this side of the mirror keep missing the story for forty years. Mr. Bruni concludes by noting that Hillary was a "center-left nominee."
No, Mr. Bruni, she was not. She was a right-wing authoritarian and a ruthless bribery professional. Her pay-to-play Clinton Foundation scheme was shaking $150 million dollars out of the envelopes in 2016. "Prove it!" she cackled from the debate stage. In 2017, Form 990 shows the Foundation's income plummet to $23 million.
Mr. Bruni didn't cover that story very well, either.
10
Don't forger that Bernie deserves much of the blame for Trump's election, because of his late and lukewarm support for Hillary.
4
@Dan 100% false statement. Seriously.
8
@Dan Since he was only a Democrat for the short time it took for Democrats to reject him, I had no expectations that he would support Hillary.
I heard him speak at a conference in 2014, and he started out by shouting "I am not a Democrat! I am a socialist!" His whole speech was mostly against the Democrats. And, since he decided he should be president, he has again borrowed the party and wants Democrats to support him and take him seriously. If he thinks that temporarily joining the Democratic Party to again run makes him more credible, he has another thought coming.
3
@Dan
It didn't matter that so many Hillary supporters voted for McCain in 2008, because Obama was a strong candidate with a message. He won despite that.
Hillary Clinton ran against the most distasteful candidate in modern times and it should have been a slam dunk. It shouldn't have even been close enough to have been affected by Sanders or Comey or Stein whatever scapegoat you want to throw in the mix. She blew it all by herself.
Clinton supporters have no leg to stand on. All the while they're crying about Bernie not helping enough in 2016, Hillary and her supporters are actively trying their best to take him down in 2020, with no concern about what damage they might do if he's the eventual nominee.
Hypocrisy at its finest.
1
It’s quite stunning to see some pundits from the mainstream or left leaning media, who insisted that it was the Democrats constitutional obligation to undertake impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, now claim that this was a really stupid move. They’re right now but were grossly wrong in 2019.
I remember their arguments ‘the American people are going to learn the truth about Donald Trump’s attempt to rig the 2020 election and will turn to the Democrats’. Problem is, there now is a powerful and influential conservative media infrastructure that makes sure that the truth never emerges for those who get their news from it. So while absolutely no positive evidence for Trump ever came out during the impeachment proceedings, Trump’s approval ratings have gone up! So much for moving the needle.
It's time for the Democrats to realize that the last thing you want to do is make the election about Trump. It won’t work, full stop. People know what kind of flawed person he is, but no one cares.
There’s only one recipe for victory: choose a candidate who has as little baggage as possible. Then take a lesson from 2018 and just focus on issues that voters really care about. 1) Health care 2) Education and 3) Income inequality. These are the only things that will move persuadable voters. Don't ever mention Trump's name.
For Joe Biden, his son Hunter has pretty much destroyed his chances of winning. And Bernie Sanders is the American version of Jeremy Corbyn.
5
The country needs big change and Bernie is the man with the plan, medicare for all would eventually bring all costs down, and incentivize doctor’s to keep people healthy! We are a fat unhealthy society because of corporations cheap fast food! He will prioritize a green economy, stop government welfare to the oil & gas industries, make corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, prioritize infrastructure, get rid of the inhumanity at the southern border, keep a woman's right to choose, we fought year’s to achieve! Religion needs to stay in the churches, not in politics..see how that prosperity gospel works without the government & corporate funding! and the list goes on and on.. Bernie is the best to go up against Trump, he would argue circles around him for the most of us!! We need change or we are doomed! You are wrong!
7
Oh, Trump is going to be defeated by logical argument, is he? It hasn’t worked so far.
The NYT is at it again, trying to tar and feather Bernie Sanders and ride him out of town on a rail.
This opinion piece twists the truth.
This presidential election has become a war for the soul of the Democratic Party.
If you look at the demographics of the voters who did turn out in Iowa, the youth vote was up by about 33%. Thus the turnout for Sanders was good, and especially considering the particular demographics of Iowa (91 % white).
Sanders is likely to do even better in states with more people of color and a younger population. If he gets the turn out of the youth vote that he did in Iowa, in the general election, he will beat Trump. If you look at the funny math by which the winner is calculated in Iowa, Sander's likelihood of winning a general election go even higher.
What does Sanders propose, which has generated all the abuse from the NYT? He wants the same systems which exist all over western Europe, a state run healthcare system, and free college education at state run universities. His health care proposal will cost less than the current system, as it will cut out insurance company profit, and the fleets of billing clerks which are necessary under Obamacare. Sanders intends to pull the teeth of the pharmaceutical companies which have resulted in US drug costs 5X to 10X Canada's.
Sanders does not believe that the young should have to go tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars in debt in order to acquire a college education..
14
Populists may be driven solely by their narcissism (Trump), or they have policy agendas driven by the essentially narcissistic belief that They are the one to deliver it (Bernie). Narcissism is necessarily bad? Get over it or forget politics.
Mr. Bruni’s piece hits the question squarely, but pay attention to its last paragraph, the Trump surprise in 2016. A left President is needed who, once elected, will be out every weekend not golfing but holding rallies (FDR’s fireside chats) around the country booming the critical policy issues which NYT readers know so well. Nothing else will do today.
Only question about Bernie: can his health hold up for such a 4-year campaign?
2
Sadly, the electoral college, the rigged system and the all-powerful media will re-elect Trump. Trump is the headliner darling driving unprecedented ad revenue. It’s not about the country, it’s about filling the coffers and lining the pockets of the well-connected. It doesn’t help that 40-50% of eligible voters don’t bother to vote because they’re disgusted, distracted, lazy, naive or just don’t care anymore.
1
"A few members of the Democratic National Committee have already discussed rule changes meant to thwart [Sanders] ... " (NYTimes, 7Feb2020)
Mr. Trump is a disgrace, pure and simple. His acquittal was the direct result of Republicans in Congress driven by cynical careerism, nothing else. As an Independent, I'm concerned that the Democrats' infighting is not productive. Here in Texas (38 electoral votes vs. Iowa's six), we are hearing from Mr. Bloomberg via a lot of TV and newspaper ads. I agree with his policies, including expansion of Obamacare, and especially the primary goal of removing Mr. Trump. And (substantially) supporting the Democratic candidate whoever it is.
3
Any comparison of Sanders to Trump is absurd on its face: Trump is an ignorant, corrupt, liar, totally unconcerned with what happens to this country. No one of those things is true of Sanders. Nor is the comparison to Corbyn accurate. Both Sanders and Corbyn were formed ideologically more than 40 years ago. But Corbyn is still a narrow Marxist whose critique of Israel--totally unlike Sanders'--is indeed tinged with a mild, unconsidered anti-Semitism. Sanders is, as he acknowledges, a democratic socialist: Scandinavia, much of Europe, that sort of thing. As for "turnout" that remains to be seen: you can't get working people easily to caucuses in Iowa. New Hampshire, and, particularly, Nevada and South Carolina will begin to tells us a little more.
2
@akrupat bernie has never said he is a "democratic socialist." he has said that he is not a Democrat, he is a socialist. I heard him shout it out in 2014.
2
Vote blue for you-know-who!
That would be the final survivor of whatever this process is.
The knaves are out.
2
"... Democrats, desperate to defeat Trump, wrestle with the wisdom or folly of giving Sanders that assignment"
The NYT and all of its writers seem to overlook the fact that it is Democrats who are choosing Bernie Sanders. What they really mean is that the privileged few who are controlling the Democratic party are concerned about Sanders, presumably because they fear that they will lose control of the party and have to retire.
6
@Alan White The "privileged" few were elected by the majority of Democrats to support Democrats not short-term interlopers.
1
Steve Bannon was on Real Time recently and man was he going after Mike Bloomberg. It was amusing watching his schtick calling Bloomberg an oligarch with all his feigned indignation. Was it for the benefit to rile up the Bernie Bros? Or is it Bloomberg that the Trumplicans are most afraid of?
6
So weary of the tired old twin canards that I keep seeing in these pages: Sanders is just like Corbyn! Sanders supporters are mean, incalcitrant radicals who aren't REAL Democrats! Why are there no Op-eds about Buttigieg and his murky background as a McKinseyite? Here's a link: https://inthesetimes.com/article/21945/pete-buttigieg-McKinsey-consulting-firm-2020-election-elitism. One of many. Also, why no big concerns about where Pete's big money donors are coming from and what they hope to gain from supporting him? I, for one, am becoming increasingly alarmed. Maybe Pete is immune from scrutiny because any negative coverage may be interpreted by some as gay-bashing--is that it? You never seem to have a problem with ageism.
6
The DNC is terrified of Bernie winning the nomination.
The main stream media is going to do what they can to thwart his nomination. They won't stop me from voting for him in the CA primary.
5
The DNC will block Bernie again. And what will you Bernie supporters do about it? Vote for Trump? We dare you. You don't have the nerve!
Trump's "alter ego"? A narcissist's ego is too large for a counterpart.
Witness Sanders' campaign slogan "Not Me, Us".
Trump's entire ethos (if you can call it that) is personal gain and power. His campaign rode in on a wave of free-floating rage and mean-spiritedness.
Sanders' campaign is humanisitic, based on decency among people and inclusiveness. NB: the diversity of his supporters.
He's essentially an FDR Democrat, apparently now anathema to the party establishment.
Sanders won the popular vote in Iowa. The already Byzantine caucus process was made even more complicated-- one reason people stayed home. They've had enough of this undemocratic form of election.
So, tell the truth and call it a tie. And remember that Iowa is a predominantly white, older, Christian state. When the preacher stands for the nice,young, Christian boy the undecided congregation follow. I was there. I saw it.
The Corbyn analogy is as tepid as Corbyn was as a leader.
This media and establishment pearl clutching over Sanders' political movement in our grossly inequitable system would be hilarious if it were not so determined to damage a campaign based on democratic values.
8
My son lives in Norway, one of the Social Democracies that Bernie so admires. The taxation rate there is 40-45% of GDP compared to 26% in the United States. My son enjoys excellent healthcare, but when I visit him, we pay a 25% tax on dining out and even groceries are taxed. It's a great country with all the social programs that Bernie wants. I just don't think Americans are ready for to accept the true cost. I prefer a more moderate, incremental approach that will build a consensus among Americans as to our shared responsibilities for health care, education and other social benefits. I prefer a candidate who is reasonable, realistic, willing to compromise, and willing to work with both parties.
6
@Kris so you don’t mind paying for the rich people here in the US?
Amazon: “The company's newest corporate filing reveals that, far from paying the statutory 21 percent income tax rate on its U.S. income in 2018, Amazon reported a federal income tax rebate of $129 million.Feb 13, 2019“.
7
@Kris
Norway isn't a country with trillion dollar corporations who are perfectly able to pay into the system. Or hundreds of billionaires who keep getting tax breaks.
The wealthiest country in the world can easily pay for the things it needs to make its citizen's lives better. It chooses not to. It's a matter of priorities.
3
There was so much preamble and foreplay leading up the caucus that to have it explode like that was very disappointing for some of us.
2
Trump has no "theories". His extremely limited attention span (less than five minutes) precludes that, and his absence of any factual knowledge (about anything) makes any brain farts he may have irrelevant except to a fake game show.
We have an Impeached Executive who is totally incompetent, corrupt and insane. That does not bode well for this nation if he is allowed to persist. If you think the Corona Virus is a plague, just look at the world-wide damage and chaos that Trump is causing. It makes Corona look like a sneeze in comparison.
10
Here's the ticket:
Amy K with Sherrod Brown as her running mate. The Dems would take back Ohio and crush in the Midwest.
4
I agree with other readers who have pointed out the faulty logic of comparing Sanders and Corbyn. We are not dealing with a Brexit. However, I do see a reason why that comparison was used. Just the mention of Corbyn's name is enough to bring out the ammunition (words). Isn't that what a paid opinionist wants?
And for those who want to just "get rid of Trump", don't you think we need a revolution to do that? Trump has been preparing for one ever since he ran for office.
I miss the 60's, where young people were passionate about how the federal government were treating them and they started a revolution.
4
@Delores Porch
The only reason was we had draft and were fighting a war where many did not even know where it was. That is the biggest difference today - we have wars but no draft. Less then 1% have served in our military today.
A Vietnam combat vet
5
Bernie Sanders is a tempest in a teapot. Trump would crush him. Look at who Trump has lost since 2016: Suburban women who have absolutely no stake in Sanders' Medicare for All plan or free tuition for college students. Warren is Bernie Sanders lite. Klobuchar has the advantage with those women. She's a woman with a centrist platform. This election will hinge on snatching those women who have voters' remorse for going with Trump.
4
@nzierler You mean the candidate that polls nationally in the single digits, came in fifth in Iowa, and is campaigning on a platform of "better things aren't possible"? That's your winner?
2
Nowadays I do realize how some , if not most of NYT columnists are far from the reality in terms of broken healthcare system in US. Bernie is in the right direction. I can be labelled as a “ moderate “ but what Bernie says for healthcare , education, climate etc. makes perfect sense. Time for America to transform itself.
9
@HA OK, a cabinet appointment for bernie to head the Department of Health and Human Services.
2
The questions is why populism of the left is trying to take over the Democratic Party? Why the populism of the right took over the Republican Party? May be it is because the establishment of the Republican and Democratic parties have nothing else to offer than neo-liberalism (in your country, USA, you call it conservatism). After all Democratic and Republican parties are two corrupt political machine in service of Big Business. And fortunately for Big Business, a conman like Trump, was able to take over the populism of the Right, buy the Republican Party. And now in power, he is continuing the pro Big Business agenda: cut taxes, nominating pro Big Business (and also pro theocratic) judges, curbing and destroying unions and working class people's right, deregulation,...
10
Yes, electoral politics is always about personalities, and assessing them makes sense. But beware false comparisons that reduce personalities to performances, leaving aside the political beliefs, convictions and commitments that animate the performances. To bring Sanders on a level with a Trump in this way is not only simplistic but dangerous. Deeper things are at stake — climate change, the Supreme Court, human rights, free and fair elections, ending the carceral state, protecting federal lands from destruction — huge differences that matter here; let’s not forget that.
4
Bernie Sanders will be the next president of the United States. Believe that. And vote in the primaries believing that.
8
Thank you, true believer. In fact you’re almost evangelical.
All of the candidates have great qualities. All of the candidates have flaws. When my primary comes around, I'll vote for the one I think most likely to beat Trump.
Once a candidate is chosen, I'll sing his or her praises to the heavens. I'll look at their strengths and forget about their flaws. My heart will be in it. I'll do what I can to get that person elected.
You raised a good question. I've pondered whether a forceful candidate like Bernie is someone who can beat Trump or whether it's someone calm who will reassure people who are fearful about our democracy.
I'll try to figure it out as best I can in the primary. Then I'll go "all in" for whoever wins the nomination.
I also encourage people to pay more attention to the Senate races. Getting a majority in the Senate is another way to beat Trump. Keeping the House Democratic is a must, too. Donating to those Senators who are running against vulnerable Republicans would help, a bunch of small donations like the Sanders' campaign.
763
@Kathleen So right! Without control of the Senate, nothing will get done, and we cannot afford to allow a McConnell Senate to choose or deny any more Supreme Court judges. A wonderful woman is running against McConnell in Kentucky, and a wonderful man is running against Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. Consider donating to these campaigns, even in small amounts. It might just preserve our fragile republic.
115
@Kathleen The DNC needs you.
28
@Edith Fusillo
I never give to political campaigns but this time I'm sending a donation to McGrath.
McConnell is way to powerful and has to be removed.
69
I was a Hillary supporter in 2016, though I've always recognized Bernie Sanders genuine altruism. You could see from the beginning that despite some elements of assumed white male privilege, that the "forget the emails" condemnation of the Republican's pathetic but unfortunately successful campaign to undermine Hillary's obvious superiority was genuine and coming from a place of obvious respect for her status and ability on Bernie's part. I do blame Bernie for stubbornly encouraging in his supporters an us against them atmosphere at the end of the campaign that also helped put us in our current dire situation. Despite all of this, and despite my admiration for Ms. Pelosi, she is emblematic of a total lack of imagination and unwillingness to be more open minded about Bernie that may also have contributed to dems 2016 loss, and Hillary's current condemnation of him shows her tone deaf side.
When push comes to shove, silly polarizing delineations have risen up in those that should know better in the press, and among mainstream dems. Suddenly single payer, which for several years prior to 2016 was seriously being considered in media, became a bad word. Bernie has been almost singularly responsible for integrating important, credible issues into the national dialogue, and the refusing of mainstreet politicians to recognize this out of fear is unfortunate.
3
I feel like the "moderate" wing of the party has created a caricature of Bernie as an uncompromising fanatic that has no basis in reality. Bernie has along legislative record and has frequently worked across the aisle. He's the second most experienced politician on stage, after Biden.
It's true that many of Bernie's supporters are fanatics... but how is that not a good thing? How do you think elections are won? You need manpower and money to wage a national campaign, and Bernie has that in spades.
You need an army if you want to win a war.
558
@Brendan Can't agree that Bernie's "fanatics" are a good thing. Think that Americans would resent being ruled by decree from the left as much as they dislike it from the right. Although authoritarianism seems in vogue at the moment, our system was designed to work through compromise and consensus. Your notion of competing "armies at war" is the "faction" the Framers warned about in the Federalist Papers. There is a reason Yeats is being paraphrased so often these days. The "center" has got to hold.
46
@Brendan
"Bernie has a long legislative record???"
A couple of post offices named. That's about it.
51
@Brendan
Elections are not won by the rabid few, especially when they alienate the many.
56
I am a Sanders supporter, and will vote for him in this Primary in CT on the Democratic ticket to which he signed on and is committed. Within that label he describes himself as a democratic socialist, and has for 30 plus years. He promotes the idealism of bringing affordable health and dental care to the poor, confronting the pharmaceutical industry on price gouging and doing away with essentially government guarenteed student loans to those attending paper mill "colleges" like TRUMP University. The reason we were disgruntled in 2016 was due to the irregularities of the DNC and Superdelegates. Much of that has been fixed. In 2020 there is some grumbling about Sanders winning the popular vote of Iowa, yet losing the delegates,...I thought I understood caucuses, but apparently it's like electoral college, so okay. A DNC exemption for Bloomberg, again, not great, but ok. The Sanders supporters will follow Bernie's call to UNIFY no matter the winner, not just because of the rule changes, but (1) the candidates are all decent qualified people and say they are also committed to the winner, (2) Sanders will not be able to make another run and I presume we (his supporters) all know that. If he does win the nomination, I think he will need a strong VP embraced by the DNC and moderates. I like Klobuchar, and hope if she were asked in such a scenario she would consider it. But if Senator Sanders does not make the nomination, I think we will all rally behind the nominee.
370
@Cliff
It cannot be said enough. Superdelegates has nothing to do with Hillary Clinton's nomination in 2016. Nothing.
She won the primaries by a margin of 4 million votes. It wasn't close at all.
32
@Cliff ...."He promotes the idealism of bringing affordable health and dental care to the poor, confronting the pharmaceutical industry on price gouging"...and etc. Any and all of which requires lots of support in Congress and a workable plan. Which unfortunately Sanders does not have.
12
@Cliff I agree entirely. Super-delegates factor or not, the Sanders' campaign in 2016 was properly called phenomenal (see Chomsky) and an important sign of the times ("they are a-changing"). The county where I still live could be the "poster county" for HRC's neglect of the Electoral College factor in the 2016 general election. The people in this county hadn't gone for a Republican candidate in recent memory (went twice for Obama) and flipped to Trump in 2016. Her campaign presence here (by signs and rallies) was ominously terrible--and she never came here in person. I'm a Sanders supporter, too, and will vote for him in PA and then any candidate but Trump in November.
26
Bernie is attacked so frequently and ferociously from so many angles and sides including from those who might be in his camp if they were in touch with ordinary folk, and yet his organization is well-run and is not knocked off stride by all this. I think that is reassuring. Who else will be able to endure as well and pivot effectoively in the face of the inevitable mendacious attacks that the right will launch against the Democratic nominee? I'll take Bernie.
432
@onkelhans .... "if they were in touch with ordinary folk,"....Sorry, but Bernie won't play in Peoria.
6
@onkelhans
I agree. It's impossible to knock Bernie off message. He never takes the bait. He will do very well in a debate against Trump.
22
@Zep I am a native New Yorker, as is Bernie, and I don’t get why he is described as angry or irascible. Passionate, sure, but I don’t think he is angry except on behalf of those who are unable to get what they need in a rich society. I can’t imagine him throwing tantrums like we see daily from Trump, who is perpetually aggrieved for himself.
27
“ But when you go back exactly four years ago, you’re also reminded that Trump was causing utter panic among his party’s standard-bearers, who were convinced that nominating him would be akin to forfeiting the election. He was too idiosyncratic, too provocative — too much. Any responsible political analyst could see it. And almost every responsible political analyst saw it wrong.”
The implication being that the Democratic “standard bearers” and the main stream analysts could be wrong about Bernie. I think they are.
5
In the ways that Bruno focuses on here, the political spectrum isn’t a left-right line but more of a circle where the ends bend toward one another and grumpy “blow-it-all-up” messages start to sound similar whether it comes from the left or the right. But I think it’s mistaken to say if Trump did it, so can Bernie. To the extent that he has any fixed political philosophy (and despite the American Carnage act) Trump is a flag-waver who believes America is good at its core and that we should fight to take it back from the swamp and preserve it. Bernie is a flag-burner who thinks America is rotten and we need a revolution. In 2020 it seems there are enough flag-burners in the Democratic Party for Sanders to potentially earn the nomination. But if he does, the general election will remind us all that there are far more flag-wavers than flag-burners.
2
As someone who lives in Britain and broadly supports progressive politics on both sides of the Atlantic, I knew it would be only a matter of time before some high powered columnist world try to argue that because Corbyn and Sanders have similar politics, they both suffer from the same electoral liability. But Corbyn was a damp rag of a leader, uninspiring even to people like me who were sympathetic to his policies. Bernie, by contrast, has an electrifying effect on his supporters, and. unlike Corbyn, who was despised by British working class voters, his appeal to America's working class is deep and strong. No doubt we will be seeing a lot more columns like this one during the primary season. But what will his detractors say if Bernie secures the nomination?
10
150-million Americans are not going to give up their private or employer health plans, as required by Sanders' Medicare-for-all plan. Trump would savage him on that one.
Sanders will not bring in enough voters of color, which a democratic candidate must have to win the general election.
Sanders will not attract enough working-class Midwest voters to win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and either Florida or Ohio, states the Democratic Party must win in 2020.
Sanders is an ideologue and a bit of a demagogue in that everything is about him and not about the Democratic Party. He is not a unifier and not even a Democrat.
A Socialist winning the presidential election? Really? Trump would love that opponent. In 2016 Trump referred to Bernie as a Socialist, or maybe a Communist.
If Sanders is not the nominee a large portion of his cult-like Bernie-or-nothing followers won't vote for the Democratic Party nominee. This happened a 2016, and it will be worse in 2020.
This is not the time for Democrats to deal in personalities. It's time to decide who can win enough Electoral College votes. Sanders won't get them, and if he is the nominee Trump will win in a walk.
I doubt that Bernie Sanders or his base would accept a VP role, but it might be the only way to get his base to vote for the Democratic nominee.
5
Bruni: "It appears that about 170,000 Iowans participated — considerably fewer than in 2008, when 240,000 people took part. That contradicts Sanders’s and his followers’ contention that his candidacy would rouse legions of dormant and first-time voters."
Missing in most of the analysis this morning is the fact that this winning strategy relies on demographics that Iowa hardly represents. The caucasity of the electorate there skews turnout results, and Sanders won the popular vote there anyway.
The Sanders team is organized, that's their biggest advantage. Much more than can be said of the Democratic Party itself. The Party needs more influence from his camp or it's doomed to irrelevance.
4
Finding similarities between Trump and Sanders---one messiah in many respects an alter ego for the other---to find these similarities is an act of genius. Brilliant. Life is complex and uncertainty is rampant. I do not feel that good results are with certainty bound to come from our November election; we can only pray that they will come, that the public wakes up and we remove the devil from our midst. But who knows? I think it will depend on the economy and who is chosen as vice-president. If Trump keeps Pence, his loyal ever-present silent lapdog , and Sanders were to pick a dynamic , non-socialist vice-presidential candidate that would help get rid of Trump.
In 2016, Trump ran not as a populist to the right but as a populist to the left of Clinton. Had Bernie been the nominee, he would not have been able to do that, and Trump would have lost the key Midwestern states that carried him to victory.
Sanders is the anti-Trump: honest and trustworthy. Don't listen to these centrist Republicans who warn us against voting for Sanders. They are being disingenuous.
7
@Joe bernie is not a Democrat. he has been an Independent in Congress and has strongly stated he is a socialist, not a Democrat. he only borrows the Democrat label when it suits him. Hardly an honest or trustworthy character trait.
1
Can we discuss Bernie's "distaste for compromise?" What is written here as a negative is, for me, the whole basis of his appeal. I frequently see the less fashionable parts of Brooklyn and I regularly visit family in West Virginia. In short, I have seen the true despair that decades of Republicans and Democrats working together with Corporate America has brought to its citizens. I'm truly jealous of those who are insulated enough from the pain of people's daily lives that they believe all our late stage system needs is a little tweak and some more working together, but I, and many others, see things otherwise. If this country is going to live up to its promise, we need the big change that Bernie espouses. To compromise today means only that you have been compromised by financial or corporate interests and that you will do anything to maintain the status quo that has benefited a handful and hurt so many. That ain't Bernie.
7
If Sanders is nominee Trump wins in a landslide with both houses of Congress under Trump control. The American project is over.
Or...
Mike Bloomberg with both houses of Congress under Democratic control and a future we van still fight about.
8
Vote your conscience in the primary. Then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
It is a mistake to try to predict who other people will vote for. It is a mistake to consider the canard of 'electability.'
If Republican voters in were considering electability in 2016, they would have chosen John Kasich as their nominee.
9
Bruni cites polling and pragmatism as a reason for not supporting Bernie, e.g., that polls suggest a majority of Americans do not support Medicare for All. I would respectfully suggest that this is key reason the Democratic establishment has lost its way - it's driven more by polling and so-called pragmatism rather than principles and clearly enunciated core values. This is what is appealing to Bernie supporters - he has stayed true to his principles and you can actually state what his values are -- humanity, economic fairness, basic health care and living wage for all American, the right to a college education, the right not to get sick worrying about your lack of a social safety net.
8
There is another area where the comparison between Trump and Sanders breaks down. Republican voters (and party leaders) are more tribal than Democratic voters; once Trump won the nomination, they flocked like lemmings behind him. If Sanders were to win the Democratic nomination, many Dems could not bring themselves to vote for him. And many independent voters would be as turned off by his extremism as they are of Trump. I think the political analysts are right on this one: if Sanders is the Democratic presidential nominee, Trump will remain in office until 2024.
7
Bruni provides a useful thought exercise. Not so much his Trump comparisons. These are sometimes tenuous in the extreme. However, it's useful for Democrats to envision how a Sanders nomination might work. What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? How do we match these up against the formidable Trump political apparatus? What does a Sanders debate with Trump look like?
You need to start thinking about these things now. If want Trump out of office, you better have a good idea how to do it with Sanders. He has a 1 in 2 chance of winning the nomination. The next most probable outcome is a brokered convention with a 1 in 4 chance. Which do you think is worse for Democratic election chances? Barring some as yet unforeseen development, Democrats better start figuring out a way to consolidate around Sanders.
James Carville rolling his eyes is unhelpful. When was James Carville ever wrong?
The Hive: So, who is going to win the [2016] election?
James Carville: It’s hard to look at it right now and come to any other conclusion than it is going to be a pretty sizable win for the Democrats. It’s pretty hard to see anything else.
Three branches of government later, I'm still wondering why anyone listens to James Carville.
5
@Andy
James Carville (on endorsing Bennet):
“I think we’re going to surprise people on Tuesday night. And let me tell you something, we get this horse out of the barn, we’re going to run and run and run and win.”
Surprise, surprise. Bennet received zero votes in IA.
The candidate called "Other" even trounced him.
Carville, along with Begala, and many other ex-Clintonites need to realize the 80's are long gone, never to return again.
5
Another reason that Corbyn lost was his rank anti-Semitism. I'm not suggesting that Sanders, himself Jewish, is anti-Semitic, but while a good segment of the American Jewish poulation might question the current Netanyahu administration of Israel, Sanders has cited exaggerated numbers about Palestinian casualties in wars with that country. His views on trade seem as inexplicable in their way as those of Trump, as for example his failure to support the US Mexico Canada trade deal, when even Warren, just as progressive as he, said it represented an improvement. Biden correctly wondered if there was any trade agreement Sanders would support. Has he?
2
When Republicans bring up Bernie’s past, like how he and Jane honeymooned in the Soviet Union, Sanders is going to be trampled. Benito Mussolini took power because there were no moderates in Italy in the 1930’s, and the Communists weren’t attractive to the majority of Italians.
3
This is a fascinating and I believe apt analysis. Boiling down the far left and the far right to their respective essences - for Sanders: “Give me what you have” versus Trump: “Keep what you have.” I believe I know what will win in 2020.
4
@LTJ
But Trump's "Keep what you have" is a lie. That tax break is now done, with many middle class voters now paying more tax than ever. Only the rich get to keep what they have. You good with that?
2
Right now I’m giving what I have so that business and the rich can pay lower tax rates than I do. I’d be happy to give what I have in Bernieland because at least I’d get something back in return, in the form of a safety net.
And Trump’s keep what you have???? Again, the benefits went to business and the rich. I finished my taxes a couple of hours ago. I’m a wage earner ($18.56/hr.). I have no other income and I take the standard deduction so it’s pretty simple. My taxes went up after the tax “cut.” If I had not had an extra $50 taken out of every bi-weekly paycheck I would be writing a check for $715 to the federal government today. Seems like Trump is the one who made me give more of what what I have. And I got nothing in return.This is nothing new, this has been the case every year since the tax “cut.”
1
I just gave Warren, Biden, and the democratic donations this week. I want them to all succeed. I don't want Sanders or Buttigieg to win the nomination. Sanders does tell the truth about things. However, he has no reasonable solutions. He has passed practically no legislation in the Senate in his career there. I really don't want this election to be the test of whether we can elect a gay man to be president. The stakes are just too high. I also don't like mayor Pete. He seems robotically smart to me.
I have liked Warren, but she needs to pivot back to where she was instead of trying to out-Bernie Bernie.
Bloomberg could be ok. It just doesn't seem like he needs my money. But someone totally buying the nomination is not a good look. Trump actually has made tons of money from running for and being elected president. He will take the treasury with him if we ever get rid of him
3
I think Liz Warren has been trying to out Bernie Bernie for the entire time she has been on the political scene. Evidently she was a Republican at some point in her life but there have been zero traces of moderation in her ~12 year political career
1
@RAH
Why is it not a good look for Bloomburg using is own money to support himslf? Sorry, we have way too much money in our elections but that is not going to change any time soon.
But what I like about him the most is how he can take to trump and how he gets under his skin. And to those that thought a businessman would make a good President at least Bloomburg is a successful businessman unlike trump.
2
Thank you, Mr. Bruni, for the link to Bloomberg’s ad that makes Trump look fat and unhinged. It provided temporary relief from the reality that this fat and unhinged narcissist will be granted four more years, compliments of the Democrats who can’t even organize a caucus in Iowa. If Bernie is the candidate, Trump will win in a landslide. I’ll just keep watching the Bloomberg ad and dream of the day when the GOP doesn’t control all three branches of government.
1
Frank Bruni, like Trump, uses name calling instead of engaging with issues.
Sanders “radical” positions are much like FDRs. Other Democrats are well to the right of Nixon.
Most of us will be voting for who we believe is the best candidate. We’ve seen alleged “centrists” lose again and again: Kerry, Hillary, Gore. How about a candidate who looks after the American people?
13
He will lose astoundingly if the nominee. Maybe then the fractured left will heal, or we can get a solid third part out of the mix. (Looking for a silver lining..)
2
You can’t look after anybody if you lose. And old grumpy socialists tend to lose.
He is a crazy old Trotskyite from Brooklyn, still engaged in the endless internecine rhetorical, ideological wars between the factions of the left that characterize the history of socialism from Plekahnov to Lenin, Bukharin, Stalin, Kamenev, Reed, Foster and all the others of that era.
It is purely nuts that he could be the Democratic Party nominee.
I'm a Democrat. Bernie isn't. He is a guy on a soapbox in Washington Square Park giving the same speech again and and again and again for 60 years.
8
Berne can’t get anything done without overwhelming majorities in the house and senate. If it looks like Bernie will win, then many moderates will vote for republicans in the house and senate which will mean he will get nothing done - like Obama. Learn from your mistakes...down ballot is the real prize. House and senate people....it doesn’t matter who sits in the Whitehouse.
You want progress? Vote for Dems in all down ballot races. I despise Trump- but he is so vain he will sign anything.
3
People, please wake up. Trump and McConnell have walled off the Executive from Congress behind the Federalist Society's
hand picked state's rights freedom to impose religion judiciary.
2
So Bernie can have a heart attack on 5th Avenue and Trump can shoot someone on 5th Avenue and neither loses support from their base. Very telling.
3
Comparing Iowa turnout, or any state's upcoming turnout to 2008 is disingenuous. It's even more deceptive when you focus on black turnout. The reason is obvious: Barack Obama.
3
No matter how hard you try, The Democrats are going to have a hard time convincing the electorate that they haven’t gone full blown socialist, with an admitted socialist at the top of the ticket. He’ll drag down the entire party with him. Every Dem sea tie and hose member up for re-election will he asked if they support their nominee. When they say yes, Bingo, they’re a socialist too!
Capitalism works. It’s the one system that has brought millions out of poverty, and creates growth and prosperity.
Socialism does the exact opposite, hence the foundation for the famous saying.....
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
I believe Bernie is going to win the nomination. With that, this contest will be capitalism vs socialism.
This is still America.
Guess which side wins?
2
How there you’re making this absurdity, and comparison. Trump is a sick human being , vicious , cold and never have a normal human emotion. He has a very poor skills about everything. If a person considers abuse of language, revenge, bullying, insults and constant lies being a political skills, they have a serious mental issues. Appreciate a sociopath, only another one would do that. Bernie has a lot of integrity , empathy and he’s a very intelligent person. He never change his objectives to help the working class citizens, middle class. He’s fighting against Greed and individualism of so many in this nation.
3
State level courts are even worse than federal courts, though they tend to be more affordable to litigants. The following case is a gem:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/01/18/magazine/after-17-lawsuits-27-years-court-judge-rules-beverly-neighbors-feud/
Massachusetts Land Court makes Bleak House look divine.
California, Washington and Oregon in the west. New England, New York, New Jersey and Maryland in the east. These state, along with the cities of Chicago and Detroit, become new provinces of Canada. The rest of the US can wallow in its Trumpism. We move on.
2
Polls show Americans don't support Medicare for all. Polls also show Americans support higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, Obamacare, and a higher minimum wages. Trump has opposed all of these things. Those polls.
3
The only thing we can predict after 2016 is that pundits are pretty useless and shamefully ignorant of how most Americans live.
9
Don't be too quick to blame low turnout at the caucuses solely on the complacency or disgust of the electorate. Here in IL, influenza A and B, as well as a nasty stomach virus are running rampant. Probably in Iowa as well. People stay home when they're sick. It's been a rough winter. Stupid time of the year to have an election.
6
Articles like this helped elect Trump in 2016. Anyone can see how bogus Bruni's false equivalence between Trump and Sanders is here. The NYT hurt their own credibility with exactly these types of articles against Sanders while supporting Clinton and in doing so dragged her down and made supporting her appear like teaming up with dishonest and poorly reasoned defenders of the status quo. The Times undermined Clinton's credibility with sloppy attacks on Sanders like this and then blamed Sanders supporters for Clinton's loss when they didn't support her. The NYT and others in the media alienated them from Clinton and contributed to her loss, and here you are making the same mistakes again. US citizens want the same rights as Canadians and most Europeans. What about that is hard to understand? Get that through your heads and accept it, then write thoughtful critiques from that perspective.
13
Dukakis. Reasonable. Competent. Centerist. "Technocrat". Democrat.
Lost.
Conceded before the West coast polls closed.
The "centerists" are going EBS over this election (Everybody But Sanders). It will be debacle, catastrophe, APOCALYPSE!
Which is why it was so necessary to throw all in on Mayor B (including gaming the rubegoldberg Caucasus, to make it look like he was #1- here's reality...come NV, SC, CA & TX he probably won't even be #3...).
If you folk don't quit the chicken little and get on the bandwagon to beat Trump it WILL BE APOCALYPSE.
You've told Progs in 16 (don't limit to that year though), & 04, 00, 88, 84 to shut up and back the Centrist. In 08 the message (si, se puede!) was Prog...the only clear win in 40 years (Clinton edged Bush I because of Perot).
Stop the EBS. Embrace the fact and join the fight.
Don't be Hillary.
& Mayor B, in the end, equals Dukakis. Without the experience...
7
During one of the early debates, Mayor Pete also stated his support to covering undocumented immigrants in his healthcare coverage. He gave the helpful and simple reason for doing so that we are already paying for their care, in the form of higher premiums, when they show up in emergency rooms seeking care. The same is true for any uninsured or under-insured human being. At least give Bernie credit for sticking to his principles, in contrast to the leading moderate. No one loves their health insurance, we love our doctors and nurses. I pay hundred in premiums every month for my family of three, and still have to pay $30 copays, I have a huge deductible, and pay significantly extra for specialists (like that $200 copay to check out that bump on my neck). And I am an attorney for the federal government. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. This system sucks and needs an overhaul. Medicare for everyone.
9
Fascinating column this is. As one of Bruni's colleagues put it, the center cannot hold. The study cited here has asked just over 1600 people. There are 320 million people in this country, about half of whom can vote and most of whom are not living in that promising economy that the bean counters in (mostly conservative) so-called economics departments talk about. The Iowa caucuses don't really seem reliable, what with all that noise about how the app failed and not as many showed up---or did they show up and do whatever the heck it is that people do but the app, you know, screwed it all up?
Centrists can keep warning that Sanders as nominee will give Trump the next four years but let's see. And, please, stop the sly rhetoric here. Bruni makes it very clear that Sanders and Trump are different only after he's made it clear how similar they are---that is, to him and other centrists---because they both talk about disrupting the status quo. But they are nothing alike. One has principles that he pretty much has stuck with all his political life. The other, if this country and its law were based in principle and not how much money one has so that one can rig the system, would have been in prison for his whole life soon as he had been found guilty of screwing over people who worked for him.
Thank goodness we can listen to these two and hear the vast differences in their anger and agenda and attitude. We certainly cannot rely on the Times and CNN, the so-called liberal media.
8
Here’s the plan: if Sanders is the front-runner going into the Dems convention? *I’m* running. I’m sane, smart, savvy, center-left, a retired nurse-practitioner (Bernie’s Medicare for all sucks rotten eggs), I’m only 70 & have zero health problems, & I have tons of political experience (ok, volunteer in city, county, state, national, but I was one of two finalists for a job in Sen. Cantwell’s Staff), & I have a soothing, non-aggressive voice. Dems, give me a call when Sanders makes you desperate. I have a to-go bag ready & waiting.
2
This is not an ordinary time and this is not an ordinary election. I think the tepid enthusiasm by voters is that they really want to win but the candidates including Bernie give them angst. The data out of Iowa is concerning. It shows Bernie’s strength with the voters we need from swing states is not there. Sorry but Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will be hard to break from the Trump orbit with the socialist tag. Unless you truly get the youth to come out in record numbers. A big gamble. That leaves Buttigieg and Bloomberg as the most viable moderate candidates. In a brokered convention which could happen, it will be time to just suck it up and let Gavin Newsom of California take the White House back.
2
“A hell of a general-election risk”?
We don’t even know if we’re going to have a fair and free election this year, and you’re worried about election “risks”?
At this point, the only viable option I see is throwing a Hail Mary - I.e. sanders - given the current free fall of our democracy.
We cannot respond to the destruction of our society with tepid, boilerplate responses. We need someone who can shift the conversation, fire up enthusiasm for liberal policies, and explain in easily digestible terms why Donald Trump and the GOP threaten our very existence - and more importantly, what specifically we can do to reverse those trends.
Yes, perhaps sanders is risky in a conventional sense, but this is far from a conventional time. And who knows? We may already be on our death beds after the knife wound we received in 2016, unbeknownst to us...
4
What Bruni hears is the braying of fellow Clintonians, aghast at any challenge to the plutocracy that sustains them and him.
13
Great to hear in the comments that Bloomberg opened a campaign office in Burlington VT. He puts his words into action and most admirably, reflects on what went right and what went wrong with past decisions to keep things moving forward. Sounds like leadership to me.
3
@Christine
You mean the deficit hawk who endorsed George W. Bush and wants to reduce spending on Social Security and Medicare. Well he isn't Sanders so Wall St. Dems are all in for him (and "Mayor Pete."
1
Yes. Bloomberg is a multitasker and pragmatic.....the deficit, the environment, gun control, sustaining Social Security and the growing list of foreign affairs problems. His list will go on and on. And, he will enlist a team of competent people to get things addressed for this Country.. ....Most of all, I trust he is an insightful person not in it at all for his personal gain or pet projects on Wall Street.
Sanders is the candidate Trump would most like as the Democratic candidate. We should be looking at what the Trump campaign is doing to promote Bernie. It’s a given that Trump will do anything to win, including back Sanders. Did we not learn anything in 2016?
Sanders cannot win; he is too socialist. Even if you like Sanders, you must consider what is best for the country. The current legislative and judicial branches of our government will block everything Sanders attempts.
Promoting Sanders is a Trump win. Please stop.
7
@Peters Not only is sanders too socialist, he also isn't a Democrat.. he is driven only by his personal interests.
1
Frank,
Your day-in day-out Trump bashing only validates the existence of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).
How about given Trump credit for something?
How about not tying Trump in with candidates like Sanders who don't have a viable policy platform.
Why not analyse with open eyes why Trump won and why he will likely win again...be honest with your readers and yourself. Iowa is a perfect example of how out of control Dems are, the DNC, the process, etc.
2
@Concerned EU Resident It's not a secret that it is the electoral college system that screws up the popular vote and renders it mute.
2
Okay so if we compare the expectations of Trump 2016 to Sanders 2020, the argument, “well, nobody thought Trump would win either,” would work, except for one difference: the polls DO have Sanders winning against Trump. He is NOT the underdog. He is the favorite. So in that case the argument doesn’t hold up.
10
National polls don’t matter. See, e.g., 2016.
5
Why doesn’t the Independent Senator from Vermont run as a Republican and use their platform to get his message out? It worked for the last guy, who had no party allegiance and ran as a Republican.
3
@Jean Lawless
That would throw a spanner into the works.
1
Young Bernie supporters are disillusioned by the diminishing possibilities of cleaning up the environment, maintaining the economy, and fairness in our laws. These challenges demand clear, forward thinking and planning to resolve. Change cannot happen overnight, so burning it all down is not the answer. It's likely that Bloomberg, who has not been yammering for a year about socialist programs, may rise to the top simply because he stayed out of the fray. We need a level headed leader to beat the Trump machine, America will not elect a socialist.
9
@Daphne
No, but like Republicans who elected a conman, former Dem, Chino, who proclaims to be a Conservative; so will Dems elect a Republican DINO who now proclaims to be a progressive.
They both are oligarchs, who've boughten their political wins. Both fund either side as it befits them. Both have a plethora of sexual harassment lawsuits; all settled out of court for unknown sums, with non-disclosure agreements. Both jet out to their other homes on the weekends. Both have billions stashed in off-shore accounts. Both won't disclose their taxes.
The list goes on.
But yeah...America will not elect a socialist who's spent his life/career fighting for and helping the American worker.
No, D's and R's prefer autocratic oligarchs with misogyny issues, who buy elections and harm "those" folk (ie. black 'n brown).
5
Well, Mr. Bruni, we're in a sticky situation.
Biden, Warren, and Buttigieg don't make great candidates because large portions of the electorate are either turned off by them, or worse - indifferent. Meanwhile, Sanders has a diverse range of supporters and evokes passion, but he is also risky for the reasons you mention.
Given the above and the way Trump similarly confounded expectations and won, I think Sanders may actually be the best choice to beat Trump.
14
Your definition of “electorate” apparently focuses only on the “d” side of the v. Sanders (and Warren, for that matter) turn of a significant portion of the electorate as well. Moderates (including never-Trump republicans) will have an incredibly difficult choice were either of them the nominee. Don’t vote, or hold your nose and vote for Trump.
1
@S.
Really?
"incredibly difficult choice..." between a known grifting conman who's been impeached,is a known cheat, liar and all around disgusting person; or a career public servant who's spent his life trying to make America better for EVERYONE.
Gee, it really doesn't say much for those confused does it. Must be 'merica.
1
The only problem with the constant neoliberal attempt to tar Bernie with the Corbyn brush is the gigantic difference in the polling data on these two guys. Bernie has beaten Trump in head-to-head polls for many many months. He's always been much, much more popular here than Corbyn has ever been the the UK. So far, the attempts of the corporate media, like the Times, to write off Bernie have not exactly panned out in the actual campaign. That's because, unlike Corbyn, Bernie has a gigantic demographic shift at his back--the largest generation in American history, the Millennials. who love Bernie as much as Trump's geezers love him, are in the process of simply wrenching control of American politics from the quite literally dying Boomers, faster by the day. We have plenty of time to see how Bernie performs in the primaries and the polls going forward. If he falters, then Bloomberg or Pete can take his shot at our Dear Leader, and test the MSM's constant propaganda for the top 1% that a "moderate" is the best bet against Trump's ever-growing tyranny.
9
58 countries manage to provide universal health care. A government that focuses on the well being of it's citizenry is not to feared,it should be lauded. Bernie's so called social democracy is a very diluted form of socialism. Unfortunately in the USA anything other than dogged capitalism is considered dangerous. The right always comes up with a new name for citizens who want to improve their lot...anarchists, wobblies, reds, commies, hippies, eco- terrorists and climate activists. Keeping the populace scared is the domestic policy of the republicans.
17
@Tom
"Keeping the populace scared is the domestic policy of the republicans."
And is also the policy of the Republican-Lite Pelosi Schumer Biden democrats, and has been for decades.
The campaign to derail Bernie Sanders is just getting started; once New Hampshire is over next Tuesday and the writing is on the wall, watch their campaign bring out the big guns.
I'm dying to see them go all in because every effort exponentially increases support for Bernie.
7
The real decision democrats must first make is the most basic: as a party that has spent the last 25 years pushing to re-distribute wealth as opposed to growing wealth, do they finally go over the cliff and become an openly socialist party? It seems like a natural progression but certainly either the capitalists or the socialists will be forced out and that will mean a mess for at least one election.
2
It really doesn't matter about Sanders's grandiose healthcare plans because Congress will not enact them.
But the US really should move towards healthcare for all as in Canada and most other civilized nations.
So, electing a president who sees that would be a step forward.
Carville and the DNC were very complicit in foisting Hillary into her candidacy.
It doesn't matter that she got more votes because of your damnable electoral college.
8
The problem is that Democrats have no Barack Obama or Bill Cliinton this time around. Those were two mighty talented politicians, with a ton of skill and savvy. Plus, Clinton came at the doldrums of a recession, and Obama came as the economy was being driven off a cliff. Those are two big circumstantial differences with what we have now.
Don't you think the Democrats would have jumped at a more moderate candidate who looked tough enough to take on Trump? They haven't, and it's not necessarily out of foolishness or stubbornness. Biden looks slower and less sharp. Buttigieg, albeit bright and seemingly capable, is young and we don't know if he is experienced enough. Klobuchar, while very feisty and strong as of late, raises fears that misogyny is not dead, and that when push comes to shove it will hurt her. Warren, while very intelligent, articulate and compassionate, has a bit of a lecturing quality when speaking. Also, she seems more for the bottom half and fairness then the average voter, perhaps.
Mike Blomberg can definitely stand up to Trump, but will he inspire our base to get out as much as Trump's base? That's an open question. Plus, he might not be as - ugh, I hate saying this - charming as Trump.
So there are major doubts about everyone. Let's just admit that. Maybe the best option is a smart, strong woman - yes, it could be the right time for the first woman president - like Amy Klobuchar who can definitely take the fight to Trump.
2
You missed the point entirely. Mr Sanders is running against the Democratic Party.
7
If Democrats want to learn from the defeat of Corbin then they need to look beyond Corbin to those behind him in the party. There were incredible attacks on Corbin from within his own party for years with key members of his own party leaving in the period leaving up to elections. If your party doesn’t show support, then why should people.
Perhaps it is people like Clinton and the DNC, who in this moment, need to learn from the election in the UK.
6
Merriam-Webster defines "populist" as "a member of a political party claiming to represent the common people" or "a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people."
I wish pundits would stop applying that word to Trump. Trump was, is, and ever shall be a pretend populist. No one with more than a couple of brain cells to rub together would believe that this gilded, never worked a day in his life trust fund baby who believes hardship is when the bankruptcy judge forces one to live on a mere $450K a month would ever in a million years do anything to help the working class. He's been exploiting the working class all his life and now he's exploiting us on a national level. There is a vast difference between what he says and what he does. Just look at his "zero tolerance" policy on immigration. When there's a raid it's the illegal workers who bear the consequences and never those who profit from employing them. Those are Trump's true people, not the red MAGA hat wearers who he'd never in a million years invite to Mar-a-loco.
There is one thing that unites the vast majority of Americans and that's the necessity of working for a living. Doesn't matter if you're white, black or purple, male, female or something else; old, young or in between. Most of us must work. And when it comes to the economy and work, only Bernie and, to a slightly lesser extent Warren, are the true populists.
Those of us who work for a living really do need revolutionary change. Now.
10
I guess when Trump got into office and saw the trappings of the presidency, he became drunk and mad with power, because he did not appear to actually want to be elected, instead he looked surprised and dismayed that he won the election, rather the majority of the electoral college votes.
1
I am glad that at the end of your column you acknowledge that you, a responsible political analyst, could be wrong. And I think you, and others (because Bernie-bashing became a trend at NYT: Stephens, Brooks, Krugman, you...), are wrong. First, the low turnout in Iowa can't be attributed to Bernie. His voters obviously showed up. Why didn't Warren's and Biden's supporters? Second, when you compare Sanders and Trump as populists, which, you are right, they both are, you eventually conclude they are nothing alike, that they don't have a common set of political values and alignment of agendas. Should they have? This sound as if you like Trump's values better? Should we be surprised that a young mayor of South Bend, IN is not doing even better? You probably didn't know South Bend existed before this race. Third, on policy: Bernie resonates with the blue-collar workers who yearn for the times when Democratic party stood for them and protected their interests, when the US workforce was unionized and the bosses did not make 5000x more than janitors. Americans do not have an idea how normal universal health care works, they never had a chance to experience it, and they are gullible to well paid anti-socialism rhetoric by well paid columnists and pundits. Average American spends $440/month on private insurance. Wouldn't everybody rather pay $300/month more in taxes for universal health insurance? What is other candidates plan with sick immigrants? Be serious.
9
Many city centrists today are yesterday’s moderate Republicans who like the absolution of voting Democratic without the consequences of having higher taxes, fair competition for their kids, curbing cars and trash in cities, ...
Having no party in the US with a social agenda was never a sustainable situation. It’s amazing how folks like Bruni think they own the direction of the Democratic Party now.
5
It is clear that not all of the "we love Bernie" posts here are from his enraptured acolytes, most of whom have about 10 years of life experience post dorm room. Some less than that. Some of Sander's most active "supporters" (and donors) on social media are sock puppets from Trumpland and/or foreign actors. Why?
Read Mr. Bruni's column and you'll see the answer. We won in 2018 House districts and flipped hostile gerrymandered GOP seats with a nuanced moderate argument. Where does socialism and the hard Left win? In a few deep blue districts primaries where they beat liberal Democrats. They have very few successes in general elections and competitive districts beating Republicans.
Worse yet they are like the Trump legions in that they are bullies and close-minded zealots. A lioness of progressive values and service, Sen. Boxer shouted down by them and threatened with physical intimidation. Oh yes, read about it.
When Trump and his wealthy enablers tell you who they want to run against (Sanders) any thinking person takes heed.
3
In 2016, after the DNC got rid of Bernie, Trump happily adopted many of Bernie's stated positions and the result was that many who wanted Bernie voted for Trump. All of us who have brains in our heads want one thing: to get His Heinous out of office. That is what all the candidates should be focusing on.
5
@Bronwyn The DNC is an organization for Democrats. bernie was only a Dem for the short time it took for Dems to reject him. I support the DNC with contributions and don't expect it to support an Independent who only borrows the party to suit his vain attempt to push his personal agenda. Never bernie.
1
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are two sides of the same authoritarian coin.
1
We urgently need to beat President Trump. Some democrats use this fact to scare others to vote moderate. Beating Trump the individual means nothing if we don't beat Trumpism. Fear drives us to seek comfort, but bravery allows us to find solutions. Stop being afraid to stand up for what's right out of fear that it won't be popular!
How else can we ever hope to eradicate the very conditions that lead to Trump in the first place?
Why win this year just to get Trump 2.0 next election because we valued "perceived" electability over all else?
America is so polarized, that progressives may eventually outnumber moderates in key states. Let's finally acknowledge the poor, the minorities, the disabled who this party loves to claim but fails to meaningfully represent (looking at Buttigieg, Biden, Warren). Instead of prioritizing those who have the luxury to be moderate, let's join forces and get out the vote for EVERYONE.
Remember how Bernie and progressive voters helped get young minority women like Tlaib, Omar, and AOC into Congress? Whatever your opinions on them as individuals, we need that same energy to turn the Senate blue.
Trump is a symptom of American desperation mixed with racist propaganda. Beating him in 2020 won't fix these underlying problems unless we elect a president who has time after time stayed true to their principles and fought for American working-class people.
Yes, vote blue no matter who in November.
But in the primary, please vote #Bernie2020
6
@Aviva bernie is not blue, so--no. Vote for a real Democrat, not an imposter.
1
It won’t take much for a Sanders or Warren campaign to poke a lot of big holes in Trump’s faux populism. The voters can easily be shown in some clever ad campaigns using Trump’s own voice and tweets how many times Trump promised something to his working class supporters but delivered gains to the donor class, and himself, instead.
5
If America wants another lying president, then Bernie's your man.
Bernie is touting he won Iowa. Not true. Mayor Pete did.
Bernie is throwing criticism at other campaigns for PAC money, claiming he doesn't. He does.
Bernie claimed he didn't tell Warren that a woman couldn't win. I believe Warren and that Bernie is lying.
Bernie says he's a Democrat Socialist. I believe, in truth, he's far more left than that, having complimenting Russia and Cuba in the not too distant past.
The only difference in my mind is Trump will cream Bernie if he's the Democrat's candidate.
3
Now that the neo-liberal Democrats can no longer dismiss Bernie as some fringe character, it's time to bring out the false equivalency strategy: Bernie equals Trump.
Our current savior of the week is Pete Buttigieg, a failed mayor of South Bend, IN.
And who else is better at delivering this brilliant talking point than Mr. Bruni.
It's not over yet, folks. If Buttigieg fizzles - which he inevitably will - they still have Bloomberg running on his own money, on a parallel track.
11
As a life long Democrat, I am offended that Bernie who is not a Dem can even run in the Democratic primary let alone hand one of the historically worst and most dangerous presidents a second term to cement what will 50 years of damage going forward.
Bernie is as fact-free and out of touch with reality as Trump and has the same kind of cultish followers.
If I have to chose to vote between Bernie and Trump, I would choose neither and focus on the US Senate.
2
We wouldn’t be in this mess without the horrible centrist Democratic leadership.
Not only did the forced 2016 candidate (superdelegates overruling state results as in NH) fail, Pelosi approved Trump’s $1 trillion dollar deficit spending that lets him buy the economic growth for re-election on the future taxpayer’s dime.
They all need to go so we can start winning again.
7
I've read that when polled, 53% of Bernie supporters said they wouldn't vote for another Democratic presidential candidate.
At a time when a madman is in the White House and when every single vote has never been more important, this kind of closed-mindedness is depressing and concerning.
Go ahead then, if Bernie isn't the candidate sit home and seethe silently in protest during the general election. And don't ever complain about Donald Trump again.
3
Bernie is not "extreme." Nor inflexible. He has a long legislative record to show it. No one ever mentions that, do they? Sanders just knows very well that just about all the pain,suffering and injustice in society now comes from the big money and corporate stranglehold on everything. The anger and frustration over this is what brought us Trump. Until the UNDERLYING cause of this existential cancer is removed, all the hideous manifestations of gross wealth inequity will persist, which also includes rampant racism. Nor can we compromise with the planet anymore or we will all perish. Only a fool would believe that this is going to get better under a centrist Democrat. They are too controlled by Big Money. There may be small changes here and there, the usual cosmetic ones, but it will not be enough to deliver us from danger and chronic injustice. Bernie is by no means radical nor unreasonable. He is just trying to bring health and education access and the balance of wealth back to where it was when America was at its best. We have become so used to corporate and ruling class abuse that we have become scared of any other way of being. Including a kind of Democratic socialism enjoyed by the countries ranked the happiest and healthiest on earth year after year. Bernie is trying to help us find our way back home. Those who support him get that. Please join us.
That includes the pain and suffering of every creature onthe planet and mother earth.
9
The best argument I have heard in favour of Sanders is that he is trying to expand the turnout of people that already like Democrats.
Biden and Buttigieg are trying to convince Trump supporters to vote for Democrats, a party they despise.
7
Excellent column. I don't think Sanders can survive (politically) attacks on his health care for illegals, abolishing private health insurance, ban on fracking, etc. Those positions are deeply unpopular. At the same time, if someone else is the nominee (unless it's Warren), Sanders voters will vote Green or stay home. Sanders is pure poison for the Democrats. Only Trump can defeat Trump in November.
1
I fear Sanders. Not his policies.
Bernie is the sole person who will change this election from a referendum on the decency of Trump to one of American Capitalism vs. Commie Socialism.
Trump will be cast as Champion, Hero and Protector of Good ole American Capitalism & the American Way. Can't we keep the focus on the evil of Trump and not muddy the existential issue?
Republicans have a billion dollars to label Sanders (truthfully) a “Big Government Knows Best Socialist“ who wants to take away your health insurance. His response at the debate was, “But I’m a Democratic Socialist.” The distinction won’t sell in Wal Mart. His electoral viability will drop.
How was a lesson drawn from 2018 that the furthest Left candidate will succeed in our divided country?
Republicans were not concerned that their vote went to Russia’s candidate of choice to harm our country. I hope younger Democrats consider that Sanders is Trump’s candidate of choice and not give Trump his most desired gift.
4
Nominate Sanders, assure Trump's re-election, and irrevocably divide the Democrats, thereby removing another obstacle to one-party rule. One positive from such a debacle is that it will relegate Sanders and his "Bernie Bro" bullies to the dustbin.
2
Sanders is that rare politician who believes in a specific ideology and is unafraid to defend it in a room full of critics. Mr. Trump is little more than a 73 year old loudmouth who only believes in his own glory and lacks a definable ideology. Sanders knows he will have to move to the center to win the election, Trump just yells and acts on impulse. In the end a general weariness of Mr. Trumps bad behavior may give Mr. Sanders a chance. One thing for certain a Sanders presidency will force the Republicans to offer moderate ideas for healthcare and global warming or get run over by the Sanders Revolution.
8
Vote Blue. Vote Blue. It will be awesome whatever combination we choose. It will be vastly superior to Trump’s low bar which currently comprises of: indecency rudeness pettiness vindictiveness..
5
Bernie Sanders is Donald Trump's alter ego. I, for one, cannot begin to comprehend the "logic" of replacing one repellent over the top old goat with another of more or less the same ilk. Both bellow rather than speak, both specialize in OTT body language and broadly ideological brushstrokes, and both speak only to the converted, whether the "Bernie Bros" or Trump's MAGA minions. I learned long long ago NOT to listen to anyone who assumes yelling will persuade me. It never has, it merely persuades me that the individual yelling has no ideas worth listening to. If it comes to Bernie against Donald... the end of the so-called "liberal west" is approaching as assuredly as the rise of the likes of Caligula and Nero heralded the end of the Western Roman Empire.
2
Trump is already ahead of the game. He knows the DNC and liberal media want to force a centrist choice but all of the remaining ones have issues with minority voters with the exception of Biden, who is slowing down too much for comfort. So Trump is courting black voters. I guess Trump II is an acceptable risk for the establishment to thwart Bernie Sanders.
3
No one can predict electability. Do we want a gangster or a communist...that is the cartoon version of this. If the Republicans tie Sanders to Stalin, then I say the Democrats tie Trump to Tony Soprano. America might just be that simple minded.
However, given our history of being genocidal (Native Americans), and slave owners and needlessly imperial (Iraq, Afghanistan), the questions is: were those sins gangsta or totalitarian? And in that balance the election results emerge.
3
What's especially admirable about Senator Sanders is that even though people are free to choose the wrong answer, he's asking the right questions -- for the right reasons.
His consistency in fighting the good fight on behalf of the hundreds of millions of Americans below oligarch level is in the finest traditions of our country. With so much greed and moral cowardice polluting the political landscape in this Second Gilded Age, his integrity is refreshing, if not exhilarating.
Failing to take heed won't be his fault. His warnings are clear. So is evidence of our collective ability to make bad choices.
7
@Dotconnector Therefore, he should continue his work in the Senate and stop trying to force voters to support him over Democrats.
1
When it comes to ill-considered, impractical populist propaganda, I have a hard time judging whether Sanders or Trump is worse.
No doubt each of them would inflict major damage on our nations laws, foreign affairs and economic future.
If Sanders is nominated the trick will be to support Congressional candidates; particularly Senate candidates who can be counted to to resist both Socialist and Fascist autocratic attempts to destroy our freedom.
1
This analysis seems a bit too simplistic since it omits reasons that brought the country to this point: kleptocracy and hackers from Russia, China and Israel. This elections are not about a disgust with the politics as usual, but at a hijacked political system. We’re still in the thick of the Great Recession caused by “brilliant” neoliberal and neoconservatives, who incidentally became overnight billionaires - no joke.
American families are demoralized by an economy that barely allows them to meet monthly expenses. That leaves little time for luxuries such as choosing among competing philosophies. It’s about survival. 60% of all jobs are hourly jobs without benefits or security of any kind. Corbyn lost because he didn’t have the energy to match his ideas and didn’t have a strategy to fight against Putin’s Brexit disinformation, which Boris Johnson won’t admit to, notwithstanding hard evidence. Like Trump, he blamed immigrants for all the country’s ills.
Democrats will have to be strong and fight Trump in the gutter that are his values and mind. Bloomberg is sabotaging democrats by running just to re-elect Trump so that he can finish the give away of Palestinian territory. They want to pull an Epstein and make Democracy disappear, their kleptocratic record disappear. Just think back to Alan Dershowitz Senate argumentation - who says or behaves like that? The Sacklers have gotten away with murder, literally, so far.
2
Bernie Sanders is a decent, human being and yet he's labelled "revolutionary" or as Buttigieg's portrait of "my way of the highway". In a way, Bernie has the underdog's aura, he doesn't fight nasty. He doesn't label anyone unlikeable. Clinton and Carville going off the cliff over him? Klobuchar trying to make points on debate night over his "socialist" views? Sanders isn't your grandmas's socialist-people need to get educated. If Sanders is considered extreme left-let the pendulum swing the other way. Jesus, he has intentions to serve not take.
9
Frank seems to be arguing all sides on the issue of the electability of Sanders. Lets keep it simple. Trump will loudly and vulgarly portray Sanders as a left wing socialist/communist radical out to destroy the American way of life.Sanders as candidate will guarantee four more years of Trump. OH NO!
I understand that Bernie is making waves that leads to soul searching for the Democrats, but please do not compare him to Trump. Bernie may hold extreme views for some, but his convictions are based on morality, not lies, xenophobia, misogyny and pathological narcissism.
6
The current Democratic presidential contenders who competed in Iowa and who are going to New Hampshire, are a clown show. I originally thought Joe Biden could beat Donald Trump, but the infighting has ruined all of their chances and exposed their weaknesses.
Currently, only Mike Bloomberg can beat Donald Trump. Not only because of his money, he was not a participant in the circular firing squad that was the debates.
You still haven't explained how Sanders could possibly be as big a danger as Trump. Would a president Sanders have a love affair with Kim Jong-il?
4
There appears to be an error in this op-ed: Bruni states, about Jeremy Corbyn, "You stood with or against them [Corbyn and his followers] — there was no squishy in between — and America could be sorted neatly into villains and victims."
Instead of "America," I think he means "Britain."
Bruni seems to have a constitutional - a gut - dislike of Sanders that has nothing to do with a cold analysis of the facts.
And I'm totally confused by his last paragraph. He seems to be saying that all members of the Republican party who said Trump could not be elected were wrong, and so Democrats who say Sanders can't be elected will be wrong too? I don't get it.
5
Both Trump and Sanders are persuaded that the system is rigged.One is a Robber Baron and the other is a kind of mythic Robinhood.Trump has used his ruthless and unscrupulous business business practices to leverage his activities to achieve political power.Sanders, on the other hand, has been the Pied Piper of wealth redistribution, taxing the wealthy to provide social services for the poor.Both have positions far right or far left-most of the electorate is much closer to the middle!
1
Trump and Sanders may be ideological opposites but they have one thing in common.They are both terrible at math.! Trump insists on busting the budget to assure that his wealthy friends get tax breaks.Sanders would also bust the budget by paying for costly social programs for everyone.The government’s public debt is now 22 Trillion dollars-Trump,has added 2Trillion.No one has the courage to raise taxes so the debt will only increase.Higher incomes should be paying higher taxes but try getting that through Congress.At some point we have to get real about money and priorities.W will become a weaker country as our debt explodes .
1
Which ever way you look at it Bernie cannot win the swing starts. So what's the point. It doesn't matter how many extra votes he gets in the blue states. Get real Democrats. Bloomberg is your only chance.
3
And where is the evidence that Bloomberg can win the swing states?
2
@yulia Michael Bloomberg a moderate, and has the finances to get his message across.
"...you see the spirit and lessons of Trump all over the Democratic primary and the Democratic Party...You see it [ in ] Nancy Pelosi’s theatrical ripping up of her copy of Trump’s State of the Union address."
Wrong.
Nancy for once did not succumb to Trump's attitude.
She snubbed his attitude with the contempt it deserves.
2
I spent some time with a supporter of the current president who clapped his hands in glee at the thought of Bernie being the candidate. He can't get elected, he laughed.
And why oh why was it Biden that 45 wanted investigated not other more liberal candidates? Perhaps because 45 is scared to death of moderates, people with morales and dignity, and who represent the America that 45 hates and fears.
45 knows a moderate could defeat him. Let's pick one and prove it.
2
Let them delude themselves. Sanders will beat Trump in big numbers because he speaks to issues, he has integrity and he has a broad movement behind him.
As for the cold-war hysteria bought into by old white conservatives and talking heads like Chris Matthews, most do not share their fear, realize that Sanders is a reformer and not a bolshevik, and have a well grounded fear of the imminent danger of crippling corruption on the precipice of climate catastrophe.
2
If Bernie fails to alienate Democratic voters outside of his own rather narrow base, his supporters will show up in the comments section of articles like this to righteously seal the deal.
And by the way, Sanders is singularly lacking in an adequate comeback to trump: his most scathing argument against trump is that he is a "pathological liar," as if that is something we don't already know and would be horrified and outraged to find out.
Sanders, like trump, relies on unceasing outrage.
trump just does it better, especially by focusing on people whose support he has calculated that he does not need.
Great column. Bernie would be a gift to Trump.
1
Try as you might to paint Bernie as the Red Menace 2.0 , his brand of Socialist Democracy is predicated on first and foremost a strong representative Democracy that means Us directing the implementation of public policies.
Every Bernie supporter understands the real issues before us be it Universal Health Care the Green New Deal, or debt free public college are completely doable. They are policies that will enhance the fabric of society and generate more good jobs and a future that doesn’t rely on ratcheting up racism, misogyny, theocracy and fascist ideology.
I will vote for Bernie because he truly understands the needs and wants of a modern society.
4
The reality is that a Bloomberg Yang or Biden Yang ticket is the only real possibility to get Trump defeated. Biden and Bloomberg speak to moderate republicans and Yang pulls tons of Trumpers out of desperation and the UBI carrot dangling in front helps. Sanders will probably lose and he should do everything in his power to remove Trump including sacrificing his campaign. Of course that will not happen. Even Sanders has a bigger need for power and reaching the presidency than making sure the republic stays intact. Human greed will once again show it's ugly face. I like Bernie but he should do what is best for all, we will love you more if you step down now. God help us all!
Any Democratic candidate is going to have a difficult time going up against Trump. Ultimately, people vote their wallets. Bill Clinton understood this, "It's the economy stupid" as did Obama. I looked back in history and in the past hundred years I found two cases where a candidate was voted out after one term. In both cases, there were economic problems around election time. Warren Harding is one and Jimmy Carter is the other. In every other case, the incumbent was elected for a second term. It also helps a lot when the candidate understand the media, is telegenic and likeable. That's how we got stuck with George W. Bush, a disaster by most accounts.
Bernie doesn't come across in the likeability category, and he's not telegenic. He comes across as an old angry man. His economic policies will scare a lot of people, especially when his past with Cuba, Russia and Nicaragua is brought front and center.
His medical plan is dead on arrival. Few people will accept getting rid of private insurance entirely with a public only option. I'm quite liberal and there's no way I could support his plan. Republicans will also bring up Bernie's disastrous leadership of the VA when he was in charge of the senate panel, and Bernie rightly deserves some of the blame. He refused to hold hearings or help the investigation until after his house counterpart uncovered the scandal in spite of Bernie.
Bernie will cause 2016 all over again with all the Bernie or bust.
Yes, in 2016, the GOP establishment felt that Trump was “too idiosyncratic, too provocative — too much.” And yes, any “responsible political analyst could see it,” but “almost every responsible political analyst saw it wrong.” The same may be happening with Sanders. But what Sanders does not have and what Trump had (and has) in spades is a legion of xenophobic, science denying, racist followers that will stay with him no matter what, and a horde of prior supporters who notwithstanding their qualms with his behavior are enjoying a relatively good economy and who are deadly afraid of the socialist label Sanders has happily given himself. They may pinch their nose and vote for Trump again. That’s what scares me about a Sanders candidacy, that it will make those on the fence disgusted by Trump’s behavior vote for Trump nonetheless because they are scared to death by a self-avowed socialist.
You guys, pundits, politicians and prophets, place too much importance on Iowa. Just think: this time just c. 150,000 people caucused there and already the whole thing is almost over. Now, Sanders is the leading candidate, Biden is gone, Mayor Pete is somewhere with Warren, and Klobuchar is ignored. The whole Iowa thing ruins decent candidates and distorts your elections because of the over-the-top media importance placed on these tiny caucuses. The biggest problem in US elections is that so few actually vote in November.
How about people stop trying to second guess everyone else's vote and start being honest and thoughtful about what they want and what they believe?
2
The situation cries out for a radical centrist.
The comparison between Trump and Sanders as populists with die-hard, "true believer" supporters is superficial at best. Bernie is an authentic, upright moral public servant who embraces truth in science and cares about other human beings beside himself. Trump is a pathological liar and narcissist who flaunts the Constitution, obstructs, and spouts hate-filled vulgarities at anyone who opposes him while denigrating people of color and immigrants.
I was delighted to hear Bernie's call for ultimate unity once the primaries are over. The current debates among the candidates are healthy and necessary but all of us who seek an end to the chaos of Trump need to keep our eye on the ball as we approach the November election by uniting behind the eventual winner.
3
November, 2020: To the surprise of many, Sanders defeats Trump for the Presidency. November 2022: to the surprise of none, the Republicans take back the House and increase their advantage in the Senate. Heck, I'll vote for him anyway.
Nice try, but no cigar. Bernie a populist on the left, Trump a populist on the right. No, Trump uses populist rhetoric, identifies problems, talks the talk. Bernie has ideas that might actually help all those people left behind- by Trump’s supporters, backers.
Populism is for people, not corporations. With every unaffordable co-pay, every child amassing student debt, every new car that isn’t affordable without a ten-year loan, every news story of one more privacy right sold- more and more of those Trumpsters are realizing what a phony he is.
I may not agree with every Sanders’ position, but he’s not a liar, not a user, not a cheat. That’s the real difference.
2
One sure thing we all will be very happy about is Bloomberg-unlike any Dem so far- will destroy Trump at his own trashy games.
Bloomberg will not personally exchange insults with him.
But he will have an army of super-techno savvy mercenaries that will hit Trump 10 times harder for every insult.
And there will nothing off-limit or off the table.
The deeper Trump sink, Bloomberg will beat there.
Bloomberg will hit him hard where nobody dared before.
There will be ads about Stormy and Karen McDougal hush-money payments.
I wouldn't be surprised if runs add on social media about Trump interviews on Howard Stern where he brags about fantasizing of "dating" his daughter Ivanka. Nor Bloomberg will shy-away from exposing how Melania stayed here illegally for five years working gigs as a paid escort and nude model for cash. Then chained migrated not only her family but her entire village from communist Yugoslavia.
1
My personal theory about Bernie Sanders is that anyone who calls himself a "progressive" and yet endorsed the arch-capitalist and carpetbagger Hillary Clinton CANNOT be trusted. For crying out loud, she was on the Board of Directors of Walmart!
He's a gutless wonder, and also a follower, rather than a leader. Also, he's recently had a heart attack, would be nearly 80 years old when sworn in, and so probably couldn't even serve even one full term in the White House.
Ask any cardiologist or insurance actuary what his chances might be of doing one of the toughest and most stressful jobs in the world for four years without keeling over dead, and they'd tell you, "not good."
Sanders and Biden both need to think seriously about retiring, rather than handing Trump his second term on a silver platter. After all, they have GREAT federal retirement packages!
Which most of the rest of us, don't.
The truth is that few people would vote for the unpleasant Trump, if only they had a realistic alternative. Instead we get a choice between "moderate" Democrats, who want lots more free stuff, and "progressive" Democrats, who want virtually everything to be free.
The only reasonably sane "Democrat" running is the billionaire Bloomberg, but he's an anti-gun nut and is already backtracking/ apologizing for some of his most successful policies in order to appeal to "progressive" Democrats. Trump is an embarrassment, but he follows policies that benefit all Americans, or at least those Americans who pay their own way in life.
This republican who voted for his first democrat for Pres in 16'. I might be able to vote for Sanders because for me he would be the ultimate protest vote showing my disgust for the current occupant. However, this is becasue I have the cover of MA which will go blue. if I was living in PA or OH, I would have to vote for the libertarian, me, or not vote for Pres.
This is the fifth time I"ve said that while I will support Sanders in the general, I think his chances to win are nil.
Note to posters who troll me: I'm not going to spend time defending my views. I'm not alone in them, and the last thing we need in the Democratic party now is absolutism.
I see a lot of cosmetic similiarities between Sanders and Trump, but there's no question that only one is pure evil, a fake and a phony, a liar par excellence.
But one wants to restructure government while the other wants to destroy it so it can revolve around him.
A winning message is to beat Trump, but not necessarily at his own game.
5
@ChristineMcM vote blue whatever combination, does not matter.
Bring democrats together with every word thought and deed.
1
You could argue from a different perspective that Mike Bloomberg is just as much Trump's alter ego as Bernie Sanders is. Both are outsiders who were not taken seriously and even viewed with hostility by their respective parties (not to mention NY Times pundits), but who had the personal resources and ego not to need to play by party rules.
Right now, Bloomberg looks like the only candidate who can go head-to-head with Trump and beat him at his own game. His weaknesses will be strengths against Trump and the Republicans, who will not be able to call him a socialist (as a billionaire and founder of one of the most influential capitalist media tools) or soft on crime. Why was he not on the debate stage last night, when the latest NY Times poll has him at #4 nationally, ahead of 4 of the 7 candidates who were in the debate?
Trump is fundamentally uninterested in our national problems, he just uses people’s concerns to manipulate them into focusing attention on him. Any Democrat who thinks that he or she must find a way to beat him in a debate better understand that they have to change the attitudes of those who back Trump no matter how silly his behaviors or illogical his assertions.
First, Trump is reflecting concerns of people about their personal sense of security and future well being as they perceive it to be. They fear change because it threatens what they have.
Second they object to the way our form of governance enables people to behave contrary to what they believe is right and in many ways forces them to support those ways of behaving. For Trump’s supporters that includes the liberty of people to have abortions, which they believe is immoral. Another are others attempts to infringe upon their liberties, including trusting them to keep and use their guns as they have for all of their lives. They expect the same respect for their liberties to control their own lives while they oppose others from doing so with respect to what they believe is wrong.
What this is amounts to the loss of the popular consensus upon which our government is based.
The thought of Sanders in the White House, waving his arms , yelling "danger, danger" (like the Lost in Space robot), and haranguing without any way to pay for his democratic socialism programs, is just as frightening as 4 more years of Trump.
No Sanders means no Nina Turner and no Jeff Weaver, two of the most toxic "surrogates" on any campaign, as bad as Kellyanne Conway and Steven Miller. None of the above, please.
The hypothesis that Sanders will "recapture" 2016 disaffected Democrats is ludicrous. Even worse, he'll alienate moderate Democrats and independents, not enough to vote for Trump, but just enough to stay home, order in delivery, board up the house, and get ready for the first National Purge.
Fellow Democrats, think long and hard on Super Tuesday — there's just one shot to beat Trump in November (if he doesn't cancel the election), so pick strategically, not emotionally. The future of a free America hangs in the balance
1
My friend who supported Bernie told me that it when it got down to casting her actual ballot, she couldn't bring herself to vote for Hillary and just left that part blank. Where does she live? Florida! I was not a Hillary fan but Bernie's portrayal of her as an unprincipled and corrupt corporate neocon probably helped lose her the election. If he does this again to another Democratic nominee, it will help Trump again.
1
It's one thing to think that Sanders is far to the left and challenges the status quo, but quite another to state that he is the left's mirror image of Trump. The main difference is that Sanders is a good person who is well intentioned and actually wants to help people. And you know very well that Trump is a horrible mean, cruel, greedy and selfish person that likes to see people destroyed and could care less about most others.
2
Trump's presidency has been based on two issues: How can he enrich himself and how to lie and stir confusion to keep himself in power.
Of course he is threatened by Bernie Sanders, who will body slam him if they ever debate.
My own theory is that Trump will refuse to debate the Democratic candidate. He will say there's no need. But the bottom line is that he knows whoever is the Democratic nominee will make him look like the know-nothing liar he is.
3
Talk about pseudo populism.
If ten children from the ruling class want to go to a public college with free tuition rather than to an Ivy league education factory (highly unlikely) what's the big deal. Frank sounds like he is concerned about all the poor students who would somehow be ripped off if they can go for free because other people with money will also be going.
The same with this nonsense about the sanctity of private health insurance that covers everything and anything until you are actually sick. Then you become destitute if you are lucky enough to stay alive. Again it sounds like Frank wants to protect people from being deprived of their health care by some form of universal medical coverage. By the way it is presented you wouldn't know that universal means universal and that everyone would be protected. And that clearly can't happen unless people demand it and struggle for it. And in fact remain vigilant that it isn't undercut by the greed, incompetence and cynicism that is a f dominate feature of our present situation.
4
What Bernie fans don’t understand is that over half the country won’t even consider voting for him, particularly those in swing states, no matter how fired up his support is. You can’t persuade people in swing states to jump in the deep end voting for a far left candidate- it just won’t happen, even if Trump commits murder.
1
I just don’t buy this argument. In 2016, pretty sure most polls in swing states showed that Bernie would have beaten Trump, had Bernie been the Dem nominee
3
Our current predicament is partly due to the wimpy, overly conciliatory (probably compromised, in some cases) Democrats and their failure to present a united front against the ravages of the amoral economic libertarians who run America's corporate world and their dim-witted front men, Ronald Reagan, G.W. Bush, and Donald Trump.
The time for playing nice is long past. I wish Nancy Pelosi had impeached Bush (and Cheney, the brains of the outfit) for starting the Iraq War, but with too many "go-along-to-get-along" votes for the war from the Democratic side, it would have been awkward.
I'm sick to death of seeing the Democrats give away Sudetenland after Sudetenland. Yeah, Pelosi is being applauded for ripping up Trump's speech and getting parental leave for federal employees earlier, but was she hoping that we wouldn't notice how bad the rest of the budget is.
I was the same age that AOC is now when Reagan took office. I am more than ready for principled, scrappy Democrats to start dragging America into the 21st century.
3
I will say what I said back in 2016. If Sanders became POTUS and wanted any of his ideas to go into effect, he would have to become a dictator. I said the same thing about Trump. I voted for Hillary. Turns out I was right about Trump.
The Senate has just declared that the President of the United States is above the Law and free to do whatever he or she wishes. If Sanders is elected President, unless the Senate reverses itself and rules that only Republican Presidents who are white, male and Christians are above the Law, that means that Sanders will be above the Law. Sanders is, fortunately, not a psychopath and does not seem to be insane or suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but IMHO, if he wants any of his ideas to come to fruition, he will have to bypass a Republican Senate entirely (unless they are voted out) and rely completely on executive orders. This would kind of make him a dictator, much like Trump only in reverse.
To conflate Sanders with Corbyn is plain silly Frank. Without listing your errors, overall you exaggerate the similarities, and minimize the differences. It’s by far not your best piece. The UK and the US are very different countries, socially, culturally and historically, despite being in the so-called anglo-sphere. Take Mr Sanders faith. He is jewish, Corbyn certainly is not. Corbyn has for long periods being accused of anti-semitism, his defenses against this being unclear and confused. Corbyn never has had the wide support that Sanders has. It seems to me you just don’t like Bernie. Also the label ‘democratic socialist’ has a different meaning in the UK and Australia, than in the US. I like your columns, and you have passion, but, is it that you want more that anything for the Democrats to win? The earth is not going to spin off it’s orbit if they lose. They’ll win eventually, and the GOP will go down into the trash bin of history, like all far-right parties.
1
I like how he admits he is probably wrong, at the end.
2
You can't implement any policy ideas if you don't have the Senate, so the choices are pretty clear
Win the election or win the argument - you can't have both.
Sanders would be fine in Canada, but here in America, no. The ground has not been prepped for his ideas, Americans are much too brainwashed and ignorant for a rational fact-based discussion.
As well, remember that Trump lied throughout his campaign and his zombies swallowed it hook, line and sinker. At the SOTU he continued those lies. Will they buy it again, when the evidence is clear that Trump has no intention of respecting preexisting conditions, wants to cut medicare, etc etc.? No one knows.
We live in interesting times.
"Sanders is a populist of the left as surely as Trump is a populist of the right"
This is entirely incorrect. Yes, Sanders in a populist in the traditional sense of the word - he cares about the people and wants programs to help them. Trump is a PINO - Populist In Name Only. He abhors the general populace. He uses the word "populist" in the same way as saying he wants to protect people with pre-existing medical conditions, or how he would never touch Medicare or Medicaid. He's a primo baloney merchant through and through. In no way, shape, or form is he a populist. He is the exact opposite. His entire sphere of concern circles around only ONE person - himself.
Any notion that Trump is a populist is sheer propaganda from the right wing. They have appropriated this word to gaslight the American voters into thinking warm, fuzzy things about him. It's time for the voters on the right to wake up and realize that Trump is the anti-populist. He HATES the people. He is actively working to tear their existence apart, and he BRAGS about it. And in the next breath, he lies about it.
Trump is not a populist. In fact, his status as a human is doubtful as well.
2
Seems like a lot of folks, including self proclaimed Democrats, still don't understand that Bernie's supporters demand a whole lot more than simply beating Trump. We won't settle for more thin soup as served up by Obama, Clinton, Biden, Buttigieg, etc. Clinton's stunning defeat has propelled folks to finally demand more than the same old liberal song and dance that can't even deliver a victory over someone as incompetent as Trump. We are done with that, and done with giving up everything that matters just to "win". Make no mistake, Bernie's supporters are deadly serious.
2
I do not support Sanders, and I am concerned that he would drag the Democrats to defeat in November.
But let’s be real here – Sanders is a normal human being, whereas Trump is a pathological liar and an extreme narcissist who peddles paranoid conspiracies.
Furthermore, while I would be concerned that a Sanders foreign policy might weaken American security, it is clear that Trump is an asset of Vladimir Putin in Russia, and continues to betray American security and values.
Sanders represents an established wing of the Democratic party, whereas Trump represents no one but himself.
Trump represents a clear and present danger to the world. There is no equivalence.
3
One thing that occurred to me while reading Frank Bruni's piece is that Mike Pence is a real weakness for Trump. Trump's fractured grandiosity required him to select a dull, lifeless statue for a running mate, lest anyone step on his porcelain toenails and send the whole crackling edifice showering to the earth.
If the Democrats can bring 2 fully human participants to this battle, to counter Trump's 1 red ogre on a Pence-shaped pedestal, they may have a chance.
My suggestion would be Sanders Bloomberg, in either order.
Here is my thought in regard to political etiquette: rules exist within a context. When that context changed, rules have to adapt to it too. When one is dealing with a barbarian like Trump in terms of political etiquette, one cannot act like one is going to an English tea party. It would be like insisting on lining soldiers in a row to shoot like it's done in the 18th century when machine guns have been invented. It's not gallantry, it's stupidity. Critics who mourn the loss of niceties in political campaign are like lumbering dinosaurs slowly marching on not noticing agile mammals were running circles around them. We need new rules in politics and the smart politician who figures it out will win the day.
I think it's important — if you get that far — to read the last paragraph of Bruni's op-ed.
Basically what's being said is that Bruni finally has no idea whether Bernie can win against Trump or not because the "conventional wisdom" that claimed Trump had no chance in 2016 was wrong.
I like Bernie until he starts punching up at BillionairesBillionaires are not a monolithic group who by virtue of their wealth automatically sinister and greedy.
Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer are poster children for billionaires who are taken their vast fortunes and are using them to fight the same fight Bernie is fighting.
Bernie’s sophomoric sneering at an entire class of billionaires is nauseating.
Bloomberg and Steyer have an absolute right to have their voices heard. I find it pitiful that you would try to marginalize based soley on their net worth. How dare you.
Punching up is not a good look especially when it is coming from a millionaire politician who has spent the majority his career in Congress where all members have the best medical coverage all all the tax payers dime.
1
Bernie is not Trump, no one is. But he does share the Messiah complex, the arrogance and a Trumpian level of deceit in not releasing his health records.
If he is our nominee, I suspect we will lose 40 states.
1
Bernie is more of a primal scream than a practical answer. Like a starving person can only imagine a lavish banquet will do to satisfy the cravings.
We have gone so long with so many needs languishing, unaddressed, worsening. America is desperate and that desperation has only been made worse by Trump.
It is tempting to reach for something, someone radical in another, more acceptable direction in the hopes that near-term we will see refreshing and wanted improvement in the lives of average Americans.
My fear is that, as much as I trust Bernie's intentions, he is more likely to produce another kind of stasis. The stasis of the magnificent socialist dream state floundering on the rocks of an entrenched capitalist culture that will not change overnight....and even then only by increments.
2
There is nothing radical about Bernie. His policies are popular with the majority of Americans, which makes him—in fact—a centrist. (The other Democrats are right wing and to the right of Nixon.)
In addition to fighting for policies that would help the American people (while others push toothless tepid reforms to avoid scaring their wealthy donors), Bernie has built a movement with more than a million activists ready to pressure politicians on policy.
3
@SurlyBird Bernie is not just screaming. Read his platform with proposals for how to carry it out.
3
Foolishly I used to accept what I and most Americans were fed was the truth, eith respect to our now out in the open corporate owned government.
We believed that both parties were basically decent representatives of the people, all of the people, all of the time, empathetic and willingly sharing the wealth of our nation, and now after a lifetime of allowing myself to be fooled, I wake daily and watch as our self-appointed Masters, realizing we are finally awake, double down their efforts to pull the blindfold back over our eyes, and use everything and anything to pull us back to sleep.
They never considered that Bernie would have the chutzpah, the staying power to relentlessly keep up his attack on their theft of the wealth of America, their plan to beggar the poor and the middle-class and remake our nation into a modern-day Feudalist society.
Allowing these charlatans to return the status quo policies of the last 40 years will seal our fate and end any possibility of our Democratic Republic survival.
It is in every sense, "Bernie or Bust"; they surely know it because the bursting will occur in their greed-ridden camps.
8
Trump combined the populist message that he and Sanders share with a potent mix of of racism and xenophobia. That was the secret sauce that led him to the presidency and since Sanders' approach lacks this ingredient, his recipe will fail.
1
@LLB I respectfully disagree. I believe there are more Americans who believe in decency and our democracy than are full of hate and want a king to tell them what to do.
Mr Bruni has enough rhetorical brilliance to make a gecko seem like Godzilla. So all the selective framing, clever elisions & massaging of facts, does not change the fact that every western democracy has a form of universal health care, while costing half as much, with better health outcomes, that are far superior to US consumers.
For some reasons, Best Practices, never seems to inform the debate w the MSM.
2
“He and his followers practiced (and aced) absolutism: You stood with or against them — there was no squishy in between — and America could be sorted neatly into villains and victims.”
Isn’t this the exact same narrative pushed by progressives? If you keep feeding the beast of polarisation, you will be devoured eventually.
1
Great piece. How about doing the same study on The Donald Trump Theory of the GOP? He thinks they're all chumps, as Jane Meyer stated in the film, "Get me Roger Stone." That's who Trump really is. For his own purposes of being king, he's using the anti-choice evangelicals and the spineless, bought-out GOP. To me, that goes to the heart of the dangers we face as a country. We can already predict what he will do and say about whoever he eventually runs against, Bernie or someone else. That's easy. Those rabbit holes are well-worn. However, exposing the flat-out naivete of his followers is one thing that may chip away at the castle wall they've put themselves and the other "chumps" behind.
3
Can one of you centrists clutching your pearls over the rise of Sanders point out exactly what makes you think a centrist candidate would win? When is the last time a centrist candidate won an election? 20 years ago?
Hillary, Romney, McCain, Kerry. All center-left and center-right candidates, all losers. Trump, as awful as he is, caught fire precisely because he promised to upend the establishment centrism that so many voters loathe. A black guy with the name of Barack Hussein Obama beat a respected senator and war hero because he symbolized a break with the moderate establishment that led us into a disastrous war.
Fact is, centrism has resulted in an America where a growing number of people are being left behind. Almost half the country can't afford to keep $400 in savings, one in five children live in poverty, we have half a million medical bankruptcies each year, Obamacare is ridiculously unaffordable - as is state college tuition. This isn't the fault solely of Republicans, it's the establishment of both parties that have orchestrated this sorry state of affairs.
Sure, Bernie may not win. But there's plenty of evidence out there pointing to the fact that a centrist won't win either. And that's great news. The "moderate" policies that are leaving so many people behind need to die. The voters have been screaming as such since '08. The GOP finally got it in '16 (even if it gave way to a would-be tyrant). If the Dems want to win again, they ought to listen too.
9
Sanders beats Trump handily. The centrist Democrats carping now are not going to sit at home or vote for Trump. That will not happen. Sanders will take back the Democratic voters who voted for Trump last time. Trump has done absolutely nothing for them. What Bernie is proposing isn't radical in the least. He is just trying to provide Americans with government paid health insurance like those wild, crazy Canadians have had forever. He is trying to provide a minimum wage that is actually less than those out of control, radical Australians have. And he is trying to provide a college education that is tuition free for Americans that virtually the rest of the free world offers their citizens. Crazy, radical, out of step? The only people who truly believe that are the ones who vote for Trump out of greed and nothing else and they will not come close to getting Trump elected again.
8
It looks like the Democrats and Republicans will vote based on personality. Just like they did in high school.
3
Sanders is (again) the Democratic Party's worst nightmare, for two reasons:
1. He's unelectable. His supporters cite polls to claim he could win against Trump, but those polls mean nothing. If Sanders is the nominee the right wing media will unleash a fusillade of oppo research like you've never seen: Marxist rants, honeymoon in the Soviet Union, wierd sexual musings, Castro and Sandinista support, etc. Sanders would go down in flames, in a landslide defeat worse than McGovern or Dukakis.
2. Even if he's not the nominee, he is already playing the spoiler again. (And yes, he absolutely did that the last time, with his hostage-video "endorsement" of Clinton and his obviously begrudging non-support "support" of her at rallies.)
A finger-wagging curmudgeon closing in on 80 who has already had a heart attack, who speaks of "revolution," and who has been a back-bencher with virtually no accomplishments despite all his years in Washington, should not be the Democratic Party's nominee.
Yes, I will "vote blue no matter who," but I also voted for McGovern and Dukakis. Please, not again!
Senator Sanders: If you mean what you say that the number one priority is defeating Trump, drop out of the race NOW.
1
Where did this Bernie as messiah trope come from? My sister in law brought that up a few weeks ago. His ideas are better, that is all.
8
"Social democracy" or "social democrat" is not a fashion term, but the constitutional description of most EU nations.
For less educated Americans and journalists this usually leads to confusions.
"Socialism" -- Marxist and Soviet style.
"Social democracy" -- Western EU during the Cold War until today.
3
I fear Bernie. Not his policies that will not pass.
Bernie willl change the election from a referendum on the decency of Trump.
Bernie can make it a referendum on American Capitalism vs. Left Wing Commie Socialism & cast Trump as hero and protector of “Good old time American Capitalism.” Bernie will take the focus off Trump’s perfidy. No other candidate can cast Trump as a hero, champion & Protector of the American Way vs. Socialism.
I’m not in the age cohort that supports Sanders. I will vote for Bernie if he is the nominee.
Consistency and absolutism are appealing. They are a recipe to achieve nothing in a country of 330 million disparate views. Compromise is required to accomplish good . . . but “Compromise!” is not a sexy campaign theme or rallying cry.
Shouting for good paying jobs, health care, child care, education, Mom & Apple Pie the loudest or longest does not get it done. It appeals to younger voters. But the romantic cry “We need a Revolution!” is not a strategy. It’s a bumper sticker and a tool for the Republicans to use against us.
Republicans have a billion dollars to label Sanders (truthfully) a “Big Govt Knows Best Socialist“ who will take away your health insurance. His debate response was, “But I’m a Democratic Socialist.” The distinction won’t sell in Wal Mart. His poll numbers will drop.
Republicans did not worry that Putin favored Trump. It should worry Sanders supporters that Trump wants Bernis to win. The party must be fact based.
2
Bernie Sanders would be a disaster candidate period. He is devise. His supporters are divisive. His surrogates are divisive. I don’t believe Americans are up for a Bernie revolution after enduring 4 years of Trump chaos and upheaval. I know I’m not. I’m exhausted from it all and Bernie promises more of what I’m tired of. The far left is a small fraction of the Democratic Party. It is an even smaller part of the country as a whole. We didn’t have the blue wave in ‘18 because of the far left. The moderates are the ones who won. I pray Sanders is not our nominee. Trump and the GOP are licking their chops at the prospect. The ads with hammer and sickles are all ready to go. It is a nightmare scenario. He can’t win. He won’t win and then we get Trump for another 4 years. I can’t envision anything more horrible than that.
2
Trump has taken the entire political culture prisoner. Even his dullest opponents have now become what they profess to hate and are busily aping his tactics as they are dragged along in his wake.
2
I am a Bernie Sanders supporter. I will support the Democratic candidate- no matter who it turns out to be. That includes Bloomberg. Trump, the Republican Party, and Trump's base, are all authoritarians. I hope everyone recognizes the threat to democracy posed by 4 more years of that deplorable triumvirate.
I live in a red state. Not all, but enough of Trump's base and Republicans here are Christrian authoritarians (that's what the Pro-Life movement is here in the "heartland"), white supremacists, and wanton supplicants that there should be real fear in this country about the continuation of the republic if Trump is re-elected. It was a strategic mistake for Hillary to say it, but she wasn't wrong- Trump's base is deplorable. As an over 40 white guy in rural America, I get to hear them speak their terrible minds. They are racists, bigots, homophobic, jingoists. Dog whistles are real. And they listen for them. (And talk about them. Charlottsville was music to their ears. Trump's "good people" whistle was well recieved.) Moreover, they are armed, still angry, and yes, they hate diversity, tolerance, and facts that do not serve their worldview. There is no reasoning with them. I've tried for 3 years to lend an ear and just talk. They still seethe with resentment. The next 4 years will not be like these last 3. It will be worse. They live for it now.
All of us-- leftists, liberals, moderates, and independents-- must vote for the Democratic candidate, no matter who s/he is.
5
A contest between Bernie and Trump is a contest between Good and Evil. Bernie is for the average American man and woman, Trump is for Trump. Bernie does not want to destroy the top one percent, he just wants them to pay their fair share. Trump gives the top one percent tax breaks for personal kickbacks from them. Bernie is incorruptible, Trump is totally corrupt. Some of the top one percent are corrupt, they along with Trump will attack Bernie. I ask the American people please check Trump's record, and compare it to Bernie's record. If you do I am confident you will know who is telling you the truth.
7
What better foe for the Republicans than HRC in 2016? Why do you think that there was a clown car of GOP candidates despite the success of the Obama administration?
McCain would have been president if the Democrats ran HRC instead of an obscure freshman senator in 2008.
4
Sometimes the safest place is in the middle of the herd. Britain left the herd. Now they’ll have to watch out for predators on their own.
1
@David J
If you stand in the middle of the road, you get run over by both sides.
2
Thanks NYT! If there's one thing Americans can count on in 2020, it's the media accurately telling us who is and isn't electable! You don't like Bernie. We get it. This point has been made. And made. And made. It just doesn't stand.
10
Exactly. If both parties are calling out the establishment for all its corruption and problems, then the liar loses and the one we trust will win.
Who trusts Trump? Not even his "supporters." They just hated what he opposed. But they are ready to hear what he was saying about the corrupt insiders helping themselves but nobody else.
Along comes Bernie, who says that, and is telling the truth too.
7
The whole Jeremy Corbyn = Bernie Sanders argument is totally bogus. If anything, Jeremy Corbyn = Hillary Clinton.
Shocked? Let me explain.
Corbyn did not lose because of his ridiculous litany of Socialist programs, most Brits cannot tell you what he promised or even whether he promised them. What they thrashed him for was his moronic suggestion of holding another referendum and reversing the Brexit vote.
His failure was to see the people had been through a drop in the pound, a slowdown in the economy, lots of confusion, and the whole ruckus in the Parliament, that they just wanted the Brexit thing to be done. Like a person with a painful tumor they just wanted it out. The last thing anyone wanted was another referendum and another 3-4 years of chaos and uncertainty.
So it was not his policies it was his being behind the times. It was his lack of leadership when he could have helped Teresa May out and shepherd her Brexit plan through Parliament and let people get on with their lives. Skeptics - that is what Nancy Pelosi did for Bush with TARP and the bailouts and stimulus plans in 2008. It worked for the people, Obama won in 2008.
Corbyn did what Hillary did - offered zero charisma, had no awareness of public sentiment, promised to maintain the status quo (Brexit debates and chaos) which in Hillary's case was endless wars and interventions and globalist policies, money in politics, rancorous division in Washington, etc...
The moment needs an FDR - Bernie gets it.
7
Bernie Sanders a messiah? In continental Western Europe the policies he is advocating are the norm!
4
@Douglas Paul Pilbrow That means he's a "messiah" in Trump's America.
Bruni - and almost every other writer in this paper - are saying the same thing: Sanders likely won’t beat Trump.
Please, please listen to them, you Sanders fanatics out there:
Their right.
2
@Steven Roth Not according to a MANY polls that show Bernie beating Trump. I support Bernie but I'm not a "fanatic." I'll vote blue no matter who gets the nod.
6
"Their [sic] right?"
I see that the Trump U graduates are in force on this board.
2
At the core we are more conservative than progressive. If we run Bernie, Trump will win.
Personally, I think Trump will win anyhow, because he has a solidified base and party behind him, and a solidified message, and a fantastically efficient propaganda machine, and the Democrats are a goat-rodeo. Infighting, and a failure to create a unified message let alone a unified set of voters will defeat them. Trump has the ability to lie like a snake oil salesman and get people to buy the snake oil; the Democrats can't even prove the snake oil is a fraud.
Go ahead, run Bernie. At least we'd put to rest the idea that he alone can defeat Trump, and maybe we could focus our attention on finding or creating the heart of the Democratic Party and finding real, viable candidates.
Sanders is popular with millennials, many of whom are threatening not to vote if he doesn’t get nominated. That is troubling but I really don’t think he could beat the Trumpistan Nation, in 2016 or 2020.
Bloomberg opened a field office in Ann Arbor yesterday and it was packed. My heart is with Buttigieg but I think Bloomberg has a better chance of winning.
The stark contrast between Bloomberg and Trumpy is compelling. A big part of Don the Con’s appeal is that he’s a “successful businessman”
Bloomberg is a real successful rags-to-riches NYC businessman worth $62B The twitter king is worth maybe $2B? thanks to Daddy and God knows who else.
Bloomberg has a media network in place AND boots on the ground thanks to his philanthropy. Trumpski governs based on Fox News and was fined $2M for bilking his own charity.
Bloomberg has bipartisan appeal and is a skilled politician. He’s a lifelong Democrat but ran on the Republican ticket for NYC Mayor to win, which he did 3 times, the last term as an Independent.
In short, pun intended, Bloomberg is a much bigger man.
He's a king of sorts but in the age of Citizens United, 21st century information wars and in the land of uber-capitalism he’s the best chance we’ve got. He’s 77 but appears to be in good health. With VP Klobuchar in place, we’ve got a good back-up.
Warren would make a great VP too. Why? One reason and one reason alone.
If McConnell is re-elected she’ll be his boss. :)
3
@Sara Stacey Abrams would be a good choice for VP, too. Klobuchar would help in the Midwest, but would her Senate seat be up for grabs and vulnerable? I like Warren best, but she wouldn't bring any swing states along. We need to defeat McConnell. But yes, seeing her as his boss would be satisfying.
@Kathleen RE: Amy's vacated Senate seat.
Perhaps Franken can get it back? I don't think he should've been ousted to begin with but it could be argued that he's been duly reprimanded.
"A Republican friend of mine rolled his eyes (and maybe even licked his chops) at the possibility that Democrats would nominate Bernie Sanders.
“Have they learned nothing from Jeremy Corbyn?” he asked."
When did James Carville become a Republican?
His endorsed candidate (Bennet) received exactly zero votes in Iowa.
5
Donald Trump has been a fire tornado. A destructive force and calamity ripping the country and the future to shreds. He's not for the people. He's for him.
Republicans through buckets of water at him. Nothing. Democrats dumped fire retardant from helicopters. Nada.
Say what you want about Sanders. You can't say that he's in it for himself. He's in it for regular folks.
All we have left is to fight fire with fire. In the end however, I suspect it will be Donald Trump who sends himself up in flames. It's inevitable. The question is when.
I'm with Bernie all the way.
6
Why does every news outlet concentrate on the “front runners” and give short shrift to those who actually advocate something useful and plausible. Amy Klobuchar is often overlooked and this is indeed unfortunate. I’d love to see her in a debate with mr. T. Please, someone wake up and pay attention to reality and not the Bernie show. To paraphrase Fareed Zakaria, the Democrats say we’ve got a 20 point plan for that and Trump shouts WALL and Bill Maher told Steve Bannon he wishes we had someone as evil as he on “our side”. I’m now actually questioning remaining a Democrat.
The last 2 people that the bankrupt, impeached and spray tanned President want running against him are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Nothing that he says can shame or weaken them. A bully relies on fear and neither of them fear him. The best thing is though that they can both explain in credible fact how he has sold out the working class of his so called base. Just another Con man working the long game. what I hope to see soon is a naked Emperor standing before us with his tiny hands completely covering his embarrassment.
3
I’d rather a genuine fighter taking on the malefactors of great wealth and their media sycophants than a soulless test tube baby germinated in a lab for the purpose of mouthing inane platitudes in support of the status quo.
But enough about Pete Buttigieg...
Sanders is the anti-Trump and there’s no better foil or counter to the fake champion of the common man than he -nor is there any candidate more capable or credible to expose Trump for the tin plated phony populist that he is .
Trump is weak and needy , self centered and fragile . Sanders is strong , unafraid of criticism and all about building a movement of collective strength dedicated to sustainable change for the betterment of the commonweal .
This is about real choice rather than shuffling around the figureheads lording over the broken remnants of the American Dream turned dystopian nightmare .
4
Bernie Sanders is a better man and would make a better president than Donald Trump.
6
"(Trump) vowed that he would 'never let socialism destroy American health care.'
Of course he won't! That's *his* prerogative.
1
There is one big difference between Trumps md Sanders comparative dynamic. Trump is vetted continuously that hate his guts (the entire mainstream media). That same media has not vetted Sanders at all. If they (you) ever decide to do that, he will be exposed for the fool he is.
1
Democrats, pay heed to the warning from James Carville: "If Bernie wins, Trump wins." You may win arguments with the purity police but you'll lose the election.
5
I’m 67y old & I support Senator Sanders!
Senator Sanders is open, honest, authentic, consistent & humble. His character, his policies, his vision and most of all his voting record are what make me confident, not 'anxious', about his ability to lead this country out of the corruption, inequality, war-mongering, and rigged economy that have marked my life in the Army as well as my working career!
Frank Bruni argues none of this matters, that Sanders explaining truthfully to Americans why healthcare bankrupts Americans & inequality just keeps widening the gap between haves and have-nots ... none of this matters.
Why doesn’t The Old Gray Lady & Frank Bruni come down on the side of generations of working-class Americans, past, present & future, and say Enough Is Enough?
4
Sanders fundamentalists don’t listen to arguments (you’ve wasted your time, Frank Bruni). If their candidate is not selected, they will not support anyone else. They thrive under two scenarios: either Sanders or Trump in the White House. This is how resentment fuels itself. As a bonus, you don’t need to present any reasonable argument for anything, ever. Internet trolls, anyone?
1
I’m concerned that at this stage the race seems so open. I think that any of the candidates would be a much much better president than the truly terrible trump but there won’t be much time for voters to become familiar with the one that eventually does emerge. Trump was already familiar because of his decades of myth making self-aggrandisement and his godawful ‘reality’ show. But when a caucus voter didn’t even know ex mayor Pete was gay and he’s been on the front of Time magazine with his husband.... what hope with trying to get traction on Amy Klobacher? Though I find her impressive. Anyway, no solutions, just concerns! ...
3
A common misread regarding the popularity of Bernie is that he's a demagogue with followers who possess a rabid devotion to him. All the better to discredit a platform that would address actual problems faced by Americans.
Senator Sanders ideas and critique of the political system is in sync with how many average Americans feel. Let's be real, he's not some charisma laden dude. To paraphrase steyer, quoting Carville, it's the income inequality stupid. Why else do we now have multiple democratic nominees adapting his ideas or pretending to. Kamala Harris, mayor Pete and beto all at different times, pretended to support medicare for all.
3
Mr Bruni would have it that when Bloomberg's spokeswoman Julie Wood calls Trump “a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan," she's speaking in the spirit of Trump himself.
Exactly wrong. Ms. Wood speaks the exact, factual, documented truth. If it seems outrageous or norm-busting in its sheer awfulness, that's simply because Trump himself is, in fact, so awful. To equate such discomfiting truthfulness with Trump's cheap and dishonest cruelty is to play by Trump's rules.
1
Trump does what he does because the Republicans allow him to do it. Therefore what Trump does is what the Republicans wants, directs, and helps him do. His lies are their lies. He derives his power from the Party. The war the Republican Party started is their WMD for America. It is equally has destructive. The goal of democrats has to be to remove every Republican in every office in America. Not just Trump. Russian interference and the Ukraine scandal can only be birthed from a well structured criminal organization. And I firmly believe that the Republican Party is a party built on organized crime. The majority of Americans are not going to stand for Trump’s re-election. We will explode if that happens.
3
For some time I've seen the similarities between candidate Sanders and candidate Trump, from the "system is rigged" rants to the fanatical supporters who, rather than reason with, bash and trash those who voice reservations about him or support for an opponent. One BIG difference - Sanders is sincere, Trump is self-aggrandizing.
2
Ideological alter ego? Trump doesn’t have an ideology. In 2016, he was a boorish screaming clown with a blank slate, across which his supporters could project their own images, mostly populist ones at odds with his elitism and pro business bent. Sanders spouts views at odds with the majority of Americans and with the reality of a sharply divided government. So all he has in common with trump is his relentless anger, conspiracy stories, and his unwillingness to compromise.
1
While we get much of the usual nonsense here, I do appreciate the following acknowledgement:
“The reasons for his success include his similarities to Trump, but don’t get me wrong: There’s no alignment of agendas among the two of them, no common set of political values and no moral equivalence — not remotely. I’ve read too much journalism that comes too close to suggesting that they’re versions of the same old white guy and have the same sloppiness with facts, talent for bullying and instinct for demagogy. Trump is a tyrant all his own.“
It’s nuts that we have many Democrats and pundits more worried about Sanders than Trump.
5
You US Americans are so afraid of leftists, it's just ridiculous. The democratic party would not be seen as "left" in any other democratic country and Bernie Sanders would never be called a socialist. What he is proposing, is common sense. Your country has ruined its educational system for too long, putting a price tag on good education. Your kids are your future and you send them to profit based charter schools or deny them to go to university? You truly don't deserve someone like Sanders or Warren, because you are driven by irrational fears and bogus political views. Go on, Donald and Betsy will give a whole generation brain damage, your economy - and unfortunately your people - will pay the price.
4
Disgusting, expected, and will only help Sanders, and for reasons the Brunis of the world will never understand.
3
“Polling shows that most Americans dislike a “Medicare for all” plan that eliminates private insurance, as Sanders’s signature proposal does.”
What polling shows this? In fact the opposite is true. Tens of millions of Americans do not have health insurance. The ones that do pay astronomic premiums for inadequate coverage. The few very privileged people at the top of the heap like their insurance because their insurance doesn’t really matter - they can afford whatever out of pocket expenses they incur.
The NYT editorial writers, along with the Democratic establishment are Bernie’s biggest obstacles. They will do anything to get in the way of a Bernie victory, even if it means Donald Trump wins. The New York Times is going to be on the wrong side of history.
3
The answer to the question of who can beat Trump is: none of the people running. Bernie would have won in 2016 had Hillary and the dems not torpedoed him...and now it's too late.
The fascists have taken complete control of the government and the courts. Their dirty tricks machine is unbeatable, certainly by such as the dems have to offer. It's a foregone conclusion that they will lie, cheat and steal their way to victory.
The question really is: will the dems side with history and the will of the people, and run Bernie, or will they complete their self-immolation with compromises that please no one, rendering themselves finally and for all time irrelevant?
3
The most interesting observation in this piece is that the "spirit and lessons of Trump" are "all over" the Democrats. Precisely!
And why shouldn't it be? That influence is one of the strongest reasons why Trump is so destructive a president. His lies aren't harmless, nor are his ignorant, impulsive, and misguided actions. But it's Trump's arousal of prejudice, disparagement, and disgust amongst us, not to mention his encouragement of disrespectful and abusive behavior generally, that will finally destroy us if we let it. Its effect is not limited to those who engage in politics -- it's spreading all over our country and, some would say, the world.
3
You have a choice who you vote for, I see Amy Klobuchar as the best candidate. We need some sanity back in the WH.
1
I'm not a Democrat, but I will vote for anyone not named Trump.
5
Here's the thing, even though there's a fear that Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Bloomberg, etc. candidates may be another Clinton/Obama clone, which isn't that bad, but not great, they represent the so-called centre, along with some disaffected Republicans and Independents. HRC was one of these people. She barely lost to Trump. Trump himself said that 2016 would've been harder with a Clinton/Sanders ticket. Imagine a Gore/Nader ticket in 2000.
Judging by pure #s at this point, the Sanders+Warren camp is still polling lower than all the others combined. So the moderate wing is slightly stronger but not by a whole lot. They both need each other.
So my point is that these two wings of the D party have to compromise somehow. When they do, they win. They were able to compromise for Clinton and Obama for various reasons but primarily charisma.
A ticket is a way to compromise.
Steve Bannon said Ds will lose in 2020 for the above reason: the inability to compromise. This is a problem Ds have, since the moderates have been infiltrated with disaffected Republicans (the big tent has gotten bigger). Only a full ticket with cabinets can signify that compromise.
I truly wish that the 4th Estate would stop referring to the illegitimate occupant of the White House as a "populist," which he never was, and still is not. This is such a grotesque perversion of his appalling history of crushing his own employees' rights and stealing their wages, his daughter's use of underpaid workers overseas in the manufacture of her cribbed design trash and trinkets, the family's decades of hiring undocumented immigrants and then firing them when they could garner more white supremacist support from doing so, refusing to pay contractors performing legitimate work for his failed businesses, his contempt for unions, etc. He has been lying, Frank - nonstop, as he has for his entire life. Bernie is what he is, and I am not a big fan, but there is a veritable ocean of difference between them. Stop the false equivalencies, please! The very future of this nation is at stake.
4
Excuse me, Frank, if I am just stating the obvious, but doesn't everyone remember that the Russians also did everything they could to give Mr. Sanders the Democratic nomination last election? To his credit, Bernie made it public that they had intervened on his behalf early on in their efforts to bring Hillary down -- and, I might add, to maximize discord during and after the elections.
To this day, I encounter Democrats repeating totally disproven slander regarding Hillary Clinton and offering it as an explanation for the weakness of her candidacy. Garbage off of social media planted by Russian operatives.
Please, America! Why, oh why would we want to participate in an election designed by the Kremlin to bring us down?
3
taking back the majority in the Senate in November is America's only hope of ridding our Oval Office of an unfit and unlettered commander-in-chief dictator. Isn't voting by majority of antitrumpers our only recourse in our broken American democracy?
4
So, Bruni just be clear here, which of the Establishment DNC-approved candidate are you pushing here? You did this back in 2016, so why not today as well, just like the DNC is currently doing. If you actually want to WIN in November the STOP alienating voters who, even your Establishment candidate will need. Remember Hillary and Debbie Wassman-Schultz and how they divided the party?
6
A view from liberal Austin. Why in the world would the electorate exchange a cranky crazy old man who yells at them with a cranky non-crazy old man who yells at them?
Removing crazy from the equation doesn't motivate voters. That's effectively all Sanders does. Time to turn down the heat and pick a left-of-center Democrat. Any Democrat besides Sanders. Really, any one but....
1
The note that "most Americans don't support Medicare For All (MFA)" is simply wrong. It's true that many people don't. They are the ones with good medical coverage they can afford or have no comprehension what it means.
The ones that do support MFA don't get polled. They have little or no Internet, don't subscribe to news media and are too busy working more than one job just to keep a roof over their head and food on the table.
2
"Turnout in the Iowa caucuses was hardly reassuring. It appears that about 170,000 Iowans participated — considerably fewer than in 2008, when 240,000 people took part."
This is not a valid comparison. The 2020 world is much different then 2008 - 12 years ago. More of our lives are spent online with much less live social interaction. Fewer people turn out for evening events - especially one so convoluted and demanding as the Iowa caucus. Consider the changes in the economy discouraging attendance at evening events, travel costs for low income folks, lack of childcare, people working multiple part time jobs, etc. are the real reasons why turnout is less then 12 years ago.
4
Comparing Sanders to Corbyn is no good—Britain already has socialized medicine, and they love it.
Humans are inexplicably drawn to extremes, to novelty, so there is no way of knowing how a Trump-Sanders election would go.
However, I suspect the soybean farmers are looking for another savior.
3
All of this hand-wringing is a setup, right? It's all an attempt to further stir up the progressives? Brilliant Bruni. We need passion, we need effective fear. We need the centrists to write like this so the young, the poor, the discarded, are energized to vote.
7
I have only one goal in voting for president. Defeat Trump. Simplistic, yes. Focused, yes. That's the only way we will win. There is one candidate to support, and that is Mike Bloomberg. He has the money, the campaign design and execution, and a good record. Let us not blow it, my fellow Democrats.
5
We have a united Republican Party facing a split Democratic Party. The key, if it comes to Sanders, is for centrists Democrats and the party machinery to fully mobilize their support. Face the facts, it a centrist can't win the nomination, a centrist is not going to win the general. I'm for Bernie, but I will do everything possible to get a Democrat, any Democrat, into the White House.
7
We're having our far right revolution...how's that working for us?
I hope one day we are prepared for a far left revolution - key word "prepared" - but right now a far left revolution would be no more successful than the far right revolution we're in the midst of.
I am a proud, lifelong Democrat. I served in elected office myself. The slate of Democratic candidates we have is exceptional. Put them all together in a President's cabinet and we'll meet this nation's challenges - and serve the world - positively, powerfully, and productively.
But any candidate who does not see that now is not the time for a far left revolution...is no more present to the reality of millions and millions of Americans than Hillary Clinton was.
Those people out there who have been suffering since the crash need reasoned, wise, experienced, mature leadership to strongly and steadily move us forward toward a more balanced, positive, productive - if imperfect - nation.
Change takes time. If people really wanted a "revolution," they'd be out in the streets demanding one. As it is, we are poised behind our technology hoping someone will fix the country for us...and fast becoming a "victim nation."
Rome is burning. We don't need a leader to add to the fire, but one who will help us rebuild.
4
@Kelly Grace Smith
Far left, with its open borders, amnesty, decriminalizing the border, socialists medicine and full blown socialism, will never win in America.
And as for your “out in the streets revolution”, it’s already taking place in NYC.
Last week they descended upon the subway system, vandalizing it and changing anti cop slogans. Today, they shot 2 cops in the Bronx.
Seems the threat to America isn’t from the right, it’s from the left.
A second Trump term could be tolerable if the house and senate had clear democratic majorities. i despise Donald Trump but democrats could work with him - he just wants a win. So the real path to infrastructure and the public option and education and debt reform could all be accomplished via democratic majorities in the house and senate. The only problem with this path is that Trump won’t budge on any tax reform where his 2017 changes are reversed.,..and that puts us in a path to recession.
2
Not tolerable. Bar association unsponsored judges and the Supreme Court tilt to right matter s great deal.
2
Polling also clearly indicates a majority of Americans have for sometime favoured progressive policies regarding home life, the economy, social safety net and taxes but a significant plurality still voted for Trump. So much for polls and the intelligence of American voters.
6
More false equivalency?
Sanders is right, on almost everything,
like it or not.
Trump is wrong about almost everything, and intentionally
lying out of both sides of his mouth, shamelessly,
keeping his base fascinated, entertained and gulled.
Sorry this stark reality is inconvenient
and that it's strong points only seem to feed
Trump's fraudulent narratives.
It will be the same, whoever is the candidate.
10
Watching that Democratic Party debate last night all I saw were losers including a run down worn out Joe Biden. Although once unthinkable, I’m now planning on supporting Mike Bloomberg because I believe he is our only realistic hope of evicting the most dishonest, dishonorable, and corrupt president in American History.
7
Bernie Sanders is what people thought they were getting when they voted for Obama. Then, when it turned out that “Yes we can” was just a slogan, when it turned out he was just Barry from Harvard, as interested in bailing out rich bankers as any Republican, folks deserted the Democratic Party in droves by the 2010 election.
The truth of the matter is Barack Omaha was a centrist, corporate Democrat who fooled everyone into thinking that he was Eldridge Cleaver. That’s why he presided over a disastrous rout of Democratic candidates at all levels of government, a disaster that culminated in the loss of his chosen successor to the most unfit candidate in American History.
The implosion of Joe Biden (aka, White Obama) should be enough to convince the Democratic Punditocracy that we need something different. But apparently Trump supporters aren’t the only ones living in an alternate universe untroubled by facts.
16
All of these points can be easily rebutted, and have been numerous times.
More of the same from Frank Bruni.
Why bother...
11
“Look closely and you see the spirit and lessons of Trump all over the Democratic primary and the Democratic Party.”
Maybe you see it in Pelosi, Biden, and Bloomberg, Mr. Bruno, but Senator Sanders has been nothing but respectfully honest. Perhaps he’s the only candidate who is asked to answer for the behavior of each of his millions of supporters - largely mythological characterizations started by the Clinton campaign and perpetuated by the candidate’s opponents and the establishment media - because he himself is so honest and polite and you’ve got nothing on him but “irascible”. Yes, he and his supporters are angry.
Aren’t you?
11
Bernie "essentially tied Pete Buttigieg in the Iowa caucuses" --by getting 6,000 more votes?
Dom't you wish, Frank Bruni.
13
Bruni, tell this to the millions of people sending their lunch money to Bernie looking them in the eyes.
Just do that and see if you write another one of these articles ever again.
16
I think Mr. Bruni sees it wrong, as well....
5
The republicans want Sanders to be the democratic nominee so they can scream that he’s a socialist until their eyes pop out of their heads.
Meanwhile, the republicans cozy up to Putin of the formerly socialist — actually communist — Russia.
10
A Republican friend of mine rolled his eyes (and maybe even licked his chops) at the possibility that Democrats would nominate Bernie Sanders.
“Have they learned nothing from Jeremy Corbyn?” he asked.
“Maybe not,” I acknowledged. “But they’ve learned a lot from Donald Trump.”
Give me a break.
The average American eligible voter......doesn't.
The ones who do vote can't even tell you who is running.
Americans don't know much of anything about the candidates or their policies. They will wait for a family member or friend to tell them who to vote for and if they do vote that will be about it.
6
There is no similarity between Sanders and Trump. None. (Don't get ridiculous about two hands, two eyes, etc.) The republicans will slime whoever is nominated, just as they did war hero John Kerry in 2004. Sorry to see you joining that crowd Frank Bruni.
12
I love Bernie and I respect democrats who don't. There's been a lot of negative anti-Bernie campaigning in corporate media (like right here, in the NY Times!). The Dem Establishment is having trouble finding ways to attack Bernie directly, so now his fans are being targeted. Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised if those were Russian bots posting messages on Facebook as "Bernie Bros", horrible memes obviously meant to divide Democrats. Let's not fall for it. Remember that real Bernie Bros, like me, are a lot less toxic than the white supremicist, sexist Trump fans who are giving rise to this shameful racist, sexist climate in the USA.
11
A socialist revolution? I don’t think so.
4
Yet another Times columnist “concerned” about a Sanders nomination. Surprise surprise.
All you need to know is that there were twice as many Bernie-primary/Trump-general voters in the midwestern states as Trumps’s margin of victory.
That you think the opinion of your “republican [classic] friend” means anything shows how unbelievably out of touch you are. They had their chance to reform society and they blew it. Now they’d prefer a “Republican light” Democrat to save them from what they’ve sowed? NO KIDDING.
Sanders is not Corbyn. The US is not the UK. Sanders’ central proposal was radical in the UK (and Canada and France and so on) A CENTURY AGO.
We are 4 years into this and still the media seems convinced Trump is some anomaly that just needs a Biden or gay equivalent to set us back on our comfortable Regan/Clintonian course.
Get a grip. That world is gone. Either the Left puts up, for the first time in half a century, an actual answer or the people will take their chances on 4 more years of house-on-fire.
11
Will any NYT columnist ever use examples of other democracies financing universal HC? Low tuition? They have as centrist what Sanders promotes, but here called radical.
In past generations we had free or low cost state university tuition which expanded our middle class.
What's 'free stuff'? Corporate welfare---we all pay for their tax breaks and huge CEO pay. Politicians get a cut of the profits with camaign donations.
See Feb 1 NYT editorial on 10th Anniversary of Citizens United.
"More Money, More Problems for Democracy.
Countering private campaign funding with public campaign funding is the most viable way to limit the political influence of the wealthy."
Any comment, Frank? Boring topic?
8
I'd really love to read some political Op-Eds in the Times from people for whom the Status Quo is not going so well and who don't have so much to lose.
7
Of course Republicans in NH and elsewhere will support Bernie because it will help stumpy.
EVERYONE should be fully aware of this scam and its risk.
Clearly if Bernie wanted to help defeat stumpy, he'd do THE right thing; drop out, while trying to rationalize his policy choices.
But he can't do that because he sees himself as the new messiah, rather than the doddering old fool that he most definitely is....
And bros ?.... stop it. Just stop it.
5
This comparison is a big stretch... nice try though.
3
Despite the prognostications of all you Bernie haters, there are many who believe he has the best chance of beating Trump precisely because of his true (instead of Trump’s fake) populist credentials. It’s a joke to compare him to Jeremy Corbin who is unpopular with his own party because he has no ideas. Bernie has provided the rest of the democratic field this time around with most of theirs. If the party can’t get behind him they need to get out of the way. They already tanked the 2016 by throwing (fixing) the nomination for their “preferred candidate “ and look where that got us...Michael Bloomberg...what a joke
7
@Jim Wilkins Bloomberg's positions are well to the left of Biden and not that far from Sanders.
3
Mr. Bruni's at it again.
In 2016 he was slashing at Sanders and crowning Hillary.
An FDR-like politician brings fear to Bruni's heart? What is going on with these people?
It is the so-called liberals like these Times' columnists who are going to re-elect Trump by being blind to the fact that millions and millions of Americans need, NEED, exactly the things Bernie Sanders proposes.
Why in the world aren't people like Bruni joining politician in the struggle to make America a much better country for its citizens?
You would think NYTimes columnists would eagerly want to join a solid movement for the benefit of the general welfare.
I just don't get it.
7
I'm older, retired early, white, and send $$ Bernie weekly. I'm tired of listening to the logic of the punditry from DC and NY. Your lot, left & right, were so far off the mark 4 years ago it was truly shameful, whilst any half wit could see Trump winning, both nomination and the general. Here we are again, and again, a misread of what's going on. On a side note, let's be honest, Corbyn was hamstrung by Brexit and some remarks he made that damaged him. His positions in a country where health care is a right, are mainstream.
7
The idea that free health care for all would bankrupt the country is a republican smear, so succesful that the majority of registered democrats (and the NYT, no less) believe it as truism.
Are Germany, France, UK, Canada etc... failed states?
Are they bankrupt? Yet, they manage to spend much less than the US in healthcare, while providing healthcare as a right for their citizens.
You would expect that people like Frank Bruni, who - i assume - have a passport and a college diploma, would consider this simple and verifiable fact before throwing falsehoods, banalities and false equivalences with Trump against Bernie Sanders.
I suppose we have the President and the journalists we deserve...(how do you like the equivalence, Mr. Bruni?)
9
Frank, while your increasing desperation over Bernie's surge is amusing to watch, you really risk your credibility with your silly comparisons. Trump's "alter ego"? Really? So, working to make sure everyone has access to health care is the equivalent of separating babies from their parents at the border? Advocating for LGBTQ rights is just the other side of the coin from race baiting?
6
Bloomberg/Booker will win it.
5
@Linda or Stacy Abrams, or Klobuchar.
When I hear people say that a 78-year-old Jewish socialist or a gay man or a woman can't win the election, I say, "who thought that the guy there now could win?"
5
“a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan.”
Bloomberg's campaign must be clueless. Everyone already knows this. Pointing it out again may elicit cheers but its not going to win over any Trump voters to tip the scales in key states.
3
No to Bernie; please, no. Yes to Amy; maybe to Elizabeth.
3
I am not a Trump supporter but can’t believe the antiTrump rhetoric in this newspaper. All opinions and editorials are critical of Trump and he remains popular among half the electorate.
A newspaper can have a bias but it seems like a party propaganda machine.
1
Those of us from the Midwest know that Bernie does nothing to inspire the heartland. Medicare For All? A non-starter. “Socialism”? Not really that appealing. And the purity tests? Simply stupid.
But the real problem is this. How does a left-wing independent get anything passed in Congress? He doesn’t. He has a constituency of around 16 in the House and zero in the Senate.
Remember all those people who said, “the lesser of 2 evils is still evil.” How’d that work out for ya? Donald Trump will win a second term. I didn’t think so before, but I’m ready to bet on it now.
Hillary Clinton lost the electoral college by 110k votes. Bernie will lose by way more than that. I was gonna sell my condo in Thailand. I think I’ll hold off.
One more thing: why did Trump go after Biden, but seems to embrace Sanders? Just guess...
3
@RodA You don’t need affordable health care in the Midwest or accessible higher education? You are not tired of the medical bankruptcies? Help me understand.
2
Ralph Nader gave us Bush Jr. and Sanders gave us Trump. Will he do it again? My bet is yes; Sanders is as much a rigid, go it alone ideologue and narcissist as Trump.
3
Sanders did not almost win in Iowa. He lost nearly 50% of his support from four years ago (and yes, I understand how the caucus works). That is not a serious contender and you should stop wasting ink on him. What is really astounding is to read the NY Times and watch it's reporters and pundits twist themselves into pretzels to ignore the obvious. Bloomberg is in the race...for the Democratic nomination and the only fella who seems to understand how to build those numbers is Mayor Pete who turns out to understand the numbers as well as Obama did. Ah yeah, but he's gay. (Sorta like Hillary was a woman and she womped Trump in the vote, or Obama is black and he won two terms...I daresay if Pete wins the popular vote and Putin again the electoral college, Pete will know how to dislodge the pretender from the White House...as will Mike; the other ones, not so sure). But I also agree with bigred642, we have to swing the Senate and keep the House. I think Bloomberg is the best bet to create some coat tails in the red and purple states. Pretty hilarious to have Biden railing at Pete for not being Obama when this past week Bloomberg was saturating the Florida airwaves with his ad featuring Mike and the Big O. I have to say, his advertising instincts are phenomenal.
3
You’ve perfectly encapsulated a lot of the lies and wishful thinking being put out by the Bernie crowd. Buttigieg 2020!
1
Please. Bernie has earned elected office for what 30 years? He's devoted to a vision that lifts others, not himself. Populism vs. elitism, perhaps. But to compare Trump to Bernie? Moronic in the extreme.
7
The sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling, the end is nigh!
2
To use a horseshoe theory of politics (equating the hard right with the hard left) is disingenuous and dangerous. Especially in America politics.
I get that the NYT board and its writers are handmaidens of the establishment but let’s really examine what happens if we elect Trump again vs electing Bernie.
With Trump you continue down a road of cronyism and corruption. Of shrinking national parks and shrinking reproductive rights. Of a bigger slice of the pie for the rich and crumbs for the poor.
With Bernie you get a chance at a fair and robust healthcare system. A chance at an economy that works for more people. A chance at a foreign policy not predicated on our control of oil and an energy policy built around keeping the earth from boiling over.
So explain to me the real downsides to electing Bernie? Or rather, maybe it’s worth electing him so the economy tanks or he does something stupid to shut up us young leftists in the same way that electing Trump has shown the utter hypocrisy and stupidity of the GOP.
6
When the chips are down you can count on the NYT to side with the establishment. Remember their endorsement of the Iraq war. That memory always tempers what I read in the Times.
7
Irascible? Curmudgeon is a better synonym. He's Trump with a different set of enemies but the same pointing finger.
1
Pretty typical; for the NYT. Maybe, instead of hallucinating about Bernie Sanders, you should sit in the crowd at a couple of his speeches.
First, re Corbyn. We did Brexit in 1776...end of comparison.
Second, Don't pretend to know what the electorate wants when you live in a very privileged world. Do you ever sit down and talk with a truck driver or waitress or a kid who is struggling to make ends meet while paying off school loans? Talk to some of the millions of people who are making $7.25 an hour. Try to figure out how many jobs you would have to work to go out for a burger on a Saturday night. Third...drive across America and actually look at the way Americans live, I guarantee, you will never be the same.
7
WoW! It seems like the NYT now requires its opinion writers to write at least 1 wild anti-Bernie piece a week based on fear- mongering and warped comparisons, whether between Bernie and Trump or Bernie and Corbyn. While some aspects of Bernie's economic populism and appeal to "non-traditional" voters or the disgruntled, has some similarities to Trump, the comparisons end there. The people that are "losing their minds" are the James Carvilles and Chris Matthews and the other numerous pundits and chattering heads who think we're still living in the 1990s in terms of electoral paradigms. The wild over-generalizations about Sanders supporters, with the thinnest of anecdotal evidence to support it, has to end as well.
8
Berine Sanders is going to teach the Democratic Party to compromise with the Republicans, not itself, before it ever even thinks of sitting at the table.
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Bernie has a real distaste for compromise in the strong, simple expression of his views, and in particular for his theories about wealth and how our current system works. But he successfully works with people who hold very different theories, and gets good things done. Trump is utterly incapable of doing this.
Bernie has and will compromise on making his ideas real, but not on expressing them. He always get back to what he sees as the heart of our problems, healable only by something new that he calls a political revolution. He will make deals and compromises but continue to sell his vision.
Because both he and Trump are mold-breakers does not mean they are the same. Bernie understands and believes in the system; he is no Lenin or Hitler. Also no Trump.
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@sdavidc9
If Bernie believed in the system, he wouldn’t be a socialist.
Capitalism works. It’s the one system that has brought millions out of poverty, and creates growth and prosperity.
Socialism does the exact opposite, hence the foundation for the famous saying.....
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
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@Capitalism4Ever
Capitalism by its internal development turns into what we see in Russia -- somebody or some alliance wins and the state as a fair referee turns into the state as the tool winners use to keep winning.
It is the Chinese Communist embrace of capitalism that brought millions of Chinese out of desperate poverty. But, unlike in this country, their capitalists are constrained by an external force that will discipline and limit them when they go against the Party's interpretation of the common good. Without such an external force, capitalists crash their system.
One guy puts kids in cages, the other thinks kids shouldn’t be put into cages. One guy lies every time he opens his mouth, the other disagrees with the author of this piece sometimes. One guy is provably corrupt, the other hasn’t been even accused of impropriety in a thirty year career in public service. One guy brags of sexual assault, has had a series of obviously transactional marriages, and has paid off porn stars to hide affairs. The other - not. But sure, they are practically the same because ... they are both angry at stuff.
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A senator with decades of political experience—filled, no less, with many examples of compromise and working with Republicans—held up as the “alter ego” to a crooked businessman-turned reality-show personality with absolutely no experience serving the public good?
What a load of jumped-up, hyperbolic nonsense, and an extremely disappointing piece from an otherwise smart and perceptive writer.
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Trump is a kleptocratic oligarch in populist clothing. The person most adept at exposing his hypocrisy should be the Democratic nominee. It’s still too early for a final determination but Bernie has to be a top contender.
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Some things about Bernie:
1. The Mueller Report revealed that Russian propaganda and agents supported two candidates. Bernie and Trump. Most of the propaganda for Bernie aimed at dividing progressives and moderates.
2. Bernie had a heart attack and refuses to reveal his medical records and financial records.
3. Despite his image as a Democratic Socialist, Bernie has a past as a communist sympathizer. He honeymooned in the USSR. He gave a speech in Nicaragua in favor of the Sandinistas while they chanted about “yankees” dying. He called the hostages in Iran CIA dupes.
4. From Snopes: Claim: Bernie Sanders wrote an essay in which a woman fantasizes about...something terrible. Rating: TRUE.
I hope that people take a long and hard look at this info. Because the GOP will definitely use it.
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Seems simple. A Democrat rallying for the people , and a republican, rally for corporate interests.
Wealth inequality is at its widest gap since the 1880s. Do you think the republicans want to close that gap? Oh no. -“The richest 1 percent now own 225 times the median wealth level, up from 131 times the median in 1980. That top 1 percent owns 38 percent of the wealth in the entire country; the bottom 90 percent of Americans own 22 percent.”
America’s teachers, doctors, business owners, journalists, and janitors pay taxes at rates between 25 percent and 40 percent.
Hedge-fund managers pay 20 percent. Do you think republicans are working for those “working” people?
I remember hearing trumps stump speeches in 2016. He was for the “little guy” the forgotten ones”. What’s his message now? He hates democrats. They are coming to get you? Fear again, with no substance.
Trump’s advisers and donors include the very Wall Street plutocrats -Betsy DeVos, Wilbur Ross, Stephen Schwarzman, Steven Mnuchin, Gary Cohn. So do the some of the biggest donors to the Republican Party. And so now, that lofty campaign promise is vapor.
The one candidate that has never wavered in his believe is the one candidate that the NYT can not stop harping on. One might question why that is?
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The daily rationalistic blather from the “never Bernie” ops is tiresome.
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This is a pretty disrespectful take, considering the readership of the NYT. Sure, some of us who were living in DC in 2016 thought that the flyover state people who called into NPR’s On Point show were crazy...particularly those who said they were “on the fence” between Bernie and Trump. We were the idiots, not them, since pundits and commentators alike couldn’t grasp how one offered a frontal lobe and progressive approach to addressing their problems, while the other offered lizard-brained, gut-level aggression instead. The DNC tipped the scales towards the latter.
These takes not only draw false and misleading analogies, but suggest that supporters of any given candidate aren’t actually capable of acting reasonably based on their worldview.
Are you going to say that AOC supporters are similarly duped by her “messianic” character? Let’s be serious.
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Best first sentence yet from you, Mr Bruni!
Bernie will change the 2020 election from a referendum on the character of Trump to a contest of American capitalism vs. Commie socialism.
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@JT - John Tucker I, for one, knowing Bernie's Platform and hearing him speak at his rallies, am all for that contest between take-it-all, I don't care if you suffer and die capitalism, vs. let's-share-the-pie, we're in it together "Commie" (shows your ignorance of political science) Socialism.
A good dose of socialism is what this country needs now, to support our society, and not the constant theft, theft, theft, of the majority by the minority.
America does not enjoy a capitalist society right now, it is a kleptocratic oligarchy. Bernie, at least, addresses that point, and has never participated in this process. All the others, including Warren, have.
FEEL THE BERN
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@GBB I am not against Democratic socialism. I wish our country was more democratic and more socialist. Not the point. We have a chance to out Trump if the election is a referendum on how horrible he is. Bernie's candidacy will distract from that. The Republicans will create a false narrative of American capitalism vs. socialism and make Trump a champion of The American Way.
Every Dem wants to end injustice, racism, address science & climate change, education, wealth distribution. "We need a revolution!" is not a strategy to accomplish that change. It is a bumper sticker slogan Republicans will exploit. They will ask the Midwest to Stand up for America and warn (correctly) that Bernie wants to take away their health insurance and make working people pay for elite's education.
I understand Bernie's goals have merit and there is merit in voicing them. He has no strategy to implement them. The need is urgent. Unless you know of some way Bernie will pass his agenda he is just the Republicans' favorite opponent to transform Trump from a horror into a Defender of America against a Socialist.
I will absolutely vote for the Dem candidate. Please do the same.
"Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Bloomberg’s campaign, recently called the president “a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan.”
Bruni offfers this as an example of the left going too far with the rhetoric. But isn't it just the simple (though admittedly unvarnished) truth?
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Similarities? Trump is passionate for his personal gain. Trump is vindictive to the weak. Trump is ignorant to a fault. Trump is a coward who won't stand up to dictators. Trump lies with ease. Trump governs with fear.
what similarities?
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Well, you were all in for 'nice-guy' Biden a minute ago.
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“ Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Bloomberg’s campaign, recently called the president “a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan.””
I guess Michelle Obama’s charge to “go high” has been abandoned, and I’m not sure how to feel about it.
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Are you, at the Times, unaware of Sander’s fact checked past? Or are you deliberately ignoring it? Either way, it doesn’t speak well to your credibility as a news organization
From Snopes:
Bernie Sanders wrote an essay in which a woman fantasizes about being “raped by three men simultaneously.”
Rating: TRUE.
Why won’t people talk about it? It should be an editorial, frankly, from both sides of the issue.
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Does the poll saying Americans dont prefer Medicare ask the question
like this?
Do you prefer having your Health insurance stripped away when you are waiting results of your biopsies? Thought so. More garbage smears from the times.
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Both Brooklyn born and bred Bernie Sanders and Queens born and bred Donnie Trump are prime examples of the very worst bloviating bullying buffoonish macho male New York City stereotype.
Al Sharpton, Rudy Giuliani and Chuck Schumer are their pretty pathetic veritable clones.
Smiling and smirking Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin would prefer to hack, interfere and meddle on behalf of Donald Trump against Bernie Sanders in 2020 than any other candidate after Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren.
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More baseless Bernie bashing from Bruni.
40 years of DLC triangulation, capitulation to Republicans and centrist complicity in the downfall of the nation delivered us Trump.
The disastrous Presidency of Barack Obama, pitted as a “change” election that would deliver new “hope” and a return to FDR-like governance, instead turned out to be a neoliberal nightmare resulting in the largest transfer of wealth to the already rich.
Adding insult to injury, Obama’s deranged sidekick HRC, who destroyed entire nations in her tenure as SOS and never met a war, Wall St check, arms deal, or radical jihadi she didn’t like, was anointed to continue Obama’s anti-99% agenda.
Her Trump pied piper strategy, her incompetence, her congenital lying, and her atrocious record caught up with her, ultimately giving us Trump.
Instead of some contrition, introspection and desire to reform, by abandoning their losing centrist strategy, the Clinton/Obama crowd went completely insane, chasing down every rabbit hole from Stormy Daniels, pee-pee tapes, collusion...all the way to the impeachment farce, that they predictably lost, emboldening Trump and alienating all but the most hardcore partisan hacks.
Trump’s pro-corporate policies are an extension and expansion of those pursued by the Obama admin. It allocated trillions in taxpayer money to bail out the banks and flooded the financial markets with cheap credit, driving up stock prices.
Let’s remember that we, the 99%, have the power of the vote.
Go Bernie!
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There's something very wrong with this column. You criticize "Bloomberg’s merciless trolling of Trump with commercials that make him look fat...." Now just a minute. It would be trolling if he made Trump appear somehow different than he really is. But how could you make Trump look thin without massive lying? The guy is clinically obese. That's a fact. What would you prefer? A fake Trump? Please!
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I’m kind of tired of the Times pushing its agenda: Look into Yang doing this, Bernie is the new Corbyn, Warren completely ignored, ...
Never read anything about Biden grabbing a voter’s collar in Iowa, Klobuchar throwing binders and a phone at personnel, Buttigieg’s South Bend, IN with its Apple Store, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Notre Dame next door, ... not exactly being your average Midwest town, ...
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There's more than one difference. Jeremy Corbyn is a blatantly anti-semitic thug. Bernie Sanders is Jewish. Corbyn opposes Israel's very existence. Sanders opposes the anti-democratic racist thugs running Israel, not Israel itself.
Sanders sounds like a one-note with his goal of reducing income inequality. But Zach Mortensen's seminal statistical analysis shows that if we can reduce our income inequality to Canada's level, our gun violence deaths will drop from 16,000/year to about 1,500, a FAR more effective means than all the 2nd Amendment violating restrictions put together. And isn't that what we ALL want? To drastically reduce gun violence in America?
Besides, if you LOOK at most of the problems our nation faces, it's counter-intuitive but supported by hard data that the one step of reducing income inequality will affect most of them (not pollution, of course).
Bernie excites people. Biden, much as I respect him, does not. Democrats who excite people win. Democrats who do not excite people lose.
Look at Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore, Mike Dukakis, Walter Mondale, and Hubert Humphrey. Even though George McGovern had strong ideas, he didn't excite people the way Eugene McCarthy or RFK did in 1968.
But if you look at EVERY Democratic winner since the Civil War, they ALL brought something special to their campaigns, from Cleveland to Obama.
I don't think Joe Biden can win. I HOPE Bernie can.
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My god, just another in the New York Times constant stream of 'stop Bernie at all costs'. You guys should just put a banner on your front page 'No Bernie' and be honest about it. This deceitful pretense that you use to pretend that it isn't a coordinate attack is absurdly obvious.
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if Bernie and his supporters had been more magnanimous and voted for Hillary, we wouldn't have Trump. Bernie is a sore loser who would cut off his nose to spite his face
every single oped coming out of the nyt is the same. what don't they tell you? Bernie beats Trump in all the head to head polls. don't be fooled, they're not afraid of losing to Trump, they're afraid of Bernie's policies
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Bernie will win!
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Trump has an eccentric, obnoxious personality, but his politics are relatively centrist & moderate. Sanders has an eccentric, charmingly grouchy personality, but his politics are far leftist. This is a gigantic difference. Trump vs Sanders results in a clear Trump victory. Pretending otherwise is idealistically foolish.
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Frank, you should read today's Maureen Down. She's spot on.
Bernie is TOAST!
"FREE" everything and guess who is going to pay for it....
YOU!
Do you really think voters are going to pay for someone else's FREE education FREE health care etc.
I voted for McGovern and every subsequent Democrat... but will not vote for Bernie.
FREE is a total loser
IF I was Pinocchio I would contribute to Bernies campaign
Amy and Pete vs another old white man...yawn....
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Try to see who is toast by asking the millions who send Bernie his lunch money.
They will respond appropriately.
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How is it it possible for someone to say that Sanders in any way resembles Trump? Trump is a lazy hypocrite of gigantic proportions, a liar, a person that probably insulted his own mother--he is a person with no character, or rather the character he has is stinking rotten. In no way does Sanders fit that description. And yes Sanders can win, all it takes is votes.
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Enough already: Sanders is no hard leftist nor a wild eyed fanatic. He's a 21st century FDR who is much much better on race and gender (it's a different time). Frank is a total disappointment here. It's as if, to go on with 1930s analogy, he equated Hitler with FDR! FDR was not perfect but compared to what was happening in Germany and Italy he was fantastic. Though he did not fight racism in the South in Congress African Americans loved him. Sanders is also the most popular candidate among all minorities (racial, ethnic sexual). Also electing a president is electing a team not just one person. Even billionaire Bloomberg acknowledged in 2016 that Sanders could have defeated the cruel con artist.
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Trump won because voters were afraid of what they had been seeing for decades (wage stagnation, climate change, endless wars, exorbitant costs for health care and education. etc.) AND because they had lost all faith in their elected officials to do much about it. Trump at least sounded like he wasn't going to be business as usual (and he wasn't, misguided as he is).
So, what do Bernie and Warren focus on? Abolishing private insurance which happens to benefit the vast majority of voters. Anybody who thinks this issue is going to help conquer voter fears, when one of the things they fear the most is the government itself, is functioning is some kind of alternative universe.
A better issue to pick a fight about would be the GOP senators who do nothing about anything (except the occasional step backwards with climate change and more candy for the rich).
While there are a couple of other issues Bernie and Warren have made headlines with, the solutions they propose, just like abolishing private insurance, have about as much chance of being passed with the current GOP controlled senate as an ice cube in hell and that much the voters do understand (for the most part).
Frank is right. Socialism is not a winning platform. Unity and civility would be a much better choice.
As Bruni argues:
Most Americans dislike health care (Medicare) for all.
Just think again: the (invisible) corona virus is already here. If we try to control it just among Americans, all others (immigrants included) may cause a lot of trouble and deaths. Or may be we call this collateral damage?
Someone else wrote in a recent opinion:
We got here because we have an uneducated population, directed by religion and talk radio, etc.
Bruni ends with Trump's 2016 election: Any responsible political analyst could see it. And almost every responsible political analyst saw it wrong.
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@Jan
I'm sure that my private insurance company will protect me from any virus outbreak. After paying the co-pay, my surgical mask only cost me $150.00.
That's why I love them so much, and give them 40% of my earnings.
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Trump has the ability to create an alternate media reality in which he is the star protagonist. He did this for years as a successful TV personality and he's gifted at it. When you participate in his drama you empower him - as Pelosi did by tearing up his speech. Democrats would be best served by a candidate that doesn't play Trump's game. Put someone young and serious like Mayor Pete on the stage with him, and see how small he becomes.
Plain and simple, nominating Bernie Sanders will guarantee Trump's reelection. Sanders' does not represent the ideology of the people who gave the House back to Democrats in the 2018 election. He is too far to the left for the vast majority of Americans. He does not have a distinguished or proven track record for accomplishing anything after more than 24 years as a member of Congress. Sanders has yet to tell us how he will pay for the policies he proposes to implement and clearly those policies will be extremely costly. This country, and especially the middle class, is hurting. Sanders does not offer anything to that group other than rhetoric. Ideas are great, but ideas will not garner votes from the core of the electorate specifics. Of equal concern are two further considerations. (1) Sanders is not a unifier/uniter which he has demonstrated throughout his career. (2) Sanders will be in his 80's during his first term and polls show that people think this is simply too old for a president.
The Iowa turnout was lousy; that's no reason to think Sanders will motivate excitement among the nation's Democrats. The candidates he supported in the midterms all lost, during the Blue Wave in which more than 40 House seats flipped blue. And we have no idea the contents of the no doubt massive reams of opposition research on Bernie, because Hillary didn't use it in 2016. There's a reason Trump and his supporters keep banging the drum for Bernie. It's not because Bernie can win.
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To conflate Sanders FDR style policies with Corbyn is reductive and un helpful. Sanders is a lot less radical in practice than he sometimes likes to sound. Anybody called for actual nationalization of any major industry lately? How about single provider health care? No; not at all, This is a very mild form of "democratic socialism" that Harry Truman could have been OK with. Why, one wonders, have the Times and Washington Post and NBC taken on themselves to promote hysteria on this? Corporate any--or what?
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I listened to Sen. Sanders this morning and his core values for the country seem the right ones to me. The rub is in how he expects to accomplish those core values.
I listen to President Trump and his core values for the country seem wrong to me. I find it hard to believe that he actually believes in anything other than his own judgment and that he thinks other countries are trying to take advantage of us.
If it came down to a contest between Sanders and Trump, it would be no contest for me, even though I think Trump will be re-elected. What I do not understand, if Sanders’ supporters are as opposed to Trump as I think they are based on their core values, why would they help Trump get re-elected. I have never seen a Sanders supporter explain that.
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Trump has not polarized the country enough, let's try it from the opposite end! Sanders, the part-time Democrat caused Trump to win the election because his supporters chose to stay home with a huff. And, he will give another term to Trump. The substance of much of his arguments does not hold much water beyond verbal gymnastics unless he too intends to rule like Trump. Democrats must come to their senses and focus on the task in hand: Beat Trump. Simple!
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It’s interesting that the Democratic Party has taken on the methods of Trump (questioning results, name-calling, theatrics of shredding speeches etc...). This has driven the party to discuss the primary election as only a question of “ who can defeat Trump” versus what does the Party stand for. There has been so much resistance over the last 3 years that it has not been to able to have a conversation within the Democratic Party to define what it does now stand for. I believe this is one of key reasons why Iowans were perplexed as whom to choose last week.
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Here! Here!
Replacing one fire with another, in this case from the rightist Trump with the leftist Sanders will only continue the burning of the idea of America. Despite the violence, despite the Vietnam war, there was, fifty years ago, a greater overall optimism. We put man on the Moon. Since then, mostly the Republicans, though the Democrats also are not without blame in what has amounted to devolving the functional center to partisan extremes. Why? Because extremism is easy. Us-vs-them is far easier to grasp, makes for better election slogans and a mindset than "how do we solve our collective problems together?" That takes work, and compromise, concepts now out of favor in a winner-take-all mentality and forget everyone else. We need more of Amy Klobuchar's pragmatic realism than Sanders drive the country bankrupt utopianism. Bloomberg as another billionaire trying to buy his way into the election is no salvation either for the working class. Buttigieg maybe now, but more likely a contender in 2024, especially if he can gain a national posting. We all have to really work this time around, or pass the popcorn as it all burns down. Then what?
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The previously disengaged--the alienated, "forgotten" , the unemployed, or otherwise financially insecure , and the first time voter --found in Trump and Bernie a very different kind of candidate. Many had voted for Obama (another kind of candidate no one had ever seen or thought possible).
Many voted for Obama, switched to Bernie, and then settled on Trump as the one to satisfy their ahistorical, entirely emotional, and otherwise uninformed needs for change. This is a democracy, and we don't make people pass an exam in history, economics, ethics and logic before they are allowed to vote.
This is quite clear from the existence of a bloc of voters that at one moment chose each of these candidates to support. We shouldn't discount animal spirits and emotionally-based decisions (the new thinking is that post-hoc rationalization, recency-bias and other biases dominate and indeed account for virtually all human decisions).
I may know that changing my oil prevents thousands of dollars of damage to my car but choose to do it today because I have a crush on the mechanic. But the logic of changing my oil still holds.
The logic of putting everyone on Medicare and creating the largest possible risk-pool and therefore lowering healthcare costs for every citizen is a good choice. If I get there by having my emotions aroused by Bernie's anger over the outrage he gins up about it--fine. At the end of the day the logic of the plan remains as rock-solid common sense.
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Frank nailed it. I won’t vote for either one.
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In 2016 I was torn between voting for Clinton or Sanders. Not because both were excellent candidates but nearly 50 years earlier I'd been picketing to end to the Vietnam war and to extend equal rights to minorities and women. I remember the first Earth Day. And when "Four dead in Ohio" played in loops on the radio...a song that brings me back to the importance of listening to the future face of America.
Sanders got my vote despite his populist message. Later I'm horrified to see the militant brittleness of Sanders supporters, who gave us a nightmare president. This apparent short sidedness looks to repeat in 2020.
Aging is no lock on wisdom, but it offers the ability to see how we either build upon or ignore the past.
Now I picture a great ocean liner cutting through midnight waters heading for an iceberg. Will we join hands and make a course correction in time?
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@Sherrillrose
Do you really think that Bernie will hold rallies that feature calling the press "the enemy of the people"? That he'll incite his followers to beat up Trump supporting protesters?
Will he pick pointless fights over obviously disprovable "alternative facts"? Personally I support Warren, who has attracted zero militantly brittle supporters like me who will happily vote for even Mike Bloomberg if that's the way to stop Trump.
The Democratic party hasn't lost its mind -- it's being brainwashed. The midterm elections across America showed clearly the path to victory in 2020. So what explains why Democrats veered away to the Bernie path? I propose that there was a concerted effort by parties who want to defeat all opponents of Trump -- GOP, foreign agents, etc. to pour money into Bernie's campaign. The surge in financial support for Bernie in the past year is bizarrely counter to what should have happened. We need to wake up before America gets blindsided by those interests for a second time.
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