Or not:
"What Sanders may also be suggesting is that he's given up on gaining support from African-American voters. Conceding this key Democratic Party bloc to Biden."
Sanders may be facing the reality that Mississippi (for example) is a GOP state, so why spend a lot of time there? Better to spend one's time in a state (Michigan, for example) that you have a chance to win in the general election.
Sanders knows that (1) the Democratic Party powers-that-be don't want him, period; and (2) for him to have a prayer of getting the DP nomination, he has to persuade the emocratic Party powers-that-be that he can beat Trump in swing states. What good will it do Sanders to beat Biden in Mississippi? Doing well in Michigan will be far more fruitful.
8
In all fairness to Sanders, he’s not abandoning the black vote, he’s concentrating on the black vote in Michigan, on the assumptions that black Michiganders are more receptive to his message and that losing MI is a particularly bad look.
6
I sincerely hope Elizabeth Warren will endorse Bernie Sanders. It's very unfortunate that so many are panicking in the dash to jump on the Biden bandwagon. Sanders and Warren stand for what is really important for the country. It's impossible to tell what Biden or the rest of the "moderates" stand for. I concede that the scales appear to have tipped in Biden's favor but due to mob mentality rather than reason. If he is the nominee I hope he can beat Trump but it's goodbye to any real progress for the next four years.
129
@Judy Please. The Democrats' most progressive triumph in decades is the affordable care act, which Joe helped achieve. Biden has done more to advance progressive causes that Bernie by a loooong shot. Indeed, has Bernie every achieved anything concrete, at all?
49
@Judy -- "Sanders and Warren stand for what is really important for the country". What is really important for the country is to get Trump out of office, not remake society.
45
Has it occured that given the specific topic of this article—the Senator’s pretty much giving up on the South, because he’s getting clobbered among black voters—that “mob mentality,” might just be a concept you want to think through a little better first?
25
Besides getting post offices renamed, showing up to vote in the Senate, and becoming a human fountain for applause lines, what has Sanders ever done for little Vermont, or for the U.S.? He’s spent the last 6 years campaigning. At least Biden served as an effective VP for Obama.
Sanders’s bragging about what he did or didn’t vote for hardly constitutes “a record.” He showed up to vote: big deal. If he had SPONSORED meaningful legislation, that’d be one thing, but he never did. Hillary was right: he’s a career politician, in addition to being a demagogue, and he was unnecessarily aggressive toward Elizabeth Warren. Michigan sees through such candidates.
4
My family has lived in Michigan for 125+ years, and we still have a home there--so we know the political landscape well. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I do not think blue collar workers will rally around Bernie. The 2019 union membership in Michigan was 13.6%. While this may seem low, these folks have good health benefits and healthcare into retirement. My mom, for instance, has pensions and healthcare from two union memberships. So do our neighbors, a union electrician and crane operator. The union membership extends far beyond wage and salaried workers--into retirees and voting family members who are on members' healthcare policies. Sanders "Medicare for All" message will not resonate with this large demographic. They will not want to give up their current insurance plans. Unfortunately, Bernie's image has been painted with a "socialist" brush, so this won't fly either. Good luck to that. Biden will prevail, I believe.
209
@Techvet I'd like to point out that Trump won over Hilary in Michigan in 2016 by a really slim margin of just 10,704 votes. That's why a seemingly small segment of the voting population like union membership is so critical to a Democratic win. The Green and the Libertarian votes siphoned off a considerable number of Democratic votes in my home State. The "Greens" may move to Sanders, but not sure of the Libertarians, who are divided on whether healthcare is a right and on the issue of a single-payer system. They're a wildcard in Michigan.
13
@Techvet Why should the idea that all people have healthcare not resonate with people who fought to have healthcare? The original unions were, after all, quite literally socialist.
21
@Techvet
That is the problem the "Medicare for All" sloganeering does not address. There are working class people in American who made real sacrifices to earn healthcare at work and in retirement. Asking them to give up the fruits of those sacrifices for an unknown system is just a bridge too far. A single payer type of system needs to show how it will work (cue "federal option" for the ACA) before it is going to be possible to convince people with good coverage that giving up what they have is a good idea.
37
Yet more biased reporting by the Times against Senator Sanders. Black voters in the deep South are with all due respect, not a major base of the Democratic Party because Democrats never, ever win in Mississippi and Alabama.
@Steven
But black voters do decide who gets to be the Democratic nominee. Bernie and his supporters should have learned that from 2016. The fact that he never tried to bolster his support among black voters, especially in the South, and the not-so-subtle, coded-language he and his supporters use in referring to black voters is why he will once again not be the Democratic nominee for president.
1
Working class midwesterners haven’t grown more suspicious of free trade in the Trump era as the article claims. They were betrayed by Bill Clinton who ran against NAFTA in 1992 and then turned around and signed it, leading not so indirectly to the Trump era.
So when you vote for Sanders is there an "I" next to his name or a "D".? Why would I vote for someone who hates democrats like Bernie does... "establishment" or "political main stream"?
3
Bernie Sanders represents our future - an increasingly diverse country challenged by a climate crisis. He inspires our young, our Latin population, and even older women like me. I want to see a more just society - one with a more thoughtful foreign policy.
To me, Mr. Biden represents our centrist past. He has tried to win more than once, and why should he be supported this time. I don't see him beating President Trump. Senator Sanders will.
4
it's interesting how you leave African Americans out of your list of people he represents.
@Caroline
Gosh, Caroline....I specifically mentioned the Latin community here in California because their turnout for Sanders was extaordinary. I know numerous African Americans, people from the Philippines and various other Caucasian, African, Indian, Native American and Asian nations for him here in the diverse city that San Diego is. I also have a daughter who is deaf, and her friends up in Portland are "all in" for Bernie.
2
Sander's largest victory was a 50.7% 'landslide' in his home state. It should be noted that 49.3% of the voters who know him best chose someone else.
3
I don't understand why the third most powerful Democrat in Congress put his fingers on the scale for his personal friend over the interests of who is best candidate to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country when our Democracy is at risk. By using his influence, he has created a wave that will drown the Democrats chances to win back the White House. The argument for Joe Biden is that he was Vice President for the first black president. However, this not 2008 or 1988 when he first ran for President. If he wanted to be President he should have run in 2016. Secondly, compare the two remaining choices. There is only one candidate that is not bought and owned by the political insiders that are creating a narrative that Biden is the best hope to defeat Donald Trump. The insiders are giving a giant I don't care what the future generation wants in a president. They are also risk loosing the fastest growing demographic, latinos, in key battle ground states like Texas.
5
@John Bernie Sanders will not win among non liberals. He is a one note candidate and too old. As is Biden. I am grateful for his one powerful speech that has helped the Party to move left. Warren's candidacy will be one of the great "what ifs" of history if indeed we have a future.
Bernie does not compromise on anything. And the Republicans will destroy him with the "socialism" brand. I've seen it already when talking with moderates. And where were all the young people- part of the great masses that he has promised will emerge to bring about this change? They didn't vote.
2
@John
Could it be that the Democrats in Congress don't share your opinion?
They are probably fed up with the naivety of Sanders voters whom assume that if Sanders is elected there will be a revolution in the country with free healthcare for all, no more tuition, no more student loan payments, etc. They realize these Sanders voters didn't pay attention to the Obama Presidency and don't get that it isn't simple to get legislation passed. #ACA
I cannot abide Senator Sanders but I will vote for him if he ends up being the candidate. I am pretty certain that most Biden voters (I was a Warren voter) agree with me and would vote for Sanders. But the opposite cannot be said. Those 2016 Sanders voters didn't vote for Clinton and look where we are now....that is probably why there is some perceived resentment in Congress against Sanders. It is completely justified.
@John
I completely agree with you.
From my vantage point here in San Diego, I read about the heavy Coachella Latinx enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders. He visited there as well as visiting Chula Vista High School, to wildly enthusiastic crowds. Many of these individuals are fully aware of the climate crisis already taking place, continue to suffer discrimination, and - important for the horse race aspects of our nomination process - are a larger voting bloc than are African Americans.
Bernie Sanders inspires people, including many of our young. He is the one to beat Trump, no question.
2
I find the gender gap statistics very interesting, the fact that Biden gains much more support among women than Sanders. The president of Young Democrats of MA was interviewed on WBUR today, and she commented that Bernie's supporters come off as "misogynistic." Could Bernie's supporters be to blame for chasing women into the Biden column?
10
Absolutely. Can attest that the experience with Bernie supporters online and in person in 2016 and his inability to even try to keep that in check has turned me off forever. You are the company you keep and I haven't seen the level of nastiness from any other campaign.
5
@Alexander Beal
Good question. A small fraction of over-zealous supporters could not manage that without a MSM campaign to promote it and falsely tie misogyny to the Sanders movement.
3
@Alexander Beal
Well, I'm just Bernie's age, female, and have been a supporter of his since living in Burlington, Vermont, in the 1970's. His message is honest, unwavering, necessary for the times. He is not a sexist. Nor is he an ageist, being one himself. He supports people of all colors and creeds, and also supports people who are deaf or who have disabilities.
Plus, as he says, it's not him, it's us. We all have to get on board to save our planet.
5
Sanders is done.
6
Bernie Sanders doesn't even claim to distinguish "people of color" from white people:
"First, he refuses to acknowledge black people as black people ... instead trying to lump us in with every racial/ethnic group with the term "people of color" (POC)..."
Socialists tend to think in economic terms, not in racial terms, and so even arguing that blacks should be lumped together with other "people of color" probably would upset Sanders. Thus, for example, to Bernie, a white proletarian in, say, Bulgaria would be largely the same as a black proletarian in the USA. It's not the proletarian's blackness that matters in the USA, or the proletarian's whiteness that matters in Bulgaria, It's the proletarian's "proleterianness" that matters to Bernie Sanders (or any other socialist) -- period.
And who's to say that's wrong? To argue, for example, that Bernie Sanders should focus on a supporter's "blackness" only if that supporter is a member of the "proletariat" emphasizes the person's "blackness" rather than his or her "proletarianness." Is that a distinction that any self-respecting socialist would draw? Should he?
3
Several commenters have written that, in 2016, Trump managed "to only have his name on the ballot."
In what states? I've never heard this before. Is it true?
I can't imagine any voter who supports Bernie Sanders EVER voting for Donald Trump. I can easily imagine, however, a Bernie Sanders supporter just staying home, rather than schlepping to the polls just to vote for Biden rather than Trump. If Biden gets the nomination, but many Sanders supporters don't vote for Biden because they're upset with how the DNC has treated Bernie Sanders, Trump wins.
1
Perhaps advocating literacy programs in Cuba on 60 minutes where Cubans cannot write books provided the electorate a clue of how clueless Bernie Sanders is going to be as a president. Besides, Sanders is riding on the coattails of the Democratic Party as a self declared independent socialist. Sanders is so stupefied by his ego, he cannot see the wide forest for his Lilly white maple syrup trees in Vermont.
Biden was for the Hyde amendment. I know plenty of voters that are going for Trump now that Biden has been anointed and Sanders crushed to a degree by his own naivete. At least Trump is inept and kneecapped by his own administration. Biden, like the black misleadership class, is owned by the white PAC money from the FIRE sector and they are Bernaysian indeed.
Blacks just don't "get it" about Bernie Sanders.
In the US, the "proletariat" and "black Americans" are roughly the same thing. Not so in other countries, however. In Bulgaria, for example, the "proletariat" is white. Bernie Sanders does not, and he doesn't claim to, understand "blackness," only "proletarianness," black or white.
1
I am just amazed at how frightening Sanders' is to the average person in America, his demeanor and mantra trashing the "millionaires and billionaires." I am amazed that Sanders' thinks he can be elected president by threatening them. The landslide to Binder and against Sanders is totally understandable. People are simply threatened by Bernie. The latest poll in Florida shows Bernie falling to 12% for the Democratic primary.
4
Maybe they aren't afraid of him. They just don't like him or his policies. And maybe people didn't like him in 2016 either, they just hated Hillary. Something to think about rather than blaming voters for the failure of a very rigid man to appeal to them in any way.
1
This seems obvious to us oldsters:
"But Sanders never really tackles race. He talks about class and class warfare first."
Socialists (of which Communists are a subset) focus on the distinction between "bourgeoisie" and "proletariat," not on racial distinctions.
Thus, what might be a largely black proletariat "class" in the USA might instead be a largely white proletariat class in, say, Bulgaria. To his credit, there is nothing "racial" about Bernie Sanders: He is a thoroughgoing "Socialist," whether the "proletariat" happens to be black or white. He doesn't claim to be pro-black or pro-white, only pro-proletariat, whether that proletariat is black or white.
Trump is moving our country towards a totalitarian form of government. I will Vote Blue, but have a few questions for the Bernie folks.
What's with the comments about the southern states that don't vote Democrat in the general election. Explain? Are you saying southern states that typically swing Republican in general shouldn't be allowed to vote in the primary? How is that different from Trump who managed to get some States to only have his name on the ballot? Isn't that a form of totalitarian government?
Why didn't young people show up to vote?
Are you planning to Vote Blue regardless of who wins? If not, how are you getting any closer to your goals? Yup, the young people will be taking over in a few years, but it may be too late. If Trump wins again, he will be more empowered to become a dictator. More conservative judges, less congressional oversight, more deregulation = more climatic change, less and more expensive healthcare, education more expensive, potentially less religious freedoms, and maybe less chance to vote. All the things you want will become less attainable.
Since I'm older, if Trump wins again, it will not effect me much. What about young people? Bernie or bust protest crowd swing my state PA red last time.
Two things we learned this past Tuesday: big rallies and big money don't necessary translate into votes.
2
@Pam Bernie's core fans - young people - nowhere showed up on Super Tuesday in numbers larger than 15%. In California, it was 5%. Pathetic as to the under 30 demographic -- what's wrong with you? Showing up is everything. It's a death knell for Bernie's alleged ability to "inspire a new wave of voters."
1
Who was it -- T.S. Eliot -- who wrote (ominisciently) that the world will end with a whimper, not with a bang?
That appears likely in the 2020 election, which will end with a whimper regardless of who the Democratic Party nominee is. If it's Bernie Sanders, that will be obvious long before Election Day. If it's instead Biden, the result will be the same, though it may not be obvious until Election Day. Either way, the whimper will occur.
The Democratic Party should shift its focus to 2024, when it will win, and give up on 2020.
1
Fair point:
"If [Bernie Sanders] will not compete for [black] votes [in the primaries], what makes him think they'll vote for him in the general election?"
In all states (that's "all" as in "all") in which black voters are a significant bloc, white "Trump voters" are an even bigger bloc. Bernie gets this, and so he's trying to win the states that are winnable (Michigan, for example, rather than Mississippi). He fully understands that he's not being "true" to his black supporters but, more than anything else ("purity," for example), Bernie Sanders wants to be the Democratic Party nominee.
1
@Commenter
Besides the fact that you have to win the DEM nomination, which is why black votes in the South are crucial, black votes are key in forming coalitions with whites in states like VA, NC, GA, and even Doug Jones' win in AL--in once reliably red states that can and have turned blue.
What a surprise!
"As a native transplanted Mississippian,
I am deeply offended ... His so-called revolution appears to stop at the Mason Dixon line."
Guess what? Mississippi will be a GOP state. Sanders knows that. Michigan may or may not be. So why should Sanders spend time in a state that will vote Republican anyway? Seems sensible to me. You too?
1
Sanders fails to recognize that Biden worked with Obama for 8 years, he wasn't just there to run for the next Presidency at the time. Biden might have his lapses and a bit tired sometimes but we need to win not only the WH but also Congress and he can bring those voters back in the fold that made the House blue in 2018. Desperation does not befit Sen. Sanders at all.
5
Sanders other problem is he got clocked by a guy with one hand tied behind his back. No more moderate 4 way split going forward. The urge to win in November “ Trump’s “ any ideological purity test.
2
Finally, Mr Sanders is beginning to show his true "colors." First, he refuses to acknowledge black people as black people during the Rachel Maddow MSNBC interview, instead trying to lump us in with every racial/ethnic group with the term "people of color" (POC) to deflect from a discussion about his abysmal showing among ALL black people of all age groups.
Now, he just cancels the Mississippi rally with no concern about the optics.
But he does care about some optics.
What is most disgusting is the commercial he cut that misrepresents his relationship with the ever-popular-in-the-black-community Barack Obama. When Sanders pushed for a primary challenge to Obama, he tried to undermine him. That he now pretends that Obama's signature legislation-Obamacare-does not exist, and instead keeps touting his M4A healthcare policy idea as a replacement for Obamacare, he continues to try to destroy Obama's legacy.
The commercial he cut that uses Obama's body is gross.
Sanders is using Obama's black body to attain his own white power. Sanders has no respect for Obama as president or black people beyond what they can do for him. That he was "arrested" during the civil rights movement only put him on trend. As Janet Jackson once said, "What has he done for you lately."
Sanders, please stop using Obama's black body for your thirst for white power. It is unjust.
7
This reminds me of when Trump in the first election kept saying he was a great friend of “the blacks”. Presumably he was referring to Algernon and Missy Black of the Hamptons and Palm Beach “Blacks”.
1
Most Bernie Bros believe this, but it's not true:
"Bernie is a 'once in a generation politician'."
Bernie Sanders has been around for a very long time -- since the 1960s, to be precise. The fact that most of his (young) supporters appear to be unaware of this doesn't make it any less true. Bernie Sanders has been around for a very long time, and his ideas have been around even longer. Contrary to what most Sanders supporters appear to believe about him, there is oldness, not newness, to him and his ideas.
3
Sanders is running to raise all boats. Please come out and vote for yourself, and your loved ones. We all deserve healthcare and a climate future. It’s not radical. It’s what everyone else already has and wants. Besides, Bernie beats Trump.
8
@Leah Better keep repeating that message 'cause Bernie's supporters did NOT come out to vote for him. The youth vote? In no Super Tuesday race did more than 15% of those under 30 participate. In California it was 5%.
1
As a native transplanted Mississippian,
I am deeply offended that Senator Sanders, cannot carve out 1 hour for Mississippi.
His so-called revolution appears to stop at the Mason Dixon line. This only confirms, what we all suspect, the senator from Vermont does not understand African Americans.
Or for that matter, rural American voters. It might be cool to be the groovy uncle in California, but it’s not cool to skip Mississippi, And the rest of the south as if it is a confederacy still.
These are Saners’ words; “Every state is important,” he said. “Michigan is very, very important.” I’ll take that to mean that Mississippians or something less than Michigans.
In the words of my best friends daughter, 30 years old, From Portland Oregon: “Billy, there are rednecks everywhere!” Senator Sanders doesn’t seem to get that.
Coming from the state, Vermont, with all of 9000 African-Americans, I understand why Senator Sanders cannot reach out and create a broader coalition; He doesn’t know any black people or rednecks. On the other hand, DJ T, has visited Mississippi several times to packed arenas. Sanders is not reading the people behind his own circle and that is why he is losing.
3
I couldn't care less if a candidate visits. What matters is his/her platform and whether or not they are competent to be president.
2
@ Lupito
Thank you for sending the link. What this shows to me Is that Glenn Ford is Schilling for DJT in some sort of Counter intuitive intelligence scheme. I am not buying his fear. Ford is selling fear over hope. Glenn Ford is opposed to the democratic party. He might as well be working for Rush Limbaugh.
————-
These are Glenn Ford’s own words.
Many Black voters recoiled in abject terror at the very thought that the Democratic Party – “our” party, in many Black folks’ minds –
The Democrats -- who are now the most aggressive war party – have succeeded in linking Donald Trump to Russia,
Trump is a Criminal, But the Democrats Belong to the Same Mafia
The Republicans and Democrats are united under the American imperial banner, and only differ on details of strategy to maintain Washington’s
Biden’s open support of corporate oligarchy and disdain for Black America won him the hearts and minds of the ruling class.
Joe Biden is the purest example of the corporate Democrats that turned the party decisively towards war, austerity and race-baiting in a previous elections.
With support for “socialism” rising, the political fate of Al Sharpton and the rest of the Democratic party’s Black corporate minions is in doubt -- and they know it.
————
Does that sound like a progressive democrat TO YOU?
Bernie, the great friend of the workers, the blacks, has now realized that the workers and blacks abhor him and his Socialist Revolution.
At least some people have common sense.
We need to defeat Trump not create a Socialist Revolution.
Time to start writing his political obituary.
This dog ain't gonna hunt no more.
9
How is the black population in the south such an important contributor to the outcomes of the elections??? Not only do the elections take place in just a few states ( for example, it doesn’t matter who I vote for, the Democrats will win), also, as we have repeatedly seen, the black population does not vote in the mid terms. So, we are giving up the swing states and focusing on the ones we will lose. Great strategy: trump appreciation chocolates are on their way to the “democratic “ party...
A major reason Sanders lost in 2016 because he did poorly with blacks. Looks like he has the same problem this time. The one place where he did pretty well with blacks in 2016 was Detroit and he had a surprising win in Michigan. So perhaps he can do that again. But his chances of winning the nomination now looks slim at best. Hillary Clinton ran on extending the Obama agenda and Biden seems to be doing the same thing. Most Democrats support that so Sanders really needs to prepare himself for another failed effort. His agenda just isn't that popular probably because most voters have come to the conclusion that it has zero chance of being enacted. It is very hard to fool voters as Sanders is again finding out. The revolution didn't play well in 2016 and it looks like is not playing well again as least when it comes to middle age and older voters.
6
Didn’t the mayor of Jackson MS just endorse Bernie?
4
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.
3
@Ukosi Dumping Trump is not the #1 goal? Really? Absolutely nothing good will happen unless Democrats win the election and have the power to govern.
Sanders number one goal should be to get nominated. Trump is a side show and Hyde Amendment Biden is a geriatric placeholder who is cognitively impaired. I wonder if he has a heavy alcohol history.
Several commenters present well-thought-out predictions on Biden v. Sanders. But will it matter? Whichever one of them wins must confront Trump, who predictably will crush either one unless he gets hit by a truck before Election Day.
In other words, does it really matter whether Biden or Sanders gets the nomination?
Social Democracy as practiced in the Nordic countries works well and offers many of the opportunities that I think our country could readily adapt such as state run drop off child care centers, a wonderful opportunity for parents and a whole new expanded job market and training courses. Free college and universal health care could be adapted to our society in a different format. These countries adopted these policies quite a while ago and was easier to achieve in small homogeneous countries with a high level of education. As for the US , we are large, messy politics and poorly educated. Each region is different from the others and has little understanding of the country they live in. Most never travel, content to remain home and are never challenged by a different way of thinking . The corporations will never allow universal health care, colleges are living the high life on donor money and no one cares about the poor. Weak and ineffectual , pull themselves up. Social Democracy passed us by but the Democrats are the only ones who realize that fairness counts and will try to level the playing field.
The comments here show why the electability argument becomes more absurd by the day in this primary election. Biden is deemed more electable because he is surging ahead in the delegate count, largely on the back of crucial wins in the South. It was the same with Clinton four years ago. But it is very unlikely that a Democrat will win those states in the general election! Keep that in mind the next time you think about electability.
3
I have lived a fair chunk of my life fighting the dysfunctional politics in my home state of Mississippi. Skipping the state is the smartest thing Sanders could do: there is virtually zero chance he will win the state, and the potential prize is dwarfed by other more critical states. Rest assured those most likely to vote for him are smart and experienced enough not to be swayed by his choice to skip the state. We will be saying instead "Go get 'em; we've got you covered here."
1
2020 is a foregone conclusion: Trump wins. Fast forward to 2024, and Buttigieg and Warren look pretty good. Biden and Sanders will either be dead or VERY old. Frankly, they're too old now.
2
The campaign contest is over. Sanders' campaign is now a ghost effort. At his age, Sanders knows this was his last hurrah. So he trying to stay in the limelight as long as he can and pretend his socialism appeals to more than just the people he promises free stuff to.
It will all fade away soon, Bernie. Call it a life and be gone with you.
4
What Sanders may also be suggesting is that he's given up on gaining support from African-American voters. Conceding this key Democratic Party bloc to Biden.
Since African-American voters are a substantial force in most of the remaining primary states this is a rather odd strategy.
Turning his back on such a key constituency is a telling sign that the doors are closing on possible winning scenarios for Mr. Sanders.
The remaining question will soon be whether or not instead of seeking the Democratic Party nomination Mr. Sanders starts flirting with a third party candidacy with the effect of handing Trump his re-election.
2
Why should we Progressives, Independents and Millennials put up with constantly under attack from not being Republican enough for the Democratic Party?
4
One of fascinating questions arising in this primary is why Sanders is so far to the left. Was there any calculation, or was it just “Bernie being Bernie”.
Was there any consideration given to how symbolism, optics, amd language might have broadened his appeal? Is the left so imbedded in its bubble that any hint of centrist leaning plays as a breach of orthodoxy?
It’s a very divided country of more than three hundred million people in millions of square miles. You’re going to need a bigger tent.
8
I do think the two party system fosters an "us versus them" mentality that increasingly has people at each others' throats. And third parties never get anywhere in the US because of the "spoiler" phenomenon. Ranked choice voting would make it possible to have meaningful, minimally-disruptive competition between multiple parties. But maybe even that common-sense change is too threatening to the average voter.
@escargot Common sense wouldn't promise to demolish and replace overnight an industry (health care) that represents 6% of the American economy.
Contrary to what the Democratic Establishment are saying,Bernie Sanders Will Deliver The White HousTo Democrats November 2020. Bernie Will Be The Nominee.He's the only candidate that's being taking on big corporations and their owners for the good of ordinary people. Ignore all the Pundits,Vote for the best candidate that cares about people like you. Obama said in 2016 that "Trump Will Never Be Elected President" of the United States,but here we are. If Trump could be elected the President with majority in the Senate and the House of representatives in 2016,anyone can be elected President. Bernie is a 'once in a generation politician'. Whether you agree with him or not,it's hard to see an independent politician that's not corrupted by any of the two big political parties. We may disagree with Sanders in terms of policy or political philosophy,but I haven't seen A HONEST CARING COMPASSIONATE AUTHENTIC POLITICIAN like him. Many try to sound like him,but their past records show they're representing corporations against ordinary people and the environment. And If Democrats Elect a Nominee like Biden,Who Supported The Disastrous Iraq War That Cost Millions Of Lives and Job-killing Trade Deals That Cost Millions Of Jobs,Trump Will Tear Into Him And Eat His Brunch In General Election Just As He Did To Hillary And Jeb Bush 2016. Bernie's The Best. This Is A Rare Opportunity To Nominate A Rare Honest Politician Called Bernie And He'll Surely Be Elected The President in November 2020.
5
Bernie won't even take Michigan or Pennsylvania in the primary
3
This is unfortunate to cancel although I sort of understand from the campaigns perspective.
Having said that (and personally knowing Bernie supporters in Mississippi), I see this as a big mistake on Mr Sanders part.
3
Another thumb of the nose to POC
Please still canvass and vote for him! We need all of us to vote for representative democracy and against the candidate who represents the same ole that brought us all to our knees. Thank you!
2
If Biden gets elected and manages to defeat Trump, Wall Street, corporations, lobbyists will continue to reign. Critics of Sanders keep bringing up his health insurance plan to criticize but what attracts me most to his campaign is his willingness to take on money and influence in elections, e.g. Bloomberg spending a fortune to help buy congressional seats. And when his corporation needs favorable legislation passed, who is going to turn to but his bought and paid for friends in Washington? LEGAL CORRUPTION. Leading to an oligarchic state. Well, we’re kind of there already. Yeah, nothing wrong with that right?
Also I question the judgement of Biden, a man who blithely went along and gave his assent to invade Iraq when there was no concrete evidence of WMDs, instead of, at the least, focusing on the Afghan War. That alone will make me hold my nose if I end up voting for him in November.
4
This is a bad sign for Sanders. As did Hillary in 2016, Biden will run up huge net delegate gains in uncontested Southern states such as Mississippi and Georgia, while splitting delegates in the contested Northeastern and Midwestern states.
As was the case with Hillary, the uncontested states with large black populations will provide Biden with his ultimate margin of victory in convention delegates.
This illustrates the simple fact that Sanders does not have broad support among the various constituencies that make up the Democratic party. His support is deep, but narrow.
10
I just saw a poll on RCP showing Sanders in third place in Florida with 12 percent, with Warren in 4th at 5 percent. Biden had 61 percent. Unless this poll is pure propaganda, there is no point in continuing this chase.
I suspect Bernie's internal polling shows him getting crushed in Michigan so he is trying to rescue the industrial Midwest story line. The problem is not that he cannot win Michigan, it is that it will not matter if he does.
There is a lot to admire about Bernie and his passion for elevating all of us by elevating the most disadvantaged among us. It is a bit sad that he will not get to run again in four years to remind us all to work to eliminate poverty and desperation. But that does not change the nomination process or math for 2020. I am not sure if news outlets are afraid of appearing biased, but there is no there there.
4
Come on Michiganders end Sanders’ (and our) misery. Reject his pipe dream fantasies and vote for Joe, the guy who can bring back decency and start healing our country. We can’t let Trump get another chance to finish ruining America. Bernie doesn’t have the real votes he would need for his revolution. Sorry. Joe can reverse a lot of the harm done: cancel exec orders that are poised to kill our environment, restore decent communication and cooperation with our allies, bring compassion into the executive branch, he can turn the disastrous actions of trump around. Give him a Congress and he can lead us in the right direction. Think positive.
10
Bernie Sanders suffers from the handicap of being an honest man. African Americans suffer from the handicap of voting for Joe Biden just because he is friends with Barack Obama.
People assume that Donald Trump wants Sanders to win the nomination because he will be easier to beat. Trump’s backers want Biden to win the nomination because then whoever wins means nothing much will change except cosmetics.
6
Michigan Democrats have one priority; to defeat Trump in November and Bernie will not get us there. Joe Biden's votes on trade and Iraq are totally irrelevant to what's going on today. The fact that Bernie is so clueless about what matters to most Democrats, explains why he is going to lose in Michigan and elsewhere on Tuesday.
7
Bernie said he wants California to take over PG&E and make it a state owned and run utility. We in the International Bother of Electrical Workers resent his uninformed meddling in this matter. He can forget my vote. His statement hurt union brothers here in one of the few states that went for him.
5
Bernie's time has come and gone. All he will do now is help elect Trump (again).
3
Does the DNC plan to nominate the candidate who wins the most states where they have no chance in the general again?
2
Joe developed strong friendships with African Americans before PBO was born.
Sheesh! sanders can't seem to grasp the concept of a good man who's acted on his conscience & developed lifelong friendships with many people of all shapes, sizes & colors.
Joe Biden is, simply & profoundly, a man who loves humanity in general & is a loyal, intelligent, honest public servant.
sanders, like trump, always looks for the angle, the scam, because he simply can't understand the desire to offer one's all to improve conditions for every American.
His loss.
3
Democrats worry about Sander’s impact on congressional and Senate races. His decision to ditch Mississippi will have repercussions there and elsewhere in the South. Mike Espy is running for the Senate and Biden’s appearance will have a significant impact in ensuring voter turnout.
5
Reading through these comments, it dawned on me that many, if not most, of these pro-Bernie comments were probably written in some boiler room in Leningrad. Don't take the bait, y'all.
3
I voted for Sanders in 2016 and I’m voting for him on St. Patrick’s day. I guess that makes me a “Bernie Bro” despite the fact that I’m a middle-aged woman.
3
There’s no such thing as a Bernie Bro. It’s the only thing anyone could think of to attack the only honest candidate who’s only running so we can have healthcare and a climate future.
3
NYT, you seem to be biasing against Sanders and painting him the loser when he is ahead of Biden.
As of today, Biden leads by 65 delegates. In states that Bernie won, there are 188 UNAWARDED DELEGATES. In states Biden won, there’s 18 left.
"Mr. Sanders’s disappointing performance on Super Tuesday — he won only four states to Mr. Biden’s 10 — has only increased the sense of urgency inside his campaign."
3
Today the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Witmer, endorsed Biden on Morning Joe and became one of four national campaign co-chairpersons.
Witmer is my choice for Biden's running mate.
2
There is an awful lot of smugness going on in the top comments. Does anyone honestly think that’s going to attract those voters the Democrats will need to ensure victory come November? Maybe you all can comfort yourselves with your smugness when you “inexplicably” lose on election night yet again.
2
It’s over, Bernie. Stop wasting money and put your energy behind Biden.
5
As things stand now I will vote for a lamp post instead of DJT. At least a lamp post makes things bright. And I will stand in line even if it takes forever. Joe may be semi-senile but he will listen, appoint smart people and get good advice. I know that’s setting a low bar but it’s our only way out of this apocalypse.
3
you know it all starts with all those boomer 'publicans. they all believe in the american dream and dont want julian, bernie, elizabeth and pete to blow up our society. free college, free medical care, guaranteed wage, racial reparations, forgive student loans, we could all do it! if all those old boomer 'publicans would just hand over their checking accounts. of course that money would last all of 6 months. and then what happens? all the old boomer 'publicans stop working; why? why work when the government takes it all. ask the castro brothers they did it in cuba; the average monthly wage in cuba today is $25; but you get a free education and health care!
The VP nominee is going to be everything in this race. Hurry up and pick.
1
What has Biden ever done for black people or their community?
2
Dear Mr. Sanders,
Please polarize swing states as much as possible before ceding the nomination to Mr. Biden. Thank you.
Your comrade,
V. Putin
I understand the need to focus on certain states, but this is contrary to Bernie's claims to the Democratic nomination.
Bernie says he is building a "multi-racial" movement. But in states with large Black populations he has been doubled by Biden, even when a few days before he was leading in the polls by double digits (Virginia).
It isn't just Black voters, he has conceded he'll lose the votes of moderate Republicans and independents but claims a massive turnout of young people will make up for it.
First, this hasn't happened. The Democratic turnout has not been larger than 2016 and in those instances where it has the beneficiary has been Biden.
Second, he is relying on the most unreliable demographic (people under 35) to make up for a loss in a very reliable demographic (older Americans). According to the NYT he'll need an 11% increase in younger voters to win. Obama only increased African-American turnout by 4%.
Now he is conceding he can not compete in states with large African-American populations. If he will not compete for their votes what makes him think they'll vote for him in the general election?
It's Sanders' right to choose his strategy and I'm not lecturing him because I never thought a Marxist could garner the successes he's had. But the problem is when he loses he blames the system for stealing something from him. His supporters are dangerous and he continues to inflame them.
Bernie, run as a 3rd party. You aren't a Democrat anyway.
41
@jkemp
Totally agree.
Bernie has been talking the same talk for his entire career. He says he is a Socialist and wants a Revolution.
He had refused to join the Dem party.
He worked as an elector twice ( 1980, 1984) for the Marxist-Leninist Socialist Workers Party.
He loves Denmark, he claims, but honeymooned in Moscow.
He is fooling no one.
Workers, blacks, poor people are not fooled.
The Proletariat, Bernie, has responded. They don't want you nor your phoney revolution.
7
@jkemp What a terrible idea to encourage a 3rd party run.
6
@jkemp there are no moderate Republicans. The biggest myth the moderate candidates sell is 'bipartisanship'. Republicans love Trump. He has an over 87% approval rating with them. They are not voting for anyone else. The 13% who don't probably think he is too left leaning for them.
1
He may have the black youth vote who may be lured by promises of fee college and canceling college tuition loans, but the reality is black people as a whole never really warmed up to Sanders and they feel he just didn't make the effort to reach out to them.
They see him as a New England phenomenon first, that started in THE whitest state in the U.S. and gradually expanded to try and be more and more inclusive.
But Sanders never really tackles race. He talks about class and class warfare first. He never really touches on black issue and what it means specifically to be black in America.
Just like Buttiegieg, but to a lesser degree, there's no mutual chemistry there with black folks, especially down South.
He can parade Nina Turner all he wants, he can have Chuck D and Public Enemy on stage and most black people will shrug it off.
He didn't try to reach out to Clyburn in SC, he skipped Selma commemorations after losing SC, felt like he was the only one who didn't bother to attend Elijah Cummings' funeral last year... black people take note.
Also, black voters tend to be EXTREMELY pragmatic since they're often the first victims of Donald Trump and Republicans' policies and they may not feel like Bernie is the man to take on Trump.
And some have accused black voters of being homophobic when they rejected Pete, and there is talk here and there of black anti-Semitism in their rejection of Sanders and Bloomberg... could there be something to it? Maybe, but it goes both ways..
33
@Eric I am always amazed by those who post their opinions about the voting habits of black people as if they are experts on the topic. 1. Black americans are not a monolithic community. 2. No one speaks for all black americans. 3. Stop trying to adorn homophobia with a black face.
6
@Eric nina turner? maybe if he brought her sister, tina, he would've received more votes.
2
@Eric
I think that a lot of Black voters are voting Biden not because they believe Biden has Black people's back, but because they believe he's electable and the association with Obama helps.
Policy wise, neither have policies specific towards black people. So sure maybe Black people didn't warm up to Sanders, but I don't think they "warmed up" to Biden. They just thought he was the status quo.
5
There is a lot of disinformation in these comments from both sides:
Bernie Sanders actually participated in the Civil Rights movement. In doing so he did more for Civil Rights and equality than 99% of this critics in this forum. Cancelling the MS rally was pragmatic, realistic and throughly justifiable.Only losers throw good money after bad.
That said, insulting Jim Clyburn by saying he did not solicit his endorsement because Sanders did not share his political beliefs was simply stupid. There is no other word for it--well, perhaps moronic. Clyburn is the highest elected Af-Am politician in this country. He is beloved by AF-Ams.
What is the point of sticking your thumb in his eye, Bernie? Did it make you feel more pure for 10 seconds? Good luck with that strategy.
30
@Laurence Bachmann
Biden had Clyburn's endorsement years ago.
They go way back.
What could Bernie have done?
@Pia
What he should have done is kept his mouth shut and moved on, not publicly insulted a respected figure in the AfAm community.
"Holier than thou" is not a winning campaign slogan Pia.
4
@Lupito
You typify what makes Sanders so unelectable and Sanders' supporters so heartily disliked: you cannot resist spitting in the eye of the people you need to win over.
Good luck with that strategy.
4
As I see it basically we have a battle between the evils of capitalism and benefits of socialism. One need only look at countries in Europe and to Canada, where they all have universal health care of one sort or another, paid family leave of up to 14 months in Finland etc. These are hardly socialist countries, each country made up of individuals of different economic groups from the poor, the middle class, and millionaires. But they all have a safety net society which protects everyone. This is not communism as many in the Congress of the GOP might claim. Is it any wonder that Wall Street is so opposed to Bernie. Might it be that he wants to raise their taxes, to make them truly accountable? Currently we live in a society which is so very unequal. How can we change this? That is the real question.
6
So, Bernie leaves a state to Biden (one that Trump will handily win anyway), and heads to the rust belt, where the last elections were close.
Sounds like excellent strategy.
26
@Chris People aren't interested in Bernie's changes or the turmoil from Trump. I preferred Warren but first and foremost Trump must go. Nothing else matters.
3
Michigan is friendly territory for Sanders. Before the illegal Ukraine scheme came out, that was the only swing state that he was doing better in than Biden versus Trump. Now we know a lot more, however. His movement isn't drawing in new voters. The gains in the Latino community appear to be balanced by losses elsewhere. Nominating him would abandon a whole lot of very reliable swing voters in exchange for a lot of very unreliable voters who have not shown up. If he were the nominee, it looks like he would not win back the Senate and might even lose the House. Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Bloomberg have all left the race and endorsed Biden. Finally, some Americans anyway have grown weary of his indifference to racism and sexism (e.g., his participation in the events and broadcasts of the "dirtbag" left), his resolute refusal to value Democratic unity (or do anything that furthers it), his embarrassing refusal to even consider notions of practical governance.
32
Calling Bernie Sanders sexist after you called another poster below “Darling” because you didn’t like their post is the height of hypocrisy. Bernie Sanders has a pristine record on women’s right unlike Joe Biden who said that he didn’t think women should always control their own bodies; who ignored Anita Hill.
Calling Bernie racist or tolerant of racism is simply ahistorical and borderline insane. Bernie has been fighting against racism since before I was born, and that was a while ago. He was arrested in a Civil Rights march. There’s pictures. Biden makes up fake arrests to see Nelson Mandela.
The notion that the preferred candidate of Latino voters and of black voters under 35 years old is somehow a white supremacist, as you imply, makes me sick.
I have been a Democrat all my life. I’ve been part of the party structures. I even work in and for the heart of the establishment. And your utter disdain for the truth, and that of others like you, make me want to abandon this party.
Keep propping up your senile candidate who will be destroyed by Trump in the debates. Keep propping up a guy who literally said he has no empathy for millennials and younger generations. You must be as out of touch as he is and by the time you realize how huge your blunder has been this party will be beyond saving.
4
@Latino Voter
Gentle reminder: There are several Roberts from Seattle who comment here. Sometimes the Roberts from Seattle are in agreement, sometimes not.
Speaking for myself now, it isn't so much that the candidate himself is racist or sexist. As I said above, the problem is that he is indifferent toward those things. His emphasis is on economic progressivism--at the expense of social progressivism and things like sexism. A subset of Sanders supporters has happily relished that approach which has permitted them to keep their sexism. Take a moment please today and read the comments from those Sanders supporters in response to today's article about Senator Warren. Pretty horrendous, no? That's a line we Democrats should not cross. Here's a link to an example:
https://nyti.ms/2VOcvn2#permid=105625905
2
Biden didn't appear or spend a dollar in Minnesota. Did he abandon that state? Or maybe the story line is that Biden is a genius.
9
@Haz There are people of various political persuasions who want Trump out. Don't make it hard. Biden is no genius far from it. Still he strikes me as a decent man who will make a competent President and a far better choice than Trump.
4
So Sanders wins actual toss up states and Democratic states while Biden wins Republican states that aren't even battlegrounds. Corporate Democrats are a joke.
20
This isn’t correct. Biden won blue, Democratic states (ME, Mass, VA) and toss up states (Minn) along with southern states. More to come when he wins Michigan, Florida, and Ohio.
8
@Samuel What are you talking about? Biden won Virginia and MN, both must-win states in November. He also won traditionally blue states like Maine and MA. He won 10 states to Sanders's four, so give me a break.
6
@Samuel North Carolina, Minnesota, and Texas are the closest pivot point states based on 2018 projections from Super Tuesday. Of course, Biden also won Maine and Massachusetts.
Sanders won... California, Colorado, and Vermont. Where's the joke?
5
So much Bernie hate coming out. Almost like all the Trump hate. And the two men couldn't be more different. Strange.
16
@abigail49
What's "strange" is just how unyielding, egotistical, unyielding and intolerant both of these men are -- and both their supporters don't even recognize it.
5
@abigail49
Though Sanders and Trump couldn't be more different in terms of morals, ethics, and democracy, there are structural similarities between them. The St. Bernie personality cult is a bit like the Trump personality cult.
2
@N. Smith In Bernie's case, it's called standing for something and not backing down. Trump is by no stretch "unyielding" because he doesn't stand for anything or anybody but himself. Where have you been?
Will we have a repeat of 2016 here in Wisconsin? Hillary couldn't be bothered with us at all.
5
Smart move!
4
All of those Mississippi Democratic Socialists are going to be really annoyed!
8
@ Richard: Not so fast. Mississippi was only 49,000 votes shy of being in Obama’s column.
Whatever you know about Mississippi cannot be from first-hand experience.
1
Go away Bernie. You destroyed Hillary and you are continuing to destroy the Democratic Party. Take one for the team and support Joe. We need to unite as one party to defeat the disease currently infecting the WH. I for one am sick of the arguments and constant fighting. I cannot bear another 4 years of putting my finger on the mute button when either you or Trump appear on the tube. Just stop it already.
46
@Concerned Citizen
Don't worry about Bernie. The Democratic party is doing a brilliant job of destroying itself.
4
@Concerned Citizen I also hit the mute button for those two.
1
@Concerned Citizen Hey, I discovered the mute button too!
1
I think it just comes down to this
People want a Commander in Chief, not a Kvetcher in Chief
15
Sanders is a churlish, nasty, puerile, and truculent poltroon.
And this guy think he can be president? Other than being an ultra lefty, he's just like Trump.
Yeccch
30
Call Sanders what you must, but a poltroon he is not, good sir.
1
@Bob The word you want is demagogue.
My preference would have been a Bernie or Elizabeth presidency. Unfortunately, voters don't understand how serious the wealth gap, climate change, student debt and other crises are. And the entrenched interests in the moderate wing of the party don't want to give up power. This is quite depressing, but more depressing is 4 more years of a disastrous trump presidency. So I also recommend that Bernie bow out and throw his support behind Biden. And beg, plead, cry with his supporters to go to the polls and vote for Biden. I know it is a big let down, but the consequence of not voting for the democratic nominee are too disastrous to contemplate.
21
@James
"Unfortunately, voters don't understand how serious the wealth gap, climate change, student debt and other crises are. And the entrenched interests in the moderate wing of the party don't want to give up power."
I don't think that accurately describes most of us, Darling.
25
@James ho, ho, ho. maybe in a thousand years america will be ready to vote for bernie/elizabeth. as of right now, you and the rest of the millennials have 4 more years of trumpian rule to look forward to! the best part is that you (the new socialist democratic party) could have selected candidates that appealed to all of america. but no you were all so convinced about the criminality of our society that you want to blow it all up. a large majority of america disagrees with you.
@Robert It kinda does. Moderate policies and the inability for the democratic party to recognize all that was stated above is the reason Trump got elected in the first place. Biden, who is half the candidate Hillary is, is going to get demolished by Trump and that's unfortunate because he needs to be voted out.
4
I really hope that Sanders does not wait too long to concede and endorse Biden. It seems inevitable, so hopefully he will follow the noble precedent set up by Amy, Pete, and Mike and not drag the nomination process out and instead focus on helping Biden defeat Trump by imploring his supporters to vote.
44
Wrong, Biden will lose and if he wins he will continue neoliberalism. Electing Biden is the end of our country. The right will seize power for a generation after him.
16
@BMD We have a primary system in this country. It's there for a reason. This is not the general election. Let the primary play out.
5
@BMD He did that for Hillary last time. History shows us Whitehouse refugees loose. Gore, Kerry, Hillary. And now you want to try Biden. Insane.
4
Sanders should show concern for his supporters and the nation by cancelling his rally. This is not a time to be bringing huge crowds of people into confined spaces. If Sanders really wants to prove his is a leader, here's his chance.
15
@Ken Don't be dramatic, Ken.
5
@ken. Tell that to the NBA
2
Sanders needs a CLEAR win in Michigan to stay viable and maintain a path to nomination. Even if Biden comes in a close 2nd, splitting several of the delegates, it could be a dark sign. Seven days after Michigan he is likely to struggle in several of those primaries, most notably in delegate-rich Florida.
12
@Mark Biden currently has a near-double digit lead in MI. And that was before the popular Gov. Whitmer endorsed Biden today. MI will go for Biden, and it won't be close.
2
Bernie hasn’t been viable since Adlai Stevenson lost to Eisenhower.
2
@Mark Nobody tells Bernie what to do. He must draw his own conclusions over the next few weeks.
Warren’s ideas were not overwhelmingly different from Sanders’. People did not vote for her on Tuesday. This tells me the only people who will vote for Bernie are the fans he already has.
Biden has more fans. Trump must be defeated. No real choice, there.
22
@James Fans? This isn't a sporting event.
8
Fans?! What do you think this is, a popularity contest?!? It’s an election year, not the freaking Oscars!!
9
@James Warren got third in nearly all states what do you mean?
Do you think Bernie will drop out when he loses Michigan? My husband and I have waited to the last moment to fill out our absentee ballots. There are only 2 left and we will go with Biden.
31
@Mjw Do you think Biden will drop out when he loses Michigan? Not a chance. Why waste your vote on the past, vote for the future. Unless your old and have no kids, then I guess why would you care?
3
@Mjw I understand an awful lot California voters did the same thing. So when the vote is counted it will cut into Bernie's lead and delegate total.
Sanders is playing this smart. Michigan has more delegates and Mississippi is going Trump in the electoral college anyhow.
14
@Mkm ... It looks like there will be such a tsunami for Biden in November that the electoral college will be utterly irrelevant for Trump. Trump's runaway ego, constant lying (especially in handling the corona virus pandemic), and the related stock market plunge will be the perfect storm that spells his doom. While playing in the mud in his very own swamp of corruption, Trump has probably fabricated the bricks that will metaphorically seal him inside his useless abandoned wall.
2
@Mkm You can't be sure about any state. Trump has embarrassed everybody. Don't make this any harder. Don't give Trump a chance. Too many people consider both men as demagogues.
1
I've liked Bernie since he was the Mayor of Burlington because he always spoke his mind and didn't lie to the people. But the revolution he talks about is largely in his mind. We're beginning to see that the support just isn't there. He can't make inroads in the Black community and the turnout among the young just isn't happening.
Medicare For All scares people for good reason. Improving the ACA is, I believe, the best way to provide people with healthcare. One more thing, Bernie: don't drive your Subaru to Michigan if you want to appeal to American auto workers...I'm just sayin'.
29
@K M They still make cars in Michigan? I thought Clinton (NAFTA) and Obama (TPP) did away with all that.
3
@Episto Unum They Make cars all over the U.S. I own two.
Biden likes to point out his position on women's reproductive rights. I'd like Bernie to point out that Biden, in large measure, is responsible for Clarence Thomas. Thomas has been one of the worst Supreme Court Justices ever.
19
@bikegeezer
I've been saying this all along--if you like Clarence Thomas and the Iraq War, vote for Biden.
3
He voted against Thomas being confirmed.
1
@bikegeezer
Since your demonize Biden for Clarence Thomas, I'm sure you love Bill Clinton for appointing Ginsburg and Breyer and Obama for appointing Sotomayer and Kagan. But I'm guessing like most Sanders supporters, you hate all moderate "establishment" Democrats and never credit them for anything. I think those Bernie supporters who refused to support Hillary are largely responsible for Trump's Supreme Court Justices.
5
It's possible that Bernie Sanders is delusional. He has built no coalitions. He's snubbing black voters and alienating women. He's polling behind Biden in Michigan as well as Mississippi. He tried to gloss over the fact that he had a heart attack, and even now, he's less than fully transparent about his health and his finances. None of this sounds like a winning path to the Democratic nomination. All of it sounds like a path to ensuring four more years of Trump.
37
@Amelia
Maybe.
But we get our (biased) news about Sanders from MSM sources who tell us he is alienating, snubbing and an irritating old man. Corporate media serves its own financial interests by promoting Biden.
Issue for issue, his platform makes more sense for the country than Joe Biden’s
2
@Amelia
The path to four more years of Trump is doing the same thing the Democrats did in 2016, only this time with a less intelligent man.
2
This is the beginning of the end of the road for Bernie. Maybe he should have become a Democrat first.
29
Like Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden is will sweep up all Southern states delegates, but these are red states that in November will give all their electoral votes to the Republican candidate, just as they did in November 2016. Democrats should discount red state delegates and nominate the candidate who runs best in swing states, especially Florida.
3
@William Case
Yes. And VA and MN showed the way. Bernie will not win FL - he already peeved off a whole group with his remarks about Cuba (and I know most Rs, but also the Ds).
16
Time to start thinking about taking some southern states. With a huge african-American turn out and mobilized suburban turn out we can compete for those states. Be positive. 
2
@William Case
That's Joe Biden.
If Bernies ideas are his selling point, why does he need to bash Biden? He did the same thing to Hillary. Here we go again. Ego before country.
36
@HL. Contrasting your ideas and record to those of an opponent is called "campaigning".
13
No it’s called scorched earth when you’re on the same team.
Biden and Bernie agree on 90 percent of the agenda. The goal is for Democrats to win the presidency and the congress. Bernie is doing the work of Trump, Mitch and Putin if he tears up Biden and moderate Democrats.
If he can’t sell his ideas without going negative on Democrats he doesn’t deserve to be in the party.
I get your angry. Use it constructively. Get Democrats elected in the state houses and Congress. The USA is built on coalition building and actual governing. Tearing down the potential nominee is Trumpism.
4
Bernie isn’t just giving up a state, he’s giving up on black voters. His play is a brokered convention.
22
@jb
Wrong play. No one ever wins without the Black vote.
4
@jb
Ridiculous. There are plenty of black voters in Michigan, a state the Democrats can actually win, as opposed to Mississippi.
2
Full disclosure I voted for Biden on Tuesday. But in defense of Bernie Sanders:
I am reading a lot of comments here that say Bernie is ignoring black voters because he is choosing to take his campaign to Michigan instead of Mississippi. Bernie took a shellacking on Tuesday and absolutely has to win in Michigan to remain viable.
Michigan has far more delegates than Mississippi, and his poll numbers show he has his best chance to win there. The color of the voters has nothing to do with his decision. He spent time in South Carolina and barely moved the needle when the votes were counted. He had to make a strategic decision and simply cannot be in two places at once.
Give the guy a break.
39
@Jeff there are black voters in Michigan. It's kind of insulting for the press to represent it like they don't exist.
11
@Jeff--True. And it isn't as though there are no black Americans in Michigan. Good grief, commenters are piling onto Sanders as though he has no relationship with the black community. His movement welcomes people of all ages, races, religions and sexual orientations, and his policies, if adopted, would benefit black people at least as much they would as anyone else. Here are just a few of the many endosements he's received from black Americans of note: Dr. Cornel West (philosopher, author, political activist), Patrice Cullors (co-founder of Black Lives Matter), Chirlane McCray (poet, author and First Lady of NYC), Danny Glover (actor, director), Cardi B (rapper), Killer Mike (rapper, activist), Lizzo (singer, songwriter, rapper, flutist), Harry Belefonte (singer, songwriter, activist, actor), Barbara Smith (lesbian, feminist, socialist, teacher, lecturer, author. scholar, publisher), NY State Senator James Sanders Jr., former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, CA State Assemblyman Reggie Byron Jones-Sawyer Sr. For a complete list, visit https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bernie_Sanders_2020_presidential_campaign_endorsements
4
All the deep Red States voted for Biden; that is not a surprise. Having lived in rural Minnesota, that also isn't a surprise there.
I can see why people leave the U.S. to become expats in civilised countries. I keep hoping things will change for the better but they haven't in 45 years of living here, they've gotten far worse. When level-headed, kind and civilised people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren can't easily be elected and people vote for bullies and thugs instead, it says something about the basic character of the country. Yes, the Republican Lite Hillary Clinton was actually elected, but she is not a progressive. This country suffers from a toxic mix of ignorance and cruelty.
43
@Eugene Debs there is another article on this site about how warren is not the right type of progressive. Attitudes like that are why normal voters like me are left with the extreme Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden. Bernie Sanders doesn’t seem to want people’s votes, gain a majority in the senate or pass legislation, which is itself a kind of radicalism beyond his policies aspirational policies.
10
@Eugene Debs And snobbery, evidently. Things haven't gotten better for you, but they have for the millions of people who currently have health insurance because of the expansion of Medicaid and access to exchanges that came with the ACA (I am one who has benefited from the latter). Or how about LGBTQ rights? Hard to argue they haven't improved. I think one who interacts with people from other backgrounds could add more things that HAVE improved in 45 years. Imperfect does not equal unimproved. Achieving a better society is a never-ending process.
Not to mention, the evil people of red states and rural Minnesota voting in democratic primaries are Democrats, and frequently people of color in the south. I've lived in the other "civilised" countries. Did you notice Brexit? Or the rise of AfD? How about Marine LePen? Seriously.
16
@Ryan thanks for making his point. Bernie isn't extreme anything. He is a Democrat in the exact same mold as FDR. Only in the US are common sense government policies presented as 'extreme'.
21
Bernie is feeling the Bern, but not in a positive way.
13
Biden has a history in Michigan. In 2018, two weeks prior to the election, Joe gave a speech supporting Fred Upton, running for the House, for twice his going rate. Upton, trailing in the polls, prevailed. When questioned as to why he did that (collect a fee and expenses of $200,000) Biden’s response was Upton co-sponsored a bill funding cancer research. The bill overwhelming passed both Hose and Senate without objections.
Wonder if Michigan Dems have a short memory?
12
@Zev Biden endorsed Upton because he thought Upton was a Democrat. Even back then Biden was showing symptoms of senile dementia. That's what voters need to really be thinking about if they consider Biden - it's the disturbing prospect of him trying to muddle through 4 years in the White House in a fog.
4
Sanders should stop the Ralph Nader 2000 Election Spoiler shtick and bow out before he further polarizes the electorate to permanently favor Trump by dividing and polarizing indies, Democrats and disaffected Republicans. Sanders and his campaign helped to elect Trump in 2016 and if he does it again in 2020, it would be an unforgivable act.
The Democratic Party is not the party of "kids in the college dormitory hall" party and it never was nor will it ever be such. The Democratic Party is about putting education, the environment and people first without destroying prosperity. It is about winning elections and is a center left party socailly but not in terms of geopolitics and foreign policy. The Democratic Party is not the Green Party or the Socialist Party and most of all not the Communist Party.
Just because the Republican Party gave itself a lobotomy and started snorting the elixir or bigotry and anti-science and anti-NATO and Anti-free trade ignorance does not mean the Democrats should also act like useful stooges for Putin and the other forces of darkness.
It is time to put the capital "U" back in the "U"nited States of America which is something Bernie and is weed smoking social media troll farmer fed "movement" can never do. In America, rich and poor are all Americans and we don't hate corporations or Wall Street or seek to scapegoat capitalism for all of societies evils. We don't believe in revolution, we believe in science and democracy.
32
@American Akita Team It was Hillary who lost the election in 2016: not Bernie. Why does everyone, Hillary first and foremost, blame Bernie for this loss? It was her election to lose and she threw it away.
13
@American Akita Team . Sir, these comments prove that you do not deserve the loyalty of the Akita community, nor the Service Dog Union. Finally, all groups associated with DLM @DogLivesMatter urge supporters to vote for Bernie Sanders.
3
@American Akita Team Sorry, I am going to at least try to get healthcare for every person in this country, but I guess you're okay with people dying from preventable diseases. Our country will not be "united" if Bernie decided to leave the race. Massive wealth inequality will still exist and throw more people to the margins of society.
6
If there is anyplace Sanders is going to gain ground, it is in the rust belt. Biden is not their hero. Neither is trump if they have half a brain.
16
@MC You are worried about the rust belt going against Sanders? You should be more concerned about the 66% of your fellow allegedly enlightened progressives in California who voted against him 2 days ago.
2
The real show is starting and Bernie knows it.
He’ll focus his resources where needed.
The real mudslinging will start shortly!!
Biden needs to step up or be stepped on by Bernie!
1
Like Trump, Sanders is a Russian asset . . . unlike Trump, Sanders may not know it.
19
@Paul You put forward lies with no evidence. Biden is a terrible candidate and will lose badly to Trump. Russia supports Trump because they have dirt and leverage on him. They put their bots out to support Bernie to trigger republicans like you.
4
Thanks for the false equivalence, Paul .
2
@Paul How ridiculous.
2
This article, and the comments, seem to forget that there's a fairly large African-American population in Michigan---big enough to make a difference.
18
Biden wins all the states that will vote for Trump. Strange system we have here.
11
@Dagwood
This is what needed to defeat Trump
What, states like Virginia and Minnesota which both went to Clinton in 2016 by very small margins and which will be crucial to locking down a win in November? Those states? Last I checked, California, Vermont, and even Colorado are pretty safe for Dems in a general these days...
1
Please, please, please make Senator Warren an offer she can't refuse. Together, you can get to the White House.
10
@Tedj
Sorry. You're in Dreamland.
Or maybe you didn't notice the results of Super Tuesday.
There are far more "moderate" Democrats out there than left/progressives.
If Sanders needs to make an "offer" -- it's with them.
But he won't.
And it will cost him in the end.
2
Trump is now the youngest option for president.
4
I guess it's now Sanders all the way.
11
Just so you know, Bernie, some people in MIssissippi, were really counting on your rally on Friday. You just caused some people a lot of hardship. So thoughtless. Not that this makes you different from any other power broker, its just that you reneged on something, without considering that it was way too late to do so without harming some people.
8
@liz
What hardship did Bernie cause ?
He cancelled a rally ?
He didn't take their lunch ?
He didn't 'harm' anyone.
He disappointed some folks.
It's campaign season.
Your melodrama is way off.
6
@liz
Harm people how? Are there free meals at these events or something?
6
So Sanders's idea is, if you can't get the African-American vote, then don't bother going? Campaign to white people?
Doesn't he see this is what lost him that vote in the first place? Now he just seems desperate.
10
Because there are no black people in Michigan?
1
@JL22 Right, Michigan is a rich white state, part of the Rust Belt Elite.
1
The 18-24 vote can flake in Michigan just as easily as it can in Mississippi.
12
Sanders does not stand a chance in Dixie.
8
@Southern Boy
Spoken like a true soldier of the Confederate States of America (CSA).
Deplorable.
5
@Southern Boy
I don't agree with you on many things -- but you've got it on this one.
2
That's Trump country, where people vote against their own best interests.
1
Capitalism or crony capitalism. Biden hasn't missed a bailout yet.
6
Bernie is Trump on Quaaludes. A very bad batch of Quaaludes. Too deep in his own trip to see anyone else’s viewpoint. It’s time he takes a second honeymoon in Moscow to detox and reflect on his get off my lawn old codger schtick. I already have an old codger in DC whose fist shaking get off my lawn routine is wearing thin.
12
@Wicky Actually, Bernie's schtick is to try to take your lawn.
1
Senator Sanders, wait, African American voters in Michigan are just as smart as their brethren in Mississippi. Remembering, of course, Obama and Biden bailed out the auto industry in Michigan. This Hail Mary is certain to fail as rounding up voters willing to go out on a not-electable limb in Detroit is a waste of time and poor peoples money. You might consider calling VP Biden and ask about the new administration. The VA Hospital system is a mess and you could fix that agency. Otherwise, it is whittling sticks.
13
Hmm. Writing off the African American vote again. Hope Sanders understands that African Americans are Michigan people too.
11
@UpstateWoman - I'm sure he does understand that.
1
If Biden can do well in the south that’s a big reason to nominate him.
7
Is there any chance Mississippi will go blue this year?
5
If you can't win in the south, you can't beat Trump.
11
Wait.....
No Sandernistas in Mississippi?
With promises of free puppies and free bunnies and free ponies,
won't the 13 to 17 year olds turn out in vast numbers?
Sad sad when the only alternative to the deeply mentally ill Mr. Trump are two other really old geezers,
both showing diminishing capacities.
Probably a good metaphor for the old USA.
“Biden is running with his ties to Obama and that’s working well.”
All wrong Mr. Sanders.. listen and learn: it has been said that people want to beat the crook in the Whitehouse, they are less interested in a revolution. Avoid that maxim at your own peril.
Mr. Sanders, you would lose to trump and bring down the whole ticket in the process; that is what voters know.
You have not figured that out, evidently.
Vote Biden and Blue.
10
Can't teach old dogs new tricks, Bernie. Move on!
9
Meanwhile, just between us — because god knows if we point out Biden’s mental slip ups in public *the Republicans might find out!* — one thing you probably missed today is when Biden said to a passing squirrel he mistook for a voter that he was running for Vice Senator of Baltimore, citing his experience in the Napoleonic wars as his inspiration, especially when he took Austerlitz single-handedly before getting arrested with Goethe at a civil rights protest in Leipzig.
Then he challenged the squirrel to a push-up contest, yelled at it, and said, “Fine, vote for someone else!”
The Safe Choice(TM).
8
A sad day for the US and the world. The last well educated candidate, with viable policies for the future and proven achievements in real politics dropped out of the race, and you are left with two questionable old geezers. Warren could have given the US some of the lost international respect and political clout back. It's hard to see any of the potential candidates doing that, though they may be slightly less of a moron than your current occupant of the oval office.
Bernie might have some great ideas, but is utterly unable to build a coalition to make them real, and take the time needed to establish a broader consensus. The most important achievements of sleepy Joe is not being Trump and not Bernie either.
Is that really the best the Democratic Party can muster these days?
6
I voted for Bernie in Colorado and I would again. Democrats evidently are not ready though to implement anything close to a progressive agenda. Trump has succeeded in many ways, and now he has crushed the Democratic parties spirit such that everyone is clutching straws and hoping that a male version of Hillary Clinton will win. That a corporatist and centrist vision of the Democratic party is what will motivate voters.
Well, I'm officially not motivated anymore. I'll vote for Biden, but I have to say that I am supremely disappointed that my fellow youth didnt come out to vote at all! I've voted in every election since I was 18, I cannot fathom why my fellow youth dont vote. It doesnt make any sense to me. The youth is the one freaking out and protesting all the time but they cannot do one simple thing. Vote! Its disturbing.
11
@Jacqueline
There's a time and place for everything.
And right now, with the prospect of Donald Trump in the White House for another 4 years -- now is NOT the time to start experimenting with renovating the Democratic Party by going to the extremes.
OK.
The DNC, corporate funding, and big money is BAD.
But Trump is WORSE.
Think about it.
4
After watching the center-left NYT amateur (and professional) pundits toss around each shiny new moderate candidate like juggling pins, and eventually lose all of them but one (Biden), it seems arbitrary that Biden is now the "eventual nominee".
After all your Buttigieg fancies, and Klobuchar dreams, and Bloomberg banquets, you finally picked good old Joe to represent your fight against Trump.
Well, good for you. Excitement is not electing Joe Biden. Fear is electing Joe Biden.
Vote fear in 2020, and watch Trump move permanently into the White House.
Or vote your soul.
16
Feel the spurn.
4
I'm amazed at the almost sole focus of the media on black voters. Yes they have been a core constituency of the Party, but I believe I heard that even this year the Hispanic vote was expected to have a 1% point larger share of DNC voters - I thought I heard 29-28%. But, regardless of whether those are the exact figures this year, the demographic trends overwhelmingly point to a far greater influence and importance of the the Hispanic community. Aside from that, Dems aren't going to win SC, GA, AL, TN, AR, MS and a couple others in the general election, so the value of dominating the more conservative, Southern Black vote is, effectively, zilch. So why fight a battle in a deeply red state that has no benefit to the general election? A presence in MI will have a benefit. But, my point, what's the importance of the more conservative Southern Black vote in the general election? We don't have a national referendum. We have, don't we painfully know, the Electoral College.
4
@allseriousnessaside When was the last time that a Dem won the White House without overwhelming, enthusiastic support from black people? Black people are the power brokers of the party.
5
Demographics are working against them. Blacks are headed for a very minority status as are whites.
If Sanders doesn't win big in Michigan, I want him to suspend and let the party leaders and centrist voters have their wish. I don't want the progressive movement to be blamed, again, for a weak candidate who can't beat Trump. The Democratic Party needs a wake-up call to return to its working class roots, not a scapegoat to avoid awakening.
7
@abigail49 They will always find an excuse to avoid awakening. Their power structures, incomes and legacies demand it.
8
I do find it rather ironic that many with selective memories criticize Sanders for his decision on Mississippi, yet, how many Midwest and other states did Hillary and the democratic party starve their ground game in many of these areas they believed they had no chance of winning in the general election in 2016.
5
After Nevada Biden was on the mat, out cold. Sanders was clearly the stronger candidate. Then Obama and the establishment made some calls and said “everybody support Joe”. Suddenly Joe is back and Sanders is somehow un-electable. Well gee, what would have happened if Obama et all instead said “everybody support Bernie” ? Joe would have never got up and the party would be unified behind the stronger candidate.
The Democratic establishment priority is to preserve their power structures and legacies. Beating Trump would be nice too, but is not required.
15
Sanders is unelectable.
And perhaps he should step aside so the work to win the fall election can start in earnest.
9
@Episto Unum Quit making up stuff. Obama called nobody. Please stop.
9
@Ed It was reported everywhere, here is what NYT reported - "Mr. Buttigieg talked with Mr. Biden and former President Barack Obama on Sunday night, according to a Democratic official familiar with the conversations."
1
After reading about a middle-aged black man on his lawn mower in some southern state replying, "Bernie who? Madoff?" when asked about Sanders, I decided to go canvass for Bernie in primarily black neighborhoods here in KCMO. I wore my Bernie shirt so people knew what this rare white person in their neighborhood was up to. On the blocks that were heavily rental housing and people were grilling, drinking, probably venting due to the stresses of their lower working-class lives, I was told "You can't tell me who to vote for." Exasperation at my presence because the 60 some y/o mother was going to be late for work because as she pulled out of her driveway, her car was immobile due to a hit-and-run. When I was on streets with well-built homes from a century ago and the residents either inherited them from former well-paid working class relatives or bought them, they were welcoming, mostly already pro-Bernie and I discovered that one wasn't exactly supportive of the policies of our black mayor at that time. Young black voters are primarily pro-Bernie. Even whites of a certain generation relate better to Biden than Bernie. I don't understand why southerners are so closed-minded. I tend to think many of them fall for the "smile and the wave" but don't actually pay attention to HOW their chosen politicians actually vote on legislation that crosses their desks.
2
@sj Don't you find it rather odd that mainly young people, i.e., those with the least amount of sociopolitical knowledge, are the ones who are lapping up Bernie's socialist platitudes the most eagerly? They have not had to endure mediocre presidents like Jimmy Carter. Or live through the embarrassing routs experienced by McGovern and Mondale. Or the rise and fall of socialist governments during the cold war. Yes, they are idealistic. But they are also oh so ill-informed about the ways of the world.
5
@Ed, citizens in Europe, Australia, Canada don't think Bernie's policies are ridiculous. They don't get why Americans vote against their better interests and the US ex-pats that live in those countries don't want to return here.
@Ed Doesn't really matter what they think or tell one another. They don't vote. 15% or fewer of voters under 30 cast ballets in most Super Tuesday states. It was 5% in California. Idealistic? Maybe. Pathetically unable to do the one thing it takes? Yep.
Sanders seems to be to the Democratic party what Trump was to the Republican party. Someone the establishment would rather not see.
1
@Pie Fly You would think people would see, given Gore, Kerry, Hillary. All refugees from someone's Whitehouse. All lost. And now they want to run Biden - the weakest of the lot.
3
It's interesting for me to note the overwhelming support of Black voters for Biden. Listening to the build up to Super Tuesday, Black leader after Black leader endorsing Biden, it reminded me of the old style ward politics. Yet when I see Bernie's platform aimed at universal quality health care, tuition-free state college, affordable child care, Head start programs, increasing social security and care of the elderly, a $15 minimum wage; all things that would greatly benefit the disproportionately high percent of Black Americans stuck in the bottom half of earners, it does blow my mind that this cohort continues to support Biden and his lukewarm embrace of moderate solutions that will barely impact their lives.
I think it is smart for Bernie to move to the heartland. The south is going to vote for Trump anyway, something that the established press continues to fail to bring up during the unending dissections of this race. So Biden will lose down there any way and this cohort of voters have made it clear that they will go down with that ship as long as they can help choose the Captain.
Lets see what everyone says when we get to watch Joe in a one on one with Bernie for a couple of hours and there's nowhere to hide. A good preview for the one on one with Trump.
14
@Bill Cullen, Author Let's see Bernie fans actually go to the polls.
1
If they've done their homework. Sanders strategists must have learned about the absence of thousands of African-American voters in Detroit and Flint in 2016, probably an absence large enough to have carried the state for Clinton. They didn't care much for her candidacy and stayed home. I wonder what magic spell Bernie's people think he'll cast to get them to vote for him over Joe Biden, Barack Obama's two-term teammate? Do they think Detroit and Flint voters haven't been watching the show to this point? Do they think Rep. Clyburn's message in support of Joe Biden applied solely to South Carolinians? We shall soon find out.
8
Sanders’ my way or the highway on health insurance will doom him in Michigan.
Union members fought too hard to have their platinum healthcare yanked from them just because Bernie thinks he knows best!
Medicare for all WHO WANT IT.
No forced Medicare from Sanders.
No.
11
@Will. You can have mine. I've always had expensive corporate subsidized plans and it sucks more and more every year. My 90 year old Mom on Medicare gets better care than I do, as Bernie says, "with no premiums, deductables or co-pays". I'll trade any day.
4
It's interesting that Biden's electoral advantage comes from states that play into the Republican's hands during general election. Does that mean that all those votes that are supposed to win the election against trump are for nothing?
3
@Raga You are simply wrong. Minnesota, Virgnia and North Carolina went blue for Obama's first election. And every Democrat in every state gets a say in who their party selects for the general election. You clearly do not understand the fact that these primary votes have nothing to do with the actual voting during the general election.
4
@Raga Yes it does, as Bill from Portland pointed out earlier. Interesting how the media leaves it out of their analysis.
2
@Ed Joe ain't Obama, as he is reminded everytime he looks in the mirror.
As mentioned, Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat. He now has run twice as a Democrat allowing him to compete in debates and use whatever else the party has to offer. But, I find myself continually bothered as he reveled in bellowing that the democratic establishment is “getting nervous” as he climbed in the polls. To me that says you are not part of the whole and left me wondering if this was still going to be my party.
In an interview in New York Magazine, AOC groaned at the thought of Biden getting the nomination. Saying in another
country they would not even be part of the same party.
I would have expected a statement for unity no matter who the nominee.
14
@Suzanne Victor Swallow hard and vote blue for Joe is a big ask of a young person saddled with other people’s debt, CO2 and wars.
1
Sanders is simply a loose cannon right now.
Doesn't the man read polls? Of all places, Mississippi is not any kind of viable target for Bernie.
I'm here in Michigan. The Dancers campaign has been accusing the voters of this State for delivering the WH to Donald Trump since 2016, which was a falsehood. 12% of his reckless primary voters in 2016 turned around and voted for Trump in the general election.
He can cancel events here (which I'm glad he is doing), but he can't cancel the drubbing we Michigan Democrats will deliver on March 10.
Sanders supporters are well advised to look at FL polling and realize that Sanders, in all likelihood, will leave FL without a single delegate in reaction to his public infatuation with Fidel Castro and long history as a self-described socialist.
By no means should Sanders get a shot at Biden at a debate on March 15, before FL votes on March 17.
Sanders has done more than enough damage for one lifetime and should drop out.
He may have claimed another victim in Elizabeth Warren, who foolishly didn't endorse the Democrat upon dropping out after losing her home state.
15
Mississippi is one of those states that will never turn democrat in the general, so Sanders is correct.
7
It's time for another government class. Bernie won't win Florida. If he somehow manages to win the nomination he can't win the presidency without the south. If he cared about the country he would drop out. Bernie believes in Bernie and his revolution, not America. Sound like someone else we know?
21
@Lauren I think that Bernie cares much much more about the working people of this country than any other candidate. Furthermore, I believe it has been of high import that Bernie's ideas and proposals have been heard and that youth of today who will rule tomorrow have understood him.
5
@JRO I respect your opinion, however he is ignoring black voters and cannot win the Presidency without the south. Young people did not show up to vote. We are in a crisis .Democrats need to win. That's all that matters.
4
@Lauren He has not been ignoring black voters. Almost all of his 72 paid field staff in SC were black.
2
There seems to be black support for Bernie especially among younger voters, but little confidence he will win. The growing white supremacy and associated violence is a threat white people don't have to think about.
Bernie Sanders still thinks he has a chance of winning, but really doesn't have much chance at this point of changing the winds in the South, at least not this week. It's a shame he has to cancel a rally, but there's a good chance that turnout would be devastatingly low, and that wouldn't help him either, nor the people who support him.
It's important that he keeps lines of communication open with black leaders and activists, particularly when he feels he must cancel rallies, so as not to abandon those who have been supporting him and hoping for true change for the better.
That said, I think Sanders would fight hard for improving the livelihood of blacks, whites, including rural whites, and Latinos--people who are struggling under Trump and fear for the future.
He hasn't yet been able to convince enough people that "democratic socialist" policies is the right direction, or that his policies can pass, though I personally think we need to keep these ideas alive until they are achieved.
I will continue supporting Sanders, but will vote for the nominee to keep Trump out.
5
It's time for another government class. Bernie won't win Florida. If he somehow manages to win the nomination he can't win the presidency without the south. If he cared about the country he would drop out. Bernie believes in Bernie and his revolution, not America. Sound like someone else we know?
6
Donald Trump won all of Michigan's Electoral College votes in 2016.
Although she won 92 % of the black African American vote including 88% of black men and 95 % of black women in 2016 black turnout and voting for Hillary Clinton in 2016 was down 11% from peak Obama in 2008 and 2012.
While it is not clear how effective either Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden will be in turning out the black vote in 2020, Biden has the present and forseeable future meaningful advantage.
Trump is primarily focused on discouraging, frustrating and suppressing the black vote in 2020.
Except for North Carolina and Virginia the Democrats have little or no chance of winning any former Confederate States of America Electoral College votes in 2020.
Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Andrew Gillum in Florida proved that even our best is still not quite good enough in Dixie for a Democrat. Tim Scott is batting and pitching for the other team.
5
Sanders is making a serious mistake.
Going to Mississippi, where the majority of Democrats are black, would not win Sanders votes. But going there and listening — really listening and not shouting and pointing a finger — would mean something more important than just votes and would have a positive effect on minority support in other states.
This decision was extremely short sided.
9
Any sane politician will campaign heavily on places he can win and campaign less in places he can't. Where was this outrage at "turning his back on the community" when Biden left NH before they even voted?
Sanders tried to get out the African American vote, it's not like he actively avoids them out of spite. How is it a negative reflection of Sanders if they decide they want Obama's token VP because their church leaders told them so?
1
I suspect the broad spectrum of voters are not seeking a revolution - which, politically and pragmatically speaking - is not in the cards. Rather, they seek a pullback from the damage Trump has done - morally, politically, culturally - as well as the GOP’s utter failure to accomplish anything substantive other than further a radical agenda in the courts. Sanders doesn’t impress that he grasps that reality.
7
I made a modest contribution to Senator Sanders early-on. He has since had a heart attack and said that he would release his medical records, which he has not done. At his age that is enough to disqualify him, in my opinion.
I'm also confused about his supporters failure to show at the polls; if they don't vote for him now then why would we expect them to show-up in November?
For those idealistic young voters who refuse to support anyone other than Bernie, I suggest that you consider a SCOTUS that is 7-2 conservative. Can you imagine a world where homosexuality is a felony? Can you imagine a world with mass die-offs of life, possibly including human lives?
There must only be one goal, one imperative for the Democratic Party: Defeat trump whatever the cost.
7
@Thomas Payne Problem is the establishment dems have sold-out the next generation and Joe played a big part in that. Swallow hard and vote blue for Joe is a big ask when you’re saddled with other people’s debt, CO2 and wars. Why not push the candidate they like and then you and I can swallow less hard and vote for Sanders?
3
@Episto Unum : To your "Why not push the candidate they like and then you and I can swallow less hard and vote for Sanders?" My answer: Because that's the most likely way to get another 4 years of Trump, and possibly a House flipped back to the Republicans. Backed up by a newly right-wing SCOTUS, they will make the corruption, racism and other evils of the current Trump administration seem minuscule by comparison.
2
@Jonathan Levi That's the prevailing narrative in the main-stream media. Problem I see is every Whitehouse refugee the Democrats have put forward in a long time has lost in the general. Gore, Kerry then Hillary. They were all supported by the media and establishment too. Is Biden really that compelling and dynamic a guy, he's going to break that mold?
I think the media and Democratic party, including its alumni, don't like disruption because its bad for business, power structures and legacies. That's their main concern. I agree that beating Trump is imperative, but to these people it's secondary.
1
Smart move, black voters up north are far less conservative and still holding onto Obama’s coattails. He cleaned up in Michigan in 2016 and should again if not his campaign is over but he would likely hang in till Pennsylvania, Ohio...have there say a week later.
This 62 y/o independent will vote blue no matter who even if I have to hold my nose for Biden and his establishment status quo cronies. Simply being rid of tRump will be a step in the right direction.
2
I see lots of readers expressing dismay or suggesting some kind of egregious failure on the part of Sanders. As if it's not a comparable failure on the part of Biden to fail to build bridges with the left flank of the Democratic party; a constituency that Biden needs to get elected. Telling voters to go vote for someone else, or thoughtlessly dismissing a war veteran who dared to ask him why he voted for the Iraq war. (Gasp).
There's plenty of northern black democrats in Michigan. Sanders isn't abandoning black voters. Sanders has made significant inroads among younger black voters for example.
This is a case of there being 24 hours in a day and if Sanders can do well in the 'firewall states' then that's a big narrative shift. SC, GA, MS, and AL aren't going to go to a Democrat in the general regardless and if Biden does poorly enough in Michigan that shuts down Biden's momentum and can contribute to Sanders ability to say that he can appeal to blue-collar voters in a way that Clinton and Biden couldn't due to their support of NAFTA, etc.
4
Glad to hear that Bernie isn’t making the “Hillary mistake.”
The states that Biden is carrying cannot be counted on in November especially after he picks a woman VP. I really suspect he will make the “McCain mistake.”
Besides. I can’t stand his gaffes, stuttering, and inappropriate touching of girls and women.
1
He can rub my shoulders anytime! You don’t know what you’re missing.
1
I'm going to be saying this ad nauseum, it seems, but Biden's glaring mental decline and voting record (NAFTA, Iraq, Crime Bill) will alienate a lot of people, especially in swing states.
I almost feel like I'm going crazy seeing so many Democrats backing Biden at the 11th hour. When was the last time a Democrat who campaigned as a centrist won the nomination? Not in 2000, 2004, or 2016. Obama campaigned as a progressive, winning NC, OH, IN, IA, and FL. Then he governed as a centrist, and the House and Senate suffered blowout defeats in 2010 and 2014. He held on in 2012 because the Republican was a cartoon rich guy. Centrists are not electable. It's dismaying that so many have convinced themselves otherwise.
4
You are right about the “ad nauseam” part, not so much about the rest.
2
@Ted B Hillary's platform in 2016 was far to the left of Obama 2008, but please, don't allow reality to infringe on your preconceived notions. He governed "as a centrist" because he had to deal with people who don't all line up on the left and faced unprecedented obstruction. It's called compromise. Dems losing in 2010 and 2014 is pretty par for the course: historically, midterm elections go poorly for the party in the WH.
Since we're asking: when was the last time a Democrat who campaigned as a democratic socialist won a nomination and then the general, and then went on to gain seats in the midterms?
3
What I'm seeing is that the desire to beat Trump is SO visceral, it outweighs all other concerns. Personally I believe Sanders is the stronger candidate to beat Trump, and I fear that Trump is going to take down Biden like a wolf takes down a sick, old buffalo, but I also believe a majority (now that the field has cleared) think that Biden is their best bet. On that basis they're going all-in on Biden.
If issues or beliefs were any consideration for these voters, they wouldn't pick Biden, especially black voters who should certainly know that Joe has not been a friend to African-Americans over his career - anti-busing, the 1994 Crime Bill and the assertion that black youth were "superpredators", and his handling of Anita Hill, and being cozy with Wall St. over Main St.. Meanwhile Sanders has fought from the beginning of his long career for civil rights, and the rights of the working and middle class, and against the Establishment that has held average Americans down. None of this matters however once you decide that Sanders can't beat Trump. There is no reason or argument that will change that voter's mind.
Sanders's only choice now is to go all out to show how bad a candidate Biden will be against Trump. He needs to be ruthless, and expose Biden's flaws and be the "wolf" that takes him down. It will be hard to watch, and will cause many to hate Sanders even more, but if Biden can't survive that, he will never beat Trump.
5
Funny to read so many comments deriding Sanders and the left in general as ideological isolationists or whatever other clichés.
Nobody seems to notice that 2020 Biden can barely complete his sentences, and forecast the obvious: Trump will destroy him on debates and by hammering the Hunter story 24/7 on the right-wing propaganda machine.
Bernie at least would have a fighting chance.
7
Yeah, Bernie has no chinks in his armor for Trump to exploit. Just ask any Cuban down in Florida.
2
We already had our moderate in 2016 and how did that go for us?
If anyone thinks Biden has the jaws for this fight, they’d better think it over.
DNC is betting on the wrong pony - again.
Biden clearly does not want this job. It’s been apparent in every stammer and fluster for months and months.
Impeached Trump will continue his reign.
6
@Songbird
Huh. So a stutterer really doesn't want to win because he stutters? Apparently if he'd just stop stuttering it would prove his intent to become president & he'd win?
Uh huh. I see.....
1
And now we come to the part where the Democrats beat themselves. In a blind zeal to win the nomination they create 2020 campaign commercials for trump. Use you ads to tell us what you bring to the table, not why the other guy is bad. You want to discuss your disparities, that's great. There's a debate coming up and you both have plenty of material. Do it then so your competitor can respond, not in attack ads that will be rerun with the tag line "I'm Donald Trump, and I approve this message" in September.
5
Well not to be overly cynical, but in terms of the general election electoral votes, Mississippi is irrelevant anyway because Democrats can’t win it. As much as it pains me to say... Michigan is the smarter choice.
1
@Jim
I believe Every American matters, if they vote for a candidate or not. I know Joe can't go everywhere to speak with everyone, but we know he'd like to do so.
Biden’s wins so far are largely irrelevant to the results of the general election. We need to see who fares better in the swing states, and then decide.
Wonder how many Southern Republicans, fed up with Trump, voted for Biden in the primaries.
How many will do so in the primaries to come?
Is Biden their least unacceptable alternative to Trump.
Black voter here. At this point, there should be little doubt that Bernie Sanders has by and large written off the Black vote.
Not only because he fared so poorly in South Carolina (again!), but because he obviously thinks that "diversity" stretches only as far as getting the Latino vote.
Of course there's the fact that the MAJORITY of Black Democrats tend to skew a bit more moderate, so he's essentially bailed out.
That's why if he thinks those new commercials with Obama is going to cut it -- he's got another surprise in store.
It won't.
5
Keep demonstrating to African American voters in the south that you don't know them, Sen. Sanders, and that you don't want to get to know them. The message is not lost on this midwestern voter.
7
@Margareta
Exactly. Black Southern voters and the black vote will be his Achilles heel.
1
"He also said he was generally doing well among voters of color, including Latinos, and with younger black voters."
Trump says the same thing. In fact Bernie says many things that sound or look like Trump.
And many of his most ardent supporters either voted for Trump in 2016 or will do so this time around.
No wonder Republicans have been boosting his candidacy and Russia has been helping him.
And he's not even a Democrat. He is just using our party to launch his campaign, while his supporters trash other campaign officials and bulldoze over legitimate questioners.
Bernie should start his own Democratic Socialist Party and see where it gets him.
5
Sander's Trump-like 'only I can fix this,' approach to presidential politics is wearisome, to say the least. If he goes the distance in this race as he did against Hillary he'll again be doing the hardest lifting for the worst president in modern history. This reader can't help but wonder if Sanders will even give up when he loses the nomination to Biden or will he spend what's left in his treasure chest to start a third party in an effort to blow the class of the 2020 Democratic Party right out of the water.
6
Since 1972, with the exception of 1976, Mississippi has gone Republican in the general election. Not to say that a Democrat shouldn’t campaign there but I think Sanders is thinking about this rather strategically and putting his efforts in where he would fare better even if it’s primary season.
11
I’m a retired mail carrier with good health insurance that my union fought for. Sanders would take that away from me and replace it with Medicare for all. I’d be worse off.
Lifting more people up with health coverage is a good idea BUT dragging other people down is not. I voted for Joe Biden since he seems more likely to carry Michigan. However, in November I will Vote Blue No Matter Who.
31
In Canada, we have Medicare and Employer Insurance at the same time. There’s no double billing, one does not cancel the other, the two compliment each other. Why can’t the US have a similar plan?
35
@Thomas Moran
If you had a universal healthcare plan while you were still working as a mail carrier, in contract negotiations healthcare would have been "off the table" and you could have negotiated better higher wages, pensions and benefits. You also would have had healthcare even if you lost your job.
4
@MT W
"Why can’t the US have a similar plan?"
Ask Bernie. You are describing what literally every other Democratic candidate wants (and provides plans and dollars for), yet Bernie's something-for-nothing pandering, with zero planning or costs provisioned gets a pass because... the bros love him.
5
Bernie has failed the most important job of a presidential candidate : build a coalition & persuade reluctant voters to join your camp.
He has a base, but his base, electorate-wise, is too small. It's very loud online, and the media has given them too much attention, but the reality at voting booth is that his base (18-29 age group) is no more than 16% of voters showing up.
He hasn't persuaded African Americans, or former Republican voters to join his camp.
Biden are able to attract a very important voting group: suburb former Republican voters who dislike Trump. This is a super performance on Biden. Biden should win the primary.
30
@Tri P - Biden has slightly more than 400 delegates, Sanders has slightly less than 400. They are both about 1/5 of the way to the total number needed and no other candidate is even close. Any comment that implies he is a fringe candidate is obviously mathematically wrong.
3
@Tri P He beats Biden with black voters under 45. The group he hasn't convinced are people over 45, both white and black. This fight is generational not based on race. If you look, Sanders wins across the board with young people regardless of race.
1
@Jim Stop lying. If you are actually checking the stats, Biden is currently 596 delegates vs. 531 for Bernie. That is a blowout. There are no more Californias to bank his hopes on - the rest of the primaries are mainly in Biden-friendly states.
2
I like many of Sanders’ and Warren’s ideas, but at this moment in time, this country just isn’t ready to go all in on the progressive agenda. That leaves us with who can beat trump by a wide enough margin to stave off the expected whining about fixed elections. My money and efforts are on Mr Biden.
21
@Mark trump will call him sleepy joe after a gaffe during the debate and it will be over.
1
It seems to me there will never be a time for progressive ideas in this country, not unless we get another huge depression. People have chosen to forget about the calamity of 2008 already. Fine.
If it wasn’t Trump who was president right now and say instead it was Lindsay Graham or some other Republican, would Sanders voters be free to choose who they vote for or would we still be told “oh, we have to get so-and-so out office so we have to vote for Biden!” ?
I’ll probably end up voting for Biden, but it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if he lost. But if he does win in November and things don’t change for the better, I’ll be on him like white on rice. And I’m not talking about just undoing Trump’s damage.
It's over for Bernie but I do want to ask why Ms. Ember was ever assigned to his campaign? Ties to BlackRock and Bain Capital. She obviously detests him and his supporters. Seems like a very odd choice. Like one you would make if you were a corporation that really didn't want an agent of change getting the nomination.
14
@Tim - I think you just answered why she was assigned to cover the campaign.
1
Is there any limit to Bernie Bro paranoia? I will say this for you, you have a vivid imagination.
2
@Tim Yes, Tim, you hit the nail on the head.
I am not the elated at the prospect of having Biden as the nominee, but I am still hoping that he cleans Senator Sanders' clock in the next two Tuesdays and maybe it will finally become crystal clear to Sanders and his supporters that the revolution that he claims is happening actually isn't. Hopefully his rhetoric and his ideas get tossed into the dustbin of history where they belong (to join the ideologies that he praises).
10
@Realist
It would take a real shellacking to get through to my knuckleheaded family, but I hope you are right. Getting something for nothing just means someone else is paying for you.
I'm more comfortable paying for what I get and making sure that all people have the *opportunity* (NOT entitlement) to earn a decent wage and pay their own way, too. That used to be what liberals stood for, and hopefully that's where we can return to.
4
A good decision: Michigan is an important electoral college and a key swing state.
10
@Killoran ~
It's a swing state for the November election.
It seems to be a nervous decision to get enough delegates for the convention.
2
hope it works out for him. I am from wisconsin and remember how hrc avoided my state and traveled to utah on the fantasy she could win there. Happy Bernie is not making the same blunder
11
@tom
Hey, you should have taken it as a compliment: she didn't think that people in Wisconsin were immoral and/or dumb enough to do what they ended up doing. She thought very highly of you guys! I guess you could be insulted by that if you choose to be...
4
College age kids don’t vote and older folks are locked into their political mindset from 30 years agoAs others have pointed out a lot of folks in their 50’s still have union jobs with healthcare and pensions. College age kids have their parents to cover their healthcare and haven’t yet faced the crippling debt that can follow you after graduation if your parents don’t foot the bill. It is a grim time to be 28 and not have much to look forward to. These are my options? Biden and Trump? I don’t see anybody representing me and my generation the way that Warren and especially Bernie has. They aren’t perfect candidates but if you speak to anyone between the ages of 24-40 you’d be hard pressed to find anyone with any hope for the future.
12
I was once between 20 and 40 (a lot of us were) and evaluated the candidates as they were. We didn’t carp about me me me, we voted for the one we thought would do the best job for the country.
2
I’m a Bernie supporter but If he can’t win Michigan sadly I think it’s the beginning of the end for him.
9
@David Mahoney Losing Michigan will just be the end. The beginning of the end was Super Tuesday.
3
If Bernie is ceding MS, how does he plan to win? The proportional allocation makes a few big wins a lot more valuable than many small ones. Biden has such a strong base of support that Bernie can only realistically get big wins in small states or territories and possibly in Washington state. He might also in Oregon and New Mexico, but they vote so late in the calendar they are unlikely to help.
Hopefully this means he will quit if he loses Michigan and Missouri. No one wants to see a debate in Phoenix where Biden plays the gun control card like Clinton did only to have it blow up in November when the contest is determined by very pro-gun states.
Joe - no gun control attacks, please. Moderators - skip the topic if you do not cancel the whole thing. Thanks for listening.
3
I love Bernie's ideas but his angry tone, dismissive attitude towards other Democrats, and constant claims of conspiracy theories arrayed against him have become exhausting to me. Millions of others across the country agree and are prepared to allow Biden to return our country to normalcy, sanity, and compassion.
31
@CP
What ideas? The idea that you can get something for nothing? That is literally not possible (thanks thermodynamics), but I guess if you give it a nice name like "socialism" (it's so social! How could it be bad!) people will fall for it again and again.
He's just another something-for-nothing huckster who never held a real job in his life. No thank you.
2
When will Moderates learn their lesson? Biden cannot win without the Progressive Vote.
13
@Sanne
Step 1: Replace “Moderates” with “Progressives”, “Progressive” with “Moderate”, and “Biden” with “Sanders”.
Step 2: Re-read sentence.
Step 3: Acquire knowledge of reciprocal truths.
2
@Sanne ~
So if Biden gets nominated, the "progressives" won't vote?
1
@Sanne
huh? If Bernie can't win the nomination and he and his folks stay home, that is entirely on them.
1
Bernie is almost done. He’ll need to suspend his campaign if he loses Michigan.
It’s time to wrap up the campaign and pivot to the November elections.
Note to Elizabeth Warren: support Joe Biden. We’ll need all the help you can give him.
17
Sander’s followers have been arguing, as they did in 2016, that the African American vote doesn’t count because the southern states will vote Red in the general. But this year they are adding in many comments that there shouldn’t even be Democratic primaries in Red states, at least where African Americans will turn out for Biden. It has sort of become a bit tribal with the Bernie lot that favors non diverse states like Iowa and NH.
5
The demographcis of the remaining primary states indicate that Biden will get the nomination. Period. At issue, though, is how badly Sanders will damage Biden in the remaining primaries. Sanders' desire to pepper his stump speech with "blistering remarks" about Biden underscores a core selfishness. I fear that as with HRC four years ago, Sanders is going to thoughtlessly and demagogically stump against Biden in the next several months, particularly in the midwest, so that Biden arrives at the convention victorious but weakened. And thus Sanders risks that his chief accomplishment over a multi decade career will be to have twice knee-capped the ultimate Democratic candidate in 2016 and 2020, thus twice contributing to the election of Donald Trump.
19
@Peter People have a right to know what they're being shepherded into. If Biden's history is too damning to be publicized, why on earth are all these muckety-mucks endorsing him? So Bernie can hardly harm Biden by telling the truth about his past, right?
1
As one whose family is from rural Mississippi, my barometer of who really cares among the Democrats is who goes to Mississippi during a Presidential election cycle. Elizabeth Warren did, but Bernie Sanders will not. There is no advantage for a Democrat to go to Mississippi. It is a state with few delegates, and it is one that Democrats will likely lose in any general election. Nonetheless, I believe that any Democrat who truly believes in righting systemic injustice and lifting the most disadvantaged has a moral obligation to reach out and visit Mississippians. Bernie, time and time again, proves that he is in this for himself, not for those who are most in need.
93
@Leslie
Bernie didn’t even go to Selma to march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
18
@Leslie He's trying to win of course. He's not going to bend over backwards to places that he doesn't have a chance winning.
5
@Brian I found that was incredibly disappointing as well. Apparently, he thought attending a rally in California was more worth his time.
12
I was a life-long Democrat until 2008. After Obama's presidential win and the complete disappointment in his policies (exchanging hope and change for a Goldman Sachs cabinet), I started thinking about something my sister, who had lived in Europe since 1982, had been saying for many years, i.e., There is little difference between the parties.
Democrats have long abandon working families and are now only beholden to their donors, lobbyists for large corporations, and an almost do-or-die attempt to hold onto their seats, which affords them privileges beyond the wildest dreams of a family living paycheck to paycheck. And the future of these families are looking much worse in the coming years as holding companies buy large swaths of homes and land, holding on to them in order to make a huge profit, and at the same time keeping them affordable to working families.
I have always considered myself agnostic, but I have found myself praying for the once middle class family that now finds themselves just two paychecks away from homelessness because of the rising costs of healthcare and housing, to name a few.
84
Bullseye! I strongly agree with EVERY word!! I am expat American who -- thank heavens! -- lives and works in Germany. Have been here for over 30 years. While things here are obviously far from perfect (and, one could argue, gradually deteriorating) they're still A LOT better than in the US! I'm obviously referring to the usual stuff: health care; work benefits; strong worker/employee rights; public education; unemployment benefits; etc.
Most of those issues here are, most of the time, not even issues here. That's because they're simply there -- available. For everyone.
Used to be A LOT more like that in the US, btw. And then, especially with the onslaught of neoliberal disaster capitalism starting in the early 80s, it all started to disappear. Same goes , btw, for the UK.
And look where the US/UK are today. Both countries are devastated and extremely divided societies.
28
@NICHOLS COURT Agree. This is my last "hold your nose" vote for the Democratic Party. Of course, I'm like Joe Biden. I don't have many more years to vote!
2
@NICHOLS COURT I agree with your sister, Bob. It was during the Clinton administration that I first started to see that the Dem party had become a party beholden to big business. That's why I often look at alternate parties such as the Green Party, various socialist parties, etc. But this election I'll be voting for whoever represents the Democrats because both Bernie and Biden are far superior to the current administration. Even Biden, who is a corporate Dem.
2
It's hard to believe that for the upcoming election we are down to two senior citizens who demonstrate cognitive issues and a third senior who is known for his lack of compromise. Is this the best America can do? Evidently it is.
27
@Lake It has taken many years for academics to understand that not all African Americans and women are alike. Gerontological research shows clearly that not all senior citizens are alike. There is absolutely no evidence that Sanders has any "cognitive issues" (whatever that even means). Rather, he keeps a busy schedule and is articulate. It's important not to use reductionistic arguments that make all older persons the same. The social science data show that the "all old persons are the same" is a myth, just like the myth that "all women are the same," etc. Sanders also has experience from years of activism and that is worth something even if it is devalorized by persons who think new is good.
18
@Jonathan M Feldman I think the cognitive issues are Trump and Biden, while Sanders is highlighted for his unwilllingness to compromise (which I tend to disagree with).
5
@Lake
I'd also add that one of those also had a heart attack less than six months ago.
2
It is not so binary as "going all-in on the Midwest" or "not challenging Mr. Biden for the support of Black voters in the South". It is very simple: Michigan has more delegates and they vote next Tuesday.
39
Except that those two simple facts have been true since the beginning of the primary. So why schedule (and then cancel) a Mississippi rally? It walks and talks like a change in strategy...
6
It's also a red state.
@Kman Precisely. Because the press covered Sanders without ever looking down the road to FL, where Sanders will crash and burn spectacularly on March 17.
Bernie's campaign has not been viable for months, the polls have been saying so, and the same gang of reporters who made Hillary a project in 2016 have been doing the same to Biden.
Biden made a great call to focus on SC and survived the onslaught.
1
I recognize that Sanders is doing the smart thing here by cutting his losses in a state he can’t win. But there is something unseemly about a Democratic candidate vying for the nomination on the same strategy that propelled Trump: ignore the black community and aim for a passionate base of ~30% of the party.
Black voters are Democrats’ most loyal constituency, and 20% of our party. There needs to be some serious self-reflection that our most “woke” and progressive candidates cannot make inroads with a demographic they claim to represent better than more moderate Democrats.
If Biden were the one writing off black voters, there would be three opeds per day in the NYT on how unacceptable this was. But since white, college educated reporters are more sympathetic to progressive politics, this is overlooked.
That’s why the media spent weeks covering Biden’s stance on bussing forty years ago, whereas with Bernie it’s covered as “too bad he has such trouble connecting with black voters.”
79
@Mercury S There is only so much any candidate can do to win the votes of the older black people who have a loyalty to the Bill Clinton-Barack Obama-Joe Biden wing of the party. Sanders has tried harder than the other candidates in this race. He has a lifelong record of civil rights activism which apparently counts for little. It's a loyalty and comfort bond that is probably impossible to break.
15
@Mercury S There's a Realpolitik reason for ignoring the south. THe south has, since the Voting Rights Act, supported the GOP. The GOP developed the southern strategy and it's been effective. That Super Tuesday is so heavily weighted towards states that are most unlikely to support the Democratic Party's nominee in the general election essentially biases the party to the play-it-safe wing. Since the electoral college isn't going away, it behooves the Dems to find another, better method of selecting their candidate. How about total national votes received and/or a ranking (perhaps first to fourth choices) system.
It's my belief that a ranked voting system would see Senator Warren at or near the top and she would not have discontinued her candidacy. The only drawback to national summation of all votes in all states would be that ir would be a difficult system for unknowns to participate in on an equal footing. (Still, that is not necessarily a bad thing, as it would be requisite that the chief executive be a nationally recognized and respected person.[Trump had the recognition , bit not the respect])
8
@Mercury S
Black voters in Michigan are just as valuable and maybe more so in the general election. No offense, but what's the point of winning the South when the South will reliably vote Republican? I admire Senator Doug Jones but he won because of Roy Moore who had credible, multiple allegations of sexual assault from girls and very young women. That's what it takes for Southern states to not to vote Republican. Senator Sanders's being smart
I hope he wins decisively in Michigan.
3
I’m a Warren supporter who would never vote for Bernie. His form of grievance politics and the mob mentality of his supporters is a turn off. His ego is so big I foresee that he will never rally his support behind an alternate Dem nominee beyond himself.
171
@MissyR Agreed. I supported Elizabeth Warren and would be hard pressed to vote for Bernie for the same reasons you cite.
18
@MissyR What strikes you as egotistical about Sanders? His campaign slogan is “Not me. Us.” I’m really curious why many people say he is egotistical. From what I’ve seen, he goes out of his way not to rely on self-aggrandizing anecdotes about his personal life on the campaign trail, something that most politicians rely on and will even go out of their way to fabricate.
5
@MissyR
How true. We shouldn’t grieve about income inequality nor climate change nor Health insurance nor education costs.
Let’s put on a happy face and enjoy..,let the good times roll.
3
Just: wow. The democrat contender for President CANNOT win the Presidency without the black vote, and instead of trying to build bridges and coalitions, Bernie is turning his back completely on black voters.
In some ways that's emblematic of his candidacy overall. It's Bernie's way or the highway, and if you don't agree, he doesn't want you.
In this horrible time, what we need is a uniter, someone who preaches inclusiveness and seeks to expand the democratic base. Bernie is exactly the wrong man for the job.
161
@Todd
I think we should hear from the voters in real battleground states like Michigan and Arizona rather than southern states which won't turn blue in November.
20
@Todd
He’s got days maybe a week.,,it takes a long time to build those bridges.
1
@Todd Bernie is NOT turning his back on black voters. He is recognizing that black voters in the south have little or no effect on the outcome of national elections. Michigan also has a large black population. If they had been mobilized more effectively by Mrs Clinton, we would not be where we are today. Pick your battlegrounds and fight there.
11
Alas Trump makes both Biden and Sanders look senile and "low energy". That will play big in November. Sigh...
4
@Groovygeek I'm fairly sure that many, many people are horrified by the current style of "energy."
2
@Groovygeek Sanders is well spoken and articulate. Hardly senile.
@Groovygeek WHAT? Trump is visibly suffering from some combination of dementia and drug abuse. He cannot even form a sentence or pronounce words from a teleprompter.
3
Bad move, Bernie. This decision perfectly demonstrates why you consistently fail to expand your base of support. Blacks believe, in the words of Jim Clyburn, that you don't know them. Well, you'll never get to know them by ignoring them.
If this decision is reflective of your future actions, you'll never convince Democrats that you have the one major characteristic they're searching for in a candidate.
Beating Trump.
75
With all respect, he tried it didn't work, why should he double on losing strategy? Should I remind you how costly was for Hillary to forget Michigan while trying to expand her base?
1
@Tom Q https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/06/bernie-sanders-civil-rights-movement-activism
Yeah, he totally just ignored them.
Hard to know what Sanders means when he says of Michigan (in contrast to Mississippi), “It’s a state I feel very comfortable in.” I can only hope he's not saying that he is more comfortable around white northern Democrats than southern black Democrats.
58
@The Logger These past few years have cured me of my dreams of retiring to Vermont.
Why is a surprise? So far this primaries shows that he is not very popular in the Southern states, why should he waste the time instead of securing his positions in more friendly to him state. He always can try to win him later, if he gets the nomination. If he doesn't, that will be moot point. If anything, the move shows his pragmatism
@The Logger The Southerners have rejected him! Do YOU feel comfortable spending time, and money, to be with people who've roundly rejected you? It's pointless, and it doesn't make sense to fault him on a smart tactical move. Those states belong to Donald Trump in the general, which is the bigger point, and Bernie's policies, if he's elected, will help all the downtrodden everywhere in this country.
1
Biden's wins in Oklahoma and other 2016 Sanders states proves that a lot of Bern's 2016 "revolution" was just Anybody But Clinton generica.
34
He also won Colorado, Nevada, and have pretty good shot in California.
1
@TMDJS That is true, unfortunately as to Clinton. She was a "disliked" candidate in the primaries and lost the general election for the same reason. I thought she would be a good President, whether I "liked" her or not, and voted for her; but a lot of Bernie's support came from ABC, not a desire for a "political revolution." In 2020 Biden has the advantage of being a "liked" politician, but Trump has a fanatic base.
1
@TMDJS Some of it may have been, but some of it was also a lot of people wanting change in direction from Barack Obama's administration. A lot of those people may not want a return to the status quo under a Joe Biden administration.
“It’s not that I’m not popular,” he added.
No, Bernie. It IS that you're not popular with the Democratic base. Maybe that's because you are not a Democrat!
111
And us Democrats, who have always voted for Democrats, are sick and tired of being pilloried as "establishment" schills. We made and maintained this party and have earned a say in the process.
11
@Bec You're just wrong. 75% of Democrats view Sanders favorably. It is possible that you vote for a different candidate and yet view others favorably. For example, I liked Biden, Warren, Klobuchar and really almost everyone else not named Bloomberg.
6
@Bec ? He makes a pretty clear point. Biden is running off Obama name value only. That and "decency" (allow me to hysterically laugh at this one).
So yes, Bec. It's not because he's unpopular. It's because it's hard to eclipse the shadow of Obama in a community with the same ethnicity.
4
Gee, Bernie, what are you signaling to African Americans in Mississippi, or across the country? What happened to your lauded coalition? Looks like it just got whiter.
66
Biden is a flawed candidate who can't even keep his daughter and wife sorted out from each other.
OK, maybe not Bernie, but Biden? Really? A back to the future candidate who presents the same problems as Hilary?
I hope that in the next debate, Bernie chews him up and spits him out, because Trump certainly will.
30
St. Bernie is a flawed candidate who can’t keep single-payer and universal systems separate, let alone explain coherently how he plains to get anything done or paid for.
I kind of take that as a tad bit more serious.
1
@unreceivedogma Everybody assumes that Trump is going to agree to debates. You know what they say.
@unreceivedogma
Yeah, it's really hard to sort them out when they're flanked BEHIND you and you reach for one of them without looking.
CHECK THE FOOTAGE, folks!
2
Completely giving up on the black vote. Wow throwing in the towel already Bernie? See ya.
34
@tiredofwaiting - Pretty sure there is a very large black population in Michigan. Ever heard of Detroit?
@tiredofwaiting Since when did the southern black vote have any discernible effect on national elections? I am not suggesting that the Dems disenfranchise these people - the GOP has effectively done that. Have you never heard of the Southern Strategy, initially developed by the Nixon 68 campaign, brought to fulfillment by the sainted Ronald who started his campaign not in his home state of California but in Philadelphia, MS where Goodman, Scwerner and Chaney were murdered and lbolstered in every election since. McCain lost his momentum for the 2000 GOP nomination after rumors of his having sired a mixed race child emergerd in SC.
It's the regional disenfranchisement of vast swathes of the population that guarantees support for the indirect election of the president through the electoral college.
It's not that Bernie is racist. He's a political realist - with a mission.
1
@tiredofwaiting I think Bernie is looking towards the future to fight Trump. Michigan is a battle ground.
We have Black voters, too.
84
That’s a great move. He can’t fight the black machine of the Democratic Party and it’s forever congressional politicians! It’s best not to waste time there, although it doesn’t look good! But, democrats aren’t even going to win such states anyway!!!
17
You're right. A Democrat is unlikely to win those states in the general, but that doesn't matter right now does it? It's all about winning the primary. Let's worry about those southern states later.
1
Bernie's got to be mean against Biden. Like Warren was to Bloomberg in the debates. Chicago Tribune's John Kass maps it out for Bernie: https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/john-kass/ct-joe-biden-bernie-sanders-kass-20200305-sn2vxezdwfbonjgdvucm4yljj4-story.html
7
@Er
Bad call. Being mean just repels voters, and it mostly repels them from the one being mean.
2
@Er After her “mean” attacks on Bloomberg, Warren’s campaign went down down down. People are tired of mean, we’ve had enough of it from Trump.
4
@eyesopen It's like Warren was the attack dog that chased Bloomberg off the cliff, but she kept running and fell off with him.
There is a well written article in the WaPo that all Bernie supporters should read. It is by Joe Klein and titled "If Sanders loses the nomination, will you be as stupid as 1968 me was?"
It essentially talks about the reluctance of young voters who want to feel excitement in order to vote.
24
Sanders is very popular among the younger contingent, yet, as excited as they were for him, they stayed home in Texas and California. If "excited" supporters won't get out and vote, lethargic voters certainly won't.
2
@John
Yes and all the incremental changes over the course of last half century have worked out exceedingly well for the Jamie Diamonds, Mark Zuckerbergs, and Donald Trumps of the world.
We're made to believe Biden's the safe choice and it's fine that he misspoke about his "arrest" in South Africa or pulled a Melania on a speech or forgot what office he was running for but his anti-consumer regulations, his NAFTA vote, his incompetence on the Senate Judiciary Committee, his lack of judgement in allowing family members to financially profit from his political position will all come back to bite him.
I think Senator Sanders is the better choice.
@John Yep, it's another give up and fall in line piece. If Bernie had gotten the Super Tuesday blowout Biden did, Klein wouldn't have written such a piece in support of Bernie. We all know that "Unite the party" means "Stop Bernie and close the door." We'll see if that's a winning strategy for the party.
To paraphrase Kanye, Bernie doesn’t care about black people.
23
@Bill Brasky
To directly quote Kanye:
"We're going to need to get a few breaks to be able to have some places in my hometown of Chicago ... where we can create some factories. I think it would be cool for them be Trump factories because he's a master of industry, he's a master builder. I think it would be cool to have Yeezy ideation centers."
@Bill Brasky Bernie cares about Bernie and our kids money. Period.
1
@Bill Brasky
and to paraphrase Michael Moore, black folks don't know what good for them.
1
Bernie in 2016. Bernie in 2020. Bernie forever. Or we're finished. Biden, who will probably lose, is politics as usual, and if Trump's ascendancy doesn't convince the electorate that politics as usual is dead, I don't know what could.
Trump was a revolution. And we're not going to get rid of him with anything less than another one.
38
@DGC_NH except for the small problem that his supposed young backers didnt turn out to vote for him
3
What if Joe Biden is NOT the most electable of these two men?
I fear that we've gotten just a sample of what the Trump and the GOP intend to weaponize Hunter Biden and his involvement in the Ukraine energy business Burisma. That and the former Vice President's gaffe-filled moments in public are already becoming a mixed-tape fixture on conservative radio.
I may be in the minority, but I think Sen. Sanders has a bulldog speaking style that would serve him well up against the incumbent and also appeal to a portion of the white working class who have been so important to the President.
32
The Mid-west is pretty conservative, I'm not so sure Bernie's ideas will go over all that well in Michigan. But I guess we will find out soon enough.
21
Just to clarify, Michigan, Minnesota and, until recently, Wisconsin, have been solidly blue, liberal-leaning states for decades. The auto industry of Detroit and its labor unions practically invented the American middle class and the minimum wage, health benefits and pensions.
Bernie can’t win the moderate swing states which is a killer in the electoral college process and his young supporters unsurprisingly aren’t turning out to actually vote. I saw a quote somewhere that said that “2020 Bernie is losing to 2016 Bernie” based on his primaries turnout so far which says it all. Hopefully, Bernie and his followers can pivot to support Biden to win against Trump in November.
36
@El Gato
Exactly......i believed Bernie could have beat DJT in 2016. 2020? not a chance
2
In my opinion, the electoral college and potential of a convention fight loom big still, and Sanders' campaign realizes this. Even before Super Tuesday, if Sanders went into the convention having a plurality only, but having lost the primaries in Michigan and Penna. where would he and his campaign be in any debate about electibility? Now, the difference in delegates may be so close, with Biden possibly in the lead, the primaries in the battleground states may be everything.
And as to a phrase I saw in another NYT piece, about Democratic voters experiencing "an electability-induced stupor", I'd like to see someone, especially a pundit, tell me that to my face. Stupor? Give me a break.
8
Sanders has been a politician for three decades, and in those three decades has accomplished nothing. Why believe he suddenly can do something?
74
Clearly a massive groundswell of young voters will turn out in November, leading Bernie to a 35 state landslide.
Oh, wait. Young voters can't be bothered to show up in the primary at even 2016 levels.
8
@CP 15% or less in most Super Tuesday states. 5% in California.
The turnout of the young Bernie fans will disappoint in Michigan as it did on Tuesday. Some things never change.
29
I'm not supporting Senator Sanders because I'm not interested in fanning the flames of a class war as a pretext for the state ownership of assets.
I'm far more interested in going back to moderation and compromise.
58
@Chris Agreed - AND for having someone who can possibly get something accomplished with an intractable Republican Senate.
2
@Chris
There’s no “going back.” This was the false promise Trump made to his voters and it’s the false promise Biden makes as well. The post war years of the baby boom were a fluke that gave rise to middle class that’s both ecologically and economically unsustainable. Climate change won’t compromise. And neither will capital. Its goal is to ensure profits at whatever cost, and the only chance we human beings have is collective action through the imperfect tool of government. Nationalizing healthcare and education, allowing workers to sit on boards, and regulating polluting industries will seem like a small price to pay in twenty years, when, if left unchecked, inequality and global warming will wreak a class war that we can’t imagine today.
1
Agree with much of what you say. However, you will have to convince the majority of Americans in swing states that these good ideas.
What follows, is the slow painful death throes of the progressive revolution and the Sander's campaign.
He is still close enough to encourage him and his followers to remain in the race. But far behind to ever catch up.
He'll keep going until the next big state votes Biden and mathematically he cannot hope to win. Until then, he will be dropping one state at a time, ceding space and points to Biden, trying to hope for a miracle in the big prize states.
If the roles were reversed, Biden would go on to the last day, because the DNC holds the super delegates in their hands, and would tell them to vote Biden, propelling him over the finish line at the last moment. But if Sanders needs this help, the DNC will laugh at him as they see him fall short, and then gift Biden the delegates any way, just to make sure Sanders shuts up once and for all.
Had Warren dropped on Sunday, the story would be a lot different. Sanders would be campaigning everywhere, getting as much points as possible to defeat the DNC and making the Supers irrelevant. But thanks to her stealing the votes he needed right then, his chances are all but gone. So sick she played this trick on him on Monday, just to hang up the apron two days later.
Like watching a slow moving crash. It's inevitable, and we cannot stop watching as he slowly falls back down to Earth.
8
@AutumnLeaf , What is wrong with Sanders supporters? The majority of Democrats don't want him. No one is "stealing" anything. We supposed to vote for the one we want, not the one YOU want.
The DNC, as a private organization, is free to support the candidate of their choice. They generally support the candidate the majority supports. Isn't that the way it should be?
I don't like Sanders. I'll vote for him if he wins the Democratic nomination though.
And the progressive agenda isn't dead. It's still alive. Bur remember, it was Hillary Clinton who first put out a universal, national healthcare proposal when Sanders voters were still wearing their Spiderman pajamas. It was Obama who got the ACA in spite of the Republicans.
It's this insane lack of political maturity coming from Sanders voters that turns the rest of us off.
2
@AutumnLeaf Warren did not “steal” Bernie’s votes. Warren supporters split pretty evenly between Biden and Bernie.
From reading and personal experience, Warren/Biden voters would probably have voted for Pete if he had stayed in the race. But while they are “meh” on Biden, they they actively dislike Bernie.
3
Interestingly, Trump has been trying to fan flames, and get the two wings of the Democratic Party at each others’ throats.
Would you happen to know why that might be?
1
I support many of Sanders' policies. But I do not support idealogues and Sanders is one. Idealogues cannot govern. They are disasters and Sanders is surrounded by like minded disasters he would take to the WH.
70
Bernie can't win in the general election. That is why Dems are so concerned. If he can't carry even some of the south, how will he win? He's too uncompromising. We've seen that for years. He won't collaborate. Just take your ball and go home Bernie.
51
@Eleanor Kilroy "Too uncompromising?" In other words, he has principles and will not sell-out to rich donors.
6
@Eleanor Kilroy Trump will take the South.
Just as in 2016 black votes in the south propelled HRC to the nomination, but they couldn't deliver when it counted. Certainly black voters and their concerns are important, however, being pragmatic, whoever can deliver Penn, Wisc, Ohio and Michigan should be nominated.
17
Michigan is the last chance for Bernie. If he loses there, it won't take rocket science to predict that he'll lose in Ohio, Illinois and Florida. This race needs to be over on March 18. Give up the ghost Bernie and hold hands to beat Trump. Act honorably.
44
@USNA73
I agree. I urge everyone to vote Biden in large numbers to effectively end the primaries early and turn the focus to Trump and November.
A decisive victory and no repeat of 2016 and Bernie and his bros contesting and dragging this on and on...
Vote Biden and end the primaries on March 17th!
1
Bernie and his Justice Democrats affiliate headed by
AOC have turned off too many who do not want
more division and angry rhetoric .
We want unity in the community and a win in 2020.
24
@Dulcinea IMHO a Biden win will bring us back to business as usual and Wall Street, corporate lobbyists and the 1% will be dancing in the streets.
Hillary lost Mississippi by only 215,000 votes. Imagine how that will change with Biden on the ballot. Of course Hillary won the Mississippi primary. That was how she won the nomination.
9
Deja Vu of 2015. It's pretty clear Sanders has made next to no inroads with the African American vote and that is frightening.
22
Keep Amy and Elizabeth in the Senate. They can do a better job there writing legislation. They bring nothing to the ticket unfortunately they both lost their own state
10
This is what happens in primaries.
Stuff happens.
Lead changes happen.
And eventually a nominee is chosen.
The important thing is that moderate and liberal Democrats and independents eventually come together and for a broad voting coalition to support the Democratic nominee whoever it may be.
Moderates and Biden ought to be extending olive branches to Sanders and Warren progressives, not simply just piling on the Biden bandwagon while pillorying the progressive lefts as Pollyannish 'socialists'.
We will be stronger together without the internecine intraparty warring.
That's what will lead to real progress.
97
@Socrates I agree and it goes both ways. I remember 2016 and Senator Sanders taking too long to concede and he and his supporters not exactly endorsing the Clinton ticket. In my opinion that is why we have President Trump now.
63
@Socrates Will moaning about "the establishment," which apparently means black grandmothers and suburban women, also cease?
44
@Socrates I'm a Warren progressive, and I'm for just about all the things the progressive agenda wants. But none of that agenda will come to light if Trump is elected.
Vote blue no matter who.
11
Is it good practice for a candidate to cancel a planned rally to go elsewhere, leaving people who may have been excited to hear him speak feeling both disappointed and like part of a political calculation?
54
No, it's probably not wise, but it's true to form for Sanders' blustering imperiousness.
28
Michael, My thought exactly. Rather than attempt to bring African Americans closer to him, he's blown them off. Huge mistake. Huge.
1
That is a smart move by Senator Sanders. Michigan is the test for him. Hopefully, Michigan voters have had time to recover from the shockwaves around Super Tuesday and calmly consider the agendas and records of the two remaining candidates. Their differences are significant but both firmly within the value system of the Democratic Party. Sanders has more concrete proposals to lift the working and middle classes across the board, not just the poor and identity groups.
All would benefit from Medicare for All's guaranteed, comprehensive, lower-cost insurance coverage independent of employers, jobs and unions. All would benefit from tuition-free vocational and higher education in a rapidly changing economy where not only factories and jobs but whole occupations disappear.
But that is for Michigan Democrats to decide. I only hope they resist the fear-based urge to rush to a "safe space." It may be safety now but the challenges working people face are not going away.
44
@abigail49
How is he going to get Medicare for All? That is my problem with Sanders. He tells us he has a plan to pay for it but not how he is going to get it passed in Congress - even if democrats have the house and senate.
I will go with Joe because I think he will start trying to make the ACA better leading to healthcare for all.
I cannot buy into the pie in the sky Sanders is promising.
37
@abigail49 Michigan will definitely go by aydin. Sanders barely beat Clinton. Michigan loved Obama for the AUTO jobs
7
@abigail49
I agree with some of Bernie's positions, but he has yet to prove he can bring in the voters to allow him to defeat Trump. In this election cycle, defeating Trump is should be the most important factor.
If you look at the results so far, Bernie's base has gone down since 2016. The surge he was expecting seems to be going to Biden.
From what I have seen, both Trump and Bernie are emotional timebombs.
While Bidfen has problems with speaking sometimes and other challenges, he still has a much better chance of defeating Trump than Bernie. And I do believe Biden will defeat Trump because he can bring in moderate republicans in the swing state, something that Bernie is not able to do.
5
I'm a Michigander, a "liberal," lifelong Democrat (now living in California). I don't accept dividing my party into "progressives" (Sanders) versus "moderates" (Biden). Being a liberal Democrat defines a political identity, and we still want to be the leading force in the party. Liberal hasn't morphed into progressive, leaving behind only the moderates. Newly defined progressives are one wing of the party; liberals are the core of the party; and moderates, let's say Democrats by tradition and inclination, have not morphed into "conservatives." When the liberals and moderates come together to assert their control of the party and choose a favored candidate (Biden), as is happening now, it doesn't mean we want a "moderate" candidate and party platform, it means we are choosing what we think is the coalition with the best chance of defeating Trump and putting a Democrat with a liberal agenda in the White House.
140
@chas Sure, then please refrain from attacking me personally when I disagree with your choice. Because it is a choice, is it not?
1
chas in California.. dead point on
1
It's still the Midwest that matters, along with Arizona, if we keep our eyes on the electoral college. Any Democrat will win California. Any Democrat will lose the South, with the exception of Virginia. Biden winning Minnesota was huge, but it's an outlier, since Klubachar dropped out and endorsed him two days before Super Tuesday. I take his victory with a grain of salt. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Arizona: those six states decide the election in November. Sanders can't win Florida; Biden can. Biden can't win Arizona; Sanders can. Sanders is more likely to win Arizona than Biden is likely to win Florida. The primaries coming up in the Midwest are the crucial ones; if Sanders can't win Michigan or Wisconsin, he should consider supporting Biden. The next debate, March 15, will also be crucial: with two old men on stage, the stakes couldn't be higher. Will Sanders suffer a heart attack? Will Biden forget what he's doing and why? My bet is that Biden won't be up to the moment. (I'm a proud Boomer, by the way, so skip the ageism comments.) He could barely hold his own with a supporting cast of half a dozen candidates or more. Now he'll have to speak half the time and defend his record with Sanders on offense. Both will cite their friend Obama now that Sanders has lost credibility when it comes to increasing voter turnout as his magic sauce. If Biden is smart, he'll try the same redbaiting that worked for Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes. Either way, tune in.
16
@Al Davis I wish Mass Media would report that Obama praised Cuba for their literacy program and their healthcare.The speech is on youtube.I don't remember any blowback for him.
@Al Davis Georgia is within a hair's breadth of being blue, and we haven't voted in the primary yet. Georgia may yet be a blue state.
@Al Davis
You said it in a much kinder, nicer way than I'm feeling today. Thank you!
The big question is, if Sanders doesn’t do well in the midwestern states will he drop out and support Biden, with more enthusiasm than he did Hillary Clinton in 2016? It would certainly help to defeat Trump, if he puts his heart into it.
80
@Vin He may support but his followers will do what they did in 2016 including behaving like they did at the convention.
1
@Vin
Bernie campaigned for Clinton in states where she didn't bother to make an appearance. She was busy meeting with rich donors in the Hamptons.
2
I love Sanders but he is far left and won’t be able to consolidate the votes from his supporters with the more moderate ( majority) of voters. My goal for voting is to put the country first and be realistic about who might have a better chance to defeat Trump and his GOP supporters , at this time the only viable choice is Biden.
92
@SRei respectfully, what exactly is “ too left”? We get so mired in the babble of labels that we might take a minute and ask do I really know what this one means?. Is caring about Health Care as a right, Climate change, social justice somehow undesirable? And is the suggestion that anyone who is passionate about these issues isn’t putting country first? There is somehow a convoluted notion that you cannot care about the well- being of your fellow citizens and defeating Trump at the same time. Our choice is stark: vote for fundamental change or not.
12
@Sandy M ~
Passions for goals and causes are one thing.
The ability to win the election and then try to get something done is another.
Even if we get the Senate back, there are a whole lot of of the 435 who can't be Bernie followers the way Trump dominates his.
@Sandy M
The word “socialist” has a long and checkered past and plays very differently in different subcultures. Adopting the term while failing to divorce himself enough from past and present authoritarian self proclaimed socialists was a fatal error by Sanders in terms of either pivoting to the center or converting the center to his support.
If he wins the primary the term “communist” will be applied early and often, not least by his opponent, and also by the Russia bot invasion, which has already telegraphed its support for a Trump-Sanders race, in part for this very reason.
Obviously Sanders history on the left and his policies make him vulnerable to such attacks. His positive expressions for authoritarian governments in Venezuela and Cuba will be taken out of context in attack ads. Those ads will run with devastating effect.
You can argue the intellectual or historical rights and wrongs of the semantics, but you can’t make that argument during a national election in the US and expect to win.
3
Bernie has by far the better chance to beat Trump. I hope voters take into consideration just how flawed a candidate Biden is. The man is clearly affected mentally by his age, and Trump will show no mercy in exposing all of Biden's issues.
163
@dju445
Most voters, including folks like me who agree with many of Bernie's ideas, don't trust him.
Yep, Biden's flawed. But Sanders has burned every possible bridge to Democrats who are older than 30 or who voted for other candidates so far in the primary. He is reaping what he sowed.
58
@dju445 Not really. It's a toss up. See my analysis, above, about the states in play in the electoral college.
3
@dju445 I agree with the concern about Biden's mental state, exposed especially badly during the past few days. Alas we now have a choice between a bad (Biden) and badder (Sanders) candidate. Sanders simply can't win with his bi-coastal fan club only and he is unlikely to get support elsewhere.
9
Too late. Michigan is made for Biden.
Why does Sanders think that 2016 is 2020?
74
@Cousy
Bernie beats Trump slightly better than Biden beats Trump in Michigan, right now.
8
@Fourteen14
'Bernie beats Trump slightly better than Biden beats Trump in Michigan, right now.'
Yea.
But Biden beats Sanders in Michigan right now, making the rest of the argument irrelevant.
3
@Fourteen14
What poll are you citing???
As of yesterday, per a Detroit News joint poll Biden was ahead of Sanders by six points.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/state/
6
Bernie Sanders chronic inability to do well with African American voters in the South is really a testament to the power of culture in politics. It does not matter how committed he has been to the Civil Rights Movement. He is a radical left Jew from Brooklyn. The cultural divide from an African American in the South is palpable. This is not fair, of course, but I cannot think of a better explanation otherwise.
78
@Michael I'm guessing because you are not really trying.
6
@Michael
Telling Af-Ams they're unfair to an enormously successful and rich white guy is kind of hilarious.
11
@Michael Three short words rebut that argument: Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.
6
When a less wealthy African American in the South votes for Biden in 2020, how is this the same (or different) than a less wealthy caucasian in the rust belt voting for Trump in 2016? Just trying to understand the goals of these groups and what the individuals (or their local leaders who inform them) are hoping to accomplish with their votes. Amazing the levels of support these candidates can amass but what are the ISSUES (to be reflected in ACTUAL policy and implementation) that they believe in ? Please tell me there is something more to accomplish than “anti-deep-state” and “anti-Trump”. I am looking for a reasonable implementable goal that these groups feel their votes can serve. But I am not seeing it right now.. “winning”?
10
@BB Blacks who back Biden can count on him to fight voter suppression. Other than that, it's all goodwill accumulated as Obama's VP. His record on fighting racism is mixed, after all. Trump's supporters, the ones who aren't racist or one-trick ponies (anti-choice, for example), expected better jobs. Hopefully, they see through Trump, who is nothing but an ambassador for his own brand. Anybody who votes with hopes of actually implementing goals is for Sanders.
28
@BB
"For those who live in the shadow of segregation and racial terror, the election is not about policy or personality. It’s about something much darker," says Mara Gay in this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/opinion/joe-biden-southern-democrats.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
It's easy for someone in California to ask the questions you're asking, but close your eyes for a minute, mentally try to leave the West Coast, and place yourself in the shoes of a black Southern voter, and maybe, just maybe, you will understand the existential threat Donald Trump represents for millions of Americans. If you think that ousting Trump isn't enough of a motivator, think again.
10
@BB It's about religion. Same reason why same sex marriage gets denied in religious communities regardless of status, color or wealth. Some people just like their politics with Jesus sprinkled in for good measure. Why do you think Obama had to go to church every other photo shoot during his election.
The South will got to Trump regardless.
9
Few Democrats want Joe Biden to be President. If they did, Joe would have pulled away when there were 8 candidates, not 3. What Democrats want is Donald Trump not to be President. We learned last time, there just weren't enough moderates in the mid-West to overcome the Trump base. I have a hard time thinking this time will be different. Will the progressive base turn out for a candidate not even the moderates really want? Why would they? I suspect Joe will win and then lose, and then the Democrats will have to find their identity, much as Republicans did under Obama. I've been voting a long time. I've never seen anyone win office with this bumper sticker - VOTE FOR ME, I'M NOT HIM.
52
@LongTimeFirstTime - The Democrats have finally learned that we do not have one national election for President. We have 51 separate elections, and winning the popular vote is simply not enough. If it were, we would be speaking of Presidents Gore and Hillary Clinton.
The question is who can win in the swing states. Bernie will have a hard time in Florida, because of Cuba. He will have a hard time in Pennsylvania, because of his position on fracking (which is the right one, but if you don't win it doesn't matter). And if the Democrats don't carry either of these two states, they will have an almost impossible task of winning 270 electoral votes.
Vote blue, no matter who.
23
@LongTimeFirstTime What we learned last time is that decades of propaganda against Hillary Clinton were successful in getting a narrow victory against her. Joe Biden for all his flaws is not nearly as hated by many on the right, and might just be enough to win.
Clearly, the "progressive base" won't even turn out for Sanders in the primaries, why would it be different in the general election? I continue to be disappointed in young people who are quick to speak up online but do not show up to vote and have left Sanders struggling after Tuesday.
10
@LongTimeFirstTime "Few Democrats want Joe Biden to be President." Hahah, Super Tuesday results would beg to differ.
The MAJORITY of Dems want Biden to be President, and he will be.
12
So sad to see so many young people fall for this con man, he not honest to tell them his agenda will never get passed in congress or the senate, he knows it, no one wants to work with him because its Bernie way or no way, plus he failed to get any bills passed. Even in Vermont a small white person state, he comes off as just an angry old leftist with a wasted passed. Just look at his history, look up his resume or what people who knew him in his young, they can tell you want he was like and nothing has changed, just his more angrier.
102
That's it in a nutshell, Joe.
4
@Joe
AT least Sanders believes in something. At this point Biden is a hapless puppet for the Democratic establishment which is running his campaign and will run his presidency if elected.
14
@Joe So sad to see so many old people so fearful of change they'd rather doom their children and grandchildren than do something. Thanks for taking care of the planet in the past 50 years.
6
Bernies main problem is that he is primarily a talker, not a listener. His affect is that of being closed minded. He seems tone deaf on healthcare, seemingly unaware of the “middle path”. Then there’s Cuba! Not so attractive to a broad swatch of voters.
To bad. He has some great ideas...
44
@Fritz RN
Actually he has all the great ideas, so many that everyone is copying him. He also has superior judgment, having not voted for the trade agreements or all the wars unlike everyone else who went along to get along due to political expediency.
Maybe you should be less close-minded and listen to him.
He's also right on Medicare-for-all, why exactly would you want to keep private health insurers whose costs are increasing twice as fast as Medicare?
A real leader stakes out correct positions ahead of the population in spite of opposition and waits for them to figure it out.
What you want is a old-school politician who panders to everyone and never changes anything because they don't try.
11
Not a listener and not a doer.
11
@Fritz RN
"Then there's Cuba!"
What are you even talking about LOL
1
There's a time to fight for your own candidacy and a time to unite for the good of our country. It should be clear by now that Democratic voters are not looking for a revolution; they want first and foremost to rid themselves of Trump before he destroys everything we love about America.
Our best hope is to coalesce around Joe Biden now instead of spending months tearing him down.
Bernie, you have fought hard and well. It's time to bow to the inevitable.
95
@Charlie B Were you saying this after Nevada? Or did we have to wait for more primaries?
3
@Charlie B If he wins the candidacy, Biden will be torn down for months. If he can't handle healthy competition until then, he can't handle a general either. I think that he is fully capable of campaigning, of convincing people that he will not forget about them if in office.
The two are nearly tied in delegates, and we're still not even half-way through the primaries. If Biden is able to convince a majority of the party, I'll accept it, but until then, I will continue to fight with Bernie because I know that he will fight for me.
3
Biden will win the nomination and the presidency, and our four-year (seems much longer) national nightmare will be over. I just wish he could speak coherently. What a world.
23
@Tomás Most of the time he does, but it’s not interesting as when he flubs. Hence, the media covers the flubs.
@Tomás what a world is right, but Joe is unlikely to beat Trump
Trump will shred him. Honestly, looking forward to it.
5
Exhibit A of what a hard ceiling looks like. Bernie is now scrambling to secure his narrow base - young people and working class white men.
Elections are about addition, not subtraction. Bernie and his supporters have spent months yelling at everyone who isn't exactly like them, making it much harder to broaden his appeal now that the field has narrowed.
176
@Cousy It's no surprise tho that a bunch of people in the South voted for the candidate that's Christian. Plus the South will go to Trump regardless.
Bernie won California, a pretty diverse place FYI.
The Midwest decided the vote last time and will most likely not want to hear the same talking points from four years ago. The Democrats forget that people from these states are very progressive and educated. So talking to them like they will buy into elitist coastal promises written by a crony from Goldman Sachs isn't going to beat Trump. Just like it didn't last time.
I'd think they'd prefer yelling over false promises. Biden won't deliver, even if Bernie can't deliver he means what he says. That counts more for those of us who still have hope.
4
@Cousy
And still doing it! I always vote for people who call me a corporate shill. It makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy and filled with excitement to join their team....I also love it when they call me elite. As a secretary, I feel very elite and fancy every day. So does my truck-driving husband.
It's amazing.
9
@Cousy White working class voters are also a key part of Biden's base. I believe he won them in more Super Tuesday states than Sanders did. He's also leading in a recent poll of Michigan. Sanders's move to abandon the African-American vote in the South, at least for now, makes sense, but these are clearly desperate times. He'll have to scramble back after Michigan to try to recover support among African-Americans in states like Georgia and Florida.
1
Part of Sanders' appeal to voters until now was simply that he was in the lead. That was due in large part to the moderate vote being split between the various moderate candidates. Now that all of the moderates have coalesced behind Biden, Sanders won't even have the appearance of leading. It's all downhill from here for Bernie. But then again he never really had a chance. He's just too far out there.
63
@Jay Orchard I'd suggest you wait for the next catastrophic Biden gaffe and the Hunter Biden inquiries before you write off Sanders completely.
Also it's been noted Biden is winning in states Trump will likely carry in the general.
10
@David Spell I am of the impression that Trump's holding rallies the night before in states where Democratic primaries are being held are indeed driving higher turnout for Biden in the form of Republicans/right-leaning independents who who are strategically voting for him because they believe he is the weakest candidate to run against Trump in November. These same voters will then return to voting for Trump and the Republican party candidates in the November. It is sad to see Trump and the Republicans get away with interfering in the Democratic primaries, but I guess it is what it is. Democrats probably do it to Republicans also to some extent.
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@Jay Orchard Bernie's appeal was and IS that he was the underdog. The outsider. Not business or politics as usual. I would say that your stance on "appeal because they're leading" perfectly matches Joe Biden right now.
A moderate platform got us spanked in 2016. The established candidate got spanked in 2016. We're all still suffering for it. There are no safe bets, even with Joe. You know the hearings on Burisma are in the works? Every poll even day of the election showed Trump losing. Dead wrong.
I have talked to so many "moderates" who say they like what Bernie says, and are for his policies, but can't get behind him because it seems "dangerous". Nonsense. Vote for the ideas you want. Let's not follow the herd to graze in the stagnant waters of moderation.
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One benefit of the Sanders campaign is that it is causing voters to push the panic button and turn out in droves for Biden. There is a Sanders turnout effect -- but in the opposite direction. You might call it "voters who can do the math." The question now is whether Warren goes down as the candidate who did the math (endorsing Biden), or as the candidate who did the math and decided it didn't matter. I, for one, will hop on a train early to make sure I am in Michigan next Tuesday to vote for the math.
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@Garth Taylor The "math" of no progress from 2008. Great.
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@Garth Taylor The math. Interesting argument. For some reason, the leaders of the wealthiest country in the world continually tell me they cannot provide everyone with healthcare. I would accept that argument, if it were based in reality. I would accept that argument, if I were blind and couldn't see numbers on the national budget. I would accept that argument, if the people yelling at me with that argument didn't bring us to where we are today.
Unfortunately, the reality is that other countries can and have done this. The reality is that this country spends almost a trillion dollars on the military industrial complex a year. The reality is that the leaders telling me these arguments, are the same leaders who brought this country to where it is in 2020. I have watched this country fight wars since I was 8. I'm now 27. I have yet to see or hear anything that makes me feel like those wars have accomplished ANYTHING other than a massive destabilization of society and unnecessary deaths.
Please don't lecture me about math or logic until you can see reality.
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@Garth Taylor Hey, I did the math! Hillary, the moderate, lost in 2016.
Do I get an A?
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No disrespect of Bernie here, but the notion that voters will coalesce for him in November even though they did not coalesce in the primary is not going to cut it for me. I need something more solid. Biden provided it by a broad appeal, real wins and a lot of states, and a mostly older but still a pretty broad spectrum. Three of the candidates dropped out and endorsed him. I'm not against Bernie's ideas, I just want to see widespread support of them.
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It’s not as though he’s getting zero delegates in these states, and the younger demographics are leaning toward Sanders. I think you’re right that older voters aren’t keen on him, and the less-progressive states are a huge challenge.
I think this is a larger signifier that the party is splitting. Maybe not this cycle, but the seeds planted in 2016 appear to be taking root.
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@Tom J I agree. This is not the way to unite Americans by ignoring select states. The only goal is to DEFEAT THE DONALD...with a national landslide.
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@Tom J His win of the most populous state in the country doesn't indicate support of Bernie's ideas? Hillary was nominated in 2016 based on this notion of "broad appeal" and look where it got us.
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