Bloomberg understands llboth parties. As someone with a middle class Massachusetts heritage, who worked for large firms before seizing on a technology opportunity and making it work (is that bad behavior?), he is someone who will address our large problems and (gradually) bring people together. The extremes on both parties will not like him, but they are a minority of our citizens.
Let's elect a doer and achiever who wants to give back to all of us!
3
And what about Amy Klobuchar? Her speech post-primary in NH was brilliant, feisty and pragmatic. She has an ability to connect with varied types of voters that is sorely needed. And she can project real empathy. I do think Bloomberg would be a formidable opponent for Trump but I'd like to see a much broader look at Klobuchar. I think Klobuchar has important government experience, a strong track record and could beat Trump. And I'm a Warren supporter.
8
You did this whole story without a mention of Klobuchar, whom the Times semi-endorsed??
6
If Mitt Romney were to run for the Republican nomination, I would consider switching parties to vote for him. His integrity during the impeachment process impressed me.
3
Dear fellow Americans,
We currently have a fascist occupying the oval office.
If I am faced with the choice of voting for a fascist or a socialist, I will choose the socialist every time.
It's really that simple. Donald Trump is a corrupt pathological liar who believes he is above the law. He has aligned himself with the worst dictators and tyrants across the world, and aspires to be one of them.
Bernie Sanders tells the truth, and will respect the rule of law and the Constitution, and the role of Congress (of which he is a current member). He does not want to be a dictator, like Trump. Congress will moderate his proposed policies. And he knows that. (You don't ask, you don't get.)
But at least Sanders actually is trying to create a positive future for all of the people of America. Donald Trump just wants to enrich himself, and revel in his sociopathic power trip.
Bernie Sanders is not my first choice as the Democratic nominee for president. But I have no problem with his vision for a better America with a brighter future for all of us. In fact, I admire and respect that.
This is the test of our republic that Benjamin Franklin spoke of. My fellow Americans, let's pass the test. I choose a republic. And yes, we can keep it.
I will vote blue, no matter who.
Will you?
17
“At the moment, no one is close to being the last candidate standing. But unless another Democrat rapidly consolidates support, Mr. Sanders could continue to win primaries and caucuses without broadening his political appeal, purely on the strength of his rock-solid base on the left...”
“...melee that allowed Mr. Sanders to claim victory in New Hampshire with the smallest plurality of any winner in decades...”
Sticking with the alliterative nature of notorious information dumps (Panama Papers, Paradise Papers... ), how does Propaganda Paper sound?
4
If I had to rank my preferences for Democratic candidates today, it would be:
1. Buttigieg
2. Sanders
3. Bloomberg
4. Klobuchar
5. Warren
6. Steyer
7. Biden
That said, I find many things to like about each of the major Democratic candidates. I will vote blue, no matter who.
I dare you to try to classify me as being in the centrist lane or the progressive lane. That is a false dichotomy. That is not how I judge the candidates.
Rather, I judge them on their positions and prioritization of the issues I care about. I judge them based on their leadership and organizational skills. I judge them on their character.
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
7
I have voted in every election since 1988, when I turned 18. But I was never active in political campaigns before.
In 2018, I donated heavily, for the first time, to Democratic candidates -- both in my state of GA and nationwide. I was part of the blue wave. I helped elect a House majority. I helped elected Democratic governors, such as Evers (D-WI) and Kelly (D-KS). I helped elect Senators such as Sinema (D-AZ) and Rosen (D-NV). I donated over 10% of my annual gross salary -- with no regrets. Our republic is worth it.
I did not give one red cent to the DNC. Instead, I researched candidates at all levels in competitive races, and gave my money directly to them. ActBlue makes it easy. The Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, fivethirtyeight.com, and other resources make it very easy to identify elections where you can make a difference. Democracy is not a spectator sport.
We can take back the Senate majority in 2020. Wait until the primaries are over in each of the following states. And then support the Democrats running against each of the following most vulnerable Republican Senators:
- Cory Gardner (R-CO)
- Martha McSally (R-AZ)
- Thom Tillis (R-NC)
- Susan Collins (R-ME)
- open seat (R-KS) -- likely Kris Kobach as the R
- Joni Ernst (R-IA)
And then:
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Kelly Loeffler (R-GA)
- David Perdue (R-GA)
And protect Gary Peters (D-MI). And throw a little at Doug Jones (D-AL).
Volunteer. Donate. And VOTE!
5
The People are the ones who make this decision. If Bernie is coming out on top then it's Bernie who will deliver the turnout needed to oust Trump. And I don't understand why nervous party leaders would be turning to Bloomberg and not Klobuchar or Buttigieg for moderate candidate.
7
It's interesting how the media, like NYT, phrases the issues, taking the DNC's talking points and fear of Sanders. You realize, in 2016 his agenda was "far out." Now it has been incorporated into much of the Democratic platform. Sanders' agenda is what America wants. You say the vote is split among moderates? What about splitting between the Progressives like Sanders, Warren, Gabbert? Sanders is clearly winning. Instead of reporting tearing him and his platform down, how about doing some good reporting on what his agenda really is and why it is the best agenda for America? He would have won in 2016. Don't sabotage him again in 2020.
10
Those voters in the Democratic Party, who think they are currently “Woke”, will likely be very surprised in November when they actually wake up, realizing only then that their ridiculous “Woke” policies caused the party to lose the presidential election.
2
Once again, the NYTimes picks opposing Sanders are blown away in number of 'Recommends' by the reader's picks which support Sanders. The NYTimes is clearly on the wrong side of democracy. Feel the Bern.
14
Someone just shared this article with me today. Would it be possible for NYT to update the info? https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/02/us/politics/2020-democratic-fundraising.html?fbclid=IwAR0mwekTVvwzhIpEBLy2UAmVe3wo-9ab-eOrEQCtKwTNTkKOlY3ed0jzWpo
1
When we start embracing Bernie Sanders instead of attacking him we’ll win. He’s already outpacing the rest with fundraising against an all out media attack. He won popular votes on both states. Elections don’t work by adding up moderates vs liberals. They work by counting votes.
11
An entire article discussing Sanders and "moderates," and not a word, not one word, about Amy Klobuchar. Biden this, Bloomberg that - no mention of Klobuchar. She has the experience, the brains, and the good ideas that can win this election. She is my choice.
4
Bernie Sanders received 28% in Vermont. Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg received 44% combined or 18% more votes than Sanders. This says to me that rank and file Democrats really want someone more Centrist than Senator Sanders. While I like many of his proposals, I do not believe his is the person who will beat Donald Trump. In fact, I do not think any candidate has shown this ability yet. I am planning to put all my efforts into retaining the House and taking the Senate. If we can control the legislative branch, we will have a way of controlling Trump if the worst happens and he is re-elected. All people who care about the future of our country should join me in hedging our bets. There is more than one way to safeguard our democracy.
2
@othereader
"Bernie Sanders received 28% in Vermont. Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg received 44% combined or 18% more votes than Sanders."
Your logic doesn't hold up. You are assuming that Buttigieg and Klobuchar voters are fungible, and their respective supporters will easily move to the other candidate as a second choice.
In reality, many voters do not fall into the centrist or progressive lanes. That is a false dichotomy.
For example, if the primary were tomorrow, I would vote for Buttigieg as my first choice. Sanders is my second choice. I'm sure I am not the only one who feels this way. I also like Klobuchar, among the other leading candidates. But my preferences are not based on centrism vs. progressivism.
I will vote blue, no matter who.
Will you?
7
I can see your point. I believe the electorate can do the right thing and gaining a plurality in the selection of their candidate they have the chance of doing something politicians can’t seem to do any more: Puzzle together a consensus. I’m behind the ultimate candidate for the Dems because we need to remove Trump from office. I think any of their candidates can stand up to him on the debate stage as well as the election as a whole.
2
Maybe we should let the people decide on the Dem Aprty nominee through the primacy selection processes in place (instead of Party insiders) trying to play favorites. That strategy seemed to work for the Republican Party last time around.
3
Bernie is my choice. And God bless all the Bernie bros and sisters. But in reality, Bernie can't stand up to Trump in a debate. And even if he did, he'd be tarred with "Socialist" by those who don't understand what he means by Democratic Socialist and none of the "future former Republicans" would vote for him out of fear.
Besides, even if he did win, he couldn't get his proposals through Congress - even with a Democratic controlled House and Senate.
No, the answer this cycle is someone who can beat Trump. That's the prize we have to keep our eyes on. At this point, all that matters is removing that existential threat from the White House. All the Dems have good ideas, most will never go anywhere in reality, but if allow ourselves to be divided over ideological differences and don't stand together to dump Trump, it won't matter at all. This country will be finished.
So, I appreciate the idealism. I voted for Bernie in the last primary. But we are now in the Trump era, and we need someone who can beat this disaster in November. We need to be in the post-Trump era. Whomever can do that, I'll vote for - whether it's Bernie or Bloomberg, but I doubt it'll be either. Billionaire or not - we need to get rid of Trump.
All I know is, "No matter who, vote Blue". Keep your eye on the prize. (And let's take back the Senate, too.)
4
All the talk of Beria Sanders being a democratic socialist as if that’s such a bad thing. Let’s not forget all the other democratic candidates are Corporate Socialists! The DNC and Democrats should be worried about the Corporate Socialists taking over. If Bernie wins fair and square he wins the nomination. That’s why it’s called a democratic election.
7
You make it sound like "resorting" to Mike Bloomberg is a last ditch effort. In fact I believe Mike is a perfect candidate, a successful businessman (unlike what Trump purports to be), someone who cares about social issues such as climate change, immigration policy, healthcare and common sense gun control (all unlike Trump), someone with a moral compass and ethics (clearly unlike Trump) and someone I would trust with our our national security, who would respect both our national security agencies and our military leaders, and make informed decisions about state affairs. Read Mike Bloomberg's Foundation 2019 annual report and you'll be amazed at the incredible things he is doing across the country and globe to make it a better place, all unsung, unlike the false braggard in the WH.
4
Many of the Democratic candidates have a problem with bigoted White voters in the Midwest. And it's not just the women candidates dealing with misogyny.
There are 2 Jewish candidates and one out-of-the-closet, married gay man. Midwestern voters are clutching their peals all across fly-over country.
We've never had a Jewish president. Being Jewish is a big negative to many self-identified Christians in the US, unfortunately. And we've never had a OPENLY gay president, though books and scholarly articles have been written strongly suggesting that Lincoln was gay. Lincoln had a very distant relationship with his wife, Mary Todd, who had psychological problems and Lincoln slept in the same bed with another man for many years. But hardly any voters at the time had any idea Lincoln might be gay. If they had, we'd never even have heard of Lincoln.
Never underestimate the racism, misogyny and general bigotry in America. It may be 2020 on the coasts, but in the Midwest, Trump supporters and many others are longing for 1950.
4
All that has to happen for Mayor Pete to become the front runner is for Sen. K to be voted out. She's taking away the moderate votes from Mayor Pete. Sen. K is the female Trump in that she enjoys abusing subordinates. She's No. 1 out of 100 Senators in staff turnover. Anecdotal stories with lots of details abound from former employees. And the way she attacks on the debate stage is just too Trumpian for me.
"Do nothing" senatorial experience is a negative; not a plus. We need executive experience which Mayor Pete has, and military experience is a plus as well.
Not only is Mayor Pete the smartest candidate by far, he's genial. He appeals to moderate democrats mostly but is not offensive to progressives or to independents or disgruntled R's. He will find a way to win over some of the Black vote, especially given VP Biden's terrible performance in IA and NH and on stage. Mayor Pete has the best command of the English language of anyone in this race and is the best foil for the lawless, impeached, illegitimate 45.
But to get Mayor Pete, Sen. K has got to go. It can't happen soon enough. Mayor Pete is genial but he needs to begin attacking Sen. K ASAP. She's attacking him with bogus nonsense, like comparing him to "newcumber" sic. Trump. PLEASE! If anybody is like Trump, it's the abusive Sen. K.
2
Be it the political reporting or spate of hysteria-driven op-eds, all of NYT’s recent content exudes utter neoliberal terror. It brings to mind a recent headline from The Onion: “DNC Mulls Asking Donald Trump To Run As Democrat In Effort To Stop Sanders.”
8
Too many here misinterpret the word moderate or centrist. Seems they believe it means 'status quo,' whatever that is these days.
Moderate/centrist means, to me at least, a uniting of citizens, a practical approach to legislation where there are no big winners or losers selected by government, but a path towards actually solving a real problem. Not thru extreme legislation that requires trillions, and results in unintended consequences. And, we must get Congress to reign in the use of executive orders and memos. Trump has over 220 so far, and Obama approached 700 in 8 years! Outrageous, and leads to dictatorship and an autocratic government vs. what we used to be - a republic. The NYTimes and readers loved Obama, so were willing to look the other way or even rejoice when he dictated vs. go to Congress. This must be stopped!
1
@Ma
"Moderate/centrist means, to me at least, a uniting of citizens, a practical approach to legislation"
I agree with you in principle. However, your positive definition of moderate/centrist requires a level of bipartisanship that simply does not exist today (sadly). It requires compromise and trust. It requires people to share a common vision for a better future, only differing on the specifics of how to get there.
Given where we are at today, with the sad state of extreme partisanship (and obstructionism by the McConnell senate), I'll do whatever I can to work towards complete Democratic control of the White House, Senate, and House.
Why should only one party (the Democrats) have to compromise and move to the right? A one-sided compromise is a surrender, and a defeat.
The only thing the Trump Republicans will understand is complete and utter destruction at the polls on November 3. Perhaps, only then, will a thoughtful and reasonable conservative party rise from the ashes, and be willing to return to bipartisanship and compromise for the good of the country.
2
For those seeking an alternative to the hard left candidate, to a small-town mayor and the billionaire, check out Amy Klobuchar. She has proven experience in the Senate and wins elections...and she can unite us.
3
As a Vermonter, I can say that Bernie has accomplished plenty. Hillary Clinton and the most conservative Democrats are "swiftboating" Bernie with the nonsense that he has gotten nothing done. People, he has been hard at work for veterans, working people, women, the environment, and has the very best staff in the country when it comes to constituent services.
10
With Yang out of the race, it is clear that socialism in the form of $1.000.00 per month per American wasn't the Democrats' cup of tea. This should send a message to Sanders and his supporters. Now with Bloomberg in maybe we can get him to promise every registered Democrat that shows up to the polls a $1000.00 on the spot. It would be motivating and it may satisfy the socialists among us, but more importantly, Trump's Justice Department would have to enforce the laws he daily violates.
1
I really wish people would stop throwing around terms like "socialism" that they don't understand the meaning of, and just look at the actual policy proposals. Bernie Sanders has been fighting an unfair system that favors the wealthy, punishes the poor, and allows unchecked environmental destruction in the name of profit. What is so radical about people who are willing to work be paid a living wage? What is so radical about preventing polluters from destroying the environment? What is so radical about sticking by your principles rather than follow political winds and pollsters? The right has gone all in behind the more radical tyrant this country has ever seen as president, and he won because the left gave us Hillary (who I think would have been a great president) but who for most people represents the status quo. You are not going to dislodge Trump from the White House with another status quo candidate. People want change, rightfully, and only Trump offered it. Bernie would have trounced him in 2016--it will be a harder fight in 2020. But is will be another loss for progressives if they haven't learned anything from their last defeat.
14
I am willing to bet that the real reason the Democratic establishment is working against Sanders is that they, like Republicans, don't want to pay higher taxes. I don't see anything that can be called "extreme" in Sanders' manifesto, especially after experiencing three years of Trump. Also, the polls are showing that Sanders will do as well as any other Democrat against Trump.
Sadly, it seems that Bernie's supporters are right - the Democratic establishment has become dishonest and corrupted, and desperately needs an overhaul. If the Democratic establishment works against Sanders, they will probably lose to Trump, and it will be deserved - something that until now I could not even contemplate.
14
This is silly. We have had two primaries in small, non-representative states. A number of candidates have already dropped out. We have miles and states to go before we need to be calling in an aged white knight to solve the party's problems. Why do we have to panic in mid-February??
2
It is so frustrating that millenniums did NOT get their lesson from the last elections! They protested Hillary and they refused to vote and by this way they helped Trump to be elected in 2016 by their reckless and immature attitude by emphasizing "Either Bernie or no voting!"
They will leave the next 2-3 decades with a conservative Supreme Court which has the final jurisdiction on constitutional matters!
The federal court system (district courts , circuit courts) will be filled by president again next 4 more years!
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/us/trump-senate-republicans-courts.html
The future is already paved for next generations for an autocratic highway! Thanks for the short thinking and impatient and uncompromising way of millenniums.
Bernie cannot beat Trump, but he is definitely a diversion, a very effective one.
No, I am not republican, I am a democrat which is a party in a chaos since 2016 elections! It is very sad!
3
I find it quite curious that the same Democrats who complain nonstop that Bernie Sanders, a reliable ally for Democrats throughout his years in the House and Senate, "isn't a Democrat," are curiously silent about Michael Bloomberg, whose party affiliation seems to shift according to whatever is his latest political aspiration, and whose record, notwithstanding commendable positions taken on a couple of key issues, has hardly been reflective of traditional Democratic priorities!
The belief that Bloomberg can save the day for Democrats seems to rest on the notion that Bloomberg will appeal to some moderate Republicans. But ask yourselves this: how likely is it, really, that moderate Republicans, in any significant number, will abandon a candidate who has enormous support among GOP voters, in favor of a former NYC mayor who banned the sales of 32 oz. and larger soft drinks at certain concessions and who heretofore has been known nationally primarily for his fierce advocacy of greater gun control (both of which I commend him for)? It's a fantasy!
7
Dems must unite and elect a moderate. Bernie’s socialist views are not the best bet to defeat trump. The voters in NH have given my hope that moving towards moderate candidates is our only option.
What is immoderate in a tax policy where rich people will continue to get richer but at a slightly slower pace?
4
A great caption: "Senator Bernie Sanders’s victory in the New Hampshire primary has deepened a mood of anxiety among the Democratic establishment."
Well, it's about time.
It's time for "the Democratic establishment" to reflect on whether they are more about advancing the interests of the people of the United States, or their own personal interests (which would make them like, umm, "the Republican establishment").
9
Anyone who made 50 Billions in Wall St is not and can not be called a MODERATE.
8
I find it appalling that, after three years of lying, the childish tantrums, the poorly thought-out policy decisions, and all the Promises Not Kept, that Trump's approval ratings are not in the toilet.
We should not be even having a discussion of who CAN beat Trump. In a sane nation, the discussion would be who is GOING to beat Trump. (And by how much).
We are living in a bizarro world in which the dumbing down of America is complete.
Nov 3, 2020 may be our final chance to save what is left of our democracy. VOTE!
1
Voting for Bernie, if not Trump. Dems need some reality.
4
No matter what your politics are it really does not mean much if Trump can beat them in the Purple States. Bloomberg, like me, is not a perfect person. I just see Mike Bloomberg is the only one that can shove it back to Trump better than any of the rest of them. He is the one with the most mental sharpness to do it. Trump wants to run against Bernie. That should tell you something. Trump knows that Bernie can't win in the states that do not want medicare for all. Great Idea, but we can't do it until we get our economics more balanced. We owe a lot of money for the mistakes we have made over the last 20 years. You can't be like, I want it all now. We just want to move it that direction when we can afford it and build on ACA. That is why I like Mike!
4
Klobuchar and Bloomberg are the only two of the current "Democratic Party candidates who have achance to reach beyond party and policy divisions and defeat Trump.
The rest have characteristics that will likely destroy them in November thereby enabling Trump and his feckless "Base" to continue dismantling America.
To be blunt:
Sanders is too old and a self labeled socialist, no matter how he explains it away. To half this nation the word "socialist" is enough to vote against him no matter how bad Trump acts. Trump will use it to destroy him.
Biden is over the hill, a good man but visibly too old to be nimble enough mentally and too set in his 20th century ways for the 21st century. That is a reality for all to see and the last two primaries confirm it.
Warren is nearing being too old. She is a great planner and thinker but also historically labelled too far to the left for most of that half of the nation that fears that misunderstood but GOP weaponized word: socialist.
Buttigieg is a breath of fresh air, young, thoughtfull, a succesful mayor, a Rhodes Scholar and an Afghanistan vet. He has a great future as America moves forward into the the 21st century. But not yet. Even if he wins the Party nomination, I fear at enough of the nation will use the excuse of no experience to hide their real reason: he is gay. Like it or not that is reality in 2020 America today.
I think if Dems pick Bloomberg with Klobuchar as VP, in spite of his age, they can likely crush Trump.
4
@Bruce Olson I like your analysis. The word "socialist" is toxic in the US - never mind why. Bernie owns it, but Warren will also be labeled as such. We don't like to think so, but it might be true that the US is not ready to have a gay President. Sorry, Mayor Pete. And unfortunately, you're right about Biden, too. Your conclusion makes a lot of sense.
4
@Bruce Olson Biden and Bloomberg are the same age,77. Mentally Bloomberg does appear to be sharper than Biden. However, his nationally televised appearances are in ads that can be tailored to look that way whereas Biden's TV appearances are in the debates or answering reporters. Trumph is only 73 but possibly in the early stages of senile dementia. Lets go with Klobuchar a moderate who is sharp and does well on TV.
1
The Walter Cronkite Republican notes the Democratic Party is much more diverse than the Republican. Democracy is messy when voters with diverse need to forge unity. That unity is not encouraged when some voters believe their needs, like Mr. Sander's supporters in 2016, are ignored and refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils. That only increases the likelihood that the greater of the two evils will be elected in the general election, as happened in 2016. The reality is that no one segment of the Democratic Party is numerous enough to dominate the others and a "brokered" convention is not the end of the world. It merely means that all the stakeholders at the convention will need to rely on their leadership to negotiate the final unity that motivates all segments to work together to defeat this resurgent grab for an imperial presidency. Democracy can be messy but it is the only means by which "government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth".
1
Centrists?? What centrists? There are no centrists. There are no moderates either. There’s no such thing as a centrist and there are very few actual moderates these days; none in the current round of DNC Presidential candidates.
.
A moderate is intelligent, independent minded, and able to look at issues on their merits. They don’t blindly toe the party line. But more importantly: they understand the Party Line, why it is attractive to the base, what it actually does, and what it’s weaknesses are. They don’t flamboyantly say “party line or bust.” They bring to the table realistic ways to reach those goals while also having broader appeal for the General Election.
.
The radicals: Bernie and his followers who wish AOC was old enough to run for President: say “Single Payer Healthcare or Bust!” A moderate would understand that Single Payer Healthcare would be very risky. All Republicans will have to do to kill Single Payer, and possibly the Democrat Party along with it, is make sure Americans see the tax increases before they see any savings from it. A moderate Democrat would offer a less risky alternative that still meets the goals put forward in Single Payer.
This is not a tumultuous phase. It's 100% normal for there to be candidates still in the race after a single primary in a small, white state. Forget Iowa: can't trust it. It would be bonkers to expect a consensus candidate when virtually nobody has voted. The media and the party need to chill.
4
Won't somebody please think of the moderates! They get easily spooked! If you approach them too quickly, they get startled and run into the woods!
4
Americans are insane. They long for the 1950s and 60s - a world created by Franklin D Roosevelt through Democratic socialism, a time when you didn't even have to graduate high school to walk into a union job making enough money to buy a house, support a spouse, buy two cars and raise a handful of kids. But now they want to get there using Reagan's rules, afraid of any whiff of the Democratic socialism that made the 50s and 60s possible, and then they can't figure out why it doesn't work.
12
Just playin' around here. Assume the Dem Nominee =
The Economy + Healthcare
1) Bernie= Energy. Youth. ( organization and management)
2) Biden = southern states.
3) Bloomberg = money (East Coast)
4) Klobuchar/Buttigieg = Midwest
5) Steyer = Climate
6) Kerry = Biden stalking horse
7) California = Tech
Final Slate: Bernie/Bloomberg or Kerry/Klobuchar
Thoughts?
Bloomberg is a Wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s a Republican until recent lurches to the reactionary right of Koch” sponsored “tea parties”. Better an ugly Trump as face for the harm, the cruelty & ugliness of republicans. We desperately need 1 person, 1 vote as our form of gov. Time to change our senate. Wyoming is not equal to Texas or California. Senate needs much less power if we are to become a real democracy. We’re currently closer to oligarchy than democracy. Too many Americans are not being heard!
5
I have heard, ad nauseam, the arguments of those who insist Sanders can't won. Maybe he can't, maybe he can – nobody can be entirely sure. Democrats understandably are looking for a sure bet, but there are no guarantees to be had. One thing I do feel pretty certain about is that if the DNC continues to substitute its own will for that of voters, the odds for a repeat of 3016 increase significantly.
9
There are plenty of reasons why I don't think Sanders should be the Democratic Party's standard bearer, but there's one that isn't so obvious.
In campaigning to young people with the promise of free college and student loan forgiveness, he's cultivating a whole new generation of people who vote with their pocketbooks.
Yes, they're young, broke, and hungry now, so they'll vote for Sanders. But someday, when they're older and more successful, their pocketbook votes will feed them right into the Republican party.
Maybe this sounds a little too idealistic, but the future of the Democratic party should people who put policy before pocketbooks.
2
Two words: George McGovern. My choice in my first presidential election. He was the "savior" who'd get us out of Vietnam, and he had massive support among the under-30's. Yet, even though Watergate was already a household term, Nixon beat him in a landslide. And the modern equivalent of Mr. McGovern is Bernie Sanders, both in his leftist policies and his demographic support. As Mark Twain (supposedly) said, "History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes."
I'm utterly convinced that a vote for Sanders is a vote for Trump, yet I agree with almost all of his "socialist" positions. Let's please not go down that road again.
4
BUT McGovern was right. I'll informed voters got years more bloodshed, debt and dysfunction. Vote carefully. Open your mind. Because
In the end, we get what we deserve.
6
Any candidate polling around 15% deserves to be heard by the people on the debate stage. The rules should never have required a count of individual donors.
1
For all the Bernie supporters commenting here, I have heard all your arguments. But what really turns me off about Bernie, is your lack of civility.
5
Lack of civility? Really?
Let me guess, the word, “pettifogging” offends you?
3
@Alexander Beal lol you must be thinking of trump and his supporters’ lack of civility. Bernie’s followers, they are just exuberant, what is wrong with that, in today’s world of depressing news? I will take exuberance any day..
3
I'm getting sick and tired of Bernie-bashing! This man has devoted his life to representing the working class, the under-privileged and has never become a millionaire! As someone said on this thread he is also the least sexist among the candidates! I will always love Bernie while I do not agree with all of his positions. I trust the "system" to moderate his most leftist positions and he CAN take on Trump, not in the same deplorable way that Trump acts, but in a sincere, honest, direct confrontation. So Stop all the chatter about if this person does this or that, then Bernie will win or Bernie will lose. He is getting the majority of the populace vote - listen to them, darn it! Why do you think he is ahead at this time?
8
I think Yang would have been the best bet to beat Sanders, but, I don't think Centrists liked him either.
1
I'm liberal but was open to Klobuchar, if it came to that, until I read how she twisted what Buttigieg said jokingly about watching cartoons. Now she's history for me.
1
It's time to see a NYT headline that says; Progressives and Climate Activists Worried about Primary Victory of Status Quo Candidate.
8
If Bloomberg is nominated, who do we get at the Democratic National Convention? Trump had Chachi from Happy Days, it couldn't possibly be worse than that. I like Bernie, he has conviction and back bone, something the modern American politician is sorely lacking.
6
The solution is obvious, stack the deck as Hillary Clinton did. It's a tried and true method approved by the DNC.
3
Bernie Is winning because he is the most popular candidate thus far. If it were Bernie and just one of any of the moderate candidates he would still likely be winning. The reason he won by less of a margin in NH is simply because there are a lot of like-able candidates. The NYT likes to pretend that Bernie doesn’t have a bigger following or large appeal but is just “skating through” while they moderates compete for votes. This is hogwash. The simple fact is more voters have gravitated to Bernie than any other candidate. It’s time to feel the Bern baby! It’s comin’!
7
@Stan And just as quickly, it's goin'.
1
Wow U.S.........at this rate you all have handed Trump his 2nd presidency. Good job. If Hilary lost to Trump, what makes you all think Bloomberg or Pete can beat him. Additionally, the problem you all should be focusing on isn't Trump........it is what created Trump. Your broken political system which allows the rich and corporations to dictate your public policies, your increasing levels of income inequality, your misuse of money to fund wars and extend the US imperialistic endeavors. Aren't you all tired of the same old, same old.
8
As a expat now but a New Yorker, always, a Bernie supporter, a Hillary voter, a king Bloomberg "subject" and a lifetime disliker and disrespector of Trump, both in business and in his personal life, I pledge my vote to Bernie, my dream team being Bernie/Amy, but I will be happier voting for Micheal Bloomberg, than anyone else running, beside those two.
Months ago I predicted that at some point Mike would ride in on his 24kt gold horse and with our common dislike for carbonated sugar/diet/energy drinks and offer suburban woman, professional white men, churchy afro american oldies, single soccer moms with dreams of grandeur, conservative jews and the stock market level dependant retirees and 50 somethings who dont want to lose Medicare, enlist a female running mate, maybe Amy and or minority /female vp and steal the glory and maybe the race.
I want Bernie. I have always wanted Bernie.
Bernie gets things done and MFA will pass uf everyone pays for it, corporations pay for it, but can also buy themseves a private option
But renenber Mikey is a guy that knows how to things done He's a noblesse oblige progressive.
and unlike Trump he made his fortune and is a pragmatist. He made NYC safer for all residents. Especially in poorer neighborhoods.
And didnt a fortune, like Bill, allowung turnstile jumping.
Bernie can beat Trump and should be president. But if that does not happen, I'll take Manhattan Mike.
2
Wantta beat Trump? Then start listening to Tom Steyer. It's all about the economy. Tom2020.
1
My fellow Americans,
We currently have a fascist in the White House.
- "Article II allows me to do whatever I want."
Given the choice between a fascist and a socialist, I'll vote for the socialist every time.
10
Sadly millions of Americans mostly republicans don’t agree.
2
@MidtownATL 70% of Americans couldn't tell the difference.
1
Just a question. When did compromise and moderation become 4 letter words? The reality is our nation was founded based on compromise between the various needs of the original states. If everyone holds out from working together until they get 100% of what they want, then we go nowhere. There are basic human rights that should be honored and upheld but everything else should be negotiable. Movement forward, even if incremental, is better than stagnation and worse yet, regression. In the end, fight for what you want, but realistically accept facts when it becomes apparent that it will not fly, and then compromise to make things better if not perfect. If we can't do that then welcome to 4 more years of dictatorship under Trump
3
After watching all of this, and upon reflection, I think I have come to understand the big problem with Joe Biden;
He's just not ready for prime time, and never will be.
2
While not my first choice, he was my safe, electable candidate until he wasn’t.
2
Democratic party leaders are alarmed that a candidate who represents the people is winning? Maybe we need new party leaders.
8
Or a new party.
3
@LB Sadly the definition of “the people” here is excruciatingly narrow.
1
@LB The problem is he only represents less than 30% of the party and even a lower percentage of the independents. How does that beat Trump? We need a candidate that will consolidate the majority of the party which right now includes Biden, Klobuchar, Buttigieg , Steyer, and Bloomberg and will draw independents and dis-affected moderate Republicans.
1
We've only had 2 primaries. It's way too early to see which way the Democratic electorate are heading. I'm still undecided because my main priority is on picking a candidate who can defeat the ImPOTUS. I'll forego ideology/policy to achieve that goal. I can't trust polls and I've read so many pundits' arguments about why each candidate can/cannot defeat the COWH that I'm getting no closer to deciding if a moderate or progressive would be best suited. I'll wait to see what happens after Super Tuesday.
1
The Democrats do not have to coalesce around one candidate---that would be the same mistake the Republicans made in 2016 when to stop Trump they thought everyone should drop out and support Cruz--- what if you didn't like Cruz?
The more Democrats going around advocating Democratic policies such as universal health care, increased minimum wage with fair overtime rules, sustainable job-creating infrastructure, sane gun protections....a long list....the better.
The important thing is that the Democrats (and others running in Democratic primaries: i.e. Bernie And Bloomberg ) do not run around attacking each other, but rather advocate progressive policies and lift up the achievements of the Democratic House, now blocked by McConnell.
If Bernie comes into the convention with 25% of the delegates, and 75% of the delegates favor other candidates, then IF everyone (including Bernie, in contrast to his delegates' divisive role at the 2016 convention) is more concerned with advancing the progressive agenda that Democrats share and less focused on Trumpian-type slogan "they're out to get us, only I can save you), then Democrats should be able to join together to support someone the majority of Democrats can be enthusiastic about, and not be held hostage by a minority of the delegates.
5
To demand purity is not the best way to review Bloomberg or anyone's candidacy. I also wish that those demanding purity would realize their short- sightedness.
Time for leaders in the democratic party to have a conversation about purity being mis used as litmus test.
It won't be effective to be patronizing, but something needs to be done. Rigidity never works out well.
3
Sanders is more in the center, just a little to the left. The others are right of center, sometimes, like Buttegieg, Biden, and Bloomberg, far to the right. We need Sanders.
8
Just what exactly is a “centrist” Democrat anyway? Is it one who will not challenge the status quo, who will go along to get along? One who will continue the policies where ordinary Americans who get cancer will eventually go into bankruptcy, where middle class will pay around 1/3 of their income for health care including insurance, where it is much cheaper to get your prescription drugs from Mexico or Canada because our government will not negotiate with the drug companies? Where our young face a lifetime to pay back for their enormous education debt? I am tired of hearing about moderate or centrist Democrats. We need change.
7
When you choose to make someone an intimate, do you begin with a checklist of their policy views? Candidate Trump was not the first politician to spew rot. People were drawn to him for other reasons, personal qualities that are hard to quantify.
People like Bernie because he's Bernie. His age and cantankerousness are integral to the persona, just as Buttigieg's youth and cheerfulness is integral. No sane person believes that Bernie is going to upend the healthcare and financial systems. It's not possible and it's not the point.
When you see the youth turnout, youth enthusiasm for Bernie, you almost have to put aside other thoughts, no matter how reluctantly. They could support Warren for the same policies, but they don't. You can't dismiss that. You have to defer to the wisdom of youth, however inscrutable. This optimistic wave is the antidote to Trump's dark wave. He is what Marianne Williamson was talking about.
7
This past Tuesday, a Gallop Poll taken during the New Hampshire Primary showed 76% of Democrats and 45% of Independents would vote for Sanders.
Democrats must back someone who can beat Trump. None of the other Democratic contenders have Sanders' popularity, an army of supporters or his war chest.
And NOW, centrists and the DNC are seriously thinking of turning to a long-time Republican billionaire, who started "Stop and Frisk" in New York, is buying, instead of earning, a place on the ticket and is a self-declared "rule-breaker"?!
What possible familiarity with the lives of the poor and middle class could Bloomberg have, what empathy could he feel for the 99%, so remote from him?
Did the DNC learn nothing from 2016, when, again, Bernie had the most support, but chose the disliked, distrusted Clinton. She had name recognition and was a centrist.
Voters stayed home in droves rather than chose from the two offensive candidates.
Democrats want a candidate who will work for them and can relate to them. They want Sanders.
10
“Electability” is a conservative, reactive, and fear-driven philosophy.
The Democrats, who seem to fear third parties as well as the left-leaning members of their own party, are as bad as the Republicans in their search for utter domination of thought. These little partisan armies are scorching not just this country but the earth. Together, they made a Trump victory almost inevitable, the predicted result of their own organizational egos.
I would love it if Sanders won, and our children could look back on the era where compassion won and petty partisanship ended.
8
While one might understand this article avoiding mention of Elizabeth Warren, who competes with Sanders for the Democrats' most progressive vote, its near-silence on Amy Klobuchar's position screams East Coast bias toward men, and especially men with lots of money. She's on the rise, and voters are telling us something that this article refuses to accept.
Voters who get to see and listen to Klobuchar like the pragmatic middle ground political stances they hear from her, and her refusal to go to extremes on policy that she knows cannot be enacted as presented.
Klobuchar can beat Trump (she's really the only candidate, now that Yang has bowed out, who has a good sense of humor and with it she will skewer our super-sensitive bully president). Can we please stop focusing on the billionaires Steyer ad Bloomberg, and the well-funded socialist who will sink the Democratic ticket as a whole if he heads it?
2
The headline is what is wrong with the media.
Sanders is a perfect candidate, as is Warren, as is Klobuchar, as is all of the Candidates.
NYT, please highlight the positive of these candidates, and quit playing "sides" and "fear-mongering".
6
When you are sailing upwind in rough seas and heeling to starboard (right/Trump) what you don't do is overcorrect and heel to port (left/Sanders). Both tacks are inefficient ways to move forward. Lots of drama and excitement but also very tiring. What you do is bring the boat upright to center and reset your course. You need an experienced helmsman to do this and you will move forward more quickly and smoothly. Klobuchar.
1
If Bloomberg is the Democratic nominee, I suppose I will hold my nose and vote for him; but if Bloomberg is the Democratic nominee, then we will know beyond all doubt that democracy is dead in this country.
4
@Hansard. Sander’s supporters didn’t move to Hillary so we got Trump. They are not a lot different than the FOX News fanatics that wear Trump’s hats. And I couldn’t help noticing that Bernie had no influence with his own supporters. Not a good sign of leadership.
2
It is my opinion the self-commitment to anything that sounds Socialistic play's into Trump's game plan so it is a no brainer to look to Mike having the financial means and experience dealing with Trump's personality and corruptness for many years. I just hope the information about all the different programs Mike has supported in helping people of the Black communities doesn't get lost to a couple of statements the Trumper's are surely going to focus on. Mike has enough money already to prove his motivation isn't corrupt in seeking power to better his fortune like Trump. The fact Mr.Blumberg has already said he will support any candidate who wins the nomination should say something. I am sure if Trump wins he now has the people in place to try and change the term limits which stops a president from serving more then eight years.
Wanting representative democracy, social justice, action on creating climate change jobs and rebuilding infrastructure, a living wage, access to healthcare... is why this country was founded. Freedom is going to the doctor and not losing your house. Are you against freedom? Are you against your vote counting and your representatives in DC fighting for you?
5
What appears to be the policies of the Establishment Dems and the MSM should be a wake up call to the American people. Instead of supporting the leading Candidate that is promoting policies that will really help us all, the media and the Establishment Dems (along with the Republicans) are doing their insidious best to squash him.
4
This is not a messiah we're choosing. It's the leader of our democracy. To credit someone as being "the one" who can save us is to abnegate your responsibility.
2
The authors of this establishment hit job should focus on something other than politics or maybe there is a position for them in the Trump disinformation campaign.
3
I will NOT vote for Bloomberg; there, I said it. If Democratic party leaders are too alienated from their voters, if they continue their fear-mongering by calling FDR-policies "socialist", if they keep hiding behind the term "moderate" which is nothing but republican-lite, we will lose again. And NYT reporters: How about explaining the meaning of "social democracy" to your readers instead of fanning the flames of division and fear.
7
Gee whiz! Just unify and choose the candidate who will beat Trump. Then EVERYONE needs to support them. Stop the bickering and in-fighting. The Republicans are 'winning' because they got behind one candidate and they have locked step to support him, regardless of how repugnant he is. Even if we don't all love the final choice, we HAVE to unify or the votes will splinter and we'll have four more years of hell.
3
My prayer is for an open convention resulting in a Klobuchar/ Bennet ticket. An open convention will mute Trump for a couple of weeks, give Democrats their best opportunity to coalesce and leave with the unity to, above everything, defeat Trump.
1
Sanders is increasing in popular support because more of us have pushed aside the moderate myth curtain that this is the best America can do. We know we can do at least as well as every other country and possibly lead the world to unite to address climate change. Yes, (this time), We Can.
10
"If Bernie Sanders was at the top of the ticket, we would be in jeopardy of losing the House."
messaging is always sculpted to appeal to the audience. and what this messaging shows is that the party leadership believes the democratic base will respond to one thing: fear.
9
Reading this article astounded me. It matter of fact-ly gives credence to the idea that regardless of what the voters say, the "establishment" has the need and right to intervene against a candidate in the race by titling the parties resources away from them. Regardless of if it's Sanders or some other candidate, I'm appalled that the "establishment" continues to play this autocratic elitist strategy in front of an electorate that is sending a message that the party has abandoned it.
How is it that 2 outsiders - Sanders and Bloomberg - have made so much headway? It's a fairly clear message from the people in response to the Democratic Party's desertion of their historic constituency in favor of Wall Street and Corporate Interests.
11
Bloomberg is a political punter and not a quarterback. Democrats should learn from history not hitchhike a wrong ride or a wrong hours. With so much baggage, Bloomberg is not a savior.
4
It’s 2020 beginning and of a new decade! Let’s try something new. For the sake of our children and grandchildren.
5
Your country needs positive structural changes that only Sanders and Warren are promoting and polls show both would beat Trump (Sanders with a wider margin).
14
@Théo The last presidential election demonstrated that polls are not accurate.
2
@Théo
This is one of those cases where progressives refuse to hear what they don't want to hear. Meanwhile other democrats are listening intently and picking up on a very negative vibe toward many progressive policies such as M4A, open borders, free tuition, etc.
Americans are much more rational than people realize. It's why they voted for Trump, a position with which I'm sure most progressives here will vehemently disagree.
2
@Jenny
No, Jenny. The 2016 polls showed that Sanders would have been the Democratic candidate had the Democratic Party not swindled him out of the nomination via the underhandedness of the DNC.
Ponder that, please. I'm a lifelong Democrat, and I'm still angry at what my party did.
1
We don't need to be concerned with stopping Sanders. We need to stop Trump.
19
More and more of us are realizing ‘moderate’ just means being brainwashed into thinking this* is the best America can do and that representative democracy, the reason we founded this country, is a distant dream.
*the UN, MIT and Princeton studies proved years ago we are living in an oligarchy and the UN study further proved millions of Americans are living in a third world.
We are Americans. We can dare to do at least as well for our people as the rest of the world. Sanders shows us we can dare to do better for all of us.
10
Please share references for the studies you cite. Thanks
Speaking as a senior citizen, this may be the last chance we will have in my lifetime to save The USA from falling into dictatorship. And, unfortunately, a restoration of normalcy is undoubtedly the only positive outcome from the coming election that is even possible. This is a grave moment in the history of America, and the western world. If it takes someone with the resources of Mr. Bloomberg to stop Trump, then so be it.
This is no time to fantasize about utopia.
Instead of being "woke" we need to wake the heck up before we lose our basic freedoms to autocracy.
119
@Joe Runciter
I'm sorry, but another NYC millionaire is not the solution for DJT - a progressive is. You're living in a cocoon if you think Bloomberg is the answer.
26
@Joe Runciter
It’s already fallen.
As a senior citizen myself, I am looking at becoming an expat...where it isn’t a dictatorship.
18
@Joe Runciter as an almost senior citizen, I agree with you completely. Ideals are fine, but saving our country from trump is the most important thing about the 2020 election.
13
AMY KLOBUCHAR is a better choice than Michael Bloomberg or Bernie Sanders.
2
Just what the Democratic party needs, another drafting dodging autocratic New York City billionaire, who disparages minority males, to be POTUS.
All the black and Latino status quo politicians who have endorsed Michael Bloomberg should be ashamed of themselves. Between 2002 and 2013 under Mayor Bloomberg 5,081,689 young men were stopped and frisked. These young men were overwhelmingly black and Latino. Over 70% were innocent of any crime, misdemeanor or felony.
Now we are being told that Democratic voters should vote for a man who ran for NYC Mayor as a Republican, because he couldn't win a Democratic Primary, then became an Independent and finally a Democrat. When his second term as NYC mayor was term limited, he had the law changed so he could serve a 3rd term. He could not control his autocratic tendencies (sound familiar?).
The status quo Democratic politicians who are terrified of losing power, prestige and their corporate connections are disparaging candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Hopefully, time are changin' and the Democratic electorate will nominate a candidate who has their interest at heart and not the interests of billionaire and corporate benefactors of status quo Democratic party politicians.
8
Hey, Hal Skinner...Bernie never joined the Democratic Party. Yet somehow his supporters felt the DNC should be there for him.
2
Sanders is who Democrat’s used to be, representative of the American people, not increasing oligarchy and the interests of billionaires.
3
Trump, yes THAT Trump, was a Democrat, so being a card-carrying Democrat does not impress me
2
My friends, the reality is Sanders, Warren and the rest of this bunch are not electable on a national level. Their polices and proposals are basically dead on arrival with most Americans.
If we put Sanders or Warren up against trump he’ll wipe the floor with them, and get ready for 4 more years of trump.
There is only one person with the backbone, abilities, personal values and resources to beat trump. And that person is:
Michael Bloomberg
Vote my friends Bloomberg 2020.
7
I hope one day soon you will realize increasing representative democracy, the reason we founded our country is the best system.
12
@Lilly The country was founded to be representative of white, Christian, land-owning, Anglo-Saxon, adult men. We're a different country now, so maybe this needs another look.
3
Representative democracy is by definition representative of everyone.
3
If Bloomberg is nominated then we will only have a choice between two racist, sexist Republican men. In that case, burn it *ALL* down. Maybe when this whole country is Kansas we'll learn a lesson. Perhaps we need to follow GOP policies to their inevitable conclusion before moderates will be willing to actually consider a different path. Let's allow the GOP to make those moderates' lives as difficult as the lives of ordinary people are now so they can empathize with others. When the flames burn you, maybe we'll agree on a fire department.
18
@Jennie
Bloomberg, neither sexist nor racist.
12
@Jennie
Bloomberg has appointed numerous women to power positions, has contributed heavily to reproductive rights causes and at one point bailed out Plannned Parenthood with a major contribution. Judge people by what they actually deliver.
6
@HotGumption So you aren’t familiar with his history of being sued for sexist discrimination about a dozen times, and the offensive things he has said about women employees? You’ll be hearing all that soon.
7
This should be an easy choice- Mike Bloomberg has all the right stuff to beat Trump.
Sanders should have stepped aside a long time ago. He’s had decades to lead a “revolution” but instead has accomplished little due to his limited leadership skill set and unwillingness to compromise. What’s at stake now is far too important to give to Trump for another four years- Sanders cannot beat Trump, Bloomberg will.
568
@Ltron
Bernie beats Trump nationally.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_sanders-6250.html
147
@Ltron Really, where did you get this amazing bit of insight Ltron? You, members of The Times staff and “ moderates” who are very happy with the status quo might want to read a recent statement by Karl Rove, you do remember Nr. Rove don’t you Ltron? It seems as though Mr. Rove in his interview points out that recent polls 55 of them I believe, found Bernie Sanders beating Trump in all but 5, even with the supposed good economy(he was giving the interview after an appearance at The Society of Four Arts in Palm Beach, where the economy has indeed been very good for its members, of course it was very good during the Obama years as well) these folks always win. Mr. Rove also pointed out that the Democratic establishment and super delegates would be going after Bernie full bore, which is correct so far, he could have added major media as well. He also assumes correctly that Bernie Sanders will be the Democratic nominee but not before a great deal of anguish, (they will sick Bloomberg on him as a last gasp). Mr. Rove suggests to this partisan audience in Palm Beach that The Donald clean up his act a bit as good economy or no the nation wants change and apparently the good citizens want to choose their own candidate for a change( my words not Mr. Rove). So there you have it Ltron from of all people the strategist of Shrubs campaigns in 2000 and 2004, Bernie probably would beat Trump and there goes the main talking point of all the folks who are very happy with the status quo.
81
Let me repeat the critical point: Bernie had decades to lead a “revolution” but instead has accomplished little due to his limited leadership skill set and unwillingness to compromise." The man is a demogogue full of promises he cannot fulfill but which is base dearly love to hear. I would back anyone but Bernie - no more toxic politicians whose only skill is in dreaming and promising the moon to those credulous enough to belive it.
51
We should decide on a nominee early and boost their chances.
Mike Bloomberg is a smart, tough, experienced politician with the savvy to take Trump on - in ways both low and high. His campaign commercials so far are outstanding - sharp, moving, funny, entertaining.
Bloomberg's proven he's willing to spend a billion dollars not only to elect himself but to help finance Democratic candidates in House and Senate races.
No one else has that kind of money to spend electing Democrats.
Years of mismanagement have left the DNC broke.
As we saw in Iowa, the DNC and local democrats lag far behind the Trump campaign in data gathering and internet presence. If we don't find someone who knows how to do this for Democrats, Trump, Brad Pascale and Facebook are going to bury us. Democrats are lagging far behind in knowledge of and sophistication about how to use these things.
Mike Bloomberg built a successful media empire based on data gathering and smart use of the internet.
Bloomberg's the guy.
Mike Bloomberg's not perfect. But let's not let perfect be the enemy of getting rid of Trump.
943
@fast/furious
I DONT want another billionaire. Period.
348
@fast/furious This comment is so ridiculous I don't even know where to start. Businessman good. Money good. Elect the moneyed businessman. Do you realize how that sounds? It's not in the least appealing. How does this make him electable?
266
@fast/furious
Sanders supporters will NEVER support a billionaire who literally buys the nomination, and so he will lose to Trump if nominated.
QED
244
The headline is written as if to say that there is something not quite right, or wrong, with a Sanders candidacy. This has become a way for the media outlets to denigrate a candidacy without just coming out and saying, on the news page or opinion page, "don't vote for so-and-so. I voted for Mr. Sanders while living in Vermont. I will do so again, regardless of "a mood of anxiety."
7
I think highly of Bloomberg but we don't need deus ex machina. We need Klobuchar, who was endorsed by NYT but not mentioned in this article until several paragraphs in. To borrow from Lincoln, the center must hold, not just for the party but for the country. And we must move the center forward, which is not left or right. Biden and Bloomberg have done their part, we build on their progress. Buttigieg has a future, as does Yang. But Klobuchar is a leader for now, a fresh face on the national scene without as much baggage as Biden or Bloomberg (she has some as a prosecutor, yes) and more knowledge of how Washington works than Buttigieg. If the centrists Biden, Buttigieg, Bloomberg, and Yang pooled their resources to support her, she would win, and they would make terrific advisors and cabinet members. As would Warren. Let's get this done.
5
Am getting a little tired of Bernie Sanders being called a communist, and a socialist. The correct term is the same as many European and Scandinavian countries - Socialist Capitalism.
What do people think Social Security & Medicare programs are? These are socialism. Would be interesting to know how many retired Republicans would prefer to give up their medicare & social security and take care of it themselves.
While talking about communism, what do we have in the White House right now with someone who has a love affair with Putin, talks about how he admires him, believes him over his own intelligence people, and acting more & more like a dictator every day, As a matter of fact Trump seems to admire all the dictators.
If no one out there isn't concerned about this they should be?
8
So, we will lose Congress and not gain more seats in the Senate if Sanders secures the nomination? Hmmm. Did that happen under FDR? Isn’t Sanders platform basically a return to FDR policies? I wonder what would happen if these so-called centrists actually got behind the nominee and backed him or her to the hilt instead of back biting and fighting as they usually do?
6
I like Mike Bloomberg.
I signed up for emails from most of the candidates and get requests for money from most of them. I get information and positions from Mike.
I am in agreement with Mike’s positions and have no issue with him ‘buying the election’. It’s naive to think that money doesn’t buy elections. Only in Mike’s case do we know exactly where the money cones from.
2
It is time to look past the election to which Democratic candidate can fix the mess Trump will leave behind himself when defeated.
It is both laughable and ironic that commenters deny Mike Bloomberg is running as Democratic candidate paying for ads and staff to support those Democratic platform ads when the candidate those commenters seem to support is non-Democrat Sen. Sanders. At this point I don't care what Mike Bloomberg calls himself politically as long as he supports gun safety rights, control of personal reproductive health decisions by women and their chosen advisors and a broad safety net for vulnerable people in the USA.
Mike Bloomberg is the only Democratic candidate who has built a large, complex organization from the ground up. The skills and talents he demonstrates are what will be needed to begin the recovery of the USA after Trump. Bloomberg is attracting a well-qualified campaign staff and seems to be making the best use of the people hired who are working towards the goals he set. This is focus is what will be needed after Trump is defeated as the mini-tantrum Trump is in the midst of now post- impeachment Senate acquittal demonstrates.
The Bloomberg slogan says it all: Mike will get it done
3
@Lynda mike doesn’t need campaign staff his dollars speak for themselves, I am rich so I am better than you, hahaha. He’s a good guy but no just because he is rich doesn’t make him a savior. Jesus was a poor carpenter and today see all those popes and bishops wearing so much velvet jewelry pomp and show in his name.
1
Personally, my preference for a candidate is one who is generally more centrist in her/his approach. Having said that, any one of the top 5 Democrat candidates is preferable to the current occupant of the White House by a factor that can only be expressed as limitless. Any one of these candidates will set a tone and reestablish an image of professionalism, civility, openness, honestly, truthfulness, normalcy, sanity, and service for the public good. Let’s start there and concern ourselves with the larger policy issues after we right the ship of state and are able to have an open and intelligent conversation free from pettiness, cruelty, vindictiveness, self-dealing, and ego-maniacal tendencies.
3
Ultimately we need simply vote blue, down the line for 2020. It is that simple.
4
noooo! Bloomberg IS Trump in slightly different clothing. Socioeconomically immune from consequences and from hearing the public voices! Terminally narcissistic, and self-absorbed. Whatever he says, peel back the layer and see self-aggrandizement and self-interest.
Look at Amy - she is both strong enough and experienced enough to win. Please, let's not make the same mistake twice!
1
"We know what the people want!" says a political party in a country where less than half of eligible voters show up to the polls.
2
The implications of the divided Supreme Court decision in Citizens United giving First Amendment rights to, so-called “independent” (but hard to police) political communications by any “association of individuals” has been that “he who controls the Gold rules.” Every election is now driven by “money politics.” What a mess we have made of our constitutional republic. Who has the professional background and commitment to fix this?
2
In 2016, I had a choice between Vlad the Impaler and a woman I just could not stand. I seriously considered writing-in Willie Nelson, but held my nose and voted for Hillary. In 2020, it's looking like it's Vlad vs....who? I like Klobuchar, and would vote for her. But Bloomberg?
What has happened to America when a politician with unlimited funds decides to run for public office, at the last minute? How many $20 checks does it take to offset the clout of someone spending $100M plus? Politics is increasingly all about money, but Mike's candidacy is so far over the top it's stratospheric.
I'll never vote for Vlad, but I can see why some do.
3
Sanders has now won on votes twice over. In New Hampshire he crushed Warren, his close political rival from a neighboring state, on turnout that approached 2008.
If the moderate vote is still split by Super Tuesday, the party will have a choice to make.
Get behind Sanders, or there's trouble in Milwaukee.
6
Because suppressing Sanders worked so well four years ago?
The Democrats can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory better than any group I've ever encountered.
11
isn't it time we stopped centrist dems or do we want hillary 2.0?
8
"...deepened a mood of anxiety..."
ok new york times.
Thanks for our daily dose of "Dems in Disarray"
After contests in two states that nearly everyone except the media see as irrelevant to who is the eventual nominee.
2
I will be voting for Mike Bloomberg in my state's primary.
I want the richest, smartest, still progressive, most accomplished kid in the playground to walk up to the most pathetic bully terrorizing all but his enablers and thrash him.
Mike is the only one that Trump is afraid of. As we have already seen the great liar has put out another lie recently that we would rather face Bloomberg than Sanders in November. OK, so Trump has told 17,000 lies since taking the oath and he's to be believed now? Right. I don't believe it either.
Trump is terrified of a Bloomberg Run going full tilt against him.
3
It’s a surprise only to The New York Times that Bloomberg is a real contender. When exactly does the Times plan to start covering him as such?
4
On October 16, 2016, the NYT predicted Clinton had a 91% chance of winning while Trump had only a 9% chance. NYT still hasn't learned.
6
If you need to find raw data from the many different Polls, have a look at this which shows how different D-candidates would do against Trump.>> https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_sanders-6250.html?fbclid=IwAR05lFS-BcAy3Ce_iflNZ2Cm2x5UJXhTPoBuO7fwuVCETtK4wjSOgqM6Epc
The Democrats will eventually select a moderate, since it's pretty clear that the sum of the delegates won by Buttigieg and Klobuchar will significantly exceed those won by Sanders and Warren.
I'm not sure who between Buttigieg and Klobuchar the eventual winner will be, but to me, the far smarter bet is with Klobuchar. She's demonstrated the ability to win red counties in a purple state not in one, but three general elections. Buttigieg is much more untested -- he's never won a state-wide election in which Republicans could actually vote.
3
While I like Bernie Sanders, I think he often skips out on the important second step of each plan he has, and I think he’s too liberal to appeal to enough independents. As someone who lives in a state that voted for Trump by a paltry margin of 10,704 votes, I can tell you that appeal to independents and moderates really matters. So although I consider myself to be very liberal, I’ll be casting my vote for a more moderate liberal, like Biden, Buttigieg, or Klobuchar on March 10th. And in the end, I’ll be canvassing for the Democratic nominee, regardless of who that ends up being.
2
I’m not a big Bernie fan, but if it’s what the voters want, then so be it. As a Democrat, I would vote for Bernie in the general election even if he’s not my preferred primary candidate.
Why do party leaders keep messing this up?? Let the voters decide!
14
I do not understand why centrist democrats think Biden or Bloomberg is going to have an easy time debating Trump. Bernie has the cleanest hands, the purest message, and the best rhetorical skills of the three. Biden's memory is fading, and Bloomberg, a one-time Republican and mayor of NYC, is not going to garner black votes in the same way as Bernie.
Bernie is also the most principled candidate in the field, who talks about the structural reforms our democracy needs.
10
@Philip Duguay
Because Bernie has not cultivated the relations in Congress to get his agenda enacted. That means Bernie would govern by executive orders which, as we have seen under Trump, is a very bad idea. You won't see Bernie supporters addressing this point at all because they have no real response to it.
I admire your youthful idealism but eschew your utter lack of pragmatism. The difference is that age gives practical experience as a teacher.
2
@flyfysher This is untrue.
Despite whatever "Miss Congeniality" Clinton may say, Sanders is very popular with fellow legislators in both houses, and has a long history of forming coalitions with folks on the other side of the aisle whenever possible.
5
I’m just as frightened of the 25% Democratic passion block as I am of Trumps, for obviously different reasons. I think it’s great that they are pulling the party back to its progressive roots, but it’s the kind of passion that causes cautious, more conservative folks to sit out elections. Disaster.
I’m increasingly thinking about Klobuchar. Or, as a fall back, a Bloomberg/Klobuchar ticket. If only Mike would commit to a one term presidency...
2
@JPGeerlofs
Hahahaha just like he followed the 2 term limit for mayor of New York City?
3
Being a centrist, moderate depends upon making sure no one looks from behind the narrative myth curtain that informs those Americans this living one paycheck or sickness away from homeless is the best Americans can do. It’s harder to control that narrative. Sanders has shifted the Overton window. Now candidates have no choice but to deal with the inconvenient truth. As more Americans look from behind that curtain, they might even see how differently the obscenely rich live and realize how unfair this system has gotten and that billionaires will continue to rig it in their favor if we let them. One vote free to choose true representative democracy at a time...
8
I think you need to clarify that by "Centrist Democrats" you mean the woeful DNC, pundits on CNN, very rich liberals etc. And why all this hand-wringing about its taking a while to choose a candidate? How many people buy the first or second house they look at when they're buying one? It took us a year of looking, refining, questioning to settle on our first house!
5
I think the politicians and journalists trying to “stop” Sanders would do better if they spent as much time effectively addressing the concerns facing people’s healthcare, education, the economy etc as they seem to be spending trying to “stop” Sanders.
10
Since Bloomberg has been and for all practical purposes still is a Republican, if the Democrats choose Bloomberg they become the New Republican Party. Then the Republicans win no matter who wins and Democrats no longer have a party. With climate change already here, and the private sector totally incapable of dealing with Mother Nature's disasters. Conservative policies are not a good fit for reality.
6
Who are these centrist Democrats who want to stop Bernie? Sounds to me more like Party officialdom, much more than rank and file Democrats. They seem absolutely terrified that someone not beholding to Wall Street might be our candidate. They don't seem to get that more than specific policy positions, people are looking for someone who is authentic. This is what they couldn't understand about Donald Trump, and why they misjudged his potential appeal during the last election. Although most of us see Trump as a fraud, for lots of people he comes across as someone real, who speaks his mind whatever anyone else thinks. Democratic officials instead seems to be pushing toward Mr. Buttigieg, who, like Obama before him, is perfectly acceptable to the Wall Street types, but will be forever constrained from stepping outside any conventional boundaries. While Mr. Buttigieg is obviously intelligent, he at the same time gives the appearance of being highly programmed and robotic in the way he addresses issues. Centrists, whoever they are, should be careful what they wish for.
6
Trump's platform for reelection will be identical to that four years ago. His accomplishments are very few, those economic ones he claims are a culmination of the previous presidents efforts. What he can claim as fulfilled is the reduction of taxes to historically low rates on those most able to afford remittance.
The dems absolutely need the senate to accomplish any recovery from the damage this clown has inflicted.
Controlling both ends of the capitol building is more important than changing the mailing address of the white house's current resident. Middle America is well represented by the potential gains in the senate. Increasing representation in the house and carrying the senate must
be top democratic priority.
Pick a respected name to head the ticket but play the long game.
1
I think coming up with a "unity" candidate in this election is an impossibility and will continue to be an impossibility in any election in which Sanders is running as a Democrat. Sanders is not and never has been a Democrat. Sanders and his supporters purposefully set out several years ago to blow up the Democratic Party in an effort to force the party to the extreme left. They set out to create chaos and dissension in the Party and have been largely successful. Now they have created a schism that just sets up the reelection of Trump and a continuation of the most corrupt administration in U.S. history. I don't believe this schism will ever be repaired and the idea that moderates will ever get behind Sanders and his crowd is unlikely and the Sanders crowd will never get behind any candidate that doesn't espouse their extreme left wing philosophy. This is a no win situation for us and one that will not be resolved any time soon. Sanders and his supporters got what they wanted in creating havoc in the Party, lets see if they're happy with the result. I thinking its not likely.
4
@Ajvan1
Left-wing like FDR was? I frankly think he is the most Democratic candidate on the stage.
You clearly adhere to the Clintons' remaking of the Democratic Party. Perhaps you should made aware that old-time Democrats like me are not persuaded. And perhaps you should realize that the young and old-time Republicans who are disenchanted will not vote for an Establishment Democrat.
1
I mean, if the idea of the US having a government like the rest of the developed world scares everyone into voting for Bloomberg, why bother voting? Just open the thing up to an auction once every four years.
4
It is so disheartening to see the brazen and utter disregard for the democratic process witnessed here and elsewhere by the elitists of the democratic party. They aren't even hiding it anymore, are they? Our standards and expectations have been so lowered, that we are almost okay with the electorate being undermined so blatantly by the democratic elite.
Beat Trump at all costs? Nonsense. Maintain the status quo at at all costs? Yeah, that's sounds more accurate.
8
Big money will never allow Bernie or Elizabeth to get elected President. When big money gets scared, it spends and buys stuff, people and ad-time (positive but especially negative). Think of all the trolls now and multiple them by the thousands.... Every computer outside the US and in the US will become trolls for the Republicans. Bernie supporters will be overwhelmed 1000 to 1. Big money is big money; it didn't get there by messing around. You threaten to take and they'll have you in the fight of a lifetime.
5
There is a vivid image in my head or maybe nightmare would be a better term. Election night 2020: desperate 18-34 year olds, wearing Bernie Sanders T-Shirts in tears realizing that Donald Trump has just won a second term.
2
@Chris Bernie’s poll numbers in 2016 showed him as the best candidate to beat Trump because he energized people. Of course, the DNC had other ideas. His 2016 positions have become much more mainstream since then and he still energizes because he stands for basic human rights. And nobody can deliver punches to Trump better. He’s got the best zingers.
4
We think that the sudden disappearance of support for Joe Biden is related to fatigue of voters about the possibility of a new "lock him up" strategy by his political adversaries. People know that two major strengths he has are experience and knowledge. However the possibility of losing because of the Ukraine affair makes them think twice. In this case trying to help him was like pulling a very heavy load of wood poles. Then we looked for a centrist alternative and it worked perfectly. It doesn't look that Bernie Sanders will win the candidacy, but we would need his supporters next November. So please don't insult them. In the meanwhile we want to say that we love Joe Biden a lot.
1
You can continue to insult and bully we who realize the brutality inherent in this rigged system again all you like. Why stop now? We see where we are headed if moderates go up against Trump yet again. We know Sanders has never been knocked off-message for forty years. We know Bernie beats Trump. The question is, why would you think a failed strategy will win this time, when it didn’t win against Trump last time, and it didn’t win for Americans. Sanders will be a win for the world. Don’t worry.
5
" The collapse of Mr. Biden’s support in the first two states...."
Something that did not exist did not collapse. Press mythology held that Biden had significant support. The votes showed there was no there there.
The fountain of press triteness spouts unsubstantiated generalizations constantly. Remember pro-free trade and anti-federal deficit Republicans? The press peddled those two for fifty years. The GOP took power, spent trillions on the national credit card and implemented the strictest trade restrictions in 80 years. The press corps never noticed.
Now the press wants us to believe along with the press that South Carolina, Hillary lost to Trump by 300,000 votes, is important to selecting a Democrat nominee.
South Carolina is a political waste of Democratic time and so is Biden.
8
Elizabeth Warren is…
more daring than Amy, not as scary as Bernie;
not as young as Pete, not as old as Joe;
not buying her way in like Mike or Tom
woman for the woke crowd, more experienced than Tulsi.
There's your nominee.
3
You know why you think Warren isn’t ‘as scary’? Because you know she’ll flip-flop again and not change a thing. We can do better.
Amy Klobuchar.
1
Seriously...why do we keep seeing Bloomberg touted as a potential moderate choice when we already have an established candidate in Amy Klobuchar? I truly won’t get it. I think she would demolish Trump.
Isn’t why they call it “the primary PROCESS?” Calm down - voters will sort it out, and the nominee will enjoy the support of everyone who wishes to preserve our democracy against authoritarianism.
6
Bloomberg as a moderate favorite? That violates ALL of the rules of this election (primaries) season. A tape of the former mayor talking about the stop and frisk policy of his administration recently surfaced. That tape is going to make the mayor really popular with some minority group members and unelectable.
I have to wonder, as a daily reader of the Times, when the paper will stop its constant drumbeat of anti-progressive articles? The Times, even though it does great investigative journalism, still represents the interests of the elite.
13
@Howie Lisnoff
No! The Times just wants to beat Trump, like most of us—except Bernie’s followers who live in a fantasy world of their own.
4
@Ron Cohen Fantasy world? That's funny because the last time that I went out on the streets to canvass, I met with real people, who are real voters, and want change in healthcare, foreign policy, the environment, taxation, etc., and the horror that has been visited on the rest of us by Trump, et al. Hey, nominate another neoliberal and Trump wins hands down and then we're in for the real deal of fascism!
2
How about this for a title: Centrist Democrats Resist Supporting a Real Progressive (Despite His Popularity)
15
Amy is the best and most electable candidate overall, period!
2
Testify!
And when the centrist democrats had a centrist candidate in 2016 they defeated Trump? LOLLL!
17
Hillary Clinton is not a great test case. She didn’t lose for being a centrist, she lost because she entered the race as one of the most unpopular major party nominees ever.
1
@Joseph Rhodes : Your comment doesn't in any way diminish the fact that Hillary is a centrist. And it is utterly superficial to deny that part of her unpopularity is owed to her centrism.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/02/01/look-back-seven-centrist-defeats
2
Incrementalism didn't win the Revolutionary or Civil Wars. It didn't end the first Gilded Age. It won't rein in Facebook, the MIC, the outrageous pilfering by current overweening robber barons who have put the working and middle classes on life support.
13
Every person who says the moderate Dems are just as bad as the Republicans is a propaganda victory for Karl Rove, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin.
8
That narrative is powerful stuff. Sanders supporters are fighting for representative democracy - - the opposite of dictatorship.
2
I haven't bothered to read the article, because there's only one outcome that can happen if Trump is to be kicked out of office:
Centrist Democrats have to vote for whoever the Democratic nominee is. Period. Hold your nose. Just do it.
Got it?
17
@Timothy Agree! I'm so sick of hearing about those who will sit home if Sanders is *not* the nominee; what about all those who will sit home if Sanders *is* the nominee. I'm personally a Bernie fan, but I am more than fine with voting for any of the possible nominees.
6
Yes, and same goes for progressives in the event a centrist is the nominee (although that seems less and less likely).
Yeah, last time the Democrats "stopped" Sanders it didn't go well. Stop saying it is the end of the world for this candidate or that candidate. Y'all should just shut up and let the people vote. Your prognosticating is helping no one.
17
Bloomberg with the hopes of having Stacy Abrams as his VP can.
1
Trump is the Republican party’s Castro.
Bloomberg is a Republican in exile.
7
Moderate democrats apparently missed the message of 2016. It's time for real change. Who in their right mind thinks we will vote for another phony rich white guy from New York? Like many others, I'd just toss my ballot into the wood stove and call it quits.
8
My fellow Americans,
There is only one radical extremists running for president in 2020. His name is Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Trump is an anarchist, a nihilist, and a fascist.
Remember that on November 3.
Vote blue, no matter who.
7
Sanders is increasing in popular support because more of us have pushed aside the moderate myth curtain that this is the best America can do. We know we can do at least as well as every other country and possibly lead the world to unite to address climate change. Yes, (this time), We Can.
13
Time to start questioning my NYT’s subscription. The fix is in again apparently nothing was learned from 2016. The will of the voter will prevail one way or another this time around.
12
We are going to lose. Death by friendly fire.
4
@Mike circular firing squad is more like it.
By “centrist Democrats,” you mean “Democrats who are so right-wing they are barely distinguishable from Republicans?”
If they would genuinely prefer to run a sexist, racist billionaire against the sexist, racist billionaire already in the White House as opposed to someone who is genuinely on the left, then they should leave the Democratic Party and just join the other side. They’re already there in all but name.
16
A little history here. 50 years ago Democrats accomplished the Civil Rights Act and the creation of Medicare. Through triangulation, the party has steadily allowed itself to be dragged to the far right where now basic human rights issues are considered the fringe left. Sanders has and will always stand for those basic human rights. The majority of Americans want those rights back and if given the choice will elect a candidate that is working to re-secure those rights.
13
You have asked for it, you got it.))
Oh, are the Democrats hysterically flailing towards Bloomberg this week?
Things would be so much easier if you simply supported the candidate that has a clear vision for the future, an unwaveringly consistent record of being correct on a number of issues, the numbers to beat Donald Trump, a huge grassroots-driven money chest, the overwhelming support of the youth and Latino voting community, and an online army who will exterminate right-wing trolls like bug spray.
This isn't hard math. Why are the Dems and the mainstream media making it out like it is?
16
It is the Party Leaders who were responsible for Trump's election last time out. They just revised their rules for the next debate to allow Bloomberg to participate.
Why didn't they have those rules to begin with. If they did, all those who have dropped out because they did not fit the then requirements may still have been on the debate stage.
They are every bit as bad as the Electoral College for disassembling our elections.
Sort of sounds like Trump. If you don't like the way things are going, just change the rules.
19
Panicking much? These things will sort themselves out. If Bernie fails to attract a majority of delegates, there will be plenty of time for one moderate or the other to show who has the best chance of attracting a winning coalition. We've had two races, and while Sanders has won both, the margins weren't great for him. And while Biden isn't looking great, he could still rebound on Super Tuesday, or Pete could overperform again in Nevada and South Carolina, or Klobuchar could be New Biden and sweep through the rest of the race. And then there's Bloomberg. We've got a long way to go, it's not bad that the race isn't decided already.
5
True all! @Andrew
Instead of panicking Dems should relax enjoy the way it’s played out (are you listening nyt and media!).
Although American people are good humans they are not necessarily smart ones. Their reps voted for the Iraq war, generations have suffered the consequences. Similarly they voted against Hillary who failed to excite overwhelmingly and instead trump won by a hair.
Let us see what American voters do, once they are inside the voting booth. Can they think clearly brushing aside media propaganda?! Tv ads? Or are they going to sit down and talk to their children the youth of this country? And listen.
3
You mean CONSERVATIVE democrats want to stop him--those wanting the status quo or worse-regression to past ignorance, , godstory delusion, divine right, prejudices and phobias of all sorts.
The Regressives want to stop a Progressive--one wanting change for the better, instead of American Oligarchy--the hedge fund version of feudalism--the middle ages form of Capitalism.
It's like products manufactured by one company, re-branded and sold by many. Consumers then argue that Brand X is better than Brand Y.
The oligarchs/moneylords want control of both parties.
Then watch party loyalists argue that Democrats are better than Republicans or vice versa.
Vonnegut noted that USA has two parties Winners and Losers. Winners always win--nothing changes except road, ship and airport names.
13
Ranked Choice Voting.
We need a voting system that lets similar candidates run in an election without hurting each other. In other words, a voting system where "voting third party" didn't equate to "helping your least favorite candidate".
Imagine an election where Sanders, ModerateDem, Trump and RealRepublican could all run in the general, and each voter could rank their preference without harming their desired outcome.
A progressive could rank Sanders, then Dem, then Republican, then Trump. A real Republican could go the opposite, or maybe Repub, Dem, Sanders, Trump.
All without having a spoiler effect.
Look up score voting and instant runoff voting. If nothing else, a voter could go into the booth and give their honest opinion instead of "voting against" a candidate.
Finally, we wouldn't have *any* of these electability questions and articles, because we could have more choices instead of two quasi-democratic outputs of political machines.
6
Here's a question to ponder: why is voting for a moderate Democrat, and not Bernie, framed here and by the MSM in general, as the sine quon non for a choosing a succesful candidate? Could it be the fear of the oligarchs and the top 1% that there might be an actual change to the system, one that requires reasonable taxation of the corporations and the ultra wealthy, and addresses the needs of people who actually work for a living? Of course, the answer is yes!
17
To begin with, articles like this do nothing more than fan the flames of dissention within the Democratic Party. ENOUGH!
This shouldn't be about who can "stop" Sanders -- it should be about who can stop Trump, and there's no way that will happen as long as the moderate/centrist versus the progressive goes on.
Honestly, here we are on the eve of becoming a full-fledged dictatorship under a president who's untethered by the U.S. Constitution and supported by a Senate and government he has cowering in fear, and the best you can come up with is creating more of a crisis within the Democratic primary?
Let the voter decide for themselves.
13
If the Democrats are serious about beating Trump they need to get get behind Bloomberg as the person to unite the country and move the USA forward while restoring confidence in America both home and abroad. A ticket of Bloomberg and Klobuchar or Buttigieg could be unbeatable. Should the Dems go for Sanders or Warren, might as well had the keys to Trump for another 4 years.
3
It would be wrong for the party bigwigs to taint the process like they did for Clinton in 2016. What is of greater consequence is if Bernie can bring around his supporters to support the nominee wholeheartedly if he is not the one. I doubt if he did that in 2016. His body language at the Democratic Convention said it all. They are already bashing the Culinary Union of Nevada for opposing 'Medicare for All', to the extent that they are making personal threats, as reported in certain press reports.
1
If Bernie takes the lead then I'm all in on Bloomberg. Aside from Sanders' agenda, the issue that I have with it is that there is no way he will have sufficient influence in Congress to get it enacted into law. That means more governance by executive orders which is not a good thing as we have seen under Trump. I would rather not continue that practice. I would also rather not the Dems take the blame when Sanders' agenda isn't passed into law. Bloomberg would be a capable administrator.
4
Democratic establishment should not be trying to stop ANYBODY. They should act like a democracy and listen to their constituency and their votes.
So frustrating to see NYT supporting this kind of thinking.
Makes those of us not in the establishment lose all faith in the Democratic Party which is exactly what they should be trying not to do.
11
This is why the Democrats (and everyone else) will lose. Please, can the focus be on defeating Trump, not eating your own?
5
Why do you sabotage your own candidate? Do you really thing anyone would vote for Bloomberg for President???? I voted for Trump the last time and would consider Mr. Sanders this time because my circumstances have changed. But I would NEVER vote for Bloomberg.
14
Why would we want to continue increasing the oligarchy when we can finally fight for representative democracy?
4
@Chris Anderson
Yes, Chris, you're a case in point. Only Sanders can bring in this kind of crossover vote. Bloomberg can't even bring in my vote, and I'm a registered Democrat.
Thanks for your comment.
1
All the democracy money can buy.
11
Every national poll has Sanders beating Trump. The corporate Dems better get on board if he wins the nomination.
16
@DJ IN 2016 every poll had Hillary
winning too. the electoral college is what
matters.
1
@wargarden
Sorry, but in 2016, Sanders was found by exit polls to have been the more competitive candidate by 8 percent.
And in case you have not noticed: the Electoral College seems to represent many poor states. Do you not see how they might favor Sanders over a billionaire?
1
sanders cannot win . . . take that to the bank . . . while he continues to record a plurality of votes in these primary elections and caucuses, and may continue to do so, the facts that delegates are awarded on a proportional basis -- and that there are and will likely continue to be a large number of competing candidates -- and that he will not win every single primary or caucus, even with a plurality -- mean that it's virtually impossible for him to accumulate a majority of delegates going into the convention . . . collectively, the centrist candidates currently in the race (biden, buttigieg, klobuchar, and yet-to-be-voted-on bloomberg), combined with the centrist candidates who polled low numbers and have withdrawn (bennett, delaney, bullock), have garnered far more voter support than the two far-leftist candidates (sanders and warren) . . . the democratic party will likely enter the convention with no candidate commanding a majority . . . there will be deal-making, and the centrist bloc will have greater sway than the far left bloc . . . look for a ticket of bloomberg and klobuchar, maybe bloomberg and kamala harris . . .
2
The DNC might just make a puppet and walk it around if it’s the only way to keep Sanders from winning representative democracy with millions of Americans who have finally peeped around the iron curtain of myth telling us this is the best we can ever expect from America.
10
Let's stop being critical of every little misstep or personality quirk and accept that there is no perfect candidate. They're human like the voters. This golden opportunity to remove Trump can only happen if we align with the person who can beat him. Remind yourself how Russia loves America's dazed and confused state. Whoever is chosen must be ready for the cartoons, the slanders, the bots, and the lies. This is war, even if it isn't an obvious one.
6
We should let anyone become president, as long as they sustain the myth that this is the best we can expect from America, like a good moderate?
2
A better centrist plan than turning to Bloomberg: If Biden doesn’t turn things around decisively in Nevada and S. Carolina, he should drop out and endorse Klobuchar (or Buttigieg, if Klobuchar tanks in those states). The moderate party establishment should be happy to support a strong, centrist Senator with a track record of winning elections and getting things done.
5
Sen. Warren
5
If Sanders is the candidate I will likely just stay home on election day like many others as will the Sanders folks like when Clinton was on the ticket. Either way Trumph wins.
2
But why? I am a Sanders supporter, but if he doesn’t get the ticket I will vote for whoever is. Your kind of attitude will surely allow Trump to win.
14
@ez nope sanders folks actually did vote. Blacks and many others were not as excited about Hillary so they stayed home.
6
That’s a very sad statement my friend and why our democracy is in the state it’s in.
What we all must do regardless of who you “like” is to look at a bigger picture. All democratic and independent voters must rally behind whoever is the alternative to trump.
The country and our democracy are at stake. As an American living in our democracy, it is your duty to vote
And there really is only one person I see who has the abilities, moral values and yes, resources to beat trump. That person is Michael Bloomberg.
But regardless, I will support completely anyone running on the democratic ticket against trump, and you should too.
1
Leaving Trump out of the equation for a moment, lets look at Republican policy.
In short, if a proposal or policy looks like it might help someone in the lower income strata or, is in some other way, vulnerable and needs some kind of help, Republicans oppose it.
If scientific facts need to be used in determing environmental policy, Republicans oppose using scientific facts.
This makes Bernie look like a great alternative to basic small government, deregulation, social conservative Republicanism.
Now add Trump back in.
Yes, Bernie will be smeared as a socialist rather than the Democratic Socialist he he is. But then Republicans have been calling policies they don't like socialist fir a long time before Bernie ran against Hillary. Even McConnell called the bill passed in the House that strengthened our democracy a socialist bill.
Even the press calls Bernie a socialist and lets that baggage ride without the fact check of Demicratic Socialism that works in other countries as well as already works in this country.
Maybe a candidate that actually thinks about the welfare of people, whether or not the country can afford the full fledged imolementation if his policies is not such a bad thing in these days.
11
@David Bible Please list the countries where socialism works. Make sure to compare countries to America ex: population, income tax, etc.
1
Most recent Monmouth poll of current candidates' favorability ratings:
#1 Sanders (+53)
#6 (last) Bloomberg (+14)
Bloomberg is lucky to have a rating this high. Once the other candidates dig into his atrocious record, I predict that number will end up in the negatives. And that is before Trump gets a go at him.
So, why do the readers of this paper feel so good about the least popular candidate? Out of touch, anyone?
18
I’ve lived in New York City since 1980 and Michael Bloomberg was the most effective, competent and balanced Mayor this city has ever had.
Mr Bloomberg is a man of high integrity, moral values and executive abilities that would lead this country as President to a significantly better place than it is today.
In the same way he pulled this city out of bankruptcy after 911 and help make NYC one of the cleanest, safest and successful cities in the world.
Vote my friends. Michael Bloomberg 2020.
1
@DS
Bloomberg's atrocious record?
Self made. 3 time mayor of NYC. An actual billionaire. Spending hundreds of millions to defeat the NRA. Spending hundreds of millions to take on Climate Change.
Surrounds himself with brilliant non-corrupt people.
I will be voting for Bloomberg. Fact.
1
"Centrist Democrats" are servants of the operatives who handle governance so badly they brought us Trump. Bernie's agenda has widespread support among a large number of people. What does that tell us?
18
It tells us that we have started to push aside the curtain of ‘moderate’ myth that this is the best America can do.
4
Bloomberg should be the Democratic nominee. He doesn't need money from anyone, so will not be beholden to anyone to return favors. Bernie's ideas are great, but too far fetched for all the people to support, even if it benefits them. Bloomberg is the BEST chance we have of removing Trump.
7
@jancathip Bloomberg became democrat overnight? Come on. Let him run independent. Democrats and republicans alike can vote for him should they choose in their conscience. But don’t make this a vengeance vote against Bernie or Liz.
2
@jancathip yeah! Bernies ideas were also great last time, but Hillary was the best chance Dems had of beating Trump. I wonder how that turned out!!
1
@Fread The country at this time cannot have woman president. Maybe in 10 years, but we are not quite ready yet. I work with a lot of elderly people who still vote and just cannot fathom the idea. Same with Pete. Not too many religious people would vote for him. They all have great ideas, but there are certain points that, even though they are irrelevant, older/conservative people won't budge on when voting.
One problem create by the "moderate" candidates is that they seem to be policy-less. Judy Woodruff interviewed Buttigieg on the News Hour yesterday and in -- 5-10 minutes the only policy position I heard was he was against Medicare for All. Everything else was platitudes and generalities. No wonder the poor moderates in the party can't decide between Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Biden. Their only claim is an unproven and unprovable one: "I will unite the party and win over independents and beat Trump". They all look the same.
Instead of wringing their hands over the popularity of a candidate who is unafraid to say what he believes, why don't the party pooh-bahs just embrace Sanders and his policies, and throw their full weight behind him? If Bloomberg wants to do something with his billions, let him buy national ad-time for pro-Sanders/anti-Trump messaging.
17
The DNC might just make a puppet and walk it around if it’s the only way to keep Sanders from winning representative democracy with millions of Americans who have finally peeped around the iron curtain of myth telling us this is the best we can ever expect from America.
5
This thing is wide open, as wide as can be. The dust will begin to settle after Super Tuesday, March 3rd, a little over two weeks from now.
But not at all before that.
Iowa caucus was a wash, and less than 300,000 folks voted in NH (same population of Greensboro, NC). 91% of Iowans are white, as are more than 93% of New Hampshire folks. There are no major cities in New Hampshire - the largest city in the state, Manchester, with a population of 113,000, is smaller than more than 50 cities in California alone.
The Democratic party is increasingly a party of racial diversity and of urban voters. NH and IA bear little resemblance to Democrats nationwide....
And Amy Klobuchar is driving forward, fast, in all statewide polls.
Democrats nationwide will settle this thing....after March 3rd's dust settles.
4
And why does this organization think it's your job to aid them?
8
Bernie is a decent guy with concern for the struggling poor and middle class. However I see a lot of inward focus in his campaign. He might provide free healthcare and better investment in public transport and infrastructure. But I’m yet to not sure how he would improve US trade deficit, deal with China, Russia and the Middle East,and foreign interference in the USA. For that reason Bloomberg seems a better choice.
4
Bernie is going to unite the world to address climate change and build an economy based on creating a sustainable, justice future for us all. Sanders is inspiring American people to look from behind that curtain of myth that this is the best America can do. Sanders is increasing representative democracy. Sanders is the only true FDR Democrat, not perpetuating the myth that nibbling around the edges, but keeping a corrupt system is all we should hope for and inspired a generation to do better because we are the ones who can lead the world to green energy and prosperity for every one willing to work hard again.
3
Why are some Democrats so afraid of Bernie Sanders?
1. They say he is not electable. The polls say otherwise. Sanders does as well against Trump, including in swing states, as do Biden and Bloomberg.
2. What is wrong with the vision of healthcare for all Americans? What is wrong with confronting climate change? What is wrong with seeking affordable vocational school and college? What is wrong with wanting a living wage for everyone who works for a living?
Those are all core Democratic values -- at least in the Democratic tradition that I grew up supporting.
It is the job of Congress to enact laws, not the president. Congress will moderate a President Sanders' specific policies. But I have no problem at all with Sanders' vision, a better future with opportunity for all Americans.
Sanders is not my first choice in the Democratic primary. But if he is our nominee, I will enthusiastically support him.
28
How many more articles like this do you think it will take to hand Trump the presidency? I can only hope whomever the candidate is at the end there will be as many pieces saying “moderates/Bernie bro’s/who ever’s candidate did not win, hold your nose and vote”. Are you really going to give trump more time to destroy our world because you don’t adore the alternative?
28
The article's repeated inclusion of the Bloomberg campaign's "internal" polling re black support has a clear purpose:
to represent Bloomberg as a viable candidate on the basis of supposed support from a crucial minority demographic.
Published polls show Biden's black support falling away and Bloomberg rising - but Sanders presently leading; by leaving out public polls, the authors kill two birds with one stone: put Bloomberg's support by blacks in the best light; and ignore Sanders' strength.
This is a clear case of a newspaper 'manufacturing consent,' in this case to promote the candidate they want.
25
The paper endorsed both Warren and Klobuchar.
2
The article's repeated inclusion of the Bloomberg campaign's "internal" polling re black support has a clear purpose:
to represent Bloomberg as a viable candidate on the basis of supposed support from a crucial minority demographic.
Published polls show Biden's black support falling away and Bloomberg rising - but Sanders presently leading; by leaving out public polls, the authors kill two birds with one stone: put Bloomberg's support by blacks in the best light; and ignore Sanders' strength.
This is a clear case of a newspaper 'manufacturing consent,' in this case to promote the candidate they want.
[https://theweek.com/speedreads/895155/bloomberg-jumps-2nd-among-black-democrats-biden-falls-new-poll]
4
I must say it's validating to see so many acknowledge how the system of entrenched party bureaucrats works against their favorite outsider candidate. It's something Trump voters learned years ago.
7
I don’t dislike Bernie, and I I can see and respect why people support him so much. But I live in a swing state. My colleagues are sensible “moderate” middle-class workers. Far far far far from being billionaire elites. Many of them will agree inequality is a problem. But most of them won’t vote for Bernie. His policy positions are just too unappealing and have too many obvious flaws.
Free state college - sounds good but then it leaves the colleges purely at the funding whim of government. That ends up with the colleges being over full and under resourced. So rich kids who go to private college are further ahead. And what about the morality of taxing people who don’t go to college at all (more than half of Americans) to pay so the others can get ahead?
Public health insurance - while everyone agrees the current system has a lot of big problems, for many of those who have it, private health insurance works pretty well. You have to beyond naive to think a government-managed system is going to function smoothly anytime soon. It’s incredibly naive to point out the problems of private markets but to act as though government operates efficiently and smoothly. Bernie just doesn’t have that nuance.
Wealth taxes - sound good. This requires everyone to now declare their total wealth to the IRS each year. Not just the wealthy. That’s not easy to do. What is your house currently worth? What is your small business worth? It’s an idea made for loopholes and avoidance.
7
@Baldwin
While polls should be taken with a large grain of salt, they have Sanders beating trump in PA.
4
If Bernie Sanders' supporters think he will be the nominee, then they had better adopt a different posture toward people who disagree with them. Shouting "elitist" and "corporatist" at anyone who dares question the sanity of Medicare for All or free college is not likely to win many over to your side. This kind of scorched earth approach to Democratic voters (the majority of whom support more moderate candidates) is exactly the type of behavior that makes us feel like sitting at home if Sanders is the candidate. Although most of us will reluctantly drag ourselves to the polls to vote for Sanders, it will feel like an unpleasant duty. The thought of being yelled at by Bernie and his band for the next eight months fills me with despair.
6
I have had the exact opposite experience. Most of the Democrats around me are ready for change, and Bernie offers that.
4
Perhaps he doesn’t need to be stopped.
Perhaps he may win.
My suspicion is that he could win once his message gets out to the general public.
17
I'm not a big fan of Bernie Sanders, however it is quite obvious that only a progressive can win against Trump! Biden lost to Hillary last time. He would lose to Trump this time. We need someone who all the people will vote for. A moderate is not what we need now. If the Democrats once again, choose a Biden, or heaven forbid Bloomberg, we ill lose big. Half of the Bernie folks, have already said they will not vote for anyone else. That puts us right back to 2016! If not Bernie, someone with enough chutzpah to stir up enough of the progressive voters to vote!
9
Affluenza of the establishment DINO’s/moderates taking money from billionaires/using public service for personal wealth accumulation denies representative democracy for the American people. It’s getting harder to perpetuate and control the messaging of the lie that sustains the myth that ‘moderates’ and nibbling around the edges of corruption is the best we can do. Sanders is my president.
5
@Lilly -- then we'll have 4 more years of the current president. Because we will.
Maybe that's exactly what we need so that Sanders' supporters will stop their incessant whining and temper tantrums about how the big mean media stops him from getting elected. If the stakes weren't so high, I'd love to let it happen.
2
Wanting representative democracy, social justice, action on creating climate change jobs and rebuilding infrastructure, a living wage, access to healthcare... is why this country was founded. Freedom is going to the doctor and not losing your house. Are you against freedom? Are you against your vote counting and your representatives in DC fighting for you?
3
Easy. Trump will stop the Bern in his political tracks. Sanders isn't even close to centrist interests and concerns. Bloomberg is a non-starter. He thinks he can rule the USA like his fiefdom in NYC. Not a chance.
3
Maybe instead of looking for ways to defeat the Democratic primary front-runner, they should realize that he is the front-runner because he is who the democratic base wants! Throwing him under the bus (again) is going to result in Trump getting elected (again.)
12
@Scott Jackson -- his support among democrats is about half what the support is for the various moderate candidates. He is FAR from "who the democratic base wants." And nominating him is what's going to result in the reelection of the current president.
2
@Scott Jackson
Actually, the tiny New Hampshire results demonstrate that the majority of democrats want a moderate centrist, not Bernie:
Klobuchar, Pete, Biden: 53%.
Bernie: 25.8%
Warren: 9%
1
I’d argue that Sanders is the only one that can stop Trump. No other candidate has the fervor of support like him. And he has something rare among politicians these days- values.
4
Senator Sanders is 78 years old and recently had a serious heart attack.
Why is he still being considered as a serious candidate for President?
He is not Superman.
2
80 is the new 50!
1
@Mary he is fueled by we the little people, we are his Force. May the Force be with you, Bernie!
3
@Mary If he wins the general election, he will be 80 years old at the inauguration!
While this may sound like promising news to those who fear that Sanders can’t beat Trump, current DNC leadership has demonstrated (since 2016 and before) that they’re incompetent at managing election. If the choice of a candidate is in their hands, Trump has already won.
3
I would think that the real nightmare is that four candidates arrive at the Democratic convention with 25% of the delegates each, and all of the delegates are fanatics who refuse to vote for any other candidate. They may have to go back to the coronation of the front-runner and biggest vote-getter.
1
Critics of Sanders repeat again and again that Trump cannot be beaten from his (Sanders’) all-too-leftist platform, and the main thing is to get rid of Trump. To this we should just answer that the true message hidden in this argument is: if the choice is between Trump and Sanders, we prefer Trump…
4
Bloomberg might be able to buy the primary with only the interest on his wealth, but does anyone think he wouldn’t be a vote depressing mess of a candidate? His record is so bad that young people and non voters will stay hope in droves. This is only a good idea to terrified pundits and the DNC.
7
Let's be honest: A dog, a cat, a snail, and ANY American could beat Trump if Americans could see--and throw up (some of us for the 2nd or 3rd time) on his record. Sanders is a real alternative to a winner-takes-all policy that Trump has taken to its horrible extreme. The money folks are scared. And I'm scared of a party (not a candidate) that is so hapless it cannot make the moral, economic and political decline under Trump and his complicit Republican Party clear to the American people. When I hear the Dems complain about Sanders and how he "is not electable," I want to smack the TV and the folks who are on it.
7
I will vote for the DEM nominee whoever that may be. My advice tp party leaders is to do the same and then ensure we also retain control of the House and retake the Senate. Whether Sanders or Bloomberg, the goal is to unseat Trump and return is to a function government that tackles the problems that left us vulnerable to this tyrant.
4
Stop with these stories and let the process play out. It’s already sorting itself after just two small states. Bloomberg is no savior, and wanting some billionaire to swoop in and buy the election is undemocratic. People in other states are learning about the candidates and will make their decisions. This messy process is exactly what Putin tries to undermine - don’t participate, NYT.
8
It’s getting more difficult to control the national narrative. Millions of us have peeled around the iron curtain of ignorance and myth and will never unsee what we now know. ...that hundreds of millions of Americans are on their knees from poverty, ‘insured’ but no actual access or freedom to have healthcare, or in jail from the failed war on drugs and politicians taking from the prison industrial complex, taking from the military industrial complex, like Clinton trying to perpetuate the myth that this is the best we can expect from America, everything my friends have in Europe is pie-in-the-sky in the obscenely wealthiest country in the world’s history, all while hoping we don’t get angry if we compare how the rich in this country live... No.
Once you see from behind that narrative Iron Curtain Myth of Moderates that this is the best America can do, Sanders is the truth, Sanders is simply representative democracy, Sanders is our true Democrat, Sanders is our FDR.
3
Why was Trump expressing concern that Bernie might hve been chosen as the Democratic VP candidate? - during that recording with the two major donors...
Seems like Trump is more concerned with the energy and vitality Bernie is bringing to the Dems... The DNC shut him down last go around to give Hillary 'her turn' - a really dumb move.
The Clintons destroyed the Democratic Party - and the nation - with their corporate politics - free trade and repealing Glass-Steagall. The Clintons were neck deep in the same stuff HW Bush was into - hence NO debate over Iran-CONTRA, pardons and drug running.
We really NEED a third party. Trump was elected as a vote AGAINST the DC establishment by the right. If the Democrats think they can beat Trump with an establishment candidate they're deluded.
4
““A vote for Steyer is a vote for Bernie, which is a vote for Trump,” — what a brilliant electoral system we’ve cobbled together.
Dear Democrats,
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
Stop trying to predict who other people will vote for. That is a fool's errand. You are effectively disenfranchising yourself, by acting as a proxy vote for someone else. Let the democratic process work.
12
I lover Bernie but I can say with certainty that if he were to be the nominee, we will hand over four more years to DJT. Bernie won with a very very small margin in NH. If the competition now is between a young, openly gay mayor and a Socialist ( by GOP standards) they will both be skewed so badly by the GOP propaganda machine and Russian bots. GOP will have a field day between the DNC and November 3rd. Bloomberg or Amy is our best choice but Bernie voters just like Trump voters refuse to look at any other candidate besides their own.
2
This is so fun to watch, finally all the pandering and divisive language has paid off with the total destruction of the Democratic Party. It couldn’t happen soon enough. Please retool and become relevant again.
3
@Thomas Aquinas
This is so fun to watch, finally all the pandering and divisive language has paid off with the total destruction of the Republican Party. It couldn’t happen soon enough. Please retool and become relevant again.
4
Still waiting for an answer from any Bloomberg supporters out there - How is Mike Bloomberg the best option for "converting" Midwestern Republicans to vote for a Democrat? His gun control policy is NOT going to go over well in Ohio, or Michigan or Wisconsin.....
5
@Mike Do you even know what his gun control policy is? It is the same ideas that most Americans support, according to polls. Common sense laws like background checks. He is NOT planning on trashing the 2nd amendment.
https://www.mikebloomberg.com/policies/gun-safety
2
@Mike He doesn't have gun control policies. Nobody wants their guns "controlled".
Bloomberg has gun safety policies. Most gun owners, myself and everyone I've been shooting with for years included, are open to safety. No "conversion" will take place. Presenting rational safety initiatives and persuading rational gun owners (the majority of gun owners) to make common sense safety improvements is feasible nationally. The exception will always be the full on kook secessionist "2A or Die" crowd, but they're not voting for a democratic candidate no matter what anyway.
Why do you single out Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin? Guns are really popular all over the US, and just because the NRA has effective propaganda equating safety with zero compromise confiscation, doesn't mean that's what any serious person, especially Bloomberg, is proposing. The NRA is becoming increasingly irrelevant, and that should be seen as a good thing. They operate on the same foundation of playing to peoples irrational fears and insecurities just like Trump and Sanders do... I'm optimistic that people are starting to snap out of the snake-charmers grip and think for a second about what's really going on.
3
@Mike --
He doesn't have to "convert Midwestern Republicans to vote for a Democrat."
He has to convince about 100k independents in 6 states who either didn't vote in the last election or who voted for the current president but now want him gone to vote for him.
That's it. No need to convert even one person who continues to support the current administration is needed by any of the Democrats.
1
Democrats need to stop treating Bernie like the Antichrist and take a good, long, hard look at his supporters. They are young people, the future electorate, and they know that their lives are disadvantaged by “ business as usual.”
8
Sanders' supporters believe their enthusiasm and righteousness will propel him to become the Democratic Party nominee. I really hope so. It's long past due that progressives finally discover how the rest of the country actually feels about their progressive policies.
The big question is whom they will blame if Sanders loses. The usual suspects (ex., Electoral College, gerrymandering, voter suppression, the patriarchy, the oligarchy)? Or will they accept the results?
4
A candidate who represents the workers and the poor is a problem for the Democratic Party (and the NYT, it appears).
9
I have an increasingly sinking feeling that the Democrats, by squabbling among themselves, will fragment the attractive moderate lane and end up nominating Bernie. If that happens, we might as well skip the drama and just give the Oval Office keys to the corrupt and now unleashed Trump, who proves himself more arrogant and lawless by the day.
As their reaction to Trump's shenanigans in Ukraine shows, the Republican toadies who truncated the sham impeachment "trial" in the Senate have cravenly joined their lord and master in putting his interests, and Vladamir Putin's, above those of the nation they have sworn to defend. The old 16th-century epigram seems apropos:
Treason doth never prosper; what's the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
Democrats MUST unite against the mortal danger presented to our institutions and values by Trump and his sycophantic enablers. This November we better actually "drain the swamp" by ending Mitch McConnell's Senate tyranny and cleansing the Oval Office Trump has turned into an Augean Stable. It may prove prophetic that Sir John Harington--the author of the "treason"-couplet just cited--was also the inventor of the flush toilet.
4
What you refer to as squabbling is actually the establishment refusing us representative democracy.
3
Hey, New York Times,
Here's a thought. Instead of daily articles about the worries of corporate Democrats that the party will return to its roots of Social and economic Justice, why don't you write an article about the excitement that everyday people feel regarding a candidate who is thinking about them and not corporate donors.
17
I’m of the belief that pure conviction swings us towards the positive (+), and not towards the negative (-); the former inspiring humanism in the larger whole, the later humanism of it’s smaller parts. Bernie will show us his ability for compromise on issues that Centrists, Moderates, and the Left can - prove their (+) conviction - and should prove organize against policy they oppose. Yet, to not support Bernie puts us deeper into the negative (-), and that reduction is the result, not of principle or ethics but money and destructive identity politics, and idk what else. Compromising on Bernie provides a foundation to build upon (+), opposed to the present destruction we must subtract from moving forward and (back) upwards. We all need to compromise, some of us more than others, and that reckoning is our duty, and certainly should be a positive one.
1
Bloomberg is a Republican...
5
The major problem with Bernie Sanders is simple: He can't beat Trump. Sanders' self-described "Democratic Socialist" might work in the coastal states, but in the Midwest and South it's a dead issue. The average voter doesn't know the difference between a socialist and a communist, and there's no way he or she would buy Sanders nuanced description.
6
Here's what needs to happen: Democrats of all persuasions need to get behind the candidate that has the most support in the party.
Heard that one before? So have I.
The problem, it seems, is that the candidate is Bernie Sanders, an actual Democrat instead of a Democrat-in-name-only.
The party will lose an entire generation of voters if anyone else gets the nomination, because it will once again show that it does not care about the will of the people, but about corporate contributions and so-called Moderates, aka Republicans.
11
@T Rees
There is an obvious divide between people who are more progressive and liberal and those that are moderates.
It's time that more people face that reality that those two points of view have over time become incompatible.
The best thing for both factions would be for one of them to leave the party.
1
For a party that laments the electoral college and yearns for a simple one person one vote nation, the democrats sure have a complex and convoluted way of getting there. This is not fun to watch and will end badly.
2
@Eric
Yes, it appears no matter who wins the nomination the Democrats will lose the 2020 presidential election.
You may hate Donald Trump but he is brilliant politician in terms of connecting with his base and rallying them behind his ideas. And as abhorrent as he is he has delivered in terms of lower taxes for corporations. "standing up" to China on trade, rolling back environmental regulations, and packing the federal judicial system with conservative judges.
The conservatives have fewer divisions on policy and quite frankly they are more committed to their vision of America than any other group in the country.
1
Let's adjust our terminology a lttle. Dems aren't "moderate" but progressive. The difference is that some are radically while others are moderately so. Republicans, on the other hand, are not "conservative" so much as reactionary. When they encounter something that the Dems have put in place (be it an institution, or a piece of legislation, or a court decision) they become destructive.
4
Sanders isn't surging per se. Moderate votes are being split four or five ways between Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Biden, Steyer, and soon Bloomberg.
Consolidate behind one moderate and Sanders is done.
9
@Eric
Actually if you do a deep dive into how Sanders has polling over time he is surging.
The problem is two-fold. First, Sanders has the most enthusiastic and committed base of supporters of any candidate in the Democratic Party. Second, none of the other candidates generate much excitement or has a compelling message. Therefore none of them is capable of galvanizing the party. That's also going to be an issue if one of them happens to get the nomination.
1
I don't understand the panic about Bernie. He is first and foremost a dedicated democrat with a small "d." He wants votes of course because he believes in the system of government. He will do things to help the average American and poor Americans. That's all. He wants the majority of Americans to have better lives. Plus, he cannot pass laws. Congress has to do that.
Trump on the other autocratic hand does want to be the only voice that counts. He couldn't care less about the poor and the average American. He cares not for justice or equality. He wants only to be powerful and wealthyd--for himself and for his family and his wealthy friends. He would like to be just like Putin, the only law in his country.
9
Wouldn’t it be nice if these so called centrists Dems, aka repubs...wanted much the same for the people as Bernie...affordable healthcare, college, vocational school, prescriptions, less tax cuts and subsidies for the wealthy who don’t need them, better than barely livable wages?
3
@Gene Nelson
We do want all those things- I'd even say the party is fairly united around the items you list. And, apparently, we want it more than Sanders supporters since we're working through the evaluation and vetting process of candidates who can actually achieve these things.
I don't think it's helpful that Sanders supporters feel it's necessary to call people who don't agree with them "repubs". The way Sanders supporters are "brining the fight" is largely childish, uninformed, uncompromising, and seriously off-putting. There's a real world outside the Sanders bubble, and it's necessary for Sanders supporters to factor the real world into their augments if they expect to persuade anyone.
1
Democratic leaders want to defeat Trump and failing in that task is their biggest fear, that and Bernie Sanders becoming the nominated candidate for the party. A great many members of the working class voted for Trump in 2016 because the Democratic Party had abandoned them. The Democratic Party's solution? Keep doing the same thing. Only Bernie can bring them back.
8
I'm tired of people in the media and moderate/corporate democrats trying to poison people against Sanders, even as he is the leading candidate. If the candidate they support is so great, then promote their views instead of tearing down another candidate.
Now that Biden has collapsed, corporate democrat's "savior" is a billionaire who hasn't been in a single democratic debate and blew off the first primaries and caucuses. Yet he has their support because he has money to spend on commercials. This says a lot about who they are and what they value.
I'm a Vote Blue No Matter Who democrat, but I understand the frustration of Sanders supporters who feel unwelcome in our party. I've read comments from so-called "democrats" that since Sanders is a "socialist" (not a democratic socialist) he shouldn't be running as a democrat and should be running third party.
Think about that. There is no better way to elect Trump/Putin than those who spout "third party" nonsense. Nader tried that in 2000 and we ended up with Bush/Cheney. As a result, republicans gifted our country with two wars we are still fighting and economic collapse.
Moderates who viciously attack Sanders are doing Trump and Putin's work for them. Their negativity turns off many democratic voters, divides the party and crushes enthusiasm. Their fear that "Sander's can't win" is what may cost democrats this election.
10
What’s the point of a democratic election when our votes are bought and we sink to a new low, we are then no better than the man we are trying to beat. the democrats tried to push their candidate last year and they still haven’t learned their lesson, and neither has the “free press”
4
From this supposedly evenhanded journalistic coverage:
"Mr. Sanders, blamed by much of the party for his slashing approach to the 2016 primaries,Mr. Sanders, blamed by much of the party for his slashing approach to the 2016 primaries,"
The better half of the Democratic Party was appalled rather by the DNC's open unfairness toward Sanders.
I'm tired of the DNC's pickings. I won't vote for Bloomberg. A billionaire who used to be a registered Republican and who defended stop-and-frisk till he wanted more power? NO. And anyone who thinks blacks and other minorities have a short memory span should think again.
Sanders is the best option this time around. My party seems more fearful of losing big-money donors who are eminently taxable than of listening to its own voters.
6
I would suggest that the Dems stop running against one another and start running only in support of their own platforms and to defeat Trump.
Let the people make up their minds who they believe, trust, like, and have the confidence in to embarrass Trump at the ballot box.
3
The more I see negative stories about Bernie from the NYT, NPR and MSNBC, the more I want him elected. I thought journalists were supposed to give voice to the little guy. It's a shame the way these news outlets have undermined the one guy who is honest and fights for those who have the least. Big business has taken over our democracy and Bernie is fighting to balance things out.
For years, I've been hearing from my conservative colleagues that the media was biased. I dismissed this idea as "you're just a right-winger hurt by the truth". But they may have had a point. The establishment has an enormous amount of sway, and they want to pick your candidate.
6
Bloomberg all the way. He can bridge both parties, and has the smarts and experience.
2
If Bloomberg wins this time, we can expect a precedent to be set for billionaires to run for future elections.
President Koch, anyone?
4
Bloomberg would be a huge mistake. His history as a Republican mayor and his support of racial profiling will keep both progressives and blacks away from the polls. Biden, Klobuchar and Mayor Pete are all better candidates with broader appeal. Moderate Democrats need to rally around one of them.
3
@Joe Sweeney Biden is finished.
1
Were Republican voters in 2016 concerned with electability and finding a candidate who could appeal to the center?
If so, they would have chosen John Kasich.
Why is it always the job of the Democrats to move to the center? And then the Republicans just move the goal posts further to the right. It's like Lucy pulling away the football for Charlie Brown, over and over again.
6
@MidtownATL
I view Obama as a moderate and he was elected twice.
1
@Sue
"I view Obama as a moderate and he was elected twice."
Yes, Obama governed as a moderate. But he ran as a progressive. "Hope and change." And that is why he won.
4
As the article suggests, a substantial bloc of Sanders supporters are as loyal as Trump supporters. Contrary to what some party regulars imply, Bernie cannot force them to vote for another party candidate in the general election. I suspect they wouldn't vote for Buttigieg, who has taken to lobbing snarky potshots at Sanders, or Klobuchar, who has contemptuously called Bernie's policy proposals "pipe dreams." The other candidates would do well to at least show Bernie some respect, if they want a chance at attracting his supporters in the general election. And maybe focus on taking back the Senate.
3
@CH Buttigieg should be admired for his constructive criticism of Sanders, whom I prefer.
The tragedy here is that I saw great candidates debate on Friday, but are all being dismissed by the unproven electability of Bloomberg.
2
Centrist Democrats are Status Quo Democrats.
3
@wilt The status quo is Donald Trump. None of the candidates are remotely like Donald Trump.
@wilt
In this economy, "status quo" is a good thing. Few want our strong economy upended based on the promises of a socialist.
2
@AACNY The economy is not the stock market despite what Trump says. I don't want this economy at the expense of the less fortunate, i.e. taking away Americans access to health care, reducing access to Medicaid, food stamps, CHIP, pre-school programs and education, the list goes on. Creating a bigger income inequality gap, pulling funding for PBS and NPR and decrying the media is the enemy of the people, my god, I could go on forever with how horrible the "status quo" is.
Is that all that matters to you?!
Can anyone explain to me what exactly, in a policy sense, does the Democratic Party stand for?
Why can't democrats, as a whole, decide on a long-term 10, 20 or 30 year set of platform policies. Require all presidential primary (and down ballot) and general election candidates sign on to?
If they don't agree, they won't be listed on the Democratic Party Ballots?
Policies like:
Medicare as a public options in 2-4 years
Medicare for all in 10 years.
An indexed Federal minimum wage of $X in 202X
Progressive individual and corporate tax rates
Sensible expansion of voting rights
Preserving Social Security by increasing the cap and lowering the rates
Judges ( and a list of qualified judges) who believe in the Constitution
Women's reproductive rights
And so forth
The Republican Party has had the same platform policies for over 40 years and have been quite successful enacting it. If a candidate doesn't like them, he isn't a Republican. Simple as that.
Every 4 years we get 4, 5, 10, or 18 Democrats running and an equal number of different platforms that vanish into the ether after election day.
There is no overarching Democratic Party policy positions. Like the Princes of Serendip and the elephant, everyone sees and feels what they want. Hence STOP Bernie, we need Bloomberg, Hillary, whomever....
3
@Dirk When AOC said the Democratic tent was too big I was irked. I think the Democratic party should be as inclusive as possible. But perhaps that is a pipe dream. We can't actually be truly inclusive. Hence the Bernie, Biden, Buttigieg bashing. And now Bloomberg has anointed himself the One to unite us all. *head scratch* Who am I voting for? Today Bernie. Tomorrow might be Warren or Klobuchar. Probably donate some cash to all three. But Bloomberg? If life distractions came up I could see having a hard time getting to the polls.
Centrist democrats are just republicans. They need to be voted out of office as well. We need another blue wave of freshmen to make any real change. Bernie needs backup. Vote in all local elections not just the presidential one.
11
We need to vote the last blue wave out that doesn’t understand how to win national elections before we have another infusion of know-nothings. The far left is as problematic to national unity in this country as the far right. All of us standing in the middle are surrounded by ideologues.
It is amazing that the Democrats are on the verge of attempting to purify their party just like the Republicans purged the “Rhinos” from their party. Look at what it did to the Republican Party!
1
"Centrist Democrats" seem a lot more worried about who can stop Sanders than who can stop Trump.
20
@durer: That’s because they think, not without justification, that Sanders won’t stop Trump.
5
There's much more anti-Sanders than anti-Trump here, so we can conclude the "real Democrats" are less afraid of 4 more years of Trump than a Sanders term.
Heard in Iowa:
An NBC News analyst overheard him [John Kerry] fretting about “the possibility of Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party — down whole.”
1
@Is: A reporter overhearing Kerry say something does not mean that voters won't vote for Sanders if he becomes the nominee, even if that requires holding their noses. "Real Democrats" are mortally afraid of 4 more years of Trump. It was the Bernie Bros in 2016 who'd rather have Trump than Hillary Clinton, just "to teach those corrupt moderates". I just don't understand why those moderates aren't flocking behind Sanders now and prefer, gasp! a moderate.
The democrats should nominate Bloomberg, He has the smarts and toughness to take on The Donald.
The democrats need someone who can take on and survive the republican smear onslaught that is coming. The Donald and Fox, Hannity, etc. are expert at propaganda and smear. Their plan is to distract and divide the non-trumpers while ginning up their base.
And the democrats need someone who can win by a sufficient margin to take the Senate for the democrats.
So, please democrats, unite behind a candidate and turnout on election day. At the minimum we don't want four more years of federalist society judges going on the judiciary.
7
If only Bloomberg would hand over some of his millions to Warren! We have the candidate with progressive views, well thought out plans, and none of the Bernie bluster. Why are we all assuming only a man can beat Trump? And why do we stake our votes so completely on a candidate’s views on health insurance and taxes, both of which are the domain of Congress? Let us keep bickering about what white guy is best, and we go on to lose the White House again and maybe even the House. Here’s hoping Warren stays in the race and pulls out a victory.
5
Bernie Sanders is the ideal democrat. He fights for the people, not the corporations.
14
I'm baffled when I've heard "I don't like it that someone can buy the presidency." Total nonsense. Democrats should be grateful that a person of the stature of Michael Bloomberg is in a financial position to come to our rescue. He doesn't need the dollars of influence-buyers. He has a longtime record of generously supporting progressive efforts.There's no question where his heart is. Each of the capable current contenders could be important members of his administration.I'm for Bloomberg 100%
9
Dear DNC,
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Bill Clinton, with his triangulation and co-opting of many moderate Republican positions, was a one-trick pony. That was a generation ago. That dog won't hunt today.
The only Democratic candidate that has won the White House since then was Barack Obama. He ran as a progressive. (Yes, he governed as a moderate.)
===
I will vote blue, no matter who. All of the major candidates offer a positive vision of a better future for all Americans. But it is the progressive policy positions of the candidates that excite and inspire me:
- I like Buttigieg on healthcare.
- I like Sanders on income inequality, healthcare, and climate change.
- I like Bloomberg on climate change and gun control.
- And so forth.
4
Stopping the most popular candidate is not a good idea. The democratic establishment couldn’t deliver against Trump last time, so why should we think it can this time? Obviously populism has a lot of appeal at this moment, so maybe a leftist populist is the best way to beat a right wing demagogue. Anyone who is really a centrist will vote for any democratic nominee rather than Trump. And we know from the last election that the Bernie bros will stay home if they can’t vote for their man, so let’s keep them in the fold.
5
I can’t understand why so many democrats are saying they will stay home rather than vote for Bernie. What they are really saying is they would rather see Trump remain in office. The only plausible explanation for this is greed.
10
@Jilly
And yet, they accuse those of us behind Bernie of not uniting to support whomever the nominee is . . .
1
This analysis is fatally flawed. It assumes that voters see a binary choice between a centrist and a progressive. And that centrist votes are fungible between Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Bloomberg. And that progressive votes are fungible between Sanders and Warren. And that no one will vote outside their "lane."
The center and left split is a false dichotomy. The reality is much more nuanced than that.
Some readers have pointed out that Sanders is the second choice for many Biden voters. Personally, Buttigieg is my first choice and Sanders is my second choice. I don't think I'm alone here. I also admire Klobuchar, Bloomberg, and Warren, among others. I am excited about all the major Democratic candidates, and they each offer a positive vision of a better future for all Americans.
I will vote blue, no matter who.
Will you?
7
Pretty despicable that the party wants to save itself from the will of its members. I hope people will heed that.
9
@Laurie That's exactly what got us Trump in 2016. The DNC decided even before the primaries that Hillary would be the nominee and they pulled out all the stops, legal and illegal, to make it so. Some people never learn.
1
I heard Elizabeth Warren a few weeks ago state that we "have a moral responsibility to take in people who are suffering" in their native lands and come here for a better life. There are currently 50 dictatorships around the world oppressing 2.6 billion people. It's ideas like that which fortify my stance as a MODERATE. Mr. Sanders is currently peddling a set of proposals that have zero chance of ever being legislated in Congress.
The far left would have us believe that "moderate" is practically Republican. It's not business as usual, it's not restrictive policies folks. Obama was a moderate, as was Bill Clinton. Stop vilifying moderate Democrats. Get real with your prognostications. The vast majority of voters are centrist, period.
5
Amazing that all the news media is implying that Bernie Sanders will fail, and that the dems need another viable candidate. If Bernie has competitive results in the next primary (at most 2) then you all better get on board, otherwise, it will be a repeat of 2016.
IMHO, these candidates need to bond together and run as a group, but if they're going to fight to the bitter end, the result will wind up to be just that.
1
These people, so worried and wringing their hands about a possible Sanders win, are the same people trying to suppress criticisms of their candidates with "Blue no matter who!".
5
How about the DNC maybe learns from 2016? How about they get behind the candidate with the most consistent record, the most public support? How are their delegate shenanigans any different than the gerrymandering they bemoan? Did they not learn from the midterms? Can they not see all the progressives now in the House!
Electability? Feh!
The current occupant of the White House is the most unelectable candidate I have ever seen in my six decades here on earth.
Senator Sanders is and has been the most popular and electable candidate in the country. He wins the popular vote, over and over, despite a concerted effort by the DNC, corporate moguls and most media outlets to minimize and discredit him.
We, the people are tired of not being represented by the those who claim to have our interests at heart. We are tired of the status quo. Why do you think that madman is in the White House? His fake populism is no match for Sanders’ genuine populism.
For heaven’s sake, get behind him and help save our country!
8
What is to scrutinize Bloomberg or others, in the age of Trump who set the bar the lowest? Talking about the only issue like stop-and-frisk is non-sensual waste of time, and it is fueled by a press that is centerd on soundbites. The only scrutiny for the Democrats must be: who can beat Trump.
1
We the American people must not allow the Presidency to be purchased by a wealthy candidate. We must not go down that road of cowardice and weakness.
No Trump.
No Bloomberg.
No monarch in the USA, malign or benign.
7
At thus point, a Democratic victory will be Pyrrhic unless they can choose any of the candidates who debated on Friday
Centrist Democrats in their great wisdom gave us Hillary and Trump. Is there anything more that needs to be said?
11
In 2016 the young people who supported Sanders refused to come out to vote in the general election allowing Trump to win key states by a handful of votes giving him the electoral college. Obviously these neophytes don't understand how politics work. Since then Trump has unleashed Betsy DeVos as secretary of education who since rolled back the reprieves on student loans enacted during the Obama administration. An example of what it means to "cut off your own nose to spite your own face."
5
Why? Have their ideas succeeded over the past 40 years.
2
If "leaders" wish to sell the party to a wealthy former republican, perhaps they shouldn't be in charge anymore.
7
If we are to maintain the degenerating state of the status quo, as money influenced moderates would do while feigning the ideology of compromise, why would a Bernie Sanders presidency not make sense, if the goal is to save the overly wealth heavy private sector from itself, as it continues to erode the very base of its own pyramid upon which it stands?
1
Feh. All we need is another racist billionaire in charge. Bernie is the best of the best. Get used to it, "centrist" Blue leadership. Wealthy Blues are no better than Wealthy Reds it seems.
5
Michael Bloomberg was a Republican until the day before yesterday - and now he’s the great hope of the “centrists” of the party? Give me a break!
4
@Philippe Egalité
Telling isn't it? "Cenrtist" Demcorats of the Clinton mold are in fact moderate Republicans to the right of Richard Nixon. They should join the GOP in mass and run Bloomberg against Trump. Let the Dems return to the New Deal emphasis represented by Sanders and the progressive caucus.
1
They should be more concerned who can stop Donald Trump.
4
Sanders 2020 = McGovern 1972
5
Why in the world is Bloomberg being considered as the "centrist" alternative????? Amy Klobuchar is a far better option. It never ceases to amaze me how Democrats go out of their way to be make stupid decision after stupid decision. There's no one on this planet who wants to see Trump defeated than me. Please don't screw this one up.
6
This is the democrat version of the republicans voting for something different completely missing the only thing different is that Trump is just more of the same just industrial strengrh. Shame on them.
The question is are democrats going to do the very same thing?
I get the bro-mance with the chill latte sipping, millineal-ish vibe of Buttigege but that's how you pick where you hang out, not where you go for deciding who is going to pay what taxes or how they are going to be spent.
Sanders, give him credit for changing the democratic conversation that is also bending conservative rhetoric, but he is too one note to respond to the complexities of the country.
I'm galled at the nerve of Bloomberg thinking he can just buy my vote. I didn't like him as mayor. He wore his noblesse oblige tightly and ignored the plight of most working stiffs, take for instance failure to come up against Cuomo for the subway. Compare Cuomo to say Putin?
I still like Warren but need to see her step up to gake big money and handle it well. Then I will know she can wear big girl panties.
Klobuchar, I dont want a witch in office. Have we not seen enough of what a difficult personality can do?
4
Why stop him? He carries the momentum he had in 2016. I regret voting in the primary for Hillary. America is changing’ obviously. Millenium will get behind Bernie, Gen X.rs and beyond won’t. If Dems had backed Bernie years ago, they might be talking about healthcare, income inequality, rampant racism, environmental decline vs going down the impeachment rabbit hole. Maybe too late to defeat Trump in 2020, but who else has the integrity and passion of Sanders? No one. Democratic Socialism can work. Trump will try to brand it as Communism, that’s why the party has to educate their constituents about the difference, and stop freaking. The country needs to do some media-free soul searching on whether they want to continue to be a Democratic Republic and keep the Electoral College, or realize we’ve outgrown it and have a true Democracy. This « crux » point will not go away, and we will keep getting Trumps if it’s not addressed.
8
If Bernie can't be stopped by other candidates, the game is over and Trump will remain in office.
Having a third party might help in situations like this.
4
Outside of NYC, I don't think you are going to find many Bloomberg fans. he won't be able to buy his way into the presidency. I don't think the typical middle or lower-middle class voter will view billionaire Bloomberg as their saviour, politically or otherwise. I don't. Isn't this the mayor who put all the small business vendors out of business? Some voters have memories.
9
The picture and setting of Bloomberg at the Miami rally is perfect. The picture of John Kennedy behind Bloomberg is comical, Bloomberg is everything Kennedy disliked except for the rich part: the Miami venue was quite appropriate however, Mikey sent out feelers to who else but a venture capitalist, Ms. Wexler to find out who the “important” people in Miami are, important reads as rich. Enough said, if money can buy yet another election, Bloomberg’s your boy: Mike is certainly in his element in Miami lots of very rich Republicans.
5
@Ted You didn't read that article very carefully, or maybe just choose to ignore the substance of it.
How does it feel to have those old Sanders hands scrounging around in your pockets? He's taking what little money his supporters have and flushing it down the drain all in service of his messiah ego trip.
You all want "the rich" to pay for everything, what's so bad about Mike Bloomberg footing the entire bill for his bid? Mike's policies would help you.
2
Marlo Stanfield has a message for the Dems establishment (and the NYTimes coverage of Bernie Sanders): "You want it to be one way. But it's the other way. "
5
Everyone needs to keep in mind that political reporters spend their day talking to political “insiders” and then report the spin they are getting as the truth. Democratic operatives are scared witless by the thought of a Sanders presidency because he has refused to “play ball” with their corrupt machine for decades and won’t restart their DC gravy train as President. So they are spinning negative stories to the Times who are all to eager to print them to fill space and gin up controversy. Shame on the Times.
11
Bloomberg and Buttigieg's administrations have dismal records with their African-American communities-and Buttigieg's is not well known. Buttigieg's removal of South Bend's only African American department heads in his first year was just a start. Hiring to new positions, retaining African-American employees, policing, contracting with African-American owned business, were all pain points for Buttigieg's tenure. Yet reporters have interviewed just a few leaders and reported only parts of this record, with the result that many do not know how bad it really is. Here's a series that The Root called "unassailable" https://medium.com/@rkle/the-buttigieg-era-african-americans-and-accountability-part-ii-a1b844801f23
4
The Socialist Revolution is about to begin! Bloomberg and other so called moderates will be the first to go to the gulag.
1
What a ridiculous article this is. Pete Buttigieg won Iowa, and almost won NH in Bernie and Warren’s back yard. Pete is *still* in the lead with delegates after NH. Buttigieg is our strongest candidate to win the White House and the senate... and if we don’t win both, we won’t get much accomplished.
4
Centrists are mad because for the first time in history, they might have to support a candidate that they just don’t like. Welcome to the club. Leftists have been doing this for every election in American history. Now you know how it feels.
21
As a life-long Democrat who got tired of party antics and voted for Trump, I am totally amazed at how the main-stream media keep looking past Amy Klobuchar. You have to be kidding me...she is mentioned in the 15th paragraph of this article!
Wake up America! It's either Amy or it most assuredly will be Donald. BTW, I would vote for Amy but no other Democrat.
7
Dear Former Democrat Who Voted for Trump,
You say you would vote for Klobuchar but no other Democrat. In 2016, a lot of people made a similar choice: "If I can't have my favorite, I'l vote to blow everything up!"
Think long and hard about whether you really, truly, want to vote a second time to destroy our country.
1
I think it's time for the Dem Party to accept reality: we don't want a far left radical with rabid supporters like trump's cult. We want moderates who are pragmatic, yet progressive. Over half of New Hampshire Dems voted for Buttigieg and Klobuchar, not Sanders. I think this trend will continue.
I won't be surprised if Milwaukee turns into a brokered convention. Pay attention Dem Party leaders! Sanders is only a Democrat when it's convenient for him. Listen to what most Democrats want: a ticket that can defeat trump. Sanders self-styled "socialist" label will be skillfully used against him by the GOP and keep trump's stink in the Oval Office for another corrupt term.
7
Both parties are obsolete, wearing the blinders of past generalities. Same goes for party hacks. Why else would
Trump have defeated H. Clinton and Bernie have been ousted by the DNC and why else is Biden running but not in the running?
Bernie and Trump weren't and still aren't financially or politically beholden.Trump owns the Repubs and no one owns Bernie.
Trump has no conscience, and Bernie has numbers.
Get it? Get out and VOTE!
10
For the past 3+ years Democrats have longed for one savior after another. All have been disappointing.
The only bright side I see is that Trump doesn't seem to be gaining in any substantive way from all of our near misses at trying to corral his corrupt mismanagement of our government's levers of power.
Bloomberg is a last, final shot I suppose but he, too, offers no certainty. My guess is that Trump himself will become
ironically, the unindicted coconspirator who steps over some line that even many of his supporters can't tolerate, brings his own administration down. (fingers crossed)
1
If only the Democratic party had taken its own progressive rhetoric seriously. Sanders, as a New Deal progressive, and the terror that inspires among party heads underscores what has become of that party. Bloomberg as one of the wealthiest people on the planet, as a former republican and backer of George W Bush and, as a racist neoliberal who has advocated cutting back Medicare and Social Security may accurately reflect what the DNC led Democrats have become but it does not reflect or appeal to those of us who have voted for democrats. Bernie is the real thing with an unstoppable working class movement that has been building for some time. Bloomberg, Buttigeig and similar neo-republican "centrists" are what we are motivated to defeat along with Trump. We can not afford to do otherwise.
5
Back in 2016, you losers all told me that if I voted for Hillary in 2016, she would win. The polls also said she would win handily. Well, I voted for her. Hillary did not win the Electoral Vote. Sanders will attract no, none, zero, nill, nyat votes from Republicans. How does Sanders win the Electoral Vote and defeat Trump? The same way Hillary did?
7
I am a democrat. It is very clear who will beat Bernie Sanders. His name is Donald Trump. Socialism fails every single time. We can do better. We must do better.
8
You're a Democrat? So was Trump, Giuliani and Reagan
6
Amazing. Every word you said was wrong.
4
The Democratic Party has a candidate that millions of ordinary Americans are wildly enthusiastic about; who has a proven, decades long, track record of electoral success; who unites the party across racial and religious lines; who clearly believes to his core in the policies and values shared by almost all Democrats; and the Democratic establishment is frantic, frustrated and frightened? I'd be interested to hear a credible explanation that does not involve class bias, economic self interest and self dealing and a a contempt for both democracy and for ordinary Americans.
9
Huh? What? In both Iowa and New Hampshire Bernie got half of the vote he got in 2016!
Why is the media hyperventilating??? Let some other states vote first before you tell us how to think.
2
The white dominated media needs to stop acting like all black Americans have the same position on all issues. There is not a singular “black community” for candidates to target.
If some black voters decide that getting that man out of the White House is more important than making a statement about stop and frisk, that’s their prerogative.
8
In 2004 Bloomberg went to the Republican convention to support George W Bush. Now Democrats want to defeat Trumpism with Bushism (he worst W version), so they are ready to choose a person who is racist and plutocratic and supported the most bellicose president and forever wars. This is not saving the Democratic party but clearly signaling that the Dems are now right wing warmongering Republicans and the Republicans aligned with a neofascist. Voters should stop and frisk Bloomberg's intentions.
11
The DNC must also think it is ironic to pick Giuliani's hand-picked mayoral successor to run against his boss.
8
I'm military vet -- my father, uncle, and many other family members have served -- and like so many who have been in the Armed Forces, I KNOW that universal health care works (those who have been elected to political office well know it, too, although the GOP members of congress and the Idiot in the Oval Office like to pretend otherwise).
And I've been living as an expatriate, in Australia, for over a decade, and while the universal healthcare system here isn't quite as great as that of France or Germany, it IS very good, indeed. VERY good. FAR better than anything I experience in the USA (when I was paying out the whazzoo for an HMO, way back when).
BIden was a good vice president. But -- from public appearances and othewise -- he's proven his time is past.
We DON'T need another billionaire in the oval office, no matter how good his intentions are: so nix on Bloomberg.
Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren (my favorite of the two) are the way to go. The BEST ticket would be Warren and Klobuchar (it's FAR past time to put women in the oval office, and a lady vice president would be great, too). But since the DNC -- and far too many white Americans (not a few women among them) not to mention black democratic voters (which shocks the heck out of me) want only a white male, Sanders will do until a woman breaks the glass ceiling (who knows, perhaps Sanders will ask AOC to be his Vice President -- that would be something).
6
A lot of these comments sound like they are being written by paid employees of Mike Bloomberg. They all kind of have the same pro-Bloomberg sign off and it sounds rehearsed and political. A huge amount of them are “editor’s picks.” Something doesn’t smell right...
7
Even if I were to think Bloomberg's selfless about this, his self-financed campaign sets a precedent where only billionaires will be able to afford to win and makes Citizens United irrelevant.
1
You raise a good point. The conspiracy mongering of Bernie supporters is a large factor that can sink democrats once again. How about we not do that this time, and every Democrat who cares anything at all about the future of the country, vote for whoever the candidate is.
Trump can easily beat Sanders. Sad that so many are blind to this simple fact.
8
Will we Americans continue to be herded like zombies by expensive advertising, or are we finally going to wake up to our best interests and take charge of our democracy?
7
Faced with a groundswell of popular support for a candidate who represents genuine democratic values, 'Centrist Democrats', instead of rallying behind the front-runner, accidentally reveal their true identity: craven centrist Republicans who would rather see poor people die than pay 1c more in taxes. And so it looks likely that, in their race to avert an equitable society, the Democratic Party old guard will ensure the reelection of Trump, and the demise of democracy in the USA.
7
I hope the Democratic Party will stay out of the way and let the voters decide. We saw what happened in 2016 when they intervened. If they push Bernie aside again, there are going to be a lot of very upset people who may stay home, and that will almost guarantee that Trump wins re-election. We need his supporters to win, period.
Dear DNC, please just let the voters decide.
7
I'd like to add to my post to underscore my opinion that, the centrist Democrats looking for "THEIR savior" (emphasis added) can just go pound sand.
7
Bernie's victory--which will save millions of lives with M4A and the Green New Deal--will be perfectly spiced with the schadenfreude of watching these centrist corporate remoras eat crow.
7
3/4 of democrats who have participated have voted “other.” Front-runner?
2
I am not happy and may not vote at all . He will have a few nasty debates with Trump and with his health issues won’t last. What a mess. Mr Biden was damaged by Trump and his traitor behavior with Russia and Ukraine. Just like he ruined Hilaries chances to be president and she won 3 million more votes . This is a Democracy?
1
Her name is AMY KLOBUCHAR, and she is surging right now. Although you wouldn’t know that from reading the article.
5
This is pathetic: that Establishment Democrats--who are really pro-war, pro-status-quo Republicans with some socially liberal positions--would again try to stop Bernie Sanders from getting elected by the poor and the working classes and minorities (his base) by resorting to un-democratic dirty tricks, including supporting a Republican plutocrat who is independent or Democratic in name only. Should they surprised, then, if this resulted in mass defections for the party, the splitting of the vote, and the reelection of Trump?
11
Have any of the D voters who support Sanders paid any attention to what happened last week when the GOP Senators anointed DT dictator? Or that he is openly defying the law now over the Stone case? And the GOP says nothing? Yet, they want a guy to run against DT who stood in a public platform and said he's a socialist, which the DT campaign rebranded him a Communist. They can write off 50% of the country with that alone. Toss in the 25% who could care less and the D's have 25%....maybe... of the voters who might think of Sanders. Yeah. That makes sense. Let's make Sanders the nominee. He was so good at it the last time that DT got the WH.
1
If moderate means the DNC, that's synonymous with business as usual and that is NOT going to cut it with the 18-40 vote, the POC, or progressive vote. Why? Because the 18-40s care about the future of our planet, their kids, and the POC and LGBTQ. The POC care about the POC and healthcare and the things we all care about, and the LGBTQ care about the LGBTQ, POC, the planet, and healthcare. Business as usual is the domain of the Rs and the establishment Ds may as well be Rs, R-lite, if you will, to the progressives, who care about all of the above.
How ironic that it's the oldest candidate in the D field who aligns with the interests of those who will decide this election. The Boomers (myself included) need to take a seat and listen for a change; we've had our chance and we did a great job choosing Obama, but blew it completely with the 2016 election. It's not about us anymore, it's about the kids we've raised and their kids, and guess what? They care about us! Follow their lead, whoever they choose. If it's Sanders, throw everything you've got behind him. Stop whining about how he's going to pay for it all (he's gonna tax Jeff Bezos et al, FFS, and he should!!!), and get on board! Do you know what 17% (the difference between the avg federal income tax and what Bezos et al paid) is?? It's more than enough to restore dignity to everyone with the brains to listen, the guts to get onboard, and the sense to vote!! Give whoever the D nominee is a Congress that'll deliver too!!
6
News to centrist democrats — I will never vote for your Republican billionaire savior. Got it?
11
@Joe B. - So, you did not vote for Hillary in 2016 and will be voting for Trump?
3
I mean, Biden could just resign and let Klobachar's surge continue. He crowded out all the moderaters. Bernie is just Bernie.
4
None of the Democratic candidates is perfect. The only perfect one who is sure to be on the ballot is a perfect catastrophe. The voters have to stop looking for "Mr(s). Perfect" to do battle with the orange dragon. We need someone who will carry the Democratic flag and label into battle against the Swamp King. Whatever flaws he or she may have are nothing compared to the ones of the current Tyrant, illegitimately (on two counts - - Putin, Mitch) occupying the oval office.
2
Absolutely pathetic. The Democrats, so devoid of substance, they need to turn to a Republican, Wall Street billionaire as their savior. And they wonder why so many middle-class voters support Sanders? I do know one thing for certain. If the Democrats end up with Bloomberg as their party's leader, I will write in my choice for president and move on to another political party to participate in and support.
9
@FXQ Bloomberg is a lifelong democract. Bernie is an independent.
1
@Mark Crozier
A "lifelong democrat" who ran and won as a Republican mayor, twice, and who spoke at the RNC convention in support of George Bush.
3
@Mark Crozier
Then I'm voting Independent. I don't recognize what the Democratic Party is anymore. It certainly isn't the party I grew up with. Bernie seems to represent that as I remember it.
Well what do you know: Democrats don't all think alike.
1
William Jefferson Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama were both well too the partisan political right of FDR and LBJ as expected.
They were also both well too the political partisan right of Ike and Nixon as well as unexpected.
Ronald Wilson Reagan led the American epoch shift to the right from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal which reached it's pinnacle under Lyndon Baines Johnson.
A ' centrist Democrat' is old school Republican Party light aka Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller.
7
One antidote to stop Bernie Sanders is Michael Bloomberg.
Trump needs to be denied of a second term, a corrupt liar of a President we do not need.
trump is Damaging the enviornment, his vindictive attitude towards any one who criticises him, he belongs to the street not in the White House.
Bernie Sanders is not the answer Michael Bloomberg is.
2
What Democrats need now is a combination of the smoke filled back room where nominations had been decided in past eras and a collective profile in courage. It is time to set egos aside and for the leading candidates, party elders, and our best political data guys (and gals) to do what is necessary to send Trump packing. Together they can make a grand bargain that would create a path to end to this deadly nomination fight, make the necessary policy compromises, and divide the the spoils of victory. Yes, this is very un-Democratic, but if we continue on our current path it seems that both party unity and the general election may slip away. Right now, the greatest obstacle to beating Trump may be a reliance on the Democratic process we created and value deeply, at a moment when we may need a more Republican reliance on top down decision making.
It's time for the world to add 49 new countries. Let's be done with it already.
1
@SR - Putin shill?
1
The big question is will the Democrats who had not supported the candidate who rises above he pack and secures the nomination vote for that person in November. If they stay home or waste their vote on a 3rd party candidate Trump will triumph which will endanger the entire country if not the world. Think of all the children who will be endangered if this narcissistic person occupies the Oval Office for another term.
2
This headline would not be used for any other Democrat candidate, which tells me all I need to know. I am voting for Bernie.
11
I'm sorry, did Bloomberg pay for this article? His good polling info is 'internal'? Double digits - by which you mean 10% but sorta suggest it's higher? SO really he's no further ahead than any other centrist candidate? The Mayor bought himself a third term in NYC by pork barreling the council and then passing legislation making sure no one else would ever have a third term (because only he was worthy??). He's also the 'stop and frisk' architect. He's a billionaire whose proposed tax increases won't actually hurt his bottom line. Why not treat him as part of the fractured moderate story instead of using 'possible savior'? We have a process. Let it play out. If he's the nominee I'll support him completely. I'm a moderate but I'll also support Bernie if he wins. At this point I'd support a concrete post over the would-be banana republic dictator we now have. But the Times has to not be dazzled by the money and influence, thank you.
8
Remember, Trump got elected because centrist Democrats couldn't speak to white working class voters, which is what Sanders does well. The DNC SHOULD NOT try to stop Sanders. The same prospect that alarms them—Mr. Sanders's ability to give voice to the voiceless in pursuit of a more just economy and society—is the reason he will beat Donald Trump in November. Every credible national poll matching Sanders and Trump shows this. Please, wake up DNC—before it's too late.
10
Whew, there is a lot of passion in these comments and that is encouraging in and of itself. No matter who the candidate is, the one thing that will stop Trump is unprecedented Democratic turnout. THAT, more than any choice of candidate, is what will make the critical difference in November. #votebluenomatterwho
4
If it's Bernie, let it be Bernie. He can definitely go head to head with Trump, and call him out for every lie he tells. Trump's cult members might actually watch a debate and learn something. And for everyone screaming "socialist" or "communist" about health care, let's scream back "criminal" and "fascist". That's a zero sum game. The man actually has plans and doesn't sound senile. I like Warren too. Why is Bloomberg who swans in on money and commercials some kind of savior? He's not as corrupt and mercurial as Trump, but they swim in the same Wall Street pool of money. Bloomberg's undoubtably a more able business man and leader than Trump, but how does that help anyone outside of money? Bernie, Warren, honestly almost any Democratic candidate is a better choice for the American people and the future of a democratic nation.
22
Who are the centrist Democrats? Are these the ones that took us to war in the Middle-East? Are these the ones that let comprehensive healthcare reform die? Are these the ones that let billionaires and millionaires gut our safety nets for tax cuts? Seriously I want to know who these “centrist” democrats are!
23
@Shsh - Bill and Hillary Clinton.
1
Why does anyone have to “Stop”Bernie? I don’t get it, most of the people that have been that read this “paper” have been to Europe and love it. What is so bad about having the same type of social safety net that they have there? In reality, what Bernie is proposing is more like Canada’s safety net. What is so terrifying about Canada? Obviously, I am confused here and the only thing I can think of is that you people are far from Democrats because your concern must be regarding your own money. If we cut the military significantly (the horror) and we make a progressive tax system based on wealth (not like Sweden, more like the UK) than the problem is solved. Is that what you are concerned about? If so, wait for Trump to leave office and than promptly change your voter affiliation to Republican.
17
To those trashing this article, please consider the recent election in Britain in which Jeremy Corbyn was absolutely pummeled by Boris Johnson. Corbyn was farther left than the establishment left in Britain. With a momentous decision on the line (Brexit) the British Labour Party chose far-left Corbyn as their candidate and suffered a historic loss. Americans are much more conservative than our Twitter circles make us believe. I like Bernie, but with the prospect of four more years of Trump we MUST choose a more moderate candidate.
5
@Will H
Fine, give us a British-style National Health Service first and we'll support your mundane centrist
Why is Britain, with an election based around BREXIT, comparable? We already did this experiment right here in the US. In 2016, the Dems nominated the establishment favorite and lost the election. But, if you must compare the US to the UK (which, again, already has a national health service, which both candidates vowed to lavishly fund and protect), then fine:
Bernie is not Corbyn. Corbyn never ran a primary before a general and he was personally unlikable (a -40 rating); Bernie, as much as NYT readers do not like him, is ranked as the most popular candidate in the US Senate; according to recent national polling, is the most popular candidate running for office, the top choice among independents (yes, look it up), and beats Trump in every head-to-head poll that has been taken.
Elect Bloomberg and we get a repeat of 2016.
I'm a life long reader of this newspaper, but the anti-Bernie fearmongering is really getting tired.
8
Differences in policy preferences aside the Democrats shouldn't lose sight of the bigger threat looming on the political horizon posed by Trump. It is not the time for settling scores within the fold but to offer a united fight to the forces of authoritarian impulse and illeberal disposition, even if it requires some compromise with the ideological beliefs.
3
@Prof. Jai Prakash Sharma, well said!
But we Americans do like to bicker it out!
2
A Bloomberg Klobuchar ticket is a winner. Bernie and whoever is a loser. An elderly Jewish Socialist from Brooklyn who is anti-Israel, has just had a heart attack, favors throwing 180 million people off their health care and who looks like everyone's crazy uncle might have carried Brooklyn in the 1930s but not the United States of America in 2020.
7
@alan - Alan, you will be one of the first people that we will send to the soon to be created “gulag” in North Dakota.
1
@alan brown The winning ticket would be Klobuchar-Bloomberg to use your suggestion of Bloomberg.
2
@alan brown “favors throwing 180 million people off health care”? Are you confusing Senator Sanders with Donald Trump? Are you unaware that your Social Security, Medicare, VA benefits, GI bill benefits, public schools, sewer and water supplies, public libraries, museums, public transportation, unemployment benefits (should you be unlucky enough to lose one of the three jobs you need to afford to live in Manhattan) public and private colleges and universities, and disability benefits are all “socialist government” programs?
2
Message to every American who considers himself or herself a working-class dog: we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to elect a president who is truly committed to helping the majority of Americans in the middle and lower working classes achieve the American Dream. Please don’t listen to the establishment. They are doing nothing but protecting their investments. Supply-side economics, also known as “trickle-down economics,” does not work to improve the economic stability of the working classes. It only enriches the investor-classes. Trickle-down did not work for working people under Reagan and Clinton. It is not working for working people now under Trump. Worker wages continue to stagnate. Workers continue to work harder than their parents and for less pay. Workers with young children continue to have an intractable, usually expensive, childcare problem. Most workers are not earning living wages. Consider this: in 2020 the federal minimum wage is just $7.25 per hour. The establishment does not care about working people. Mike Bloomberg is a nice guy. But he is a billionaire who is committed to maintaining this unfair economic status quo. It has made him a rich man. Vote for Bernie Sanders because he will fight for you.
27
Wages are increasing, unemployment is a at an historical low. Minority unemployment is also the lowest it has ever been. Give me the choice between Sanders and Trump? This democrat will vote for Trump without a second thought. Give me Bloomberg as an option? Completely different story.
2
Bernie’s campaign for a $15 minimum wage and vocal support for workers should get some credit for these gains/improvements.
1
The party's wanted Jeb and Hillary. The people want Bernie and Donald. Let the people decide! Understand?
19
This idea that you need to “stop” any democratic candidate from achieving the nomination is puzzling to me. Sanders may well beat Trump. Anyone of the candidates might, not in the least because there are 1000 ways for Trump to implode between now and the general election. Without a fully functioning crystal ball, and I know you don’t have one, you have no idea what’s in store for November. What you do know is that in 2016 sabotaging Sanders for Clinton, an acceptable centrist to you, got you Trump. As Einstein would say - the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results - let the people have their say. Nominate the person who gets people fired up. Stop interfering. You stuffed up last time so don’t make the same mistake again. If the current pattern continues I think that a Sanders-Buttigieg ticket (or vice versa) could be a way forward.
27
@Tracey Well said! Good on yer.
We are boomers and have 3 adult children. We are all leaning toward Bloomberg as the only hope to beat Trump.
3
All of these "Democrats are in disarray" articles are getting tiresome and are creating a narrative intended to cause panic and clicks. It's February. The out-of-power party goes through this in every election. When you read these articles, keep in mind that the media wants drama and a horse race. Everyone please just take a moment to breathe and then get back to work defeating 45.
16
As the liberal media goes, liberals go - they actually read, listen, and watch. And when Mike's cash flows in, praise will flow out.
Separation of "Church and State" in the media world? Clearly, independent media would never accept a political ad of any type. It's a total conflict, when you feature election news every day. But that is the exact opposite of what happens during an American election campaign.
And what about not so liberal media? They will also happily take Mike's money. And downright conservative media? They will claim that Mike is a "business man" and happily take his money. And Mike will leave no stone unturned.
Long Live King Midas!
6
What Centrist really means is do absolutely nothing about anything, would not want to upset their corporate masters.
12
It was and remains Kamala Harris. Bring her back!
1
As a NYT subscriber it pains me to see its pathetic attempts to block Bernie Sanders in the name of an electability, that the editors seem not to have a clue about. The last insult to our intelligence is suggesting a NY billionaire as an alternative to Trump. Why would the American voters chose a Bloomberg against a president that can already claim a relatively good economy for the wealthiest segments of society? Candidates such Sanders, Buttigieg and Warren have something substantial to say and can create excitement among a sizeable number of progressive supporters, which seems to be the best ingredient to win an election. It appears evident since the weird double endorsement of Warren an Klobuchar (which was a torpedo for Sanders and Warren), the NYT is actively supporting Trump's re-election.
24
“ Moderate” Democrats want to elect Mike Bloomberg, a Republican billionaire, rather than face the music and bend to the will of the people by returning to the original values of the Democratic Party, the party of FDR who himself would have been labeled “ a socialist today, having ushered in The New Deal consisting of not only bank reform and regulation(overturned by Clinton) to ensure there wouldn’t be a repeat of the Great Depression, Social Security and the beginning of safety nets for average Americans and most importantly perhaps he created the WPA to fight the effects of the Great Depression, rebuilding America, literally, the “ moderate Democrats under President Obama choose to bail out Wall Street bankers and continue the wars in the Middle East to weaken enemies of our “ allies” Israel. The choice is simple do you want to continue the programs benefiting the rich and our Israeli friends, if so vote for Bloomberg, if you want to rebuild America and resurrect Americas Middle Class case is clear vote for Bernie Sanders and personally I would love to have Liz Warren as his running mate.
19
"United we stand; divided we fall" is not just a us-versus-them slogan. It means the majority in the middle always outnumber the polar end of the spectrum but the former are to scatter to counter the smaller band of true believers. Bernie may have heart but being the mirror opposite of Trump makes him a danger to a lot of innocent people. If you listen to his rhetoric, after saying the Democrats should be united to fight Trump and the brain washed Republicans, he immediately demonizes the well-to-do, irrespective of how these people make their riches. Demonization is the hallmark of a fanatic leader.
Yet, the Dems are too self-regarded to give the truly capable a chance by watering down the support. Perhaps Biden could give S Carolina one more shot. If he still fails, he should withdraw and throw his support behind someone. It is doubtful he would support Bernie
Have not the good people of the US had enough of the consequences of rich men running for public office? Running for public office requires a grounding in public service - which Michael Bloomberg may have had to a limited degree as Mayor of New York City BUT there is one Democratic candidate who leaves Michael Bloomberg in the shade when it comes to a commitment to public service and that is two time congress woman, military service veteran and current Major in the National Guard, Tulsi Gabbard. Listen to her speech from Sunday night before the Democratic Caucus in Hew Hampshire for further proof of her suitability to not only lead the Democrats but take on the incumbent POTUS.
1
Why is it that Trump, who has no boundaries when attacking absolutely anyone for anything that might damage Trump in any way never, ever attacks Bernie Sanders? Think about it.
4
Why is Bloomberg the de facto "savior"? Why not one of the centrist candidates who has been getting votes?
3
I like Mike. Bernie is tanking compared to 2016 and in a brokered convention, which is what this looks to be, Bernie won’t even have as many delegates as 2016 to get toothless policy platforms. DNC should shakeup NOW to people with actual experience in winning seats (Terry McAuliffe where are you?) so we can concentrate on defeating Trump, swinging the Senate and preserving the House and hopefully bringing some new state houses into the fold.
2
Amazing, the circle of candidates, like players of poker, all bluffing hands, while there is one who has the cards- true experience, political skills necessary for the rebuilding. Joe Biden waged into a campaign with a relaxed manner, but he is in a war being fought with aggressive machines , think Blitzkrieg. Can America's best hope for recovery, now hope to recover? He engineered the Country out of an economic breakdown and put together coalitions to keep America strong. We must respect his vision for a rebuilding, rather than look for firebrand revolution, for now. Pair him with Warren for the necessary work to be done restraining corporations. Elect an executive and a potential executive that are populists, not Populists likening toTrump.
2
Please, not Bloomberg.
Every time the Dems try and pick who they think is "electable" they lose. Kerry was supposed to be a slam dunk, but the very thing people counted on--a decorated veteran just as our military response to 9/11 was kicking in--became his Achilles heel. On the other hand, who would have thought a young, inexperienced man, a black man with a name that was completely unelectable, would prevail over a respected war hero on McCain?
Let the people, not so-called strategists and billionaires, pick. The party needs a bit of catharsis first--to decide what we stand for--to be rocking in November. Family drama is messy but a necessary process. Let the people lead the way.
20
Does anyone remember 2016? How is Bloomberg any different from Clinton aside from being far more overtly racist and an even more passionate defender of Wall Street and privilege? Bloomberg is like an amalgamation of every loosing candidate from both parties--a bit Romney, a bit HRC--yet even less authentic and likable. He is the perfect foil for Trump who will be able to portray himself, again, as the underdog outsider embattled by the wealthy coastal elites. Trump will absolutely destroy Bloomberg. Conventional wisdom is dead. The Democratic party establishment needs to wake up. There is a candidate running for the nomination who has actual grassroots support and supports policies that actually help people. Has anyone learned ANYTHING from the past four years?
17
Amen.
Party panic is in full force, showing what they truly stand for — and it ain’t the people.
6
This is why we lost to Trump. Establishment democrats are out of touch with the American people. Sanders can win against Trump. The Democratic Party, New York Times and the rest of the centrist elite is scared of Sanders because they are worried he won’t fall in line. Get over it!
25
@Sherry Mitchell-Bruker Iam so sick and tired of all the attacks on “the coastal elites” and “the media elites”. There is a reason “some people” say there is a similarity in the the Sanders supporters andt the trump supporters. We saw this my way or the highway last election. Just stop.
3
@lori and......we lost. Let’s go OUR way-the way MOST voters want to go. And see what happens. Could be different!
Mike "throw them agains the wall" Bloomberg will NEVER win the presidency. The truth of his racist, sexist, elitist world view will keep voters like me and many others at home if the democrats insist he is the party savior and nominate him.
While Donald Trump and his supporters are in the minority they are very mobile in supporting their candidate. Bloomberg might be able to buy his way on to the ticket but he will never mobilize the electorate. Hillary actually won the popular vote, Bloomberg will loose by a landslide.
I have been a Warren supporter from early on and am discouraged that a practical woman is still such a long shot, I have also donated to Amy Klobuchar and I would definitely vote for Sanders. If the party puts Biden, Buttigieg or Bloomberg on the ticket I stay home.
11
It is hard to see how Bloomberg gets elected. Stop-and-frisk is anathema to Democrats, and his strong anti-gun measures a deadly flaw in the general. I don't see a path.
Furthermore, the Democratic Party's string pulling to get him a place on the debate stage may boomerang. Bloomberg's control of the airwaves has led to his ascent; facing the music from his adversaries face-to-face may do him in.
4
Bill Clinton and the corporate Democrats of the 80' and 90's, of which Delaware Joe Biden is their king, are as much to blame for the plight of the working class as the Republicans. It's time to give up on trickle down and tax the wealthy, it was done in the 40's & 50's and, the American middle class was born. The same guys who sold you trickle down are now telling you the tax money you PAID into the system is some how a government handout and they are going to cut it back and feed that money into the "defense department", code for greatest slush fund ever.
Enough with welfare for the rich and rugged individualism for the rest of us, tax the wealthy, rebuild or infrastructure, educate our children, create a 21st Century world and stop living in the past!
19
Shame on the media for assigning alarmist headlines ... “if it bleeds it leads”. There is a way to “report” vs opine. Our Republic is crumbling under Trump and the way to rescue it is not to demonize Democratic contestants in order to reap headlines. As all of the viable Dem candidates have said, they will support whoever ultimately is chosen by the people. As far as progressive vs moderate, they will ultimately merge.
I remember how Hillary was drifting right of center when Bernie entered the race in 2016. His presence woke the party up and it balanced more toward its historical liberal roots. The whole purpose of a primary is to bring out the best of the best in order to craft a winning platform to serve ALL Americans.
Please don’t turn the primaries into a bloodbath that kills our chances of protecting our nation, its law and its order against the threat of further damage by Trump simply to have dramatic headlines. Words matter, and the media should remember that while many words are close relatives, each has its own nuance. That is why the dictionary is so thick!
12
Pontificating about the healthy competition among Democratic contenders for the presidency and presenting it as "fracturing of the party" amounts to bickering about how to rearrange the deck chairs while the ship is sinking. In the face of Trump's blunt escalating authoritarianism and Republicans letting it happen and even approving of it, the people need to coalesce behind the Democratic nominee, no matter who it turns out to be. Each and any one of them will respect the law and the Constituion and serve the country instead of exploiting it like Trump and his enablers. Hold your nose if you must, but vote against decline into authoritarianism and ultimately, Fascism. The way the French did when they rejected Marine LePen. The DNC leadership and the most fervent Sanders supporters had better understand that as well. These are no ordinary times.
3
Everyone seems to think that Bloomberg as a billionaire is competent. He is competent in drubbing money and helping his friends.
During his tenure as mayor, he left vital systems to rot. Public housing went into severe deterioration and we are now dealing with this disaster. He left the water system pipes to rot and we are now dealing with this disaster. He closed fire companies in the midst of a population surge, and we are now dealing with this disaster. Leaving a mess behind you is not a sign of competence. It isn't a sign of being a moderate. The term is misused on Bloomberg. He is just another rich guy who doesn't care about most of us.
10
I must say that the Republicans are political geniuses and I suspect they get expert guidance from the Russians. They succeeded in demonizing Hillary Clinton, someone who had extensive governmental experience and was never convicted of anything, to the point where she is now something of a pariah in Democratic circles. I think her current reputation has even made it a bit harder for other women to reach the Presidency.
They have also succeeded in portraying Sanders as some wild-eyed radical, when all of his objectives for the American people would be perfectly normal and noble in any other civilized society. But here in perverted America, centrist Democrats and independents have been brainwashed by the GOP-Russia alliance into thinking Sanders will somehow destroy the country as they normalize the evil that is coming from the current White House. Mainstream media’s portrayal of Sanders has helped this cause, perhaps intentionally, as owners fear paying more corporate and personal taxes under a Sanders administration.
Bernie would make a fine President. But as they did in 2016, the GOP-Russia alliance is combining with the corporatist wing of the Democratic Party to remove that choice from the voters, replacing it with, at best, the most conservative Democrat or, at worst, more years with Trump.
7
Let the process play out. No rush to judgement. True democracy. And then we wage earner.The blue wave . Shoulder to shoulder pushing OUR candidate to victory. BLUE NO MATTER WHO!
4
Hello?
Aren't more people voting or caucusing for Sanders?
Doesn't that mean something?
Might it be that it means that's who a majority, (or at least a plurality at this stage), want?
Shouldn't we respect what voters want?
Please Louise.
7
I very much agree with Sanders, but alas I feel Americans are not ready for the shift he proposes. Middle Americans are too weighed down by defensive prejudices and habits to dare or even understand how good it would be to go his way. His nomination would almost guarantee 4 more years of Trump and McConnell whom many of us consider to be the most anti-American team ever elected.
Bloomberg is tho only one who has a chance of winning over Trump and his handlers.
2
@Luc
Luc, be strong and stand by your convictions. If everyone who supported Bernie wasn't afraid to vote for him, his numbers would probably double. We ran this experiment in 2016. HRC was the centrist favorite. She was the nominee and she lost. Trump is an unconventional president and we need an unconventional candidate to beat him. Let's nominate someone who actually stands up for working people! Nominate Bloomberg and Trump wins.
7
From faraway Europe, this looks like a replay of the UK general election:
1- centrist approach are rejected to be not "good enough".
2- long time radical candidate gets the nomination and is the hope of the young generation.
3- election time: radical candidate takes a beating.
4- conservative populists wins and are free to roll out their ideas backed up by popular vote
5- radical youth loses faith in democracy.
This is a nasty path toward the normaization of authoritarian regimes.
1
@Manu The two situations are not comparable. Corbyn ignored the real discontent felt by the working classes which the conservatives used for their own ends. The US has no Brexit-like situation that Trump can manipulate, and Bernie has genuine support among the working classes cutting across party lines.
5
@Manu, any attempt to compare the recent election in the UK to the upcoming US election is a stretch.
But such a comparison fails utterly when you don’t even consider Brexit, the most important issue in the election.
The Labor party was trounced because it had no strong position on Brexit and the Conservatives did. That has zero to do with American politics.
3
Certainly Mike Bloomberg is a better candidate than Bernie Sanders for president. Bernie would destroy our robust economy. But will progressives and activists especially the young lineup to vote for a 78 year old Billionaire, one who did not really play by the rules of this election cycle.
2
Our “robust economy” does not provide any advantage for most Americans. Most people do not have any stake in the stock market. Most people are hurting because jobs are unstable and wages are low.
2
Who are the moderate Democrats? Most are upper middle-class, white men who fear paying taxes for the 50-million uninsured, underpaid, working class, women who are desperate for healthcare, education and decent earnings. I have heard enough fear and panic that “oh Bernie cannot beat Trump,” which is code for “I don’t want to pay fair taxes, or grant women fair earnings.” Check the data: In 2016 primaries, Bernie beat Trump in the key states where Hillary lost electoral votes.
At least the Goldman Sachs ex-CEO had the courage to express his fear for “our economy.” By “our” I don’t think he was being terribly patriotic, just narcissistic like the guy in the White House who has given him the tax break of a lifetime. The majority of Bernie donors are women. The majority of working class members are women. This is an issue of patriarchy and greed, We women are tired of paying the price for your wealth and privilege. Yes, someday a woman president would be fine, but right now I will trade her for healthcare, education, and decent pay.
So quit the phony drama about socialism versus capitalism. It’s a simple mixed-economy, you know like the European economies largely designed by Franklin Roosevelt. We women do not fear Trump; he’s the same kind of patriarchal lout we’ve been dealing with for years. Time for you men to stop worshipping the Bloomberg fantasy that he could purchase women’s votes so you do not have to pay fair taxes.
10
Trump is already calling Sanders a communist, and anhyone who takes the healthcare system AWAY is dead. No, I don't mean Trump, I mean Sanders. Wake up folks! I would be fine with left leaning progressive ideas, but its not gonna happen. Do you prefer Trump tyranny to Bloomberg democracy and progressive ideals? Really?
5
@Susan being stopped and frisked in the street is democratic and not tyrannical? I guess I misunderstood democracy.
4
A lot of people here sure are in a lather over an apparently inconsequential man who apparently can't win.
4
Centrist Dems don't understand that they, and their wishywashy and cowering DINO governance, is why the GOP dominates them. In areas of most importance, such as reckless military spending and adventurism, endless tax cuts for the rich and monopolies, total surveillance, and support for fossil fuels, they offer little or no resistance to the far Right that Trump leads.
So centrist Dems are responsible for Trump and don'y want to admit or deal with it.
4
Centrist Republicans wanted to stop trump. They were not surer who could.
Look how that turned out.
1
Bloomberg is just the obverse of the current White House occupant with the veneer of behavioral polish. His policies are implemented as "my way or the highway." He is not a supporter of workers or labor. He is anti-public education and teacher empowerment. And I am not so sure that his "come to Jesus" moment in African-American churches about "stop and frisk" is sincere. He lives in a townhouse bubble and doesn't like intrusions on his comforts, thoughts, desires, attitudes and what his astounding wealth can buy. And, for the record, I am no supporter of Bernie who I can't believe is allowed to run as a Democrat just because he changes party affiliations at his convenience, as does Bloomberg.
A vote for Sanders is a vote for Trump. Remember Adlai Stevenson in the 50s who lost to Eisenhower twice? Democrats, please learn from your mistakes. Going far left will not work with Independents and it will not win the election.
4
@Susan but we don't live in a prosperous post-war decade. Or is it still the 50s?
1
@Susan Yes, learn from your mistake! The Dems nominated a conventional centrist candidate in 2016 and lost. Conventional wisdom is dead. This is not the 1950s. You may not like Bernie, but please look at the national polls that just came out last week: he leads among all other candidates with independent voters. Please look it up. Don't vote for Bernie if you don't like him, but don't pretend that Mike Bloomberg--possibly the most racist and out of touch candidate ever--is somehow going to beat Trump. Learn from your mistakes! Bloomberg is Gore, Kerry, Romney, and HRC but worse than any of them.
2
It is un-American for a Party to "want to stop" any candidate.
The whole point of our country is that the people choose their representatives and their president.
Whoever wins the most votes in these primaries, will be the people's choice.
And will be proven the most electable.
5
I'm sending my absentee ballot to California and I'm casting my vote for Bloomberg. I'm a big Elizabeth Warren fan and hope she gets the VP slot. But it will take a huge, wealthy, tough, savvy, fearless beast to slay the hydra headed monster in the Oval Office. I think Bloomberg can do it. And I think he's got the right values to fight the battles ahead.
3
@Rose Levinson
You're wasting your vote. By the time the CA primary rolls around, there is a very good chance that Warren will have dropped out, and your vote will be moot. Why not wait to see who the real, remaining candidates are?
I'm really worried about this biased coverage of the NY Times towards Mr. Sanders.
It is extremely deconstructive to use the term "socialist" in a very bad way to alarm the readers of a possible threat to democracy or associate Sanders to a "communism", which is even worse and unfair to him.
If the writer of the article had the audacity to think outside of the box and hypothetically placed Sanders in Finland, Sweden or even The Netherlands, he would only be a moderate candidate. Why? Because what he is proposing already exists there: free public schools and universities, a public health care system that covers everyone and higher taxation applied to the wealthier people.
What I'm really impressed is that probably the authors of this article already know about what I've mentioned above. Social democracy is NOT socialism or communism, and they know that! Hence, either they are hiding the truth with words or intentionally misguiding the readers into fear.
The article is clearly endorsing Mr. Bloomberg, when by now the Democrats should start fueling Mr. Sanders's campaign in order to beat Mr. Trump in the elections to come.
7
... and Bloomberg is tough, gentle, compassionate, shrewd, flexible, intelligent: he and his team can restore the US standing abroad and at home.
3
Stop the hysteria and hand wringing over electability. Things will shake themselves out.
4 years ago the Republicans were in the same position and, somehow, with a little help from Russia, they were able to get their nominee elected.
3
It's confusing, if Establishment/DNC Dems actually wants to win this year, unlike in 2016, then why are they repeating themselves in alienating Progressive members of their own party? Last time around, that's what happened, only to be followed by the DNC's 'chosen candidate' and her sycophants bellowing at us, to "Vote Blue No Matter Who", and the majority of us did vote for 'their' candidate. So, why when a Progressive candidate has the possibility of capturing the nomination, do Establishment types abandon this same principle? It makes me think the DNC actually does not want to win.
7
One thing can be said for this NYTimes article, you're doing a good job at stressing out and mudding the waters for the Democratic electorate. Most readers are fully aware of the Democratic candidates views. We're not ignorant to recognize that Bernie Sander's far left and out-of-touch with traditional views of democracy nor our we unaware that middle-of-the road means treading water for several more years. But the Times and other news media continued pessimistic reporting of the chances to dumping Trump are stressing the public. Stop! Please find away to report news that is fair, balanced and not counter productive to the possibility that "no more four years" for Trump.
1
Maybe the Democrats should have a primary and decide who the best candidate should be. It probably would be something if a chaotic mess, but it's a lot better than fantasies about some magical declaration of unity from a higher power. Let's try to focus on the policies, character, and principles of the candidates instead of imaginary fears and blinding storms of wokeness.
170
is amazing, the circle of candidates, like players of poker, all bluffing hands, while there is one who has the cards- true experience, political skills necessary for the rebuilding. Joe Biden waged into a campaign with a relaxed manner, but he is in a war being fought with aggressive machines , think Blitzkrieg. Can America's best hope for recovery, now hope to recover? He engineered the Country out of an economic breakdown and put together coalitions to keep America strong. We must respect his vision for a rebuilding, rather than look for firebrand revolution, for now. Pair him with Warren for the necessary work to be done restraining corporations. Elect an executive and a potential executive that are populists, not Populists like Trump.
3
@Lon Newman "Let's try to focus on the policies, character, and principles of the candidates..."
It's clear that the DNC is running a campaign like it's 2016 to simply appear less odious than Trump, rather than any of that.
Good one, I needed laugh!
7
@Is this article motivated me to send another check to Bernie, never the DNC.
13
It appears that the moderate power structure of the Democratic party will fight harder against Bernie Sanders than they will against Donald Trump.
4
Sad the DNC keeps insisting on centrists. A centrist dem is just a republican lite. The pendulum has swung so far right over the last forty years since Reagan that we need a hardcore progressive to drag the country back to even close to center. A centrist will simply maintain the status quo which the voting public does not want.
4
It is amazing, the circle of candidates, like players of poker, all bluffing hands, while there is one who has the cards- true experience, political skills necessary for the rebuilding. Joe Biden waged into a campaign with a relaxed manner, but he is in a war being fought with aggressive machines , think Blitzkrieg. Can America's best hope for recovery, now hope to recover? He engineered the Country out of an economic breakdown and put together coalitions to keep America strong. We must respect his vision for a rebuilding, rather than look for firebrand revolution, for now. Pair him with Warren for the necessary work to be done restraining corporations. Elect an executive and a potential executive that are populists, not Populists likening toTrump.
Democrats who support their Bernie must learn a lesson from the general election in the UK last December.
Boris Johnson secured a majority in Parliament, because his Conservative party smashed Labour's “Red Wall” and won seats in 24 constituencies they have never held before. People in traditional Labour heartlands in the Midlands and north-eastern England, and Wales voted Tory for the first time in decades, because they were persuaded by Johnson’s campaign slogaln – “get Brexit done.”
Their Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn reminds of Sanders – both are faces of the populist left, critical of capitalism and the neoliberal consensus. But young voters fall for these two angry and grumpy old men.
There are many reasons for Corbyn’s disastrous performance in the last election, which may not all apply to Sanders's case.
Nevertheless not all Labour voters support Corbyn's radical agenda with higher public spending, sweeping nationalisation and taxes on the wealthy. But he himself wasn’t viewed as a credible leader –even on issues like health care where his policy approach resonated with a lot of the public.
It shows that it takes more than social ideology to win a general election.
2
On the issues I align with Sanders and Warren, but I simply don't believe that either can win. Both are predicating their candidacies on a very large surge of voter support, but the November election is going to be a nail-biter, just like most presidential elections. And both are urging us left liberals to attack the right head-on, as if all it takes is nerve. Sorry, that's just bad judgment -- folly. Biden is folding and (in my view) never was a strong candidate. Buttigieg? He's a smooth talker in a nice suit. That leaves me with Klobuchar, whom I'd be happy to support. You can't pick a president on ideology alone. The next Democratic president will have to adapt to the opportunities that exist in the real world: Medicare for all is a very heavy lift. He or she will have to try to pull the country together; the MAGA crowd will be enraged. I don't think Sanders or Warren can do it, and Buttigieg is, to me, an enigma. Klobuchar has the experience to handle complex political situations and the ability, which is quite rare, to reach voters on a very wide spectrum.
1
Please STOP IT with the Bernie fear. We need a president with big ideas, and he has them. I know so many people (including myself) who are ready for a Green New Deal, people who are educated, passionate, and ready to get to work for the benefit of the planet and all her inhabitants. Bernie is not going to break anything, and he certainly is the needed antidote after this extended nightmare.
That being said, I am convinced that the DNC is going to do everything in their power, including playing dirty, to make Bernie disappear and place Bloomberg as the candidate. Because in our culture, a wealthy white man still owns what is perceived as the truth. BUT, I hope we can break that sad part of our system.
3
It’s not much of an election if we just vote for DNC’s preferred candidate. Maybe there’d be less anxiety if they embraced democracy. I’m a bit tired by how there’s usually only one candidate left by the time voting reaches my state
3
He doesn’t need to be stopped. He can beat Trump. How many of the same people, who are saying he can’t win, said Trump couldn’t win.
3
The Democratic leadership is doing a great injustice to the American people by excluding Bloomberg from the debates. Bloomberg is the only one that you cannot put into any one category. Whether it is the left, right or middle agenda he will chose whatever is the best for America.
You will see Bloomberg will gradually rise to win the Democratic ticket and Trump is no math for Bloomberg. In every category Bloomberg rises head and shoulders above the rest, including Trump.
When the American president is in the White House in a cabinet meeting he listens to and follows the advice from his experts on different topics. Guess with Bloomberg as president who will be the biggest expert on business, foreign and domestic policies? He is an accomplished and proven beyond doubt,the best possible candidate for the White House for the present times and even past recent times.
I have a patented presidential rating test. Bloomberg passes ahead of even Obama.
A Gallup Poll on Tuesday, the New Hampshire Primary day, showed 76% of Democrsts and 45% of Independents would vote for Sanders.
Democrats must back someone who can beat Trump. None of the other Democratic contenders have Sanders' popularity, an army of supporters or his war chest.
And NOW, centrists and the DNC are seriously thinking of turning to a long-time Republican billionaire, who started "Stop and Frisk" in New York, is buying, instead of earning, a place on the ticket and is a self-declared "rule-breaker"?!
What possible familiarity with the lives of the poor and middle class could Bloomberg have, what empathy could he feel for the 99%, so remote from him?
Did the DNC learn nothing from 2016, when, again, Bernie had the most support, but chose the disliked, distrusted Clinton. She had name recognition and was a centrist.
Voters stayed home in droves rather than chose from the two offensive candidates.
Democrats need a candidate who will work for them and can relate to them. They need Sanders.
2
As much as I like some of the ideas in Sanders' and Warrens' policies (particularly financial regulation and health care policies), this is not the time to try to push these ideas into the mainstream due to the imperative of getting rid of Trump. As an educated eastern elite, I support the need to rebuild a middle class in the US and reduce the power of the white male oligarchs to continue stealing the parirmony of our country, but the only way to start down this road is to beat Trump. We must be pragmatic and nominate the best available team to lead the ticket and provide a chance to pull more Democrats into the House and Senate. Any of the centrists could do this, but only Bloomberg has the breadth and depth of executive experience in both the public and private sectors to start rebuilding the country in the image of the founders. Sure, Bloomberg has issues as do all of the candidates, but all of their issues collectively do not come close to the problems with Trump who poses an existential threat to our democracy. Lets keep our eye on the ball of saving the country and then start rebuilding it.
1
I think we should pay more attention to Pete. Despite there being numerous other moderates, Pete’s neck in neck with Bernie. Bernie has done worse this year than 2016 and he has a hard ceiling of about 30%. I think Pete could be a very credible candidate.
Nevertheless, at this point I have no preference and I don’t want to play this “Can this person beat trump” game. We need to celebrate the rich menu of candidates, and eventually vote for the nominee. That’s what matters.
Why does any candidate need to be "stopped"? How about one of the other candidates simply come up with a more compelling vision.
3
The last 48 hours shows that the identity of a democratic
winner is massively less important than ridding ourselves
of Trump. I'm seriously worried about what the
country is going to look like when it's handed to our next
(not-already-impeached) president.
1
Trump has proven that he beats Centrist Democrats.
recap
open seat, was prohibitive favorite, every other advantage that the establishment can give. Was Identified as the ultimate in centrist Democrat
LOST to Trump
I would like to win, but maybe the Democrats will game themselves into nominating a republican instead.
Those who don't learn from their mistakes......
2
Centrist should look at the data and momentum and back Sanders. If they keep trying to derail him it'll only help Trump
1
After just seeing just the title of this piece, I had one answer...
Bloomberg.
He is a moderate, with good policies, and is willing to admit when he's been wrong. My biggest concern with any candidate is big business. Yes, they have more than their fair share of wealth, but they also make this country hum and have had a great ride under Trump. We can't afford to totally alienate them all at once.
If Democrats expect to win, we need to elect someone who will be savvy, and acceptable, to the most people - and who can stand up to Trump in a debate and the run up to the election. Bernie has a huge following but his base needs to realize that a Democratic White House, House, and Senate need to be achieved before any of this plans can ever be. Because he thinks it, doesn't mean it's going to happen, especially in today's climate of partisanship.
But no matter who the Democratic nominee is, please, please vote!
I don’t want a moderate, they don’t get anything done. This country needs substantive reform.
1
Don't be so sure about Sanders getting destroyed in the electoral college. Here in the "Alabama" region of Pennsylvania, Bernie's message resonates with white, working-class voters who are so-called Reagan Democrats. Winning PA is crucial to EC win.
3
Bernie Sander’s social democratic policies are not a threat to American society. It’s a policy that has prevailed in Scandinavia for a century and made the Nordic countries the most just, equal and humane societies in the world. Of course these societies are not perfect, but all the major issues, that Americans are still fighting over, have been fought over and solved: Health care for all, parental leave, childcare, good education for all children regardless of zip code, public universities, etc. Yes, you pay for this through your taxes, but you don’t get a $40.000 bill after giving a birth to a child like my daughter got recently.
Trump sure is a threat to American democracy, but if Democrats let Bloomberg run will not save it,it will mark the end of it: the primary votes of the voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and the other states where Bloomberg was not on the ballot would be voided.
Is this where American society wants to go?
3
DNC threw every D-List Democrat they could into the race to water down support for Bernie Sanders.
Now they have a bunch of D-List candidates with Bernie on top holding 25-30% of the vote, and no dominant moderate emerging amongst the crowd.
Democrats need to accept the fact the General Election can't be won without embracing Progressive candidates and their younger, talented and enthusiastic electorate.
4
Spot on. Victory by subtraction in this stage of the Presidential race almost ensures failure in Nov. The Democratic electorate as a whole needs to look at the cumulative results of the first two contests as signaling that they want a more moderate standard-bearer. The candidates representing the center need to acknowledge that their division of the vote will all but assure the unintended outcome. Accordingly, some are going to have to make personal sacrifices for the good of the party (and country) overall by shifting their support to one who can consolidate the moderate lane. Such sacrifice will be a true act of courage and patriotism. But as the authors argue, time is of the essence.
2
I don't trust in the Democratic establishment, because also at the Barack Obama first election they were against him and made many moves to try let Ms Clinton win, the same moves they are trying now against Mr Sanders.
I think that the Democratic establishment likes rich contenders and so makes the same politics as Republicans, so if we let us convince from them, we will have a Democratic party which is a carbon copy of the GOP, making so no difference voting Democrat or Republican and reducing the will to vote of the Democrats.
Primaries are instead a mean to find the Democratic candidate who can beat the Republican one, and this person is the one who gets more votes in the Primaries, not the one who is preferred by the Democratic establishment, which should respect the rules and not try to get down the possible winner, but respecting the popular vote and respecting the winning candidate, independently how much rich supporters he/she has.
13
This is over the top, really.
Sanders received 26 percent of the vote Tuesday.
If anything, the field is as it was on January 1--awash with three or four candidates that don't have enough support to get over the top--stuck at 26 percent.
6
It's surprising that Senator Klobuchar is mentioned so late in this article after her strong surge in NH, and after the Times itself endorsed her. What's up with that?
13
She doesn't have a chance in the progressive west coast states.
1
Overseas, it’s baffling to see articles pleading the case that Sanders is unelectable. Trump getting elected means that these days anyone is electable in the United States; it’s clearly possible that a character from ‘Sesame Street’ could run and win.
32
@Mark W
No, Americans like to have promises made that speak to them. Trump did this. He lied of course, but he was the champion of the forgotten blue collar worker. Sanders says he's going to take things away like healthcare, to bring something better but first to take things away. Between policies like that, and Sanders being labelled a communist, I doubt he has any chance at all.
@Mark W
If you're overseas, you really can't get a complete picture of what's going on here. The economy is perceived as good. Trump is an incumbent, and incumbents tend to get te-elected.There will be gerrymandering and voter suppression because the Repubs cheat, not to mention their very effective smear machine. Trump's approval rating is up after he was "acquitted" of impeachment. The corrupt Repub Senate keeps changing the rules and moving the goal posts. Bernie is a great leader of the progressive movement but he is an ideologue to Trump's demogogue, and both have toxic, cultlike followers who turn the rest of us off. I like Bernie personally and am glad he has brought the Dems farther left, but most Americans are more conservative, as is reflected in his only getting 25% of the vote. He has promised high turnout but so far, his numbers are lower than 2016.
Moderates are right to be concerned about his ability to beat Trump, and the rest of the field isn't looking good either. This country is extremely polarized and the Dems are embroiled in internecine squabbles. Of course, I will gladly vote for Bernie or anyone over Trump. But there are many people who dislike Trump but will still vote for him because they don't see a viable Democratic alternative. It's just not as simple as saying that anyone can beat Trump. I wish it were! The Repubs and Trump are going to go to any length to win, and they will be formidable opponents.
And yet, the candidate who gave the American people the finger by sticking to the narrative that the lack of freedom and unconscionable brutality of life for almost every American, without acknowledging what has been .stolen. from us... lost to 45. 45 is a powerful foe. We cannot underestimate his effectiveness at messaging. The candidate who tells the truth is the only one who can beat him.
The article talks about nervousness about the ascendence of Sanders among the Democratic party leadership but when these leaders are identified, they tend to be the black caucus, the most conservative segment of the party. Thus we see again the inherent contradiction of a party for whom racial politics is paramount. The leftmost progressives insist on deferring to the approval of black voters, who disagree with every other policy issue the left holds dear. Biden, the most retrograde and feeblest of mind, has had the most black support but isnt cutting it with anyone else; clearly, black support is not enough for electability. The other leading candidates, perfectly good and more progressive, are considered unacceptable for their lack of black support. So there's a problem.
12
I just do not understand why they cannot go with the will of the people!
23
Because the system is rigged by the DNC machine and moneyed interests.
1
Because 25 percent of the vote is not "the will of the people". Millions of people voted for Hillary over Bernie last time, but I guess only progressives are allowed to be "the people".
1
Because 25 percent of the vote is not "the will of the people". Millions of people voted for Hillary over Bernie last time, but I guess only progressives are allowed to be "the people".
1
Though Bernie has the most of the good policies to work towards curing the American malaise, Bloomberg may actually win against trump.
Will Bloomberg be more of the same, with bits of sticking plaster here and there? Would like to hear from other readers.
At least Bloomberg is not venal and corrupt, and he has excellent beliefs and policies on gun control, urban development, education and climate - and has put a lot of his own money where his mouth is.
9
@Prof Dr Ramesh Kumar Biswas
Sir, Bloomberg, aside from the fact that he is a REPUBLICAN, BLOOMBERG is no time running a campaign to save America, Mr. Bloomberg is running a campaign to massage his considerable ego and disrupt the momentum of Bernie Sanders, he and other enormously wealthy people are horrified at the prospect of a Sanders victory, they might actually be forced to pay taxes again. BTW Professor Mr. Sanders positions represent what the old Democratic Party stood for , it has slowly morphed into a party for the well heeled and special interests, Donald Trump was elected because he promised. Radical change to a broken system, unfortunately President Trump did not fulfill his promises, but rest assured Bernie will, there are millions more of us, those either left behind by the unbridled capitalism that has taken over our economy or those of us who lookin the mirror and around the world at the chaos and misery we have created in-the name of a “ war on terror” and wish to end this, not only for our sake but for the sake of Europe, being overrun by refugees fleeing ill conceived wars we started for special interests and resulting in a swing to the right, indeed Bernie Sanders is fighting to save the last vestiges of America’s Democracy.
2
@Prof Dr Ramesh Kumar Biswas
Bloomberg has promoted a lot of progressive policy like gun control, dealing with climate change etc. etc. Read today's editorial by Thomas Friedman, it nails it.
Plan B. Leaping from the Frying Pan into the Inferno of Desperation
In early January, Representative Gregory Meeks of New York offered an off-the-cuff assessment of the Democratic race: Should Mr. Biden wheeze in the early states, many in the party would turn to Mr. Bloomberg as a Plan B.
6
Give Bernie a chance ! Would have been nice to watch him go toe to toe with the Don four years ago! Would have done no worse than Hillary.
24
Bernie beats Trump. And as soon as even more Americans realize what has been .stolen. from them, Sanders will have the mandate we all need to unite the world to address our common enemy m of climate change will getting us all livable wage jobs that create dignity of work and social justice with the GND.
“Unless a moderate favorite soon emerges, party leaders may increasingly look to Michael R. Bloomberg as a potential savior.”
This is a disturbing thought! A potential savior from what? The will of the people, perhaps?
29
Absolutely. The establishment isn't going to give up their power or their money.
1
@citizennotconsumer It's not long ago NeoLiberals were dissing Bernie calling him out as "not a Democrat" and dismissing him for "not having earned" the right to run in the Democratic primaries.
Now, this thinking seems to be tossed aside in their rush to embrace Billionaire Republican Bloomberg as it becomes increasingly apparent that DNC favorite and Republican Lite candidate Biden can't gain any traction and is fading fast.
DNC still refuses to accept that the electorate has shifted left and has rejected Clintonian policies and governance.
Utterly shocking DNC would resort to backing a Republican in their desperate attempts to cling to relevance.
Senator Sanders is the only real Democrat in the race.
2
@citizennotconsumer
Which people, and whose will? The early states are proving that the will of the people is more moderate. The progressives did not take the majority vote in Iowa or NH, nor did they take back the house in 2018, and more people voted for Hillary in the 2016 primary. I don't get why Bernie supporters don't acknowledge the facts or do the math. They're a lot like Trumpers, living in an alternate reality, and I say this as someone who may well vote for Bernie.
Hmm, the lead-in identifies Bloomberg as the centrist who can take on Trump? What about Klobuchar, no baggage that Trump and his minions can glom on to, a realistic program and impeccably honest and sensible, a salve for many wounds. And she’s no Mikey-come-lately either, been there since the get-go. Please please no McGover/Dukakis fiasco, we need to get this hateful and dangerous man out of the White House.
3
Sanders’ message is simple. He’s going after the billionaire-class. He doesn’t care if they’re a Republican or a Democrat, conservative or liberal. He’s going after Trump, Bloomberg, Bezos, Koch, Zuckerberg, Gates, Buffet, Musk, etc… He’s saying, “They need to pay up! Let’s make them do it!” This message will resonate with working-class, Midwestern voters and he will prove to be a formidable opponent to Trump. Democrats shouldn’t try to stop him. They should get behind him.
28
@Mark and the real reason they want to stop Bernie, since every poll for four years shows he would beat Trump. The real reason is they know he'll win, raise taxes on the rich, regulate business and provide for full employment in a sustainable economy .
They are against those things: stronger unions, health care and education for all. They don't want them. THATis why they want the Republican Bloomberg!
2
@mark I can’t agree with you more. Everyone needs to wake up and see that the USA is in peril right now and in the verge of losing its place in the world. If Bernie can be really really harsh with Trump on the debate stage and elsewhere talking about how he is destroying America (and we aren’t talking about the bubble of Wall Street). Then I think we have this thing. Beat a populist movement with another one. Good versus evil. I think EVERYONE knows who’s side Bernie is on.
1
@Mark It's not the Democrats you have to worry about, it's everyone else who will relentlessly apply the socialist label to Sanders, starting with Trump!
This is the same narrative the media used when the Republicans we're faced with Trump. In early 2016. However as a Centrist Democrat as much as I would prefer a different candidate, Sanders is not Trump.
10
Bloomberg is, simply, a better candidate than Biden or Sanders. He would have been better than HRC too. Mike and Pete would be a terrific ticket.
7
Two more neoliberals serving the special interests of the elite and special interests. You might as well just vote for Trump!
This liberal would rather have Trump
Interesting. First, the media push Biden and now Bloomberg. How about we just wait to see a few more primaries?
14
@The Hawk The media is not pushing Bloomberg. The fear of a second Trump term is pushing Bloomberg.
Why are party leaders deciding the nominee and not the voters.
15
@Richard: The party leaders can decide whom they support, but they cannot decide who the nominee will be. The rules about superdelegates that irked Sanders supporters so much, have been changed to diminish, but not totally obliterate, their outsize influence. But it is still the case that a figure like Trump would not have made it as the nominee and the presidency if the Republican party had had the same rules in 2016 as the Democratic party. There are pros and cons about the way the Democrats elect their nominee.
Because the system is rigged by the wealthy, elitist, neoliberals.
2
@Richard
The voters do decide, for the most part. Bernie does not have a majority of votes now and he didn't in 2016. In both cases, the "will of the people" was honored. The voters spoke, just not for Bernie.
1
Even if we have to hold our collective noses, we must vote no matter what. Anyone but Trump. No one can be worse than him. We can be picky later.
8
No way! Wall Street Pete and Billionaire Bloomberg are just like Trump.Trump will make mincemeat of them...he has serious baggage. The Democrats have already lost the General Election because except for Sanders, not one other candidate has a clear policy platform or can beat Trump.
Does Bloomberg have any policies ? Does the irony of the Democrats turning to a $billionaire to try to beat a man they said couldnt understand the concerns of ordinary people because he was "rich" escape them ?
Trump derangement syndrome does funny things to people.
12
Robert,
Of course Bloomberg has policies and they strike me as sensible, pragmatic and I believe would chime with most voters who took a few minutes to educate themselves.
I was a New York resident during the Bloomberg term and the city became safer, more diverse and attractive to global tourists (tax revenues).
I really do wish the whole bashing the billionaire thing would take a breath - the system that has been built by politicians and the courts in the US over decades has progressively squeezed out those without means from high office (with some exceptions).
The catch 22 is that those that need financial donations are “bought” and those that can self fund are “buying”.
At least vote for a self-made one with a demonstrable track record on funding gun-control, climate issues, gay and gender rights.
1
Affluenza of the establishment DINOs does equally funny things to people. It’s getting harder to perpetuate and control the messaging of the lie that sustains the myth that ‘moderates’ and nibbling around the edges of corruption is the best we can do.
1
@Robert lund: Yes, Bloomberg has clear policies, about climate change, gun control, public education, infrastructure spending, health care and income inequality. He puts his money where his mouth is and supports progressive causes with his money. He may be a billionaire, but he came from a modest background, unlike Trump, who was born rich and got the family wealth thrown in his lap, does not care about the poor, uses money intended for charity for himself, and as president, mooches excessively off tax payer money.
I was an Independent who switched to the Democrat Party this year. I did not know that they were against progressive candidates. I always thought whoever won the most votes, wins. Boy was I naive. Republicans are destroying themselves with their out and out corruption but I was not expecting that behavior from Democrats. Perhaps both parties are going extinct and we have to start new uncorrupt ones? Or is it the media that is corrupt? Very sad state of affairs in this country.
21
You nailed it! The DNC is totally corrupt and that is why the party lost to Trump. The conservative neoliberal politicians they support are reactionary and far from Progressive.
Yes and yes.
When New York Times pundits say "moderate Democrat" what they really mean is Republican Lite. They certainly have a right to their opinions, but they also have a duty to be honest with their descriptions.
20
Republican Lite? Huh? As a Center Left/Moderate Democrat, I not only resent that characterization but for the life of me can’t imagine how you came up with it. If was not progressives who took the House in 2018. And in fact they did badly across the ticket. Moderates elect Democrats.
Bernie Sanders is their choice whether the DNC wants it or not. The question is who will be his running mate?
10
Bernie is the clear choice if you’re ok with your candidate pandering to college kids. We don’t need someone to divide us further. We need someone who can heal this country. Bernie is not that person.
6
Not only is Sanders pandering to college kids, the bright hope of their parents and the Nation,he is pandering to people with chronic illnesses who can’t afford their prescription drugs and to families for whom one medical crisis may lead to bankruptcy. He is pandering to all those who want clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. He is pandering to those who are working two jobs at such low wages that they can barely afford rent and food.
He also points out that this “great economy “ ,that Trump brags about, is not serving those reduced to sleeping on the streets in our great cities,nor have we been able to repair our infrastructure. Maybe ,he points out, corporations ,like Amazon, should pay taxes to help their country pay its bills.
I feel privileged to vote for him.
2
Whoa. Slow down!. Sanders only won New Hampshire and not by very much by the way. And he was expected to win it and not so feebly. So he was “that” choice, period. Far from a majority of anything by a long shot.
If the DNC thinks that denying Bernie Sanders of what is clearly obvious, his wins, they will most definetly hand the presidency to Donald Trump for another 4 years.
Every cable news, main stream media is clearly demonstrating the fear and panic that the establishment Democrats are having because they clearly know the United States is ready and in need of change.
As for Mike Bloomberg, the fact that he is buying his way into the presidential race is nothing new; in fact, it is desperation. Such corruption, it is disgusting.
But, the more they keep pushing their hopes in someone centrist, a moderate candidate that can keep that cash flowing in, the DNC is in for a big rude awakening.
We, the people are tired of this sytem that only keeps working for the wealthy elite, 1%.
Change is coming and it is here.
We need medicare for all. We need people first, over profits.
Bernie Sanders will bring democracy back.
Unlike Trump and the senate republicans who've dismantled all that was left of our decaying democracy.
Bernie Sanders will win the nomination, and his current wins are demonstrating that.
Bye bye Bloomberg. Buttiege, Warren, and Amy.
Sanders beats Trump.
19
@Virginia Please find your nearest Republican friend or neighbour and ask them this: if you had to vote for someone who wasn't Trump or a Republican, who would you pick? I guarantee you it won't be Bernie. In order to win this thing, we are going to need Republican and independent votes as well as Democrat.
A BIG NOPE to all of the above.
@Mark Crozier
Exactly right!!
So are the centrist Dems so afraid of a real progressive that they would rather have Trump for a second term? There is much evidence that Sanders can motivate many who rejected HRC and win handily. Do these centrists want to win, or to once again demonstrate their loyalty to the filthy money of the 1%?
14
The wealthy elitists who run the Democratic Party absolutely would rather have Trump for a 2nd term than Bernie.
@iskandrbeg: The way you argue your case, will surely motivate those moderate Democrats whom you accuse of loyalty to filthy money to vote for Sanders... I think not. Lecturing and chastising people doesn’t work all that well to get them on your side.
Encouraging Signs- Democrat Grandees have got their knickers in a twist
Within the Democratic establishment, the results have deepened a mood of anxiety and frustration: The collapse of Mr. Biden’s support in the first two states, and the fragmentation of moderate voters among several other candidates, allowed Mr. Sanders, a Vermont progressive, to claim a victory in New Hampshire and a split decision in Iowa with former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind
2
When you look at the data do the three moderates in the first two States not out poll Senator Sanders when combined?
Will people of color vote for Bloomberg?
If tv ads are enough to sway the voting public we really are simpletons.
5
One only need look at the current White House occupant to validate your last sentence.
So this newspaper rounds up a bunch of Sanders critics to trash him and his prospects against Trump but gives no perspective from the Sanders side.
So I guess it falls to your readers to provide some balance.
I'll start with this: Only Sanders (and Biden before he collapsed) can challenge Trump for the working-class voters in the rust-belt states where Hillary Clinton lost the presidency.
And this: The "most qualified presidential candidate in history" was a moderate who was unanimously backed by the Democratic Party Establishment. She lost to Trump.
11
The field of candidates appears weaker than 2016 Hilary. This is really scary and another 4 years of Trump could be a reality.
Maybe Bloomberg could unify this party that is having too many policy distractions. Who cares what policy is being debated, can't you just beat Trump?
3
this feels like summer of 16. Remember the Republican debate when Bill o rielly was confronting trump to his face and every person on stage was attacking him? first time I really thought Sanders could be president was not when he won Iowa, but when the DNC changed the rules to allow Bloomberg on. "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
11
And if Bloomberg doesn't work: "Unless a moderate favorite soon emerges, party leaders may increasingly look to Donald J. Trump as a potential savior."
5
“alarms Democratic Party leaders who view Mr. Sanders and his slogan of democratic socialism as wildly risky bets in a general election.”
I believe this should read: -
“alarms the corporate class and their enablers in the media at the prospect of a radical change of approach by Sanders Presidency who shall stop the Corporate Welfare State and give hope to all Americans.
11
I am a lifelong Democrat. I am a “never-Trumper”. I am successful entrepreneur and small business owner.
I predicted that Trump would win the nomination and the election, and was horrified when proven right.
I will not vote for Bernie Sanders.
I believe if he wins the nomination, he will lose the election, and the United States will be lost.
5
@William Breslow
If you will not vote for the democratic candidate who wins the votes of the majority of democrats in primaries, and will not support the candidate running against Trump, then you are not a democrat. You are a republican in disguise.
None of the Democrats running for president are perfect; they all have flaws that can be exploited against them during the campaign.
Bloomberg's "stop-and-frisk" flaw is no worse than the flaws of the other candidates.
Bloomberg is the only Democrat that can beat Trump.
None of the other Democrats can beat Trump.
I will vote for anyone who can beat Trump.
Four more years of Trump is unacceptable.
2
The “logic” among Americans:
Money has infected politics.
Politicians depend on money.
Politicians are beholden to those with money.
Politicians are bad for being beholden to those with money.
Let’s elect those with money to be our politicians.
Trump, a supposed populist, is on the Forbes 500 richest Americans list. Bloomberg, though, is number eight on the same list. To some people, that makes him “better.” I am not one of those people.
4
I love how these two white guys, examining who could be propelled to beat super-left-Sanders, only put forth the other white male candidates. Klobuchar is the obvious candidate left out of their discussion, and is the candidate who actually has the momentum to be the centrist Democratic candidate.
3
Let's not hand wring over finding the centrist. We have a far right dictator right now who needs to go sooner. Four years of attending to the forgotten workers is something we could easily do. Yep, I like social security, medicare and the postal service, which are among the 'socialist' institutions that support us now. We are a wealthy country, right, so let's take care of all our people.
3
Senator Amy Klobuchar checks all the boxes, which was particularly evident during Friday's debate, last night in New Hampshire and tonight on Rachel. Why is everyone beating their chests when we have a winner? If she were to chose Cory Booker as her running mate it would be a Democratic match made in heaven.
4
@fast/furious..I am in total agreement with you. I am mystified by the angry comments made about very wealthy people in general, but particularly those that enter into politics. It's as though dollar-for-dollar the more wealth they have, the less trustworthy they are. I do wonder at times though if this bash the rich attitude extends to not buying mega dollar lottery tickets in case, heaven forbid, the buyer might just win. How would that person ever explain stooping so low as to desire money.
2
This is like buying a new car. The choices can be overwhelming. What usually helps when making a big decision is to do a 'pros and cons' list. Pick your top two choices if you're undecided and make a pros and cons lsit for each. Try to put your personal feelings aside and be as objective as possible. I find it helps a lot.
1
As of now there is only one candidate who has declared defeating Trump to be the main priority of their campaign. That candidate is Michael Bloomberg. It may have been a shrewd calculation, but it was the right calculation for our time. In 1932 no one thought FDR would turn out to be the transformational reformer that he turned out to be. We can only hope, but the rest of the Democratic field seems out of touch with the actual danger. We're wasting valuable time here. If you're not desperate, you're not living in the real world of 2020.
Sanders is the best choice. This "news" article is a prejudiced editorial. You are being divisive.
Since 1975 presidents from both party have moved the country to the right, removing financial safeguards that were put in place in the 1930s. Real class division has dramatically increased since mid-1970s.
Sanders wants to lessen class division and Wall Street rhetoric calls it divisive. The "moderates" are leading us off a cliff of financial division, and ecological disaster --though they lament it. Get an honest view of what's happening without worshiping your right wing perception of a center of the political bell curve. The super rich are not our friendly saviors. The young are looking toward the future. Together we can save ourselves.
7
In 2016 "Centrist Democrats" pushed Clinton down our throats. That didn't go all that well. I was upset with them (and the DNC then), but now we see that they are against Bernie, despite the fact that he is leading in the national polls. This is telling me more and more that I should vote for Bernie--a candidate that vows to work for the benefit of all, instead of a narrow elite.If Centrist Democrats want to be democratic, they should step back and let the people decide.
2
NYT tried to make the case in Iowa that Buttigieg focused on rural areas instead of the easy pickings in cities and college campuses, claiming Sanders (and Warren) did this. Now we see in NH that Bernie alone won more than half of all the townships/precincts, i.e. most of rural NH, while Buttigieg apparently concentrated in the populous (sub)urban and coastal areas, i.e. wealthy metropolitan regions.
ABut going back to Iowa, it now looks like he presciently targeted rural areas that were enriched for State Delegate Equivalents. Sure, he had a slick, big Farm Bill (pro-agribusiness, pro-biofuel/corn) message for them that enlisted industrialized farms for climate remediation. But I think it's becoming clear that his campaign was very tactical in Iowa and incredibly lucky in knowing which counties and their precincts were inflated with SDE-determining County Convention Delegates, which are preset by the party. One anecdote, my uncle in Chickasaw Co. is connected in the party and was able to get more county delegates committed to them than the 10X more populous (and more black, from Waterloo) county south of them, Black Hawk. Buttigeig had a town hall in New Hampton (Chickasaw Co.) and Biden did his push-up challenge there. Klobuchar had a few meet and greets there. Bernie and Warren had town halls in Waterloo.... Whether they knew where the county delegates were assigned - and chose not to target those counties/precincts is a good question that won't be asked in this paper.
The polarization of our politics has affected both Democrats and Republicans. Both parties have moved away from the center, but over the last election cycles, Republicans have moved faster and sooner to the right than Democrats have to the left.
Add to this that the leadership of the DNC has worked very hard to suppress Sanders and any meaningful shift in the party to the left. This has been done at great cost to us all because it really resulted Clinton’s nomination and Trump’s victory in 2016. This was a mistake in leadership at the very top levels of the DNC that should have resulted in a complete rethink of where the party is, and where it needs to go. The current primary process would seem to indicate the the DNC has learned nothing from the 2016 debacle.
I have said many times that if Clinton had simply put Sanders on her ticket after the primaries in 2016, Trump would have lost and we would not be having this conversation now. Unfortunately, egos got in the way and she picked a safe Senator from a state that isn’t really a swing state any more and was not where the 2016 election was ultimately decided.
The truth is that the DNC and Democrats will have to move significantly to the left to counter the hard right shift in Republican politics and Sanders remains the only real existential threat to Trump’s re-election. Hopefully, Sanders, unlike Clinton, will make a smart choice for VP that broadens his ticket’s appeal.
4
If Bloomberg can win the presidency by flooding the airwaves with expensive ads, then so can any other billionaire in the future.
It is a distortion of democracy.
3
@Ribollita
We live in a plutocracy. Money and only money talks.
Bernie Sanders’ New Hampshire debate performance revealed a mindset that is just too extreme. Whatever “Democratic Socialist” is intended to mean, Bernie’s nonstop railing about leading the “working class” to defeat over the “billionaire class” is much more reminiscent of a late-19th century/early-20th century Marxist than a modern Northern European social democrat. Bernie’s debate statements betray a view that all of America’s major problems are reducible to economic class conflict; no member of the “billionaire class” is ever well-intentioned; all contributions by wealthy persons to political campaigns are potentially corruptive; and any candidate accepting contributions from wealthy individuals is capitulating to the enemy in the class struggle. That view of the world won’t fly in the 2020 general election, no matter how much ordinary people might want to remedy inequality. A similar world view was recently rebuffed in Britain’s recent elections, where Jeremy Corbyn and his Labor Party were demolished. Bernie Sanders’ brand of socialism, whatever he calls it, might well lead to a worse disaster if he becomes the Democratic nominee. It is too big risk to take.
2
This election, like the last one, will hinge on the Obama/Trump voters in the Rust Belt - people making one third what their dads made in union manufacturing jobs that got off- shored to China by CEOs and Wall Street bankers.
What appeal does Bloomberg have for these voters?
3
The right wing democrats pushed hillary to a trump victory. Going into the convention she led trump by 3% while Sanders led trump by 15%. Sure any democrat is better than a 2nd term trump but Sanders has the ability to draw the working class and youth vote better than any other of the front runners. We haven't had a decent president since FDR and it's about time we had another like him. That Means Sanders.
3
I believe Sanders is going to be the Democratic nominee this year. It makes perfect sense, since he was a strong runner-up to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Centrists shouldn’t try to stop him, because he’s a better candidate than Bloomberg when it comes to appealing to Midwestern voters.
6
I see a Bloomberg/Klobachar ticket in our future.
2
Bloomberg is out and away the most compelling centrist in the campaign. He is not spouting platitudes and pledging to "work hard" to make them come true, whatever that might be. Rather, he speaks about significant policy initiatives that will address the great issues of our times, especially how to address global climate change while there is still time. He also favors free trade and has great ideas about how to promote commerce and long-term prosperity. He is practical and highly intelligent and will not cave or compromise his agenda to oblivion in response to Republicans when they try to frustrate his work at every turn.
If he were to win the nomination, he should include in his Administration prominent figures from the Sanders camp to preside over major, green-friendly infrastructure projects.
2
@Zola
Sanders supporters will not be any part of Republican Billionaire Bloomberg's presidential aspirations:
He rejects Progressives:
And they reject him.
It is worth noting that about 35 percent of NH Democrats voted for a "progressive" candidate and about 53 percent voted for one of the top three more moderate candidates. I don't see this as a mandate for Sanders.
15
You’re right. Every single American should want to experience the freedom from the constant stress and horror that we have been convinced is all our fault. All that lack of m as dare means to me is the psychological power of narrative is so effective, one can create fear of losing crumbs so meager that my European and Japanese, Australian, South Korean and Canadian friends not only can’t imagine how we live this way, but why there isn’t mass rioting in the streets. If Americans could get out from under this narrative spread by people like Clinton that even the basic human right of access to healthcare and a livable wage represents, they would realize how much has been outright .stolen. from them. They would all vote for Sanders.
1
Logic is kind of hard to apply in this political climate, especially considering Trump and his unlikely win.
We have also seen how hard it is to be number one. Bloomberg hasn't had that target on his back yet. He is precisely the type that the Sanders people can rail against. No one is more representative of what they see as the problems in government than Bloomberg. They are poised to take him on.
I am also not sure if it is moderates vs progressives, but rather the candidates themselves. Buttigieg is magnificent and would be where he is no matter what his ideology is. We took notice of Klobuchar way before she entered this race at congressional hearings. Sanders' goals are sure good ones.
@Eddie - - - Running everyone's medical expenses through the government will end up
exploding our spending on debt service.
Bernie will have us end up with even worse medical care than his beloved Soviet experiment provided.
He LOVES to talk about all the cash in doctors' pockets and hospitals and the insurance companies - but none of that is going to be available to him to pay for medical care.
1
The love for Bloomberg from mainstream media is out right horrifying. This guy is existential threat to democracy second only to Donald Trump. He is trying to outright buy his way to the oval office. We can see him live bribing DNC to get on debate stage. He is basically buying endorsements. Journalist are abandoning their duty to inform public in order not to interrupt flow of his advertisement money that is lining up their pockets. They won't also property cover him scared of hurting any potential prospects of being hired by Bloomberg News in the future. Bloomberg News employee can no longer be called journalist as they formally declared they will never investigate any wrong doings by Bloomberg. His is corrupting everything in his sight (or more likely just exposing the rot). It's seems protecting democracy is less important than stopping Bernie Sanders from making big corrections to the current rotten crony capitalism system.
25
Citizens United. Buying office has always been the American Way.
1
@Robert Hey, Bloomberg is giving the American people the best government money can buy! What's wrong with that?
(Everything. He twisted NYC rules to get elected to a third term as mayor and now the rules are being twisted again by DNC to allow him on the debate stage without the proper amount of grassroots support. Note that Booker and other candidates didn't get this exception. We might as well just go back to having a monarchy. Go, Bernie!)
Stop writing these stories. I’m a centrist democrat and I’m not interested in stopping anyone in the field. I’m interested in excising the cancer in our government right now, and I will happily support whomever the nominee is. Most everyone I know feels the same. Sanders, Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Klobuchar. Whatever. Any would do a competent job. Stop spinning these stories please.
32
I think the votes are still out on if Sanders can do a competent job. He hasn’t accomplished much to run on as individual successes.
5
@Drew Technically the votes are still out on all of them. But my question is this - wouldn’t Sanders be better than what we have right now? Don’t you think he would govern with good intentions at minimum? Will you vote for him if he’s the nominee?? The infighting is making me nuts, that people have lived through the last 3 years and STILL somehow don’t have a sense of urgency.
Just because you think « the real crime » is mostly committed by « male minorities » doesn’t mean you have anything against « male minorities ». You could also fully recognize that these folks suffer from racial discrimination, and often poverty, and have hard lives. And something needs to be done to help these groups have better choices than lives of crime.
It seems that the other problem is that it has become forbidden to say the truth. The sentence is essentially true, and everybody knows it, but you get in trouble if you say it.
7
Who can save the average American from compromised corrupt centrist Democrats? We need Bernie.
18
So it’s too risky to “take a chance” with a self-defined socialist? Really? But the utterly insidious Neo-Libertarian “values” others embrace is ok? The only fix for a broken system is radical change. Go Bernie!
22
Hint: Listen to the voters.
18
But WE DO NOT WANT CENTRISTS, we want Bernie and the political revolution, change from extreme capitalism to Social democracy! We wanted that in 2016, but DNC has no ears
23
I’LL VOTE FOR ANY DEMOCRAT BUT WOULD PREFER THAT IT NOT BE BERNIE.
1
Corporations rule. The one percent rules. They’d rather have Trump than Sanders.
Sanders is the real threat to our friendly fascist state.
18
Vote Bloomberg... I consider myself a progressive but with the weak field we have I truly believe Bloomberg is the only person with a stellar reputation, who can take the high road and can wallop Trump.
Vote for Bloomberg it’s our only sure way to make certain Trump is removed. Don’t be foolish... time to see reality. Other candidates should withdraw (Bernie won’t.. funny how he acted as if Warren was her way or highway but this guys been much more arrogant and insisting there’s no room for compromise) so after originally rooting for Bernie then Warren I’ve settled on Mike Bloomberg. He’s the only candidate who can assuredly beat the criminal and psychopath Trump and at this point that all I care about... getting rid of the pathological psychopath and voting out every Republican Congressman we can over next 6 yrs. It’s time to end the party of crooks who only selfishly care about their personality nap enrichment. Think of the 100s of millions Republicans ha e betrayed all simply in the name of a few hundred Republicans Congressmen to personally gain riches by serving. It has been their only motive for 20 yrs. 100s of millions of lives ruined just so tall dark and handsome crooks can get rich. The Mafia per se is gone... now they’re all Republican Congressmen and the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. It’s time to start over America!! Good god wake up!!!
12
@js Why does everyone think they know Bloomberg can beat Trump? Y’all are silly.
6
Pete Buttigieg IS a moderate and IS a favorite. What is the problem with the NYT acting as though he doesn't exist? They call Sanders the front runner, when in reality he lost in Iowa to Buttigieg and Buttigieg came in a hairline second in NH. That makes Pete Buttigieg the front runner, not Sanders. Stop the homophobia and let Buttigieg run and give him the credit he deserves!
7
@Martin The winner of the Iowa caucus has still not been called. All we can say with certainty thus far is that Bernie won the popular vote there by a sizeable margin. And that he won New Hampshire, of course.
7
@Student Bernie barely won in NH; & tied for delegates.
1
@Martin I'll give Buttigieg credit for being a big phony.
"Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chins!" Big bad wolf Bernie at the door of the Democrat Billionaires club...
15
Trumpism is a movement, not a political party animal.
The Republicans hated Trump at the beginning of the campaign. It took them quite a while to "adopt" him.
But they did just that - from necessity.
Democrats are in the same jam. The powerful in the party don't like Bernie's social programs. They are showing their true colors. They may be progressive, but for improving the lot of the working class they are not.
Too late now. They knew who Bernie is, they new what he stands for. They should have rejected him as a Democratic candidate. He could have run as an independent.
Will they fight him if he keeps winning? Will they get rid of him at the convention with the super delegate votes?
They would break the party in two if they did that.
I agree with Bernie - you can only fight a movement with a movement.
If Bernie is still winning after the Super Tuesday, that's it. The moderates and leadership should accept that and support him.
12
The DNC is looking for a moderate. They are looking for a corporatist. They want to go back to the corporations good and workers are greedy. Give me those donations and your have an easy time. It must stop! BERNIE has it right. Go BERNIE
15
There are no centrist Democrats--just those who are left of Lenin and some that are slightly left of Lenin. Vote for America--Vote Republican.
4
The Democratic party is more complicated than "moderate" vs left. Consolidation of the field may help Bernie as much as anyone.
For instance, recent polls show that black voters who had been supporting Biden, have started to switch to Bernie.
If you look at Bernie's coalition, it's actually very broad outside of hardcore left people. He also has the most hispanic support, and the most working class support of any candidate.
Buttigieg or someone else might beat Bernie, but not because there is some automatic moderate majority that hates him. Most people are focused on beating Trump, not Bernie. Only the democratic party establishment is more worried about beating Bernie than trump.
11
It’s interesting to read comments suggesting that Sanders is too far left when in fact he’s precisely what the old FDR-style Blue Democrats were. He’s blue-collar, middle-class America personified. Warren is also an FDR Democrat. The other democratic candidates are corporate-owned conservatives who are basically Republican lite status quo.
18
Today 8 Republican senators joined the Democrats to advance a bill to curtail the President's military aggressions against Iran. I read about it on Bloomberg. Why isn't there a headline in NYT so Americans can call their Senators and express their opinion on the subject?
3
Reality Check why do people feel nessary to bash our president concidering he represents us deplorables.I cant say this enough if your citzen of usa must be manditory to vote. Any one doesnt vote does out knowing if dont vote wont have to serve public service like jury duty.
1
Sorry but this isn’t a well-researched article from what I can tell. The idea of establishment Dems courting Bloomberg is so far away from reality. Where are the numbers? Sure, some polling numbers are out there but they’re tied to name recognition. I’m sure there are some other metrics involved, but I’m bound to say a lot of them are bound up in mayoral interests. For instance, the fact that London Breed, mayor of San Francisco, supports a Bloomberg candidacy is fascinating: where is the article on mayors? Why support Bloomberg over Pete? That would be a more interesting article.
2
Why does Sanders need to be stopped? Does the discomfort of the Democratic Part Establishment with Sanders originate from policy differences, or from the fear that Sanders might disrupt the beltway culture that the neoliberals also benefit from?
A Bloomberg candidacy might appeal to coastal independents and swing voters, but would not have appeal to Middle America.
A "bought" rather than earned candidacy might backfire. The enthusiasm of neoliberal punditry about a Bloomberg candidacy is another sign of their disconnect from the real people.
18
I’ve heavily criticized Bernie. I hate that he was used by Putin in the 2016 election to divide Democrats, progressives vs. moderates, a schism we are still experiencing today. I think that he gets a pass on a lot of things—his health, his finances, his past craziness—which could make him unelectable in a general election. Really though, his most hardcore supporters have always bothered me and I don’t want them to win. The point is—his speech attacking Trump in New Hampshire was genius, and made remember why I used to really like Bernie before the 2016 election. I feel better about voting for him now if it comes down to him and Trump. I have always said I would do so, but now it doesn’t bother my conscience anymore.
3
@Ben How was Bernie “used by Putin”?
1
@george—According to our intelligence agencies and the Mueller Report, Putin used Bernie’s campaign in 2016 to promote resentment towards Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party in an effort to divide the Democratic vote. Thereby electing Trump. Basically, they invested a lot of time into making tons of infiltration with bots and paid (and even volunteer, according to studies) posters whose job it was to enforce a certain message on American social media. It seems crazy. Yet it is incredibly well documented. And I have witnessed too much Kremlin propaganda myself posing as “normal Americans” to doubt it. Psyops, psychological warfare as practiced by the CIA and KGB, of which Putin used to be an officer, is cheap and effective. We’ve used it as well, especially in Central and South America. If you don’t know about this reality, it does sound crazy. I hate conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists more than anything. But this is what intelligence agencies do, in part. It is very limited in scope compared to the entire world, but very effective if properly focused.
3
@George—According to our intelligence agencies and the Mueller Report, Putin used his operatives to introduce propaganda into American social media in the 2016 election. Much of it was to benefit Trump. The rest was to benefit Sanders, specifically by building resentment among his supporters toward Clinton and the DNC, thereby splitting the anti-Trump vote.
4
Biden should drop out. The weakest “moderate” candidate & he’s just siphoning of voters who could support Klobuchar or Bloomberg.
4
I read a lot of different opinions mostly written by supporters of one candidate or another. A few are gracious enough to acknowledge that candidates other than their favorites would be ok and can beat Trump. I hope that everyone endorsing their favorite can remember the goal. Second the Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire simply reflect the reality of the Democratic Party, which is a very diverse tent and has a long history of fighting within itself before coming together. Who ever is the nominee is going to need to win votes from the supporters of the other candidates, and many of those supporters, although we do not know who we are yet, will need to vote for someone who was not our present favorite candidate. Staying home is not an option this year.
5
Does it really matter? Both in Iowa and NH more people voted against Bernie than for him. The media can't do simple math apparently. Bernie is and always be a losing candidate.
3
Bernie is the "smartest kid on the block" as the expression goes. So is Bloomberg. Here is the problem. The Trump GOP syndicate at one end and Bernie the extreme other. Bernie and Ocasio-Cortez Democrat Socialism created what will lead to Democrats all being labeled Socialists which is terrible. They are hurting us. The other Democrats must step aside big time. Trump and we got here because both parties ignored illegal immigration for 40 years and with that endless birther babies daily from illegals. . Border security is unclear with my Dems. A huge mistake is that ads all sound like they’ll crush big business and banks with taxes. Wrong way to go. With that plan and term limits thrown away eliminating valuable experience gained it could cost them the election. They should be saying “we will create fairness in taxation and it will be good for big and small business, the country and the planet. A win win. Good for all”. I will go for Bloomberg but they all need to not threaten business but make it clear there is a great path with fair taxes and climate efforts with allies who have been shunned. A better country and a better world. Ocasio Cortez plan looks for a senate seat and presidential run in her opportunistic self serving super media saavy goal. Open your eyes people.. Berine cant win and will dilute the power of the party.
3
Sanders will stop Sanders...his hubris will out.
2
@njn_Eagle_Scout What are you saying? “His hubris will out” doesn’t make sense.
1
Biden never had a chance and some of us said so in these pages when talk of his candidacy surfaced. We stated it will be another Hillary. The fact that the party elite, and the media saw it otherwise, speaks to the bubble they live in. The fact that they are in love with Buttigieg and Bloomberg solidifies it. Democrats are not interested in your 'normalcy' aka good old days.
5
The Dems Of 2020 are inept, unrealistic, seriously flawed
1
“Look to Bloomberg as a savior”? Sanders’ “slashing approach to the 2016 primaries”? His “slogan of democratic socialism”? What are these guys talking about? The bias in this article, and in virtually every article in the NYT about Sanders, leaps out from every paragraph, if not every sentence. These are not small, random things. They are carefully crafted to diminish and undermine Sanders in every possible way. They are deliberate and calculated, and they recur over and over again. These guys should be embarrassed. This newspaper should be embarrassed. This isn’t journalism; it is obvious advocacy, utterly disgraceful in its underhanded tendentiousness. We get that the NYT doesn’t like Sanders. But save it for your editorial page.
18
NYT has been overwhelmingly vicious toward Trump since day one of his presidency
4
A real populist, Bernie Sanders will destroy Trump!
8
Bernie's not my top pick of the candidates – but I truly hope that if he continues his momentum through the next few primaries, moderates will get onboard the train. The most important goal – truly the ONLY important goal of 2020 – is getting Trump and his destructive, turbo-greedy, unhinged cronies out of office.
If we can achieve that, then we can talk about compromises between progressive and moderate-left values.
The differences between, say, Sanders and Klobuchar are ones reasonable people can have discussions about. The differences between reasonable people and Trumpers is an unsurmountable canyon.
4
You are such a dreamer
Bernie’s nomination guarantees Trump a second term
3
@MarkG What makes you say this?
3
I admire Bernie's conviction and voted for him in 2016. But, like the rest of the Democrats that have been debating, I just don't see him beating Trump and the Trump war chest.
Like millions of others, I've made at least a dozen contributions to Bernie, but they still won't be enough to convince enough Americans to vote for a grumpy "Medicare for All" candidate.
Bloomberg is willing to spend a lot more money than Bernie can ever raise, and I believe that's what it's going to take to beat Trump - lots and lots of money.
Bernie has his chance in 2016. It's too bad he had to act like a nice guy and not go after Clinton personally, like Trump did. And Bernie is doing it again; his attacks on Trump are timid, not specific, and not very effective.
2
Stop Sanders? No, they should get on board. They should remember what happened last time when they rigged the primary process with their super delegates.
11
Threatening to sit out the election along with all the other Bernie Brats??
1
Or so he said from France. Which is not here.
1
@MarkG Bernie brats aren’t going to sit out the election.
Judging by the comments here, Democrats are still very far away from consolidating around a single candidate in a common cause to defeat Trump.
2
Bloomberg/Klobuchar the only hope
2
@A Davis Consolidate? Doesn't the person with the most votes win? Is this an election or a farce?
" Unless a moderate favorite soon emerges, party leaders may increasingly look to Michael R. Bloomberg as a potential savior. "
But what can they and will they do? They can't tell their members how to vote, can they?
No amount of rationalization will alter the fact that only one democratic candidate stands a chance of defeating Trump in the national election - that’s Bloomberg. Towards that end, can democrats find it in their hearts to forgive Bloomberg for stop & frisk? After all, strikes me it’s a kissing cousin to Clinton’s now seen as disastrous 1994 crime bill. This legislation, it should be noted, was supported - amongst others - by the majority of the Congressional Black Caucus, many black clergy, and many black leaders in major urban areas. Somehow democrats have forgiven those who brought us the largest increase in mass incarceration in American history. Cut Bloomberg some slack. His commitment to social justice has one blemish.
3
I will vote for any of them. Literally any of them. I am Bernie all the way but will vote for whatever name it ends up being. I think 90% of Democrats and independents are the same. Just tell us a name and we will be there on election day. And all the Jill Stein people will be there, too. They learned their lesson. Even if it's Bloomberg, I will curse his name when I vote for him but if that's it then so be it. The world can not take another 4 years of Trump.
9
I am sorry. Why do we need to stop Sanders?
9
Because he has zero chance of defeating Trump
2
@MarkG
Evidence?
5
@MarkG Um, why does he have no chance of beating Trump when he brings in independents as Dems? Which candidate do you think can beat Trump?
6
There is a fundamental flaw in the premise of these centrist Democrats. Bernie and Trump appealed to many of the same voters for similar reasons. Bernie is truly for the working class. Trump was all too happy to lie his way to the top and present himself as some kind of working man’s hero with his not so subtly veiled racist make America great again pablum, meanwhile pandering to the Christian right as a kind of neo evangelical figure.
Many of my partner‘s relatives voted for Bernie in the Democratic primary and when he lost then voted for Trump. They wanted to shake up Washington. I think Bernie would have quite a bit of support among those working class voters. He also has a long history of civil rights action. In fact he might have the best chance of beating Trump. We don’t need another neo-liberal Democrat in the White House particularly not someone of Bloomberg’s ilk (didn't he just come out as one?), assuming a centrist could even be elected. I think that’s something of a long shot.
6
Bernie’s socialism makes him UN electable
5
@MarkG There is a grand irony here. In many European countries he would be considered center left.
Publicly funded roads, publicly funded schools, social Security, medicare, food stamps, unemployment. These might all be considered as socialist benefits.
1
This feels dirty and reminds me of 2016 when we were given the Appearance of choice. I'm a centrist democrat. I don't feel this way.
Amy and Pete have spent the past year getting to know Americans. Bloomberg has not. Of these three candidates, I'm on a first name basis with two, and I've actively supported one.
Bernie is an inspiration for many Americans. If he wins the Democratic nomination, he deserves every bit of our support.
Please please please. Stop this electability game and let America choose who we like best.
Biden and Bloomberg don't deserve to be favored so heavily in the media, especially Journalism! Take the advice of your own editorial board, who admired both Amy and Pete. I dread the day I listen to the Daily episode, "The lessons of 2016 Part II: 2020".
11
@Thomas "Stop this electability game and let America choose who we like best." And enjoy four more years of Donald Trump.
1
@Thomas: Thank you. I was about to express the exact same thing, until I saw the first comment (yours) and saw that you had beaten me to it. Pete and Amy, yes. Bloomberg, no. He is the anti-Democrat. It’s all about buying the presidency. He doesn’t have any grass roots support and he hasn’t had to debate or go under national scrutiny yet. I suspect he actually pays people to post on his behalf here and in other influential places. I don’t suspect that of any other candidate, though I don’t doubt there are shadowy people posting for other countries’ interests. Plus, he’s just as old as Bernie, Biden, and Trump. No thanks. I want a sensible, young(ish) candidate who can restore the balance.
5
Get rid of Trump first
1
Centrist Bloomberg!
1
Sadly,Bloomberg is an upscale Trump-richer and more articulate. Between his racist “stop and frisk “ policy and complete insensitivity to working class people makes him a false choice for Democrats.
10
@Ron Marcus
Not to mention his strong opposition to JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal).
2
He is the only one who can defeat Trump
Wake Up/ he can beat Trump/ none of the others can
1
Why would anyone worry about Russians or Ukrainians interfering in our elections, when our own party elite is already working on cooking the nomination?
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Trump is tearing down the country and people are worried about Bernie Sanders. Strangest of all they are thinking we just need a different racist billionaire. You can't make this stuff up.
Perhaps we should be doomed.
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Yes. I enthusiastically agree. We should be doomed.
1
If Bloomberg buys his way into the nomination, the Democrat Party is finished.
Historians might well remember Didius Julianus, who in a bidding war with the Praetorian Guard, literally outbid his competitor for the throne. Such a disgraceful spectacle is precisely what the Supreme Court's appalling Citizens United decision brought us to.
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@Chip Citizens United has nothing to do with candidates financing their own campaigns,
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The Dem Party is finished if Trump wins
@Carl Yaffe Before CU there was much less money spent.
2
This is so much like 2016, except Sanders's campaign is leagues ahead of where he was at this time in 2016.
I simply see the progressive liberals as again being pitted against the centrist Democrats, just like Hillary vs. Bernie. Except Hillary is now the collective Buttigieg/Klobuchar/Biden/Bloomberg.
I think when this narrows down to two candidates (Bernie vs. Buttigieg most likely?), the key large delegate states will become very contentious between them, and it will be quite a show. Will Bernie pull the victory this time? It seems the DNC is being attempting to at least appear more egalitarian this time, and to truly make an effort, like recanvassing in Iowa. (I was furious at them in 2016.)
I hope Bernie does take it. I would be happy with Senator Warren as well. It does feel like Bernie has a movement behind him, and this will build as the field narrows. I wish I saw more of this movement turn up in New Hampshire. What happened 18-29 year olds??? You want more Trump? Get out there and vote for the love all that is good and true about this country!
7
Only the young want Bernie/ not sufficient
@MarkG boomer here, and I support Bernie. There are millions like me.
1
@MarkG
You are very wrong indeed. Bernie has a wider base than the media cares to report and I’m one of them.
1
Bernie is a selfish old loon who is mucking up the Democratic primaries just like he did in 2016. There is too much on the line for him to indulge his fantasy of being president. He's as radical and divisive as Trump only on the other end of the continuum. Like Trump he has a cultish following.
What I want in 2020 is to beat Donald Trump. The candidates we have right now can't win and we need a winner. Mike Bloomberg may be the guy who can do it. He's a moderate, has a big war chest and isn't afraid of the Donald. I say bring it!
6
Bloomberg’s candidacy is doomed.
I don’t see many Bernie or Warren supporters getting on board with a billionaire who buys his way in to a presidential race. 
15
Oh. So their egos are more vital than throwing Laughing Boy out of office.
Interesting.
3
@Robert
No, they may think Trump's policies are closer to Bernie's than Bloomberg's would be. For instance, they are both opposed to wars, and they both think our trade policies need to change.
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Then the Dems are doomed
Looks like “vote blue, no matter who” leaves out the second part of the slogan: "unless it's Bernie." The Democratic Establishment united to deny Bernie the nomination four years ago, and he would have beaten Trump. It looks like, if he comes anywhere near the convention with the most delegates, they're prepared to do it again. If they do, it will destroy the Democratic party. I have spent most of my life holding my nose and voting for the moderate Democrat, because beating the Republicans was paramount. When a real progressive finally has the chance to get the nomination, I expect the moderates to hold their noses and vote for him. Why should I vote for Democrats any more if they don't? And how did it become such an iron-clad fact that a socialist can't win? Have we ever tried it before? Could it be any worse than Democrats choosing another Republican billionaire as their candidate? And why has the NYT jumped on the "anybody but Bernie" bandwagon?
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@John Pretty much my sentiments as well. Of course a socialist can win. What the centrist, corporate media omit to mention is that the so-called "moderate midwest" Klobuchar supposedly represents was the heartland of the agrarian progressive movement, the union movement and the socialist-cooperativist movement. The midwest was also instrumental in pushing free public education and public libraries. Theodore Roosevelt's famous progressive speech was made in Osawatamie Kansas. Midwesterners may be moderate in tone but that doesn't equate with being center right in terms of policy. The media perpetuates a false narrative of the midwest to get people not to recognize themselves or their history.
4
Because the NYT knows Bernie can’t beat Trump
A Socialist can not win in 2020
"“We are obviously going to have a longer battle here,” said Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster who directed an anti-Sanders ad campaign in Iowa."
Isn't Mark Mellman the President and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel?
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@CacaMera Your point being?
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@Carl Yaffe
The authors should've mentioned it. Readers ought to know he isn't merely a "pollster".
3
The press is not presenting the real story. Bernie won New Hampshire by a small margin. If you look at the amount of votes the moderates got, they greatly exceeded the votes for Bernie. So it is clear to me that most people want a moderate. The problem is that the vote is split because there are too many moderate candidates and Bernie winds up the default winner which is not the true will of the people. More moderates need to drop out or we will wind up with Sanders as the nominee.
5
Dear God,
Please save us from the scourge of economic equity.
Please send a billionaire to save us from being taxed.
Please allow us both wealth and a clean conscience.
Love,
The Centrists
17
You are dreaming if you think anyone but Bernie can defeat Trump. Did you learn nothing from 2016? Trump will buzzsaw through every single one of the Democratic nominees except for Bernie. That who is afraid of.
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@Simon Malouf Which is exactly why Republicans in open primary states are encouraging people to vote for Bernie, right?
2
@Carl Yaffe Thanks for fanning the conspiracy flames!