How Insulting ondelette! Americans have made it clear we want our borders. Trump won on that single issue. The radical left of the is taking liberties in the name of all Democrats. We must insisting potential immigrants apply for entry at centers and then remain outside our border to wait until approved.
Same for College admissions. Entry should be skill based. Scholarships should be available. The rest of the world decides some students would be better served in vocational studies. It is the American high school that fails us by pretending everyone is college prep material. Talent and specific niche training matter to the outcome of our society and "college" is not necessary for everyone.
It is a particular trait of "the left" to label moderate Dems as Republicans. Sanders doesn't appeal to everyone because he would need unlimited money to test his "theories". Don't back Red Staters into a corner. Everyone wants to be free to dump Trump!
3
"Winning" a primary when 75% of the vote went to other candidates is a recipe for disaster. This kind of thing will ensure democrats end up with an unpopular nominee. Meaning... Super Delegates: Part 2
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
4
Bernie SANDERS is the People's President...!!!
Bernie SANDERS is the Next President of the United States
of America, so get over yourselves New York Times!
SANDERS is the Only Saving Grace for the Corrupted Greed
from the Corporations that Control and Own our Corrupted
government and our Corrupted Country!!!
SANDERS is the Only one that will FIGHT Tooth and Nail to
insure that We the People are financially protected from the
Criminal Banking Cartel
Criminal Wall Street Rico Enterprise
Criminal Syndicate Cartel Health Insurance Carriers
Criminal Syndicate Cartel Pharmaceuticals
SANDERS will Fight for Real Civil & Criminal Justice Reforms
SANDERS will remove the Corrupted Judges sitting in City-
State & Federal Courts who willfully deprive those of their
due process and constitutional Rights under Law
SANDERS will Enforce laws that protect Jobs, Housing,
Education, the ADA Disabled and Much more
The Endless Brazen Hypocrisy from the Status Quo New York
Times is Truly Sickening & Unconscionable...!
6
It's an issue for me, being in my 74th, year how someone in their 80th year should be considered as a potential presidential candidate especially given his rambling communist/socialist history. This is the age when, in my opinion, he should be retired resting on his laurels. What are those laurels ? What did he accomplish during his long governmental run ? A list of successful legislation he was able to initiate and carry through to law would be of interest. Additionally any non- governmental accomplishments would cast a preview of what we could expect as president.
I just don't get it.
7
Not one word about Bill Weld. Why no reporting whatsoever of Republican results?
1
Thank you for this article - excellent writing and great clips.
I am delighted that Bernie Sanders may well be the Democratic nominee. Despite fears and worries about his being a Democratic Socialist, he will , if elected, encourage our country towards being a fairer place for all....a place in which fewer people will suffer for lack of any healthcare at all, a place where people will hopefully not go bankrupt trying to pay for needed (often lifesaving) healthcare. It would be nice not to have to stay at a job that one has outgrown or doesn't like due to the healthcare benefit it provides. In short, in so many areas, Presiident Sanders will encourage Congress to fully consider crucial questions that have heretofore been avoided.
I am grateful to the people of Iowa and New Hampshire for listening carefully, and over time, to this excellent man and candidate.
6
Sanders supporters - especially the young ones, where he scores big - are hoping that grumpy graddad has the answers. They have no idea that the old guy is a bad bet to even finish a term in office if he wins.
Sanders can't get over the fact that the Dem hierarchy conspired to give HRC her chance. His support for her was barely room temperature, and too many of his followers voted for Stein - which helped Trump get in.
The Democrats should be looking for someone who can compromise and work with the Republicans; Bernie is just as arrogant and mean-spirited as Donald.
4
@Nat Ehrlich
How do you know that? Your last line is demonstrably inaccurate.
Donald wants to remove pre existing conditions coverage and Bernie wants to guarantee it.
Work with the Republicans? How? Mitch does not even bring bills to the Senate floor. They hold trials without witnesses. Work with them? They are not even really Republicans. Fake conservatives.
4
we don't want the past and we have all of our own
2
Buttigieg has yet to face a well informed electorate. Few know about his administration's dismal record on African-American owned business, hiring, and violent crime, and broken public process regarding each one.
See for example:
https://medium.com/@rkle/a-graphic-column-on-mayor-buttigiegs-administration-and-african-americans-11804d4423d8
5
And you don’t question Klobachar, Bloomberg, Biden’s récord on criminal justice? Hmmm...you may wanna check that out before you criticize and diminish Pete’s record, accomplishments with South Bend’s community.
1
If Liberals split, Conservatives win. it happened in 2000, 2016, December 2019 in the UK, and if we don't get our act together, it'll happen again in 2020 and we'll be as stupid as we are divided. Duke it out in the primaries, but then rally behind the nominee. We can't change a thing (or preserve a vital supreme court seat) if we aren't in power.
4
Progressive liberals--those who don't merely read the Times while drinking a matrtini, but genuinely believe in the advancement of a better, healthier society through material redistribution-- are increasingly united. It's the Democratic electorate that is divided. Two very different, but partly overlapping groups of people.
For the Bloomberg fans.
Joy Reid Makes a Case for Bloomberg: Dems Need Nominee Who Can ‘Fight Like a Republican’ — And He WAS One - REED RICHARDSON FEB 11, 2020 8:39 PM
MSNBC’s Joy Reid said the eventual 2020 Democratic nominee will have to “fight like a Republican” to defeat President Donald Trump and touted former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg because “he IS a Republican, or used to be, anyway.”
2
It is vital that this time we will not be railroaded by the electoral college into having a president the majority of people in this country do not want. The popular vote should mean something and should not be overridden by an antiquated system which allows gerrymandering to overturn the people's choice.
This time we should have a president chosen the voters. Not by the electoral college and not by the Supreme Court, but by us, the American people.
4
These authors like most of the "mainstream media" continue to treat Sanders as an outlier rather than a front runner and the future of the Democrat Party. His support among younger voters is discounted and attempts to marginalize his victories are contemptible and lame at this point. Mayor Pete is a shiny new object for the "moderate voters" and not the future of the Party, if anything he would be another Obama or Clinton (Bill not Hillary), i.e. caretaker and protector of the status quo.
2
I am tired of politicians who failed to either win the nomination or the election to keep coming back and running. They are stuck with the old ways of doing politics and old thinking. We need fresh ideas.
3
No Bernie did NOT win. he got half of what he did 4 years ago.
5
I voted for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primary (Oregon) and I will vote for him again. I am a lifelong Democrat and I want a progressive candidate. We need change. Bernie can win in November. I don’t see him as divisive.
3
It appears from this article that NO ONE can win the Dem nomination. Each candidate has limitations involving issues of health, experience, recognition, money, or something else. Sanders also faces resistance and even hostility w/in the Party (of which he is not a member). For Biden there's no guarantee that minorities will vote for him or for someone else or not at all now that the candidate seems to be less than expected. The combined numbers of Pete and Amy demonstrate a clear preference for a so-called centrist, but separately they have questionable strength. One is personally unknown, the other carries some baggage of immeasurable weight.
So: the door seems open to a Bloomberg or Steyer. They are accused of trying to “buy” the election, though how flooding an area with advertising guarantees anything is beyond me. If they are to succeed, it will be because the others lack viability not because mailboxes are overflowing. What a mess.
2
Succinct and accurate appraisal. Trump will win unless democrats get behind a moderate Dem soon; and one who can win swing states.
3
Bernie can thank Klobuchar for that win. If she hadn't surged as a result of the Friday debate and siphoned "moderate" votes from Buttigieg, Bernie would have lost by an embarrassing margin. This is a fact.
7
I am open to Bernie if he can generate the revolution both he and AOC have been talking about. If he could bring millions of new voters then chances for new democratic senators in CO, ME, AZ, NC are still good. But so far no signs of revolution and he is way behind in votes compared to what he had 4 years ago.
3
I think there are few millions of Americans who really don’t care who Democrats nominate and pass on nomination process. They will show up in November to get rid of Trump.
6
@CarolinaJoe
Yes, but they are all in Blue States.
3
I feel like the far left has hijacked my party as much as the far right has hijacked the Republican Party.
And the instigator here is Putin. He’s our real enemy.
6
Hello...
The DNC pundits got 2016 wrong too.
Not sure we should rely on them for guidance in 2020.
Let the people speak.
6
Democrats, ask yourselves a question: Do you want to win, or you want to be right?
5
Moderates aren’t going to support a leader who will turn our country into a socialist state. That means Trump will win by default if Bernie’s our option.
7
@CD Isn't that what you figured you were doing in 2016? Being right is a good thing and Bernie is one of the better orators out there to deliver the message. Beating Trump needs a wild mob with pitchforks not mild mannered "malarkey" slingers and nobody better to do that than Bernie.
2
@CD
Both. And this nervousness about normal democratic process is just silly. Let’s wait 2-3 more weeks.
2
Maybe I'll wait till the Nevada caucuses but already I can visualize Stephens, Edsall, Friedman, Douthat and Brooks. the conservative columnists at The Times having vapors. The ones over there in the Washpost are already in a full blown panic.
Do they expect to be shipped off to an American version of a gulag if the Democratic Socialist Bernie wins the Presidency? Good grief. Worry about the guy in the White House killing off our democracy with a thousand cuts enabled by his rogue administration and a prostrate GOP Congress.
In any case there are 48 states to go and Super Tuesday may be the defining time to see where the Democrats are headed. It will be interesting to see if Bloomberg will rain on Bernie's parade. Out here in CA we don't particularly like multimillionaire and billionaire politicians but I've given up guessing.
4
Just ask yourself in the end, who is a better human and man Bernie or Trump and vote that. Done. Keep it simple. Stop with the selfishness if you love your country then it isn't about you all the time.
616
@Travis ` Assuming a lot...
9
@Travis ` I made that mistake when I voted for Bush Jr. over Al Gore.
21
@Travis ` They are both extremes and ideologists. Could do very well without either one. Thank you.
57
Bernie Sanders is the best choice for the Democratic Party even if he loses to Trump.
The country is in dire need of a major correction to the political spectrum with respect to so-called left-wing issues because Americans have been ingrained to believe that medicare, reasonable access to higher education, low-cost housing, access to proper nutrition and clean water are too radical.
Bernie Sanders - win or lose - his voice is the wake-up call that the country's lower and middle-income people have been long waiting for.
10
@Michael
No. Beating Trump is the priority as you are in real danger of losing your democracy. But I totally agree with your second paragraph. I hate to see Americans ripped off as we are quite similar culturally and basically we love America too. Could we kindly have our best friend back again?
1
This is a marathon not a sprint, folks. Conclusions at this point are premature, as 26% of primary voters in NH are in no way representative of the national Democratic electorate.
That said, congratulations to Bernie for coming out ahead in this election.
6
"With a disappointing 75,500 votes, Bernie Sanders eked out a first place win yesterday in New Hampshire, the state next door to his Vermont home, after campaigning for the past four years. In 2016 Mr. Sanders won the state's primary with almost twice as many votes, 150,000." That is the story.
6
The idea that the New Hampshire primary results represent a win for Bernie Sanders is a bit astonishing. In 2016, Sanders beat Hilary Clinton in NH by 20 points. In 2020 his "win" was by less than 2 points over a candidate whose name 75% of the country can neither spell nor pronounce. Klobuchar never broke single digits prior to Iowa and last night almost hit 20%. From this vantage Senator Sanders took a drubbing last night.
4
As a moderate Independent, the only difference I see between Trump supporters and Bernie supporters, is that one side has their right hand out, the other the left. Both are looking for a hand-out and fail to realize that you have to earn a great life. The government doesn't give it to you.
1
@James
We are the government! The money we pay in to live in a free society should be spent how we see fit!
It's not even close. If you take the NH numbers, and split Liberals and Moderates, what happens as drop outs occur?
I'm assuming half of Warren goes to Sanders and half goes to the front moderate (but you'll see the argument doesn't depend on that.)
Sanders + 1/2 Warren = 30.3%. Buttigieg + 1/2 Warren + Biden + Klobuchar = 57.2%. Period.
2
@Bruce Quinn
Yup.
The real demonstration of Sanders' strength is that he is winning despite the best efforts of the largest media "outlets" to sabotage him. I am thinking of the ones that own the microphone, that own the virtual press.
At first erased. And then mostly attacked. And yet here we are.
Must be frustrating for the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post.
I cannot help but wonder whether these saboteurs of democracy will get behind Sanders as a candidate against Trump or will continue to fight for the interests of their owners over the expression of support from new voters and voters who have been absent. It will be interesting.
3
@jtcr
Bernie is not “winning”. He got half the votes compared to 2016.
2
We learned that only 34.9% in NH and 44.1% of Democrats in Iowa want a ultra-left wing progressive (e.g, voted for Sanders or Warren). The rest want a moderate. The Dems won't convert indepdents that voted for Trump in the last election without nominating a moderate.
5
The numbers from NH say that the two progressives, Sanders and Warren-who have spent their entire political careers bordering the state - won about a third of the total vote. That's a third of the vote when progressives tend to be overrepresented as primary voters. The moderates need to be winnowed and I could see Biden bowing out after super Tuesday (unless he somehow runs the table) and throwing his support behind Klobuchar. Moderate Democrats far outnumber the socialist wing and Sanders triangulating his way to the nomination would result in electoral slaughter for Democrats up and down the ballot. But the progressives would have has their fun at least and made some sort of purity point?
3
I would very much rather vote for Sanders than Buttigieg, however, if Warren were male she’d be first and we all know it. Klobuchar is a powerful speaker, easy to listen to and follow for a moderate so is doing well. I’d ask older voters to STOP thinking about “electability” and start thinking about younger generations and what they need. Stop going for these boring, safe, establishment, old-school Democrats because you think they’d be a good fighter against Trump. The younger generations want and need more progressive candidates. Are you $100,000 in debt from school? Are you working 3 terrible jobs that add up to 1 ok job? Are you dependent on Medicaid? Think about young people, please. Sanders can take on Trump because he has the backing of people in different socioeconomic classes and diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. It’s about the QUANTITY of voters- the more people allowed to vote, the more democrats that win. Keep your eye on voter suppression NOT “eLeCtAbiLiTy”.
4
Why do the headlines all read that Bernie won? I'm not bashing him, just the media. Just ask Clinton what winning the popular vote means. It means Trump is in the White House. Bernie and Mayor Pete both garnered 9 delegates in NH. That is a tie for the only thing that matters in terms of winning the nomination. Everything else is spin.
4
Why are the elder candidates selfishly running? The only septuagenarian who might have a chance of defeating Trump is Bloomberg, and who knows when anti-Semitism will come into play.
Klobuchar and Buttigieg need the chance to appeal to states with more diverse populations than Iowa and New Hampshire.
If Bernie's people get infantile should he not be the nominee and vote for a third-party candidate, welcome back Donald.
With age being an issue, who are the VP nominees? There's much to find out as we inch closer to November.
2
While Sanders squeaked through at the top of the numbers, the real winners in this primary are moderates. Pete and Amy combined beat the pants off Bernie.
And by the way...Bernie needs to release his medical records pronto. Hopefully the voters of Nevada and South Carolina will demand them.
3
Winning never looked so bad. It’s hard to claim victory with less than a third of the voters.
As a Clinton and Warren supporter...I just switched to Bernie.
It was that comment from Goldman Sachs chair that made a light bulb turn on.
Goldman Sachs was instrumental in the financial crisis of 2008 that we the American taxpayers, (not to mention EU taxpayers) bailed out.
It was they who ruined our economy and it’ll be them again if we don’t get a Bernie in the WH to regulate their dubious financial practices.
Goldman Sachs recovered nicely.
Most Americans still have not.
3
James Carville is correct in predicting a Trump win if Bernie is the nominee. I'm shocked more Democratic leaders aren't saying the same thing.
Bernie is a great man, but he is not the one for right now.
The other problem is if the Bernie crowd become sore losers again and sit out the vote in November - and help elect Trump AGAIN.
4
1. National polls showing every top Dem candidate beating Trump by 4 to 9 points are bogus. The ONLY important measure of winning is the Electoral College, and the way that has played out for decades is that a relative handful of "swing" states are overwhelmingly more important than all the rest, no matter how big someone wins in the rest.
2. Add up the polling and voting for the moderate Democrats, and do the same for the progressives. Guess which total would be bigger. If all these top 4 candidates stay in it till for long, Sanders will win the nomination, picking up most of the Warren progressives if she keeps sliding while the moderates each each other's lunch.
3. Biden is done. He should have taken the Bidens-Burisma thing head on and dared Trump and his Republican enablers to prove he or his son did anything illegal, despite bad optics. He might have a slight chance if he insisted that Presidents-Are-Kings William Barr open an investigation immediately, then have himself and Hunter testify under oath in the House without needing to be subpoenaed. What he has now is almost as good for Trump as Zelensky announcing that investigation anyway; he has nothing to lose now.
4. This is not a two party country. Not now, and probably never has been. One third are liberals, one third are conservatives, and the rest hold their noses to vote for one party or the other 90% of the time.
3
For the Democrats to pin their hopes on someone almost 80 years old who had a heart attack a few weeks ago and who isn’t even a member of the party is at best comical. At worst tragic. Sanders, if even lasts until November, will lose big to Trump. There are a couple of excellent candidates (and I don’t mean Joe Biden) who could be uniters and move everyone forward. If by an amazing fluke Sanders did win, he would make an awful president. I can even imagine Democrat’s voting for Trump in order to avoid a Sanders win in November. Independents will sit it out disgusted by the choices.
4
I’m really disappointed in the likes of MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and WaPo. Whenever they talk about Sanders it’s almost always, with a few exception, negative. I never realized or noticed it before but now it’s so transparent.
4
@BlueBird
Maybe it is because of Bernie who is not quite open about specifics of Medicare for All financing? Or maybe it is because his supporters whine too much, play victims, and blame everyone for loss in 1916?
2
It’s 2016. And yes they whine...full of drama like Sanders.
1
Bloomberg is our only hope of beating Trump, especially if he teams up with a VP who appeals to women, minorities, younger voters, etc. Bernie Sanders is not middle-ground enough to appeal to swing voters or Republicans who hate Trump. I laud Sanders' desire to help all of us "regular" people but now is not the time for Dems to take a chance with him. His proposals just won't cut it with mainstream America, especially with a strong economy - and unfortunately for his supporters, his heart attack and age don't help, either. And I don't care that Bloomberg is a millionaire - he is a self-made man from the middle class who is obviously business-savvy and has also run the largest city in the U.S. Sure, he may not be everyone's perfect candidate, but he has the experience in many realms to run the country effectively, and his background and ideas can appeal to both conservatives and Dems alike.
1
I find it bemusing that there are a lot of rather formulaic sounding posts all saying pretty much the same thing. The exact same thing we said in 2016, before losing: Sanders isn't electable.
That made no sense then and made no sense now. Sanders is consistently in the lead among all candidates in the general election. The only person that was frequently ahead of him was Biden but it seems safe to say that Biden has a very near 0 chance of winning the nomination.
Sanders is not only the most electable candidate, but also has the most 'single-candidate' followers, by a wide margin. Most supporters of other candidates will suck it up and vote for Sanders, as the polls show. But don't expect Sanders' increasingly vast base to vote for a Biden, let alone Bloomberg's billions.
Politics is a lot more dynamic than people seem to appreciate. In 2016 ~10% of Sanders' supporters ended up voting for Trump. If Sanders wins the nomination it's going to be an extremely close election. If Sanders loses the nomination, I think we are very likely to have 4 more years of President Trump.
2
Plenty of rather formulaic posts supporting Bernie too. Neither is surprising. But am I alone in noticing that the most formulaic, consistently so, posts all seem to end up supporting Bloomberg as the only person who can beat Trump? Billionaire spending, perhaps?
I agree with Robert's (Seattle) take on the so-called Bernie victory. In 2016 he garnered 60%. It's difficult for me to say that I hope Bernie's momentum takes a dive. After all, I personally relate to Bernie's stances and grit. I come from the same roots as he. But, I see him as a trojan horse candidate. Sadly, he's gumming the works with uncertainty, chaos and division, yet again. Before his repeated runs as a Democrat candidate, he served as the longest run Independent and lives a comfortable life in a state not much known for controversy or diversity. I don't see him relating to vast numbers of the middle class struggling to maintain their place while barraged by taxation, out of control expenses and struggling wages. He's been painfully slow to respond to gun safety measures. Vermont is not known for rampant gun violence but as a popular hunting destination. Bernie, it's time to pass on the baton and quit delving in ego politics. Pete Buttigieg has shown tremendous courage and sensitivity to the struggles of all economic classes and more progressive than he's given credit for(vox.com Feb 4 … more electable than Bernie-and more progressive than you think). His mayoral tenure, an excellent experience of the complexities facing nationwide issues. He's smart to boot while successfully overcoming personal struggles. I envision a dynamic Buttigieg/Klobuchar candidacy moving forward.
1
I have never understood what Medicare for all means.
I have Medicare and I have supplemental insurance that pays what Medicare does not pay. The Supplement costs more that Medicare, but with the two of them all my medical bills are paid for.
Is the Medicare for all just going to cover part and participants will still need a supplemental policy?
1
If this continues up to the nominating convention it will be interesting to see if either Buttigieg or Klobuchar would support Bernie or not. Or will they simply tie their delegates together and be the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate.
Klobuchar as President and Buttigieg as Vice President could be a very winning ticket.
Something tells me neither will throw their support to Bernie.
The moderate voters of Klobuchar and Buttigeg in New Hampshire and Iowa, added together, have demonstrated the obvious. Bernie does not have broad appeal beyond his base. With less than 30% of the total vote he is unlikely to win the nomination and he certainly will not win the general.
Still if he is the nominee, I will hold my nose and vote for him.
5
We can believe in and be inspired by the idea of universal health care under a medicare for all model but should also understand that such a national policy will never exist without a bi-partisan consensus of Congress to put that in to legislation.
We can ignore the analysis of the Electoral make-up in the 2016 election whereby prior Obama voters chose to vote for Trump and tipped the scales of the Electoral College outcome.
We can ignore the fact that there is no evidence that the aforementioned 2016 swing voters have been waiting for a progressive liberal democratic socialist to come along and start a revolution.
We can ignore the support building from prominent republicans from the military and previous government service who are inspiring other republicans to consider voting for a democrat in this election cycle to restore the regular order of things.
Can we afford to ignore a strong reality check and decide if we want to be woke or to win?
@Mr. Bantree universal health care eliminates the private insurance industry. medicare includes the private insurance industry, that's what makes it popular. Universal health care will create a 2 tiered system, those who can afford concierge medicine and those who can not. Universal health care would be disastrous.
1
There is no definition of what universal health means so it is hard to compare with existing plans.
do the math.
54 percent of New Hampshire Democrats voted for a moderate Democrat.
6
@Mary Elizabeth Lease,
That's irrelevant.
In a race with several contestants, it's unlikely that any candidate will score a majority.
Had there been only two running, Sanders would have had a majority.
1
@Jerry Engelbach
No, he would not if there only were two candidates.
1
No, it’s relevant.
I don't see where Bernie won at all. He narrowly eked out a victory in his own backyard when he should have walked away in a landslide. I saw no tsunami of promised progressive votes. The moderates were far more in number, as I expected, and we haven't even gotten to the red states or southern states.
The country will inch to the left more and more as time goes on with or without Bernie. Nominating a 79 year old recent heart attack patient is ridiculous.
6
If you google 'Bloomberg Dixville Notch' there are a great number of stories in reputable media outlets of him winning by way of write-in votes. How many write-ins did he get in the rest of the state?
Hasn’t anyone noticed that the two progressives got 35% combined and the moderates 53%. So who actually “won?”
3
Bernie = Trump gets reelected.
I vote democrat, but I really don't want to support Sanders. He's pure politics, and full of promises that he can't and won't keep. He's also nasty. And he just had a heart attack. He will mobilize Republicans for Trump, not win them over.
Klobuchar/Bloomberg are the ticket that would beat Trump.
5
Just an average Joe here, but my feelings as someone who is hoping to get Trump OUT of office is 1) why is Bernie Sanders even running as a democratic? He is an INDEPENDENT and he is just mucking up the entire democratic election process. The article says he is raking in the finances, from whom? All those people who have $ to donate to him? Maybe you could all just pool your money together and buy your own healthcare insurance and leave the democrats alone. 2) I’m sorry to say that regardless of whether Biden helping his son get a cushy job in Ukraine was illegal/unethical or not, Trump has already long ago done the damage to his campaign. I--and of course many others--didn’t know his son had such a position until Trump made sure it was all over the news. Biden’s candidacy, at that point, was in the toilet. 3) Mayor Pete and Amy Klobucher – yes, you guys are mostly likely brilliant people and would both probably make great Presidents *someday* but it’s highly doubtful you can defeat Trump *now*. 4) Michael Bloomberg cannot get on the ballots soon enough. In my opinion, he is the only candidate who can go up against and defeat Trump *now* and also run this country the way it should be run. For Sanders to say that Bloomberg is “buying his way into the election” is comical. Bloomberg probably doesn’t want to spend his own personal money this way but he sees his candidacy as the only hope for defeating Trump. Bloomberg exemplifies intelligence, dignity, leadership.
2
No thanks Bernie. We need to beat Trump.
4
Gen X, Millennials & Gen Z will cast the majority of votes in the 2020 general election. There just aren't enough Boomers and Silents left to outvote them. 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. Four years later, that demographic trend will be increased.
On top of that, Gen X, Millennial & Gen Z turnout rates surged in 2018. They also voted for Democrats at higher rates than their elders in the midterms. (Boomers favored Dems 1.07 : 1. Gen X favored Dems 1.24 : 1. Millennials favored Dems 2.14 : 1.) This resulted in a Blue Wave for the House.
Gen X, Millennials & Gen Z might not match the turnout rates of 65+ voters in 2020, but they don't need to match them in order to make up the significant majority of votes cast. Median age doesn't vary much from state to state, so this effect will be seen all over the U.S.
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/
1
To all Bernie voters, relax he did not win by a long shot, if you do the math, and add the centrist votes, he is a very distant second. Please get real only a centrist can win this nations blue vote.
I say Klobuchar and Abrams. They are the ultimate pair. Strong, respected women. I would be honored to vote for this amazing pair to break through that thin glass ceiling.
Keep the House. Take the Senate.
2
Bernie is a concern. He's out of touch with reality. You need health care? don't worry, it will be free. Did you say you want to go to college? don't worry, it will be free. illegal immigration a problem? don't worry, free open borders, and while you're here get some free health care.
Bernie strikes me as delusional. The democrats only hope is Klobuchar or Bloomberg.
4
When El Supremo asked for help from Ukraine, he never mentioned Sanders...
The focus on who came in first is misplaced. The relevant metric is how many delegates each received. Both Sanders and Buttigieg received nine, Klobuchar six, the others zero. Bernie and Pete tied.
Same for Iowa. Who cares who was the "winner" if we know how many pledged delegates they got? They effectively tied as well.
Let the votes continue and the delegates accrue. Nobody wins until July 13-16 in Milwaukee.
1
Can't understand why the Democratic Party doesn't deploy more Democratic processes. Why does Bernie win the most votes in Iowa and NH and Pete gets more delegates in Iowa and ties him in NH. Sounds like the kind of voting systems (e.g. Electoral College, etc) that they disparage on the national level.
2
Trump is laughing so loud. He would love, LOVE a socialist, a gay person, a woman to run against him. LOVE IT! Hillary got 2.8 million more votes then Trump. I wonder why? Democrats are oblivious to reality for some reason. Trump is a hard nosed unethical lying businessman who has cheated his way to the top of America. Wake up Democrats!
3
If this trend continues in the primaries, the Democrats are going to lose hard in November.
6
Something for establishment Democrats to consider is Bernie’s campaign is almost all funded by small donors. If he takes office, that’s a comforting thought for me knowing that he truly won’t be beholden to big tech, big pharma, big finance, big ag, etc.
And, ironically, the individuals within these institutions will still be represented along with you and I, just not the institutions themselves.
8
This is a speculation on my part, but I am confident that the Russians are involved in the primaries in a way similar to what they did in 2016, and the Republican have retained companies like Cambridge Analytics to discredit the strongest Democratic candidates [like Biden and Warren], very much as they did in 2016. The Democratic Party leadership is doing nothing to protect the primaries.
4
If it comes down between Trump and Sanders, I will vote to re-elect the former. I will NEVER vote for a socialist candidate.
3
I hope you have researched Social Democracy. It may not be what you fear it is.
3
Bernie Sanders once again will serve as a foil to ensure 4 more years of Trump. It spells the final death knell for millions of Americans who depend on the ACA. I feel particularity bad for single seniors who depend on the ACA Medicaid expansion to survive. Let alone the 10's of millions with preexisting health issues, that are currently no longer red-lined by the health insurance industry. Bernie was the reason we were saddled with #45 to begin with. It'll take a generation to undue the mess he's created. Let alone the suffering of millions of lower income Americans that depend on our help to exist. The democratic party continues to eat it's own, by having the most irrelevant states voting first in the primaries. Thanks, Bernie!
4
Divided moderate voters? Well let's not forget that the liberal voters are being divided as well. You can tack on all the Warren support on top of the Sanders' results. People are looking for someone that has the drive to support their convictions and someone that will push back forcefully against corruption and economic business as usual, something Biden, Butttigieg or Klobuchar would never do in a million years.
4
35.1% vote from the Socialist side (Bernie & Liz) and 44.3% for the Moderate wing (Pete & Amy).
Add Joe's 8.4 % to the Moderates from New Hampshire and we see a close repeat of Iowa with combined Moderate votes at 52.7% and higher in Iowa at 54.3%.
If beating Trump is the goal voters in Nevada and South Carolina need to bring clarity before Super Tues. or Democrats are headed to a brokered convention and a split party. Harry Reed's last contribution to our country may be uniting the moderate wing and hope minority voters are enthusiastically on board.
1
Maybe I’m not the far left liberal I thought I am. I support Pete. I will support my party’s nominee.
1
Bernie won by 2 points. He won by 22 points in 2016, No clear front runner and no one with any strength to go national. And the beaten Democrats response is to blame the Electoral College; forgetting we live in a Constitutional Republic, not a Democratic Dictatorship.
1
@Tommy2,
That's semantic sophistry.
The US is a democratic republic.
There's no such thing as "democratic dictatorship."
If Bernie wins the nomination it's likely we'll have four more years of Trump. I think Trump preferers to run against Bernie rather than a centrist Democrat. This is no time for ideological preference, the overiding imperative is to beat Trump. Sadly, I can't imagine Bernie pulling the votes necessary to beat Trump in the purple states. There are many Americans who will find the label "socialist", which no doubt Trump will prey upon, unnaceptable.
5
I guess, when they go right, we go left. Frankly, I'm good with that, the middle has proven itself somewhat ineffective and craven in light of recent political reality. I was giving my pathetic $5 donations to Elizabeth, but since the handshake thing, I'm feeling the Bern. If the primaries keep up like this, I'll be all in.
4
Since many New Hampshire voters are unaffiliated with either party, and the state allows Republicans to vote for the Democratic field, it doesn't seem like the results are meaningful for someone like Biden. The upcoming primaries in Nevada and South Carolina will be much more significant, and of course the contests in early March.
3
@AF These primaries are all "significant" until your candidate comes up short. Then we get the equivocation. If Biden had won either state, the Biden campaign would be overflowing with the importance of these early votes.
2
Bernie didn't win NH. He tied with Mayor Pete, each with nine delegates. The media is doing no service to true democracy by focusing on the popular vote vs. educating the electorate about how, for now, our presidential politics work--that is, the electoral vote. These headlines could easily work to sway people who aren't clear how it works toward voting for the "front-runner", when actually Bernie is nothing of the sort from a delegate perspective.
9
@AN,
From an individual voter perspective, Sanders won.
More people chose him than chose Buttigieg.
1
I have a “Democrat” dilemma..... my heart is voting one way and my brain is voting another way. I just hope that Democrats who support Sanders, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Warren or even Biden or Bloomberg......remember that we want Failure & Corrupt Trump out of our lives....so vote Democrat ....and encourage family,friends etc to do likewise. We can’t afford not to get behind any Democratic nominee. My heart is for Sanders, Klobuchar and Buttigieg.....my brain tells me Warren, Biden and Bloomberg.
1
I'm feeling the Bern.
6
The truly entertaining thing about the primary, unreported here, is that Trump was on the ballot, as well. He amassed somewhere around 140,000 votes, many more than any Democratic candidate and very much more than any other previous successful presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican.
But by all means, keep talking up Bernie.
Please.
5
@HMI
Trump was on the ballot for the dem primary? You mean for the republican primary which trump is pretty much unaposed. Also, the RNC has pretty much blocked any real challenger, just like a good little autocratic nation. So by all means keep talking up the autocracy of this administration and convincing yourself that trump isn’t the most corrupt president in history. But I guess It’s easier to deflect and project than hold one accountable.
@A. Gargano
You sail right past the point. For a primary where Trump is virtually unopposed, 140,000 people bestirred themselves to get to the polls in order to record a purely symbolic tally, albeit one that dwarfs any of the Democratic totals. If that's not a display of grassroots political muscle, I don't know what would be.
Pro tip: before you go for the accusations of autocracy, you would do well to investigate how the Democrats' 'democratic' procedures work. And be particularly sure to get back to us after the resurrection of 'super-delegates' and a brokered convention.
OK. I know I am not welcome as a NY Times reader, because my views are far from the mainstream, but here goes my take on the Sanders wealth tax.
I have a confession. I don't believe in macroeconomics. See the essay by Paul Romer, "the Trouble with Macroeconomics" to get your thoughts started along this line. Like string theory in physics, which is doubted by many because it has no experimental verification, so macroeconomics fails to predict recessions with any accuracy. And macroeconomics focuses on the short term, while the most important problems are long term.
The painting "Salvator Mundi" by Leonardo sold for $450 million recently. Suppose we taxed famous paintings. What would happen? The price of "Salvator Mundi" would fall, and tax revenues would be less than expected.
The same principle should hold for stock market wealth. Tax wealth at 8% per annum as Sanders suggests and stocks should fall. Of course, nobody understands why stock prices are as high as they are WITHOUT such a change.
It is therefore possible that stocks would rise to even more unrealistic levels.
But the macroeconomics models provide no sure guide. We might have a stock market crash. The wealth of the billionaires would drop, but so would that in the public pension funds.
And we might be forced to confront the deficits we pretended don't exist.
A small change might be better than a revolution with an uncertain outcome. A new recession could produce a Trump clone in 2024.
4
Bernie would need more than the approximately 25% of the Democratic vote he won in Iowa and NH to win against Trump in November. So far it looks like there is a pretty rock solid majority of Democrats who do not prefer Bernie as president. Bernie is yet to face Bloomberg in the debates and Bloomberg on the ballot on Super Tuesday
3
Sanders is not a Democrat and bears great responsibility for Trump winning the Presidency. Sanders is at best the 2020 version of George McGovern.
Of the current candidates, only Biden, Bloomberg, and Klobuchar have a chance to beat Trump. And that's only if Sanders supporters will vote for them. That's a big IF.
A brokered convention could produce a viable candidate like Al Gore, Senator Brown, or Michele Obama. She would also be a great VP candidate.
The Party is no longer a big tent party. You don't even need to be a Democrat to run for its Presidentil nomination if you are a liberal. Pro-Voice should not be a litmus test.
The Party needs an inclusive platform not a straight liberal one.
If people, including the Mayor of Chicago, want to rmove a conservative Democrat like Lupinski, the moderates should target any Congessman or Senator who has endorsed Buttigieg. He has no chance of beating Trump even Sanders has a better chance.
My personal choice is a B.O. ticket - Bloomberg-Obama.
2
After much thought, I have decided to support Amy Klobuchar. I honestly think she’s the best candidate in the field and now that she is beginning to emerge, this is her moment. I urge those who are undecided to donate to her campaign. As much as I like Bernie (and I voted for him in the 2016 campaign, but voted for Clinton in the election- I am not a Bernie bro obviously,) I don’t think he could stand up to Trump’s inevitable merciless attacks - Bernie is simply to easy a target. It will be much harder to go after Klobuchar. She has a clean record, no baggage - she’s smart and hard to dismiss thru caricature. As for charisma, I have found she is a slow burn - watch her for a while, she grows on people. Although most of us want health care for all, at the moment I want something achievable: removing the orange menace, which in and of itself, will be hard enough to do, even with a sensible moderate running. I may still change my mind between now and the California primary, but that’s how I feel right now. And of course, I’ll place my vote for whomever runs on the Democratic ticket, as I hope all who understand the importance of this election will do as well.
12
@Brian Whistler
I love how people who are in a hole dig themselves deeper using the same shovel.
I want something achievable, so I'm going to vote for the realistic vague plans put forth by Hillary. She's experienced and electable.
*Four years of Trump pass by.*
I want something achievable, but now I just want Trump out of the WH.
Way to go with the "achievable" standard, there. Guess that's how we got all that progress since the Clinton administration.
I’m happy that Bernie won and I plan to vote for him in the primary. My fear is, can he win the general election? The main problem is people not voting. Only 27% of NH voters bothered to vote. No matter who the Democratic nominee is,every eligible person needs to vote against Trump. If you’re African American or a woman, you need to vote for all the people who couldn’t vote and fought for the right to vote !
5
Let’s talk about Biden. He may have underperformed in debates, but Trump’s calls for investigating him and his son no doubt damaged his candidacy exactly as Trump hoped. All Trump has to do with Bernie is to call him a socialist and millions will run into Trump’s arms. The Democrats - and regular voters - have to figure out a way to cut through all the lies and disinformation Trump and Republicans are going to throw at us and reach voters with the truth.
6
@Galfrido I am not sure how calling Sanders a socialist is a lie or is disinformation? But you are right on one point...that fact will drive millions of voters to vote Republican.
2
@Galfrido
If being a communist is the worst thing you can say about Bernie, that's a pretty empty bag of arsenal.
Biden damaged his own candidacy, and continues to do so by letting the voters see who he really is - this time unshackled by Obama's handlers. It's not Trump's fault the picture ain't pretty.
1
I like the ticket of Bernie and Klobuchar. People vote with their wallets and under Trump the working class wallets have shrunk their benefits have eroded while Trump ensures he and his wealthy friends get richer.
I think we can assume Trump’s obsession with investigating the Biden’s will cease.
4
So let me get this straight. Nearly two out of three Sanders voters from 2016 dumped him in 2020 in New Hampshire and that is considered a victory??
11
@DoctorRPP Thank you! Nice to see some commenters in here thinking and talking common sense.
2
@DoctorRPP,
The only candidates in the 2016 primary with any standing were Sanders and Clinton.
This year there were five.
1
Politics is the art of compromise. Something Bernie and his fans will never understand.
11
@Ben,
You don't compromise before the race. You hold onto your strongest positions.
After you win you may have to compromise when your opposition holds cards.
1
Come on people, don't do this ! Bernie would lose in a landslide to trump. What are you thinking? This must be somehow inspired by Russia. trump and Putin will be delighted if Bernie is the candidate.
11
So sick of seeing “so-and-so shouldn’t be the nominee because they won’t be able to beat Trump.” Truman wasn’t supposed to win. Trump wasn’t supposed to win. AOC wasn’t supposed to win. The analytics and political theories can only go so far, and we should put the best candidate forward based off of their policies, not whether or not they seem "electable."
5
If Democratic Socialism comes to America, we could become like Scandinavia! OMG! We could end up enjoying the highest GDP in the world, like them — a disaster! Our population might become very highly educated — even the working class! Universal healthcare could cause us to loose all of our anxiety surrounding sickness, suffering and old age, and that's such an important part of who we are! Like them, we might start to shelter asylum seekers and participate in organizations which actively support international peace instead of war, and then how would we spend our tax dollars! Social cohesion leading to well being and a high level of happiness and life satisfaction could occur as it does there! Parents would be given time off to spend with their children! Workers would get longer vacations! OMG, please DNC, save us from the horrible threat of Democratic Socialism! Just look what it's done to Western Europe and Canada! We can't become like those people!!!
14
@Arthur Scandinavia, where 98% of the population is white. Scandinavia, where the influence of the far right is increasing because of immigration fears. Scandinavia, who gave up their wealth tax because the millionaires were leaving the region.
You need to come up with a better example.
3
@Arthur all of that may be true. But large segments of Americans equate socialism with communism. And democratic socialism, they don’t understand that at all.
1
@RBC,
That's hilarious.
Scandinavians have a higher standard of living than Americans.
Meanwhile, the United States is and has been in the clutches of the far right, so please don't lecture us about Scandinavian politics.
4
I would not describe this scenario as delicious, not yet.
'scuse me?
since it is the assigned delegates that actually count, why is this a "victory". Last time I looked, 9-9 is a tie, which if anything kinda throws the "victory" to Mayor Pete.
2
@Jack,
More people voted for Sanders. That's the victory.
2
@Jerry Engelbach
That's the point, it isn't Just ask Hilary how that went. When it gets to the convention, just like the electoral college, popular vote and a buck two ninety-five will get ya a coffee. The delegates get you nominated.
Let's see what happens when California and Texas vote in just a few weeks. Then we'll see which way the wind is really blowing.
4
Bernie Sanders is a huckster and a fraud no better than Trump.
Free college tuition at public universities is a ruse to get the youth vote. The public universities and colleges are under the control of the individual states so it would be a state decision to implement such a policy. As president Bernie would only have control of federal money that goes to them not control over their full funding and monetary policy decisions.
Why none of the candidates have picked up on Bernie’s scheme is a mystery to me.
9
@KJS,
Sanders has a plan to fund college tuition. That's not the same as making colleges free.
3
While not my first choice, If Bernie wins the nomination I will vote wholeheartedly for him.
Sorry Biden, but you are toast.
There is absolutely no way you can you beat Trump with such hokey attacks as "lying dog-face pony soldier"... even in jest.
1
Unless the democrats destroy themselves with in fighting over who gets the nomination—I am starting to think any one of them can beat trump. Stick to the issues mainstream media. Stop projecting who really won. Who really surged. State the facts. Stop analyzing them to death. If Warren tanks who will benefit? Who will Bennett’s votes go to? If Biden tanks who will get his votes? I have no idea and neither do you. Just the facts please. Let the people decide based on that and people please—stop this fighting. It Doesn’t win anyone over—it has the opposite effect.
2
Reality must set in. Socialist vs Capitalist? How can a socialist possibly win? It won't happen. People vote their pocketbooks, and Democrats are leading with a pickpocket.
I hunger for a Democrat who can win. A Hail Mary prayer for Bloomberg is all that I have left to hope for.
3
Sanders won?! it was a tie with Pete (both got 9 delegates)... just like Iowa.. oh wait, Pete Buttigieg got more delegates in Iowa: 13 against 12 for Sanders
2
Does anyone else see the grim irony in Bernie Sanders emerging thus far as the top Democratic nominee? We have Bernie supporters in large part to thank for electing Donald Trump, many of whom voted for him and many who just didn't vote at all.
I will vote for the Democrat, whoever it is, but if it is Bernie, I think we lose. Wall Street will never back Bernie. Never.
Bernie has never had to walk his talk (what exactly has he done all these years in the Senate?), and the corporatocracy, ALEC, and all the powerful forces that actually run this country will never allow him to do any of the things he is promising to do.
I'm not-so-secretly rooting for Michael Bloomberg, despite the odds. I think a Bloomberg/Klobuchar or Bloomberg/Buttigieg ticket could do it. A pipedream, no doubt, but one I'm holding on to.
5
I will wait until Super Tuesday results in March. Then we will have a clear idea who will be the eventual nominee. Despite the hooplas of Buttigieg and Klobuchar, they are not going to make it. Warren failed on Medicare issue, instead of making it a goal to reach, she muddled the issue and stuck in it. Biden got destroyed by Trump in exchange for impeachment. The two candidates going forward beyond Super Tuesday would be likely Bloomberg and Sanders. If that happens, Bloomberg gets my vote for his brilliant strategy.
3
A reality check. A narrow victory in one state does not clinch the nomination. Instead, the math indicates moderates won the day with their candidates splitting the vote. Super Tuesday results will be a much better litmus test.
8
Buttegeig continues to run a focused, disciplined campaign. The pundits need to take notice of this and give it the proper weight in evaluating his candidacy. I am not at all impressed by Amy, whose support depends on her latest debate performance. If you combine the so-called split moderate vote, Samders got trounced in NH. Even if you only add Biden's support to Buttegeig's, he still tops Sanders. It's time Dems stop wishing for their Aaron Sorkin candidate and focus on the one who keeps getting the job done--Pete Buttegeig.
8
yes, he captures White votes, but definitely not Black voters.
2
There definitely remains concern there, however, also seems to be yet another area that may not be getting clear coverage and thus possibly skewing/limiting that momentum. NPR Morning Edition had great coverage today from MD Congressman/Veteran/Congressional Black Caucus member Anthony Brown. He refuted some of the media’s nonstop comments about people of color not supporting Pete, backed up Pete’s South Bend record with lots of stats, and shared his belief that Pete can win S.C. and will surpass expectations there, having a large ground organization that looks a lot like the communities they’re organizing in but has not been getting coverage.
I am politically aware and always vote, but I have to confess I didn't pay much attention to the primaries in 2016 until my wife put a Bernie sticker on our car. She is a politically aware woman of color and I was initially surprised she would be supporting Sanders over Clinton. Needless to say, I am no longer surprised. On my own social media feed Sanders continues to gather support from friends and family members I have known for many years. From minority and transgender friends I might have thought would not support an older white male candidate, and from people on the right who I know voted for Trump in the last election because of various gripes about "political correctness". I'm not saying that their grievances are fair, or accurate, but it would be folly to underestimate this current of disaffection in our politics today.
I don't dislike any of the people running for the Democratic nomination, and actively like the majority of them. But I realize that Sanders is the right person for this moment, who can turn the tables on the inflammatory but empty rhetoric of Trump. It would take willful ignorance to believe that Trump is a "man of the people" or "on the side" of the American public. There are no such illusions when it comes to Bernie, and he will be more successful than any other Dem candidate in bringing less frequent voters to the polls - which is what tipped the scales for Trump in 2016.
7
This is what i know about Bernie Sanders, when my union was on strike, Mr. Sanders came down and marched with us, and he went on the news and talked about how the company we were on strike with, was making Billions in profit. He marched with me and my union brother and sisters. That's Bernie Sanders.
12
I'm liking Klobuchar more and more with Buttigieg a close second. She's prepared during debates, answers the actual questions presented, doesn't scold or preach or lapse into rhetoric and seems eminently sensible. And she has a sense of humor. Go Amy.
10
Compare the total progressive vote with the total moderate vote.
Then decide who won in NH.
74% of NH dems did not vote for Bernie Sanders.
13
@Ed,
People vote for individuals, not amalgams.
I wish the NYT would stop referring to candidates as "moderate." By many standards, B. Sanders is anything but radical. The fact that he is perceived as radical says a lot more about how far to the "right" US politics has moved. Most of all, however, it is akin to slander, implying that some candidate is better than another without giving a solid reason for it. Let the voters decide. News should report, not help make the news.
5
It was of course a tiny state of New Hampshire only; drawing long term conclusions from the results is a bookie's game.
One thing is becoming clearer by the day however: that the Democratic Party establishment, the DNC in particular shot itself in the foot with its disgusting, under the belt attempts to undermine Sen. Sanders by all means possible, using the dirtiest tricks at their disposal, so that the anointed Queen can sail in on on a silver platter so to speak.
The result? The election of Donald Trump.
It is a known fact that many Bernie-supporters voted for Trump to spite the DNC.
3
Sanders is the most honest real dedicated politician in decades. His ideas are exactly what we need as a nation. He will be attacked and the very wealthy will fight him. He represents putting the citizens first not business.
They will use words like communists and "we cannot afford this". No he is not a communists and yes we can afford this. Trump has caused a 1,5 trillion dollar deficit so far, can we afford this? We have no health care no infrastructure repair, yet we have a trillion dollar debt?
6
@Richard Head: But OTOH, by Bernie's own admission his history of getting things done is almost non-existent. Check it out for yourself. Actions speak louder than words.
3
@Jeff,
You must be kidding.
Sanders has been known as "the amendment king," because his name on more bills than almost any other politician.
Adding to bills is as important as introducing them.
2
Imagine if every commenter visited the site, whenweallvote.org, which is one of Michelle Obama's sensible efforts. Supporting her site and doing anything and everything to encourage voting is essential.
1
Bernie is the best person to combat climate change. Trump is the best person to destroy the world. It's not a hard choice.
5
Enjoy Bernie, the trend is about to change!
1
Wins first golf match by a single stroke. Media declares winner of President’s Cup and Fedex Champion. Give me a break. Middle ground will consolidate before the seasons over.
Then, it will be game, set match.
3
Bloomberg/Klobuchar is the ticket we didn't know we needed.
5
@Ed
We know that because we don't need them.
5
The real story is that we lost Andrew Yang. The one candidate that had a chance at uniting the left and the right. Any of the top 3 finishers last night (and Bloomie) will just continue the same arguments and idiocy of political divide we have been mired in for decades. He was our chance for a new future - now we are firmly stuck in the muck for 4 more years... I like Bernie - but his time was 4 years ago. We needed a young, fresh idea person who could reach across the table. Instead, we get easy targets for the RNC propaganda machine.
1
The difference between Sanders and the other democratic candidates is very simple. With Sanders you can dream, with the others you have to stay awake. When you listen to Sanders you think "maybe something can change for me too, maybe my life can be better". When you listen to the others you feel like a character in the book The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa: "Everything will change, maybe, but for me everything will remain the same".
5
Decocrats please note :
2016 : NH total votes cast in democratic primary : 253,000
2020 : 294,000
Huge 16% increase in democratic primary participation , when in same period population increased by 1%.
Electoral Massacre of GOP is coming in Nov 2020 elections.
5
Anyone else find it sad that we have to worry so much about picking a right candidate when the opponent is the most inept and corrupt president in U.S. history? Any stranger I bump into downtown should do. But that’s not where this country is at. Democrats have to think about settling for a moderate because they’re so afraid of a second Trump term.
1
Is there a single person here who would vote for Trump to keep socialism and Bernie Sanders at bay?
2
The establishment: what we need after the Clinton debacle is another corporate democrat, just younger and hipper so we can play on identity politics.
The people: what we need is a candidate who speaks to our concerns and issues. And even if he’s a senior citizen, Jewish white male we’d still support him over corporate puppets who are young and gay, or a woman, or any other identity. For the people, policy trumps identity.
5
Come out, come out, whoever you are.
We're going to vote for you!
Is this exciting yet?
1
The US is *past* ready - in the sense of need - for the kind of change that Bernie's campaign espouses.
That's true whether or not just electing Bernie will succeed in providing all the change needed - it won't.
And it's true regardless of whether most Americans are currently aware of the gravity of the problems facing us and the need for fundamental change.
The US is *not yet* ready to face its problems, from broken/insufficient democracy to dealing with climate change - that's true.
But the US *needs to get ready fast*.
And that won't happen if the problems aren't discussed and "radical" solutions aren't considered.
Ignorance of the US electorate about how the rest of the world provides & pays for healthcare is a prime example of a fetter that Bernie's campaign is trying to break.
Whether or not Bernie is our best chance to win the presidency (and I think he is), he's our best chance to stimulate discussion, debate, & serious consideration of the problems we face & how to solve them.
That's the first step - sorely needed. Electoral campaigns are about winning, but they're more than that. They're debates about what needs to be done. They're chances to raise awareness. It's a long-term process.
Bernie and his movement are already responsible for our serious discussion of healthcare.
America has a real problem of we're-number-one-ism that prevents it from tackling big problems and, in particular, looking outside itself to see how others are doing so.
9
Bernie against trump, that's like Good versus Evil.
10
Yes, Trump is the good right?
@MiguelM
It would be a stretch beyond imagination.
2
Narrowly won?
3
Amy Klobuchart is like the farm girl whose cow won first prize at the state fair. Don't fall for her shtick.
6
@Dissatisfied
Bravo/brava!
3
Of course I'll vote for the eventual Democratic nominee, holding my nose if need be.
However, none of the three top leads in NH inspires me. The non-compromising Sanders, who chooses to call himself a Democratic Socialist (whatever that is), is too radical for this life long liberal. Klobuchar is on record as against the Green New Deal and Medicare for All as too expensive; that means she's stuck on the outmoded idea that the rich are too big to tax. Who knows what mayor Pete stands for other than himself.
I keep reading all the Democratic candidates this year are progressives but Klobuchar and Biden seem to want the pre-Trump status quo. That to me is back the discontent that got us Trump.
So I'll keep working for Warren who understands the need to tap into the wealth of the 0,01% and who will work to make Medicare for All the choice (but not the enforced plan) for all.
5
Making “Medicare for all the choice?” You’ve already bought into the right wing framing. Imagine arguing for people to have the “choice” of their police or firefighting departments. The absurdity is clear as can be.
3
@Nima
Toronto, Canada?
Do you know the US? Here, many have bought into Reagan's mantra: Government is the problem, not the solution. I'm not one of them, but I do serve the public as a physician and I know to listen to and accommodate my message to the other person. I hate docs who "know it all" and don't listen to the patient.
I spoke to an Iraq war veteran in Iowa who said the Veterans Administration is so inadequate, he's had to pay for private medical care for his war injuries. I told him his lack of care may be due to the many, unanticipated and serious injuries of Iraq war veterans. I told him I have Medicare and it's perfect for me. I told him Warren will allow a trial period to prove its worth. He listened to all of it and so I think a seed was planted.
I would hope for a world where people can tolerate other opinions and for politicians who can lead gently and without coercion. I admire a politician who can compromise on methods but not on goals or ethics. There's more than one way to most goals. I am not for arrogance and rigidity in meeting complex goals.
For myself, I would appreciate competition between government provided services and private enterprise. Both modes can be corrupted and both modes need to be regulated.
I found it so amusing that CNN was reporting that by coming in second, better known as losing, mayor Pete was the real winner. To what lengths will the mainstream media go to to downplay and dismiss Sanders?
19
@Nima
Mr. Buttigeig was an unknown like even six months ago. He tied a well-known senator (who has been around for decades) and came in around 1% short in the NH vote (which is Mr. Sanders' backyard). And he is leading in delegate count 23 to 21.
Those are the facts. So, yes, CNN is correct in their summation. Buttigeig is the real winner in the first two contests.
1
Bernie Sanders, per se, represents The Solution to have Trump re-elected for sure now. Just as he did in 2016 already...
10
@DF Nounours Maybe Bernie is controlled opposition-a secret agent of the GOP?
At this point, it's a Fractured Fairy Tale.
2
Sanders and progressives should brand his "democratic socialism" as progressive capitalism. Anything associated with the term "socialism", however benign, is toxic because Americans don't know anything about socialism. If you tell them that medicare and social security are socialist-like programs, they'll think it's fake news.
13
Too late.
4
@dba Social Security and Medicare are not socialism-like programs. The major portions of both programs are paid for by taxes (ever heard of FICO taxes) on workers and businesses. A significant slice of federal income taxes on workers and businesses are also allocated to the programs in all federal budget proposals. Since when does socialism (which levels the playing field between workers and businesses/the wealthy) exact taxes on those who most need support? Sanders' biggest flaw is that, other than a vague promise that he will tax the billionaires, is that he has no plan. He never says how much nor how he intends to make it happen. Sanders is depending on the dissatisfaction of younger people and the medieval Robin Hood mystique of taking from the rich and giving to the poor to hide the fact that he has no clue as to how he can actually do it. Meanwhile, the person who actually has a real plan (Senator Warren) is losing support to him, first, because she is a woman and, second, because she is not shouting at the top of her lungs like a deranged millenial. His vitriol excites people who are already mad at the system and hate Trump (most Democrats already hate Trump). But hatred is not enough and hate cannot be sustained. When Trump is defeated, where will the hatred be channeled? We are already torn in pieces as a nation due to hatred. We need a president who can reunite us. Hatred and vitriolic language cannot do that.
2
Bernie is a good-hearted Socialist who cannot win the critical race in November.
His health is not good, but more importantly, his ideas fossilized 40 years ago as the world has changed.
Pete is a young ex-small-city mayor, which means he understands administration well, but has no background in how the federal government works.
Joe is an old moderate suffering from the worst of the above.
Let’s leave it to Amy and Elizabeth to fight it out, and determine whether we want a qualified left-wing senator or a qualified moderate senator to take a younger generation to the White House, and into the Senate.
5
@Eatoin Shrdlu
Warren and Klobuchar will not be fighting it out.
1
Nominate Buttigieg and he'll be the Hillary of 2020. He doesn't stand for change. Is it so hard to understand that people want real change?
2
@Eatoin Shrdlu Why either or? I see no problem with Warren/Klubachar ticket. Actually, it is the only winning one I see.
1
I still support Elizabeth Warren -- for her anti-corruption stance, her policies, and her story.
Ellizabeth, if you or any of your staffers are reading this, please direct your campaign directly to Trump and call out his corruption.
We need to return and embrace the ideal of government of the people, by the people, for the people. (NOT government of the plutocrats, by the plutocrats, and for the plutocrats -- especially the plutocrat-in-chief.)
And yes, a New New Deal is overdue.
For those who act whether a woman is electable, I say: Vote as if women are -- otherwise, we will not escape the past.
7
That’s the problem. Why aren’t these Democrats calling out Trump’s corruption at every turn? I’m just not seeing the urgency and passion.
2
Ranked. Choice. Voting.
The two younger moderates split the moderate vote, essentially forcing them to split second place.
With ranked choice voting the far left candidate would be in third. This shows that drastically more voters want a moderate choice, they are just being split.
This is the same issue when Nader split voters. More voters wanted a moderate liberal, but splitting the party gave a conservative victory with fewer total votes.
5
@Ethan Bregman,
There is no "far left" candidate.
Sanders is espousing the same kind of New Deal policies that have been extant in Western Europe for decades, none of whose countries is "far left."
1
You left one crucial word out of that headline. "Barely." Or how about this more accurate one?
"New Hampshire results fail to determine a clear front-runner."
7
So, when will the story break that there's Trumpist and Putinist operations underway to advance the Bernie candidacy? Why? Because they know (I guess, better than most) that having Bernie on the ballot will scare too many voters to reelect the Trump machine of death, greed and corruption.
8
Sad to see you give such a small amount of time covering Klobuchar in this clip. Please do better.
4
@BlueWaves
She came in third place, 13000 votes behind Mr. Buttigieg. Why do you think she deserves more time than the two who placed first and second?
3
@TheOtherSide, I believe she deserves a proportional amount of time, not the blink second she was given.
As soon as Biden drops out, Buttigieg will rocket to the front runner status, only to be eclipsed by Bloomberg in a few weeks. Bloomberg Buttigieg or Bloomberg Klobuchar in 2020!!
9
Bernie might make an okay president, but unlsss voters can give him a comfortable majority in Congress, he won't get much done. At least Klobuchar has the ability to reach across the aisle -- can't see one-note Bernie doing that.
8
@JimBob- even if Amy reaches across the aisle, Mitch McConnell is not going to work with her. He would sooner let the country burn than allow a President Klobuchar get credit for anything.
3
@Bruce Unlike Obama, Amy has a set of brass knuckles in her purse (which the pearl-clutchers hold against her).
1
@Bruce In all fairness Obama did get a few things done, in spite of McConnell (whose behavior has been shameful and unforgivable).
1
Bernie is the Moderate.
Klobuichar and Buttigeig are right wingers.
12
@magicisnotreal,
That's not quite accurate, but I agree with your point.
1
The suggestion that Bernie benefits by splitting the moderate Dem vote in these circumstances makes no sense to me. The numbers so far suggest that once the moderates coalesce, even if it's at the convention, Bernie can't win the nomination. Why all this hype about a surprisingly or performance compared to 2016?
3
I have so many thoughts. First, I am really proud of the slate of candidates, and would be happy to vote for any of them for president. Bernie's sincerity and his commitment are unassailable. He has devoted his life to helping the downtrodden. I worry about his chances in the general election because I don't think he will appeal to suburban moderates...but the 2016 election proved nothing is certain. I think Klobuchar and Mayor Pete are both excellent too (although I wish Buttigieg had a little more experience). I just hope they don't continue splitting the majority, so that Bernie wins with slim pluralities. Whoever the Dems pick, it should be the person that the most voters will go to the polls for in November. I suspect with ranked-choice voting, we'd see Bernie's support outside his base is pretty low, which worries me. But I hope I'm wrong.
5
Right now, this moment, Trump wins a second term. No Democrat, save maybe Mr. Bllomberg, will be capable of capturing the majority needed in the Electoral College.
Bernie can't do it, Pete can't do it, Amy can't do it. Joe and Elizabeth are in the process of flaming out; the party is just about over for them.
In 2020, the task for Democrats undeniably has to be to rally behind the candidate who stands the best chance of defeating Trump in those states where it matters. In spite of the all of the commendable things that can and have been said about the major contenders thus far, they don't have the goods when it will count in November.
Parochial politics on the part of Democratic primary voters will be the death of any chance the Democrats have. Rally now behind somone who can actually win in November, and not the person who you would like to have barring no Trump. Get real, get strategic, or get ready for Trump Part 2.
11
Best and most reasonable comment posted on this whole article!
4
Ok, Mr. Sanders won two 'small' states.
Congratulations, sir.
He is building on his delegates, but there are still forty-eight more states to go.
It's like the commentators saying that at the beginning of a football game, the first two touchdowns scored at the beginning of the games determine the winner of the game when there are still three quarters and a half to go.
When we get to Mr. Sanders winning or being competitive in at least 25 states, then we can start maybe declaring a winner.
Or is this about the fact that we know most Americans are followers?
And what if Mr. Sander's message starts to falter as time goes on?
Will his supporters then start crying someone is trying to take steal the election from him, yet again?
Maybe the media should just start calling the race what it is, just a race.
Mr. Sander might just emerge victoriously and if he does, I greatly encourage all members of the Party and members of other parties greatly discouraged with Trump to stand behind him.
But this race is far from over.
5
I don't agree that the media should be declaring Sen. Sanders a lock for the nomination, but they're doing just that. I'm starting to believe that they want another four years of the DJT nightmare to continue selling subscriptions, and Bernie will make that a reality. Most don't want his vision of America. It seems there's a new headline every day, and while that provides good clickbait, the country continues to move in the wrong direction. Sure, the economy is good today, but the policies that the Trump administration continues to enact are going to be bad in the long-term. What happened to the six percent GDP growth we were promised with the TJCA? Why don't Republicans feel the need fiscal austerity anymore? Why is the deficit and national debt growing when they were supposed to be eliminated by the end of 2024. Sure the unemployment numbers are good, but there are a lot of people working more than one job today without basic health insurance. I'm tired of hearing the Trump administration talk about the best statistics ever, and heralding how great the Dow is doing. The average American has a lot of debt, and when the sugar high from the TJCA is over, we're all going to be in big trouble while the top one percent will be better off with all the benefits they received. The bottom will fall out eventually, and if we don't wake up and coalesce around someone with reasonable policies, we'll pay for our failure to do anything about this situation for many years to come.
6
As of 11:28 am, there are still about 7.4% of the precincts that have not reported. Sanders' lead is down to a little over 3800 votes. Pete Buttigieg won the same number of delegates. So why is the press crowing "Bernie won, Bernie won"?
I lived in Vermont for sixteen years and never voted for him. What I see is a debacale coming like the recent UK election. Trump plays Boris Johnson and the Conservatives. Sanders plays Labour and Corbyn. The latter went down to disaster and the Democrats will as well if they nominate Sanders.
This registered Florida Democrat, who has worked on both of Barack Obama's and Hillary's single campaign, will not vote for Sanders in the Florida primary. He's not even a Democrat. Wake up, Democrats. A Sanders nomination will give Trump another term. Is that really what you want?
10
@JWMathews
Bump! Have you been listening to James Carville lately?
2
@JWMathews
I didn't vote for Obama or H. Clinton. They are not true democrats - they are neoliberals and are the reason Trump was elected. The time for moderation, i.e. business as usual, has been long over. It is Bernie or Bust as far as I am concerned. If the people choose Trump over Bernie than we deserve what we get. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom before people realize a true change is needed.
4
It scares me to think Sanders would be the Dem candidate. He borders on communism with his thinking and is clearly anti-free market. I'm all for helping those in need get back on their feet, if able-bodied, or taking care of those that are disabled. But I'm not for free, free, free for all. Most kids aren't academically or/and emotionally ready for college. 25% drop out after a year; and Bernie want all to go to free college? Because it's somehow their 'right?!' Another 4 years of arrested development for most. I could go on, but this is not the place as too many love Bernie on this thread. However, a Bernie candidacy will likely mean another 4 years of Trump.
6
We are the only country that thinks everything must be turned into a money market. Why is it so despicable to create the flow of goods in the society so that common people can have access to free health care and education? The rest of the Western world has figured this out. I’d rather see someone drop out of college and not have to face a mountain of debt, than drop out and be faced with it, forced to labor with no option of re-entering education because its unaffordable. And it is unaffordable. Most people can’t just work hard to pay for the tuition rates the university industry has slapped on the free market. Not with this wage stagnation.
1
The only polls that are consistently overlooked are the ones showing Bernie’s clear lead over Trump in a hypothetical general election
3
Joe Biden is an establishment and party man; Bernie is not a party man. Hint: the status quo is not working for most of us, but it sure is working for the 1% and big corporations.
When is the establishment, including the New York Times, going to realize that many Americans don't care or even like political parties per se?
1. As of early January, 2020: only 27% of us identified as Democrat; 27% as Republican; and 42% identified themselves as "Independents." (Gallup)
2. As part of the establishment, the Times worries about the establishment Democratic Party, which gave us Hillary Clinton (2008, 2016) and Joe Biden (2020) as presidential candidates.
3. Political parties these days are evidence of George Washington's worst nightmare and warnings about all the divisiveness and harm political parties do, because it becomes all about winning by any means necessary and the exercise of raw power to defeat the opposition party. Mitch McConnell is the poster boy for party corruption and everything that is wrong with a party system.
4. Add in the role that big donors are allowed to play in our political party system to the point that elected politicians spend a huge amount of time and energy courting campaign dollars from the wealthy elite, who pay party politicians to do their bidding. Not much time left for the little people. Look no further than the fossil fuel industry & Big Pharma.
The GOP has run totally amok, and the DNC is weak. The People deserve better.
6
When my educated/highly successful/moderate democrat friend who I was having dinner with yesterday said Bernie is a socialist that she can't vote for, that is when i know its a thumping electoral win for Trump.
I didn't try to convince her one way or the other.. it just surprised me as how Bernie can alienate with his policies as much as the other side. We can't be the fringe, Left or Right
5
@SHY
Figures that "moderate democrat friends" can't hold their nose and vote for Sanders, but will scream from the rooftops at people for not holding their nose for Hillary.
2
In 2016, Bernie got 152,193 votes in the New Hampshire primary. With increased voter participation this year, He got 73,708 votes. I think THAT is the story we should be reading about! What does that mean??? We need to get the moderates in a room and get some of them to agree to take one for the team and consolidate as soon as possible. And if they are smart, they will talk about running mates sooner rather than later, to ensure broad support across the racial spectrum. I pray egos do not get in the way. We all saw the damage that a prolonged primary did to Hillary. Let's learn from that lesson!
4
I think Bernie is potentially unelectable in the general, and I hope he does not secure the nomination. He will have negative coat tails. I wish he had not pursued this vanity quest, since he is a "leap year Democrat." I support Elizabeth Warren, who actually knows how to get things done, rather than just shout about them.
4
Iowa and NH are all white states. Let's see what NV and SC bring followed by Super Tuesday.
Sanders is 78 yo, recovering from a recent heart attack. As much as he is steadfast in his convictions, he just doesn't strike me as sufficiently pragmatic to implement any of his plans.
His appeal to younger voters is based on promises for quick and dramatic changes. That is probably going to be his downfall comes November, in addition of not doing great debating Trump.
Despite all, I plan to vote for whoever is the Dems nominee, including Sanders, especially if he chooses Klobuchar as his VP.
My ideal triad of Warren, Klobuchar and Buttigieg is losing Warren.
Klobuchar and Buttigieg would be good for the country, allowing healing, uniting us and Trumps knows they would beat him to a pulp in a debate.
3
We already know what the outcome would be if Bernie Sanders is the candidate for the Democrats. Just look at what happened in the UK where a generally not well liked Boris Johnson handily beat the leftist Jeremy Corbyn. We need somebody that can rid us of the con man that is in the White House. I believe the man is Bloomberg. In addition to his credentials as a truly successful entrepreneur he can get the votes of the many disenchanted republicans.
3
Bernie? Did we not learn anything from the resounding defeat of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK? And Pete Buttigieg, although as cute as a button, with his sole political experience as mayor of a smallish Indiana town? Why do Democrats seem to have a knack for nominating the most unelectable candidates? Get ready for four more years of Trump.
6
Moderates you had your chances multiple times now to produce winning candidates. Time to try something different and support FDR style goals.
3
We need Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar to form one ticket. I don't care which is President and which Vice President, but they need to build ONE ticket. Together, they had 44.2% of the NH vote. Toss in the votes for Elizabeth Warren that is 53.4%. Put Bernie in their cabinet (Secretary of DHHS, would fit well, as would Secretary of Education). Put Warren on their cabinet (Secretary of the Treasury, or Secretary Labor), add in Tom Steyer (Secretary of Energy or EPA administrator), and assign key cabinet positions for Corry Booker, Deval Patrick, Kamila Harris, John Delaney, Andrew Yang, and Michael Bennet. NOW you have a winning team.
5
@Aileen Oh, and add Michael Bloomberg to the cabinet too!
3
The two pictures of Bernie Sanders with clenched fists sends a message; and it is not a good or friendly one. Clearly, the voters want change not the ruling political class. They didn't want it in 2016 and they don't want it now. That's at least the message from Iowa and New Hampshire where non-Democrat Bernie Sanders and newcomer Pete Buttigieg represent both change and the split in the Democratic Party down the middle between moderates and progressives. Whether or not this will continue into Nevada, South Carolina and Super Tuesday we'll soon find out. As of now it seems as if Elizabeth Warren is clearly out of the running and we'll soon learn if Joe Biden is the Jeb Bush of 2020.
2
I'm having a deja vu experience. It seems to me the questions now being raised about the Sanders candidacy are the same ones raised in 2016 about Trump. Does he have a ceiling that tops out at about 30 percent? Is he winning primaries because the anti-vote is so diffused? Will BIden (substitute Bush) gain traction as the primaries move to more diverse states. In the end, will voters really want to take a chance on such a disrupter. I don't know if this bodes well for Sanders, but I believe it's something to think about.
3
Replacing one extreme with another may not be a solution, and will divide this nation further. Libaughs and Foxes of America will have massive amounts of vitriol to spill on the population tuned to their message. Sanders will encounter massive resistance from the right, which blew a tire with Trump at the weel.
Historically extremes will always fail. Obama was in my view one of the most successful presidencies in America but still, the racial and social aspect of it fueled the right to a point of self destruction.
This country needs to stop being governed like a household in which half of the kids are seen as illegitimate, and in which parents steal from kids stipends.
Why we are asked more often now to pick between two bad choices? Maybe because normal people have real lives, and see politics as a circus. So let's make politics less of a circus.
OK. It's time for Dems to get behind Sanders as the frontrunner. And make him winnable. Times awasting and Reality cant be ignored any more. Especially now, as Trump is ripping up Medicaid for the middle classes in his budget. Focus on momentum and keep calling out Trump for what his is.
4
This worries me. There is no way he can beat Trump and in many ways he is just like him. He may be well like by his supporters, but he is loathed by many in the Democratic Party and will be portrayed as a Socialist/Communist by Trump and the GOP, which will be enough time sink his candidacy and hand Trump the election. While I love a lot of his ideas, he is incredibly negative and simply too polarizing a figure to be accepted by middle of the road and right of middle voters.
5
Two headlines, both true:
"Bernie wins New Hampshire"
"Bernie gets half as many New Hampshire votes as he did in 2016"
Whether you love him or loathe him, this is not an encouraging result.
6
Well! That's a deceptive headline! If Bernie can claim victory in Iowa where he clearly came in second to Buttigieg in a tight race you can certainly be more accurate here. I've been watching every second of this and Sanders victory and it was narrow. Your headline doesn't reflect what happened. Adding up the percentages between the very-close Buttigieg and Klobuchar vote totals, the 2 centrists won. Bernie came in third. The centrist vote had a better night than the far-left progressive wing of the party. I'm sorry, but this should not be an alarm to stop Bernie, it's a time to find our centrist Democrat. If Bloomberg had been in this race he would have taken it. We Democrats want to win. I am in my early 70's and as much as I want an "FDR" candidate (and no matter how much the Bernie people holler in my ear that it's Bernie) I know that it is not. We don't have an FDR: This field doesn't have a star, like we did in 2008. I think we need to seriously consider the pragmatic candidate with the unlimited supply of money, since this person will have to run against the most corrupt administration in history. It's "All hands on deck" time, not "Happy days are here again" time. We have to win this thing and I for one want to be clear-eyed and think this through. And if you didn't read about what our rogue Attorney General did yesterday, it's almost too late. Come on Dems, think with your head, not with your heart.
5
"a ravenous desire to defeat President Trump"
I think the desire of non-Republicans to defeat President Trump stems from sincere concern over the damage @realDonaldTrump is doing to our country. This desire does not come from a hunger as the word ravenous implies-- an involuntary thirst for something. These deep concerns are well reasoned and deserve a more apt descriptive term.
1
In the end, the NYT editorial board endorsement may prove prescient. The results of the First Two states may impact voters in unexpected ways. For example, those voters seeing Sanders support may be pulled towards a more progressive candidate. Hopefully that will cause them to give more thorough consideration to other candidates policies (or lack there of). Ignore the media, we decide!
3
As candidates start to withdraw from the race, where their votes will go becomes an important factor, considering that the New Hampshire primary essentially resulted in a tie. Andrew Yang's share, for example, which I suspect will migrate to Mayor Buttigieg, would have been enough to put him over the top there. If Senator Warren and Vice President Biden withdraw after Super Tuesday, which at this point appears to be the most likely scenario, that is a significant chunk of support that will have to devolve to another candidate. Who will benefit, is to me a more important question than Senator Sanders' very narrow victory in a small state.
6
My understanding is a small percentage of undecided voters, that fall between the Dems and GOP, decide who will be president (or get the electoral votes to be president). So I do not see how nominating Bernie is a sure thing - as now you have two extremes (who may not obviously appeal to this middle undecided group). And I think the Dems may get it with 74% NOT VOTING for Bernie in the New Hampshire primary. As long as you have two or more candidates splitting the moderate or centrist vote - Bernie will look like a leader. But this should not be misconstrued as the Dems saying he beats all other primary candidates in a one-to-one match up. Unfortunately, I see the current process giving Trump a reasonable chance of getting re-elected.
6
Agreed. Bernie only got HALF as many votes as he got in 2016 in N.H. And the turnout was higher than in 2016. Even if you add Warren’s (progressive) votes to Bernie, his is still way short of his 2016 numbers. Looks like the real race is between Pete and Amy. I’d bet on Amy as the more likely to beat DT.
2
Any nominee will do. To paraphrase former Obama strategist Dan Pfeiffer, if you're tired of paying more for your Amazon Prime membership than Amazon pays in taxes, vote for a Democrat.
6
Ah, the November election becomes just a bit clearer.
The Grouch v The Grifter.
Wonderful choice, America.
Never either.
5
Headline in these comments: “Moderates Have Huge Win in New Hampshire.”
9
I think this all revolves around the future of the Democratic Party. In 2016 the DNC gathered behind an elite career politician, actively boycotting Bernie Sanders. What counts as center-left, moderate in the US would be conservative and right in many European countries.
The leadership of the DEMs should work hard to make the term "Democratic Socialist" understandable and acceptable to American voters, many of whom still attach a nebulous fear of "communism" to the concept. The second largest party in Germany is called "Social Democrats". The policies of our progressive candidates are actually closer to being Social Democrats, in the spirit of FDR. That's what the Democratic Party should strive to be -- to fight for the interest of ordinary people. Not a lukewarm version of policies that only serve the 1%.
14
Moderate Democrats insist on unity as long as we nominate a moderate Democrat or billionaire former Republican to lead the ticket. We will see if they practice what they preach when Bernie wins the nomination.
18
@Billy Hmmm. It's Sanders's supporters who have the track record of taking their ball and going home when he loses. So it's a bit rich to speculate that moderates won't support the eventual Democratic nominee, whoever it might be. The real question is whether Bernie's supporters will step up this time, if and when he fails to be the nominee.
3
While I would not have thought a "socialist" would ever be popular, everyone is concerned for their economic security when livelihoods, families, factories and communities are subjected to the vicissitudes of trade, both global and domestic. Increasingly, people comprehend their insecurities are at least as systemic to capitalism as behavioral, both obviously factors. In essence, the popularity of both Trump and Sanders is because they both somehow address these insecurities.
4
With the major difference between them being Sanders has a record and decades of experience actually enacting laws and policies in the interests of the people. Trump has no experience in public service and does not do anything sustainable beyond a generation, if he does anything at all, besides marketing and self-enrichment.
3
@Manny I fully agree but Trump has the money behind him and ads mesmerize the mesmerized.
I am German. Bernie is not a socialist. Calling him that and implicating that he is some sort of American Maduro or Mao Tse Dong only goes to show how deep the right wing indoctrination of your society runs. He is a social democrat running on social justice issues that have been addressed in the rest of the civilized world 60 years ago.
2
Few of the Bernie Bros commenting here acknowledge two truths. First, Bernie is running far behind his early results in 2016. And where are the highly motivated legions of new voters he promised to bring into the race? Second, Bernie is the candidate Trump most wants to face in the general election, and for good reason.
Bernie 2020 just means four more years of Trump. For the Democrats to win in November they have to own the center, not smugly isolate themselves in deep left field.
8
It's simply not valid to compare 2016 primarily results to 2020, it has become a race from two candidates to five that people are interested in. In regards to needing a moderate to take down Trump, I implore you to look at how Hillary Clinton's campaign turned out. Bernie is getting the strongest support from the people and yet the DNC won't acknowledge him because they too are concerned with electing a moderate despite it's historical failure. It's a fallacy that I hope we don't fall into again.
11
@Aaron Bernie is currently benefiting from two things: Warren's cratering support and the fact that the two first primary/caucus states are over 90% white. The nomination process has barely started and once the centrist Democrats, the actual majority of the party, start to coalesce around one of the centrist candidates in more diverse states, it's over for Bernie. Bernie should savor this moment and prepare to bow out gracefully (unlike his boorish conduct in 2016).
1
This assumption that it’s only “Bernie bro’s” that support Bernie is ridiculous. I’m a 51yr old white woman, living in the suburbs, married with 2 children, guess what, I support Sanders.
The reason is I believe he’s true to his word, all the moderates waiver continuously. And I want someone that’s going to fight for the future of my children’s children.
Also , ask yourself what got Trump elected? Really? What? The status quo?
The whole “socialism” debate is nauseating too. Don’t be shocked, “The United States—like every other country with an advanced economy, such as the U.K., Germany, France, and Japan—is already a partly socialist country, with a mixed economy and many government programs that serve the public good.”
. -https://ourfuture.org/20190207/sorry-donald-america-already-is-a-socialist-country
Gasp, the thought of a candidate caring about the wellbeing of people not corporations, well that just un-American. 
3
Am I the only person looking at the results and noticing that Bernie received half the votes (out of a greater turnout pool) than he did in 2016? That means that about 75K NH Dems chose another candidate instead of sticking with Bernie. (In 2016, 153K votes compared to in 2020, only 75K votes, with the 2016 253K turnout increased to 293K in 2020). Which candidate(s) received those other 75K votes . . . and, OMGosh, I've heard the when-there's-more-candidates-they-split-votes response. But this isn't a college exam being graded on a curve; someone could ostensibly take all the dang votes. The fact is that half of the 2016 Bernie voters chose someone else. That doesn't seem to bode well for him -- in his neighboring state!
5
@TS
Many of his supporters were in college four years ago and have since moved on. The college aged population has dropped in those four years. And yes there were many more candidates competing.
4
@Billy Thanks, I've wondered about this since the final #s came in. So NH has ~75k college students -- wow. (Thanks, google). But even if the college students who supported him in 2016 moved on to other states, others have replaced those, right? It looks like there's been a decrease in enrollment trajectory through the last decade, but that doesn't seem to account for the large decrease in votes. I'm not trying to argue, I'm trying to figure out why his support seems to have decreased by 75K (or half, depending on how you look at it). Saying that there's more candidates in the race seems to support the fact that people chose a different candidate other than Bernie. Just trying to dig into the weeds on the numbers. Thx for the info.
1
And he still got more votes than any of the other candidates.
3
It's Bernie's to win, and Pete's to strive to win.
Either way, I'm happy.
6
There is a lot to learn from Jeremy Corbyn and the UK. Bernie does not have enough support outside of his base to win a general election.
6
@Sherlock I agree with you, but we also have to acknowledge that Sanders isn't remotely as crazy or craven as Corbyn.
3
Every article stresses the fractured nature of the current primary, but what should be reiterated over and over is that the current lack of a clear favorite is that all the Democrat candidates are exponentially superior to anyone -- anyone! -- in the Republican party. What should be stressed is that this abundance of talent with diverse and extensive experience will rejuvenate America with sanity, strength and a sustainable future for all Americans -- and the world. Good lord! Without a candidate ready to fight for our planet, there's little need to worry about who is president now or ever again, because "ever" won't be that long.
6
@nycptc Assuming that somehow the economy maintains its solid footing through the election season, most people, especially elderly/retired people, will be loathe to support a candidate that threatens to dismantle huge sectors of the economy (finance, energy, medicine). As much as I loathe Trump and everything he stands for, I have to admit that I would have an extremely difficult time supporting Sanders if he does become the nominee.
Of course, since the democratic primary is all about whether or not the party become aggressively socialist, there's another way to look at the numbers.
Bernie + Ms Warren =~34% of the vote.
Pete + Ms Klobuchar = ~ 44% of the vote.
Toss in Biden's ~8 or 9% and you have a pretty solid indication that democratic voters at least at the primary level want more mainstream than what Sanders and Warren are touting.
We'll see how the next round goes.
8
New Hampshire looks like the rest of America as much as New Zealand does. Giving too much credence to these early primaries is one of the great mistakes of our modern representative democracy.
6
@Ben The DNC should impose criteria on the early primary states, e.g., there must be at least X percent minorities who reside there. This spiking the ball in the end zone mentality from these early winners, without acknowledging the complete absence of diversity in Iowa and NH, smacks of preferential treatment toward white people. People of color, yet again, are forced to wait their turn at justice.
The Democrats' primary season is over? Or are we being given hyperbole? As the Times calls Sanders the "undisputed leader," one can assume that, despite his victory in a tiny state being weak in numbers and failing so far to win in another small state. Could it be that in the tremendously diverse and populated states that are yet to speak, he won't do as well? Who knows? But would it not make sense to wait for those states before implying the the race has been won?
2
Sanders won the primary. At the same time the moderate wing of the Democratic Party also won the primary. The two front runners on the moderate side crushed the two front runners on the liberal side. That tells me that Sanders or Warren policies are not what the people of New Hampshire want. They want the policies of Buttigieg and Klobuchar - by far.
7
The Bernie campaign is using questionable means to source and contact voters. I received a text message from his campaign asking for a donation. The biggest concern is that the text was addressed to my mother. We do not share a phone number nor do we live in the same residence or area code. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out how that connection could possibly be made. The only potential connection would be some joint financial accounts. This is deeply disturbing from a data privacy perspective. I question if this is the result of some Russian hacking.
5
I have had the same thing happen to me. I have never given his campaign my information, yet I get texts frequently from the Bernie campaign. I have tried to stop the messages, requesting the service to be turned off, but once I do that it comes from a different number. My mom, a staunch republican, also gets Bernie messages that are addressed to me.
1
@Eric C
Mist likely data mining: If you have donated to a Democratic campaign, they most likely have lists of names with party affiliation from publically available lists of donors, cross referenced to lists of credit reports/credit card numbers with names, addresses and phone numbers. Quite disturbing. Bad telemarketing, no doubt.
My heart is with Bernie and my head with anyone else. I want to believe my heart is true and will win but my head keeps telling me no. I am torn.
1
@Doug Sharing this from @McGloin
Go find this NY Times article:
The Donors Powering the Campaign of Bernie Sanders.
It is a map of the distribution of small contributors across the country. All of the other candidates have support concentrated in limited geographical areas. Biden has cities in the South East. Butigieg, Klobachar and Warren have support in their home states. (They put a lot of energy into Iowa and NH.)
Only Bernie has grass roots support spread across the entire country, including rural, suburban, and urban areas. There are vast address of rural America where only Bernie has supporters.
If you are willing to let evidence change your beliefs, go look at this map and see why Bernie is the one to beat Trump.
Money can't win this election. It will take millions of people going door to door listening to voters and explaining why Democrats will help them with their real problems. If the Democrat instead explains, again, that there is no money to help workers, because Republicans keep slashing taxes on the rich, Trump will win.
This is a base election. The Right base wants Trump. If the Left base doesn't come out in huge numbers, we can't win the electoral college or the Senate.
There is no half a Constitution. Compromise with the Party of Trump is helping them shred the Constitution.
We have to prove that this is a Left Nation that believes in the Constitution, not a Right nation that wants a king. There is no halfway between the two paths.
3
@Doug Go with Bernie! He is the only one who might get the Obama/Trump working class, and the last time we had a so-called moderate, who represented big business & wall street, plus an elitist cultural message, WE LOST.
2
It's all so unbelievable how fragile our democracy was, and we didn't have a clue. Until trump came along and in a single swoop showed us that we could collapse in a moment.
We Democrats need to accept that we may not get our soul mate, but after the breakup with trump, we can have a pretty darn good rebound relationship until we find the real thing.
2
"Moderate" is a euphemism for an individual who will accept pay from and rule by billionaires and corporations, who will maintain the status quo while talking about a better future, who will wage war unprovoked, and who will promote diversity as long as there is personal profit from it. Unfortunately, America's numerous crises will be exacerbated by moderates. For example, consider our Middle East misadventures and how moderates have been unable to fix them, or consider our insane military spending in the past decades. Failed moderates are the reason Trump has seized power.
13
"Purist" is a term for folks who desire the impossible.
4
Yes, they’ll pander to you when seeking your vote, but once elected they’ll ditch you (and all of your concerns/needs) in a split second.
2
Debate about the candidates, and promote the candidate you think is best suited to be president. However, when a Democratic candidate has been chosen, please get behind her or him.
That is our responsibility—or it's four more years of Trump. Period.
6
@Bartleby S #anyonebutbernie
2
Sadly, Bernie and Donnie have a couple of things in common: Both are narcissistically convinced he and he alone can win. Both seem to think that it is to be my way or the highway. Both clearly believe that he is the (chosen) one to change (or continue to change) the US in his image. Both have great personal appeal to their base, but not much beyond that.
They differ in that Trump will pulverize Bernie with his "huge", oligarch funded war chest, his penchant for never aiming above the belt, and the bevy of nicknames he can throw at Bernie, many of which will stick. If the Democrats want to lose, not only the election but America as we have known it for almost 250 years, certainly for all of our lifetimes, they just need to feel the Bern and nominate an icon of the young, who is also a charismatic, but guaranteed loser in November.
3
The Sanders machine spent 50 million dollars last quarter. Talk about trying to buy our democracy. Plus, the money came from supporters comprising roughly only 2% of the electorate. Mob rule, anyone?
3
Actually, the better man is. . . Amy Klobuchar.
Why is everybody on this comment list avoiding her name and her performance to date? And the fact that, as voters get to know her, they like her better than the other candidates? One tires of the East Coast commentariate focusing on Biden, Sanders, Buttegieg and Bloomberg, as if Amy Klobuchar didn't exist.
Please take a look at what a Klobuchar/Buttegieg (not the reverse order) ticket might do against Trump/Pence.
These two moderate Democrats are younger, smart, educated, articulate, true Democrats (Sanders is not a Democrat; he's a socialist who caucuses with the Democrats and has no other viable political vehicle beyond the Democratic Party). Amy Klobuchar, by contrast with both Sanders and Buttegieg, has successful national government experience and has formed partnerships to get good things done in Washington.
These two are new faces, a new future. They have solid Democratic principles and goals. Electability, especially if black Americans are ready to accept that any white person can successfully represent them, and actually get out and vote in 2020.
5
@Constance Sullivan "...especially if black Americans are ready to accept that any white person can successfully represent them..." And therein lies the rub. Once the primaries head south, Klobuchar's and Buttigieg's prospects will also head south.
1
Well, not to be pedantic, but in the thing that really matters, it actually appears that Buttigieg beat Sanders in Iowa (13 or 14 pledged delegates to 12) and tied him in NH (9 to 9).
If Sanders does gain the nomination and then wins the popular vote but loses in the electoral college (as Clinton did in '16) will he joyously declare victory, as he did in Iowa and NH. To beat the Republicans, the left needs to focus on what actually matters (whether they like it or not) and not just on what makes them feel good.
Wasn't the big news in NH that Klobuchar way outperformed expectations and polling, and that the liberals (Biden, Buttigieg & Klobuchar) collectively blew away the leftists (Sanders & Warren) in both the popular vote (52% to 35%) and in delegates?
All this may be meaningless anyway; there are almost 4000 pledged delegates to be determined; over 1600 up for grabs on March 3. If Sanders collects what (this year) seems to be his usual 25-35% of those he won't be the nominee.
3
@Eternal Sunshine
Sanders does better in the rust belt than moderates which is why he's much more "electable" than people seem to think.
1
This article tells us that Bernie remains a "political independent" who is not actually a member of the Democratic Party. Which is a good thing, I would say.
Will a Bernie vs. Crook battle be taking place? Maybe not.
Trump has poisoned everyone's mind so badly, that many Democrats are rushing toward Bloomberg. "Mike" has the same bulling, "my way only, I'm a Billionaire, you better shut up" characteristic that Trump has. Trump has brain washed all of us, into thinking that only a "strong man" like him, can be a winner.
Let's wash the poison out of our minds - there is no difference between the opportunistic Billionaire Trump, and the opportunistic Billionaire Bloomberg.
Remember, "The Little King" was happy to be a Republican when he ran for Mayor in NYC; and when he won, the first thing he did, was to cut the NYC income tax on the very highest bracket of tax payers - himself. And then, he launched, "Stop and Throw to the Pavement".
Everyone in the Democratic Party has a right to pick the primary candidate they like - but let's hope, it won't be the one who is a clone of the problem. Personally, I'm going to be casting my vote for the man who is more Gandhi, and less Genghis Khan.
8
Will the Bernie Bros campaign for Buttigieg? For Klobuchar? For anyone but Bernie? That's the ultimate test.
3
@Kathleen In a word, no. The Bernie Bros should be considered a fringe mob and left out of any Democratic pathways to victory.
3
This is also a reason for Trump to tighten his grip on the Republican party. Bernie is a good man with good ideas; but he is not where the majority of the people are in policy, and he admits it. Trump maybe the only one who can defeat Trump, and he moves more and more in that direction. The question in November will be; does the country want a serial liar and cheat, a would-be dictator who thwarts the rule of law, emboldens enemies, ridicules allies, who has no friends, just sycophants, and those are his good points.
4
Wow it's really no surprise that Bernie won the NH primary I mean wasn't he expected to win?
4
@Tammy It should have been a Bernie-Liz buffet. Oops. I guess NH, like the rest of us, have wised up to their cynical free-stuff-for-all platform.
@Tammy
And he should have won big given that he's had campaign infrastructure in place in NH for years. And he eked out a victory of a little over 1 %. That is the unexpected part.
I think we’ll see a knee-jerk reaction to socialist Bernie running for president against someone like Trump who supports business and the individual’s opportunities afforded in our country via capitalism.
I think the left is pushing too hard and will cause Trump to win another 4 years.
3
@Dorothy
To Trump a business opportunity is
- not paying his bills
- avoiding taxes needed to fund the military
-renting hotel rooms at an inflated price to his own security detailers viable
-Stropping over in Scotland to keep his golf course viable
(amongst scores of other scams)
1
Trump is successful because he gives his voters the freedom to be their worst selves.
Let’s give Bernie a chance to inspire us to be our best selves and take Trump’s administration down.
5
@Will
I've seen Bernie in action since 2015 and the only thing he's inspired me to do is to vote for his opponents.
1
I had a dream last night that Biden and Warren bowed out of the race, and Buttigieg agreed to be Klobuchar's VP.
6
You're reading this in print so you know it's gotta be true....
I am an election expert. Historically I thought Obama was too inexperienced & lacked political connections to get things done so HRC should have been elected. Last go round Bernie was thevlear choice but because of & you know ALL the reasons we ended up with he who shall not be mentioned...
This time Biden & Bernie too old, Pete was very interesting at first but inexperienced like Obama but more - bright but not yet. Warren just doesn't feel right but should have a major hand running things.
Amy is the clear choice. She checks all the boxes plain and simple.
3
NH is not indicative of America.
There are only a few hundred thousand white voters. 93% white.
It is anyone's race at this point.
1
Bernie is going to give the election to Trump :-(
2
Every morning I wake up and read all the back and forth between citizens and pundits over this election and I want to bang my head against a wall.
Anyone who doesn't want Trump to be reelected and doesn't vote for whomever the Democratic nominee is is just bonkers. Bonkers.
5
Warren lost big again, and starts with the sobbing rag by blaming others who won big for “ tearing up the party stuff.” Then saying “ don’t you count women out, yet” sexist rhetoric...Thankfully she didn’t cry about being “ a minority Native American” again....
“Feel The Bern” is for real,..this time!
2
Alas! I am a sad Liz supporter. Again, she is the single most qualified presidential candidate since Hillary. Unfortunately, she has foundered on the shoals of trying to please everyone instead of inspiring an enthusiastic following.
No doubt, she inspired me with her brilliance, compassion, and thoroughness, and her commitment to grassroots campaign financing. However, she needed a more realistic vision from the beginning that enough voters could embrace without reservation, especially for a doable healthcare plan.
Perhaps her brilliance has stood in its own way, the tragic outcome for not a few smart and strong willed political candidates. It is still early and maybe she can turn her campaign fortunes around. However, Trump's advantage is gaining even earlier momentum, and that alone may doom campaigns from the early mistakes of even his most qualified opponents.
4
It is my understanding that late last night Senator Sanders indicated that if he does in fact get the Democratic nomination for President he will choose as his running mate, George McGovern.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
3
Bernie held his own in Iowa, and won in New Hampshire. His message is resonating with a lot of people, especially with the young and progressive spectrum of the party. Also, there was a big turnout in New Hampshire, which he hoped for, and which is great news for democrats. I would like to see Bernie win. His vision for the future is invigorating the party. For moderates who balk at the suggestion of socialism, keep in mind that his proposals are largely just an increase in spending on the social safety net and education, issues that affect most of us. Medicare for All, for example, would boost our economy by making it easier for small businesses, such as farmers or carpenters, to stay afloat. Also, the seismic shifts Bernie envisions will most likely face compromises in order to pass, even in a (hopefully) democrat controlled house and senate. Bernie has been a positive presence in Vermont, and he is very popular, even among surprisingly conservative people. All of that said, a simple calculation made by adding up the percentages of the New Hampshire primary results tallying the totals for progressive and moderate democrats shows that if the moderates consolidate and leave the winner standing against Bernie, that candidate will probably win. Bernie and Elizabeth's numbers combined do not equal the sum for the three leading moderate candidates (roughly 37 to 50). But if it is a three-way, he may well be the winner. We will see what happens as the race heats up.
5
Bernie may have won by a narrow margin, but it appears that most Dems want a moderate to win. More votes went to
Buttigieg/Klobuchar than to Bernie/Warren it appears. As an independent, I will vote for whoever the nominee is, but to win independent voters, we need a more moderate candidate. If Bernie wins, but the Dems do not take over the Senate and maintain the House, it will not be a fun 4 years.
8
@Lyndsey
Revolutions are never ‘fun’, Lyndsey, even when they are a people’s peaceful and complete Second American “Political/economic & socialist Revolution Against Empire”, but this first modern and peaceful “Revolution Against Empire” is essential as a non-violent one to achieve ‘global democracy’ against this Global Empire (and it’s faux-Emperor Trump) — somewhat of a Revolutionary election, but unlike 1776, with our ‘Free Speech’, but without the muskets!
3
@Alan MacDonald
This revolution will scare the center and the moderate Rs who despise Trump.
While Bernie Sanders is often portrayed as a flighty lightweight offering only "pipe dreams," he is, in reality, a very pragmatic politician, both in campaigns and in Congress. He didn't win New Hampshire by merely sitting back and shouting, "Medicare for All!" He had a well-planned and strategic ground operation, to get his voters to the polls. Don't forget he won re-election to his Senate seat with over 60% of the vote.
9
Bernie’s win is described here in traditional moderate post-election and inside politics form by the “Times”, despite the fact that “the ‘Times’ they are a changin”.
Secondly, the supposedly ‘radical’ Bernie Sanders made a more than ‘slight understatement’ in his victory speech by calling his victory the beginning of overcoming “President Trump, who is the most dangerous president in U.S. history”.
The double error was in calling Trump both “President Trump” and tagging him as only “the most dangerous president in U.S. history” accrues to the term ‘President’.
More radically, from an accurate and progressive media reporting standpoint, the “Times” and Bernie should have exposed this honest truth, which would be quite shocking but necessary to ‘we the American people’:
“Bernie Sanders won in New Hampshire and started the essential drive to re-establish a truly and necessary radical state of democracy which may well “overcome Emperor Trump as the figure head and merely visible ‘symptom’ of the most dangerous virtual Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire in America’s 21st century”.
FDR in speaking of the start of the Second World War of Empires described it as a “day of infamy” and continued to somewhat strangely say, “a state of war ‘has’ existed between the United States and the Japanese Imperial Empire”.
What Bernie Sanders, is revolutionarily doing with this one small state victory may hopefully be starting to overcome Global Empire with global democracy.
6
Will the press, the NYT included, please stop telling us that the results in a tiny, northern, rural, and overwhelmingly white state dictate who is the "front-runner"?
9
What I read from early primary results--and polling--is that Democrats are looking for somebody new. Somebody with different ideas. I'm not sure the support is all that strong for Bernie's platform as for what he represents--radical thinking.
2
Just maybe all but the obviously deluded Trump adulators really do want change and Sanders is certainly a change from the failed policies of the past which have kept many Americans from achieving the "American Dream" promised to them by political rhetoric. Just maybe Sanders is the change that so many Republicans as well as Democrats are really hoping for. Just maybe "Medicare for All" isn't going to bankrupt millions of Americans. Just maybe, Sanders is really the Hope and Change that Obama-Biden promised but was unable to deliver. Just maybe, Sanders is the candidate who will really be able to "Make America Great Again". Trump certainly did nothing to improve the lives of most Americans, other than the 1% who are now much wealthier. Just maybe Sanders brand of "Democratic-Socialism" will bring Americans what the majority have been hoping for all along. Of course that will only happen with a strong progressive Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
4
Sanders got a little more than a quarter of the votes in New Hampshire, far less than the combined totals of the second- and third-place candidates, both of whom are, in fact, fairly liberal. Sanders doesn't represent "liberal" Democrats. He represents the even farther left segment of the party. Sanders won't beat trump because moderate Democrats, many independents, and Republicans who can't stand trump will sit out the election or vote for trump even though they can't stand him. So while liberals like me would vote for Sanders, it will be far from enough. In addition, if by some fluke Sanders won the election, the country would remain as divided and filled with hate as it is now. He is loud and uncompromising, characteristics that have proven themselves to be disastrous for the country. His policies will never pass congress. We'll have four more years of shouting and name calling. As almost 75 percent of voters in New Hampshire demonstrated, we need someone who has the capacity to move the country out of the nightmare we're in now and get us back in a good direction through realistic policies and rational steps forward.
6
For those claiming to be "centrists," I feel compelled to point out that the center is a moving target. Did you also claim centrism four years ago? If so, you have slipped far to the right since then.
I also feel compelled to point out that these labels are really meaningless. My own politics is based on critical thinking, science and compassion. I support health care as a human right. I listen as the scientific community pulls its hair out over climate change. I see the absurd inequity in how we distribute wealth in this country. And I see where we are headed if we don't aggressively address these problems. Its really not that difficult to understand.
If you must slap labels on people, then knock yourself out. But however you choose to label me, I will be voting for the candidate who most consistently and honestly voices concern over the very serious issues above. That person is Bernie Sanders.
7
It seems to me that Bernie’s results in N.H. Must be seen through the filter of his being practically a native son. If he can’t do well on his home turf, how could he do well anywhere else? I won’t even delve into the fact that neither Iowa nor N.H. Have particularly diverse populations. Let’s see how he does in South Carolina and Nevada.
4
Sanders as president will revive the long dead American Dream, whose death was overseen aided and abetted by those warmongering, Wall Street supporting, status quo protecting centrists.
Sanders, more than any other candidate understands the societal deterioration represented by the obscene, colossal and growing inequality of opportunity. income and wealth, where the richest .1 percent take in 196 times as much as the bottom ninety percent.
Sure, his policies of medicare for all, quality, free child care for all, quality early childhood through grade twelve education for all, and tuition free continuing education... these policies will have a significant price tag upfront.
America is the richest country in the world, and it has the highest rate of incarceration in the world.
With Sanders policies the American Dream will be revived and a better educated, healthier, more thriving citizenry will be worth the price tag.
Sanders' foreign policy will lead the world to use diplomacy, not military solutions to resolve conflicts.
Sanders will join with the world in combating climate change, while making sure that those whose jobs are lost in transitioning to a Green Future, are retrained for good jobs within the new Green Economy.
Sanders' integrity, bold ideas, vision and courage are desperately needed now.
A Future To Believe In!
President Sanders 2020!
9
He can't win the presidency. He knows he can't. The best thing he can do is quit now and support another candidate. Anything else is giving Trump another four years.
6
@M Davis Yeah. I feel sorry for Biden too. I hope he throws in the towel sooner rather than later.
2
Breaking news:
A "strong third" and "close second" is the new First Place.
It has become downright amusing watching the media downplay Bernie Sanders success while they simultaneously prop up two names (Klobuchar and Buttigieg) that 99% of Americans never heard of six months ago.
7
@John
I am not American and was very familiar with Amy due to her questioning of Barr and the guy with the alcohol problem, Justice Kavanaugh. See I even remember how to spell Kavanaugh.
2
Oh, Good Grief. Bernie won a primary. The World has not collapsed. Bernie is a decent mensch. There are lots more primaries where several other candidates get to speak up. It is a rather long stretch to the election. Let's stop already with all this overanalysis and try to make a positive mark in our communities in our day to day lives.
8
As Tom Friedman points out, Sanders has not really been attacked at all yet by anyone. Clinton gave him a jab or two. And that's it. When the Trump/GOP smear machine goes to work on Sanders, he will be pulverized. Dust. Most Americans agree with Sanders' DIAGNOSIS, but the vast majority does like his prescription. The two mayors have the correct agendas. Your dream agenda is nothing if it cannot be executed.
4
Well I thought Bernie gave a really good victory speech last night and I knew exactly what he was talking about. Buttigieg’s was the usual mechanical delivery with the usual canned McKinseyesque warm and fuzzies about restructuring and reimagining tectonic dynamism. I have no idea what that guy is ever talking about that’s real to me.
6
In 2016, Clinton eked out a win in Minnesota by 1.5%. Articles in this very newspaper have detailed the massive on-the-ground operation by the Trump campaign to move Minnesota red in 2020. Meanwhile, Klobuchar has won her seat there by 60% or so and remains very popular. If Democrats want to hang on the Minnesota, nominating Klobuchar will help them do it.
2
I voted for Sanders in 2016 so I'm not hostile to the man, but how on Earth does this look like anything but the most pathetic of "victories?"
He beat Hillary Clinton by 22 points in New Hampshire four years ago and he scored a 1% victory over a rival who surged from almost nothing with Biden's collapse. Moreover Klobochar was a very tight third place.
I don't think the country is in the same place as in 2016. People want calm not revolution and a moderate candidate.
7
NH is a traditionally Republican state. Dem voters there can make a statement, knowing they'r unlikely to win.
Bernie is the best candidate for this Country at this time ,the things he proposes are what is needed for the Middle Class and the poor in the USA. If we stop funding the military and tax the millionaires and billionaires we will have plenty of money to take care of Medicare for All, a higher minimum wage, free state and city college, and a Clean New Deal for the future of the Planet. We need new ideas not the same old way that only benefits the wealthy !!!!!!
7
@MA Preston, SNL did Bernie a real favor by getting Larry David to parody him. Who doesn’t like Larry David. Who makes nothing funny. Bernie’s just to likable to not vote for.
My 29 year-old granddaughter and I had a 'movie date' yesterday. And she and her dentist husband are Bernie supporters. She did say she would vote for whoever won the Democratic nomination. She stated she was really tired of the Republican corruption and stacking of the Supreme Court. So I guess the young are listening and watching and really dislike Trump and his extremely corruption administration. Yea!!! You go kids.
5
The Democrats need to excite and inspire the electorate to turn out and vote like they did for Obama in 2008. Which candidate can do that? I should rephrase that to ask, who can turn out African Americans and young people under 30?
2
what does a close second mean? last election, the nyt and the dnc favored HRC in subtle ways. for instance when Bernie won West Virginia, the nyt put two photos of HRC on the front page and a mention of Bernie’s victory in small print below. it was a pivotal moment when Bernie was gaining momentum. i feel the headline here does not convey a very close outcome until you click on the heading, then a fairer headline appears. it is early, but i think the times may be biased again.
6
Looking a bit different, from up here...
Adding up Pete's, Amy's, Joe's, and ½ of Liz's votes – ~60%...
Adding Bernie’s, and the other ½ of Liz's votes – ~30%...
Seems like they went ~2:1 for capitalism over socialism…
Democratic capitalism, of course…
4
Doesn't the establishment get it yet? Ordinary voters are sick of the corruption and selfishness of their so-called leaders. Nobody wants Biden and his greedy son. No more business as usual. Time to clean up. A ticket combining Sanders with a younger candidate- Butteigieg, Klobuchar, even Gabbard-has a good chance to win. Biden would be as much a walkover for Trump as the impeachment vote.
3
Its amazing to me that a common thread here is the divisiveness that Bernie is fostering in the country. Are you serious??? What can be more divisive (and more dangerously so) than the current train wreck that we have currently occupying the People's House? I see some commenters stating that if Bernie is the nominee, you'll hold your nose and vote for trump or a third party candidate. Are you serious? Some of you folks really don't get the gravity of what's happening in this country right now. We've been hijacked by a toy dictator and his merry band of spineless, immoral enablers and you're concerned about Bernie? This is unbelievable. Some of you deserve exactly what King Clown is offering. More hate, more divisiveness, more money for the rich while continuously assaulting our social safety nets and healthcare. More war (or threat there of), more environmentally detrimental policies, more graft, more corruption, more unqualified cabinet appointees, more qualified career personnel being shown the door because they're not marching in lockstep with this disastrous administration's mantras, more shredding of rights, of freedoms, of the Constitution itself. When the Brown Shirts start marching through your streets, plucking all the undesirables from their comfortable homes and marching them off to labor camps, will you then get it? Or are you so comfortable in your notion that you won't fall into any of the "undesirable" categories to not be too overly concerned? Wake up people.
12
How about a Bloomberg/Klobuchar ticket?
That sounds very good, Bloomberg would make mince meat out of traitor trump in a debate. That's considering agent orange would even consider having a debate.
Klobuchar vs the president of vice, bobble head pence, would be the same. Klobuchar would grind him down into the dirt.
3
Or Sanders/Klobuchar, which already shows more momentum and covers a larger demographic of democratic energy.
5
@Pataman Better yet, how about Klobuchar at the top of the ticket, Bloomberg as VP to pay the bills?
What I'd like to see is Buttigieg drop out. Then team with Klobuchar and he campaigns and runs as her VP. After Klobuchar holds office for eight years, then Buttigieg will run. Vote for them and you get a 16 year package. Their votes combined will overcome Sanders. And as a bonus, you will get two more firsts (woman, openly gay). And no surprise VP after the nomination. Then I hope Bloomberg drops out and endorses the Klobuchar/Buttigieg ticket.
It’ll end in tears.
4
Only a real populist like Bernie can beat a fake populist like Trump!
12
No mention of voter turn out levels, cool.
1
Trump must be celebrating and jumping with joy.
As an aside, what exactly is a "lying dog-faced pony soldier"?
Where did Biden even come across this phrase? (Please tell me it's not from a 1950's Western.)
4
@John
It's a teaser from his forthcoming book.
3
If Bernie is the nominee the unfortunately trump gets 4 more years. What a horrible thought but true!
4
This was supposed to be easy. All we needed was to keep it simple, by nominating a center-left candidate who could appeal to most in the Democratic Party, and hold his/her own against Trump by relentlessly attacking him and his policies.
A good dose of fear about likely cuts to Medicare and Social Security by Trump and the Republicans could have won over some of their “older” supporters.
And that likely would have been the pathway to a blow-out Dem win in November.
Instead, we have this fractured and flawed crop of candidates that can appeal to their “lane” and few outside of it. This is the best the Dem party nominating process and Dem voters have been able to come up with, after 3 years of professed outrage.
It may be time for Dems to re-think the sanctimoniously carping that “justice will prevail,” because these days the arc of history does not seem to inevitably bending toward justice.
2
Amy/Pete 2020!!
4
Bernie won! But “do nothing Democrat’s” still refuse to support Bernie and try to undermine him with their headlines in their news media such as this one! They still want their “wine cave” Hillary 2.0 candidates!
It’s ok. They can have their Hillary 2.0 candidates, “wine cave Pete” et al!
We know how that movie ends!!!
6
@Fread Yes, it ends with some Bernie folks whining that the system isn't "fair" because their guy wasn't popular enough to get the nomination, just like the 2016 primaries. And again, they'll vote for Trump.
Great, two loudmouth New Yawker ideologues running against each other for President in 2020.
What could possibly go wrong?
Bernie is such a fraud.
Running as a Democrat instead of what he really is, an avowed Socialist. Phony.
He has a pathetic record of no achievements for decades as a Senator.
Worst of all, he stole Larry David's act.
6
I’m not convinced that Bernie will win the votes of the little bit of the middle ground that is still up for grabs. But then if the candidate isn’t Bernie, a substantial number of the Bernie bros will vote no one or vote Trump. Not encouraging.
3
@AnneEdinburgh And therein lies the mystery.
In the threadbare "Sanders single handedly cost the 2016 election argument" is the oft overlooked fact that the election was lost, not because of some calculated, clandestine Bernie or Bust movement, but rather by a few thousand votes (or lack thereof) in a few key states.
If someone can please provide data that Bernie Bros suppressed the turnout in these key states do please show us. Otherwise lets finally put this tired argument to rest and figure out how we can win Michigan, Ohio, Florida, and Wisconsin (forgive me if I forgot some).
Because regardless of how many democrats in NY, CA, or any solidly blue state refuse to vote for whichever candidate they despise for whatever reason, the election will still come down the results in a handful of states, most likely by only a few thousand votes total.
Also, lest we forget that the Senate, the House, State and local governments are also in play. So maybe we should all be less worried about the horse race and focused on building an engaged citizenry to confront our collective woes.
5
@SH There are a lot of "ifs", but in the 2016 election, 3 key states had enough Sanders supporters who voted for trump who could have swung those states to Clinton "if" they just stayed home.
This NPR piece explains it. This could actually look good "if" Sanders is the nominee, "if" moderates who voted for Clinton will vote for Sanders and "if" those Sanders-trump voters will not vote for trump again. But we are dealing with a newly shaped electorate. "Ifs" endless! The only "if" that matters is "if" enough people vote blue no matter who and "if" some trump supporters--- Just. Stay. Home.
https://www.npr.org/2017/08/24/545812242/1-in-10-sanders-primary-voters-ended-up-supporting-trump-survey-finds
@SH
Guess you don't know that Bernie right now wins nationally as well as in all of the Six States against Trump.
3
@Fourteen14 Unfortunately, the election isn't "right now," it is in November. History suggests that head-to-head polls conducted this early are meaningless.
Trump won the election on Bernie's platform. So I think he should be the party's nominee.
4
If you add Sanders' and Warren's results last night, 35% of NH voters opted for "revolution." If you add up Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Biden, Steyer, Gabbard, Patrick, Bennett and Yang, 63% voted for a less ideologically strident, more inclusive approach.
In 2016, in a 2-way race with Hillary Clinton, Sanders got 38% to Clinton's 60. Sanders' "revolution" is losing, not gaining ground.
If the Dems don't get this right, they'll end up nominating an ideologue that neither the vast majority of the party nor the country wants.
4
And what happen with Hillary?
1
Ridiculous argument when you have absolute different numbers in each camp before the vote.
What we learned yesterday is that what you sound like is as important as what you say. Klobuchar lowered her voice and increased her stage presence. I also think she upped her game on makeup and hair, something that’s unfortunately important for women in the public but not for men (v. Bernie).
Warren hasn’t done that and feels “thin” and reedy to an audience. She continues to look like a college professor and that’s not good for her campaign. Biden sounds testy and old fashioned, referring too often to his past and using stale language. Buttigieg is consistent and reasonable sounding, the Goldilocks response, but needs more experience in legislation etc. to go the distance. Bernie sounds strong and insistent that he is right. His plans are more or less consistent, no vaguer than anyone else’s except Warren’s and we know him as a generally truthful individual. By comparison he comes out ahead.
I find all the analysis a lot of brouhaha on the part of op ed people because they never examine the theatrical aspect of running for office. They haven’t actually explained anything that happened here.
Running for office is a theatrical show — not an intellectual reveal. An examination of the Trump Show would tell people a lot about his Pied Piper effect. How about it?
6
Those that want free stuff and those that have to pay for the free stuff.
With the aging baby boom moving into retirement, those that receive payment from the government - Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid - and those that want free stuff will make up the majority of voters. In the next 15 years we will see a Candidate like Bernie or Warren, offering free stuff, win the election for President in the United States.
@RCS
The Republicans give free stuff to the corporations and their Rich owners, why can't we get something? After all, it's our money.
3
Dear Pete:
Things have gone waaayyyyy too far with inequality, and the Democrats at this point share some blame, and more than a minuscule amount of it. It IS time for a revolution. The majority of voters will only be far better off with one - they will still have jobs but now be able to take sick kids to the doctor, and perhaps even share in the wealth generated by our economy. If the leadership of the United States (whether corporate or civic) would have played even slightly more fairly all along, and done what’s right (or close to it), we wouldn’t be in this mess. They are reaping what they’ve sewn.
5
Sanders and Warren are branded - branded as Socialists. In America the word, "Socialist" is a bad word. (Of course it shouldn't be) - but that's the reality of the American electorate.
Trump has already declared war on Socialist Sanders and Warren.
Sanders/Warren may get the nomination - but that's a guarantee of defeat running against Trump
1
@Mike Persaud
What's so bad about a living wage for a working family?
2
The instant analysis is usually wrong.
1
New Hampshire primary votes for a President running for re-election:
Trump (2020) 118,774
Obama (2012) 49,080
Bush (2004) 53,965
Clinton (1996) 76,797
Reagan (1984) 65,033
3
What particularly elevates Bernie Sanders (whether you "like" him or not) above many others is that his success is derived intrinsically from his own personality and his ideas. This is the very opposite of Trump who mostly derives his shallow beliefs from outside himself such as from his followers and enablers. And, Trump is also profiting, heavily, by the current globally popular mood for those who will behave as they speak i.e. abominably. Don't ask me why anyone would consciously desire abomination but strange are the ways "of mice and men". All that said, the shift to Sanders while perhaps a logical reaction to Trump's excesses is in itself, in my opinion, an excess of its own kind. Many readers here are praising Sanders for the same reasons that actually make others fear him and even excoriate him. The net result is that it is disturbing to see how America is oscillating maniacally between the poles of the right and the left while leaving out moderates (whose numbers may be dwindling in this age of extremes) to shift for themselves as best as they can. Perhaps it is a bit more heartening to look north to our neighbor Canada which seems relatively more immune, for now, from such strong shifting political currents where to be a moderate is to be in good company.
2
The NH Democratic primary electorate is very liberal, and yet Sanders barely notched a win and by only 1.5 percentage points with about 25 percent of the vote.
He was out-polled by the three moderates by about 20 percent after beating a moderate by 22 percent in 2016.
And he only beat the 38 year old mayor of the 300th largest city in the US by 1.5 points and trails him in the delegate count.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Sanders populist revolution or a left wing take over of the Democratic Party.
Sanders has hit his ceiling. It's now up to the moderates to coalesce and put Sanders out of our misery.
6
Buttiegieg has outperformed the polls twice now.
I wonder if this could reflect voters' lack of recognition when they hear his name in a phone survey, but recognize his name when they see it on a ballot.
Or maybe there is a "shy Buttigieg" effect in which people say they won't admit to supporting him, perhaps because he is gay, but vote for him in privacy of the voting booth?
Either way, the small sample so far suggests that he may have up to a 5% hidden advantage over polling numbers.
3
I will vote for anybody against Trump.
9
Let's be clear no one knows what is going to happen in politics tomorrow with Trump as president and his henchmen AG Barr in power. Even the Press are afraid that they will be denied their access if they report Truth.
Bernie is NOT afraid. Are YOU??
Vote Blue No matter Who.
7
another headline might be....
a majority of voters didn't vote for sanders...
i think that's what the math shows
2
Looks like 4 more years....
Although Sanders won both primaries, the fact that many of his 2016 voters are looking and voting for other candidates is very interesting. And should be concerning to his campaign.
BTW, the results of the NH and IA primaries do accurately predict the party's nominee for President. However, it does not translate to win the general election. Over the past 10 contests, the primary winners in NH and IA who become the Democratic party nominee lost the general election 7 times.
If Pete had Joe's votes and Amy had Warrens votes, Bernie would be in THIRD PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!! That's the clear picture. Goodbye Joe and Elizabeth, make this primary more sensible. I do agree with Trump only once, "Crazy Bernie". Turn off the volume and watch him!
1
When reporters say things like "there are deep doubts across much of the Party" about Sanders' ability to win in November, I always wonder who they're referring to. The DNC? Regular registered Democratic voters? Party chairpeople? Other members of the commentariat? It matters. Because statements like that are a way of putting one's finger on the scale, of sowing doubt about a candidate. That has consequences, so I'd like to know the source of this info.
15
Here's why I plan to vote against Bernie Sanders: the Sanders campaign has been sending me, and several people I've spoken to, text messages demanding money. None of us ever signed up for communications from the Sanders campaign, and we are left to wonder how they got our numbers. Doing this sort of thing is especially problematic given widespread public concern about data security/privacy today. I have received no such communications from ANY of the other candidates for president. But, if that weren't enough reason not to vote for this guy:
Bernie Sanders had a heart attack just a couple of months ago. This should be disqualifying, as should his lack of judgment and arrogance in deciding to remain in a race for the most powerful office in the nation, if not the world, after such an event.
The median voter in the US does not support socialism in any form, and never has, historically.
Where has he been for the past 50 years? Little known senator from Vermont spends most of his career profiteering from our incumbent-favoring electoral system, and now, in the twilight of his years, he emerges as someone who is going to lead the United States to a brighter tomorrow? It would be funny if it weren't just another example of the Baby Boomer generation, having plundered the nation's resources and social welfare systems, continuing to raise their hands and voices, saying "we have the answer!" Enough is enough!
5
I got a text message from the Bernie campaign addressed to my mother! I’ve been wondering how that connection was made. What is the source?! It’s deeply disturbing because the only source I can think of would be some joint financial accounts.
@Jeff
Here's why I'll be voting for Sanders: See Graph2 at bit.ly/EPI-study
Notice the inflection point of 1972?
"The Great Inflection Point?"
From 1945 to 1972 median (meaning everyone's) wage rose in lockstep with GNP (100%). Since 1972 GNP has risen another 150% but the median wage has been flat, frozen at 1972 levels. 90% of the gains in GNP went to the <1%.
That means, since some wages have gone up (tech/health) & some in good unions have floated (7%), that the vast majority of America's 160 million workers (& their families) have experienced 48+ years of declining expectations in an economy that has grown 150%! This has spawned an opioid crisis, protofascism, rise of trump & the ruin of millions of our fellow citizens lives & families.
A 48+ year trend is not possible w/out complicity of elites from both parties. In the case of the Dems, this is the centrist/neolibs/clintons. That trifecta lost to the grotesquely decadent Trump in 2016 because of the 48+ year trend is itself grotesque & immoral.
Prior to 1972 we had FDR's "demand-side" economics. After 1972 we got "supply-side" economics.
Sanders, Warren & Yang are the only candidates that are campaigning for a reversal of economic policy. A return to FDR's demand side econ. (The essential meaning of "revolution" as a term in civics is "reversal")
Millions of lives & families have been ruined. In 2016 millions didn't mind voting for the ruin ever everyone else. Sanders is the fitting answer to that.
5
If the DNC hates Bernie so much and they want to push a moderate that calms the donors I'd like to remind them how moderates did in recent years: Gore 2000, Kerry 2004, Clinton 2016. Bernie gives people strong policy reasons to go vote for him.
12
"his modest success " as NYT characterizes Bernie's victory, is a grudging admission that whoever is actually "electable" actually gets votes from real people!! Why wring our hands over the "moderates?" If people wanted whatever it is these "moderates" stand for, people would vote for them. Bernie brings us integrity and strength. This moment in history isn't about Joe Biden, or the "socialist" label or any other media distraction. People recognize a real leader when they see one, and that is why Bernie won.
8
@Trish S
Am I missing something here? More than 50% of the voters in NH voted for Amy, Biden and Pete. Bernie got 26%. How is this a victory except in the simplest numerical way? I think it's clear the Democrats need to nominate a moderate because that's who most people are voting for. Y
@Trish S
"If people wanted whatever it is these 'moderates' stand for, people would vote for them."
Yes. That is exactly what happened:
Buttigieg - 24.4%
Klobuchar - 19.8%
Biden - 8.2%
Total: 52.4% (They call that a "majority.")
@Trish S 2/3 of the voters picked candidates who do not support Medicare for All. When there is no clear winner, the coalition of moderates will pick the nominee.
When did this idea take hold that there is a HUGE problem if someone doesn't have this all wrapped up by the second contest of the primary season?
The actual problem is that several candidates that should have received a serious look were forced to drop out before even one actual primary contest took place (Castro, Booker, Harris).
It's good that there is no putative nominee before any of the diverse electorates (NV, SC, etc) are able to weigh in on the choices.
2
With his commitment to the common good Bernie Sanders though a right choice for the President yet given the multilayered labyrinthine process of election and the role of big money, and of course, last minute surprises like the last election debacle, it is still a long journey to cover to win the race.
5
I don't really see Bernie's win as that impressive. Between Buttigieg and Klobuchar Bernie LOST 44% of the vote and lost 15 delegates-6 more than he won. It's a long way to the convention, so we'll just have to wait to see what happens. By the time the CT primary comes around things will look different so I'm not making any decision until then.
5
Buttigieg is described as ascending. True. But no mention is made of Sanders' weak victory. At this hour he leads by 3500 votes in a state adjacent to his own, after being heralded as the most likely winner for weeks, being a household name by now. Is that not odd? Sanders should have a huge, in numbers, victory in New Hampshire. He did not. Politico headlines that he won by a whisker. Winning by a whisker in New England, where he lives and has made his political career for a two generations, is not what a strong candidate does. Those who argue that he is such a candidate invent their own reality.
7
@blgreenie
Bernie carried the People's flag over the wall created by Trump, the Republicans, the mainstream media, the DNC, the status quo, and the moderate Democrats. That's an indication the tide is changing and a big win for the People. It means there's a small possibility that we can take our democracy back.
1
Here we go again. Same lines, different election. Sanders this...not a democrat that...Socialist......blah..blah...blah. How about you vote for who you'd like to be the nomination and I'll vote whom I'd like? AND if our preferred candidate doesn't win the nomination, we'll support the person that does. Easy solution that doesn't require rocket science. You're welcome.
5
@Reyes-Cabasos
These "lines" are all true though, so how do you counter?
He's not a Democrat, by his own admission.
He's a Socialist, a Democratic Socialist, but a Socialist nonetheless.
He's also inherently anti-Capitalist campaigning to lead a Capitalist country. Square peg, round hole.
2
Congratulations, Mr. Trump.
6
Why this obsession with who "won." Senator Sanders won 9 delegates and Mayor Pete won 9 delegates. Notwithstanding the raw vote totals, that looks like a tie - not a win for either.
9
Can we be careful with terms like "tightens his grip"? It makes it sound like a power play rather than a victory in a primary election.
5
All the hand wringing over Bernie, the plain fact is that whomever the Democrats nominate, Trump is an incumbent, presiding over a good economy with a ton of money. The history of defeating an incumbent with a strong economy is not good, regardless of party. The NH primary for me indicates that 2 candidates are now unelectable: Biden and Warren. Klobuchar & Pete have very little support at this point amongst the black & brown community. The only option to Bernie is going to be Bloomberg, that's where this is headed. It's still early days, remember Sept 15, 2008. McCain was cruising with a 10 point lead and then it collapsed. It could have been Hillary, or Obama or Biden, it didn't matter, the GOP was finished in one day. Do any of us want that, certainly not me, it's far from settled.
2
If Bernie Sanders becomes the Democratic candidate for president, they might as well concede the election. There’s no way this guy wins a national election.
10
Funny how the traditional dominance of the Democrat political landscape by so-called "moderates" is never reported as having "alarmed" progressives. Apparently it only works the other way.
Sanders may not beat Trump, if selected to go head to head, but the moderate candidate didn't either in 2016. And if we select and elect a moderate, someone with surface appeal and acceptable to monied interests, like we did in 2008, we'll have 4 or 8 more years of our rigged economy, a widening gap between rich and poor, no action on healthcare reform, and little pushback against carbon polluters.
The stakes for the future generation are too high to either allow Trump to continue to take us in the wrong direction fast, or a moderate to apply the brakes and take us in the wrong direction slower.
6
From a distance this looks much more about Mr Biden and Ms Warren falling away, rather than identifying a clear winner at this stage. This leaves Mr Sanders to battle it out with the three centre candidates (if you include Mayor Bloomberg).
3
@Douglas Downie And that would be if you consider Bloomberg, who supported George W. Bush and the Iraq war, cut taxes on the rich when he was mayor of New York, and was still defending Stop and Frisk and profiling young African-Americans as criminals in 2015, a center candidate!
1
Just proves that Sanders support is declining. Had he faced one opponent, he would have been demolished. He claims that his movement will bring out huge numbers of new voters. That isn't happening.
6
A candidate who wants to provide first world healthcare to the people, wants to tax billionaires a bit more, and aspires to reign in predatory corporations is considered "far left."
Only in America.
That said, I'm voting straight Blue all the way down to dog catcher- no matter who the candidate is.
7
@Jackson I never stated who I support, I'm merely pointing out the obvious- other first world countries have better health care systems than we do, at much lower costs. Your assumption is lazy at best, but more likely you are being willfully obtuse, after all, no one asks "How do we pay for it?" when we throw another trillion at the Pentagon.
3
Last night was a message that the voters will decide this thing. Who forecast that Amy Klobuchar would finish a strong third?
Certainly none of the pundits.
2
Bernie has never wavered from his position on anything. He is consistent. He does not pander. He's the type of person I would want as President.
10
@Susan
Like when he voted against gun control?
So far 75% of the Democratic voters who have bothered to show up have chosen someone other than Bernie. It's highly unlikely he will be the party nominee. Time to get real.
4
The time to consider electability is before the election. Saying, 'that's not right' after losing, doesn't do much good. You'd think Democrats would've learned that lesson by now.
Bernie is not trump, and he is not "tightening a grip." What he's doing is exciting voters about his ideas, which is what it's all about. Anyone who wants more tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations is, I would argue, participating in the destruction of the US for the sake of greed. We need more revenue, and we need to take care of people, rather than leave them to die in the streets, to build up huge debt to be part of the middle class, or to maintain their health.
6
It is too early to declare any candidates position, however, what is being noted is the lack of Democratic Concern from the youth, too many are disillusioned by feeling their voices aren't being heard yet they are the vision, you need to see the power they had during the Parkland marches, they made the difference in 2018, this may sound cynical but not only will the voices of youth help determine the path of the United States but they will mold the globe going forward, listen to Greta the impact she has made for Climate Change, listen to Malala the impact she has made for women around the world, never think your voice doesn't matter, if you allow Trump to win in 2020, your future will be bleak, imagine his power in 2021 when he, in his mind, will not need his base, will not care about Fox news, will care less than he does now about Justice, how will you combat him when it comes to legislating gun control, how will you feel when your Democratic rights, as well as the international rights, are stomped on, he is not the reason your economy is good, he is the reason why it has been reported that even some world leaders need to see him go, listen to him deeply regarding issues such as the coronavirus, his naivety, his prejudism that comes towards justice, race, sexual orientation, do not allow him to take your future away, Bernie's plans are a vision for the future, but everytime the word free comes along, there are consequences, the only free word that matters is Freedom
4
Cream eventually rises to the top. Bernie may be at the top here but barely. The centrists are right up there with him. With the amazing, accomplished Klobuchar, the awesome, brilliant Buttigieg, and the attractive proposition in Bloomberg, the trio are going to be hard to beat. I suggest people please ask themselves an important question. Do you want another guy who is feeding you hopes and dreams, or do you want folks like Klobuchar and Bloomberg who can execute on plans. Buttigieg who is brilliant and humble enough to associate himself with good people and who is also obviously executing as we speak. Bernie has no real record of doing much. He is an armchair theoretician. Don't vote for brimstone.
4
I don’t understand why commenters keep going back to the 2016 election’s muddled arguments when the 2018 election showed clearly that **moderate** Democrats won the House. Independents and Moderate Republicans realize that Donald Trump was a mistake, they just don’t want to go to the complete opposite end of the spectrum and vote for Bernie Sanders. I don’t want anyone to disenfranchise or “turn off” the youth vote but the reason progress has been incremental is because the other side, Republicans, have a say. Republicans don’t just disappear because you are now old enough to have political convictions.
3
Time for anyone other than these top three to throw in the towel
1
It does not really matter who wins the primaries
It does matter who wins the election in November
No division this time!
3
Sick of hearing that Democrats need to vote for a centrist. Why? The Republicans are now far, far, far, far to the right. They are trying to normalize their extremist views. We have an authoritarian executive and a bunch of Republican Senators, trying to burn down Medicare and Social Security.
What we need is a Revolution, a political blue wave that guarantees:
1) Universal Healthcare for ALL
2) A dignified retirement for ALL
3) State College Tuition for All
4) Pay for it by REDUCING the bloated Military Budget
10
Unfortunately if we spent nothing at all on defense, the savings would not pay for the things you want. However, a flat tax of 10 percent on everyone’s incomes in addition to their present income taxes might be enough. Yes, those who make less than 50,000 dollars a year, and who today essentially pay nothing because of the Republican tax law, would have to pay a tax.
Biden was toast as soon as people were forced to talk about his role in Ukraine as the anti-corruption czar for the Obama Administration while his son held a job with a quasi government energy company "earning" $50K/month that he had no qualifications for. Trump knew Joe was the only democrat that was a threat to beat him in the upper mid west battleground states so he went after Biden on Ukraine. It eroded Biden's brand significantly. Mission accomplished. Now he's going after the only other candidate that can beat him: Bloomberg. The audio of Mike talking so bluntly about S&F will sink him with African Americans, another key constituency. Trump may not sound smart, but he is.
2
Reality Check the party has spoken but did the people win ?
Sanders is winning even bigger, if you consider that the liberal news media is against him.
7
If Bernie loved our country, he would quit and get behind Bloomberg and either Amy or Pete. His socialist agenda will not win in America, no matter how much Trump is hated.
1
When you add all the “moderate” votes together and all the left wing votes, the moderates have it. By far
3
Joe Biden drops out which is foreseeable that puts Pete on top. Bernie is way to radical and cannot unite the Democrats. Pete looks and acts Presidential far outshining the Big Orange we now have. He would look better on the World Stage. He is smart and would surround himself with Intelligent people contrary to the wanna be Dictator we have now.
He values the Constitution, Rule of Law, the 10 Commandments and respects his Marriage vows. Trump has none of these values.
Go President Pete!!!!!!!!!
1
The story I'm not seeing reported is that 14% of registered Republican voters voted AGAINST Trump in the New Hampshire primary. Of course he had a "landslide" victory, he had no real opposition. But over 21,400 people (nearly as many as voted for Biden) got themselves out to the polls in the middle of winter to make a clear statement of their opposition to Donald Trump. If that translates into general election Republican voters either voting third party or Democratic Party or not voting, it could be significant.
9
The first thing that came to my mind is this: Lots of people want what Bernie is selling. The second thing of course is those people have little, comparatively, to buy anything with. It's not true that "working hard" reverses the situation of this group of people. Some of you are lucky and went from low income to high income, but really very few do that (you need to look at where you came from before you say you did it all yourself).
The second thing is that for a long time we have been building a society where work doesn't pay. You entrepreneurs who worked hard and disagree---you wouldn't have been able to start your business without a level of capital that many, many people cannot access. In 2020, it's capital that pays.
4
It says something about the strange terminology of American politics that "liberal" is treated as the opposite of "moderate". Why not use the good old-fashioned terms "left" and "right". which date from the French revolution and are universally recognized throughout the world? It might surprise most Americans to learn that in Australia the moderately right-wing party is called the Liberal Party!
4
Also, historically “liberal” meant championing free markets against the guiding hand of the state, nearly the opposite of its use today.
2
Bernie has little chance in a general election. The constant refrain of needing a candidate 'of the working people' misses the point that working people are doing far better now than 3-4 years ago. That dog will not hunt.
3
Where, exactly are we doing better? I'll be happy to move my family there, because with stagnant wages, expiring tax cuts and deductions, everyday costs and whittling away at healthcare coverage, it doesn't look like that in Western Colorado. Or Pennsylvania where my brother is. Or Upstate NY where my folks are...
4
It’s a bit premature to say Bernie is ‘tightening his grip‘ with a plurality of under 30%; fact is the vast majority of votes were not in his column.
5
Sanders may have gotten the win. But...25% in 2020 vs 60% in 2016? He cannot be happy with this result.
And, collectively, the moderates creamed the far-left liberals.
5
He also was against one candidate only then, not 6 other candidates fighting for votes.
3
@pat That comparison is apples and oranges. In 2016 their were only 2 candidates to split the votes. This time there were over 10.
1
What we know
-Pete can win the general election with Amy as VP
-Bernie is a good man,however, a declared socialist cannot win the general election.
-Bloomberg buying the election is not a good look nationally.
-Elizabeth and Joe it is time ride into the sunset.
-Let us unite, Vote, and finish this nightmare.
4
The media must now commence the long ignored responsibility of properly vetting Bernie Sanders, lest the candidate be unprepared for Republican attacks.
2
This is a ludicrous distortion of reality. Bernie squeaked through with the narrowest of victories in NH and narrowly lost is Iowa. Both are states that are representative of only the white community in America. He has fewer total delegates than Pete B. Finally, his win is minuscule compared to his victory of Hillary in 2016. The real bottom line? We won’t know who the front runner is until after Nevada and South Carolina... even that may well be superseded by the results of Super Tuesday. I understand that you need a headline, but “Up in the Air” would be much more accurate.
7
Better not make it Bernie, Democrats. He's not a Democrat and I won't vote for a Socialist. Not this time, not ever.
2
Joe Biden has to get on TV and tell the voters what he was doing for Obama in the Ukraine. Hunter Biden, too, needs to go public. Their silence only hurts Biden's campaign and boosts Trump.
3
The problem is, there is likely no good answer. Hunter was trading on his daddy’s position, and daddy let him.
2
Mayor Pete seems like a nice guy but is too young and may get the Dems, but can't win the nation. Bernie is too old, too mean, has had a heart attack BEFORE the stress of the office and is uncompromising (politics is the art of compromise) and too polarizing. Warren not too old and not mean, but ditto on the polarizing.
Bloomberg may be crazy like a fox skipping two of the whitest states in the union, and Amy Klobuchar is getting more interesting every day.
4
NH loud and clear: Give us a youthful moderate!
4
We are finally narrowing the field a bit. I don't consider myself a lefty but in the back of my mind I know Sanders could hold up his end to trump and might even appeal to voters sitting on the trump fence waiting to bail. We take it one day at a time as trump is already on the attack. Also for some to say Buttigieg has little experience is nonsense. Granted he's young, but his intelligence is not questioned. Look at the real estate conman and his family who currently sit in the White House! They know a lot more about how to sway the American voter. Democrats better get their act together and fast. The old rules of being mister nice guy will not work in our divided nation.
2
Voters apparently don't like it when you attack/insult them, calling one of them a "lying dog-faced pony soldier." Who would have thought?
3
Bernie maybe a Socialist, which has positive connotations, but as for 45, he is criminal, nothing more than a 'mob boss' ...enough said!
5
The early primaries and caucuses are mostly valuable for assessing which candidates are outperforming their early poll numbers. By that measure, Pete Buttegieg and Amy Klobuchar have all the momentum right now; Bernie Sanders has none. Let's see if any candidate can win more than 50 percent of the vote in any primary on Super Tuesday before we start bestowing anyone with the title of front-runner.
4
Moderates win the day! Combine the New Hampshire progressive votes (Sanders.Warren) compare those with the moderate votes (Buttigieg/Klobuchar) and take note. Democrats understand that to win back the White House, we need to focus on the electoral college. In my view Klobuchar is the answer.
5
Take a look at vote totals by group: The Moderates (Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Biden) got 149,901 votes; The Liberals (Sanders, Warren) got 100,006 votes; the rest of the 6 candidates got 33,391 votes. What can we learn from this? It looks like overall the NH Dems want a moderate candidate. Does that reflect the rest of the Dem voters? We'll see, but it's something to keep in mind. Hopefully, the Dems can all rally behind the eventual nominee and recognize that beating Trump is the priority.
4
Sanders may have had the most voters. But if you add together the 2nd and 3rd place, you get far more voters wanting a moderate Dem (and a Dem!).
So, to me, the story out of NH is: Give us a moderate!
Voters may have chosen different moderates, but there is no doubt of that preference. Even should Biden drop out, his supporters are more likely to go for a moderate.
Voters may also have preferred a younger candidate.
Also, 4 years ago Sanders got 60% of NH voters. Which tells me this time he couldn’t get as many repeat voters!
Ok, he got more than Pete. But his % keeps shrinking!
3
First it was Trump who went against establishment Republicans and won. Now it's Bernie Sanders turn taking on the establishment with a win in NH. Two extremes battling it out in November. We may be living in an age of radicalism in American politics.
Right now moderates are struggling as we can we with Klobuchar and Buttigieg having difficulty gathering critical mass.
Bernie doesn't consider himself a Democrat and neither does Michael Bloomberg which strongly suggests that the Democratic party exists in name only. Maybe Mayor Pete or Senator Klobuchar can change that after Super Tuesday. It's still possible. But Bernie has the fire in the belly right now and he's determined to clinch the nomination. And right now it's looks like the center cannot hold.
Joe Biden. Ha ha. Remind me again why he was running beyond satisfying his ego.
3
Anyone who does not want more Trump needs to remember that what they say now about other Democrats will be used against that person if they are the nominee. Stop the infighting.
We need to work tenaciously for whoever the nominee is, and for whoever runs against senate Republicans.
7
@Joe
That’s my mantra too.
UNITY! Be respectful.
5
There is a more befitting term than "moderates" that could be used in reference to Mr. Sanders' opposition within the Democratic party. The word you were looking for is "establishment democrats". Moderate is not an apt way of describing corrupt warmongers fearful of any change that might benefit the people.
7
Why is it that just two states, not necessarily all that representative of the whole country, end up having such a lopsided effect on the whole race?...
We should have a single Super Tuesday where all states vote at the same time, which gives all the candidates a fair chance, and more important, gives each and every voter in every state an equal weight in the overall choice.
2
The real story is, who among the democrats can beat Trump? Trump, like it or not is the status quo, and the status quo for the economy is good for a lot of people. So, his incombancy factor, (always an advantage), is solid. He’s also a fantastic politician, great at denigrating opponents and a tireless campaigner. I put his winning at 50/50. So, what can we do about it? Pelosi, should move to open, “investigations," to impeach him again, setting the ground work for full impeachemt when he is re-elected and the Senate is in democratic control. The steady drip of of his many transgressions will hobble his campaign, since he will be consumed with putting out fires. The only thing that constrains him is prosecution. He’s been surging since his acquittal, it’s time to put the bridle back on.
5
Fact check
"While he has not demonstrated a capacity to appeal much beyond his left-wing base...."
"Senator Bernie Sanders leads all the Democratic presidential candidates in support from non-white voters and has gained 10 points among black voters, according to new polls released Tuesday." (Newsweek, this week)
Sanders scares the wits out of so-called moderates and the editorial board of this news organization. Biden is going down in flames as both voters and his own donor base look elsewhere. With no minority Democrats still in the race, voters of color are joining the Sanders camp especially the younger voters.
Bernie has succeeded in dragging the center-right Democratic party well to the left. Win or lose, that will be his legacy.
8
I ask again: why are we assuming that the rest of the much larger state primaries will follow New Hampshire, a small predonimantly white state. News outlets are responsible for making voters think it's already a done deal, when it's far from that.
1
Trump speaks power to truth; Sanders truth to power. Interesting to see who wins.
5
duh, yes Sanders won- with less than 26% of the vote.if he keeps on at this rate even throwing Warren's votes in he will arrive at the convention with only 35% or so of the delegates needed for the nomination. So he won't win the nomination.
And I am tired of these little a-typical places having out-sized impact.
His supports dream that people will just unite behind him. Some will, some won't.
For me, Mike looks better every day.
1
Bernie is the most genuine candidate - we democrats have lots to agree and disagree with his stand on issues - but that's a longstanding, grand tradition within the party. I'm jumping way ahead of myself, but imagine a Sanders/Klobuchar ticket. This would excite both the progressive and moderate voters - not only democrats - but republicans (who are fed up with Trump and his lewd "leadership"), and independents open for change.
2
This article repeats a recurring mantra about Sanders:
"Yet there are deep doubts across much of the party about his ability to win the general election"
The "pundits" making this absurd statement are the same "pundits" who in 2016 had this to say after Trump won the NH primary:
"Mr. Trump’s performance here, which followed Mr. Cruz’s victory in Iowa, has left the party establishment with two leading candidates who Republican leaders believe cannot win a November general election."
Political punditry has got to be the only "profession" where you can be wrong 100% of the time yet continue to keep your "job".
4
Klobuchar, Klobuchar, Klobuchar. The guts, the grit, the experience, the moderate steady voice the country needs to overcome Trump, and above all a female candidate us women can stand behind and count on to have our backs, something that hasn't happened in the US for far too long.
Come on, Women's March participants! Get out & vote your protest!
4
I think the NYT has misrepresented the significance of the NH primary in its reporting ("Bernie Sanders Wins . . ."). This was not a winner-take-all event, but rather part of a long-term sorting-out process.
In terms of delegates won (based on numbers to date) Sanders didn't win, he and Buttigieg tied. In terms of "progressive" versus "moderate" voting, the three moderate candidates received over 50% of the vote, as opposed to about 35% for the two progressive candidates (and 15 delegates versus 9).
These aspects of the vote are lost (or buried deeply) in the reporting of the story, but they are significant aspects of the process and, I think, more fairly represent what happened in NH.
The NH primary was Mr. Sanders to lose, not win. After all, he comes from neighboring Vt., and NH is his home turf. The loser was Ms. Warren who is from another neighboring ... though less so neighborly-wise .... Mass. The real winner was Mr. Buttigieg, despite his light resume ... at least as unwisely declared by Sanders and Ms. Klobuchar ... which probably actually provided him with voter favor than not. However, in this regard ... resume and “experience” ... consider the outcome for Mr. Biden. Say what one may, Sanders carries proudly the label of “socialist,” which the nation overall does not well understand or even want to consider. And Trump, who is a master at benefitting from confusion and chaos for self-gain, would use this most convincingly if his opponent in the November election were to be Mr. Sanders. Doing the right thing always demands the right time, which is the problem for the highly principled Mr. Sanders. It’s simply the wrong time for Mr. Sanders whose efforts unintendedly hurt more than help Dems ... and America. The Dem solution for the sake of the nation? I think Mr. Bloomberg.
1
seriously because of narrow victories in two tiny states with next to no minority representation?
The problem is, about 49 percent of Americans yearn for a dictatorship. And they don't care if Trump's mental condition is in steady decline. Which it is....
3
Sanders and Biden have a lot of political baggage that will be used against them. Sander's age and health are also an issue as is Biden's age. Sanders takes money from the defense and oil and gas industries (https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=D&cycle=2020&recipdetail=S&mem=Y) which seems hypocritical for a leftist.
Warren is a warrior for the consumer and her "Robin Hood" message is compelling, but may prove to be too ambitious.
Buttigieg faces unbridled bigotry from Trump and his supporters. His inexperience in federal politics may also be a factor.
Klobuchar deserves a closer look and can appeal to the moderates--who seem to make up most of the democratic voters given the results in NH.
Bloomberg and Steyer have the money to run against Trump, and face it, those who spend the most usually win. Bloomberg doesn't hesitate to trade insults with Trump who, as we all know, has a very thin skin. Bloomberg also has political experience as mayor of NYC. Steyer's stance on climate change makes him stand out.
Yang and Bennett are out of the race.
The single most important issue facing democrats is defeating Trump. Our country may not survive another 4 years of Trump--he's literally insane ("The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" ISBN 978-1-250-17945-6).
Realistically, it seems to me that a moderate candidate will have broader appeal and the best chance of surviving Trump and the Republican's win-at-all-cost mentality.
1
What will Bernie promise to give you? And once you realize that he really can't, what will Bloomberg take from you?
1
Am I the only one who finds Buttigieg creepy, scripted and lacking experience? I don't get the fascination.
13
@Allie Cat
Me too.
8
As I watched him dodge answering a question by a TV reporter, about whether he had ever used his position and influence to get someone a job, I knew that he has a lot to hide. Trump has probably assembled a large amount of derogatory information about his potential political opponents. It will be revealed next fall. Meanwhile, Democrats keep digging unsuccessfully for something new to accuse Trump of doing wrong. If Trump just tones it down from now on, he might get re-elected.
I wish Duvall Patrick had gotten in earlier.
Know who's cheering on Bernie? Trump! It's Bloomberg he's worried about. If Sanders wins the nomination, Trump will win in a landslide (see:1972 Nixon v McGovern). Democrats best chance is a Bloomberg-Klobucher ticket.
Sanders got over 150,000 votes in the New Hampshire primary in 2016.
This year, he got under 75,000 votes. In other words, over half of his 2016 support voted for someone else this year.
Looking at the election as a whole, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Biden (the moderates) combined for 52% of the vote compared to Bernie and Warren's 35% in a state that Bernie carried easily last go-round and in which Bernie is particularly strong because it borders Vermont.
Although Bernie won, if this primary shows anything, it's that a clearly progressive state four years ago is feeling much more centrist today.
2
I don't know if I would characterize Sanders' narrow victory as tightening the grip of the Liberal Left. He had a good night. He's from the East coast. I can understand his appeal.
But come on, I still think it's a wee early for any candidate to prepare an acceptance speech for receiving the nomination. Buttigieg was a close second. There are still many miles to travel and hills to climb before any candidate can get comfortable.
What does not look promising is how Warren and Biden continue to trail behind. Maybe folks are looking in a newer and different direction.
Not a fan of Sanders, but I'll still vote for him or anyone who gets the nomination because Trump truly needs to go.
7
"Tightens grip"?
Way to make the progressive wing of the Democratic Party sound sinister, guys.
7
What is ludicrous is to !Abel any of these far leftist ideologues as moderates . There are no moderates in this pack. All of them had 3 out of 4 democrats voting against them.
No doubt Hillary Clinton is biting her nails.
4
While Sanders can claim victory in NH, had our system of voting including Ranked Choice or Instant Run-off, the results may well have been different. The "centrist" percentage (Buttigieg/Klobuchar) is higher than the "liberal" wing (Sanders/Warren). I claim no allegiance to either, but am concerned that turnout in the general election will have defectors from whichever camp doesn't show up on the Democratic ticket. I do hope Whoever Loses the nomination recognizes this and vigorously supports the eventual candidate. We may brawl and differ on our way there, but 4 more Trump years is the last thing any of us needs.
5
I still see Bernie's perceived popularity to be like that of Fox News, which always leads in ratings because it has the market cornered of those drawn to an extreme while the rest of us give an ear to a variety of more general, varied and/or open-minded sources.
6
I frequently have to go to Fox News to get information about things that other news media choose not to report about. Also, by reading and watching both, I get both sides of an issue. For example, I learned all about the Bidens’ dealings in China and Latin America, none of which is denied by Biden.
1
Real question: if someone drops out after voting has begun, what happens to their delegates? If Biden or Warren were to drop out in a month,what happens to their delegate share?
Depends on the state... some can switch, some have to vote their candidate during first couple of rounds at.the convention
@Jane Grey Candidates typically suspend their campaigns, and maintain control of the first vote at the convention, and perhaps an ability to negotiate when no clear winner is identified.
1
@Jane Grey good question, I believe one of two things happens to those delegates- a) they go into the convention and cast their votes for whoever they want, and/or b) the dropout candidate throws their delegates to whoever they want, but those delegates don’t necessarily have to vote to nominate whoever their original dropout commits to. Something like a), b).
The reason I like Bloomberg isn’t because he’s a centrist. It’s because he’s a genius manager. This is what sets him apart between every other candidate. His ability to turn ideas into realty to benefit people. Aka the role of government.
10
Looks like a tie to me. I don’t think Sander’s lead is statistically significant.
5
It is interesting watching the Democrat party going further and further to the left. It's easy to promise lots of free stuff to buy votes. The problem comes when it's time to pay for the free stuff. You can tax the top 10% at 100% of their income and you will still never come up with the money needed to pay for universal health care, free college tuition, forgiveness of all student debt, and the Green New Deal, which by itself is estimated to cost $20 trillion over 10 years. So keep voting for the far left socialist Sanders. It will insure a landslide Trump victory in November.
4
@paul I've always wondered why it's considered a GOP insult to call the party the "Democrat" party. I think it just makes them look like they don't know the correct name.
1
@paul You may not have noticed but the more moderate candidates combined got almost twice as many votes and delegates as Sanders.
@paul You are aware that the Republicans give away tons of "free" stuff too, but it is just to the rich? Don't be a hypocrite here.
1
The results showed that Sanders and Warren together got 35% of the votes cast ; that means that 65% selected other candidates who were not in favor of the Liberal Agenda they profess, specially the Medicare for All nonsense.
I doubt Sanders will get the nomination after details of the trillions of dollars required to pay for his grandiose ideas comeout, which would never become a reality even if we achieved a majority of one in the Senate.
The question is: are his ardous loyal supporters ready to vote for whoever is selected, even if its not Sanders?
Sanders was divisive when running against Hillary (He was the first person to say "She could not be trusted", and now he is alluding to Mayor Peteas being in the pockets and ready to do the bidding of billionaires simply because they donated the $2500 maximum allowed by an individual.
It is his sefl righteous indignation and bully pulpit that turns me off Sanders. He is nothing but a con artist promising what he can not deliver.
Divided we will fall, untied we might defeat the Trumpet.
5
The fight is not among Democrats as to who they can vote for. The fight is for the Independents and moderate Republicans, whose votes are absolutely needed for Democrats to win in the Midwest. Moreover, for them to stay home and not vote for a Democrat because he is too liberal, is the same as a vote for Trump.
Democrats must persuade them to vote *for* a Democrat. Klobuchar, at this point, has the best shot at turning the Midwest around. She is from the Midwest!
Bernie, much as his message resonates with the Democratic base (and with me!) simply is too old, too one dimensional, too medically at risk, and too far to the left. He will be tagged as the "socialist candidate" by Trump, who will eat him alive in the blue collar parts of the Midwest.
3
"distressed many centrists and traditional liberals at a time when Democratic voters are united by a ravenous desire to defeat President Trump"
Why would they be distressed? If they are so ravenous, aren't they going to vote for Sanders? Then they have all the Democrats and don't have to worry about their deluded concern that "Bernie Bro's" won't vote, and now they have a good chance to pick up independents that disgusted with the likes of Biden.
Sanders may lose since literally every Trump supporter will still be with him and the so-called right-centrist Democrats who have been voting their wallets since their 18th birthday will do what many of them did in 2016 also. That's why they want a nicer version, either Biden or Bloomberg.
1
Together Pete and Amy outpolled Bernie, even in N.H. I am a progressive but will vote with my head not my heart. I think a moderate will win the critical battleground states and Sanders will not. Joe is virtually out and so apparently is Warren. Maybe Bloomberg, as Thomas Friedman writes today?
3
As many will be pointing out when confronting the condemnation of 'socialist', Bernie is quite simply an FDR Democrat.
9
Bernie? You are #2! The progressive wing got 95K votes and the moderates (Buttigieg/Klobuchar) got over 120K votes. That is exciting. We will not be dealing with the exotic, out of this world, mostly impractical ideas of a Warren or Sanders. Secondly, the moderates are of this century not the last. Youth be served.
2
“Sanders still faces daunting obstacles. Most notably, he has not yet demonstrated an ability to build a broader coalition beyond his loyal faction of progressives.”
Seriously? Sanders polls as the most popular politician in the country. In a large field, he has emerged as the front runner and leads in the Nevada polls. He has nationwide infrastructure and support.
His main challenge is not Warren or Biden who have faded. It’s not Wall Street Pete who has no lane forward in the primaries ahead. It’s the MSM including the Times, CNN and MSNBC who spread fact-less pessimism and misinformation. And the DNC and it’s elite donors who will, as in 2016, do anything to stop the Sanders movement.
It’s a movement that will reverse income and wealth inequality while providing Medicare for all and a green new deal.
It will slow the gravy train that has enriched the wealthy including the Elites who run the DNC and this newspaper-so they will continue to pile on.
10
@Bob Dass very well said, and so true! Bravo to you!
1
How many millions of people voted for Trump in 2016 because they just didn't like Hillary? It didn't mean they liked Trump--they just couldn't vote for HRC. Well, that's how it is this year. I don't care so much for Bernie, but I'll vote for him over Trump. At last I understand the "hold your nose and vote for Trump" people. I know just how they felt. If Bernie is the guy, he's got my vote. #DumpTrump
7
@Ms. Pea Well, she did get 3 million more votes.
1
@Ms. Pea
many voted as they did in the last presidential election for someone perceived as an outsider who promised to “drain the swamp” but sadly continues to do just the opposite.
Bernie Sanders remains the best and strongest candidate. Maybe it is his integrity. Beyond that the vast majority support his agenda of universal access to medical care, climate action and people-first economic policies reflective of FDR's New Deal. He, unlike others, can be counted on to protect programs like public education and Social Security. His record shows him to be incorruptible. Most important is that Sanders is the only candidate who can be trusted to stand up to the enormous power wielded by corporations and to do what we must to address public health and the climate catastrophe. Sanders represents the best of our country. He will protect the civil rights and hard won gains of working people and minorities. Beyond cultivated partisan division, the Representative Republic is on its deathbed. Citizens like those of us who are not billionaires have little if any real representation. Corporate influence has come to define public policy. Sanders and the broad citizen movement behind him are the last chance we have to revive and protect the Republic and to insure that we address the climate issue in a way that really matters. He can be counted on to actually drain the swamp of corporate lobbyists and self-serving moneyed interests.
2
I'll vote for any Democrat but Bernie. If Bernie is the Nominee Virginia will vote for Trump
1
No way would sane Virginians vote for Trump!
4
@charles
Virginia voted in democrats and progressives in the mid-terms and will vote blue come the election. Many of us here support Sanders.
3
Bernie was beaten by a moderate in 2016. It will happen again this year.
2
Nope. And since when is DJT considered moderate? He’s the mad king of America. And he’s going to be defeated and dethroned on Election Day!
Sanders 2020
2
Trump will call his presidency, "Trump Unchained," with his win in. November. 2020-2024 will be interesting years for America.
1
The moderates won 2/3 of the votes. Bernie trails Buttigieg in the delegate count and he is behind his previous delegate count as well (37 delegates from Iowa and New Hampshire in 2016 compared to 21 today. ) This is not gaining ground it is loosing.
This split of moderate liberal vs far left is important because the convention could easily come down to the person with the most delegates losing to a coalition candidate with moderate/liberal appeal. At this point it is too soon to tell. Elizabeth and Joe are probably tightening their shoelaces to see if they can get back in the race and Mike is warmed up and ready to enter the fray.
1
There seems to me little reason to think Sanders would be an effective president in office based on his record in the Senate. But I will vote for him if he is the nominee. However, his supporters ought to at least acknowledged that his "victory" in NH comes with lots of caveats. nearly 3/4 of the electorate voted for someone else. Just a fact. And don't make any assumptions about me based on where I live.
2
Sometimes the blindless leading the blind is worst than the blind leading the blind. If you want to win the White House there is only one candidate that can do it by his own accomplishments just like Trump did 3 years ago and that person is Bloomberg. There is not one other candidate that has pulled and “earned” his weight with an honest living that has shown what “hard honest hard work” can create. Without a doubt, Bloomberg is the lone key that is being shaded by candidates that have never worked for a living except by the charity of others. Do you want to lose?....then don’t follow the blindless.
1
Bernie vs Donald. The New York election we need.
3
I like Sanders, a lot. He's an old school progressive, a consistent critic of economic inequality and the seemingly endless influence of big money in politics. He's also a supporter of labor rights, and single-payer healthcare. If nothing else he's helped move the Democratic party away from its middle-of-the road, Republican Lite, corporate friendly image, to something closer to it's past as defenders of the poor and working class. For that alone I'm tempted to vote for Sanders (and if he wins the nomination I will).
However, having said all of that, he's not without his flaws. Given his 28 years in politics, both as a congressman and as a senator, his legislative achievements are incredibly thin. There's no there there. We're talking about a politician with revolutionary aims and almost no accomplishments in the areas that he deems important, after years in politics. How could this not call into question his talents as a legislator and leader. The irony is that Warren achieved more legislatively out of office - expanding the social safety net, consumer protection, attacking income inequality - than Sanders did during his entire career as a senator. And yet she's viewed unfavorably as insufficiently left and a light weight. As I said I'll vote for Sanders, but I'd be a lot more comfortable if he weren't being held up as the Second Coming.
4
It's time for the radical centrists, historical losers, to capitulate and unite behind Bernie Sanders and an ideologically similar running mate to save the nation and finally smash the Republicans, the DNC and the special interests.
8
@Edwin
OR...Mike Bloomberg, the Republican oligarch, buys the Democratic Party nomination. This is our new world.
1
This is the headline because this is what the press set up to do on this day many many moons ago. The real headline, the thing that is most important to know and most important to say something about, is the Tuesday Afternoon Massacre that happened yesterday. If the Press can't shift gears to face a crisis, they aren't news organizations anymore, they're entertainment.
2
@ondelette
They’ve always been entertainment and not news organizations
It's New Hampshire, people. Breathe in, breathe out, move on.
7
All this analysis of 2 tiny states means little.
4
"The Vermont senator tightened his grip on the Democratic Party’s liberal wing" Really?
According to Wikipedia, he isn't even a Democrat.
"A progressive and self-described democratic socialist" and "he is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders
So, he is neither a Democrat nor a liberal.
3
the headline reads that Bernie "tightens his grip." You know, NYT, Bernie is not the enemy here. No matter who the nominee is, we have to vote for them in a bloc, or lose our country. Please stop spinning Bernie as a negative.
20
Framing this as Bernie = liberal and the other candidates = moderate is misleading and inaccurate.
Bernie is FDR/Henry Wallace 2.0--the soul of the authentic, progressive Democratic Party that saved this country during WW II and brought us out of the Great Depression.
Since then, the Democratic Party has become Republican Lite, bought off by the same corporations and billionaires who own the GOP.
Sanders isn't a "liberal." He's an FDR Democrat who could help this country the way FDR did. The other Democratic candidates are Republican Lite, not centrist or moderate, but corporate and conservative. And there's even one billionaire, a guy who was a Republican for longer than he's been a "Democrat."
29
If, as New Hampshire bodes, the Democratic Party actually fields a full-throated Progressive Socialist Bernard Sanders in November it would and is delusional, but likely, that spells four more years of Trump.
Option 2: Bloomberg runs as an Independent.
2
@LeonardBarnes Bloomberg runs as an independent = four more years of Trump.
2
This result confirms the Donald wins in November. I would rather have Trump than Bernie and I’m a died in wool Democrat. Think I’m alone???
9
Why? The radical nature of Trump is much farther on the political spectrum of the Western world than Bernie, by quite a lot. Much of Europe is some iteration of Bernie’s agenda. The closest thing I can think to Trump’s is Putin, Xi, Bibi.
1
Four years ago Bernie got 60% of the vote in New Hampshire; yesterday it was 26% (or 35% if you add in Warren voters as fellow travelers). That big swing toward the center says a lot about what Democrats really want in a candidate.
3
As much as I want to know the results, Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina should NOT be the first states to run caucuses/primaries. People were concerned about Iowa's caucuses and their issues on reporting the results. And to be honest, it wouldn't even be on a national newspaper if Iowa was just one of a state during the mid primary season.
The first primary states should be the traditional swing states that ACTUALLY decide the next president of the United States. They are Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Then followed by Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and Virginia. Democratic National Committee should definitely think about grouping the swing states to run the first presidential primaries moving forward in 2024. So that candidates actually spend time on the states that they really have to focus on coming to the general election. And the media tell the viewers what the voters in those states really think and how they make a decision.
Our election system is designed in a way that my single vote in my home state does not have ANY impact on who's going to be the president. So isn't any individual's vote from Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. We know to which party those electoral college votes will go to from those states.
Then why waste time, effort, energy and money on those states?
6
Wow. I like Bernie a lot. But I cannot see he will be the president. He is opposite of Trump. If he take the presidency, the country will be in another round of four-year turmoil.
2
Far right politics of religion, race, and hate is bound to go back to its fringe status in very near future. Longevity of far right has shortened significantly as speed of information and news/truth increased exponentially, just like that of lies and fake news. But the impact of both becomes very clear much sooner and realized even by the least educated or aware voters. Many devoted Trump voters in the corn and Bible belt in the US, who were the main force to elect him as the US President realizing it the hard way. The same is true for Europe and India as well.
Nonetheless, this brief rise of very disruptive politics was probably inevitable and also needed considering few facts of status-quo politics in every major democracies. Trump presidency very openly exposed some basic structural fault lines in the US, which was accumulating since late 1970s. At the same time, Trump also created massive new cracks and exacerbated many older issues to make those far worse than before. It demand another disruptive political revolution to bring USA back to post-WW2 era of progress that lasted around late 1970s, mainly before Regan, who started this ongoing decline of America with his policies of crony capitalism and Christian fundamentalism. And there comes the main appeal of Sanders.
3
I don’t know. If you look at a revolutionary president like Trump, he has had his biggest effect in the Supreme Court and also on the federal judicial level, through his appointments. Would Sanders have similar opportunities - and room - to move things to the left? I don’t think so.
3
The Democrats must be very worried at the thought of Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic presidential nomination. If this happens, this is the end of the Democratic Party. People will drift away as the country is not that progressive. This will be good news for the Republican Party which will be the beneficiary of these betrayed voters. Here comes President Trump for four more years. How wonderful. He will continue to make the country great.
1
Any of the Democratic candidates would be fine as president as far as I'm concerned; but four years ago, can we honestly say that the nominee was weaker than those running today?
1
A correction on the side: Sanders is not a socialist. He wants colleges and universities to be tuition-free? Well guess what? That's how it's here and it's been like this for decades. And no: while I was born into a socialist country I no longer reside in one. Germany is far from being a socialist country and those who call it that have no clue about what socialism really means! Also Sanders promotes state-run or state-controlled health care for everyone? Sounds socialist but there are many capitalist countries that have similar health care systems. Sanders has views one might consider "far left" but he is far from being communist and far from being socialist. Those who say so don't understand what it's really like to live under communism and socialism and insult people who have actually suffered under those systems. I really wish Americans would stop calling him socialist and instead refer to him as being on the far left.
9
As several commentators have observed, Sanders is calling for a second New Deal. He’s not far left by European standards to be sure. The problem is that Americans are so poorly versed in American history and so able to forget what happened yesterday. The New Deal, what’s that? I’m in my mid 50s, and I can’t remember a major Democratic candidate anywhere near as liberal as Sanders. He SEEMS far left by American standards. My point: Americans, not Europeans, will determine the next president. His political philosophy will be defined in terms of American conditions and American history, not European ones. I wish that Sanders would stop calling himself a democratic socialist for that very reason. He needs to emphasize his policy prescriptions and leave the labeling to others. (Disclosure: I support Warren and will vote for Bernie enthusiastically and without reservation).
Bernie and Pete each put 9 points (delegates) on the board. Bernie may have gotten more first downs, but the score is tied.
3
popular. vote.
3
@Josh doesn't. matter.
1
It's early in the Dems primary season but I'm happy. Soon, fate / karma will prevail. The Dems will get what they deserve. And it's Trump in a 48 State landslide in November. Oh happy Day!
5
Democrats do everything for Trump to win the next election. Bernie wins the primary, Trump wins the election.
The only person who actually can win from Trump is Klobuchar and probably but of course not certainly is Bloomberg.
As for Buttigieg, 38 old man with no real life experience besides the army?
He might be a president in the future, but, seriously speaking, only Klobuchar can bring the country together and build on it.
4
Sanders was slated to win his next door state. What exactly is the surprise here? His numbers were halved or less. If anyone thinks that a socialist is going to unite the country, I have some great property for sale once the tide goes out.
3
Personal preferences aside, I liked seeing his family on stage with him and they were all dressed like normal, everyday people, not the slick, brand-pushing, celebrity stylist perfection of the Trump clan. Kind of refreshing.
9
Bernie is the Dem's Trump except he really isn't a Democrat. He'd be just as divisive as Trump if he were to attain the White House.
2
Don't care what the polls say (and neither should you after all the polls showed Hillary would beat Trump) Trump will absolutely wipe the floor with Bernie if he is the nomination. He won't get the black vote, and the moderates and independents are gonna vote for Trump instead. The democratic party is in shambles.
6
I'm incredibly happy with Bernie's win, but it's still early. I just hope that people will wake up and see all the good Bernie will do for our country.
8
Sanders nomination = Mike Bloomberg write in. (Or stay home.)
3
@Kevin
Sure, vote for someone buying his way into an election. The same person who changed the law so he could have a 3rd term as mayor & was a Republican for his first 2 terms. Pathetic!
1
The establishment Democrats can't let Bernie win the nomination because they know he will lose in a general election so he must be destroyed just like last time in 2016.
You may recall it was HRC and the DNC who meddled in the last election by cheating poor Bernie and all of his supporters. This time the NYTs, Chris Mathews and CNN are among those on the "get Bernie" bandwagon.
5
@P McGrath Why can't you Bernie Bros just accept that some people don't want Bernie as the Democratic nominee? It's not a conspiracy, he hasn't been cheated - we just don't want him.
7
@P McGrath He lost the primaries. The DNC may well have preferred Clinton, but she won the primaries fair and square because more Democrats voted for her in the primaries.
5
Great article
Voters need to think about this when choosing a candidate: Votes based on policy aren't worth much unless the Democrats gain the majority in the Senate. Without the Senate it will be 4 more years of obstruction even with a Democrat as President.
I look at our 2020 candidates and try to visualize them in the Oval Office doing the extremely hard work of being President, rather than the policies they are promising.
Vote Blue No Matter Who.
9
Many centrist comments here about the 60/40 split between moderates and leftists that shows the moderates with a big majority. Well, they give these results based on only 2 of 50 states that don’t represent much. We have a very long way to go.
4
Since Senator Sanders is such a committed Sociatist, who espouses the wonders of 'equity', and taxing success, I wonder if some of his delegates should be redistributed to the 2nd & 3rd place candidates to create a more equal footing in the race? After all, he entered the 2020 race with an unfair advantage (privilege, if you will) in name recognition, money, on the ground support, etc., so this should be redistributed to his less advantaged opponents.
I worry most about Bernie's fans.
A lot of us had youthful flings with leftist politics, but soon discovered that its nostrums and panaceas were a lie and a fraud and settled-down instead to rewarding and useful lives as dentists, doctors, teachers. social workers, accountants, lawyers and hedge-fund operators. Those who didn’t often ended-up angry, bitter and broke as a result of the American people’s stubborn refusal to accept their political advice.
Bernie has attracted a large number of followers who are going to be very disappointed by the outcome of the November election when Trump destroys him. There is not much hope of converting the middle-aged and elderly people among them back to reality. Their heavy exposure to leftist propaganda and brainwashing is likely to prove irreversible. I would advocate leaving them to their own devices, perhaps with the support of sympathetic guidance counselors.
But his youthful followers are another story. Substantial numbers of them may still be capable of being saved, and deserve a chance to be rescued from the injuries they have suffered as a result of being taken advantage of by Sen. Sanders’ unique ability to pull wool over-the-eyes of young people.
The process of converting them will likely be long, arduous and expensive; and Democrats must begin planning now for their rehabilitation and quick return to life in normal society. The first order of business will be to create a suitable budget for accomplishing this task.
4
A Sanders nomination would be a huge gift to Trump and Co. They will absolutely destroy him on economy, socialism, government spending and overreach, age and health, whether or not any of it is true. It's going to be a nonstop assault from Fox that will find a lot of receptive ears in the states that matter in November.
7
He is a national figure who is a longtime Senator from a neighboring state. He won by less than 2 percentage points a against the Mayor of a mid-sized town in Indiana who no one had heard of until the past year. They received the same number of delegates - nine - for their performances. This hardly seems like the headline that should accompany such a performance.
4
This SHOULD be "the beginning of the end" of Bernie Sanders. He cannot defeat Trump.
Bloomberg in '20.
2
I think Bernie Sanders biggest problem is that he doesn't talk about himself enough. His message is focused on the many serious issues facing Americans, that he isn't giving people confidence that he can get the job done.
Bernie should start to talk about how he has worked so well with others that he was named the, "Amendment King" over the amount of amendments he passed over a 10 year period. He should talk about how many committees he's been on, how he's been a member of the House and the Senate.
It's amazing how many Americans agree with Bernie's ideas, but will refuse to vote for him because they consider themselves "moderates". How many Americans will not recognize the election interference in the Democratic Party in 2016 and 2020, but will recognize Russian influence.
As much as people dislike Trump, he has gotten a lot of radical things done for his base, why don't people think Bernie can do the same?
5
@Robin "Not me, us."
However, I have full confidence in the coming months Bernie will be speaking up on his record.
3
Bernie will be the nominee--the democratic party needs to rally around his message with full financial support to beat donald in november!
9
Todays other headline: Trump has the AG in his pocket in trying to influence the sentence for Roger Stone. In half an hour, Trump will do something else that makes many of us worry about the integrity of this country. As far as I'm concerned, if enough people want to vote for this monster--can't see the writing on the wall--to elect him president again over a decent person who is not going to change this country in a way that is anywhere nearly as terrible as trump and his soldiers, then I have no hope for this country and pray that eventually the dark will be exposed for what it is so that the people come around to the light.
6
Glad to see that america will probably elect a young man for president it would be good for the nation and the world to see a young man looking at the future instead of Money Look at Canada we have young man at the helm of the country the old guys will not be around to the advancement of the country
Bernie received only 26% of the vote? That is not much of a victory given that the remaining 74% of democratic voters don't like him that much. When the 74% eventually coalesce around another candidate, he will be in trouble.
6
Electability?
Either out of some political PTSD or just plain stupid laziness, some people think you just need to cleverly divine the winner-to-be and then wait until November to collect your rewards.
Campaigning is hard work, perseverance, and resilience; with a ton of donating, phone calling, discussions, demonstrations, doorbell ringing, etc.
Come Election Day,
You get what you earned.
1
"Sanders Tightens Grip on Party’s Liberal Wing [...] Mr. Sanders’s victory leveraged his own reliable strengths as a liberal champion..."
^ If a student in a Political Science class at any university in America used the terms "liberal" and "progressives" as interchangeable synonyms, they would have been flunked.
Luckily, The New York Times is not held to such stringent standards and can continue misusing political terms.
4
42% of those under age of 44 voted for Sanders according to exit polling. Those of you who, like me, are over 44 will vote for Democratic nominee regardless of who it is. Getting young people to vote (and canvas) will be key in November. Turn out is key.
5
In order to rebuild the Democratic Party, you have to disrupt it, that’s what happening...but a lot can happen until November...
4
In 2016, Sanders won the New Hampshire primary with some 152,000 votes. It looks like this year he will win with about half that number of votes. And this in a year when the number of NH voters seems to have increased a small bit.
Yes, Sanders was running against more people this time. But still, he has lost half of his voters from 2016.
4
Because they are using his policies. That's why his numbers are down.
First: I'll enthusiastically vote for the Democratic nominee. Having said that, I don't think Bernie is the guy to win, or to govern. Let's be clear- the Senate, now controlled by the Republicans 53-47, may switch, but not by 13 seats to 60, the magic number to get things done. The House majority was gained by winning seats in moderate, center right and right leaning districts. Bernie is proposing a dramatic revolution in almost all aspects of American life, but he can't do it by fiat (Trump notwithstanding)
Bernie tells us that a great majority will rise up in support of his revolution, forcing Washington to embrace his program. If that's the case, why, over the past four years since he ran and finished second, have these millions not become Democrats in his army to ensure his nomination? Think about it.
4
Swing states decide the presidential election in November,
blue states vote blue and red states vote red.
Simply put Sanders appeal is mostly limited to blue states,
most moderate conservatives and swing voters will not vote for sanders, he is too liberal for them.
Bottom line unless we get a moderate candidate trump will be re elected.
Bloomberg, Biden and perhaps Buttigieg and Klobuchar are the ones to defeat trump.
2
I'm a boomer who supports Bernie Sanders. We Boomers have grabbed the lion's share of this country's wealth for ourselves and driven climate change to the brink of disaster. Instead of robbing them, we should listen to our children and catch their enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders. We have to stop demanding to pay ever fewer taxes. On over $50,000 in capital gains and dividend income in 2019, I had to pay $0. That's not right. We have to make our children's lives easier by expanding Medicare to cover everyone, making public education free, raising the minimum wage and generating good jobs through a Green New Deal. And we boomers who have all the wealth in this country can afford higher taxes to pay for it.
9
Too bad all of the moderate candidates, Pete, Amy, Bloomberg, Biden and Steyer are all dividing up 60-70% between themselves, paving the way for a fringe candidate like Bernie to win with ~30%.
I swear, the Democratic party and their members can't think but two inches ahead of themselves.
3
@JA
Actually, shocking similarities to Goldwater (though on the Republican side).
He too was running against an incumbent, and was
also considered by the leadership and mainstream Republicans to be too extreme to win in the general. There was even, for a time, a "stop Goldwater" movement. But his supporters were passionate, and convinced of his vision. (Sound familiar?)
But the more mainstream candidates split the centrist vote (Rockefeller, Lodge, Nixon, etc.), and Goldwater won the nomination.
Turns out that the old boring "establishment" was right about him being too extreme. Goldwater lost in one of the biggest landslides in history. Johnson won 44 states, to Goldwater's 6.
New Hampshire and Iowa results mean virtually nothing (all-white, unrepresentative of the country, and very few electoral votes), so don't get too excited about Sanders. And, remember that N.H. voters chose losers in 4 out of 5 of the last presidential primaries.
Super Tuesday is first real indication we get of who Dems think can beat the current occupant of the White House, so please hold off for a few more weeks before making sweeping and dire predictions and pronouncements, pundits and "journalists."
2
I think Bloomberg will be the man. It could be a powerful left hook and right upper cut especially if it turns into a Bloomberg/Buttigieg or Klobuchar. Looks good to me.
@Loud and Clear If it is Bloomberg, he will have won a brokered convention and be the ironic first candidate to buy a major nomination (of the anti-big-money Democratic Party no less). And millions of the Bernie Bros. will just stay home. Trump in a walk...
3
He remains unelectable in a presidential race, with Trump or anyone else. The Electoral College map favors Republicans. Bernie will be this year's McGovern.
3
Sorry, I can't get on the Rah! Rah! Rah! wagon for Bernie.
I would have much preferred Buttigieg or Klobuchar, or Bloomberg if he happened to be in the mix. Sanders doesn't have what it takes to grab people in the middle, like me, much less moderate Republicans who have gotten fed up with Trump.
2
Trump confused Concord, New Hampshire with Concord, Massachusetts at his rally in Manchester, New Hampshire on Monday. For that he deserves to lose New Hampshire. Anyone who went to school here remember in history class the Boston Tea Party and all the other action that occurred in Concord, Massachusetts such as the first battle of the War of Independence. Concord, New Hampshire, on the other hand, is known for the tomb of President Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States. Base on his lack of simple high school American history Trump does not deserve to be president.
3
@Wayne
Right.
And Barack Obama thought there were 57 states, Austrian was a language, Hawaii was in Asia, and that Jacksonville, Savannah, and Charleston were on the Gulf of Mexico.
Democrats elected him twice so geographic illiteracy is a non-issue.
@EGD most Americans lack a knowledge of geography. Just a few months ago a couple was denied a marriage certificate because their ID showed New Mexico. The clerk insisted that a driver license from Mexico could not be accepted. I could go on and on. While it's true there are 50 states in the Union the U.S. has about 14 territories most Americans never heard of. I think you're missing the forest for the trees. The bigger picture is hopefully we all had an education here in the states. And we all should know that Concord, Massachusetts played a major role in American colonial independence not Concord, New Hampshire. Shame on you detractors standing up for a dunce like Trump!
1
Sanders got barely more than 25 per cent of the vote - not much of a "win" compared to the 60 per cent he got four years ago. Enter Bloomberg - thank God.
2
@Charles Michener
has it occurred to you that it was mathematically impossible with 9 candidates for Bernie to get 60% like in 2016?
4
It is disgusting to watch the unbridled self-adoration of any of these candidates when they obtain an even half-way positive result. They love themselves more than anyone or anything else! No better than the ultimate self-lover, Trump. Is there no one with even a shred of humility who might beat the monster in the White House?
If Biden doesn’t get the nomination, I wonder if the Justice Dept. will quietly drop its investigation into him and Burisma?
4
Sanders wins Deomocatic nomination ensuring Trump re-election!
3
The DNC (as well as the NYT) does not see that the discontent on the right that led to Trump is also prevalent throughout the rest of the population.
We're mad as hell, too.
3
The progressive candidates (Sanders and Warren) won a combined 98,334 votes. The moderate candidates (Mayor Pete, Klobuchar and Biden) won a combined 147,687.
Almost exactly a 60/40 split moderates to progressives.
So to hail Bernie as what the democrats want is certainly not true, at least in New Hampshire. Sanders is primarily benefitting from the collapse of the Warren campaign.
Democrats have gotten used to minority rule in Washington where Republicans have won fewer votes and have more power. But now it looks like we're going to have to get used to it in our own party as well.
5
Yes, I am afraid, since “majority” rule with your Hillary didn’t take Democrats anywhere in 2016.
Bernie Sanders is a fine man and would make a fine president. Nevertheless look at these numbers:
Add up Sanders' and Warren's percentages: 35.1%
Add up Buttigieg's, Klobuchar's, and Biden's percentages: 52.6%.
All non-"left-leaning" candidates: 64.9%
As candidates drop out, it will be interesting to see where the votes that would have gone to them eventually turn up.
3
Are you sure that vote would realign itself that way?! Where was this majority in 2016?!
The key points here are that the moderate vote by far out weighs the r right vote. The sooner the centrists stop splitting the vote the greater their chances of getting someone in the White House, who will have enough political will to pass meaningful legislation through. Bernie is great but would not be effective in unifying people to get any of his progressive agenda through. I am all for a Buttigieg/Klobuchar combo to defeat the Trump.
1
Although the “Times” reports herein that:
“Polls show the former New York mayor rising nationally and also in some of the Super Tuesday contests, in part because no one besides him, Mr. Sanders and Mr. Steyer has been able to buy commercials in those states.” — this misses the seminal point that ultra-billionaire Bloomberg has committed to a $3.5B TV AD propaganda campaign, which at that level of super-funding is already literally monopolizing, along with drastically raising the cost of ADs beyond the level that would bankrupt any and all competing ‘progressive/revolutionary voices of the people’ against those of the Empire (or faux-Emperor candidates of the UHNWI, “Ruling-Elite”, < 0.01% ers, and the self-described “Masters of the Universe”.
2
Bernie is a truth-teller. Trump is a liar. Bernie believes in service. Trump believes in himself. That says it all.
10
The Democrats have neither a consistent message nor a candidate who can command a majority of their own party. They have had four years to develop one or the other but have failed miserably. Whatever else one may say about Republicans, this much, at least, is true: they are unified. Unity wins every time.
2
Spot on! This is why dictatorially regimens maintain tight control over messaging and outcomes, our Democratic party not so much not that I ascribe to the former.
Bernie can't win, period stop again Trump, neither Warren as like it or not this is a center-right electorate but all politicians suffer from an over abundance of hubris.
@Larry And add to your analysis that enthusiasm is also high on the Republican side, whereas a likely critical percentage of the Dem party will not turn out in November if "their" candidate is not the nominee, and hand Trump the victory again.
1
@Larry
Principle, even bad principle, will always win out over opportunism. Milqutoast, pseudo-conservative "centrist" candidates are not going to beat trump but Bernie Sanders, man of principle and integrity will win by big numbers. And when he wins, so do the vast majority of us.
1
At this point the Democrats need to get around ONE candidate and push that candidate's mandates. I don't care if it's Sanders or Warren or Buttigieg. I would vote for Bloomberg if he offered a true apology to the black and Latino community in NYC for that horrible stop-and-frisk policy. Regardless, enough dickering and in-fighting--just get focused and stick to a practicable plan that speaks to the pain may disenfranchised people are experiencing.
3
@TFL I think they will get there, and I don't think the process of getting there is bad - civil conversations (key being civility) about different ways to accomplish shared goals is a good thing, regardless of what our current White House resident may preach.
2
@TFL In 2016, with just two candidates, the Dems did not finally coalesce around one candidate until just before the convention. And then rather reluctantly. This year, whey may not coalesce at all.
1
I'd be interested to hear more analysis of the NH turnout, considering that Iowa's was somewhat underwhelming. From what I've been able to find:
2008: 288,672
2016: 254,780
2020: 280,688 with 88% reporting (NYT)
3
@JeffW
Update:
2020: 295,316 with 99% reporting (NYT)
1
"Tightens Grip"? Bernie is not Mussolini, is he? It's a pretty evocative choice of words that doesn't seem appropriate here. "Grip" is a word that was actually and I would argue correctly used in relation to the dictator's hold on power.
I bet you could come up a headline about how Bernie is being "embraced" by the certain parts of the party.
8
IMO this is already lost. No matter who "wins" the primary, a good chunk of the Democrats will not be "enthusiastic" enough to turn out in the numbers required in the states required to beat Trump:
If Sanders is nominated, with his whopping 30% of the Democratic primary base, it is an Electoral College bloodbath in November -- possibly 538 to 0.
On the other hand, if a "centrist" Dem is nominated, then the left wing of the party stays home, petulantly claiming that the DNC "establishment" fixed the outcome. Gone is the youth and energy needed to win in November.
Either way, there will be 4 more years of Trump and the Republicans continuing to wreak destruction on the democracy, environment, etc. And more and more conservative judges rendering decisions well into the 2nd half of the century.
2
@ Dan88
One may hope that the Bernie Bros grow up, calm down, get off social media & realize that they lost “fair & square.” And then they will go to the polls & vote. In 2016 Bernie failed to impress his followers to do that very thing; in 2020 he must do so clearly & with vigor.
4
@Mme. Flaneuse I guess that is the hope. But the Millennials and GenZers that I know are more likely to complain to each other in their social media echo chambers and/or retreat to their online gaming rather than maturely recognize their future is at stake, much less participate in any grass-roots efforts for a Dem who is not their choice.
1
Winning by one percent point with the same number of delegates as Pete Buttigieg is hardly a party mandate for Bernie Sanders. This was a squeaker, not a victory.
4
I have been a Biden person, but given his dismal performance so far, it’s time for him to retire with dignity. Here in Ohio, the airwaves are saturated with Bloomberg ads. It’s likely over for Biden, no matter how he does in SC and Nevada.
By the time the Ohio primary arrives on 3/17, I expect Biden will no longer be in the race, having had to bow out before or on Super Tuesday. Early voting in Ohio starts in the next two weeks...but I don’t dare vote too early this time, lest whichever candidate I choose drops out.
My shade-tree punditry says that after Super Tuesday, it’ll be Sanders and Bloomberg vying for the candidacy. We’ll see how it goes on reality...
2
I have a doubt Bernie's electability issue just as much as any candidates in the field at this moment. It's not just Bernie. I'm wondering if Mayor Buttigieg or Senator Klobuchar can take Donald Trump. I also strongly feel that Vice President Joe Biden has absolutely no chance of competing against Trump given such a lack of energy and enthusiasm he has shown over the months of his campaign.
Trump is a rock-solid unifier at least to his base, which sadly accounts for a lot of voters in the states that Democrats NEED to win. I've always prioritized policies and voting/activism record over any other factors, beating Trump is more important in this election.
The question is...who really can take it against Donald Trump?
5
When the candidate can't come up with anything but his win being the "beginning of the end of" the incumbent you know he doesn't have an otherwise appealing platform. If that's the big selling point of his candidacy, what happens if he wins? You might not be pleased to realize you're paying the burden of his other plans or are simply collateral damage.
1
I'm a Democrat and consider myself a centrist.
As much as I support many of Bernie's ideals for this country, he's leaning too left, which may be a turn off for many centrist and independent voters on both sides of the aisle. Bernie also has to convince disenfranchised Trump voters, which I don't think he can do. I may be wrong.
Regardless, I will not throw away my vote. I will vote for the Democratic nominee.
I personally would like to have seen a Bloomberg/Yang ticket.
2
Sigh..if this continues we will have 2016 redux. It happened to the Republicans when Trump stormed the establishment while never garnering 30% of the vote in any primary, and now Bernie threatens to do the same. So the Republicans are tugging far right, the Dems surging left. Where does the middle go? A third party? Is that what we have in store for us in 2024?
2
The moderate votes again far outweigh the extreme left of Sanders and Warren. We just need fewer moderate choices, not more. But what is about to happen is Bloomberg is going to split the moderate vote even further and hand the nomination to Sanders. Sanders then loses to Trump. Thanks Bloomy.
1
Bernie won two states in the primaries. Wonder what the party establishment will throw at him this time. Just keep doing what you did in 2016. You'll get the same results. Here's a thought. How about instead of the the party establishment telling us who we should be voting for, they let us make up our own minds.
4
If it’s not too much to ask for, especially after the Iowa Debacle, when will you be reporting the final results for New Hampshire? And Iowa, too?
2
Buttigieg/Klobuchar 2020
or
Klobuchar/Buttigieg 2020
Whichever. This is the ticket that can not only beat the current corruption in the White House but can honorably lead the country.
5
I would feel proud to have a candidate who actually represents the interests of individuals, the people, of this country, like they are supposed to. Corporations can look after their own interests, we need not hold their hand. What's more, the value of a "moderate" in the White House is an absolute fallacy; the GOP is not budging to anyone. They literally JUST showed us how far they are willing to go. Plus, he can win.
3
honestly, what path to victory does Warren have, there's zero chance she wins in SC or Nevada - will she do any better on Super Tuesday, especially with Bloomberg in the race. How is Biden in a better spot, there's a good chance he doesn't win Nevada, maybe wins SC, can't see him doing well on super Tuesday. It's time for Warren and Biden to step aside.
1
@Tino The longer a candidate can stay in the race the better. This way they can accumulate delegates and may be able to release them later on to another candidate. Given that Warren is more like Bernie, it could be to his advantage to have Warren stick it out as long as possible---Warren can suspend her campaign, (and still fundraise to cover campaign debt) but still accumulate delegates and appear on the ballot usually. If Warren and Sanders does not want let's say Bloomberg to win the nomination, then delegate strategy will have to prevail.
1
In 2016, Sanders crushed Clinton in New Hampshire, winning 60% to 38%. In 2020, he eked out a victory against new comer Buttigieg by 1%. That's a virtual tie.
More importantly, the moderate candidates (Buttigieg/Klobucaur/Biden) got 52% of the vote while the progressives (Sanders/Warren) trailed badly with 35%.
It seems clear that the voters want a moderate candidate. And Bloomberg isn't even in the race yet. It's very premature to crown Sanders as the frontrunner when his policies are being overwhelmingly rejected.
11
Bernie cannot beat Trump. He is an easy target for the Trump slime machine. Plus, there is little chance of Sanders getting much of his policy through Congress. Not good for actual Democrats.
9
Bernie - Join the Democratic Party if you want to be the candidate for our party.
6
Why is it that reporters have assigned “liberal” to the most leftward Democratic candidate, and “moderate” to those who, until recently, would have been called “liberal” and probably identify as liberals? In this new age, have words lost their meanings, much as Alternative Facts become facts?
And, by the way, if one is not “moderate”, what is one? Immoderate?
4
For all the talk about a Sanders' victory in New Hampshire, I think people may be missing the bigger picture. Sanders did not do nearly as well as he did four years ago. The combined voters supporting Buttigieg and Klobuchar significantly out numbered Sanders. Further the first two, maybe three primaries are set up for Sanders to do well. Were I a Sanders' supporter, I would view the New Hampshire results as rather ominous.
7
There may be a bigger story than just the narrowness of Sanders' victory.
In the 2016 NH primary, Sanders got 152,193 votes, for 60.14% of the voting total.
This week, he got 72,096 votes, for 25.8% of the total.
80,097 voters who supported him 4 years ago didn't vote for him this time!
6
@Geezer in Greene Yeah, because there was only one other person in the race at this point in 2016. O'Malley dropped out after Iowa, so he only had to beat HRC, whereas yesterday he had to beat three candidates from the party's right-wing, plus another left(ish) candidate. If anything, his victory this time around is more decisive.
Bernie is not doing well in the suburbs which the Democrats need to win in November. Although I am a Buttigieg fan I am not convinced he's experienced enough to be President.
Joe Biden needs to give up his ego and support Amy Klobuchar. She has the experience to be President and is capable of taking on Trump. A Klobuchar/Warren ticket would attract moderates, independents and hopefully the Liberal wing of the party. I'd like to see Buttigieg on the ticket but I think they need a Liberal to keep that wing of the party placated.
Bernie needs to realize that his agenda will never get through the Senate. He has a lot of great ideas but they aren't practical at this time, at least not in the USA.
4
I predict that this will be the last presidential election cycle where Iowa and New Hampshire will have any special meaning. Things will look very differently come Super Tuesday. That said, I will support ANY DEMOCRAT who wins the nomination. And you should, too. (That's you, Bernie fans).
4
Congratulations to Sanders for his victory. I'll vote for him if he's the nominee but to him and his avid supporters I ask why does he always avoid two questions: how much will his health plan cost the taxpayers and what will happen if his plan is killed in Congress? Will he impose it as an executive order? For a candidate who touts his honesty, he sure knows how to avoid answering those questions.
5
@jonr - Here you go: Sanders’s single-payer plan would add trillions to government books, by placing all Americans on one government health insurer, according to both a government study and Sanders himself. The study concludes that his plan would reduce overall spending on health care in the United States as most U.S. spending on health care is done through the private sector. Sanders’s plan would transition virtually all of that spending to the public sector, dramatically increasing government expenditures on health care while also reducing national health-care spending overall, according to the report. Sanders’s plan would also give health insurance to about 30 million Americans who lack it, while eliminating deductibles and premiums charged through private insurance. It would also cover vision and dental.
You can't get national healthcare through by executive order. Ask President Obama. If it doesn't go through you do what Obama did - you take as much as you can and then do it again the next year and the next.
Anything else?
3
In my state - Wisconsin - it doesn't matter what democrat pounds what democrat. Regrettably it seemingly Trump they favor. A Trump versus Bernie option will have to manics shouting down each other. I'm a life long democrat, but at this early juncture, I can't see Bernie pulling this off in Wisconsin.
4
I will vote for whomever is the Democratic nominee. However, Bernie is the ideal opponent Trump wants to run against because Trump will label Bernie as the evil "socialist" that wants to "destroy" America.
Trump is going to pound the socialist label against Bernie from day one for eternity. Bernie on the other hand is going to reinforce Trump message with Bernie's "free for all", "open borders", "government take over health care", "taxes, taxes" etc...
You name the government over reach in a negative way and Bernie is going to reinforce it because that is his platform. Bernie is the polar opposite of Trump in that Bernie caters to a specific group of people instead of everyone.
Trump's base will never go for Bernie.
Moderates can be persuaded but Bernie is too extreme of a liberal to be that person.
5
@mrpisces Isn't this then the ultimate argument in favor of Sanders? If there is 1) a reasonably large contingent of states that the Democrats will win, no matter what (e.g., CA, NY, IL, MA, etc.), 2) a necessary contingent of voters throughout the country who will "vote blue, no matter who," but 3) an equally necessary voting block that will only support Sanders, then aren't voters in those first two blocks obligated to vote for Bernie to guarantee that the final group puts the Democratic candidate over the top?
There's also a considerable amount of data to suggest that your assertion that Bernie couldn't flip any Trump supporters is untrue. Obviously he can't flip his wealthy supporters, but no one can lure away the rich from the GOP -I repeat, no one, including Bloomberg, can get affluent supporters to turn from the GOP- and Bernie holds a considerable appeal to much of Trump's disaffected supporters in places like the Rust Belt, Upper Midwest, and Appalachia (cf. Bernie's overwhelming victories in MI, WI, MN, IN, WV in 2016 and his ongoing support there which polling data bear out). Seems to me that, once again, Bernie is the only option.
4
Unfortunately, I fear the old guard of the Dems is going to cling to Biden no matter what any polls or voting results say. They simply don't want Sanders, because Dems are just as rich as Republicans, and they don't want anyone coming after their money.
1
bernie will win a lot of "virtuous" voters. But he will
never win over the PRECISE voters the Democtrats need to win this election: moderates who helped the party win back the House in 2018. Look at the flipped districts :all but one or 2 were won by moderate Dems. Open your eyes, it's easy enough to see.
I am really really afriad these voters will bolt, and the response of the Sanders fanatics will be:"we'd rather vote for Benire than win the election"
result: 4 more years of de facto dictatorshoip of the right wing.
3
For selecting a President, we have only the bare bones of a politician’s resume, but very little meat. There is no substantial history of him actually fighting for our Democratic values. He’s had a lot less than Obama, but he does dress up nice and clean, especially in a uniform. Shiny new things! Young as can be. We can imbue them with all our hopes.
1
Hold off on the coronation a few more weeks. Bernie Sanders “won”, but more than 70% voted for someone else. Leading in February is notable, but it’s months to the convention.
12
Bernie barely eked out the win. Very telling.
10
There’s a reason why Trump has been tweeting insults at “Mini Mike.” He’s not concerned about anyone else in this race.
Mike Bloomberg gets under his skin. I’m a Warren fan and the obvious sexism towards her by the press has been disheartening. I’m interested in Klobuchar at the moment because she’s a brilliant and tough woman that I believe can take Trump down. Honestly I want to see what a woman can do in the a White House. Will she win? I doubt it. Trump’s worse nightmare would be to lose to a woman or Bloomberg. Would love a Klobuchar/Bloomberg ticket, but the other way around is fine by me!
6
Extremely pleased for Bernie.
Not sure he'll be able to overcome voters' natural conservatism in their polling place but given the alternative (after New Hampshire) is the Buttigieg bot there's at least real hope in Bernie...
Pete is the place basic aspirations go to die!
9
Might as well start singing Danny Boy. It’s over. The pathetic Democratic voter turnout should tell you that, the better than it was 4 years ago or how do you add so many jobs a month economy still should tell you that. Incumbent presidents are RE elected by the economy. Get off social media, work harder, donate to the issues you care about. That’s the path forward.
Why do we even bother voting, if all the analysts and experts and pundits say “no don’t vote for them because of this and that and the other.” Stop with trying to minimize and negate Bernie Sanders. He is the person who is getting most votes. That is how our system works.
Our rigged system is so corrupt. The media is staying on message 100% with “don’t vote for Sanders he’s not electable.” But the fact of the matter is he is. Wow entrenched capitalism is going all out against this man they fear so much
10
@ Libby D
Time for you to close your mouth & open your eyes. Capitalism isn’t “rigging” anything. Bernie barely won the popular vote, & in fact tied for delegates. He also declined dramatically in percentage votes from 2016. Face the fact that it is the VOTERS who are clearly saying that they want a different candidate.
2
Why is it that reporters have assigned “liberal” to the most leftward Democratic candidate, and “moderate” to those who, until recently, would have been called “liberal” and probably identify as liberals? In this new age, have words lost their meanings, much as Alternative Facts become facts?
2
Bernie Sanders has been consistent throughout the campaign so we all know what he stands for, instead of the "I'm in Iowa what do they want to hear" mouthings of the other candidates. He represents real change and a real challenge to Trump. Let's hope the Democratic doesn't deny him the nomination -again.
7
Vote Blue no matter who. That was the line, right?
3
Bernie won Iowa, the DNC's blatant chicanery there notwithstanding, and now he's won New Hampshire. No candidate who has won those first two contests has ever failed to go on to win the nomination. Buttigieg is at his high water mark now -- his lack of minority support due to his record as mayor of South Bend leaves him with few if any paths to victory in the primaries going forward. Biden is dead but he always was dead -- it was only the delusions of party centrists and disaffected moderate Republicans that had kept his campaign going but now even they cannot deny the reality. He is not going to win South Carolina or even finish close there because his own minority support is hemorrhaging, and that should be it. Klobachar is an interesting secondary story but what is her path going forward given Bloomberg's determination to buy the election? Any support he garners would be at her expense. After Super Tuesday it is going to be a two-person race, likely Bernie vs. Bloomberg, which Bernie will win as voters realize that of all the candidates, only he is capable of beating Trump.
7
I think we know how this plays out. We've seen the movie. Sanders and Bloomberg will be the last Democratic Party candidates standing. Sanders will do all he can to attack Bloomberg, while Bloomberg will focus on Trump. Bloomberg ultimately will win the primary and prepare for the debates with Trump. Sanders, meanwhile, will disappear, with no voicing of support for Bloomberg, signaling to his followers that they also should avoid supporting "Mike."
In the end, Trump will lose the popular vote, but prevail in the Electoral College vote.
6
The better headline for this would be that Sanders barely squeaked out a victory in his home area, New England - the real story here remains Buttigieg, and now Klobuchar. The two latter candidates have largely been in the shadows for their whole run, while Bernie has been one of the star candidates. In politics, such a tepid victory is usually a harbinger for the beginning of a fade.
5
@taxlawguy Yeah, Trump's tepid victories in the primaries four years ago were definitely a sign of him beginning to fade out.
2
While Bernie edged out Pete, Pete and Amy actually split the more moderate voters. Will be interesting to see what happens next. NH has done its job vetting the candidates. Let the games begin!
3
It concerns me that before his heart attack, Bernie Sanders said that he would release his medical records. Now he says he won't. One can only imagine that if he becomes the nominee and has a heart attack in September...
I like Amy Klobuchar and am also a bit concerned about what I have learned about her treatment of her staff- and more turnover than others. Could she really set a tone of collaboration which is what we need?
I love Elizabeth Warren but she want able to go toe to toe with Donald Trump around the "Pocahontas" debacle. And her insistence on medicare for all right away was a mistake because it will take a few years anyway to set that up. (I am for medicare for all). She has shown honesty, has a lot of expertise and I see her as the most honest and sincere of the candidates.
Pete Buttigieg is impressive but too full of platitudes and not enough substance or experience.
I like Biden and think he has been criticized unfairly in many cases. But he seems old at times- even though he was decent in the last debate- and I am afraid he would lose his focus in debates with Donald Trump.
I do not like the fact that Bloomberg is buying his way in. And yet I admire him for spending his fortune for the sake of the Country. He seems smart, organized, I like his stance on climate change. In spite of stop and frisk, many black leaders are rallying behind him. He would be competent and also draw in Republicans. And he can go toe to toe with Trump.
1
It's far from a a foregone conclusion that Bernie will be the candidate; in fact I think it's doubtful. With the field finally narrowing I think it's quite possible the more "moderate" candidates combined are far ahead of the more "left" candidates. Mayor Pete, Amy Klobuchar, and though he didn't do well yesterday Joe Biden, combined are taking a larger percentage of votes than Sanders and Warren. It's still very early, Iowa and New Hampshire don't really do a good job of reflecting the general Democratic voter and there's no question South Carolina and the super Tuesday elections will mix things up and likely make it clearer who our candidate will be. At every opportunity I will keep saying for us to beat Trump it will be about turnout and coalescing behind our candidate regardless of who our personal favorite is as the Republicans have largely done.
3
Can someone explain to me why it is stated that Sanders won. Is not the only pertinent outcome of the primary the number of pledged delegates, which is 9 for both Sanders and Buttigieg?
2
"'This victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump,' Mr. Sanders told jubilant supporters in Manchester, N.H., claiming “a great victory” even before the final results were in."
Oh, so the NYT can criticize a candidate for claiming a premature victory? I just wasn't sure since you all gave Buttigieg 72 hours of unqualified coverage as "the winner" in Iowa after he just declared it without a shred of evidence when the caucus hadn't been called (and he still hasn't won). I was especially unsure since historically when a popular left-wing politician "loses" to a right-wing challenger after he simply declares himself the winner, you seem to lobby for an invasion of that state to prop up that right-wing figure. Plus, I wouldn't say Bernie's victory speech was premature since your own model said he had an insurmountable margin at that point, but I think you can sense where all of my confusion comes from.
Regardless of what may get in his way, Bernie will continue to win. Whether you're only concern is stopping Trump or you understand that politics is more than a competition of personalities and want something beyond just defeating a particularly grotesque one, Bernie is the only option.
7
We really need to stop thinking about who can beat trump and focus on who will make a good president. If we pick the best person for the job, they are more likely to beat trump. That takes Bernie (divisive thinker, too old) and Joe (too much baggage, too old) off the table.
1
Based on a lot of the comments and media coverage I wonder if moderate democrats in fact would prefer Trump over a Sanders presidency.
Most likely Sanders can win the Obama-Trump flips. But can he win donor class Democrats, “moderates” who prefer a former Republican over a man who has always caucuses with Democrats and historically won bipartisan support?
His social programs are not beyond what other leading countries provide, quite reasonable.
So yeah scary times indeed.
7
One thing that disturbed me last night was that while Amy Klobuchar was looking like 3rd place the commentators were blaming her success as the reason Mayor Pete wasn't winning. They were saying that because of her that Sanders would probably take over. Don't even go there, Klobuchar has every right and may still win. I think journalists are the best, but your words matter, please be careful what you say and how you say it as it may have the power to sway an election. We have to all live with the candidates we pick...
4
The contrast between how Biden and Warren handled their disappointing finishes could not have been greater. Biden, always talking tough, ran away before the polls closed and didn’t even remain to thank his volunteers and employees. Warren stayed to the end, gave a gracious speech, and posed for selfies until everyone who wanted a picture got one. Character on display and Joe failed the test.
5
It's not Bernie's policies that worry me so much... it's the fact he is a blubbering, inarticulate old man who sounds like he is yelling all the time. He doesn't have an ounce of charisma. His left-leaning base is strong and vocal, but I can't see the majority of Americans getting excited about him. Bernie is not compelling... he doesn't command your attention. Trump will tear him apart, and no one will listen when Bernie "fights back."
11
Bernie’s showing us that you can win with the people behind you, not plutocrats/super PACs. Nevada, here we come!
Make America Work for All Americans Again
Sanders 2020
9
We’re looking at a 2nd term here.
10
Well, Trump must be pleased. He tried to smear Biden's reputation, not Bernie's...
If the Democrats want to achieve any of the reforms Bernie talks about, they have to defeat Trump.
And Bernie can't do that.
Some Democratic voters are reportedly saying that if Bernie isn't the Democratic nominee, they'll vote for Trump...They needn't bother. All they have to do is keep voting for Bernie.
7
When it came to appealing to the "left-flank" of the Dem party, imo Warren never recovered from her stumble on Medicare-for-all a few months back.
Imo it is also a lesson in providing simple -- not "simplistic" -- messaging when politicking, rather than reams of policy position papers that few connect with or even read.
3
Democrats may nominate a socialist, but Americans will never vote for one. Too many know enough about socialism to understand it doesn't come anywhere close to delivering on its "ideals".
5
@AACNY ....If you say that the former Soviet Union was Socialist you would be right. If you say that Sweden or Norway are Socialist you would be wrong. It seems to me that Socialism can actually work pretty well in small countries where there is little demographic diversity. It would also seem that Socialism attracts the growth of totalitarianism and dictators - Russia, China, Venezuela. When it comes to a concern about would be dictators, Trump's behavior (threatening perceived opponents, extracting vengeance) should bother you alot.
1
Aren’t American already voting for one?
@AACNY Yes, it is rather social-democracy than socialist which is doubtless an insult in USA.
Or again, Labour Party in Great Britain ?
Socialism in latin european countries, France, Italy, Spain.
That depends where and how you want to mean it.
1
Hey mod team: This must be a pretty brutal shift to work this time of year, huh? I'm rooting for you! there's light at the end of the tunnel!
4
Feels like an old-time political rally at the union halls in Detroit!
It will interesting (and fun) to see and hear the candidates' positions on getting manufacturing growing again in the US. That will be front and center in the presidential election.
Neither major party will be able to avoid it or write it off.
Can't hardly wait.
Polls showing Sanders "beating" Trump do not take into account either the Electoral College bias favoring the GOP candidate or the down-ballot effects.
The DEMs are in big trouble vis a vis the White House and the Senate if Sanders takes the nomination, though they would likely win the popular vote.
Tom Friedman has nailed the consequences of Sanders' surge - four more years of Trump, an even more right leaning Supreme Court, and a solid GOP-held Senate.
The DEMs need to come together around a moderate candidate either during the primaries (hence, Klobuchar or Buttigieg) or at a brokered convention (hence, Bloomberg or Bennet). And every one of those candidates who loose the nomination MUST enthusiastically motivate their constituents to vote for the party nominee.
355
@JFR
What about Biden?
Oh wait, there's that Ukraine thing...
20
@99percent
You're right to suggest Biden (Ukraine notwithstanding), though he is going to have to find more enthusiasm if he wants to compete with the other DEMs and ultimately with Trump.
I like Biden but I'm more worried that his ability to motivate those in the crucial purple states is limited.
Ukraine is only bad optics, but those optics are significantly threatening in the hands of an unscrupulous creature like Trump.
18
@JFR
I don’t expect fie hard sanders folks to vote for another Dem
I do expect another Dem eitherAmy or Bloomberg to attract the moderates that sanders people turn off
It’s not just trump supporters folks
These are lost
It’s people who VOTED for trump while holding their noses
Sanders would make Hilary s run look good
They are left wing unyielding trumpites
10
There is really only one candidate whose policies, record and message are designed solely to benefit ordinary people and not the members of the upper classes. When working people realise their own power, the tsunami will become unstoppable, and Bernie will be at the head of this movement. That is how he will win the presidency and transform this country. I predict that Bernie will only gain strength as this nomination process goes on.
786
@Ryan Butler This sounds like part of the interior monologue of Winston Smith in 1984: "The only hope is in the proletariat" and so forth. We all know how this ends for Winston Smith.
I like Bernie, and I will vote for him if he is the nominee, but he, like Winston Smith, was born too soon. The U.S. is not ready for him yet, and the results tonight show it.
49
@Ryan Butler Can you provide me a policy breakdown of why Bernie is for the working class and Liz Warren, who rates as the single most progressive US senator, is not? The reason many of us who are ideologically inclined to support Sanders feel uncomfortable, uneasy, or unwilling to vote for him has little to do with him. It has everything to do with his supporters. And y'all would do well to remember it.
76
@Chris it's easy to say "not ready for him yet" when you're not really struggling - but many people are and you should opt to help them out.
44
Bernie is unwavering. He speaks truth to power. He does not have a poor legislative record. He has worked with his colleagues in all phases of his political career to enact reasonable, undeniably sound improvements for veterans, for the poor. He’s not perfect, but he has worked tirelessly for what he believes, which is that the people deserve the power in a democracy. He’s dividing the Democratic Party??? We’re way beyond parties here, people. Bernie is winning because he is uniting the PEOPLE. The establishment democrats and mainstream media need to wake up and understand that Bernie is literally the only candidate who can defeat Trump because Bernie is all in and has never deviated. He is unshakable. He is the antidote.
1349
@Rhianna Wassell
"[Sanders] is uniting the PEOPLE"
Sanders won 26% of the votes in NH tonight. The other 75% of Democrats voted for someone else.
Even if you add Warren's 9% from tonight, that's only a total of 35% for the left wing of the party.
The remaining 65% of the votes went to centrists or Yang, who is in his own category (we'll hopefully see more of him in 2024).
The results were similar in Iowa.
This means that the vast majority of Democratic voters is - at least so far - not behind Bernie or Warren. He certainly has not UNITED the party behind him.
Now you add Republican voters to the mix, who will be told by Fox New 24/7 that Sanders will turn the US into the next Venezuela, and, I hope, you can understand why moderates are worried about the general election.
Having said that, I won't hesitate one second to vote for Sanders if he is the nominee. How could I? I hope that you and other Sanders supporters will do the same if the shoe is on the other foot.
305
@Rhianna Wassell It takes 1991 delegates to win the nomination. In first place we have: Buttigieg with 23 delegates, in second place we have Sanders with 21 delegates, so I'd say the blue wave is unwavering with President Pete so far--so how again is Bernie winning?
69
@Rhianna Wassell That is what his supporters were writing in 2015/16 too and they were wrong then and are not right now: Bernie Sanders is a populist who does not have the support where it counts...outside the cities. Take a look at the map for the two primaries now. Buttigieg is winning where it counts for the general election: in remote areas. Trump won there and not in the big cities. Promoting Bernie Sanders to be the democratic candidate will ensure the re-election of Mr.Trump like in 2016...with a significant loss in the popular vote but the majority of the electorate. Not learning from that mistake is dangerous in this critical time.
83
The majority want a CENTRIST, not Sanders.
436
@Anon9
You're not the majority. The electoral college pulls us right to the minority. Thus the justification of a fake center.
The country is liberal but our politics is biased towards the right wing. A response to an extreme right wing to bring balance is to move far back to the left where we should be.
110
If you add up the votes for Pete and Amy, its many more than for warren and sanders. Many dems want a centrist and they don’t need to be in love.
222
@Mathias
The vote totals show that far more people voted for one of the moderate candidates than one of the two progressives. That's what Mathias is trying to say.
41
A 1.6% margin of victory for Sanders....who will get, what? 6 delegates? Buttigieg gets what? 6 delegates? Klobuchar 5? Warren 2 or 3? Biden 2? Not sure how that will shake out--but it's a terrible night for Sanders and the social D's.
Sanders + Warren = 35%
Buttigieg + Klobuchar + Biden = 51%
No victory at all for the social democrats, and how can this be anything but a defeat for Sanders, running for the 30th straight month in the Yankee state right next door to his own, eking out a 26% - 24.4% win over a guy who wasn't even on the radar screen six months ago!
I was amazed to watch CNN and hear Jake Tapper and the CNN crew all herald Bernie's remarkable win! Well, Terry McCaulliffe and David Axelrod, also on that telecast, along with Gloria Bolger, were a bit more clear-eyed about what it means: Deep trouble for Sanders and the Medicare For All--whether they want it or not! crowd.
Very interesting how hidden agendas start to come out with just a little sign of relative success. But to me, Sanders just took a big hit to his hopes in this one, Warren may be down for the count, and Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and the hovering Michael Bloomberg look like the big winners of the night.
610
@Robert
I get your point, and there is some validity to it, but the analysis is not as simple as you're suggesting.
There is no scenario where we add up the "progressive" support and weigh it against the total "moderate" support. Voters are not locked into ideological lanes. For example -- many Biden supporters cite Sanders as their second choice, or Klobuchar supporters have Warren as their second choice. If/when any of these moderate candidates drop out, we can't assume their supporters will go to the remaining moderate candidate(s), just as we can't assume Warren's supporters would go to Bernie should Warren drop out.
At this (very early) point I think a win is simply a win.
255
@Robert What I appreciate about your comment is that you have some very sound analysis, and seem to be portending a "less-than-victory" victory in the coming primaries. What I don't appreciate about your comment is that you couldn't even congratulate Bernie out of courtesy. He won fair and square.
88
@Robert I have a hard time believing that if another candidate won this primary, you'd be calling it a "defeat".
129
Despite what status quo scaredy-cat Boomers might have to say about it, Bernie is the one. And he's going to kick Trump out of the White House come November.
193
@Jeffrey Gillespie
Dear lord.
The worst part, how convinced of this delusion are so may of the Democrat voters.
This is how you reelect Trump.
39
@Jeffrey Gillespie I guess you don't want Boomer votes, right? I've never seen such hostility toward a group who might vote for them. Remember, it was the Boomers who fought for, and won, many civil rights.
58
@Jeffrey Gillespie
Stop with the slander of an entire generation of people born all over this nation between 1946 and 1964. It is ridiculous to lump 74 million people together!
I am a boomer who likes Bernie and there are plenty of us.
I marched against the Vietnam War at age 14. Was with AIM at Alcatraz. With Black Panthers. Women's Movement.
Student movement. Brown Berets.
We were part of the cultural revolution and civil rights movements. Our friends and family died in Vietnam or have PTSD from it.
Get real. Stop being ageist. Why is that ok?
It would be great if Bernie wins, but there are forces against it. I was shocked when Nixon won a second term. This is a conservative nation, despite what we might wish it to be. And reactionary...why do you think Trump could get 60 million plus votes?
35
He'll win Nevada. Then he'll win South Carolina.
The media may blather on about Buttigieg and Klobuchar. They have nowhere to go but down. Klobuchar clocks in at 0% support among minorities because of her work as a prosecutor. Same story with Buttigieg as mayor.
Bernie's train is gathering steam and there isn't a billionaire who can stop it.
Just watch Bernie go!
591
@Rima Regas
I'm gay and a Democrat. I will support any of the Democratic candidates in the general, except for Sanders. If it comes down to Sanders versus Trump, I will vote for Trump.
25
@Rima Regas Sanders has under-performed in Iowa and New Hampshire. His less than 2 point victory in his own backyard is not something to get too excited about.
58
@Tim
And that's because Trump and his supporters are so much more supportive of LGBQT rights than Sanders and his supporters?
83
The endless repetition from moderate Democrats and Independents that Sanders can’t beat Trump will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The DNC and so-called “establishment” Democrats will do everything in their power to make sure Sanders is not the nominee. In doing so, they will make beating Trump that much harder. By undermining Sanders again (as they did in 2016), Democratic power brokers might help re-elect Trump.
Moderate, centrist, Clinton Third Way Democrats are aligned with the corporate power structure. Sanders will be fighting Democrats and Republicans to become president.
But he just might do it.
2