Want Clarity on the Sanders-Biden Face-Off? North Carolina May Provide It

The Main Rreason That Democratic Party Lost to Trump in 2016 was because They Were Not Fighting For Something, but They Were Fighting To Stop Something (Fascism and Racism) or Somebody (Trump). It seems like Democrats are trying to repeat the same mistakes this year; both in The Primary (Stop Sanders) and The General (Stop Trump). History shows that Voters Respond To A Campaign That Offers Something or Ideas than the one that's just against something or ideas or Somebody. Democrats must come up with a Clear Vision and Irresistible Brand. Like him or not,Trump has an irresistible Brand called " Make America Great Again". Instead of offering her own irresistible Brand,Hillary and the Obamas wasted their time and energy trying to prove that America is already great. As we now know,many voters didn't believe that America is already great. Among all the two dozens democratic candidates,it's only one that has a Brand which is "For All" in terms of Medicare For All,Public Colleges For All,Government Should Work For All,Housing For All,This Country For All and not for the few wealthy people,and he also has a Motto which is " Not me,Us". Can anyone tell me the Brand or even the Motto of any other democratic presidential candidate besides "Defeat Trump" and "I'm The Most Electable" ? While defeating Trump might be the number one goal of tribal Democrats,it might not be the number one goal of Independent and Swing Voters who actually decide the outcome of any presidential election.

Always vote with your best interest in mind. Those sitting on the fence just take the quiz (there are several) which show which of the candidates you agree with on substance and then just vote for the one which most resembles your thoughts and ideas. That is what I did. We the voter cannot predict who will beat Trump. It is too far down the road. BTW, don't be Never (enter the name here)! That is ridiculous. You have vote in the final Nov ballot and again do the same analysis for yourself and vote. Voting for your best interest, is the only way to go.

Bernie, admittedly, does have a measure of political genius. The problem is that it is only a measure, and it relies on ideas more than it does on personal warmth and smooth charm like most charismatic politicians. It has worked well in bucolic Vermont, a small state where quirkiness is embraced more readily, but it has faltered on the larger stage of a national race. To make it worse, he’s all-in on the socialist label for himself, even though he isn’t really a hard core socialist who wants the government to take over the means of production. He seems to use that term as a shorthand nod to the social democracies of Europe, and apparently is only referencing his signature policies: Medicare for all and free college. Sure he gives token attention to the idea of leveling income inequality, but that’s not where he hangs his hat. It is easy for his staff to whine about the “establishment,” which resonates for those on the far left who nurse a Don Quixote sort of desire to tilt at windmills. My take, however, is that the Bernie campaign mostly did not do math very well. The hard reality is that most of the electorate is ideologically comfortable in the center, and that is where the votes are. Bernie’s “socialist” rhetoric frankly scares these voters, and scares them badly, I think. We just aren’t ready for a revolution, no matter how intensely the Bro’s feel about Bernie. Things are not that bad for most voters, and scaring the public isn’t a winning tactic right now.

Bloomberg signs everywhere here. Not one Biden sign anywhere. Early voting is the norm. Bernie very strong here among younger voters. I voted for Pete but I know many like Mike. Biden does not excite anyone. That's a big problem. My feeling is that his SC bounce will be smaller than expected.

We need to get rid of early voting and make all elections holidays. Could a president do this and include all the states by executive order?

What about all the people who early voted for today's primaries? If they cast a ballot for a candidate who dropped out in the last few days (ahem, Buttigieg and Klobuchar), their votes are essentially wasted. And, don't presume a signficant majority of those folks would have voted for Biden instead. Polling/preference data suggests otherwise.

My North Carolina extended family, pragmatic to their core, voted for Biden. Bernie would do well to listen to the good people of that state. Obama won the first time in no small part because of North Carolina. So far, Bernie has been tone deaf to folks like my cousins, and it shows. Nationally, Bernie has a hard ceiling of support because of his dismissal of the core constituencies of North Carolina: Black people, suburban women, highly educated folks and moderates.

The reason why moderates in the Democratic Party hesitate to get behind Bernie is because for many of us, he and especially his most fervent supporters remind us in many ways of Trump. Both want to "blow up" the status quo. With Trump it's the "deep state." With Bernie it's the "establishment" -- same thing. Both are angry, old white men who won't ever compromise. It's their way or the highway. Both surround themselves with loyal acolytes who have promised fealty to their great leader. No critical thinking invited or allowed. Both are, at heart, autocrats who believe "only I can do it." Neither has any interest in reaching out to build a larger coalition. And neither has had any great measure of success in the past. Trump's businesses went bankrupt at least six times. Bernie hasn't been the primary sponsor of a single Senate bill in his 29 years in office.

What’s extremely distressing is the clear strategizing against a candidate. Is this about democracy? Sure doesn’t seem like it. Why not let the, you know, actual voters decide this.

I’ve been a Warren supporter since before she announced her candidacy and will vote for her if she’s on the NY ballot next month. If she’s not, I will gladly vote for Sanders. I can live with Biden as the nominee. (The same would not be true with Bloomberg, but his balloon has lost a lot of helium, so that likely makes it a moot point.) What the Democratic Party needs above all else is for a candidate to catch fire this month and next month, to the point of ending the primary season in June with an outright majority of delegates. A contested convention, regardless of the winner, would likely be fatal to the nominee’s chances of defeating President Trump. The deal-making that would be required to decide a contested convention would likely alienate enough voters to swing the key battleground states, whether or not Sanders ends up as the nominee (and I’m realistic enough to admit that he probably won’t be). I take no pleasure in saying that and hope it doesn’t happen, but we have to be realistic about this. Disapproval of President Trump will not be enough by itself; a nominee with a unified party behind him (and it does appear likely to be a “him”) is essential. A contested convention pretty much guarantees that unity will be lacking afterwards. One of the candidates needs to go on a long winning streak after today.

North Carolina is more interesting if you're evaluating a straight Sanders-to-Biden matchup. However, I still think Texas is the race to watch today. North Carolina is a semi-closed primary. Texas is open. The population should favor either Biden or Bloomberg. And yet, Sanders is expected to win. We're going to measure the Bloomberg spoiler amount. As an added bonus, we'll get a good estimate on changing demographics. How much does Sanders win by? How much of the vote does Bloomberg steal? Which demographics fit into which lanes? Those are the questions we're asking today.

Today you are voting to recruit or dismiss an army of one million extremely motivated volunteers who are ready to work their tails off for Bernie Sanders to defeat Trump in the General Election. I'd like to think they'd do it regardless of the nominee, but the fact is, the vast majority won't.

I disagree. North Carolina could go Biden in this primary, but like South Carolina it is a hollow victory. Trump will take those states. With the youth vote the Dems could cinch the election, but Biden is not getting that vote. Both Biden and Bernie are easy targets for Trump in the election, given their baggage. Biden and Bernie are also bleached dinosaurs, old white men. America needs energy--someone who can will mop the floor with Trump. I think that is Warren. She'll put his weave to good use. Honestly, the only reason Biden is getting support from this paper is Wall Street, and it is the reason Warren isn't. It's not about the people or the country, it's about the monied.

Joe and Pete are likable, Trump and Pence are not. Biden/Buttigieg + electoral college =victory.

Biden, Sanders, Bloomberg, Warren.  What's the point?  Look at 2016 when all the "experts" and most of the polls pointed to a Hillary victory.  There are no experts in  politics because you're not dealing with reality.  You are dealing with showmanship.   Trump won because he  appealed to the "underworld" in all of us.  For goodness sake the Evangelicals have given him one "mulliigan after another."All this talk about Sanders beating Trump.  All this  talk about Biden and the moderates...ergo the Democratic establishment.  What really is the Democratic establishment anyway? There are many people out there who actually think this president is the greatest president.  If that historically becomes true, the U.S. might as well cash in its chips because this won't be a country any more but just a massive amount of chaos. There is only one corrective on the horizon in 2020.  It is this:  If the millennial generation for one day sets aside all of its lofty goals and shows up at the polls (at least 70 to 80 percent of them) and vote against the current president, then and only then will we get past this period of infantile delusion.

"Mr. Biden had disappointed many Democrats with his uneven debate performances" ??? Bloomberg is the one who has had uneven performances. The first hour of his first debate, in particular, was terrible.

The problem with Biden is that the entire argument for him is that he can beat Trump. But can you imagine him in a debate with Trump? That would be like Little Red Riding Hood against the Wolf.

Biden as others point out is a gaffe machine, has no new policies to speak of, and will have Hunter Biden and Ukraine hung around his neck. It doesn't matter if it is fair or not. The Republican dirty PAC machine is all warmed up to spew hateful, fearful nonsense at the voters. Biden will lose to Trump. Voters will give up on the hope of change.

Sanders vs Biden - and the winner is: Warren!

Why — all of a sudden — do the Carolinas speak for the Democratic Party and the nation as whole? As a California resident (the 5th largest economy in the world) I’m putting my money and faith on the home state choice.

I just voted Biden here in Virginia. My sister down in suburban North Carolina, one of a demographic that voted Trump in 2016 and many of whom came to regret it, just voted Biden down there. Her Republican hardcore Trumpist husband, though, in the North Carolina DEMOCRATIC Party primary, voted anyway, for Bernie Sanders. Which almost surely means my young rightwing nephews, here in Virginia and California, are doing the same thing today. I don't listen to Rush ever, but I'm sure he and other of his ilk have called on Trumpists to do this nationwide in every state they're not barred from voting in their much-hated opposition's primary. Trumpists are trying to force, to carry, Sanders to the Democratic Party's 2020 nomination in every primary they can. Certain as they are that that is the pathway to their hero, their Dear Leader, running America for 4 more years. So, of course, are the Russians... again... over Facebook news feeds and shares/forwards/recommends/likes, Insta, Twitter, etc. Wreaking the havoc again that worked so unexpectedly well in 2016, only bigger, better, and they hope, less detectable this time. Sanders supporters spend tremendous energy crying "foul" against Democrats. Funny how we don't hear complaints from them about these large, probably pivotal in places, outside interventions inflating the vote for nefarious reasons in their candidate's favor.

So the the moderate establishment is doing everything it can to stop Sanders again. Anti-Sanders folks keep blaming Trump’s election on Sanders. Bernie Sanders did not lose to Trump. Hillary Clinton did. Post Obama, the moderate Democratic message has been “No we can’t” on everything from climate change to healthcare. That is why Biden or other moderate won’t defeat Trump. The “No we can’t” status quo does not inspire voter turnout. Sanders bold policies that benefit 90 plus percent of Americans does.

Wake up, Dems! Biden winning meaningless Southern states that will have zero impact on the general election in November is far, far different than Bernie winning all the important states that will be in play. Sanders is way up in the polls for Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania - not just in the primaries against Biden, but in the general against Trump as well. And that's what matters! Please take a look at the Electoral College. Hillary ignored the Midwest and barely won Minnesota, while barely losing Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Bernie won't make that mistake, and if he takes back those three traditionally reliable Blue states it doesn't matter what happens in Arizona, North Carolina, Florida or even Texas - Bernie will win the election! Frightened centrist and establishment Dems need to take a deep breath, calm down, and understand that Bernie's path to victory is clear and attainable, as long as the Dem party bosses don't do what they did in 2016 and work behind the scenes to undermine Bernie. It worked in 2016 but it will tear the party apart in 2020 and guarantee Trump four more years. The Dem Party needs to stop trying to protect the establishment gravy train and finally agree that healthcare should be a privilege (like in all civilized nations) and not a right! Feel the Bern, folks, cause it's coming and we're all going to be better for it...

I will support whomever the Democratic nominee ends up being, but this morning I proudly cast my first ever vote in a Democratic Presidential Primary, and I proudly cast it for Joe Biden. I believe he is the one who can heal the nation and bring people together. Bernie’s supporters in many ways remind me of Trumpians and that’s made me feel scared to jump on his bandwagon. Joe represents a return to decency and civility, and that’s what I think we need. However, I will certainly vote for Bernie if he’s the nominee. In the beginning, I was all in for Pete, and I’ll still be all in for him in the future. He has started something inspiring among people like me — I am a 38-year-old member of the Oregon Trail Generation (which just means we understand both analog and digital and our Boomer bosses and parents therefore make us fix/explain/install/handle anything technology related). I’m also a college-educated white woman from a conservative Christian upbringing. For me, Pete embodies the values I was taught, and I think many Southerners in North Carolina feel similarly about Pete. Even though nobody cares about my Democratic vote in Alabama because our elections are still determined by a slavery-era electoral college, it’s extremely important to me because it represents my personal reckoning as a white Southern woman who was basically programmed from birth to vote Republican. And the good news is that I’m not the only white Southern woman of my generation experiencing one.

Elizabeth Warren will surprise us all when all the votes are counted by the end of the week (in California mail in ballots had to only be postmarked by today). Those who were going to vote for Mayor Pete or Senator Klobuchar today will most likely vote for her. it will also be interesting to see how Mayor Pete and Senator Klobuchar tallied up among the many early voters like me. I hope the Democrats as unwise as they are to knock out any candidates based on four states not important in the Electoral College --with one accepting Republican votes as well--will be wise to choose a viable vice president from how he/she does today among early voters.

"Democrats said they were unusually conflicted and unsure who would be most likely to defeat President Trump" Because Trump is on both sides of the fence and getting away with it. To succeed Democrats need to draw SHARP contrast that exceeds Trump in aggression and hammers home common man issues and solutions that Trump reneged on record. Me-too Biden has been around for 40 years, man without a cause, and his most easily discernible identifier is that he a gaffer who gets lost in his delivery to say nothing about his exposure to Ukraine that would render Trump campaign replay of the Clinton hoaxes.

So the thesis of this article is that if joe Biden wins this one state that he is expected to win, even if he loses all of the others, then it’s a sign that he has defeated sanders and should win the nomination? That is incredibly flimsy.

It's time to put Bloomberg out of OUR misery Super Tuesday with bad results for him everywhere.

Am still hoping Bloomberg will gain traction. I prefer him to all the candidates at this point, except Elizabeth Warren, who unfortunately, probably does not stand a chance.

2016 rerun, same result.