Wealth tax to reign in huge fortunes. Looks like the coronavirus is doing a better job of that.
1
I believe Sanders set the tone for the Democratic primary in another way that is not mentioned in this article.
Sanders rallies have included Nazi salutes, flags, and most recently, a supporter wearing a tee shirt with a Nazi symbol. Yes, most people in the crowds at the rallies reacted with anger to these displays, but the key word here is anger. Sanders is angry, his supporters (in some cases behaving like the supporters of Hitler) are angry, Trump supporters are angry---and Trump seems to be profiting from all the anger.
I hope Sanders and all the other angry people in politics today would just be quiet and let US try to figure a way out of the mess we are in today.
62
Someone posted:
I predict with Biden, we are going to have Hillary 2.0 all over again but it's going to be Burisma.
Well maybe but if the Bidens and MSM would explain why the Ukrainians gave the Bidens $3.1 M and whether the Bidens delivered what the Ukranians expected the story will die if there is no story.
26
The modern Democratic Party is the Democratic Socialist Party.
JFK's Democratic Party died with him in 1963.
Everything the Democrats have devised since then has been to swing the party left towards a Marxist/Leninist/Stalinist/Henry Wallace future of perpetually failed Socialism.
Now you know why Trump will win in 2020.
14
IF we add up the Democratic delegates to this point (3/8/2020 ), we should note that : in the BLUE states Obama won in 2012.......Sanders LEADS: 346, to Biden’s 324. If we add Warren, Progressives are doing very well. My concern is IF progressives see they have been “pushed” into 2 losing elections by the media and large donors.....if Biden loses, this could end the Democratic Party. A Big Risk!
15
More flapping gums. A Biden Presidency will not support a single liberal agenda item. He’s already cut Social Security and Medicare. Deception from Frank Bruni.
48
Bernie is a plus for the Democratic Party. The Clintons, on the other hand, are a detriment. Hillary Clinton is on the airwaves a lot recently. Who cares what she thinks? Biden would be wise to keep her and her family away while he brings our party together. And please don’t give me that she won the popular vote. She chose a complete republican-light nobody as a running mate, could not go on the attack Trump for his misogyny because of her husbands past, and then goes out and loses Wisconsin. Should she get involved in Biden’s campaign? PLEASE NO!!!
38
Funny how Warren is missing from most of this article, yet she's the one that came up with ways to pay for her plans.
49
Sanders is a self-serving old white hypocrite who accepted donations from the NRA, sent nuclear waste to poor communities in Texas, and voted against the Magnitsky Act, inexplicable for a man who likes to portray himself as fighting corrupt corporate oligarchs. He recycles the same old rhetoric left over from his salad days in the 1960’s and has show scant interest in actually passing legislation for the thirty years he worked on the Hill.
He’s spent his life running not against Republicans but the Democratic Party, which is odd considering he’s run as standard bearer of the Democratic Party twice now and votes with the Party on most legislation. He’s paranoid and pushes conspiracy theories that others are out to get him. He hates press press as as well because he can’t abide criticism. He blames everyone else for his failings. That he is seen as some sort of messiah by his followers is frightening.
No wonder 12 percent of his supporters voted for Trump in 2016, and no wonder Russia has twice now promoted his candidacy.
Bruni, who hated Pelosi, and for that matter all women who’ve ever run for office, has shown his true stripes— predictable, uninformed and embarrassing.
44
Bernie is a one trick pony. One stump speech. Lots of shouty shouty. 30-40 years as an elected official (introduced Only 3 bills?) and he is campaigning against “Elites”? (3 houses). Attacks the DNC but is campaigning as a Dem? Total wind and weewee
47
So, all Americans now have to echo Dr. King's famous speech after the march at Selma, and ask: How long, Oh lord, How long?
2024, 26, 32? To achieve in the 21st C, the citizens' rights and benefits that are accepted and centrist in other capitalist democracies, since the 20th C.
We need, after the distorted center of our politics, a new civil rights movement --for the citizen majority of the USA.
For people of all races now----who depend on our distorted system to try to make a decent living for their families, to get decent health care, decent education & training, and decent retirement.
Yes, the word is decent.
29
Centrists have no plan - no path forward. Their mantra is a siren song which merely enables Daddy Warbucks to hold the line on the status quo; while continuing their game which includes the funding of political campaigns in both parties. Jim Geraghty was right about Pete Buttigieg, really about all the Centrists … " the whiz kid from Harvard, Oxford, and McKinsey keeps sounding like he’s reading from a stack of Hallmark cards." Here's a Pete quote: "It's time to turn the page from a Washington experience paralyzed by the same old thinking, polarized by the same old fights, to a bold vision for the next generation,” … “We need to break from the old politics and unify this nation".
That's hot air. There's no substance to these Centrists - but one thing is certain... the money keeps flowing, and it makes for a nice day for these professional bloviators and their families.
28
Sorry, I've watched Bernie in action for decades; I don't feel the Bern.
50
The news media pundits and columnists have let the GOP keep scaring the public with its long-time line-- 'increased government CONTROL of our health care'.
So answer this--- what’s happened with the dozens of capitalist democracies who under various systems started universal health care decades, even generations ago? Do their citizens support it?
How about Canada-- so close and yet so far? It started HC for all in 1966. Take a quick trip over the border and ask people how they're doing. Report this in the NYT--"All the News Fit To Print."
Do millions of citizens in other democracies prefer paying taxes to the govt they elect, or instead high, exploitive fees to big insurance, pharma, and hospitals?
If what Sanders and other progressives propose is so dangerous, then why aren't millions of citizens in other countries marching in the streets to protest, demanding their govts change to a US style system, that’s been sold as equated with ‘Freedom’ from big govt?
Why wouldn't they feel 'safer' if their taxes were used to buttress profits for big insurance and pharma, instead of used to guarantee affordable medical care for all citizens?
Gosh, what’s the matter with these people?
Any ideas Frank on these obvious comparisons?
31
The arc of history never bends towards justice, it is *ALWAYS* a slow creep to tyranny interrupted very infrequently by massive jumps to liberty (ex. American revolution).
16
Was Warren actually supportive of the basic cornerstones of civilization that we Sanders supporters advocate for? Then she should do everything in her power to prove it. This isn’t about one person’s ego. This is about all of us having a plan to survive. Where’s Warren? Actions speak louder than excuses. The important question for me is, how are we going to survive if the DNC pick the next Oligarchy hand puppet for president?
19
I need a new party, if Bernie is not the chosen candidate. The Democratic party does not represent me anymore, and does not share my values. My husband is furious at them, after 2016. We have been voters since 1980. The DNC just can't stop themselves from stacking the deck and cheating Bernie Sanders, therefore cheating most Americans out of the American dream and a livable planet. Last chance. Don't blame me if trump wins. Biden is weak and will ABSOLUTELY lose to trump.
36
Bernie Sanders and progressives in general have had more than THREE YEARS to extend an open hand and heart to the rest of their fellow Americans to grow their base. They have had more than three years to go out a meet with citizens in the heartland, the South and the Southwest to listen to regular citizens, listen to their concerns and figure out how to meet them half-way in order to build a coalition and persuade their fellow voters to work with them.
But what have progressives, especially those on Twitter, done instead? Why they have spend huge amounts of their political capital wasting time on political correctness and divisive identity politics that the vast majority of the electorate don’t prioritize or even hate.
Instead of listening to people’s worries about health care, pre-existing conditions, infrastructure, immigration and their own jobs and well-fare, “Justice Democrats” have threatened to primary the insufficiently perfect progressives. And they insult those of us who caution against such an approach with childish names such as “neo-liberals”, “sell-outs” or worse.
Well, as it turns out the majority Democratic voters are not impressed— most especially the black voters in the South.
So, maybe next time around progressives might consider adopting a different tone. Perhaps one with a less emphasis on virtue signaling and more time listening and gently persuading.
26
Why do you trust Joe Biden to honor the promises he is making to get elected? Sounds like malarkey to me.
16
I suspect if you check the polling data, you'll see that much of the country is economically progressive, and shares sympathies with that platform. Certainly, the more unifying element of Sanders' campaign and what his strategists are banking a great deal on is that affection for his economic message...
But then there's the "social progressive" wing and their bucketloads of baggage. Every time a candidate seems to care a lot more about foreigners "future Americans" than the current crop they have here-and-now, more about murky un-quantifiable "injustice" rather than clear and very quantifiable "inequality," and every time they promise to give more and more to a specific group of X, Y or Z (at whose expense? The public purse?) and the more shrilly they declare that this is a righteous mission they're on, how dare you stand in their way? The more they engage in that behavior, signaling to a certain segment of the activist left, the more they erode that economic good-will, that political patience, that would and should in a purely rational world lead to easy victory.
Instead... because of both parties' newfound obsession with purity, the Democrats end up saddled with an anchor around their waist. One, I suspect, that will drag them down deeper and deeper into the mire.
Look forward to Trump asking either Bernie or Biden:
"So, uh, what aren't you giving illegal aliens now? Health Care. Amnesty. Asylum. Free Pizza?"
Because the moment he does... I suspect it is Game Over.
11
117,000 Pennsylvanians who voted for Bernie in the 2016 primary voted for Trump in the general election. Trump won Pennsylvania by just 44,292.
Disgusted, apathetic, and alienated Americans do not want more of the same, i.e., Hilary, Biden.
Let's give Bernie a chance to beat Tump in 2020!
26
If Mr. Bruni is right, Trimp's going be around much longer than I want.
2
Why doesn't the press grill ALL candidates how they would pay for these programs. Every candidate gives a very rosy picture on the MATH. Everyone agrees the government is the LEAST capable of managing and spending OUR money. The PRESS do your job! Or is the MATH too hard for you!
10
To wit, Sanders won in 2016 big time when he got Hillary to completely trash her signature trade piece that she had worked hard year on as Secretary of State and which she called the "Gold Standard" of international trade agreements, the TPP. Also...
The TEA Party has maybe 15% of the Republican caucus, but they control the Party and the Presidency. This is proof that you do not have to win in order to win.
3
Sanders may have won, but by pushing candidates like Buttigieg out everyone else lost.
9
Bernie is no member of some avant garde political movement. All of the polls for the past 20 years confirmed that generally speaking, the majority of American people have had "progressive" views regarding Medicare for All, endless wars, free college, abortion, legalized pot, etc. etc. etc. Those opinions were blithely ignored by the establishment who imposed right-wing, pro-corporate neoliberalism without electoral fear.
Suddenly, with the wildcard election of Trump, fear suddenly dawned with an agitated electorate who in voting for that buffoon signalled that they were prepared to see the establishment lose than the American people win.
It was this awakening that opened the door for Bernie, whereby the people will finally have an opportunity to see the establishment lose AND for once, hopefully, and finally, see the American people win.
21
In this election cycle, the greatest need is to get Trump and his cronies out. The damage they've done to the country will endure for years. Thus we need a Democratic candidate who will beat Trump. That's quite-probably not Sanders. Biden, however, is all-but-guaranteed to be a one-term president; someone to put out the fire in the house before the contractor comes in to rebuild. That's when we'll need, and hopefully welcome, all that Bernie represents. Who'll carry that in 2023-24 remains to be seen. Someone young, I hope.
8
Bernie Sanders, right now, is on the verge of missing a huge opportunity for himself and our country.
He has a problem with African American voters. He hasn't built significant relationships in the Black Community, over time, that give him a decent chance to be the nominee.
His situation is salvageable, barely. He's in a similar situation Barack Obama was in in the 2008 Campaign when the details of
Obama's friendship with Rev. Wright became public. Obama confronted the situation directly. He gave a magnificent speech, talking about his background, who he was as a person, and who he hoped to be. He turned a negative situation into a hugely positive one.
Bernie's situation doesn't involve an association with a controversial figure. It involves not doing the little things over decades that make oneself "known" to the Black Community and trusted. To borrow a phrase from Ralph Ellison, many African Americans think Bernie doesn't really see them or get them. They
are "invisible" to him.
Bernie needs to find the proper venue (Tuskegee University)
for an Obama type speech on Race In America. Ideally, in the next couple of days.
It's part of the job of being President or becoming President.
If Bernie is unable to see the need for such a statement, that's
a statement in itself.
4
Bernie wins as soon as he is able to move beyond the 7 phrases he repeats every time he opens his mouth. First time listeners beware that his candidacy is a mile long and 1/2 inch deep with no prospect of getting anything accomplished. This is from a former Bernie supporter in the last democrat primary.
For the rest of us, health care remains the biggest issue for the nation. While Biden is not the perfect candidate, at least he will protect Obamacare and expand medicare while Covid-19 is well on its way defeating Trump.
16
Here's a little tip for Mr. Bruni: Read your own newspaper, specifically the article "A Sander's Voter, Weary of Debt at 29: 'I Have Nothing to Lose'." Those who are calling for Biden because they feel he is more electable risk alienating many of Bernie's supporters. The Democratic establishment doesn't realize that Bernie is the justifiable result of people, especially the under 35 generation, feeling betrayed by decades of status quo candidates, no matter how much lip service those candidates may pay to being pulled to the left. Alienating these voters would be the equivalent of what happened to LBJ in the 60's when he realized that he had lost the Southern Democrats for a generation. Remember Mr. Bruni, some arguments are not worth fighting even if you know you can win and some arguments are worth fighting even if you know you are going to lose.
19
I do not trust Sanders. During most parts of the 20th century, many high-school graduates could get decent living in the U.S. That changed at the dawn of the 21st century. Sanders graduated from Brooklyn College, and then from the University. of Chicago. And he was poor? How come?
6
Very Panglossian. Biden still has an enormous credibility gap that can depress his vote if he is the nominee.
9
To me, the most distressing difference between Sanders and the other candidates for the nomination is the deplorable stand of the latter on Palestinian rights. Having spent considerable time volunteering in this part of the Middle East, and still more time reading up on the situation, it is my firm conviction that this physically tried and mentally traumatized population must be helped to free itself from Israeli occupation. Bloomberg's position, supporting AIPAC, promising to leave the Embassy in its present location in a Jerusalem colony, his wish to criminalize the BDS movement, would have made it near impossible for me to vote for him despite my loathing for the present-day President. But Biden and the others have little more to offer. Only Sanders has had the courage to address the issue and dared criticize Israeli policy. I'll hold my nose and do what I have to to try to get rid of Trump (I frankly don't think Biden has a chance), but it will be with a sinking feeling about the present and future fate of my Palestinian friends and colleagues, not to mention those of the Muslim faith in the US and around the world.
Thanks for your thoughtful newsletters.
Brooke
16
It's too early to declare that Bernie has "won" over a party he still doesn't belong to. The other prez candidates talk a good liberal change game, but that's largely because all rational-minded would-be leaders know that America wants (in theory) many of the "profound changes in American politics and governance" that Frank rightfully cites as common to all the candidates. They want them largely because Republicans have been die-hard obstructing any and all of this change--at least since Obamacare.
Most Dem candidates have been running--and are encouraged by a spectacle-oriented media and public toward running--on their traditional bribes and over-the-top hi spending programs. Bernie hasn't had that much to do with this, tho his unexpected success in 2016 may have encouraged others in the "moderate" lane like Buttigieg to propose more taxing and spending that usual.
The test will come, if Biden is the nominee and if he wins the presidency, how much he'll run to the center in either capacity. Esp if Dems can win both houses of Congress, we'll see if the many bold ideas for change he and Bernie offer hold the popularity that liberals project onto them. Bernie's idea that his campaign will push a new surge of radical-change voters isn't baring much fruit, and it's doubtful here that any radical-change agenda offered by a new Dem prez will receive a better reception.
4
It is about time to question Bernie’s Foreign Policy, as these will be the most important issues in near future for our country. He is against war, yes! But what else? What about getting out of Afghanistan and Iraq? What about nuclear proliferation, Turkey, Iran, S. Arabia, Pakistan and N. Korea?
4
Bernie is working towards a positive peace and Biden and his supporters are content to return to a negative peace.
I hope Democrats in congress (maybe Republicans too?) have the courage to follow through on the hard work to achieve a positive peace, whether or not Bernie becomes President.
8
The mainstream Democrats are putting a little make-up on the plutocracy, as always, but they are not questioning it - because it owns them. Anything that remains to the right of Eisenhower Republicanism (!) will not do - nevermind that Trump will steamroll Biden anyway.
9
If the writer is referring to the mythological victory of Senator Sanders, perhaps he is right. Someone has to explain how universal medicare runs and why we should abolish private insurance. That said, Senator Sanders has a great idea. Free tution fees for children of families making less than $100,000 per year.
@Jayarama Guntupalli "Medicare For All refers to government (as opposed to private insurance companies). The government negotiates rates for everything with doctors, hospitals, pharma. Medicare is available under all circumstances (now people lose their insurance if they lose their jobs, businesses are unfairly responsible for people's health insurance) and it will be paid for by all of us. A number of other countries have this figured out: but the private health insurance don't want to lose their profit margins from peoples misfortunes and are scaring people to protect their own wealth. It is tragic."
13
I wish for Bernie to prevail. We need him.
I liked Biden in 2016. We needed him then, not now.
18
Pretty sure the system needs bailing out again, Also sure President Sanders will float a bailout, if elected. Just this time he’ll bailout people first.
15
Bernie's "burn down the house" message can't unite the democratic party. Look at what happened last Tuesday. Biden's comeback with the help of the minorities and the suburban vote is a clear indication that he can take on Trump and beat him. Next Tuesday you will see Biden beating Sanders by a wide margin. It's all over for Bernie. Americans want change, not revolution.
13
Nick Herbs,
The irony is that Biden, just as Clinton in 2016, won in the states that will be blood Red in the general election; why oh why doesn’t the Democratic Party start their Primary in the middle of the country with states live Illinois and Michigan and Pennsylvania.
15
Please tell me how working toward representative democracy and the basic cornerstones of civilization can be characterized as anything negative?
14
Sanders proposals are such that compromise on them would be near to impossible. Many of our problems have resulted from decades of policy decisions which needed quick reform to avoid harm to the constituents they were supposed to serve. These policies had unintended consequences but created large blocks of voters for political parties of either side. One example is War on Poverty policy created during the 60’s which gave preferences in public aid to single mothers and increased illegitimacy to 70+ percentage in our black communities. How could this go unreformed when the negative results are so quantifiable.
Our once vaunted public education system doesn’t work like it used to and is in desperate need of reform to be able to prepare our systems so that we meet the demands of a society in which tech knowledge is essential.
Change will be difficult and will take decades of good policy to solve but our politicians must step up. Can they?
3
Bernie Sanders has already won? Sadly, I don't think so. The DNC has won this time, as they have done so for the past 4 decades.
If Joe Biden gets the nomination, I will vote for him this fall (although my mail-in ballot for the Arizona primary next week is already cast for Bernie, now that Elizabeth Warren is gone.) But my fear is that too many disillusioned voters will stay home again in November, as they did in 2016, and we get 4 more years of the Orange Ogre. If that's the case, the DNC will have much to recon with.
By 2024, both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden will both be too old to run again. I'm hoping that older centrist African American voters, who seemingly can't look past the eminently familiar, are beginning to get to know the names of candidates who are a generation or two younger.
Bernie Sanders will also be too old to run again in 2024. I'm hoping, likewise, that young progressives who have flocked only to him in recent presidential election cycles will be able to get past their own form of nostalgia and (beyond remembering to vote in primary and midterm elections) find someone closer to their own age to support en masse next time. Here, at least, I can already envision AOC 2024 bumper stickers.
10
Sanders is a dreamer, who would fight for 100% of his ideas 100% of the time, would never accept a compromise of 60% and will therefore accomplish 0%. He is an opposition figure, not a governing one.
Like Trump, he will surround himself with people who will support a 100% of his ideas, a 100% of the time and debate will be considered being unloyal.
Sanders will lead us to a glorious defeat: glorious, but defeat nonetheless.
14
@LMT his real legislation history, not the one Clinton throw around is build in mainly hostile Congress and Senate aka Rep stronghold.
Strangely enough Sanders approach is utterly pragmatic, working in increments as amendments instead of bills as bills need a very powerful support which today is rare.
So the facts disagree with you.
Sanders, for all the appearance is the guy to work on bi partisan bills as the Vet Act etc..
Do not let his grouchy manner deceive you, when he goes on war, he tends to pick up quite a lot of allies and support on the road, a crusty old politician. Who know how to get things done. The facts are on his side if you make the effort of checking.
13
We are only asking for the basics of civilization. That’s all.
7
I agree with majority of your article but one quibble: let’s please stop pre-complaining about proposed Democratic spending on urgent social and environmental priorities when Republicans (who still pretend to be the party of “fiscal discipline”) cut taxes while spending like drunken sailors on military adventurism (see; Iraq).
An accurate history of the last 25 years of USG budgets is Democratic administrations cleaning up Republican messes, and the next that follows Trump will be nice different.
13
Platforms, proposals, and "concerns" aren't legislation, let alone a meaningful, integrated vision of the future of this country. No candidate other than Senators has demonstrated any real intention to make it possible for working men and women to actually be able afford to live in this country. Period. Biden appeals to those Americans who don't have that particular problem themselves, and either don't really believe, or simply don't care, if anyone else does. Even Presidential historian Jon Meacham recently said that Joseph Biden is closer ideologically to Jeb Bush or Mitt Romney than ANY of the other Democrats who have run in the primaries. While we all applaud the gracious words of praise Mr. "Nobody Likes Sanders" Bruni is now showering on the erstwhile front-runner, his unconvincing eulogizing won't reconcile the massive numbers of Sanders supporters to this neo-liberal Republican-lite candidate for President.
In other words: as much as you'd like to believe that your problems are over, my friend, they aren't.
Not by a long shot.
12
Bernie isn't against restrained Capitalism with social incentives so he isn't a "Socialist" in historical terms. The "spin" his opponents have put on his positions is deplorable (yep, chosen specifically). Re-setting incentives to achieve social goals for Capital "flow" is the goal, and Bernie is way ahead of everyone except Elizabeth W. on those terms. Mr. Yang got a part of it right with the "Patriot Bonus" UBI and his social plans. No one except Elizabeth talked about the hard parts; follow-up, shut-down, and funding. I'd be on-board with whoever decides to include those costs in their planning!
9
As a lifelong Democrat, I've always voted for any Democratic candidate until I moved to Vermont. There were no liberal Republicans where I grew up in the South, and here in Vermont, I vote Democrat, Independent, or Democrat/Progressive. I actually once voted Republican (!) in a primary for an elderly farmer, Fred Tuttle, to get rid of a rich carpetbagger who wanted to run against Leahy. That's the only time I have ever voted Republican.
Growing up in the South in the 60s and 70s, I was appalled by racism from 5 years old on. In 4th grade, I became a feminist. In 5th grade, I read a lot about AIM. I've grown increasingly progressive since. At 57, I wanted (and did last presidential primary, too) for Bernie Sanders to be the Democratic Presidential nominee. Inequality, climate change, ethnocentrism, the terrible need for universal health care, poor education, a terrible minimum wage, criminal justice reform and the end of private prisons, etc. -- all these prey on my mind as I see the U.S.A. descend into an authoritarian oligarchy. Neoliberalism was a failed experiment -- look where it got us. Democratic socialism or social democracy, whatever you want it, does not mean IN ANY WAY that the government controls the means of production. I do not know why people don't know this -- perhaps because of our terrible education system. Having a third party, a Progressive party, will take too long. Too few people care,
18
All true. Also, was Warren actually supportive of the basic cornerstones of civilization that we Sanders supporters advocate for? Then she should do everything in her power to prove it. This isn’t about one person’s ego. This is about all of us having a plan to survive. Where’s Warren? Actions speak louder than excuses.
11
An interesting column Mr. Bruni, but one that reveals some quaintness in your political thinking. If Republicans--who have long run on tamping down the deficit and controlling Federal spending--don't care about how much money the Federal government spends or if anything is adequately funded, why should Democrats? The voters, by and large, don't seem to care about this--they are much more interested in funding the things they DO care about or about putting more money directly in their pockets. Sanders may have successfully framed the debate and pushed Democrats left, but only he and Senator Warren would actually try to push through a dramatic progressive restructuring of America. I suspect Joe Biden will trade away or soften his most ambitious proposals once the GOP and the most moderate Democrats resist.
9
Why do ideas like making healthcare accessible, making education affordable, making the planet livable, and requiring a living wage for work scare so many people? Sanders has been a lone voice advocating for these positions since the first term of G.W. Bush. Where were the Democrats during the Clinton years when it came to these issues? Answer: Nowhere. Where have the Republicans been from the first term of Ronald Reagan until today? Answer: trickling down on us. Thank Bernie. He kept the flame alive. The revolution he talks about, and the revolution that scares his naysayers, is nothing more than a collective call for the light of the way things were when the social contract and call for social justice lit the way.
17
@Bill If there were only two people on the planet would you have a right to healthcare or Education? Of course not, the only human rights (innate rights) are your life and liberty (and the fruits of your labor via use of your liberty). Human rights exist per individual. You don't have a right to anyone else's liberty aka forcing someone else to work to pay for your healthcare or education. That's called slavery. It wrong to use force whether you're holding the gun or the mob (51% majority) is holding the gun. The rights of the individual as the ultimate minority must be protected by govt not enslaved to the whims of the majority.
1
Warren was the best choice, by far. She has the intelligence, the heart, empathy and experience. The American public, and the Democratic party blew it, but we can still get rid of Trumpy.
5
Was Warren actually supportive of the basic cornerstones of civilization that we Sanders supporters advocate for? Then she should do everything in her power to prove it. This isn’t about one person’s ego. This is about all of us having a plan to survive. Where’s Warren? Actions speak louder than excuses.
9
Delusion. The answer to Trump is not the polar-Trump.
Meet some more dyed-in-the wool Trump supporters, not the wealthy ones, they will never vote Bernie and his angry polarity.
3
If you aren’t angry, you aren’t paying attention. Our fee low citizens are literally dying from despair. Neoliberals are killing us. Trump is just continuing on the same basic path of destruction.
3
The NY Times can be counted on to peddle two lies in strict alternation, employing their Republican columnists "versus" their neoliberal Democrats:
1) Sanders is too far to the left; his ideas are impractical; he is unelectable. So Sanders supporters should give up in despair and vote Biden.
2) Sanders has won the battle of ideas; Biden is now practically Sanders, so Sanders supporters should celebrate and vote Biden.
It's foolish for readers to even engage in this supposed debate, because it's not serious. None of Bruni, Stephens, Brooks, or Friedman are genuine. They're just doing their job of working to keep the privileged folks happy.
18
No, the DNC has won the Democratic Primary.
It has blatantly manipulated its debate qualification criteria to allow Bloomberg in and keep Gabbard out.
It obviously made Klobuchar, Buttegieg and Steyer "offers they couldn't refuse" to get them to drop out right before Super Tuesday and consolidate establishment support behind Biden.
Of course it didn't apply similar pressure to Warren, since she was needed on Super Tuesday to split the progressive vote, handing Biden wins in several states that would have certainly gone Sanders's way without Warren in the race.
And now it's even got Bernie saying the race is "down to two" candidates despite the "Still She Persisted" Tulsi Gabbard. And recall that the DNC's War On Tulsi stems from her endorsement of Sanders against Queen Hillary. Bernie=turncoat.
9
@Charles I agree 100% with a caveat, Bernie should offer Tulsi the position of Vice President, she is the only other voice who is consistent, particularly in her opposition to the continual war.
2
Frank, The cure for our country's ills is not merely in defeating Donald Trump. Trump's incompetent and toxic administration for the last 3 years has greatly hurt American credibility and the lives of many non-Americans. But the lives of individual Americans have been relatively steady because we have a strong civil society and systems in place, safety nets, regulations, norms and rules of law which have maintained the nation. But it cannot last forever, and it is eroding, not merely because of Trump but because of "elitist" thinking.
By "elitist" I do not mean outstanding intellects or specialists, I mean people who think they are superior in intellect or knowledge to others - "experts" - whether they be pollsters, journalists, AEI/Heritage/Cato/Brookings, or Harvard/Yale/Stanford and so on. These are people who have played the "public intellectual" games and risen to the top of these institutions. One can include Consultants of all stripes in this - "experts" with no skin in the game, but maximum rewards. You get paid whether you column is junk, your predictions fail, etc... no risk, all reward.
This is how great civilizations declined to mediocrity - by worshipping experts and elites - Mandarins in China, Brahmins in India, Nobles in Europe, etc.
Bernie vs Biden is simply Class-less America vs Elitist America. Biden can get the nomination, the Republicans will win - and Frank Bruni will get his millions, pay lower taxes and the elites will continue to talk down to us.
13
I could've used this piece a few weeks ago!
1
Bern baby Bern
To get a handle
On Sanders
Requires a look at the history
Of American Socialist parties
Something the Cold War buried
In any case a part of his base
Will never vote for Biden
Its lost to anger and belief
And that will have to be
Overcome if the mobster
Is to be defeated
1
Ok Frank , you have won back my allegiance with this article which truly describes the distance , the Left, Bernie has tugged the Democratic canididates.
Bernie has won nothing yet.
He's a fraud and even a lot of his backers know it.
They are mostly Trump supporters in hiding.
4
The beauty of our system is that it works when people put in a little effort, engage, and participate. Credit to Bernie and his supporters for what the’ve brought and will continue to bring. We are Democrats who are prone to hammer our party for it’s shortcomings. Unity is gold in 2020. I beseech my brothers and sisters to appreciate the range of things we agree on, and, for the next few months, focus less on our differences. Sauron is in the White House. We can have loud discussions once he has been exiled to the swamps of Mara Lago.
1
I have always thought of Sanders as the John the Baptist of the Democratic Party, preparing the path for those to come.
As noted at the end of this article, politics is the art of the possible, not the ideal. Progress is usually made incrementally, rarely all at once through a revolution.
I am reminded of the Ronald Reagan video wherein he strongly argued against the adoption of Medicare, desparaging it as socialism, and a government takeover. How many Republicans are willing to eliminate it today? At best, Trump just tries for cut it in his budget, something during his campaign he promised he would never do. The bold becomes the norm,
1
Marcus,
I was a Sanders supporter during the 2016 election but he went too far left in an attempt to thwart Warren and also appease the far left; Sanders was not so extreme during the 2016 election; he has gone too far, now.
4
@ independent: Thank you for sharing this info, your points are grounded in real numbers...not the talking point numbers from Healthcare Lobbyists. It is important to make comparisons and comments based data not political “beliefs” e.g. tax cuts pay for themselves - they don’t.
Each year CMS does an analysis of the entire US Health Expenditures, in Dec 2019, it published those figures for 2018. This report is available to the public on-line so of course no one has heard of it.
As you said we spent about $3.6B in 2018, interestingly that is $600B more than what Senator Warren said her program would cost.
The US continues to rank at the bottom of 1st world countries for healthcare outcomes with some second/third world countries surpassing us. Not to be out-done the US Ranks #1 in cost of care, want to guess who doesn’t want any form of Medicare for all?
5
I predict with Biden, we are going to have Hillary 2.0 all over again but it's going to be Burisma.
Young voters won't turn out, because their issues are completely ignored in favor of old guard Democratic establishment ideas.
The generation who should not be named will be angry that they didn't get rid of Trump but will completely ignore the truth of why younger generations chose not to participate.
Next up, housing crisis powered by the post war II generation deaths and millennials not buying because of debt burden.
Generation decline as younger gens won't have children with economic and climate uncertainty.
Followed by overall economic downturn that will be handled by more tax cuts and Fed rate reductions that will fix nothing.
Local government struggles from declining tax revenue.
Huge US debt from corporate and rich tax cuts that will leave government unable to deal with climate change damage.
12
@Firestar1571 Thoughtful and, unfortunately, pretty accurate. It is a travesty that contemporary leaders can't or won't engage in the kind of analysis that is embodied in your comment. Well said.
3
@Firestar1571 Well put with a couple of caveats: The younger generation of Americans like my two grandsons won’t have children because they are responsible but rest assured the immigration flow will increase to keep the bed pans emptied, hotels cleaned and construction jobs done on the cheap insuring big profits for big well connected developers and they will make up the deficit in new births paid for out of our dwindling Social Security funds allowing the neo liberals and Republicans to keep their tax breaks and second or third mansions.
6
Our present arc of history is lurching toward the worst inequality in the history of the world. How many Versailles will yet another soft-spoken corporatist DNC pick build for us, while the American people are crawling around scratching for bread?
12
These are coordinated attacks on the sole Democrat, Sanders and all his supporters. These American Oligarchs have no problem with Biden. Or Clinton, assuming she’s champing at the bit to come dashing in when everyone starts admitting he has advanced dementia... No. We already have American Oligarchs all building their own Versailles. This ends here peacefully. Or, maybe we should consider what the French did to solve such oppression and greed?
9
There are two types of people in the world- the talkers and doers. Bernie and the pathological liar in the White House are the talkers. Talk is cheap- walk the walk is hard. Both of them have the talent to promote “us vs. them” divisive propaganda and they strive on fear mongering. In his 30 plus legislative years, Bernie has very poor record in making new legislations. How people can fall for someone with such a pathetic legislative record? Of course, the talkers are great in manipulative propagandas.
6
@Rm Maybe it's not about Bernie. Maybe his support is derived from the popularity of his ideas?
8
Yes, Sanders won. He has gotten every Democratic candidate to endorse socialism -- aka confiscating from the rich -- as the new economic model. This thinking has even filtered down to otherwise sensible journalists, thus enabling a NY times editor to tell us on MSNBC how to solve America's economic problems: Give the $500 million that Bloomberg spent on campaigning to the American people, and every American would have $1 million. Oh, wait, someone sent her a calculator and she discovered that every American would receive only $1.53. That is the same kind of math that Bernie Sanders will use to pay for the "Green New Deal" and "Medicare for All."
4
Thank You, Frank. I hate it when your right. But I'm still #Bernie2020
1
Most of Bernie Bros are young people.
They enthusiastically swell his rallies.
And they don't vote.
Bernie has been rejected by blacks and workers.
It's all over, kids.
8
@Simon Sez
Many Bernie people, like myself are older, value protecting our Social Security and especially value our children and grandchildren future. Those who don't will settle for the illusion of "normality" that Biden offers.
8
@Simon Sez Actually, quite a lot of us wise elderly voters rcognise the truth of what Senators Sanders and Warren have been saying. Like other attentive citizens of my generation, I'll donate to/campaign for/vote for Bernie Sanders.
I won't support Mr Nice-Guy Biden, because the best he would do as President is replace the uncouth crooks appointed by Trump with genial men. That's not good enough. Our country needs drastic change.
At a bare minimum, we need a President who will push for universal health care and not be swayed by the health insurance industry.
9
My take: I’m nowhere close to being a socialist, and Bernie is too far left for me. HOWEVER, after reading that NYT article the other day about the young man and his wife (he works in a tire shop, she’s a nurse), both drowning in student debt, I say to heck with it all; I’m tossing caution to the wind and will vote for Bernie. The current situation has gotten way out of control. BTW, I voted for McCain and baby Bush (W), but I will never vote for Trump. He is an obnoxious, unpredictable psychopath. Love to all.
16
NONSENSE. Sanders has no place in American politics. This is not and has not been an issues election. It is a get rid of Trump election. Biden can. If Sanders becomes the candidate, we will vote for that candidacy and NOT for a single one of his policies.
4
Really Mr. Bruni, this is your take. Give the
Voters of this country some credit to discern
between the hype and the tripe. You give
credit to the Bernie Bro’s and their ultra fringe
tactics to push their agenda. It won’t work.
Where were all these “young supporters “ at the
Primaries? Posting scathing Twitter attacks.
The Democrats will choose at the ensuing state
Primary and it won’t be Bernie.
3
I'm a democrat. Trump is going to win. It will be the Hilary Clinton debacle all over again. Emails sunk Hillary. Hunter Biden and valid concerns about his mental capacity will sink Biden. Republicans don't talk about issues. They dig dirt. They vilify. They lie, lie, lie, lie ... Bernie would have been our strongest candidate. He has a strong message. He built an energized base. On election day the young people who supported him will probably stay home. Way to go Democrats. Another candidate who is boring and out of touch. Another defeat.
10
"Denial" is why we invent gods that promise heaven (denial of our death and oblivion), and why Bernie's followers and commentators here deny his soon-to-come political oblivion, if not political death. I am already sitting shiva for him. I hope someone ordered a tray of food.
1
Bernie Sanders most likely already handed over the next four years to Donald Trump by overestimating youth turnout and by making no attempt to reach out and broaden his base.
7
"Denial" is why we invent gods that promise heaven (denial of our death and oblivion), and why Bernie's followers and commentators here deny his soon-to-come political oblivion, if not political death. I am already sitting shiva for him. I hope someone ordered a tray of food.
2
Where does all the anti Sanders propaganda come from reflected in many of the comments below? He never worked a day in his life. He got nothing done in the senate. He doesn't genuinely care about working people.
If you like a different candidate, then vote for that candidate. But why, spread demonstrably false claims about the guy? Why such vitriol from people who are broadly speaking, in alignment with Sanders values and political vision? Why such anger towards a guy, weather you like his personal or not, is clearly is a man of conviction and integrity? Why such wrath for a person you don't even know?
Chill people!
7
@Amir Flesher Senator Bernie Sanders has accomplished a lot in the Senate. Look at the facts, dude.
1
Dear Mr. Bruni,
I must respectfully point out that voting for Biden is most certainly a vote for the status quo. The NYT should do a better job of reporting on his record so that voters could become better acquainted with his history since the media insists on portraying him as the candidate for "decency". Biden had to remove himself from his first presidential bid because he was caught plagiarizing, something he was also accused of while in law school. He lied about being arrested in South Africa. He voted for the Iraq war. He threw Anita Hill under the bus. As Bernie correctly pointed out during the debates, Biden proposed cuts to social security. His proposals regarding bankruptcy code were nicely summed up in Warren's 2002 NYT op-ed " A Quiet Attack on Women." His voting record on abortion rights is the antithesis of liberal. Biden supported the Hyde amendment. He said "I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body".
Trump's Supreme Court appointees have made Roe v Wade vulnerable. This is not the time to support a democratic candidate who is not a firm believer in women's rights.
Biden is pro-fracking, unacceptable at this critical time for the environment. American citizens have a right to healthcare and education, like other first world countries. We have a right to a candidate, Bernie, who has consistently pushed for these issues.
3rd time I have tried to make a comment on Biden's track record.
Thank you NYT.
14
There’s a reason why Trump and the Republican party is rooting
for Sanders to be the Democratic Party candidate. Sanders has never revealed his total tax returns, nor his complete medical records, nor where ALL of his funding has come from. This former Stalinist is a phony so-called “Socialist” whose chief role is to destroy the Democratic from within. What is astonishing is that the Democratic Party has permitted him to appear on the same platform with their candidates.
6
He's done a lot moving the political culture of America back to the left.
2
With due respect in my disagreement with Mr. Bruni, I'm not buying this claim here for a second. Simple rhetorical question: who would a Wall Street CEO support in this current Democratic primary if they even vote in a Democratic primary? Who would/is making them cringe in disgust?
Biden or Sanders?
3
Read the Feature article: How Working-Class Life Is Killing Americans, in Charts and understand why, for many of us, it remains Bernie or Bust.
12
Whoever becomes our next president must first root out the overwhelming greedy corruption that has infected DC and the entire nation more than this COVID-19 ever will.
After that is done, raise the minimum wage to $!5/hour, greatly raise taxes on the top 2% of earners and corporations, implement a single-payer health care system and go all-in to slow and reverse climate change.
5
@mblanos
Sure raise the minimum wage to $15 or even $20 and watch all kinds of entry level jobs disappear.
It seems that many critics of Sanders fall back on personal attacks of his supporters, grouped and labeled as "Bernie Bros" (which seems to be loaded with negative implications). This is a cowardly substitute to debating the merits of the arguments.
10
For the sake of all that we love we need to nominate Bernie Sanders in order to defeat Donald Trump. Biden’s cognitive decline is visible and he lacks the stamina to lead our nation.
Nif we want to defeat Trump we cannot allow Joe Biden to be our nominee. Bernie can win! Vote for Bernie Sanders so We the People can win. #NotMeUS
10
The world has gone mad. The Republican party, with the complicity of scared-of-their shadows neo-liberals and the scared-of-being-called-liberal mainstream media, has moved what is considered to be politically "centrist" so far to the right, that people like Mr. Bruni consider Amy Klobuchar's platform to be "leftist."
Oh well, any type of political realignment can't start until the madman and his sycophants are voted out of office. So first things first.
3
This is a good point. I think there has been progress made in the surfacing of a progressive agenda over the last several years (maybe spanning OWS to Sanders to Cortez?).
Unfortunately it seems unlikely that the likes of Biden, Buttigeig et al have much genuine interest in anything but co-opting the talking points. They will continue to ignore the voters once in office. And yes they will do this at their peril and new and genuine politicians will emerge, but in the meantime the clock is ticking in a way that it never has before.
5
@Dave Alberts Priority is to get Trump out. Then try to resest American life/ideals. Then will be time for more progressive agenda. If we lose this election and Trump makes more appointments to Supreme Court, we can all forget about progressive legislation for a generation or more.
4
@Bj There is no way that Biden can beat Trump. Biden's campaign has no energy. 18-45 year olds are behind Bernie. I watched all 10 debates and I don't know what Biden's vision or policies are.
This is an anti-establishment period - mark my words that if we nominate Biden instead of Trump we will loose just the way we did in 2016, just the way we lost with Kerry and Al Gore.
2
I don't agree. A progressive agenda would apply term limits across the board. Supreme Court is already conservative, now we have to impose term limits or wait for them to die off.
Bruni has the optimistic view on the moderates. The pessimistic view would be that they bend towards Sanders and Warren in the election time, but as soon as elected at the first (or second) economic and financial headwind reverse to a conservative economic policy of budget cuts and fiscal 'responsibility'.
We have seen this kind of moderation with traditional Social-Democrats in Europe now for several decades and especially after the crisis of 2008 it has strongly reduced their political influence. Hopefully Bruni will then advice the Democrats when in power to persevere with their reform plans.
4
Just so. Let’s hope that the national Ds not only win but work diligently and intelligently to move us past the world Reagan, Gingrich, and McConnell created. I’m a moderate (I like Ike) but actually voted for Sanders because we need to move past all that and because Sanders inspires so many people with his ideas.
I hope his supporters will factor in how much we need to move past Reaganism when deciding whether and how to vote if Biden gets the nomination.
4
As an old man in his 70s I think the real tragedy of this International Women's Day is we're going to wake up on Nov 4 and the leader of the free world will still ba an old man in his 70s.
I think, generally speaking, women are smarter than men, their thinking isn't clouded by macho bravado, and they have a better understanding of how what's best for humanity is best for our collective wallets.
I'm saddened by the knowledge that never has there been a greater need for female leadership, or a stronger class of candidates to choose from, but once again we failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
6
This whole discussion seems irrelevant. Behavioral economics and Neuroscience tell us that political voting is emotional not intellectual. Arguing the fine points of policy is a dead end. Trump did not win because his policies were better. He won because he galvanized the emotions of half the country.
Democrats need to stop over-focusing on policy and start employing the instruments of persuasion and influence or we lose again and again.
8
Bernie Sanders is only 5% behind Biden. The race is hardly decided.
Although Americans should be applauded for sweeping aside most distortions about Medicare 4 All, one serious one remains.
In a true M4A system, there is only question a doc need ask in such a system.
Is the proposed treatment medically necessary? As over-treatment and excess surgery are dangerous to patients, all previously covered medically recommended insured treatments would still be covered.
In Canada, many Boomers remember the advent of medicare over 50 years ago , when they were children. Nothing really changed. The same patients still chose their doctors and received the same treatments at the same hospitals, also chosen by patients.
But there were subtle changes felt by children especially. De rigeur for a nagging cough used to be taking an unpleasant over-the-counter cough medicine sold at pharmacies. After medicare came in, serious colds and fevers were treated by the doctor, but not before my neighbour, then 9, missed a term of school due to whooping cough, spent 8 days in hospital and lost her place at the head of the class.
We never hear of such illnesses now.
9
Who decides what is medically necessary? And who pays?
1
It does look like the DNC has decided that Biden's the nominee. Not that they really had a choice - Sanders would likely not only be a disaster in the general, but have pretty bad down-ticket effects as well.
But Biden worries me. My father is older (slightly older than Biden). He has a graduate degree in industrial engineering, and retired as a senior Ford executive. He was wicked smart, and sharp as a tack.
But I've seen his gradual deterioration over the past few years. He's begun repeating himself. He sometimes forgets where he is, or what day it is. I got (with his agreement) a POA last month, so I can pay his bills. Sometimes he is still completely there, but at other times he is just ... gone.
I think Biden is a good, decent man. An old school, blue collar gentleman. But what I'm seeing in him is identical to the process I see in my father. Hate to be so blunt, but it is simply age. It will happen to all of us. He's slowly losing it. Many of us here caring for elderly parents probably know what I'm talking about.
It has (obviously) been decided that he is the nominee, but I suspect the pressures of the campaign might melt him. My dad has three or four good hours a day, but gets exhausted easily. A Presidential campaign is an 18-20 hour a day job with no days off. I fear this may be sad to watch.
Folks, the more I think about it, the less I know why he has actually chosen to put himself through this brutality.
7
It's not just the young supporting Bernie or Elizabeth Warren. We war babies and boomers have not all turned away from our earlier dreams of how this nation can yet be.
13
@Barbara Thank you Barbara. It has been hard to not be resentful towards the 65+ crowd for not voting with Bernie.
2
These seems like an attempt to make we Sanders supporters "feel better." I don't. I have a memor, Frank, of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton in 1992, and Hope and Change himself in 2008 - and I voted for them all. They all practiced the "two-step" : gesture rhetorically to the left, then govern from the Right-Center, always ready to cut a deal with the Right to eat away what's left of the first New Deal.
I have been at the policy table for environmental causes with three NJ governors of both parties. If I've learned anything it is that you always get less than you planned for, it goes downhill given the distribution of power in our society, which works against any significant change.
And my response supports Sanders: make your proposals address the problems of the day, and don't compromise before you have to. Because you will, short of a situation like FDR faced in 1932 with a nation's economy and banking system dead in the water.
We are at that point for Nature and Climate, but the pain of "deaths of despair" and the facts of not being able to meet bills at the end of the month is not universal among Dems...so the other half of the Green New Deal doesn't get the energy that the Greens give to the Nature half.
And despite your feeding us consolation, the fact that the Green New Deal has fallen out of the debate does not bode well for solving our very real crises.
Your case for Biden's policies is contradicted by other things he has said: things won't change much.
8
@William Neil
Very well said. Biden’s stance on fracking, his views on women’s rights, and his consistent support for bills by Mitch McConnell should be more closely examined by voters and explored in articles in the NYT. Voters are being guided down the wrong path, once again. This country needs to move forward for the benefit of all its citizens. We need Bernie.
8
@Karl Popper
Thanks...is your name really Karl Popper, the namesake of the philosopher who was popping up in debates between the left and the right during the heyday of the Cold War...
1
I think Frank Bruni missed the point completely. Bernie hasn't moved the Democratic party to the left. The party is so far to the right already that it is almost unrecognizable from the party of Kennedy or Carter. What Bernie has attempted to do is move the party back to the center. Bernie's policies would be the norm in most Western Democracies and not radical in any shape or form. The Democratic party, like the Republican party, has neglected huge swaths of the American population. But the party "Establishment" is too arrogant to see it and do something about it. Or maybe it's not in their interest to try to solve it.
12
@Dub7
"What Bernie has attempted to do is move the party back to the center." Irony noted. Brilliant.
4
Good God, maybe...? Maybe? Look around. It’s every segment of society the American oligarchs can purchase beating us down. Not maybe. Definitely. And if we are going to have democracy again, we all need to fight a lot harder than maybe. They sure are.
2
Frank, you had me cheering right till the end when you then turned a paean for Sanders into support for Biden. They are apples and oranges. Underneath it all Biden is an establishment Clinton – Obama Democrat, a neoliberal incrementalist who is a great fan of the free market. (That’s what his home state of Delaware is all about, and Biden is proud of it.) It’s the same capitalism that got us into the mess we find ourselves mired in.
You are correct about Sanders “righteous demand that America have this conversation.” Win or lose, Bernie Sander’s lasting legacy will be that he opened the door to real progressive ideas and inserted them into the conversation in a way no one before him has been able to do. That Biden (and other candidates) is willing to ride on Sanders’ coattails and give the impression that he has moved to the left – when without Sanders he never would have pushed those ideas on his own – is laughable.
Not to mention that if elected, Biden will be a one term president leaving us to endure this circus we call elections and the nomination process all over again in four years.
Seriously?
10
And you think Sanders will be a two-term President? There’s a reason why Sanders will treat his medical records in a manner exactly the same as Trump has treated his tax and financial records. Sanders quite possibly will not outlive one term.
2
@L Cohen
Well you offer medical speculation - maybe it will play out that way, but maybe not.
What Biden has done is to declare that he will serve only one term - big difference when you factor it into the differences between the two.
3
What is the proper role of government? What should it not be involved in? These are key questions that need to be discussed. Just because something is expensive does not mean government should provide it. Wanting to help someone doesn't mean government should forcefully take your money and give it to someone else. If I put a gun to your head, took your money, gave it to someone else, that's called robbery and is illegal. But when the government does it, it's not? We need to teach basic economics in this country and teach personal responsibility. Get government out of healthcare, out of mortgages/housing, from being the police of the world, eliminate subsidies, bailouts, welfare, get out of education, out of student loans, stop excessive regulations, and stop spending trillions more than what they take in. We are $23 TRILLION in debt. Some proper roles of government: To provide national defense, to protect individual freedoms, to prevent fraud, to prevent monopolies and promote competition. This does not mean no government, weak government, anarchy, or completely unregulated capitalism. Government does have a role to play.
3
Joe,
I agreed with your argument because I am very concerned that not one candidate has expressed a concern about our deficit and debt. We are in no position to pay for everything that the left wants government to finance.
In no way should we pay for student debt, to name a few, but student debt should be allowed to be a factor in bankruptcy.
I paid for my student debt as well as helped my kids; some people have not prioritized their own responsibilities.
There should be a case for healthcare assistance for the general public, in some form, when needed, but Medicare for all is not the answer.
We boomers paid into Medicare since inception, now, we are still paying because we are responsible for our selves; there is no free lunch, in everything, there is a cost, and yes, there should be a tax on investment.
I held my breath when I read the headlines. The article was brilliant and positive. Right on the mark. That's why I can now feel good about supporting Biden.
5
@sheila brog
Bruni is a clever lad. He makes a sly case turning Sanders's defeat into victory. It's a ingenious attempt to convince Sanders's followers that the party has now embraced all (or most) of Sanders's ideas so those for Sanders can now embrace the party's real candidate. And, thus, now those for Bernie can follow the Democrats into a grand new historic claim for victory when they lose to Trump (again).
7
@sheila brog
You've been played.
7
In my view this is the problem with the premise of Bruni's argument:
"While Sanders’s fellow candidates didn’t parrot his vocabulary and denounce “oligarchs” and “oligarchy,” they spoke expansively about gross income inequality and the need to tackle it."
If a candidate hasn't adopted or shared the view from Sander's campaign (and Warren's as well) that the cause of most of the issues he is campaigning on is the power and influence of corporations, industry groups and the ultra wealthy, then any solution to the problem of social and income inequality is merely a band aid at best, but more likely an empty promise. More than anything else what I need to hear from Biden is that he will stand up to these entities and make them contribute to American society in a meaningful way by giving up much of their outsized financial and political power. He doesn't have to vilify them in the way progressives have (and I think they were fair in doing so), but I have yet to be convinced that Biden will do anything other than kowtow to every demand of these powerful entities while attempting to fix the problems that they continue to perpetuate.
7
"Capitalism, unregulated, is crime."
Corporate control of government is damaging to working people.
Biden is not leaning towards any "far Left."
Can we hope that he takes slight step back to the middle from Clintonian triangulation and his time with Obama, when they had a chance for some serious reform, yet misguidedly brought Larry Summers and the Goldman Sachs brain trust in to keep things safe for corporations?
Bidens's from Delaware, for god's sake, where a working person's access to bankruptcy relief is not as important as the wealth of banks.
11
We spend $3.6 Trillion a year on healthcare.
That is about $11,000 per person and 18% of GDP.
And it is about twice as much as the rest of the first world countries both per capita and % GDP.
They get some form of universal healthcare. Healthcare in the US ranks around number 10 depending on the study.
We have to fight with our insurance companies, get surprise medical bills, and have medical bankruptcies. We have parts of the US with infant mortality rates of a second world country.
And we are the richest industrial country on the planet GDP / capita.
Why don't we have universal health care?
We are already spending the money. The money is there.
The money we are spending with for-profit insurance would go to Medicare for All.
And we would save money by eliminating profits.
And we would eliminate the hassles having to argue with insurance companies why they won’t cover something because they are motivated by profit.
And doctors and hospitals wouldn’t need an army of medical coders trying to figure out what each insurance policy does and doesn’t cover.
Yet people continue to call Medicare for all extreme.
17
@Independent It is not the proper role of government to provide healthcare or health insurance, nor should the government force you to buy it. Why should government provide healthcare? Because it's expensive? That's not a good reason. We all want healthcare to be less expensive. Other countries with socialized healthcare pay much higher taxes, have long waits, have much smaller populations (easier to manage), and are not nearly as obese as Americans. Having government take over healthcare won't make it cheaper, but just shifts more costs to taxpayers. Root causes of poor health need to be addressed - obesity, lack of exercise, along with accidents or heredity, etc. Then get to root causes of healthcare costs - not enough supply of doctors and nurses, some is due to the American Medical Association restrictions, some is licensing laws. Then there's the lawyers and malpractice insurance craziness. Doctors/hospitals/etc need to be more transparent with pricing so people can shop around more - and then, people actually need to ASK about prices before having something done. Government needs to promote competition, prevent monopolies, prevent fraud. People can help less fortunate people through charities and VOLUNTARY giving. Healthcare is not a right because someone has to provide something to you, therefore, it's not a right.
1
Good point by Mr. Bruni. But, alas, the grassroots composes and proposes, the right wing corporate power structure disposes. Look what happened to the left wing Obama-Biden campaign agenda of 2008. It collapsed like a snowman in July.
2
If "winning" means "setting the tone" and "determining the issues" then Donald Trump has not only "won" the 2020 election, he's probably "won" the next several elections after that as well.
3
"All that spending: I’m struck by how infrequently and wanly Democratic candidates have mentioned fiscal responsibility, deficits or debt. In prior elections, candidates talked some about that to avoid being tagged as naïvely starry-eyed liberals. But the sky was the limit this time around. Sure, Sanders’s rivals ultimately grilled him on his math, suggesting that his particular plans were ruinously lavish. But enormous spending as an idea was seldom if ever under attack. In fact, it was in vogue." Because the GOP is always SO responsible about controlling debt and reining in the budget. SMH. The Dems ALWAYS have to cleanup GOP tax and cut spending.
1
Bruni is a clever lad. He makes a sly case turning Sanders's defeat into victory. It's a ingenious attempt to convince Sanders's followers that the party has now embraced all (or most) of Sanders's ideas so those for Sanders can now embrace the party's real candidate. And, thus, now those for Bernie can follow the Democrats into a grand new historic claim for victory when they lose to Trump (again).
7
A point always worth repeating: The Democratic nominee, if elected president, won’t be able to do much unless we also hold the House and flip the Senate. Without this victory we’re looking at many more years of continued Republican obstructionism.
3
The Governor of Massachusetts is a Republican. If, by some miracle, Biden should become President, watch Warren give up her Senate seat to a Republican appointee in order to take a cabinet post to advance her career.
It really seems to me that the policies that Bruni implies are significant moves leftward if you take a myopic view: one that ignores tax policy in this country during the post-war period, and the rest of the developed world. However, considering this broader range of information (than politics over the last 2-3 decades in the US) does yield the conclusion that these policies aren't moderate -- in fact, they are minor deviations from an extremely rightist economic agenda. Bruni should be held to account for his arguments with facts and data, rather than the mere force of his supposed erudition.
2
Watch how people are voting -
Those who want the country to Change: will vote for Bernie.
Those who want the country to Heal: will vote for Biden.
Plain and simple - watch the elections returns - to see what the American people in the Democratic Primaries want most.
4
@Karen I want the world to heal and that is why I support Bernie. He is much stronger on the climate than Biden.
There is no going back to the Obama years because we can't go back in time to when this climate crisis wasn't so clearly evident.
6
@Karen
Picking Biden is like picking a scab. It does not promote healing and often leads to infections.
4
Yesterday I caucused in Colorado to determine which Democratic candidates would make it onto the primary ballot in June.
People overwhelming supported Andrew Romanoff, the candidate who wants to enact Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, not the establishment candidate (endorsed already by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ) John Hickenlooper who takes money from the oil and gas industry and doesn't support Medicare for All.
Bernie's ideas are winning. At least in Colorado. Please join us in envisioning and mobilizing for a better world.
9
@Seanchai To clarify, both Romanoff and Hickenlooper are running to be the Democratic candidate to take on Republican Senator Cory Gardner in November.
3
I disagree. These moderates are patent liars. They will implement non of this when they are in office. That's the pact they have with the Oligarchs, they will protect the status quo. Bernie's success is with the youth. He planted a seed- maybe it will be poisoned to death when he's gone- but he tried. And the people saw that. Someone tried.
3
@Adino
All politicians are liars. Where have you been?
Very well put Frank. I would add this excellent article by Isaac Chotiner in the New Yorker titled “How much socialist is Bernie Sanders” reviewing the great influence of “socialists” in policy despite the fact that they never got more than single digits in national elections.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-socialist-is-bernie-sanders
1
You only have to read through the NYT comment section to see why if Sanders is the nominee the Democrats will lose. Americans are tired of obnoxious men pointing their fingers at others, and will not elect a "Democratic Socialist." Moderate Dems don't want Sanders, many people of color don't like Sanders, Moderate Republicans don't like Sanders. Moderate independents don't like Sanders. That only leaves left-wingers and there are not enough of you to elect him. I hope you are ready to take responsibility for four more years of horror because of stubborn ideology. Trump may be the worse narcissist in America but he's not the only one!
2
It takes a paragraph to define what a Democratic Socialist is. Many people will not make the effort to understand what it is ;others will confuse it with communism. A bad mistake in judgment in adopting such a name. Biden has the best chance of defeating Trump.
1
@Mel
Many "people of color" (as you put it) don't like the color of Sanders's religion. Ironically, it is something they share with the KKK and neo-Nazi's, And France.
3
I'm afraid that arc of history bending toward justice line isn't very inspiring right now. At the rate it's going, that arc is going to reach justice over a sun-parched rock devoid of all life. Climate change doesn't care about the slow and steady march of change. If the arc of history doesn't start hurting soon, we may all be dead when all of that justice finally arrives.
3
Mr.Bruni doesn’t get that given the state of the Democratic Party and it’s move further to the left will give Trump another 4 years.
2
What a person says, and what they they do are not necessarily the same thing. In order to get elected, politicians bend to what the electorate wants. What counts is what they do when they get elected. Slick Willie was against NAFTA before the election when he needed the unions,; after he was for NAFTA when he didn't need the unions. Obama was for union checkoff before the election in 2008; after he didn't do anything. Who really believes that Hillary Clinton's changed on TPP was genuine. Sanders hasn't won anything. What P.T. Barnum supposedly said about suckers, seriously underestimated the number of suckers born every minute.
2
@Tim Moran
I think Obama was a better case of that the Slick Willie. Obama played at being center-left but was always center-right if not far center-right. There's a street named after him in South Central LA. He has never visited it. I don't blame him.
2
The Democrat party reclaimed some sanity by selecting Mr. Biden. Both the Tea Party and left wing Democrats are delusional to believe that a majority of voters endorse their agendas.
Left wing rhetoric is for college campuses, not for most ordinary voters who prefer common sense. If Mr. Biden wants to get elected, pandering to NYT readers will prove to be a dead-end path.
3
Dear Bernie thanks for giving the Democratic Party and long overdue jolt. After the center right policies of Clinton and Obama and the far right policies of the Republicans the working people in this country have suffered enough but we shall see as actions speak louder than words.
2
The Democrats will create a platform that puts forth most of Bernie's policies as long term aspirations for the next century. They will run a candidate whose current agenda will consist of infinitesimal changes vaguely aimed at these goals while taking great care not to disturb the grate concentrations of wealth and power. The candidate will win and make no essential changes or the candidate will lose to Trump.
Decadence happens when an elite is too attached to its own corruption to save itself.
5
Sanders is not winning because Biden (like the party establishment) is not a progressive and will not pursue progressive policies. Policies not favored by his donors. This will be shown at the convention when Biden (should he win) will not pick a progressive running mate. Thus all but guaranteeing a Trump victory.
2
Of course Bernie has influenced American minds and he has shown a road not traveled that could--possibly--be traversable. For an entire country mired in capitalism from its beginning to a more just and equitable world would be earth-shaking on a magnitude of say--climate crisis. Most Americans like the sure thing, not the risk. Electing him could be a risk if with the Republican brakes that would immediately be slammed on. Obama wanted to make many big changes too but he was blocked at every turn. If Bernie were prez he would not be able to open his eyes in the morning without Mitch McConnell's permission.
2
Sanders beats Trump.
2
You lost me at "The arc of history bends toward justice — it doesn’t hurtle there."
Remember, Martin Luther King was against white moderates like Joe Biden who are impediments to progress. The white moderates:
Constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.
2
Democrats are struggling with their choice of candidate for simple reason. More than in most other elections, they re freaking out at choosing the one candidate who has the greatest chance of beating Donald Trump. That's the only thing that matters in 2020.
Everything else is shoved aside to enable Trump's defeat. That is job 1!!!
Policies will have to wait.
4
@D. Boudrot So, you don't care about POLICIES at all, just hatred for Trump. That's the problem for the Democrats. The focus should be on policies. If their policies weren't so socialist-leaning, the Dems might have a chance to win. Currently, they will not win.
1
The primaries are not even half over. Most of the states that voted in Super Tuesday are not really relevant. California will vote Democratic in November, and the Deep South will vote Republican. Nothing will be decided there.
Texas was revealing. Biden won, but the voters were suppressed in typical Texas style. Eight-hour lineups in some districts, assuming there was even a polling station to begin with. The wealthier suburbs might be better-served for the benefit of Texas Republicans, but they also lean more towards Biden than Sanders. The picture here is hard to read.
Michigan will be a genuine test. So will Florida (also coming up this Tuesday). Pennsylvania doesn’t vote until April 28th.
The quirks of the U.S. Constitution give these states an outsize influence right now. Only when we see who they choose to represent them will we know for sure who has won.
3
The protectors of the status are NOT the upper 0.1%. They are the upper 10% among us in positions of great influence. By preventing THEIR control of social perceptions we can make America fair for the average American and, in the process, do something about that upper 0.1%.
2
... and I'm not predjudice. Some of my best friends are in the professional class.
1
It remains to be seen. Your premise that Biden, an old-time politician whose heart is not and never was in liberal policies, if he's elected in November, can push very hard for these policies and be able to resist the inevitable push back of the forces of the establishment Democrats who depend on the support of the wealthy and the corporations, whose only interest is maintaining the status quo that has served them so well for the past 40 years. Let's hope that you are right, Frank. Let's hope that miracles are still possible.
2
@Carlos F
Oh helping elect the first black president wasn’t groundbreaking enough?
1
I just found and am reading Nicholas Roosevelt's 1938 book, "New Birth of Freedom." So far I am very impressed with just how relevant to these times it seems to be. He discusses the role of government, coming squarely down on the side of limited government. It's worth reading, even if you don't agree with his answers. His questions should still be asked and thought about, since his postulates describe today's world as much as they do the world of 1938.
1
@vineyridge Completely agree with limited government. The Democrats will lose because they want more and more government in our lives.
The only reason everyone in the Democratic Primary who isn't Bernie and Elizabeth tracked to the left is because they want to be seen as progressives when they aren't.
When push came to shove, they all united behind the corporate Democrats, Biden and their do-nothing centrism. Biden has already signaled that he doesn't believe "500 billionaires is a problem" and that "nothing substantial will change" (translation to oligarchs: "I got your back.")
It will be OK with me for Frank to declare the "Sanders has won" when he in fact wins the democratic Primary. It's not over yet, Frank.
5
Who are Sanders supporters trying to convince? The ones that didn't vote in the primaries? It's always someone else's fault when you don't get your way.
5
I respectfully disagree. The position of president is not a one man show. Trump was an aberration in this regard. He believed himself to be expert In all political affairs. Bernie Sanders has great ideas but he has difficulty working with others. He is a loner determined to get his plans in place regardless of opposition. On the other hand Joe Biden has a proven record of working with others from both sides of the aisle. He has also demonstrated an ability to compromise to achieve objectives. A CEO is not expected to be the expert in all aspects of a company but rather an expert at working with people and encouraging hem to excel. This is what our country needs. The president will identify and select experts in different parts of the government and work with them to implement a successful overall plan. This is a big difference between Sanders and Biden. Biden has served a long apprenticeship as Vice President and he knows how to system works. Change in leaders every few months Just leads to fragmentation and nothing gets done. The Trump administration is a clear example of this.I believe Joe Biden will make it to make a better president.
3
this is false that Sanders has difficult time getting stuff done. I have seen testimony from former Republican Congressman Bob Ney that Sanders went up to him and gave him an idea that they agreed on. Bob said that when he asked Sanders to cosponsor, he declined because he didn't care to have his name on the bill knowing the nature of Congress at the time. Sherrie Brown also had good words to say about Sanders' ability to get crucial amendments passed in each bill. I highly suggest looking more into Sanders record before you make this assessment
5
@Christopher Slevin
I commented to your duplicate below, if you're interested.
Having "found" Bernie Sanders over 20 years ago, I followed his career and dreamed of the country we could be. I was thrilled to be able to vote for him in 2016 and then dutifully voted for Clinton when I had no real choice.
I've been a Democrat all of my life, having grown up at my grandfather's knee listening to the greatness of FDR. I went to the trouble to vote absentee for Carter in 1980, my first election. But now, realizing that party Dems want more of the status quo, just under their control, I won't vote for Biden in the general. I will skip that part of my ballot. Will my protest insure another four years of Trump? Maybe. But I've drawn my line in the sand. Nothing will change if we don't say "enough." My vote is the most power I'll ever have in this world and I value it, so I don't make this decision lightly. Inequality will keep getting worse, the ruling class (both Dems and Repubs) will not willingly share their power with those outside the gilded gates, and at some point, something will give. They can open the gates willingly or they're eventually going to be scaled or knocked down by the masses. History has shown this to be true.
Good luck, America.
5
Very adult of you. Many of us other Democrats believe Sander’s positions to be wrong and counter productive, but you have walked away from that dialogue because it didn’t work out exactly the way you wanted. That’s not what politics or for that matter any other relationship is about. Compromise is always necessary. If Sanders wins the nomination I will vote for him despite my objections because the alternative is Trump. That’s what adults do - weigh the balance.
4
Susan,
I am now am now forlornly, an Independent, unaffiliated, didn’t vote in the Primary because the issues I support were not on the ballot; I want, most of all to end foreign wars, address the deficit and debt, deal with climate change which is at least 30 years beyond the expiration date, reasonable healthcare for all citizens, eliminate corruption in government and ridding the government of old established, corporate financed Congress ON BOTH SIDES.
1
Why is it that so many European and Scandinavian countries, as well as Canada have a medicare system, and better laws "controlling" mega-corporations and banks?
They are not called necessarily called socialist. However when Sanders promotes policies for the USA he's labelled a socialist with the subtle inference that he's a communist?
4
He himself proudly says that he is Democratic Socialist. With the Cold War, Vietnam war, Cuba and Venezuela fiasco, US citizens have been conditioned to think of socialism, and by implication, communism, as being Devils’ ideas. American voters are not as sophisticated as European voters to distinguish between Socialism and Democratic Socialism! If Bernie is the Democratic nominee, Trump campaign will use the Socialist, and by implication, Communist, to spread fear among our voters.
We might end up like 1964, ‘Child with a daisy flower,’ against Goldwater campaign.
American voter is still living in the past, even though greedy Republicans are fine with Russian money.
Not exactly, Frank. If you mean that Sanders has widened the window of permissible topics for discussion within the Democratic party and shifted the center leftward, then you have a point. Medicare for All, for example, has made the public option more acceptable, and Bernie's criticism of billionaires and Wall Street has made centrist candidates talk about vaguely inequality, concentration of wealth, and monopolies. But Biden, Klobuchar and Buttigieg are still establishment politicians, socially and culturally liberal but, though open to more regulation and higher taxes still neoliberal on economic matters and responsive to donors. Their progressivism is selective and only relative to where they were. But maybe that's the best that we can expect.
5
Most people expect that whoever becomes our President will be a bit of a lecturer; policies do have to be explained.
But Bernie Sanders is prepared, by years of old left rhetorical training, to hector the public as if he is holding a bullhorn at an SDS rally in the 1960s.
One reason people rejected Ross Perot was his relentless air of grievance and impatient style of speaking.
Four years of finger-pointing indignation from Sanders is too much to ask of a nation. The weight of his righteousness is too much to bear.
7
@Joe Kernan
The weight of corporate dominance and corrupt DNC calumny is too much for many of us to bear.
3
Funny that. They said that about Prophet Jeremiah, too.
Nudging the Democrats to the left in a deeply conservative country like the USA only brings them into conformity with centrist policies in every modern country. All of Bernie's 'radical' ideas are everyday practicalities in advanced economies outside of the USA. The biggest and most long-lasting benefit of his candidacy will be starting the political conversations needed. Bernie hasn't 'won', but his ideas have, and it's about time!
5
Well put. The Sanders coalition truly moved the party to the left, which frankly is where a majority of Americans now seems to be. How odd that most people who don't have millions (let alone billions), want health care, a living wage, security, a bigger slice of the wealth produced largely by them, and an extant planet for their children. Unfortunately, the oligarchs and the media that represents them have chosen the wrong standard bearer. Biden will likely be trounced by Trump. He cannot hold a candle to Sanders' knowledge and forceful articulation of his ideas, he is prone to gaffes and mental blanks, and the corruption underlying his son's nepotistic windfall in Ukraine will be put center stage by Trump.
5
@Richard The media and oligarchs didn't choose Sanders. The voters did.
2
@Randeep Chauhan Maybe I wasn't clear-- the "standard bearer" I am talking about (facetiously) is Biden. Sanders in my opinion is the right choice for a candidate.
4
@Richard No, I understood you. I could make the case that Warren was a better candidate than both of them--but the people voted otherwise. You are right that Sanders forced politicians to discuss the difficult things that most Americans care about--regardless of political affiliation. But the sheer vitriol he created for the "establishment" and the Democratic party has fractured it significantly. Unwillingness to compromise will not allow him to pass such lofty goals. That said, I will acknowledge his life of service and commitment to his cause. He is a paragon of authenticity; something seldom associated with flippant politics. I will vote for the Democratic party nominee, I hope you do too.
2
I do not agree this is what 'winning' looks like.
Expanding ACA is not new idea , let alone Sanders' position .
Rolling back tax cuts is new simply because Trump tax law is recent.
'Winning' is an actual result, not merely enlarging a discussion as to what is possible.
4
With her current silence, Sen. Warren seem decided on crossing out another progressive candidate run.
She announced clearly while campaigning that she and Sanders share the same political/economical/social stand and also she has made a very clear distinction between Biden policies and hers.
It’s been already 3 days since her bowing out and unfortunately the logical conclusion will be that opportunism is guiding her decisions.
Does her Her silence indicates that helping the fellow progressive win/implement their ideas doesn’t seem as important then the eventual carrier gain? A progressive Dem guided by the desire to help working class would have went to Sanders with endorsement asap and tried to sway the crucial Michigan vote.
Also it is very disappointing to me , both as a woman and left leaning liberal seeing her spinning the narrative all about “nasty” Sanders supporters.
Considering the stakes, that goes beyond contempt. Especially when taking in account the disdain and snarky satisfaction some of her supporters throw upon Sanders ones which again proves that trolling and nastiness are not restricted to one particular camp. De facto, the worst is definitely reserved for the black and Latin women in Bernie’s team who get frightful level of abuse, shrug it off and keep on with the fight. It shouldn’t be that way, that Has to Change, as we all agree. But none wears white when going to a mud fight party unless the idea is to point finger. While slinging the others..
2
@elinak
Oh my. You really don’t listen to her and look at how bullying is the exact opposite of being a social justice warrior.
I lost faith and see bernies gigantic ego- self centered ness , immaturity., meanness ( one big time sanders supporter had Bailey frozen in. A block of ice). It’s Demented and twisted and Bernie can never be wrong or take criticisms or answer questions. I’m not voting for Bernie.
The snake attack showed me all I needed to know regarding his ethics. He doesn’t have them. He is all about Bernie. Don’t be fooled.
2
It appears that Sanders did capture and reflect the views of younger Democratic voters, but they didn't come out for him in large enough numbers for him to beat Biden. Time and again, we seem to frame issues in terms of what leaders say and do when it is truly those who vote, not "the people" who hold the power. Maybe we don't like to scold people and remind them of their responsibility, but there is no escaping the simple facts. Biden is now in control of the race because the older folks with more moderate views got to the polls more often than the young.
3
@Take
Jesse Jackson just endorsed Sanders, so I wouldn't count him out just yet.
When you have the media intelligentsia in hysterics over Sanders winning the first three states, and literally likening him to Hitler invading France and proclaiming how awful he is, do you think that has no effect on people who consume media - especially the young who are far more impressionable?
This isn't about scolding people to go vote. This is about shaming people for who their preferred candidate is and getting them to stay home because they are naive and stupid. This is what voter suppression looks like in the Dem camp.
2
I'm not voting for him. I am a Democrat. He hasn't won me. A guy espousing free twinkies for all? I don't believe he can do it.
4
I respectfully disagree. The position of president is not a one man show. Trump was an aberration in this regard. He believed himself to be expert In all political affairs. Bernie Sanders has great ideas but he has difficulty working with others. He is a loner determined to get his plans in place regardless of opposition. On the other hand Joe Biden has a proven record of working with others from both sides of the aisle. He has also demonstrated an ability to compromise to achieve objectives. A CEO is not expected to be the expert in all aspects of a company but rather an expert at working with people and encouraging hem to excel. This is what our country needs. The president will identify and select experts in different parts of the government and work with them to implement a successful overall plan. This is a big difference between Sanders and Brighton. Biden has served a long apprenticeship as vice president and he knows how to system works. Change in meters every few months Just leads to fragmentation and nothing gets done. The Trump administration is a clear example of this fear. I believe Brighton will make it to her president.
3
@Christopher Slevin
The decision here may very well be between a higher probability of getting MINOR legislation through versus a lower probability for Bernies's MAJOR reforms. There will ALWAYS be this trade-off. It's hard to swing for homer's AND bat for average. We'll be waiting a LONG time if we have to have both of these! Desperate Americans want to swing for the fence; the establish want to advance bases by bunting. What Obama (and Biden) and Clinton did for the working poor in America was simply not enough.
4
@Christopher Slevin
... and this is why the establishment demonizes Donald Trump. To try to make neoliberalism look good for the average American. It's trick. They are afraid of true progressive reform, afraid for their own well-being. Don't fall for it!
Just follow the trends, follow the money. Look how that divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" has widened. This is even more of a problem than are the handful of grotesquely wealthy Americans, as nasty as this it. If we make the playing field more level for 99% of America you can be SURE the remaining 1% will not remain on their pedestals for long.
1
Bernie Sanders will leave a complex political legacy. On the plus side, he energized a latent progressive movement and that will have a beneficial effect on national politics for years to come. But he did so by disparaging the Democratic Party and that, I believe, will outweigh the good he has done. Too many on the left now believe that the Democratic Party is nearly as reactionary and corrupt as the Republicans. That flies in the face of the past 100 years of political history and will increase the cynicism, apathy and disengagement that are the biggest enemies of progressive change.
5
@FB1848,
Corrupt and weak people exist, and they may turn-up in the highest levels of Democratic leadership. But, to strike comparison with Yellow Hairs pirate ship would take evidence.
The Democratic Party has interests in serving the people. So, bad apples get replaced with good.
If people want to believe in the Democratic Party and its mission, then start by being less susceptible to the click-bait and pundit drones who serve the Personal Composure-challenged "Victims of Deep State".
One must ask:
Is the Democratic candidates' majority leaning toward the far Left a silent-rage repudiation of Capitalism?
It is a question we had all better ask, ponder, and ultimately answer this decade.
1
@Ken
Rage against corporate capitalism is bubbling up among those who don't own stock.
"Capitalism, unregulated, is crime."
Citizens United, corporations as citizens and the rest of the corporate control of government is damaging to working people, and benefits only shareholders of corporate stocks.
Elizabeth Warren made this point, but apparently not in a manner that would let the voters see through the corporate media fog.
Biden, however, is not leaning towards any "far Left."
Perhaps he's taking a slight step back to the middle from Clintonian triangulation and Obama, who misguidedly brought Larry Summers and the Goldman Sachs brain trust in to keep things safe for corporations. Bidens's from Delaware, for god's sake, where a working person's access to bankruptcy is not as important as the wealth of banks.
1
Bravo to all the commentators here, literally from around the world (and it appears those from outside the US have some of the best insights into how deeply this nation has failed its people).
And thanks to Bruni for starting it, although the point of these comments is that so many disagree with him, which is why they are so good.
This 2000-plus string of comments has the makings of a great book or dissertation. It's why I try to read as many of them as I can.
4
@avrds Thanks and best regards from Germany! Lots of people here are crossing fingers for you folks to have a better future ahead. Yes, you can!
2
@Gray Goods
And many thanks to you. Many people here are wondering if Germany and your neighbors will let us in as political refugees if the nation fails to do the right thing in November. These are scary times in America.
With all due respect Mr. Bruni, I am not sure there is a clear understanding here of the distinction between policies a candidate proposes to get elected, and policies he or she intends to pursue in office. I have no doubt that the "moderates" of the last thirty years would have liked to be bolder, but their personal convictions were relatively low on their list of priorities. To me, that is one possible definition of a moderate. Democratic moderates of the Clinton and Obama eras found themselves saying one thing and doing another because they understood rhetoric and action to be mutually independent, pushed by different sets of prevailing winds. In that regard, nothing has changed except that the rhetorical wind is now blowing in a new direction. Biden is the same person now as the "Senator from MBNA" then. He just learned a new set of phrases because circumstances dictated it. This is not a victory for the left. It is an attempt to placate it. And I don't think anyone is fooled.
5
Winning the primary is not the same as winning the election. Winning the election is not the same as being able to get a presidential agenda accomplished.
If Warren doesn't end up with a key role going forward, it will be a tremendous loss. Sanders has a vision that has shaped the agenda for Democrats - but Warren has the plans and the skills to make it happen.
That is the thing that truly terrified the establishment and the right wing about her candidacy. She's not going away.
5
I apologize for the repetition, but commenters just continue to embrace the bogus narrative that 'the evidence is in' that Bernie can not appeal to "enough" new voters... the tried and true "electability" issue.
Nobody seems to have an answer to the glaring fact that this presumption which concerns the general election and the voting behavior of the ENTIRE country is based on voting outcomes from a handful of closed and semi-closed primaries that are restricted to just 1/4 of the voting public and nearly 1/8 of voting-eligible Americans. Clearly, Bernie's success in the general election and any major reforms thereafter will hinge on his popularity with the 7/8 of adult Americans who are non-Democrats. And here, the polling data (like his trustworthiness and integrity measures) look great!
6
The Democratic party of 2020 couldn't pass, and wouldn't argue for, traditional Medicare --socialism! loss of freedom! national bankruptcy! the horror! -- so it's hard to see much of a win.
OTOH, the party has only regressed about 70 years. It might have gone back to the 19th century, like the Repubs, so there's that to celebrate.
5
Obama promised a new era for the people. He remained close to his corporate contributors, bailing out the banks, making incremental improvements in working-class wages, hardly addressing the problem of a minimum wage of $7.5, continuing the waste involved in a $750 budget for armaments.
What makes you think Biden, supported by the same group of wealthy supporters, will not do the same?
5
Right now, it feels like the arc of justice is hurtling there. If you cut away Trump, the GOP and all the rank divisiveness and look at what is happening and what may happen, I believe we are heading for a new reliance on facts, justice and morality.
Not if Biden is elected.
1
Mr. Bruni,
I am not comforted by your claim that Joe Biden will adopt a progressive agenda. The DNC will be the DNC. A leopard cannot change it's spots. If Mr. Biden is the nominee, Donald Trump will easily win re-election. Mr. Biden has a checkered political record that was mostly reconciled by the supportive role he played as Barack Obama's Vice President. Mr. Biden subsequently, and wisely, retired from politics and people are about to find out why that was a good idea and why his candidacy is not.
8
The majority of the electorate was already on board with most of these ideas, it's not filtering into policy though. NYT has been anything, but helpful. Republicans have been the party of fiscal excess for the last 100 years, which isn't necessarily bad if well targeted, but how on earth does this narrative survive? Again, not helping. Eisenhower, who endorsed far higher taxes on earnings, was the only Republican President since Calvin Coolidge not to dramatically increase the debt and deficit.
3
I am not so optimistic about move to the left of an Obama presidency with Biden as a president.
During primary season people try to broaden their appeal. Joe has been very vague on what's he want to do beside get Trump out of the white off [I am all for that too].
As soon as Biden gets a bit more delegates leads over Sanders, he should indicate a serious commitment towards economic justice and returning the democratic process and policy agenda to the people rather than to well connected corporations and billionaires.
A first 100 days policy proposal with a start of a solution towards less pay for play and more support for labor would be a good start.
Using large surveys of what people want to be addressed rather than what's Wall Street wish list would be another one. [Hint, healthcare as been toward the top priority we have not done much since the ACA passed except trying to destroy it].
Finally the democrats have to claim a vision for the future that is credibly derived from the emerging trends of today.
Yes, a lot of things are looking grim, ignoring them is not a solution. So let's have a discussion about the future of work in the age of digitization and automation, let's have a discussion about energy and urbanism in the age of climate change and unsustainable use of land and water.
With millions of talented people, the US can reclaim the role of a beacon of hope and a role model in elevating its population life standards while being a good global citizen.
2
You completely misunderstand the dismay of Sanders supporters at the though of Biden as the nominee. He will lose to Trump. Many of us support Sanders because we actually learned something from 2016 and can see MAGA eating Joe’s lunch all the way to November.
8
That there is truth in Bruni's paternalistic consolation piece almost feels beside the point to Sanders supporters at this hour, when the campaign is not even over. But should things remain the way that they are, and Biden become our nominee, it's at least worth contemplating why our greatest champions never become our actual leaders. Would our nation embrace MLK Jr. as a reasonable politician if he were alive and able to run today? No, not even fifty years after his death and all the progress he initiated, it would not. We venerate folks like Sanders and King, but can't quite stomach them as our leaders. Is this because as agitators they serve a different purpose than governance, or is it because our institutions are fundamentally hostile to the interests they represent?
3
If Sanders has won anything it isn't much. Most Democrats seem to favor expanding Obaamcare. A limited version of fee tuition has been adopted in NYS but Sanders' version has created a lot of pushback. The $15 minimum wage has been adopted in some places but doesn't have a chance in Congress. The number voters who came out on Super Tuesday to stop Sanders was a reminder that Sanders and the squad have not taken over the Democratic Party although it would be hard to tell than from following the media. The people have spoken and the center-left is holding despite all efforts of the Sanders wing to flip the party.
2
I have lived in Canada and the US. In my opinion this is what Canada does better.
1. For the most part they think Left and when Conservative Harper, who loved Bush, came to power the electorate jumped to vote him out.
2. Every Canadian has medical insurance. Emergencies are dealt with quickly. Some provinces charge a small family monthly premium. Drug prices are much lower in Canada.
3. All Canadian families get 12 months of paid leave after they have a child. Yes each child = 12 months. This time can be shared between both parents.
4. Employers understand sick leave for the employee and when the employees child is ill.
5. Canadians retire earlier. They don’t have to wait till there 65.
6. Canada was prepared for the Corona Virus. They dealt with SARS in the past.
7. The biggest difference between Canadians and Americans is the level of empathy Canadians show for each other.
When I go to a doctor in the US I am always shocked by the number of support staff that are not medically trained. No wonder the US system is the most expensive and covers the least number of people per capita.
I guess this is why I support Bernie Sanders.
9
@G. Clark
Harper and his government was in power over 10 years. If people really hated him, his government would have folded under a no-confidence vote in less than 4 years.
If he loved Bush that much, he would have capitulated to his demands about increasing Canada's involvement in American's wars. Canada had limited involvement, as always.
1
"The ark of history bends towards justice, does not hurtle" what a wonderful way of avoiding changes. I mean its not like over the last 40 years, US middle class has been hollowed out, jobs have been lost and industries have shut down. Its not like millions have been imprisoned for minor or made-up offenses. Trillions have been spent on unnecessary wars. Pollution and climate changr has accelerated. Healthcare costs have skyrocketed? College costs have increased by 5 times salary growth?
None of those things have happened right?
Be real, all the talks of small, incremental changes have made no meaningful impact at all for the vast majority. It may have been good for the elites, the beltway experts and the influential people, but not much for the poor.
The economy has rewarded the rich far more than the middle class and not at all the working poor. And it has only gotten harder for the poor.
Thats what you want to maintain, because thats what comforts you. Thats what Biden represents.
Uninspirational, "safe" and incremental - Biden will lose just like Hillary did. Trump will be relelcted and the decline will continue.
7
I am so tired of all of this. Bernie Sanders is working to help the majority of the citizens of this country, to have a better life. They have been forgotten by both parties. The stories I have been seeing on Americans with health insurance going broke, when they are stricken with a serious disease is appalling. Is it okay with everyone that 68,000 Americans die each because they do not have health care? What have we become here? M4A will not happen if we do not elect Bernie Sanders. In addition, why is nobody talking about Biden's plans to cut Social Security? I read an article from socialsecuritywork.org from Jan 2020, that addresses this. I don't think a lot of seniors know this fact, either. If Biden wins the primary, we all lose, except the DNC and the 1%.
15
I hear you, and I agree, but the problem is that a lot of other people, especially in midwestern states, just don't feel like they can vote for a self professed socialist. Saying "But he's a democratic socialist" doesn't mean a thing to them. Preaching to the choir, which Sanders does very well, isn't going to cut it. People have been warning exhaustively about his splitting the electorate instead of uniting it, and that's exactly what he's doing.
4
Does not matter who won the Dem primary. Trump already won the election during one of the early Dem debates when all the candidate raised their hands in favor of giving illegal aliens tax payer paid healthcare.
Dems are 50% of the popluation. THey should start their own healthcare coop. But leave out those who don't want to join. 50% of the population is large enough to get scale. Or would their coop be like Bernie's plan so "good" that you have to force people to join?
3
@Reader In Wash, DC
With the corona virus citizens will learn a lot about the value of all living in America having access to healthcare.
Can you imagine if the homeless population begins to spread the corona virus...
America has been shaped by its religion of capitalism,
and its belief in rugged individualism.
Add corona virus to the mix, and the results may be shameful... and economically more costly than if America had an efficient medicare for all,
AND compassionate public policy.
5
@Lucy Cooke
Compassionate = Liberals demand taxpayers support the lazy and irresponsible.
1
@Lucy Cooke
Typhoid fever is already spreading in LA's homeless camps, and has infected at least one police officer.
19th century slums here we come!
4
For Bernie and all those that point to Scandavia and countries that have socialized medicine... Those places can afford their lavish social spending because their defense is provided for by the US taxpayer and soldier. (Trump tried to get the Europeans to meet their very meager NATO spending targets and the DNC and MSM attacked Trump.)
Drug prices are higher the US because we end up paying for all the R&D.
The US also has the lawyer tax. In the UK and other places if you sue and loose you pay for the lawyers for the defendent.
2
@Reader In Wash, DC The cold war ended 30 years ago. Nobody forces the US to spend more money on the military than the next five or six nations combined, that's just a crazy habit of yours. European nations aren't especially strong on defence nowadays (it used to be more, in the 80s), but strong enough. Don't bring us up as an excuse for not passing improvements in the US that our countries have achieved long ago in the last century!
5
@Gray Goods
The US has had to continually clean up Europe's mess: WWI, WWII and cold war or it would have spread to the US. Yes our choice is to survive. Europe should start pulling its own weight.
3
The US cannot negotiate an affordable public health improvement system because religious issues are at stake in critical issues of triage. Case closed.
1
It’s incredible that all the NYT pundits are writing about Sanders in a positive way now that the Democratic establishment and the media have effectively trashed his character and policies as extreme and dangerous. Biden is the dangerous choice in that he is riding on his name and amorphous endorsements to win the day…what are his big policy ideas? Where is his campaign infrastructure? What we will have is another corporate shill as the Democratic candidate and believe me people will either stay home or vote for the other guy, just like with Hillary. That the Democratic establishment would rather risk losing again to Trump by effectively installing Biden as our nominee rather than have a democratic socialist try to improve the lives for the 99% is just plain chilling.
6
The agenda Bernie advocates will come, if it ever does, in increments. Small step by small step. One of those steps would be nominating someone with his vision. A Sanders presidency would be another. Little would be accomplished. I think he would agree with that. But surely it would be a start.
Unfortunately a third of our population thought it would be funny to elect a fool in 2016 and ridding ourselves of that is priority numero uno. I’m not sure Sanders can beat him.
I’ll hold my nose... again... and vote for whoever opposes the clown.
Bernie hasn't won yet, but he still could unless everyone who really wants him to be the Inspirer in Chief chickens out and swallows the electability kool-aid. The President has the bully pulpit, as Teddy Roosevelt said, and Bernie's rhetoric is perfect for that. He (unlike the last several Democratic presidents) has no concerns about appearing conciliatory. He appears to have little of the baggage that the right can use to blackmail him into submission. All he needs is a great VP who really knows how to get things done while he rallies the troops. And to me, that looks like Elizabeth Warren.
6
Yes. Because of all the examples cited here (the moderates making their cases that their policies are progressive, i.e., climate change, universal health care, etc.) proves that, IN REALITY, Bernie is the real moderate who is reflecting the general electorate and the supposed moderates are the real radicals who want to maintain the status quo, which is radically opposite of what Americans want.
6
Agree. I’ve been saying for month the real radical policy is maintaining status quo. That said, Bernie is a flawed messenger and not even a Democrat. Warren was the best candidate, period.
3
Black voter here.
It's not entirely true. And I don't know how Frank Bruni can say this when Sanders continues to tank among the MAJORITY of African-American voters.
This much was proved (AGAIN!) in South Carolina where he lost for a second time.
And then there's fact that he bailed out of going to a Mississippi rally in order to go to Michigan where he also tanked.
But most telling of all, Sanders failed to appear at the 50th Anniversary March over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama -- something that anyone who claims to be for Civil Rights would never do.
Even Kamala Harris hasn't come out to endorse him.
Sorry.
But as small as it might be percentage-wise, the Black vote is crucial to ANY Democratic candidate.
And so far, Sanders hasn't got it.
6
@N. Smith Bruni is not saying the Bernie is going to win the nomination. He saying that Bernie's ideas have won.
2
@Seanchai
I read the article.
And if that were the case, he would've gotten the Black vote.
My point stands.
2
@Seanchai Exactly. Bruni's message is,in short:
"Congratulations, progressives, Bernie's ideas have won. Now shut up and vote for Biden."
1
It makes little difference what positions are taken by the candidates unless the House and Senate are put into the hands of the Democrats and the filibuster eliminated. McConnell used it a record number of times to defeat any legislation proposed by the Obama Administration.
Republicans gave up on governing long ago. Unless it involves tax cuts or war funding, they have no interest. Scores of legislative bills passed by the House sit on McConnells desk, destinated for the trash bin. A for instance is a bill to combat Russian interference in our elections and it cannot get a vote on the Senate floor.
We need to think well past just the Presidential election. Congress matters, at least to the Democrats.
1
Bernie hasn’t lost yet, there’s still the excellent possibility that the 18- 45 voters will show up, they are the ones the rest of us deplorable progressives are fighting for; so please do not write his obituary prematurely. With all due respect Frank, it’s a lovely column, and perhaps comforting too a few, but the idea that Bernie has in theory pulled the party too the left has about as much possibility of translating into real progress for the former middle class with a Wall Street owned President such as “ Likable Joe Biden”, as did the promises of Trump delivering on the load of horse manure he promised on the campaign trail. When the pedal hits the metal Likable Joe will do what he has always done, pander to those who write his paychecks. Check his record on issues going back forty years and then compare it to Bernie’s, no contest there Frank, Bernie’s the real deal, Biden like Trump will say whatever he thinks they want to hear and will get them to vote for him, Bernie will tell the truth, whether you agree with him or not.
5
@JFP I also am also from Michigan but will vote for Bernie this week in primary as the better candidate based on policy position, conviction to known principles, consistency, and the ability to contrast himself effectively vs. Donald Trump. Emphatically I will definitely vote for Biden in the general if he is the nominee - but this is not my main point. I mainly am asking all moderates that still have a primary vote ahead, please seriously consider voting Bernie. I am coming at this as a moderate myself and had my top 3 in order as Pete, Amy and Cory Booker (was sad to see CB early suspension of campaign). But as a moderate with this now whittled down to comparing Bernie and Biden, Bernie is the more solid nominee for the party. Although polling shows a strong democratic preference for Biden right now, in actuality this is largely a tilt toward a "safer" candidate, in part on his experience of having "been there" as the VP, and concerns on Bernie's hard-line approach turning people off . . . would not be effective leader, etc. I respect the reality that many will disagree with me about Bernie as better candidate - but if you still are open minded on this - please think again about the reality of Joe Biden's weakness. Think again about the fairly well acknowledged positives on Bernie. In my own view Bernie is being seriously underestimated when compared side-by-side with Joe Biden. That said let's all do our best to find the common ground to unify after the primaries!
5
Sorry, but as a Sanders supporter, I read a snide backhanded compliment of him here. Also, there is an alarmist list of expenditures without any attempt to note Sanders' explicit explanations about how to pay for things. Furthermore, I and likely Sanders, too, persist in frustration over complaints about "leftist" when his policies and plans are favored by most Americans because they *benefit* most Americans. It is a logical contradiction to keep on labeling something in an extreme when it is within the norm. Most evidently, Mr. Bruni's lament over Sanders' success has backfired about it, as the notation of the success itself shows how necessary and effective Sanders' emphasis on "revolution" has been. Now that we have your undivided attention, "Not me, Us!"
7
I love Bernie Sanders - he represents my values and where I think the country should go. I also think he will lose and that he will lose BIG TIME like McGovern who also represented my values. I will vote for Biden who will make a great president and a compromise. Voting is not a personal expression, it's a chess move.
Jerry W NEK VT
2
The "safe" Dem candidates have loat far more often than the outsiders. Remember Al Gore? John Kerry? Hillary?
Insipid, uninspirational, forgetful and "safe" Joe will lose to firebrand Trump.
If you are not ready to fight fire with fire, we will all get burnt - again.
2
@Jerry N E Kingdom It's because of defeatists like you that progressive candidates have such a hard time. It's crazy that majorities of Dem voters favour progressive policies, but then support moderates who do their best to prevent them!
Anyway, polls show Bernie could beat Trump, so there's no good reason not to show your personal expression by voting for the guy who represents your values.
The Bernie crowd seem to ignore the fact that PEOPLE voted in the primary, not party leaders, and Biden won 10 of 12 states. Clearly Bernie has a large following but not as large as Biden's. The 'Bern it down' attitude will get you two more Supreme Court picks which will shape the country for a generation, not one more election cycle. Trump will do far more damage to the country than a less progressive Dem president. Instead of taking your vote and going home, you might want to see the big picture and vote for whichever candidate wins the nomination.
3
7 of those states Joe Biden won, he will lose in the general election. Only MA, MN and VA will vote blue.
This primary, like many others, is being driven by choices of voters who will not deliver in November.
Blue and purple state voters prefer Bernie - and many will be uninspired and disappointed by Biden, just like they did with Hillary.
But go ahead, let the South choose and foist another loser on us.
2
@Jeff Actually, of the 18 states (& American Samoa) that voted so far, Biden won 11 and Bernie 7. The race is still on, way too early to be called yet.
Bruni's observation is patently untrue.
Joe Biden's continued opposition to Medicare for All demonstrates that. Biden has already indicated his VP choice cannot support Medicare for All.
How can progressives support a Biden ticket when it could result in 8 more years of regressive centrist Democratic policies? The same policies that put us where we are today.
Sounds crazy but in the long run, from the viewpoint of achieving key progressive goals, it may be more beneficial to suffer four more years of Trump, use that time period to crush the Clinton/Biden faction, and emerge with a Democratic party primarily in support of working American families.
9
Mr. Bruni, look at cost comparisons between what the U.S. spends on health care now and what other countries spend. Single-payer is a better system, and everyone is covered. That is the 'moderate/sensible' position. How many times must this be pointed out? Sanders is the moderate candidate in this race.
9
Bernie Sanders is NOT a Democrat. Ergo, he has NOT won anything but the option of going back to Vermont.
3
The GOP is exclusively to blame for the failure of democrats to discuss fiscal responsibility. Sanders is right that nobody said anything about fiscal responsibility when the other side passed giant tax cuts for big corporations and the rich. Fiscal responsibility should not be borne by those least able to bear it. A democrat -- Clinton -- was the last president to run a balanced budget. Trump does not care about it. So rhetorically at least, this argument doesn't wash. Taxpayers bailed out the banks in 2008, and they turned around and used the money to pay themselves bonuses. We the people just don't want to hear them complain when the people want some of that for themselves. or some day there'll be a real revolution.
5
The curve of history may be at the brink. The Sanders sense of urgency is realistic. A move back to the comfort zone of Democratic politics as usual is unwise for the nation but certainly a safety net for those who prosper politically from the status quo. The evidence that a losing political philosophy resulted in systemic future change is rare indeed. Perhaps McGovern and the anti war platform but that only lasted until Iraq and look where we are now. I hope Bruni is correct but history does not bode well for the theory. A better risk is moving forward now and hope the naysayers come along.
6
I believe that if Joe Biden is elected president, he's going to go ahead an do whatever it is that Joe Biden does, regardless of the issues that have been discussed during the primaries. Unless by an electoral miracle, the Democrats win more than 60 seats in the Senate, it's going to be difficult to get any progressive legislation passed. Republicans will exact a price in hysteria for whatever President Biden does purely through executive actions (including lots of threats to reverse them after 2024). I don't think Joe Biden is going to spend his political capital on anything that doesn't resonate deeply inside him. I'd say that his admonishment to Senator Warren to stay in the Senate tells us as much. If that's what Democratic voters want, and it seems that a good many do, they should vote for Biden in the primaries. But progressives shouldn't be under any illusions.
4
This Progressive is never voting for another neoliberal mess that brought us the worst, most brutal inequality in the history of the world.
3
I don't buy it. Every Democratic president in history was more liberal than his predecessor. That's the progress in progressive.
I for one, have not been influenced one bit.
1
@Seriously Folks All the Democratic presidents after FDR were more progressive than FDR? How do you explain the ever increasing economic inequality that helped to get Trump elected?
6
The last liberal was LBJ. He was the last president to sign social welfare legislation — no, Obamacare doesn’t count — the last to campaign for the welfare stare, and the last to address poverty as a real problem. Clinton ended "welfare as we know it". Across the south, that meant ending welfare, period, full stop.
In the decades since Nixon’s first term, income inequality has risen, education funding shrunk, segregation become still more entrenched, unionization rates tumbled. The rest of the world participates in the same global economy; only in the US do we observe those effects.
One thing they’re definitely not: the product of ever more liberal presidencies.
6
@Seriously Folks
Does that include Bill Clinton? He stepped backward with "Welfare to Work". What work? Very few opportunities that would allow the poor to earn a living wage.
4
America how can you ignore the elephant in the room? As a home health aid I have seen hundreds of people with geriatric decline. Joe Biden has all the symptoms: inability to focus, frequent memory lapses, changes in visual habits, physical passivity. By the time November 4th arrives those symptoms will be cleverly and ruthlessly exposed by the President, and Biden's capacity to be govern will be in (justifiable) doubt. To nominate him is political suicide. (Is self sabotage really the extent to which the party will go to deny Sanders?)
10
It’s been said that candidates campaign in poetry but, if elected, govern in prose. Bernie has certainly delivered on campaign poetry, but it’s unclear whether he can shift to the prose necessary for the country to recover from the era of Trump. The problem is that Trump has both campaigned and governed (if we can say he’s governed at all) in limerick.
The challenge for Bernie is to show voters he can master the prose of governance. Super Tuesday’s results suggest that many Democratic voters have concluded that he cannot and that electing him will be little better than re-electing Trump: not much will be accomplished.
1
@Ray Zielinski: Trump is a religious phenomenon. He talks in tongues. If Sanders becomes the Democratic nominee, debates will be shouting matches.
1
I'd be interested in learning if there ever has been a country that has ever instituted any form of governing socialism except after a violent revolution or a national disaster like WWII or the Great Depression? Canada? New Zealand? How socialist are those two? Sweden, almost certainly.
WWII and the existence of the Soviet Union's plans for Communist world domination. seem to me to have been the incubator of socialism as a governing principle in the great majority of Western countries. Has it ever happened "organically" without external forces driving the change?
1
@vineyridge: Every mixed economy has a capitalistic private sector, and a socialistic public sector, which taxes the public to pay for projects and services of ostensible benefit to the public. Politics is about who gets taxed and who benefits from the projects and services.
2
In a functioning democracy, social calamity is addressed by government action. The 20th century was pretty calamitous, by any measure. It’s unsurprising that democracies sought to meet the needs of their citizens.
But war is not the answer.
Canada and Australia participated in World War II. So did Sweden, unless you think having Norway and Denmark occupied by nazi Germany is inconsequential. But how to link, say, universal healthcare with the war? It seems to me it’s better explained by the economic dislocation stemming from mass industrialization and, in Europe especially, a growing capacity for self-governance.
Social Security in this country grew out of the Great Depression, sure. But Medicare in 1968? The slow adoption of universal healthcare in Canada began in the 1950s and took the better part of 3 decades to complete. Which crisis precipitated those?
1
@vineyridge The German constitution says "Property is an obligation. It shall be used for the common good" and Social Democratic governments have made it mandatory that corporations have to reserve seats for worker representatives on the board. Socialist enough for you?
1
What Democrat policies will make things better for America? Trump hatred is not a policy. Socialism certainly will not make things better.
@Joe: The Republicans manage socialism for the benefit of the arms industry. Your tax dollars at work.
4
@Steve Bolger Defense is actually one of the proper roles of government. That said, we need to cut defense spending big time and to stop being the police of the world.
4
Nailed it Frank. Niebuhr opposed forcefully integrating his Detroit congregation because 6 months later it would have self segregated. He was a realist, not a racist.
Truth is, if Liz Warren and her supporters don’t back Bernie Sanders it will mean a “cop out”. They would have surrendered their values to Biden’s corporate donors.
Plain and simple.
10
The arc of history bends toward ... well, we actually have no idea.
3
That's the problem.
I believe the Trump campaign just sent this out to all the moderates in swing states. The choice in Nov. will be between a moderate trying to be liberal with huge tax increases that don't pay for the programs liberals actually want and president trump. HRC won MN by a inch and a half. There are fewer Never trumpers now than on election day 16. Hmmm, wonder who is gonna win. But there's no way trump will get out of this one (convid19) right?
Not sure this is true, but he has won me, and many others who now know we don't have to settle anymore. My whole life (born in the Reagan era), I thought I just had to accept that this is the "way it is." The wars, the corporate donors, the low taxes on high income earners, the creepiness (from Clinton to Trump to now Joe Biden) that runs free when powerful men are surrounded by sycophants. I retreated to, at best, eyerolls and sarcasm, which I now see were as enabling as smiles and yeses. I take responsibility for stifling my true beliefs in return for feeling slightly more comfortable ("don't rock the boat"). When you know better, you do better, and I look forward to a more empowered life doing better. Thank you, Bernie, for raising the bar for me.
564
@Alexandra
"The wars, the corporate donors, the low taxes on high income earners, the creepiness (from Clinton to Trump to now Joe Biden) that runs free when powerful men are surrounded by sycophants."
Indeed, that is politics today and has been throughout my life time as well. And now I watch the party stepping up to defeat Sanders, not Trump, with all its got by propping up the weakest candidate of the primary (and the one who proudly pledges to return to the status quo).
We have to keep pushing back. Social, economic, racial, and environmental justice are not radical ideas.
77
@Alexandra
" when powerful men are surrounded by sycophants..."
You might have it backwards. Then again, both may be true.
5
@Alexandra Congratulations on refuting our too common compliance to targeted messaging, a specialty of the Trump regime. Obama won a prestigious award from the marketing and advertising industry. We're now more aware than ever that a prez candidate is likely a product of a political campaign industry. That failed dramatically with Bloomberg, and the more we can have those efforts catagorically fail, the more we'll have available the authentic candidate.
26
Frank, just one small problem: If Sanders has already won, why should he not be the nominee?
585
@Catherine
Because the nominee is selected by the DNC.
41
Democracy. The “establishment”, by which I mean working class Democrats, voted for Biden.
51
@Ohcolowisc
Just how did the DNC manage to "select" the candidate when several million individuals who are not card-carrying Democrats voted in Democratic primaries across 14 states in one day? Pushing Democratic primary voters in any one direction has proven to be more like herding cats than blowing a dog whistle and getting unquestioned obedience. Could it be that the voters don't see a President Sanders as capable of anything more than a fractured and ineffective administration? Is it possible that among other things, his seemingly innate inability to compromise, his lifelong lone wolf
outsider status, his all-or-nothing approach to fixing health care, his hearty endorsement of COMMUNIST regimes (which ARE authoritarian, and NOT socialist) has given many if not most of these voters pause?
51
It has been incredible to see the attacks on Sanders these past 5 years and it makes me wonder if America knows what leadership looks like. Sanders is a visionary. To be a true leader one must be a visionary. To be a true leader, one must empower others. He has done both. He has set the course for the Democratic Party and win or lose, his vision is not going away. This is a generational issue. It is clear that Bernie's vision appeals to the future - 18-45 year olds. It has broken my heart to see that 45+ year olds have dismissed the youth of this country and voted to keep things the same with Biden. This is why I know we will lose in Nov unless we change course and nominate Bernie. A campaign without energized youth cannot beat Trump.
629
@Julie A campaign without the two-thirds of the country who consider themselves to be moderates and independents cannot beat Trump. Bernie will drive away everyone except those energized youth, and they don't reliably show up to vote anyway. A campaign with a socialist at the head of it cannot beat Trump.
71
@rick Then why does Bernie beat Trump in head to head polls since 2016? Why does Bernie perform better against Trump than Biden in head to head polls?
Bernie appeals to Independents (40% of registered voters) that are excluded from many democratic primaries. I know Trump voters that would vote for Bernie. This is the time for an anti-establishment candidate, and Biden is the establishment. We will surely lose to Trump with Biden.
93
@Julie
Sanders is not a visionary. Everything he says is out of Das Kapital and Communist Manifesto. Maybe he borrowed some populist phrases from Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro as well but I have not been keeping track.
It seems visionary to the 18-35 year group because a lot of them have not experienced this kind of populism and rhetoric. It has been marginalized in the US for a long time and it is rearing its head now because of economic disparity. This however is not the solution given that it has been tried and later left those countries in ruin.
23
All those issues are important ones. BUT the ONLY way to actually get any traction in Congress is to acknowledge that there are MANY VOTERS who do NOT agree with the degree of immediate, sweeping change that Sanders & his disrespectful BernieBros/Berners demand. They act like children who throw tantrums and take their toys home when they fail to get exactly what they THINK they deserve, and everyone else who doesn't align perfectely with THEM is wrong. Talk about entitled brats! Biden isn't as charismatic, and he certainly has baggage from years in politics. But at least he will try to INCLUDE the rest of the voters in decision-making and can work across the aisle. Bernie? Not so much.
4
I don't think Sanders has 'won'. Biden, like the president he clings to , Obama, supports the financial industry over economic justice. Obama/Biden totally wasted the possibilities of the crash of 2008. I would vote for Biden if he became the Democratic nominee, because I can't stand Trump's gratuitus cruelty, but I would do so with a feeling of sadness & hopelessness. Sanders is flawed, as we all are, but it would be wonderful to have a president, who would at least try to move the US of A toward economic justice.
825
@Jenifer Wolf
This is only one in a series of disingenuous articles by Times columnists meant to placate Sanders' followers so they'll throw their support to a moderate. We've had a number, as from Paul Krugman, which have proclaimed that no matter who got the nomination, all their real-world policies would end up looking pretty much the same, so Biden's as good as a Bernie. Now Bruni is assuring us that no matter what happens, Bernie won, so let's move on. and all vote for Biden.
Biden isn't concerned with policy, because of all the candidates, he's got a monopoly on "decency". He will continue to pull the Democratic party to the right, so it can pick up a handful of disaffected Republicans, making it look more and more like the pre-Trump GOP.
283
@stan continople
The Congressional Progressive Caucus has some 95 members, 41% of total Dem seats. Assuming they hang on to their seats, are they to have no say? no influence? I highly doubt that.
11
@Jenifer Wolf
I agree 100%.
11
Funny, the last time I checked, Senator Bernie Sanders (I) from Vermont is not a Democrat. While he may be impacting the agenda some, it is clear a majority of primary voters are leaning toward Biden. I am quite sure those Americans have not "colluded with and/or aided-and-abetted the Democrat National Committee (DNC) to stop Senator Senators. I am quite sure those voters are choosing their preferred candidate based on their needs and beliefs.
I am sick and tired of the Trumpian conspiracy theories of "the establishment is trying to stop me" nonsense of Sanders. If you go back and listen to the Trump during the 2016; he too claimed, "the establishment is trying to stop me".
If Bernie Sanders wants to turn voters off, keep telling them that they are just DNC tools. It is not the way to build a coalition, by denigrating a voter's decision of whom they should vote for in the primaries.
4
Hopefully, Frank, you're right. Good thing.
Click bait title. You're better than that, Frank. Bernie talks about things that all hard core liberals want. We can't have them. Why praise him for it? He has to get out of the race.
2
@bstar I can't imagine the Biden camp's battle cry "no, we can't!" winning on November 3rd. Voters are obviozsly afraid of making demands, but they need at least some positive motivation to go to the polls.
Here's the elephant in the room.
Sanders continues to tank among all African-American voters, as his recent appearance at a rally in Michigan proves.
And that's including his loss in South Carolina (again!), the fact that he ditched going to a rally Mississippi, and for all his talk about Civil Rights, didn't even attend the 50th Anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" at the walk over the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama.
Claiming to get the Black youth vote isn't enough.
And it's going to cost him in the end.
It already has.
3
@N. Smith The states in the Deep South vote largely for the Republicans. The importance of the Black Voter will only be felt in states where their numbers can make a difference.
On Tuesday March 17, Florida Democrats will vote in a closed primary. If Bernie Sanders tanks in Florida, he’s finished. If he wins, or at least remains competitive, the race is still on.
One of the problems with the U.S. electoral system is that not all voters are equal. Tanking in Tennessee is not the same as tanking in Florida (or Michigan, for that matter).
1
@N. Smith Not all voters, only among the elderly. Polls show, he's more popular among younger African Americans. All in all, the second most liked candidate among Poc, far ahead of Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Warren. That's why they dropped out.
If the premise is correct then this is where Democrats lost the general election. Sanders is the Jesse Jackson (who appropriately just endorsed him) to Biden's Dukakis.
2
Biden's healthcare plan does nothing to lower the costs or the profits of the health care industry, one of the most profitable sectors of our society. The former vice president of the United States and the darling of the New York Times, will keep America's ruling class safe and comfortable.
3
I am amazed at the democrats. They seem to think that they have viable candidates for the presidency which when you look at their bench is a ludicrous thought.
They have a communist who honeymooned in the Soviet Union but that's fine even as they hypocritically decry the evils of Russia when it suits them but not with Burnie, no, he's alright.
Many of them love Elizabeth 'Pocahontus' Warren, a woman who should be disqualified for stealing benefits reserved for others and more. She is utterly unable to speak the truth.
Next you have Joe Biden who peddles influence better than a hopped up Lance Armstrong ever pedalled a bicycle. A guy so crooked his entire extended family have become millionaires on his government salary. A guy who confessed to bribery, extortion and misuse of taxpayer money on video tape while bragging about it! He did exactly what the democrats tried to falsely hang on President Trump thereby displaying their hypocrisy for all to see. He is also a man who cannot string together a sentence as he seems to be exhibiting symptoms of advanced Alzheimers disease yet they want to give this guy the nuclear launch codes and the football. What he really needs is a good lawyer for his Burisma problem and a nurse to dab at his chin with a clean hanky every now and then.
These people are whacked out, completely. President Trump has accomplished more good in three years despite the sabotage, harrassment, sedition of the left and lies than Biden and Obama did in eight.
1
There's a big difference between people sincerely and consistently fighting for reforms that will make millions of lives better, for instance Bernie and Elizabeth, and self-interested ambitious pretenders looking for something popular to latch onto, to promote themselves. And all the while taking the bankers' dollar, and planning to toss a few crumbs from the loaf they promised.
"All that glitters is not gold," thank you, William Shakespeare. Remember when the fascist German oligarchs supported the Nazi Party, it had "socialist workers" in its official title. Of course, in power, they sent socialist workers to concentration camps along with Jewish citizens and many other "undesirables" of all classes and political persuasions.
Bernie and Elizabeth believe America needs and can achieve Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, and free tuition at public colleges and universities, and more, and the movement they've built is influencing opportunists to latch on. The others believe they'd like to be president.
Yes, "Vote blue no matter who," but temper your expectations. Maybe stopping the dismantling of the social safety net, environmental protections, encouragement of racists, xenophobes and misogynists, and warming up to dictators is the best we can do for now. But it's not all we need, and its not all we could do. We'd be abandoning what we need and could do. Sad if that's where we are as a country. But it's not over yet, so hold the obituary.
2
@Joe So much for the the moderately Republican view of government, leaving working class people unguarded, exploited and stressed out.
@Russ What is the proper role of government? What should it not be involved in? These are key questions that need to be discussed. Just because something is expensive does not mean government should provide it. Wanting to help someone doesn't mean government should forcefully take your money and give it to someone else. If I put a gun to your head, took your money, gave it to someone else, that's called robbery and is illegal. But when the government does it, it's not? We need to teach basic economics in this country and teach personal responsibility. Get government out of healthcare, out of mortgages/housing, from being the police of the world, eliminate subsidies, bailouts, welfare, get out of education, out of student loans, stop excessive regulations, and stop spending trillions more than what they take in. We are $23 TRILLION in debt. Some proper roles of government: To provide national defense, to protect individual freedoms, to prevent fraud, to prevent monopolies and promote competition. This does not mean no government, weak government, anarchy, or completely unregulated capitalism. Government does have a role to play.
Biden wins nomination
Trump wallops Biden
Ivanka is the first female president in 2024
1
Not buying if Frank.
You said/printed awful things about a politician millions love and trust.
OWN IT.
We see you now; once again.
Go back to talking about food.
4
When there is an opioid crisis congress allocates billions. The Covid-19 issue again, it may not be one time event, prompts congress to allocate large sum for public cause. That is socialized medical care. It would be wise to streamline this process like every other country on earth. This is exactly Bernie is advocating which will happen eventually but before that moderates will throw all the tantrums possible.
6
Sanders policies have become mainstream because he repeatedly articulates a platform that addresses issues the majority of Americans find obvious: gun control, universal healthcare, college tuition, immigration, tackling climate change - all spinning out-of-control as a result of tremendous wealth inequality. We live in a country where corrupt capitalism has gone too far.
Trying to balance that inequality by addressing those that don't pay their fair share of taxes, or taxes at all, is also obvious. Looking at industries that pollute our water and air with unregulated chemicals, unregulated data collecting and unregulated drug prices are only a few examples of corrupt capitalism that has gone too far.
Name calling, in the Trumpian style, has been taken up by oligarch media pundits, Wall Street, the DNC and the 1% fearing the loss of economic dominance.
Standers has frankly stated: "look ... the emperor has no clothes" and the other candidates have replied, "well yes that's true but ... I can't say that publicly. I will frighten the emperor and his court."
Calling Sanders a socialist (most Americans have no idea what this means), a communist or a friend of Castro's is a twisted reality. This is simply fear mongering in a system that already has socialism for the wealthy and corrupt capitalism for the rest of us. A system where most of the candidates have ponied up to some horrific and truly evil dictators over the past decades. Joe Biden being one of them.
5
As a long time Vermont resident and tax payer, I found Mr. Sanders did not follow through on many of his ideas because his self motivated interests kept him climbing the political ladder rather than working on the issues he forced on his followers. The guy is a blustering leftist with reality issues. Keep away.
5
It ain't over yet. If Bernie is willing to get a little tough and starts pushing on Biden in the next debate, you never know.
4
hmmm... Biden apparently promised rich donors that nothing would change, health insurance stocks rebounded after he did well on super Tuesday, and wall Street is apparently donating to his campaign...not so progressive.
6
His tone was attacking the "Democratic Establishment". We are better off with him gone and having actual capable progressives like Warren lead those battles.
3
Warren is .so. progressive, she can’t even endorse the only progressive left ... again. Warren a progressive. That’s hilarious.
1
There were times that once you were hired, you would have retired from that job with a retirement plan. These days, you can be fired anytime and be left with no health coverage, let alone retirement plan. Thus, moderate attitude or conservatism has to disappear. Bernie Sanders MUST win!
5
Biden's supporters (banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, pharma companies) have been very mean to a lot of Americans. I can't vote for someone with such abusive, and often threatening supporters.
I am concerned that Biden can't keep his supporters under control. He should do something about that instead of letting them run roughshod over him and his platform.
2
I don't know when or how "Progressive" came to represent Radical, Extreme Left-wing ideals.
A Progressive policy is changing the immigration regime to what most of the Western democracies utilize --- merit, point-based immigration. (I should know, I've lived in six EU countries.) What AOC, Sanders --- even Schumer --- advocate are not "progressive." AOC and company espouse reactionary or radical policy ideas. To label these Socialists as Progressives is far off the mark.
1
@R Rodgers Apparently you lived in Europe as a tourist, without speaking any language. What your stating is pure nonsense. In the European context, Sanders, Warren and AOC are fun of the mill Social Democrats. In the US, way behind the curve, with less social achievements, that translates to "progressives". Because so much progress still needs to be done, to catch up with the rest of the world.
Bernie Sanders, great guy, certainly not perfect. Of the two elderly white men in contention for the Dem nomination, I think Biden (great guy, certainly not perfect) has a better chance to beat Trump. As long as he does not make a big mistake with choosing a running mate. That person needs to be 25 years younger and a credible president if needed, plus someone who could run if Biden, when in his 80's, for God's sake (!) might decide against a second term.
3
No one I know, except my 78 year old neighbor, will be voting for the utter mess of a man who created the greatest wealth inequality in history.
2
“You won already Bernie, you can go home now.”
Sure.
Obama campaigned as Change You Can Believe In. Bush was the compassionate conservative. Trump campaigned to the left of Cliton on economics.
None of them delivered. The reality is that as soon as the president is sworn in, the real policies come out... socialism for the rich, bracing personal responsibility for the poor.
Sanders actually walks the talk. So I’ll stick with him.
Nominate Biden if you insist... I’m sure he’ll get a good number of votes in November. But not mine.
5
I’m not voting for the utter mess of a man who actively helped create the worst inequality in the history of the world either. You would have to be insane to think Biden can beat Trump, but then, I don’t think whoever runs the Democrats actually believes the dotard Biden will win. He’s just a hand puppet for the American Oligarchs. Russia has Oligarchs. Biden helped create the American Oligarchs.
2
Obama gave America the ACA during a time Republicans controlled most of Congress. That's success! Bernie didn't support the Clinton's in 1997 when they were trying to create a universal healthcare system. Interesting, eh! and he's never voted for gun control even now, ask him about that! It's a shame Bernie took out Warren who would have been able to get a lot of important issues taken care of that progressives care about. Biden is a liberal with a capital L. He marched for civil rights; he's compassionate and will get things done. Not sure Bernie will persuade other people in Congress to follow his aggressive leadership. Bernie is angry and so are his supporters and with good reason but you can't get things done with anger alone. Do we want another authoritarian like Trump? or a Democracy? The most important issue is dumping Trump. Vote Blue, no mater who! I will.
2
A deft rationale giving Saunder supporters reason to support Biden should he win the nomination.
Nicely done.
2
@Sam Let's say, nice try. The flattery was a bit obvious and the sugarcoating excessive, imho. But at least Bruno tried to unite, while the NYT's center/right columnists only divide. Kudos for that.
1
Thank you for this piece.
Sanders is the architect of the Democrat Party agenda. The DNC has fallen prey to fearmongering, thinking he's a Socialist--which he is not, and tries to block him.
Sanders is a Democratic Socialist. Think of the governments of the EU and Canada, much envied by Americans, and very Capitalistic. The DNC should explain this difference to voters.
The U.S. must deficit spend, like FDR, who helped Americans survive the Great Depression.
Or like LBJ, who spent for Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, the right of minorities to vote, buy homes, and go to schools like white kids.
Johnson's Great Society created the National Endowment for the Arts, the Public Broadcasting Corporation, and drivers' education.
LBJ added $42 billion, or 13%, to the national debt. Since Johnson, every president has increased the debt by at least 30%.
Sanders' necessary programs cannot happen overnight as they will face powerful fights from fossil fuel, big pharma, chemical, fast fashion, banking and trading, and health insurance interests.
Citizens may lack confidence that the government will give back to them in services what they contribute in taxes (robbing the Social Security fund is a good example of government malfeasance).
But Sanders' ambitious plans, his vision, his mental acuity, are a better starting point than mediocrity.
5
And when Biden faces both parties in the House and Senate, day to day and misery to misery, visions of Bernie Sanders will twinkle out like Conway's loss of the dream of Shangri-La.
1
Sanders has, indeed, won and moved the Democrats to the left of even the most progressive Democrats on the national stage.
But a Sanders candidacy might very well end up looking worse than the candidates of Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, and Mike Dukakis, all singularly more acceptable th a the US 's version of Britain's "magic grandpa"!
1
@The Owl Pls list all moderate candidates who failed, too.
Anyway, Sanders is a very different kind of guy than Humphrey, McGovern, Dukakis or Corbyn.
Subtle in its attempt to manage perception and introduce another manipulative tactic into the all-or-nothing effort of the Republican-Lite Pelosi Schumer Biden Democrats' campaign to retake, what they see, as their right to continue the subjugation and beggaring of the poor and the middle-class, for their own benefit.
What it boils down to is this -
If the Republican-Lite Pelosi Schumer Biden democrats successfully succeed in fooling the people yet again, by foisting the Biden tool of subjugation on them, there is no doubt that Donald Trump will get a second term, and as was the case in 2016, it will be because the Republican-Lite Pelosi Schumer Biden Democratic Party, the fake Democratic Party, has engineered it so Trump wins, because a Bernie Sanders in the White House would stop the theft of the wealth of our nation from the 70% who produce it.
6
Sanders is why Trump is president and if for no other reason, he should not be the nominee!
2
@Jon What exactly about "Hillary ignored the rustbelt states and lost them" don't you understand?
Sanders is the FDR for today. With Warren as a running mate we would have the future covered.
4
Warren only meant to make Sanders lose. Watch. She’s only tried to take him down. Again. She doesn’t care about what the American people need. If she did, she would do everything in her power to help Sanders win. But, no. She’s Hillary in disguise. Actions prove it.
1
Frank, you can rest assured that your opinion has no basis in fact. Starting with the FACT that Sanders is NOT a Democrat, pays nothing to the party whose coat tails he persists in riding, and shows no support of any kind to the party's organization, he has most certainly has NOT "moved the party" in any direction.
Most real Democrats deplore him and see him as nothing but a party of one who simply refuses to go away.
He ruined Clinton's nomination and sabotaged her election. Now he is trying to do the same to Biden. He should be stopped in his tracks and never, again, allowed to participate in party sponsored functions.
1
One has to be impressed with NYT and WaPo oped writers' creativity in pontificating on red herring issues. Any one of the Democratic candidates would be considered progressive compared to any Republican including Trump. It isn't a question of progressivism, it is a question of passivity. Obama, who we all admired and long for was, in my opinion, the most passive president I can remember. He was passive toward large banks and Wall Street after the financial crisis, he was passive toward Syria, He was passive in the 2016 election when the intelligence community informed him Russia was interfering trying to help Trump, And, his comment "you can keep your insurance" was passively trying to appease the opposition.
4
Lovely sophistry, but Biden will be a weak opponent to Trump, who will eat him alive in the general. Biden seems a shadow of his former self. I'm afraid that his failure to inspire (or even to be coherent) will lead to another term of Trump insanity.
5
Talking about them and actually acting on these ideas are quite different matters. Especially where Biden is concerned. As part of the Obama administration they were timid and squandered opportunities. ACA was weak sauce that increased premiums and never tackled drug prices. Obama’s “help me help you” response to the banking swindlers of Wall Street was laughable (they admitted laughing). Biden has not the fire, guts or intellect to fight for the American people and I expect the Dems to be the party of civility once again and not make waves...and accomplish little in the face of their recalcitrant opponents. Time for real change. A Biden Administration is a squandered opportunity.
2
First of all, Sanders is NOT a Democrat. He is an Independent Socialist who should not be allowed to run on the Democratic ticket. He is a joke to the Democratic party.
Nominating Bernie is a national suicide pact. He is not electable.
Well, to be fair, it is hard to find something Bernie has done in his three decades in Washington.
2
No. Biden is not progressive. Biden has spent his whole career selling out average Americans to banks, including rewriting the law so that student debt can't be erased by bankruptcy.
Clearly this article is meant to mollify people on the left, and make us comfortable voting for Biden in the general.
Sorry, I will not vote for Biden if he is the party's nominee. He does not represent what I stand for. Frankly, he seems fairly hostile to the interests of millennials such as myself.
Frankly, you should thought this through before you savaged Sanders, and tried to unite the party around a candidate who is totally unacceptable to those of us on the left. When Biden inevitably loses in November, you have no one to blame but yourself.
4
We will see in the 2020 election exactly whether Sanders won already as Bruni trivially argues or whether Sanders wrought destruction on the Democrat presidential candidate. Many of the issues that Sanders fought for where so extreme that not even the Democrat opponents could accept them. They will wreck havoc on the Democrat presidential candidate even though the Party may be moving back full on the more extreme positions.
I know that Dems in NY and the Left Coast will mourn Sanders passing. But Sanders is a guy who sympathizes with the Communist revolutions around the world. When asked about the imprisonment and murder by Castro of political opponents (not even those who militarily opposed) all Sanders could do was admire the social programs (and ignore the poverty the socialist paradise caused till this day).
Good luck in the fall election everyone.
1
@edward smith the polls for the New York primary show Biden is strongly favored in our April 28 primary. NY is progressive, but clear eyed. Not many NY Democrats will weep for Bernie. For me personally, living 30 minutes from the Vermont border, I have been listening to his rants on public radio for many years. He doesn’t impress me. He couldn’t have won a Congressional race in his native state of New York, much less become a Senator.
1
I always felt Nixon was innocent - anything to keep McGovern out of office was acceptable behavior.
I changed my party affiliation after 8 years of Regan and have voted a straight Democratic ticket since.
Sanders is way left of McGovern and if push comes to shove, I'll hold my nose and vote Republican if Sanders is on the ticket.
Wasn't it the growing popularity of Huey Long's progressivism that prompted FDR to expand The New Deal?
May Biden be FDR to Sander's Huey Long, then.
1
Sander's followers talk about the establishment and the reason is that he is not a democrat. Trump preaches hatred of immigrants and Sanders preaches hatred of billionaires. He is the other side of the same coin as Trump. He will do to the democrats what Trump has done to the republicans. We need stability, this is no time for a hard left turn. We need peace and quiet.
1
I really hope Bernie wins then all these progressives will have to hop on the reality train. Nothing will happen. Just more chaos. But at least at the end of the four years we will be rid of them and back to reality.
Well, the arc of history, Frank Bruni, will bend, more or less , towards justice, perhaps for some time, but at some point it will hurtle there. The founding of our country is case in point.
1
Reading the comments, it is to be hoped that the general US voter (at least the thinking ones) have not also retreated into their ordained corners. I hear the pain of the "progressives" AKA our centre-Left (me) on past disappointments and I do think Bernie could (A) win (B) join/lead a broad, decent effective admin. There are questions; no doubt the money machinery will be mustered to fool a lot of the credulous to fear the change (we had that too, though I never supported Corbyn. if we'd voted for David Milliband Brexit would never have happened) You must accept there IS an existential threat to your republic and STOP it. I do hope Warren, by NOT immediately endorsing either may help to pull the two halves together. The Donkey needs some brains - it has plenty of heart. On both sides; Someone smart is fueling this disaffection.
2
Very good article. Yes indeed - I agree "Bernie Sanders Has Already Won the Democratic Primary."
Sad, many comments responding to the article think Bernie cannot beat Trump.
Look what happened in 2016 when many, many more said Trump cannot beat Hillary.
The Dems primary isn't over but the media and Democratic Party heads are doing their best to promote Biden & pin all sorts of negative political & personal nonsense on Bernie's lapel.
Biden's health plan alone is a step backwards that should turn heads towards Bernie's universal health plan coverage "Medicare For All."
Ask any senior if they would give up their Medicare coverage ( a rhetorical question).
Then, there are attacks against Bernie's character - even from readers submitting a rely to Frank Bruni's article.
Give me a break with nonsense: Bernie cannot work with Congress, etc. Look at the guy in the White House.
Don't you think Democrat voters including the Democratic National Committee leaders who are trying to derail Bernie's campaign & split an Army of Bernie's supporters better off sending Trump home to his new residence in Florida & see Bernie taking the keys to the front door of the White House for the next 4 years?
3
@Michael Z not so rhetorical. I have Medicare. What I don’t want to give up is my supplemental coverage that gives me $20 copays instead of 20% of the bill with Medicare. If the ACA is amended to allow it to work as intended, with mandatorily expanded Medicaid and a public option, there will be no reason for people to remain uninsured. The reason people are rallying to Biden is that they don’t have to guess if he can work with Congress to get things done. He has a history of doing that. Bernie doesn’t.
1
@Anina Bernie Sanders has a stellar record of working in Congress. He has been the "ammendment king" for many many years. That's a fact, look it up.
2
Elizabeth should've won, with Bernie & Joe's support. That would be the arc of justice that we're waiting for.
1
@Jill Yeah, sure, if she had been courageous enough to run in 2015/16. Bernie did encourage her, remember? A golden opportunity, wasted.
So.... if the Democrat party has followed Bernie to the left what's the difficulty in following him to the White House? Poll after poll showed Bernie (not Biden) beating Trump, so the "electability" mantra is counter factual. There must be some devilish detail which is getting omitted.
3
Bernie did what he does best, copy great ideas and work of others and claim they are his plans. For all the 30+ years in congress, he has done virtually nothing but lay around and collect his salary. Out of 422 bills written by others that he leached onto, he actually had 3 pass and 2 of those were naming of post offices. Pie in the sky Bernie has yet to explain how his plans would be funded, how medicare for all would be transitioned so as to not to lose healthcare for 150M people, and, his lies and treachery by him and his minions has been embarrassing to democratic voters. I am sorry to say this, but Bernie is a bum; he doesn't get along with anyone and has managed to alienate the doers in Washington who prefer biden and have endorsed biden. Bernie, just go away.
2
Even if Bruni is right, the likelihood of a Biden or Klobuchar ever sincerely pursuing anything close to what Bernie stands for is weak at best. AT BEST!!!
3
Then the winner of the primary, even if that's Biden, will implement these "Bernie-created" plans. Bernie gets credit for luring young people into politics, but not enough of them, unfortunately. He has never demonstrated leadership in governance - if he had, he wouldn't be standing all alone on an island. But none of this matters until $ leaves politics, and if people are willing to entertain a billionaire buying a candidacy, it's hard to see that happening in the near term.
2
And the good news is that, unlike Bernie, who has a record of achieving very little in the way of actual legislation, Biden knows how to get things done. So while it may be less than Bernie and his followers would like, it's likely to be a lot more than Bernie would actually be able to accomplish.
2
"Bernie Sanders Has Already Won the Democratic Primary"
You might think that, Frank, but rest assured that Bernie doesn't.
Yes, he "set the tone, determined the issues and tugged the party toward him." Somewhat, anyway. But this is small consolation to not being the actual nominee. He didn't run to set the agenda. He ran to be the President. And that isn't in the cards.
1
IF Biden gets the nomination and takes the Presidency, the next four years will be anything BUT business as usual. So much damage has been done by the Trump administration it will take at least eight years to repair it - and then some. Every single department of the government has been stripped down and corrupted. A Dem President will have to start from scratch rebuilding the Ship of State to a functional level, and will be up against a hostile Republican Senate and partisan Supreme Court.
To expect too much from the next administration will lead to disappointment and disillusion. Biden will need the best people and the wisest council to accomplish much in the next four years. Can Democrats stay the course?
I hope Biden does not waste time attacking Sanders during the next few months. I think a lot of people have had it with ‘ attack’ campaigning. All he needs to do is advance his agenda and wisely point out the damage, venality, and corruption in the Trump administration.
2
Bruni, So many things wrong with your piece.
Sanders is not a Democrat and he has never been a leader of Democrats in Vermont or the USA. Sanders did not start the conversation about inequality. Obviously, you are overlooking more than a few African American and people like Ted Kennedy among other Democratic leaders (including Warren) who sounded this bell long before Sanders tried to call it his movement. Sanders movement consists of young people who haven't lived long enough as adults responsible for their personal decisions.
2
Does no one really understand that politicians will say almost anything to be elected? They hand out promises that promise nothing, and guarantees that guaranty nothing, and platforms that could not stand up to a stiff wind.
2
There's a giant difference between talking the talk and walking the walk. In primaries, Dem candidates present the most progressive versions of themselves because the base leans left. But Obama, who promised hope and change but gave us little of either, showed that incrementalism does little to address our ills. Nine years after Obamacare, 30 mil are uninsured, and 45% of non-elderly adults are under-insured, with the largest growth among those with employer insurance. We're in our 19th year of war. Income inequality is at record levels, and those left behind are turning to opioids and dying at the rate of 40,000/year (not a typo).
The founders created an inherently slow-moving system, requiring pressure from the ideological poles for progressive change to occur. So, for example, we needed the Abolitionists -- who were viewed as crazy radicals at the time -- to accelerate the end of slavery.
Biden's "Lunch Bucket Joe" demeanor masks a pro-bank, pro-pharma, hawkish record that makes clear he won't take the bold steps needed to deal with our dire problems. We can't afford a leader who offers marginal advances at best. We need a visionary who is willing to aggressively push for change and can effectively call out Trump on his hypocrisies. My preference was Warren but Bernie has what it takes. Let's remember what historian Arthur Schlessinger said: "Great presidents are unifiers mostly in retrospect."
3
@CH: Two key structural foundations of slavery remain very much in force: the Electoral College, and radically distorted Senate apportionment. "State's Rights" was always code for liberty to enslave.
Ah, the old "fiscal responsibility" canard.
As Democrats, we have to remember that we must always carefully account for every cent we wish to spend on making life better for ordinary people. After all, we need to do something to reign-in the persistent budget deficits of the past several years. I wonder who benefited from those? Oh well, never mind that, I guess we'll just have to put off healthcare or education reform for another decade or two.
3
Does no one really understand that a politician will say almost anything to be elected? They hand out promises that promise nothing, and guarantees that guaranty nothing, and platforms that could not stand up to a stiff wind.
What amazes me is that Bernie and his supporters seem to think that Bernie just has to wave his arms (magic wand?) and everything he espouses will be. Republicans will simply find that Bernie is right and bow before him. People in Congress will also recognize Bernie’s righteousness and will also bow down. The Supreme Court as well. I agree with many of Bernie says, but I disagree with his magical thinking. At any other time I might support him, but I and millions of other Americans have one goal—defeating trump. Bernie can’t win against trump.
2
On the other hand, as we've seen, Presidents can get little done without the cooperation of the Congress. I'm not worried.
It's why Sanders is the only one for me. Thank you Frank. He will be the next president I hope. No one else comes close.
3
Our ship of state, currently captained by a narcissistic, serial liar, is battling very stormy seas . We need to sail into calmer waters as soon as possible. Bernie is not the best captain to do that. As worthy as some of his ideas are, especially universal health care, he is not the only person advocating such policies. If his supporters take a bow, they should share it with supporters of other progressive candidates, including Elizabeth Warren.
2
Most of America Feels The Bern but doesn't Trust The Bern.
What people forget is that the House and the Senate generally regulate any extreme instincts of an American President, although obviously a malignant narcissist like Donald Trump is harder to regulate.
Bernie Sanders as President would be great.
He'd be the first President who actually cared deeply about average American's economic misery since LBJ and FDR.
If Biden wants to win in November, he'll have no choice but to reach to progressives with progressive policy proposals and a progressive VP pick.
Biden will have to Feel The Bern if he wants to win.
Thank you, Bernie Sanders, for making America a more perfect union.
6
Two pro-Sanders articles in today's NYT! These are very welcome, and thank you for this piece.
Sanders is the architect of the Democrat Party agenda. The DNC has fallen prey to fearmongering, thinking he's a Socialist--which he is not, and tries to block him.
Sanders is a Democratic Socialist. Think of the governments of the EU and Canada, much envied by Americans, and very Capitalistic. The DNC should explain this difference to voters.
The U.S. must deficit spend, like FDR, who spent to help American people survive, and LBJ, who spent for Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, the right of minorities to vote, buy homes, and go to school the same as whites. Johnson's Great Society created the National Endowment for the Arts, the Public Broadcasting Corporation, and drivers' education.
LBJ added $42 billion, or 13%, to the national debt. Since Johnson, every president has increased the debt by at least 30%.
Sanders' necessary programs cannot happen overnight as they will face powerful fights from fossil fuel, big pharma, chemical, fast fashion, banking and trading, and health insurance interests.
Citizens may lack confidence that the government will give back to them in services what they contribute in taxes (robbing the Social Security fund is a good example of government malfeasance).
But Sanders' ambitious plans, his vision, his mental acuity, are what the U.S. needs now.
3
He’s just another populist. We see how that working out now for the country.
1
Sanders has never voted for a war, called a woman a liar when he knew she was telling the truth, capitulated to Republican bullying, had an extra marital affair, kowtowed to Wall Street, signed on to a kill list, ignored the needs of vets, voted to put minority men in prison, put money ahead of people, stood in the way of marriage equity, compromised on civil rights, or had to apologize for supporting a policy (e.g. the crime bill, repeal of Glass-Stegall) that turned out to detrimental to ordinary Americans.
I'm not really seeing what is so complicated here. You vote for the most decent person who has worked hardest for the most people, and, in particular, for those who are most in need.
In 2020, as in 2016, there can be debate about a lot of things, but not about this.
8
I love Bernie, but I would not vote for him for President. He is far too vulnerable to GOP attacks.
Biden is not my ideal candidate, but I believe he has the best chance of beating Trump.
And thus, putting Trump in prison.
6
Obviously false. A candidate needs 1991 delegates to win the primary. How many does Sanders have?
1
What is this "progressive" vs. "establishment" garbage?
I'm a Boomer and always a Democrat. I voted for George McGovern.
My overriding purpose in this election is to see Trump gone.
Since Biden seems to be leading in delegates I will vote Biden. If that changes and Bernie moves past Biden I'll vote Bernie.
As far as I'm concerned it's the most patriotic thing anyone can do this year, is to vote blue no matter who.
For those who complain about the "establishment," I have news for you. "Establishment" Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff spent their blood, sweat and tears in 2019 to protect our Constitution. Every Democrat should be on their knees in gratitude to them for what they endured -- much of it was horrible.
If that is "establishment," I'll take it. Get any Democrat in the White House so the repairs can begin. Once the ship is righted we can work on all the rest.
5
This opinion glosses over the long history of leaders serving only their donors and not the voters. Every cycle the establishment media gets more creative in it’s deception but if history is our guide, Biden may have “proposals” and “concerns”, but he won’t change anything his donors don’t want changed. Trying to bend the party to the left is a fools errand. It really does need to be remade from the ground up. The establishment may weasel out again with Biden (and I fear settle for Trump), but eventually voters will have had enough. On Oct 13 2024 AOC turns 35.
4
Bernie has made the ideas of free tuition and Medicare for all punch lines. If there was any possibility of realizing these progressive goals, Bernie has killed it.
I'm so thankful that the Times has stood up for freedom and democratic values over the past 4 years (especially) and I have the greatest respect. A picture is worth a thousand words, and 2 pictures are worth 2,000 -- the photo of Bernie in a bright red room "at his home in Vermont" -- and Bernie clutching a red rose. Maybe next week we'll see Bernie's favorite tart recipes for "Le Temps des Cerises..." Meanwhile, the man has been the most consistent and clearly spoken advocate for the values that made me join the Democratic party a million years ago. He hasn't said anything so weird -- idealistic, yes but likely to pass the Senate, no. Bernie knows what he stands for and he stands up for it -- call it democracy!
3
This opinion glosses over the long history of leaders serving only their donors and not the voters. Every cycle the establishment media gets more creative in it’s deception but if history is our guide, Biden may have “proposals” and “concerns”, but he won’t change anything his donors don’t want changed. Trying to bend the party to the left is a fools errand. It really does need to be remade from the ground up. The establishment may weasel out again with Biden (and I fear settle for Trump), but eventually voters will have had enough. On Oct 13 2024 AOC turns 35.
4
For once Frank Bruni got it almost right. Bernie Sanders is indeed the driving ideological force that is compelling a timid and cowardly Dem party to stand for something for the first time in decades.
Not long ago his $15/hr minimum wage was laughed at as a juvenile fantasy. I won't even bother to list the rest: without Bernie's ideas (and Warren's) the rest of the candidates would spew lukewarm banalities with calls to moderation and unity while the nation is sinking into a pre-tyrannical state.
I know, "progressive" pundits and other fair-weather self-appointed "liberals" like to talk about equality and social justice, but at the end of the day they are happy with a system that protects their white privileges and their stock market investments. No wonder Bloomberg was welcome to the race.
3
Enough already Frank. Sanders has been shouting the same malarkey since he was a small town mayor cozying up with the Russians. He's done no more to highlight the plight of the underclass in this country that your favorite president who is currently in office. His approach is also no different than Trump as Bernie believes in one thing and one thing only: Bernie.
Setting aside for a moment his unrealistic plans, sharp rhetoric and hypocritical stances, the man has accomplished nothing in his entire 40 year career in politics, is running in Democratic primaries after having disavowed the Democratic Party
and is THE epitome of an establishment politician who's entire life is running for office and raising money to then run again.
Now that the Democrats have coalesced around a moderate who might actually get something done (unless the Bernie Bros stay home out of spite), Bernie can crawl back under the rock from which he came.
3
Nonsense. If Bernie loses, we're lost.
Biden's promises will share the same the fate that Obama's did. Obama had every opportunity to close GITMO, to end the drone war, to hold the CIA's torturers responsible, the reign in the surveillance state and improve the conditions in the inner city. Instead we got bank bail outs, beer summits and bromides.
I honestly believe that Obama saved GITMO. Just as only Nixon could have gone to China, only Obama could have ended the torture debate. He gave the national security state what they wanted *and* he quieted the progressive critics. I'm done with "centrists".
In 1996 I was so disgusted by "centrism" that I left the Democratic party and joined the Greens. I rejoined the Democrats in 2016 to vote for Bernie. If he loses the nomination I return to my roots and fight to make Greens a viable third party.
5
i backed biden to rescue america from the hopelessness of trump and the gop. they have ruined US democracy with their crime and corruption. the world sees it and dictators and religious nationalists, and right wing parties are taking over every country. it is almost the end of the liberal democracy that america exported in the world. all because of trump and his right wing party. the economy is heading for a recession. coronavirus is out of control. dealing with it is beyond incompetent and corrupt trump and his party. but having said that there is little difference between biden and sanders and a night and day difference between trump and gop on one side, and biden/sanders on the other. they are taking the country in opposite directions. the supreme court and senate are kangaroo trump institutions. many americans hope democracy will be restored in america. the left and moderate wings of the democratic party, and independants will need to unite too to take on trump and the gop who have a lot of money because of the huge tax breaks they gave their billionaire donors.
Bernie 'free everything' Sanders may have deluded the younger set with his unattainable screaming antics but not this voter. He was one of the reasons Hilary lost last time and then he (sore loser) went onto blamed the DNC for it. Why is he afraid to release his health records? Why hasn't he been running as an independant like he claimed to be for decades? Where are his legitimate plans to pay for his 'free everything agenda? Why is the Kremlin supporting his election? If he ends up to be the democratic choice for president we can forget about keeping the house or winning the senate, or defeating the sordid mental case trump in 2020.
4
Yes! At a time when the Republican Party has moved so far right and there’s a proto-fascist in the White House, Bernie Sanders has made progressive ideas mainstream in the Democratic Party. The sixty-four thousand (or billion) dollar questions are, can Biden beat Trump, can Democrats capture the Senate, and can any of the Democratic agenda become law.
I didn’t realize Klobuchar had so many progressive proposals. She would make an excellent choice for VP. As would Stacy Abrams, Kamala Harris, and Gretchen Whitmer. Biden absolutely must choose a woman as his running mate. Possibly setting up a contest between his VP and Nikki Haley in 2024 to become the first woman president.
We do live in interesting times. That said, the upcoming election will be the biggest in my lifetime of almost 62 years. The future of the country, and possibly the world, depends on a Democratic sweep, from president to dog catcher.
@Eric
Eric, you say, “Biden absolutely must choose a woman as his running mate” — and he will with Hillary the “Empress-in-waiting” and ‘War Hawk’ — who didn’t get installed by the DNC as President, but like the ‘44 scam of dumping FDR’s socialist VP, Henry Wallace, for the the weak Truman, who allowed the continued building (not of a Wall) but of an Empire that is still progressive in its cancerous ‘growth’, which as Fitzgerald wrote “rolls on under the night”.
And as “The Post” ought to print in its front-page mast-head banner, “Democracy Dies In Darkness Under Empire”.
1
Oh come on, Frank. Joe and his most likely running mate, Amy are tone deaf with regard to progressivism. Joe won't have any of it because he views the only problem in this country as the incumbent--Joe has already solved all the other problems, so after he's solved this one, just sit back and let the fat cats enjoy themselves. Amy will gladly go along with Joe and work those midwestern states with that message. Neither of them has demonstrated evidence that they would know a progressive policy if it hit them in the face (which Warren repeatedly did to them).
2
Frank Bruni may be the only one who believes that candidates other than Sanders will make progressive change, should they become president.
Biden prides himself on working with Republicans. Remember his Iraq War vote! That should have disqualified him from public life. Alas, it went down the memory hole with several trillions of dollars and roughly a million civilian lives. When push comes to shove, Biden will be pushed and shoved.
Sanders voters know this. Enough will not have the internal strength to hold their nose and vote Biden.
2
One thing I am certain of is that I have never seen a functioning crystal ball that always predicts the future accurately. So, we really don’t KNOW what will happen. We may surmise based on past records and actions, but if we look at all of the projections into the future, only some of them came close to what turned out. I’m still waiting for that flying car that was promised to be around in the early 21st Century.
What is likely? If Bernie gets the nomination, we probably won’t get even 1/3 of what he is calling for. Congress is not that progressive and there will still be large chunks of the House and Senate who will not go along, and that includes Democrats. I don’t foresee Nancy Pelosi going along with all that much of Sanders’ agenda. So Bernie Bro’s, don’t get your hopes up too high even if he gets nominated and beats Trump. And Biden may fall to that old “elected in a year ending in zero” trope that Reagan and W. seem to have avoided (although I shudder at the idea of Dick Chaney being president). And if you want to worry about “bad stuff”, just think how unhinged Trump is likely to be in a second term.
Frank is right, the platform the Democrats are likely to run on will be far more progressive than any I’ve ever seen (and I have been watching for around 50 years). It will make McGovern’s platform look like Republican Lite. But, Trump’s platform... shudder...
Sanders has done more for the GOP than anyone since Reagan.
2
Dream on Frank. Biden will continue the neoliberal policies that led to Trump. He knows nothing else.
3
Frank Bruni's article is nothing but a comforting plasterfor Sanders's followers. They know that Sanders won't win the Democratic nomination, and that they have no reason to support Biden in the general election. A Biden presidency - if he will beat Trump at all which isn't very likely - means four years of stagnation and of listless, sluggish management of the status quo.
Sanders ought to run as an independent candidate in the general election giving his followers an alternative they can vote for. Biden is just a puppet of the wealthy and Wall Street corporations. Biden's only message is "I am not Trump." This is not enough.
3
Joe Biden is a Republican in all but name only. He has a gaudy, long history of hurting the middle class and embracing the corporate donor class. Biden, Buttigieg, Bloomberg, Klobuchar, Hillary, even dare we say it Obama -- they're all wine cave Republicans on speed dial with Goldman Sachs, big oil, big pharma, on and on. Even former Republican Liz Warren is playing footsie with the corporate neoliberal establishment and leaving her supposed progressive brother Bernie twisting in the wind.
It's ironic isn't it that the Democrats are all Republicans and the only true Democrat is an Independent?
WWFDRD? What would FDR do? He was as independent as they come, not in name but deeply in his character, railing against his own class to uplift his country.
How long do you think it would take FDR to pick out the true Democrat from this lineup? Would he see a champion in Joe Biden, or would he chide us for our fear, for deferred ambitions, for crippling self-cynicism?
Joe Biden is not progressive despite the verbiage stuffed in his teleprompter. Does anyone really believe he is? He is a false prophet of a vaporous "decency" with vague ideas and sentences that drift on the fog.
Biden is the god of small things worshipped fretfully by a cowed people who've meandered in the end-stage capitalist twilight of the last 40 years, lost their bearings, and surrendered their courage.
Bernie is the only one with a compass and conviction for change. That's what real decency looks like.
5
I guess Sanders "won" the Democratic primary in the same way Clinton "won" the 2016 election. Congratulations, Bernie.
2
The fact that the so-called enlightened rich of Silicon Valley and elsewhere declared "anyone but Bernie" -- in other words, that Trump is preferable to Sanders, speaks volumes. A little wealth distribution throws them into the arms of a proto-fascist demagogue, one who, as Eric Schmidt wrote in a recent op-ed, is destroying the country's economic and military prowess.
2
"Progressive" means interested in progress, regardless of what pundits may say . To that extent, all Democratic candidates are progressive . What Bernie Sanders is proselytizing is Jacobinism . It conforms to his character as described in a recent New York Times piece offering us a view of his private persona :
Bernie is a crotchety old man, nearly antisocial, full of cranky idiosyncracies, uncompromizing to the point of rigidity .
His most attractive traits, according to the article : like all such men, he is tough on his staff (but, of course, that is because he is really tougher on himself, his staff say) and he likes children (someone clearly forgot to mention animals, too) .
To assume that the Democratic Party is being Sandersized because of the use of words that have been appropriated by its leftish fringe is excessive .
Stirring the pot , aren't we Frank ? Disagree , he has not won the Democratic nomination just yet , no matter whatever lame points and disparaging remarks you make about the other candidates . They each brought different talents , ideas , experiences and contributions to their campaigns and are qualified to be President and should be treated with respect . Tugging the donkey in any direction may be difficult , as you know how stubborn donkeys are . Whether one calls oneself progressive or left , moderate , or center left ,we are all in it together. It is offensive for you to suggest that Sanders tugged them there ; there were others that came way before , LBJ , and Bobby Kennedy . They among others , were passionate about bettering the lives of the most vulnerable Americans . If this nation is between the devil and the deep blue sea , you are leaving one major factor out ; Republicans . While we quibble over left or moderate they have won again .
1
" The arc of history bends toward justice — it doesn’t hurtle there."
The man who said this was murdered and much of his movement languished after his death. The Poor People's Campaign is again put on hold for the benefit of the comfort of the well off - unwilling to be bothered with scary change or 'hurtling' justice. No its perfectly o.k. that traveling towards justice puts us on just a slight angle - because if that wasn't the case we wouldn't have had an America built on genocide, racial slavery, and capitalist exploitation.
I'm done. Farewell.
2
This column is pure bullpuckey. Biden has been quoted as telling his rich donors that nothing substantial will change if he is elected. I agree with Sanders when he says that a president backed by the corporate world won't bring about changes the rest of us need. Trying to sugarcoat the establishment Democrats' and this newspaper's every effort to slam, undermine, and slander Sanders by saying that Biden will give us some of what he wants doesn't cut it with me.
And the arc of history doesn't bend toward justice, no matter what MLK said. Justice doesn't magically arrive because of some divine law, or law of physics. It comes when people fight for it, in every generation.
6
Nah, Elizabeth Warren did what you say Sanders did and she did it this campaign way before. Sanders.
2
Bruni's piece is obviously supposed to be "unifying" and placate Sanders supporters by convincing them that Sanders somehow wins by losing. Oh, please! I find it highly condescending.
3
Pundits look me this guy make too much money to have any idea why we need Bernie to help the working people of this country.
3
I also fear the Sanders's supporters won't bother voting in 2020.
3
Bernie wins the Democratic primary, and guarantees a Trump re-election. Such a twofer bargain.
1
Biden’s promises already died in return for campaign checks from big donors. Low taxes, tiny government might work for people like Frank born with marketable skills, good genes and a rolling start from likewise parents, but 40% of Americans can’t afford a $400 emergency and this was concluded by the Fed in 2019, in the supposedly greatest economic boom in US history.
Biden just won’t do, and the Democrats will lose more voters to the iconoclastic Republicans in November if he’s the candidate.
4
Nice try, but we'll make sure he does actually win. Thank you.
3
The Great American Problems are not going to be fixed overnight.
Bernie has a Presidential dream just like Trump, and he is using the problems and fears of young people to make his fantasy come true. When they find out who is really paying the bill for all that "free" stuff ... The Bernie Burn will turn into blisters.
A millionaire selling socialism on steroids. Only in America. ;-D
I believe the average Democrat is far more conservative than you think.
1
@Linda Camacho I see it more like suffering under the Stockholm Syndrome - "no, we can't have nice things. That's verboten."
Yes, my Thanks to Bernie. Now, if He would only urge his fans to behave. Here’s the definition of behave in this perilous year, for OUR Democracy : Don’t take out your frustration and rage by refusing to Vote. That is the worst possible response. Trump and his Collaborators are a clear and present Danger to us All. And, BTW, more so for Younger People. You have a future to think about, don’t completely ruin it by allowing Trump to Win. You’ll only hurt yourself and those you love.
Just Saying.
2
@Phyliss Dalmatian I remember you venting your anger and frustration here in recent weeks, Phyliss.
1
This sudden shift in the "moderates'" position to Sandernistas is called political opportunism.
Americans should vote for the real thing. And don't forget, your greatest living intellectual Noam Chomsky supports Bernie. What more can you ask?
2
Sanders is not a Democrat. I won’t vote for him. Too left, too cantankerous and too old. And his ideas are unworkable. The sooner he disappears from the race the better.
3
If you want to hand the election over to DT, just keep on touting Bernie.
5
people have different optimal roles based on their skills. The key is for the individuals to understand their skill set and find the matching role. So maybe Bernie is the "firebrand" outsider who pushes the agenda....but not the president. maybe Warren is the Sec. of the Treasury that re-structures &re-purposes the dept. to root out "the fix." maybe Inslee leads the EPA and drives the climate agenda from there. and so on. it takes a team...a government...not a lot of quarterbacks
When has Biden put forward any progressive proposal? On his website? I’m sure his interns did that. The only thing that Biden articulates clearly is “Barack and I did .” That’s not going excite anyone outside of already blue suburbs and pundit land. Biden is not going to turn out the working class voters Democrats need to win. Real progressivism is the way forward.
2
Mr Bruni
Thank You This Morning My Son a Freshman at Clark university and now you have waqlked me back from the edge. Both your spoke rationally about the state of things and why should Bernie lose the primary his ideas will live on if we elect a Democrat.
Thank you
Chuck From Ohio
My interest in the primary declined substantially when Warren dropped out. Its down to a cranky old man who scares the lovers of the status quo, versus another, sometimes disoriented old man, who can only respond to criticism of his record with "Get Real!!" That's not a substantive response. Or even a denial.
In the meantime, both appear before live crowds while Corona Virus multiplies.
As an Australian looking in.....
I wonder at which candidate will actually make people bother to turn up and vote on election day? That is pretty important! Who is the most inspiring? Because, unlike Australia which has compulsory voting (and thus will always favour more centrist candidates) in the US it's important to actually get ppl to bother to vote in the first place!!
It seems that many people voted for Trump because they were fooled into believing he was anti-establishment and they wanted change.
Biden is about as establishment a politician as you can get. He does not represent any kind of change (apart from not being Trump- which of course is a step in the right direction).
My fear is that Biden who is seriously just another establishment politician boring old white dude will not inspire those who would vote democrat to actually go to the polls...
At least Bernie proposes something different. A Sanders/Warren ticket would at least be a contest of ideals.
P.S the rest of the world can't understand how universal healthcare is even a controversial idea- it's a no brainer, it's far more cost effective, has better health outcomes and helps in times of pandemics etc...
4
I will vote for Biden over Trump if Biden is nominated. If Biden does get in, I will support Republican efforts to stymie any insane ideas like open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens. Strengthening the ACA and some wealth redistribution make sense.
But there is no love here. He is the best of a bad lot and not much more.
Frank Bruni probably did not think Trump would win. That is how good his analysis is.
1
Thank you, Bruni, for at least providing a way to talk about Sanders and his supporters that has a chance of bringing the party together if, as is likely, Biden is the nominee.
At least you have that level of responsibility; the rest of the NYT seems to have thrown that over the side.
I 'll keep it simple
We used to have a - almost health care for all - system , it was called BlueCross and Blue Shield , it was deducted from your pay and was so inexpensive that it did not even effect a persons budget .
Why is it that not one Democrat , not even Bernie , mentions that fact ? , I find that very strange , but at the sane time , I know the answer .
Sad !
Again another praising for Bernie Sanders then dropping the real intent of the opinion, and again wait for it , no wait for it.... here it comes .......
"Sanders asked, “Does anyone seriously believe that a president backed by the corporate world is going to bring about the changes in this country that working families and the middle class and lower-income people desperately want?”
Well, yeah, I do. Biden won’t make all of those changes, and they may be more restrained than Sanders would like or than the situation demands. The arc of history bends toward justice — it doesn’t hurtle there.
But Biden’s backing extends well beyond corporations. His proposals demonstrate concern for those working families. And his goals echo Sanders’s goals, for one reason above all others."
the last two paragraphs "Never, Not Bernie, Please"
The race has boiled down to insubstantial posturing of shiny ideas, a deeply corrupt and tired centrist trench warrior, and Russian Roulette with a narcissistic tweeting predator.
Sanders has an attractive wish list but by scorning the only people who can deliver him votes he has relegated himself to fantasy candidacy. No one knows the actual consequences of this election but the maximum downside potentials are shocking.
Biden is like the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It’s not a nice place but the choices you make there can get you to someplace better. Those choices have value and the options they represent might be perishable.
1
i don't think bernie is interested in moral victories.
2
We all want and need better health care. A demagogue like Sanders will not get us there though. His bombast and arm waving are shallow, without substance. A pied piper who cannot carry the Democrat party to a successful election. In fact, he is most likely to cause us to lose the House and any chance at the Senate.
Putin has decided apparently that either Trump or Sanders will do for his purposes or that Sanders represents the weakest opponent for Trump. Take your pick but remember that Sanders was against any sanctions on Russia.
1
To all those who think we need a Democratic senate, house and President—we had it! It was in 2008-10. What did we get out of it? Nothing! We need people like Sanders
1
"Hey Bernie Sanders' supporters, don't be sad if the man loses the nomination because of endless smears and attacks by the media, the wealthy, and the Democratic establishment. His ideas live on! In the form of the progressive champion Joe Biden and the other extremely progressive former candidates Amy Klobuchar and Mike Bloomberg! All of those guys are so far to the left that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton secretly call them communists! So you can feel safe and satisfied voting for Joe Biden, who is definitely not the antithesis of Bernie Sanders." Give me a break.
2
Yes, Bernie Sanders has done us all a great service as the party has moved to him. I myself am not a Bernie “fan” but I am a Sanders supporter. I am most definitely not “A Bernie Bro” though I am male and relish the concept of brotherhood. And Sanders himself is not only not the winner of the primary already but he most definitely will not be the winner if Joe Biden wins the nomination this summer. I believe Frank you are writing this column with good intentions. But I question the veracity, intentions and agendas of your fellow columnists in this paper since Sanders emerged as the front runner a few short weeks ago. It was non stop and over the top. I am not conspiracy minded nor prone to victim mentality but personally I will be very disappointed if Biden wins and not Sanders or Warren or even Booker who would have been my choice for a moderate candidate. I recommend Masha Gessens piece in the New Yorker this week where she talks about the disservice done to Sanders in this paper yesterday in its characterization of the Burlington sister city in the Soviet Union and Sanders visit there in 1988.
3
It isn't that Sanders won; it's that the problems he and so many other Democrat candidates address have become so obviously in need of addressing. This warm snowless winter much less the wildfires in Australia has many nodding their heads about climate change. Ridiculous bills from emergency rooms and other healthcare anecdotes have many nodding their heads. The Republican tax cut have many nodding their heads. They weren't convinced by Sanders; they only accept that business as usual will be too slow to solve the mounting problems by which this country is beset.
2
I'm still more than a little nonplussed over the continuing debate about who is more progressive, whose policies are having the greatest influence. Bruni said it himself --- every one of the Democratic candidates are well to the left of Barack Obama, and look how Mitch McConnell dealt with him.
Bernie's "Does anyone seriously believe..." question is completely misdirected. The real question is "Does anybody seriously believe that a Democratic president, no matter how far left, right or center is going to bring about the changes in this country that working families and the middle class and lower-income people desperately want, as long as Mitch McConnell leads the Senate?"
We are not going to eat this Republican elephant in one bite. The damage Trump and McConnell have done is going to take decades of work to correct, and that is the real tragedy. The universal health care we so desperately need, the re-engagement of science and technology to fight climate change, the complete restructuring of the tax system... these and many more are all going to take years of regaining control of not only the presidency and the Senate, but of state legislatures before we see any real progress.
But, the longest journey starts with the first step, and that is getting Trump out of the White House.
1
Would Social Security have won today? I doubt it. Just read the story, in this paper, of the young man who is deeply in debt thanks to a health issue and college loans and who would like to be a teacher but can’t afford that career path. Democratic leadership has forsaken the people that are the most needy - and make up most of our population. At the same time health insurance providers are making substantial amounts of money, as are many other companies that prey on the fear that run rampant throughout our middle class; fear of loosing everything in a catastrophe. The media and the Democratic leadership really are not paying attention to what Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are saying and are not willing to be true, honest and brave leaders. They want the perks, which are great, and the adulation but not the responsibility. No wonder so many people become so hopeless that suicide rates are rising in this country. In answer to this article, no, Sanders’ message has not changed the party. It has changed a great amount of the electorate but not enough to give people hope because the leadership of the party is hiding under a rock.
6
Democrats appear to outnumber registered GOP members, 1.7 to 1.
Democrats 'negative partisanship' is good but doesn't get us all the way there. We need to attract/push away no more than 1 in 2 Moderate/Independent votes. FWIW, Biden the better choice for that.
To our 'younger' voters...You need to make a choice and VOTE. No one has more stake in this outcome than you. The money Trump is borrowing - $4B per day - will fall on you a lot more than us old fogies. Please see the better future for the nation and the planet and vote for that vision.
1
Nonsense. There were at least three big moments in the last couple of years when the pundits misread the mood of the Democratic base. After the 2018 midterms, that election was billed as the great awakening of young leftists such as the Squad. Then someone did the math and it gradually became apparent what should have been obvious - it was the far more numerous moderates, may in the midwest, that gave us the majority. The Sanders backed House candidates lost.
Then in the start of the primaries, the candidates were rushing to the left flank, thinking that Twitter was America. This was ultimately what doomed Warren - she made the mistake of thinking that the left flank of the party was big enough for the both of them.
And finally Super Tuesday, which will be seen as marking the end of Sanders' national ambitions. He always promised to increase voter turn-out, but when it finally happened decisively, in Virginia, it accrued to the benefit of Biden.
One big question nags at me. What will happen to the bros? Whatever their future, we must hope that the left's next representative will do something to quash the conspiracy mongering that has always tainted Bernie's movement.
2
Hillary Clinton had an incredibly ambitious, thoroughly progressive and thoughtful platform that covered everything from autism to global warming and the transition to a sustainable economy. The energy and vision of her campaign provided the groundwork for the Blue Wave. Yet Bernie Sanders, who has soured a generation against voting and and advanced vindictive, paranoid conspiracies to "explain" his losses, and accomplished zero, occupies Bruni's head. Why is that? Slogans are not change. Protests are not votes. Bernie like Ralph Nader made noise and and elected Bush and Trump. I don't call that winning anything.
4
Sander didn’t win; reasonable and measured approaches to problems of inequality and reform won instead of heedless buzzsaw tactics and Trumpian-like appeals to resentments to simpletons believing everything is rigged.
3
Biden may give lip service to change, but (assuming he get elected with a sympathetic Congress), as he promised his donors, nothing will change significantly. If there's any raise at all in minimum wage, it will be microscopic. There will still be millions with no insurance and heavy college debt. Economic inequality will increase under a Biden administration, and the NY Times political coverage will ignore it.
2
Sorry but this will never happen. Biden will win the Democratic Primary.
4
If Bernie Sanders' only accomplishment this election cycle was to make Democrats feel proud of being liberals, then I say, "It's about time." For too long Democrats have tried to thread the needle of economic and social issues. They have been labeled wimps, bleeding hearts, cowards, weak, and pointless.
Sanders dragged Democrats, some of them literally kicking and screaming, to the promised land of Proud Progressivism. I have no doubt that however this nomination turns out, the Democratic candidate will be forced to take a strong liberal stand on a wide range of issues, from gun control to health care to criminal justice reform to education to minority rights.
I look forward to hearing those positions and voting proudly for them. And for that, I have Bernie Sanders and his supporters to thank.
4
I disagree. Sanders is a DISASTER for the Democratic party and for the nation. He has cultivated trump-like cult of personality and normalized an all or nothing attitude amongst his followers that in 2016 resulted in sabotage of the actual party nominee that, in part, resulted in Trump's election. Unless Sanders changes his behavior we risk going down that bumpy road to nowhere again in 2020. Wake up people.
3
Why didn't all those youthful Sanders supporters come out to vote on Super Tuesday?
1
Bernie could win - if the DNC wasn't owned by the same billionaries that own the RNC.
4
Revisit this column in two years if the Dems win. Let us know how many of Bernie’s ideas are in play.
Bernie was the well funded establishment going into Super Tuesday and it didn't matter. He dramatically outspent Joe Biden and his message just doesn't resonate beyond his echo chamber. You can see the problem in some of the comments here. If Biden gets the nom and doesn't pick the VP I want I and other "progressives" will stay home. That's not progressive. In fact, it's the ultimate regressive statement. You'd get an unhinged, slurring, flailing Trump who can't put together a coherent sentence, one who won't need to win another election and will go scorched earth on social programs. Enjoy.
3
Sorry, but you couldn’t be more wrong.
Sanders ideas aren’t new, and aren’t his. Democrats have ALWAYS been the party supporting universal healthcare, a decent wage, and environmental protection. The difference is, Democrats actually get things done in those arenas.
We Democrats do differ from Bernie in other important ways. We support gun control. We don’t consider women’s reproductive rights “negotiable.” We finalise our FEC filings. And we don’t condone, wink at, or actively encourage violent and abusive behaviour as legitimate tactics in our political playbook.
That’s why Sanders failed last time, and will not win the nomination this time. He’s a mendacious hypocrite who’s accomplished exactly nothing in 30 years in DC.
2
with Bernie I see a hopeful tomorrow for most Americans with Biden I see nothing.
5
Mr. Bruni,
Thank you very much for this article.
It is spot-on where Bernie Sanders is relevant.
I only regret that the Democrat party blocked him with those dumb super delegates and pushed Hillary on America.
As one of my Trump supporter friends said afterward: "If The Dems had run the dogcatcher from any local city against Trump he would have won, but, running Hillary?; guaranteed a Trump win."
Bernie would be President now if he had been given the chance at the Convention.
3
Actually, I would argue Elizabeth Warren won it. Sanders stole her shtick and just yelled louder. Between his high volume proselytizing and what appears to be still a high degree of built-in sexism in the nation and process, you're lauding him and not the woman he stole all his ideas from.
2
Bernie’s policies may be popular but he is the wrong person to become president.
He has a temperament problem and it comes across when he’s debating or just speaking at a rally.
He’s not like Trump but then again who could be like our president. However, many Americans who dislike Trump’s behavior see some similarities in Senator Sanders. It’s always his way or the highway, he shouts and grimaces at us and he’s just not likable. Of course, his strong supporters do not see these flaws. Then again, neither do Trump’s fervent supporters see his narcissistic behavior, corruption and bullying.
So yes, some of Bernie’s policies may poll positively but he’s not the best messenger to win over a majority of the country.
2
We won't know where the Democratic Primary is until after Michigan and the rest of the Northern Midwest votes. We won't know where Biden is until he articulates a platform.
2
Very insightful, Mr. Bruni. Now if Bernie's ego would accept
his accomplishment, and get his supporters to see that unity
is their only hope to beat Trump The Terrible.
Then Bernie will be a truly historic hero for helping make America
humane to the fullest extent.
More of the establishment telling us to get in line behind the terribly flawed candidate they and their media mouthpieces brought to fruition, only to result in us losing to Trump again, only to resort in said establishment continuing to rake in the money, only to further corrupt and game the system, only to make it less and less likely that the people will ever have a candidate who represents their interests...
Rinse and repeat....rinse and repeat...
1
If Biden wins, this column is going to age really poorly when he starts appointment a slew of former lobbyists and corporate execs into key cabinet positions.
3
Frank Bruni is of course dead wrong and/or wholly satirical with this duplicitous pandering.
“All the lead contenders are running on the most progressive agendas to ever dominate a Democratic primary.”
Joe Biden has no agenda.
Soon as our hero and champion of American values Bernie Sanders passes from the scene his advocacies will be forgotten, buried, rejected, denied by all Dems who seek to maintain their least relevance as US continues its slide toward right-wing corporate-state control of all branches of government, privatization of all resources, advantage flowing ever to the privileged controlling elites. Koch puppet Reagan set the pattern; Bernie Sanders - bless his vision, energy, arc - can and will matter only if he wins, and secures an equally perceptive Congress; if not the otherwise pointless Dems - Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a few more enlightened leaders excepted - will revert immediately to GOP-lite sycophancy.
… as Frank Bruni and most following here are fully aware.
3
Bernie's policies will be forgotten the second the corporate democrats gain power.
Trump Tweeting out a clip of Joe Biden slurring the words " We can only reelect Trump" yesterday and then they let him speak for 10 minutes and slurred for the majority of the time. Saying things like national fire fighters and Obidencare should be enough to shock your senses. At this point if they took the nomination away from him and gave it to Liz or anyone that has full control of their brain I would be fine with it.
3
If Biden wins the Democratic nomination, I will vote for him. If Sanders wins, I will vote for him. Anyone who does not, who either votes third party or stays home, will, by default give their vote to Trump. And if he wins, that Sanders or Biden supporter will be personally--personally--responsible for the victory of fascism.
Why wasn’t Elizabeth Warren mentioned? Maybe she has already won too.
1
And the Corporate Democrats would still rather have Trump than Bernie. Time for our own party and let these billionaire sycophants fight over whats left .
2
Nice try, but I'm doubting that the militant Sanders troops will buy into that.
The Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party sang the same tune after a massive defeat and rejection by the voters : " We lost the election but won the argument ".
Yeah Right.
Well if Sanders has set the agenda, you know who to blame in November when the Democrats lose again. Or in reality yuo might think that, if Joe B is the Democratic elect, then Sanders policies were not overly endorsed by the Democrats.
When Sanders and his surrogates started painting Joe Biden with the same broad brush that they painted Hillary Clinton, despite Biden's total lack of scandal, Wall St. speeches, or mysterious disappearing emails...
That's when Bernie Sanders won the Democratic Party primary.
When the Sanders "revolution" showed us all that, if you're not Bernie, then you're a corporate shill... and so on.
Bernie has succeeded in generating a hardcore base that bashes everyone who isn't Bernie, and throws any number of baseless accusations and character attacks at his opponents, just to see what sticks.
That, and his enabling the election of Donald Trump, will be the Sanders revolution's only significant political accomplishments.
1
In spite of the intentions of the writer of this piece to demonstrate how far left Bernie has "dragged" the Democratic Party the true take away is how far right the Fox and the GOP has hijacked The USA.
1
Mr Bruni, Here is a warning to the self-proclaimed "moderates" (aka big money politicians).
Green Party vote share:
2008: 0.1% (Obama wins)
2012: 0.4% (Obama wins with less)
2016: 1.1% (Hillary sunk in WI, MI, PA by Greens, loses EC)
...
2020: 3%? - 5%??
If Joe Biden is the nominee the Green Party is already guaranteed their highest vote share in history.
If Joe Biden picks another boring big-money center-right VP like Tim Kaine, the green party will likely hit 5%
Joe Biden is DOA in WI, MI, PA.
2
What never gets written about it this.
Biden has already indicated that he won't run for reelection if he wins this year. So now we have a lame-duck president from day one, probably with McConnell still running the Senate.
Not only does nothing get done, but in four years we're right back to where we are now, with possibly 8 years of a Republican president following Biden's 4.
The Democratic Party is in a very sad state of affairs.
3
While Sanders basic political philosophy traces its roots to FDR, and can be summed up as “Not me. Us”, Biden’s philosophy derives from Clinton’s DLC, who simply copied Ronald Reagan’s, “I got mine. You go get yours” philosophy in 1988 following McGovern’s heavy loss to him. DLC Democrats - Clinton and Obama - campaigned as traditional Democrats but governed as a Republicans. Trump will jump on this as he did in 2016 when he made the point that for all their rhetoric, Democrats have delivered very little to the people for whom they say they have the most compassion. Largely because this, most Americans have been living paycheck to paycheck, and now they would prefer the more selfish DLC plan than FDR/ Sanders plan. So those are the voters they pander to. They campaign as inheritors of the party of Truman, Kennedy and Johnson, and if they’re lucky, they win. After they win, they govern like republicans, because that’s how they collect donations to win again.
Trump is going to eat Biden for lunch in next Fall’s debates. Every past and present gaffe will be incessantly repeated, and every hesitation to find the right word will be filled with ridicule from the Bully in Chief. It will be humiliating to Biden on a personal level and to the country. The way to handle a bully like Reagan or Trump is to stand your ground, not try to be like him. Or copy him. You can’t. Four more disgusting years thanks to cowardly Democrats running away from bullies.
2
The Democrat base is seething with anger. The establishment knows they are holding the progressives hostage with Trump or Biden to vote for. They will forget about any of Bernie's policies the second they get power. My guess is Biden will never win anyway so Progressives should break away from this crooked corrupt party of the 1% and form their own for 2024.
3
But I would also give trump credit for how Democrats have moved to the left. He's dismantled so much, Dems have to double down to compensate.
1
Someone needs to feel Frank's forehead, to make sure he doesn't have a fever. Test him for COVID too, while you're at it.
Democrats will never elevate any candidate who is as wrong on guns as Bernie Sanders, and whose persecution complex rivals Trump's. After Tuesday, followed by the Warren endorsement, the Biden Bandwagon will be operating on all cylinders -- and normalcy (fine, call it mediocrity or the status quo) will be just a few months away.
1
After Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders is the best thing that ever happened to Joe Biden, who never registered on the meter in previous presidential runs. It's Sanders' self-proclaimed "socialism" that scared Democrats into preferring a man who calls Super Tuesday Super Thursday and can't remember what comes after "All men are created...". A man who had to be told to stop massaging women's shoulders. A man who took away provisions of bankruptcy law that helped consumers against credit card companies .. without fixing their astronomical interest rated and hidden fees. A man who voted for the Iraq war.
At the end of they day you need more than a nonthreatening grandfatherly grin from your President. Bernie probably won't (and shouldn't) win, but Biden isn't the answer. He just became the answer by default.
The framing of this article drew me in. I'm for Bernie to my core and the mainstream media has been horrible to him. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that NYT was going to treat him fairly. I had high hopes. Unfortunately, the true thrust of the article quickly became appearent. Whether it was intentional or not, I would like to assure the author of this piece that I do not need nor do I want his permission to vote for someone else. When it comes to this election cycle and who I choose to support, let me just say - I got this. The reason I can state that so confidently is because I've taken the time and effort to research the policy proposals and almost more importantly the history of both candidates. I suggest you do the same because clearly there's some stuff you've missed like: in the '80's Biden was to the RIGHT of REGAN on drug policy and mass incarceration; Biden is well known as the Senator of MBNA: Biden is the main reason student loan debt can't be discharged: Biden was all in on the Iraq war: at a recent fund raiser with the corporate elite he is on record telling them that "...nothing would fundamentally change...", I could go on and on. For these reasons and so many more I'll stick with Bernie. As far as VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO, that's ridiculous. If Bernie doesn't get the nomination it's not going to matter if its Trump or Biden simply because neither one of them will do anything on climate change and we don't have four more years to play around with this.
2
Bernie Sanders is abysmally ignorant of why USA spends twice as much per capita on health care as the other developed counties. However, his Medicare-for-all plan is about the best way to enact a monopsonistic health care system that America must eventually adopt to limit the growing share of GDP spent on healthcare.
Likewise, Trump is abysmally ignorant of climate science and energy policy. However, his climate and energy related policies are probably about the best possible ways to prevent the possible damage that climate fanaticism could do America's economy and standards of living.
".The reason that no nation, including the wealthiest can allow markets to set the prices of medical care indefinitely is that demand for medical care is inelastic. Basic economics tells us that sellers facing inelastic demand will continuously raise prices until prices reach the elastic portion of the demand curve. Consequently, in every developed country in the world, all goods or services with inelastic demand have their prices regulated by government. Medical care in the USA being the only exception.
Health care is one of the very few things where the sellers face inelastic demand. The prices of all other goods and services facing inelastic demand in the USA are regulated by government. Retail electricity service providers face inelastic demand. Consequently, their prices are strictly controlled by all governments worldwide, including the USA..."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1647632
3
Biden will lose against Trump. He has way too much baggage. Plagiarism, lies about driver of wife's accident, lies about civil rights involvement, lies about positions on Trade, the Iraq war, Social Security cuts, women and lgbtq rights. Trump's team will shame him into an endless stutter of gaffs during the general. Bernie is the only candidate that can take on Trump.
2
Wrong. You know when he has won the Democratic Primary? When he has won the Democratic Primary.
1
There is nothing like witnessing the democratic-socialist contemp for ordinary Democrat voters in South Carolina, Virginia, Maine, etc, and you can read it in every comment section of every online publication. Bernie voters are under the delusion that regular citizens are puppets of the MSM, Corporations, and the DNC and that some kind of mind-control must be at work. No, regular Democrats are perfectly capable of making reasonable choices based on a variety of conditions and they have picked Joe Biden. When Joe wins Michigan, Bernie should show some wisdom and quit running, endorse Joe, and get to work defeating the real danger...DJT, "the natural ability" potus.
1
It's not over until the perfectly normal, completely representative, full figured woman sings.
1
Mr. Bruni is entitled to his opinion. I just happen to disagree.
Not because I think Bernie Sanders is a loser, but because now is not the time to ideologically divide a party that is the only alternative to Donald Trump.
As far as I'm concerned, if Sanders was truly a winner, he'd drop that lone-wolf isolationist bag he's in and find a way to get on board the first train that looks like it's going to give Trump a run for his money.
But that would require a little bit of compromise, and that's something Sanders cannot do -- and that's also the same thing that scares voters and moderates who don't believe 100% in his socialist democratic crusade.
He may talk about getting out the youth and a multi-cultural base, but so far that hasn't materialized.
In fact, he couldn't even resonate with a large segment of African-American voters -- and it doesn't get more working-class and oppressed than that.
But if Mr. Bruni thinks that's winning, let him dream.
3
if you can control big pharma and big industrial health, medicare and medigap will take care of themselves. Getting off the lobbyist payroll will then make politicians believeable.
1
Sanders came with seeds to plant. So did other Democratic candidates. Those seeds will be sorted through. Some will be planted, some will not. Some will germinate, some will not. Overall, the Democratic debates have been good for America. The Democratic Party has a strong bench right now and also for far into the future. The Republican Party bench is bare. A sad commentary that only Trumputin shows up for the Republican nomination. A clear sign of failure, laid at the feet of Mitch McConnell. A false trail formulated by the foolish ideologue Tea Party phony patriots, the so called Club for Growth, Gigrich, FOX/Murdoch Media, and confused portions of the Evangelical Movement. Ballots are bullets - time to use them - VOTE, ignore polls - they do not vote. No apathy. Dump trump, Make America Great Again.
As Physicians we cannot besmirch our relationship to privacy.
If Joe Biden runs for POTUS then privacy is not his...by definition.
As a Geriatrician (US and Canada), I would suggest my professional group find a way to help the American Electorate decide if there is a reason to question Biden's Cognitive Capacity.
Have courage. Help our country...our planet
2
Just watched "Hillary" on Hulu, and it is freaky how so much of 2016 is replaying right now, only Biden is the current "Hilary." Also, there's Biden at the Anita Hill hearings. It's a sad revelation to see how much worse off we are now and that we are reversing years of progress day by day.
2
Sanders needs to come clean if he wants to win. He has to tell the public clearly and forthrightly while owning his past, that he wants a democracy and a capitalist economic system, but ones in which the popular vote matters and the people who work for a living have sufficient power to ensure that their families and their posterity share in the wealth of the nation. Work is not for suckers.
If he insists that socialism is the way, or if he ducks the question, he will lose the primary by a landslide.
Won't Mr. Bruni feel silly if Sanders does in fact win the democratic primary. Mr. Bruni would probably not... though he obviously should. This is probably THE most presumptuous NYT article I have ever read in my life.
So, what is the pledged delegate vote spread between the two candidates? About 90 delegates... with over 2,600 left to go! (And when the final delegates of CA, CO and UT get assigned - strangely, the only states still open - this spread will likely be in Bernie's favor. ) There really should be a law against media outlets that try to ramp up the bandwagon effect for political (or commercial) gain.
3
Ok lets clear up a few issues ..
in 1945 , Winston Churchill had led Britain through a very difficult war and ultimately was a co leader in defeating Nazism and the axis powers ..
One would have thought that the nation would have been profoundly grateful to the likes of Churchill and the Conservatives ..instead in the 1945 General election
Labour ,with a strong socialist agenda won by a massive landslide ..They gained 239 seats while Churchills party lost 189 ...The establishment of the NHS was one of the most noble acts in the UK's history .
In equivalent terms ie UK cost for 60 million versus USA with population of 330 million the NHS model would cost less then 900 billion ..dollars , Private health care could coexist for those who wish such but the premiums will go up when there are fewer people paying for private health care .
Sanders critics declare that national health would cost several trillions of dollars but that is comparing national health with present private health care ..
after 4 years of coping with a ultra right wing despot , merely restoring the nation to pragmatism will appear radical .
,unless Biden does not want to correct so much that is wrong within the US . The courts , the sadistic control by the Republican senate , on and on and on ..That created Trumpian mold has to be crushed to oblivion .
America , stop living in a contrived past .Founding Fathers , sacred reverence ,etc etc .
Build a modern USA for modern purposes ..!
2
I'm not sure we can square the notion of "progressive" with "nothing would fundamentally change"?
4
I'm a middle of the road Democrat. I cannot bring myself to vote for Bernie. He will not only bankrupt our nation but his top two agenda items - free college and Medicare for all just plain stink. Other than Elizabeth Warren, I would have been agreeable to any of the remaining candidates including Joe Biden, If Bernie is the Democratic candidate, I'll have two choices - stay home or do a write-in candidate.
1
@George The challenge with standing in the middle of the road is you are likely to get run over by a truck...driven by corporate America for the Democratic Establishment. That was the same truck that ran over Bernie in 2016 clearing the road for the current occupant of the WH
1
@Non Poll The overwhelming majority of registered Democrats are middle-of-the-road. Democrats want a candidate who is decent and not Trump. We don't want a revolution and WE DON'T WANT to pay for Medicare for all or some yo-yo college kid whose sole interests are social media and smoking pot. How do you think Joe Biden received so many delegaet votes?
2
Sanders has been declared Dead on Arrival.
His social progressive programs go nowhere.
DOA.
Have a nice day. Thank you.
1
Oh, please, Frank. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. By all means disregard what's actually happening. Bernie is fading fast. It's going to be Biden.
2
Tell Northern Europeans that Sanders is a radical, and watch them laugh out loud.
4
Problem with the title is the problem with Sanders. It’s all about him and his ego. He’s not going to win, and his bros will pout and attack the democrats thereby helping the GOP - again.
2
Good one, Frank; your point(s) are well taken.
It would be a kick between the legs for the working and middle classes if Biden wins the nomination. If he wins the Presidency and does what I suspect he will do, mostly sit on his hands or bring back the center right policies of previous administrations. That will be, in my opinion, the beginning of the end of the Democratic party.
I'll still vote for the guy because the other guy is a terminal cancer for our country.
If Trump beats Biden he would be unrestrained and I am not convinced our Democracy can take another four years of Trumpism.
Yes. Bernie has definitely bent the arch of justice. I plead that all his supporters put that energy behind the candidate that will be chosen to defeat 45.
This is no longer about individual people and a standing platform.
This is about removing the current resident from the WH since the Senate didn't have the moral integrity to do it.
We will remove him the only way left to us as a country.
There is still much that can be done by a marriage of ideas from Bernie/Warren and all the other Democratic candidates with Biden.
Sanders' supporters, I implore you: Do not give up the fight. Bernie and Elizabeth have positioned the country to be more accepting of their ideas. Don't let them down.
Show the rest of the country that Bernie and Warren did not do their work in vain.
Vote against this current president. Vote Blue.
Don't sit back and give up. Get out there, you Warren and Sanders supporters and vote for whoever can remove this insane, selfish and corrupt person from office.
If we don't vote Blue, we are saying yes to four more years.
Bernie won the Democratic primary?
and he's not even a Democrat.
and he won't ever be president because a majority of Americans don't want what he's yelling.
2
I believe in everything Bernie says about what's wrong with America. Unfortunately he's not a wizard with a wand and magic dust. The reality is his base has actually shrunk since 2016 and turnout of young voters is down. What happened on Tuesday was very encouraging if you believe there is truly a will to rid ourselves of Donald Trump. Nobody's in love with Biden and that's the point, he still pulled off an amazing number of wins. We know who he is and what he's likely to do. This is a dump Trump movement and I'm not as worried about it happening as I was a week ago....
1
More people talking and pushing a progressive agenda definitely helps inch it forward. I do hope that a progressive policy in the Whitehouse will vastly improve on Obamacare, will help reduce college debt and get a stimulus, and a childcare bill passed. Here's the thing... we can dream big but Bernie assuring everyone that he can somehow magically pass Medicare for all, wipe out all student debt, etc. is a pipe dream. Bernie is being disingenuous and his idealistic followers are eating out of his zealous Messianic hands. In the U.S. progress swings to and fro and Trump has done a lot of damage that has to first be corrected first. The problem with Bernie is that he is a crabby, bullheaded, and uncompromising know it all, who will get us nowhere.
1
That picture says it all. Leading a four-legged thing famous for stubbornness. The anti-corporate thing will instantly polarize pro-corporate voters. The Democrats are taking big about their "radical agenda" which involves the US catching up with the world over the last 20 years.
A better approach would be, "This works", not the simple-minded left/right thing. What America is calling "socialism" is known elsewhere as "common sense" and it's largely accepted. Keeping the "socialism" myth alive is playing into the hands of the other side. That the DNC is making such a major deal out of "stopping Bernie" is likely to antagonze Sanders voters. This is just dumb. Unite, agree, move on.
So the others are varying degrees of liars? I’m voting blue no matter who, Trump is a disaster. However, do you really think Joe is going to do much of anything to upset the fossil fuel and insurance industries who are paying for his campaign? (Notice I didn’t use the word “medical” along with insurance... your healthcare is provided by your doctor. No one is trying to take away your doctor, only to change the return address on the check that pays them).
This is pretty long incoherent rambling trying to convey one simple thing: Biden is progressive enough, vote for him.
No, this battle has not been won until US citizens get what citizens of other developed countries have: affordable healthcare, schools and better safety nets. Obama-Biden team did not make significant progress in these areas and there is no confidence that Biden would deliver there.
1
I'm fighting stage 4 cancer. I've learned that a progressive is simply a moderate who hasn't been mugged by an insurance company.
Bernie's single-payer plan is closest to my political beliefs for supporting public beheadings for insurance company executives. If we can put these profiteers of human misery on unemployment lines, that would be a good start.
4
When Donald Trump proclaims himself the truest progressive in the race, and all his lap-dog media echo the claim without providing any facts whatsoever, I expect to see columns in this newspaper breathlessly declaring Trump right. In the hands of a skilled pundit, up can be turned into down, and backwards into forwards.
He has moved the words. Words aren't worth very much.
3
The best thing Biden could would be to bring the energy of Warren into his campaign as VP. She has the chops for eventually converting everyone to universal health care.
Biden can take his naps in the WH while Warren and Dems stabilize the ACA, lower premiums for everyone and expand medicaid access.
Biden's website also talks about a Public Option and Warren can be working on that as well.
Once all that is running and we get a lot more people insured, the next step is universal coverage.
Mike Bloomberg didn't meet the rules to qualify for the debates. The DNC changed the rules for him.
Tulsi Gabbard met the new rules. Immediately, the DNC changed the rules to block Tulsi from the next debate.
1
C'mon Frank,
As our greatest progressive president in history said:
" The economic royalists are unanimous in their hate for me and I welcome their hatred" Pres.Franklin Roosevelt.
Actually, FDR was even more left than Bernie. See FDR 1944 speech on economic rights called 2nd Bill of Rights.
Sen. Bernard Sanders is simply reclaiming the vision of the greatest DEMOCRATIC president who is ranked by citizens and historians next to Lincoln and Washington and elected 4 times by The Greatest Generation. They called and do call to this very day FDR and his wife Eleaonor socialist and a commie. Well , all polls show Americans love their socialism like Social Security and Medicare etc. Scandinavia, Canada,Australia, New Zealand and western European countries COPIED FDR's New Deal vision and Eleanor wrote charter UN Declaration of Human Rights.
Sen. SANDERS is a real FDR Democrat ( not a corporate DINO ) will return party to its New Deal roots and will reclaim vision of FDR.
FDR 2nd Bill of Rights speech 1944--2 min ending https://youtu.be/3EZ5bx9AyI4
2
Bernie is already ahead, both in delegates and the popular vote.
The California state party is colluding with the DNC and “holding back” on releasing all the results of their primary to keep the “Biden is winning” narrative going.
1
"The arc of history bends toward justice — it doesn’t hurtle there." Really? Tell that to the people who have been waiting for decades for some justice. Enough already!
2
I'm confused Mr. Bruni, you spent the last few weeks in a panic about Bernie Sanders possibly winning the Dem primary, now you're playing nice and acknowledging Sanders contribution to the USA public discourse?! Man, you blow with the political winds just like a some of the GOP'ers... Lindsey Graham comes to mind.
"The scare that Sanders put into Clinton four years ago and the organization that he built have transformed the party, moving it even further left than the questionable electoral successes of his movement justify. " And then in the very next sentence you go on to say that it is unlikely that a candidate running on such a platform can win. What, exactly, are you saying? That it is good to move the party leftward and lose? Sanders is working some identity thing out. His, is the imagery of thousands of angry people storming the Bastille triumphantly singing March On! And we know how THAT turned out. Sanders, the revolutionary; Sander, the Socialist, Sanders the leader of a movement where angry men write that they hate Amy Klobuchar's face so much they want to smash it with a bat. Hey, Mr Putin! You lucky man!! When Sanders becomes President you won't be able to interfere in our elections anymore. Until then, Thank you Mr Putin for inflaming his followers because Sanders surely won't give them a heads up on how their minds are being messed with. The sooner Sanders takes a bow and gets off the stage the better. He is fracturing the Democratic party - the last bulwark against Trump. He is weakening the likely Democratic candidate and squandering precious time to unify and face Trump. He is a fool because he does not understand the myriad ways of POWER. That is dangerous.
1
Ignore the tremblings of revolution at your own peril. Make no mistake. They are here.
The reason revolutions end up killing is because of the purity test the purple people bring about by not being willing to give up their comfort for what is right. They're complicit.
It doesn't have to be that way, but it will if the purple people keep ignoring the elephant in the room.
Interesting that now Biden is deemed to be a progressive democrat. I suppose that could be true if one ignores his political history. Apparently we should forget that he was an important figure in selling the Iraq War. That he is the architect of the student loan situation. That he has been a representative of the credit card companies, That, yes, he reached across the aisle to republican Senators Strom Thurmond and James Eastland to write the crime bill that inordinately helped fill the prisons with a disproportionate amount of black and brown people. He was a strong supporter of NAFTA. He helped Clarence Thomas get become a Supreme Court Justice. He has publically stated that he is for cutting social security, medicare, medicaid, food stamps etc. He makes up stories that are untrue. Is this what progressive means or is Joe Biden's mission to derail the progressive elements in the democratic party? Then there is the apparent decline of his cognitive abilities. While the democrats conveniently ignore reality don't for one moment think that the republicans will.There are videos that show gaffe after gaffe that Biden has made. I saw a video of Hannity devoting his whole show to exposing these flaws of Biden. Trump has already been saying that there is something going on with his cognitive decline while the democratic party considers him the best candidate to beat Trump. Of course if none of these factors are considered then he is the ideal candidate.
2
If Sanders win, putin has won, the FBI told us russia is helping Sanders but the real price is not only trump re election,
trump took over and changed the Republican Party,
Sanders is trying to do the same to the Democratic Party.
putin's goal is to create more and more division and chaos.
Defat Sanders defeat trump, and putin has lost.
16
I think Putin would prefer a senile establishment figure.
7
@Gianni
Every single time an establishment Democrat says Putin, 2 more people vote for Trump. As for Russia, they are fine with Biden because as a Petro state they fear a leader like Sanders committed to addressing the climate issue.
2
@PeterC
You do know that Sanders is OLDER than Biden, don't you?
That said.
Putin would have a much harder time with someone who didn't take their honeymoon in Russia.
2
When there is a small amount of consensus, there is a more substantial candidate, especially when that candidate presented the idea first, and the rest joined in. That candidate is Bernie Sanders.
While Joe Biden represents a candidate trying to find his way, despite his former Vice President status, he has provided little in the form of policy that represents today’s Democratic party. So Biden relies on the past instead of focusing and addressing the future, which is the youth of America. Our children are the future of America, and they are tired of being left behind in the name of profit over people by Corporate America and the government. Bernie Sanders wins on this issue, again.
342
@Dennis
Young Sanders backers don't yet have the investment in "Corporate America" that many Democrats do. Millions of retired people (not myself, unfortunately) have 401k and other retirement investments. Many with famlllies are working at jobs in corporations, and it's vital to their survival that these companies thrive and don't get hobbled and dismantled.
I understand what it's like to feel left out of the prosperity cycke and to seethe at the obscene CEO salaries and perks . But the animus of Sanders and his fiercest supporters toward capitalism itself goes beyond reining in its excesses. Corporate America is really not a Public Enemy for people who need the jobs and benefits that it delivers.
16
@Dennis
Right on, brother.
2
@Dennis
Wait Dennis, Bernie did win the children's vote, he lost the adults vote. Biden won that vote and Bernies Bros need to "grow up"! Socialism is so 1950s! A real yawn as an issue as China and Russia learned.
7
I agree that Sanders is leaving a mark, a substantial on, on American politics. I hope the young people inspired by him will take on his torch and fight on. However, it seems this opinion piece is trying to pacify the Sanders supporters. I am not convinced that the so called "moderates" would carry out the progressive changes on their own. If Biden or other "moderate" candidates are going towards the same goal, just in a more pragmatic and probably more efficient way, then why the donor class (Wall Street, healthcare industry, big corporate) is making such a big effort and tens of millions of dollars to get rid of Sanders and to help Biden?
1
This primary race is far from over between Sanders and Biden. However, if Biden wins the nomination it will be another four years of Trump. Firstly, it was extremist democrats (aka: “moderate democrats”), such as Biden, who created the conditions for a Trump candidacy in the first place by not promoting and passing quality progressive policy that actually helps Americans. Secondly, to say a moderate candidate is a safer option is nonsense considering Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Obama, and Hillary were all moderate presidents or presidential candidates who either were followed by a very conservative Republican or lost to a very conservative Republican. Hillary Clinton should be a prime example because she lost to the most unpopular presidential winner in modern history. Thirdly, Biden has dementia and cannot put a coherent sentence together and will get destroyed by Trump during the debates. Sanders still has his mind, knows how to debate, and will stick to the issues that most Americans care about. In conclusion, the Democrat Party may need to learn the hard way again in 2020 that “moderatism” doesn't work. Old habits die hard. And, if by some chance Biden does get elected, brace yourself for Trump 2.0.
2
Sanders may be pulling the Democrats further and further to the left but the American people are not following.
2
For forty years, the Democratic Party has drifted and lurched right. It’s what the Republican Party used to be. Sanders the most beloved presidential candidate because he’s exactly like Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Sanders is merely giving voice to what we, the people think and need. Please try to step outside the narrative you are currently convinced is the case. Come join the American people. We welcome you to help us fight for everything our Founding Fathers intended our country to be.
3
@Lilly
I agree with much of what you say, but please don't buy into the Founding Fathers' myth. They were all wealthy, land-owning, white men. Some of them owned slaves. I hate to see Thomas Jefferson lionized when he owned slaves to his death and willed them to his daughter. He fathered children by a young girl that he owned. That woman, he bequeathed to his daughter who promptly freed her. The FF gave us the Electoral college which hampers our ability to elect liberal candidates today. The FF were truly the elites of their time.
Don't forget that he said that we need a big social movement to have America having Medicare for all, free tuition....etc...
1
Does this mean he'll now go away and stop helping the Dems with losing elections?
3
Don’t be delusional. Biden is just Hillary in pants – the Washington business-as-usual candidate protecting the status quo of lobbyists writing our laws and regulations; and a Democrat influence peddler is no better than a Republican influence peddler.
4
Hey I like Bernie too, but this is delusional. Biden will most likely win, right superdelegates?
1
Please. Once the primary is over, it will be back to center.
3
Thanks!
Please tell Sanders his work is done and bow out now.
2
When I was in high school, my friends and I were in agreement that pot would never be legal. I felt the same about gay marriage, and I never thought I would live to see a black man in the white house.
Never say never. M4A can and will happen. Let's make it happen sooner rather than later.
3
When did moderate become a pejorative term?
2
When it was used as code for the neoliberal policies that brought hundreds of millions of Americans to our knees and created the dysfunctional oligarchy we now live in. After Biden loses to Trump, will you still try to blame us?
3
If Sanders loses the race, which he still has not, the Democratic Party with Biden as their nominee will remain a benign, milquetoast, corporatist technocracy that will do everything it can to keep the power with the elites and squash the voice of the rabble crowd that Sanders has championed.
Sanders voters will not be proud. They will be furious.
3
Sanders will again beg us to vote for the Democratic nominee, but I for one will not.
2
@Lilly
I hope that you and every woman you care about never needs an abortion. Biden supports pro-choice (so much so that he was turned away from receiving Communion by a Catholic priest). Trump will replace RBG and Stephen Breyer with pro-life conservatives. Please think strategically for your own good.
1
i'm looking to whose up for vice president....cause both of these guys are questionable health wise.
1
Biden has always been an oligarchy puppet, but now he’s actually senile. I’ve seen him in person several times. Every time, he got lost after a few words into a sentence, finished the sentences with unrelated words and didn’t even realize it. Sad to watch, but not capable of being president. And Jill’s not running.
3
Oh so now the strategy is to make nice Frank? Biden is one of the weakest candidates from the whole field of all that were running.What about his statement to the rich and powerful "that nothing will change"? Yes sure he is going to work for the working and middle class... his record proves otherwise, and I have a bridge to sell you.Trump will chew him up and spit him out, and win the election.The DNC did not learn anything from 2016,rinse and repeat.
But it is not over yet.Bernie 2020!
3
Does anyone seriously believe that a “progressive agenda” will defeat Trump? America needs a revolution. But revolutions aren’t electable - or they wouldn’t be revolutions. So, settle for middle ground or endure another four years of Trump. And possibly an attempt by His Orangeness to do away with term limits. Or find a way around them, like his big brother Putin. What are you prepared to endure? Up to you, voter ...
You have a choice. You can vote to finish off our country as a cheap oligarchy with Trump or Biden or vote for the representative democracy the Founding Fathers intended. Simple.
1
Not yet. But the primaries aren't over. This election (and the 2016 election) has a hidden (by the media) race far more critical than the one people thought was happening. This is the race between the financial elite and honest representative democracy. The financial elite won in 2016. Honest representative democracy suffered a crushing defeat.
Clinton, Trump, for the financial elite it was heads I win, tails you lose. That wasn't the race that mattered To Them. It was Clinton v Sanders that mattered to the financial elite. To be clear, "financial elite" and "establishment" are synonymous.
While voters are getting hip to the idea that they don't have to be serfs to the financial elite, the financial elite still has enormous clout through control of the media and control of the party machinery (Money). The coordinated capitulation of Klobuchar and Buttigieg combined with their sing-along endorsement, with Third Way corporatist establishment wolf in sheep's clothing ORourke chiming in for his establishment cred, just before Super Tuesday, was backroom-deal backstabbing to be very wary of. Celebrated by the financial elite, journalism was none too critical, if I may understate it that way.
The real race is still in play. Biden/Trump, establishment quo, v Sanders and Oh Shirt! real representative democracy!
Just know...Sanders will crush Trump. Make him look as bad as he is. Biden? Look up Dr. Taylor's "Joe Biden’s Success Shows We Gave Obama a Free Pass" NYT. Feb 5
1
Sort of Eulogy to Bernie's Campaign. Just saying.
2
If you're a successful person, there are many liberals who think you're wicked. If you're materially unsuccessful, though, you're a saint. Innate unfairness, built into the heart of life, is intolerable to many liberals to such an extent that they'd rather have a stagnant economy with universal subpar services and very little chance of moving up, than a free-market system that generates immense advantages for us all through time.
Much of this is a carrying to its logical conclusion of Pres. Obama's "you didn't build that" remark. Bret Stephens is almost the last person left at this paper who doesn't see business as an enemy. Even the paper's Catholics, one a socialist (I thought Christian Socialism was long dead), the other an economic populist, often miff me. Countries that wage war on successful entrepreneurs and businesses usually don't end up happy.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bernie-sanders-won-the-debate-11561763598 Liberals love to mock Republicans trying to out-conservative one another. It never occurs to them that they're doing the same thing -- and look equally ridiculous. Merely ten trillion dollars in spending proposals? Moderate! The extent to which Trump deserves credit for the economy is the extent to which he's cut red tape and NOT done things. Why must liberals always be so ... active? The economy doesn't need to be molded like Play-Doh. What's the difference between belittling welfare recipients and disparaging the rich? Not much.
1
How can Biden team up with Bernie; or How can Bernie team up with Biden....that really is what is needed now;
The spirit of the DEMS well that is Bernie: the soul of the DEMS
well that is Biden....; rather like the parable of the tortoise (Biden ) and the hare (Bernie)….but they are travelling on the
same route with the same purpose in mind to beat Trump.
so they ought to shake hands at the end of the race.
Politics is the art of compromise and Trump nor Sanders have that ability.
You also can't please everyone, far left and far right will not be happy if a moderate is elected president but hopefully most people will be.
Trump is insane and must be defeated.
3
Watch what they say, then what they do,
and you will be surprised.
All politicians but a few
are weathervanes - disguised.
It all comes down to their intent:
will they stand still or progress?
Some lingering, others hellbent,
most move. It’s called duress.
Only Trump escapes that mold:
he moves the country back.
He puts America on hold.
He’s the worst of any hack.
Trump also has one major trait
that does make him stand out.
The man is evil. He is mean.
He’s an accomplished lout.
All candidates have flaws, for sure.
They’re human, after all.
But Donald Trump? There is no cure.
He makes the U.S small.
2
Really? After a string of snarky op-eds not so subtly implying Americans shouldn't want and just aren't ready for universal health care, decent wages and protection of our planet? And now you prematurely gloat that "he and his supporters shouldn't feel defeated"? The primaries are still under way, Mr. Bruni. And Sen. Sanders just won a mother lode of delegates with his win in California. Please take your thumb off the scale and put it back your pocket.
2
Let me Sanders or Trump and I will leave the country.
Ah you had me man! I used to think you knew what you were talking about until I read this article! This guy! Ah you almost had me there.
As we have seen since the last Presidential election, Trump only attacks the person, never the policies. (I don't think he knows what a policy is. Maybe something to do with the police). How could he attack Bernie? Call him a Commie? I couldn't see Bernie having any skeletons in his closet, apart from maybe his own. But Biden, well, we saw the damage that was caused by the whole Hunter-Ukraine thing. There was nothing illegal only a perception that something was questionable. Does Biden have anymore skeletons in his closet? Again, not illegal but perceptually questionable. If he does, you can bet Trump has found out about them and would be waiting to dropped them into the public arena just before election day. We saw this with Clinton 2016. This would be a disaster for the Democrats.
Bernie wouldn't be able to spend the trillions that he'd like to, but he would invest in the people of America and when you do that, you're investing in the future of America. He would reset the greed and inequality that has grown in the US since the Reagan days and would make America, and the world a better place to live.
1
Sanders hasn't won anything. He has burdened the Democratic party with the "socialist" label and alienated liberal Democratic voters like me. His band of free-stuff Socialists are doing their best to kill the Democratic party's chances, because they believe that wreaking havoc on both the Democratic and Republican parties will benefit their "movement." My movement, like that of most Democratic voters, will be to the polls to vote for the Democratic candidate, not the Socialist candidate getting a free ride on the party like a greedy pilot fish.
2
we hear this every time the left is squashed by the Democratic Party: they have accepted your ideas, which are morally correct, you just need to wait a little longer. Unfortunately, it appears that the only real truth is that it gets worse every time. For all the people out there who freaked out about Hillary Clinton's electability and record, Joe Biden is much more conservative. He was chosen to balance out Barack Obama's perceived liberalism, and fought his whole life to strip entitlements and make drug laws harsher. I will vote for him in the general if he wins, but do not think he will govern inclusively. He, Bruce Reed and the Third Way will stamp progressives out of the party and leave a generation out to drown in debt and rising seas.
3
The arc of history doesn’t bend toward justice. It gets pushed there.
Some may pay lip service to doing the pushing but can’t be trusted to actually do so.
1
Sorry, fam, the only way Biden isn't a moderate is if you shoehorn him into his real political affiliation: average republican. He has never been a champion or even a follower of any sort of progressive ideals. This includes anything that benefits the average American, e.g. black americans, immigrants, women, the LGBT community, and so many millions more that are impoverished and marginalized. When you cause the death and incarceration of tens of millions of people you forfeit the right to label yourself as a member of the democratic party, no matter that the DNC decides to push upon party members.
2
Is this consolation for last weeks Super Tuesday? This is like saying San Francisco really beat Kansas City in the Super Bowl. How are we going to spin it if we don't beat Trump in November? It is PC correct to say the loser also won but will PC correctness beat Trump?
2
Time to get over the emotional issues. Whoever wins the Dems need to stand with the candidate and get this over with. Once that happens let's discuss the agenda; meeting over LOL.
1
We need universal coverage! Get Warren back in the fight! Put a Sanders / Warren ticket out there now!
1
We will get some gun regulations and relaxed rules on immigration with Biden. Wall St and the 1 percent will continue to run the show. Kiss the middle class goodbye.
1
The Democratic party messed up again because they allowed Sanders to crash the party and run off with the free buffe, leaving Democrats hanging. DNC never should have allowed a non-member to run. That's because my lifelong Democratic party affiliation will be changed to Independent. Enough is enough.
1
Free stuff and open borders (as even the times now admits is part and parcel to the democratic agenda) will get trump his second term and everything that comes with it. The answer to trump is not to go off the left deep end any more than trump was a legitimate answer to Obama.
1
Frank, thanks for the reality, compliments, and congrats to Bernie, who, BTW, is the only candidate with the support of “Our Revolution” to fire a; loud, public, sustained, ‘in-the-streets’, but totally non-violent “Shout (not shot) heard round the world”, to ignite an essential Second American people’s peaceful and complete “Political/economic & social Revolution Against Empire” in 2020 as dramatic and progressive as our First American “Revolution Against Empire” in ‘76 [Justin du Rivage] — but without the muskets!
Yes, Frank, your assessment is spot-on, both in terms of Bernie already winning, and in terms of following the ‘arc of history’ that had been arrested since FDR was our progressive, popular, and socially democratic president of ‘we the people’ almost a century ago.
Viva the people’s peaceful Second American Revolution Against Empire — and for political/economic & social democracy!
The reasons for the urgency of this peaceful Revolution is the acceleration of the Empire, which faux-Emperor Trump is just a symptom of:
There can be no compromise, middle-ground, negotiation, nor 3rd way with Empire — and as Louis Brandeis made clear and FDR understood:
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth (and power) concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both"
3
We all know that Bernie’s goals and position create a change between democrats . His messages makes sentences for most Americans , specially the young generation; the Working people and the Middle class. Unfortunately the DNC, the whole crowd of selfish-centered people, obviously all Corporations, Financial Institutions , that for the last fifty years are milking the system, also most of the media ; talking heads, the MSNBC , FOX.. pictured Bernie as the “bogeyman of socialism” Most Americans don’t like changes, they are content with capitalist domination about Every aspects of our society, even the ones with extremely financial trouble, don’t want change. They’re absolutely ignorant and selfish the same time. Americans witnessed the criminal activities of Sub-prime Mortgages, and 10 million homeowners lost their homes, (2006-2014). Congress and Senate continue to be “Red” for years after the crises, How sick is that? Only a generation can change everything. Maybe from 2024 ahead. VOTE
1
Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsed Sanders.
The black vote has to make a choice in Michigan.
Who represents better their values, the heir (and aide) of MLK or the current crop of black Democrats who consider Biden for all his terrible civil rights record a « safer bet » then Sanders whose public record on racial , social and economic injustice and specifically civil rights record are immaculate and inspiring.
3
Bernie Sanders won? Trump will be our President for another four years. Woe is us.
Talk is cheap, and anyone can say anything to get elected. Look at Obama! The only one we can rely upon to try as hard as can be to implement Bernie's advocated policies is: tadah! Bernie.
1
Hey y,all keep your attention to what must be won before “all” Sanders has won nonsense. If you don’t beat Trump none of that matters. First and foremost Trump has to be relegated to the dump of history. Then everyone can discuss these “winnings.” On Super Tuesday the voters said they want the VP. They voted for honesty, dignity, competence and someone the like. Nothing against Bernie or the “bros.” It is all about restoring the soul of our country. It will take the votes of all of us. Vote,vote should be the mantra. Do not let Trump’s or Russian dirty tricks separate us.
1
If Mr. Bruni is right, it is a sad day for the Democratic Party and the country under Trump. Ceterum autem censeo, I repeat my request to Mr. Bruni to analyze the connection, if there is any, between the food preferences and political platforms of the Democratic pretenders to the throne of the Union. For Trump, his devouring of cheeseburgers held in the hands correlates straightforwardly with the characteristics of uncouth boor.
Both Bernie and Biden have their faults, like all candidates. If Biden turns out to be the Democratic nominee, then Biden must offer a tribute to Bernie and a place in his administration. Bernie must take further possession of the Democratic Party by embracing Biden and uniting the Democrats against the backward synod they call the Republican Party and its dangerous and ignorant leader, Donald Trump.
Both Biden and Bernie have a patriotic duty to do whatever it takes to keep the House and turn the Senate and the White House true blue.
Bernie is not a Democrat. He is a left wing Trump, who like Trump is an opportunist, and a for me or against me guy.
2
My fervent wish is that crazy Sanders supporters won't gift this election to Trump. As they did in 2016. Fanatics whether on right or left or the same only what they believe in changes. They both destroy.
3
Which is why people are voting for Biden.
2
I would never vote for Sanders. If Biden does not win the primary, Trump will be in for four more years. I cannot believe that Bruni is taking this ridiculous position.
2
Does anyone else think Joe Biden is suffering from cognitive decline? I was recently told about a political event that Biden,
Obama and Ed Rendell hosted in Pennsylvania in2010.
This observer ,no fan of Biden's policies, said he was awesome
in his delivery of his points. So what gives,now? I know he
has always been prone to gaffes,as they say,but his inability
to speak seems so much worse now. His story about being arrested in South Africa while trying to see Mandela seemed
downright crazy. Any thoughts?
1
Don't be silly.
The Democratic party is a moderately liberal party. Sanders is an outlier. He has won less than 30% of the Democratic primary votes to date.
The Democratic party has moved moderately to the left since Obama because circumstances call for somewhat more leftist policies. Warren is closer to Biden than she is to Sanders, both politically and as a person.
If the nominee is Biden, or if it had been Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar or any of the other plausible candidates, you would see the same campaign and debate points:
Unity vs Division
Science vs Superstition
Knowledge vs Ignorance
Calmness vs Hysteria
Kindness vs Cruelty
Dan Kravitz
1
Bernie Sanders is literally not a Democrat. He is an Independent in the Senate, and a self-described “Democratic Socialist.” The Democratic Party and it’s members should feel no remorse in denying him the nomination of a party he is not a member of. If his “movement” were so strong, and his socialist message so compelling, he should run as a third party candidate. Why do Democrats not realize that he is a parasite living off of the host?
2
So now the Democrats are going to run either a candidate who has limited cognitive abilities or one who goes around praising Castro.
The DNC knows they are going to lose but at this point is just deciding which of these dim bulbs will cause the least negative impact to down ballot candidates. The DNC is concluding Biden will not take all of the Democrats down with him. Biden gets to be the fall guy.
So now the Democrats are going to run either a candidate who has limited cognitive abilities or one who goes around praising Castro.
The DNC knows they are going to lose but at this point is just deciding which of these dim bulbs will cause the least negative impact to down ballot candidates. The DNC is concluding Biden will not take all of the Democrats down with him. Biden gets to be the fall guy.
Sanders does not know how to govern --neogiating within the Democratic party and certainly not with the oppostion.
No quarrel with some of his ideas but this not a nation of liberals. FDRoosevelt is a good example of knowing how to get things done.
We do not want trump to take another four years of our lives!
1
If he already won similar to 2016,
Give him the darn nomination already!!
1
Mr. Bruni apparently doesn't think that those wealthy Wall St. people who are pouring money into the Biden campaign are not going to expect anything in return. If so, I wonder if he'd like to buy a bridge to Brooklyn from me.
1
Not so long ago Mr. Bruni was proclaiming victory for Mayor Buttigieg. Now he sees grandpa fingerwag As the hero of the moment. I hope you'll forgive je for waiting for tge votes to be counted, or at least cast.
Re: “They noted that this primary’s moderates would have been considered leftists in the recent past.” Really?! It’s more like “This primary’s leftists would be considered moderates in most other parts of the world.”
2
Frank, thanks for the reality, compliments, and congrats to Bernie, who, BTW, is the only candidate with the support of “Our Revolution” to fire a; loud, public, sustained, ‘in-the-streets’, but totally non-violent “Shout (not shot) heard round the world”, to ignite an essential Second American people’s peaceful and complete “Political/economic & social Revolution Against Empire” in 2020 as dramatic and progressive as our First American “Revolution Against Empire” in ‘76 [Justin du Rivage] — but without the muskets!
Yes, Frank, your assessment is spot-on, both in terms of Bernie already winning, and in terms of following the ‘arc of history’ that had been arrested since FDR was our progressive, popular, and socially democratic president of ‘we the people’ almost a century ago.
Viva the people’s peaceful Second American Revolution Against Empire — and for political/economic & social democracy!
The reasons for the urgency of this peaceful Revolution is the acceleration of the Empire, which faux-Emperor Trump is just a symptom of:
There can be no compromise, middle-ground, negotiation, nor 3rd way with Empire — and as Louis Brandeis made clear and FDR understood:
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth (and power) concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both"
Hopefully, ‘the fix’ for addled ol Joe will be exposed — just as ‘the Vichy fix’ was exposed by the French people against addled ol Pétain, who was a pawn of Empire.
3
One thing I know for sure from following politics in this country for the last 30 years is that whenever a pundit writes one of these "has already won" articles, what that author really means is that the candidate has already lost.
But where did his voters go? In 2016 he won 22 states, what happened?
Trump. Millions got a job, went on employer sponsored healthcare, got a raise and that Socialism thing doesn’t sound so good anymore
Could some hardworking op-ed columnist please take a stab at figuring out what was the ultimate effect on the Super Tuesday Primaries Results of Mike Bloomberg’s $500 million media campaign and his share of votes in those elections?
We know that he only entered into the fray because Joe Biden dragged his feet getting into the race and was running a weak campaign.
Mike Bloomberg is media savvy, politically strategic, and brilliant. Did he really want to spend his remaining days on Earth stressing his 78-year-old aging body and mind with the daily running of the USA?
Probably impossible to do, like reading the crystal ball of electability, but if you could, what might the Super Tuesday Results have been sans Mike Bloomberg and his spectacular campaign?
Now that he has paid for all those media endorsements, is he going to ask for his money back or has he already re-dedicated them to his original guy, Joe Biden?
Do you really believe that he was absolutely decimated by Elizabeth Warren’s NDA Debate attack? Was Trump hurt by Hillary Clinton’s attacks?!
1
Sanders is Dead on Arrival.
The first responders can tell you he is DOA.
1
@Supreme Comandante
Sir, Yes Sir!
Winning, losing, winning, losing. The last 10 days have witnessed a whiplash of emotions for voters. MSM lamenting over what it means for the Democratic establishment to have a "socialist" frontrunner, dismay about an ex VP's dismal debate performance, an weak field organization game for super Tuesday. Then, lo and behold, we watch as front runners unexpectedly step down, as if on cue, deferring to a new 'frontrunner.' There is something truly disheartening when energetic, educated, articulate candidates like Pete, Amy, Beto genuflect to Biden, a candidate whose past is plagued by plagiarism and cronyism. But not as disheartening as seeing Pete go after Amy for not recalling the name of the Mexican President, then lecturing her for not knowing if she is a candidate for President. Yet Pete endorses Biden who probably cannot recall the name of the Mexican President either. What standards are in play here?
Apparently older suburban voters prefer the 'stability' & 'civility' of a Biden presidency, collectively ignoring the concomitant 'senility.' Nostalgia for bygone 'Obiden Bama' has bloomed in this Trump era. Voters want to go back to 'normal.' There is no going back to normal. The electorate has changed. America has changed. The only way is forward. So please, take a good look around at your fellow citizens, those less fortunate than you, and vote for the candidate who truly sees EVERY American. Ignore the biased media. Think for yourself. "A Republic if you can keep it."
2
I agree that Bernie is trying to move the Democratic Party to its core values, to the plaint of the common man. The party was thirsty for change, and he has taken the donkey to the river, but too many fears and interests are preventing the donkey from drinking in the waters of real change. With the planet getting warmer and warmer, the donkey will not be able to hold on for too long, so I hope that whoever gets the nomination will implement the measures necessary to save the donkey and the rest of us.
1
I think people like the idea of Biden, not the Biden of today. The man can hardly put a sentence together. He’s being pushed into the nomination by Republocrats and corporate money. It’s gonna be an epic fail. Trump will cream him.
1
This transformation is the final nail in the coffin of Clintonism, the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, the Democratic Leadership Council, the New Democrat Coalition and the rest of that centrist corporate pap.
It's been a slow train a'comin' but the last station is now in sight, and I for one say thank God for that.
3
@Blue Ridge Boy
So the "station" must be Trump in 2020! Right?
Vote for something you believe in, maybe this is what you believe in:
“Biden backed some extreme measures. He helped defeat a 1977 amendment to remove all restrictions on federal funding of abortions and voted instead for what the Philadelphia Inquirer called “the toughest ever anti-abortion measure,” one that extended that ban to even cases of incest and rape. He voted repeatedly to ban funding simply for abortion research and training. In what he called “the single most difficult vote I’ve ever cast as a US senator,” he defied his own guiding philosophy and became one of two Democrats to send out of committee the Hatch amendment, which would have overturned Roe v. Wade by letting either states or Congress decide the question of abortion — whichever was “more restrictive.”
3
So, all over, take a bow and bow out....
All Biden's buddies want to talk about, including MSM, is the # of states won...but you all know that is due the Pete and Amy act, and the fact that Warren, regardless her intent, was a Prog spoiler, cutting Bernie's vote. ME, MA, MN & TX would not have been in Biden's column,,,
& all the tale about the AA surge for Biden in the south? Dems are going to win maybe VA there. Why let the eventual losers decide the Dem candidate? 2016 redux...
But it is DELEGATES that count, this is not an EC winner takes all bit. & media is not reporting the actual facts on the ground::: that Bernie is better in a state to state comparison- given Super Tues in 16 had other lineup- delegate count than last time. & Biden is doing way worse than Clinton.
& if CA would get in gear & report that would be clear.
Another thing about CA- independents. They showed big for Bernie, which is why CA flipped. & Hispanics also...very important given Dems must hold NM, CO & even little NV if they have hope for White House. Also, their 2 best Senate pick up chances are in SW.
NY Times analysis on that?
Not good for Biden... as odds are in NY, IL compared to Clinton in 16, Bidne is to "underperform".
Not time for bows...the fat lady ain't sung yet...
1
In this era of Billionaires and inequality we need a "modified capitalism". But bombastic, finger-pointing, hand-waving, too old and unhealthy, to-far-left, Bernie is not the answer.
Bernie is NOT a Democrat. He is an interloper who seeks to take over the Democratic Party as did the current totally corrupt occupant of the White House did to the now repugnant party. He is screwing up the 2020 election as he did in 2016.
1
You may want to vote for a socialist...
You may want to vote for a black man.
You may want to vote for a millionaire...
or elect a vegetarian this time around.
You may want to vote for a gay man...
or a woman, who is smarter than anyone you ever knew.
No matter who you want to vote for...
You'll end up voting for a nepotic, aging, white guy.
++>
That's nice....but how I see it: Bernie has cost the Dems anywhere between 2-4 SCOTUS judges, two of those are actual and the other 2 are potentials; 1 Dem POTUS, he's working on kicking that up to 2 POTUSs; our first female POTUS; at least 5 yrs of setbacks as to climate; and, an unknown damage, yet to come into the light, to the country with his one-note divisive fantasy politics.
History will show that Bernie has been a catastrophe for the Dems and a boon to the GOP
"The basis of optimism is sheer terror."
Oscar Wilde
3
What total nonsense....! The reality is that the most conservative, the most pusillanimous of the candidates is the one the DNC and Corporate America is forcing down our throats. And we don´t even know his platform. We are only certain of two things: that he's no left, and that we must vote for him or else.
2
Mr. Bruni, if you define Bernie Sander's "win" as the democratic consensus moving further towards his ideas, then correct, he "won". But the party's move to the left, is the result of so many factors far more influential than Bernie. Yes, he deserves some credit for the tug to the left. But you excluded seismic causative factors in your analysis - glaring economic inequality, implosion of the Republican party finally showing it's naked moral abyss, glaring visible racial injustice, visible/tangible climate change real time, people drowning in student loan debt, and dying from unaffordable health care. These factors are all so visible and out in the open now. Americans feel these problems in their bones. The move to the left would have happened without Bernie. Let's give credit where credit is due, and that is that sadly America has had to hit close to rock bottom to change.
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It is not the money that the super-rich cares so much about its the power that money gives them politically. That is the main reason for wanting to rein them in.
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I usually dig Bruni's columns, but I have to disagree with his prediction in its totality.
Sanders will not win the nomination. But to declare that he "already has" sidesteps about a thousand different problems with his candidacy, chief among them that he will not win the African American, suburban white and moderate republican vote.
Nice try, Frank, but numerically, it's not going to happen.
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Here's a fact that everyone should know:
The American people lean left on-
Every. Major. Issue.
Every one.
America is a Center / Left nation.
Taxing the wealthy.
Gun safety and sanity.
Health care issues.
Immigration reform.
Abortion rights.
(support for Planned Parenthood)
Environmental issues.
Climate change.
Clean elections free of money corruption.
Ending partisan congressional districts.
Raising minimum wage.
Americans. Lean. Left.
In ten minutes you'll know the truth.
www.pollingreport.com
Ten minutes on that site.
You'll know the truth.
Every Democratic candidate at every level should remind Americans at all times:
A majority of Americans AGREE with each other on Every. Major. Issue.
Remind them.
Reassure them.
Let them have what they already agree on.
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This is worth sharing for the illustration alone.
But while Bruni makes an important central point that Sanders "set the tone, determined the issues and tugged the party toward him," his piece is seriously flawed in that he thinks that if Biden becomes president he will advance Sanders' progressive agenda rather that deliver a decisive death blow to it under the direction of his influencers and handlers.
The day after Super Tuesday, Sanders asked, “Does anyone seriously believe that a president backed by the corporate world is going to bring about the changes in this country that working families and the middle class and lower-income people desperately want?”
Bruni thinks so.
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Yes, Sanders ideologically won the primary (but far less than Bruni states). But the general has always been—for the Democrats, as the vile GOP is evil throughout—about shifting to the "center" (i.e. far-wrong) to attract non-American votes. A Bernie who concedes the primary can't continue to "tug" in the general, let alone with big money in both Biden's and the loser's pockets; and the question of whether he can influence either one in their actual job after November answers itself.
Bernie has won the primaries.
Trump will win the election.
Congratulations, leftists!
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@JND You might want to put down the vodka and actually read the article.
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Biden just tonight rolled off another " Gaff " saying all we can do is reelect Trump.
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@gene "gaffs"don't matter, they can be corrected. Poor leadership does irreparable damage and should never be excused
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Frank, the sigh of relief in your voice that our work here is done - the moderate Democrat is the choice - may be a bit premature. This is not a fait accompli. Despite the NYT and all media outlets running hit pieces on Bernie daily, he continues to draw thousands to his rallies. The policies he is promoting should be in line with NYT values, but unfortunately, the paper is merely a corporate shill.
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Go Bernie! This country deserves better than anything the DNC or the Trumpers envision or can offer. The DNC and Sleepy Joe offer business as usual, while Trump is running a death cult.
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The good-natured slap on the back to Bernie is a little premature, Mr. Bruni-ferous.
Just like the premature departure of your champion Mr. Buttigieg and his fellow all-together conspirators Bloomberg and Klobuchar on the eve of "super Tuesday".
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This article is absurd. It takes the word of politicians at face value. Just because corporate Dems have to ape Bernie to win votes does not mean they will lift even a single finger to do anything if elected.
The moment Bernie ceases to be a threat these Dems will race back to their old, right-wing positions.
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Bernie Sanders is the poster child for how far to the extreme left that the Democrat party has gone. I truly hope he wins the nomination, Trump will eat him alive.
We voted in California last super Tuesday. Though Bernie 'won' our vote, there are still thousands of delegates upon which to vote. I voted by drop box and my guy dropped out just before the election.
I have always voted Dem almost all of my entire life, though f flirted with John Anderson in 1980. McGovern was my first Presidential vote. Spent lots of hours volunteering for him too. I will vote for the Dem again and more than likely all the positions down ballot. As the child of a blue collar and government employer, Dems spoke to me as I was developing my political identity. They they are not always perfect. "We have met the enemy and he is---Donald Trump!
I have no political affiliation. I am a moderate. I paid for college, worked all my life, and raised five kids. I still work even though I am past retirement.
Trump horrifies me. His rabid supporters disgust and anger me. How can a thinking moral person support such a man?
I was hoping to vote for a moderate alternative. But I cannot vote for Bernie. Too far left. Too many crazy ideas. I don’t want Trump re-elected but I also don’t want a socialist revolution. Where is my choice?
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@Rob What you call "crazy ideas" is reality in virtually all other industrialized states, Rob. Do you seriously believe the US, one of the richest nations on earth, can't get universal healthcare, free tuition and a better environment policy done? Trust in America again, Rob! Yes, you can. And to put a trustworthy guy in the White House, who has proven to be a fighter for the people, is the first step on the way. Onward!
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I wish NYT columnists would stop regurgitating this type of nonsense day after day. It doesn't require a great deal of insight to understand that candidates will lean whichever way the wind is blowing, in the knowledge that thee positions they temporarily take can easily be ignored if the ploy works. Barack Obama whipped up a great deal of enthusiasm with his vaguely progressive platform but, once he was elected, dispensed with the movement that had made it possible and appointed Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner to effectively maintain the economic status quo. Hillary Clinton described herself as "progressive", yet someone like Donald Trump was able to attack her from the left. Joe Biden is very much a product of the same deplorable tradition. Bernie Sanders clearly isn't. That's why establishment liberals, overwhelmingly represented on the opinion pages of the NYT and the Post, are so determined to deny him the nomination - even at the risk of a second Trump term. To pretend, as Bruni does, that Bernie has "already won" is not only an utterly absurd argument, but malevolent to boot.
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It won't be Biden making decisions will it.
The man doesn't even know what state he's in, much less which present female is his wife.
The only way progressive advancement will happen is if the corp,. MIC, and or CIA allow thus to happen.
Good luck with that.
We get the gov. we deserve.
Thanks a lot.
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@Jack Luzkow: The Wilmington, Delaware Bank you refer to in your comments about Joe Biden was "MBNA America Bank," which was taken over by Bank of America in 2006. "MBNA" originally stood for "Maryland Bank, N.A."
Trump and his acolytes (Reps), along with Faux “news,” their official highly-formidably propaganda machine are ready to pounce on Biden with huge investigations from Barr and anything else they can throw at him.
Therefore, a Sanders ticket with Abrams as VP is the Dem’s salvation. I would also suggest that they simultaneously announce Warren, Klobuchar, Buttigieg with prominent cabinet positions right from the get-go and everyone campaign against Trump.
It will pull voters out of complacency and hopefully pull White voters away from Trump.
Sanders is difficult to assail from a corruption angle and he should stop doing the Socialist thing and take up the most successful platform positions from the other Dem primary runners. Dumb down the message and have anti-corruption, jobs, debt forgiveness and healthcare be the jewels of the crown.
Oh, and keep Bloomberg to his promise of donating his primary election machine and money to the cause.
.
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Maybe, but the Democratic Party has already lost the 2020 Presidential election. And no, no amount of faux "reconciliation" is going to make your "left-wing dirt bag, Bernie Bros" vote Republican-lite, even for someone who made the most "unbelievable" comeback in political history. Because even if that comeback was honestly earned, the memory of 2016 is too eternally etched in the minds of the now oh-so-lovable Sanders supporters that enough of them have very serious, historically-based doubts on that score and therefore won't be able to bring themselves to vote Democrat this time around.
Stupidity won, my friend, on both sides of the aisle.
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Where are all those commenters who concluded last week that Biden is a doddery old man? Biden surely hasn't improved any since then. So what's up? It seems there have been some adjustments to our social perceptions.
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Biden touches women and little girls in ways that make them uncomfortable, and he hasn't stopped. How on earth can anyone support anyone like that?
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Biden would be salve on the wound 45 inflicted on America.
Then return to business as usual.
Bernie would be rehab, skin grafts and bionic prosthesis.
Better than before, and stronger than ever.
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This was true last week, not this week!
Actually, Joe Biden won this week.
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I have zero confidence that Biden will do 90% of what his site says in terms of liberal policies. I don't think this guy has read his site let alone able to remember of it.
I had more hope with Obama pushing his progressive plans at the start of the campaign and then getting stripped nearing the gen. election and then adding conservative Biden too.
I think Obama's heart was in the right place, but he didn't push his more radical moves because he thought somehow being bipartisan was better. He proved that wrong and I will not vote again for one who touts being bipartisan. Right wing presidents who demand get things done. Sorry it's true. That's our two party system for ya.
Biden is dumb. Someone will be pulling his strings like Dubya because he has dementia. Biden's "old self" was angry, right wing, and misogynistic. Look up old tape of him belittling Warren.
Nothing indicates a continuation Obama's work or knowing why the ACA failed. And yes it failed before 2016, sorry. You can't possibly understand unless you were not poor enough for medicaid but too poor for ACA.
I will leave my ballot blank for Biden. I won't vote right wing, but from now on if I see any non progressive candidates on the ballot, they get no votes. Americans often don't realize you can leave parts of your ballot blank.
Besides policies it's irresponsible to vote for someone to be the "leader of the free world" if they have dementia. What does that say about us?
Trump will destroy him come debate time.
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Wake up, the dark money and the party establishment is stealing the nomination from Sanders again! The boring establishment candidate Joe will bail out the banks again, and play Wall Street puppet. He is worse than the last establishment dummy, HRC and has no chance of getting elected.
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Yeah, the nomination has been decided, and of course Biden is the guy. Now you Sanders people all get on board because all these other candidates were raging progressives, especially Biden. We in the media never did like your guy but forget this, and join what the media has been proclaiming for months, that your man was a loser and had wacko politics, and our man is the guy who will slay Trump. If you do not join, you should feel guilty about it.
Reminder. The delegate count is very close, and I would love to see a series of debates between the raging progressive Biden and Sanders
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@mbaris1 Yeah, let that progressive lovefest happen! You gotta see it to believe Biden, the closet socialist who will have his huge public coming out. Jo, go, Joe!
/ironic
I would like to remind people that Biden was the person who gave the necessary nudge that led Obama to finally come out in favor of gay marriage.
@Miriam No nudge was necessary, since Obama had occasionally stated his support for gay marriage since the 90s. Also, that was a Supreme Court decision. Joe-come-lately Biden, a conservative Dem who had voted against gay equality time and again, simply couldn't ignore any longer that he was in conflict with his constituency. Who knows, in ten years or so he may even support Medicare for all and will tell a heartwarming story how his dad prevented a socialist from being fired. Joe's great at making up stories.
1
Not in your lifetime Frank.
Biden wins the Dems side.
Trump wins the election.
Is it all over.
See you on Election Day for the re-election.
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Lots of luck Frank. Your risking all your readers. In constant babbling, Sanders rings all your bells. Great. But, the rest of us want a President, not Trotsky. Few think Sanders is the answer.
Thank God. Now we can forget about him and move on.
@Julian Excellent summary of what centrist propagandist Frank Bruno tried to say!
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